#mariposa fics

[blonde-and-cat-suc]

27. it’s the least you could do

rating: m

wc: 1k

cw/tw: manipulation, mild dehumanization * 

desc: Catra is having a hard time settling into life in Bright Moon after the war. It doesn’t help that Adora does not want to stay in with her. 

(Post-Canon)

///

Sometimes it was easy to forget that Adora was once doe-eyed and scrappy, something like a loyal puppy, following wherever the highest powers would go... Eventually, that power, the glamour, the promise of victory—that was what had pulled Adora into the Rebellion.

Sometimes, Adora was redeemable. She was only doing what she thought was best at the time. She was only sucked into the illusion of becoming a true hero. There was no happy ending when Prime was defeated. Not really. When all was said and done and the weeks have passed, Etheria's moons are still rotating, the villages that have been destroyed are still destroyed, the scars where the Chipped had been inflicted are still soft and pink, unable to forget the damage for good.

Catra spent a lot of the new free time doing nothing more but relaxing in the dip of their bedroom's window sills, one of her legs and the tip of her tail hung on the side of the outer wall. Spring had come to Bright Moon all at once, the air thick and heady with fresh dew, tangy-sweet flora pouring onto Catra's face, on the tips of her whiskers... It was a really good day to stay in and not have to worry about getting ticks buried in her fur. Maybe sleep on the floor and try not to think about anything else but the heat simmering through the window. Catra spent so many days just like this until they all blended in together. Long, dull, meaningless days in Bright Moon.

Adora didn't like staying in all day like that, though. She was always moving. Too jumpy, her heart beat rabbiting when Catra pressed her ear against her ribs, trying to forget her own bad dreams in favor of Adora's reality.... They've always been like that. They were always bound to be together, feeding off of each other. Sometimes Catra was flustered at that thought. Sometimes she was pissed. She was not sure what to think of that. Not ready to unpack it.

They fought each other for years. She hated Adora. Sometimes it was like her body forgot that Adora was an ally now, and it would shudder and tighten and go madly hot with everything she swallowed away for Adora during the war. Before the war, even. 

That was miserable.

And this was... confusing.

The war was won, but Catra's head wasn't even clear enough to actually enjoy it.

"So... You're leaving?" she finally asked Adora, who stood akimbo at the door, pointedly.

"Just for a few hours."

Catra fought to keep the venom out of her tone. "And...you're going to hang out with Glimmer again, right?"

"Catra, why do you always—"

"It's okay if you are. Just go. I'm just going to stay here all day, and not cause any trouble, okay? ...That's what you want, isn't it?"

"Why don't you just come with us?" Adora was slightly flushed, never one to make Catra angry and leave her like that. Yeah. Adora was sweet. She even gave Catra those I'm really trying right now eyes, and Catra could almost believe her. "You guys can't have this fight forever. Honestly, you two just have different opinions, it's not enough to end an entire friendship—"

"Yes, it is", she snapped. "You don't get to tell me who to be friends with, Adora!"

"No, that's not what I mean! I just—"

"You just want everyone to get along because it'll make you comfortable! And that's always it, isn't it!? 'What's going to make this comfortable for me? What do I want Catra to do to make her better to meet my standards!?' God, Adora, you—you don't ever actually listen to me when I talk, do you?"

Adora was wide-eyed, her teeth working down on her bottom lip, trying not to speak too soon. That was so annoying, when Adora would hold out on Catra like this, still. She had always been the most frustrating person to argue with, because she had always been the person that Catra would forgive, eventually. If anything, the end of the war and the start of their romantic relationship together was as good a sign as any that Catra and Adora really couldn't be without each other. They really were just two halves of a whole, and maybe that's why Catra had hope that Adora would come around eventually. She would be that good, loyal puppy that followed orders again, like she used to. Catra had to figure out how to get that from Adora, like she once had. Then, she would really sink her claws in. Never let this relationship go, ever again.

Finally, it seemed that Adora had collected her bearings and the gears behind her eyes started working. But then, she only uttered, "Look. I'm sorry. I didn't know that you feel that I don't listen to you."

"You don't listen to me."

"I'll stay with you a little longer", Adora said hurriedly. "If that's what you want."

Catra rolled her eyes, "What do you think?"

That was all she had to do and say for Adora to come crawling back, shrugging off her jacket, the bright blue of her eyes looking at Catra for some other kind of approval. She patted the side of her leg, tail flickering wildly at her hip. Here, here girl... come back over here.

Adora was almost too easy, now. The war being over made her soft, so quickly. She wouldn't even kick off her boots before she met Catra at the window, frowning, shoulders squared, attention placed here and only here. Adora was no longer young, and no longer blind to the worlds around her—but she was ever loyal and obedient, still. 

For a moment, it was almost like they were kids again... Catra looking down at the only person she had ever loved, and Adora looking up right at her. For a moment, it was almost like they were back on opposite sides of a war again, and Catra wanted to kick Adora's face in again, just to get her to stop looking like that. So wide and blue and trusting. Adora was not that totally innocent, loyal girl that she used to be, all of those years ago, in the Horde, in the war. Now she was only a stark reminder of the worse parts of Catra's life... and sometimes the best.

"Good", was all Catra could bring herself to say, swallowing back her love for Adora. Her rage. "Staying with me... Finally. Thank you, Adora. Thank you."

///

#mariposa fics #*the puppy/dog motif #tw: manipulation #anti c//a fics #anti c//a

[bluerosefox]

Screenshot from my Mirabel is an Anemo Claymore user/Genshin idea found here --> Here

Felt like it was getting a tiny bit to long so I started up a new one so I can talk about it more lol.

@detectivetemperance​ I gasped when I read your tags. It honestly depends on when she falls into Teyvat tbh. Maybe after her door fades away, or maybe around the time Antonio was going to be born I can see her naturally forgetting bits of her family especially if she doesn’t have even a picture of them, even with the amount of love she has for her family, memories can and will fade over time especially if the memories are from someone young. Like she knows she has sisters and a mother and father but she doesn’t remember like their favorite colors are anymore, or was Isabela the one with straight hair or curly? Did Luisa need glasses like she did or no? How many cousins did she have again? two? three? Was her mother the oldest or was it her Tio or Tia? etc etc.

If she fell later, like say around Antonio’s door ceremony time wise, eh I think losing (aka amnesia) her memories would work more than anything. It harder to forget her family in a short amount of years from that point unless the two worlds times are wildly different.

Anyways how the Madrigal’s would deal with her, oh boy that would be tough. Again depending on when it takes place, I can see it going many different ways. Were they expecting her to return? Some held hope but after so many years they believed not to hold onto tight. Were they expecting her to able to wield a elegant yet heavy weapon? Not at all. How was she controlling the winds? What the heck is a Vision?! They have so many questions.

#i had meant to post this sooner #but i left it in my drafts and forgot 🙃 #found it though #mirabel madrigal #encanto crossover #genshin encanto #anemo Mirabel au #Mariposa of Anemo AU #i may or may not be actually working on this fic #we'll see if I get around to posting it #or.... Link my Ao3 and post it there #this brain worm still lives #but its going in a different direction than this tbh

[the-hinky-panda]

Day 29: Malediction

10/29: Malediction 

Universe // Characters: Mariposa // Horacio Carrillo

Horacio Carrillo hates Pablo Escobar. 

There have been many people that have come into his life that he has disliked, despised, and been disappointed in even. But Escobar? Escobar he hates. 

He calls Escobar from various pay phones around Medellín, spitting threats and maledictions. Escobar gives as good as he gets though, the insults being hurled right back at him. They threaten each other individually, then their families. But one night, Escobar lobs another threat at him. 

“I will take everything, everything, including your little American informant.” 

At first he thinks Escobar is threatening to go after Peña or Murphy, but then he says something that clears up that misconception. 

“Your little butterfly.” 

Horacio swallows down the lump in his throat. “You’re getting senile, Pablo.” 

“Am I? Is this why you’ve been looking so hard for my cousin, Gustavo? For me? Can’t stand the thought that you’re the same as us? Just another unfaithful husband.” 

It’s the first time Horacio hangs up the phone without having the last word. He’s afraid no matter what he ended up saying, something would have tipped Escobar off to you or your whereabouts. There were already so many things that were being risked, he couldn’t risk anything else. He just wants this over. He wants to adjust to the post-Escobar era, now matter what that may look like. It just needs to be over. 

He ends up punching the pay phone to release his frustration, his fear. 

It’s with bloody knuckles that he picks up the phone again and calls Juliana. He makes sure there’s guards stationed outside. She confirms with a weary sigh that yes, they are there. He tells her that he needs to work late, run down some leads. She tells him to be careful and hangs up. He leaves the payphone and walks the eight blocks to your apartment. You don’t have bodyguards or police officers watching over you. You don’t have any safety measures being taken to ensure you survive this experience. 

And it makes him want to punch something again. But his hand is throbbing, blood dripping from his fingertips. He uses his left hand to knock on your door and you immediately open it to him, like you were expecting him. You immediately assess his tense jaw, worried eyes, and bloodied hand and turn away from him with a sad sigh. He follows you into the kitchen as you pull out an ice pack and wrap it in a cotton dishcloth. He rinses the blood off his hand and uses a paper towel to pat it dry. You lay the ice pack over his hand and then smooth your cool fingers over his cheekbones. 

“You need to stop calling him,” you admonish gently. 

“He threatened you tonight. Used the word butterfly. Knew about…us.” 

You shake your head. “All my intel says he has no idea who I really am. He’s spewing rumors and hoping you confirm something. It’s just a bluff.” 

“I’m going to stay the night. Just in case.” 

“If it makes you feel better,” you give him a small smile, “I’m certainly not going to say no.”

#Hinky's October Fic Fest #colonel horacio carrillo #horacio carrillo #horacio carrillo x reader #horacio carrillo x you #Mariposa Series

[lyssitalennon]

not me recording the fairytopia trilogy plus Mariposa and her (garbage) sequel

#barbie movies #dont come at me there are parts of fairy princess that i do like i even have a fic half wrote for it #I just wish they had been consistent with mariposa's voice actor #which I mean given the outrage when they switched from Kelly to Diana I can understand but Mariposa was never voiced by Kelly to begin with #she was always Chiara my good bitches #Plus like I can't say too many bad things about fairy princess it also has my man Alessandro Juliani 😍 #but it also does have that fucked up puffball #like where was zinzie #she was a fucked up creature but at least she was useful (briefly)

[leylinefiction]

Pura Vida (A Mariposa Alternate Ending)

COMPLETE!

Pairing: Colonel Horatio Carrillo x Fem!Reader

Rating: Explicit

Summary: So I decided that these two needed a non-canon ending so here is an alternate ending to Mariposa where Carrillo does not die in the ambush.

Part I

Part II

Part III

Epilogue

#horacio carrillo #horacio carrillo x reader #horacio carrillo x you #horacio carrillo fic #narcos fic #colonel horacio carrillo #mariposa

[lindangel]

#anime #manga #oc #mariposa #lindangel #manga boys #yaoi fan art #fic yaoi #yaoi #fan fic

[ao3feed-larry]

Mariposa Monarca // Larry Stylinson ♦ One Shot

by LaviedePaloma

Sinopsis: Las mariposas monarca siempre regresan a casa, aun desconociendo el camino que deben tomar, simplemente guiadas por el corazón y Harry es una metafórica mariposa monarca en busca de quien alguna vez fue su hogar.

Words: 8584, Chapters: 2/2, Language: Español

Fandoms: One Direction (Band), Sweet Creature - Harry Styles (Song), Defenceless - Louis Tomlinson (Song)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: M/M

Characters: Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson

Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson

Additional Tags: Vainilla, Larry Stylinson Is Real

via AO3 works tagged 'Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson' https://ift.tt/5nFoQtB

#larry stylinson #larry fic #ao3 feed larry #Mariposa Monarca // Larry Stylinson ♦ One Shot #<p>by <a r

[tieronecrush]

hot & heavy

epilogue: our love is going gold

neighbor!joel x f!reader

series masterlist

series rating: E (18+ MDNI)

series summary:

over the course of three summers, joel miller becomes woven into your life. the first summer is spent falling for him; nannying his daughter and sneaking around with him in a burning love affair. you know how you feel about joel, he isn’t so sure about how it all is gonna work. the second summer is brief. a month spent at home after graduation and before you move to boston for your dream job. one look at you, one time hearing your voice, and joel is hooked again. he pines over you for that month, but you think — how is long distance of over a thousand miles going to work for a single dad? the third summer, you return home burnt out and pride bruised from your post-grad life. you need time to feel at home again, like your complete self, so you’ve come back home with no return ticket booked. it’s only a matter of time before joel seeks you out, slowly spending more time with you. without an inevitable end to the summer looming over you both, what chances are you willing to take?

word count: 17.2k (but she's done. like done, done.)

warnings (**SPOLIERS**): NO OUTBREAK (don’t need to worry about the mushies), no use of y/n, inexperienced reader, age gap (joel is 30/31, reader is 22), canon-divergent (sarah is now 10 y/o), nanny au, pet names (sweetheart, darling, sweet girl, mariposa, etc.), established relationship, engagement, marriage, alcohol, eating, very lovey romantic, polite southern manners, spanish/spanglish cause joel is latino, soft joel, domestic joel, WIFE!! GUY!! JOEL!!, discussion of parenting, step-parenting, struggles with conceiving, negative self talk and image, smut, soft dom joel, fingering, oral (f receiving), joel worships the ground his wife walks on and also her body, praise, unprotected p in v (they're tryna get pregnant, not you!), breeding kink, sort of nursing kink? joel is briefly obsessed with your tits and makes comments, mating press, a flash of cumplay, the BRIEFEST mention of daddy kink, joel really wants to give his wife a baby, pregnancy, a mention of giving birth, girl dad joel, CUTE FAMILY!!!

also this is the song mentioned <3 it's a fave of mine and i think very joel & mari

a/n: this has been a doozy but happy to hand this over to y'all. this is simply what i envisioned for their future, and if you had different thoughts, i would love to hear them! <3 or if you have any headcanons for their life beyond this, drop them in my inbox! this fic and these characters are my children and i love them very much. will probably keep them alive somehow. and thank you to everyone who's read this series, you are all so special to me and have sincerely made me feel so much more confident in my writing!

as always, thank you thank you thank you @northernbluess for beta-ing, couldn't do it without you! and this extremely long ending is dedicated to el and kiwi @kiwisbell you are my hype people fr

i feel like i need to say like signing off on h&h now lol so this is me doing that & closing the book!

** this is set over three additional summers post-main story **

first of many

After the holidays, it was an easy decision to move in with Joel and Sarah. The Millers had joined your family for their annual, lowkey celebrations; spending Christmas Eve with Joel and Sarah, it was a treat to witness him playing Santa after Sarah had gone to bed. Only a few curses under his breath putting together the new dollhouse she’d requested from St Nick, the other presents from her father, and your gifts to her carefully wrapped under the tree. The two of you split the plate of cookies while watching A Christmas Story, you and Joel taking turns mumbling the words to the iconic scenes under your breaths.

The next morning, your heart was overwhelmed with the love that you hold for this family that has welcomed you in and made you a part of it. Sarah gifted you a photo frame that she’d made at school, painted with flowers and butterflies, and a photo of the three of you from the trip to the apple orchard you’d taken that fall. Once Sarah was occupied with her new treasures, gifts were exchanged between you and Joel. Requesting to gift first, you stand up from the couch and tiptoe around Sarah and her new dolls sprawled across the floor to the front hall closet and retrieve a brand new, custom acoustic guitar. 

Sitting back with him, guitar placed into his hands and his eyes combing over it, his lips part with a gasping breath when he notices in the inlay of ‘SME’ for his daughter’s name, Sarah Elena.

“The old one in the corner of your room was lookin’ a little worse for wear, and I hadn’t seen you play it in a while…” you trail off in the silence, waiting for his response, “Do you—do you like it? Is it the right kind? I tried to match it the best I could to the one upstairs.”

“Oh, Mari baby, I love it. It’s beautiful, thank you so much…” He shakes his head, taking another sighing exhale in appreciation as he turns it in his hands. “Hadn’t played the other one 'cause it wasn’t quite playable anymore. Restrung it a few too many times, the wood was warped from some water damage. The perils of having a toddler around years ago. This is…it’s perfect, Mariposa.”

You beam, shifting in your seat and anxiously fiddling with your fingers. Joel sets the instrument down next to him carefully, turning back to you. He leans in, kissing you delicately and whispering another ‘thank you’ against your lips, “Guess m’gonna have to serenade you now.”

“Oh, yeah, J. I expect one nightly,” you playfully respond, kissing him again before he pulls away, his turn to stand from his place on the couch. 

He wanders over to the tree, plucking the last wrapped gift from under it, and returning to sit next to you. Handing over the small rectangular box, you unwrap it gingerly, glancing at Joel’s knee bouncing. You gently set your hand on it, smiling at him which he returns, biting his lip to channel his jittery energy. Opening the box, you’re met with the shining gold links of a beautiful charm bracelet. Your eyes wander over the small icons, feeling your chest tighten with love as you take them all in: A small ‘S’ with a ruby-colored stone at each end of the curve, a matching ‘J’ with a sapphire embedded into it right next to the ‘S; there’s a tiny gold key, nearly identical to the one he had given to you those three summers before for your job that started it all; a tiny set of longhorn antlers that is reminiscent of home; a lighthouse that reminds you of one you visited while living in Boston, a day you had documented and sent Joel some of the photos in the mail to recap your time. It was a day you had been happy there, and it made your heart ache that he remembered that. The last charm on the bracelet is a butterfly, bejeweled with kelly green stones, the color of the leaves that you told him were your favorite years ago. The ache in your chest is worked out of its knot with Joel’s hand at your back, a gasping breath as you blink back tears.

Clearing your throat, your watery smile has a flash of worry crossing his eyes before you hand him the bracelet you’ve taken out of the box, lightly requesting, “Will you put it on for me?”

Joel nods shyly, taking the dainty piece in his hands, and hooking the clasp around your wrist after a few tries. You both admire it, your smile growing wider and his matching yours.

“Merry Christmas, Mari baby. I love you.”

“Merry Christmas, J. I love you, too.”

Now, months later, the bracelet on your wrist glints in the sun as you hold onto Sarah’s hand, letting her lead you around the atrium filled with butterflies. Spending the day at the same farm you three had visited summers ago, and had kept up with the tradition with the summers following, you picked an abundance of strawberries, wandered through the nature paths, and now ending the day at the youngest Miller’s favorite spot.

Sarah wildly points out the different types of butterflies, the encyclopedia book of the insect’s species that you had gifted her for Christmas coming in handy for today as she reads the small signs of each patterned, winged creature, adding in her tidbits that she remembers. A grin stays plastered on your face as you listen intently, paying no mind to Joel trailing behind the two of you.

Giving your lessons on the flora that you know of in the gardens, Sarah listens to you as well. Stopping in front of the small waterfall, surrounded by tropical plants and flowers, the two of you go back and forth in fun facts about plants and butterflies, unaware as Joel saddles up behind you. Sarah glances back over her shoulder and grins, the expression reading as knowing and mischievous. Before turning around, you start to warn Joel behind you playfully, “J, if you’re even thinking about pushing me or splashing me, I will ki—”

Your breath catches when you finally face him, eyes dropping to meet his; the backpack he’d be adamant about carrying all day is at his feet, unzipped, and in his hands is a small, forest-green velvet box. Joel rests on one knee, a soft but bright, devoted smile on his face.

“Oh my god…” It comes from your lips as a whisper, your free hand reaching up to cover your mouth while the other continues to tether you to Sarah at your side, her small giggle hitting your ears as Joel glances at her, sending her a wink.

Eyes back on your face, Joel clears his throat, adjusting himself on his knee as he takes a deep breath, “I have been trying to figure out exactly what to say, and I can’t seem to find quite the right words that tell you exactly how I feel about you. I love you, so much, Mariposa. The second you entered my life, that time I saw you for only seconds in your backyard while I was touring the house, I knew I had to meet you. And then the first time I met you, well, I knew that you were who I needed.

“I’ve been walking around blind, trying to figure out life for years, and moving next door to you, that was the last piece falling into place. You have made my life, and Sarah’s life, a million times better. And while these past few years haven’t been picture-perfect for us, we made it through, and I know that we can take on anything that comes our way. Eres el alma más hermosa que he conocido, y soy muy afortunada de tenerte. (You are the most beautiful soul I have ever met, and I am so lucky to have you.) I’ve been waiting for years to do this, Mari baby, and I can’t have any more summers pass by without you being mine. Tú eres mi media naranja. (You’re my soulmate.) I love you. Te amo, Mari. You’re my soulmate, sweet girl, and I can’t take another day without the promise of forever. Will you marry me, Mariposa?”

Without hesitation, you nod your head frantically, your tears that started falling as soon as Joel started speaking continue to flow. You uncover your mouth, squeezing Sarah’s hand and sharing a smile with her before she takes her hand away.

“Yes, oh my gosh, Joel…of course, of course, I’ll marry you. I love you so much, J.” You squat down in front of him, left hand trembling as you hold it out for him. He carefully takes the ring from the box, and Sarah, ever the helper, takes it from the spot where it rests on his knee for safekeeping. The delicate gold band slips onto your finger, embellished with clusters of tiny gems and centered with an emerald cut diamond. It’s perfectly you, and you can’t wipe the smile off your face as you watch Joel settle the piece of jewelry on your finger. Both of you take a deep breath, admiring the sight before your eyes find each other’s again, matching expressions of complete admiration. Your hands find his cheeks, pulling him in for a tenderly passionate kiss, attempting to breathe all the love in your chest into the kiss and his heart. Joel pulls away first, resting his forehead against yours for a quiet moment.

“Thank you, J,” you whisper, and his head tilts with curiosity.

“For what, baby? I think I should be thankin’ you for sayin’ yes to me.” He chuckles and rubs his thumb at the back of your hand, skimming next to the band of the new addition.

“Everything. For not giving up. Your patience when I was still finding my way back to you. How effortlessly you’ve welcomed me into your life and your family…” Cheating your body away, one hand reaches out to pull Sarah into the small huddle, reuniting the moment within your unit of three, “I just—I can’t wait for all my summers to be spent with you both.”

“I can’t wait either. This is gonna be the first of many, Mari baby.”

And the two of you really couldn’t wait.

Only a week after Joel was down on one knee, your family was throwing you an engagement party. Tommy, a few of Joel’s close friends from his contracting company, your college friends, and neighbors were all in attendance to celebrate the two of you, and it was a big to-do. Drinks flowing, music playing, and food was being passed around. Everything under the warmth of a Texas night and the strung lights across the stretch of your parents’ backyard. Joel was glued to your side the entire night, hand on your back or clasped in yours, grabbing your refills and whispering in your ear to make you laugh.

“So…are all of these people coming to the wedding? ‘Cause I can count about half that I have no idea who they are.”

