#it's pai's reaction that gets me he's going from not understanding what sky wants to do to being the proudest boyfriend ever fhdbfshjdf

[prapais]

LOVE IN THE AIR ⋮ SPECIAL EPISODE. step aside, p’pai.

#asiandramanet #asianlgbtqdramas #asianlgbtqdrama #love in the air #prapaisky #prapai x sky #fortpeat #mygifs #WHEN I TELL YOU THEY'RE THE POWER COUPLE FBDHFBSFHJD #literally all their expressions were so in sync like........look at them!!!! they could absolutely destroy everyone and i love that for them #peat's face is a gift from gods this man has the best expressions on earth im obsessed with him #it's pai's reaction that gets me he's going from not understanding what sky wants to do to being the proudest boyfriend ever fhdbfshjdf

[delicateflowerss]

Nightcall

People invite monsters into their houses more often than you think.

Warnings: 18+, NON-CON, DUB-CON, dark!tyler, aged up character(s), blood, mentions of murder/violence, manipulation, jealousy, choking, dacryphilia

Word Count: 3.7k

His fingers fumble with his phone in the dark. Blood smearing on the screen when trying to find your name to click on. Unshed tears glisten in his eyes and shaky breaths leave his lips as he listens to the ringing tone.

You look out your bedroom window one more time, watching the rain fall from the sky before closing the curtains for the night. You head towards the bathroom, walking past your phone that sits on the dresser.

You don’t hear your phone buzz in the other room, the screen lighting up with Tyler’s name. You step into the hot shower, oblivious to the boy trying to get ahold of you.

He curses out loud when he hears the beginning of your voicemail. Hanging up, he immediately clicks on your name again.

When he gets the same result, he throws his phone down on the passenger seat.

Tyler doesn’t know why it feels like it’s life or death whether he talks to you right now. But he can’t shake the feeling that you’re with him again.

Maybe it’s stupid. Maybe it’s that obsessive, little corner of his mind plaguing him with the idea that someone is right where he should be.

He can’t get it out of his head, no matter how hard he tries. That day on perpetual repeat as he drives down the dark road.

“This would be less painful if you talk, Tyler,” she reminded him for the second time that session.

She kept a pearly white grin on her face, voice still cheery. But he noticed the annoyance that she fought so hard against, starting to seep through.

He couldn’t keep his eyes on the blonde sitting in front of him, instead they roam around her neatly decorated apartment. He’d never paid attention to how many candles she keeps lit. That must be a fire hazard, he thought. This whole place could go up in flames with a slight push to one of them.

“In our last session, you told me about a friend you reconnected with recently. Y/N, was it?” Dr. Kinbott inquired, watching Tyler for a reaction.

He shifted a little in his seat at the mention of your name. But he tried his hardest to keep a straight face, not even a twitch of a muscle. He didn’t need Dr. Kinbott to know what makes him squirm.

“How did you two meet again?”

He let out a sigh before being forced to recount his early memories. He supposed he didn’t mind since it had to do with you.

“We met in kindergarten. She just, came up to me and asked if I wanted to play house.” He kept his voice as steady as possible. “I know I would’ve rather played with the toy cars. But for some reason, I said yes. I don’t really remember why.”

He stopped paying attention to how Dr. Kinbott tilted her head like what he was saying was the most interesting thing she’s ever heard. Instead, a smile traced his lips as he felt himself be transported back into the memory.

“We played together every day after that. Going to each other’s birthday parties and kid stuff like that.”

He still remembered how you wanted him to sit next to you when you blew out your candles on your birthday cake, or how you always gave him your last Animal Cracker at snack time, just because he was still hungry.

“Then what happened?”

Her question made him falter, lips parting in confusion.

“What happened for you two to reconnect now? Reconnecting usually means you drifted apart in the first place.”

He slightly nodded, eyes moving to the floor. He thought for a moment before he continued.

“Puberty, I guess. We turned 12 and things just changed. It wasn’t cool to be friends with a girl.”

Dr. Kinbott continued to nod, humming in understanding.

“So, why now?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure. She came into the Weathervane one day… and she was surprised to see me working there. Then we got to talking and… now we see each other all the time.”

He stopped himself from saying anything more about you.

Truthfully, he could’ve gone on for hours about you. How every time you looked at him, it felt like you were staring right into his soul, and all you did was smile, not turning away in fear or disgust.

He could’ve talked about how he longs to see that smile all the time, that simple expression on you making a bad day turn better.

He knew your drink order like the back of his hand. He thought it was funny how you only ever want a latte made by him now. Your excuse was no one else makes the foam like he does.

His favorite time of the day was when the sun went down. The Weathervane was finally empty of customers, and the two of you could just sit in your own little corner of the world, talking for hours. Everything else was a distant thought during those times. All he could do was focus on the warmth of your voice, telling him all of your greatest dreams and desires.

You told him you want to leave Jericho one day, hoping there’s something better out there for you, and all he could think was how much he wants to go with you.

“That’s great, Tyler. Having a friend, you can talk to is a really special thing.” Dr. Kinbott’s voice snatched him from his thoughts. She glanced at the clock.

“Looks like we’re out of time.”

Tyler kept his eyes on the ground, head swirling with memories of you that were unearthed in his session with Dr. Kinbott. He only looked up when he crossed the street, giving a polite smile to the car that stopped for him.

He was on his way to work, not much of a break between therapy and having to serve coffee to a wide array of customers.

But before he could get to the door of the Weathervane, he spotted you through the window. It was a nice surprise before he realized you were sitting across from someone, laughing at what they were saying.

His jaw tensed, brows pulled together as he watched you talk to a guy that you and Tyler went to school with.

He always thought Ben was an asshole, thinking he was so much better than everyone else. So much better than Tyler at least.

He was stumped at why you would want to be talking to Ben in the same booth that was supposed to be yours and Tyler’s.

His first instinct was to pretend that it was nothing when Ben brushed his hand against yours, and you let him, smiling.

But he felt something sink in his chest, a familiar feeling. A type of feeling he’s gotten when he watches the world around him, realizing he has no place in it. This time, it’s a little different, the feeling has evolved.

Now he has no choice, it’s screaming, telling him to do something before he goes insane.

You still haven’t checked your phone when you’re dressed in your pajamas, skin still dewy from your shower.

The doorbell ringing throughout the house startles you. You think for a second of who it could be, somewhat hoping the person gets impatient and leaves.

When it rings again, you peek through your bedroom curtains. When you see who it is, you practically run downstairs, opening the front door as fast as you can.

“Tyler, what are you doing?”

He stands on your doorstep in the pouring rain, arms hugging his sides, looking like a stray puppy needing shelter.

You grab his arm, dragging him into your house and out of the harsh weather. His clothes are soaking wet, his hair sticking to his forehead.

“Is everything okay?” You ask, still trying to figure out why he came to your house in the first place.

He looks around, almost like he’s in a daze.

“Are your parents home?”

You stare at him with your brow furrowed until you slightly shake your head, realizing he asked you a question.

“No, they’re out of town for the weekend. I thought I told you that.”

He hears the worry in your voice, not trying hard to disguise it. He likes it, the fact you care enough about him to be concerned.

“So, you’re home by yourself?” There’s an edge to his voice, something that makes a chill go down your spine.

You nod slowly, your eyebrows slightly raised.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

He just keeps his eyes on the floor.

You sigh, “You probably shouldn’t go back out there, at least until it stops raining.” His eyes finally meet yours. “I can try to find some other clothes for you while I put those in the dryer.”

His mouth opens, surprised at your offer.

“But leave your shoes by the door. My parents would kill me if you got mud everywhere.”

He looks down at his dirty shoes, bending down and frantically untying them.

You start to go up the stairs, and Tyler hesitates for a second before quickly following you.

“I’ll also get you a towel to dry your hair,” you say with an amused smile on your lips, looking back to take in his wet curls.

He follows you into your room, and he can’t help but take in every detail of you that is carved into it. All he can think is how it’s so you, from the few pictures hanging on the walls to the color you chose for the duvet on your bed.

“You can undress in here, and hopefully something of my dad’s will fit you.”

“Thanks, Y/N.”

You give him one last reassuring smile before closing the door.

It’s not lost on him how odd it is to be taking his clothes off in your bedroom. Maybe in a different situation, he would enjoy it more.

Soon enough, those agonizing thoughts come back, making him wonder how many other guys have been in this situation. Except you’d be there, also taking your clothes off.

He wonders if Ben has been in that situation, with that stupid, arrogant smirk on his face.

A knock on the door interrupts his thoughts.

“Come in,” he calls out.

You open the door, finding Tyler standing in the middle of your room, only in his boxers.

A sight you thought you’d never see.

It’s hard for him to look you in the eyes, his hands trying to find something to do. But what makes him feel worse is your lack of embarrassment at seeing him like this.

You step closer to him, but before you can explain what you found, you drop what you’re holding on to the bed.

“Oh my God, Tyler.” That concern is back in your voice.

He follows your gaze, looking down, realizing that he’s bleeding. He usually gets wounded in some way when he transforms. He’s not entirely sure how it happens, probably while he’s on the hunt. He’s just glad that the rain washed away the blood that wasn’t his.

You rush to him, inspecting the scratches on his ribcage, right near his stomach.

“Does it hurt?”

The scratches don’t look too deep, but they’re still bright red.

“It’s not too bad.”

You look at him with disbelief. But you decide not to press on the matter anymore.

“Okay. Well, I’ll get the first aid kit and you just sit down.” You motion to the foot of your bed. “Oh and,” you say, almost forgetting. “Here’s a towel for your hair. I could only find you a shirt, but you probably shouldn’t put it on until I get you cleaned up.”

You pick up Tyler’s wet clothes off the floor before leaving.

He grabs the towel, ruffling his hair with it, trying to dry it. He enjoys how you take care of him, treating him like he’s a little boy that needs to be nursed back to health. How he’s the only person you seem to care about at all, putting all your attention on him.

You come back, sitting right next to him, sorting through the bandages in the little plastic box.

“How did this even happen? It looks like you were attacked by a wild animal.”

You begin to bandage him up the best you can, waiting for an answer.

“I was playing with Elvis, and he got a little too rough I guess.”

It’s not his best lie, but it will have to do for now.

You don’t say anything, and Tyler isn’t sure if your silence is to do with your disproval or if you’re too focused on his wound.

A few minutes pass, and you’re still working on covering the scratches up. It doesn’t go past you how intimate this is, the only sounds are yours and Tyler’s breathing and the soft tapping of the rain against the window. You drag your eyes up a little, taking in how toned he is, something he keeps well-hidden.

You’re so close to him that he can smell the soap on your skin, vanilla filling his nose. The feeling of your fingertips on his body makes him feel like he’s on fire. If all he had to do was hurt himself and show up on your doorstep in the pouring rain to get you to pay this kind of attention to him, he would’ve done it a long time ago.

“That should be good.” You lean back, admiring your handiwork.

His green gaze finds his now bandaged up wound, a smile lighting up his features.

“Thank you, Y/N. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“I don’t know either.”

Your smile matches his as you bring a hand to his hair, letting your fingers run through his soft curls. His eyes fall shut with the comforting, almost loving movement.

He opens them to see you staring at him, like you’re admiring him. Content is written on your face.

He can only guess his face looks more or less the same, probably more like a lovesick idiot.

He doesn’t really think about it as he leans in closer to you, his eyes glued to your lips. He doesn’t notice how your expression morphs into something of confusion and panic.

A small gasp leaves your lips as his own crash into your cheek instead. You feel him freeze, realization hitting him coldly.

He finally moves away from you, keeping his head down. But even as he wishes to disappear from your sight, he can’t stop you from seeing the blood rushing into his cheeks.

You instantly feel bad when you see the embarrassment that clouds him. The last thing you would want is to upset Tyler. But him almost kissing you was a shock. You never thought for a second Tyler had a crush on you.

You sigh, closing your eyes for a second, trying to figure out the words to make all of this better.

“Tyler, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. It’s just…” You trail off, not wanting to add salt to his wounds. You shift a little. “It’s just, I don’t see you like that.”

You try to judge his reaction, and by the way his jaw ticks, it’s not good.

“I’ve been really happy since we became friends again, and… I don’t want to lose that,” you soothe.

“Do you like him?” There’s a darkness to his voice, a bitterness you’ve never heard from him before.

You stare at him, not understanding.

“I saw you with him. At the Weathervane.” He finally turns to face you. “Are you fucking him or something?”

His face is practically in a snarl, and you’re ready to defend yourself against his unfair accusations.

But then you see the hurt in his eyes, the slightest glimmer of an unshed tear. You decide to take a deep breath, stopping yourself from saying something you’ll regret.

“I think you just need to calm down, Tyler.”

Unfortunately, your words have the opposite effect. Your lack of an answer makes his jaw tighten. His eyes seem to have this far away look in them.

He had hoped every thought that invaded his mind was wrong. But he realizes that the voice in the back of his head telling him he’s not good enough for you has only been right.

His gaze finally settles over you, an intensity taking over that wasn’t there before.

“Do you think he’s better than me?”

Your brow furrows. “What? No-.”

“Then why him?” He pauses before going into his next question. “What’s so bad about me that you won’t at least give me a chance?”

You look down at your hands in your lap, immediately feeling a pang of guilt. You don’t know why you can’t see Tyler in a romantic way. You’ve known him since you were kids. He always looks at you with those soft, kind eyes, and he listens to what you have to say. He’s also good looking… but for some reason, you just can’t picture yourself dating him, or fucking him.

But you could try.

He’s always had it tough, growing up without a mom. You could always sense a loneliness to him, something that made him… different from everyone else. All you know is you hate making him feel this way. You don’t want to be the reason for his next broken heart.

“Tyler-.”

He shuts you up with a kiss on your open mouth. Before you could explain how you two should go to a movie or something, his soft lips are pressed to yours, slowly licking into your mouth.

You bring a firm hand to his chest. Your fingers are cold compared to the warmth of his bare skin. You try to push him away, but he doesn’t budge.

His kisses feel feverish, like he can’t get enough of you, wanting to devour you whole. He pushes his body weight onto you, making you fall back on the bed.

The kisses don’t stop as he moves between your open legs. You’re finally able to move your mouth away from him.

“Wait, Tyler. I don’t know about this.” Your voice is full of cracks as he takes in the apprehension overcoming your face.

He had hoped you would pity him, making it easier for him to do what he wants with you. You’re his and he is yours. Ben doesn’t compare to him. You just don’t know it yet.

He tries to make the expression on his face gentler, softer, not wanting to scare you.

“I would never do anything to you that you wouldn’t want.” His thumb caresses circles on to your cheek. “You don’t have to worry or think too much. Just relax.” His deep voice sounds almost entrancing. “Don’t you trust me?”

You gaze up at him, considering his words. He takes your lack of response as one, his lips finding yours again.

You let his hands roam over your body, fingers digging into your skin. He finds one of your breasts through your thin pajama shirt, squeezing it and massaging your nipple. His other hand snakes down to your core, rubbing you through your underwear.

Even if he wanted to stop, he can’t. The thing inside him that craves to be satiated is screaming in hunger, and you’re absolutely delicious.

He replaces his hand with his mouth, sucking on your nipple through the fabric, wetting it with his tongue. He can feel your chest start to heave.

A whimper escapes your throat as he slips his fingers under the white cotton, brushing over your swollen bud. You feel his perfect teeth move to your neck, alternating between biting and licking, leaving kisses in his trail as an apology for hurting you.

Your hips buck involuntarily before he takes his hand away from you, wet with your arousal. You practically whine in protest before he reaches up to take your shirt off, your shorts and underwear being pushed down next.

The realization of where this is going hits you, along with the cold air. Watching him pull his boxers down, you could stop him now.

But do you really have a choice?

You feel his leaking tip brush against you, lining himself up before pushing himself inside you.

Ragged breaths leave you as you try to adjust to his size, the fullness being too much for you at first. Pain beginning to meld with the inklings of pleasure.

His pink lips part as he feels you wrapped around him, walls clenching around his throbbing cock. He starts to thrust into you, your hand grasping his bicep as he sinks in deeper.

You get used to his pace, moans falling from you as pleasure clouds your mind. His head falls to the crook of your neck, the caress of his breaths tickling your neck. The monotonous squeak of your mattress plays in the background. An odd sense of comfort envelops you as his bare chest grazes your own.

Then he lifts his head up, a hand grabbing your thigh, pushing your knee to your chest. He ignores your protests, rutting into you mercilessly. The sounds leaving him can only be described as carnal, hot breath fanning over you.

The new angle allows him to pound into you harder and faster, and all you can do is take it. Your whines get louder as he hits your sweet spot. Your eyelids flutter while your only focus is your impending orgasm.

You feel his large hand wrap around your neck, squeezing hard enough to scare you, but not to cut off your air supply.

He likes how your neck is so delicate, your rapid heartbeat right under his fingertips.

“Tyler,” you struggle out.

He’s relentless with how he thrusts into you. A sick part of him is satisfied when he sees a tear finally fall down your cheek, dropping onto the hand that’s still around your throat.

You hate to think of what exactly pushes you over the edge. All you see are stars as pleasure washes over you. You can feel Tyler’s lips brushing against your cheek, licking away your tears.

His pace has gotten careless and it’s not long before a warmth floods you, harsh breaths wracking him.

Tears still blurry your vision as he lies beside you. You can’t help but lean in closer to him, letting him kiss the top of your head, crying into his chest.

#tyler galpin #tyler galpin x reader #dark!tyler galpin #dark!tyler galpin x reader #tyler galpin x you #wednesday

[the-modern-typewriter]

Hello, hope you're having a good day.

Could you write a snippet about a civilian taking in an injured stranger. The stranger is maybe a past lackey or assistant for Villan hiding from him. Villan appears at the civilians door asking kindly for them back🙂 Civilan is torn between keeping them away from villan or handing lackey over for their own saftey.

The second the door opened, it clicked exactly why the stranger had seemed so naggingly familiar. The civilian swallowed. They looked the villain up and down, slowly, like maybe that might make him disappear again.

It didn't.

The villain stayed standing on their doorstep, a perfectly pleasant smile on his face.

The civilian's fingers twitched on the door frame.

"Don't," the villain said. "Insurance won't cover me breaking your door down. May I come in?"

"I'd feel a lot better if you didn't." It came out raspy.

The villain gave an understanding nod. "Perhaps you'll send them out instead then?"

"Them?" the civilian squeaked. "I - I don't -"

The villain tilted his head, giving the civilian a gently chiding sort of look.

The civilian's mouth clicked shut. Their fingers flexed on the door again, mind racing through their options.

The villain stuck his hands in his pockets, seeming perfectly inclined to wait.

"...are you going to force your way in here if I don't?"

"Yes."

"Right."

There was a beat of silence, and the civilian shifted squirming on their feet. "They're hurt. They seem -" The civilian cleared their throat. "You're not going to hurt them, are you?"

The villain's pleasant smile broadened a fraction; an offering of white teeth. "Of course not."

He was lying. The stranger's reactions, their sweating nightmares and soft cries of restless terror made that all too clear already. It had been a stupid question to ask. Maybe they'd simply hoped the lie would be more convincing; their guilt assuaged.

"Right," the civilian said again, faintly.

They scanned the night sky for any convenient heroes. Anything, really. The evening was quiet. The sound of late night TV drifted soothingly through their neighbour's wall.

They couldn't afford to pay for a new door.

It wasn't like they could stop the villain, was it? Any defence they put up would just be bravado, idiocy. Telling the villain 'no' might feel good for all of three seconds, right before it changed absolutely nothing except how much the civilian got hurt in the process.

The civilian bit their lip, studying the villain.

"Would you prefer I bribed you?" the villain asked, kindly. They fished their wallet out. It was sleek brown leather. Fancy like. The villain extracted a few hundred in crisp notes; enough to make the civilian give a strangled little wheeze.

