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if-found-return-to-gusu · 3 years

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Christmas Time at the Nie Palace

Okay… Okay Christmas.

So I’d like to start by pointing out that like… I don’t celebrate Christmas like in any real way? It’s just a fun excuse to get together with my friends. And we all seem to be on the same page with that.

So SangSang threw a party. Let me just say, the Nie’s know how to blow it up, okay? Like apparently DaGe did a lot of the planning too? Which surprised me. But they got IN to it.

I… Okay so in my mind DaGe probably just hoisted that giant tree in by himself. Like just WOOMPH like the man is a tank.

Realistically I know that Lan Xichen helped him and they probably used a trolley or something. But like…. Picturing Nie MingJue just HOISTING a gigantic christmas tree into the main hall is just… I can’t picture it any other way. It’s just how it happened. Fanon is better than Canon in this instance don’t @ me.

But I know that both he and Nie Huaisang did most of the decorating together. Technically they are rich (not even technically but they don’t ACT like rich bois so I forget) and could have just hired people to do it for them, but I guess this is something that they both love to do together. A shared tradition. And their house (mansion????) is not small. So like it took some TIME. And like… probably lots of ladders? Because even DaGe isn’t that tall.

I had about .5 seconds to appreciate this, however, before I heard happy screams of children. Which is good because there WERE children. If there are no children and you hear children screaming, leave. But as there were children, we were good.

Said children screamed my name and suddenly two tiny bodies were yeeting themselves at me.

Not to worry, Jin Ling does this A LOT (though he must have taught A-Yuan because that was a first.

A-Yuan jumped very nicely into my arms though. Just a nice little hop and swoop right on my hip.

Jin Ling, however, is a little monster who NEVER jumps nice. He jumps to the side and expects me to catch him! Now to be fair, I always DO, but I won’t deny that the first time it happened it gave me a fucking heart attack.

I do believe that Lan Zhan felt my pain this day because when Jin Ling sailed into my arms and immediately leaned outwards so that he’d swing by whatever limb I’d managed to nab, Lan Zhan ruined everything by stabilizing him. (How is his hand like the size of Jin Ling’s entire torso? ((Like with the fingers spread but still???)))) Anyway.

Don’t think I’ve ever seen that quality of death glare out of a 3 year old before. Impressive.

Lan Zhan backed away immediately and Jin Ling promptly returned his attention back to his best uncle in the whole wide world (me.).

So now I had two young boys in my arms babbling away about this and that at the same time so I couldn’t understand a word of it.

Is there anything sweeter?

Eventually I managed to make out that they wanted me to go into the other room where the real party was. A-Ling was talking about how his mama wanted to see me and so she’d sent him for guard duty. (Found out later from Shijie that she had mentioned my name one time in passing saying that she was looking forward to me arriving with Lan Zhan and Jin Ling IMMEDIATELY went off to wait for me. When A-Yuan arrived instead of me he was apparently a bit disappointed until he realized that now he had a friend to wait with him. And so that’s apparently when they plotted the joint throw. A-Yuan said I was supposed to fall over but I was apparently just too strong.)

Anyway. I hoisted them up higher on my hips and we tramped off to the main room…. Is it a living room? Dining room? Ballroom? Fuck if I know they have too many rooms. It was a big room with enough space for entertaining a lot of people. Anyway. We went there. And were greeted by… A LOT of people! Like Apparently Nie Huaisang had decided to invite everyone I know? Or actually I think DaGe suggested some of them?

Okay so… Um… I think this is what Wen Ning said.. DaGe and Wen Qing hit it off at my birthday in a like… platonic way because that sounds like a crackship. Since they are both hella gay. But like they got to talking at my birthday and like she gave him some medical opinions on a part of a case he was working on or something???? And now they’re like… legit in contact with each other? She helps with forensics or something?

I don’t get it.

But Nie Huaisang was saying they should bring in some of the people they met at my birthday because he liked them and DaGe said he’d already added Wen Qing to the list?

Nd Nie Huaisang said that they couldn’t just invite ONE Wen

And so

They invited

All of them???

Including Granny and Uncle Four????? Who they had NOT met before this? I guess???

Which was why A-Yuan was there and because A-Yuan was there A-Ling was there because playdate? Or something? And so Shijie and the peacock were both there because of course he was coming if his wife and son were there (although A-Lian was with her grandparents because she doesn’t do so well at parties most of the time ((My birthday was a fluke???? Or maybe she just likes me. Hard to tell with that babe. Stares like a cat seeing a ghost in the corner of the room. Seems to like Lan Zhan though. Maybe because he stares the same way????????? Am I a ghost?????? In the corner of the roooommmmmm????? Spoopy. ))

Anyway THey were there but then SO WAS JIANG CHENG because apparently, appAReNTlY Madam Yu and Uncle Jiang don’t know that Nie Huaisang is also my friend? Because they’re all rich and rich people all know other rich people and when you’re friends with other rich people it’s okay because you’re ‘making a connection network’ and so Jiang Cheng through a loophole of rich=dumb apparently? (Like not that the rich people are dumb but the like the whole rich ettiquette is just bonkers) he was allowed to network at this Christmas gathering. Because I think they assumed that rich people only invite other rich people to their parties? When really it ended up being a pretty even 50/50 split.

So okay the wens were there and Shijie and her +1 and A-Ling, and Jiang Cheng (who I hugged immediately but just listing this out first bare with me.) was there. And Lan Zhan and I were there and Lan Xichen was there of course. Though… isn’t he dating that other Jin guy? I wonder why he WASN’T there? I think there’s some beef between him and DaGe or something and I guess if DaGe didn’t like me I’d avoid him too…. You know to stay alive… But hmm… Lan Xichen didn't seem too upset. So I guess it’s fine? Seemed to have fun with DaGe anyway.

(Is it wrong to ship? I mean…. They’d be so good together????? Like that’s their business but I feel like a meddling old spinster aunt trying to get people together. Idk. Whatever. Moving on). Oh oh oh And Gamby and her wife were there!! And MianMian and Qin Su! Like it was literally everyone who had been at my birthday + more! (because Uncle Four and Granny Wen. But still. They count! And I was so excited to see them hahah.) So like apparently gatherings are good for networking. Lol.

So yeah Everyone was there. But the first person I saw was Jiang Cheng. Who I’d thought, honestly and truly, that I’d never get to see again.

I don’t know which of us started the hug. Maybe it was the same time. But for once he didn’t bitch about it and I wasn’t a little shit about it either.

Just…. Jiang Cheng really gives great hugs. He told me that he missed me. And said that he was working things out on his end and to be patient please. Promised me and made me promise back that we were still brothers. Forever.

And that was about all of the feely feels we could handle in public because EVERYONE WAS STARING AT US….

Except Lan Zhan who had disappeared? I didn’t notice until then. But poof.

…………………

Just asked him where he was for the first bit of the party and he said apparently he’d brought the Emperor’s Smile to the kitchen and ended up getting stuck for a bit helping the cook finish off some stuff because he’s an angel and the nicest person in the world.

Which… explains why I saw him later holding a tray of hors-d’oeuvres (had to ask Lan Zhan how to spell that…. Maybe shouldn’t have because that’s dangerously close to telling him I had a blog? I think he probably just thinks I’m texting someone about it….. Weeks after it happened…… O.O;;;; uh…. Well he didn’t ask about it so I guess I’m good. Whatever moving ON.).

So we coughed and let go of each other, but I couldn’t resist grinning at him. Just seeing him there. Knowing that he came here and specifically made it so that I could be here too. That he’s going to such lengths and and.. Actually FIGHTING to keep me in his life. Just…

Okay Stop or you’ll cry, Wei Ying.

What happened next… ah… we went to the party room saw Jiang Cheng and then we got pulled in to stand with the mingling crowd.

More hugs all around. Even from Wen Qing after she gave me a quick check up to see how I was healing up. Ever the professional.

I guess… I really scared everyone. Not just from the fire but before that too. They knew that I wasn’t doing well and then more and more shit kept happening. And I think I really scared them.

To be honest, I really scared me too.

But Lan Zhan saved me. So I guess in the end none of us had anything to fear. <3

We were all chilling and talking and I was just starting to worry that Lan Zhan somehow got lost or kidnapped or eaten by a Nie Monster or something when he appeared holding trays of food. I watched him going to the other room and followed him because I was having Lan Zhan withdrawal.

And found him setting the food down on a MASSIVE table in the HUMUNGAZOID DINING HALL.

Okay so I’ve been to Nie Huaisang’s place before but generally we just like chilled in the normal living areas. But he has these ‘entertaining’ areas for when they have formal gatherings or parties or whatever. And I’d kinda passed by them before but they were just big empty rooms, right? Like oh okay whatever. It’s like passing by a meeting hall in a hotel. Like oh okay just a big empty room for meetings and shit.

Except when they decorate it it transforms into like this huge palace room! Like fuck! Gold and glitter and lights and sparkle and just everything! And really like tastefully done too. It was a lot, but it was the right kind of a lot. And it was all very coordinated.

I guess Lan Xichen helped a lot with the balance in the end? How often does Lan Xichen come over here that he’s helping set up decor?

Who knows.

Not my business.

Still though isn’t he dating Jin Guangyao or whatever? I wonder how he feels about it?

Whatever. Not my business.

SO I trotted over to Lan Zhan like a little lost duckling and asked if he needed help with anything. He gave me one of those smiles that he saves just for me (my HEART) and lead me over to the other side of the room and told me to sit at the table.

I was still all flustered from that smile because MY HEART so I didn’t even think to protest until he was already leaving again! Noo! My Lan Zhan Withdrawal wasn’t done yet! But he was only calling for the others to come join us so we could start dinner. Everyone filed in and Lan Zhan sat next to me before anyone else could.

I tried not to think too much into it at the time but now…. I wonder…

Anyway.

Dinner was amazing. Like think of your favorite holiday food. Okay you got it? It was there. I guarantee it. Like dear god.

And DELICIOUS

And and Lan Zhan had brought me some Emperor’s Smile that was nice and chilled and delicious.

Somehow…

Okay I know, alright. I KNOW! But like

The taste of that wine… makes me think of him. Of that kiss.

He doesn’t taste like wine but something… So clean and clear and refreshing. Mellow but still strong. Just….

Stop thinking about his LIPS

Okay moving on.

(How many times do I say moving on? I should make a tally.)

MOVING ON.

Dinner=amazing.

And right when we were ready to burst from eating and eating and eating…..

Dessert

ACTIVATE SECOND STOMACH! DEPLOY!

Guys… Guys I ate so much food. I’m pretty sure they had to roll me out of the chair.

Oh… wait… no that actually happened. But mostly for the kids I swear.

I was whining to Lan Zhan that he was gonna have to roll me to the next room (to which he, of course, responded that he would simply carry me instead. Ugh this man) and Jin Ling called me silly and said I should walk. And A-Yuan, who is apparently much too used to my antics, laughed and agreed in a kinda… idk… DO IT kinda way? So I slid to the floor (I know gross but whatever. The things we do for our children) and rolled away from the table.

Worked though. Both kids started to shriek with laughter, even though A-Ling was trying his best to sound like Jiang Cheng to tell me to get off the floor because it’s dirty. I rolled about 8 feet before Lan Zhan just deadlifted me into his arms and hauled me into the next room.

Which made me explode and the children laugh even harder.

This. MAN. How am I expected to survive living with this man when HE KEEPS PULLING THIS SHIT!?!?!?!?!?!

I covered my face to hide how red it was and to avoid looking at everyone’s faces. Because I know they all know. Like they are very obvious about how obvious I must be. Like I’m hopeless. Completely and hopelessly in love with Lan Zhan and they all fucking KNOW it and they ALWAYS GIVE ME THESE LOOKS WHEN I’M WITHIN 10 FEET OF THE MAN AND LIKE I GET IT OKAY I KNOW I’M AN IDIOT BUT APPARENTLY /HE/ DOES NOT KNOW THAT I FEEL THIS WAY AND I DO NOT WANT HIM TO FIND OUT BECAUSE YOU GUYS KEEP GIVING ME THESE FUCKING LOOKS EVERY TIME HE BREATHES IN MY DIRECTION LIKE OKAY I GET IT I KNOW OMG

…………

YES NIE HUAISANG I AM TALKING TO YOU

………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Anywaymovingon*lolseewhatididthere?*

He plopped me very gently on the couch and sat next to me. Immediately the part of my lap that was not taken up by my over-stuffed stomach, was filled by my nephew. Lan Zhan got to deal with a very excited, but very polite A-Yuan asking very kindly if he could sit on his lap. (To which of course Lan Zhan just picked him up and placed him there. A-Yuan looked so delighted.)

I finally chanced a look at the rest of the group who quickly pretended they hadn’t been giggling at us and staring the entire time.

They shuffled around, talking about if we wanted to do games or presents first.

Presents???? PRESEN-- NO ONE HAD TOLD ME THERE WERE FUCKING PRESENTS. I HADN’T GOTTEN ANYONE ANYTHING!!!!!!! FUCK FUCK FUCK

So I start whispering frantically to Lan Zhan asking him if he knew about it and trying very valiantly not to swear since WE HAD LAPS FULL OF CHILDRENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN AND THE LAST THING I NEED IS FOR THEM TO TELL THE REST OF THE FAMILY THAT UNCLE XIAN TAUGHT THEM THE WORD FUCK. ugh.

Lan Zhan apparently knew about it the entire time.

I couldn’t get into it too much because kids. But uuuuuuuuuugh.

WELL everyone decided that we’d do presents later so that it was easier to keep track of everything

Of course that means more time for me to freak out. Because what else am I good at but freaking out?

Instead they brought out the games. I finally got a look around at the actual room when the children leaped off of my lap to go play some of the games that were being set up. A-Ling decided it was time to latch himself to his father since his mother was kicking Wen Qing’s ass at pool (well she would have been kicking her ass if she wasn’t 6 months pregnant. As such they were pretty evenly matched.)

There was a section with toys and board games where DaGe and Lan Xichen started to set things up to see if they could entice the kids to play with them. A-Yuan was won over first which was enough to convince A-Ling to beg his dad to play with them over there.

Not that he had to beg much. Jin ZiXuan would do anything for that boy. Spoils him rotten. But in a loving way.

So I saw the 5 of them sit down for…. Shoots and ladders? I think? DaGe looked at those kids with pure adoration. Same way he looks at Busu back at the bunny cafe. Guess he has a soft spot for small cute things.

Can’t blame him.

Wen Ning and Nie Huaisang were off in a corner by one of the large TV’s playing some game or another. I’m… what was it… Gang Beasts or something? I don’t know. You pick the other guy up and try to yeet him off the stage. I don’t know. Apparently it’s a bit older of a game now but Wen Ning really loves it. (Surprisingly enough for such a meek guy, he is RUTHLESS when it comes to chucking Gumby-lookin fuckers off a plane. Who knew?) Jiang Cheng took a turn but sucked at it so he stomped off to play with the kids instead.

Gamby and Aunty Yi were off that way too watching a movie on another screen with MianMian and Qin Su watching something else on yet another TV. (seriously how many screens???) And Uncle Four was kinda staring between that, the game, and the yule log TV, nursing a bottle of his famous fruit wine. Brews it himself and it will FUCK you up.

I… okay so… I’m slow. But like I noticed finally that the Yule log-- You know that station that just plays christmas music and is just a fire? Like they… Okay it was mute. So it was just the fire. And they put it in front of the actual fire place. That would normally have been lit.

They.. it was for me. I could tell. Because Nie Huaisang glanced at me then and the look… You don’t get to see him looking soft too often. But.. Thank you Nie Huaisang. For that. For protecting me.

They put in a fake fire so that I could feel comfortable.

I turned to Lan Zhan then to ask him what he wanted to do only to find him… he was just watching me. He was so close…

I freaked a little and asked him if he wanted to play a game. Any game. Just any game at all. Please just pick a damn game omg a;dlkfja;sdkj he was so close.

We ended up… somehow playing darts? Sort of.

He’d never played darts so I ended up having to talk him through it. Then promptly kicked his ass because my aim is perfect and he was lucky to hit the damn board.

I helped him get better though because he’s really a very good student. And uh… well.. Um… He …

OKAY THE CLICHE IS REAL AND I HELD HIS HAND AND STOOD BEHIND HIM TO CORRECT HIS FORM OKAY AND IT IS CHEESY AND STUPID AND I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT OKAY.

I KNOW. A;LSKDFJ;DJ

But it did actually help. By the end of it he was doing pretty good I’d say!

Eventually he switched out with Lan Xichen so that he could ‘show us how it’s done’ and that turned into quite the competition. Lan Xichen gave me a run for my money that’s for sure.

Somehow everyone sorta ended up watching. To be fair we were moving pretty fast.

Liek AIM THROW THWP POINTS!

At one point DaGe started suggesting different trick shots which made it harder. Didn’t last long after that because we decided it was better to not put a bunch of little holes all over the wall because Lan arm strength is apparently genetic and INSANE soooo that ended that.

After that, since we’d all gathered again anyway, apparently it was time for presents. Which I had actually forgotten about.

I pulled Lan Zhan aside as everyone else started setting up to ask him about it and why I hadn’t heard about this??? I didn’t HAVE presents for anyone! Like fuck!

He told me that he’d put my name on the presents he’d given anyway. Like there was a ‘draw from a hat’ business secret santa kind of thing? And I was not included.

I’m… I’m really a bit… I don’t know…

They… Like I know I’d been through a lot lately and… well I guess I haven’t been in the best state for a couple of months by then… but they could have asked me.. I mean I’m not THAT poor all things considered. I don’t have an apartment and I had to buy a lot of new stuff, yeah but Lan Zhan isn’t charging me rent and actually bought a lot of it for me whether I wanted him to or not. So Like… I could have afforded a present.

It’s that… that pity feeling that I talked about before. I felt like I was being pitied. And I hate it.

Lan Zhan told me it wasn’t like that. It wasn’t pity to help take care of someone who is going through shit. It’s caring.

And I guess… but still…

He touched my cheek then, cupped it with his hand.

“I do not pity you. I worry. And I care. But that’s not pity,” he said. “We want to take care of you sometimes. Please let us?”

Of course what can I say to that? Nothing. Gah. For a man who doesn’t speak much he sure knows how to talk me into a corner.

I was still trying to formulate a response when I started to notice there was a lot of… snickering going on.

I looked around and everyone quickly looked away, pretending they weren’t laughing. But I could see them all hiding grins. I looked at Lan Zhan who looked about as confused as I was and the snickering started again.

“Well what are you waiting for?”

SangSang…. I should murder you. I should just… Chop you up into tiny pieces and chuck you in a river.

Either that or throw a damn party for you.

I looked over at him and he was pointing up. So we looked up and….

……………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………….

Fuck you Nie Huaisang!

THERE WAS MISTLETOE ABOVE US BECAUSE CLEARLY WE WERE IN NEED OF MORE CLICHES IN MY SAPPY LOVE (OR LACK THERE OF????? MAYBE?? MAYBE NOTA.LDKFSJAL;SDKFJ ) LIFE.

I… Okay my memory is shit, so like… but I don’t remember there being anything there before. Like… I feel like I would have noticed??? I… well…

Well it is what it is.