To that, you whispered back, “I don’t know them either, so definitely not. Unless they wanna buy us the most expensive thing on the registry.” Joel laughed, squeezing you closer — if it were even possible — and pressing a kiss to your temple.

Later, once you two were far past tipsy, Joel mumbled against your ear, barely able to get the words out without drunkenly giggling himself, “D’you think Mrs. Clarke is thinkin’ m’the one that got away?”

You couldn’t contain your laughter, bursting out in the middle of the conversation happening around you two, quickly covering your mouth as the lingering hiccups escape, “I think she’s singin’ the blues about you, Miller.”

The rest of the evening was filled with small moments between the two of you; never left alone long enough to have a full conversation on your own. Whispers of love and affection breathed out, fleeting kisses exchanged. It wasn’t until the party was over, everyone dwindled out the door and back to their homes, that you and Joel took a beat to speak to each other in more than one sentence. The early hours of the morning had crept in without anyone quite noticing, and Sarah was knocked out, brought inside to sleep in your old bedroom around 10pm when she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. Joel now held her in his arms, her head laying on his shoulder while the three of you walked the short distance home. After your quiet goodnight to Sarah that went unheard by her sleeping self, Joel put her down, taking off her shoes and leaving her undisturbed to sleep in her clothes.

Back in the ensuite of your, now, shared bedroom, you’re lazily getting ready for bed, movements slower and lagging from the alcohol you consumed. Joel stands behind you, facing your reflection in the mirror and giving you a smile as the exhaustion catches up to him.

“You have fun tonight, sweet girl?” His vocal cords rub together in a fry, hands finding their place on your waist and drawing you back into his chest. Littering kisses at the back of your neck, he hums contently before you affectionately shoo him off to brush his teeth while you apply your skincare.

“‘Course I did, J. Spent most of the night with you, how could I not have fun?” You grin at him from in front of your side of the double sinks, gently rubbing in your moisturizer. “Have you given any thought as to when you wanna set a date for?”

Whatever he responds is muffled by the foamy toothpaste, your face twisting in confusion before he leans over and spits out, rinsing his mouth and toothbrush. Standing back up, he rests his hip against the countertop while facing you, shrugging as he smirks slightly, “As soon as possible. Baby, I’d get married to ya in a garbage dump if it meant we could get married right this second. No puedo esperar para hacerte mi esposa. (Can’t wait to make you my wife.) And I know you don’t want that, and I want to make you happy, so whenever you want, Mari. Lo que sea que desees, lo haré realidad. (Whatever you wish for, I’ll make a reality.) But I will say, summer’s kind of our thing.”

A gentle smile stretches across your lips as you step closer, hands coming to rest on his chest and massaging your fingers gently into the muscles there, “Well, how about we do this summer? I mean, I don’t want anything fancy, just something special for us. Thought maybe we could do it here, in our backyard and my parents’. Where we met and fell in love and broke up and fell in love again and—”

“I love that idea, sweetheart. Think it’s perfect for us…” Joel punctuates his work by stealing a kiss, mint and strawberry lip balm melting on his tongue when he deepens it only for a few seconds, “Think we can manage for Labor Day weekend, mi amor?”

Nodding confidently, your hands skate up to his shoulders, pulling him down for another kiss, “I believe we just set our wedding date, Miller.”

“Damn right, we did, Miller.”

A whirlwind of planning and three months later, you now stand in your childhood bedroom on the second floor of your parent’s house, admiring yourself in the full-length mirror standing in the corner. Your mom had helped you with your hair, a small gold barette holding one side away from your face; your makeup was fairly minimal, fresh, and bright, but nothing too heavy that would melt in the heat that has graced Austin this weekend.

On your wrist is your charm bracelet from Joel, a simple gold locket to match that your father had gifted you the evening before at the rehearsal dinner — it has belonged to his grandmother, and now your grandma wanted you to have it since she couldn’t make the trip down due to her age. It was your ‘something old’ he said, playing into the old traditions that seemed to charm your entire family. 

Your ‘something borrowed’ was a pair of white strappy sandals from your mom, ones that she had worn to her rehearsal dinner when she married your dad. The title of ‘something new’ belonged to the charm hanging off of your wrist that was hand-delivered to you this morning from Tommy, per the request of Joel since you both were getting ready in opposite houses. The gift box unveiled a gold lotus flower, hand painted with deep magenta petals. Inside the lid of the box was a folded note, the words written by your soon-to-be husband in his usual scrawl.

Mi amor,

Got to reading one of your books you leave around about plants, and they were talking about the lotus flower. Made me think of you — since they go back to the murky water each evening and open their blooms at the break of day. You always start fresh, sweet girl, you’re so resilient and strong and pure of heart. No matter what happens, you get through it. And you won’t have to go at it alone, baby. I’m gonna be right there with you through anything.

You make me a better man.

Te amo, mi media naranja.

J

You had to touch up your makeup after having read the note over and over for minutes straight, now fresh faced and eager to get downstairs. One last time in the mirror, you give yourself the once over, smoothing the long, full skirt of your linen dress. The ruched empire bodice lays across your chest, framing your neck with a square shape along with the cap sleeves. Simple, but it feels perfectly you. And now, you were finally on your way to get your something blue: Joel in his navy suit, waiting at the end of the aisle for you.

Everyone’s gathered in their seats, only a crowd of around forty people from your lives occupying the rows, all carefully selected to make the cut. It was easy for Joel, he had three people he wanted there for sure, and well, his daughter didn’t have a choice living right next door, plus with her dad being the groom, and you being the bride. The only chance of a wild card he had was Tommy, but he was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning despite the many shots he had the night prior. At the rehearsal dinner of all places.

Dressed and gaffed, he stands at the end of the short aisle after having walked down it hand-in-hand with Sarah, who was donning a lilac dress she picked out with your help and her hair in her natural, bouncy curls. She now sits next to Tommy in the front row, whose new girlfriend Maria is sitting on the other side of him, stealing peeks over the back of the seat to try to catch a glimpse of you at the top of the deck stairs. Joel is doing the same, eyes flickering from scanning over the crowd to tunneling at the opening of the stairs. 

Music starts and it immediately tunes out of his ears, a tingle of excitement radiating from his chest throughout his body. A vision in white, you appear at the stairs with your arm linked to your dad, Mark; he isn’t paying attention to anything but you, captivated by your beauty. His heartbeat kicks up when you walk down, reaching the end of the grassy path between rows of chairs, and stopping for a moment. With the bouquet in one hand, you use the other that was resting on your dad’s arm to give him a short wave that he returns with a grin.

Each step you take brings up tears in his eyes, an overwhelming joy clenching around his heart. A few drop down his cheeks, using one of his thumbs to wipe away the streaks as you give him a gentle smile, speeding up your walk and dragging your dad along with you. The guests laugh at the eagerness, Joel rocking on the balls of his feet as he bites back his wild grin when you finally reach him. Exchanging hugs with your dad, Mark shakes Joel’s hand before clapping him on the back, a sure nod directed to him.

His hand slips into yours naturally, helping you with the last few steps to stand in front of him, exhaling a deep breath. A smile that he can’t wipe off stretches across his face, looking into your eyes as he lifts a hand to wipe his cheeks. You do the same, delicate touch against his skin while your gaze stays trained on his. Beating out of his chest, his heart thumps deeply, the wings of his butterfly fluttering madly in his gut in time with his heartbeat.

“Hey, Mari.”

“Hi, J.”

Everyone settles back in their seats, and your brother stands at the makeshift altar, a carved arbor handmade by Joel over the last few months frames the three of you in front of your guests. You turn to hand off the wildflower bouquet you put together to Sarah, eager to fulfill her responsibility of holding it during the ceremony. She grins, whispering to you loud enough for him to hear when she takes the arrangement.

“You look so pretty, Posey. I’m excited for you to marry Daddy.” Your hand reaches for her curls, squatting down in your dress to address her at eye level, unconditional love shining in your eyes as you look at his daughter.

“You look beautiful, Sare Bear. I’m so excited, too.” Other words are exchanged only between the two of you, a hug shared before Sarah retreats to her chair next to Tommy and you stand up and take Joel’s hands.

Chris ambles through an introduction, recollecting his version of events, as well as both of your sides, for how your relationship has progressed. Humor was laced throughout, laughter bubbling over throughout the crowd of guests, and especially between the two of you when you shared knowing expressions.

The ceremony moves quickly, with no religious elements to extend the length, simply secular. Before he knows it, Chris is reaching the vows, allowing a moment for Tommy to present the rings to each of you, clapping a hand on his brother’s back.

“Don’t fuck this one up, brother. Posey’s a good ‘un. Way too good for you—”

Joel cuts him off with a mumble and an eye roll, “I know all of this, Tommy, but thank you for the reminder.”

Chris directs Joel to go first, a deep inhale and extended exhale fills the air as you give his hands a reassuring squeeze. He flashes a smile at you before he drops one of your hands, finishing in his inside jacket pocket for the small slip of paper.

“I tried to memorize this, but we both know that wasn’t gonna happen…” he huffs out a nervous chuckle, reading over the page before his eyes come back to you, a patient and gentle grin on your face, “I genuinely hope you know how much I love you. I try to show you, to tell you, to make you feel it through osmosis every day, but I truly hope you can feel it. Through all that we have been through together and on our own, I have always had you in my mind. I thought about you every day you were away, and all I was hoping for was your happiness. I cannot tell you what it means that you have found your happiness with me, but I will be thanking whatever forces are out there for bringing us back together. Our roads may have been bumpy, and they may be in the future, but I’m so thankful to have you in my passenger seat. Cause we both know you don’t like to drive.” Joel winks and the crowd of guests laugh.

“I never want to let go. And I’m never going to let you go, Mariposa, I’m in it for the long run.  Eres todo para mí. (You are everything to me.) You are everything I have ever asked for, hoped for, didn't think I deserved. You are…un alma tan pura (such a pure soul) and I don't know how you ended up with me, but I'm countin’ my luck every second of every day. I love you through anything, mi Mariposa, and I cannot wait for our future together, as a family. I’m so happy that you have found a place you belong with Sarah and me, and I feel so lucky that you have chosen me. Te amo, mi Mariposa. Siempre.”

Recovering from your tears, you choke out a small sob that tugs on his heartstrings, tightening his grip on your hand while his brow furrows softly in concern.

“Happy tears, I promise, J. Very happy tears.” Another sob comes with a burst of laughter, a hand of yours fanning your face. Joel reaches up, wiping away the stragglers, careful to not smudge any of your mascara. With a deep breath, you focus back, centered, offering Joel your left hand. He repeats the phrase from Chris, who recites it from his printed-out online ordainment course before slipping the simple matching gold band onto your finger above your engagement ring, ears ringing when he sees the symbol of his love and commitment on your finger, where it will stay for the rest of his time on this Earth.

Next, it was your turn to recite your vows, Chris pulled a piece of paper from his jacket and handed it to you. A giggle slips from your lips, wavering the small folded sheet, “Couldn’t memorize it either. Got too much to say…”

Joel relaxes in his stance, thumb circling the back of your palm as he listens, the butterfly wings fluttering into his chest and up to his head, love overwhelming his nervous system across his body. You clear your throat, looking up from the wrinkled white sheet, “I didn’t know that one summer spent at home would completely send me on a whole new life path, but looking back, I am eternally grateful that I wanted to mooch off my parents for as long as possible. That first summer, I fell hard and fast, and despite the obstacles, my love continued to root deeper inside of me and grow out new branches with every memory we made together. I am so lucky to have been welcomed so easily into the Miller household, and I cannot imagine my life with you or Sarah there right next to me. You both have brought so much into my life and thanks to you, J, I feel like I have truly found myself. 

“I was always searching for what I was meant to do, who I was meant to be, and what I would leave behind in my life. And while I went out searching everywhere, the answer was my next-door neighbor. I am meant to be your person, I was meant to care and love and create a life with you, and your wonderful daughter, and I know I will leave behind all my love for you and our family behind. My success does not need to be measured by the reach of my impact, but by how deeply I love you. That is all that matters to me, to make you feel loved and supported and to know how incredible you are. You mean the world to me, and I love Sarah as if she were my own; both of you are my best friends and I could not do this life without you. I am so excited to spend the rest of my days, and the rest of my summers with you, J. I love you. Forever.”

The same routine goes for you, slipping a gold band around Joel’s left ring finger. He flexes with the new accessory on his hand, admiring it before he looks at you, a wide and wild grin crossing his face as he listens as Chris starts to ask him that very special question, “Joel, do you ta—”

“Absolutely I do. No question.”

Laughter rises from the attendees, and you, playfully roll your eyes. Chris nods shortly, chuckling as he turns to address you with the same question. He states your name, inquiring, “Do you ta—”

“Of course, I do. Only been waitin’ years for this to happen.” 

Joel laughs, shaking his head as he mumbles a sweet agreement, “You and me both, baby.”

Chris drops the papers he was reading from next to him on the grass, clasping his hands together, “Well, that made it damn easy for me. With the power vested in me by apparently the state of Texas, but who really knows, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Now y’all can kiss finally.”

A hand presses against the small of your back, pulling you into his chest as he folds down, latching your lips to his in a deep kiss, all of his love pouring into the moment. It takes restraint to not take it further in front of everyone, your intoxicating taste drawing him in and quenching a perpetual thirst he has. You lean back first, fingertips digging into his shoulders to hold him off as you whisper, “Gotta keep some decorum until tonight, Mr. Miller.”

“Hard to do that with you, Mrs. Miller,” he rasps back, matching blindingly bright grins across your faces as you right yourself, turning to face your guests as your brother loudly announces.

“For the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Miller!”

With the low-key, intimate wedding that you both had planned together, there was no real formal separation of the ceremony and reception. Instead, everyone wandered over to the backyard of Joel’s home, which was now yours, too. There were rented tables set up with chairs around, no seating chart, and a checkered dance floor set up in the middle of the lawn. Lights have been strung from his deck to the tree at the back of the property line that holds Sarah’s tire swing, some lanterns strewn about to add more light as the sun sets in the later evening. 

The family-favorite restaurant in the city that the three of you have frequented, even as friends, catered the meal, and your parents, ever so prepared, had stocked up all summer with booze. Your dad plays pretend bartender, getting your now-husband behind the tablecloth-covered folding table and pouring heavy drinks and somehow heavier shots. By sundown, everyone was liquored up enough to cheer for you both to have a first dance, chanting their request over and over.

Joel looks at you from his spot next to you, eyebrows raising in question. His hand at your back draws you closer, starting to sway to whatever song is playing as he grins with a looseness to him, relieved to have you as his for good and relaxed from the alcohol in his blood. “C’mon, Mari baby, I wanna dance with you. M’wife. I got the perfect song.”

“Okay, okay, you go tell Chris what song you want and see if he’s got it on his iPod.” 

You push Joel along, giggling to yourself as he shuffles over to Chris, the makeshift DJ for the evening. Joel leans in, talking in your brother’s ear over the music currently playing. They exchange a smile and nod, Joel laying a hand on his shoulder and shaking it affectionately. His beer gets abandoned on the nearest surface, giddily running over to you and taking your hand. Impatiently, he pulls you to the center of the dance floor, and Tommy intercepts your drink before it sloshes all over the front of you, huffing out a disbelieving breath as you continue to drag behind Joel.

Your husband turns you in his arms, one hand finding your back as the other lifts your joined ones toward his shoulder, elbows bent. Everyone else clears the dancefloor as an upbeat guitar riff sounds out of the speakers surrounding the dancefloor, the bright drums kicking in as Joel starts to shuffle the two of you around the dancefloor, a swing to your movements again.

The familiar lyrics of Orleans’ Still the One that Joel has sung to you many times over the last year are recited right back to you, making you reminisce about the time you were driving in the car to pick up Sarah from camp, a rare afternoon that both of you had off together. The song had come onto Joel’s favorite classic rock station, perking him up in his seat as he turned the volume dial up.

“Oh, Mari baby, this is such a great song.”

Not as familiar with it, you listen, giggling as he sings along with his words pointed at you, and you had to admit, they were pretty sickly sweet. Ever since then, Joel got into the habit of singing it to you, learning to play it after he received his new guitar from you at Christmas.

Dancing with him now, under the sticky heat of the tail end of Texan summer, surrounded by family and friends, he makes you feel as if it’s only the two of you again like it was for every other moment before with this same song.

In your ear, he sings along only for you, pulling away and twirling you as y’all take over the entire dancefloor with how free and loose you’re playing it. “You’re still the one that makes me laugh…still the one that’s my better half…we’re still havin’ fun and you’re still the one.”

At the next chorus, you join him in singing along, laughing at his excitement, both of you singing along louder. The song reaches the guitar solo, and Joel takes both of your hands, swinging you out from his chest before pulling you back in; he spins you to cross your arms in front of you, and your back to his chest before twirling you out. On the last line, when the final word is dragged out, he wraps his arms around you, spinning both of you around until the final chord strikes, setting you down and chests heaving to catch your breaths. Wide smiles still find your open mouths, cheers and whistles from the guests gathered around the dancefloor, now filling the checkered floor as the next song plays.

Breathless, Joel grins madly, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly before asking, “Think we did pretty damn good for unplanned, don’t you, Miller?”

“Damn right, we did, Miller.”

The rest of the evening was all the same, a night spent with your closest family and friends all celebrating the two of you and your love. Both you and Joel shared a dance with Sarah separately, relishing in her unbridled joy and Joel comforted his daughter when she shed a few tears about how happy she was. Your dad pulled you for a short jaunt around the dancefloor, and Joel asked your mom for a dance, which she accepted happily as a stand-in for his mom.

More drinks flowed into glasses and out of bottles, your shoes kicked off and Joel’s jacket and tie discarded onto the back of a chair somewhere. Your cheeks ached from how much you were smiling and laughing the whole time, a weight lifted, the promise of forever with your favorite person now on its way to being a reality.

You both ceremoniously cut the small single-tiered cake that your mom ordered, serving the slice on a plate. Grabbing a piece with your hands, you cheers it with Joel’s, watching as his went into his mouth and laughing as yours went across his cheek. He feigned shock, shaking his head as he looked at you with a glint of mischief in his eyes, taking a step closer. A turn on the ball of your foot directs you in an attempt to get away; failing miserably, misstepping from your level of drunkenness, Joel catches you in his arms. Turning you back around to face him, he steals a purposefully sloppy kiss, buttercream smearing against your lips and chin, the taste of vanilla coating your tongue as it melts into the taste of Joel, whiskey, beer, and sugary sweetness from the dessert.

At the very end of the night, most guests in cabs home or retreat to their homes down the street, it’s left to your closest people. The last song of the night is announced by Chris, the same song that has come up again and again for the two of you trilling over the speakers. Everyone dances and sings along to American Pie, the perfect cyclical moment for the two of you, and the closing moment of your summer. Sarah dances with the two of you, laughing as Joel twirls her around, infectious smiles on their faces. 

Your heart grows in your chest, nearly to the point of bursting as you take a step back in your mind, taking in all of the moment as it surrounds you. In the backyard of your new house, the next chapter of your life starts with Joel and Sarah; right next door is your childhood home, full of love and memories with your parents and brother. Even through the hardships, these places and people have never stopped feeling like home.

The song finishes with a flourish, Joel tucking you into his chest after he scoops Sarah into his arms with a soft groan. Sarah lays her head on her dad drowsily and he presses a kiss to her forehead, mirroring the same on yours; a mumble against your skin is barely heard by you, his drawl exaggerated by the liquor, “Mi Mariposa y mariposita. My lil’ Bug. Love my girls so much.”

Tommy slides sleepy Sarah into his arms from Joel after you two say goodnight to her, the younger Miller brother already prepared the arrangement for her to stay at his on the night of your wedding. You reassure her the promise to meet at Waffle House in the morning, which will likely be the afternoon with the state of the adults. Maria, the designated driver, and Tommy, much closer to sober than drunk than you were expecting, send another congratulations your way before they’re off to the car with Sarah.

After the necessary sweep of cleaning is done between you two and your immediate family, food, drink, and lanterns gathered, they part ways, taking everything back to theirs to deal with in the morning along with striking down the tables, chairs, and dancefloor. In the quiet of the early morning hours, you and Joel stand with your arms around each other, swaying gently. Cheek to chest, Joel’s voice rasps from overuse, vibrating your ear pressed against him, “Was it what you wanted, sweet girl?”

“Everything and more, J. I loved it,” you say as you pull your head away, tilting your chin to look into his eyes, “And I love you, m’husband.”

“I love you more, m’wife.” He shakes his head, biting a smile back, “Don’t think m’ever gonna get tired of callin’ you that, Mari.”

“Me neither. Gonna be callin’ you my husband instead of usin’ your name,” you flirt as your smirk grows and he wiggles his eyebrows, hand drifting down to the curve of your ass.

“Guess we better test that theory, baby.” He grins as he bends his knees, lifting you over his shoulder. His other hand rests on your ass to balance you, your hands pressing against his lower back as you shriek slightly from the initial shock. “Want the whole neighborhood to know m’your husband now. Even if they weren’t invited, so you better be loud, m’gorgeous wife.”

He walks you both up the stairs and through the backdoor, your snort echoing in the quiet of the night, pulling out the ol’ faithful from the early days with him, “Yes, sir.”

second nature

“What do you think about getting a dog?” you ask from your seat on the bed, propped up against the headboard with a book in your lap. Joel pops his head out from the en-suite, brow quirked as he continues to towel off his hair and laugh softly.

“Can’t say I’ve thought about it, darlin’.” He disappears again, hanging his towel on the back of the door before coming back out of the bathroom with a clean pair of boxers on, washed up from his long day on-site. “Have you been thinking about getting a dog?”

A sheepish grin stretches across your face, shrugging your shoulders as Joel gets into bed. He matches your position, leaning back against the headboard and turning his head toward you. He’s intrigued. If he wasn’t, he’d tell you that you could talk about it more in the morning, and then he would give you his honest opinion in the light of day. Never wanting to start a silly argument before bed, always attempting to keep the peace.

Which made him great at compromising. To what you wanted in the first place.

“I’ve been thinking it would be nice for Sarah. Like something to learn responsibility — teaching her to feed it on schedule and take it for walks and fill the water bowl.”

“Yeah, it’ll teach her that I’ll take on all those responsibilities when she gets bored of it,” your husband snorts at his own comment, making you roll your eyes playfully and scoot closer.

“Oh, c’mon, J. Don’t you think it would be fun to have a dog around? We wouldn’t even need to get a puppy if you think it’s too much. But I work at home nannying baby Amelia so I’d be around all day and then when Sarah gets home from school or camp, she can take him or her for a walk. And then feed it before you even get home. Oh! Or you could take the dog to work with you! How cute would that be, you could train him to grab your tools for you.” 

