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laurenairay · 4 months

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I never thought - P. Grubauer

Summary: Meeting Philipp Grubauer was the last thing Sera expected.

This is my entry for @wyattjohnston’s winter fic exchange 2024. I had the joy of writing for @knifeshoeboys – I really hope you like this Philipp Grubauer story, Nicole! I had a lot of fun creating this sweet piece from all of your prompts.

Words: 1.7k

Warnings: fluff, slight anxiety, mildly secret romance

Title from On Purpose by Sabrina Carpenter

Sera liked her routine. Monday to Friday she worked from 8.30am to 5pm as the receptionist in one of the biggest law firms in Seattle. Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, she went straight to the gym after work, cycling from the office, rotating her workouts between legs, arms, and core. Saturday mornings were back to the gym for a yoga class at 8am, before driving her car to the grocery store on the loop back to her apartment. It was predictable. It was safe. It was boring.

But at least she always knew what to expect.

It was just her luck that she couldn’t control the weather, really. Even more her luck that she’d left her umbrella in her car in stead of putting it in her gym bag – and that she’d parked on the other side of the parking lot. As Sera left the gym after her Saturday yoga class at the beginning of November, the rain was pouring down in sheets, and she knew without a doubt that she would get soaked to the bone, unable to shake the chill for hours. She could only imagine how badly the waves in her dark hair would be tangled after traipsing through this downpour.

But just as she was steeling herself to step out of the gym doors, she heard a groan of disbelief from behind her.

“Oh man, it’s really coming down, isn’t it?”

The light accent – definitely European – caught her attention, and she turned her head to see a tall handsome man smiling wryly at her. As her blue eyes locked with his hazel ones, she felt her breath hitch in her throat, and she couldn’t help herself from smiling back at him.

“Not a great start to the weekend, no,” she mused.

He barked out a laugh, making her stomach flutter with butterflies, even more so when he flashed a grin at her while he rooted in her his own gym bag. After only a breath, the sweetly-smiling man pulled out an umbrella with a triumphant ‘hah!’, making her laugh, earning another grin.

“I was not looking forward to walking all the way across the parking lot in this,” he said, grimacing as he wiggled the umbrella at the deluge outside.

“Yeah, I’m still trying to psych myself up to do that,” she said, grimacing in turn.

“Oh damn, I thought you were waiting for someone,” he admitted, “Did you want to share my umbrella with me?”

That sweet simple gesture, innocent and genuine, set her heart racing like nothing she could ever remember. How could she turn down such a kind offer from a gentleman?

“I’d like that, if it’s not too much trouble,” she said, smiling softly, “It’s not like I’ll take up much room.”

The man just laughed as she waved her hand between them, him clearly towering over her 5ft self.

“I’m Philipp, by the way,” he grinned.

Philipp. It suited him.

“Sera.”

Sera had never been one for surprises, or going with the flow. After most of her childhood spent watching her mother – her beloved hippie artist mother – drift along with no real direction, just seeing where the wind took the two of them, Sera had always craved control. Now that she was 30 years old and living on her own, Sera finally had it. True, she had mellowed out over the past few years, not needing everything to be excruciatingly perfect anymore, but that routine had always helped ease her anxieties.

Philipp Grubauer had been the biggest surprise she never knew she needed.

After that fateful meeting at the gym six weeks ago, the two of them having exchanged phone numbers with shy smiles as they stopped by her car, they’d spoke nearly every single day – and not just text messages either. Full-on phone calls, even down to facetiming each other while they each cooked dinner just to spend that low-maintenance time together, their schedules not always allowing face to face time so early on in getting to know each other.

And then there were the dates.

A dinner every week. Several coffee dates telling stories and giggling over lattes. Even a night out at the ballet, Sera never having seen The Nutcracker and Philipp insisting that he took her to enjoy the Christmas magic. She didn’t know where this man had been all her life, but if being single this long meant waiting for him? Well, the wait was definitely worth it.

Philipp was so easygoing, adapting to her obvious anxieties with ease as he went, but not just coasting along. He slotted into her routine perfectly, timings calls and dates around her typical timings and his own hockey schedule – even joining her in the gym for a yoga class, showcasing his extraordinary flexibility – but still encouraging her to try new things. He was funny, sweet, and genuinely interesting, and Sera found herself eagerly anticipating every moment they spent together. There was just one thing though – he had never ventured further than kissing her cheek and holding her hand.

Maybe it was just her anxieties talking. Maybe it was a European thing. Maybe he really was just that much of a gentleman. But if she didn’t say something soon, she felt like she was going to burst. Sera just liked him so much, and she didn’t want to ruin their blossoming relationship by stewing in her own head.

If only she could find the right moment.

Mid-December rolled around before Sera even realised it, her office Christmas party making her realise just how close to the holidays the year had come. Philipp had even woken her up with fresh pastries and coffee from the bakery down the street from her apartment, the two of them making plans for him to come over to hers for the first time for a chilled day, Sera knowing she would most likely have some form of hangover (and she had been right in that fact), but still wanting to see him while he had a free Saturday. She’d even forgone her usual Saturday yoga class, which, if nothing else, told her exactly her fast she was falling for him.

“You are a godsend, Philipp Grubauer,” she groaned, accepting the almond croissant from him with a smile.

He just grinned, sitting down next to her on the sofa in silence. Not only was this the first time that he was at her apartment, it was also the first time that they’d seen each other in loungewear, both in a sweatpants and sweater combination, something that made Sera smile at the direction their relationship was taking. It just felt right.

They talked about her office Christmas party, about his upcoming game in Nashville, about his teammates new babies, about her looking forward to a week’s break between Christmas and the New Year, all while eating their pastries and drinking their coffee. It was easy, and comfortable, and domestic, and yet it still sent electricity running through her veins like nothing ever had. What was it about Philipp that sent her into such a tizzy? Whatever it was though, she liked it. She really liked it.

“There was something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Philipp said, putting down his plate after a short silence.

“Oh?” Sera asked, putting down her own plate on the coffee table too.

“Would you come to my team christmas party with me?”

She inhaled sharply, lips parting in surprise, and Philipp quickly barrelled onwards with a wince.

“I know we’ve only known each other six weeks, but things have been going really well, right? And…I see a future between us, and normally I wouldn’t bring anyone to meet my teammates and their partners so soon, but…well, not that I’ve brought anyone in the years I’ve been in Seattle, but I would really like you to meet them? It's an informal thing really, at Belly's house, but all the guys will be there. Burky’s mostly house-trained now, and Larss will keep Dunner on a leash, and Yanni’s wife is an absolutely sweetheart, you’ll love her, and…”

“Yes.”

Philipp startled slightly at her interruption, before her simple answer registered, a wide smile spreading across his lips at Sera’s shy smile.

How could she not want to? The very fact that he wanted to bring her into such an important part of his life meant everything, she knew that. And he saw a future for them, just like she did? How could she want anything other than to meet his friends and colleagues?

Well, there was one thing she wanted too.

“You’ll come with me? You’ll meet them?” he asked hopefully, “I’m pretty sure they think I’m making you up at this point, with the amount that I talk about you but haven’t brought you to a game.”

At least he wasn’t keeping her a secret on purpose. That eased her nerves a little.

“I’d love to,” she said, laughing a little at his confession, “On one condition.”

“Of course, anything,” he nodded immediately.

A dangerous promise. But she needed to say something, just as her gut had been nagging her, or she really was going to explode.

“Kiss me?” she blurted, her heart racing.

Oh damn it.

That was not the way she wanted to say that.

What if he thought she was too forward? What if he thought she was being too much?

But Philipp didn’t even answer her with words. His hands reached out to cup her face gently, his eyes never leaving hers as he leaned in to kiss her as she asked. The moment that his lips touched hers, Sera let out a soft sigh, all but melting into his body, hands clutching at his biceps. His hands felt rough against her cheeks, hockey hands she knew, and the feeling of his beard brushing her skin only added to that. He smelled solely of a woodsy cologne, sharp in her nose and yet comforting all the same, suiting him perfectly. All she could taste was coffee and flaky pastry between their closed lips, her senses completely overwhelmed in the best way.

The moment lasted only seconds before he pulled away, cheeks as flushed as his mouth. She knew her own cheeks were flushed as well with the heat she felt, even more so as all she could think of was wanting more.

“I've been wanting to kiss you for weeks,” he said, voice uncharacteristically rough.

Sera made a noise she’d never heard before, a cross between a sigh and a moan, before she leaned in to kiss him again. How could she not?

#my writing #philipp grubauer fic #winter fic exchange 2k24 #philipp grubauer fanfic #philipp grubauer imagine #hockey fic #hockey fanfic #hockey imagine #nhl fic #nhl fanfic #nhl imagine

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cataztrophi · 5 months

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TAZ November Celebration 10: Eyes

Fun fact: I actually had a completely different fic idea for this @taznovembercelebration prompt, but this story hijacked my brain last night and made me write it. My card was "eyes," so we're talking about the things people see and fail to see. A little angst, but a happy ending and mostly just certain people being very bad at seeing what's right in front of them.

This was not how Kravitz imagined using his degree in music performance. He supposed he should have known better, with the state of the world and all, but music was the only thing he'd ever really wanted to do, and he had to at least try to make it work. So here he was, twinkling out piano covers of Christmas songs at a party where the average salary was more than he'd make in his lifetime. It was a holiday party for the big shots of some biotech company, where the word “holiday” was doing a lot of heavy lifting for “Christmas, but the trees and reindeer and assorted ornaments are white and gold rather than red and green.”

Maybe he was just salty because of the man who’d come by earlier to chastise him for making Silent Night “too jazzy.” At least he was in one of the party's side rooms, so he was spared the worst of the opulence. Elsewhere, the black tie-clad servers with whom he’d felt instant solidarity had told him, there was a chocolate fountain that was a full-size replica of a fountain at the CEO’s mansion. Here, all he had to look at was the jewelry that could cover six months’ rent for his shitty one-bedroom.

As he launched into All I Want for Christmas, he began to feel like someone was watching him. That was unusual for this party, where most people seemed to treat him like a particularly ostentatious jukebox. He figured it was either the music police again or another tipsy guest coming to hit on him. Surely no one could accuse him of making Mariah Carey’s classic holiday anthem too jazzy?

“What’s a nice guy like you doing in a dump like this?” The voice was quiet, flirtatious, and… familiar?

“Taako?” He twisted half around on his bench to get a look at him.

“The one and only, my man!” Taako obligingly stepped around to the side of the grand piano, wearing that same gap-toothed smile that always made his heart skip a beat in college. Unfortunately for him, time had not lessened its effects.

Kravitz stared, taking in Taako’s emerald green sheath dress, ostentatious gold jewelry, and elaborate updo studded with sparkling hair pins.

“You look incredible,” he said, feeling that familiar warmth creeping up his neck. He looked, Kravitz thought, like he belonged there, much more than Kravitz did.

“You’re looking pretty good yourself, handsome.” Taako winked, and it was like an old scab tearing open all at once. There was that familiar ache, the breathless hope, the tantalizing thought that if he could only say the right thing he’d have a chance.

“Are you….” What was the right way to ask this? Are you a corporate sellout now? Did you give up your big dreams for something that actually paid the bills? Are you single? “Are you still acting?”

“Oh, I’m acting right now, baby!” He gestured around at the party with the champagne flute he held delicately in his hand. “What is acting if not lying entertainingly?”

Kravitz frowned. Acting how? Acting happy to see him? About him being handsome? He didn’t have to wait long for his answer. Taako leaned in conspiratorially, and Kravitz mirrored him instinctively.

“I’m crashing this joint,” Taako whispered.

Kravitz almost missed a chord, but found his rhythm again before his brain ran away with his fingers. “You’re what?”

“You know, sneaking in. Doing a grift. Mission Impossible-ing this shit.” He said it like it was self-explanatory, despite being very much not.

Kravitz blinked. “But… why?”

Taako shrugged. “What else am I gonna do on a Saturday night?”

He could think of any number of things, including all the things he wished he was doing right now, but he doubted Taako was taking suggestions.

“Besides,” he continued, “you wouldn’t believe the food they have at some of these things! I must have eaten my weight in caviar this winter!”

Kravitz couldn’t help but smile. At least someone was benefitting from all of this. “Okay, so how do you get in?”

Taako’s eyes lit up with a spark of mischief. “Ooh you’re curious now, huh, Krav? Want Taako to give you the Ocean’s 11 rundown?”

He nodded, half-tempted to start playing David Holmes’ Gritty Shaker, or maybe the Mission Impossible theme, but you could never tell when the piano cop was lurking nearby.

“First, I need an invitation. The people who get invited to this sort of thing can’t help but brag about it, so there’s always some good reference photos on the ‘gram. Luckily, cha’boy knows the best forger in the biz, and she can whip one of those up in her sleep.” Kravitz nodded, remembering that Taako’s sister was in art school when they were in college and putting two and two together.

“Now, I can hear you thinking, ‘but Taako, oh clever and radiant Taako, don’t they have a guest list they check the invitations with?’ And the answer is yes, but you can get pretty much anyone to bend the rules for you if you’re rich enough, hot enough, or upset enough, and Taako can do all three.” He paused for a sip of champagne, and Kravitz took a moment to be thankful that Taako couldn’t hear his thoughts, which hadn’t been completely coherent since he’d noticed that Taako’s dress was largely backless.

“Oh, that reminds me,” Taako continued, “if anyone asks, I’m some rich dude’s date and a runway model.”

“You could be,” Kravitz said earnestly, before his brain could catch up with his mouth.

Taako grinned, quick and genuine, and Kravitz’s heart lurched like it was going to fall out through his ribs and onto the keys.

