#then to hear he’s too old… to realise he’s closer to 30 than 20

[bettycanavosio]

thinking about how vito’s developmental years were ruined completely and the psychological damage that must’ve done to him………

#moving at 7 just to endure poverty? #alcoholic father dying at 17? #the war at 18? #mother dying and prison at 20? #like jesus christ #and when joe says he’s too old to sleep on his couch #i cannot imagine how painful that must’ve been to hear #joe was allowed to grow up and move on but vito was left craving something he watched everyone else have #then to hear he’s too old… to realise he’s closer to 30 than 20 #his life running away from him and he never got to enjoy it #and when he did enjoy it #it was with joe #who turns him away and denies him the chance to capture that childlike joy again #i need to. sit down #vs #s

[honeyhenry]

Sweet as Pie

With some much needed time off, and excitement crisp in the air, you had flown over to Jersey with your husband Henry for Christmas to stay with his family, and they had been delighted to have you both back on his homeland. You settled in to Henry’s old room, unpacking all of the gifts you had brought for his family. You knew his nieces and nephews were going to love you even more when they saw what would be lying for them under the grand Christmas tree in the living room. Secretly, you were their favourite - not that they’d ever tell their poor Uncle Henry.

The large home is tidy, but scattered with family members in every room, all feeling at home in the place where Henry and his brothers grew up. You’d been able to catch up with the relatives you didn’t often see, and promise to spend some quality time together over the holidays.

It was so sweet to watch all the children’s faces light up on Christmas morning. You were glad that you and Henry could be spared an extra few moments in bed, being the only childless couple in the house. Yet moments later, Kal had leapt onto the bed - much to Henry’s annoyance; “down Kal, careful now” -  as soon as he had heard the pattering of his small friends’ feet out in the hallways. And what Kal wanted, you usually gave him.

Which is why, at 6.45am, Kal dragged you and in turn, dragged Henry down to the living room where the rest of the family sat, with the kids lit up like the Christmas tree that their plethora of presents laid under, grinning to their bleary eyed parents who’d barely had a wink of sleep on the cold winter morning.

“You’d think after 6 years it gets easier” you’d heard someone murmur, and so you’d decided to put the kettle on for those poor souls. Luckily for you, 45 minutes later, you’re able to snuggle back into bed with Henry, warming your feet on his legs to annoy him. You kiss the offended pout right off his face, before feeling his beefy arms wrap around your waist. It’s the last thing you had recalled, as you dozed off in his arms only seconds later, feeling his fingertips rub against your hip softly.

------

The kitchen was bustling with about 10 bodies all completing their various tasks; cooking, washing, baking, roasting, timing and tasting. Well, you had kicked your husband out of the kitchen for sneaking a taste of your dessert before it was ready, chastising him out of the door. 

“You can either help properly or go and play with your siblings” you had bargained while he’d grinned, leaning against the doorframe. He raised an eyebrow, looking you up and down like you were a pastry he was keen to ravish himself; “But who is going to compliment the chef?”

With that, you’d folded your arms across your chest, blushing at his words. The cheek of that man was not lost on you, and it still got you every single time. 

And you loved him for it.

------

The meal was a total success. A wonderful soup starter, followed by a small appetiser, and then the most magnificent turkey. Feeding over 20 people - now probably closer to 30 if you were to include the children who were growing up so quickly in front of your eyes - had proven to be difficult, but it was a challenge the family had clearly tackled before.

You had been so excited to prepare the desserts, and present your dish. However, halfway through the day, somewhere between the main course, watching your nephews with their new toys, and the dessert course of the delicious homemade Christmas feast, you’d fallen asleep on the sofa completely tuckered out. Your legs rested on Henry’s lap as he’d covered you with a hand-knitted blanket that he’d once slept with as a boy. Henry’s mother speaks up, careful not to wake you. She has a gleam in her eye, not that you or even Henry notice, too wrapped up in your own cozy sleepy bubble together by the fire.

“Dessert can wait” his mother says to the gaggle of children and adults swarming the living room, “go out and get some fresh air.”

She turns to the children, specifically.  “Do not disturb your Aunt, okay?”

------

Your cheeks are warm as the fire heats the living room, and after a particularly competitive game of rugby with his brothers, nieces, and nephews, Henry quietly checks on you. He had left the room earlier when you had shifted your legs slightly, taking the opportunity to get some fresh air himself. It had indeed been a long day. His brothers had questioned your tiredness briefly, making sure you were well. With the knowledge that you were simply sleepy, they had begun to joke that you obviously just couldn’t keep up with the rest of the Cavills - despite having married into the family for 2 years and been around for the holidays for 4. Henry had promised them that you were fine -  that you still weren’t used to the long trip back to the island for the holidays. 

Not exactly a fib, he’d thought.

Kal was laid beside you, loyal as ever, watching out for anyone who may disturb your rest, sending a rumbling growl towards anyone who approached. Except Henry. 

While checking on you now to make sure you were still comfortable and resting well, he smiled, taking a picture of you wrapped up cosily by the fire, at peace in his childhood home, completely at rest and ease with him and his closest relatives. Petting Kal softly, he thanks him for looking after his mama so well.

“So?”

His mother, he hears. She’s alone for once as there was no one rushing to check for updates on food, no enquiries about the house, or any funny stories woven into a ten minute tale from her grandchildren. She’s alone, with her hands on her hips and her eyebrows raised.

Henry stands up straight. There’s nothing that can wipe the tremendously cheesy grin off of his face. He can’t even speak. Even after dessert had finished, you were the one who would be doing all the talking, the telling, the explaining.

“Mum-”

“Henry. She’s not ill. and i know you’re sensible enough to not be up the whole night with your wife...at least under my roof. So…?”

He looks over at your peaceful form, and then scratches his neck, blushing at being caught out, but also ecstatic that he can finally say something about it.

“She’s eleven weeks. We’re expecting a baby next summer”

With that, his mother almost leaps with joy over to her son, who she hugs closely despite the obvious height barrier. 

“Oh i knew it, I knew it! I’m so happy for you Henry, for you both. I thought, ‘She normally loves that bread for starter’, hm? Oh my boy! A father!”

With her proclamation, Henry finds that he has tears in his eyes as he holds his Mother close, finally glad that it’s not just a little secret between the two of you - well, the two of you and Kal, who had already been a stellar protector and big brother.

“We had planned to tell everyone after dessert…we’ve known for nearly 2 months and it’s been killing me that I couldn’t say. We’ve had to be so careful-“ 

“Henry?” he hears your quiet voice from across the room, as Kal’s collar jingles. He turns to see you sitting up from your nap with Kal booping his nose at your stomach. You’re scratching at his head, thanking him for being such a wonderful boy, while looking up at the two Cavills.

It takes less than a second for you to realise what is happening in front of you. Your jaw drops and louder than your previous call, you exclaim, “Henry you told her?”

“She worked it out! Practically forced it out of me.” he grins, holding his hands up as his Mother pretends to smack his arm.

You stand, watching not to step on Kal or any stray Legos that your nephews have left strewn across the floor, and walk over to hug her. She’s been so caring and kind since you’ve joined the family all those years ago, and you know that she will be an incredible Grandma to your little one. 

Breaking apart from the hug, you find Henry pulling you to him carefully, letting you melt into his side. Kissing your forehead he asks, for your ears only, “Good sleep? No pains? Sickness?” He has a small crease of worry between his brows and you always do your best to soften that small tense area with regular updates and sweet kisses.

“Yeah i’m okay honey” you reassure him, patting your stomach, “this ones growing up a storm in there”. 

And they really are. Henry’s mother cannot believe she’s seeing it, and mostly can’t believe she missed it. You’re already showing, but a large loose sweater -probably one of Henry’s old ones that has since become yours - over your dress, has hidden a sizeable roundness to your stomach that you were excited to finally show.

“How did I miss this!” Your mother-in-law gasps, causing you to grin, and Henry’s chest to puff with utter pride and excitement.

“I know it’s bordering on having too much to eat, but we’ve been hiding it for a couple weeks now. Doctor thinks that baby’s gonna be big. Just like their daddy.” You explain, giving your stomach another gentle rub, surprised to find Henry’s hand there on it already.

If you’d thought Kal was protective, Henry was another thing altogether.

He’s still grinning as you kiss him, before you pull away to speak more to his mother about all the details, especially when you’ll be coming over to Jersey again. Kai follows you closely, making sure you’re staying safe. He’s known that there’s something up with his mama, there has been for weeks, especially with the way his master looks after you now.

Henry, deciding to be sneaky while the two women in his life are currently distracted chatting, takes another taste of the dessert you made, now set out on the kitchen. The worst part is, he thinks he’s got away with it.

He realises he doesn’t the second you smack his hand from the dessert.

“Strike two Mr Cavill! Step away from the pie.”

“And if I don’t?” he raises an eyebrow, watching your reactions as you hold a butter knife in your hand trying to look at least vaguely threatening - failing miserably. “Maybe i’ll strike out tonight, hm?” he continues with that wonderfully mischievous glint in his eye, taking cautious steps towards you. “You look even sweeter than your pie with this little bump here. Maybe I’ll have a taste later after all.” 

Henry’s mother had not been right in her assumptions, for under her roof, you and Henry were not sensible at all.

------------------------------------------------------

please let me know what u think! i am v nervous to post but excited!!!

#henry cavill x reader #henry cavill x you #henry cavill fanfiction #henry cavill writing #henry cavill #henry cavill characters #henry fic #cavillry #henry cavill fluff

[sequinsmile-x]

A Bad Day

Emily has a bad day, Aaron is there to make it better. 

A mini fic set in my Glittering Mica series 

For my dear friend, @jetaime-jespere, who deserves all the good things <3 

Words 1.3k

Warnings: none

Emily knew it was going to be a bad day the moment she woke up, and it was his fault. 

Her stupid, perfect husband had all but jumped her the moment she got home from work the day before. A case had kept her away for almost a week, her contact with Aaron limited to texts and short phone calls. It was an awful case, not that there were ever any good ones. Half a dozen dead women, a man hellbent on destroying them just because they were successful. The team was silent on the way home, all of them thinking about how it could have ended differently. If they had got there only a few minutes earlier they would have saved the last victim. The decision that led them to be too late to the unsub’s home laid with her. 

Every decision the team made did.

As soon as her go-bag hits the floor of their home he was on her. His arms wrapped around her tightly, holding her close, as his lips descended on hers. This is what she needs, she knows it and he does too. She needs him, the distraction and comfort he always gives so freely to her. She doesn’t need to talk, not yet, and he won’t ask questions until she is ready.

Emily wonders who told him. Which member of her team had given him the heads up. They were as loyal to him as they were to her. 

Aaron attempts to carry her to their bedroom and it makes her laugh against his lips, the closest thing to joy she had felt in days.

“Nice try, Mr Hotchner. We’re both too old for that.” 

She leads him upstairs, his hand never leaving hers. He has her shirt off before their bedroom door can close behind them, and she's grateful Jack had gone back to college only a day before she left for the case. 

She oversleeps, her alarm not waking her like it usually would. The slow, sleepy way she opens her eyes quickly gives way to panic when she notices the time, that she only has 20 minutes to leave the house if she even wants to think about making it to work on time. She shoots out of bed, Aaron’s arm slipping off of her waist as she gets up. 

He doesn’t even stir, their late night that had become an early morning clearly having taken its toll. His usually ability to wake up well before her stolen by a night of sex and pointless conversations between their sheets. 

She showers quickly, only to discover her hairdryer had stopped working. She huffs out her frustration and puts on her makeup and clothes, grimacing at the way her hair has already started to curl at its ends as it dries naturally. 

She actually growls with annoyance when she realises they are out of coffee filters.

“Damn it, Aaron.”

__________

She gets to the office 30 minutes late. A sharp look that she sends Luke when he makes a comment about her tardiness shuts him and the rest of the team up, her mood obvious to anyone who cared to look. 

Meetings blend into each other, her paperwork almost insurmountable. She feels a headache forming around her temples, pain spreading as tension builds in her body, JJ’s report about the death of the final victim in her hands. Emily sighs as she hears her phone ping and she picks it up from her desk, smiling when she sees a new message from her husband.

Dinner tonight? 

She smiles when she replies. A familiar warmth and love spreads through her chest that she felt whenever she thought of him.

Yes. Sounds good.

He texts back almost immediately, twice in succession. 

Great. Love you.

I’ll pick up more coffee filters.

Emily laughs, typing out one more message before she gets back to work.

Love you too. 

__________

Emily gets home later than she expects, called into her bosses office and told about an inquest into the team's actions on the case they had just come back from. It’s almost enough to tip her over the edge, tiredness and sheer frustration forcing her to have to hold back the tears she wants to shed. 

By the time she walks into the house its dark, the smell of her favourite meal floating out from the kitchen. Aaron walks round the corner and into her line of sight, looking relaxed in jeans and a polo shirt and she smiles at him, can feel how it shakes as he walks towards her.

“Hey.” She says, placing her briefcase on the ground. 

“Hey sweetheart.” He closes the gap between them, cupping her cheek as he presses a kiss to her forehead. “Are you ok?”

“No.” She shakes her head, putting her cheek on his shoulder as she wraps her arms around him. She clears her throat, tries to dislodge the emotion that had settled there. She chooses her words carefully, hoping he remembers the conversation they had years ago.  “I’m having a bad day.” 

Aaron presses his cheek to the top of her head, the smile she can feel against her hair tells her he does remember. He holds her tighter as he runs a hand up and down her back.

“Let’s go eat, and you can tell me all about it.” 

__________

They eat, and Emily tells him everything. How awful the case had been, how she felt guilty for not being able to save the final victim, how her skin had still been warm when Emily checked for a pulse. How difficult it was to lead, how she hated the politics of the job. 

The best part was she knew he understood, that as he empathised with her as they moved to the living room, a glass of wine each in hand, he truly knew what she was talking about. He had done the job for years, much longer than she had. It had almost cost him everything, and even before he’d come back into her life she wondered how he had done it for so long.

She leans against him on the couch, her glass of wine resting on her knee as she sighs. 

“I’m sorry, Em.” 

Emily looks up at him. “What are you sorry for?” 

“For dumping this job on you. I don’t think I ever actually apologised for that.” He says leaning down to kiss her temple.

“You didn’t.” Emily laughs as she takes another sip of her wine. “I forgave you a long time ago, and even when I was mad at you I understood why you did it.”

Aaron smiles and kisses her, pulling back enough to rest his forehead against hers. “I love you.” 

“I love you too.” 

They sit in silence for a while drinking their wine and enjoying each other's company. Eventually it’s him who speaks, words whispered against her hairline. 

“I should get you to bed.”

She groans. “No. Let’s stay here. Watch a movie or something.” 

He chuckles against her, and she is grateful that he holds back his usual comment that he knows she’ll fall asleep within the first 30 minutes no matter what they put on. 

“Ok sweetheart. But you have to let me get up for a minute.” 

“Why?” Emily asks, her voice closer to a whine than she would like, burrowing further into his side. “I’m comfortable here.” 

“Because when I was at the store earlier I bought you some of those Halloween Reeses pumpkins you love.” 

“And you’re only just telling me?” She says, mock outrage in her voice as she sits up allowing him to slip out from beside her. He’s back within the minute, a bag of chocolate in his hand as he sits down next to her. 

Emily picks the movie, and Aaron loves her enough not to say anything when she falls asleep 20 minutes in. She wakes as the credits roll, Aaron’s fingers running up and down her arm, and she smiles.

He made the bad days better. 

#hotchniss #hotchniss mini fic #hotchniss fluff #hotchniss fanfiction #aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner fanfic #aaron hotchner x emily prentiss #emily prentiss #emily prentiss fanfiction #Post Season 15 #Criminal Minds Fanfic #Glittering Mica #It's just fluff guys #and hurt comfort #and I'm not sorry

[gossip-girl-of-middleearth]

Please tell us about the cinema, I beg you

Oh boy...that accursed night. If you think fanfic plots are chaotic, just wait for this story.

Story under the cut:

So, I just got this job at my small town’s local theatre. I genuinely enjoyed it, and was quite content with the way things were going—fun shifts, cool coworkers, and a nice boss. So I thought.

I was only two weeks in when the “incident” occurred.

At the theatre, we had to collect a walkie talkie radio at the start of every shift, and sign it in and out with a piece of paper in the office.

It was a little clunky and annoying when cleaning cinemas with vacuums, but nothing to cry over.

One night, I’m put to work with a new supervisor I hadn’t met before and some new coworkers (they’d all been there a while, but this was my first shift with them).

For a little context, I’m 19, and most of the other employees were like 15-17. So, I was basically being bossed around by pretentious, power-tripping kids. Fun.

King Kong vs Godzilla had just been released, so of course, the theatre was packed that night — 130 people per room.

Now, we usually have 20-30 minute intervals between sessions to clean the cinemas, but with the release of a new movie, it was cut down in half, sometimes less.

I was cleaning the most popular cinema that night, and was first told to take my time, as it needed to be spotless. Also, side note, can people please not throw popcorn everywhere? It’s a pain to clean. Then again, I don’t work there anymore nor ever will, so do what you want, I suppose.

My little coworker told me to take my radio off my belt and put it aside to get a good vacuum going through each aisle, as it apparently made it easier, as the cord would sometimes get wrapped around the radio stem.

Fair enough.

I did so, and left it on the wooden platform of the rows to begin vacuuming. He leaves and I get to work.

However, he comes rushing back a few minutes later and says, “what the hell are you still cleaning for?? We’ve got a hundred people waiting outside???”

I’m over it™️ at this point because I only took this job to see the behind the scenes of how a cinema works. I shrug and go, “okay”

I pack the vacuum up and try to leave hastily, as he’s being very antsy and pushy.

He gets frustrated and grabs the rest of my cleaning crap to leave, and tells me to hurry up behind him.

My hands are full and I can’t grab the radio, so I say, “what about the walkie talkie?”

I swear I hear him say, “leave it, there’s no time!”

I shrug and think it’s weird, but trust him to know better.

However, once I dump my crap and prepare to leave, as a hundred people are pushing in behind me, my intuition tells me to grab the walkie talkie.

I rush back in to where I left it, and find it missing

I have a brief moment of “oh shit”

However, I think to myself, “it’s okay, you only took this job for shits and giggles. If they fire you, you have your other job anyways. What’s the worst that can happen?”

If only I knew.

An hour goes by into my shift, and I’m cleaning another cinema with the same coworker. I’ve kind of shoved the walkie talkie thing to the back of my mind, because I was doing a closing shift that night and could probably get away with not facing my manager about the sign out sheet.

However, at one point the boy goes, “where’s your radio??”

Sheepishly, I say, “uh...I left it in cinema 3, like you told me to?”

He sort of pales and I think this little skinny high schooler is about to pass out.

He starts yelling at me and tells me that I need to get my flashlight and start checking every single row in there.

I go, “fuck no, the movie is still going? You want me to flash a torch in the peoples’ faces during King Kong?? The one cinema hosting the entirety of the sweaty balls side of reddit right now???”

He gets very shitty and says, “I’ll do it myself, wait here.”

By now I know I’m in the shit, but shrug and remember I can always escape through the vents if need be.

Now, there was this really fucking annoying 15 year old boy I was working with that night, who’s the definition of the “well aCtUaLlY” guy irl

He comes sprinting into the theatre I was cleaning, and starts literally interrogating me over this walkie talkie. Like, he thinks he’s the “bad cop” or some shit. Other coworkers closer to my age had already warned me about him before I even met him.

The other boy I was working with apparently couldn’t find it, and just didn’t want to deal with the consequences that night so much, that he called his mum to come pick him up early.

Weakling child.

It was at this point that I quietly arrived at the conclusion of “they think I stole it”

I didn’t understand why, it’s a fucking walkie talkie? What’s the big deal? Go get a Dora the Explorer one to replace it from Target??

I let my inner Mickey Milkovich come out, and play cool.

Him: you fucking stole it

Me:

This 15 year old Ben Shapiro-looking fucker starts grilling me, and literally places me under theatre arrest. I wasn’t allowed to leave the room I was cleaning, in other words.

He gets uncomfortably close—just me and this weird boy in this dark theatre—and goes, “I want you to be brutally honest with me...did you take the walkie talkie? I won’t tell the manager that you did.”

If you guys know me well enough from my blog, then you know this boy suffered a great deal of aggressive sarcasm in response.

He gets pissed (brown-noser), and tells me to continue cleaning, as he leaves the theatre.

Only ten minutes go by until he comes back, but this time with “good cop”.

I roll my eyes, and turn the vacuum off.

They stand at the bottom of the cinema blocking my entrance with their arms folded, and start interrogating me about stealing it.

I give them some more Mickey Milkovich sarcasm, as I had already explained to them a hundred times what happened.

They involve the manager (snitches) and now I’m really in trouble.

They force me to go into the cinema whilst the movie is still playing to look for it. Begrudgingly grabbing my flashlight, and preparing for rightfully angry people as I search their crotches in the middle of a highly anticipated movie, I head inside theatre 3.

Fuck doing that though, I watch the movie instead with the people and eat some popcorn.

Figuring a reasonable amount of time to search had gone by, I sadly leave the cool laser battle scene, and head back out.

Me: “I searched and couldn’t find it.”

Power-complex 15 year old with a punchable Ben Shapiro face: “Did you look everywhere in the cinema??”

Me: “Yeah, I shoved a flashlight up seat 33’s asshole and checked it myself.”

Some more pissy exchanges take place, and I’m told to go clean another cinema.

I’m having fun at this point, because I’ve worked enough jobs to know this situation was being dealt with incredibly immaturely by the other staff.

Regarding accidents like these in the workplace, and given how big the cinema chain is, they should know insurance covers a simple walkie talkie, and that assuming the new employee stole something which is misplaced is a bad way to integrate them into your company. It’s simply a bad look for your business.

I’m cleaning another cinema when all three come in, and tell me they’re going to put cinema 3 on lockdown when the movie ends, and check everyone’s bags.

I’m amused at this point, so I really just go “damn bro that’s wild”

They do exactly that, and it’s as awkward as you can imagine.

People are angry and annoyed—all 130 of them at 9:30pm huddled in a group, having their bags searched for a damn walkie talkie.

After discovering no one had actually stolen it, like I said, they start interrogating me again.

“Are you sure it was cinema 3??? Is your memory perhaps failing you???”

“If I say yes, will I go home sooner?” (my shift ended 15 minutes ago, and I wasn’t allowed to leave)

Naturally, I stayed another 40 minutes, and had to search the entire building. I’m talking arcade, toilets, offices—everywhere.

It is eventually deemed completely lost, and I basically end the night saying, “well, I ain’t about to strip nude for you all for a full body search, and although I’ve never had such a fun shift anywhere else, I’m not a fan of work environments that promote skepticism and cohort-wide distrust. I ain’t coming in next week, or the week after that, or the...well, I think you get the point.”

I leave my badge behind, and basically book it out of the cinema an hour after my shift was supposed to end. I worked illegally longer than I was supposed to, and wasn’t given the legal shift break.

I received text messages and emails from the head office shortly after, asking if I was coming back, and ignored them for a little while, as although I can handle irl confrontation, virtual ones spook me?

Anywho, the walkie talkie actually costs $1000, but as mentioned before, I, an adult, recognise insurance covers these sorts of things, especially in companies as big as these.

So, moral of the story, don’t leave 15 year olds in charge of adults, because most of the time, they’re too young to realise what insurance policies are :)

#I have so many more stories like this #and I’m pretty sure I left a few good details out #but it was like 2 months ago so I don’t remember #was a wild night #and I can’t wait to tell it around a fellowship campfire #or to my kids #I’m not kidding when I say I am literally Alvin the chipmunk given how many times I get myself into trouble and sticky situations #xoxo gossip girl

[green-eyed-whumpster]

Rowan’s Masterlist (Maybe)

There is many a Rowan chapter so I’ll ‘Keep Reading’ this biznitch, and mark the ones containing non-con.

Also as I continue to update my dash this will disappear, so looking up the hashtag ‘masterlist’ should find it, but if not then I’ll pin it.

Rowan Chapter 1 -  Rowan is a poor boy who gets caught in a trap while running away from pursuers. He is saved by a secluded hunter named Peter.

Rowan Chapter 2 - Rowan wakes up in Peter’s home and meets his friend, Cordelia.

Rowan Chapter 3 - Rowan and Peter bond as Rowan’s injuries heal and Peter gives Rowan an offer he couldn’t possibly refuse.

Rowan Chapter 4 - Trouble in paradise as soldiers come to collect tax from Peter

Rowan Chapter 5 - Rowan realises what the soldiers took him for. And what will happen to him if he’s disobedient. Non-con

Rowan Chapter 6 - Rowan gets thoroughly abused and misses Peter. Non-con

Rowan Chapter 7 - Rowan finally catches a break! This break comes in the form of the cool, and cruel, crown Prince. Non-con

Rowan Chapter 8 - Rowan endures the last week in the barracks and is taken to be cleaned up before meeting his new royal master. Non-con

Rowan Chapter 9 - Rowan finally meets his new master and the Prince breaks in his new toy. Non-con

Rowan Chapter 10 - Rowan realises that the Prince isn’t as kind as he first appeared to be. William punishes Rowan for disobeying him, and Rowan weighs up the worth of fighting to survive. Non-con

Rowan Chapter 11 - Rowan wakes up pleasantly and William offers him a way to repay his kindness. William gets visited by the royal advisor, who says something that catches Rowan off-guard. Non-con

Rowan Chapter 12 - Rowan learns of the Prince’s arranged marriage, William reminds Rowan that he is, in fact, an asshole. 

Rowan Chapter 13  - Rowan meets a servant and tries to make some friends in the cold castle. But he soon realises that the position of consort does not make him very popular with the other servants. 

Rowan Chapter 14 - Rowan struggles to convince himself of how to behave for the Prince. William quite likes Rowan asking for forgiveness. Rowan learns that he really isn’t popular among the servants and has to deal with drunk William. Non-con

Rowan Chapter 15 - Rowan wakes up to a rather delighted William. Rowan receives a present during the day and attempts to fix his relationship with the servants. It doesn’t go well. Non-con

Rowan Chapter 16 - Rowan deals with the alienation of the castle. William offers Rowan something he could never refuse

Rowan Chapter 17 - Rowan gets cornered by some overly-friendly guards and barely manages to escape. Non-con

Rowan Chapter 18 - Rowan struggles to suppress the events of that afternoon and fails to hide them from the Prince. Non-con

Rowan Chapter 19 - Rowan faces the Prince and discovers how he reacts to people touching his consort. The Prince doesn’t appreciate Rowan hiding the event from him. Non-con

Rowan Chapter 20 - Rowan plays the submissive and adoring consort while the screams of the guards ring in his ears. William takes advantage of Rowan’s desire to play with his psyche more. Non-con

Rowan Chapter 21  - Rowan finds out how the Prince decides to keep Rowan from trouble. An essential visit to the kitchen revealed the layers of hatred that are held against Rowan.

Rowan Chapter 22 - Rowan gets a bit of time to himself outside and allows himself to enjoy some sunshine. Oliver reminds the boy not to stray too far. And the leisure is interrupted by William. Non-con

Rowan Chapter 23 - Rowan feels icky after being with the Prince and hides in his room to avoid having to reveal his hatred to the Prince’s soldier. Non-con

Rowan Chapter 24 - It’s been a while since Rowan was saved by the Prince, and the royal engagement slips closer. The Prince offers his consort an invitation to the engagement ball and Rowan comes face-to-face with someone familiar. Non-con

Rowan Chapter 25 - Rowan prepares for the ball and finally meets the Prince’s fiancée. Tensions rise as Rowan realises how little they get along, and gets to see an old friend again. 

Rowan Chapter 26 - The Prince manages to get some relief from Rowan and leaves him be. Cordelia manages to find a moment alone with Rowan, which is interrupted by Oliver’s overprotectiveness. And to avoid being left alone Rowan is forced to remain with the Prince. Non-con

Rowan Chapter 27 - Rowan decides that he would somehow be more comfortable with William, does whatever it takes to remain by the Prince’s side. This allows William to take complete advantage of him. Non-con

Rowan Chapter 28 - Rowan struggles to dissect the fractured memories of the night before. And comes to the horrifying realisation that he had forgotten himself before the Prince.

