#we’re doing a local perfume house this time

[rookesbane]

perfume moodboard: wren atelier cerveza rosa

the roses you received were now strewn all over the coffee table, their petals strikingly similar to the flush of your cheeks. right before you managed to reach for your glass, bare arms wrap around your waist to pull you back in. tipsy laughter escapes just-bitten lips, bubbling over like the fizz rising from your drink.

#guess who got a new perfume 🤡 #we’re doing a local perfume house this time #i didn’t know what to feel about this before because it smells like straight up beer a few seconds in 💀 #but thankfully it smells lovely once it dries down #i know it’s inspired by beer but it’s very fizzy almost like champagne #also i’m always a sucker for lychee and roses #and this perfume has them in spades #very romantic but also playful if you get what i mean #just in time for valentines!! #perfume moodboard #perfume #moodboard #wren atelier #aesthetic moodboard #rose aesthetic #red aesthetic #red moodboard #romantic moodboard #romance moodboard #romance aesthetic #valentines aesthetic #mine

[brighter-by-the-daly]

Jordan Nobbs x Reader

Wingwoman

Posted: 05/05/23 Edited: 09/07/23

Prompt: A Jord and Ona fic, with that interaction on the field included - anon

AN: not Jordan x Ona but the interaction is included. Also Jordan’s ex is not based on Leah as I don’t think she’d act like that ✌️

“Jordan what are you doing?” leaning over the back of the sofa to see your best friend flicking through her ex girlfriend’s Instagram photos again; “this isn’t healthy; it’s been 3 months since you broke up!”. Throwing her head back to look up at you, her eyes in her forehead because she’d heard you say that one too many times. Your words clearly hadn’t sunk in as she’s still stalking her ex, snatching the phone out of her hand and shoving it into your back pocket and walking away. “We’re going out tonight, I’ll be your wing woman” you called back to her from the kitchen, Jordan whined your name in frustration as she watched you swan out of the room “but I don’t want to go out!” she shouted through to the kitchen. “Tough shit, you need to get over her and the best way to do that is getting under someone else” you said as you handed her a glass full of whatever alcohol that was left over from your last house party.

“What about Ona? I saw you two flirting on the pitch the other day” you teased her. “What are you talking about?” Jordan asked trying to cover her cheeks that were turning red, she knew exactly what you were talking about but continued to deny any knowledge of it. Jumping onto the sofa next to her and opening TikTok you scrolled through the copious amounts of edits of the “you were” comment after Jordan was offside. “That wasn’t flirting!” her tone turned defensive “are you sure, cause those eyes guuuurl they ain’t nothing!” shoving your phone into her face. It was hard to deny the clear and obvious evidence of flirty behaviour between them both. “Shut up!” she snapped elbowing you in your ribs as she got up to walk away, soon realising you still had her phone and demanding it back. Standing up you towered over her waving the phone above her head, “when you can reach it, you can have it!” you smirked knowing there was no way your tiny friend would be able to. Folding her arms and glaring at you she knew there wasn’t any point in trying to win her phone back. Jordan being only 5ft3 and you 5ft9 meant you weren’t intimidated by her stance, telling her to find something cute to wear before running away to your room and locking it behind you.

A few hours passed when you returned to the kitchen to mix another concoction before proceeding to Jordan’s room. “You better be ready!” you called out before opening the door, clapping your hands gleefully at the sight of her dressed up and ready to go. Handing her the cocktail of mysterious liquid you ordered the taxi “where are we even going?” she asked while spraying perfume on her neck and wrists. “The only place you need to go to get over an ex.. Coyotes!” - your local gay bar in Birmingham. “I’ve never been to a gay bar!” Jordan seemed a little apprehensive “well there’s no better time than the present is there?” you tipped the glass up from underneath as she sipped so she’d down your awful tasting drink making her wince. “They’re so intimidating!” her whinging had started again and you could not bare it. Walking up behind your friend to untuck the hair from her blazer, you looked at each other through the mirror “Jordy, don’t you always have a good time with me?” your words pandering for compliments of your immaculate track record of nights out. “Debatable!” she scoffed. Your eyes shot daggers at her through the glass until she gave in, “yessss!” she agreed with an eye roll just to shut you up. “Thank you! Now let’s go and find you a wife!”

Leaving the taxi you dragged your best friend into the club. You were so excited when you heard she was transferring to Aston Villa, you’d first met in England’s U15s and have been friends ever since. You’ve never been on the same team before and now you get to live with your bff, winding her up every single day just like you’re both 13 again.

“I don’t know where to put my eyes!” Jordan shouted over the music then looked to the floor to avoid any and all eye contact. Drag queens on the stage, scantily dressed people dancing on podiums… to be fair to her, there was a lot going on. Taking her hand to lead her to the bar, you ordered your first drinks then set up shop by the pool table allowing her to get used the the atmosphere. She only had to keep her eyes on you, the balls and who was winning. You let her win to build her confidence cause that’s what friends do and after a few games and drinks she had warmed up to her surroundings. Taking her blazer off to go and dance, she tried to entice you over with her awful moves while you tried to scout out a good match for her. Laughing from the sidelines you thought she’d never find someone to spend the night with if her dance moves are anything to go by so you went over to help her find her rhythm. Standing behind her and holding her hips to get her into the groove of the music, you then backed off to give her some room to shine.

Your bestie deserves the world and you’re so fed up of her still pining over her ex, you never liked her anyway and didn’t see what Jordan saw in her. She deserves someone who cherishes her and explains the jokes she doesn’t understand, not take the piss out of her. Jordan was always the butt of her jokes, always showing her up in front of her friends and demanded she stayed at the club she was at even though she wasn’t progressing there.

Frustratingly watching on as a few contenders came close but soon backed away when Jordan didn’t talk to them, you made your way back over to her. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” you shouted so she could hear, she shrugged like she didn’t have a clue what you were talking about. “You’re not gonna go home with someone if you don’t talk to them!” you tried to encourage her. “What am I meant to say?” she replied. You were getting fed up with her ‘I don’t have a clue how to be a human being’ act and started responding sarcastically - something Jordan knows all too well happens when you’re frustrated. “Oh I don’t know, anything! You literally said nothing!” your voice now becoming exasperated with shouting over the music. “Okay okay, what about how’s the weather?” she laughed at your expense. She knew exactly what she was doing, she hadn’t got through 30 years of life without knowing how to talk to people. “Oh my god Jord! Weather really gets a girl in the mood! You’re not even trying!” the sarcasm taking over you now, there was no going back - sarcastic bitch is now your personality for the evening. “That’s because I don’t want to try!” she told you forcefully.

If you were a good friend, you’d have stopped pushing. But you’re a great friend, so you didn’t. “Are you seriously telling me there’s no one here you think is remotely attractive?” holding her shoulders and encouraging her to look around. Jordan glanced from the dance floor and to the bar before her eyes dropped back onto you. “Well there is one, I guess..” her voice seemed uncertain but you were glad you were finally getting somewhere. “Great! Tell me who and I’ll set you up” unable to contain the excitement that was brewing with the mission. “I can’t!” she shook her head smiling, breaking your hopes and your patience. “Well just show me then!” your eye widened in pure irritation. Jordan held your gaze for a few seconds until you got impatient and hurried her along with her decision “come on!!”. Taking your shirt into her fist and yanking it down to bring your head closer to hers so she could reach your face, she bravely and unhesitatingly kissed you.

Your eyes still open in shock at what was happening and a look of confusion on your face caused her to stop and break apart from you. Staring at each other in the middle of the dance floor surrounded by bodies, your eyes and mouths wide open in panic. Your blank expression caused Jordan’s face to turn bright red as she turned and sprinted towards the exit. Grabbing your coats and bags you followed her outside into the night, your long legs managing to climb 3 steps at a time meaning you swiftly caught up with her, yelling her name into the darkness begging her to stop. You had no idea where she was heading, just running down the street in the middle of winter without her jacket on.

Luckily you’re a footballer who knows how to keep pace as you grabbed her arm to stop her going any further, spinning round to look at you her words came out so quickly that you barely had time to process what she was saying. “I’m sorry! I don’t know what I was doing, it’s the drink, I don’t want to ruin our friendship!” her head fell into her hands firmly embarrassed about what she’d done. “You don’t need to apologise Jordy, I didn’t know you felt that way about me” you said calmly, placing your hand on her shoulder to reassure her you weren’t judging. “I- I don’t” she stammered which is her tell when she’s lying. Slumping down with her on a nearby bench to try and get the truth out of your friend, liquid confidence now wearing off you wrapped her blazer around her shoulders. “When did this start?” you asked her gently, wanting her to know you’re still her best friend and care about her deeply. “Since I met you” she looked down at her shoes to avoid your eye contact. “That was 17 years ago Jord!” you said shocked that she’d been keeping this in for nearly two decades. “I know! We were young and didn’t know what it meant to love someone, let alone another girl. Then we grew up and went to different clubs and we didn’t see each other as much, we both got in and out of relationships at different times and I thought I’d rather have you as my friend than nothing at all. I didn’t know if you felt the same way and I just didn’t want to jeopardise anything but now we play for the same team, we’re both single, we live together and those feelings just came flooding back. I was looking at her photos to stop myself from thinking about you.” You let her finish what she had to say, it took a lot for you not to interrupt her and when she finally looked up from the floor, you didn’t know how to tell her what you wanted to say. Holding her cheek you brought her face closer to yours, trying this again as your lips locked together, eyes closed and taking your time. Her hands moved into your hair as your second kiss of the night became deeper before pulling apart again. Jordan’s face looking relieved and slightly shell shocked - “I didn’t want to find someone to go home with cause I only ever want to go home with you” she smiled.

#Jordan Nobbs x reader #jordan nobbs #lionesses #woso masterlist #woso x reader #lionessss x reader

[assortedseaglass]

Come Back To Me - Chapter Two

Billy Washington x OFC

[Masterlist]

Warnings: Trigger Point (TV) Spoilers, Language

18+. This series will eventually contain depictions of racism, violence and terrorism; it will be in line with that which occurs in the series, so those who have seen it will know what to expect. This series will also contain smut.

Author’s Note: Thank you so much for the positive love on the first chapter. I haven’t shared writing like this for a long time and was nervous to do so. You made a gal smile 😊 This chapter ends with a major spoiler for the TV series! After this, we will be much more focused on the events of the show, and Billy and Ida’s relationship.

The senses of summer filled The Swan when Ida arrived. The sweet sent of alcohol, the heady mix of tobacco and perfume that Ida found so intoxicating, the murmur of the summer-drunk public. Occasionally, a can popped open crisply, a group of men would guffaw, and clusters of women in bright summer dresses wobbled past to the toilets.

Inside the pub was mostly older clientele, likely keeping out of the sun, and Ida had a task of making her way to the bar around the bellies of the middle-aged men nursing their pints. “Glass of house white and a lager shandy please!” she said brightly to the barman, wiping sweat from her forehead and looking around. Billy was likely sat in the bountiful beer garden outside.

She had brought him here during her first year of university. Many of the older academics liked to sit in the beer garden and discuss the curriculum. Desperate to fit in, Ida had come along and brought Billy for back up. The academics didn’t know what to make of these two wild things, especially Billy when he said he hadn’t read a book since he left school. Ida didn’t go back to one of those academic meetings, but she and Billy spent every other evening that summer in the beer garden, forming their own world in post-school life.

Watching the drinks so as not to spill them, Ida made her way outside, hips swaying this way and that to avoid bumping into anything. She was right; almost everyone else was packed into the garden outside. Fairy lights were strung from the trees and people were crammed onto wooden tables. A cloud of smoke hung above them all, and their happy chatter rose into the afternoon air. Still, she couldn’t see Billy. She scanned the crowd. There were students, a few sunburnt tourists, a group of young mums, even a local rugby team downing some post-match pints. There! Sat on a table beneath a particularly low hanging and leafy branch was Billy, grinning and chatting happily to…Becky? Simultaneously, Ida’s heart dropped and began thundering in her ears.

“Ida!” Billy called out when he saw her. “It’s almost 4!”

“Sorry, lecture overran. Hi Becky,” Ida placed hers and Billy’s drinks on the table. “I would’ve got you something if I’d known you were coming.”  

“That’s alright, Ida.” Becky said. Ida hated that Becky always made a point of saying her name. “Billy said he was coming out to meet you, so I thought I’d join.” She smiled sweetly at Ida, then at Billy. Ida didn’t know what to say. Neither, apparently, did Billy. He simply stared back at Becky, a glazed look on his face.

“Christ,” Ida muttered. Becky didn’t hear but Billy did. His eyes shot to her face. Ida stared him down. Good, let him see that I’m angry. Her phoned vibrated. As if some wave in the psychic sisterhood had been disturbed, Ida looked down to see a text from Sofia.

How’s it going? He dumped her? x

She’s HERE

What!!!?

She’s fucking here. It’s so awkward…

We’re on our way! xxxxx

She smiled at Sofia’s speedy response and put her phone away. When she looked up, Becky and Billy were absorbed only in each other. As much as she hated being the gooseberry of the group, she couldn’t tear her eyes away. It was like watching some bizarre social experiment.

Becky was murmuring to Billy in a babyish voice, and Ida couldn’t quite make out the words, only that Billy was enjoying it. As Becky brushed some hair out of his face, he leant in to kiss her. Becky turned so he caught her cheek instead and Ida looked away. She caught sight of a man eyeing Becky with a mixture of awe and confusion. She knew what he was thinking. Why is she with him? Becky was beautiful, blonde and sexy. She naturally drew the attention of everyone around her. She was book smart and popular. Billy was rough around the edges. Wayward and unkempt.

The man’s lips curled into a sneer as he continued to watch Becky and Billy. He snorted a laugh and turned, catching Ida’s eye as he did so. She glared at him, daring him to laugh once more. He turned away. What he didn’t know was that Billy was the gentlest person Ida knew. The boyish whimsy that Becky found so childish, Ida adored. He wanted to please and make people happy. Children loved him and he makes friends easily. If you needed something, he would be there in a flash. Billy Washington was kind, soft, wild and high-hearted. Becky, on the other hand, was a bitch.

Two pints were slammed onto the table.

“Alright!?” It was Faisal, beaming down at Ida as if to say We’ve got you. Sofia stood behind him and Ida laughed in relief. Actually laughed.

“Hey!” Billy stood to hug Faisal and kissed Sofia’s cheek.

Becky stayed in her seat, looking at them with barely disguised annoyance. “Ida didn’t say you were coming?”

“Didn’t she?” Sofia lightly slapped Ida’s arm and winked. “How very rude of her!”

Faisal, taking a more subtle approach than Sofia, held out his hand to shake Becky’s “Faisal. We met briefly at Ida’s birthday?”

“I remember. You spilt red wine on the carpet.”

“When you said it was awkward, I didn’t realise it was gonna be this bad,” Sofia whispered in Ida’s ear.

*

In mere minutes, the drinks were finished and an icy silence had descended on the table. Were it not for the sweat trickling down her back and the sunburn forming on her arms, Ida would have said it was winter. Faisal stood abruptly.

“This round’s on me. Give us a hand with the drinks, Bill?” The two men left for the bar inside.

“Billy? Make sure the lime soda has soda in it this time. Not lemonade.” Becky called after them before turning to the Ida and Sofia. “He never listens.”

“Men, hey?” Sofia replied. Ida knew her friend well enough to see that she was being sarcastic, but Becky hadn’t noticed. As Sofia engaged Becky in conversation, Ida’s eyes wandered to Faisal and Billy. She could see them through the window, speaking quickly to each other. Faisal grabbed three of the drinks and left the bar. Billy stayed, staring off into space.

“Excuse me,” Ida said to Sofia, and hurried inside. Billy was watching the barman pour two pints, his eyes slightly out of focus. “You ok?” she asked him.

Billy looked at her from under his lashes. “Just got a bollocking from Faisal.”

“Oh right?”

“About the fact I didn’t tell you Becky was gonna be here.”

“S’ok,” Ida said. It very much wasn’t. The barman passed them the pints, which they cheersed and sipped before Ida spoke again. “Billy. Don’t be angry, but I don’t know what you see in her.”

“She’s fit.”

“She treats you like shit on her shoe,”

“Ida-“

“And she hates me as well.”

“No she doesn’t.”

Ida put her pint down and looked at him. “Don’t be naive. The only reason she came is because she heard you were meeting up with me. She’s always been weird around me, like she thinks I’m going to steal you from her or something.”

Billy laughed awkwardly, and Ida broke a little at the sound. Did he really find the possibility so ridiculous? She took another sip before continuing.

“Yesterday you were whinging about how they treat you, today she’s got you back on the leash.”

“Ida.” That was a warning. Occasionally, Ida was reminded that Billy could get angry too. She wasn’t the only one with a temper and quietly simmering rage. He was human, after all. Billy’s eyes flashed angrily, but that was a red rag to a bull. Ida wanted him to open his eyes.

“And why is she with you?” She regretted it immediately. The heat held in Billy’s eyes vanished, replaced with obvious hurt. She huffed at herself. “I just mean, she’s always annoyed at you. Telling you off, treating you like a child-”

“Stop.” Billy cut her off this time. He sounded weary. “Please. First Becky and Faisal, now you. Can’t you all just leave me be?” Billy picked up his pint and went back to the garden. Sensing it was time to drop the subject, Ida followed.

*

Ida sat next to Billy when they returned to the table. Partly as a way to apologise and be close to him, mainly as a way to avoid looking at Becky. The next hour passed in relative peace. The five of them weaving in and out of conversation, chatting to their table mates or enjoying amicable, if slightly awkward, bouts of silence. Faisal and Billy were chatting, their heated exchange forgotten, and Sofia was looking lovingly at her friends. Ida was tempted to take a picture of them, and a few moments later, she wished she had.

A news alert sounded on Faisal’s phone. As he got it out to read, the atmosphere in the beer garden noticeably shifted. Within the pub, Ida could see silent faces turned to the telly above the bar.

“What’s happened?”

“Bomb Attack on London Estate.” Faisal read the headline. “Multiple people injured and many feared dead after van explodes at a London estate. Police were called to investigate a potential bomb factory on the premises. Explosives Officers from London Metropolitan Police-“

“Fuck,” Billy whispered, running his hands through his hair. “Oh my God. Lana!” He stood up and began to pace. People watched him with maudlin curiosity, and one woman even reached out a hand to rub his back. He pushed her away. “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God,”

“Faisal,” Ida whispered. “Does it give any more detail?”

He scrolled down the article. “Only that two bombs were diffused before a third was detonated."

Billy was shaking now, stood frozen to the spot. What if Lana had been caught in the blast? Didn’t Faisal say that Explosives Officers were on the scene? Surely, she would have been right by the bomb when it detonated. That was her job, after all. Grisly images of his sister flashed in his mind. He looked to Becky, but she was staring at him like he was a wild animal, too scared to touch him. Sofia appeared next to him with a glass of water, Faisal at her side.

“Ida,” he said weakly. “Ida!” Becky snapped back to reality as Billy called for his friend. She spun around to glare at her, but Ida saw nothing. Her phone was already raised to her ear, one hand held on Billy’s chest.

“Val? It’s Ida. Hi, yeah, we’ve heard the news. I’m with Billy-“ She smiled softly at Billy and took his hand in hers, listening to the woman on the other end of the line. “Oh, thank Christ.” Billy collapsed onto the ground. Ida lowered herself to sit with him, tenderly kissing his knuckles. She looked at him. “Lana’s fine, Billy. She’s fine. Here.” She handed her phone over to Billy.

“Mum?” He sounded like a child. Faisal pulled Ida off the ground, and she went to sit with Sofia and Becky, still frozen in her seat. Ida rested a hand on Becky’s shoulder, and all three of the women watched Billy on the phone. He hung up a moment later and rejoined them. Slumping into the seat, he ruffled his hair before looking directly at Ida with teary eyes. His lower lip trembled.

“Nut’s dead.”  

Notes: Wrote this while ill so forgive any mistakes. Next chapter we’ll be spending most of our time with Billy!

Tags: @anditsmywholeheart @jessssica1234

#ewan mitchell #ewan mitchell x reader #billy washington #aemond x reader #trigger point series #ewan nation

[darklydeliciousdesires]

Runaway - Chapter Seven.

Eeeeeek, here it is, then. Le bomb. Huge thanks to you all for your diligence in reading and engaging, I’m thrilled you like it! I’m going to lower the note count to 30 for the remaining chapters. All at your own pace, besties! 

Previous chapters - Prologue  One  Two  Three  Four  Five  Six

Taglist - In the comments, please DM to be added/removed

Words - 1,928

Warnings - 18+ content throughout, minors DNI!

“Come on, Julia Roberts. Get that butt inside.”  

Hannah snort laughed at her stepmother’s words, sinking into her embrace as she entered her childhood home. The smell of her perfume was comforting to her, just as it always had been. Hannah had only been two years old when her birth mother had died, sadly not surviving the triple negative breast cancer that had taken her life at just thirty years old, and thus not remembering her at all.  

At Jackie’s insistence, pictures of Lydia remained within the home, though, for the two children she’d left behind, so her presence was always there. Ever since she’d arrived in their lives when Hannah was three and a half, though, Jackie had been mom. They considered themselves very lucky as a family, that Jackie, still so young at only twenty-four, had taken on the role of mother to her and Steven with such ease and efficiency, fitting into the family unit perfectly.  

Steven always called her Jackie, but for Hannah, because she had no memories of Lydia, had called her mom quite soon into her meeting and moving in with her father, something Jackie had never expected, but adored all the same. “I made banana bread, it’s just cooling. Here, take a seat. Dad is out with the dogs, but he should be home soon.”  

The scent was wafting throughout the house, filling the air, Jackie’s baking skills legendary within the Gray family. Hannah sat herself down at the kitchen table, toeing her flipflops off, giving her toes a little wiggle as she was presented with a large mug of coffee. “How are you feeling?”

God, how was she feeling? Four days on and she was still relieved, but it hung over her, how awful she’d been to jilt someone. “Like I’ve been through a little war!” Her confession was met by a nod, Jackie sitting down as Hannah continued. “It feels selfish, though, like I shouldn’t get to feel like that after abandoning my fiancé at the altar. I know it was terrible, mom, I do, but...”

“Han, stop.” Jackie was well used to it by now, her stepdaughter’s penchant for spiralling when she finally came to her senses and began to think – often too late – over the consequences of her impulsive actions. “All of this was emotionally tasking on you, too. Me and the family, we’re all just glad you finally did make the right decision, because I can tell you, dad and I did not relish it one bit, having to bear witness to you marrying that man.”

