#ALSO when we were driving away ANOTHER kid had gotten stuck in the tree and their parents were trying to get them out ;v;

[libraryofloveletters]

Cake & Kisses

Evan Buckley x Reader 

Warnings: nothing really 

Category: fluff with like 0.01 angst if you squint 

Word Count: 2.8k (This one kind of ran away from me oops)

Author’s Note: This is for my darling @mrs-dr-reid, when I saw it was your birthday, I had to write a little something for you. Happy birthday again! <3

----

The sun peeked through the curtains just as your alarm went off. Your boyfriend, Buck, had a habit of closing the curtains before he left for work which you didn’t mind on your days off but today, you couldn't wait to get out of bed. 

See, today was a special day. It was your birthday and Buck had been hinting all week that he had a surprise for you. 

“Babe?!” you shouted as you rolled out of bed.

Peering over the railing, you looked around for your boyfriend, but he was nowhere to be found. You picked up your phone to find a few messages, birthday wishes from your mom and your siblings before you came across a text from Buck. 

From Buck: Headed into work early, covering for Eddie. Chris came down with something so he took him to the doctors. See you at work, love you 

To Buck: Okay, love you too 

Huh. No birthday wish. It was a bit strange considering how excited he was but you didn’t think anything of it. Maybe he would tell you at work. You replied to your siblings and just as you were going to reply to your mom, she called you. You spoke with her as you got ready for work. She wished you well before letting you go. 

The drive to the station was quicker than expected. Walking in, it seemed like a normal day, you went through your routine- changing, clock in and head up for breakfast. You braced yourself, hoping that maybe there was a surprise for you but nope, just a regular old day. Hen was sitting on the couch, her legs up on the table with Chimney beside her in the same position, both of them saying good morning as you passed by. You smiled at them on your way to the kitchen, your boyfriend had his back turned to you, he was getting a cup of coffee. 

Your arms wrap around his waist, hugging him from behind. “Hey you” you smile, Buck’s hand comes down to rest on top of yours, “good morning baby. Want some coffee?” he turns, a mug in his other hand. You sigh, looking up at your boyfriend- head tilted slightly with a small smile on your face. 

“What ?” he smiles too, his expression mirroring yours. Shaking your head, you smile, “nothing. You just look cute that's all.” 

“Hm, so do you” he leans, meeting you halfway before giving you a kiss. 

“I’ll be back love, I forgot my phone in my locker” you give his hip a squeeze before unwrapping your arms from him and heading down the stairs. Once you reach the locker room, you see Eddie in there. Knocking on the wall to give him a heads up, he turns to the door. “Oh hey” he smiles and turns back to his locker. 

“Hey, how’s Chris feeling ?” 

“Chris ?” he trails off, he was unsure what you were talking about. 

“Buck said Chris wasn’t feeling well. You took him to the doctors ?” leaning against the lockers, you look at Eddie. You watch as his confusion changes into understanding. 

“Oh yeah, stomach bug he picked up at school. Carla’s at home with him” he says, he gave you another smile before stepping out of the room. 

You find your phone and sit on one of the benches. You find a few more messages from your friends from high school and such - not that you didn’t appreciate them, it was just that none of the messages were from who you really wanted one from. Regardless, you said thank you and moved on. 

Heading back up to the kitchen,  the team had made themselves comfortable at the table and they were having a conversation until they saw you. The conversation stopped, they were all looking at you. 

“Come sit, breakfast is gonna get cold” Bobby smiles, nodding towards the chair beside Buck. 

You take a seat next to your boyfriend, he smiles at you as his hand comes down and rests on your thigh. “Did I interrupt something just now?” questioning, you take a sip of coffee which you soon realized was Buck judging by the overpowering sweetness. 

“We were just talking about the latest episode, Buck said you hadn't seen it yet” Hen tells you, you hum. 

Breakfast was interrupted by the sound of blaring alarms. Everyone loaded up onto the truck, you could feel the awkwardness building by the second. From Buck leaving early this morning, to Eddie seeming confused about taking Chris to the doctors and then the dropped conversation at breakfast- something was off today. 

Nonetheless, you pushed all the awkwardness aside and did your job. There was a little kid who gotten himself stuck at the top of a tree but his father couldn't go up to get him because the branch was about to break. The entire team wasn't exactly needed, Eddie got up on the ladder and got the little boy down. 

You were sitting on the curb of the street when Buck found you. “Hey, we’re about to leave.” the displeasure evident on your face, Buck sat beside you. 

“Are you okay babe ?” 

“What day is it today ?” 

“The 5th, why ?” 

“So you know what day it is then” 

“Well yeah” Buck chuckled, “are you sure you’re alright ?” he asked once more, you hummed before getting up and leaving him at the side of the road.

--- 

The station was quiet, most of the team had left half an hour ago. Hen was on her way home to Karen and the kids, Chimney was going on a date with Maddie and Eddie was on his way home to his little boy. Your boyfriend Buck, also headed home because he was tired.

Bobby had made dinner and it didn’t seem fair for everyone to leave and have him be stuck with paperwork and dishes so you stuck around and tidied up a bit. After clearing the table and washing the dishes, as well as sticking the leftovers in the fridge, you head down to change and then go home. Seeing that it was empty, you took your sweet time changing. You were sitting on the bench, putting on your shoes when you saw Bobby coming towards you. 

“Did you clean the kitchen ?” he asks, stepping further into the locker room. 

“Yeah, I heard that you had some paperwork so it didn’t seem fair that you got stuck cleaning” you tell him. 

“Thank you,” he smiles and sits beside you, “did they all leave ?” 

“Yeah” you hum. 

Bobby nudged your shoulder with his, “Happy birthday y/n” he smiles, you look at him- shocked. “You remembered ?” “Of course, how could I not?” 

“Thanks” you give him another smile, which turns into a sigh. “What’s wrong ?”he asks you. 

“Oh, it’s nothing. Isn't Athena waiting for you at home ?” 

“She’ll be okay if I'm a few minutes late, what’s on your mind kid?”  

“It’s just that you’re the only one that remembered” you admit to him quietly. 

“Your birthday ? Surely at least Buck remembered” he looks at you. 

You shake your head, sighing. “Sorry, I feel like dumb whining about it. It’s just a birthday you know ? I mean they’ve got busy lives, it’s fine” you tell him, you were trying to reassure yourself more than you were trying to convince Bobby. 

“Hey, don’t apologize.” He gives your hand a squeeze, “why don’t you come over? You can have dinner with Athena and I” 

“Thank you, but I couldn’t do that. I can’t crash your plans like that” 

“Y/n, I assure you that you wouldn’t be crashing our plans. Plus, she’s been asking me when she’s going to see you again” he chuckles and gets up, “come on. I’ll call her and let her know that we’re coming” Bobby reaches into his pocket for his phone when you get up, you follow him outside and then the two of you head towards his house. 

The whole drive over, you couldn’t stop thinking about how they forgot your birthday. You could understand everyone else- Hen, she had Karen and her family to think about. Eddie was worried about Chris who wasn't feeling the best right now and Chimney and Maddie had a baby on the way- but Buck, that one hurt. 

Bobby waited for you outside and both headed in. He stepped in first, shouting for Athena as he walked in. “Honey! I’m home! Y/n’s with me!” he shouted, stepping further into the house. Bobby walked down the stairs first, the house was quiet and you hadn't heard Athena answer him either.  You followed him in, shutting the door when you stepped in. As you round the corner, you see the living room was empty, Bobby now by the dining room table with Athena. 

“Y/n, sweetheart!” Athena called for you as she saw you. She made her way over, arms opened for a hug. “Happy birthday!” She pulls you in for a hug, your arms wrapping around her. 

“Thank you Athena,” you give her a smile. “Hopefully, I'm not ruining any plans” She leads you towards the table, her hand now resting on your back. 

“Not at all, actually we were just waiting on you” she says, your brows furrow and head tilts in confusion. She holds your shoulders and spins you towards the kitchen where the team and their families are standing. 

“Happy birthday!” they all shout, you let out a laugh. “I cannot believe y’all” you’re smiling so much, it physically hurts your face. “Thank you, you guys are so sweet - and here I was thinking y’all forgot” 

“How could we forget your birthday?” Chimney asks as he comes over to give you a hug, Maddie following him and repeating his actions. Maddie wasn't far along but just far enough for her bump to start showing, your hand rests on her stomach for a moment, she smiles as her hand comes up to rest on yours. 

A few moments later, Hen and Karen come over, both wishing you a happy birthday as Denny and Nia give you the card they made for you. You crouch down to give them a hug, thanking them for the beautiful card they made you and promising them that it’s going to go up on the fridge when you get home.

Eddie and Chris were next, Chris wrapping his arms around your waist as he leant into your side. Your hand coming to his hair, running your fingers through it. “I thought you had the stomach bug lil man” you look down at the boy who was grinning at you. “No, dad and Buck said that so dad could pick up your birthday cake” he tells you, spilling all of his father and Buck’s secrets. “Is that so?” you ask him, looking at Eddie who was holding back a smile. “Yeah! it’s chocolate cake, I picked the flavour” he says proudly, making you smile. Chris walks off at some point while you and Eddie are talking, making his way over to Denny, Nia and Harry. 

“I know we shouldn’t have lied- are you mad ?” Eddie asks, handing you a cup of a currently unknown liquid. “I mean, kinda but not really ?” you both laugh, “happy birthday y/n” Eddie kisses your cheek before walking off. 

Finally your boyfriend makes his way over to you, slinging his arm over your shoulder. “Happy birthday baby” he smiles, kissing your temple as you lean into his side. 

“Thank you but I’m still mad at you” you huff, turning your face away from him. 

“Oh, what’s wrong ?” he asks, his thumb pushing your head back towards him. You smack his side, not hard enough to hurt him but hard enough to get his attention. “Ow! what was that for?” 

“How could you let me go all day thinking that you forgot my birthday ?!” 

“Because I had to come up with some way to keep this a secret! If I told you happy birthday, you'd realize I was up to something.” he tells you, you hum- not bothering to give his answer a reaction. You weren't actually mad, you were grateful that he took the time to plan a surprise party for you- you were grateful for the entire team, they truly were your family. 

“Don’t be mad, c’mon” he turns towards you, his hands now on your hips and your arms come up to his shoulders. “I couldn’t stay mad at you if I wanted to”  smiling at him, he leans in and kisses you. A chorus of ‘ew’ and ‘gross’ put a halt in your moment as you both look over to see the 3 boys giggling with a very confused Nia beside them. Buck laughs, sending them on their way before turning back to you.

“I hear I have chocolate cake waiting for me somewhere” 

“How’d you know that ?” he asks, obviously confused as to how you deduced the flavour of your birthday cake. 

“Christopher” 

“Ah man, that was supposed to be part of the surprise” 

“What can I say ? My charm is irresistible, he just had to tell me” you joke, Buck chuckles. Buck pulls you closer to him, his body basically pressed against yours. “Can I tell you something ?” he looks down at you- although you weren’t super short, he still towered over you, as he did everyone because he was a giant but that’s besides the point. You hum, waiting for him to tell you whatever it is he wanted to tell you.

“It was killing me not to tell you happy birthday. You have no idea how much I just wanted to pick you up and shout it” he groans and then sighs like he’s let out the biggest secret of his life. You laugh, “well I’m glad you told me anyways” you kiss his cheek, he smiles.

“Can you get me a cupcake, please ? I think they’re in the fridge” he asks, you hum. Letting go of him, you turn to the fridge. You spot your cake in the corner, blue frosting with white lettering. Finding the tray of cupcakes, you pull it out and set it in the counter before picking out one for Buck.

When you turn, Buck was gone - well it seemed like he was until you glanced down. Buck was in front of you on his knee, the black velvet box in his hand opened, a beautiful diamond ring sitting in it.

“Y/n, you make me the happiest I’ve been in a long time. I know I always tell you that I don’t believe in soulmates but with you- it’s different. You are my soulmate, the one I’m supposed to spend the rest of my life with. From the first day you walked into the station with your “I’m new but I know my shit” attitude, I was into you because babe, that was so hot.” You both chuckle before he continues.

“You’re my best friend and I would do anything to show you how much I love you - literally anything. I love you and I really hope you love me as much as I love you because this is about really awkward if you don’t- will you marry me ?” he looks up at you, the hope glimmering in his eyes.

When you look at Buck, you saw your whole world, your lover, your future all wrapped up into one.

“Yes, I’ll marry you” you lean down, hands cupping his cheeks as you kiss him. He gets up before sliding the ring onto your finger. You hold your hand out, admiring the ring. 

“Oh baby, it’s beautiful” you smile at him, his arm over your shoulder again. The two of you make your way to the backyard with everyone else.

“Guys!” Buck shouts, everyone stops and looks at the two of you. “We have an announcement to make,” he says, looking at you and smiling.

“We’re getting married!” You both shout simultaneously.

Everyone’s just as shocked as you were moments ago in the kitchen. “What?!” Chimney shouts back, making you laugh. You hold your hand out, showing him the ring. “Holy shit,” he turns back, looking at everyone. “They’re getting married”

Soon enough everyone comes over to congratulate the two of you, one by one. You and Buck stood together, he was talking to Bobby and Athena, his arm still over your shoulder. You look around the backyard, everyone’s smiling and happy.

This was your happy place, these people were your family and you wouldn’t want it any other way.

---- 

taglist: @ssa-volturi @advicefromnixxxx @dralexreid @keenmarvellover @beth-winchester21 @averyhotchner @fernandaweasley2 @yikesyikesyikes95 @hotchsdarling @venusrosepetal @luke-alvez @looney-literature @caitsymichelle13​

[yoonia]

About Time // Part 20.5

➬ Character | Jungkook x reader / Jimin x reader (feat. BTS) 

↳ Type/Genre/words | Angst, Fluff, Alternate Universe (Time Travel!au/Time Leap!au, Soulmate!au), Eventual Smut / 9,2k words

↳ Prompts | “What if you find your soulmate… at the wrong time?” - Lauren Kate, Passion

↳ Summary | Be careful for what you wish for, because you may never know how to deal with them once it comes true. What would you do when your wish for a second chance actually came true? But was it really a fulfilled wish? Too many questions lie when it actually happened. Were they real memories? Or perhaps a part of a past life? Was it only a dream all along? Will everything be different this time?

↳ Ratings | Mature/+18 and up

↳ Warnings | LGBT+ conversations, mentions of fighting and alcohol consumption

↳ ⤎ Previous Chapter | Series Index: About Time | Next Chapter ⇢

(Taehyung’s POV)

Song Companion: Teflon Sega - No Turning Back

—First life, year 2005—

My parents loved to take me on car rides ever since I was a little boy.

They had always said it was one of the easiest ways they had found that could calm me down from what they called as ‘one of my moods’—whatever that meant.

In a way, car rides had always felt comforting. It was better to be stuck in a car instead of staying at home, where it felt stuffy and lonely, even if my parents would only drive around the neighbourhood instead of taking me anywhere far. It was still better because looking out the car window allowed me to see everything—the trees we passed by, the land around us and the mountains in the distance—and they were all still better to look at compared to the sight that I could see out my bedroom window. Nothing but the neighbours’ rusty walls and the empty lot behind our house that neighbourhood kids would use to hangout at. Sometimes, my parents would even drive all the way to the next town. Or even further to the next, in which we would stay a bit longer at instead of heading back to where we had taken off from earlier that same morning.

It wasn’t until when I was a bit older when I finally understood what it had truly meant to be driving so far and why my parents would pack up various boxes when we were off to travel somewhere. That sometimes when my father said, “Let’s go for a drive,” it would not always mean that he was talking about driving around the neighbourhood to go sightseeing.

