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maddie-grove · 3 years

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The Top Twenty Books I Read in 2020

My main takeaways:

I’m glad that I set certain reading goals this year (i.e., reading an even mix of different genres and writing about each book I read on this tumblr). I feel like it really expanded my horizons.

There are a lot of proper names on my Top 20 list this year, which possibly means something about identity? That, or I just tried to read more Victorian novels.

Be horny, and be kind.

Now...

20. The White Mountains by John Christopher (1967)

In a world ruled by unseen creatures who roam the countryside in tall metal tripods, all humans are “capped” (surgically fitted with metal plates on their heads) at age fourteen. Thirteen-year-old Will Parker looks forward to becoming a man, but a conversation with a mysterious visitor to his village raises a few doubts. This early YA dystopia has gorgeous world-building (notably a trip to the ruins of Paris) and expert pacing. The choices Will has to make are also more surprising and complicated than I ever anticipated.

19. What Happened at Midnight by Courtney Milan (2013)

John Mason wants revenge on his fiancée Mary after she skips town following her father’s death...apparently with the funds that her father, John’s business partner, embezzled from their company. When he tracks her down, though, she’s working as a lady’s companion to the wife of a controlling gentleman who refuses to pay her wages, and John’s fury turns to sympathy and curiosity. This is a smart, well-plotted Victorian-set novella about a couple who builds a better relationship after a rocky start.

18. Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (1943)

It’s 1773, and fourteen-year-old Bostonian Johnny Tremain has it all: a promising apprenticeship to a silversmith, the run of his arguably senile master’s household, and...unresolved grief over his widowed mother’s death? When a workplace “accident” ruins his hand and career, though, he must “forge” a new identity. Despite its jingoism and surfeit of historical exposition, I fell in love with this weird early YA novel. It’s a fascinating, heartbreaking portrayal of disability and ableism, and, to be fair, Forbes was just jazzed about fighting the Nazis.

17. Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf by Hayley Krischer (2020)

After universally beloved jock Sean Nessel rapes starry-eyed junior Ali Greenleaf at a party, his queen-bee friend Blythe Jensen agrees to smooth things over by befriending his victim. Ali knows Blythe’s motives are weird and sketchy, but being friends with a popular, exciting girl is preferable to dealing with the fallout of the rape. This YA novel is a complex, astute exploration of trauma and moral responsibility.

16. The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein (2017)

Rothstein details how the federal U.S. government allowed, encouraged, and sometimes even forcibly brought about segregation of black and white Americans during the early and mid-twentieth century, with no regard for the unconstitutionality of its actions. He brings home the staggering harm to black Americans who were kept from living in decent housing, shut out of home ownership for generations, and denied the opportunity to accumulate wealth for generations. It’s an impactful read, and I was honestly shocked to learn Rothstein isn’t a lawyer, because the whole thing reads like an expansion of an excellent closing statement.

15. My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf (2012)

In this graphic memoir, Backderf looks back on his casual, fleeting friendship with future serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, a high school classmate who amused Backderf and his geeky friends with bizarre, chaotic antics. Backderf brings their huge, impersonal high school to life, illustrating how the callousness and cruelty of such an environment allowed an isolated, troubled teen to morph into something much more disturbing without anyone really noticing. It’s a work of baffled, tentative empathy and regret that stayed with me long after I finished it.

14. Daniel Deronda by George Eliot (1876)

Gwendolyn Harleth, beautiful and ambitious but with no real outlet, finds herself compelled to marry a heartless gentleman with a shady past. Daniel Deronda, adopted son of her husband’s uncle, finds himself drawn into her orbit due to his helpful nature, but he’s also dealing with a lot of other stuff, like helping a Jewish opera singer and figuring out his parentage. I love George Eliot and, although this bifurcated novel isn’t her most accessible work, it’s highly rewarding. The psychological twists and turns of Gwendolyn’s story are a wonder to experience, and Daniel’s discovery of his past and a new community is moving.

13. The Plot Against America by Philip Roth (2004)

The Roths, an ordinary working-class Jewish family in 1940 Newark, find their quiet lives descending into fear, uncertainty, and strife after Charles Lindbergh, celebrity pilot and Nazi sympathizer, becomes president of the United States. This alternate history/faux-memoir perfectly captures the slow creep of fascism and the high-handed cruelty of state-sanctioned discrimination, as well as the weirdness of living a semi-normal life while all of that is going on. Also: fuck Herman and Alvin for messing up Bess’s coffee table! She is a queen, and she deserves to read Pearl S. Buck in a pleasant setting!

12. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (1850)

Young David Copperfield has an idyllic life with his sweet widowed mom and devoted nursemaid Peggotty, until his cruel stepfather ruins everything. David eventually manages to find safe harbor with his eccentric aunt, but his troubles have only begun. Although the quality of the novel falls off a little once David becomes an adult, I don’t even care; the first half is one of the most beautiful, funny, brilliantly observed portrayals of the joys and sorrows of childhood that I’ve ever read.

11. The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve by Stephen Greenblatt (2017)

Greenblatt examines the evolution and cultural significance of the story of Adam and Eve from the Bible to the modern day (but mostly it’s about Milton). I can’t speak to the scholarship of this book--I’m not an expert on the Bible or Milton or bonobos--but I do know that it’s a gorgeously written meditation on love, mortality, and free will. Greenblatt brought me a lot of joy as an unhappy teenager, and he came through for me again during the summer of 2020.

10. The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg (2019)

Self-conscious seventeen-year-old Jordan is mortified when his widowed mother hires Max, an outgoing jock from his school, to help out with their struggling food truck. As they get to know each other, though, they realize that they have more in common than they thought, and they end up helping each other through a particularly challenging summer. This is an endearing, exceedingly well-balanced YA romance that tackles serious issues with a light touch and a naturalness that’s rare in the genre.

9. Red as Blood by Tanith Lee (1983)

In nine wonderfully lurid stories, Tanith Lee retells fairy tales with a dark, historically grounded, and lady-centered twist. Highlights include a medieval vampiric Snow White, a vengeful early modern Venetian Cinderella, and a Scandinavian werewolf Little Red Riding Hood. Fairy tale retellings are right up my alley, and Lee’s collection is impressively varied and creative.

8. A Room with a View by E.M. Forster (1908)

Unnerved by an impulsive make-out session with egalitarian George Emerson on a trip to Florence, young Edwardian woman Lucy Honeychurch goes way too far the other way and gets engaged to snobbish Cecil Vyse. How can she get out of this emotional and social pickle? This is an absolutely delightful romance that gave a timeless template for romantic comedies and dramas for 100-plus years.

7. My Ántonia by Willa Cather (1918)

Jim Burden, a New York City lawyer, tells the story of his friendship with slightly older Bohemian immigrant girl Ántonia when they were kids together on the late-nineteenth-century Nebraska prairie. It was a pretty pleasant time, give or take a few murders, suicides, and attempted rapes. This is one of the sweetest stories about unrequited love I’ve ever read, and it has some really enjoyable queer subtext.

6. Mister Death’s Blue-Eyed Girls by Mary Downing Hahn (2012)

In 1956 Maryland, gawky teen Nora’s peaceful existence is shattered by the unsolved murder of her friends Cheryl and Bobbi Jo right before summer vacation. Essentially left to deal with her trauma alone, she begins to question everything, from her faith in God to the killer’s real identity. Hahn delivers a beautiful coming-of-age story along with a thoughtful portrait of how a small community responds to tragedy.

5. The Lais of Marie de France by Marie de France, with translation and introduction/notes by Robert Herring and Joan Ferrante (original late 12th century, edition 1995)

In twelve narrative poems, anonymous French-English noblewoman Marie de France spins fantastically weird tales of love, lust, and treachery. Highlights include self-driving ships, gay (?) werewolves, and more plot-significant birds than you can shake a stick at. Marie de France brings so much tenderness, delicacy, and startling humor to her stories, offering a wonderful window to the distant past.

4. Maus by Art Spiegelman (1980-1991)

In this hugely influential graphic novel/memoir, Art Spiegelman tells the story of how his Polish Jewish parents survived the Holocaust. He portrays all the characters as anthropomorphic animals; notably, the Jewish characters are mice and the Nazi Germans are cats. I read the first volume of Maus back in 2014 and, while I appreciated and enjoyed it, I didn’t get the full impact until I read both volumes together early in 2020. Spiegelman takes an intensely personal approach to his staggering subject matter, telling the story through the lens of his fraught relationship with his charismatic and affectionate, yet truly difficult father.

3. At the Dark End of the Street by Danielle L. McGuire (2010)

McGuire looks at a seldom-explored aspect of racism in the Jim Crow South (the widespread rape and sexual harassment of black women by white men) and the essential role of anti-rape activism led by black women during the Civil Rights movement. This is a harrowing yet tastefully executed history, and it’s also a truly inspirational story of collective activism.

2. In for a Penny by Rose Lerner (2010)

Callow Lord Nevinstoke has to mature fast when his father dies, leaving him an estate hampered by debts and extremely legitimate grievances from angry tenant farmers. To obtain the necessary funds, he marries (usually!) sensible brewing heiress Penelope Brown, but they face problems that not even a sizable cash infusion can fix. This is a refreshingly political romance with a deliciously tense atmosphere and fascinating themes, as well as an almost painfully engaging central relationship.

1. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (1814)

Fanny Price, the shy and sickly poor relation of the wealthy Bertram family, is subtly mistreated by most of her insecure and/or self-absorbed relatives, with the exception of her kind cousin Edmund. When the scandalous Crawford siblings visit the neighborhood, though, it shakes up her life for good and ill. I put off reading Mansfield Park for years--it’s practically the last bit of Austen writing that I consumed, including most of her juvenilia--and yet I think it’s my favorite. Fanny is an eminently lovable and interesting heroine, self-doubting and flawed yet possessed of a strong moral core, and the rest of the characters are equally realistic and compelling. Austen really made me think about the point of being a good person, both on a personal and a global scale.

#books #reading #rape #racism #genocide #murder #(it was a more cheerful reading year than these tags indicate)#(or was it? i don't know)

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nachohypno · 4 years

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Nate and Dave Ch. 5

Dave’s POV

I woke up on the floor, next to my bed.

I got up and admired my beautiful soulmate for a bit, before checking the time on my phone. Early, that’s good.

I placed a kiss on Nate’s forehead, as the sleepy bro faced the ceiling. I was still amazed with how this all started.

I was just walking around the corridor at school, when this really good smell hits my nose. My nose never failed me, and I was hoping to see what that was. It was something I never smelled before, not even pancakes were that good. (And I loved pancakes!).

I started following that smell, like it was the most important thing in the world. It was calling to me; I just knew it.

Seconds later, I was in front of this guy I’ve never talked to, but I’ve seen him in my class. He was one of Sammy’s dorky friends. I knew Sammy, the whole team knew Sammy. He’s the student council’s president, and he was used to hanging out with everyone.

