#but she and daniel actually had time to fall in love and knew each other and trusted each other and fought together

[vivwritesfics]

poly fic idea with lando and max

max and reader have been dating for ages when lando joined f1 he befriended both of them. over time their friendship has many signs of a relationship. lando slowly starts falling for them but hides it cause he thinks he would destroy their relationship and that it isnt normal to be in love with two people. meanwhile max and reader have talked a lot about lando joining their relationship and actually planned a date to ask lando out

Y/N laid on the beach towel beside her boyfriend, the likes of Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo with them.

Max was sat up while Y/N laid back with her sunglasses covering her shut eyes. He stared out at the ocean while Lando and Daniel chased each other through the water.

"How's it going?" Asked Charles as he came to sit beside them, his pose match Max's.

To most this would have been a normal greeting, but Max knew better. "So far, so meh," Max answered, digging his toes into the sand. "I don't think he really notices we're flirting with him."

Charles let out a scoff. "Sure he doesn't," he responded. "You two do realise he acts like he's dating the both of you?"

"Piss off, Charles," Y/N mumbled as she rolled over onto her back. But she didn't mean it, it was just a touchy subject.

Charles did piss off. With a laugh, he stood and ran into the water, splashing both Danny and Lando.

Lando left them to it. He walked over and sat in the sand beside Y/N. "Have you got suncream on your back?" He asked, already grabbing it from Y/Ns bag.

She let out a satisfied groan as Lando began rubbing the suncream into the skin of her back. "Can't have your burning," he said, his tongue between his teeth.

Y/N looked over at her boyfriend. Maybe Charles was right. Maybe he did act like their boyfriend.

Goddamn they needed to ask him out.

Their entire holiday was spent with the three of them acting like a couple. Lando didn't notice. It was completely unintential, but he just felt so comfortable around them. He couldn't help it! The others noticed, though. They noticed big time.

"Seriously, I don't know for how much longer I can hold out," Max said as Y/N scrolled through her social media.

She let out a sigh as she locked her phone. "I know, Maxie," she said as she ran her fingers through her hair. "Maybe we should ask him to dinner or something."

That was exactly what they did. Y/N and Max invited Lando out to dinner. And the clueless brit assumed it was nothing. Just a dinner with his friends.

He didn't think anything of it. Not when Max let him try some of his drink. Not when Y/N let him try a bit of pasta from her fork.

It took the couple until the end of the date to realise that Lando didn't realise it was a date. So, as they walked out of the restaurant, Y/N let out a sigh and pressed a kiss to Lando's cheek. "You didn't realise we were taking you on a date, did you?"

Lando's eyes went wide. "Date?" He squeaked. "This was a date?"

"Yes, Lan, this was a date," said Max as he placed his hand on Y/N's shoulder.

"Oh, I wish I had known that."

Lando really wished he had known that. If he knew this was a date he would have dressed a little nicer and would have tried to pay for their food.

"Let's try this again," he said, surprising the couple. "A proper date. We'll book out a restaurant or something, please!"

It was a good thing he was cute.

#lando norris #lando norris imagine #lando norris x reader #lando norris smut #lando norris x reader smut #lando norris fluff #lando norris x you #max verstappen #max verstappen imagine #max verstappen x reader #max verstappen smut #max verstappen x reader smut #max verstappen fluff #max verstappen x you #f1 #f1 imagine #f1 x reader #formula one #formula one imagine #formula one x reader #formula 1 #formula 1 imagine #formula 1 x reader #ln4 #ln4 imagine #ln4 x reader #poly!f1 #mv1 #mv1 imagine #mv1 x reader

[hotmencore]

“𝐅𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬” 𝐃𝐑𝟑

Pairing: Daniel Ricciardo x girlfriend!reader (she/her)

Summary: In which Daniel learns the true extent of his girlfriends hatred towards mornings.

Warnings: language, but other than that it is pure fluff

Word count: 700+

A/N: Sunshine x grumpy is one of my favourite tropes so i had to make a fic for it, and no one is more symbolic of the sun than Daniel Ricciardo. This will probably get edited because i don't really like it.

Likes and reblogs are much appreciated! Copying and reposts are not! My fics are only posted on tumblr, under this account, @hotmencore

Everyone knows that Daniel is a pure ray of sunlight. He is the joy of the grid, and the life of the party around family and friends. Everyone also knows that his girlfriend is all of those things too. You both match each other perfectly, your contagious smiles, your quick witted humours, everything! Well, apart from one thing.

Mornings.

Daniel is always in a good mood, including at 8.00am on a Saturday, but you on the other hand, are in a good mood about 98% of the time. And that 2%, includes 8.00am on a Saturday.

Daniel woke up at that time today, and wanted to get up on time to start his day. But you, did not. And Daniel knew that. He has always known that. He always will know that. But today, he decided that he would try his luck with getting you up at the same time as him, as he would for once like to actually start his day off with his girlfriend. He turned over in bed to face you, your head somewhat shoved into your pillow, face turned away from him, the covers laying over your body delicately.

Daniel decided to try a simple and slick approach, slithering his hand beneath the covers in order to not move them too much, to lay his arm around your middle. You shifted slightly, and Daniel instinctively held his breath. You didn't wake up, so he was able to quietly breathe a sigh of relief, which absentmindedly made him rethink his choices. But he knew he had to commit. He shuffled up towards you, his bare chest now lightly scraping your back.

Now was the time.

Daniel slowly leaned into the crook of your neck, and placed a soft kissed on your bare skin.

"Good morning love" he murmurs.

All he gets in return is a loud inhale, and an even louder groan. You roll away from him in frustration that you had been woken up, your face now shoved even further into your pillow. This does make Daniel chuckle, as he once again laces his arm round your waist, and this time, pulls you flush to him, away from your lovely cool pillow and soft covers. You open your eyes slowly, and do nothing but groggily death stare him.

"Hello little miss grumpy" he tries again with a grin. But before he can even respond, your hand that lay on the outer side of your boyfriend slams down beside you to grab your pillow, and to speedily swing it back past you, aggressively thrashing it down on his face with a thump. Of course this 'violent' throw of a soft pillow didn't do any harm, but Daniel was still taken aback by the new found approach of you pretty much telling him to piss off and let you sleep.

"Fuck off Daniel, its too early" you mumble, although your body still lay wrapped up with his.

"Love its 8, not 4" he replies with a small chuckle, removing your pillow from his face.

"That's still too earlyyy" you groan, causing a real laugh to come from your boyfriend, who was finding this torment of yours quite hysterical.

"Come on, we can get up together and have breakfast at a normal time for once, not at like 11 for a change, Who knows, you might actually like it" he offers, a slight hesitance prominent in his voice.

"You can get up, i'm not" you quickly reply.

"Come on, mornings aren't that bad" Daniel counteracts.

"Fuck mornings" you respond, nuzzling into Daniel further, trying to fall back asleep. Through instinct, your arms go around your boyfriend, now fully cuddling him. Although you were still annoyed that he woke you up way earlier than you would have liked, you couldn't resist the warmth that radiated off of his bare, muscly chest.

Daniel ponders for a second, and finally decides to give up on his attempt, now deciding to do mornings your way, just this once.

"Yeah alright, you win, fuck mornings" he repeats, a small smile playing at his lips as he leans down to place a soft kiss to your forehead.

From beneath Daniel, you smile with pride at your amazing Saturday morning win against him and his early mornings,"Victory is sweet, but sleep is even sweeter, so shut up now so i can go back to it."

#daniel ricciardo #daniel ricciardo x reader #daniel ricciardo imagine #f1 imagine #f1 x reader #formula 1 #daniel ricciardo drabble #daniel ricciardo blurb #daniel ricciardo fanfic #dr3 #dr3 x reader #dr3 imagine #daniel ricciardo fluff #daniel ricciardo x you #daniel ricciardo x yn #daniel ricciardo one shot #sunshine x grumpy #tropes

[iccyhoon]

OKAY SO LIKEEE..hear me out.. reader suddenly drops by ni-kis house at a stupid late time, basically forcing him out the door to watch the first snow fall and play in the snow with her. They start walking back to his house while sharing earbuds. The song 'snow' by Kim Daniel starts playing on her shuffle playlist, and they have a little moment, confessing that they liked eachother

Okay that was really specific but like...🫠

Ahhhhh! Of course!! You got it!! I love this idea!! It's so cute and simple yet has so much potential!! I won't let you down! Thank you for being the first post on my enha blog!

Snow

PAIRING: Ni-ki x fem!reader

WARNINGS: Cutesy Niki!

WORD COUNT: 814

He heard knocking on the door after he was done brushing his teeth. He was confused so he immediately walked out and looked at the peep hole to see you. He was so confused as he checked his phone. It was currently 2:45 am at night. He opened the door for you as he rubbed his eyes.

"Why are you here?" He said, harsher than expected. "It's about to snow! Let's go watch it together." She said light and whole heartheartedly. He shook his head. "It's late..." He said, trying to reason with you.

You were dressed in fleece leggings, white skirt along with a white puffer jacket. Brown earmuffs to match the brown boots you had on.

He smiled looking at how cutesy you dressed up. "Please Niki?" You asked as he shrugged. "I don't know. It's late." He said yawning immediately after. You pouted and grabbed his coat, his scarf, a beanie, and his winter boots. "Now get these on." You huffed as he shook his head no, sitting on the couch.

You puffed your cheeks. Helping him get dressed as he couldn't help but smile at your reaction. You helped him get ready as you pulled out your phone. "Hurry it's 3 already! First snow starts at 3:15!" You yelled as he covered your mouth, suddenly full of energy. "Shh! My neighbors are gonna kill me..!" He whisper yelled as he chuckled and you giggled.

You guys both laughed as you plugged in your earbuds, playing your winter playlist. He knew winter was your favorite season so he didn't complain as he stuck the right side in his ear.

"So where are we going?" He asked. "To that open field of grass." He looked, he didn't see much grass. He did see patches of frost though. "That's frostbitten grass silly." He said as you sighed, looking at your phone. "Hurry it's 3:05!" She said, pulling on his wrist, forcing him to run. He laughed and you laughed with him.

"We made it!" You said, checking the time, "It's 3:12 am." You said, waiting for the snow as you sat, he sat next to you as he cleared his throat. You guys sat in silence for a minute.

"So I-" You both said at the same time and laughed gently together. "You first." He said. "No you." You said back. "You go." He insisted. "A gentleman knows better to listen to a lady." You told him as he looked around. "Where's the lady?" He joked as you pushed him lightly.

"Kidding, kidding." He said, taking a deep breath. "Listen, y/n." He started off, causing yout heart to pump faster at your nervousness.

Just then, the song changed to Snow by Kim Daniel as he chuckled.

"As I was saying..." He said looking into your eyes, your nose all red from the cold. "I really... really do like you..." He confessed. "For a while now actually. All the little things you do is why I fell in love with you. You may be crazy and come to my house at damn near 3 in the morning just so I can watch the first snowfall with you." He said chuckling, "But that's something I want to keep doing with you..." He said holding your hand. "That's something I want to experience forever alongside you." He confessed as tears rolled down your cheeks.

He was horrified and hugged you. "I'm sorry..." He said gently as you pulled away slightly smiling. "I'm not sad... just really relieved you feel the same way..." You replied, your voice sweet and soft as he sighed of relief.

You guys smiled at each other, knowing your feelings were both reciprocated. As a snowflake fell on Niki's nose.

You immediately smiled and turned to see the snow fall. You were so happy and once the song ended, you leaped out of his arms and went to play in the snow. Niki following you soon after.

You made snowballs and threw them at him as he counter attacked and threw one at you as well. You guys made snowmen and snow angels together and after you were making your 4th snow angel, he just looked at you. Knowing that you were now his.

You walked over to him and smiled. "Thank you Niki." You said sheepishly as he rubbed some snow off your face. "Thank you for dragging me out here tonight." He said, sitting upright, pulling you in for your guys' first kiss.

BONUS!!

Niki woke up cuddled next to you as he texted his group chat.

Niki: Sorry guys, I caught a cold

Wonnie: Oh no, what kind?

Hoonie: What happened this time?

Niki: I'm love sick

Niki has sent a photo

Jay: Really 😐

Woonie: Feel better...

Hoonie: Why are you guys up at 6 am? I'm going ice skating on my day off

Seen

#enha #enhypen #enha x reader #enhypen niki #niki x reader #niki #enha niki #enhypen niki fluff #enhypen niki ff #niki fluff #niki fanfic #enha drabble #enha fluff #enha ff #enha scenarios #enha imagines #hes so cute #enha x female reader

[sensei-venus]

Poly! Car Dealership!Daniel & Mechanic!Johnny/ Baker!Chubby!Reader

(Unedited) (Johnny and Daniel are in their mid 20s, Daniel works at the dealership that he would later buy & turn into his own, Johnny got into handwork but ended up going into mechanics, their dating but on the low.)



🔧🚗 Reader wanted to cry when she found out the news regarding her van. The poor thing had been totaled by accident in a repair yard. A week prior the engine had stalled after a delivery so she brought it in to get it looked at. The mechanic told her it would be a simple fix and to come back in a week. She was able to find a quick replacement for that week but wouldn’t be able to use it for long. A week later she showed up to retrieve the vehicle only to find out that it had been hit while in the lot, and crushed after being deemed total.

🔧🚗She felt like her whole world was crashing down in that moment. Although the repair shop said they would cover her new van, it still felt like so much. She had no idea where to go to get a new van. There where dozens of places around town but she still had a budget. It took her a day or two but she finally narrowed it down to a new car dealership near her job. Luckily they sold used cars as well on the lot and not just brand new ones. She spotted a few vans while passing the place a few times and finally decided to stop in.

🔧🚗 At first she thought she knew what she was looking for. A simple van with a good ac that could transport her goodies on delivery’s. The van was only used to deliver the food from her job at her parents bakery. She loved working at the bakery because she loved baking, she wondered if it was something in her blood maybe. As of recently she was doing a lot of deliveries for her parents so she was the one mainly using the van.



Reader chewed on her bottom lip as she looked around the huge car lot. She was wandering around the multiple aisles of the dealership for a few hours. Looking over every single used van she came across. Most of them looked nice in her opinion but she had to admit she didn't know much about cars in general.

She scanned one of the vans windshields for a moment, pressing herself up against the hood of the van.

“Do you need some help miss?” Reader jerked for a moment and spun around. With a hand on her chest, she looked at the guy standing behind her. Her cheeks were suddenly warm as she looked at the guy who was on the verge of laughing at her. He was a little bit on the shorter side for a guy, with nicely tanned skin, ever so slightly curled black hair, and dark brown eyes. His lips curled in a genuine smile. With a small breath she said “Oh uh yes! I was looking to get a van? A used one? I see you have a few but I admit that I don't know much about them.” he smiledas nodded at her.

“Well, I'm Daniel, Daniel LaRusso, and I'm the lot manager. I can tell you just about anything you want to know about these babies. Ask me anything you want. Are you looking for anything potential, besides it being used of course.” he smirked as he looked over the van behind her.

She quickly explained her situation. He showed her around the lot and went over some of the vehicles. He wasn't lying when he said he knew a lot about the vans, he spurted out random facts about every model they came across. He told her the mileage, background, and past issues with every van.

They also did a little chit-chat as they walked around.

Reader was starting to quickly fall for the guy's accent.

“So Daniel where are you from? You have an accent.”

“Oh yeah, I get that a lot, I was raised in New York, and moved here a few years ago during high school. I actually graduated from West Valley. Even after being here the accent hasn't gone anywhere.”

Reader felt herself flush a little.

“No, it's cute. It suits you really well.”

In that moment she couldn't bring herself to look over at him as they walked next to each other. She looked off in the opposite direction hoping he didn't notice her flustered appearance. But he did and definitely thought it was cute. Both of them where adults and she was blushing over him like a little teenager. The urge to chuckle bubbles up into his chest but he digresses.

After what seemed like for ever they find the perfect van for her. A large rear with no back seats and a great ac. Reader was in awe as she looked around the inside of the vehicle. It was perfect! Looking around she couldn’t even tell it was pre owned. The title was clean with no record and low miles, all of it seemed to check out. With little to no effort Daniel talked her into buying the van right out.

Daniel was quick to let her test drive the van to let her get a feel for it. They drove around the block for a few minutes before driving back to the dealership. Daniel told her to drive it up to the back of the lot where the repair center was located. She was quick to question how cool it was that they had on staff mechanics on the lot. Daniel grinned as he explained that he was able to make a deal with the dealership owner in a meeting to start a mechanic program. They would bring in fresh students from a local college for work experience while getting paid from the school for credit hours. It sounded like a smart move to Reader, Daniel grinned even more at the praise.

The two of them got out of the car after Reader pulled into the open garage.

There wasn’t even a moment to spare as both of them where cut off.

“LaRusso out in the yard today? Must be a hot day in hell.” A deep voice came from around the side of the van. Johnny comes out from behind the van, wiping grease stained hands on his jumpsuit. Thick blank oil seeps though the dark green fabric. His hands only and on fingerless gloves that where bathed in the liquid.

“Yes Johnny it is so out of my nature to not show my face around your gross garbage.”

“Yeah we don’t want to get that cheap ass suit all messed up, do we? You should stay in that cold ac filled building away from the actual hard work.”

It was pretty clear that the two had a bit of a rivalry going on. Reader giggled a little bringing the two men to stop their insult filled bickering . Both of them looked at her and Johnny just smirked, looking her over. His eyes scanning over her thigh thighs and fluffy belly, tits that threatened to spill out of her tight tshirt. He licked his lips and sucked in his teeth as she looked her on the face.

“Johnny this is Reader, Reader this is Johnny. He’s one of our head mechanics. We also went to school together.”

“Yeah well you also kicked me in the face during a karate tournament too, don’t forget that one.”

“Yeah and I’m not going to forget the chance that you and your goons beat me up- you know what let’s not start this Johnny. I just need you to do the last report on this van. Reader wants to buy it flat out but I need the sale report before we release it.” He huffs as he pulls out some of his papers and hands them to Johnny. He grimaces as Johnny’s oil covered fingers rip the clipboard with the papers out of his hand. He looks it over before throwing it into a near by work bench.

“I can have it done by tomorrow.~” he looks back over to Reader who is now busy looking around the garage. His eyes going straight to her ass as she walks around.

Daniel let’s a small smirk cross his lips as he follows Johnny’s gaze. His eyes landing on her fat ass as well.

“I think we could arrange a in person pick up for later tomorrow.” He walks a little closer to Johnny and whispers into his ear.

“If you can try and keep that dick in your pants until I can figure out a way to ask her out.”



#cobra kai #cobra kai blog #cobra kai ask blog #cobra kai headcanons #cobra kai imagine #cobra kai blurbs #karate kid blurbs #mechanic!johnny #car ​dealership!daniel #poly daniel and johnny #cobra kai daniel larusso #daniel larusso #daniel larusso x reader #daniel larusso x chubby reader #johnny lawrence #johnny lawrence x chubby reader #johnny lawrence x reader

[itsgxsly]

EXCLUSIVENESS

Summary: Although you are exclusive, Daniel and you are still unclear about your relationship. But a night out can change many things.

Pairing: daniel ricciardo x reader

Warnings: allusions to sex

Word Count: 1398

You met Daniel thanks to Chloe and Scotty, who introduced you to both during a dinner with friends that they organized at their house. The couple were good friends with both you and Daniel, and they thought that the two of you could get along very well, even if you were quite different in character. Perhaps that was the very thing that led Daniel and you to sleep together the same time you met and from there, to all the other times you ended up in your bed or his with the sheets tangled in your bodies and accelerated breaths.

Obviously, no one, not even your closest friends or family, knew about this friends-with-benefits relationship in which both of you had become involved. Actually, it used to be easy to hide everything because neither you nor Daniel used to talk much when you were in front of a lot of people. For some reason, your conversations were reserved for the moments after Daniel fucked you until all you were able to say was his name. You would lie in either one of your beds, your head resting on Daniel's chest, his heartbeat lulling you to sleep. Those moments had become routine at this point. Normally, Daniel talked non-stop and you just listened, occasionally adding a word or sound to indicate that you were still paying attention. That was one of the things that made you feel comfortable with each other, Daniel could babble all he wanted and he knew that you would listen to every word he said without judging him for it.

Still, all those conversations didn't lead to anything else. Just the next morning you said goodbye and as soon as you saw each other again it seemed that nothing had happened between you. And to be honest, you were starting to get tired of it. You liked Daniel, you liked him a lot and you could even say that you had started to fall in love with him, but you didn't want to continue with that stupid routine of just having sex when you were bored. The only problem was that as much as you wanted to go ahead and get rid of Daniel, no one seemed to be able to get his bright smile out of your head. But that night you were determined to make it. Chloe had invited you to go to a club with her and the rest of your friends that night and she had told you that she would not take no for an answer, so now you were sitting at the table in the private area of ​​the club with the rest of the group. Since you had arrived, you noticed Daniel's gaze on you running through your body from top to bottom. Even though you wanted to return his gaze and get closer to him, you resisted the urge and ignored him, which confused Daniel. It was true that you didn't usually speak much in public, but he always received a look from you and a soft and concealed smile. But now there was nothing.

After a couple of drinks and shots that Chloe had forced you to drink, you decided that the two of you were going to go dancing for a while, and if you were lucky, you would find someone that night. You danced and sang together with your friend, both of you too drunk to think of anything reasonably. You kept dancing until you noticed hands on your hips and a body behind you that began to dance with you. With too many drinks on you, you only glanced back to see a boy who looked about your age. You smiled and kept moving with him. Clearly in your state, you didn't notice Daniel's gaze on you and the guy, who he wish he could have killed right then and there for being so close to something he considered his. Maybe you had never talked about it, but for Daniel you were his. And if he was honest, he was yours. He hadn't been with anyone since he had tasted how addictive you could be and he really didn't want to be with anyone else. So when he saw that idiot lower his hands more than he should, he couldn't take it anymore and under the gaze of his friends he got up without speaking and went to where you were dancing. He grabbed your arm and without explanation dragged you out of the club towards his car. You came out of the binge enough to scold him.

"Can I know what the hell you're doing? Let me go" you spoke pissed off. You pulled the hand that was holding you to let go of him, but clearly Daniel was stronger than you and you couldn't beat him.

"You are drunk. We're going home” Daniel didn't even turn to look at you as he reached where his car was parked, opening the passenger side door for you to get in.

"I'm not going anywhere with you. I don't know who the hell do you think you are to tell me what I have to do” you kept complaining to him.