"No, thank you," the civilian said. They wrenched their gaze from the cash. "Um."

"I'm not interested in you," the villain said. "Beyond being grateful that you offered them assistance when they needed it. We can keep it that way."

"You're not going to kill me?"

"I considered it," the villain said, in the same kind voice. "Nothing personal for you. Just a punishment for them, you understand, for thinking that there's anywhere they can go."

The civilian flinched.

The villain gave a theatrical wince. "Too malevolent?"

"A bit."

"I'm on a time schedule," the villain said. "So if you'd just...step out of the way or go get them. I'd hate to squash you."

"I'd hate to be squashed."

"Ah, The Princess Bride." The villain swept forward, ruffling the civilian's hair. "I love that movie."

The civilian didn't mean to step in the way. It just sort of happened.

They imagined the villain's former right hand, inside, huddled looking terribly small under a fluffy blanket on the sofa.

The villain raised an eyebrow. He turned what felt like his full attention on the civilian for the first time.

The civilian nearly passed out on the spot. They squared their shoulders. "I think they know where to find you. If they, you know, want to."

"Darling."

The civilian squeezed their eyes shut for a moment. They drew a steadying breath.

"Perhaps," the villain said, "you'd like to go and ask your guest what happens to people who cross me. Perhaps you'd like a story about one of the many, many times they hurt someone like you because I asked them to. How healed are they now, do you reckon?" The villain placed two fingers beneath the civilian's chin, tipping their head up. "Enough to break every bone in your body if I ask really nicely? It might get them back in my good books."

"You said you wouldn't hurt them."

"And I won't. Do you think they'd try and protect you so sweetly, if the tables were turned? You know who they are. What they are."

The civilian opened their eyes. They looked at the villain.

The villain dropped his hand, and put his wallet back in his pocket. He did not step back.

"You have three seconds, love, or I'm coming in."

The civilian went and fetched the villain's former right hand - still feverish and halfway to broken - helping them to the door with an arm around their waist.

The former right hand didn't seem surprised to see the villain, though their grip tightened on the civilian for a heartbeat. Like the civilian, they scanned the empty, black skies for salvation.

There was only the villain, who assessed his former right hand for a moment, noting the limp.

"Tell me, if you want to live," the villain said, idly, to the civilian. "What they are."

Guilt, rancid and world-ending, rose up the civilian's throat.

"They're yours."

"Damn right they are."

The villain offered the former right-hand a steadying arm, a crutch, with that same pleasant smile on his face.

The ex right hand shot them a look, muttered a half-delirious "sorry" and "thanks" to the civilian, and painstakingly shoved past and began to walk down to the car.

The villain winked at the civilian, and followed.

The civilian never saw either of them again.

#villains #writing #short story #short fic #fic #ficlet #fiction #creative writing #villain

[boldlyvoid]

Bigger than the whole sky | Part Three: Electric Hearts

Aaron Hotchner x Reader

Summary: As it turns out, getting pregnant was the easiest part... The hard part is making sure Jack is okay with it and the team understands what it's going to look like when Hotch goes on paternity leave... and Peter's moms reaction to a grandbaby that isn't hers.

Warnings: pregnancy, canon rewrite season 10/11 - no scratch plotline, spencers mom's dementia mentioned, JJ's pregnant too, lots of Jack content, doctors appointments and ultrasounds, nondescript case in LA -- hotel quickies, showering together, lots of fluff over all

Word Count: 13.5k

Masterlist

Derek is so used to being called into Hotch’s office now that he’s the second in command, that he no longer feels anxious when Aaron asks him to close the door behind himself. He always knows that Aaron just wants to talk about a new case or some bullshit higher up… today he comes right in, closes the door and sits down like he owns the place.

“What’s up?” 

“That place you’re letting Y/N stay in, how much were you going to sell it for?” Aaron asks.

“Why?” Derek smiles, sitting up straighter. 

“It’s the perfect size for us and the kids,” Aaron answers, smiling right back, letting Derek in on their little secret. 

“No way?” Derek can’t believe it, he’s so proud, he’s practically oozing happiness. “You didn’t even skip a beat, she said she wanted kids and you just went and did it?” 

“We did it…”

Derek gets up from his seat and meets Aaron halfway for a hug, he pats him on the back and just laughs, “Wow… you’re going to be a dad again.” 

“And that’s another thing I need to talk to you about,” Aaron says, making him sit back down. “Not only do I want to buy that house from you, I would like you to step up and take over when I go on paternity leave.” 

“Obviously,” Derek shrugs like it’s nothing to take over as Unit Chief. “I don’t mind, I’m just starting to get used to the paperwork again.” 

“I’m going to ask JJ to step up into your spot during that time and we’re working on 2 new hires so you’ll have almost a full team in our absence,” Aaron explains further. “And I’ll be 1 call away at all times.” 

“And I’ll know where you live,” Derek teases. “Speaking of the house, it was foreclosed when I got it so it was only 153k and I put about 100k into it, so I can settle on 255, even though I know the market value now is close to 800.”

“I don’t mind paying the full—

“No, no. Put the rest of the money into the kids' college funds, please? You know I don’t need it.” Derek stares at him with his immaculate brows arched. 

“I can do that,” he agrees easily. “Can you just keep it a secret for me? I want the house to be a present for her and she doesn’t want anyone but you to know about the baby yet… she really wants to make it to 12 weeks before she starts to tell anyone in case it doesn’t work out.” 

“Of course, man… but I’m sure the others will figure it out, I mean, she’s not really going after unsubs as hard as before and she’s sticking to your side at the precincts instead of going out to interview suspects, she’s been having a snack at 3-hour intervals… she ever stayed back with penny cause she wasn’t feeling good. I had a feeling this was coming. ” 

“She doesn’t want to transfer, she’s going to switch on desk duty around 20 weeks… she’s actually been doing the interviews for me so we can fill up the team again,” Aaron explains. “Have you heard anything about a Luke Alvez?” 

He nods, “Yeah, he’s on the fugitive task force, right? He’s gone after some of the unsubs we’ve profiled but couldn’t capture, right?” 

“Yeah, he did.” Aaron nods, “he and Dr. Tara Lewis, a forensic psychologist from San Fransisco, are our top two. She’s been interviewing convicted serial killers for the last 4 years, she has the most updated insight into why they do what they do.” 

“Our team would be absolutely stacked with them,” Derek all but cheers, he’s so excited.

“So, should I make some calls?” Aaron asks with a smile. 

“You better, or I will.” 

—

At the same time Derek disappears into Aaron's office, JJ pulls Y/N aside. “Hey, can we talk?” She asks, tugging her all the way down to Derek's old office for some privacy. 

Y/n has a feeling she knows what’s coming, either JJ is pregnant or she’d figured out that she is. No matter what, it’s going to be interesting if she’s pulling her this far out of ear range from the team. “What’s going on?” 

“You’re doing the rehiring with Hotch, right?” 

She nods, “Yeah, why?” 

“You might want to consider a second person…”

“Third,” Y/N can’t help but correct her with a smirk. 

“No way?” JJ’s eyes light right up. “You too?” 

“Yeah, I’m 7 weeks tomorrow.” 

“I just hit 10 weeks,” she says and then her jaw drops, she can’t believe it. “Holy shit?” 

“Oh man… this is going to ruin Aaron’s plan…”

“What is?” 

“He was going to ask Derek to step up as chief and have you move into Derek's spot,” Y/N shares. “I guess we have to ask Spencer now.” 

“He’ll do it,” JJ all but answers for him. “Him and Derek running shit will be interesting but… I think they can do it.” 

“And Penelope will be there to keep them in check,” Y/N teases. “But anyway, how are you feeling? Are you okay?” 

JJ nods, “I’m good, it’s surprisingly a lot similar to Henry’s pregnancy so I’m just nauseous all day and sore when I come home and I could honestly fall asleep anywhere… but I’m good.” 

“I haven’t been sick yet,” Y/N shares with her fingers crossed. “I really don’t want to throw up but I know it’ll hit me out of nowhere soon. I remember when Peter's cousin had their first she was only sick in the second trimester and I have a feeling I might get that too.” 

“Spencer would say that’s because in the first semester, your body sometimes heals everything in you in order to make the most habitable home for the baby and then you’re so worn down in the second trimester that you get sick easily,” she explains, having heard it all before. “He said the same thing to Callahan last year when she had her baby.” 

“What’s in the water here getting us all knocked up?” Y/N teases. “I mean, who’s next?” 

“Derek,” JJ jokes. “With the rate he and Savannah are having weekends alone… it’ll happen.” 

“I just hope he waits until Aaron is done with his paternity leave.” 

—

Finding a doctor that could do appointments on weekends was hard. They couldn’t find a way to sneak out of the office during the week to go to an appointment without the team figuring out what was going on and most of their cases took them out of D.C. for 2-4 days so they’d have to reschedule anyway. 

It’s actually Derek who’s able to hook that up for them. He simply asks his Doctor girlfriend and she asks one of her OBGYN friends at the hospital — who are more than willing to help out a couple of FBI agents on a weekend. 

Y/N and Aaron come in that next Saturday at 10am and finally get to see their tiny little baby in her ever-growing stomach… she was already having a hard time fitting into her work pants and she was only 2 months along. Aaron loved it, which she knew he would, she just didn’t expect him to have his hands on her all the time. At work, he’d rest his hand on her side with his fingers slowly inching towards her tummy and at home, he was all over her. The doctor's office was no different. 

He helps her out of her pants and into a gown for the ultrasound and then onto the exam table. He takes a seat beside her and quickly his hand comes up to rest on her stomach. She covers his hand with her own and caresses him with her thumb, “you’re so cute,” she compliments. 

“Why?” He laughs, “cause I can’t keep my hands off you?” 

“I don’t know if it’s your fatherly instincts or what, but you basically guard my belly now,” she teases. “It’s cute.” 

“I love you two, sue me,” he teases right back. 

The two of them laugh together more than anything else. He makes her so happy that her cheeks always end up hurting from smiling too much. They’re so in love it makes her feel a little crazy because there’s no way this is how love is always supposed to be. She can’t believe she missed out on these feelings for so long and she also can’t believe she gets to be this happy with him for the rest of her life. 

“Knock knock,” their doctor says as she opens up the door just a few inches. “Are you ready to start the appointment?” 

“Absolutely!” Y/N cheers, she sits up ever so slightly and squeezes Aaron's hand. “Thank you so much for taking us on a Saturday.” 

“Oh, no problem, Dr. Hayes told me all about what you guys do for our country, I wouldn’t dare turn you away,” she raves as she approaches them. She takes a seat on the little rolling stool and moves in closer to them. “Thanks for catching bad guys, you guys are like heroes.” 

“He’s the hero, he’s been doing it for 13 years,” Y/N pushes the compliment onto Aaron cause she doesn’t take them well. 

“It’s nothing,” Aaron waves it off. 

“Not nothing, it’s amazing… I’m Dr. Samantha Connors, by the way,” she says as she reaches out to shake Aaron's hand. “Is this your first baby?” 

“Mine, yeah,” Y/N smiles. “Aaron has a 10-year-old son named Jack, he’s the sweetest.”

“Okay good, so you’re familiar with these appointments, aren’t you Dad?” 

Aaron nods, “I wasn’t at all of them with my ex-wife, but from what I remember this appointment is just for the heartbeat and making sure the baby is growing properly, right?” 

Dr. Connors smiles, “Yeah, that’s exactly right. So, if you don’t mind, I’m going to get started with your ultrasound, okay?”

“Okay,” Y/N agrees, she gets comfortable in her seat, her feet in the stirrups, and she takes a deep breath knowing what was about to happen wasn’t comfortable. 

Aaron holds her hand the whole time that the doctor looks around without showing them the screen. They share little smiles and stare down the doctor together, both of them being experts at studying body language… they know everything is fine even before she turns the screen to them and says, “Are you ready to meet your baby?” 

They both beam, nodding as words escape them… their baby is so tiny and real and right there on the screen. “She looks like a cashew,” Y/N can’t help but say as her eyes well with tears. “Oh my gosh.” 

“I always forget how small they start out,” Aaron swoons just the same. 

“they’re measuring perfectly for 8 weeks and on my monitor here I see the heart beating but let’s hear it,” Doctor Connors says as she turns on the Doppler effect and the woosh of her heartbeat comes through. 

Y/N starts crying almost immediately, she tries so hard to hold it in but the tears run down her face, anyway.  Aaron is quick to cup her face in his hands and wipe her tears away, he presses a kiss to her cheek, “you’re okay,” he reminds her. “You’re doing so good, she’s so healthy.” 

“Very healthy,” Doctor Connors affirms. “We’re just waiting on the blood work you did in the other room to confirm, but just from the looks of things I think this is going to be a very successful pregnancy.”

“It’s my first time ever being pregnant,” Y/N shares. “I was trying for years with my ex-husband but he had a vasectomy and never told me so I always thought I couldn’t but it was him that was the issue. I’ve always wanted to see this, that’s why I’m crying.” 

“I’m so sorry,” she places her free hand on her chest. “That’s awful, I can’t believe that happened to you.” 

“It was awful… but I’m much happier on every front now,” She says as she smiles at Aaron. 

“You and me both, honey.” 

—

Aaron keeps looking in the rear-view mirror, he’s staring at Jack in the back seat. He still hasn’t told him where they’re going… Jack spent the night with Jess last night, he’s expecting to go right home but Aaron’s taking him to Y/N’s house for the first time. Y/N still doesn’t know that Aaron is working on buying the house, Jack has no idea either, so really it’s just Aaron trying to get them both used to being in that house together before he announces or proposes anything. 

At the end of the day, Jack's happiness and comfort are very important and if he isn't happy with this, Aaron will just have to find a way to make living in 2 places work for them. 

“Dad?” Jack asks from the back seat. 

“Yeah?” 

“You missed the road we take to go home…” 

“Oh… uh, I thought we could go see Y/N for dinner tonight? Is that okay?” Aaron asks, “She’s making pasta, you like pasta, right?” 

“Yeah, that’s cool,” Jack says with a smile. “I like her, she’s a good cook.” 

“She is,” Aaron smiles back. “You’re going to like her house, too, she has a big yard and a nice new couch for movies and she has Netflix, too.” 

“Oh! Yes, can we watch a movie before we leave tonight?” 

“I think that could be possible,” Aaron agrees. “But you’ll have to ask her, she worked all day and we didn’t sleep on the plane and now she’s making dinner, she’s probably going to be tired.” 

“I’ll be extra nice when I ask, I promise,” Jack says with a giddy look on his face. His shoulders rise as he clenches his fist and shimmies in his seat, overjoyed to get to spend more time with her. 

It’s everything Aaron could ever hope for and more, his two (almost 3) favourite people love to hang out together. That’s all he wanted. 

Y/N meets them outside on the front step when they arrive, she’s changed into her comfy clothes and she opens her arms wide when Jack runs towards her for a hug. “Hi buddy,” she coos, she pets his hair and gives his head a gentle kiss. “How are you?” 

“I’m good, Dad said you might be tired tonight but if you’re not can we watch another movie together?” He asks right away. 

“Oh, yeah, yeah we totally can, buddy. I’m a little tired but staying up with you is worth it,” she gives him a smile as she leads him inside. “What movie were you thinking?” 

Aaron just lets them go. He watches them talk to each other and share little smiles and laughs and he can’t believe this is his life.

When Haley died, the last thing he could imagine was feeling this in love again and the second last thing he could imagine was Jack having a motherly figure as he grew up. He was so scared to do it alone and fuck him up and then he blinked and his life fell into place once again. His son is happy, his girlfriend is happy, and their baby is healthy. There’s nothing more he could wish for. 

“You know, I actually have a surprise for both of you,” Y/N announces midway through dinner.” 

“Really?” Jack perks up. 

“Really?” Aaron is surprised, she hasn’t told him anything and normally they’re like open books with each other. 

“I saw that one of the neighbours was moving a bunk bed into the bed of her husband's truck and she said they were just going to take it to the dump because no one would answer their Craigslist add for a free bunk bed… so I took a look at it and it was in great condition and I gave her husband 50 bucks to help me put it together in one of the spare bedrooms,” she explains, smiling with all her teeth the whole time. “And then I messaged Derek and he had 2 single mattresses in the storage unit and he dropped them off for me so now Jack, you have a place to sleep here if you want to stay.” 

“I’ve never had a bunk bed before!” Jack says as he gets up from his seat at the table to run over and give her another hug. “Thank you, Y/N.” 

“You’re welcome,” she says just loud enough for him to hear. Her shoulders drop and she holds him close, resting her cheek on top of his head. “Next time we have a day off we can go pick out some stuff to decorate your room, okay?” 

She peers over to Aaron, he’s smiling at her with his heart in his eyes, “I love you,” he mouths, not yet ready for Jack to hear that but it’s true. He sometimes can’t believe the amount of love he feels for her, it’s overwhelming in the best way possible. 

After dinner, Aaron sends them both out to the living room to pick a movie and start watching it while he cleans up the kitchen for Y/N. He doesn’t know what they’re watching, but hearing them laugh together makes him smile as he fills the dishwasher and hand-washes the pots and pans she used to make the pasta. When he comes out of the kitchen, Jack is snuggled back into Y/N’s side with his hand on her belly, watching the movie without a clue that she’s carrying his little sibling in there. Aaron takes a sneaky picture of them on his cellphone, he wants to remember this moment forever. The moment both his families became one unit.

He takes a seat on her other side and she’s quick to take his hand in hers. She gives his hand a squeeze and he caresses her with his thumb, she leans over and rests her head on his shoulder, giving him the chance to press a kiss to her temple.

—

When it's time for Jack to go to bed, he sits in the bottom bunk of his new bed and he looks around the room like something is missing. “What’s wrong?” Y/N asks.

He shrugs, “Nothing.” 

Aaron isn’t in the room, he’s stepped out to the car to get Jack's overnight bag with his pjs and toothbrush, so he can’t read Jack and tell her what’s going on. She has to pry. So she takes a seat beside him, making sure she doesn’t hit her head on the top bunk and she smiles softly, “You know you can tell me anything, right?” 

He nods and bites his lip, avoiding eye contact with her. “I need a night light.” 

“Oh,” she should’ve known. “Um… I don’t have a normal night light but I have some string lights for Christmas I could put up, would that work?” 

“Yeah, I don’t like the dark,” he shares. 

“I don’t either,” she shares right back. “I think the lights are in a box under the stairs, do you want to come look with me? You can hold the flashlight?” 

“Okay!” Jack agrees pretty easily, they run down the stairs together and to the kitchen where her flashlight sits in a drawer and she gives it to him. He flicks it on and off a few times with a smile, “thank you, Y/N.” 

“You’re welcome, buddy,” she waves it off as no big deal and leads him to the cubby under the stairs. 

He stands to the side, behind her, with the light on for her so she can see into all the boxes of things she hasn’t unpacked yet. She digs for a while, both of them don’t notice that Aaron has come back in or that he’s standing in the doorway, once again listening to them. “Here they are,” she announces as she pulls out the bundle of lights. 

She holds them up to show Jack and he smiles, big and wide, “You’re the best… I really liked Beth and I was scared my dad wouldn’t find another nice lady to love like he did before with my mom but you’re even nicer. I’m really happy he loves you and you love him. He’s a lot happier now that you love him.” 

“Jack,” she swoons and wraps her arms around him, trying not to cry. “That’s the sweetest thing you could’ve ever said to me!”

“It’s just the truth,” he laughs awkwardly while hugging her back. 

When they come out of the little cubby under the stairs, they’re both shocked to see Aaron there, smiling. “Oh, hi,” Y/N smiles at him, still all teary-eyed. 

“Dad, we’re going to hang these in my room!” Jack cheers, he’s so excited. 