Rowan Chapter 29 - William has a chat to Merek on their way to breakfast, a chat that strikes fear into Rowan’s heart. Spending time with William was hard enough, but when Marie is with him, Rowan finds out how much more trouble the Prince can be. 

Rowan Chapter 30 - Rowan becomes overwhelmed early in the day as he realises the Prince will never be satisfied with him. After an altercation at a council meeting, poor Rowan is faced with a suggestion that makes his stomach roll. Non-con

Rowan Chapter 31 - Rowan accompanies William to the baths and manages to ask him a potentially dangerous question.

Rowan Chapter 31.5-32 - After the bath Rowan follows the Prince to lunch, where William inevitably gets into an altercation with Alexander, and Rowan gets hurt again.

Rowan Chapter 33 - Rowan remains asleep throughout this chapter and William and Marie have an interesting talk. Which allows Marie to gain more information about the Prince’s consort, and to sow some ideas in William regarding his treatment of the boy.

Rowan Chapter 34 - Rowan wakes up to find an alarming shift in the Prince’s behaviour towards him. And for a while he basks in the change. But of course, the kindness doesn’t last long.

Rowan Chapter 35 - The Prince and his friend have a discussion regarding the terms of Rowan’s service. Rowan quite obviously deplores this and struggles to hide his disdain now that the likelihood of being shared has become so much more real.

Rowan Chapter 36 - Rowan’s last-ditch attempt to sway the Prince against being given away doesn’t work. And Oliver makes an attempt to understand the boy better.

Rowan Chapter 37 - Alexander isn’t quite as kind to Rowan when William and his mother aren’t around. And the surprise visit causes an argument between Rowan and Oliver. 

Rowan Chapter 38 - Rowan is forced to visit the Prince’s friend. It’s his first attempt at being disobedient. One could argue that it . . . didn’t go well. Non-con

Rowan Chapter 39 - In a quiet moment Rowan is allowed to process what happened after he angered Charles. It won’t be received well by the Prince

Rowan Chapter 40 - Once someone comes across Rowan, and Charles, panic sets in. He tries to run, but doesn’t manage to get far before being caught and returned to the Prince.

Rowan Chapter 41 - Rowan is taken to the dungeons and Merek begins his punishment. The Prince returns to him and, after hearing Rowan’s side of the story, decides on an ‘appropriate’ punishment for him.

Rowan Chapter 42 - Once the Prince leaves any comfort he offered Rowan leaves with him. Because Merek isn’t going to pass up the opportunity to thoroughly break Rowan.

Rowan Chapter 43 - Rowan endures an unending amount of torture from Merek, who knows how to bruise the mind just as well as the body. Finally William comes to free him from the punishment, and Rowan realises he missed the Prince far more than he would like to admit. Non-con

Rowan Chapter 44 - William leads Rowan to the baths and gently cleaned the boy. Rowan responds very positively to the Prince’s kindness, so much so that he misses the warning signs given out by William.

Rowan Chapter 45 - Marie isn’t pleased to see Rowan at the dinner table, and William can’t turn down an opportunity to argue with her. Back in the Prince’s room Rowan is surprised to be afforded a pleasure that has been denied him for far too long. Non-con

Rowan Chapter 46 - Rowan gets woken up by the Prince after having a nightmare. He finds out that it’s a pretty big day for William, and his first interaction with Oliver again goes, less than ideal. Non-con

Rowan Chapter 47 - Rowan is mad. And Oliver realises pretty soon how wrong his statement was... Also Oliver’s relationship with Matilda is revealed and Rowan is still a sad boii.

Rowan Chapter 48 - Rowan meets Marie’s consort and it is revealed that he and Oliver have a past together.

Rowan Chapter 49 - The wedding night.

Rowan Chapter 50 - Everyone has to adjust to the ways in which the castle is changing. From William and Marie’s relationship to Jonathan and Rowan’s continued discomfort around the newly crowned King.

Rowan Chapter 51 - It’s been far too long. Rowan’s grown used to kingdom life, as disgusting as it is, but suddenly things are beginning to change.

Rowan Chapter 52 - The King finally learns of how the servants are treating Rowan, and he doesn’t like it. Luckily Rowan has learned how to think on his feet and can save them from the punishment William promised. 

Rowan Chapter 53 - Rowan realises that it was worth being kind to the servants. Rowan is attacked. 

Rowan Chapter 54 - Rowan finds out that Maria has something to do with what is happening to him, and that William is also present.

Rowan Chapter 55 - William didn’t love Rowan. As sad as that is, after everything, is it really so surprising?

Rowan Chapter 56 - Rowan and William suffer through their first night as prisoners and are visited the next morning by their captors.

Rowan Chapter 57 - Rowan obtains a seemingly perfect opportunity to speak to Cordelia alone. Or as alone as they can be with William sulking nearby. She’s his only hope for survival at this point.

Rowan Chapter 58 - Sweet, sweet, sexy catharsis! Rowan finally snaps in the face of his abuse.

Rowan Chapter 59 - Everyone thoroughly enjoyed Rowan taking William down a few pegs. Except William, of course. And it may have been the most beneficial time to snap.

Rowan Chapter 60 - Cordelia takes Rowan from the dungeon, and gives him some nice clothes.

Rowan Chapter 61 - Rowan really badly wants to stay with Cordelia now that he knew she would protect him. Except, Cordelia isn’t really made for babysitting.

Rowan Chapter 62 - Rowan definitely shouldn’t be left on his own. 

Rowan Chapter 63 - Cordelia realises that thanks to William’s conditioning of the boy, Rowan is going to be a bit more maintenance than first thought.

Rowan Chapter 64 - Rowan is a broken little creature. Sad boii. 

Rowan Chapter 65 - A short little scene of their night at the inn. Rowan suffers from another nightmare and is very eager to leave. Rowan Chapter 66 - 

Rowan Chapter 66 - Rowan struggles to convince Cordelia that he’s okay. Because he very obviously isn’t.

Rowan Chapter 66.5 - Cordelia asks Rowan some hard to answer questions, which he somehow manages to answer.

Rowan Chapter 67 - Cordelia gives Rowan a few more hours of rest, and considers some information about William’s punishment. 

Rowan Chapter 68 - Rowan and Cordelia have a talk about how to deal with trauma.

Rowan Chapter 69 - Rowan and Cordelia share another bed, and Rowan has a nightmare.

Rowan Chapter 70 - Rowan and Cordelia have another deep discussion as Rowan reveals the lingering fears that the image of Peter conjures up.

Rowan Chapter 71 - Rowan has a final little panic before reaching Peter’s home. 

Rowan Chapter 72 - Rowan doesn’t react superbly to his and Peter’s reunion. Peter is very distraught by this.

Rowan Chapter 73 - Cordelia and Peter have a heavy discussion about the boy sleeping in Peter’s room.

Rowan Chapter 74 - The next morning Rowan confronts Cordelia about what she said the night before.

Rowan Chapter 75 - Peter sets up a bath for Rowan, and Rowan struggles to acknowledge his discomfort thanks to the kindness of Peter and Cordelia.

Rowan Chapter 76 - Rowan gets a nice little bath.

Rowan Chapter 77 - Peter and Cordelia have a chat while Rowan sleeps.

Rowan Chapter 78 - Peter interrupts a nightmare Rowan has.

Rowan Chapter 79 - Rowan works up the courage to ask Peter to keep him company while he rests.

Rowan Chapter 80 - Rowan can’t help the memories that rise up and turns against old friends.

Rowan Chapter 81 - Cordelia finds Peter outside and attempts to calm her friend.

Rowan Chapter 82 - Rowan struggles to handle life on his own while Peter and Cordelia talk.

Rowan Chapter 83 - Rowan finds something important to Peter that he kept hidden from the boy.

Rowan Chapter 84 - Peter and Rowan try to rekindle their relationship.

Rowan Chapter 85 - Rowan uses his safe-word.

Rowan Chapter 86 - Rowan doesn’t really know how to handle trauma, but Peter can help him.

Rowan Chapter 87 - Having collapsed by the water’s edge, Peter can begin to unpack the emotional baggage Rowan carries with him everywhere. 

Rowan Chapter 88 - Cordelia figures out a way to help Rowan feel safe.

Rowan Chapter 89 - It doesn’t matter that Rowan has never had a pet before, he loves her anyway.

Rowan Chapter 90 - Peter and Cordelia have an important conversation about an intimate subject.

~

I also realised that I reused Tagliatelle as a Tag title three times. What do you guys see in me? I’m clearly not original. 

#masterlist #Rowan #master list #Rowan's masterlist

[heartshyuck]

[00:17]

You squirmed into Renjun’s side horrified by the tension and the obvious jump scare about to appear on the tv. Though obvious it still won’t fail to make you jump out of your skin , you bury your face into Renjun’s chest when the moment the tension is released to be surrounded by the comfort of his warmth. 

“You know it’s coming why you still scared?”

 He says as he laughs while staring down at the scene that makes his heart flutter. Renjun wraps his arm around you in attempt to comfort, he pulls the blanket round you tighter so that you’re pressed closer to him.

“How can you not be scared?”

“I’ve seen worse”

He turns his attention back to the movie and head on watches the scenes of demon nuns and the screams of the possessed girl , you don’t know exactly what he meant and couldn’t tell if he was just pretending to be brave or if he truly wasn’t scared. 

“I know I’m gorgeous but I’m sure the movie is more interesting than my face” He joked as he caught your confused stare on him. 

“What the hell did you mean by you’ve seen worse”

“Oh, you’ve seen it too”

Your eyes widened in confusion as your mind raced through the 20 years of your life to find this moment in time that was supposedly worse than Nun’s who served the devil with grey faces and no eyes in their sockets

“What the fuck, there’s no way I’ve seen something so terrifying” 

“How about we bet on it”

Renjun smirked in confidence, which made you doubt yourself. Maybe it was so terrible your mind just erased it from your memory is what you had almost convinced yourself but your competitiveness wasn’t about to let you prove him wrong

“Okay what we betting?”

“How about a kiss”

“fine” you rolled your eyes at Renjun’s cheesy request. 

“You might as well kiss me now since I’m right”

“Just shut up and tell me what this scary thing is we’ve both apparently seen” you say as you hit his chest”

“Lelewise” 

You erupt in laughter, almost on the brink of tears. You sit up to face Renjun and kiss him softly on the lips surprising him slightly but after a few seconds he kisses you back with love. Not letting the sweet innocent kiss turn into anything else you pull back. Renjun unconsciously follows your lips .

“You’re right Lelewise if by far the scariest thing I’ve seen”

[01:36]

“What’s happening?” You said to Jeno while covering your eyes with your hands too scared to look at whatever could be going on. 

“I don’t know” Jeno said also hiding his face but below the blankets 

“Jeno” you whined annoyed by the fact both of you were too scared to look “Come on just look, what’s the point if your not gonna watch”

“What about YOU!!” Jeno cried emphasising the ‘You’ digging his face into your side and kicking his feet making loud stomps that made the whole room shake as well as causing a thumping in your head. That and the added sounds of demon whispers created this uneasy feeling in your stomach .

“No you’re the one that’s meant to look otherwise there’s no point of you being my boyfriend” you shook by the sudden fast movement. Jeno paused the film and turned towards you causing you to remove your hands from your face

“What the fuck does that mean?’ Jeno had a confused look swept across his face , his brows furrowed and his lips pouted.

“It means I only want a few things from my boyfriend” you said in a pout “ cuddles , kisses and him to watch the scary scenes in horror movies so he can tell me what happened” . Jeno laughed while pulling you into his chest , wrapping his arms around you and holding you tight. He placed a long loving kiss on your forehead , then the tip of your nose and then finally placing his sweet lips on yours. 

“Your lucky I love you” he said smiling as he hid your face in his neck while cuddling you. He played the movie and bravely watched the screen 

“I love you too” you muffled as you placed a kiss on his neck 

[03:15]

Even from the beginning of the film where nothing even scary was in sight you had been on edge, occasionally flinching at the smallest of things. Any quick movements made you jump and you were practically watching through your fingers. Hyuck knew you hated horror films or anything in that vein, but he forced you to watch them. He’d say it’s because horror is his favourite genre but really it’s because he found it really cute when you were scared and even cuter when you were annoyed by his teasing. 

“Come on open your eyes already, it’s not even scary” he whined as he shook your arms trying to move your hands off your face “your 20 and your scared like a five year old” he teased, wiggling his fingers under your palm and  pinched your cheeks 

“Hyuck you know I hate horror movies, why are we watching this at three am, how am I supposed to sleep” you cried as you buried your head in Haechan’s shoulder and covered your ears not wanting to hear the screams coming from the exorcism taking place in the movie , that would most definitely keep you up at night. 

Haechan lovingly rubbed your side however in a high pitched voice he teased “oh my baby , it’s okay Haechanieee will fight the demons under your bed” 

The teasing continued for another half hour, you knew he wanted a reaction from him so for the most of it you entertained him but you knew the only way to make him stop was to just watch the film. Of course that still meant the blanket and your hands half way up your face just incase a jump scare comes and you can quickly cover your eyes. Tension was beginning to build, the loud music setting an eerie atmosphere with a heavy bass that seemed to amplify your heartbeat. You were so focused on the movie trying to guess the right moment you should lift the covers, you didn’t realised Haechan putting on a mask similar to the one of the ghost in the movie. Haechan turned towards you slowly trying not to gain your attention , he waited and till the climax of the movie’s scare came and perfectly times his own scare with it. Grabbing you suddenly and screaming causing you to scream and almost burst into tears. 

“HAECHAN YOU DICKHEAD” you screamed pushing him away from you and hitting his shoulder as he apologetically tried to pull you into a hug

“Oh come on babe, you should’ve seen your face” He’s said as he was wiping his tears from his eyes

“Don’t fucking babe me, you dick. Honestly grow up, you know how scared I am” you got up leaving the room clearly pissed off

Haechan didn’t follow you thinking it was best to just leave you to calm down. This wasn’t anything serious he knew you could take a joke , maybe he went too far but he knew it was best for him to apologise when he knew it would be accepted rather than throwing fuel onto the fire. He continued watching the movie and you stayed in your room scrolling through your phone. An hour had passed and you were getting bored , you wanted to go to Hyuck but you were still kind of pissed. You could hear that the movie had finished and he has gotten up to go to the bathroom and that’s when revenge came into your mind. You decided to get an old worn out dress cut some random holes and wear it , you smudged some dark eye shadow here and there to make it look dirty. You contoured your legs to make it seems as though you hadn’t eaten in months . You asked Renjun and Jaemin to play a recording of your voice responding to Hyuck if he tried calling out for you , to make it sound like you were upstairs. Was this a bit over the top? Yes but Haechan deserved it. You head down to the end of the passage , switching off the light . You stood in front of the moonlight that shone in from the window , causing you to illuminate. You placed your thick black hair in front of your face and waited for him to come out. You waited nervously and to be honest you kind of scared yourself. You could kind of see your reflection in the window opposite you and sometime you’d forget and scare yourself. “What the hell is taking him so long” you mumbled under your breath. Finally after another five minuets Haechan finally came out. He turned straight towards you , he jumped back and then laughed but it sounded almost of nervousness 

“Okay very funny y/n” Haechan nervously said 

Jaemin and Renjun had waited at the top of the stair case, well hidden but could hear and see everything that was going on. Jaemin pressed play and your voice replied from the distance “What Hyuck?”. Haechan’s eyes went white and Renjun almost died of laughter after seeing his timid stance. You dragged your feet towards Hyuck , he was shaking and backing away as slowly as possible. Haechan closed his eyes shut and scrunched his face up preparing for whatever was to come. You suddenly shook him and screamed “BOO!!”

Haechan screamed and you , Jaemin and Renjun erupted into laughter. You flipped your hair back over your head to find a Hyuck who was peeping from one eye to scared to look. Once he realised that it was you he panted trying to catch his breath, finally exhaling. 

“Watch out Y/N, you better be sleeping with one eye open” 

“How about a truce for a kiss” you say with a pout 

Haechan pull you in to his arm “deal” he said through a smirk and he placed a sweet kiss on your lips. 

[5:30]

Your scream rang through Jaemin’s ear, so deafening for a second he was sure it was silent. He pressed his finger to his ear closing it shut hoping that it’ll help his eardrums recover. “Holy shit are you that scared” he said in a laugh as he turned to you smiling brightly. 

“No it was just unexpected and surprised me” you crossed you arms over you chest and slightly pouted ,looking sideways to see if he believed you.

‘Okay if you say so” Jaemin smirked, he knew you were scared but would never want to show it. He moved in closer to you so you could feel the warmth go his presence in hopes that it would comfort you. He slithered his arm around your waist and rested his head upon your shoulder. You placed yours on top of his burying one eye into his long soft brown hair to minimise how much of the screen you can see. 

“Jaemin it’s five am maybe we should just go to sleep” you said in a nervous laugh trying to hide that you were trying to get of watching this film

“What no , we started it so let’s finish plus we go to sleep this late all the time’ he wined 

“Ugh but I’m tired” you said as you pushed Jaemin off of you. Jaemin sat up and you saw this as an opportunity to lie down, you extended your feet out and lay the top half of your body on Jaemin’s lap and closed your eyes

“Noooo don’t go to sleep” he wined again this time in a pout making him sound extremely cute.

You rolled onto your back so that his face was now directly above yours. You rolled your eyes as his sparkling puppy eyes met them. “Fine but I’m sitting on your lap and you have to cuddle me”  his grin went from eye to eye as you sat up on top of him. He held you close to his chest , you could feel it rise and fall with every breath he took and breathed out. It was calming until again the same deafening noise rang through Jaemin’s ears. Another jump scare had caused you to scream murder at the top of your lungs. Jaemin out of reaction blocked you mouth trying to muffle the sudden scream. 

“The neighbours are gonna complain” he said in a hushed laugh 

“Sorry , It just happened so suddenly.” You said at the realisation that the sun was rising “They probably think I’m being murdered” you joked slightly laughing

“Or they think I’m just fucking you” Jaemin said in a smirk 

“Oh please, you couldn’t make me scream like that” you laughed while rolling your eyes so far back at your boyfriends over confidence 

“Well then let’s see”

© (jisungiest) 2021. All Rights Reserved.

#nct dream #nct scenarios #nct drabbles #renjun #jeno #haechan #jaemin #00 line

[sleepynobie]

Age | Ilpyo x Reader

(A/N: Yoooo, welcome to the first chap with my fav //obviously lol// Anyway, there's a little timeskip so if you wanna be specific on which era this takes place, it takes place after the Ragnarok battle. But no spoilers here so just consider it as a timeskip if you haven't read the webtoon 😁 Enjoy!)

Age is just a number. That's what many people say right?

Well, yes to some extent. But at the same time, you still need to respect people that are older than you. Especially in Korea, you still need to respect that person even if it's only by a year. That's why Ilpyo always reminds Mori to call him 'hyung' which is an older brother in Korean (although Mori never does) because it's a way to show respect to someone who's older than him.

However, because of this hierarchical culture, it can be difficult to get close to someone especially if the age gap is big. And unfortunately, that's what happens to him when he met you who are older by 5 years.

Well, calling you 'noona' is alright since that's how it works but at the same time, it emphasises that he is your younger brother because of this age gap. Of course, Ilpyo tries to change your perception of him to be your equal but it's not easy if you always consider him cute whenever he tries to act manly. Although it could be due to the fact that he's still in high school so you always see him as a kid.

Well, not today though. Ilpyo has turned to 20 which means he's officially an adult, at least almost on equal standing as you. So as a celebration, you visit his place to celebrate with his family and introduce him to the world of alcohol (lol). After that for some reasons, his family start to leave the two of you alone in the living room.

"So, what do you think of soju after drinking it for the first time?" You ask with a smile.

"Well, it's surprisingly sweet" He innocently replies "I thought it's going to be bitter"

"That's good to hear. Because if it tastes bitter, that means your life is so shit that the soju tastes bitter to you" You explain.

"Really?" Ilpyo looks unconvinced and rests his cheek on his palm "I mean I'm having a hard time since you still treat me like a younger brother"

"That's because Ilpyo is just so adorable~" You suddenly say in cute voice while cupping your face as if acting cute.

He sighs "I'm not cute for God sake. Can you see me as a man for once?"

"Hmm... I don't know~ I mean I just imagine when you're on hojosa mode and have those ears which make you even cuter. I still remember how fluffy it is when I first touched it" You say while looking blissful as you start reminiscing the first time you touch his ears.

Ilpyo looks slightly embarrassed since he gets reminded on that awkward situation when you start treating him like a cat which is way worse than a younger brother. From that moment, he swore to never let you touch his ears ever again. But anyway, it's frustrating that you just never see him on the same level as you.

"So am I never going to be a man to you?" Ilpyo suddenly asks and the mood instantly changes into a serious one as he gives a serious look to you.

Knowing that you shouldn't joke around, your expression shifts to a serious one too before replying "You're a man, Ilpyo-"

"But you never see me as one. You always think of me as a younger brother just because I'm 5 years younger than you. Besides, it's not like you act according to your age"

Now that last sentence just stings you like an arrow that hit your chest because not only it's humiliating but also the fact that it's true. You may be 25 years old but sometimes you act like a kid that you're the very definition of the fake maknae. Even Seung Ah is more of an older sister than you are.

"... I hate the fact that I can't talk back to you because it's true" You say unenthusiastically and sulk.

Ilpyo sighs "I just want you to give me a chance, especially that now I'm no longer a high schooler. I'm an adult, just like you"

You look unsure because to be honest, you do have feelings for him recently. It's just that because of the large age gap, you're feeling insecure at how you're going to be the old one first. When you hit 30, Ilpyo is only 25 which basically he's dating an old woman. Heck even by next year, you're already in the late 20s when he's still in early 20s. Besides, wouldn't it better for him to date fellow early 20s? Who knows there might be someone who clicks with him and he has some time to 'experiment'. Whereas for you, you don't have the time and energy because you prefer to settle down with 'the one'. Moreover, it would be good for his future if he can stay together longer with his partner-

"Noona, are you okay?" You snap out of your trance and look at Ilpyo who looks concerned because you've been quiet for a while and your expression turns grim.

"Y-Yeah, I'm okay" You smile "Sorry, my mind went somewhere else"

He sighs in relief before smiling "I'm sorry I ruined the mood, did I?"

"No, you don't so don't apologise" You say "Actually you know what, let's talk more about this"

"Okay.." Ilpyo merely says but looks slightly concerned on what you're going to talk about from this point onwards.

"So as you said, you're an adult now and you're right. But at the same time, there's a difference between us" You start explaining "You just enter adulthood while I'm already in this game for 5 years. And as your senior, I tell you that being an adult sucks"

He stays silent to keep listening while you take a deep breath before continuing "People start to expect more from you whether from the way you behave, your lifestyle, or your plan in the future. Of course, you can always be like 'Well it's my life so leave me alone' but to some extent, you're still pressured anyway. Recently, my parents and friends keep asking when will I get married because I don't even have a boyfriend and they're worried that I will be forever alone. Although I replied that I'll just accept it if that happens but my point is that things are getting more serious as you grow older"

You look at him before giving a tap on his shoulder "So, what I'm trying to say is that you should give up on me, enjoy your early 20s life, and meet the right person to be your partner okay? You better choose someone with a closer age to you than having a large gap like us"

"Nope" Ilpyo smiles and you pause for a moment since you're still processing what he just said before scolding him.

"Did you just listen what I just said-"

"I did but I still don't want to give up on you" He says "Besides, you were saying that your parents and friends are worried since you don't have a boyfriend and may end up forever alone. Then, date me"

You blush in embarrassment at his bold confession but then quickly return to your composure "No Ilpyo, here's the thing. I'm 5 years older than you. By the time you're on the same age as me now, I'm going to be an old woman. I will be 30 years old"

"So?" He merely asks as if there's no issue with what you just said.

"So, it's not right" You reply "Wouldn't it better for you to date someone around your age? You can be with them longer compared to me-"

"Because 'you're gonna die early' bullshit?" Ilpyo objects "You don't know that and I may die earlier than you"

"Yeah but still-"

"Besides, I like you because of who you are" He continues "So what if you age faster than me? So what if you could die earlier than me? You think I wouldn't consider that once I start liking you? I know that you want a serious relationship and I'm all in for that"

You become quiet because you couldn't say anything since he's right. You never know how the future will be like and you know he's not the type who plays around. It's just that.. Is it really okay to be selfish? Is it really fine to date him?

"And also at the end of the day, it's my life so you have no right to tell me to give up on you" Ilpyo adds "Unless you're interested in someone else or get married, then I will but otherwise, I'll keep trying until you change your perspective of me"

You look at him for a moment and yeap, he's dead serious before you facepalm "God, you're so stubborn"

"You just realise that?" He pretends to look surprised and you look unamused.

"Of course not. I know that you're stubborn but not this stubborn"

"Well, that's just how serious I am on dating you" Ilpyo says.

You start blushing in embarrassment and run your hand through your hair "Are you sure about this?"

"Do you really need to ask" He rolls his eyes "Then, what's the point of me keep liking you for two years despite how you always say that you see me as a younger brother?"

"I know but I just want to make sure because if you're really onboard with this, you'll never get to experience dating other type of girls and you'll accept whatever consequences that might happen in the future"

"Do I look like the type to experiment?" Ilpyo says "I only want you. End of the discussion"

You still look doubtful for a moment but then you slowly start to feel more sure since again, he's really serious about this "Okay fine... But really, it's going to be a roller coaster okay so you better be prepared"

"So, it's going to be a fun ride? I'm looking forward to it" He smiles.

"Well... yes but actually that's not what I mean-"

"Anyway, do you wanna sleepover tonight?" Ilpyo suddenly changes the topic and that makes you blush to the point your face is instantly red.

"W-Wait! Suddenly?"

"What? You sleepover at our place before"

"But I sleep with Seung Ah" You say "and this is going to be the first time with you"

"So you're not going to sleepover then?" He looks at you with puppy eyes that should be banned for God sake because you just feel guilty if you say no to him. Plus, you just imagined if he has that face while on hojosa mode.

"Okay, I'll sleepover" You end up giving in "But we're not going to do 'if you know what I mean'. It's just a pure, innocent sleepover"

"Of course not" He sweatdrops "I didn't even think of that since I just want to cuddle with you. Geez, how perverted you are"

"SHUT UP! IT'S JUST IN CASE OKAY? I'M JUST GIVING A HEADS UP" You retort.

"Okay okay, it's night already so calm down, (Name)" He pats your head and you quickly tone down since you feel embarrassed as this is the first time he pats your head and actually calls you by your name only.

"You're already adjusted to boyfriend mode so quickly"

"Of course" He smiles.

You sigh "Well, let's go to bed then"

"Sure, I'll lend you my t-shirt and pants"

"My God, this is really going too fast" You comment and as much as you seem to deny that you're not used to it, you do feel happy that you end up going with what you want. Plus, you never saw Ilpyo this happy throughout your life so it's adorable to see him like this.

"By the way, I think I can just borrow Seung Ah's clothes right?"

Ilpyo pouts since he wants you to wear his clothes and you sweatdrop before ending up wearing his clothes to sleep.

#god of highschool #ilpyo park #fanfiction #ilpyo x reader

[waejinyoung]

Can’t Swim - EP . 8

Can’t Swim 8

word count: 3.2k+

a/n: you might be questioning where I have been for the past couple of months. I have one word to say that should be a good enough answer. College. I’ve been studying none stop and found no time to write the next episode after university started. The posts will no longer be regular so just keep yourselves updated. Hopefully I will have another 2 episodes up between now and the end of the year at least but don’t quote me on that. I hope you enjoy! 

I’m deeply sorry for my absence again x

warnings: nothing

EP . 1 , EP . 2 , EP . 3 , EP . 4 , EP . 5 , EP . 6 , EP . 7 , EP . 8 , EP . 9

THIRD PERSON POV

The afternoon continued with Y/N and Jinyoung discussing life and getting to know one another whilst Y/N replied to her emails.

