#i finished the mav one first and then it took me a entire month to do the ice one sorry lmao

[enthyrea]

☀️ 🌙

#enthyrea art #icemav #i finished the mav one first and then it took me a entire month to do the ice one sorry lmao #I kinda gave up on these but hopefully they look good #top gun maverick #top gun #top gun fanart #pete maverick mitchell #tom iceman kazansky #top gun 1986 #top gun iceman #tg86 fanart #tg86 #top gun maverick fanart #icemav fanart #iceman x maverick #maverick x iceman #iceman kazansky #maverick mitchell #top gun 86

[daggerspare-standingby]

Great Balls Of Fire

Just a quick little one shot that's been buzzing around in my brain for a while, and no reason to post it until today (10/28/22) when I heard that Jerry Lee Lewis (original singer of Great Balls Of Fire) passed away today. Thought this would be appropriate, please be kind! First TG post :)

Please enjoy a one shot of Rooster x Girlfriend!Reader

a bit of fluff, a bit of angst (see Mav) for missing the OG Bradshaws (Carole & Goose) but mostly fluff :)

*

It was a Friday night, and you were working the bar of the Hard Deck as per usual, your boyfriend and his teammates hanging out by the pool tables and dart boards until the end of your shift when you would join them. Conversation hummed throughout the bar, accompanied with the vintage vinyl playing from the jukebox. Penny was chatting with Maverick on the other end of the bar, and you poured another glass of draught for a regular customer. As you turned around to ring through the sale, you heard a chorus of groans sound throughout the bar as the Jukebox was unplugged - again - and there was really only one culprit that could be to blame.

Bradley took his place at the piano, having waited closer to the end of your shift to start playing just in case Penny decided to throw him out for being a little shit. He tinkled a few of the higher octave keys before settling down on the bench and then he started his usual song. Despite the smile growing on your face as his voice rang out the first few words of the verse, you did have to roll your eyes. This song was constantly on repeat in your boyfriend's brain, he said it brought him closer to his dad when he played it. You couldn't fault him that, wishing that you could have met Nick and Carole Bradshaw before you started dating.

Come On Baby! You're Driving me Crazy

The entire bar broke out with him for the chorus - because nobody but Bradley knew the actual words to every verse.

Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Fire!

Watching your boyfriend eating up the attention, you couldn't help but admire him from your place behind the wooden bar. He looked so good, sun kissed from his day outside, curls lightened but in a fluffy mop on the top of his head - one that you loved to run your fingers through - and aviator sunglasses, the pair that you learned were his dad's which was why they constantly slid down his narrow nose, midway down the bridge of his nose as he bobbed his head to the song he sang and played. Rooster looked so good in this moment, in the limelight. He was always so charismatic, his voice, that straight smile, and that damn 80s style moustache that worked so well for him. His gravelly voice as he sang the "that feels good baby" made shivers automatically run down your spine and goosebumps rise on your arms and a heat pool in the pit of your stomach. Yup - it was time to get your man home.

He was smiling as he sang along, his friends and co workers singing along as well; all except Hangman because Jake was just too cool to sing along to Great Balls Of Fire for the umpteenth time that month. You did catch him tapping his foot to the beat though as he sipped his beer and smirked, making a mental note to tease him about it later. Checking the big clock above the door to the bar, you saw it was just a couple minutes to the end of your shift, you looked over at Penny, asking her silently if you could clock out with a nod towards Rooster at the piano to which she simply nodded and waved you off.

Just as he was finishing the song you untied your apron and tucked it under the bar, coming around the opening you bit your lip - you'd never done this before and it was going to either go very well, or very poorly. "Hey Rooster, you big stud!" you raised your voice slightly to be above the music, enjoying the way his head automatically shot up, a grin gracing his features.

You also didn't miss the way that Maverick's head also turned on a swivel as you repeated one of the favourite phrases of one very special Carole Bradshaw. Rooster smiles at you from the piano "That's me honey!" echoing the words that Goose and Carole once said to each other, Maverick stared at you both in shock from his seat at the bar. Tears lining his eyes as he watched the scene play out in front of him; remembering back to a four year old Bradley perched atop a very similar piano, Goose playing the exact same tune and Carole moving to sit atop his lap and join him in the very last chorus.

"Take me to bed or lose me forever!" Your eyes locked on Rooster as you walked over to him and he quickly maneuvered an arm around your waist to pull you into his lap while not missing a beat of the final verse of the song "Show me the way home honey!" He played the final notes of Great Balls of Fire with a flourish and then pulled you in for a steamy kiss, moustache tickling your upper lip and warm hands pressed around your waist. He stood up quickly almost knocking you over as he moved to slip your hand into his and twine your fingers together "Penny, I'll settle up tomorrow! Gotta take my girl home!" Penny shook her head laughing and waved a towel at the two of you as you were dragged out of the bar.

Despite hearing the song every night, sometimes multiple times a day, Rooster would never stop singing it. Not only did it bring him closer to his dad, but as long as he knew how much it would turn you on when he performed it, he'd sing it to the end of his days.

#rooster fluff #great balls of fire #jerry lee lewis #top gun maverick #top gun #goosexcarole #rooster x reader #Bradley rooster bradshaw #Bradley bradshaw #tgm #top gun fanfiction

[samaraannhan20]

Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw imagine: Come Back Home

Based on Come Back Home by Sofia Carson

You sit cleaning glasses at the Hard Deck, staring at the piano. Bradley had left that morning for a classified mission, along with Pete. Both of them had been stationed in Miramar as Top Gun instructors for the last year, but the government needed them for something bigger for an entire month, starting today. Which is why both you and your Aunt Penny were struggling with them being gone. Penny walked in, and sighed at how sullen you looked, knowing she looked just as bad. “It’s just a month,” she said, walking over to you and rubbing your shoulders. “That’s what I have to keep telling myself. Why don’t you take a break and go play the piano a bit. Maybe it will make you feel better,” she said, taking the glass from you and shoving you in the direction of the piano. As you sat down, you started plunking out a little tune you had been working on. The more time you spent messing around with the keys, the more what you were plunking out started to turn into a new song. You had always had a bit of a talent for writing songs, but never had enough nerve to show anyone except your close friends what you had written. “Letting my fears show til I can face ‘em. Letting my tears go ‘til I can taste them. Da-da-da-da,” you sang trailing off, but keeping the tune going on the piano. “That was good, Y/N,” Penny called out from where she was standing behind the bar. “Thanks,” you said, blushing a little. “It just kinda came out when I sat down.” “Well, don’t worry about helping me. You just keep writing that song. When Bradley calls in a few days, I bet it will be a whole song.” “Are you sure Aunt Penny? I mean, you literally pay me to help out around here,” you say with a chuckle. “Yeah, I’m sure. That song deserves to finish being written,” she says, and then waves her dishrag at you. “Now, get to writing. You have an hour before we open and I need you back here.”

You spent the next three weeks writing your song during the two hours each day before opening, and then sometimes when you would wake up in the morning. You would be the first to admit though that your best work was done right after you got off the phone with Bradley every few days. You had finally finished it that morning right after you got off the phone with him.

“So,” you had said while looking at Bradley over facetime. “Any chance you guys will get to come home early? I miss you a lot. And, shockingly, I also miss Mav.” “Hey, I heard that,” you heard Maverick yell from somewhere behind him, and then all three of you laughed. “No, hun,” Bradley replied when you calmed down. “Unfortunately we still have a week left. But, both of us have our tickets booked. Or, the Navy has the plane ready for us to fly back in a week. Unless one of us gets injured, which none of us want. So, I will see you, one week from right now. Or hopefully earlier in the day,” he finished. “Okay,” you said with a sigh, wishing he could come home early. “I’m betting you need to go then?” “Yeah, Mav and I have another training session before the night is over. I love you, though, and I will see you in a week,” he says to you, standing up. “I love you,” you say in response. “See you in a week,” you say, before the both of you hang up the phone.

As you walked into the bar that afternoon, you called out for Penny. “What’s up?” she asked as she and Amelia ducked out of the back room. “I finished it,” you stated, rushing over to the piano without putting your stuff down behind the bar like you normally do. “I finished the song,” you said, as you reached the piano and dropped your belongings. “Well!” Amelia exclaimed, joining you by the piano, with her mom following closely behind. “Play it already!” “What do you think I’m doing nerd?” you questioned as you positioned your fingers over the keys. You took a deep breath before you started playing. As you got to the final chorus, you could feel the tears start falling down your face, but you kept singing through them. “Letting my fears show ‘til I can face ‘em. Letting my tears go ‘til I can taste them. Hell, what do I know where you and I’ll go? Damn it, I hope you come back home. Come back home. Come back home,” you finish trailing off as you hit the last note. You look up from the keys that you had been staring at, and look up to see both Penny and Amelia also crying. “That was beautiful, Y/N,” Amelia says, and Penny still cannot say anything due to her tears. You walk around the piano, and the three of you hug. When Penny can finally talk again the first thing she utters, completely shocks you. “A week from today, when our boys come home, you are going to sit behind this piano when we open, and sing this song for them. And don’t try to tell me no. Bradley deserves it. And so does Pete.” “Okay, Aunt Penny. I’ll do it, for the boys,” you say, and then pull her in for another hug.