Sometimes, I would pay enough attention to notice when we were not going to return to the same home once the drive ended. Just like how this car ride had felt different compared to the last times I sat there in the backseat of my Dad’s car.

Looking out the window, I immediately knew that this was not one of those rides where my father would be driving me around the block or down to the rice fields and farmlands around where we lived at the time. I already knew which kind of drive this was when it had included my Mom packing most of our things into the car and when I could see the moving truck following us close behind when I looked over the rear window.

It had been a while since we had gotten on a long trip that I thought we would never be taking off again. We had left before the sunrise, and hours had passed but we were still going, passing the villages and small towns, then the long highway. We only stopped a few times to eat and to use the bathroom. Sometimes I would fall asleep and wake up at a new place, but it seemed like we would be on the road for a long time.

I kept my eyes out on the road with my head pressed against the car window, watching the trees flashing by, the old houses and the stores turning into hills before we were passing through more buildings. Then I must have dozed off a bit longer at some point because it was almost dark when we finally stopped.

Really stopped.

I jumped on my seat when the sound of the car doors opening and closing woke me up, then I looked around to see that my Dad had parked the car in front of a house.

“We’re here!” I heard my Mom said, opening the backseat’s door to get me. “Come on, Tae. Let’s take a look at the new house.”

I was still feeling sleepy when I finally stepped out of the car. My legs were heavy and my back was hurting, but I followed my Mom as she walked around the car, rubbing my eyes all the way down from the car. I stopped before we could step onto the porch, looking at the house that looked old, but a lot bigger than the one we used to live in. The walls were made of red bricks, and we had a front yard too with green grass on it, unlike the dry patches we had at the old house.

“Taehyung, come in. Let me show you your new room,” I heard my Mom calling me from the front door. I took one last look at the house before I ran to her, excited and scared at the same time as I walked up the porch and followed her into the house.

Our new home.

“Where are we going?”

“We’re going on a playdate.”

We had been in this new town for a week. My Dad had been busy with his new job, but both me and my Mom had been staying home, unpacking all the boxes and cleaning up the new house. The only times I had seen my Mom not doing anything at the house was when a few neighbours came to visit or when she went out to do some groceries. This was the first time she finally took me out. Her hand was holding mine as we walked side by side on the sidewalk, heading somewhere at the end of the street.

“A what?”

“A playdate.”

“What’s that?”

My Mom reached out to brush my hair with her fingers while she kept the other hand still holding mine. Both of us knew that whatever she did on my hair wouldn’t help much and I would probably get them all messy again in a minute, but maybe she needed to keep herself busy because she seemed more nervous than I was and maybe she figured she could try to keep my hair look tidy and decent before we got to where she wanted us to go to.

“It means you get to play with a new friend while I get to know our new neighbours,” she said, looking almost distractedly when she spoke. I looked up and that was when I confirmed how nervous she was. Back at our old home, we rarely became friends with the neighbours living close by. Most of the people we knew were older people, and some of my Mom’s friends lived a bit far from home, making it hard for her to see them regularly. “You’re going to start school in a week, and yesterday, Mrs Jung from down the street told me that her children are going to the same school as you are. She invited us to visit so that you can get to know them and make friends with them so you can have someone to play with.”

“I had friends,” I said, scrunching my nose. It made my Mom stop, and she kneeled down next to me with a rueful smile.

“I know, honey,” she said, sighing, once again reaching up to brush my hair back again after a breeze made a few strands fall over my face. “I know that it sucks to move away again, but I promise you, you can have many new friends and a lot of fun. Just like how we used to.”

Mom gave me another smile before she stood back up, already continuing the walk. I said nothing as I walked with her, not even to explain that it wasn’t just about making new friends that I was worried about. “Why did we move here?”

“We told you. Your Dad got a new job here,” she said to me while glancing sideways at me.

“What’s wrong with the old one?”

This time, my Mom laughed a little. “Nothing wrong with that one,” she sneered, sighing the same way she would when she was trying not to get angry. I remembered how she kept telling my Dad how much she hated his old job. Because he went away a lot and he was always tired and cranky whenever he came home from work. “Your Dad got himself a better job in this town and there was no way we could have stayed in that old town we lived in. He won’t be away too much now like he did when he was working in that factory since he’s going to be sitting behind the desk more. Our house is also bigger, isn’t it? And the school is going to be better.”

My Mom was getting more excited the more she spoke, and all I did was give her a nod. “Okay.”

Soon, we were standing on the front porch of a house that looked a bit similar to our new house. Except that the front yard had more bushes and flowers and the grass was trimmed and looked fresh, unlike the ones we had in ours, and the walls were painted white. The door was opened only a few minutes after my Mom rang the bell and a woman appeared to welcome us. She looked about the same age as Mom, with a wide smile that looked friendly and it made me feel less nervous about being here. They chatted for a moment before the woman turned to me.

“And this must be Taehyung. Oh, it looks like you’re about the same age as my kids. I heard that you’re going to be at the same school with them, so I hope you kids can be good friends. My son is a bit older, but I think you can get along with him just fine. I know that boys can have a hard time getting along with girls, though I have no doubt that you can get along with my daughter. She’s always good at adjusting to new friends, even if she’s a bit younger. She skipped a year and got into school early because she got bored in kindergarten.”

We walked in with my Mom still holding my hand. I was not completely sure if she was doing that to stop me from running or if she was still nervous about being here. Meanwhile, Mrs Jung continued to talk about her children as she led us all the way to the back of the house.

“Here we are,” Mrs Jung said as we entered the dining room. There was a girl who looked a bit younger than me sitting at the dining table while drawing with crayons, and Mrs Jung immediately called for her attention. “Honey, come here. We have a new friend. Maybe you want to say hi and play with him for a while while I have a chat with Mrs Kim?”

The girl looked up to us and jumped out of her chair. She didn’t even seem nervous when she was walking over to us. I couldn’t remember having any girl as a friend in my old school. Most of them had always stayed away from the boys at school and I had no trouble doing the same. But when she came to me, she showed no sign of turning away or looking at me funny just like other girls did.

All she did was look at me with wide curious eyes, and it really felt like we had known each other already when she raised her hand to me. “Hi, my name is _________. What’s yours?”

School started a few months ago. Overall, I thought it was okay.

Everything was different compared to my old school. Just like everything else in this town compared to the small town we moved out from, the school was much bigger than the one I went to. Most of the students in my class had already formed their groups—another thing that the old school certainly did not have, because, with smaller classes, nobody had any problem getting close to each other. I still made a few friends, though. Not a lot, but it wasn’t like I really needed a lot of friends either.

It was lunchtime when I sat at the edge of the playground, eating the sandwich and handmade kimbab that my Mom made for me. I was glad not to be sitting alone, as I had my new friend sitting beside me. The playdate that my Mom took me to after we moved here had turned out to be a lot of fun. ________ was fun to play with and we would have continued playing on that first day we met if only my Mom didn’t come to call me in for dinner.

After that day, we had gone into a couple more playdates before school started. I was also introduced to her brother, Hoseok, and the three of us would play and hang out together whenever my Mom would take me to visit their house on the weekends. At school, _____ and I shared the same class, and although we didn’t sit together in class, we would always eat together at lunchtime.

“Why aren’t you playing with them?” she asked me while we were watching the boys from our class playing dodge ball in the playground.

I only shrugged after looking over to the field, watching them throwing the ball at each other. “I don’t play ball.”

She snickered. “Yeah, you do. You played ball with Hoseok last week,” she argued, her brows were pinched the same way she would when she grew curious or annoyed.

I scrunched my nose at her. “That’s different. That was football,” I told her, and she shrugged at me in return.

“Still a ball,” she sassed while rolling her eyes at me.

“Whatever,” I said. “Besides, I don’t really get along with the boys from our class.”

“So you’re more okay sitting with a girl,” she said, more like making a statement instead of questioning me.

“What’s wrong with that?”

She looked away for a moment. “I don’t know. The other boys seem to make it a big deal.”

“That’s silly,” I scoffed at her. I didn’t really care about what people think. It never mattered to me anyway because I didn’t even care about what they did around me either. And I never liked forcing myself to get along with people that didn’t like me. “Besides, I like you better.”

She suddenly laughed when she heard me. It was the kind of laugh that made her head fall back, which was actually pretty adorable. “I thought you like my brother a lot more.”

Grinning at her, I just shrugged and bit my sandwich. “So I like both you and Hoseok. Playing with you and your brother is more fun.”

“Right. Of course, it is,” she said, giggling while nudging at my side. “You’re okay if people think you’re weird for hanging out with me instead of the boys?”

“I don’t care,” I told her, shaking my head. “How about you?”

______ looked around before smiling at me and said, “Me neither.”

We continued to eat for a moment before I thought of something. “What if you’re my girlfriend?”

“What?”

I shrugged, but kept my eyes away from her. “Maybe if we become boyfriend and girlfriend it won’t look weird for us to sit together like this.”

She had her nose scrunched when I took a glance at her. “Kids don’t become boyfriends and girlfriends.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, they do. You just don’t know about it yet.”

She pinched her brows again, thinking seriously about it. “Is it because you’re older than everyone else in class?”

“What do you mean?”

“My Mom said that you were supposed to be one grade above me, not share the same class,” she said. Despite what she just told me, she just didn’t realise that she always sounded like an older girl when she spoke like that. “Is that why everyone looks at you weird sometimes?”

I didn’t say a thing. She was not wrong, though. With my parents moving so much and having to change schools each time it happened, it was hard for me to catch up with classes. After constantly going to new places, making new friends, new adjustments, then the last school I went to insisted that I stayed a year behind to catch up on what I had missed. “I don’t know. Maybe. I don’t really care,” I said. And I really didn’t. After a while, I had stopped caring about all the moving and what it did. But some kids always made it a big deal when this older kid joined their class in the middle of the term. Not at the previous school I went to, though. They seemed to think I was cool because I knew a lot more than they did.

“Do you care if I’m older?” I asked her.

I had expected her to at least consider her answer for a moment, but all she said was, “No, I like having older friends.” Then she scrunched her nose as if she had just realised something. “But not too old. Hoseok’s friends are weird.”

A bite of the sandwich almost got caught in my throat when I laughed. After swallowing it down with the cold juice I brought with me from home, I turned to her and grinned. “Fine, if you don’t want to be my girlfriend, then—” I cleared my throat and offered her my pinky finger. That was one of the things I learned from her since we became friends, and I figured it would be the best option to gain her approval when I made the offer, “How about best friends?”

Her smile grew. She seemed confused at first, but she managed to realise that I was serious and gave me her pinky to link it to mine. “The bestest friends!”

I snickered. “That’s not even a word!”

“It is now!”

—First life, year 2017—

There was something about being in the library that I enjoyed most.

The calm and serene air. The scent of books. Then there was some kind of warmth that I couldn’t find anywhere else whenever I was there.

It was fall, and the library had been pretty much packed with students that were trying to catch up with readings and assignments as the midterm was coming closer. Sitting among the students, I had chosen a reading booth on the far corner of the library, and I had my best friend, _______, sitting with me. She wasn’t too big on libraries. She never even truly cared about studying either. But after wasting her freshman year partying and enjoying life on campus, and then getting too focused on her relationship with the prick from one of the campus’ frat house all through sophomore year, she needed to catch up a lot on her studying and I was the one responsible in making sure that she did.

But that day, our agenda was not only about getting her to finish reading her textbooks or finding the materials needed for our midterms.

That day, we were scouting.

“That’s him,” I pointed out across the room just as he passed by, and _____ perked up, her gaze following the direction where I was pointing at until she saw him. I only knew she did when her eyes grow wide with a hint of amusement and appreciation. He really did have that kind of effect on people, whether it was male or female. “His name is Kim Namjoon. A senior of mine on my social study class,” I explained to her, mentioning the class I had taken last semester for my minor.

“Wow—you do have a taste there. He’s hot,” she said as she leaned closer, whispering to me while giving him another look. “—and a bit too handsome as someone who is going to be cutting through people’s brains,” she also added.

I snickered. “Yeah, right,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I thought you like pretty boys better.” I said that because compared to the guy she was dating, Namjoon was the complete opposite. Jungkook was good looking, hence the popularity he had gained all through college. With the kind of smile that girls found cute and a pair of doe eyes that would always make it hard for my best friend to say no to. But Namjoon was tall, with broad shoulders and nice-looking hair. His sharp gaze showed just how smart he was and there was this confidence that he had that could make people look up to him in awe.

The same way I did ever since the first day I met him.

He didn’t seem to work out a lot, but his arms still looked like a tight fit beneath the sleeves of his sweater. And then there were those dimples, that would always show up each time he smiled, making people swoon for him without him trying too much.

“I still have eyes and I can still admit it when I see a handsome man,” I heard her say, before she turned to me. Sure enough, she caught me just as I was looking at Namjoon, again, more appreciatively.

“What?” I looked at her with a frown when she seemed to be looking at me too closely. “Don’t look at me like that,” I whispered at her, but then I noticed the funny looking gleam in her eyes, as if she was seeing something intriguing while looking at me. And whatever she saw seemed to please her. “As a matter of fact, why are you looking at me like that?”

“I don’t know, I just—” She shrugged. “I’m happy whenever you are happy, Taehyung.”

Narrowing my eyes on her, I studied her face, trying to understand just where this was leading to. My suspicion was answered when I saw a hint of guilt in her eyes in place of the curiosity and mischief that she had earlier. “You’re still thinking about my stupid confession, are you?”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s not stupid. It never was and it never is.”

“It was childish.”

“There is nothing childish with love.”

I scoffed. “It would be when I was a 10-year-old thinking that I was falling in love with my best friend,” I told her, lowering my voice and making a sneer as I said this.

Many years ago, when I was only a 10-year-old boy trying to adjust to a new life in the big town and getting into a new school, I had jokingly asked her to be my girlfriend and she had told me no. But then we got even closer after we decided to be best friends and spent more time together, and I started to feel things. All fuzzy feelings that I had seen in the movies or TV shows as something that was called a crush, or perhaps love, where I would feel all tingly inside whenever she was near. So I asked her to be my girlfriend. Again. And then again. Having my request rejected each time because she only wanted to be my friend and she hated to think that she could lose her best friend if she should ever say yes.

That, and also because we were both kids who knew nothing about crushes and love and heartbreaks.

“Taehyung—”

Sighing dramatically, I placed a hand over my chest and acted like I was hurting and I told her, “It wasn’t your fault either that I got my heart broken so early in life. But I’ll never break my promise about staying with you as a friend and take care of you.”

My theatrics had her giggling, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I just hate that she would overthink things sometimes, even when she remembered that period in life. As if she was responsible for how I had turned out to be. It had taken her a little while to be able to cope with it. Not because she couldn’t accept me for who I was, but only because she had been terribly concerned about me after I had told her the truth.

“I know you won’t, and I promise to be in your life as your best friend for as long as you need me,” she told me, giving me a small smile which I returned with my own when I knew how true her words were. How she had proven it many times before, especially during the period of time I had needed her support the most.

I could easily recall how she had been by my side when I came out about my—’preferences’.

It all happened not too long before we graduated high school, and I was outed by force by someone who I had once grown close to, who I had trusted enough to confide in and let them know about my secrets. But then things fell south when it was clear that my ‘friend’ couldn’t stomach the idea that I was interested in both male and female, and that I had dated both all through high school. My best friend, ______, was the one who stood by me, to accept me for everything that I was and had fought together with me tooth and nail. She had opposed to the idea of me telling people about it openly, preferring that I would just stay silent until the rumours would fade so that the spotlight would not fall on me. But I could no longer hide who I was, and I had gained even more courage when Hoseok and his friends came to me with a promise to defend me if anyone would start messing with me the minute I came forward about it.