Lan Zhan. And I. Were stuck under the mistletoe. Together. With EVERYONE watching us and snickering away. Like a damn faulty sprinkler system. CHE CHE CHE CHE CHE.

All of them. They will all pay. Revenge will come on swift wings when they least expect it!

You know what? Fuck it. I’m gonna set up DaGe and Lan Xichen purely out of spite.

But back to the problem at hand. I couldn’t avoid looking back at Lan Zhan forever. He looked about as red as I felt.

“Mistletoe….” I said intelligently.

“Mn…” was his very articulate response.

“You… we don’t have to….” I said. But he cut me off with a kiss.

A real kiss. Not a cheek kiss. Or a forehead kiss. A real proper kiss. Right on the lips.

Short but oh so sweet.

He kissed me.

HE. KISSED. ME.

;akdfj;alskdjl;sadjf;kaja;eioj;OJAD;LKFJA;SLDKFJ;Kjfda;kj;lkj

Okay. So it was just a peck. The kind you would give to a close friend in this situation. (Okay don’t yell at me I know. Like let me explain.)

My point is. I didn’t want to… read more into it than there was to read. Okay? But it…

Okay this is hard to explain.

I’m not THAT stupid. I know that you don’t always just kiss your friends. Some people do but not everyone. And Lan Zhan is NOT the type to just kiss a friend.

But there was the complication with the kiss after the fire and the tension before of the what are we??? Like I’ve known for a while- I think I mentioned it before-- I think we hit a level past… past just friends. And I wanted to believe it was romantic on both sides but I wasn’t sure. And I was scared. And I didn’t want to risk what I have just because I’m greedy. Like what we had.. It is enough even if I WANT more.

And then he kissed me under that mistletoe..

I’d kinda squashed my hope of more after the kiss. After he agreed it meant nothing. It hurt so bad that the only way I could really process it was to just repress it. (which I’m TRYING not to do but I had a lot going on. And I had to process the rest of it first). So it just kinda turned into… I don’t know… I’d lost that hope. That thought that maybe he could grow to love me. I took that hope and I shoved it behind an iron door and threw the key away into a hedge maze guarded by evil goblins. (Not cute goblins like me. Evil ones. Pointy and mean.)

But… then he kissed me under that mistletoe… and… I don’t know… did he fight off the goblins and find it in that hedge maze? Or did he just forge a new key altogether?

But he unlocked that door. And opened it even if just a crack. And he let out a sliver of hope again. A tiny sliver of real hope that rests in my heart even now. Growing.

We stared at each other until we were interrupted by everyone’s whooping and cheers. “Alright alright yeah yeah.” I chided and ushered them away.

At least A-Yuan and A-Ling were busy making grossed out faces instead of cheering. Good boys.

“What’s wrong? You don’t like kisses?” I asked them. And then I launched myself at them making the most obnoxious kissy face I could manage. Chased them around the room while everyone else settled in for presents. Caught them after a few moments and covered them in kisses. A-Yuan laughed and A-Ling pretended he was trying to get away, but I know he liked it.

Hah.

I kissed them all the way back to the couch where I sat next to Lan Zhan (who I couldn’t look at anymore). I plopped A-Yuan in his lap and just held on to A-Ling who was scrubbing his face clean of my kisses. Quite dramatically I might add. Offensive. (he got like 5 more kisses because of it.

I told him that if he kept scrubbing off my kisses I’d just have to keep replacing them. “Just ask Uncle Cheng.”

“It’s true, buddy.”

“See? It’s true!”)

“Alright! Is everyone ready?” Shijie asked once A-Ling finally submitted to his punishment kisses. The two kids sat up so fast they almost clocked both me and Lan Zhan clean on the chin. But fortunately we are both ninjas and managed to avoid braining the children.

“Presents! Presents! Presents!” they chanted. (Well A-Ling chanted and then nudged A-Yuan until he joined in).

It started off harmless enough. They started bringing stuff over to me and Lan Zhan which makes sense. Let the kids go first, right? And they’d clearly need more than everyone else.

Except… They weren’t all for the kids. And they kept bringing them over. Until there was a pile of every single present gathered beside me and at my feet.

The kids each got a couple but the rest of them. They were small but they were all clearly labeled.

“Wei Ying. Wei Ying. Wei Ying.”

Every one of them.

I looked over at Lan Zhan to decide if I needed to yell at him some more but he looked just as flabbergasted as I did. So clearly he wasn’t in on it.

Everyone else…. Lan Zhan was right. It wasn’t pity in their eyes. The way they were looking at me. It was love.

I let the kids open their gifts first so I had a moment to collect myself. They tore the paper like wild animals and squealed in delight at each new toy.

A-Yuan’s favorite was the little toy butterfly that Lan Zhan got him (with my name on the gift to give me credit I didn’t deserve). He hugged us both, and then went off to play with A-Ling with the blasters they both got.

I did relish the look of pain on Jin ZiXuan’s face as he realized he was going to listen to those blasting noises and beeps and whistles for the next 2 months until A-Ling finally got bored. Very satisfying.

But the… Well I couldn’t avoid it anymore. I had to open my own gifts.

“Start with this one, please,” Gamby said, holding out the largest of the pile.

I… when I opened it…

Would you blame me if I cried?

The.. the photo album that I’d gotten for my birthday. It burned in the fire. And… I didn’t… I didn’t want to admit it but it crushed me. Of all the possessions I lost… that one…

But they replaced it! They got me a new book. All the photos were there. Not the originals, but they’d made copies of every photo they’d taken because they still wanted their own copies of them too. (Apparently the originals had all gone into my book which is still a shame. But the image is more important than the paper.)

Every single gift was related to that book. Gamby and Aunty Yi gave me the new book. All the photos from the original were there. But then every single gift from the others were new pages with new photos. Ones that hadn’t been included before and then lots from my birthday. Pictures of everyone and of me and just… The last page was a large copy of the picture we’d all taken at the photo booth. It filled the whole page.

And then letters. From everyone. Letters of love. Stories and memories. To me. Even Jin ZiXuan wrote a letter. Admittedly short but still there. (He mentioned in the letter that he wasn’t sure he needed to write me one of his own since technically he’s the one who did the writing for A-Ling’s letter but figured it would annoy me so fuck it.)

That dick. Do I have to like him now? Uuugh I don’t want to like him. :(

I had to give the book to Lan Zhan so that I wouldn’t cry on it.

Shijie came and hugged me, letting me cry without judgement like she always does. And then I felt Lan Zhan’s arms join hers. And then I was drowning in arms.

I’m…. I’m not used to being the focus like this. Not in this way. It’s different when I’m the one drawing attention to myself. But when it’s just… everyone. Everyone I love just freely giving me their love back just…

I don’t really know how to handle it.

But… at the same time…

I’ve never felt so loved. So wanted. And Lan Zhan really is right. It’s not pity. It really really isn’t. And I don’t think I’ve ever… Ever really let myself experience it that way.

Eventually I told them through my stuffed nose that that was enough and that I still needed to breathe please. They all laughed and let me go finally. I didn’t really want them too, but I do also like my friend oxygen.

They all gave me one last squeeze or pat and went off to do their own thing again. Playing games and watching things.

Letting me gather myself back together again.

I looked over at Lan Zhan and told him I’d be back in a minute. I got up to just… I don’t know… take a walk. It was… it wasn’t too much but nearly. But not in an unwelcome way. It was pushing my boundaries, but they were boundaries that needed to be pushed.

I know I deserve love. It’s hard to remember it a lot of the time though and sometimes you have to force feed it to me. And… And it’s good. Great even.

But a bit overwhelming.

I walked through the house idly for a bit. Probably going where guests weren’t supposed to go but whatever.

I must have been gone longer than I thought though because eventually Lan Zhan came to find me. To check on me and make sure I was okay.

“Was it too much?” he asked. I shook my head and said yes at the same time which made him laugh a little.

I shuffled over to him and put my forehead against his chest with a soft sigh.

“It’s not too much,” I said as he obligingly slid his arms around me. “It’s just…. Too much… you know?”

He hummed in understanding and miraculously I think he did understand. Because let’s be real, that was nonsense.

Then he pulled away and took my hand (very gently because they were still raw).

“Follow me,” he said in that rich honey voice of his. (Yes Lan Zhan. I will follow you. I will follow you anywhere. Into the very gates of hell.)

Can you blame me if I laced our hands together? He let me anyway. And didn’t pull away so nyah.

I had no idea where he was taking me but.. Well I’ve said it before that I trust him implicitly. With everything. With my very soul.

Turns out. Nie Huaisang. Has an in home movie theater. Like. A legit movie theater. With those comfy squishy seats and the giant projector and like….

HUAISANG HOW HAVE YOU NEVER TAKEN ME INTO THIS ROOM? APPARENTLY YOU’VE TAKEN LAN ZHAN BECAUSE HE KNEW WHERE EVERYTHING WAS AND SET UP THE PROJECTOR AND POPPED IN A MOVIE AND LIKE FUCK YOU HUAISANG I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS. ;3;

Lan Zhan had me sit down while he set everything up, then pulled up the arm rest between us and sat down before just… pulling me to lean against him.

I mean I wasn’t gonna complain. *v*

So we watched a movie together. Honestly… Honestly I couldn’t even tell you what movie it was. His arm was around me, tracing patterns into my shoulder. And he let me hold his hand again. I remember running my thumb up and down the back of his. And the smell of him. And the sound of his heart beat and the feeling of his breath slowly shifting me up and down.

About half way through the movie he shifted though, making me sit up. I looked at him to pout, but stopped because he was very decidedly NOT looking at me.

“I have… something for you…” he said softly. Before I could tell him he, of all people, didn't need to get me anything, especially after all he’s already given me, he pulled a small box out of his pocket.

“I didn’t want to give it to you… in front of everyone.” -after the mistletoe incident- was left unsaid.

I took the box. Trying to let myself accept things. Let myself be loved.

It was just a small blue box with a white cloud-patterned ribbon (that I still have shh. It was cute). I pulled the ribbon and opened the lid of the little blue box to find…

Okay it was small and simple but this.. Perfect earring. It’s just a red stone dangling on a black chain. Small. Simple. Perfect.

I stared at it long enough that I probably made him nervous. Trying to get myself to just say thank you. To just accept it.

Eventually I managed. “... help me put it in?”

My hands were still a bit stiff and fumbly (which sucked because I haven’t been able to paint much lately because of it). But even so it was an excuse for him to touch me more. To feel his hands brushing my neck and jaw. For him to be closer to me.

He obliged me and put it in. I.. Maybe it was just because it was dark, but that sliver of rekindled hope in me really wants to believe that he took his time with it. That he wanted that excuse to touch me too.

Hope is dangerous but…. I can’t help it. I’m hoping.

“Merry Christmas, Wei Ying,” he said softly when he finally pulled away.

I looked over at him and smiled. He smiled back.

“Merry Christmas, Lan Zhan.”

Something… in that moment. I was going to kiss him. There just was no other option. The moment. The hope. The memory. The feel of his skin. It all culminated into one truth.

I was going to kiss him.

Except.

I WAS COCKBLOCKED BY ADORABLE TODDLERS WHO I CAN’T EVEN BE MAD AT BECAUSE THEY’RE ADORABLE.

Apparently when we didn’t come back the kids decided that we got lost. And they snuck out to find us. They were so excited to rescue us that it took them a minute to realize we were in a giant movie room. After that they were about as excited as I was. (What does that say about me? Am I just a giant child?.... Hey wait a minute the only ones who got any gifts were me and the kids. I AM A GIANT CHILD. Fuck . T_T)

Once they got over their initial hyper excitement about the theater, we coaxed them into watching the movie with us. Lan Zhan clicked some magic remote or something and it changed to a more kid-friendly movie. (I don’t understand technology. I never will.)

I texted Shijie that the kids were safe with us in the movie room so she wouldn’t worry and let A-Ling settle onto my lap.

Gotta say. I don’t bet to be his favorite very often. It’s really nice when he’s in an Uncle Xian mood. <3

A-Yuan took his place back on Lan Zhan’s lap. He was much more confident now, just glancing at Lan Zhan to make sure it was okay before he sat on him.

And… Okay I can’t even be mad that they ruined my attempt to kiss Lan Zan because this image. This painfully beautiful domestic scene….

I’ve never wanted kids so badly in my life. Kids. With Lan Zhan. Just… I wanted this. So badly.

I still do. So much I’m almost shaking with it right now.

I want… I want to be a father. With Lan Zhan. I want that for the rest of my life.

And… I knew I loved him. I knew I want to be with him. But this hit differently. This… this was an absolute forever. This was.. This was more than wanting to date Lan Zhan or live with him or… you know… stuff. This was… I want his life to be entangled with mine. To the point that the life is ours. Not his and mine. Ours.

I want that so badly.

Maybe that’s selfish. But it’s what I want.

Time slipped by while I had this little life-changing revelation and before I knew it I was covered in drool. Jin Ling had fallen asleep. And A-Yuan wasn’t far behind him on Lan Zhan’s lap. I caught Lan Zhan’s eye and we smiled.

I wonder… if he was thinking the same things I was. Is that something he’d want? With me?

Maybe, that little flame of hope dares to admit. Maybe.

It could be possible.

After a while Shijie and Wen Ning popped their heads into the room to collect the children. Jin Ling transferred over to his mother like a sack of potatoes but A-Yuan was just not having it.

“Nooooo” he whined, still half asleep and clinging desperately to Lan Zhan. “I wanna stay with Bunny-Gege and Xian-gege. D:”

He made that face too. D: Like you could feel it in your soul that D:.

And we were powerless.

“Would you like to spend the night with us if Granny says it’s okay?” Lan Zhan asked. Oh that sleepy little nod was enough to melt even Madam Yu’s heart I’d bet.

Wen Ning laughed softly and told us he’d check with her to see if she minded. After a few minutes I got a text saying “he’s all yours.”

And that’s how we temporarily adopted Wen Yuan.

DaGe offered to drive us home since we’d walked here and it was a bit too cold for a sleeping 7 year old. We thanked him and let him drive us in the tank he has the nerve to call a truck. How many miles to the gallon must that thing get? 2? Ah well. Put A-Yuan promptly back to sleep anyway so I guess whatever works. We thanked him and wished him a Merry Christmas/Happy New Year and all that jazz and went inside together. We didn’t have anything to really put A-Yuan in so I donated one of my new t-shirts for him to wear as… a nightgown I guess? Whatever it was more comfortable and he didn’t complain.

And then I stole one of Lan Zhan’s shirts to wear so we’d match. Hah.

We all ended up sharing a bed together after Lan Zhan fished out a spare toothbrush for him to brush his teeth with.

A-Yuan in the middle and Lan Zhan’s long arms around the both of us.

I don't think I’ve ever slept better.

#wei wuxian #wei ying #lan wangji #lan zhan #mo dao zu shi #wangxian #fic #Long Post #(Modern AU!)

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sohoharlem · 3 years

Text

Since I don’t know exactly how many anons are involved in this and who exactly is who, I'm posting this as a post. This is also mainly directed towards the anon who I was responding to yesterday and then deleted some asks.

DISCLAIMER: Me calling you “babe” or “angel” or “mam” is not me being sarcastic. I actually talk like this in real life lol.

Here we go.

Hey Babe, its Soho here.

Let’s start on a blank page, okay? I want to start from the beginning here. I wish there was an easier way, but this will have to do. Let’s talk about the story from the beginning. You were there so you know what happened. Let’s recap.

Let me just start off by saying that I worked up until 4:30 yesterday and I was very tired. Exhaustion leads to human error.

1) I had an ask sent to me asking about my impression that I got from Sebastian Stan after meeting him. I answered them saying he was a nice guy.

2) You (or maybe someone else, there are multiples in this situation) quoted the anon in your ask and said

“Meeting him one time isn’t gonna prove that he’s a good person. His actions since last year show what kind of person he is, and it’s not good.”

Can I first of all say say I COMPLETELY agree with this statement?

3) Because of my long day, I accidentally thought that response that you wrote was in response to me MEETING him to which I said:

“I just described my experience, I know nothing else since I don’t know him personally lol”

Do you see the “lol”? I wasn’t being nasty to you, and I REALLY DID think you were talking to ME. I’m sorry if you thought I was being snippy or sarcastic. I swear I wasn’t.

So you can see why I answered the way that I did. I don’t know what other way I would’ve or should’ve responded since I thought you were speaking to me, okay?

This is where it got mixed up. I don’t know if you think I was insinuating something with what I said, but I was not. I was answering thinking you were speaking to me. So I admit it, that I DID read your question wrong. But again, up until this point in time I did not know that yet. I thought you were speaking to me.

4) You quoted my above response and you said:

“I was talking to the anon. Thought that was clear.” Okay. Great. Seriously. (again, not being sarcastic or snippy)

I then responded with, “No, mam, it was not.”

Now, when I said this, I did NOT mean it in any negative way whatsoever. I call EVERYONE mam. It’s how I was raised by my mother. I was showing you respect. I’m sorry if the way I worded it sounded like I was being nasty but I was not, I can guarantee you. I even call Tri mam, you can ask her yourself. All I was saying is was that it was not clear to me. I didn’t think it was important that I needed to justify or explain further details as to why that I had a long day or add extra unnecessary words like “i’m sorry I had a long day” and I read your ask wrong. It was my fault, Okay? I then finished my response with:

“Anon to anon. Previous ask” letting the other anon know you were speaking to them. I respected that you were talking to them.

I saw absolutely no issue in the conversation you two were having.

It was what came afterwards that had me confused as shit.

After all this went down is when I started getting asks calling our FAQ page “dumb” and calling me “a fool” because I disagreed with you (or you guys). Even though I had no idea what we were disagreeing on? I deleted these because these are BULLYING comments. Okay? You also sent an ask before that saying that I was “deleting asks because it didn’t fit [my] narrative …” and you went on to talk about Sebastian and Alejandra, which I have no idea where that came from. I was very confused. I was not mad at you and I had nothing against you, babe. Absolutely nothing. I only deleted it because of the hateful words you were using. Hence my post last night reminder our readers to please refrain from certain phrasing. That’s ALL.

So two things I would like to settle with you first. I want to settle this and lay a solid ground for me and you.

I understand why you sent those asks if I look at the situation from your POV. There was obviously a misconception and misunderstanding. Like Tri said, tone can be interpreted different on the internet. We read something and it can sound totally different than how someone intended it. Now this is me taking fault: When I responded to your ask yesterday, and you were talking to the anon, I read it completely wrong and thought you were speaking to me. Even then, I did not, I repeat I DID NOT, mean anything double meaning with what I said. I’m a face value girl, there is no secret meaning to my words. I’m not a bitch. I did think you were speaking to me, anon. I had a long day at work and was extremely tired and read your ask wrong. Human error. When I wrote both my responses to you, I was not saying it in a sarcastic way, or a rude way. I swear I was being polite to you. You read it in a tone that was completely different that what I wrote it in. I wrote them with a smile on my face. You misinterpreted my tone and words. I did not write them in a tone or with a double meaning. I sincerely apologize for the misunderstand we had and hope we can move on from the fiasco.