For the next week you work on the song every day, fine tuning it and getting it completely performance ready. On the day that the boys were due to come home in the afternoon, you are startled awake by the feeling of the bed dipping down, and a hand coming up and gently moving your hair out of your face. “Brads?” you groggily question as you begin to wake up. “Yeah, baby, it’s me,” he says, before leaning down and pressing a kiss to your forehead. “You’re early,” you mutter as you sit up in bed, pulling him into a hug as soon as you get fully sat up. “Yeah,” he chuckles into your hair, “the mission took less time than originally thought, once the training was finished. Mav went straight to Penny’s. Hangman and Phoenix said that they would meet us at the Hard Deck later today,” he explained, and suddenly you got nervous. “Oh, yay!” you said, hoping that he wouldn’t be able to sense the sarcasm in your voice. “Yep, it’s gonna be a fun night,” he says, before pulling you up. “C’mon, let’s go take a shower,” he says, and pulls you into the bathroom with him

Later that night, when everyone is at the Hard Deck, Penny moves from behind the bar, and goes to turn off the jukebox. This immediately makes everyone in the bar quiet, as Penny begins projecting her voice to get everyone’s attention. “Hello everyone! Tonight we will be doing something that we do not normally do. My niece, Y/N, will be performing a song that she wrote over this past month. Y/N, go to the piano. Bradle and Pete, why don’t you gather around the piano, stand at the front, by the keys. Everyone else, fill in wherever you can fit,” she says to the guests of the bar, and they part as she pulls you to the piano, with Bradley and Pete trailing after you. As you sit down at the bench, Bradley leans down to whisper in your ear. “You didn’t tell me you had written anything,” he states, as he watches you run your fingers over the keys. “It was a surprise,” you whisper back, before quickly pecking him on the lips, and using your shoulder to bump him away. “Hello everyone,” you say as you look up at the crowd surrounding the piano. “This is a song I wrote while my boyfriend was away, fighting for the Navy, over the last month called Come Back Home,” you say, as you set your hands in place for the beginning of the song. “We're drowning in our eyes. Don't know what we'll find.I'm not sure, should we fly or fight this? We're terrified, Pretending now that we don't care. But tension cuts, cuts the air, We're more than scared. I'm drowning in your eyes, I'm terrified. I don't know what's happening to me? Can you hear my pulse beat underneath? Words are getting hard for me to speak. That's not for me. Letting my fears show 'til I can face 'em. Letting my tears go 'til I can taste them. Hell, what do I know where you and I go? Damn it, I hope you come back home. come back home. It's hard to sleep at night when It's do or die. While our world spins 'round and 'round and, We're paralyzed. Pretending now that we don't care. But tension cuts, cuts the air. We're more than scared. So lost inside our eyes. We're terrified. Letting my fears show 'til I can face 'em. Letting my tears go 'til I can taste them. “Hell, what do I know where you and I go? Damn it, I hope you come back home. come back home. come back home. I don't know what's happening to me. Can you hear my pulse beat underneath? Words are getting hard for me to speak. That's not for me. Letting my fears show, Letting my tears go. Hell, what do I know where you and I go? Damn it, I hope…Letting my fears show 'til I can face 'em. Letting my tears go 'til I can taste them. Hell, what do I know where you and I go?Damn it, I hope you come back home. oh, come back home. oh, come back home,” you finish, and immediately after you finish the bar bursts into applause. You blush and look at your hands, wishing that the attention was not all on you. After a few minutes, Penny starts the jukebox again, and you’ve been hugged more times than you can count. Bradley is finally able to grab you, and he does just that, pulling you outside away from the crowd. “Baby,” he says, staring at you in awe, “that was amazing. Why didn’t you tell me you were writing that?” “I didn’t want to bother you. Almost every night that you were gone I had a nightmare that your plane wrecked and you weren’t able to eject in time.” “Y/N,” he stated, pulling you close to him, “you should have told me. I’m your boyfriend. You can tell me anything. If it helps, I had the same nightmare every night. I was scared that I wouldn’t make it home to you, and that since we aren’t married the government wouldn’t have anyone to tell.”  You pull him closer, and bury your face into his chest. “We need to get better at communicating,” you say with a laugh as you bury your face in his chest, the words coming out all muffled. “I agree,” he says, lifting your head out of his chest. “But first, let’s just enjoy the moment.” And with that, he pulls you into a searing kiss.

#bradley rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw imagine #bradley bradshaw fanfiction #bradley bradshaw x female reader #rooster #rooster bradshaw

[crashdevlin]

Another Second Chance 18- Therapy

Another Second Chance Masterlist, Happily Ever Eventually Masterlist

Author’s Note: The final (hopefully) installment of the Happily Ever Eventually RPF series.

Summary: Y/n finds herself a new house and Misha is determined to make it a huge project.

Pairing: Jensen x Reader

Word count: 2993

Story Warnings: past cheating, mentions of FFM threesome, not much in this one

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“It’s pretty, right?” I ask, looking around the open concept of the first floor of this $350,000 house.

“Kitchen’s kinda outdated,” Jensen says, pointing at the fridge. “I mean, that fridge has gotta be from when you were in high school.”

“I could buy new appliances, Jay. Get a natural gas stove set up. Install some cabinet pulls, because I’m not a really big fan of this whole lack of elements.” I gesture at the cabinets. “Probably stain it a little darker to go against the flooring. But it’s pretty, right?”

Jay smiles. “Yeah. It’s pretty...and it’s about twice as big as the one you’ve been living in. Which is what you need.”

“Yeah. Walk-in closet in the master, too. It’ll be a good place to put the security hub.”

“Or you could put the security hub in the closet in the den and put your clothes in the master closet,” Jay suggests, grumpy old man in his tone. "And if you're gonna update the kitchen, you gotta update the bathrooms. Get one of those-"

"I am not getting an automatic toilet!" I laugh. "No one needs that!"

"Of course no one needs it but it's freakin' awesome!"

"Okay, Dean," I tease.

"Dean would agree with me. Automatic toilet, with the bidet and the-"

"Dean Winchester would break an automatic toilet and then complain that it's a damn computer which means he can't fix it without help."

Jay laughs. "He'd still think it was cool."

"He'd be down for the heated seat. I will give you that much."

He smiles as he looks around. "So...are we looking at your new digs or what?"

I bite my bottom lip and run my hand over the granite countertop. “Shouldn’t I ask Nova's opinion? It's gonna be her home, too."

"She's a teenager. As long as she's got her own room, I'm sure she's gonna be fine." He sets his hands on my shoulders and smiles. "But you can show her pictures or bring her by before you sit down with the realtor."

I nod and smile. "It's in the right school district and a bigger room for her and for Mav and the bonus room can be an office. I really think it's the place."

"Then get it," he encourages. "Get it, Baby Girl. We can make it perfect. I'm no stranger to a little reno."

"Please," I start, laughing. "A contractor did the work on your old place. Shush."

He looks a little offended. "I helped. I painted. I installed the sink in the half bath off the kitchen."

"Fine. You can stain these cabinets for me." I wink and step away from him. I'm gonna get this house. "Come on." I walk to the foyer where the realtor is waiting and I smile at him. "Can I put in an offer now or should I wait a few hours?" He smiles brighter than the sun.

"You can make an offer anytime, Miss."