Both siblings had been my rocks, all solid and true, loyal to the core even when my own family had come close to disown me after I came to them with the truth.

Reaching over the table, she held my hands and gripped them tightly in hers. “And I’m glad you’re still here. And that you are willing enough to be so honest with me about you being—well, you. And that you are falling in love with Kim Namjoon.”

Pulling my hand from her, I rolled my eyes. “I’m not ’in love’ with him, it’s just—” I frowned, trying to figure out what I really felt. Aside from sharing a class, there was no secret that Namjoon had been terribly kind to me. He would come to talk to me after classes, and he had invited me for coffee a few times, though he had never made his intentions clear except that he wanted to get to know me better. I did feel something fuzzy in my belly when he talked to me, but I wasn’t sure if there was anything deep in what I felt for him aside from my admiration for an upperclassman and the fact that I enjoyed the attention he was giving me.

“—a crush, maybe. That’s all. And he’s nice to me.”

She raised her brows and gave me a knowing smile. “Oh, he’s ’nice’, hmm? Yeah, that’s always how it starts.”

I scoffed at her, knowing that it was also how her boyfriend managed to get under her skin. And, apparently, in a whole lot more as well, judging how crazy she was over him. But I was not about to talk about that prick. “Whatever, weirdo.”

After catching the sight of Namjoon walking out of the library with a wink at my way, we both fell into a long talk about things. We had been out of the loop with the party scene on campus, being all caught up in studying and all, but it didn’t stop us from hearing things through our classmates. Instead of comparing notes about our study session, we started comparing notes on the rumours that had been spreading around us. We were talking about her former flatmate who had begun dating a pre-med student, someone who was completely the opposite of the frat boys she had normally hung out and sometimes hooked up with, when I was reminded of something that I heard from one of her ex-flings.

“Oh, speaking about—” I lowered my voice and leaned closer, making sure that nobody would be able to listen in on us. “Have you heard the rumours that came from your boyfriend’s circle of friends?”

“What rumour?”

“A frat boy was caught kissing another dude. Nobody ever got to find out who he was or who the other boy was, since the witness only saw shadows kissing at the back of the frat house without seeing their faces. It happened in the middle of a party which they held so it could be anyone, and nobody has come clean about it yet.”

Judging by the way her lips were twitching downward, it was clear that she was not happy. And it was no doubt that she was pissed for the same reason that I was—that people were trying to prod into things that weren’t really their business. “But does it really matter who they were? They can’t exactly force someone to come out, right?”

I shrugged. “I guess not, but some people are curious, and you know about people on this campus, they all love to gossip.” Once again, her face pinched. Despite living in the flats off campus, she knew all too well about those lousy gossips. “I’m just thinking that if you or Jungkook ever find out—you guys won’t say a thing, right?”

She frowned at my request at first, but then her eyes softened. “Why would you be so worried about someone you barely know?” she asked me with the concerned tone that she always had when it came to me. “Besides, there’s nothing for you to worry about. Haven’t we both been keeping your secrets from everyone?”

“Well, yeah—that’s actually the only reason why I had to get along with him, remember?”

This time, my sneer drew a smile from her. “If he can understand your situation, wouldn’t he be more understanding when it comes to his friend?” she questioned me, though neither of us really had an answer to that question. Then, suddenly, as if she was seeing something on my face, she tilted her head and whispered, “You’re actually worried about them.”

Giving her a resigned sigh, I answered her with a nod. “I’ve been there, you know? Getting weird looks from people, girls having doubts about me actually being interested in them just because I’m also attracted to guys. I hate to imagine someone else going through something like I did. Especially if it’s someone from one of those houses, since most of them are famous for being around girls.” Looking down at my hands, I wasn’t sure if I should tell her about the things that I had been hearing. But I just couldn’t keep it to myself. “It’s just—some rumours said it was Min Yoongi with some junior TA in Music. He denied it, of course, so nobody knows.”

When I looked at her again, there was a concerned look in her eyes, something that was becoming more familiar in the years I had known her. “Do you know why I always get so worried about you?”

I had a feeling that I might know the answer to that. But I asked her anyway. “Why?”

“Because you have always had such a big heart. It might take a while for you to open up to other people, but the moment you let someone into your life, you always care for them a lot. Maybe too much. Hell, look at you worrying about some frat boy you barely know.” There was a fond smile on her face that I had no choice but to return with mine. I bit my tongue to stop myself from saying a thing and let her continue, and she took my hands in hers again. “I’m worried that someone might one day be using that kindness of yours and get you hurt. I’d really hate to see that.”

Little did she knew then, that I had been worried about the same thing for her. She had always been so fragile, so naive, and there was only one reason why I had never been able to get close to that boyfriend of hers. There was something about him that made it hard for me to trust him. Not with her heart. But I had kept it to myself, having no reason to actually point fingers. Yet. So I said nothing, and tried my best to reassure her that everything would be alright.

“I won’t worry about it, especially when I know you’ll have my back.”

She grinned. “You know I will.”

As we exchanged knowing gazes, I felt so sure that I would still have her by my side no matter what. Nothing could easily set us apart. Nothing could beat the years of friendship and trust that we had built.

At least, that was what I had truly believed.

But life had always been such a bitch. And nothing could stop it from derailing everything we had known and all that we had built together, leaving nothing behind but crumbles of dust.

—First life, year 2018—

My head was spinning. Worse yet, it felt like it was splitting in two.

Where was I? What the hell happened?”

I was pretty sure I blacked out. Or maybe I was in shock. It took a moment before everything began to clear up, though it didn’t actually make it okay when the pounding in my head stopped only to allow me to hear all the noises around me.

“Hey, buddy. Are you okay?” I felt someone gripping at my shoulder while I was stumbling out of the crowded room. I felt people’s eyes on me, but I ignored them all and turned to the person who was leading me out to a hallway right outside the room. That was when I turned and looked around, and everything sort of came back to me.

It was a frat party. I had heard that Sigma Phi was having this rave at their house and some people from my class had spotted Jungkook and his friends here. They had been sending me intel after I had spent the whole day searching for him after leaving ________’s flat.

After hearing how that bastard of a coward ran out of her place after finding out that she was pregnant.

And just like what my intel had informed me, he was hiding here with a fucking groupie who had been hanging out on Sigma to get lucky. Apparently, she lucked out to find that coward needing some distraction. But he wasn’t as lucky, as I found him easily, completely unguarded, and I managed to get a few hits to ruin his pretty face before he retaliated and knocked me on the head.

I flinched the moment I recalled the hit he gave me. It wasn’t hard, as he was pretty much drunk and my punches had probably left him disoriented, but he did put the blow at the right exact spot. And that spot was still pounding.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I grunted at my saviour. My fuzzy memory remembered his voice as the one who had stopped our fight and kicked Jungkook out of the house, and he had probably saved me from further humiliation by pulling me out of the dance floor.

“You need some ice on that. Come on, let me get you some,” he said, pulling my attention back to him just as all the party crowd went back to what they were doing before the interruption. Back to partying like drunken monkeys.

I was going to say no to his offer and leave. But it was obvious that he was not taking any kind of refusal for an answer when he simply turned away from me, already leading me towards the kitchen area at the back.

“Hey, Yoongi. Good to see you back. How was your trip?” Some guy greeted him as we passed a group of people coming down from upstairs. The man turned to me once Yoongi greeted him back with a low grunt, obviously not a man of many words. Just like what the rumours had said about him. The man who greeted Yoongi turned to me and frowned. “Damn, what happened to you?”

I winced when I reached up to touch my face, no doubt already bruising badly if everyone could already see it. “It’s nothing,” I said, and I thought I could see a bit of pity mixing with concern on Yoongi’s face when he turned to look at me.

“One of the bastards from Kappa Sigma hit him,” Yoongi explained, answering him for me. There was no doubt that he had witnessed everything that happened as he was the one who pulled us apart right after that bastard had put his fist on me, but I was glad that he wasn’t about to bring it up. Though knowing Jungkook’s reputation, pretty sure the rumours would start spreading in the morning. And I was quite sure that Jungkook must have been on his way back to her already, probably spitting out lies to protect himself. I really hoped that he would be grovelling on the ground she was standing on before she would take him back in her arms. Just the thought of them reconciling made me feel like there was a cold fist closing in around my heart. I hated knowing why he was here, hated that I had seen him and caught him red-handed. I wished I had beaten him up even worse, enough to stop him from running back to her, just like how he deserved it.

Just like how cowards like him deserved it.

“Don’t worry, man. I’m taking him back so I could put some ice on it,” I heard Yoongi’s voice talking to the other guy, snapping me back to present, and it was clear that I had missed out half of their conversation about my lousy fate. Only then did I realise that one of the girls from the group he was with was standing next to me, looking at the bruise curiously.

“Oh, you poor thing,” she said, holding back from touching my bruise and started rubbing her hand up and down my arm instead.

I forced a smile and held back another wince when the small gesture was enough to hurt. “Nothing a piece of ice couldn't fix. Though I’m sure that my pride took a lot more bruises from that,” I tried to joke, raising my hand that was clutching at my glasses, which had been broken no thanks to Jungkook’s fist. “And my glasses, apparently.”

I heard a few of the people from the group chuckling at my joke, while the girl began shaking her head while giving me a smile. I had heard things about the boys from Sigma Phi and nothing about them had ever been bad. Words spread around campus kept telling me that these boys were more decent than the boys from Jungkook’s house. Damn, even their groupies were decent girls. Just like the girl who was by my side, as I recognised her easily as someone who had frequented the library to study just as often as I usually would.

Unlike all those players in Kappa Sigma house who would rotate the girls they hooked up with according to months, sometimes weeks. Not to mention their fan club, the girls who spent nearly all their college years doing nothing but partying and hooking up with the popular kids on campus.

Why couldn’t she find someone from this house to fall for and date instead?

“Fuck, that’s messed up. Alright then, I’ll leave you to Yoongi’s capable hands. Hey, if you need a ride to the hospital or something to have some fixing, give me a holler, alright?” the guy whose name I couldn’t even remember offered me just when I was about to follow Yoongi, and all I could do was nod.

“Thanks, man,” I muttered, not sure if he could hear me through the loud music, but the girl did give me another smile and a peck on my cheek before she followed him out the back.

“Here you go,” Yoongi said to me as we sat around the kitchen counter, handing me a bag of ice that he pulled out of a beer cooler.

“Thanks,” I said, taking the bag from him and pressed it on my templed, immediately wincing at the pain. “Ow, fuck.”

He snorted at my reaction, though it didn’t exactly erase the concerned look in his eyes. “Take it easy.”

Sighing, I nodded my head stiffly and kept the ice pressed onto my face. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

He nodded and pursed his lips, looking thoughtful for a second before speaking, “You’re her friend, aren’t you? Jungkook’s girl?”

My jaw twitched. “Yeah. We’ve been friends since we were kids.”

He began shaking his head. “You know, even if I don’t know her that well. I wouldn’t have to be her childhood friend to lay one on Jungkook. I fucking hate cheaters,” he said, looking disgusted.

“Doesn’t seem like the others think the same way as you do.”

Yoongi looked down, releasing a sigh. “I really don’t understand these people. They’d rather cover up some fucker cheating behind their girls and do nothing to those who really need some real help.”

I wanted to say something about it, but I couldn’t. I wasn’t even his friend, anyway. So we only sat there in silence with the music from the party still banging in the background. He turned to grab a bottle of beer from the cooler, offering one to me, then we continued to sit there while drinking our beers in silence. The rumours that I had heard about him over the past year came back to me just as I looked at his resigned face, and the words were hanging right at the tip of my tongue. Though I wasn’t completely sure what I was going to say if I wanted to bring it up in our conversation.

Would it be proper for me to ask if those rumours were true? Only minutes after he helped me?

Just when I opened my mouth to try and speak, to talk about anything, just to break this awkwardness between us, he looked up over my shoulders and out the windows overlooking the front yard as something coming in front of the house caught his attention.

“Hey, you need a ride back or something? I’m heading out, so—”

I began considering it, not exactly sure if I was ready to part ways yet. But again, we were not friends. Just because he had saved me from being humiliated in the middle of a party and by giving me some ice, didn’t mean we became instant best friends either. “Uh, no. But thanks. I’ll find my own ride somehow.”

He nodded. “Right. Take care then.”

“You too.”

I watched him leave the room. My eyes couldn’t look away from his retreating back as he ran out of the house and off to the sidewalk, riding a black SUV that didn’t exactly fit the scene on campus. There was something inside me that kept nagging me about letting him go without saying a thing or asking for his number, but I was too tired, too sore, and completely pissed at how this night had turned out to care about making friends.

Tossing the bag of ice into the sink, I walked out of the house through the side porch where he had exited the house from earlier and pulled out my phone. My heart was beating like crazy when I dialled his number, but that immediately passed when I heard his voice from the other side of the phone call.

“Hello?”

I bit my lips. Something inside my gut was telling me that I might be doing something stupid. But right now, I really had nobody else to turn to. “Namjoon, hi. It’s me, Taehyung. I’m sorry for bothering you so late, but I think I’m going to need a ride home.”

“There’s nothing for you to apologise for. You know that I’m always here for you. I’ll be there in ten. Wait for me.”

—First life, year 2020—

How did it come to this?

Standing at the back of the seated guests while wearing a tight monkey suit, I looked around with a mixed feeling in my chest. I had thought that I wouldn’t feel much about being here, but there was a feeling of disdain as I stood there, taking in all these guests. For a wedding ceremony, there were not a lot of people who came in. Just close relatives and friends, perhaps. But even as I looked over to see her parents sitting close to my mine, reminding me how our lives had been connected for as long as we knew each other, I still felt like a complete stranger.

I had no idea how she managed to find me. After I left college early to join Namjoon’s charity mission, I never had any contact with her. The only people I had kept in touch with had been my parents, sometimes Hoseok, but I had convinced them not to tell her where I was as I moved around with Namjoon and his crew.

So when I came home to the lodge where Namjoon and I had been staying in during our trip to find him handing me the invitation, needless to say, I was completely floored. There was no reason for me to be here. I guess the only reason why I had flown across the world was only to make sure that this was really happening and not her playing a sick joke on me.

Everything around me had shown me that this was real. That she was actually getting married. And right there, standing at the end of the aisle was the man himself.

Jeon fucking Jungkook.

He was talking with his brother when I looked over at him. As if he could feel my gaze on him, he suddenly turned to see me. His eyes hardened when he recognised me, but he only nodded at me instead of looking at me with hostility before returning to his chat.

I looked away just as my Dad left his seat and walked towards me. Giving me a pat on my shoulder, he whispered to me, “Glad to see you make it here, Son.”

We chatted for a bit with him telling me that he was finally able to convince _______’s Dad to walk her down the aisle, and he left just as both her parents and mine moved towards the bride side of the seats in the front. While they were moving, stealing everyone’s attention, I slipped away towards the rooms hidden on the other side of the Wedding Hall to find the bride’s room.

It didn’t take much convincing on the bridesmaids standing guard at her door to let me in so I could see her, though it was clear to me that she had not been expecting to see me dropping by right before she was about to exchange vows.

“You came,” she said, completely stunned to see me standing there. Neither of us made a move to come closer or hug each other the way we used to, as I stood closer to the door with my hands tucked inside my pockets and her trembling hands clutching on her flower bouquet. I noticed her favourite flowers, white roses and daisies, looking just as bright and glorious as her white wedding dress looked.