After confirming that the smell came from him, a sudden realization went through my entire body.

He was my soulmate.

At the moment, I felt blissful. And I still felt like that every moment I spend with him.

It wasn’t long afterwards after I had to spill the beans about my true nature as a werewolf. He ordered me to tell the truth, and I had to happily do so. Made everything easier, of course.

My bro has been really cool since the first time we’ve met.

I smiled as I gave my love another glance, before walking to the bathroom.

I looked at myself on the mirror. Killer body. Big pecs, great abs.

‘I’m soooo handsome’ I thought, smiling and winking at my reflection, while bouncing my pecs for a few seconds.

I looked at the leather bowser collar around my neck. It felt good to wear, it was a gift from Nate. It only made me love him even more.

It reminded me that I’m his good puppy boy.

You see, I would be pretty mad if someone mocked me about me being a werewolf. But… this was Nate I’m talking about, I just wanted to be on my knees in front of him, waiting to serve and obey him as my lovely soulmate.

So, if he wanted me to be a good puppy boy, then hell, I’m a good puppy boy.

I was still excited after last night’s full moon. The mandatory transformation lasted only for the night, but I still felt its effects on my personality. Those usually lasted a few hours after the night was over, but nothing I couldn’t handle.

I washed my teeth and tidied my short hair. I liked to look good and hot!

When I finished, and as much as it hurt me to do this… I had to wake up Nate. We had to go to school together, and I knew my love wouldn’t like arriving late, so it would be good for me to arrive a bit earlier today so he can make it in time.

I walked up to the bed and leaned in, I placed my hand in his shoulder and softly shook him a few times. “Nate… Hey Nate, time to wake up, bro” I whispered, trying to be as gentle as possible.

He opened his eyes slowly, and rubbed them a bit before saying “Hmm…? What time is it…?”

I checked my phone. “6 am, we have a while before having to go. And I hear mom is downstairs preparing breakfast” I said, smelling the pancakes. Pops must have told mom about my soulmate, or at least that we had a guest.

Nate just took a moment to fully wake up, before sitting on the bed. “Hmm…” He looked so cute. Sleepy, a bit confused, covered in my bed sheets. I loved him so much. “That smells so good…” He mumbled.

I smiled, before leaning in to give him a kiss. I was used to kissing roughly, to assert my dominance with my girl, but… I couldn’t do that with Nate, I wanted to be gentle and careful with him. He kissed me back, and I knew he enjoyed it. I’m a pretty amazing kisser.

Even if he doesn’t feel the same about me. Even if he doesn’t love me like I love him, I wanted to prove him that I’m a good soulmate.

I reluctantly broke the kiss. As much as I’d like to jump back in bed and be with him, I knew he’d hate being late for school. I noticed I was still on my underwear, so I walked over to my dresser and grabbed some jeans and a plain colored fitted tee, finishing the hot guy look with my always-needed varsity jacket.

My love decided to get up after a bit, and changed his clothes for the ones he grabbed at his house before we came here. It was a good opportunity to see him on his underwear, so cute and sexy.

Before we went downstairs, I took off my bowser collar and putted it back in my school bag again. Mom and Pops would probably not like that detail, but I loved it.

“Ready?” I asked him, ruffling his hair a bit.

He nodded, a bit dazedly. “I’m still a bit sleepy, but that helps with the anxiety” He yawned “…Less inhibitions, I guess”

I smiled. I was lowkey hoping that he would actually want to stay home, order me to transform and just jerk off together like we’ve did a few days ago. I would be so happy to do that.

I shook my head, seems like I lost myself in fantasy again!

I opened the door and we went downstairs together. I was right, mom was making pancakes!

“Look who’s finally up…” She mumbled, before flipping the current pancake with mastery. I spent half of my childhood eating pancakes, she’s pretty much an expert by now. “Why don’t you get ready, guys? Just this one and the pancake towers will be ready”

I noticed Nate froze in place, but I grabbed his hand and crossed our fingers together. I couldn’t tell if that helped him, but it was surely helping me. We walked together to the table and sat down next to each other. I gave him a reassuring smile and he returned it.

As we sat down, mom left two plates with a tower of five pancakes each. Mom was a really great woman. Unlike me and pops, she had dark brown hair, but I got her blue eyes. She always seemed happy and caring about everyone.

As she left a bottle of maple syrup in front of us, she gave Nate a sweet smile before presenting herself “Adam told me about you already, I’m Sandy Walker, Dave’s mom”

He nodded, shivering a bit. He had this weird thing where he gets nervous about everything, I noticed it since day one. “Nate Hall… Dave’s friend” He mumbled, trying to return the smile.

“He’s my soulmate” I said, assuming that pops already told her everything.

And I was right, apparently. “I know, your dad explained everything” She walked around the table to hug me “I’m so happy for you, David!” She said as she hugged me tightly. It wasn’t a problem, I was used to tight hugs, but Nate was a lot more delicate than I was so I hoped that she could control her strength.

I was pretty nervous though, and I was glad my parents weren’t mentioning any of it. I’m talking about my girlfriend, Leslie.

“So, you’re okay with it?” I asked her, and looked over at Nate. He just looked down at his plate, barely moving.

“I can’t say I’m amused by the concept of soulmates, if I’m being honest” She said, with a bit of disgust in her voice. But it disappeared as soon as she continued speaking. “But you seem pretty happy, and Nate, you shouldn’t be nervous. Nothing bad is going to happen, honey” She finished, with a sweet voice.

Like trying to reassure him that he’s safe with us, or more specifically, me.

Nate returned the smile, and mumbled a “T-Thankyou”. I assumed his nervousness would fade away over time, it was a new thing for the two of us.

Leslie has met my parents already, but she hadn’t visited a lot since. They liked her, and she liked them, but I never thought it would be too important to have her around a lot at my house. Unless it was to have sex! I never miss a good chance when the house is empty!

You can’t invite a lot of people to fuck when your parents have heightened senses, and can hear you from the living room.

Mom asked Nate about himself. Like his hobbies and stuff like that, but the poor guy didn’t know what to answer. “I like… playing videogames. S-Sorry, I’m more of an introvert, normally”

Mom laid his back on the wall and took a sip of his coffee, looking at him “It’s okay. My best friend is an introvert too and I know I shouldn’t push some subjects with her.” She said, quite chilled. She was trying to put some comfort in her words, to make Nate less nervous, but it didn’t seem to work with Nate. “But, you can ask for more pancakes if you want”

“Oh, I do! I want more pancakes!” I said. Pancakes are my favorite thing in the world, only surpassed by my beautiful Nate!

“Oh no, not for you. You get more aggressive when you have a sugar rush, and I don’t care if your principal shrugs it off. I won’t support that kind of behavior from my son!”

I rolled my eyes as she took the last sip of her coffee and walked back into the kitchen, as I went back to enjoying my remaining pancakes. I looked over at Nate, and noticed he was looking at me too.

I offered my hand to him, and he put his (Which was noticeable smaller than mine) on top of mine. We crossed our fingers and I smiled at him.

“I love you” I mumbled, but Nate remained silent and blushed.

After breakfast was over, we went to my room and grabbed our bags. I pulled him in for a kiss before we left the room again, and he seemed to enjoy it a lot, placing his arms around my neck as I grabbed the back of his head with my hand.

We broke the kiss, and continued on our way.

----

We both remained silent as I drove to school.

He looked at me and tried to break the silence with a “So… what do you think?”

“Hmm?” I mumbled, looking at the driving mirror.

“About your parents, do you think… they like me?” He looked down at his crossed hands as he said that. I could tell he was nervous -again- as he waited for my answer.

“They loved you, I guess” I said with a shrug as I turned the car to the left, almost arriving to school. “I mean, they were a lot more judgmental with Leslie, so given their reaction I’d like to think that they actually liked you”

I looked at him and noticed a small smile on his face. Damn, I really, really loved this guy. Even his smell was amazing, which I could feel from across a school corridor. Calling out to me, telling me to go near my love and place my arm around his shoulder or grab his hand and walk together.

“Dave?” He said, looking up at me.

“Yeah, bro?” We were about to arrive when he shot his request. But I felt it more like an order.

Not really, though. He requested it, but his wish was my command, so I had to comply with anything he wanted. I loved it.

“May I ask… Remember what we chatted about yesterday?” I gave him a nod, before he continued “Well… Could you apologize to him? To the guy, I mean”

My stomach sank.

But… he was right. If I wanted Nate to trust me, I had to be a better person. That would be a good start. Besides, I was going to do it anyway, because of my urge to obey him. My soulmate was so caring for others, it made me love him even more (If that’s possible!).

I stopped the car on the school’s parking, and gave him a nod “Sure, bro. I’ll apologize to Liam as soon as I see him, alright?”

He smiled at me, and I leaned in to kiss him. So good… I’ll miss this during the following hours.

I broke the kiss and grabbed our bags from the back seats. I gave him his bag before leaving the car, and locking it down with my key.

Nate and I separated before entering school. I wanted to kiss him, so badly. But, that would give us away, and I’m supposed to be a loyal boyfriend to my girl.

I’m supposed to.

It was kind of weird for me to arrive at this time, I usually arrive two minutes before having to enter my class, to be the least amount of time possible in this hellhole.

As I walked to my locker, I noticed Liam (The nerd that usually did the football team’s essays. We liked to keep him in check, to remind him of his place.) But as soon as I saw him, I felt… bad?

It was something weird. I gave it some thought before realizing it. Nate told me to apologize to him, and I wanted to do whatever Nate told me to do. I love Nate, he’s amazing and so caring about everyone. He’s truly a wonderful bro.

I walked up to the nerdy guy, as he stood straight with his head down. We had him really well trained to give respect to his superiors, heh.

…That’s bad. I felt worse now.

“Hey, Liam?” I said, trying to give him a friendly tone, but that would probably scare him more. I liked to use friendly tones when I’m about to beat up someone.

“Y-yes… s-sir?” He asked, without moving even a single inch. He was probably paralyzed by fear.

I swallowed some saliva, before resuming “I wanted to say that… I’m sorry about… well, everything I’ve done to you”

He slowly lifted his head to look at me. A really confused expression on his face, as he quickly looked back down. “I’ve realized I’ve been awful with you, and I’m really sorry about that” I continued.

What would Nate do in my position? “Uh… And you can also stop doing my essays. If I want to be someone in life, I can’t expect everyone to do my job for me, bruh” I told him, patting his shoulder in a friendly way.

Liam remained silent, as I removed my hand from his shoulder. He gave a nervous nod and mumbled “T-t-thank… Thank you, sir” Poor guy, he was probably too afraid of me to think it was a real apology.

But, I did as I was told, and that felt amazing. I couldn’t help but smile as I walked away and resumed my way towards my locker. I don’t know what I’m going to do there, since my teammates wouldn’t arrive until a few minutes later.