A contagious smile brightens your face in the low lamplight, one that Joel can’t help but mirror on his own face. The eagerness is evident in your expression and your voice, and the proposition doesn’t seem like it would be too difficult of an adjustment. Shaking his head at your suggestions, he laughs quietly while reaching a hair up to smooth your hair away from your face.

“Are you gonna be the one to teach it what all the different screwdrivers are?” 

An excited gasp exhales and you scramble to straddle Joel’s lap, “Wait, are you serious? You’re actually okay with getting a dog?”

Wrapping your arms around his shoulders, you lean back to look at his face. His hands find the curve where your thighs melt into your ass, squeezing gently. Always handsy.

“Yeah, baby, we can get a dog.” Joel groans dramatically when you pull yourself tight against him, hugging him while on hand rubs back and forth at the base of your spine. “I’ve got some conditions though.”

Unraveling from his neck, you stay perched in his lap, nodding fervently. “Anything. Whatever you want, if it means we get a dog.”

“Oh, anything?” he teases with another squeeze of your bum, laughing when you shoot him a look.

“Not what I meant, Miller. Get your mind out of the gutter.”

“Can’t help it with you, sweet girl. My mind’s always in the gutter around you.” The sentiment is punctuation with a tender kiss to your lips and one to your forehead. Calloused palms skate along your bare thighs, humming contently, “Conditions are: has to be a big dog. Don’t want one of those little white dogs or like something that’ll break if we have babies and they’re a little rough with it.”

The forethought he has for your future children warms your heart, and you agree immediately, “Deal. Didn’t want a little dog anyways. What else?”

“Gotta fence in the backyard. I don’t mind putting in a gate for us and your parents to easily go back and forth through, but I don’t want the chance of the dog gettin’ out when we’re all outside.”

“Totally understandable. I’ll even help you install the fence,” you offer proudly.

“That’s real sweet, Mari baby, thank you. You don’t gotta lift a finger though, I’ll bring some of the guys over and pay a little extra and we’ll get it done in a day, no problem.”

“Alright, so big dog, fence. Anything else you’d like to negotiate, Mr. Miller?” you mock a formal tone, turning your nose up. Joel laughs, tightening his arms around your waist and tugging you closer. Kisses press into your neck and along your jaw, pausing inches away from your lips as he makes his final request.

“Dog sleeps in Sarah’s room or downstairs. I like our privacy.” He smirks before kissing you deeply, easily flipping you onto your back and hovering above you. Your legs hook around his waist and he raises his eyebrows, “That all sound fair to you, Mariposa?”

“Absolutely it does. Guess we’re getting a dog, ri—” You’re cut off by his lips on yours again, pressing you further into the mattress with his body weight.

“Let’s save the rest of this for the morning,” Joel mumbles against your skin as he trails his mouth down your neck to your collarbone, “‘Cause right now, I think I’d rather get some pussy.”

He doubles over in laughter at his own joke, forehead pressing against your chest as his shoulders heave. Your fingers comb into his hair, unable to fight quiet chuckles of your own no matter how hard you try to not give him the satisfaction.

“God, you’re such a dork.”

The clock rolls to 3pm as you sit in your car, lined up along with parents of campers. Shrills of laughter and screams echo from the bright, primary-colored playground across the way, counselors attempting to corral the kids to lead them out for pick-up. Air conditioning blasts on you as you fan at the back of your neck, exhaling in the sweltering Texan heat. It’s only the beginning of summer, June barely having turned over, but the temperatures have reached record highs for the year already.

Your stepdaughter. The thought still makes you smile months on, the dynamic between the two of you falling naturally into a closer, more nurturing relationship. Little acknowledgments from Sarah have made your heart sing over the days; routinely saying goodnight to you along with Joel, asking you for permission to go play outside, seeking you out nearly as much as Joel when she has had a nightmare. The pair of you have built routines of your own before bed, you making a promise to Sarah to read with her and to show her your favorite books from when you were her age.

A few nights ago, Sarah had retreated with you to her room, at least thirty minutes before her bedtime to get in another chapter of Matilda by Roald Dahl. The main character reminded you of Sarah’s sweet and spunky personality, and you were so excited that she fell in love with the story and its characters as quickly as you did when you read it for the first time.

Sat up against her headboard, Sarah laid back in your arms and cracked open the novel where her bookmark stuck out, started to read aloud to you in the low lamplight. Mindlessly, you played with her hair as you listened to her confidently recite the words from the page. The day caught up to you, the peaceful moment pulled a yawn from your lungs. Sarah’s words slowed down, her eyes slowly blinking until they closed, which was your queue to slip the book from her hands and mark the spot, and laid it on her nightstand.

When you tried to slip out from behind her to leave her to sleep soundly, she stirred, mumbling the sweetest, “Will you stay for a little bit, Posey?”

And you had no choice but to oblige her request. After getting comfortable next to her, Sarah curled into your side and you pressed a kiss to her forehead, continued to play with her hair to soothe her back to sleep.

What you hadn’t realized was that you also drifted off in her twin bed with her, the lamp still on. Joel was watching TV downstairs, waiting for you to retreat down the steps as you do every night, but no sign of you after an hour had him standing up to go searching. It was quiet when he reached the top of the stairs, no telling giggles or loud whispers to give the two of you away. 

He pushed open the cracked door of Sarah’s bedroom, and was met with a sight that squeezed his heart tight, a sigh exhaled from his lungs. You tucked right next to his little one, and both slept deeply. Without disturbing your rest, he tiptoed over to the nightstand, tugged the blanket up over both of you before he hovered above the bed to press a gentle kiss to each of your foreheads. 

Lamp clicked off, he whispered to your unconscious ears, “G’night, girls. Love you two.”

It was a few hours before your usual alarm when you’d woken up, sore from the small space and glanced around the dark room to discover you had fallen asleep next to Sarah. Carefully slipped out from the covers, you tucked her back in and padded down the hall to your bedroom where Joel was sleeping, a soft snore came from him as he’d starfished out on the mattress. You gently shook him half awake to move him, and he groaned softly at the disruption before he tugged you into his chest and pressed a drowsy kiss to your shoulder.

“Was jus’ too cute to wake you up, Mari baby. My Mariposa and my lil’ Bug…” He hummed sleepily into your skin, hand gently rubbed circles in your lower belly while your eyes close, desperate for those last few hours of slumber. “Makes me so happy.”

“Me too, J. M’so, so happy she’s that comfortable with me. My baby best friend. And you’re my big baby best friend…” You breathed out an airy giggle and Joel protested weakly behind you, a gentle pinch to your side before you both exchanged a quick “love you” and drifted right back off.

The reminder of the sweet moment in the morning from Joel was the highlight of your week.

Climbing out of the car, the engine running and door open, you round the front bumper and stand on the curb to wait. You find her before she finds you, calling out to her to grab her attention, “Hey, sweet pea!”

Her familiar deep brown irises search for the source of your voice, landing on your face and waving excitedly. Sarah checks out with her counselor for the day, scurrying over to you with her backpack bouncing at her shoulders.

“Hi, Posey!”

She collides with your torso, her growth spurts finally starting over the last few months so the top of her head hits just at your chest, and nearly knocks the wind out of you. Patting her back, you laugh and pull her back to look her in the face, “Well, hello to you too, Sare Bear. How was camp today? You ready to go?”

After your greetings, she climbs into the backseat on the opposite side of Amelia’s car seat. You store her bag in the passenger seat with yours before retreating around to the driver’s side, heading off once both of you are secured in your seatbelts.

Flicking your eyes up in the rearview mirror, the two of you catch up, which mostly consists of her recapping the camp activities and excitedly talking about the pool day that’s planned for Friday. As you turn onto your street, Sarah’s brow furrows at the sight of Joel’s truck in the driveway.

“Dad’s home already? That’s weird.”

“Hm, I guess he is. Or maybe he’s just stopped by to grab something he forgot. You know how he is.”

Sarah laughs in agreement as you park your car next to his truck. Both of you get out and head in through the garage, straight into the kitchen where Joel’s standing at the counter eating a sandwich.

“Told you, Sare, stopped by ‘cause he forgot something. Lunch.” You send him a teasing grin as you deposit Sarah’s bag by the door and kick off your sandals. She does the same before wandering past her dad to the fridge in search of a snack. Apple doesn’t fall far.

“What? I can’t happen to drop in hoping to see my wife and my daughter in the middle of my work day? Do I have to have ulterior motives?” Joel speaks, words muffling around the bite in his mouth as you approach the island to stand opposite him.

“Dad, you literally always ask ‘What’s for dinner?’ or ‘What’s cookin’?’ after you say hi to us every day. Your motivation is always to get some food,” Sarah chimes in from in front of the fridge, laughing when Joel looks at her offended.

“See? Even a ten year old recognizes the pattern of behavior,” you confirm your findings, laughing as Joel grumbles to himself and pops the last bite of his sandwich in his mouth.

“Well, for your information, both of you, I am here for an entirely different reason than lunch and to see you two.” He crosses his arms in front of his chest, looking between the two of you with a mischievous smile on his face. “Why don’t y’all go look in the living room and then tell me if you wanna keep makin’ fun of Dad?”

Sarah excitedly starts off toward the living room, giddy about the surprise awaiting her. Your brow furrows and lips twist up in curiosity, eyes staying glued to Joel. He laughs and nods to the other room, a bright smile on his face.

“Better go see, mi amor. Think you’ll want to meet him.” Joel winks, your attention being pulled away when you both hear Sarah gasp from the living room.

“Oh my gosh! Posey, come here! Aw!”

That’s when it registers — the surprise, home in the middle of the day, the smirk, ‘you’ll want to meet him’.

“You didn’t,” you breathe out, head snapping back to Joel as he gives you a wide, genuine grin.

“Go! See for yourself.” He rounds the island and grabs your hips from behind, guiding your steps into the living room. Sarah’s giggles fill the room as the fluffy Bernese Mountain puppy stands in her lap and licks at her face. The small dog’s attention is pulled from her and over to you and Joel entering the room, a tiny bark sounding before he scampers over.

“Joel, oh my god, how did you—when—oh my god…” You kneel down to scoop up the little one into your arms and cuddle it gently, giving it pets before letting him run around again.

“Found someone who had a litter with their family dogs the day after we talked about it. And arranged to pick him up. They said he’s the energetic one, and that he’s gonna be a big boy. Like a hundred pounds.”

“Oh my god, he’s so sweet…thank you, J.” You beam up at him, waving him to bend down and steal a kiss, squeezing his shoulder.

Sarah’s playing with your new family dog, tugging with a rope toy as he fights back with his whole little body. “Thank you, Dad. He’s so cute!”

“What should we name him?” Joel asks as he lowers himself to the floor next to you, smiling as the puppy runs over. The two rough house, Joel easily flipping him over to scratch at his belly as the dog pants happily.

“Any ideas, Sare?” you ask, looking over at her.

She thinks for a moment before looking up between Joel and you, laughing at the tiny pup’s antics, “What about Goose? He just seems like one. Like a silly goose.”

“Goose? I like it, Bug,” Joel confirms, turning to you with a grin, “How about you, Mari?”

Nodding, you look at the new addition to the family, burning bright with happiness at your people’s excitement, “I think Goose is a perfect fit. And now you’re not outnumbered anymore, J. Two girls and two boys in the Miller household.”

Sarah laughs and lays down to cuddle with Goose while Joel moves closer to your side, wrapping an arm around you and kissing your head as he quietly whispers, “Hopefully won’t be too long before the boys are outnumbered again.”

“And what makes you say it won’t be us girls being outnumbered?”

“Call it father’s intuition. Wouldn’t know what to do with a little boy, bein’ a dad to another girl would just be second nature. Plus, I would want a mini Mari running around the world.” Joel presses a kiss to your temple before you turn your head, catching his pursed lips with yours sweetly.

“I’d take anything if it means havin’ a little piece of you forever, J.”

third time lucky

Negative.

A single line, bold and brash, stares back at you. Turning the plastic in your hands, you attempt to read it at different angles, the smallest bit of hope lingering for another line to appear — that it was a trick of the light that was causing your disappointment.

To no avail, the blue strip remains unaccompanied in the small window. A sinking feeling fills your body from your toes up. Everything feels heavier, except your lower stomach. That has never felt as empty as it is now.

Heavy footsteps thump a vibration in the floors, but your focus remains on a speck of dust floating in the light past your field of vision. His presence hangs in the bedroom, milling about, unknowing of what you were up to before he came in from mowing the lawn.

“Hey, baby, m’gonna take a shower and then we’ve got Sarah’s softball game at three. Probably half to leave here around two, her coach asked all the parents to be thirty minutes early for some reason…” Joel’s voice fades in your head as your thoughts start to yell, scream, fight, taunt inside of your mind.

A hard swallow pops your ears, the ringing in them growing louder as your mind begins to wander. The test is left discarded on the bathroom counter, with no heart yet to throw it in the garbage where the others have ended up. Your bare feet shuffle against the rug as you seek out solace under covers, even in the ninety-plus-degree heat. The springs of the mattress shift under your weight, lying on your side facing the opposite side of the bed that lays empty right now. The coverlet is pulled up over you, curling your fingers at the hem tightly, white knuckle grip to release some of the tension that has taken over your mind. You want to scream, cry, yell, question — but what you want most of all is to be able.

Why aren’t you able? Why can’t you do what your body is made to do, what it begs for, what it reminds you that you’ve failed at every month?

Joel stands in observation of you, careful distance, one hand lifting before he drops it. He can guess what this is about. What you’ve left behind in the en-suite. But to confirm his suspicions, he quietly walks into the tiled room, leaving his clean clothes on the counter while he picks up the test.

Negative.

His body sinks, toes up to his head, but with a gaping, empty feeling in his chest. There’s so much room left in his heart, room he is eager to fill with another part of you, another love, another soul to protect. Now, though, all of his emptiness is filled with an ache for you. You’ve been dreaming out loud for a year now, wonderings and visions shared with him late nights and early mornings — Will they have his eyes? You hope so, so that they look like their sister. Who’s ears would they have? What quirks will they pick up from both of you? Who will they grow up to be? How will we be able to contain our love for both of our kids?

Our kids. Joel remembers that night; after you said that, he couldn’t hold himself back, couldn’t contain his love for you. No hesitation that his own was yours now, too. All he wanted was to give you another, to see your belly grow and your smile brighten and your skin glow. He was begging for whatever power was in the universe for that time to take, for both of you to be gifted with what you wished for so often, so deeply.

Desperation. Wavering confidence. Sorrow, worry, dwindling hope. He saw it all over you, time after time when the single line appeared on the plastic sticks.

You and Joel had been trying for a year. A long year. Maybe your desire was too strong, too overpowering. But shouldn’t that be a sign of your love? For each other, for your family? All he wants to do is give you the life you’ve wished for. And yes, all you’ve said you want is a life with him, but anyone who meets you would be able to tell you are meant for a nurturing life. Meant for motherhood.

It was already natural for you, taking a ten-year-old in stride, making her into your best friend — making her a priority over Joel most of the time. He knew it didn’t matter to you that she wasn’t yours, biologically speaking, but he can’t help but want to give you a child that is part you. How badly he wants another piece of you in the world, all of your goodness packaged into the purest soul.

Resigning with a sigh, he sets the test down on the cool countertop and exits the bathroom, a slow stride over to your lying form. Crumpled under covers. With a soft groan, he lowers himself to his knees with cracks popping his joints. His age is starting to show the closer he gets to forty and the more hours he works in the summer weather, another looming factor for him — he’s only known being a young dad. If you two have to wait, what would it be like to be nearly sixty when your kid graduates high school?

Shaking the superficial concerns from his head, his wide palm glides along the quilted fabric draped over your side. He rests his chin on his opposite arm, laying against the mattress close to your pillow. At the coax of his touch, you turn over to face him. Lips pursed in a frown, dried watery streaks being washed anew with your fresh tears, fat and rolling down your cheeks and over the bridge of your nose. They drip off of your skin, dotting and darkening the fabric of the pillowcase underneath you.

Joel leans in, brushing your hair from your face and pressing his lips to your forehead for a lingering kiss. A deep breath draws the smell of your shampoo into his nose, down deep into his lungs where it soothes his aching chest.

“Mari, sweet girl, I know it’s hard. I know we want it so bad, but there’s always another option,” he speaks softly, kindly, delicately, “We can go to that fertility specialist your doctor recommended. I promise, mi amor, we’ll have a baby together.”

He means it, and you can tell he means it. Ever since you had been back together, ever since he confessed his feelings for you — years ago now — he hasn’t made an empty promise. From tiny little things like a pledge to stop on the way home for your favorite ice cream, going to three different stores and adding nearly an hour to his day simply to show up with it for you, to larger, grander oaths, his wedding vows, the promise of building a beautiful life with you.

Emotion is thick in your throat as you attempt to vocalize your concerns. They keep you up at night, with Joel’s warm and expansive hand resting on your stomach right above your womb as he sleeps soundly. He wants it clearly as much as you do; you can feel it each time you’ve tried. How badly he wants to provide this for you.

Is he having the same thoughts as you? Does he wonder if something’s ‘wrong’ with you?

“I wanna be able to do it. Why can’t I do it on my own?” The sound of your meek voice shatters his heart and he shakes his head back and forth, adamant in shutting down the thoughts.

Tugging the covers down, Joel’s hands find your exposed skin, sliding across with a clammy touch from his labor outside. And nerves, too, you’d guess. Moving from his knees on the floor next to the bed, he finds a spot sitting at your side and shifts you to lay on your back. Opening up to him. Warmth rests over your womb, blanket pulled down to the tops of your thighs while his thumb brushes at your stomach, catching on the fabric of your shirt.

“No—oh, mi Mariposa, you don’t even know if it would be you with an issue. Very well could be me. Maybe breathin’ all the paint fumes at work killed m’little swimmers.” He breathes a small laugh through his nose, attempting to lighten the mood.

Your hands fly up to your face, muffling your voice, “Oh, god, don’t say that. I wanna have your baby, not some sperm donors.”

His hand coasts up your torso, over to your side to wrap around your rib cage, feeling your breaths as his fingertips lightly tickle the spot, “That was supposed to make you laugh, sweet girl.” 

Hands falling away from your face, your brow pinches together and your frown deepens. About to make a retort, your mouth open, Joel skates the fingertips of both his hands up and down your sides, alternated on each side of you to make it harder to catch his wrists. Laughter bubbles up from your chest, your frown morphing into a flashing smile before you’re calling for a surrender in between gasping breaths.

Relenting, his hands stop, settling at the curve of your waist. He leans over you, nudging his nose against yours before pressing a ghosting kiss to your lips. A small grin, hopeful and reassuring, with a tinge of worry flickering in his irises, barely there before his smile reaches his eyes, “It’ll happen for us, Mari baby. Why don’t we say, one last go before lookin’ into the doctors? We’ll do all the things, track whatever we need to track. I’ll drop whatever I need to come home and put a baby in you.”

Joel wiggles his eyebrows, playful smirk crossing his expression. You roll your eyes under him, pushing an accusing finger into his chest, “Like you don’t already do that. I could call you in the middle of work and just go ‘Hey, J’ and you’re in the truck on your way home.”

“That’s right, Mari. As it should be. Y’know what they say — happy wife, happy life.” Another kiss to your lips, this one a bit more savoring. “What d’ya say, mi amor? One more go?”

“Okay, yeah. One more go.”

Butterflies kick up in your stomach when you hear the low rumble of Joel’s truck cut, heavy door swinging closed and quick strides following. The front door opens after a short jingle of keys, shutting behind him with the slide of the lock back into place. Distant grumbles of his make you laugh, his frustrations with his work boots floating upstairs to where you’re sitting on the edge of your bed, leaning back on your hands. Clad in only your bra and panties, you work your bottom lip between your teeth as anticipation builds with each of Joel’s footsteps up the carpeted stairs.

You both only have the afternoon — less than an hour of your afternoon, actually — to make your last attempt. Already having taken advantage of the window in your cycle twice, the peak day of your ovulation fell, of course, during the busiest time of year for Miller Construction. Summer has come to a close, and now people have picked up their home improvements to start nesting for the winter; a craving you’ve been having yourself, desperate to make your home larger and livelier by one more. Joel has snuck away for a moment that you two have alone, and you’ve told the couple you nanny for that you have an immovable appointment for today.

Pretty sure the only thing that will be immovable today will be you once Joel’s hour is up.

 “Mari? Mi amor?” he calls out and you chuckle softly at the boyish excitement in his voice.

“In the bedroom, J!”

Joel rounds the doorway into your shared room, stopping a handful of steps past the threshold when he registers the sight of you. He hums a low moan, licking his lips as his eyes devour your lacy undergarments, “Mierda, mi esposa, estás tratando de matarme? (Shit, my wife, are you trying to kill me?) You look so fucking beautiful, darlin’.”

A low whistle leaves his lips as he stalks closer, eyes rake over your form as you present your primped self for his taking.

“You get all pretty for me, sweet girl? I like this…” he rasps as he’s within arm’s reach now, stretching a hand out to toy with the strap of your bra and snapping it against your skin sharply.

“Wanted to look pretty when you fill me up, J.” One curl of his finger under your chin draws you to sit up straight, tilting your head back to look at Joel towering over you.

“Good girl,” he praises, a glint of excitement in his eyes, “You want me to fill up your sweet little cunt, Mariposa? Want me to give you a baby? Tell me.”

“Yes,” you breathe out shakily, eyelids fluttering closed as his hands trail lightly across your exposed skin, ghosting everywhere you need him most.

“More, sweetheart. Dime. Dime cuánto lo deseas. Suplicar por ello. (Tell me. Tell me how badly you want it. Beg for it.)” His instructions float through your head, only keywords translating in while Joel leaves over you, lips pressing feather-light kisses along your neck, across your chest.

“I need it, Joel. Need you so fucking bad, I wanna have your baby. Want you to make me a mom, fill me up as many times as it takes until we get our baby…please, J…” As if the taste of you wasn’t enough to do him in, the wild, fervent look in your eyes intrigues him beyond. Hearing the words from your lips, directed to him, he’s fucking aching. He was growing hard on his way over here, the thoughts swimming through his mind of you laid out and ready for him to take delegating his blood supply to rush down below his belt.

He needs you, but first, he needs to see you unraveling underneath him only from his fingers.

“Don’t worry your pretty little mind, Mari. M’gonna take care of you. I’ll make sure this one takes. Let’s call it third time lucky this summer.” 

He shoots you a wink, your mouth parting to respond. Before you can let any breath escape, his lips are crashing with yours. Heavy, heady, and so fucking hot it spirals your thoughts into nothing. His tongue melts with yours, the taste of his black coffee and the donut he must have eaten at work this morning tingling your taste buds. Sweat sticks to his skin when your hands rest at the sides of his neck, falling backwards as he climbs over you. He smells of wood shavings, freshly mowed grass, and hard work — calloused hands gliding along your body and feeling the softest of scratches of his blue collar hands.

“Joel, need you — please.” It’s more of a whine than a begging whimper, rising frustration levels from his lack of touch in the place you need and want him the most. 