“Don’t let my fictional crypto-douche boyfriend hear you say that. Although,” he added, giving Kravitz a long look, “I think you could take him.”

Kravitz’s face was burning now. “Pianists… aren’t usually known for their fighting prowess,” he said, his voice barely audible over his rendition of Oh Come All Ye Faithful.

“True,” Taako said, his smile turning sharp enough to slice through whatever defenses Kravitz still had left. “I’ve heard they’re good with their hands, though.”

He really did miss a chord then, and the piano cop hurried over to yell at him again.

“Now, listen here, young man,” he began, this time really getting into it and waggling his finger in Kravitz’s face. “We hired you because we thought you were a professional, and–”

“Oh my God, Susan, hi!” Taako exclaimed, waving to someone apparently across the room. He stepped back, eyes still fixed on “Susan” rather than where he was going, and tripped over the piano’s leg, flinging the contents of his champagne flute over the piano cop as he stumbled to keep his balance.

“Oh my goodness!” Taako fluttered over the man, his voice suddenly too high and too loud, a slight drag in his speech hinting that he’d had too much champagne already. “Oh my goodness, I am so sorry! Please let me help–”

He made a show of checking his dress for a handkerchief, realizing he didn’t have pockets, and grabbing the piano cop’s ivory silk pocket square in an attempt to sop up the mess he’d made. The piano cop stumbled backward in turn, trying to placate Taako before turning on his heel with Taako in hot pursuit, clucking out apologies the whole way. Kravitz watched the farce in amazement, if possible even more smitten than ever.

He didn’t see Taako again after that, and he hoped Taako hadn’t gotten in trouble trying to rescue him. It left a hollow feeling in his chest as he walked out to his car. He wished he’d gotten Taako’s number, or even made plans to meet up. Not a date; he wasn’t brave enough for that in college and he still wasn’t brave enough now, but they could at least catch up, and maybe he could work up to it. Then again, maybe it was only fitting for the night to end with one more missed connection.

He had one last choice to make that night: whether to pick up dinner somewhere or go straight home. On the one hand, he hadn’t eaten anything for about twelve hours now. On the other, he could save money on food if he just crawled into bed and passed out. Never great at keeping his own best interests in mind, Kravitz headed for home.

He dragged himself up three flights of stairs before stopping dead at the end of the hallway that led to his apartment. Someone was sitting in front of his door. Someone in an emerald green dress with hair that was beginning to fall out of its elaborate style.

"Taako?" Kravitz asked for the second time that night. Taako’s head jerked up, and that warm smile spread over his face again.

“Took you long enough!”

Kravitz hurried towards him, excitement and confusion and relief chasing each other around his head like unruly squirrels.

“Taako, what are you doing here?”

“Well, I felt bad about not seeing you again, and I remembered how much you sucked at feeding yourself in college, so I thought I’d bring you some goodies!” He gestured to a round, tinfoil-wrapped bundle he was holding. Kravitz continued to stare, half-convinced he was imagining all this.

“The building’s locked. How did you get in?”

Taako rolled his eyes. “C’mon, Krav, cha’boy snuck into one of the most exclusive parties in the city, you think I can’t get into an apartment building? I just waited until a nice older lady let herself in and said, ‘Oh my gosh I’m so sorry, I’m staying with a really nice guy who lives here, but I forgot my phone in my car and I just ran down to get it, and silly me I completely forgot about the front door!’ And then I shivered and channeled my inner wet cat and she let me in!”

Kravitz considered this for a moment, still slightly dazed. While he waited, Taako began unwrapping the bundle, which proved to be a large china plate clearly stolen from the party, piled high with hors d’oeuvres and pastries that Kravitz had seen but hadn’t been able to eat while he was there.

“I brought you all the best ones!” Taako said proudly. “We’ve got some fig and honey canapes, caprese skewers, bruschetta that was, eh, fine, but you can jazz it up with some salt and pepper. Let’s see, what else… we got baklava, eclairs, cannolis, wait, one of those is mine.”

He plucked out a cannoli from the recesses of the foil package and took a large bite, closing his eyes and leaning back against Kravitz’s door with a sigh of contentment. It did not help Kravitz’s thought processes at all.

“Wait,” he said finally, “you said an older lady let you in?”

“Yep! Well, old lady if I’m being honest, white hair, like, a million shawls?”

“Paloma?” If it was Paloma, she talked to him in the hallways sometimes, which meant she was definitely going to ask him about Taako, which meant he was going to have to answer a lot of questions that he didn’t really have a response for yet. Questions like ‘Why are you such a coward, Kravitz? Why couldn’t you ask a guy out in four years when you knew you liked him around day 14 of college? Why are you so bad at dating that even when the guy pops back into your life like a miracle, you still can’t tell him how you feel?’”

“That was it!” Taako gestured towards him with half a cannoli. “She seems real sweet. She said she was gonna bring you scones tomorrow morning, so either I should spend the night or you should come up with a reason why you kicked me out super early.”

Suddenly Kravitz felt very hot again, and a little lightheaded. “Spend the night?”

Taako finished his cannoli and sucked powdered sugar from his fingers, and Kravitz almost managed to be a normal human being about it, until Taako looked up through his eyelashes and made direct eye contact with him while he drew two long, delicate fingers out of his mouth, and Kravitz thought he was going to pass out.

“Is that a question or an invitation, my fella?”

He took a deep breath, shook himself a little, and earnestly pondered this for a moment. On the one hand, God, he missed Taako. He missed having him as a friend, and staying up all night watching bad horror movies, and Taako pointing out which character actors were absolutely killing it while he dissected the intricacies of horror soundtracks. He missed bad dining hall meals where Taako identified every culinary misstep, and the comfort of passing out in each other’s rooms when the stress got too bad to bear alone.

On the other hand, he’d lost touch with him for a reason. It got too painful to keep dancing around it, to watch Taako date other people and know, absolutely for sure know that he didn’t have any right to complain because he never worked up the courage to say anything, but God, it hurt, and if he couldn’t be brave then he at least had to be kind and cut the tie before that hurt rotted their friendship from the inside out.

That was it, then. He could send Taako home, resign himself to never seeing him again, and try his best to get over it. Or he could invite him in, gather up every ounce of courage he had, and pray that being honest didn’t have the same result.

He offered Taako his hand, still not entirely sure what choice he was making, but Taako allowed Kravitz to pull him to his feet.

“You’re covered in powdered sugar,” Kravitz said. laughing. “You look like-” He stopped himself before he said the dumb reference he was thinking of, but Taako already knew where he was going.

“Were you going to say I look like fucking Cocaine Bear?” Kravitz’s grimace was the only reply he needed. “You were, you fucking dork! I mean I gotta say, it’s the first time I’ve been called a bear.”

Kravitz snorted. “Come on, that was low-hanging fruit.”

“Now that-”

“Fuck off!”

They stood there until their laughter petered out, hand in hand.

“Here,” Kravitz said, once he’d caught his breath. He laid his hand on Taako’s cheek and brushed sugar away from his face with his thumb. Before he realized it he found himself tracing the curves of Taako’s mouth, saw Taako’s lips part slightly in response. His heart pounded in his chest as Taako looked at him with half-lidded eyes, and he found himself wondering if he’d been the dumbest person alive. He didn’t notice how close they’d gotten until he felt Taako’s breath on his skin. With trembling hands and legs that felt like they might collapse at any minute, he lowered his face to Taako’s and kissed him.

There was one terrifying moment of freefall, when it was too late to go back and he had no idea if anything would be there to catch him. Then he felt Taako melt into him, one hand clinging to his shirt, the other wrapping around his neck to draw him closer. He put an arm around Taako’s waist and heard him whimper as their hips pressed together, felt the gentle sting of Taako’s teeth against his lip. After what might have been hours or minutes, Taako drew back from the kiss, still completely entwined with him.

“Krav,” he said, breathless, “If you don’t invite me inside in the next ten seconds I swear….”

As though his brain had been jolted back to life Kravitz grabbed his keys from his coat pocket and fumbled them into the lock.

“Come inside,” he said, his voice rough and low. Taako smirked.

“If you insist, hot stuff.”

Before he could object to the double entendre, Taako pulled him through the door and let it swing shut behind them.

#there is a non-zero chance they become an actual heist crew after this #taz balance #taako #taakitz #taz kravitz #taz november celebration

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choicesficwriterscreations · 1 year

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CFWC Holiday Event 2022

It's the end of the year and time for us all to have some holiday fun! We wanted to make this event less structured to allow writers more freedom to create, so while prompts are being provided to spur creativity, any seasonal holiday-themed fics can be submitted for this event and contest.

The six-week event will run from November 27 through January 7.

To participate, mention @choicesficwriterscreations on your post and use the tag #cfwc holidays 2022.

As a thank you to all of our talented creators who have been working so hard to keep our fandom going through 2022, we will be offering a prize for this event. One lucky winner will be selected at random to win a commission by @/artbyainna (IG). The drawing will take place no later than Monday, January 9th, and the winner will be announced on the blog. Please see full rules for contest eligibility below the break.

☃️ PROMPT LIST

For rules and prize eligibility, please see below the break. Happy writing!

Rules:

Any newly created fic with a seasonal holiday theme can be submitted. You may use one of the prompts, but it is not required.

Fics of any length can be submitted, but in order to be eligible for the contest, they must be a minimum of 750 words.

Your fic must be a fanfic based on one or more Choices stories.

Your fic can be cross-tagged with other events such as @choicesmonthlychallenge, @choicesflashfics, @choicesholidays, etc.

To participate, you must mention @choicesficwriterscreations on your post, and you must use the tag #cfwc holidays 2022

If your fic is NSFW, it must be labeled appropriately, and Tumblr community labels will be used in our reblog.

Fics must be submitted during the event dates of Sunday, November 27th through Saturday, January 7th.

All other CFWC rules must be adhered to.

Each eligible participant can get up to 6 chances to win: 1) You will receive 1 entry per fic per week 2) You can only earn one entry per week (Sunday through Saturday) 3) To receive more than 1 chance, you must submit fics in different weeks

Prize Eligibility:

A raffle for a fanart commission by @/artbyainna (IG) will be held no later than Monday, January 9, 2023. To be in the raffle, you must:

Submit a fic that meets the rules of the contest, including using proper tags.

You must be following @choicesficwriterscreations

You must follow all other rules set forth above

While everyone is encouraged to write for this event, the following are not eligible to win the prize:

CFWC Moderators or Administrators

Writers who are not following CFWC

Anyone who has won a prize from CFWC during the 6-month period preceding the date of the raffle (1/7/2023). (This does not include being selected as CFWC Writer of the Month. Only those who have won prizes.)

If you have any questions about this event, please contact @jerzwriter or @lucy-268.

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jerzwriter · 1 year

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By Chance...

Book: Open Heart (pre-series)

Pairing: Tobias Carrick x F!MC (Casey)

Rating: Teen

Warnings: Alcohol consumption, flirtation (nothing crazy)

Words: 1358

Summary: Sometimes, when plans go wrong, they're actually falling into place. During a night out while attending Hopkins, Tobias meets a fascinating woman.

A/N: So, here's the story. I have this idea in my head for an AU where Tobias & Casey meet when they're younger, and they're instantly smitten with each other. But there are obstacles in their way, the greatest of which is meeting the person who is right for you, at a time when you're not remotely ready for that kind of love. It would be a messy, messy romance. Am I going to write it? I don't know. I have so many open WIPs already, but I love the idea. And this is how I would envision it starting. (FYI, in this world, I HC Tobias to be 26, in his last year of Med School, and Casey is 22, finishing her senior year at NYU) This was done quickly, not edited... if I write a follow-up, I'll probably neaten it up as well. :) @choicesflashfics - Prompt in bold below @choicesjanuarychallenge - Day 7 - Before

In many ways, it was a typical Saturday night. Bouncing out of his Jaguar with a spring in his step, he tossed the keys to the valet. A black fitted t-shirt, his favorite pair of jeans, and a few generous sprays of Tom Ford Noir… a cologne that never let him down… he walked in like he owned the place, though he’d never been there before. That’s how he wanted it. A few buddies from Howard were in town, his kid brother too, and Tobias wasn’t one to mix worlds. He couldn’t have been happier when they suggested this spot.

Sauntering up to the bar, he ordered a gin and tonic before manspreading atop the leather barstool. It was a decent place, not too different from the ones he frequented near Hopkins. Still, it was a welcome change. He was the first to arrive, and as he waited, he decided to visit the jukebox, which had to outage him by at least a decade. Dropping in a few coins, he was happy to see the music selection wasn’t as old.

As he made his selection, a flirtatious giggle turned his head. A sweet little redhead in a low-cut top, her cheeks as red as her ruby lips, was smiling in his direction. Her equally hot friends encouraged her, and he swore he caught one of them winking in his direction, too. Nodding with his signature smirk, he confidently strode back to the bar. Making sure he gave them plenty to look at as he did. Yeah, he thought, the change of scenery was a good idea.

He had finished one drink and was about to order another when his phone rang. He shook his head with a chuckle when he saw his brother’s name; that kid would be late to his own funeral.

“Yo, what’s up,” he answered. “How late you gonna be?”

“T, why do you have to be like that?” Jordan whined.

“So, you’re not calling me to tell me you’re going to be late?”

“Actually,” his brother stalled. “I’m calling to tell you I’m not coming at all.”

“And why is that,” Tobias asked with a shake of his head.

“You see, uh… it’s because I’ve been talking to this chick…online.”

Tobias motioned to the bartender for another drink. “Baby brother, what did I tell you about that? You’re a Carrick; you got the genes. Just meet someone in person. It’s a safer bet.”

“That’s just because you’re an old man.”

“I don’t know, twenty-six doesn’t exactly qualify me as old. But that’s irrelevant, so why are you ditching me to meet this girl?”

