#it gave me a completely another silly idea and this post will tie in with it because im a mastermind of epic proportions (not)

[detectiveforfree]

I’m begging you, Birdflash Celebrity AU where Dick and Wally are an official couple to the public and are posing for the cameras at one of Bruce’s charity events or galas.

gonna be honest im more of a sneaky paparazzi shot catching two goofs being so in lost in their own little world amidst gala posturing and looking so handsome in love type

but ye anon there is something in that trope of wally being recognized by gotham media as dick's SO and being awkwardly supportive with the whole celebrity thing. i feel ya

#ask&answer #anonq #birdflash #dickwally #CAN YOU GUESS WHAT FINALLY PUSHED ME TO ANSWER THIS ASK LOL #i swear i was contemplating what to draw for this when i saw the new cover and i was like ok ye its a sign #it gave me a completely another silly idea and this post will tie in with it because im a mastermind of epic proportions (not)

[drowsyhope]

HEYA, [Y/N]! • POPPY PLAYTIME

summary ; child reader with the smiling critters

a/n ; THANK YALL SO MUCH FOR THE LOVE ON THE DOGDAY FICC 🫶🏼🫶🏼 was lowkey scared to post it bc i thought it was booty 😔 HOPE YALL ENJOY THIS ONEE

warning ; slight cussing, reader is hispanic coded bc ya girl is hispanic ‼️🙏🏼, based on the CARTOON versions of the smiling critters, different scenarios with each character, no children death just a lot of sillies :3

DOGDAY , MOVIE NIGHT

“are you sure the popcorn isn’t burnt?” you asked while holding up a greasy bag of popcorn, that clearly had a burnt smell to it. you were wearing your typical pajamas, a [f/c] ]f/a] themed jumper. dogday on the other hand was wearing a dog themed jumper, complete with fuzzy orange socks.

dogday nodded excitedly, taking the greasy popcorn out of your hands. “of course! everything is perfect!” he turned on the heel of his feet, turning around and walking towards the cushion fort the two of you made.

you were confused, but shook it off, putting in another bag of popcorn.

dogday caught wind of your birthday coming up, and planned a one-on-one play date with the two of you, since recently he has been more busier than usual. plus, he always love spending time with you!

fluffing up a pillow, dogday laid down, getting comfortable in his spot, his tail wagging and you made your way towards him, your own personal bag of popcorn in your hands.

“what movie would you like to watch?” he asked, grabbing the controller and looking at you, awaiting for an answer. you on the other hand, didn’t know what movie to watch. surely, there was plenty of movies to watch, but they suddenly just popped out of your head when the question was asked.

“hmm, what about [favorite movie]?” you responded finally. dogday nodded, turning towards the tv and putting on the movie, smiling as the two of you started munching on your goodies.

alas, your movie night began.

CATNAP , TEA PARTY

catnap was reluctant on the idea of a tea party, but with convincing with the help of dogday, catnap agreed.

the two of you were dressed in your sunday’s best. catnap went for a more casual look, having a pink bow tie tied around his neck, a bow being tied around the end of his tail. bobby gave him some white gloves, craftycorn gave him some necklaces to borrow.

you on the other hand, had a bow tied around your wrist, a bow being put in your hair. picky helped you style your hair, and kickin helped you become more confident.

the tea party was going to be held in his cathouse, which dogday and bubba decorated.

you and hoppy prepared tea, making some french goodies alongside it. you were excited for this little tea party, having it with one of your best of friends. it was also near the time of your birthday, so you were extra excited.

entering the cathouse, you were greeted by catnap, who was fumbling with his bow tie, seemly uncomfortable. “catnap!” you smiled, before giving him a funny look as he looked at you with a shocked expression.

“hey! uh ..can you help me?” catnap struggled, before you nodded. you didn’t want your friend to feel uncomfortable.

soon enough, the two of you were enjoying tea, snacking on chocolate chip cookies, and chatting your lives away. well, mostly you. out of the two, you were the more talkative one. catnap was the quiet one of the smiling critters, so it was surprising for the others for the two of you to become such best friends.

but, thankfully, the two of you are. cause you won’t be having this epic tea party if you didn’t!

HOPPY HOPSCOTCH , MOON CYCLES

hoppy has ever seen the moon before, you on the other hand, have. she always asked how it looked like, does it change, does it have a scent, etc.

“the moon has different cycles, like i think today it’s a full moon.” you explained, showing her a picture of the full moon today. hoppy looked amazed, her eyes widening and her eyes going up. you smiled at her, enjoying that she was finally able to be the moon.

“ah yucks, i wish i can see the moon for myself!” she responded, going back and landing on the pillow, making you giggle. you in return laid down on your stomach right next to her, the photograph still in your hand.

“it’s very beautiful! maybe i can take a videotape next time. i’ll make sure to show you.” you promised, sticking out your pinky for a pinky promise. hoppy smiled, taking out one of her fingers to establish the promise.

it made you feel bad that hoppy never seen the moon. you always seen how much she wanted to see the moon, always talking about it and learning about it.

you wished you can take her along with you, but your parents won’t allow you. also, hoppy is a 6’2ft mascot, and might make other people scared.

nevertheless, you explained the moon cycles to her, drawing pictures of them to visualize it for her. she enjoyed learning more about the cycles, and thanked you for showing her a picture of the actual moon.

hopefully, one day you can take her to the moon. the two of you can jump super high and reach the moon, planting a picture of the two of you, and come right back down. one day, you’ll make sure that dream comes true.

one day.

CRAFTYCORN , ARTWORK

the room was filled with bunch of laughter and smiles, it was of course, the art room. craftycorn was in charge of the art room, as she was the artistic one of the smiling critters.

thankfully, she had a helper, a kid named [y/n].

[y/n] was a artist from the day they were born, always making different artworks from different materials. if there was something, they could make anything out of it.

they enjoyed making art, and instantly became best friends with craftycorn, the two sharing their love for art.

“can you pass me the red?” craftycorn asked, scribbling on her paper. [y/n] nodded, getting up and walking towards the table, which contained different colored crayons. they grabbed the red one, turned around, and made their way back to where craftycorn was.

“here you go!” they said, giving them the red crayon. craftycorn smiled at them, taking the red crayon. she was drawing the two of them, using the red crayon to draw hearts all over the place.

[y/n] sat down, continuing to draw on their artwork — a drawing of all the smiling critters, them included. it was a huge project, and their hand definitely hurt. but, it was going to be worth it in the end.

soon enough, craftycorn was finished with her artwork, holding it up like it was a masterpiece. the other children caught wind of the finished art piece, and was quick to scatter towards her, wanting to see what she had created.

finally, [y/n] was finished. they smiled as they wrote their name near the bottom of the paper, holding it with such determination. they were proud of their artwork.

“that’s an amazing artwork, [y/n]!” craftycorn complimented, smiling as she realized it was her and the other smiling critters, alongside with [y/n]. she felt warmth creep its way into her heart, it was adorable.

“i hope you enjoyed it, i spent a lot of time on it.”

indeed, she and the other smiling critters enjoyed the masterpiece created by their dear [y/n].

PICKY PIGGY , BAKING

baking with picky was like a sport, it was easy!

picky had this cookbook that she liked to use. thankfully, you were able to read, so it was easy baking with picky, as she always had the ingredients on hand.

now, the two of you decided to bake cupcakes for the smiling critters, since they been craving some sweets for awhile.

“and now .. add vanilla!” picky said as you put some drops of vanilla into the cake batter mix, instantly being hit with the scent of vanilla. it smelled just like dogday.

picky read over the instructions as you poured the cake batter into the pan, making sure it was evenly distributed. it was rather a messy step, but with picky on your side, it was easy.

you were quick to put the cupcakes in the oven as picky sat on the countertop, looking at you, smiling. the two of you became friends over your love for baking, and picky’s live for eating.

you would always bake or cook for picky, as you wanted to improve on your skills. picky always gave you honest review, so you can improve better. it was a easy win for the both of you, you get better, and she gets to eat.

the two of you were in silence, looking as the cupcakes baked. it was a comfortable silence.

time was fast though, soon the cupcakes were finished. you put on your heat protective gloves, and took out the cupcakes, blowing on them to try and cool them down.

picky was jumping up and down, excited that the cupcakes were finally done. “okay, don’t touch just yet, they are still very hot.” you said as you took off your gloves. picky understood, but was still excited. she loved trying your cupcakes, something about them just make them melt in her mouth.

she loves when you bake.

BUBBA BUBBAPHANT , MATH HOMEWORK

you didn’t enjoy math.

you always stressed over it, cried over it, and also got mad over it. math was just not your brightest subject.

your best friend on the other hand, bubba, was a scholar on math. he always showed you how good his grades were on math, and always offered to help you.

but no matter how much he helped you, you never seemed to grasp on the concept of math in general.

“come on! it’s easy!” bubba groaned, looking down at the simple multiplication work on your paper. you on the other hand, was stressing out. you shook your head, to which bubba playfully rolled his eyes.

you groaned as bubba explained to you the basic of math, and how to do multiplications. you been over this plenty of times! you just can’t understand the concept of math!

“ughh .. at this point don’t even talk math to me!” that gave bubba an idea.

he quickly bought up 2 apples, “okay, there is two apples, correct?” you nodded. he bought up 3 apples, “now, there is 3 apples, right?” you nodded once again.

“now imagine each apple is 2 apples,” she pointed towards the 3 apples, “2 .. 4 ..”

“6!” bubba smiled. “correct!”

then it was like something clicked. bubba showed many other examples, and you got it right away. everything was suddenly making sense!

maybe math isn’t so bad.

BOBBY BEARHUG, VALENTINE’S DAY

valentine’s day was right around the corner, and you didn’t know what to get your best friend, bobby bearhug.

bobby’s favorite holiday was valentine’s day, she always loved the idea of love in general. in fact, that was how the two of you became friends.

you were giving out chocolates to your friends, and you had an extra heart shaped chocolate. you didn’t know who to give it to, until a certain bear came up to you, giving you a lollipop. smiling, you gave her the heart shaped chocolates, and the two of you became instant friends.

your friendship anniversary was coming up, and you were nervous. you didn’t know what to give bobby, as she basically already had everything.

but then, you had an idea, an expensive one.

2 week before valentine’s day, you were working your butt off for some cash. this was going to be an expensive gift, but it would be long lasting.

thankfully, you got some help from some of her other friends, getting some info on her favorite colors and favorite candies, everything was going to fall perfectly in place.

you made sure to give the person making the gift enough time, and made sure you tipped them accordingly. everything was perfect, and you were excited.

valentines rolled around, and bobby was trying to look for you.

“have yall seen [y/n]?” she was growing worried. today was your friendship anniversary, and she hasn’t seen you all day. she hoped you didn’t just ditch out on her, as she didn’t want to seem useless.

that was when one of the kids asked her to follow them, and as skeptical as she was, she followed nevertheless. they led her to a dark room, which scared her quite a bit. that was until the light turned on, revealing a surprising sight.

“happy valentine’s day!” you stood there, a ramo buchon in the color of her favorite color in your arms, some candies in your other. they were eternal roses, which meant they wouldn’t die out, which made it even more special. the other kids took pictures of the two of you.

this surely was going to be your favorite valentines yet.

KICKIN CHICKEN , ONE DAY

the playground was filled a lot of children, including bullies.

you hated bullies, especially since you have a few of your own. they always made fun of your hair and the way you spoke, which made you insecure about yourself.

that was until a kid named kickin chicken came to your rescue. he defended you from the bullies, and threaten to call the teachers on them.

he was like your guardian angel, and he was a chicken, so almost there.

“why didn’t you tell me?” kickin said with tears in his eyes as he patched you up. you were silent the whole time, not wanting to trauma dump on your friend.

“i didn’t want to seem weak.” you whispered, to which kickin sighed, taping your bruise. he looked at you with worried eyes, this was the 3rd time this weak you were sent to the nurse office, and kickin was always there to see you.

he gave you a hug, sighing as he heard you sniffle. you were always an emotional kid, which was probably one of the reasons they targeted you. kickin was sure to report those kids, they don’t deserve the cupcakes he’s going to bring on his birthday.

he wanted to tell you that you weren’t weak, but you would never believe him. he knew that you hated confrontation, so he never told you directly, but with his actions, he did.

“you’re a amazing friend, [y/n]. i hope you know that.” he said as the two of you hugged each other. you didn’t say anything, you didn’t want to believe what he was saying, but half of you know that he actually meant it.

you just hoped those bullies get the karma that they deserve, and that you won’t be bullied anymore.

one day, you’ll be a happy child. one day you’ll be able to smile without being scared of someone making fun of you. one day, you’ll be the best friend that kickin will always want you to be.

one day.

▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂

last one had a kick to it. alsooo!!! request are open!!! please request! :3 might take some time though :(

#x reader #poppy playtime x reader #poppy playtime #smiling critters x reader #smiling critters #dogday x reader #catnap x reader #hoppy hopscotch #bobby bearhug #bubba bubbaphant #kickin chicken #picky piggy #craftycorn #gn reader #child reader #fluff #poppy playtime smiling critters

[boboteam89]

HSR Senti ramblings

Hello this is literally my first post and it's me rambling about my idea of how Senti could exist in the Honkai Star Rail universe, do beware that it may be really silly and lore innacurate nonsense, you have been warned!!! It also might have a little involvement of SentiHua so... So I have thought of this for a long time and this is what I came up with, let me explain, starting off with important information : Marshal Hua. My theory is that she is a Vidyadhara who resembles the legend of Phoenix and is Phoenix herself, however Phoenix exists as "another entity" ( aka almost like how Fenghuang's Down sentience works ) There is this one quest called "Poetic Genius Ingenium", in short it tells us a story about a man named Cong and a woman named Jingzhai. All the information we need from this quest is that he is a Vidyadhara that seems to remember Jingzhai no matter how much he went through hatching rebirth. All of this information leads me to thinking : what if it's possible for a Vidyadhara to leave a body behind? Listen, this does sound absurd as the Vidyadharas revolve around continuous cellular transdifferentiation, which means they techncially just transofrm. But we have numerous different cases of disorders that the Vidyadhara can be affected by, for example Jinyu that undergoes the cicle of hatching rebirth every few months. So this could technically exist as a disease and tie with the idea of Hua having so much personalities and even versions of "self" in the Honkai lore. That leads us to the part of the lore bs I have thought of. Basically Senti is "a body" that remained after Fu Hua went through hatching rebirth once (probably when she was already a marshal and ig most of her memories still remained aftet that). She has all the memories that Hua had, and when she first was "born" into this world. She thought she was Hua for a long time, but their viewpoints are very different and unalike, so who is she? Is she truly an individual being? How can she break that mirror and see her true self? She had a plan in her mind. - Surely, I can at least bring them some fun. The biggest difference for sure being - she had grown fond of the Elation. After observing the usual life of the citizens of Xianzhou, she thought it lacked some fun. The people here were just too much focused on their duties. Sure, they might have very deep connections, but do all of them really not lack that sense of connection? Sometimes, work even made them cut it off completely. She decided to carry on Hua's duty as a marshal with some...Changes. During that time, "Hua" was really kind to all of the members of the Cloud Knights - she spent a lot of time with the Cloud Knights, cut them some slack, gave them random gifts and treated them very well, even was laidback about the work sometimes. In comparision - Hua was pretty closed off and more strict, she was somewhat cold most of the time and didn't find a place for herself with the Cloud Knights, despite still doing a great job in helping and caring for them. However Senti was no strategist unlike Hua, and soon after spiked up a little problem - unfinished assignments, very clunky reports, and the amount of chaotic events, which turned out to be a complete hit for the duty of the Cloud Knights. It didn't take long for Hua to realise that she had been "replaced". That is when she noticed the culprit behind all of that in her office. - Ah, so you've noticed! - said Senti, cheerfully, but not surprised, almost as if she was awaiting this. - You see, you're not me, and I'm not you, but I was hoping to bring some more joy and happiness into your lives! Don't you get a little lonely like this? Maybe you're giving a tad too much work for yourself and too less of time that you can enjoy. Now you can at least look back at this and say "Aha!" . It is, alas, the time for us to part... Hua stood there shocked. She was not offended by this, nor did she really mind all that this person had done. She was probably the first one to ever care for Hua so greatly, so... — Wait! Could you...Stay?

#honkai star rail #herrscher of sentience #fu hua #text post #art

[tryst-art-archive]

Context: 2012, pt. 3

Reaping What We Sowed

With the summer came FWB's graduation from our college. There's a picture of his friends and him in their graduation caps and me tacked awkwardly onto the side, visibly out of place yet desperately trying to belong. I'm not going to share it because everything that happens next I have an incredible well of shame about, even ten years later, and so I don't want to tie any of their faces to it.

Following his graduation, FWB was listless--lost--and a depression that had always lurked around the edges got its claws in him and latched on. He took a job as a barback at an unremarkable bar in downtown Boston and proceeded to steadily run out of money. He often worked until the AM, and the cost of a cab ride home generally destroyed whatever his pay for the day had been; it was the restaurant industry in America, after all. He was making much less than minimum wage.

This escalated steadily and, at the same time, a tension grew between us that made me anxious and jumpy. There's a particular feeling that overtakes a relationship when its end is nearing, and it was that feeling but with an added layer of resolute, determined denial on my part.

I was desperately clinging to the idea that he and I would remain together forever. I'd been losing faith in my writing and capability at becoming a writer for a long while, and I was looking toward the publishing industry as the means by which I'd sustain myself; that was why I chose a major that involved a publishing focus, you see.

During the summer of 2012, I did an internship at a publisher that no longer exists which did hobbyist magazines. I was specifically a graphic design intern, making newsletters, ads, and other little materials under the direction of the designers putting together page layouts.

I hated it, but I'll explain why in another post. For now, it's enough to know that the internship turned me off of the entire "work in publishing" plan.... which meant I didn't have a plan as I entered my senior year of college.

I responded to that loss of direction by pinning all of my hopes on my relationship with FWB. I convinced myself that I could weather the publishing fate I'd set up for myself so long as we were together. By working in publishing, I could probably pull together enough money to sustain both of us, I reasoned, and that way he could pursue his dreams of being a writer, and I could keep being with him.

I didn't tell him about this. Ever. It was a life plan I'd invented, become fully invested in, and determined to see through entirely by myself. At the tender age of 21, I had become the archetypal Crazy Girlfriend without even noticing.

I became so convinced of this plan as an inevitable eventuality that I started to believe it was impossible for FWB and I to stop seeing each other. I began to act erratically and carelessly.

It was around this time that Boyfriend 2 messaged me out of the blue to make himself feel better after a breakup, and while I by no means gave him what he wanted, I did entertain the texts for a bit because I thought it was funny and it felt validating to be wanted after months of the tension I was pretending didn't exist in my then-current relationship. FWB was with me at the time that these texts were being exchanged--I laughingly shared them with him--and I entertained them a little too long. I remember him being displeased, but I likewise remember thinking the unhappiness I took for jealousy was silly and unnecessary: in my mind, it was obvious that there would never be anyone else for me than FWB.

The end came on a night at my apartment on which things were a bit odd between us. He was distant, and I was becoming impatient with our arrangement's lack of a name--because, in my deluded mind, our seeing other people was impossible, making the pretense that I myself had originally set up completely absurd.

I suggested we admit we were dating. He responded by ending our arrangement.

#context #info #me #regret #crazy girlfriend #10s #2012 #Age 21 #i was very very stupid #and very very not well #depression #relationships #college #delusion

[babymetaldoll]

The List (Spencer Reid / Reader)

Prompt: What's on the list of things Spencer will never do again?

Summary: Reader wants to know which are Spencer biggest regrets. But he refuses to share, instead, he keeps saying he ain't got anything on his "Never again" list.

Category: Slightly fluff...

Content Warning: none

Pairing: Spencer/Reader

- “I can't believe you don't have one of those!”- (Y/N) turned to Spencer in shock. He just stood next to his desk trying to understand what was the big deal.

He didn't have a list of things he was never in his life going to do again. So what? From his point of view, it meant he had made fewer mistakes, which felt like something to be proud of, not embarrassed.

- “He doesn't have what?”- Morgan overheard the conversation and walked over, a part of him curious, and another part of him happy he had a tiny excuse to avoid paperwork for a while.

- “The dreadful "I'll never do this again" list”- (Y/N) explained and turned to Spencer- Not even one thing?

- “Well... there are a few chess games I wish I had played differently”

Morgan rolled his eyes and tapped on his back.

- “Kid, come on, you are from Vegas, there has to be something there”

- “Yeah! You said you were banned from a few casinos! That has to be a juicy story!”

(Y/N) stared at him biting her lips in excitement, but Reid just blinked and hesitated before saying

- “Not really... what's in your "never again list"?”

Spencer looked at his best friend and smiled. She gave the question a little thought. There were tons of things on that list, but she wasn't sure she wanted to share them with him. She had the biggest crush on Reid, and thought she was never going to act on it, she didn't want him to have a bad image of her.

- “Let's see... I really regret most of my teenage fashion decisions”

- “Boring”- Morgan teased- “You gotta give something good”

- “Like what?”- (Y/N) crossed her arms on her chest and raised an eyebrow- “What's in your regret list?”

- “Dating girls who can legally carry guns is the first”- he answered right away- “Getting my highschool sweetheart an engagement ring is the second”

- “A ring?”- (Y/N) stared at him in shock and Derek chuckled, nodding completely guilty.

- “She was my first, I thought it was forever... What can I tell you? I'm a hopeless romantic”

Spencer and (Y/N) stared at each other with a knowing look

- “And what do you have, pretty girl? bad outfits can't be it”

- “Well... I'm never going on a blind date again, especially on dating websites blind dates...”

- “Man!!”- Derek laughed and covered his face, catching the rest of the team's attention- “You must have been desperate!!”

(Y/N)'s cheeks were burning red as she looked down and shook her head. Emily and Penelope walked over to join the conversation chuckling, as Spencer stared at his friend in shock. He had no idea she had ever done that, and he was pretty sure he knew her well. He remembered everything she had said to him from the day they met. It wasn't something he tried to do, his eidetic memory just worked that way. But he didn't even try to forget a word of every conversation they had shared.

- “I was sick and tired of dealing with my friends forcing me to find a date... and... with this job you don't really get many chances to...”

- “Wait, wait...”- Morgan wide opened his eyes and (Y/N) regretted answering his question in the first place- “You did this while being in the BAU?”

- “No... yes... never mind, what's important here is the fact Pretty boy doesn't have anything on his never again list... which means he is missing a lot of bad decision in his life”- (Y/N) turned to Reid and grinned. He blushed and looked down.

- “Yeah kid, we have to take you out to the world!”

Spencer closed his eyes in pain as he felt Derek's hand tapping his back.

- “We should go out tonight!”- Penelope nearly jumped on her spot, clapping her hands- “Let's get out baby boy drunk as a skunk and watch him take all the bad decisions he can!”

- “I'd rather not”- the young doctor whispered and sighed- “I think I am fully capable of adding things I don't want to do again... I would start with this conversation, I'm not willing to repeat this awkward moment”

Spencer chuckled and turned to the kitchen to make himself another cup of coffee.

- “That dating website wasn't that bad”- Emily teased (Y/N) and smiled

- “It was awful, you know it”

- “How was the guy?”- Morgan asked, a silly grin hanging on his lips as he looked at the girl blushing in front of him.

- “He was an asshole... he looked hot in the pictures... and he wasn't really bad looking in person, but...”- (Y/N) made a pause, and her eyes involuntarily traveled through the room and found Spencer waiting for the brewing.

- “He didn't have an IQ of 187, right?”- Derek asked the obvious question, and (Y/N) smiled

- “I'm not sure he had an IQ of 50...”

Spencer stared at the coffee pot as he waited. He kept trying to think of things he regretted doing. Interesting things at least... He also tried to remember (Y/N) saying anything about going out on a date, but he didn't recall it. Was she making it up? no, it sounded real, and the embarrassment on her face couldn't be faked.

It bothered him not to remember something so important. And it also bothered him to know she was open to date other guys. Not that she had to date him, not that she had ever told him she wanted to date him. Not that he wanted to date her, thought he did.

- “Hey”- Penelope's voice nearly gave him a heart attack. he jumped and turned to see her grinning behind him

- “Do you want to kill me?”

- “Never... so...”- she just looked at the resident genius with a smile and waited

- “I'm sorry... I don't get what you are trying to say, did I miss something?”

- “Yes boy wonder! you missed the one thing you have in your Never do again list”- Spencer frowned even more confused

- “What?”

- “You should never again in your life miss all the signs that tell you someone is in love with you, or you are gonna miss your chance to be happy”- Garcia tapped on Reid's shoulder and walked away, and the sound of her heels was the only sound Spencer could hear for a minute.

The frown on his face didn't fade until he walked back to his desk and sat down.

Signs? there had never been any signs. He never got any... and from who? no one was in love with him. What the hell was Garcia talking about? Spencer couldn't shake it out of his mind.

- “Hey!”- (Y/N) walked over and left a small chocolate bar on his desk, as she smiled at him with rosy cheeks- “Sorry about that, I didn't mean to embarrass you or whatever”

- “You didn't...”- he whispered and smiled back at her

- “Anyway, I got you a tiny offering to make amends”- and after another small smile, his best friend walked back to her desk.

Doctor Reid followed her with his eyes until she sat behind her desk and continued with her paperwork.

Of course, his "Never again list" wasn't empty, he just didn't want to share with her. He knew he was never going to use Dilaudid to avoid pain. He was never going to let anyone tie him to a goal post. He was never going to be kicked by a nine years old girl (unless it was his daughter and they were playing).

And most important: he was never going to look at (Y/N) the same after facing the truth: he was in love with her, and he had no idea how to deal with it.

#spencer reid #criminal minds #fanfic #fanfiction #spencer reid reader #matthew gray Gubler #spencer and reader #spencer reid fanfiction #fluff #babymetaldoll writes

[bluefuckboy]

Summer Jasmine ✨

Kiribaku A/B/O (Omegaverse)

Alpha Kirishima and Omega Bakugo

Summary: Bakugo has been a single father for three years, after a one night stand with an unknown Alpha resulted in him becoming pregnant. He has always struggled with being an Omega, but has been successful at hiding his true identity, including now while raising his daughter, Yuki. After an incident at preschool, he is called into a parent teacher conference. But what was supposed to be a simple meeting turns out to be a twist of so called “fate.” Bakugo questions whether the difficult journey he’s endured has led to this Alpha, whose scent is like a peaceful, summer breeze.

I’ll be posting the full fic on AO3 soon. It’s about 10 chapters or so and approximately 15K. The name comes from a song released in 1972 called “Summer Breeze” by Seals & Crofts. I’ll explain more when the full fic is released, but go give it a listen as it’s a good, calming song.

This is the first chapter with a note at the end on how the a/b/o universe is structured for this fic

Trigger Warnings: implications of assault against Omegas (including brief mention of attempted rape), mpreg, mentions of abortion, issues dealing with self-hate and struggles with gender identity in terms of secondary gender of a/b/o, later chapters are nsfw

@slackslumber I’m sorry this turned out to be a light novel

Bakugo glanced up at the plate next to the classroom door.

Kirishima E.

Pre-K

He inhaled and ran a hand through his hair, which he had attempted to tame in vain. It wasn’t his first parent teacher conference. Yuki was an unruly child and was becoming even more so as she got older. This time she had tried to bite the ear of another kid and Bakugo was prepared for another dull lecture from a dull teacher who didn’t know a thing about actually raising kids.

He let the breath he had been holding out and gripped the doorknob, giving it a turn. The room was set up like any normal Pre-K classroom would be. There were little brightly colored chairs in groups, large matts with the letters of the alphabet and numbers adorned the floor and model planets hung from the ceiling.

At the front of the classroom was a large desk at which sat a man with bright red hair that was pulled back into a short ponytail. He was dressed in a nice button up, sans tie, with the top couple buttons undone. Rimmed glasses sat perched atop his nose and he pushed them up with the butt of a pencil as he stared at the stack of papers in front of him.

Bakugo cleared his throat and the man looked up.

