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much-obliged-timothy · 10 months

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June of Doom #21

The Old Guard - #21 - Memory Loss

When Nicky was kidnapped by one of Merrick’s competitors, it did not take them long to contact Booker and Copley for help. Between all of them searching, they managed to find him in just under two days, infiltrating the complex he was kept in and killing every single person who stood in between them and their brother.

When they found Nicky trapped down in a lab, they covered the door while Joe hurried to free him. Nicky seemed disoriented and weak, needing Joe and Booker to help him along as they made their escape.

Joe should’ve known something was wrong. But he’d been too relieved to have Nicky back alive.

It was only when they reached the safehouse that he realized that Nicky had not spoken a word. He lowered Nicky onto the couch, eyeing him carefully.

“Nicolo? Are you okay?” Joe asked.

“You’re hurt,” Nicky finally said, eyes shooting to the blood spot on Joe’s shirt, where he’d been shot in the escape.

“What? Nicky, that already healed,” Joe said, putting his hand over it.

Nicky looked away, glancing at each of them before clasping his hands together in his lap and focusing on them. “I cannot thank you enough for saving me. But…why did you?”

“What?” Joe couldn’t help but repeat himself. “Nicky, of course we came for you.”

“Nicky, what’s going on?” Andy asked.

Nicky clasped his hands together even tighter. “Do we…know each other?”

Joe felt as though he’d been struck. He stared at Nicky, mouth dropping open. The others were also stunned into silence.

Nicky peeked up. “I’ve offended you. I’m sorry.”

Joe forced his mouth to close. “Nicolo.” He meant to say more, but he couldn’t. The words dried up in his mouth.

Andy, as usual, took charge. She stepped forward and crouched before Nicky so they were nearly eye-level. “You don’t remember any of us?”

He shook his head. “No. Should I? Have we met before?”

Andy laughed. There was no humor in it. “You could say that. Andy? Booker? Nile? Doesn’t ring a bell?”

“Are those your names?” He furrowed his brow. “But there are four of you.”

Andy slowly pointed at Joe. “That’s Joe. Yusuf. You don’t remember him?”

Nicky shook his head again. “No.” He gave a polite, detached look at Joe that shattered Joe’s heart to pieces. “But you were very kind when you saved me. Thank you for that.”

“Fuck,” Booker whispered. “Fuck, no, Nicky, no. You have to remember Joe. You have to.”

“I apologize,” Nicky said. Joe could tell by the set of his shoulders that he was uncomfortable. “I don’t know any of you.”

Booker lunged forward, grabbing Nicky’s arms and shaking him roughly. “No, you bastard! You don’t get to do that to us!”

Joe and Andy pried Booker off, shoving him at Nile who held him securely. Joe moved protectively in front of Nicky.

“Touch him again,” Joe said flatly, “and it’ll be longer than one hundred years, Booker.”

“Stop!” Nicky cried, leaping up and putting a hand out helplessly. “Please, I did not mean to cause any trouble.”

“You didn’t,” Andy assured him. “Just sit down and rest, Nicky. You have to trust us right now. You do know us. I don’t know why you can’t remember, but we’ll keep you safe until we figure out how to get your memory back. It’s not safe for you to wander off on your own right now.”

Nicky considered for a moment, shoulders still tensed. At last, he nodded.

“Yes, clearly someone is after me,” he said, but didn’t sit back down. “May I step out for air, though? This is a lot.”

“Of course,” Andy said. “Why not let Joe go with you, just to be safe?”

Nicky nodded, but didn’t look at Joe. Joe followed Nicky outside, numbly pointing out the path he and Nicky often walked together in the mornings.

They walked it in awkward silence. Finally, Nicky broke the silence.

“You all keep calling me Nicky,” he said. “I don’t remember going by Nicky. Just Nicolo.”

“We’ve called you Nicky for as long as I can remember,” Joe said.

Nicky tipped his head up towards the sky, a troubled expression on his face. “I can’t explain how, but I know I’ve hurt you. And it makes me sad. I’m sorry I’ve hurt you. Joe, was it?”

“Don’t apologize,” Joe whispered. He had to stop walking, mortified as he felt tears come to his eyes. “It’s not your fault. They took you, and they did something to you. But we’ll fix it. I swear we’ll fix it. You’ll get your memories back, Nicolo.”

Nicky put a hesitant hand on Joe’s shoulder. “Thank you. I have a strange request, but…” He laughed softly. “Again, I can’t explain it, but I know you’ll understand.”

“Anything,” Joe said.

“English isn’t my favorite language. You all spoke English, so I did. But I prefer-”

“Italian,” Joe said, and immediately switched to the language. “You can speak it. Nile is the only one who might not know it.”

Nicky looked relieved. “I see. I’ll use English around her, then.”

“Considerate as always,” Joe said, wiping his eyes. “Nicky, you really can’t remember me?”

He looked troubled again. “No. Honestly, my memories are all a jumbled mess. But I must’ve known you well to read you like I do. It’s like muscle memory. And the other man back there - Booker, was it? - I could even read him, though not as well as you. He wasn’t angry with me, was he? He was sad. Frightened.”

“Yes,” Joe said. “He blames himself. And it is partly his fault this even happened. But we needed his help to find you, so he’s here.”

“I’ve caused you all trouble,” he said, shoulders tensing again.

Out of habit, Joe reached out and put his hand on the back of Nicky’s neck, drawing him closer. “Stop. You haven’t caused any trouble. This is not your fault. It’ll…heal. Whatever it is, it’ll heal. Or we’ll heal it. But it was done to you, so please stop blaming yourself.”

Nicky had gone rigid under the touch. Joe’s stomach churned as he hastily yanked his hand away.

“Sorry,” he said quietly.

Nicky slowly reached his hand up to rub the back of his neck. “I…see now.” He pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers, eyes shut tight and a pained look of concentration on his face. “To be so intimate with me, we must’ve…I-I don’t remember though…but…I remember arms around me every night…could…”

He suddenly staggered. Joe hurried to catch him.

“I need to lie down,” he said in pain. “My…agh…my head.”

“Take it easy,” Joe said, rubbing his back and helping him back towards the house. “You can rest. We’ll take care of you.”

It wasn’t gone, then. Buried, maybe. But Nicky still had his memories, even if they were locked away.

That had to be it. Joe’s heart couldn’t take being a stranger to the love of his life for the rest of eternity.

#june of doom #june of doom 2023 #the old guard #nicolo di genova #yusuf al kaysani #joe x nicky #yusuf x nicolo #jtdoesjuneofdoom

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redahlia-writes · 1 year

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you make loving fun. | frankie morales x ofc

four. crystal

content (for this chapter): smut, family gatherings and That really annoying relative, a lot of feelings, a hint of possessiveness, frankie is once again being an idiot

word count: 5.8k

a/n: i'm so sorry for the delay, life's truly kicking my ass and i hope the chapter will make up for it. updates might be a little bit slow from now, but i'll do my best

reblogs and feedback are always greatly appreciated. you can send it here, too

series masterlist | masterlist

“For the first few months of their relationship, Fish didn’t even know it was a relationship. They moved in together, and still he would say stuff like she’s not my girlfriend, we haven’t talked about it, I don’t want to pressure her. Considerate, really, but so–Alba, chiquitita, cover your ears a moment–so fucking dumb. And that was how I knew. We’ve known Frankie a really long time, we’ve been together through a lot, and that was the first time I’ve seen him be so stupid–which is saying a lot. But, after all, isn’t that what love does in the beginning? It makes you foolish, nervous, doubt things you would’ve never doubted before. It was a new look on him, and it made it crystal clear how enamored he was, probably without even realizing it in the beginning–because I know he fell for Camila right off the bat. And I mean, how could he not? He called me, that first morning, and even then Camila was a surprise. Will said it all already–funny, kind, smart, beautiful, but most of all right. You were, and still are, right for him, Cami, the right person at the right time, and that is something rare, something great. Sometimes I think we should thank you more, because you changed Frankie’s life, and with his, ours too–mine for sure, because not only did I get to see my best friend finally start living again, but I also gained a sister. So, one Garcia to the other: thank you. That being said, it’d be nice to have him back every now and then–seriously, they’re practically glued together, can’t keep their hands to themselves to save their lives! I have some stories–”

Frankie’s hand tightened slightly around the glass of water in his grip when he felt a hand clasping him on the shoulder, tight and all too buoyant, shaking him and forcing his eyes away from Camila, Alba and his mother–Alba was lying on her back over Verónica’s knees, the older woman laughing in her chair as the child stretched and let her head dangle back towards Camila, sitting on the grass and smiling.

“Who would’ve thought–young Cisco with an actual girlfriend,” the man at his side was grinning, a glaze clouding his eyes, mouth stained red from wine. “Well, not so young anymore, are you?”

“Takes one to know one, Nicky,” he retorted with a hint of a laugh, some of the tension melting from his shoulders when he saw Camila move again at the corner of his eye, could hear Alba’s loud giggles from his spot.

His cousin laughed, clearly not put off by his comment–he wasn’t trying to be mean, exactly, but out of all the people in the family currently gathered in his mother’s backyard–

“So you got one of the last good ones, huh?” he still had his hand on Frankie’s shoulder, standing a step back as they were angled towards the other three. Camila’s hand was underneath Alba’s head, supporting it up as she leaned in, brushing their noses together as the child giggled again. A small smile caught on Frankie’s lips, warmth spreading across his chest. “Man, and she’s good with the kid. You oughta keep this one.”

Frankie’s family wasn’t mean–they’d never given him too much shit for what had happened to him, for what he’d done, at least not to his face and certainly not to his mother’s, for they wouldn’t even be there if they had. But he’d gotten good at understanding people’s double meaning, at hearing the light shift in their voices. You oughta keep this one, not like the last one, or all the others before.

“Thanks, Nic,” he sighed–across the garden, Camila tilted her head as she looked at him. She quirked up an eyebrow, and he was quick to shoot a smile in her direction, the slightest shake of his head at her silent question.

“Fine, too, your girl,” he continued, clearly not put off by Frankie’s lack of trying at keeping up the conversation. “Young face, pity for the grays–I mean, she could always dye it,” he shrugged, before grinning and elbowing Frankie in the side, making him turn fully towards him, his lips pressed in a thin line as he inhaled deeply. “Although I’m sure she makes up for it plenty in–”

“Listen, Nicky–” he exhaled sharply, the sentence dying on his lips when he felt a hand brush up his back, from the lower side up–his shoulders sagged slightly, leaning towards Camila’s touch as she settled at his side.

“Sorry,” soft-voiced, she pulled his cousin’s perplexed gaze towards her, too. “I need to borrow Frankie for a moment–Alba spilled some juice on my dress and I could really use the help before it stains.”

“Oh, of course,” Nic cleared his throat, stepping back, his gaze flickering from one to the other–shy, all of a sudden. Frankie almost rolled his eyes, held in check only by Camila’s hand sliding into his, gently pulling him along.

“Alba wasn’t drinking anything,” he murmured, his head bowed slightly as they walked back inside the house. She shrugged lightly, then looked over her shoulder as she smiled–quick and amused, making him scoff. “Mila–”

“Just come with me for a moment,” she retorted before he could finish forming the protest. “Alba’s with Santiago and your mom, it’s alright,” she added as he went to speak again, walking past the kitchen and living room.

“I’m still not sure why he’s here,” Frankie muttered, making her chuckle and pull him slightly closer as she reached the stairs–he placed the glass on the closest surface at hand.

“According to him, he’s included in the family for the family reunion,” he got closer each step, his now free hand coming up to brush her hip. “Don’t get ideas, Morales,” she added, giving a delicate slap to the back of his hand.

“You’re the one getting me away from the rest of them,” he retorted as she pulled them both inside the bathroom–to which he arched an eyebrow, as if that was proof of his point even before she turned the key. “Really difficult to not get any ideas now,” Camila laughed, shaking her head before turning fully to face him, eyebrows slightly arched. “What?”

“Out with it,” she said simply, resting her hands on the countertop of the sink behind her back. Frankie frowned slightly, stepping closer again–she tipped her chin up to look at him, her gaze soft.

“With what?”

“You’ve been jumpy all day,” she told him, voice as soft as her eyes, and he wondered if he was truly that obvious or she simply knew him so well. “Your family is not so bad, you know? I mean, Nicky is–” she let the sentence hang, mouth turned in a grimace.

“Yeah, I’m sorry,” he sighed, and she shifted the weight on one hand to reach for his face with the other, cupping his cheek.

“You don’t have to apologize, honey,” she hummed, thumb brushing along the apple of his cheek, warm from the sun. “I like them–by now somebody in my family would’ve started a fight for sure,” she added with a quick grin that made him scoff out a laugh, gaze lowered. “But they’ve all been nice,” he must’ve tensed up again, because she tilted her head to try and meet his gaze. “Is that it?”

“No, it’s–I’m glad they are, it’s just–” her hand moved down across his cheek and jaw, pushing underneath his chin to get him to look up at last. “It’s nothing. Nicky said some shit, and he talked about me having an actual girlfriend or something,” he scoffed, gaze darting away and back–behind her, he saw their reflection in the mirror, her hair shifting with the movement of both her arms shifting up.

“Frankie, sweetheart,” her words carried her soft smile as she took his cap off, putting it aside because she held his face in her hands, looking at him with such tenderness in her eyes he almost crumbled in front of her, hands twitching at his sides. “So what?”

“I don’t know,” he groaned softly, eyes shut for a longer moment before letting out a long sigh. “We just never discussed it, and people keep bringing it up, and I didn’t want to pressure you or–” when he looked at her again, her lips were parted, brows knitted tightly with perplexity as he repeated, “I don’t know.”