“Y/n” this time, his tone of voice made it clear that he wasn't going to argue. “Get in the fucking car. You're very drunk, so I'm going to take you home. Do me a favor and don't make it difficult for me"

Although your anger hadn't subsided, you were too tired to argue and the effects of the alcohol were beginning to wear off on you, so grumbling under your breath you got into the car. Daniel got in after you and started driving. After a while you recognized that the way he was going led to his apartment, and you quickly turned to him to complain.

"I don't know where you think you're going, but I want you to take me home"

“You are drunk and tomorrow you will have a hangover. I'm not going to leave you alone in your house in this state” Daniel argued with you.

"I'm sorry to break it to you, but I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself," you rebutted.

Daniel pulled the car to the side of the road and turned to look at you.

"Yes, I can see that. Is that why you were dancing with a guy you didn't know at all in the middle of the club?" Daniel was getting more and more pissed off since he had seen you dance before.

“And can I know why it matters to you what I do with another? We're not supposed to be anything, Daniel” You said the last sentence as an accusation.

“Maybe that's the problem. I want us to be something!" Daniel finally lost his temper. “I haven't gotten close to anyone for more than half a year because I'm only able to think of you every time I try. I can't get you out of my head. And fucking you, as much as I love it, it's not enough for me anymore, I need to have you in every possible way. I want to kiss you in front of everyone, I want to hug you when we go to sleep and I want to wake up with you in the morning without leaving you right after. I ended up falling in love with you, y/n and I want everything with you”

Daniel was breathing rapidly, but now he could begin to relax after confessing everything.

You on the other hand, were in shock. Daniel had just confessed to you that he was in love with you and you had no idea what to say to him. You wanted to release everything you felt the same as him, but the words wouldn't come out of you.

“y/n, say something. Whatever, even if you want to yell at me,” Daniel pleaded. You were able to react minimally to say a sentence.

"Daniel..." you took a deep breath and looked at him. "I'm in love with you too"

You both smiled with a sigh of relief and laughed simply out of happiness at the moment. You still had to talk about many more things and see how you were going to tell this to the rest, but for now you settled for a fiery and euphoric kiss on that road.

#formula 1 #daniel ricciardo x reader #daniel #ricciardo #dr3 #daniel ricciardo x y/n #daniel ricciardo x you #daniel ricciardo imagine #friend with benefits #fwb #fluff #request #f12022 #f1 blurb

[callsign-dexter]

A Hug to Remember

Request: The first time oakley hugged Daniel. You can decide basically everything and do this whenever you want. This is for your own heart.

Pairings: Platonic!Daniel Charles & Platonic!Oakley Finn

Warnings: fluff

Masterlist

A/N: This is a fic for a @docockschest 's story and it is their character. There will be an actual name instead of a reader insert. Also, it'll be they/them because that is what is used in their fics.

It had become a regular thing for Oakley to have therapy sessions due to past traumas. Nobody never seemed to want to work with the kid or help them and that caused a lot of trust issues. Oakley thought it was just a lost cause and almost gave up until he met Dr. Daniel Charles. The two of them were quick to bond and Daniel was patient and didn't rush things and this is something Oakley loved about him. They started to see Daniel as a parent figure. They trusted this man with their life and Daniel seemed to be the same way. This kid had become part of him and he was very hesitant to let that go. Of course, it took some time to get used to each other but after a few weeks of spending their weekly sessions together it was a quick bond.

Daniel had taken on a protective momma bear role, yes even though he is a guy, to Oakley. He hated seeing that kid hurting or having a rough day. He felt so much sympathy for this kid that it had gotten to the point where he had almost thought about adopting him. They had such a tight bond that it was normal for Oakley to just saunter into the hospital and everyone just said hi and went on their way. Often time they would end up falling asleep on Daniel's couch while he worked away. Charles would look up occasionally and see them asleep and walk over and throw a blanket over them, that was specifically kept in the office just for Oakley and nobody else.

It was a Friday when Oakley walked into the hospital and was greeted by the receptionist, Alania. "Good morning, Oakley." She said in a sweet tone and they smiled.

"Good morning." Oakley replied back.

"Dr. Charles is expecting you. You know where to go." She said and Oakley smiled and nodded and they were off down the path to the well-known office. When they got there the door was partially cracked open but it was enough for one to see in and one to see out. Oakley was about to knock when Daniel's voice sounded.

"You can come on in. I know it's you, Oakley." Daniel said without looking up and that made Oakley smile.

"How did you know?" They asked him.

"I just do and I'll never tell my secrets." Daniel said with a chuckle looking up and Oakley had a smile on their face.

"I'll find out one day." They said and Daniel shook his head.

"We'll see about that." Daniel said "How are you on this fine morning?" He started off getting the session started.

"It's too early that’s for sure." Oakley said and Daniel nodded.

"I have to agree with that." He said "Anything new happen this week?" He asked and Oakley knew what he meant by that but shook their head.

"No, it's been pretty tame. Nothing new to report." They said and Daniel nodded and wrote something in a notebook. The session went on for a few hours and a lot was talked about and some advice was given. Daniel looked down at his watch and saw that it was the end of the session.

"Well, Oakley. It looks like our session has ended. As you know, you're welcome to stay here or walk around the hospital. Everyone knows who you are." Daniel said with a chuckle. Oakley knew this was true and chuckled themselves. "I think the cafeteria is still serving breakfast." Daniel said just about the time Oakley's stomach growled, and that made them both chuckle.

"Are you gonna join me?" Oakley asked

"Do you want me to join you?" Daniel answered back with a question and Oakley gave a nod and that made Daniel smile "Then I would love to join you." He said and got up and they made their way down to the cafeteria. Nobody batted an eye when they saw these two together it was just a normal now. As the both of them were walking to the cafeteria they passed Sharon Goodwin.

"Good morning you two." She said with a smile.

"Good morning, Dr. Goodwin. How are you?" Oakley asked and she smiled.

"I'm doing good thank you for asking. You two heading off to get some breakfast?" She asked and both Oakley and Daniel nodded and she smiled. "You're gonna like it. They're serving pancakes and bacon." She said "The good pancakes." She added and that brought a smile to both of their faces and then they were bidding goodbye to her and heading to the cafeteria and she just chuckled watching the two of them scurry off. The line wasn't long and that was a good thing. Both of them were quick to get in and then grab what they wanted and they were at the cashier. Daniel was quick to pay for his and Oakley's before the kid had time to get out money.

"Daniel." Oakley said and he just smirked.

"No need for that. I have to take care of you." He said and Oakley rolled their eyes but went along with it. A table was quickly taken by the two of them and they ate together and small talk was made. It was currently summer so they talked about what Oakley would be doing for the summer months. Before they both knew it breakfast was eaten and now, they were taking their trays to the trash and stacked with the others. Oakley tended to be a clingy person, especially when they started to get tired. So, as they were walking back toward the office, they let out a yawn and Daniel smiled and chuckled. "Why don't you take a nap in my office while I go and check on some patients? I promise I'll try to be quiet when I come back in." Daniel said and Oakley nodded.

"Ok." Oakley said as they walked into the office. Oakley and laid down while curling up in the blanket. Daniel went to his desk and got a few things and then looked up and Oakley was fast asleep, he smiled and walked out ready to check on some patients.

===============================

After Daniel was done making his rounds, he found himself standing at the receptionist's desk in the ED. He didn't want to disturb the sleeping teenager. He figured he would let them sleep for about an hour. As he was standing there and looking at his watch Will Halstead walked up to him. "So where is your cub?" He asked teasingly and Daniel looked up at him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Daniel asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, you're like a momma bear when it comes to that kid so it just makes sense." Will said and then his smirk came back "So, where is the cub?" He added teasingly.

"They're asleep." Daniel said and Will nodded and smirked.

"You're so soft for that kid." Will said and Daniel stopped and looked at him.

"Of course, I am. They've been through a lot." He said about that time Oakley had started down the hallway toward ED when they asked where they could find Daniel. Will looked up when he saw the teenager walk their way.

"It looks like your cub has awoken." Will said with a smirk, Daniel rolled his eyes but also smiled when he saw the teen get closer.

"Nice nap?" Daniel asked and Oakley looked at him and nodded.

"It was very nice. Your couch is comfortable." Oakley said and Daniel smiled.

"It is, isn't it?" Daniel asked

"Hello, Oakley." Will said and Oakley smiled.

"Hello, Will." They replied

“Did you have a nice nap?” He asked smirking and Oakley looked at him long and hard and smiled.

“Say, Will don’t you have someone else to go and annoy?” Oakley said and Daniel tried to hide his smirk but failed and Connor looked at them speechless. Just then his pager goes off and he is off without and words and Daniel holds his fist out to Oakley and he fists bumps him.

The rest of the day consisted of Oakley following Daniel around when he was allowed to and hanging out in his office. It was getting late and Daniel was going to be working an overnight shift so he encouraged Oakley to go home. They reluctantly did but they promised to be back in the morning to be there for Daniel to finish out his shift.  

===============================

The next morning as promised, Oakley was there bright and early and nobody batted an eye and he walked past the receptionist who greeted them in passing. As they were walking, they ran into Will. “Good morning, Oakley.” Will said and they smiled at him.

“Good morning, Will.” They said

“Is the cub looking for their momma bear?” Will asked and Oakley raised an eyebrow at him.

“Momma bear? Cub?” Oakley asked curious and Will smirked. Will was about to answer but Daniel had showed up almost like he was summoned.

“Oakley!” Daniel said and they smiled.

“Hi, Charlie.” Oakley said and Will rose an eyebrow.

“Charlie, huh?” He questioned and Oakley nodded.

“We’ve known each other for a few years and figured it was time to go to a first name and nickname basis.” Daniel said and Will nodded his head.

“Speaking of nicknames. Will you call Charlie momma bear and me cub. Why is that?” Oakley said looking at him and then Will looked at Daniel and he sighed.

“He calls me that because I’m protective over you. You’re like a kid or a cub more than a patient. You’ve grown on me kid.” Daniel said and tears formed in Oakley’s eyes. Nobody has said that to them or been that so protective of them before. Before anybody could move Oakley all but practically tackled Daneil in a hug. Daniel was quick to hug him back. Will had quietly snuck away giving them some time alone.

Of course, Oakley and Daniel had hugged before but it was usually quick or a side hug. This hug meant something different to the both of them. It was a hug full of love and one of need. It was one of protectiveness.

Oakley had actually started to sob into Daniel’s chest. “Thank you so much.” Oakley said and Daniel held him a little tighter and buried his face into Oakley’s hair.

“It’s ok kid. I’ll always be here for you no matter what, no matter the time day, or no matter the situation. You can count on me because you’re my cub and I’m you momma bear. Forever and always.” Daniel said and Oakley just held onto him tighter.

This hug was certainly one to remember and neither Oakley or Daniel were going to forget it anytime soon.

Tag list:

@kmc1989

@els-marvelvsp

@atarmychick007

@nyx2021

@grandstrangerphantom

@angenu01-blog

@talesofreading

@docockschest

#chicago med imagine #chicago med fic #chicago med fanfiction #chicago med #chicago med imagines #one chicago fanfic #one chicago imagines #one chicago fanfiction #one chicago imagine #one chicago

[thecourtfinchster]

rating and reviewing a selection of live action Cinderella films: part 1

1st place is Ever After (1998) with Drew Barrymore

ok so this movie is 10/10 across all categories.

not only does it have some of The Best historical costumes I've seen in a film, but all the characters are wonderfully developed.

the staff aren't totally dismissed, and they love Danielle. also key supporting characters and without them Danielle would not have gotten to know the prince.

Henry the prince himself is kind of a dickhead, but hey at least he's got a personality! and he Does get better eventually. Henry actually has a very nice arc and gets humbled multiple times. Danielle inspires him to open a university. He also has solid dynamics with each of his parents, the king and queen, which aids the believability of the story as a whole. like the royal family actually have substance to them.

and i like how there's no love at first sight!! of course, Danielle and Henry do fall in love over a short period of time, but it's earned.

also the Utopia quotes when Danielle is saving Maurice!!!!!!! yeah girl give us socialism!!! i love how ready she was to address classicism. like she was Not expecting to see the prince let alone lecture him on social systems and his own arrogance.

(the aforementioned king and queen. they're fun <3)

the stepmother is so wonderfully cruel! Angelica Houston plays Rodmilla so coldly, with conniving schemes and haughty style. she's still horribly abusive and manipulative and definitely deserved the ending she got, but i do love how she is portrayed in this film. there's one scene of vulnerability where Danielle asks if she ever loved her father, and Rodmilla replies that she barely knew him. Danielle's father, Gustave, was the second husband that Rodmilla had to marry to survive. Although she is the villain, at the core of her character is her dedication to the security of her daughters and herself. In Ever After, the stepmother is given a complexity that so many other retellings lack. It makes for a more compelling character for the audience to be invested in.

Marguerite and Jacqueline are, in my opinion, the most dynamic stepsisters in any Cinderella retelling. Marguerite is just as corrupt as her mother is, but with less control over her temper, but she's also just as cunning. She's quite intelligent, albeit spoiled to the core. Jacqueline is seen as the lesser of the two by Rodmilla, which is why she becomes so sympathetic for Danielle and how she's treated. i love how her character gets to learn what is important to her. she does get a man, only after she's established her own standing, and they are quite happy together.

a super cool costuming detail is the difference in sleeves between Danielle's mother's dresses and the ones that the step sisters wear. tighter fitting sleeves vs the big and poofy tell how much time has passed between trends, which i think is a nice touch. also the movie is supposed to be set in the earlyish 16th century. they do a really good job of keeping it accurate, although there is some 15th century inspiration sprinkled in.

i LOVE how Leonardo da Vinci acts as the fairy godmother. he's just this eccentric old man that goes around imparting knowledge and fiddling with inventions. and he's just as much a mentor for Henry as he is a godmother to Danielle. he helps Henry see past his stupid arrogance and teaches him the beauty of love and life. and yes, he Does get Danielle to the ball, and convinces her to tell Henry the truth of her identity.

one of my favorite quotes is when Danielle says, "a bird may love a fish, signore. but where will they live?" and Leonardo replies: "then i shall have to make you wings"

AND MAKE HER WINGS, HE FUCKING DOES

they're STUNNING and i LOVE THIS DRESS SO MUCH. this is at the masque ball. she has glitter on her face but no mask, because she's there to reveal the truth. i do not Care if the glitter might be historically inaccurate because it's Gorgeous and i will Not be accepting complaints. also I'm pretty sure the wings are made of a type of organza? i found an article a while ago that talked about it but it has since been lost :(

plot wise, everything goes to shit at the masque. and then Danielle gets sold to this creep who was in one (1) earlier scene, but she rescues herself as soon as the prince gets there. Henry proposes, Rodmilla and Marguerite get shipped to the americas, and Leonardo gives Danielle a portrait of herself as a wedding present.

honorable mention to the jester that appears in two scenes who is unnamed and never speaks. i love you random jester <3

#cinderella #going feral #ever after: a cinderella story #i love this movie so much #film review #film recommendations #jester #historical costuming #renaissance film #costumes

[44-in-color]

Falling | Daniel Ricciardo

pairing: female oc x daniel ricciardo (unrequited) word count: 1720 warnings: unrequited love :(

synopsis: Stella Vettel falls for someone and breaks her heart in the process.

She made a pact with herself that she would never act on her feelings for him. Daniel Riccardo was forbidden as far as Stella Vettel was concerned, being the, now, ex-teammate of her brother. She remembers the first time she met him, with a vague fogginess.

She went to the first race of the season to wish her brother good luck, as she had done every year, and there he was. All smile, mischievous eyes and perfect curls, Daniel Riccardo was meant to be a heartbreaker. Stella had caught his eye as she crossed his garage to get to Sebastian’s, and that was the beginning of the end.

It was funny to think back on because there was no sign that she would be ruined for life. No butterflies, no fireworks, no heart-stopping moment or breath held. As far as Stella knew it was a normal race weekend.

Man was she wrong.

She couldn’t quite remember what they had said when they spoke to each other after free practice one - probably just niceties and small talk. They exchanged numbers and didn’t actually talk for the next few months. It was only when it was Daniels’s birthday that she reached out.

From then on, they got along like a house on fire. Whoever woke up first would send a quick text to the other about nothing, anything, and everything in between. Sebastian used to joke that she talked to Daniel more often than she talked to him, even if it wasn’t as much of a joke as it was a fact. She would always counter with the fact that she was just being friendly with his teammate. It went unspoken that she had never done this before.

The fall was slow, a slide more than an avalanche. It was only when Sebastian left Red Bull that Stella realized that she had no desire to reach out to Sebastian’s new teammate to ‘be friendly’. She tried not to think about it too much. She would fill her days with work and going out and binging shows to try not to think about it. But the damned question of ‘why’ wouldn’t leave her alone.

Stella realized later that she had known why, she just hadn’t wanted to say it out loud.

She was in love.

This, of course, led to Stella breaking any and all contact with Daniel for the next week while she tried to figure out what the hell she was going to do now. Her phone would buzz for hours before Daniel would give up for the day, only for the whole process to start again the next day. She knew it was bad when Sebastian was the one to call her and ask why she wasn’t replying to Daniel.

“I did something stupid, Sebastian,” her voice was soft, and she was afraid if she spoke any louder, she would start crying.

“What happened?” Sebastian lowered his voice to match her tone, realizing something was wrong. He could tell she was biting her lip - she always did it as a kid when she was nervous.

“I fell in love,” Stella could already feel the tears slipping down her face. Dripping away to form a wet patch on her sweater, feeling minorly pleasant as her whole body was set on fire.

“Why is that stupid?” He paused for a beat, voice flitting towards playful, “I fell in love, didn’t I? Look at me now, beautiful wife, beautiful daughters… beautiful cars.”

Stella huffed out a small laugh and pulled her sweater down over her hands to wipe away her tears. “Yeah…” she continued to fiddle with the ends of her sleeves, not knowing how to reply.

“So, I’m assuming the lucky guy is Daniel?” Stella only hummed in reply, a small smile slipping onto her face just thinking about him.

“Do I need to beat him up… with my car?” Stella knew he was joking, but even the thought of it was enough for her heart to start beating in double time.

“No… I’ve been acting stupid these last few weeks. I’ll talk to him. I promise.” Sebastian mimicked her hum and the pair moved on to happier topics.

The next day, Stella stuck by her promise and reached out to Daniel. As soon as she had sent her first response, her phone started ringing.

“Oh my god, are you okay? Where have you been? I’ve been so worried! The only reason I wasn’t on a flight to you was because Sebastian kept telling me you were okay and-” Daniel’s voice was soothing and Stella felt like her whole world just got so much brighter just by hearing it. She knew she should be paying attention to what he was saying, but she just wanted one moment to bask in the warmth he brought her, even from thousands of miles away.

“Daniel.” She barely whispered his name, and his voice immediately stopped, silent and waiting for her response. “I’ve missed you too,” Her cheeks hurt from the smile on her face, and she shook her head at how childish she was being. Like a schoolgirl with a crush!

“Never do that again, do you understand Stels?” She felt bad she had worried him so much and spoke a quick confirmation. Then, they fell back into the beat of how things normally were - talking for hours on end when they could and texting when they couldn’t.

Months went by and Stella would not utter a word about her feelings, happy with just being able to bask in the company of Daniel. It was like nothing had changed, the two would text and chat all day long when possible. Even though they weren’t able to meet up in person due to their (his) crazy schedule, Stella and Daniel didn’t feel any the lesser for it.

As the season started to draw to a close, Stella counted down the days until the last race. She had her tickets booked for ages, and while she was glad to get the chance to see her brother, she was a lot more excited to see Daniel again.

It started out as a normal day and even the scorching sun couldn’t stop Stella from feeling absolutely giddy at the thought of seeing Daniel again. She hadn’t seen him since the race in Australia, and all she could think about was how happy their reunion would be.

After reaching the paddock just before the start of free practice one, Stella was quick to greet everyone at the Ferrari garage before booking it towards Red Bull. She noticed Christian on the pit wall and gave him a small wave which he returned, and she turned back towards Daniel’s side of the garage.

As she tried to spot him around the garage, she felt her heart drop as she saw him.

There he was, the man she loved, kissing someone else.

Stella felt her whole body go numb.

She didn’t realize she had been standing, staring, unmoving until a mechanic dropped a wheel gun nearby. Before, it was like she was in a bubble, protected by the shock, enclosed in a safe and quiet place where nothing could disturb her.

Now, her breath started getting faster as her body went into overdrive. It seemed as if the world had been turned up to eleven and Stella could feel everything around her. The mechanics talking nearby sounded as if they were screaming into her ears. The sun, which until now was an energizing warmth, seemed to be blinding and scorching her skin. Stella could swear she could feel a thousand ants crawling all over her body.

Feeling tears pricking the corner of her eyes, she quickly turned around and walked back towards the Ferrari garage. She brushed past what felt like a thousand people, softly apologizing each time, until she was swallowed up by the familiar red.

“Stella! There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you, there’s something I must tell you about Daniel. He-” As Stella looked up at her brother, tears barely held back, hands squeezing each other to a painful degree, she knew he could tell she had found out.

“Oh, Stella.” Sebastian’s face fell and he opened his arms for her to burrow herself into.

“I’m so sorry.” He softly whispered into her hair, but she only squeezed him tighter in response. As Stella pushed herself away, Sebastian took off his hat and placed it on her to help cover her face.

“Do you want to go back to the hotel?” Sebastian slipped into German, placing a fake smile on his face, realizing there were cameras nearby.

“No, I came here to support you, like I’ve done every year. I’m not letting some stupid boy and some stupid feelings stop me from doing that.” Though her voice was soft, there was a strength behind it that Stella was surprised by. Sebastian was too by the look on his face.

“Are you sure?” He reached out to squeeze her arm, trying to provide as much comfort as possible without drawing too much attention.

“Yes.” This time her voice was louder, stronger. She slipped her arm around his and dragged him back towards his car, switching back to English, “Now get in and start driving. I didn’t fly all the way here just for you to sit around and talk to me. We could have done that over the phone.”

Sebastian held his heart in fake pain, “Oh, dear sister, how you wound me!” Stella only smiled and pointed her finger toward the car.

“Okay, okay! I get it, you don’t want to see my handsome face anymore. I know how intimidating my beauty is for you,” Stella scoffed and reached out to hit him, but Sebastian’s reflexes allowed him to dodge.

“You are so lucky everything in here costs a fortune, otherwise I would start throwing things at your handsome face until it wasn’t so handsome anymore!” Stella mocked as Sebastian jogged around the car trying to put some space between them.

Even though her heart felt like it had been put through a shredder, Stella felt like everything was going to work out. She wasn’t going to give up because all she knew how to do was fight.

She wasn’t a Vettel for nothing.