“Oh! Sorry,” he got up and went to extend a hand to Bakugo, “I’m Kirishima, you must be Yuki’s dad.”

“Yeah, that’s me,” Bakugo replied, shaking the hand offered to him.

Kirishima was tall and Bakugo opted to stare at his feet clad in worn dress shoes instead of trying to meet the amber eyes of the teacher. Kirishima motioned for Bakugo to take a seat at a chair that had been moved in front of the desk.

Bakugo sat down, crossing his arms out of habit. He tended to keep to himself and that extended to his interactions with other people. He didn’t want to draw any extra attention to himself.

Kirishima seemed to be the complete opposite. It was clear he was well suited for the job he was in. Bakugo could see children’s drawings hung on the wall behind Kirishima. Little stick figures with crude faces. There were a couple that had a character with spiky red scribbled on top of its head. They had shaky letters drawn next to the stick figure that read “Mr. K.”

Kirishima moved the stack of papers to the side, and set his glasses atop it. He gave Bakugo a toothy smile and Bakugo noticed the sharpness of his canines. His brow furrowed and he tensed a bit. He didn’t particularly care for Alphas, so he was usually a little wary around them.

But Kirishima’s eyes were soft and warm. There was a small scar by one of his eyebrows and Bakugo noticed he had the makings of crows feet at the corner of his eyes despite his youthful appearance. They were probably from smiling so wide that he looked almost like a shark.

Kirishima picked up the pencil he had earlier and twirled it as he said, “I hate having meetings like this, so I’m sorry if I seem a little bit unprofessional.”

Bakugo didn’t reply and Kirishima continued, “Yuki is wonderful. She’s very bright for her age and does great with her grades. But she seems, hmm, how do I put this.”

He tapped the pencil against his temple in thought, his bottom lip sucked under his top teeth. His expression turned to concern as he spoke again.

“It feels like Yuki is lashing out, so that’s why I wanted to talk with you.”

Bakugo sighed and rubbed the back of his neck as he said, “I can make her apologize to that boy and his parents. We had a conversation about using our words and stuff.”

Kirishima waved his hand. “No no it’s not that. Well, it is a part of it. But not the main reason I called you here.”

Kirishima sighed and sat back in his chair. “I care a lot about my students. It’s kinda silly but I think of them as my own kids sometimes. So I want them to do well. But not just in school.”

His cheeks tinged red slightly. “I know it’s not my place to butt in on people’s personal lives, so I apologize if I offend you, but I’m just concerned that this might be something for Yuki that is bigger than the classroom.”

He turned to reach behind him, grabbing a picture off the wall that Bakugo hadn’t noticed during his initial glance at the artwork. Kirishima placed it in front of him and Bakugo looked down at it.

It was a picture of a little stick figure girl with a bright pink bow in her hair. She was standing next to a figure of a man who was holding the black line that was the stick figure girl’s hand. The word “Daddy” had been written next to the figure in legible handwriting that must have been from a TA or something.

The background of the photo was scribbled with a blue sky and green grass, with a little house in the distance. But there was an area that was left blank, a white spot on the other side of the girl. Her little stick hand was surrounded by the white, almost as though she was trying to reach for something. “Yuki” was written in large shaky letters at the bottom of the paper.

Bakugo’s heart clenched as Kirishima spoke softly.

“This was from a week ago. We had draw your family as our art project. I don’t want to pry or assume anything, but when I asked Yuki what the white spot was, it seemed to make her upset.”

Bakugo could feel his cheeks getting hot. He wasn’t sure how to reply. It was obvious that he didn’t have a partner, and being a single parent wasn’t unusual. Rather it was the fact that in their society he wouldn’t be considered Yuki’s father.

Bakugo’s silence made Kirishima redden a bit more and he said, “I’m sorry if this is sore subject. I’m just concerned.”

“It’s fine,” Bakugo spat.

The words came out more defensive than he meant them too and Kirishima’s eyebrows knit together closer with concern. Then he asked the question Bakugo always dreaded he’d hear.

“Can I ask you about Yuki’s mother?”

Bakugo swallowed and tried to compose himself before speaking again.

“I’m raising Yuki on my own. Her mother is…”

He trailed off as his heart started beating faster. He was always so cautious and he knew that he should tell Kirishima to mind his own god damn business. But something about the calmness in Kirishima’s voice and his genuine smile made Bakugo feel like this was a safe space.

He tried to push down the ball of anxiety buzzing in his chest as he gripped the sides of the chair and said quietly, “It’s Yuki’s father, not her mother. I… I’m the one who gave birth to her.”

The admonition seemed to hang in the air and Bakugo hung his head. It shouldn’t be something he was ashamed about. Male Omegas were rare and it was even rarer for one to be able to give birth. They called it a “True Omega” and the odds were about one in a nearly half a million. It was a rarity that was often exploited, which was why Bakugo had kept it secret, even from Yuki when she asked why she didn’t have a mommy like the other kids at the playground.

The classroom was deadly quiet and Bakugo’s adrenaline was nearing the fight or flight stage, but then Kirishima spoke again.

“I’m sorry. I had no idea. But don’t worry, I’m not gonna tell anyone. I care about Yuki a lot, so I promise I won’t make things any more difficult. And if I can help in anyway, I’d be more than happy to.”

The offer caught Bakugo off guard and he finally looked up. Kirishima’s expression was one Bakugo had only seen on the face of characters from the movies he used to watch as a kid. A look that made you feel safe and protected, almost like a knight in shining armor. Kirishima smiled and it felt like a weight had been lifted from Bakugo’s chest. Even the air seemed clearer and he realized his knuckles had turned white from his death grip on the chair.

He let go, but regretted it as his hands started shaking. It felt like he was coming down from a panic attack and he felt the wetness of tears on his cheeks. He flushed from embarrassment and ducked his head into his lap.

It was mortifying, but he couldn’t stop and his whole body trembled as he wrapped his arms round himself. Fat tears were rolling down his cheeks and he wanted to melt into the floor. But suddenly there was an aroma like a summer breeze.

It wrapped around him and as he inhaled shakily his trembling started to stop. His whole body felt like it was being enveloped in a warm embrace from the inside out. It was a comforting, almost faintly familiar scent and he could feel his muscles relax as the tears gradually started to subside.

A tissue appeared in front of him and he realized that Kirishima had come around the desk to kneel beside him. Bakugo reached out a shaky hand to accept the tissue. As he did, the tips of his fingers brushed against Kirishima’s.

It was the briefest of contact, but it felt like little sparks had ignited from where the pads of their fingers had touched. Bakugo looked to see if Kirishima had experienced a similar feeling, but his face was still etched with worry. His hand on the back of the chair did tighten slightly however and Bakugo’s heart rate went up despite not knowing what he was expecting.

But then Kirishima was standing up again, taking the smell of the summer breeze with him. It made Bakugo realize what had happened and he looked at Kirishima with an expression between anger and fear.

“Did you just use pheromones on me?”

.

A/B/O Universe Notes

Alpha/Omega changes occur at puberty

Secondary sex characteristics manifest. Alphas will go through a growth spurt and will eventually grow their “fangs.” Omegas will have their first heat. Both will begin to emit pheromones and part of growing up is being able to control them. However, thanks to modern medicine, blockers makes it much easier.

70% of the population is Beta

Betas are essentially normal humans. They can procreate with each other and don’t experience a rut or a heat.

20% of the population is Alpha

They are considered a superior form of human. Physically they are usually a bit taller, able to gain muscle very easily, and have lots of stamina.

A unique characteristic of the Alpha are their fangs. They manifest during puberty and are attached to glands in the Alphas mouth. During arousal, while in rut, or even a rush of adrenaline can cause an Alpha’s fangs to descend slightly from the gum line and is referred to as “baring.” The canine teeth are connected directly to the glands and are the sharpest and most prominent, but the lateral incisor will also sharpen slightly during puberty. When an Alpha bares their fangs, the canines will become extremely pronounced. When marking, the fangs are used to puncture the skin and can secrete fluid from the glands in order to mark an Omega.

An Alpha will experience a rut occasionally. During this time they will become fixated on mating and can become irrational. Ruts are sporadic and with the help of blockers, most Alphas are able to avoid rut.

10% of the population is Omega

Generally thought of as the “weakest sex” Omegas are usually smaller in frame and it is hard for them to gain muscle. They can become pregnant regardless of gender, but male Omegas are not common. Impregnating a male Omega is also extremely difficult, unless they are a “True Omega” Most male Omegas are recessive.

The Omega experiences an estrus period, or heat, once a month. It will make them want to breed, same as the Alpha’s rut. Unlike a rut, blockers have no effect on the estrus period. During the estrus, an Omega will become wet, secreting what is referred to as slick, making it easier for an Alpha to enter them. For female Omegas it is secreted vaginally, for male Omegas it is secreted anally. However, male Omegas often produce significantly less slick during the estrus period and the chances of pregnancy are very low.

True Omegas are a phenomenon where the body is fully Omega, regardless of gender. The person will be able to be impregnated easily, even if they are male, and their estrus periods are often more intense. The percentage of True Omegas that have been reported is less than 1%.

Copulation:

Between Betas it’s exactly how it works in regular humans.

Between an Alpha and an Omega there are a few more factors. Pheromones play a part in intercourse, both in initiating and during. Slick makes it very easy for an Alpha to enter an Omega. During intercourse the Alpha is able to “knot” an Omega if significantly aroused, or in rut. Knotting lets the Alpha stay connected to the Omega for an extended period of time. Ejaculation is delayed while the Alpha is knotting. Once knotted, an Alpha will ejaculate numerous times into the Omega. Knotting can last for a few seconds, to over an hour. The physical knot is a gland at the base of an Alpha’s penis that will swell in the Omega, causing them to become stuck together until the Alpha finishes ejaculation or is rendered incapacitated.

Pregnancy

For Betas it is around a normal gestational period of 9 months. For Omegas it is shorter, usually around 4 to 5 months. Children of Omegas tend to be on the smaller side, regardless of the parents genders.

Fated Mates/Pairs

This is regarded as a fantastical idea, but has never been proven as fact or fiction. A fated pair consists of an Alpha and Omega who are so compatible, it’s almost like fate has brought them together. Some claim to have experienced almost a supernatural pull to their partner, but scientists have labeled it the evolution of compatibility making it easier for Alphas and Omegas to select the best mate for them.

#kiribaku #kiribaku au #kiribaku fanfic #kiribaku fanfiction #kiribaku omegaverse #kiribaku abo #krbk #krbk abo #krbk omegaverse #alpha kirishima #omega bakugou

[ill-skillsgard]

A Truth and a Lie - Henry Deaver x Mistress

Warning: 18+ smut/mentions of cheating/mature themes/strong language/spousal conflict. **mentions of impregnation and fertility issues in this part**

Note: This is Angstville. But that’s nothing new for this series! I know it’s been a while since I posted anything, but I’d really appreciate comments and reblogs. It would truly help me get back into the mood to write if you let me know your thoughts and whatnot. No pressure! 

Read past Henry x Mistress imagines here > Masterpost

Sudden drumming on the desk startled you from your morning daydreams. Henry peered down at you with a secret smile, one reserved for the rare occasion he caught you slacking off, though Henry would always follow it up with a forgiving wink. Henry rarely caught you off guard at work, and when he did, he was lenient with his reprimands. Most of the time, you were an astute secretary and completed assistive tasks before Henry mentioned them. You were trustworthy, capable, and much better at keeping track of dates and meetings than his last assistant. In a professional sense, you were the perfect employee, which was why it pained him to ask you into his office that morning.

You sat down in front of his desk as he closed the door. Henry tried to smile while adjusting his tie and fiddling with the button of his suit jacket. By the time he sat down, Henry looked frazzled.

“I’m sorry to take you from your work,” Henry began.

“That’s all right, sir.”

You still insisted on the formal address, even behind closed doors. It never failed to twist his mouth upward. Still, he shuffled a few papers on his desk, sighed, then wiped invisible sleep from his eyes.

“What’s the matter, Henry?” You asked, realizing the meeting wasn’t an excuse to keep you close.

Henry let out another distressed sigh, touched your knee and then sat back in his chair. “I don’t want this, darling. Truly, I don’t.”

“Oh, God. Are you firing me?” You whispered.

“Baby... If you haven’t changed your mind about marrying me—and don’t worry, I’ll still propose to you in the traditional way—then we must separate work from home. And since you are my home, and every time I look at you, I feel my heart drop-kick in my chest, it means you won’t be able to work for me here. It’s only to spare us the headache and gossip. I can’t have my soon-to-be-fiance and mother of my children working for me.”

You pressed your lips and exhaled, as you’d suspected your days at the office would soon expire, especially after the news about Mary’s covert investigation. Henry had insisted he would take care of it, and you’d keep her job, but with the promise of marriage and children on the horizon, his guarantee lost substance.

He reached across the desk and motioned for your hand, intent on squeezing it until the urge to kiss the back of your palm overcame him. 

“Please don’t be mad at me, sweetheart. You’re the only person I want at my side.”

“I understand,” you said. 

“Really?” His eyes glistened.

You nodded, determined to soothe the regret on his face. “Of course. I want to start our family more than anything. More than I want this job... No offence. It’s a great job, my boss is ridiculously good-looking, and the pay is nice, but... I’d rather marry you and start thinking of names for our twins.”

“Twins?” Henry asked, cheeks burning and eyes glinting.

Again, you nodded. “Yes. It runs in my gene pool. We have a high chance of double-trouble.”

The man across the desk relaxed his shoulders and smiled wide enough to leave indentations around his mouth when he finally composed himself.

“Sweetheart, you make me the happiest man in the world. I love you so much; I can’t stand it sometimes. You’ve been the best employee and an even better partner. As much as it kills me to do this, it’s only for us. I’ll even let you choose your replacement.”

“Good. Then I can make sure you won’t hire some young honey to schedule your meetings and book your flights,” you quipped.

“I’d never—you know I wouldn’t.”

“I’m kidding, Henry.”

“So, you’re not pissed at me?” He asked.

“No, silly. I’m not pissed. I thought we’d be having this conversation much sooner, to be honest. But you held out until the last minute, didn’t you?”

Henry bit his lip, sudden darkness taking over his bright eyes. “I just wanna get you pregnant so badly.” 

You shifted closer, leaning over the desk and hugging your arms to your side to push out your breasts. “You mean like this morning when you woke me up at six AM to fuck me and fill me full of cum?”

“God, yes,” he groaned, running his hand over his face as his eyes fluttered. “Exactly like that.”

“Well, then I suppose since you’re canning my ass, you might as well take me out to lunch so you can tap it, too.”

“I can swing that,” said Henry under his breath.

You rose from the seat and winked. “I’ll see you at noon. Maria’s?”

“I was thinking more like Steel Heron.”

“Wow! Very fancy. I hope I can get us a reservation.”

“Make it under Deaver. That should do the trick.”

With a wiggle and a smirk, you quirked one shoulder while crossing to the office door. “My powerful Mr. Deaver.”

“I love you, baby. I wish I could kiss you.”

“You can kiss me all you want in the car later on.”

Henry chuckled. “You got it, gorgeous.”

~*~

When your food arrived after twenty minutes of indecision, you both wolfed down overpriced entrees, then rushed to the parking lot to duck into the backseat of Henry’s car. Once he closed the door, you wrestled his pants down to his knees, taking hold of his half-firm shaft to massage until he grew hard and breathless. 

“Get your panties off,” Henry panted. “Quick. Pull them to the side and ride me.”

You scrabbled to sit astride his lap, stretching your underwear over so Henry could prod your entrance with a few mild strokes. He bucked his hips up and met resistance, groaning already.

“Fuck, Henry. I’ll never get used to that cock. You’re so big.” 

“And I’ll never get used to this tiny little hole. Oh, my gosh, but you take it so well.”

You sank, moaning from every inch of flesh sliding inside. Clutching at each other, kissing with ferocious intensity, Henry gripped your thighs and guided you back and forth, the momentum rocking the car. The top of your head grazed the roof until Henry wrapped his hand around your nape and pulled you in for a crushing kiss.

“You okay, baby?” He asked, breath hot on your cheek.

“Yes,” you squeaked.

“God, I’m already close. I can’t fucking take it. You’re gonna make me bust.”

“Do it,” you said. “Cum inside me, sir.”

Henry let out a satisfied laugh. “Oh, I will, honey. You’ll be a mommy when the day is through. I’m taking you home later on and fucking you again and again just to be sure.”

“You’re gonna be a daddy soon,” you replied, running your hands through his soft brown hair.

He stuffed his face between your shoulder and jaw, licking at your pulse. “I hope so, baby. Fuck, I hope so.”

As promised, Henry lasted no longer than a few well-angled thrusts. The pulses and spurts filled you, sending shivers over your shoulders and up your neck. When he slackened from his fading orgasm, Henry placed you gently on your back and stared between your legs as your panties rolled back into place, a dark blot forming where his seed leaked out. He couldn’t help himself and reached over to rub your pussy over the thin cotton, feeling the wetness he’d left inside.

“Does it matter how long you keep it inside?” Henry asked after you both rolled down the windows for fresh air.

“I’m not sure. Maybe we can go to a bookstore to find some reading material? We can do some research together.”

“That’s a great idea, honey. But I have that meeting at 4:30, so I might be a little late getting out. If you want to leave, I’ll grab you afterward. You know how those guys gab.”

Henry helped you out of the car, offering his hand for support while you wobbled to the passenger side door. When you ducked in and put on your seatbelt, Henry leaned into the vehicle and kissed you long and hard.

You gave him a knowing smile. “I can’t wait… Daddy.”

Henry blushed all the way back to the office, happy to have you at his side wrestling with a smirk as cum smeared between your thighs underneath your grey pencil skirt. 

~*~

As predicted, Henry’s meeting ran late, and you didn’t wait to go home to shower before your outing. Though he’d smattered your legs with cum and it had dried in crusty blotches, you didn’t care. You’d shower and change into comfier clothes for your outing with Henry later.

You whistled on the way home, the repetitive song playing over the radio—something that would usually irritate you—catching you in just the right mood. The drive was long, but you didn’t mind. All you thought about was finding baby books with Henry, then going home to try your luck at becoming parents again. 

Daydreams of Henry’s future proposal tickled your insides and had you smiling as you turned street corners. Even the rotten news from Henry’s latest encounter with his soon-to-be ex-wife fell away, and you navigated the busy lanes without a care. A pleasant warmth filled your chest, reminding you of all the fond memories and good times with Henry to come.

Your love for him expanded day by day, with each minute at his side, and every breath you took. Why Mary tossed such an attentive man aside baffled you, but only enough to make you scoff to yourself and thank the higher powers for putting that same loving, selfless man in your path. Sure, your past wasn’t the most sterling love story, but it had room to grow into the relationship you’d always wanted.

Recalling Henry’s smile reflected on your face. His emotive looks and passionate eyes were always enchanting, even when he wasn’t in your presence. Sick with the intoxication of love, you sighed as you pulled into the visitor parking spot. Henry kept meaning to get you your own spot next to his, but extra work had taken away most of his free time.

You shouldered your purse, selected the fob from your ring of keys, and locked the car before sauntering toward the door leading to the parking lot stairwell. Up those stairs was the elevator, but you didn’t get that far before somebody cleared their throat from behind.

Whipping around, you noticed a woman standing near a Lexus. She wore a burgundy business suit with a knee-length pencil skirt that hung loosely about her thighs. Her hair twisted into a bun on top of her head, thin-framed glasses perched on her nose. The woman looked familiar to you, but in the dimly lit parking garage, it took you a few steps forward to realize who meant to grab your attention.

It was Mary.

“Uh, hi?” You said.

“Hello, Missy.”

You sneered at the address but soon dropped your sour expression. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to deliver you some bad news.”

“Henry isn’t here—”

“No, not Henry,” she interjected. “You.”

“Me? What do you want to speak to me for?”

Mary smirked, taking two steps away from her vehicle. You clutched your bag and drew your shoulders back. The woman posed no physical threat, but something about her was worrisome. Your only knowledge of her temperament stemmed from two encounters—both leaving an unflattering impression. Would she come after you? Did she have it in her to shed all professionalism and launch into a physical assault?

“There’s something I think you should know about Henry.”

You looked around the parking garage. Soon, cars would pull in, tired people walking by to reach the elevator. Mary had lived there at one point. Surely she wouldn’t try to hurt you when she knew about the surveillance cameras planted around the lot.

“I don’t understand. How did you know I’d be here?” You asked.

Mary chuckled. “Well, it’s the last Friday of the month, and Henry always has his board meeting at 4:30. He and all those stuck-up codgers never get out of the office until they’ve spent twenty minutes talking business and two hours discussing the prostitutes they took to this place and that, their golfing tournaments, their second and third wives. Trust me, sweetheart. I’ve been in your position before. I know Henry and his associates front-to-back. Which is why I’m warning you.”

A sinkhole opened in your gut, swallowing all the warmth and happiness you were feeling throughout the day. You scraped your thighs together, feeling flakes of semen come off from the motion. If only Mary knew her husband’s cum had been dripping from your slit since lunchtime. This secret fact made you smirk for a moment until you read the seriousness lining her forehead and framing her mouth.

“Well?” You encouraged with an air of impatience. “Out with it then.”

Not one to take orders, Mary clicked her tongue and shook her head. She longed to watch the disappointment on your face as she trampled upon your joy, so she prolonged the silence until you grew visibly perturbed.

“I assume Henry told you about what happened when he paid me a visit the other day?”

“Of course, he did. I’m helping him handle the case.”

Mary tilted her head with an audacious smile. “Yes. That comes as no surprise. He’d never clean up after himself. Henry always needed a woman to do it for him.”

You made a disgusted face, adjusting your purse strap and rolling your eyes. Mary carried on as a sleek black Audi pulled into the parking garage, missing you both by inches.

“He must have made you all kinds of promises when he got home, am I right?”

“Why does it matter?”

“Because that’s what he does after he’s fucked up. Let me tell you something... After he jumped in the sack with you, he came home to me and promised to be a better husband. He told me he’d go to counselling, take me on a second honeymoon, buy me whatever I wanted. All because he felt guilty. I’m willing to bet he came home that day and made similar promises to you. Maybe even told you he plans to marry you after all is said and done.”

Your mouth trembled, and you were thankful for the dimness. You wanted to tell Mary off, but she had your curiosity hooked.

“How do you know that?” You whispered.

“I already told you. I know Henry better than anyone. Better than you ever will. We were married for over fifteen years, remember?”

There wasn’t enough air entering your lungs, so you opened your mouth and took in a deep breath.

“I wanted to test him. I had to see whether he really loved you or if he was just using you to fill the void. It turns out he has genuine feelings for you, but not enough to keep him from fucking me.”

“What?” You gasped.

“That’s right,” Mary said, smirking. “I told Henry if he took me then and there, right in the kitchen, I’d call off the renegotiation and let him have what he wanted—the clean break he needed to continue with his happy, albeit staged, little happy life. He took the bait immediately.”

“No, he did not!” You exclaimed.

Mary chuckled, taking another step toward you. “You idiot. He cheated on me. Do you honestly believe he wouldn’t do the same to you? That man was raised in one of the worst misogynistic environments I’ve ever witnessed. Look at the men he calls friends! Sure, they all have their trophy wives, but when they go away on business, it’s blowjobs in the back of strip clubs, hookers at 3 AM and sushi on naked women. Have you never listened in on one of their meetings?”

“I’d never. I trust Henry,” you said, voice quivering.

“You’re a dolt to trust him or anyone he associates with. Henry is a pervert. A useless, sterile sack of shit. Why do you think I turned away? I was sick of getting cheated on.”

“Sterile?” You repeated.

Mary cocked her head, then opened her mouth to gasp softly. “That’s right. Henry and I never conceived because he can’t have children.”

Your hands shook, and every breath you took shuddered in your chest. “That can’t be true. He would have told me.”

The woman six feet away from you shook her head with remorse. She allowed an excruciating silence to pass before sighing. Something changed about Mary’s face. One moment she looked smug and eager to rile you up, and the next, she looked calm, distant... Almost sad.

“There was a time when I truly loved Henry. When any time I thought of my future, I saw us together with several kids. And we tried, we really did. For months and months, we tried getting pregnant. Finally, we went to a fertility clinic, but Henry had his qualms. He insisted it was all chance; that if we kept at it, eventually we’d conceive. We got tested, but the results take time. Well, Henry went to Thailand with Frank and some other colleagues—and trust me, you do not want to hear the stories that came back with them—leaving me alone at home, fretting. But that didn’t matter. I was used to it.

“Anyway, while he was off living it up in paradise, I got the results back. The doctor said I was fine, but Henry... Well, I just couldn’t tell him. I knew it would crush his spirit. Something like that would destroy his will to live, and I couldn’t bring that down on him while he was hitting the peak of his career. He was raking in raises and promotions, and I was on my own path. So, I swallowed the devastating news and saved him the heartbreak because I loved him and wanted what was best. But as time went on, my life and our marriage lost meaning. I couldn’t look at Henry the same. I couldn’t sleep with him because I knew he’d try to get me pregnant, and there was only so much stress I could handle. Sex is meant for procreation, and we would never rise to the task.”

The air in the parking garage grew chilly. More and more vehicles filed in, filling the atmosphere with dizzying fumes. Overhead, the lights flickered as nausea worked into your gut. You began to sweat and shiver at the same time.

“No. I don’t believe you. Who would ever do something so cruel? You’re just saying this so I’ll leave. You don’t love him. What kind of wife would keep a secret like that?”

“A wife who only wanted to see her husband become the best person he could be, which, evidently, still isn’t so great when you take into account all the terrible things he’s done to us.”

You shook your head and threw off your center of gravity. The heels of your shoes wobbled, or perhaps it was your knees knocking, you couldn’t tell. All you knew was you needed to sit down before you lost balance and toppled over. Mary saw this struggle and crossed her arms under her bosom.

“Like it or not, Missy, Henry isn’t the man you think he is. He’ll make all kinds of promises, but he’ll disappoint you in the end. Trust me.”

#henry x mistress #Henry Deaver #bill skarsgard imagine #bill skarsgard fanfiction #castle rock fanfiction

[padfootagain]

A Very Rose Mistake (III)

Part 3 : How You Told Your Parents

 Here we go with a new chapter! I know that today is Golden day as the music video dropped this afternoon, but I had planned to post the chapter, so let's go anyway! It just means more Harry for today, and who can pretend like there is something like too much Harry? Certainly not me!

So here is another cute and light-hearted chapter! I hope you all like it! No warnings of any kind!

Please, tell me what you think of this new chapter!

Pairing: Harry Styles x Reader

Word Count : 3535

                                                              I

                                              Holmes Chapel, 2003

 "HAAAA!"

"HARRY SLOW DOWN!"

"I CAN'T!"

"WE'RE GONNA CRASH!"

"WE'RE GONNA CRASH!"

The next second you were disappearing into a pile of fresh snow.

You shuffled away from the sledge and out of the snow to stand on your feet again. You looked for your best friend in the messy white powder, but couldn't see him anywhere.

"Harry?" You called. "It's not funny! Come on, we need to bring it back up the hill. We need to move out of the way or Gemma is gonna crash into us!"

But you were met with silence, and started to be properly worried.

Was he hurt? He could have hit his head on something... what if he had broken one of his bones!? Your friend Daniel had broken his arm a few months before and he had spent weeks wearing this cast around his arm. It seemed very serious. What if Harry was hurt and would need one of these too?

"Harry? You're okay? Come out now, it's not funny!"

And then something coming out of the snow was grabbing your ankle, and you cried, jumping away in fear.

You would have recognized this ridiculous laugh anywhere.

"HARRY!"

He finally crawled fully out of the snow, laughing so hard he had to hold onto his painful belly.

"You scared me! It's not funny!" You protested.

"You should have seen your face!" He replied between hiccups, unable to stand for now because of how much he was still laughing. "And you shouted so loud!"

He doubled in laughter, and you noticed how his lisp was coming back as he wasn't making a conscious effort to repress it. You thought it was rather cute. And Harry's laugh was contagious. These were the only reasons why you were smiling then, because you were still mad at him for playing this trick on you.

"You're so annoying!" You shook your head, crossing your arms before your chest.