I reached my locker and just… laid there, thinking about what just happened. ‘I’m really an asshole’ I thought. I’ve never been able to see it, until I noticed my soulmate was afraid of me.

I thought I was fine, acting like I own the place. Not because of my werewolf powers, that’s just a plus of the job. My pops always wanted me to be respected, and to make me stand up for myself. I guess I did that… way too well.

I rubbed my face, as I noticed my teammates coming from the other half of the corridor. We slapped hands, as they noticed I arrived earlier than usually. We liked to arrive at the same time, to seem stronger as we passed by.

I greeted my teammates one by one as we slapped hands.

“Bro, why so early?” Asked one.

I shrugged, as I leaned back on the locker “No reason, just… couldn’t sleep last night, and didn’t find anything better to do. Catch my drift, bro?” I faked a yawn after that. I looked over at the other half of the corridor, noticing Nate greeting his friends.

“Hell yeah, bro. It sucks when it happens-” I stopped paying attention. Leslie entered the school.

Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck, what am I going to do? Was I going to just… break up with her?

“Hey Dave!” She said, as she noticed me. I would usually pull her in for a kiss, to show off my hot girlfriend to the rest of my teammates, but today… that urge was gone. If it were Nate, I would do it, but I saw Leslie as my friend now, not my girlfriend anymore.

“Hey Lee… How’s it going?” I answered. She smiled, like she always does. She’d always been a cheerful girl, happy all the time and trying to make everyone feel better. It hurt me a bit what I was about to do. Before she could answer, I asked “Can we have a chat? In private?”

She seemed confused, but nodded “Sure? Is everything alright, Davey?” She placed a hand on my cheek. The vultures that I call teammates seemed interested in our conversation, but tried to pass it off making fake chat about football.

That’s why I wanted to talk in private. I pointed to a nearby door, and she nodded in agreement “Right, let’s go” she mumbled, grabbing my hand as we walked together.

I entered the janitor’s closet with Leslie. Just like we liked to do when I wanted to make out with her at school.

Brown hair, with a few pinks streaks here and there that fitted nicely in the ponytail she liked to have. She wore her reading glasses and a turtleneck sweater, with black leggings.

You could think that she’s a nerdy girl, but she’s actually one of the hottest cheerleaders in school. It was kind of natural for us to be together.

I felt bad about this, she didn’t deserve it at all. But thinking about my real soulmate… it kinda fogged my mind for a second, as I imagined me and Nate together.

I shook my head, and noticed she was talking to me. “Dave, what do you want to talk about? We have to enter class in a few minutes and-“

“I want to break up with you” I interrupted her, after gathering the nerve to actually say it. I felt awful, and I could she didn’t expect it. It was like I just dumped a bucket of cold water on her.

Her face showed some disgust, “Yeah, well I don’t have the time for this” But, before she could run away crying or something like that, I used my secret move. I thought about this during the whole day, and I wasn’t sure if it would work, but here I go.

“Wait… I’m gay” It kinda wasn’t true, I’m not gay. I’m just in love with Nate, I don’t like dudes. I love Nate, does that mean I’m Natesexual?

Her expression of confusion and anger vanished as a little smile appeared. She’s one of those persons who fight for LGBT rights and etc., so I really hoped she would not feel bad.

“…Really?” She asked, and I gave her a nod. She came forward and gave me a hug. “Alright, I can’t get in the way of love, I guess… I feel bad, but I’m still happy you decided to explore your sexuality. It would have been nice if you told me before about it, it could have lightened the blow…”

“I-I know, Lee. But you know me, I didn’t know what my mates would say about it if they found out”

She nodded, apparently understanding everything. “So… the rumors are true? You and that guy… Nate? I’ve been trying to ignore them all week. Telling myself that ‘Dave can’t be gay, he hunts gay guys down at the corridors!’ –Not saying I approve that but it’s impossible to make you change your mind-”

Huh, fucking high school. Rumors fly around here like crazy, you can’t get your guard down for a second that people start talking about ya.

I nodded, it was pointless to hide it for long. I wanted to date Nate, anyway, she would find out sooner or later.

She always tried to stop me from bullying nerds around, trying to appeal to my soft side. She managed to, a few times. But I’m not some pussy, I get my own shit together and do stuff on my own.

I looked down at my feet, like some child who misbehaved. It wasn’t her fault at all, the soulmate bond is part of my nature, and there’s nothing I could do (or would do) about it. I just love Nate now, simple as that.

“Can we still be friends?” I asked her. Not loving her in a romantic way doesn’t mean that she’s not a great person I’d like to have around.

“Hey, don’t feel bad. I totally get it, and I’d be happy to still be your friend, Davey” She kissed my cheek, in a friendly way, and hugged me again. “I won’t say anything until you’re ready to do it yourself, you can trust me. As for the breakup… I’ll make something up, alpha guy” She finished with a wink, before heading outside.

I’ve always thought about telling her about the werewolf thing, but decided it would only cause trouble. I’ve only told Nate because he told me to spill the beans about what happened, otherwise he wouldn’t have found out either.

I stood there a few minutes, smiling to myself. She really was amazing, although that didn’t stop me from feeling bad for having to breakup with my girlfriend, but I wasn’t going to cry over it.

Crying’s for pussies.

I went out of the janitor’s closet and looked around. Everyone was already heading in for class, so I just went to my class and hoped my teammates weren’t going to start asking shit. Maybe I should sit with Nate again today?

----

Sadly, I didn’t manage to sit with Nate. I was tempted to make his partner leave his side so I could sit, but I was trying to make Nate feel alright around me, so that was out of the question.

After science class, we had PE class together today. Needless to say, my favorite class.

I remained around my fellow teammates. As I mentioned before, I was the alpha of my team. The leader, you could say. I still remember quite vividly when I walked in the locker room after football practice and ordered Butch to never mess around with Nate again.

He laughed at my face, and that was one of the worst mistakes he could have made in his life. A well thrown punch at the belly would have sent the message correctly, but he knew what was coming. Another threat with me raising my fist was enough for him to beg for mercy.

Never mess around with the alpha wolf in campus.

We were still good, we’re bros after all. I made a request, and he tried to mock me about it, but we had to keep ourselves cool. We had an image to maintain, although I kinda forgot about that when I grabbed Lucas’ hair and pushed him against a locker in the middle of a crowded corridor.

Nobody mocks my love. Nobody.

Speaking of which, he was at the other half of the gym.

A big, roofed place with some bleachers at the sides. This is where the basketball games are held, but honestly, I preferred the football field.

But the coach wanted us to do some sets of exercises. Nothing I couldn’t handle.

Before we actually started, I noticed Nate and his friends were looking at my direction, so I decided to play dumb and try to eavesdrop.

I grabbed the mat beneath me, positioned in a better way so my ear would point to Nate and his friends, then focused on them as I started with the sets of crunches the coach told me and a few classmates to do. It was a rotational circuit, I loved these.

“-whole school has been talking about Dave apparently hanging out with you at breaks. What’s up with that, dude?” Asked Sammy, the guy I mentioned before. Sammy… he’s alright, I guess. He’s not a nerd, nor a fag. We like to mock him by calling him Sammy, just because he doesn’t like it.

He’s one of those guys who want to get a perfect life, perfect grades, the perfect chick, etc. A golden boy, but he doesn’t play sports, he just acknowledges our superiority and tries to not piss us off, in exchange for our support on his campaign as student council’s president.

We had a kinda deal with him for that, ‘Our votes for his campaign in exchange of more funds for the extracurricular activities, but with a big focus on football and cheerleading’. Hell yeah, we accepted.

The third wheel of the group was Dick, Sammy’s best friend. Dick is cool, he was going to join the team but got turned off by our masculinity. Whatever, if he can’t handle us, it’s his problem.

He ended up joining the baseball team, but barely hangs out with his teammates. He prefers his lil’ group of friends. Not my problem if he wants to be a weirdo, though.

“Uh… Dave’s just… I don’t know what you want me to tell you, maybe he decided to change for the better? You could ask him if you want to know” My bro tried to be dismissive of the conversation, like not wanting to push the subject forward.

“I know, Nate. But defending you against Butch and Lucas at the bathroom? And a few days afterwards he tries to apologize to Liam? People speaks, man-“

“I think you’re just worried that lil’ Nate here might have something going on with the big bully Dave, bro. Leave the guy be, he’s not gettin’ hurt or anything” Huh, thanks Dick. You would make a good teammate, now that I think of it. “But, if he tries to hurt you, I don’t care if he’s bigger or stronger than me. I can grab a baseball bat and leave him without children, a’ight?”

Nate shivered at the thought, and I frowned. Who does this moron think he is to speak about me like that?

“If you get caught by violence and fighting one of the principal’s favorite jocks, you’ll most likely get expelled. I would be careful if I were you, man” Sammy told him, saying the absolute truth.

“Guys” Nate finally spoke up. “I’m alright. He hasn’t tried to hurt or threaten me, he just acted friendly with me and I really appreciate that for once” My love explained, I gave a soft sigh of relief as I heard him talk. “And now, we have to climb this damn rope. Who made up these awful exercises? Satan?”

I chuckled, and Butch noticed me as we continued with our crunches “Bro, what are you laughing at?”

I shook my head “Nothin’, just a meme I thought about” I looked across the gym and noticed Nate started climbing up the rope. I always liked that exercise, it was pretty easy. But I could see why he didn’t like it.

He struggled A LOT to hold on to the rope and not fall down. He wasn’t the most athletic guy, and I wondered how he managed to remain so skinny. A worried look crossed my face as he seemed about to fall down a few times, but I tried to reassure myself that his friends at the floor would catch him if anything happened.

After a bit, a few of the guys around me started looking at him and mumbling something, as they took a break from their sets of crunches. And as soon as I noticed it, Nate seemed to noticed it too.

He looked at my direction, then at the guys lying beside me as they looked back at him and chuckled. His face did a 180° from focused on climbing to completely terrified. My friends weren’t saying anything hurtful, though. They were just staring, but Nate didn’t know that. He probably thought they were mocking him.

But instead of falling down, he just stopped hanging as tightly and slid down the rope. That probably hurt, but he seemed alright. Dick started climbing the rope after him as my soulmate just took a break at the bleachers and drank some water.

I was tempted to go near him, and I did. I got up from my mat and just jogged over to his side, sitting beside him on the bleachers.

He had a surprised look, seeing me near him during class. “Hey?” He asked, as he looked for his bottle of water in his bag.

“Hey, how’s it hanging?” Oh fuck, I shouldn’t have said that after he almost fell from the rope.

“Uh… sort of good, I guess. What brings you to my lair?” He said, rising his hands like some kind of overlord showing off his base. I rolled my eyes, such a nerd.

And I loved him so much.

“Just wanted to spend some time with my bro” I said, patting his back softly to avoid hurting him. I’ve been thinking about controlling my strength around him, since I could easily hurt him if I wasn’t careful enough. And hurting my soulmate was the last thing I could ever want.

