Welcome to Hickstead, home to both Seven Oak Stables, and Blue Acre - two rival stables. Both offer opportunities for their clients to reach the highest level of excellence. Each stable differs from the other, so choose wisely and never forget, loyalty is everything... Meanwhile as the stables battle it out, there's trouble brewing at the university. Be careful, if you don't pick a side you may get caught in the cross-fire...
This is an chilled out rpg with a super friendly and relaxed atmosphere! Remember to sign up with your characters full name in all caps and don't forget to do your claims! Thank you and Welcome, we've been established since 10th March 2009 but unfortunately have had to close guest view of our boards due to multiple sites ripping off our hard work, such a shame! Come chat to us in Discord before joining if you like!.
deacon hummed along to the music that was flowing through into the kitchen from the hall as he split open a bag of salad and he unceremoniously dumped it into the awaiting bowl. he and moni had decided that it was time to tell their family about their impending oops miracle. like the adults they'd become, a dinner party was what they'd settled on. they'd yet to have everyone over to their flat since they'd brought nick home and it seemed like a good time. they'd settled more into their routine, nick was as comfortable here as he had been when he'd been living with ash and skye and it just felt like the right moment. but even though they were pretending to be domestic in the form of dinner, it wasn't being cooked by them. he didn't feel like killing anyone and he thought the occasion warranted more than food that came from a box in the freezer. he'd picked up the food on the way home from college that afternoon, different kinds of pasta that all he needed to do was warm them up when they were ready to eat. since he'd found out that moni was pregnant, he'd become a little bit of a nut and he wasn't ashamed to admit that.
he wanted to take care of her this time. she hadn't been able to enjoy being pregnant with nick, they'd been terrified and young and too scared of their stupidity to really connect with what was happening so this time, he wanted it to be different for her. all he wanted her to worry about was herself, the baby and nick. he'd taken over making sure things were clean, doing his best to beat her to any chore that needed doing, any meal that needed cooking and fulfilling any midnight cravings that she might have. he looked at the salad with something of a critical eye and decided it was good enough. anyone who came tonight that was going to actually eat the green stuff wasn't going to complain about it. he left it where it was on the bench, safe for now, and he went to go find the rest of his little family.
their guests, weird to think, would be arriving any minute and he wanted to check moni didn't want anything else done before their apartment was filled with people. "does everything pass muster babe?" he said as he walked into the living space, that had been filled with extra chairs so everyone could sit their butt down on a surface.
if someone had told him ten years ago, this is what his life would have turned out to have been, he'd have given them the fingers and fucked off from them quickly. he had never wanted to be tied down, never wanted to be settled in the one spot and he hadn't ever imagined going back to school and working to boot. there was a time he'd been convinced that he could go through life surviving off his light fingers and smile. those days were long gone though, they'd been gone almost as soon as his family had come into his life. then he'd met moni through his brother and he'd fallen harder than a teenager ever ought to. he was in love with her from the moment she first insulted him and he'd vowed that he'd spend his life trying to get her to insult him again. and now here they were, sitting on a couch in an apartment that they paid for legally and above board, a son to their name and another one on the way. once upon a time he'd have felt trapped but that couldn't have been further from the truth, he'd never known how good content could feel until he'd actually felt it.
he felt her shift in his lap and his fingers gripped into her shirt lightly, a reaction he couldn't help. it might not have been the right time, but there was never a moment he wasn't ready to love on her, run his hands all over her and let her know how much he really loved her. he slipped his hands from her stomach to the back of her neck, his fingers running up into her hair as he deepened the kiss between them. he shifted himself as he did, using his hands to pull her softly down against the sofa with him, keeping her on top of his chest as he broke the kiss quickly to duck his head below her chin and he pressed his lips against her neck.
well that was true, technically they could take it to the bank but there were to many logistical issues that it wasn't worth it, plus there was the fact it was a whole lot easier for him to make money that it was for moni to make money but that was besides the point. when she burst out laughing at his reaction he tried to look at her to let her know it wasn't funny but he knew it was to no avail, she'd find it funny and he probably also would in a few years. there was something just so strange about the idea it was almost unnatural to think about. "no, no more risks. two whoops is plenty." he agreed with her. the times when they'd been a little too tipsy to care, when they were just so caught up in each other there was no time to think of it or when they were nowhere close to anywhere they had protection that they threw caution to the wind. clearly this was the universe telling them to stop that. "you have pockets too you know." he said with a chuckle as he poked his finger against her nose gently.
he watched her as she thought about his question over and he waited for her answer. he would be behind her whatever she wanted to do. if she wasn't ready he'd be there for it. he smiled gently as she curled her fingers around his and he tightened his hand around hers, holding onto her and pressing his fingers down to her knuckles gently as she held onto him too. "things are very different." he couldn't deny that, last time they'd been panicked and had changed their minds so many times but now they were settled in their place, their son was settled and they were doing really well. he'd never have imagined the life of a boring family man would be one he'd love but he really did. he lifted one hand to rest it across her still flat stomach gently, lifting his eyes to hers. "i think the four of us will be just fine." he said as he sat up a little to press his lips against hers.