I would like to address when you (again, or you guys, I don’t know how many people I’m talking to here and don’t want to offend any of you) started mentioning Sebastian and Alejandra and this double Narrative thing, I only deleted it because there was a certain word in there that I did not appreciate.

But you know what? I’m going to do you a favor tonight. This is for you, okay? So we can put all this behind us. I did delete your ask, but I screenshot it before I did so, because I was going to use it in a next post with others that came in and answer them as a group. This one of the ones that I felt was okay to post. So I’m going to quote your ask that I deleted below and I’m going to answer it for you. Okay?

Again, this is me showing you that I want peace and a truce.

Your ask that I deleted and should’ve answered straight away. This is also to prove we do NOT stick to a narrative:

“Odds are you deleted that ask because it doesn’t fit your narrative. It’s clear that you guys excuse Sebastian’s actions time and time again with your apologist attitudes, whether it be excusing his hypocrisy or excusing this situation because it’s a PR relationship and Alejandra is the culprit. Stop with the misogyny. This is the 21st century.”

My answer to you:

First of all,

When me and Tri made this blog, we vowed to never follow one narrative. This is a place where people with multiple opinions can come on and discuss without the fear of feeling judged. Second, Me and Tri do NOT excuse Sebastian’s actions at all. We DO NOT approve his traveling during the pandemic nor the scandals he has been involved with the last year or so. It’s why we cut back majorly from his fandom. We DO NOT excuse anything he’s done. He’s a grown man. He knows what he’s doing. He is not being forced and he should not be babied. When I answered my above ask when I said “He did not seem like a bad person when I met him. He’s very kind and shows respect” it was because someone asked me about my experience from meeting him in person for a few minutes, they were not asking how I felt about him NOW or about his traveling or the race issues and all that stuff. I absolutely do not excuse his behavior. Again, he’s a grown man. He knows what he’s doing. He’s not being forced into anything. Right? Right.

Look, the point is, wording your question the correct way is KEY. You might come to learn that we, me and you, have more in common than you think.

Please take this as a truce. I’d be more than happy to address any other doubts you may have.

And to other anons who I deleted your asks, I’ll be taking a different approach instead of deleting them right away. If I get anything I feel reluctant to post, I will make a comment on here first as to why it’s being evaluated. Okay?

Love you all so much. And I'm sorry for this misconception.

Thanks,

- SH

#post

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xoluvx · 5 years

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try - th x reader *submission*

Alright friends, so this is something that a friend submitted to my blog for me to share with you. I told her this is freaking amazing and she needed to share it on her blog, but alas she’s just too shy.

AGAIN THIS IS NOT MY WORK !!

But still enjoy & encourage her to keep writing 💖

@terrifictomholland *idk why her blog isn’t tagging*

Do you ever wonder how you get dragged into things?

Yeah, so do I. Today is one of those days.Your famous boyfriend Tom had been asked to do a video for the YouTube channel TRY, and since you couldn’t say no to him, you’d somehow ended up in the video with him. Taste-testing different types of disgusting drinks.

Tom was genuinely stoked about doing this, you? Not so much, you’d never really been in any kind of video, so your nerves were already shot to hell. On top of which, you would be drinking. Who knew what would happen?

You had recently gone public with your relationship with Tom. You two spoke early on that you wanted to build a strong and reliable relationship before going public, and now that you had that, you both felt the time was right.

So here you were, nervous as hell about your clothes, were they appropriate? How was your makeup and hair, did it look okay? Tom sensed something wasn’t right so he looked over at you,

“You okay babe?” he asked quietly, placing his hand on your thigh, giving it a comforting squeeze. You met his gaze and nodded,

“Yeah I’m good, just a bit nervous,” you shrugged and he smiled. “It’s gonna be fine, love, you look gorgeous and people will eat this shit up,” he said cockily and so you slapped his arm getting the reaction he wanted from you, knowing you were relaxing more.

“How about a shot of..whatever we’re drinking before we start?” he smirked, “Absolutely not!” you scoffed and he laughed heartily before leaning over giving you a kiss, you couldn’t help but melting in his kiss, as you always did and he smiled against your lips knowing fully well the effect he had on you.

The two of you got a few more moments to yourselves, then before you knew it you and Tom had gone around and introduced yourself to everyone in the crew behind the scenes and you were mic'ed up and seated in front of the lights and cameras.

You felt Tom’s hand on your thigh again, just resting there comfortingly and you remembered his words, keeping you calm as he began speaking.

“Hi I’m Tom Holland and this right here is my gorgeous girlfriend Y/N L/N and we’re here today, trying various different disgusting drinks for your amusement!” he smiled and you giggled, “What could possibly go wrong?” you ask sarcastically with a grin and Tom laughs.

“Well, let’s get cracking then! Bring the first one in!” Tom says and sure enough, the first drink comes in. What the fuck? You look up at the crew behind the cameras seeing them snicker to themselves. “Are we allowed to curse here?” you ask them seeing them nod.

“What the fuck? What is this?” you exclaim in disgust. It looked like tea made out of beer, milky-like with beer froth on top. You sniffed it and the smell of it made you almost gag.

“What is this?” Tom asked with a nervous laugh at your reaction, looking at the drink skeptically. “It’s Horse Jizz,” the producer said, which was all you and Tom needed before you burst out laughing at the name.

“Well…bottoms up babe,” he said and you regretfully clinked your glass with his. You both took a careful sip and as soon as you swallowed it, it was coming right back up.

“Oh hell no,” Tom coughed and you gagged a bit. “That’s so rank!” You exclaimed reaching for your glass of water,

“What is that?” Tom asked looking up at the crew who were dying from laughter.

“It’s milk and beer,” they said and you just shook your head, “One of the worst things I have ever in my life tried, and this is just the first drink yeah?” you asked with a whine, glancing at the crew seeing them nod.

You looked over at Tom who shook his head with a grin, “Well, let’s hope for lots of booze, maybe then it’s not gonna taste as bad,” he laughed and you did too just as the next drink was brought in.

It looked harmless enough, based on looks alone. It was in a simple shot glass with clear liquid at the top and almost a whiskey colour at the bottom. “This looks harmless,” Tom said as if he had read your mind and you nodded, having a smell of it. “It’s not harmless!” You said as you began coughing. It was quite pungent and you didn’t really fancy trying it now anymore.

“My god, this is gonna be fun isn’t it?” Tom grinned taking his shot glass, waiting for you to do the same before clinking your glasses together, downing it in one go. Tom gagged this time and you coughed your lungs up. “That’s fucking disgusting!” Tom exclaimed once he regained control of himself and you were just laughing at him now. “This is an amazing idea for a video,” you managed to get out in between giggles.

“What was that?” he asked and you wanted to know too, you knew the taste very well but you couldn’t quite place it.

“Rum and Worcestershire sauce,” you both wrinkled your noses at that, “It tasted like arse,” you bluntly said making everyone double over from laughter. “Your commentary today is on point babe,” Tom laughed and you did too now, “I’m not drunk before anyone says anything! I’d just like to point out,” you added with a raised finger because you had a feeling the comments would be saying so later.

“She’s not. I’ve only ever seen her really, really pissed about 3 times. One of those times were with my family,” Tom helpfully added and you sent him a death glare, “Yeah well, Tom was no better that night either!” you retorted and he went crimson, but the producer was interested now, “Well what happened?” he prodded and you glanced at Tom seeing his pleading look, but a grin no less so you knew he was okay with you telling them a story.

“To tell this story you need some context to this alright, my family comes from Sweden and we have a holiday called Midsummer which is basically just an excuse to spend the day with your family and drinking, all day. We did this, particularly the drinking. And a lot of schnaps,” you started and Tom interrupted, “those schnaps were moonshine in disguise. I’ve never felt as poorly as I did the next day. Fuck me,” he groaned as he remembered,

“I won’t deny nor confirm that it was or wasn’t moonshine,” you grinned. It was, his whole family, beside Paddy, had drunk it.

“Anyway, Tom found a bike, Paddy’s bike to be exact, and as you know Tom is a bit bigger than Padster. So off he goes, biking around the house, all of us laughing as he’s showing off right? Well, what he didn’t see was the drain pipe hiding in the grass. So he goes right over, and it sends him right over the steering wheel of the bike and he flips over somehow, landing on the grass, nearly wetting himself laughing. I swear neither one of us has ever laughed as much as we did then,” you giggle even thinking about his epic biking adventure. Tom groaned and hid his face in his hands, undoubtedly going beet red right now. “You’re the worst girlfriend ever,” he muttered and you just giggled even more, leaning up to kiss his cheek.

“Did you get injured, Tom?” the camera guy asks and Tom shook his head, “No, I wasn’t. My ego got bruised but that’s about it” he smiled glancing over at you, quickly pecking you on the lips. Now, it was your turn to blush, you hadn’t expected Tom to kiss you in the video, not that you were complaining, but pda wasn’t something he was a big fan of.

“Aw, look at the lovebirds,” the producer teased making both you and Tom blush. “Oh shut up,” Tom grinned kissing your temple.

“You ready for the second last drink?” the producer asked after a little while, breaking the little moment you and Tom had, and you both looked over and nodded.

Another shot glass was sent your way, looking like curdled Bailey’s. Immediately you were skeptical of this particular shot, “What even is this?” Tom wondered staring at it just as horrified as you were.

“Cement mixer,” the producer told you, which honestly? Didn’t tell you very much as to what it was.

“It doesn’t tell me anything, beside how horrifying it will taste when it has the word cement in it,” you shudder, picking up the vile drink, seeing Tom do the same as you,

“Cheers honey,” you said knocking the shot back and immediately you started retching once you managed to get it down. “Do you need the bin, babe?” Tom asked concerned, rubbing your back, not looking much better himself. You shook your head no with a hand you held up at your face, closing your eyes for a moment to collect yourself.

“That was by far the worst one, it’s like curdled Baileys with something sour as an aftertaste,” Tom said, doing a pretty fair description of what it was like. “That’s pretty much exactly what it was. Baileys with lime juice,” the producer said and you just shook your head.

“Awful, so fucking awful,” you moaned putting your head against Tom’s shoulder, resting it there.

“I’m so glad this next one is the last one,” Tom said to the camera and you nodded in agreement, “Although, the last one is most definitely going to be the absolute worst one,” you concluded, “Yeah you’re right, but we’ve already drank curdled Baileys and beer-milk, how bad can it really be?” Tom reasoned, you glanced at the crew seeing the looks on their faces and you laughed, “Oh look at them! The last one is by far going to be the most disgusting!” you pouted hiding your face in Tom’s shoulder and you felt him laughing, which made you smile.

Soon enough, the last drink came in, “Oh fuck no!” Tom shouted making you jump a bit and you stared at the drink in utter horror. “What the hell?” you exclaim. It was a clear liquid with something brown-ish at the bottom and pepper mixed with what looked like cream or something.

“This is the Tapeworm,” the producer told you both and you saw Tom wrinkling his nose, “the tapeworm?” he asked unimpressed and you had to stifle a giggle at the look on his face which of course he noticed. “Why are you so giggly all of a sudden?” he pouted and without thinking you leaned forward pecking him, just like he had done to you, without fail he smiled at you.

“Your reaction is absolute golden, honey,” you grinned, “but also, if I don’t laugh right now I’m gonna cry,” you added and this time it was Tom who burst out laughing, slapping his hand to his knee.

“Shall we do this then?” he asked once he calmed down, you looked at the drink in resignation and with a sigh, you nodded.

You both held it up to your faces, clinking it together, “cheers babe,” you both said and down it went. It was a taste experience like you’d never ever had before.

Normal vodka burned on the way down as is, add Tabasco sauce to that and you were doubly fucked. That however wasn’t even the worst of it. No, that was the mayonnaise at the end which was honestly so revolting. Both you and Tom had to use the bin on that last one and once you were done throwing up you chugged the glass of water you each had.

“God damn that was rank,” he shuddered and you nodded,

“The worst thing I’ve ever had in my mouth,” you agreed on, Tom got a wicked smirk on his face as he looked at the camera, “I’m the best thing you’ve had in your mouth,” he said cockily and you just gaped at him, slapping his arm, “Thomas!” you scolded him, absolutely mortified, hearing everyone around you bursting out laughing. In the end you joined in as well. “What? It’s true!” he said with an arrogant nod and you just laughed hiding your face in your hands.

“Stop it!” you laughed, “I think you should make me,” he grinned already puckering up and who were you to resist this boy anything?

#tom holland #tom holland submission #tom holland imagine #tom holland x reader #tom holland fluff #tom holland x you #tom holland x y/n

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savnofilter · 5 years

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plzz, grow up. youre always complaining about how hard you hav it when there are so much worse that could happening. starvation, illiteracy, bullying, physical abuse, etc. and youre sad bcuz you feel insecure? as a person, youre actually quite mean. people like you make me sick.

You know, if you really had your money at your words you would’ve done this off Anonymous but you’re clearly a pussy ass bitch to do so. Since you think I’m a bitch or an asshole or an asswipe (whichever you’d like to prefer), I just wanted to water your crops and respond to you in that manner. You’re welcome. I will write you an essay since you’re just an angry fan who wants attention.

1. There’s a reason why I haven’t properly stated my reasons for being like I am the way I am, but since you want to be all up in my coochie hairs, this is my business.

- losses in the family.

- stresses of school.

- responsibilities i have to take care of because I can’t just drop out because i “feel insecure”.

- wanting to reach out but my feelings and thoughts are always twisted because I am shit at words/or seen as stupid reasons to be upset.

- legit being called a rape apologist that triggered me from past experiences, sent my already deteriorating mental health into shit hole.

- being body shamed at a place that felt second home at.

- wanting to do my favourite hobby on earth but not being able to do it because I have no energy for it/not wanting to leave my followers hanging who are excited for things and not post at all (which I’ve been doing but I sincerely apologize).

2. What the fuck makes you think I have never struggled before? I am genuinely curious. Because I can write? Because I try to be nice to people on my blog? Because until now I don’t hide that yeah, I’m not in the best place? You’re such an asshole for even trying to invalidate my feelings and its happened way too many times in my life to let someone like you even attempt to do it. Maybe you’re attacking me because I am young. Maybe you’re attacking me because you need to blow off some steam.

I legit don’t know what your reason is, but YOU need to grow up LMAO like your ass in ANONYMOUS right now kik like whaaaaaat. My cock isn’t yours so hop off it okay? Never called you my slut but you all up in my pussy boy.

3. Also to further my point in bullet one, why is it that I can’t feel insecure? It’s not like I wake up with a mental breakdown not feeling myself on purpose. It’s not like I wake up and go “okay what can I be depressed about today” – because quite frankly if I had the choice guess what? I wouldn’t choose it lmao.

Just like many artists like Billie Eilish, what’s wrong with admitting that you aren’t okay? Like how is that immature? The first step to the healing process is to know the issue, second step is finding out the root of the problem. Since I know myself, me saying that is basically a forewarning like “my emotions are fucked up at the moment, so I might be an asshole because what the fuck are feelings?”.

And you know what? When you’re often a second choice, or someone shows absolute affection towards you and makes it seem you’re the only one then they do it to everyone else then yeah it does get to you. But from what I’ve read, you’re too much of a pretentious bitch to have ever experienced that and people probably bend to everything you say and that is why you don’t like me. I don’t act the way you want me to. And you were probably the one all up in my inbox asking me age like a creepy bitch like that is none of your flip flacking fucking business (apologies if the anon who asked that isn’t, its weird. dont do it lol).

4. Yeah I make you sick? I’m mean? Since you have not provided any statements nor receipts for me too refute, yeah everyone can be a bitch. I mean just look at you sugar. Anyways, I will be showing the pros and cons of talking to me, so you know, people like you,,, don’t,,,,, get,,,,,, sick,,,,,,,,

pros:

I am nice - unlike popular belief or your opinion and no, not to be cliche. yeah sometimes when i talk its like “… why the fuck would you say that?” because sometimes I just don’t know. So it’s better to tell someone then I’m sitting here like

after it hits the fan.

I am very supportive - bro, you having a hard time? Hold up where is the remaining of my happy energy to give to you! You need a heart meme? Writing piece? Like I got you. Feel like your stuff isn’t worth it? You don’t feel worth it? I got you. Like no cap.

Loyal - you give me the same energy, I vibe it back to you love. That’s all. You shower me in love, I shower you in love. You never forget me or always talk to me, I do the same. It’s how you do it babe.

cons:

there’s a reason why my blog name is “savnofilter” - and imma explain it good. Well here’s a backstory ain’t nobody asked for so here it is.

So in 7th grade, moved to my new town I live in – shit at first kinda alright now. We had this assignment in our poetry unit, and that was to get the class divided and have a rap battle and whoever won I don’t fucking know got extra credit or some shit (my brain is old at this point, can’t remember shit lol). So in this assignment, we had to make, a rapper name. And I wanted it to be cringey (yes, that was the vocabulary used-). I had to think long and hard because mane I ain’t ever thought of shit like that until my friend was like, “hey, why don’t you go with savage because you say wild things and don’t care” and I was like,,,,, oh shit mane, U RIGHT. Then I was like, that isn’t enough. I need more, more flare. So I dozed off then sat up like “oKAY A CONCEPT THO, HOW ABOUT NO FILTER?! SAvage… No Filter? Saying it out loud sounds like absolute rubbish.” So I had to think again, what name clicks?

I had already locked in that I have no filter because I don’t give a fuck, so whats next?Sav[redacted]nofilter (blurred because you’d be able to find me somewhere NOT related to writing LMAO). So yeah, because I’m a savage. I genuinely do not care what I am saying. And no, not in a way that I’m saying something insensitive and going “its mah trademark!” its because I don’t care. I’m a savage with no filter.

If you piss me off or ignore what I’ve said or belittled me – whatever I will not hold back! period! - I dont have much explaining for that but there it is. take it how you will.

I am piss poor shit at words - I know plenty of you will read this and be like “but u write? 👁️👄👁️”. So you guys know those people who need like a puppet to speak properly, or sing so they don’t stutter? That’s basically me. If it’s not an actual work or anything I can’t comprehendddddd. Then again I’ve learned to just hold on my feelings since I use to be a crybaby and such. I just horde my feelings until they get worse, like now. I’ve now just realized this so I’ll be talking with my therapist into easing me into sharing how I feel. Which furthers my next point -

I have constipated feelings - so, you can say, that my feelings a shit (y'all saw what I did there LMAOOOOO).

I vibe with how you vibe with me - pro if you do it right, con if you do it wrong. My mum has always said that I tap into peoples energies too much, but its because I like helping people, I like helping people feel secure and everything is alright but it backfires when someone isn’t giving me the same energy.

At this point, I’m not mad anymore. I know who wrote this anyways by the end of this so I apologize for my language earlier ;;. If you truly wanted to speak with me, I would’ve appreciated it lol. I’m just hurt you chose to do it in such a destructive manner, even including someone else in it as well.

oh oh!! yes, i get vague visions of who be all up in my inbox so theres that. thisll be last time i take anyone serious on anon, so future anons you can cuss em out if youd like lol.