Nate remained silent, just looking over at the other guys as he drank his water.

“What happened over there? Got nervous, bro?” I asked,

“Yep, I can’t handle people watching me. Guess that’s why I never entered drama club” He replied, as he got up. “But it’s alright, we’re about to move on to the next exercise anyway” He smiled at me before getting up.

He looked cute when he was nervous, but seeing him happy around me was even better. It made me feel like a good soulmate, like I’m doing my job and making him feel loved and happy.

But before he returned to the group, I grabbed his hand and he turned to me. “Bro… wanna hang out after school? I have a place I’d like to show you” I said quietly, so Nate’s friends wouldn’t hear what we were talking about.

He seemed to think about it, before saying a “Uh… Okay, now I’m curious about it, but I can wait”

I smiled at him, and felt an urge to kiss him, but quickly reminded myself of where we were. “Yeah, can’t wait to show it to you, bro” I answered, and with that he resumed his walk towards his friends as they moved to a different spot for their next exercise.

Trying to concentrate amongst all the chatter in the court, I could easily eavesdrop again on what Dick and Sammy were saying as soon as Nate rejoined them. “What was that? Anything important?” One of them asked.

I noticed Nate was flustered and smiled. “I’ll… I’ll tell you later, c’mon we gotta do some push-ups”

I kept walking towards my group again, and prepared to climb the rope.

----

Classes were over for the day, and I waited for Nate at the parking lot. I sent him a message to come with me as soon as he finished with his things.

I saw Nate coming from the parking entrance, so I grabbed my keys from my pocket and unlocked the car.

“Ready to go?” I asked him as he came close enough.

He gave me a nod, with a nervous smile. “Should I ask where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise, bro. I’ll tell you if you want to know, but I’ll show ya one of my favorite places in the world”

I opened the door for him as he spoke “I think I’ll just wait and see… I don’t want to ruin the surprise” He sat on the car and closed the door, and I walked to the driver’s side and entered the car myself.

We threw our bags to the back seats and drove off, away from the school and the always-watching dumbasses.

It wasn’t a long way. The forest was quite nearby, and it had a nice –Although small- road for the cars, for those who wanted to spend an evening at the forest camping or going for a swim at the nearby lake. That was our objective.

We arrived and grabbed our bags, before getting out of the car. I locked it again, and then looked around.

The green scenery was really awesome. I could feel myself in my element already, so I tried to recognize the surroundings. A few minutes later, I noticed a few signs left by the local forest rangers to help out the visitors. From that point, the lake was easy to find.

I still felt uneasy after everything that happened today. The apologizing to the nerd stuff was alright, I was happy to do anything that Nate wanted me to do. But… breaking up with my girlfriend –even if I wasn’t in love with her anymore- was still a rough moment, and Nate never told me to do that, so I wasn’t feeling especially happy.

Being with my soulmate helped a lot, though. That blissful feeling and warmness in my chest, the light fog in my mind as I could only think of keeping him happy and safe, and listen carefully just in case he asked me to do something for him, so I could obey as soon as possible.

We walked through the forest, holding hands like a pair of normal lovers. I looked at him, as he explored everything with his gaze. He looked nervous, as always, but also kinda excited.

He noticed me staring and blushed a bit. I smiled, brought his hand to my face and gave it a gentle kiss.

“Where are we going?” He asked, as we kept walking forward, seemingly without an objective in sight.

“The forest is one of my favorite places, used to come a lot with my pops during full moons, or with my teammates after a good bro night” I explained “I know a few nice spots to spend some time together, bro”

He nodded, and remained silent as we kept going. I had an idea.

“Wait,” I said, making him stop and look at me, a bit puzzled. “Jump on my back”

“Wait, what? Are we going full-on Twilight now?” He answered, probably thinking I’m joking.

“Nah, bro. But I thought I could carry you- Never mind, it was a dumb idea” Damn it, David. Now he’ll think that you’re weird.

But, he seemed to like the idea. Nate jumped on my back and wrapped his arms around my neck, not too roughly to avoid choking me. It felt amazing, being in close contact to him. I felt useful for him.

Being with Nate was like a spiral of positive emotions, unless I did something to upset him or hurt him in any way. And because I didn’t want to hurt him, I just jogged like a regular human would do, to avoid hitting him with tree branches or stuff like that.

“Enjoying the view?” I asked him, after the first minutes jogging. I wasn’t tired, and he wasn’t heavy at all (Even when we both had our school bags on). Perks of being really strong!

“Sort of, yeah” And I was glad to hear that. I had an idea about where to go, there was this lake me and my teammates liked to go and swim. I think it would make a really romantic spot, just the two of us!

I can feel his heart beating on my back. It felt so warm. The heartbeat of my most beloved person in the whole world. It felt so special and it made me so happy as I kept on jogging. I swear I'm lifting the whole world with my back and it's the best feeling ever.

I kept going for a good while, until we reached the lake. It was more like a pound, of sorts. A little cliff could be seen at the other side of it, perfect for cannon balls or backflips!

Nate got off my back and gave me a sweet kiss on the cheek. “Thanks for the ride” He said, still a bit nervous, but definitely more at ease about this whole date plan.

“Anytime, bro. If you ever need a soulmate to carry you, I would carry you to the ends of the earth” I said, taking a few steps closer to him and leaning in to make out. I would normally NOT say something so cheesy, but my babe deserved that and more.

His kisses were… amazing… I couldn’t get enough of him. I pulled him closer, so our bodies would be one against the other.

But, I had a better idea after a few minutes, and as much as it hurt me to do that, I had to break the kiss.

“Would you like to go and swim, bro?” I said, taking off my varsity jacket and putting it in my bag. He seemed to analyze the proposal, like he was conflicted whether on do that or not. It was the middle of the fall, but it wasn’t THAT cold yet.

“Uh… sure?” He said, a bit insecure, but giving me a nice smile. I proceeded to take off my clothes, and when he understood what was going on he did the same thing.

“We didn’t bring swimming trunks, so wanna skinny dip?” It was a kind of idea I had on the back of my mind during this whole thing. I thought about asking him to go to his house and get a swimming trunk, since I’m okay with skinny dipping and he obvious used smaller trunk sizes.

“I think… I prefer to stay in my underwear, sorry” He said, blushing. Nervous Nate… so cute and handsome. I couldn’t get hold of myself and gave him a cute smooch on the lips.

“It’s okay babe, as long as you’re comfortable it’s fine…” I did prefer to skinny dip, though. So after that, I took off my underwear and stood in front of him in all my naked glory. Even soft, my cock was a pretty good size, so I was really comfortable. “Check this out, bro”

I walked away from him, following the border of the lake as I climbed to the highest spot of the rock wall. I could see Nate still at the border, as he observed me with a worried look on his face. Aww, my love was worried about me!

As I reached my objective, I stroke a few poses for him, flexing my arms and tensing my torso for him to admire. I could feel my cock hardening a bit, thinking about Nate being proud of me as the good puppy boy I am.

That gave me an idea, I looked up at the sky and let out a loud “ARH-WOOOOOOOOOO”.

Nate clapped in awe, as he nervously looked around, but I knew there was nothing to worry about. No one would hear us in here, unless they were close. And by the looks of it, just me and Nate were around for the day.

After that, I turned around and took a deep breath. I closed my eyes and jumped back, attempting to do a backflip as I fell down into the water. It was cold, but nothing I couldn’t handle, I loved swimming here with my bros.

I swam back up to the surface, and looked to Nate, still on the edge of the lake. “C’mon bro! The water is sooo good!” I told him. He gave me a nod and slowly went in. I swam to his side and before he could notice, pulled him in for another kiss.

I was tempted to try and take off his underwear, but I didn’t want to make him mad. I had to respect my love’s decision and just enjoy our time together as much as I could.

He kissed me back, as I grabbed him and he crossed his legs around me. It was something pretty comfortable, and we were still on a pretty shallow spot to make sure we could do this without sinking down.

By this point, my cock was hard and leaking. I wanted Nate to order me around so badly, but that would have to wait. This moment was pretty amazing too. Just me and the love of my life.

“…Enjoying this, bro?” I asked him. “Just the two of us?”

“I-It’s… pretty cool, yeah” He mumbled. He looked around for a bit, before getting off me, then splashed some water at me playfully.

“Oh no, you just started a water war you won’t be able to win!” I said, returning the splash at him. He went underwater to avoid me, and I tried to look out for him, having my hands ready to splash his cute face.

I heard him returning to the surface and turned around quickly, throwing a big splash at him. He laughed, and it made me happy. I was happy to see Nate wasn’t scared of me like he was at the first day. I loved him so much.

He jumped on my back again, but I could totally carry him, even when I couldn’t feel my feet touching the ground anymore. “Oh yeah?” I said, before going underwater with him on my back. I was careful enough to avoid making him swallow the water, but still rough enough to make him hold tight from my neck.

I swam a bit deeper, noticing that he wrapped his legs around me again, probably for safety. I went back to the surface and we both took a big, deep breath. Just in case, I didn’t want my babe to drown or feel fear.

“That… That was… That was really fun” He managed to say, as he recovered his breath. It was getting late, and Nate felt really cold, so I decided to swim back to the border and get out of the lake.

“You’re freezin’ bro, let’s go back home before you get sick” I told him. He took off his underwear because it was wet, and tried to squeeze the water out of it. I grabbed my gym towel from my bag and passed it to him. As he soaked himself with the towel, I took a few steps away and started to shake my body to soak.

I heard Nate chuckle, so I kept going for a bit more. After that, we’ve both got dressed again (Although my bro was going commando now, due to his wet underwear). I grabbed my varsity jacket from my bag and placed it around him. “That’ll keep ya warm, love”

I noticed him blushing, “Thanks, but I’d like you to be warm too-” He started, before I interrupted him with a kiss.

“Being with you makes me warm and happy, bro. I love you” I said, after breaking the kiss.

He blushed more before trying to look away. I was used to him not answering my “I love you”’s, and it didn’t bother me at all. Spending time with my soulmate was proof enough that he also enjoyed my company.

We finished dressing up and walked back to the car. I wrapped my arm around him, as usual. My varsity jacket looked good on him, but it was a few sizes bigger. He looked cute though, small as he was.

“My house or your house?” I asked him, as I saw my car on the distance. We didn’t talk much on the way back to the car, but he was shivering. I had to warm my love ASAP.

“M-Mom would get worried if I-I spend t-two nights away f-from home” He said, trembling from head to feet. Fuck, bad idea going for a swim on the middle of fall. “But s-she has night shift t-tonight, my house w-would be empty” He finished.

“Fuck yeah, bro. Just me and you, cuddling on your small bed?”

He gave me a little punch in the guts. It didn’t hurt, it was more playful than mean. I pulled him closer after that as we arrived at the car.

---

Nate’s POV

Dave grabbed the mug of tea and walked towards the sofa, as I kept changing the TV channels, looking for something interesting to see.