#formula 1 #f1 #f1 fanfic #formula 1 fanfic #f1 blurb #f1 x oc #original female character #original character #daniel ricciardo #daniel ricciardo x oc #daniel ricciardo x ofc #red bull daniel #red bull racing #sebastian vettel #red bull seb #ferrari seb #red bull formula 1 #red bull f1 #ferrari formula one #ferrari f1 #daniel ricciardo fanfic #daniel ricciardo f1 #dr3

[nagdabbit]

This isn't a prompt or a request, but hear me out Dags. What if you remixed Lamp Bright Rind but made it wrestlefic? Who would you cast, what would you change, what would you keep? Consider it a thought experiment

don't do this to me, don't you dare do this to me. shit. fuck. balls

like. for those not coming from the st fandom, i once enjoyed the show and fandom and wrote a massive harringrove fic where billy was a disgraced chef trying to reinvent himself, and steve was a corporate lawyer trying to get out from under his family's shadow and do as much good as he could. they live across from each other, they can see into each others kitchen windows, steve cant cook and shows up unannounced to get cooking lessons, and it's cute as shit from there. there's misunderstandings, there's mistaken identities, there's healing from trauma and growing up and not realizing that their entire friend group is a circle. im proud of it

now like. fuck. shit. thought experiment my ass. this is gonna consume me.  fuck you man

my first instinct, bryan the chef. not disgraced, not exactly, but tired. thinks he has nothing left to make, but is determined to start a new restaurant and do something different. yuta as his neighbor, starving, stressed college student who would eat more vegetables if he knew how to cook them. renee is his restaurant partner, and her husband mox is his best friend who is there to give him shit and pep talks and shitty peptalks. bryan doesn't like jons friend eddie, who tags along when they go out, but eddie sometimes make him get out of his wallowing. and sometimes bryan has to get eddie out of his own wallowing about his on again-off again relationship with claudio, bryans foh manager. bryan already feels weird falling in love with the college student he's teaching how to cook, but then he finds out yuta is like renee and moxs adopted son he'd never met before, because he's always so busy with school

but i have an instinct i like more, actually. remix my remix.

renee the chef. shes always had a great gig on food shows and writing cookbooks, she's beloved. but she's never had her own restaurant before, and she's shit scared about how it's gonna go. her business partner, bryan, knows she's gonna kill it, but also he's an asshole, sometimes, and doesn't know how to give a proper inspirational talk. but he is good at interfacing with their investor while she goes crazy trying to finalize the menu. hell, she doesn't even know who their investor is. they hire yuta in the kitchen, and he's young and adorable and eager and even if he doesn't have the training that they do, she likes him more than anyone else who applied. his mortal enemy, daniel, got hired to the wait staff tho, and no one can tell if they're gonna fuck or fight at any given time. claudio just has good foh manager/host energy, he's personable, what else can i say. eddie is the bartender slash woodworker slash handyman who solves their problem of needing a bartender, needing someone to fix the place they chose, and needing a custom bar installed. also he's funny and he pisses bryan off and makes claudio blush. then there's mox, the burly, rough and tumble famous ufc fighter and window neighbor in the apartment building next to renees. he can't cook for shit, renee has a running tally of the number of times she's seen him throw the windows open to let out smoke. and one night, bored and tired of trying to work on the menu, she takes pity on him and carts a box of ingredients to the building next door, hunts down his apartment and offers to teach him how to cook. then there's the matter of who their investor is, and who the mysterious man all her friends are trying to set her up with is, and the inconvenient fact that she thinks mox is kinda cute and is starting to fall for him

i think that's the one i would write. less trauma this time around, more softness.

also, consider: gruff famous chef ruby, bumbling neighbor ang. up and coming chef hook, weird cabaret neighbor dan(housen). world renowned chef regal quietly trying to start a diner, boring vegan neighbor bryan who only makes salad and it makes regal sad. revolutionary vegan chef sami, and his overworked vet neighbor kevin. chef swerve and poofy haired cowboy hangman next door that he hates, he promises. actually i like that one a lot, too. chef orange, king of simple ingredients and big flavors, and his goofy streamer neighbor chuck. chef willow, trying to make a name for herself, and her weird neighbor kris who thinks she's an alien but we're not quite sure about that or not. 

so many combinations... shit. balls. fuck.

#asks! #lamp-bright rind

[lgg5989]

Church Encounters Chapter 20

We are back with a new chapter for you guys! I hope everyone likes it. I have conceded to put the read more link on this post bc its so long, if it doesn’t work please let me know, let’s all hope for no more appearances of rude!Anon on my blog. 

This fic is written in collaboration with my bestie @barbiewritesstuff so be sure to give her a like and a follow! I hope you enjoy the moodboard, the previous chapters can be found on my Masterlist and the whole story thus far is posted on my Ao3! 

Tag list: @roosterscock @sydneyhlove @mygyn @inky-sun​

It had been two weeks since Jake left for deployment and you were beginning to worry more and more. Your doctor had been telling you that it wasn’t good for the baby to be so stressed all the time, but it was so hard not knowing what was happening over there, if his mission was going well, if he was sleeping okay. 

To take your mind off things, Bob and Maria had offered to accompany you to mass and then breakfast afterwards. You felt Jake’s absence the most on Sundays. He wasn’t there when you woke in the morning, he didn’t have anything sweet to say about your outfit, and you missed his homemade pancakes more than you were willing to admit. 

You had gone to mass early, Maria and Bob coming with you, because every Sunday, they prayed the rosary in the morning before mass began. You wanted to pray for Jake’s safe return home. Standing with Bob and Maria in your usual pew made you feel more normal than you had for the last two weeks. During the Our Father, Maria held your hand and when giving peace both she and Bob hugged you tight. 

The new priest that had replaced Father John was a kind man. He was significantly younger, barely over 28 and his youthful energy and wonderful sense of humour had made this the best mass you had been to in a few years. The homily had been good too, Father Daniel clearly knew his audience and related that Sunday’s reading to the hardships of navy life and deployment. 

You left church feeling slightly better, your worries a little lessened after seemingly hearing exactly what you needed to feel better. It also helped that Father Daniel came by after mass to speak to you. 

“Mrs Seresin?,” he called out; running after you, dodging running children left and right to catch you before you turned around, curtseyed towards the altar and walked out of church, “Sorry to hold you up like that. I just wanted to say that I knew your husband had been deployed. I have met Jake before, he’s a lovely guy. If you need anything while he’s away, don’t hesitate to come to me,” he said, taking your hands in both of his and giving them a comforting squeeze. He gave you a reassuring smile which you tried to return.

“Thank you,” you replied, your voice small and wobbly.

“Here let me --” he started, bringing up his vestments to get something from his trousers. Once he got access to his pockets, he took out a piece of paper and a pen and scribbled his number down, “-- That’s my number. Don’t hesitate to call.” 

Giving him a tight lipped smile, you took the slip of paper and walked off to find Bob and Maria. They were deep in conversation with Mrs Wilkinson, local florist and well-known town gossip. When you arrived, their attention immediately turned to you. 

“All good to go?” Bob asked, raising one hand to wave at someone. You turned around to find Father Dan returning the gesture, shooting Bob a wink. 

“You know the new priest?” you asked.

Bob hummed, “He helped with youth group Bible study sessions back when we partnered with the Sunday school for activities in the afternoons. He was actually one of the first friends I made when I converted. Dan coached me through a lot of things, especially when I got baptised. He’s a good teacher,” he explained

“I heard my name,” Father Dan said, clapping Bob on the shoulder with enough force that the man took a step forward to avoid falling over. 

“Yeah I was explaining how we knew each other,” Bob said, giving his friend a warning look, clearly trying to stop him from saying something.

Father Dan gave him a shit-eating grin, “Yes, we’ve been friends for a while,” he said as innocently as he could manage, “Saw you praying the rosary before mass,” he noted, the corners of his mouth twitching, itching to stretch into a smile.

“Daniel, don’t,” Bob warned

“Don’t what?” Maria asked, smelling blackmail material from a mile away.

“Oh, nothing,” Father said, “You’ve put me in a nostalgic mood, I’m afraid. ‘Can’t help but think back on the last time I saw you praying the rosary…”

“Daniel, I swear I--” Bob started but Maria waved him off, she signalled for Father Daniel to continue.

“Did you know I taught Bobby how to pray the rosary?” he asked, both of you shook your heads.

“Okay, right, that’s enough!” Bob interrupted, grabbing yours and Maria’s hands and leading you out of the church to the sound of Daniel’s loud laughter reverberating through the building.

He kept a hold of your hands until you got to his car where he watched you get in, afraid you would book it back to the church to hear the rest of the story. You wouldn’t have dared but with the way Maria’s eyes darted around for escape routes, you were fairly certain she had at least considered it. She got into the passenger seat with a pout. 

Bob drove you to a small independent coffee shop in town. It was a quaint little café, sticking out like a sore thumb in the midst of San Diego, with its cute pastel wooden shutters, large flower pots hanging from the windows and adorably decorated windows. It looked more like something you would have expected to find on the fashionable end of Paris, than a side street of San Diego. 

“It’s my favourite,” Maria admitted as she pushed the door open for you to enter, “They are the only ones to do decent coffee.” 

“By decent, she means they serve way too strong coffee in cups the size of thimbles,” Bob whispered in your ear as he passed by you to scout out a table. Maria hadn’t heard his comment, too engrossed in the various pastries, sandwiches and salads on display to pay attention to her surroundings. So much so that she almost ran face first into a very disgruntled woman. 

“I don’t know what I want,” she admitted, whispering it to you like it was a state secret, “We’re thinking of getting them to do the cake for the wedding, but they do so many other nice things that I really can’t pick.”

“Oh yes! How’s wedding planning going?” you asked, eyeing a chocolate donut the size of your hand. You pointed it out to the person behind the til and ordered a decaf caramel macchiato while Maria explained her vision for the day.

“We’re thinking of a green and like champagne colour scheme? So it looks a little rustic but still classy, you know. I think most of our decor will be like fairly woodsey so it goes well with the theme. The only thing that won’t match is the cake. I’m not keen on the naked cake idea, but it’s the only thing Bob requested so it would be so mean to refuse him,” she said, “then, obviously I’ll be in white -- or champagne, I haven’t decided yet -- and I was thinkin like sage green for the bridesmaids?”

“Oh! I was going to ask if you wanted to be a bridesmaid,” she added quickly, “I’d like to have my future sister by my side.”

“Technically I’m already your sister,” you answered with a smile and a warm feeling spreading in your heart

“I don’t need to be reminded of our very complicated family tree,” she laughed, playfully rolling her eyes at you as she placed her tray onto the table Bob had chosen and gave him his matcha with almond milk, and his chocolate coated waffle before placing her own matcha and cannoli onto the table. You sank down on one of the comfortable chairs and took a sip of your drink. 

“Anyway, what do you say about being a bridesmaid?” she asked.

“I don’t know… I’m really flattered, but I’ll have the baby and I don’t know how they’ll be. I don’t want to say yes and have to bail out at the last minute,” you said, leaving out the rest of your sentence, not wanting them to know that your biggest worry at the moment was to figure out a way to bounce back from your pregnancy.

“That’s fair,” she replied with a disappointed pout on her face, a second later, she stood up again, “I need the bathroom, be right back,” Maria said, putting her drink down and speeding off towards a small corridor next to the tills.

“I think I’m going to invite my parents,” Bob blurts out as soon as Maria is out of earshot, “Maria doesn’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Oh,” you said, not really sure how to process that information. Bob looked at you expectantly though, so you forced yourself to say something, “Is Maria scared they’ll make a scene?”

“I think so,” he replied.

You thought for a moment before asking, “Do you think they would?”

“My dad would,” he said, “But I feel like I can’t not invite them, especially my mom. Technically, she never did anything to me.”

“She stayed with him while he hurt you Bobby,” you said rather sternly, “She picked him, that’s not doing nothing.”

“I guess,” he hesitated, “God gave me a lot of good things, and he gave me them… Maybe they’re not all bad?” he asked. 

You recognised those words as the ones you had thought when you were making up your own wedding guest list. That nagging feeling of guilt, growing more and more overwhelming as the list grew and you resisted putting your mother’s name at the bottom of it. 

“He didn’t give them to you, Bobby,” you said, leaning forward and placing a hand on his arm, “He gave you to them. You were the present, they must thank Him for you. Not the other way around,” you added, squeezing his arm. 

“What about Ephesians 6:1?, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” Bob countered, his eyes glued to the table. 

Without missing a beat you shook your head before quoting back to him, “Ephesians 6:4, Fathers do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.” 

“Alright,” he said, “Fair point…So you think I shouldn’t invite them?”

“It’s not up to me,” you replied. Bob shot you a look, “Fine. I don’t know what you should do. I obviously didn’t invite my mom, but you don’t have to do the same. Just do what makes you happy.”

“That is the most diplomatic answer I have ever heard. You should be president. The Princess Diaries taught you well,” he chuckled.

“I can’t believe you still remember that,” you said, laughing at him. 

“I look like a moose,” he quoted, his hands held up behind his head to look like antlers. 

“But a very cute moose. Make all the boy moose go 'WHAAAAA’,” you finished, sending you both in a fit of laughter.

“You know,” he said after a while, “I think I’m finally happy. I’ve spent so much of my life trying to move onto the next thing or get out of situations and I don’t think I’ve ever sat down long enough to realise I’m happy. I mean can you believe I’m going to marry Maria?” he laughed, “I mean not only is she smart, funny and drop dead gorgeous, but she’s also willing to put up with me forever? Tell you what, next time someone doubts prayer works, I’m just going to slide a picture of her over to them. That should do the trick.”

He took a sip of his drink, “And I have a family. One I love and that loves me, not because I can amount to something special but just because I exist. I don’t know when I started calling the Admiral dad, but man, he’s the only one that’s ever deserved the name. And Lizzie is … Lizzie,” he summarised, “She’s a powerhouse, she’s kind, caring, welcoming, warm. I never have to doubt that she likes and wants what’s best for me, because she’ll tell me. And I have no doubt that if anyone ever says anything bad about me, she’ll simply skin them,” he laughed

“Obviously there’s Pete, Matt and the girls, who are angels and I love them all,” he kept going, looking you right in the eyes, “And there’s Annie and Audrey, who, despite having met me twice, are already treating me like I’m their annoying little brother. I love it. I love the memes, I love the voice notes they send, and I love that I get a care package in the mail from them on a weekly basis containing nothing but cookies from that bakery they like.”

“And then there’s you. I’m so happy I got to be your friend, that you let me wallflower those shitty parties with you, and that you forced me to watch The Princess Diaries, Pride and Prejudice -- 2005, obviously -- 10 Things I Hate About You or even About Time, because I swear I became a different person after that film. I’m happy that you let me force you to watch Talladega Nights, Rush or even fucking Rodeo Rythm. But tell you what, you’re a better sister than you are a friend, and the bar is already pretty high. I just --” Bob wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.

“I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve this. I’ve not always made the right choices, or been the right person. But fuck! I still get to marry the love of my life, I still wake up feeling loved and supported by friends and family. And I couldn’t tell you why the Lord decided to bless me like this, but I’m so happy He did. I’ve done a lot of growing up these past few years, I’ve changed so much and that is such a good thing. Everything I was, He made anew. He took me in like a lost little lamb, hurt and scared and he helped me find the people I was always meant to be with. He freed me from fear, doubt and loneliness and I am so glad that his mercy isn’t based on individual merit, because I think I’d be pretty low on the list,” Bob finished, his face showing the gratitude he felt towards the Lord for his new found lot in life. 

“Bob,” Maria said softly, appearing from behind the corner, having heard everything. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder,“Jesus bared the cross for all of us, not just the saints. His blood washed our sins away regardless of who we are and what we have done so long as our hearts are repentant. Whatever you have done, or think you have done, is not and never will be too big for God to forgive. The Lord doesn’t put you in situations He cannot forgive you for, but he does put you in situations He can help you out of. He is good, He wants what’s best for you. He loves you, so much that he brought you to us so that you could finally feel that love for yourself,” she finished, a few tears running down her own face. 

Maria pulled Bob into a hug and you felt a smile come across your face. The two of them were well suited and you knew that their marriage would be a long and happy one. Once the food had been eaten, you suggested having Bob over for the afternoon to keep you and Maria company. 

Your mistake, upon taking in the rainy day, and suggesting you play board games, had been pulling out Monopoly. It had been three hours, and you were still playing. Bob had bought Boardwalk and Park Place before proceeding to load them down with hotels. Now, it was a gamble every time you rolled the dice on that side of the board, you could pass ‘Go!’ and receive your two hundred dollars, or you could land on Boardwalk and go bankrupt. 

Maria let out a heavy sigh as she counted the money out, “six hundred, seven hundred, eight hundred, and fifty. Mr. Moneybags,” she said before leaning back on the couch with her arms crossed over her chest. 

“It’s not my fault you didn’t make a good investment at the beginning of the game,” Bob said to her, a shit eating grin on his face, “Don’t worry honey, I’ll be incharge of our retirement accounts,” he added, patting her on the thigh. 

You laughed at the pair of them when Maria’s eyes flared and Bob’s grin shrank slightly. 

“With your winnings, we won’t need retirement accounts,” she in a sassy voice, gesturing to the handful of fake money Bob still had clutched in his hand. 

“I think we are going to need more than eight hundred and fifty Monopoly dollars for retirement,” he replied, tucking his money under the corner of the board before settling back on the couch, shooting Maria a wink. 

Shaking your head, you picked up the dice and rolled, “Oh no!” you exclaimed, causing Bob and Maria to look at you with wide eyes, both of them immediately focusing on your belly. 

“Oh my goodness, I’m not due for another two months,” you said, rolling your eyes at them, “What a shame!” you continued your dramatics from before overexaggerating the disappointment in your voice, “It looks like, Bob bankrupted me!” you said, a smile now firmly fixed on your face as you scooped up all your money and handed it to him, along with your properties. 

“Hey! You can’t just quit!” Maria exclaimed, “You hadn’t even mortgaged those!” 

“The pregnant lady can do what she wants,” Bob said, looking at his fiancee with a grin and victory in his eyes. 

“How about the pregnant lady makes some dinner considering it’s now almost six?” you asked, trying to push yourself up from your place on the floor. 

Bob rose from the couch, offering you a hand and pulling you up to your feet, “Do you need any help? We can pack this up-”

You laughed, “I think if you don’t let Maria win, you might not be getting married,” you answered him, “I’m fine, I’ll just be in the kitchen anyway, I can still watch you two play.” 

“Alright,” he said.

“Let us know if you want any help?” Maria asked, since she had been living with you, she had seen first hand how quickly you could get tired in the middle of a task. 

You smiled at her, “I will,” you said before turning and walking into the kitchen. 

You turned on one of your and Jake’s favourite playlists before pulling ingredients out of the fridge. Tonight was roasted chicken breasts with baked vegetables, and rice. You preheated the oven and just as you hit the button to start it, your phone started ringing. 

Your heart started pounding in your ears when you saw the number, BLOCKED, flashing up at you from the screen. Sliding the green call button to the side, you put the phone up to your ear, “Hello?” you asked. 

“Is this a Mrs. Seresin?” a man asked, his voice gruff. 

You tried to take a deep breath, expecting it to be Jake, the unfamiliar voice startled you, “This…this is she,” you forced out. 

“Ma’am, I am sorry to inform you that your husband, Lieutenant Commander Seresin, is MIA,” he said bluntly. 

You didn’t hear the rest, because at that moment, you dropped the phone. It clattered to the floor, or so you thought because you could see it there, but the only sound in your ears was the beating of your own heart. 

“Y/n?” Maria called from the living room, “Are you okay?”

You opened your mouth to answer, but the only thing that came out was a strangled sob. Your legs started to give out, and you sank to the floor, your arms wrapped around the little life inside you. Suddenly arms wrapped around you and you could hear again.

“Who is this?” you heard Maria ask. 

Then, “I am his sister, Maria Seresin,” there was a longer pause before, “Who is your superior? Yes, your superior! How could you think it was a good idea to give a pregnant woman this kind of news over the phone?” she practically screamed. When you looked up at her, you saw tears streaming down her own face. 

“You will be hearing from the Admiral, I guarantee it,” she said before hanging up the phone and sinking down next to you and Bob. She wrapped you up from the other side and whispered into your ear, “It’s going to be fine, I promise he is going to be okay.” 

—

Jake knew a few things about the Indian ocean: it spanned over roughly 27 million miles, including the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, it was about 12 thousand feet deep on average but with a deepest point at 24 thousand feet below water, and it made up about 20 percent of the Earth’s entire ocean volume.

What Jake hadn’t realised before crashing his plane into the middle of it, was how unbearably hot it actually was. The water temperature wasn’t too bad, having stayed at a cosy 75F since his plane went down, but the sun was unrelenting. He felt like he was on fire. 

Although, considering the crash, he probably was. Or had been. It was day two now, with no news of the search and rescue team and Jake was starting to feel desperate. Not because of any real threat of starvation or dehydration, but because his brain had remembered that the Indian Ocean counted about 19 species of sharks and he swore he could see fins out of the corner of his eyes.

His arms stung where his flesh had been singed by the burning jet fuel that had circled the plane when it hit the surface of the water, knocking him out cold for a few seconds. That had been his saving grace, really, since by the time he had miraculously managed to open the canopy underwater, he was far enough down that the fire wasn’t boiling him alive as he swam right under the puddle of kerosene to safety. 

His brain, unable to compute anything but the agonising pain of salt water on cuts, had grown quiet as he swam up, somehow finding a second to take in the scene. Away from humans, the water was clear. Fishes swam, dead leaves floated, and an occasional plastic bottle found its way to the fiery hell that had formed quite the considerable tower of smoke. Search and rescue might have found him already if he had stayed by the smoke, but Jake needed to survive and getting high off of jet fuel fumes didn’t seem like a good idea. It might have helped with the pain, though.

That had been day one, hour one. 

It probably wasn’t the right time, but in all honesty, he couldn’t remember much. Thinking was hard, and telling time when nothing changed at all was something he had never had to do before. So hour one eventually blended into hour seven and Jake’s attempt to keep track was already beginning to fail. Ever since he had hit the water he had been praying the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Glory Be, any prayer he could think of was sent up. He prayed the Our Father when the sun rose and prayed the Hail Mary when the sun set and he just hoped that would be enough to remember what day it was. He knew one thing though, regardless of how much pain he was in, or how much blood he lost, he needed to come home to you. 

Day two had just started or was about to end, it didn’t really matter. The only thing that mattered was that Jake was on the raft, and surviving seemed just a little more plausible. He was making baby steps back to you. Soon, he might even be able to reach for his bottle of water. He’d been taking small sips every few hours, trying to ration what little water he had left, cursing the fact that he had given Tiny some of it before the flight. 