Miss. Still young enough to get 'miss'. "Good. Let's do this."

~~~~~~~~~

"Four bedroom, 2 and a half bath, 3200 square feet with an office next to the master bed. It needs some updating and work...had a contractor quote me $60,000 but that's not bad...covers new appliances, too."

"I could come down and help," Misha offers. "You know, a lot of that stuff you can DIY and I can help with most of it."

"You don't have to do that, Meesh."

"Why would I let you spend that much money on something I could help you with for a fraction of the cost?"

"Misha, you really don’t-"

"I'm not letting you tell me 'no' on this. We'll get together some manpower and get this done for you."

He's really not going to let me say 'no'. "Okay. Well, it's going to be several weeks before the paperwork is finished and all that. I'll let you know when it's mine."

"Good. I'll start looking at HGTV.com." Damn it, Misha. Don't be so extra. "And send me pictures and a floorplan so I know what I'm working with."

"Yeah, okay." Really no point in arguing. It's Misha. If I don't send him pics and a copy of the floorplan, he'll just find the house and get them himself off the internet. "I'll send it to you after my appointment tomorrow, okay?"

"Sounds good. Talk to you then."

"Bye, Meesh." I hang up and sigh. He's gonna make it this whole thing, isn't he?

His house in Washington did come out amazing, though, so he does have some skills that will help in this. Eh, why not? Why not get together with my best friend and make my new home my own?

"So, I get to see this house eventually, right?" Nova says, walking into the living room.

I smile. "Come see all these pretty pictures I took and we can speculate on what craziness Misha is gonna come up with." I pat the couch next to me and she comes over. "This is the view from the street." I start showing her the pictures and she claims a room before I've even finished the digital tour.

"Oh, and you're gonna paint the exterior, right? Like, it's pretty but it's yellow. You're gonna fix that, right?"

"Oh, I'm sure Misha isn't going to let me move into another drab house. You weren’t here the first time he showed up at this house but he had opinions about all of it. I didn't let him talk me into reno last time but this time...I don’t know...maybe this will be the forever home so…"

"It's gotta be custom!" Nova exclaims.

"Exactly."

"Can I paint my walls custom? Or get custom wallpaper done? I know that a lot of people don't like wallpaper but I've seen a few places that got it right and-"

"Yeah, baby, of course. We'll figure out something awesome for your walls." I kiss her forehead. We'll do whatever she wants for her room.

"Yay!"

I love when she's happy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's been a while since I've been in Dr. McCauliffe's office. Life has been in the way...and I guess I didn’t want her to judge me for my involvement with Jensen...which is ridiculous because she's my therapist. She's not going to judge me.

"So." She taps her pen against her clipboard. "What's new?"

"Well...I have been dating Jensen again. I know you saw that in the news."

"I saw it on Mr. Collins' Instagram, actually," she says with a smile.

"Right. The video. Forgot about it for a minute. Um, yeah, like I said in the video and Jensen said in his...spark's still there, we're giving it another chance."

"How's that feel?"

I bite my bottom lip. "Scary as Hell, honestly. I mean, but it's good. I've done pretty good with boundaries and moving slowly. You know, before...we jumped in head first and everything was this intense passion right out of the gate but this time…" I shrug. "I don't know. Maybe we've grown up, or grown old, but…"

"Have you slept with him?" she asks and it's because she knows that sex was a big issue when I was with him before. Sex was all we were supposed to be in the beginning and sex ruined us in the end. I know why she's asking but there's this...well, it's a bit intrusive, isn't it? It seems like she's judging me for being sexually active and I know that's not what it is but my whole spine goes tense when she asks.

"Yes. We dated for about a month before we started getting physical again."

“And how has that been? I don’t need details, of course, but...emotionally, how has it been to be intimate with Jensen again?”

How to answer that?

Really, how am I supposed to answer that? It’s the best sex I’ve ever had, emotionally fullfilling in a romance-novel sort of way. It’s perfect but it does have its scary moments. “Well, we’ve only actually...slept together a couple times this time. His libido is a lot less than it was. I mean, he didn’t have sex the entire time we were broken up, can you believe that?”

Dr. McCauliffe adjusts her glasses and shrugs a little. “I do not. Five years is a long time to go without sex...but you seem to believe it. That’s what matters.”

I never even questioned it. Should I have? No, because he’s been so honest about everything else. “I went years and years without sex after Nate. I believe Jensen did the same after me. He had a lot going on. He was in recovery for alcoholism. He had to be a good father and work on his career and-”

“You just got very defensive, very quickly. Why is that?”

Fuck, I don’t know. I run my hand over my mouth and shrug. “I don’t know,” I respond honestly.

“Analyze it, Y/n. Why would you get so defensive over my disbelief in what Jensen told you?”

“Because I didn’t question it,” I answer after a moment. “Because he told me that the last time he had sex, real full-penetrative sex, was the time that broke us and I didn’t really question it. I took it at face value because we’ve been doing very good about honesty with each other and what if that’s stupid? What if I’m stupid because maybe he’s lying about it and keeping stuff from me and-”

“You said he’s been very good about honesty so far, right?”

I nod. “Yeah. He’s...he admitted to stuff that I never thought he’d admit to and he apologized for stuff and he’s been open about what happened and why. He’s even been honest about little things that he would have lied about before...like I told him about Will and he Googled him. Used to be, he’d keep that kind of thing to himself, never tell me, but he admitted it without even prompting.” I chew on my bottom lip as she starts scribbling on her notes. “I believe him. It might be stupid but I believe him.”

She sets her clipboard in her lap and smiles at me. “It’s not stupid...and he’s likely changed enough that honesty is important to him. You’ve told me that his recovery has changed him. Jared’s told me the same. Now, it’s a bit hard for me to believe that he’s changed so much in the last five years that he would have abstained from sex since the last time he was with you, but...I don’t know the man, do I? You do. Jared does. If you believe him, then don’t let me change your mind.”

“I believe him. You didn’t see the way he looked at me the first time we...‘Reverent’ is the best word for it.”

“What do you think that means for you?”

I scoot back, leaning against the back of the couch. “I think he’s finally got Danneel out of his head.”

“Do you?” she asks and I hate when she asks things I don’t want to answer. “Danneel was a major roadblock in your relationship before, wasn’t she?”

“You know she was. I was so focused on giving Jensen what he wanted...Danneel...that I couldn’t see that I was what he was supposed to be wanting. I wanted to be like her, couldn’t appreciate myself. I know this stuff, Doctor.” I shift on the couch and sigh. “I don’t wanna be Danneel and I don’t want Jensen to be with her. I want Jensen to be with me...I want him to want to be with only me.” I shrug. “Seems like that’s where we are. He doesn’t even talk to her anymore. I talked to her the other day and she didn’t even know why he doesn’t talk to her anymore.”

“You talked to Danneel again?”

“Yeah. We ran into each other at a shop while I was getting Nova a new dress. It...didn’t go well. Nova was very combative with Danneel. I ended up having to...be very honest with my daughter. She knows about everything now...even the night with Danneel.”

“Oh? How’d that talk go?”

“It was...it was good to get it off my chest, actually. It was like the conversation where I told her about, about why her father and I got divorced. It’s like...It was a hard conversation but it was an important one. I don’t have to...hide things anymore and that’s a blessing. She understands why I make the decisions I make now...she understands...the betrayal was a lot deeper than she even knew. She understands that now and...maybe it’ll make us closer, but at least she knows the truth now.”

“And she’s living with you now, right?” I nod. “How did that happen? Nathan doesn’t seem the type to just allow her to do what she wants.”

I snort. “He’s definitely not, but...he fucked up with Jenny, blew up his marriage. I’m actually surprised it took her this long to realize that he was cheating on her, but whatever. Um...Nova didn’t want to be there for the destruction of his way of life and she asked if she could come to Texas. I convinced him to let her come because she didn’t need to see the parade of his affairs that Jenny would bring up. I then used those women to convince him not to fight me on custody when I refiled. It was…” I scratch at my cheek. “It was a low move, but it’s exactly the kind of move he pulled on me, convincing the judge that I was too unstable to care for her. I don’t feel bad about it, especially since she wants to be here.”

“That’s a big change...on top of other big changes.”

“Yep...and there’s more coming. Because I need more room since Nova is living with me, there will be a new home in my future."

"A new home? That's exciting."

"It is. And I am more excited about it than I am scared so that says something."

"I remember how anxious you were about your first house. I remember all the security options you went through."

"Well, security had to be heavy. I had to think about Tom and his crazy-ass fans and the crazier of Jensen’s fans and the paps. There was that one photographer in Vancouver that climbed the balcony outside the condo to get pics of me and Jay, remember?" I shiver at the memory of looking out the French doors to see a man with his camera, snapping away. So intrusive. "I'm gonna have to put up a privacy fence and a coded gate at the new place, too...and, of course, all the security cameras."

"Sounds like a big project."

"Yeah. Definitely. Not even half of it, though. Misha wants to DIY everything."

"Misha isn't your husband, Y/n," Dr. McCauliffe reminds me and I laugh.

"I think he forgets that sometimes. But there's not a lot of use in arguing with him. He's...well, he's right a lot. Like, most of the time, I mean. So, I always cave to him."

"Do you want to do a big DIY project at this new house?"

"Not at first, I didn't but...I dunno. Might be fun. I've never gotten to do that kind of project and knowing Misha, he's gonna make it fun even if it is hard work."

"Well, as long as you can maintain your work as well as this project. How is that coming along?"

"Really good, actually. We started shooting not too long ago...and I hadn't even considered that this project might be detrimental to Midsummer. I'll have to make sure that Misha knows that Midsummer comes first."

"Well, it seems like you've got things under control."

"Yeah? I was afraid you'd tell me I was...going too fast or…"

"Do you think that? You were telling me that you'd done well with boundaries and keeping things-"

"Well, I have! I mean, Jensen was talking about moving in together already and I shut that down and decided to get a bigger place...my own bigger place."

"Jensen wanted to move in with you?" She writes down something on her notes. "And you said 'no'?"

"I said 'no'," I confirm. "I was really proud of myself, Doc. Nova was proud of me, too, actually. Which was...it was interesting and new. I don’t know that she's ever been proud of me for anything and I know that it's supposed to be the other way, where I'm proud of her and I am, of course but Nova being proud of me setting these boundaries and sticking to them...it gives me hope that she'll be able to do the same in her own life, you know?"

"There's nothing wrong with feeling happy that you made your daughter proud and there's nothing wrong with hoping she's going to make different mistakes than you. She's going to do well in life if you keep making the best choices for the both of you." She sets her clipboard on her desk and smiles. "I'm proud of you, too, by the way. Six years ago, you would have jumped at living with Jensen."

"Six years ago, I did."

We finish out our session with a promise to not go so long without seeing her next time. "Mental health is about the maintenance," she reminds me as she opens her office door and walks me to the reception desk. I agree and set an appointment for six weeks out. I call Misha as I start my car, intending to tell him that Midsummer comes before the house project. I haven't even gotten a 'hello' out of my mouth when he speaks.

"I saw the pictures you sent. I have so many ideas!"

~~~

The Kitchen Sink - @emoryhemsworth @flamencodiva @wasabiwitteks @rainbowkisses31 @rissbennett @mariekoukie6661 @officiallyunofficialperson @dolphincliffs @mrs-meghan-winchester @gayspacenerd @foxyjwls007 @ilovefanfic86 @marvelfansworld @f-yeahfandoms @wonderlandfandomkingdom @hhiggs @sev3nruby @hobby27 @paintballkid711 @divadinag @thewhiterabbit42 @fantasymyth-1 @queenoftheunderdark @cosicas-cuquis @superfanficnatural @letsby @supernatural-bellawinchester @onethirstyunicorn @swinchester27 @chalicia @screechingartisancashbailiff @death-unbecomes-you @dayasvalkyrie @paryl @wereallbrokenangels @the-american-witch @that-one-gay-girl @tatted-trina6 @sunshineandwings86 @lunarmoon8 @wheezyeds @vicmc624 @couldabeenamermaid @vulgar-library

#cassie writes stuff #spn fanfic #spn rpf #jensen ackles #jensen ackles x reader

[calebswitching]

Heart to heart with mom

Caleb has a long talk with his mother during parent week

@the-duvals

Clara and Caleb had agreed to meet at the gates of the school. She did want to try out this new supposedly 'classic Greek' cuisine, but mostly she wanted some time with just Caleb. She wanted to make sure she got time with all three boys alone during the week. Her dear sweet Nick was easy. They got into the kitchen and the communication flowed. Noah was impossible for reasons that she didn't want to explore. Caleb should have been easier, but her dear, logical, brilliant boy seemed to be... well she wasn't sure what, but obviously it had to do with the whole mess the month before. There had been no time to talk since he'd been missing for what felt like a year. Damn Mark for continuing to be in her son's life. She wasn't someone who liked violence, but God help that man if she ever got alone in a room with him. It all feels so out of her control. She smiled when she saw her son already there waiting for her. As soon as she was close enough she pulled him into a hug. "Oh... this is the thing I miss most. Getting to hug my sons whenever I want. I don't miss the science experiments in my fridge and growing on my windowsill but I do miss this." She steps back. "Let me get a look at you." It's then that she sees it. His collar is missing. "Oh... sweetheart."

Caleb should have been excited to see his mom.  And maybe part of him was.  He loved her, and he wanted to get a hug from her and to talk like they used to.  He just wanted to soak up her maternal presence while he had a chance, since he got to see her so rarely these days.  But he was dreading the conversation that he knew was coming.  He hadn't told her everything that had happened in July, and he hated talking about it.  Mostly because it flooded him with guilt.  He had been so stupid, reacted entirely in fear instead of thinking things through, and he'd almost ruined his claim in the process.  And he still wasn't wearing his collar.  Which his mother was going to notice, certainly.  Dad had noticed, when they'd gone to the book store together, but hadn't really commented, other than to ask a few gentle questions about how things were going with Eric.  Caleb hadn't explained about the collar, but his dad had seemed mollified by his reassurances that he and Eric were working through things and were still together.  But Caleb was sure his mother would want to know more. Still, seeing her smile at the sight of him made him smile too, and he sank into her hug.  It was odd, because despite being both taller and broader than her, she still made him feel like he was the one being held against her strong frame and enveloped in her arms.  Maybe it was a mom thing, a psychological thing, that she never lost the ability to make him feel safe like that.  He pulled back, huffing a soft laugh at the mention of science experiments in her fridge.  Then her expression changed, and his own smile froze, then faded.  He looked down, ashamed.  "It's, uh...  it's okay, I've got a cuff."  He held up his wrist to show her the cuff Eric had given him, which he began to fidget with.  "Plenty of people have cuffs for their claims..."  It was true, but it still sounded like an excuse.