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snarkwriteswrasslin · 4 years

Text

FFT: babes in toyland; adam page

Notes:

originally sent to me by @vonschweetz on snarkandsarcasmwrites which is about to become my personal blog + main, I thought I’d just move this here onto it’s own post. Part 1 of a 3 part mini fic thing.

Summary:

Grace has a huge crush.. No, the hugest crush on Adam. Who is... going through things. Grace gets tipsy and winds up needing to go replace lost luggage. A trip to a sex toy shop -among other places, is made. Part 1 of 3.

Pairing:

Adam Hangman Page x OFC, Grace

Warnings:

uhh... mentions of toys, innuendo, awkward flirting and alcohol tw.

“I just feel so bad. Like, he’s obviously going through it and it seems like none of his so-called friends give a shit?” Grace stated as she caught herself staring in Hangman’s direction again. As soon as she saw him heading for the hotel bar all alone, she sighed.

“Don’t just sit here, go do something! Hey, look.. If I finally got the nerve to go for it with JB, you totally can. And you’re right. Adam is a nice guy. He does not deserve the shit that Kenny and the Bucks are putting him through.” Aurora spoke up from beside her, giving Grace a gentle nudge to her side, nodding in the direction of the bar.

Grace eyed the bar and shook her head quickly. One, people who’d been drinking kind of lowkey scared her a little and two, somehow she highly doubted Adam wanted the likes of her, popping up yet again. No matter how nice she tried to be lately, it was almost like it didn’t register with him or something. And heaven forbid I try to flirt, she found herself lamenting internally, because if he’s not picking up on me trying to be friends then he’d definitely not picking up on me trying to subtly flirt now and then. Another sigh left her lips and she tried to take her focus off the bar Adam had just wandered into and turn it elsewhere, but she kind of couldn’t.

She had a 3-hour layover that was probably going to be filled with nothing but worry now because the man she secretly loved was sitting in the hotel bar. Alone. On Valentine’s Day, at that.

“Grace, what’s so different about Adam, huh? You’re usually not one to let someone get to you this much.” Aurora asked a perfectly good question. It was a question Grace didn’t have the answer to, though she’d been asking herself the same thing for months now. He wasn’t the type of guy she usually fell so hard for, she normally had the absolute worst radar when it came to her and the men she chose. And he was beyond out of her league in her own opinion. Galaxies beyond out of her league.

Aurora snapped her fingers in front of Grace’s face as she stood. “C’mon. I’m going to find JB and Marko. You can walk over with me. Maybe it’ll give you an excuse to get closer and at least think about going in there so that poor man isn’t left all alone on the most romantic night of the year.”

“Right, because that’s gonna be such an easy thing. Just go for it.” Grace pouted and stood, grabbing her one remaining bag. “I guess I could hail a cab and go to that shopping center nearby. I mean… The airline has yet to find my suitcase and I’m sick of wearing the same 4 articles of clothing.”

Aurora groaned and palmed her forehead dramatically while shaking her head at Grace’s stubbornly continuing to put off something that she obviously wanted to do more than she’d ever wanted to do anything. She really didn’t see why Grace didn’t just go for it.

Then again, Aurora reminded herself, not everyone is like me. Grace has always been a little bit quieter and it takes a little longer for her to really open up.

As soon as she caught sight of her boyfriend Jungle Boy, she ran towards him, climbing him like a tree, full on squealing and taking his face in her hands to kiss him. It made him laugh as he kissed her back. He nodded in the direction of Grace, a new hire and apparently, Aurora’s old friend from high school. “Did you talk to her yet?”

“I mean, I tried but as usual she dug in her heels over approaching him, why baby?” Aurora asked, snuggling herself against JB, her arms around his neck.

JB smirked as he pulled back a little to see her better as he spoke. “Because maybe when I sat behind him on the plane earlier, I saw him scrolling through her Instagram. Over and over and over. I think if anybody is gonna make him feel better right now Bubbles, it’s gonna be her.”

“So you think he likes her?”

“Pretty sure he does, actually. Marko pointed out that he’s always kind of… watching her.” JB shrugged as Aurora climbed down out of his arms, taking his hand instead.

–

Grace found herself ducking away as soon as Aurora was reunited with Jungle Boy. Before she realized what she was doing, she was standing in front of the doors leading into the bar and she took a deep breath.

“Nope, nah. I can’t do it.. But maybe.. I mean I could go in and have one drink, just to take the edge off of potentially flying out tonight.” and taking yet another shaky but deep breath, Grace wandered into the bar, wandering up to the bartender.

She didn’t even realize she was actually standing right next to the stool Adam was currently sitting on, tossing back drinks until he eyed her as if confused. “Didn’t know you drank.”

“I..”

Adam raised a brow. Her entire face was turning a soft shade of pink beneath her makeup and he found himself wondering why. He said nothing, waving over a bartender and ordering himself another drink instead. Grace’s drink came and she grabbed it, taking a long sip and grimacing as if she were going to spit it out.

Adam chuckled to himself. She was so fucking cute. All sweet and quiet. She didn’t have to do anything, he found himself smiling just a little bit if he caught sight of her backstage. She hadn’t answered his question and he’d kind of started to think she wasn’t going to.

“I hate planes, okay? I thought maybe.. I don’t know, I thought maybe taking a drink before would take the edge off, keep me from breaking the hand of whatever poor soul happened to be my seatmate.” Grace said it so fast her words stumbled out practically on top of each other and she wanted to kick herself. She wasn’t always this bad with the whole talking to people thing but there was just something about Adam that kept her… Distracted.

Her brain seemed to stop functioning properly and it annoyed her. It made her tense.

Adam cleared his throat. “Worst part is the take off and the landin, darlin.”

Grace eyed her own drink and she picked it up, practically shot-gunning it, despite that being a very, very stupid idea. The stupidity continued when she ordered another glass and did the same. And then she ordered her third glass and sipped a little, deciding to stop now before she got so sloppy she couldn’t even walk onto the flight by herself.

She felt a little light-headed already. That was enough for her, thanks. Apparently it helped erase some of those self-inflicted inhibitions of hers a little, because she found herself just sort of staring at Hangman and for once, not bothering to hide it.

Adam thought he’d be slick and steal a few glances while he drank but to his shock, he caught her mid-stare. There was this look in her eyes that had him shifting in his seat a little on sight because it made bright brown eyes almost seem to glow. He chuckled quietly, looking back down at his own drink. That was ridiculous to even think, he thought to himself, why would she be starin at me like that?

Grace swayed just the slightest and he caught hold of her, looking at her as he tried not to laugh. “You coulda just ordered a beer, darlin. Ya basically just slammed back two and a half glasses of 90 proof. That’s the fastest way t’ mess yourself up.” Adam’s words slurred softly and Grace found herself really focusing on his mouth and how much she wanted to kiss him senseless. But it’d be crazy to do that. She barely knew the guy, no thanks to her little ‘brain function problem’ where he was concerned.

She remembered that she’d been planning to go to a shopping center nearby and pick up some clothing and a few other items she needed for their next stop. She stood too fast.

Adam reached out, grabbing her when she seemed wobbly. “Where ya goin?”

“I need to go to that shopping center nearby. Airline lost my luggage.” Grace drawled, an accent she normally went above and beyond to hide coming back in spades and making Adam blink a little because it caught him off-guard.

… I could listen to her talkin all night… the thought had him shifting in his seat again and before he could stop himself, he was on his feet too, nodding to the doors. “Might be f-for the best if I come with ya, darlin.”

Grace swallowed hard but nodded. If he wanted to spend the next two hours and forty-five minutes watching her shop, she wasn’t about to stop him because she wanted him there.

“ I mean, I’m not gonna.. Stop you.” Grace muttered, that lazy drawl creeping in real heavy and making her cringe at the sound of her own thick accent as she lazily palmed at her face and giggled. “Oh noooooo.”

Adam snickered quietly. “What’s wrong?”

“ I try so hard not t’ talk like that. Then three drinks in me and it’s back!”

“You don’t drink much, do ya?” Adam tilted his head, staring down at her. He found himself stepping closer to her almost protectively. Grace shook her head and sheepishly admitted, “Not at all, actually?” as she dragged her hand through dirty blonde waves.

He shook his head, grimacing and nodding to the door of the bar. “It’s better if we get ya outta here then.”

He felt himself sobering up. Having something to do, having someone around were great distractions for all the crap going on in his head right now and honestly, he’d rather make sure Grace got all the stuff she needed for the rest of their time on the road rather than sit here, brooding over everything his so-called friends kept telling him and the way they kept acting towards him.

She leaned against him heavily and he looped an arm around her, the two of them navigating the crowd clumsily, attempting to make their way towards the floor to ceiling glass doors leading into and out of the airport. By the time they were outside and attempting to summon an Uber, Adam was feeling a lot more relaxed, even laughing a little. He wasn’t dwelling on the shit that happened earlier in the night during the tag match.

“Gotta..” Grace belched and immediately went red in the face, her hand over her mouth, frozen for a few seconds. It was the cutest damn thing he’d ever seen. He chuckled and asked with a smile, “Gotta what, darlin?”

“F-first of all. My battery operated buddy was in my suitcase. Definitely g-gotta replace that.”

He eyed her a few seconds, clueless as to what she was talking about until suddenly, it hit him. And when it did, he found himself shifting the way he stood because his mind was flooded with images and thoughts. He didn’t quite know how to respond to her just blurting it out, either. Before tonight, it was definitely not something he’d ever have thought she’d just say at random.

A crowd rushed past, heading into the airport and it pushed them closer. Adam caught hold of her hips, biting back a quiet groan by covering with a laugh as he stared down at her. “Let’s get ya in the backseat, darlin.” he helped Grace get into the seat of the Uber. Adam got in beside her and Grace sort of curled herself against him.

He never would’ve taken her for the openly affectionate type before tonight, either, but since they left the bar, it honestly seemed as if any excuse to touch him was being taken full advantage of and Adam didn’t really know what to make of it.

He happened to glance down at her and he caught her staring at him again. “What’s up, darlin?”

“You’re freaking gorgeous, holy shit.”

Adam’s mouth opened and shut and he swallowed hard. It had to be the 90 proof talking. He kept trying to tell himself that. But that look was back in her eyes and as she said it, she sort of trailed her fingertips gingerly over his bicep. He sucked in a breath and tried not to tense. The las thing he wanted right now was for Grace to think he didn’t like her touching him because the opposite was true. He wanted her to keep on doing it.

“Thanks.” he laughed quietly, telling the Uber driver where they wanted to go. As the car headed towards their destination, he slipped an arm around her over the back of the seat. To take some of that heavy lingering tension he was picking up on away, he spoke up.

“What else did ya need to get, darlin?”

Grace nearly dropped her phone and she swore under her breath, reaching to retrieve it where it settled between them. She felt her face burning hot as her fingers brushed right against thick thighs that she’d definitely fantasized about touching on more than one occasion. After two attempts and finally fishing it out from between them, she took a deep breath and managed to get herself to meet his gaze so she could answer.

“Clothes, shampoo. Oh, finishing powder, I accidentally dropped mine in the hotel bathroom when me n’ Rora were havin drinks before we went down to the beach… That’s pretty much it. I mean unless I see shoes.”

Adam snickered to himself, muttering before he could stop himself, “You’re so fuckin cute, ya know that?”

She put her hand at her face, giggling as she shook her head no, but Adam nodded; firmer. “You are.”

“I’m nooooot.” Grace insisted, shaking her head. The car came to a stop and Adam got out first, holding out his hand. He wound up reaching in and kind of guiding Grace off the seat, chuckling quietly as he did so. Once she was out, he turned to the row of storefronts. “This is your trip, darlin.”

Grace’s eyes darted up and down the row of stores and her face burned hot as soon as they settled on the adult store towards the end of the area. She’d already pretty much done the most to embarrass herself, she figured, so it wouldn’t hurt anything to get that one out of the way.

Lacing her fingers through his, she started to walk in the direction of the adult store and as they came to a stop in front of its door, she glanced up at Adam. “You don’t have to come in, I mean..” Grace stumbled over her words. She was starting to get really frustrated with herself because while her inhibitions were lower to an extent, they still weren’t gone and she found herself kind of walking this erratic line of constantly almost doing too much and making an idiot of herself and feeling like she hadn’t actually done much at all.

He was just a man. Sure, he was sexy as hell and she wanted him so bad she could taste it, but he was still just a normal guy. She needed to get a grip already; there was no sense in being so utterly caught up that she couldn’t function around him.

…. Aurora’s right. I need to just relax. I need to go for what I want. I can flirt, it’s not like that’ll hurt anything, I mean thanks to liquid courage, I’ve been doing that so far and it hasn’t been a complete disaster… the thought raced through her brain taking hold and she made up her mind. She was going to at least try to flirt with him.

Adam eyed her and snickered, gazing up at the three backlit neon x’s floating over the door to the building and he shrugged. “What, darlin? Ya think I can’t handle a lil adult store?” he was almost teasing her at this point because it was so hard not to flirt with her just a little. And seeing her actually open up like this was just too damned cute to resist doing so, especially when he liked her so much already.

“I.. fuck.. I didn’t mean t-that. I just..” Grace fidgeted a little, dropping her gaze. Adam tucked his finger underneath her chin, raising her gaze back to his face. “It’s okay, darlin.” he chuckled as he reached for the door, letting her step into the store first. To his surprise, she went straight for the back. While she was doing that, he was looking around, raking his fingers through his hair before turning to a display with a pair of red fuzzy handcuffs, picking up the box, blue eyes scanning over it.

She skipped back over to him, shuffling her feet against some deep purple carpet, a curious little gleam in her eyes. When she saw the fuzzy handcuffs he was holding in his hand, she bit her lip, eying them first and then him. “Those break real easy.” Grace blurted it out before she could stop herself and Adam swallowed hard, blinking a little, sitting the box down on the shelf he’d gotten it from. “Oh? If I were lookin for cuffs I’d get the real ones anyway. Rope’s better though. No key to risk losin… I mean I’d imagine that would be a worry.” he said it in that teasing tone again and Grace fidgeted. As she reached out for a display of whipped cream, edible body paint and edible body glitter, he could’ve sworn he heard her muttering a swear or two under her breath and he couldn’t resist smirking to himself.

She clearly hadn’t been expecting him to say something like that. Or have ever previously toyed with the notion of using anything extra in bed. He studied her a few seconds, leaning in to mutter next to her ear, “Find what you were lookin for back there?” and after a few seconds of fidgeting with her mouth opening and closing, Grace eyed him and nodded, the corners of her lips turning upwards in a playful smile. “Mhm.” as she stepped closer to him. Given that she was still a little wobbly, Adam kept his hand at her lower back. She held up a deep purple and black bag and he bit his lip as his eyes darted down to the bag and then up a little. Focusing on her mouth.

Just the temptation to kiss her had him gripping her lower back a little bit more. Trying to reign himself in and resist doing it. Grace was lightly pressing against him and after a second or two of staring at his lips and trying to keep herself from doing something silly like gripping the front of his black tee shirt and pulling him down so she could kiss him, she nodded to the door. “We’ve o-only got 2 hours left.” she said it with a pout because she didn’t want their little outing to end just yet.

“We better get movin. Probably best if we just start at the store beside this one and work down.” Adam suggested after finally managing to tear his eyes off her lips. Grace nodded and she shifted her bag from one hand to the other, lacing her fingers through his fingers again as they walked towards the door of the shop. Adam held it open and Grace walked out.

This time, Adam was the one who grabbed hold of her hand, lacing his fingers through her fingers. He just wanted to see how she’d react. When he glanced down at her and she was blushing and biting her lip, he gave her a playful smirk as he grabbed the handle of the clothing store right next to the adult store. They stepped inside and Grace started to walk towards a section of swimwear.

She figured she’d probably need it given they were going on Jericho’s cruise thing next and all the swimsuits she’d packed for Miami and the cruise were now god only knew where. As she rifled through racks, Adam watched her, nearly coughing when she picked up a crocheted bikini, holding it up to herself in the mirror. Before he could stop himself he was catching her gaze in the mirror, smirking a little.

Even though just the thought of her wearing it in front of everyone else had him thinking if he were her man, he’d probably want to fight every guy on the cruise by the end of it.

It honestly surprised him as he watched her grabbing things because a lot of the things she was grabbing, he never would’ve thought she’d wear. Then again, he never really crossed paths with her when they weren’t at a show or waiting at the airport.

The thought of her having more than just that sweet and quiet little cute side had him beyond curious.

He stepped up behind her and leaned down a little, whispering against her ear, “Kinda like that pink one.” as she held up a sundress against herself. “Pink always looks real pretty on you.”

Grace gulped and nodded, turning to actually face him. “Oh?”

“Yeah, that one sweater you always wear that’s pale pink.. It’s one of my favorites.” Adam trailed off, aware that she was pressing against him a little more. His hand squeezed her side and he took a deep breath.

“I’ll, um.. I’ll definitely keep that in mind.” Grace managed to answer as she stared up at him, trying to get herself under control. Control was fast slipping through her fingers. And she found herself getting the strong suspicion that he was flirting with her right now.

She also found herself wondering why. And not daring to hope that it was for the same reason she was flirting with him a little bit. But curious. So she decided to test her theory, pressing into him a little heavier, lightly rubbing against him. She did it carefully enough that she hoped it would seem like an accidental thing.

Adam’s grip on her body tightened and he chuckled quietly. “Everything okay?”

“Everything is fine. Thank you for coming with.” Grace practically purred as she gazed up at him and smiled.

“I couldn’t just let ya wander around alone.” Adam played it off as if it were nothing. Grace reached out for a pair of jeans and added them to the growing pile in her arms.

After grabbing another pair of cut offs and some crop tops, she rose to tiptoe, fluffing at the front of Adam’s hair. “I’m gonna go try these on now.”

She was starting to sober up and honestly, she was starting to think back on just what she’d managed to do and say to embarrass herself thus far and she made a decision then and there.. Might as well just go for it and be an outright flirt, she thought to herself, It’s not like I can do anything to further ruin any shot I might have had. Not only that, but it got daunting sometimes, censoring her true self because she was secretly afraid that if she didn’t, people would think she was too much and be put off.

She’d been trying to ease into letting more of herself out since she started working at AEW, but it was almost agonizingly slow. Only Aurora really knew her.

… And I really want Adam to know me too, I can’t hide that fact… the thought came to her and it stuck the entire time she was in the dressing room, undressing to try on clothes.

She’d just gotten the bikini laced up and secure when Adam knocked. “Everything goin okay?”

“Yeah.” Grace opened the door, leaning in it, the bikini managing to somehow be both modest and leaving little to the imagination.. “It’s not the most practical for swimming.” she shrugged.

Adam bit back a groan -covering with a cough, and as subtly as he could, he moved so that he stood in front of her, blocking the view of anyone else who might see her standing there like that.

“Well?” she asked after a few seconds, fidgeting nervously under his intent gaze. Adam chuckled and stepped closer. “I think it looks good.”

She smiled brightly, disappearing back into the dressing room. A few seconds later he heard swearing and the door opened again slightly as she peeked around it. “Hey, uh.. Can you tie the back of this dress?”

She turned so that Adam could loop the laces to the pale pink sundress through the holes they went in and he chuckled quietly. “ Damn.”

