fallincloversims

Current Story

latest // from the beginning

Generation One

chapter one - a summer of firsts

chapter two - i fell for you like autumn leaves

chapter three - golden hour

chapter four - 'til death do us part

chapter five - full house

Moonwood Mill Spinoff

Meeting Jewel

Generation Two

chapter one - teenagers scare the livin' shit out of me

Content Warnings

Mostly just a fluffy little cowboy romance, but only suitable for 18+ due to sexual content and references to drug addiction, alcohol, violence, child abuse/neglect, mental health issues, consent and other things people may find triggering. If you're unsure whether or not my story is for you, please feel free to ask. I'm happy to discuss or give you a summary!

Other Things

This tumblr is mostly just an archive, I post my story on twitter bluesky first and I am more active over there :)

WCIF friendly, just really slow about it.

family tree

It was only for a second, and then she came to her senses, jumping away as if his kiss had scorched her.

Cade was frozen. “Why’d you do that?”

“Just felt like it,” Autumn muttered. “Sorry, I–”

“Not the kiss,” he laughed, realising how his question must have sounded. “Why’d you stop?”

Cade linked his fingers with Autumn’s once more, pulling her towards him until she was against his chest.

When his lips were almost on hers, he paused. Autumn could hear the smirk even if she couldn’t see it. “So is this a date?”

Reluctantly, they left their table, hands still intertwined, their shared confession wrapped around them like a blanket. 

Over the noise of the music, Autumn could hear a faint tune from Cade’s pocket. “Is someone callin’ you?”

“Nah, I set an alarm so I could make sure you weren’t late back.”

His words hit her square in the chest. A tiny gesture that showed he really did care for her; he didn’t see her as some prize to be won. He wanted to make her laugh, make her happy.

He sighed like he was releasing a breath he’d held for years. “I know she’s got it rough figuring out her powers, but…”

“Everyone’s so worried ‘bout how she’s handlin’ it, they forget ‘bout you.”

“You just gotta live with this fucked up secret, scared of getting close to anyone in case they find out.”

Autumn had never seen this side of Cade; vulnerability in place of his usual cockiness. She reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “I know how that feels. Trust me.”

A surprised chuckle escaped Cade. “That was him?! I remember that… Mom had this huge talk with Maddie about how she was never allowed to take a mortal to the Realm, and how she didn’t wanna get in trouble like Elle.”

“What about you? Are you…” she trailed off, her question hanging between them.

“Nope,” Cade said. Autumn heard a bitter edge to his chuckle. “It only runs through the women in the family.”

“So you get to be the one keepin’ the secret and havin’ none of the fun.”

“Yeah,” Cade breathed, his voice all but inaudible over the pounding speakers. “Exactly.”

Cade didn’t seem to care. His face fell as he thought about how to answer. “They’re not around much. Dad works crazy hours, and he’s always travelling. Mom mostly spends time with Maddie,” he hesitated, and Autumn could tell he was choosing his words carefully. “She has a lot of private lessons.”

“In The Realm?” Autumn asked bluntly, and Cade choked.

When he could breathe, he looked petrified. “How d’you… Are you… like her?”

After their third lap without any stumble or injury, the pair decided their luck was probably due to run out, and they made a quick exit from the rink.

Sitting down with a smoothie should have felt safer, but Autumn's heart raced faster now than it ever had while she’d been twirling in her skates.

“D’you skip school much?”

“We’re not skipping school,” Cade snorted. “It’s only practice. You never ditched class before?”

Cade was easier to talk to when all Autumn wanted to do was insult him. When he was sweet, it always left her tongue-tied, scrambling for something scathing to say to break the tension.

“Wanna try some laps?” she croaked. It was all she could manage.

“Shut up,” he grumbled, but he was laughing too, which only threw him more off-balance.

“I thought you were bringin’ me here to show off!”

“No. I know you like dancing, so…” he inched closer, sighing when Autumn caught his hands in hers. “Can’t take you to a club. This was the next best thing.”

Autumn hoped the swirling patterns thrown by the disco ball would hide her pink cheeks. “That’s kinda cute.”

Skating was easy. Of course it was. She’d never tried it before, and yeah, she had been kinda scared she’d fall on her ass, but it was just a matter of balance, and Autumn knew how to do that.

She’d already made a couple of effortless laps before she noticed that Cade hadn’t joined her. Autumn stared at him, hands on hips, until he gave in and tentatively stepped onto the floor. A foal taking its first steps on a frozen pond would have been more sure-footed than Cade on rollerskates.

This was exactly the sort of place Autumn had wished they’d gone on their first date. They had to shout to be heard over blaring music and plastic wheels on polished wood as they swapped their shoes for skates, and the air was thick with the smell of greasy food and cotton candy.

But now that she was here, Autumn wished they’d gone somewhere quieter instead. She’d been shocked, and more than a little horrified, to discover that she actually quite enjoyed talking to Cade, but she never could resist a dancefloor.

Getting out of cheer practice was easy; she avoided the sceptical looks from Scottie and Skye when she claimed she had a migraine, and the coach waved her away.

Cade was waiting, hand outstretched, looking relieved that she showed. She grabbed his hand, and they hurried away from the school.

It didn’t take them long to reach their destination.

“A roller rink?”

Cade laughed sheepishly. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothin’,” Autumn giggled. “Jus’ didn’t realize that was your thing.”

“If you’re scared you’re gonna fall on your ass–”

She wouldn’t tell him she’d had fun, or that she’d rushed home and finally painted something she was pleased with. 

He was already smug enough that she’d hugged him before she’d hopped into her mom’s waiting truck. He’d be unbearable if he knew she’d been waiting for him to talk to her all day.

“I can’t,” she sighed. “Dad’s pickin’ me up at 7. He’ll kill us both if he finds out.”

“Skip practice with me.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t wanna wait until Saturday to take you on another date.”

“That wasn’t a date–”

“Uh-huh, so you keep saying,” Cade smirked, leaning against the lockers with casual confidence. “So let me not take you on a date tonight.”

Cade nodded, glancing around. “There’s a nice landscape Grandma bought in Windenburg around here somewhere.” He held out his hand, trying to make the gesture look casual, but Autumn saw the way he braced himself for rejection. “C’mon.”

It might be something good. She took his hand. “Fine. Show me.”

Autumn waited for some sarcastic comment, but it never came. She glanced at Cade and saw him staring back, stunned into silence.

“Okay,” he said, after a long moment. “So let's get to know each other.”

“Sounds like you already found everythin’ out online.”

“Not the stuff I wanna know.”

“Like what?”

“I was looking for your art,” he confessed, looking a little shy for once. “Thought you might sell it somewhere.”

Autumn grimaced. “Hell no. I ain’t that good.”

“What d’you paint?”

Cade winced, the repeated blows from Autumn starting to add up to a deeper wound. “If you don’t wanna be here, why’d you bother coming?”

Spite was probably the wrong answer. The decision to say yes had been impulsive, one made out of anger at Kit and nothing more. The decision to show up, however…

She’d spent most of the night thinking about what her mom said about giving him a chance. Truthfully, she had felt lonely without Kit to talk to.