The big jock left the mug on the coffee table and sat manspreading beside me, wrapping my shoulder with his arm as I relaxed on the sofa.

Suddenly, the TV went black as a message appeared. “We interrupt the regularly scheduled program to bring you this important message” Oh, what now?

“A group of dangerous individuals, known as the Greenwood’s Runaways have been spotted on their way to Blue Liberty town. If you recognize or have interacted with any of the following suspects, don’t hesitate to call the local police department. They have been confirmed to be highly dangerous.” A few images appeared on screen, showing the faces of what seemed to be high school students from varying ages. They didn’t seem dangerous, but… off. Like they were scared.

“Hmm” I mumbled as I changed the channel. I wonder if they had something to do with supernatural stuff too. As I said, the world gives a big shift after you learn this kind of stuff exists.

“Don’t worry bro, they wouldn’t stand a chance against me. I’ll protect you if anything happens, alright?”

I remained silent though. Today has been amazing, and Dave has been really sweet with me. I could have never imagined a guy like him inviting me to a date, and I really enjoyed it, despite my nervousness.

And I think… I got to trust him a lot more than I usually would. I loved being on his back and just… holding tight as he swam deeper into the lake, then went back up at the perfect moment because I was getting breathless.

I grabbed the tea, took a big sip of it and left it back on the coffee table, before laying my head on Dave’s lap. The big werewolf started doing the same ‘purr’ he does when I scratch his ear, but I wasn’t doing anything this time. Maybe he just enjoyed being near me? It was pretty relaxing, though.

“Nate?” He asked, looking down at me.

“Hmm?”

“I broke up with Leslie today”

I looked at him, mouth opened but words weren’t able to come out. I honestly didn’t know what to say, I never wanted him to break up with his girlfriend.

I’ve actually tried to be really careful with my words, so he wouldn’t do it just because I told him to. “And… How did that go?” I was curious nonetheless.

He moved his head a bit, like trying to seem jovial. “Pretty good, I guess. I told her I’m in love with another guy, and I knew she would take it well. We decided to remain as friends, so I guess everythin’ turned out alright! Oh, and I also apologized to Liam like you asked me to!”

He seemed happy to tell me this, but I couldn’t help and feel bad for that. “I-I… I’m sorry, I’ve never wanted to make you break up with her…” But he silenced me.

“It’s not your fault, you’ve never really asked me to do so, so it was on my own free will, bro. Don’t feel bad, I wanted it. I wanted this” Dave said, looking down at me with love in his eyes. “By the way, feeling warmer yet, or should I hug you to warm you more?”

I sat up again, as Dave took the chance to put his arm around me and pull me closer. “Hey…” He mumbled, before giving me a kiss. I kissed him back, starting a very nice make out session.

I’ve got used to this. Kind of. I tried to, at least.

I definitely never expected a werewolf to fall in love with me, let alone be my soulmate. But, I’m not going to complain anymore. I’m gonna try to relax, and enjoy having a wholesome jock as my soulmate.

Dave pushed me to lay down on the couch, before getting on top of me and resuming the kissing session.

I was still covered by a sheet, but that wasn’t going to stop Dave. He sat a few seconds to take off his tee, before grabbing the sheet and throwing it to the floor.

I saw the chance, and took off my shirt too, but I felt kind of weird. Dave had an amazing body, but I’m… not as athletic as him, huh. Not a surprise, honestly.

Dave got on top of me again and started to kiss my neck, it felt really nice. Then, he started moving down, kissing my torso, one of my nips, and kept going until he reached the start of my pants.

He looked up at me, with puppy pleading eyes. “Babe… Would you like me to continue? understand if you want to wait more…” I just stared at him, not knowing what to do or say. “But I assure you, bro... I’m gonna do my best to make ya feel good” He finished the statement with a wink.

Okay, he won me with that. I tried to get the words off my chest, but couldn’t. Finally, I mumbled a really nervous. “G-Go ahead”, with a nod.

It was all he needed.

The jock sat again and pulled off my pants, revealing my underwear with my already hard cock. Kisses get me pretty hard already. I’m not really a sex expert, but foreplay is for now my favorite part with the caresses and kisses.

My cock was average, not too long but not too short either. I don’t really know what the average length is… maybe 5 inches?

Dave looked up at me again, as he pulled off my underwear slowly, my cock starting to be visible now. He took it off me and throw it to the floor too. Now I was wishing for my mom to not appear at random saying that she forgot her jacket or something like that.

I noticed the werewolf hesitantly looking at my cock. “I-It’s okay… if you don’t want to, we can get back to kissing-“

“No,” He cut me off, looking straight into my eyes with his sharp blue eyes. He gave me a smile and looked back at my cock “I do want this, just… give me a minute, alright? It’s new territory for me”

I gave him a nod, and just waited. Dave took a deep breath, and I could hear him mumbling stuff like ‘You can do it, Dave. For him, for Nate’.

Dave went closer my cock and gave it a few kisses. It felt hot and I heard myself moaning from it. I covered my face with my arms and squirmed from how good it felt.

"K-keep going", I managed to tell him and felt him shiver from my order. I heard him moan a soft reply as he continued. My breath was hot, his mouth and tongue were hot, everything felt hot in that instant.

Until… I felt an urge.

It felt right to just order him around all of a sudden. My mouth threw the first thing that came to mind.

"C-Could you… Could you t-turn into a werewolf and blow me a-already, Dave?" I said, in a dominant way I’ve never spoken to anyone before. It was a weird command, but Dave sat back as his transformation started. I wanted to try this out, how many guys can say they got their first blowjob from a werewolf?

His transformation was almost instant this time, taking only like 10 seconds rather than a few minutes.

Maybe because I ordered him to? It didn't matter, he started to blow me with more energy and it was the best feeling I've ever had before. Did blowjobs really feel this good? What have I been missing during my whole life?!

I noticed his eyes were unfocused now. I assumed they’d get like that every time I ordered something to him, since it happened a few times already.

Surprisingly enough, he didn’t touch my cock with his teeth, not even once. In fact, it felt even more amazing, like his tongue was already prepared for this.

I left him do his job without ordering anything else, because it felt amazing. I loved every second of it, and I felt pissed when I could notice myself about to cum.

Maybe he knew a few tricks already? His girlfriend could have given him blowjobs before, so that’s probably where he learned it.

Before I could warn him about it, I came in his mouth, and he happily swallowed everything even when I didn’t tell him to do so. He licked like a good puppy boy, happy to clean it all. It still felt good, just not as amazing as when I was hard, but I was sure he could get me hard again in no time.

…Wait. Better not get carried away, it was just a blowjob. Maybe I could leave the rest for another day? It was an amazing day so far, after all.

After werewolf Dave finished cleaning my cock up, I noticed he didn’t regain his consciousness just yet. He just kept facing me, eyes still unfocused and his tongue lolling out like when I scratched his hair.

Like a good puppy boy.

“Uhm…” The dominance I displayed before was kind of gone, but I liked seeing him this way. I moved and grabbed our things from the floor, then looked at him “Could you carry me to my room?”

The zoned out werewolf didn’t waste a second, and lifted me like some kind of baby, his arm carrying my back and the other arm carrying my legs. Our clothes and stuff remained on my arms, so it was alright. No clues that a blowjob ever happened here.

Dave went up the stairs, staring straight ahead with his tongue out, then entered my room. He closed the door with a swift kick, before leaving me near my bed.

Safe place now, I threw the clothes to my desk chair and locked the door. “Lay down in bed, Dave” I told him, and walked with him towards my bed. I waited until he finished laying to lay down next to him. I noticed his cock was hard, hah.

My handsome werewolf jock.

He seemed still zoned out, but his tongue was now back in his mouth. He seemed relaxed, and stoic. No expression on his face at all, just staring at the ceiling. I felt up his torso with my hand, scratching his belly. That seemed to make him purr.

“Let’s cuddle, alright?” I should wake him up, but… later. I wanted to enjoy this, I liked having him around, even if I haven’t told him that.

Dave did as I said, looking at me, then pulling me closer for a hug in bed. He was warm, and his fur was really comfortable to lay into. I loved this. I hugged him back, feeling amazing.

I… I…

“I like you” I mumbled to him, after gathering the nerve. But I assumed he couldn’t hear me in this zoned out state of his. Fuck my life, I should have woken up him before doing that.

I noticed his mouth twisting into a smile, and I smiled back at him. Handsome puppy boy…

He seemed able to hear me, after all. I was happy to see that. “Thanks Dave, for today. It was amazing”

“Uh… You’re welcome… bro…” He seemed to whisper, still sounding really blank, but that was enough.

I closed my eyes as I felt the warm of his body take over and drive me into a really nice sleep.

----

Chapter 6 is already available in my Patreon! And by pledging you also get access to other stories before they go public!

#nate and dave #mind control #straight to gay #gay hypnosis #hypnotized #brainwashing #brainwashed

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maraudingmoon · 4 years

Text

Lupin Family

Hope Lupin (née Howell) - Catherine Keener

Hope was born in Wales and works in insurance. One day, when walking through a dense forest, she encountered a boggart which took the form of a very large and vicious-looking man. Lyall Lupin, a wizard, heard her frightened scream and rushed to her aid, turning the Boggart into a field mushroom with a wave of his wand. He escorted her home afterward to ensure her safety.

A few months later, Lyall confessed to Hope that the Boggart had never posed any real danger to her, but this did not diminish her fondness of him — the pair had fallen in love with each other by this point. When Lyall proposed marriage, Hope accepted, and eagerly dedicated herself to planning their nuptials. The wedding took place in early 1959, the cake featuring a boggart-shaped topper, a whimsical touch on Hope's part. A year later, Remus was born.

Lyall Lupin- David Weham

By the age of thirty Lyall had become a world-renowned expert on Non-Human Spirituous Apparitions, which included poltergeists and Boggarts. On an expedition to a remote Welsh woodland to investigate reports of a very fierce Boggart, he met his future wife.

By the mid-1960s, Lord Voldemort's power was growing, and his followers were recruiting a wide variety of Dark creatures to further his cause. The Ministry of Magic called upon experts on Dark creatures in the hope of better understanding the threat and keeping it in check. Lyall was asked to join the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and did so happily.

In early 1965, Fenrir Greyback was brought in for questioning at the Ministry of Magic following the deaths of two Muggle children. Although he was apparently caught with a werewolf pack, the Ministry was not aware that Greyback was himself a werewolf because the existing Werewolf Registry was not well-maintained. Lyall, however, recognized characteristic signs of lycanthropy in Greyback's appearance and behavior and voiced his concerns to the committee, recommending that Greyback be detained until the next full moon, which was only twenty-four hours away.

Regardless, the other committee members ridiculed Lyall and he lost his temper, declaring werewolves to be "soulless, evil, deserving nothing but death." Consequently, he was expelled from the room, and Greyback was released.

