Imagine The Haus

When Jack had gone to bed the night before, he’d felt a little achy and groggy, but it was nothing compared to how he felt the next morning. He was freezing and even though he was under the blanket, Jack shivered. Blearily opening his eyes, Jack looked at the alarm clock and tried not to panic. It was way past time for him to be at practice.

Pushing the blanket aside, he tried to sit up and had to pause as his vision swam and his head started to pound.

“Bits!” Jack’s voice was hoarse and rough and when he tried to call out again, he moaned softly as the pain flared.

Swallowing hard, Jack winced. It felt like he’d swallowed a knife. He wanted nothing more than to just lie back down, but he needed to get up and get dressed. He wasn’t supposed to be home, he was supposed to be on the ice, with his team. “Bi-”

Bitty bustled in and sighed. “Jack, honey, lay back down, please. You’re sick.” Bitty held up the tray in his hands and tried to smile. “And look! I brought some soup.”

Jack stared at Bitty, frown on his face, eyebrows furrowed. “No, I’m fine. I need to get to practice.”

Setting the tray on the floor, Bitty came around the bed and took a seat next to Jack. He lifted his wrist and pressed it against Jack’s forehead. “No, you don’t. You’re burning up. And, I already called and told them you’re sick. They told me they hope you feel better and to get lots of rest. Tater is even coming by later with some medicine.”

“I’m fined.”

Chuckling softly, Bitty placed a gentle kiss to Jack’s forehead. “Honey, when you add a ‘D’ to the end of the word ‘fine’, you’re not fine.”

Jack crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m fined.” He huffed and tried again. “I’m fine...d.”

Before he could try a third time, Jack found a straw at his lips and an amused Bitty holding a glass of water. “You will be, Jack. Now drink some water and eat some soup. I’ve got some cold medicine here for you and then you’re going back to bed. I’ll even get a cool rag for your head if you’re good.”

Taking the straw between his lips, Jack drank and had to admit the cold water going down his throat did feel good. “Thank you, Bits.”

“You’re welcome. Now, under the covers.” Once Jack was back under the blanket and leaning against some pillows, Bitty fetched the tray and set it in Jack’s lap. “Good. Now, eat your soup and take your medicine. I’m going to go get that rag.”

While Bitty was gone, Jack swallowed the cold pills with some water and took a few sips of the soup he knew Bitty had to have made from scratch.

“Is the soup helping at all, honey?”

Jack hadn’t heard Bitty come back in and startled, spilling some soup on the blanket. “Little bit.”

Bitty got up on the bed with Jack and pressed the cool damp rag to the back of Jack’s neck. Pulling another towel from his pocket he mopped up the spilled soup and took the spoon from Jack’s hand.

“I can do it, Bits.” Jack rasped, hating how hoarse he was.

Bitty pouted and ran a hand through Jack’s hair. “I know you can, Jack. But I want to do this for you. Please let me take care of you?”

Unable to resist, Jack smiled weakly and nodded. Bitty carefully got a spoonful of soup and held it to Jack’s lips. Jack sipped at the warm soup and let out a little, pleased hum. By the time the bowl was empty, the medicine had started to take effect and Jack’s eyes were drooping.

Bitty put the spoon in the bowl and took the now warm rag from Jack’s neck. He started to get out of the bed when Jack grabbed his wrist. “Thank you, Bits.”

“You’re welcome, honey. Now close your eyes and rest.”

Jack watched Bitty get out of bed and whimpered. “Bitty?”

“Yes, Jack?”

“Will you come back and stay with me?”

Bitty hesitated a moment before answering. “Of course I will. Let me bring this to the kitchen and I’ll grab my tablet and come sit with you.”

Eyes closing, Jack slid down to let his head rest on the pillows. When Bitty came back, Jack was asleep and snoring softly. He got back into bed and pulled up the recipes he had planned for his next video, feeling more at ease himself with Jack sleeping without sniffling and coughing nearby.

“Holy shit, my man. Yes. Yes, I do.”

“Shitty,” Jack groans. “Take this seriously, please.”

“Serious? You want serious?”

Jack should have stuck with comedic because the rib-crushing, airborne hug he finds himself pulled into leaves him breathless and flailing like a rag doll in Shitty’s arm.

“Jack Zimmermann,” there are honest to goodness tears in Shitty’s eyes. “This is the perfect ring. You’ve found the perfect man. I could not be prouder or happier for you.”

Jack brushes a finger across the polished platinum ring in his hands.

“You really think he’ll – he’ll…”

“Jackie, he’d be a fool to turn you down. And Eric Bittle’s no fool.”

Jack knows his face is doing something complicated and emotional. It’s just that, like always, Shitty’s said just what he needed to hear.

“Thanks, Shits.”

“Jack, why do you drink those disgusting things? I’m literally cooking right now, I could make you something high in protein. I actually made sure there was more than bagel bites in the fridge.”

Taking another swallow of his protein shake, Jack grinned, watching Bittle put the finishing touches on his pie. “It’s fine, Bittle.”

Putting the pie in the oven, Bitty closed the door and turned, hands on his hips. “It is not fine. You can’t even call that a shake. It looks gritty. Does it even have a flavor?”

Jack took another swallow and tried not to let Bittle’s remarks about grit get to him. “I don’t know, Bittle. Chocolate? Maybe?” Jack rolled his eyes. “It’s not about flavor anyway. It’s about protein.”

Bitty rolled his eyes and was reaching around to untie his apron when he felt himself being lifted off the ground.

“Mortal Kombat!” Holster’s voice was loud in Bitty’s ear and he felt hands, which he assumed had to be Ransom’s, on his legs making kicking motions.

“What are you boys doing?”

Holster laughed and shuffled closer to Jack. “Bitty, did you really not hear me? It’s Mortal Kombat. Eric Bittle versus Jack Zimmermann!”

From his position on the floor, Ransom laughed. “Battle arena, the Haus kitchen. Our opponents are evenly matched. However, only one can win! Will it be the Tiny Tornado? Or will the Canadian...Holtzy, help me out.”

“Um...Canadian Carazy?’

Jack stared at Ransom and Holster, waiting to see what they came up with. Ransom shrugged and looked up at Holster. “It sucks, but it’s better than nothing. Fight!”

Ransom let go of Bitty’s legs and nudged Holster. “Tornado twist!”

Holster started to spin, holding tight onto Bitty. Bitty’s legs kicked out while Jack watched from his spot near the fridge, doing his best not to laugh.

When Holster stopped spinning, Bitty’s arms flung out and the oven mitts that had been on his hands flew off and hit Jack in the chest.  

Unable to hold back any longer, Jack’s mouth curved into a broad grin and he started to laugh. Holster took a seat at the table, Bitty in his lap.

“Too much tornado twisting. I’m gonna be sick.”

Hopping off Holster’s lap, Bitty ducked behind Ransom. “Don’t you dare, Adam Birkholtz! This kitchen is a clean area and I have a pie in the oven!”

Instead of leaving, Holster just rested his head on the table and groaned. “Fine. I’m sure Ransi-poo will come rub my back until I feel better.”

While Ransom attended to Holster, Bitty felt the oven mitts hit the back of his head. Turning slowly, he stared Jack down and lifted the oven mitts to throw again. “Is this the payback from the Canadian Carazy?”

Jack started to back toward the door, keeping one eye on Bitty the whole time. “I thought we were friends, Bittle? Why the violence?”

Bitty grinned and took a few steps toward Jack. “There are no friends in Mortal Kombat.”

Jack and Bitty wanted to get their parents together for a holiday that wouldn’t turn into a big fight about who was hosting, and whether their sons were coming “home” for the holiday or staying “at school”.  So the only option was to pick a summer holiday and combine.  Canada Day happens to fall three days before the Fourth of July.  Perfect.