Her reassurance was nice to hear, but still, Hannah panicked about the chaos in the wake of her decision. “Yes, but then I think of all the stress I caused in the time following, I mean, the venue was all set up, what the hell happened to all of that food? Who went in and smoothed it all over? What about the gifts, everything else, the people we’d booked for entertainment?”

“Dad and I sorted it all. The food went to the local homeless shelter, we told people to take back their gifts, and the band and magician had already been paid, so when they turned up, the venue explained simply that the wedding hadn’t gone ahead. It was no bother. Wendy attempted to make it a bother, but sweetie, trust and believe mommy here shot her the heck down.” she frowned, adding a whisper of ‘can’t stand that effing woman’ before blowing her coffee and taking a careful sip.  

“Yeah, Ange told me!” she chuckled, Jackie winking. “You look like you enjoyed that far too much.”

“She’s a stuck-up old broad who never thought you were good enough for her perfect son. It’s because she’s never done anything but dote on him and tell him how perfect he is that he’s like this, always needing his own way, because he’s never been told no before. Oh, she threw some s-h-i-t at me, I can tell you.” It always entertained Hannah, that Jackie never swore, often spelling out her swears, or using effing instead of fucking.  

“What did she throw at you? She told me that I was a disgrace. I received the obligatory angry text message,” Hannah asked, sipping her coffee and welcoming Buster, the family cat onto her lap, the ginger tabby settling to begin making biscuits upon her thigh. Thank heavens she was wearing jeans, because Buster never let a thing like bare legs get in the way of his dough kneading.  

“Oh, she threw it all at me, how you were never good enough for him, much too independent, yadda, yadda. And then for some bizarre reason, she brings up the fact that your dad is seventeen years older than me, which puzzled the heck out of me so much, I just laughed. She didn’t take too well to that. Your dad called her a vile old witch and we left at that point. I mean honestly, the woman didn’t have anything cogent. Much too independent, hah! With how he controlled every last facet of your relationship?” She sighed, rubbing her forehead. “Jesus, I’m so glad you didn’t go through with it. Yeah, it was bad to jilt him, but heavens, it was a relief for us that you did!”

“Yep, no more Wendy, for one thing.”

Jackie burst out laughing, just as the front door opened. “Exactly!”  

“Do I smell banana bread?” her dad called, letting the dogs off their leashes, Piggy and Buddy flying in to greet Hannah with lots of slobbery kisses, Buster receiving a thorough grooming, too. If the cat could have spoken, he would have stated that he mildly tolerated he presence of the two boisterous American bulldogs within his home, but the truth was, he loved them, always curling up with them for cuddles and grooming of a night, playing with them in the day, and batting them with his paws in reprimand when they got too much for his preferred lackadaisical pace.

“You do, but it doesn’t mean you get to inhale the entire thing like Homer Simpson,” Jackie called back, Rob appearing in the doorway.  

“You ruin all my fun.” He greeted his daughter with one of his bone crunching hugs, Hannah finding herself humorously being swayed violently from side to side, as her dad always did. “You’ve no idea how glad I am not to be hugging Mrs Hansen!”

“Everything else aside, so am I!”

“Everything else? What do you mean, everything else? Is he being difficult?” No. It did not take much for Rob Gray to venture into protective daddy mode.

“He isn’t, no. I arrived back from Shonda’s the following morning to find he’d already started moving out, Catherine turned up in a U-Haul, so it was one clean sweep. No, I just meant that I still feel prickled by what I did, regardless of knowing that it was the right thing to do.”  

Her dad nodded, pouring himself a coffee from the pot, his hand hovering near the baked goods currently perfuming the air.  

“One more move towards that banana bread and you’ll feel my apron over the back of your legs! Let it cool!” Jackie threatened, removing it from where she’d placed it over the back of her chair, shaking it in his direction.  

“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” he winked, coming to sit down, Hannah in soft fits. “Right thing, maybe slightly wrong timing, kid. But, as I’ve been saying endlessly to your mom, I’m just fucking glad you did.”

“Language!” Jackie chastised, Rob grabbing her hands and kissing them.  

“Oh, oh, she’s disciplinary this afternoon!” As Hannah sat and watched her parents enter one of their hilarious little badinage exchanges, she marvelled to herself. What they had, it was what she wanted, someone she had that spark with, that vibe. Michael had been so rigid in that respect, often calling her parents immature because they still had a lot of fun with one another.  

God, the wool she’d pulled over her own eyes in convincing herself she was happy, it was double knitted. It must have been, for her not to see years before just how much he truly wasn’t the guy for her. It flashed through her mind then, sitting in that bar next to Manny as they laughed hysterically, Hannah realising she’d probably laughed more in one afternoon with a perfect stranger than she had with Michael in the entirety of their six-year relationship.  

Manny. As the days stretched into weeks following their meeting, she did want to call him. She truly did, yet what came flying at her over those weeks, eventually months, well, she found herself with much more concerning things on her mind. That wasn’t to say she didn’t reach out to him again, though, when she knew she really, really had to.  

“Well, ain’t you a blast from the past, Hannah banana,” Manny spoke upon answering his phone, walking outside of the clubhouse so he could hear her over the sound of Coco being his usual, noisy self. “What can I do for you?”

“I need to see you, Manny. Are you free this afternoon?” He thought it perplexing, that the woman he’d had a one-night stand with nearly exactly a year ago was calling him up again, presumably for more of the same when in truth, he’d thought she’d forgotten all about him.  

“I am, but if it’s for what I think it is, I ain’t in the market for that. I’m with someone.”

“Oh, god no. Nothing like that, I promise. But it is serious, though.” His senses tingled at hearing that, wondering what it was, getting a cold wave suddenly go through him when he remembered being contacted by an ex a few months after he’d had sex with Hannah, telling him to get himself tested for HPV, of which he’d found out he had. Oh, dear. He expected he was about to get busted right in the chops.  

“Alright, do you know where Romero Brothers is?” She said she didn’t but would get there with the aid of Google maps giving her directions, the call ending, leaving him to wince his way back into the clubhouse.  

“Hey yo, what’s with the face?” Angel called to him. “You’ve gone whiter than my wife, and that’s saying something.” He received an elbow in the side from the lady herself, Lily pursing her lips.  

“I am not that pale!”

He snorted. “Baby, you make copy paper look like it's got colour!” Turning back to Manny, he lifted his chin. “So, the face. What gives?”

“I think I’m about to get a smackdown from a girl, and I’ll leave it at that until she arrives.” he spoke cryptically, picking up his beer and draining it. Half an hour passed until a small, white SUV pulled up in the yard, Manny seeing Hannah climb out, opening up the back of the car and disappearing from view. “Oh yeah, she got a baseball bat in there or some shit. Fuck my damned life.” he muttered to himself, looking down at his feet.  

When he lifted his head again, he saw what she’d gone in the back of the vehicle to retrieve, and it most definitely wasn’t a weapon.  

“So, this is ten shades of difficult, and I don’t really know where to begin, so I’m just going to come out and say it,” Hannah stated as she walked over, Manny feeling his eyes bulge, his heart pounding in shock. “Manny, this is Lola. Your daughter.”  

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[sussex-nature-lover]

Sunday 9th October 2-2022

Bateman’s Gardens in the Autumn

*bold type is an outside link if you click through

We’re still getting very heavy rains, fortunately over the last week or so it seems they fall mostly overnight. So now all the lawns are nice and green and of course everything’s growing like crazy. Yesterday we had Ms NWtE, her husband and their dog visiting and so we took advantage of fine, dry, sunny and really warm conditions to take a nice walk at Bateman’s (see the National Trust link in the header) It was absolutely glorious, didn’t even need a cardigan.

We go so often that we don’t always go inside the house, but yesterday there was a demonstration of spinning with local sheep wool, so we did pop in to watch that and talk to the lady while she was at work. She was taught by a local group of farmers’ wives when she moved in to the area 16 years ago. It’s quite mesmerising to watch.

When you enter into the gardens the first section you come to is the higher level vegetable beds and orchard, with far reaching views and a glimpse of the house lower down into the valley.

Despite the summer’s drought, the vegetable beds seem quite fulsome now, although it’s a slightly in-between period with some going over and some yet to reach harvest.

Above, these were the artichokes

There was some evidence of broccoli, perhaps heading for quiche in the Orchard Tearooms at some stage?

National Trust aim to be benign gardeners - we saw quite a few caterpillars from the large Cabbage White butterfly, having a feast and more evidence of nature helping nature.

One bed had a good amount of healthy looking leeks 

At the bottom of the kitchen garden the pear arch, beside the greenhouse, is a lovely feature. This is from a previous year. I’m looking forward to seeing the new scheme.

One of the things I love about visiting National Trust properties is that whether it’s in the house or the gardens, you always discover something new. Above is the Medlar tree in the orchard, but yesterday I found another round at the side of the house.

Not only is the fruit unusual looking, it has to be treated quite differently too, being stored carefully and allowed to ‘mature’ before it’s fit to eat. This process is known as bletting. I quite fancy one of the trees as they sound delightful and easy peasy to grow too. This is a description and guide through all its stages.

My other link tells what you can actually do with the fruit, which is related to apples and quince. The suggestions are mostly jelly and jam type of thing, but there is a kind of fruit cheese curd, although I do like the look of the tart...realistically I can’t see me ever getting around to the faff with the fruit and then making it.

I just enjoyed the blue skies and the photos I could take. Here’s a new flower on the Magnolia Grandiflora. It’s much later than we’ve had in our garden, but it is sheltered against the stone walls of the house.

Talking of trees, down in the wild area by the river, I did my annual sniff the air test as we walked past the candy floss tree.

Katsura Tree on the far right here  (Cercidiphyllum japonicum)

I’ve dried some leaves from yesterday, not quite the glorious colour we spotted last year. It was absolutely stunning and the perfume really is strong. I’m not sure why they’ve taken away the sign because I’m betting lots of people stroll through and don’t even register it. I want one of these too.

Back through the rose garden, which still had plenty of late blooms, we could see that the benches and seats were being well used. It was quite a busy afternoon for visitors walking dogs and enjoying the sunshine. The tea room and outside seating was absolutely packed.

In home based nature news we’re still seeing deer across the lane and the garden feeders are busy with great spotted woodpeckers, starlings, house sparrows, marsh, blue and great tits and the long tailed tits are here several times a day on a flying stopover between their nest areas and the woods. In smaller numbers there are robins, goldfinch, dunnocks and nuthatch, plus the ever present wood pigeons who are displaying - obviously to no avail! The robins have been singing and chatting. They’ve done really well again this year.

Inspector Pritchard has spent a bit less time with us, lured away next door but one by a superior brand of cat biscuits and his very own food bowl. That boy’s treated like a prince, no, a king. No wonder he hasn’t strayed further since he landed on his feet round here.

Garden tree watch: we have a real splash of colour, but apart from that, only glimpses of what’s to come with the oak showing a tiny bit of yellow.

Next door’s willow tree still has all its leaves

And in much neglected kitchen news, the smell of supper simmering earlier was mouth watering. It’s Indian spiced shepherd’s pie. One to eat and one for the freezer. The spices were cooked down and are then mingled with the meat, onions and other veg. It’s very simple but smells like a lot of effort’s gone into it. This is the basic recipe. I haven’t linked to the chef’s own site as she now skips all the spices and includes a pre mixed kit for sale in supermarkets. Years ago I invested in a couple of masala dabbas and so I have all the spices I need to hand, stored so I can see them in the airtight container that lives inside a dark cupboard.  Usually we’d have the recipe as a cottage pie, so the lamb is a change for us - one link remains though, I include carrot, mainly because I’m a big carrot fan, but more veg is good, no?  I’m watching collie dogs hunting for white truffles in Piedmont on TV, but our tastes are much more simple and this is a go-to autumn and winter staple that we never tire of. 

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[perezpanduro8]

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[waywardsummoner46]

(Un)Pleasantville

A/N: Second one shot, yay! Definitely toying with expanding this as well as my Lucifer!Sam and Michael!Dean fic. I’m open to requests and let me know if you want to be added to my tag list (never had one before, oo this is exciting). As ever enjoy the fic and let me know what you think!

Word count ~ 1620

______________________________________________________________

Alright so, not to sugar coat anything but this was an absolute nightmare.

  You, Sam and Castiel had gotten word of a hunt - well more Sam but that’s besides the point - and had left yesterday. You’d paused at a gas station outside of a place called Charming Acres but the dude at the counter said something was off about the place… so naturally (or supernaturally) you all went to check it out. And a dude’s head just completely blew up out of the blue after he came in for his phone?

  Pulling into the town itself, now that was something. You felt as though you’d walked into a 1950s sitcom about some cheesy, lovesick marriage story. Something that you’d like to stay well away from. Consequently, you met a cheesy, lovesick couple called Justin and Cindy Smith who said they’d heard absolute zilch about any deaths and “this is a very close-knit community, nothing goes on here without everyone knowing” blah blah blah.

  Anyway, the strangest thing for you wasn’t the clothes, nor was it the 1950s behaviour, no, it was the fact Justin didn’t seem to recognise what a phone was. You silently ogled at him but he paid no attention to you. So now you definitely thought something was off about this place. 

  After that fateful encounter, you all stumbled upon the local diner “Harrington’s” who was run by the Mayor Chip Harrington and his daughter Sunny. You thought Sunny was a very sweet young woman who honestly looked like someone you’d get along with, however you noticed her head perked up once conversation about Conrad (watermelon head guy) started. Castiel so delicately stated, “Oh no! His head exploded” rendering everyone in the diner speechless.

  The Mayor stuttered for a moment then questioned “Excuse me?”

  “Like a ripe melon in the sun.”

  Whilst this confrontation was happening, Sunny gave you and Sam milkshakes, as Cas had refused earlier, so you were busy trying not to spit it out as you found that conversation hilarious. Chippy boy gave you the information where Conrad was last seen and then you all took off but not before Sam abruptly said “Alright, you know what? We’re leaving, bye.” And that was that.

  When you’d all arrived at the boarding house, a too cheerful Ms. Dowling greeted you at the door, and creepily said she knew you were coming because it’s a small town and things travel fast. Honestly, what is it with these people? From there, and after a brief explanation on why you all were there, she showed you to Conrad’s room and said he moved in a few weeks ago.

  Being your observant self, you came to the conclusion that the bed had been barely used but there were passionate and just plain disgusting letters under the mattress addressed from Sunny (so maybe she wasn’t so innocent, neither were you).

   At the same time Sam suggested you all stay overnight and divulge and investigate more thoroughly in the morning and yet his almost desperate tone of voice put you on edge. Obviously, you were all tired and weary but Sam was just on a whole new level of “oh this is amazing, we should stay here because it’s so cool”. So reluctantly, you and Cas agreed but not before exchanging an uncertain glance with each other, the intuition of a teenager and an angel right?

  Sam and you were sharing a room since Cas had insisted on his own, and instantly something changed with how he addressed you. “(Y/N), please take your shoes off, you’ll ruin this lovely carpet,” and “(Y/N), sweetheart, don’t you think wearing something a little more lady-like would be more appropriate, hm?” 

 All you could do what was sit and stare because not once had Sam ever been this pedantic or pathetic and he certainly had never called you “sweetheart”, so too baffled to engage in intelligent conversation, you went to bed just after Sam as you were too busy burning incredulous holes into the back if his hairy head. Struggling to grasp sleep, you softly whispered a “What the fuck?” and thank god Sam didn’t hear you because you would’ve absolutely hated the outcome.

  The next morning you were woken up quite rudely by an angel banging on your door. Blearily you struggled out of bed and opened the door, rubbing your eyes. “What time is it?” You said.

 “Time to get up, get dressed and Sam-Sam?”

 Noting Castiel’s confusion, you turned quickly in what was once Sam’s direction only to find your lovable older brother had disappeared to Chuck knows where. Great, man hunt at ridiculous o’clock in the morning. Cas immediately raced down to the stairs to seemingly find Ms. Dowling leaving you rushing to change into something more appropriate that pyjamas.

 Descending the stairs you notice the front door open and a frantic looking Castiel waiting in the Impala, waving for you to get in. Shouting a quick “thank you!” to Ms. Dowling, you sprant for the car and sat in Sam’s seat.

 Castiel started the car and you asked “So? We know where he went?” 

  “I’ve been told he left this morning saying he was going on a walk to the diner and wanted a milkshake, but only after screaming at Ms. Dowling who had her eardrums blocked with ear plugs,” he said. You nodded, absorbing the information and pondered why Sam would just up and leave for a milkshake.

  “Cas, you don’t think that there’s something wrong with the milkshake? Or like, this town in general? Because I do and Sam was being a real overbearing douchebag after you left yesterday and acting completely out of character.”

 He didn’t hesitate to nod his head, “I must admit, the strange customs have piqued my interest and Sam did drink quite a lot of that milkshake yesterday so it might be a possibility that there is a supernatural force going on here.”

  He looked like he wanted to say more, but you’d turned a corner and arrived just before the diner. Castiel left the car and went to inspect whilst you decided a smart move would be to ring Sam’s phone… only to find it ringing in the back of the car. Typical frustrating Winchester. 

  Placing your hands on your head, you massaged your temples and tried to think of any reasonable explanation as to what on earth was going on. 

 You heard the driver’s door being opened and looked over to see Castiel already turning the keys in the ignition. “He’s gone to Mr and Mrs. Smith's house,” was the only explanation you received.

  Suddenly determined, you nodded and said, “Alright, we’re getting somewhere, onward!” So, the car started and picked up speed, as you made your way to the Smith’s house you took a chance to observe the area a bit more.

  It was definitely something outdated and old-fashioned but the people did look happy, even if the shops were called something despicable like “The Rainbow Restaurant". It was very bright and colourful and you didn’t doubt that even if a thunderstorm hit, these people would still be acting on top of the world.

  Upon finally reaching your destination, you took notice of the white-picket fence and the massive garden. The house was huge and definitely unnecessary for only two people. Regardless, you and Cas sauntered up to the door and knocked three times respectively. On the third Cindy opened the door with a clear smile on her face and a very pleasant scent of lavender perfume. “Hello, can I help you?”

 You and Cas glanced at each other before he answered, “First of all, I’d like to offer my condolences for your husband's death but we really need to know-”

  He was cut off by a very confused Cindy Smith who said, “My husband? Honey, I think you might be mistaken. My darling husband is in the kitchen, fetching his newspaper. Justin, dear, come say hello!” 

 Again, Cas looked like he wanted to continue but a very familiar, moose-like voice interrupted “Coming darling! Won’t take two slices  of a carrot cake!” It was, unmistakably, Sam.  You gaped and stared questioningly at Cas in silent question. He merely returned your look.

  Moments later, Sam appeared in the doorway. Wearing a pair of glasses. A ponytail. And a fucking cardigan. A cardigan, because why the hell not? He wrapped his hands around Cindy’s waist and looked at us in confusion. Or sorry, at Cas in confusion, but when his gaze landed on you his face went more stern. 

 “Young lady, do you not remember what I said about un lady-like clothing? Because those denim jeans and that ridiculous jumper are hardly suitable for my daughter, little miss. I suggest you get in this house right now and put on that lovely dress your mother bought you,” he basically seethed.

  Now you were definitely the equivalent of a fish, with your wide mouth and wide eyes. You managed to compose yourself a bit before stuttering “Sam?”

 His eye twitched and there was no warning before he grabbed your arm and pulled you in the house then promptly dragged you into the sitting area. He guided you to the sofa on the left of the fireplace and very softly explained, “My sweet honey, I know that this is hard for you, but your mother and I want what’s best for you. Now, be a good girl and wait here until your mother and I have finished our pleasant conversation with our new neighbour, hm?” Then he planted a kiss on your forehead and returned to Cindy’s side to continue conversing with Cas.

  All you could think was: what the fuck?

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[muffindaddystyles]

HUSBAND!HARRY HEADCANONS (NSFW+)

He'd be an excited puppy at his wedding day. Getting emotional to an extent he'd stutter his vows only to shove his face into his palms out of shyness and hug you making everyone laugh and hoot.

At the after party would be pulling you close by wrist whispering dirty things and sweet nothings not forgetting to mention of Mr/Mrs. Styles each time.

Danced and drink his arse off making you sneak with the whines that he can't wait anymore to take you instead knacker out the moment he touches the mattress.

Would apologise in the morning with room service, his mouth and fingers.

Would be smothering you in loud wet kisses when you'd dress up to go outside with him.

Wouldn't be able to keep his hands to himself even in public and steal pecks when no-one's watching. The whole time lacing his fingers in between yours, swaying them when walking through streets of italy and kissing each knuckle with a smile worming up.

You would drag him to local food stalls and have an eating competition with him. In the end when you'd get too lazy would be all pouty and doe eyes asking him to pick you up.

Alot of love making. Like alot it would make you cancel plans of next day.

Lazying around the suite in Styles embroidered robes.

He'd have flowers bought to you every morning. Pastel heart shaped boxes of different chocolates. He's too romantic. It rots your teeth.

Would have tea in the evening at hotel's balcony.

If you'd be two feets away from somewhere outside he'd call you "wifey/hubby" to gain your attention. The cocky bastard he's would point at you when everyone would smile at the new couple fondly.

You'd groan at the airport stomping your feet because he bulked up so much luggage due to his habit of drooling over every decoration piece, "'m sorry! Kay? I'll ask Jeff to figure something out." He'd give you sheepish smile and it always does wonders.

Coming back home you'd give eachother back rubs and shoulder messages which soon turns into a hard fuck.

He'd book spas for you stating he wishes that you don't find him a boring husband.

Would proudly introduce you to everyone as his life partner tucking you by his side knowing you get socially akward in the crowds.

Would help you in the kitchen in burning pots and pans squealing to have a run when you'd get grumpy. Would come to bed after scrubbing them nicely and you'd jump in his lap telling it's okay and rewarding him with kisses.

The first big fight you'd have would lit up from the stupidest reason. Could be from fact he didn't like the fictional character you love so much and you mock him that he always does this leading it to a huge fight that he doesn't love you. Making him sleep at the couch only to crawl to him in the wee of night and he'd just sprawl his arm for you to cuddle into him without a word.

Would look at lil toddlers and wrap his arms around you, chin on your shoulder exclaiming "we'll make beautiful babies one day too."

Would help you in laundry moreso his opportunity to stare your ass and tease you. Making you sit at the dryer to watch you thrash with vibrations while he does nothing but kiss you everywhere except where you need him most to annoy you.

Would sternly tell you to give a resign to your job as they treat you bad.