Soon after, Greyback hatched a plan to get revenge on Lyall for his derogatory remark.Shortly before his son Remus's fifth birthday, Greyback forced open the boy's bedroom window and attacked him. Lyall reached his son in time to save his life, repelling Greyback with powerful curses, but Remus from then on had become a werewolf.

Remus Lupin -Luke Newberry

Thus, the couple was forced to take drastic measures to conceal Remus's condition, moving to a new village or town whenever their neighbors began to take notice of the boy's strange behavior. They forbade Remus from playing with other children, and consequently, despite having the love of both his parents, his early childhood was marked by loneliness.

Initially, Lyall was able to keep Remus under control during the full moon by placing him in a locked room and casting several Silencing Charms, but as the child grew, he became more difficult to contain. By the time he was ten, Remus was capable of knocking down doors and breaking windows during his monthly transformation, requiring Lyall to use ever more powerful spells.

Family Headcanons

-While Welsh is considered a dying language, the Lupins still dip into their mother tongue for doling out advice and obscuring their frustration.

-Remus and his mother love to bake together, especially for the holidays.

-His paternal grandparents were already deceased by the time he was born. He didn't see his maternal grandparents again after he was bitten.

He was homeschooled in Muggle lessons until he was 11.

-Lyall’s father used to read Ministry briefs to him as bedtime stories.

#i only did immediate family because this is SO LONG #but canon #musing #morsmordre: prompt #lupin family

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welllpthisishappening · 5 years

Note

Idk if you're taking prompts, but if you ever feel compelled: the Blue Line cast reacting to Gritty.

Ok, ok, so you are either a genius or a mind-reader or possibly both because several months ago when Gritty was introduced to the world, I texted @optomisticgirl and I was like...I’m going to write about Gritty. And because she is lovely, she encouraged said writing. Only I am woefully bad at posting things in a timely fashion, so it’s just kind of languished in my docs. Until now!

So here is approximately 6K worth of very tired new-mom Emma, supportive friends, a road trip in Philadelphia and this very specific goal. Also, if you guys have not encountered Gritty yet, let me introduce you:

LOOK AT HIS EYES! WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE. Also on Ao3 if that’s your jam.

“Ok, so, according to your list, we’ve only got the jerseys and the sticks left. Are they all game-worn though? That’s not...that’s not on the list.”Emma made a noise, not sure if it was an agreement or a disagreement or just the general sound of complete and utter exhaustion. She was having a difficult time keeping her head up. And her eyes open. Her eyes actually felt like they were falling down her face.

She was, at least, seventy-seven percent positive that wasn’t supposed to happen.

And, really, in the grand scheme of parenthood and the actual action of parenting in the middle of a season and a second-straight Cup defense, Emma knew a distinct lack of sleep was, more or less, part of the deal.

She also didn’t care.

Because her eyes seemed to have a distinct weight to them and Matt kept crying at regular twenty-minute intervals that appeared to be getting worse the longer they were stuck in Emma’s office. They were still stuck in Emma’s office.

“Em,” Mary Margaret muttered, voice quiet and cautious and that was probably because Emma hadn’t ever stopped making that noise.

She was just kind of grunting at this point.

She had no idea what to do to get her kid to stop crying. It had gotten worse since the game started.

“Are we losing?” Emma asked suddenly, and Mary Margaret’s eyes widened slightly. That was probably because they weren’t weighed down. Metaphorically, or whatever. Emma was far too tired to worry about the metaphors of it.

“No, no, I mean...not winning either, but I don’t think Arthur’s broken that many white boards. So, you know, grand scheme.”Emma made a different noise. She hoped it sounded more like a laugh than it felt. It kind of hurt, like it was lingering in the back of her throat or trying to scratch its way out and none of these things seemed particularly healthy.

“Grand scheme,” she echoed, eyes flitting towards the TV screen in the corner of her office.

They’d done road trips throughout the season – and none of them were particularly easy, but Emma was fairly certain she was still holding on to the majority of her sanity. She was at least confident her eyes weren’t actively trying to fall out of her face.

And she had help, a small army of people and in-laws who were more than happy to pick Matt up or bring Matt somewhere and Emma was fairly sure Merida was still reporting on her eating habits to Killian. It wasn’t easy, but it was ok, and Matt’s eyes seemed to actually light up every single time Killian came home which, in turn, did something incredibly specific to Emma’s entire soul.

This road trip, however, seemed intent on slowly, but surely killing her.

There were teething issues and sleeping issues and the kid seemed determined to to pull himself everywhere – knocking over everything in sight like some kind of six-month-old masquerading as Godzilla. He was still working on sitting up, but Emma had to admit even the attempt was impressive and Killian was convinced their son’s diction meant he was some kind of inevitable genius.

That genius kept him up and babbling for hours at a time.

Emma had no idea if the pile of jerseys behind her was game worn.

“If I fall asleep right here, right now, in front of you, is that going to super weird you out?” Emma asked, gaze flashing towards Mary Margaret. She shook her head.

“I’ve definitely seen you sleep in weirder places.”“Ah, yeah, that’s probably true.”

“That one time, senior year, when David had four finals in one day and you had that ridiculous...what was it...French?”Emma nodded. “French II. Because I needed a language requirement and they wouldn’t take my sports management electives instead.” “God, your dean was the worst.” “That’s an incredibly scathing insult, Reese’s.” “There are children present.” Emma’s laugh was weak at best and drifting dangerously close to depressing, eyelashes fluttering despite the sounds coming from her kid and the hockey game. “I think we’re starting to deal with some object permanence actually. He’s like...aware that I’m not going to disappear if I move away.” “He’s a genius, obviously.” “You and Killian should start some kind of campaign.” “Don’t actually suggest that around him,” Mary Margaret grinned, and she was already starting a new list. “He’d go on the record or shout it from center ice or something.” Emma hummed, not quite able to make any other noise when her heart was so busy doing whatever in her chest, but Mary Margaret was absolutely right and Killian would probably call Dorothy and get some kind of special edition of Sports Illustrated printed. And, honestly, she didn’t mean for the sigh to just fall out of her the way it did, but she’d apparently lost complete control of everything and she needed to find Kristoff.

He had to know about the jerseys.

“Hey, hey,” Mary Margaret said quickly, reaching out and tugging the pen Emma forgot she was holding out of her hand. “What’s going on with you? You know you look kind of pale.”“That’s not really the best way to start this.” “How much sleep would you say you’ve gotten on average in the last week?” “I don’t want to tell you that.” “Why?” Emma lifted her head, slowly and a little repentantly, which didn’t really make any sense because Mary Margaret was not her mother. She was the mother and she was, approximately, eighty-two percent positive she was messing it up.

Matt wouldn’t stop babbling and crying and Emma’s arms felt like they were going to fall off. It was because she kept having to pick him up. So he didn’t knock over merch for whatever Garden of Dreams event they were planning for.

She genuinely could not remember the name of the event.

“You could come back home with us,” Mary Margaret suggested. She’d never let go of Emma’s hand. “We’ve got that pop-up thing and--”“--David’s got to work tomorrow, Reese’s. You’ve got to work tomorrow. The kid wakes up, like, several times a night to scream at the moon or something.” “Did you just suggest your own kid was a werewolf?” “At this point I really don’t know.”

Mary Margaret scoffed and her smile felt a little placating, but Emma was so tired and so sure she was ruining everything that she almost didn’t care. She wanted to be placated. She wanted this road trip to be over.

She desperately wanted to find a children’s medicine that made sure her kid didn’t suffer in agony so he could, eventually, eat solid foods.

“You also have to work tomorrow,” Mary Margaret pointed out. “Just, you know...if we’re covering all our bases.”“You’re mixing up sports references.” “Playing a good shift? Does that even make sense?” Emma shrugged. “That question is way too in-depth for the amount of consistent sleep I’ve been getting. How important do you think it is to get to REM?”

“Incredibly.”“Yeah?” “Yeah,” Mary Margaret nodded. “So, uh, I’m going to say something, ok? And I want you to bite your actual tongue if you have to so you don’t interrupt me because I know you’re going to try and interrupt me.” “That’s actually kind of scathing, Reese’s.” “That’s an interruption.”

Emma mimed zipping her mouth shut, staring at Mary Margaret with something she hoped was as much sarcasm as one expression could contain, but she figured she kind of missed her mark when she had to lean back and move Matt in the swing they’d put him in once the game started.

He would have tried to walk into the TV otherwise, Emma was certain. Object permanence or something. And possibly how much he wanted to see his dad.

She absolutely hated road trips now.

“Alright,” Mary Margaret starts, nodding again like she’s psyching herself up for this particular brand of hope speech. “I know you were off after Matt was born and that was good and, you know, medically necessary, but have you considered...maybe using some of your personal days for stuff like this?”The silence in the room wasn’t really silent – Matt was still babbling and Emma could make out the dim sounds of the puck hitting the boards in Philadelphia and the commentary in the background. She blinked, licking her lips and she wasn’t exactly comfortable, one of her hands still twisted with Mary Margaret’s, while the other tried to move Matt in some kind of consistent rhythm. The babbling was quickly turning to something that sounded like the tell-tale sounds of a complete and utter meltdown.

Emma briefly considered joining him.

“Thoughts?” Mary Margaret asked.

Emma tilted her head. “That doesn’t count as an interruption?”“I actually expected the sarcasm completely, so I’m not even turned off by that at all.” “What are you then?” “Worried about you and your distinct lack of REM sleep. And whatever horrible, no good, very bad things your mind is making you think because of that lack of REM.” Eventually, Emma was sure, Mary Margaret would stop being so impossibly good at reading her or knowing her or, possibly, just sharing a few of the same brain wavelengths. She hoped not.

Because those wavelengths made sure Mary Margaret stayed in the office that night – not bothering to ask, just sitting on the ground and tugging Emma’s list out of her hand with a practiced familiarity that defied decades.

“You should take this show on the road,” Emma muttered, working a quiet laugh and knowing smile out of Mary Margaret. “I bet you could make millions.”“Who would you get to babysit all the time, then?” “You don’t have to do that.” Mary Margaret squeezed her hand. “I want to. A whole line of people want to. Several professional hockey players are beating down metaphorical doors to want to.” “I’m not sure that last sentence made much sense,” Emma laughed, and it was still a little shaky and questionably watery, vision swimming a bit in front of her, but she took a deep breath and that felt like a step in the right direction.

“And I’m not sure you’re qualified to discuss sentence structure.” Emma rolled her eyes. “Honestly though,” Mary Margaret continued. “You don’t have to be some kind of superhero. I know you could be and usually are because, well--”“--You going to get sappy on me, Reese’s?” “Yes, don’t interrupt. I know you were worried about all of this and it happened suddenly and without much planning, and that’s not really your game, but…” She took a deep breath, shoulders heaving with the force of it and Emma didn’t think she imagined the slightly glossy look to her eyes. “You are doing an incredible job, Emma,” Mary Margaret said, no hint of anything except absolute and complete honesty in her voice. “I don’t know how you’re doing it.” “Was that last part a compliment?” “Of the highest order. Because you’re doing it all. That’s kind of where I'm going with this. I know you’re worried. But the crying is normal and the lack of sleep is normal and you could probably call the pediatrician about the teething thing if it’s freaking you out.” Emma let out a breath she didn’t realize she was hoarding, only slightly stunned by the mind reading going on in her office. Matt threw something. The game on TV got louder.