"Oh come on! Even you have to admit it was funny!" He replied, eventually calming down a little more.

"Not one bit!"

"It was. It was hilarious. Didn't know you could jump so far!"

You huffed, offended. No matter if you were still little, from the top of your nine-year-old self, you still turned away from him and pretended to refuse to acknowledge his presence.

Instead, you leaned down, as if to tie your shoes.

"Y/N... are you really mad?"

This time his tone was a little more uncertain. After all, if there was one thing that he hated, it was seeing you sad or upset. And especially so when it was because of him.

"Don't be mad! It was just a joke!" He went on, this time being the one who sounded annoyed, when in reality he was more worried than anything else.

But instead of hearing your reply, he was hit straight in the face with a snowball, while it was your turn to be laughing at him.

He chased away the snow dripping over his face with his gloved hand, a mischievous smile appearing on his features as he did so.

"Oh... are you sure you want to play it like that?" He asked, quirking up an eyebrow.

You let out a giggle, shrugging.

"You're the one who started it!"

"Alright, then!" When you saw him bending to scoop some snow in his palm, you let out a shriek and ran off towards the nearby tree where your mother and Anne were keeping an eye on all of you, chatting and trying to stay warm in the cold weather while you played.

"HAAAA! HELP ME! I'M BEING ATTACKED!" You dramatically called the parents, while Harry ran after you.

You got protection by hiding behind your mum, gripping at her long coat, making her laugh.

"Alright, alright! Calm down you two!"

While Gemma was sliding down the hill over the outskirts of Holmes Chapel, laughing on her sledge, Harry was trying to aim at you but you kept on running around the adults. Until he took his shot and hit you on the knee, the cold sensation making you cry through your laughter.

"Alright, calm down! Both of you!" Anne tried to admonish, but she was laughing as well at how silly you and Harry were.

As Gemma was joining the group pulling her sledge behind her, you and Harry were lost in an intense battle, your mothers sometimes getting caught in the crossfire.

"Gemma! Help! Team up with me!" You called while Harry was managing to grab your arm and shove some snow in the space between your scarf and neck, making you shriek.

And the older girl didn't need to be asked twice. Soon enough, both Gemma and you were chasing after Harry, who was now the one hiding behind the two mothers.

"Mum! Help! It's not even fair! They're two against one!"

"It's true that two against one is hardly fair," she agreed through her giggles.

"Then help!"

As she got caught in the crossfire again, Anne gave in and started to participate to the fight too. When she accidentally hit your mum right in the face, she also joined in. And then there were no teams, just three children and two mothers having a snowball fight and laughing too much for their stomachs.

Later that afternoon, you got home to change into dry clothes and get a warm and well-deserved hot cocoa at your place. You reckoned that the last thing you would need to make the day perfect was building a snowman, so you teamed up with Harry to build one in his backyard and make it as big as you could.

"We need eyes for him!" You noticed with horror that he was still missing those as you wrapped your scarf around the snowman's neck.

You had used a little twig for its nose, and Harry had found pebbles for its smile, but you just had the best idea.

"I know! Hold on!"

You ran off to your house and Harry patiently waited for you, placing his beanie on the snowman's head.

When you reappeared, you had two green marbles in your hand, that you planted in the snow to give your new friend eyes.

"It looks nice!" Harry agreed with a professional nod.

"Like that, he has the same eyes as you do!" You told him with a grin, and Harry wasn't sure why he was blushing, but he was.

"I like it," he nodded.

Your mother called for you, and you had to part with Harry for the rest of the holidays as you would both be travelling to see your families during the rest of the break.

"Today was so much fun!" You smiled.

"Yeah! The best!"

"I can't believe we're leaving tomorrow to go to my grandparents' for Christmas," you sighed with a sad pout.

"I'm gonna miss you."

"But you'll spend tons of time with your dad! It's gonna be great!"

Harry shrugged, clearly saddened now.

"Still gonna miss you. It's not as fun when you're not around."

You hugged him, promising to tell him everything that had happened during the holidays when you would be back.

"I'll get your scarf and your marbles once the snow has melted. No worries!" He promised, and you gave him a smile again, but this one was a little shy.

"You can keep the marbles if you want. They really do look like your eyes. Feels like they should be yours."

"You sure?"

You nodded, walking backwards towards your house, and waving at him.

"Merry Christmas, Harry!"

He waved back at you, laughing, even though he wasn't so sure why. He guessed it was just because of you.

"Merry Christmas, Y/N!"

                                                           II

                                            Loch Lomond, 2020

 Seeing your parents in the large hall, you suddenly weren't so sure if this whole ordeal was a good idea or the worst piece of madness that had ever flashed into your brain. But you were leaning towards the second option as you stepped in the room.

You took in deep breaths, and tried to calm down. One quick glance at Harry told you that he was just as nervous as you were.

For a moment though, all your fears vanished as your mother spotted you, her lips breaking in a bright grin, and she moved away from her spot by the window, abandoning the gorgeous view in favour of hugging you tight.

"I've missed you so much, my baby!" she squealed, hugging you so tight you could barely breathe, but the gesture only made you cackle, and you hugged her with the same urgency.

"It's so good to see you, mum!"

"You live way too far away! When are you coming back home?"

"After my PhD, promise."

"You'd better. Cause I'm tired of being alone dealing with your father."

"I heard that!" your father complained, and both you and your mother laughed at him, before you would break the embrace to hug your dad instead.

"Your mother is right though, we've missed you," he told you, kissing your cheek.

Your mum only then seemed to notice that Harry was standing a few steps away, unwilling to disturb your reunion.

"Harry!" she exclaimed, hugging him just as tightly as she had done you. "I didn't know you were invited to the wedding too! I mean… of course Cassie knows you, but she wanted a small venue and very few guests…"

"Uhm… No, I… I wasn't invited. I came with Y/N."

She blinked a couple of times at him, her expression blank, before realization glowed across her features.

But… not realization of what was actually happening…

"Oh, she asked you as her plus one! But why? I mean… it's just our family, you wouldn't have been alone, Y/N! There was no need to bring a friend along!"

Harry and you exchanged a glance, as you freed yourself from your father's embrace.

"No, actually… uhm… we're…" Harry began but fell silent as your father slowly turned to him.

"You're what?" your mother asked, completely lost.

"We're together," you announced as fast as your lips would allow. "He came as my boyfriend."

Harry offered your parents a bright smile.

"Together? What… what do you mean 'together'?" your mother stuttered upon her words.

"I mean that… he's my boyfriend now. Not… just a friend."

Her glance travelled back and forth between the two of you, and you were certain to have broken her brain by now.

It seemed impossible for her to process the news.

"So… you two are a couple?" your father asked, turning fully to Harry, who nodded in response.

"It's quite new," the young man explained. "We just… realized that we both wanted to try to take our relationship a step further."

"I see…"

Your father finally offered Harry his hand to shake, which your best friend hurried to take. You noticed the wince that distorted his features though, as your father crushed his fingers.

"We're going to need to have a talk, young man."

"Yes, sir."

"Dad!" you admonished, pulling him away from your frightened friend, who seemed terrified by now. "Stop it! What are you doing? It's just Harry!"

"Yes… it's Harry. Harry who used to spend entire nights in a sleeping bag in your bedroom when the two of you were children!"

He turned towards your fake boyfriend, waving a threatening finger at him.

"If you think I've forgotten about that day you closed her door when the two of you were 14…"

"No, I promise you, nothing happened!" Harry defended himself, absolutely terrified by now as he took a step back. "We… nothing happened for years, it's only been a few months, and nothing had ever happened before that. You have my word."

Your father huffed, not buying it, despite your friend's words being the truth.

"Oh come on, honey!" your mother forced her husband to calm down. "Y/N's right, it's just Harry. We know he's a respectable young man. So quit the tough act, would you?"

Your dad still mumbled something unintelligible under his breath, but your mum was shaking her head, amused.

"Ha… we knew it would happen eventually," she affectionately patted Harry's shoulder. "And if I'm being honest… it took you long enough!"

"Darling!" it was your father's turn to admonish your mother.

"What? I'm perfectly right, don't play innocent! By the way, who made the first move?"

You looked at each other… you… hadn't really discussed that…

"Well… uhm… I… did?" Harry answered with much hesitation.

"I mean, we were a little… inebriated," you started to explain, but your father quickly interrupted you, glaring at your 'boyfriend', and if a glance could have killed, Harry would have been violently murdered there and then.

"Inebriated?! What happened?!" he snapped, but Harry raised his hands in a soothing gesture.

"Nothing happened between us, don't worry. I would never do that!" he replied, a little offended that your father would think him able to do something like this. "We just… confessed things we wouldn't have discussed while sobber."

"I swear to God, son… if anything happened between you and my baby girl while she was drunk…"

"No, dad, nothing happened! Relax, would you! And even if something had happened, trust me, I would have been wholeheartedly all for it!"

"Really?" Harry asked with surprise, clearly slipping out of his acting role, and it was your turn to glower at him in response. He caught your idea quickly, but you were the one to speak first again anyway.

"Look, we just… realized that we both… wanted to take our friendship to the next level. We went on a couple of real dates, and here we are!"

"Yes, but who made the first move," your mother asked again. "Who kissed who first? Who confessed first?"

"I did," you both answered at the same time, sharing a panicked glance.

This whole thing was a disaster and was just getting worse and worse by the second…

"I mean… I… confessed first," Harry clarified, but his tone was a little too hesitant as he kept on staring at you, waiting for validation, and you gave him a small nod. "And she… she initiated the first… physical… contact…"

"Physical contact?!" your father interjected, and your friend was burying his face in his hands in embarrassment this time.

"No, I mean… she kissed me first. I meant kissing, just kissing."

"Look, dad, please, stop being like that!"

"Oh, so… now I can't take care of my daughter anymore?"

"It's Harry!" you replied. "Can't you trust him?!"

"When it comes to you, I don't trust nobody. And he's lucky we're not alone in this room," he replied between his gritted teeth, making you roll your eyes, and Harry lost all traces of colours all over his face, going as white as sheets.

"Look, you know I would never do anything to hurt Y/N…"

"Son, for your own good, you should stop talking now."

"Yes, sir."

"So… Harry made the first move, in a way," your mother considered your story.

"I guess, yeah. Why?"

Your mother beamed at you.

"Well, that means Anne owes me a 20!"

"What?"

"I was sure Harry would make the first move, but Anne has always thought that he would be too slow with his emotions and you would be the clever one to figure it all out first. So, I've just earned 20 pounds!"

"You… bet with my mum about Y/N and I getting together?" your fake-boyfriend asked in confusion.

"The bet has been on since you were both 14, sweetie!" your mother laughed, making your father roll his eyes. "It sure took both of you long enough to realize that you love each other! We've known for over a decade."

Both you and your best friend exchanged a confused look.

Were your two mothers… rooting for you… being… a couple?

"What?!" you both exclaimed at the same time.

But your mother merely let out a chuckle, pinching both your and Harry's cheeks.

"It's about time that the two of you finally come to your senses! I need to call Anne and tell her the news!"

You both stared at each other with wide eyes, panicked once more.

"No, please," Harry stopped you as your mother reached for her phone. "I… I haven't told her yet, and I'd like to be the one to tell her. I… it's important to me."

Your mum gave him a disappointed pout, but obliged nonetheless.

"Alright. But tell her I haven't forgotten about our bet and she owes me 20 pounds!"

"I will. Promise."

You were interrupted though, by your grandmother entering the hall and calling for you. And both you and Harry welcomed the chance to escape your parents.

"Gran! How are you doing?"

"I'm so happy to see you, darling," the old woman gave you a warm hug. "It's been too long."

"Me too, gran!"

"I'm relieved you could come for your cousin's wedding! I was afraid you wouldn't get a flight. Or wouldn't take the time to come."

"Of course, I came! It's Cassie's wedding!"

"You're spending too much time working…"

"Gran," you tried to interrupt her, your voice full of warning.

"You are forgetting everything else in your life. Including your love life, even though it's important!"

"Gran…"

You had barely said hello, and she was already diving in this topic.

"You know, I'm sure there will be some lovely young men at the reception…"

"Gran!"

"I'm just saying that weddings are the perfect place to meet new people."

"Well, I don't need to meet new people, because I came with my boyfriend!"

Her eyes grew round, and yet a smile formed on her lips.

And you were reminded all too well why you had asked Harry to come in the first place. Some members of your family really weren't interested in anything but your love life…

You silently asked Harry to come closer, and he approached the two of you with a shy smile.

"Hi!"

"Do you remember my friend Harry?"

She gave both of you a suspicious look.

"I do. You lived next door. Always the mischievous type!"

He chuckled, shrugging.

"I was a child, for my defence."

"So you two are together? Or you just came as a friend?"

"No, we're together," you answered, standing a little closer to him.

But she didn't seem convinced.

"If you say so…" she mumbled under her breath. "And is it anything serious?"

"Yeah, it is," Harry nodded with a smile, but again, your grandmother looked at him with eyes full of doubts.

It was hard to tell if she was unsure of your taste in men, or if she doubted that the two of you were together at all. All the same, she didn't seem so happy about the news.

She was distracted by your mother behind you, and you released a shaky breath as she walked away.

"We're not doing so good, are we?" Harry asked even if he knew the answer to his question already, in a shushed whisper that would allow no one else but you to hear his concerned words. "We haven't even talked to five people yet, and one of them doesn't seem to believe us, and another wants to murder me."

"Well, perhaps if you weren't acting so stiff around me, they would be more convinced!" you snapped back at him under your breath.

"What do you mean?"

"You're not acting like you're my boyfriend at all, Harry!"

"I am doing my best! What would you have me do?"

"Touch me? At least a little bit. I don't know, hold my hand or touch my back, or whatever."

"Well, you could do the same, babe."

You gave him a fake smile, before wrapping your arm around his waist.

"I am."

He threw a scared glance at your parents, and indeed, caught your father glowering at him, and he moved away from your touch as a consequence.

"Well, I'm sorry to be a little 'stiff' when your father looks at me like that! Besides, PDAs aren't my thing, in case you didn't know."

You rolled your eyes at him.

"My dad won't do anything, you know him. A lot of talks, but in the end, he's a teddy bear."

Harry heaved a sigh in response, and took another look at your family. They seemed lost in conversation, and judging by the glances they threw at the two of you, Harry guessed that your new relationship ought to be the main subject of gossips.

"Maybe you're right though."

He reached for your hand, and you were surprised that his gesture was slow, a little shy. His cheeks were flushed and he turned away from your family so they wouldn't notice his burning skin. You intertwined your fingers together, standing a little closer to him.

"You don't have to, if it makes you uncomfortable," you reassured him.

"No, it's… it's nice, actually."

"What is?"

A smile appeared on his lips, but he didn't look at you. Instead, he watched as your aunt and uncle entered the room, bracing himself for the next introduction. His smile didn't falter though as he whispered his next words.

"Holding your hand. It's nice… holding your hand."

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

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#harry styles #harry styles x reader #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fanfic #harry styles imagine #harry styles series #event #4700 followers #writing prompts #writing #imagine #fanfiction #fanfic #series

[prurientpuddlejumper]

A New Arrangement [Part 9/9][NSFW]

K!nktober 2020 Kink Bingo!: Cockwarming

<- Part 8 | Bonus Chapter ->

Summary: Post-coital cuddling with Frederick Chilton

For @thatesqcrush​’s kink bingo!

1,448 words

He collapsed on top of you, rolling you onto your back without removing the sweet, filling pressure of his still-hard erection from your warmth. He nuzzled his face against yours with blatant neediness until you kissed him, then he sighed happily, and let his whole body go limp on top of you.

“That was so good,” you said, out of breath, chaffed, mussed, and glowing with euphoria.

He let out a muffled hum of agreement into the mattress, which you more felt vibrating than heard.

Minutes passed in peaceful, comfortable silence. You half dozed with exhaustion, softly caressing the solid, reassuring body weighing down on you, sweat slowly saturating through his once-pristine dress shirt. His cock felt so nice, still nestled inside you as it gradually softened. You stroked his sweaty back, unsure if he had fallen asleep.

“Mmm. Doctor Chilton, this is nice,” you murmured dreamily.

“I believe, at this juncture, it would be appropriate to call me Frederick.”

The familiarity made your heart skip unexpectedly. “Frederick,” you said, trying it out. It tasted good rolling over your tongue, so you said it again. “Frederick. I like that. It’s a good name.”

He lifted his head to watch your perfect lips forming the shape of his name. “It is Germanic in origin...” he said, then paused, thinking better of it before launching into a boring onomastics lesson you surely had no interest in hearing. Why could he not think of anything more… romantic?

“It’s cute. It sounds regal… but also very cuddly,” you warmly opined. “Like a lord or a duke, or a teddy bear. Sir Teddy Bear. Frederick.”

He had nothing to say to that (although the temptation to describe the name’s royal history grew stronger), so he buried his face further into your neck.

An analog clock ticked atop a dresser. Frederick breathed in and out. Otherwise, his bedroom was soundproof enough that you were immersed in silence. You enjoyed the closeness of his body. You wished you had more bare skin to touch, but were content to settle for his neck and his head for now. And because you were completely naked, every caress of his fingers was skin on skin.

He enjoyed your naked body, not just because it aroused him sexually. He felt at ease. It seemed a fair trade off for the parts of him you had gotten to see—parts he was firmly dedicated to hiding until they could be corrected.

A thread of fear pulled at his chest, tugging insistently through the sleepy contentedness he was drowsing in until he could no longer ignore it. He lifted his head from your shoulder and craned it one way and then the other. He stretched as far he could reach without pulling out of you.

“Are you looking for something?”

The corners of his eyes tightened. A cheek flinched. “The mask fell somewhere, and I want it back,” he said calmly, but with an undercurrent of rising urgency.

He had spent the last several months hiding his face, and one satisfying fuck wasn’t enough to make him ready to be exposed for so long. It was impressive he’d lasted as long as he had without it, but an invisible time limit was fast approaching. You understood, any sympathized. You would miss him, though.

“I’ll help look. Can I kiss you one more time without it?”

“Hurry up,” he said, anxious to retreat into the familiar safety of being covered.

You turned your head and pressed your lips tenderly against his cheek, so soft and yielding, so without judgment toward the patchwork of grafts and scars he had been living in shame of, that he turned his head to kiss you on the mouth. For the frozen fraction of a second that he made contact, a bolt of terror that he was mistaken in putting faith in your reassurances and that you did not actually want him to kiss you and would pull away in disgust paralyzed him. With a low moan, your lips parted over his teeth, tongue sliding over the edges, licking and teasing until he melted and kissed you back.

He released a long, shuddering breath. “You do that so well.”

“Well, you feel so good,” you smiled.

There was no way to find the mask with his softened cock falling out of you, so you lay together until his impatience to be covered outweighed the soothing comfort of his cock still buried warm and safe inside you.

He crawled to the edge of the bed, and you sat up and checked the other side.

The mask had not fallen far. It lay face-down on the plush carpet under the bed, narrowly missing a landing on the bright hardwood that would have chipped or shattered it. Frederick snatched it, and sighed with relief as he slipped it back over his face. Shelter. He was… embarrassed to still need it, after everything, but he was not comfortable with you looking at him. He felt too exposed. Too vulnerable.

He rolled onto his back, spreading his limbs out across the bed.

“That… was quite good. Thank you,” he said awkwardly, as if you’d cooked dinner. It made you laugh softly, and shake your head.

“Thank you. For letting me share that with you.”

The mask was back on securely, so you couldn’t tell if he was blushing, or smiling. But you had a feeling he might have been.

***

You were finishing up the last two buttons of your blouse when Frederick returned from the bathroom in clean pants and a fresh shirt to replace the sweaty one, restored to the default appearance with which he always answered the door. You had half expected him to be wearing a Hugh Hefner robe or at least something more relaxed following his conquest, but no. This was a man who would wear formal attire in his own bedroom until you left. Possibly even when he was alone. At least he’d lost the tie.

“Must you leave?” he said.

“I’m sorry,” you said, gathering up your things, “I have three more appointments today and I’m running late.”

“Other appointments. I see,” he grumbled peevishly, chin in the air.

“Don’t be jealous, Frederick,” you grinned. “I don’t fuck any of my other clients.”

“You did not used to,” he corrected, shoulders circling, “but perhaps I have given you ideas. If I was able to seduce you…”

You crossed the room to him and tapped a finger on his chest, brows lowered. “You are a special case. You’re… intriguing...” As you let your pointer finger drift down the center of his chest you noticed he left the top buttons undone. You hungrily stared at the warm, exposed flesh. Snapping your eyes back up to his, you teased, “At the very least, I am more than satisfied for the rest of the day. I’m going to be sore tomorrow.”

He gave a proud hum, vibrating the air behind the mask, and wrapped a possessive arm around your lower back. “Can we make another appointment for next week? Officially, I would put you on retainer as a financial consultant assisting me on an ongoing basis...”

Oh, right. You had almost forgotten about the silly paying-for-your-services thing.

“Just ask me on a date, dummy. I’ll say yes,” is what you should have said. But feelings were messy, and he was still so fragile. A relationship bound together by the chaotic whims of emotion probably terrified him, or else he would have just asked you out. Money was safer. Money let him be in control. 

Besides, there was nothing wrong with making some extra cash, was there? He had plenty of it. 

“I’ll mark it in my calendar,” you said, and kissed his cold porcelain lips, your fingers curling around the warm base of his neck. You had a rich, eccentric, hermit sugar daddy now, and you had to admit, that was exciting. 

There was no way being paid for sex could ever come back to bite you in the ass.

With an exhausted groan of effort, he grabbed the cane beside his bed and walked you to the door. On your way out to the car, he pulled open one of the dark curtains to watch you go (you were surprised he didn’t hiss at the sunlight and crumble into a heap of dust). He was eerie, a pale porcelain ghost floating in the window. Anyone else might have worried they were in the opening act of a slasher film, but a warm tingling flooded your chest—a contented drunkenness so strong you had to breathe in purposefully to recenter yourself before you waved to him and drove away.

#Frederick Chilton x reader #frederick chilton #Raúl Esparza #Hannibal #kinktober #thatesqcrush kink bingo #My writing #oof I have a bunch more chapters drafted of them being idiots #I will have to write those one day #COMING SOON: The first 2 chapters of the sequel to A Punchable Face I Want to Kiss #Which means I have until Tuesday to finish that Shibari fic

[gallavictorious]

”You going out? I thought you weren't working tonight.”

Mickey looks up from his tie to see Ian leaning against the doorframe, in uniform and with his hair neatly slicked back.

”Nah, it isn't work. Well, not exactly,” he says, finishing the knot and taking a step back to admire the result in the mirror. He's getting pretty good at this. Lots of practice in the last few months, ever since he took the bodyguard gig officially on the road. Clients like it when he wears a tie. ”You know the chick I've been babysitting for the past few weeks, the one whose stalker I caught trying to climb in through the fucking window? She and her dad's taking me to some fancy place, uh... Piccolo something, to thank me. Since you're working the late shift, I thought – ”

Ian interrupts, straightening: ”Piccolo Sogno? Like, that really romantic place down in West Town? You telling me the girl who has a crush on you is taking you there?” He pauses, looking at Mickey with a cross between disbelief and bemusement. ”Are you going on a fucking date?”

Mickey stares at him. ”What the hell are you talking about?” he demands. Crush? Date? What?

---

The chick's name is Charlotte Eckerton.

He was supposed to call her Ms. Eckerton, she insisted he say Charlie, and what he actually went with was usually some classic television reference that she didn't get, or – when she's was being particularly annoying – ”hey, brat”. She was probably no worse than any other spoiled little North Side princess, but Mickey sure as hell didn't get why anyone, no matter how loony, would want to stalk her, because literally all she did was go to class, study, shop, and party with her equally irritating friends. Oh, and endlessly updating her Instagram stories with every last detail about her fascinating life, of course. He put a quick stop to that, because continually announcing your location to the public when a deranged psycho was stalking you was... well, let's face it, it was about as stupid as he expected from these people.

She threw a tantrum when he swapped her phone for one with restricted access to social media apps, and she tried to give him the slip at least twice a day for the first four days, going as far as paying some other goons to attack him while she made a run for it. She was not completely stupid, he had to give her that, and he was beginning to understand why her father had come to him rather than hire a more well-established firm. The girl was a complete nuisance, and occasionally quite clever about it. Clearly needed someone wise to all the tricks, and unafraid to rein her in and tell her in no uncertain terms when she was being an idiot.

Mr. Eckerton was loaded, having made his fortune doing some IT-shit or other, and for the kind of money he was offering, Mickey was prepared to put up with a quite a lot of hare-brained shenanigans, as well as hanging out at the Magnificent Mile afternoon after afternoon, and listening to the brat's endless babble about... hair? Make-up? Bands? Whatever. He didn't really pay attention; he'd have needed to be paid hell of a lot more than he was to do that.

After a week or so of thwarted escape attempts Charlotte had exchanged overt defiance for a more subtle approach, trying to throw him off his game by suddenly gifting him stuff, like a dark gray shirt ”that goes really well with your eyes”. He took the shirt, because it was pretty nice, as was the watch and the stupidly expensive hair-product she produced in the following days. He was a little insulted she thought he could be bought so easily, though; she'd have needed to double her father's money, at the very least – or gotten him a nice car. He had said as much to Ian, who had eyed the gifts with an unreadable expression on his face, and had failed to comment.

When bribery too proved a failed tactic she started asking a lot of personal question instead, fishing for weaknesses to exploit. Her strategy was pitifully obvious, however, and Mickey gave her nothing but monosyllabic responses. Finally, she resigned herself to being stuck with him for the time being, and mercifully stopped pestering him about letting her go to whatever concert or party was happening that night. She still dressed up and put on elaborate make-up every damned evening, though, even if it was just the two of them chilling at her place, but he supposed it was something for her to do. Fuck knew he could sympathize with the boredom of being locked up.  

So that was Charlotte, spoiled and stubborn and maybe a little bit clever underneath it all. Not the worst person he could imagine babysitting, not by a long shot, but not one he'd think back on either, now that the job was done. He probably wouldn't even have accepted her and her father's invitation to take him out for a meal, if it hadn't been for Ian's occasional insistence that he needed to be ”nicer to his clients” and ”cultivate professional contacts”. This only made his husband's reaction to the whole situation all the more annoying –

”It is not a date,” Mickey says flatly, irritation coloring his voice, because Ian is smiling at him in all too knowing way. ”I probably saved her fucking life, she wants to buy me dinner. That doesn't make this a – Listen, her fucking father is going to be there.”

”Yeah, sure he will.” Ian crosses his arms, still smirking like an asshole, but there's just a hint of an edge to the smile now. ”Does she even know you're gay?”

Mickey rolls his eyes. ”Of course she fucking knows, because I open every damned conversation with 'Hi, I'm Mickey and I love cocks' like a normal fucking faggot. Jesus. It hasn't come up. She knows I'm married.”

”Like that's gonna – ”

They're interrupted by the door to Liam's room opening, the boy stepping out to give them his very best judgemental look. ”Why are you yelling? I need to study.”

”Oh, it's nothing,” Ian says casually. ”Just Mickey having a date tonight. With a teenage girl.”

”She’s nineteen, and I am not – !”

Liam frowns. ”Is this like when he was fake-dating Byron to make you jealous? Are you going to go on a fake date too? With a girl?”  He pauses, frown deepening: ””Is there a Grindr for straight people?”

Ian's spared a reply as Lip comes up the stairs with Freddie in his arms. He pauses on the top step, brow furrowing as he takes in the scene: Mickey, dressed to the nines and with a scowl to match, Ian smiling with his arms crossed, and Liam wearing his trademark look, the one that says that everyone else is a bit of an idiot. ”What's going on here?”

”Mickey's going on a date with a woman.” Liam offers it readily, a true believer in the free dissemination of information. Probably something he picked up at private school.

Mickey gives a half-choked groan. ”It's not a – ! You know what, fuck you.” With one last glare and an extended middle finger, Mickey grabs his jacket and storms off.

Ian, Liam and Lip watch him go, nonplussed. Lip glances at Ian: ”Huh. Less than a year of marriage and you've already turned him off men.”