Clara saw the change in him. At first it had been just as always. Her tall lanky man still seeming like just her her little boy as she hugged him. But as soon as she mentioned the collar he tightened up and closed off, his words sounding like nothing more than an excuse. Their claim hadn't been dissolved. Hector would have told her immediately about that. But now that she thinks back to their parting that morning he had been a bit cagey. "Yes, some people do choose cuffs for all sorts of reasons. Did you and Eric change your minds about having a collar?" She knows this wasn't some sort of aesthetic choice either of them had made. She straightened up and breath in deeply and let it out in a slow exhale. "Alright, listen my little dumplin' I know something real bad happened last month. I know you haven't wanted to talk about. Nick and Noah told me it was that damn... that it had to do with Mark, but kiddo you gotta tell your mom what's goin' on because I'm getting mighty worried right now." Her veneer always slipped away revealing just how much of a Texan girl she was in these moments. Moving to the big city, didn't change the fact that she was an Odessa country girl deep down. She took his hand and clasped it tightly in hers. "I love you Caleb Aaron Duv... Anderson and that will not change, but you've got to tell me what's going on." Her statement had all of the power of motherhood and Dominance behind it. A powerful combination of strength and love that no one could resist.

Caleb hesitated, unsure how answer.  Because, well, yes, they had changed their minds, sort of.  Or, Eric had, temporarily, while they worked on restoring trust between them. Fixing what Caleb had broken. But that wasn't what she meant, and Caleb knew it.  She was asking if they had simply decided they liked a cuff better, and the answer to that was no.  But then his mother continued, and Caleb was saved from having to come up with an answer, at least for a moment.  Not that it made him feel any better.  He could tell his mother was getting upset, because her southern accent was getting stronger.  He ducked his head and shifted his weight uneasily, even as he held on tightly to her hand when she took his.

"I'm sorry, mama," he said quietly.  He never called her that anymore, just mom, but it slipped out.  He suddenly felt like crying, and it was mortifying.  He was a grown man, he shouldn't break down in tears like a toddler just because his mom was the tiniest bit firm with him.  He swallowed and kept control of himself, carefully.  "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry so much.  I, um...  I can't wear my collar right now."  His hand came up automatically to touch his throat where it should be.  "I'll get it back, when Eric and I... when we're okay again, I guess.  But I..."  He swallowed thickly again.  This was so difficult to admit.  "I broke his trust.  Some of it was Mark's fault, but I could have told Eric what was going on.  I had a chance, I could have gone to him.  Mark was threatening to hurt me, or Eric, or himself, but... I still made a choice not to tell Eric.  And I was the one who took the collar off.  So when I got back to school...  Eric wasn't ready for me to have again yet, is all.  Because it- it stands for something I had- had broken."  He grimaced, face screwed up, trying not to get emotional.

Clara's heart broke for he sensitive boy. All her sons were sensitive in their own ways. For Caleb it was different though because another human being had broken him open. He was like an open nerve and it was so damn unfair. She listened to him without interruption before sighing and nodding. She needed to be very careful here. Caleb was another Dominant's submissive now. And she herself had a duty as a fellow Dominant to look at this from that perspective as well as a mother who just wanted to protect her baby from everything and everyone. She pulled him into another hug and just held him. "Just breathe dumplin'. Just breathe with me for a minute. Okay?" She didn't care who was there or who saw. They could all get bent as far as she was concerned. She'd spied a small stone bench under a larch oak tree not far off and she pulled back to take his hand and lead him over. She sat and patted the space next to her.

"First, I'm so sorry all of that happened. Mark needs to be dealt with. This is completely unacceptable. He can't keep coming into your life and turning it upside down." She let that sit for a moment before continuing on to the tough stuff. "I love you, my own. I love you more than the sun... more than paprika and you know how much I love paprika." She chuckled wanting to keep things as light as possible. "I love you and I also know that you should have trusted your Dom. You know that, he does, it's not something that needs to be discussed too much. But what I think is the larger issue is that we might need to start really facing what his abuse of you did. Because dumplin' I know how much you trust Eric. That boy means the world to you and more than that, he taught you to trust after someone crushed all of your trust into dust. After someone you loved pulled trust from your heart fiber by fiber. I don't think trust is the issue here. I think trauma is the issue." She held his gaze. "Eric is right to wait until you've worked out this breach of trust. But how are you doing that? What work are you doing?"

Caleb let himself be pulled into his mom's arms again and tried to breathe, like she said.  He didn't cry, but it was a near thing.  He just breathed, slowly, counting to ten before exhaling again, then counting again, and repeating until he could feel the horrible tightness in his throat recede.

He followed her over to the bench, glancing around as he did.  No one was nearby.  Good.  He didn't want an audience for this conversation.  Obediently, he sat next to her, though he began to fidget immediately.  He stared down at his knees as she spoke, though the comment about paprika got a weak chuckle out of him.  He looked up at her towards the end, watching her with a worried expression.  It was comforting to hear her say she knew how much he loved Eric.  He was still so scared that people thought he was lying, and he didn't really love his Dom, or didn't love him enough, or the way he should.  As she finished, though, Caleb looked down again.  "...We're trying," he said quietly.  "I'm still seeing my therapist.  And I'm trying to do better about communicating.  Eric says he just needs time... and I'm trying to be patient.  He deserves whatever space he needs, after what I put him through.  Especially after Mav..."  His mother had heard all about that, back in May, when Caleb had missed his co-sub so much.  "I hurt him, mom.  I might still be dealing with what Mark did, but now he's hurting, too, and it's my fault."  His throat felt tight again, and he grimaced and turned his face away.  "I don't know how to handle it.  I... I'm not allowed to leave campus with anyone but him or Noah right now, because he doesn't trust me, but I haven't told him that I'm scared to leave campus anyway.  I'm glad I'm not allowed because then it's easy to use as an excuse if someone asks.  I don't know how to fix anything.  There's nothing I can do, but just try to be good, and obedient, and hope it's enough."

Clara again listened carefully and quietly. She let a breath of a laugh pass her lips as she reached up to cup his cheek for a moment. "That's a whole lot to unpack isn't it?" She tilted her head from side to side. "I believe you dumplin'. Neither of you are the type to give in are you? You'll keep trying. All claims have their problems. Your father and I have had plenty of tough times. Times I thought our claim might fall apart. And we've hurt each other. I hate to admit just as much as you hate to admit you hurt Eric. But you are admitting it. You are owning it and working to fix it." She smiled wanly. "You don't have to know how to fix it. Sometimes I think it's the effort that is the answer in and of itself. Claims are never easy. You have to work." She nodded. "I know how hard it is, but give him that space right now. There's a lot he's working through as well, I'm sure." She shook her head. "Oh dumplin' you are good. You are such a good submissive and Eric knows that. I think it's not your obedience that needs to be addressed. It's that fear. You've come a long way toward rebuilding your ability to trust. I saw that the last time I was here, but then the fear came and shattered it." She rolled her lip in and out before looking back at him. "Would you be alright with me talking to Eric? Not to put him on the spot or try and hurry him or anything like that. Just to give him the chance to talk things through."

Caleb ducked his head down and nodded.  It was strange to hear his mom admit to having hurt dad, or vice versa, but logically he understood.  Two people couldn't live together for three decades without at some point hurting the other one's feelings.  It had always just seemed like his parents' relationship was perfect, and that they both always knew what they were doing.  But of course they had been young once.  He let out a breath and nodded.  "I'm trying," he murmured.  "It's so hard, mom.  Because he's my Dom.  It's so hard to give him space, when I need him so much.  We're sleeping in the same bed again now, but the first few weeks, when we weren't... I couldn't sleep.  I felt so guilty just being in his bed, when he was in the spare room.  But he wouldn't listen, and I didn't want to push, I didn't want to argue over something so inconsequential...  And I know he's trying to be what I need, too, but it's all so delicate, I'm scared to push him on anything." He let out a breath when she reassured him that he was good.  Oh, how he wanted that to be true.  It was easy to let himself believe it, at least for a second, coming from his mom.  But she was right, he knew, about the fear.  It was poison, and he didn't know how to be rid of it.  He bit his lip, nervous and unsure, but nodded.  "If you want to," he said softly.  "Just please don't make him feel bad.  He's so worried that he's not a good Dominant.  He thinks that all this is at least partly his fault, and he blames himself for not realizing what was going on with Mav, and he's scared he isn't doing enough to help me.  And I don't want him to feel any worse.  He's been so good to me.  He doesn't know how good he is."

"Oh dumplin' of course you need him. And you can tell him that. Giving him space doesn't mean he stops being your Dom. In fact I think telling him exactly what you just told me will go so far to rebuilding his trust. Telling him how frightened you are to go into town. Telling him all of the feelings you're having." She paused. "This is going to be hard for you to hear, but you might have to argue with him. You're going to have to fight like hell for him. And part of that is going into that uncomfortable space where you tell him all of these things. You're working hard to keep him comfortable, but sweetheart in the end he doesn't want comfort he wants you. That you are floundering without him will not make him feel upset. It might be hard for him right now, but he's your Dom and he needs to know that you need him. Clara shook her head. "I will not be making him feel bad. I promise. I want to be a Dom he can talk to as well as someone who knows you and knows the situation." She nodded. "I think it's possible that with what happened with Mav, he's dealing with his own kind of trauma. That's what I'm concerned about. You're both hurt and your traumas are banging against each other. It's not about one or the other of you being 'bad' or 'doing it wrong'. You both just need a little guidance to get back on the path."