Bitty and Jack conducted some very quiet research and decided on a large sprawling house on a lake nestled way out in the Poconos.  It was warm, and mildly remote, set in the forest, surrounded by trees, down a few dirt roads, but close enough to a town that they could go in for food and a pharmacy, and the occasional movie if they were so inclined.  It was directly on the lake, the back porch opening out to a small yard that sloped down into a sandy beach and a deep dock separated by a rocky outcropping. There was a speedboat docked behind the house and a few canoes and a paddle boat for fishing or crossing the lake for ice cream.  There were about 10 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, a huge renovated kitchen with a huge window over the sink looking out on the backyard, a large yet somehow cozy dining room, a game room, a library/living room and a screened in back porch.  An outdoor shower and a little boathouse capped it off.  It had the feel of an old, handbuilt victorian, with all the individual charm, the built in shelves and the very specific rooms, but updated religiously, boasting an almost professional chef level kitchen and top of the line wifi.  Jack was planning on buying it for Bitty as soon as he watched Bitty fall in love with the “elegant old southern belle”.  

When Bitty called his parents to invite them his mother was terribly worried that paying for the house all by himself would put Jack out terribly.  She fussed and hemmed and hawed until Bitty just couldn’t take it anymore.

“Mama!  Jack makes a very good NHL salary even for a rookie ON TOP of his sponsorship deals! It’s fine.  Please don’t worry about it.”

Jack rented it for the entire month of July and the latter half of June.  He and Bitty stocked the house with all sorts of games, both board games and video, all the food they would need, all the pool toys and the rest of the beach and creature comforts they could think of.  Bitty’s parents got there first and came bearing food as their contributions to the festivities.  Bitty, as always, was never happier than when he was baking with Mama.  But there was something a little extra special about baking with Mama with Jack around, and doing it in such an idyllic setting.

It wasn’t more than 2 days later that Jack’s parents made it to The Cottage, as Bitty had taken to calling it, and boyo did they arrive.  Bitty’s family for all it’s southern ways, has always been fairly...quiet.  Soft music floating through the house, hushed voices at night and in the morning.  Yelling for all that it was part of Coach’s job, was never a part of his homelife.  A slammed door in that house meant a serious problem.  Jack’s parents….were not.  They were a whirlwind of activity, louder voices, happy, joyful, boisterous.  The quiet could be said to have been shattered.  That didn’t mean that either Coach or Mama did anything but enjoy thier time with Bob and Alicia but it was a bit of an adjustment.

By the beginning of that weekend however, the house was really starting to fill up, and that was definitely Bitty and Jack’s favorite part.  Shitty and Lardo had made it to the cottage and demanded the two bedrooms next to each other with a “secret passage” through the closets.  Dex and Nursey took the bedroom with the window seat and bay window overlooking a lovely poplar tree on the dock side of the house.  Ransom and Holster took the bedroom directly in the middle of the house wanting to be close to everyone.  Kent and Alexei took the bedroom closest to the bathroom with the only soaking tub outside of the ensuite master bath, Kent had eyed it with undisguised interest as soon as he became aware of it’s existence.  

The Lakehouse experiment was a resounding success.  Even the day or two that it rained everyone enjoyed their time inside, lounging around, mostly on top of each other, reading or playing video games and board games. One of the days the Samwell Contingent decided to canoe over to one of the islands in the lake and explore, they brought a picnic lunch with them and  spent the afternoon hiking around and exploring the island together.  An entire afternoon was spent sprawled on their backs on the dock, drinking sangria with fresh fruit and debating social justice issues. Every night they set up the firepit on the beach and made smores.  Danceoffs were conducted and judged on performance getting from the bathroom door back to your bedroom after a shower.  

Rsnsom and Jack set up a rubber ducky course for the rubber ducky race that they held midway through the first week.  Everyone would get a rubber ducky and they dropped them into the water The finer points of sailing were hotly debated and the outdoor shower suddenly had a minimum occupancy of two.  

Jack and his father, Coach, and Dex went out on the speed boat for fishing one morning.

Kinder eggs start showing up hidden around the house.  Everyone tries the ketchup chips and the fully dressed chips.  Bitty cooks perfect burgers and hot dogs on the grill. Jack learns how to throw the perfect spiral.  Bitty spends a few days with Alicia in the kitchen learning how to make traditional Canadian dishes.   Everyone learned to make tourtiere pie.  On the Fourth they all take the speedboat over the the island and either watch the fireworks from the island or our on the boat rocking gently in the surf. And bright and early the next morning the boys paddled themselves over to the ice cream parlor for some early morning hangover ice cream.  

Years later, looking back Bitty and Jack would realize that this had been their true first holiday together and even though they mostly started out with the same summer traditions, by the time they packed up The Lakehouse to go home, they would see that they had started a whole lifetime’s worth of summer traditions right there together, with their entire family.  

The rest of the family was only too glad to come out to The Lakehouse the next summer, now that Jack and Bitty owned it outright, not only to help reinforce those traditions but also to add news ones.

Hey, everyone, lots of feels here. I’m demisexual myself so this prompt def spoke to me and hopefully y’all enjoy! And make sure to watch for the Read More) -avidreader6

Bitty had been home almost a whole month and had been unable to stop thinking about graduation and The Kiss.

Resting his face in his hands, Bitty tried to clear his mind and think clearly. The problem was that Jack was going to be here, in his house, sleeping in the same room with him in two days. He and Jack had been texting and talking almost daily since they’d both left Samwell and Bitty was filled with joy every time he saw Jack smile at him or laughed at one Jack’s rare jokes. Bitty had never felt this way about someone before. He’d never had a problem finding people attractive, but actually wanting them for a relationship or sexually had never entered into any of his fantasies.

Bitty let his head drop to the table and he groaned as his thoughts, once again, turned to Jack. As he and Jack had gotten closer throughout the year, Bitty couldn’t deny he wanted something with him. He was a hopeless romantic at heart and his head was filled of soft candlelit dinners and holding hands and a kiss or two. Bitty loved those fantasies. But his heart fell when he remembered what usually came after all the romantic dates.

A shudder ran through his whole body whenever Bitty tried to imagine sex. He understood the mechanics of it (thank you, mother) and why people enjoyed it, but he’d just never been able to imagine himself wanting that. From the way Rans and Holster went on and on about it, Bitty knew it was something he should want, but no matter what, he just could not seem to find the urge.

Lost in his own thoughts, Bitty never heard his father come into the kitchen. “Somethin’ on your mind, son? You’re not usually the one sitting at the kitchen table with a piece of your mother’s pie in the middle of the night.”

Jumping at the sound of his father’s voice, Bitty sat up and looked down at his empty plate in front of him and shrugged. “Can’t sleep, I guess.”

“You wanna talk about it?”

Bitty could feel Coach watching him, and he shrugged again. “I don’t know. Maybe, Coach, I? I’m a little lost.”

Coach set another piece of pie on Bitty’s plate and refilled his glass of milk before grabbing his own plate and taking a seat. “I know I have not always been the greatest dad to you Eric, but I want to help, if I can.”

Bitty studied his father and saw nothing but an earnest desire to help. Before the whole peewee football incident, Bitty had always seen his dad as this giant who would let nothing bad ever happen. Bitty had wanted so badly to show him he was big and strong too and that he could play football and make Coach proud. After that had ended and he’d chosen ice skating, and no matter how much his mom had said otherwise, Bitty had been sure his dad’s silence was disapproval.

Taking a bite of pie, Bitty tried to find the best way to say what he needed. “Thanks, Coach. I met someone at school and nothing really happened til the end of the year and we kissed and I liked it, but I don’t know if I want...the other stuff.”