Your cunt is desperate, dripping down your folds and surely soaking the sheets. A quick jerk of your hips attempts to brush against him, to catch any relief for the need building low in your stomach. A large palm presses your lower half back against the mattress, the other hand pushing your leg to the side to open you up further for him. A knuckle brushes your clit, grazing up and down your seam through your soaked panties. Your husband clicks his tongue as he shakes his head at you, patronizing tone slick in his voice.

“Darlin’, I wanna take every second of my time with you. Are you gonna let me? Gonna let me get your cunt squeezing my fingers? Gonna let me fill you up, mi amor?” he asks, as if you wouldn’t say yes to all of those requests and he knows it. Nodding, a desperate yes exhaled when he applies more pressure with his finger against your clit, rubbing slow circles. “Good girl. Siempre tan bueno para mí. (Always so good for me.)”

Joel folds over your, taking one of your perked nipples into his mouth through your bra and sucking. His tongue flattens against the cup before he’s pulling at the nub with his teeth. The material is darkened where his mouth was when he grows a bit more needy, grabbing at the straps and yanking the bra to rest at your midsection. You slip your arms out of the straps and he pushes you further onto the bed by the back of your thighs, stripping your panties off and settling on his knees.

Pressure forms against your clit from two of his fingers, slow circles dragging a moan from your throat. Joel smirks, satisfied with the way you squirm under him, trying and failing to get more from his hands. Before you can vocalize a whine, Joel is over you again, bringing his attention to your now bare breast while the circles continue. Hot, humid kisses are littered on the soft skin, happy hums rolling from Joel’s chest. He pulls his head up, looking down at your chest with a half grin and his dimple on display.

“You’re gonna get so soft and swollen everywhere, Mariposa. Round belly, huge tits—can’t wait to play with ‘em.” His grin widens, boyish and brazen with the glee that the fact fills him with. “You gonna let me, baby? Gonna let me make your sore tits feel better with my mouth?”

His question goes unanswered as his mouth attaches to one of your nipples, sucking and flattening his tongue as he nurses it. Pulling away with a pop, he mimics the same on the other side, the intensity of his suckling along with his fingers rubbing faster against your clit — even slipping down to tease at your entrance — has you wiggling under him, desperation notching up your spine.

“Joel, please,” you plead, choking on your breath when he pulls the bud of your breast between his teeth, a low growling sound rumbling from his throat. 

Two of his thick fingers push into your dripping cunt, a relieved moan echoing against the walls of the bedroom. Curling up into your spongy walls, they thrust quickly and pet at the certain spot inside of you. Joel’s mouth is still at your chest, his hunger feeding itself on the taste of your skin.

“Fuck, Mari, gonna break my fucking fingers off. So fucking tight.”

A distraught whimper crawls from your chest, breaths heaving as your walls clench around his quick-paced fingers. You gasp when he slips a third one in, hooking them up. Despite the stretch, you still feel an emptiness. All you want is his cock inside of you, spilling into you and leaving you to grow fuller with his baby. The thoughts of him above you, fucking it all deeper into you to reach your womb, drive you over the edge. The tips of his fingers press against that spot inside of you, his warm mouth hanging open at your tit while his eyes watch you come undone. Writhing and walls pulsing around his fingers, his name falls from your mouth as you choke out moans and your vision grows dark.

“That’s it, Mari baby, fuck,” Joel works you through the orgasm before his fingers leave you and he sits back on his haunches. Sucking his digits clean of your slick and come, the other hand rubs your thigh gently before he coos down at you, “That was a big one, wasn’t it? Feel good?”

Still coming down from it all, your body feels liquidity, taking whatever form Joel is molding you into right now after he’s stripped himself bare. One hand slips under you, unclasping your bra and tugging it away from your torso, leaving you as naked as him. His eyes drink in your body while his grip holds your calves, chuckling darkly when you finally breathe out a response, “I feel…like I need you to put a baby in me.”

“Cualquier cosa para usted, mi esposa. Vas a estar tan lleno de mí. Te encanta la sensación de mi mecos dentro de ti, ¿verdad? (Anything for you, my wife. You're going to be so full of me. You love the feeling of my cum inside of you, don't you?)” Your head rolls with a nod, agreeing to anything Joel says in the moment, still hazy from how hard he’d made you come moments ago. Half-lidded eyes watch as he licks his fingers, stroking his cock a few times with a quiet sigh. That’s something you could watch all day — Joel’s pleasure. And here underneath him, you have the perfect view, and the perfect position to be used for it.

Fully handing over control to him, his hands tug you up so your ass sits on his thighs while he’s on his knees. Fingertips skate along the distance of your legs, grabbing at your calves to rest them on his broad shoulders. Even the slightest shift forward from his hips stretches you wide, a delicious ache creating a craving for more.

“Tell me how bad you want it, Mari, tell me how much you wanna have my baby.”

Joel’s gripping his length, rubbing his tip through your wet folds. The notches against your clit quiver the already stretched muscles in your thighs, whines replacing words coming out of your mouth.

“Tell me, or I won’t give you what you want, mi amor.”

“I want it so bad, J. I wanna feel you fuck me so full of you, and I don’t want that feeling to leave. I feel like there’s an emptiness and only you can fill it, I want your baby. Wanna have everyone know how good I am for you, carrying your baby like you want me to. I wanna have a part of you forever,” you gasp out the last word, Joel’s cock inching into you. Muscle memory takes over, your whole body relaxing with the knowledge that he’ll take care of you — he’ll always take care of you.

Joel bottoms out easily, filling you to the hilt before he pauses to take a breath. His eyes meet yours and he smiles, sweet and sincere, while holding your shins, “I fucking love you, mi Mariposa. Wanna give you a baby…”

“Pleasepleaseplease—” You don’t know if you’re begging more for him to give you what you want or to move his hips, but in the end, you get both. 

Joel starts out slow, shallow thrusts keeping him inside of you. Grunts from the controlled movements fill the room, your small whimpers following each noise he makes. The sound of him fucking into your cunt captures his attention, gaze zeroed in on where you two meet. Watching the stretch of your tight pussy around his cock, he feels the burning desire for more. To watch you take it deeper, harder.

The next snap of his hips is just that - smacking his skin against your ass before he adjusts, laying you back completely on the mattress and leaning over you. Your legs are still hooked over his shoulders, the burning of your muscles now straining your hamstrings and glutes. His entire body folds you, his head hovering over yours as he fucks into you further. The tip of his cock kisses your womb, the force of his thrusts driving your hips open more for him.

“Gonna — fuck — gonna make you a momma, Mariposa. That what you want? Get fucked so well, be so full of me that we make a baby? Everybody’s gonna know I treat my wife right. With your round belly…swollen—ah—swollen tits. Gonna be so beautiful, and so fucking sensitive everywhere.”

His words only add onto the feeling of his thick cock filling you up, nearly verging on too far and too much. Moans exhale on your lips, his name repeated like a chant with each harsh snap of him into you. Your hands scramble for purchase as his sheer power drives you up the mattress, sheets scratching against your bare back. One set of fingers dig into the meaty flesh of his shoulder, nails pressing crescent shapes like an iron-hot branding.

Above you, Joel studies how your mouth has fallen open, thoughts completely left your mind with how cockdrunk you are. He gingerly grips your chin, holding it to face him and commanding your eyes to his as he pants heavily.

“What d’you wanna make me, baby?” It’s only met with the sounds of his cock dragging in and out of you, the slap of skin as you gasp under him. “C’mon, Mari baby, use your words.”

“A daddy,” you breathe out, your opposite hand combing into his messy curls and gripping tight.

“Say it again. Dime.” Not thinking it was possible, Joel pushes you further, hitting into you harder with each thrust nudging his tip toward your cervix. You might only leave this afternoon with soreness, but you continued to hold out hope for a baby to be the well-worth prize for how you’re going to feel tomorrow.

“A daddy!”

“Dime. Dime. Dime,” he commands and you listen, writhing under him as he hacks away at your shared resolve, throwing you closer and closer to the edge.

“Daddy — oh, fuck, a daddy. Wanna make you a daddy!” You’re yelling at this point, sobs of pleasure wracking your body and you thank god for a split second that the two of you are home alone in the middle of the work day. Surely the whole block might be hearing all of your wanton sounds.

“God, I could get used to you calling me that, Mari baby,” Joel groans and throws his head back, bearing his teeth as he punches his hips into your clenching pussy, the telltale sign that you’re close.

“C’mon, mi amor, give it to me. Come for me and I’ll let your fucking pussy milk me for every last drop. That’s what you want, right? Gotta fill you up and make a baby for my Mari baby.” He’s rambling as you reach your peak, toes curling and coming even harder than your first one this afternoon. 

A near scream pulls itself from as deep as your gut, the sound as if you were in more pain than the absolute pleasure you feel. Your grip on his hair tightens, drawing him down for a messy kiss as you mumble against his lips.

“Please gimme a baby, J. Need it all inside of me, please. Come for me, mi esposo.” 

The name sends goosebumps across his shoulders and trickles down his spine before he’s barking your name once and spilling into you, painting your walls with each rope. He takes a moment to breathe before he gently presses his hips in a few short thrusts, fucking his spend as far into you as possible.

Joel collapses against your torso, no other efforts exerted to move away. Delicate, nimble touches brush the hair from his sweaty forehead, rubbing his shoulders as he hums contently.

“Fuck, baby, might just have to stay inside. Keep you plugged up so I can stay here all day with you.” Quiet, breathless laughter leaves your lips as you shake your head, tracing along his jaw before he turns his head to press his lips into your tummy.

“Can’t wait for you to be a momma. Gonna be the best one ever, y’already are. Love you so much.”

The two of you lay like that for what feels like hours, only to be reminded of Joel’s limited schedule when his cell starts ringing from downstairs. Getting up with a groan, he slips out of you and lifts your hips, stuffing a pillow or two underneath them to keep your lower half elevated. You roll your eyes at the superstitious gesture, gasping when his fingers push into you once more to put his leaking come back into where it belongs.

“Gotta make sure it takes, pretty girl. Wanna see you get all round with my baby in you. Everybody’ll know how good I am to you, huh? Pumping you full of me so much we made a new fucking life…better stay like this until I get home again, Mari baby. Wanna make sure those lil swimmers get all the help they can get.”

“Mm…” you hum, hands grabbing for him to lean over you again. Sneaking a kiss, you pull away to whisper to him with a grin on your lips, “Better get back to work…daddy.”

He snorts out a laugh, beaming a bright smile as mischief glimmers in his eyes, “Mal. Mala chica. (Bad. Bad girl.)”

Three days late. You’ve been tracking your cycle like a mad woman, ticking off days in the notebook next to your bed, and now you’re officially three days late. Joel and you had agreed to wait a few days after you expected your period, hopeful that the extra time meant a more accurate, and desired, result.

The kitchen timer sitting on Joel’s side of the bed ticks away while you side on the edge of the bed. Tapping your fingers against your thighs, bare skin against your fingertips from the high hem of your denim shorts. Joel paces the room, eyes focused a thousand yards ahead. Anxiety and anticipation had been plaguing both of you all day, work slugging by minute by minute, second by second. Joel had left the jobsite as soon as was acceptable, leaving Tommy to wrap up, and swung by the pharmacy to pick up a new box of tests. Your task for the day was to chug water, or any liquid, all afternoon — by the time Joel was one foot through the door, you were ready to burst. Snatching the bag of tests out of his hand, you ran to the bathroom to pee in a plastic disposable cup and stick at least three tests in.

Now, you two are waiting for more seconds and minutes to tick by, added to the tally of the entire day. As you’re about to stand and stop Joel from burning treads in the area rug from walking his tight circles, a trill of a bell vibrating demands your attention. Turning off the noise in a flash, you stand and cross the room to where your husband is now frozen in place. A gentle touch to his cheek, his eyelids flutter close and he takes a long exhale before opening them again.

“Ready?” you ask, uncertainty pitching your voice up.

A minute nod, one shake of his chin, Joel’s hand finds the small of your back as he responds, “Ready, mi amor.”

His hand guides you into the bathroom, and a handful of steps from the three tests laid out on the counter, you turn around, panic twisting your expression. Joel stumbles to stop his collision with you, large palms grabbing onto your biceps to catch himself.

“M’scared, J…” Your voice is meek, cracking with emotion. This is the last shot you gave yourselves, whatever is laid on the counter either means unbridled joy or a long road of poking and prodding in countless doctors’ offices.

The warmth of his hands rubbing your arms and the press of his lips to your forehead coax you to relax, to take deep breaths, “I know, Mari baby, I would be lyin’ if I said I wasn’t scared too. But no matter what is on those tests, we’re in it together, right sweet girl?”

His index finger hooks under your chin to draw your attention up to his face, a small smile filled with love and reassurance stretching his lips.

“Always in it together, J.” You take another deep breath, turning around and nodding shortly, “Okay, now m’ready.”

“That’s my girl,” he mumbles before he’s following right behind you again, the two of you pressing yourselves to each other against the counter. Joel has an iron grip on your hips, nerves manifesting in the squeezes of his hands. Shaking fingers turn over each test before picking them all up to your lines of vision.

Two lines. Two bold lines screaming at both of you, across all three tests.

Positive.

Positive. You’re pregnant. You and Joel are having a baby.

“Holy shit…” Joel exhales behind you, smile creeping into his voice. Somehow, his grip gets even tighter as he turns you around, “Holy shit! You’re pregnant, Mari. We’re havin’ a baby! You’re gonna be a momma!”

Giddiness overcomes both of you, happy and disbelieving laughter while you hold each other in a tight embrace. Joel litters kisses around your face, catching your lips last — all teeth and tight lipped from your matching grins.

“You’re gonna be a dad again, how’s that feel?”

“Like I won the damn lottery, mi amor.”

Another kiss, supple and heavy. Joel pulls away first and shakes his head, pressing his forehead to yours, “I love you so fucking much, Mari.”

“I love you too, J.”

“You ready to go, Sare?” you ask, standing next to her seat at the kitchen table where she’s working away at her homework, reaching a hand out to play with her curls. She smiles and nods, writing down one last answer to a question on her worksheet before she lays her pencil down and stands up, rushing over toward the door.

“Just gotta get my shoes on!” she calls out, and you smile, shaking your head.

“Take your time, sweet pea! God knows it’s gonna take me longer to walk over to the door.” Your joke falls on deaf ears of your husband, who stands at the kitchen island and rolls his eyes before he’s crossing the room over to you. Within arm’s length, his hands cup the bottom of your large belly, leaning in for a sweet peck.

“Nobody cares if you move slow. Better to be careful than—”

“Careless, yes, I know. I think those might be our baby’s first words since they hear them so much from their dad,” you tease and he shrugs, kissing you again while his touch wanders across the flannel of his that you’re sporting, too tired to buy more maternity clothes that you’ll grow out of and opting for his closet every morning.

“Jus’ looking out for my girls. All three of ‘em.” He beams proudly, brown eyes shining brightly before he turns you in his arms, accompanying you to the front door where your near-teenager is waiting. Ever the sweetheart she is, she’s got your purse slung on her shoulder, car keys in hand to pass off to you. You thank her quietly, turning back to Joel as he looks between the two of you.

“Alright, have fun with your girls’ day. And call if you need anything — either of you. I’ll be waitin’ here for ya.” Joel smooths down Sarah’s hair before kissing the crown of her head; she squirms away, the teenage attitude rearing its head in some early moments, especially with her dad. There’s less patience for him, which you completely understand as a teenage girl once yourself. He huffs out a sigh as she slips out the door, heading down the front path toward your car.

“Hey, s’nothing. Teenage girl things. She loves you, and you’re the best dad.” A hand on his cheek coaxes him down to your lips, a supple kiss exchanged before he pulls away and bends to kiss the top of your belly.

“Bye, my little June Bug.” He stands upright again and steals another kiss, mumbling, “And bye, mi Mariposa. Drive safe, let me know if you need anything while you’re out. I love you.”

“We love you too. And m’speaking for the moody one, too.” Joel chuckles and rubs your bump once more before sending you on your way, watching and waving from the door as y’all drive away.

The plan for today had come about when you started to notice Sarah growing quieter, retreating to her room more often after family dinners and denying the chance at movie night some days. Joel had noticed too, but was a bit nervous to broach it with her, not wanting to make her feel bad about being more independent.

Your relationship with her though was much different to Joel’s. There was the foundation of your caretaking role with her, much more of a friend with authority when it was only you two before you were anything close to a parental figure. More open and, well, you could relate more to what she was going through. She confided in you first about girls at school being catty, about her growing crushes on boys in her grade. And this year, only a month after your due date, she will officially become a teenager. It was a strange time in any girl’s life, full of growing pains.

And on top of all of that, add on a new baby arriving. Attentions drawn elsewhere, priorities shifted to preparing for the baby. Sarah never fell to the backburner in your minds, but you didn’t know how she was feeling. Guessing by her quiet actions, you could tell she was feeling left out but didn’t want to stir up trouble.

Always the sweet girl. And you knew how that was.

So, you’d asked her for a girls’ day, excluding her dad from the fun and giving both of you some time with each other to feel like it was years before. It was all about Sarah today, no mentions of baby — no buying diapers or supplies or clothes. A promise made to yourself to make Sarah feel special, because that is exactly what she was. The baby on the way may be your first biological child, but nothing can compare to the unique bond that you have with your Sare Bear.

The day was spent waddling throughout the mall, helping her pick out new outfits and shoes for the end of the school year. Collecting a haul, you two stopped off for lunch and a trip to the nail salon before you finally made your way back home in the evening. Sarah was smiling brightly in the passenger seat, joking around with you and eagerly telling you all about the latest school drama. Your heart was about to burst with how much she’d come out of her shell again all day, even wanting to show off her new things to her dad when you both got back.

In the living room, Joel greets you two from the couch, eyes widening and a low whistle leaving his lips when he sees the damage done, “Quite some shoppin’ there, Bug. Y’all buy out the whole store?”

You wave him off and encourage Sarah to show off her haul, walking over to settle onto the sofa next to Joel. The younger Miller excitedly starts pulling out pieces and showcasing them, excitedly telling her dad exactly where she plans to wear them. His hand rests on your leg, attention completely focused on his daughter in front of him, squeezing you gently when she gets particularly worked up over something. You can tell he feels what you were in the car, heart bursting that she seems like herself again after a day spent with you.

“That’s nice, Sare Bear. I like the color,” Joel comments on the last shirt Sarah holds up, her smile still beaming as she tosses it back into the bag.

“Thanks, Mom actually picked it out! I thought it would be fun to have for camp this year, since I’m gonna start the counselor training program…” Her voice trails off as Joel listens intently. You, on the other hand, take deep breaths to hold it together, the simple moniker rolling off of Sarah’s tongue so naturally. Your heartbeat thumps in your chest, and baby Miller kicks her feet against your tummy — equally as excited.

You manage to keep it calm while Sarah recaps the rest of the day before she gathers up her shopping bags to take to her room. As she’s leaving the room, she’s quick to run over and give you a hug, leaning down to meet you where you sit on the couch. Your belly sticks out between the two of you, but regardless you pull her into a tight squeeze as she says thank you. Her curls bounce as she scampers off upstairs, the quiet sounds of her feet in the hallway queuing your watery eyes to overflow and for your nose to sniffle. Joel is grinning brightly next to you, pulling you into his lap and holding you against him as he wipes the few happy tears away.

“She called me Mom…” you whisper to your husband, afraid to admit it any louder as if it would disappear.

Joel presses his forehead against yours, a sweet kiss against your lips before he whispers back, “You have no idea how happy it makes me to know she feels that way about you.”

“I just…I feel so lucky. And maybe it’s hormones, but oh my god, I can’t stop blubbering. I’m a mom.”

“You’re the best mom. Have been to Sarah since she met you, and you’re going to be the best mom to our little one on the way.”

June 21st, 2009.

The first day of summer.

It’s the first day of summer and you’re stuck inside. Not at home, no, you’re currently propped up in a hospital bed with your legs in stir-ups, breathing in between contractions. Exhaustion weighs on your body, a full hour passing of you pushing in time with the pain in your abdomen that radiates all over. Sweat sticks your hair to your forehead and Joel sitting next to you brushes it out of the way. His other hand is limp in yours, ready to be squeezed with a vice grip whenever you need to push. Joel leans over you in level with your head, lathering on encouragements.

“You got this, Mari.”

“So strong, baby. You can do it.”

“Thank you, mi amor, thank you thank you thank you.”

The last one comes after a string of complaints against him doing this to you — despite you both knowing you begged for it nine months prior — and for having such a big head in his own baby photos that he had to have passed down to the baby.

Another wave kicks in, your doctor and nurses coaching you to give another final push. Putting every last bit of your energy behind the flex of your muscles, groaning out with pain and frustration before a piercing cry fills the room. Heavy, tiny sobs ring in your ears.

“You did it, baby, m’so proud of you. Our little girl,” Joel says in awe, glancing between you and where the doctor holds your little baby girl, summoning Dad over to cut the cord. 

She’s taken away to be cleaned up and Joel returns to your side, ready to help you attentively through the afterbirth. You wave him off, begging him to go keep an eye on your little girl. Once she’s clean enough, the nurses lay her on your bare chest, the sight of her tiny fingers and toes bringing about your own cries. Your hands hold her there, delicate touches brushing against her soft skin and her damp but full head of dark brown hair.

The rest of the process is painful but smoother, shorter. Before you know it, all tests are done and Joel is next to the bed again, wiping a damp cloth across your forehead.

A rush of adrenaline, pure unfiltered need and excitement to meet your daughter keeps you awake, sitting up carefully as you accept her into your arms from your husband who’s wearing the biggest smile. He sits on the edge of the bed, hand on your leg as you study the features on her small face.

“She’s perfect, isn’t she, Mari? Looks like her momma.”

You beam, shaking your head as you place a fingertip against her nose, “See, I think she looks like her daddy. Already got the grumpy brow.”

Both of you laugh, your unbridled attention on the tiny bundle in your arms as you gush over her for minutes longer. Joel rubs your leg, drawing your eyes up to him as he asks, “So you think we picked a good name?”

“I think we picked a perfect name. Our ‘S’ girls,” you grin at him before looking down at your little girl, “Skye Isla Miller. I think it suits her perfectly.”

A bit more time is spent between only the two of you and Skye before you’re itching to see your eldest, and for her to meet her little sister. Joel retreats to where Sarah’s in the waiting area with Tommy and Maria, who’s now three months pregnant herself, waving her to come back with him. She nervously enters the room, quiet as a mouse until you reassure her with a smile and welcome her to sit in the bed next to you.

Joel makes the introductions, voice thick with emotion as he stands over his three girls, watching as his first little one meets his second, “Sarah Elena, this is your baby sister, Skye Isla.”