“Alright… with what?” Aaron asks, ready to help. 

“I have some push pins in the kitchen we can just put them in the wall and drape the lights over it,” Y/N suggests. “And then when we go out to the store for decorations we’ll get you a real night light, okay?” 

“Okay!” Jack shouts, overexcited, “You get the pins and I’ll put these upstairs!” And then he runs up the stairs to his new room. 

“You’re so good with him,” Aaron coos, wrapping his arm around her and bringing her in for a hug. He kisses the top of her head and then she looks up at him with tears in her eyes. “What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing. Nothing is wrong. I’m just so happy,” she admits. She leans in for a quick kiss, pressing her lips to his, they breathe each other in for a quick moment before pulling apart. “Are we going to tell him tomorrow?” She whispers. 

He nods, “I was thinking we could take him to the restaurant where I introduced you to him, for breakfast tomorrow, and we could tell him there?” 

“That sounds perfect,” she agrees, “you can go help him get dressed and I’ll be up in a minute, okay?” 

“Sounds good,” Aaron gives her a smile, his hand grazes her tummy as he pulls away fully and heads towards the stairs. 

She watches him go with a soft smile on her face, she just shakes her head… she can’t believe this is her life now. She has a wonderful husband, the sweetest stepson and she’s pregnant with another perfect Hotchner. What more could she ever wish for?

When she gets upstairs, Jack is in his pjs, his teeth are brushed and he’s sitting happily in his bed, waiting for Y/N to return with the lights already plugged into the wall and turned on, ready to be hung up. She hands Aaron a few pins and they each stick them in the walls, an equal distance from each other so they hang nicely. “I really hope Derek won’t mind…” 

“He won’t, it’s not going to be his house for long,” Aaron says with a sneaky smile on his face like he’s been planning something. 

She doesn’t say anything, it’s not something they need to discuss in front of Jack but if he was going to buy this house to make it their shared home, she would not be mad about that. In fact, she’d be overjoyed to have her whole family under 1 roof. 

Once the lights are up, Jack lies down in his bed against the pillows and smiles. “This is perfect.” 

“You really like it?” Y/N asks, seeking his approval. 

Jack just nods with a hum. “I’m really tired now.” 

“okay buddy, we’ll get out of your hair,” Aaron announces, moving towards the door. “Sweet dreams.” 

Y/N brushes her hand over Jack's hair and makes sure it’s out of his face and she leans down to kiss his forehead. “Thank you for a wonderful night, buddy. We’ll see you tomorrow.” 

“Is Dad going to be in your room?” 

“No, why?” Y/N shakes her head, wondering why he’d ask that. 

“If I have a bad dream, I need to know where he is… don’t most grown-ups in love sleep in the same bed?” 

“Yeah, but we didn’t think you were ready to see us sleeping together in the mornings,” Aaron answers. “Would you be okay with it?” 

Jack nods, eyelids getting heavier. “Yeah, it’s okay.” 

“Okay then, that’s where you’ll find me if you need me. I love you, buddy,” Aaron says as he flicks out the light. 

“Love you. Dad Love you, Y/N.” 

She tries so hard not to cry again, “I love you too, Jack,” she whispers and heads out with Aaron. 

They shut the door to his room once they’re out and she places her hand over his heart, “You have the sweetest son in the world.” She whispers. 

“He was never this cute with Beth, I mean, he was nice to her and he invited her to have sleepovers in the tent we made in the living room but he never told her he loved her…” 

“He’s the son of a profiler, I think he’s just good at reading people because I do love you, Aaron Hotchner, I love you so much,” she drapes her arms over his shoulders and smiles up at him. 

He wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her in close so their tummies touch, “I love you, too… Y/N Hotchner.” 

Her brows raise at that, surprised, “really? I didn’t think you wanted to get married again?” 

“I didn’t either,” he admits. “Come on, let’s go hang out before bed.” 

“Once I go down the stairs I don’t know if I’ll have the energy to come back up,” she admits. “Can we hang out in my room?” 

“Yeah, of course,” Aaron doesn’t mind as she pulls away, he simply runs his hands over her upper arms and smiles. “Anything you want from downstairs? I’m going to go lock up and make sure everything’s secure, maybe grab a water for myself.” 

“Um, maybe a water and a ginger ale for if I get nauseous in the night and some crackers?” 

“You got it, go get in bed and I’ll be right back up.” 

She goes right to her room after that, she changes for bed and does her night routine in the bathroom. She’s midway through putting lotion on her belly and hips when she hears the alarm system turn on with its signature charm and then the sound of feet on the staircase. He puts everything on her night table and then peeks into the bathroom, standing in the doorway with a smile when he sees her shirt up, exposing her belly, as she rubs lotion over it. 

“What?” She asks, “Never seen a pregnant lady try to avoid stretch marks before?” 

“You’re just so beautiful,” he muses. 

“Well, then, look all you want,” she teases. 

He steps into the bathroom and makes his way to her, he places both his hands on her belly and he shakes his head in disbelief. He knees to the ground and places a kiss on her belly, “You know they can hear around 18 weeks? So I’ll get to talk to them in a few weeks.” 

“I did know that,” she smiles down at him. “I’ve read all the books, you know? I had 8 years to prepare for this.” 

He kisses her belly again and again, his hands wrap around to her lower back and one drops down to cup her ass, bringing her in closer to him. He hugs her that way, resting his cheek against her belly. “I can’t wait to talk to you, sweetheart.” 

“You really think it’s a girl?” 

He nods, “Yeah, I do. But even if I’m wrong, I’m just so excited to get to bond with them. When Haley was pregnant, I wasn’t home very often, I felt like I missed almost everything and then when Jack was born I did miss all the big moments. I wasn’t a good dad until she died and I had to be. I don’t want to do that this time.” 

“I don’t think you were a bad dad, there are mothers who work and don’t see their kids often, too, you know? Do you consider JJ a bad mom because she missed Henry's first word and she wasn’t there when he walked for the first time? No. You don’t,” she points out. “You were working, and so was she. Working didn’t stop you from loving him with your whole heart, that right there, loving him, all of him, is the most important part of being a good parent.” 

“God, I love you,” Aaron sighs, his shoulders drop and he looks up at her with the softest expression. “Thank you.” 

“Come here,” she says, placing her hands under his armpits she helps pull him back up to his feet and then she wraps her arms around his middle and leans in for a kiss. She whispers against his lips, “Come to bed with me?”

“Always.” 

—

When Jack wakes up in the morning he unplugs the Christmas lights and carefully opens his door so he doesn’t wake anyone up. He knows he has a tendency to wake up extra early, and he doesn’t have a clock in his new room so he has no way of knowing if it’s a good time to wake up or not. He simply goes to the bathroom, brushes his teeth and heads downstairs to look at the time. 

It’s almost 7, his normal wake-up time for school, and his Dads normal wake-up time for work, so he doesn’t feel bad going back up the stairs and knocking on Y/N’s door. 

“Come in,” Y/N answers from inside, so Jack opens it slowly. 

“Hi,” he smiles once he’s inside.

“Good morning, buddy,” she smiles back, blinking into the morning light, slowly waking up. She’s on her side, cuddled into a pillow with Aaron cuddled up behind her, his arm slung around her and cupping her stomach. “Did you sleep okay?” 

He nods as he makes his way over to the bed. “Yeah, did you?” 

She nods and Aaron groans behind her, “What time is it?” 

“Seven,” Jack answers. “I can go back to my room if—

“No, no, it’s fine,” Y/N stops him. “Do you want to climb in with us for a bit? We’re going to go out for breakfast later.” 

She moves the pillow she was cuddling to the floor and lets Jack take its place. He snuggles right in and sighs as he relaxes. “Where?”

“At McGillicuddy’s,” Aaron answers. “You like the pancakes there, right?” 

“Yeah, but it’s not a special day? We only go on special days?” 

“Every day with you is special,” Y/N teases, she snuggles him in closer and kisses his cheek.

“Okay,” Jack laughs, a sweet pink blush on his cheeks. 

Y/N lays on her side still, cuddled into Jack, as Hotch sits up and rests his hand on Y/Ns shoulder and then rests his chin on his hand. He tilts his head to the side and smiles, he hasn’t had a morning lay-in with his family in a long time. Jack hasn’t either. He smiles back at his dad, “Did you sleep okay?”

“We did,” Aaron answers for them both. “How were the lights?” 

“Good, I didn’t get scared when I woke up to roll over,” Jack shares. “I really liked my new bed, too.” 

“I’m glad,” Aaron says with a sigh, he’s still tired and Jack can tell. “Do you want to go get ready? There are some extra clothes in your overnight bag.” 

“Not yet,” Jack snuggles in even closer to Y/N and holds onto the arm she has slung over his chest. “I want a few more minutes before everything changes.” 

“What do you mean?” Y/N doesn’t understand. “Nothing's changing? We’re just going to get breakfast.” 

“Okay,” Jack whispers. “It’s just… Dad took me to Disney World when him and Beth broke up, I know he takes me places when he has big news.” 

“You took him to Disney world for that?” Y/N turns to him, she can’t believe she didn’t know that. 

“Yeah, I thought he’d take the news better if he was having fun,” Aaron explains, he rubs his hand over his eyes and shakes his head, “I’m sorry, Jack, I don’t want you to equate bad news with your favourite places, I didn’t mean to do that.” 

“So it really is just a trip to get pancakes?” Jack sits up and looks at them both. “You’re not breaking up?” 

“No, we’re not, sweetheart, I promise,” Y/N assures him as she takes his hands in her own. “I love your dad, I’m never leaving him… we did want to tell you something though.” 

“Y/N,” Aaron warns, he didn’t want to do it this way. 

“Aaron, he’s scared, we have o tell him the truth,” she says as she sits up as well. She rests against the headboard and lets the blankets pool around her waist. She runs her hands over her shirt-covered tummy, “I’m pregnant, Jack.” 

His eyes light right up, “really?” He goes to touch her belly but he doesn’t, he holds himself back. He doesn’t know if it would be weird or not. 

She nods, “Yeah, I’m far enough along now that I know the baby is safe and healthy and hopefully, nothing bad can happen to it now, which is why I wanted to tell you. I didn’t want to get your hopes up if I lost it, but you’re going to have a sibling.” 

“Are you okay with this, buddy?” Aaron asks, overanalyzing his facial expressions. 

Jack starts to cry a bit as he nods, “I’m going to be a brother?” 

“Yeah…” Y/N wants to cry too, so she rubs his arm. “It’s okay, Jack, you can be emotional.” 

He covers his face as he cries, “I’m so happy, I promise!” 

Y/N pulls him into a hug, crying now as well, “I’m so happy you’re happy, Jack, I’ve wanted to tell you for so long now. It was so hard keeping it a secret.” 

He hugs her so tight, he rests his cheek on her shoulder and reaches out for his dad to pull him into the hug as well. So Aaron wraps his arm around them and presses his cheek to Jack's head. When he pulls back, so does Jack, he wipes his tears and smiles with all his teeth, “Do you know what it is?” 

Y/N shakes her head, “Not yet, we find out next weekend. You can come with us if you want?” 

“I want to,” he agrees. “Are we still going to get pancakes?”

Y/N and Aaron laugh, “Yeah buddy, we can,” Aaron agrees. “Do you want to go get ready now?” 

He nods and bounces on the bed a bit before moving to hop off. As soon as his feet hit the floor he runs out the door and down the hall to his own room. He’s quick to change and then he has to wait. Y/N takes a bit longer than he and his dad to get ready, she wants to look pretty and he understands that, but he already thinks she’s the prettiest girl in the world. 

He even tells his dad that. 

“I know, I tell her all the time,” Aaron says with a blushy smile.  “I’m really proud of you, you know that, right? You’ve been so kind and accepting of our relationship and Y/N’s always wanted a baby, so you being happy with her dream coming true means a lot to her.” 

“Really? I didn’t know that.” 

Aaron just nods, “she was married before too, but her ex-husband wasn’t a nice guy and made her feel bad for wanting a baby so bad—

“Did he not want kids?” 

“No, and he lied to her. You know how babies are made, you said so yourself… well, he had a surgery done to stop him from being able to get anyone pregnant and never told her so she thought she didn’t have any good eggs, he made her feel really sad all the time. All I want is to make her happy, and that means making sure you have a good relationship with her too because we’re going to be one big family in 6 months,” Aaron explains it all to the best of his ability. 

“Oh,” Jack sits back, sad for her. “That was mean of him.” 

“He was really mean.” 

“That makes me sad… Y/N is so nice, she didn’t deserve that,” Jack says. It’s really mature of him, he feels really bad for her. 

“I know, but she’s really happy now with us,” Aaron assures. He places his hand on Jacks shoulder and smiles. “I promised to always make her happy, I’m glad you want to, too.” 

And he does. He wants to make her the happiest and he thinks he knows how. 

At the restaurant, they all order pancakes and a few sides, and as soon as the waitress walks away, Jack stands up. “I have to pee.” 

“you know where the bathroom is?” Aaron asks, making sure he’s okay to go alone.

He nods, “I’ll be back.” 

He walks towards the bathroom, which is right beside the kitchen, and out of view from their table. He stands in the doorway and waves his waitress over. “Excuse me?” 

“Did you forget to order something?” 

He shakes his head, “My stepmom is having a baby, can you write ‘congratulations mom’ on her pancakes with chocolate syrup like they wrote happy birthday for my birthday last year?” 

She swoons, “of course, we can! That’s so sweet of you to ask, she’s going to love it.” 

Jack thanks her and does head to the bathroom after, just to make sure they believed where he went. When he comes back, they carry on a conversation like normal, they ask Jack about school and he asks about work and when he’ll get to see Derek and Spencer again, he loves his uncles a lot. He has a playdate with Henry this week, so they’ll get to bond over being big brothers together and Jacks is so overjoyed with the news. He thought he’d have to just watch Henry get a brother and not get to know what it’s like, but now he will. Secretly, he hopes it's a boy, but if he got a sister he’d be okay with that too. He’d love her just as much. 

“Okay, I have pancakes and bacon for Dad,” the waitress says as she places a plate in front of Aaron. “Pancakes with extra syrup on the side for the little guy… and I’ll be back with yours.” 

“Okay,” Y/N smiles at her, she doesn’t mind waiting. 

It takes all of 2 minutes for her to return, the waitress smiles so big the whole room shines. “Here you go, Mom,” she says as she places the plate in front of her.

Y/N’s jaw drops, “how did— Jack?” She knew it was him by the way he giggles and rubs his hands together. “Did you ask them to do this?”

He nods, “it’s a special breakfast, you said so yourself.” 

Aaron looks over at her plate and reads the “congrats mom” written on the top pancake. Even he swoons. 

“Jack, thank you,” Y/N says, she gets up and hugs him in the middle of the restaurant. 

“You’re welcome,” he says with his face pressed to her tummy from their height difference. “I’m really happy for you and my dad, I always wanted a brother or sister… and secretly,” he whispers to her and she moves down so he can speak just to her. He cups his hand over her ear, “I wanted a step mom after my mom died.” 

She hugs him again, even tighter. “I love you, Jack, I really mean it.” 

“I love you, too.” 

—

 She brings a box of donuts into the office on Monday morning, the team watches with wide eyes as she sets the pink box down on the conference table, ready to attack like Vultures. “I know you guys already guessed and probably have a bet going, but, I wanted to tell you all… I’m pregnant too!” 

“Ah!” They all shout as they stand up to congratulate her, they surround her with hugs and questions and happiness. 

“Two BAU babies in one year, what am I going to do?” Penelope teases. “Should we do a combined shower?” 

“Y/N gets the shower,” JJ insists. “This is my second baby, I already have everything I need from the last time, we should celebrate her.” 

“Okay, so a shower and a sprinkle,” Penelope compromises. 

“I’d love that, thank you, Penny,” Y/N smiles at her and then turns to look out the window to see her boyfriend talking to Anderson in the bullpen. “I’m not sure what’s going on, but Aaron will be up in a minute, he’s got some news for you too.” 

“Here,” Spencer rushes over to help Y/N get into a seat. “You don’t need to be standing anymore.” 

“Thanks,” she loves being pampered like this. “I’m still going to come out with you guys for a few more weeks, I’ll be moving to official desk duty at 20, maybe 25 weeks.” 

“I’m not sitting out till my water breaks,” JJ teases. “And if this is anything like the first time, it’ll probably happen around 37 weeks.” 

“He’s your second boy though, he might be a bit lazier,” Y/N says, she’s read all the books, and she’s talked to all the moms. Second boys typically stay in longer than usual.

“Do you know what you’re having yet?” Derek asks, he’s known the longest so this isn’t really a shock to him. 

She shakes her head. “We find out on Saturday, but we think she’s a girl,” she runs her hand over her belly with a smile. “Jack wants a brother to be like Henry but he said he’ll still be happy with a sister, too.” 

“How's that going to work? You and Aaron making a family while he has Jack and their own apartment?” Spencer asks, always wondering about the logistics. 

She shrugs, “I think he’s planning to move Jack and himself in with me but we haven’t talked about it… I’d be fine with it, I’m just worried we’re moving too fast and Jack's going to have a hard time with it all. I mean, I’m not his mom, I can’t replace her and I don’t want to, but the kid is so darn cute and I love him to bits. Playing happy family with him would be easy.”

“Have you talked to him?” Derek asks. 

She nods, “We wanted to take him out for pancakes yesterday and he thought because Aaron only takes him there for big news, that we were breaking up. So we had to tell him before we left and he’s happy, so, so happy he cried… and then he got the waitress to put ‘congrats mom’ on my pancakes. He has a room at my place now, too, and we’re going to go shopping after the ultrasound this weekend. He’s really happy with all this, I’m just scared it won’t last.” 

“He is a sweet kid,” JJ agrees. “I can have Will talk to him when he comes over this week? See how he really feels about all this?” 

“Yeah, that would be good,” Y/N nods. 

“Can I say something?” Spencer interjects. He waits for a nod and then continues. “If someone loved my mom the way you love Aaron and they entered my life when I was 10, right after my dad left, and loved me and cared for me and made a conscious effort to make sure I felt safe and included… it would’ve made a world of difference for me. Having just 1 parent who isn’t around very much is difficult, but you’re making that hurt a bit less for him. When he says he loves you, he means it. Believe me.” 

“Oh spence,” her heart breaks for him. “I had no idea?” 

He shrugs, “newer members wouldn’t… but it’s okay, I have my family here, my childhood just pushed me to get here.” 

Derek reaches over and rubs Spencer's arm, “and we love ya, kid.” 

Spencer just nods, he bites his lip as if there’s more and he doesn’t know what to do and then it all pours out of him. “I uh… I don’t want to make this about me, please don’t—

“It’s okay, Spence,” Y/N sits up a bit straighter and stares at him with a comforting look, “We’re here for you, whatever it is.” 

“My mom's doctor called me and he thinks she might be exhibiting signs of Alzheimer's and they don’t know what to do for her because they’re not a nursing home, they’re a sanatarium,” he explains with teary eyes. “I really don’t know what to do, either.” 

“Bring her out here, we can get her into a facility closer to you and Will and I can help out,” JJ offers. “The boys can call her grandma, we can visit when I’m on maternity leave and you’re on a case, we can take care of her.” 

“And we’ll bring Jack and the baby around too,” Y/N adds. “I’ll be off for the whole year after, maybe longer. I would love to go check on her for you.” 

“We could even reach out to Dave and see if we can borrow his plane cause she doesn’t like to fly,” Penelope is already in planning mode. “We can make it as easy as possible for her.” 

“You guys would really do that for her?” Spencer asks, so close to really crying. 

“Of course, we would,” Derek says, still rubbing his arm to comfort him.

Aaron walks into the room then, “What’s happening?” 