Caleb let out a breath and sagged a little.  She was right, he knew that.  Communication, wasn't that what Eric was always telling him?  He needed to speak up, say how he felt.  But he'd been so scared lately that if he asked for anything, Eric would just give it to him, regardless of how Eric actually felt.  That Eric wouldn't take the space he needed if Caleb asked him for anything. But then again, maybe that was just another failure to entrust his needs to his Dominant.  Wasn't the point of submitting to Eric to let him choose how and when Caleb's needs were met?  He was just so scared of doing the wrong thing, and it seemed like anything he chose had a good chance of being wrong.  "I know," he said quietly, miserably.  "I think he knows that I need him.  He has to know.  But...  you're right, I know you're right.  I'll do better, I promise." Caleb sagged a little and tipped to the side to lean against his mom, putting his head down on her shoulder.  "I hate that he doesn't think he's a good Dom.  I don't know what to do to convince him.  I can't even begin to understand how he could think that, but he really does.  He worries about not being good enough, and losing me and our claim because of it.  And it's hard for me to understand because...  I know I've told you about how amazing he is, mom, how patient he is with me, but...  Everyone says their Dom is wonderful and amazing, it just sounds like I'm in love with him.  And I am.  But he's more than that, he's so good, and I don't understand how he doesn't see it.  He got me to trust again.  He did.  When we met... I couldn't even admit to being upset in front of him, he tried to get me to tell him what was wrong one day and I hid in his bathroom because I couldn't do it, and he wouldn't let me leave while I was upset.  I know I still struggle with trust, but I never would have come so far without him.  Never."

Her sons were forever open books to her. Their thoughts were written across their beautiful faces. "Good boy. You'll feel... well you'll feel nervous and maybe a little worse at first, but in the end you'll be glad you opened up to him completely. Share it all with him, dumplin'. I know it's scary but share the good, the bad, and the ugly. Might be he shows you how mighty beautiful what you think is ugly actually is." When he leaned against her, she put her arm around him and held him tight. "There's nothing you can do. He's got to learn that for himself. These are the things that will make him truly understand what it means to be a Dom. Not the surface trappings. Doms hafta dig real deep to find what truly makes them a Dom. What makes us deserving of these marks." She nodded. "You love him and that's a very good thing because you have so much to love, but it's all of the other things that makes your claim strong. Stronger than this. You're both stronger than this." She thought about Caleb hiding in the bathroom unable to talk about his feelings. He's come so far and a lot of that is owing to Eric Anderson. "I'll talk to him. You'll see he'll come around. In the meantime just open up all of yourself to him. I promise you won't regret it."

Leaning against his mom, Caleb was able to believe, at least for the moment, that things weren't hopeless.  That he could say all these things to Eric and it wouldn't be scary.  And it made him feel better that she wanted to talk to Eric, too.  Hopefully she would be able to tell him just how good he has been for Caleb, and what an amazing Dom he really was.  Maybe hearing it from another Dominant would help.  "Thanks, mom," Caleb murmured.  "For talking to him.  I'll do better, I promise.  I can be patient.  I want my collar back, but I can wait until he's ready.  My instinct is always to keep quiet, not bother him, not burden him.  But I know you're right, that isn't submitting, it's holding back, and it's not my place to choose what he does or doesn't do for me.  I have to tell him what's in my head, or he isn't making a decision not to give me what I want, I'm making that decision for him."  He let out a heavy breath.  "It just feels like I'm being demanding, you know?  I don't want to push for more than he wants to give."

"Of course Cay. I will do anything to help." She felt her heart break a little. "And I know you'll do better, because you are better. You are wonderful. You're an amazing man and a beautiful submissive. And bit by bit as you heal and he heals you'll see that it will get better for both of you." She nodded. "You will need to be patient about the collar for now. Tell him everything, but let him decide when to put that collar back on you. He will, dumplin. I have no doubt about that. But yes be patient. When he puts it on you the second time it will be for a stronger claim. You will remember that day forever." She furrowed her brow. "You're absolutely right. There may come times that you're not ready to talk or that you need to make a decision for yourself. You're a submissive, not a slave. When those times come you just need to trust that you can tell him about that too. This is why we all gotta go to Institute. None of this stuff is at all easy."

Caleb nodded without lifting his head from her shoulder. "I know that, mom. That sometimes I have to make decisions and boundaries and it doesn't mean I'm being disrespectful. It's... Sometimes it's hard because somewhere in the back of my head is this voice that I should just submit, regardless of anything else, but I know I'm not a slave and I get to have a say. It's not really an issue, since Eric always asks how I feel about things. And I'm getting better at telling him even if he doesn't ask. And I have a safe word. Not just during scenes. We have a second one. I haven't had to use it much, but it's for times when I don't know what to do or I'm nervous and I need him to check in with me.  Heisenberg.  You know, because it's an uncertainty principal."

Clara smiled. Her sweet, scientific boy was still just that. "I think that's an excellent strategy. Having situation specific safewords is a good practice that not many claims take advantage of. Your father has a certain gesture that is situation specific." She smiled warmly thinking of her submissive. He is where the boys get their sensitivity from.  "Can't tell you what it's for since that would be breach of his trust, but I can tell you that it has been real helpful. But let me ask you something. Have there been times especially recently that you've needed to use that safeword, but you held back?"

Caleb felt a little better when his mom approved of their strategy.  The information about dad made him lift his head to look at her curiously.  Internally, he debated whether it would be a bad idea to ask dad about it.  He didn't want to make his dad uncomfortable, but he was suddenly very curious.  His mom's next question, though, made him look down again, and he shrugged.  "I don't know," he said softly.  He hadn't thought about that, lately, but now that she brought it up, he realized she was right.  He looked away, feeling guilty.  "Yes.  Probably.  ....Definitely.  I was trying to just accept what he wanted...  But yeah.  There were times."

Clara took his hand and squeezed. "I'm not asking to put you on the spot or make you feel bad. But you gotta let that boy know these things. That's why he wants you to have that safeword. It's not a limited supply that you have to save up. You need to use it whenever you feel uncertain. That's how he will know when you are having troubles. He'll figure out the things that trigger your anxiety. He'll figure out what things are connected to your trauma and bit by bit he'll be able to shield you from them."

Caleb grimaced but nodded. "I know, mom. I can do better. I've gotten better, I promise. Better than I was a year ago." He let out a breath and leaned his head on her shoulder again. "I will do better. I just want to be good, and make him happy. I hate that he has to be so careful with me. I hate being so difficult. And he always says I'm not, that I'm not difficult and it isn't a sacrifice, but that's not true. He doesn't want me to think I'm difficult because then I won't ask for things, but I'm not an idiot. The times he stays up with me in the middle of the night because I had a panic attack, or he changes his plans because I reacted badly to something, all the times he sets aside what he wants because he's worried he'll make me uncomfortable.  I know you're right, and the right thing for me to do is just to communicate and be honest and use my safe word, and trust him to make space for himself too. But I just hate how difficult it is for him. It isn't fair to him. He doesn't deserve this."

"I know sweetheart. I know." She didn't want him to think she didn't know how hard he'd worked. "This is just a little speedbump on the path. You'll both be stronger once you get past it." She shook here head firmly. "You are not difficult. You have been through difficult things. Eric knows that and he loves you. He chose you. He cares about you. He wants you as his submissive. All of those things are part of being a Dominant. They are the the things we want to do for the people we care about. We want to stay up late to comfort them. We want to help them and guide them." She paused, using her finger under his chin to make sure he was looking in her eyes. "I happen to like Eric and I happen to think he deserves to have a wonderful, caring, intelligent, and sensitive submissive like you."

Caleb grimaced but didn't argue.  He'd learned by now that there was no point in arguing when someone who loved him tried to convince him he wasn't difficult.  He knew he was, but he also knew they would never admit to it.  Because they loved him, and they would do anything for him, and they didn't want him to think of his needs as an imposition.  But that didn't mean he wasn't difficult.  Love didn't make something easy, just doable.  He let out a breath and nodded, listening to his mother, and then looked up at her when she prompted him.  He wasn't expecting what she said, though, and it made him smile and look down shyly.  "Thanks, mom," he mumbled, feeling a bit awkward with such open praise.  He knew his mom loved him, but that was a long string of positive adjectives she'd just used.  "...Eric agrees with you, just so you know.  We'll be okay.  I'm okay.  I promise."

#mama duval

[fireteam-dauntless]

A Tale of Two Guardians XV

Part 1 of the Destined Series. Chapter 15 : Cayde’s Stash masterlist

word count : 3.0K tag list : @mail-me-a-snail @basically-nacl send me an ask or a pm to be added to the tag list!

We hovered in orbit for a moment, waiting for our Ghosts to triangulate the location and our best route of action.  Maverick came over the channel with Skinner, Cayde, and I.  “Alright, everybody, let’s try and make this quick.  I don’t want the other Vanguards catching wind of this.”

“And neither do I,”  Cayde said.  “I know you don’t need a reminder of who Crota is Maverick, but it turns out that the guy leading the front here is his father.  His name is Oryx and he commands the Taken from that Dreadnaught.  We need to get a team on there to establish a landing zone,  but we can’t do it without that stealth drive.”

“So,” Skinner butt in.  “Is that the actual mission that you don’t want the Vanguard finding out about?  Getting us on the Dreadnaught?”

“Um, yup.”

“Lovely,” I sighed.  I took a glance at the radar my Ghost was displaying.  Everything seemed to be in order.  “Alright Maverick, everything is locked into place, we move on your mark.”

“Okay team, let’s move.  Skinner, fall in with me.  Storm, you bring up the rear.”

“Storm?”  I asked.

“Storm.  Your nickname.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I like it,” I said quietly.  “Just didn’t realize you guys decided without me.”

“No worries,”  Skinner said.  “Let’s move out.”

We fell into position and set a course for Old Russia’s Cosmodrome,  and the flight didn’t take long at all.  We all landed in the Blast, and I couldn’t believe my eyes.  There were Taken everywhere.

“Uh, Cayde, we’ve got a real problem down here,”  Maverick said over the channel.

“Let me guess, four arms, wear capes, smell really bad.”

“Well, yeah, but not our biggest problem.  We’ve got a lot of Taken here.”

“I thought we had more time…” Cayde mumbled.  

“Right, so it’s fighting time!”  Skinner laughed and pulled out his Red Death and jumped right into battle.