Would ask someone in his rich friends circle for your job and it would be the cause of your guys first serious fight where you don't talk to him for days, then when you'll cry softly in his arms "do you think 'm not capable of getting a job that you'd have to ask your friends?" So innocently it breaks his heart and he smooches kisses at your forehead with sorrys that it wasn't his intention at all.

Would have lavender and salt baths running for eachother after a hectic day.

Would share excited news with eachother first.

He'd make you listen his songs and would be all giddy fumbling with the hem of your cardigan. When you'd sob his head would perk up like a pup and he'd wipe your tears only for you to ask, "Wait. How did you write such a sad breakup song? We had our fights but they weren't thatttt serious." Then he'd just slip under duvet to hide and you'd throw it away slithering up his chest to suffocate him. "Harry!!! You bitch I'll kill you!!" He'd just laugh out loud trying to cup your cheeks and kiss you.

Would drag you late nights to have ice-cream parlour visits.

When he'd get sick would make you stay with him in bed all day. Follow you to kitchen wrapped in blankets and when you'd scold would slump. Look so cute with those teary eyes it's hard to ignore him.

Would give you mischievous glare and dimpled smile while writing from Mr and Mrs Styles on presents or something to gift.

He could be very messy and dirty sometimes. You'd throw his soggy socks at his face from the floor and he'd just dodge them with a snarky retort.

You guys would gossip with eachother while watching telly. He'd have imaginary feuds with your rude co-workers and would snap his finger while chewing on pringles in a loud voice, "Brent and Vroe are fucking. Mark my words."

When you'd scream "Harry Styles I hate you!" He'd just grin from far smacking a flying kiss. "Too bad darlin' ye're stuck with your enemy."

He'd try to be the best husband for you because when Harry loves someone he loves with each drop of his blood.

When you'd be away from home for sometime and come back to surprise him finding your house a cluster fuck he'd be like "don't be mad. I know I'm too lazy and it's a bummer.'

On the wedding anniversary he'd try to be the most romantic. Making you count each day to the amount you'd get annoyed.

Would have a tattoo for you inked on himself.

While trying to have a baby he'd be the filthiest. Would keep your legs raised and when you'd whine would sush with you kisses.

Fuck you in every corner of the house to claim you his's with marks and love bites, "do you think we did this time?" He'd huff face hidden in the crook of your neck.

Make brekkies and have dances when the vinyl is on low hum.

Would take you to Taylor Swift's concerts knowing how much you love her. Have a blast and would give you a piggie ride when it ends.

He'd look sick from anxiousness while taking pregnancy test and when it comes out positive would shrink like a shrimp and sob out loud instead of hugging you. You'd just roll your eyes laying beside him taking his face and making him look at him, "We're pregnant." His nose red and cheeks stained. "We are." You'd grin kissing him.

Next morning you'd be treated with delcious brekkie, a nice sloppy morning sex, in the shower too and a bouquet of flower with a note "To the mother of my baby."

He'd record everything on his camera roll. Each day. Your routine. Your bump. With his side cheeky commentary, "Hi me lil bunny look you're growing. Can't wait to have you in me arms. Mama's glowin'."

Would take maternity break for himself to be with you through these months.

Would gobble junk with you knowing you'd be guilty afterwards.

Would massage your feet before sleeping, fill hot water bottles, and have a whole night stand's cupboard full of your night cravings.

"How Chelsea sounds?" He'd quip from behind the baby names book, "I can't tell if you're serious." You'd blink and when his expressions remains same you'd cry. "Harry you love Chelsea boots so much doesn't mean you could name your child that!!" Then it turns into a long lecture. "Yeah, can't wait for our baby boy to be named Tom Ford cause his daddy's favourite perfume–" But he shut you up with a soft kiss and murmurs to relax.

He'd have his babies feet imprints inked on his bicep. (Sobs he'd be that kind of a dad)

Would be stoic on his descion to build all of his baby's furniture himself.

Would come up with creative ideas for baby shower.

When doctors would call him to cut the cord he'd be shivering and would probably knock his knees at the sight.

He'd be dressing up his kids in matching outfits as him. It would be super cute!!

You'd complain that he bribes his kids to drift to his side but he'd just make sure to let you know how lucky he's to have you. The person who gives him reason to live every day and his anchor.

He probably would be an embarrassing dad.

His daughter's friend's would tell her how hot he's and she'd tell him as a gossip.

He'd tease his son if he'd catch him masturbating on accident, "No worries buddy we all do it."

Ok this's the only I could think of right now. Feel free to add more with reblogs !!!! Wanna hear all of yours cause I'm bored lol.

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[garbagevanfleet]

Brightest Blue (series)

SURPRISE VALENTINE’S DAY UPDATE!

PART FIVE

Pairing: Josh x reader Warnings: flirting, alcohol, mentions of smoking  Summary:  Things are changing. New state. New school. New roommate. You just pray things are going to click into place. Notes: This chapter is so cute to me. Pajama party anyone?  As always, thanks to the actual best editor alive today, @lantern-inthenight​ 

MASTER POST

taglist: @valleyd0ll​ @satingrass-maidensfair​ @guitarfingers​ @thebohemianpenguin​ @peaceisouranthem​ @oblvions​ @hansonobsessed​

@bigblack-catattack​ @myownparadise96​ @lara-gvf​ @anditsmywholeheart​ @kill-fear-the-power-of-lies​

It was undeniable that winter was on its way. The weekend brought predictions for temps in the lower 40’s and, even in the warmth of the apartment, you felt perpetually chilled.

Kate had messaged you late on Friday asking if you wanted to get coffee Saturday morning, and you had excitedly agreed to meet her at the local cafe called The Daily Grind (which, admittedly, you chose because of the cute name).

She had seen you bundled up like a burrito in two sweatshirts and a long-sleeved tee underneath and laughed, but you explained to her how you had never really been in temps this cold before.

Your fingers were wrapped as tight as they could go around your mocha as you watched her sip her black coffee, her maroon-painted lips leaving a mark on the white mug.

“When we’re done here, would you want to go with me to a thrift store? My mom sent some money for me to buy warmer clothes when she saw the weather for this area,” you said with an excited tone. “She’s afraid I’m going to get pneumonia.”

She hummed in an interested tone. “That sounds like fun. Which one do you wanna check out first?”

“You’ve been around here longer, so I’ll let you pick.”

“The one on Maple is the one where all the rich sorority girls go, so I bet you’d find some good stuff there,” she informed, tapping her nails against the ceramic.

You beamed a smile, relishing in the sunny feeling that only spending time with other girls gave you. “You wanna drive or me?”

+++

“Do you think if I buy a pair of jeans a size too big I could get away with wearing leggings under them?” you asked, flicking through the hangers. “I feel like the wind here cuts right through my denim.”

“Maybe two sizes bigger so you can wear sweatpants.” You knew she was teasing you by her playful tone, but that was actually kind of brilliant, you thought. “You should try this one.”

You had to get onto your tippy toes to see her over the long rack. She was holding up a soft-looking sweater, multicolored horizontal stripes running across the fabric. The color pattern reminded you of Twiggy from the ’60s.

“It’s cute,” you agreed, taking it as she handed it to you. By the time you were ready for a fitting room, you had a pile of things and the employee on duty looked not very excited to have to put them back when you were done, but luckily she wouldn’t have to. Pretty much everything fit perfectly.

You were shocked to see the total - where you were from, all of that would have been well over $60, even second hand, but you ended up forking over a measly $35, and you figured most of that total was from the nearly new jacket you had found.

As she was driving you back to the coffee shop, you exclaimed giddily, “I’m so excited to have warm clothes. Now Josh can finally have his sweatshirts back.”

She looked over at you surprisedly. “That’s Josh’s?”

“Yeah, he gave me three and I’ve been alternating between them.” You reached forward to turn her radio up a notch, Janet Jackson’s “All For You” perking your ears.

“Are you sure he wants them back?” she asked, giving you a coy smile that you didn’t understand.

You adopted a puzzled look. If she was alluding to something, it was lost on you. “Why wouldn’t he? They’re still perfectly fine - I was even careful not to get my perfume on them.”

Now stopped at a red light, she turned to give you a squinty look until she seemed to realize you were serious. “Nevermind,” she relented, smirking forward at the road.

When you got back home, Josh was gone. You shot him a message inquiring as to his whereabouts and started snipping the tags off of your new clothes with a pair of pruning shears. You were exponentially grateful for the fact that the washing machine in your building had been repaired - and with a shocking amount of haste too.

The smell of the laundry room down the hall was pleasant. It reminded you of the times when your mom would wash all the towels and blankets in the house, and that was a job that either required a laundromat, or an entire day switching loads.

At the end of your shopping day, you made out with three new sweaters, two pairs of thicker jeans, a new coat, a winter hat, and an actual pajama set, which would be infinitely warmer than the shorts and tank top you’d moved in with.

You cheerily popped your new clothes into the washer, along with a tide pod, some of your bras and underwear, and closed the lid.

Around 1 pm, Josh still wasn’t back and hadn’t replied, so you decided it was a perfect time to work on some self-care. The yoga mat you had packed had yet to see the light of day in Michigan, so you dug it out, unrolled it in your room, changed into some easy clothing, and pulled up a beginner’s tutorial on your phone. By the thirty-minute mark, you were sweating and tired, but the stretch in your muscles was oddly pleasant on top of the discomfort, so you pushed yourself to keep going until the video was done. The cute blonde running the tutorial suggested you take some time in your cool down to look inward, as she thought that was a big part of yoga. So, you laid there on the mat, staring up at your ceiling for a good, long while, just taking time to reflect and enjoying it.

Your room, and the whole apartment really, had become home so quickly. You hadn’t ever had the opportunity to test the theory before, but you had always imagined that leaving home would make you feel out of place.

But you didn’t.

Sure, you missed home in the way that any human that came from a loving and supporting family would, but you were expecting to ache for it. You had taken a long time in your backyard and in your favorite spot back home, just so you could have a final fix, but all that was to you now was a fond memory.

After a few moments of being alone with your thoughts, you were going to get up and take a shower, but you had decided to postpone it. While you were staring up at the ceiling, you realized that there was a lot of unused space that the sun hit toward the top of the room. Wasted sun was a felony in your book. You spent about an hour pulling down your curtain rod, removing the fabric, and replacing it with hanging pots of all sizes and lengths.

Your string of hearts, your pearls, your golden pothos - the thought of them being the first thing you saw when you opened your eyes in the morning was one that made you feel sentimental. You’d just have to be careful with watering.

Once you were satisfied with the placements, you made your way to the bathroom. As you waited for the shower to heat up to a tolerable temperature, you took some time to pluck any stray hairs around your eyebrows and gently brush the knots out of your hair. Self-care had always felt like a long term investment to you - one well worth it.

The warm spray of the shower felt amazing on your tired muscles, so you took your sweet time getting clean and enjoying it, then blow-drying your hair on low heat when you were finished. After, you excitedly got out your new pajama set, clipped the tags, and put it on.

Shortly thereafter, you heard a key slip into the lock on the front door. You were cuddled up on the couch, enjoying the feel of the soft fabric on your freshly scrubbed skin as you watched through the complete second season of the Simpsons, popcorn in your lap.

When he stepped into the house, he raised his eyebrows at you, surveying the area.

“What?” you asked, giving him a confused look.

“Just looking for the books and the homework.” You rolled your eyes at him before he continued on with, “I just always assumed that when I wasn’t around, you were doing boring, adult things.”

You gave him a playful shrug as you gestured to the noticeably book free space around you.

He squinted at you suddenly. “Are you in your pajamas? You know it’s like 3:30 in the afternoon, right?”

“They’re new!” you quipped. “And I was excited to wear them. You don’t have to be jealous, you could go get yours on and join me.”

The offer seemed to be tempting him. “I have a better idea. How about you go change, and we’re going to go to a party tonight.”

You scowled at him, crossing your arms over your chest. “Are you crazy? I’m already in my pajamas. I’ve already taken my bra off! Once it’s off, it doesn’t go back on.”

He laughed, loud and unabashed, showing you all of his teeth. The sound made your cheeks flush.

“C’mon, I bet Kate will be there,” he reasoned. “And I obviously will be. And I’m positive Jake will be too. This might be your chance to get them to hook up.”

You bit your bottom lip in consideration. “The timing would be kinda perfect; she could have the whole day tomorrow to process it and then tell me about it on Monday.”

He was smirking at you when you looked back up at him, making you tuck your hair behind your ear anxiously. “If I come, do you promise not to leave me alone?”

He nodded at you confidently. “I will not leave you.”

The very first thing you did was message Kate. It was vital that she was there, just in case Josh got too drunk to remember his promise. You didn’t have a hard time socializing, per-say. You were just nervous about your first real social event here.

Josh was right though - it wouldn’t kill you to make some more friends.

When you were in the bathroom brushing your teeth, Kate messaged back saying that she would never miss getting to see you drunk, and you didn’t have the heart to tell her you had to drive, so you opted to leave that part out. You worked on picking out a good, sensible outfit and took your time to put on makeup again. Admittedly, it felt kind of nice - you used to wear a full beat all the time, but somewhere along the line it started to feel tedious, which is something you never wanted any of your favorite things to feel, so you put the whole idea of it on the shelf for a while.

When you finally emerged from your room around 8, Josh was sitting on the kitchen counter, phone in his hands as he furiously typed out a message. You listened to the pleasant sound of his fingers tapping on the glass screen for a moment before speaking.

“Who are you messaging?” you asked, but it didn’t grab his full attention right away.

“Just one of the other theater guys,” he said through a near sneer. The only time you ever saw him looking distressed was when it came to his production. “Trying to tell me what I can and can’t do with my own production-”

When he looked up at you the rest of his thoughts seemed to escape him, all the emotion in his face and posture crumbling away.

You folded your hands together, giving him a concerned look. “Are you okay?”

He tucked his phone into the pocket of his pants, abandoning whatever he had been so intent on doing just seconds ago.

“Yeah, I just haven’t ever seen you dressed up before.”

The extra attention made you slump back against the hallway wall, giving him a nervous grimace. Through pursed lips, you asked, “Is it too much?”

His eyes popped open, along with his mouth. It took him a moment to speak actual words - like he wanted to say a lot all at once. “What? No! I’m just stupid,” he assured, running his fingers through his curls. “It took my brain a moment to process.”

You gave him a forgiving smile, opening the fridge and grabbing out a carton of juice. He watched as you took a swig, letting you swallow before asking, “Do you want me to drive?”

Your eyebrows raised in surprise, finger swiping away a stray droplet. “Can you?”

“Drive?” he laughed. “Yes. I can drive.”

“Legally?” you pressed, handing over the carton to him when you caught him eyeing it. He took a drink right from the spout as well, giving you a wink that made you lovingly roll your eyes.

+++

You two seemed to unintentionally match. He was in a pair of khaki pants, a black long-sleeved shirt, and a denim jacket on top. You were positive he was going to freeze solid one of these days because he always seemed to be way underdressed for the weather.

As you went to get out of the car, he stopped you with a touch to your knee. “You should take off your jacket and hat and leave them in here; I wouldn’t ever trust leaving them unattended at a party.” He paused before speaking again. “Not that anyone would necessarily steal them, just that people get drunk and think stuff is theirs.”

“Like you did with the wallet?” you teased, making him rub at the back of his neck.

“Yes,” he said pointedly through a grin. “Like that.”

He held the sleeve of your jacket as you shrugged out of it, abandoning it into the back seat. You took just a second to mourn the fact that it would be cold when you went to put it back on.

In the rearview mirror, you fixed your hair, having been mussed by the removal of your hat, and then stepped out. He ushered you along first, reaching past you and pushing the door open for you when you had reached it. The music hit you like a wall, loud and energetic - followed quickly by the smell of alcohol. A cloud of smoke hung subtly near the ceiling, giving the room an air of mystery. You realized you hadn’t made a move to enter the house when you felt his hand on the middle of your back.

“Everything okay?” he asked, just above the volume of the music. You nodded, feeling silly for holding him up, and stepped inside.

People were moving to the music like blood reacting to a heartbeat, swaying around to the rhythms all in a pleasant unison. The scene was oddly hypnotic as the colors danced around.

The second that people could see Josh behind you, they started calling his name. Your stomach lurched for a second, scared that he was either going to leave you or drag you to a group that you didn’t know, but he waved them off instead.

“I’ll catch you guys in a minute,” he shouted through a grin so charming they couldn’t seem to muster up a shred of annoyance toward him. Then, he spoke the next part right against your ear. “You want a drink?”

“Just one,” you agreed with a nod, shivering ever so slightly as his breath hit your cheek.

In the kitchen, huddled around an island covered by bottles, was a group of people, all very visibly drunk. One of those people was Kate, dressed in a crisp looking pair of jeans, a white crop top, and a red checkered flannel shirt, left open to expose her midriff.

When she caught sight of you, she gave you a big, toothy smile. The sharp fringe of her bob moved just enough to sometimes expose a pair of gold disk earrings.

“Need a drink?” she asked as she broke away from the rest of the crowd. “I’ll make it for you.”

You put your hands up, laughing at her enthusiasm. “I’m going to let Josh make it for me,” you informed, knowing full well that she would make it strong enough to get you drunk and keep you in that state for the whole evening.

The one that Josh ended up making for you was, undeniably, a rum and Coke. Not your most favorite thing ever, but then again, this one was mostly just Coke. You made a mental note to thank him for being so considerate.

The three of you ended up in the living room, right in the throws of all the action. You’d been to a few parties back home, but this felt kind of different. Back home, it was always hot, so the parties usually spilled out into the yard in all directions. Come to think of it, you’d never been to a party where the guests weren’t making prominent use of the pool. But here everyone was packed in tightly, making a large house feel tiny.

Kate found you all a nice little corner with a love seat and some kind of weird puff you think you were meant to put your feet on. Settling in there meant you’d have to share the space with a couple of other people, but it felt worth it to not be standing in the middle of the room. Being out in the open made you feel nervous - like you were being circled by sharks.

The songs changed, but the beat seemed to stay pretty much the same, making it easy for the time to slip by without your acknowledgment. By the time you checked your watch, it was nearly eleven.

True to his word, Josh didn’t leave your side the whole night. People kept popping in and out to get a word with him. You couldn’t hear them well because he was sat across from you, but he was laughing quite a bit. Some of it looked kind of forced, but most of it seemed genuine - like he was actually having a nice time.

It wasn’t until you were close to getting ready to leave that you saw Jake making his way down the stairs, one hand on the wooden railing to steady himself and the other wrapped around a red cup. You flashed him a smile when his eyes landed on you, and he gave you one back, giving you a feather-light punch to your shoulder when he reached you.

“Move over,” he demanded in Josh’s direction, sitting nearly on top of him on the couch, with only light complaints from his twin.

“You smell like sex,” Josh said through a fake grimace, pressing his elbow into Jake’s ribs.

“Can’t imagine why,” Jake responded with a smirk, lifting the cup to his lips as you giggled at him.

The realization struck you as his eyes landed on Kate next. “Oh, Jake, this is my friend Kate. Kate, Jake Kiszka.”

She reached out and took his hand to shake and at the same moment, Josh laid his hand on your leg and through a grin, asked, “Should we take off?”

You laughed, giving him a nod.

“Kathrine, Jacob,” Josh started, clapping his hands together in front of him. “We are leaving. See you guys soon?”

“We should actually get tacos,” Kate stated seriously to the group as a whole, and then just to Josh said, “And my name is Kathleen.”

#brightest blue fic #josh kiszka fic #josh gvf #Greta Van Fleet #greta van fleet fic #greta van fleet fan fiction #josh gvf fic

[blissfulparker]

Better than this→Prince!tom

parings→prince!tom x Princess!reader

Summary→ you and tom come from opposite kindgdoms. Both being young at the throne you despise each other and can barely stand each other. But when left in a room alone, everything builds up at once and all too quick

Warnings→smut, oral, enimies to lovers troupe,

A/n→this is for @rosyparkers writing challenge with the prompts “you wrap yourself in thrones and let no one touch you” and “”(y/n)” “yeah?” “I’m gonna kiss you now” “okay”” hope you all enjoy and yeah this is pure smut and will only be one part so BYE(also my laptop wouldnt let me add a gif or my moodboard! sorry!!!!)

A cold winter swept over london. You were back in the holland estates for a council meeting in which you always hated attending.

It was Tom Holland who you hated, none of his other family members. The throne was left to him at an early age just like you but your minds were far apart. Sometimes he made you wish your grandparents never formed the Allie with his kingdom. Ages ago now lead you to a modern day kingdom. One that tourists stared at from afar and only few got to be apart of.

“The meeting is downstairs, darling.” He leans against the doorframe of the library. His arms folded. A black button up loosened at the top. Black pants fit him perfectly and maybe it was the irrisatable look that made you hate him more. How easy it was for him, how he could get anything with the snap of his finger.

“The meeting is for higher council members.” You don’t look over your shoulder as you keep your stare out the window. Watching the snowfall and being able to see from a distance the people walking the streets. “Although I’m not surprised they let you in.” You mumble under your breath but he can hear. A soft chuckle leaves his lips as he comes more into the library.

“Hmm,”he hums almost sweetly to himself. “Sounds like someone is a bit jealous.” He picks up a book from the nearest shelf. Flicking through the pages before tightly closing it.

“You mean jealous that you’re aging faster than me and only get your ways because of your looks? No Thomas, I don’t think I could ever be jealous of you.” You said bitterly. It was harsh, yes, But you weren’t in much of a mood for games.

“Ouch.” His face winces but it’s not taken personally. “You should just ask. I’m sure they’d let their smartest lady into the room.” He has a cheeky smile. A perfect, white cheeky smile that’s he bites down on as he stands next to you.

“And who would be the smartest man?” You look at him with your brows raised and he cocks his head a little before knowing it’s better not to pick a fight with you. Not when there were higher royal members downstairs, not when you both could easily make a fool out of yourselves.

“I never liked the name thomas.” He told you out of the blue before going over to the coffee table and picking up a book. “At least never from your mouth anyways.” He comments and you roll your eyes turning to him and watching what he was doing.

“So what should I call you?” You fold your arms and he lets his fingers run over the pages.

“Tom,” he knew you said Thomas out of spite. “Just tom.”

“Okay, Tom, why don’t you go downstairs and fuck your self back to the top and not make a fool out of your country.” You tell him and he stops at a word, frowning a bit. A mock at you.

“(Y/n),” your name was separated in syllables when he said it. “You’ve always wrapped yourself in thrones and never let anyone touch you. I wonder why.” He pouts before setting the book down. Your hands touched the bracelets on your wrists, pure gold, it matched the dress you wore today but you didn’t feel comfortable walking down into the meeting dressed like this.

“How I act is none of your business.” You tell him simply and he falls onto the sofa.