”Yeah, well. Have to admit I didn't see that one coming.”

---

The restaurant is fancy as hell, linen cloth and candlelight, one person to take his coat and another to show him to the table. Charlotte is already there, blonde hair pulled back in a strict ponytail, something expensive glittering around her neck and drawing attention to the generious helping of skin her lowcut black dress offers.

The table is set only for two. Mickey frowns as he takes his seat. ”Your father coming?”

”No.” The smile she gives him is very innocent. ”He got held up in a meeting, so he called to say he can't make it. He said to tell you sorry, and to thank you so much for your service.”

Listen to those alarm bells going off all at once... Mickey tries to mentally shake it off. It's nothing to worry about. Just Ian putting weird ideas into his head. ”Uh, yeah. Don't worry about it. Just doing my job.” He waves for the waiter to bring him a beer. He does need a drink, quite urgently.

Charlotte leans forward, looking up at him from under half-closed lids with a very intense expression on her perfectly moisturized face. ”You were so brave when Smithson attacked me. I don't know how I can ever thank you enough. You know, my father is paying for this meal, but if there was something else you wanted... ?”

And that's her grabbing the olive from her drink and very deliberately pushing it past her lips and that's... that's her foot, sans shoe, slowly sliding down his calf.

Oh. Fuck. This is a date. Inwardly groaning, Mickey rubs a tired hand over his face, before looking straight at Charlotte: ”You know I'm fucking gay, right? Like, married to a man?”  Jesus, Ian is never going to let him hear the end of this...

Charlotte reels back just a little, mouth falling slightly open. He's prepared for shock, disgust even – but instead a dreamy look appears on her face. ”Oh my god, that is sooo hot!”

What?

---

He feigns sleep when Ian returns home a quarter past midnight, but his husband isn't fooled. ”How was your date?” he murmurs as he slips in under the covers and wraps his arms around Mickey from behind.

”Shut the fuck up.”

A quiet laugh, a kiss pressed to his shoulder. ”I take it you're sticking with cocks for now then.”

And sure, there's a teasing edge to the words, and sure, he'll hear about this for-fucking-ever, but... Mickey turns around, facing Ian. ”I guess I am,” he agrees, reaching up to run his thumb over Ian's cheek.

Whatever mischief is there fades from Ian's eyes, from his voice: ”I'm glad,” he says simply, and pulls Mickey in for a kiss.

Yeah. So is he.

---

This one goes out to @starkcravingmad​  who suggested a teenage charge crushing on a clueless Mickey, in a reply to this post. I know you didn't ask me to write it, and I have no idea if this is even vaguely related to what you had in mind, but for better or worse you planted the seed, and here we are. Didn't intend for it to get this long, or this silly, but yeah.

#gallavich #maybe it somehow becomes a thing #charlotte taking both of them out for dinner #and of course they never ever do anything with her #they literally just have dinner at fancy places #ian continues to find the whole situation completely hilarious #and delights in being extra sweet and touchy with mickey #let's face it he has a long history of doing weird shit for gifts and money #and he kinda digs that someone else is as into mickey as he is #mickey is never not super grumpy #though of course he goes SOFT whenever Ian touches him #obviously he hasn't developed the tiniest soft spot for charlote #OBVIOUSLY #but the food is great so whatever #bodyguard mickey #oblivious mickey part II #fic #my stuff

[blazerina]

Surprise (Ethan x MC)

Surprise (Ethan x MC)

Word Count: 4,962 (omg that’s a lot)

Author’s Note: Okay so this is my “mature Ethan & Allie AU” where they’re already married and have been together for a little while. It eludes to some of my other Ethan & Allie stories a little bit and sets the scene for another more angsty Ethan & Allie story I plan to write soon.  I had no idea how to end this so I’m sorry if the ending stinks. Hope this brings some joy to you as you read it – thank you to all of you for your support and encouragement regarding my stories.

**This story is dedicated to @noboundariesplease who became my 800th follower a few weeks ago!!**

@parkerattano @justanotherrookie @mrswalkerwritesagain – thanks for being my fandom besties!

A few of you asked to be tagged when I posted this story so here you go:

@unusualvisionsblog @itstaygs @ethandaddyramsey @x-kyne-x @flyawayboo

Some of you liked my message about this story coming soon so I thought I’d tag you too – hope that’s okay: @queencarb @schnitzelbutterfinger @liam-kostas-wife  @keepcreative @lion-ess24 @lifeof-liv @rookieinbflat @imonlyalittledeadinside @desmaranj @havenofearoficecoldbeer

Love and hugs peace to all of you!! xoxo

--

Ding dong.

The echo of the doorbell rang out among the small, empty foyer of the two-story home that Ethan and Allie shared, just outside of Boston.  Allie was in the master bathroom, her hair in large rollers, putting the finishing touches on her makeup; mascara wand in hand.

Waiting a moment to hear if Ethan opened the door, Allie let out a sigh and rested her hand on the edge of the counter in exasperation.

“Ethan? You gonna get that?!” She hollered.

The doorbell rang again at the same moment Allie went back to applying her mascara.

“Ethan!” She yelled again, tightening the belt on her robe.

Ethan’s head popped into view behind her in the mirror. Leaning in from the doorway with the phone glued to his ear, he silently mouthed the words I’m on the phone.

Rolling her eyes, Allie put the mascara down and went quickly to the door.  A delivery man was standing on the doorstep, holding a basket full of cookies, with several colorful balloons attached.

After signing for the package and offering her thanks, Allie went immediately to the kitchen. Ethan was sitting at the table, still on the phone, looking out the window into their backyard.

“For you…” Allie smiled, placing the basket in front of him as he turned around.  

He rolled his eyes and looked for a card.  After reading it quickly, he tossed it aside, rolling his eyes again. Allie could hear the voice on the other end of the phone. This person was clearly frazzled, rambling on and talking at a rapid pace.

“I will not apologize for your lack of planning, Douglas. I have already been waiting two days beyond the deadline I originally gave you…you’re testing my patience and I already don’t have much…”

While Ethan continued on the phone, Allie poured him a glass of iced tea and set it down on the table in front of him, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek.

Ethan reached for her hand and kissed the back of it silently, looking up at her through his glasses with tired eyes.

Allie smiled and started walking backwards.  Making sure she had Ethan’s attention, she mimed at her wrist, tapping it as if a watch was there.  

“We need to go soon…” she reminded him, quietly.

Ethan nodded and then shooed her out of the room as his conversation increased his frustration.

“And I’m telling you that I will not have a diagnosis until I get those results…”

--

Allie and Ethan had been married almost 16 years now.  Their relationship had weathered many storms at this point, but their connection to one another had never been stronger or deeper. Looking at the pictures in frames throughout their house one could see how their own love and affection for one another had grown. In the pictures from their first days of being together, their eyes sparkled and glistened. Photos from their small and intimate wedding ceremony showed true joy and happiness in their smiles. As the years wore on, they included other family in their pictures, pictures of Jenner alone in a field of wildflowers, and another new puppy, Chief. Nieces and nephews and cousins galore adorned the walls and shelves of their home. In each more recent picture of their life, their eyes were just as sparkling, smiles just as happy, but their faces older and wiser, and maybe a little more tired.

The couple had been through a lot together; it seemed as though from day one they would have more than their fair share of trials and tribulations.  But through it all they managed to come out stronger with more love, devotion and appreciation for one another than either of them thought possible.

Allie was keeping an eye on the time, her stomach a bundle of nerves.  She was working hard to ensure her lipstick looked just right, while also checking every other little detail of her makeup in the mirror.

Tonight need to be as close to perfect as possible.

Downstairs, Ethan furiously ended his call and slammed his phone down on the table with more force than he intended.  He glanced quickly at the ridiculous basket and balloons, muttered a curse word under his breath and checked the time on the wall clock in the kitchen. He quickly realized he was running late and took the stairs two at a time to get changed.

Allie heard him enter their walk-in closet and called out to him.

“All done with that phone call?”

“I am.” Ethan responded, scanning his suit jackets for the one he had in mind.

“I cannot believe you made me go to the door in my robe with my hair in these curlers!” She teased, securing an earring in place.

“You can’t honestly believe that I was going to fall for that…” Ethan scoffed, talking to her through the closet as he began to change.

“Fall for what?” Allie asked, spraying perfume on her wrists and neck.

“Allie…” His tone came across as though he was admonishing her.

“I learned my lesson! I promised you that I would never, ever in the rest of our time together, try to surprise you with anything for your birthday ever again.”

“Well forgive me for being worried that someone dressed as a teddy bear or something equally as cliché and silly, was going to jump out from behind the bushes with a song and some chocolate. You’re very unpredictable, you know.”

“And you love it.” Allie retorted.

A few moments of silence passed between the two of them as Allie made her way to the closet, too. They danced around each other a few times, Ethan reaching here to grab a tie, Allie wandering over to her shoe selection, trying to decide which ones she wanted to wear.

Her eyes scanned the footwear choices before her and she mentally calculated the pros and cons of each, tilting her head in an analytical fashion, her eyes squinting as she thought to herself.

“You still have the curlers in?” Ethan questioned, almost completely dressed now, with the exception of his tie and jacket.

“I told you, I take them out at the very…last…second…” Allie reached for a pair of shoes as Ethan stopped her.

“Wear those instead…” He nodded in the direction of one shelf above the pair Allie was going for.

“Those are old!” She insisted. “You only like these because I was wearing them two years ago on our anniversary when we went to the opera and ate at the one place with the great steak and scotch – I can’t remember the name but you loved it…”

“So what if I did? It was a lovely evening and those shoes bring back good memories.”

“Maybe for you…” Allie’s eyes grew wide as she remembered the blisters they created on the heels of her feet.

She grabbed them anyway and gave him a sly grin.

“The things we do for love.”

After laying out her dress and shoes, she returned to the bathroom and started taking her hair down. Ethan was now sitting on the end of the bed, putting his shoes on, but stopped to watch her, mesmerized by her beauty.

He could only see her reflection in the mirror from the angle at which the bed was to the entrance of their master-bath, but he still couldn’t stop his own breath from catching in the back of his throat. Not a day passed when he didn’t wake up and consider himself the luckiest man on the planet.

Sure, time had weathered them both in certain ways – physically they both had more wrinkles and gray hair; but emotionally they had grown, developed and matured in their desire for one another and their need to rely on each other through all that life had thrown their way.

Ethan was not looking forward to the dinner they were attending tonight.  Allie was the magnetic one – the woman who could make the cashier at the grocery store feel like she had known her forever. Allie was the one everyone wanted to be friends with and the so-called friends the couple did have, were only tolerant of Ethan. They were really friends with her, and he knew it. She had so much that he didn’t. He was in awe of her and admired her more than she was aware.

Allie’s long reddish-brown hair tinted now with a few streaks of gray, fell from each roller, across her shoulders and down her back. The soft tendrils were exactly the way she hoped they’d be – not too tight but not too loose.  She was actually pleased with the way her look was coming together tonight. She then reminded herself that she needed to hurry.

Ethan finished putting his shoes on and straightened himself up.

“All right, I think this is as good as I’m going to get so I’ll wait downstair—”

“Wait – could you help me with my dress please?” Allie pleaded, exiting the bathroom and stepping into the closet, then emerging again with the dress already on.

She swooped her hair to one side and turned around in front of Ethan, a silent request for him to zip up the garment.

He could smell her perfume. The same perfume she had been waring for years. The scent that would forever and always remind him of her.

Without saying a word, he slowly closed the dress, his rough calloused fingers grazing across her smooth, silky skin. He lightly kissed the exposed side of her neck while running his hands up and down both of her arms. She turned around to face him and smiled.

“Please, darling. Promise me. Promise me tonight is just a dinner, our closest friends, a simple night out and NOT a birthday celebration.” His tone was soft but serious.

“You are really worried about this aren’t you?” Allie arched an eyebrow moving closer to him, her lips almost touching his.

“Allie.” Ethan sighed, eyes closing briefly. “I just don’t like surprises.  My birthday is on a Tuesday which won’t be ‘fun enough’ for you, so I’m just worried you’re trying to plan something and make it amazing. You always have good intentions, but I never react appropriately and then I feel guilty and people are watching…”

She interrupted his stream-of-consciousness speech with her lips on his. It took him a moment to kiss her back, but he quickly melted into her touch on instinct.

“I promise I have not planned a birthday-related surprise for tonight. Relax.”

He let out a shaky breath and nodded.

“Okay then.”

“Now go get in the car, I have to reapply my lipstick already, thanks to you.” She swatted his behind as he walked away and he chuckled to himself, slightly relieved.

--

“This is where we’re eating?” Ethan questioned as valet circled the car and helped Allie out of the vehicle.

“Dr. Ramsey, Dr. Valentine – we’ve been waiting for you. Right this way.” An older woman with gentle eyes and white hair led the couple through the lobby of a very fancy hotel.

Ethan felt like everyone was watching them, but he stayed focused on trying to calm his own nerves. He wanted to trust Allie and not be paranoid about some crazy birthday plan, but he couldn’t help himself.

Allie held his hand and smiled at everyone that passed by.  Her heart was beating fast too.  Ethan could feel the pulse in her wrist as he clutched onto her for dear life.

“Ethan…” She whispered, “Are you okay?”

He didn’t respond, his gaze fixed ahead of him, following the woman to a huge ballroom full of banquet tables. When the doors opened Ethan felt light-headed. Not one seat was empty.

Music was playing and there was a stage set up at the front of the room. The room was beautifully decorated and whoever planned whatever event Ethan found himself attending, obviously spared no expense. People had just begun to eat their plated dinners. It seemed as though a few less people paid attention to him now that he was safely inside the room.

His emotions were a mixture of relief and confusion.  

Allie’s voice coaxed him out of his own thoughts.

“See?! Told ya. Nothing birthday related!” She kept hold of his hand and led him to a table closer to the front, where two seats had clearly been reserved for them.

Naveen and Harper were already at the table along with the chairman of Edenbrook’s Board of Director’s and the President of the hospital.

“I was wondering how late you’d be tonight, Ethan.  The table was taking bets before you walked in with this lovely young woman on your arm. Does Allie know?”

Ethan pulled the chair out for Allie and relaxed a little more, now that he was around familiar faces. He still didn’t quite have any idea what was going on.

“Ha-ha.” Allie chimed in sarcastically, leaning over to Naveen and kissing him on the cheek.

“Lovely to see you all this evening – thank you for coming.” She added.

“No, my dear, thank YOU for making this event possible.” The chairman spoke up, nodding towards Ethan.

“If it weren’t for Dr. Valentine, we’d only see Ramsey here walking the halls of the hospital day and night. He’d have no real life to speak of!” Naveen teased.

As the table made feeble attempts at small talk with one another, people would come up to Ethan every so often and shake his hand or clap him on the back, telling him how good it was to see him here or offering their most sincere congratulations. Ethan tried his best to be polite but was quite frankly starting to get a little annoyed. He was hungry and irritable and already wanted to be left alone.

He always felt so awkward and out of place at these things.  He never knew what to say or precisely how to act. Charming people and making idle conversation with them was not his strong suit. It was entirely out of his comfort zone. And what was worse, tonight, he clearly was already supposed to know what event he was attending or at the very least what was going on, however, he really had no clue.

Obviously there was no way that the Dr. Ethan Ramsey was about to admit to a table full of his medical peers, that he did not know what was happening or exactly what they were gathered together to celebrate tonight. To appear as though he had no answers was the worse possible fate he could imagine.

“Allie…” he whispered sweetly into her ear, placing his hand on her upper thigh, below the table.

“What exactly is going on? Help me out here…”

“Allie! I feel as though it has been forever since I’ve seen you!” Harper gushed, clearly, she had already had a few drinks and was feeling quite conversational.

“It has been!” Allie engaged with her but then quickly responded to Ethan between talking with Harper and the rest of the table.

“You’ll see.” She pecked him quickly on the lips leaving him stunned and puzzled. He could not for the life of him figure out what any of this had to do with him.

Allie knew he’d never ask anyone else at the table what was going on. She had him right where she wanted him. He knew it too and he hated her for it.

As hard as he tried not to get mad, he felt anger rising in his chest. He always struggled when he didn’t feel in control. When two plus two didn’t add up to be four, he had a very difficult time adjusting. Everyone was being nice to him, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Was this some kind of party?

Ethan took a few shallow breaths and pushed through, talking to those around him and grasping for Allie every chance he got, in a respectful and not attention-seeking way. Little touches here and there left her connected to him. She was what kept him grounded and he needed her desperately tonight.

He was continuing to get old. He saw it in the mirror as it reflected his own face every single day. This birthday coming up was just another reminder of how much life had been lived. The depth of the few relationships he had and the stark reminder of what he lacked, always hit him square on, around this time of year. Birthdays were not and never would be his favorite.

Dramatically, he began thinking of how betrayed he felt by Allie. She had duped him once again and led him on. How could she promise him she hadn’t done anything when clearly this whole thing had been executed flawlessly? She was too smart. She knew he wouldn’t blow up on her here, in front of people.  

He then began looking around at the decorations, the food, the stage, this lavish hotel he’d only been in once before, and the dollar signs began adding up in his mind. Now suddenly worried about how much she had spent on this over-the-top soiree, he needed to excuse himself and go get some air.

He slowly released his grasp on Allie’s hand, and sheepishly removed himself from the table.

“Ethan, no. Sit down. You can’t…you can’t leave right now.” Allie smiled as she instructed him, but her tone was serious.

“Alexandra, what in God’s name is going on? This is ridiculous that I cannot even…” Ethan was interrupted by a man on stage and he quickly took his seat, not wanting to make a scene.

Through clenched teeth, he leaned over to Allie once again.

“You promised me.” He hissed, beginning to seethe with anger. He thought after all this time she would know him better than this.

“Is a slideshow of my life going to start playing soon? Clowns and confetti coming through in a second? All these people?! Allie, come on!”

“Hush.” She put a finger to his lips, remaining calm. “Pay attention.”

“…it is with that in mind that we take time tonight to pay honor to a man who really needs no introduction…”

“Is that the Governor of Massachusetts?”  Ethan gawked. “You got the governor…”

“Put these on.” Allie slid his glasses over to him with a smile. “Yes, that’s the governor. Now hush and listen.”

Ethan was totally put out at this point, but put his glasses on and sat back in his chair. He was frustrated. His leg was bobbing up and down unconsciously. He had nervous energy. He wanted to leave. He wanted to get up and run out the door. He mentally noted the exits in the room. How fast could he make it? He was a little sore from his run earlier this morning but with this much adrenaline, surely, he could…

“Leading the nationally renowned diagnostics team at Edenbrook hospital has been the bulk of his responsibility for the last 25 years. Under his leadership, this team has brought great prestige and esteem to Edenbrook, to Boston and to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  Not to mention the incredible notoriety and hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue that we have all benefitted from, due to his excellent work.”

Ethan paused, sitting up straighter, starting to put the pieces together.

“His colleagues from across the country have gathered here tonight to celebrate his contributions to the medical field, but tonight I want to celebrate his contributions to our state and to our community. There will be time for more accolades as the evening continues but first, and foremost, let us celebrate him and hear what he has to say.”

Allie squeezed his hand again, beaming with pride.

“Ladies and gentlemen, it is my distinct honor, pleasure and privilege to be able to introduce you to our guest of honor tonight. Please join me in congratulating this year’s recipient of the Massachusetts Medical Society Lifetime Achievement Award, Dr. Ethan Ramsey of Edenbrook Hospital.

The room erupted in applause with some people whooping and hollering. Immediately everyone sprang to their feet, even Ethan. For a moment he wasn’t sure if he had to go on stage or not, but it became clear that there was an award he needed to accept and most likely a speech that would been expected.

Stunned and feeling as though he was floating on air, he quickly made his way up to the stage, hoping no one could see that his hands were shaking a bit. He shook hands with the governor, took his award in both hands and immediately looked out among the crowd.

Ethan tried to scan the faces, wanting to soak in this moment – he was stunned and still unsure if he was really awake.  While he tried to focus on the faces and really see who it was who had come out to support him, his gaze was instantly drawn to one and only one person in the room.

Allie wiped tears away from her eyes quickly, wanting to keep her emotions at bay. The only thing she felt in this moment was immense pride, and maybe a little bit of satisfaction in pulling this over on her beloved.  Standing and still applauding, she looked up at him in awe. Awe that he was hers. Not that his accomplishments and professional achievements weren’t worthy – but the only thing he was to her in that moment was Ethan. Her husband. The love of her life.

“Please.” Ethan cleared his throat as he spoke into the microphone, both his heart and mind racing.

“This is quite enough, please sit.” He instructed a little more forcefully.  

Allie led the group in finding their seats as a hush fell over the crowd, waiting to hear from the man they were all there to honor.

“I know this will come as a shock to most of you who know me well, especially those who work with me on a daily basis…but I’m finding myself speechless at the moment…”

Ethan chuckled as did the rest of the room.  He bit his lip, locking eyes with Allie and shaking his head, grinning and smirking, a combination of the two.

“I had no idea, absolutely no clue that this was happening tonight. I’m blown away by your support and your presence here tonight. I…uh…” He cleared his throat again, then looked back out into the audience.

He found Allie’s eyes, and also his words again.

“I do not take this award lightly and it truly means so much to me. I don’t know that I like the fact that I’m old enough now to be receiving lifetime achievement awards, but I am grateful, really. I love what I do, I’m fortunate to have a wonderful job that keeps me guessing every single day; really great co-workers, at least most of the time…” Again, the audience laughed.

“I get to teach med students in their first years of residency, and then you know, help save people’s lives. It’s actually surreal that this is the life I get to live.”

Ethan took a deep breath, biting his lip and trying to measure out his next statements carefully.

“As great as all of that is, I know that there is absolutely no possible way for me to be standing before you tonight as the person that I am today, without the love, devotion and care of my wife, Allie Valentine. She’s my Rookie.”

He paused, looking down, one hand finding his heart as he became overcome with emotion. He took several seconds to gather himself, he wanted to stay composed.

“I was actually pretty upset with her tonight for dragging me here and not telling me what the hell was going on. Even though all the things that have been written about me and said about me are true, and my accomplishments have garnered our entire team with a lot of recognition and such, I am most proud of being her husband.

Why she chose to settle down with a grumpy old man like me, I’ll never fully understand…but everything I am and everything I have today is completely because of her faith in me and her ability to make me the best possible version of myself.

When we met, I thought I would be the one teaching her everything she needed to know, but in the end, she has taught me more than I ever taught her.”

Allie’s eyes were filled with tears, she could hardly look at him without feeling as though she was going to burst with pride. She blew him a kiss from her seat and wiped away more tears, not daring to let them fall down her cheeks and ruin the makeup she tried so hard to perfect earlier that evening.

“I feel like I’m Rambling Ramsey up here so I’ll wrap this up - I could go on all night telling you about what Mrs. Ramsey means to me, what this award means to me, but I’ll stop here. Thank you again and please, I want to work the room as they say and thank all of you personally so come find me and…really, sincerely, this means so much to me. Thank you.”

Before he knew it, Ethan was swept away for pictures, people swarming around him, talking to him, handing him scotch after scotch, as it was well-known to be his drink of choice. It felt like at least an hour before he made his way back to Allie. She had just finished speaking with the Governor, when Ethan snuck up behind her.

Immediately, she turned and wrapped her arms around him.  

“Happy Birthday, my love!” She whispered in his ear.

“I cannot believe you did this to me…” He said seriously, looking in her eyes. “I hope you know you’re going to get it when we get home.” Ethan teased.

Laughing, Allie picked her glass of Prosecco from the table and raised it towards him in a mock toast as she wiggled her eyebrows and walked towards the open bar.

“Was already planning on it…” She muttered under her breath as she watched him walk away.

“I heard that…” He called out over his shoulder.

--

Throughout the night each one of them independently visited with people, giving them their sincere thanks and letting them know how meaningful it was to share this evening with them. Every few minutes or so Ethan would find Allie or Allie would find Ethan and they’d give each other a quick squeeze of the hand or a kiss on the cheek as they brushed passed each other and moved on to the next well-wisher.

“I don’t know what she sees in you…” Naveen said to Ethan as he took a swig from a beer bottle, nodding towards Allie who was across the room. “She’s perfect.”

“No doubt about it, I’m the lucky one.” Ethan agreed as Allie sauntered over to the two of them.

“This cannot be good.” She laughed, pointing at them both.  “What are you plotting?”

“You’re the schemer.” Naveen chided. “No one could have pulled this off better, my queen.”

Naveen pretended to bow before her with both arms raised above his head while he bent at the waist.

“Oh stop.” Allie waved him off.

“It looks like this crowd is thinning out and if I stay in these shoes much longer my feet will need to be amputated.”

She leaned on Ethan, stifling a yawn.  

“I know a guy who can help with that…” Naveen offered, finishing his drink.

“You really know how to throw a birthday party!” He added, following Ethan and Allie out to the valet line for the cars.

“It wasn’t a birthday party!” Both Ethan and Allie said in unison, Allie’s brow furrowed in mock anger.

Naveen begged for forgiveness and said his goodbyes while the couple waited for their vehicle to be brought around. As they sunk into the vehicle, beyond tired, Allie immediately kicked off her heels and Ethan loosened his tie. He threw his jacket into the backseat along with Allie’s shoes and rolled down the windows a bit for fresh air.

“Before we get going…” Allie put her hand on his as it rested on the gearshift.

“I know I said no more surprises – but you can’t be mad at me because this technically wasn’t a birthday surprise it was a general surprise and I knew that if you knew they were giving you an award you’d come up with some excuse not to go and I just couldn’t live with myself if you didn’t get a chance to hear all these people tell you how amazing you are because I know you’re amazing and I tell you all the time but sometimes you don’t believe me.”

She stopped to take a quick breath.

“So, I hope that tonight you know just how many people agree with me that you’re incredible – so please, please don’t be mad. I don’t want to ride all the way home with you in silence because I pulled one over on you.”

“Whoa. Allie. Calm down.” Ethan reached out to her and held her face in his hand.

“I’m not mad. It was a great surprise and…”

He reached across the console and kissed her hard, passionately, with so much force that his lips burned her skin.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” She whispered.

He laced his hand into hers and held it all the way home, staying the way they had been all the years of their relationship and even in little moments all night long…connected, grateful and in awe that somehow, someway they had found each other and were never ever letting go.

#blazerina babbles #ethan x mc #mc x ethan #ethan ramsey #ethan ramsey fanfiction #dr. ethan ramsey #dr ethan ramsey #open heart #open heart fanfiction

[is0gild]

Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza - Bonus Chapter 4

Pairing: Elsa x Lea/Axel || Side Pairing: Riku x OC

Summary: Modern AU. She's an introvert ball of nerves who works at Ice Palace, a mall food court ice cream shop. He's the outgoing, sassy goofball who works at the Pizza Planet across the way. Hilarity, snark, and fluffy romcom hijinks ensue.

Word Count: 16,518

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

Credit for super friggin’ cute and super friggin’ amazing cover art goes to the super friggin’ talented ky-jane here on tumblr!

Lea gave a low thoughtful hum as he zipped up the back of my dress. "Well lessee here… the sound of dry leaves crunching under my shoes… the smell of movie theater popcorn… that specific shade of deep red the sky turns at sunset…" A brief pause and another quiet hum as he gently finger-combed and played with my hair, eliciting a small shiver from me. "Oh! Let's not forget the feel of the first breeze of summer warming my skin."

My eyelids drooped as I shot a look over my shoulder at where he sat at the edge of his bed in skinny jeans and topless. "...I was more looking for things you liked that maybe, sort of… had a price tag?"

He chuckled, his arm hugging my waist from behind, pulling me back towards him so he could press a kiss to my shoulder. "Trynta figure out what to get me for my birthday, hm?"

"Now whatever would give you a silly idea like that?" one corner of my lips tugged up as my hand covered his, toying with his fingers. "Perhaps I was simply making polite and completely theoretical small talk."