“It’s mind b-boggling how you and J-Jackson may have crossed paths back in 2012…” Y/N had just mentioned how she was training for the London 2012 Olympics to compete for swimming.

“Similar to Jackson, I switched career paths and decided to study architecture. Dad wasn’t the biggest fan until he saw the passion and success I had gained in the industry. He soon came to terms with everything.”

“Wow… do you r-regret it at all?” The clock marked 10:30 pm. You guys had been talking for the past 90 mins, getting to know each other.

“I think I regretted not swimming after deciding to study architecture. I didn’t choose to not compete in the Olympics because I no longer liked swimming so I do regret not continuing although I must say, studying architecture might be the most time consuming degree out there. That’s why later on I decided to apply to become a licensed swimming teacher to undergo lessons. I’d be teaching people how to swim whilst fulfilling my love for swimming.”

“Best of both w-worlds, r-right?”

“Exactly.” Y/N had now placed all her work to aside with her back against the wall, legs crossed enveloped into the conversation.

Some seconds went by and Y/N wanted to know about Jinyoung’s initial dreams.

“What about you? Did you always want to be a singer?”

“Always. I took up d-dance lessons when I was around 15. Then went to a-audition and got in to JYPE. That was when I met J-Jaebeom. We actually d-debuted together as a d-duo group called JJProject to later on d-debut with the r-rest of the g-guys as GOT7. Since t-then they’ve been my f-family rather than just my m-members. I think it’s g-getting to the p-point where I might have spent m-more years of my l-life with them then I did without. Time flies…”

“I could definitely sense the brotherly love you guys all have for each other. So how did becoming an actor happen?”

“I r-requested from the c-company to find roles I could take part in a couple years b-back. First it was small roles in small d-dramas and then being c-casted by more known d-directors to p-play bigger roles. All of that has l-led me to play s-second male lead for ‘When My Love Blooms’.”

“When do the episodes start airing?” Y/N had grown eager about Jinyoung’s talents.

“Hold your h-horses… we haven’t e-even started f-filming yet and won’t be until I r-recover… The original airing d-dates will probably be p-pushed f-further.” Jinyoung’s words drifted into a sudden realisation for his career.

“If only-“ Y/N was about to blame herself again.

“We’ve been through this m-multiple times Y/N. None of this is your f-fault so s-stop blaming yourself for t-things you have no c-control over.”

Y/N had her mouth open ready to retaliate but if she had to be honest… she couldn’t be bothered to fight back considering it was now coming up to 11:00 pm.

“Fine.” Y/N yawned and covered her mouth. Work had been extremely busy today especially with all the news floating around now.

“S-someone’s tired.” Jinyoung eyed Y/N’s tired state and decided to call it a night.

“I still have so much to do. I can’t fall asleep now.”

“C-could you n-not spare an e-early n-night just for t-today?” Y/N recollected her thoughts weighing up if she could possibly sleep early tonight and get all the work done tomorrow.

“I could…”

“Problem s-solved then. Clear up your b-bed and get your pjs on. I d-don’t want to f-face a t-tired Y/N tomorrow m-morning.” Y/N eyed your mean comment and huffed to your orders.

“Yes, sir.”

2 WEEKS LATER

Y/N’s POV

“Miss, Jinyoung has been recovering quicker than expected. He should be perfectly fine to attend the event. If anything unsettling happens you can give me a direct phone call.”

“Thank you so much Doc.” You gave the doctor a large smile and she reciprocated a reassuring smile.

You entered Jinyoung’s room with your outfit for the architecture awards festival along with you.

“Am I allowed to come?” Jinyoung asked as soon as you entered the room. You gave him a nod.

Jinyoung’s voice was more or less back to 100% and his eye had completed healed by the end of last week. There wasn’t much left until being fully recovered. Possibly parting from the hospital quicker than the original 2 months the doctor had estimated.

“I knew I’d get the green light. I even prepared my outfit because I was so sure I’d be able to come.” You hadn’t seen someone so ecstatic for an awards festival.

“As expected… I’m not even surprised. Will you be able to get dressed? Need any of my help?” Jinyoung was still a little instable since he’s been lying in bed for the past 2 weeks. His legs tend to give out for the first 30 mins.

“I think I can manage. I’ll get dressed quickly and then the bathroom is all yours.” You chuckled at his assumption that you’ll take really long in the bathroom for the event.

Jinyoung heads towards the bathroom and you are left there practising a speech you’ve written for all the awards you and your company have been nominated. This isn’t because you knew you were going to win any of them but… the unprofessional scenes if you guys were to win an award and to not have a speech ready daunted you. There was nothing wrong with being prepared.

15 MINUTES LATER

You must say… I don’t think you had ever laid eyes on someone so handsome in your life before. You could swear that this man was carved by God himself.

“How much deeper are you going to fall into my looks?” You hadn’t realised but you had been staring Jinyoung up and down for the past 30 seconds of him leaving the bathroom. Hair all styled. The suit was literally made for him. His cute bow tie was a little wonky leading you to let out a chuckle.

“What?” Jinyoung’s face turned serious thinking something was wrong with how he looked.

“Your bowtie is wonky.” You stood up from your seat and reached out to fix his bowtie. Your eyes were fixated in straightening the bowtie and all Jinyoung could do was analyse your face and how focussed you were.

“There you go. Looks better now.” You lightly let go off the tie and looked up at Jinyoung who was already staring right back at you. Those bambi eyes were going to be the death of you.

“Thank you. Now go and get yourself ready.” He pinched your nose and then you entered the bathroom with your dress, makeup bag and accessories.

20 MINUTES LATER

“Jinyoung~~” You called out for Jinyoung. You were done with everything but couldn’t reach the zipper on the back of your dress. You had been procrastinating on what to do and just gave up. There’s no way you could zip the dress up alone.

“Yes, Y/N. Is everything alright?” You could hear his footsteps come closer to the bathroom door.

“In a bit of sticky situation… could I ask you to do a favour?”

“Sure, what is it?” You went ahead and unlocked the door for him. He took a step back and couldn’t contain the sight in front of him. You were in a red bandeau strapless dress which had a structured skirt that was shorter at the front and longer at the back with. A very slight trail. Unsurprisingly your makeup was the bare minimum and you had left your natural hair out. His mouth was agape as you stepped out of the bathroom.

“How much longer are you going to stare for Mr Park?” He had been in the same awe you was when he had stepped out of the bathroom earlier on.

“Yes…right… the favour?” His soul re-entered his body trying to compose himself. You could only smile on the effect you had on the prince himself.

“I can’t reach my zipper, could you zip up the back of my dress for me?” You saw his cheeks blush a light pink below the thin layer of bb cream he had on. Without the zip done neither of you were going anywhere so he had to do it.

He wasn’t able to give a verbal response and just nodded. You turned around to have your back facing Jinyoung. He moved your hair to aside exposing half of your back to him. He was blushing so hard right now and was happy to have you facing away from him even though in a matter of seconds you’d be facing him seeing the shades of red planted on his cheeks. Jinyoung gently placed one hand on the zipper and the other hand on your back holding the fabric of your dress still. His fingers grazed your skin and they were a little cold leading you to jolt a little by the surprising cool touch. He notices.

“Did I hurt you?” His voice was a little worried. The slightest worrying reaction you make, and he’s so concerned. He’s too sweet.

“Nope, your hands are just a little cold that’s all.” You say whilst you chuckle.

He apologises with his soothing voice and zips up the dress, letting out a quiet done when finished.

You turn back round and thank him for his kind gesture. You also noticed the flush of his cheeks. He’s so cute, you thought. You quickly put your heels on and left Jinyoung’s patient room and entered the hall of the hospital. Expectedly, you guys received some stares and some whistles by the old women sitting outside their patient rooms. The event manager had organised a limousine to pick up each nominee for the awards hence why there was a lovely jet black limousine parked at the entrance of the hospital. The driver spotted you two and guided you the way and kept the door open for you two to enter the fancy vehicle. He ran back to the wheel and started driving towards the venue.

“Anything I need to know beforehand? Who should I present myself as?” Jinyoung had started with the questions during the car drive.

“Who’d you like to present yourself as Jinyoung?” You wanted to fish out his intentions from him.

“Preferably your boyfriend in order to stop those punks from hitting on you but I’d never want to force you into a relationship with me…” He side eyed you as he kept looking out the window. You so wanted him to be your boyfriend.

“Logical. Agreed. If anyone asks, you’re my boyfriend.”

“What an honour.” You slap his thigh due to his sarcastic tone.

“Whatttt? I’m serious. I’m going to be the boyfriend of an amazingly talented architect who’s bound to receive an award tonight. It’s a genuine privilege.” You could only look at him in awe as he described the so called ‘privilege’ he was taking part of.

“If you say so…”

The humming noise from the motor of the limousine was really calming but Jinyoung broke the silence once again.

“Are you nervous?” His tone was much deeper and serious compared to how he was a second ago.

“A little. These awards happen once a year and we’ve progressed so much as a company but so has everyone else in the industry. It’s hard to tell if we’ll be receiving the major validation from the institute. With or without the award tonight I’m so pleased with my company, but it would be nice to get a recognisable achievement for all our hard work.” Jinyoung listened to you as you let out your insecurities for the upcoming night.

“In the little amount of time I’ve met you, I think you’re the only person who deserves all the awards you’ve been nominated for this year. No one can change my thoughts and it’s going to be a pleasure to witness your achievement first hand. I can’t wait.” He rubbed his thumb over your knuckles trying to calm your nerves down. It was going to be a long night.

30 MINUTES LATER

Your limousine had rocked up to the red carpet laid out on the floor outside of the venue of the awards. You took a deep breath as the driver ran around to Jinyoung’s side of the limousine to let him out. Jinyoung agreed to open your door for you so he exited the vehicle first. Like he had planned, he went around to your side and opened the door for you to step out. The cameras started capturing every single moment as you wrapped your arm around Jinyoungs, and he gave you a reassuring nod. You gave him a smile and the two of you walked towards the entrance of the building slowly as you waved to the cameras and press greeting the two of you. The cameras were close to blinding, but you pulled through until reaching the entrance where the bodyguard escorted the two of you to your spaces in the main hall.

The building was full of white and gold decorations. You could definitely tell that the theme was highly influenced by Greek culture. The budget of the awards keep growing as the number of sponsors increase. The bodyguard escorted you to the table that Beck was already sat at with his fiancé. Beck realised your presence as well as Jinyoung. He stood up to give you a hug and shook Jinyoung’s hand. Beck’s fiancé shook both of your hands too and took your seats.

“The famous Mr Park. It’s nice to meet you in person. I’m Beck, the other shareholder.” Beck gave Jinyoung a warm smile.

“It’s nice to meet you to Beck. It seems like you already know of my name, but I’ll reiterate for the norm. My name is Park Jinyoung, you can call me just Jinyoung.” You let out a scoff because of how formal Jinyoung was being with Beck.

“He’s younger than you so you can ignore the formalities.” You said to Jinyoung and then Beck and him opened the conversation about age and their Chinese zodiac signs.

The evening began at 7:30 pm with the award winners due to be announced at 9:00 pm. Until then there was butterflies in your stomach ready to be set free any minute now.

Jinyoung came closer to your ear and whispered, “Loosen up a little. There’s no need to be this tense. Here hold my hand.”

Jinyoung offered his hand and you took it immediately as he gestured his open palm. Your hands were tiny compared to his manly hands. They encompassed all your digits giving you’re a sigh of relief because of the security they exerted. You let out a large sigh and continued with the discussions on your table with the new clients that were interested in your company. Having Jinyoung at the event really helped scare away the useless men who would only be interested in your physique and nothing more. His presence filtered out all the nonsense that would usually be taking place at the table.

The clock finally struck 9:00 pm and everyone went back to their designated seats in order for the awards to be presented. The event holder went through all the minor rookie awards to then move onto the company categories.

“Here are the nominees for Best Project of the Year.” The event holder signalled to the larger screen behind him as the nominees including your company are mentioned in no specific order.

“I was personally really fond of this project myself too. The meaning behind the design and the immense detail put into the façade really makes me excited for the future of this company. I’ll stop blabbing on and open the envelope.” You looked at Beck and then back at Jinyoung who was really eager to know the result.

“The award for Best Project of the Year goes to…” The event holder lifts the flap of the envelope and takes out the white sheet of paper inside. You hold your breath waiting for the result to be spoken.

“The Chamberlain project, designed and constructed by Chevrel Architects.” The whole community around your table started roaring and cheering for you and Beck to claim the award. That was one award written down in the books for Chevrel Architects, a company you and Beck had started years back. You and Beck had decided that if this award was given to you guys then he’d give the speech for it. Beck was the reason for the Chamberlain project happening and hands down you could state it was because of him the project turned out well. You, Jinyoung and everyone else in the hall stood up clapping as Beck walked up to the stage and shook hands with the event holder along with receiving the award. He then walked up to the mic and started his speech.

“I’d like to first start off with a large thank you to everyone at Chevrel Architects. The amount of hard work that was put into the Chamberlain project is indescribable, without everyone’s help it wouldn’t have been possible to achieve such a great outcome. I’d like to also thank Y/N for coming on this journey with me and trusting in me when I said that this company will create its own legacy. This is only the beginning…” Beck continued to thank more or less everyone he knew and came to an end with another roaring applause by everyone.

He jogged back to your table and you admired the award he placed on the table. You felt Jinyoung squeeze your hand in encouragement for you to realise how much you guys are capable of although he still knew you were a little iffy because the individual architect awards hadn’t been announced yet. You couldn’t help but smile at the gleaming object right before your eyes. Having received this award you doubted that another award would be given to someone of the same company.

Minutes went by and the event holder had reached the most awaited award of the night. Architect of the Year. You were surprised that you hadn’t left to use the restroom to throw up all this anxiety already. You were so ready to go home and relax. You wanted your normal heart rate back. You looked at Jinyoung and he gave you a look that melted your heart in seconds. He started massaging your knuckles with his thumb again and you could feel your body ease into his touch. The event holder for the last time of the night directs our attention to the screen for the listing of the nominees. Beck unfortunately wasn’t nominated so he was rooting for you to win the award.

“I know for many of you this is probably the most important part of the night. I’d like to first mention that to be able to be nominated for this award is ana achievement in itself so, you architects should all be proud of yourselves. It was a very hard decision that the committee made but we were able to make a decision. The award for Architect of the Year goes to…”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think it was mean of me to have ended this episode here, but it is 2:30 am right now as I write this episode. I hope you guys liked this episode. I shall be back somewhat soon so make sure to come back to check if an episode has been uploaded. Like always let me know your opinions on the story line and check out the other episodes if you haven’t. It would be nice to get some feedback :)

See you next time

writer-nim x

#got7 #igot7 #ahgase #got7imagines #got7drabbles #got7smut #got7au #got7fluff #got7ff #got7fanfic #got7faketexts #got7fakechats #park jinyoung #mark tuan #im jaebeom #Jackson wang #choi youngjae #bambam #kim yugyeom #park jinyoung imagines #mark tuan imagines #im jaebeom imagines #Jackson wang imagines #choi youngjae imagines #bambam imagines #kim yugyeom imagines #kpop imagines #Kpop scenarios #kpop #got7 fanart

[bunnygirl330]

𝙰𝚕𝚕 𝙸 𝚆𝚊𝚗𝚝;

pairing:  ander muñoz x omar shana, background guzman nunier osuna x nadia shana

genre: fluff, light angst, future au- established relationship

word count: 15.0k

warnings: mean homophobic dad 

summary: Ander and Omar are left babysitting for a night and Ander starts thinking of the possibilities of their future. What will happen when Omar's not so sure if their plans for the future are the same?

a/n: I'm not an expert on surrogacy, adoption or pregnancy so please forgive me for any mistakes. Facts about that stuff in Spain is hard to get so most of it is based off American/British facts. Also I know that surrogacy isn't legal in Spain but I didn't find out until half-way through writing this so just imagine that it is.The title comes from the song All I Want by Kodaline which I was listening to whilst writing this. I loved writing this story so much so I hope you all enjoy reading it. And also a huge thank you to my beta ( @alytavzla​ ) because I couldn't have done it without her! AO3

part one - part two

Omar heard a knocking at the door and realised that it must be Guzman and Nadia as he and Ander had agreed to babysit for them today so that they could have a date night.

“Ander, they’re here!” Omar shouted through to the bedroom before he moved towards the door. Omar opened the door just as Ander emerged from the bedroom, drying his hair with a towel. As soon as it was open little footsteps went crashing through the apartment towards Ander.

“Uncle Ander!” The little girl shouted as she ran and hugged him around the legs, almost knocking him off his feet. Ander started laughing and ruffled her hair before he picked her up and carried her back towards the others.

“I swear to god I feel like that kid loves you two more than she loves us sometimes.” Guzman said, laughing, as he entered the apartment, hugging both Omar and Ander on his way in. Nadia did the same before they made their way into the kitchen where Ander placed the three-year-old down so that she was sat on the kitchen island with her ankles dangling off the edge so that he could remove her shoes.

“Thank you guys so much for doing this.” Nadia said “I feel like we haven’t had a day to ourselves in forever, but you’ll get it when you have kids.” She said casually, smiling in her daughter’s direction. Omar’s head shot up at this remark, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. Sure, he’d thought about having kids before, he and Ander had been married for almost six years, but they were only 29 and he didn’t know if they were ready for that kind of responsibility. However, when he looked over at Ander, he was just smiling in Nadia’s direction as he finished pulling the last shoe off his niece’s tiny foot. “Marina, are you gonna be ok with Uncle Omar and Uncle Ander?” Nadia asked as Marina started nodding her head vigorously. Guzman had wanted to name their daughter after his sister saying that it was almost like giving her another chance at life, even if it was almost 10 years after her death, and Nadia had whole-heartedly agreed.

“We’ll be fine,” Ander said looking in the direction of his sister-in-law. “won’t we?” He finished looking down at Marina before starting to tickle her, sending shrieks of laughter echoing through the flat.

“I think that’s our cue to leave.” Guzman said, chuckling at his daughter’s glee. “Come on, she’ll be fine.” he continued as he began to push his wife towards the door. “Everything you’ll need is in the bag and we’ll be back at noon tomorrow to pick her up. Have fun!” He shouted and then pulled Nadia out the door before she could change her mind.

———

Omar and Ander spent the day with Marina, having tickle fights, (in which Omar and Marina would team up and therefore Ander inevitably lost) building forts, (one of which collapsed on top of Omar’s head, which made Marina and Ander roll around on the floor in hysterics) and watching Disney movies. However, when they were in the middle of Cinderella, Marina asked why it was always a prince and a princess and never two princesses or two princes like her uncles so Omar decided it was time to make dinner instead of having a discussion about the long history of homophobia with a three-year-old.

It was now seven o’clock and Ander was busy helping Marina brush her teeth so that they could put her to bed so when the phone started to ring Omar went to grab it.

“Hello, Omar speaking.” He answered.

“Omar, I’m so glad you picked up I thought the two of you might be out.” Came the voice down the phone.

“Oh my god, Lu!” Omar exclaimed, “It’s so nice to hear from you, you haven’t called for like a week, I thought you might have disappeared.” He said chuckling at his friend’s constant need for contact with them.

“Hey!” Lu yelled, annoyed that Omar was mocking her but also laughing since she knew it was true. Lu had become much closer with Omar and Ander after she moved to New York with Nadia, she had even been one of the bridesmaids at their wedding. But when their time at Columbia had ended they both got offered jobs in New York, Nadia had declined in order to come back home and live with Guzman but Lu had accepted and stayed and had lived in New York ever since. “Anyway, I’m on my lunch break ‘cause it’s one o’clock here, but I only have a certain amount of time and I need to talk to both of you. Is Ander there?”

“Yeah, he’s here but we’ve been babysitting Marina all day so he’s getting her ready for bed.” Omar said as he started walking towards the spare bedroom that he’d seen Ander carry Marina into a few minutes before.

“Oh, you have Marina there?” Lu exclaimed excitedly, “Can I talk to her?”

“Of course, just give me one second.” Omar said as he entered the spare room and settled onto the end of the bed beside Ander who was tucking Marina in. “Guess who’s on the phone!” He said to Marina as she looked at him sleepily, worn out from the days activities.

“Who?” She asked, sleepy but still intrigued.

“Auntie Lu!” Omar replied, putting the phone on speaker and holding it between the three of them.

“Yay! Auntie Lu!” Marina cried shooting upwards to get closer to the phone.

“Hey sweet girl,” Lu said and began chatting to the little girl for the next ten minutes. The three of them stayed on the phone with Lu until 7:30 when Marina started to fall asleep and Ander decided to switch the light off and quietly leave the room.

“Hey so you said you wanted to talk to us about something.” Omar said into the phone as he and Ander settled onto the couch.

“Oh, yes, of course.” Lu mumbled, remembering why she had called in the first place. “I have some time off work so I wanted to come back to Madrid for a week and I was wondering if I could stay in your spare room?”

“That’s great that you’re coming home, and of course you can stay with us.” Ander replied looking up from the phone towards Omar who also had a large smile, seeming very happy that their friend was returning, even if only for a short period. “When are you coming though?”

“I was hoping to come two weeks from now if that isn’t too soon fro you guys? I also have something really important that I want to tell you but I’d rather do it in person.”

“It’s not too soon at all, we can’t wait to see you!” Omar said happily. The three of them chatted, discussing details of the trip for another 20 minutes before Lu had to go because her lunch break was over and said she’d call again soon, all of them saying goodbye and then hanging up the phone.

———

It was later that night and Ander was lying in bed while Omar was finishing undressing.

“Hey, can I talk to you about something?” Ander said as he looked towards Omar who was now climbing into the bed beside him.

“Sure, what’s up?” He replied as he settled down and began to stroke his fingers through Ander’s soft curls.

“It’s just that, earlier, when Nadia made that comment about us having our own kids, I saw your face and you looked terrified. I guess I just always assumed that it was something that you wanted but… maybe it isn’t?” Ander felt nervous as he looked up into Omar’s eyes, suddenly scared that Omar would say he didn’t want any of that. Because Ander wanted all of that, he wanted it a lot. Sometimes he just found himself daydreaming about he and Omar running around with their own child just like they did with Marina, he didn’t care how hard Nadia said it was, he wanted it more than anything.

“Hey, no, it wasn’t that I don’t want that. Of course I want a family with you.” Omar said and Ander felt a flood of relief wash through him at hearing those words. “I just looked scared because I knew that you would want to talk about it as soon as I heard Nadia mention it and... I’ve been thinking about it for a while but I didn’t know how to tell you. I think we should start trying to figure out how we’re gonna have a baby. I mean you’ve been thinking about it, I’ve been thinking about it, it just seems like the right time, don’t you think?”

Ander felt tears fill his eyes as a wide smile press across his face. At first he said nothing and simply pulled Omar towards him and kissed him. Once he pulled back he said “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to hear that.”

“So what do we want to do? Adoption? Surrogacy?” Omar said, speeding up as panic started to set in.

“I don’t know. I think we should talk to Nadia and Guzman, they’ll know how to help us. Besides we don’t need to talk about that right now, I’m just happy.” Ander said as he reached across Omar turning the lamp off before wrapping his arms around his husband as they both fell into a blissful sleep, dreaming about the family that they were about to create.

———

The next morning arrived and so did Nadia and Guzman at precisely 12 o’clock.

“Mama!” Marina shrieked as she saw Nadia walk through the door and ran into her arms as Nadia picked her up and spun her round. Meanwhile Guzman walked over to the kitchen, after kissing his daughter on the cheek and ruffling her hair, where Ander was preparing lunch for the five of them.

“Hey man, how was your night?” Ander asked Guzman as he started helping him peel vegetables.

“Well we didn’t get much sleep if you know what I mean.” Guzman replied laughing while Ander simply rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“Dude, would you shut up? That’s my sister you’re talking about.” Omar yelled as he’d overheard them from where he was stood talking to Nadia. But that just made Guzman laugh more and Ander found that he couldn’t help himself either. Nadia, however, did not find the situation funny and slapped Guzman gently across the face after sitting her daughter down in front of the television. Seeing Guzman rub his slightly pink cheek made Omar and Ander laugh even more while Nadia simply smiled to herself while leaning over the kitchen counter.

“Anyway,” Ander said, trying to move the subject away from Nadia and Guzman’s sex life. “we need to talk to you about a couple of things so do you think we could just let Marina eat on the couch so that we can chat?”

“Yeah, of course, but what do you need to talk about?” Nadia asked looking concerned but simultaneously still glaring at her husband.

“Nothing bad, let me just finish up here and then we can talk.” Ander replied.

Ten minutes later Ander had served lunch to everyone and the four of them were gathered around the kitchen island while Marina sat on the couch, enthralled in some sort of cartoon.

“So the first thing is that Lu is coming to stay in a couple of weeks, we said she could stay with us but my guess is you’ll want to see her too.” Omar began looking across the island towards Nadia and Guzman. Nadia’s face lit up as a huge smile came across her face at the thought of one of her best friends coming home.

“Oh my god that’s amazing! I can’t wait to see her, it’ll be so nice to have another girl around here for a while. No offence.” Nadia said looking up at the guys.

“None taken.” Ander said, laughing at Nadia’s child-like glee at the thought of Lu coming back, even if it was just for a week.

“Oh goody, my ex-girlfriend’s coming home.” Guzman said sarcastically, causing Nadia to punch him hard in the shoulder. It wasn’t that Guzman didn’t like Lu, it was just that he couldn’t help but find the relationship between his wife and his ex slightly odd. He was also put off by the fact that his daughter could find out exactly how they knew her Auntie Lu, and he didn’t like that at all. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” He said looking towards Nadia while rubbing his upper arm, starting to get slightly pissed off at the physical abuse he was receiving from his wife. “Anyway, what’s the other thing you wanted to tell us?” He continued, looking ahead towards his best friend and brother-in-law.

“Well…” Ander started, looking sideways, towards Omar who nodded for him to continue. “We were talking last night and we decided that… we really want to have a baby.” Nadia gasped and put her hands up to her mouth in excitement while Guzman clapped his hands fist pumped the air. Ander looked over at Omar, chuckling softly, and wrapped his arm around Omar’s waist, pulling him closer.

“So how are you gonna do it?” Nadia asked getting straight down to business, “Are you gonna adopt or use a surrogate?”

“We don’t know.” Omar answered “We were hoping you could help us with that?”

“Hand me a pen and paper, we’ll make some sort of list and you can decide using that. I always find it easier to make a decision when I can see it on paper.” Nadia said, being the smart one in the situation, as always. The four of them spent the next 40 minutes coming up with pros and cons and this is what they got:

Surrogacy:

Pros:

One person will be biologically related to the child

They’ll be more involved with the pregnancy

They’re guaranteed they’ll know the baby from the moment its born

They won’t have to wait too long

Cons:

It’s really expensive

One person still won’t be biologically related to the child and they would have to decide who

They would have to find someone to be their surrogate because they wouldn’t want a stranger

It might not work on the first go

It might be harder because they’re gay

Adoption:

Pros:

Gives a child a home

They wouldn’t have to pick who was related to the child

They could know the baby from when it’s born if they find the right adoption agency

Cons:

Also quite expensive

Could take a really long time

No one will be related to the child

They might not experience the pregnancy or the birth

It might be harder because they’re gay

“So, here’s what we’ve established.” Nadia said looking up at the other three with a serious look on her face. “Surrogacy means one of you would be the biological father of the child, but it’s a lot more expensive than adoption. Adoption means you would be giving a child a home but it could take years for you to go through the system. And in either case the fact that you’re not a heterosexual couple could harm your chances. So, does that help you at all?” She asked hopefully.

“I mean, I think I know what I want.” Ander said looking cautiously towards Omar, “What about you?”

“I think we should go with surrogacy, don’t you?” Omar asked, “We’ve been waiting for this for long enough already and I don’t want to wait any longer.”