Sarah quietly asks permission to hold her; you lay Skye in her arms carefully, teaching her how to support her head and where to avoid her soft spot. Sarah picks up on it like a natural, adjusting her little sister when she fusses a bit, finally settling into a new set of familiar hands.

“Dad said you did a really good job, Mom. With everything today. S’pretty cool that you brought a whole person into the world…” Sarah glances over at you with a shy smile before addressing both you and Joel, “M’really happy she’s here.”

“You’re gonna be a great big sister, Bug,” Joel beams with pride as he squeezes her shoulder, leaning over to press a kiss to the crown of your head. He hums as he looks over you three, “Got my Mariposa, my Bug, and my little June Bug. Mi maripositas. Don’t think anything could beat seeing my three girls altogether finally.”

You find yourself observing your family from afar, listening with muffled ears as Joel and Sarah chat about who Skye got what features from. Cheeks aching from smiling, you can’t help but think that this summer was off to the most wonderful start, and that every summer after was only going to get better. 

taglist: @beskarandblasters @undrthelights @swiftispunk @joelsversion @asirenbyanyothername @ellenmunn @ja-ehyun @sw33tp1xie @marisemonteiroo @brunetteeras @bongsrconfusing @addictedtotlou @angie2274 @pedrostories @pedroholic @theelishad @johnwatsn @elissa @felicityofbakerstreet @atinylittlepain @northernbluess @cannolighost @casa-boiardi @wannab-urs @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin @fishingforpike @msjarvis @walkintotheriveranddisappear @sugadolly @yazsos @peppesgirl @pastawench @anoverwhelmingdin @wolfbook87 @mswarriorbabe80 @planet-marz1 @kiwisbell @lizzie-cakes

#joel #writing #joel miller x reader #joel miller x female reader #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller x y/n #joel miller au #joel miller smut #joel miller fluff #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller fic #joel miller fanfic #joel miller angst #joel miller series #tlou fanfic #tlou fic #tlou fanfiction

[sincerlycas]

hi!! i absolutely love your fics, would you mind doing another Connie fic where he’s a plug.

boys need love 2.

summary: connie took you with him to all his drops stop by stop, things lead to another/ just know he needs to blow off steam and your there for him.

warning: oral, black y/n, messy y/n, a bit of mean connie, slighy rough, throat goat, mature scenes, etc.

I’m

swiping on your phone looking for outfits you’d purchased later on while sitting in a curled up position in the passenger seat waiting for connie to finish the trade. turning your to look at him approach the car and smile, finally seating down on the drivers seat and giving you a quick kiss he pulled off and went to the next destination. this has been going on for a while, him taking you to his drops but making sure your not seen he just loves when you were next to him.

“what’s you looking at so intensely on your phone mariposa?” he spoke so low with that accent that made you want to jump out your seat and su- “I’m looking for new clothes but these are not giving what they’re supposed to give.” rolling your eyes at those ugly ass options. “uh huh well when you’re done show me it and I’ll buy it fo you, and it better not be something that’s gone rip because of that fat ass.” laughing at the memory of that previously happening but yelping at feeling a squeeze in your ass from him slipping a hand behind you to grab on it.

“con- move your hand and focus on driving !!” smiling and moving his hand and went back to focusing on the road. stopping the car at some house connie reached over you to grab the last bag left that was in the glove department. fixing your glasses and giving your head a kiss like he always did before he left he went and got up walking up to the house. this time the drop took a while causing you to be a bit worried, reaching under your seat to grab the glock so you can go walk up to the house but was stopped by connie storming out the house with a mugging face.

“you good-” “-not right now y/n.” taken aback but not only his rudeness but him saying your government name. rolling your eyes and going back to your phone ignoring him the whole ride. “tell me you don’t know a javon y/n.” finally stopping the car at the drive way and tilting his head to the side staring at you. “nigga what- who tf is a ja- ohhh” you knew that house looked familiar! it was one of your bitch ass ex’s house. “he’s just an ex con” you answered but that didn’t seem to matter to him.

“an ex who asks me all sorts of questions like ‘is her pussy still good?’ ‘she like when you hit from the side’ ‘tell her hit me up when you done alr?’” after saying that sentence connie stopped the car and headed towards the house reaching into your guys shared bedroom. following after him trying to get his attention to which he would ignore, finally after reaching the room and standing up in front of him as he’s sat on the bed. “con he was trolling you, he doesn’t know shit about me fr, it doesn’t even matter anyway he’s a bum.” trying to relieve the conversation by reaching your hand to rub at connie’s curls to which he moves away.

sighing you went to the last resort by putting your body wave 30 inch into a ponytail and fixing your glasses to stay on sturdier. getting down on your knees and sliding his joggers off along with his boxers and taking his dick into your hands. “y/n the fuck are you doin- fuckkkk~” rolling his head back when you slid the tip past your throat and sucking sloppily while jerking the rest of the length off. rubbing at his balls while you started to deep throat it all the way to the bottom and started shaking your head causing bubbles to erupt and cover the whole bottom half of your face not caring if it looked messy.

curling his toes and groaning out loudly connie was paralyzed on the bed with his eyes rolling back, yes he’s gotten head before but you, you weren’t ordinary bitch you were a leech!! “ohhh shittt~ mamii~ that feels so good~” bring his hand onto your head to find something to give a bit of a tug on. letting out a slight whimper and bite his lap as you took it out your mouth and slapped the tip on your tongue repeatedly while flicking your tongue in a rapid motion against the tip. “you like that papi~” you said as you went down to start licking at his balls while looking up at him. “you know I do mami~ fuckk just like that~” kissing his teeth while reeling his head back connie didn’t know if he was in heaven or just dead overall by the way you was taking his soul, nigga had his toes curling, back arching, lip bitten, eyes rolled back, whimpers,and high pitch ass moans.

slipping it out over and over again as a way to tease him but rubbing his tip on the pad of your tongue letting him shoot his cum down your throat which you gladly swallowed. rubbing in his thighs to calm down his rapid breaths and minor leg shakes you leaned up and laid your head on his clenched stomach “you feel better pa~?” “yess~ you did such a good job mariposa~”

#attack on titan #black reader #black writers #anime #black tumblr #aot au #attack on titan au #black y/n #smut #connie springer #connie smut #connie springer smut #connie x reader #latino connie #connie drabble #plug connie #connie springer attack on titan #connie aot #aot #glasses #masterlist #1k milestone #1k?! #1k!!

[coneyislandbabey]

my mariposa -> w. rojas

WARNINGS: sappiest shit in the world, new dad warren and secondary godfather eddie

SYNOPSIS: just a little domestic snapshot of you and warren as new parents. A follow up to this fic. word count: 1,324

You awoke to peace and quiet. Sleep left you in degrees, until you were laying on your back in bed watching the bright morning sunlight stream through the open window and onto your quilt with a quiet kind of content. For a few blissful moments, you just soaked up the sun and slowly warmed up to the morning. 

And then you sat bolt right up in bed. 

The quiet was too good to be true, too unnatural, considering you were in possession of a two month old baby, and one that seemed to really enjoy crying, at that. You threw the blankets off your legs and stood up, stumbling your way to the door to go to the room next door, which used to be Warren’s until he officially moved into yours (as if he wasn’t already spending most nights in your bed) and was now your daughter, Mariposa’s nursery. 

When you reached the nursery’s doorway, you paused. Warren was standing in front of the crib, your tiny daughter held in front of him as he gently bounced her, softly singing the lyrics to The Rolling Stones’ She’s A Rainbow. Her eyes– perfect carbon copies of Warren’s own warm brown ones– were wide open, staring up at him, and he was staring down at her just as enraptured. You leaned against the doorframe taking in the scene, feeling your heart swell with so much affection you thought it would well and truly burst. 

As Warren finished singing to her, he shifted slightly and caught sight of you in the doorway. 

“Mornin’, mama,” he said softly, grinning over at you. You padded across the room and pulled his face down into a kiss before leaning your head on his shoulder, both of you looking down at your baby girl. 

“Morning you two,” you responded, reaching down to brush a finger against one of Mari’s chubby cheeks. “When did you get up, baby?” 

“Oh, maybe twenty minutes ago,” Warren shrugged. “I came in here and this one was already awake, laying there just looking around. She’s so curious, isn’t that right mi reina?” 

Mariposa gurgled in response, and Warren nodded seriously as if she just imparted upon him some sage wisdom. He shifted her until she was laying against his chest, nuzzled safely in both of his arms. It was his favorite way to hold her; he said it was the best way to feel her breathing and her heartbeat and, of course, that there was no place safer for his little girl than right there in his arms. 

“What do you want for breakfast?” you asked. 

“I’ll have whatever you’re craving,” Warren responded. You nodded, kissing his cheek and then the baby’s before meandering your way down to the first floor of the house. 

On your way down the stairs, you could already hear somebody, or several somebodies, clanking around in the kitchen. When you reached the room, you saw Eddie at the stove, flipping pancakes, and Karen sitting at the table, staring into a glass of orange juice and looking like she was still mostly asleep. 

“Good morning,” you chirped, “d’you need any help, Ed?” 

“Oh, morning!” Eddie said, turning around to you. “Where is she?” 

“I’m assuming you mean the star of the show?” Warren asked, coming into the kitchen behind you with Mariposa. 

“Yes! (y/n), watch the pancakes,” Eddie demanded, departing immediately from the stove with his hands out towards the baby. “Come to your godfather, Posie.” 

Warren handed Mariposa over to Eddie, who held her in the same protective position that her father did, as you took over the job of flipping pancakes. Warren made his way through the kitchen towards you, coming to stand behind you and snake his arms around your waist, resting his chin in the crook of your neck. 

“Hey, lady,” he said quietly into your ear. 

“I swear we just did this upstairs,” you remarked, amused with your fiancè. 

“Yeah, but I was holding Mari so I didn’t get to hold you,” he protested, tightening his arms around you to emphasize his point. 

“You’re gonna make me burn the pancakes, Rojas,” you said, struggling to maneuver the pancakes from the pan and onto the serving plate that Eddie had put out. 

“I’m okay with burned pancakes, Rojas,” he retorted, and you could feel his cheek lift into a grin against your skin. With the last of the pancakes on the plate, you turned in Warren’s arms, slinging our own around his neck. 

“You’re very needy,” you said, leaning in to kiss him. 

“You love me for it.” 

You hummed. “Yes, I do. I think you’re cute when you’re needy.” 

“Oh yeah?” Warren asked, brow arched. “Guess I better start following you around more often.” 

“I don’t think it’s even actually possible for you to follow me around more than you already do. Now go sit so you can eat.”

“Yes ma’am,” Warren nodded, backing up to take a seat at the table. You took the pancakes and the syrup over to the table and set them in the middle of your three bandmates. 

“Okay, Ed, you want me to take her now so you can eat?” you asked, hand on your best friend’s shoulder. He looked up at you, scandalized. 

“Absolutely not,” he shook his head. “I can eat and hold a baby at the same time, thank you.” 

You laughed, shaking your head at him. “Okay, if you insist. Then I’ll sit and enjoy a meal that I can eat with both hands free, in that case.” You moved around the table and took a seat next to Warren, who had already fixed a plate for you. 

“So, I was thinking,” Warren said, turning to you. “We have a free day, so I thought we could take Mari down to the beach? Camila gave us that picnic blanket, we could pack lunch and stay out for the day.”

Camila had gifted the two of you the large orange picnic blanket the other day, saying she’d taken Julia out for the day to the flea market, and when she saw it, she immediately thought of you. You didn’t expect Warren to get as excited about it as he did, and he’d been planning for the three of you to get out and use it the next free day you had. 

Really, you thought it was incredibly sweet. All those months ago when you had first told him you were pregnant, he had promised to be there for you whatever you wanted to do, and you had never doubted that. But as your pregnancy progressed, you found yourself worrying more and more about whether or not he would take to the dad life. If he would want to take to it. You wouldn’t have blamed him if he didn’t; you found yourself scared that you wouldn’t take to motherhood all the time, so it only made sense to you that he was probably having the same fears. And, well, you knew it just as well as anybody else that fathers had a much easier get-out-of-jail-free card when it came to checking out of parenting. 

But that hadn’t happened. Warren had fallen in love with Mariposa the minute you told him about her, that much was clear. He talked your ear off every single night about all of the things he was excited to do when the baby came. And when she was born, that love was only solidified tenfold. He held her for the first time, and you’d never seen anyone look so in love with anything before in your life. That love only seemed to grow every single day he spent with her. You marveled all the time at how lucky you were, to have gotten yourself into this situation with a man like Warren. 

“That sounds perfect,” you told him, “We can dress Mariposa in that teeny tiny bathing suit Graham bought for her!”

taglist: @eonnyx

#daisy jones and the six #djats #eddie roundtree #eddie loving #warren rhodes #warren rhodes x reader #warren rojas #warren rojas x reader #graham dunne #karen sirko #karen karen #billy dunne #camila dunne #daisy jones

[blonde-and-cat-suc]

28. three's a crowd

rating: g 

wc: 1.5k 

cw/tw: domestic violence isolation tactics (implied), past physical abuse (implied) 

desc: Glimmer, Bow, and Adora arrive in Bright Moon on a high note, excited to have She-Ra joining the Rebellion. Adora is skeptical of their welcoming attitude. Three friends is one too many to be true... 

(Canon Compliant) 

///

"Adora! Show me how you threw that punch again!"

"Well, alright", Adora agreed easily, a golden dapple of sunlight coming through the trees giving away the pinkish-red of her cheeks. She was clearly the type that liked to show off—Glimmer had been privy from the beginning. The freshly new rebel had proven herself to be an ally to them with a sort of flashy, grandiose act of solidarity...

She-Ra.

Glimmer couldn't help her giddiness.

Yes, She-Ra's defense of Thaymor was awesome—yes, Glimmer loved every second of it. Beneath her initial disbeliefs, Glimmer was beginning to understand that it didn't matter where Adora had come from. Only where she was going.

Presently, Adora was set to go to Bright Moon, sitting on top of the wayward horse they had fled Thaymor with. Adora couldn't have been much younger than Glimmer or Bow, but she had not been out much. Everything amazed Adora in one way or another.

I had no idea that we had this many moons in the sky! Adora exclaimed yesterday, staring into the violet-blue deepness enfolding various moonlight hues. And then, hours later, when the daylight moons had rotated to their positions: Where'd they all go? Why did they leave...? Adora was genuinely regretful. So certain that the moons themselves had moved on from her, specifically, and would not return intentionally, somehow. Bow had to reassure her that the moons would return, (and sometimes they wouldn't, when they got into a New Moon phase). She'd perked up instantly, relieved.

Their first few hours of retreating Thaymor had been spent explaining basic information to Adora that she may not have already known. What Bright Moon was like, the Rebellion, Queen Angella's pitiful alliances across civil Etheria... Adora had no trouble accepting these truths with only the occasional inkling of doubt.

It should have been more obvious before, but Glimmer had only caught on to Adora's true merit when she'd talk back to them with her own insights, pressing them for more information, more analogies, more new philosophies and ideas and morals... and then, more.

Adora was a truthful hero who was also eager to learn and explore the world around her. Glimmer couldn't have asked for a better gift to the Rebellion. She-Ra was going to give the Rebellion the advantage that they had needed all of those years ago when her father...

When the Horde had made their worse offense on Bright Moon to date.

It was all Glimmer could think of when she looked at Adora. Even when they had become comfortable in each other's presence, even when Adora was guiding Glimmer's hands to throw a punch that those calloused, cruel Horde soldiers used—Glimmer knew that Adora herself was ultimately the upper hand the Rebellion needed. With each other's full cooperation, they could protect Etheria from the evil that had grown in its darkest corner. They would burn the Horde back into the ground. Once and for all.

...But for now, the three of them were only lucked-out travelers escaping the Horde's latest brutality. They were all exhausted and each of them had admitted to the group that they were still sore from the day before. Regardless, they kept steady pace, and soon, Glimmer recognized the thinly trekked dirt roads cutting through the trees... They were close to the outskirts of Bright Moon's city. Bow had realized too, flashing a huge smile, "I can't wait to shower and eat and sleep!"

Adora instantly made a skeptical sort of expression. "All at once?"

"Huh? No! But, well... I could definitely try."

"Are you allowed to do that?"

"Probably not", he laughed. "How does anyone shower and eat and sleep? I understand showering and eating—and sleeping and eating. But all three? No, I'm not sure. Sorry, Adora!"

Then, she'd only frowned at him. "You're...joking?"

"Only a little bit", Bow laughed again. "I'm sorry. Really. This is the kind of joke that my dads would tell. It's funny. I haven't been home in a while..."

"Dads", Adora tested the word on her mouth. "Daaaaahds. What is a 'Dads'?"

Wide-eyed and open-minded, Adora absorbed what Bow had to tell her about his family and all of his brothers. She got around to prying him for information on the word "brothers", eventually.

"Do you have 'brothers'?" Adora looked at Glimmer expectantly.

"No, no. I'm an only child."

"Me too. Well... I assume so. I don't have a 'Dads' either."

"It's just a 'Dad'."

"Yeah, it's not such a big deal not having one." Adora smiled. "I turned out okay, I think."

Glimmer didn't bother correcting her anymore after that. The dryness of her mouth and lips was starting to get to her, now that she knew that Bright Moon was close. All she cared about was drinking water, and doing those other things Bow had listed. And of course, recruiting Adora to their cause. Giving her someplace to sleep. Making sure she knew how to take a bath when they found time for that.

When they'd broken out of the wooded trails, Adora had climbed on top of their horse just to get a better view of the sight—Bright Moon Castle, and the Moonstone, opalescent and shimmering gold hues in the daylight. "Wow", Adora sighed under her breath, fingers clutched in the horse's mane.

Glimmer beamed up at her. "Welcome home!"

"Home." Adora seemed to cringe around this word. She examined Glimmer and Bow, and even the horse beneath her. "You guys are sure that you want me to live here? With you?"

"Where else would you go?" Bow asked with an equal amount of sincerity. "I couldn't bring you home."

"Because of your 'Dads'..." Adora nodded to him in understanding. "Right."

"Well, Bright Moon has space for you", Glimmer promised.

"Um", Adora had only looked between them again, frowning. "Are you sure...?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"It's just... Well. Um. I really do want to be friends with you guys."

"We want to be friends with you, too!" Bow reached up and touched the side of her arm, but withdrew as soon as she stiffened, knuckles white, contrasted in the hazel-brown of the horse mane caught in the pressure. If Adora noticed that she'd frightened the horse, she did nothing but gesture it to keep trotting. Bow muttered a quick apology, and Adora accepted it quietly, but it wasn't enough to get them away from the topic.

Not that Adora seemed to want to stop talking about it. She eventually managed to hold Bow's eyes, shoulders rounded, knees pressing into the horse so that it swung its head back and forced her to relax again. Delicately, Adora petted the horse's neck, voice soft but leveled, "I'm not sure that I could be your friend. I mean. Maybe it's a Horde thing. But... there's already two of you..."

"And three's better", Bow said plainly. "You're not in the Horde anymore, Adora. You can do what you want about that, now."

"Oh...? I mean. I heard that—that those kinds of friendships always end up bad. That's why it's sort of banned in the first place. Not totally banned. Just... You get flack for having too many friends... Is that true for the rest of the world?"

"Not at all. If everyone stays very good friends. And talks to each other a lot. The more, the merrier!"

"What does the Horde know about friendships, anyway?" Glimmer shook her head, ready to go into grave detail on why Adora should probably disregard whatever it was that she knew about friendship—and to prepare herself to learn some new things about it—but Glimmer stopped herself. Adora suddenly had a startlingly distant look in her eyes.

"I've only ever had one real friend", Adora told them. "And—I wasn't allowed to have other ones. I-I mean, they were friends. But not friends friends. She used to want to have me to herself all the time. It made sense. Our other friends were opposition to me as her friend. And that's no good for friendship. So, I understand if you guys don't want to be my friend and ruin a perfectly good—"

Bow had stopped the horse with an assertiveness that had Glimmer stopping in her tracks, too. He was silent for all but a moment before he went on with the same tone he had used when he was explaining his Dads to Adora. "This isn't the Horde anymore. You can have as many friends as you want now, Adora! Even if it's not with us."

Glimmer nearly butted in because they kind of needed to be friends with Adora if this was going to work between them all. Maybe not best friends but... something close to it. Maybe Adora was thinking the same way because she'd only nodded at Bow, suddenly unwilling to probe him any further than that.

"Adora, um. I'm sorry about your friend", Glimmer added into the silence.

Adora only gave an uncommitted hum, rubbing the side of her cheek as if recoiling from a strike that never hit. But when she moved her palm and the daylight reached her cheekbones, the rigid, perfect cuts were obvious. Three lines, tapered off down to her jaw. They were long scarred over but... still there. Adora didn't seem to notice it when Glimmer's mouth flattened into a neutral grimace, and she shrugged, lifting a brow, "Nothing to be sorry for. It's just... Uhm. What if we start hurting each other because of that?"

"Hurting each other?" Bow blinked. "Over what?"

"Well... Each other...?"

"We're not going to do that", Glimmer said carefully. "That's... That's a little extreme, no?"

Adora paused. "Do you think it's extreme?"

"Yes", Bow and Glimmer blurted almost together.

Another pause. Adora thumbed at her scarred cheekbone, absentmindedly. "Oh." 

#mariposa fics #anti c//a fics #anti c//a #adora having a normal relationship with people? during canon? adora having a normal relationship w ppl? AFTER canon? #I thinketh the fucketh not #i think that for me it's easy to forget that to Adora and Catra's generation of child-soldier Hordies grew up essentially as a cult #and so if Adora doesn't know what the fuck a horse is #she definitely doesn't know about the plentiful moons #and she ABSOLUTELY has no idea that “it's okay to have more than one friend” #and probably a bunch of other things too #whoops! tag rant #cw: mariposa being more vulgar than usual

[lilsedge]

Can you do a tjd x reader where it's the same y/n as the tjd girl fic but she gets drunk and they take her home

Too Drunk

TJDG short story

Warnings: alcohol, doesn’t match with story timeline, talks about throwing up 

There is a birthday party for Liv Morgan happening in about two hours. Y/N had not yet gotten ready or wrapped Liv's present. 

With wrapping paper in hand, Y/N grabs the gift and sits on the floor. She lays out the wrapping paper and sets the gift on top. Cutting it to the right size. She folds and cuts till it’s perfectly wrapped. 

Once she was done with the gift, Y/N headed to her bedroom. She searched the closet for the perfect item. She found a nice short navy blue dress and some black heels. 

The young girl decides to do her hair somewhat fancy. After she was done with her hair, Y/N got the present, keys and wallet off the table. 

The present and wallet were put on the passenger seat after she got in the car. She put the key into the ignition. It already hooked her phone up to the car, so she picked a playlist. The first song playing is ‘Chambea’ by Bad Bunny.

About 6 songs later, Y/N finally gets to the location of Liv’s party. Grabbing everything, she put in the passenger seat and the keys. Y/N walks her way into the party. 