Maverick and I exchanged a glance and I shrugged.  I’d love to give these things some of my own bullets, so I pulled out my sniper and said, “I’m going to find higher ground and try to carve a path ahead for you guys.”

He nodded, pulled out his Shadow Price, and followed Skinner in a hail of bullets.  I made my way up to the top of some nearby rusted abandoned buildings, and set up.  I started taking out any Taken that were trying to get to Maverick and Skinner from behind.  Everything was going well with Mav and Skinner on the ground, but they just kept coming.  I spotted an opening for us to take, though it wouldn’t last long.

“Hey, guys, I think I see a path through the Taken.  If we don’t take it now, we might get overrun by these things.  There’s no end to them.”

“Okay, Storm, get through and cover us from the doorway,” Maverick responded.

“Got it.”  I exchanged my sniper for my Monte Carlo and jumped off of the building.  I took out a seemingly endless amount of Taken Thrall and Vandals.  I made a break for the doorway and tossed a grenade at a group of Fallen protecting the it so I could get through.  When I did, I turned and started sniping anything that was following behind Maverick and Skinner.  Skinner grabbed my arm when they finally got inside and pulled me up, and together we ascended the stairs to the Devil’s Lair.

“How bad is it?” Cayde asked.

“Taken everywhere.  And they’re fighting the Fallen,”  Maverick relayed back.

“Earth is going to look a lot like Phobos if you don’t find that stealth drive.”

The thought of that sent a chill down my spine.  We turned the corner and heard the very distinct growls of Taken that were spawning in.  I fell in line with Skinner against the wall.

“I’ve got these guys,”  Maverick said.  “Cover me.”

Before either of us could ask him if that was a good idea, he ran around the corner and popped his Hammer of Sol.  The clang of hammers being thrown was like music:  a roaring song.  Skinner and I followed him in, picking off further enemies across the water that might have been out of his reach.  He had the main room cleared out in a matter of seconds.

We regrouped at the abandoned corpse of a Prime Servitor, I was guessing it was the one that Maverick and Skinner defeated when they first met, mostly on the way that Skinner jumped on top of it and danced around a bit. 

“Alright there bud,”  Maverick said with a chuckle.  “That’s Sepiks, Storm, the Prime Servitor we defeated on our first mission together.”

“Strangers then,” Skinner declared as he jumped down, “and even stranger now.”

I laughed and shook my head, then Cayde came back on the channel.  “Okay, team, you’re going to find a vault door.  There’s a trick to getting through it so let me know when you’re there.”

We crossed the small chasm and onto the other end of the bridge, but the door was open and there was Taken corruption.  We approached cautiously, but there were no Taken to be seen in the immediate vicinity.

“The door is already open, Cayde,” I said.  “We’re inside.”

Cayde was flabbergasted.  “And the flux grenades didn’t detonate?!  I gotta get out of this Tower.”

“Looks like either the Fallen or the Taken managed to get it open, and maybe even a while ago,” Skinner said.  We followed some old rusted platforms along the walls, just to another door.  Most of the room was filled with water and the air was humid, so this was our only course of action.  When we entered the next room, though, the Taken corruption seemed to get worse.  We walked in cautiously.  There were so many portals that clung to the walls and the floor, and a blight was growing out of the ceiling.  

“This feels… worse than Phobos,” I said quietly.

Skinner shook his head and reloaded his gun.  “Yeah, no kidding.”

“Eyes up!”  Maverick shouted as Taken Thrall started to crawl out of the portals.  Bullets hissed from our guns and all of them dropped to the floor quickly; the room fell silent once more.  “Over here, guys.”  We followed the Titan to an old, rickety looking elevator.  He deployed his Ghost to the controls as we climbed on.

“What are the chances this elevator still works?” His Ghost said.  And just like that, the door shut us in and the mechanics whirred to life.  “Alright, we’re heading up.”

“Cayde? When’s the last time you rode this elevator?”  Maverick asked.

“Relax!”  Cayde reassured.  “It works fine… but, just let your Ghosts stand by for resurrection.”

I could almost hear Skinner roll his eyes.  “I am not dying in a fucking elevator.  That is not a fun story to tell.”

We rode up.  It was easy going for the most part.  “From this height I can pick up Taken energy readings throughout the Cosmodrome,”  my Ghost said.  “It took the Fallen months to take over this area, and the Taken have done it in hours.”

That was… unsettling.  It wasn’t something I wanted to think about.  Visions of how fast the Taken took over Phobos flashed in my mind.

As the elevator came to a stop and the door rolled open, Maverick opened the channel with Cayde.  “Alright, Vanguard,” he said almost mockingly.  “How do we find your stealth drive?”

Cayde cleared his throat like he was trying to restrain himself from responding to Mav’s comment.  Skinner snickered quietly.  “There’s a bridge from the tower to the ship.  It took me days to get it working and it’s a little unstable, so watch your step.”

We all looked around.  The bridge had been moved.  Skinner hurried over to the control box, then groaned in frustration.  “It’s never easy!  Cayde, someone moved the bridge and destroyed the controls.”

“Yeah, that was probably the Fallen trying to keep the Taken off their backs.  See if you can reroute the power.”

“There’s still an active feed moving through those pipes overhead,”  Skinner’s Ghost was inspecting the controls and the nearby structures.  “If you find the source I can patch the circuit.”

“Not it!”  Skinner and Maverick shouted at the same time.  

I looked between both of them in a bit of shock and let out a heavy sigh.  “Really?  You two are children.”  I leaned over the edge of the railing and looked up to the top of the tower.  That was going to be a bit of a climb.  “Ugh, give me a couple minutes.”

“Once you get the bridge working, my stash is in the ball on top of the colony ship,”  Cayde said as I was starting up the stairs.  We all heard Ikora in the background asking for details on his plan.  I could hear Maverick and Skinner cackling from down below.  “Yeah, uh, gimme a second, fireteam.”

The stairs only went up so far, so this all turned into a guessing game of “will this metal panel collapse if I jumped on it.”  Not to mention the cross winds made it extremely difficult to keep my balance on the rickety tower.  I jumped my way to the box on the very top of the tower.  “I hate both of you,”  I said to Skinner and Maverick as I pried the box open and let my Ghost hack into it.

Just as she finished hacking into the circuit to reroute it, the bridge started moving back into place and Cayde came back onto the channel.  “Alrighty, back in business.  Hey, the bridge is already moving!  Get to the top of the colony ship where I left my stash and watch yourself on that bridge.”

I looked down over the edge of the platform and saw Skinner and Maverick started making their way across before the bridge was set in place.  I started to lower myself down, when I looked out and saw the entire middle of the bridge collapse.  “You have got to be fucking kidding me!” I yelled.  Maverick and Skinner made it to the other side, but it looked like Skinner just barely made the jump.  He was sitting on the floor of the bridge and Maverick was holding onto his arm.

“Is everybody okay over there?” I said over our private channel.

“Yeah, just fucking dandy,”  Skinner spat as he stood and pushed Maverick off.

“Storm,”  Mav said to me.  “The rest of the bridge is stable enough, but that’s a long jump.”

“I have an idea or two,” I said, but it wasn’t very convincing.  The cross winds were killer this high up and starting to make everything about this seem like an adrenaline junkie’s wet dream.  “I’m going to go on the top of the bridge and try and jump from there.  Might give me a bit more height.”

“We’re going to wait right here for you, but please,”  Maverick paused before he continued.  “Try not to under think the distance.”

I shook my head and we all opened up the feed with Cayde again.  I jumped onto the last stable panel on top of the bridge and paused there, staring at my fireteam and trying to judge the distance.  I took a deep breath and planted my boot on the pole in front of me, and used all of that to propel myself forward, and activated the jets just moments after I jumped to try and get more distance.  I almost fell a couple inches short and my feet barely got onto the floor panel that was sticking out the most, but Maverick and Skinner both grabbed onto my arms to pull me in.  

“I told you not to under think it!” Maverick scolded me and helped me catch my balance.

“I didn’t!” I said in defense.  “Look my boosters don’t have the same horizontal force as yours do!”

Skinner laughed.  “Poor warlocks and their shitty boosters.”

“Don’t remind me.  You have no idea how many times I’ve almost died thanks to not making a jump.”

“Let’s get moving.  I would like to get back to the Tower before night falls.”  Maverick led the way forward, and Skinner made a giant sweeping motion with his arms for me to go before him.  I shook my head and started walking.  

“I really want to shove you off of here right now, asshole.”

He laughed loudly.  “Ha!  Go right ahead, I can make it back up here just fine.”

I stopped dead in my place and turned back at him.  “Don’t try me, you know I would.”  He held up his hands in defeat, but he didn’t stop laughing

“Cut it you two,” Maverick snapped.  “We’ve got company.”

Taken started spawning in the moment we walked through the door.  With three of us, it didn’t take long to get rid of them, but the Taken Vandals and their snipers were the most annoying of them all.  They could cast their own bubble of defense, which seemed to piss Maverick off the most.  Every time they would cast one, he would run right in there and punch the hell out of them.

We started up.  There were Taken and Fallen everywhere, fighting each other, fighting us whenever we walked into a new room.  The worst were the Taken Phalanxes:  their shield blast could knock you off the colony ship if you weren’t careful.  Altogether, it was a mess.  Between trying to fight off enemies and scale up a colony ship that was falling apart, I was surprised we made it through without any needs for resurrection.

Eventually we came to a Fallen lift that would take us to the top.  I went up first, followed by Skinner, and Maverick brought up the rear.  We started to unleash on a group of Fallen, but a Taken appeared out of nowhere, gigantic, angry and menacing.  Our ghosts labeled it as an Echo of Oryx.  For a moment, I was frozen.  This Taken... it looked exactly like the one I saw on Phobos.

“Split up!” Maverick shouted.  His voice snapped me out of my trance.  I took cover behind a nearby cache, Skinner nearby behind a pile of metal boxes, and Maverick was on the other side behind some boxes.

“What Crota began I complete,” the echo shouted as it sent a blast of taken energy at the boxes Skinner was huddled behind. “My will conquers all!”

“You got a plan there, MetalMan?” Skinner shouted.

“I’m working on it!”  Maverick snapped back.  “How’s everyone’s superchargers looking?”

“I’ve got mine,” I said.  The energy had been pulsing through me since we got to the first elevator.