His head hurt so badly, and he couldn’t quite tell why. Was it the dehydration or the impact induced concussion? The dry mouth, lips and eyes, and mind numbing heat were telling him dehydration. The vomiting, confusion and large bleeding gash underneath his hairline was telling him concussion. Not that it mattered, since it wasn’t his only problem. Jake was fairly certain he had broken his leg, and considering his chest hurt he thought he might have broken a couple ribs too. 

The sun went down on day two and Jake fell asleep for a few hours, waking up just in time to catch the sky turning from starry night to early morning. And so day three started. 

He sipped his water and waited, feeling hot, in pain and slowly growing weaker. Ironically, as he grew weaker, his mind grew louder and soon enough, when he had no strength left to even shoo them all away, it felt like his mind was screaming. Still it grew louder and louder and louder, and then, nothing. 

The world went dark for Jake as he hunched over the raft and fell into the water. 

When he came to, he was on top of a mountain. Isaac and Abraham had just left, the leftovers of their sacrifice still on the altar, blood glistening in the sun. Jake stook a few hesitant steps forward, his leg dragging behind as he made his way to the edge of Mount Moriah. Before he could waddle his way there, a voice rang through the air.

“Jacob,” it called.

Jake looked around, trying to find who it belonged to, “Jacob,” it called again. He looked towards the sky and over the edge, but still he found no one.

It called him again, shaking the mountain and dropping him to the floor as if it was shaking the very foundations of the Earth.

“The pain you have been feeling cannot compare to the joy that is coming,” God spoke. The wind on Mount Moriah picked up, shaking leaves on trees and bushes so that they lay almost flat to the ground. 

“Jacob,” He called again, “The ladder.” 

“The what?” Jake called out but no one responded, “THE WHAT?” he repeated, his voice swallowed by a growing noise. It sounded strangely symmetrical and terribly familiar.

“THE WHAT?” he screamed, his voice rough with disuse and lack of lubrication. The wind whipped sand into his face, stinging his skin, and Jake closed his eyes.

“THE LADDER, CAN YOU GRAB IT?” someone replied, the voice of God replaced by a woman he had never heard before. Jake’s eyes flew open to reveal the Search and Rescue Helicopter. 

Jake reached for the ladder and grabbed it, trying to pull himself up on it. A flash of pain tore through his body, emanating from his chest and he was forced to let go. He fell back into the water with a gasp, his lungs filling with ocean water. A hand reached down to pull him up but the world faded back to black before he broke the surface.

----

Your group on the floor was interrupted by the phone ringing again. This time you didn’t even move to reach for it, your body numb and your mind racing with the information, Jake was missing. 

“Hello?” you heard Bob say, “Yes, we are with her,” it was quiet a moment longer before he spoke again, “I will let them both know, be safe.” 

Maria brought her tear stained face up from your shoulder, “Who was that?” 

“Your mom,” he answered quickly, “Her and your dad are on their way to the airport, they bought a ticket for the first flight out.” 

You felt like you were in a trance, “Good, good,” you said. 

“Are you okay?” Maria asked, her face full of concern. 

Before you could answer, pain ripped through your abdomen and you hunched forwards letting out a groan, “Owww.” 

“Oh my God,” Maria said, her eyes getting wide, “Is that?”

“No,” you said, shaking your head, your teeth clenched together in pain, “It can’t be, it’s too soon.” 

When the pain subsided, you looked at her, panic flooding through you, “My water didn’t break, they can’t be coming this early can they?” 

You tried to stand up, but couldn’t, your centre of gravity too far off from your normal. Bob pulled you up gently and you felt fine for a few minutes before another contraction ripped through you. 

“What do we do?” Bob asked Maria, as they both watched you sink into the couch, both hands clutching your stomach. 

“Call Cyclone,” she said, pulling his phone out and pressing it into his hand, “Lizzie might know something, and he will definitely know about Jake.” 

After only two rings, the Admiral picked up, “Hello?” you heard, Bob had put him on speaker phone. 

“Beau, we need some help,” Bob said, his voice sounding more nervous than you’d ever heard. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked, seeming totally calm as another contraction started at the bottom of your belly. 

“What’s wrong?” you shouted at the phone, “Do you mean to tell me that you don’t know my husband is missing?” 

The line was silent for a minute before he answered, “I made the executive decision not to tell you that…” 

“Well that was dumb dad, because some fucking Rear Admiral called anyway and now I’m in labour, and I’m going to have this baby, and it’s too soon. How am I going to tell them about their father’s eyes or his..” you let out a grunt as the pain came to a peak, “His smile and how good of a man he was?” your question ending on a sob. 

“What do you mean you’re in labour?” he asked, his voice quiet. 

“I mean I’m in labour, how much more of an explanation do you need?” you yelled into the phone, sobs now breaking up your words. 

“Oh shit,” he said, “I’m, we’ll, we are coming, be there in five minutes,” he stumbled out before the line went dead. 

Bob and Maria were both looking at you, your breathing coming in shallow pants, “What? He may be the Admiral but he is my dad and I reserve the right to bring him down a peg.” 

Bob just nodded but Maria scooted closer to you on the couch, “Honey you need to take a deep breath.” 

As another wave of pain hit you, you thought that this is what hell looked like. It wasn’t fiery heat and torture, it was an early labour, for a baby who’s father may be dead. All you could think to do in that moment was pray, you fell to your knees from the couch, bending over as far as you could, and the first words that came out of your mouth were, “Hail Mary, full of grace…” 

By the time you had finished the prayer once over, Bob and Maria had joined in. Your breathing calmed as you prayed and you felt the little one inside you settle at the sound of your voice, and your hands pressing gently to their feet. A loud knock on the door brought Bob to his feet and before you knew it, Beau and Lizzie were in the room, Lizzie kneeling in front of you on the floor. 

“Are you alright? Labour? Did your water break?” she asked, her questions rushed and her eyes searching over you frantically. 

You shook your head, “I’m not alright. I don’t know if I’m in labour. No, it didn’t break,” you answered before leaning forward and resting your forehead on her shoulder, your shoulders shaking with silent sobs. 

The house was silent save for the sound of your stuttering breaths. Lizzie pulled you to her, rubbing your back gently as she whispered words of comfort in your ear, “It’s going to be okay, they’re going to find him, I promise. You aren’t in labour, it's the stress, take a deep breath honey. There you go, now another one. Good job. Just close your eyes, Jake is going to come back, he is a strong man and he won’t leave you and this precious baby without a fight, you know that.” 

The rest of her words were lost on you because at that moment, Beau decided to open his mouth, “I um, can we do anything?”

“You’ve done enough,” you said, your voice filled with venom, “How could you keep this from me? How long has he been missing?” 

“I didn’t want to worry you,” he said quietly, not elaborating on your other question. 

“Dad, how long has he been missing?” you demanded more than asked.

After a moment of silence he answered, “Almost two days.”

“Two days?” you questioned, “I could have been praying for him for two days? I can’t believe…I’m…Oh my God…” you broke down into another fit of tears, who could survive in the ocean for two days alone?

Your hands were pulled away from your face, strong arms wrapping themselves around you, before your forehead met soft fabric on a firm shoulder, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I should have told you, but I couldn’t…what if something happened? What if we found him and then you didn’t need this stress. You thought you were in labour five minutes ago, I just wanted to spare you the stress honey, your body can’t handle it.” 

You couldn’t find the strength to pick up your head, so into his shoulder you mumbled, “He’s my husband, the father of my child, the light of my life, I deserved to know, and I deserved to know much sooner than two days after you lost him.” 

Beau couldn’t find an answer to that, his silence speaking louder than any words he could have spoken. You allowed him to pull you closer to him and he brushed your hair away from your face, “I’m so sorry honey, they are looking. I promise you, on my orders they are looking.” 

Nodding your head, you tried to fight the tiredness that had overcome you, but against your will, your eyes drooped closed, and the world faded to black. 

When you woke up a few hours later, you found yourself in your bed, the blankets draped over you carefully and a dark figure slumped in the corner of your room. For a second, you had forgotten what happened, the phone call, the contractions, Beau’s bullheadedness, but in the five seconds you had been awake, it all came rushing back to you. 

You pushed yourself up to sitting in the bed, scooping up one of Jake’s pillows that you had stuffed into his favourite sweatshirt. Burying your nose into the fabric, you let out a quiet sob when his fading scent hit your nose, the notes of leather, whiskey, and pine were prominent and every now and then you caught a hint of vanilla. No matter how many times you had sprayed it with his cologne, it didn’t smell quite the same as he did and only this sweatshirt got close to feeling like Jake. 

You felt a hand on your shoulder and you had to choke back the instinct to scream. Pulling your head from the pillow you turned to find Isabella sitting on the edge of your bed, tears in her own eyes. 

Without saying a word, she wrapped you in her arms and the two of you cried together. There was something almost Biblical about it, the mother-in-law comforting the daughter-in-law. 

When you had run out of tears, and your breaths were coming in hiccups Isabella pulled back from you, her hands coming up to wipe your cheeks. 

“He knew this was a risk when he took this job,” she said slowly, “But I am happy that he has such a strong wife to carry on in his absence, however short or long,” she paused, seeming to think, “I hope you know that we will be here for you, whatever happens, no matter what.” 

You hugged her to you again, “Thank you,” you whispered into her hair, “You don’t know how much that means to me.” 

When you finally let go of her, she brushed away the last of your tears before standing up, “Let’s go see the others, shall we?” she asked, holding her hand out to you. 

“Okay,” you said, your voice rough from crying and disuse. You allowed her to help you out of bed and down the stairs, your belly no longer tingling with the pain of contractions. 

“There she is,” Lizzie said, her face brightening at seeing your presence in the living room. Everyone was gathered around the kitchen table, Maria had a rosary in her hands and her lips were moving quickly. Bob was seated next to her, talking quietly with Father Dan. Giovanni was seated at one head of the table and at the sight of you and Isabella emerging from the hall, he got up and came over, wrapping you in a tight hug. 

“Where’s dad?” you asked Lizzie, looking around for him, “I’m afraid I may have said some things I shouldn’t have…” 

“I think you said everything he needed to hear,” Lizzie told you, her voice firm. 

At that moment you heard a raised voice from outside, “I don’t care how long it takes or what kind of resources you are using, he is an asset of the US Navy, one that we have spent a lot of money on, and I expect you to find him, today,” Beau said, a note of finality to his voice, “And don’t think I don’t know that you went around my back Rear Admiral MacFarlane.” There was a pause before he continued, “Because the next of kin is my fucking daughter who is seven months pregnant, you think it was right to tell her that when she could have been home by herself?”. 

You watched as Beau’s face turned red and for the first time since you had known the man, he lost his temper, “I don’t care if that isn’t in the rulebook! It fucking should be, no one should receive that kind of news alone, especially if they are carrying one of our sailor’s babies. Find Seresin and do it today.” He hung up the phone and in a stunt that made you laugh, threw it across your lawn. With his back at the house, he put his hands on his hips and turned his head up to the sky, letting out what you imagined was a very deep breath.

You excused yourself from the room and made your way into the backyard, walking up behind the Admiral. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so angry,” you said, scaring him. 

He jumped, turning to you with one hand pressed over his chest, “You scared me, twice,” he said, walking towards you quickly and pulling you into a hug. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t-” you started but he cut you off. 

“No, I’m sorry. I should have told you about Jake, I just wanted to protect you,” he said, “But you are a grown woman and you did have the right to know, and I’m sorry you didn’t hear it from me.” 

You wrapped your arms around his waist as best you could, your belly getting in the way, “It’s okay dad, just help me get him home?” 

“Of course, we are going to find him,” Beau said, rubbing your back. 

You stood there for a few minutes before asking the question that had been plaguing your mind since you got the news that Jake was MIA, “What happened?”

You felt him sigh before answering, “Their mission was going well until Prince hung Jake out to dry, saving his own ass. Jake’s plane went into the Indian Ocean almost fifty hours ago,” he paused and you knew the next bit of information was going to be what worried you the most, “They had no report of a chute, but his life raft deployed because there was green dye in the water at his last reported location.” 

“Why haven’t they found him yet?” you asked. 

“His transponder isn’t working and the boat took almost an hour to get to the plane’s location. Those two things combined mean he’s drifting somewhere out at sea,” Beau finished. 

You nodded, burying your head into his chest again, “Thank you, for working so hard to find him.” 

“I would do it for any of them, but especially him,” he said, letting out a breath. 

You stepped back from him and he took your hand in his, wrapping it around his arm as he escorted you into the yard to pick up his phone. The two of you walked in silence, him crouching to get the phone and then steering you both back towards the house. It was getting into late October, and the weather was cooling down quite a bit. You weren’t sure of the time, but the chill in the air made you think it was early morning. 

When you reentered the house, you found everyone watching you expectantly. 

“Yes?” you asked the room, looking around to see who would break first. 

“We have an idea,” Bob started, “We want to recruit the church, well some of the church to start a prayer vigil for Jake, until he is brought home.” 

Father Dan nodded, “We would send an email to the parish and then people can sign up to pray between certain hours so that there is someone always in God’s ear for his safe return.” 

“I think that sounds great, in fact, I’ll take the first two hours,” you said as you made your way to the bookcase you had decorated to be your little ‘shrine’ to catholicism. On top of the table was your rosary, Jake’s was probably in his bag on the carrier and the thought made your heart clench. Pouring it out of the bag and into your hand, you made your way back into the living room and took a seat on the couch, beginning the first of many times around the rosary. 

While Isabella and Lizzie were fixing breakfast, everyone in the house found some way to occupy themselves. Maria was cleaning, Bob was pacing the floor speaking quietly with Father Dan as emails from parationers rolled in saying they would help, and Giovanni was talking with Beau at the table, the two of them bent over a map of the Indian Ocean. 

When your two hours of prayer were up, you almost didn’t want to stop. The repetition of the words was calming and focusing on finding Jake was keeping the rest of your worries about the circumstances of his accident at bay. 

The day passed slowly, most of your time spent clutching a cold cup of chamomile tea to your chest while you sat in Jake’s recliner in the living room. Every now and then you would feel your little one move, like they were reminding you that you weren’t alone even in a room full of people. 

As you started to nod off in the evening, a blanket spread over you, the chair reclined back, and Jeopardy playing lowly on the TV, Beau’s phone rang. He looked up at the room before picking it up, walking into your garage. 

Immediately you were awake, getting up from the chair and standing in the living room. When he came back in, the look on his face made your heart race, he was happy. 

“They found him,” he said, “He’s on a chopper now headed back to the boat.” 

The relief that flooded through your system made your legs weak and you sat heavily back into the chair. You crossed yourself and thanked God, for bringing him back to you. 

Beau’s face turned slightly less happy and you seemed to be the only one who noticed it, “What’s wrong?” you asked, your voice wary. 

“They said he’s pretty severely injured,” he said quietly, “They expect several ribs to be broken, and he has a broken leg. In addition to that he is suffering from a concussion, severe dehydration, and sun poisoning. Once they get him to the carrier they are going to update me again on his condition before they load him on a plane back to North Island.”

The relief that you had been feeling was swept away from you in an instant, it was replaced with an intense worry and fear. Was Jake going to be the same when he came back? How bad are his injuries? At that moment, your baby kicked hard. You rubbed over its little foot, “It’ll be okay, daddy’s going to be alright,” you whispered to your bump. 

Isabella voiced another question that you hadn’t the mind to think of yet, “When will we be able to see him?” 

Beau paused for a moment before answering, “By my maths, I believe he will arrive back tomorrow. Depending on his injuries they may not allow visitors or they may want to perform surgery if something is bad enough so I can’t promise a time, but tomorrow he will be here.” 

Everyone nodded along with his words, Father Dan asked, “Should I keep the prayer vigil up then? Just until he is home and through any surgeries?” 

“I would appreciate that,” you said, a sad smile coming over your face. 

Now that Jake was coming home, the relief felt through the house was refreshing, but you had your own worries about his injuries. That night, before you went to bed, you kneeled down next to it and thanked God for returning Jake to you. You prayed that he would recover quickly and you tried to keep the thoughts of what Beau had said about his injuries from your mind. 

As you climbed into bed and turned out the lights, you mentally prepared yourself for seeing him the next day. By the time you fell asleep, you were hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst. 

----

“ -- broken ribs, broken leg --” someone said, their voice sounding so far away, as if Jake was listening to someone speak through a thick brick wall, “ -- concussion and severe dehydration. His chances of survival are good, but recovery will be slow,” they said, becoming slightly clearer, “Physical therapy, and likely a skin graft surgery for the burn on his back.”

Jake coughed and silence fell over the room. He opened his eyes, eager to see you again, but the only people in the room were a greying doctor and a group of medical students, standing alert in their scrubs with a stethoscope hanging around their neck. They made him feel like a zoo exhibit.

“Mr Seresin, you’re awake,” the doctor said, moving towards him to check him over, “How do you feel?”

“Like someone tap danced on my chest,” he joked, his voice sounding strange as it passed through his bone dry throat. Speaking sent him into a coughing fit, the pain in his chest making him see stars with every movement. He gritted his teeth together and stayed perfectly still for a few seconds, hoping the pain would pass but it didn't diminish much. 

The doctor looked at him, then pressed a button and a nurse appeared. They exchanged words and she left again, only to come back a minute later with a syringe. Jake felt his heart drop in his chest and he tried to fight back, two of the medical students held him back against the bed and she sank the needle into his arm. A minute later, his eyes fluttered closed again, not before seeing your scared face in the doorway. 

“ -- Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgement on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practise the very same things --” a familiar voice read. 

 Jake’s eyes fluttered open, revealing Daniel lounging in one of the uncomfortable chairs by his bedside. He was wearing his regular clothes, a pair of black jeans and a white tee hidden underneath a half zipped up hoodie. The steady beeping of a machine to Jake’s right sped up as he looked around, desperately trying to find you. 

 The pillows piled high underneath his neck were making it hard to look around and moving his body was impossible but still he tried, straining as much as possible to look over any obstruction. He groaned and Father Daniel stopped mid-sentence. He closed his bible.

 “Jake, it’s alright,” he reassured him, moving to sit on the edge of his bed, “She went home to shower, she’s okay. She’ll be back. We’re watching over you in the meantime, you can go back to sleep,” Daniel said and Jake didn’t struggle, falling back into sleep’s open arms as soon as the words had come out of Father’s mouth. 

 When he woke up again, Father was still there, speaking into the empty room as if it were a packed church, pacing around the room and rehearsing that week's homily, “Judgement is very prominent in today’s society. We like to judge people for who they are --” he started and stopped, fishing a piece of paper out of his back pocket and checking his script, “We like to judge people for what they wear, what they own, what they do. We judge people for how much money they have, what they do with it, what their jobs are. I will admit that I have been guilty of that sin. I have looked at celebrities and criticised their appearance, I have scoffed at teens when they tell me they want to be influencers, I have caught myself thinking that some of the citizens of this fine country must have gotten their driver’s licence in cereal box tops,” Dan paused, checking his piece of paper, “All of these, regardless of how mean or menial they are, are bad. All judgement is bad. But the worst one in my opinion is one I encounter daily, be it through seeing memes on facebook, or hearing it from the mouths of my parishioners, it is the judgement we cast over others for their belief or disbelief of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”

 “When we look upon others and judge them for the way they do or do not worship. When we look at their faith and tell them they are doing things wrong, when we look at their relationship with the Lord and think that they could do things better, we must remember that the standards we apply to them, the Lord will apply to us --” he continued.

 “Most people do get their licences from cereal box tops,” Jake said, his voice raspy and hard to understand. Father Dan turned to him.

 “Seresin, I have experienced your driving. That line was specifically directed at you I’ll have you know,” he joked.

 “How dare you, I will have you know my instructor said I was a delight,” Jake replied, pulling himself into a somewhat upright position.

 “Sure he did, you’re built like a mountain and you have the worst road rage I have ever seen,” Dan laughed.

 “Bob,” Jake replied, Daniel paused, giving his retort some thought.

 “Second worst road rage I have ever seen,” he acquiesced, “How are you feeling?”

 “You know, I have never been so aware that I had ribs in my life,” Jake joked, wincing only a second later.

 “No kiddin’... You want me to call a nurse or something? See if they can get you a pain killer?” Dan offered.

 “No, but I want my wife,” Jake replied.

 “I called her twenty minutes ago when you came to. She’s on her way. Bob’s driving though, so you can expect her to get here in a year or two,” he laughed, “We were taking shifts at your bedside so you wouldn’t have to wake up alone.”

 “I can’t thank you all enough,” Jake said, accidentally shifting his weight on the pillows, “Shit, that hurts,” he winced.

“You’re going to need to watch your mouth when your kid gets here,” the priest chastised him. 

“I got two months to kick the habit,” he replied, “How is she? Everything okay with her and the baby?”

“Everything is fine,” Dan said, “You sure you’re okay, bud?”

“I thought I was going to die,” he said, “I think God spoke to me.”

Father Dan smiled, “What was it like?”

Jake closed his eyes and tried to remember. As if projecting a film on the back of his brain the memory came back scene by scene. He felt the gravel of Mount Moriah underneath his boots, the stones sliding and rolling away as limped his way up the path. The sun was beating down on him as he walked but it didn’t hurt, it felt gentle and warming, almost like the setting Texas sun of his boyhood. 

Jake remembered the vague understanding that he had crossed Abraham and Isaac on the path at some point, but the altar confirmed it. The stones were red with blood, seeping through the cracks and dripping onto the ground. Jake, before he could stop and think, reached for it, using it to pull himself forward. He leaned against the altar, turning his hand around expecting to see it slick with the ram’s blood but it was clean. His name was called, shaking him out of his reverie. The voice resonated through the air, cutting through everything as though the volume had been turned down on the environmental noise. Jake turned around, trying to catch a glimpse of who the voice belonged to.

There really hadn’t been a doubt in his mind about who the voice had belonged to. He felt the words in his bones, flowing through his blood, his body reacted to it like he had never been made to do anything else. He still limped his way to the edge of the mountain and looked down, seeing nothing but grass, birds and people. He raised his head to the sky, but the clouds gave nothing away. 

The Lord called to him once more, sending a jolt through the earth that threw him against the ground. Jake braced himself for a wave of pain, but nothing came. 

“The pain you have been feeling cannot compare to the joy that is coming,” God said, and Jake knew it was true. As true as the fact that you loved him, that he was alive, that your baby would be born, that his name was Jacob Thomas Seresin and that God was Good and speaking to Him. 

The wind picked up. The breeze that had been making the air up on Mount Moriah pleasant and fresh grew stronger and stronger until it lifted earth and sand and spun it upwards into the sky. It blew until trees bent and leaves flattened. There were no more birds, no more insects, and soon the dust made it so that there was no more Mount Moriah.