“Pressure me?” her confusion bled into her voice, her touch getting a little hesitant for a moment–if he were to look past her head and into the mirror, Frankie would register the guilt in his gaze. Instead, he only noticed the realization dawn in her eyes. “Oh.”

“I’m sorry–I kept thinking I would bring it up and then never did and I was worried it would be too much, or too early,” he shifted back a little, her hands falling to his shoulders.

“Wait, so this is because he called me your girlfriend?” she asked, a little baffled. At his little nod, a quick laugh escaped her, and she pushed herself towards him. “Frankie, honey, we’ve lived together for two months,” she smiled as she said it.

“I know,” she locked her hands behind his neck, pulling him slightly closer in the process, fingertips pushing at the nape of his neck. “I just didn’t want to assume,” she laughed again, a little louder, and Frankie frowned once more, pouting slightly. “Don’t make fun of me.”

“I’m not, I promise I’m not,” she said quickly, getting herself closer, though still laughing. “I’m sorry, just–I thought there was nothing to discuss. You’re it for me?”

“You–” he was still frowning, a little deeper, and she let one hand move from the back of his head up across his face, gently kneading the spot between his eyebrows where lines were etched. “You’re still laughing. Camila–”

“I’m sorry,” she repeated, unable to help herself as she shook her head through the laughter turned giggles, shifting her body weight so she was leaning against his chest. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her, keeping her upright and ducking his chin to keep his gaze on her face, the lines at the corner of her eyes deepening as her smile widened. “Why would you worry about that, honey?”

“You told me you thought you’d jumped in too fast with that guy,” he’d been that guy for months now, no longer Jason–Camila found some amusement in it, her nose scrunching up.

“I did,” she nodded, bringing a hand to his chest while the other still cupped the back of his head. “But you’re not him, and I’m no longer 20-something, so I’d like to think I’ve wised up,” Frankie sighed, carefully lowering his head towards her. “Then again, I’ve moved in with you after–what, eight months? So maybe–”

“Mila,” he groaned in half-complaint, making her laugh again before she tipped her chin up, kissing him in full. He sighed again, the tension in his back melting away as her fingers brushed through his hair, the other palm pressed firmly against his heart.

When she didn’t pull back, Frankie’s arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her flush against him and straightening his back to sweep her off her feet, taking the half step that separated them from the countertop to sit her there–he slotted himself between her legs, her back arching slightly as her lips parted for his tongue.

He kissed and kissed and kissed her until the rest of the world blurred away, until there was no Nicky or Jason, no Santi nor the rest of his family, just the two of them tangled together, sharing soft breaths and touches and the only thing grounding him was the weight of her against him, the shift of her body as he let his hands wandered back and thighs and legs, right underneath her dress.

“Are you gonna ask me, then?” she breathed out once they parted, heavy breaths from both of them and Frankie’s vision blurry for just a moment as he chased her, interrupted only by her soft words, the hint of laughter in them.

“What?” he licked his lips as if trying to cling onto the taste of her, fingers digging into her flesh. Her cheeks were red, bruised lips as she looked up at him while it all came back into vision for Frankie. “Is it–official?” her smile turned into a snort at the uncertainty in his tone, a shimmer in her eyes to highlight her amusement.

“You can do better than that, Francisco,” she murmured, mockingly, and he huffed out a breath as his lips quivered in a semi-pout. Camila leaned forward, kissing it away, but before he could chase her again she pulled back abruptly–one hand on his chest, the other falling behind her over the counter to support herself.

“You’re enjoying this too much,” he scoffed, letting his hands travel a little up across her skin, the skirt of her dress bunching up with the movement.

“Maybe,” she said with a light shrug, letting her hand travel down across his torso, lingering on each button–just teasing to undo them, Frankie’s eyes following the movement as his own fingers moved up and up. “You know what I’m going to say,” she murmured then, the tip of her first and middle finger hooking in his belt and pulling him forward ever so slightly, “ask.”

“I don’t need to ask,” he lowered his head towards hers, hooking his fingers at each side of her underwear–she squeezed her knees at his sides, humming softly as he pulled. “Do I?”

“Ask,” she repeated, lips still curved in an amused smile.

“Camila,” uttered as a warning before he kissed her again, a little harsher than before, almost feverish, pulling and pulling at her underwear that wouldn’t shift.

He could feel the laughter bubbling in her throat as she pushed against his lower stomach to make him step back, hopping down the counter to bare her lower half–Frankie kept his hands on her legs, her dress bunched up between the two of them, and slowly began lowering himself, ready to shift onto his knees in front of her.

“We don’t have time,” she mumbled against his lips, swiftly undoing his belt. “Later. Home.”

“Did you not tell me to not get any ideas?” his mocking question ended with a groan when she cupped her hand to his front, stroking his already half-hard length from above his briefs–his hips twitched into her touch, and he felt the grin forming on her lips at his immediate reaction.

“Ask me,” she replied instead, stroking him again.

Again, and again, until he was panting in her mouth, hips bucking with each movement–Frankie kissed her one more time before turning her around, her hands coming down against the counter for balance as he gently kicked her legs apart to slot himself closer, his still clothed front pressed against her back.

“I don’t have to ask,” he repeated, punctuating each word with a kiss to her neck, one hand to her hip as the other bared himself. Camila’s reflection smiled in the mirror, her head ducked as if hiding herself but not quite, as he pushed the tip of his length against the seam of her folds. “You’re my girl, aren’t you?” he murmured then against the shell of her ear.

Before she could form a response, her mouth fell open as he nudged at her entrance, slowly–agonizingly slow–starting to push into her. Her eyes rolled back and she nodded, soft gasps leaving her as she gripped the countertop, both of Frankie’s hands now on her hips, guiding her back to meet him.

“Look at you,” his gaze remained glued to the mirror as she tilted her head back towards him–her eyelids fluttered a moment, trying and failing to focus on their reflections as he kept going. “My beautiful girl,” another kiss to her neck, right behind her ear, making her shudder and rock her hips back. With a groan, his front pressed to her back as he sank fully inside her, he spoke against her shoulder, “mine.”

“’Course I am,” she panted, her thighs trembling slightly against his. “Yours,” at the word, Frankie’s cock twitched, his grip on her hips tightening. “God–Frankie,” she moaned, back arching as her walls fluttered around him.

“Baby, you gotta keep quiet,” he mumbled, pushing forward so her hips were against the countertop, and he was leaning against her in turn. One arm wrapped around her middle to keep her flush to him, he let his other hand wander up across her torso, the fabric of her dress wrinkling underneath his touch.

“Thought you liked it when you could hear me,” her gaze flickered over their reflections, down to his rising hand and up to meet his eyes, a flush spreading from her heaving chest up and her lips slightly parted.

“Yes,” he shifted back, the slow drag of his length as he pulled out almost all the way making her breath quicken. “When I–” he snapped his hips forward, and Camila bit down onto her lip to keep herself from crying out, knuckles turning white as she gripped the counter a little harder, “can. Not the rest of the family.”

“We wouldn’t be here if that were a problem,” each word felt like it was punched out of her chest, Frankie’s movements steady, hitting a spot deep inside of her that had her vision wavering. “You enjoy the thrill, Francisco,” she added–not a question, rather her ability to read him so perfectly laid out in a tease.

And he did–he liked his life, his new one, with no drugs and very little alcohol, a steady, almost boring job, a home with the two halves of his heart, a bed with hogged blankets and slow nights. He loved that life–but sometimes he missed the rush, and Camila seemed to know exactly when he felt like he was starting to waver. Exactly what to do about it so that he wouldn’t topple over again, returning back to her each time.

“Fuck–don’t stop, don’t stop,” he’d gotten so lucky. He was so goddamn lucky.

The hand that had been traveling up her body moved up again, grabbing her by the chin to turn her head so that he could kiss her, and kiss her, and kiss her, swallowing each sound away as he picked up his pace, his hips snapping against her skin almost too loudly–and only spurring him further.

A shiver ran through her as Frankie stopped with one last thrust, his head falling into the crook of her neck as he came–he tightened his hold around her, keeping her flush to his front. Her walls fluttered around his length buried deep within her, a weak, frustrated cry leaving her at his sudden stillness–he breathed out a quiet laugh before pulling his head up, chin hooked over her shoulder as he brought two fingers to his mouth, coating his fingertips before reaching for the apex of her core.

“My beautiful, beautiful girl,” Camila’s pupils were wide, eyes glazed over as she let her head loll back and sighed at his perhaps-too-delicate initial touch. Each of Frankie’s words was accompanied by a soft kiss across her skin–cheek and jaw and neck, his gaze never leaving her face as he began drawing quick circles over her clit.

“Frankie,” with a breathless cry, she grasped at his arm still wrapped around her, holding her upright. He kissed her neck, humming at her sharp intakes of air with each of his movements.

“I know,” he could feel her muscles grow taut under his touch, her thighs shaking as she got closer and closer–he groaned when she squeezed around his length, sensitive and softening as she tethered the edge. “Come on, baby, I can feel you–so good, you feel so good, baby, you–”

Camila twisted her neck and kissed him abruptly, harsh and trembling as her orgasm rippled through her–she quietened herself, the loud moan muffled by Frankie’s own bruised lips. He drank the noise greedily, slowing down the movement of his fingers until she twitched in his hold and dug her fingernails into the arm she was holding onto, a weak whine as she went limp into his hold.

He pulled out slowly, another softer moan escaping her as she folded forward, hands coming down to the countertop with a shaky exhale and equally shaky arms. His gaze remained low a moment longer, following the slow trail of their combined releases dripping down her thighs, and then he bowed down, kissed the space between her shoulders softly from above her dress.

“You alright?” he spoke softly, hands rubbing soothing circles on her bare hips as she evened her breathing, head hanging forward. She hummed quietly, rolling her shoulders back.

“I just need a minute,” she nodded, bringing her head upright again and wincing slightly. “Jesus–maybe two minutes,” she sighed, and Frankie chuckled softly, another kiss pressed against her shoulder as he tucked himself back in.

“Turn around,” he guided her by the hips tenderly, meeting her eyes for a brief moment in the mirror. “Let me clean you up.”

She hummed softly as she let him move her, leaning back again with her hands on the counter, her breath now even as Frankie recovered a clean towel from underneath the sink, turning on the water and waiting for it to turn lukewarm. Camila’s eyes remained on him as he moved, eyelids low and a tired half smile stretching across her lips.

He sank to the floor in front of her, gently brushing the towel up between her thighs, one hand on her calf rubbing circles with his thumb again against her skin, gentle and soothing. He helped her get dressed back up, smoothing down the skirt of her dress and pressing one last kiss to her now clothed hip before standing back up, mere inches from her.

“Promise me something,” she wrapped her arms around his middle, threading her arms underneath his. Frankie lowered his gaze to her still slightly flushed face, a small frown crossing his brow. “You’re gonna ask me whatever it is that crosses your mind, anything you want to–even if it’s something as banal as is my hair alright,” her fingers curled against his back, gently bringing him closer.

Frankie sighed, cupping her jaw in his hands before nodding–small movements, getting closer to leave a delicate peck against her lips.

“Promise,” he conceded, voice a little hoarse as he kept it low. “We should head back–you okay?” she nodded, mimicking his quick kiss before detangling herself from him and stepping aside, reaching for the door. “Wait, Mila,” he caught her hand as she unlocked the door, her gaze a little perplexed when she turned back around. “Is my hair alright?”

Camila laughed, a light roll of her eyes as she reached for the cap left on the countertop, putting it back on his head and pulling it low over his brow–he grinned in return, tipping his head back to keep his gaze on her.

“Better,” she nodded, wrinkling her nose before opening the door.

He pulled her under his arm once they were into the corridor, fixing his cap as she wrapped one of her arms around him again, bumping her hip with his while they stepped forward–and stopped at the stairs creaking, Santi’s head popping up with a deep frown that vanished as soon as he saw them.

“Ah, there you are–Alba’s been asking for you,” the other man said, looking at Camila, then made a face, somewhere between a pout and a grimace, muttering, “for some reason. Also, is it me or has Nicky gotten worse?” this he asked Frankie, his expression turning into a full scowl. His gaze then darted from one to the other, still tangled together, and surely somewhat guilty-looking–Camila’s face was still reddened, Frankie’s shirt slightly wrinkled, their hair just about messed up. Santi groaned, full on rolling his eyes. “Seriously? Gross.”

Camila laughed, loud and amused, leaving a rapid kiss to Frankie’s shoulder before sliding from under his arm, keeping her own open as she advanced towards Santi.

“Come here,” she said at his mock disdain, reaching for him. “Come on, Garcia–give me a kiss.”

“No, I don’t know where that mouth has been,” he argued, trying to step away and back down the stairs. Camila all but leaped for him, laughing again and throwing her arms around him–he quickly got his arms around her, too, keeping them both upright with a huff of protest as she smacked a kiss against his cheek. “Fish, will you keep your girlfriend in check?”

Frankie just watched them, the quick, purposefully sloppy kisses she peppered across his face from the upper step, his twisted expression as he tried to pull away but couldn’t make a move–they both knew it was an over-dramatization on Pope’s part, that he’d been basking in the affection Camila reserved for them all.

With one last kiss to Santi’s forehead–loud and possibly even sloppier, making him groan in protest–she skipped away with a laugh and a gentle pinch to his arm, one last glance in Frankie’s direction from above her shoulder with a wide grin across her reddened cheeks before walking down the stairs.

“What, no not my girlfriend?” Santi muttered, running a hand across his face before looking back up at Frankie–his gaze somewhat lost towards where Camila had gone.

“No, not this time, actually,” he said, clearing his throat.

“Oh, thank God,” Santi exclaimed, lifting his hands. “Seriously, fucking finally!”