“I’ve always wanted to fuck someone in this room.” His voice confident with every word. You roll your eyes knowing his cockiness.

“You’ve seemed to fuck in every other place of this house With any girl you desire, So why not here?” You tease in a hateful way. Getting the book from the table and going to place it back in its proper spot. He walks you walk away. Even though he despised you, the way you act, how smart you were, how you managed to make royalty look so easy when he struggled, how you both degraded each other every time you saw each other.

“Guess I just haven’t found the right girl.” He looks over at the fire that flickers to warm the room. He knew every time you came over this was your spot.

Free moments away from everyone you seemed to resign here. He knew you liked to read, liked the view of the city, enjoyed the people. He knew this was your quiet safe haven, so that’s why before you came over he would have it cleaned. He’d have the dust wiped away, fresh wood, clean couch, and shiny floors. All for you. You never seemed to realize anyways, but all was done for you.

“Are we done here or do you need something from me?” You stand against the bookshelf. The emerald green you wore to support your kingdoms colors looked beautiful on you. The dress hugged your body perfectly and the sleeves looked like they were about to drop in a moment.

“I actually needed something from this room.” He got up from the couch. Walking over to you with his hands in his pockets. He walks right past you and bites his lip looking for what he needed. You watch his fingers trail the books, how long, crooked and thick they were. How rough his knuckles were from his boxing lessons, how you imagined his hand sliding up your thigh—

“It’s rude to stare, darling.” He clicks his tongue as he pulled the book right out of its home.

You want to punish yourself for letting your mind drift off to such dirty thoughts about the man you hated the most. How stupid you’d look if you let yourself fall for him. How all the years of teasing, rude glares, rolled eyes would be traded for some stupid love. Some quick romance because you were too busy to go out on the town.

“I would rather stick my own thumbs in my eyes than stare at you.” You fold your arms looking at the book he chose. England’s history, his family's history.

“I have to do a little reading homework.” He taps his finger on the book and catches your eyes staring at it. “We’re in a little quarrel with France right now over some trade so I guess I have to get myself out of that hole that we dug.” He shares and you nod.

“Hm,” you hum. He walks over and stops right in front of you. His chest is close to yours and you can smell the ocean breeze Cologne from his body. The smell is strong and sweet, making you want to pull him closer.

“You’re in my way.” He says in more of a whisper. “Move.” The words that fall out of your mouth next surprise you more than it surprises him.

“Make me.” You nearly bite back. He looks at your red lipstick the way you spoke the words. His hand is swift as it goes around your waist to pick you up and place you next to him. You’re shocked at his actions and hit his chest.

“Asshole!” You shout and the room echoes a little bit. He grabs the next book that you were once standing in front of and adds it to his collection starting in his arms. He lets out a lower laugh as he turns to you.

“Your wish was my command. After all, shouldn't the Princess always get what she wants?” He teases and you let out a loud huff.

“I hate you. I truly fucking hate you.” You let out a lower rumble and he only looks up to reach for a third book.

“Such harsh words. But the words are the same for you.” He winks and you brush off his touch and turn to walk away. As you start to walk away you trip over a loose wood flooring piece. He’s quick to grab you, holding you by your stomach and now your back is pressed against him. You can almost feel each individual divot of muscle. Feel how built he is, how he’s not that much taller than you but how small he makes you feel in this moment. His breathing is uneven as this position even took him by surprise.

“Tom,” you turn around and look at him. He still holds the books in one hand, the other hand is occupied with your waist.

His breath is slower now, he looks down and sees your lips, your chest, if he moved his eyes just a little he could see right down your dress but he wasn’t going to do that. As much as he says he hates you, he respects you.

“Like a little doe.” He almost whispers and you feel like putty in his arms. Does he do this with his other woman he brings into the house? Tease them until they feel so weak against his touch they would do anything to get him undressed. How could you fall into his trap too. Was this a trap?

“Lost for words?” His lips curl into a smirk and you want to say something but you can’t. You simply let him have his way with you at this moment.

“I’m not lost for anything.” You finally say. You intend to have a harsh tone but it comes out weak. Your begging your mind not to let him do this, not to be so weak to him. Fucking your enimie, your ally, was that all really worth it? How ashamed you’d be if you let your hormones take over and let him fuck you. How you haven’t been properly bedded in over a month and maybe something quick, something so quick could be forgettable.

“Hmm,” he hums coming in closer and take a deep breath. Smelling the perfume you chose this morning that you spray right under your ear. “I always like this scent on you. What is it? Chanel?” You don’t even realize you’ve moved your head to the side. Giving him access to kiss if he wanted. “Maybe I’m wrong. Gucci? Estée Lauder? No…” you almost whimper. “It’s something local isn’t it?” He lets out a soft chuckle just against your neck. You swallow hard feeling your core already throbbing wanting him to just break and touch you.

“What I wear is none of your business.” You still try to remain strong. Act like you hate his guts. Act like you do in meetings. Smack him in the face and remind him you’re in change.

“No, it isn’t.” He comes up from your neck and looks down at you. “But I think if you were mine you could wear whatever perfume you wanted and I’d still want to fuck you until you couldn’t walk.” He whispers harshly so close to your lips.

“And why don’t you do that?” You say back and his hand now going lower down your back, so much lower that it’s gripping you gently.

“Are you asking?” He lets his lips gaze over yours before bringing them away. That time you did whimper, a whimper left your lips.

He chuckles softly, takes one last breath before looking you in the eyes.

“(Y/n)?” His eyes softer than what you’ve ever seen.

“Yes?” You respond.

“I’m going to kiss you now.” He brings his lips closer to yours.

“Okay.” Was all you said and just like that you were his. Your arms go around his neck and bring him in. The books he once held crash on the floor and make you jump slightly. His hand went from your ass to your thighs in a matter of moments lifting your one leg around him. His lips hungry, not caring about the perfect red lipstick now smudged against his. How it would be such a mess to leave here. He wasn’t thinking about that right now, he was just thinking about you.

“I still hate you.” It comes out as more of a moan than actual words. Reminding him this means nothing to you. That you simply need to get it out of your system.

He grunts as he goes to your neck, kissing down it and letting the straps of the dress fall right down your shoulder. His hand quickly goes to your nipple. Pinching with his finger and then taking it into his mouth making you loudly moan. You hope no one is around to hear you. You hope no one will open the doors to find you two.

He’s quick to have you picked up around him. Part of you wants him to just take you against the bookshelf, another part wants the couch, there’s a small part of you that needs him to cancel his whole day to be with you.

His hands quickly get down the rest of the dress. Dropping it and bringing you over to the couch that was made typically to fit one person but he would make it fit two.

“Please I need you.” You whine and he’s already making his way down your body.

“Do I hear the princess…begging?” His head in between your legs, biting your thigh gently. Your hand is weak but goes to grab his hair.

“Shut. up.” You arch your back as he takes his first taste of you. Maybe there was a good reason why he had such a playboy idea behind him. Maybe some rumors you managed to search up once were true, he really was able to keep up to his standards.

You’re quick to reach your high, soft moans leave your mouth which only motivates him to do more, give you more. He holds your thighs tightly and when you squirm too much he smacks them to make you stay still.

It’s only moments until you’re catching your breath. Eyes closed not believing what you just did. Your hands go to push back any hair that fell into your face and wipe off some sweat as well. It was going to be hard just walking back into your room when your lipstick was smudged and you were drenched in sweat. Your legs shaking did not help as well.

He comes up to your face, you pull him in for a kiss which takes him by surprise.

“What?” You look at him in this moment and think maybe he’s good, maybe he’s not everything bad you’ve wanted him to be just to be Safe.

“It’s just…you...nevermind. Girls typically don’t kiss me after I do that.” He’s still in his pants, but the way his chest glistens bare, you can’t look away.

“Oh.” You let your eyes flicker down to his pants. Reaching for him but he quickly grabs your hand.

“Another time.” He winks and you feel your body go stiff. Another time. There would be another time?

“A-Are you sure?” You flicker your eyes a few times and he kisses above your brow.

“Mmmh,” he places his finger under your chin. “Look at you getting soft for me.” He teases and you grab him a little too tightly and he winces.

“Knock it off.” You tell him. He likes it, he likes it when women take control over him. It was rare it ever happened but he gets tired of being in control all day and needs a little of that control unleashed on him.

Bells ring outside. Signaling another hour has passed the day and that made you sigh. He gets up from where he was and goes over to the area where he dropped your dress and comes back with it at the edge of his fingers waving it in a teasing way.

You quickly take it from him and slide it over your head. Letting the fabric situate itself against your body before trying to stand up. Your legs weak and give out for a moment before he catches you and pulls you back up.

“Woah, woah, i've got you darling.” He holds you and then laughs. “Oh don’t give me those eyes. Not everytime I’m going to catch you is going to be a time I’ll fuck you.” He winks and you roll your eyes.

“I have a meeting with some locals. I have to give a speech at six.” You tell him and he turns you around to zip up your dress.

“And when will you be back?” He asks, kissing your shoulder in a teasing way.

“I don’t know, maybe someone will catch my eyes in the crowd—“ you start to tease more playfully but he’s not so light about it. He turns you around and pulls you tight against his body. You’ve never seen him with these eyes. Angry you’ve seen? Yes. Mad? Sad? Hurt? But never so ferral. Like you were his and he didn’t want to share.

“Anyone ever teach you it’s not so nice to talk about other men right after one just ate you like you were his last meal.” He looks down at your lips and for a moment you swore you left your body. You swallow hard before blinking a few times and opening your mouth to say.

“Eight. I’ll be back at eight.” You feel so weak and powerless but protected in his touch. He lets his grip on your waist loose and lets you regain balance.

“Alright. I’ll tell the chefs to hold dinner until you get back. And it will just be you and I and i will fuck you on that table when we’re done eating and then I will bring you to my room and fuck you until you can’t walk. Don’t think I’m not making up for all those years you said you hated me so much.” He kisses right below your ear before buttoning his shirt up and going to the door. You watch him leave and try to recall what just happened. You place your hand on your forehead wondering how’d you get out of here without anyone questioning you.

You didn’t know who you hated more. Tom or yourself. You were hooking up with the man you swore you hated up and down. You felt good too. You hated that he made you feel so, so good.

You truly hated tom holland, but he was about to make you wish you never left his side

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#royal!tom #prince!tom #tom holland imagine #tom holland smut #tom holland x reader #imagine tom holland #tom holland fluff #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland fan fic #tom holland fics #tom holland au #tom holland royal au #tom holland x you #tom holland x y/n

[prose-for-hire]

Childhood Sweethearts

Pairing: Cordelia Chase x fem!reader

Request: Hi! could i make another cordy request 🥺👉👈 i thought i would come off anon, for this one! How about cordy and reader are like childhood friends and she comes to sunnydale to visit and cordy is obliviabout readers feelings for her, and buffy is like “girl, are you blind, she likes you!” thank u! 🥺

Requested by: @onehellagaykid​

You and Cordy had grown up together. You were so close, you had gone through everything together. She was the sweetest, but only ever to you. She was very protective of you, of your friendship. To anyone else she was blunt and sometimes accused of being a bit of a bully in the playground.

But the truth was, she was one of the kindest souls you had ever met even at your young age you knew there was nobody else for you. You imagined a wedding, planning it in secret and hiding the pages under your pillow, longing for this dream to be realised.

You still wore the best friends necklace you bought together before she had to move away. Before she moved to Sunnydale. It was cheap, but it meant more to you than the most precious bond. 

It meant her. Her love. Friendship. You had one side of the heart pendant and she had the other.

You didn’t realise but she still wore it too. She had a more expensive taste now, but she did not want to part with it. She kept it under her clothes, snapping at anyone that dare say anything about it.

You were visiting Sunnydale for the summer. She had invited you to stay. You were so pleased, you had worried that she had forgotten about you.

The distance made you ache. Being apart from her, it almost physically hurt. You wanted to hold her hand, wake up to her face beside yours. You yearned for her in every sense, to have her attention for even a moment it made you happy beyond compare.

When she invited you, you worried that she may have changed. That she might not want to be your friend anymore. You knew she had been popular and you knew all about the things she faced in Sunnydale. You had met a vampire before and so you knew she wasn’t lying to you.

You spoke almost every week on the phone, shared all your secrets still, but you still worried that it may have changed when you saw her in person.

When you arrived, she embraced you in the biggest hug, gushing about how much she had missed you. It made you glow. Smile so wide. It was exactly like old times. You were so relieved so happy in her presence.

You relaxed together, her telling you everything she wanted to show you and do now that you were here. After a while, she did admit that you would have to go to a Scooby meeting at Giles’ house the next day. She couldn’t avoid it unfortunately, there was something spooky happening apparently.

You were a little disappointed, you wanted to have her alone. But you were excited to see the people she spent time saving the world with. You told her all the time how proud of her you were that she was one of the people that helped stop evil.

You arrived at Giles’ in the later morning and became introduced to her little group of friends she insisted to all except you that weren’t really her friends. She trusted you and so explained her weird fondness for them.

Buffy, Willow, Oz and Xander were very friendly and introduced themselves. As did Giles after he gave Cordelia a withering look for bringing a friend to a very important meeting. They began to try and speak in code in front of you, not realising that Cordelia told you everything.

“Um, the, uh, bumpy forehead brigade are out in force” Xander said from the corner of his mouth as if this was the height of secrecy.

“Gang! Local gang, very scary!” Buffy shouted, alarmed.

“Perhaps y/n should-” Giles started, concerned that this was going to prevent them all from serious discussion.

“Guys, chill. She knows all about demons and the gross ugly things around here!” Cordy announced and shrugged, turning to return her eye contact to yours. Both of you gazing longer than would be comfortable for anyone else. She looked away first, pretending to focus on the stake she was supposed to be whittling.

The meeting carried on and you picked up some wood and tried to copy Cordy’s actions. Now you knew why her grade had gone up so suddenly in woodwork, she had a lot of practice, even during Summer.

You were struggling with the stake and she took your hand in hers and tried to guide it. You shivered, smiling at her and not able to concentrate at all now. She whispered that you should probably just give up which made you laugh. She knew she could be honest, almost to a fault with you so you set it down and just listened.

The older man, Giles, spoke the most. With Buffy, the slayer chipping in and the rest adding a little humour here and there.

Cordy leaned in every so often, explaining all the gossip between all the people you had just met. She made you giggle and you were having trouble hiding it from them. As she spoke, she became so close you could smell her perfume. You watched her lips as she spoke. They looked so soft and she was wearing the strawberry scented lip gloss she always did. You wondered how it would taste. How her soft lips would feel against your own.

You were hers. Completely.

You were afraid she would never know. That she would never understand the feelings that you harboured. How your heart was, and always had been hers to do as she pleased with.

Talk then moved to the film that Xander, Willow and Oz planned to watch at the cinema later that day. It was one of your favourite genres. You got really excited and started to talk to them about it animatedly.

“Would you like to join us? We have a spare ticket” Willow offered as Oz just shrugged. He wouldn’t mind. Xander smiled too, you seemed nice and he decided it was better than playing third wheel to Willow and Oz.

“Do you mind?” You turned to Cordelia, making sure she wouldn’t be upset. You hated it when she felt left out. But she nodded, smiling. She knew how much you liked those films and she didn’t care in the slightest for them. She only ever watched them for you. Because she liked the way your face brightened and your smile never left your face. She usually watched you more than the film.

“Just come back to me at the end of the day” She whispered so you could hear and this made you drop your gaze to the floor and giggle slightly. You had goosebumps.

Your new acquaintances announced that you had better go so you wouldn’t miss the ads, which according to Xander were the best parts of any movie. This made you smile and roll your eyes, something Cordy warned you that you’d be doing a lot of around Xander. You waved, you eyes not moving from Cordy’s until you were out of the door.

“So… y/n seems nice” Buffy said slowly after you had left. She didn’t have time for a movie, she was supposed to be at home any minute. Family time that she had missed too much of.

“She is! She’s cute right? Thank me for her style”

“She really enjoys your company, huh?” Buffy hinted slowly. She saw the way you acted around each other. As if you were already dating. But there was something there. A missing link, which Buffy quickly discovered was Cordy’s self-awareness. Or, lack thereof.

“Yeah, we’ve always been close. She’s, like, the only opinion I trust when I shop. Apart from my own, obviously” Cordy smiled and started to take the stakes and put them away. She was over that activity.

But she didn’t realise that Buffy was staring. She couldn’t not say anything. Not when she saw the way that Cordy looked at you. She hoped this didn’t backfire, but she didn’t think twice. She just spoke.

“Oh my God, Cordy. Are you blind? She likes you. Like, really likes you”

“Really? Y-you think?” Cordelia said, a smile starting to form on her lips. Everything rushed back to her at once. Those sleepovers where your faces were so close together she wanted to lean in and kiss you. Hushed and whispered secrets. Cuddling together under blankets and promising never to forget the other. Times after school where you would only want to hang out the two of you.

The way you both blushed when she would do your makeup, because of the proximity. When she would dress you up and shower you with such praise that you would bashfully shrug and tell her to stop.

She had adored you for so long and she hadn’t even been able to call it what it was. She liked women. Well, a woman. You.

“I don’t think, I know. We’re in the everglades here, also known as pine central” Buffy stated, referring to both of you. She could see the way Cordy lit up whenever you were around. How she softened, but only slightly. Not wanting you to hear her harsh digs or think they were directed towards you.

Cordy wasn’t listening. How had she not seen it? How had she not noticed it in herself?

She missed you, thought about you constantly. Wanted to visit you but things always got so busy in Sunnydale.

In some way, she had needed someone to tell her this. Remind her that this was love. Something she had hidden deep down for such a long time. Whether is was shame or otherwise, she had never acknowledged these feelings long enough to figure it out.

But now she was. She was thinking about it. And coming to terms with it. She left for a while, shopping and thinking.

She loved you. She treasured you. She couldn’t imagine her life without you in it.

You both returned to her place after your respective days. You had missed each other, more so than when you lived away from each other. Because the other was right here in the same town. You were pleased to see her, although you gushed about the movie.

You always shared a bed growing up and this visit was no different. You felt a tension in the air as she got ready for bed, facing away from you. You slipped into your side of the bed, wrapping yourself up in the blankets waiting for her to join you.

She got in beside you, lying on her side and facing you. She nodded at herself, telling herself to ask.

“Do you, do you have feelings… for me?” She asked. Direct as always. Your eyes widened, you almost recoiled in horror. She knew. How could she know?

What if she wanted you to leave? Right now at night in a strange town where vampires were more common than humans. What if she thought you were disgusting? You couldn’t live with it if she wanted to stop being your friend. You were sure you would die right there beside her. You took a deep breath, it was now or never.

“I do…” You admitted. Barely blinking. Holding your breath. You were so scared, your palms slicked with sweat.

Your thoughts swirled around you, every horrible scenario flashing before your eyes. Your mouth went dry. The seconds it took her to react were so painful.

Your heart stopped beating, you were sure of it. That, or it was beating so fast that you couldn’t feel the separate beats.

He lips curved into a smile. Her eyes glassy, shining in the dim light from the hallway. You scanned her face, smiling was good. Smiling was… pleased... right? Happy?

Could she feel the same? Could she possibly love you the way you loved her? Adored her in the same way?

So many emotions were spinning around your mind that you hadn’t noticed her lips had started to move. She was explaining herself. Her lips moved and you only managed to process her words after she finished speaking.

“I’m new to this, but I think that I love you. That I want you, only you” Cordy said, her sentence tailing into a whisper. You had never seen her so apprehensive to speak. So concerned that she had only heard what she wanted to hear. That you didn’t really like her in that way.

She adored you, she wanted to spend every waking moment with you. She now found it ridiculous that she didn’t realise how she felt. All that time she had missed out on.

She leaned in, her eyes dropping from your eyes to your mouth. She positioned herself closer

She looked into your eyes. Deep. So deep she almost became lost again. She was asking you if it was okay as she moved her hand to lightly graze your cheek. You nodded, so slightly. But she caught it. She didn’t wait any longer. Couldn’t wait any longer.

Her lips met yours for the first time. It was perfection. The way she kissed with such feeling, such devotion. Her skin was so smooth and you enjoyed the way her skin felt against yours. Her lips slow and soft, telling you everything and more. You paused, looking back at each other, a breathy laugh you shared.

You couldn’t believe it, how lucky you were. You were really kissing. You were really hers. And she knew it. She finally knew she held your heart in her palm, the look you shared told you that she would do anything to protect it. So long as you did the same for hers.

She was new to this, new to the feelings she had only just been able to name.

But she never wanted to stop kissing you. Holding you. Telling you how much she loved you, making up for all that time you had missed.

You vowed to be by her side from that moment. To remind her everyday how much you cherished her.

#Cordelia Chase #Cordy #Cordelia Chase x reader #Cordy x reader #Cordelia Chase x you #Cordy x you #Cordelia Chase imagine #Cordy imagine #btvs #btvs x reader #btvs imagine #Buffy The Vampire Slayer #buffy the vampire slayer imagines #Buffy #female reader #female #x reader #fluff #wlw #buffyverse #Cordelia Chase fic

[wordlessbabbling]

Ozymandius

A Thomas Shelby x femm!reader story

Requested by @fifty-shadesof-tommyshelby

“You are a gangleader at the top of the chain. You’re civilian occupation is being a pub owner. The Peaky Blinders were looking to either make an agreement with you, or kill you, but where’s the fun in that? Today, Thomas Shelby walked into your bar.”

Warnings: none, I think. Thomas Shelby’s a dick? Idk

Masterlist

Dylan, your secretary, slid a small piece of paper across your desk and sat in the chair opposite you. You looked up from the document you were signing and eyed the card suspiciously.

Slowly, you snatched it in your well manicured hand and glanced your eyes over the paper once. Then again. Then once more.

You looked up from the paper and grinned, holding the sheet to your chest.

Without another glance, you immediately left the room to prepare.

You, Ozymandius, King of Bristol, you were going to battle.

Although this time, you were armed with a bottle of whiskey and two drops of perfume.

“Hello.

-T.S”

----

You donned your brown skirt with your creme coloured loose sleeved shirt. 

You scanned the bar and noted the regulars along with your workers who stood idly in case something broke out.

The “King William Ale House”, your pride and joy. Of course you owned about 60 other pubs in Bristol, but this was your baby, your first one. The furniture was black leather with gold linings. It had a gramophone in the corner and often men would come in to request songs.

On Wednesday nights, you always had a slow night, so often chairs and tables would be cleared out and couples could come and dance in the evening. On Sundays after lunch, men came in and often asked for the radio to hear about the latest news or the racing broadcasts.