Coach took a bite of pie and studied Bitty. After he’d swallowed, he set his fork down and beckoned Bitty over. “Come here, Eric.”

Scooting his chair closer to his dad, Bitty tried to figure out what Coach was going to say. “Coach?”

One big hand settled on Bitty’s shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. “Now, do you care about this person?”

“So much.”

“And do they care about you?”

“They do, dad. I know it.”

Coach swallowed hard. Bitty hadn’t called him dad in quite some time. “Good.” Coach took a deep breath. “I know your mother has given you the talk, and I’m sure she was very thorough.”

Bitty shuddered, remembering his mother’s no nonsense speech and the diagrams she’d brought. “So thorough.”

A chuckle slipped out of Coach’s mouth and they both relaxed a little. “What I’m trying to say is that sex is not the biggest part of a relationship. It’s a small part. What makes a good relationship is all the other stuff. The talking and learning about each other and, yes, even the arguing. It brings you closer together. And if this person truly cares about you they will understand if you want to wait and take things slow, or maybe even hold off altogether. They should want you, Bunny, not just to get into your pants.”

Bitty choked at the use of his old nickname. Many readings of The Runaway Bunny, and the constant presence of Senor Bun had led to it and hearing it now soothed some of Bitty’s nerves because he knew his dad meant every word he’d just said.

“Dad?”

Coach stood and gathered their plates, depositing them in the sink. “Remember what I always told you? From that book you loved? When the little bunny says he’ll turn himself into a bird?”

Bitty nodded. “That you’d be like the mama bunny and be a place I can come home to?”

“I meant it, Eric. And I still do. No matter what you. You’ve always got a place to call home. Understand?”

Pushing back from the table, Bitty hurried over and threw his arms around his dad. “I understand.”

“Good. And this person? He, she, they better appreciate you, or I will have to have words with them.”

Bitty laughed. “Oh my god, dad!”

Coach just squeezed Bitty harder. “My son is catch and he deserves to be treated as the amazing man he is.”

Bitty hugged his dad one more time before letting go. “Thanks, dad. I think I can sleep now.”

“Good. I’ll see you in the morning. Your mother has a great list of chores for the both of us before your friend arrives.”

When Bitty’s head hit the pillow a few minutes later, he had no trouble falling asleep safe in the knowledge that things would be okay.

(watch for the ‘Keep Reading’)

Tater sleeping is – it’s a relief is what it is.

He’s no less adorable while he’s sleeping. He’s plenty fucking adorable.

But asleep he’s not aiming all of that infectious energy at Snowy.

Which he’s been doing all summer. He’d shown up on Snowy’s doorstep a week into the off season with a couple of rolling suitcases and a duffle thrown over his shoulder.

“I am here for summer!” He’d shouted and strolled passed Snowy.

And the next three weeks had been a series of Tater-planned activities that had ranged from museum trips to theme parks.

He’d seen more of his city with Tater than without. And it had all been good. Great even.

But it had been overwhelming – the sudden butterflies, the unexpected racing of his heart, the sweating palms. It was all a bit hard to manage with your friend.

Because Tater was his friend.

His very large, very boisterous, very cute, very affectionate friend.

“Ah, so this is what Bella felt.”

Snowy jumps at the unexpected rumble from Tater.

“W-what?”

Tater blinks up at him from the couch where he’d been napping.

“The pale girl from vampire film. Her weird not boyfriend watched sleep. But she seemed enjoy it!”

“Alex –”

“Is nice feeling wanted!”

“I –”

“Unless do not want?”

“No, I do! I – ”

“Want to be my Edward Cullen, yes!”

“No!”

“No? But you even have eyeliner.”

“Tater.”

“So no Edward Cullen. Yes boyfriend?”

And it sends Snowy’s pulse racing and his palms sweating but goodness –

“Yes, boyfriend.”

“Good. We kiss now.”

It all happened so fast.  The Sharks hadbeen holding their own fairly well against the Lightning for most of theevening and while it was a physical game, nothing about it was unusual. The Shark’s defensive line this year was actually gaining a lot oftraction, they were really coming together and gelling in a way they hadn’t inrecent years.  Chowder was the starting goalie most nights which waspretty unusual but Chowder was an unusually talented goalie, not that anyoneneeded reminding of that fact.  But the D-men were doing well, they weresolid and Chris trusted them implicitly.

 Chris was watching the right winger for TheLightning barrelling down the ice at him at full speed with Expo coming in hoton the left to intercept him. The player from The Lightning, Jonesy, juked tothe left a little and caught Expo off guard.  Expo lurched in the wrongdirection and threw all the control over his momentum off.  He slammedsideways into Jonesy, who lost control.  Chowder had come forward out ofhis net in anticipation of striping the puck from the opposing player whoslammed into Chris at full speed, tangling his goalie stick with Jonesy’sskates.  Expo hit the ice at speed, spinning towards the post and yankinghimself into a tight ball at the last second and spinning into the net, plowingdirectly into Chowder’s legs at the same time as Jonesy’s skates dragged atangled Chowder’s arms around the edge of the goalpost,  In that momenteverything in the world was silent except the horrible tearing sound thatechoed through Chowder’s ears.

 And then time sped up again.

 Jonesy and Expo quickly untangled themselvesfrom Chris, they stood, shaking off the impact of the ice and each other. 

 Chris did not.

 His arm had been wrenched over and behind hishead, his knees had been yanked backwards and most of his back had impactedsome portion of the base of the goal.  The wind had been thoroughlyknocked out of him and he’d smashed his head on the ice.  Chris lay on theice staring at the jersey’s waving in the rafters as they spun lazily over hishead.  Distantly but coming closer was a kind of muffled agony in hisright shoulder.  It was getting closer.  The ceiling had started tospin faster and just as his vision began to grow shadows in the corners hethought he could hear voices.

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

 Chris woke up a few times on the way to thehospital.  By the time he was conscious enough to go through theconcussion protocols he was sitting in a hospital bed sporting a johnny andVERY aware that there was something very wrong with his shoulder.  Thedoctor’s had run him through the protocol and deemed him to be possessed of aharder head than needed to avoid a concussion and left him to the tendermercies of the hospital staff until an x-ray bay opened up for him.  

 The nurses gave him something for the pain inhis shoulder and took him down to get x-rays and an MRI done on his shoulderwhen a space opened up for him.  By the time it was over and he was backin his room he was soaked with sweat, having to move his arm and back oncommand was far more difficult than it should have been, even accounting forthe pain.

 That was of course the moment that what lookedlike the entire team of the NHL San Jose Sharks stormed his hospital room.

 It was alot of hockey player in one place.

 Most of them were wandering in and out, taking afew minutes to talk to him and them finding themselves a bit of couch or chairor floor in the waiting room in Chowder’s section.  His Captain, AssistantCaptain, second goalie, and a few closer friends stayed in his room, playingcards and shooting the breeze with him until his test results came back,getting him more ginger ale or some food, fluffing his pillows and calling thenurse for more meds when things got really bad.  Mostly just beingintensely codependent, useless, nervous hockey players.  

 Chowder was actually starting to doze a bit whenthe commotion started.

 “Bro, get out of my way bro, I don’t even wantto see you right now, I will deal with you and all the rest when I have time!”

 “Man who do you think you are? You can’t come inhere!!”

 “My dude you can stand there in my way if youwant but I’ll just move you out of the way and then you’ll be humiliated somaybe just move now, k?”

 “NO! These aren’t FOR you!”

 “Who even ARE you, what are you DOING here??”

 “Oh shit is that?-” “I think it is!” “oh shitguys he looks PISSED.” “Aw crap we’re gonna have to play him eventually.”