Frankie had gotten used to sleeping as close to Camila as he could get–whether she was curled up in his arms, her back pressed against his front, or her body draped across his, it was rare for them to roll on opposite sides of the bed.

Mostly because she still hogged most of the covers, and Frankie would wake up in the middle of the night with half of himself exposed to the room, and she would then complain his hands were cold when he sought out her warmth.

He didn’t mind it one bit–each excuse he could find to feel her skin under his hands, to wake up and know she was still there, would be enough to make him withstand anything.

And he always woke up first, taking a few moments before her alarm would go off to look at her sleeping, relaxed face, hair braided back and away, eyelids trembling as she seemed to be following her dreams, lips slightly parted to let out soft huffs of air–he would pepper her skin in quick, delicate kisses as soon as she turned off the alarm, tightening his arms around her.

But the alarm didn’t sound that morning, and when he glanced over her shoulder to where the clock was he sat up so quickly the whole room spun, dragging the covers with him before turning towards the already curling up woman, her face twisting in a still-asleep frown.

“Mila, we overslept,” he called, gently shaking her by the shoulder. She groaned softly, burying her face into the pillow. “Mila,” he tried again, and she turned in his direction.

“You overslept,” she protested, bringing a hand up to rub her eyes. “I have the day off,” she added in a mumble, head heavy on the pillow and exposing the sleep lines on her opposite side of the face. “Did you not set an alarm again?”

“I’m sorry,” he muttered, leaning in to press his lips to hers as he brought the covers back up over her while simultaneously sliding off the bed. “I didn't–you know I usually rely on you.”

“And that is twice you’ve made that mistake,” she mumbled, her eyelids drooping again, ever so slowly. Frankie scoffed, quick steps around the room as he searched blindly for some clothes. “I’ll take Alba to daycare, it’s alright.”

“Are you sure? You can go back to sleep,” he was still rummaging through the closet as he spoke, and suddenly the light was on and he could see the shirts hanging in front of him.

“I’m up already,” Camila groaned softly, and turning around he saw her sitting up, rubbing at her eyes again as she suppressed a yawn. Frankie’s expression softened as she kicked her legs off the bed, lingering there a moment with her head tilted forward slightly. “Go finish getting ready, I’ll make us some coffee.”

Frankie grabbed a shirt before turning around, padding across the room to reach her–he tipped her head back gently, hooking one finger underneath her chin before kissing her. Camila hummed softly, her eyelids fluttering open and shut and open again when he pulled back, thumb brushing along her jaw.

“See? I knew it’d be convenient for you to move in,” she snorted at his grinning remark, pushing him back with both her hands on his chest before getting up the bed, stretching as Frankie kissed her again, lips just at the corner of her mouth.

He passed by the living room once he was dressed, Alba sitting on the couch with her morning cartoons playing, hair still ruffled by the night–her breakfast was waiting on the coffee table, along with Camila’s empty mug.

“Morning, nena,” he murmured, placing a kiss to the top of her head. The child moved her legs, bouncing her feet and smiling and looking up at her dad. “Are you waiting for Mila?”

“Ma!” voice laced with sleep, Alba nodded, eyes squinting as she smiled. Frankie chuckled, ruffling her hair before heading towards the kitchen, leaving her to the images on the screen.

It was a new development, ma–an imitation of Frankie, of possibly the other children at daycare. The beginning of a word that signified much more for them both. The three of them, actually. Frankie’s doubts had dwindled with one single word, and he had started to tell her truly what went through his mind (almost everything).

“I’m sorry I woke you up,” he murmured as he walked up to her at the sink, one hand falling to her hip as he reached for the travel mug she was already offering him with the other. She smiled in the reflection of the mirror, taking the moka pot from the turned off stove. “I’ll set an alarm next time, I promise.”

“Heard that one before,” she chuckled, bumping her shoulder into his front as she gently leaned back into his half-hazarded embrace. “Go on now, before you’re late.”

“Thank you,” he kissed the curve of her neck–a peck, really, quick and non-committal. “I love you,” he added then, stepping back.

Camila’s head straightened abruptly, the sleep seemingly still clinging to her leaving her all of a sudden, and in the reflection he saw her eyes widen ever so slightly.

He told her almost everything.

Until that moment. He wasn’t sure he’d fully woken up just yet.

“Alright, bye,” he said just as quickly, a little louder, walking away before she could even begin turning around. Alba babbled for him from the couch and he went on, holding his breath through the corridor and entrance, down the steps and across the front yard until he reached the car.

Only then did he exhale, heavy and almost too loud as he leaned his head forward towards the steering wheel, almost hitting his forehead to the honk in the process, a soft groan abandoning him. I love you. Alright, bye.

“For fuck’s sake–” he muttered, bumping his head against the wheel again. “Alright, bye?” he grimaced. He jumped in his seat at the quick knocking against the window, pulling his head straight quickly and turning around, gripping the mug tighter to not topple it. “What–”

Camila stood next to the car, hair wild around her now that it was unbraided as she gestured at him to lower the window, bouncing ever so slightly on the spot. With a slight frown he did as she asked, and before he could form the question she was leaning into the car, grabbing him by the collar of the shirt to pull him closer and kiss him.

Frankie’s body relaxed, his eyes fluttering shut as he shifted in the seat and brought his free hand to her shoulder–he could feel her lean closer and closer, her torso sticking inside the car as she used his shirt as leverage and kissed him, kissed him, kissed him.

“I love you too,” she gasped, pulling back. Though his gaze was unfocused and he felt slightly breathless, dizzy, he managed to make out the shape of her body draped over the car door, legs dangling and the shirt of her pajama riding slightly across her back. “I thought you heard me already–a while ago.”

“What while ago?” he muttered, still a little dazed. He would think about her smile for the rest of the day, distracted out of his mind.

“I was talking with Alba, she couldn’t sleep,” the tip of her thumb brushed the side of his neck, right where his pulse was stuttering rapidly. “Telling her how much you love her–and I love her, and you,” she murmured, still leaning close, the tip of her nose almost brushing his.

“Well you didn’t tell me,” he could feel the pout on his mouth that seemed to only pull her smile wider. “I just thought–” she kissed him quickly this time, pulling back before he could register it, return it.

“Always a bad idea, honey,” she quipped, her eyes shimmering ever so slightly. “I told you, Frankie–you can tell me anything. Everything.”

“I know,” he sighed with mock defeat, leaning towards her until he was the one resting against the car door and she could touch the ground again, his head sticking out of the window. “Everything?” he asked then, looking up at her once she straightened.

“Yes,” she let her hand shift so it was cupping his jaw, thumb pushing gently into his cheek.

“You keep stealing the covers,” he whispered it, like it was a secret, and after the moment of initial shock Camila laughed. As she laughed, he turned his head to kiss her wrist, the heel of her hand, her palm, words murmured against the soft skin there– “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she repeated–she’d repeat it over and over from then on, whispered close to his ear or shouted from across the house when either one or the other left for the day, mumbled before falling asleep and just awoke. It’d always have the same effect on Frankie. “But I’m cold, so I’m not giving up the covers.”

“I know you’re not,” he chuckled, taking her hand in his to turn it around and kiss her knuckles, too. “I’ll just have to stick close, then.”

She hummed in assent, squeezing his hand in hers before leaning one last time, the kiss too brief for both their tastes–if it were up to them, that’d be where they’d spend the whole day, just as close to each other as they could get.

“I’ll see you later,” she said instead.

Frankie remained in the driveway a moment longer, watching as she ran back inside–still barefoot, a light skip in her step, and one last look over her shoulder towards him.

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boltupbitches · 4 months

Text

Sliding in the DMs Part XVI

“Well… looks like we gotta face the music.” Arty mused, watching the scenery pass by on their drive from the airport to Joey’s place in Costa Mesa.

Joey just made a sound of acknowledgment and stayed quiet. His favorite Tame Impala album played lowly in the background as he kept his eyes on the road. His eyebrows were furrowed together, obviously from the stress of their marriage leaking and his family’s negative reaction to the news - mostly his father’s reaction.

Arty was exhausted too. Athena was still troubled with her but respected Arty’s wish to talk in person after the honeymoon. There was still no word yet from her parents. She was sure her mom would reach out at this most inopportune time for Arty. That’s how she rolled.

Being back in the US seemed to only magnify the amount of texts and voicemails Arty got. She kept her phone on silent and didn’t post a thing on social media during their honeymoon. After talking to her grandparents and texting Athena back, she got it out only to take pictures of the beautiful landscapes of Saint Barts, but that’s where it ended.

They tried their best to capitalize on what was left of their honeymoon, spending time lounging in the sun, swimming in the ocean, shopping, going out on a rental boat, collecting seashells, and exploring as much of the beautiful island as they could.

She was exhausted now, however, as she knew there was a shit storm coming their way whether they were ready to face it or not. And that shitstorm was Joey’s family.

Pulling into the driveway of his Costa Mesa home, Joey noticed right away the two rental cars parked in his driveway and immediately let out an aggravated, “fuck!”

Arty didn’t even flinch because she was too busy staring at the vehicles with a blank face.

Looks like it was time to face the storm head-on, then. No prep time at all.

Joey laid his head against the wheel before looking up again. He stared at Arty with tired eyes, his frown lines more pronounced and his brows furrowed in frustration.

Arty forced a smile and reached over to grip his hand on the steering wheel. He turned his hand over to grip hers and lifted it to press a kiss against the top of her hand. “We’re going to be ok,” She reassured gently. “Whatever happens, happen. Just know I’m here for you through it all and no one is going to chase me away from you, Joey. I love you.”

He smiled back at her for her words and leaned in to press a deep kiss to her lips, using his free hand to cup her cheek.

He pulled back and smiled at her once more, nerves still showed in his eyes, but he was also calmer now. “I love you too.”

He turned his eyes back to his house, seeing his brother, Nick, peek through the curtain at them blatantly with unimpressed eyes.

“What’s that fucking idiot staring at?” Joey grumbled as he glared back at his younger brother. “He better not say shit to me given what he’s been sneaking around doing.”

Arty laughed at that, “Well, I’m sure he’s probably here to support you, Joey. That or he upset my sister and he’s here for help. Our situation might be a cover for his romance issues.”

“Of course. Gonna sit back and let me get dog-piled on until he gets a moment alone to ask for relationship help. Like usual.” Joey rolled his eyes and stared at an amused Arty. “He bothered the shit out of me to help him with his ex, Jenna. As if I, a single man at the time, would be able to fix that train accident waiting to happen. Anyway, let’s get in there and get this over with. The sooner this is over, the sooner I can kick them all out and we can get some sleep.”

Arty nodded and exited the car with him.

Nick opened the door and stared at them with disapproving eyes. “Way to run off after getting married and leaving me to get grilled by every-fucking-person you know, Joey!”

“Shut up or get the fuck out, Nicky. I am about to get my ass grilled in there. So either stand aside and shut up, or go back to whatever hotel you have your ass staying at.” Joey said lowly.

Nick glared back. “Well fuck it.. Welcome back I guess.” He held his hand out for a shake and Joey instead pulled him into a hug, smacking his back roughly. Nick laughed at that and hugged him back. “Congrats, bro.”

They let go of one another and backed up. Nick lifted his eyes to his new sister-in-law and smiled. “Congratulations, Arty. Sorry that the last time we spoke it wasn’t on good terms.” He offered her a hug as well.

Arty grinned at him and accepted the hug, mimicking Joey’s action of tapping him hard on the back. “No problem, Nick. Just as I know you’d never want anything to happen to Joey, please know I’m always looking out for my little sister.” She said seriously as they backed up. “I gotta call her later today. How is she?”

Nick slumped slightly, a sad look taking over. “I don’t know she hasn’t spoken to me all week since the news of the wedding broke headlines. She still thinks I knew about this whole thing in advance and she’s hurt about it. Could… could you talk with her and clear this up? Cause goddamn it sucks to be iced out like this.” He rubbed his neck nervously, looking down before looking back up at Arty with a pleading look.

“And there it is,” Joey mused with a smirk as Arty grinned back at her husband. “Nick needs us to clear his name to get back in his lady’s arms.”

“Listen -” Nick started to say in his defense.

“Josephy Anthony Bosa get your ass in here!” His father’s voice boomed from the end of the hallway.

All three stared into the house, seeing a pissed-off John Bosa staring back. “Thanks for the welcome back, dad.” Joey shot him a patronizing smile.

Cheryl appeared in the hallway, a frustrated look on her face. “Can you not be a fucking asshole for two minutes, John? Just two? We are here for an intervention, not a fight.”

“An intervention?” Joey laughed at that. “A fucking intervention?” He ran his hand through his hair. “For what? Falling in love? Being happy? You do interventions for people spiraling, not when they’re doing something positive in their goddamn life!” He spat, already losing his temper from the shit-storm the last few days.

“Positive?” John smirked, “What’s so goddamn fucking positive about marrying the first skank you had a date with in LA?”

Joey moved to charge at him when Nick quickly reached out and wrapped his arms around his brother tightly, holding him back. “Call her that again, call my wife that again! You don’t know fucking shit about her or even me these days! We’ve been together for almost a year. Tell me, how long after dating mom did you knock her up with me without marrying her until I was 6, dad? Huh?”

“Don’t bring up shit you don’t understand Joey.” His dad dismissed. “Your mom and I both had money. Who is to say that she isn’t with you for the money?”

“Well maybe if you were more present in my life outside of football you would have met her already and learned that her parents are billionaires!” Joey argued back.

His parents stared at him in shock, taking a moment to glance at a nervous Arty who was standing back and out of the way.

“Doesn’t change anything.” John broke out of his thoughts first. “You wanna run off and play house, not focus on your game, ice your family out, and even your friends. How can you be so goddamn selfish all the time? The first pretty girl that gives you attention and you jump like a dog, Joseph. Love doesn’t win games or Super Bowl rings.”