Ander simply placed a chaste kiss on Omar’s lips and replied, “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”

Nadia couldn’t contain herself any longer and let out a little shriek of excitement that was very out of character for her, and went round and hugged Omar and Ander as Guzman did the same. The four of them continued chatting for another half hour before they noticed that Marina had fallen asleep on the couch and Guzman and Nadia decided it was best if they took her home. They all said goodbye and then the three of them left, Guzman carrying his daughter’s sleeping form in his arms as they made their way towards the elevator.

———

The next two weeks went by in a complete blur for Ander and Omar. Firstly they had to start research on surrogacy, how much it would cost, where they would need to go, etc. They found out that Nadia hadn’t been kidding when she said it wasn’t cheap but luckily they both had well-paying jobs and enough savings to easily go through with it. As well as this they were making arrangements with Lu for when she arrived and they were helping out with picking up Marina from her new preschool when Nadia and Guzman couldn’t make it back from work in time.

It was now the night before Lu would arrive and the two of them were cuddled up on the couch, both exhausted from the hectic two weeks they’d just had. Omar and Ander now co-owned and ran one of the biggest nightclubs in their area. After high school they had both done business degrees and now Ander ran the money side of things while Omar handled the day-to-day running of the club. They loved running the business together, mostly because they were their own bosses and therefore got to pick their own hours, but with work on top of everything else they’d been doing, they both felt completely drained.

“I’m so fucking tired.” Ander complained as he rested his head back on Omar’s chest, “I’m so glad Lu’s plane doesn’t land till 2:30, if I had to get up any earlier than 11 tomorrow I think I might die of sleep deprivation.” he finished as Omar chuckled at his husband’s ability to make everything so dramatic.

“So I was thinking earlier,” Omar began, looking down at Ander who had sat up slightly to listen to him. “we’ve been so caught up in all the formalities of the surrogacy stuff that we haven’t even thought about who our surrogate could be.”

“Urghh” Ander let out a groan at the thought of having to try and figure out yet another part of this never-ending system. “Well, we need someone we know, but we can’t ask any colleagues, whether they’re our friends or not, ‘cause technically we’re their bosses and that would be a violation of HR.”

Omar let out an internal sigh at hearing Ander say this because, even though he knew that was true, it ruled out a large proportion of the women they felt close enough to to ask them to carry their baby. “Then I have no idea who to ask.” Omar sighed, looking defeated.

“What about Nadia?” Ander suggested, looking up to where Omar was massaging his temples to try and prevent yet another migraine.

“No, I don’t want to ask Nadia.” Omar said, deciding to expand on that after he saw the questioning look on Ander’s face at his quick and defiant answer. “It’s just that I know if we asked then she would say yes and I don’t want to put her and Guzman in that position. I think that Nadia would be fine with it, but I think Guzman might find it weird and it would be confusing for Marina. Plus, I’m not sure that Nadia would be as ok to give up the baby at the end of it all as she would pretend to be.” Ander simply nodded his head, understanding where Omar was coming from. “My first suggestion was gonna be Rebe.” Omar continued, “But, like you said, since she technically works for us, we can’t ask her.”

Ander put his head in his hands, his brain beginning to hurt from all the complications of this stupid process. Rebe would have been the perfect person; they’ve known her for a long time, she doesn’t have a partner who might find it awkward and she’s not exactly known for becoming massively emotionally attached to things. This entire process was starting to become way too overwhelming and Ander was starting to feel like he was drowning. But he wanted a family with Omar more than anything and if this was what it took to get it then so be it.

———

It was the next morning and Guzman and Nadia arrived at 1:30 with Marina so that they would be there as a surprise when Ander and Omar brought Lu back to the apartment. Marina was jumping around in excitement at the fact that she was going to see her Auntie Lu and Nadia almost looked as if she was going to join her. Nadia and Lu had lived together in New York for four years and they had been inseparable so, it was safe to say, that when Nadia returned to Spain it had been incredibly difficult for her without her best friend.

Ander and Omar arrived at the airport and, when they saw Lu coming out of of the gate, rushed towards her. They all hugged and exchanged excited greetings before Ander took her bags and they all made their way to the car.

They arrived back at the apartment at around 3:30 and when they opened the door Lu let out a loud squeal of excitement at seeing Nadia and Marina and ran towards them, hugging them very tightly.

Once everyone had calmed down and Lu had also greeted Guzman they all settled down at the dining table to eat the late lunch that Nadia had prepared, while Marina sat watching cartoons as she had eaten earlier.

Lu told them lots of exciting stories about New York and her job, Nadia and Guzman filled her in on the joys of parenthood, as well as the lack of sleep, and Omar and Ander informed her that the club was doing really well. After everyone had properly caught up with each other Lu said she needed to tell them all something.

“So, I have a surprise for you all.” She said a huge smile on her face as she mostly focused on Nadia. “I’m moving back home!” She exclaimed as Nadia ran around the table to hug her and the three guys laughed and Nadia’s giddy reaction while also congratulating Lu. “I got offered a much higher paying job here in Madrid and, as much as I love New York, I decided it was too good an opportunity not to take.”

“So, when are you moving back?” Guzman asked curiously.

“Umm… now!” Lu said looking slightly anxiously round the table as they all looked at her, shocked. “I know I’m kind of springing this on you all but I really wanted to tell you in person. And Ander, before you ask, no I’m not planning on staying here forever I’ve already bought my own apartment it’s just that it won’t be ready till next week.” She said, eyeing an amused looking Ander, as that had been exactly what he was about to ask.  

While everyone else was still in shock, Guzman got over it rather quickly and said, “Well, maybe with this new fancy job and big salary of yours, you’ll be able to pay me the €100 you owe me.” he looked towards Lu with amusement in his eyes, knowing exactly what he had just done.

Lu’s head shot up with a jolt and she turned towards Ander and Omar, “You two decided to have a baby?” She shrieked, looking happier than ever.

“What? How the fuck did you figure that out?” Ander said looking towards Omar who appeared just as bewildered as him. They had decided they weren’t going to tell anyone else until they’d picked a surrogate so the fact that Lu just blurted it out really didn’t help them.

“Oh, me and Guzman had a bet on for how long it was gonna take for you two to realise you both wanted kids. He said it would happen this year and I said it wouldn’t happen till later.” She said, making a waving gesture in the air as if that was something she could just brush aside. “But anyway how-”

She was interrupted from her next question by Ander who had began glaring at Guzman as if he wanted to strangle him which amused Guzman to no end. “So you two had a bet,” he started, now turning his gaze to Lu “on how long we would remain miserable and childless?” Omar, who had now caught up, was now staring at Lu with a look of disbelief on his face.

“And you said it would take us two years?” Omar asked incredulously.

“Well, you both really busy with work and…” she trailed off, unable to get out of the hole she’d dug herself into. “But that’s not what’s important,” She said, quickly recovering, “your going to have a baby!” she squealed as she rushed towards where they were sat and puled them both into her arms.

Ander and Omar couldn’t help smiling at the fact that their friend was so happy for them and quickly forgave her. However Omar thought it might take longer for Ander to forgive Guzman considering the way he was currently glaring at him as Guzman laughed at the scene before him.

———

The first few days went by quickly with Lu visiting everyone and dragging Ander and Omar along with her. As well as going to the club with Rebe, Carla, Samuel and even Nadia and Guzman as they’d managed to get a babysitter that wasn’t Omar or Ander.

Now it was three days since Lu had arrived and Ander and Omar were sat on the couch talking about the appointment they had tomorrow at the surrogacy clinic, as it was the closest time they were able to get one.

“They’re gonna ask us which one of us wants to be the biological father and we don’t even have an answer for them.” Ander whined as Omar brushed his fingers through his curls.

“Then we’ll figure it out, there must be some way of the doctor deciding without us having to do it.” Omar stated, attempting to reassure his husband that everything would go smoothly. They went back and forth for about ten minutes, Ander getting increasingly panicked and Omar still trying to calm him down.

“But we don’t even have a surrogate.” Ander said turning his head to look Omar in the eyes, “Surely we should have picked a surrogate before our first appointment, I know they said it wasn’t necessary but they did say it was better if we did.”

Omar was about to reply when Lu’s voice echoed towards them from where she was stood at the entrance to the spare room. “I’ll do it.” She said. They all stayed silent for at least a few minutes, Ander and Omar just staring at Lu as she stared right back.

“W-we can’t ask you to do that Lu.” Omar said looking at his friend as she made her way towards them and sat down on the coffee table so that she was facing them.

“You’re not asking, I’m offering.” She stated, as if it was the easiest decision she’d ever made. And in a way, for her, it was. Lu knew she’d done and said some pretty nasty things in her life and this would be a way to make up for that slightly, she would be helping the people that she loved get something that they wanted more than anything else in the world so, really, what more could she ask for.

“But Lu, you’d be giving up so much for nine months. You’d have to stop eating certain foods, you wouldn’t be able to drink, you might not be able to date and you’d even have to take time off work.” Ander said, still staring at Lu as if he didn’t quite believe he’d heard her right.

“I don’t care.” She said simply, “If it helps you, then I don’t care. I know how much this means to the both of you and it would be amazing if you thought I was good enough to do this for you. I mean everybody knows that I don’t get particularly attached to things so there’s no chance of me becoming overly attached to the baby and I could even live with you through the pregnancy, if that would be something that you wanted?” She asked tentatively.

Omar looked at Ander, a glimmer of hope in his eyes and Ander just nodded. “Lu, that would be amazing.” Omar said “But you have to be 100% certain that you’re willing to do this because, you know, once it’s done, there’s no going back.” Lu said that she was sure, but Omar was still uncertain so he said, “At least talk to the doctor tomorrow, so that you can understand how everything works before you agree.”

“Ok, I can do that.” Lu said, a wide smile breaking out across her face.

“Thank you.” Was all Ander said as he leaned forward and hugged Lu, tears rolling down his cheeks. Omar quickly joined in, tears also in his eyes and the three of them sat there hugging and crying happy tears for what felt like hours. Omar and Ander contemplating the fact that they were finally going to get the family they’d always wanted.

———

The next morning it was a rush to get out of the door, all three having slept in and not having nearly enough time to get ready. They eventually made it to the surrogacy clinic with five minutes to spare before the appointment, all cursing under their breath at the fact they had had to run three blocks because that was the closest parking spot they could find. Lu had particularly struggled considering she was in heels, but then again when was she not.

They all walked in to the doctor’s office and sat down in the chairs on the other side of her desk.

“Hi, I’m Dr Sánchez, it’s so lovely to meet you all.” She said shaking each of their hands as they all smiled and told her their names. “So, I take it you two are the happy couple,” she said gesturing between Omar and Ander, “and you’re their surrogate.” she gestured towards Lu and they all nodded. “So first of all we just need to go through few formalities.” She began as she pulled some forms from out of her desk, “I need some information on Lu first, mostly medical, but also about your relationship with Ander and Omar.”

Lu nodded and agreed but then Omar interrupted before they could go any further. “Sorry, I don’t mean to interrupt but I just wondered whether you could talk through the whole process with Lu first because we really care about her and we just want her to fully understand what she’d be going into.” He said looking between Dr Sánchez and Lu whilst he spoke.

“Of course,” the doctor replied, “we always want to make sure that all of our surrogates feel completely comfortable throughout the process.” She spent the next 30 minutes explaining the entire process to Lu including that the baby would not be biologically related to Lu as they would use an egg donor and that Lu would simply be growing the baby. However she also told Lu that it was likely to put a lot pressure on her body and that pregnancy would have lots of side effects both physically, hormonally and mentally. Lastly, the doctor explained that even though Lu was carrying the baby that after she signed the required forms she would have no legal right to any parenthood or visitations of the child and that once she did it there was no going back.

To the last part Lu replied saying “Oh yes, I understand that completely, this will be their child,” she looked towards Ander and Omar “I’m simply helping them get there.” she said.

“Perfect, I think that’s everything so if you’re sure then we can get back to these forms. Although you won’t sign the parenthood forms until the day of insemination so that you have time to back out between now and then.” Dr Sánchez stated, making sure Lu understood the legal formalities of the process. She then began asking Lu the questions on the forms which made Ander and Omar feel increasingly uncomfortable considering many of the questions were to do with Lu’s cervical and uterus health and Lu had to try and prevent herself from sniggering at the looks on the boys faces. The questions then moved onto the relationship between the parents and the surrogate. They had to say how they met, how long they’d known each other and whether Lu would continue to be in the baby’s life after the birth and if she was what role she would play.

“Okay, we’re all done with Lu’s questions.” The doctor said, turning to face Ander and Omar, “Now we need to know who’s going to be the biological father of the baby. Have you two made a decision yet?”

“Ummm no, we were hoping that was something you could help us with.” Ander said, looking hopeful, as he really didn’t want to have to make this decision.  

“Absolutely!” She replied, “What we would sometimes do would be to take samples off both of you and then you wouldn’t know who was the father, which is an option, but considering the two of you are of different ethnicities it would probably be quite obvious who was the father. Now that’s still something we can do, but there’s a list of questions that might help you to decide first.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.” Ander answered as Omar nodded his head.

“Okay, firstly, do either of you have any severe mental health conditions?” She asked to which they both shook their heads and she marked something down on the sheet in front of her. “Do either of you currently suffer from any of the following: diabetes, heart disease, high/low blood pressure or early-onset arthritis?” And they both shook their heads again, “Alright, next, have either of you ever suffered from a severe health condition at any point in your lives?”

“Oh shit, I didn’t even think about that.” Ander whispered as he looked sideways towards Omar and Lu, who both had looks of sympathy on their face, and then he remembered Dr Sánchez was still staring at them. “Sorry, I um, I suffered from leukaemia almost eleven years ago, when I was 18-years-old.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” The doctor replied looking with pity towards Ander. “In terms of whether that means you could still father the child I wouldn’t say that it’s a massive disadvantage. However there is a possibility that it was genetic and therefore that you could pass it onto your children so it could be a better option to go with Omar.”

Omar looked towards Ander questioningly, “Look,” Omar began, “if this is something that you want then I’m willing to take that risk, ok? You got better and you’ve been clear for eleven years and I’m going to let that cancer take yet another thing away from you.”

Ander looked away from Omar and down at his knees before taking in a large breath and then exhaling whilst saying “No. No, I couldn’t do that. I won’t take that chance because I don’t want anyone to suffer the way that I did, especially not our child.”

“Does that mean we’re going with Omar?” Doctor Sánchez asked tentatively.

“Yes.” Ander said quickly before Omar could make any more arguments.

“Okay, perfect. That’s all I need from you today, Omar we’ll make an appointment for you to come back next week so that we can create the embryos and then we’ll make an appointment for the insemination at whatever time works best for the three of you.” With that the doctor stood up to shake all of their hands again before they exited the room and returned home.

———

The next two weeks went by incredibly slowly for Ander and Omar, as if the universe had decided to drag out their childless misery for just a bit longer. Lu got the keys to her new flat so they went shopping to fill it with furniture so she could move in with Lu repeatedly promising that she didn’t mind moving back in to live with Omar and Ander once she was pregnant. Omar also went back to the clinic a few days after the first appointment so that the doctor could create the embryos.

Now it was Tuesday, A.K.A the day of insemination, and the three of them were all sat in the clinic’s waiting room once again, waiting for Doctor Sánchez to call them in. When she finally did she greeted them before they all sat down.

“So today is the day.” She said, looking excited for them, even though she must be used to it by now. “Lu, I have some forms for you to sign but firstly you need to be completely sure that this is something you want to do.”

Ander and Omar looked nervously in her direction, both secretly praying she wouldn’t change her mind. “I’m sure.” Lu replied simply as she took the pen from Doctor Sánchez and quickly scribbled her signature onto the forms after scanning over them.

“Alright then,” Doctor Sánchez stated “Lu, you come with me so we can do the procedure, you two can stay here until its over and then we’ll come back through.”

Ander and Omar sat nervously chatting about anything other than children for the next 20 minutes. Neither could properly focus as they both felt anxious at whether this would work even if they wouldn’t know for the next few days.

Soon after Doctor Sánchez walked back into the room, followed swiftly by Lu, and took a seat back at her desk before turning back to the three of them. “Okay, so we’ve carried out the procedure but I’m afraid now you’re just going to have to wait. The earliest you’ll be able to find out if you’re pregnant could be in a few hours or it could take up to twelve days so it’s completely up to you when to take the pregnancy tests. Although if I were to give you advice then I would say to wait the twelve days and then take a test so that you can avoid any unnecessary disappointment.”

The four of them continued to discuss the details for a few more minutes before Ander, Omar and Lu thanked the doctor and exited the room with the understanding that, should Lu become pregnant, Doctor Sánchez would be the one to carry out all appointments and to deliver the baby when the time came.

———

Ander felt like every second that went by was an hour for the next twelve days. Neither he nor Omar could sleep at the thought of their baby possibly being formed at that very moment and yet they didn’t know. Neither could focus on work and Rebe was on the brink of smashing their heads together just to make them ‘run their own goddamn business’ to put it in her words.

It was now the day they’d been not-so-patiently waiting for and Lu was stood in their apartment, having just walked through the door, alongside Guzman and Nadia who had insisted that they needed to be there and had even found a babysitter for the occasion. At first Ander failed to comprehend why they felt the need to be there but then realised he really couldn’t care less as long as Lu was there.

As Lu took off her coat and put down her bag she pulled a small box out with a mother and baby printed on the front of it before making her way towards the couch where the other four sat. “You know,” she said as she sat down, “I was reading through some of the brochures that Doctor Sánchez gave me and if I’d known you can’t wear heels when you’re pregnant I might not have agreed to this.” She finished with a smirk on her face, but no one else was laughing, they were simply staring at her intently and Ander was bouncing his leg up and down while Omar put his hand on it in an attempt to soothe the nerves of his husband even though he was just as nervous.

“Okay, okay, jeez, I’m going.” Lu said as she grabbed the box again and made her way towards the main bathroom. Two minutes later she emerged, pregnancy test in one hand and her phone in the other with a timer on its screen. As she took a seat again between Ander and Omar so they could see the timer she felt the nerves begin to seep in. She still knew she was doing the right thing and she still really wanted to do it but now that she was sat with a pregnancy test in her hand the reality of it all began to hit her. Her body was going to change, so was her diet and so was her lifestyle and that’s a pretty scary thing to take on, especially since she was essentially giving up the thing that most other women do it for. But she also knew that Ander and Omar were going to make the greatest parents ever and that if she had decided not to do this then she would have been kicking herself for the rest of her life.

Suddenly the timer went off and she quickly snapped out of her thoughts and flipped the test over in her hands to see what it said.

“Negative.” Omar said with a sigh. It had been the expected result for the first try but Ander and Omar still couldn’t hide the disappointment that made Lu feel somewhat guilty.

“Hey, Lu.” Nadia said tentatively reaching over to touch her friends arm. “Can you come over here with me a sec?” The asked, nodding her head towards the door to the bathroom.

Lu got up, curious to see what it was that Nadia wanted. Nadia grabbed her wrist and dragged her into the the spacious bathroom before closing and locking the door behind them. As Nadia turned to face Lu she pulled two more pregnancy tests out of her pocket. “I tested negative at first too when I was pregnant with Marina. Apparently false negatives can be quite common. You might not be pregnant but it’s at least worth a shot right?” Nadia, looked up smiling at her best friend. “I didn’t say anything in front of Omar and Ander ‘cause I don’t want to get their hopes up. But I think you should at least take them and if they’re negative then we just wont tell them.”

Lu said nothing and simply pulled Nadia into a large hug. Then she quickly grabbed the tests out of Nadia’s hands and began to unbox them.

The girls stayed in the bathroom for another ten minutes waiting for the timers to go off. When they did Lu simply stayed sat exactly where she was, too anxious to get up and look at the tests they’d left on the sink, so Nadia pulled herself up and walked over to where the tests lay. She picked them up and immediately felt tears prick her eyes as she held them up for Lu to see.

The girls burst out of the bathroom and Lu ran over to Omar and Ander with the tests in her hands. “I’m pregnant!” She exclaimed, shoving one test into each of the boy’s hands.

“What? But how? The other one was negative.” Ander said, not quite believing her.

“It was a false negative, according to Nadia they happen all the time.” Lu said as she looked back towards Nadia.

“Congrats man!” Guzman said, slapping Ander on the back and trying to hide the tears that had unexpectedly come to his eyes.

Ander and Omar were in shock as they turned towards each other, both having now stood up from the couch. They both had tears rolling down their cheeks as Omar gripped Ander’s face with both his hands and looked into his eyes. “We’re having a baby.” Omar said simply as he stared at his husband in awe. Ander said nothing and simply grabbed Omar’s face and crashed his lips against his own. They were finally getting it. They were finally getting the family that they both so desperately wanted.

———————————————————————————————————————————  

Over the next couple of weeks Lu gradually moved her stuff into Omar and Ander’s apartment until it got to the point where she’d essentially taken over the whole thing. But what surprised Lu the most was that neither Omar or Ander cared in the slightest. The only thing they could focus on was the baby.

Lu had told them that she wanted to move in with them so that they wouldn’t miss out on anything, and while that was completely true, she was also doing it for herself. The truth was that she wasn’t sure she could handle all of this on her own. As much as she wanted to do it she was also scared, mostly of the connection people kept telling her she would form with the baby. She knew that it wasn’t hers and she was okay with that, but she couldn’t help being frightened at the thought of having to give up yet another thing that she loved.

As far as the pregnancy was concerned though, she wasn’t too worried. She was strong and healthy the only thing that really worried her was the thought that people might think that she’s fat instead of pregnant. However, as all three of them were about to find out, each trimester came with it’s own challenges and none of them were very pretty.

———

First trimester:  

It was 7am and Ander and Omar were lying in bed trying not to think about the fact that they would have to get up in less than half an hour. Ander had a thrilling day ahead of calculating the profits and losses of the club, when what he really wanted to do was stay in bed all day with Omar instead.

“Hey, I just thought of something.” Omar said “When are we gonna tell our parents?”

Ander froze, he hadn’t thought of that and the thought of telling his parents-in-law that they were having a baby was enough to make him want to crawl back under the bedsheets and stay there forever. “I didn’t even think of that. We’ve been so wrapped up in the surrogacy process that I totally forgot.” He said looking at Omar with a worried look on his face.

“Don’t worry, we’ll figure something out. Although I do think it’d be safer to tell your mum before we tell my parents.” Omar replied, cringing at the thought of his father’s face when they eventually found out. “And what about your dad? Do you want to tell him?”

“I haven’t spoken to my dad in almost four years. What am I gonna do ring him and say ‘Hi dad, I know we haven’t spoken in four years but I’m having a baby. Oh, and it’s with Omar, who is also now my husband.’? Yeah, I can see that going down really well.” Ander was being rude to Omar and he knew it, considering it was a perfectly acceptable question for Omar to ask but Ander couldn’t help being bitter. The last time Ander had seen his father was six months ago, Antonio had been walking down the street that the club was on and Ander was walking the other way. Antonio had walked straight past his son as if he was a stranger and it had taken Ander weeks to get over it.

“Okay, then we don’t have to tell him.” Omar said, feeling sorry for his husband. Sure, his relationship with his own father was fractured and far from perfect but Ander’s was practically non-existent and Omar knew how much that hurt him, even if he didn’t always show it. “But I think we should tell your mum soon, she’ll be happy for us you know she will. You and I have both heard the hints she keeps dropping. I don’t think there’s been a single time we’ve visited for the past year where she hasn’t mentioned the word ‘grandchildren’.”

This made Ander chuckle slightly because it was true. He knew how much his mother wanted grandchildren and, considering he was an only child, he and Omar were her only hope. “Yeah, I think we should too, I’m meant to be meeting her for dinner next week so we can tell her then. But what about your parents?”

“If Marina can be half-white and half-christian and they still love her as much as they do then I’m sure that they can get over this. But maybe it’s safer not to tell them until later, when we’re more certain there’s no chance of complications?”

“Yeah, that sounds like a goo-” Ander was cut off by a strange noise echoing through the apartment. “What is that? I think it’s coming from the bathroom.”

Omar and Ander hopped out of bed and threw some clothes on before rushing towards the source of the noise. When they slowly pushed open the bathroom door they saw Lu curled up by the toilet bowl, throwing up the contents of her stomach. Immediately Ander rushed forward to gather up her hair and start rubbing her back, remembering from his chemo days how horrible it was to feel like this.

Meanwhile Omar jogged over to the kitchen to grab Lu a glass of water. When he returned to the bathroom he handed the water to Lu and sat down on the cold tiles with the other two. Lu was now sipping the water Omar had given her and was leaning against Ander who was still rubbing her back.

“Thanks.” She managed to croak out, her voice hoarse from the retching.

“You’re welcome. What happened? Are you okay?” Omar asked, concern for his friend all over his face.

“It’s nothing, it’s just the morning sickness. That’s what happens when you’re two months pregnant.” Lu said with a sarcastic laugh.

“You mean this has happened before?” Ander asked.

“Yeah, every morning like clockwork at 6am for the past two weeks.”

Ander and Omar both immediately felt guilty. They hadn’t known that Lu was suffering like this but they still felt bad for not noticing.

“Hey, you know when we said we wanted to be there for the whole pregnancy?” Omar said, looking Lu straight in the eyes, to which she just nodded “We meant the bad bits as well. You’re doing this all for us so that means if you feel ill at any point, even if it’s 3am, you need to tell us okay? And we’ll be there to help you.”

Lu just nodded with tears in her eyes, which she blamed on the hormones, as she wrapped an arm around each of their necks and hugged them both tightly while thanking them.

———

It was now one week later and Omar and Ander were stood on Azucena’s doorstep waiting for her to answer the door. Today was the day they were going to tell her about the baby and Lu had promised to come round in a while as soon as she was finished with work. Both of them were considerably more exhausted than usual as they’d been up every day at 6am with Lu due to her morning sickness.  

Suddenly the door burst open and Azucena appeared behind it with a huge smile on her face. She immediately pulled her son into her arms and hugged him tightly before doing the same with Omar. They all greeted each other as Azucena ushered them in and out of the cold. Ander could smell the scent of his favourite meal as a child wafting throughout the house and smiled to himself at his mother’s thoughtfulness.

Omar went into the kitchen and started pouring the wine that he and Ander had brought while Ander helped his mother serve up dinner. They all sat down at the table and made small talk about the club and Las Encinas for the next 20 minutes until they had all finished eating. After that Ander cleared up the plates and Azucena served the dessert and started to speak again as she sat back down at the table.

“Anyway,” she started, looking at her son and his husband with a slight hint of mischief behind her eyes, “I was talking to my friend Maria the other day, you know the one I’ve known since uni? And she was telling me that her son is having his first child! Isn’t that exciting?”

Omar, who had been taking a sip of his wine at the time, had to prevent himself from spurting it all over the table from laughter. Ander looked at Omar with annoyance but couldn’t stop himself from smirking.

Ander then took his husband’s hand and looked at his mother. “Um, actually, we have some news.” He said, watching as his mother’s eyes lit up but he could tell she was trying not to get her hopes up. “We’re having a baby.” He finished simply.

Suddenly his mother squealed with joy, which definitely wasn’t something Ander heard her do very often, and jumped up out of her seat to hug the two of them. When she pulled back she started firing a barrage of questions at them before they could even start speaking. “How? Are you adopting? Do you have a surrogate? Who is she? Do I know her? When is the baby due? How long have you been hiding this from me?”

Ander eventually shushed his mother and got her to sit back down in her seat so that he and Omar could explain everything. “To answer all your questions, no we’re not adopting. Yes we have a surrogate, and it is someone you know. We have only been hiding it for a couple of months and the baby is due in November, so just under seven months from now.” Ander figured it was best just to tell his mother everything otherwise she would just keep nagging them until they did.

“Oh, this is so exciting!” Azucena exclaimed, “I’m so happy for both of you, but you still haven’t told me who the surrogate is.”

Ander looked warily at Omar who simply nodded his head indicating that he would tell his mother-in-law so that Ander didn’t have to. Although Lu was a top student at Las Encinas both were aware that Azucena wasn’t her biggest fan due to the unending amounts of drama that she caused.