When I looked at her again, there was sadness in her gaze, and a bit of hope. But I knew I crushed the latter when I said, “I only came because I had too many questions. And I suppose I needed to be here just to see that this is actually going down.”

She gave me a grim smile. “As you can see, this is happening. I’m getting married,” she said, and her voice cracked for a second before she cleared her throat to hide it. “So—what questions do you have?”

She looked up at me expectantly and all the questions that had been circling inside my head since the moment I held the invitation she sent me in my hands became all jumbled together. The only thing that came right out of my mouth was—

“Why?”

She blinked, clearly not expecting that. So I simply continued, “Why, after everything that he had put you through, would you still marry him?”

Her eyes softened, though there was a hint of doubt in them when she spoke. “He’s been with me the entire time. He has helped me heal and helped me with the grief of losing our—” She stopped before she could even try to say the word ’baby,’ obvious that she had yet to get over the grief of losing her pregnancy. The fact that she had not only forgiven him for causing the event but also for getting back together with him had been the reason why I left a couple of years ago.

I had no idea that she was still having trouble with it and that she was still grieving, all because I was not here for her. And apparently, he had been the one to fill that empty spot that I left behind on my departure.

“Why so soon? You still have yet to finish college, have you?” From the little communication I had kept with Hoseok since the day I left, I had known that she had been having trouble catching up with classes. The accident and the treatments that she had to go through made her fall back almost a year, and catching up must have been hard when most of her friends had excelled and when she was still haunted with everything that had happened, all the things she had lost, and the fact that she had to face all the people who knew about it.

Shaking her head, she began to admit the troubles she had been facing on campus, before letting me know that Jungkook had been going through the opposite. In his effort to show her that he was able to change, Jungkook had spent the past few years throwing himself into his study, making it possible for him to finish college early and for him to take a position in a company that belonged to one of his father’s business partner before he would take his place in his own family business like his brother did.

“He promised to take care of me,” she said after while smiling softly.

“And you still believe in him?”

She looked straight into my eyes and said, “I do. And he hasn’t failed me since to give me a reason not to believe in him.” I still had my doubts despite the way she seemed so sure about it, yet I said nothing, knowing that she would never listen to me anyway. Even if she would, it would only be much too late. Releasing a deep sigh, she repeated the same words she had given me then, “It’s not like it was an easy decision to make either, but—everyone deserves a second chance, Taehyung.”

’Not everyone,’ I wanted so badly to tell her, but I kept them to myself. Only because there was nothing good that could come out of it if I had said something to stop her. And judging by the looks of it, nothing could stop this from going on.

“And your parents? What did they have to say about this?”

“Obviously, neither my Dad nor Hoseok was happy about it,” she said dryly, and I remembered seeing her Dad fuming in his seat as he waited for the ceremony to begin, before my Dad seemed to be able to somehow change his mind. “But Mom had given me a chance to make the choice. Though I doubt that we’ll be invited home for the holidays as long as my Dad still refuses to give us his blessings. She could barely convince them to come. I think they only came today initially because she hasn’t been feeling well lately and both my Dad and my brother had been worried about letting her go out of the house on her own.”

I looked down and resisted the urge to shake my head. Now I understood why her parents had been sitting close to the exit, no doubt all because her Dad was so ready to walk out of the ceremony instead of staying to support her. And honestly, being away from her had yet to change what I had thought about Jungkook.

“He doesn’t deserve you.”

The words that I gave her the last time we met came back to me. I still had no regrets ever voicing my thoughts and opinions about Jungkook, but I regretted that she was too stubborn to even consider taking her time before she would give him another chance and open her arms to welcome him back. And now, she was marrying him, completely tying the knot to make it last even longer. Perhaps forever.

“Taehyung?”

As I looked at her again, there was an expectation in her gaze that pulled at my heart. It was then when I realised that sending me the invitation was her act of lending me an olive branch. To give us another chance in friendship and have me back in her life again.

The same way she gave a chance to Jungkook.

But it was too late. Looking at things now, it was obvious that we were no longer walking on the same path. We had parted ways on a crossroad years ago, choosing different directions which had led us to who we were today.

Before she could say anything, I took a few steps closer to her and kissed her on the forehead. The move must have surprised her because she stiffened at my touch for a moment before relaxing against me, though I gave her no chance to dwell on it when I whispered,

“Be happy.”

Without looking back at her, I quickly left the room, leaving her behind with her own thoughts. Less than fifteen minutes later, I was right back where I was standing earlier, right at the far back in the Wedding Hall, witnessing her moody father walking her down the aisle to where Jungkook was waiting for her. Both of them shared big smiles on their faces as they were joined together at the altar, though her eyes showed sadness when she glanced back at the guests to find me, knowing that it would be the last time she would ever see me.

I stood there in silence as the ceremony continued. As they held hands, staring into each other’s eyes as they exchanged vows to be together until death would do them part. It was like adding salt to my wounds, but it was enough to make me see the reality of our relationship, that I had been replaced.

“He promised to take care of me.”

And there was really no need for me to stay, whether to prove myself wrong and watch him actually make her happy or to witness her regretting her decisions when he would hurt her again one day the way he had the last time she gave him her trust.

The moment I heard her say, “I do,” I didn’t stay long enough to wait for the ceremony to end and turned away, making my way out of the Wedding Hall and out of her life, where I was no longer needed.

Navigation | Ko-fi | Commission | Patreon

— © 2021 Yoonia, all rights reserved. reposting/modifying of any kind is not allowed. translations are not allowed.

[idreamofplaid]

All is Calm

Square Filled: Impala for @spngenrebingo & Huddle for Warmth for @spnchristmasbingo

Characters: Dean x Reader; Sam mostly mentioned

Word Count: 2445

Summary: Dean been distracted by hunting lately, but he’s fully focused now. Everything is clear to him.

Created for @spngenrebingo & @spnchristmasbingo

Dean was usually so good about keeping Baby maintained and in top condition. Her oil was always changed hundreds of miles before it needed to be, the air pressure and tread on her tires was checked on practically a weekly basis along with her fluid levels. Some people might say he was obsessive about his car. You’d come to understand she was more than just a car to him, and the way he cared for her was the way he cared for anything and anyone that mattered to him.

It was one of the many admirable qualities about Dean. You had noticed this softer side of his in so many small ways since you’d met him. Along with that softness, he possessed a driven determination. That determination pushed him to keep hunting the next monster, save the next person, do what he could to make the world better. That was why Baby hadn’t been receiving her usual amount of attention lately, too many monsters in the world. That was also the reason the two of you were stuck in the middle of nowhere Montana right now. Baby had a dead battery.

That was bad enough, but it was the week before Christmas, and in Montana that meant full fledged winter. Walking out of here wasn’t an option. The last town you’d passed through was thirty miles back, and new snow was beginning to fall. Even worse, the cell signal out here was so weak Dean had barely gotten to say ten words to Sam before the line went dead. He reassured you that was enough for his tech geek brother to turn on the GPS and find you. You just had to wait it out. 

Fortunately, Baby’s trunk contained not only every weapon known to humankind but also sleeping bags and blankets in the compartment beneath those weapons. Dean fetched those and covered the backseat with a sleeping bag, leaving the other covers in a pile for now, then he motioned for you to get inside with a lopsided smile, “We’re going to have to make the best of it until Sam gets here.”

Sam didn’t drive the way Dean did, but he could be fast enough when the situation called for it. Still, it would take hours for him to get here. That was a long time with the temperature dropping the way it was. You tried to sound more sure that the two of you would make it through this okay than you felt. “What are we going to do exactly?” The uncertainty was in your voice in spite of your best efforts, and you knew Dean could hear it based on his reaction. He went into joking and downplaying the situation mode.

“We’re gonna get under those blankets and sing Christmas carols. I have a fabulous voice.” He held the car door open and swept his arm gallantly toward the interior and the back seat. You climbed in and Dean followed, closing the door behind him.

It wasn’t the first time you’d been in Baby’s backseat by any means, but it was the first time you had been here with Dean. You knew it wasn’t the first time Dean had been back here either; the difference was he wasn’t a passenger when he was in the backseat of this car. Better not to think about that right now. You were in danger of freezing to death; you could think about your crush and deal with your jealousy tomorrow after you survived.

Dean reached around you, grabbed the other sleeping bag, and settled it around the two of you; then he did the same with a blanket. His final move was to put his arms around you and draw you in close to him. He rested his chin on top of your head and dropped the bravado. “I’m gonna keep you warm, Y/N. It’ll be okay.”

His body was warm, but as the last of the heat disappeared from the inside of the car, you could feel the cold gathering around the little cocoon Dean had made. You weren’t going to let yourself be scared. You were with Dean, and he would take care of you. You tried to snuggle closer to him, but you were already about as close as you could get. So, you tried to distract yourself. “What about those Christmas songs, Dean?”

He rubbed his hand along your back to create more warmth. “I kinda exaggerated that a little. I can’t sing at all.” You put your head on his shoulder and sighed, only it wasn’t the contented kind; it was much more the “I can make it through this” kind of sigh. Dean tried to redirect your thoughts with a different approach. “I can tell stories though.”

“Really?” You didn’t lift your head from his shoulder and slipped your hand beneath his jacket. Dean took it for what it was, a gesture to keep warm, but it was more than that to you. It comforted you to feel him closer. “Tell me one. Tell me a Christmas story.”

“Well...um...I don’t really have too many Christmas memories, but I’ll tell you what I’d like to do.”

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

I felt your hand slide across my stomach and come to a stop on my ribs. Under different circumstances, it wouldn’t be long before I’d be kissing you. It’d be the kind of kiss that was hot and previewed what else I was about to do to you. We weren’t in those kind of circumstances. I should have gotten you in the back of this car before now and made out with you the way I couldn’t stop thinking about. I should have done a lot of things, but now here we are. You want to hear a Christmas story, so I’m going to tell you what I should have done about Christmas. 

“When we get back to the bunker…” That’s it. Keep the focus on we are going to get out of here. “I’m going to get a tree, and we’re going to find some ornaments. I bet the Men of Letters stashed some somewhere in that place. Or, we’ll buy some. But we’re going to decorate that thing. You, me, and Sam. It’ll be a big one too. You can decide where we put it. Where do you think the tree should go?”

You shifted against me. You still felt warm enough, but I wish there was a way I could keep you warmer. It’s my fault you’re in this mess. How could I be this stupid? I’ve been taking care of this car since I was a kid. This is probably the biggest fuck up of my life, and there’s plenty to choose from. You answer my question, pulling me out of the downward spiral I’m in.  “I think it should go in the library, so we see it as soon as we come into the bunker. And we spend the most time there. Maybe we could get another tiny one for the kitchen to look at while we eat?”

You love Christmas trees. Why didn’t I ever know that? You love them, and I haven’t gotten you a single fucking one the whole time you’ve been living with us. “Yeah. Sure we can get a little one too. We’ll make strings of popcorn to put on it like they did in those Christmas movies Sam watched when we were kids.” I realized then it was Sam who’d watched the movies and the reindeer cartoons. Sam had wanted Christmas too, and I’d just blocked the whole thing out. Christmas had probably gone up in flames on the ceiling for me the night my mother died. I regret that now.

What else was in those movies Sam used to watch? “We’ll make hot chocolate too, with whipped cream, and stick a candy cane in it. We can wrap presents together. Maybe you could teach me how to wrap them better so they look pretty good?”

Your hand felt so small on me, and your voice was quiet. “Yes, I’ll teach you how to wrap presents. There should be a lot of presents under the tree. You haven’t had many presents, Dean, and you should have. You deserve presents.” Where did that come from? 

“I...I don’t know about that, but you do.”  You were beginning to feel colder to my touch. I needed to do something. “Y/N, let’s lie down, sweetheart.” Hopefully, full body contact would make you warmer. I lay you down on the seat and stretched out next to you so the entire length of my body was against you. I made sure a blanket was pulled up behind you to cover the seat of the Impala because it was probably warmer than the leather. 

You put your cheek on my neck, seeking out the warmth I had to give you. “You okay, Y/N?” You nodded but didn’t answer out loud. I didn’t like the quiet. It was better to keep you talking. “What do you want for Christmas this year? I’ll make sure Santa knows.” 

That made you laugh. “Is Santa real too? Have you been holding out on me?” 

Yeah, I’ve been holding out on you, but not about Santa Claus. “I could get a message to him. What do you want?”

You giggled, and it was a beautiful sound. “I want some Christmas pajamas.” I could picture you in something like that. It was cute and sexy. “Will you get some too? And Sam? We could have matching pajamas. Like a family.” Wait a minute. Did you just put me in the brother category? And why was I worried about that now?

“Sure, sweetheart. I’ll tell Santa to get us all Christmas pajamas.” It’s going to take one hell of a bribe to get Sam to go along with this one. 

Then you surprised me because you asked, “Dean, what do you want?” I had no idea how to answer that question. The things I wanted couldn’t be put inside a box or under a Christmas tree. 

Hell with it. I’m just going to be honest. “I want you and Sam to be happy.” That sounded a little like I was making you a sister which I’m definitely not, so maybe you didn’t brother zone me before. 

You kissed my cheek, and it warmed me inside, making me forget how cold it was on the outside for a few seconds. “I want you to be happy too, Dean.”

It wasn’t the right time or place, but I put my finger under your chin, tilted your face up, and kissed you. It was a soft kiss, a kiss to tell you what I was afraid to say, what I’ve always been afraid to say, afraid to even admit until we’re in a situation like this, until I can’t push it away or distract myself with something that doesn’t matter nearly as much. I love you. But I can’t tell you that now because it might sound like some kind of deathbed confession, and I can’t let you think you’re going to die. You’re not; I won’t let you die. 

One thing my father did that I am very thankful for at this moment was teach me how to survive. I hope you understand what I’m about to do. In this kind of cold, you need body heat. Direct body heat; our clothes are in the way. They’ve got to go. Your eyes are starting to drift closed, and that can’t happen. 

I lift your head up, and you slowly open your eyes. “Hey, Y/N. Stay with me. Okay? Keep your eyes open. Let me see how beautiful they are. Look at me, Y/N.” I put my hands on your cheeks and hold your face steady to keep you focused on me. “I need to get you warmer. My body can do that if I take off my clothes. It’ll be warmer that way. Okay?” You nod at me. My heart is pounding so hard in my chest. I’m scared, but I steady my voice for you. “Then, I’m going to take yours off, so our skin is touching.” You nod again. 

“Alright.” I kiss your forehead then take my jacket off, thinking I can put that on top of you later too. I take the rest of my clothes off and get back under the sleeping bag. I notice the snow is falling heavy outside. I hope Sam can find the car when he gets here. I’m careful when I take your clothes off to keep you under the covers. 

When everything is gone, it’s just you pressed up close against me. I’ve got to keep you awake, keep you talking. “When we get back home, I’m going to take you on a real date. The least I can do is take you to dinner after you got naked with me.” You smile at my stupid joke. That’s good. “We’ll go to Lawrence. I’ll show you where I grew up. There’s this steakhouse there that I can barely remember, but my dad used to take my mom there. They couldn’t afford a babysitter, so I went along. They had these menus for kids you could draw on, and I always got crayons. I colored everything blue. I remember my mom laughed about that.” 

This was too far down memory lane. I was probably boring you. “Do you like steak? We could have seafood instead, or Italian, or something. Anything you want.” 

“I like sweet potatoes. Can you get a sweet potato with your steak?” Crap. I don’t know. You couldn’t thirty years ago, but you couldn’t get sweet potatoes anywhere then. 