“Jacob,” He called again, his voice swallowed by the wind, “The ladder.” 

Jake opened his eyes again and blinked rapidly at the cool white light emanating from the large overhead lamps.

“It was…Everything,”he said, his voice a whisper in the room. 

“What did he sound like?” Father Dan probed further, looking at him like his nephews did whenever they asked him to describe what flying was like, full of wonder and amazement.

Jake thought for a moment, “Hard to describe, really. Loud, I guess. Unmistakable? But gentle and reassuring at the same time. And just… I don’t know, inevitable. Like whatever he was telling me was certain, it would happen and I have no choice in the matter.”

Dan took a breath before speaking again, “Can I ask, you don’t have to answer obviously, but what did He say?”

“He said I’d be okay,” Jake replied, feeling strange about revealing His words. They had been spoken to him, and selfishly, he wanted to keep them for himself.

Father Dan smiled brightly, sitting up on his chair. He looked at Jake and let out a breathy laugh.

“Has it happened to you before?” Jake asked but Dan never had time to answer as just as he was about to, the door opened to reveal you. It felt like the world stood still, like the clouds parted to reveal the sunshine after weeks of torrential rain. It felt like taking a breath after diving underwater for too long.

“Hey,” he breathed.

“Hey,” you replied in the same tone of voice.

“We’ll leave you two alone,” Dan said, pushing Bob back out of the room before Jake could see more than the back of his hand pushing the door open further. 

“I thought you had died,” you said, tears welling up in your eyes as you made your way towards him. 

“Never,” he smiled brightly, “You’re stuck with me forever!” 

Jake stuck out his arms to ask for a hug, you sat on the edge of the bed so as not to hurt him but he pulled you into him, ignoring the agonising pain he felt when you leaned into his chest to squeeze you close, “I love you,” he said.

“I love you too,” you replied.

----

Almost ten days after Jake’s skin graft surgery, the doctors cleared him to go home. To help while he recovered, Isabella and Giovanni had decided to stay, stealing the guest room from Maria and banishing her to the sofa. She grumbled and groaned for a few days but whatever Jake had asked her to do in the nursery was taking up half of her day, the other half being almost solely dedicated to placing the finishing touches on the house, to get it ready for the wedding. 

You hadn’t been in weeks now, but she had been all too happy to show you pictures. They had done some wonderful work. All bathrooms had been retiled, with new showers, baths and sinks installed. The bedrooms had been painted and carpet ripped out, and the kitchen had been gutted and changed from outdated to modern. In the livingroom and dining room, Bob had installed beautiful hardwood flooring. The garage, which could have housed two cars had been divided, one half turned into  Bob’s very own workshop. All that was left was to finish the attic, which they would turn into Maria’s art studio, and buy the furniture, which she was more than thrilled about. 

“I’m thinking maybe like, lots of white and light colours, so it feels very lit up. We have those beautifully large windows that show the yard, so I feel like we need to take advantage of that. But obviously I don’t want it to be too monotone? So I feel like we need a few pops of colour, you know?” She asked, leaning her head against the back of the sofa, “Did you guys have this much trouble decorating this place?”

“I’ll be honest, we had most of the furniture already and Jake painted everything in about a week. We got lucky, the house was in really good condition and the colours were pretty much what we wanted already,” you explained, rubbing your belly. Beanie had been making their presence known since Jake got home, sending their little foot into your tummy every few minutes. Recently though, their aim had gotten worse, and every other kick landed straight into your ribs. The only thing that seemed to improve it, was an extra large tub of Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia ice cream and some belly rubs from Jake. Conscious not to let you eat too many calories, Maria had graciously offered to help you finish off your tub, and was now digging a spoonful out of her own bowl.

“So lucky,” she said, licking the back of her spoon, “I am so sore,” she stated, “I need a bath.” Maria stood up from her seat and left in the direction of the bathroom, passing her mother in the kitchen and her father reading the newspaper by the dining room table. It had been a quiet day, with everyone at home as rain poured down from the sky in thick droplets that left everything muddy. 

Jake entered the room. The doctors had asked him to keep moving to a minimum and to sleep on his front, two instructions he ignored almost immediately but it didn’t seem to hinder his recovery all that much.His crutches ticked against the floor as he approached you. You lifted your spoonful of ice cream up to your lips but your tongue never tasted the sweet treat, as just as you were about to, Jake swiped the spoon out of your hands and ate it himself.

“Hey!” you protested but Jake crutched away as quickly as he could, the spoon still in his mouth. He made his way through the living room and then the kitchen, scaring his mother in the process.You followed right behind.

“Non correre con un cucchiaio!” she shouted after him. Don’t run with a spoon!  

Jake laughed, “Non sto correndo!” he mumbled, I’m not running! Isabella rolled her eyes. 

You followed him to the nursery where you finally got your spoon back, but before you could turn around and walk away, Jake pushed the door open to reveal what was inside. You gasped. It was beautiful, Maria had truly outdone herself. 

The whole room was painted a crisp white. Even though the day outside was rainy, the brightness of the walls made the one window in the room shine with light. On the wall with the crib, there was a delicately painted mural. The wall itself had been painted a sky blue and a few puffy white clouds had been added to the atmosphere. A squadron of F18s was pictured flying across the top corner of the room, a two seater front and centre featured Dove and Hangman name inscriptions below the pilot and WSO seats. There was a smaller plane centred over the crib, its name place missing an inscription. The painting was realistic but also slightly animated, making it feel fit for a child’s room.

Turning your head, you spotted a changing table, painted a light grey to match the F18s, its knobs little bronze stars. Over it hung a canvas, on it in calligraphy was James 1:17, every good and perfect gift is from above. 

There was a grey rug in the middle of the room and in one corner was tucked a white padded rocking chair. Over the back Maria had thrown the blankets that Nonna had made them. Once you had finished your quick scan of the beautiful room, you walked over to the mural wall, stopping next to the crib, you brushed your hand over the little F18 on the wall, “What…Did…is this what Maria…” you couldn’t find the words. 

Jake came up behind you, he leaned his crutches on the crib before wrapping his arms around you, “Do you like it?” 

“I love it,” you said with a smile as Jake pressed a kiss to the top of your head. The two of you stood in a comfortable silence, Jake’s arms wrapped around your midsection, you making sure not to lean too far into him as he was standing on one leg. 

Your bubble of peace was interrupted when Maria walked by in the hall, “Oh, so you showed her without me?” 

Jake let out a quiet laugh, “I wanted it to be a private moment, I didn’t know how she was going to react!” 

Maria just rolled her eyes, “I figure we can fill in the name spot when the little one gets here,” she said with a smile aimed at you. 

“It’s lovely, thank you so much,” you said, “I don’t even know what to say to be honest.” 

“I will take your speechlessness as payment enough,” Maria said with an excited smile before walking down the hall towards the stairs. 

As Maria left, you felt a little kick from your stomach. You guided Jake’s hand over it and smiled as he rubbed a finger over their little foot. Standing in the nursery, with your newly returned husband, you found yourself disappointed that the baby wasn’t there yet. 

Turning back into Jake, he hugged you as a few tears slipped from your eyes. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked, brushing your hair away from your face. 

You let out a sigh before answering, “I just wish he or she was here already, I want to hold them and show them this beautiful room.” 

“They will make their appearance when they are ready Princess, we just need to be patient,” Jake said, kissing your forehead. 

You let out a laugh, “I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anything more.” 

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[barbiewritesstuff]

Church Encounters: Chapter 20

-- Enjoy this monster of a fic!!

Tw. This is angsty!! Mention of injuries, plane crashes etc.!!

this fic is written is collaboration with @lgg5989 who is posting this on her tumblr and her AO3! She also made the lovely moodboard below!!

Comments and reblogs are appreciated! We also accept in-universe requests!!

Previous Part

Taglist: @acarboni21 @unsurebuttrying @dempy @peaches-1998 @bbooks-and-teas @roosterscock @positivelyholland --

It had been two weeks since Jake left for deployment and you were beginning to worry more and more. Your doctor had been telling you that it wasn’t good for the baby to be so stressed all the time, but it was so hard not knowing what was happening over there, if his mission was going well, if he was sleeping okay. 

To take your mind off things, Bob and Maria had offered to accompany you to mass and then breakfast afterwards. You felt Jake’s absence the most on Sundays. He wasn’t there when you woke in the morning, he didn’t have anything sweet to say about your outfit, and you missed his homemade pancakes more than you were willing to admit. 

You had gone to mass early, Maria and Bob coming with you, because every Sunday, they prayed the rosary in the morning before mass began. You wanted to pray for Jake’s safe return home. Standing with Bob and Maria in your usual pew made you feel more normal than you had for the last two weeks. During the Our Father, Maria held your hand and when giving peace both she and Bob hugged you tight. 

The new priest that had replaced Father John was a kind man. He was significantly younger, barely over 28 and his youthful energy and wonderful sense of humour had made this the best mass you had been to in a few years. The homily had been good too, Father Daniel clearly knew his audience and related that Sunday’s reading to the hardships of navy life and deployment. 

You left church feeling slightly better, your worries a little lessened after seemingly hearing exactly what you needed to feel better. It also helped that Father Daniel came by after mass to speak to you. 

“Mrs Seresin?,” he called out; running after you, dodging running children left and right to catch you before you turned around, curtseyed towards the altar and walked out of church, “Sorry to hold you up like that. I just wanted to say that I knew your husband had been deployed. I have met Jake before, he’s a lovely guy. If you need anything while he’s away, don’t hesitate to come to me,” he said, taking your hands in both of his and giving them a comforting squeeze. He gave you a reassuring smile which you tried to return.

“Thank you,” you replied, your voice small and wobbly.

“Here let me --” he started, bringing up his vestments to get something from his trousers. Once he got access to his pockets, he took out a piece of paper and a pen and scribbled his number down, “-- That’s my number. Don’t hesitate to call.” 

Giving him a tight lipped smile, you took the slip of paper and walked off to find Bob and Maria. They were deep in conversation with Mrs Wilkinson, local florist and well-known town gossip. When you arrived, their attention immediately turned to you. 

“All good to go?” Bob asked, raising one hand to wave at someone. You turned around to find Father Dan returning the gesture, shooting Bob a wink. 

“You know the new priest?” you asked.

Bob hummed, “He helped with youth group Bible study sessions back when we partnered with the Sunday school for activities in the afternoons. He was actually one of the first friends I made when I converted. Dan coached me through a lot of things, especially when I got baptised. He’s a good teacher,” he explained

“I heard my name,” Father Dan said, clapping Bob on the shoulder with enough force that the man took a step forward to avoid falling over. 

“Yeah I was explaining how we knew each other,” Bob said, giving his friend a warning look, clearly trying to stop him from saying something.

Father Dan gave him a shit-eating grin, “Yes, we’ve been friends for a while,” he said as innocently as he could manage, “Saw you praying the rosary before mass,” he noted, the corners of his mouth twitching, itching to stretch into a smile.

“Daniel, don’t,” Bob warned

“Don’t what?” Maria asked, smelling blackmail material from a mile away.

“Oh, nothing,” Father said, “You’ve put me in a nostalgic mood, I’m afraid. ‘Can’t help but think back on the last time I saw you praying the rosary…”

“Daniel, I swear I--” Bob started but Maria waved him off, she signalled for Father Daniel to continue.

“Did you know I taught Bobby how to pray the rosary?” he asked, both of you shook your heads.

“Okay, right, that’s enough!” Bob interrupted, grabbing yours and Maria’s hands and leading you out of the church to the sound of Daniel’s loud laughter reverberating through the building.

He kept a hold of your hands until you got to his car where he watched you get in, afraid you would book it back to the church to hear the rest of the story. You wouldn’t have dared but with the way Maria’s eyes darted around for escape routes, you were fairly certain she had at least considered it. She got into the passenger seat with a pout. 

:readmore:

Bob drove you to a small independent coffee shop in town. It was a quaint little café, sticking out like a sore thumb in the midst of San Diego, with its cute pastel wooden shutters, large flower pots hanging from the windows and adorably decorated windows. It looked more like something you would have expected to find on the fashionable end of Paris, than a side street of San Diego. 

“It’s my favourite,” Maria admitted as she pushed the door open for you to enter, “They are the only ones to do decent coffee.” 

“By decent, she means they serve way too strong coffee in cups the size of thimbles,” Bob whispered in your ear as he passed by you to scout out a table. Maria hadn’t heard his comment, too engrossed in the various pastries, sandwiches and salads on display to pay attention to her surroundings. So much so that she almost ran face first into a very disgruntled woman. 

“I don’t know what I want,” she admitted, whispering it to you like it was a state secret, “We’re thinking of getting them to do the cake for the wedding, but they do so many other nice things that I really can’t pick.”

“Oh yes! How’s wedding planning going?” you asked, eyeing a chocolate donut the size of your hand. You pointed it out to the person behind the til and ordered a decaf caramel macchiato while Maria explained her vision for the day.

“We’re thinking of a green and like champagne colour scheme? So it looks a little rustic but still classy, you know. I think most of our decor will be like fairly woodsey so it goes well with the theme. The only thing that won’t match is the cake. I’m not keen on the naked cake idea, but it’s the only thing Bob requested so it would be so mean to refuse him,” she said, “then, obviously I’ll be in white -- or champagne, I haven’t decided yet -- and I was thinkin like sage green for the bridesmaids?”

“Oh! I was going to ask if you wanted to be a bridesmaid,” she added quickly, “I’d like to have my future sister by my side.”

“Technically I’m already your sister,” you answered with a smile and a warm feeling spreading in your heart

“I don’t need to be reminded of our very complicated family tree,” she laughed, playfully rolling her eyes at you as she placed her tray onto the table Bob had chosen and gave him his matcha with almond milk, and his chocolate coated waffle before placing her own matcha and cannoli onto the table. You sank down on one of the comfortable chairs and took a sip of your drink. 

“Anyway, what do you say about being a bridesmaid?” she asked.

“I don’t know… I’m really flattered, but I’ll have the baby and I don’t know how they’ll be. I don’t want to say yes and have to bail out at the last minute,” you said, leaving out the rest of your sentence, not wanting them to know that your biggest worry at the moment was to figure out a way to bounce back from your pregnancy.

“That’s fair,” she replied with a disappointed pout on her face, a second later, she stood up again, “I need the bathroom, be right back,” Maria said, putting her drink down and speeding off towards a small corridor next to the tills.

“I think I’m going to invite my parents,” Bob blurts out as soon as Maria is out of earshot, “Maria doesn’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Oh,” you said, not really sure how to process that information. Bob looked at you expectantly though, so you forced yourself to say something, “Is Maria scared they’ll make a scene?”

“I think so,” he replied.

You thought for a moment before asking, “Do you think they would?”

“My dad would,” he said, “But I feel like I can’t not invite them, especially my mom. Technically, she never did anything to me.”

“She stayed with him while he hurt you Bobby,” you said rather sternly, “She picked him, that’s not doing nothing.”

“I guess,” he hesitated, “God gave me a lot of good things, and he gave me them… Maybe they’re not all bad?” he asked. 

You recognised those words as the ones you had thought when you were making up your own wedding guest list. That nagging feeling of guilt, growing more and more overwhelming as the list grew and you resisted putting your mother’s name at the bottom of it. 

“He didn’t give them to you, Bobby,” you said, leaning forward and placing a hand on his arm, “He gave you to them. You were the present, they must thank Him for you. Not the other way around,” you added, squeezing his arm. 

“What about Ephesians 6:1?, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” Bob countered, his eyes glued to the table. 

Without missing a beat you shook your head before quoting back to him, “Ephesians 6:4, Fathers do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.” 

“Alright,” he said, “Fair point…So you think I shouldn’t invite them?”

“It’s not up to me,” you replied. Bob shot you a look, “Fine. I don’t know what you should do. I obviously didn’t invite my mom, but you don’t have to do the same. Just do what makes you happy.”

“That is the most diplomatic answer I have ever heard. You should be president. The Princess Diaries taught you well,” he chuckled.

“I can’t believe you still remember that,” you said, laughing at him. 

“I look like a moose,” he quoted, his hands held up behind his head to look like antlers. 

“But a very cute moose. Make all the boy moose go 'WHAAAAA’,” you finished, sending you both in a fit of laughter.

“You know,” he said after a while, “I think I’m finally happy. I’ve spent so much of my life trying to move onto the next thing or get out of situations and I don’t think I’ve ever sat down long enough to realise I’m happy. I mean can you believe I’m going to marry Maria?” he laughed, “I mean not only is she smart, funny and drop dead gorgeous, but she’s also willing to put up with me forever? Tell you what, next time someone doubts prayer works, I’m just going to slide a picture of her over to them. That should do the trick.”

He took a sip of his drink, “And I have a family. One I love and that loves me, not because I can amount to something special but just because I exist. I don’t know when I started calling the Admiral dad, but man, he’s the only one that’s ever deserved the name. And Lizzie is … Lizzie,” he summarised, “She’s a powerhouse, she’s kind, caring, welcoming, warm. I never have to doubt that she likes and wants what’s best for me, because she’ll tell me. And I have no doubt that if anyone ever says anything bad about me, she’ll simply skin them,” he laughed

“Obviously there’s Pete, Matt and the girls, who are angels and I love them all,” he kept going, looking you right in the eyes, “And there’s Annie and Audrey, who, despite having met me twice, are already treating me like I’m their annoying little brother. I love it. I love the memes, I love the voice notes they send, and I love that I get a care package in the mail from them on a weekly basis containing nothing but cookies from that bakery they like.”

“And then there’s you. I’m so happy I got to be your friend, that you let me wallflower those shitty parties with you, and that you forced me to watch The Princess Diaries, Pride and Prejudice -- 2005, obviously -- 10 Things I Hate About You or even About Time, because I swear I became a different person after that film. I’m happy that you let me force you to watch Talladega Nights, Rush or even fucking Rodeo Rythm. But tell you what, you’re a better sister than you are a friend, and the bar is already pretty high. I just --” Bob wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.

“I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve this. I’ve not always made the right choices, or been the right person. But fuck! I still get to marry the love of my life, I still wake up feeling loved and supported by friends and family. And I couldn’t tell you why the Lord decided to bless me like this, but I’m so happy He did. I’ve done a lot of growing up these past few years, I’ve changed so much and that is such a good thing. Everything I was, He made anew. He took me in like a lost little lamb, hurt and scared and he helped me find the people I was always meant to be with. He freed me from fear, doubt and loneliness and I am so glad that his mercy isn’t based on individual merit, because I think I’d be pretty low on the list,” Bob finished, his face showing the gratitude he felt towards the Lord for his new found lot in life. 

“Bob,” Maria said softly, appearing from behind the corner, having heard everything. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, “Jesus bared the cross for all of us, not just the saints. His blood washed our sins away regardless of who we are and what we have done so long as our hearts are repentant. Whatever you have done, or think you have done, is not and never will be too big for God to forgive. The Lord doesn’t put you in situations He cannot forgive you for, but he does put you in situations He can help you out of. He is good, He wants what’s best for you. He loves you, so much that he brought you to us so that you could finally feel that love for yourself,” she finished, a few tears running down her own face. 

Maria pulled Bob into a hug and you felt a smile come across your face. The two of them were well suited and you knew that their marriage would be a long and happy one. Once the food had been eaten, you suggested having Bob over for the afternoon to keep you and Maria company. 

Your mistake, upon taking in the rainy day, and suggesting you play board games, had been pulling out Monopoly. It had been three hours, and you were still playing. Bob had bought Boardwalk and Park Place before proceeding to load them down with hotels. Now, it was a gamble every time you rolled the dice on that side of the board, you could pass ‘Go!’ and receive your two hundred dollars, or you could land on Boardwalk and go bankrupt. 

Maria let out a heavy sigh as she counted the money out, “six hundred, seven hundred, eight hundred, and fifty. Mr. Moneybags,” she said before leaning back on the couch with her arms crossed over her chest. 

“It’s not my fault you didn’t make a good investment at the beginning of the game,” Bob said to her, a shit eating grin on his face, “Don’t worry honey, I’ll be incharge of our retirement accounts,” he added, patting her on the thigh. 

You laughed at the pair of them when Maria’s eyes flared and Bob’s grin shrank slightly. 

“With your winnings, we won’t need retirement accounts,” she in a sassy voice, gesturing to the handful of fake money Bob still had clutched in his hand. 

“I think we are going to need more than eight hundred and fifty Monopoly dollars for retirement,” he replied, tucking his money under the corner of the board before settling back on the couch, shooting Maria a wink. 

Shaking your head, you picked up the dice and rolled, “Oh no!” you exclaimed, causing Bob and Maria to look at you with wide eyes, both of them immediately focusing on your belly. 

“Oh my goodness, I’m not due for another two months,” you said, rolling your eyes at them, “What a shame!” you continued your dramatics from before overexaggerating the disappointment in your voice, “It looks like, Bob bankrupted me!” you said, a smile now firmly fixed on your face as you scooped up all your money and handed it to him, along with your properties. 

“Hey! You can’t just quit!” Maria exclaimed, “You hadn’t even mortgaged those!” 

“The pregnant lady can do what she wants,” Bob said, looking at his fiancee with a grin and victory in his eyes. 

“How about the pregnant lady makes some dinner considering it’s now almost six?” you asked, trying to push yourself up from your place on the floor. 

Bob rose from the couch, offering you a hand and pulling you up to your feet, “Do you need any help? We can pack this up-”

You laughed, “I think if you don’t let Maria win, you might not be getting married,” you answered him, “I’m fine, I’ll just be in the kitchen anyway, I can still watch you two play.” 

“Alright,” he said.

“Let us know if you want any help?” Maria asked, since she had been living with you, she had seen first hand how quickly you could get tired in the middle of a task. 

You smiled at her, “I will,” you said before turning and walking into the kitchen. 

You turned on one of your and Jake’s favourite playlists before pulling ingredients out of the fridge. Tonight was roasted chicken breasts with baked vegetables, and rice. You preheated the oven and just as you hit the button to start it, your phone started ringing. 

Your heart started pounding in your ears when you saw the number, BLOCKED, flashing up at you from the screen. Sliding the green call button to the side, you put the phone up to your ear, “Hello?” you asked. 

“Is this a Mrs. Seresin?” a man asked, his voice gruff. 

You tried to take a deep breath, expecting it to be Jake, the unfamiliar voice startled you, “This…this is she,” you forced out. 

“Ma’am, I am sorry to inform you that your husband, Lieutenant Commander Seresin, is MIA,” he said bluntly. 

You didn’t hear the rest, because at that moment, you dropped the phone. It clattered to the floor, or so you thought because you could see it there, but the only sound in your ears was the beating of your own heart. 