“On the contrary, I’m ditching you, so I don’t have to meet this girl.”

“Care to explain?”

“She lives in New York; I was only going to meet up with her because she’s in Baltimore for some reason, but….”

Tobias chuckled with a know-it-all grin. “… but for all you know, she could be a 65-year-old man named Sven,” he laughed. “I told you, cut the online shit.”

“I mean, she seems cool, but she doesn’t strike me as the ‘send pics’ type, so….”

“Her name is Sven,” Tobias snickered.

“I’ll come and see you next weekend instead, OK?”

“Works for me, but Jordan….”

“Yeah?”

“If it turns out her name is not Sven, and she’s hot? All bets are off, little brother.”

“Hey, finders keepers.”

“Not if you don’t have the balls to show. Take care.”

A few more minutes passed when his phone rang again. Tobias rolled his eyes as he answered.

“What’s up Tony, you’re late!”

“I’m more than late, brother. I’m heading back home.”

“What? I canceled plans to see you fools tonight!”

“I know, I know! I don’t want to, believe me. But there was an accident on the Parkway, we’ve been dead-stoped for forty minutes. As soon as we get to the next exit, we’re spinning this thing around. I’m sorry, man. Wanna try for next weekend?”

“Yeah, yeah, likely excuse.”

“I’m serious, T!”

“I know. I’m only joking. Fine, next weekend it is. Same time and place.”

He hung up the phone and slid it into his pocket with frustration, then downed the rest of his drink. He mulled over what he should do for the night and figured heading home was the best way to go. He was about to stand up with he heard that giggle again.

Better idea.

The bartender was serving someone at the other end of the bar, but when he headed back, Tobias knew exactly what table he was sending drinks to. It might be a hell of a fun night, after all. He took out his phone and scrolled through messages while he waited.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

He lifted his head to see who blurted that out, to find a beautiful, blonde woman sitting on a stool about three seats away. She looked up and caught his eyes; her annoyance did not dissipate but seemed eclipsed by embarrassment.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “That came out a little louder than I anticipated.”

“No need to apologize to me,” he shrugged. “I’ve heard worse words than that.”

He watched her eyes drop, looking him over from head to toe, her face turning redder when she realized she had been caught.

“Still, I’ll try to keep it down.”

She turned back to her phone, and this time it was his turn to let his eyes wander, and, God, he liked what he saw.

“So, what’s got a pretty woman like you so pissed off on a Saturday night anyway?”

She turned to him with a tilted head, “Is that supposed to be some sort of pathetic pickup line?”

He raised his hands in surrender, “No, ma’am. Not unless you want it to be,” he winked, delighted when she let out the softest of laughs. Emboldened, he continued. “So, you gonna tell me what pissed you off?”

“My date blew me off. I had no desire to come out tonight, but I did, and the fucker goes and blows me off.”

Tobias snorted, and this time it was him who was louder than he thought.

“Are you laughing at me?” She asked, and he wasn’t sure if he detected offense in her tone. “Tell me you’re not judging my choice of language.”

“We’ve already established I don’t have virgin ears. So, who was foolish enough to stand you up?”

“OK,” she laughed, “now that was a pathetic pickup line!”

“Only if it’s working,” he smirked, and she swore she felt something inside her explode. “So… is it?”

She looked at him with a coy smirk of her own and shrugged one shoulder. “Maybe? A little bit.”

Now, he felt something too. Captivated, he got up and took the seat beside her, sitting dangerously close. “Well, well,” he simpered. “My night just got better. Tobias,” he said, extending his hand. “And you are?”

Melting. She thought as her hand met his. She wasn’t prepared for the jolt of electricity that coursed through her body the moment they touched. Melting. With her hand lingering in his for a moment too long, she realized he was staring at her, awaiting a reply. If only she could remember her name.

“Uh..um. Casey. My name is Casey.”

“So, Casey,” she asked, summonsing the bartender to order her a drink. “Care to tell me the name of the fool I need to thank for standing you up tonight?”

“Nah,” she grinned, “fuck him.”

“Language!” He laughed with a crooked mile, “Language!”

“Again, are you offended?”

“Not in the least but Casey?”

“Yes?”

“The last thing I want to think about is you fucking him.”

“I’m not the type of woman that gets picked up at bars,” she teased.

“But there’s a first time for everything,” he winked. And there it was again, that adorable little laugh. “So, what do you say? Wanna get a table… no strings attached… we can just talk. I can already tell you’re fascinating, and I’ll be mad at myself if I let you go.”

Casey looked at her watch while flirtatiously biting her lower lip.

“Sure, Tobias. Lead the way.”

@openheartfanfics @choicesficwriterscreations

Reblogging separately.

#choices fanfic #open heart #tobias carrick #tobias carrick x mc #playchoices fanfic #open heart fanfic #open heart choices #choices fic writers creations #choices flashfics #choices monthly challenge #tobias x casey #au

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wanderingaldecaldo · 9 months

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WIP Wednesday

Tagged by @morganlefaye79, @starsandskies, @therealnightcity, @merge-conflict and @ghostoffuturespast for WIP Whenever Wednesday; thanks, chooms! (Side note: I wanna make a nice banner like Morgan's [and Ghost's lol] expect that soon on another wip post lmaooo) Tagging with the usual disclaimers: @banukaihelpme @medtech-mara @glitchinginthegarden @theviridianbunny @genocidalfetus @neonbutchery @chevvy-yates @oranzuwu (and YOU, if you wanna share, and tag me!) to share something you're working on if you'd like!

The ADHD is strong with me these days, and I'm bouncing between several mods and several stories. 😅

Mod-wise, I'm currently working on refitting my underwear for the Gymfiend body. This mod is teaching me a lot of new stuff and I'm really geeking out about it. It's my first import; it's the first time I'm manipulating submeshes; and the first time I'm adding a decal texture to an item. I took a few steps back to look at how I was organizing the mesh itself and used some of my new knowledge to revamp things, and I'm really excited for how I've put it all together.

Tony and the seam I really would like to get rid of

Also I'm cleaning up a version of Scorpion for use with AMM so the poor boy can have a body.

From my Self-indulgent Second Shippy Saturday™️post

On the fic front, I'm dragging my feet on finishing edits for "Lover's Spit", the smut-that-grew-angsty prequel to the smut prompt Bunny submitted a few months ago, but here's a snippet:

She hasn't said anything yet, and that makes him nervous, even though he only gave her what she wanted. Once sated, she returns the canteen and settles against the whining bed frame. “How you feeling?” ”Good. Real good,“ she answers with a shy smile before looking down at her hands. Mitch recognizes that look. She wants to say something but she hasn't figured out the words or thoughts, so he pulls her to his chest so she can think without being distracted by his attention. She goes quiet and he doesn't press her for anything further, just strokes along her back and her arm that wraps across his chest. Eventually she speaks. ”Sometimes feel like I'm a walking corpse. That I'm already dead and my body hasn't figured it out yet.“ He listens, allows her to fall quiet again while he strokes her skin. ”Just needed to feel like I'm still alive.“ He presses a kiss to her forehead. He isn't sure what to say, or if she even wants him to say something. He feels like she needs more but he doesn't know what it is, so he continues to hold her and trace along her soft skin.

I've also started something based on a prompt from Chevvy for the Panzerboys, so here's some really rough, unpolished stuff:

They never made anything official, despite Driss being the one to pursue Mitch so forcefully. Even after six months of it, Mitch doesn’t mind; he’d never been the jealous type. Driss’s other dalliances did not diminish his desire for Mitch, and he always came back. But this time when he returns frustrated from the outing, things are different. Driss finds his eyes across the campfire and gives a terse jerk of his head before turning on his heel and skulking off, like usual. Mitch likes to take his time and make him wait; loves to wind him and find him stalking the tent like a caged animal, where he will throw himself at Mitch as soon as the flap drops. Tonight he doesn’t however; keeps his back turned, though he glares over his shoulder and growls, “What the fuck took you so long?” Ignoring the outburst, Mitch chuckles under his breath and kicks off his shoes, then moves on to his harness. He stops when he realizes Driss isn’t following suit and instead paces facing away from him. He takes a step toward him, and Driss hesitates, turning halfway toward him, then folds his arms around himself and scowls. He’s stubborn on a good day and whatever's got him acting like this will be dug in deep. “Gonna be like that, huh,” he muses as he continues to undress, first his jacket then starts on his pants.

Really wish I could tell younger Wash not to worry about running out of ideas. I've got too many.

#antonio varga #mitch anderson #driss meriana #cyberpunk scorpion #ship: panzerboys #early thirsty thursday with those pics too 😏#cyberpunk 2077 #cyberpunk modding #mods i made #tag meme #wip whenever #wip wednesday #sneakin in under the wire #wash's writing #post nogly #lmao also pre i guess with the panzerboys snippet #mitch x val

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reallygroovyninja · 1 year

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Don’t Fear The Reaper

I was searching google docs earlier and came across a story I started writing back in May of 2019.

Clarke Griffin despised the suffocating humidity of St. Louis in August. Despite blasting the air conditioning, the hot and muggy air persisted, making her long for the comfort of her home. She wasted no time getting into her SUV and commencing her daily commute. While St. Louis was not her ideal city to reside in, she ended up staying after being accepted into several medical schools following her undergraduate degree. Washington University offered the most comprehensive program, and with six years of residency and medical school behind her, Clarke had grown attached to the city.

As Clarke turned into the quiet subdivision, she couldn't help but notice the usual suspects milling about outside. Some of her neighbors were keeping a watchful eye over the children playing while others tended their immaculate gardens or indulged in the latest gossip. Clarke received a few friendly waves from those she passed, but most just glanced at her SUV before returning to their respective activities. Despite the overall congeniality of her community, a handful of residents seemed to hold a fanatical adherence to the HOA bylaws, treating them like holy scripture. Clarke knew this all too well, having been the recipient of a passive-aggressive letter after keeping her Christmas wreath up past the second week of January. She had been working insane hours and barely had the time to eat at home, let alone take down decorations. But that didn't seem to matter to Karen Louwoda, one of the HOA zealots. Clarke couldn't help but seethe with anger every time she saw Karen, even after two years had passed since the incident.

As she pressed the button to open the garage, the familiar sound of the door rolling up gave Clarke a sense of relief. She pulled her SUV into her side of the garage and hit the button again to close the door. With the outside world shut out, she breathed a sigh of relief. Carrying her backpack, she made her way inside, already planning a simple meal and an evening of mindless TV before turning in for the night.

As Clarke entered her house, she instinctively hung her keys on the hook and kicked off her sneakers, relishing in the feeling of being barefoot on the cool hardwood floor. "This weekend, I am definitely getting a foot massage," she thought to herself as she flipped on the lights and began ascending the stairs to her master bedroom. As she undressed from her scrubs and changed into a comfortable t-shirt and shorts, her eyes fell on the half-made bed, prompting a slight sense of guilt for sleeping in. With a sigh, she made her way back downstairs to the living room, switching on the television to catch up on the latest news.

President Wallace stated he will be calling for an increase in military spending over the next four years.

In Los Angeles, police are investigating a fatal shooting Saturday evening at the airport. According to a police spokesperson, an individual was acting erratic and accosted several passengers in a terminal waiting area. After officers arrived at the scene, they attempted to subdue the suspect but were attacked. Officers opened fire and the suspect was hit and died at the scene. No word has been released on the passengers or injured officers' conditions.

In health news, the CDC has issued a warning that flu activity is expected to be fairly high this year, and supplies of flu vaccine could be in short supply with the increase in vaccinations. They remind everyone to get your vaccination by the end of October to maximize your immunity as it takes two weeks for your body to mount a protective immune response. The CDC urges that everyone ages 6 months and older get a flu shot especially anyone with a chronic medical condition.

Cece Cartwig people are wondering about the weather forecast for …...

As she walked to the kitchen, Clarke's phone chimed with a familiar greeting on the screen. "Hey Princess," it read.

She smiled and quickly typed a response as she walked. "Hey Babe. How's the convention going?"

Finn's reply came in a moment later. "Making lots of contacts. Have a meeting with Diana Sydney in a few. Will be flying home this evening."

Clarke pondered for a moment before replying, "Want me to wait up?"

It took a few minutes for Finn to respond, but eventually, his message came through. "Nah. Get some sleep. I'll try to be quiet when I come in."

Clarke couldn't help but chuckle at Finn's definition of "quiet." She knew he would likely turn on most of the lights and bang around the kitchen making a midnight snack. "Ok babe. Love you," she typed back, feeling content knowing that her boyfriend would be home soon.

Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten anything substantial since breakfast. Clarke walked over to the fridge and opened it up, hoping to find something to satisfy her hunger. As she scanned the shelves, her eyes landed on a container with a note in Finn's familiar handwriting. "Eat This," it read.

A small smile tugged at Clarke's lips as she reached for the container. Finn was always looking out for her, especially when it came to her eating habits. With her hectic schedule at the hospital clinic, Clarke often forgot to eat or didn't have time to grab a proper meal. She appreciated Finn's thoughtfulness and concern for her well-being.

Clarke leaned down to inspect the container and opened it to find a homemade chicken salad. She smiled to herself, knowing that Finn’s cooking skills had vastly improved since they started dating. She grabbed a fork and headed to the couch, turning on the TV as she ate.

As she finished her meal, she couldn't help but think about Finn’s desire for her to find a private practice. She knew he meant well, but the thought of leaving the clinic where she had trained and worked for the past six years was daunting. She still felt like there was so much to learn and she was making a difference in the community. But she also knew that Finn was right. The clinic was great for training, but it didn’t offer the stability or salary that a private practice could provide. She sighed and made a mental note to bring up the topic with Finn when he returned home.