“You want sweet potatoes? We’ll go somewhere where they have sweet potatoes.” I kiss the top of your head again. “I’ll take you anywhere you want to go. We can go to a real city if you want. Go somewhere really fancy. Dallas maybe. Do you want to see the lights of the big city?” 

The only answer I got was, “You’re so warm, Dean. You feel so good.” 

I put my hand on the back of your head and held it. “I’m gonna make you say that under different circumstances.” My joke, that wasn’t really a joke, wasn’t working this time.

I wasn’t sure you even heard me, but then you whispered, “Promise?”

“Promise.” A single tear slid down my cheek.

The knock on the window was loud; it made me jump, but you didn’t notice. “Dean! Dean!” I have never been so happy to hear my brother. We’re going home, and you’re going to have those pajamas. 

Everything: @gambitwinchester​ @princessmisery666​ @onethirstyunicorn​ @peridottea91​ @logical-princey​ @emilyshurley​ @beenlovingromansincedayoneish​ @fangirlxwritesx67​ @waywardbaby​ @atc74​ @ledzeppelinsbonzo​ @shaniquacynthia​ @mariekoukie6661​ @tumbler-tidbits​ @67-chevy-baby​ @fandom-princess-forevermore​ @terrarium-jpeg​ @emoryhemsworth​ @crashdevlin​ @heycasbutt​ @jules-1999​ @mrsdeannafuckingwinchester​ @cosicas-cuquis​ @sammyimpala-67​ @queenoftheunderdark​ @dean-winchesters-bacon​ @mrs-meghan-winchester​ @timelordy-fangirl2​ @sweetness47​ @hobby27​ @awesomesusiebstuff​ @kickingitwithkirk​ @neveratease​ @becs-bunker​ @sandlee44​ @supernaturalgrandma​ @lonewolf471​ @sea040561​ @dawnie1988​ @maddiepants​ @volleyballer519​ @outcastedangel​ @kdfrqqg​ @lizette50​ @daisymoder72​ @sorenmarie87​ @oldfreakything​ @winchesterxfamilybusiness​ @deansotherotherblog​

Dean/Jensen: @deansyahtzee​ @flamencodiva​ @deanwinchesterswitch​ @feelmyroarrrr​ @sammit-janet​ @focusonspn​ @akshi8278​ @ladywinchester1967​ @sgarrett49​ @wingedcatninja​ @coffee-obsessed-writer​ @adoptdontshoppets​ @ellewritesfix05​ 

[outerbankspreferences]

Storm Warning - Rafe Cameron

Word Count: 1738

Warnings - None

Request: Can you write an imagine where Rafe and his girlfriend get stranded during the hurricane so he finds shelter for them and keeps her safe?

MASTERLIST

You had been stuck in the house all day; you were bored out of your mind. Everyone on the island was preparing for the hurricane that was coming. You helped your parents move the lawn chairs and stuff into the shed so they wouldn’t blow away. You were in your room laying bed finishing some homework when your dad walks in. “Hey kiddo, we need some batteries. Why don’t you head down to the Heywards and pick some up, before the storm gets too bad?”

 You look up from your book, and then over to the window. The Heyward’s store wasn’t far, maybe a fifteen-minute walk, you should have enough time to get there and back. “Yeah okay, how many do we need?” you start getting changed. You put on some jeans and your rain jacket along with some rubber boots. You grab the money off the counter and heading out. It hadn’t really started raining yet, but it was windy.

 When you got to the Heywards store all the lights were off, you shake the door and look in the window, but nobody was there. They must have closed early for the storm. You figured you would walk into town; it wasn’t far and see if any of the stores were open. Rafe had been out driving around in his truck. He had gotten into with his father and didn’t feel like going home. He was driving around town looking for something to do. The rain had picked up fast and there wasn’t anyone around.

 You had cursed yourself for going into down. Not only was it raining but it was windy too. You had gone to a couple different shops, but they were all closed. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” You say to yourself sighing. The wind had picked up and wasn’t safe to be outside anymore, you looked around for somewhere to wait out the storm. You saw the community greenhouse and figured that would work until the wind died down. You were about to cross the street when you heard a horn honking at you. You could see a set of lights and pulling up was no other then kook royalty Rafe Cameron.

 You guys weren’t friends, but you weren’t enemies either. He was a couple of years older than you. “Wonderful weather we’re having tonight.” He says to you with the window rolled down. “Oh yeah, perfect night for a walk.” You laugh at him. “Do you need a drive somewhere?” He asked, looking at how wet you were. “Yeah, I could actually if you don’t mind.” You walk around to the passenger side climbing in.

 “Sorry if I get the seats wet, my pants are soaked. Rafe was still looking at you. He had always had a crush on you. He didn’t think it was you when he pulled up and now, all sudden he was nervous. Even with your soaked, and mascara running a bit you still looked gorgeous. “That’s okay, where are you heading too.” He asked, “well we needed batteries but everywhere is closed so I guess I’m out of luck.” You explain pulling your phone out to text your parents tell them you were safe. “the Duffer’s store isn’t closed they live in back so they’re always open. I could take you there to get some batteries.”

 The Duffer’s place was on the other side of island, and you really didn’t want to make him drive in this kind of weather for batteries. “You can just take me home; I don’t want to make you drive across the island in this weather.” You say to him. “I’m offering Y/N, I really don’t mind.” He said to you taking the turn towards the store. It was the middle of storm, and you had to pass right by the water to get there. You feared storms, but you weren’t going to tell Rafe that.

 It wasn’t that he was a bad driver or anything. If anything, Rafe was being extra careful with you in the care. He kept his eyes on the road, respecting the speed limit. He had the radio low, but not completely off, just fill the silence.

 You didn’t think he could tell but you kept stealing glances at him. The light from the streetlights made him look so handsome. It would catch the blue of his eyes and make them shine just a little brighter. Normally you would have been nervous driving in the middle of storm with someone, but with Rafe you felt safe. It was something you couldn’t explain. Breaking the silence, you finally spoke up, “how’s school going?” You knew he had left for college a couple of months ago but didn’t know why he came back.

 “Uh, I’m not in college anymore. I dropped out; I honestly don’t even know why I went.” He never took his eyes off the road, and you got the sense that it was a conversation he didn’t want to have. You didn’t respond to him, just nodding in acknowledgment. “what about you? What have you been up to?” You were looking out the window. “Oh, you know, the normal. Dinner parties, tea off at noon, keggers. Same stuff, different day.” You cringed thinking how routine your life was. To some people it was a luxury being a Kook, when in reality you were screaming to get out. It was Rafe’s turn to nod his head.

 It wasn’t long before you guys made it to the store. You ran inside, got the batteries and some snacks for the drive home. You went to pay for them hoping you got something Rafe would like. When you got back in the car he was on his phone. “Did you get everything you needed?” He asked looking up from his phone. “I did, I also got some snacks to share. You know, to say thanks for driving me around in the middle of a hurricane.” You put the bag on the console between the two of you. He smiled; this was much better than being stuck at home he thought.

 You guys drove back home in silence, eating your snacks and listening to the radio. Rafe was looking over you when you noticed something on the road ahead, and he wasn’t slowing down. “Rafe, look out!” You say to him, and he quickly but the breaks on. The truck came to stop right before hitting a tree that fell across the road. “Are you okay?” He asked looking over at you. “Yeah, I’m fine, but how are we going to get home now? We can’t go back the other way it just leads us to the ferry.” You say concerned. You were starting to panic and Rafe could tell. You were pale and breathing heavy. “Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure Rose is selling a house around here, we’ll just crash there until the storms over.” He explained taking your hand in his giving it a reassuring squeeze.

 He drives over to small subdivision where all the houses looked the same. When he pulled in and turned off the truck you noticed that you were still holding hands. You quickly move your hand looking down blushing. You guys and make a run for the door, Rafe types in the password and lets you walk in first. “I think this one has a fireplace, I’ll turn it on, why don’t you go look for some blankets.” He instructs you while walking away.

 You wonder down the hall looking in the different closet for some blankets. You find some and head to the living room. Rafe was turning on the fireplace and putting some music on. He looked tired, and you felt bad. He could have been home right now. You had texted your parents explain what happened, and that would be home as soon as it was safe to drive again. The two of you sat on opposite ends of the couch. You were finally starting to warm up from the fire, you look over at Rafe who is half asleep on the other side of the couch. “Hey Rafe.” You speak getting his attention “Why did you drop out of school; you were always good with business stuff. I figured you would love college.” You ask not really looking at him. He didn’t answer you right away and you thought you over stepped. It wasn’t your place to ask him these questions, but you were curious. “I don’t know, I guess I don’t really want to follow in the family footsteps. I’m not interested in taking over the business for dad. I don’t know what I want to do, but I know it’s not that.” He spoke and you could tell he was being honest with you. “Well, I think that you should do what makes you happy, It’s your life.” You knew it wasn’t that easy. Being a kook came with its problems, one of the beings this. You were expected to follow the family business.

 Rafe looked over at you, smiling. “I’m doing something that makes me happy right now. I’, spending time with you.” You blushed again, but he moved closer to you on the couch. You could have moved over but you didn’t. You were nervous and he could tell. He got so close that you could feel his breath on you. “Are you happy right now Y/N?” He asked barely a whisper. There was no one else there but you whispered back to him. “I would be a happier if you kissed me.” You say looking at his lips. You bite your bottom lip. You couldn’t believe you had just said that to him, but Rafe moved closer placing his lips on yours. The kiss what sweet, he didn’t force anything, but you kissed him back deepening it. When pulled away he was smiling like and idiot. “I’m glad I picked you of the rain, I’ve had a crush on your for so long.” He confessed. You pulled him in for another kiss. “I’m glad too, because I’ve had a crush on you too.” You snuggled closer to him. You guys spent the rest of the night in each other’s arms, completely forgetting about the storm going on just outside.

TAG:  angelreyesgirl100

[readyplayerhobi]

Flower | 35

; Hoseok x Reader

; Genre: Fluff

; Word Count: 3.7k

; Synopsis: You finally decide to take a dip into the world of online dating and find the Flower dating app. One of the top matches for you proves to be a guy who looks to be your complete opposite; tattooed, pierced, a metalhead and oh…incredibly handsome. What happens when you throw caution to the wind and reach out to him?

; A/N: Just a soft, fluffy chapter for you all after the angst and smut of the last two haha. Please leave comments and reblog it for me so others can read! Send me asks and so forth, we’re getting close to the endgame here so...I really hope you can spur me on.

; Flower Masterpost

-

“Ahhhh, I’m so excited!” Hoseok is practically vibrating in the passenger seat as you drive carefully, eyes firmly on the road and watching the car ahead of you. There’s nothing ahead of them but they’re still doing about ten miles less than the speed limit, frustrating you.

You don’t complain though, instead just sigh deeply while rolling your eyes at the slow person. It was hard to truly feel too annoyed though because Hoseok’s enthusiasm was so infectious. Which was why you’d been sporting a smile for most of the morning, thoroughly bemused by his excitement.

The reason for his bubbly demeanour today was because you were officially going to pick up your new puppy. You’d known for a long time that Hoseok wanted a dog; he’d loved them a lot and had always wanted one. But he just hadn’t had the time or space to get one, particularly given his old apartment not being pet friendly.

It had taken some convincing for you to say yes to a dog, mainly because you’d worried how Kasumi might be around another pet and also because you weren’t a huge dog fan. You liked them obviously, but they required so much more work than a cat. As much as Hoseok loved Kasumi though, you knew what he wanted.

The convincing had mainly been that he wouldn’t leave all the taking care of the dog to you. You didn’t want to end up being the only one cleaning up the mess in the yard or walking them, etc. He’d promised that he would care for the dog just as much as you did, maybe even a little more.

It wasn’t like he didn’t help out in the house anyway, he did because you wouldn’t let him not help, but you just didn’t want to get stuck doing all the dog duties when he was the one who wanted it the most. You doubted he would do that as he was pretty good with looking after Kasumi, even though she wasn’t even his. Given this was something he wanted, you had faith that he’d be a good doggy daddy.

The two of you had poured over websites that advertise puppies for sale alongside looking over rescue centres to try and find the best dog for you both. It had been hard to narrow down your requirements as there were some breeds that you just didn’t want to have and Hoseok had his own opinion on some as well. Other important things were that they needed to be okay with cats and being left alone during the day while you were both working.

But you also wanted something energetic when necessary and enjoyed walks. Part of the reason that you’d said yes was that you hoped it would get both of you to start going out on walks to just enjoy nature a little more instead of staying cooped up in the house. You always enjoyed when you’d gone out but it was hard to break your habits.

Your problems had been resolved happily when you’d been told by Hoseok’s parents that his aunt had a dog who had had a litter of puppies recently. They’d bought a female puppy and before they’d been able to get her spayed, she’d, unfortunately, got the attention of the neighbour’s dog. Which meant she’d been way too young to breed and they’d ended up with surprise puppies.

The mom was a working Cocker Spaniel breed with the prettiest colouring; a soft lemon tan and white with the most adorable eyes. The dad was a Bichon, a breed you weren’t too familiar with but who looked pretty cute too. What resulted was called a Cock-a-Chon, the most adorable bundle of fluff you’d ever seen.

Each puppy had the cutest curly fur and was the perfect mix of both their parent’s beautiful faces. They wouldn’t be too large when grown which was good for you both, as neither of you wanted a really big dog or anything. The puppy you’d both chosen was a creamy golden colour and you’d both fallen in love with her as soon as she’d fallen over her feet when running over to you.

Well...you say that you’d chosen her. It was more like she’d chosen Hoseok because he’d immediately ended up with a tiny puppy crawling all over his legs while her tail wagged at such speed you were worried she might hurt it. Needless to say, Hoseok had been completely lost to those sweet black eyes.

It had taken one look at you with equally big and cute eyes that had been earnestly begging to get your agreement. And that had been it. You’d officially known you were going to be collecting her a few weeks after that point and you’d let Hoseok name her, choosing Ciri from the Witcher series.

The time spent in-between that visit and going to bring her home had been spent making sure that the house was puppy-proof. You hadn’t known how to do that but the two of you had done a lot of research, hoping that if she was kept entertained enough then you wouldn’t have to worry about chewing or anything.

Given that Hoseok had been the one to want a dog in the first place, you’d let him run wild with all the stuff he wanted to get for her. There wasn’t any room for argument considering the number of things you’d bought Kasumi over the years and it had been heart-warming to watch Hoseok get so excited over a patterned collar and a personalised name tag on it.

So she had a ridiculous amount of dog toys already, alongside what you were convinced was a mountain of puppy food and treats, those mats to help house train her, two dog beds, a collar, a cage and lots of blankets to go inside it to train her for when neither of you was home. You hadn’t particularly liked the idea of caging her but you’d resolved to make it her safe space where she could go when she was feeling tired or just didn’t want to be bothered instead of punishment or anything.

Honestly, you’d warned Hoseok many times to make sure he didn’t go too overboard and spoil a dog neither of you even had yet.

Quite clearly, it hadn’t worked given how much he’d bought the little puppy. But again, you were loath to put a leash on his enthusiasm for it all. Pun not intended.

He never asked for a whole lot from you, even now with your three-year-anniversary approaching in just a few months. It always felt like you were taking a lot from him and not giving much back, so if he wanted to go wild and buy a lot of stuff for the new puppy then you weren’t going to complain too much.

There was a lot worse to spend his money on. Not to mention the fact that you weren’t even paying for Ciri. His aunt didn’t want to be paid for the puppy given she was going to a family member and she hadn’t even been expecting them at all. From what you knew, the other puppies had been sold for only a hundred dollars each. Just to cover their medical expenses up to that point.