 “That’s it….EVERYBODY MOVE!...There you go bros,I think we can get through now.”

 Chowder was just starting to contemplate tryingto send one of the boys in the room out to see what the commotion was when thedoor slid open.

 “..............Lardo??”

 In trooped the entire Samwell team.  Jack,Shitty, Lardo, Bitty, Ransom, Holster, Dex, Nursey, Tango, and even Whiskeywere there.  And boy, did they look PISSED.

 Jack closed the door and leaned against it, hisbiceps managing to bulge menacingly as he crossed his arms.  Holster wentright up to Chris’s captain and grabbed him by the shirt.

 “What the HELL did you clowns think you weredoing? You call that A GAME? THAT WAS PATHETIC! YOU CAN’T EVEN HANDLE KEEPINGYOUR GOALIE SAFE! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, WE LET YOU BORROW HIM ANDYOU BROKE HIM!  IN HIS FIRST SEASON NO LESS, THAT’S LIKE TOTALLING YOURCAR BEFORE THE WARRANTY WEARS OFF!”

 Well Maxus wasn’t going to take that lying down.“Your goalie, YOUR GOALIE. YOU DIDN’T LEND HIM TO US WE TOOK HIM FROM YOUBECAUSE WE PAY HIM AND WE HAVE REAL JOBS THIS IS THE BIG SHOW WHY WOULD HE EVERGO BACK TO YOU!”

 That’s about when the nurse came in to tellChris what his prognosis was.

 “Well Mr. Chow, it looks like you’ve torn yourrotator cuff pretty badly and you’ve got bruising up and down your ribcage. We’ll prep you for surgery and get you in as soon as the doctor getshere.  This should be a fairly complex but easy surgery.  Yourrecovery time should be about eight to ten weeks and then you’ll be good asnew!”

 By the time the nurses were wheeling Chris outof the room no one was looking anywhere but at his face.

 When Chris was wheeled back into the room postsurgery and his medication had worn off, he looked around his room to find histwo captains slumped over a game of checkers and the rest of the boys sackedout asleep on the floor in a tangle imitation of a puppy pile.  

 Chowder smiled.  Looks like they got overtheir differences after all.

This is a fic set where Jack and Bitty have twin girls. You can find the first one I did with Jack and Bitty and their twins here. 

Jack had been lounging on his chair under the beach umbrella and had just closed his eyes, knowing Bitty would keep an eye on the girls when he felt a small hand on his knee.

“Papa?”

Opening one eye, Jack found his daughter waiting in her bottom lip between her teeth, big blue eyes watching him intently.

Leaning forward, Jack pulled her lip out of her mouth and cupped her cheek. “Everything okay, Suzy-Q?”

“Can I sit with you?”

“All done swimming?” Tears appeared in Susie’s eyes and Jack scooped her up and onto his lap. “Hey now, it’s okay. What’s wrong, mon ange?”

Susie cried harder and tried to talk. “I. Don’t” Susie hid her face in her papa’s chest and cried a little harder. “Like it.”

Jack held his daughter close to his chest and rubbed her back. “That’s okay, Susie. You can stay here with me. How about we build a sand castle? How’s that sound?”

Susie’s sobs started to die down, but she continued to cling to Jack. “Oh..oh..okay, papa.”

When Susie didn’t start climbing down, Jack smiled and kissed the top of her head. He got a taste of salt and had a feeling about what had sent her running to him. “Do you wanna stay in my lap a little longer?”

Nodding into her papa’s neck, Susie wrapped her arms around Jack’s neck and went quiet. Jack continued to rub her back and whisper quietly to her, knowing it wouldn’t be long until she calmed down and was ready to play.

As they sat, Jack looked out toward the water where Bitty was standing in the waves with Ali. Bitty was laughing every time Ali squealed and reached down to try and catch the water when it reached them. Susie may be the spitting image of her daddy with her golden curls and easy smile, but her personality was much more Jack. Quiet and intense, she was always focused on whatever project entered her creative mind. Jack had worried for her at first until Bitty had kissed him and promised they’d make sure to show her that it was okay to relax and make mistakes.

“Papa?”

Susie’s voice brought Jack out of his thoughts and he smiled down at her. “Yes?”

“Can we make our sand castle now?”

Jack let Susie climb down and reached for their bag of beach toys. “We sure can. We’ve got to go get some water so our castle stays together. Are you going to be okay, or should I ask Daddy and Ali to bring it?”

Susie studied Jack with a serious look. “Will you carry me?”

Jack laughed. “Yes, I will carry you.”

“Okay.”

Grabbing Susie and a bucket, Jack carried her down to the water and waded in toward Bitty. Susie clutched at him until they got close to Bitty and then finally relaxed a little.

“Daddy!”

Bitty beamed and leaned over to kiss her cheek. “Susie-Q! You found papa!”

“I did! He let me sit in his lap!”

Bitty leaned up for a kiss from his husband. “Did he now? Did he help you feel better too?”

Susie nodded. “We’re gonna make a sand castle!”

“Oh my goodness! Better make it nice and big so me and Ali can see.”

“We will, daddy!”

Jack filled their bucket with water and bent down to kiss Bitty again. He also used the moment to ask, “What happened?”

Bitty sighed. “Big wave, Susie got water in her eyes.”

Jack winced. “Well, I’ve got her and Ali seems to be having the time of her life in the water with you. Just remember to come reapply sunscreen soon, okay? You’re both starting to look a little pink.”

Bitty playfully rolled his eyes. “We’ll be up shortly. We’re also quickly approaching snack time.”

When neither girl noticed Bitty’s words, both Bitty and Jack relaxed a little. Both their girls loved snack time and if either Jack or Bitty made mention of it, they would be demand their snacks then and there.

“Good.” Turning his head to talk to Susie again, Jack held up their full bucket. “Ready to build, mon ange?”

Susie clapped. “Yes, papa, yes! We’re gonna make the biggest castle ever!”

“Holy shit,” Nursey breathes, back sinking against the hallway wall. “This is not going badly.”

“Bro, it’s not,” Justin presses close.

They’ve been keeping a polite distance all day -- which mostly means Nursey hasn’t been in his customary place (sprawled across Ransom) and Justin’s hands have been visible at all times. 

“But I think that’s mostly because my mom thinks you might get yourself killed without me to look out for you,” Justin laughs.

“I’m not that bad, brah!”

“You almost got run over by a cab!”

And well, yes, there had been a nearer miss with a taxi than Nursey’s had in a while, but he’d been so friggin nervous.

“Thanks for the save.”

The kiss Justin presses to Nursey’s mouth is enough to make a man consider a regular near-death experience. At the very least it reassures Nursey that he probably hasn’t like irrevocably offended Justin’s parents or anything yet.

“Shit --” Nursey pulls away, or as far away as he can stuck as he is between Justin and the wall. “Your parents.”

“Crap. Right. Right. Just...” One more kiss leads to two leads to --

“Well, at least we know the chemistry is real.”

Justin leaps away for real this time, only slightly tripped up by Nursey’s fingers tangled in his tank.

“Mom --“

“Mrs. Nurse --”

Mrs. N leans against the hallway entrance, a sly smile stretching across her face.

“I think the tour of the city this morning, Derek’s death-defying stunt aside, actually went well. I’ll admit I wasn’t sure what to expect when Derek let us know your parents are pretty traditional. But they’re every bit as open and kind as we’ve found you to be, Justin. And I like this: seeing Derek all blushy and cute.”

“Come on, Mom.”

“So, you boys keep your hands to yourself for the rest of their visit, and I won’t let them know my son’s been debauching theirs, yeah?”

Her grin is only slightly feral and Nursey’s groan is only a little bit petulant.