“I’m ready to unleash my Golden Penis,” Skinner cackled.  

“Okay.  Storm, get above him and use that landfall to your advantage.  Stun him while we can.  Skinner, pop that sucker and nail him between the eyes.  When you’re out of juice, fall back to me, I’ve got my bubble ready to go.  It’s on the platform right above you, Storm.”

“Genesis, run!”

I felt my body freeze up and I closed my eyes tightly. Adam’s voice echoed in my head. 

“Go!”  Gilly shouted.  “I’m right behind you!”

“Storm!  What are you waiting for?”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.  Their voices were screaming in my head whenever the Echo of Oryx screamed or shouted something unintelligible.  I focused on the energy flowing through me.  Whoever said that Guardians don’t get PTSD was a liar.

“On my count,” I said after I took a moment to calm myself.  “3… 2… now!”

I jumped up and once I was above it, I thrust my palms downwards and Arc energy surged through my body and out of my palms.  I moved to the side and kept my electricity focused on it, making sure to keep moving so it couldn’t get a lock on me.  Skinner popped his Golden Gun and aimed directly for it’s head.  He fell back to Maverick who set up his Ward of Dawn.  The two of them started firing on it with their heavy artillery, at least Maverick was.  Skinner was knelt down, sniping it’s critical spot.  I jumped back as I felt my energy fading, and ran back into the bubble before it could get a shot on me.  I joined Skinner by sniping it.  It roared in anger, but I think it knew that it had been defeated, because it teleported away and the Taken energy surge in the area faded.  We all stood cautious for another minute, holding our primary weapons while we scouted the area.

“I… I think it’s over,” I said.  

“That thing seemed pretty mad,”  Maverick’s Ghost said.  “Oryx must still be holding a grudge for us, you know…” 

“Ghost.  Shut up.”  Maverick snapped.  I hadn’t seen him snap like that at his Ghost before. 

“Things won’t get easier on the Dreadnaught,” Cayde butt in.  “You find my stealth drive?

“Are you sure it’s still here?”  Skinner asked.  “I don’t see jack squat up here.”

“It’s like all things.  You gotta know where to look.  Ghosts, enter frequency 5982.”

They did simultaneously.  I looked around and a fallen container nearby de-cloaked and revealed the stealth drive, in perfect condition.  “I’ve got it over here,”  I said, and deployed my Ghost for transmat back to the ship.

“The best hiding places are always in plain sight.  Transmat it out of there and I’ll get it set up.  Just, do me a favor.  If you find anything else I’ve hidden, leave it for me.  There’ll be treasure enough for everyone on the Dreadnaught.”

“Gotcha, Cayde,”  Maverick said.  “We should be back right after nightfall.”

We all got up into our ships.  I opened up a private channel with Maverick.

“Hey, Mav, it’s just you and me.  Do you… Do you know what that thing meant when it said ‘What Crota began I complete’?”

“Honestly?  No,”  Maverick said with a sigh.  “I wish I could answer that, too.”  

“How do you feel about coming over for a cup of coffee?” I asked.  “I… I don’t know if I’ll be sleeping tonight.”

“Too many memories?”

“Yeah.  Something like that.”

There was a long pause before he answered.  “Yeah.  I guess I could stop by for a bit.”

I know he couldn’t see it, but I was smiling.  “Thanks, Mav.”

“No problem, Genny.”

#destiny #destiny fanfic #destiny fanfiction #destiny titan #destiny hunter #destiny warlock #destined pt 1 #my writing #my oc #my guardians #my guardian #my guardian oc #destiny the taken king #the taken king #destiny taken #a tale of two guardians fic

[tres-fidelis]

A Different Christmas Eve

Snow boots crunched on the freshly-packed, flaky crystals caking the sidewalks and streets. One had to be weary of the frozen particles melding into the cemented passageways, but thankfully the bits of melting salts helped ease the stress of falling flat on your ass. Fewer and fewer people traversed the open shops and warm cafes since the most well-known, well-preserved holiday quickly approached. Just in the blink of an eye. 

To some this time of year meant a break, an allotted time to spend with far-off family or close friends enjoying their company and presence. Gift exchanging was another big tradition of this so-called Christmas, along with a large gathering of food. 

To others, like the slender female reporter dusting off stray snowflakes in her black locks, it didn’t mean too much. Another day, in her book, and another day to crack down on year end work. 

“Just one more day now...” Jayden spoke to herself while shaking off the excess snow from the bottoms of her boots. It wasn’t blizzard-like but the snow picked up to a steady pace from this morning’s sprinkles. She set the boots aside her desk in front of her window just so the sun’s rays could help melt the sitting puddle beneath them. After tucking her jacket over her chair and violently tussling her hat, Jayden trekked to the break room for the first cup of the day. 

Not too many co-workers today, considering most took off for holiday travels or prepping their own homes for the impending stampede. Good on them. Most if not all of her team rightfully deserved their break especially after all the overtime hours they pooled during several virus outbreaks. A few stranglers hung around finishing off last minute writing edits, some audio techs had small tweaks to finish, and of course, there’s always a skeleton crew of reporters for the live casts. 

Eventually they’d hike out of the office toward their own destinations...

...but Jayden had plans to stay for most of the day. Besides, there wouldn’t be anyone to entertain at her own home nor did her and her mom plan to travel elsewhere. Christmas was never kind to them, and although Jayden greatly appreciated her mom’s attempts to have at least one decent Christmas in her life she rather refused from any participation. If it never worked out, then it’s just not meant to be. 

One steaming cup of coffee. Black, as she needed a bit more energy boost to wake herself up. Today’s itinerary involved conquering a well known sea of undocumented files and boat load of video edit organization. Fun stuff indeed! 

As the slumped gremlin shuffled along back to her designated cave, someone’s loud, deep voice startled the others tapping away at their own spaces. Her chief? Didn’t he have a train to catch later on today? 

“Garner! I need ta see you in m’ office b’fore ya start yer papahs.” 

“...oh...okay?” What could she have done now? 

The holographic doors slid close as Jayden sat in front of her chief’s desk. Just as messy as hers, if not even moreso with the extra stack of papers on the table behind him. 

“What’s up? You n-”

A pause. 

Her jacket in one hand, and her dripping boots held in the other which were extended out to the reporter without the chief speaking a word. 

“...C...Chief...when...why do you...”

“B’cause from this moment until th’ 2nd of next month, y’er officially on break.” 

...on break?

“...Chief...you know I signed up for my hours. I planned that all in advance...so...there’s no way I can go on break. I still have a lot...” 

“Garner, you’ve been workin’ yer ass off this entire year. Overtime, weekend hours, tryin’ ta get yerself into more trouble by comin’ in when ya came outta th’ hospital, e’vn offline work. I’ve noticed.” 

Ah dammit! 

“I don’t mean ta pick favorites here or of’er my personal opinins, but out of th’ ‘hole crew th’ one who most deserves a decent break is you. I can’t thank ya enough fer all th’ time ya dedicate to yer team, to th’ endless amount of work ya do round ‘ere, and even takin’ cases th’t aren’t even yers. But...ya gotta rest that thinker of yers, else it’s gonna overload.” 

Jayden huffed a sigh. “Look...Chief. I’ve ALWAYS worked through the holidays, even when I was an intern I came in to help out anyone in need. I don’t get why, especially around this time, when we have SO MUCH-”

“It’s not jus’ me again.” 

“...what?” 

Her chief gently chortled with an amused grin peeking out from his mustache. “It’s not jus’ me again who wanted to give ya this break. Don’t tell me ya forgot who requested time off for you during that Mav’ virus outbreak a few months back?” 

...Signas? 

“Sir, please just...I don’t understand why he requested this break for me but-”

“It wasn’t jus’ him either.” 

“...WHAT?” Who else could have even known her work hours at this point in time? 

The old veteran took a seat at his desk, clicking away on his keyboard until a screen projected upward. It didn’t expand too far but to a comfortable size for both Jayden and the chief to watch. Rocket News’ security had amped up over the years to a point where security cameras had been placed in more crowded areas, for example the studio rooms and office spaces. 

A piece of footage played on the projected screen, just a few days ago when Jayden was sent out to the field for the day. Sometime in the afternoon all the other workers came to a complete halt in their work. Eyes averted to the entrance, all locked on two individuals strolling straight to the chief’s office. 

Two individuals anyone in the city could recognize on the spot. 

Two S-Class ranked Maverick Hunters. 

“A...A...AXL!? HUNTER X!?! Ho-....wh-....what were they doing here!?!?” 

“They were here...concernin’ you.” 

“....me?” 

“Yes. They sure had a lot ta say, but...ta put it simply, along with Commander Signas’ personal request of approval, those two came ‘ere ta express their own opinions ‘n thoughts. Hunter Axl in particular was quite outraged ‘bout yer work hours fer th’ holidays. But, X calmly explained his own requests ta authorize a necessary break, ‘nd I believe he also stated ya already had reserved plans fer Christmas Day?”

 “...I...” That wasn’t even a cemented plan! She appreciated X’s offer but happily declined due to her work hours. Unless...he must have used that as a reason to get her out of work. Then he passed this knowledge on to Signas and Axl, thereby creating this entire avalanche of surprises. 

They didn’t have to do this. No one...had to do this. 

No point fighting against Signas, or Axl and X for that matter. Two S-Class Hunters and the head of the Hunter base couldn’t be beat by her own will to blaze by the holidays. With a defeated sigh, Jayden accepted her jacket and boots from the chief. 

“....okay. Fine. I won’t come back until the 2nd.” 

“‘N I don’t want ya workin’ out from home, ya hear? This is a time ta enjoy yerself, have a nice time with yer mom. I bet she’d like ta have ya at home fer a few days.” 

“...maybe.” Unless her work called in at the last minute. Museum work didn’t couple like news work, but when duty called you have to answer the need. Her boots slipped back on, still a bit toasty, then two arms popped through the jacket sleeves. Her chief followed Jayden down to the lobby, just in case she had any bright ideas of slipping off to the news room and snag extra work. 

“Tell yer mom I wish her well too. I saw th’ new exhibit this past weekend. Woman poured her heart ‘nta that new display.” 

“...thanks...I’ll let her know.” 