It was a fantastic deal really, but you were mostly just pleased that Hoseok was finally going to get the dog he’d always wanted. He spoiled you often enough so you were revelling in the fact that you got to spoil him in turn.

That thought made you snort with laughter, the very idea of you two fighting not because you were angry but because you were trying to one-up each other with affection and love. You don’t get to see the curious look Hoseok gives you, slight confusion on his face before he shrugs to himself.

“I hope Kasumi will be okay with this.” Whispering the words, you frown slightly as you watch the road ahead. There’s only maybe another five minutes before you’ll both be there, reading to pick up Ciri and take her home but you’re a little worried about your other pet. 

Ciri would probably be fine with her, being so young that she’d grow up with the cat as her big sister. But Kasumi had spent a long time with it being just her getting all the attention from you, and Hoseok when he’d entered her life. Not to mention the fact that she could hurt Ciri if they didn’t get on, those sharp claws easily causing harm to the tiny puppy.

“We’ll take it slow. The good thing about cats is that they can take themselves away if they’re not happy. She’s used to Ciri’s scent and we’ve got plenty of treats and toys for her too so she doesn’t feel so left out. We just have to make sure that we don’t let Ciri overwhelm her. She’ll be okay Meeps.” Hoseok reaches out and takes your hand, rubbing at your knuckles in reassurance.

His aunt had sent over some blankets and toys that she’d rubbed all over Ciri, soaking them in the puppy’s scent so that you could introduce it to Kasumi. Hopefully, it would mean that while your beloved cat probably wouldn’t appreciate the exuberance of her new sister but she would at least recognise the smell.

“Is it silly that I’m worrying about stuff like that? I mean...your friends are getting married and having babies but I’m here just concerned that my cat might not like our puppy.” That makes Hoseok snort in amusement, slipping his hand beneath yours to link your fingers together before squeezing.

“Hey...that’s their choice. We’ve chosen to have furbabies instead, nothing wrong with that.” Wrinkling your nose, you indicate to turn right and drive slowly down the street his aunt lives on. It’s a nice area with large houses set back from the road, each one having an equally big drive leading to two-car garages. Tall trees, probably decades old at this point, line along the street with luscious green grass between each one and the dips allowing cars to park.

Much like the rest of Hoseok’s family, his aunt is pretty wealthy. She never had any kids though, living in her beautiful house with her wife and a menagerie of animals. Alongside the cocker spaniel that had gotten pregnant; she also had a chocolate labrador, a black cocker spaniel, a parakeet and three cats. It was your idea of a dream in terms of all the animals but the clean up must be terrible.

Pulling into her driveway, you take in the sight of her house once more in awe. You doubt anyone in your family could ever afford something like this and it still leaves you with a sense of imposter syndrome when you realise just how rich Hoseok’s whole family is.

Thankfully though, he’d never made it an issue.

“Oh my god! Come on! Let’s go.” Hoseok practically squeals, his excitement making him look so young and completely at odds with his metalhead appearance. Snorting, you can’t help but smirk as you turn off the engine as he’s already out of the car. Sighing affectionately, you follow him at a much slower pace.

He’s already vanished into the house by the time you get to the door, his aunt, Miyeon, standing with the door held open and an exasperated look on her face. Smiling at her, you take your shoes off and hand her the bag that you’d prepared earlier with an apologetic look on your face.

“Hi, Auntie! How are you? Oh, I’m good thanks Hoseok, and you?” She says sarcastically, rolling her eyes at you. There’s more than a little fondness in her face and voice though so you’re not too worried that she’s genuinely annoyed at him, smiling a little brighter as you greet her.

“Sorry. He’s excited. It’s been like having a toddler in the car rather than an almost 31-year-old man. Thank you so much though, I know you didn’t want anything for her but I couldn’t just..give you nothing. Hoseok said that you collect wine and I don’t know anything about wine because I don’t drink but-” She interrupts you with a hand on your arm, a smile on her face.

“You didn’t have to. But thank you, I appreciate it. Don’t worry, wine is wine. I’ll enjoy drinking it no matter what, I guarantee you that. Anyway, come on. I’ve baked some cookies for you both. Hobi always used to adore eating them when he was younger; peanut butter, hazelnut and chocolate chips.” Leading you through her home, you can already hear the barking of puppies alongside Hoseok’s joyful laughter.

You don’t even realise you’re smiling until you see yourself in a mirror, your expression light and happy. Who’d have thought that just the sound of someone’s laugh could be such a fulfilling experience? 

“Ahhh, so that’s why he likes them. He always asks me to bake those if I’m in that kind of mood. Always thought it was a bit odd as he doesn’t eat anything else with peanut butter, just those. Seemed a strange combination for him to love.” Her kitchen is just as big as the rest of the house, tastefully decorated with all the latest appliances.

You were a little envious of her fridge. It was one of those super fancy Samsung ones where you could see inside without even opening the door thanks to a panel on the front alongside what you could only describe as a tablet embedded into the door. Who needed to watch Netflix on their fridge? 

But all you can truly focus on is the delicious scent of freshly baked cookies. Inhaling deeply, you hum and can’t help but wiggle in delight. His aunt laughs, handing one to you and you eat it quickly. They’re not your favourite flavour but you’d never turn down a homemade cookie.

Especially when it was still warm and slightly gooey.

“Go on, go take one to Hoseok. If he’s not gone into a puppy coma or something. Bora is working late tonight so she won’t be home,” She mentions her wife, letting you know that you won’t be seeing her today. “And I’ve got some paperwork to catch up on. Just let me know when you’re ready to go.”

“Are you sure? Do you need any help?” Shaking her head, Miyeon smiles softly at you before suddenly cupping your cheek. Her hands are soft, likely through years of a careful skincare regime, and warm but there’s nothing strange about it. More like she’s just observing you.

“He’s lucked out with you, does he know that?” Snorting, you grin as you move away towards the sound of happy chaos. Looking back at her, you hold the cookie up with pride.

“I try to make sure he realises that at least once a day. Keep him on his toes, you know?” Her laughter follows you out of the kitchen and you marvel at yourself for how bold you’d just been. Your past self would be shocked to see you now, probably confused as to how you feel confident enough to say something so bold.

“Hey, butthead. You didn’t say hello to your aunt. That was rude,” You say to Hoseok, your tone only slightly playful. “Go say hi. Look, she even made you cookies.”

Handing one to him, you note how he’s laid on the floor and is surrounded by all the puppies in the litter. Ciri was going to be the first one to go so her four brothers and sisters were all still here. Small tails were wagging furiously at your arrival and you couldn’t help but giggle as they ran over to you, jumping and standing on Hoseok’s exposed stomach from where his shirt had twisted up and causing him to groan.

“Hello, puppies! Oh, aren’t you so cute!” Cooing to them, you hand the cookie to Hoseok as he sits up with a slight wince. For a minute or so, he just eats and watches you with the little ones as you play with them all, unable to stop smiling as they practically throw their small, furry bodies against you in an attempt for your attention.

“Go say hi!” Hissing slightly, your eyes narrow at Hoseok until he holds his hands up and gets up, heading out of the room to go properly greet his aunt. Once he’s gone, you look at all the puppies with a gleeful expression and sit cross-legged.

“Good, he’s gone. Let’s play!” The last word is loud and sharp while you reach forward, tickling one of them until they fall onto their back, showing their tummy for scratches and yelping enthusiastically. His siblings are barking too, tails hitting you almost painfully from how hard they’re going.

Glancing over at their mom, who’s currently laid in her dog bed with tired eyes, you smile affectionately before crawling over to her and giving her a loving stroke too. She seems to almost let out a deep sigh and you can’t help but laugh, running your fingers through her soft fur.

“Is it tiring, mama? All these babies wanting your attention all the time. I bet you can’t wait for some alone time. You’ve done well though, look how cute they are!” It must be a law somewhere that everyone should take to animals as if they’re human, especially in that voice that’s reserved for cute things.

But her big eyes are full of warmth and her tail wags lazily against the bed at your words, causing a few pups to try and attack it. You can’t help but marvel at how she just doesn’t seem to notice them, letting them do what they want.

“Not long now, they’ll all be going to their new homes soon. I bet you’ll miss them. We’ll bring Ciri by sometimes so you can see her!” The other dogs in the house had been socialised with the puppies for the last few weeks and Choco, the labrador was currently laid out against the couch. He was watching you carefully but for the most part, didn’t seem to be too bothered by all the noise.

You presumed that Bella, the other spaniel, was with Miyeon in her office.

“Okay, I said hello. And apologised,” Hoseok said, sitting down next to you and immediately welcoming two puppies onto his lap. “Sorry, I was rude, you’re right. They’re even cuter than last time.”

Grabbing one of the toys they had, he played with one of them enthusiastically until the puppy seemed to exhaust itself. There was a brief moment where it tried hard to keep up but then the next thing you knew, it was fast asleep on the floor. Laughing, you pointed at it before grinning at Hoseok.

“Oh my god, it’s you when you’re drunk.”

That gets a playful scowl but he just shrugs, reaching over to rub Choco’s ears to make sure he didn’t feel left out by it all. The labrador’s long tail beats against the floor tiredly, almost like he can’t be bothered to do it and you smirk at the sight. No doubt all the animals in the house are feeling a little tired and overwhelmed with all the excitement that’s been happening.

Finally, though, the puppies all seem to lose their energy and start to fall asleep wherever they are. Soon enough, you’re surrounded by bundles of fluff that are all twitching in their sleep, the silence pleasant after all their noise.

Hoseok carefully, and slowly, lifts Ciri into his lap. Her colouring was more cream than the rest of them, the others skewing more towards an almost golden tan. It had been part of the reason he’d named her Ciri. Her character in the show, video game and book series was infamous for her ash-blonde hair.

She doesn’t wake up, even as he takes off the coloured collar that had indicated whose puppy she was and replaces it with the one you’d both bought. The tag clunks loudly against the metal ring, causing you both to pause in fear that you’ve woken the others up but none of them stirs.

Finally, he shuffles back until he’s resting against the couch next to you, Ciri sleeping soundly in his arms and looks at you with a bright grin. The sheer amount of affection and happiness in that expression makes your heart physically ache, causing you to press a hand to it without realising.

“Ahh, we have a dog!” He whispers, eyes dancing as he tilts until he’s leaning heavily against you. His head rests on your shoulder and you smile, kissing his hair and just inhaling deeply. The smell of him always makes you feel content and relaxed, but even more so right now after all the chaos of the puppies for the last fifteen minutes.

“We do. Happy?” Nodding, he looks up at you before carefully reaching and cupping your cheek. His hands are rougher than his aunts, but you lean into the touch happily. There’s a brief pause before he kisses you, the movement soft and gentle with no real pressure. It’s more of an ‘I’m-happy’ kiss than anything else and you reciprocate it with ease.

The two of you stay in comfortable silence after that, just stroking and admiring Ciri for a while with no inclination to move just yet. You didn’t want to take her from her family so soon, even if you were her new family now. She should get to play with them all one last time before she goes.

“God, if you told college Hoseok that in a decade he’d been in a long-term relationship with a job, a house, a car, a dog and a cat...well let’s just say that laughing would have been the politest thing he could have done.”

“You know, I was thinking something like that earlier. I don’t think my old me would even recognise me now. But I think that’s for the better. I like who I am now, where I am now.” Stroking Ciri’s velvet-soft ears, you don’t see the fond smile on Hoseok’s face.

“I love you.” Smiling shyly, you take the chance to lean against him now and rest your head. Gently, you poke at his arm in your silent language, letting him know that you reciprocate before sighing contentedly.

For once, you finally felt completely at ease.

[anextraordinarymuse]

Why I think Elizabeth will choose Nathan

(AKA let’s scream about this together because apparently it’s just going to be stuck in my head until I share it)

So, there are actually two different classes of reasons why I think Elizabeth and Nathan will end up together: one that’s motivated by the characters and one that’s motivated by the editing and writing choices ( the way scenes are shot, the common themes we see in the show and even the dialogue itself). I’m going to try to talk about it all in one post, but it might get long (and I might decide to split it up, we’ll see). 

Under a read more because it gets long.

In no order, and I will forget many points I’m sure ... 

Elizabeth sought out Nathan. Granted, her initial reasons for doing so had nothing to do with romance or courtship, but I still think it’s important to note that Nathan did not seek out an acquaintance with Elizabeth. Even once they were introduced and might have occasion to speak and get to know each other, it was Elizabeth who drove that particular wagon forward. Well, and Allie since she was kind enough to get herself in trouble a few times and force them into a conversation.

Nathan and Elizabeth are presented as a united front/partners/etc very early on by giving Allie problems that require an approach from both her parent and her teacher (i.e. Nathan and Elizabeth talking to Allie about why it’s wrong to take things from the other kids). It takes almost no time for the show to demonstrate that Nathan and Elizabeth’s inherent ideals are aligned, and Elizabeth states very early on that she’s impressed by Nathan’s parenting.

Nathan and Elizabeth show each other more vulnerability very early on that we see with Elizabeth and Lucas. It’s like the second or third episode that Nathan even shows up in that he shares the story of his sister dying and him raising Allie, and it leads to a moment of vulnerability between Nathan and Elizabeth. This trend only continues from there.

Nathan is a Mountie so there’s kind of no way to avoid this, but it’s established very early that Elizabeth goes to him for help and trusts that he will fix things/find people/solve problems. But, this actually starts with Elizabeth helping Nathan find Allie on her first day of school when she doesn’t show up. So, they’re showing us that not only are these people equal partners, but that they also learn that they can trust and depend on one another pretty much from the get go. This is a big deal, especially with Elizabeth. Also, I think we know by now that she is big on trust, dependability, stability, and honor - so Nathan is bound to get her attention because he’s basically exactly what she’s drawn to. 

Nathan and Elizabeth are both basically public servants. There is a sense of duty to their professions that they share and that creates a bond between them. I think this bond is absent with Lucas and Elizabeth because Lucas is more of a business man than a public servant (which is totally fine, of course). 

Lucas (indirectly) put Elizabeth in a dangerous situation - that Nathan rescued her from. This is both a character driven and a writer’s room choice that makes me think that Elizabeth will choose Nathan, because this definitely a call back to all of the times that Jack saved Elizabeth. The situation is similar to when Elizabeth and Julie are kidnapped and Jack rides back to save them: Elizabeth and Lucas are being held at gunpoint and Nathan comes in for the rescue. I’d consider this a very deliberate choice on the writers’ part that highlights two points of interest. One is that Nathan has that hero impulse that Jack had (and that Elizabeth values and appreciates), and the other is a little more indirect and hidden. Lucas is the reason that Elizabeth was in that situation, and yet from the outside or a romantic standpoint, Lucas is the safer option because he doesn’t have a career that puts him in danger. This is an interesting  example of displayed danger vs perceived safety. 

The first man out of Lucas and Nathan to interact with little Jack is Nathan. Nathan takes notice of him in a way that is natural to someone who likes kids - he’s also the first person we see holding Jack (and Elizabeth melts faster than a plate of butter in the hot sun watching that, she’s freaking glowing when she sees that). This doesn’t mean Lucas is bad with kids or doesn’t want them, just that the writers made a conscious decision to show Nathan interacting with little Jack and highlighting that he’s also a single parent. Another score for Elizabeth and Nathan being equals and sharing things. 

Nathan and Elizabeth share some very sweet and romantically charged moments in the Christmas episode, and you know how this show likes their Christmas episodes. We not only see some shy flirting between Nathan and Elizabeth, we also see some foreshadowing of their future family when Elizabeth and Allie are telling Nathan where to put the Christmas tree and then the three of them decorating it together. 