“I just…” Emma muttered, twisting her lips when the words got caught in the back of her throat. With the emotion. There was too much emotion. She was a mess.

“I know you do,” Mary Margaret promised. At some point she’d laced her fingers through Emma’s, thumb tapping just above the relatively-new laces sitting on her left wrist again. “Everyone does. And you are. The crying jags aside, that is the happiest and most loved kid in the entire National Hockey League.”“That’s definitely the marker we were going for.” Mary Margaret scoffed, shifting closer to Emma so she could wipe away a tear she hadn’t noticed either. “Don’t lie to my face like that, it’s not cool.”

Emma nodded, tugging her lips behind her teeth and trying to remember what any semblance of confidence looked like. Matt quieted for a moment, the sounds turning a bit closer to whimpers and that was, somehow, even worse. It made Emma’s body tense and her spine seemed to audibly snap back into place when she jerked around, eyebrows pulled low as her lungs desperately tried to get oxygen back to her brain.

“I know we’re not really doing that whole pronunciation thing yet, kid,” Emma said, pulling out of Mary Margaret’s and tugging Matt against her chest before she could remember all the reasons the websites told her she shouldn't. “But it’d be really great if we could fine tune what, exactly, has got you freaking out so much. Dad’s going to be home tonight.”

It didn’t work.

The sounds were still there – sinking into Emma’s skin and that same soul that never quite knew what to do with the idea that this was her life. She bobbed on her feet, rocking back and forth and trying to find a comfortable way to hold Matt and work her phone out of her back pocket at the same time.

That didn’t work either.

She was going to scream.

Or cry.

Or fall on the floor and sleep for several days.

Matt squirmed against her, tiny hands gripping her shirt and for a kid who seemed particularly interested with the National Hockey League he had a pretty good right kick, a move he appeared intent on perfecting by landing it in Emma’s liver.

“What if we just walked to Philadelphia?” she asked, directing the question more to Mary Margaret than Matt.

Mary Margaret smiled. “I don’t know if that entirely efficient. They’re already at the second intermission anyway and--”She didn’t finish the sentence, footsteps coming down the hall and a noise that might have been genuine laughter and not just exhaustion-induced insanity and Matt nearly flew out of Emma’s arms as soon as Ruby rounded the corner of the open doorway.

She was holding takeout bags. So was Henry. She’d brought Henry with her.

“Hey mini-Jones,” Ruby said, hardly breaking stride as she walked towards him. “You causing problems up here? We could hear you as soon as we got off the elevator.”“Not as soon as we got off the elevator,” Henry objected. “It took us at least a few steps before we heard him. Impressive lungs though.” Emma groaned. “You guys are all throwing out really horrible compliments.” “Aw, c’mon,” Mary Margaret sighed. She hadn’t gotten off the ground. “My compliment was good! And genuine!”

“Also,” Ruby added, moving some of the bags so she had a free hand to tug on the back of Matt’s onesie. “She managed to surreptitiously text me when it was becoming more and more obvious you guys were never getting out of here, so not only do I come with a plethora of promises that you’re the best mom this side of the Mississippi, but I’ve also got just a questionable amount of fried food to back up those claims.”“Do those go hand in hand?” Henry asked. He had to move a few piles of paper on Emma’s desk to find any open space, but there really was a ton of food and he kept smiling and maybe the Rangers would score in the third period.

That was almost optimistic.

Ruby shrugged. “I don’t know and I don't care. Emma’s too tired to be worried about my sentence structure anyway.”

“These are not the compliments I was promised,” Emma said, but she was tired and practically overflowing with sentimental thoughts and deep-rooted parental desires and maybe she’d take tomorrow off.

Merida probably knew what the event was called anyway.

“The compliment is that you’re some kind of super mom who’s really worried about totally normal teething schedules. Also you and Cap need to coordinate your worry a little better because Scarlet said--”“I’m sorry, are you gossiping about mine and Killian’s parenting with Scarlet?” Ruby didn’t quite glare, but it was almost like a scowl and Henry did try to turn his laugh into some other kind of noise. Mary Margaret was never going to get off the floor. “Give me a little credit, Em,” Ruby sighed. “Did you see the way Cap skated in Carolina?” “I watch the games, Ruby.” “Exactly. So we all know that no one in the Jones household is sleeping and you’re both absurd parents--”

“--In a way that is actually a compliment,” Henry added, flashing a smile when Emma’s eyes darted his direction.

“Again, exactly,” Ruby muttered. “But Cap could barely stay on the ice for more than thirty seconds and then they had the off day and now Arthur's breaking whiteboards in Philly and you have no idea what your event is called.”Emma blinked. “How do you know that?” “About the shifts or...because that’s kind of just basic math.” “That’s not really Emma’s strong suit either,” Mary Margaret muttered, shrugging when Emma gaped at her. “French II and that intro to stats we took sophomore year. Your academic downfall.”

“I passed both of those classes,” Emma said, and Henry wasn’t even trying to mask his laugh anymore.

“Ehh…”Emma rolled her eyes, but she didn’t really have a leg to stand on and she needed both of them if she was going to make sure the kid her in arms stayed there. “Is Scarlet worried about Killian’s sleeping habits? Is that what’s happening?” “Robin too,” Henry said, answering a question that wasn’t entirely directed at him. “He said Killian’s trying to murder mattresses.” “That’s impressive,” Ruby muttered. Emma didn’t object when she pulled Matt out of her hands, thankful for the lack of weight on her forearms and the no-longer present threat to a variety of internal organs. “The road trips are going to be garbage from here on out, Em,” she continued. “But we’re all still here and Cap’s destroying hotel furniture because he wants to be home that much and you’re way more organized than you honestly have any right to be and Mer said the jerseys were game-worn. Obviously.” “She didn’t say that second part,” Henry added.

Ruby waved a dismissive hand through the air. “That’s neither here nor there. So, we’ve brought the food, the third period’s about to start. Direct us, o fearless community relations leader. What has to be organized?”They weren’t quite a well-oiled machine – Matt was far too loud and squirmy for that and Emma’s legs didn’t entirely appreciate when she leapt up with five minutes left in the game, but she had some kind of sixth sense, or so Ruby proclaimed, and she might have actually fist pumped when Killian pulled his stick back.

It wasn’t the best shot in the world. It wasn’t even the best shot he’d taken all season. But it was a shot and there was a bit of power on it and her soul did something absurd again.

Mary Margaret’s breath caught. Loudly.

The Philadelphia defense hadn’t stood a chance, not really, and Killian hadn’t been sleeping much either, even when he was home, not really, but he still moved up the ice with a speed that was as ridiculous as attractive and Emma had clearly lost her mind. She wasn’t supposed to be attracted to an attribute of her husband’s game.

Her mind, however, did not care.

Her mind was moving as quickly as he was, a streak of blue up the ice and it was actually some kind of miracle the Philadelphia defender didn’t trip over his own skates. Robin’s pass slide between a pair of orange jerseys and around a stick that wasn’t entirely on the ice, the puck landing in front of Killian and he didn’t slow down when he pulled back. His hips barely moved, like he wasn’t even trying, and Henry mumbled something that sounded a hell of a lot like did that even go in behind Emma.

She nodded.

And the light went off.

She wasn’t sure what noise she made, but Killian spun around, back colliding with the nearest board in the Wells Fargo Center as his arm wrapped around Robin’s shoulders. They did something stupid, a shake of their heads and smiles obvious as the camera zoomed in and--

“Oh, they planned that,” Emma muttered, Ruby’s quiet hum of confusion barely audible when Matt started to make noise again. “They planned that,” she repeated. “The whole play. Did you see that? Robin didn’t even look up. He knew Killian was going to be there.”Emma turned back towards Henry, the smile on his face turning a little smug and a little knowing. “What do you know?” “That Robin was annoyed Killian was trying to pummel hotel mattresses into submission and demanded they discuss some kind of breakout on the power play if they were both going to get negative amounts of sleep.” “That last one verbatim?” He nodded. “It wasn’t a power play though.” “Guess Killian’s just that fast.” “Maybe he could walk back here,” Mary Margaret mumbled, and Matt was logging some pretty good mileage as he moved from person to person in an office filled with now-organized merch.

“I wouldn’t put it past him, actually.”Emma hummed or laughed or dissolved into those emotions that had been tugging at the back of her mind for the majority of the night, and she was almost confident they’d be able to get out of the Garden without anymore issues or concerns regarding her ability to parent, but that lasted less than a full second and the scream that came a few feet away echoed in between her ears.

That wasn’t biologically possible either.

“Oh my God,” she sighed, visibly deflating at Mary Margaret’s wide eyes and Ruby’s not-so-quiet gasp. Emma was going to comp the car she called. She was going to call out the next day. “What is happening here?”

She reached forward, pulling Matt back and wincing at several well-placed kicks. “What are we doing, kid? Did you not just see Dad score? That was a good goal! We’re probably going to win now. Aren’t we cool with winning?”“Ma ma ma ma ma maaaaaaaaa.”

The word got less and less pronounced the more Matt kept repeating it, twisting and turning and yanking on the ends of Emma’s hair and the front of her shirt. His legs flailed and his head dropped back and she was absolutely going to have the most impressive forearm muscles of anyone on the entire island of Manhattan.

“You know, I thought we were almost drifting close to actually falling asleep,” Ruby mused, trying without much success to rest her hand on Matt’s back. “Wishful thinking, I guess.”“Welcome to my world,” Emma mumbled. She shifted her weight between her feet, trying to work back towards the swing and the teething ring that was probably just lukewarm plastic at this point and they’d been doing so well. The road trip was going to end on a high note and she was going to be some kind of mother of the year with a husband whose speed on ice should probably get studied at some point.

That was such a weird sentence.

She was so goddamn tired.

And she didn’t know what to do next.

Emma muttered a string of increasingly absurd nonsense, trying to smile and not burst into tears, but that was proving more and more difficult and she was dimly aware of laughter coming from the TV.

“Oh shit,” Henry whispered, clicking his teeth when Mary Margaret made some kind of reproachful noise. “No, no, no, just...ok, don’t tell Gina I said that, but, listen, Emma, turn around. Don’t let Mattie look at the TV.”That was not the string of words she expected. At all.

“What?”“Where’s your remote?” “What?” Henry growled, his whole head rolling in frustration, and that wasn’t right either. There were takeout containers everywhere. One of them crunched under his feet when he moved, darting towards the TV with his hand already out and Emma was worried he was going to punch through the actual screen.

And that was when she saw it.