Spencer panics, suddenly feeling bad for sharing his personal life on company time like this is a bad thing. Y/N can see it on her face so she jumps in, “We’re just sharing some personal stuff… I can catch you up later, honey.”

“Okay…” Aaron takes a seat at the table, hesitantly. “But everything’s fine?” 

They all nod, “congrats by the way,” Derek throws in. 

“Oh, thanks,” Aaron starts to smile, overjoyed that everyone knew now. “As you all know, I didn’t really take time off with Jack, so I will be taking 6 months of paternity leave starting mid-September, and my replacement will be Derek. We still need to figure out who will bump up into Derek's space for the time I’m away, but we have lots of time for that.” 

“I would do it, but,” JJ points down at her bump and shrugs. 

“I have reached out to Emily,” Aaron adds. “She’s thinking about it, but if she says no, Spencer I would love—

“I can’t,” Spencer immediately cuts him off. “I have too much on my plate right now, I wouldn’t be the best choice.” 

“Okay, well, maybe one of our new members would be willing to step up,” Hotch slides that in. The rest of them don’t even know who’s joining the team yet.

“Do we know them?” JJ asks. 

He nods, “Dr. Tara Lewis is going to start next month. She’s a forensic psychologist who’s spent the last 4 years interviewing psychopathic criminals to ensure they’re fit for trial, she has a lot of insight on the criminals we’ve caught and she’ll be very handy going forward. However, the reason I’m so late is because I was telling the new guy where to put his things.”

“He’s starting today?” Y/N lights up. “Oh, you guys are going to love him. His name is Luke Alvez, he’s from the fugitive task force and he has a cute German Shepard he got when he came home from Iraq and he’s just amazing.” 

“Wow, that’s high praise coming for you,” Derek teases. 

“Oh hush,” she pushes back. “Aarons the first real man I’ve ever been into, I’m not normally one for the manly, in charge, leader types—

“Okay,” Aaron reaches over to hold her hand and make her stop, he’s getting a bit blushy. “Before we all get written up, the new guy is coming up in a second and we do have a case to get to.”

“That we do,” Penelope stands up with the remote in her hands. “The wheel has been spun and your destination is sunny southern California.”

—

This case is a slow one. 3 bodies over 6 months caused the case to pass by his desk and be on his radar, however, the 4th body was found only 2 weeks after the 3rd and now they’re officially on the case… but they still don’t have enough information. Knowing the timeline, a 5th body should drop within the week with a slue of new evidence for them to look over live and in person. Until then, they all head back to their hotel rooms for some much-needed rest and alone time. 

Aaron leads her from the elevator to their room, he’s carrying both bags while she opens the door and lets them inside. He places the bags on the floor by the dresser with a sigh. “I am exhausted.” 

“Me too,” she agrees with a matching sigh. She places her hands on her hips and sticks her belly out, trying to stretch her back which hurts more and more as their baby grows. 

“Do you want to hop in the shower with me and then we can go to bed?” Aaron asks. 

She nods and makes her way to the bathroom, she turns on the shower and immediately starts to undress. Aaron watches her with a delicate yes, unbuttoning each button on his dress shirt as slowly as possible so he can appreciate her as she gets naked. 

“You coming?” She asks as she steps into the shower, wondering why he’s taking so long to strip.

“Mhm,” he nods, “am I not allowed to admire you?” 

She gives him a knowing look, dipping her head and looking at him through her lashes, “I thought you were tired?” 

“Last time I was tired after a shower, I got you pregnant,” he reminds her. 

She just laughs, “We haven’t had much time to fuck since I got pregnant, have we?” 

He strips out of his shirt and pushes his pants to the ground, “not really, but I don’t mind.”

“I do,” she whines. “There’s nothing I want more than to spend all my time with you in our bed, making up for lost time and appreciating what little we have left before we have a baby… but I feel weird doing it with Jack in the house.” 

“He’s a heavy sleeper and he knocks before entering,” Aaron assures her. 

“Still feels weird.”

Aaron doesn’t fight her, he just gets into the shower with her and watches her relax under the water. They wash off the day with complimentary body wash and share little conversations about their co-workers and even the case. They share sweet glances and soft touches and they don’t want to get out even though they know they should. She just wraps her arms around him and rests her cheek on his chest as the water cascades down her body and his strong hands hold her close. 

Out of the shower, Aaron brings her all of her lotions and creams and he sets her pjs down on the bed to wait for her. He changes into fresh boxers, he checks his phone and hops into their single queen size bed all alone and awaiting her return to his side. When she does return, she smells good and she’s soft and she doesn’t change into her pjs… she stands at the foot of the bed and drops her towel, naked and on show just for him. 

“I think that shower just woke me up, if anything.” 

He smirks, throwing the blankets back, he beckons her closer. “Come on then,” he says, sitting up a bit so he can push his boxers off his hips and slip them down his legs. 

She climbs onto the bed, crawling on her knees towards him, she helps him remove his boxers and toss them to the floor before she takes a seat in his lap. His hands soothe over her thighs, up to her hips and then her pretty little bump. He smirks, keeping his dirty comments to himself. 

The head of his cock brushed her clit as she ground down on him, his hands found her hips once more as he instinctively helped her find a rhythm. He could feel how wet she was, helping her glide over him so easily, her breath hitched every time her hips bucked, she was enjoying herself just like this. It made him even more excited. She leaned in then, kissing his neck as she continued to grind down on him.

“I need you,” he gasped.

She smiled against his skin, lifting her hips enough for him to line up with her before she started to sink down on him. “Fuck,” she gasped as she sat down fully, her hands resting on Aaron's shoulders as she tried to get used to it all. Lifting herself up and grinding down little by little to get the rhythm going again.

Aaron held close as he scoots down the bed a bit, he lays back against the pillows while she stays sitting up. She rests her hands on his chest now, using him for leverage to ride him. He grips her ass, helping her rut against him but it’s hard. She really is tired and riding him takes a lot of effort with a basketball-sized bump between them. She leans in to kiss him on the lips, holding his face with one of her hands. Aaron's hands encapsulate her back, his big strong hands hold her closer

“Fuck,” he groaned, bending his knees, he pile drives up into her over and over. 

She’s been a lot more sensitive since getting pregnant, the simplest, lightest touch to her clit could get her off. Each and every time their bodies connect, his groin slams against her swollen clit, exciting her more and more. 

“I’m so close,” she whispered in his ear, kissing his cheek and resting her open mouth against his. They weren’t kissing, they were panting over each other with their foreheads resting together. “Aaron,” she whines, a bit louder than she expected to be. 

Euphoria fills the empty spaces between them as she came, gasping and shaking over him. He’s right there behind her, sucked in deeper than before, she tightens around him and his hips sputter as he finishes deep inside her. She collapses against him only moments before she lifts her hips and rolls off of him and onto her side of the bed. Still breathing heavily, she covers her face with her arm and melts into the bed. “Holy fuck…” 

Aaron laughs as he turns to his side and cuddles into her, his head on her shoulder and hand on her stomach. “Feel better?” He teases. 

She nods, breathing steadying out. “Too tired to change now.” 

“You gotta pee, too,” he reminds her and sits up. “Come on, the quicker we do this, the quicker we can go to bed.” 

She sighs as she sits up, but she knows he’s right. He helps her back to her feet and he changes while she goes to the bathroom. When she comes back, he hands her her underwear to put on and helps her into a shirt, they fluff their pillows and get under the covers together and go right back to cuddling. 

Aaron has an alarm set for tomorrow morning and the lights turn off. It’s quiet as they lay there, holding one another. “I love you,” Aaron reminds her.

“I love you, too,” she replies, smiling to herself. 

He can sense she wants to keep talking until they fall asleep, she usually does. It’s something he loves about falling asleep beside her, she tells him anything and everything on her mind and it’s always sweet. 

“What are you thinking about?” He asks. 

“Baby names… after Saturday we’ll know who they are and we’ll have to start to really think about a name that suits them,” she explains. “You remember back when the divorce went through and we were talking about names you liked when you thought Jack was going to be a girl?” 

He hums, “like it was yesterday.” 

“I keep thinking about Juliet and how you said you like it… but I like it with e-t-t-e on the end, Juliette Hotchner.” 

“Oh,” Aaron's heart flutters. It sounds perfect for his little girl… if he ever gets his dream of having one. A tear bubbles in his eyes, “yeah. Yeah, it sounds perfect.” 

She places his hand over his, cupping her belly, and she grips it tight. He snuggles in even closer, he kisses her shoulder and lets the tears fall down. “I love you and our family.” 

“We love you even more.” 

—

The case ends mid-day on Friday, but by the time the plane is ready and they’re taking off, Jack is already going to bed back in D.C. with Haley’s sister, Jessica, watching over him. They land around 9pm EST and go right to Y/N’s house to sleep. Aaron texted Jess around 10, telling her that he’d be over in the morning. 

When they show up Saturday morning, Jess is standing in the doorway of Aaron's apartment with a smile. “I have a proposition for you…” 

“Okay?” Aaron is a bit hesitant. 

“My girlfriend is getting into photography again and she’s trying to set up her portfolio, would you guys like some free maternity photos?” 

Y/N's eyes light up, she doesn’t know if Jess means girlfriend like a Girlfriend or like how some women call all their friends girl-friends… either way, she’s excited. “I’d love that!” 

“She’s really nice, you’ll like her,” Jack adds, apparently he’s already met her. 

“Oh,” Aarons just as shocked about it. “When did you meet her?”

“On Tuesday,” Jess admits. “We already had dinner plans so she brought some takeout over and we all ate here, I hope that’s okay?” 

“Oh, yeah, that’s fine. I’m happy you have someone, Jess,” Aaron admits, he’d never say it but he had his suspicions the longer she went without ever having a boyfriend. 

She smiles even more, “Thanks, Aaron… uh, her name is Mel, by the way, she heard Jack talking about you being pregnant and she really wanted to do a shoot for you whenever you’re free.”

“I mean if tomorrow is too soon—

“Tomorrow could work, I can ask her?” Jess jumps in before Y/N even finishes her suggestion. 

Y/N reaches out for Jess’ hand and pulls her close, she hugs her, “I’m so glad you’re okay with all of this.” 

Jess holds her close, resting her chin on her shoulder. “Haley would’ve liked you, you know,” she whispers. 

“Don’t make me cry,” Y/N tries to laugh it off, it’s weird to think how much different all this would be if she was still alive. “I’m going to do enough crying this afternoon.” 

“You find out the gender today, right?” Jess asks as she pulls back. 

Y/N nods, “I’m so excited to know, then we can move on to naming them.” 

“Them?” 

“Oh, no, it’s just one, I just find calling them ‘it’ is weird and calling them she when we don’t even know is making me feel bad cause what if I get attached to them being a girl and then they’re not? You know?” 

“Oh, okay I thought you were having twins I was like… how are you going to do that with Aaron being gone all the time?” 

“I’m taking 6 months paternity leave,” Aaron says and he doesn’t look too happy about the way Jess said that. “I’m still sorry I wasn’t always there for Jack, but they don’t need me as much as they did back then. I had 4 new members, and we were getting the team off the ground again. I can leave easier this time.” 

“What do you mean, Dad?” Jack asks, not ever thinking anything was wrong about his childhood. 

“I’m sorry,” Jess slips in first. “I didn’t mean it like that.” 

Aaron sighs and he ruffles Jack's hair, “I worked a lot when you were a baby.” 

“But you saved people, that’s worth it,” Jack understands.

“He did,” Jess agrees too, even though he couldn’t save the one person that meant the most to all of them. 

“Okay,” Y/N cuts into the tension with a knife. “Jack, are you ready to go? I was thinking we could go shopping before the appointment instead, okay?” 

He nods, “I have to grab my backpack.” 

“Where are you guys going to go?” Jess asks as she grabs her purse, she’s going to leave now too. 

“Ikea,” Y/N enthuses. “We’re going to get a lot of stuff, so hopefully it all fits in the SUV.”

“If not, their delivery options aren’t too bad,” Jess eases her mind. “And I’m free most of the time so if it delivers while you’re gone I can be there for you.” 

“Thank you,” Y/N really appreciates it. 

“Okay, I’m ready!” Jack cheers as he comes running back.

They all take the elevator down to the parking lot, they say goodbye to Jess and Aaron helps Jack into the back of the SUV. “Have you been thinking about your new room, bud?” Aaron asks. 

He nods, “Can we do a superhero theme?” 

“Absolutely,” Y/N’s actually excited about that. “Are we thinking Batman and Superman or Iron Man and Captain America?”

“The X-men…” 

“Oh,” she’s surprised by that. “That sounds cool, we can get some Wolverine sheets and some artwork of the beast and Professor X? Maybe even something for Mystique, she’s my favourite.” 

Jack’s smile lights up his whole face, he can’t believe she knows this much about the X-Men, it’s impressive. So much so, that he feels comfortable completely geeking out with her on the drive to Ikea. He talks nonstop about his favourite comics, the characters and their plots, explaining to her just how cool he thinks Jean Grey is and how he can’t wait to see them make a movie about her one day. What Jack doesn’t know is that while they’re talking, Y/N is searching the internet on her phone for some cool posters about the characters he says he loves so his room can be fully decorated to reflect his passions. 

When they arrive, Jack is so full of energy he takes Y/N’s hand and he drags her into the store, raving on about what colours he wants his sheets to be and how happy he is to have a room he can decorate again. 

“I even asked Derek if we can paint the walls and do wallpaper and he said we can do what ever we want in there,” Y/N explains, “we can fully redecorate it together.”

“That’s because it’s not Dereks house anymore,” Aaron throws in, making them both turn to him with shocked expressions. 

“What?” Y/N asks, not knowing anything about this. 

“I bought it… I wanted our family to have a place to grow and be happy altogether and it’s perfect for us, there’s room for Jack to have his own room, the baby has a room and there’s a 4th room for if we ever have more, it’s perfect for us so now it’s ours. The papers are all ready, we just have to sign them on Monday.”

“Oh my god!” Y/N cheers a bit too loudly for being in the store. “Aaron?” 

“When do we move in?” Jack asks, getting right to the important stuff. 

Aaron laughs as he wraps his arm around Y/N and pulls them both into a hug. “You two get along so famously I couldn’t keep us separate anymore.” 

“I love you,” she rushes out. She can’t find any other words that fit the situation, she just loves him and how much he thinks about their family. 

—

With 40 minutes to get to their appointment, they finally check out with more things than they expected to buy. They got night lights, bed sheets, burp cloths, swaddle blankets, stuffed toys, a crib and baby mattress, mattress protectors, room decor and trinkets, shelves, a changing table and even ordered a rocking chair to be delivered sometime next week… they not only found everything for Jack but the baby’s room as well. 

The baby they’re about to know a little bit more about in a few minutes. 

They say hi to Savannah in the ER and then make their way up to the Obstetrics floor. They have a short sit in the waiting room and then they’re ushered into a little room with ultrasound equipment. Jack and Aaron sit side by side in two chairs while Y/N’s on the exam table, her shirt up over her belly and pants unbuckled with a piece of absorbent towel tucked into them to catch the excess jelly. And they wait. 

“Have you ever seen an ultrasound before, Jack?” Y/N asks. 

He shakes his head, “No… does it hurt?” 

She laughs lightly, “No, buddy, it doesn’t hurt. They use sound waves to see through skin and tissue and observe the baby inside the amniotic fluid.”

“Cool!” Jack nods, sitting up in his seat and wiggling excitedly. 

“Knock knock,” Dr. Connors says as she opens the door. “Oh my, we have a full house today.” 

“Jack, this is our doctor, Sam Connors,” Aaron introduces her. “Sam, this is my son, Jack.” 

“Hi,” he waves to her.

“Welcome, welcome,” she smiles at him. “Are you guys ready to know the gender or are we keeping it a secret?” 

“We’re ready,” Y/N’s quick to answer. She’s giddy with excitement. “You can tell us when you know, we’re not doing a party or anything so you don’t have to write it down like some couples ask you to.” 

“Oh, good that makes this easier for me,” Dr. Conners lets out a sigh of relief. “Its so hard not to slip up and say the right pronoun after I see what’s goin’ on.” 

“We’re ready,” Y/N says with an unbreakable smile. “So, so ready.” 

“And I have to remind you that because this is the 12 weeks can the gender can be hard to tell, we can do blood testing to double check but if they’re in the right position I can probably tell,” she adds. 

“That’s okay, I know sometimes people wait 'till 20 weeks but if you can tell now, I want to know now,” Y/N adds. 

Dr. Connors is quick to squeeze some warmed jelly onto her belly, she grabs the wand and starts to search for their ever-growing little one. She mumbles to herself, “There you are,” as the baby pops up on the screen. “I’m just going to go through and take some measurements and mark the important things and then I’ll turn to you, okay?” 

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Y/N nods. 

Holding Aaron's hand as he sits beside her, she squeezes him for reassurance. And he squeezes back 3 times. A silent “I love you” just for them to know about. 

Time tends to stand still in moments like these. The week of waiting blew by, she can’t believe that this time last week she was putting a bunk bed in jacks room, nervous as hell to tell him about the baby and now they’re all in a room waiting to see said baby. Jack's giddy, she’s overjoyed and Aaron… Aaron glows. His eyes gleam, and his smile is small but it packs a punch with all the emotions he’s trying so hard to conceal. he’s the strong stoic type on the outside, but inside he is a proud father, a loving life partner and the most gentle, beautiful, wonderful man she’s ever known in her whole life. 

There was a time when she only looked at him like her boss. Her hot boss, but her superior nonetheless. Somewhere between realizing the team was her new family and getting to know him as a lifeline and not a leader, she fell in love with him. It was seamless, too. The way she fell out of love with Peter and into love with Aaron, her heart ebbed and flowed with the emotions and the hurt wasn’t too bad because she had him… she doesn’t know pain because Aaron hasn’t left her, and my god, she hopes he never does. 

“Okay,” Sam announces, ripping Y/N from her thoughts. She turns the screen to them and flicks through the screenshots she has taken with labels on everything. “Everything looks good, we’re measuring at 3.6 millimetres, which is just point 1 more than the average ‘normal’ length. Their heart and brain are looking good. On your last blood test, all the screenings came back negative and I’m not seeing any abnormalities or defects, either.” 

Jack's now standing beside her on the table, he wants to be as close as possible to see the baby. “It doesn’t look like a baby,” he exclaims. 

“It’s hard to see but here,” Sam flicks back to the live screen and moves the wand so the baby is in a better position. “This is the head, this is their spine, you can see their little arms and legs here… it’s super tiny, about the size of a plum, or a crab apple. You could hold it in just one hand, that’s how tiny a baby is at 12 weeks.” 

“Oh,” Jacks a bit taken aback by that. “how many more weeks are left?” 

“28,” Y/N is quick to reply, she’s been counting down since week 1. 

“Wow,” he breathes out, his shoulders dropping and all the tension leaves his body. “Do you know if it's a girl or a boy yet?” 

Sam nods, “I do… do you want to come over and read the screen for me?” 

He nods and walks over to her on the other side of the table, Sam turns the screen to him and flicks back to one of the screenshots with the gender labelled. “You see right there, what does it say?” 

Jack gasps and tears bubble in his eyes, and for a split second, Y/N’s heart drops. She’s sure he’s about to read that it’s a boy. He wanted a brother. She had it wrong in her mind this whole time… and then he says it. 

“Female… I’m having a sister.” 

Y/N cries out a happy sob, she clutches her eyes shut and covers her face with her free hand. She can’t believe it. She’s going to have a little girl, a tiny mini-me… or maybe a headstrong, confident little girl who mirrors her dad. Either way, she’s beyond happy. 

Aaron rubs her arm, also crying, “Happy tears?” 

At first, all she can do is nod as she calms down. “I can’t believe we were right,” she says through the tears. “Oh my god!” 