Chapter 2

The sunlight peeked through the gap in the curtains of Diana Sydney's hotel room. She tried to shield her eyes from the intrusive rays, but her body trembled. Her head ached, and she could feel the heat radiating from her face. "Did I catch the flu?" she wondered to herself, realizing that maybe she should have listened to her friends when they said she hadn't been taking care of herself lately.

With a burst of determination, she forced herself to sit up in the bed and take in her surroundings. The hotel room was a standard layout with the usual furniture - a dresser, desk, armchair, and bed. The door and the bathroom were situated to her right. Looking down at herself, she realized with a sinking feeling that she was still wearing the same clothes from the night before, which were now a wrinkled mess and clinging to her skin from the sweat. Throwing back the comforter, she saw that her skirt had ridden up around her hips and her pantyhose were nowhere to be seen, likely thrown off at some point in the night. Despite feeling like she should just lay back down and succumb to the fog in her mind, her bladder had other plans.

Summoning all her strength, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and tried to stand, but her legs gave out and she fell to her knees. Gasping for air, she was suddenly wracked with a coughing fit that shook her entire body and only reminded her of her urgent need to use the bathroom. Knowing that standing was out of the question, she began to crawl towards the bathroom, hoping to pull herself up onto the toilet once she got there.

Reaching the bathroom, the cool tile floor felt like a soothing balm on her hands and knees. She couldn't resist the temptation and lay down, her body grateful for the relief. Time seemed to slip away as she soaked in the coolness, her thoughts slowly clearing. However, her bladder had other plans and she knew she had to get up.

Slowly, she pulled herself up, feeling the weight of her own body like a burden. With a hand on the sink, she steadied herself, taking deep breaths to calm her racing heart. Finally, she managed to turn around, pulling down her underwear and collapsing onto the toilet with a sigh of relief.

As she sat there, her body slowly relaxed and she felt a sense of calm wash over her. But just as she began to let her guard down, a coughing fit wracked her body once again. She closed her eyes, giving in to the exhaustion and drifted into a deep sleep.

She roused from her slumber when her body slumped into the wall, struggling to open her eyes. She blinked several times until her surroundings came into focus. The bathroom wasn't pitch dark, but it was dim enough that she could barely make out the layout of the room. She glanced down at her wrist and squinted to read her watch. The first digit was a seven. Was it morning or night? Her groggy brain couldn't tell. Realizing she needed help, she searched for her phone. She didn't have her normal contacts since she was at a sales convention in a hotel. However, she knew she could call the front desk for assistance.

With the decision to call for help made, she summoned all her strength and attempted to stand up, using the sink for support. But her legs gave way, and she collapsed back onto the ground. The fever was making her body weak and the fall triggered a new bout of coughing that wracked her body. After the coughing subsided, she started crawling slowly, inching her way towards the nightstand where she knew the phone was. It felt like an eternity, but she finally arrived at the nightstand and saw the phone sitting on top. She stopped to catch her breath, feeling the exhaustion and weakness enveloping her body. She closed her eyes for a moment to rest, but before she knew it, an hour had passed, and her breathing had become shallow and labored until it eventually stopped altogether.

Diana's lifeless body lay on the floor, as the hours ticked by with no response to the unanswered calls and knocks on the door. But as the evening approached, her body suddenly stirred. Her limbs convulsed and her eyes opened, but they were not the eyes of the woman who had fallen to the floor hours before. No, these were different - darker, hungrier, and filled with an insatiable urge.

As she struggled to her feet, Diana felt an overwhelming need to feed. It was as if her body had been reborn with a single purpose, and that purpose was to consume flesh. She stumbled towards the door, her movements jerky and uncoordinated, driven solely by her ravenous hunger.

Diana's body, now a vessel for the infection, jerked uncoordinatedly around the room, colliding with walls and furniture in search of prey. She heard a noise in the hallway and stumbled toward the door, but her lack of coordination prevented her from opening it and reaching the potential meal outside. Frustration fueled her growls and wild clawing at the air. She then turned her attention to any new noise in the room, moving aimlessly from the window where the construction site's noise seeped in, to the nightstand when the phone rang, or towards the door at the sound of someone passing by. Her body remained in perpetual motion as the infection consumed her, driving her hunger and spreading its hold on her.

This cycle went on for hours until Monday morning, when a knock at the door offered Diana a chance to escape her prison and feed.

Guara Poda, a hardworking immigrant from Mexico, had been employed in various Las Vegas hotels for the past decade. She was particularly proud of her job in this hotel, where the pay and benefits were better than most. Although the work could be exhausting, especially after big conventions, she never complained. She often wondered if people were as messy and destructive in their own homes as they were in the hotel rooms.

Luckily, most of the convention-goers had already checked out for their early morning flights. This made it easier for Guara to move from room to room, and she was pleased to find that the rooms weren't as bad as she had expected. In fact, she was ahead of schedule and feeling quite accomplished. Despite the physical demands of her job, Guara took pride in providing a clean and comfortable environment for hotel guests.

As Guara Poda approached room 1009, she wrinkled her nose at the pungent odor emanating from under the door. It reminded her of rotten food, but she couldn't be sure. Despite the "do not disturb" sign hanging on the doorknob, she had a job to do. She parked her cleaning cart in front of the door and fished out her master key. As she opened the door, a faint shuffling noise caught her attention.

"Housekeeping?" she called out, hoping to receive a response.

Startled, Guara turned her head towards the source of the sound and saw a woman stumbling towards her from the depths of the room. The woman's movements were uncoordinated, and her face was twisted in a grotesque grimace. Guara took a step back in alarm as the woman shuffled closer, emitting a low, guttural moan.

Guara froze, unsure of what to do as the infected woman lurched closer and grabbed her arm with a vice-like grip. The housekeeper's heart raced as she felt Diana's teeth sink into her flesh, causing her to scream in pain and wrench her arm away. She stumbled back and ran for the door, her hand clutched to her chest where the wound was bleeding profusely.

Fumbling with the elevator buttons, Guara prayed that it would open quickly. But when it didn't, she turned to the stairwell door and bolted towards it, leaving the room door wide open behind her. As she reached the security room, she desperately tried to report the attack, but her words were incoherent. The infection was already spreading through her body, and within an hour, she would be dead.

Meanwhile, Diana, now freed from her confinement, had left the room and started wandering down the hallway, heading towards the elevator. She heard the ding of the elevator and instinctively turned towards the sound, making her way to the door where a wedding party was checking out.

#I guess this was at the height of Fear #I don't even like horror #and here I was writing it #2019 was a fucked up year

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eirian-houpe · 2 years

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TMI Tuesday

Happy Tuesday!

Okay, full disclosure - I’m scheduling this so that I can make sure it gets out on time - like in the morning not at six o’clock at night. I probably could have written something Monday evening, but honestly, I was too damned tired to string words together sensibly. Maybe later today, right?

Posted this week:

Not a damn thing.

On the cards for this week:.

Not Yours To Keep - Chapter 8

While grieving the loss of the fourteenth Cleon, the younger brother he loved as a son, Day seeks distraction in the company of a new concubine from the Gossamer Court. No one could have predicted the events that follow - nor the way in which Cleon XIII decides to deal with the situation.

No Saving Throw - Chapter 2

Eddie saves Chrissy not once, but twice - doesn’t seem to matter to his reputation nor to the threat of arrest, Carver and his cronies see to that. This is an angst ridden reworking of Stranger Things season 4 (and maybe beyond) if Chrissy had lived - for @deliriumsdelight7

Laer o Faen - Chapter 27

A near fatal encounter with the Serpents of the North leaves Greenwood the Great’s queen with but one choice, one that cost her own life, but she makes a promise to her beloved King, born of a love that has already lasted through more than an age of Middle Earth, and remains the only hope to warm a heart fallen behind a wall of despair. (Mingled Movie/book canon, the span of the entire story takes in events from the 1st - 4th Ages of Middle Earth.)

Ask suggestions

Ask something about any of my fics (full list is below the cut). If you want specifics from some fics that are already outlined, you can ask about:

Disparate Pathways, Chapters 46 through 57 All Our Past Mistakes, Chapters 11 through 44 Lover’s Leap Series, Stories 15 through 31 Time’s Curse, Chapters 4 through 10 Laer o Faen, Chapter 27 & 28 Stargate: Atlantis, Harms Way or any of the 20 fics in the series.

Ask something of any of my characters in general or you can get really specific if you like - for example you might want to ask Gold from Pawn Shop a question about a chapter, a thought, a feeling… (the world is your oyster really)

Ask about my process as a writer, what makes me tick,, or even ask about me personally. Almost nothing is off limits.

Also, if you want to see a specific character or fic featured in Three Things Thursday, or Saturday Secret, feel free to send in prompts, if no one does, then either the choice will be random or they just won’t happen at all. I made an analogy for why that might be in a different post about a car stuck in the mud with spinning wheels. Those wheels are still spinning!

Please remember: if you read a fic you enjoyed on AO3 or on Tumblr (not just mine), please take the time to comment and/or leave kudos, and to reach out on TMI Tuesday. It means a lot to the writers and artists.

You can find all my fics currently on AO3 here, and there is a full list under this cut.

Storybrooke’s Best Kept Secret - Rumbelle

Darkness In Hyperion Heights - Woven Beauty au

Seven Tastes - Rumbelle

Tuesday - Rushbelle AU

The Language of Flowers Series - Rumbelle

Disparate Pathways - Rumbelle AU

Scattered - Rumbelle AU

All Our Past Mistakes - Rumbelle AU

What the Actual Fuck! - Sutherelle

Breathe - Rushbelle

The Lover’s Leap Series - Rumbelle

Awakening - Rumbelle

War Is Coming To Storybrooke - Rumbelle

Given No Choice - Rush

Thoughts On A Happy Ending Series - Rumbelle

Darker Hearts Series - Wish!Rumbelle

Modern Wonders - a OUAT/Alice crossover

Time’s Curse - Rumbelle

The Pawn Shop On Main Street - Rumbelle

The Mansion On the Edge of Town - Rumbelle with a side of Jefferson

Cobra: In Your Prayers - Cobra/FatWS/UC:Undercover et al

To See Series - Rumbelle

Nobody Knew (Bingo) - Rumbelle

Secret of the Seas - Rumbelle AU

Butterfly and Phoenix - ST:DSC

Laer o Faen - Tolkien

Ship’s Rats - ST: DCS

I Amar Boe Men Heb - Tolkien

Coming Down - Halt and Catch Fire

Armor of Ice - Halt and Catch Fire

Duath i-Achas Eriol - Tolkien

Balance of Terror - Sleeper Cell

What To Believe - UC: Undercover

If: In The End - UC Undercover

Precious - The Mummy Series

Forbidden - The Mummy Series

Power Is - The Mummy Series

Angel of the Heart - The Mummy Series

Star of the Morning - The Mummy Series

Not Yours To Keep - Foundation (TV)

No Saving Throw - Stranger Things

Here are fics that haven’t yet been started, but are in the Muse’s bucket.

The Miner’s Day Festival - Rumbelle

Aftermath - Rumbelle (with a side of madness)

Saving The Dark One (WT) A twist on a twist of Rumplestiltskin.

Brought To You By The Color… (Red)

Calcul(us)

(In)consistent equation

The Boston Storybrooke Line

Breaking the Waves (Movie AU)

ILP (or IEP) for Rumple.

One Last Wish

In Service to My Son

Playground Games

Bright Eyed and Bushy Tailed

“Only Remembered For What We Have Done.”

Librarian: UC

Exquisite Harmonies

#TMI Tuesday #asks #send asks #send me asks #ask me anything #ama #feel free to prompt me

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helpfromheaven · 3 years

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Saturday Six Word Story Prompt

Eating forbidden foods made her happy! Written for the Saturday Six Word Story Prompt #74 from My Random Ramblings: Happy. Only someone on a diet would think of this one.

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#6WSP #dieting #happy #losing weight #Saturday Six Word Story Prompt #weight loss

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myrandomrambles · 1 year

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Saturday Six Word Story Prompt (6WSP) #106 - Nov 12, 2022

Saturday Six Word Story Prompt (6WSP) #106 – Nov 12, 2022

A note to my 6WSP community: Due to my hiatus, the 6WSP challenge has been in hibernation mode for too long. I am reinstating this challenge from today onwards. I am really sorry that the challenge had to be discontinued for the better part of this year. I swear I will try to be a better host this time around. I hope you have a great weekend and good luck with the prompt! Welcome to Week #106 of…

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#6WSP #Blogging #challenge #creative writing #prompt #Saturday Six Word Story Prompt #SixWordSaturday #SixWordStoryChallenge #writing challenge #writing prompt

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keenflowercupcake · 3 years

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Saturday Six Word Story Prompt (6WSP) #89- Sep,4 2021

Shweta is our host for the Saturday Six Word Story Prompt. If you would like to join in then please click the following link https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/39694222/posts/3535809112 Prompt for the week #89 (Sep 4, 2021 – Sep 10, 2021) Silent Being silent feels good on me ~Belladonna~

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#6WSP #Saturday six word story prompt #six word story prompt

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penofhearts · 4 years

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SATURDAY SIX WORD STORY PROMPT #6 (AUGUST 24, 2020)

Hello All,

Welcome to my sixth “Saturday Six Word Story”, where I will be sharing six word stories with all of you on the given word prompt. I really enjoy writing the six word stories as it helps me to write something new every week. “Saturday Six Word Story Prompt” is hosted my Shweta Suresh at My Random Ramblings. You can know more about this story prompt here. I am thankful for Shweta…

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#6WSP #Saturday Six Word Story Prompt #Judge #Judgmental #Six Word Story #Writing Challenge #Writing Prompt

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johnkrrasinski · 3 years

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started from a call

full masterlist

Pairings: Bucky Barnes x female!reader

Word count: 3,610

Warning: angst with a happy ending! that's all.