“Y/n?” Maria called from the living room, “Are you okay?”

You opened your mouth to answer, but the only thing that came out was a strangled sob. Your legs started to give out, and you sank to the floor, your arms wrapped around the little life inside you. Suddenly arms wrapped around you and you could hear again.

“Who is this?” you heard Maria ask. 

Then, “I am his sister, Maria Seresin,” there was a longer pause before, “Who is your superior? Yes, your superior! How could you think it was a good idea to give a pregnant woman this kind of news over the phone?” she practically screamed. When you looked up at her, you saw tears streaming down her own face. 

“You will be hearing from the Admiral, I guarantee it,” she said before hanging up the phone and sinking down next to you and Bob. She wrapped you up from the other side and whispered into your ear, “It’s going to be fine, I promise he is going to be okay.” 

—

Jake knew a few things about the Indian ocean: it spanned over roughly 27 million miles, including the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, it was about 12 thousand feet deep on average but with a deepest point at 24 thousand feet below water, and it made up about 20 percent of the Earth’s entire ocean volume.

What Jake hadn’t realised before crashing his plane into the middle of it, was how unbearably hot it actually was. The water temperature wasn’t too bad, having stayed at a cosy 75F since his plane went down, but the sun was unrelenting. He felt like he was on fire. 

Although, considering the crash, he probably was. Or had been. It was day two now, with no news of the search and rescue team and Jake was starting to feel desperate. Not because of any real threat of starvation or dehydration, but because his brain had remembered that the Indian Ocean counted about 19 species of sharks and he swore he could see fins out of the corner of his eyes.

His arms stung where his flesh had been singed by the burning jet fuel that had circled the plane when it hit the surface of the water, knocking him out cold for a few seconds. That had been his saving grace, really, since by the time he had miraculously managed to open the canopy underwater, he was far enough down that the fire wasn’t boiling him alive as he swam right under the puddle of kerosene to safety. 

His brain, unable to compute anything but the agonising pain of salt water on cuts, had grown quiet as he swam up, somehow finding a second to take in the scene. Away from humans, the water was clear. Fishes swam, dead leaves floated, and an occasional plastic bottle found its way to the fiery hell that had formed quite the considerable tower of smoke. Search and rescue might have found him already if he had stayed by the smoke, but Jake needed to survive and getting high off of jet fuel fumes didn’t seem like a good idea. It might have helped with the pain, though.

That had been day one, hour one. 

It probably wasn’t the right time, but in all honesty, he couldn’t remember much. Thinking was hard, and telling time when nothing changed at all was something he had never had to do before. So hour one eventually blended into hour seven and Jake’s attempt to keep track was already beginning to fail. Ever since he had hit the water he had been praying the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Glory Be, any prayer he could think of was sent up. He prayed the Our Father when the sun rose and prayed the Hail Mary when the sun set and he just hoped that would be enough to remember what day it was. He knew one thing though, regardless of how much pain he was in, or how much blood he lost, he needed to come home to you. 

Day two had just started or was about to end, it didn’t really matter. The only thing that mattered was that Jake was on the raft, and surviving seemed just a little more plausible. He was making baby steps back to you. Soon, he might even be able to reach for his bottle of water. He’d been taking small sips every few hours, trying to ration what little water he had left, cursing the fact that he had given Tiny some of it before the flight. 

His head hurt so badly, and he couldn’t quite tell why. Was it the dehydration or the impact induced concussion? The dry mouth, lips and eyes, and mind numbing heat were telling him dehydration. The vomiting, confusion and large bleeding gash underneath his hairline was telling him concussion. Not that it mattered, since it wasn’t his only problem. Jake was fairly certain he had broken his leg, and considering his chest hurt he thought he might have broken a couple ribs too. 

The sun went down on day two and Jake fell asleep for a few hours, waking up just in time to catch the sky turning from starry night to early morning. And so day three started. 

He sipped his water and waited, feeling hot, in pain and slowly growing weaker. Ironically, as he grew weaker, his mind grew louder and soon enough, when he had no strength left to even shoo them all away, it felt like his mind was screaming. Still it grew louder and louder and louder, and then, nothing. 

The world went dark for Jake as he hunched over the raft and fell into the water. 

When he came to, he was on top of a mountain. Isaac and Abraham had just left, the leftovers of their sacrifice still on the altar, blood glistening in the sun. Jake stook a few hesitant steps forward, his leg dragging behind as he made his way to the edge of Mount Moriah. Before he could waddle his way there, a voice rang through the air.

“Jacob,” it called.

Jake looked around, trying to find who it belonged to, “Jacob,” it called again. He looked towards the sky and over the edge, but still he found no one.

It called him again, shaking the mountain and dropping him to the floor as if it was shaking the very foundations of the Earth.

“The pain you have been feeling cannot compare to the joy that is coming,” God spoke. The wind on Mount Moriah picked up, shaking leaves on trees and bushes so that they lay almost flat to the ground. 

“Jacob,” He called again, “The ladder.” 

“The what?” Jake called out but no one responded, “THE WHAT?” he repeated, his voice swallowed by a growing noise. It sounded strangely symmetrical and terribly familiar.

“THE WHAT?” he screamed, his voice rough with disuse and lack of lubrication. The wind whipped sand into his face, stinging his skin, and Jake closed his eyes.

“THE LADDER, CAN YOU GRAB IT?” someone replied, the voice of God replaced by a woman he had never heard before. Jake’s eyes flew open to reveal the Search and Rescue Helicopter. 

Jake reached for the ladder and grabbed it, trying to pull himself up on it. A flash of pain tore through his body, emanating from his chest and he was forced to let go. He fell back into the water with a gasp, his lungs filling with ocean water. A hand reached down to pull him up but the world faded back to black before he broke the surface.

----

Your group on the floor was interrupted by the phone ringing again. This time you didn’t even move to reach for it, your body numb and your mind racing with the information, Jake was missing. 

“Hello?” you heard Bob say, “Yes, we are with her,” it was quiet a moment longer before he spoke again, “I will let them both know, be safe.” 

Maria brought her tear stained face up from your shoulder, “Who was that?” 

“Your mom,” he answered quickly, “Her and your dad are on their way to the airport, they bought a ticket for the first flight out.” 

You felt like you were in a trance, “Good, good,” you said. 

“Are you okay?” Maria asked, her face full of concern. 

Before you could answer, pain ripped through your abdomen and you hunched forwards letting out a groan, “Owww.” 

“Oh my God,” Maria said, her eyes getting wide, “Is that?”

“No,” you said, shaking your head, your teeth clenched together in pain, “It can’t be, it’s too soon.” 

When the pain subsided, you looked at her, panic flooding through you, “My water didn’t break, they can’t be coming this early can they?” 

You tried to stand up, but couldn’t, your centre of gravity too far off from your normal. Bob pulled you up gently and you felt fine for a few minutes before another contraction ripped through you. 

“What do we do?” Bob asked Maria, as they both watched you sink into the couch, both hands clutching your stomach. 

“Call Cyclone,” she said, pulling his phone out and pressing it into his hand, “Lizzie might know something, and he will definitely know about Jake.” 

After only two rings, the Admiral picked up, “Hello?” you heard, Bob had put him on speaker phone. 

“Beau, we need some help,” Bob said, his voice sounding more nervous than you’d ever heard. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked, seeming totally calm as another contraction started at the bottom of your belly. 

“What’s wrong?” you shouted at the phone, “Do you mean to tell me that you don’t know my husband is missing?” 

The line was silent for a minute before he answered, “I made the executive decision not to tell you that…” 

“Well that was dumb dad, because some fucking Rear Admiral called anyway and now I’m in labour, and I’m going to have this baby, and it’s too soon. How am I going to tell them about their father’s eyes or his..” you let out a grunt as the pain came to a peak, “His smile and how good of a man he was?” your question ending on a sob. 

“What do you mean you’re in labour?” he asked, his voice quiet. 

“I mean I’m in labour, how much more of an explanation do you need?” you yelled into the phone, sobs now breaking up your words. 

“Oh shit,” he said, “I’m, we’ll, we are coming, be there in five minutes,” he stumbled out before the line went dead. 

Bob and Maria were both looking at you, your breathing coming in shallow pants, “What? He may be the Admiral but he is my dad and I reserve the right to bring him down a peg.” 

Bob just nodded but Maria scooted closer to you on the couch, “Honey you need to take a deep breath.” 

As another wave of pain hit you, you thought that this is what hell looked like. It wasn’t fiery heat and torture, it was an early labour, for a baby who’s father may be dead. All you could think to do in that moment was pray, you fell to your knees from the couch, bending over as far as you could, and the first words that came out of your mouth were, “Hail Mary, full of grace…” 

By the time you had finished the prayer once over, Bob and Maria had joined in. Your breathing calmed as you prayed and you felt the little one inside you settle at the sound of your voice, and your hands pressing gently to their feet. A loud knock on the door brought Bob to his feet and before you knew it, Beau and Lizzie were in the room, Lizzie kneeling in front of you on the floor. 

“Are you alright? Labour? Did your water break?” she asked, her questions rushed and her eyes searching over you frantically. 

You shook your head, “I’m not alright. I don’t know if I’m in labour. No, it didn’t break,” you answered before leaning forward and resting your forehead on her shoulder, your shoulders shaking with silent sobs. 

The house was silent save for the sound of your stuttering breaths. Lizzie pulled you to her, rubbing your back gently as she whispered words of comfort in your ear, “It’s going to be okay, they’re going to find him, I promise. You aren’t in labour, it's the stress, take a deep breath honey. There you go, now another one. Good job. Just close your eyes, Jake is going to come back, he is a strong man and he won’t leave you and this precious baby without a fight, you know that.” 

The rest of her words were lost on you because at that moment, Beau decided to open his mouth, “I um, can we do anything?”

“You’ve done enough,” you said, your voice filled with venom, “How could you keep this from me? How long has he been missing?” 

“I didn’t want to worry you,” he said quietly, not elaborating on your other question. 

“Dad, how long has he been missing?” you demanded more than asked.

After a moment of silence he answered, “Almost two days.”

“Two days?” you questioned, “I could have been praying for him for two days? I can’t believe…I’m…Oh my God…” you broke down into another fit of tears, who could survive in the ocean for two days alone?

Your hands were pulled away from your face, strong arms wrapping themselves around you, before your forehead met soft fabric on a firm shoulder, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I should have told you, but I couldn’t…what if something happened? What if we found him and then you didn’t need this stress. You thought you were in labour five minutes ago, I just wanted to spare you the stress honey, your body can’t handle it.” 

You couldn’t find the strength to pick up your head, so into his shoulder you mumbled, “He’s my husband, the father of my child, the light of my life, I deserved to know, and I deserved to know much sooner than two days after you lost him.” 

Beau couldn’t find an answer to that, his silence speaking louder than any words he could have spoken. You allowed him to pull you closer to him and he brushed your hair away from your face, “I’m so sorry honey, they are looking. I promise you, on my orders they are looking.” 

Nodding your head, you tried to fight the tiredness that had overcome you, but against your will, your eyes drooped closed, and the world faded to black. 

When you woke up a few hours later, you found yourself in your bed, the blankets draped over you carefully and a dark figure slumped in the corner of your room. For a second, you had forgotten what happened, the phone call, the contractions, Beau’s bullheadedness, but in the five seconds you had been awake, it all came rushing back to you. 

You pushed yourself up to sitting in the bed, scooping up one of Jake’s pillows that you had stuffed into his favourite sweatshirt. Burying your nose into the fabric, you let out a quiet sob when his fading scent hit your nose, the notes of leather, whiskey, and pine were prominent and every now and then you caught a hint of vanilla. No matter how many times you had sprayed it with his cologne, it didn’t smell quite the same as he did and only this sweatshirt got close to feeling like Jake. 

You felt a hand on your shoulder and you had to choke back the instinct to scream. Pulling your head from the pillow you turned to find Isabella sitting on the edge of your bed, tears in her own eyes. 

Without saying a word, she wrapped you in her arms and the two of you cried together. There was something almost Biblical about it, the mother-in-law comforting the daughter-in-law. 

When you had run out of tears, and your breaths were coming in hiccups Isabella pulled back from you, her hands coming up to wipe your cheeks. 

“He knew this was a risk when he took this job,” she said slowly, “But I am happy that he has such a strong wife to carry on in his absence, however short or long,” she paused, seeming to think, “I hope you know that we will be here for you, whatever happens, no matter what.” 

You hugged her to you again, “Thank you,” you whispered into her hair, “You don’t know how much that means to me.” 

When you finally let go of her, she brushed away the last of your tears before standing up, “Let’s go see the others, shall we?” she asked, holding her hand out to you. 

“Okay,” you said, your voice rough from crying and disuse. You allowed her to help you out of bed and down the stairs, your belly no longer tingling with the pain of contractions. 

“There she is,” Lizzie said, her face brightening at seeing your presence in the living room. Everyone was gathered around the kitchen table, Maria had a rosary in her hands and her lips were moving quickly. Bob was seated next to her, talking quietly with Father Dan. Giovanni was seated at one head of the table and at the sight of you and Isabella emerging from the hall, he got up and came over, wrapping you in a tight hug. 

“Where’s dad?” you asked Lizzie, looking around for him, “I’m afraid I may have said some things I shouldn’t have…” 

“I think you said everything he needed to hear,” Lizzie told you, her voice firm. 

At that moment you heard a raised voice from outside, “I don’t care how long it takes or what kind of resources you are using, he is an asset of the US Navy, one that we have spent a lot of money on, and I expect you to find him, today,” Beau said, a note of finality to his voice, “And don’t think I don’t know that you went around my back Rear Admiral MacFarlane.” There was a pause before he continued, “Because the next of kin is my fucking daughter who is seven months pregnant, you think it was right to tell her that when she could have been home by herself?”. 

You watched as Beau’s face turned red and for the first time since you had known the man, he lost his temper, “I don’t care if that isn’t in the rulebook! It fucking should be, no one should receive that kind of news alone, especially if they are carrying one of our sailor’s babies. Find Seresin and do it today.” He hung up the phone and in a stunt that made you laugh, threw it across your lawn. With his back at the house, he put his hands on his hips and turned his head up to the sky, letting out what you imagined was a very deep breath.

You excused yourself from the room and made your way into the backyard, walking up behind the Admiral. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so angry,” you said, scaring him. 

He jumped, turning to you with one hand pressed over his chest, “You scared me, twice,” he said, walking towards you quickly and pulling you into a hug. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t-” you started but he cut you off. 

“No, I’m sorry. I should have told you about Jake, I just wanted to protect you,” he said, “But you are a grown woman and you did have the right to know, and I’m sorry you didn’t hear it from me.” 

You wrapped your arms around his waist as best you could, your belly getting in the way, “It’s okay dad, just help me get him home?” 

“Of course, we are going to find him,” Beau said, rubbing your back. 

You stood there for a few minutes before asking the question that had been plaguing your mind since you got the news that Jake was MIA, “What happened?”

You felt him sigh before answering, “Their mission was going well until Prince hung Jake out to dry, saving his own ass. Jake’s plane went into the Indian Ocean almost fifty hours ago,” he paused and you knew the next bit of information was going to be what worried you the most, “They had no report of a chute, but his life raft deployed because there was green dye in the water at his last reported location.” 

“Why haven’t they found him yet?” you asked. 

“His transponder isn’t working and the boat took almost an hour to get to the plane’s location. Those two things combined mean he’s drifting somewhere out at sea,” Beau finished. 

You nodded, burying your head into his chest again, “Thank you, for working so hard to find him.” 

“I would do it for any of them, but especially him,” he said, letting out a breath. 

You stepped back from him and he took your hand in his, wrapping it around his arm as he escorted you into the yard to pick up his phone. The two of you walked in silence, him crouching to get the phone and then steering you both back towards the house. It was getting into late October, and the weather was cooling down quite a bit. You weren’t sure of the time, but the chill in the air made you think it was early morning. 

When you reentered the house, you found everyone watching you expectantly. 

“Yes?” you asked the room, looking around to see who would break first. 

“We have an idea,” Bob started, “We want to recruit the church, well some of the church to start a prayer vigil for Jake, until he is brought home.” 

Father Dan nodded, “We would send an email to the parish and then people can sign up to pray between certain hours so that there is someone always in God’s ear for his safe return.” 

“I think that sounds great, in fact, I’ll take the first two hours,” you said as you made your way to the bookcase you had decorated to be your little ‘shrine’ to catholicism. On top of the table was your rosary, Jake’s was probably in his bag on the carrier and the thought made your heart clench. Pouring it out of the bag and into your hand, you made your way back into the living room and took a seat on the couch, beginning the first of many times around the rosary. 

While Isabella and Lizzie were fixing breakfast, everyone in the house found some way to occupy themselves. Maria was cleaning, Bob was pacing the floor speaking quietly with Father Dan as emails from parationers rolled in saying they would help, and Giovanni was talking with Beau at the table, the two of them bent over a map of the Indian Ocean. 

When your two hours of prayer were up, you almost didn’t want to stop. The repetition of the words was calming and focusing on finding Jake was keeping the rest of your worries about the circumstances of his accident at bay. 

The day passed slowly, most of your time spent clutching a cold cup of chamomile tea to your chest while you sat in Jake’s recliner in the living room. Every now and then you would feel your little one move, like they were reminding you that you weren’t alone even in a room full of people. 

As you started to nod off in the evening, a blanket spread over you, the chair reclined back, and Jeopardy playing lowly on the TV, Beau’s phone rang. He looked up at the room before picking it up, walking into your garage. 

Immediately you were awake, getting up from the chair and standing in the living room. When he came back in, the look on his face made your heart race, he was happy. 

“They found him,” he said, “He’s on a chopper now headed back to the boat.” 

The relief that flooded through your system made your legs weak and you sat heavily back into the chair. You crossed yourself and thanked God, for bringing him back to you. 

Beau’s face turned slightly less happy and you seemed to be the only one who noticed it, “What’s wrong?” you asked, your voice wary. 

“They said he’s pretty severely injured,” he said quietly, “They expect several ribs to be broken, and he has a broken leg. In addition to that he is suffering from a concussion, severe dehydration, and sun poisoning. Once they get him to the carrier they are going to update me again on his condition before they load him on a plane back to North Island.”

The relief that you had been feeling was swept away from you in an instant, it was replaced with an intense worry and fear. Was Jake going to be the same when he came back? How bad are his injuries? At that moment, your baby kicked hard. You rubbed over its little foot, “It’ll be okay, daddy’s going to be alright,” you whispered to your bump. 

Isabella voiced another question that you hadn’t the mind to think of yet, “When will we be able to see him?” 

Beau paused for a moment before answering, “By my maths, I believe he will arrive back tomorrow. Depending on his injuries they may not allow visitors or they may want to perform surgery if something is bad enough so I can’t promise a time, but tomorrow he will be here.” 

Everyone nodded along with his words, Father Dan asked, “Should I keep the prayer vigil up then? Just until he is home and through any surgeries?” 

“I would appreciate that,” you said, a sad smile coming over your face. 

Now that Jake was coming home, the relief felt through the house was refreshing, but you had your own worries about his injuries. That night, before you went to bed, you kneeled down next to it and thanked God for returning Jake to you. You prayed that he would recover quickly and you tried to keep the thoughts of what Beau had said about his injuries from your mind. 

As you climbed into bed and turned out the lights, you mentally prepared yourself for seeing him the next day. By the time you fell asleep, you were hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst. 

----

“ -- broken ribs, broken leg --” someone said, their voice sounding so far away, as if Jake was listening to someone speak through a thick brick wall, “ -- concussion and severe dehydration. His chances of survival are good, but recovery will be slow,” they said, becoming slightly clearer, “Physical therapy, and likely a skin graft surgery for the burn on his back.”

Jake coughed and silence fell over the room. He opened his eyes, eager to see you again, but the only people in the room were a greying doctor and a group of medical students, standing alert in their scrubs with a stethoscope hanging around their neck. They made him feel like a zoo exhibit.

“Mr Seresin, you’re awake,” the doctor said, moving towards him to check him over, “How do you feel?”

“Like someone tap danced on my chest,” he joked, his voice sounding strange as it passed through his bone dry throat. Speaking sent him into a coughing fit, the pain in his chest making him see stars with every movement. He gritted his teeth together and stayed perfectly still for a few seconds, hoping the pain would pass but it didn't diminish much. 

The doctor looked at him, then pressed a button and a nurse appeared. They exchanged words and she left again, only to come back a minute later with a syringe. Jake felt his heart drop in his chest and he tried to fight back, two of the medical students held him back against the bed and she sank the needle into his arm. A minute later, his eyes fluttered closed again, not before seeing your scared face in the doorway. 

“ -- Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgement on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practise the very same things --” a familiar voice read. 

 

Jake’s eyes fluttered open, revealing Daniel lounging in one of the uncomfortable chairs by his bedside. He was wearing his regular clothes, a pair of black jeans and a white tee hidden underneath a half zipped up hoodie. The steady beeping of a machine to Jake’s right sped up as he looked around, desperately trying to find you. 

 

The pillows piled high underneath his neck were making it hard to look around and moving his body was impossible but still he tried, straining as much as possible to look over any obstruction. He groaned and Father Daniel stopped mid-sentence. He closed his bible.

 

“Jake, it’s alright,” he reassured him, moving to sit on the edge of his bed, “She went home to shower, she’s okay. She’ll be back. We’re watching over you in the meantime, you can go back to sleep,” Daniel said and Jake didn’t struggle, falling back into sleep’s open arms as soon as the words had come out of Father’s mouth. 

 

When he woke up again, Father was still there, speaking into the empty room as if it were a packed church, pacing around the room and rehearsing that week's homily, “Judgement is very prominent in today’s society. We like to judge people for who they are --” he started and stopped, fishing a piece of paper out of his back pocket and checking his script, “We like to judge people for what they wear, what they own, what they do. We judge people for how much money they have, what they do with it, what their jobs are. I will admit that I have been guilty of that sin. I have looked at celebrities and criticised their appearance, I have scoffed at teens when they tell me they want to be influencers, I have caught myself thinking that some of the citizens of this fine country must have gotten their driver’s licence in cereal box tops,” Dan paused, checking his piece of paper, “All of these, regardless of how mean or menial they are, are bad. All judgement is bad. But the worst one in my opinion is one I encounter daily, be it through seeing memes on facebook, or hearing it from the mouths of my parishioners, it is the judgement we cast over others for their belief or disbelief of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”

 

“When we look upon others and judge them for the way they do or do not worship. When we look at their faith and tell them they are doing things wrong, when we look at their relationship with the Lord and think that they could do things better, we must remember that the standards we apply to them, the Lord will apply to us --” he continued.