“Congrats, guys,” Sam swoons. She’s overjoyed by this reaction, “I’m going to print out a bunch of pictures for you—

“Can I have one?” Jack asks, cutting her off. 

“Of course,” Sam doesn’t mind. She prints out a long strand of photos from every angle, some with descriptions and some without. And she prints out another single sheet of the best photo just for Jack. 

Dr. Connors cleans up her belly, goes over a few more things and they schedule another appointment for 20 weeks. She has Sam’s number if they need to contact her before then, but after that, they’re good to go home. 

Aaron texts Jess the good news while Y/N is readjusting her pants and giving her belly an extra wipe down before she lowers her shirt, the jelly is so sticky after it dries she still doesn’t feel totally clean but it’s the best she can do right now. 

Jess has talked to Mel and she is free tomorrow so they’re going to be able to take lots of early maternity photos and they have enough ultrasound pics to include in the shoot. Y/N's mind is racing the whole way back to the car about what she wants to do, what she’ll wear, where they’ll take them… she’s never gotten this far before. She never thought she would. 

“Hey, Aaron,” she asks quietly in the car. 

“Hm?” He hums, keeping his eyes on the road but one hand comes off the steering wheel to hold hers over the centre console. 

“Would you be okay with me posting some of the photos on my Facebook? I haven’t even told my parents yet and I kinda want to just announce to everyone at the same time…” 

“Yeah, that would be okay with me,” He doesn’t mind at all. 

“Okay good, I know you don’t have an account and Jess and JJ aren’t allowed to post Jack but, I just want to post something about this,” she explains. 

It's actually something she admires about him, the way he keeps Jack safe from the creeps of the world. It's so easy for people to see his name on the news when he does press conferences and google him that he worries someone could find out about Jack and snatch him up as revenge or just because they could… they’ve seen way too much at work to not be helicopter parents. 

“I won’t post her face or anything when she’s born and Penelope helped me with my safety features when I first joined the team, so we’ll be safe… I just always dreamed about posting a bump photo and telling everyone about my baby one day.”

“I trust your judgement, sweetheart,” he says, caressing her hand with his thumb. “She’s not just my baby, you can set boundaries for her too.” 

“I know… sometimes I forget you’re not like him,” she whispers. 

“Like who?” Jack asks, cause of course he was listening in.

“Uh…” she looks to Aaron for some support, she has no idea what’s appropriate to tell him and what isn’t. 

“Remember I told you she had a mean ex-husband?” Aaron asks, looking at Jack through the rearview. 

He nods. “Yeah…”

“His name was Peter and he was a bit of a control freak, he’s like one of those mean kids at school who make you follow all the rules to a game and will stop the game to tell you where you went wrong or kick you out of the group,” she simplifies it for him. 

“The worst,” Jack says and rolls his eyes. “I’m happy you picked my dad instead.” 

“I didn’t really pick him,” she admits, turning back to look at him with a smile. “Falling in love isn’t that simple, it kinda just happens.” 

Jack smiles back. “like fate?” 

She nods, trying not to cry because that’s the most sweetest and perfect way to put it. “Exactly.” 

This is where she was always meant to be. 

—

One thing she forgot to do in the midst of the divorce and moving on, was delete Peter's family from her Facebook friends. She barely uses the site, so of course it slipped her mind until it was too late. 

She posts 1 picture from their maternity shoot, her belly under lace with the sun setting in the background. It’s beautiful. She adores the photo so it’s the one she picked to share, alongside some ultrasound photos, a single pink rose and the caption “baby girl Hotchner coming this September” 

She couldn’t believe she got to this point, sharing that she’s pregnant with her family and friends, having a big belly or this tremendous burst of love that courses through her veins as she reads all the comments of congratulations.  

And then she see’s it. 

Peter's mother commented. 

“I always knew you’d be beautiful pregnant. So happy to hear your dreams are coming true, dear. Congratulations to you and your new family.” 

It’s nicer than she expected. She knew that Peter’s mom was a sweetheart, but she also knew that he was her only baby and she sometimes took that a little too far… she was the type of boy mom that Y/N never wanted to become.

She simply replies, “Thank you so much, Jane<;3”

She doesn’t get a comment back, instead she gets a private message. “I was sad to know you broke up but after hearing why, I’m so, so sorry for what Peter did to you. He never even told me he had the vasectomy. 

I would love to send you some things I made during the first few years of your marriage to my son, I always wanted a grandchild, but now that I know I’ll never have one I’d still love for your baby to have a homemade blanket from me. You’re going to be a wonderful mom.” 

Her heart breaks for Jane. She would’ve been a good grandma, Mimi is actually what she wanted to be called. There were so many conversations they had about names and birth plans and nurseries… and Peter kept his mouth shut during all of them. He broke both of their hearts. 

So she types back, “My friends at work are throwing me a baby shower in August, you’re more than welcome to come.” 

It takes a few hours but Jane finally responds a little after 11. Y/N and Aaron are just about to go to sleep. He’s in the bathroom, she’s in bed on her phone about to set an alarm and turn it off. But she opens the message anyway. 

“You know where to send the invitation. I’ll see what I can do. And don’t worry, I won’t bring Pete. We’re not really speaking at the moment. I’ll always love you as a daughter, Y/N. I’m so glad we’re still able to talk.” 

She never would’ve thought an olive branch would grow out of the hostile ground of her divorce, yet here she is. Reaching out to a woman she was once related to, with things they can now relate to. 

Horrible ex-husbands.

“What are you smiling at over there?” Aaron asks as he comes back into the room, in nothing but his boxers. 

She looks up from her phone and sighs, smile only widening. “Life is so weird sometimes.” 

Aaron makes his way to the bed, he kneels on the end and crawls up to her only to lay on his stomach between her legs and rest his head lightly on her belly. “Weird but beautiful.” 

“Peter’s mom has been messaging me… she’s really happy for us and not talking to her son,” she shares. 

He perks back up, “Really?” 

She nods, “I’m not sure if she knows about the abuse but she knows about the vasectomy and she’s furious. She wants to send me all the blankets and things that she made when we started trying… so I invited her to the baby shower.” 

“Luckily we’ll have a bunch of agents there to escort her if things get dicey…” 

“I don’t think they will,” she says, locking her phone, she places it on her night table and runs her fingers through Aaron's hair. “But if it gives our baby 1 more grandma, I’m willing to hear her out.” 

“You’re a good person,” Aaron compliments. 

“You’re just rubbing off on me.” 

His brows arch. “I mean, I’m not currently.” 

She lightly swats his cheek, “you pig!” 

He just laughs and snuggles back into her belly. “You love it.” 

She just sighs and lays back, still running her fingers through his hair. “I love you.” 

“I love you too… and you three, Jules,” he whispers to her belly and then kisses her bump gently. 

“So we’re set on Juliette, like firmly? It’s happening?” 

He just nods. “Yep, my baby Juliette. Jules, Julie, juju… I will be calling her all of those nicknames.”

She lets out a little giggle. Smiling to herself, he mind wanders to middle names. “I want to ask Jack for help with her middle name, do you think he’d like that?” 

“He’d love to,” Aaron knows that. “Just look at all his other reactions, the boy is obsessed with getting to have a sister.” 

“He’s going to be the best big brother.” 

“You’re going to love him, Julie,” Aaron whispers to her bump. “You’re going to love everyone we know, you’re going to be so loved baby girl. So, so loved.” 

@mrs-ssa-hotch @14buddy22 @spottedzebrasinpartyhats  

General Taglist 

@ncsls0515 @stevesmunsons @reidsbookclub @sweetyyhippyy @manuosorioh @mrs-dr-reid @k-k0129 @squishyturtle @katsukis1wife @babybisexual @marsmunson86 @ssamorganhotchner

#aaron hotchner #aaron hotch hotchner #aaron hotch x reader #aaron hotch x you #hotch smut #hotch x reader #criminal minds smut #criminal minds imagine

[punsmaster69]

25/FEB/20XX

light shot into my sockets from the right side. a pillow had been removed from my enclosure. i squint through the light to see frisk.

raising an eyebrow, they gestured to the pile around me on the couch.

"(migraine.)"

they slowly point to the light switch.

"(nope.)"

i point to papyrus, who's focused on a puzzle that came with the newspaper.

"(staying on.)"

"(.....I'm sure he'll understand??)"

"(he would more than understand. he'd probably make a point of assuring i was comfortable.)"

"(..And that's supposed to be a bad thing?)"

"(he's having fun with what he's doing. don't want to suddenly switch him to worry mode.)"

"(I doubt-)"

"(besides. this works fine.)"

"(well, it did before you opened a window in it.)"

shoving my face into the cushion of the couch to continue blocking out the light, i felt the pillow replaced to where it was.

a weight settled on the other end of the couch, then against the pillow and blanket cocoon of mine.

"(So, he hasn't questioned why you're doing this at all?)"

"(told him i was cold.)"

"(It's.. not cold out today.)"

"(believed it anyway.)"

"(Isn't it the opposite under there?)"

"(yeah. kinda burning up, but it's a small price to pay for darkness.)"

"(Why aren't you in your room or something??)"

"(he'd definitely know something was up.)"

"(Dude...)"

"(he would know.)"

"(I don't doubt that, but the lengths you go to just to... NOT worry him.)"

"(i wouldn't say lengths.)"

"(Heights?)"

"(c'mon-)"

"(Widths?)"

"(this is nothin'.)"

"(Well it's not less than something.)"

"(eh.)"

"(what're you up to out there?)"

"(I'm not done talking about you.)"

"(.......k.)"

"(You take something already?)"

"(the less strong kind, but it doesn't interact with my prescription ones.)"

"(Right.)"

"(Just a normal migraine, you think?)"

"(it's kinda centralized around my right eye, which...)"

i was about to sigh, then realized that would probably grab papyrus' attention.

"(i don't love, but it feels mostly normal.)"

"(What's the meter say?)"

trying to not knock over my whole pile to check, i tap the screen to see a red light.

no idea how long it's been like that for.

"(...i'm good.)"

"(let me ask again what you're up to?)"

they were silent for a moment as if wondering something else, but answered anyway.

"(Got bored, and Flowey was being annoying. So I came here.)"

"(you were so nice to him at first.)"

"(I was worried he'd leave or go on a murderous rampage again or something.)"

"(or try and take everyone's souls?)"

"(....I don't think he'll do that one again.)"

"(me either, mostly.)"

"(I'd kick his petals in again for sure.)"

"(Emotionally.)"

"(....Though, I...)"

"(..Would probably have to use SAVEs again to do that.)"

"(listen, if that petalhead went and took everyone's souls?)"

"(i give you full permission to god-mode the timeline or whatever else you need to 'emotionally kick his petals in'.)"

"(I haven't... done that in a while, actually.)"

"(loading?)"

"(Obviously not.)"

"(That would be going back on our promise.)"

"(I meant SAVING.)"

"(...hm.)"

"(Should I?)"

"(In case one of us gets in some tragic accident.)"

"(your call, kiddo.)"

"(if you meet him, tell the next sans i said that.)"

"(Let's hope I don't have to.)"

"(can i ask what's made you so sure flowey won't leave anymore?)"

"(If he wanted to, he totally could have multiple times.)"

memory of an orange sky and empty field come to mind.

"(yeah. true.)"

"(He's stormed off a couple times, but he always returns.)"

"(kid's gotten attached to you.)"

"(Not just me.)"

"(definitely to my bro, too. and tori.)"

"(In a weird way, I think he likes you too.)"

"(tolerates me for paps' sake.)"

"(Definitely part of it, but I don't know. He doesn't utterly recoil whenever you're mentioned like he used to.)"

"(heheh. getting that kind of reaction just by entering the room was pretty funny.)"

"(I'm glad he's warmed up to everyone though.)"

"('cept undyne. he's got beef with her still.)"

"(The thing with Undyne is more like rivalry.)"

"(They have more fun going at each other's throats than they admit to.)"

"(you think it'd turn into all-out war if my bro wasn't the middleman?)"

"(Papyrus is like the glue between most of this friend group.)"

they must have said his name slightly too loud.

"HM?"

"Oh-"

"Just talking about Flowey's friendships."

"FLOWERY HAS BEEN GETTING ALONG WITH EVERYONE A LITTLE MORE AS OF LATE! I'M QUITE PROUD OF HIM."

"MY KINDNESS LESSONS TO HIM HAVE BEEN CONTRIBUTING, NO DOUBT."

"For sure!"

"(undyne and flowey stop fighting when papyrus enters the room, so he must be doing something right.)"

"WAIT, IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT FLOWERY AND THE PAYOFF OF MY EXCELLENT KINDNESS TEACHINGS, THAT MEANS..."

"SANS IS ACTUALLY AWAKE UNDER THERE STILL??"

"He is indeed."

i shove my hand through some pillows in a thumbs-up, then quickly pull it back slightly to hide the monitor on my arm.

"HI SANS."

"STILL FREEZING?"

"yep."

"JEEZ."

"YOU'RE NOT GETTING SICK, ARE YOU?"

"nah. just a bit extra chilly."

"left my window open all night, woke up as an ice cube."

"THIS IS WHY I TELL YOU TO CLOSE IT BY AT TEN AT THE LATEST!!"

"YOU'LL DEFINITELY GET SICK IF YOU DON'T."

"not everything's gonna make me sick."

"THE POTENTIAL FOR IT TO IS THERE."

"𝘪𝘭𝘭 be alright. 'specially for one night."

"IS IT AT LEAST CLOSED NOW?"

"uhh..."

suddenly unable to remember whether it actually 𝘄𝗮𝘀 closed.

"yyyeah..?"

"...THAT SOUNDS VERY NON-CONFIDENT."

"I'll check."

frisk's weight disappeared from the opposite end of the couch.

"I'LL ACCOMPANY YOU. WOULDN'T WANT YOU TO GET LOST IN THE PIGSTY THAT IS SANS' ROOM."

"it's not as bad as it was. promise."

his voice was more distant this time.

"RIGHT. AND THE CLOTHES ON THE FLOOR HERE AREN'T BAD AT ALL."

"it's basically clean."

"IT IS NOT."

"definitely is."

"SAY THAT AGAIN WHEN YOU CAN UN-PILLOW CASKET YOURSELF, ICE CUBE SKELETON."

taking the opportunity where neither of them were in sight, i removed the monitor and stuffed it in my pocket.

i opened a gap in the pillow enclosure to let some fresh air in.

the thud of my window shutting could be heard. footsteps stomp down the stairs.

"whoops."

"NEED I START CLOSING IT MANUALLY AT TEN ON MY OWN?"

"i'll remember eventually after freezing myself enough."

"...AS ALWAYS, THE GREAT PAPYRUS MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY..."

"Sans, you should set an alarm so that you actually remember."

"GOOD IDEA, FRISK!"

"SANS, GIVE ME YOUR PHONE. I'M SETTING AN ALARM FOR YOU."

"ok."

"can you also set a timer while you're at it?"

"WHAT FOR?"

"so i don't sleep the rest of the day."

"Guess it was only a matter of time before he took a nap there."

"can't resist the allure of a good nap buried in cushions."

can't overheat or suffer migraines or have to deal with magic issues if i'm asleep.

"HUMAN, DO YOU WANT TO COOK SOMETHING WITH ME?"

"Yeah!!"

"WE'LL WAKE SANS UP AFTERWARDS, THEN."

——

i was woken up to macaroni with what might be considered "definitely too much cheese" in it. not like i mind, though - and after my migraine cleared up, i was far too hungry to care.

p.s.

took care of the red monitor thing by taking shortcuts around town for a while after papyrus thought i went to bed.

is it the greatest solution?

no idea. too exhausted after that to worry about.

#undertale #journal #sans #papyrus #frisk #sans and frisk #frisk and sans #sans and papyrus #papyrus and sans #skelebros #flowey #undyne #they sure are mentioned #this is a messy one but anyway

[yujo-nishimura]

The Escape - Part 24

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 - Part 14 - Part 15 - Part 16 - Part 17 - Part 18 - Part 19 - Part 20 - Part 21 - Part 22 - Part 23

You understand the urgency of the situation and immediately continue to hold the flame close to Buggys body, making him get rid of the wax as quickly as you can. “I will buy us some time..!”, you hear Cabaji murmuring, him probably being aware of the danger of seeing his Captain still unable to fight. The woman suddenly rushes forward jumping up in the sky, you can only guess what happens next since you cannot make out the fight in the darkness, but you can hear Cabaji dodging her attack and going towards her with his swords. “Y/n, try to free my hands and feet, if I can detach them I can at least help Cabaji.” Buggy urges you, his voice in all seriousness. 

You desperately hold the flame closer, seeing the wax melt, but not fast enough. 

As the peculiar figure draws nearer, the dim light of the flame reveals his visage, exposing his unsettling and peculiar appearance. His face, illuminated by the flickering glow, displays an unconventional ugliness. It's evident that your expression betrays a mixture of disgust and bewilderment. Seemingly perceiving your reaction, he unleashes a shout, his voice laden with defiance.

“I am Mr. 3 from Baroque works. And I will not let you take our bounty…!” 

“Mr. 3? Is this why you have such a funny hairstyle?”, you cannot suppress a giggle, being more amused than afraid by this strange looking figure. “Dare you…!”, he hisses and then turns his hand into liquid wax, showing his devil fruit skills and making you finally understand what had happened to Buggy. He shoots the wax towards you, but you quickly dodge it, rolling on the ground to the side, leaving the torch with your captain in the hope the fire would continue melting him while you lead the attention of Mr. 3 towards you. 

“You seem to be a little bit faster than your captain. Or maybe smart enough to not challenge me.”

You draw your sword as you get up, ready to fight. “That's some big words for a candle!”, you giggle and start pushing forward, ready to attack him. He can somehow see you well in the darkness of the forest and dodges your attack as well, hitting you with another wax attack, lightly touching your hair and turning some of your hair strands into solid pieces. You try to attack again, your face now turned towards Buggy, hoping he had almost freed himself.

This short moment of not paying attention to your opponent gave him the advantage to fire another wax shot at you, hitting you on both your legs, creating handcuff-like wax locks. You lose balance and fall over, your face hitting the ground. You can hear Mr. 3 laughing, his steps approaching you. As he pulls your hair and turns you around to face him you groan in pain. The wax on your feet is so solid and tight, you cannot move at all. “I usually do not hurt a lady, but you look like you can defend yourself, so I did not want to take a chance..!”, Mr. 3 shows you a sly grin as he faces you. “I did not know that the Buggy pirates would hire women now as well. Or are you the little playtoy of Captain Buggy..?” You spit in his face and suddenly Mr. 3 eyes widen, as he realizes something in your eyes and in your face. Angry by your disrespect he hits you in the face, making you fall down again. “So close up I just figured out who you are, Y/n. Does your captain know who he has on board with him…?” 

“Shut up!”, you yell in agony, suddenly realizing what this candle jerk was about to say. “Oh, so he doesn't know yet, but maybe Captain Buggy would like to hear about it…” “If there is something Y/n wants to tell me, she will do it by herself and without a jerk like you around.” Buggy's familiar voice resonates nearby, drawing your attention. Looking up you can see your captain standing between you and Mr. 3. He has managed to free himself completely, though remnants of wax clinging to his body. He now holds the torch firmly in his hand, its flame casting an eerie glow on the sweat-drenched face of Mr. 3. A mischievous grin spreads across Buggy's face as he jests, "Time to set the mood with some romantic candlelight, right, Y/n?" 

As Mr. 3 attempts to evade the incoming assault, Buggy unleashes his Chop-Chop Cannon technique. With a swift motion, his fists and knives pass through the fiery trail of the torch, transforming into blazing projectiles aimed at his adversary.