“You would know, right?” Joey countered. “Because you were a master at both. Being a player and a family man, right?”

John said nothing.

“Since we are having an intervention about me and how disgraceful I am for finally putting my happiness first, let’s talk about the root of my goddamn problems. You, Dad. It’s you! You’re such an expert player but you were a draft bust even before fucking your legs up. You were just as much a shit dad because as soon as mom broke it off with you for cheating so many goddamn times, you were in and out of relationships with women that squandered your money. Then you burned investors in a nightclub and a gym Uncle Eric helped you build. You’ve capitalized off of connections more than anyone else I know. Maybe it’s you who was a broke ass that latched on to mom for money and connections 'cause we all know you wouldn’t be able to do shit without her connections.” Joey ranted, still being held firmly by Nick who was frowning heavily at the situation.

“You are a no-good, disrespectful fucking prick, Joseph. You’re so ungrateful for everything we have sacrificed for you. Your mother and I didn’t work out -”

“Because you are a quitter who didn’t want to try. You quit on our family and only came around when it was convenient. That’s the truth. If it wasn’t football, you weren’t interested. It’s always been on your terms. Funny that when you were selfish and put yourself first every single time, we were collateral. Your wife and kids! Yet, I meet the love of my life and we marry and suddenly it’s the worst thing in the world.” He paused to look at his mom and dad. “Newsflash: I love my wife. I love Artemis. She’s been through so much with me and I’ve never once felt like a failure when I’m with her. Even when I almost screwed our relationship up earlier on. She’s the best goddamn thing that’s happened to me and I won’t let you try to ruin that. Never.”

“So you’ll pick her over your family?” John asked in disbelief.

“I am picking to stand by my wife. Why is that considered picking her over you guys? Why do you want me to choose? If you seriously loved and cared about me like you say you do, you’d support me and my wife. I don’t see it as choosing one over another. I see it as if you’re upset and don’t want to support me - us, then there’s nothing I can do.”

Nick gently released his hold on his brother, stepping back, but keeping his hand on his brother’s shoulder.

“Well,” his dad rubbed his head, his face not impressed at all. “I guess then you know where I stand.” He walked past his sons and Artemis, not even giving her a look of acknowledgment. “Come talk to me when you’re done destroying your career.” He slammed the door shut after him.

They were all silent as they heard him fly out of the driveway in his rental.

“Joey…” His mother stepped forward. “He wasn’t supposed to react that way. I’m so sorry. It wasn’t my intention to come here and yell at you. I just wanted to talk.” She said to him gently, walking towards him and opening her arms to hug him.

He sighed loudly and accepted her hug, pressing his head into her shoulder as his shoulders started to shake.

Nick quietly approached and joined in on hugging the two as well, being sure to support his brother.

Arty stayed back, watching with tearful eyes as her husband cried in the arms of the only family that was currently supportive of him without prejudice.

She could tell his mom and brother loved him dearly. She couldn’t figure out where his dad stood with his feelings given how much of an asshole he was just now to Joey and how she had heard him on the phone prior, as well as what Joey had shared about him. He was toxic – she knew that for sure. And he seemed the same manipulative and dismissive tactics her mother used. It was painfully familiar to hear those words thrown at her husband.

She wanted to intervene, but she knew Joey needed to let it out. He needed to stand up in that moment for himself, not just her. She knew he needed to feel like he reclaimed authority over himself once more, something his dad often tried to take from him and his brother.

That was so obvious for anyone unlucky enough to encounter an angry John Bosa. He was demeaning and cruel. Looking for weak points and doing his best to capitalize on them in that moment.

She was certain now, after meeting him, that she’d be ready for his antics next time.

There was no way in hell she was going to let John wreck his son’s marriage to her.

It would be a cold day in hell before that happened.

—--------

"So, you're the woman my son has been dating and is now married to?" Cheryl asked with an indiscernible tone. "While this isn't an ideal situation," she sighed and rubbed her temples, the glass of wine in front of her half-drank, "I'm glad to know Joey has been happy and not alone."

Both women were sitting on the patio chairs outside. Nick and Joey were speaking privately downstairs.

Cheryl was friendly to her, albeit reserved. They made polite chit-chat as Arty got them something to drink.

As soon as they settled outside, Arty knew Cheryl wanted to talk. Woman to woman.

“I am,” Arty confirmed. “I know this situation isn’t ideal… I don’t think Joey and I ever imagined a year ago that we’d be here today, but we are.” She took a sip of her wine.

Cheryl stayed quiet, letting her have the chance to finish speaking.

“It was never about hurting anyone by keeping it a secret. Neither of us asked the other to do so with our families. We were in a bubble of just the two of us for so long. Nick knew that we were seeing each other, but didn’t know the full extent. My sister, Athena, knew just as much as he did. Before we knew it, time had passed. We took a trip to Greece to see my maternal grandparents. I had no idea Joey was going to propose to me.” She stared out towards the oceanfront view they had. “And again, we ended up just not finding the right time to announce it to people. Except for our siblings, no one knew about us. So, introducing your partner who then becomes your fiance became intimidating. So again, it was put off.”

Arty was quiet once more. “We never did it intending to hurt anyone. I know the two of us, Joey and I, we both have personal circumstances surrounding family relationships. What happened with his dad this evening... I dealt with that with my mom. So, again, we leaned into each other and our habits of keeping things to ourselves.”

“Do you regret it?” Cheryl asked.

“Marrying him? No never.” Arty said firmly.

“No, not that, I mean, do you regret not sharing that you guys were dating and meeting each other’s families?” Cheryl sipped her wine, studying Arty’s expression.

“I don’t regret it,” Arty said. “Because living with regret and dwelling on what could have been won’t fix the situation at hand we currently have. I am sorry that it caused hurt for people. That was never our intention, but to regret how we got engaged and then married would be a lie. I like to believe things happen for a reason. Where we are now is where we are. We make do with the situation at hand.” Arty mused.

Cheryl nodded at that, taking in what Arty was saying. “I can respect that. Joey… he’s always been the child I worried the most about because of his heart. He wears it more openly. Even with how tall, strong, and serious he looks at times, you know like I do that he’s a gentle-hearted man most of the time. He loves wholeheartedly too. I was worried when I found out about all of this. Joey has gone through phases of being open with his emotions, then bottling them and hiding them away. At times it has made it hard to sit back and wait for him to express himself because he lets his self-doubts cloud him and drag him under.”

Arty was thinking of quite a few occasions where she had witnessed that first-hand. “I noticed that quite a few times too. He’s gotten better though, on leaning on me for support instead of hiding it away. We almost broke up before we even became official because he was afraid of facing what he was feeling. We’ve moved passed that now and he’s doing much better - at least with me.”

“I’m glad,” Cheryl said. “I think a lot of his reservation in sharing with me is that I’m his mom.. And maybe there’s an aspect of him wanting to be independent and not rely on me so much as an adult. I respect that. It’s how our mother-son relationship is. I’m glad that with you as his wife, he has felt comfortable in sharing with you and leaning on you for support.”

She sighed before continuing, “This was supposed to be a moment where we could get answers and talk. I regret inviting John along and giving him any benefit of the doubt that he could respectfully handle this without going straight into fighting with Joey. He still can’t be the adult in the room in any situation where he’s not in control.” She rolled her eyes at that. “I will always do my best to support my sons. Joey, he’s my firstborn, and just like with his brother, we share a unique bond that you’ll also someday feel when or if you have children. And while I am a little disappointed and hurt he didn’t feel like he could trust me enough to let me meet you sooner, I do trust his judgment and I am glad we can now get to know one another.” Cheryl smiled at her.

Arty smiled back, feeling relief seep over her at Cheryl’s willingness to build a relationship with her. “Thank you so much. Please know, Cheryl, that I would never do a thing to hurt Joey. Ever. I love him so much and I plan to for the rest of my life.”

Cheryl nodded at that, smiling once more at her. “A lifetime is a long time, but I believe that Joey’s found the one. Nick had mentioned to me how happy and relaxed Joey had been from the conversations they had. I noticed that too before all of this came to light. Like I said, I trust his judgment. He’s not the type to make rash decisions without feeling confident and strongly that it’ll work out. So,” Cheryl lifted her glass. “Welcome to the Bosa-Kumerow family. I’m so sorry our first meeting was us watching my ex-husband be an asshole. Just know that there will likely be more arguments to come. Lots of hotheads on both sides of the family. Just hold your own and don’t let anyone scare you off!”

“Welcome to the family!” Cheryl toasted to Arty.

They laughed and clanked glasses together, both taking a big drink of their wine.

“Glad to know you’re getting my wife wine drunk, mom.” Joey joked from the doorway.

Both turned and smiled at the man as he walked on out. “Well, I wanted her to feel more welcomed. I brought some wine if you want some, Joey.” His mom offered him.

“Nah, I’m good right now.” He took a seat next to Arty and leaned over to peck her cheek, making her giggle with his beard tickled her cheek. “Came out to join you guys. Nick’s on the phone, but should be out soon. I had to help him with a situation.”

“Is he ok?” Chery asked with concern, “I know he had some issue going on with how stressed he’s been.”

“Yeah, just a girl he was seeing was mad at him because he’s a dumbass. So I was helping him come up with an apology to get back on her good side.”

“Nick’s seeing someone?” Cheryl asked. “He didn’t say anything to me about it and he tells me everything.”

Joey turned towards a confused Arty, “It’s true. He’s a huge mama’s boy. Always been and always will be.”

“Joey.” Cheryl chided, but couldn’t help the grin that grew on her face.

“He is. It’s no secret. But yeah, that’s for him to share. I’m not in the mood for dealing with his whining if I share anymore.”

Cheryl rolled her eyes. “Fine, fine. I’ll get him to tell me later. Now,” She turned towards them. “Tell me where you went for your honeymoon.”

Arty started to share the details of what Joey and she arranged at last-minute notice. Joey stayed quiet mostly through it, just interjecting a few times to correct or confirm something. He was too busy staring at his wife as she excitedly pulled her phone out to show Cheryl the beautiful scenery she captured on her phone.

Joey loved how expressive she could be at times. She was silly and loved to have fun. She was more sociable than him, but could also be cool, calm, and collected when need be. She was entrancing to him and he knew others felt that way around her too. Artemis Bosa made him feel loved and she loved to show it. At that moment, he truly believed he was the luckiest man on Earth by getting to marry her. He couldn’t imagine his life now without her.

He was thankful he chose that day to slide in her DMs. Who could believe online gaming and social media would lead him to meet the love of his life?

#Joey bosa fanfiction #Joey Bosa fanfic #sliding in the DMs #SDMs #Joey Bosa Imagines #Joey Bosa imagine

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raedear · 3 months

Note

oh please do share a bit for balldo 2 👀

Ahahaha did you know that there's now a VIBRATING ball-do? I didn't till peach told me about it. And then I was like. Obviously there has to be a sequel.

This is actually called ball-do 2: VIBALLDO but I wrote down the wrong name because my brain refuses to accept there's a product called the viballdo in the world.

In a year of dating (a wonderful year, full of joy and laughter and everything Nicky wanted out of a relationship with Joe and never expected to have) Joe had never asked anything of Nicky that Nicky hadn't been happy to give. He barely had to glance his big beautiful eyes at Nicky before Nicky was offering to do whatever it was Joe wanted. This is the first time he's ever had to pause before saying yes. 'My love…' Nicky begins slowly, unsure where he's going to end up. The gift voucher in his hands sparkles up at him with an alarming amount of glitter. 'I—Am I not…tidy enough?' Joe blinks at him, and then his already wide smile gets wider, his dimples showing even through his beard in the way that always makes Nicky weak at the knees. 'You're perfect,' Joe says through his smile, his hand warm on Nicky's knee. 'The second part of your gift will make the first part make sense.' Struggling to see how anything but an unhappiness with Nicky's personal grooming can make a voucher for a "masculine personal waxing session" make sense, Nicky puts aside the glittery cardboard and reaches for the wrapped box the voucher had been sellotaped to. VIBALLDO, announces the box inside. Nicky blinks at it, turning it over in his hands to see the familiar shape of the terrible toy that brought them together. "The World's 1st vibrating Ball-Dildo - penetrate and stimulate your partner with your balls!" says the front of the packaging in aggressively cheerful lettering and odd formatting. 'Happy anniversary, darling,' says Joe through a grin that's no less loving for how sharklike it is. It may be that Nicky deserves this. In six years of friendship, one year of dating, Nicky and Joe have developed many inside jokes. Nicky can simply raise his eyebrow a certain way in the right contexts and have Joe in stitches. Similarly, Joe has a particular way of saying the word intimately that makes Nicky laugh his most unflattering, snorting laugh every single time. Nicky's favourite inside joke of theirs happens to be the ball-do, and Joe's attempts to use it. He takes particular joy in quoting Joe's review of the thing back at Joe when Joe can't reach him to make him stop. 'It was such a special experience the first time,' says Nicky quickly, trying to get ahead of this. 'I wouldn't want to do anything to spoil our memories of that night—especially so close to our anniversary.' 'Sweetheart,' Joe says, leaning close to kiss the hinge of Nicky's jaw. 'Nothing could spoil our memories of that night. This is so we can make new memories.' 'Surely we've already made all the memories we can with the ball-do,' Nicky says, trying not to sound too much like he's looking for an escape. 'No no,' Joe interrupts, plucking the box from Nicky's numb hands. 'It's a new version. This one vibrates. Plenty new experiences to be had.' 'My love—' They're reaching a critical mass of endearments. Nile once told them she could tell how close they were to arm-wrestling or, later, leaving early to fuck by how much or how little they used each other's names. 'I would never force you, beloved,' says Joe with absolute wide-eyed innocence. 'If you don't think you're up to it, it's alright. It's a lot, I know.' Nicky blinks at Joe in disbelief. Disbelief that not only would he be so transparently baiting Nicky, but that it was working. 'I read the instructions too, last time,' Nicky says, instead of the fuck you he wants to. (An affectionate fuck you, but a fuck you nonetheless.) 'You don't have to wax before you use it. You can just trim.' Joe's bashful expression is one of Nicky's favourites. It's no less impactful when he's blatantly being a little shit.