"Oh-ho, I see. Well if you were theoretically fishing for gift ideas for the birthday boy, how 'bout this?" A tiny yelp escaped me as he suddenly yanked me backward, my spine hitting the mattress. He hovered over me now in all his shirtless glory, his hands finding mine as he pinned them to the bed to either side of my head. Smirking down at me with hooded eyes, the tip of his nose brushed mine and his breath warmed my lips as he purred, "You. Me. Locked in my room from dawn to dusk while I just worship every last inch of your body."

Face warming, I looked away, pressing my cheek to his comforter as I gave a small scoff. "This is for your birthday, not mine, remember?"

He did not hesitate to take advantage of the easier access I'd just given him to my throat, nibbling down it. "Funnily enough, I was actually thinking the exact same deal for your birthday as well. It's a win-win for both of us, really."

I cleared my throat, trying not to get distracted as he teeth now lightly nipped at my earlobe. "Come on, there's got to be something you want besides just… that."

"Honestly?" he pulled back a bit and my gaze met his once more as he playfully waggled his eyebrows. "Getting to see you naked is the second greatest gift you could give me."

Snorting, I narrowed my eyes up at him suspiciously. "...what would be the first then?"

Lea nuzzled our noses together as he cooed, "Your love," before capturing my lips with his.

I laughed against his mouth, breaking the kiss. "Have I mentioned what a sap you are?"

"Mm, it may of come up once or twice," he nodded solemnly before burying his face into the side of my neck again, only this time to blow a raspberry. I gasped and spasmed under him, managing to free one of my hands so I could swat at his shoulder. This only seemed to encourage him to do it again as his chest rumbled in amusement. But then his whole body deflated on top of mine as he released a soft, grumbling sigh. "Damn this motherfucking econ exam I hafta take today. I'd call in sick in a heartbeat if it wouldn't flunk me outta the whole course for missing it." With a groan, he planted a quick peck to my forehead before reluctantly pushing himself up off the bed and onto his feet as he began a hunt for a clean shirt.

Sitting up myself, my fingers set to work weaving my pale hair into a loose braid. "Seriously, I need ideas for what to get you."

"Seriously, I know you'll figure out something awesome on your own." He grabbed a tee that was hanging from the brim of his hamper, giving it a quick sniff. Guess it passed the smell test, for he then tugged it on over his head. The front bore a circle with a curved grid, yellow on the inside with a thick red ring border and large, bold but faded text wrapping around it proclaiming, THE POWER IS YOURS! Then he grinned big at me, "I mean, the first gift ya ever got me was perfect after all!"

My brow furrowed. "...my first gift?"

I'd gotten him something before?

Since when?

Both eyebrows reached for his hairline and he dramatically clutched at his chest. "Don't tell me you forgot about Bubbles!"

Um…

"...Bubbles?"

He snerked then moved over to one of his tall, cluttered bookcases where he plucked something from the top shelf - a spot of honor, no doubt - before holding it out in front of me. "Bubbles," he repeated by way of explanation.

In his hands was the toy from Wandering Oaken's Trading Post - the orca robot with a machine gun. A little derisive huff blew out my nose as I took it from him. "This? It doesn't count as a gift. I didn't even pay for it."

"Ya tried to. Not your fault if the cashier let it go for freesies." Snatching one of his Converse up off the floor, he started hopping up and down on one foot as he tugged it onto the other before setting to work tying it. "'Sides, spending munny doesn't necessarily make something a gift. Some of the best presents out there can't be bought in a store."

"But I didn't even pick this out for you," I continued to argue with a small sour twist to my lips. "You did."

Finished donning both his shoes now, he snagged his messenger bag off its wall hook and started hastily stuffing it with whatever supplies he'd need for his test. "But you saw that I liked it, thus ya got it for me. That right there was some superb gift decision-making! And I'll have you know outta everything in this room, it's my most favorite."

I wrinkled my nose and frowned down at the cheap toy in my hands. "...really?"

"Mm-hm! 'Cept for you, of course!" he chirped, bending forward and bracing his hands on the bed to either side of me as he pressed his lips to mine. I rolled my eyes but bit back a grin as he straightened back up. "And I have the utmost faith that you'll be able to find something else I like without even breaking a sweat, babe. 'Sides, whatever it's gonna be, I'll love it no matter what cuz it'll be from you!" Slinging his bag strap over his head to hang across his chest, Lea unplugged his phone from the charger and pocketed it. Then he squinted up at the ceiling and tapped a curled finger to his lips before snapping his fingers, "Ah! Mustn't forget Marshmallow!"

He crossed his bedroom to open the door only to be immediately greeted by the sight of Saïx standing on the other side. In his arms was the big ball of white fluff in question, poofy tail enthusiastically wagging as his tongue lapped away at Saïx's chin. The show of puppy-dog affection did not seem to be wholly appreciated, if Saïx's dull scowl was any indicator.

"Oh! Heh… mornin', big guy!" Lea said brightly. "Thanks for keeping an eye on the pooch last night! Hope the lil furball didn't give ya too much tr-"

His words were swallowed in a grunt as Saïx just shoved Marshmallow into his chest, then wordlessly turned to stalk off into his bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him. Eyes fixed on where Saïx had just disappeared, Marshmallow immediately began to whimper and squirm in Lea's arms.

Struggling to maintain his hold on him, Lea grumbled, "Aw c'mon, what am I, chopped liver? Where's my doggy smooches? You're my pupper after all!"

Marshmallow's reply came in the form of gnawing on Lea's thumb.

Sighing, he put him down. "I tell ya, Mr D of W, I am this close to kicking your fuzzy ass to the curb where you'll hafta turn tricks for Scooby Snacks just to survive."

The threat fell on deaf ears as Marshmallow came running over to me, demanding attention. I hummed a laugh and reached a hand down to pet him, glancing towards Lea out of the corner of my eye, "I think Saïx is one puppy-sitting session away from murdering you with a Scooby Snack."

"Nah. He puts on a grumpy front, but he loves that lil slobber-factory. I saw the two together last night. There were cuddles. There were snuggles. There were even," here he paused, dropping his voice low for dramatic effect, "...belly rubs."

I mock gasped. "The scandal."

"Right?" Removing the hair-tie that was around his wrist, he handed it to me before nudging Marshmallow over to make room and plopping down on the floor himself, using my knees as a backrest as he tucked his feet in under him to sit cross-legged. As I set to work running my fingers through his hair and gathering all his crimson spikes together, he went on, "Now I should only be gone a few hours. Dog food's under the sink in the kitchen and the lil fellah will probably wanna go for walkies soon. Bruni's already gotta full belly so all good there, but some time outta the terrarium might be nice and-"

"I know all this already. This isn't my first time watching them, you know," I snorted, finishing his ponytail and pressing my lips lightly to the top of his head to let him know I was done.

"Sorry, can't help it. I just take my responsibilities as a pet dad very seriously," he chuckled, standing up once more and spinning around to smirk down at me. "Unlike some people who strangle imaginary animals during acting class."

My hand shot out to pinch him, but he hopped back out of my reach with a laugh. I huffed, "Don't you have a test to be getting to?"

"Yeah, yeah. But first," he braved stepping closer to me once more, eyes crinkling as he reached down to take my hands in his, "c'mere and gimme some sugar, sweet thang." I let him pull me up to my feet as he brought my hands up to clasp behind his neck. Then he slipped his arms around my waist, pulling me close for a kiss.

Marshmallow circled our legs with a small growl. Pulling away, Lea stuck his tongue out at the dog, "Don't be jelly. I saw her first." Then he was turning a soft smile towards me, cupping my cheek with his hand as he rested his forehead against mine and murmured, "I love you."

Still wasn't used to hearing that. Still wasn't used to the way it made my heart jolt nor the explosion of butterflies it set off in my stomach. And definitely still wasn't used to saying it back.

And so…

Clap.

The sound of my hand flying up to cover his eyes.

"El, c'mon," Lea pouted.

My lips pursed to one side. After some hesitation, I slowly pivoted my hand so it was only over one of his eyes now.

It helped. Don't ask me why or how. It just did.

As he blinked it open and half his green gaze settled on me, my face grew uncomfortably hot as I mumbled, "Love you too."

There it was again. That big, dorky grin. "There ya go! Progress! Now I only hafta be a pirate for you to tell me that, yar!" Planting a swift peck to my cheek, he released me and headed towards the door. "Gotta run, wish me luck!"

"Good luck," I smiled after him as he closed the door.

Save for the sound of Marshmallow happily panting away from his seat next to my feet, the room fell abruptly quiet.

For a grand total of two seconds.

Then-

The door banged open and in Lea rushed once more. I tipped my head to one side, "Did you forget-"

He took me in his arms and dipped me backwards, kissing me long and slow and deep. I was breathless when he at last broke it off and straightened us both back up. "Kay, bye for real this time," he winked before bolting out the door, clicking it shut behind him again.

Fighting the upward pull I felt at one side of my mouth, I ran my hands down my dress to smooth the nonexistent wrinkles out and cleared my throat.

Right. Back to the matter at hand.

That matter being I still had no clue what to get Lea for his birthday.

Since the boy himself had been absolutely zero help, it might only be natural to assume the next best step would be to ask his closest friends and family. But Saïx had just gone to bed and as nice as he could be during his regular awake hours, the thought of disturbing him while he was just settling in to get some sleep seemed like a bit of a deathwish. Ruling him out for the moment, I supposed the next best options would be Xion and Roxas, but…

Was it wrong for me to feel so… self-conscious about going to them for present ideas? I mean, I was the girlfriend after all. Wasn't it my job to know these things? Shouldn't his friends be the ones coming to me for advice on what to get Lea, not the other way around? I know it was totally silly, but I couldn't help but feel embarrassed for not just… automatically knowing the answer. I simply wasn't quite ready to put my shame on display like that in front of his friends. Not just yet, at least.

Luckily, there was another I could turn to without any fear of judgement.

"So tell me," I began conversationally as I crouched down next to the terrarium, one elbow propped on my knee as I cradled my chin in my palm, "of the three of us in this room right now, you've known Lea the longest. What would you suggest I get for him?"

Bruni blinked back up at me. Then lashed his tongue out and flicked it over his eyeball.

I gave a soft snerk at that. "That's just your answer to everything, isn't it?" I sighed, straightening back up to my full height and setting the enclosure's lamps aside before opening it and reaching inside. Scooping the little salamander up, I turned and walked back towards the bed, Marshmallow trotting along behind me with his tail going a mile a minute.

"It's just… well, you know how Lea is," I told Bruni as I took a seat on the mattress and rested my head back into the pillows. "So impulsive… anytime he sees something he wants, he just buys it on the spot. It makes it very hard to find something he'll like that he hasn't already purchased himself."

As I stroked the reptile's head with a fingertip, a whimper from next to the bed drew my attention down to Marshmallow, who was staring up at me with forlorn puppy eyes. Smiling, I pat my free hand to the blankets. Needing no further invitation, the pup sprung up onto the bed and flopped his full weight down onto my belly, forcing a small grunt out of me. Making a noise that was half wheeze, half laugh, I said, "Marshmallow, I think you're getting too big for that."

He tilted his head at me with a tiny huff and doggy frown.

"Oh, well then, my mistake. Consider the comment withdrawn," I grinned softly, my fingers scritching behind his ear. The grin slowly faded however as I shifted my gaze up towards the ceiling. "...I suppose I've just never really been a fan of the whole gift giving thing. Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of giving something to someone you care about that you'll know they'll love. It's everything else around it that I dislike… the agonizing over hundreds of options in search of the perfect gift, the uncertainty that comes with finally making a decision of whether it was even the right one, the anxiety as they open the gift and the fear of a negative reaction… and even after all that's finally over and done with, there's a lingering wonder of if they even really liked the present or if they just said they did to spare your feelings when really they were disappointed with the absolute crud you gave them…"

When the only response I received was a soft snuffling noise, I glanced back down to see Marshmallow curiously but gently sniffing at Bruni. Nothing to be concerned over. Marshmallow had long ago learned that Bruni was friend, not food. Still, my eyelids drooped, "Hey, you even listening to me?"

Puffing out a low snort through his snoot, the dog blinked up at me.

"That's better," I lightly tapped his nose before depositing Bruni on top of his head. As the salamander began to explore his new white, fluffy terrain, the dog hardly seemed to notice or mind as he just rested his chin on my chest. Idly ruffly the fur at his cheek, I muttered, "Then of course there's also what to even do for his birthday. I mean, Xion and Roxas have that surprise party planned, but that doesn't start until mid-afternoon, so it's up to me to keep Lea busy until then. And not just busy… I want to do something nice for him. Something he'll really like." My teeth gnawed at my bottom lip. "...I mean, I've already made plans for something… and I think he'll enjoy it, but I don't know. It's so simple… maybe too simple… maybe he'll think I put little to no thought into it because I didn't really care enough…"

Marshmallow yawned deeply, lazily licking his chops while Bruni graced me with the sight of his tail-end as he started crawling down Marshmallow's back.

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I boring you two?" I chuckled, my hand moving to block Bruni's path before he wandered off too far. Then my face scrunched slightly before I conceded with a nod, "But you're right. I've made a decision there already. It's done, so no use second-guessing myself over it. My time and energy would be better spent on what I haven't figured out yet: the present."

Settling Bruni back on his throne - aka the spot between Marshmallow's ears - I then reached over for Bubbles, picking it up from where I'd left it lying on the mattress. I held the little robot up in front of my face, squinting at it. Lea had called it a great present, but…

...why?

"Reveal unto me your hidden and untold wisdom on picking the perfect gift, oh great and powerful plastic one," I implored Bubbles.

The toy just stared blankly back at me and remained stoically silent.

My eyes narrowed. "Fine then. Keep your secrets."

...was I really resorting to asking an inanimate object for advice now?

I really was hopeless.

But I couldn't help it, I was really that clueless when it came to gift giving, especially for a boyfriend. You'd think I'd have years of experience from when I'd dated Hans, but gifts between him and me had never really… mattered. There had never been any substantial meaning behind the presents, no real sentiment… it'd just been stuff like the most expensive, latest model of wristwatch for him, or some fancy, glittery bit of jewelry for me. It'd all been about putting on a show of looking like a happy couple, just like everything else had always been between us. But for Lea, I actually cared about getting something he'd like. I just really didn't want to screw this up. I just… I wanted to make him happy.

"Ugh, maybe I should just cave and ask Roxas and Xion for help," I grumbled under my breath.

Marshmallow snored, apparently having elected to take a nap.

Bruni had made a break for it and was halfway to the foot of the bed by now. The little fugitive.

Deciding not to disturb Marshmallow until it was absolutely necessary, I let the salamander continue his adventure. If it looked like the little guy was going to take a swan dive for the floor, then I'd leap into action. For now, I just glanced at Bubbles again with a tiny frown. "...what's your deal anyhow?" I whispered. "A firearm-toting, killer-whale-transforming robot must have some sort of story behind it, right?"

Putting the action figure back down on the comforter, I snatched up my phone. Pulling up Google, I pursed my lips to one side as I stared at the empty search bar for a few seconds before deciding the bluntest, most direct course would be best and simply typed in "orca robot with machine gun toy." It actually didn't take long to find exactly what I was looking for and-

My eyes widened and I gasped, sitting up straight and knocking Marshmallow out of his beauty rest with a disgruntled huff.

I knew now.

I knew exactly what to get Lea for his birthday.

"Now turning down Market Street. And directly on our left, dear sightseers, you'll find a candy store, accessories boutique, and local post office."

"Are you sure you can't see at all?" I grumbled as I stopped Lea's car at a red light, glancing at him dubiously out of the corner of my narrowed eyes.

"Yup!" he chirped, turning his head to look at me. Or rather… not look, seeing as how he was currently blindfolded with a black strip of cloth. "Blinder than a bat with vertigo after a twenty-hour bender at a tequila bar! But I know Twilight Town like the back o' my hand, babydoll! Could navigate these streets with my eyes closed." He smirked, pointing at the blindfold, "As demonstrated."

My lips twisted sourly as the light became green and my foot pressed on the gas.

The day had arrived. His birthday. I was currently chauffeuring him to the destination I'd picked out to kick off celebrating the big day. A destination that was supposed to be a surprise, thus the blindfold. A fat lot a good that was doing though. I muttered, "You should consider getting your own circus sideshow, your recall skills are so freakishly good."

"What can I say, I know how to get it memorized," he declared cockily, poking a fingertip to his temple. "'Sides, never can be too careful. This lil party trick could save my life one day."

I snorted as I checked the rearview. "Sure it could."

He waggled his index finger, "You scoff now, but just you wait. When I get kidnapped but know exactly where my abductors have taken me despite having a sack thrown over my head to keep me in the dark, we'll see who has the last laugh. We'll see," he taunted, pointing two digits at his covered eyes then pointing them at me. Well… more like at the space in front of me, aka the steering wheel. While he had the uncanny ability to pinpoint his own precise location on a map without the use of his vision, it seemed he was a little bit foggier on where exactly I was.

"When you get kidnapped?" I echoed. "Not if?"

"Trust me, it's an inevitability at this point."

A grin tugged at my lips. "...what if your captors take you outside of Twilight Town?"

"Well then, I'm fucked," he shrugged.

"Very well," I hummed a soft laugh. "If someone manages to overpower and get the drop on a behemoth like you, and if they put a bag over your head, kidnap you and throw you in a car, and if they take you hostage somewhere within the city limits... then and only then, in that absurd and oddly specific scenario, will I concede that you may have had a valid point."

"Thank you," he lifted his chin with a lofty sniff. "Oo, now we turn down Station Heights, huh? The plot thickens."

On seeing that the street sign we'd just passed confirmed his words, I said nothing, just growled low in my throat.

He chuckled. "I think we can both agree that this," his hands reached for his blindfold, tugging at the knot in back, "is really just a formality at this point and is doing jackshit, so may as well just-"

"Ah-ah! Leave it," I snapped, jabbing a warning finger in his direction, even though I knew he (allegedly) couldn't see it.

"Mm, love it when ya get bossy. Your wish is my command, mistress," he waggled his eyebrows with a click of his tongue, hands dropping back into his lap. "Gotta say, El, when ya started off the morning by handing me this thing, I thought today's activities were gonna be lil more hitting the sheets, lil less hitting the streets."

Shifting my grip on the steering wheel, I dropped a casual, "Who's to say that's not the plan for the blindfold later?"

Who me? Trying to distract him from mentally tracking our whereabouts by appealing to his baser urges? I would never!

"Woman, don't tease me if ya don't plan to make good on it."

"Who's to say I won't?" I quirked a cheeky eyebrow.

Lea "looked" towards me again with a toothy, lopsided grin. When he next spoke however, it wasn't to comment on that. Instead, he furrowed his brow and cocked his head. "...be mindful of that tram."

I blinked. "Okay, one, I was nowhere near that thing. And two, pretty sure you're messing with me and can one hundred percent see."

"Nope!" he said brightly before tapping his ear. "Heard the ol' gal chuggin' along. She has a very distinctive thrum. I tell ya, El, take away my sight and I become a regular Daredevil - what I hear is what I see, clear as goddamn day."

"Right," my eyelids drooped.

"Like that! Right there! From the skepticism in that one word alone, I can see the perturbed look on your beautiful face, Love," he cooed, leaning over towards me with lips puckered. Presumably, the intended target was my cheek. Instead, the smooch landed on the headrest of my car seat. He pulled back, "My, how leathery you taste today."

I snorted. "Huh. Must have forgot to moisturize this morning."

"Must've," he agreed. Then, "Hey, ever wonder where totes wackadoodle streets like Where Nothing Gathers Way come from?"

My left eye twitched as we pulled up to a stop sign at that very road. "Streets? As in, more than one?"

Lea beamed, "Oh yeah! There's loads of 'em out there in the world! Don't tell me ya've never heard of the infamous Bucket of Blood Street."

"That's a real street name?" I scrunched up my nose as I flicked on the turn signal.

"Mm-hm!" he nodded. "Over in Arizona. Named after a shootout in the 1800s at a saloon located there. Then of course, if you're lookin' for some class, we can skip our happy asses on over to Vegas and take a stroll down Hanky Panky Street."

I scoffed. "Now I know you're making these up."

"Am not! I'll prove it to ya!" he jammed his hand down his pocket, digging out his phone. I watched out of my peripheral as he swiped the lockscreen away before his thumbs became a blur of typing.

Okay seriously, if he could successfully google this while blindfolded, I'd eat my own braid.

Just as I pressed down on the brakes for a crosswalk, Lea shoved his phone in my face with an all too pleased, "Read 'em and weep, sweetcheeks."

I was greeted by the sight of the search results for a string of characters and numbers that were just a complete mishmash on nonsensical gibberish.

Kudos for actually being able to pull up the search app at all, but I think I could consider my braid safely off the menu.

To him, I just deadpanned, "I stand corrected."

"Bam!" he smugly retracted his phone, moving to sheath it at his hip once more. "Game, set and... shit," he hissed out under his breath as the phone missed his pocket and fell down the crack between his chair and the center console, followed by a muted thunk from somewhere below.

Shifting lanes, I lightly singsonged, "Gone forever."

"You mock - quite cruelly, I might add - but it actually very well could be, " he grumbled, sticking his hand down there after it to blindly fumble around for the thing. "People think the Bermuda Triangle is in the Atlantic, but nope. Nu-uh. It's here, right under my goddamn car seat. You don't even know half the crap that's disappeared down here, never to see the light o' day again."

Alright, I'll bite. "...like?"

"Does the name Amelia Earhart ring a bell?"

"Please," I rolled my eyes with a soft huff, fighting a grin. "There are no historically famous female pilots lost in the black void beneath your car seat."

He razzed his tongue at me, hand still rooting around under his chair. ""Scuse you, but outta the two of us, pretty sure I'd be more the authority on what important figures from history may or may not of gone missing in my car, thank you very much."

Shaking my head, I reached a hand over to gently squeeze at his shoulder. "You can stop, I'll find it for you after we park."

"Spoken like the black hole below's soon-to-be next victim," he harrumphed, giving up on his search and straightening back up in his chair. "Now lessee, where were we?" he muttered, tapping his chin as he "stared" up at the ceiling. Then he brightened, snapped his fingers and pointed at me, "Psychopath."

"Uh…" Both eyebrows shot up my forehead as I slowed for a pedestrian. "...pardon?"

He held up a pair of digits, "Two words. Psycho..." insert pause, "...path. Psycho Path. 'Nother weirdo street name out there."

I tipped my head to one side, one corner of my lips lifting as I drove forward once more. "Okay, that one's pretty clever, actually."

"Right? Definitely way more fun and interesting than dumb, boring ol' Sunset Terrace."

I scowled.

Guess what road I'd just turned the car onto.

Go on, just take one look at Lea's shit-eating grin and guess.

...let's see what we can do about wiping it off that dumb, gorgeous face of his, shall we?

The tires loudly screeched as I made a sharp turn without warning into a massive grocery store parking lot, ignoring the blaring honks from the vehicle I had cut off in the process. Lea yelped as the momentum threw him into his car door. "Crap! The hell?! El, wha-"

I jerked the steering wheel into another hard left and his words were swallowed in a grunt as his shoulder hit his door again. Pressing my lips into a flat, determined line, I said nothing, just zoomed down the parking aisle. Now Lea laughed, "Oh-ho, I see how it is. You're trynta discombobulate me, get me all turned around so I dunno left from right, up from down. Nice try, but I gotta mind like a steel trap, babe. Ya won't get me lost that-"

Another abrupt turn tossed and silenced him.

We'll see about that, bucko. We'll see.

I weaved the car in a high-speed, winding path around the parking lot, making sudden jerky stops here, driving in reverse through empty parking spaces into the next aisle there, just constantly and unpredictably on the move. Lea remained quiet now, a crease forming between his eyebrows just above the blindfold - most likely concentrating on keeping his sense of direction and where we were intact. After a minute or two of this - right about when I saw what looked to be an annoyed employee emerging from the supermarket, probably aiming to put a stop to my recklessness - I maneuvered the car towards a different exit than the one we'd come in through and floored it, propelling us out of the lot and back onto the streets.

"That all ya got?" Lea shot me a half-smirk.

My eyes settled on what was coming up on the road ahead. Then a wicked grin twitched at the corner of my lips. "Hardly. We're just getting started."

That's when I drove the car into the roundabout.

A risky move, yes. There probably weren't a lot of roundabouts in Twilight Town and given his track record thus far, there was a good chance Lea knew every last one of them.

Didn't mean he'd know which direction I'd exit out of it.

Not if I raced around it eight times, anyhow. Or was it nine? Honestly, I'd lost count.

"Devil woman," Lea hissed, bracing one hand on the dashboard and the other to the door, steadying himself against the centripetal force.

My nose crinkled in amusement as we started our tenth (eleventh?) lap. "You like it."

"I really do."

Finally I picked a road at random and turned off the roundabout onto it. From there, I swerved down a few more lanes and side alleys for good measure, hoping to further throw his internal GPS out of whack. At last, I puffed out a sigh as I started driving like a sane person again, glancing towards my phone. The map app (sound muted so Lea wouldn't hear street directions from it) was going a bit haywire trying to adjust and correct course for our destination after that wild ride I'd just taken us on.

Lea chuckled, interlocking his fingers behind his head and leaning back in his seat. "Ya got moxie, kid, I'll give ya that. Tell me, is the rest of Red Nocturne Avenue as in awe of you right now as I am?"

I was this close to smacking his shoulder when I caught sight of the street sign and my hand froze.

This wasn't Red Nocturne Avenue.

This was Dragoon Drive.

...had I really done it? Did he actually not know where we were anymore?

I gave him a sideways squint, holding my tongue as I steered us into a right turn.

"Speechless, huh?" his grin ticked wider. "Yeah, the pure and unadulterated awesomeness that is yours truly has a tendency to do that to the ladies. Not to mention all o' the pretty sights Powerwild Court has to offer."

Wrong again. We were now on Dancer Boulevard.

Smiling as I basked in the glory of my tiny victory, I did my best to mask it with a soft hmph. "Fine, you win. Guess there's no fooling you."

"Damn skippy!"

It didn't take much to get us back on track and heading in the right direction again. From there, it was just a few minutes and several more incorrect street names from Lea before we'd arrived at the final address.

"Conduit Way? Really?" Lea arched an eyebrow as I finished parallel parking. "Ain't nothing here but sewage treatment facilities. Babe, I love ya, you know I do, but hate to break it to ya… a tour of one of those icky places isn't exactly my idea of b-day fun."

Luckily for him, we weren't on Conduit Way. I merely smiled, "You'd be surprised. Out… and ah, not yet! Blindfold stays."

His hands dropped from where they'd been trying to remove it again and he just grinned and shrugged before unbuckling his seatbelt and opening his door over the sidewalk. By the time I'd made my way around to his side of the car, he'd managed to climb out without tripping over the curb.

I pressed a quick peck to his cheek before turning and crouching down to start patting my hand around under his chair, trying to locate his phone. My fingers finally bumped into something, closing around it. I frowned.

...whatever it was, it was most definitely not a phone.

I pulled the object out to discover a tiny troll doll with neon pink hair, goggles and a little scarf wrapped around its neck. I held it up to Lea, "And this would be?"

His hands fumbled with it for a second, feeling the thing out before his face lit up. "Amelia Earhart! Ya found her!"

I shot him a small, withering look. Though it was more so only for my benefit, since he couldn't see it. "You're just messing with me. I refuse to believe that it's actually named that."

"You don't know!"

I gave a snort and shook my head as my hand plunged into the dusty shadows beneath the car seat once more. This time I successfully fished out his phone.

"Thanks, boo. Dunno what'd I ever do without ya," he chirped as I handed it to him.

"Probably not be blindfolded and thus dropping your phone in the first place?" I suggested, rising to my feet once more and dusting off my dress.

"Touché." Then he bent down to reward me with a smooch, right smack dab on-

"That was my eyeball, thanks," I deadpanned, screwing my face up a bit as he pulled back.

He beamed. "Meant to do that! Peepers need love too, ya know!"

"I'll take your word for it," I shook my head as one side of my mouth quirked up. Taking the troll doll back from him, I set it on top of the car's dash before closing and locking the car. Then I tucked my hand into Lea's elbow and began leading him over towards the building's entrance. Halfway to those doors, something on the sidewalk caught my attention and my eyes crinkled. "Little to your right," I told him, gently veering him with my grip.