The clash between fire and force intensifies, engulfing the area in a spectacle of flames and fierce combat. Amidst the chaos, Buggy's laughter echoes, a blend of amusement and battle fervor. Seizing the opportunity, your captain presses his advantage. With a swift and agile movement, he closes the distance between himself and Mr. 3, his eyes gleaming with determination. The torch still held firmly in his hand, Buggy unleashes a flurry of rapid strikes, utilizing his unique abilities to deliver devastating blows. Driven by a mix of vengeance and a desire to protect you, Buggy unleashes a final, devastating attack. With a flourish of his knives and a surge of fiery energy, he delivers a decisive blow that knocks Mr. 3 unconcious. 

Buggy pants and turns around to you. “Are you okay?”, he asks, seeing you are still caught with the wax and unable to move. “I am okay, but where is Cabaji?” Buggy bends down to you, smiling in relief. 

He starts detaching his hands and placing his arms under your knees and your back to pick you up. Reattaching them to his body you are held close to him now, again feeling an overwhelming whirlpool of emotions. His body is still radiating so much heat from the fight earlier. You want him to hold you like this again. Every night. And forever. “We will take care of these shackles when we are back on the ship. We need to leave this island as quickly as possible. More Baroque works agents will soon follow. About Cabaji - he will be fine.”

You decide to be quiet and trust your captain's decision. You also feel too comfortable now being held by him  while he is rushing through the forest back to the ship. 

You both stay completely silent, you can only hear his panting and his heart beat as he is heading back to his crew. 

#buggytheclown #one piece buggy #one piece #buggy the clown x reader #buggy x reader #buggy x you #long fanfic #nanowrimo 2023 #long reads

[everythingelseisspokenfor]

Am I the only one who kinda wishes the confrontation scene with Sky and Pai played out a little differently? (And no it's not because Pai read Sky's diary. Man's problematic he's learning but he's problematic, and I've read the novel- i know the tv show is less toxic than the novel but i didn't expect too much of a change in that)

I just wish we actually got Sky to see Prapai cry. It would be so much more impactful for Sky to see Pai cry. For Sky to know that he has the capacity to wreck Prapai and has had that power over him for a while.

I wish they played into that more because the whole trope they've been playing is the Playboy turned devoted lover. Pai has been disarmingly flirty but the sincerity is what really let Sky fall for him (speaking of! I have a whole another rant for the party, maybe another post) .

We as the audience know what Sky said devastated Pai. Sky doesn't. And that bothers me. That child deserves all the love and adoration in the world. He has been through a lot. He is rightfully cautious about giving his heart. So, he hurt Pai before Pai could hurt him. He is trying to get the upper hand because he was stupid enough to believe in Pai. It wasn't the right thing to do but it's understandable.

But can you imagine? If instead of Pai being cool collected and reading the notes that Sky had, the roles were reversed? We see a initially shocked Sky who goes back to his practiced poker face when he sees Pai.

If we got Pai just heartbroken waiting there for an answer. Asking if this was all just another game. Something for him to see and think he had actually made progress with Sky- that it was all just a joke to "teach him a lesson".

Sky tries to take the notebook away from him as he dodges because while Pai was waiting he had nothing to do except etch those words into his heart even if they were just lies. And so he starts repeating them. Begging sky to disagree with him. Begging for a sign that they had something real. And as the words go he chokes up.

The tears won't stop despite how much he doesn't want Sky to see him cry. He knew he'd given up his heart to him free to be played with, he just didn't belive that the Sky he'd come to love would ever do this to him. The words eventually stop and he's unable to read more as he places the book down asking one last time if all of it was just a joke.

Can you imagine sky's resolve slowly breaking as he bends down to reach for Pai and then Pai claiming "you know what, you're right. I don't like you anymore" and as Sky is about to protest he continues "because i love you."

Can you imagine Sky's reaction to that? Can you imagine him breaking down after that? Knowing he hurt someone who very clearly didn't mean to hurt him?

Can you??? Coz I can and it's eating me up that we didn't get it.

(Side note: Fort and Peat are sooooo great I'm absolutely in love with their acting and whoever else on Tumblr spoke about the urge to steal MAME's characters for their own story- i get it. I wanna do that now thanks)

#love in the air spoilers #love in the air #fort thitipong #prapai love in the air #sky x prapai #sky love in the air #thai bl #lita #lita drabble #love in the air ep12 #lita rant #peat wasuthorn #love in the air the series

[arpmemething2]

Pokemon starters

Quotes from the games, movies, anime, manga and just about everything else represented.  Feel free to change pronounces as needed.  Send one for my muse’s reaction.

"Life is strange isn't it? I actually like you more... than the boy I've been thinking of all these years."

“I didn't know Vikings still existed...”

"That's okay.  You'll find lots of other girls to reject you."

“There are bad ways to win and good ways to lose. What’s interesting and troubling is that it’s not always clear which is which. A flipped coin doesn’t always land on heads or tails. Sometimes it may never land at all.”

“Develop amnesia conveniently and forget everything you heard!”

"All of you... Lend me your power! The power... To protect the world!"

“Mostly I breathe fire, but want to exchange numbers?”

“Getting wrapped up in worries is bad for your body and spirit. That’s when you must short out your logic circuits and reboot your heart.”

"I hate water, especially WET water."

"I like shorts! They're comfy and easy to wear!"

"Well, if you just try hard enough, things will work out. Won't they?"

"Sorry! I was just swearing on my dreams to the sun, the skies and the sea!! Please wait till I'm done!"

"Nah...he probably started a rock band! He's got the hairdo for it!"

“Living is using time given to you. You cannot recall lost time.”

"This is perfect. That cliff is the perfect spot for our first meeting."

"That's progress..at least his mouth is working."

"There’s no sense in going out of your way just to get somebody to like you. "

"Everybody makes a wrong turn once in a while."

"Oh, I left my motorcycle at the front desk."

“I’ll use my trusty frying pan… as a drying pan!”

"Perhaps you are unique, a unique human. One of a kind."

"Reality can really bum you out..."

“So, this is my power… but what is my purpose?”

"You haven't even won yet!  I won't let such fun end so easily."

“You see, sometimes friends have to go away, but a part of them stays behind with you.”

“If there is someone in this world who understands you, it feels like that person is right beside you. Even if you’re as far apart as the end of the land and top of the sky.”

“Living is using time given to you. You cannot recall lost time.”

“You gotta keep smiling, no matter how tough things are getting”

"We don't have any money, but we'd be happy to work to pay for any damages."

“Do you always need a reason to help somebody?”

“The important thing is not how long you live. It’s what you accomplish with your life.”

“Me, give up? No way!”

"The circumstances of one’s birth are irrelevant, but it’s what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are. "

"I'm too young for math!"

"I'm too weak to work...I haven't eaten since breakfast."

"It's you and me. I know it's my destiny."

"A good friend left me and I miss her everyday. But I know we’ll always be friends forever."

"When I think about it, you, too, are all alone in the world."

"Make your wonderful dream a reality, it will become your truth. If anyone can, it’s you.”

"Why would I do something as silly as that? Escaping is just your opinion, right? I chose the course of action I thought is correct, you're always pushing me around, I wanted to say this before...You're not the boss of me!"

"We hope to see you again!"

"My favorite hard work. I believe there is nothing that replaces the discipline that is required to achieve our goals. I don’t think reflection I don’t think books, I don’t think guidance or any other thing for places the fact that we have to take action."

"I don’t like to say I’m great but that’s what people tell me."

"Change your perspective, and the reality changes."

“When you have lemons, you make lemonade; and when you have rice, you make rice balls.”

"Ha ha! This gym is great! It is full of women!"

"Y'all are Stupid!"

"By the way, that'll be a two-dollar charge for resting on my rock."

"My body is ready."

“We do have a lot in common. The same earth, the same air, the same sky. Maybe if we started looking at what’s the same, instead of looking at what’s different, well, who knows?”

“I’m totally unprepared to deal with life’s realities.”

"This brat’s tough. Tougher than I can put into words, and I know a lot of words."

"Hey, how can we breathe underwater?"

“If anybody’s out there, you can come out. And if you’re a monster or a ghost, you can stay where you are.”

“Don’t worry that pretty blue head of yours, I’ve got a plan.”

"Children are not just things that belong to their parents."

"Oh our experiment isn't over yet, it's just beginning. Now the serious testing begins."

"My face is reflected in the water. It's a shining grin full of hope, or maybe it's a look of somber silence struggling with fear…"

"The strength to protect, huh? But what are you really protecting? A tomorrow that will only end up being worse than today?"

"Even If we don’t understand each other, that’s not a reason to reject each other. There are two sides to any argument. Is there one point of view that has all the answers? Give it some thought."

“I don’t want to miss anything you do from now on!”

“The more wonderful the meeting, the sadder the parting.”

"whatever happens from here on, my heart is already set."

“It’s more important to master the cards you’re holding than to complain about the ones your opponent was dealt.”

"Well, if you just try hard enough, things will work out. Won't they?"

“These are not shorts! These are half-pants!”

"The lats time you cooked, you wiped out eight of my nine lives."

"What is this pressure I feel...? Something... is enraged?"

"They’re not here. Let’s ride the ferris wheel and see if we can spot them. I love ferris wheels… the circular motion… the mechanics… they’re like collections of elegant formulas."

“Please make sure the bed is empty before getting in it!”

“A wildfire destroys everything in its path. It will be the same with your powers unless you learn to control them.”

"We're standing here for no reason, and one day we'll be gone for no reason."

“Take charge of your destiny.”

“I will show you that my love for my friends permeates every cell in my body.”

"Let's Go! Kneecaps!"

“Physical wounds can be treated without much difficulty, but emotional wounds are not so easy to heal.”

"With enemies like that, who needs friends?"

"Our lucky star is shining today!"

“Don’t you know that love is the most important thing in the whole world?”

"If I were to make bad puns when I’m supposed to be telling a joke, doesn’t it give people even more of an opportunity to tease me and start a funny back-and-forth?"

[pantherlover]

A Local Habitation Re-Read: Part 5

Hello again! Here's part 5!

Chapter Seventeen:

"Quentin, get something nutritious to go with your soda. A Snickers bar or something." Oh they were both SO lucky May showed up after this.

Oh, poor Luidaeg. She's finally met the person who will eventually be able to remove the geas on her, and she's a person who decides that summoning the night-haunts is an acceptable plan.

Of all the people at ALH, I might like Elliot the most (other than April). I respect a character that can just roll with with an unexpected situation.

Toby mentions that Raven-maids and Raven-men are skin shifters like the Selkies. Given how/why the Selkies were created, this makes me curious about whether the Raven-maids/men were created for similar reasons. In the story published with Be the Serpent, Luidaeg says that she cursed the Siren who murdered her love to join the Sky Kingdoms. Maybe that has something to do with how they came about?

I really do feel sorry for Elliot about Yui. I'm glad they got their wedding after everyone was brought back.

Chapter Eighteen:

Connor is noooooot equipped to help out with quests. You were going to take Toby's car back? *Really*?? You had ONE job, man.

Was Sylvester still the Mad Duke when Quentin started his fostering? I'm pretty sure it was mentioned somewhere, but I can't remember off the top of my head. If he was, that might be why Quentin thinks that 'breaking out into hysterical laughter' is a normal reaction in Shadowed Hills.

Connor's relationship with the Luidaeg is definitely something that I want to try to pay more attention to on this re-read. It would be interesting to see what I can pick up from it now that we know about the Selkies.

Okay, Connor, I understand that your marriage is unhappy, but you're still married. Gently resting your joined hands on Toby's cheek is not cool!

Toby was probably lucky that Alex showed up and distracted Connor; he probably would've gotten a lot angrier than that otherwise.

Chapter Nineteen:

Connor may not be equipped for quests, but he does know his role as coffee-provider.

"We need to talk to [the night-haunts], and this is the only way. Believe me, I don't want to. I'm scared stiff." Toby is the ultimate proof that repeat exposure works.

I think I'm appreciating the wistful 'what-could-have-been' of Toby and Connor's relationship more this time around. I don't think they would've worked out in the long run, but they might've been able to be better friends to each other. It's a little sad that they never got to learn how to be that for each other.

Fuuuuuuuuuck Aaaaallleeeeex. Just - SO many things wrong. First, I feel like he contradicts himself while he's explaining? Does it come naturally or does he not do it to every woman he meets? Second, is it supposed to be a *compliment* that he doesn't enchant every woman he interacts with? Like it means something that he liked her enough to give her no choice in how she felt about him??

I wonder why Gordan didn't sabotage the summoning; she and Elliot got all of the flowers together, she would've had plenty of opportunity. Was she that confident that the night-haunts wouldn't be able to tell Toby anything? Was she hoping that they'd come and eat her? Was she curious enough about the night-haunts that she wanted to see it play out?

The summoning ritual is SO creepy/cool. We don't see Toby doing any concrete 'spells' with her magic; she just forces her way through a situation until she gets a desired outcome. I wonder if having kids is going to make her try to find a more consistent way to do things so she can teach them?

Chapter Twenty:

As much as we learn about them in this chapter, I think the night-haunts are the longest running mystery in the series. I saw a meta a while back theorizing that, after the Roane returned, the night-haunts lost their most stable food source and were in danger of fading unless they found another way to sustain themselves. I'm not sure if this is the direction the series would take them, but it would be a good reason to call in Toby's debt to them.

This might be the first time Toby's ever been described than 'wiser than most who deal with [the night-haunts]'.

The mandrake doppelganger make me sad, and I'm trying very hard not to think that the 'created just to die' part is foreshadowing of any kind.

Forget all the blood magic; Toby's superpower is being able to connect with people so strongly that it affects them *after death*.

Chapter Twenty One

'Backups. They had backups for the backups in this place. It was amazing anything had been able to go wrong: they should've had backups for the people, too.' Funny you should say that, Toby!

'"Look, I'd hug you, but I'd get blood al over you." "I don't care," [Quentin] said, and threw his arms around my neck.' Oh, I'm so glad that Quentin and Toby found each other.

Whatever else you can say about Luidaeg, her bedside manner is still better than Gordan's.

Jan, at least, gets (minor) props for actually planning on telling Toby everything before she died. It is honestly a miracle *anyone* made it out of this alive given how willing everyone was to take their project to the grave.

That's it for this part! As always, please feel free to come talk to me about stuff!

#October Daye #A Local Habitation #Reread Project

[fairlyabookie]

Stars

Author's Note: Day 2 of Promptober: Star Gazing! Enjoy!

Dots of white speckle a horizon of navy black, twinkling faintly in the darkness. The sky, to Floyd Leech, looked the same in the times he has seen it in his eel form - yet, the strange patterns in the skies would change, or so he thought he saw. The evening sky to him was nothing more but a colorful dome, encapsulating everything and everyone, with just pretty stars.

As daggers drilled into the soles of his feet from sand, cool water wraps around his ankles, icy and relentless, a sensation he wasn’t very adjusted to while being on the surface. He’d rather be in the water than be outside stepping on sand like a human.

“Floyd, is everything alright?”

[Reader] chimes from behind.

“Yea, I’m fine.”

The second year mumbles under his breath, trudging into the water.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Mischief tinges their voice. They knew he wanted to get in the water. A terrible habit, he discounts.

“Sorry, just wanted to get a reaction from you.”

“Wouldn’t be fair if we’re just seeing stars from both sides of the beach.”

[Reader] chides, their statement a jab on Floyd’s attempt to run into the water. Somehow, the human he befriended knew how to push his buttons.

“Fine..”

He steps away from the water, grimacing from the stabbing sensations of sand as he ambles to [Reader]. He towers over them, letting a pout curl at his lips. [Reader] looked so tiny sitting by themselves, a blanket spread out beneath them for a comfortable picnic. They pout back, patting on a spot next to them.

“Don’t give me that look, Mr. Leech. Sit here.”

“Of course, of course.”

He obliges, making himself comfortable on the blanket. A calm settled afterwards, the crash and hiss of the waves lapping up the shore as his eyes train on the stars above.

“Say, why this place? We could’ve just stayed on campus, you know,”

Floyd finds himself asking, a bit unsettled by the ambiance.

“I thought this would be a nice spot for star-gazing. Sure, we could’ve gone to the Scarabia dorm for star gazing, but I like watching the stars by the beach.”

[Reader] explains, their eyes drifting to the skies. Floyd could make out a soft smile by their lips.

“The stars are so pretty to look at night. If you look closely, they make constellations, avatars belonging to a story, fantastical creature that make up part of an awesome tale, and so much more,”

They muse, their fingers pointing to the patterns in the sky.

“If you see this constellation,”

Floyd glances at the group of stars by [Reader]’s pointer finger. They trace the constellation, making out its shape.

“That is Orion, the constellation that is always pointing at the North Star. The mythology behind him is that-”

“He courted Artemis, but Apollo got mad and dared her to shoot something from the distance. But, what she didn’t know was that Orion was the target. Grieving, she placed Orion with his hunting dogs and weapon, so he can practice archery in the heavens.”

Floyd finished, ending with a little cheeky smile.

“Oh, you know the story!”

“Bedtime stories for the little ones under the sea.”

He shrugs lightly, suppressing the urge to tell [Reader] more about the other mythos with the constellation.

“I know the stories, but I don’t pay attention to the stars much. The sky looks the same to me.”

“Then, we’ll look at the stars more often! Each season brings different constellations to the sky anyway and…”

Floyd listened to [Reader], listening to their excited drivel about the stories correlating to the constellations, as they continue to point out different stars in the sky. Images from the tales his parents would read to him as a child, seemingly came to life with [Reader]’s narration. Their passion sparked something inside that he couldn’t understand - was it just him, or did the constellations seem like characters?

Maybe it’s [Reader]’s imagination talkin’. Floyd muses to himself, peering over to see [Reader] tracing another constellation’s outline. Although he wasn’t much of someone to go stargazing or do mountain climbing like his brother, there was something oddly relaxing about this - a story unfolding before Floyd, with whatever direction that may be, it was evident the both of them were enjoying themselves.

It wasn’t just the stars, but maybe it was the sheer happiness [Reader] felt about the stars. Their excitement was evident, from the sparkling stars in their eyes to the way they patiently answer his curiosities about the stars themselves. Floyd was enamoured. To him, [Reader] was the stars in his eyes, the sky everything else. Yet, this was a secret he kept to himself. Before he knew it, he found himself absorbed in the stars and [Reader], reading into the stars and bathing in the night’s cool

#twst x reader #handle with care #twisted wonderland floyd #floyd leech #promptober

[juzorei]

The Ep 12 literally broke me into tears. I saw posts saying that Sky was rude to Pai on the phone call. Let me clear this thing first. Sky had a trauma. He was abused by his ex and his friends. By 'several people' not just his ex but also his ex's friends too. Throughout the series you can see him having nightmares about that. He still havent recovered from it. He works and works to engage in something so he wont be thinking of it. He is even afraid to fall asleep because the nightmares. Guys its not a simple thing. Its fucking scary. I MEAN IT! You cant even fall asleep because it keep reminding of the worst things you had. Its terrifying.

And so Sky sealed himself from getting involved with people or Love. To avoid getting hurt. His heart is already wounded so much. He dont want to suffer more. But Pai coming into his life changed something in him. He still is insecure about being in love so that he tried to push Pai away, like so many times. But Pai knew and see through Sky that he needed someone by his side. Pai knew Sky was trying to push him because he was scared. And so Pai didnt give up on Sky instead he stayed with Sky even though Sky tried to push him away. Even though Sky liked Pai he didnt wanna get hurt anymore. He was guarding his heart. But Pai's care and affection hit Sky's heart and slowly he hoped to love once again. He tried to open his heart for Pai even though he was still scared of it.

And when he finally was almost sure about his feelings and gave himself to Pai , thats when he saw Pai with that guy. You can also see that girls talking about Pai too. And Pai being a playboy before made something uneasy in Sky's heart. But still he hoped for it not being true. But when he saw that guy and pai on sofa his heart crashed. I dont even know how would have Sky felt at that moment. It really broke my heart. He says 'again' because he felt that he was betrayed once again. And this is why he didnt wanna let anyone into his life. We know he was insecure about being in love again.