“What? It doesn’t fit, does it?” Grace pouted a little. She’d really liked the dress. More to the point, she liked the way Adam was looking at her right now, in the dress.

“Oh, no. Fits real good, darlin. Just..” Adam pressed against her a little after he managed to get his fingers to stop shaking enough to finish looping the laces through the holes left to go and he muttered quietly next to her ear, “I was just thinkin about the hassle you’re gonna have lacing and unlacing this.”

Grace turned to face him only she turned faster than she thought and as a result, she kind of catapulted herself right against him. He laughed quietly, shaking his head.

“What’s so funny, huh?” Grace pouted a little when she met his gaze in the reflection of the mirror.

“Nothin.” Adam found himself staring at her mouth intently, even bending his head down just the slightest as he continued to blurt out, “Just thinking about how hot it is when you get all flustered and you’re blushing. Kind of like you are right now, darlin.”

Grace swallowed hard, her mouth opening and closing as she rose up on her tiptoes just a little bit.

Adam’s hand wandered down, gripping at her ass, pulling her up just a little. “Just curious.. Is there any reason you’re blushing so much tonight?”

A throat cleared from nearby and the two of them sprang apart, Grace pouting a little about it as the saleswoman made her way past, heading to the back of the store.

Adam figured she’d use the interruption of the sales clerk who’d approached to avoid answering his question, but to his surprise, she rose to tiptoe and whispered quietly against his ear, “You.”, her tongue just barely grazing against the edge of his ear before practically bolting into the dressing room to hurry through trying on the rest of the clothes she’d picked out to take with her on the cruise.

He was left to stand there and wait, staring intently at the door, fidgeting as things slowly started to click into place. And he started to think that maybe, just maybe, he had an actual shot in hell at one thing he really wanted working out for him. He decided then and there to really go for it. And he planned to just as soon as Grace came back out of that dressing room this time.

Grace tried on the last outfit, the pair of high waisted cut-offs and the crop top and she turned in the mirror a time or two to make sure it at least looked halfway decent. She stepped out the dressing room door and literally right into Adam’s arms, which she wasn’t expecting at all. A second later found her with her back against the wall and his hips pinning her in place as his hands gripped and squeezed and groped their way over every inch of her body. “Stop me if..” he muttered just before hesitating long enough to let her answer.

Then his mouth crashed against her mouth, claiming it as her lips parted and his tongue slipped past, taking control of the depth of the kiss before Grace could even begin to dare to try. She squeaked when he accidentally squeezed her ass just a little harder than he’d been intending to and he muttered quietly into the deepening kiss, “Shit. Sorry, Darlin. Got carried away.”

At last, her brain finally seemed to un-freeze and she seemed to catch on to what was going on, her hand going to the front of his shirt, clutching at it just to keep herself upright.

Her hand raked through his hair, tugging and her leg raised to his hip. One of his hands wound up there, squeezing her thigh and sort of rubbing her right against him, drawing a gasp of surprise from her when she felt the way he strained tight against the blue jeans he wore. As the kiss was starting to slow down and they were both trying to catch their breaths he muttered against her lips softly, “I have wanted to do that a while now, darlin. It was kinda driving me crazy.” he stepped away just a little, worried that he might have just taken things a little too far.

Grace, however, seemed to think otherwise. She stepped close, her arms going around his neck as she pressed against him and stared up into his eyes intently. “You wanted to kiss me, huh?” she was more than a little shocked as she answered and Adam could see it on her face. He bent slightly, his face closer to hers as he nodded and spoke again. “I did. Why?”

She walked her fingers up his chest, trailing the tip of her index finger over his lip as she did that cute little blushing smile up at him. “Because maybe I wanted to kiss you too.”

He pretended to pout a little, all that liquid courage from earlier still hanging around and making him flirtatious and playful. “Maybe?” he asked, his tongue lazily tracing the shape of her lips. When he felt her shiver, he responded with a whispered laugh against her mouth as he pulled her closer all over again.

“Okay, yes.” her fingertips dug into his shoulders as she trailed her tongue over his lower lip and continued, “ I wanted to kiss you. So much.”

When Grace’s cell phone began to ring loudly, Grace swore in frustration because she’d been just about to go for it and steal another kiss. Adam chuckled quietly and muttered against her mouth, “Ignore it, Grace.”

“That’s a really good idea, actually.” Grace giggled into his lips as his tongue slipped between hers, parting them. The grip on her ass tightened and this time, he rubbed her against him, earning him a needy whimper as he did so. Grace was so hot for it already that her knees were shaking and Adam hadn’t really done much of anything to her yet. Her hand rested across the back of his neck, driving his mouth into her own deeper. In the midst of it, her cell phone started to ring again.

Adam broke the kiss and Grace dug around, finding her cell phone in her pocket.

“Where are you, woman?” Aurora asked, barely hiding a teasing laugh. Grace could practically feel her smirking through the phone. Her heart began to pound and she asked Aurora in a rush, “Oh shit, the flight.. We didn’t miss it..”

Aurora giggled and stepped away from Lucha Express just to have a quieter conversation with her best friend. “ Actually, it’s delayed. We have to be back at the airport at 10 am. You never answered my question, by the way.” Aurora reminded her friend.

Adam wandered over, slipping his arms around her waist, nuzzling his nose against her neck as he bent down. He could hear Aurora’s loud giggly voice through the phone and he chuckled. “Hi, Aurora.”

“Holy shit.. Was that… Did you.. Did you FINALLY talk to him?” Aurora’s questions came in a flood and Grace took a deep breath, tensing slightly. “I mean.. Kinda? I wandered into the bar to get a drink..”

“But you don’t drink.” Aurora eyed the phone in her hand, trying not to laugh. Grace still sounded a little tipsy, but not as bad as she’d always thought Grace would if she were to drink.

“I also hate flying, duh.” Grace butted in and continued to speak, “Anyway.. I may or may not have shotgunned 3 glasses of some 90 proof drink thing and.. Whoo boy, I feel so good right now. I mean I’m sobering up.. But Adam, he’s a real sweetheart. He offered to come down to the shopping center with me!”

“That’s good. But have you at least TALKED to him? Ya know.. At least hinted at how you feel? I mean.. I had to physically restrain you to keep you from throwing a shoe at the television when Matt pulled that stunt earlier and wouldn’t let him tag in.”

Adam was overhearing everything and all Grace could do was blush all over her body and tense slightly, because this was… Not how she planned to tell him the way she felt.

… But he kissed me, like that… he’s gotta feel something, right?…

She knew Adam had gotten an earful when she felt his hands wandering just a little more. It flustered her almost immediately; to a point where she had trouble getting her words out when Aurora asked her question again.

“I,uhh.. I was.. I’m working up to it, okay? Look, not everybody has a giant swinging set of brass ones like you, Rora.”

“Oh, but see, the thing here Grae. You do. I know goddamn well you do. Use them. That poor guy is suffering and I’m sick of watching you, watch him.. But refuse to do anything. I swear to God, Grae.. If you don’t say or do something. I’m gonna come down there to that shopping center and I’m gonna do it for you. I just want you to be happy like me.”

Grace went to respond to Aurora’s impassioned lecture, but all she got was a dial tone and she found herself dreading the second when she’d have to turn around knowing full well that Adam heard every single word most likely. Before she could turn around on her own, Adam was turning her around, a questioning look in those high definition baby blues as he fixed them on her intently.

“That was an interesting conversation.” he chuckled, but inside his heart was about to swell and explode because he’d never really.. Considered.. The possibility that she might like him just as much as he liked her. To find out that apparently, she did was just… It was the best end to a pretty shitty night.

… but it could get even better, he thought to himself as he went into planning mode because now we’ve got an all-night delay… She still wasn’t saying anything, just standing there looking all cute and flustered with her mouth opening and closing until it finally closed and she shuffled her feet as she let her eyes dart to the floor.

Adam reached out, fingers curling beneath her chin, making her look back up at him as he bit his lip. Stepping closer, he repeated himself, more firmly when he added at the end, “Is there somethin you wanna tell me right now, darlin?”

“I.. I mean you heard it all, thanks to Aurora being loud as hell.” Grace thought that would be enough; that he wouldn’t push. Apparently, Hangman was in the mood to pick and push at what he’d heard though. Not that she minded, it’s just that she’d have obviously preferred it if he hadn’t found out thanks to her friend being a big-mouth. “She’s so freaking bossy.” Grace pouted, folding her arms over her chest as she gave a quiet giggle and shook her head about it all. It was kind of funny if you really stopped to think about it.

“Maybe she had a point though,” Adam spoke up, catching her eyes with his, smirking just a little. His hand settled on her hip, pulling her closer. Closer wasn’t close enough now that he knew. Even if she hadn’t said it yet, she wasn’t denying it either. And now that he was going back over the few interactions they had over the past few weeks… It had him wondering about certain little things he’d noticed. He took a deep breath and continued, “All you have to do, darlin, is tell me.”

Grace bit her lip, swallowing hard as she nodded. “Tell you, huh? It’s so much more complex than that.” she was stepping even closer, his back brushing against a rack of clothing. He chuckled a little, coughing when his eyes met her eyes and he saw the desire burning just beneath the surface.

“Okay, so maybe you can show me.” he leaned into her slightly, her forehead against his and both of his hands on her hips, his thumb trailing over soft skin hidden beneath the thin violet-colored tee shirt she was wearing. She gasped and her breath caught in her throat, but she nodded towards the door. “One thing.”

“Anything, darlin.”

“Get me out of here, Hangman.” Grace grabbed the pile of clothing she’d been planning to buy and then she grabbed his hand, giggling as she practically pulled him towards the first open register. Adam laughed and as soon as she was being rung up and standing still in front of him, his hands wandered down, squeezing and kneading her ass through the jeans she was wearing as he whispered quietly, “I’ll gladly get you outta here, darlin. Where do you wanna go, hm?” and nuzzled his nose against the side of her neck.

“Anywhere with you.” she managed to gasp just as he squeezed her hip, rubbing her ass right against himself. She barely managed not whimpering and as she reached to take her change after paying for her clothing, her hands were shaking a little. She turned around to face him and he chuckled, leaning down to brush his lips against her forehead.

“C’mon, darlin. Let’s get you to a hotel and soberin up first. Because you are in for it now. Being such a little tease tonight.”

Grace bit her lip and giggled, her hand raising to her mouth. “Oh.. you caught onto it, huh?”

“Kinda hard not to, darlin.” Adam teased back, putting an arm around her as they walked out of the store and towards the Uber, waiting to take them to the nearest hotel….

#adam hangman page fanfiction #adam hangman page fanfic #adam hangman page fic #adam hangman page oneshot #adam hangman page imagine #part 1 of 3.

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oh-mother-of-darkness · 4 years

Text

ASKS (28)

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Anonymous said: Hi ily💓

I love you too! There is love in my heart and you may take some

Anonymous said: Hey hey hey Amesssss!!! what was the first fic you ever wrote?

Well. Technically the first written piece was a play I wrote at around 13? It was about all of the characters from the Percy Jackson series watching Disney’s Hercules together

My first bat fic was this one, back in I want to say 2014

Anonymous said: You are a snack . So cute ❤❤❤❤

[Lizzo voice] baby I’m the whole damn meal

Anonymous said: You may’ve done badly but you looked fine as heck doing it. (I’m aroace—I’m not hitting on you, I promise). Besides, everybody has off days. Even lawyers.

akhfasufgdlfeas I appreciate the clarification <3

Anonymous said: For my summer job I went through a lawyer’s disaster of an office and let me tell you. 90% of it was Westlaw printouts. Those things are the effing best. They tell you what’s going on, they give you the info you need, they’re not weirdly complicated and hard to find—Westlaw. It may be prohibitively expensive and a symptom of the flaws in our legal system, but by golly it’s the best option.

When you hit that “forms” button......... the magic....... the beauty.....

andromeda270 said: My legal research class got us two free weeks of westlaw(I’m still in college) and when I didn’t finish a paper I made a free trial for the wrong site but they emailed me anyway asking if I was interested in buying and could they talk over the phone. I fessed up and they gave me another free week to work on a paper for some class

That’s how they get you!!!!

collidinglegends said: Lexis is shinier, WestLaw is better

Amen babe

Anonymous said: Please sleep

Who’s got the time

Anonymous said: hi !! quick question . I’ve followed you for a while and i think i asked you this previously but im not sure... do you write Duke ?? would you be comfortable writing him if i sent in a prompt including others in the fam ?

Sure, if I like the prompt. I write Duke every once in awhile, although I wouldn’t say I’m confident doing it. He’s a fairly new character and I stopped reading weeklys about the time I hit law school three years ago

Anonymous said: Hope you feel better soon... I'll pray for you

Ah thank you friend I appreciate you

areverieofchaosdreams said: I'm probably pretty late to this cause I'm not great at time, but your thing is making All the Feelings tm. But in a good way. You and dapanda were the first batfam blogs I ever followed, and it's been a helluva ride. Your way of writing things just pulls me in a way that few do, so thank you. :)

A single tear falls from my lashes, followed by several more because I cry a lot

hades-in-a-handbag said: Your thing is being the embodiment of goth mom energy Don't know if it's just your literal handle or what but you're so encouraging and motherly and also dark and emotionally scaring with your writing. Very sweet, very spooky

goth mom energy

Anonymous said: Omgggg ames, ginny is so grown up!!!!!

She is! She’s a teenager

morallyunequivocal said: not a prompt but oh no i just made myself sad with that last ask

that’s a mood

Anonymous said: You make plushies? Wtf, how did you get to be so talented and adorable at so many things. You’re amazing and I hope law school goes well.

Oh you’re so so sweet

Anonymous said: What law school things have you learned that you could see the bat family deals by with?

Well, I’ve had to take classes about forming and maintaining businesses, finding tax loopholes, writing and litigating contracts, and real property. Those are all things that WE would deal with on the regular. I also took classes on juvenile and adult criminal law, evidence, and police misconduct, which all seem Bat-relevant. At this exact moment I’m taking family law, which would include adoptions, and I have in the past taken classes about trusts and estates.

Anonymous said: Noooooooo no nono 🙏🙏🙏 dont ignore her 💔

Bad kittens get ignored instead of cuddled

crayolapumpkins said: hope the printing isn't too boring !! + I'm loving the fics , your work is always *chef's kiss* !! thank u for ur hard work ✨✨✨

[heart eyes]

Anonymous said: Since you have a big brother and a tiny sister, with that huge gap, what do you feel when you see those Dick & Damian fics or headcanons where Dick sees Damian as both a brother and a son? I know it's kind of canon now, but fandom has even gone as far as having Dick adopt Damian in various situations. Their age gap and their positions in the family allows for that kind of dynamic and I know it's reality for a lot of people too. But what's Your opinions on this? And maybe your brother's?

Huh, that’s a good question. My littlest brother and I are ten years apart, and Dave will tell you flat out I’m his favorite sibling because when I’m home we do everything together. I think the thing those fics are collectively missing is that there doesn’t need to be a brother/father hybrid because the role of Older Sibling With Age Gap is already its own distinct thing.

Dave and I don’t have the same dynamic as the kids I actively grew up with. We had very limited contact during his growing up years, because I was off at school. Now that he’s a teenager, we communicate like adults but with the caveat that I am In Charge. I dictate the agenda, and I make the decisions unless I choose to delegate them.

I’ve indulged a request about an adoption before, but I don’t really like that idea very much. Like I said, I don’t feel the need to add “father” into a dynamic that already exists on its own.

hollyhock13 said: Listen. You’re a middle kid, but not the middle middle kid. You’re towards the older end, but not the oldest. Maybe second or third, depending on how many siblings you have

Correct!

Anonymous said: That is the coolest blanket I've ever seen!!

Isn’t it just

Anonymous said: We're having a big adoption event tomorrow in Houston and we sent all the animals in our shelter down there. Our supervisors are in Houston too so us few kennel techs left at the shelter are scrubbing the place from top to bottom. We have music playing on the loud speaker and just ordered pizza. It's a great day. :)

Anonymous said: Pls continue the Tim and hallucination Damian thing im on edge

Anonymous said: Bls bls bls continue the tim hallucinating dami fic, bc its killing me in the best way. My heart. It hurts. That shit hurted.

maybe

Anonymous said: Ames, thoughts on the new joker movie?

I haven’t seen it, although I probably will when I get the time

Anonymous said: Idk if this is a secret, more like a guilty confession. I really, REALLY hope Damian turns out asexual, or at least romantically unattached. I LOVE that most of his good interactions are with his vaious Bat siblings, Jon, Maps and his pets. Everyone loves shopping him with varuova characters and it makes me hesitate to share my opinion incase I'm looked at weirdly. But having a character I look up to be asexual would be amazing.

I would really like that too anon

Anonymous said: what do you think about Drake & his new outfit?

ugly

Anonymous said: Alfred Pennyworth is the baddest bitch

You are not incorrect

bruciewayneisbatman said: Amy and Kenza are the bittersweet queens of this fandom. The both of you are absolutely evil and tooth-rotting sweet at the same time. I love you two for that, btw.

<3 thanks Esther

#hoo boy that's a lot of asks #asks

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inevitably-johnlocked · 5 years

Note

Hello darling! Are you still doing fic recs? Because I am in dire need of self-conscious Sherlock. Don't ask me why but I am just craving sad, lonely little sherlock getting comforted by John. Help a girl out? Thanks so much either way!

Anonymous said to inevitably-johnlocked: Heyy darling, I just wanna say that I LOVE YOUR BLOG SM! Everyday I spend here looking at your posts and reading thousands of awesome fanfictions, so thank you lol 💜 Also, could you maybe give me a list of all fanfics with insecure!sherlock or insecure!john ? And lots of angst, like reading/watching/seeing things they weren’t supposed to see that has their love on it, stuff like that hahaha Thank you babe 🖤

Hi Lovelies!

Always! I actually started a list a short while back because someone else asked for one but I can’t find the ask, LOL. I’ve actually done a post in the past for it, but I think I’ll just redo it and stamp it with Jan 2019, LOL. Here we are!

I know I have more but I haven’t retagged all my past readings, so I’ve only included ones that I remember indefinitely is an insecure Sherlock or John

INSECURE / AWKWARD SHERLOCK OR JOHN (Jan. 2019)

See also:

BedSharing Pt. 2 and Insecure Sherlock

BAMF! But Insecure John

Bands by dragonQuill907 (T, 1,017 w. || Established Relationship, POV Sherlock, Anxious Sherlock) – “Her wedding ring. Ten years old at least. The rest of her jewelry has been regularly cleaned, but not her wedding ring. State of her marriage right there. The inside of the ring is shinier than the outside – that means it’s regularly removed. The only polishing it gets is when she works it off her finger.”

Secrets by 796116311389 (G, 1,084 w. || Drunk Sherlock, Drunk Confessions, Angst, Fluff, Happy Ending, Pining Sherlock) – “He is the best person in the world and sometimes I get sad because I’m not. Not his best person.”

Under The Covers by berlynn_wohl (E, 1,221 w. || Est. Rel., Shy Sherlock, Anal, Fluff) – John would have liked to have the lights on and seen everything, but Sherlock was shy, so they did it this way, always.