“Um,” Omar began, “well, originally we were going to ask Rebe but because she’s our employee, legally we can’t. But when Lu came back to town, she offered, so Lu is our surrogate.” He said the last part quite quietly and without looking Azucena in the eye. The two boys sat silently waiting for her reaction for what felt like hours but in reality was only a few seconds.

“That’s amazing!” She said, making Omar and ander look at each other in shock, “Anyone who does something that kind and selfless for my family is a good person in my book.”

Ander broke out into a huge smile as he hugged his mother again and they all began chatting about the details and all the things they would need once the baby arrived and whether they wanted to find out the gender (they did not). About 15 minutes later there was a knock at the door and Lu entered the house. Azucena welcomed her with open arms and the two began chatting about the challenges of early pregnancy with Lu complaining that almost all food could now make her nauseous.

Later in the evening Azucena came up to Ander and sat down gently next to him so that they could talk while Omar and Lu were wrapped up in a heated debate about some reality TV show. “So, do you think you’re going to tell your dad?” She asked her son cautiously.

“I don’t know Mama. It just seems a bit weird you know? How do I just suddenly talk to him after all this time?” The two of the were silent for a while, Azucena saying nothing as she knew ander had something else to add. “Plus, I’m scared. There are so many things in my life that he doesn’t approve of. I didn’t tell him when I got married so why do I need to tell him about this?”

The fractured relationship between her son and his father hurt Azucena but she understood why Ander didn’t want him to know. “Okay, so you don’t tell him, that’s okay.”

Ander leaned his head on his mother’s shoulder as she wrapped an arm around him, “But… do you think that… maybe… you could tell him at some point?” Ander looked up at his mother, praying that her answer would be yes, it wasn’t that he didn’t want his father to know, it was more that he didn’t want to have to be the one to tell him.

“Of course I can.” Azucena said as she kissed her son on the top of the head. “Course I can.” She whispered.

———

Second Trimester:

Lu was now just over five months pregnant and her baby bump had grown considerably and Ander and Omar were becoming more and more excited by the minute. The morning sickness had gone away after about the third month however the second trimester of the pregnancy was now proving to have its own set of challenges which the boys were even less keen on than the ones from the first trimester.

It was a Saturday afternoon and Guzman, Nadia and Marina were coming over. The now four-year-old had been informed of the pregnancy in the best way you could explain surrogacy to such a young child, she had been incredibly excited at the thought of a little cousin but had to be sworn to secrecy so that Omar and Nadia’s parents (who were still unaware of the situation) didn’t find out. They were planning on telling them tonight at dinner which meant Omar’s anxiety had skyrocketed ever since they’d made the decision.

There was a knock at the door and Ander rushed over to open it before Omar could get there, willing to do absolutely anything to get out of Lu’s general area. When he opened the door he was greeted by Nadia who was holding Marina and she quickly leaned up to kiss him on the cheek before entering the apartment. Guzman quickly followed and pulled Ander into a bro-hug as soon as he’d shut the door.

“So, how’s everything going?” Guzman asked as the two of them moved over into the kitchen to quickly catch up before they ended up caught in the others conversation.

“It’s - it’s… interesting.” Ander said, avoiding looking his best friend in the eye.

“Come on,” Guzman laughed, “tell me the truth.”

“I’m so excited for the baby and I’m really happy but… Lu is driving both of us absolutely insane. Don’t get me wrong, I’m so thankful to her for doing this for us, but I don’t think I ever realised how much of a handful pregnant Lu would be.” Ander said, looking slightly ashamed but also happy to finally get it off his chest.

Guzman was laughing but he understood where his friend was coming from, Lu could be a handful at the best of times never mind when you pile a shit ton of pregnancy hormones on top of it. It took him back to when Nadia was pregnant which made him shiver. Nadia was usually the sweetest person you would ever meet but she turned into monster during the second trimester of her pregnancy with Marina. “I feel your pain man, I really do.” He said looking at Ander’s exhausted face.

“I mean I totally understand why she’s being like this and, honestly, with everything she’s doing for us, she deserves to be able to be a bit bratty. But this morning alone, she’s insulted me 24 times, and yes, I have started counting.” Ander said, a grimace coming across his face.

Suddenly a voice came floating from the living area, “Ander, don’t make a face like that, you’ll get worse frown lines than you’ve already got. Oh and also, I need another green tea!” Lu shouted before turning back to her conversation with Nadia on weird pregnancy cravings.

“25” Ander said pointing at Lu whilst he put the kettle on to make the tea. That made Guzman burst out in hysterics, earning a dirty look from Lu at his sudden outburst.

The five adults spent the rest of the afternoon chatting and playing with Marina until it was time to head over to Yusef and Iman’s house. Guzman and Nadia left early to drop Marina at home with the babysitter with the promise that they would meet the other three at the store.

As the boys were putting their shoes on Lu looked at them inquisitively. “I still don’t understand how we’re going to hide the bump from them before the two of you get the balls to actually spit it out.” She said, not attracted to the idea that she was going to have to make extra effort to try and hide the fact that she was pregnant.

“We’ve already told you Lu.” Omar said, “Nadia and Guzman are going to arrive first and while my parents are distracted we’re going to sneak in and sit you down at the table, once you’re sat down they wont be able to see your bump. All you have to do is not get up from the table before we’ve told them.”

“Fine, whatever.” Lu said, rolling her eyes.

When they arrived, they carried out the plan with no faults and before they knew it Ander, Omar, Nadia, Guzman and Lu were all sat around the table with Iman and Yusef eating the meal that Iman had prepared.

They were all making small talk, the parents asking about all of their jobs while Nadia and Omar also made sure that the shop was doing well. Suddenly Omar and Ander’s phones both went off at the same time and they both apologised for not having them on silent.

When they looked at the message it was from Lu. ‘The two of you better grow some fucking balls right now and tell them because this baby is pressing on my bladder and I will NOT wait any longer!’

Omar and Ander looked at each other while Lu glowered at them from the other side of the table. It was now or never, they were going to have to tell them at some point so they might as well do it now.

Omar waited patiently for Nadia to finish talking about her new job at a fancy law firm before he started speaking. “Mama, Baba, Ander and I actually have some news that we’d like to share.”

Yusef and Iman at looked at him curiously, “Go on son, you can tell us anything.” Iman said.

“Umm, we’re um… we’re having a baby.” He replied, almost inaudibly.

Iman gasped with what looked like excitement while Yusef dropped his fork onto his plate as his eyes widened. The whole room was silent for about a minute, all of them waiting for Yusef to speak first.

To everyone’s surprise Iman started speaking before her husband, unable to hold in her excitement at another grandchild. “Well I think that’s absolutely amazing!” She said, her eyes sparkling with happy tears.

Omar relaxed slightly while Ander smiled. Ander had always felt quite close to his mother-in-law, even after their first disastrous meeting in the hospital, the two had managed to forget all about that and were now rather close, or, as close as you can get to your strongly muslim mother-in-law whilst being white, atheist and gay.

Yusef suddenly cleared his throat and they all immediately looked towards him. “I’m happy for you.” He said simply.

Omar let out a huge sigh of relief, feeling as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. “Thank you Baba.” He replied as Ander smiled and squeezed his husband’s hand under the table.

“But,” Yusef added and Omar felt a sinking feeling in his stomach, immediately expecting the worst, “if you don’t mind me asking, how exactly are you doing this?”

Omar was about to open his mouth when Lu opened hers instead. “I believe that I can answer that question.” She said standing up and displaying her baby bump in all its glory, “Now if you’ll excuse me, this baby has been pressing on my bladder for the past half an hour.” Lu rushed out of the room towards the bathroom, happy that Omar and Ander’s news had gone down well but also desperately needing to get to the bathroom.

Yusef’s mouth dropped open once again and Omar had to spend the rest of the evening explaining to his overly-religious parents why surrogacy was morally okay. Eventually it seemed like they understood the concept, or at least understood it as much as they ever would and all of them made their way home with smiles on their faces.

———  

It was now later in the week and Omar was working late at the club as there’d been a mix-up with the latest delivery but had promised to be home soon.

Ander was currently enjoying one of the very few moments he got to himself as Lu was napping in her bedroom, or at least that’s what he thought. Two minutes later Lu emerged from her room and Ander internally groaned. He loved Lu, even more now that she was doing this for him and Omar, but he really needed a minute of peace and quiet.

Ander didn’t look up and kept his eyes trained on the TV as Lu sat down and continued staring at her phone.

Over the course of the next 40 minutes Ander noticed Lu getting closer and closer to him on the couch and he could tell she wanted something and he was beginning to wish that she would just spit it out. After ten more minutes and Lu inching even closer Ander couldn’t take it anymore.

“Lu! What do you need? You keep getting closer to me and it’s really weird.” He said, slightly regretting his outburst but still not willing to take it back.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Lu said slyly as she ran her finger over Ander’s chest.

Suddenly Ander realised what was happening, he’d read on a pregnancy website that women tend to get pretty horny as the hormones increase, but he didn’t really think that Lu would ever resort to this.

“Okayyy…” Ander said, quickly standing up to try and get himself out of this situation. “Wh-why don’t we stop that, and I’ll-I’ll get you some green tea instead.”

Ander was about to move towards the kitchen when he felt Lu’s fingers wrap around the belt loops of his jeans. “Nooooo, don’t go!” She said, tightening her grip on Ander before he could tear himself away. “You’re too pretty.”

Ander could feel himself getting more and more flustered, it had been a long time since a girl had hit on him, the wedding ring usually threw them off now, and he wasn’t quite sure what to do. “You-you’re pretty too Lu, but I-I think we learned a long time ago that this doesn’t work for me.” He said cautiously, clearly Lu was going insane from the pregnancy hormones since she’d never in their lives shown any interest in him, even before she knew he was gay.

However complimenting her was clearly the wrong thing to do as Lu seemed to completely disregard the second part of his sentence and simply pulled him closer, her hands edging closer to the front of his jeans as Ander tried to fight off Lu’s unbelievably strong grip.

All of a sudden a noise sounded through the apartment as the front door slammed shut.

“What the actual fuck have I just walked into?” Omar asked, unable to keep the smirk off his face. Lu seemed to suddenly snap back into reality and rushed towards her room slamming the door behind her.

Ander collapsed on the sofa, still unable to comprehend what had just happened. When Omar sat down next to him Ander explained and Omar was practically rolling around on the floor in hysterics by the end of it, apparently he found the idea of Lu hitting on his very gay husband to be the funniest thing in the world, Ander however, was not quite so amused.

Ander and Lu couldn’t look each other in the eyes for a week after that. Lu had apologised profusely to the both of them, blaming it all on the pregnancy hormones, but Omar really couldn’t care less, finding the entire situation too funny for words. It was safe to say when Guzman found out he also shared Omar’s viewpoint and had field day teasing both Ander and Lu on the subject while Nadia was slightly more sympathetic to both parties but also found it rather funny.

———

Third Trimester:

Lu was now eight months pregnant and therefore now had a very large baby bump. It was three months after ‘the incident’, as they liked to call it, and Ander and Lu were able to look each other in the eyes again and had even been able to see the humour in the situation, eventually.

It was a random Sunday afternoon and Ander was piling up cushions on the couch to try and help Lu get comfortable even though that wasn’t something she’d been able to do for a month now. She’d moved past the stage of being mean for no apparent reason but now simply complained about everything. However Omar and Ander didn’t really care at this point, the only thing either could focus on was making sure Lu, and therefore the baby, was healthy and safe.

Out of nowhere there was a knock on the door. Omar looked at Ander questioningly as he didn’t think they’d been expecting anyone but Ander just shrugged as he headed towards the bedroom for more cushions.

Omar went to open the door and felt sick as soon as he saw who was on the other side. Out of instinct Omar slammed the door shut again in the person’s face, unsure as what to do next.

Lu looked over at Omar with a puzzled expression, she didn’t know who was there and therefore had no idea who Omar had just shut out. “Who is it?” She asked.

Omar moved over to where she was sat to whisper something just as the person started banging on the door once again.

“Jesus, why hasn’t anyone answered the door?” Ander said as he rushed towards it.

“No, Ander, don’t!” Omar shouted after him. But it was too late. Ander had swung open the front door and was now frozen to the spot.

“Dad.” Was all Ander’s brain could think of to say. Antonio was stood on the other side of the door, a look of fury on his face.

Antonio’s gaze immediately found Omar and he started marching towards him. “You don’t slam doors in people’s faces! What the fuck were you doing?” Antonio said, pointing his finger in Omar’s face.

That was all it took to bring Ander back to reality. “Get the fuck away from him!” Ander said as he moved towards his father and pushed him away from his husband with force.

“Whatever.” Antonio replied, “Ander I need to talk to you. Alone.”

“Fine. Come with me.” Ander said, leading his father towards the bedroom. He slammed the door shut behind them and turned to face his dad. “What are you doing here?”

“Your mother called me. She told me you were having a kid. And that you’re married. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Well, you were never the most supportive father were you? And as for the wedding, we didn’t want you there. It was as simple as that.” Ander said the last part while staring his father straight in the eyes. He no longer gave a shit about what this man thought of timor the way he chose to live his life. If Antonio wanted to work on their relationship then maybe Ander could try but if he didn’t, Ander didn’t particularly care. “Why do you care anyway? I saw you a year ago on the street and you just walked past me like I was a stranger.”

“Well you hadn’t talked to me in three years so I figured that you wouldn’t have wanted a big family reunion!” Antonio was shouting at this point but Ander stood tall, not allowing hiss father to see the fear and dread he felt inside. “That’s besides the point anyway. I came here to talk to you about what your mother told me.”

“It is not besides the point! You’ve been a shitty father ever since I came out to you! You didn’t even come to the hospital when I had fucking leukaemia!” Ander was screaming at his father, the tears rolling down his face.

“I had things to sort out! You abandoning your entire career for example!” Antonio exclaimed, uselessly trying to come up with an excuse for neglecting his ill son.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Ander said, his voice laced with sarcasm, “That’s alright then, you were smoothing things over with your tennis friends rather than visiting your dying son!”

“It’s not my fault that you fucked up your entire life Ander! You fucked everything up and now you run a fucking club that gets swarmed by drug addicts every night, you’re married to that rude asshole and you’re having a fucking baby with another man!”

Ander took a deep breath and composed himself. Then he spoke to his dad in a strangely calm voice, “I don’t give a shit what you think of my life. The way I see it is: I run a successful company, I’m married to the love of my life and we’re about to start a family. I’m aware that I fucked up your career slightly by quitting tennis and I apologised for that a long time ago. But you never apologised to me. You never apologised for your fucked up homophobic views, you never apologised for not seeing me while I was ill, you never apologised for hurting my mother, you never apologised for shouting at my husband time and time again, but worst of all, you never apologised for being such a shitty father. But actually, I wanted to thank you. You’ve taught me how to be a good parent to my child because I will never, ever, do any of the things you did to me to my baby. I will be everything that you never were. I will accept my child, I will love them and I will be there for them no matter what. And that, is more than you could ever do for me. Now get the fuck out of my house and don’t come back.”

Antonio’s eyes were wide and his mouth was agape. Suddenly his shoulders slumped, accepting the fact that he’d now officially lost his son forever. He slowly walked past Ander and exited the room but Ander didn’t move until he heard the front door slam shut.

As Ander walked back out of the bedroom he glanced up at Lu and Omar who were sat in silence just staring at their feet. As soon as Omar saw Ander he jumped off the couch and walked over to him.

Omar put his hand to Ander’s face and tilted his head up so he could look him in the eyes, “Are you okay?” He asked.

“Actually, yeah, I am. I’ve needed to do that for a very long time.” Ander said as he tried to put a smile on his face, but Omar could see the sadness in his eyes even if Ander didn’t want to admit it.

“Hey,” Omar said lovingly, pulling Ander’s head towards his own so that their foreheads were touching. “I’m proud of you. But you know it’s okay to be sad.”

“I know.” Ander whispered before leaning in to kiss Omar gently but passionately. When he pulled back he whispered, “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Omar whispered back.

All of a sudden they were pulled out of their little world by Lu’s voice. “I really do hate to interrupt ‘cause that was really sweet but um… I think I might be having contractions.” She said, hands on her stomach and pain in her eyes.

“What?!” Omar and Ander exclaimed at the same time.

“But how?” Ander said, looking bewildered. “You’re not due for another three and a half weeks.”

“I don’t fucking know! I’m just telling you what I’m feeling!” Lu shouted grasping her bump tighter as another wave of pain came on.

“What do we do?” Omar asked, looking increasingly panicked.

“Call the fucking doctor!” Lu screamed.

Omar grabbed his phone and found Dr Sánchez’s number in his contacts before pressing call. After what felt like decades, she picked up.

“Hi Omar, is everything alright?” The doctor asked, sounding slightly concerned.

“Um… I’m not sure, Lu says she thinks she’s having contractions.” Omar replied.

“Okay, has her water broken?”

“No.”

“Alright I need to ask her a few questions. Can you put me on speakerphone?” Dr Sánchez asked and so Omar did as he was told.

“Hi Lu can you hear me?” She asked through the phone.

“Mhmm” Was all Lu could mange in reply.

“Okay. I need you to tell me how often the contractions are coming and whether you have felt dehydrated or particularly stressed within the last few hours.”

“They don’t seem to have any sort of pattern and yes I have definitely felt very stressed recently.” Lu replied, the current contraction seeming to dissipate.

“Okay, well, it sounds to me like you’re having Braxton Hicks contractions, which means they’re not real its just a way of preparing your body for the real thing. Put your feet up, drink lots of water and they should go away within the hour. If they don’t then call me and come to the clinic.” Dr Sánchez said calmly.

They all thanked her and then hung up the phone. Luckily they were Braxton Hicks as Lu stopped feeling them twenty minutes later. However Lu couldn’t help but begin to feel extremely nervous. Some of those contractions had hurt like hell and it wasn’t even the real thing. She couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread whenever she thought of the fact that, very soon, she was going to have to give birth to an actual baby, and that scared the shit out of her.

———

It was now November 22nd and the baby had been due on November 18th, so it was safe to say that at this point Lu was very uncomfortable and very annoyed. Her and Ander were alone at the apartment as Omar had had to rush to work to sort out some sort of delivery emergency that Rebe coolant deal with on her own.

“You know, when I agreed to carry your baby, I agreed to carry it for nine months. I was under the impression that that was the expiration date for little arrangement but apparently not.” Lu said looking up from the couch at Ander who had just walked in from the kitchen.

Ander chuckled, having gotten used to Lu’s complaints by now and sat down on the couch next to her. “I would love to help you out Lu but I’m not there’s much either of us can do at this point.”

“Urghh, well the least you could do is help me up off this couch, I need to take a nap.” Lu replied, hating the fact that she was at the point where she couldn’t even stand up on her own.

Ander laughed again and stood up to help her off the couch. As soon as Lu stood up there was a splashing sound and they both felt water hit their feet.

“What the fuck?” Ander said, his first thought being that one of them had knocked over a glass.

“My water just broke.” Lu whispered as they both just stood there, frozen to the spot. “Shit! My water just broke!” She was shouting now and Ander sprung into action.

“Okay, it’s okay. You call Omar.” He said, tossing her his phone. “Tell him to meet us at the doctor’s. I’ll grab your bag and everything else we might need.”

As soon as Lu hung up the phone to a panicked sounding Omar, Ander was crouched in front of her, putting her shoes on.

*

They made it out of the door and to the clinic in record time with Omar arriving five minutes after them and rushing to the room that they’d been put in.

Currently Lu was lying in a bed, in a hospital gown and squeezing Ander’s hand so hard he thought she was about to break it while simultaneously screaming through the pain she felt from the contractions.

Omar rushed to Ander’s side and quickly pecked him on the lips before turning back to Lu. The next hour went by in a blur, Lu’s contractions becoming longer and more painful while Ander and Omar were doing everything in their power to try and make her feel better. Nadia and Guzman had arrived 20 minutes after Omar having dropped Marina off at Nadia’s parents considering it was getting late.

Nadia had taken over from Ander in trying to comfort Lu as she knew the pain she was going through but it was becoming increasingly useless.

“Oh my God!” Lu screamed as yet another contraction hit her. According to Dr Sánchez she wasn’t even close to being dilated enough and the baby wouldn’t be coming for at least another few hours, but that didn’t stop the endless pain that Lu felt she was going through. Originally, Lu had said she didn’t want an epidural because she didn’t truly believe that it was as bad as everyone said it was, and also she wasn’t sure that she’d get the chance to do this again so she wanted to try a natural birth. Nadia had warned her against it but Lu had been stubborn, as always, and insisted that this was what she wanted. However, now she was experiencing the searing pain, she was beginning to regret her decision. “Urghh, I give up! Give me the drugs, I don’t care!”

“Are you sure Lu? You’ve already come this far.” Omar said, trying to be encouraging.

“Shut up and get me the fucking drugs!” Lu yelled.

Omar rushed to get the doctor so that they could do the epidural and as soon as the effects started to kick in Lu was very happy that she’d changed her mind.

The labour dragged on for another seven hours. It was now 3am and Guzman had fallen asleep hours ago and even Nadia had began to doze not long ago. But Ander and Omar were wide awake and hadn’t left Lu’s side the entire time. Both of them were too excited (and nervous) to sleep.

At 3:30am Dr Sánchez entered the room to check on Lu and revealed that she was ready to go to the delivery room.

Ander and Omar woke up Nadia and Guzman to let them know what was happening. Guzman stayed in the room and promised he would call Omar’s parents and Ander’s mother while Nadia went with them as Lu had insisted that she needed her best friend by her side.

The next thirty minutes were filled with the sounds of Lu’s screams and the encouragement of the others, including the doctor.

“Come on Lu, you’re so close. Just one more push.” Dr Sánchez said.

“I don’t think I can do it.” Lu whispered, looking exhausted and defeated.

“Of course you can do it!” Ander said “Lu, you’re the strongest woman I know, if anyone can this, it’s definitely you.”

“Exactly.” Omar said, backing up his husband, “Lu, listen to me, we are more grateful than you will ever know for what you’re doing for us. I know - we know - that you can do this. Just one last push.”

“As much as I appreciate all of that could you all just shut the fuck up! I’m doing this to get this fucking baby out of me because, no offence, but I’m getting very sick of it!”

With that Lu screamed as loud as she could as she pushed one last time and all of a sudden a loud cry burst through the room. Lu’s body collapsed in exhaustion as Nadia leant down to wrap her best friend in her arms. Meanwhile, Ander and Omar rushed to the other side of the room where a nurse was cleaning their brand-new baby. As soon as the nurse was done she passed the baby into Ander’s arms with the words “You have a baby girl.”

Ander and Omar looked down towards their daughter and the moment they saw her they were in love. Omar took her tiny hand as Ander hugged the baby closer to his chest. They both had tears running down their cheeks as they stood, staring at their baby in awe. Ander passed the girl into Omar’s arms so that he could hold her but he stayed right by Omar’s side.

Once the two of them managed to rip their eyes away from their child they looked up at each other. “We have a baby.” Omar said, barely believing the words coming out of his own mouth.

“Yeah.” Ander said, “Yeah, we do.” he kissed Omar quickly and then looked back down at their daughter. His heart felt more full than it ever had before. She hadn’t even opened her eyes yet but he knew that he loved this baby more than anything else in the world, nothing could even come close to the love that he felt right now, and nothing ever would.

*

It was three hours later and they were all gathered back in the room that Lu had been in before. Lu was lying in the bed looking exhausted but also over the moon for her best friends. Ander and Omar were watching and whispering as Guzman held their daughter in his arms with Marina looking at her excitedly over his shoulder.

Azucena, Yusef, Iman and Marina had all arrived shortly after the baby was born and since then she had been passed round to be held by all the people in her life that would always love her. When Lu had held her she’d told the baby how much her Auntie Lu was going to love and spoil her but Nadia had seen the look in her eye and couldn’t help but think about it.

“Hey,” Nadia said as she sat down on the edge of Lu’s bed and took her hand in her own. “are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I’m exhausted and I’m not sure if I’ll ever walk again but other than that…” Lu trailed off, chuckling slightly.

“You know what I mean.” Nadia said, looking at Lu sternly, “I know the kind of bond you make with a baby that grows inside you. Just promise me that you’re okay?”

“I promise. I knew she was never mine. I did this for them and look at how happy they are.” Lu replied, pointing at Omar and Ander who now had their baby girl can in their arms. “I’ll love that baby so much, but they’re her parents. They love her more than anyone else ever will and that’s a good thing. I would do this a thousand times over just to make them as happy as they look right now.” As she finished speaking she looked at Nadia who had tears in her eyes and the two girls quickly hugged.

“Anyway,” Lu said, speaking up and shaking herself to try and stop herself from crying (again). “have you picked a name yet?”

The whole room went silent as they looked over at Ander and Omar who smiled at each other briefly and then looked back at everyone else.

“We have.” Omar said, who then nodded at Ander to indicate he should tell everyone.

“Okay, everyone say hello to Carmen Lucrecia Muñoz-Shanaa.” Ander said, looking happily at Lu and then back down at Carmen.

The whole room started buzzing with approval as all eyes landed on Lu, but she didn’t say anything, she simply lay there with her mouth hanging open for a few minutes before she managed to pull herself back together.

“You’re… you’re naming her after me?” She whispered so quietly that they could barely hear.

“Well, middle name.” Omar said jokingly before turning more serious. “But yes. We wouldn’t have her if it wasn’t for you so it felt right to make sure that she always had you with her, at least in her name.”

Lu smiled as a tear rolled down her cheek and Nadia hugged her gain tightly.

“So,” Omar whispered looking at Ander so that only he could hear him. “is this everything or is there something else you want?”

Omar had meant it as a joke but Ander took his time to look around the room before replying.

Guzman had Marina in his arms as he and Nadia stood by the bed chatting to Lu. Azucena was stood in the corner with Iman and Yusef, the three of them chatting away quietly and Azucena laughing at something that Iman had said. Finally, Ander looked down at the perfect little baby in his arms who opened her eyes and blinked right back up at him before he turned back to Omar.

“No. I have everything I want. You, are all I want.”  

#omander #omander fanfiction #omar x ander #ander x omar #elite #elite fanfiction #elite fanfic #omander fanfic #elite netflix #ander munoz #omar shana #guzman nunier #nadia shana #guzman x nadia #lucrecia montesinos

[razieltwelve]

Quarantine Post #1

Quarantine: Day 17

We're running low on toilet paper. I might have no choice but to make another supply run. I can only hope it goes better than the last one. Twelve of us went out on that last supply run. Only seven of us made it back. Those bastards from up north have started hoarding supplies, and they're in no mood to share. They've got some real firepower too. I don't know where the hell they got a grenade launcher, but I was damn lucky not to be on the wrong end of it.

Quarantine: Day 19

The toilet paper convoy got hit on its way to the supermarket. It must have been the northern crew. A couple of our scouts say there is still some toilet paper in the wreckage. Maybe they didn't have enough trucks to carry it all off. We'll wait until nightfall and then make a run for it. If we're lucky, we can snag a couple of rolls each.

Jameson suggested using leaves. After all, there are plenty of gum trees. I'd almost forgotten he only joined us around Day 10. I told him what happened to Simmons. The damn drop bears got him. With the fires burning so much down, they haven't got anything to eat out in the bush, so they've been getting closer and closer to the cities. Simmons, the poor bastard, was wiping his ass with some eucalyptus leaves when they caught him with his pants down. By the time the screaming stopped, the only thing left was his pants.

Quarantine: Day 20

It was a trap. Those jerks from up north were waiting for us. They let us get right up to the toilet paper before giving us both barrels. We lost Wilkins and Chan to snipers before we even knew what was happening. Felton and Hassan went down a couple of seconds later when they opened fire from all sides.

I don't know how I got out of there. I grabbed as much toilet paper as I could, threw it in my backpack, and screamed for everyone to fall back. It was chaos, and then they started shooting that damn grenade launcher. My ears are still ringing. Somehow, I made it out of there, along with half a dozen others. We're all pretty banged up, and we've been picking shrapnel out of Cuthbert all night. I don't know if he's going to make it. I hope he does. He's a good man, and he's handy with a rifle too.