 Elizabeth truly, genuinely doesn’t like it when Nathan is upset with her/giving her the cold shoulder/shutting her out. Her face totally gives her away. 

Elizabeth interacts with Nathan in important places: the Mountie office, her home, and the school house. Those three locations hold a lot of emotion and importance for Elizabeth, so I think it’s worth noting. At least in the case of the school house and the Mountie office, it feels natural at this point to see Elizabeth and Nathan together/interacting in those spaces. 

We’ve gotten a lot of family-centric content from the Elizabeth and Nathan relationship, and basically none from the Elizabeth and Lucas relationship. Elizabeth has a relationship with Allie outside of Nathan, but she also helps Nathan deal with Allie’s struggles and behaviors. AND, she helps Nathan with his own unresolved family issues (his anger with his father and unwillingness to believe anything good of him until Elizabeth encourages him to check out his claims of innocence). Juxtapose that with the first time that Elizabeth meets Lucas’s mom and she basically drops a bomb in Elizabeth’s lap and then asks her to keep it a secret from Lucas, which drives a wedge between Lucas and Elizabeth. 

Nathan makes inroads with Elizabeth’s friends and family (kind of without meaning to, honestly). He knows Lee and Rosemary and is friendly with them (in fact, he teams up with Lee in like episode one when they’re investigating the disappearance of Lee’s payroll, but we really see him on friendly terms with Bill. Now, again, this is somewhat unavoidable since Bill insists on doing sheriff work and Nathan’s a Mountie, but we see that Bill is also concerned with Nathan’s emotional state and reaches out to him when he needs some friendship. (I’m thinking specifically of the axe cutting scene when Nathan learns that Elizabeth is out of town with Lucas and Bill comes to chop wood with him because he knows Nathan is upset. It’s such a sweet scene). Lucas is friendly with these people too, but Nathan is literally putting down roots with the people that are important in Elizabeth’s life. Again, it might be unavoidable to some extent since Nathan is bound to create bonds with the people he’s duty bound to protect.

We get to see Nathan and Elizabeth argue. This is so important to me, and I think important to the characters and the relationship as well. Being comfortable and secure enough with one another to argue is crucial to a healthy relationship. Also worth noting here is that while they argue, they do it in a way that is not harmful (i.e. they don’t accuse or attack each other or resort to verbal jabs. They call attention to the behaviors that they don’t agree with without making it an attack on the person a la Nathan being upset with Elizabeth for running out into the storm and endangering herself, and Elizabeth calling Nathan out on shutting her out when he was jealous).

There’s more, but I’ve been working on this for longer than I want to mention, so I’m going to end it there. I might add to it later when my brain starts working again. As always, feel free to add your thoughts!

[unholyhelbig]

Title: The Victorian

Ship: Jemma Simmons/ Daisy Johnson

Summary: Jemma Simmons is offered a position as a local biologist in Georgetown South Carolina, effectively moving her family across the country to a southern-style victorian house. Strange things start to happen and they’re suddenly pulled into a supernatural nightmare. With the help of a coworker, the next-door neighbors, and a renowned Ghost Hunting team, the Simmons/ Johnson household fight against forces unseen.

The house loomed over the inlet. Its white exterior had been mossed over in some areas, sharp and green compared to the off-white paneling. Soft orange hummingbird vines hid any blemishes, their green tendons twisting through the delicate lattice that moved over the left side of the home.

There was a worn stone birdbath and a deep green hedge that lined the back of the property. Past that was a deck that moved into the watery swamps that smelled thickly of fish and saltwater. Even through the car, Daisy could smell it, and her chest swelled with the familiarity of the ocean.

Jemma had a smile across her face. It was warm and welcoming and a little prideful. This was their house, even if they hadn’t seen it until now. There were pictures but it didn’t’ give the southern style home any justice, with its wrap-around porch and large bay windows.

The driveway was gravel and she winced as she pulled the front wheels of their SUV over the dip, welcoming the back wheels with another bump. She stared up at the canopy of trees, willows with seeping Spanish moss, and struggled to keep her focus on her movements. Jemma didn’t’ say a thing, if she noticed, too entranced herself.

“I didn’t’ think it would be this,” Daisy trailed off, bringing the car to a stop.

“Magnificent? Archaic? Stepford wife?”

“Yes,”

She settled for all of the descriptions. She had always wanted a big home and this was a far cry from their two-bedroom in Los Angeles. It was half the price too. There was enough room for her own office and a library because even Ayla enjoyed curling up and flipping through her mothers' books.

Daisy could imagine a tire swing and a nice coat of paint, and the sweet southern breeze seeping through the back screened-in sunroom. She glanced back at the girl, her head leaning against the window and soft rhythmic breaths filling the silence. The jostling of the car hadn’t deterred her from sleep, and neither did the sudden attention trained on her.

“Beautiful too. Kind of… haunted-looking?”

“Oh, don’t start with that. Ghosts aren’t real, and if they are, it’s just”

“Science we don’t’ understand yet, yes sweetheart, I know” Daisy finished her wife’s sentence with a loving smile.

Jemma smiled back and the gesture was warmer than the South Carolina air. She could smell the floral trumpets that lined the wall and gravel crunched under her feet as she emerged from the driver’s side of the car. There was a thick sheen of sweat already forming against her brow.

She rounded to the backseat and opened it with enough gentleness that Ayla didn’t’ stir. She had also become victim to the heat; small whisps of blonde hair clung to her forehead and she breathed in with a little bit more force than before, but still, she didn’t wake from her sleep as Daisy pulled the five-year-old from her car seat and hugged her close.

One shoe had been toed off during the drive here and Ayla’s feet dangled at Daisy’s side as she shifted her to her hip and Jemma shouldered the overnight bag that they had packed for all three of them. They knew it would be a long trip, and it had been, but the moving truck hadn’t beat them here and they figured they would make do with a duffel bag of clothes most worn.

“Darn, I must have the keys here somewhere” Jemma mumbled after they braved the aching steps and stood under the slightly shaded porch. It would be nice for rocking chairs, or string lights.

Daisy’s mind was racing with possibility, even when the door did creak open to reveal a dark and cooling interior from the late ’50s. It had vast cherrywood flooring and a stained-glass side window that caught the sun and drowned the grained wood in color.

There was a long oak staircase and a dining room that had an old table in its center, but no chairs. At least Daisy considered it to be a table. It was covered in a white sheet that was equally covered in dust. Jemma closed the door behind them and looked up at the vaulted ceiling that seemed to stretch until the second-floor landing.

Ayla shifted in her arms and gripped her little hand around the excess fabric of the blue cotton button-down that Daisy wore. She whimpered; nose pressed close to the inside of her mother's neck. The cold had gotten to her and Daisy didn’t want to admit that it instantly dried any damp part of her skin.

“It’s charming,” Jemma sounded out “Needs some love, but certainly not something we didn’t’ account for.”

“Needs some light too,” Daisy said as she stepped further into the house.

The living area was a lot better; it swam with that very light that she was hoping for. She figured that they would set up the air mattress in the trunk right in this room. There were already floral print curtains that could be drawn to keep the nightly creatures from peering in, and the warmth flowing through the two bay windows had begun to thaw her skin.

There was another white sheet, covering a blocky object like a tacky ghost. “A bookcase?”

“A piano,” Jemma corrected “You can see the pedal under the right edge. It’s an old one too. I can’t imagine why anyone would leave it behind.”

Daisy didn't want to entertain the idea of anything causing abandonment other than pure laziness. She wouldn't want to lug a piano onto a moving truck in this kind of Southern heat either. Her arms were starting to ache- Ayla wasn’t as small as she used to be, and she got the nagging urge to wake the girl.

Jemma seemed to read her mind as she always did. She carefully pulled the girl into her arms resulting in a tiny nose scrunch and a little groan, but still not fully awake. Traveling must have taken it completely out of the kid, and truthfully, it took everything out of the mothers too.

They had eaten at the hotel this morning, Daisy demolishing three pancakes while Jemma limited herself to a banana and a few bites of Ayla’s slowly softening cereal. She didn’t’ do well with the winding mountains of Tennessee and had clenched her eyes the entire time, gripping what she called the panic handle.

Other than that, they had shared a bag of trail mix and Daisy squeezed the untouched applesauce pouch into her mouth to quell the rumbling in her stomach, but that had been at the border of North and South and she was getting agitated with hunger now. She considered Jemma and her daughter were more than halfway there themselves.

“I think I saw a Chinese restaurant on the way into town,” She offered, rolling her sore shoulder around “What do you say to an old tradition?”

Jemma smiled again, and it brightened the room even more. The first place they rented together didn’t have power yet and it was above a take-out place that had the best Chicken Lo Mein. They lit a bunch of candles and ate on the floor, a fell asleep in each other’s arms despite the less-than-ideal circumstances.

Daisy took this as confirmation and placed a chaste kiss on her wife’s cheek before fishing her car keys from her back pocket again and stepping into the stifling heat. The door fell shut behind her and her stare instantly fell on a woven basket filled with fresh apples and baked muffins. The scent made her stomach plunge even further.

And there was a man, quite a large one, stalking away from the gift. His shoulders had a wide span and his dark skin glistened in whatever sun the trees allowed through. Daisy stifled a smile of her own.

“Thank you!” She called out

The man turned quickly around. His face was kind despite his large stature and he let out a groan. “See, you weren’t supposed to catch me leaving this. It was going to be an anonymous welcome from the community.”

Daisy walked down the front porch and the man met her halfway, that warm expression still on his face. He wore a flannel over a sweat-dampened tank top despite the heat. He was even taller in person, his hands stained in what Daisy could guess is grease.

“It was my wife’s idea, she saw you guys pull in and threw something together last minute. She’s not used to having neighbors.” He let out a soft chuckle “I told her that ya’ll have L.A plates and that’s not how it works there, but she refused to listen.”

“No, it’s really nice, actually. I’m Daisy… like the flower.” She stuck out her hand.

The man’s own engulfed hers entirely, it was calloused but firm “Mack like the- oh hell, the food?”

“Nice to meet you, Mack. We really do appreciate it, I guess Southern Hospitality is a real thing?”

“Oh absolutely. Look- I’ve gotta get back home, we live right across the way, but on that little note wedged between whatever fruit she could scrounge up, is an invitation to dinner tomorrow night. It’s up to you if you want to accept it or not”

“We’ll be there,” Daisy said. And they would.

[imnotoverlyobsessive]

Looks Like Someone Picked a Whole Bushel of Oopsie Daisies: Chapter One

ooo chapter one! chapter two is on the way! big thanks to @edward-or-ford for all the help brainstorming and editing!

Chapter One: The Dating Issue   

What a tragic attraction; what’s the point of romance?- Neon Trees, Teenager in Love

Mabel Caroline Pines, age 17, had never had a boyfriend.

It’s not like she didn’t want one. She totally did. Her parents were both super encouraging. Sometimes she thought they might even be pushing her into dating.

There were two problems with this. The first was that Mabel had a soulmark, and nobody wanted to go on a date with somebody who had a soulmark. Why bother? Clearly their soulmate is already in their life, so there’s not much point.

Mabel had always had a soulmark. For as long as she could remember, there it was, on her wrist. Taunting her. Mocking her. Hahaha, laughing at her inability to find her stupid soulmate, wherever he’d run off to. She’d just come home from preschool one day and there it was, her mom had told her. Whoever her soulmate was, she didn’t remember him. He obviously went to her school (her lack of withdrawal symptoms told her that) and she was forever trying to peek at boys’ wrists to see if it was them. It wasn’t, but she tried anyway.

The second problem was that Mabel was desperately, hopelessly, stupidly, ridiculously in love with someone already. She’d been in love with him for years, which was the opposite of smart, because he was the last person in the world who would ever look at her that way. Like, ever. Ever ever.

Even so, she waited eagerly for each of his texts, staying up late more often than not just to talk to him. He’d put a beehive in her stomach, and the bees went freakin’ nuts whenever she was around him or even thought about him (which was basically all the time, Christ, get it together, Mabel!). So basically her stomach was all buzz buzz buzz all day long.

He made her so nervous and so happy, but he also made her incredibly sad. She knew he couldn’t see her like that. There was no way. So she’d been stuck pining after him since she was, like, fourteen. Which, whatever. She was used to it.

She was on her way to see him, as it happened. Or rather, she and her parents were. Her parents always accompanied them, and watched them together constantly.

Mabel went to visit her brother (yeah, okay, she’s in love with her brother, shut up, it is what it is) in Gravity Falls, Oregon (or Mount Hood for a ski trip if it was warm) multiple times a year. Usually once every few months. She didn’t know Dipper as well as she would’ve liked to. At least, not in person. Sure, they texted all the time, and they even Skyped a decent amount, but she didn’t get to hang out with him unless her parents were watching them. Which was suuuuuper weird, but her parents had always been weird about some stuff.

Most parents didn’t want their daughters dating. This was not the case with Mabel’s parents. They always seemed annoyed when she didn’t have a date for Homecoming. On Valentine’s Day, Mabel’s mom always asked if any of the boys had confessed to her (they hadn’t; everyone knew Mabel had a soulmark at this point, despite the social taboo against discussing such things), and was visibly disappointed at Mabel’s annual response of “no”.

Mabel got the feeling that if a boy did ever ask her out, her parents would expect her to go out with him whether she liked him or not.

“Just give him a chance, honey,” her dad had told her once when she asked what to do if a boy she didn’t like asked her out.

Mabel’s mom had nodded, saying, “you might like him more than you thought!”

Mabel didn’t have much of a desire to give anybody a chance if she wasn’t interested. Why waste each other’s time? Frankly, she’d been longing after Dipper so long she didn’t think she had it in her to even try thinking about another boy that way.

Her phone’s text tone sounded, and Mabel felt a smile grace her lips.

Dipper: are you here yet?

She stifled a giggle and texted him back.

Me: not yet, silly. I think we’ve got like fifteen minutes left, so we’re close

Dipper: well hurry up

She was thinking of a reply when several minutes passed and he texted again.

Dipper: I miss you

She smiled. It was really freakin’ hard not to feel hopeful when he said things like that. He doesn’t see you that way, Mabel! Get over it!  

Me: I miss you, too, Bro Bro!

“Mabel,” her mom said, getting her attention. Her head snapped up.

“Yeah?”

“You sure you’re good to stay at your friend’s tonight?” Mrs. Pines asked. “We don’t want to impose on the Chius, and it’s your first night here since last year.”

Mabel bounced excitedly in her seat at the thought of a sleepover with her friends as soon as she got into town. Her friends, Dipper, Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford, Dipper- all her favorite Gravity Falls peeps in one place!

“Absotively, Momster!” Mabel nodded emphatically. “It’s been waaaaaay too long since I’ve gotten to hang with my GF GFs! Plus, I’m seventeen now! I’m old enough to properly find my soulmate, y’know!” She learned forward conspiratorially, her seatbelt locking against her neck and completely missing the way her parents flinched. “And I know the girls have got some major boy talk to dish out that they’ll only share in person!”

“Remember, Mabel,” said Mr. Pines firmly. “No-““Touching the Dipster, yeah yeah, I know,” she grumbled. “Stupid I’ll-die-if-I-touch-my-twin allergy.”

Mrs. Pines rolled her eyes as they pulled up to the Mystery Shack. “Okay, let’s go say hi.”

Standing in front of the Mystery Shack, however, was Dipper, one hand in his pocket and the other scrolling through his phone.

He looked up when they pulled into the clearing the Shack was in, and a huge grin split across his face when he saw their car. Mabel unlocked her seatbelt before the car had fully stopped.

“Mabel, wait-“ before Mrs. Pines could even finish her sentence, Mabel had opened the door and jumped out of the car. “...until the car has stopped.”