Summary: written for @wkemeup's 9k writing challenge with the prompt "character a leaves an embarrassing, drunk message on character b’s voicemail and spends the rest of the night trying to discreetly delete it from [b]’s phone." inspired by a bit of ross and rachel from friends too. you found out from steve that bucky was in love with you in high school but after he returns home with a girl in his arm, you cancelled your plans to tell him how you feel. will you and bucky have your happy ending?

a/n: please like, reblog and leave a feedback. :) enjoy!

"Alright, I'll see you tonight. Bye." He leaned against the kitchen counter and hung up the phone with a grin on his face. "You hear that, Sam? We're going on our third date tonight." He threw his phone up into the air and caught it so casually without spilling a drop of his coffee sitting on his right hand. "Looks like I'm getting that 300 bucks soon."

"Hey, easy. You ain't going to that date yet, who knows? She could bail on you. It doesn't count if the date doesn't end well."

"Oh, but it will. I just gotta turn on my charm and next thing you know, we're already meeting the parents stage."

"Meeting the parents? That's a big step from you, Buck."

"Hey, I'm a man of my words. If I said that I'm going to change this year then I'm gonna stick to it."

"So Leah isn't just a one-time thing to get 300 bucks?"

"Maybe yes, maybe no. We'll see how tonight goes. But one thing's for sure is that I'm getting that 300 bucks."

Sam and Bucky made a bet as their New Year's resolution that Bucky would never go on a second date with any girl or remember to call her in the morning after a wild night. His commitment issues had given him a reputation as the player in the gang. It wasn't a new thing anymore to anyone that when they visited Bucky's place in the morning, they would see a girl with a dopey smile and slightly ruffled hair walking out of his apartment, giddy that Bucky just made a promise to call her later.

You, Natasha, Wanda, Sam and Steve were hanging out at Nat's place. The six of you had been friends since college. You, Nat, Bucky and Steve had known each other since high school and the four of you kept in touch despite going to separate universities. You met Wanda when you went to NYU and Steve met Sam while he was in Harvard. Long story short, after the four of you graduated, you and Wanda lived together as roommates and even started your own bakery business. Steve and Bucky lived in the same building as you and Natasha and Sam lived nearly alone. They were too independent for roommates. Don't even start on Natasha and how much she valued her personal space. That's how the six of you ended up here, gathered at your place on a Saturday afternoon.

"Are you gonna pick her up tonight?"

"Of course. Gonna clean up well, bring her some flowers and knock on her door at 7 pm precisely. Which girl isn't gonna fall for that?" Bucky walked over to the couch you and Nat were sitting on and leaned on the headrest, his arms caging both you and Natasha.

You didn't say anything nor did Natasha because she knew about your feelings for Bucky. Despite never feeling that way about Bucky in high school, your feelings changed a week ago after learning that Bucky used to be in love with you but never had the courage to tell you. That's why he never had a girlfriend during his high school years and he wanted to take you to prom and confess his feelings to you but he was too late. Another guy had already snooped in first.

You were his first love but it wasn't reciprocated until now. That's why in college, he learned how to get over you and slept with as many women as possible because he felt like he lost four years of his life of finding the one. He never intended to be a player and feed girls empty promises, it just kind of became his way of dating. He was too afraid that no one could live up to you yet he enjoyed being with women. Hence, the bet.

The day you found out from Steve about Bucky's past feelings for you while playing truth or dare, you immediately wanted to call him up but Bucky was out of town for a few days and as soon as he was back home, he had Leah in his arm. Your heart was crushed. Wanda told you that it would probably last for a few days and that he'd eventually be single again but you totally did not expect this thing to turn into something serious. You loved Sam with every fibre of your being, he was like the big brother you never had, but you wanted to curse him for making that bet.

So you just rolled your eyes and stayed silent throughout this entire conversation, even though your heart felt like it was being stabbed over and over again. "Alright, I gotta go. Got a big date tonight. I'll see you guys in a few hours." Just like that, Bucky walked out of the room without knowing the pain his words caused you.

The next day you were sitting in your bed watching The Notebook in your pyjamas because you were too heartbroken to do anything productive. It was Sunday so you could just have a whole day to yourself and do absolutely nothing but cry. Wanda knocked on your door bringing a plate of cookies and she had a pitiful look on her face. "y/n? Sweetie? I made you these cookies, they might make you feel better." Sometimes you thank the stars for bringing her into your life.

"Thank you, Wanda. You're so nice to me." You know you probably sound like a hormonal whiny kid but everything made you cry at the moment.

"Do you need anything else? I know how it feels to get your heartbroken, trust me. When me and Vision had a fight and we didn't talk for days all I wanted was to curl up and never leave my bed, so in case you need anything, I'm here." She offered you that warm smile of hers.

"No, all I want right now is to just eat these cookies and go back to my film, thanks Wan."

"Okay, I'll be outside." Your pity party was interrupted when Nat arrived in her leather jacket and burst into your room.

"Get up, you are taking a shower and you're getting that face beat."

"Natasha, what the hell? Leave me alone."

"Y/N, listen to me. I got a date for you. His name is Scott and he's a real nice guy, he's funny, he's a good friend of mine and he is really smart. He is so much better than Bucky, I promise you. Now c'mon, I already told him that you are meeting him tonight at Stark's restaurant at 7."

You whined, doing anything you can to get her to leave you alone with your tears and your cookies but you knew that once Natasha set her mind on something, there's no talking her way out of it. Damn that woman with her determination.

"Y/N, c'mon! Wallowing all day isn't you. I know you and what's good for you. That's why I found you a great guy who will charm you so good that you will forget Barnes even existed. You can't let him win, y/n. If he's going to be happy with someone else, then you better show him that you can be much happier with other people."

You stared at her, trying to absorb her words. There's some wisdom in that. You're not the type to cry over a guy, not even for even Bucky Barnes. So you let Natasha drag you to the shower and asked Wanda to do your hair when she does your makeup. She chose an outfit for you, a dress that was not too sexy but chic enough to leave a good first impression.

Scott was early to the restaurant and he looked elated to see you. He was wearing a grey suit with no tie and he had a really exuberant smile on his face, the type that drew people easily. You could see why Natasha called him a nice guy.

"Wow, sorry, I just- didn't expect you to be this beautiful."

"Ah, thank you, Scott. Have you been waiting long?"

"No, not at all. I just arrived here like five minutes ago."

The night went on and Scott did most of the asking and talking, you answered each question curtly with forced enthusiasm in your face and body language. You weren't even listening to half of the things he said because your mind kept playing images of Bucky with Leah and how you heard from Sam that the date went well so he lost 300 bucks. You kept thinking about Bucky and Leah and how they would probably get married and have kids and live in the suburbs with a golden retriever while you'd still be single and you'd compare every man you meet to Bucky. Maybe it was your karma for not reciprocating his feelings in high school.

Five glasses of wine and you spent more time nodding than talking. Honestly, all you wanted to do was to just go home and go back to The Notebook because their love story was much better than your love life. Scott woke you out of your daze, "Natasha told you that I was cuter than this, did she?" after you gulped your sixth glass of wine.

"Oh Scott, I'm so sorry. It's not you, it's me. I know it sounds cliche but it's just... I'm not in a place where I'm looking for a boyfriend. You are a really likeable guy and I swear, if we had met at another time, maybe I would be a better date but right now, I just- I have someone else in my mind." You sighed, it felt like a relief to get that off your chest.

"Is this guy... an ex-boyfriend?"

You chuckled, "no... He wishes."

Scott nodded, "look, I don't know what your situation is but I've been through a divorce and it's never easy. But eventually, you'll be fine. You can't see it now because you haven't had closure." Then it was as if the bulb above your head was turned on.

"That's it. Closure, yeah. That's all I need. Okay, give me a minute. I'm gonna call him now and I'm going to get my closure."

Scott sat there watching you comically trying to find your phone in your purse and tapped on Bucky's contact number. The normal you would be sweating with every ring but intoxicated you had no worries in the world... For now.

"This is Bucky. Can't pick up right now, leave a message." Beep.

"Hello, yes, Bucky! Or James, should I call you James? I always thought Bucky was a weird name. Anyways, I'm just calling to tell you that I am fine and I am on a date with Scott. And speaking of dates, I just gotta tell you that I'm happy to hear that your date went well. And that, my friend, means that I am over you. That's right, I'm over you. Tell Leah I say hi." You said sarcastically.

You hung up the phone and threw your phone back into your purse. You felt like you just won a chess game.

The next morning you decided to sleep in because your heart was pounding and you could barely sit up without feeling like you might fall. You were supposed to be working at the bakery but since you owned the bakery, Wanda let you sleep it off until you recover. You couldn't remember anything from last night, how you got back to your apartment was a mystery. You tried to put the pictures together, from being forced to go on a date, meeting a guy named Sean? Simon? Sebastian? Scott! Yes, Scott. You ordered your meals and then... Nothing, it was all blurry. You weren't even sure if anything happened at all after eating your meals.

The apartment was empty because Wanda was working at the bakery and it was just you with your hangover pills. Bucky came to your apartment without knocking because Wanda told him on the phone that you were home. He greeted you with a smile and asked about your date.

"Uh, let's see. I think there was a restaurant, I know there was wine. And there's a guy, Scott and pretty much that's all I can recall."

Bucky made a yikes face. Seeing the state you were in, he could do the math (of the wine you had). You probably enjoyed the alcohol more than the guy. What a doofus, he thought. If he was the one going on a date with you, you'd definitely remember every detail from last night.

"Leah's downstairs and I'm taking her back to her place but I left my keys here last night. Have you seen it?"

"No, check the drawers. Maybe Wanda put 'em there."

"Ah, okay." He opened the drawers and found the keys to his bike.

"Did we... Speak on the phone last night?"

"Nope, my phone was dead and I didn't charge it all night so I haven't really checked it. Why?"

"Nothing, nothing. It's just... Never mind. My memories are a bit hazy right now. You should go, say hi to Leah for me."

Bucky nodded as you walked back to your room to go lie down. Your question reminded him that he should probably check his phone now because there could be work-related messages but the first thing he heard was a voicemail from you. "Oh, y/n. I got your message!"

That instantly stopped you in your tracks. Your eyes went wide and you froze. You immediately turned around and ran to grab his phone away from him. Bucky had a confused look on his face, "who's Scott?"

"Oh my God, no, Bucky, give me the phone. Give me the phone!" But it was already too late, he was already halfway through your voicemail and by the time you successfully snatched his phone out of his grasp, he had already heard every word.

Bucky stood there dumbfounded, he needed time to process everything you just said to him. "What do you- what do you mean you're over me?"

"Oh, God... Alright, um- lately, I've um- sort of, have... Feelings for you." You never had to chase a guy or confess your crush first so this felt new and my God, it was nerve-racking.

"You have feelings for me..." He said it as if he was convincing himself that his ears got it right. Bucky couldn't believe the words that just escaped through your lips, for years he had dreamed of this moment. Though never did he ever want you to make the first move but adolescent him wanted to hear you say what he'd been wanting to say to you too.

He didn't say anything for what felt like minutes and you couldn't decipher his thoughts from the look on his face. "I need to sit down," he pulled one of the dining chairs and leaned on his side in a defeated posture.

"Bucky... Please say something." You alerted him in a hushed tone, not wanting to startle him than you already did. But he didn't. He was lost at words. What the hell was he supposed to tell her?

"Look Bucky, I'm sorry for telling you this way but I had to. I just- I've been wanting to talk to you about it since you came back to New York, well- actually, since Steve told me but-"

"Whoa, Steve told you?!" He interrupted.

"Yeah, it just accidentally slipped when we were playing truth or dare..."

"Okay well," he stood up from his seat, yet he still couldn't look you in the eye. "I can't do this right now, Leah's waiting for me downstairs and I gotta go." He basically ran out of the room and slammed the door behind him, leaving you alone.

Once your hangover had begun dissipating, you decided to help Wanda at the bakery and took the night shift. She must've been exhausted from managing the bakery alone while also helping the employees in the kitchen so you told her to go home and leave it to you. The bakery's usually slower at night.

When it was nearing closing time and your employees had gone home, you decided to clean up and turned off the lights and checked everything one last time before locking the door. The bell above the door dinged and you were slightly annoyed because who the hell comes to the bakery at this hour?

"I'm sorry we're clo...sed." It was Bucky. He stood there in a black coat, with an expression you still couldn't figure out. "Bucky, what are you-"

"You have no right to tell me that you've got feelings for me." His tone was harsh, he never spoke that way to you or anyone... Ever.

"What?"

He walked closer to you, maintaining his gaze, "You can not tell me that you've got feelings for me now when I'm doing well with my life and Leah..."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I was in love with you for years! Years, y/n! And you never said and did anything and now when everything's going well you're ruining it!"

"I am ruining it?" You repeated the question because you couldn't believe what you just heard. How dare he said those hurtful things to you.

"Yes! I was doing fine with Leah and now I don't know what's going to happen with me and her anymore..."

"Yeah, well, I was doing fine before I found out that YOU were in love with me and never had the balls to tell me!" You did everything you could to not cry, you hated crying in the middle of an argument.

"Hey, it's not like I didn't try. There were your ex-boyfriends and your dates and I had to move on. I couldn't wait forever! And now, now you're too late."

"Oh, so what? You're just gonna walk away and pretend that this never happened?"

"Yes, I'm going to do exactly that and I'm going to go see Leah." He turned around like he did earlier in your apartment and left you alone once again with your heartbreak.