“Yes, ma’am, of course. I’m sorry about the -- I mean, Derek wasn’t -- that is --”

Mrs. Nurse’s laugh is an airy, tinkling thing that lingers in the air as she turns on her heel and heads back out toward the kitchen.

“It’s not worth arguing, man,” Nursey says as they straighten their shirts back out.

“Yeah, but....that all meant she likes me, right?”

Nursey grins, pressing an affectionate kiss to Justin’s cheek.

“She definitely does. Come on, though, before she sics Mimi on us.”

“For real?”

Dex looks up at Nursey, staring at him with a cocked eyebrow. Dex huffs and goes back to rifling through his Miscellaneous bin for sunscreen. 

“What do you want, Nurse?”

“You know we’re going to a beach, where it’s warm and sunny.”

Dex rolls his eyes. He knew it was in here somewhere. “Point?”

Nursey tugs at his collar. “You’re wearing flannel!” Dex swats him away when his hand brush something that is definitely…

AHA! Dex pulls out the bottle of sunscreen and shoves it into his backpack. “I like flannel.”

Nursey flops on his bed and twists to lie on his side, propped up on his elbow. “Flannel isn’t beachwear, Poindexter.”

Dex flushes. Yes, I know. But I don’t have a choice, you dick. “Fuck off. I’ll wear what I want.” He flings the backpack over his shoulder and starts grabbing his phone and books. Shitty would kill him for bringing homework to a beach day over the summer, but light reads are allowed and Dex’s been trying to finish this book for months. 

“DEX! NURSEY! COME ON!” Bitty hollers from downstairs.

“COMING!” Dex yells back and shoves Nursey off his bed.

“Alright, alright!” Nursey chuckles and grabs his shit off the floor. “You’re seriously gonna wear full sleeves to a beach?”

Dex sighs. “Yes, Nursey, I am.” He isn’t gonna let this go, is he?

Nursey turns at the door frame and gives him a steady look. “Why?”

“Why does it matter?” Dex shoves at Nursey, but he doesn’t budge. “Jesus, Nursey, come on!”

“Just tell me why.” Nursey grabs one of Dex’s flailing arms and pulls him close. 

Dex blushes and ducks his head. Nursey tugs his hand up and presses a kiss in the middle of his palm. “Can’t you just let it be?” Dex murmurs. 

Nursey curls his fingers around Dex’s neck and soothes the little strands at the back of his head. “This bothers you. I want to know why. I like knowing things about you, Poindexter.”

Dex groans and bangs his head into Nursey’s shoulder. “I get freckles in the sun,” he mumbles. 

“What was that?”

Dex grumbles and straightens to look his boyfriend in the eyes. “I get…a lot of freckles when I’m in the sun and…full sleeves help.”

Nursey raises an eyebrow slowly. 

“Jack is bringing beach umbrellas and it’s not gonna be that hot. It’ll be fine.”

Nursey regards him for a moment before squishing both of Dex’s cheeks together into fishy lips which he then kisses. “I love you, babe, and all of your freckles. You definitely should not be wearing flannel.” Nursey throws his arms around Dex. “I can’t believe you want to hide your constellations from me.” He sniffles into Dex’s shirt. “What a mean boyfriend I have.”

“Constellations,” Dex repeats flatly. 

Nursey pulls back with a grin. “Your freckles! They’re little stars in your milky way. Alllll you gotta do,” he says as he traces his index finger over the bridge of Dex’s nose in randomly. “Is follow the pattern. Constellations.” Nursey dips down to press his lips against Dex’s lips, trailing his fingers down Dex’s suddenly too-hot neck. “Your freckles are beautiful, Will,” Nursey confesses in a whisper, taking no mercy on Dex’s tomato upper-body. “I want to spend hours and hours learning every single one. Please don’t hide them from me.” Nursey lifts on his tippy-toes to kiss the bridge of Dex’s nose, then his forehead, then his cheek.

“Jesus, Derek,” Dex exhales shakily. 

“Does this mean you’ll take off that ridiculous shirt now?” Nursey says, unbuttoning the shirt from the top. 

“Fine. Fine.” Dex tugs the rest of the buttons off hastily while maneuvering his leg between Nursey’s and nudging him to the left until he’s backed up against a wall. “Kiss me.” 

Derek smiles indulgently before capturing Dex’s lip in a smoldering kiss and pushing off the flannel shirt to the floor. 

“DEREK MALIK NURSE AND WILLIAM J. POINDEXTER! GET YOUR ASSES DOWN HERE RIGHT THIS MOMENT!

“You know, babe, I’m glad we took so long,” Shitty whispers, hugging Lardo closer. 

It’s been six years since the day Larissa Duan spun into his life and he doesn’t regret a moment of it. Even the fact that it’d taken them six years to get here. 

“We weren’t perfect,” Lardo agrees, tilting her chin up to kiss his jaw. “I like who we are now.”

Shitty hums. “Me too.”

“Besides,” Lardo starts with a teasing lilt. “You got way more romantic, bro.”

Shitty chuckles. “Oh, you like? It took me months to track down the perfect canopy.” 

“It’s pretty adorable.” Lardo nuzzles into Shitty’s shoulder. “And I will stab you if you tell anyone else I said that.”

“Aw, don’t worry, babe. Your secret is safe with me. Though we’re gonna have to use them somehow because they cost like eighty bucks.”

“Jesus, Shits.”

“You’re worth it.”

“Dumbass.”

“Hey, I’m a working person now. I can afford to splurge.”

Lardo giggles. “So what I’m hearing is that you really wanted a gauzy canopy for our bed.”

Shitty sniffs daintily. “It’s romantic.”

Lardo shakes her head and sips her wine. “And the fairy lights?”

“For Christmas, of course.”

“Babe, it’s July.”

“It’s never too early for Christmas, Larissa Duan.”

“You’re unbelievable.”

“You looooove me.”

“Lies.”

Thank you so much for letting me know! I definitely prefer knowing the better words to use. I went back and edited the post, so it should be all good, now. 

Thanks again!

avidreader6

Actor/Florist AU. First time writing Patater, hope y’all enjoy! 

In the weeks since Kent Parson had come out as gay and also admitted he had been seeking help for mental health issues, things had been rough but good. The initial response to his announcements had been mostly positive with a lot of Kent’s fellow actors and actresses, as well as his fans, wishing him well, and he’d even managed to hire a new agent who was helping him find the right parts. Before that, he’d been offered plenty of roles, and even though they were all essentially the same character, Kent had been bored and miserable, but comfortable.

Checking his phone one last time for any messages from his agent, Kent plodded toward the elevators. It had been a long day of auditions and while he had one call back for later in the week, he was also exhausted. Usually, in an effort to stay fit, he would take the stairs, but tonight he just wanted to get home and crash.  Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait long for the elevator and it was only as he was stepping inside that he realised he was not alone.

“Hello, Kenny.”

Swallowing hard because he was going to have to share the elevator with his neighbor and crush, Kent tried to smile. “Hey, Alexei.”

Alexei smiled. “How long before you call me Tater, like everyone else?”

“I like Alexei.”

The smile that Kent got after those words left his mouth was incandescent and Kent felt his heart start to beat harder in his chest.

“Okay, but only you, Kenny.”

Kent could feel his cheeks flush as he tried to find something to say. He’d been crushing on Alexei pretty much since he’d moved in and other than a somewhat disastrous first meeting where Kent had been hiding in one of his asshole jock roles, just about every chance he had to actually talk to the man, he’d ended up a stuttering, tongue-tied mess.