Today was Wednesday meaning it was slow so it would be easy to eye-fuck the Peaky Blinders.

The doors opened, in stepped one man; then another; then another; then another; then another; and a final one.

If you were a suspicious woman, you would say those were your new business associates; lucky for them, you were because you swiftly greeted them and played the slowest song you had. 

It was time to finesse your way into these gangsters hearts.

“Evening boys, welcome to the “King William Ale House”. The couples booths are in the corner and dancing is encouraged for all. Drinks?” Your accent was thick and sultry. Really, you were teasing them, but you were never one to discriminate.

“Orright. Isiah, Finn, go to the booths-” the one with the burly moustache grumbled.

“-the couples booths?” the ginger one screeched.

Another man spoke up, identical to the rest of them, “for fucks- just go, Finn. Scud can come sit by you if your pride is hurting too much.”

One of the men placed his caps on the counter. In the corner of your eye, you saw the glinting sheen of a blade sewn into the plane and rather boring cap.

So it is true?

“A bottle of Irish and the whereabouts of Ozymandius.” His voice was monotonous and deep.

“I apologise, Mister, but I do not know their whereabouts.”

The man with the burly moustache got very close to your face, “now you listen here, sweetheart-“

“-Arthur, Arthur. Calm down, eh. We’ll wait.”

The men sat at the bar and smoked. Others in the room got up on their feet and danced quietly together. In your opinion, you were rather enjoying yourself. There’s a certain rush one gets when they deceive the arrogant of the world.

You leant your back to the bar and faced the array of drinks and sours; and above the debauchery rested a plaque.

Everyday you read that plaque. Everyday you remembered where you came from and why you do what you do.

“I woulda thought the King of Bristol woulda had a watch on him, Tommy.” The one with the baby face and toothpick sneered, “I don’t like waiting like this.”

“Ozymandius is never late. They need no watch for they know that time is wasted.” You muttered saltily.

“Are you a spy?” The one with the monotonous voice asked, ‘Tommy’ you think.

You didn’t move your head from the plaque, only continuing to stare at the italic writing. “No, not a spy. Though I do like watching.”

The hush fell over the room again as you listened to the slow music playing quietly.

The door opened once more and another couple stepped in. It was Daniel and Lisa, a lovely new couple. They even had a baby on the way!

“Danny! There you are! Ah Lisa, how’re you doing? How’s the baby?” You smiled warmly at the couple.

Daniel used to hang about on the streets when he was a kid, you saw him as useful and put him to work in the local inn. He met Lisa and the rest was history. You were definitely a bit of a romantic

Danny was about to open his mouth when you heard a bottle slam on the counter again, it was the rude man with the monotonous voice. “Are you a whore, then?”

You played nice and told “Tommy” to excuse you and you carried on with your conversation with Danny and Lisa.

While watching Danny and Lisa dance and look at each other, you remembered what your mother used to say to you.

“There are locked rooms inside all women; kitchen of lust, bedroom of grief, bathroom of apathy. Sometimes, the men—they come with keys, and sometimes, the men—they come with hammers.”

While you were lost in your thoughts, you heard the sound of a fist being slammed into oak: the man with the moustache was having a tantrum.

“Have we been fucking stood up, Tom? Is that it? Lady-“ he took a gun from his holster within his jacket, “-you’re gonna tell us where Ozymandius is, otherwise I’m gonna blow your fucking brains out.”

You trotted around the counter to face the man head on with his gun still pointing at your face. You grabbed the gun directly from his hand and twisted it, listening for the sickening crunch of his finger in the trigger slot.

To avoid hitting anyone else in the bar, you twisted the gun down. You used your right hand to stop the wrist as you used the left hand to bend their wrist, grabbing the gun, and pushing the gun down.

After quickly disarming the man, you pushed his quivering frame to the floor. You took the gun in your hand and like a good game of ‘Simon Says’ all the others with peaked caps took out theirs as well.

You pointed your gun to Tommy who you now understood was the leader, all silent and sneer of cold command. You were no fool.

With one gun pointing to one man and four pointing at you; you liked your chances.

The one with the baby face spoke up, “who are you, eh? Who is she?” His voice was loud and maybe distressed but now was not the time for shock analysis.

You stared and got closer to the man, ‘Tommy’. He made the wise decision to not extract his gun, but his expression looked nearly bored. You admired that in a man.

“Evening ladies and gentlemen, I’m very sorry to disrupt your couples night, but for tonight, the “King William Ale House” is closing early.” Danny and Lisa along with the other couples all scurried out.

All that was left now was you against the blinders. Your men who still sat in their chairs did not move. They knew not to. They were only there in case you died. Unlikely, but you didn’t like leaving much up to chance.

You inched closer to ‘Tommy’, despite his bored exterior, you saw the curiosity that resides in his temple. “I’m not a fucking whore, eh? You hear me?” You brought the gun closer to his face, hearing the tell tale click of it’s metal as you pressed it against his face.

“Who are you then?” His eyes quivered, but his face remained like a stone, eyebrow crooked.

“My name is Ozymandius, King of Kings;

Look on my works, ye Mighty and dispair!”

You pushed the cold metal closer to his face. You sighed again, “I’m very sorry boys, but we’re going to have to cut this short. You were late for our meeting, anyway.”

You clicked back the gun on to safety and instead cupped Tommy’s jaw. You leaned in close, making an effort to fan your breath.

“I’ve read about you in the papers, Shelby. Maybe next time, don’t be late for our evening date?” You felt his spine shiver as you spoke. “Two weeks. Meet me back here. Same time. Bring your cleanest suit and maybe some flowers, just for me? Yeah? Alone and sweet; how quaint.”

Leaving the frozen men behind, you toddled back around the counter and started washing glasses that sat there.

Slowly while swaying to the music that still played, you hummed the tune to yourself. When you looked up again, the men were still standing there like ninnies.

“What’re you lot still doing here? I told you, we’re closed.”

You carried on your work of cleaning glasses while heavy boots shuffled on the ground, and two of them picking up the groaning man with the burly moustache.

You placed down your glass and leaned back against the counter again. Looking up at the plaque, you read aloud:

“I met a traveller from an antique land,

Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;

And on the pedestal, these words appear:

My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;

Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

——

Based off of ‘Ozymandius’ by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Thanks for the love.

Feedback and comments are wanted.

See ya next time!

#tommyshelby #peaky blinders story #peakyblinders #thomas #thomas shelby #thomas shelby fluff #tommy shelby #peaky blinder fanfic #thomas shelby x reader #tommy shelby x reader

[cultureisdarkbeer]

Road to All Things: Chapter 10 Irrevocable

Road to All Things 

Tagging:  @season4mulder​ @today-in-fic​

Bacon sizzling. Her apartment filled with the smell and had Scully salivating. She opened her eyes and realized she had actually drooled on her pillow. The sheets on the other side were crumpled, but the bed was empty. Mulder was cooking. Scully tried not to smile, but she really couldn’t help herself. It almost felt like a dream,-too real to be real- but as she stepped in the shower and the hot water cascaded down her body, her sore muscles ached out the markings of Mulder’s path. It had been quite a night and very little of it was spent sleeping.

Dressed, Scully came into the kitchen and snagged a piece of the bacon. Salty and crisp, cooked to perfection. Mulder turned with the pan of scrambled eggs and scooped them up to carefully lay an equal amount in each dish. 

“You got up too early.” He looked up at her and smiled sheepishly. “I was going to make you breakfast in bed.”

Scully poured herself some coffee and sat down, taking an approving sip. She raised an eyebrow. “You want me to go back to bed?”

The corner of his mouth raised. “Well, yeah, but not for bacon and eggs.”

Scully ignored him, although his words resonated sharply in her chest,  and concentrated on eating her breakfast. Who knew Mulder knew how to cook breakfast? He surprised her every day. Mulder sat down beside her and started eating. The air between them was thick and alive. Every time their eyes met she felt their connection, only now it was concentrated into electrified intense explosions in her chest.

“You have plans today?” Mulder asked, grabbing the last piece of toast and using it to sop up his remaining eggs.

“I’m having lunch with my mother,” Scully replied solemnly, fidgeting in the chair and sending a fiery lock behind her ear. “I have to tell her. She knew I went through the procedures. It’s not a conversation I’m looking forward to.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“Mulder, I’m capable of telling her.”

“I know that.” He looked at his watch. “What time am I picking you up?”

 *

 Scully’s heels clicked loudly against the uneven pavement approaching her mother’s house. It was a cool day, yet Mulder had perspiration beading along his hairline.  “Are you nervous?” she asked. 

Mulder released a humored breath and pressed in the button to ring the bell. “Your mother and I are friends, what would I be nervous about?”

Not to anyone’s surprise, Maggie’s face glowed and her smile grew extra wide at the sight of Mulder. “Fox, how good of you to come,” she spurted merrily.

Scully helped Maggie serve lunch while Mulder squirmed in his chair, slurping his tea and as Scully could see, trying his best not to break anything. On their second trip to the kitchen and Mulder happily munching on a sandwich, Maggie cornered Scully between the sink and the drain rack. “So what brings the two of you here? Might there be some news?”

“Mom,” Scully started, but then cracked, not able to hold back the disappointment, “It didn’t take. I’m not going to be a mother.” Her mother had looked so excited that it almost broke Scully to see the features in her face fall and her shoulders slump. 

“Honey,” Maggie said, bringing her into her arms, letting her cry.

The ice maker thumped from the fridge alerting them to its presence and Scully sniffled. “I’m all right. I’ll be okay.” 

“Dana,” she said, as Scully backed away from their embrace. “You’re allowed to not be okay. How is Fox handling this? I’m here if either of you ever want to talk. It wouldn’t hurt to talk with a priest. Even a counsellor. There’s couples counseling..”

“Mom, mom,” Scully hugged her again. “Thank you. I know. Mulder and I don’t have that kind of relationship. We are good friends.”

“Dana, don’t be naive. You asked him to be the father of your child. He was preparing for that and now he has to accept that the outcome has changed. He’s not going to let on because he cares for you, because he’ll want to be strong for you, but he’s mourning too.”

Scully felt the wrath of her decisions needling its way inside.  “I-I feel like I disappointed you. You’ll have no grandchildren from me.”

“Honey, I have grandchildren and it’s not to say that you will never have children. God will answer your prayers in ways you may not be able to imagine. Never give up on a miracle.”

Scully squinted and tilted her head slightly.  “That’s the same thing Mulder said to me.”

“He’s a wise man, Dana. You should listen.” Maggie lifted the tray of freshly baked cookies and headed out to the dining room. “Let’s go, we’re being rude.”

Maggie poured the coffee and Mulder snagged two cookies. “Mrs. Scully, this was incredible. I almost can’t eat another bite,” he said with his mouth full, the chocolate oozing from the corner of his lips. He wiped it with his pinky laughing at his eagerness, using a napkin to clean the rest off his face.

After dessert and idle conversation, they stood to leave, Scully hugged her mother and walked ahead to the car. Maggie pulled Mulder aside. “I know this is hard for you too. I know you wanted this baby.”

Mulder tightened his upper lip and his shoulders drooped giving the appearance of a bird nesting on a branch. “I want what’s best for Scully. Right now I’m just making sure she knows I’m here and I support her.”

“I know, Fox,” she said, rubbing his forearm, her warm touch providing solace. “You and Dana are very good at carrying your burdens, but no matter the arrangement, your heart was preparing for you to be a father.” 

His eyes burned. Looking into Maggie staring woefully at him everything seemed very real. The pain cutting through his heart and mind, demanding attention, stinging with every breath he took. 

If Scully couldn’t have a child, then neither could he. The onesies, the star mobile, and the soft yellow blanket would remain tucked in the back of his closet to gather layers of dust. Maggie held out her arms, he bent down to hug her and leaned his head on her shoulder. Her comforting hand stroked his hair and squeezed his back. Breathing in her Wind Song perfume he could almost hear the mediocre wedding band and feel the pain from pinched cheeks telling him how much he had grown. 

She pulled back with a reassuring smile. “Don’t let this get between the two of you, Fox. God is listening and he will provide.”

 Days Later..

 A few drops of crimson on cotton and Scully had to draw back tears. It should not have been a surprise. The natural result of her and Mulder’s attempts. The answer to a prayer. She knew it would arrive eventually, but even though she was expecting it, she wasn’t expecting its symbolism to hurt so much. She was at work, in a cold metal stall of the lady’s restroom. Her body trembled as she sucked in a breath and headed out. There was no reason to get  upset anymore. There was nothing to be done. No baby. A future of great uncertainty.  

When she returned to the office, Mulder lifted his head away from his computer screen. “I’ve been researching reports of a vampiric witch roaming Olympic National Park.”

“Fangs and all?” Scully asked, suddenly amused, and relieved to send her mind elsewhere. That was what she needed, to focus on the work. “Acts like an ordinary person, has no discernible creature features,” Mulder explained and she could hear that underlying excitement. “At night, however,” Mulder said, putting a little sing song for dramatic effect at the end of his voice that put a smile on Scully’s face, “it prowls the graveyards in search of entrails so it can create a libation that allows it to shapeshift. If it cannot get the entrails it needs it hunts the bedrooms of the local townspeople.”

“And local law enforcement? What’s there take on this?”

Mulder picked up a pencil to twiddle between his fingers and propped his feet up on the corner of the desk. “Their take is it’s your run of the mill serial killer that is looking to distract everyone by imitating the myth.”

“Even if a vampire witch did exist, why would it need to shapeshift?”

Mulder sat up in his chair and leaned forward. “Those that believe, think it does so to combat being enslaved… by aliens.” 

Scully stopped reviewing her lab results and lowered the page to get a good look at Mulder to make sure he wasn’t putting her on. 

“I understand your doubts… and if you’re open to it, we could take a trip to Bali,” he suggested and Scully could see the emerald glow in his hazel eyes. “You could bring your snorkel and we could learn the roots of the lore.” Mulder rose from his chair to face her. He cupped her cheek and locked their eyes, gently swiping at the stain from one of the twin tears that had trickled down her face. “We can step away from this case if you’re not ready,” he said in low tones, “There’s another case within driving distance.”

Scully slowly shook her head and took a half step back out of his reach, her eyes lowering from his gaze. She stiffened. It was the first time they had touched since their night together. The first inkling either of them gave that anything at all had transpired between them or about their loss. With nothing left to do or say they just pushed forward. 

“There’s no need to travel to Bali. We’ll do both cases.” She joined his eyes only for a moment, raising the file in her hand. “I need to get these to the lab. There are further tests I’d like them to conduct and while I’m down there they asked for my help. Can you arrange our airfare?”

“Sure,” Mulder murmured  with a concerned look on his face that almost made Scully sprint rather than walk out of the office. All she really needed right now was to work.

 Ten Days Later...

 “Will you be eating tonight?” Mulder asked,  skulking around the back area of the office, rummaging through the cabinets. It was all very curious. Was he looking for something or hiding it?

“What? Yes, of course,” Scully answered, his questions as peculiar as his behavior. She walked over to where he was hovering and placed her notes from the last meeting in her drawer. His stare unnerved her, she could feel the pressure of his question like an overinflated balloon pressing against a bed of nails.

“I was thinking of ordering a pizza and I was thinking that I’ll probably have a few slices left over,” he said, cooly.

“I’m sorry, tonight is not a good night for me.” 

“Okay.” Mulder said, his bottom lip poked out past his top. “Another night.” He walked back to his desk and shook his mouse, taking the screen out of safe mode. Great, he was hurt.

“I’ve decided to start making healthier food choices,” she offered as an alternative excuse. It happened to be true. That and avoiding being with him alone at the late hours of the evening.  

“I can stop at the pet store on my way home. Pick up some rabbit food.”

He wasn’t giving up. She walked around his desk to hand him his summary notes and Mulder minimized his screen. A branding iron couldn’t have made her hotter then what he had been looking at. “No need to hide it. I saw the screen. Research?” she asked, tapping her foot with her hands at her hips.

He rotated the chair so he could look her dead in the eye, crossing his arms. “What if I can track down more vials? What if there is viable ova out there?”

She had been incorrect. A steam engine was hotter, and she could almost feel that steam rising from her ears. “And today you decide to pick up this crusade? You were there through everything that had happened with Emily and you never said a word.”

He ran a hand through his hair and scratched the back of his head. “You’re right.”

“You took that chance away from me.” Red lightning filled her sclera, her irises burning hot blue flames. “Tell me Mulder, have you really asked yourself why you agreed to be my donor?”

Mulder bolted from the chair. His jaw rocked and he lurched forward as if to challenge, but then left the office with her standing there, alone, wrapped in a translucent blanket of uncomfortable silence. 

 

That Night..

Scully’s knuckles dropped three solid thuds against the hard wood. Against all judgement and possessed by what she didn’t know, Scully stood fidgeting, excuses at the ready. She reviewed her apology speech in her head hoping he would forgive her earlier cruelty. The heavy brass deadbolt clanked back into its shell and Mulder’s door rushed open. He initially looked surprised, but as their eyes met, the tension before was replaced with a new heat. Her heart ached from the distance she had created. She needed to feel their impenetrable bond every time their eyes met. He sent a hand through her hair and pulled her into the apartment, kicking the door closed with his foot. Her back slammed against it so hard she lost half her breath. The other half was taken by Mulder as he covered her mouth with his and sucked it away. His long thin muscled body hard against her. His tongue demanding the fire from her body. He tasted like midnight and shadows, mysterious and sublime. The smell of rain, thunder, gunpowder. The Darkness coated them, an old black and white played softly from the television, pulsing its hues around them. Their bodies so immediately intertwined and so caught up in passion the clothes on the lower half of her body peeled off almost by telepathy. The hasty sound of his zipper burned her with desire. With a swift thrust, he was inside her, her nails digging into the soft cotton fabric of his shirt, hoping to withstand the pleasure of his cock hard and heavy, reaching into the most salacious and esoteric parts of her. Mulder was so thick and long that when he pushed all the way into her, she could feel the tip brushing the end of her, demanding even more, while his hard pubic bone pounded against her clit sending shockwaves of its own. He grabbed the curve of her behind and drove steadily into her sleek, tight canal, undulating his hips with solid, rhythmic thrusts. Oh that luxurious wonderous cock. It stretched her wide, and she melded so tight around it. Like everything else on Mulder, lanky and strong-willed and needing of her attention. And what she needed was their raw, rough, passionate connection to take her away from the peril and torment that had quickly become her life. 

Scully strained, desperate to thrust against him, to match his pace, but he had her pinned to the door. Mulder controlled the motion, controlled her pleasure, and she willingly surrendered, loving the devoted look in his eyes, the way his body shook in her arms as he did. The heat of their breaths filling the gaps between them, wrapping them inside a steamy cocoon. They were forgiving the other, caring and desperate to heal. What they both failed to express with words, their bodies could perfectly articulate; making it clear just how badly they yearned for one another. 

Mulder groaned, his fingers gripping hard into the flesh of her ass, pistoning in and out in a quick barrage of strokes. Without warning she skyrocketed to a peak, her muscles clenching and releasing in quick succession as she came hard around him. The sensations kept going, lingering, building again and Scully moaned aloud, the pleasure so intense, almost too much to take. A desperate sound that was almost a growl rose deep in Mulder’s throat and he quickly joined her. How she relished that feeling of him coming, the throbbing contractions at his base, vibrating his shaft to fill her hot and fast. 

He kissed her slowly, gently, his swollen lips brushing over hers again and again, pushing against them so his tongue could caress hers. A smile grew at the corners of his mouth as his lips softly departed. “Did you miss me?” he asked, smug and rhetorically. He headed to the bathroom and called out, “You’re not going to come and go, are you?”

Unbeknownst to him, Scully had already picked up the crumpled clothes at her feet and dressed. She wanted to say something, but she had nothing to say. She didn’t want to discuss it, she just wanted to leave. So she left, Mulder calling her name from the bedroom. She knew she was running from something she had to soon face, but what was she to tell him? That depression filled her the moment it was over until she was drowning in it? That the ineffectual absurdity of the act plummeted down like a cement block tethered to her ankle, sending her deeper towards the bottom until she was unable to see any daylight? The button of the elevator lit as her manicured nail caused it to recede. The floors denoted their names with each illuminated number and Scully’s shoe began to tap as if it might move it along. Nervously, she felt for her keys. When she didn’t feel the cold metal or hear their familiar jingle she checked her other pockets, over and over. Digging and patting. Shit. They must have fallen out on the floor in Mulder’s apartment. The hallway felt as if it had stretched walking back to number 42, her heels rapping a foreboding echo. The loud churning above the groaning radiator pipes she soon realized was the nerves of her stomach. 

The door not yet locked by Mulder, she turned the knob hoping to sneak them out, but Mulder poked his head from the kitchen. “I’m heading to bed, suddenly I’m feeling very drained,” he said, his tongue bulging the side of his right cheek.

Not quite sure how to proceed she followed him into the kitchen and watched him pour himself a glass of water from the faucet. Even though years had passed since his episode of grand hallucinations, he still hesitated right before he let it slide down his throat. He took another glass from the cabinet. “Water?”

Scully shrugged and Mulder filled it. The glass cool in her hand. He left her in the kitchen and paused before opening his bedroom door, turning his head to lock their eyes and send an irresistible electric pulse to her heart. “Coming?”

*

Scully woke to the rising and falling of Mulder’s chest against her back, their breaths falling naturally in unison. They were clasped to each other, Mulder sharing his body heat as easy as he shared his heart. Yet she felt like poison ivy covered her skin, and an invisible belt cinched at her neck. Lately, her eyes fluttered open in the mornings to his embrace or thoughts of him, his work dominated her, every opinion, hypothesis and theory, challenged and cross referenced by his own beliefs, and at night her body craved him, and in her dreams her mind played in a future it dared not venture in the light. Mulder had leaked in every crack and crevice of her life. 

Like a wolverine or stealth fighter jet, Scully stealthily snuck out of Mulder’s apartment without him stirring. By the time she drove across town and showered, she was already late. She picked out another turtleneck sweater, they were both tearing through their collections given their propensities to play Dracula on each other’s neck. Luckily there was never any exsanguinating, just a few bursted capillaries between good friends. Last night she didn’t recall either of them doing an imitation of a Hoover, but she preferred not to take her chances. Shuffling into her coat at 8:50am meant Mulder would have to cover for her if Skinner decided to request their assistance. Before even stepping into the hallway, a newspaper caught her eye. One she did not subscribe, but what grabbed her attention was the photograph and the article about God’s healing power. Down the hallway she scanned, but she was the only one blessed with the paper and no paperboy to thank.