"Fine! Go ahead and see Leah because I don't give a fuck about cowards like you or whoever you sleep with." You slammed the door and tried everything you could to not have a breakdown here because you really hated letting an argument hurt you. You sat on one of the chairs where the customers would sit and you hid your face with your hands and cried.

Not because you just lost an argument but because of what Bucky said and it felt like you had lost Bucky before you even had him. Now there was no hope left for you and Bucky, things were too complicated.

You didn't know how long you had cried there, alone, in the dimmed lighting of your shop but after you felt like the tears had dried, you wiped the traces of your tears from your cheeks with the back of your thumb. You stood from your seat and was ready to go home. You couldn't wait to eat some leftover pizzas, take a warm shower and cry into your pillows until you fall asleep.

But when you were about to leave, you saw Bucky standing on the other side of the door, watching you through the windows with a softer expression on his face. You opened the door and Bucky instantly grabbed your waist and kissed you as if his life depended on it.

You gave in to his kiss, letting him pour every desire and yearning into your lips for as long as he wanted. You grabbed his face because you wanted him impossibly closer and you shut your eyes, letting your guard down. Because it was Bucky, and you'd known him for as long as you could remember and you both deserved this moment.

Bucky eventually pulled away until both of you were running out of air. You were breathless from his kiss, you never knew he was such a good kisser. (It's Bucky and he's had a lot of women on his bed, of course, he was excellent at it. Who were you kidding?) But now that you've had your own front-row experience, you felt a tad of possessiveness at the thought of sharing those lips or any part of him with anyone else.

"I couldn't go back to her knowing you are here alone and I had thrown away what I've wanted for as long as I could remember."

"I'm glad you came back." You pressed your foreheads and you rested your hands on his chest. You could get used to this.

"I hope it's not too late to say this but, y/n y/l/n, will you let me take you to dinner and see a movie after maybe?"

"I wasn't the one who said it's too late," you halfheartedly teased him.

"Shut up, so is that a yes or a no?"

You bit your lip and nodded, "yes. Definitely a yes." You stared into his ocean blue eyes, so deep and beautiful, you could easily get lost in it.

"y/n y/ln, I'm going to put all of your ex-boyfriends to shame."

"Hm, we'll see about that." You put your arms around his neck. Then a thought crossed your mind and your smile faded away, "what are you gonna do about Leah though?"

"I'll talk to her in the morning. Let's take you home now, yeah? It's getting late."

You bit your lip and nodded, "okay."

Ninth grade you dreamed of popular jocks and athletic seniors, but little did you know that, sometimes, the one who sincerely loved you was the book nerd who loved The Hobbit a little too much.

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes drabble #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes smut #bucky barnes angst #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes one shot #bucky barnes series #bucky barnes modern au #sebastian stan x reader #sebastian stan imagine #sebastian stan smut #sebastian stan fluff #sebastian stan angst #sebastian stan fanfic #friends to lovers

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nashibirne · 3 years

Note

Congrats on your milestone!! Love your writing and since you're doing the whole "milestone party" I would like to ask if you could write something about reader and first baby. It could be something like them being very happy in the beginning, anxious by the end of the pregnancy but in the first weeks after the baby is born everything being caotic, the reader is stressed and sometimes they fight for something silly and it could have a happy ending, maybe he preparing a special surprise for her, some smut and they kinda "reconnect"... I don't mind if it gets too big, I would appreciate if you like the idea, It can be sy or walter, their POV, the reader can have a name too if you'd like. Thank you so much and congratulations again 🎉🥳

Here comes the second fic for my milestone celebration 🥳

Dear nonie, thank you so much for your prompt 💜 I love it and it made me think of Walter and his bumblebee from my fic Closer immediately. So I hope you don't mind I made this a follow up.

I tried to include all your wishes and I hope you like the struggles, the fluff and the smut.

🪲🪲🪲🪲🪲🪲🪲🪲🪲🪲🪲🪲🪲🪲🪲🪲

MAYBUG

Pairing: Walter Marshall x reader

Summary: Walt and his wife are stressed out and enjoy a little escape. Follow-up to Closer

Words: ~ 1.8 k

Warnings: Smut, NSFW, 18+, Sex (p in v), fingering, dirty talking, kinda light breeding kink, masturbation, mentioning of sex toys and voyeurism, mentioning of problematic birth

UNBETA'ED! English is not my mother tongue, so expect bad grammar, wrong spelling, chaotic punctuation and clumsy language. All mistakes are mine…

Credits: pics for the header from pinterest.

I don't own Walter Marshall (unfortunately)

If you like this story, check out my masterlist!

***********

I'm sure it wasn't so stressful with Faye when she was a baby. She was a whirlwind, challenging her mum and me 24/7 as soon as she was able to walk but I'm pretty sure in the first year she was a little angel, not doing much more than sleeping, eating and lulling us into a false sense of security, making us think the peace would last forever.

Maybe it's gonna be the other way round with our little maybug. A chaotic first year and all the peace afterwards.

We've been on an emotional rollercoaster ride for almost two years now. Y/n stopped taking the pill shortly after our engagement and a few months before our wedding. I couldn't wait to get her pregnant, our sex life was great at that time, we did it as often as possible, having the time of our lives, enjoying each other and our deep connection. When my little bumblebee finally surprised me with a positive pregnancy test after 8 months of very intense trying, we were both beyond happy and completely over the moon and besides the usual pregnancy-related worries and difficulties everything went well.

That was until y/n went into labor and suddenly everything turned out to be very different from what we both had wished for. There was no calm atmosphere, no peaceful water birth but a lot of stress and anxiety instead when unexpected complications occured. I wasn't solid as a rock for her, I was a nervous wreck and very disappointed in myself but my wonderful wife was incredibly tough, fighting to be strong for both of us with fierce determination. She was no bumblebee that night, she was a hornet. In the end she had an emergency c-section and our little boy was born after almost 24 hours of labour on a mild Saturday night in May. When we finally held this perfect, beautiful little bundle of life in our arms all pain and fear was forgotten and we cried together for joy and gratefulness.

Now, six months later, we're still very happy, enjoying our family life and our time together. I've stepped back from work a little, doing office work mostly, staying away from the time consuming major cases. It's hard sometimes to be condemned to just watch my colleagues working in the front-line but I know it's worth it. I don't want to make the same mistakes again, the mistakes that ruined my first marriage and jeopardized my relationship with Faye. Besides that y/n needs my support, although she would never admit it. Our little maybug suffers from colic and cries a lot so she's constantly sleep-deprived and on top of that she tortures herself with self-reproach because breastfeeding didn't work and our baby son only gets formula, which -in her eyes- is the reason for his regular pain. She's constantly stressed out, tense and oversensitive and we fight over the most silly things.

When she had a nervous breakdown the other day because she hadn't managed to cook dinner for me after another night without sleep and a whole day of trying to calm down a crying baby in pain, I decided it was enough, that she needed a break, I needed a break and maybe even our little muffin needed a break from his worn out parents. So after y/n had a good cry on my shoulder, listening to my comforting words that made her relax a little, I made her her favorite sandwich, sent her to bed after she'd enjoyed it and took our little boy on a ride. He likes it when we drive around in my truck, the sonorous sound of the engine has a soothing effect on him and eventually he stopped crying and fell asleep, just as exhausted as his mom. I got myself a burger from the drive-through, ate it in the parking lot and I came up with an idea for a little treat for me and my wife.

And now here we are, sitting in the huge tub in the bathroom of a luxurious hotel suite in our hometown, just 20 minutes away from our little boy who's staying with y/n's sister for the weekend. It wasn't easy to convince my wife that he's going to survive one night without us and that we really need some time for us but now, after a romantic candle light dinner and a special treatment afterwards she really seems to enjoy our little escape.

"God, Walt...you were right, I needed this. The food was delicious and your massage worked wonders. Thank you so much, papa bear."

She's sitting in front of me in the steaming hot water that smells like tropical flowers, her body covered with lush foam, her back resting against my chest, her butt between my spread legs, pressing against my cock.

"Well, it wasn't a Tantra massage but I'm glad you enjoyed it anyway." I press a kiss on her hair and hug her from behind. "I enjoyed it too, by the way. My hands all over your wonderful backside, that was very sexy," I whisper in her ear before I start to caress her breasts while kissing her neck. Damn, I love her tits, even more now after the pregnancy. They are so soft, so welcoming and warm, plus they are bigger than before, perfect for burying my face in them or for a filthy boob fuck.

Y/n moans softly under my touch and I go on, determined to make this date night unforgettable. After a while I let one of my hands glide over her belly, that wonderful part of her body that has carried our child and that is so smooth beneath my rough palm. I feel the stretch marks she hates so much but I kinda love them. They're like a map that shows what she's been through and what the female body is capable of. For her it's a flaw, when I look at it I see nothing but strength. With that thought I slip my hand between her legs, stroking her pussy, my fingers gliding through her swollen folds, provoking one of these drawn, hoarse moans that always escape her mouth when she likes what I'm doing and that turn me on so much. She cranes her neck to look at me and I bent my head to kiss her. The kiss is slow and sensual, tasting sweet and promising. I moan into her mouth, one hand on her tit, kneading it intensely, giving her erect nipple some extra attention with my thumb, one hand on her pussy. I keep on stroking her clit while we make out and she moves her hips, rolling them slowly against my rock-hard cock.

"You like that, baby?" I want to know, panting into her ear.

"I like it a lot…", y/n sighs, bucking her hips. I know exactly what she wants.

"How about that?" I stretch my arm, shifting my position a little to penetrate her slowly with two fingers, brushing them against her g-spot with light pressure.

"Fuck...Walt…"

Her moans are getting louder with each thrust into her cunt, her hips moving rhythmically. I stimulate her clit with my thumb and I can tell she's close, putty in my hands, a whimpering, panting mess and I love it.

"Mommy's still my little whore, right?" I ask, my voice rough and thick with arousal and desire, my dick throbbing, pressed against her ass. "Look at you, riding my fingers like the good girl you are. I love how that feels…"

I fingerfuck her harder and it doesn't take her long to cum with a loud moan, my name on her lips on top of her orgasm. She rides it out slowly, breathing heavily and I give her some time to recover before I grab her by her waist, lift her up and make her sit down on my cock. I can't wait another second, I need to feel her from the inside, her tight pussy stretching around my thick dick. She sighs when she easily sinks down on it, starting to ride me immediately, eagerly, greedy. She's still hungry, ready for more, giving me a hard time to pull myself together. I'd love to just rail her, to thrust into her cunt mercilessly to reach my own high but what I want even more is to see her come undone again, to make her fall apart on my dick, milking it when she cums again. So I hold her hips in a vice-like grip, pressing her down and she stops moving, waiting for me to take over. I let go of her hips and fuck her slowly, thrusting into her from underneath, caressing her tits, showering her shoulders with sloppy kisses.

She follows the rhythm and the pace I set and we both moan in unison. She reaches between her legs and starts touching herself which turns me on even further. I love watching her when she pleasures herself. She was a little hesitant about in the beginning of our relationship but when I even bought her some toys, she believed me that it was okay to masturbate in my presence, that it drove me absolutely wild to watch her, that I would fuck her like a predator after seeing her cum just by the touch of her own hands, using the toys I had chosen and allowed her to use. Today is no exception. Her soft moans and appreciative sighs are music to my ears and as soon as I fix my eyes on her fingers that circle her clit, while she strokes the shaft of my pounding cock with her other hand, I lose my shit.

I press her against my body and fuck her so hard and fast that the water spills all over the edge of the tub. She comes again shortly after I orgasm with a noise that's half grunt and half growl, arising deep from within my chest. My balls tighten and when I feel my cum shooting through my dick her pussy clenches around me and her body is trembling on top of mine. She cries out loud when I fill her up with my seed and I'm sure she knows that I imagine breeding her, when I keep on thrusting lightly, not pulling out even after we've both come down from our highs and my hard-on softens.

I know we still have to wait a few months till she gets pregnant again because her body needs time to heal but I guess it doesn't hurt to practice as often as we feel like it and to dream of adding another little bug to our family.

🪲🪲🪲🪲🪲🪲🪲🪲🪲🪲🪲🪲🪲🪲🪲🪲

Taglist (let me know if you want to be added or removed)

@lunedelorient @inlovewithhisblueeyes @willkatfanfromasia @hell1129-blog @mis-lil-red @agniavateira @kebabgirl67 @omgkatinka @legendarywizarddetective @summersong69 @taebfada @xxxkatxo @artandotherdelights @notabronte @littlefreya @luclittlepond @eldarwen333 @meowpurrbooks @marantha @liliumdream @enchantedbytomandhenry @greensleeves888 @witcherfan @margauxmargaux07 @radaofrivia @m07belzen @a-little-counter-esperanto @starstruckkittyangel @mary-ann84 @sillyrabbit81 @emelinelovesjc @wheretheriversrunintothesea @lam0ureuxq @kingliam2019 @pandaxnienke @littleone65 @coloraturadiva

#henry cavill #cavillry #henry cavill fandom #henry cavill fanfic #henry cavill fanfiction #walter marshall fanfiction #walter marshall #walter marshall x you #walter marshall smut #ask nashi #follower celebration #follower milestone

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doctorstethoscope · 3 years

Text

Brown Bear || A. Hotchner x Fem Reader

Hello my loves, this is a double whammy, because it’s for @ssahotchswife‘s soft Hotch Saturday AND for @anxiousblanketqueen’s birthday challenge!

prompt: reading to your baby!

warnings: insane fluff, discussion of pregnancy, mention of morning sickness, injury mention, aaron hotchner being completely wrapped around a baby’s finger

word count: 1.7k

You and your husband hadn’t slept for more than six hours at a time in one month, two weeks, and four days, not that you were counting. Okay, fine, so maybe you were. But to be fair, it also had been one of the most incredible six weeks and four days of your life— the number of days since Alexis Haley Hotchner had entered the world. She was worth every sleepless night.