Quarantine: Day 27

I don't know what the hell those northern bastards have been smoking, but they just torched the Coles. That was one of the biggest supermarkets in the area, and one of the only ones still getting regular supply drops. Now, the damn thing is on fire, and we can see the smoke from kilometres away.

Patel thinks it's a power struggle. He says the northern group has gotten big enough to support multiple factions. He might be right. There were a damn lot of them shooting at us when they sprang that trap with the toilet paper. If it is a power struggle, I'm hoping they wipe each other out. It means more toilet paper for us and less trouble all around.

Quarantine: Day 30

I begged Smith not to go out at night. I begged him. I said it was too dangerous. There are a lot of trees out here, and night time is drop bear time. But he wouldn't listen. He figured he could hit the supermarket around midnight, maybe sneak out some extra supplies.

He'd only been gone five minutes when I heard the screaming. It was... it was awful. He must have screamed and wailed for at least an hour before they finally put him out of his misery. That's what drops bears are like. They know how people think. They know if they hurt one person that others will come running to see what's going on. One person can't feed a pack of drops bears - but a whole group of people? That'll do nicely for them.

There wasn't anything we could do for him. All we could do was listen until finally they must have realised we weren't going to come. Poor bastard. I wish I'd been close enough to put a bullet in him to make it quick. Hopefully, nobody else tries anything at night. There are a lot of trees here. Too many.

Quarantine: Day 37

We got a bunch of refugees from down south near the centre of the city. We had to check them all for any sign of infection. There have been rumours the Infected aren't just getting sick anymore. We've heard they're changing. We got lucky. Far as we can tell, none of them are Infected.

I talked to their leaders, a man and a woman. Claire said they'd come from one of the hotels near the harbour where they've been putting people in quarantine. It worked well enough the first few days, but she said once the Infected started changing it all went to hell. She and her husband, Rob, got out of there as quick as they could and grabbed anyone else who could keep up.

She couldn't really describe what the Infected looked like, but she told me I'd know when I saw them. After what happened to Smith, I figure there's not a lot left in this world that can scare me. But, hey, what do I know? I figured this whole thing was going to blow over in a couple of weeks, and here we are.

Quarantine: Day 40

We finally got word back from the Old Folks Home. I was worried they'd been wiped out, but apparently, they've got a militia going. Good for them. I went over there with a few other people to talk. I know their leader, a tough, old fella who cut his teeth fighting in Vietnam. I used to drop by and help with the garden down there, so I was hopeful he'd hear me out.

It went pretty well. It turns out they've been self-isolating, trying to keep clean of the infection and everything, but they're running low on supplies. We made a deal. They've got a generator and access to washing machines, and we've gotten good at hitting up supermarkets and other depots after supply drops. We get them the supplies they need, and they get all of our stuff clean. It's a good deal. I can't wait to sleep on clean sheets that don't have blood all over them.

Quarantine: Day 45

Someone tried to raid the Old Folks Home. They gave us a call over the radio, and we came running. There was a whole bunch of them in cars. I didn't recognise them. They must have come from someplace else. I think a few of them were flying Vaucluse colours, though. They were about to break through when we got there.

We gave them a good beating, and the old folks did their bit too. I've never seen a granny with a flamethrower before, but damn if she wasn't good with it. We took a couple of prisoners. It turns out things in the city are way worse than we thought.

The Infected are everywhere. Surry Hills is gone. Bondi is burning. And that last they saw of it, Darling Harbour was being overrun. There's nothing left down there, so they're heading north, trying to get someplace safe, and most of them don't care who they have to kill to get there. It's a damn shame. If they'd just told us they were planning on passing through, we'd have let them go, so long as they didn't try to take any of our supplies.

Quarantine: Day 48

We got a message for the military today. They're pulling back to defend Canberra. Sydney, Melbourne, everywhere else... they're lost causes. We're on our own. It sucks. But they've got to defend the capital and what's left of our government. On their way out though, they left us some satellite communications equipment.

It's pretty grim.

We got into contact with them, and they told us about the situation overseas. Italy is gone. The Infected just overran the place. Spain is fighting, but they've got a week, maybe less, before they go under too. China claims they've fought back the tide, but I don't think any of us believe that. They wouldn't be buying up every weapon they could find if things were okay.

Britain is... we don't know. We haven't gotten much word from them in more than a week, apparently, and the last we heard the Prime Minister was one of the Infected. As for the United States, well, they're still fighting. I figure if anyone can fight off the Infected, they can. We'll have to hope they can manage it. If they go down, I think we're just about finished.

Author's Notes

In all seriousness, it isn't actually this bad in Australia although the toilet paper shortage is a real thing. Anyway, I hope everyone is staying safe. Take care of each other.

If you’re interested in my thoughts on writing and other topics, you can find those here.

You can find my original fiction on Amazon here

#australia #original fiction #humor #humour #satire #musings

[strongerwiththepack]

Fab-Five-Feb: Gordon

Hope you enjoy this Gordon-centric fic as his week comes to a close. Poor Alan didn’t even get a mention in this one after getting the spotlight last week. Thanks again @gumnut-logic for this challenge. I’ve used the prompt ‘no clothes’.

“Tell dad I’m going out for the night.” Gordon said casually to John, who was in the kitchen doing work for school. He was hoping he could get away without John asking any questions. He almost succeeded as John just nodded, heavily engrossed in the book he was reading but as he opened the door to leave John seemed to snap out of it.

“Wait, where are you going?” John gave him a suspicious look.

“Just to the lake with some friends.” Gordon shrugged.

John narrowed his eyes. “Which friends?”

Gordon rolled his eyes. “Do we need to do this again John?”

“Apparently we do.” John said straightening up in his chair. “Those guys are no good for you Gordon.”

“Whatever John, you’re just jealous because they’re not friends with you.”

“They are not your friends Gordon.”

There was the toot of a horn sounding outside.

Gordon gave John a quick wave as he headed out the door. “I’ll be home by 10, okay?”

He didn’t give John the chance to respond before he was running down the driveway.

“Hey Tracy, that your weirdo brother at the window?” Todd Davidson mocked as Gordon clambered into the back of the 4-by-4.

Gordon just gave a half-hearted laugh. He knew these guys didn’t get along with John but he was never going to sit and ridicule his older brother. Although…he also wasn’t at the stage where he was ready to stick his neck out to defend John either.

He really wanted to impress these guys. They were older than him, he’d only just started to get invited along to hang out with them. Todd was a senior, like John, and most of his friends were either also seniors or juniors, Gordon was the only sophomore going tonight. Apparently there was a huge party going on at the lake just 20 minutes out of town.

Gordon had gotten friendly with Todd after the older boy had witnessed a fight Gordon had gotten himself into with another Senior – a Senior that Todd wasn’t too keen on either apparently. Gordon had taken the guy down with no more than a bruised cheek in return. He had three older brothers – he knew how to handle himself in a fight.

Speaking of his brothers, they had all been less than pleased with his behaviour, that’s why when Todd came along singing his praises he’d soaked it up. Scott was just starting his training in the air force and Virgil was away at college so they didn’t have the same influence on him as they used to. His dad had been very distracted lately and was away on business a lot. John had told him his dad had a big project in the works. Gordon hadn’t cared enough to question it further.

As for John, his closest older brother had given him quite the lecture but Gordon brushed it off at the time. John was always warning him about the guys in his year but Gordon was pretty sure John just didn’t know how to have fun. Heck, he’d definitely never seen his older brother go out to a party like this. Even Scott and Virgil had gone to their fair share of parties in their high school days. So when Gordon got invited to one himself, he jumped on the opportunity.

It about 7pm so it was already dark outside. Gordon stared out the window as they reached the lake. They drove round it for about a mile before the car drew to a stop. Gordon looked out at the darkness confused.

“I thought you said this was going to be a party?” Gordon asked looking out on to the silent waterfront. He’d expected a bonfire and loud music and he couldn’t hide his disappointment.

Todd chuckled from the front seat. “Don’t worry Tracy, we’re just leaving the car here and walking round.”

“Oh. Okay.” Gordon mused as he exited the car with the four other guys.

Todd went to the boot and pulled out a pack of beers, handing them out to everyone. He didn’t even hesitate to toss one in Gordon’s direction too.

Seeing Gordons look of unease he snorted “That’s not your first beer, right Tracy?”

“’Course not” Gordon was quick to shoot back, popping open the can. He took a sip and was hard pushed not to gag. Was it suppose to taste like that?

The guys set off down towards the water and Gordon couldn’t help but shiver a bit at the cold. This really wasn’t what he’d been expecting and he was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable.

He piqued back into the conversation as he heard one of the other guys shout at him. “Hey baby Tracy, aren’t you like a champion swimmer or something?”

He bristled a bit at the baby part but replied anyway, trying to sound impressive. “Yeah, coach said I could be on track for the Olympics if I put in the work.”

“Olympics, huh?” Todd grinned. “Give us a show then.” He said pointing towards the water.

Gordon gave a half-hearted chuckle. “Yeah right.” He snorted.

Todd groaned dramatically and put his arm around Gordons shoulder. “Aw come on water baby, don’t be a party pooper.”

Gordon frowned. “You can’t be serious. It’ll be freezing.”

Todd just grinned down at him. “We’ve got towels in the car, just take another swig of the beer and you’ll be good to go. Come on Tracy, I know you aren’t a coward.”

Gordon stared out at the water. He tried to convince himself it would be fine. So what if he got a little cold? The guys would love it. He started to strip off his clothes.

The guys all cheered around him and Gordon felt his confidence return. Might as well put on a good show.

“There you go Tracy, knew you were up for a good time.”

When he was down to just his boxers he turned and gave the guys a mock salute before jumping off the bank and into the water. It was ice cold and the breath was knocked out of him immediately. He heard the guys cheering him on from the bank though so he kicked out and started swimming. He got into a rhythm after that. 1, 2, 3, 4, breathe, 1, 2, 3, 4…

When he figured he’d gone far enough out, he started treading water and looked back to the shore with a grin on his face.

It was silent.

His face dropped and he suddenly felt very alone. It’s fine, he told himself. He’d just gone too far out. He started swimming back, feeling the cold numbing his limbs slightly. When he got back to the bank and still couldn’t hear anything, he started to panic a little.

“Guys?” he called out. “Todd?”

He pulled himself up onto the bank, shivering as a light breeze blew past. He wrapped his arms around himself and noticed with a sinking heart that his clothes were gone as well.

“Very funny guys” he shouted into the darkness. “You can come out now.”

Everything remained perfectly still. Gordon ran back up to the road. The car was gone as well. Shit.

Gordon felt tears prickle at his eyes as he started to panic. He was standing in his boxers, soaking wet on a cold night in October. His phone had been in the pocket of his jeans so he didn’t even have anything to call home with.

His breathing picked up harshly. He was going to die out here. His body already felt stiff and the shivers tore through him harshly. Think Gordon.

John! John knew where he was. He just had to find a way to stay warm until John came to look for him. He sighed as he realised it was probably barely even 8 o’clock and John wasn’t expecting him back until 10. He needed somewhere he could wait until then. He vaguely remembered passing a water sports hut on the way in. That was probably his best option right now.

He walked a solid 30 minutes before he came across the old wooden building. He was pretty sure his feet were bleeding after walking all that way barefoot on the rocky surface but he was too scared to look. And too cold to feel it.

He tried the door but, as suspected, it was locked. He peered through the window looking longingly at the wetsuits hung up on the rack. Oh how he wished he could climb into about 10 of them right now. All layered on top of each other.

He trudged over to the changing cubicles closer to the water. Thankfully they were also made of wood and were not locked. He was relieved as he shut the door behind him. In the small confines of the changing room, without the wind, it was a mild temperature. It was still cold but not the hypothermic level of cold outside had been.

He curled up on the bench and prepared to wait.

*

He must’ve dozed off briefly cause the next thing he woke up to was what sounded like somewhere shouting his name. He bounced to his feet only to grunt as his legs gave out underneath him and black spots appeared in front of his eyes. He kneeled on the ground breathing heavily. He was so tired.

“GORDON!”

He lifted his head as he heard a familiar voice shout his name. He almost cried in relief.

“John!” He shouted, or tried to anyway, it came out more like the pathetic whine of an injured animal.

He pushed open the door to the changing room and half crawled, half stumbled out onto the grass.

“John!” he tried again as he managed to push himself into a standing position.

There was running footsteps in his direction and he tensed slightly until a steadying hand was placed on his shoulder and John’s face filled his vision.

“Geez Gordon, you’re freezing.”

That was all it took and Gordon pushed himself into John’s arm, violent sobs wracking his small frame.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry” he cried.

John was startled momentarily but was quick to return his little brothers hug, wrapping his arms around Gordons ice cold skin.

“You’re okay.” He reassured.

John was so warm. Gordons chest was tight as he cried out all the emotions he’d kept in the past few hours. Eventually John stepped back, grabbing one of Gordon’s arms and placing it around his shoulder to help Gordon walk. They limped slowly towards what Gordon hoped was a car. His limbs feeling lethargic and his feet were stinging from his previous walk.

John helped him into the passenger side of the car before rushing around the other side to turn on the heating. John got out again and returned with a thick blanket that he threw over his little brothers shivering form. He finally settled into the drivers seat and started the engine.

John glanced over at his little brother worriedly. “You need to tell me what happened Gordon”

Gordon buried his face in the blanket, feeling tear well up in his eyes again.

“You were right okay?” Gordon said defensively. “I shouldn’t have trusted those guys.”

“Did they hurt you?” John questioned quietly. He had been imagining the worst for the past couple of hours.

“They just left me out in the cold, half-naked and soaking wet.” Gordon grumbled bitterly before whispering. “I thought I was going to die.”

John barely caught that last part but hearing the vulnerability in his usually boisterous little brother made his blood boil.

“I’m going to kill those guys.”

Gordon startled. He’d never heard John sound so angry.

“It’s my fault John, I should have listened to you.”

“I never should have let you go in the first place.” John sighed. “Those guys have caused me so much trouble over the past 4 years.”

“You couldn’t have stopped me John, I’m just glad you still came to find me.” Gordon shuddered when he thought of what could have happened.

“I will always come for you Gordon. Always.” John promised.

Gordon settled back into his seat, finally warming up. He made a mental note to listen to John more in the future. John was always right. Why did none of them ever listen to him?

#fabfivefeb #fabfivefeb2020 #thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds #Gordon Tracy #again there is no canon timeline here #also this is my longest fic in a really long time??? #go me

[lillibetm3]

All I Want for Christmas is You

Pairing: Nine/Rose

Genre: Romance/PWP/Het/AU

Rating: Teen (with non-graphic sex)

written for #31 Days of Ficmas @doctorroseprompts​

They gave 31 prompts, I went crazy and used them ALL. :)

01.  Workshop                         11. Ornaments                         21. Coal 02.  Tinsel                                12. Family                                22. Ribbon 03.  Cider                                 13. Celebrate                           23. Joy 04.  Tree                                  14. Peppermint                         24. Stockings 05.  Gingerbread                     15. Love                                    25. Unwrap 06.  Eggnog                             16. Naughty and/or Nice          26. Friends 07.  Garland                             17. Wreath                               27. Rooftop 08.  Ugly jumper                      18. Santa and/or Elves             28. Earmuffs 09.  Party                                 19. Chestnuts                           29. Star 10.  Cookies/biscuits                20. Gifts                                   30. Mistletoe                                                                                                   31. Bright

When she'd first told the Doctor about her Christmas plan, his lack of enthusiasm for her 'leave of absence' from the TARDIS had only made her more determined. 

All I Want For Christmas is You

 Rose was sitting on a workbench, swinging her legs in time with the ticking of the clock on the wall, while eyeing it with a determined gaze as it edged ever closer to 6.00pm. The basement storeroom, although strewn with toys, ribbons, gift tags, wrapping paper and tinsel, was empty of people. Everyone else was in the canteen enjoying a staff Christmas party; eating chocolates, mince pies, cookies, gingerbread and other assorted festive 'nibbles'. Rose had mingled for a little while, before escaping to the storeroom in an effort to enjoy some solitude in what had otherwise been an exhausting day of wrapping gifts, handing out gifts and evading the wandering hands of a Santa who clearly had an 'Elf fetish'.

With a heavy sigh, Rose glanced down at her aching feet and asked herself for the hundredth time, why she had insisted this year, on getting her mum's Christmas presents the hard way –  by working ridiculous hours and wearing a ridiculous uniform.

When she'd first told the Doctor about her Christmas plan, his lack of enthusiasm for her 'leave of absence' from the TARDIS had only made her more determined. He'd told her that she'd hate it, and she had been adamant that she wouldn't. Of course she did hate it. She really did. But she had no intention of telling the Doctor that. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. No, as far as the Doctor was concerned, she loved being an Elf. LOVED IT.    

She continued to stare at the uncomfortable Elf shoes she wore. They were bright green, with a shiny golden bell hanging from the curved tip of the toes. Every step she took, all shift long, she jingled. Her tights (uncomfortable, hot and itchy) were red and white broad horizontal stripes. Her short, tunic dress exactly matched the green shade of her shoes, and had large black as coal wooden buttons on the front. Topping off her outfit was a 'jaunty' red elf hat, which was finished with a large, shiny, golden bell that jingled even louder than her shoes. Rose particularly hated the hat.

Working a temporary job in Henrik's (completely refurbished) department store in the run-up to Christmas was always going to be busy, but being one of the Elves in 'Santa's Christmas Workshop' was on another level entirely.

Truth be told, being one of Santa's Elves had never been one of Rose's life ambitions, but she'd remembered a time, pre-Doctor, when she'd seen a poster on the staff room notice board, asking for Elf volunteers. She'd seen this time too that it paid more than shop floor work, and as she needed the extra money for Christmas, she'd quickly decided that becoming an Elf was a career move that made financial sense.

And, despite the long hours, children throwing tantrums, parents having melt-downs, and... jingling everywhere she went, Rose had worked her little elf-socks off, and she'd made enough money to buy her Mum a few really lovely Christmas presents. In fact, thanks to her staff discount, (meagre though it was) Rose thought she'd even be able to treat herself to a top she'd had her eye on for a while. So all in all, her time as an Elf had been worthwhile.

Still... she was glad that it was finally coming to an end, as tonight, her last shift, was Christmas Eve. She couldn't wait to (metaphorically) throw her Elf hat to the wind and be a normal girl again – or as normal as she could be while travelling through time and space in a TARDIS, with a nine hundred year old alien.

Rose glanced up at the clock on the wall and grinned – it was 6.03pm – she was officially free! She jumped down from the workbench and... jingled, but somehow she didn't mind it so much now.

The storeroom door swung open, and Rose glanced over as Joy, a fellow Elf, walked in carrying a paper plate heavy with snacks and nibbles, and what looked like a glass of cider.

"Hi, Rose!" Joy said as she approached somewhat unsteadily. "I thought you'd be in here. I brought you a couple of sausage rolls and a gingerbread man."

"Oh," Rose said. "That was nice of you, but you really shouldn't have bothered..."

"And some cider!" Joy continued, thrusting the glass toward Rose.

"No, really. It was a lovely thought, but..."

"And sausage rolls an' a gingerbread man!"

Rose managed to contain her smile. "Yeah, you did mention that before."

"Did I?" Joy asked, sounding taken aback. She took a sip of the cider. "What about the gingerbread man? Did I mention the gingerbread man?" She waved the paper plate in Rose's direction. "'Cos, look – it's a man made out of gingerbread."

Rose's brow furrowed. "How much have you had to drink?"

Joy took another sip of her cider. "Not enough."

"I think maybe you have."

Joy shook her head. "Nope" She smiled broadly. "We're all going to the pub. Oh, come with us Rose. Us Elves have to stick together, especially at Christmas." She drained her glass of cider then contemplated it mournfully.

"I think I'm gonna have to pass," Rose said. "I'm not an Elf any more – I'm off the clock."

"Off the cock!" Joy said loudly, and spluttered with laughter. Then she sighed. "I know the feeling. I've been off the cock for weeks." She paused and leaned in closer to Rose. "I have a feeling that's all going to change tonight, though." She giggled as if she had a secret. "Between you and me... Santa might be getting a special present before he cocks, clocks... before he clocks out tonight." She gave Rose a wink. "An' by special present I mean..."

"I know what you mean!" Rose interrupted quickly.

Joy eyed the sausage rolls on the plate she still held. After a minute, she looked over at Rose."Maybe I'll just have a sausage roll instead."

"I think that's the smart choice," Rose said with a smile. "Come on – let's get you back to the others. You don't want them to leave without you, do you?"

"You sure I can't convince you to come to the pub with us?"

Rose shook her head resolutely. "I just want to go home and put my feet up. Maybe watch a Christmas film."

"Elf?" Joy suggested brightly.

Rose glanced at her uniform. "Anything but Elf."

Joy nodded her acceptance. "I can't let you leave with nothing though, can I? Wouldn't be right." And then she smiled. "Oh, I know!" She reached into her pocket, withdrew something and held it out to Rose. "I was saving it for later, but now I want you to have it." She opened her hand.

"A satsuma?" Rose said.

"Wouldn't be Christmas without a satsuma," Joy said wisely.

"I suppose not." Rose smiled and took the satsuma.

Together, Rose and Joy walked out of the storeroom, down the corridor and into the staff room where the rest of the ex-Elves were clearing up the party things, pulling on coats and grabbing their bags to head off to the pub.

Rose wished all her Elf friends a Merry Christmas, then made her way back out into the long basement corridor, and headed toward the staff locker room to change out of her Elf uniform for the last time.

~oOo~

The locker room was empty – as the other girls had either gone home, or were among those clearing up the last of the party bits. Rose headed to her locker, opened it, pulled out her hoodie, jeans and jacket, and quickly changed clothes. Walking across to a wooden bench that ran along one wall, she sat down and put on her trainers. Then, leaning back she closed her eyes and sighed. It had been an extremely long day and she was more tired than she'd realised. She could hear the distant sound of Christmas songs coming from the staff room along the other end of the corridor, and then silence, a door opening and closing, and the sound of hurried feet. Then more silence.

She yawned. She meant to open her eyes, but somehow she couldn't quite. She yawned again. And really there was no harm in just keeping her eyes closed for a couple more minutes, no harm at all in losing herself for just a little while longer in the peaceful calm. No harm in...

~oOo~

Rose's eyes snapped open. At first she didn't know where she was, but then almost at the same time she found she could smell a subtle undertone of wet umbrellas and deodorant, and she quickly realised she was in the locker room.

A second later she realised that she had been asleep.

She reached into her jacket pocket for her phone to check the time, as of course she'd probably missed her bus home by now.

With a groan she saw that her phone was dead. Disgruntled, Rose pushed her phone back into her jacket and left the locker room, heading down the corridor and back to the staff room, hoping to catch one of the girls and beg a lift off someone.

Even before Rose pushed open the staff room door she had a sinking feeling that luck was not on her side. It was far too quiet for a start. And once she was inside the staff room she found it to be completely empty. Disheartened, she glanced up at the clock on the wall, and as she did so her heart sank even further.

Unbelievably it was 9.18pm – she'd been asleep for hours!

Turning on her heel Rose sped out of the staff room and along the corridor to the staircase door that led up from the basement to the ground floor and the exit doors.

Reaching it she grabbed the handle, but it wouldn't turn. It was locked.

"Hello!" she called out. "Hello, is anyone there?"

Of course there was no reply. It was Christmas Eve night and the store had long since closed. Rose's heart sank just that little bit further at the hopelessness of her situation.

She couldn't help but get a sense of déjà vu. Getting trapped in Henrik's basement one time was bad luck – but twice was seriously pushing it. She could only hope that the store wasn't about to be blown up... again.

Infuriated, she hit the door a couple of times with her hand, despite knowing that it was useless. She let out a growl of frustration and kicked the door. This was not how she wanted to spend Christmas Eve!

She turned around, leaned back against the metal door and contemplated her predicament.

And then she heard it. A sound. A sound she recognised. It was the service lift!

She pushed away from the locked door and ran as fast as she could in the direction of the lift. Her thoughts whirred with the possibilities of who might be in it at this time of night, especially on Christmas Eve. Only a handful of people had access to that particular lift, as it needed a security code to use it.  Maybe it was Kelvin the electrician, or Maureen the cleaner, or Derek the security guard. Maybe it was... never mind, she thought; it didn't matter who it was, it was someone, and that was good enough for her.

She skidded to a halt just as the dark grey metal lift doors began to open. She took a moment to catch her breath as the gap in the lift doors widened.

Maybe it was a serial killer.

She glanced around for something weapony – just in case – but all she could see was a mannequin's arm sticking out of a nearby cart. She grabbed it and held it up as menacingly as she could as the lift doors parted to reveal... the Doctor.

"Hello," he said, and waved at her.

Rose was momentarily dumfounded. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm responding to an emergency call from a frantic woman."

Rose frowned. "What emergency call? What frantic woman?"

"Your mum," the Doctor stated dryly. "According to Jackie, you should have been home hours ago. She was worried you might be in danger."

"Why would she think I'd be in danger?"

"If I had to hazard a guess... because you're jeopardy friendly, and it's Christmas and well, we do have a bit of a track record really."

Rose gave an exasperated sigh. "I got locked in, that's all."

"Well, it's a good job I dropped by, isn't it?" He looked Rose up and down. "By the way, why are you holding a dummy's arm? Feeling nostalgic for the old days, are you?"

Rose looked at the mannequin's arm she was still holding. Deciding not to dignify the Doctor's question with a response, she instead threw the arm back into the cart she'd pulled it out of, and charged into the lift to stand next to the Doctor.

"Can we just go?"

"Where to?" the Doctor asked.

Rose set him with a sullen glare. "Home," she said insistently.

The Doctor pointed his sonic screwdriver at the lift's control panel. "Your wish is my command," he said, as the metal doors closed with a creak, and the lift juddered into life. The Doctor glanced at Rose. "Ground floor, perfumery, stationery and leather goods, wigs and haberdashery, kitchenware and food. Going up."

Rose struggled to suppress a smile. "Ground floor exit doors – that's all I'm interested in."

The Doctor nodded. "I suppose you want to put your feet up and watch a Christmas film."

"As long as it isn't..." The lift jerked, and at the exact same moment there was a loud 'bang' from the control panel as the lift stopped abruptly.

Rose saw that both the basement button and the ground floor button were lit up, which she assumed meant they were stuck between floors.

She looked accusingly at the Doctor. "What did you do?"

"What makes you think I did something?" the Doctor asked, sounding somewhat affronted.

"Because I didn't do anything, and by process of elimination that means you did something!"

"Let me have a look," the Doctor blustered, as he approached the control panel and hovered his sonic screwdriver over the buttons.

"Do you think you should be doing that?" Rose asked.

The Doctor glanced over his shoulder at Rose. "Are you casting aspersions on my screwdriver?"

"Yes," Rose said firmly.

The Doctor's mouth narrowed. "I'll have you know that my sonic screwdriver is a multi-functional, highly complex analytical tool."

"Oh," Rose said in feigned surprise, "so it's not just for resonating concrete then?"

"Resonating concrete is just one of..." he stopped, took a calming breath, and began again. "It's a technological wonder of my own making – a pocket-sized phenomenon, if you will."

"Then maybe you should be more careful what you wave it at," Rose grumbled.

"I don't wave it," the Doctor corrected witheringly, "It's not a wand."

"Maybe it'd be more use if it was a wand. Maybe if it was a wand we wouldn't be stuck in a broken-down lift on Christmas Eve!"

The Doctor turned his attention back to the control panel. "And maybe if I didn't keep getting interrupted I'd find out what's wrong with the lift," he muttered under his breath.

Rose leaned back against the metal wall of the lift and allowed herself the luxury of watching the Doctor as he scanned the control panel with the screwdriver. His face was intent, his eyes steely, his jaw clenched. His hands were large and his fingers were long, his body athletic in build. His muscles were taut and lean. She couldn't help but imagine...

No, no, no. She couldn't, shouldn't and wouldn't let her imagination wander off on its own like that. Especially not in enclosed spaces. No good would come of that.