She wasn’t early or late. Although many are present, not everyone has shown up. Looking around the place, Y/N was shocked Liv certainly had undone her this year.

“Y/N, you’re hereeeee,” Liv slightly shouts.

“Hey girl,” Y/N replies, hugging Liv.

“Hey,” Liv says, hugging back.

“Happy birthday cutie,” Y/N says, handing Liv the wrapped up present.

“Oh thank you, Bayley is over there if you want to see her,” Liv says, pointing towards Bayley.

“Oh, thank I’ll see you later,” Y/N speaks, tapping Liv’s butt as she walks away.

Bayley was turned around, talking to Dakota and Iyo. Not noticing her best friend was behind her. Y/N wraps her arms around Bayley, scaring her in the process. 

“Omg, why did you have to do that?” Bayley says, smacking Y/N’s arm.

Y/N bids a quiet ‘ow’ while rubbing her arm. She also joins in on the conversation between the three others.

Few hours later 

Y/N had about 3 drinks and 2 shots, so she was a little tipsy. There was nobody also stopping her from drinking more. She had ordered another drink. When someone comes up behind her.

“I’m taking these away,” says a male voice, taking her keys away.

Y/N turns to see Damian standing behind her. 

“Well, why are you doing that?” She questions.

“You’re on your 4th drink and 2nd shot ain’t no way you’re driving home mariposa,” he replies.

“I could drive perfectly fine,” Y/N slurs a bit.

“No, you can’t and you’re not going to,” he demands.

“Fine,” Y/N pouts.

Damian leaves the bar as Bayley meets up with Y/N again. It was about 11 pm and there was no way Y/N was about to be done drinking.

2 hours later

The Judgement Day had stayed the entire time Y/N was drinking to make sure she wasn’t going to be in trouble or anything. Damian still had her keys. 

The group watched as Y/N got up from her seat. She stumbled a little. The girl went to the bar to get another shot. After she took that, the group walked up behind the girl.

“Ok let’s go,” Rhea says.

“What do you mean?” Y/N questions.

“We are taking you home. Come on,” Rhea demands.

“I don’t want to go home,” Y/N slurs.

She turns to walk away, but almost falls. Finn immediately grabs her and puts her over his shoulder, making sure she wasn’t showing anything. The group said goodbye to Liv before walking out to the parking lot. Finn sets the girl down by her car. Damian goes to get in the driver’s seat.

“No, I don’t want to ride with him,” the drunk girl whines.

“Why not?” Finn asks, confused.

“I’m still mad at him.” She admits.

Finn gets Y/N in the car and takes the keys from Damian. Dominik ends up in the backseat of Y/N’s car, so Finn doesn’t have to deal with her alone. 

The car ride wasn’t too bad. Other than Y/N complaining about drinking. She said she won’t drink again, but that’s a total lie.

Getting Y/N out of the car was a hassle. She wouldn’t let any of the boys do it. Y/N specifically wanted Rhea to carry her in the house. 

Rhea has to also change Y/N out of her dress into something more comfortable. Damian holds Y/N’s hair back as she throws up in the toilet a few times. He kneels down with a wet cloth after she is done and starts wiping her mouth.

He helps her brush her teeth before leading her to her bed. Dominik comes in with some water for her and makes her drink all of it. Finn has to help her up again, so she can go to the bathroom.

Y/N is lying down again, but as soon as the four start to leave. “Can you guys stay, please?” She questions. 

“Uh yeah, we can let me go get the extra clothes from the car,” Finn replies.

All of them get changed into more comfortable clothing. Y/N had a big enough bed for all of them to cuddle into. As soon as they were all comfortable, Y/N turned and lies on the person next to her. It was Finn. They all fell asleep cuddling with one another.

#wwe x reader #wwe fanfiction #wwe imagine #dominik mysterio x reader #damian priest x reader #finn balor x reader #the judgement day #rhea ripley x reader

[the-hinky-panda]

Day 24: Netherworld

10/24: Netherworld

Universe // Characters: Mariposa // Horacio Carrillo 

“Do you miss your home, in the United States?” 

It’s been raining nonstop for three days which is not that unusual in Medellín, but it still fascinates you. It’s a rare weekend that finds Horacio taking up temporary residence in your apartment and neither one of you has been fully dressed for twenty-four hours so far. You’re currently curled up on the trunk that sits under the bedroom window, in biking shorts and one of his t-shirts, watching the rain drip off the corrugated roof. You look over your shoulder at Horacio, who’s sprawled out on your bed, shirtless and smoking a cigarette. 

“What home?” you ask him with a smirk. “The homeless shelter in Phoenix or The Farm in Virginia?” 

He frowns slightly. “You’ve never told me what kind of farm it was.” 

“That’s because it’s not a farm. It was called The Farm. It was where you go to be trained by the CIA. The land and area where it was located was lovely. It rained, sometimes like this, but not often. It was green, until fall came. Then all the trees turned colors: reds, oranges, bright yellow. It was beautiful.” 

“And then?” 

“Then the leaves fell and it was cold, wet, and miserable until spring came. And then everything came back to life again.” 

“No snow?” 

“No, we were too far south for there to be snow. If it snows, it never lasts for long down there.” 

“And you liked that? The changing landscape?” 

“The desert was so desolate and unchanging. There was very little variation. Plus, I was so busy trying to survive, I didn’t get to spend a lot of time enjoying the great outdoors in Phoenix. I mean, Camelback Mountain was cool the first couple times you see it and climb it, but I like watching the seasons change. I like the cycle. Death and rebirth.” 

“Hades and Persephone.” He grinds out the butt of the cigarette in the chipped ashtray on your bedside table. “Isn’t that how the Greeks explained the seasons? Hades, ruler of the Underworld, falls in love with the beautiful, bright and lovely Persephone and drags her down into hell with him?” 

“Fall and winter, I assume, is her stay in the Netherworld?” 

He nods and sits up. “But then he realizes she’s not made for the darkness of his world and lets her return to the world above for part of the year, as long as she promises to return to him.” 

“Spring and summer.” 

He extends his hand towards you and you immediately leave your spot by the window and join him on the bed. You easily fold yourself against his side, knowing now how to angle your curves against his sharper points. His nose traces over your cheekbone as his lips find the shell of your ear. 

“My Persephone, from the land of sun.” 

“And cactus.” You feel him smile against your jawline as he traces the bone with his lips. You want to point out that he doesn’t make a very good Hades in this scenario. Hades had to trick Persephone, capturing her and forcing her into the Underworld. Horacio hasn’t tricked you to do anything. In fact, all he would have to do is ask and you would willingly follow him straight into the depths of hell. 

The more that you think about it, the more he fits Persephone’s situation. She emerged from the darkness to be reunited with her family, to spend time in the light and celebrate with her own people. You were the darkness, your relationship needing to be kept to the darkness. Horacio would leave tomorrow evening to go back to be with his family, return to the people he belonged with then. But his mouth finds yours and he easily pulls you under him, his hands sliding under your shirt. You let your thoughts go, leaving space in your mind to memorize the feel of him pressing you into your mattress. It becomes easy to forget the awful truth that you’ve just realized. 

You were Hades.

#Hinky's October Fic Fest #colonel horacio carrillo #horacio carrillo #Mariposa Series #horacio carrillo x reader #horacio carrillo x you

[leylinefiction]

Mariposa: Channel 6 News

Pairing: Colonel Horacio Carrillo x Fem!Reader

Rating: Mature

Summary: This is just a one shot of a few "missing scenes" from Mariposa. Since that story was so full of angst and tears (okay, I cried many tears writing it), I thought some fluff was necessary. Enjoy my friends!

Horacio hates stake outs. 

He hates all the sitting and waiting. He is a man of action, used to being in constant motion. So sitting in a car for three hours waiting for a sicario to show his face outside a dive bar feels like the equivalent of torture. 

The radio crackles, a blessed distraction. “Coronel?” (Colonel?) 

“Sí, Trujillo.” (Yes, Trujillo.) 

“Canal seis, coronel.” (Channel six, Colonel.) 

Horacio smiles. Channel six. That could only mean one thing and he happily switches his radio over to the channel that is specifically dedicated to you. 

“Buenos noches, Mariposita.” (Good evening, little butterfly.) 

“Buenos noches, Coronel Carrillo.” (Good evening, Colonel Carrillo.) 

He can hear the smirk in your voice even over the crackling of the radio. “¿Qué pasa, mi amor?” (What’s up, my love?) 

“Trujillo said that you’ve been sitting in that car for three hours. Thought you could use some entertainment.” 

“I could.” He pauses for a moment. “Are you in the area?” 

“No, I’m at home right now. Sorry. No backseat rendezvous this evening. Maybe next time, cariño. However,” you pause, “do you happen to know why when geese fly in the v formation, there’s always one side of the v that is longer than the other?” 

He knows it has something to do with aerodynamics and working as a team but he’s not sure if that’s the answer you’re looking for. Sometimes you ask a riddle, sometimes it’s a legit question. This engagement often helps with the boredom, which is why you have your own dedicated channel on the radio. “I’m not sure, Posa. Why is one side of the v longer than the other?” 

“Because there’s more geese on that side.” 

He smiles at the response. “I will have to tell my kids that one.” 

“It’ll make them the most popular kids in school. Especially if Horacio Jr. happens to tell his science teacher.” 

“Gracias, Posa.”

“You’re welcome.” You pause. “How are you?” 

There’s such a gentleness to the question that it makes his eyes smart slightly. It’s different coming from you than from Juliana. You don’t have to ask him how he's doing and he doesn’t have to sugarcoat the truth with you. So he doesn’t. 

“Tired and frustrated, waiting for this second rate motherfucker to show his face.” 

“Is it one of the big ones? Blackie? Quica?” 

“No, I wish it was though.” 

“Maybe he’ll lead you to them then.” 

“Maybe.”

It’s like kismet talking to you. The sicario steps out of the club and heads down the street in Horacio’s direction. 

“I have to go, mi amor.” 

“Go get ‘em, tiger.” 

***

There is something worse than a three hour stakeout: a three hour stakeout with a cold. Horacio is miserable. His face aches, his throat is sore, and he can’t breathe through his nose. And it’s pissing him off. Even Trujillo is keeping his distance from him. He’s not sure if you’re around your radio but he tries anyway, turning to channel six. 

“Posa?” 

It takes a few seconds but your welcoming voice crackles back to him. “I’m here. You don’t sound good. Are you sick?” There’s a slight pause. “Do you even get sick?” 

He scrubs a hand over his aching face. “I feel worse than I sound, querida.” 

“Lo siento, mi amor. Give me like two minutes, okay?” (I’m sorry, my love.) 

“Ok.” 

He doesn’t know what to expect from you, he rarely does, so he holds the radio in his hand while he watches the door to yet another nightclub. Don’t these sicario go anywhere else? He’s so focused on the club and waiting for the radio that he doesn’t expect for someone to knock on the window of his car and he physically jolts in surprise in the driver’s seat. It’s Trujillo. 

“Qué?” (What?) 

“Sorpresa.” Trujillo opens the back door and you jump into the back seat. You’re carrying two thermoses but he can’t tell what’s in either one. “Me estoy haciendo cargo. Ve a casa, descansa un poco.” (Surprise. I’m taking over. Go home, get some rest.)

Since he’s in Bogota, “going home” most likely means your place. Either way, he’s not going to waste this opportunity to spend some time with you. He thanks Trujillo and pulls out of the parking spot so Trujillo can pull his car into position. 

As he drives through the streets, you climb out of the backseat and settle in the front with him. This has become a well practiced maneuver since the first time you had been together. His office and your school have too many prying eyes. You both run the risk of someone recognizing the leader of Search Bloc and an American teacher being seen together so your clandestine meetings were limited to late night arrivals to your apartment or quickies in the backseat of a police Jeep. 

“Your place?” 

“Sure.” You open one of the thermoses. The smell of chicken hits him immediately, which alone is a miracle. “I promise, I did not make this. I went to the restaurant at the corner and told them my friend had a very bad cold so they gave me this.” 

He gladly takes the container from you and tips some of the broth into his mouth, immediately feeling some relief on his sore throat. “Mucho gracias. So what’s in the other one?” 

“Something I can’t give you while you’re driving. It’s a mixture of hot tea, lemon, honey, and whiskey.”

He gives you a disappointed look. “Tea?” 

“Tea, mi amor,” you trail a hand down his arm. “The priest at the shelter where I lived for a year in Phoenix swore by this recipe.” 

You came through with the chicken broth, so maybe the tea concoction will be helpful too. He would drink just about anything right now to feel better. He parks the car two blocks away from your place and follows you at a respectable distance despite it being almost 2 am and no one is on the streets in this residential part of town. As soon as he’s through the door of your apartment, the warmth and familiarity instantly soothe him. All he wants to do is sleep now. 

“Querida,” he starts to say but you’re already tugging his jacket off and telling him to take his shoes off. You take his hand and lead him back to your bedroom, like he doesn’t know it’s exactly 43 steps from the front door to the bed. You tuck him into the bed like a child, piling on blankets and quilts, fitting them tightly against his body. You then hand him the tea and whiskey thermos and sit on the side of the bed. Your hands nervously flutter around him, finally landing on his leg. 

“I’ve never seen you sick before.” 

He shakes his head. “It rarely happens. I don’t want you to catch it though.” 

You shrug dramatically. “I have the immune system of a mule! I never get sick.” 

He knows this is not the case and wonders if he should bring up your first meeting of you head first in a dumpster puking your guts out. Instead, he touches the side of your face, cradling your cheek in his palm. “Thank you, mi amor. Perhaps when you’re done with information running, you should take up nursing.” 

You smile, your cheek filling the space in his palm. “You would be my only patient.” 

***

“Posa?” 

“Sí?” 

Horacio smiles as he leans against the police Jeep. “¿Cuál es el informe de noticias de hoy?” (What's the news report for today?)

You sigh dramatically over the radio. “Oh, sad news today. Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer is dead at the age of 54. Reports tell us that the reindeer was flying over Barcelona when he was hit first by a flock of geese and then by a 747 passenger plane. Witnesses say that the reindeer in Spain was hit mainly by the plane.” 

“My condolences to the North Pole.” He takes a moment to school his face and tone into one of seriousness. “Where are you?” 

“I don’t know.” You answer with genuine curiosity. “Trujillo said he needed a second set of eyes for a stakeout so here I am. Well, driving to it. We’re out of the city so if I disappear, you know who I was last with.” 

Trujillo’s voice interrupts. “Diez minutos, Coronel.” (Ten minutes, Colonel.) 

“Gracias, Trujillo.” (Thanks, Trujillo.) 

“Okay, now I need to know-” you say over the radio but there’s brief static as Trujillo takes the radio from you. 

“No, hermana. Relájate.” (No, sister. Just relax.) 

It is actually eight minutes when Horacio sees the flash of headlights on the dirt road leading back to the pond. Trujillo pulls in with a look on his face that warns him that you’re annoyed with the secrecy but Horacio is confident that you’ll get over it quickly when you see the finished product. He has to admit, he’s pretty impressed. And the satisfaction at seeing your face melt from being annoyed to dazzled is well worth it. Your eyes take in the string of lights draped in the tree branches to the blanket set out with a bottle of wine, Malbec, of course, and glasses waiting for you. Horacio nods to Trujillo who drives off. 

“What is this, Horacio?” 

He tsks as you both sit down on the blanket. “Miss Information, doesn’t forget anything, doesn’t remember what today is?” 

You give him a suspicious look. “And what exactly is today?” 

He pours a glass of wine and hands it to you. “It is our one year anniversary.” 

A sad smile tugs on your mouth. “Do people like us really celebrate anniversaries?” 

“What do you mean?” he asks as he pours himself a glass. 

“You know what I mean. A married man and his mistress?” 

He takes a sip of wine and looks out over the still water of the pond. “I remember asking you to be more than just a mistress. I needed a partner and you’ve been the best I could ever ask for.” He leans towards you and immediately you meet him halfway in a kiss. “Me enamoro de ti cada día más y más, cariño.” (I fall in love with you more and more each day, darling.) 

You’re more relaxed now and the smile you give him is full of warmth. “Yo siento lo mismo, mi amor.” (I feel the same way, my love.) 

He always has a hard time rationalizing how he managed to get you, a highly intelligent, incredibly capable CIA agent, to agree to this ill-fated relationship. He has no idea why you said yes to him, but you did and he will do whatever is necessary to keep you safe and in the constant reminder that you’re loved. He kisses you again, his tongue dragging along the seam of your lips, politely asking entrance. You grant it immediately with a small moan and it lights a fire in his veins. 

You place your glass on a flat area of ground and he does the same, leaning forward until you're laying down on your back and he’s braced over you. A year. He can’t believe it’s been 12 months since he had driven you out here, you both confessed your feelings to each other, and ended up consummating the new relationship in the backseat of the police Jeep. One year and he still has not tired of the feel of your tongue against his, the softness of your skin, how your back arches and presses your body closer to his. 

He can’t imagine ever getting tired of you. 

His hands go to your blouse and start unbuttoning the shirt while his mouth drops to the delicate column of your throat. When he reaches your collarbone, all the buttons have been undone and when he pushes the fabric open, his heart stutters at the sight underneath him. You, with your self-satisfied smile and familiar blush that has crept across the soft swell of your breasts that aren’t covered by your bra. 

Your navy blue lace bra. 

The same one you wore a year ago. 

“Guess I didn’t forget what today was, mi amor,” you smile sweetly up at him. 

Just when he doesn’t think he can fall anymore in love with you, he does. He calls you by your real name, tells you he loves you on a repeated loop and your eyes turn glassy with tears. You keep those tears at bay until he takes you slowly and with as much gentleness as he can manage in the moment he claims you. Afterwards, as you both catch your breath, he catches the escaped tears with the pads of his thumbs. 

“¿Por qué lloras, cariño?” (Why are you crying, sweetheart?) 

You shake your head. “No puedo creer que me quieras tanto. es abrumador.” (I just can’t believe you love me this much. It’s overwhelming.) 

He hums thoughtfully before smiling down at you. “No puedo creer que esto sea una novedad para ti.” (I can’t believe this is news to you.) 

#colonel Horacio carrillo #Horacio carrillo #Horacio Carrillo Fic #horacio carrillo x reader #horacio carrillo x you #narcos fic #mariposa #hinky writes

[all-risejd]

A New Judgment Chapter 15: A Bunny, A Kendo stick and and Apology (Poly Judgement Day Fic)

Everyone is fluttering about their hotel room, making sure everything is packed to head out for their drive to the live show that night. Nessa is tossing things around and huffing when she can’t find what she is looking for.

“What are you looking for, Bunny?” Rhea asks, picking up the various pieces of clothing Nessa was tossing around and putting them back in her bag for her.

“I’m looking for my bra that I tossed to the side last night…” She admits, her cheeks turning pink from embarrassment, made even worse when the others start laughing.

“You mean this Mariposa?” Damian holds up the bra, eyeing it then Nessa, “You know you can go without it for a while, give us easier access in the car since it is a long ride and we could use some distractions.” Damian wiggles his eyebrows and smirks, Finn snatches the bra from his hand and gently hands it to Nessa, seeing her pout and hug herself.

“Oy no fucking in the car of any type while I am driving. It is only an hour and a half drive. A chroí, go ahead and change for the drive. Rhea will pack your bag back up.” Finn softly orders, gently pushing her towards the bathroom. Once the door closes he turns on Damian.

“Man, you have got to watch her physical cues when you tease. That is the problem you are having for Christ's sake.” Finn smacks Damian's chest whose smile falls off his face.

“Oh, yeah there is no escape in the car and she shit yeah I’ll watch that. Thank you for calling it out.” Damian realizes.

“Good, now I don’t think now is the right time to bring up what we discussed last night. Maybe I’ll gauge how she feels on Monday and explain then, yeah?” Finn puts out to the group. 

“Yeah, that is a good plan. She is in a good mood from last night, even after talking to Mom…” Dominik approves, trailing off as his phone rings. He looks at the screen a mix of confused and scared.

“Who is it babe?” Damian asks, looking over Dominik’s shoulder and laughing seeing the name displayed.

“Well Mariposa did warn us that would happen. Go ahead and answer, we will finish packing.” Dominik sighs and prepares himself before answering.

“Hi mom.” He answers curtly as Nessa walks out and pauses seeing him on the phone. Rhea is sitting on the edge of one of the beds and pats the spot beside her. Nessa joins her on the bed, Rhea wrapping an arm around her waist. “No mom. We aren't ready for … because she just now forga… we are only 26…. WHAT… ok…” They all just wait and listen to Dominik try to talk to his mother. “Guys she wants me to put it on speaker ok.” He tells the group before hitting the button and everyone is able to hear Angie's voice.

“Ok so here is the deal. You are all now my children and any children you have regardless of who it is from are now officially my grandchildren. Two of you are well over the age of when you should have children and the other three are in your prime. SO I say this again when I am getting grandchildren?” 

All five of them stand there stunned for a moment until Damian recovers first and takes the phone from Dominik. “Yo... nos encantaría darte nietos. El mayor número posible. Todavía estamos descubriendo y aprendiendo unos de otros. Danos tiempo, por favor. Te prometo que serás el primero en saberlo. Serás una abuela perfecta.” ( I... we would love to give you grandchildren. The greatest number possible. We are still discovering and learning from each other. Give us time, please. I promise you'll be the first to know. You will be a perfect grandmother.)

Nessa and Dominik don’t miss Damians slip at the beginning. Nessa leans against Rhea who whispers to her, “As many grandchildren as possible huh? Who do they expect to birth so many?” She jokes.

“Probably starting with  me since it wouldn’t be too much of a loss for me to step aside in the company and eventually you but you have a great many years to go before you have to really think about that. I don’t know when I will be ready with you all but it won't be that far in the future.” Nessa admits, knowing Rhea won’t blow that out of proportion. Rhea only nods, smiling, feeling giddy at the trust that they already have together and the fact she is planning a future with them as a group. Finn joins them on the bed on Nessa’s other side, grabbing her hand. The three of them sit there and listen to Damian and Dominik talk to Angie on speaker.

“Well I don’t see why you have to wait, Nessa was ready before you did the unbelievably stupid thing you did Dom. Just talk to her. I know you want children. I could die before you make that decision and give me grandkids” Angie said.

“Are we sure she isn’t Jewish because my mom says the same stuff to me all the time?” Nessa jokes, Finn and Rhea struggling to not laugh.

“Because I am still earning her trust back and she and the others are learning to trust each other. Mom please we have to get going to make it to the show tonight can we finish this later?” Dominik begs and Damian snorts at the stupid question, knowing Angie is not going to let it go.

“No, I’m your mother and you haven't spoken to me in months except to yell at me for your little job. Nessa honey come talk some sense into your novio.” Angie calls out for Nessa who rolls her eyes and gets out of bed and crosses the room to where her other two boyfriends are standing and takes the phone from Dominik.