Satchel strapped to her side. She was ready to brave the increased snow flurry but stopped just outside the front entrance when her chief called out. A happy greeting, with a large smile and even a wave. 

“Merry Christmas Garner!’

“....Merry Christmas.” 

#ic #ic drabble #m3chanical-rhythm #machinesandman #irregularhunterx #((I tell myself 'oh I just want to put out a simple little post and then be done' #next thing I know it's an hour later and I'm STILL TYPING IT OUT!! #anyway hope you enjoy a little something for Jayden's 1st christmas off work #she's got some plaaaans~))

[sarahjane0886]

Begin Again 11

Chapter 11

"How would you two like to take Louis for a walk?" Maks asked Lottie and Maverick. The group had just finished dinner and now they were trying to leave Sharna & Noah alone.

"We see the ducks?" Lottie asked.

"I think we might, we'll have to look for them." Maks said as her face lit up.

"I come too?" Maverick asked.

"I think so, huh Lottie?"

"Yes, Mav come with us."

"What about us?" Noah asked.

"Well, how about Maks and I just take the kids?" Peta suggested.

"I, umm, might wanna talk to  you for a bit." Sharna murmured softly. Noah had noticed that she was extremely quiet the entire night. He had planned on trying to talk to her as well but hadn't wanted to push the issue while everyone was around.

"Okay, you good with going with Uncle Maks and Miss Peta, Mav?" He said lifting his arm and letting it rest on Sharna's shoulders.

"Yes, I haves fun." He said coming and hugging Noah's legs, then Sharna's before heading back to Maks and Peta. "Bye daddy, Bye Sha-na."

"Bye buddy, be good." They both said laughing. They got the Lottie & Maverick's shoes on and then headed out, leaving Sharna and Noah alone.

"You okay?" Noah asked once he was certain they were alone.

"Uh huh." Sharna's head shook back and forth as pulled her knees up. He thought she was going to pull away but she tipped into his body, her knees resting on his thighs while her head was on his shoulder.

"You want to talk about it?" He said as his hand dropped to her back and rubbed it softly.

"In a minute." She said softly finally feeling a sense of calm settle over her. She suddenly knew what Peta had meant when she had said to talk to Noah. If Noah could fix it, then it would mean a lot. And this, just having him beside her, was speaking volumes to her.

"Alright." He said as she pulled her in a little closer. He found her hand and squeezed it gently. She closed her eyes and breathed him in while she tried to sort out what she needed to say and do.

"Mav, asked me to not leave him today, and I told him I wouldn't, but I realized I was lying to him. And then all of this suddenly became huge to me."

"Well was he talking about the daycare or was he talking about more?" Noah asked gently, not wanting to discount her feelings or thoughts.

"The daycare, for sure, but at the same time it just clicked for me. I love him Noah. I already love him. And I don't want to leave him. I don't want to leave you."

"Sharna.."

"I know. That's what gets me. It's huge, and it's crazy. I can't just move halfway across the county to potentially date a man that I just met a little over a week ago."

"It's definitely huge, that's for sure."

"Yeah, and then my head spins. There's so many what ifs and what abouts that are mixed in that I just don't know. I don't know what to do. I panic. I feel it coming hard. He fell asleep on me this afternoon when they took their naps. And his arms around my neck, it felt so different. It's like he was afraid to let go. And that's when it really set in. Peta told me to talk to you and see what happened, but I don't even know what to talk about Noah. I don't think this is a fix it situation. I just have to make a decision." She said as she started to pull away from him but stopped realizing she didn't want to move away from his body.

"Hey, look at me for a second. You don't have to move but, just for a minute." He coaxed her. He could feel her hesitation when she started to pull away and quite frankly he didn't want to let her go either. This conversation was filling him with such anxiety as well and having her within reach was settling.

"Better?" She said as she tried to shift up so she could see his face. She couldn't get herself situated though and squirmed around a bit.

"Wait, will you lay down with me?" Noah finally asked realizing that neither of them were comfortable. She nodded and let go of him long enough for him to lay down and then pull her with him. Peta's couch wasn't that big so their bodies were pressed together but their faces were even.

"This I can deal with. Sorry, I just feel safer with you. The pieces that are so scary, seem to be less scary."  She whispered.

"So do I, so don't apologize. You were right, this conversation makes me want to vomit honestly. But I think we need to have it, sooner, rather than later." He said reaching up and tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Why does it make you want to vomit?" She asked as she slithered a little closer to him if that was even possible. She suddenly needed to hear things from his perspective.

"I never thought I would be dealing with this again. When Kinsley left Maverick and I, I swore off women with the exception of those in my family. I promised that I would never let that happen again. I know I talked about this with you some already but I think you need to hear it all. Kinsley and I were together for 6 years. We met at the end of college and got together with the help of a few friends we had in common. From then on out, you might as well of called us Barbie and Ken. We were together always, we were happy, we were in love. I thought she was my forever. We got engaged on the anniversary of our 6th year. The day after was the day she found out she was pregnant. From that point on things changed, she stayed at work later, she kept her distance from me in the house, the closer she got to the end the more closed off she got. We fought some but I tried my hardest to not because I didnt want to work her up. Well one day close to the end of the pregnancy, I got a call from Kinsley's mom, she said that Kinsley had Mav and that she was signing away her rights along with giving back my engagement ring. That was basically it. She didn't clue me in, she didn't let me have my say, she just left us. It was rough. I immediately went to the hospital and the nurses let me see Mav. He was so tiny but so gorgeous that I immediately fell in love. There was no other thought than to raise him myself. Some people asked if I was going to give him up but I couldn't, I wouldn't. He's my world and I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Noah..." Sharna said softly. While he had been talking, his eyes had filled with tears numerous times. He collected himself each time and continued on with explaining to her. She knew it wasn't the whole story but what he had told her was huge.

"But so, that's why, I said no. Never again. But then you came and it was like a moth to a flame almost. But I wasn't getting burnt. And I wasn't panicking. And that may have scared me even more than when I did panic. And then I would remember that you were forever away and leaving in less than 20 days. And then I would think, this is stupid, I'm putting myself at risk of getting hurt and I'm putting Mav at risk of getting hurt but something in me, my gut said, it's gonna be okay."

"And has it been?" She asked softly.

"So far. I'm scared of you leaving, I'm scared of losing this calm you bring me but at the same time, I don't want to let it go." He said. He hesitated for a second but leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers kissing her softly. She returned the kiss and then slithered down and curled into him tightly.

"I'm afraid if I move here that we're going to implode and then I'll look like an idiot." She said into his chest.

"You're not going to look like an idiot. I can't promise that this will be all peaches and cream but I can promise that I won't just give up."

"I wouldn't either. And I wouldn't even think of this if I wasn't serious about it mainly because Maverick is already involved so I wouldn't want to hurt him. I mean I don't want to hurt you either but at the same time, we're adults. We make our own decisions, he's just gonna get caught in the fall if that occurs."

"I agree. And honestly, he's part of why I hesitated so much at first, even those first few days. I knew I liked you. I knew I felt something different that I didn't feel with Kinsley, it was more real, more honest, more concrete. But at the same time, I had Maverick, so I really had to weigh my thoughts and feelings when it came to you both. But there was this nagging feeling in the back of my head that said, it'll be alright."

"I feel that way too. I think my own insecurities take over though and out ride that voice that says this is what is right. Noah, if you'd have asked me a year ago, heck a month ago, if I was ready to settle down with someone who had a kid, I would have laughed in your face. I was always on the go. Traveling for work, going out, having a good time, whatever you thought of I probably did it. I didn't date anyone for long periods of time, no I wasn't out dating everyone but I was careful, I had more friends than I had boyfriends. I kept things platonic because I wasn't ready but just like you said, when I met you, there was something that said, maybe this is what you want. And then more time I spend with you and Maverick and everyone else, the more this feels better than the life I was living. This, right here, this is the life I want. I want to put Maverick to bed and then curl up with you. I want adventures to consist of going to the aquarium or movies. I want to see Maverick enjoy new things. I want to explore things with us as a couple. I want that. Originally I was afraid I wanted something new but yesterday, I had a friend call and ask if I wanted to go down to Puerto Rico when I came back. She had to go for a long weekend and she wanted a buddy to go with her. My immediate thought wasn't my old instinct to say yes, my immediate thought was well if I do go back, I need to be able to talk to Noah and Maverick. I need to figure things out so I can't go. I don't want to go."

"I don't want you to stop living your life for us." Noah said his mind immediately spinning to Kinsley.

"I'm not. I've had more than enough opportunities to live my life. I've had adventures on my own, now I want someone and a family to share them with. I want to share them with you." She said softly.

"So what comes next?" Noah asked accepting her answer. The way that she said it and looked at him at the same time, he knew she was serious. He knew she had thought it through and wasn't just looking for the next big adventure.

"I figure out if I can relocate. Well not if, but I figure out how. There's a lot of stuff that would need to be done. My job, my apartment, my puppies. This isn't going to be quick Noah." She said as she could feel her head begin to spin on a new handful of things.

"I know, but as long as we have something to look forward to, we can do it. There's Facetime, and calls and texting."

"You're sure, this is what you want?" She asked suddenly needed to hear him say that he wanted it. They had talked around it and about it but neither had straightforward said, I want this.

"I want this. I'm sure. Even if it explodes, I want this. We'll never know how great it could be if we don't try. And you want this too right?" He asked as his fingers ran through her hair.

"More than anything, I want this." She said as she finally pulled away and shimmied up the sofa to look at him, she leaned forward, pressing her lips to his as they kissed for quite sometime. There were interrupted but two little voices however.

"Ewwwww! Kissing!" Maverick and Lottie shrieked from the doorway as Maks and Peta looked on.

"What do you mean ewww? We kiss you guys!" Noah said, sitting him and Sharna up and moving to grab the two. he began to tickle them relentlessly as they shrieked in amusement. Peta smiled before looking over at Sharna to see how she was doing.

"You okay?" She mouthed silently. Sharna's head nodded in response before she joined in on the ticklefest too.

*That's a wrap! Next part will be more Chmergs, promise! Enjoy peeps, don't forget to like it up and let me know what you think. This one was a bit shorter but the next part will be a continuation of the night and I kinda want to keep the couples separate. Thanks for all your love and support, love you guys! xoxox

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