Hours later, Scully returned to the office having met the miracle boy and his family, and the cigarette smoking man looking for a light and salvation. Mulder hadn’t returned, and most likely, if she had to guess, had gotten caught up with The Lone Gunman trying to trace the email address it all had originated from. That probably took them into who knows how many directions and conspiracies. She didn’t pick up the phone to dial Mulder and tell him of the experience she had this morning. Something stopped her. Was it that she wanted to deal with this issue without his overbearing perspective, or that she feared the Smoking Man might hold true to his threat of dying with the technology, or perhaps she was rebelling, their relationship smothering her as she struggled to understand how to live the rest of her life knowing now she would not bear children. 

Not wanting to deal with any of those possibilities, she picked up the phone. Then hung it up. That might not be wise to call him directly if it was a setup. Instead, she traced the number to see for herself where evil resided. 

The Smoking Man had not lied to her about Samantha being dead. Not this time around anyway. She believed him that he was dying after seeing him a few times. Was it that far fetched that at his deathbed he decided to leave those that remained a cure for cancer? Was it that unbelievable that he trusted her with the science and not Mulder? Armed with a wire and a need for her own answers she dialed the phone and left a message on Mulder’s machine full of half truths. It was a family emergency after all. She just didn’t say specifically which side of the family.

Mulder’s voice rang true into her answering machine, beckoning her with throaty emotion. It felt like utter betrayal to leave him in the lurch and plan a weekend getaway with his arch nemesis. It was almost like something outside of her body was driving her.

*

“Hello.” Mrs. Scully answered her phone and Mulder felt the pangs of dread if she didn’t know where Scully really was. The last thing he wanted to do was have her worrying, but he had to know.

“Mrs. Scully,” Mulder replied, “It’s Mu-Fox. How are you?”

“I’m just fine Fox, is everything okay? And please, call me Maggie.”

“Scully had left a message on my answering machine about a family emergency?”

“She did? That’s odd. No. I spoke with her two days ago. I asked her about you, did she tell you?”

“Not yet, but thank you. So you haven’t seen or spoken with Scully yesterday or today?”

“No. Do you think she is in trouble?”

“She didn’t answer her cell phone when I called, but she left a message on my answering machine saying she would be gone for a few days.”

“That is strange. She didn’t tell me anything about it. If I hear from her you’ll be the first to know.”

“It’s just not like her to lie to me.”

“It’s not another man, if that’s what you’re concerned about. There’s only you Fox.”

Mulder chuckled. “Thanks. My mind is at ease.”

“Just give her a little time, she’ll come around.”

“Okay, Maggie. Thanks.”   

 

Two Days Later..

How could she be so naïve? Three whole days. No contact. To discover she willingly went with him . Spent the night. His fists clenched against the steering wheel, he was a time bomb about to explode. He took a breath to calm himself. “Scully, I know you had good intentions.” He sent his tongue hard into his cheek, then wet his lips, shook his head. “I know how convincing he can be.” He gritted his teeth and wrung the plastic at the steering wheel. “I know all about believing his lies. I just- I wish you would have come to me.”

“I already explained to you that I couldn’t.” She looked at him and he nodded, sending his tongue back tight into his cheek. “This was something I felt I had to pursue,” she added, then looked back out the passenger window at the darkening sky. They were only a couple miles from her apartment. A few more traffic lights and they’d be there.

Hm. He squirmed in his seat and fought to keep his cool. “I would imagine. It’s a doctor’s dream to be able to cure any patient.” He paused and stopped himself from rolling his eyes. “For you to have that kind of power. Perhaps he knows you better than I thought he did.”  Mulder breathed in sharply, and held it a few seconds, shaking his head, then spewed, “Then again, you two have been seeing a lot of each other lately.”

Scully sat quietly, crossing her legs so that her back was almost to him. Her eyes were daggers, but she kept them pointed at the window. He instantly regretted his words, but he also couldn’t help but think, what if something irreversible had happened? Dammit he always had to push it. “You said he had inflammation on the brain?” he asked, trying to change the subject. 

Scully’s face softened and she sent her eyes to her lap. “Yes, from the brain surgery. He said he only has months to live. Sounds like the surgery was less than successful.”

“Unless it was too successful,” Mulder added. He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. They should change the subject. “I read the emails between yourself and Cobra. At least The Smoking Man and Cobra. Cobra had quite a crush on you.”

“What?” Now she turned to face him.

“Yes, and the correspondence made it sound as though you might reciprocate.”

“Mulder, I knew nothing..”

“I know.. but for a split second, I almost believed that you did.”

“That must have been difficult.”

Mulder said nothing. Deciding against mentioning that once The Lone Gunman proved her email had been hijacked, his next picture in his mind was her being held against her will. How wrong he had been.  

“Mulder,” Sculled said, laying her hand on top of his, softening his edges. “Why am I still alive?”

He sighed and squeezed her hand. “I really believe the plan was for you to be killed. I think he looked into your eyes and it was just as you said. He longed for something he could never have. You made him a better person.”  He took his eyes off the road to look into her own. “I know how you’re able to do that.” He sighed again and looked up at the sky to see the stars still shining, blurring as his eyes welled up. He wanted to hold her close and push her away simultaneously.

Read more here

#happy bithday to me #txf #xfiles fanfic #xfiles #mulder and scully #txf fanfic #x files #todayinfic #today-in-fic #txf fic

[marie12141989]

It’s A Cold And It’s A Broken Hallelujah Finale

Word Count: 5505

A/N: Holy crap this took a while. I left pairings out because I have so many in this and I’m kind of tired since it’s late and my brain just can’t do it anymore tonight. Now that I’m finally done with this I can move on to other stories I want to get working on.

One last hunt, that's all Dean had wanted before the three of you retired. It seemed like a simple enough one too. There were a few vamps that had been attacking and killing people in their home. It was supposed to be easy, instead the four of you had been ambushed. Jack made short work of the vampire that grabbed him and so did you but Sam and Dean were struggling with theirs "Jack go help Sam I'll help Dean." you called out.

"Okay." Jack said before running and jumping on the vampire that was trying to take a bite out of Sam, a second later the sound of a head hitting the ground could be heard and you turned to see Jack standing in front of Sam panting. You turned back to Dean to see the male vampire he was fighting shoving him towards a support beam, when you turned to look you saw a rusty piece of rebar sticking out ready to pierce Dean's back.

"Dean!" you called out before rushing forward. You gave him enough of a distraction to push the vampire away from him and the two of you swung at the vamp at the same time, your swing was low so you cut off one of the vampire's arms while Dean succeeded in cutting his head off. Both you and Dean stared at each other before he pulled you into a hug.

"Thank you. I was sure that I was a goner." he whispered before kissing the top of your head.

"You would of been if I hadn't stepped in." you said pointing to the piece of rusty metal. Dean turned and looked before grimacing, he walked over to the rebar and touched his finger to it. You watched him quickly move his hand away and he turned to look at you while shaking his hand, you just rolled your eyes at him.

"Yeah that would hurt like hell." Dean said as he quickly and carefully walked away from it.

"So you said that you're ready for retirement right?" you asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah I think after all of this that it would be best if we just packed it in. That was way too close." Dean said as Sam and Jack walked over.

"So what about you guys? Are you ready to go home?" you asked.

"Yeah let's go." Sam said. The four of you went out to the impala and while you were getting everything put away when Sam got a text message from Eileen. He looked at the screen in confusion before walking away, you could see him going into his phone and pulling her name up before he walked around the building and out of your sight.

"Where's Sam going?" Jack asked but you just shrugged.

"Don't know. Maybe he has to go to the bathroom. Give him a minute or two." you said wanting Sam to have his privacy. When he still hadn't come back fifteen minutes later Dean became concerned and you watched as he walked to the spot where Sam had disappeared to. After about another five minutes Dean came back around and you could tell that something had happened by the look on his face. "Dean what's going on?" you asked as he got closer, he stopped and put his hands on his hips as if he was trying to think of the best way to tell you.

"Eileen's pregnant." he said before a smile spread across his face. You and Jack gasped before you turned to look at each other with smiles on your faces. Sam slowly walked around the corner and he silently got into the passenger seat before the rest of you did and Dean started up the car while looking at Sam. Everyone was quiet until you got back to town. You were sitting at a stop light still taking in the news of Eileen's pregnancy when Dean looked at you through the rearview mirror.

"So Y/N don't you have good news too? I heard you and Jack excitedly talking about something before we left." he said. You saw a look of confusion cross Sam's face and he turned to look at you, Dean had caught you filling applications out which is what had sparked the idea to get a few and fill them out himself but either Sam was unaware or hadn't heard you and Jack that morning.

"Uh yeah. I got a call from the book store that I had an interview with last week and I got the job. And I also got a call about the apartment that Jack and I were looking at." you said trying to hold back both the tears and the smile that were threatening to appear. It felt like you had known Sam and Dean all your life and you had to stop to remind yourself several times that they weren't your biological brothers so the fact that you were now moving out of one of the places you had called home in your life and leaving them behind even though you weren't moving that far hurt. "Jack and I got the apartment. We've been slowly packing up in between hunts." you told them. Sam quickly turned around and looked at you before looking at Dean.

"Did you know?" he asked him and Dean let out a sigh as he slowly pushed on the accelerator.

"I saw her filling the application out for the job and I drove her and Jack to the apartment. And don't look at me like that. You were there for a few things that I found out about later too. Still wish you had warned me that they were together before I walked in on them in bed when I found out." Dean said, giving Sam a look when he saw the disappointment on his face.

"We're not moving far Sam. The apartment's right there." Jack said as he scratched behind one of Miracle's ears with one hand and pointed out the window with the other. Sam twisted his body so that he could look out the window, he had to admit it did look like a nice apartment and he could see kids around Jack's assumed age walking around.

"I have to get out Sam. There's to many memories in the bunker for me. I can't go anywhere without thinking of Castiel. I'm going crazy. Last night I swore I heard him pacing through the hallway, and then I felt the bed dip down beside me and I thought I felt someone kiss my cheek. I thought it was Jack at first but when I turned around there was no one there but it felt like there was someone on the bed." you said wiping at your tears.

"I get it. Believe me I do. When Jesse died I thought I was going crazy too. Everywhere we went I saw her, I'd see a flash of golden hair and I'd run after the person thinking it's her. I couldn't even smell the perfume she used to wear without thinking about her for almost six months. So believe me I get it." Sam said, giving you a smile.

"Dad was the same way for a while after mom died. I used to wake up in the middle of the night because I'd hear him calling out to her in his sleep. He'd whip his head around so fast I was afraid he was going to break it whenever he'd hear her name. Believe me we both understand." Dean said. What neither of them told you was that they had started to believe that Castiel was back, both of them had sworn that they had heard him call out to them. Dean had chased some poor guy the other day just because he was wearing a tan trench coat and had short black hair. After you had pulled into the bunker the four of you got out of the car, Jack went to take Miracle out for a walk while you went to your room to finish packing and Dean went off to finish his application.

------------------------------------Two-weeks-later-------------------------------------------

"Yeah we're almost finished unpacking everything mom. Jack's been decorating his room almost every day since we got here." you said. You, Sam and Dean had bought Jack a bunch of stuff for him to put in his new room and all he had done since the two of you had moved into your apartment other than hang out with the other kids in the other apartments was work day and night on getting it just right. You had gone in at least three times to find his room completely rearranged because he hadn't been sure where he wanted to put everything but you were sure he had it figured out now.

"Well let me know when you and Jack are done. Your father and I are dying to meet our grandson. Three years and we've never gotten to meet him." your mother said.

"I know but with everything that was going on after he was born I just couldn't find the time." you told her.

"I know. Your father and I still keep in touch with some of our old hunting buddies. They never stop talking about you guys. How are Sam and Dean doing?" she asked.

"Fine. Dean got hired at the local mechanics shop and Sam's moving in with Eileen. They're expecting a baby so they've decided to quit hunting too. I think they're going to go work at a school for the deaf a few towns over." you said.

"Well that's good. At least you've all got something planned. What about their younger brother Adam? I know you said that he doesn't talk to them but has he talked to you at all?" she asked. In fact Adam had been keeping in touch with you, his only condition had been that if his brothers asked you and Jack had no clue where he was at.

"Yeah. I guess Michael pulled some strings for him and helped him get back into med school. He didn't tell me what he's going to specialize in but he told me that he's going to go to become a doctor. I told him that it was too bad that there wasn't a specialty for wounds caused by supernatural creatures because he'd be an expert at it." you said with a smile. Suddenly there was a knock on your door, you pulled the phone away from your ear to look and stared at it in confusion. Dean was at work, Jack was over at a friend's house for supper and Sam and Eileen were at their new place unpacking as well. "Hey mom I have someone at the door I'll let you go for now." you said.

"Are you sure? You don't need me to stay on with you?" she asked.

"Nah it's fine. All my old hunting stuff's here with me and Jack and Michael are only a prayer away if I need them." you told her.

"Okay if you're sure. I love you Y/N." she said.

"Love you too mom." you replied before hanging up. You grabbed the nearest weapon while slowly moving towards your door. You moved so that it was hidden behind your back before you unlocked the door and slowly opened it up. Your jaw dropped open when you realized that you were staring at Castiel, he was looking down the hallway so he didn't see you bring the weapon out in front of you and he only had a split second to react when he heard it moving through the air. He quickly raised his arm and blocked you from hitting him with the piece of metal rod that you had in your hands, he let out a yelp and moved away from you while holding his arm. "How dare you show up looking like him? I've killed your kind before and I'll do it again!" you yelled raising the rod up to hit him again.

"Y/N stop it's me!" he cried out before grabbing the rod and pulling it out of your hands.

"Liar! Castiel is dead!" you said while lunging for him. He dropped the rod and grabbed a hold of your wrists and pinned you to the wall. You struggled to get out of his grip but to no avail. You turned your head away from him refusing to let the creature see you cry.

"Just do it already. I'd rather be dead than to keep seeing him everywhere. You'll just be doing me a kindness." you whispered. Castiel stared at you in shock before he carefully took his right hand off of your wrist and gently moved a stray hair behind your ear before he gently kissed your temple. You let out a sound of confusion at the show of affection which turned to shock when he started to move down lower. When he got to your collarbone you got your second wind and pushed him away. "Hey! Woah! Woah! Woah! I don't know what you think you're doing but I am not interested in getting involved with a shapeshifter." you said with wide eyes. Castiel rolled his eyes and let out a sigh.

"I guess I'll just have to show you. I didn't think that our reunion would go like this. I thought it would be more romantic." he said as he proceeded to show you that he was the real honest to Michael Castiel.

"What? But how?" you asked surprised.

"Michael brought me back. Originally he wanted to turn me into another archangel since he's God now but I just wanted to come back here and be with you. I asked him to turn me mortal instead which is why I think my arm's swelling up now." he said as the pain finally hit him. You ushered him inside and found something for him to put on the lump on his arm while he explained the whole thing to you. You called Adam to check out the story and as soon as he confirmed that yes this was the honest to Michael Castiel you were talking to you thanked him and Michael and hung up before turning to Castiel and pulling him in for a hug and a long kiss. Once you pulled away he stared at you "Is this how you're going to greet people now?" he asked with a smirk.

"Only the ones I mistakenly think are shifters." you said before pulling him back down for another kiss. After another minute he pulled away and noticing the look of hurt that crossed your face he gave you a reassuring kiss on the forehead.

"If we keep it up we're going to have to go to wherever your bedroom is now and I don't want Jack to walk in on us. I think we've scarred him more than enough times in his short life." he explained and you turned to the clock on the wall and saw that it was a little bit past six at night.

"Jack won't be home until 8. We have plenty of time." you said as you pulled him towards your room thankful that you had put your bed together not too long after you moved in.

-----------------------------------------8pm-----------------------------------------------------

Jack used his keys to get into the apartment, he had a container in one hand that his friend's mom had given him to take home that was full of food for you. He had seen your car parked outside so he knew that you were in the building somewhere. He walked into the kitchen to put the food away just in case when he noticed the pack of ice that had been left on the table that was starting to melt. "Mom? Are you home?" he asked as he put the ice back in the freezer and cleaned up the water puddle that was left behind. When you didn't answer he started to wonder through the apartment looking for you "Mom. I'm home. I brought some food back for you. It's in the fridge." he called out.

He was walking down the hallway that leads to your bedrooms and the bathroom when he heard the sound of your bed squeaking. He stopped and stared at your door while getting ready to attack who or what ever was in the room with you, a second later the door slowly opened and both Jack and Cas let out a scream as Jack jumped on him not realizing who it was that was in the room with you at first. You stood in the doorway trying not to laugh as you saw Jack's face turn from confusion to shock before he looked up at you "He's really back." you said looking down at Cas who was staring up at you like it was your fault that Jack had jumped on him. Jack didn't seem to believe you though, he got off of Castiel and sat on the floor and just stared at him. Castiel sat up and sat in front of Jack for a minute before he smiled at him and reached out towards him.

Jack flinched at first until he felt him gently place his hand on his cheek. Jack looked from the hand that was touching him back to Cas for a few minutes before you saw the tears starting to form and he flung himself into his arm "Dad! How? When?" he asked as he clung to him.

"Your uncle Michael brought me back." Cas explained to him.

"So how long are you here for?" Jack asked while rubbing at his eyes.

"As long as I want. He was going to make me an archangel but I asked him to make me mortal instead. You guys aren't the only ones that were ready to retire." Cas said with a smile.

"So you're a human?" Jack asked, surprised.

"Yeah. I forgot about the not so fun parts. I might have to get your Uncle Raphael to check me out because since I came back I constantly have to go to the bathroom." he said with a shrug. "So anyway tell me about the friends you've made here. Something tells me that I'll be meeting them soon." Cas said with a smile. Jack let out a laugh and proceeded to tell him all about the new friends that he had made and then bragged that he had made them without using his powers at all. You could see the pride on Castiel's face as Jack told him about how he had met and made his new friends, you had already explained a lot of what he had missed in the short amount of time that he had been gone but it could wait for another day. You were just happy to have him back for however long he had left as a mortal man now.

----------------------------------8-Months-Later----------------------------------------------

You sat in the waiting room and watched as Dean paced back and forth. You let out a sigh of exasperation and put your book down. "Dean sit down she isn't going to have the baby any faster if you wear a hole in the floor." you said with a sigh while Jack and Cas let out a chuckle.

"Well how long does it take? I mean this shouldn't be taking this long should it?" he asked while staring at you.

"It could take hours Dean. This is Eileen's first time giving birth. So it's going to take a bit longer." you told him for what felt like the fifth time that hour. Dean was about to say something when Jack sat up straight and lightly tapped Cas on the arm to get his attention. He looked at Jack before turning to look to see what he was looking at and then he sat up straight. Both you and Dean turned to see what they were looking at to see Sam walking down the hallway, his face was red and wet with tears and for a split second you feared the worst until you noticed the smile on his face. He opened the door and showed the four of you to follow him back to the room. The four of you crowded into the room and you stared down at the little baby boy in Eileen's arms. He had short brown hair and big blue eyes, he stared up at the four of you in wonder before he turned his head and looked at Eileen who was smiling down at him. One by one you passed him around and Sam took pictures on his phone before he started to fuss.

"Alright Robert I think it's time for you to go to sleep." Castiel said as he handed the baby back to Eileen. She gently took him back into her arms and soothed him to sleep before her eyes started to close. Sam took the baby from her and placed him in the hospital crib before giving him a kiss on his forehead. After talking for a few more minutes you made your leave and you returned to your apartment while Dean set off for his own home. That night while you and Cas were in bed watching tv you turned to him with a smile.

"Alright. So. Who do you think will be the next one to have a baby?" you asked with a smile.

"Does it matter what the sex of both parties are?" he asked.

"No." you said while shaking your head.

"Adam and Michael might adopt a baby next. I mean Michael is God so it'll be easier for them to adopt one. Who do you think will be next in line?" he asked.

"I don't know. Maybe Claire and Kaia will be the next ones. I mean does Michael even like children?" you asked. You noticed that Castiel had stiffened when you mentioned Claire having a child and you looked up at him with a grin. "What? You don't like the idea of Claire having a baby?" you asked.

"Not really and not for the reason you're thinking. It's just that. Well could you imagine Claire as a mother?" he asked with a grin and you gave him a light smack on his chest.

"Hey. You never know. She might be a great mother. And besides, Kaia will be there to keep her straight. So I don't see why you're so worried." you told him with a smile. In the end Michael and Adam had a baby first, they adopted a little nephilliam that was fathered by one of the angels after they had been killed while out on a mission. The mother had obviously died and her family was either unable or unwilling to take the baby in so Michael stepped in and took the baby home. They named her Kate after Adam's mother and both of them doted on her non stop. Of course you didn't help since you tended to spoil her rotten whenever you went to visit the three of them using the excuse that you were her aunt and that it was your right to spoil her. Adam had just rolled his eyes and walked into the kitchen when you said that.

-----------------------------------Ten-years-later---------------------------------------------

You put the last box down in Jack's apartment and turned to him with a smile on your face. You were trying so hard to act like the fact that he had now moved out and into his own place didn't hurt, you thought that you would be used to it since he had been off at college for eight years but you still felt the same pain you had the day he had gone off. "I think that's the last of it." you told him while looking around. Jack was unpacking some of the boxes that were meant for the living room while Cas moved the ones marked from other rooms into the proper place.

"I think it is. Dad said that after we got all of the boxes in that we could get pizza." he said with a smile. You stared at him for a second before you let out a laugh, of course he would promise fast food.

"Alright I'll order us some." you said, you knew the truth. One of Jack's former friends dropped out of college and apparently he had to get a job at the local pizza shop and well neither Jack or Cas could resist the temptation to taunt him every time they saw him. You dialed the number to the pizza shop and ordered three large two topping pizzas and three two liters and then gave them Jack's new address. The owner of the shop just so happened to be an old hunting buddy of yours so he knew exactly who it was that you wanted him to send out. Once he confirmed that your order would be there in about forty-five minutes to an hour and gave you the price you hung up the phone and counted out your money.

"You know if you keep it up the poor guy's going to quit." you told Jack as you looked up at him. Jack just shrugged and about forty minutes later there was a knock on his door. Before Jack had a chance to answer the door you quickly grabbed your money off of the counter and opened the door making sure that you only opened it enough for you to fit through.

"Hey Mrs. Novak. Here's the pizza and the soda." he said as he handed over the boxes and put the sodas down at the entrance of the doorway. "When did you guys move?" he asked as you handed the boxes off to Castiel and bent down and moved the sodas into the apartment.

"Oh we didn't. This is Jack's new place." you said and you saw him go rigid.