29 January 2017 by wearitcounts (Sher_locked_up) (E, 1,765 w. || Anniversary, First Time, Insecure Sherlock, Love Confessions, Post-S4) – “That,” John says, “should have happened years ago. Maybe even the first time.”

Loudly Unspoken by Mount_Seleya (M, 1,871 w. || Post-TAB, Love Confessions, Vulnerable Sherlock, Frottage) – John confronts Sherlock about the words he left unsaid on the tarmac. Set immediately after TAB.

The Marriage Proposal Negotiation by Goddess_of_the_Night (G, 2,161 w. || Dev. Rel., Possessive Sherlock, Insecure Sherlock, Fluff, First Kiss, Post Mary) – Sherlock hasn’t ever really done anything the traditional way, so of course it wouldn’t bother him to propose to John even though they’re not even dating. And the fact that John is already on a date with someone else when he decides to do it? Tedious.

Unmissed by 221b_hound (M, 3,235 w. || Est. Rel., Pet Names, Insecure Sherlock, Worried Sherlock) – John enjoys a good brawl during a case, and Sherlock begins to worry - when they retire, will John get bored? Will John get bored and leave. But even if John isn’t a genius about cases, he knows a thing or two about Sherlock’s panic attacks about them as a couple. With only four days till the wedding, he’s not about to let Sherlock continue with this misplaced notion that John will be bored in retirement. Part 20 of Unkissed

Untouched by KittieHill (E, 3,239 w. || Kissing, Frottage, Virgin Sherlock, Body Worship, Sherlock’s Scars Mentioned, Masturbation, PWP, Rimming) – Sherlock leaked a lot. John had never needed lubricant. John loved watching it, had once spent an entire afternoon edging Sherlock so he could watch as the thick precome drip, drip, dripped onto Sherlock’s belly.

Acceptable Behaviour by bbcatemysoul (M, 3,449 w. || Fluff, Dev. Rel., Miscommunication, First Time) – Sherlock isn’t really sure why John wants to shag him, but he’s certain that if he’s careful to behave properly about it, John can be persuaded to keep doing it. In other news, John is a good boyfriend and Sherlock is an idiot.

In Nomine by Atiki (E, 3,517 w. || Est. Rel., PWP, Anal, Domesticity, Love Confessions, Sherlock Loves John, Overwhelmed Sherlock) – “Alright?” John asks gently, planting a kiss on Sherlock’s left collar bone, smoothing a hand down his chest and belly until it rests in the soft trail of hair below his belly button. John’s smile is all soft and warm. His hand feels tender and solid and real. A soldier’s hand. A surgeon’s hand. A lover’s hand. Oh. “John”, Sherlock gasps. And that’s where it begins. Written for a prompt on the Kink Meme: The only word Sherlock says during sex is “John”.

MR# 1430155 by blueink3 (T, 3,560 w. || Talks of Parentlock, Baby Watson, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions, Fluff and Angst) – John paces the length of the not inconsiderable hallway and glances at his phone for the tenth time since he exited the hospital room seven minutes ago. Sherlock’s last text was sent at 5:06pm. It is now 5:39pm. He should be here by now. After all, his daughter is 46-minutes-old and if John is going to share this momentous event with someone, it sure as hell isn’t going to be the woman who just gave birth to her.Part 5 of Tumblr Prompts

Rumpled by WhimsicalEthnographies (E, 3,601 w. || Est. Rel., Insecure Sherlock, Fluff, PWP, Proposal, Bottomlock) – Then, halfway through a documentary on river otters that neither of them was paying attention to–how could John, with a gangly, limp consulting detective practically purring in his lap?–Sherlock suddenly bolted upright, looked at John with a perplexed expression and a crinkle above his nose, and blurted, “Marry me.” Part 4 of Longitudinal Cohort

Last Christmas by Mazarin221b (T, 3,911 w. || Fluff, Pining Sherlock, First Kiss) – That Earth-shaking revelation, then, leads to a problem, and one that Sherlock realizes should be solved quickly, before John’s dates turn into girlfriends or boyfriends, because sometimes girlfriends or boyfriends can turn into wives or husbands while your back is turned. Every time John hums happily at the mirror as he shaves, splashes on a little gift cologne Mrs. Hudson bought him for Christmas, Sherlock is drawn back to that night by the fire, and the way John’s touch had made the world stand still.

Hope Springs Eternal by QuinnAnderson (T, 4,054 w. || Friends to Lovers, Pining Sherlock, Vacation, Anxious Sherlock, Love Confessions, Fluff, Requited Love) – John Watson and Sherlock Holmes go on holiday, and Sherlock has romance on the brain.

Everything by patternofdefiance (E, 4,409 w. || Snuggles and Cuddles, Bed Sharing, Frottage, Vulnerable Sherlock) – John wakes up with an armful of Sherlock.This – situation – is unusual, yes, and definitely unfamiliar, but in no way does it feel wrong.Rather, it feels the exact opposite. Part 13 of I Blame Tumblr

a violent flash of purple by hudders-and-hiddles (E, 4,749 w. || Sex Toys, Friends to Lovers, PWP, Love Confessions, Porn With Feelings) – When Sherlock accidentally drops his towel, he ends up revealing a whole lot more than he’d intended.

Bed-Sharing Between Flatmates by testosterone_tea (T, 5,053 w. || 5 and Ones, Bed Sharing, PTSD John, Science, Whump, Insecure Sherlock, Asexual Sherlock) – 5 times Sherlock had an excuse to share John’s bed, and the one time he didn’t need one.

The Only Available Transportation by blueink3 (T, 5,379 w. || Post S4, Fluff and Angst, Insecure Sherlock, Caring John, Parentlock, Sherlock’s Birthday, Family, Misunderstandings) – It’s possibly the desperation that’s seeped into his voice despite his best intentions, or perhaps it’s just a mother’s intuition, but she knows that whatever he’s calling about is Serious, hangover be damned. “What’s happened?” she asks, tone soft and as comforting as a hot cup of tea on a cold winter’s night. “Mummy,” he begins, voice catching. “I think John may be moving out.”

Tease You Till You Come by phoenix089 (E, 6,090 w. || First Time, Clueless Sherlock, Texting) – Initially, Sherlock was rather put out by John’s lack of presence on the case. But then he starts to receive pictures, several of them, of an unexpected nature. The case is forgotten rather quickly after that.

All the Flavours, Cherry and More by cwb (E, 6,274 w. || Est. Rel., Lip Gloss, Lingerie, Birthday Presents, Insecure Sherlock) – Sherlock feels a blush rising to touch his cheeks, more sensual than uncomfortable now that he knows John isn’t disgusted by him. No, John is responding exactly the way he had hoped.

The Inciting Incident by beetlemate (M, 6,291 w. || Masturbation, Embarassed Sherlock, Inexperienced Sherlock, Fluff, Friends to Lovers) – John catches Sherlock in a compromising position. With a secret photograph. He absolutely must know what is in that bloody photograph.

The Strait of Juan de Fuca by mightypog (T, 6,400 w. || Vacation, Love Confessions, Friends to Lovers, Canada, Post-TRF, Love Confessions) – Sherlock is back and all seems forgiven, but something is missing between him and John. Their friendship initially appears intact, but Sherlock doesn’t understand why John seems to be slipping away. Finally, in terror, he tries to reconnect with John by taking him to the one place that seems to inspire any emotional interest in John any more: the Canadian wilderness. While there, Sherlock faces his greatest fear.

Inside by magikspell (E, 6,757 w. || Loss of Virginity, Anal / Rimming, Fluff, Humour, Awkwardness, Shy Sherlock, Bottomlock) – “Being inside someone. Feeling someone inside you.”

Abatement by WhimsicalEthnographies (E, 6,816 w. || Est. Rel., Retirementlock, Fluff, Sherlock’s Self Esteem, Grumpy Sherlock) – “What’s wrong with you? You love the cottage,” John glances over to the passenger seat, then quickly turns his eyes back to the road. Driving was still not his forte, but considering Sherlock still couldn’t properly bend and lift his new knee enough to press and release the clutch, he had to make do. Not that Sherlock hadn’t tried to argue his way into the driver’s seat. “I love the cottage for a week or two, John. Don’t be deliberately obstuse,” Sherlock grumbles, sinking further in his seat. Well, as best he can with a four-week-old knee replacement. “And that’s all we’re going for, love,” John says out loud. But what he’s thinking is, shit. He knows.

High and Tight, Soft and Loose by cwb (E, 7,429 w. || Jealous John, Miscommunications / Misunderstandings, First Kiss / Time, BAMF John, Insecure Sherlock, Clueless Sherlock, Junk Size, UST / RST) – John pressed the knuckle of his index finger against his mouth and sighed. “So, you’re coiled like a spring and ready to be … sprung?” “If you want to be pedestrian about it, yes.” “Like I said, you should do something about that.” “And like I said, pedestrian. What would you have me do? Take up jogging? Yoga? Oh! Unless you mean –” “I don’t mean anything. Let’s drop it.”

The T-Shirt Thief by allroadsleadbacktobakerstreet (T, 7,968 w. || Mutual Pining, Post Canon Fix It, Dev. Rel., First Kiss, Domestics) – Sherlock steals John’s t-shirt from the laundry. John catches him wearing it one evening, fluff ensues with an endeared yet teasing John?

Drive by lifeonmars (M, 9,537 w. || Virginity, Awkward First Times, Minor Injuries) – John and Sherlock are stranded by the roadside, and John is injured. They need to spend the night in the back of a humvee. Sherlock is confused. John is understanding.

The Thin Line by Odamaki (M, 10,809 w. || Virgin Sherlock, Awkwardness, Confessions, First Times, Anal) – John swallows. Keeps his eyes on Sherlock. Begs him not to ruin him.Sherlock leans forward over the witness box ever-so slightly, “I was distracted,” he informs the court, “by my partner, John Watson.”

the first day of forever by darcylindbergh (E, 11,850 w. || Est. Relationship, Domestics, Light Angst, Insecurity, Emotional H/C) – “I’m going to marry you,” John murmurs with against Sherlock’s smile, and they both giggle in the joy of it. “We’re getting married.”“Yes,” Sherlock says, just to hear himself say it out loud. “We are.” A June wedding. Part 4 of things fairy tales are made of

And Here We Are by J_Baillier (T, 12,416 w. || ASiP Fic, Alternating First Person POV, Drama, Friendship, Mild Case Fic, Autism Spectrum Sherlock, Insecure Sherlock, Protective John, Pining, Homophobia, Loneliness, Angst, Humour, Domestics, Morbid Fluff, Kidnapping) – All the little things we never got to see when an army doctor and a consulting detective were adjusting to sharing a flat. And a life.

Let’s Make a Bed Out in the Rain by theimprobable1 (M, 17,664 w. || Pining Sherlock, Angst & Fluff, First Kiss, Unrequited, Jealous Sherlock, Protective Sherlock) – John is devastated after his long-term girlfriend leaves him. Sherlock helps him through it.

For you, there’s only me by shock_blanket (E, 19,557 w. || Jealous Idiots, Virgin Sherlock, UST/RST, Pining, Miscommunication, First Kiss / Time, Insecure Sherlock, Masturbation) – Sherlock realizes he has fallen in love with John, but believes he is unlovable. Cue lots of pining and jealousy on Sherlock’s part, followed by our favorite cuddly marksman making it all better. Because for Sherlock, there’s only John.

A Life Well-Lived by Kate_Lear (E, 20,121 w. || Original Male Character, Sherlock Woos John, Jealous Sherlock, Reluctant Bi-John) – John got scared off men by an abusive past relationship. Sherlock has to try and woo him while not scaring him off with protective possessive rage.

The Real Meaning of Idioms by feverishsea (T, 21,691 w. || Texting, Humour, Post S2, Awkward Romance) - After two weeks away, John finally texts Sherlock. He doesn’t expect Sherlock to respond. He doesn’t expect Sherlock to keep texting him. And he really doesn’t expect things to spiral out of control so rapidly.

5 Times John Got the Girl (and lost her) and 1 Time John Got the Guy (and kept him) by LiviKate (M, 21,695 w. || 5 and Ones, Kissing, Oblivious / Awkward Sherlock, BAMF / Sexy / Stud John, Embarassed John, John’s Scar, Hurt/Comfort, Jealous Sherlock) – John has always had good luck with the ladies. He’s charming, friendly and funny, not to mention great in bed. However, his usual skill with the opposite sex is constantly being thwarted by Sherlock and his outbursts. How will John ever get a leg over when Sherlock is always cockblocking him?

State of Flux by Atiki (E, 24,655 w. || Sherlock POV, Slow Burn, First Kiss/Time, Friends to Lovers, Frottage, Cuddles and Snuggles, Awkwardness, Insecure/Virgin Sherlock, Romance) – John’s marriage is over and he is finally back home (i.e. at Baker Street, where he belongs). Sherlock is awfully insecure and John is awfully hesitant, and they’re both awkward idiots, of course, but they figure it out. Many First Times happen.

An Acquired Taste by kinklock (E, 31,059 w. || Vampires AU || Vampire Sherlock, Misunderstandings, Bat!Sherlock, Pining Sherlock, Humour, Magical Realism, Fluff and Angst, Blood Drinking, Holmes Family, Slow Burn) – At Montague Street when Sherlock was forced to sate his body’s needs, he was at least able to wander about the flat as much as he pleased.At Baker Street, it was mini-bags in a mini-fridge and bedroom confinement.

a good old-fashioned happy ending by darcylindbergh (E, 32,731 w. || Christmas, Frottage, Comfort, Est. Rel., Fluff, Insecure Sherlock) – For Christmas this year, Sherlock wants to get John something special: something every fairytale deserves. Part 2 of things fairy tales are made of

Classified(s) by blueink3 (E, 36,153 w. || Wedding Date AU || Fake Relationship, Jealous, PIning, H/C, Idiots in Love, Happy Ending, Mary is not Nice, Escort Service) – Clara’s American father is the ambassador to some such territory that Great Britain probably used to own, but she (and Harry’s undying love for her) is the reason John is getting on a flight at 12:30pm, flying across the second largest ocean in the world, and pretending to be in a perfectly happy, healthy relationship with an undoubtedly perfectly coiffed stranger. See, Clara is not only American (and wealthy to boot), she’s also best friends with John’s ex-fiancée. Whom she’s placed in the wedding party. As Maid of Honor. And John just happens to be Best Man. Bloody brilliant.

A Promise Made to Be Broken by PlantsAreNeat (E, 37,018 w. || Fake Relationship, Pining, Slow Burn, RST, Eventual Relationship, POV Sherlock) – A young John makes an ‘if we’re still single at 40, we’ll get together’ pledge to a woman who ends up all wrong for him. She keeps reminding him of the promise, and won’t let go of it. John asks Sherlock to pose as his boyfriend at a family wedding, so as to dash her hopes permanently. Sherlock, who has at last acknowledged his feelings for John, reluctantly agrees despite knowing how painful it will be to ‘have’ John, but not keep him.

Set in Stone by SilentAuror (E, 39,309 w. || Romance, Wedding, Therapy, Fluff and Angst) – Sherlock and John are back from Ravine Valley and planning their wedding. However, as they move past the trial of the human traffickers, Sherlock can’t help but wonder if he’s imagining that John is becoming a little distant. Surely he isn’t getting cold feet about the wedding… Part 2 of The Ravine Valley series

In the Still of the Night by SilentAuror (E, 42,234 w. || S4 Fix It / Post-S4, Sherlock POV, Angst, Drama, Romance, Virgin Sherlock, Awkwardness, Misunderstandings / Miscommunications, Case Fic, Travelling, Pining) – As locals on the Northeastern coast begin to report UFO sightings, life at Baker Street becomes significantly awkward as John brings up his desire for more than friendship and Sherlock refuses him. They embark on the investigation from the confines of the tiny cottage Mycroft has rented for them, attempting to navigate both the clues of the case as well as their own inability to communicate…

Bedroom Tales by Junejuly15 (M, 49,950 w. || Friends to Lovers, Through the Years, H/C, Military Kink, First Kiss / Time, Romance, Insecure Sherlock, Voyeurism, Post-TRF, Ficlets, Fluff and Angst, Fix-It Fics) – Bedroom Tales is a collection of John and Sherlock ficlets. They are set at various stages of their relationship and are in no particular order. Some are fluffy, some sexy, some angsty, there is hurt and comfort, romance and love. What unites them is that they all play in a bedroom, but not necessarily the one in 221B.

In the Dark Hours by hubblegleeflower (E, 51,639 w. || Friends to Lovers, Unreliable Narrator, Closeted Bi John, Angst, Miscommunications, Slow Burn, First Time, John’s Blog / Epistolary) – John, wounded and silent, drifts back to Baker Street for healing…and then goes home again. He visits, gets more upbeat, chattier, smiles, jokes… and still goes home again. Sherlock wants him to move back in - it just makes sense - but John shows no signs of doing so. This is the story of how John and Sherlock learn to say what needs to be said when they’re both so very, very rubbish at talking.

floating through a dark blue sky by Lediona (M, 58,966 w. || Notting Hilll AU || POV John, Celebrity Sherlock, First Date / Time / Kiss, Past Drug Addiction, Angst with a Happy Ending) – Of course, I’d seen his films and always thought he was, well, brilliant – but, you know, a million miles from the world I live in. Or, when John is the owner of a travel book shop and the famous Sherlock Holmes stops in one day.

The Book of Silence by SilentAuror (E, 60,056 w. || S4 Fix It / Post S4, Virgin Sherlock, Rosie / Parentlock, Domesticity, Fluff, Praise Kink, Sex Toys, First Person POV) – As spring blooms in London, John and Sherlock begin to take new cases and cautiously negotiate this new phase of life with John living at Baker Street again. Despite how well it’s all going, John struggles to forgive himself for the way he treated Sherlock following Mary’s death as well as trying to figure out how to finally put his long-time feelings for Sherlock into words. Part 1 of The Book of Silence/Rosa Felicia

Scars by SilentAuror (E, 60,493 w. || Rape / Non-Con / Abuse, Gaslighting, Manipulation, Dub Con Elements, Homophobia, Angst With Happy Ending, Mary is Not Nice) – S3 rewrite, showing Mary’s manipulation of John as he realizes his love for Sherlock. Mary is not having it.

Definitions by siennna (T, 101,528 w. || Dev. Rel., Pining, Fluff and Romance, First Kiss, Love Confessions, Fluff, Cuddles) – Sherlock’s journey in defining his flat mate and stumbling through the muddled world of emotion. {{This feels complete; the chapter count is listed as ? but I feel like it is done}}

Maintenance and Repair by patternofdefiance (E, 106,650 w. || FutureAU, Augmentation || Augmented John, Depression, Body Modification, Slow Burn, Worldbuilding, Sci-Fi, Self-Care, Body Dysmorphia) – John wants to explain the rush of sensation and data, which is just another form of sensation (or is it the other way around?). John wants to say: Augmentation circuits report temperature, pressure, various forms of quantitative input. Sudden changes are reported as pain, since sudden changes are dangerous, and pain is the quickest way to encourage reflexive extraction. But all John can manage is, “Nng.” Because this sudden touch is not reporting as pain. Part 2 of STATIC

Breakable by MissDavis (E, 117,627 w. || Established, Fluff/Angst, Depression, Paralysis, Happy-ish Ending) – After John is seriously injured, Sherlock struggles to figure out how to help him, keep himself sane, and maybe, just maybe, get their life back to the way it’s supposed to be. Part 1 of Breakable Not Broken

The Burning Heart by May_Shepard (M, 119,150 w. || Canon Divergence, Post-TRF, John’s Sexuality, S3 Rewrite, Pining, Angst with a Happy Ending, POV John Watson, John’s Gay) – When Sherlock dies, John Watson feels like his life is over too. He’s completely shut down, until Mark Morstan, a new nurse at John’s medical clinic, catches his attention, and helps him uncover the long buried truth of his attraction to men. Although he’s certain he’ll never get over Sherlock, John plans to move on, and build a new life with Mark, unaware that Sherlock is not quite as dead as he appears, and that Mark is hiding secrets of his own.