#ask me anything my dudes

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taizi · 1 year

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give me something that’ll haunt me when you’re not around

chapter two: stuck on the thought of you

rise of the tmnt pairing: leoichi (leonardo / usagi yuichi) word count: 2k title borrowed from sunroof by nicky youre and dazy post-movie

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read on ao3

Yuichi lasts another whole day before his scraped-together willpower completely fails him. Okay, half a day. At work he approaches Sunita in that lull between the lunch and dinner rush while she’s folding linens for the tables and makes his daring move.

Her phone is propped up against the napkin holder, playing a music video by a human performer Yuichi is unfamiliar with. Sunita is bopping along to it and doesn’t notice Yuichi until he’s standing directly in front of her.

When she does, she jumps about a foot in the air, yelping loud enough that a few of their coworkers on the other side of the dining room turn and shoot them judgemental looks.

“I’m so sorry!” Yuichi fumbles. He’s constantly accidentally sneaking up on people, but just watch him try to sneak out of the house on purpose to go joy-riding with Chizu and Kitsune. He gets caught nine times out of ten, usually before he’s even halfway out his window. It’s a joke.

“Ugh, I spend all my time with ninjas these days and I still get spooked,” Sunita says, patting her chest where her heart must have leaped in surprise, but her tone is good-natured. “You’d think I’d be used to people popping up out of nowhere by now, with how often my girlfriend’s little brothers do it, but nope! Anyway, sorry, did you need something?”

“Uh, hi,” he says at length. To his alarm and dismay, he doesn’t actually know where to go from there. It’s very possible he didn’t think this through. “I mean, I just wanted to say hi.”

Sunita saves him with a smile, her visible eye crinkling with the force of it.

“Hi, Usagi,” she says brightly. “Lunch was wild, huh? Did you make good tips?”

“Yeah, actually. It almost made my ten-top worth it.”

His coworker laughs, commiserating the way only a fellow server possibly could, but her eyes drop back down to the napkins. She mentioned to him once that she has to split her focus constantly, to be sure not to leave slime residue behind on everything she touches.

Yuichi is finished with his side work for now, so he reaches for a stack of the linens and drags it across the table toward himself, settling in to help. Sunita seems happy to have his company and doesn’t mind leading the conversation, his brief, generally one-word contributions no deterrent at all. It’s always been easy to talk to her.

“Um, hey,” Yuichi says very casually when he’s bolstered enough courage. “I was wondering if you had Leonardo’s number? I don’t have it, and—it’s been awhile since I’ve seen him.”

“Oh!” To his immediate disappointment, Sunita looks apologetic. “Oh, I totally would, but it’s not really a good time? Things are kind of touchy right now.”

Yuichi focuses very hard on the napkin he’s folding because otherwise he’d probably stare at her as if he’s hanging off her every word, and that. Well that would make him seem desperate. And he’s not desperate.

“Because of the invasion?” he asks. His friend nods, her bubbly good cheer displaced.

“Yeah. It was really bad. I don’t know all the details but April and her boys were right in the thick of things. And after—well, after, Leo wasn’t doing too good. It was pretty scary. So his siblings sort of just closed ranks around him.” She slimes the napkin she’s holding and makes a face at it, balling it up in her hands. She finds another smile for Yuichi and adds, “Hey, how ‘bout this? I’ll text April and see what she thinks, okay? I’ll bet Leo would love to hear from a friend!”

Sunita is the best. He’s buying her boba tea after work tonight. And maybe, if she gets him Leo’s number, he'll buy her boba tea after work from now until the day they die.

Later that night, when he’s helping wash dinner dishes, Yuichi’s phone starts vibrating like it’s fighting for its life. When he checks it, he finds messages from Sunita rolling in. She’s a quintuple texter on a good day.

SUNA: hey ₍ᐢ. ̫.ᐢ₎ SUNA: good news!! SUNA: april says she’ll meet up with you tomorrow SUNA: you’re off right? i said you’d come to the restaurant SUNA: she has classes in the afternoon so it’ll have to be before 11

Yuichi notes right away that there was no mention of his potentially not meeting up with April tomorrow. He gets the feeling he doesn’t have a choice.

Usagi: That’s great. I’ll ask auntie but I should be free. SUNA: okay april will see you there at 10 am sharp !! Usagi: Thanks, Sunita. I owe you one. SUNA: no prob!! ☆૮꒰ˊᗜˋ* ꒱ა

The bunny emojis would rankle if they were sent by literally anyone else, but from her they manage to be adorable. Yuichi locks his phone and sets it face-down on the counter, then clears his throat.

Auntie glances at him, rubbing a sponge around the inside of a casserole dish. Two of his cousins are parked at the counter with coding manuals and coloring pages but two is better than the full audience of five, so Yuichi just goes for it.

“Would it be okay if I skipped my morning chores tomorrow?” he asks quickly. “I know the farmbatto still needs fixed but I promise I’ll get it done!”

“You stay far, far away from my robot,” cousin Botan says loudly without even deigning to look up at him, little seal point face buried in an unethically-sourced textbook thicker than Usagi’s arm. “It’s still holding a grudge from what you did to it last time.”

“It was an accident, and it was as much Momiji’s fault as mine!” Yuichi shoots back.

Momiji sends him a look of absolute betrayal, her russet-colored fur bristling in offense. “Was not! You were the one who said we should play samurai!”

“Alright, enough,” Auntie says with a clap of her hands that causes little dishsoap suds to scatter. Botan and Momiji both settle down, but considering they’re ten and six years old respectively, it’s not much of a victory. “Yuichi, what are you up to now?”

Yuichi twists the dishtowel in his hands. “Uhhhhh, so you know—you know Leonardo?”

His cousins both snort. Yuichi whips around to pin them with a glare. “What was that? Why did you do that?”

“Do we know Leonardo?” Botan asks dryly. He’s very sarcastic for such a tiny rabbit. “Hamato Leonardo? Gee, I dunno. You only bring him up nine billion times a day.”

“I do not!”

“Ignore them, baby,” Auntie says, amused. “What’s this about Leonardo?”

“Uh, well, he hasn’t been around lately. And I work with his big sister’s girlfriend, so I asked her about him, and she told me that he was—I mean, I guess he got hurt during that invasion. She couldn’t tell me much, so I was going to meet his sister tomorrow morning.”

Auntie drops the sponge in the dishwater and braces her hands on the edge of the sink, brow furrowed. “What? That poor boy was hurt and you didn’t tell me until now?”

“I didn’t know until now,” Yuichi says. Then, a little desperately, he adds, “Please be normal about this.”

“I’m making him a care package and you’re making sure he gets it,” Auntie steamrolls over him in her most no-nonsense tone. She abandons the dishes left in the sink and starts bustling around the kitchen. “If you’re seeing his sister in the morning, I’ll need to get started on it now.”

Yuichi gazes out the window at the darkening sky, praying that his ancestors will smite him on the spot, but unfortunately he lives to see tomorrow.

Also unfortunately, April doesn’t cancel or blow him off the next morning, and is even earlier than their agreed-upon meet-up time. She’s standing outside Run of the Mill when he gets there, her arms crossed and her mouth set, and if she’s nervous about all the big yokai milling around on the street, opening their stores or heading down to the market, she doesn’t show it at all.

She picks Yuichi out of the crowd with steely brown eyes and he steps up his pace a little bit, Spot trotting faithfully at his side.

“Good morning,” he says, hoping it’s a safe enough start when she seems annoyed with him already.

“Yeah, you too,” April replies. She considers him for a minute, then uncrosses her arms and stands a little taller, squaring her shoulders and jutting out her chin. “Sunita told me you wanted Leo’s number. Look, if this is some kind of joke, I’m not laughing.”

Um. What? Dumbly, Yuichi parrots, “A joke?”

“Leo may be the absolute worst sometimes, but he’s still one of the best people I know all the time,” the human goes on hotly, as if they’re both on the same page here. Yuichi has the sinking feeling that they’re reading completely different books. “Whatever you’re trying to get back at him for, it ain’t worth it. You do anything to hurt him and his brothers would go on the warpath, and frankly so would I.”

“I’m not trying to get back at him for anything,” Yuichi blurts. Honestly the only thing he wants payback for is all the real estate in his brain that Leonardo takes up, but that’s not something he’s willing to admit, out loud, with his mouth, where someone might hear him. “Why would you think that?”

“Because you can’t stand Leo,” April says plainly. “You always look pissed off when he’s around. I know he can be annoying as hell, but if you can’t see how good he is, too, then that’s your loss.”

Something in Yuichi’s chest folds right in half. Wow, it hurts a lot.

Historically, resting bitch face runs in his family. Usagi Miyamoto was known for many things, one of which was his dark, glowering expression. He isn’t smiling in a single painting of him that exists. Yuichi is usually very proud of every single trait that he’s told he inherited from that famous samurai, but maybe he could do without this one.

Now he’s combing through every interaction he’s ever had with Leonardo, every conversation. He’s picking apart each exchange and trying to look at it from a third party’s point of view. Did it seem like he didn’t want Leonardo around? Is that what Leonardo thought?

The striped turtle had a way of plowing unceremoniously through uncomfortable silences, of carrying the conversation when Yuichi’s tongue was all tied up, and it seemed as easy for him as it always was for Sunita—her vibrant personality and Leonardo’s charming one, filling the gaps Yuichi’s social awkwardness tended to create.

But maybe it wasn’t that at all. Maybe it was easy for Leonardo to talk to Yuichi because he figured he had nothing to lose—because he thought Yuichi disliked him already.

Suddenly, the only thing Yuichi wants to do is go back home, march up the stairs to his loft, climb back into bed, and stay there for approximately a hundred years. Spot leans his head against Yuichi’s leg, sensing his downward spiral the way hounds are trained to sniff out foxes.

“That’s not true,” Yuichi says. It sounds weak to his own ears.

He doesn’t know what else to say, and Leonardo’s sister isn’t willing to fill the silence the way Yuichi’s friends are. He looks everywhere but at her, flexing his hands, then remembers what he’s holding.

“Oh. This is from my aunt,” he tells the ground, holding out the embroidered bag Auntie forced upon him before he could slip out the door. “Sorry. I told her about—and she—yeah. Please tell Leonardo it’s from anyone else. Tell him it’s from Señor Hueso.”

“He’ll know it’s not from his tío at a glance,” April says. She sounds surprised and agreeably lifts the bag out of his hands. Huffing a laugh at how heavy it is, she gazes at Yuichi thoughtfully, then takes a peek inside.

He probably should have seen that coming. Yuichi does his best to sink into the ground and disappear as she takes in the tupperware containers and plastic-wrapped pastries.

April looks back up at him. Some of the ice in her eyes has thawed.

“I’m definitely telling him it’s from you,” she announces.

“From Auntie,” Yuichi stresses desperately.

“Right,” April says. She’s grinning outright now. She shoulders the bag like it weighs about as much as a handful of grapes, and props her free hand on her hip and says, “You got your phone with you?”

“Uh-huh,” Yuichi says, dazed. Is this what whiplash feels like? He felt sort of like this when he crashed his bike in the watermelon field last year.

“Give it.” April makes a grabby gesture, swiping his phone from him immediately when he holds it out. She taps at it for awhile, then tosses it back. Her own phone chimes from the pocket of her jacket, cluing Yuichi in to what she was doing. “There. You’ve got my number and I’ve got yours. If Leo likes his present, I’ll pass your digits along.”

Her tone has warmed considerably. She winks at him and Yuichi has to remind himself sternly that it would not be cool to bury his face in his ears and hide there until she went away.

Is Leonardo’s entire family like this? Because it feels like Yuichi has just survived a tornado or tsunami or some other terrifying force of nature, and this conversation wasn’t even ten minutes long.

April waves cheerfully and takes off at a brisk jog, weaving through the Hidden City streets like she was born and raised here. Yuichi sinks onto a bench, presses his forehead against his knees, and calls Chizu while he’s still all curled over into a yokai pretzel.

“I’m calling in a favor you owe me,” he says by way of hello the second she picks up. “Meet me at the market street.”

“I don’t owe you anything,” she replies dryly.

“It involves getting ice cream and making fun of my life choices.”

“We’ll be there in twenty.”

Yuichi ends up blowing the rest of his pocket money for the week on parfaits from their favorite street food stall, and his friends definitely don’t hold back laughing at him when he unpacks the latest installment in the befriending Leonardo saga, but it doesn’t seem as hopeless with the three of them around.

Gen in particular, big softie that he secretly is, hoists Yuichi up to ride on his shoulders as they make their meandering way back to Usagi Farm. It’s the rarest of gestures. Not even Kitsune’s best doe-eyes gets her a shoulder ride.

His friends make Yuichi feel ten feet tall.

And the next morning, he wakes up to nine new texts from an unknown number. A lot of them are just strings of exclamation points and emojis. He knows exactly who this is.

Yuichi’s fingers tighten around his phone as his ribs seem to tighten around his heart. A grin spills across his face before he can help it, mirroring the relentless summer sunshine pouring in from the window above his bed.

#rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt #leoichi #leosagi #hamato leonardo #usagi yuichi #april o'neil #bushido boyfriends #my writing #tmnt fic #these bright blue city lights

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anonymous-eggy · 3 months

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i had been talking to a friend and we had an idea that had been stuck with me for a while😃

um. vampire au👀 mc can also be a vamp but VAMPIRE AU…Nicky with sharp teeth..hehe… and red glowing eyes…

apparently i lied when i said i wasnt very interested in Nicky anymore. i think its just seasonal. warm weather brings back the need to think ab him. time to go through my dusty old inbox and spout gibberish at the ghosts.

jealous of anon for having a friend to talk ab Nicky with fr. if only fictif didnt suck and get abandoned, I'd force my friends to play it.

AS HOT AS VAMPIRE NICKY WOULD BE...I HAVE TO TALK AB VAMP MC

poor Nicky trying to hide the fact that he, a catholic (or so he swears, despite not acting very catholic) sicilian mob boss, is in love with a chaotic arsonist (possibly queer as hell) vampire mc is so so funny.

Like. suddenly he's also completely nocturnal bc he wants to spend time around his love and Chris is like "dude you never wanna do meetings during the day anymore, why do i have to go to all your daytime meetings" and Nicky has to try to pass off an excuse.

----

Chris: whatcha got there?

Nicky, holding a parasol over his vampire lover while holding their drink: alcohol :D

----

also... him allowing mc to bite his neck and then practically begging for it next time you need blood bc surprise this 6 foot somethin' mafia boss found out he gets a lil hot, bothered, and submissive when you bite him and drink his blood. straddle his lap while doin it to feel the effects what who said that. anyway. uh. 👀

the absolute confusion this man would feel in terms of whats possible and his faith. can someone be catholic and horny for a vampire lover? surely he can bc he also finds it hot how "wrong" it is despite how good it feels. but yeah tbh he wouldnt think too much bc he canonically doesn't think too hard ab love he just goes with what he feels and doesnt question much further than that.

(side tangent: i adore him so much for being one of the only love interests I've ever seen that canonically uses no labels for his sexuality. no label representation. i adore that he doesnt wanna be put in a box. and its not just because he lives in the 1920s and doesnt have the word for his sexuality, he just truly doesnt vibe with labelling his sexuality. good for him. if you didnt know this, surprise! thats a fun fact from this dumbass who knows practically everything about his character bc i cant be chill about anything and must know everything)

anyway for example with my self insert(ish) mc: trans gay little vampire man who turns into a sgrunkly little bat and hangs from his chandelier in protest that Nicky had to go to a daytime meeting for once? Nicky comes out of the kitchen with a lil platter of fruits to lure him down for a cuddle by the fire place while sweetly apologizing bc god forbid he do his job and not suffer the wrath of a little clingy dustball squeaking at him.

OR NICKY TUCKING LITTLE BAT MC IN HIS COAT DURING THE DAY WHILE HE DOES HIS ROUNDS CHECKING ON HIS BUSINESSES?! he just reaches into his coat every now and then to give his love a little scritch on the head 😭 and everyone around him gets nervous that he's hiding something super valuable or dangerous that he doesnt wanna lose (which is true, but not in the way they think)

see also: Nicky getting into some trouble during the night and being all chill ab it and saying to the guys "oh im not the one you gotta be afraid of" and the guys laughing until guard dog Mc appears, absolutely pissed, hungry, and ready to hunt their fill for the night.

and mc just randomly one day being like "you realize im a good 200 years older than you, right." after Nicky says something that implies Mc is younger and Nicky immediately lights up and just begins asking baseball history questions, not even phased by Mc saying that. which is much to Mc's dread.

my brain worms have recently been obsessed with the concept of a mob boss falling in love with a vampire anyway, so this is prime thinks for me.

i shall continue rotating this in my mind.

#*goes back to staring at ceiling for the next 100 years*#i rlly just spout my bullshit and hobble back to my cave #does anyone care or understand? probably not. i dont either its okay #fictif two against the world #fictif tatw #eggy answers #fictif nicky valentino #fictif nicky #nicky tatw

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thesakuragarnet · 4 months

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PHOENIX AU: Fun Facts

hey y’all, sorry for being MIA. I got sick when I went on vacation but I’m home now! No idea how frequently I will be posting but I will be spending the next several months forcing myself to write so yeehaw. Anyway here’s some PHOENIX fun facts about some characters from my fanfiction lifeblood (PHOENIX: A Pro Hero Toya Todoroki AU) that I posted on my Instagram @the_sakura_garnet a while back

(includes some references to BNHA OC's that I have that are in PHOENIX and it's prequel)

MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY

PHOENIX AU Toya Todoroki Fun Facts

Miyuki Sero made a bet with him during their second year involving Everclear, and it's the closest Toya's ever come to getting alcohol poisoning. Miss Kaminari forced him to clean the common room for two months as punishment

He can do the entire Ludacris rap in "Baby" by Justin Bieber

Has only cried a handful of times because of movies. Most of those times have been movies he's watched with his sister. But he'll never admit it

He and Natsuo crashed a sled into their father's car one winter, and proceeded to blame five year old Shoto for it...who was inside...with Enji...the entire time.

He has keyed the cars of all his sister's exes

PHOENIX AU Keigo Takami Fun Facts

Has sponsors from literally every place that sells chicken, but KFC is his place of choice

For one of their first dates, Keigo forced Toya to come along on a search for the "perfect chicken tender" where they ordered from every place and they ranked all of them. Led to a lot of arguments that left both of them crying from laughing so hard about how passionate the other was about their opinion

He owns several matching/complementing outfits with Rumi from their shopping spree days at the academy, and some of them are dresses

If he has the AUX there will be Broadway tunes, Harry Styles, Taylor Swift, or classic rock ONLY. With minimal exceptions

He's always playing "I Wanna Party" from Rio unironically when he's getting ready in the morning and has developed a whole song and dance routine to it. occasionally, Toya will do the second verse if he's awake and Rue will do the female vocals. There have been several early dance parties at the PHOENIX Agency, and it's a pain for collaborating heroes when they have to travel team-up for missions

PHOENIX AU Rumi Usagiyama Fun Facts

She's a black belt in taekwondo, judo, Krav Maga, and generally kicking ass (BONUS: She has a trophy that says "best at kicking ass" that Toya had made for her as a birthday gift)

She feels guilty for being cold and mean to Toya for so long before they became friends, but she doesn't know how to approach him about it (even though he's left that all behind and doesn't hold it against her)

Her favorite workout playlist artists are Nicki Minaj, Doja Cat, and Megan Thee Stallion

Midnight helped her come to terms with her sexuality with her confidence and unapologetic expression

She's double-jointed, has never taken a steroid (contrary to popular belief in the tabloids), and prides herself on being healthy

PHOENIX AU Ryuko Tatsuma Fun Facts

Her mother used to make her do beauty pageants/contests, and she would win flawlessly every time

She was born into a very wealthy family, but ironically didn't let her riches go to her head until reaching fame

During school, she occasionally ate edibles to calm her nerves as she would obsess over her grades, which is why her parties always had them

She constantly showers Rumi with extravagant gifts, but Rumi considers Ryuko the greatest gift of all

(Not so fun fact and SPOILER) she left Rumi for Uwabami when she dumped her in Chapter 40

PHOENIX AU Shinji Nishiya Fun facts

During their entire first year, Shinji was absolutely terrified of Toya because of their Quirk incompatibility (fire and wood don't mix)

He secretly had a slight crush on Rumi for a couple years, which is another reason why Yu never liked Rumi

He and Amari used to make conspiracy boards in the common room whenever they got high

He has acted as a getaway driver for a number of Toya's antics (he's the only person that doesn't make Toya carsick when he drives)

He scored the highest in Hero/Civilian/Villain Psychology during their Second and Third Years

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normally-o-a-k · 1 year

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Hey look a Fanficton

Jodie/Scam

Friends to lovers, multi chapter, hurt/comfort?, no beta we die like Glenn, idk what to tag this I’ve never written fic before lmao, spoilers kinda?

Chap 1/?

Rating: idk yet, Teen so far.

It had been a year. One year that felt like 40 , since every minute of it was spent worrying over a fight he couldn’t help with. He closed his eyes, putting aside a stack of paperwork (rulIng Hell had more paperwork involved then he had expected) and leaning back in his chair. The soft sound of a jingle bells rock cover becoming more and more audible through the window as the rest of the sounds on the room fade to nothing.

Hell had become better after things had changed. But thinking about how many things Glenn had changed with his appearance in his life just gave him a stomachache. In the end he and Morgan had separated. Her not wanting to join him in Hell had put a strain on things. He had loved her… but she didn’t seem to love him as he truly was. A sharp voice too close for comfort broke him from his thoughts.

“The king himself is sleeping on the job? Good thing it’s only me and not another slob!” Four arms crossed over Jodie’s paperwork as Scam leans into his space to laugh almost directly in his ear.

Jodie’s eyes snap open and he scrambles a bit, pushing Scam’s face out of his personal space. His red skin contrasting against Scam’s nearly opalescent purple toned face.

“Scam? I thought you were in Faerun? W- how did you even get here?”

Scam licks the center of Jodie’s palm, prompting him to quickly pull his hand back off his face. He then steps back and spreads his arms wide with all the grace of a circus ringmaster “I don’t mind spending a spell slot or two to come and see you!”

Jodie wipes his palm of on his pant leg and just sighs.

“The other Daddies sent me. I’m to be your company!” Seeing that maybe a bit more explanation was necessary he smiles and continues. “While they are on a very very important undercover mission, they sent me Scam Actually to help you!” He tips his fedora and bows slightly

“Oh… I’m…” babysitting. He wasn’t going to say it aloud but that’s what this was going to be right? Of course they couldn’t have Scam around if they were undercover. “I’m so glad to…. Get to spend this time with you…” he smiles. To his credit it wasn’t forced, he didn’t dislike Scam, and he certainly had more patience then some of the other Daddies, he just- there was so much work to be done. Jodie pinches the bridge of his nose, no, he’d been using the paperwork as a distraction anyway, to keep him from worrying.

“You look like shit friend, why don’t you put the brooding to an end, let your pal Scam help you out? Hmm? I’m actually a pretty good listener.” Quicker then Jodie had even processed Scam was in his space again, an arm, and then another arm draped over Jodie’s shoulder.

Jodie’s entire body stiffens at the sudden contact and then relaxes, it was nice to be offered a bit of comfort, something he’d been missing recently. “It’s just, I want to help, more actively… I worry about them all with the Doodler warping things up there…. It’s so dangerous and even Nicky-“ it wasn’t unusual for Nicky to take off to help fight.

All four of Scam’s hands were on Jodie now, massaging his shoulders gently at first. “You’ve been offering support in other ways, a second go at information from the dead is no joke”

Jodie, without thinking about it too much leans into the massage, Scams slightly too long fingers doing a better job at relaxing him then he would have ever guessed at.

“I haven’t really seen any of them in a year…” he was lonely and he knew it, but he hadn’t really put a voice to it till now. “That’s not really all of it either…I know that there’s a pretty clear truth to what happened and who I am but…”

Scam pauses for a moment not having expected Jodie to get as introspective as he was. Yes he’d invited it but he’d expected Jodie to be as cagey as Glenn about what was actually bothering him…and he hadn’t expected it to be something he also had been feeling.

“You don’t know who you are…”

“Yeah…I guess you kinda have that going on too…” now that Scam had stopped massaging his shoulders and there were four hands just awkwardly still in various states of holding him he starts to feel a bit embarrassed. He turns back a bit to look at Scam “How um…. How do you deal with it?”

Scam feels something unpleasant curl inside him at the reminder of his own personal identity crisis and he tries to bury it like usual, but there was something about the vulnerable way Jodie had looked back at him that kept it from working. “Well…Actually…” one of his hands tightens it’s grip on Jodie’s shoulder. “I’m fine! You just need to forget about it!” A grin spreads across his face and for the first time in his existence he felt sick about lying.

Jodie’s expression changes too quickly to register, the vulnerability he’d been showing hardens into something unreadable. “Yeah, well, not all of us are you” he stands and shrugs Scam’s hands off his shoulders, two black demonic wings stretching over them to cut off access. “Thanks for listening” he doesn’t make eye contact.

Scam swallows the unfamiliar feeling of regret and smiles “any time~”

Jodie sighs “do you have anywhere planned to stay? It’s pretty late… if you don’t I’ve got a spare room?”

“Oh? Staying as guest of the King? I can’t think of a better thing~” Scam pats Jodie on the back of his wing and loops one of his arms around Jodie’s “Don’t keep me waiting” he laughs a bit quieter than usual.

Jodie feeling a return to normalcy by Scam behaving as expected again just guides him out of the room and down the hall. “How long do you think they’ll be working undercover?”

“Hmm~ I’ll be staying a week at least! Or were you looking to get rid of me sooner?” He snakes an arm around Jodie’s waist.

“No one is trying to get rid of you Scam” well, that wasn’t true, the other Daddies had sent him here hadn’t they?…. And by the look on Scam’s face he knew it as well. “What I mean is you’re welcome here”

“You’re too good to me~” something in the way his voice tilted made it sound like the most sincere thing Scam Actually has ever said.

#dndads #dndads s2 #scam actually #scam likely #jodie foster #dndads spoilers #dungeons and daddies #dungeons and daddies fan fiction #dndads fanfic #Jodie/scam #jodie x scam #scam x jodie #scam/jodie #scamster #scodie

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wonkyjaw · 4 days

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Some TSC things I can’t stop thinking about that I haven’t seen mentioned yet:

Jean (and likely Riko) had no idea the Foxes knew as much as they did… and Jean already thought the Foxes were crazy for keeping Kevin and Neil.

Dealing with Neil over Christmas Break was a “salve for Jean’s sanity” despite how hard Neil made things for them by fighting back and despite having “a longer leash” than Kevin was ever afforded. Despite Zane’s reaction to Neil’s reappearance.