The sharp crunch of brittle leaves being crushed beneath his Converse filled the air. He perked an ear up at the sound, then he flashed his dimples down at me. "D'aaawww, you remembered!" Again, he was ducking down. I think this time the aim had been to press his lips to mine. Instead…

"And I suppose nostrils need love as well?" I half grimaced, half grinned as I swiped the back of my hand across said nostril that had been the unwitting recipient of his affections.

"Absolutely! But what's that?" he cupped a hand to one ear. "...do I detect a note of discontent to my maiden fair's lovely voice? What oh what could the problem be, I do wonder!" Then he snapped his fingers with an evil smirk. "Ah! Not enough tongue. Gotta fix that," he started bowing towards my nose again, mouth open and tongue snaking in and out of it.

A clamped a hand over his whole face and shoved him back, grumbling, "Dork."

"Mm-hm!" he hummed, kissing my palm before freeing his head from my grasp. "And proudly so!"

We reached the entrance and I pulled open one of the doors with my free hand, using the other to tug Lea over the threshold. Once inside, I directed him off to one side so we wouldn't be in other people's way before pulling us both to a complete stop. His head pivoted to and fro curiously, even though the black strip of cloth was still covering his eyes. Then he sniffed the air, "...popcorn?" He cocked one eyebrow then pointed to his blindfold, silently requesting permission.

I bit down on my bottom lip, chilly uncertainty spiking in my chest, tiny but sharp.

This was it.

The moment of truth.

Time to find out if this had been a halfway decent plan or if I should just be crawling under a rock already to die of embarrassment over what a pathetic idea my useless brain had come up with.

I gave him a tentative nod. A full two seconds ticked by before I remembered he couldn't see it. Reaching up to squeeze at my braid, I voiced a small, "Yes."

He untied and removed it, blinking a couple times as his eyes adjusted to the light. Then he glanced around, taking it all in: the massive lobby we stood in now with its walls regally embellished with gold, curly trim. The plush red carpet beneath our feet leading to a wide, old-timey looking concession stand that looked like it'd been yanked straight out of the 50s. The noisy, vintage popcorn maker behind it, paired with a retro yet newly-polished soda pop machine. The black-and-white posters lining the walls boasting popular movies from various decades long past. He squinted at one of those in particular, right between Giantland on its left and Mickey's Circus to its right. "Classic Kingdom Theater?" he read off slowly.

"Mm," I hummed in confirmation, giving my braid one final yank before releasing it and instead fidgeting with the pendent on my necklace. "It's a movie theater, but not a normal one. It only screens old films. Every week, they pick a few from a certain decade to play. This week is the 90s which is apparently the cut-off for what they'll consider a classic, but some weeks they'll have movies from as far back as the 30s."

"This is… How did I not know about this place?" his forehead wrinkled as he glanced over his shoulder towards the glass doors that led back out onto the streets. Then his eyes widened slightly as a lightbulb seemingly flashed in his brain. "Wait… we aren't on Conduit Way. Which means we're… hang on, gimme a sec, I know this place..." Another pause as his eyes swept the room with a thoughtful frown before he tapped the side of his fist into his palm. "Got it. This used to be that defunct and abandoned tram lot warehouse."

Nodding, I said, "It only had its grand opening a little less than a month ago. Apparently some local billionaire bought the place and renovated it into this." I smiled softly, "Looks like there's someone who might quite possibly like the classics more than you, if such a thing is even possible."

"Local billionaire, huh?" he rubbed his chin. "Not a lotta those running around. Betcha it's the same one that owns Le Grand Bistrot."

"And Ice Palace too, I think," I agreed. Then I hesitated, licking my dry lips. "...so… what do you think? ...do you… like it? I hope you like it. I mean, you should like it." I blanched at my word choice, then hastily amended, "N-not that I'm telling you what you should or shouldn't like, I just meant that you, uh… you like… movies." I winced, fingers fiddling with my necklace more frantically. "Of course you like movies. Duh, everyone likes movies. Wait… no, not everyone exactly, I suppose, that's a bit of a broad generalization…"

Please like it.

"...but what I'm trying to say is that you in particular… you like the sappy classics. Although…" I frowned, tucking in my bottom lip,"...not even sure if they're showing anything sappy this week… but they're still classics, so that's something at least, right? Something you'll… like? Hopefully? Or… was this a bad idea?"

Please be happy.

" ...what am I saying, of course this was a bad idea," I was quick to answer my own question, saving him the trouble. "Such a bad, awful, uninspired idea. I should have come up with something else. Something to do with… dogs! Because you love dogs. I should have taken you to a dog… show. Yes, a dog show. Or… or a toy show, or a… car show? Because you like your car, so you'd like a car show, right? Do they even host car shows in Twilight Town? If they don't, then something else to do with cars, like… go-karts! Yeah, we could've gone to Disney Town Speedway or-"

Lea's hand cupped the nape of my neck, yanking me forward and shutting me up by otherwise occupying my mouth with his.

...fudge, I'd been doing it again, hadn't I? The whole anxiety-fueled rambling thing?

Lea had learned fairly early on in our budding relationship that sometimes this was the only way he could get a word in edgewise.

I gripped at the front of his shirt and he inhaled deeply before finally pulling away, but only by about an inch so he could press his forehead to mine. His fingers brushing my bangs behind one ear, he murmured, "You're right. It was a huge mistake bringing me here."

My heart plummeted and I stared hard down at my feet. I knew it. This had been such a dumb idea. Stupid, stupid, stupid-

"Cuz now that I know this place exists, I'm gonna be dragging ya here all the time. So when you inevitably get sick of it, just remember this is all your fault."

My eyes snapped up to meet his, which were crinkling at the corners. "...really? You… actually like it?"

"Like? No. I love it. Thank you for bringing me here, couldn't think of a better way to kick off my birthday," he pressed his lips to the tip of my nose. Then he straightened up, lacing our fingers together with a big grin and tugging me towards where tickets could be purchased. "Now c'mon, let's go find out what flicks you're treating me to."

I snorted, arching an eyebrow, "Wow, you're going to actually let me pay for you for once?"

He chuckled, "Course! Today is Lea Day after all and on this most blessed and holy of days, you're supposta spoil me rotten! Plus, I'm yo date and like I told ya before, I ain't a cheap one. You'll see that for yourself soon enough when we head on over to concessions. Now let's have a look at our options here…" he scrutinized the movie listings overhead. "Clueless… The Sandlot… Oo, Edward Scissorhands…"

I watched him as he idly rattled off a few more movie titles, slightly tipping my head to one side.

...he'd meant it… right?

He actually liked that I'd surprised him with this? He wasn't just saying that to calm me down or so that I wouldn't feel bad? I mean, I guess I never really could be sure when it came to stuff like this and I'd just have to learn accept that and take people's words for it, but-

"Holy shit, The Mummy with Brendan Fraser?! Oh hell yeah!" he excitedly tugged at my hand several times, pointing. "Babe, that's it! That's the one!"

...okay, I actually think I could be pretty sure in this case he was being genuine.

Don't think it would be possible to fake that much enthusiasm for a cheesy action-fantasy blockbuster from the 90s.

A pleasant tingle bubbled inside my chest and I couldn't hide my growing smile as I stepped forward to buy our tickets.

Guess I could consider the morning birthday activity a success.

Now to hope I would do even just half as well on the birthday present later.

We actually managed to squeeze in seeing two movies, considering we'd gotten there early enough in the morning. Good thing too seeing as how I don't think I would have gotten much say in the matter anyway, not with the way Lea had all but dragged me into Groundhog Day once he'd found out I'd never seen it after we'd exited the first movie. By the time we were finally leaving the theater, it was getting close to 1PM - perfect for lunch. Not that we were starving. We'd both filled up plenty on popcorn and candy, Lea especially. But now we could get something more substantial in our stomachs, or so I'd told him. Thus once we were on the road again, I couldn't help a tiny smile as I checked my phone and confirmed we were right on schedule for-

"Turning off Mako Lane onto Avalanche Street, huh? Must mean it's time for the surprise b-day bash Xion and Rox planned for me at 7th Heaven," Lea clapped and rubbed his hands together, a smirk emerging beneath where the blindfold was tied firmly in place once more.

I heaved a low sigh through my nose but chuckled as I steered his car into the parking lot. "You know what? I'm not even going to fight it anymore. Just please at least try and act surprised when we get inside?"

"Always do!" he flashed his pearly whites.

After pulling his car into a parking space close to the bar and shutting down the engine, we both climbed out. I went to the trunk first, pulling out the present I'd gotten for him - a tall box covered in ice cream print gift wrap. I'd snuck it back there earlier this morning after the blindfold had first been donned. Holding it against my hip, I then took Lea's hand in mine and led him towards 7th Heaven, carefully guiding him up those wooden steps onto the wraparound patio and through the front entrance.

"Golly gee, I wonder where it is you've taken me now, El, cuz I really haven't the foggiest!" Lea announced as we walked in, delivering the line loudly and with all the emotion and believability of cardboard.

My eyelids drooped at him before I shook my head and glanced around. Gosh, Lea had a lot of friends, all of them gathered here right now, shushing each other and struggling to stifle their giggles as they watched us step further into the room. Saïx could even be seen off to one side of the group, looking positively pleased as punch (not) at being included in the festivities - guess his brother's birthday was one of those three days a year he begrudgingly endured daylight. I also spotted Anna and Kristoff, his arm draped around her shoulders as she excitedly yet quietly waved to me from the crowd. It came as little surprise to see Riku and Rayne next to them, along with Kairi and Sora.

And of course, standing front and center of the small mob were the masterminds and orchestrators of this little shindig themselves: Xion and Roxas. I glanced towards them, arching one eyebrow in silent question. Both grinning ear to ear, they nodded their heads rapidly, giving me the okay. Temporarily setting my gift down on the nearest table, I then moved behind Lea and reached up to undo his blindfold. Just as I slipped it off him and his eyes fluttered open-

"SURPRISE!" erupted from every corner of the room accompanied by party blowers and poppers, filling the air with a whole rainbow of streamers and confetti.

Lea dramatically clutched at his chest with both hands, gasped and made choking noises, then fell over backwards, collapsing to the floor with a loud THUMP!

I blinked, then squeezed my eyes shut and hung my head with a sigh, pressing my fingertips to the spot between my eyebrows.

For the love of… I'd said to act surprised, you big doofus, not like you'd had a friggin' heart attack.

As everyone else around us devolved into laughter and chatter, Roxas's shoulders sagged and he groaned, "Goddamn it, Lea, you knew again?!"

Xion glared at his prone form, stomping over towards him. "This happens every year, you stupid jerk!" she huffed, kicking his foot with hers.

"Rude!" Lea harrumphed, sitting up and crossing his arms as he shot a flat look up at her. "Is that anyway to treat your friend who just suffered cardiac arrest, not to mention is the birthday boy?"

She threw up her hands, so done with him as she turned to walk away, "That's it! No more surprise birthday parties for you since you always ruin them!"

"What?!" He scrambled to stand now and chase after her, "Aw, but I love surprise parties!"

"How would you know, seeing as you've never really had one? Not one that's actually surprised you, anyway," Xion grumbled as she rejoined Roxas and matched the pouty scowl he was shooting at Lea for the double whammy.

"C'mon, kiddos, ya almost had me this year, I swear! No doubt you'll get me good next birthday, I'm sure of it!" Lea did his best to placate them, but judging by the zero change to their sour expressions, they were unmoved. He chuckled sheepishly, rubbing at the nape of his neck for a second before his face brightened as he seemed to recall something. "Hey! Guess who turned up?" he asked them as his hand dove into the pocket of his skinny jeans, pulling out-

"Amelia Earhart!" Roxas's eyes immediately lit up on seeing the troll doll emerge.

Seriously?! Okay, no, I still wasn't buying it. This had to be a bit. The three of them had to have planned the whole silly thing at my expense. There was no way that thing was actually named Amelia Earhart.

"You finally managed to rescue her from the Bermuda Triangle!" Xion laughed, taking the little toy from him.

"Actually, it was El." Just as I had my gift for him in hand once more, he reached back towards me to snag my other hand and tug me forward to join the three of them. Smiling down at me, he went on, "She fearlessly braved the dreaded unknown beneath my car seat, sticking her hand under there and risking life and literal limb to bring our tiny, intrepid heroine home and-" He abruptly stopped mid-sentence, seemingly noticing for the first time that I was carrying something. "Hey, what's that?"

Holding it behind me and out of his sight, I asked innocently, "What's what?"

"You know what," he smirked as he stepped closer to me, bringing us toe-to-toe and invading my personal bubble while he tried to reach around my side for it. "The thing you're hiding behind your back. The suspiciously birthday present shaped thing."

I stretched my arm away, keeping it out of his reach as I grinned back at him, teasing, "Well if it looks like a present and is shaped like a present…"

Crooked smirk twitching wider, he caught me around the waist with one arm, pulling me up against him - all the better to reach the cheerfully wrapped box with, of course. I don't think he was trying all that hard however, not really. His arms were easily longer than mine, so if he really wanted the thing he should've had no problem getting it. And yet I was able to keep it out of his grasp. He didn't seem to mind, his eyes hooding and his lips a breath away from mine as he murmured, "But I thought the blindfold was your gift to me."

I snorted softly at that. "Really? What kind of gift would that be?"

"A fantastic one. Or so you'll find out later tonight," his eyebrows slyly bounced.

"It certainly doesn't take much to make you happy," I crinkled my nose at him, one corner of my mouth curving up.

"It really doesn't," he agreed, pressing a lingering kiss to the hollow where my neck met my shoulder that left a little tingle in its wake while at the same time his hand casually reached for the present again. "Now gimme."

An audible gag at our antics - courtesy of Roxas - reminded me that we weren't alone. As Xion sniggered, I cleared my throat, disentangled myself from Lea's grip and took a step back. "You'll just have to wait and open it up with the rest of your gifts later."

"But-"

"Happy birthday, Lea!" Anna suddenly appeared at my side, clinging to my arm with a giggle and almost making me drop the present.

"You're getting old, Red! How's that social security treatin' ya?" Rayne beamed cheekily as she latched onto my other arm, which did make me drop it. She was quick to catch it for me however and once I had it back, I hugged it protectively to my chest.

Lea scoffed, "I'm not old, ya twerps, I'm-"

"Decrepit, we know!" Roxas supplied, barely ducking in time as Lea took a swat at him and coming back up with an impish gleam in his eye. "Now grab your walker and c'mon, ya old coot, cuz it's time you make your rounds and receive all your birthday punches!"

Fingers waggling as his hands reached for the precious cargo in my arms once more, Lea said, "Be with ya in just a sec, I just wanna-"

Xion stepped forward, putting herself between him and his coveted prize, "But you're the guest of honor! You can't leave all your adoring fans hanging like that, for shame!" She shoved the troll doll into his face, "Amelia and her glorious flamingo hair judge you!"

He snerked at that, brushing the toy aside. "Amelia should learn not to get her non-existent lil panties in such a twist."

The troll immediately snapped back up, nose to teeny, plastic nose with him now as Xion coaxed in a light singsong, "Come with us. You know you want to. You'll be the center of attention." She gave the thing a slight wiggle for emphasis.

"...I do love being the center of attention," he slowly, almost begrudgingly allowed as he glanced past her, still eyeing the gift in my hands.

"We know ya do, big guy," Roxas slugged his shoulder - the first of the aforementioned birthday punches, perhaps? "And just think… the sooner the whole meet-and-greet is done, the sooner there can be cake!"

That caught Lea's full attention. "Cake, you say?"

"Mm-hm! Your favorite, bud: strawberry and sea salt ice cream cake!"

"Well, why didn't ya say so? Musn't keep my public waiting!" Turning to the face everyone else in the bar, Lea grinned big, threw out his arms wide and called out, "Who here's ready to celebrate the birthday boy?!"

The crowd cheered as he strode forward, disappearing into the throng with Roxas hot on his heels. Xion shot me a tiny wink before she went after them. Anna and Rayne - still hooked to either of my elbows - laughed as they spun all three of us around into a rather sloppy about-face and all but charged us towards the presents table, me stumbling to keep up with them.

Once I'd deposited mine with the others, I glanced around 7th Heaven with a small smile. "The place looks great. Do we have it all to ourselves?"

"Yup!" Rayne said brightly as she handed Anna what looked to be a big box of party favors to unpack and distribute. "We've rented it out for the rest of the day and beyond. Trust me, this party is gonna be going until the wee hours of the night."

I crossed my arms as I continued to take it all in. "Roxas and Xion really did a wonderful job with everything."

She quirked an eyebrow at that with an odd little smirk. "Did they now? Like what?"

My head tipped to one side. "Um… well, like the-" I was interrupted by a squeal of delight from Anna, who'd just finished opening the box. She pulled out a brightly colored conical hat with a tinsel poof at the top and swiftly put it on my head. Wincing as the elastic snapped under my chin, I then pointed up at the thing, "Like the birthday hats?"

"I brought those," Rayne grinned, seemingly pleased that they were already such a hit.

"Oh? Well, then the streamers and par-" once again, I got cut off, this time by Anna shoving a party horn in my mouth that furled out and whistled. Rolling my eyes at my sister as she bit back a snerk, I removed the thing and finished, "Party blowers."

"Me as well," Rayne declared chipperly yet also somewhat distractedly as she started rearranging the presents into a more aesthetically pleasing display.

My brow furrowed, then I looked around the room again. "...the decorations?" I asked, pointing to where the giant, prismatic cut-out letters declaring "Happy Birthday!" were strung up across the back wall, surrounded by dancing fairy lights.

"Me yet again."

"Huh… guess that'd explain that one then," I gestured towards where another string of letters were hung, these ones spelling out "It's a boy!" Seemingly as a last minute afterthought, a sheet of bright red construction paper had been taped up between "a" and "boy" with the word "birthday" scrawled across it in sharpie.

Rayne shrugged, patting her swollen tummy, "Bought that before we knew jellybean here was a girl. Had to find some use for the thing!"

A low huff of amusement escaped my nose before I shook my head. "So why did you end up being prime party planner?"

"Why else?" she chuckled. "Practice for my own baby's future birthday parties! I volunteered and Xion and Rox were only too happy to let me take over."

I snorted as Anna continued to pile party favors on me. I was now also sporting several cheap, beaded necklaces, some glow-in-the-dark bracelets, and a pair of comically large sunglasses with lenses that were almost as big as my head. I was basically a walking advertisement for a party store at this point. When Anna had been given the job of distribution, I somehow got the feeling she wasn't supposed to distribute all of it to me. Ignoring her for the time being, I said to Rayne, "I don't think throwing a party for your kid and throwing a party for Lea are quite the same thing. Not unless you're planning on giving birth to a fully grown, twenty-six year old man."

She pulled a face at that. "First of all, ouch. Painful. Don't even joke about that. Second of all, pffft, you. Trynta act like your man isn't basically an oversized toddler."

"Hey!" I tried to be indignant for my boyfriend. But then my lips pursed to one side, "...alright no, that's fair." Then I frowned slightly, "Why didn't you tell me you were organizing the whole thing? I could have helped."

"Don't worry about it!" Rayne brushed off. "You had your hands full with keeping him busy for the first half of the day."

"Yeah, keeping him busy," Anna echoed, suggestively waggling her eyebrows as she slipped a "Party Girl" plastic headband onto my head behind the birthday hat.

I narrowed my eyes at my sister. I think the humongous sunglasses made it lose its impact however. "I took him to the movies."

"Is that what the kids are calling it nowadays?" Rayne sniggered with a wicked smirk. "Well I'll be taking Riku to the movies," she made air quotes with her fingers, "later tonight, if ya know what I'm saying. Taking him to the movies all night long."

Ew.

TMI, Rayne. TMI.

"What about the movies?" Riku (speak of the devil) grinned at his wife as he walked past carrying a box of what would presumably be more party supplies, slowing to a stop beside her.

"Nothing, hon. You'll find out later," she winked at him, planting a kiss on his lips.

A slow grin spread across his face as he murmured back, "Alright, looking forward to it." Then he turned to call back over his shoulder, "Hey! Am I the only one working on getting all this stuff inside?"

Sora suddenly came running past carrying a box almost as big as he was, huffing and puffing out a hasty, "Sorry!"

"And you're just as lazy as he is," Riku grumbled to Kairi as she came in next with two smaller boxes, one stacked on top of the other.

"So you noticed!" she giggled as she too jogged past him, spotting the top box was about to topple off and shifting her hand up to steady it as she went.

Rolling his eyes, Riku just readjusted his grip on the container he was carrying so he could secure a better hold on it before following after the other two.

"I see you've put the hubby and the hubby's friends to work," I snorted dryly as I watched them go, before turning my attention on my roomie once more. "Did Xion and Roxas actually end up doing anything to help with party prep?"

"They usually take care of it all in previous years, just this time they were nice enough to let me be in charge of everything so I could get as much birthday planning experience as possible! I wanna be the mom that throws the best parties!" She paused thoughtfully for a moment then. "They did pick the place though," she gestured around the pub, "and also helped blow up all the balloons."

"I brought the cake!" Anna happily announced as she tried to press a "Make a wish!" sticker to my cheek. My hand caught her wrist, stopping her in her tracks as I drooped my eyelids at her.

Had to draw the line somewhere.

"No, I brought the cake," Kristoff abruptly appeared at her shoulder to correct her. Come to think of it, strawberry and sea salt ice cream cake did sound like something that could probably be custom ordered from the Ice Palace. He playfully grinned down at her, "You I had to keep from eating the thing on the whole ride over."

Anna gave an offended gasp, "Hey! So not true!" One side of her mouth lifted as she threw up her dukes before him, "Them's fightin' words, buddy!"

He grunted out a laugh as she socked his shoulder. "Woah there, Feisty Pants. Easy," he caught her fists, one in each of his hands, and used his hold to spin her around so he was now hugging her from behind.

"I helped," Anna insisted with a halfhearted pout.

"You most certainly did. You helped by successfully not eating the cake before we could get it here," he agreed, pressing his lips to her cheek. She cracked a smile then, seemingly mollified.

"Today's the day, Tifa!" Lea's voice suddenly cut through the hubbub of the festivities all around us. We turned as the crowd parted to reveal the redhead, cocky smirk twisting his lips as he thrusted a finger towards the person standing across the table from him, none other than Tifa herself. "That bottomless ale for a year is mine!"

She chuckled, cracking her knuckles. "Don't think I'll go easy on you just cuz it's your birthday, beanpole."

"Would never expect ya to," he shot back as he threw himself down into a chair, slamming his elbow on the table and holding his hand up, fingers curled and smirk widening.

"What's that all about?" Anna asked quietly as a hush fell over the room. She'd set to work on getting Kristoff all decked out now in birthday finery, complete with stickers. Surprisingly (or maybe not really) he let her.

"Tifa - the woman he's challenging - owns the bar and has a deal going where if you can beat her at arm wrestling, you get your drink of choice free of charge for a whole year," I whispered back, not taking my eyes off the two contenders.

"Really?" Anna's lips formed a tiny 'o' as she paused mid-snapping a hat onto her boyfriend's head. Then she glanced back towards Tifa. "...wouldn't that put her out of business?"

Rayne made a noise through her nose that was somewhere between a snerk and a scoff. "Please. The woman hasn't lost to a challenger yet."

"Hafta warn ya," Lea was telling his opponent now as she settled into the seat opposite the table from him, "I've been doing extra reps at the gym. Gotta new trainer too. Name's Phil… perhaps you've heard of him?" The last part came out a touch smug.

"That old, washed-up has-been? You should demand your munny back," she flashed a half-grin as her elbow planted on the table as well and she clasped his hand with hers. "You sure about this? Not too late to back out. Hate to make a grown man cry on his birthday."

He barked out a laugh at that. "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to. 'Sides, it's a matter of manly pride to me at this point. You're going down, girl. Now go!"

WHAM!

That, my friends, had been the sound of Tifa taking a grand total of zero-point-three seconds to totally and utterly obliterate Lea's "manly pride.".

"Better luck next time, beanpole," Tifa winked as she stood up, dusted her hands together and walked away.

"Crap, can't believe ya'd humiliate a guy like that on his birthday of all days!" he called after her, sulking and hissing through his teeth as he shook some blood flow back into his hand.

His moping was short-lived however as Roxas and Xion rolled out the ginormous cake a minute later. The customary song was sung, the candles were blown out, and presumably a wish was made. Then slices were divvied out, Lea of course happily taking the largest piece whereas I opted for what was quite possibly the smallest, given that I still wasn't exactly sea salt ice cream's number one fan. I will admit however, the strawberries helped.

Shortly after that, karaoke started up. And shockingly, I may or may not have been the one to get the karaoke ball rolling. Willingly, no less! It'd even been my own idea, no one had to drag me up there or anything this time! Perhaps taking part in Wicked has gotten me more comfortable with performing on stage. Or maybe that college acting course I was taking with Lea now was already starting to work its magic on me. True, the semester had only just begun and we were just a couple classes into it, but hey… every little bit helped, didn't it?

In any case, I went with a song I'd picked out especially for this occasion and especially with Lea in mind… Jodi Benson's Happy Birthday, Princess. I thought it suited Lea quite perfectly actually as I smirked over the mic at where he sat in the audience, cheering me on. Of course once I was done, I was quick to exit the stage to avoid any sort of encore performance.

One song was enough for lil ol' awkward, misanthropic me, thanks.

But still… baby steps. I count this as a win.

From the relative safety of the back of the room, I watched as several more people took their turns at the mic next, each with varying degrees of success. As I now fought a small smile watching Anna lug Kristoff up to karaoke so he could sing Ain't No Mountain High Enough with her, I felt arms slip around to encircle my waist from behind while a faint but familiar boyish cinnamon scent reached my nose. "So here's where my lil hermit disappeared to after her big number, hiding tucked away in a dark corner," Lea's voice murmured against my ear, his breath tickling a bit.

My hands covered his as I leaned back slightly, settling comfortably into his chest. "I wouldn't say hiding so much as… enjoying the ambiance."

"Mm," I felt more than heard his hum of acknowledgement as he rested his chin atop my head. "Why're you all by yourself? Where are Raindrop and Riku?"

"They slipped off a few minutes ago in the direction of the restrooms." My face scrunched up a tad. "There's a good chance they've locked themselves in one and are making out like a pair of hormonal teenagers in it."

"Shit, they beat us to the punch," he chuckled and I elbowed him in the ribs for the comment, which only seemed to make him laugh harder. "Can't believe they left ya alone like this though. They're fired, let's find ya some new friends to hang out with."

I smiled, knowing he was only joking. "I'm good, thanks. Anna and Kristoff will be done and back in just a few minutes anyway."

His fingers idly played with mine, weaving and unweaving them only to weave them together again. "Aw c'mon, lemme help ya find a new posse, it'll be fun! Lessee, who do we got here…?" He used his hold around my middle to pivot us both, forcing my gaze away from where Anna was having no shame getting overly flirty with her lines on stage which in turn was causing Kristoff to get all flustered and horribly butcher his half of the song. I instead glanced about the room now, which was still quite packed - I think even more people had shown up since we'd arrived. Many were faces I recognized from Friday night drinks or laser tag or just from around the mall in general. There were also several that were unfamiliar to me sprinkled in amongst the rest.

It was one such stranger that Lea now directed my view towards with a, "Ah-ha! How 'bout that guy? Mr Broody McBrood Face over there with the blonde, spiky hair doing the cool-mystery-guy lean against the bar. That's Cloud. He and Tifa go waaaaay back.

"And that other dude that he's angrily eye fucking from the across the bar?" He steered us now to look at said dude. "The one with the long, white Fabio locks and looks like the whole Halloween Town store threw up on him? That's Sephiroth, or Sephy for short - take note, he's a real huge fan o' that nickname. Anyhoo, the two of 'em are locked in an eternal battle to be the one true champion supreme over Darkness."

I blinked. "...Darkness?"