Alexei “Tater” Mashkov had moved into the building a year ago and had quickly gone about making friends with almost everyone on their floor and in the building. He’d done it by bringing everyone flowers from his shop and by being genuinely nice. When he’d showed up at Kent’s door with a bouquet of pansies and yellow carnations, Kent had been stunned by the handsome man at his door with flowers and had stupidly given his thanks in a snide, haughty tone. Seeing the large Russian man’s face harden as he turned on his heel to leave had been the beginning of Kent’s wake up call.

He’d shown up at Alexei’s door the next day with his attempt at making muffins and an apology. He blustered a bit, making excuses about how he was preparing for his next role and started walking back to his apartment when Alexei had just stood there silently staring.

Kent had not been prepared for the Russian man to call after him with a broad smile and a hand out to shake. Kent had taken it and mumbled a quiet thanks before escaping into his apartment and sinking to the floor, back against the door. Kit, his cat, had trotted up and rubbed his head into Kent’s hand.

After that, Kent had done his best to avoid his good look neighbor. He’d been able to get away with quick greetings and rushed small talk for the most part, but now with Alexei smiling at him, Kent knew he’d have to make actual conversation.

“Alexei, I’ve always wanted to ask.”

Alexei shifted a little closer to Kent, and leaned back against the wall. “Yes?”

“Um..” Before he could finish his question, the elevator shuddered and groaned and then jerked to halt, making them both stumble. “What just happened?”

Alexei reached for Kent, hand landing on his elbow. “Kenny? You are okay, yes?”

Feeling very aware of the hand wrapped around his arm, Kent could only nod at first. “I’m okay. What about, what about you? Are you okay?”

Alexei smiled at Kent again, eyes sparkling. “I am very okay. Glad to be stuck here with you and not with mean old lady who lives down hall.”

Laughing, Kent noticed that Alexei still had a grip on Kent’s arm, thumb moving in circles over Kent’s skin “She is mean. Yelled at me for my cat getting out when I first moved in.” Alexei kept smiling and Kent could feel his cheeks heating. “Should we, umm, should we try the emergency button?”

When he let go of Kent, Alexei’s fingers dragged over the bare skin of his arm making him shiver. “You stay here, I will push. I’m sure it’s fine.”

Kent bobbed his head and let Alexei go over and talk to emergency services while he slid down the wall and checked his phone. Thankfully he did have service so they could call out if they needed to.

“Kenny? Are you okay? Are you, what is word? Closed spaces? Scared?”

“Hmm? No, just not sure how long we’ll be here so thought I’d sit. Get comfortable, you know?”

“I join?”

“Sure.” Kent shifted a bit, trying to leave more space for the larger man. “Did they say how long it will take to get us going?”

Alexei took a seat next to Kent, shoulders brushing. “Not long, Kenny. We talk? Yes?”

Swallowing hard, Kent tried to rein in his nerves. “Sure, sounds good.”

“Perfect.” Alexei nudged Kent with his shoulder. “You had question, ask it.”

“Oh, right. It was about the flowers when you first moved in. I’ve always wanted to know why the yellow carnation and the pansies.”

“Do you know flower language?”

Kent shook his head and settled a little closer to Alexei, enjoying the heat the other man put off.

Alexei chuckled. “Well, pansies are like a hug, and friendly.” He lowered his voice then and leaned closer to Kent. “I also like how bright they are.”

“And the carnations?”

“They have many meanings, but yellow is friendship. I wanted to extend friendship to the building.”

“That’s really nice, Alexei. I know I’ve said it before, but I’m still sorry for what an ass I was when you brought the flowers.”

“Is okay, Kenny. I liked the muffins you made. Very good.”

“Really? I thought for sure they were awful. They barely rose at all. I don’t know how Eric Bittle does it,” Kent shrugged, “but I’ve always wanted to try one of his recipes.”

“I am glad you tried. They were very tasty.”

“Thanks.” Kent felt his cheeks heat again and wondered if he would ever stop blushing. “I’ve watched him since he was on Youtube, and now that he has an actual show, I’m really excited. He’s actually the reason, I, I, actually, you don’t need to hear this. Forget I said anything.”

Before he could say more, Alexei took his hand and laced their fingers together. “No, I want to know.”

Closing his eyes, Kent took a deep breath in and let it out slowly like he’d learned in therapy. “He’s the reason I finally came out. Him and his husband, Jack, Jack Zimmermann, the hockey player?”

Alexei nodded and smiled at Kent again. “I know Zimboni. I did the flowers for their wedding.”

Opening his eyes, Kent studied Alexei. “You did?”

Bringing their joined hands into his lap, Alexei nodded again. “B wanted lots of flowers. Flowers everywhere. And so much food. I was completely stuffed.”

Kent laughed. “What kinds of flowers?”

“Daisies, for the happiness of laugh. Sunflowers for adoration, and gladiolus for strength.”

“Sounds lovely.”

“I was proud of my work that day. B and Zimboni love each other so much. I want that.”

Kent could hear the earnestness in Alexei’s voice and he could understand. “I do too. Seeing those two come through the fire of coming out stronger, together, was the push I needed.”

“Was it hard?”

“Coming out?”

“Da.”

“It was. Most were good and kind about it, but there were some,” Kent shivered and let Alexei pull him closer. “I was just so tired of pretending. It was making me anxious and mean and all anyone wanted me for was to play snobby assholes. I thought maybe if that’s what everyone saw, maybe it’s how I should be. It’s part of why I was such a jerk to you. I got used to hiding in that role.”

“Oh, Kenny. Is okay. You are brave. Is hard to be yourself. I had to leave home because I could not be me.”

Looking up through his lashes at Alexei, Kent could see the pain there. “That had to be hard, Alexei.”

“I miss my family, but is better here. I like being me.”

“I like you too.”

Alexei chuckled and bumped Kent with his shoulder. “I like you too. You work hard and try to you and it’s good.”

“Thank you. It’s hard work, but I am determined to be better. My therapist helps a lot.”

They both laughed and continued to talk for a little longer until the elevator finally started up again. When it made it to their floor, they both stood and walked out, hand in hand.

At Kent’s door, they stopped and Alexei bent down to kiss his cheek. “ спокойная ночь, Kenny.”

Kent went into his apartment and dropped his keys in the bowl near the door. Kit came running up, meowing about his missed dinner. On autopilot, Kent fed him and then walked down the hall to his bedroom. He changed and crawled under the covers and finally let himself think about the fact that he’d been kissed, by Alexei. Even though it was just on the cheek, Kent would swear he still felt the press of Alexei’s lips on his cheek. As he fell asleep, he hoped for dreams of his neighbor with more than just kisses on the cheek.

The next day, since he had nothing pressing, Kent slept in and after feeding Kit, he steeled himself and swore he’d go next door and ask Alexei on a date.

When he stepped out the door, however, there was a small pot with a single orchid growing inside with a note attached.

Kenny, orchids mean romantic interest. I would like to take you to dinner. Tonight?

There was a number included and Kent picked up the orchid and brought it inside. Setting it on the counter, he grabbed his phone and called Alexei.

“Hello?”

“I would love to go to dinner.”

“ молодец . I am glad. I will pick you up at 7?”

“Perfect.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

спокойная ночь: Goodnight

молодец: Perfect

Edited with help from @shrewreadings giving me better translations

“Well that’s just stupid,” Nursey muttered to himself as he hurried across campus.  He was late to work on Astronomy with Dex.  He was supposed to meet Dex twenty minutes ago on the second floor of the library in the back right hand corner room, Dex was going to be furious.  Not that Nursey did it on purpose or even forgot about their meeting! He was just working on a particularly recalcitrant piece of plot creation with his co-author.  The silly boy was convinced that their plot would work if they used a PHYSICAL injury! As if some bumps and bruises could possibly be the catalyst for some sort of watershed moment wherein Dean realizes his feelings for Seamus!  As if teenage boys don’t get into all sorts of scrapes just being HUMAN let alone mucking about with magic.  If it was that easy they would have gotten together during first year, second at the latest. SoccerWizard was just...ugh infuriating to try to write with sometimes, if he wasn’t so stupidly talented Nursey would never speak to him again. Anyway that’s not how H/C even works.  Nursey didn’t bother to check his twitter again as he jogged up the front steps of the library, he’d just have to answer more tweets from Soc when he sat down with Dex anyway.