"Jack's here?" he asked.

"Yeah but luckily for you he's busy unpacking so you're in the clear." you said as you handed him the money. "Go ahead and keep the change." you said as he pocketed the money and walked away. You quietly shut the door and put the sodas on the counter right beside where Cas had put the pizzas. He and Jack had already opened theirs up and were sitting on the floor eating their slices off of the paper plates that you had bought. You stuck around another three or four hours before you realized that you had to go home to get ready for work the next day and sadly said your goodbyes to Jack who also had to get ready for his new job.

-------------------------------Forty-years-later-----------------------------------------------

You laid on your hospital bed listening to the soft beeps that came from your machines. You had never thought that this would be the way you went, you had always thought that you would die on a hunt somewhere with the guys by your side either dead themselves or comforting you in your final moments. Instead you were hooked up to several machines for the umpteenth time in your life waiting for a reaper to show up, you slowly opened your eyes and turned your head to look at your loved ones who had gathered to sit with you. Kaia and Claire sat beside you with their son James, it always surprised you how much he looked like his grandfather even more so that Claire had been the one to be willing to go through with the pregnancy. Beside them sat Patience and her husband along with their daughter Missouri, next was them was Alexis who was by herself since her husband couldn't make it along with her twin daughters Jody and Donna. Robert and Kate were out in the hallway talking while Sam, Cas and Gertie had gone out to get food for everyone.

"Sorry we're late. Traffic was a killer." came Jack's voice. You looked over to see Jack and his daughter Kelly standing in the doorway.

"Where's Emily?" you asked gently.

"Joseph wasn't feeling well so she stayed behind." Jack explained while he took the chair closest to you. Kelly sat beside him and gently took your hand.

"How are you feeling grandma?" Kelly asked and you just smiled at her.

"I'm feeling as well as I'm going to be dear." you told her. You saw her glancing off to the side and you turned your head to look to see what it was she was staring at. Even though she was more human than angel she was still able to see certain things and all of you had quickly learned to turn your attention to whatever it was she was looking at. "What are you looking at sweetheart?" you asked her but she shook her head. You knew she was looking out for any reapers that would come for your soul as a way to prepare herself.

"Nothing grandma." she said before looking away from the spot. You gripped her hand as tightly as you could while letting out a sigh. Nothing happened for several hours until you noticed that it was getting harder to breathe and you felt a heaviness on your chest. You laid there in confusion until you felt a hand gently touch your shoulder and you looked over to see a young woman standing beside you.

"Who are you?" you asked confused.

"I think you know." she said in a whisper. Before you could ask her anything else the machines around you started to go off and you realized that the tiredness and weariness you had been feeling for years was gone. You sat up and realized that every ache and pain you had felt through the years was gone and your skin was smooth once again, you stared at your hands and arms in amazement before you turned and looked to see your body behind you. You flinched away in fright before the reaper gently placed her hands on either side of you.

"It's alright. Everyone freaks out when they find out. Come. You have so many people that are waiting for you." she said before holding her hand out. You looked down at it before taking it and letting her assist you out of the bed. You gave one final look at your earthly remains before you followed her to your fate.

---------------------------------------In-Heaven-----------------------------------------------

You stared at the wide open space in front of you, according to the reaper Michael had torn the walls down with assistance from his brothers and Jack years ago. Now everyone could go into each other's Heavens and you could see people you might not have been able to see if you weren't soulmates. You walked down the driveway of what was apparently your new house, it looked like you had always dreamed it would look. You were still unsure until you noticed four figures sitting on your porch. You stopped and stared at them not wanting to believe that they were there. Eileen was the first one to see you, she let out a shout of excitement and she ran down the porch to embrace you.

You heard Sam and Dean gently put their drinks down and they got off of the porch to embrace you as well, they stared at you for a few seconds before they all backed away and the one person you had been waiting five years to see again walked up. He looked so much younger than you remembered and then you realized that it was because he had gone back to how he looked when he first took over Jimmy Novak. You ran up the steps and onto the porch and let out a sigh of relief when you felt his arms wrap around you again. "I missed you so much." Castiel whispered in your ear. You pulled away enough to look up into his face, you let out a gasp of surprise when you saw how bright his blue eyes were once again. You couldn't remember the last time they had looked as lively as they did at that moment, his lips were on yours before you even realized it but you quickly recovered and kissed him back while Sam, Dean and Eileen stood off to the side.

Eventually the two of you moved so that you were an arm's length away and Cas turned you back towards the end of the driveway "Come on. Let's go see everyone else. They've all been waiting so long for you to arrive." he said and you realized that on your way up the driveway you had completely walked past the impala. Dean was already making his way down towards and Sam and Eileen were happily walking down the driveway a few feet behind him. You walked beside Cas who never took his arm from around you while the two of you walked to the impala like you had done thousands of times before and would do a thousand more times now.

#castiel x reader #supernatural season 15

[talkfastromance4]

Measured in Moments--Calum Hood (Part II of The Click)

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Copyright talkfastromance4 © All works is intellectual property of the author. All rights reserved. Any redistribution or reproduction or any part or all contents in any form is prohibited. You may not, without written expression and consent from the author, distribute works amongst other social media platforms

It’s taken me four days but I’ve finally finished part II! I didn’t plan on doing more than one part, but I enjoy this dynamic and there will probably be a few more parts following. Read The Click here and any feedback is welcome!

Word count: 7.3 k

Warnings: casual drinking, smut (female receiving oral, fingering, unprotected sex), fluff, sweetness

Song inspiration: Moonlight Serenade by Frank Sinatra and When Loving You by ASL

Author’s Note: The poem by Michael Faudet mentioned is “A Slow Pirouette” from his book ‘Cult of Two’ and is written in italics. The poem near the bottom is my own that I wrote and is titled roses&rainwater :)

donate to my ko-fi here :)

Masterlist

Enjoy! :)

• • • •

Calum has been planning his and Rose’s first date since after he left her apartment a week ago. They stayed up talking until about 1 o’clock and they would have probably talked for longer if her eyes didn’t get so heavy. He gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek as he left and when he got home, he couldn’t fall asleep because all he could think about was Rose. 

The next morning, he met her at the front counter of the CBS where he made a plan to pay for her drink and muffin, but she insisted it’s her treat. She does get a discount after all being an employee. Teresa smiled at them the whole time and gave an inconspicuous wink to Rose as she handed off the drinks. 

“Then let me take you out to dinner,” Calum had insisted while they walked to campus. 

“Coffee for dinner isn’t a fair trade,” she giggled, and Calum was distracted by the sound for a moment. “But I’d love to get dinner with you, Calum.”

Rose had no idea where he’s taking her, but he told her to wear something a little on the dressier side. So, she chose a simple black dress with comfortable black heels and made sure her hair was perfect. Her nerves were building and pixelating in her entire body, so to try and calm down, she turned on her music and read through her poetry book.

Aside from being her favorite, it’s a comfort object. Would it be weird if she brought it on the date with her? She glances at the clock above her sink, the second hand revolves around the face evenly; the opposite of her heart.

Why should she be nervous? They already stayed up talking until 1 a.m. the first night they met and talk throughout the whole day every day. And they are soulmates after all, but Rose has never had an experience like this with anyone before. Her friends made it look so easy.

Is Calum as nervous as she is?

On the other side of town, Calum is sprinting through his house making sure he has all the essentials. Keys, wallet, phone, credit cards, cash. Throughout his mental checklist, his eyes scan over his poetry book that’s lying on his counter. Rose’s perfume still hangs between the pages so whenever he opens it for a read, it’s like she’s with him. 

When it’s finally time to leave to pick her up, he notices the slight shake in his fingers as he grabs onto the steering wheel. He takes multiple shaky breaths trying to calm himself down, but his fingers are still shaky. 

He selects his favorite playlist making sure it’s loud enough so he can’t hear the speed of his racing heart. As he arrives at the CBS and her apartment, his phone vibrates three times. When he looks at the notifications on his lock screen, they’re all from the guys wishing him luck and to relax. It eases him a little, but his palms are a little sweaty as he walks inside the coffeeshop. 

Teresa smiles at him in greeting as he passes, telling him to head on up to Rose. He nods in thanks then finds himself taking the steps two at a time. Just before he can knock on the door, it opens revealing Rose and he’s left even more breathless than when he arrived. 

His eyes drink her in just as she does him, and soon enough they’re chuckling nervously because they’ve coincidentally dressed the same. He’s also in an all-black ensemble. 

“You look beautiful,” he takes her hand in his lifting it to his lips. His brown eyes look up at her as he kisses the back of her hand, a smile spreading.

“Thank you. You look pretty incredible,” she smiles and steps closer so she can close the door behind her. He watches her with an intensity she’s never seen before and it gives her butterflies. 

They hold hands while they descend the stairs and all the way to his car until he helps her climb in the SUV then shuts the door for her. The static hanging in the car is felt by them both but it’s a good form of electricity. They’re both hyper aware of the others’ emotions.

He finds a decent parking spot after the twenty-minute drive to the restaurant; it was a silent ride but wonderfully comfortable as they sat listening to his music. Calum grabs her hand for the short walk inside and opens the door for her.

“Reservation for Hood,” he tells the hostess.

Rose is peering at the restaurant while the hostess eyes up her tablet. It’s a large space with white cloths on the tables and soft lighting from the golden sconces along the maroon walls. It’s a very cozy atmosphere but Rose can tell how classy it is. 

“I’m sorry, it looks like your reservation was for seven o’clock . . . an hour ago,” the hostess says apologetically.

Her tone brings Rose back to the moment at hand and Calum’s brows are furrowed in confusion.

“No, I’m pretty sure I made it for eight o’clock,” he tries to dissuade with the hostess. “Can you check again?” he rests his hand that’s not holding Rose’s on the ledge of the hostess stand, leaning forward.

Rose glances between Calum and the hostess, she can feel the awkwardness of the situation easily, just as she can feel Calum’s anxiety rise a bit higher. 

“I’m sorry Mr. Hood, but the reservation shows for seven o’clock.”

“All right,” he sighs heavily, his knuckles squeeze the wood. “How long for a table?”

“Um, reservations at La Perle needs a few days’ notice,” the hostess answers awkwardly, “I can hold a table for you in three days’ time.”

“Three days?”

“That’s all right, we’ll call again. Thank you,” Rose intercedes sensing his uneasiness. She pulls Calum with her back through the front door. Calum throws a disdainful look at the hostess over his shoulder.

“I’m so sorry, I could’ve sworn I made the reservation for eight--”

“It’s all right,” she smiles reassuringly and squeezes his hands. She glances across the street and spots a restaurant with a neon blue sign that’s flashing ‘OPEN’. “Let’s head over there, it doesn’t look like they take reservations.”

He turns at the spot she’s pointing to and his shoulders sink at the thought of leaving the premise of the five-star restaurant to hop across the street at what looks like a modernized mom and pop restaurant.

“Come on, it’ll be fun,” she smiles and tugs on his hands walking to the corner of the sidewalk.

When the light signals for them to walk he has no choice but to half jog with her across the street. Her excitement is palpable and wearing down his own anxiety and embarrassment. She pulls open the door and it’s much louder than La Perle across the street with some little kids running past them to a table where birthday balloons are situated at.

“Hello! Just the two of you?” the hostess asks cheerily from their left.

“Um, yes,” Rose smiles holding up her two fingers.

“Booth or table?”

“Booth please.”

“Follow me.”

Rose tugs on Calum again leading him through the tables that are filled with people. Laughter and loud conversation fill their ears until they’re placed in front of a booth against the far-right wall. Eclectic pictures and decorations scatter the cobbled walls.

“Your server, Tracy, will be right with you. Enjoy!”

When Calum averts his eyes from the walls to investigate Rose’s observations, she’s absolutely beaming at him. She looks beautiful under the dim lighting and while the noise is all around them, she quiets it for him. He still feels awful for mixing up the times for dinner and wants her to know he’ll make it up to her.

“I’m so sorry about the reservation—”

“Calum, stop,” she takes his fingers in hers across the table. Her thumb rubs over the initials inked on his skin. “I promise this is okay. We can pretend we’re back in high school going to a dance and this is our dinner spot beforehand.”

He can’t help but smile at her temporary fix to the poorly timed situation on his part.

“Funny you mention dance because after dinner there’s a concert in the park that I want to take you to.”

“What kind of concert?” her eyes dance at the thought.

“A jazz one,” he grins just as their waitress, Tracy, skips to their table.

*****

After dinner, they arrive at the park where a small stage is set up in the middle of the grass. Other couples are seated on blankets or chairs and orbed lights are hung up above the audience that’s also connected to the stage.

Calum tosses the blanket he brought up in the air letting it billow down onto the grass. They sit comfortably together with his legs spread in front of him while hers are tucked underneath her just as the concert starts. Moonlight Serenade by Frank Sinatra begins with the soft trills of flutes and violins before the gentleman in the center begins to sing.

Rose sighs happily while she watches the players play but Calum is watching her. He’s transfixed by her and how she’s reacting to the song. She sways slightly in her spot on the blanket and even hears her humming along quietly.

He studies her face as if she’s a work of art, her eyelashes cast soft shadows on the roundness of her cheeks that are still slightly blushed, and her lips are the perfect shape. He’s still staring at her when the song ends, and a torrential downpour falls on everyone in attendance.

When she squeals his name, he springs into action quickly gathering the blanket and they run back to his car. He scrambles for his keys that are buried in his jacket pocket, when it’s finally unlocked, Rose jumps in while he balls the blanket into the backseat and darts to the drivers’ side.

The rain hits the car hard, falling in rivers down the windshield and their windows and they’re both laughing.

“I can’t believe this happened,” he wheezes trying to catch his breath as he turns the car on. He makes sure the heat is on full blast, so she isn’t too cold.

“Shortest concert I’ve been to,” she giggles. “We can still listen to jazz back at my place if you want.”

How could Calum say no to that? He can’t.

Thankfully, they aren’t too wet from the rain so they’re pretty much dry by the time they’re walking up the stairs to her apartment. Rose hands him a towel to dry his hair while she rubs off the leftover dampness on her arms from the raindrops.

“How’s my make-up?” she asks.

Calum blinks a few times when he pulls the towel from his hair, he smiles at the small smudges under her eyes. She looks like an adorable raccoon.

“Not bad, but c’mere,” he grins motioning her closer with his two fingers. She steps forward and he dabs the corner of the towel gently underneath her eyes to remove the excess mascara.

“Good?” she asks when he lowers the towel.

“Perfect,” he smiles then drapes the towel over one of her stools by the kitchen counter. “I think you promised me some jazz music, Rosie.”

She giggles at the nickname then pulls her phone out as she walks to her speaker. She turns it on, presses play, then her apartment echoes saxophones and trumpets. The baritone of the singers’ voice carries over to them and Calum pulls Rose into his arms.

His hand holds onto her lower back while the other is firm in her hand. Her left hand rests gently on his shoulder and he begins to dance to the beat of the song. Aside from being part of the rhythmic section of the band, he’s also been known to be the best dancer. Years of football, or soccer, has perfected his footwork.

“How are you so good at dancing? Did you take lessons?” Rose asks when he does a little quick step and it makes her giggle.

“Something like that,” he chuckles. “I played soccer for a long time while I was growing up.”

“Really? Did they call you ‘fancy feet?’”

“No, but they should have,” he chuckles then turns serious. “I really am sorry about tonight. Everything got ruined.”

“It wasn’t ruined,” she shakes her head.

“Our first date was supposed to be perfect,” he huffs in disappointment, staring out the window above her bed. It looks like a piece of art with the water running down and blending the colors of the streetlights together.

Rose scratches the hairs at the nape of his neck, it forces him to tilt his head down at her. “It was perfect, Calum, I was with you.”

The static electricity is back, and it only intensifies when they press their lips together. The smell of roses is more potent from the rain and she tastes of rainwater. It’s his new favorite thing paired with dancing with her while they kiss tenderly in her living room. The song changes to Moonlight Serenade and he smiles against her mouth.

“This is our song now,” he mumbles, swiping his tongue over her lower lip. He loves the sweet, sweet taste of her kiss.

Rose pulls him even closer, chest to chest with her fingers interlocked behind his neck. He moves his hands around her waist so he’s holding onto her tightly. Their foreheads bump together, and they share the same breath as they continue to sway on the spot.

“You’re my love song,” she whispers and kisses him once more.

*****

Calum and Rose have been on many dates since then, most of them are study dates but if they’re together that’s all that matters. They see each other every morning for breakfast and their walk to campus. It fills Rose with joy because she never had a high school sweetheart, but this is exactly how she pictured it would be.

She’s over at his house and they’re both studying for a test that counts for 25% of their grade. She’s been brewing coffee hourly while she pores over her books and notes. Calum gets distracted by her much too easily, especially when she whispers the phrases out loud.

He finds himself glancing up from his own notes, most of them are small phrases written about her anyway, to admire her. He’s read about soulmates and what it will feel like but experiencing it is vastly different than what the books say. Calum constantly has this growing need to be beside her, even if the task at hand is ‘boring’, he knows it won’t be because she makes it fun.

While it is as easy as breathing, being with her, he finds his breath is lost when they are together. When she’s working a shift downstairs, Calum sits at a table doing his homework or writing, she’ll walk by him purposefully to stroke her finger over the back of his hand.

He’d glance up at her just to see her smile wryly, as if it’s a secret that she’s touching him and watches her continue her way. She always turns back around to give him her true Rose smile; the whole ordeal leaves him excited and filled with butterflies.

Butterflies that he would love to catch and keep in a jar so that he could give them to her, but he’d need to find a jar big enough to contain them all.

“Calum, you need to be studying,” she tells him sternly without glancing up from her textbook.

He continues to watch her highlight before she shifts her gaze from the words in her book to him.

“I am studying,” he grins, his brown eyes moving over her. She blushes and shifts in her chair.

“I’m not testing you,” she murmurs.

“You are more than you know, sweetheart,” he hums under his breath and resumes to his own book.

As the night ticks on, Rose begins to yawn more and more.

“I think it’s time for you to go home, sweetheart,” he says closing his books up.

“No, no, I’m fine,” she yawns twice more, covering her mouth with her hand.

Calum stands up, presses a kiss to her forehead and lets Duke outside. When he returns, she’s passed out across her books, her arm is used as a pillow. He beams at the sight then pulls out his phone to take a photo before scooping her up in his arms.

“I got the coffee,” she sighs tiredly, lifting her head up from his shoulder.

“You’re cut off, Rosie,” he chuckles and continues down the hallway to his room.

“Am I home? How’d I get home?”

“We’re still at my place, you can spend the night.”

“I don’t want to . . . be . . . bother,” she says through a long yawn. “I’ll drive home.”

“You don’t have a car,” he chortles setting her on the edge of his bed. “I wouldn’t let you drive even if you did. You don’t even have your eyes open.”

“Yeah I do,” she sighs while he grabs some old shorts and a t-shirt for her from his closet.

“Really?” he leans down in front of her, clothes in hand.

“Mhm.”

“Then what am I doing right now?”

“Smiling. You’re always smiling.”

“Because you always make me smile.”

“Aha! I was right,” she tries to focus on him through her heavy lids. He laughs at her cuteness and attempt to prove that she’s awake.

“I have clothes here for you to sleep in. I’m going to get Duke and some water bottles, okay?” he kisses her forehead. She sways from the touch.

With Duke and two bottles in his arms, he finds Rose curled against his pillow and he’s floored at how natural it is to see her in his bed, in his clothes, in his life. He sets Duke on the bottom of the bed and changes into his own sleepwear in his closet then joins Rose.

She cuddles into him immediately, sighing quietly. He counts the seconds in between her breaths and he’s fast asleep in moments.

The next morning, he makes her coffee and pancakes and syrup filled kisses are exchanged throughout the whole meal. Their first sleepover wasn’t planned, but it was a success nonetheless and opened the door for many nights of staying over.

****

It’s the start of their holiday break, exams and last-minute papers are finally over and done with. To celebrate, Calum is making Rose a pasta dish at her apartment while she drinks the second dirty Shirley that he made her.

She’s sat on one of the barstools, cheek in hand, admiring the way his shoulders flex and roll while he chops up some greens to put in the sauce. Her eyes move with the motion of his arm as he grabs his own beer, then her eyes watch his lips touch the lip of the bottle.

How is she enchanted by the simplest tasks he does?

“You’re drooling,” he interrupts her thoughts.

Rose sits up straight, instinctively wiping her mouth then glares at him.

“I am not,” she pouts then takes a hearty sip of her cocktail. The sweet cherry juice and bite of the vodka and sprite tickles her taste buds as Calum laughs. He scrapes the greens into the pot with the knife then moves in front of her across the counter.

He leans on his forearms, beer bottle in between his hands, while he stares at her with those brown eyes that make her even weaker now that she’s been drinking. He bites down on his lower lip as he reaches his hand up, his thumb swipes on her bottom lip.

“You are drooling, Rosie. I don’t blame you, I’m a hot chef,” he smiles, eyes twinkling.

“Can I kiss the chef, or do I have to wait until after dinner?”

“Mmm,” he pretends to think it over while inching closer to her across the countertop. She moves with him, his hand cups her cheek and their noses bump together. “I’ll allow it.”

When their lips touch, she can’t help but sigh at the softness and his tongue is quick to slip into her mouth so he can taste more of the cherries from her drink. Rose cards her fingers in his thick hair, nails rubbing at his scalp while his thumb caresses her cheek.

Her oven lets out a loud beep, breaking their kiss to announce that it’s heated for the garlic bread. Calum and Rose are heated as well, she gives him three more quick kisses before he resumes his culinary duties and she resumes her admiration.

“So, there’s a party tomorrow night and the guys are going to be there,” he says while they’re eating at the counter. Rose has her legs across his knees, his hand rests comfortably on top of them while he eats.

“I sense an ‘and’ coming,” she smiles twirling her fork in the noodles.

“And I was wondering if you’d want to come and meet them,” he finishes.

Rose lowers her noodle filled fork to look his way, he has a soft smile and hope in his eyes.

“Really? You want me to meet them?” she asks, excitedly leaning closer to him.

“Yeah. I talk about you all the time and if I don’t bring you with me tomorrow then they might literally kill me.”

“I can’t have that,” she shakes her head and laughs. “I’d love to meet them.”

****

Calum can tell Rose is nervous in the way she keeps chewing on her lower lip. She’s bouncing around her apartment gathering her things and Calum watches her fondly until she stops at her dresser to slide on some bracelets. He uses that as an opportunity to stand behind her, she jumps when she turns around and sees him right there.

“Hey, you’ll chew your lip right off and what will I kiss, then, hm?” he asks massaging her lip carefully with his thumb.