Unkissed Series by 221b_hound (T to E, 184,168 w. across 46 works || Established Relationship, Ace Sherlock) – Sherlock returned from the dead a year ago. John returned to Baker Street six months ago. They’ve been in a couple since then. or at least, not NOT a couple. For two smart men, they sure can be dumb. Luckily, an art thief tries to drown Sherlock, Sherlock has a fever dream and things are about to change.

#steph replies #johnlock fic recs #my fic recs #insecure sherlock #insecure john #hpswl-cumbercookie #awkward sherlock #awkward john #long post

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let-it-raines · 5 years

Text

Second in Command (Epilogue - Part 11)

Summary: Life as the “spare to the heir” isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be when you’re the supposed screw-up of the family, but people don’t know what really happens behind closed doors.

Rating: Mature

A/N: Okay, so...I don’t know how many of you read this on ao3 and have noticed that we now have a chapter count of 31/35, but we do. That means after this that there’s only four more chapters until we’re finished with the epilogue that we all know is really a sequel. I mean, I’ve written an entire extra story, you guys, when it was supposed to be three parts. lol.

So what this means is that starting in part 13, I’m still going to go in chronological order, but I’m going to skip around to show different scenes in the future because I do want to give this story nearly everything. So, yeah. We’re closing in on the end (not that it means I won’t write one shots when inspiration strikes), and I want to thank you guys for being the absolute best!

The chapter starts with a flashback :D

AO3: Beginning | Current

Tumblr: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20

Epilogue Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15

Tag list: @nikkiemms @resident-of-storybrooke @kmomof4 @wellhellotragic @ekr032-blog-blog @bmbbcs4evr @onceuponaprincessworld @jennjenn615 @mayquita @captainsjedi @captswanis4vr @kristi555 @teamhook @skyewardolicitycloisdelena91 @branlovesouat @dreadpirateemma @alys07 @andiirivera @emmas-storybook @superchocovian @in-spirational

There’s a clattering from downstairs, something that sounds like dishes falling into the sink, but he doesn’t think anything of it as he continues to read through the email his assistant sent him earlier with his schedule for next week and everything that he needs to know before his visit to Blackpool on Monday and then the dinner his father is hosting for his uncle Albert Wednesday night. That seems like an absolute nightmare, having to be stuck at a stuffy dinner with all of the family he dislikes, but Rebecca will be there since it’s her father’s birthday so he’ll have someone to talk to.

Maybe he should work on having a better relationship with is family. Sometimes he does, but he’s pissed at his father right now for having a stick up his ass over him going to a pub with some of his university friends just to catch up. He didn’t do anything wrong, never does, but he thinks his father still worries that they’re going to have another disaster period like they did when he was in university and there were lies spread about him spending the night with women.

He did with some of them. He’ll admit to that without question because it’s the truth, but not every article or interview is true. Not that his family has ever cared about that.

If only they knew that he’s spent pretty much the last three years in a pub talking to a woman who lets him come home with her nearly every night. If only they knew that he was sitting in an apartment over a pub while he was answering his emails and reviewing his work for the next week.

If only they knew that he was so in love with a woman with absolutely no aristocratic background, with a woman who isn’t even British, and with a woman who they would probably faint when hearing about all of the ways that she’s different than them.

But he knows. And he knows that all of the ways that she’s different, unique, and, well, those are some of the things he loves about Emma. She’s her own person, fiery, passionate, fiercely funny and kind, and he loves her and loves all of the little quirks she has that his family would think are practically blasphemy.

They’re a tad bit dramatic, but he just knows that they would be appalled with the way Emma walked out of the bathroom earlier with her hair unwashed for three days and with a t-shirt on…and absolutely nothing else as she brushed her teeth, toothpaste staining the shirt.

He doesn’t care. That’s normal. She’s normal. And yet somehow extraordinary.

Emma: Can you bring me a new button down?

Emma: I fucking spilled beer all over my white one.

And that’s exactly what that crashing sound must have been. He knew he should have gone down there, but it’s only eight, the crowd still new and sober, and he was choosing to stay upstairs for privacy. But he’s not going to let Emma work in a beer-soaked shirt, so he grabs his cap, pulling it down low over his head as he adjusts his Henley and sweatpants, making himself as unassuming as possible before finding Emma a navy button down shirt, one that she can spill things on, and making his way downstairs.

The pub is relatively crowded tonight, and he tries to stay in the shadows until he’s at the bar on his stool in the corner, the one that keeps him out of view from everyone. He’s found that people don’t recognize him because who in their right mind would expect to see him in a small pub wearing sweatpants and run-down sneakers on a Thursday night. It doesn’t mean that he’s not wary of it, though, that he doesn’t take precautions, and he always feels a little nervous until it’s near midnight and only the intoxicated are still milling around.

“Thanks,” Emma huffs when she takes the shirt out of his hands, disappearing back into the kitchen and coming back out a moment later with the new shirt on and her hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun, blonde strands falling everywhere.

She’s obviously been having a night, and he sits quietly in his corner, messing with his phone all while he allows her time to work through her anger and frustration. At least she’s not working alone tonight. Will is working in the kitchen, so she’s not having to do it all. Sometimes there are nights like that, and it’s ridiculous. When the pub isn’t busy, it’s fine and Emma can handle it. When it is, she says it’s like hell. Sometimes he’ll help, but he can really only work in the kitchen.

He loves cooking, but using the pub’s fryer is not his favorite thing in the world. He’s also not entirely sure that Emma trusts him in there.

“Hey,” she sighs, coming over to him nearly an hour after he first came down. He looks up at her and can see the slight bags under her eyes, see the stress lines on her face that a twenty-four-year-old woman shouldn’t have, and he reaches over the bar to grab her hand and kiss her knuckles right over the sapphire ring that she wears now. “Do you want something to drink, babe?”

“Finally some service. I’ve been waiting for a long time.”

“Well, I’ve been a little busy,” she snaps, her voice on edge.

“Love, I was joking. I know that you’re busy.”

Something softens in her face, the lines going away for a moment before she rests her arms on the bar top and then rests her forehead on the wood, mumbling something he can’t understand.

“Can you repeat that?” he asks softly, reaching over and gently squeezing her shoulder.

She pokes her head up, a brow raising with her eye. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap. There have just been a lot of assholes in here tonight.”

“I’m sorry too,” he tells her, moving his hand to tuck her loose hair behind her ear so he can see her eyes more clearly. “I am completely and totally willing to listen to you talking about all of the assholes now or when your shift finishes.”

“You know that my shift finishes at two this morning?”

He smiles. “I’m willing to wait.”

And he does wait. He’s used to waiting on Emma, on working around her job and her life even when his obligations keep him away from her and away from home. Mostly, though, he’s used to waiting in this pub on this stool or in the booth over in the corner that’s the reason they met. That’s what he does now, watching the television in the center of the room and talking to Emma whenever she gets the chance to come over and talk to him. He can see the tenseness in her shoulders lifting the slightest bit, her lips nearly forming a smile, and it’s like getting to watch her let go of her stress and annoyances as the hours pass.

Eventually there’s no one left in the pub but he, Emma, and Will back in the kitchen who’s likely snacking away like he usually does, and because there’s still an hour until closing, they only start cleaning up a little bit, fully expecting someone to walk through the door with every chair he puts up on a table so that Emma can sweep.

He may not be able to do much, but he can at least help to clean up to make the night a little bit easier.

“It’s so bloody quiet in here,” Will yells, peeking his head out from the kitchen with a bag of crisps in his hand. “Ems, can I turn the blasted radio up?”

“Yeah, just don’t wake up my parents.”

“I don’t want to get fired, so that’s definitely not happening.”

“Good,” she laughs, stopping her sweeping to stretch her arms above her head, her shirt lifting with the movement to show the soft skin that he’s so accustomed to. The speaker system groans a bit more to life, some static emanating from it before the music plays more clearly. He’s never heard the song before, and Emma looks at him to roll her eyes. “He’s into folk music. I don’t understand it, but it’s just what he does.”

“He’s an odd bloke.”

“Yeah, but he makes work fun sometimes.”

Emma continues to sweep while he stacks the chairs. He can hear Will singing from the kitchen, his voice almost louder than the speakers, and a lightness begins to fill him that he hasn’t felt all day. He wonders if Emma can feel it too.

An idea sparks in his mind, and he walks over to Emma, taking the broom out of her hands and placing it on a table before he grabs her hands, twining his fingers with hers and feeling the heat of her skin. “Come on,” he urges, pulling her to the center of the room where there’s more floor space.

“Baby,” she whines, rolling her eyes and dragging her feet even as she walks with him, “what are you doing?”

“Dancing with you.” He dips his head and brushes his lips across her left cheek and then again on her right cheek. “There’s music playing over the speakers, we have nothing else to do but wait for closing, and I just want to dance with you. So come on, my love, let’s dance.”

Emma rolls her eyes again, but he sees her lips press together before she smiles. And God, it’s just as beautiful as it’s always been. He’s such a goner for her that it’s ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. “Fine.” “Ah, see, my girlfriend loves to dance with me. Can’t you see the enthusiasm?”

“You’re just asking for me to complain about you too.”

“Aye,” he confirms, squeezing her hands while he tugs her closer, “I am. I don’t mind it. You yelling at me kind of turns me on sometimes.”

“Kinky.”

“You know it.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Will whines from the kitchen, his head turning to look at him, “you two are disgusting.”

“Go back to eating and singing your song,” Emma laughs, the smile on her face brighter than it has been all day when she looks back at him. “Do you think we could just send him home? Then we could yell at each other and fuck on the bar and break all kinds of health codes?”

“Oh, I like that plan,” he chuckles, a shiver running down his spine just thinking of that while Emma’s body sways against his.

“I do too.”

He moves her around the room as the music plays over the speakers. He thinks there’s now fiddles or a banjo or something playing, but right now his only focus is on spinning Emma around in circles to keep that smile on her face. It’s been a long day, and they’re both tired as the clock ticks closer to two in the morning. But he wants to do this. He loves doing this.

“You know, it’s not fucking on an uncomfortable surface, but I do love dancing with you, even if I’m not sure what kind of dance this is.”

Emma tilts her head at him, her eyes slanting as she looks up into his eyes, and before he can say something else, she’s releasing his hands so that she can wrap her arms around his neck and press herself completely into him while she rests her head on his shoulder and sways with him. His hands find her waist, fingers digging into the soft skin that peeks up above her jeans, and he holds onto her more tightly.

He just holds onto his love, feeling every breath she takes against his chest, as the music plays slowly in the background, the song changing to something softer. All he cares about is the way that Emma feels against him, even as she steps on his toes, and the way that they are swaying back and forth in the pub like they don’t have any care in the world.

And maybe they don’t right now.

He presses his lips against the crown of her head while his hands move from her hips to up her back, rubbing up and down as much as he can to soothe her, to silently let her know he much he loves her.

“You live in a palace, mate,” Will yells, but Killian doesn’t even bother to look over at him. “Can’t you get a bloody room?”

Of all of the people in the world who know about his relationship with Emma, he can’t believe that Will Scarlet is one of them.

“So do you think the peanut gallery is right?” Emma asks, continuing to sway with him.

“About what?”

“Us going to get a room? You know, I have a very good bedroom upstairs. I believe you’ve spent a lot of time in it.”

“I thought we’d planned on the bar top.”

“Good point.”

“Bloody hell,” Will mutters, turning the volume on the stereo up while Killian playfully spins Emma around, her hair falling out of her bun with the movement.

-/-

“Okay, okay, okay,” Emma laughs next to him, her heels on the floor with her feet tucked up underneath her. “I’m so glad that your mom finally sent me all of these pictures because these are absolutely brilliant.”

“I am not glad that mum sent you those pictures.”

“Oh come on, babe,” she giggles, covering her mouth while still flipping pages in the photo album. He’s never going to live any of this down. Emma’s likely going to have all of the photos framed instead of keeping them on their shelf of photo albums in her study that’s pretty much where Emma keeps all of her junk, though he has noticed several new frames going up around the apartment lately. There’s a wedding photo hanging on the wall next to the stairwell with two portraits of Andy next to them, and he has absolutely no idea when she ordered all of those canvases. “You look adorable in this oversized white dress that we just forced our son to wear and to take pictures in for the entire world to see for the rest of his life.” “I absolutely despise that outfit, and I wanted to fight tooth and nail for Andy to just wear a normal outfit to his Christening. One day he’s going to absolutely hate us for this.” “Oh come on,” she laughs, running her palm over a picture of him in the book while he adjusts Andy in his arms, his little lad snoozing away, “there are plenty of other things he’s going to hate us for. I think this may be near the bottom of the list, even if you seem to be holding a grudge over it.” “Because I look ridiculous,” he sighs, propping his feet up on the ottoman and stretching his legs out as much as he can. “And one day Andy’s wife might be making fun of him in the same way that you are making fun of me right now.”

“You were a baby. He looks like you here. It still freaks me out.”

“Too much handsome at once?”

“Sure.” Emma closes the photo album and places it on the couch before getting up and smoothing out her dress. “I’m going to go eat some of the leftovers from earlier. You want something?”

“I want to know when in the world you managed to swipe leftovers? How did you even carry them without me noticing?”

“I asked Isabelle to figure out a way to pack me things. It was some good food, and I wanted to save some for later. And because Isabelle is a saint, she got some for me.” He shakes his head back and forth while his lips press together and tick up into a smile, his disbelief over his wife stealing food from Andrew’s Christening absolutely amusing to him. And not at all surprising. “No, darling, I don’t want anything. You can eat all of your leftovers.” “You are a saint.” She leans down and kisses his brow before walking out of the room, giving her hips a little sway as she moves.

Normally after an event she’s exhausted, especially since she hasn’t been working lately, and as nervous as she was going to Andy’s Christening, as nervous as she was having to be out in the public eye again for the first time since she gave birth, she’s in a surprisingly good mood. Maybe she’s simply relieved that nothing went wrong and that they didn’t get any rude comments from the family they don’t like who were at the church today, or maybe she’s relieved that no one yelled out any nasty comments as they were walking inside. He’s gotten quite a few himself since they didn’t introduce Andy to the world, and while he doesn’t regret the choice he and Emma made, he’s not exactly thrilled to have to deal with all of the backlash. He knew it would happen, but damn.

The fact that he hasn’t popped off on a journalist or photographer is pretty much a miracle for the way that he sometimes has to dig his nails into his palms so harshly that he has cut skin. Emma should be able to make her own choices regarding their child and his privacy, and as much as he has respected more traditions than most people realize, he believes that he and Emma deserve the right to say fuck it and do what they want here.

It’s not like the public will literally never see their child. They already have an official photo of Emma holding him in the nursery and all of the photos from today, so if all of the people harassing his wife would like to calm down and give them some privacy, he’d really appreciate that.

They get so much love and so much kindness from people that he hates focusing on the negativity, so most of the time he tries not to. As does Emma. They focus on the kind words, on the flowers given, on the letters filled with kind words and sweet sentiments that they both spend time responding to. Just last week Emma received a letter from a young woman telling her how much it means to her to see Emma working to change lives in her new patronages supporting women that she’s taken up even while on her maternity leave. He believes the woman actually called Emma a badass for being someone who protects those who she loves as well as protecting those who she doesn’t know and for simply being a mom and so obviously caring for her child.

Emma had sobbed when she read it, her tears staining the page, and it’s what got him to read the letter as well. He knows that Emma wrote a letter back, something more than the perfunctory one they have their team send out, and he also knows that she has that letter in a folder where she keeps all of her favorites.

There’s so much good in the world, and he simply has to remember where to find it.

Andy makes some kind of noise next to him, and Killian slowly turns his head to look at his son who is still sleeping despite his noise. This…this is the good in the world. His sweet child who has stolen his heart. He’s two months old now, growing like a weed really, and Killian can’t quite believe that it’s been this long. Each day is slow, inching itself along sluggishly, but it seems that when he looks back on it, it’s been the fastest two months of his life.

Likely the two most terrifying too. Having a human being partly rely on him for life is, well, it really puts things into perspective about what’s important and what’s not. He can’t even imagine what it’s like from Emma’s perspective when she literally brought him life and keeps him alive. He’s spent a lot of time focusing on things that don’t matter, but his family matters.

Most definitely.

Emma comes back into the room with her plate of food and two travel mugs of what he assumes is tea, especially from the smell, and places it all on the table on her side of the couch.

“I’m going to go put him upstairs, love,” he tells her, slowly getting up from the couch and cradling Andy’s head with his hand. “I think my arms may get stuck in this position if I keep holding him.”

“Okay,” she mumbles, covering her mouth as she’s chewing one of the biscuits she brought in here. “I’ll just be here.”

He nods before carefully walking out of the room and down the hall until he’s heading up the stairs and to the nursery. They stopped keeping him in their room last week when he started sleeping more consistently throughout the night, and while Killian does miss having him so close, he’s only one room over. Plus, he does quite like the bit of extra sleep and the fact that he doesn’t have to whisper when talking to Emma.

And Emma really likes getting to sit in the glider in the nursery, which hasn’t fallen apart. David may have helped him put it together, but he likes to think that he’s become quite adept at putting together furniture.

Doesn’t mean he wasn’t terrified that something would happen to the crib while Andy was in it on the first night.

After he successfully puts Andy down, the lad not waking from his slumber, he walks over to his room and changes out of his suit and into his lounge pants and a sweatshirt, grabbing some clothes for Emma in case she wants to change out of her dress without coming upstairs. She’ll likely want something else to wear, but he figures it can’t hurt to ask her.

When he gets back into the living room, Emma’s finished off her plate of food and is drinking her tea while texting on her phone.

“Is he still asleep?”

“Yeah,” he sighs, sitting down at the other end and picking up his mug from where she moved it to his table, warmth still permeating from it. “Out like a light. He had a long day. Lots of elderly women pinching his cheeks.” “I don’t understand why people do that. It honestly freaks me out a little bit. Like, what comes over human beings and makes them want to pinch a baby’s face? It’s like some kind of…creepy phenomenon you’d see in an apocalyptic movie.” “I’ll keep that in mind the next time I mess with the fat on his legs.” “Well that’s different.”

“How?”