The Doctor stepped away from the control panel and Rose forced herself to derail her train of thought and get back to the right here right now.

"Well," she asked hopefully, "do you know what's wrong with it?"

The Doctor slipped his screwdriver into his jacket pocket."Yes," he said. "It's broken down."

Rose wanted to contain her smile, but she really couldn't. "Assets?" she suggested.

"Not even a banana," the Doctor replied mournfully, all the while mirroring Rose's grin.

"I've got a satsuma," Rose said, reaching into her pocket and throwing it to the Doctor.

"Fantastic," the Doctor said as he caught the satsuma and put it into his pocket. "Not as good as a banana but fantastic all the same."

Rose closed the distance between them and looked up into his eyes. "You're an idiot," she said fondly.

"An idiot with a satsuma," the Doctor corrected, his eyes sparkling. "And a plan."

"You have a plan?"

"Rose Tyler, when have you ever known me not to have a plan?"

Rose shrugged. "I dunno... I always get the impression you kind of make it up as you go."

"Yeah well," the Doctor conceded, "I do that too – but only when I don't have a plan."

Rose smiled. "Ok, so what's the plan?"

The Doctor looked up at the lift ceiling, and its square shaped plastic panel. Then he looked back to Rose. "We go up."

"Up?" Rose echoed doubtfully.

"Yes."

"Your plan is that we climb up the lift shaft?"

"Yes." The Doctor grinned.

"To the ground floor?"

"To the third floor."

"No," Rose said.

"We have to climb to the third floor because that's the only way we can get to the roof."

"Why do we have to get to the roof?" Rose asked.

"That's where the TARDIS is."

Rose was silent.

"Well?" the Doctor pressed.

"I'm thinking!"

"And?"

Rose frowned. "Is it safe?"

"Perfectly safe." The Doctor held Rose's gaze for a moment. "Probably safe," he corrected. He sighed. "It's safe-ish."

Rose waved her hand to stop him from digging a bigger hole. "Fine," she said.

"Really?" he sounded surprised.

"It's not like I have much of a choice, is it?" She shook her head. "Ok, so how are we doing this?"

"Ladies first," the Doctor said emphatically.

Rose lifted a sceptical eyebrow. "Seriously? Ladies first? This isn't the sinking of the Titanic, Doctor."

"Ladies first, because you're going to have to stand on my shoulders to get through the hatch," the Doctor explained.

Rose looked up at the ceiling of the lift, and then back at the Doctor. "Oh," she said.

~oOo~

Rose stood on the top of the service lift, carefully balanced to avoid the open hatch as the Doctor climbed up to join her. She peered dubiously upward, silently contemplating the wisdom (or stupidity) of what they were about to do. The shaft was dark, aside from the light that came from the lift below, and it had an oily odour that reminded her of a car engine. She wrinkled her nose in disapproval.  After a second, she looked at the Doctor, only to find him grinning like a schoolboy.

"You're enjoying this," she said accusingly.

"Whatever gave you that idea?"

"Your gormless grin for a start."

The Doctor glanced around the lift shaft. "I don't know what you're so worried about. This is going to be a doddle. Look," he said, pointing to something behind Rose. "There's a maintenance ladder running the entire length of the shaft. What more could we ask for?"

"A safety harness?" Rose suggested.

The Doctor gave Rose an earnest look. "You don't need a safety harness; you've got me. Do you really think I'd let anything happen to you?"

"No," Rose conceded, "I don't."

"Glad to hear it," the Doctor said as he stepped over the open hatch, so that he was standing next to Rose. "Because that's not the kind of man I am."

"Ladies first then," Rose said briskly as she turned, grabbed hold of the ladder and took a step up.

A couple of seconds later, the Doctor stepped up onto the ladder too and each began their climb.

They made steady progress, and in very little time, they had almost reached the second floor lift doors. It was then that they heard a metallic creaking noise reverberate through the shaft.

Rose abruptly stopped climbing and glanced over her shoulder to the Doctor.

"What was that?"

The Doctor looked down the shaft then back to Rose as another, louder creak echoed from below them.

"We might have a slight problem," the Doctor admitted.

"What kind of problem?"

There was a noisy grinding sound beneath them, as the lift below shuddered into life, moving slowly up the shaft toward them.

"Looks like the lift is working again," the Doctor said somewhat unnecessarily.

"How can it be working?" Rose asked as she climbed another couple of steps higher on the ladder. "You said it was broken-down!"

"Yes, well..." the Doctor glanced back to gauge the lift's progress. "It might not have been as broken-down as I first thought."

"You think?" Rose climbed another three ladder rungs.

"I suppose there could have been a slight delay when I tried to repair the control panel with the sonic screwdriver," the Doctor mused, and then he grinned to himself. "So you can take back all that wand rubbish now can't you?"

"Never mind that!" Rose interrupted. "What are we going to do now?"

The rumbling noise was becoming louder and both Rose and the Doctor could clearly see the lift getting closer and closer.

"We're going to have to jump," the Doctor said decisively. "I'll go first and I'll tell you when it's safe for you to jump down after me."

He smiled at Rose, then let go of the ladder and jumped. Rose heard a thud as he landed on top of the approaching lift.

Rose waited a second, her wide eyes watching the lift move steadily closer and the Doctor balancing on its top.

"Doctor?" As a precautionary measure, she climbed another two rungs of the ladder.  "Doctor?"

"Now, Rose!" the Doctor shouted from below. "Jump now!"

Immediately Rose let go of the ladder and, aiming as best she could she jumped down. As soon as she landed, the Doctor swept her into his arms, holding her tightly against him; making certain that she didn't stumble.

Rose held onto the Doctor too, instinctively wrapping her arms around his neck as the lift shuddered beneath them. She looked up and found herself staring into such intense, dark eyes that for a moment the entire world fell away, and they were all that existed. But then, only a second later, the moment was gone as the Doctor scrambled for the open hatch, and Rose followed, lowering herself through the gap as the Doctor reached up to help. She was halfway through, when the lift gave a sudden jolt and she and the Doctor fell into a heap on the floor.

After a moment, Rose pushed herself up onto her hands, realising as she did so that she was straddling the Doctor, who was lying beneath her; having softened her landing as they'd fallen. He looked a little winded and his eyes were closed.

"Doctor?" she asked. "Are you ok?"

"Never better," he replied, then groaned. "On second thoughts, remind me to book an appointment with a chiropractor when we get back to the TARDIS."

Rose bit back a smile then leant in close and dropped a kiss to the Doctor's cheek. "My hero," she teased.

The Doctor opened his eyes and looked at Rose as his hand slid to her hip. Rose held her breath for a heartbeat or three and stared at him. It would be easy to lean in again, to kiss him the way she'd always imagined doing. All she would have to do was...

In one swift, easy movement, the Doctor rolled Rose over so that he was above her. Before Rose even realised what was happening, he had pushed himself up onto his feet and held out his hand to her as the lift shuddered once more, but this time, the metal doors opened.

The Doctor shot Rose a broad grin as he took her hand in his and helped her to her feet. "Run!"

~oOo~

The third floor of Henriks was mainly offices and storage space. There was also a canteen and a locker room, but both were strictly for senior staff and managers.

However, one of the rooms had a plaque on the door that read 'CCTV SECURITY'. Upon seeing it, Rose stopped suddenly, let go the Doctor's hand and gestured to the door.

"Doctor, what about the security cameras? The police are going to turn up at my door on Christmas Day! My mum's gonna go mental!"

The Doctor shook his head. "This isn't my first rodeo, Rose. I took care of the cameras when I came in from the roof. I don't want to go viral on YouTube any more than you do."

Rose let out a sigh of relief. "Well, that's ok then."

"Did it with my sonic screwdriver if you're interested."

Rose struggled to contain her smile. "Ok," she conceded, "I take back everything I ever said about your screwdriver. Now, how do we get onto the rooftop?"

"This way," the Doctor said as they continued down the hallway, passing office after office, each one decorated with garlands, tinsel and shiny Christmas ornaments. "It's the door at the end."

The door at the end of the hallway was an unassuming white metal door. The Doctor turned the handle easily, and the door opened without a sound. Rose and the Doctor walked through, closed it behind them and walked up a set of seven metal steps that brought them out onto the rooftop itself.

Rose looked up at the night sky, which was a deep midnight blue, scattered with a thousand bright stars.

"Wow," she said softly, "it's beautiful." She looked at the Doctor and saw that his eyes shone just as brightly, except that he was looking at her and not the stars.

"Never gets old, does it?"

Rose shook her head. "Never," she agreed.

The Doctor looked up at the night sky. "Look," he said, and pointed. "It's a shooting star! Make a wish!"

Rose looked up and wrinkled her nose in consideration. "It's probably not a shooting star, it's probably just space junk, or a satellite," she reasoned, then she shook her head. "Actually with my luck, it's more likely to be the first ship of an invading alien fleet."

"Or it's a shooting star," the Doctor countered. "Do you really want to take the chance?" He leaned in close to Rose and gently brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear as she stared up into his eyes. "Make a wish," he said softly.

Rose's eyes fluttered closed and she held her breath for a moment. She imagined that she could feel the turn of the Earth, she imagined she could feel the Doctor draw her into his arms, and despite her previous misgivings she made her wish with all her heart.

A shrill noise broke the moment, and Rose opened her eyes to see the Doctor rummaging through the pockets of his leather jacket for his phone. The expression on his face when he looked at the screen, told Rose exactly who was calling.

"Hello Jackie," the Doctor said as he answered the phone. "Yes, yes of course I found her. She's here with me now. No, she wasn't abducted by aliens..."

Rose took the phone from the Doctor. "Hi Mum, it's me. Yes, of course I'm ok.  Yes, I'm sure." Rose rolled her eyes. "I just got a bit delayed at work, that's all. Nothing to worry about. I would have rung you, but my phone's dead." She hesitated for a moment. "But I thought we were gonna watch a Christmas film and..." She shook her head. "No, it's fine. Really. I don't mind. No, really I don't. You have a good time. Yeah. Love you too. Bye." She hung up and handed the phone back to the Doctor.

"Everything ok?" he asked.

"Yeah, everything's fine," Rose said. "She's off out with her mates now that she knows I'm not in mortal danger. There's an ugly jumper contest on at 'The Grapes' an' she thinks she's in with a chance of winning." She shrugged. "She's going to stay the night at Karen's."

"Come on," the Doctor said gently, as he took Rose's hand in his. "Let's get you home."

And hand in hand they walked together toward the TARDIS, which was standing on the far side of the rooftop.

~oOo~

The door to flat 48 Bucknall House on the Powell Estate, boasted a large Christmas wreath trimmed with red tinsel, holly and tiny silver bells. The bells jingled slightly as Rose put her key into the lock and pushed the door open. She stepped inside the flat, switched on the lights and glanced back at the Doctor.

"You really didn't have to walk me home you know."

"I couldn't risk you being abducted by aliens, could I?" the Doctor teased as he closed the door and followed Rose inside.

Rose shrugged off her jacket and hung it up. "Well in that case, the least I can do is make you a cup of tea."

"I've never been one to refuse a cup of tea," the Doctor said, "especially if it comes with a biscuit," he hinted.

Rose laughed. "Well you're in luck – mum bought a tin of posh biscuits yesterday. In fact, I might even be able to stretch to a mince pie. It is Christmas after all."

"Rose Tyler, are you trying to tempt me with Christmas pastries?" the Doctor asked, as he followed Rose into the sitting room.

Rose glanced over her shoulder, her tongue slipping to the corner of her mouth as she smiled. "Might be."

As Rose went into the kitchen the Doctor looked around the sitting room, which was heavily decorated with tinsel. Two stuffed Christmas stockings hung on the fireplace, and festive cushions were on the settee. He walked over to the Christmas tree, which was decked out with multi-coloured fairy lights, baubles and red and white peppermint candy canes.  He looked at the pile of gifts laid under the tree, all wrapped in bright, colourful paper and ribbon.

"Kettle's on," Rose said as she returned to the sitting room.

The Doctor smiled at Rose, then glanced back to the Christmas tree. "It's not hard to tell if you've been naughty or nice this year."

Rose shook her head. "They're not all mine! Some are mum's, and there's a few there for Mickey an' a couple for you."

"Me?" the Doctor said, sounding genuinely surprised. "Why do I have Christmas presents?"

"Because Christmas is a time to celebrate. To spend time with family, with friends, with people you... love. Gift giving is a tradition," Rose explained. "It's part of Christmas, like crackers and chestnuts and mince pies and eggnog."

"You have eggnog?"

Rose stared at him. "No," she said after a moment. "We're out of eggs... and nogs."

"Oh," the Doctor said.

"Doctor," Rose continued, "You are coming tomorrow aren't you?"

"Tomorrow?" the Doctor echoed.

"Christmas Day."

He shrugged. "I didn't think I was invited."

"Of course you're..." Rose stopped and began again. "It wouldn't be Christmas without you."

"You said Christmas was a time for family and..."

Rose took a step closer to him. "You are family." She smiled up at him. "Weird, alien, nine hundred times removed family, but family all the same."

"Well, when you put it like that." The Doctor grinned.

"I almost forgot," Rose said as she beamed at him. "You get to open one Christmas gift on Christmas Eve."

"I do?"

Rose reached under the tree, and picked up a box wrapped in shiny blue paper and a silver ribbon. "It's tradition," she said, as she handed it to the Doctor.

"What is it?" the Doctor asked as he shook the box experimentally.

"Open it an' see." Rose laughed. "Do you have any idea how hard you are to buy for? I mean, what do you get the man who has everything?"

The Doctor unwrapped the box as Rose watched. Wrapping paper and ribbon fluttered down to the carpet, revealing a plain cardboard box. The Doctor opened the box to reveal a pair of fluffy earmuffs in baby pink.

He looked at Rose and bit back a smile. "Very amusing."

"Put them on!"

"No."

"But pink might be your colour."

"I'm making an effort not to be insulted."

"They were mums idea, not mine," Rose confessed as she swallowed down her laughter. "I like your ears."

The Doctor stared at Rose for a moment then put the earmuffs back into their box, and set them down onto an armchair. "I think maybe I should go."

"You're not staying for a cup of tea? The kettle should be boiled now..."

The Doctor shook his head. "It's late."

"I suppose it is." She held his gaze for a moment. "You will come over tomorrow though, yeah? For Christmas."

The corner of the Doctor's mouth tugged up into a crooked smile. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

Rose smiled back at him. "I'll see you out then," she said, and they walked together the short distance from the sitting room, out into the hall to the front door of the flat.

At the door they hesitated and the Doctor glanced up to see a spring of mistletoe hanging from a red ribbon.

"Another Christmas tradition?" he asked quietly.

"Oh," Rose said a little awkwardly. "Yeah, I suppose so."

The Doctor stepped closer, put one hand on Rose's hip and leaned in to press a slow, soft kiss to her lips, before drawing back slightly to look into her eyes.

"You're wrong, you know," he said quietly.

"Wrong about what?" Rose asked.

"I'm not the man who has everything." He let out a breath of confession. "And... all I want for Christmas, is you."

Wide-eyed, Rose stared at the Doctor for a moment, half convinced that she'd imagined... and then impulsively, she slipped her arms up and around his neck. Drawing him closer, she finally kissed him the way she'd always wanted to.

What started out so innocently, so gentle and tentative, quickly became hungry, passionate and desperate. They clung to each other, their hands frantically pulling their bodies closer, but somehow failing to reach the singular intimacy they needed.

Their kiss broke and Rose gasped for breath as she felt herself being lifted up, turned, her back pressed against the wall. She wrapped her legs around the Doctor's hips, raked her fingernails through his cropped hair, sought the ferocity of his kiss.

She had dreamed of this so many times, night after night, but even her wildest dreams hadn't come close to what it felt like to know that this was real.

They moved again, this time she was pushed up against a door as the Doctor lifted her higher, pushing into her body, tasting and seeking and learning with a desire he had never before allowed such freedom.

Again they broke the kiss. The Doctor found the secret hollow at the base of Rose's neck and pressed his lips to the pulse that raced beneath her skin. Rose's eyes closed and she felt her blood burn.

"I want you," he confessed, the words falling through kisses against her fevered skin.

Rose felt her smile grow wide with satisfaction. "Want you too."

She reached behind her, her hand searching for the door handle. Frustration and desire and need made her clumsy, and she groaned because of it. Eventually she found the handle and her fingers wrapped around it, pushing down.

They stumbled into the bedroom, but clung together, finding the bed in the shadows of the room, and falling into its soft welcome.

The Doctor pulled back, his eyes intently searching Rose's. She stared back at him, instinctively understanding the reason behind his sudden hesitation. She knew that he was certain, even now, that if he looked close enough, deep enough, he would see doubt in her eyes. A reason to walk away.

Her hand cupped his face and she smiled, wanting so much for him to see everything that was in her heart.

She watched his doubts fade away; seeing them disappear before her eyes. Her heart filled with her love for him, and she drew him close to her as he moved toward her body, seeking and finding his place there.

They pushed at their clothes, and between caress and kiss and trembled breath, they revealed their bodies, naked skin to naked skin. They moved together, breathless, restless and desperate for the completion they both needed.  

Their bodies arched together. The Doctor pushed inside Rose and as she cried out his name they began to move into a rhythm as old as time. Bliss came quickly for them; as everything they had ever hoped and dreamed, they found in one another. Together they burned in a fire brighter than any sun.

Afterwards, tangled and breathless, the peace of perfect oblivion claimed them both.

~oOo~

"Rose?" Jackie called as she closed the front door and walked into the flat.

"I'm in the kitchen, mum!" Rose reached for a mug and set about making a strong coffee.

Jackie walked through the sitting room and into the kitchen, where she wrapped Rose up into a hug. "Merry Christmas, sweetheart."

"Merry Christmas, mum."

Jackie picked up the mug of coffee and took a sip, before letting out a long slow sigh of satisfaction. "You're a mind-reader Rose, you really are. Coffee's just what I need to make me feel human again."

"Thought it might be," Rose said as she walked into the sitting room with Jackie following behind. "Did you have a good night?"

"Yes, it was brilliant," Jackie enthused. "You should have come down. You would have enjoyed yourself."

Rose shook her head. "I wanted a quiet night."

"I won the ugly jumper contest!" Jackie announced, as if she'd only just remembered, and took another sip of coffee.

Rose looked at her mum's garish red, green and white Christmas jumper. "I'm not surprised."

"So how was your quiet night then?"

Rose smiled to herself for a moment. "I saw a shooting star and made a wish."

"Shooting star," Jackie said with a not so subtle roll of her eyes. "It was probably a satellite."

"No, it was definitely a shooting star."

"Oh yeah?" Jackie said sceptically. "Wish come true did it?"

Rose said nothing, she just took a sip of her tea.

"I'm gonna have a lie down for a half an hour. Then we'll do presents," Jackie announced. "You don't mind do you, sweetheart?"

"'Course I don't mind," Rose said as she sat down in the armchair and picked up the TV remote.

Jackie dropped a kiss to Rose's head, then she took her coffee through to her bedroom as Rose started flicking through channels until she found what she wanted to watch.

A minute or so later Jackie walked back into the sitting room. "Rose?" she began, sounding somewhat confused.

Rose glanced up and immediately bit back a smile of surprise. "Yeah?" she said, as innocently as she could.

"Why is there a satsuma in my bed?" Jackie asked as she held up the offending fruit.

Rose struggled to contain her smile. "Wouldn't be Christmas without a satsuma."

Jackie hesitated a moment as if thinking over Rose's reasoning, then she shrugged. "I suppose not," she said, and headed back to bed.

Rose allowed herself a broad, secret smile and, wrapped up in her fluffy pink dressing gown, she settled down to watch 'Elf'.

#31 days of ficmas #doctorroseprompts #ficandchips #ninexrose

[queenslasharchive]

2019 favourites

pt I

01. I Belong To You Forever by kyluxfichell [brian/roger, freddie/john | explicit | ongoing]

In a world where everyone is born as a Dominant or a submissive, submissives are treated like second class citizens. Queen are offered their first recording contract with a record label, but the music industry is still highly discriminatory against subs, especially those who are unclaimed by Doms, so Brian and Freddie devise a way to protect the two subs in their band

02. so baby, pull me closer by owenwilsonvevo [brian/roger | explicit | 3013]

Roger will be the first to admit that he’s not always the most attentive, but he also spends a lot of time admiring Brian’s face and he’s pretty sure he would’ve noticed if he'd had a beard when he’d left. He still rushes straight into his arms, launching himself at him, legs around his waist and arms around his neck, but he can’t help the incredulous laugh that bubbles out of him.

“What the hell?” He asks.

03. i’m gonna come clean by jehoney [brian/roger, roger/tim | explicit | ongoing]

 in which roger may or may not be shagging both of his bandmates.

04. Roger’s Boys by spn1dneedit [freddie/roger, brian/roger, john/roger | mature | 5473]

Three times Roger Taylor kisses each of his bandmates, and the one time they all kiss him. or, Roger kisses one boy and decides he wants to kiss a couple more too.

05. For so many years have gone, though I’m older but a year by brooklynbugleboy [poly, jim/freddie | teen | ongoing]

"Beau spied a familiar smile in that head of incorrigible snowy white curls. He knew that beautiful face once, before the lines took over, knew that body and those incongruous warm hands. Before age softened his middle and jawline and those liver spots stole the property of freckles on his skin. Beau knew that nose, those eyes, the quirk of those caterpillar eyebrows.

For the first time in his life, nineteen-year-old Beau LaCroix looked into the face of Dr. Brian May: astrophysicist and former guitarist of Queen.

For the first time in twenty-five years, Freddie Mercury looked into the face of the best-friend and lover he’d left behind.

They just so happened to be one and the same.“

06. if you’re that way inclined by obscuriaal [freddie/brian | explicit | ongoing]

It’s not the sort of business a proper young man gets into, but Freddie (Mercury to friends and fans) will take quick cash and the sleazy adoration where he can get it.

07. tempestuous by sanguination [brian/roger | mature | ongoing]

a story about two boys who don’t know anything but each other

08. Off to the Races by scarletjuliet [brian/roger | mature | 4495]

He may long for an epic love story, but instead Roger reaches for another cigarette and watches from where Brian holds him, at arms length.

09. all the more reason for laughing (and crying) by devereauxing [brian/roger | mature | ongoing]

in which freddie and roger are ridiculously codependent, brian is hopelessly in love, and john has made potentially the worst (best) desperate choice of his life in snapping up the first offer of a flat following a sudden eviction.

10. No Fight, Just Excitation by annieapple24 [all pairings, poly | explicit | ongoing]

Maybe its not surprising that the ‘bitchiest band on earth’ were able to finally come together through fighting with each other. The story of how each of the boys go from fighting to… something more fun.

12. cause god, it just feels so good by deakyamp [freddie/roger, poly | explicit | 2598]

“we were having a nice conversation,” roger told him as they set foot outside.

“she wanted to fuck you,” freddie corrected. their apartment was just a block away, and the fact only made the rush of triumph and spite in freddie’s veins grow stronger. he made long strides down the sidewalk, visibly eager to get home, but roger caught up easily. when they paused at an intersection, freddie leaned in close enough to brush his lips against roger’s ear. “but she doesn’t get to, does she?”

13. The A Experience by wordsarebetterthannumbers [roger/brian, freddie/john | mature | ongoing]

Brian May, 21

13 kilometers away

I am looking for someone to come with me to a Christmas dinner and pretend that we have been dating for two months.

14. like a break up except there's nothing to break by chateauofmyheart [general audiences | 4161]

Brian's been thinking about alternate universes.

or

a vague look at the hot space era where everything hurts and no one's quite happy

15. all that's left (is to leave) by rory_the_dragon [freddie/brian | explicit | 11486]

They drive out of Munich in silence.

(Brian comes to Munich)

16. Friends Will Be Friends by immistermercury [freddie/jim | general audiences | 816]

Freddie always gets excited by a home crowd, especially a Wembley crowd. It's just a shame that he's so impulsive.

17. Highly Strung by nothingelsematters [brian/john | explicit | 2513]

A little accident at practice leaves Brian needing to re-string John's prized Rickenbacker. John supervises...in a very hands-on way.

18. Welcome to Queen, John Deacon by the brightestbird [brian/john | general audiences | 3525]

Drunk at a disco, Brian May offers a very cute bass player the keys to Queen's kingdom.

19. the never ending cold by apaio [brian/john | explicit | 3930]

He’s riled up, muscles tense and spoiling for a fight. He’s not so much as angry as just agitated, like the tension of the past couple of weeks is finally coming to a head. Less so can be said for-

 “Brian,” he gasps as fingernails scrape at his hips. 

20. Call Me by shrodingers [poly | teen | 1448]

Sometimes, to really see what went wrong, you have to go back to the beginning.

Or, in which four boys observe their relationship in reverse.

21. Funny How Love Is by sweetestsight [poly | mature | 9164]

Things change over the years. Outtakes of four people, their shifting relationships and what they mean to each other.

22. Melancholy Hopes, These Sleepless Nights by anonymous [poly | teen | 9240]

His father would call him a bleeding heart.

Freddie, free from anger, would call him a gentle soul.

Roger, still cloaked in anger, would remind him that he’s kind.

John, in the same clipped tone, would say that he likes the softness.

A bad argument makes Brian leave the flat. Blizzards and driving while emotional never mix.

23. give me something to sing about by deakyamp [poly | explicit | 2198]

he would've invited a pretty girl to his room to fuck more nights out of their tour schedule than not, but for the time being, queen splits a single two-bed hotel room between the four of them. it’s usually fine. tonight, the rest of the band is out cold around him, passed out tipsy or drunk.

it’s just that tonight roger taylor is wide awake, and very hard.

24. Overthinking by shrodingers [poly | teen | 1082]

He's going to start a renaissance, the greatest one of all. Whether they will be there is a different story.

Or, in which Fred can't sleep and his bandmates help him out.

25. I Was Looking For A Home And I Found You by untoward [brian/roger, freddie/john | not rated | ongoing]

“If I don’t remember who I am then who’s to say I’m not a prince or a duke or whatever, right?” Rog says, a little out of breath from the running.

Brian puts chin between his fingers and purses his lips “Um, go on.”

“And if I’m not Roger, then the Empress will certainly know right away, and it will all just be an honest mistake.”

Brian lets out a magnificent smile and nods his head “Sounds plausible.”

“But if you are the Prince,” Deaky says with a smile and puts his hand around Rog’s shoulders “then you’ll finally know who you are, and you’ll have your family back.”

Brain clicks his fingers together, “You know what he’s right, either way it gets you to Paris.”

Rog smile widens and he nods his head happily, “Right” he extends his hand to Brain and takes a firm grip of his hand, shaking it. 

Or, Rog's trying to look for family he lost 10 years ago and Brian's trying to make money off an old English legend about the lost Prince. They both get more than they bargained for.

26. Give It All You Got by somedayoneday [freddie/john, brian/roger, john/roger | explicit | ongoing]

Roommates John and Roger have found a good way to make a bit of extra income while their band is still getting off the ground. Little do they know that their bandmates are avid viewers...

27. Songs of Songs by lydianode [brian/roger | explicit | 2276]

It's the penultimate night of the 1980 US tour, and Brian wants to read to Roger.

28. Bring Back What Once Was Mine by sweetestsight [poly | mature | ongoing]

In which Roger gets cursed, escapes a tower, starts a revolution, saves a life, hits a lot of people with blunt kitchen utensils and is very much not a damsel in distress. A Tangled AU of sorts.

29. sailin’ away on the crest of the wave by kt_fairy [john/roger | mature | 16091]

Roger wasn't a man to steal another man's girl. He could find an available women easily enough. Yet, as this bloke went on about bass players - a sore point as Queen had been flailing around trying to find one for months - he couldn't help his eyes flicking to her through the gloom.

She was tall and brunette, which he liked. Strong features which he didn't mind, and dressed kind of masculine which had always been a look he liked on women.

Then he had realised the girl was the bassist Nigel kept going on about. And then he realised that she was a bloke.