he shivered as she ran her fingers down his chest and he couldn't help the way his muscles tensed and he bit his lip to stop the moan from escaping his lips because this wasn't the time or place for it. moni needed to talk to him, that was more important than the fact he wanted to lift her against his hips and walk her to their bedroom and show her just how they might be able to make money without leaving the house. he'd never though, it was something he'd never want moni to even need to think about. he'd sooner go and work as a stripped himself than even think about doing that just to make some money. he felt her relax as he rested his hands against her thighs and he stroked his fingers against them softly, not in a seductive way but in a comforting way because he could see that it wasn't going to be easy for her to say.
he knew her well enough to know that it wasn't something bad about them. it might have involved them but it wasn't anything that could break them or hurt them or a threat they needed to fight. it was just something important she needed to get off her chest. his brain should have gone to the most obvious thing but he couldn't deny that he was a little slow. the news took a few seconds to sink in before he could form even a word within his brain. were they coherent words. not really but he got his point across, he thought at least. "two's enough." he said as he breathed out, the smile still teasing on the corner of his mouth but he wanted to gauge how moni was feeling about this first. after all that's what mattered here, her. "well that's a skill we can't talk to the bank." he half joked as she made the scissor motion at him and he balked slightly and shook his head a little. "we'll just be a lot more careful." he said as he reached one hand up to grab at her fingers gently. "are you okay?"
if he could have ditched work and been there to go on adventures with her, he would have. hell he'd have ditched work today if all she'd wanted to do was lay on the couch and watch movies and do nothing else. there was nothing in his life that wasn't made better than her being around him. she was the one he turned to when he was hurt, worried, anxious or angry. she knew the right things to say, the right buttons to push and the right places to touch and it was almost like he craved being around her. there had never really been anyone else for him. he'd fallen had when he'd first met her and while he'd been a pain to her it had paid off in the end and here they were. in their own place, their child sleeping just a room away and still happy to see each other at the end of the day.
"just say the word and i'll quit." he teased, knowing full well that he couldn't quit. he saw the smile on her face, or the lack there of a smile as he joked and he felt radars going off in his head. was something wrong? was she sick? was nick sick? he couldn't help but worry as he tried to listen to any sound coming from the room as they walked into the room. was it something with one of their friends? he was ready to go to bat and she would know it. he did relax a little as she sat down on his lap and he let himself lean back against the couch. he rested his hands on her thighs slightly and he rubbed circles on them with his thumbs gently, an act of comfort rather than anything else.
he was a little worried and the contact with her settled his nerves down because no matter what was going on she was there with him. "you." he said as he blinked a little and he shook his head slightly. "pregnant?" that wasn't what he'd been expecting. they'd been being careful, very careful since nick had been a total surprise to them. "are you sure?" as much as he was trying to figure out how it had happened, he couldn't help the fact the corners of his mouth were turning up into something of a smile.
he chuckled a little as she called him a sap but he wore it on the chin. he might have put on a tough façade when he was younger and he was by no means soft but when it came to monique, there was just something about being in her presence that turned him to something like goo. he'd never been a believer in love when he'd been a kid. after all he'd never really seen it, he was the product of casual sex, by two parents who hadn't cared and raised by his mother who had other interests than being a decent mother. so when people had told him love existed, he'd laughed. until he'd met monique. he'd been a lot younger then but there had always been something about her and then as he'd grown up he'd made a pest of himself to her and eventually he'd managed to convince her he was worth giving a go and here they were a few years later. "i prefer whipped actually." he said with something of a smirk as he felt her hand touch his.
it was then he closed his arms around her, hugging her close because it had been something of a day. it hadn't been bored just long and the longer he worked at the market the more he hated it. he wasn't a people person and even though he stacked shelves and didn't serve customers, they were always coming up to him and asking him questions. it wasn't like he could say no and put his head back down and go to work again. but it paid and he needed that right now, after all kids were a lot more expensive than he'd first thought. he loosened his hold on her as she pulled back a little and he shifted one hand to the back of her neck as she craned it to look up at him. "i thought i was your adventure bud?" he joked a little, not really minding who she chose to spend her days with. he wasn't worried about anything happening because he knew without a doubt that moni loved him. "sounds a little more serious than needing to decide what to order for dinner tonight." he said as he took her hands as she tugged him to the couch. he sat down onto it, using the hands she was still holding to tug her down onto his lap.
he often had to remind himself why he stacked shelves for a living. he had school which he did enjoy but it didn't make money yet, if anything it was just an added monet stress that he'd have to think about once he graduated but he was doing his best to ignore it until he needed to address it. it wasn't like they'd come after him for it until he could afford to pay it. he rubbed his fingers into his eyes as he walked up to the apartment he shared with moni and their son nick. it was so strange to think they were their own little family now. that nick was back with them, that they were all living together and had been making it work. there had been people who doubted they could do it, themselves mostly, but they were proving people and themselves wrong. nick was happy and healthy and that was all that mattered.
he turned his key in the door as he stepped through, dropping his work bag where it usually stayed in the corner of the hall and he closed the door behind him, making sure to lock it so they didn't have any unsuspecting visitors at any point. he heard her moving about in the bedroom and he turned in that direction as he saw her walk into the hall and he went to meet her. "hey yourself." he said with a smile as he leaned down to kiss her back quickly, the height difference between them was somewhat comical at times. "better now it's over." he said as he touched his hand to her cheek quickly and then he leaned down lightly to wrap his arms around her, needing her just a little closer for a moment. "how about you shorty? get up to anything fun without me?"