 

“Most people do get their licences from cereal box tops,” Jake said, his voice raspy and hard to understand. Father Dan turned to him.

 

“Seresin, I have experienced your driving. That line was specifically directed at you I’ll have you know,” he joked.

 

“How dare you, I will have you know my instructor said I was a delight,” Jake replied, pulling himself into a somewhat upright position.

 

“Sure he did, you’re built like a mountain and you have the worst road rage I have ever seen,” Dan laughed.

 

“Bob,” Jake replied, Daniel paused, giving his retort some thought.

 

“Second worst road rage I have ever seen,” he acquiesced, “How are you feeling?”

 

“You know, I have never been so aware that I had ribs in my life,” Jake joked, wincing only a second later.

 

“No kiddin’... You want me to call a nurse or something? See if they can get you a pain killer?” Dan offered.

 

“No, but I want my wife,” Jake replied.

 

“I called her twenty minutes ago when you came to. She’s on her way. Bob’s driving though, so you can expect her to get here in a year or two,” he laughed, “We were taking shifts at your bedside so you wouldn’t have to wake up alone.”

 

“I can’t thank you all enough,” Jake said, accidentally shifting his weight on the pillows, “Shit, that hurts,” he winced.

“You’re going to need to watch your mouth when your kid gets here,” the priest chastised him. 

“I got two months to kick the habit,” he replied, “How is she? Everything okay with her and the baby?”

“Everything is fine,” Dan said, “You sure you’re okay, bud?”

“I thought I was going to die,” he said, “I think God spoke to me.”

Father Dan smiled, “What was it like?”

Jake closed his eyes and tried to remember. As if projecting a film on the back of his brain the memory came back scene by scene. He felt the gravel of Mount Moriah underneath his boots, the stones sliding and rolling away as limped his way up the path. The sun was beating down on him as he walked but it didn’t hurt, it felt gentle and warming, almost like the setting Texas sun of his boyhood. 

Jake remembered the vague understanding that he had crossed Abraham and Isaac on the path at some point, but the altar confirmed it. The stones were red with blood, seeping through the cracks and dripping onto the ground. Jake, before he could stop and think, reached for it, using it to pull himself forward. He leaned against the altar, turning his hand around expecting to see it slick with the ram’s blood but it was clean. His name was called, shaking him out of his reverie. The voice resonated through the air, cutting through everything as though the volume had been turned down on the environmental noise. Jake turned around, trying to catch a glimpse of who the voice belonged to.

There really hadn’t been a doubt in his mind about who the voice had belonged to. He felt the words in his bones, flowing through his blood, his body reacted to it like he had never been made to do anything else. He still limped his way to the edge of the mountain and looked down, seeing nothing but grass, birds and people. He raised his head to the sky, but the clouds gave nothing away. 

The Lord called to him once more, sending a jolt through the earth that threw him against the ground. Jake braced himself for a wave of pain, but nothing came. 

“The pain you have been feeling cannot compare to the joy that is coming,” God said, and Jake knew it was true. As true as the fact that you loved him, that he was alive, that your baby would be born, that his name was Jacob Thomas Seresin and that God was Good and speaking to Him. 

The wind picked up. The breeze that had been making the air up on Mount Moriah pleasant and fresh grew stronger and stronger until it lifted earth and sand and spun it upwards into the sky. It blew until trees bent and leaves flattened. There were no more birds, no more insects, and soon the dust made it so that there was no more Mount Moriah.

“Jacob,” He called again, his voice swallowed by the wind, “The ladder.” 

Jake opened his eyes again and blinked rapidly at the cool white light emanating from the large overhead lamps.

“It was…Everything,”he said, his voice a whisper in the room. 

“What did he sound like?” Father Dan probed further, looking at him like his nephews did whenever they asked him to describe what flying was like, full of wonder and amazement.

Jake thought for a moment, “Hard to describe, really. Loud, I guess. Unmistakable? But gentle and reassuring at the same time. And just… I don’t know, inevitable. Like whatever he was telling me was certain, it would happen and I have no choice in the matter.”

Dan took a breath before speaking again, “Can I ask, you don’t have to answer obviously, but what did He say?”

“He said I’d be okay,” Jake replied, feeling strange about revealing His words. They had been spoken to him, and selfishly, he wanted to keep them for himself.

Father Dan smiled brightly, sitting up on his chair. He looked at Jake and let out a breathy laugh.

“Has it happened to you before?” Jake asked but Dan never had time to answer as just as he was about to, the door opened to reveal you. It felt like the world stood still, like the clouds parted to reveal the sunshine after weeks of torrential rain. It felt like taking a breath after diving underwater for too long.

“Hey,” he breathed.

“Hey,” you replied in the same tone of voice.

“We’ll leave you two alone,” Dan said, pushing Bob back out of the room before Jake could see more than the back of his hand pushing the door open further. 

“I thought you had died,” you said, tears welling up in your eyes as you made your way towards him. 

“Never,” he smiled brightly, “You’re stuck with me forever!” 

Jake stuck out his arms to ask for a hug, you sat on the edge of the bed so as not to hurt him but he pulled you into him, ignoring the agonising pain he felt when you leaned into his chest to squeeze you close, “I love you,” he said.

“I love you too,” you replied.

----

Almost ten days after Jake’s skin graft surgery, the doctors cleared him to go home. To help while he recovered, Isabella and Giovanni had decided to stay, stealing the guest room from Maria and banishing her to the sofa. She grumbled and groaned for a few days but whatever Jake had asked her to do in the nursery was taking up half of her day, the other half being almost solely dedicated to placing the finishing touches on the house, to get it ready for the wedding. 

You hadn’t been in weeks now, but she had been all too happy to show you pictures. They had done some wonderful work. All bathrooms had been retiled, with new showers, baths and sinks installed. The bedrooms had been painted and carpet ripped out, and the kitchen had been gutted and changed from outdated to modern. In the livingroom and dining room, Bob had installed beautiful hardwood flooring. The garage, which could have housed two cars had been divided, one half turned into  Bob’s very own workshop. All that was left was to finish the attic, which they would turn into Maria’s art studio, and buy the furniture, which she was more than thrilled about. 

“I’m thinking maybe like, lots of white and light colours, so it feels very lit up. We have those beautifully large windows that show the yard, so I feel like we need to take advantage of that. But obviously I don’t want it to be too monotone? So I feel like we need a few pops of colour, you know?” She asked, leaning her head against the back of the sofa, “Did you guys have this much trouble decorating this place?”

“I’ll be honest, we had most of the furniture already and Jake painted everything in about a week. We got lucky, the house was in really good condition and the colours were pretty much what we wanted already,” you explained, rubbing your belly. Beanie had been making their presence known since Jake got home, sending their little foot into your tummy every few minutes. Recently though, their aim had gotten worse, and every other kick landed straight into your ribs. The only thing that seemed to improve it, was an extra large tub of Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia ice cream and some belly rubs from Jake. Conscious not to let you eat too many calories, Maria had graciously offered to help you finish off your tub, and was now digging a spoonful out of her own bowl.

“So lucky,” she said, licking the back of her spoon, “I am so sore,” she stated, “I need a bath.” Maria stood up from her seat and left in the direction of the bathroom, passing her mother in the kitchen and her father reading the newspaper by the dining room table. It had been a quiet day, with everyone at home as rain poured down from the sky in thick droplets that left everything muddy. 

Jake entered the room. The doctors had asked him to keep moving to a minimum and to sleep on his front, two instructions he ignored almost immediately but it didn’t seem to hinder his recovery all that much.His crutches ticked against the floor as he approached you. You lifted your spoonful of ice cream up to your lips but your tongue never tasted the sweet treat, as just as you were about to, Jake swiped the spoon out of your hands and ate it himself.

“Hey!” you protested but Jake crutched away as quickly as he could, the spoon still in his mouth. He made his way through the living room and then the kitchen, scaring his mother in the process.You followed right behind.

“Non correre con un cucchiaio!” she shouted after him. Don’t run with a spoon!  

Jake laughed, “Non sto correndo!” he mumbled, I’m not running! Isabella rolled her eyes. 

You followed him to the nursery where you finally got your spoon back, but before you could turn around and walk away, Jake pushed the door open to reveal what was inside. You gasped. It was beautiful, Maria had truly outdone herself. 

The whole room was painted a crisp white. Even though the day outside was rainy, the brightness of the walls made the one window in the room shine with light. On the wall with the crib, there was a delicately painted mural. The wall itself had been painted a sky blue and a few puffy white clouds had been added to the atmosphere. A squadron of F18s was pictured flying across the top corner of the room, a two seater front and centre featured Dove and Hangman name inscriptions below the pilot and WSO seats. There was a smaller plane centred over the crib, its name place missing an inscription. The painting was realistic but also slightly animated, making it feel fit for a child’s room.

Turning your head, you spotted a changing table, painted a light grey to match the F18s, its knobs little bronze stars. Over it hung a canvas, on it in calligraphy was James 1:17, every good and perfect gift is from above. 

There was a grey rug in the middle of the room and in one corner was tucked a white padded rocking chair. Over the back Maria had thrown the blankets that Nonna had made them. Once you had finished your quick scan of the beautiful room, you walked over to the mural wall, stopping next to the crib, you brushed your hand over the little F18 on the wall, “What…Did…is this what Maria…” you couldn’t find the words. 

Jake came up behind you, he leaned his crutches on the crib before wrapping his arms around you, “Do you like it?” 

“I love it,” you said with a smile as Jake pressed a kiss to the top of your head. The two of you stood in a comfortable silence, Jake’s arms wrapped around your midsection, you making sure not to lean too far into him as he was standing on one leg. 

Your bubble of peace was interrupted when Maria walked by in the hall, “Oh, so you showed her without me?” 

Jake let out a quiet laugh, “I wanted it to be a private moment, I didn’t know how she was going to react!” 

Maria just rolled her eyes, “I figure we can fill in the name spot when the little one gets here,” she said with a smile aimed at you. 

“It’s lovely, thank you so much,” you said, “I don’t even know what to say to be honest.” 

“I will take your speechlessness as payment enough,” Maria said with an excited smile before walking down the hall towards the stairs. 

As Maria left, you felt a little kick from your stomach. You guided Jake’s hand over it and smiled as he rubbed a finger over their little foot. Standing in the nursery, with your newly returned husband, you found yourself disappointed that the baby wasn’t there yet. 

Turning back into Jake, he hugged you as a few tears slipped from your eyes. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked, brushing your hair away from your face. 

You let out a sigh before answering, “I just wish he or she was here already, I want to hold them and show them this beautiful room.” 

“They will make their appearance when they are ready Princess, we just need to be patient,” Jake said, kissing your forehead. 

You let out a laugh, “I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anything more.” 

#fanfic #top gun fanfiction #top gun maverick #top gun x reader #fanfiction #original fic #hangman x reader #jake hangman seresin #jake seresin #hangman top gun

[b00kdiary]

BLUE | Rafe Cameron (I)

Aurora Huntington had never understood him.

She never understood his cruelty, his arrogance, or his self-entitlement as a Kook, but she knew that she hated him for it all.

And Rafe Cameron had never understood her.

He never understood how the fated Kook Princess could instead plummet to the status of a Pogue, he never understood her unrelenting loyalty or her unnerving morality, and yet he hated her for it regardless.

But as the journey goes on and two worlds collide, Aurora and Rafe are faced with the realisation that they aren't so different after all. Bravados fall, demeanours wash away, and they're both left there; his tainted and fetid heart clutched in her hands and her past and soul laid out bare for him to see.

It turns out, he wasn't as dastardly as he seemed nor was she as perfect as portrayed.

Available (and linked) on Wattpad and Ao3

Part II Part III

'There's a storm heading straight for Kildare and you're deciding to jet off and leave me here?' My tone was harsh, dripping with raw sarcasm and a hint of hurt.

Even after all these years it still stung. You'd think that I would have learned, but apparently not.

My mother scowls, dropping the folders in her delicate hands with a harsh thud onto the oak table before snapping her eyes up at me. She sighs, her ageing skin tightening and the lines creasing as she fully turned to face me.

'Aurora- '

'You're leaving your sixteen-year-old daughter, your only child, to fend for herself while you vacation... where is it this time?' I muse, scoffing as I fold my arms over my chest. 'Hawaii? Barbados? I hear that Europe is lovely this time of year!'

'Aurora please' My mother beseeches and even despite the simmering anger and hurt gnawing at my heart, I relent, biting my lip, and averting my gaze to the wall beside her head.

Silence envelopes us for a few moments and while it appears that I'm enthralled by one of my father's old overpriced and underwhelming paintings, I'm actually trying to stop the familiar burning behind my eyes.

For as many years as I can remember my parents have done this- jetting off here and there, millions of miles away for some business meeting, or deal or some other adult crap that just means that they can be free of me and each other.

This time seems no different.

'Aurora' My mother calls her voice a whisper, dancing in the silence of the room and with a deep exhale, I steel my nerves and face her yet again. I take her in, knowing it would be a while before I saw her again.

It was like looking into a time machine, that's what everyone always said to me.

I was a carbon copy of my mother, from the nut-brown pin-straight hair to the wide, doe-eyed amber eyes that could steal a person's heart. Her complexion ran lighter than mine- where hers was creamy, I took after my father, the olive and bronze tones of my skin enhanced by the constant sun that reigned in the Outer Banks.

Carolina Huntington was not just renowned in Figure 8 for her beauty, no, her brain and wit were easily the best parts about her. Descending from a long line of settlers, a vestige of famous real estate and landowners, the Huntingtons were big fish on this island.

So big that my father, Daniel Walton, changed his surname to Huntington after the wedding because woman or not, Carolina would never forsake the legacy and name that were rightfully hers.

Too bad she wasn't as fiercely protective of her daughter.

'You know that I don't want to leave you, sweetheart,' She says, her red-bottom heels clattering against the floor as she steps closer, stopping only a few inches from me. I frown, lifting my head to reach her eyes.

They were so bloodshot, the rims red and puffy, with dark circles marring them. It was unlike the usually pristine and perfect woman I had grown up with, though I suppose that my mother has been through far more in these past few months than the woman she was before.

As have I.

'But this meeting is important, this deal is important' Her hands grip mine, wrapping into my palm and tightening like a vice and I bite my lip, frustration itching within me.

'Every meeting is important' I hiss, shaking my head 'Every deal is important. It's the same crap again and again.'

'I know-'She stops, inhaling a shuddering breath and I can't help but furrow my brows, my anger washing away, overtaken by alarm. 'I know that you must be upset, and I know you feel as if I am abandoning you too- '

'Mom' The word escapes me in a pained whisper, and my heart clenches at the fog of tears that overtake her eyes, dulling the usual brightness in them.

'No,' She shakes her head, her hand coming up to clutch my cheek now 'We have suffered much these few months, you more so but I swear that this deal, this one is it, honey. This is the big one and once I close this...'

I see the promise in her eyes, see that small, encouraging smile spreading across her rouge lips and while that naïve, hopeful little girl within me wished that I could trust her, the girl I am now knows better.

'Yeah, okay' I nod my head, mustering a half-assed smile and I almost deflate before her as she grins, her eyes widening in approval. I close my eyes and grit my teeth as she presses a deep kiss to my cheek, her hand wiping away the remnants of make-up before she's yet again stepping back, quickly returning to her discarded paperwork.

I tuck my hair behind my ear, stepping forward and stopping before the desk, waiting for her to say something, to give me some details on what I should expect.

'When is Auntie coming over?' I ask after several moments of nothing. My mother looks up quickly and from her raised brows I can tell that she had forgotten I was there. I clench my hands, and picture being anywhere else but in this room with this woman.

'She's not' My attention snaps back.

'What do you mean she's not?' I ask, frowning, stepping closer and leaning both hands against the cold oak before me. I stare at my mother, unrelenting and zeroed in and from the way her attention remains down, and her jaw tightens, I know that it's something that I'm not going to like.

'You're Aunt Rachel can't come to stay over for such an extended period, with the hurricane coming and all the lines being down and the wreckage- she can't leave your nanna alone for so long.'

'If you think that I'm going up there for weeks on end, you have lost your-'

'You aren't going there, calm down Aurora' Mom snaps, pursing her lips in annoyance and I exhale, relief filling me.

There was no way in hell that I was going miles away for god knows how long to stay cooped up, bored, and depressed with my Nanna and Aunt.

'Then where am I going?' I press, impatience propelling me.

'To stay with a good friend of mine.' She says simply, her hands already making quick work of collecting up her papers and shoving them into her briefcase.

'What friend?' I demand, arms folding over my chest and worry bubbling in my stomach. When she doesn't reply, I growl low in my throat, 'Mom, what friend?'

I watch her look up at me, her face morphing from hesitance into steel, the kind of look that made even grown men cower and take cover.

But she always forgets that I'm not like them.

I was like her except, younger, wilder, and far more stubborn.

'Meet me back here at 3 pm sharp Aurora. Don't be late.'

And with that I watched her saunter away, heels clattering against the marble floor and her curled long hair swaying down her back, stark against the red of her bodycon business dress.

And yet again she wins, and I am left waiting for the ball to drop.

***

'So, John B's going into the system and Rory here's shacking up with a mystery Kook family?' JJ muses, grinning like a wildcat as he looks from me to an equally miserable John B.

I flick sand at his face, scowling as his laughter doubles and only when Kiara jabs an elbow into his rib does he finally wince and shut up.

'You think that's funny?' John B frowns, his damp hair dropping to cover his eyes as he stares out at the gathering dark clouds above. 'They're going to ship me off to god-knows-where and never mind being a Pogue, I won't even be on the island anymore.'

JJ's smile quickly dies out and silence falls over us all.

'At least Aggie's saved your ass for a few months' I state, nudging my shoulder with John B, who smiles slightly in acknowledgement.

'The Lord is on my side' He smirks, looking up to the sky and winking. I grin, all our laughter mixing into one.

'Tell him to pass some good favour over to me please' I pout and Kiara chuckles, linking an arm over my shoulder. 'I am being imprisoned with some crazy Kooks, and considering how every single one of my mom's friends all thinks they're God's gift to Earth, I can't think of even one remotely decent option.'

'Come on, Rory' Pope says, 'Sipping champagne and eating caviar not your idea of a good time?' He smirks and I'm quick to throw up my middle finger with an equally sarcastic smile.

'Caviar tastes like shit and champagne is weak, can't even get drunk off the crap unless you go through bottles of it.' I roll my eyes, leaning back on my hands, the rough texture of sand calming my nerves.

'Still, better than anything we've got on the Cut' Pope mutters casually, picking at his clothes and I frown, guilt riddling me at how ridiculously privileged I sound.

'You're right, I'm being an ungrateful bitch' I sigh, and Pope's head snaps up, eyes wide.

'No, I didn't mean to make you feel bad, I just-'

'It's ok, Pope You're not wrong.' I smile softly and Pope seems to relax at the sight. 'I just- I don't understand her, the last few months she's been barely leaving the house, barely doing anything that requires her to be outside let alone in another country and yet here she is flying off just before the biggest storm in years?'

'Maybe she's trying to get back into work? Throw herself into the capitalist machine again?' Kie remarks, and though I know her words were humour, I shake my head in dismissal.

'No' I sigh, rubbing tiredly at my face.

'What's wrong Rory? What are you thinking?' John B asks, his hand coming up to rub against my back and I relax into the touch with a deep exhale.

'Ever since the accident she's been a mess, even though she's tried to hide it but now she's talking about closing a huge deal and she's flying out for way too long, leaving me with some family...' I look up, meeting my friend's eyes 'It just doesn't make any sense.'

'You said that she hasn't dealt with...' Pope stops, but I nod at him to continue, knowing why he was so hesitant. 'She hasn't dealt with your dad's finances and stuff, maybe she's finally feeling up to it.'

'Yeah, people can get a lot of closure from finishing up all the loose ends after losing someone,' Kie says softly, and I shake my head, my throat drying out.

I rarely spoke about my father and his condition since the accident months ago, so this was new territory for them all and it seemed that they didn't know how to navigate it.

And neither do I.

"She hasn't lost anyone yet, he isn't dead," I snap and they all instantly fall silent. I sigh heavily, hating myself for the emotional bullshit, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't take this out on you guys."

"Hey, we're here to take each other's shit, P4L remember?" JJ smiles, and it's softer, sincerity blooming in his eyes and it's enough to make a knot form in my throat and my eyes ache with unshed tears.

'I wish she'd just get someone else to deal with all that crap' I laugh bitterly, rubbing my chest to ease the tightness 'She and dad spent my entire lives working and now he's not around, and she's back to the same shit. If she thinks I'm going to kneel and sit like a good little girl, then she has another thing coming.'

'To biting back' JJ smirks, breaking the silence and handing me a beer. I grin, relishing the coldness biting into my palm and the fizz as I crack it open.

'To biting back' I smile, lifting my can in salute, laughter giggling out of me as they all cheer in reply, their cans being raised before we all take a long sip.

***

'This is ridiculous, mom' I complain again, shifting in my seat to stare at her. She doesn't look back, instead, her hard gaze remains forward, focused on the road before us. 'You're taking me to this person's house and you're not even going to tell me who?'

'I already said that you will find out when we get there, Aurora, have some patience.' She sighs, not even glancing towards me.

'Why? - '

'Why?' She asks, laughing shortly in amusement and I sneer as her head turns to me, a mocking smile on her lips. 'I was not born yesterday sweetheart; you think that I don't know the second I tell you and you start freaking out that you won't be throwing yourself out this car at the next stop light?'

I purse my lips in both annoyance and bitterness, my hands clenching over the denim of my shorts as I remain stiffly sat there. Mom shakes her head, a disbelieving scoff escaping her before she turns back to the road.

'I do not have time to be chasing you all over Figure 8 and the Cut and then dragging you back, my plane leaves soon and I need to be on it.' She states simply, and her tone leaves little room for argument.

'You can make me go there now, but you can't make me stay,' I mutter, my stoic gaze meeting hers and I can feel the car ice over.

'You are sixteen, you are an unemancipated youth living under my care. I am your mother sweetheart, like it or not,' She smiles and it cannot be mistaken as sweet 'You will stay where I tell you to because I know what's best for you and I know that this family will keep you safe.'

I inhale sharply, my body pivoting back to the front, and I have to clench my hands into fists tight enough for my nails to bite into the skin to stop myself from exploding with rage.

'Look Aurora' She sighs after a few moments, and I know that her resolve has melted. 'It's only for a little while and I can guarantee that you will have as much freedom as you have now. It's a place to sleep, it's a refuge for safety and comfort and soon enough I will be back, and you'll be home.'

I remain silent, my gaze like ice as I glare out at the road and traffic. We drive up through the neighbourhoods of Figure 8 and the further in we get, the bigger the houses are, and the more the networth increases.