The past six weeks had been total bliss— both of you on parental leave, Aaron dropping Jack off at school every morning and then coming home to “his girls,” as he had affectionately dubbed the two of you. You’d spend the day together, getting to know the little girl who had stolen both of your hearts in an instant, and then Jack would come home after school and complete your family unit. He couldn’t be more obsessed with his baby sister, and it melted your heart to watch his little fingers push hair out of her even little-r face.

So when Alexis’s coos woke the both of you up at 3AM, you couldn’t bring yourself to be mad at her. How could you be, when she had come into the world and made everything so perfect? You sat up in bed to go get her, but Aaron threw a tired arm out.

“I got her,” he mumbled, inching himself up to a seated position. “You did the last one.” He says as he tries to delicately disentangle himself from you.

He stumbled out of bed and across the hall into the baby’s room. You hear him simultaneously from her nursery and from the baby monitor on the bedside table as he crosses to her crib.

“Hey, angel, it’s okay. Daddy’s here.” He whispers as he cranes into the crib to pick up Alexis. “Shh, daddy’s got you.” He says, hoisting her up against his chest and placing one large hand over her back.

She’s quiet after a moment, content to be pressed against her father’s chest as he softly bounced around the room to calm her. You couldn’t see her face through the monitor, but you knew her well enough to know that her quiet did not mean she was back to sleep— you were sure that when Aaron checked her big eyes would be wide open and staring up at him.

You were right. Aaron shifted so that she was cradled in his arms and he could see her face, very much awake and enamored with her father.

“Lexie, my little love, “ Aaron cooed out as he settled in the rocking chair in the corner of the room. “It’s not time to get up yet. Mama and daddy need a little bit more sleep to keep up with you and your brother.”

Lexie blinked up at him, unconvinced by his pleas.

“Okay, sweet girl. One story, but then you have to go back to sleep.” Aaron answered the question that Lexie couldn’t possibly articulate as he reached blindly for a book off of the shelf next to the rocking chair. She couldn’t even ask for what she wanted, but Aaron was already helpless to do anything but give it to her.

“Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?”

You let out a contented little sigh that no one could hear. You had loved Aaron’s voice since the moment you met him, but listening to him read to Jack and Lexie was always special. He was softer with them, more vulnerable than he was with the team. You could hear his love for them in every syllable.

“I see a red bird looking at me. Red bird, red bird, what do you see?”

He’s so quiet with her, so gentle, and you can’t help but remember the way you stunned him into silence when you told him about her for the first time.

Aaron was away on a case when you found out, off in Michigan or Nebraska or somewhere else that was decidedly not your home in Virginia.

You thought about calling him, but you wanted to see his face when he heard the news. Wanted to be able to pull him into your arms and thank him for choosing you, for choosing to let love in again when life had told him over and over again that doing so was a mistake. You wanted to thank him for this incredible life.

It was late when he finally came home. You had tried to stay up, but the morning sickness had you awake early most days and you were exhausted. You stirred when the bedroom door clicked open.

“Aaron,” you mumbled out, not sure if you really said it or if you just dreamt that you said it.

“Shh, it’s me. Go back to sleep. Love you.” He said, already divesting himself of his suit coat and his tie.

“Turn the light on.”

“Honey, I’m alright.”

It was a habit the two of you had developed— he would never tell you if he was injured on a case, so you insisted on giving him a once-over when he came home, making sure he was all in one piece. Aaron pretended it was ridiculous but he’d never tell you how much your tender touch would warm him from the inside out, how it would bring him back to the bright and soft place in his heart that he saved for you, and how it would pull him out of the darkness he worked in day in and day out.

“Turn on the light, please.”

Aaron obliges you, flicking the switch as he unbuttons his shirt and tosses it in the general direction of the hamper. You squint against the harsh light after just waking up. By the time you’re brave enough to fully open your eyes, Aaron is at your bedside in just his boxers, awaiting his examination with a fond smile. You rise to your knees on the mattress, running a gentle finger over the planes of his jaw and nose before giving him a quick kiss. You missed him. You ran your hands over his shoulders and down his arms, inspecting his chest and finding only the regular nine scars.

“Turn around.” You tell him.

“The unsub confessed. I didn’t even draw my gun.”

“Well then this should be quick,” you quipped back, and he turned with a roll of his eyes and a smile that betrayed his affection.

As promised, he was completely unharmed, and he turned to face you again.

“Can we go to bed now?” He asked, moving in closer to wrap his arms around you, his hands settling on your hips.

“Aaron,” you said, raising your hands to his face and placing your thumb where you knew his dimple would appear at your next words. “I’m pregnant.”

Sure enough, your thumb slotted right in. He couldn’t bring himself to form any words, but his beaming smile spoke loud enough. You couldn’t help but match it. There was a long beat before he spoke.

“Really?” He whispered, after a moment.

“Yeah, honey. Really,” you confirmed.

“You’re sure?” If he wasn’t smiling so big, you might have mistaken his hesitance for fear. You knew better.

“I haven’t been to the doctor yet, but I’m eight for eight peeing on sticks. I bought every brand at the drugstore. So I’m pretty sure.” You confessed with a little giggle.

He’s kissing you before either one of you can say anything else, and it’s perfect. He’s home, and he’s here, and he’s perfect, and you’re going to have his baby. He’s wrapped up in your arms and you’re wrapped up in his and you’re pretty sure you could just stay like this for the next nine months until Alexis makes her appearance.

Aaron’s snore, loud enough to be heard from both the monitor and your half-opened door, distracts you from your reverie. You smirk a little as you swing your legs out of bed and cross the hall.

The book is propped up open against Aaron’s chest, his arm occupied with cradling your little girl and his other hand splayed over her slight frame. Luckily, she’s asleep too, and you begin your quest to remove them from each other without waking either of them.

Aaron, ever the anxious sleeper, wakes with a start as soon as all nine pounds of Alexis are taken from his arms. You shush him before he can say anything.

“You fell asleep, baby. Go back to bed.”

“Could’ve dropped her.” He murmured, not pleased with himself, and you let out a dissatisfied little tsk as you place Lexi against her crib mattress.

“You had both hands wrapped around her. You weren’t gonna drop her. She was fine.” You corrected him.

He rose from the rocking chair and tugged at your hand. “You coming?”

“I just want to look at her a little bit longer.” You tell him

“You know, you aren’t supposed to be awake at all. Sleep when the baby sleeps.” He chastises with absolutely nothing behind it, settling in to wrap his hands on your waist and tuck his chin into your shoulder.

You watch her for a moment, or two or three. It’s hard to tell. You could look at her forever.

“Thank you,” you both say after a moment, and turn to each other with exhausted little smiles.

“Come on, let’s get back to sleep before we get sentimental and weepy,” Aaron teases, tugging you back towards the bedroom.

“It’s a little too late for that, love.” You tell him as you climb into bed, scooting towards the middle of the mattress so you could wrap your arms around him and place your head on his chest. He just places his lips against your forehead by way of response, falling back to sleep before he can move away. You sigh that contented little sigh again, and Aaron’s arm pulls you in closer to him. He really had given you the perfect life. You couldn’t wait to repay him with baby number three.

#jtr23 #aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner fic #aaron hotch x reader #hotch x you #hotch x reader #hotch x y/n #criminal minds #criminal minds fic #aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner x you #aaron hotchner x y/n #hotchner doesn't look like a real word anymore

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snelbz · 3 years

Text

Life As We Know It {Chapter 29}

Summary: After the sudden deaths of Nesta’s sister and Cassian’s best friend, they gain guardianship of their nephew, Nyx.

Based on Life As We Know It (2010) and a prompt sent in by anonymous for our Nessian fanfic contest. This is a modern au.

Instead of doing a tag list for this story, we have decided to have a set posting schedule. Chapters will be posted weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. Occasional surprise chapters could be posted at miscellaneous times. Chapters will be posted on both my and Tara’s blogs! >> @tacmc.

Life As We Know It Masterlist

Shelby’s Masterlist

Tara’s Masterlist

“It’s not very professional of us to be late to our own party.”

Cassian was sitting on the couch, even as he hollered up the stairs, knowing Nesta could hear him.

“Don’t blame me,” she called back. “I’m not the one who decided to give the toddler a candy cane while he was wearing a white shirt.”

Cassian snorted, looking at the child in question, though he knew she was using Nyx’s last minute wardrobe change as an excuse. Nyx had been downstairs with him for nearly twenty minutes, the candy cane devoured long before that. The dark green sweater he now wore made his blue eyes sparkle and he giggled up at him, grinning. She was still in their bathroom, making herself look absolutely gorgeous, no doubt, but they were short on time.

“People are going to start arriving at seven and it’s six-fifteen now,” he said, glancing at his watch.

“I know, I know, shut up!” she yelled, but even Cassian could hear the amusement in her voice.

“Dada,” Nyx said, walking toward Cassian. “Nums?”

Nums. Cassian assumed it derived from the word yum, which meant that he was hungry. With a sigh, Cassian picked Nyx up and said, “I promise, as soon as we get to the restaurant, we’ll eat. I’m hungry as shit, too.”

“Way to teach the toddler how to curse.” Nesta’s voice rang out from the top of the stairs and Cassian spun around. He whistled as Nesta made her way down the stairs in a red dress and black heels.

Her long, golden-brown hair was down and in loose curls. Her lips were painted red, and green sparkles lined her eyes.

Cassian lifted a brow. “You look festive.”

Nesta chuckled. “Thank Elain. She’s the one that told me I’d better show up looking like Christmas or she’d make me look like Christmas when she got there.”

Cassian laughed, quietly. “Well, I think you look absolutely stunning.”

Nesta smiled as she stopped in front of him. “Thank you.”

They kissed, and Nyx babbled, loudly, letting them know it was time to break it up.

“Alright, alright,” she chuckled, running a hand over his dark hair. “Let’s grab you a snack and we’ll go.”

“I want a snack,” Cassian protested, following her into the kitchen.

She was dropping a handful of goldfish crackers into a zip top bag, and looked at him over a shoulder. “I can’t tell if that was an innuendo or not.”

His eyes traveled down her body, snagging where her tight dress hugged her ample assets, but said, “For once, it wasn’t. Though if you want to sneak off to the store room later…”

Snorting, Nesta sealed the bag up and rolled her eyes. “Absolutely not.” She brushed past them, handing the baggie of crackers to Cassian as she pulled both Nyx’s and her own coats from the closet. “It is Christmas Eve though. Who knows what Santa may bring you when we get home?” She asked with a wink.

Cassian groaned. “You can’t tell me that now. We won’t be home for, like, six hours. Tease.”

“That’s what you love about me,” she muttered, helping Nyx put his coat on.

“There’s a lot of things I love about you,” Cassian promised.

Nesta rolled her eyes, but gave Cassian a kiss, anyways. “Suck up.”

Cassian grinned, and followed Nesta, carrying Nyx to the car.

It was a short drive to the restaurant, and when they arrived, it was already packed. Being Christmas Eve, the place was closed, but that didn’t mean that the place was empty. All of the employees and their families were there, along with Nesta and Cassian’s closest friends - which included Elain, Azriel, and Peresphone. Viviane was there, of course, both with Kallias and per Cassian and Nesta’s invitation. Other than that, their employees and their families filled the room. Considering Nesta had only begun with a few servers, seeing the extended family that they had built brought Cassian more joy than he could express.

Once they entered the restaurant, Nyx was instantly reaching for Viv. Cassian spotted Azriel and Kallias by the bar, and he chose to quickly join them while Nesta joined her sister and niece by the appetizers.

“Everything looks absolutely gorgeous,” Elain said, hugging Nesta, handing a grinning Seph to her.

She snorted. “I can’t even begin to take credit. I hired someone to decorate.”

Rolling her eyes, Elain said, “Well, it all smells amazing, too.”

That, Nesta could take full responsibility for, and she would. One of the large banquet tables she used for catering was stretched between two massive Christmas trees, and every festive holiday food that anyone could possibly want was piled on top. She was most proud of the beautifully decorated sugar cookies that were on every flat surface she could sit a plate on.

Looking around, she saw Nyx was already nibbling on one and she couldn’t stop her chuckle.

“You all seem to be doing well,” Elain noted.

Nesta raised a brow, looking from Seph to Elain. “Pardon?”

“You, Cass, Nyx…” Elain shrugged, with a grin. “You all seem to be doing well.”

Nesta looked over at the bar, where Nyx’s face was covered in the icing from the sugar cookie and Cassian was laughing at something that Kallias or Azriel had said. She laughed, softly. “Yeah, we are.”

Elain took Nesta’s hand, and when Nesta met her sister’s eyes, she smiled. “I’m glad.”

“No, no, no,” Nesta chastised. “We aren’t getting sappy.”

Elain gasped. “I’m not getting sappy.”

Nesta chuckled. “Yeah, okay.” She looked back over to Cassian. He was already looking at her. He smiled. She blushed, looking away.

“Honestly,” Elain began, taking Peresphone’s hand. “Tell me.”

Nesta sighed, laughing quietly. “I don’t know. Everything is going…really well. I don’t know. I… I feel like we’re a family. Cass is a great dad, and Nyx adores him. And, he calls me mama now. Which makes me feel amazing, even though I’m not sure that it should. It’s complicated, you know? I know I’m not his mom, and Cassian knows that he’s not his dad, but… We’ve filled those roles. We’ve filled those roles and we love those roles, El. But, it sucks, because...we’re not his mom and dad.”