“Hi ma, I won’t talk sense into him because he is right. We would need to figure out a whole bunch of legalities before we do that but I promise you won’t be dead before then. Look, we just woke up and haven't eaten yet and have a bit of a drive to the next city. Can we call you tomorrow or Monday when we have a little bit of downtime before the next Raw?” Nessa expertly plays Angie.

“Oh why didn’t you say that? Boys go get the girls some food and you eat as well. Dominik, Fergal grab the bags, Damian escorts them down to the car. I’ll talk to you guys soon, love you mi hijos (my children).” 

“Love you to Ma, bye.” Nessa hangs up the phone and hands it back to Dominik.

“That's how you get her off your back for a bit. Have you learned nothing from me?” Nessa shakes her head and grabs Damian’s outstretched hand. “Now do as Ma said we will meet you at the car after we go check out.” Nessa leads Damian to the door where Rhea was waiting, the door already opened. Damian grunts at Rhea having opened the door and stares her down which she returns, smirking cockily and grabs Nessa’s free hand and they walk out together, pulling a brooding Damian along.

Raw April 24 2023

Nessa is walking towards medical to help do the checkups on the superstars, Damian escorting her. Nessa’s hand on his elbow. She notices they are still getting wary looks but not as bad as before and the whispering is not as obvious. She smiles at the various superstars as they pass, not breaking her conversation with Damian.

“So about what you said the other day…” Nessa leads off and blushes, unable to hide it when Damian looks down at her with his eyebrows raised. Stopping and pulling her to the nearest corner wanting some semblance of privacy knowing what she is referencing.

“What about it, Mariposa?” Damian asks, his voice low and soft grabs her hands and kisses them, using his body to shield her from the view of others.

“You said I before correcting to we. We have only known each other for about a month and been together for maybe 3 of those weeks and you have already thought about children with me?” She shyly asks, stepping forward to bury her face in his chest, wrapping her arms around his torso and taking a deep breath. The scent of his cologne calms her. He returns the embrace, wrapping one arm around her and using the other to run his fingers through her hair, the action having a calming effect on him.

“Of course I have. I want to have children before I am too old to really enjoy it and keep up with them. But I also said we need time to learn from each other and figure things out, so don’t worry about it, gatita.” He soothes not only her but himself.

“How much time Papi, just an estimate not an exact date. You already know Dom and I were trying before the whole thing happened. I’m not ready yet but I told Dems it won't be a long wait but I don’t want to pressure you guys.” Nessa admits, too nervous to look up to meet Damian’s gaze. Damian leans his head back looking down at her in awe, just floored at the trust she has in them and just how deep she is already in with them. He feels his chest tighten, moved by the sweetness and honesty. He opens and closes his mouth a few times before being able to answer.

“I can’t put a definite timeline on it, Mariposa, when it just feels right could be a few weeks, could be months or years. When we all feel ready for that responsibility. I know I am honored that you feel so comfortable with us that you have already considered it. Thank you for being so open with me about this.” Damian takes a deep breath, “Are you ok if I talk about this with the others?” Damian asks, his hand back on the back of her head holding her to his chest. She manages to nod. “Good, now let's go before we are late to medical. You have those checkups to help with.” Damian steps back and grabs her hand, placing it on his elbow and continuing to lead her towards medical.

They arrive there before too long, the line of superstars waiting out the door, some of the older ones waiving to the couple. At the front of the line by the door stand Jimmy and Jey who wave excitedly at her. Nessa waves back, having met them backstage a few times. She doesn’t miss the way they glance at Damian but she ignores it, knowing when she is doing the exams they are going to interrogate her. “I’ll be back, Hermosa, text me when you are done and I’ll meet you back here.” He gently pecks her lips, Nessa standing on her toes to make it easier on him.

“Ok Luis, I’ll see you soon.” Nessa blushes before rushing into the room to avoid the coos and kissy sounds from the superstars in line are making.

__________________________________________________________________________

“You ok there mama?” A voice comes from inside the room. Nessa looks around to see Roman perched on an exam table. 

Nessa rests her hand on her chest and takes a few deep breaths. “Yeah, you just startled me, I thought Jimmy or Jey was first. Didn’t expect anyone to be in here except for Doctor Dave.” Nessa shakes out her hands and grabs her stethoscope out of her messenger bag and steps up to Roman. “What's going on Tribal Chief, you weren't scheduled for a checkup for another two weeks I just saw you on my first night in?” Nessa asks and notices a lack of Doctor Dave in the room.

“I need someone who can keep something secret. I’m worried about my Leukemia coming back. I have been more tired than usual and sometimes just feel… weak.” He admits, sighing, deflating at the weight of what he just admitted.

Nessa pauses while listening to his heart, unsure what to say. After only a few moments she attaches the blood pressure cuff to him and starts to measure it, making sure to not talk to him so she gets an accurate reading and makes a note on his chart. “Well Roman, your vitals are normal, blood pressure is good. Describe the weakness. Is it all over your body, one limb or is it how you felt before your last bout?” Nessa asks and he thinks for a moment.

“It’s like when I sleep it isn’t refreshing my body. The weakness is just like not wanting to move or having the energy. It isn’t fully like it before but similar enough to make me worry.” 

“You know I don’t have a license to diagnose or even test. We don’t have those facilities here. We are here to make sure you are ok to perform. Is this weakness affecting you in the ring or when you train?” Nessa asks probing questions, pulling up a chair and sitting in front of him.

“No, not at all.” He shakes his head and Nessa sighs in half relief.

“Ok then, when was the last time you were home for more than a day? Before WrestleMania right?” She asks, a theory forming.

“Yeah, after the new year, and it really picked up around March because of the build-up to WrestleMania. But I’m used to the schedule, you know?” Roman tries to convince not only Nessa but himself. 

Nessa leans forward and rests a hand on his knee. “Roman, you know if you don’t do it all the time you aren't used to it anymore, from my understanding you had more downtime before the new year to be with your family. Your body could very much not be used to the schedule anymore and is trying to force you to rest because of it. If you don’t make time for your health and I don’t mean eating right and working out I mean also rest and mental health too then your body will make time for it and I think that is what it is doing. You need some rest, and if you are truly scared make an appointment with your oncologist to have some tests done. When is your next checkup with them?” Nessa explains and asks at the end trying to soothe his anxieties. She is very aware of how much it messes with someone's brain.

“Uh it is right after Backlash next month.” He admits smiling sheepishly.

“Ok so that is two weeks away. That makes sense now. Roman I don’t think there is anything to worry about, go to your appointment and just keep me updated. But if you need to vent or want me to check out what I can in the scope of my license let me know ok?” She gets up and smiles at him and she sees the tension leave his body.

“You know that does make sense, thank you Nessa and I will. I do want to ask something personal if I could just because I am curious.” He slides off the table and steps to the side to give her room.

“Yes I am safe and happy, no they're not abusing me they are marks from sex.” Nessa just spits out what she has been repeating for days now, huffing in annoyance which turns to confusion when he just starts laughing.

“No, not that. I know they would never do that. You strike me as someone who enjoys things a little rougher when you can control it.” He wiggles his eyebrows  “You clearly have a past from it, that Rey has told everyone and I am sorry that he did because that is not his story to tell, either of them. I just want to know if there was any other father figure after your mom left your dad?” He asks, while apologizing and informing her Rey has told everyone she has a history of abuse as a child and from a partner. He watches her expression drop. “Hey, it’s ok. Just know if any of them step out of line you have a whole locker room that will come to your defense. You are a ray of sunshine and are making an impact on people you haven't even met yet. Your loyalty and how hard you are working even now is demanding respect from almost everyone. Just know me and my family are in your corner for whatever you need whenever you need it. Our type needs to stick together.” Roman pats her shoulder before heading towards the door.

“Wait, what do you mean our type? I’m not Samoan I’m Jewish.” She calls out after him, confused and scratching her head as he laughs and Jey struts in and hops on the table. She sighs and goes into work mode,

“You couldn’t wait for me to disinfect the table?” She shakes her head and begins his exam.

“Hey Mama, how's it goin'?” He asks, kicking his legs back and forth like a little kid.

“It would go better if you would stay still so I can take your vitals, and you can answer what your lovely cousin meant by our type needs to stick together.” She instructs him as she continues the exam.

“Just that you work hard and care for this company and put your all into it. And that you have a lot in common with us.” He shrugs but she doesn’t believe him. She stares him down and crosses her arms.

“Do you want to be cleared to perform? Then tell me the truth.” She orders him and he laughs, calling her bluff.

“It is the truth. We see a lot of us in you. So much potential and talent and the work ethic to prove it.” She listens to him, believing him but feeling there is something he is leaving out but she lets it slide.

“You are good to go, send your brother in for my next interrogation.” She kicks him out and continues to go through the line of superstars, getting interrogated and reassuring them she is ok and the relationship is not abusive, and thanking them for their concern and just talking and getting to know them during their exams which would turn into therapy sessions for them. Nessa is relieved when the exams are over and she is able to text Damian to meet her back at medical, exhausted by the emotional labor she had to do for the previous few hours, but glad that she got to know them and see that they cared.

________________________________________________________________________

Nessa is backstage leaning against Damian’s chest, his arms wrapped around her shoulders holding her close. Rhea holds Dom the same way, all of them at Gorilla watching Finn have his segment with Cody, having hushed conversations between them. “It amazes me how good you guys are at this. I am so scared when I have to talk that I'll mess up or freeze up.” Nessa admits, her eyes glued to the screen as the two men talk back and forth.

“You do great, Mariposa.” Damian phrases, his lips close to her ears.

“Yeah, you see I mess up sometimes, you just have to keep going.” Dominik jumps in, Rhea sways them slightly back and forth.

“You mess up because you get in your head. I’ve told you that a million times babe.” Nessa turns herself and Damian slightly to face Dom and Rhea so he can see the look she is giving him.

“Oh don’t give me that look.” Dominik rolls his eyes only for Rhea to pinch his side.

“Don’t be rude to her, Dom Dom. Be a good boy.” Rhea orders, nibbling on his ear. Dominik shudders and mumbles an apology to Nessa who giggles as Damian turns to face her towards the monitor again as Finn starts to get out the ring and head to the back. Nessa begins bouncing up and down in Damian’s arms waiting for Finn to come backstage. Soon enough he flings back the curtain and smiles when he sees his partners waiting.

“You should be warming up right now Damo, come on let's go back to our locker room and get you warmed up.” Finn gestures towards the direction the locker rooms are in. Damian huffs and rolls his eyes, releasing his hold on Nessa and grabbing her hand as they head back to warm up before their next bit.

________________________________________________________________________

In a hallway, Damian is sitting on a case, Nessa standing beside him and Finn standing on her other side and Dominik on Damian’s other side, all conversing and waiting for Cathy to come up for an interview before Damians match. Cathy walks up to them, a cameraman following behind, first focusing on Nessa grabbing Damian’s hand then panning out to have all of them in the shot.

“Excuse me, Damian?” Cathy starts, Dominik smirks and Damian stares at Cathy with an unreadable expression. 

Finn starts looking around, “Woah woah woah woah woah, am I invisible, Nes am I invisible?” He asks tapping Nessa’s shoulder gently, she shakes her head and he continues, “Damian am I invisible?” He asks. 

Damian kisses Nessa’s hand and lets go, standing up, “No Finn,” Damian answers.

Finn keeps going, “Dominik am I invisible?” 

“I can see you.” Dominik answers, gesturing towards him.

“You gotta get ready anyway, so let us take care of this and go take it easy alright.” Damian suggests, squeezing Finn's shoulder, Nessa nodding in agreement. Finn agrees and smacks Damian's chest before walking away, sneering at Cathy. Damian turns his attention to Cathy and asks, “What’s up?” In a tone that clearly tells he is annoyed at the interruption.

“Damian, after choke-slamming Bad Bunny through an announcement two weeks ago, can I get your reaction knowing that Bad Bunny is here tonight in Chicago?” She asks, holding the microphone towards him for his answer, the camera zooming in on Damians face, who just looks bored. 

Damian shrugs, “I think It’s awesome, Bad Bunny here to promote Backlash at Puerto Rico which he is hosting is great. I mean he’s a mega star. You know, Grammy award winner, the top streaming artist on spotify and dude he’s had success here in the WWE.” Damian turns towards Dominik who makes a face, Nessa rolls her eyes. Damian doesn’t stop talking he just continues saying, “Only when I’ve had his back, If he is looking to get involved in our business again and disrespect Mamita again, then he’ll just go through a table again. You don’t disrespect my woman.” He pulls Nessa to his chest, “You know I’m not shy about it, I’m a bad guy. But I don’t go to Coachella and jump on stage and grab the mic and interfere with his business. So if he is coming here to play games then I really look forward to seeing him tonight.” He begins to turn away from Cathy.

Dominik smiles and buts in, “And Bad Bunny can watch you take out my Deadbeat Dad.” 

Damian chuckles at this and responds, “To be fair Dom, the whole world is going to see me exterminate Rey Mysterio.” Dom kisses his fingers and Nessa shivers at the timbre in Damian’s voice. Damian turns his head towards Cathy again, “Viva el dia de juicio.” He says smirking before leading Nessa away, Dominik following.

________________________________________________________________________

Nessa is jumping up and down in the locker room trying to get ready to accompany Damian to the ring for his match against Rey. “Are you sure you are ready for this Bunny? Those hits fucking suck.” Rhea asks, worrying about her girlfriend who is clearly incredibly nervous.

“I don’t like it.” Damian growls, setting his water bottle down harshly.

“Look I know none of you like it, but it is good storytelling. It's only a hit or two and he promises to hold back as much as possible. I can do this.” She looks around the room to see all of them worrying for her.

“Stop worrying, you worrying makes me worry and that could get me or someone else hurt now let's go.” She holds out her hand for Damian to grab to lead them to gorilla, all of them following, to be there to support Finn for his match from backstage. They arrive at Gorilla to see Cody waiting and smiling. He steps towards them rubbing the back of his neck.

“Hey uh, Nessa, I know we haven't really talked but my wife wants me to give you her number. She said if you need anything don’t hesitate to call her. It's not about the marks, I explained what was explained to us. I think she just wants someone to spy on me to make sure I’m not doing anything stupid.” He jokes handing her a paper, “I put my number on there too, we all need to stick together anyway. This new generation that is.” He catches himself. 

Nessa takes the paper and slides it into her pocket. “Uh thanks I guess. I’ll save it, but no guarantee I’ll call or text either of you. You see how it looks right.” She explains and gives Cody a curious look. That is the second time that night someone brought up sticking together.

“Yeah, no, I get it, just think about it ok?” Cody asks as Finn's music starts and he makes his way down to the ring. Damian picks Nessa up and sets her on the nearby case so she can just relax and watch the match. Finally, Cody’s music starts and he makes his way down the ramp. Rhea covers Dominiks ears for the pyro and Damian hops on the case and pulls Nessa on his lap.

“You know I won’t admit it to him but his entrance song is catchy as shit and I don’t hate it.” Nessa admits out loud. 

Damian scoffs in her ear, in contrast to Dominic vocalizing his agreement. “So now that it is pretty much just us minus Finn, what do you think people are meaning saying we have to stick together to me. First it was Roman, now Cody. Is there something I don’t know?” Nessa puts it out there for the group to discuss.

“I don’t know, maybe our generation of superstars?” Dominik guesses and Damian grunts in disagreement.

“No, Finn, Cody, Roman and I are sort of a different generation, we are older by a fair bit. Cody has been with the company for ages, longer than us for that fact. Honestly I don’t know. What he and Roman have in common is they are generational same as Dom. But you aren’t right?” Damian asks, resting his chin on Nessa’s shoulder.

“No, neither my Mom nor Dad. Dad was a pharmacist, so no. Unless Ma has some esplainin to do…” Nessa jokes, misquoting from I Love Lucy, making them laugh. They watch the match, Nessa in awe of how Finn moves in the ring, just disappointed knowing the outcome of this match was predetermined for Cody’s push. 

“You guys deserve all the pushes as well. You have worked so hard and deserve it.” Nessa mutters to the group.

“I don’t disagree with you, but I think you are also a little biased Bunny.” Rhea teases Nessa, who sticks her tongue out before returning to pouting as Cody pins Finn ending the match. Finn slinks backstage while Cody celebrates. Nessa hops down off the case she is perched on and goes up to hug Finn. 

“You did great out there, you looked great.” She praises, wanting to give him some positivity because she can feel his frustration. He pulls her tighter in the hug and kisses the side of her forehead.

“Thank you Luv, Listen when we get back to the hotel I want to talk to you. Is that ok? I promise it's not bad, I just have something to get off my chest.” He whispers in her ear. She nods and vocalizes her agreement before hopping back over to Damian who is warming up again. Even though the next promo is longer they opt to stay in the Gorilla area as Damian warms up again and helps Nessa to warm up. “Look Mariposa, I don’t like this. It is dangerous, I don’t want you to be hurt. I would like it if you didn’t do this but I won’t stop you.” Damian explains between stretches and Nessa appreciating his form and the way his muscles flex as he stretches. She is so engrossed in appreciating him she doesn’t hear what he says, making the others laugh and bring her back to the present.

“Sorry I was busy appreciating you, what was that?” She looks back up at him and bats her eyelashes. He just grunts in response and pulls her into a kiss, unable to stay annoyed at her. “I just don’t like what is about to happen after the match. If you want to back out just signal and we will maneuver you out of the way safely. Benito is not all on board with this either.”

“Well I am fine with it and it helps with the story. He may not be all on board but he agreed and that was the stipulation on my contract.” Nessa pops her neck and looks around. She notices Roman, Jey and Jimmy lurking about as well as some other superstars and Bad Bunny walking down the hallway toward them, a determined look on his face. Damian sees Nessa staring down the hallway and follows her gaze, his face lighting up seeing his friend.

“Benito!” he exclaims, stepping forward and pulling him into a hug, both of them rapidly speaking in Spanish so fast Nessa can’t fully keep up so she heads over to where Dominik, Rhea and Finn are lounging against various cases and speakers. 

“Dom, baby I can’t quite get what they are saying they are going so fast.” Nessa pouts not liking not knowing, especially when she hears her name and children. 

Dominik blushes and shakes his head.

“Come on Dom Dom tell her.” Rhea flicks his nose making it scrunch up.

“Fine, he basically said with you actually joining us, when is he going to have nieces and nephews running around to spoil. And that he is jealous you are young, hot and…” Dominik pauses, his face getting redder, clearly getting embarrassed at what he is translating.

“And I have big tits, yeah I caught that. Thank you Dom!” Nessa leans up and kisses his cheek and skips over to where they are.

“Hiya, Benito. Luis talks so highly of you. I’m glad to actually meet you in person and not over the phone.” Nessa holds out her hand for him to shake but is startled when he pulls her into a hug. She tenses up and he immediately releases her feeling that.

“Sorry, do you not do hugs?” He asks, his accent thick.

“She has a bit of a touch aversion, especially to people she isn’t close to. Sometimes she struggles with us.” Damian explains and pauses repeating in Spanish making Bunny nod in understanding.

“Lo Siento Mamita, sorry.” He apologizes in both spanish and english and Nessa laughs.

“It’s ok Benito you didn’t know, and you don't have to translate right away. I understand a lot of Spanish, I just can’t translate myself to speak it.” Nessa waves it off, not wanting to dwell on the uncomfortable feeling she is dealing with since they have to go out soon for their match and bit.

“So you understood what I was saying to Damian?” Benito asks, smirking and crossing his arms. 

Nessa raises her eyebrows and crosses her arms. “Yes for the most part. Yes I know I have big tits and he is lucky, I count myself lucky to have found four of the most amazing partners, as for children, yes eventually, maybe soonish but not right now. Angie is already hounding us every day.” Nessa tries to shut him down but is unsuccessful.

“If it is money, Tio Benito can help with that, and babysitting, I’ll hire the nanny if you want. “ He smirks seeing her getting more frustrated.

“You Yenta, who told you anyway?” She narrows her eyes glancing between Damian and Bunny.

“Hey, It wasn’t me!” Damian holds up his hands and steps back.

“It was Angie, she called me, told me what I already knew about … this” He gestures to the group and continues “Though I didn’t know you became part of it sexually.” He phrases, his face screwing up unable to find the English word to describe what he wanted so he tries again. “In love? Tu Nojio’s y Novia.” He smiles triumphantly seeing her blush.

“Yes, well it has only been a few weeks and we are learning and getting to know each other.” She explains, stopping when Rey walks up, glancing worriedly to her as Damian and Bunny stand protectively in front of her as he makes his way to the curtain and his entrance music starts and he goes out. The atmosphere changed from fun to tense.

“You ok Conejita?” Bad Bunny asks, turning around and reaching out to touch her shoulder but catches himself and lowers it back down. 

Damian grabs her hand and she answers, “Yea, I wish he didn’t have a problem with this and believed me when I say they are not abusing me.” They all nod in agreement.

Bad Bunny responds, “Many in our culture will have a problem with it, especially the elders in the culture. Just stick it out and handle it together.” He advises, Nessa smiling at the advice and how thick his accent is.

“Just say it in Spanish so you don’t struggle. If I don’t understand I’ll ask you to repeat it or the others to translate. I’m trying to re-learn, I promise.” Nessa looks up as Damians music starts and he begins to pull her gently to the curtain.

“I’ll see you out there, take it easy on me.” She asks, all smiles until they go through the curtain to the mixed reaction of the crowd. Nessa follows him down the ramp until the reach the bottom, Damian grabbing her hand and pulling her to his chest and leaning down, kissing her possessively, leaving her breathless as he pulls away and gets in the ring, Nessa walking along side mirroring Damian naturally, always staying on the same side Damian is on. Rey slowly backs away sneering at Damian as he takes off his jacket and hands it to Nessa through the ropes. It is barely in Nessa’s hands when the bell rings and Rey immediately attacks Damian, throwing punch after punch, clearly not pulling the punches. 

Damian uses the ropes to have the Ref make Rey back off. Damian then throws a punch to Rey’s neck and kicks him down. Nessa notices even with the animosity Damian is taking care to not seriously hurt Rey and deep down she is grateful for it. Damian gets Rey down in the far corner of the ring and stomps on him repeatedly until the ref forces him back. Nessa cheers Damian on.

“You stay away from her and don’t interfere in our relationship again.” Damian points at Rey who stumbles toward the corner where Nessa is, once in the corner Damian stomps on him again before picking him up, and whipping him across the ring only for Rey to grab the ropes preventing Damian from doing his next move. Rey smacks Damian before sliding between his legs to get away. Nessa paces back and forth as they trade blows, with Rey eventually trying to use the top rope to gain leverage only for Damian to pick him up and slam him down on his knee. Damian stays kneeling for a moment, smiling widely at Nessa and winking at her. She blushes and hugs his jacket to her chest and she hears a fan cooing at her and cheering. Nessa’s attention is grabbed to the titantron when it shows Bad Bunny pulling up in an SUV and “entering” the arena. Rey took the opportunity to moonsault Damian who was standing on the second turnbuckle. Rey tries to pin Damian, but Damian kicks out at two.