But I AM NOT BASHING PAI TOO! Beacuse we exactly know he was a playboy before. He had too many dates and hook ups. He cant just push away everyone like that. Pai is a good person, unless its necessary he wont stir things up. So he was being nice to everyone and was being clear about having a boyfriend and he dont wanna hook up anymore with anyone. He wanted to do that in the nice way.

And Sky then avoided Pai. When Pai called Sky, he said those thing to Pai. In here, think from Sky's perspective. He felt once again hopeless with everything. Things happened like he feared. At that moment most of us will do exactly like Sky did. We will try to push the other person because we dont wanna hurt anymore. It's like you dont wanna hear or listen to thing anymore. Fed up with everything happening to you. The pain Sky felt at that time... we cant even imagine. So him saying like that is an expected reaction. And both Pai and we know that he didn't meant any of those things he said. And Pai knew it clearly something had happened and was determined to figure it out and solve it no matter what. And he did!! OUR BOYS ARE IN LOVE PEOPLE!!😭❤

And now after confessing Sky is slowly being confident in loving Pai. Now they know how much they treasure each other. How much they mean to each other. And now he knows whatever happened his P'Pai will be there for him. 😭🥺🥲❤

So please understand from both of their sides🥺❤

And also good luck to us for the Ep 13. Next week we are all going down. 🙂💔

#love in the air #prapai x sky #prapai love in the air #sky love in the air #paisky #lita ep12 #prapai lita #sky lita #thai boys love

[charmixpower]

Ok then after getting hurt how would the Winx react to the Specialists' reactions?

The Specialist's + Mirta's reaction here

Bloom (if not that injured), smacking Sky away: Immmm fine!!!! I'm not 8, stop watching over me 24/7. I'm not gonna die if I get some snacks!!!! I can use telekinesis to get everything, please calm down!!

If Bloom is really injured however she really appreciates the hovering and leans into it. Bloom is an only child, and when things go wrong she tends to run back to her parents? This leads me to think she really likes really extra care and hovering when she's really upset. It makes her feel safe

Since Brandon proportions his response to Stella's, Stella really doesn't react to his reaction. It's the other way around. She does however really appreciate Brandon letting her joke when she wants to laugh about it, and cry into his arms when she feels like crying. Stella can get dramatic when she's injured....and in general, and Brandon tends to just go along with her dramatics and she loves him for it

With Helia Flora is very calm. Flora doesn't like panicking or getting really uppity about something so Helia's calm cool enegry is very appreciated. When Helia is panicking and letting things go to shit bc he can't pay attention, Flora tries to get him back on schedule so he doesn't start accidentally skipping meals out of worried. This is pretty hard for her because she's very injured in this situation but she's too mom friend to not take care of Helia

With Mirta Flora tries to keep her calm about her smaller injures, because Mirta can work herself into a tizzy really quickly. Flora really appreciates that when her injuries get bad that Mirta slows down and keeps herself form getting too worked up bc that wouldn't help Flora. Flora is however upset that Mirta is still really upset, just more serious about it. Tries to comfort barely holding it Mirta, but she can't bc Mirta is 80% care for other people

Tecna is happy Timmy is staying by her while she handles her injury in the best way according to her data. Ends up giving Timmy a list of things she wants him to do that she can't to help her recover asap to the specifications of the professionals. She also appreciates Timmy taking all her directions in stride

Musa smacking Riven from her blanket cocoon: Your stupid. Your way of measuring your worth is stupid. I'm literally stronger than you when I transform. Stop!! It!!

Musa is probably crying her injury bc she doesn't feel the need to act tough in from of Riven, and yes she is clinging to his shirt. There will no removing her now. But Riven's idiocy definitely requires some smacking him till he gets rid of the last dregs of his old mindset. Riven feels like he should be doing something to protect Musa bc thats how relationships work according to him, completely not understanding that she's stronger than him and he usually can't. Musa will smack him till he understands. Musa is VERY happy by Riven being in exclusively soft mode. She milkes her injuries for all their worth to get Riven being exclusively soft with out him getting embarrassed or scared. Shes having the time of her life over here (despite her lower pain tolerance, much crying still). If she's really injured she's too busy being...hurt to do this. Riven however doesn't have much time to do literally anything to rid himself of his upset enegry except sit with his thoughts bc Musa refuses to let go of him for even a second. He doesn't mind this however bc it makes him very happy that she trusts him to look over her/protect her/comfort her when she's hurt. Musa is being vulnerable with him without being even a little scared and maybe he's feeling a little emotional about that

Aisha really appreciates Nabu being clam while she's injured. Mostly because she's probably freaked the fuck out about whatever injured her. Aisha isn't actually that concerned about her injuries, she's more worried about who ever was with/around her and what ever injured her and if is still alive; and Nabu can keep her focused on what's actually important. If Aisha is really injured and Nabu is working himself into a tizzy being worried, as long as Aisha is the only one really injured+the thing that did that is dead, she can keep him calm bc she's not all that pressed about her injury. If she's not and it's not, they will bounce anxious enegry off of eachother but about different things...and get into a little argument about priorities, that always ends in Aisha agreeing to worry more about herself right now because she can't help if shes very injured. She's still anxious tho. Much cuddles here

#winx club #winx musa #winx riven #winx stella #winx bloom #winx aisha #winx layla #winx timmy #winx tecna #winx flora #winx helia #winx mirta #winx nabu #winx sky #winx brandon #stella x brandon #bloom x sky #musa x riven #rivusa #aisha x nabu #flora x mirta #flora x helia #tecna x timmy #winx headcanons

[oceangirl24]

Find The Word Tag - Mega edition

So, @mikaharuka and @mrsmungus got me on this so I'm combining all the words.

Words I was given: hurt, sharp, box, promise, notice, sky, green, plate, ice, fly, mercy, wave, deny, tall, cage

Words for you to find: fuel, orthodox, particular, representative, release, overview, planet, finish

Tagging to play (I'm pretty much hitting everyone. lol No pressure and please jump in if I didn't tag you): @mikaharuka @mrsmungus @kayedium-writes @lena-hills @writingpotato07 @winterlovesong1@tsunderewatermelon @bleepbloopbotz @hylianjo @zkang288- tagging in case this might be of interest.

Here we go!

These are all from Autumn in Philadelphia: The Return in no particular order.

Hurt

Fifteen minutes passed and Julia was half-way through her Spanish homework when she picked up her phone again.

Shawn watched her expectantly. “Dad respond?”

She scowled. “No.” And she texted him again. Again ten minutes after that. Again in another ten minutes. Julia was hurt and dumbfounded; he never ignored her. Ever.

Sharp

Shawn disagreed. “I don’t think too many teachers have given a student who hasn’t spoken to them in 17 years a lifelong home. I think what you did for me was unusual.”

“What I did was minimal, Shawn,” he argued. “I know some who have done much, much more.”

Shawn’s brow pinched together. He didn’t understand Jon’s reaction.

“How?”

Jon was quiet and a dark look settled in his eyes. He glanced as Shawn then quickly looked away as though it was too painful to look at him. “Some actually followed through and adopted their students.” Shawn didn’t know what to say. The words adopt, adoption, adopted always brought a sharp pain to his heart. Those were the words he had always wanted applied to him but they never had been. He inhaled deeply and tried to shrug it off. Jon was obviously struggling to let go of the past as much as he was. But he hadn’t come in here to make Jon feel bad.

Box

Jon nodded. “Jamie’s been asking me for the last three days how you get coffee from dirt. I guess I should have been paying more attention to why he was asking. Apparently, he thinks coffee grounds are dirt. Since I wasn’t giving him a satisfactory answer, he tried to test his theory himself.”

Shawn made a face. “Did he drink it?”

“Nah,” his father took a box of tea out of the cupboard. “Audrey chased him out of the kitchen last night and cleaned up a trail of dirt he left. He must have gotten as far as putting the dirt in the filter before she caught him.”

“How’d you’d find out?”

Jon scowled at him.

“Oh. Gross!”

Promise

All throughout junior high, her father promised her that he would be her English literature teacher and principal throughout high school.

This promise he repeated multiple times a year from sixth grade to eighth grade. At the beginning of eighth grade, the Abigail Adams High principal announced her retirement and it was a given that her father would take over. All that had to be done was for him to formally accept the offer which he said he planned to do just before the end of the year. But instead, he announced to the family the day before eighth grade graduation that he took the superintendent position for the next five years.

No one was expecting this, not even her mother.

Notice

She began with the easiest excuse for breaking the rules. “Shawn ignored me all day today. He was too busy with his friends to pay attention to me. When I tried to talk to him, he blew me off in favor of them. Grayson said he didn’t have time for him or Jamie either.”

“I noticed that, too. Sometimes when those three get together, they forget that anyone else exists,” Jon gave her a rueful smile. “Bothered you that much, huh?”

Sky

“Could the nail polish be Audrey’s?” Cory asked.

Topanga shook her head. “Audrey wears either Essie’s Ballet Slippers or Hard Candy in sky or mint. But mostly she wears Ballet Slippers.”

Green

“Look!” she breathed, nodding at the poster. “It wasn’t all green before!”

Shawn stared at the poster until Jon called for them to hurry up. It most certainly had not been all green before.

Plate

“I’m so glad that this worked out for you both,” she smiled, stacking pancakes on a plate. She took the eggs out of the refrigerator, handed them to him, and motioned for him to start cracking them.

“So am I. You know I was actually kind of jealous that Dad went out with Eli last week.” He frowned wondering where that came from.

Audrey gave him a curious look. “Why’s that?”

“I’ve been wantin’ to spend time to with him. Guess I felt he chose his best friend over me.”

Ice

But what about Topanga?

She had always been there with him but he could not recall her ever talking to him unless it was to make sarcastic remarks about his relationship with her husband. Essentially, they hadn’t really spoken in fifteen years. So he responded to her based on the way their friendship was when it had been put on ice and snapped back with fury, “Because I don’t want them to end up like your parents!”

Fly

Jon started to tap his fingers against the table again as he considered the question. Finally, he said, “I’d take Audrey and the kids somewhere away from everything and everyone, but not totally secluded. Somewhere with nice weather. Somewhere that we could fly in relatives, a few close friends occasionally. We’d need a rink with off-ice facilities nearby. But otherwise just us, no jobs, no interruptions. For about a year.”

Mercy

Suddenly, a wall appeared out of nowhere. Shawn slammed into it at Full speed and the Force of the impact sent him Flying backwards. He landed harshly on his back and skidded several Feet on trash and broken glass. Pain engulfed him and stole his breath.

As he lay there trying to catch his breath and judge whether he’d broken anything, the wall advanced on him. It walked right up to his Feet and stood over him breathing heavily.

Shawn inhaled a shaky, painful breath, knowing he was fully at the mercy of It. It cocked its head to the side as though studying him then it shot out a hand toward his head.

Wave

“I didn’t,” DeAndre answered, looking a little gray. He pointed over her shoulder, a gave a little wave, and said weakly, “Hi, Uncle J.”

Julia could feel her father standing behind her now. She looked up at him guiltily as he leaned over her.

Deny

Shawn pinched at the Afghan blanket hanging over the back of the couch. He didn’t understand why adults had to make everything so complicated. In his mind, the resolution to the current problem was simplistic— Jon told Audrey that he loved her, she returned his affection, and that was that. Though Shawn would fervently deny that he believed in happily-ever-after endings, in way, that was exactly the way he viewed the situation. He never considered outside influences that might stand in the way of such a fairy tale.

(Apparently, I have yet to use deny in Book II, this is from Book I)

Tall

An older man in his 50s hurried across the asphalt lot to greet them. He was a tall, broad shouldered man with impeccable taste in clothing. His close-cropped hair was jet black graying slightly around his temples. A bit more gray speckled his goatee. The sun caught in deep blue sunglasses reflecting various hues of blue and purple into his mahogany skin. When he reached Audrey, he embraced her with a gentle hug. Bella did not react to him at all and continued to moan for her father.

Cage

When he woke up on Saturday, Shawn had a strange sensation stuck between his stomach and his heart. It was fluttery, bubbly feeling that lodged itself in that space and tickled the sides of his rib cage every time he inhaled. He sat up wondering if heartburn was an early 30s thing. He contorted his upper body in every way he could to make that feeling go away. When it lessened some, he got up and headed to the bathroom.

#writing tag game #writing tag #tag game #word tag #boy meets world fanfiction #boy meets world fic #boy meets world #shawn hunter #jonathan turner #topanga lawrence #girl meets world

[having-conniptions]

Love In The Air episode 13 live reaction under the cut (long post)

FINAL EPISODE AAAAAAAAA (well there's a special episode but this is the official finale)

Hahahaha Sig's beef with the teacher is too good

Awwwww Sky is so in love 🥰

And so is Pai 🥰🥰

Awwwww baby Sky flashback 🥺

Sky smoking for the first time is so realistic until the moment when he doesn't cough his lungs out

Oh nooooo it's a flashback to his first relationship 💀💀💀

Reluctantly watching the horrors unfold

Is that a hickey... or a bruise?

Ok it's a bruise "I fell down the stairs" my ass

ARE THOSE CIGARETTE BURN MARKS ARE YOU SHITTING ME MY POOR BABY

"This is normal for me" FUCK OFF "Can't you endure this much for me" FUCK OFFFFFF

"What's going on? Why are your friends here?" NOOOO I WAS SO GLAD THAT SKY'S ABUSE HADN'T BEEN EXPLICITLY SHOWN BUT INSTEAD CONVEYED THROUGH (still disturbing) FLASHBACK THAT SHOWED HOW HE FELT DO NOT MAKE ME WATCH MY BABY GET HURT

"You're annoying. Boring. I'm bored." WELL I'M GONNA KICK YOUR FUCKING TEETH IN

That fucking lighter sound that keeps going even after Sky wakes up from his nightmare 💀

Whyyyy is "twinkle twinkle little star" playing in the background while Sky calls Prapai and asks him to come over after the nightmare 🤨

Ughhhhh Gun and his friend OF ALL PEOPLE WHY NOW

"I'm here, honey. I'm here." 😭❤️😭❤️

The instant comfort that Pai brings Sky ❤️😭❤️😭❤️😭

The soft kisses with Sky's gorgeous hands always in frame, what a masterpiece 🙏🙏🙏

They are SOOOOOOOOO ✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️

"My honey's awfully adorable. Will I die from a heart attack?" FOLLOWED BY NUZZLES I THINK I'M THE ONE WHO'S GONNA HAVE A HEART ATTACK

Oh no Sky is at a race GUN IS GONNA BE THERE FUUUUCKKK

Praying that Pai will fucking deck Gun

I CAN'T WITH PAI CALLING SKY HONEY ALL THE TIME IT'S SO SWEET AAAAHHHH

Hahaha Sky is still shy in public

THE CHEEKY HAND KISS BEFORE RUNNING OFF AAAAAAA

Oh no Sky is gonna go back to the car and he's gonna run into Gun FUCKKKK

THE FUCKING LIGHTER SOUND OH HELL NAW

OH NO NOT THE KEY TO PAI'S ROOM they're really planning to get Sky to Pai's room and- ARGH I'M GONNA KILL THEM the fact that it's his boyfriend's room makes it extra twisted PAI BETTER KICK THEIR ASSES ALL THE WAY TO ALASKA FOR EVEN INTENDING TO DO THAT TO SKY

Love how both Phayu and Pai are immediately super suspicious of those guys

YES SKY STAND UP FOR YOURSELF AND YOUR BF

That manipulative fucking asshole

Concerned bestie Rain ❤️❤️❤️

The guard said what --- as if even one of the guards is in on this entire thing

OH NO AND NOW SKY IS GONNA ASSUME PAI ARRANGED IT FUCK NO I AM NOT OKAY I'M SO SCARED

OH FUCK OH NO OH FUCK HOLD ON STOP NO FUUUUCKKKKKKKKKK

"I'm very curious why P'Pai readily gave him to you" HE DID NOT-- LISTEN TO ME SKY PAI DID NOT GIVE YOU TO ANYONE PAI WOULD NEVER

Am I a little sensitive to the whole "trust issues" topic. YES. I won't be surprised if Sky never trusts anyone ever again WHAT THE FUCKKKKKK

AND HE'S FRAMING IT AS IF PAI DOESN'T WANT SKY ANYMORE BECAUSE OF WHAT GUN AND HIS FRIENDS DID TO SKY?????? THIS IS JUST GETTING WORSE AND WORSE AND I'M FUCKING FURIOUS

Detective Pai figuring out that Rain didn't take Sky to his dorm because Rain got back so quickly 🔥🔥🔥 go save your boyfriend NOW

Yeeeeesssss Rain and Phayu are coming with him 🔥🔥🔥

YEEEEES PAI HAS STARTED THROWING PUNCHES AAAAAAAA 🔥🔥🔥

"Your boyfriend started it" SKY DID NOT "You know he used to date Gun." PAI DID NOT

LOVE how Rain casually cuts in putting that asswipe in his place

Meanwhile Sky is (understandably) dissociating

Pai barely containing all his hurt and rage when Sky breaks down... aaaaaaa

YESSSSSS HE PUNCHED GUN SO HARD HE FELL ON HIS ASS

Angry/protective Phayu is scary but like in a really cool way 👀

DID PAI JUST RIP OUT GUN'S EYEBROW PIERCING BEFORE PRETTY MUCH BASHING HIS FACE IN? In this case I'm all for violence 🔥🔥🔥

Rain trying to get through to a still dissociating Sky 😭😭😭

PAI CRYING AS HE TELLS SKY TO CRY AS MUCH AS HE NEEDS BC HE'S HERE TO WIPE AWAY HIS TEARS 😭❤️😭❤️😭❤️

Literally begging him to cry and finally let it all out 😭😭

And Sky's spaced-out "why are you crying, P'Pai?" I'M GONNA FUCKING EXPLODE INTO A FOUNTAIN OF TEARS I LOVE SKY SO MUCH HOW CAN ANYONE EVER HURT MY POOR BABY

Phenomenal acting from both Fort and Peat in this scene btw and amazing writing I wanna quote every single fucking line

Sky finally crying when Pai tells him he loves him 😭❤️😭❤️😭❤️

"Aren't you gonna ask me what happened?" - "You can tell me when you're ready." THANK YOU PAI YOU WONDERFUL MAN LEMME GIVE U A BIG KISS MWAH

Did not expect Sky to be ready to talk about it already but I'm glad he finally got it all out ❤️

Pai's devastated face as Sky tells him everything that happened... 😭😭😭😭😭😭 and sooooooo much credit to the actors, HOLY SHIT

"I'm trash. I'm damaged goods." Well you know one man's trash is another man's treasure SKY DON'T YOU EVEN THINK THAT FOR A SECOND

OH MY GOD THE TEAR FALLING FROM PAI'S FACE WHILE SKY IS THE ONE IN FOCUS there's something so special about that tear that wasn't emphasized, wasn't handcrafted for a perfect shot of Pai crying, it was just there because it was. The realness of that tear. I could write an entire essay about that fucking tear what the fuck.