“What if they think I’m weird?” she’s pouting now, eyes full of worry.

“They like weird,” he grins then takes her hand to kiss her fingers. “It’s going to be fine. You’re my girl and they’re going to love you.”

When they arrive at the party hand in hand (Rose has a death grip on him) he weaves her through the other people in attendance. He spots the boys near the back of the bar where the couches are, and he points. He feels her suck in a breath and he kisses her temple.

“Cal!” they all shout as the couple gets closer.

The three Australian men stand from their seats giving him hugs and handshakes while Rose cowers behind his back. She’s finding comfort in the coolness of Calum’s leather jacket until he pulls her forward, hand still firm in hers.

“Guys, this is Rose,” Calum introduces, his smile proud as he gazes at her. “Rosie, these are the guys, Michael, Luke and Ashton.”

The use of her nickname calms her down a little and then all three of his best friends give her warm hugs, too. She says a quiet hello back as they all settle down onto the couch again. Calum orders their drinks and she’s hoping the alcohol will give her a confidence boost.

Rose finds herself liking Calum’s three best friends the more they talk and joke with Calum. She even notices that all their accents get a little more pronounced the more they talk with each other and share stories. She laughs the loudest when Calum and Ashton join in a banter together.

She chimes in when she can, but otherwise she just loves watching Calum interact with them. It’s a side of him she’s never seen until now, but she loves it. She can see how much he loves them.

“So, Rose,” Ashton starts, a pompous yet teasing tone to his voice, “is it true that Calum messed up your first date?”

“I’m gonna kill you mate,” Calum threatens and Rose giggles, squeezing his arm.

“He didn’t mess it up. It went a little off course but how we met was like that, too. He did steal my book and all,” she teases and pinches his cheek.

“You stole mine, too,” he chuckles leaning into her, his eyes darting between her lips and eyes. “Amongst other things you stole.”

Rose’s stomach flips and all she can do in response is smile. He kisses her quickly just as a woman’s voice breaks apart their moment.

“Sorry I’m late guys, work was killer. Oh! Is this Rose? Cal, she’s gorgeous! Hi, I’m Ruby.”

Rose takes Ruby’s outstretched hand, a little taken aback at her energy but appreciative at the same time for it. Ruby is Ashton’s soulmate and Rose can see exactly how perfect they are for each other.

“Rose. Nice to meet you,” Rose smiles kindly.

“Hey Rube,” Calum grins.

“I’m stealing your girl so I can get to know her better. We’ll be back, boys,” Ruby announces pulling Rose off the couch. She blows a kiss to Ashton who is used to her antics by now.

“Be nice!” Calum calls watching them head to the bar.

“I’m always nice!” Ruby shouts back then gives Rose a warm smile. “I’m so happy we finally get to meet. I remember Calum talking about you before you even met the first time, he was so in love with your poetry book.”

“It’s not my own poetry book, but I wrote in it sometimes,” Rose shrugs.

“It’s yours,” Ruby nods affirmatively then flags down the bartender. “Two lemon shots please, you like those right?”

“Yeah, I love them,” Rose smiles.

After the girls took their shots, Rose is feeling even more comfortable with Calum’s friends. Soon enough, she’s cracking jokes and singing along to the music that’s playing. Calum is elated that his best friend soulmates and his true love soulmate are getting along so well. He doesn’t even try to be inconspicuous as he kisses her in front of all these people, especially his friends.

*****

The rain pours consistently against her building, it sounds like large handfuls of rice hitting the glass of her windows. It’s a calming sound that almost mimics the ocean waves while she and Calum are atop her bed reading their poetry books. It’s a quiet night in and while she’s getting lost in the words on her page, a loud crack of thunder erupts outside causing Rose to jump and drop her book.

“It’s just thunder baby,” Calum grins at her and she glares at him.

“I hate thunderstorms.”

“Let me read to you, c’mere,” he shifts on her bed and she scoots closer to him.

From shoulder to feet, they’re touching, and she listens aptly to the low rasp of his voice. Through the rain it sounds even more sultry than normal and makes goosebumps form on her skin. While he reads Michael Faudet’s poem, she takes his hand in hers.

‘You took my hand in yours.’

While he reads of the author commentating on his lover’s actions, Rose follows along perfectly.

‘Guiding my fingers beneath the hem of your panties.’

Calum swallows harshly as she drags his hand beneath the hem of her cotton shorts, leading his fingers between her legs. When he touches her, they both stop. They both turn their heads and stare into each other’s eyes.

“Keep going,” she blinks at him innocently while her fingers are making his do the opposite of innocent.

Calum turns back to the page.

“’Showing me exactly how you want to be touched— ‘” she makes his fingers circle around her clit and his breath catches. “’—like a ballerina in the spotlight doing a slow pirouette.’”

He tosses the book away as soon as he finishes the last word of the poem, his mouth on hers while his fingers dance between her legs. Thunder rumbles and Rose squeaks when he teases his finger inside her opening.

He shifts his weight removing his hand so she’s in between his thighs. When he deepens the kiss by slipping his tongue in her mouth, Rose moves her hands over his shoulders and down to his waist. She places her hands under his shirt to glide over the soft, warm skin of his back. Her actions make his shirt ride up.

“What’re you tryin’ to do?” he teases playfully, teeth pulling on her lower lip.

“Take this off,” she huffs, and he pulls back to look in her eyes. She tugs on his shirt again.

Calum leans back on his knees and she follows him into a sitting position as if an invisible string has them connected. Rose watches him tug his shirt off. The movement tousles his hair slightly; he licks his lips moving forward but Rose stops him with her hand on his chest.

“What--?”

“Shh,” she hushes. Her eyes drink him in; his dark tattoos and smooth skin over his tight muscles that she can’t help but run her hands over.

Calum watches her with growing lust. He’s getting drunk off the way she’s looking at him and the way her hands feel that are now on his waist.

“How are you real?” she whispers, eyes looking up at him and he smiles.

His eyes lower to her lips before darting back to her eyes. “I was just thinking the same thing. Want to join me in the no shirt party?” but his fingers are already working on the buttons of her pajama shirt. She helps him by undoing the last buttons on the bottom, then pulls her arms out of the sleeves. Calum tosses the fabric to the end of the bed.

His eyes devour her, and it makes Rose’s belly burn insatiably until his mouth is on her neck, suckling and kissing the skin. His hand cups her left breast right away, his thumb stroking over her nipple before he removes his lips from her neck so he can suckle on the other breast. She sighs in his ear as his tongue flicks the hardened bud.

“Mm,” she moans quietly, and she falls back against her pillows, his mouth still attached to her breast as he falls with her.

He shifts his head over to the other one now, his thumb now brushing the underside as his mouth sucks on this breast. She’s plump and perfect in his hand and mouth. He releases her breast with a pop before kissing the space between her breasts and back up to her lips.

“Was that okay?” he asks around her mouth, the chain of his necklace knocks against her collarbone. The contrast of his warm mouth and cool bite of the chain electrifies her.

“Mhm, felt good,” she smiles scratching her nails down his sideburns.

They continue kissing, his hand travels down her waist and over her hip so he can pull her leg up over his waist, he wants her as close as possible. When he places his lips on her neck again, she huffs into his hair while he makes a mark. He’s surprised that she’s leading his hand in between her legs again.

Calum’s hesitant at first, not wanting to cross any lines, so he keeps his hand there while he kisses on her neck. It isn’t until she starts rubbing herself with his hand that he begins to circle his fingers over her core.

“Can I?” he asks trailing his fingers back under her cotton shorts and the waistline of her panties.

“Mmm, yes,” she exhales, and it makes him shiver.

His fingers slide between her folds until he finds her clit. Her body jolts at his touch and he grins against her neck feeling how wet she is. He rubs slow circles against her clit and Rose gyrates her hips with his motions, her breath becoming more ragged.

He wants to see her face, so he lifts his head up to gaze at her and she’s so beautiful. She’s biting her lip even as it trembles, her thighs trembling as well with his motions.

“You’re so pretty, baby,” he sighs and teases her hole with the tip of his finger just like before. Rose releases her lip from her teeth with a gasp, her body exhales. “Does that feel good?”

“Yes, yes,” she practically whines, eyes clenched shut and Calum teases her again, adding a bit more of his finger this time.

“D’you want more?”

Her fingers are in his hair now as she nods, forcing her eyes open to look at him. “Please, Cal, I want more.”

He inserts his finger slowly, feeling how snug she is and pumps his finger halfway a few times to gather her arousal. Once his finger is nice and slick, he pushes in all the way and she’s gasping, pulling on his hair. He rests his forehead onto hers, watching her mouth open and close soundlessly as he rotates his finger inside of her.

She’s warm and soft, and he can only imagine what she’d feel like around his dick.

He slips his other finger in as well and she cries out his name. Rose is rocking her hips against his hand as he slides and scissors his fingers in and out at the perfect speed, curling and swirling them each time.

“Ooh, I’m almost . . . don’t stop, please,” she begs breathlessly, and Calum obeys.

He feels her about to cum, the satisfying squelch of his fingers thrusting in and out of her is increasing as her orgasm approaches.

“So warm, baby,” he breathes, and he feels her clench around his fingers. “So pretty when you moan for me, am I making you feel good? Yeah? You almost there, for me? C’mon, I can feel you. . ..”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” she chants and holds him tightly against her chest as she comes.

He feels her body go rigid in pleasure, short gasps burst from her lips and he watches her come undone hungrily. When her body relaxes and her legs fall away, he stops his movements and removes his fingers slowly. He examines them in the lowlight, glistening with her juices and with his eyes locked on hers, he inserts them in his mouth.

It’s the perfect mixture of salty and sweet, his ocean and rose girl.

To his surprise, Rose pulls his fingers from his mouth and without batting an eye, slips them between her own lips. He feels her tongue swirl up and around his fingers, licking herself off him.

“Shit, that’s so hot,” he grunts. With his fingers still suctioned between her lips, she wiggles out of her shorts and underwear, tossing them to the side. “I have an idea.”

“Okay,” she whispers removing her mouth from his digits.

She kisses the pads delicately before he stretches down and grabs his book. He hands it to her and scoots lower on the bed, smirking while he kisses down her belly. “Open up,” he tells her and as she opens the book, he spreads her legs. “Read to me.”

Her head is swimming with the erotic act that he’s doing but she does as he says and starts to read. Calum starts off slow with soft kisses on the inside of her thighs because he’s listening to the way her voice shakes. When she turns the page, he fully dives in with his mouth suctioning to her folds and Rose gasps. Her voice shakes more, and her legs are quick to follow while Calum creates his own poem with his tongue and lips.

He eats her out slowly and with intense care. He nips and sucks in just the right formation. Rose stops reading and starts moaning, her body curves upward in pleasure. Calum’s palm is flat on her belly while the other is hooked around her thigh to keep her body open for him. He hums against her as he feels her stomach tighten and he licks at her faster, she sucks in a breath and holds it while she basks in her orgasm.

Calum is hypnotized by the rise and fall of her breasts as she gathers her breath, he tongues at her lazily before removing his mouth. With the shadows on her face from the rain falling down her windows, it looks like she’s been crying, but he knows it would be tears of pleasure if it were real.

Rose drags him back up her body, her mouth hot and urgent on his.

“I want you,” she sighs into his mouth, her hand cups the bulge under his sweatpants.

“I want you too,” he nibbles on her lip. They’re both scrambling to remove the last article of clothing he’s wearing, and she reaches into her drawer pulling out a condom.

Noses touching, eyes locked, he pushes himself inside her, both moaning at the intense feeling of the stretch. Their breath is hot as he settles his hips against hers. He fills her completely then pulls back so he can create a steady rhythm and to hopefully hear her moans again.

Rose moans instantly, her fingers trailing up and down his back while he rocks her world. Her head tilts back and he uses the opportunity to kiss on her sweet neck, she tastes like roses and rainwater. Their heads become dizzy as his thrusts become faster and faster.

Sequentially, she screams his name just as the thunder rumbles loudly and as he’s reached his own high. It shakes the framework of the building and when he collapses on top of her, neither one can tell if the thunder or their lovemaking shook the world.

****

The next morning, Calum woke Rose up with breakfast in bed complete with French toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, and a glass of orange juice. Rose is amazed at his gesture and they share the breakfast together while exchanging small pillow talk.

“You really are a great chef,” she compliments as they finish the last bite.

“Thank you,” he grins then discards the plates onto her nightstand. When he turns back around, he captures her lips in a sweet, syrupy kiss that he quickly deepens and makes her heart race. “Care to join me for a shower?”

“Yes please,” she smiles on his lips and kisses him once more. “Why don’t you go get it started, I’ll be in in a minute.”

“Don’t be too long, Rosie.”

Rose is left a little stunned as he slips from the bed and walks to her bathroom completely naked. He’s perfect from every angle. When the bathroom door closes, she scrambles for her black notebook and writes furiously on the page before skipping into the bathroom to join a wet Calum under the stream of warm water.

Since the night they shared together, Rose has been itching to share what she wrote in her notebook but it’s not that common for soulmates to use the ‘L’ word. The logic behind the reasoning does make sense, but if you’re soulmates there’s really no need to say those three little words.

Those three little words that are only written about and acted out in movies. Those three little words hold a different kind of weight, a different form of finality in the construct of soulmates. It’s been eating away at her for the last three days on whether she should just show him the poem.

Calum has tried to get what’s bothering her out of her, but Rose is stubborn and tells him it’s nothing. Calum is stubborn too but he’s more stubborn in a quieter version. He watches her actions, pinpoints her voice when it gets too high and notices how often her eyes glance to her book beside her bed.

She’s shown him her poetry in there before, but he hasn’t seen her write in it lately. While she’s fixing her make-up in the bathroom before going on a double date with Ashton and Ruby, Calum breaks his own moral code of privacy and opens her book. He flips through it until he gets to the last page she wrote in; he won’t look at anything else.

He begins to read:

‘Dancing in the moonlight while floorboards creak and hearts race, a moment frozen in time measured through the saxophone notes and rain patters against the windows. The smell of roses in her hair while rainwater grows their love right before their eyes in the palm of their hands it blooms and flourishes, growing, growing, growing.’

He’s speechless. This is clearly about their first date but that was nearly nine months ago, and she wrote the ‘L’ word. Does she want to say it to him? Did she know on their first date that she felt that precise word for him?

His mind is racing because even Ashton and Ruby haven’t said the ‘L’ word to each other. But he and Rose aren’t like them, what they feel and the connection they have runs deeper than the normal soulmate scenario. He felt it the first time their pinkies touched. He felt it when he looks in her eyes.

The door opens and Rose steps out, gasping when she sees what’s in his hands. Instead of anger for going through it, she feels embarrassment that he found it. She feels more naked and vulnerable under his gaze. Her throat is dry, but she still wants to try and rectify her slip up.

“I can explain,” she starts, fingers twisting together in nerves. Calum stares at her. “I wrote that the first night we slept together, it was just words in my mind that I needed to get out and I—”

Calum drops her book to the bed and gathers her in his arms in one swoop, one heartbeat of time. He kisses her with everything he has in him, her lips taste like cherries and she smells like roses and rainwater. His favorite smell. Rose gasps into the kiss but kisses him back with fervor, she untangles her fingers and clutches onto his leather jacket.

“You don’t have to explain, sweetheart,” he murmurs.

“I don’t?”

“No, because I’ve been thinking and feeling the same thing.”

“You have?” she gulps, staring up at him under her long lashes.

“Yes, silly girl,” he grins cupping her cheeks in his hands. His eyes never stray from hers and his voice doesn’t falter, “I love you, too.”

Rose smiles as she feels a new kind of warmth grow inside her, it’s a glowing type of warm that she knows won’t fade in time. It hovers inside her and she feels as if it’s waiting to latch onto something.

“I love you,” she tells him and that warm glow bursts out of her and right into Calum. She swears she saw it and the way he gasps makes her think he saw it too or is feeling it now inside him.

“Did you feel that?” he asks, his eyes widening, and she can see that glow burning inside his irises.

“I still feel it,” she nods sliding her hand up his stomach and onto his chest. “But I feel it in here,” she presses her hand right over his heart.

“I do too. Loving you is easy to do.”

They kiss and revel in this newfound feeling from saying those three words, it’s as if their kisses are sealing an unspoken vow to say them as much as they can. They were fifteen minutes late to dinner but when Calum traced ‘I ♡ U’ on the back of her hand, she decides that fifteen minutes was well worth it.

• • • •

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#calum hood oneshot #calum hood fluff #calum hood smut #calum hood fanfic #calum 5sos #calum smut #calum fluff #soulmate!au #soulmate!calum #5sos writing #5sos fanfi

[inevitably-johnlocked]

hi steph! was just wondering if u had any fic recs that are centered around roadtrips? thanks for all that u do!

Hi Nonny!

Ahh, not many, but I do have some that include them Travelling or Going Away :) So I’m going to take this opportunity to make this list I’ve had ready for a bit :) I’ve purposely left AU’s off this list since a lot of the AU’s I do have involve travelling and adventure but really aren’t road-trippy but classify more as “adventure”, so I can make a separate list for those if you want, I hope that’s okay!! If anyone has any they’d like to add, please feel free to add them here!

TRAVELLING & ROAD TRIPS

See also:

THoB Fix It Fics

Johnlock on Holidays for a Case

Sherlock Holmes and the Mysterious Piercing by Lorelei_Lee (E, 4,130 w., 1 Ch. || Travelling, Sherlock is Loud, Secrets, Genital Piercing, First Time, Licking, Coming Nearly Untouched) – John discovers by chance that Sherlock has a piercing. To his surprise John can’t stop thinking about it…

Drive by lifeonmars (M, 9,537 w., 1 Ch. || Virginity, Awkward First Times, Minor Injuries) – John and Sherlock are stranded by the roadside, and John is injured. They need to spend the night in the back of a humvee. Sherlock is confused. John is understanding.

Abatement by WhimsicalEthnographies (E, 6,816 w., 1 Ch. || Est. Rel., Retirementlock, Fluff, Sherlock’s Self Esteem, Grumpy Sherlock, Idiots in Love, PWP, Fluff and Smut, Bottomlock) – “What’s wrong with you? You love the cottage,” John glances over to the passenger seat, then quickly turns his eyes back to the road. Driving was still not his forte, but considering Sherlock still couldn’t properly bend and lift his new knee enough to press and release the clutch, he had to make do. Not that Sherlock hadn’t tried to argue his way into the driver’s seat. “I love the cottage for a week or two, John. Don’t be deliberately obstuse,” Sherlock grumbles, sinking further in his seat. Well, as best he can with a four-week-old knee replacement. “And that’s all we’re going for, love,” John says out loud. But what he’s thinking is, shit. He knows.

Hitting the Water at Sixty Miles an Hour by what_alchemy (E, 30,568 w., 5 Ch. || Fake Rel., Roadtrips, Slow Burn, Mummy Holmes) – “You love your mother, Sherlock?” John watched the muscles in Sherlock’s jaw jump. He nodded in one sharp jerk. “Then we’re going to her party and making her happy.” John let out a resigned sigh. “As a ruddy couple, you bastard.”

Chaperones by MissDavis (T, 34,114 w., 7 Ch. || 11 Years Post-S4, Fake Relationship, Parentlock, Disney World, Bed / Room Sharing, Friends to Lovers, Fluff, First Kiss, Obsessive Sherlock, Insecure John) – Right. Of course. Everyone assumed they were a couple and no one would question it. John put his elbows up on the table so he could rest his head in his hands. “You want to pretend to be a couple so we can chaperone a trip to Disney World with Rosie’s class and you won’t have to share a room with a stranger?” “Exactly.” Sherlock beamed at him. “Don’t worry about the cost. The Birmingham case last month paid more than enough to cover expenses for all three of us.”

In the Still of the Night by SilentAuror (E, 42,234 w., 1 Ch. || S4 Fix It / Post-S4, Sherlock POV, Angst, Drama, Romance, Virgin Sherlock, Awkwardness, Misunderstandings / Miscommunications, Case Fic, Travelling, Pining) – As locals on the Northeastern coast begin to report UFO sightings, life at Baker Street becomes significantly awkward as John brings up his desire for more than friendship and Sherlock refuses him. They embark on the investigation from the confines of the tiny cottage Mycroft has rented for them, attempting to navigate both the clues of the case as well as their own inability to communicate…

The Real Great Perfumers by shelleysprometheus (E, 45,355 w., 68 Ch. || Case Fic, Alternating POV, Gay Sherlock / Bi John, Canon Compliant with Divergence at TRF, Friends to Lovers, Oral / Anal, Pining, First Kiss / Time, Dev. Rel., Drugging, Body Worship, Bathing, Love Confessions, Travelling, Bottomlock, Cranky Sherlock, BJ’s, Alternating POV, Jealous John) – The case, this case. This extraordinary, fascinating, scintillating case. A house. Designed entirely by its eccentric owner, built by no less than five hundred expert tradesmen in the heart of Marrakesh. A house that had, seemingly not only driven its owner out, but also to his quite unpleasant death. And a perfumer, a chemist no less, the very thought of the secrets that house could reveal, would reveal was irresistible. Sherlock had to have this case … and it seems, he also had to have John! Part 1 of the Forethought and Fire series

The Bells of King’s College by SilentAuror (E, 64,019 w., 5 Ch. || Post-S4, Missed Opportunities, Angst with Happy Ending, Fake Relationship, Case Fic, John POV, Jealous John, John in Denial, Travelling / Holidays, Virgin Sherlock, Wedding Proposals) – It’s only been two weeks since Eurus Holmes disrupted their lives when Mycroft sends John and Sherlock to Cambridge to pose as an engaged couple at a wedding show in the hopes of solving six unsolved deaths…

Sketchy by serpentynka (E, 184,053 w., 83 Ch. || Post-TRF, Post-Mary, John Whump, Slow Burn Love Story, Case Fic, Art, Porn With Feelings, Switchlock, Travelling, Career Change, Family Secrets, Illness / Health) – What (and who) will be left when nobody cares about your Work? A slow-burn fic with cases, places, mistaken identities, unfair choices, essential changes, violent feels, blatant lies, fearless portraiture, family secrets, high-risk bespoke gifts, durable friendships, bedtime stories, foreign travel and tongues, sickness (and health), and the significance of things which are slow to unfurl – but cannot be ignored. Oh, and…porn. Part 1: Sherlock takes on an obvious case (barely a 4) and meets someone who will force him to re-examine what it means to see. Part 1 of Sketchy

#steph replies #johnlock fic recs #travelling #road trips #Anonymous #fic rec wednesday