“Where have you been? I’ve been waiting for half an hour!” Dex was already feeling cranky enough having to convince his coauthor that maybe going for the melodramatic over the top plot device wasn’t always the best plan...sometimes subtlety, a fine art in Dex’s opinion, had it’s place in Hurt/Comfort fics.  Even though he knew it was a lost cause to try to convince IrishWitchery of that.  Dex thought she was a lovely girl but….a little given to theatrics.

“Yes but I was only supposed to be here twenty minutes ago, I can’t be held accountable for your neurotic need to be at least ten minutes early to everything, so you only get to charge me for 20 of that.”  Nursey tossed Dex a winning smile and swung the strap of his messenger bag over his head, throwing himself back into a chair.  Dex glowered at Nursey over the top of their Astronomy text but didn’t say anything, he wasn’t actually wrong after all.

“So, this project…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nursey had started counting ceiling tiles.  Dex was beyond distracted.  It was driving Nursey NUTS.  Normally it was the reverse, normally Nursey didn’t mind if Dex was distracted but Soc would NOT let it go and had been arguing with him ALL AFTERNOON.  Nursey just wanted to get this project outlined and the tasks divied up so he could go back to his room and write a truly scathing essay on all of the reasons that Soc was TOTALLY WRONG about him being overly attached to the “hit them over the head with it” theory of fic, HE WASN’T it’s just that big emotions didn’t always need big stories sometimes regular old everyday average stories had big emotions and that was ok, that’s what made this whole ride worth it, right? Right. And he was going to explain that in great detail as soon as he was allowed to leave this heinous library nook.  And there was Soc now, responding to his latest sally.

Dex was really having trouble dividing his attention this afternoon. Anyone would forgive him if they knew what he was dealing with, I mean it was trying to a man’s very SOUL.  IshWich was just being so stubborn!  She couldn’t accept that small things could still be small tragedies, could still evoke important feelings and meaningful connections, might even work especially well here so as not to take away from the depth and intensity of the feelings being revealed.  IshWich just kept fighting with him.  She was one of the sweetest girls he’d ever met and he loved working with her normally but she had the hardest head he knew of outside of Nursey for Pete’s sake!  Speaking of which he mentioned just that to her and smiled smugly.

Nursey’s phone buzzed.  He glanced at it.  And made the sound of an enraged teakettle.Hardheaded was he!  And he didn’t care about Soc’s friend, HE wasn’t hardheaded!  

IrishWitchery:  Your soul lacks poetry Soc.

BUZZ!

IrishWitchery: Poetry and love.

BUZZ!

Nursey wished Dex would turn the vibration off on his phone, it was maddening when he was trying to think.

SoccerWizard:  Poetry is not actually necessary for my body to continue functioning, contrary to popular belief.

BUZZ!

SoccerWizard:  But you know what IS necessary?

BUZZ!

SoccerWizard:  Good health!

SocceWizard:  Lack of injuries!

SoccerWizard:  Time spent OUTSIDE of the infirmary!

BUZZ!

BUZZ!

BUZZ!

Huh.  That’s strange.  Dex could swear that Nursey’s phone was vibrating to the same rhythm that he’d been sending IshWich his very well thought arguments.  What a weird coincidence.

Dex noticed it again after IshWich answered him and to be honest he was bored with this argument at this point.  Dex figured he might as well amuse himself.

SoccerWizard:  You’re taking forever to answer, is your roommate bothering you again?

BUZZ!

IrishWitchery: No thank god, I’m actually at the library working on this deadly boring project with a friend.

BUZZ!

SoccerWizard:  Ugh projects!  What class?

SoccerWizard:  Are they at least helping you with it??

BUZZ!

BUZZ!

IrishWitchery: Yeah he’s actually doing most of it but I think mostly through dint of sheer bloodyminded hatred for the subject?  He’s very analytical and rules based.  It’s astronomy so that’s sure to push his buttons on a good day and someone seems to be bugging him, texting him or tweeting him or something.  Every time he looks at his phone he gets this horrible grimace of frustration on his face.  But I think it must be a girl because it wears right off and he’s got this fond rueful smile that follows it.

BUZZ!

Dex nearly swallowed his tongue.  Yup, that was pretty much him to a T. And what GRIMACE?? Also, hey, IshWich wasn’t a girl.

Oh shit. He’d written really REALLY graphic FILTHY Seamus/Dean PORN with NURSEY. REPEATEDLY.

Fuck.

Maybe it was just a coincidence. Maybe IshWich was just very doggedly working on a project in some other library with some other numbers nerd.

Dex had to know.

Craftiness wasn’t really in Dex’s normal skill set.  He really needed to get this right.  How could he make sure that Nursey was DEFINITELY IrishWitchery without looking like an absolute lunatic if he WASN’T.  Yeah, that shouldn’t be difficult at all.  Great.  Ok ok get it together Dex, you can do this.  

……

“I still say there’s no need for a parade through Central Park if there are real, well written feelings supporting the whole scene,” Dex shot off without looking up from his notebook.

Nursey didn’t even bother looking up, “Well no but this isn’t some bathhouse film festival artistic representation of post modern whatever!  This is fic man and moreover it’s Hurt/Comfort and people want certain things going into it!”

And then Nursey froze.

Oh shit. Oh shit.

Oh shit oh shit oh SHIT.

Dex was Soc. Dex was Soc? DEX was SOC.

DEX KNEW NURSEY WAS IRISHWITCHERY.

Fuckmefuckmefuckme.

Dex cleared his throat, “I wasn’t sure it was you.  I mean I wasn’t sure until right now that it was.  I didn’t even suspect until this afternoon.”

Nursey looked around wildly.  Thank god they were alone.  He was totally freaking out.

“I thought you were a girl man,  How crazy is that?”

Nursey coughed lightly. “Well, sometimes I am.”

Dex nodded. “That makes sense.”

“You’re ok with that?”

“With you being gender fluid? Yeah I’m fine with it, why wouldn’t I be?”

“I didn’t think you even knew what that meant.”

“I listen when you talk Derek,”

“Well I mean I’m sure you do but-”

“And I’d be a pretty big jackass if I wasn’t ok with you being genderfluid when it’s part of what makes you so scintillating and such a ‘total 10’.”

’“Holy shit!”

Derek ducks down behind the partition of the coffee bar.

“Shit? Shit! Wait – why shit?” Ginny ducks down behind the partition with him, peeking carefully around from their spot on the floor to scan the seating area.

“Who we hiding from, D?”

And thank Bittle for having Ginny with him. She’s the only person he knows besides maybe Chris who would actually hide out with him.

“My ex.”

“Ooh, yeah. Which one?”

And bless sweet Gin’s heart. They’d met in grad school post-Epic-Heartbreak. She can’t know that there’s only ever been one ex to break Derek’s chill.

“The one from Samwell.”

“Oh well, yeah, that I figured. No way you’d go ducking around corners for August or Victor. I meant, which one is he?”

And, huh, maybe she did know.

“Is it the buff blonde? Nah - he’s too buff. And blonde. What about tall, dark and hipster with the skateboard? Mmm - nah, that’d be too much hipster in one relationship.”

“I’m not a hipster.”

“You keep telling yourself that, bud. But maybe it’s….ooooooh. Please, please, please tell me it’s the redhead giving mad arm porn right now!”