The fact that Kevin knew just from Jean's reaction to him mentioning Neil didn't sign the Raven contract that he and Riko had waterboarded Neil. Like… the implications of that????

Subpoint: Does Neil even realize that’s what happened or has he fully blocked it out??

I can’t tell if I’m just getting older or if Jeremy and Jean’s view of Wymack makes him that much more… compelling.

Jeremy’s POV during the Foxes v Trojans game. The way the Foxes picked Trojans back up so casually endearing them to Jeremy. Just that when they weren’t fighting for their lives, Foxes had time to spare energy on just being kind in a way no one had cared to see before but it’s important to Jeremy. Ugh.

Jeremy used the phrase “duty-bound” more than once to describe things he didn’t want to necessarily do. What the fuck is up with that?

Also, sir, why is your rich white ass hiding from cops. I would like the tea, please.

Renee’s rediscovered simple delights being “butterflies, fresh baked bread, the crunch of leaves on an autumn morning.” And then Jean taking that idea up and consistently listing his own simple delights as he discovered them (it might kill me yet).

“Her love was so tender it looked like grief” (I am going feral what the fuck)

Bee getting Jean to talk to her by pretending to know less than nothing about Exy and after Jean goes off about it she explains she did it because she was curious if he cared enough to explain it to her. That she wasn’t sure if they were at the court for comfort or contrition and the fact that she specifically used the word contrition…

Also the fact that she likely brought up with the goals look like because everyone seems to be under the impression that the goal has a net for some reason? I’ve read so much fanfic, the goal always gets described a hundred different ways, part of me feels like this was Nora’s way of saying “no you’re wrong!” And I laughed really hard when I read it.

Also also, I would kill to know what all Bee knows.

After the Raven game Jean made a list of every time Kevin and Neil got bullied by the Raven backliners and by the end had four full pages of scathing remarks about it. I’m not sure what to read into that, but it has not left my mind since I read it.

All of the background noise when Renee calls Jean and tells him not to watch the news. Glass breaking and yelling, a scene I’ve always wanted was Neil telling (or not) the rest of the Foxes about Riki’s death. So these little insights are so tantalizing. Wait, dear god, is it in the EC?

Jeremy’s conversation with his sister??? How a new scandal was overdue because he should end the way he started??? Neil didn’t give a shit about the Trojans and Jeremy refuses to think about it so now I’m desperate to know what the fuck that meant. Along with the comment about a fall banquet tearing his family apart????

The fact that every time Jean refers to Neil/Kevin/Andrew/Nicky’s room in Fox Tower it is always always just Neil’s room. It’s so funny to me.

Renee gave Jean her cross 😭

Wymack flew with Jean to California only to fly directly back to South Carolina. Jean referred to Wymack as unreal and I so fully agree.

Jeremy’s yo-yo.

The random “fan” calling Jean “Gene Moore” making me realize that there’s a large amount of people who would not know how to pronounce his name and how insufferable that’s going to end up being when he’s forced to handle the media and public more often.

Jean just casually grabbing Jeremy by the chin… more than once.

“You are not them.” Vs. “I won’t be like them. I won’t let you let me be.”

“I’m fine.” Vs. “Accidents happen in scrimmages.”

“Don’t I at least deserve the chance to not be a villain in your story?”

Jean breaking a glass when Cat mentions Laila was going to get him a sex toy. Jeremy making it to the kitchen in record time.

“You are Jean Moreau. Your place is here with me, with us. I’m your captain. You’re my partner.” Vs. “You’re Neil Josten. You’re starting striker for the Palmetto State Foxes. Your father is dead. You are safe.”

#it’s a longer list than I expected but I had to get it out #tsc spoilers #I have 290 something highlights in my copy of this book and it shows

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edencriedwhump · 2 months

Text

Blondie6969's Basement

cw: torture, gore, non-con touching, creepy whumper

Desc~ Nicky Vergi is a special oc of mine who's half-vamp, half-werewolf, and is another lil guy. I made him for college au shenanigans and he grew on me. Enjoy this whump fic I wrote when I was struck with the inspirations.

A stranger wearing leather gloves yanks Nicky by the iron collar around his neck. Nicky chokes back into conciseness,

"Please let me go-ohh ack." he kicked his feet in the air and Nicky cried out from a scalding pain in his left ankle. He struggled against the collar for air.

"You’re awake," the stranger looks down at Nicky, who was stripped down to his boxers. "I've waited far too long to get my hands on you." He dumps Nicky on the floor, "My name is Oscar, but you would know me as Blondie6969 online."

Nicky coughed, relaxing his throat. He let out a low wheezing laugh, until a twinge of pain brought him back to reality, "Wait, you're serious?" Nicky gets a good look at the man, he had 5 inches on him, with a lean powerful torso and a strong chin. He wore a wife beater and simple rugged blue jeans tied up with a thick leather belt. Oscar crossed his pale freckled arms and played with a toothpick dangling from his mouth, he did not look amused.

Oscar grabbed a fistful of Nick’s hair in one hand and jabbed Nick’s face with the other. Oscar’s fist tore into Nick’s cheek. A bloody tooth splattered on the floor beside him. Oscar let go and Nick’s head whipped back, he tried to cup his hands over his gushing mouth but the red stream spilled out onto the floor. “Nicholas Vergi,” Oscar watches Nick cringe at the name, he smiles, “bitten by both a feral werewolf and vampire, odd isn’t it?” he ignores Nick's gurgling confusion, and withdraws a rag from his pocket.

Nick bucks his head away and closes his mouth shut, though blood seeps between his lips. “Hold still, I’m trying to help you with that runny mouth you have.” Oscar yanks Nick’s hair again, making him cry out in pain. The rag is forced between Nicky’s sharply defined teeth, Oscar secures it with a double knot and takes a step back. The beige rag slowly changes to a red color, Nicky’s hands covered in his own blood, he wipes them on his boxers.

“There, it wasn't so bad was it?” Oscar interrupted the silence dusting himself off. Nicky glares at Oscar, breathing heavily through his nose, trying to inch away from him. But, he was too slow. His captor stepped on the chain attached to his ankle, the one that fell into the bear trap.

“Going somewhere? There’s still so much to discuss,” Nicky was stopped in his tracks, the ankle was swollen now, it looked disgustingly bruised and the tight cuff cut off his circulation. Every inch of movement the cuff cut deeper into his skin, his lip quivered, his eyes pleading.

“Like, why aren’t you dead yet?” Oscar grabs the chain attached to the swollen ankle with both hands and pulls Nick across the floor. He screams and sobs at the ceiling, arching his back in pain. His boxers skid across the bit of blood and puss that erupted from his ankle from the pull. Oscar stops and clips the chain to the ceiling, forcing Nick’s hairy leg up in an awkward position, blood still leaks from the wound dripping down the bare backs of his calves, making Nick shiver and squirm. Oscar grabs hold of Nicky’s scraped up arms and binds them in thick rope behind his back.

“I’ve killed wolf fledglings, I’ve fostered vampire fledglings, but you,” Oscar strokes Nick’s bare skin, his breath is cold, his lips move to the dripping wound. He laps at it, licking Nick’s leg until it glistens with his saliva, Nick’s muffled protests go on ignored. “What am I going to do with you?” Nick’s forehead was sticky with sweat, his aching spine couldn’t support his back anymore and he collapsed to the floor. The overhead basement light hurt his eyes.

Oscar stood over him, clicking his tongue dangerously, “Don’t nod off when I’m talking to you, runt.” He lifts up his boot and digs his heel into Nicky’s soft chest. Nicky yowled behind his gag, his eyes squeezed shut, tears sting his eyes, his hands tied beneath him were crushed into the hard floor. After Oscar stepped off, Nicky could see a harsh red outline where his boot was.

He pulled Nicky up by the hair again so that he could see his face. Oscar showed his fanged smile off, and more tears streamed down his prisoner’s face, “So here’s the deal, Nicky boy,” he cupped Nicky’s jaw, squishing his cheeks. “You’re going to be a good little dog, and you’re going to stay here.” Oscar let go and left the room, leaving Nicky partially strung to the ceiling with blood dripping down his leg. Nicky tried to move, but he simply couldn’t. His body pulsated with a new pain that made him cringe and rekindle another. His face was congested with mucus, his ears were ringing and his mouth was sore. Thoughts were bombarded by sensations, and Nicky just lay his head on the floor, hoping the churning of blood and fury would stop.

Tag List---@crash-bump-bring-the-whump @lektricwhump @onlywhump @cyberwhumper

#whump #oc whump #whump writing #whump fic #cw torture #cw blood #cw gore

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stormblessed95 · 1 year

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Alpha bf????? What are people even talking these days?

Jikook are real people, please anons stop such weird narratives. Cringe.

My favorite Alpha Boyfriends post because you gave me the excuse!

Charles Cornick - Alpha & Omega by Patricia Briggs

"Anna gave Charles a shy kiss on the cheek and strolled out of the room without a backward glance. Until she reached the doorway, and then, in full view of the curious who'd had the courage or discourtesy to linger in the auditorium after he'd dismissed them, she kissed her palm and blew it to him.

And despite... or because of their audience, he caught it in one hand, and pulled the hand to his heart. Her smile dropped away, and the expression in her eyes would feed him for a week. And the expressions on the faces of the wolves who knew Charles, or knew his reputation, would make him laugh as soon as no one was watching."

Adam Hauptman - Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs

"It's only fair to warn you that you sealed your fate tonight. When you knew you were in trouble, you came to me. That makes twice, Mercy, and twice is almost as good as a declaration. You are mine now.... Ben says you might run. If you do, I will find you and bring you back. Every time you run, Mercy. I won't force you, but. .. No more excuses, Mercy. You are mine, and I am keeping you."

Clayton Danvers - Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

What’s this?” Nick said. “Bedtime?”

No one answered him. I kept my eyes closed.

“You look positively content, Clayton,” Nick continued, thumping down on the floor. “That wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that Elena is cuddled up with you, would it?”

“It’s cold in here,” I murmured.

“Doesn’t feel cold.”

“It’s cold,” Clay growled.

“I could start a fire.”

“I could start one, too,” Clay said. “With your clothes. Before you get them off.

Ox and Joe - Wolfsong by TJ Klune

"It’s not destiny, Ox. You’re not bound by this. Not yet. There’s a choice. There is always a choice. My wolf chose you. I chose you. And if you don’t choose me, then that’s your choice and I will walk out of here knowing you got to choose your own path. But I swear to god, if you choose me, I will make sure that you know the weight of your worth every day for the rest of our lives because that’s what this is. I am going to be a fucking Alpha one day, and there is no one I’d rather have by my side than you. It’s you, Ox. For me, it’s always been you.”

Trent Kalamack - The Hollows series by Kim Harrison

"The want for that kiss had shocked him more than the interruption, and he fell back into the chair, cool and nonchalant as Quen came in with his questions and demands. He wasn't sure if he believed he'd really helped, but one thing was very clear. He wanted that again, that feeling of standing with her against all odds and succeeding. He wanted it so bad, he was going to risk destroying everything he and his father had worked for. He should walk away. Right now. But as she was ushered out the door under David's arm, all he wanted to do was follow her. What the hell was he doing, falling in love with her"

Andrew Minyard - All For The Game by Nora Sakavic

"Andrew had nearly killed four men for assaulting Nicky and would have broken Allison's neck for hitting Aaron, but when it came to crimes against his own person Andrew couldn't care less. He held his life in less regard than he did anything else. Neil hated that with a ferocity that was nauseating."

Scarlet & Wolf - Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

"Wolf, are you asking me to be ... your alpha female?"

He hesitated.

Scarlet couldn't help it - she burst into laughter. "Oh - I'm sorry. That was mean. I know I shouldn't tease you about this."

Still grinning, she made to retract her hand, but he was suddenly gripping it, refusing to relinquish the touch. "You just look so scared, like I'm going to disappear any minute. We're stuck on a spaceship, Wolf. I'm not going anywhere."

His lips twitched, his nervousness beginning to ease away, though his hand stayed tense over hers.

"Alpha female," he murmured. "I sort of like that."

Beaming, Scarlet gave a mild shrug. "It could grow on me."

Percy Jackson - PJO series by Rick Riordan

"Very slowly, using only two fingers, Annabeth drew her dagger. Instead of dropping it, she tossed it as far as she could into the water.

Octavian made a squeaking sound. “What was that for? I didn’t say toss it! That could’ve been evidence. Or spoils of war!”

Annabeth tried for a dumb-blonde smile, like: Oh, silly me. Nobody who knew her would have been fooled. But Octavian seemed to buy it. He huffed in exasperation.

“You other two…” He pointed his blade at Hazel and Piper. “Put your weapons on the dock. No funny bus—”

All around the Romans, Charleston Harbor erupted like a Las Vegas fountain putting on a show. When the wall of seawater subsided, the three Romans were in the bay, spluttering and frantically trying to stay afloat in their armor. Percy stood on the dock, holding Annabeth’s dagger.

“You dropped this,” he said, totally poker-faced"

It can be fun when it's fictional 😍🥰 Jimin and Jungkook aren't actually fictional though. They DID stare in 2 fictional stories though. HYYH BU and 7 fates: Chakho. And yes, all these recs above (except the last 2) have some toxic energy to them. Lol

#alpha book boyfriend energy #half this list is actual werewolves books #the other half is just that alpha protective energy we all love so much

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minyyard · 2 years

Text

Yeah but what if the Foxes rescued a puppy at some time after the books?

Neil and Andrew are sleepily snuggled up in their bedroom when they start hearing a very excited, high-pitched voice coming from the hallway. When Neil gets up to see what's happening, he finds out the voice is coming from a (very happy) teary eyed Nicky, having to be restrained from jumping towards Matt.