30. Hear Me Out by 2_ava [john/roger | not rated | ongoing]

John is trying to tell them about himself and his bass playing; he wants to get into this band so bad. But, he can’t seem to stop his eyes from continuously flicking over to the blonde in the corner behind the drum kit. He’s staring at him, eyes watching him intently and mouth slightly agape, occasionally twitching as John speaks. He’s weird – but equally entrancing… // Roger is deaf. It’s something John slowly comes to terms with while Queen becomes more and more successful

#recs #2019 recs #fic #anna #maylor #relationship: polyamorous #smut #deacury #joger #froger #breaky #frian #jimercury

[agentdagonet]

Echoes, Ch. 30

Find it here on AO3

Find it here on tumblr:  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29

Fic Summary: Feet dangling off the edge of the bed, hands still resting on the earpieces of his glasses, Eggsy opened his eyes.

And promptly shut them again, screwing them shut like a child who had the distinct misfortune of biting into a raw lemon. Breathing harshly in his nose and out his mouth, trying to stave off whatever delusional panic had befallen him, Eggsy reopened his eyes.

‘Harry?’

Or: The Hologram Story Nobody Asked For

          Harry may have panicked a bit, the night he dropped a kiss to Eggsy’s hair- but it seemed to have been for no reason at all. Eggsy hadn’t panicked, or thought much of the gesture, and slowly Harry had relaxed back into their normal routines of touch or lack thereof. Which, by his own standards, had somehow changed without his say so. Eggsy had grown even more tactile; he pulled him up from the couch, he draped an arm across his shoulders if they were sat together- one evening he’d kissed his cheek fondly while dashing through the kitchen on his way to a meeting with Merlin.

           They were apparently thoughtless touches, no hesitation before or seeming regret after, and each day they confused Harry more and more. Eggsy didn’t seem to be looking for reciprocation or any other response, which left Harry bereft of a proper motivation. He was in the business of reading tells and making judgement calls, but he had no idea what to do here that wouldn’t alter something irreparably. Not break, perhaps, but it would be far different from the current dynamic they existed in- though, was it not already changing? 

           The question, then, was what sort of change was happening? What would the sea spit out once tide went back out, as it were?

           So Harry was sat in a chair by the fireplace, wrapped up in an old favourite book as his mind wandered and a warm blanket he’d forgotten was shoved into the hall closet curled about his shoulders, when Eggsy came home from Bermuda. He’d been gone only for a few days, and had regularly sent messages over his glasses, but it was still a pleasant surprise to have him home so soon. He looked up from his book as Eggsy’s footsteps drew closer, smiling at the distinct lack of even bruising upon the younger man that was rapidly approaching him.

           It took a moment for Harry to realise what had happened, and in retrospect he was incredibly pleased that his body had known to respond when Eggsy’s lips met his own. Despite his mind having no idea whatsoever of what to do with that sensory information his lips responded, and as soon as it had happened it was over. 

           ‘Hello, love.’ Eggsy pulled away and bounded off in the direction of the kitchen, as if nothing extraordinary had just happened. As if he hadn’t just tilted Harry’s world on its axis yet again. The book had fallen into his lap, forgotten, and his hands reached to grip it reflexively to keep from touching his face. Eggsy puttered about the kitchen, eventually coming out with a plate of reheated food and plopping himself onto the sofa with a grin. ‘So, how was your staycation?’

           ‘Staycation?’ Was the kiss another pushing of a boundary? Was it a thoughtless action?

           Was it as significant a moment for Eggsy as it was to him?

           ‘You had three whole days of the house to yourself- no furniture got moved about so you weren’t bored, there’s still grub in the fridge so you ate well, and you’re re-reading Northern Lights for the millionth time. You look rested and I didn’t hear anythin’ from Merlin about something going tits up while I was away, so no crises to attend to as Arthur… Sounds like a staycation to me.’

           ‘Well, I missed you terribly.’ At this point, what harm could a bit of honesty bring? ‘Put a bit of a damper on the supposed restful days you’ve envisioned for me.’

           ‘Well, no more of that- I’m home now, and we both get to stay in tomorrow.’ It’s said matter of factly, as if he could truly control such a thing with the way their lives were arranged, and Harry huffed a laugh in response.

           ‘We do, do we?’

           ‘Told Merlin we’d be celebratin’ my successful mission and he said not be back for a couple days.’ He shrugged, mindful not to disturb his plate too much, ‘Figure we could go eat somewhere, catch a film- they’re showin’ My Fair Lady for some event down at the library.’ Eggsy shoved another forkful of food into his mouth, somehow managing not to spill any and still breathe in the process. 

           For all the things Harry had taught him, and he knew Eggsy could do on a mission perfectly, in the safety of their home Eggsy was barely a gentleman. It was both horrifying and heartwarming to know that Eggsy did not see Harry as someone he had to put on airs around- it was a very short list, from his understanding. In fact, now that he thought about it, he wasn’t sure if there was anyone else that had the opportunity to see Eggsy entirely in his element.

           ‘I suppose I could be amenable to such plans.’

           ‘It’s a date, then.’ Eggsy grinned, and Harry pulled his book back up to pretend to read as his mind whirred. It was all so subtle, so innocuous, that Harry suspected he was jumping at shadows. They were words that had been used casually before, as recently as last week, and yet this time… this time they felt like More. But for all the progress Harry had made in acknowledging his love of the younger man, he could not bring himself to act. No take a step not previously planned and strategised.

           Not yet, perhaps not ever, with all the differences between them, so he hummed his agreement and allowed his eyes to trail across the page without really seeing the words in front of them; he turned the pages at a rate that wouldn’t arouse suspicion, and eventually replaced the bookmark and made a show of stretching.

           Eggsy had set his empty plate to the end table after finishing is meal, and was laid back messing about on his phone when Harry stood from his chair. Eggsy locked his phone as Harry started moving, and put his dish into the sink before joining Harry at the foot of the stairs. They exchanged goodnights and went to their respective rooms, and each lay awake in bed for a long while before succumbing to sleep.

           Something was going to change. Soon. They both knew it, they both felt it somewhere deep beyond their bones despite only one of them having the vague semblance of a plan- but neither of them were certain that it would all work out. They were spies, after all, who knew how easily even the most detailed plan could go tits up in an instant.

           But the possibility of failure was not enough of a reason to keep from trying- in fact, it was the best reason to take the chance in the first place.

           So the next morning Eggsy went about his business as usual with one small exception: while on his early morning run with JB he’d stopped for coffee and pastries before heading home. Somehow he had gotten back while it was still warm and hadn’t spilled the coffee despite running home in the winter chill, and Harry emerged from his room moments after.

           ‘You could give a cockatoo a run for its money.’ Eggsy laughed out as he watched a sleep-addled Harry stumble his way toward the kitchen. ‘You got coffee and a croissant on the table.’

           ‘Bless you and your demonic love of early mornings.’ Harry sat himself at the table with a grace Eggsy had once thought to be beyond him while half asleep, and then groped around for the bag. Eggsy hid a smile as Harry moaned about a bite of pastry, pleased to have been able to give this bit of joy to the older man. Life's simple pleasures, and all that.

           In moments Harry had finished and was sat back in his chair, hair still a mess but looking decidedly more awake than he had been prior. 'You said we were going out this evening?'

           'Yes, Harry- thought you could decide where we're gonna eat tonight? I'll pick ya up 'round six cos the movie's at eight-thirty?'

           'We live in the same house, darling.' Eggsy’s heart skipped a beat at the casual use of the affectionate nickname, but mentally shook his head at Harry’s obtuseness.

           ‘That don’t mean I can’t do this right- pick you up and drop you off and woo you right proper and shit.’ Eggsy smirked in the way he always did when he knew he would get his way, and Harry seemed to pause for a moment before sighing deeply.

           ‘Does Thai sound acceptable for dinner?’

           ‘From the place by the shop? Aces. I’m gonna catch up on a couple reports in the office an’ watch a bit of telly later, if you’re lookin’ to join me.’

           ‘I intend to fully take advantage of this unexpected lie-in and finish my book- there’s a new one coming soon, and I feel as if a re-read is in order. Fresh in the mind and all that instead of trying fruitlessly to recall every detail of the story thus far.’

           ‘As if you don’ have that shit memorised already- swear down I’ve seen you readin’ those books five times since you got back. An’ they ain’t short books.’

           ‘Just because you read at a glacial pace-’

           ‘Speed readin’ is a skill I possess, bruv, but I’ve also got taste which means I read more than the same three books over an’ over again.’ Eggsy danced out of Harry’s reach when the tell-tale hand snapped out to nudge at his ribs. It was an old song and dance, a familiar tease that let the both of them know that not so much had changed so as to make their relationship unrecognisable. Harry pushed back from the table proper and stretched, arms high above his head and a sliver of skin exposed between his vest and sleep bottoms, and Eggsy made a point to meander toward the stairs while making sure it didn’t seem like he was staring.

           Words were one thing, but leering may be out of the cards for a while yet- and that was fine, because Eggsy was in this for the long run. He had a twenty step plan he was only four steps into- but he could cut corners if he wanted. If it looked like things were going well he could jump from step six to seventeen, but who was counting?

           Eggsy. Eggsy was counting.

#echoes fic #kingsman fic #kingsman #dagonet writes

[blackdahlia-parker]

Snowstorm -Peter Parker x female reader

Summary: there’s a big snowstorm on the last day before the Christmas holidays which leaves the bus broken down and only Peter and y/n remain on it. As they both get closer to one another, What happens between them on a cold winters day?

Content: fluff ☽

You watched as Peter ran for his life to catch the bus home, through the bus’ back window. He was late again. Poor Peter began to stumble in the snow on the way. It was the last day of school before the Christmas holidays and the snow was everywhere. You were surprised that it hadn’t caused an avalanche somewhere or other. Cars were breaking down in the school parking lot and you hoped this wouldn’t happen to your cronky, old bus as you really needed to get home tonight. You were leaving for Switzerland in the morning to spend Christmas there with some relatives.You couldn’t afford to lose sleep to get up early for your long flight from Queens.

Much to your dismay, as the bus was turning out of the parking lot it came to a halt. Everyone huffed impatiently. The bus driver seemed impatient too. You could tell that this had been happening all through the day. On the other hand Peter Parker was relieved as he stopped running and signaled the driver to let him on the bus. You could see Peter scrambling on in a hurry. As if the bus was going to go somewhere anytime soon. The bus driver shook his head and laughed lightly “late again Parker? Well doesn’t really matter today, it doesn’t look like we’re going anywhere kid.” “Yeah....” Peter replied catching a glance at all the snow from the window of the bus as he bearly noticed this amount of it at first. Too focused on the bus leaving without him, as opposed to his other surroundings. The bus was still on stop as he went to find a seat. There was two empty seat in front of you, he stared at you for a moment before snapping back into reality and sitting down.

Peter was a bit of a dork, and by far the brainiest in your physics class. You always seem to be going for the popular guys because your friends believe that you have a reputation to hold, but secretly Peter was your type. Awkward but cute. As he sat in front of you his curls bounced a little on top of his head. His hair was covered in little snow droplets from outside. It was a beautiful sight. Lately you’ve just been noticing little things about Peter and god, he was so much more attractive in your eyes, than the confident guys. There he was sitting in his oldie worldie flannel and oversized sweater and corduroy trousers. His sneaker laces untied and his backpack slung over his shoulders high up on his back.

Finally after about 25 minutes when the driver turned the keys in the ignition again, the bus rumbled but started. Lots of cheering came from the very back, “Weheyy”. Couldn’t they just shut up and let the man concentrate? Peter remained quiet though as always. Peter hadn’t realised that you’d been looking at him as he was the one infront. But you came to his mind yet again and he turned to admire the way your hair flowed down gracefully. And the beautiful side angle of your face as you focused on the white snow outside the window. You looked back towards the front as you realised someone was looking. Not being disappointed when you saw Peters face looking back at you. Did he like you? “Hi?” You smiled but also questioned his staring action. His eyes went wide as you spoke. His expression changed from a kind of daydream to a ‘shocked that you’d caught him’ look “umm h-hi” he replied hurriedly as he turned his head quickly to look in another direction. He internally grumbled at himself, worried he’d come across as rude by cutting the conversation short. “You alright Pete?” You questioned him. “Yeah....y-yeah f-fine thanks”. He replied all too quickly and blushed. You blushed too but Peter was clueless. He had no idea that a girl like you would ever like him so he was embarrassed by the fact that you’d caught him looking. God you were gorgeous. Peter had had a crush on you for ages. He daydreams a lot about you in class and just about anywhere really...in church and at the most inappropriate times. But he couldn’t help it. He was lovesick, starstruck. But he had to accept that you would never look at him the way he looked at you. His colossal fear was rejection, so he’d just admire from afar. Although he couldn’t quite believe he had the chance to sit this close to you.

The bus was going good, getting everybody from one stop to another on all the different streets, dropping people off on the way. There was hardly no people left on the bus now. Just you and Peter and three others. You were pretty sure that the next stop was his. Yours was the furthest away from the school, at least another 20 minutes away. Just then the bus came to an abrupt stop and the engine sounds faded. And this wasn’t a stop. Great. The bus had been stuck for the last 10 minutes. The snow was worse on this street , and getting worse at that. It was falling down heavily form the dark grey sky. It was gonna be a full on storm. Just what you need for you flight in the early hours of the morning. The other three pupils got off the bus and assured th driver that it was fine for them to walk. He was on the phone trying to contact another driver so he just nodded at them while showing a thumbs up. Just you and Peter where left. Why was he waiting? Surely he could walk from here?

It was getting quite late now with all the delays it was around 5:30 and already getting dark because well ...it’s winter. Although you were inside the bus, the heater had also broken and you felt sharp cold needles on your skin. You began to get a bit frustrated as you needed to get home as soon as possible to pack and get a good nights sleep. If it’s still like this in the morning you might not even be able to make it to Switzerland. You rang your mom but she seemed to be stuck in it too, on the way back from work , so there was no way she could pick you up either. You must admit , Queens looked stunning in th snow. Rooftops of the high rise buildings were white. Along with the windows and the ground was covered. The tips of decorated pine trees were also white and the scene looked photograph worthy.

Peter was within walking distance from his flat where he lived with his aunt May but he couldn’t leave y/n alone on the bus with no lift. He felt sorry for you as he heard you talking to your mom on the phone. Looks like you’d be on this bus for a while. He considered offering you to walk back with him to his and May’s apartment before anything more disastrous happened with they storm coming down thick. That is why he waited for you on the bus, to finish talking on the phone so he could ask. He was really nervous. You seemed nice enough. He’d spoken to you before in class but you were way out of his league so this was just a friendly offer for you to come back to his place, and nothing more. But then he remembered something and then couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that he’d just remembered. Aunt May was out for the night tonight so it would be just him and y/n. Oh god! He panicked a bit inside but he had to offer. He’d feel guilty if he didn’t.

Peter was still on the bus as you got off the phone. He looked nervous for what reason you don’t know. But then unexpectedly he picked up some confidence and turned to you to ask a lovely question. But that sudden burst of confidence didn’t stop his awkward stuttering along the way as his words came out of his poor mouth all at once. “W-would you m-maybewannawalk home l-I mean walk back t-to myplacewithme...f-from here? It’s-it’s not very f-far?”

You knew that you had to be back as early as possible tonight to pack, but as it is now that wasn’t going to happen anyway. How could you ever say no to adorable Peter Parker. You could just imagine him in tears if your reply was ‘no’. The image was too much to bear. He’s just so sweet. “Yes please, that would be lovely. But are you sure?” Oh my god....she just said yes....she just said yes, he thought to himself. He couldn’t quite believe it. A girl like her. But it was , just to my house, just to my apparent...he told himself to calm down as it was no big deal. “What-? Um good, yeah um great , it’s fine my aunt wouldn’t mind. Are you sure you want to though?” He messed up his words big time. You giggled and he looked extremely embarrassed. “Yes Peter, I’m sure that I want to come, only now I was saying that it would be lovely. It’s not as if I’ve just agreed to do a bungee jump off a cliff or something” “A-alright and y-yeah m-maybe not...I’m glad you didn’t decide to do a jump. Anyway, y-yay okay then...l-let’s go” you and Peter got off the bus and waved to the driver who was still trying to solve things, then you replied to Peters previous comment about not wanting you to do a jump. “Aww...are you concerned about my safety Pete?” He blushed a little too much for his liking. He decided to be bold and lie. “N-no” but it was the wrong decision. “Harsh” you mocked, mouth wide open. Peter thought you were being serious and got worried so he took it all back and admitted the truth. “No, no, I’m sorry y/n...I didn’t mean it like that....of course I would care if you hurt yourself bungee jumping. I would be concerned about your safety. I was just talking stupid. I’d hate to see you falling. I couldn’t stand to see your pretty face all bleeding and hurt. No, no, no!” He was rambling like Peter does best. But then he panicked, the last bit came out too quickly. He hoped you didnt hear. He was internally shouting at himself. Scared that that would have creeped you out, calling you such a word. Maybe you’d think that he’d been staring at your face a little too often.

Peter had said all these dramatic words about you hurting yourself, in the middle of the street. Snow crunch beneath your feet. You wanted to give Peter a hug for this. But your face couldn’t stay serious. You couldn’t keep it in any longer and just burst out laughing. “Phaaa”. He looked a bit offended “I’m sorry peter, it is really nice to know that you care about me, but honestly there was no need to take me so seriously. You weren’t being harsh....it was just a joke. And you do know that I’m not even planning on doing a bungee jump anytime soon right? Like you went off on a whole rant about not wanting me to do it. But that’s really cute. But the pretty face bit though? Did you mean it?”

“Thank goodness” Peter sighed in relief. “Um....what pretty face?.....” his eyes widened in realisation as he recalled what he had said about you. “Oh um....well y-yes....you are a pretty face.....I-i mean yes your face is pretty....like your....eyes, y-your hair and your umm n-nose” ‘What?!’ He thought to himself, as the word ‘nose’ accidentally coming from his mouth, even he thought to himself that liking a nose was a bit....different put it like that. You went a bit red at his words and smiled at him. You decided to mock him. “Www...Petey...I think your the one that’s falling...not me. And your not even doing the jump either” you nudged him as you both approached his appartment in Queens. “Shut up” he gushed, not looking directly at you. But the truth is you were falling too. But then he actually did fall...well slipped....up the steps to his apparent....you giggled as he made an angry expression toward the path that was covered in whiteand with that, he ‘accidentally’ grabbed your hand to ‘stabilise himself’ and you just went along with it , holding onto his hand actually felt cozy and nice, speckles of snow were falling from the sky....it almost looked and felt romantic until he grabbed the key from his pocket and slipped again, falling for real this time, you saw it in slow motion and his hand slipped away from yours and he smacked down on his butt in the snow by the door he was about to unlock. But we all know that the actual cause wasn’t the snow....it was tripping over his own foot ....and falling for you of course ;) He looked embarrassed and grumpy while he got up ....and you laughed you head off. He wasn’t hurt at least. And he finally opened the door leading to the complex from outside. You both scrambled in from the cold but it wasn’t that warm inside.

You both walked up the shared access stairs until you reached his apartment’s door. He unlocked it, and you both walked in....the warmth finally hitting your ‘pretty face’ :) ......

A/N: I am intending to do a part two if anyone wants to see what happens, this is my first fanfic so I hope you like it. Thank you to anyone who reads it. 🖤

#fanfiction #tom holland #marvel #peter parker #spiderman #peterparkerxreader #fluff #spidermanffh #peter parker imagines #peter parker fanfiction #spiderman homecoming #spiderman far from home #peter parker oneshot #peter parker fluff #spidey #michelle jones #ned leeds #flash thompson #betty brant #brad davis #mysterio #quentin beck #tony stark #marvel cinematic universe #fanfic #peter #benjamin #parker #peter benjamin parker #aunt may

[buckyodinson]

Sparring Partners (Cable x Reader)

Request: Could you please do one for Cable where reader x Cable are practice fighting; she pin him down getting the upper hand. She make a move on him. It escalate to more? - requested by @uknwwhttheysayboutthecrzy1s

AND - The sparring in that last one really made me crave a Cable x reader sparring session (pretty pretty please with 9000 cherries on top?) Thank you I appreciate your writing - requested by anon.

- I combined the two because they were similar 👍🏻

Word count: 1,900ish

A/N: SMUT - this is like the second time I’ve written smut so it is probably terrible and I apologise in advance for the monstrosity that this probably is, this is why I tend not to write smut.

Colossus made you all take part in mandatory sparring sessions at least once a week, to make sure you were always ready, and continuously learning new moves that may be useful.

Usually, Wade and Cable would spar together, Negasonic and Yukio were together, and you and Domino were together, with Colossus joining in whenever he saw fit.

But this particular day, Colossus decided to change things up, to better prepare all of you for different types of fighters. So this time, Wade was with Yukio, Negasonic and a Domino were together, and you and Cable were paired.

You mentally cursed when Colossus decided to pair you, since you had a bit of a thing for Cable. You cleared all thoughts from your brain as you began to get ready to fight. You thought you’d play it easy to start with, and let him get cocky, thinking he is much better than you, and then you’ll knock him down later on, when he’s not expecting it.

Cable was very quick to pin you down when you started sparring, and it only fuelled his ego. You let him think he was great for the first 20 or so minutes of training before you decided to actually fight properly. You would’ve held out longer but his comments were starting to aggravate you.

“You not even gonna give me a real fight, princess?” He smirked as you both stayed on your toes, ready to make a move.

You made a move that would suggest you would slide underneath him to trip him up, so he began to lean down to grab you, but in a split second, you jumped to have your legs wrapped around his neck and you used momentum to spin and drop him down, keeping him in place between your thighs (a la Black Widow). You also grabbed his metal arm in the process and kept it held above his head.

He squirmed, trying to loosen himself from your grip, to no avail. He tapped your thigh with his free hand and you released him, and rolled gracefully to stand up.

You smirked at him as he stood up, “Not so tough now are you, old man?”

“Is that all you got?” He smirked back, still confident in his ability.

“I’ve got a lot of things up my sleeve you don’t know about.” You got ready to lunge again, and he just raised an inquisitive eyebrow at your statement.

The two of you went at it again, and yet again, within about 30 seconds you’d managed to pin him again.

As he was getting up, you turned to look at everyone else, who had all stopped to watch you and Cable, “Looks like someone isn’t as tough as he thought he was.” You said smugly, before being pushed to the mat by Cable. He turned you over so he could face you and smile down at you - which was a mistake, because it allowed you to manoeuvre yourself to flip the pair of you over, so you were pinning him.

“You know, I could probably get used to this.” Cable said smugly, and you realised you were straddling him, and pinning his arms above his head.

You felt your cheeks heat up at his statement, but you stayed cool. “Is that so?”, you leaned closer to his face, and Cable leant up to meet you in the middle, but you pulled back.

“Not yet. You’ve got to pin me if you want to get any further.” You stood up and grabbed his hand to pull him up.

“Let’s go then.” He moved around on his toes and you followed suit.

You were brawling now, trying not to be the one to hit the mat first, and in your fighting, you didn’t notice everyone else had left, probably seeing where this would end up.

After a very long time, you still managed to pin Cable and keep him pinned for 10 seconds, signifying your victory.

You were once again straddling him, and you had a smug smile on your face and he looked defeated but also pissed. You were starting to get up off of him and you heard him mutter to himself about losing his one chance, so you got back down and kissed him with as much power as you could muster.

It took him a few seconds to recover from the shock, before he kissed you back just as ferociously, slipping his tongue into your mouth. You moaned into his mouth when he did so and he smiled and caught you off guard by flipping you over so he was on top.

He was moving his hips slowly and you were already losing it, and no clothes had even come off yet.

Your fun was cut short when Colossus entered with a hand over his eyes, telling you guys to take it somewhere more private, because he didn’t want to have to sterilise this room before the next training session. Cable groaned and stood up, before pulling you up and throwing you over his shoulder.

You giggled at his actions and gave a quick apology to Colossus as Cable walked you out of the room. As you were halfway down the hall, you saw Colossus pop his head out into the hall and say ‘Be safe! Use protection!’ And you smiled and gave him a thumbs up in response, unsure if you’d actually heed that advice, but at least letting Colossus think you would will keep him off your backs.

It didn’t take very long for Cable to make his way to his room. Once in, and the door locked, he put you down on his bed.

“You sure about this?” He asked you, looking for any reluctance in your features. You nodded in response.

“Not good enough darlin’. Use your words.”

“Yes, Cable. I want this. I want you.” You smiled lovingly at him, which was all he needed to start stripping, and you followed suit.

Cable was down to his boxers and you were also down to your underwear. You started to take your bra off but he stopped you. He got onto the bed and crawled on top of you, hovering there for a second to admire how lust-blown your eyes were, and how he was the cause of it. Then he dipped his head down and kissed you fervently. You wrapped your arms around his neck to pull him closer, and moved your hips against his in an attempt to make him move.

You felt his moans vibrate in your mouth, which in turn, made you moan too. His metal arm made its way down your body, and he latched his lips onto your neck, and you could feel him leaving a mark that was sure to be very visible and difficult to hide, but your thoughts about that were interrupted when you felt the cold metal of his hand cover your clothed core, you sighed and he smirked against your skin before adding pressure.

You squirmed under his touch, and he whispered all sorts of praises into your ear as he left more marks across your neck and collarbones. He removed his hand from where you wanted it, and you were about to protest when he moved his lips to your breasts. You arched your back and he removed your bra swiftly - he actually just ripped it off of you, murmuring that he’d buy another one for you - before ghosting his mouth over one of your breasts, and reaching his hand up to tweak your other nipple. He stayed like this for a few minutes before moving and repeating on the opposite breast.

You were practically panting from his actions, but was happy to feel Cable kiss further and further down your body until your could feel his breath on your thighs. Cable pulled your panties down your legs at an agonisingly slow pace that left you squirming.

As soon as they were flung to the floor of Cable’s bedroom, you instinctively spread you legs for him, and the feeling of his breath on your core made you buck your hips off of the bed. For a little while he just blew air onto your core, and you weren’t sure how much longer you could wait, so it was a nice surprise when you felt him lick a stripe up from your entrance to your clit, before focusing on your clit.

Your knuckles were turning white from how hard you were gripping the sheets underneath you because of Cable’s ministrations.

“Nate...” You sighed his name, which spurred him on more.

He pushed a metal finger inside you, hearing you moan deliciously and smiling around your clit. He slowly started pumping the finger in and out of you before adding another, continuing until he put a third finger in.

You had since moved a hand to Cable’s hair, which you were raking your fingers through. You scratched his scalp lightly and he groaned, sending vibrations right through your clit and almost bringing you to the edge.

He sensed you were close so removed his mouth and fingers from you, and pushed himself onto his knees, before putting his metal fingers in his mouth. You sighed at the loss.

“Jesus, darlin’. You’re so beautiful. And you taste like heaven.” You blushed profusely at his admission, and averted your gaze.

He made his way to hover over you again, his body almost flush with yours, and he lightly pushed your chin so you were facing him, “There’s no need to be embarrassed Y/N. You’re stunning.” He said lovingly before kissing you deeply again.

He pulled away to confirm with you once more that you were okay with this, before lining himself up with your entrance and pushing in. He stilled to let you adjust to his rather large size.

“You’re so tight darlin’.” He groaned and but down lightly on your collarbone.

You whispered into his ear that he could move, not trusting your voice not to fail you if you spoke out loud.

He slowly thrusted in and out of you to start with but when you told him to move faster, he set a relentless pace. He moved one of your legs around his waist to get just that little bit deeper inside you, and you swear you could see stars.

As he snapped his hips to meet yours, he slipped his metal arm down your body once again, until his fingers found your clit, and gave it some due attention. You were pretty sure it was vibrating just slightly and as soon as Cable started to kiss you again and slipped his tongue into your mouth, you were gone. You called out his name as you came, and Cable followed soon after, grunting your name into the crook of your neck as he came.

“Nathan... oh god...” you panted as he slowed down his thrusts, riding out both your highs.

He pulled out and collapsed next to you, panting, looking up at the ceiling.

“That’s was amazing, doll.” He smirked and turned to look at you, to see you already looking at him.

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