“What the hell is that thing?” Emma demanded, gesturing wildly towards the ice in Philadelphia and the furry, orange monstrosity shooting t-shirts out of an air-powered gun. “Oh my God, why are his eyes moving like that?”She expected Ruby to laugh even less than she expected Henry to swear. Maybe she’d just walk home. Screw the car. “Gritty?” Ruby asked, and Emma could not come up with a single word to respond to that.

The stupid thing was trying to dance on the ice. Matt cried louder.

“What is a Gritty?” Emma shouted, Henry still making ridiculous noises because her TV was state of the art or something and there were no buttons on the actual thing. “Ok, ok, Mattie, Mattie, we’ve got to breathe kid, the absolutely terrifying monster is not going to come out of the TV and attack us.”

“Should we be referring to him as a monster?” Mary Margaret asked. She grabbed the jersey on top of the closest pile, throwing it over the TV screen and it didn’t really cover everything, but it was at least a start and Emma was kind of terrified of Gritty.

Whatever that actually was.

“He’s a mascot,” Ruby reasoned. “I mean...we’ve all seen mascots before, right?”Emma shook her head, disbelief in her gaze. “We don’t have a mascot. Oh my God, Reese’s, do you think he was crying about this asshole the whole game?”

“I think that seems entirely possible,” Mary Margaret said, a hint of a smile tugging at her mouth.

“This is not funny!”

“I mean…”“It’s not!”

“It’s a little funny,” Henry admitted. He was still trying to find the remote, but the game was almost over and Emma figured even terrifying, demon mascots had to get off the ice when there was a faceoff to take. “How have you never seen Gritty before, he was like...a cultural phenomenon.”“Can we please stop referring to him by his name? That is a man in a suit. An absolutely terrifying, shouldn’t exist suit.” “He’s been around for months, Em,” Ruby said. “All season. Oh.” “Oh. Oh, what?” “And you were worried you weren’t super Mom.” Emma didn’t respond immediately, but she tilted her head and tried not to covet that title too much. She wondered how quickly the entire New York Rangers could get out of Philadelphia. “Where are you going with this?” “They announced the mascot right before the start of the regular season,” Ruby grinned. “Henry’s right. He was all over the news and late night and social media because, you know--” “--He’s terrifying?”

“It’s the eyes, I think. If he didn’t have googly eyes, it wouldn’t be an issue.”“What does this have to do with my parenting skills?” “More like you becoming a parent,” Mary Margaret corrected. “I think you were a little preoccupied with, you know, giving birth to be worried about Philadelphia mascots that never should have existed.” “Wow, that’s harsh, M’s,” Henry muttered, still kind of laughing and he grinned when Emma’s head snapped his direction. “But also true.” “See,” Ruby crowed. “You haven’t done anything wrong, Em. If anything, you’re saving mini-Jones’ mental stability from the get because you made sure he wasn’t aware of a world where Gritty existed. And you totally went into complete Mom mode as soon as Henry said.” Emma wasn’t sure she was actually capable of blushing at this point – her capillaries or whatever were probably too exhausted, but she had never been very good at science either and Matt had finally stopped crying.

Mary Margaret’s eyes were distinctly glossy again.

“It’s ok,” Emma whispered, tightening her hold on Matt slightly and he didn’t squirm at all. He might have burrowed further into her chest. “You’re ok, I promise.”

And she didn’t walk back uptown, both Mary Margaret and Ruby scandalized at even the notion. She sat in the back of a town car instead, a sleeping baby next to her, a quiet that, somehow, made it easier to breathe. Mary Margaret helped her carry everything upstairs.

Emma didn’t plan on falling asleep, but her eyes had other ideas and she didn’t hear the lock click back in place, startling on the couch when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

He grinned at her.

“Hey,” Killian muttered, crouching in front of her and brushing the hair away from her eyes. “You can’t possibly be comfortable.”“I don’t know that I could actually move, honestly.” “I’m not sure that’s much better.” “Nice shot.” “It was an experiment.” “Yeah, I figured,” Emma said, and she appreciated whatever his eyebrows did at that. “Please, Locksley didn’t even lift his head up. Did you have to come up with some kind of signal, or how did it work, exactly?” “Do the years of experience not count?” Emma made a contrary noise, twisting despite the protests from several dozen muscles and Killian, tugging lightly on the loose tie still around his neck. His grin got bigger. “We counted. Scarlet was supposed to pass out of the zone and I had six seconds to get up the ice. Locksley had four to get to the other faceoff circle.” “I wasn’t aware Scarlet was part of the plan.”

Killian hummed, a quick brush of lips over her forehead and it was an impressive exercise in balance. “We had some time to kill.”“So I heard.” “Henry?” “Maybe you’re the genius.” “Ah, that just means it’s genetic,” Killian said. His fingers clearly had minds of their own, drifting over Emma’s neck and her shoulder and the bit of skin where her shirt had twisted underneath her. “You didn’t have to try and wait up for me, love.” “Try being the operative word.” “I appreciate the effort.” “You’ve got to sleep more on the road.”

“You’ve got to sleep more all the time.”She clicked her tongue, scrunching her nose and Killian’s capillaries clearly weren’t too exhausted to blush – particularly on the tips of his ears. “Ruby or Reese’s?” “Both. And David. They’re worried about you.”

“It was just a shitty road trip,” Emma whispered, not trusting herself to do anymore. Plus the sleeping kid a few feet away. Especially the sleeping kid a few feet away. “Did you hear about the mascot incident?”Killian blinked. And blinked again. “What?” “There is apparently some kind of actual monster masquerading as a mascot in Philadelphia and our kid is fundamentally terrified. Screamed every single time they showed him on the broadcast. Apparently.” “Apparently?” “I didn’t realize until the third period.” Emma’s nose was going to get stuck that way. Her sigh sounded impossibly pathetic when it fell out of her, throat tightening against the wad of everything stuck in the back of it and Killian really could not have been comfortable. He didn’t move. “We can’t fix everything, Swan,” he said softly, fingers still tracing absent minded patterns on any bit of skin he could find. “I don’t think there’s a clause for mascots anywhere.” “And you’ve read enough websites. You’d totally have found it.” “So would you, love.” “I’m so tired.” It wasn’t an admission, not really. Everyone knew. Strangers on the street knew. Gritty probably knew. God, she hoped Gritty didn’t know. But it kind of felt like one anyway, and she really could not cope with the realization that it only took Killian six seconds to get up an entire NHL-size hockey rink.

And she hadn’t really considered the fact that he hadn’t kissed her yet, but the move still caught Emma by surprise, quick and somewhere dangerously close to bruising and they were both slightly codependant disasters who just wanted to give their kid the world – particularly one without horrifying and badly named mascots.

“So we should probably get you off the couch,” Killian said, standing back up and Emma didn’t take his hand so much as she threw her palm against his. He laughed under his breath. “Move the kid? Don’t move the kid?”“Move the kid,” she groaned. “He’s bound to wake up soon anyway, I think he’s preprogrammed to know when you get home.” Killian’s ears got redder. And that was worse than recorded speed on the ice.

He brushed his lips over her cheek, moving across the living room and Matt didn’t wake up immediately, but he twisted and made a few pointed noises, Killian only wincing slightly when he bobbed on his feet to try and quiet him. “The workout after the workout,” Emma muttered, a hand on his shoulder and body against his back, and she swore she heard him smile.

“Ah, this is better.”“A line.” “A first line, actually. That’s got a very impressive plus-minus rating in the last few games.” “Are we acknowledging that stat?” “When it benefits me.” Emma laughed, pressing her face into the fabric underneath her cheek and if she was going to keep making sweeping assumptions regarding Killian, then she was positive she felt some of his muscles loosen underneath her. “Parents of the year,” she mumbled.

“I bet we could organize some charity event to practice slapshots at Gritty’s face.”“That’s violent.” “In defense of a kid, Swan.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” Emma agreed, and there were feeding schedules and equipment to move, but sleep was almost there and it was always easier when she and Killian were in the same bed. “C’mon, if we don’t move, I’m going to fall on top of you.” “Not the worst thing in the world.” “That was another line.” “Yeah, it was,” Killian said, an easy nod and smile and they both slept through their alarms the next morning.

And Gritty never really went away, a lesson Emma wasn’t entirely sure she appreciated, but was sure the world thought was important – something about confronting fears and our own childhood worries and the ability to overcome both. The mascot was still there, orange with far too much fur and those goddamn googly eyes, terrifying Matthew Jones for the majority of his childhood and road trips he and his, eventual, younger sister got to go on.

The mascot was still there, shooting t-shirts into a screaming crowd at Wells Fargo, nearly two decades later and Emma hadn’t considered the implications of that when she put on a different jersey with the same name and number as it always was. At least she hadn’t until Henry chuckled lightly next to her, elbowing something that might have been her spleen to get her attention.

“Did you tell Rol?” she asked, glancing towards the grown man with his own kids who was doing a pretty good job of being super dad too. “Mattie’ll be mad if Rol’s got something else to trash talk tonight.” Henry shook his head. “Who do you think I am, Emma?” “Someone who knows about a professional hockey player’s deep-rooted mascot fears.” “You’re making assumptions. And, no, I never told Rol. It’s Matt’s first game in Philadelphia. I’m excited for him. I’m not a jerk.” “But?” “How do you know there was a but?”

Emma pulled her eyes away from the ice, nerves churning and pulse beating loudly in her veins and she’d been far too concerned about Matt playing in Philadelphia for the first time and playing against Roland, but Henry just smiled at her. The kid standing at his feet tugged on his jersey. A Locksley jersey. Always now.

“But,” Henry echoed. “We did discuss some quick exit options out of the arena if he’s suddenly attacked by Gritty.”

Her laugh jumped out of her, entirely impossible and far too loud to be acceptable and Emma didn’t think before flinging her arms around Henry and hugging him as tightly as she could. He hugged her back.

“I doubt the mascot will attack,” Henry muttered. “But now, at least, we’re prepared.”“Exactly.” The mascot didn’t come back onto the ice in the first period, but Matthew Jones, making his Philadelphia debut against the guy who helped him practice the wristshot he was quickly becoming known for, made it up the ice in seven seconds flat, the puck on his stick and the light going off almost as soon as he pulled back to shoot.

Emma jumped and Henry jumped and Killian might have hit the window of the suite, pride practically radiating off him. “We’ll get that time down, Swan,” he promised. “Five by the end of the regular season.”

“Parents of the year,” Mary Margaret said, a twenty painted on both of her cheeks that were quickly getting smuged by the tears in her eyes. “With some headlines to prove it.”

Emma didn’t answer – absolutely could not answer while her kid was still celebrating – but she nodded and Killian tugged her against his side, a kiss to her temple and the belief that they’d done something good.

#cs ff #captain swan #captain swan ff #captain swan fic #cs fic #blue line one shots #please look up gritty's packing list for the all-star game #it's gold #justanotherwannabeclassic #laura rambles

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