My brows furrow as we remain at a steady speed, passing by several homes that I know my mom's friends and associates live in. My mother remains silent too, and as we begin descending through the valley of trees and further into the more green and open spaces of land, I know exactly where we are.

'No.' I hiss, my dark eyes narrowing as I snap my head to the left. 'Absolutely fucking not.'

My mother heaves a great sigh, and my heart physically drops as we pass the entrance point.

The name CAMERON engraved in large bold lettering at the front. 

#rafe outer banks #rafe cameron #rafe cameron smut #rafe fanfiction #rafe obx #rafe smut #enemies to lovers #outer banks #fluff #smut #obx netflix #obx smut

[plentyoffandoms]

Everybody's Free (Part 19)

Wardlow x f/Reader

Just like all my other stories, this has not been proofread, but please enjoy.

Gifs & photos do not belong to me.

Warnings: Some swearing.

Main Masterlist ♡ AEW Masterlist ♡ Wardlow Masterlist ♡ Everybody's Free Masterlist

Summary: F/Reader is friends with Sammy & everyone in the Inner Circle. She is also a member of his vlog squad. They found out she has a secret boyfriend & they try to figure out who it is.

Daniel - Cash Wheeler ☆ David - Dax Harwood ☆ Ronnie - Shawn Spears ☆ Miguel- Ortiz ☆ Mike - Santana

Sammy Guevara's POV:

The news of YN and Wardlow getting married travelled fast through work and I tried not to pay attention.

"It was beautiful and just so perfect." Is what everyone was saying. That they announced that they were having twins, a boy and girl.

The day of their wedding, Tay found me actually pouting in the hotel pool. She tried to cheer me up, but nothing and I mean nothing was working.

So I decided to take a few weeks off. I needed space to clear my head of all this.

I never once thought our friendship would end like this. I always thought she would be at my wedding and I at hers.

That our children would grow up together and be best friends just like us, but then she had to fall in love with Wardlow.

To me, it still doesn't make sense. She knew how I felt about him and still saw him behind my back.

I even brought that up to Tay. "You can't help who you love Sammy." Was all my girlfriend said to me.

I know her and YN got a long well, but Tay has stood by my side through all of this. Unlike Mike and Miguel.

Those two traitors actually went to the wedding and then left The Inner Circle to join Eddie, who I heard walked her down the aisle.

Which brought me back to when her Grandpa passed away and we were talking about what a great man he was.

"I have no one to walk me down the aisle if I ever get married Sammy. That is the one thing he said he was going to do." YN said as she cried.

"Don't worry YN, I'll walk you down the aisle."

I was pulled away from my memories by a few fans coming up and asking for a photo and autograph.

Wardlow's POV:

Even though we couldn't fly to our dream honeymoon spot, I did book us at a beautiful place called The Sanderling Resort & Spa.

It was still on the beach and we still had our privacy with one another. I do believe I made love to my very pregnant wife on every single surface I possibly could.

Made sure to request a fresh big bowl of strawberries be brought with our lunch each day just for her.

But now we are back home in Ohio. Been home for a few days in our finished home and I have been doing the final touches on the nursery.

YN and I decided that we would have the two of them in the same room until they a bit older and then they will each get their own room.

And that is where she found me most days when I am not with her. I just finished putting together a dresser and I heard her call my name, saying it is time for lunch.

She was sitting at the counter, her hand on her stomach as she happily ate her Turkey burger.

I kissed her on her cheek and then leaned down and kissed her stomach. I could feel the babies moving around.

I was nervous about leaving her alone. After we came back from our honeymoon, we had a Doctors appointment and she told us that YN should be staying home and not travel.

At first YN started to complain because she was hoping she had a bit more time being on the road, but she really only has about a month and half left and hopefully the two of them will not show up too early.

So right now, we are just trying to make the best of it all. Even though I know she hasn't said anything, this is bothering her.

But I am not going to bring it up because I did already and she told me that she was fine.

"What time is your flight?" She asked me, pulling me from my thoughts.

"4 am." She just nodded her head as she took another bite of her sandwhich.

"My Mom says she will be here by 9."

"What for?"

I guess YN forgot. This pregnancy brain is the real thing. "To take you shopping. You mentioned we need a family friendly car."

"Oh yeah." I could tell she was getting upset. YN has handled this pregnancy well. The puking, the cravings, the insatiable sex, everything she had handled with ease.

But her forgetting things has her frustrated more than she will ever care to admit.

"Do you care which one we pick out?"

"No, as long as you are happy with it, that is all that matters."

I already called my Mom and gave her a heads up about where the two of them will be going and that a Taxi will be taking them there.

I also called the car dealership and gave them my information and card details so that way the two of them can just drive off the lot with it.

The two of us finished eating and I quickly cleaned up the kitchen.

I found YN sitting in our livingroom, with a bowl of strawberries and grapes resting on her stomach.

She was watching The Breakfast Club. It was her go to movie when she is sad.

I knelt down in front of her and she paused the movie. I gently cupped her face and she had tears in her eyes.

"What is the matter baby? I know you're sad."

"I don't want you to go."

"I don't want to either but I do have to go to work for a bit."

"I know, it's just I am going to be alone in our home until you come back."

I was going to say that my Mom is coming around but YN beat me to it.

"I know your Mom won't be far, and I know I can call your sisters but they aren't you Michael."

"I will facetime you every chance I get."

"I know, but I just need you here with me."

"Look baby, I am only gone for two weeks. Then after that, I will be home and you are stuck with me until the babies are born."

My mom will be moving in once the babies are born to help YN when I am not here. It is only temporary but YN and I both know she will need help.

"Lets not be sad anymore. Why don't we go out for an early dinner and then go out for dessert." I said to her.

"How about The Cheesecake Factory?"

"Sounds good to me. Why don't we finish watching the movie and then once it is done, we can head out." I said to her as I finally joined her on the couch, popping one of her strawberries into my mouth.

~

I woke up early the next morning and just held onto her as I had a few moments to spare before I had to get up and start to get ready.

I had a quick shower and double checked that I had everything. I went downstairs to the kitchen to grab something to take with me for the ride to the airport, but there was my wife, packing me breakfast at 2 am.

I wrapped my arms around her waist and told her thank you as I kissed her neck.

"Do not start something you can not finish Mister. Go, the airport taxi is waiting."

She walked me to the front door and we kissed each other goodbye. Me promising her that I will call her the moment I land.

"Love you Michael. Have a safe trip."

"Love you too baby. Get some more sleep."

I knew she was watching me as I walked to the taxi and got in. I had the driver wait until she closed the door behind her and I could clearly see that the hallway light was turned off and the lamp in our room got turned off a few moment later.

~

The moment I landed in California, I called YN just like I promised. She answered the phone on the second ring and she told me my Mom was there.

The three of us talked a bit but then they had to leave. I told YN I would call her later that night and text her throughout the day.

~

It took a bit but I am finally out of the airport and on my way to the hotel, where I met up with Ronnie, David and Daniel.

"There he is. How was the honeymoon?" Ronnie asked me as he patted me on the back.

"It was amazing. Glad we found it. Just the perfect spot." I told them honestly.

"How is she doing?" David asked me. He is the only one out of the group who understands as he has travelled before when his wife was pregnant.

"She is upset she got told to stay home. YN is used to travelling and being with me or anyone of us actually."

"So what is she doing?" Daniel asked as we headed to go and the meeting that Tony was holding in one of the hotel conference rooms.

"Well right now she is going to buy a new car because she needs one for her and the babies." I smiled at the thought of our babies.

The conversation shifted to different topics as we walked, but then I heard his annoying voice.

"Well well well, if it isn't Michael. So nice to see you back. How was the honeymoon?" I didn't answer Sammy, I just kept walking.

"I hear congratulations are in order. Twins? A boy and a girl. Oh how sweet...but I do wonder, are they yours?"

I stopped walking. I heard Ronnie say shit as I turned, ready to knock the shit out of Sammy, but Daniel and David were holding me back.

"Sammy, if I was you, I would walk away before the Big Man puts you in the hospital, yeah?" Max said as he walked towards us, with Colten and Austin not far behind him.

Sammy just smirked at me, knowing he got to me and walked past us but Max had the final word.

"Oh Sammy?" He stopped and turned to look at Max.

"What?"

"If you ever and I mean ever hear you say something like that again about YN, Mike or their children, you won't just have to worry about Mike."

"Is that a threat?"

"Take it how you want, but you have been warned."

It looked like Sammy wanted to say something but all he did was flip us off and walked into the room.

Today is going to be one long day.

Part 20

Tag List: if you would like to be added, please let me know. @lghockey @ecarroll1978 @wardlow @anaeve @crowleysqueenofhell @thewrestlingbitch @thenerdybaker523 @hungmanhorsecarriagge @brie-mode-activated @louisianalady @daddyslittlevillain @baybay-boom @lilred91 @1dnhhsmk @ladyviperrko @irish-newzealand-idian-dutch @kawaiikels @wwenhlimagines

#aew #all elite wrestling #reader imagine #female reader #reader insert #mike wardlow #wardlow #wardlow x reader #michael wardlow #wardlow imagine #wardlow series #wardlow x female reader #wardlow x you #wardlow x oc

[moxleys-darlin]

Enough is Enough

Pairings: Roman Reigns/Wheeler Yuta, Roman Reigns/Bryan Danielson, implied Shield/BCC/Renee

Summary: Roman sees the interview, he decides it's time for a visit

Disclaimer: I don't claim anything but the idea; characters (unfortunately) and gifs aren't mine.

Gifs belong to @allelitewrestlings and @kriole

Yuta is distracted as he walks into the house, Claudio and Mox have given up trying to talk to him or talk him out of his mindset since they left the building. It had been a few hours, but he just can't move past that interview with Bryan. He knows he should be a better boyfriend and check in with Mox after that ending to his match with Hangman, but he's stuck too far in his head.

He kept hoping that maybe Bryan would come after him after he left the interview, but he hadn't seen him even when they were getting ready to leave. Yuta suspects that he's already here at the house, or he had gotten a hotel room, he really didn't know which was worse at this point and that scares him.

With his head down and checking Twitter (again) to see what people were saying about the show, Yuta didn't see the figure waiting on the couch, but the three men behind him did and they decided to make himself scarce for now.

Roman waits on the couch for the arrival of the rest of his lovers, having already been welcomed by Renee and Bryan when he got here. He is lost in his thoughts, thinking back to the conversation he had had with Bryan after Renee left them alone with each other.

With a soft kiss to Renee, he had whispered to her that would like a moment alone with Bryan. She gave him a long look, communicating her plea to him not to do anything rash with that look. He nodded and gently nudged her toward the stairs, then turned to walk toward the couch.

"Roman I can't believe you're here. Are you okay?" Roman puts his bag beside the couch, deciding to move it to a room later when he decides if he's sleeping in his room or one of his lovers'.

"I saw the interview," Bryan's face falls and Roman can't help but feel a small shiver of glee. "and considering I already did my tapings for Smackdown, and I was close by, I decided I should come visit."

"Roman-". Roman's face hardens, and Bryan stops the excuse coming out of his mouth.

"Don't Roman me, Bryan. I was going to come earlier, at the beginning of all of this bullshit, but Seth and Mox convinced me to give you some time. We all know how you get when you're determined, you become single-minded, and we've always been fine with it, but I've decided that someone has to pull your head out of your ass." Roman glares at Bryan as he opens his mouth to interrupt.

"I would shut your mouth if I were you, I'm really not in the mood. I have watched Yuta wilt for weeks, every time we're on video chat or phone call I can see and hear how tired he is. Of course, any time I ask him about it he comes up with another reason, but it all circles back to you and your precious Daniel Garcia." Roman spits the name out like it was poison. He pulls out his phone and opens Twitter. "Let's see, what was it you said about Garcia in front of your boyfriend and student? Oh yeah, here we are."

Roman plays the interview back for Bryan again, rolling his shoulders as he hears Bryan praising Daniel Garcia and the future he sees for him, calling him the best, and Roman tries to hold back his Tribal Chief anger. All he can picture as the video plays is his baby's face. The heartbreak and sadness that people mistook for a mentee's sadness or the loss of a hero, Roman knew was Yuta's heart literally breaking at the thought that his boyfriend no longer cared for or loved him.

"I want you to see his face Bryan, actually look at him. How can you act like you have no idea what could possibly be wrong with him? You're not just his mentor and hero in this situation, at least that would be easier to swallow and get over."

Roman steps closer to Bryan, grabbing him by his face and making him look up into Roman's eyes. Bryan struggles for only a second before he lets Roman take control, putting his hands on Roman's hips. Roman can see tears willing in Bryan's eyes, but he can't focus on those right now, he has to make sure Bryan understands.

"You are supposed to be his lover, one of his confidants, and you are especially supposed to be his safe space." Roman squeezes Bryan's face gently for emphasis. "He is breaking apart inside and you don't see it, or you're choosing not to, I don't know which is worse really. Are you really so determined to have this student at your side that you are blinded to the one that has been there since the beginning?"

Roman can feel the tears that are filling up and going over his hands, dripping onto Bryan's white shirt and down Roman's arms. He can't stand it anymore and pulls Bryan into his chest, holding him tight. Bryan, who rarely cries, freely does so now into Roman's chest. They don't know how long they stand there like that, Roman petting down Bryan's back and whispering into his ear. As the tears slow, Roman makes Bryan look up and focus on him again.

"Bryan listen to me carefully, you need to make this right. I don't care how you do it, but it needs to be done. Please don't take this as a threat, but don't make me choose between you and Yuta, Bryan, I love you both and it would break my heart." He leans down to place a soft kiss on Bryan's lips, holding him gently and stroking his cheek, breaking away after a few seconds. "Do you understand, my Dragon?" Roman lowly growls out.

"I understand Big Dog, I'll make sure to fix this, I don't know how yet but I will." Bryan sighs and steps back away from Roman. "They should be back soon, I'll let you have time with Yoots for the rest of the night and I'll speak to him tomorrow. Maybe Renee can help me with some ideas." Bryan starts to walk away but turns back to Roman. "I love you too, Ro, I'm glad you're here."

Roman's eyes follow him up the stairs until he can no longer see him and sits down heavily on the couch. He scrubs his hands over his face, trying to figure out how he can help ease this process between Bryan and Yuta along.

"Roman?"

Roman snaps out of his thoughts and turns to see Yuta looking at him concerned. Roman smiles and places his hand on Yuta's face, almost purring when his baby leans into it. He can see traces of sadness and exhaustion on the young man's face and hopes his presence can help get rid of some of the negative thoughts.

"Hey baby, hope you don't mind some company." He looks around to see that he and Yuta were alone. "Where did everyone go?" Yuta looks confused and turns to look for the others, seeing that they were gone.

"Oh, I guess they decided we needed some alone time."

Yuta throws himself into Roman, pushing the bigger man further into the couch. Roman situates himself and Yuta so that he's reclining back with the smaller man almost on top of him. Yuta sighs happily as his head is pillowed against Roman's chest and he almost moans at the feeling of his lover petting through his hair. His other hand rests on his lower back and Yuta can feel the heat radiating through his shirt.

"You comfortable baby?" Yuta can feel his boyfriend's chest rumble from laughter and situates his head so he can lay it directly over Roman's heart.

"Yeah alofa (love), I'm good." Roman can hear the slight slurring of Yuta's words. "I'm so glad you're here, I've missed you and Seth so much. I love you, Roman. Thank you for coming.

Roman runs his fingers through Yuta's hair until he feels him fall asleep. He looks down as best as he can without disturbing his sleeping lover and kisses the top of Yuta's head, then gets closer to his ear.

"I love you so much, o lo'u alofa (my love), hopefully, it'll all be better tomorrow." He whispers. Roman slowly pulls his phone out and sends a quick message to Seth, then lays his head back and drifts off to sleep.

A huge thank you to @sinderellanightwolf and IperOuranos for all the help with this drabble and the others to come! I wouldn't have started writing them without y'all! I hope you all enjoy these and be on the lookout for the others to come! Much love ❤️

Also @sarahcakes613 this is your Comfort!Yuta story that I promised you ☺️ And I 100% think that Yuta would want to learn Samoan after hearing Roman and his family speak it, so of course, Roman taught him the most important word 😍

#the shield/BCC/Renee poly #blackpool combat club #the shield #blackpool combat polycule #jon moxley #claudio castagnoli #bryan danielson #wheeler yuta #roman reigns #bcc polycule

[kookie4life]

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: Y/N and Yeonjun are in a Long Distance Relationship and Y/N dies when she sees the new Concept Photos

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: Yeonjun x fem! Reader

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: just a description of a not so clothed Yeonjun

I never imagined that I would be in a long-distance relationship. I thought that they were doomed from the beginning and that it would end with the couple breaking up by the end of it. Neither did I expect that I would fall for someone online and it would be a celebrity. If you had told me a few years ago that the first person I’d fall in love with and end up in a long-distance relationship with was Choi Yeonjun, I would’ve laughed in your face saying you were delusional.

It was a typical meeting online. Both of us were bored and decided to make ourselves a profile on a random dating app. He swiped right when he came across me and reached out to me first. In the beginning, I was very sceptical. His profile picture didn’t show his full face and I didn’t even know his last name. I knew him as Daniel and during our texts, he was very evasive about his personal information. I did know that he lived in Seoul, South Korea on the other side of the world. I doubted we would actually get together.

But as time passed I found myself enjoying the time we had together and looking forward to our conversations every day. I still didn’t know his full identity but that didn’t bother me as much as it used to. It wasn’t until we had been texting for more than 6 months did he finally reveal who he was. Saying I was shocked would be an understatement as I had just found out I had been texting with a celebrity! On top of that, I was a MOA and I had been crushing on Yeonjun since the first day I set my eyes on him.

So that brings me to where I am now. Sitting in a bus on the way home, phone in hand as I waited for the new concept photos to load. As their comeback neared Yeonjun and I had limited time to converse with each other but I understood and continued to support him from my small world in San Francisco, America.

But I had definitely not prepared myself for what was to come. Because what popped up on the page was a shirtless Yeonjun. Ok maybe not completely shirtless but the vest they put on him was not very effective in covering him up. I felt my face heat up and the tips of my ears turn red. I needed to stop blushing immediately. I was on a public bus for god’s sake! I decided that the next best course of action would be to turn my phone off and wait till I get home to look at them.

However the curiosity to see if the rest of the photos were the same took over me and the next thing I knew I was blushing once more with a picture of Yeonjun leaning over, and his stomach on clear display lit up on my phone screen. When had I asked to be attacked like this?? As I continued scrolling I knew that my face was bright red because every single member had photos like his. A Soobin with blonde hair, lying down and shoulder exposed? Yes, please!

The last picture made my heart skip a beat. In this one, Yeonjun was actually shirtless and he had his back facing towards us. He looked so ethereal and flawless especially with the sunlight hitting his face at that angle. When the bus reached my stop I got off giddy like I was a teenage girl whose crush had just texted her. The title for these concept photos was definitely fitting as it would absolutely make anyone dream about them all day.

Sending a few angry, fire and heart emojis to Yeonjun I waited for his reply so he could give me an answer as to why he didn’t warn me about this.

#txt x reader #yeonjun #tomorrow x together #txt #txt yeonjun #txt fanfic #yeonjun x y/n #yeonjun x reader #yeonjun fanfic

[occult-roommates]

Honestly, might be for the best...

Following the scandalous reveal of Delfina Baradoz, Dawud went to visit Matteo. Like, to him, it changed nothing about his life, except that Daniele was gonna be sad for a couple day. However, well, you know...the universe had another plan. It all started when he made the mistake of bringing up Delfina.

Matteo: Fucking hate her. Ooooh look at me, I suffered cause I'm human. Fuck off, I wish I was human. Dawud: Ok but her parents pretended she was dead cause she's human. Matteo: Exactly, the entire spellcasting world is rotten and corrupted. That is why I hate being one. Dawud: I'll be real with you, Matt, but the fact you seem to always find a way to sneak into the conversation how much you hate being a spellcaster is starting to be really fucking annoying. Matteo: But this time it's relevant to the conversation so you can't really complain. Hell, you're the one who brought it up. Dawud: Ok but like, it's really weird. Matteo: I'm not the only one, this entire society is absolutely awful, but nobody cares. And magic can attack your body, it can turn you blind, give you migraine, it frequently stunts growth which is why spellcasters tend to be shorter. Fuck it all, and fuck that guy who suddenly became a spellcaster and claim he always wanted to be one, like sure bud, you totally did. Dawud: ...Why did you had to bring up uh...Adem I think his name is? Matteo: Because I hate how he's happy with being something I wish I wasn't! Do I have to spell everything out for you??

Well, Dawud was regretting bringing up the subject. Then again, what was he even thinking...

Matteo: Anyway, you cannot understand, you're just a human. And just like most human, you probably don't like occults to a degree. You think I forgot how you handled my cousin's rejection years ago? Dawud: Do not bring that up! I did not mean it. Matteo: Of course, people never mean it...And I bet you're only with me cause you see me as a replacement for Dan. Dawud: That's not true!

Was it though? I mean, Dawud wouldn't admit it. Matteo is fairly different from Daniele. They don't look alike that much and have very distinct personality. They're complete opposite when it come to their magic, at this point no explanation as to why is needed. But like, maybe on a subconscious level it was the case. Maybe Dawud does see Matteo as nothing more than a substitute for Daniele.

In a way, he must admit it was a bit like Charlie. Sure, he wasn't fully in love with him, but as Haddaway once said "what is love"? It's not like he doesn't know how it feels like, he definitely had a thing for Daniele he had never felt for another person before. Sure he could make this work and eventually fall for Matteo. However, it seems like that once again, just like Charlie, it wasn't going to happen. This is gonna sound awful, but for all of his problem in his adult life, at least he's in a relationship you know, so he's not a complete loser.

However, at that point, not only is he sure he doesn't love him, he doesn't think he even like him. The two barely knew each other before they kissed in a bar back in February.

Dawud: Alright then, it's over. Matteo: Wait no, I didn't mean it. Dawud: Of course, people never mean it...

Well, that was once again, an impulse. This time though, it might be better this way. Might as well hit the brick before their relationship actually turns to shit, which it seems like might just be a matter of time if Dawud was only dating Matteo for the sake of dating someone. Even if he wouldn't admit to himself it was because he couldn't get Daniele, the fact is, to some degree it kinda is. So of course this will make stuff go sour one day or another. For the sake of Matteo, might as well call it quit now.

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#ts4 #the sims 4 #sims 4 #simblr #ts4 simblr #sims 4 story #ts4 story #occult roommates #dawud sahan #matteo rossini #OcRo s2 #long post