Damian slowly gets to his feet only to be kicked by Rey who then goes to fling himself off the ropes back towards Damian who knocks Rey to the ground with an elbow, not holding back that time. The vein in Damian’s head bulges as he huffs and glares down at Rey, picking him up and leaning him against the ropes to smack him against the chest. The sound makes Nessa flinch, the camera capturing her reaction. 

Rey is back on the ground and Damian starts taunting him saying, “What do you say Rey,” Before picking him up, walking him around the ring and throwing him out of it, Rey hits the floor hard, groaning in pain. Domain gets on the turnbuckles again, celebrating, showing his dominance. Nessa balances the jacket across her arm and applauds him. Rey climbs back in the ring after a few moments, Damian stays on the offensive, throwing him into the turnbuckles and ramming into him, causing Rey to fall to the ground again groaning in pain.

“The hero, the horrible father!” He yells out so the cameras can pick it up, pointing down to the man on the mat. Damian picks him up by the head and whips him into the opposite turnbuckle again, going to spear him but Rey moves out of the way making Damian slam his shoulder into the post between the ropes and rolls out of the ring clutching his shoulder. Nessa goes towards where he is pacing but stops when she sees Rey getting out of the ring. He moonsaults off the middle rope knocking Damian to the ground. Damian gets back up quickly and leans on the edge of the ring, Rey roughly pushing him back in and climbs on the top rope, landing a senton knocking Damian back to the mat. Rey’s dominance continues as he sets up for the 619, Damian gets back up and kicks Rey down as he runs to connect, knocking Rey down this time and Damian does an interesting pin that makes Nessa quirk her head to the side. She sighs in annoyance as Rey kicks out again.

“Come on babe end this.” Nessa calls out, slapping the apron of the ring. Damian nods his head, and gets up, pulling Rey up by his head again and tries to do the Razors Edge, only for Rey to wiggle out of his grip and kick the back of Damian’s knee. Rey uses the ropes to get airborne only for Damian to catch him, much to the delight of Nessa who jumps up and down giggling at the sheer power. If he can do that with Rey what could he do with her. Damian slams Rey down and pins him again. Both he and Nessa yell out in frustration when Rey kicks out again. Damian runs his hands through his hair in disbelief and slams his hand against the mat yelling out again. 

Damian straddles Rey and begins punching his head, Nessa hides the concern she begins to feel, knowing Damian won’t truly hurt Rey. She may have her issues with him but she doesn’t want him hurt. She continues to cheer him on for the cameras and is grateful she walked around the corner because from that angle she can see he is still pulling his punches. Damian stops punching him and runs his fingers through his hair again and glances at Nessa. She knows that is the cue. She goes over to the ring announcer and grabs a chair and folds it up as Damian gets out of the ring. She hands it to him. He sets it on the apron and climbs up, only for Rey to drop kick him. Damian falls off the apron and stumbles over to the announce table. He sees Rey go for the chair and quickly gets back over there, grabbing Rey by the face and forcing his way back into the ring. 

Damian tries to chokeslam Rey, who counters it and sets up for the 619 again. Nessa curses as he lands it. Rey gets on the top rope but Damian has already partially recovered, throwing the steel chair against Rey’s head making him fall to the mat. The ref has the bell rung for disqualification. Damian leans on the ropes for a moment before storming over to Rey and lands the South of Heaven, immediately getting up and dragging Rey to the edge of the ring and getting out. He goes over to the announce table and rips off the top and swipes everything off of it and turns to grab Rey. Nessa hands the jacket to a crew member behind the barricade as she hears Bad Bunny’s music start. 

Damian quickly gets in the ring and Nessa joins him. She watches as Bunny struts down the ramp holding a kendo stick and Damian threatens him, stepping back in the ring inviting him in. Bunny gets in, chewing his gum almost obnoxiously and gripping the Kendo stick. Damian nods and Nessa steps in front of him as Bunny lunges forward and swings, hitting Nessa in the back with the kendo stick. She tenses up feeling the sharp pain and the feeling of it pinching her back. Damian gently tosses her to the side as Bunny swings again this time landing on his back and he hurries out of the ring, Bunny following him. Nessa gets out of the ring to follow, only for security to grab her and hold her back and start dragging her back up the ramp away from the fighting.

Nessa fights and squirms against the people holding her as she sees Bunny hit Damian in the legs knocking him back onto the announce table in pain and she yells out as Bunny hits him again, making Damian roll off the table gripping his back, “Damian!” She yells, clawing at the arms of the people holding her. Damian runs away as Bunny swings again, harder this time. Nessa reaches out for him and the people holding her let her go. Damian pulls her to his chest and they back up the ramp together, Damian clutching his back with his free hand as Bunny grabs a mic and stands back on the announce table.

“Hey Damian, I don’t know if you know, but, I’m not hosting Backlash anymore,” Bunny looks around, appraising the crowd and waiting for them to catch on.

Damian yells out his response, “Ok then go home!” 

Bunny then continues, his other hand still gripping the kendo stick, “Now, I’m going to Puerto Rico to kick your ass, May 6th, Backlash, En mi casa Puerto Rico, Damian Priest, Bad Bunny in a street fight, but keep your little whore on a leash in the back so she doesn’t get hurt again.” 

“Oh you want to be like that, I’ll kill you, I’m not the one Bunny, I’ll end your whole Career.” Damian yells, the vein in his head bulging again making Nessa worried for his blood pressure. Damian pulls Nessa back through the curtain. 

__________________________________________________________________________

As soon as she is back behind the curtain Damian turns to check on her, “Mariposa are you alright, turn around let me see your back please?” Damian softly asks and orders, turning her and lifting her shirt to see specks of blood and welts where the stick hit her and pinched her skin. He hisses looking at her back and gently runs his fingers down it feeling the raised skin, but rips his hand away when he hears Nessa hiss in pain.

“Can I get an ice pack?” He hollers out and pulls down her shirt. Someone within moments tosses one to him. He tries to hand it to Nessa who shoves it back at him. 

“You had a match and got hit many more times than me. You use it. I’ve had worse.” She waves off, forcing him to place it on his shoulder and continues. “Plus, I haven't earned the right to use an icepack, I’m not a wrestler, I haven't paid my dues.” 

“Now I know you did not say you have had worse than that, Conejita. If so I would like a word with the person responsible. And dues paid or not Lo Siento I hit you too hard take the pack!” Bunny tries to order.

“No Benito, you did nothing wrong, we agreed to that and I am going to get cleaned up before we leave. I’ll be fine.” She waves him off.

“Come on Bunny let's go get you cleaned up. Then we can go back to the hotel room. I think Benito wants to talk to Luis anyway.” Rhea grabs Nessa’s hand and tugs her away from Damian and Bad Bunny and back towards the locker room. On the way, people were patting Nessa on the shoulder and praising her for taking the hit well.

They get back to the locker room and Rhea leads Nessa to a steel chair and instructs her to take off her shirt. Nessa looks around warily. “If you are uncomfortable Luv we can leave but those little cuts gotta get cleaned.” Finn offers, nodding his head. 

“No it’s fine Finn, I'll still be in my bra it's no different than a swimsuit.” She swallows thickly and takes off her shirt and sits backward on the chair, exposing her back.

“Shit, he really did get you good.” Dominik grumbles, clearly upset with the mark on her back now he can see it more clearly. Finn echoing the sentiment. Rhea silently and gently applies the ointment where Nessa’s skin split from the hit. Dominik and Finn walk around to see Nessa, and their hearts break at Nessa’s expression. She is just sitting there like she is bored, like this is normal for her. She notices their expression and gives them a soft smile.

“Come on guys don’t look at me like that, I’m not a wounded puppy and this is a single hit. It really isn’t all that serious. It is part of the job.” Nessa tries to get them to stop staring at her like a wounded animal. Rhea finishes tending to Nessa’s back and kisses her shoulder, handing her one of her own shirts to put on. 

“Come on Bunny, throw that on, then we can go get Luis and get out of here. I want to have as much time with you all before I have to leave for Smackdown and you guys for your live events and signings this week. 

____________________________________________________________________________

Back at the hotel Nessa is lying on her stomach facing the tv, while Rhea is in the bathroom drawing a bath for Nessa. Dominik sits next to her feeding her a Twizzler and taking turns having a bite. Nessa chews her bite as she watches Finn pace around the room talking to Damian in hushed tones.

“Oye what are you fussin’ about?” Nessa calls out to the two men.

“Nothing to worry about A Chroì, I just… I would like to talk to you after your bath.” Finn asks, having stopped pacing. Rhea comes out of the bathroom, wiping her hands on a hand towel to dry them, tossing the towel to the side. 

“You could join her in there, sit next to the tub and hand her snacks while you talk and she would just be in her underwear so she is comfortable.” Rhea offers, knowing Nessa is still uncomfortable with nudity but wanting her to have the privacy to talk so Finn can find the absolution he needs. Nessa looks between Finn and Rhea seeing them share a look and she makes a decision wanting some support.

“Will you join me in the tub Mami, I can’t reach my back well right now and need some help.” Nessa asks. It is clear to the room she doesn’t want to be alone, unsure in such an intimate setting. Rhea smiles wide and walks over to the bed and picks her up, carrying her to the bathroom bridal style. Rhea stops at the doorway and turns her head to look over her shoulder,

“Finn get the snacks and the bottle of wine and we will call you in when we are ready ok?” Finn nods his head and goes to Dominik’s bag pulling out a pack of gummy bears and heading towards the mini-fridge. Damian plops on the bed huffing and crossing his arms, Dominik climbing on his lap and wrapping his arms around Damian’s neck. Pecking his lips trying to distract him.

“Ok Finn you can come in!” Rhea's voice and Finn shuffles into the bathroom, his arms full of snacks and holding a bottle of wine, closing the door behind him with his foot.

_________________________________________________________________________

Finn hands the bottle of wine to Rhea who is sitting behind Nessa in the tub, the bubbles coming just above Rhea’s breast and to mid chest for Nessa. He sits down in front of the tub crossing his legs, the snacks drop into his lap, he organizes them quickly then he clears his throat nervously. Nessa holds out her hand and he places a packet of gummy bears in Nessa’s hand. She immediately opens the bag and pops a few in her mouth and places some in Rhea’s mouth when she places her chin on Nessa’s shoulder. Nessa then offers the bag out to Finn who only shakes his head and pushes her hand back and clears his throat again, focusing on the cold of the tile beneath his legs and grabs the edge of the tub with his hands, the rest of the snacks shifting on his lap, helping to ground him for what he needs to do.

“I uh… I owe you an apology Nessa.” Finn starts, swallowing thickly. Rhea silently holds out the bottle to Finn who takes it and takes a big swig before trying to hand it back.

“Put it on the ground for now Babe, we will ask if we want it ok?” Rhea orders softly as she runs her soapy hands up and down Nessa’s arms. Nessa just sits silently waiting for Finn to continue. 

He watches her expression closely as he continues. “I was the most vocal when it came to the defense of your ex. I didn’t think he was capable of such… I would never associate… I am so sorry, maybe If I would have paid more attention I could have…” But he is cut off with Nessa splashing water on him, angling for his face and chest.

“NO.” She sternly tells him and sees his face fall even more so she continues, “You are a good man, don’t blame yourself for his actions. He hid them well. It was not your fault. You have nothing to apologize for. You have proven with your actions you don’t support people like that and intervene when you know it is happening and won’t willingly associate with someone like that. So please don’t ever fucking blame yourself.” She leans back against Rhea, wincing when the bruise on her back makes contact with Rhea’s body.

Finn’s eyes go wide for a moment, taking in her words and the easy acceptance she has for him. “Nes…” He starts, “My actions back then were of a man unworthy-” She goes to stop him but he shakes his head, “Of you, Demi, Luis, and Dom Dom. I am glad now that you all find me worthy.” He takes another drink of wine, and offers her another snack - this time Skittles, “So thank you, both.” He looks between Rhea and Nessa, confused as Rhea starts laughing. Nessa flicks water in Rhea’s face and shushes her, taking the bag of skittles from Finn and tearing it open, putting a handful in her mouth and crunching down making Rhea laugh harder. 

“I am so confused?” Finn states, but it sounds like a question. 

Rhea attempts to answer between her laughter, “She… She couldn’t have Skittles as a kid because they aren’t Kosher.” Finn leans up to try to grab

 the Skittles from Nessa only for her to hold them out of his reach. “Take my skittles if you have a death wish, Finn. I don’t keep Kosher anymore.” Nessa muffles out through another mouthful of Skittles. 

She sighs and leans her head against Rheas chest and changes gears, “Finn, I entered this relationship knowing you defended him. Dom would never be with or associate with someone he knows would do something like that so clearly you are a good person and are worthy and have always been worthy so please don’t go doubting your worth or how I feel for you. I feel as connected to you as the others and trust you just the same.”

Finn flushes, but takes her hand, full of Skittles and kisses her knuckles, “Thank you.” He then fishes Rhea’s hand out of the tub, and kisses her knuckles soapy and all, “Thank you, too, I guess.” Rhea rolls her eyes but winks at him. 

#judgment day x reader #dominik mysterio x reader #damian priest fanfic #finn balor fanfiction #rhea ripley fanfiction #rhea ripley x reader

[milesandcorysupermacy]

can you do a fic we’re y/n is miles(doesn’t matter which one) little sister who can lowkey sing but denies it

HEEEEEY, POOKIE! So ik I took long to answer ur request but u inspired me to write again because I can actually relate to this 😭

---------------x-o-x-o--------------------------

"Mariposa"

1610!Miles x Younger-SISTER-Reader

Genre: Angst, Fluff

Warnings: Cursing, Reader is 13, Miles is 15, Me not knowing anthing about the music industry, Not spell checked bc im lazy, Reader recorded without her consent (it'll make sense, I promise 😭)

Songs that were used: 'In Your Hands' By Halle, and 'Hailey's Comet' By Billie Eilish

Summary: You've always thought you could sing well, but you never considered it was exceptionally well. When you're confronted with other people's opinions on your singing, you start to change your mind. Can you really sing?

Taglist:

@we-loveebony

@im-miss-simp

@ilovespiderverseee

@maxoloqy

@edgyficuselastica

@thehighlordishere

---------------------x-o-x-o---------------------

You walked into your kitchen, humming the soft melodies of the Billie Eilish song playing in your shared airpod with your older brother, Miles.

"Hey, you wanna order tacos? Your treat, by the way."

You turn to him, confused from this comment since he usually pays. You hate to admit anything nice about him, but one thing you can say is...he's a gentleman.

"Why am I paying?"

"Oh, I dunno. Maybe this will jog your memory."

Your over-dramatic sibling says as he points to a scar on his left cheek. You sheepishly chuckle as you scratch the back of your neck, embarrassed. The scar he's referring to is from two days ago when you threw scissors at him.

"Oh, right. In my defense, I thought your spidey senses would make you catch it."

Miles gasped.

"HOW?!?!!? I was holding sketches! If you thought I would drop my precious babies for some scissors...you clearly don't know me, mother's other child."

He said, not referring to you by name anymore. You rolled your eyes as you threatened him with the worst thing of all...no food.

"Well, if you're not even referring to me by name anymore, I guess you don't want any tacos!"

Miles immediately frowned, gasping from your threat.

"No! I love you my most beautiful, sweet, elegant sister! I still want the tacos! Make mine carne asada, please!"

You rolled your eyes at his willingness to switch up so easily. You sighed, opening your Uber Eats app to find the closest taco place.

"What a drag to love you like I do, ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh"

You sang quietly along to the infectious melodies of Billie Eilish's 'Hailey's Comet'. Miles just stared at you, stunned. He's never heard you sing unless you were joking around, but right now he could've sworn you were a Grammy-nominated artist. He let this keep going on until the song ended, still staring at you while you absent-mindedly look into your phone. Not noticing him staring daggers into the side of your face.

"Ok, I placed the orde-"

"You sounded really good just now, why didn't you tell anyone you could sing like that?"

You stared at him bug-eyed, not knowing how to respond to all this sudden attention on you. Being the younger sister of Miles Morales, you just kinda got used to flying under his radar. I mean, he's a *almost* Straight A student, exceptionally good at art, a superhero, and he's in one of the most prestigious schools in Brooklyn. How could you even compete with that?

You're just a 13 year old girl who passes all her classes to keep her and her parents sane, and pretty much nothing after that. You acknowledged this hidden talent, but immediately compared yourself to other singers and realized that you would get crushed in that audition room. You weren't some Beyonce waiting to happen, you were just a girl. A girl who has absolutely no idea what she's doing.

"Why? What do you mean why, Miles? Have you heard all the other singers out there? Dude, I would get fucking crushed the moment I let out the first note. Not just that, but you're so obviously mom and dad's favorite. I mean, every time I come home with a B I feel like an idiot compared to you. You're just better than me, and everyone knows it. I fly under your radar, Miles. Every time that you, mom, or dad introduce me to somebody, you guys always say Miles' little sister. Face it, dude. I can't compare to you."

Miles felt his heart shatter hearing your words. As a big brother, his job was to protect you. How could he do that when he was causing the problem himself? He never looked down on you, he was proud to have you as a sister and he couldn't believe that you felt this way about yourself. What made it even worse was the fact that you started crying, he immediately sprung into action when he saw the tears falling. He engulfed you in a hug, feeling extremely guilty.

"I'm so sorry, Mariposa. I never even realized that the family was downplaying you like this, you're incredible and deserve to be seen as such."

You felt a smirk coming onto your lips from the nickname that he called you, referring to your Halloween costume from 10 years ago. Small moments like this made you realize that you had a brother who loved you, and would talk to you about anything. That's all that matters, right? You and him against the world...well, maybe just him. (Give the man credit, he's literally spiderman.)

"It's fine, I'm sorry to drop all of this on you. I feel like I kinda overreacted."

You awkwardly chuckled as Miles look at you like you were a woman gone mad.

"Why are you sorry? I'm glad you brung it up, now I can be more aware whenever I see it happen again. The fact that you feel like you're always under my radar is even more of a reason to get yourself out there! Who knows, I mean maybe Mami and Dad could hire you a manager. We're in New York, this IS industry city."

You thought about the idea for a second and honestly, it sounded great at first. Then you started to realize that you were 13, about to graduate 8th grade, and have no experience in vocal training. The once great idea started to sound like a complete fail.

"While I appreciate your excitement, Miles. I'm barely a high schooler, and have no experience. If I were to make it in the industry, it be pure luck!"

You waved him off as he was walking around you in a circle, spewing ideas. Starting to become annoyed with how invested he truly is in your life, a blessing and a curse.

"Well maybe if we go to the mall and-"

"What? No, that's so idiotic."

"Well, if you can open for an artist's tour-"

"How am I gonna do that with my middle class, Afro-Hispanic family in Brooklyn, New York?"

"Well, I got a few piggy bank-"

Miles was thankfully interrupted by a notification from your phone saying that the tacos were downstairs at the front desk.

"Thank fuck."

You whispered as the notification saved you from hearing any more of Miles' idiotic ideas.

"Miles, you mind going to get it?"

"Yea, just gimme a sec."

He says as he puts his shoes on, but that's really just a cover for his plan. He decided to play one of your favorite songs right now, 'In Your Hands'. He did this since he knew you wouldn't be able to resist singing it, especially since nobody else is around. While he's downstairs, he left his phone recording in the apartment so that he could catch your angelic voice and show it to his parents. Great plan....well, at least he hopes so.

~Timeskip~

While you and Miles play Wii Bowling on the living room TV, (you were beating his ass btw) your parents walk in. You both greet them and help with groceries, you then decide that you wanted to take a shower and exit the room. This gives Miles time to execute his plan!

(We're gonna pan over to Miles' scene bc I'm not. writing about you taking a boring ass shower.)

"Ok, we have like 40 mins until she's done with her nightly routine."

Miles says very suspiciously which causes his parents to feel concerned about him.

"Miles, buddy. You alright? I hope you're not sick or anything."

Jeff says as he cautiously touches Miles' forehead. His mother begins to chime in with the concern too.

"Yeah, you do look kinda pale."

Rio says, also touching the poor boy's face.

"He does, doesn't he? I'm glad I wasn't the only one noticing-"

"I'm not pale, I'm very pigmented!"

Miles whisper shouts. His parents back off with their hands up in a surrendering motion.

"Anyway, I wanted to show you guys a video of Y/N that I took. I know it sounds weird, but it's a video of her singing. It sounds really nice and I want her to have a talent of her own since everyone compares us."

His parents smile with approval and appreciation of how nice your brother was being towards you right now.

"Well, show us whatcha got!"

Rio says, enthusiastically. Miles opens his camera app and plays the video, immediately smiling at your perfect voice as you sing the melodic notes of the song.

"In your Hands, in your hands.

You can't let go or you'll lose your chance.

'Cause after me, you'll never fall in love again, la-la-la."

You melodically sung along to the song ans your parents stared at the phone with shock. They listened to the whole 3 minute video and smiled the whole way through, stunned by your almost perfect vocals.

"Wow...I can't believe that's my baby girl singing!"

Rio said, bewildered.

After some time, you finally walk out the bathroom with your pajamas and a towel on your head. Your family just stared at you with shock as you walked toward the kitchen for water.

"What? Am I not supposed to drink this water or something?"

"Girl, where'd you learn to sing like that?"

You furrowed your eyebrows at your dad, believing he's truly lost it this time.

"What are you talking about?"

Miles smiled cheekily at you as he played the video of your singing. You immediately grew embarrassed as you felt your face heat up and eyes widen.

"Miles, I'll kill you!"

You shouted as you charged towards your older brother who hid behind his mom.

"Baby, this is great! We signed you up for vocal lessons and even got you a meeting with a manager tomorrow, that's...if you say yes, of course."

Your mom trailed off.

"You better say yes, this stuff wasn't cheap!"

Jeff complained as your mom shot him a glare.

"Fine, I'll do it."

You said as you smiled from your families interest in you and your interests. You and your family conversed on some logistics and commitments that you will have to make for this newfound hobby. With that, there was just one more question to ask...

"So, what will your artist name be? We need a name to put on the email to the record label."

You looked up at your older brother and smiled before saying...

"Mariposa."

-------------------☆-☆-☆-☆-------------------

THIS IS ITTT 🤑🤑

The first post after my lil hiatus 🤧

Anyway, I hope yall liked it and thanks to the anon who sent this, ima answer the other request I got too!

💞💞

#miles morales #across the spiderverse #earth 1610 miles morales x reader #earth 1610 miles morales #miles morales fluff #miles morales fanfiction #miles morales x y/n #miles morales x sister!reader #miles x reader #miles morales x reader #miles morales x black!reader #singer #women in music