PAI BARELY HOLDING IT TOGETHER and "I'm sorry, I should have met you sooner" 😭😭😭😭😭 I'm really about to transcribe the entire dialogue between these two whoever wrote this deserves the world

"I won't make a promise. I won't make a vow." *laughs in The Wedding Plan*

I feel bad for saying this but I can't stop staring at Pai's back/shoulders during that hug holy shit dude 🔥🔥🔥 man is W I D E and triangular and I am once again not sure if I want him or wanna be him

"And I let P'Chai deal with that bastard. We won't ever see him again" mf is at the bottom of a river I can feel it in my bones 🙏🙏🙏

SKY GOT OVER IT BACK THEN FOR HIS DAD AAAAA 😭❤️ well he didn't entirely get over it but he at least moved on with his life ya know

Pai working from home with Sky bringing him coffee

Pai's uncle is Sky's favorite actor?? Awwwww

Why are PrapaiSky kisses the most beautiful kisses ever someone needs to conduct a scientific study on that

Omg that photo of PrapaiSky at the beach is so fucking cute Sky looks so good in that shirt and so sassy aaaaaa

So that's it, huh? Wow. Two relationships with veeeeeeeeeeeery rocky starts but beautiful happy ever afters... holy shit I'm feeling so emotional

Don't have time for the special episode today so that'll be my special treat tomorrow ❤️

#sorry for yet another long-ass post #but its the finale i had to #it gave me quite a lot to react to #love in the air episode 13 #love in the air final episode #love in the air finale #love in the air live reaction #prapaisky #phayurain #payurain

[madaboutmunson]

The Reflex - Rock n Roll Damnation (Ending 1) Part 8/8

Characters: OC, Robin Buckley, Eddie Munson

Warnings: Fluff, angst, kisses, more AC/DC

Thora lay back in the inflatable doughnut, looking up at the sky, her bottle in hand dangling aimlessly in the water, and she gently bobbed around the centre of the pool.

When any confusing racing thoughts entered her head, she focused back into the sky or the AC/DC album playing loudly at the poolside, trying to bury it way down.

She wasn't sure what she was trying to unpack in her mind. She wished Thorin was still around to talk to. Even though his advice usually ended up with "Fuck 'em all, Ra! Just be yourself and let the world come to you."

How could she even be herself if she didn't know who that was? Thora takes another swig from the bottle and lazily lies back, hoping the answers will magically come to her.

She knew the repercussions were imminent. She'd just left them there. They'd probably be worried, angry even, and although that wasn't her intention, it felt like a suitable price to pay for the hour of brain peace she had floating around into the never.

There are many things Thora wished she could turn back time to change, but this was in the top 3. The reaction she had, was not the one she'd planned. She thought she'd feel overjoyed, but something churned in her stomach. Something she wasn't understanding.

Thora doesn't hear it, but a cab pulls up outside the house. Eddie and Robin step out of it.

"Are you sure you've got this?" Robin says seriously to Eddie.

"Look, if you wanna speak to her about it, go for it. I'm not stopping you." Eddie holds his hands at his waist slightly, "Just know, she wasn't trying to sabotage you, ok? She's just confused. I know you know that deep down, right, Buckley?"

Robin frowns a little, "I guess." Eddie nods reassuringly.

"And, my god Buckley, straight for the owner's niece, huh? Fuck, not even I'm that bold!" He nudges Robin playfully.

Robin smiles and laughs a little, "Well, I didn't think about that at the time, you know..." She shrugs.

They get to the front door, and Robin opens it.

She sighs, "Are you definitely sure about this, Eddie? I feel like it should be me. I'm her best friend."

Eddie puts his hands on Robin's shoulders, "I have got this, Buckley, alright?" He says, readjusting his battle vest.

Robin twists her fingers awkwardly, then looks up at Eddie, giving him a light thump on the arm. "She'll be in the pool floating around to AC/DC. It's her thinking spot."

"Got it", Eddie smiles, making his way outside.

Thora hears a splash and snaps her head around in alarm, searching the water for the intruder. But unfortunately, the small army of inflatables was obstructing her view. She holds the glass bottle tight in her hands.

Eddie breaks the surface and nearly gets clobbered with the bottle, "Jesus Christ, Eddie!" Thora exclaims, falling back into the doughnut, clutching her chest and pulling the bottle back just in time, "Fuck, I could have glassed you".

Eddie can't help a smile at a successful jump scare, "Yeah, but you didn't", he says, climbing aboard a nearby inflatable armchair.

Thora and Eddie exchange a severe glance for a few seconds, and Thora casts her eyes down to the water.

"I'm sorry." She says sadly, twirling the bottle in the water.

"Ok, a couple of things with that. One, drinking is not the answer to things like this. Two, we are not gonna just plaster over this with a weak 'I'm Sorry,' and lastly, do you even know what you are apologising for?" Eddie says with his arms folded, but he speaks gently, scanning Thora's face for any apparent indicators.

"Well, at least one of those things I can get some points for", she picks her bottle out of the water again, "It's just a coke."

Eddie continues to look at her, his arms still folded. She knew this meant her little jokes would not help this time.

Thora's face turns to frustration, "I know an 'I'm Sorry' can't make up for everything. I just wanted to let you know I regret what I did. I know walking out like that was wrong, but I didn't know what else to do. I just wanted to get out of there and not have to explain myself because I didn't have an explanation."

"Well, you are fucking right about that. Do you even know how dangerous that was, Thora? You don't know that area, or you know what, it doesn't even have to be an area like that for something bad to happen to someone walking alone." Eddie tries to stay calm, but he is furious she would put herself in jeopardy like that.

"Yeah, well, I'm sorry, alright!" She raises her voice a little, "I wasn't thinking, or I was overthinking. I don't fucking know" she puts her head in her hands.

Eddie offers her little in the way of sympathy on this point, "Well, don't do something that dumb again, alright? You should have at least called a cab, Thora. Come on. This town is so fucked up...Seriously...people straight up disappear."

"I don't know you all that well, Thora, but generally speaking. It's almost like you didn't care if something bad happened to you. You can't be careless like that. What about your family and the other people that care about you?" He says, raising his voice.

Thora looks up at the angry expression on Eddie's face and immediately shies away from it.

"You thought that would hurt less." His words were much softer this time, "I...er...well, let's just say I understand, ok?"

"But! That does not excuse your behaviour, ok? I'm a dumbass, and you aren't, alright?' he laughs, looking over at Thora, her head still hung down, looking into the water.

"Ok, now I've told you off, can I come over there and talk properly?" Eddie asks kindly.

"You still wanna..." Thora raises her head and utters in a melancholy confusion.

"Shut up!" Eddie interrupts with a yell and paddles his inflatable over to hers. He grabs onto the handholds of the doughnut so that they can sit apart, side by side, but still see one another's faces, low lit by the pool lights.

Eddie's yell reminds Thora of the cafeteria and makes the corner of her mouth curl up in a fleeting smile under her wet hair.

"So. I think it's important we talk about what happened, and figure out something at least, so you can stop acting like a total butthead, alright?" He leans over and lifts her chin to look at him, "Alright?" He repeats.

Thora manages a nod. Guilt and worry are eating away at her insides.

"Ok, good. Now I'm gonna be super annoying for a while, mind-blowing, I know, but I promise it's a means to an end" he smiles at her and leans back in his armchair. Thora copies him but doesn't say anything.

"So, when you went in there, despite me telling you not to, I might add, how did you feel?" He asks.

"I was worried. I wanted to find Robin, make sure she was ok," Thora says clearly. She'd been rehearsing this line in her head.

"Ok, good. Why did you think she wasn't ok?" Eddie asks.

"Well, you said she looked weirded out," Thora says. This was half the truth.

"Yes, but Buckley always looks weirded out at me", Eddie adds with a laugh, "Sorry, what I mean is, what did you think that expression meant?"

"I thought...I thought we'd... I'd upset her because of what we were doing," Thora stumbles through the admission.

"Ok, well, that is a little on me and my phrasing, but rest assured if I thought I saw a glimmer of real upset on Buckley's annoying little face. I wouldn't have ignored it, and I sure as hell would have told you immediately." Eddie taps the side of her inflatable to emphasise his words, "Why did you think she might be upset?" He glances over at Thora from the corner of his eye.

"I...um...I don't know." Thora lies.

"Oh wow, ok, no. That lie stinks to high heaven. Try again." Eddie urges.

"I thought she'd be jealous and hurt", Thora says quickly, her eyes shut tight like she was ripping off a band-aid.

"Uh-huh, and then when you found her." Eddie coaxes.

"She wasn't at all. It was like... I dunno. She'd been waiting?" Thora says, sitting up. "She'd been waiting for a green light, Eddie. I was holding her back. I don't think I've ever felt like such a shitty person in my whole life." Thora sighs and lies back into the doughnut as if someone had just lifted a weight from her.

"And..." Eddie waves his hand in the air like a conductor.

"And I was a little jealous alright, and....worried,"  Thora says, annoyed, slapping her bottle at the water.

"Because..." Eddie sings, still conducting the conversation with his hands.

"Because she's MY ROBIN, and I didn't want someone taking her away from me," Thora yells a little too loud and covers her mouth quickly.

"Ding-Ding-Ding. Bingo!" Eddie points at the air and turns to say something, but Thora's words interrupt him.

"But then...I like you...so I was like, what does this even mean? What am I supposed to do with all this?" Thora says, looking at her hands and then back at the sky.

A smile spreads across Eddie's face, but he remembers why he's out here. "Whilst I admire your openness, let's just take me out of the equation for the moment and just backtrack" he rolls over onto his side and the inflatable squeaks, making them both slightly laugh. "So, can you see how you'd pushed your own feelings onto Robin?"

Thora nods, "I can see that. I guess I just don't understand how I feel about her. Like, this might sound extreme, but I kind of love her. I've never met anyone like her. She makes me feel so good about being myself. The thought of being without her makes me wanna vomit, but..." Thora sighs, looking for the words in the darkness, "it's not like..." she reaches over, then very softly and slowly runs the back of her index finger down Eddie's forearm.

As she pulls away, she observes the tiny trail of hairs standing on end she'd hoped for, "like that," Thora adds.

"Er...well...that's a different thing. You can love a friend wholeheartedly, never want to be without them, and never feel that for them. The reverse is entirely possible, too. You experience that without any love at all. Emotions are weird fucked up things." He says, trailing his hand in the water, "When I was in your shoes, I guess I could see that person by my side my whole life, at the time, anyway...but I dunno...I guess I couldn't give them everything they wanted and the blissful happiness they deserved, you know?"

Thora nods, "Yeah, very much that. I'm not brave like Rob is," she says, turning over towards Eddie, "I'm sorry if talking about this has hurt you in any way."

Eddie laughs, "You know what, not in the slightest, quite therapeutic actually. There is a cloud of impending disappointment. I won't lie, but you know that's always floating around somewhere. I normally just ignore it" he smiles at Thora, "So what are Thora Harriton's next steps?"

"Well, maybe push an I'm sorry note under Robin's door and have a proper, honest chat with her about it tomorrow. Then, grovel, apologise for interrupting them, make her favourite pancakes, and take her for ice cream. Make sure she has that girl's number."

Eddie smirks, "Er, well, I can tell you, you didn't interrupt shit, and she has that girl's number already. She's a natural, that Buckley" he raises an eyebrow and shakes his head in amazement.

Thora laughs, "Oh really? How long do I have to wait to tease her about that?"

"Oh, after what you did tonight..." Eddie counts on his fingers and writes some equations in front of his face, "I dunno, if the apology is accepted tomorrow, I'd say two weeks, give or take"

Thora turns over to look at the sky. "And then, maybe take my other friend out to a concert of their choosing, as punishment, you know. But, platonically, of course, he's been so kind, he's been on a real rollercoaster today, and I don't wanna put any pressure on him."

"Say, do I know this guy?" Eddie asks playfully.

"Yeah, you might do. He was the one tackling me into the pool earlier." Thora chuckles, gesturing to the side of the pool.

"Ah yeah, I know that idiot. Well..." Eddie tries to jump from his inflatable onto Thora's but misses, plunging them both into the pool.

They both break the surface. Eddie wipes his eyes, "...well as I was saying...I heard he likes you. Like, you know, enough to buy huge boxes full of scrunchies and threaten shop assistants to make sure you couldn't find any...enough to dance around to the music he loathes. Ok, maybe not entirely now, but he did. Enough to reveal one of his deepest secrets to you" he pauses and makes sure Thora's eyes are engaged with his own, "Enough that he would wait for you to make sure you knew what you wanted before he made any further advances. Even if he wasn't what you wanted, that would be fine too."

Thora brushes some of Eddie's wet curls from the sides of his mouth. She tucks them behind his ear, her eyes focussed on his lips and tendrils of hair, away from his gaze, "and what if...what if I said that those advances might be welcome," then she adds quickly, looking into his eyes "within reason, and with plenty of communication. You think you could pass that on?"

Eddie puts his fingers to his ear and pretends to talk to someone. "Uh-huh...oh ok...alright, calm down...I'll ask...Jesus Christ!"

Eddie moves his hands away from his ears, "You like that guy?! He's disgusting, honestly. But, boy, is he happy about the potential advances! He did ask me to pass something on, if I may?"

Eddie puts his hands on either side of Thora's face, and she nods, putting her arms around Eddie's waist under the water.

Eddie coyly smirks and glances down into the water before taking a step forward into her arms.

They tell you that you look a fool

And baby I'm a fool for you

The singer from the tape yells out.

Thora takes another step forwards and feels their chests press up against one another. Her eyes dance lazily in Eddie's.

They say that your mind's diseased

Shaky stuff

Eddie's half-open eyes glance quickly down at her full lips. Then, finally, he tilts his head with a small smile and presses his lips to hers.

And it's a rock 'n' roll damnation

#eddie munson #stranger things #eddiemunson #eddie stranger things #eddie the freak munson #stranger things fanfiction #fanfiction #eddie munson fanfic #romance #Spotify

[djino04]

OmegaVerse - Birthday Andreas’ point of view

Someone ask to read Andreas' perspective on his proposal for Sky's birthday.

POV Andreas

"With what money Andreas? With the one that was in my account, which the queen confiscated and apparently forgot to return to me after my release? With the one from my salary that Rosalind doesn't give me? Or with my savings hidden in the house that went up in smoke when you decided to burn it down?"

To say I was surprised by Saul's reaction would be an understatement. I thought it would please him to share this birthday gift with me. It was a way to show him that I accepted the role he had in Sky's life and wanted him to keep it. I don't want my return to destroy the relationship between my son and the man who raised him. But on the face of it, I was wrong about everything. 

How could I have guessed that he didn't have any money? To me, he should have had all his savings back when he was pardoned by the queen. That's something that seems normal and logical to me. And I know that it was systematic in the few cases where it happened in Eraklyon. Obviously things are different in Solaria, at least when it comes to Saul, and I'm not sure it was all Luna's idea. Rosalind may have done this so that Saul would have no choice but to stay here in Alfea. It would be hard enough for him to start another life anywhere else, it would be even harder without any savings. So he has little choice but to stay here where he is housed and fed.

I sit on my couch with a glass of whiskey, thinking about what I could do to help him. I know that part of what is happening to him is my fault, I was the one who burned his house down. Sure I was under Rosalind's control, but it was my voice that ordered Riven and Dane to burn down that shack and the headmistress didn't give me any instructions about it. I also vividly remember the pang of jealousy I felt when I saw the house where Saul raised Sky. And at the time, I saw everything in white or black. There was no nuance and so I just wanted to make him pay for the dream life he had with my son while I was deep in the forest with Beatrix, totally isolated from the rest of the world. That's what led me to give those orders and destroy every sign of that life. 

Now that I am no longer under Rosalind's control, I feel bad about it. Neither Sky nor Saul deserved to lose their home and all their stuff. And my ex is not the cause of all my suffering like the headmistress tried to make me believe for years. She is the cause, it was always her.

Now I am grateful to Saul for raising Sky as his son, and for making me look good. I don't know how he found the strength to do it. It would have been so much easier for him to tell the truth. I still don't understand why he took the risk of painting me as a hero, knowing full well that it was a risk to his relationship with Sky when the events of my death came out. When I say I don't understand, I do have a vague idea. I think it has to do with the guilt he must have felt and it was a way for him to punish himself. He is unfortunately like that.

Anyway, all that to say, I need to come up with an idea to help Saul get at least some of his money back. I can't try to pay him back what he lost in the house because I know he'll refuse. I can't go to the queen either, so there is only one solution left, his salary. The papers must be stored somewhere in Rosalind's office. I just have to give them to the right person and Saul will receive the wages he should have received since his release from prison.

I look at the clock and see that it's already almost midnight. I'm going to try an approach. In the worst case, if Rosalind is still in her office, I'll ask her permission to get a car for Sky next weekend. I'm not even sure if she thinks it's strange that I'm coming to her in the middle of the night for that. So I pretend nothing happened as I head to her office. It's important that everything looks normal. 

As I arrive in front of the headmistress’ office, I can already see that there is no light coming through the door, but that doesn't necessarily mean that she's not there. So I knock once, twice even, to make sure that there is really nobody there before operating the handle. Fortunately for me, the door is not locked, which is quite surprising. But on the other hand, whatever she has to hide is not present in this room but in the east wing.

I quickly walk over to her desk and open the drawers one by one. I rummage around, trying not to make a mess that might alert Rosalind to someone's presence here. I feel like it takes me hours before I find what I was looking for, but eventually I do. The papers are already in order, I just have to put the stamp on them, put them in the pile of things that Beatrix has to give to the accountant and that's it.

The whole thing didn't take more than 10 minutes, even though I have the impression that it took much longer. I then go to my apartments and go to bed with the feeling of having done a good deed for the first time in a long time. 

The next day goes normally, until I am summoned to Rosalind's office. Does she already know what I did? Or is she calling me as she often does? I try not to let anything show as I walk into her office, even though I'm nervous. 

As she often does, she ignores me for a few minutes, finishing her task while I stand almost at attention in front of her desk. I hate when she does this and I know she knows it. She does it on purpose to show me that she's the one making the decisions, the one choosing when a conversation starts and ends, and that I'm just there to do her bidding. 

Those minutes of waiting are horrible. I have time to ask myself a thousand and one questions. Is she just going to give me a new mission? Or did she learn what I did last night? What punishment awaits me if she does? Despite my internal turmoil, I try not to move. If she doesn't know I did something wrong, there's no point in showing her. And in any case, I don't want to give her the pleasure of seeing that her behavior affects me.

Suddenly her voice fills the room, even though she still hasn't raised her head and is still writing: 

"Tell me Andreas, do you think I'm stupid?"

I grimace inwardly, the conversation is starting badly, very badly for me. Nevertheless I answer her: 

"No ma'am."

"And yet you thought I left my office door unlocked without placing a spell that would tell me if someone was coming in here?"

She glances at me and I know I've lost. That doesn't stop me from remaining still and silent. She's a predator, to survive, I must not show her any signs of weakness. I must act as if everything I did was for her and not for Saul. She gets up and comes to stand in front of the desk, a meter away from me before continuing to speak: 

"That was a rookie mistake you made there Andreas. On top of that, I got a call from the accountant asking me if it was normal for several pay requests to arrive on the same day for Saul. Do you have an explanation for me?"

She knows it's me, there's no point in sounding surprised. But luckily for me, I had an explanation planned just in case, which I give her: 

"Saul told me about his money problems yesterday. It was a golden opportunity to get closer to him. If there is ever a revolution going on in the school, I have no doubt that the students will turn to him. And if I ever gain his trust at that time, he will tell me about it. Then I could report everything I know to you and we can foil their plans."

She looks at me for a minute, gauging the words that came out of my mouth. I hope she doesn't use her powers on me to find out if I'm lying or not. But since she thinks I'm still under her control, she doesn't. She simply goes back to her desk and tells me: 

"Don't let it become a habit to do things behind my back."

"Yes ma'am."

"You may go."

I head for the door, relieved that everything went well. But before I cross the threshold, her voice echoes through her office:

"Bring Beatrix into town this weekend, I hear there's a fair being set up there."

I know this is her way of rewarding me. And I smile because Rosalind has no idea, I'll get to spend a weekend with my daughter outside of Alfea and Saul will get to have some money. For once, everything's coming together. 

#saul silva #andreas of eraklyon #rosalind #fate the winx saga #ftws #fic #omegaverse