Now Lea turned us to face the pub's small arcade section. "Name of one of the pinball machines over there. Those knuckleheads are always fighting over who holds the high score. Currently, Sephy is top dog on the scoreboards, so he's standing guard to make sure Cloud doesn't steal the number one spot out from under his nose. Yeah, they take that game way too seriously… so whaddya say, do they sound like prime bestie material for ya or what?"

"Or what," I wrinkled my nose and shook my head. "Think I'll pass."

"Alright, not your cup of tea, got it. Maybe this next bunch will be more your speed. See that gang over there, butting heads with Hayner, Olette, and Pence?" He swept me around to point me in another direction now, causing a tiny laugh to escape me. I spotted four people - a guy (who appeared to be the leader) with a scar across his face and wearing a beanie engaged in what looked to be a rather heated debate with Hayner, a girl with red eyes and half her face hidden behind bangs, a tan muscle-bound guy, and… well, I really couldn't make out whatever the deal was with the fourth one. Not with that large coat they were practically drowning in and the large brimmed hat shrouding their face.

"That's Seifer and crew," Lea went on to explain. "Or the Dusk Town Center Disciplinary Committee, aka the fancy lil title they gave themselves that basically means glorified mall security. Don't let the sneers fool ya tho, they're a real sweet lot… all warm and friendly-like. You'll fit right in with 'em!"

"Shut your mouth, chicken wuss!" Seifer suddenly shouted as he grabbed Hayner by the front of the shirt, who shoved him away with a snarl.

"Oh yeah… super friendly..." I deadpanned. "Not sure they're exactly my crowd though."

He gave a low chuckle, his arms tightening around my waist. "No? Dang, thought they'd be a shoe-in for sure. Hmm, who here can meet your impossibly high standards?" he teased. I would've reached back to tickle him for that remark if it weren't for his fingers gently squeezing mine now, holding them captive. He then turned us to face an occupied booth across the way.

"Got it this time for sure! That guy right there is Tarzan. He works over at that jungle-themed café at the mall. And the chick he's with? His girlfriend, Jane. She's hella smart, like step-aside-Einstein-there's-a-new-brainiac-in-town kinda smart. She's an anthro major over at Twilight U. Dunno what that girl sees in her neanderthal boyfriend. Don't get me wrong, he's nice and all, but dude's a total ape. Seriously, I legit think he was raised by gorillas." As if on cue, the man in long dreads grinned and proceeded to stand and beat his chest with his fists, cracking up the brunette he was sitting with. "See? See?" Lea pressed triumphantly.

I snorted softly as I watched the couple. "They do actually look kind of sweet… but no thanks. Wouldn't want to be a third wheel."

"Fine then, guess there's just no pleasin' ya, Lil Miss Wallflower," he cooed, nuzzling his nose into my cheek. I squirmed, closing one eye against it as I fought a grin. "If making friends is off the table, we'll just hafta find something else for ya to do. Hmm… oh! You can come sing a duet with me!"

"Sorry," I shook my head, "but I've already performed my one song for the day."

"What?! Aw man, I didn't know it was a one-and-done kinda deal, no fair!" I could hear the pout coloring his words. "C'mon, I love your voice. Just one more for me? You can't deny me on Lea Day, that's sacrilege!"

An amused huff escaped me. "I think I'll take my chances."

"The impudence! You're lucky you're so cute, otherwise there'd be a reckoning," he gave a halfhearted harrumph. Then, "Fine, ya don't gotta sing. Just come up on stage with me while I devote a love ballad to you."

"No thanks."

Ugh, so cheesy.

I could already feel my face warming at the very idea.

"C'mon, it'll be romantic. Let me serenade you," his voice dropped low as he started trailing light kisses down the side of my neck.

Well… I guess maybe… one lil song wouldn't h-

Hold it!

Oh-ho, no. Nu-uh. Nice try, bucko, but you're not going to get me that way!

"And I'm sure it'll be just as romantic if you serenade me while I'm sitting at a table in the audience," I said sweetly back.

A chuckle hummed in his throat. "Alright then, have it your way," he released me so he could spin me around and plant a smooch to my forehead. There was a wicked gleam in his eye now. Perhaps it should have set off warning alarms in my head.

But it didn't.

"Just remember… you asked for it," he smirked and winked before disappearing into the crowd in the direction of the karaoke stage.

Maybe his parting words should have filled me with a sense of dread and foreboding.

But they didn't.

Ah, what a naive little fool I was. It's true what they say. Ignorance really is bliss.

Anna and Kristoff soon finished their song and I clapped with everyone else as they stepped off the stage, making their way back towards me. It was just as we were finding an empty table that my blissful ignorance was shattered and tragedy struck.

It struck in the form of Lea's voice coming through the overhead speakers singing, "Oh-oh-oh-oo-OOH!" to the opening notes of Lady Gaga's Bad Romance.

My face paled, my spine snapped rigid, and I whipped around to see him standing on the karaoke stage now with the cordless mic up to his lips. He made direct eye contact with me and flashed a wide cheshire grin as he kept crooning away at the song's intro, beckoning me with a crook of his finger. It seemed my presence was requested on stage.

I gulped, rapidly shook my head and crossed my arms as I sat down in my chair with more force than intended.

Nu-uh. No way. Not on your life, pal.

He was undeterred. In fact, his toothy grin only broadened as he hopped down off the stage, singing the gaga-ooh-la-la's now as he came charging straight across the bar towards me.

So I, of course, did the only logical and mature thing I could do in response.

I squeaked and scrambled to try and hide under the table.

Problem solving at its finest.

Unfortunately, I wasn't quick enough and he'd snagged my wrist before I could safely get under full cover. As he dragged me back out into the open, I snapped, "You said it would be romantic! This song is not romantic!"

"You lost your chance at romance when ya refused to come on stage with me, babydoll! Now suffer for the birthday boy!" he cackled as he pressed me back down into my chair. I tried to stand up again, but his hand on my shoulder held me firmly in my seat. Then he raised the mic to his mouth once more, picking the lyrics back up as if he'd never been interrupted in the first place and started to dance around me in a way that was… hrm… how shall I put this? ...provocative, but... so exaggerated to the point of extreme silliness and absolutely absurdity. As people around us started clapping in time with the music with whoops and whistles, I looked down and buried my face in my hands.

Don't worry, I wasn't feeling mortified…

...merely homicidal.

I was seriously going to murder him for this.

But no. I couldn't. Not today. Not on his birthday, of all days. Surely, I could give him a pass, just this once.

I'd slaughter him tomorrow instead.

That's right, yuck it up while you can, you giant dork. Your days are numbered.

Also, I didn't know whether to be disturbed or impressed by the fact that he seemed to know this song by heart and didn't need that little karaoke TV to remind him what the next line was going to be.

As the chorus began now, he straddled my legs for a crude approximation of what might be considered in the very absolute loosest sense of the term a lap dance. He whipped his free arm around over his head - oh gosh, was that dope doing The Lasso? - and Anna managed to wheeze out between her peels of laughter, "Oh my gawd, just how friggin' hammered is he?"

"Pretty sure he hasn't touched a single drop yet," I turned my head away from Lea, bringing up a hand to shield my face as I pretended I was anywhere but here right now.

"You mean this is him sober?!" she busted up all over again and nearly fell out of her chair, clinging to Kristoff's arm for support.

Any retort I might've made to that was swiftly forgotten as Lea, still singing away, spun around to give me a front row, up close and personal seat to his gyrating rear end. Rolling my eyes, I used both hands to shove the thing out of my face. A sharp gasp from Anna had me looking at her again. Swallowing splutters and snerks, she chided, "Sis, behave yourself! You're in public!" She tsked, still struggling to keep a straight face. "Groping a guy like that, so unladylike… what would Mom and Dad say?"

I blinked. What was she even-?

...oh.

Oh god.

I basically, technically, for all intents and purposes and with the whole world to bear witness (or at the very least, the whole bar)... had just grabbed my boyfriend's butt.

Okay. Now I was mortified.

Thanks a lot, hands. You little harlots, you… you… jezebels, you-

Whump!

Annnnd now Lea had flopped over backwards on top of our table. Just where exactly was he going with this next? Did I even want to know? I mean, really?

Whether I did or not, it seemed I had little choice in the matter. It was kind of like a scene out of a classic black-and-white film, where a sultry bombshell in a slinky dress would be stretched out seductively on top of a piano while sing-schmoozing the pianist. Except there was a table instead of a piano, Lea instead of the bombshell, leaving me as the sing-schmoozing recipient.

All still to Bad Romance, mind you.

Which is just every girl's dream, am I right, ladies?

My eyelids drooped as I fixed him with a dull stare. I was determined to not give him anything. Zero reaction. Zilch. Nothing. There was a tiny gleam to his eyes now as they crinkled, sending a clear message: Challenge accepted. In the end, it actually didn't take much to break my resolve. Just him hooking a finger into my necklace, drawing me close so he could "whisper" (if it could even be called that, considering the mic was still broadcasting his singing) into my ear the lyrics, "You know that I want you… and you know that I need you… I want it bad, your bad romance."

That's when it happened.

A mutinous little snort rushed out my nostrils. Then I was cracking up laughing and shoving his face away. Beaming in victory, he hopped up off the table to resume singing and dancing around me like an idiot. And for the record, he seemed to take way too much delight in the parts of the song where he got to shout, "I'm a free bitch, baby!"

The buffoonery thankfully only lasted another minute or two before the song came to an end. After he gave several flourishing bows to the loud round of applause for his performance, Lea handed off the mic to someone else. I did not envy the next person up for karaoke who had to follow that act. Then Lea flashed a grin as he leaned over where I was still seated, bracing himself with a hand on the table. "Well now, I hope we learned our lesson!"

I crossed my arms, smirking up at him. "We most certainly did."

"Good. So next time I wanna serenade ya on the karaoke stage, you…" he trailed off, waiting for me to fill in the blank.

My smirk widened. "...barricade myself in the bathroom until the song is over."

He gave a soft pft at that. "It's adorable that ya think I couldn't just bust that door straight off its hinges and-"

"Lea! Get your ass over here!" Xion suddenly came bursting through the crowd, skidding to a stop in front of him with a giggle. "It's that time at last!"

He whipped his head towards her, blinking a couple times. "Huh?"

She snerked, "Don't gimme that dumb look! It's Present Time!"

His whole face lit up before he glanced towards me slyly. "Oh goody, and I know exactly whose I'm gonna open up first!"

...fudge.

My hands were already reaching to tug and twist at me braid as I frowned. "Or, uh… or maybe you could start with… some of the other gifts? That way-"

-I could secretly compare what other people had got him to what I'd got him and then-

"-you, um… you wouldn't be playing favorites! Yeah! And, er…"

-if I thought my present terrible by comparison, I could maybe covertly remove it from the pile and-

"...that just wouldn't be... fair! You know… to the other gifts!"

-sneak out, buy him something better, return and slip the new one into the stack with everyone here none the wiser, least of all Lea!

"...which might hurt their… their feelings! And you wouldn't want to go around hurting the other gifts' feelings, now would you?"

Wait, what was I going on about?

Ugh, mouth… I leave you unsupervised for two seconds and this is what I come back to?

Well, at least you tried. A for effort… No, you know what? C-minus. Do better next time.

Lea pressed his lips to my cheek and ruffled my bangs. "Well, all the other presents will just hafta put on their big boy pants and suck it up," he playfully teased before going with Xion to where his treasure horde awaited him. I grimaced slightly before slowly following behind.

Most of the partygoers had already gathered in a circle around the present table. I squeezed into a spot between my sister and (a somewhat disheveled but thoroughly satisfied-looking) Rayne. The chatter around us was shushed as Lea approached the small mountain of colorfully wrapped boxes. He immediately zeroed in on mine, yanking it out and raising it high over his head to be met with cheers from the whole room. Then he held it up to his ear, giving it a little shake and arching his eyebrow with a grin.

Oh gosh, what if he didn't like it?

I mean, I'd felt so… so sure when I'd first laid eyes on it. So confident in my decision when I'd made the purchase. So certain as I'd wrapped it, zero doubt in my mind that he'd absolutely love it - which was so out of character for one such as myself who'd second guessed every gift decision I'd ever made in my entire life. Well, now I was second guessing this one too. Up until a minute ago, it'd seemed so perfect. But now all of a sudden, it just seemed so… so stupid and-

-and oh god, he was ripping it open!

I couldn't watch!

My hands flew up to cover my eyes.

Ahhhhh, much better! Now I had absolutely no clue what was going on!

...except now I had absolutely no clue what was going on. Oh dear, had he finished removing all the wrapping paper? Had he opened the box? Was he looking inside this very second? What was his reaction? Was he happy? Confused? Indifferent? Underwhelmed? Disappointed? Crestfallen? So unimpressed by what a mundane, thoughtless gift it was to the point of taking offense and throwing it in the nearest trash can, lighting it on fire and- dear lord, not knowing what was going on was worse. So, so much more worse! Why wasn't he even saying anything? If he'd just say something, maybe I could at least get some sense of his-

"Holy shit."

...yeah, I didn't know what to do with that.

Was that a good "holy shit" or a bad "holy shit"?

Or maybe a wow-this-present-sucks-so-much-that-I'm-breaking-up-with-you "holy shit"?

Perhaps if he just said one more thing-

"Holy shit."

...preferably something else and that was maybe a bit more descriptive.

Ugh, screw it. I couldn't take this anymore.

I parted my fingers ever so slightly, just enough so I could peek between them. There he stood now with an action figure in molded plastic packaging in one hand while the other reached inside the open cardboard box on the table in front of him, still with bits of shredded gift wrap taped to it. Out came a second toy similar to the one he was already holding and just as brightly packaged. Other than both of his eyebrows reaching for his hairline, Lea's expression was unreadable as he glanced from one to the other.

"He's part of a set," someone suddenly blurted out.

Took me a second to realize it was me.

As Lea's gaze locked on mine, I bit my bottom lip and wrung my hands together for a second. Then, "Bubbles, I mean. He's… They're… all of them together, that is... they make a set." I hesitated for another beat before finally stepping forward to reach inside the cardboard box, pulling out the third and final one so I could hold it up to him as well. Heart thudding in my ears, I hastily began to explain, "Besides the orca you already had, there's also robots for a great white shark, a dolphin and a whale shark. And they all have machine guns too!" I tacked on with a bit of nervous excitement, then frowned. "...for… some… bizarre reason." I shrugged, "Anyway, now you have them all. Bubbles has, er… has been reunited with his brothers! Or… sisters, maybe? I mean, far be it from me to assume the gender of a," I paused, squinting at the toy's packaging for a second and slowly reading off,"...royal sea dinosaur deformation robot." I wrinkled my nose. Yeesh, what a mouthful. Clearing my throat and suppressing a tiny grimace, I then uncertainly asked the question that I was dreading the answer to. "So… what do you think?"

Still, Lea said nothing, just pursed his lips to one side as he scrutinized the action figures again. But then he uttered one single, solitary word. "Riptide."

I blinked. "Uh…?"

...was that a good "riptide" or a bad "riptide"?

A smile broke out across his face now as he tapped a fingertip to the plastic encasing the one in my hands - the whale shark. "Riptide," he said again. Then he lifted the great white, his hand giving it a little wiggle, "And this one's Whirlpool."

Oh! He was naming them.

That was a good sign, right? Was the present a success? Had I done it? Had I achieved the dream?

"This is great, now the kiddos and I can play with 'em all together!" he laughed. "Xion will be Riptide, Rox Whirlpool, and I of course will control Bubbles."

One side of my mouth quirked up. "Then I guess that makes that one for Saïx," I nodded towards the dolphin.

"You kidding? Saïx wouldn't be caught dead playing with toy robots," Lea razzed his tongue in his brother's direction, whose only reply was to fix him with a dull stare. "Then again, who knows, once in a blue moon he might surprise us. In that case, he can borrow it, but only if he asks ya nicely first."

"Me?" I furrowed my brow at him.

His infamous dimple emerged. "Course! Cuz that's the one you'll normally play!"

"Oh." I'd been assigned one of the robots. Was it odd that that made me a teensy bit giddy? Trading him the whale shark for the dolphin, I inspected it with a small grin. "So what's this one's name then?"

"Craig."

My eyes snapped up to meet his again and I echoed incredulously, "Craig?"

He nodded firmly, "Mm-hm. Craig."

I cocked an eyebrow at him. "...so their names are Bubbles, Riptide, Whirlpool… and Craig."

"What? He looks like a Craig!" Lea defended.

"Don't be silly, how on earth could an aquatic robot toy possibly look like a-" I cut myself off as I glanced at the little figurine in my hands again. I blinked once, then twice. "...actually, he kind of does look like a Craig." My head tipped to one side with a thoughtful frown, "Huh."

Lea then hooked his finger under my chin, lifting it and drawing my attention back to him so he could kiss me before murmuring against my lips, "These are amazing, El, I love them. Thank you."

My face warmed as I bit back a small smile and nodded. "You're welcome. Glad you like them."

Tucking them all with care back into the big cardboard box, Lea called out, "And now, the show must go on! So lil time, so many presents to get through! Onward to the next tribute celebrating the greatness that is me! Minions!" he pointed to Roxas and Xion. "Bring me the next offering forthwith! Chop, chop!" he clapped his hands together twice.

They both just drooped their eyelids at him as Roxas deadpanned, "Yeah, no. Not happening."

"Ugh, fine! Guess the birthday boy's just gotta do everything himself!" Lea harrumphed before walking over to pluck the next gift from the top of the pile and thrusting it up above his head again for another round of cheers from everyone gathered to watch.

I observed for a while longer with everyone else as he gradually made his way through the stack. Amongst other things, he got a video game rated M for extreme violence, blood and gore from Roxas, a DVD box set for some series that looked old, sappy and right up Lea's alley from Xion, and a big, heavy hardcover book from Saïx that was difficult to discern from the title whether it was a novel or some sort of academic text. Lea quickly hid the flicker of a grimace at the last one, thanking his brother all the same. Towards the end as the heap began to dwindle, the crowd and press of people started to get to be a little too much for me and so I decided to slip outside for a few minutes for a quick breather. There were only a few presents left anyhow, so I was sure I wouldn't miss much.

Dusk was beginning to fall as I stepped out onto 7th Heaven's deck. I was the only one out here as I moved to take a seat at one of the picnic tables, closing my eyes and relaxing on the wooden bench. After all the hubbub inside, the solitude and quiet was a welcome change. The cool autumn gust felt good on my skin and I breathed it in as it toyed with my braid.

Not sure how long I stayed like that. Probably only a few minutes before I could hear the murmur from the festivities once more as the bar's door opened briefly before closing again. Then the sound of approaching footsteps on the patio before the bench creaked under the weight of someone taking a seat next to me, their knee brushing against mine.

"You all good?" his voice reached my ears.

I opened my eyes now, turning my head to look at Lea. He was slouched comfortably where he sat, propped up by his elbows on the tabletop behind him, flashing me a gentle grin. I smiled warmly back and nodded. "I'm fine. Just wanted some fresh air. You should get back to enjoying the party, I'll be right behind you."

The corner of his eyes crinkled before he slung an arm around my shoulders, hugging me tightly into his side. His teeth lightly nipped at the tip of my nose before he rested his cheek against my hair. "Lil fresh air sounds good. I'll head back inside in a minute."

As I settled my head into the crook of his neck, I hummed a contented sigh. Then I pointed out towards the sunset, simply telling him, "Look."

I felt a small chuckle rumble through his chest. "That certainly is a lovely shade of red."

"Mm," I agreed softly. "...I unfortunately can't do anything about a summer breeze for you though. Not until next year anyway."

"Don't worry 'bout it. Three outta four ain't too shabby."

I gave a low snort at that. Then, "So… you having a good birthday so far?"

"The best," he nodded against my hair. There was a smirk in his tone as he added, "I mean, course it's no locking us in my room together, worshipping every last inch of your body, that whole shebang, but still… pretty damn good."

A blush creeped into my cheeks as I hesitated before saying, "Good thing that's the plan for tomorrow then."

I felt him tense beside me. Then he was lifting his head off mine as he pulled away slightly to fish his phone out of his pocket. He tapped his thumb to "Work" under his contacts before bringing it up to his ear as he beamed big at me.

"Welp," he delightedly chirped, "Looks like I'm callin' in sick for tomorrow!"

Author's note: BE WARNED! Extra long chapter gets extra long Author's Note! Keep reading at your own peril xD It's all just basically fun facts and me explaining the random inner workings of my oddball brain as I wrote this chapter, so if none of that interests you, then just skip it all, no skin off my nose xP

Early on in writing "Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza", I decided I wanted to figure out when Lea's and Elsa's birthdays were for no other reason than just because I could! So with the help of several "what the day you were born on says about you" websites, I spent days poring over the meaning of more birthdates than I care to admit before finally deciding on (insert drum roll) August 3rd for Lea's bday! It was a really silly thing to spend all those hours on cuz at the time I had no plans for their birthdays to ever come up in the story at all, it was just a random fact I wanted to know about both my characters xD But then as I was writing these bonus chapters, I suddenly remembered figuring out those birthdays and realized Lea's big day was coming up between 2 chapters I had planned and I was all, "well shit, I should probably write it!" And whew, I tell ya, for starting out this chapter having absolutely ZERO CLUE what to write, I certainly came up with a lot of BS to fill it with, making it my longest chapter yet xD Hehe, guess I overcompensated, oops! Hopefully it was all fun to read tho! I'll probably get around to writing an Elsa bday chapter too, but hers isn't until February 5th, so we have a lil bit before we get there. Also, timeline is getting a lil vague, wibbly-wobbly with these bonus chapters, but if I try to line this chapter up calendar-date-wise with whatever the date was exactly that Elsa ran away at the start of this story, pretty sure at this point I have to say that Oaken ALWAYS has a big summer blowout going on in his store, no matter WHAT time of year it is xD

Hopefully strawberries and sea salt ice cream cake sounds good :P According to the internet, it should be delicious, I'm just not sure if it SOUNDS delicious to the reader haha! I just thought plain old sea salt ice cream cake would be too basic bitch for someone like Lea on his BIRTHDAY of all days, so I went too far in the other direction at first (still sea salt cuz DUH, but I think there was also chocolate and blackberries involved? Again, the internet said it would taste PHENOMENAL, but it didn't SOUND phenomenal xD) before toning it back to just strawberries xD Anyhoo, another chapter jam-packed with references! Some might have been more subtle than others tho, so I wonder if you guys were able to catch them all? I brought Tifa back for a proper cameo this chapter, since I didn't really do her justice back in chapter 12 - hopefully this made up for it xD I even came up with a lame twist on Cloud and Sephy's whole Darkness bit from the KH games - I know it's a lil off since Sephiroth is supposed to BE Cloud's darkness, but shhh, close enough, dang it! On another note, I spent way too long trying to figure out what song Elsa would sing at karaoke, especially for what amounted to just one friggin' sentence lol! I wanted a birthday song that wasn't the standard one, but everything I could find was either too sexy or too sappy for El, either of which would have made her too flustered to sing in front of a bunch of people xD I almost went with one of the birthday songs by either The Backstreet Boys or NSYNC cuz she actually probably would have been the most comfortable with their lyrics, but I just couldn't bring myself to write Elsa singing goddamn Backstreet Boys or NSYNC x'D Just when I'd been about to give up all hope of ever finding the right song, I happened upon "Happy Birthday Princess" sung by Jodi Benson, which I felt Elsa would not be embarrassed singing to Lea while at the same time letting her be a lil cheeky about it xP It's a song on an album entitled "Disney Princess Tea Party" and Jodi Benson is actually Ariel's voice actor! Fun Fact: I imagine in the "Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza" universe, people like Jodi Benson and Idina Menzel still exist just instead of being voice actors, they're singers equivalent to Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé, and Lady Gaga fame. Speaking of Lady Gaga… xD THAT happened cuz, due to circumstances beyond my control, Bad Romance has been playing on loop in my household almost constantly for like 2 weeks while I was writing this chapter haha! You'd think I'd get sick of the song, but actually it got me pretty hooked - and I'd liked the song before, but you know I never actually LISTENED to the lyrics until I heard it nonstop and lemme tell you, that is one surprisingly HORNY song xP In any case, my brain eventually warped it into me totally being able to see Lea singing it at karaoke and being a total dope about it too xD But hey… at least I didn't include the full lyrics to the song this time! We've finally reached a point in the story where someone singing isn't pivotal to their character growth and thus I can gloss over it, huzzah! On one final note, those action figures are real! I think I mentioned that about the orca robot back in chapter 30, but the whole set is a real thing! And I know, honestly maybe it would make more sense as a gift you'd give to Demyx since they're all sea life themed, but I could definitely see Lea going totally bonkers over them too just cuz their weird AF which, let's face it, is Lea's brand xD

Thanks for reading, I super duper appreciate it! And an extra BIG thank you to those of you who’ve liked, reblogged, and followed so far, seeing those lil notifications always brings the biggest, goofiest smile to my face!

Next bonus chapter is once again gonna be focused on Lea and something going on in his life, but is gonna be a lil less mindless nonsense and a lil more serious… but still flavored with my odd brand of humor tho, cuz it's me and that's just how I roll! And the hint will be… car keys! Ooo, how are THOSE involved?! Stay tuned!

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

#kingdom hearts #frozen #elsa #axel #fanfiction #lea #fanfic #kingdom hearts fanfiction #frozen fanfiction #kh fanfiction #kh fanfic #frozen fanfic #kingdom hearts fanfic #axelsa #fluff #romcom #slow burn #KH3 #my writing #ice cream and fire oven pizza #rare pair #crossover pairing #humor #snark #fake dating au

[sebthesnipe]

How To Hold Your Dragon

February Prompts 2/26

Prompt List

First // Previous  // Next February Prompt // Next MDP Chapter

The February Collection on AO3

My Dearest Procyon

Other works by me

Prompt: Crest / Collect 

Ship: Prinxiety and Logicality

Original story based on this wonderful post by @underdog-arts

Roman shifted in his sleep, curling protectively closer around the swaddled bundle in his arms. He had moved from the spot against the tree, where he had been dozing at some point during the night, careful not to jostle Virgil too much.

Patton chewed his bottom lip absently as he stared at the two, concern furrowing his brow. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he had messed this whole thing up with his overprotective nature. He shouldn’t have come on so strong when he and Logan had rushed to the men’s aid. He was just so worried at the time. 

Roman gave a small shiver, tightening his hold around the raccoon, and drawing it closer against his chest for warmth. Patton gave a squeak at the sight. It was just so adorable! He shifted to dig into the pack next to him, producing a blanket before pushing to his feet. 

It was obvious that the dragon meant to cover the two, protecting them from the cool night air but he hesitated. The memory of Roman recoiling from his touch flashed across the forefront of his mind, causing him pause. Did Roman recoil out of fear? Was it just the stress of the moment? Or perhaps, it was disgust. From what Logan had told the smaller man, Roman had the grand notion that dragons were barbaric monsters meant to be slain by knights and heroes. It was no wonder he drew back at Patton’s touch. 

“Um… Logan?” the man’s small voice came as he clutched the blanket to his chest, beginning to shake slightly as he glanced down at the witch who was currently taking stock of their provisions. 

“Yes, Patton?” Logan replied, too distracted to glance up at the moment. 

Patton hesitated, feeling silly about his next request. “Roman looks cold,” he commented. 

Logan took a moment to set aside the rations he had been counting before glancing over at the prince briefly. He took in the sight of Patton hovering by the fire, blanket clutched against his chest. For a moment, the image of a small child clinging to a favored stuffed animal for courage came to mind, despite how ridiculous the notion was when compared to the god-like power the man before him possessed. Still, the look on the dragon’s face was disconcerting. 

“Perhaps you should offer him the blanket?” Logan offered in confusion. Patton nodded, gaze still on the sleeping prince a few feet away. He didn’t move. 

“Patton?” Logan asked softly, studying the way he toyed nervously with the corner of the fabric and how his bottom lip was slightly swollen from the worry of his teeth. “Is everything alright?”