“Fuck.”

“Daaaaamn, Derek.”

And yeah, while Will’s always been beautiful, his post-grad glow-up was undeniable.

He’d grown his hair out up top and actually styled it into something soft and modern. He’d clearly still been working out if the arm porn was any indication. And sweet Bittle he’d apparently been spending real time out in the southern California sun because his freckles were popping.

“You let him go? Shit. Alright. So, what’s the game plan here? We gonna try sneaking past? Or - I could cause a commotion and you can run out. Or –”

“You could actually pick up your ‘venti iced skinny hazelnut macchiato, sugar-free syrup, extra shot, light ice, no whip’ monstrosity and just come say hi.”

Will’s gorgeously freckled face peaks over the partition where he’s waving Derek’s order.

“Hi, Dexy.”

“I knew no one else actually ordered this thing.”

“Oh wow. He knows you, man.”

Did Derek say he loved Ginny?

“Dex, Ginny. Ginny, Dex.”

Derek watches as Will’s old guard goes up as he takes Ginny in. He gets it, she’s gorgeous: dark skin and darker hair, open smile, miles of leg visible even while they’re both crouched on the ground.

“Hi Dex, wow! This is incredibly awkward.” Ginny whirls as she gets up, trips a bit, as she tries to keep Dex in her line of sight. “So nice to meet you, though! Heard tons about you. Great things! Wonderful. I’m just gonna wait outside. Ok, bye!”

“She’s cute.”

And Derek can’t tell what that tone is trying to communicate, but he breathes deeply as he pushes himself to his feet. It may have been a few years, but he hasn’t completely forgotten how to do this.

“She is, and also in a pretty committed relationship with her library and law school, right now.”

“Oh.”

“Will, we’re just friends.”

Who knew watching him blush would still send butterflies dancing in Derek’s gut.

“That’s not actually my business anymore. You’re not my – Gah. Do-over.”

Do-overs had become an essential part of their relationship: a way to keep conversations from devolving into a circle of blunders.

“What brings you out to Cali, Derek?”

“Uh, just one last hurrah! I, uh, I’ve got some pretty big deadlines coming up this fall, and yeah, just wanted a chance to get away before things get intense.”

“Intense? You’re writing!”

“Yeah. Found a publisher and everything.”

“Of course you would.”

“Alright, Mr. Tech-Wunderkind.”

“I’m just a programmer, Derek.”

“For Google.”

“Yeah, well.” And he does that Country-Boy hand to his neck thing as the sun flashes through the window behind him, and Derek’s heart does something complicated in his chest.

“Well it was good seeing you, Dex. I should, uh, catch up with Ginny, though, so uh, yeah. Thanks for grabbing my drink.”

With one last wave, Derek turns and exits the shop without doing anything embarassing like knocking over someone’s drink or stumbling over someone’s backpack.

Ginny bounces on the balls of her feet when he comes out.

“Wow, so he was definitely hot. Was that ok? Was he cool?”

“He is. It was. He was.”

“Cool, cool, cool.”

“Very chill.”

“But….?”

“Derek!” He turns and finds Will barrelling out the door behind  them.

“Dex?”

“Stop calling me that.”

“What difference does it make what I –”

“I just – What’re the chances we just run into each other again. I don’t know. I just wanted to hear –”

“Will.”

Will looks like Derek feels. A little bit punch-drunk, a little bit hopeful.

“Come to dinner with me.”

“Oooh! Go to dinner with him!”

“Ginny.”

“It just seems like a good idea!” Her whisper-shout is equal parts adorable and unchill.

“Please?”

“Yeah, ok.”

“Woooot!”

“I’m just gonna go drop her off. Somewhere. Anywhere.”

“Alright, I’ll text you the location.”

Sitting across from Will again is just as intense as Derek remembers it.

Will’s intentional, direct, interested, challenging in a way that leaves Nursey both breathless and keyed up.

It’s like being at Samwell again and not at all. None of the impatience, much more understanding, and so much hope.

“What’re we doing, Will?”

Brown eyes twinkle at him mischievously. “Eating dinner, Derek.”

“Dex.”

Will’s chuckle is warm and low and utterly devoid of anything defensive. Derek loves it.

“What do you want us to be doing?”

“It didn’t work out last time.”

“Yeah, but we were scared. And idiots.”

“We kinda were.”

“Me especially.”

“Will, no.”

“Derek, yes. I couldn’t see how you could possibly want me, especially when I wasn’t even there to remind you that I’m your favorite idiot to argue with. It drove me crazy to think about you with someon--”

The benefit of eating at the bar is not having a pesky table to stop you from cutting off dumb, beautiful, redheads ridiculousness with a long overdue kiss.

“I just wanted you.”

“I just want you, if that’s still an option.”

“Definitely, still an option.”

This prompt was definitely fun and also definitely NSFW, so watch for the ‘ Read More’

“Why is it so hot?” Jack swiped at the sweat on his forehead and looked longingly at the lake house. “And why are we outside instead of inside where there is air conditioning?”

Bitty just grinned and leaned back in his chair. “It’s Georgia in summer, honey. What did you expect?”

Jack took a big gulp of his water, trying not to be too distracted by his shirtless husband stretching out on the lounge chair in nothing but a pair of little blue shorts. They’d been married for a little over a year now and were vacationing at a lakehouse for a week. It was close to Bitty’s family so they could visit, but they could also have some alone time.

“I don’t know, Bits. Thought it would be a little cooler by the water.”

Bitty rolled to his side to fish something out of their cooler and Jack’s eyes couldn’t look away from how the fabric of his shorts stretched tight over his ass. Jack was glad they had this little section of beach to themselves because it meant he could ogle his husband to his heart’s content.

“Enjoying the view, honey?” Bitty rolled back over, smirk on his face as he looked at Jack. Jack swallowed hard, face going bright red. Bitty laughed and reached over to pat his husband’s hand. “It’s okay, honey. Popsicle?”

“Hmm?” Jack looked down and saw Bitty holding out a wrapped popsicle, his own, already open and starting to drip. “Oh, sure. Thanks, Bits.”

Bitty dragged his tongue up his popsicle, before sucking on the tip, lips already starting to the same bright red as the popsicle. “Jack?”

Jack tried to focus on unwrapping his own popsicle but faltered when Bitty’s popsicle disappeared almost all the way into his mouth. “What? I’m fine.”

Bitty pulled his popsicle out with a pop and grinned. “You sure ‘bout that, honey? You’re looking a little flush.”

Finally getting his own popsicle free, Jack tried to focus on making sure none of the grape started to drip on his hands. Unfortunately, Bitty also chose that moment to lap at the drips from his own popsicle.

“Fuck, Bits.”

Sucking on the tip of his lollipop again, Bitty grinned and looked over at Jack through his lashes. “Something wrong, Jack?”

Shifting in his own chair, Jack was thankful his shorts were loose. “No, of course not.”

It was a few minutes before Bitty was left with nothing but a bare, popsicle stick. Jack was thankful when he finished, hoping he’d be able to relax a bit more. He already had plans to drag Bitty back to the house and torment him a little himself, but for now, they could enjoy the sun and the water.

“Oh no!”

“Bits?”

Bitty leaned forward and held his hand out for Jack to see. “My popsicle melted down my hand. Oh shoot, there’s even some on my chest.”

Jack’s eyes dropped to Bitty’s chest where there was a trail of bright red drops going down Bitty’s chest and stomach. “You should get cleaned up. Wanna go inside? We could-”

The rest of Jack’s words died on his lips as Bitty sucked two fingers into his mouth, eyes never leaving Jack’s. “We could what, honey?”

(Watch for the read more)