Elain looked at Nesta for a long moment before taking her sister’s hand. “Do you love that child?”

Nesta blinked. “Of course-.”

“Does Cass love that child?”

Nesta took a deep breath. “Of course he does.”

“Then you are his parents,” Elain said, carefully. “No, it’s not biologically, and Feyre and Rhys will always be his mom and dad…but you two are their stand-ins. You’re his mom, Nes. Cass is his dad. By blood? No. But, by love? You’re what he has, and he is blessed because of it.”

Nesta told herself not to get too emotional, but she had been having a hard time with that lately. It was hard not to get too emotional when it felt like everything was going right.

Nesta didn’t believe in perfection.

But, she felt like her life - her life with Cassian and Nyx - was pretty damn close to perfection.

“I like seeing that look in your eyes,” Elain said, quietly.

Nesta snapped back to reality, raising a brow at her sister. “What look?”

“Happiness,” Elain said, simply. She nodded to Cassian. “Things are going well with him, I take it?”

Nesta leaned across the table. “Are you...asking me about what goes on in the bedroom?” She gasped. “Elain.”

“What?” She said, sipping from her wine glass. “He’s only been pining after you for nearly six years. I’d bet a man who’s been doing that would have some plans when he finally had his chance to—.”

“There’s my girl,” Azriel said, smiling as Seph saw her daddy approach and started giggling.

“I should go mingle,” Nesta said, even as Elain gave her a look that said This conversation is far from over. “You guys are still coming over for lunch tomorrow, right?”

“We wouldn’t miss it,” Azriel replied, and Elain nodded in agreement, wrapping an arm around his waist.

Nesta did as she said she would, stopping around the room to see her servers, cooks, managers, bartenders. Along the way, she met their families, their husbands and wives and significant others. Their kids and parents and siblings. Anyone they decided to bring, Nesta welcomed them with a warm smile and kind words.

Cassian did the same, although not for as long, and ended up sitting with Viviane and Kallias, bouncing Nyx on his knee. Nesta couldn’t help but look at him every so often, admiring how handsome he was, admiring how much Nyx admired him.

Just as dinner was ready to be served, Nesta stood in the middle of the restaurant and clanked her fork against her wine glass to get everyone’s attention.

“Thank you all for coming,” Nesta said, smiling as she looked around the room. “This last year has been so incredible. With the addition of our bar, we really skyrocketed, and business has been better than ever before.” A round of applause echoed through the room. “Because of that, I’ve been able to double our staff, which has been incredible. I wanted to have this little party tonight to just show you all how incredibly grateful I am for each and every one of you. So, let’s eat, drink, and celebrate until the clock strikes twelve!”

No one had any complaints about that.

The caterers brought each table a beautiful display of food and Nesta took a seat next to Cassian to enjoy it all.

Everything was delicious and all in attendance made sure Nesta knew they enjoyed every bite. It wasn’t long before the plates were cleared and desserts were brought out. Nyx managed to stay mostly clean, though that was mostly due to Viviane helping feed him, rather than Cassian leaving him to his own devices. Nesta couldn’t help but smile as she watched, especially when Kallias, eyes shining in adoration, brought her hand to his lips. Right next to the diamond sparkling on her ring finger.

He had proposed a few weeks prior, to no one’s surprise but Viviane’s and would be married just after the new year.

After years apart, they swore they knew what they had been missing in their lives, and didn’t want to waste another minute without the other.

Nesta found herself pondering that as she watched Cassian, talking and laughing with Azriel, Nyx already starting to doze off on his shoulder.

Happy. She thought back to Elain’s words. She had never been as happy, as perfectly content in her life, as she was now.

Her restaurant was thriving. She loved what she did, wouldn’t ever want to do anything else, woke up happy to go to work.

Nyx was the light of her life. Watching him grow, learning who he was going to be one day… Being his mama was the greatest gift she’d never expected.

And Cassian… She had found the love of her life, even though he’d been right in front of her the whole time. Kallias and Viv, their time apart hadn’t been intentional. Nesta’s separation from Cassian, that had all been by their own doing. And she wouldn’t let another minute slip by them. She would make sure he knew how much she loved him, for the rest of his life.

As Christmas rolled around at midnight, everyone started to go home. Nesta and Cassian would be soon behind them, considering they still had to put out gifts for Nyx to open in the morning. Nesta couldn’t wait. She knew he was still a little bit too young to understand what was going on, but she was certain his little day would be made, nonetheless.

With a yawn, Cassian came out of the kitchen, Nyx sound asleep in his arms. “Alright. Back door is locked. Trash is taken out. Kitchen is clean.”

“Good,” Nesta said, feeling tired, too. It had been a good night. A long night, but a good night. “Let’s go home and wait for Santa.”

Cassian groaned as he picked up Nyx’s diaper bag and headed for the door. “What if Santa is too tired to bring presents tonight?”

“I don’t think Santa has that option,” Nesta chuckled. “And, if Santa is lucky and does what he’s told, he might have a little surprise under the tree, too.”

Cassian raised a brow as he stepped into the chilly night. “Oh yeah? Tonight? Or, does Santa have to wait until morning, too?”

She rolled her eyes, taking the diaper bag from him and letting him carry Nyx out to the car, before locking the door. “I guess we’ll have to see.”

He winked at her before buckling the sleeping toddler into his carseat and then they were on their way. Before they knew it, they were home, and as soon as they pulled into the driveway, fat, fluffy snowflakes had begun to fall from the sky.

“Looks like you get your white Christmas after all,” Cassian crooned, knowing Nesta had been slightly disappointed it hadn’t snowed before the party tonight.

She sighed as they entered the house. “I hope so.”

Cassian took Nyx upstairs to lay him down, and though they’d joked about Cassian playing Santa all night, Nesta was the one to lay all the presents out underneath the tree. Of course, only she knew what lay in the boxes wrapped in festive paper for Cassian and Nyx, but she saw a few with her name on them.

She resisted the urge to shake each one of them and investigate.

After she pulled a large, rectangular box wrapped in sparkly paper out of the bag, she couldn’t resist the urge any longer. After looking around the living room, she gently shook the box. A throat cleared from the top of the stairs.

Nesta yelped, spinning around from where she sat on the rug in front of the tree. Cassian stood on the top stair, his arms crossed, a brow raised as he chuckled. “And what is it that you think you’re doing?”

“Just…checking things out,” Nesta said, slowly, setting the gift on top of the others as Cassian made his way down the stairs. “He asleep?”

“Drooling, snoring, the whole nine yards,” Cassian said, plopping down next to her on the rug. “We get to eat cookies and drink lots of milk, right?”

Nesta snorted. “I think he’s a little young for that part yet.”

“Damn,” Cassian whistled. “I was looking forward to it.”

Nesta laughed, crawling into Cassian’s lap. “I mean, if you want milk and cookies, by all means, get yourself some milk and cookies.”

His fingers lazily dragged up and down her back, the gesture nothing more than a soothing habit he’d picked up. “Maybe tomorrow. So I can share the cookies with the already energetic toddler.”

They sat on the couch, still in their party finery, and those fingers trailed that path on her back. Her head was tucked under his chin, and after a moment, he breathed, “I’m so excited for tomorrow. For him to wake up and see his presents.”

Nesta’s voice was a sleepy drawl when she responded. “I want him to love Christmas as much as Feyre did.”

He pressed a gentle kiss to her temple. “He will. We’ll make sure he knows what an important day it is for our family.”

Our family.

The words had become common for them, as they realized that’s exactly what they were.

A family.

“MamaDadaMamaDadaMamaDadaMamaDada—.”

Cassian groaned, rolling over to his nightstand, where the baby monitor sat. Nyx was going on and on and on and on, apparently ready to be taken out of his crib.

Cassian blinked, checking his phone.

It was seven in the morning.

It was Christmas.

He was tired, he wouldn’t deny it. Nesta had worn him out the night before - more than once, under the tree, and again in their bed before Cassian passed out.

It wasn’t a day for exhaustion, though. It was a day of celebration and love, which is why Cassian pulled himself up and smacked Nesta on the ass before he climbed out of bed.

“Wake up, Nes. It’s Christmas!”

He was stumbling out of their bedroom before Nesta had even opened her eyes. As he approached the nursery, Nyx’s voice grew louder and louder. The moment he pushed open the door, Nyx was grinning, holding up his arms.

“Merry Christmas, buddy,” Cassian said, chuckling as he picked Nyx up out of his crib. After a diaper change and a switch into his Christmas onesie, Cassian was carrying Nyx down the stairs, yelling for Nesta to hurry up.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” she said, yawning as she swept into the hallway.

Presents were obviously pretty high on the priority list, but in the Nazari-Archeron household, only one thing came first:

Breakfast.

Cassian gave Nyx a sippy cup of milk as he turned on the coffee pot and put the cinnamon rolls Nesta had prepared before the party last night into the oven.

He was stirring two spoons of sugar into her coffee when he heard her come into the kitchen.

“Merry Christmas, my handsome, little man,” she said, pressing a kiss to Nyx’s cheek. He giggled and held onto her face, giving her a wet, smacking kiss as well. It was something new he’d picked up and something Nesta adored to no end.

“And Merry Christmas to you,” she said, smiling up at Cassian, wrapping her arms around his neck. She rose up on her toes and kissed him.

“Pretty sure you told me that already, in quite a few ways last night,” he smirked, and she rolled her eyes smacking his chest.

“Eat quick,” Nesta said, sipping from her mug. “Santa came.”

Nyx babbled something as he drank his milk. “Too impatient to see what he brought you?” Cassian asked, sitting at the table, waiting for the cinnamon rolls to be done.

“Don’t act like you’re not,” Nesta grumbled, looking out the back window, where a newly fallen blanket of snow covered the yard.

“You’re going to make us all go outside and build a snowman, aren’t you,” Cassian muttered, as the alarm for the oven went off.

Nesta chuckled, pulling them out and turning the oven off. “Of course, I am. I didn’t buy Nyx that little snowsuit for nothing.”

After a quick bite to eat around the table, they were cuddled up together in the living room, by the tree. Nyx looked up at the strung lights in wonder as Cassian took out the first gift and slid it toward him.

“Go ahead, buddy, the first one is yours,” Cassian said.

Nyx blinked at the box before starting to hit it with his little fists.

Cassian snorted. “Well, at least it’s not breakable.”

They opened Nyx’s presents for him one by one and once he was sufficiently distracted with a brand new set of brightly colored blocks, stacking them up and knocking them down, giggles filling the room, Cassian and Nesta moved onto their own presents.

There were, of course, the generic things that they both expected from each other. Cassian gave her an entire new set of utensils for the kitchen, a wine and cheese subscription box for the year and a cookbook full of desserts he’d seen her eye for more than a few months.

She gave him a set of woodcarving tools, a new pair of boots, and a year-long membership to the new, fancy gym they had just built down the block that he had been eyeing every time they drove past it.

“Thank you,” he smiled. “I love it.”

“Of course,” she said, and kissed him, softly. “Now, let’s go build a snowman!”

“Wait,” Cassian called, even though she was already on her feet, heading toward the staircase. “You forgot one.”

There was no way she could have seen it.

It was tiny, and nearly blended into the tree skirt.

Nesta knew one thing for sure - she hadn’t put that one under the tree last night.

“Nyx, come here,” Cassian said, holding out his hand.

Nyx giggled, picking up his blocks to take with him, as he walked across the rug to Cassian.

Cassian handed him the little box. “Here. Bring mama her present.”

The words alone were so cute that Nesta couldn’t help but smile. She sat on the couch as Nyx waddled up to her, his blocks in one hand, her gift in the other.

“Thank you, buddy,” she said, laughing quietly as Nyx went back to playing with his blocks. Nesta slowly undid the bow on the top of the box, and tore off the wrapping paper.

She was left with a small, black velvet box.

Her heart stopped beating in her chest. She couldn’t breathe, nearly forgot how to move, as she looked at the velvet box in her hand. Her thumb brushed over the soft fabric. “Cassian…”

“Open it, Nes,” he whispered, and she could hear the smile on his face.

She opened the box and fought the quiet gasp as she gazed at the beautiful ring inside.

A brilliant, cushion-cut diamond was nestled in the center of a ring of diamonds, and in the colorful lights of the Christmas tree, it sparkled.

She repeated herself, not quite remembering how to speak. “Cass…”

He gently took the box from her hand and slid from the couch, settling down on one knee.

“I know we haven’t had the most conventional relationship, but who we are, where we came from, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. This past year has simultaneously been the best and worst of my life. I lost my best friend, my entire world got turned upside down, but…” He took her hand in his. “I have the family I never imagined I would. I love Nyx. I can’t imagine a day without him now. Or a single minute without you, Nesta. I love you and I want to spend every day of the rest of my life reminding you of that.”

She was crying.

She didn’t know when the tears had begun, but they were streaming freely down her cheeks.

“Nesta,” he breathed, his voice a ragged mess. “Nesta, will you marry me?”

“Yes.” She had begun saying the word before he had even finished his question. “Yes, Cassian, absolutely, yes.”

Cassian was pulling her toward him, kissing her without a care in the world. She laughed as their lips met, an unworldly amount of joy flooding throughout her body. They kissed, and Nyx laughed, and Cassian slid the ring onto her finger.

His fiancée.

His future wife.

He wasn’t sure how exactly he had gotten here, wasn’t sure how either of them had survived the past year, but somehow, they had. And they’d done it together.

It was a situation that could have damned them, that could have destroyed them both. There had been hard times, but the good far outweighed the bad. Just like he knew the future would as well.

Cassian could face anything, as long as his family was at his side.

#snacmc lawki #life as we know it #snacmc collabs #nessian #nesta archeron #cassian #acotar #acomaf #acowar #acofas #acosf

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