Apparently, the tiny, dirty animal Matt is holding in his arms had been crying around the campus for a while now, desperately searching for its mother. It's fur is short, blonde and its ears fall to the sides of it's face so adorably that Neil thinks Andrew would kill him if he told him the truth— the pup reminds him of his boyfriend.

Not only its appareance, but the way it barks at Nicky when he (again) tries to take it from Matt's embrace to hug it and, quoting, "give it all the love in the world, which it deserves." kinda has him chuckling against his will.

Kevin is *not* happy to find out, a few weeks after the Foxes sneakily take the puppy in, that half his shoes have been turned into chewing toys for her to use, and that Andrew has done nothing to stop the fur ball from doing so. Allison yells at him that she'll buy him more shoes if he just shuts the fuck up for once.

Aaron will not admit it, but he finds it cute when the little thing leans on him to take a nap while he's playing videogames. He won't say anything, but he tries to move as little as possible to not wake her up, and Nicky makes fun of him when he gets up and his leg is numb. He won't confess it to anyone, but the way Katelyn's eyes glow up every time they take her to the dog park together, the way she laughs and plays with her, has him dreaming about some kind of future, something they may actually be able to have.

Andrew looks indifferent at first, but Neil knows better. He notices the subtle smirks every time Nicky complains when the pup playfully bites him (and he notices Andrew petting her after that, when he thinks no one is looking). He knows, one day when he comes back to the Fox Tower after going for an early jog, that Andrew thinks he's alone with the dog. They're at the kitchen, his boyfriend holding a tea to warm his hands while looking down at her. The puppy is seating and looking at him, like they're in some kind of staring contest, and Andrew is talking to her with the same monotone tone as always.

"You need to know your place. And you have to stop being an entitled little bitch." He frowns just as the pup cocks its head. "I know you understand me. Next time you chew on my fucking rings I'm giving you a bath, and we both know you hate baths." She just looks at him, yawns, and approaches Andrew to sniff at him. Neil smiles as he sees Andrew actually crouch down to hand her a piece of meat he's been hiding in his hand.

Who knows? Maybe someday they can adopt an animal just to be theirs. Especially after Wymack finds out about their little secret guest and forces them to find her a home. Of course, everyone is suddenly more eager to go to therapy when Bee adopts the puppy and tells them she'll be bringing her to the sessions if everyone is comfortable with it.

Kevin tries to force the name Queen on the dog, but he's quickly ignored and the Foxes end up having a very serious, late meeting to discuss some names. And, in the end, everyone starts calling her whatever they feel like it at the moment. She sticks with them through the years, and Bee even brings her at Matt and Dan's wedding (all grown up, Kevin says she might have some mastiff blood on her).

The day she leaves them, she leaves them in tears. Even though every single Fox knows none of them will ever forget the puppy Matt once brought home, the one that carved her way into every single once of their hearts, Wymack decides to hang up a photo of her and the team, from years ago, in the hall, just next to all of their pictures. It sticks with the years, and all the new foxes end up hearing about her at some point of their stay.

#aftg #all for the game #neil josten #andrew minyard #kevin day #the foxhole court #nicky hemmick #renee walker #allison reynolds #dan wilds #matt boyd #david wymack #betsy johnson #aaron minyard

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qvid-pro-qvo · 2 years

Text

preteen in progress

rating: bradley bradshaw x jake seresin x natasha trace, background pete mitchell/tom kazansky.

word count: 2073

rating: teen, for so much little preteen angst you can barely stand it, cw: father-son arguments/mentioning of hormones and puberty. also food mentions.

poor little nicky is getting older, and that means struggling with his parents being gone all the time. bradley is there to weather the storm, and give some advice about what it means to keep your parents in your heart.

link to ao3.

“Go away!” Nicky shouts as he stomps away. His voice cracks with the force of it, and Bradley’s jaw clenches as he moves to follow him.

“Nicky, it’s almost time for –”

“I don’t care!”

The door slams.

Bradley sighs.

He had known something was wrong as soon as he’d pulled up to the school. Nicky’s face had had that signature furrow, the one he’d gotten from his mom, and he hadn’t said a word once he’d slumped in the backseat.

A chatterbox, usually, the quiet had clued his dad in. Bradley had immediately straightened in his seat, glanced over to the passenger side.

“Hey, bud. How was school?”

“Dumb.”

And while it hadn’t cleared up a lot, he’d poked and prodded until he’d gotten the answer.

He hadn’t made the school football team.

The fact that they’d even had try-outs for a sixth grade team had made Bradley’s head spin, but Jake had simply nodded and taken it in stride.

“You know how it is down here. Everything’s about football,” he’d told them. “But it won’t matter anyway. Nicky’s got it.”

And now, Nicky had not got it.

Unfortunately that poking and prodding had gotten them to this point. Nicky yelling and running to his room, and Bradley left in the kitchen with empty hands.

This is the point where he feels the most helpless. Jake and Natasha both away, Maverick on the other side of the country with Ice, and Bradley himself being the only one left standing to get the full wrath of an angry middle schooler.

He’s the only parent left standing, and if this is how the rest of the week is going to go, well. It’s gonna be a long week.

He supposes it’s the age. Maverick tried to warn him. Told him all about the highs and lows and hormones, got the talk all over again with the added embarrassment of Maverick reminding him how insufferable he was when he could barely control his emotions.

(“Every day was the end of the world for one reason or another,” Maverick laughs.

That makes Bradley snort, as he glances toward where Nicky and Ice fold napkins for dinner. Nicky talks on and on and Ice is all too happy to listen while he moves to adjust the way Nicky folds a particular part. “As far as I was concerned, it was. The end of the world?”

“Your mother and I used to joke about Hurricane Bradley. A storm’s coming in.”

“But what’d you do?” Bradley asks, voice low as Nicky laughs and holds up his creation. A flimsy napkin paper airplane. Before he can think he snaps a picture. To show Nat and Jake when they come home. To capture the love he has for this kid who’s his whole damn heart come to life. “What do I do? When Hurricane Nicky…”

And Mav looks at him with a long look. One that reminds him of the last storm that came through. “Do what you have to do to weather it,” he murmurs. Voice a little distant. “And have faith it’ll pass.”

Bradley knows he’s not talking about the preteens, all zits and weird hairs and the unshakable feeling in his pants. He nods, swallows right before patting Mav on the back.

Tries not to think about the fact that the storm almost didn’t pass at all.)

Bradley goes about packing Nicky’s lunch for tomorrow. Gives him the space he might need, hopes it’s what his son is asking for. Sends a text to Jake and Nat he knows their phones won’t get until they land stateside, because the updates matter.

And then, a snack in hand, he makes his way to Nicky’s door.

When he knocks, it’s gentle. “Bud? Can I come in?”

“No.”

It’s so resolute, but that’s where the snack comes into play.

“Bummer. Well, I grabbed the animal crackers from the top shelf. Getting kinda hungry… I don’t know if they’ll last long, though, so if you want some…”

It takes a moment. Then another, and then another, and then the door opens a crack, one of Nicky’s eyes peeking out at him. The permission comes begrudgingly – they’ve both always had a soft spot for frosted animal crackers. And with two less people to share it with, the bag is full enough to be tempting.

“I get the pink ones.”

“Always, kiddo. Always.”

Bradley gently pushes the door open. Glances around the room. After a moment Nicky flops on the bed, framed photo held tightly in his hands.

He’s seen the picture Nicky is holding – a photo of the four of them on their vacation last summer, arm in arm in arm in arm – but hadn’t realized someone had gotten it framed. Bradley had never been a mountain man, but after a week and a half in Colorado with just the four of them, he’d been utterly convinced it was the happiest place on Earth.

Nicky looks at it now with contempt. The amount of rage the kid can brandish is honestly impressive. And Bradley knows it’s a lot more than anger, it’s a lot of everything all at once, but he can’t help but feel his chest ache as he sees it.

He doesn’t say anything at first. Just stands, awkwardly in the doorway, hand lifting to rub over his head, through his own curls, over his facial hair. There’s a few more beats of silence, and then Nicky growls out something before tossing the photo aside on his bed and falling back to look at the ceiling.

He takes that as his cue. Moves closer to the bed, gently sets the photo to the other side of him as he takes a seat. And when there’s no protest, he lays back with Nicky, the two of them staring up at the ceiling, the animal crackers placed snugly between their sides.

There are no words. Not at first. But Bradley doesn’t mind. No yelling, no arguments. Just the crinkle of the bag as Nicky takes a cracker and munches on it.

And another. And another.

Bradley joins him. Eats a few crackers. Watches the ceiling fan turn slow and steady, lets his eyes scan the room and look at the posters. Soon, the bag is empty, and all that’s left is the two of them and the crumbs on their clothes.

“Why can’t you all just be home?”

It comes so suddenly. Like it spills out of his mouth. Like he can’t help the way he says it so fiercely, bitterly.

“Nick…”

But the boy doesn’t stop. Sits up so quickly the bag flutters off of the bed as his fist punches the mattress. “I didn’t even wanna do football. I don’t. Football… it’s scary but Pops likes it and I thought maybe it’d keep him and Mom home but now it doesn’t matter. And they wouldn’t even be home for the first game anyway.”

Bradley sits up, then. “Nick, I know, I know it’s hard without them here. But they come back, and they’re always thinking of you when they’re gone. That’s why we call them, that’s why your grandpas –”

“Rob’s dads are always home,” Nicky continues. Pushing on. “And Lily doesn’t have to worry about one of her parents not coming home because they have normal jobs. Why can’t you guys have normal jobs? I want you all home, I want them to be here, I want –” It builds, and builds, and builds, and then the dam breaks, and the sniffles overpower the words. “I want all of you here. Why can’t all my parents be here?”

Bradley’s heart shatters in his chest. He turns his head, watching Nicky, sees his own grief without his partners there beside him as the boy’s bright green eyes shine with tears still left unshed. There’s a sniffle, and then another, and slowly, carefully, Bradley’s arm wraps around Nicky’s shoulders. Tugs him close, against his side, and lets his son cry into his shirt.

He doesn’t know what to say. But he knows this storm is one that’ll always be raging, just a little. The injustice of having a father be gone, of losing a mom. Always having that little feeling in the back of your head that if things had been different…

Maybe there would’ve been a Nicholas Bradshaw Sr. on the bed next to him.

“I miss them, too,” he whispers. Kisses Nicky’s head right on his blond streaks, a summer impulse that are quickly fading without the sun helping out. “Every day they’re gone.”

“It’s not f-fair,” Nicky gasps out, into the wet spot on Bradley’s chest. He’s snotty and sobbing still, and Bradley doubles his grip.

“It’s not. I know it’s not. But don’t think for one minute that they’re gone because they don’t love you.”

It takes a while, but Nicky cries himself out a little. The tears come and come until they stop, and then he’s quiet as Bradley holds him tight.

The ceiling fan slowly spins.

The world hasn’t quite ended.

But Bradley knows it feels like it.

“You don’t need to be on the football team, or on any team, to keep them home. If they – if we – all had a choice, we’d be by your side every damn day. Work gave me your mom and your pops, but. Our jobs suck sometimes, a lot because they have to take us away from you.”

Nicky grips his shirt so tight Bradley thinks it might be stretched beyond repair. But it doesn’t matter. It can’t matter.

“You wanna know something, too?”

“Wh-what?”

“You don’t have to give us a reason. We will always, always, want to come home to you. And do everything in our power to. Because before you’re anything else? You’re our son. And there’s nothing better to come home to.”

Nicky looks up at him, all wide-eyed and fragile. Bradley lifts a finger to trace the furrow between his brows, chuckles to himself as he pulls his hand back.

“We love being home. I love being home. And the best part of being home is seeing the pieces of your mom and pops you have. Like that right there?” He taps the furrow again. “That’s all Mom.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. And when your shoulders go all straight so you stand up to your full height? That’s Pops. He always hated being that little inch shorter.”

Nicky scowls, but he's fighting a smile right there in Bradley’s arms. “I’m not short.“

“Right. Not short. But. My point is. You’ll always have those kind of pieces of us with you. Right there and right there.” Bradley taps Nicky’s forehead and he presses a hand over his heart. “And nothing and no one, not even the Navy, can take those away.”

The ceiling fan twirls overhead and Bradley watches the storm clouds clear, watches Nicky’s breath even out, rubs his back until his heart stops pounding. And then he watches his son, his incredible, fiery, brilliant son curl a hand around his midsection.

“Too many animal crackers,” he groans.

Bradley stifles a laugh, nodding quickly before feeling his forehead. “Right, well. Uh. Let’s get you a bucket? And lay down, and we’ll have a real light dinner, huh?”

“Uuurrrrrrgggh.”

“Nice burp, kid. Let it out.”

Later, when Jake and Nat call, two separate places in the world trying their best to match with their home in the states, Bradley and Nicky tell them about football. About not making the team, about trying out a rec league or another sport until he decides whether he wants to try again next year. About school projects and tests and how well he’s doing in English. And at the end, as they always do, Nicky tells them how much he misses them.

Bradley knows this time it’s hitting harder. Thinks about when the two of them get home, what he’ll say to talk about big scary words. What to say, what to mention. Retirement. Slowing down. But right now, he thinks about his son, and how much he loves his parents, and how no matter what happens, he’d weather any storm if it means seeing Nicky kiss his fingers and press them against the camera, if it means raising a son with the people he loves the most. If it means a son to come home to when he’s gone.

(He does not mention stomach aches due to animal crackers. That’s their little secret.)

#sereshace #pilot trio #pilot trio family #nicky (the kiddo) has my whole heart and soul #bradley bradshaw #jake seresin (mention)#natasha trace (mention)#rooster #pete mitchell #pete maverick mitchell #maverick #tom kazansky (mention)#top gun: maverick #tgm #qvo ships tgm #my fic #my writing

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