“I just…” the dragon began but paused, unsure of what to say. It was foolish, he knew, but he was scared. What if Roman never warmed up to him again? What if Patton never got to be apart of that bright smile that he always flashed when Patton made a horrible joke? What if he never got to feel one of the man’s overly flamboyant embraces? Roman gave the best hugs! “I just don’t think it would be a good idea if I did it,” he admitted finally turning his attention to the tall witch. 

Logan’s confusion only grew at the admission, trying to piece together what could possibly make providing a blanket to someone in need of one a bad idea. Perhaps it was one of those odd social etiquette rulings that he never quite understood. Typically, right about now, Virgil would be chiming in with a sarcastic comment or sassy remark to provide him with some context on the matter. However, given his companion’s state of unconsciousness, it appeared he was on his own for now. 

“Isn’t that why you retrieved the bedding to begin with?” Logan asked curiously. The question had Patton’s brows furrowing further, making it appear as if he were about to cry. “Or perhaps the blanket is not the problem!” Logan rushed. He did not handle others crying well. Comfort was most certainly not a strong suit of his.

“C-could…” Patton stuttered, voice cracking softly as he hugged the folded material against his chest. “Could you maybe…” he continued, giving the witch a pleading look as he trailed off. 

“Could I take the blanket to him?” Logan clarified, earning another small dip of Patton’s head in affirmation. “Certainly.”

Tension drained from Patton’s shoulders as Logan moved to stand. 

The witch offered an outstretched hand to collect the blanket. Patton paused, unsure for only a brief moment before handing it over, wrapping his now empty hands around himself for warmth. 

Logan offered what he hoped was a reassuring smile before turning towards the sleeping prince. Patton’s gaze followed the shirtless pagan as he turned his back to the dragon. The wounds were still visible in the moon’s pale light, making discolored patches appeared darker than they had in daylight. The sight was just as disturbing as when Patton had spotted it through the witch’s glamour when they had first met.

Logan unfurled the blanket in one efficient movement before draping it over Roman’s sleeping form, making sure to cover Virgil as well. He knelt to check up on the fur covered beast wrapped in Roman’s cloak. 

Logan hid his pain well, but Patton could see through the composed exterior. Each of Logan’s movements were no doubt agonizing. The fact that he managed to hide it so well was impressive. For a human, death would probably be preferable to the torture of a simple breath. So, why then was Logan so determined to survive? What drove him? That was the whole point of the venture wasn’t it; to discover a way for him and Virgil to live without the tie to their master? 

Was it revenge? No, Logan didn’t seem the type to be driven by such a dark emotion. Perhaps it was out of spite? No, again that wasn’t very fitting of the man. He certainly was an enigma. There wasn’t much that Patton came across anymore that caused him such confusion. Logan, however, was a puzzle he was looking forward to solving. 

The witch straightened once more, the moonlight brushing against the crest of his dark hair, catching on his mismatched eyes. He was very attractive to be sure. It had been quite a long time since Patton had seen anything that could compare. The fact that anyone would wound such a beautiful being in such a way was an atrocity. 

“Are you alright, Patton?” Logan asked softly, stopping just short of the smaller individual. 

“Hm?” Patton hummed, glancing up from where he had begun to stare off, losing himself in his thoughts. “Oh. Yes! I’m fine! I’m great!” the dragon rushed, perhaps a bit too cherrily. 

Logan’s lips pursed into a thin frown at the answer, pausing to consider his response. “Patton, I understand that you are a magnificent creature that I couldn’t even begin to comprehend,” he replied softly, making the shape-shifter glance away with a flush, “but from what I have observed you have the same complex and intense emotions as we humans. Perhaps, even more so. Yet, it appears that you hide them with an overly pleasant exterior."

Patton's frown returned at the accusation, though he took no offense. The fact that Patton was so transparent was just a bit surprising to the man. 

"I cannot pretend that I have proficient knowledge or experience with emotions, but I can assume that keeping those feeling bottled up cannot be healthy. It is okay to feel things that are not pleasant. Virgil once informed me, and forgive me for the terminology, ‘Feeling like…" Logan hesitated, uncomfortable with the idea of cursing in front of the smaller man. Despite the knowledge that Patton was an ancient being capable of phenomenal cosmic magic, he always seemed so innocent to the witch. "’S-shit’," he stuttered, gauging the dragon's reaction curiously. Patton offered a small upturn of his lips in amusement, spurring Logan to continue, "Feeling like shit can be good because it makes the good feelings better than they were before,’” that earned a small huff of laughter from the small man. “While the phrasing is a bit unpolished, I believe he had a point.”

Patton rubbed his upper arm absently as the man spoke. Logan was intelligent beyond his years, that much was clear. For someone that claimed to be ignorant of a lot of things, Logan understood Patton more than he had expected. The fact that the witch was not only brave enough to point out his disillusion, but was obviously trying to comfort him about it was endearing.

Logan took Patton’s silence as an indication of the witch’s overstep and tensed. “Of course, it is completely likely that I am mistaken. I cannot pretend to know-”

“Logan,” Patton chuckled, finally meeting his gaze with a soft smile, “It’s fine, kiddo. You’re not mistaken,” he reassured.

Logan relaxed slightly at the reassurance, offering his own smile in return. “Would you like to talk about it?” 

“I dunno,” the dragon shrugged, ducking his head in embarrassment. “It’s kind of a lot and I don’t like icky feelings. I prefer the happy fun ones that make everyone smile,” he added, forcing a grin as he bounced on his heels for emphasis, “I just… don’t know if I can provide those right now,” he sighed.

“Well,” Logan offered, “perhaps, since it is just you and me at the moment, you can allow yourself to properly manage those ‘icky’ feelings?” he offered, with an arched brow. 

Patton’s softed smile returned as he peered up at the taller man. “Yeah… I guess that wouldn’t be so bad.” 

“Good,” Logan huffed mirroring the soft expression as he lifted his arms. “Perhaps, an embrace might be preferable?” he offered, unsure if this was the appropriate course of action.

However, the suggestion had Patton instantly beaming. Logan had never offered him a hug before! In fact, He had never seen the man offer anyone a hug before! Only Roman had ever allowed Patton to hug him!

The dragon preened, feet dancing as he bounced from one to another in his excitement, hands lifting to his mouth, digits tapping against the giant grin that split his face. A screech escaping him, high pitched enough that Logan was certain only dogs could hear. 

If that wasn’t affirmation enough, the dragon proceeded to launch himself into the witch’s embrace, arms tucked in close against his chest, far too conscious of the man’s wounds to return the embrace himself. 

Logan grunted at the impact, giving a low chuckle that rumbled through his chest as his limbs locked around the small form. Patton instantly melted, his own heat seeping into Logan’s cool skin pleasant as they stood next to the fire. Despite Patton’s immeasurable power, he somehow felt safe in the witch’s hold,  as though even his own nightmares couldn’t touch him there.

Patton had been so inequivalently wrong; Logan definitely gave the best hugs (but Roman was a close second).

To be continued...

Taglist:

@hiddendreamer67 @nightashes @aequinoctiale @sumersnowlilly

#sanders sides #sanderssides #sandersides #sander sides #my dearest procyon #the cat and the raccoon #my writing #my writings #fanfic #fanfiction #ts fanfic #ts fanfiction #magical au #magical!au #fantasy au #fantasy!au #prinxiety #logicality #patton/logan #logan/patton #morality/logic #logic/morality #patton #ts patton #patton sanders #morality sanders #morality #ts morality #virgil #ts virgil

[fireleaptfromhousetohouse]

Howcumzit?: Dracula

How come the show never followed up on the idea that Jonathan Harker had fucked Dracula?

They pretty much opened the show by bringing up the idea, after all, which lent an unpleasantly '80s frisson to Jonathan's emaciated appearance - one thinks of Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, and that immortal line "the cosmic spores, of course, represented AIDS". But then Jonathan's interactions with the Count end up playing out, if not exactly like the novel, then more or less played straight - you'll pardon the pun, I'm sure.

Dracula does of course go on to gin up sexual tension with pretty much everyone else he meets, no matter their gender or religious leaning, but what makes it particularly surprising here is that in the first episode he's actively becoming sexier in every scene. Yet even when Jonathan is completely in his power, it all seems quite innocent and chaste. Perhaps those aren't quite the right words for being held captive, but nonetheless it doesn't seem to have any particular undercurrent of sauciness. Stephen Moffatt has been quoted as saying that rather than bisexual, this incarnation of Dracula is "bi-homicidal...he's killing people, not dating them". Which would seem to put a pin in the thrust of my complaint here, until you recall - as Moffatt really should have - that the show ended with Dracula banging Van Helsing.

_

How come Gatiss and Moffat couldn't resist slipping in that painfully clunky reference to Sherlock Holmes? And by Sherlock Holmes, what they really mean is their BAFTA-award winning series Sherlock®. 

What makes it so obviously shoehorned in is the much better reference to 'Inside No. 9' in the following episode. Inside No. 9 is of course the comedy-horror anthology series made by the non-Mark Gatiss parts of the League of Gentlemen, which has, so far, not needed nearly as many frantic, flailing fan interpretations to make its plots make sense.

_

How come Dracula's meant to pick up traits from the people he feeds on, but doesn't start speaking in Sister Agatha's silly Dutch accent?

_

How come in episode two, the little mute girl didn't immediately tell her dad that Dracula was the killer?

This is more a straightforward plot hole than a wider point of pondering, but it's one that will probably occur to even the most casual viewer. The show's clearly hoping there's enough other stuff going on that nobody will notice, which is obviously a misstep when what's going on all revolves around there being a killer at large.

Now, there's an obvious fan interpretation to be made here that the little girl - angry with the world - simply wanted to see them all die horribly. I'd watch that, and so, I suspect, would most right-thinking people. It would certainly have made for a better episode three than the one we got.

_

How come the snobby twink's boyfriend spends most of the time resenting the guy's sham marriage, then doesn't seem to care when Dracula feels him up in front of everyone? Come to think of it, why doesn't anybody else care about that?

_

How come Gatiss and Moffat couldn't resist leaping into a contemporary setting?

And why, if they wanted to do it so much, did they have to do it so poorly? Thanks to some confusing editing and omissions, it came off looking like Dracula had been struggling along the sea bed for 123 years.

This is a recurring feature of their work - Sherlock, too, was taking a classic bit of Victoriana and transplanting it into the modern day. The Sherlock Christmas special, though, did put it in its natural setting, which if nothing else worked as a fun, campy thing - and that, despite what Gatfat might think their work is, is the tone that runs right through it like a stick of Brighton rock.

Episode two took a part of Stoker's book, stitched it onto a familiar Murder On The Orient Express-style setup, and then turned Claes Bang's Dracula loose to bounce around in that framework - and it worked beautifully. This could have been a winning formula for any number more episodes, but instead they pissed it all away in favour of a tired Hollyoaks-style relationship drama and a secret institute which definitely isn't Torchwood.

_

How come modern-day Van Helsing didn't have the same silly Dutch accent?

Just to harp on a point, this makes the problem with the time jump quite clear. Van Helsing is pretty much the same character even before they literally inject the original Van Helsing into her - which makes it seem oddly like the sexual tension between her and the Count was somehow heritable. And having already demanded that willing suspension of disbelief, why not go the whole hog, and have Jonathan and Mina's identical great-great-great-descendants turn up too?

_

How come they thought putting a bit of off-coloured prosthetic on the incredibly attractive Lydia West would put anyone off?

The TV and film industry in general has an issue with this, fumbling to present unattractive people while staunchly refusing to even think about casting anyone less than conventionally beautiful. Dracula, however, had already presented some suitably ghastly ghouls, and here went through an overlong sequence of coyly refusing to show us what the post-cremation Lucy Westenra looked like - then the shocking reveal was that, uh-oh, she's got a bit of latex on her face. I'm a man of the world and let me tell you, it would take more than that to change my mind.

_

How come Mark Gatiss didn't stay behind the camera where he belongs?

This isn't to say he's a bad actor, but if he wanted to do Renfield, he should have done it properly. A show that's already had Dracula dressing up in another guy's face before tearing it off (for my money, one of the funniest things on TV in some time) doesn't need wacky comic relief.

_

How come everything about the conclusion?

Okay, that may be a little vague. Let me rephrase it to at least be making a point, rather than inarticulately shaking my fist in the general direction of the TV screen - why'd they even need to have a conclusion?

Gatiss and Moffat are not good at overarching storylines, yet they will keep using them, and I simply don't understand why. The appeal of Sherlock Holmes is to see the guy solving mysteries - so Sherlock had the mysteries take a back seat in favour of examining the ever-more-complicated relationships of the Holmes family.

The last five minutes or so of Dracula's third episode crumble when exposed to the light, which is ironic, because this Dracula doesn't. Given any thought at all, it's clear that the inspiration here was that Gatiss/Moffat thought 'oh shit, we need to wrap this up'. It tries gamely to tie everything together, which is somewhat undermined by at least one dangling plot thread - which the writers have openly admitted was left there in the hopes of getting a second season.

Bram Stoker's novel, spoiler alert, ends with the Count getting staked - but this adaptation went off those rails long ago. The central charm of it is the battle of wits between Dracula and Van Helsing, seeing them try and one-up each other while trading sexually charged barbs in much the same way as Sherlock and Moriarty (or at least the Sherlock and Moriarty that Gatfat gave us). This is a dynamic which could carry on indefinitely, and would have done better if it had, rather than been sidetracked into an unnatural-seeming ending.

#dracula #claes bang #stephen moffat #mark gatiss

[subconfessions]

Day 16

41 days. 2605 edges. All since my last orgasm.

At this point it was really indescribable how horny and desperate I was feeling 😅 and just how constant that feeling was, always being so sensitive and wet and horny has been driving me wild 🤤

I had a bit of a rough start to my Thursday hah the night before having fallen asleep during my edges (oops 🙇🏼‍♀️) and left 30 undone for the night, and Daddy had pretty quickly let me know that I wasn’t going to get a pass on those edges. Instead of just adding those 30 on to Thursday’s 100, I had to do 200 instead, and I was to put my tack bra on until they were finished. Ouch. But the tack bra is a very good motivator 😅

Before putting my tack bra on after work, I jumped in the shower real quick and sent a couple pictures to a new little group chat daddy added me to, and every picture I sent to the chat would give her 15 edges hehe so I took a few and sent them along to give her something fun to do 😋 daddy also had me send her five squeezes once my tack bra was on. I think these group chats are fun, they make me miss our old group chat, and I get a lil bummed when the new person doesn’t stick around for long.

After showing off to her Daddy asked if I’d wanna show off more on kik, and I said yes of course hehe and posted on the getdare forum Daddy had sent me last time, and posted that the first five people get to see my pussy since I had my tack bra on.

It wasn’t long till we were chatting with that handful of people, some of them were fun, some more fun to just mess around with hehe I definitely like having Daddy in the chats to help me when they do things like call me a slave which I most definitely am nooootttt. Ugh I felt so meh when he called me a slave, the complete opposite to how I feel when Daddy calls me little one and all the other cute names 😋🙈

A couple people we played with there asked for other images and like a good girl I showed them 😋 and Daddy even took a picture of me putting in my large plug for someone hehe when he sends those pictures from his side of the screen it always makes me feel a lil extra submissive cause it’s just even more confirmation that he’s definitely there watching me.

After showing off to those first five people Daddy thought it would be a fun idea to play on Omegle for him tooooo and I was a little nervous but also excited, Daddy had never seen me play with people on Omegle only heard about what I’d done. So having him watch me play with others made me feel a tiny bit shy at first, but after a minute I remembered there’s nothing to feel shy about.

So I definitely got more comfortable cruising through Omegle, people disconnecting from me left and right - I can only assume they thought I was fake, since I was sitting there very obviously naked aside from my bra.

But I managed to find a handful of people to play with, a couple having me play with my tits for them, after I mentioned the tacks torturing them of course. Showing them the large plug in my ass, playing with my pussy a bit, but not cumming of course. Then one guy wanted to see me double stuff myself and I usually dont with my large plug, but I was up for it, he had me sit on top of it and bounce on it and oh my god it felt incredible. But boy it didn’t last too long till Daddy asked me if it felt good being double stuffed and then asked if I would give him a loud “yes daddy” and without hesitation I did because it felt amazinggg.

And then.

I couldn’t believe my eyes.

I had to reread the message twice.

“Turn off Omegle and get out your vibe let’s give you an orgasm”

I don’t even know what face I made but I’m sure it was priceless 😅

I was elateddddd

I couldn’t believe I was getting my orgasm finally

Finallyyyyy

Fiiiinnnaaaaaalllyyyyyyyy

I had waited so long, I tried so hard to be so good about not cumming early through my long stretch of denial and I had finally done ittttt 😁😁😁

And I was finally about to have that mind blowing orgasm I haven’t been able to get off my mind for weeks.

Not gonna lie, for a split second I thought it was a test, but I know Daddy wouldn’t take his teasing thaaaat far (I mean I hope not 😅).

I didn’t think about it long enough to really consider that though haha, I closed out of omegle so fast (Poor guy was probably enjoying his view haha) and I dove for my vibrator in my box, because I was sooooo ready for this orgasm. I had been waiting sooooo long and edging sooooo many times to get to this and I couldn’t believe it was already here. Daddy had been teasing about the day after my birthday so much that he was definitely convincing me that was when it was gonna be 🙇🏼‍♀️

So getting that orgasm just shocked the absolute shit outta me 😅

I laid back, but Daddy had me come back to him, and he told me all about why I deserve this orgasm and why he’s giving it to me and 1) that just made me feel so fuzzy and super proud of myself and happy and 2) it completely destroyed the mental block I have on cumming.

And with my vibrator on I gave myself one of the most intense orgasms I have ever had. I saw stars. The feeling was really indescribable, and I felt it just from the top of my head down to my toes and it was unbelievable and incredible to finally release after soooo long and soooo much edging building up my need to cum. My head was fuzzy and light when I was finally able to sit up and talk to Daddy who had just watched and heard everything.

Daddy told me to tie my vibe to me and we’d put it on and I’d get to cum as many times as I wanted before the vibe died. So I tried to make quick work tying the vibe to myself and this was the first time Daddy had ever watched my tie myself up. And I was thankful that I knew what I was doing at this point when it comes to tying my crotch ropes hehe 😋

It was kind of sad though because my vibe died after one orgasm. Just one. I dunno why either 🙇🏼‍♀️ because I had it fully charged and in the box. But the worst part of that was I was gonna have to tell Daddy it died. But of course I told him and he questioned me about it but had another idea. He asked me how many times I wanted to cum today.

That made me pause.

Because the answer to that is as many times as I can.

But I knew that wasn’t an answer.

And I knew if I said 100 that would be silly.

So I decided to go with 16 😅 cause that was how many I got the first time Daddy had me tape the vibe to my clit for him.

And Daddy shocked me again and told me I was going to have to cum 16 more times for him then by the end of the day.

No way 😳🤤😅

I couldn’t believe it honestly.

This was such a rollercoaster, I wasn’t expecting this at all today, and even when I was told I would get an orgasm I didn’t even imagine that I would end up with 18 total.

So I went to charge my vibe again so I could use it for my orgasms.

But Daddy had me grab my pink vibe so that he could play with me a bit toooo, and I realllyyy like it when Daddy uses it with me. It’s always so much hotter knowing Daddy’s the one playing around with it and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. I can’t even move or buck my hips away from it.

So from that alone Daddy gave me a handful of orgasms contributing to my 16 I still needed to have. And my brain was already turning into jello. After not having cum for so long and now having orgasm after orgasm 🤤🤤🤤 my brain was just shutting down, and my legs were shaking, and my pussy was just so so happy and getting more and more sensitive with each orgasm.

The rest of them I gave to myself. Either using my dildo, or my vibe, or both,. Alll with Daddy watching. For awhile I had my plug in my ass, till Daddy told me to take it out and fuck my ass the way my friend did. And ugh just thinking about all of this now is getting me so horny again because it felt soooo good. I came so fast from having my ass fucked, it always surprises me that I can cum from just anal alone, but I won’t complain 😜

With each orgasm they just built in intensity and my brain just got more and more mushy, at first it was hard to keep track of my orgasms for Daddy, he wanted me to make sure I was counting them out loud, but my orgasm brain made that very difficult.

And I finally finished my last orgasm. It was honestly so bittersweet but it was so so so so soooo worth it. It felt almost as incredible and intense as the first one, and I think that was due go knowing that would be my last orgasm for awhile.

But man is the denial worth it. So so soo worth it 🤤 those were some of the best orgasms that I’ve had, and having earned them after all that time just made them that much better 😍😋

So those were my orgasms hehe and I am very wet after having relieved them 😅 and I guess it’s time to start all over huh?

Until next time 😋😋

[scourgewins]

A Bendy and the Ink Machine and Good Omens Crossover (Chapter 1)

(I felt inspired to write the scenario in this roleplay brought up in this ask. I’m not sure how many chapters there’ll be; it probably won’t be a lot. I’m super nervous to post this for some reason! We’ll see how this goes!)

(Warnings: None)

Joey was halfway through writing his first name when he chucked his pencil at the far wall and dropped his head onto his desk, shutting his eyes. He opened them after a few seconds to let them travel slowly up the stack of papers next to him. He made a face of dismay, mustache bristling angrily.

“So much work…” he groaned quietly to himself, closing his eyes again. Maybe he could just will it all to be done. If he thought really hard, it would all be complete and he could do something far less mind-numbingly dull. When he cracked an eye open, the paper hadn’t budged and somehow seemed larger than before. Heaving a sigh, he lifted his head off the desk, noticing where he’d signed as “Jo” on the paper he’d been going over.

He couldn’t possibly be expected to do all of this. That was just plain inhumane. I need help…

He dismissed the thought as soon as it entered his mind. Everyone in the studio was working double-time to meet the next deadline. If he pulled someone to come help him, some part of the next cartoon would inevitably suffer. No, that could never be allowed to happen.

Perhaps one of his cartoon children could help. Joey’s face brightened then dimmed. Neither Bendy, Boris, or Alice could read or write fluently. Plus, they’d all become distracted within the first minute of helping; reading over reports and signing papers wasn’t exactly the kind of fun a toon went for.

He was truly on his own. Unless…

Now here was an idea!

He could summon a demon to help him!

Joey leaped to his feet and started to pull open the drawers of his desk, withdrawing his ritual book, some candles, and an inkwell and brush. Why hadn’t he thought of this before? A demon could read any sort of contract in seconds and forge any signature. He’d be done in no time!

Humming happily to himself, Joey got to work drawing the pentagram and setting the candles just so. He flipped through his book and found the passage on summoning a low level demon. No need for any major evil entities; those could be quite a handful.

Joey started to recite the chant, realizing too late a blob of ink had landed on a few of the words. Panicking, he improvised what he wanted to say, hoping his Latin was up to snuff.

I summon thee, demon of the highest level. (He said highest because the highest level of Hell belongs to the least evil of the lot. The lowest levels are where the really bad folks go. It was something he’d learned the hard way.)

The circle began to glow red hot, and Joey backed away quickly, hoping against hope whatever came out wouldn’t incinerate him on the spot. There was a whoosh as red hot Hellfire erupted upward. Joey felt his blood run cold despite the heat. That was definitely a bad sign.

He could see the vague figure of a demon in the middle of the inferno. They were tall, much taller than Joey. As the flames died down, the summoner was able to ascertain more details about what he had summoned.

The demon’s hair was as red as the flames lapping at it and stylishly slicked back from his forehead. For a second, Joey thought the gaping black circles on his face were his eyes, but on second glance could see they were sunglasses. The demon wore a full black suit, complete with a gray tie. His hands were stuffed in his pockets but withdrew to steady their owner as he adjusted to his new surroundings. Then he was straightening from the slight slouch he was in and locking eyes with Joey.

Joey held his breath and clutched his ritual book to his chest. Should I call for help? Maybe if I move fast enough I’ll make it to the door. Is this a high-ranking demon? Oh boy, I’ve really put my foot in it now.

The demon stepped out of the circle as the last of the flames died away. He eyed Joey up and down from behind his glasses, sizing him up.

Joey felt he should say something, “Uh…”

“Where am I?” the demon interrupted. He had what Joey believed to be an English accent.

“You’re in Joey Drew Studios.”

The demon rolled his hand, motioning for him to continue, “And that would be in…”

“Oh! New York… in the United States of America!”

The demon threw his head back to sigh loudly, “Of course! It had to be across the blasted ocean!”

He faced forward again and slouched into a more relaxed stance, not at all putting Joey at ease, “Look, I don’t do the whole ‘selling your soul’ thing, alright? And I’m not going to do you any demonic favors, so you can go right ahead and send me back.”

Joey blinked, “Well, uh, okay, Mister…”

“Crowley.” Crowley supplied through gritted teeth.

“...Crowley, I’ll see what I can do, but I don’t think I’ll be able to get the portal up and running right away.”

“And why is that?” Crowley asked after a beat, taking one menacing step forward. Joey took one step back and met with the wall. He pressed his back against it and tried for a reassuring smile.

“I can’t do a ritual immediately after finishing another one. I need time to recharge!”

“You look well enough to me.” the demon said.

“Yes, well, I’ve had practice. But it is always harder to send demons back than to summon them, especially one from so far away a place as… England, right?”

“How long will this recharging take?”

Joey pondered for a few seconds, “I don’t think it should take more than an hour, plus a few extra minutes to get the summoning circle back in order. You’ll be home in no time!”

“I’d better be.” Joey gulped at those ominous words.

“Yeah, uh, sorry again about all this. I just wanted a lesser demon to help me with some paperwork. Not that you’re lesser!” Joey hastened to add, “I just, um… said the wrong words…”

Crowley raised an eyebrow, “You wanted me to help with your... paperwork?”

“Not you! Some demon, yes.” Joey nodded to the stack on his desk, “It was becoming really boring.”

Crowley followed his gaze then turned back to him, ”Let me get this straight: you summoned a demon from Hell to assist you with office work?”

Joey nodded, “Yup!”

The sunglasses on Crowley’s face started to slip down his nose, enough for Joey to see slit-pupiled, yellow eyes underneath. The demon readjusted them and shook his head, “Usually people want me to give them a paper that they sign.”

Joey waved the notion aside, “Oh, I did that a long time ago. Feel free to roam the studio while I get everything back in order! He slapped a hand to his face, “Oh, silly me! You don’t even know what this studio’s for, do you?”

“No, and I don’t care.”

Joey ignored him. Generally, ignoring a demon was not a wise course of action, but Joey tended to get excited when talking about his beloved studio.

“This here’s an animation studio! We create state of the art cartoons for your viewing pleasure. Our title character is even a demon!” Joey gestured to one of the posters on his wall. Crowley gave it a once over then turned back.

“Not really into cartoons.”

Joey gasped loudly, “Not into cartoons?! That’s probably only because you haven’t seen one of ours before. I’ll have to have one of my employees show one to you, or, er, I guess they are all pretty busy…”

Crowley sighed, “Look, I don’t care about this little cartoon empire of yours. I’ve got a lot of work to do myself, back in London. I need you to send me back as soon as possible. Are we clear on that?”

Joey sagged in disappointment but still nodded.

“Perfect. I’m gonna go for a stroll, and when I come back in an hour’s time, I expect the portal to be ready.” The demon snapped his fingers and the door to Joey’s office flung open. Giving Joey one last commanding look, he sauntered out, the door slamming behind him.

Joey noticed he’d kept an iron tight grip on his ritual book and relinquished it now, letting it flop on his desk. He collapsed into his chair and again looked at the stack of paperwork. If it wasn’t for the circle still painted on his floor, Joey might have thought he’d imagined everything.

Alright, now to figure this out. Joey hadn’t been entirely truthful with Crowley. He did need time to recharge, yes, but the summoning had been fairly simple and he would have been okay to perform another ritual when he’d been asked. There was just the simple problem of Joey being not entirely sure what he’d done the first time. The ink blot on the page had forced him to recite Latin on the spot. He had a rough idea of what he’d said, but it had clearly backfired, seeing as how who he’d summoned was definitely not a lesser demon and definitely not one to be trifled with.

It’ll be fine, he told himself, You’ve got this!

For his own sake, he hoped he was right.

#Bendy and the Ink Machine #BATIM #Good Omens #Joey Drew #Crowley #Writing Entity