She shrugs. “It just is. He’s our baby. By the way, Ruby and Graham are going to get married in August in Fiji. She texted me about it. They don’t have the exact date or place, but they figured we should know so we can make sure that we’re not supposed to be in Scotland with our family. Or so we can take that week off. A vacation from our vacation so to speak.”

“We are, but we can go at any date. I’m sure Ruby will want Abigail there anyway, so we’ll probably all schedule the time off. Unless they really are only doing the few of us.” “I think they are. I mean, I really am thinking ten to twenty people, which will be kind of awesome. Plus, you know, the beach.”

“That is a bonus. Though I do hope that Ruby and Graham’s suite is far from ours.” “Stop,” she whines, tossing a throw pillow that hits him in the shoulder while he moves his brows across his forehead. “There’s a difference between talking about sex with Ruby and actually having to hear her having it. That’s just…I don’t want that.”

“Exactly my point. We’ll have to make sure we stay in separate hotels or that we put Graham’s parents next to them.”

“Poor Ella and George. They will literally never be the same.”

He leans back against the couch, propping his feet up on the ottoman and crossing his legs at his ankles before stretching his hands behind his head. “You know, it’s a bit weird to think about the fact that we’ll only have been married for three more years than them when they literally met at our wedding while we’ve been together for nine years.”

“Not really. I mean, yeah, a little, but their lives aren’t quite as complicated as ours were, as ours are. We could have literally never flown to an island and gotten married with twenty people there. Hell, we can barely leave the house now.”

“Yeah, I know.” He tilts his head to the side and smiles at Emma as she twists her curled hair around her fingers. “I liked our wedding. It was ridiculous sometimes, but I liked it. I liked the tradition of it for once. I also liked the fact that we got to have what we actually wanted at the end of the night.”

She stretches her legs out until she’s poking her toes at his thigh, obviously waiting for him to grab it and rest it in his lap. “Our wedding was perfect, Killian. I thought I was going to throw up even with how calm I convinced everyone I was, but it was perfect. There’s not a thing I would change, not even messing my vows up in front of all of those people.”

“That was a very on point thing for you to do.”

“Exactly. And now we can just live our lives, you know? Also, can we talk about how haven’t even been married two and a half years, and you knocked me up on accident? Good job there.” “Right then,” he teases, pinching her foot, “I’m just going to tell Andrew up there that he was a surprise baby who wasn’t supposed to be conceived for another few months.”

“I think he’ll take the news well.” She sits up and leans over the couch to brush her lips against his cheek. “Do you want to watch a movie or clean the house?”

“It’s like you’re asking me to choose between two truly wonderful things.”

“You are so weird.”

“That I am, my darling.” He moves her feet off of his lap, getting up from his seat. “Why don’t you change into those clothes, and we’ll clean?”

“I was really thinking a movie, though,” she whines, throwing her head back against the cushions. “I was kidding about the cleaning.”

“You should know to have never have offered it if you didn’t want to do it.” “And you should know that I never want to clean.”

He bends down over her, quickly brushing his lips over hers. “Let’s just work in the kitchen and in here, and then we can watch a movie when Andy wakes up. You can pick it out and everything.” She rolls her eyes. “How kind of you. It’s not like we could just watch the movie I pick out now and then not clean.”

He winks before moving away and off into the kitchen. They really don’t have much to do, but he likes to deep clean the kitchen every few weeks. He knows that Emma thinks he’s crazy, that if there’s anything about him that she thinks is absolutely mad, it’s his cleanliness and the way he doesn’t like dishes piling up. As he sets music up on his phone, connecting it to the speakers in the kitchen, he idly wonders how many fights they’ve gotten into over the years simply because Emma’s left dishes in the sink or in the living room or because he’s snapped at her for not cleaning up when she says that she’s going to in a few minutes.

It’s insane, but it happens when two personalities live in one house. He loves her more than anything (well, Andy is right up there), but sometimes she irritates the hell out of him. And sometimes he pisses her off. It’s life.

He starts with the fridge, taking out anything that’s old or needs to be replaced so he can more easily wipe the shelves down. They’ve really got to order actual groceries at some point, more than getting the bare minimum, but they’ve definitely been slacking at things lately. He knows that all he has to do is ask and Isabelle or Thomas will get someone to do it all for him, but he’s not the biggest fan of that. It’s a weird hang up he has, and while sometimes he does succumb to asking for extra help when life gets too busy or he’s going to be traveling, he does like to do things himself.

Besides, no one is going to organize the refrigerator in the exact way that he likes it.

Maybe he does have some issues.

Emma finally joins him twenty minutes later. She’s changed into the clothes he brought down for her, but she also must have gone upstairs and removed her makeup and brushed through the curls in her hair. He hears her unloading the dishwasher, glass clanking against glass as she puts them away in the cabinets, and he smiles a bit to himself knowing that she’s likely grumbling the entire time. He’s got no bloody clue how she worked in a pub for so long when she hates doing the dishes.

She likely hates them because of her days in the pub. It’s got to be disgusting to clean the plates and glasses of people you don’t know. He helped out a few times, but it was mostly just wiping down glasses. He let Emma and her parents do the nastiest cleaning.

It’s a miracle that were all happy to keep him around.

After he’s finished with the refrigerator and freezer, he starts wiping down the counters where he made a mess. He finds this soothing, relaxing, and the music playing overhead definitely helps the time pass. Eventually Emma moves to work next to him, bumping her hip into his and looking up at him with a cheeky smile on her face.

“What?”

“Nothing,” she hums, her tune matching up with the song that’s playing over the speakers while she scrubs at a stain on the marble.

He doesn’t think anything else of it until her humming picks up its pace, her hips moving a bit as she cleans, and without thinking he tosses his cloth down and walks over to Emma, grabbing onto her wrists until she drops her wipe onto the counter.

“What?”

“Nothing,” he answers, mimicking her words from earlier as he slowly twines their fingers together, smiling down at her and the way that she’s got her brows raised in confusion. “I was simply wondering if I could have this dance, milady?”

“Killian,” she chuckles, her fingers going a bit lax in his until he’s tightening them and pulling her back toward the open space in the kitchen, “you’re ridiculous.”

“I want to dance with my wife,” he sighs, spinning her around until she’s pulled back into him, their chests pressed together while their feet move from side to side. She’s being hesitant, but she’s moving with him.

“You want to dance with me to Mamma Mia?”

“Aye,” he laughs, pulling her closer and listening to her giggle as he trails his lips across her jaw, her perfume invading his senses as he moves down her neck, “I do because it has been far too long since I’ve gotten to dance with you. Besides,” he growls, biting the lobe of her ear and reveling in the whine she emits, “what better song is there to dance to with my hot baby mama?”

She throws her head back, her hair falling down her back while she laughs. God, he loves her laugh. He loves making her laugh. “Okay. You’ve been spending too much time with Ruby, but okay. Show me your moves.”

He winks. “I plan to.”

They continue to move around the kitchen, their feet expertly (or inexpertly really) moving as the sway together and then sway apart. He spins and dips Emma far too many times, simply because she laughs every damn time, and by the time three songs have passed, he’s out of breath from his laughter and holding Emma closely against him while they simply sway, hearts beating against each other in a comforting rhythm.

“Thank you,” she mumbles into her chest, her words muffled until she leans her head back the slightest bit to look up at him. “Thank you for making me dance even if I feel ridiculous sometimes when we do that.”

“Thanks for feeling ridiculous with me.”

“Always. I’m just surprised you allowed us to stop doing your precious cleaning to dance. It didn’t mess up your mojo?”

“Hush,” he laughs, leaning down and nipping at her ear, enjoying the noise that she makes yet again. It’s something between a moan and a sigh this time, and he absolutely loves it. It’s been a damn good day today. “I can get back into my mojo at any time.”

She raises her brow, something she’s gotten a lot better at recently. “Oh really?”

“Most definitely. I can always get back into my mojo.”

“So if I were to say that I’m feeling like going upstairs and having sex, you think you could get your mojo back even though it’s been over two months and I was like a human whale the last time?”

“Please, love. I’ve never lost that mojo.” He raises his brow, just like Emma did, and studies her face, moving his hands from her hips until he’s cupping her cheeks and running his thumbs under her eyes, looking for the sureness in her emerald eyes. “Are you sure you’re ready? I don’t mind waiting. I promise.”

She nods her head up and down, her eyes alight with amusement. “I mean, what’s the saying? Gotta get back up on the horse and ride?”

He gasps, adding as much false shock as possible simply to annoy her because he knows how annoyed she gets with the joke he’s about to make. “Emma, you are someone’s mother. How dare you say make a dirty joke like that.”

“Well, I’m only someone’s mother because I know how to ride. Just saying.” She backs up from him, trailing her hands down his arms until she’s holding his hands, tugging at him with her lips pressed together in a smile. “I’m going to ignore the sexism in your joke because I know you were making fun of it, and ask you to take me away, cowboy.”

“Good God, love. You’ve got to stop with those jokes.”

“Never.” She laughs before tugging at his arms again, simply the brightest smile on her face that amuses him even with how turned on he is, and just as he’s taking a step, there’s a cry emitting from the baby monitor. “Seriously,” Emma whines, looking over at the device before looking up at him, her bottom lip jutting out as she walks back toward him and buries her face in his chest. “We just got cock blocked by our son.”

“I know,” he sighs, rubbing his hand up and down her back before kissing the crown of her hair, trying to tamper down the disappoint that’s running through him. “I know, darling. We’ll try again later.”

“I feel like he’s really not appreciative of the fact that you and I have needs, and he’s only alive because we used to have time to sleep together.”

“Maybe he’s simply trying to stay an only child.”

“I think he just wants to eat.”

“Preposterous.”

-/-

He looks down at his phone and sees that it’s now December first, November having passed in a flurry of chilled weather and rain that he hopes won’t continue throughout December. He loves this time of the year, loves the upcoming holidays and the way things seem to be brighter the closer they get to Christmas, but for some reason he’s shocked to see that it actually is December. Maybe it’s that time is always getting away from him or because it’s three in the morning and he’s just woken up out of a heavy sleep a bit bleary eyed. He should not be awake right now.

Slowly, he turns to his side and looks to see that the other side of the bed is empty, the comforter thrown off where Emma has obviously gotten up. Usually he feels her move or hears the monitor when Andy cries, but he must have slept through it all.

With a bit of hesitance, he gets out of bed, picking his boxers up off the ground and sliding them up his legs as he makes his way out of the bedroom and the few feet down the hall to the nursery. It’s oddly quiet, simply the sound of a noise machine that he absolutely hates but Emma insists on because she claims that it’s soothing, and he sees Emma half asleep holding Andy as she sits in the glider moving back and forth in a consistent motion. She hasn’t even bothered to get dressed, just sitting in her robe that she must have found on the bedroom floor even in the darkness of their room, but he doesn’t blame her. He’s done the same thing even if he can feel the chill from outside in his bones.

“Hey,” he whispers, walking over to them and squatting down next to the chair, placing his hand on her knee, “how long have you been in here?”

“About thirty minutes,” she yawns, her voice barely audible. “I thought about coming back to bed, but I got really comfortable right here. Why are you up?”

“Force of habit.” He slowly takes Andy out of Emma’s arms, settling him in his arms and walking him back over to his crib so that he can go back to sleep without constantly being moved. “Come back to bed, love.”

“You only ask because you want to get lucky again.”

“I ask because if you get a crick in your neck from falling asleep in that chair, not a person in this house is going to be happy tomorrow.”

“I don’t like that you’re being reasonable here.”

“I know.”

He takes her hands in his, pulling her up out of the chair until she’s standing. She ties her robe over her waist and follows him back to their bedroom. He’s pretty sure she’s asleep the moment her head hits the pillow, and he follows not long after. It’s a pattern they’ve become accustomed to, though they don’t have to wake up as often as they did at first, but he does crave the nights where he once got a full night of sleep. He wouldn’t trade his son for anything in the world, but he would be okay with a full night of sleep more consistently.

He wakes up not three hours later, Emma still fast asleep beside him, and he gets out of bed as quietly as he can so he can let Indy go outside before she starts barking and wakes everyone up. She’s pretty good about not needing to go out during the night, but sometimes she’ll scratch at the floor next to his side of the bed and bark to let him know that she needs to go outside.

“Morning, girl,” he says to her when he finds her sleeping in the hallway between their room and the nursery. “You need to go outside?”

She immediately scrambles up, nails clicking against the wood, and runs downstairs even in her sleepy state. He has to catch up with her by the back garden door, opening it and feeling the gust of cold wind blow into the house. When they move after their house in Bucklebury is built, he’s definitely got to install some kind of dog door for her. Then again, they’ll have a toddler, and he can already see Andy somehow escaping through a dog door and wandering to the pool.

Okay, so maybe the door isn’t the best idea.

Maybe he’ll just have to wear more than his boxers to let the dog out in December.

After a few more minutes, he opens up the door and whistles, Indy running back over from where she was sniffing around a bench and moving trotting inside. He reaches down to scratch behind her ear, promising that he’ll take her out on a run with him later this afternoon if it doesn’t rain.

He’s sure that it’s going to rain, and while that should give him an excuse not to exercise, he could simply use the treadmill they have. He’s been working out with Emma the past week or so per her request to make sure she starts running again, but he’s kind of feeling like today might be a day for them to simply relax and eat all of the holiday food that’s been filling their fridge over the past few days even if they still have weeks until Christmas.

That’s probably an exact reason for them to go running in the gym.

The pastries are calling his name, though.

Yeah, they’ll definitely have to work out, and then they can go to David and Mary Margaret’s house for supper since they have the day off from the pub and offered to host them so they could have a meal somewhere other than their home. Really, he knows that it’s because David and Mary Margaret want to see their grandchild, but it’s a nice offer nonetheless.

“Come on,” he sighs, patting his thigh until she moves with him as he makes his way back upstairs. Indy takes her spot in the hallway where she’s preferred being lately, and he checks the nursery, making sure that everything is okay in there before moving back to his bedroom where Emma is awake but still burrowed under all of the blankets with only her eyes poking out. “You cold, sweetheart?”

“Yes,” she mumbles, her words muffled under the material. “Turn up the heat. I’m dying.”

“As you wish.” He fake bows before taking the few steps over to the thermostat and hitting it up a few degrees. It really is cold, and while Andy is dressed warmly, they can’t have him be chilled. Before he freezes, he heads to the closet and puts on pajamas and a sweater, grabbing Emma her favorite cardigan that’s on the center table, and tossing it as her when he comes back into the bedroom. She practically scrambles to get it on, wrapping the white fuzz around her waist as she sits up a little more in bed, pulling her hair into a bun on top of her head with one hand while the other reaches over for her glasses, sliding them onto her nose.

“Where’d you go?”

“Took the dog out, checked on our spawn, and now I’m crawling back into bed with my lovely wife because it’s Saturday and we have nothing to do.”

“We’re going to see my parents later.”

“Already thought about that,” he promises, settling himself down onto the mattress and pulling the covers up until he’s situated. “Damn. I should have gotten coffee before I came back upstairs.”

“Why would you even say that? I didn’t need caffeine until now.”

“Later,” he sighs, sliding down a bit and stretching out his arm until it hits her stomach, his hands fidgeting until her has them around her side so he can tug her closer. “We’ll get coffee later because right now I need you to warm me up.”

“So needy.”

“So cold.”

It’s a lazy day if he’s ever had one, even with all of the time and energy it takes to make sure that Andy is cared for and loved especially now that he’s more active than sleepy and needs to be entertained. He wails a lot, which is always pretty painful, but he’ll usually fall asleep right afterwards if he’s not hungry. It’s a lot, and he knows that even though he and Emma are both getting more sleep than they have been, they’re both thankful to have David and Mary Margaret watch Andy for a little while.

And he knows that they don’t mind because when they pull up to the house, parking in the private garage, Mary Margaret doesn’t even let them get out of the car before she’s entering the garage with a smile on her face, bypassing he and Emma to move to the backseat to get Andy out of his car seat.

“Nice to see you too, Mom,” Emma huffs as she gets out from the passenger side of the car, grabbing the diaper bag off the floorboard.

“Oh, hon, I’m going to say hi to you in a minute. I want to see my grandbaby.”

“But not her own baby,” Emma teases, rolling her eyes at him while he walks up the steps and into the house. “Hi, Dad,” she sighs when David comes into view while he slabs butter over bread in in the kitchen.

“Hi, darling,” David greets, coming over to them and hugging Emma before moving over to him and giving him a pat on the back. “Hey, Killian. How are you guys?”

“Good. It smells fantastic in here. Pasta?”

“Yeah. It’s easy, and I know you both like it. Where’s my grandchild?”

“Mom has him. I’m glad you at least said hi to us first. She just skipped right over us.”

“Sounds like her,” David laughs, continuing to fix the bread before popping it in the oven.

“Are you guys talking about me?” Mary Margaret coos as she walks into the room, her voice high-pitched like it is when she talks to Andy. “I think they’re talking about me baby boy. I think they’re talking about your Mimi.”

“Because you’re apparently ignoring your daughter in favor of Andy.” Mary Margaret laughs before fully walking into kitchen. “I’m sorry, hon,” she sighs, squeezing Emma’s arm and kissing her cheek. “How are you today? I feel like we haven’t talked all week.” “We talked this afternoon.”

“Did we?”

“Most definitely. How late were you two at the pub last night?”

“Late,” David answers, a yawn catching him. “We weren’t planning on going, but Will called out sick.”

“Is he okay?” Killian asks, moving to sit down at the kitchen table. Emma follows him, pulling out the cushioned chair next to him and grabbing an apple from the bowl even if they’re about to ear.

“Just a cold.”

“Please, David,” Mary Margaret scoffs, her eyes never leaving Andy’s as he watches his grandmother talk, “the man was going out on a date tonight with his girlfriend. I heard him on the phone.” “You knew he was faking it, and you let him take off?”

She shrugs, her lips pressing into a smile that reminds him so much of Emma that it takes him back a bit every time he notices the resemblance. Andy’s face is beginning to look a bit more like Emma, which means he’s looking more like Mary Margaret. He’s got all of Killian’s coloring and his dimples according to Emma, but he sees his wife. He guesses they all see different things in him.

“Young love,” she answers, handing Andy to David who kisses the top of his head. “And he deserves it. I’m surprised he still works for us after all this time.” “Yeah, and you guys don’t exactly pay well.”

He barks out a laugh at Emma’s comment, twisting his head to the side to look at the smug smile on her face.

“Would you look at that Andrew, your mommy thinks that just because she doesn’t live with us now she can complain about the pay when we gave her housing and work for years? And we allowed your daddy to stay around too? So ungrateful.”

“You guys are such kind parents.”

“That we are.”

Dinner is wonderful, and it’s nice to get to spend some more time with the Nolans. Sometimes, much like their daughter, they can grate on his nerves with their intrusive tendencies and lack of boundaries, but it’s like falling back into a sense of comfort whenever he’s around them. Plus, it’s quite beautiful to see how much they love their grandchild and how happy they are to have their family grow.

He stretches his arm and moves it to rest it on the back of Emma’s chair, his fingertips fiddling with the tips of her ponytail until he leans over and brushes his lips over her temple, lingering for a second too long while he takes it all in.

#second in command #cs fic #cs ff

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