Mabel had barely even heard her, tripping over her feet to get to her brother. Squealing, Mabel stopped several feet away from Dipper, squirming excitedly.

“Dipper!” She squealed.

He put his phone into his hoodie and shoved his hand in his pockets. “Hey, Mabes,” he grinned at her.

His eyes were kinda twitchy, and he wasn’t looking right at her. He was kinda… looking over her shoulder, or at the car, or at her parents, but never her. Was that… nervousness? Nah, of course not. He’s got no reason to be nervous. Unless maybe he got her or their parents a risky gift and he’s not sure how they’ll feel about it? But no, Dipper knows what they like, he’s got no reason to be nervous.

Mabel dismissed the thought.

The thing about Mabel one must understand is that Mabel is a hugger. She hugs everyone, and not being allowed to was very difficult. Risk of dying or not, this no-touching thing was the absolute      worst    . Not being able to hug Dipper after not seeing him for months was awful. Her parents had been super extra adamant about it this time, too. Even more so than they usually were.

One time, Mabel saw an episode of this show where this guy brought dead people back to life by touching them and if he touched them a second time they died permanently, but the guy had this girlfriend he wanted to hold hands with and stuff and they worked around it. Why couldn’t they do something like that? Mabel’s parents had said no, though.

Which sucked because Mabel really wanted to touch Dipper. Like, she really     really wanted to touch Dipper. Seeing him now, being just a few feet from him, not touching him felt… wrong. All wrong. There was something very very wrong with this no-touching situation.

The longer she stood there not touching him, the more it felt like there were needles under her skin, poking at her from the inside.

Their parents stepped out of the car after what seemed like an eternity (in reality, it was about thirty seconds or less), breaking Mabel out of her stupor. “Okay, kids, let’s bring the presents inside,” said Mrs. Pines. “Dipper, can you help? I’m going to go tell your uncles we’re here.” Dipper nodded, walking around to the back of the car with Mabel in tow.

“Ugh, Dip,” Mabel groaned. “The drive was so long and after school just got out yesterday sitting for the whole freakin’ car ride was the worst!”

She was trying really hard not to blush. Honestly, she was! It’s just that from behind, she could see his butt so well when he walked, and he had just the nicest butt ever and it was soooooo hard not to stare at it. Anyone would’ve stared! Really! It was physically impossible not to.

“I know, you were telling me that the whole way here,” he turned to face her as they reached the trunk, a grin on his face.

Ugh. Not that grin! No, anything but that grin! It made her heart flutter and the bees swarm! Dammit, Dipper, couldn’t you be a little less attractive? Just a little bit? For the good of humanity! Okay, really just Mabel, but she was part of humanity and she deserved a normal brother/sister relationship that didn’t involve her staring at his butt when he walked, right?

Mrs. Pines had opened the trunk, grabbed a meticulously wrapped present, and stepped back, waiting patiently. Reaching into the trunk, Mabel went to grab the same present that Dipper did. They were so close, standing side by side, and their hands nearly touched. They both pulled back abruptly, each looking down to mutter a quiet apology.

It was so hard to resist inching closer to him. Even with years of practice, somehow, it had gotten harder. God, how had it gotten harder? She’d gotten used to ignoring the suffocating need to touch him, hadn’t she? Jesus, Mabel, get a grip, girl!

He smiled slightly at her again, and Mabel thought her heart might stop.

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Once Bitten, Twice Stupid prt 200

200

Standing in the childhood home of Keith, Lance felt as if he was trespassing on the site of ancient and important ruins. The shack had been made by Jeong, according to Krolia, his little anger muffin inheriting none of his dad’s skill. After 20 years of abandonment, there wasn’t a space that was coated in thick dust or cobwebs. As much as Lance wanted to explore, he felt it’d be best if he remained outside so as not breath in anything nasty, or be reduced to a coughing fit... Especially not after the extra bumpy drive in which Krolia seemed to find every single rut and dip in the dirt road.

Having the memory of the living space imbedded in his mind, made it easy to fill in spaces with his imagination. Keith and his dad would have totally eaten in front of the TV. Keith would have played with the long discarded toys still left on the floor. No one had packed the house up. It still looked ready for Keith and Jeong to walk back into their lives, if you didn’t take into account the dust. Just how it’d remained standing astonished him more than the fact they were at Keith’s childhood house. This was the place Krolia and Jeong had called home. This was where they’d been happiest. And now it was... empty and hollow. Waiting for it’s owner that’d never come home.

Hearing Keith sneezing, Lance turned to very carefully lean on the front pole that supported a slim roof over the front door. His fiancé bound to have inhaled enough dust now that his nose would itching madly. God. His fiancé... Warmth swelled in his chest as his cheeks dusted red. Yeah, it’d be a long while before he didn’t feel giddy at mentally calling Keith his fiancé. He’d waited, not sure it’d happen quite so soon, and yet, on top of having now known him for 365 days, Keith had agreed. Lance accidentally true to his sentimental heart, not realising the date until he’d seen the date on his phone earlier.

A few moments later, Keith came out covered head to toe in cobwebs and dust, nose wrinkling as he examined himself in the light of day. How lucky he was to have this idiot who resembled a cobweb brush

“This is insane. Dust should have a limit. You should be allowed a maximum quota and once you’ve reached it, it shouldn’t be allowed to settle”

Trying to pull cobweb from his hair, Keith rubbed it between the thick locks. How he’d managed to survive being an adult as long as he did, was kind of a miracle

“Come here, you. I’ll do it for you”

Obediently Keith stood still as Lance dusted him off. Both of them wanted to say something to the other, yet neither knew what to say. Lance didn’t want to push Keith into talking. Not when he had to process the fact he was once again back where everything had started for him. The home they’d had in Cuba had been brought by family, Lance hadn’t had a chance to go there with him Mami and do the whole “I remember... thing”. He wondered if Keith had remembered anything at all, yet suspected he didn’t from the look in his eyes. Guilt didn’t suit Keith. He much preferred him smiling, so he did the only thing he could think of to make Keith smile and kissed on the tip of the nose.

Rubbing where Lance had kissed, Keith’s nose twitched. A sneeze forming then getting stuck as his fiancé partially opened his mouth only for nothing to come out

“The internet says if you say “sneeze”, it should help”

With an unimpressed look, Keith’s breath caught before finally sneezing ridiculously hard. The werewolf wiping at his nose as Lance watched, kind of finding it cute. Not the sneeze but the sheer unhappiness over how the sneeze had gotten stuck then the force of it

“Better?”

“Mhmm. Don’t go inside, it’s dusty”

“Thanks for the warning, babe. I’ll keep that in mind as I watch from out here”

“That’s why you’re the smart one... we...”

Keith sneezed twice, just as hard as that first sneeze before groaning and rubbing his nose on his hand

“We should have aired the shack out”

They couldn’t go back in time and do that now, plus they’d have to remember to close the place back up. Krolia had found the spare house key, buried inside a bottle that was buried in where Lance assumed once was a small garden under the front window. Sand had swallowed it all. Then they’d found lock had seized, obviously, and needed a little “help” to open. It was sad

“It’s too late now. How do feel being back?”

“I... thought maybe I remembered like fragments, but I don’t remember much of anything. Mum does... she’s going from room to room... but I feel like a stranger”

Keith was on the edge of tears. Lance taking his face in his hands

“It’s okay not to remember everything or anything immediately. It’s okay because being here means you get to make some new memories. I know the dust is depressing, but under that, I see a home where you played on the floor. Where you and your dad eat in front of the TV. Where he tucked you into bed every night. It feels depressing and cold right now, probably completely unimaginable that you lived her, but this is another part of knowing your dad. We should take some photos. It doesn’t matter if you’re not up to looking at them now, at least you’ll have them for when you’re ready”

“I wanted everything to come back”

“I know, babe. Maybe some things will once your brain starts putting the pieces together. The important thing is not to be mad at yourself for something you have no control over”

Keith snorted, before sighing

“I don’t know what to do”

“Let the house air a bit, then take photos. Mum’s stories might be hard to hear, but they’re all part of the puzzle”

Trying his hardest to be supportive, Keith simply rolled his eyes at his words

“I think I really fucking hate puzzles”

“Nah. I bet given the chance, you’d be a total ho for puzzles”

“I’m a ho for you”

“I know. You know, it’s kind of nice out here���

There was no one around, other than the other 3. No cars. No noisy traffic. No people... it was essentially a house in the middle of small desert. Weeds seem to even give the grounds around the house a miss, and there were no trees which meant no birds or animals around. What had Joe been through that had led him to such an isolated life? Or was it because people were racist dicks that he’d chosen to carve out his own small part of the world. To think in a way Lance was kind of like him. With his house out where no one was. Living alonish... Now the house was filled with noises, he liked it much better.

“The location does have its charms”

A peaceful existence was all Lance had wanted. With Keith around, Joe’s existence would have become all more happier

“Probably not when you’re a little kid, but you would have had all Joe’s attention when he was home”

“Because there’s a great lot of other things to do”

“Babe, you’re still a handful as it is. I bet he loved every moment he spent in this home with you”

“Maybe”

“Nope. “Definitely”, is the word you’re after. I know from personal experience... well, after you stopped thinking I was trying to trick into thinking you hadn’t turned”

Keith groaned

“I’m never going to live that down”

“Nope. But hey, you’re the cutest not turned vampire around, so it worked out in the end. How’s your ego feeling?”

“I don’t know. I think it’s sad, but mum keeps talking and it doesn’t know what to do”

“If it gets too much, let me know. I can totally fake sick if you need”

Keith kissed his palm, the action soft and sweet, even with his dirty face

“You’re too good to me”

Chuckling, Lance sensed an impending loop on the horizon. Keith could say what he wanted, yet Lance knew he was the one lacking. His fiancé was so fucking strong

“We’re not going into that again. I love you, babe. You should go back in if you feel up to it”

“Will you come?”

He hadn’t wanted to intrude, or face the dust, but Keith was asking so he couldn’t say no

“Sure...”

*

Keith let himself be lost in thought on the drive back from his father’s shack. When he’d been a teen, he’d been so desperate to find his way back there. Now he’d been there, the place was... depressing. Krolia had scavenged up the few photos that mould hadn’t destroyed, as well as a few other small pieces. Shiro kept casting glances at him, and Lance had a coughing fit so hard that Keith winced for his fiancé.

He’d come to find out about his dad... He now knew things he hadn’t known before, but it’d also reinforced that his family was nothing like Lance’s. Lance would have kept up the maintenance of the shack. He would have come out every so often to wipe away the layers of dust lovingly and air the place out. Any repairs that needed doing, he would have done it all without a second thought. Heck, Lance had had his eyes on all the things wrong with the place like he was daydreaming about fixing them all... and now his fiancé was snoring softly as he leaned into Keith in the back of Shiro’s sedan. At least they had a room. Shiro, Krolia, and Curtis were all going to have to check in while covered in filth, whereas he could whisk Lance away and clean them both up.

Slowly they made their way back to town, and Lance managed to stay asleep right up to Krolia jerking the car to a stop in the hotel parking lot. Blurry sleepy eyes blinked up at him at him, Lance realising he’d fallen asleep and going to apologise. Keith kissing the words away. He didn’t need to apologise for anything. Not as far as Keith was concerned. Having Lance with him for all of this was more than enough. Undoing his belt, Shiro turned back to grin at them like he’d never seen them snuggled up before

“You guys need any help?”

“Nah, I’ve got him. You guys alright to check in?”

“We’ll work it out. Want to grab some lunch?”

Lunch would mean talking and Keith didn’t want a concerned Shiro questioning what he did and didn’t remember. He was too busy being mad at himself for not remembering

“I think I’m going to take a nap and grab something later. Today was... enough”

“As long as you’re okay”

Keith rolled his eyes

“Yes, dad. We’re fine. Come on, babe. It’s shower time”

Lance’s staggering lasted a few moments before Keith lifted him off his feet. Steps and stairs were bad enough for Lance at the best of times. Sighing at him, Lance let himself be carried, Keith happy he was being so obedient about it. Carrying Lance made him feel strong. Not that he hadn’t been able to carry him before the turn, just now he had the strength to carry him with the surety he wouldn’t be dropping him.

Balancing his fiancé on his knee, Keith fumbled the key into the lock, opening it to find Lenny had dumped box after box on their bed. His ego hated that their space had been violated, yet opted to sulk rather than be angry because it worried for their tired mate. He’d liked to do things for Lance before, now he felt a rush of pride for everything right he did... Egos’ really were pathetically fragile and in need of constant reassurance... a thought at which his ego huffed unimpressed. Maybe he should buy the damn thing a trophy and let it bask until all it’s pettiness had left his system? If only he’d be that lucky. How could his ego possibly be upset that his father had died when it had nothing to do with it?

When Lance went down for a nap, Keith was just about comfortably cuddled. He’d gotten everything they’d needed, and filled the bedside table with it, so Shiro calling his name only made him groan. Naturally Shiro wanted to talk. This was Shiro. The second he felt any kind of emotion, his brother wanted to know all about it. As harsh it sounded to him in his head, Keith wanted a break from learning about his father. He wanted a time out to process. But no. Said time out wasn’t happening, despite how tempting it was to stay cuddled up with his smoking hot fiancé who’s arse was perfectly aligned with his crotch. Cock blocked by his dumb brother, he and Lance would have their revenge later.

Tugging on a shirt, Keith dragged himself out the hotel room to find Shiro leaning against the railing. The view was of the road and the couple of cars parked across the road that belonged to holiday goers. Boring as heck

“You wanted to talk?”

Knowing he sounded a tad too blunt, Keith knew Shiro well enough to know Shiro knew it was unintentional

“Yeah, kiddo. Is now okay?”

“Sure. Lance’s sleep pattern’s all over the place. He’ll be out until he has to pee again”

“That sounds rough”

“It is... I mean for him it’s rough. Not much I can do to change things”

Joining Shiro in leaning against the balcony, this was better than having him inside with all the files on his father. Now the pair of them were stuck staring at the boring road

“Keith... You’d tell me right. You’d tell me if you weren’t okay”

And there it was. Shiro’s worry. They’d grown almost radio silent apart... There was a time Keith could barely go a few hours without talking to Shiro... Mumbling awkwardly, Keith decided the railing was much more interesting to stare at

“You’re worrying too much... I’m not a snot nosed little brat anymore”

Shiro didn’t disagree, yet he also didn’t agree or praise Keith for his emotional growth. Instead his brother slung his arm around his shoulder and gave a tight squeeze

“I miss you, kiddo. I know how you feel about losing your father. So I know that none of this is easy for you”

“I... I didn’t feel... I felt like a stranger at the shack. I mean... I learned about my dad... bits and pieces, and I think maybe I’ve got a better idea than before, but I’m tired. I can’t stop thinking about what mum went through... and I can’t stop thinking about dad burning to death. I guess I’m not okay, but Lance has been really good. He’s been really patient with me... mostly... I made him cry yesterday and he ended up yelling at me for my stupidity. All of this feels exhausting”

“Yeah? And your ego?”

“Don’t even go there. We were about two seconds away from me ripping Lenny’s throat out. I can’t... cope with all this stuff about my dad and my ego... I honestly just... want to stop thinking about it right now...”

Kissing the top of Keith’s head, Keith mentally sighed at himself. Shiro had pulled his infamous mind trick and his mouth had moved on its own

“It was pretty confronting to see the shack. I know when I picked you up, all you wanted to do was get back there... I’m sorry it wasn’t what you were expecting”

“I don’t know what I was expecting... but... I keep hearing about dad and I don’t know if I feel any closer to him. I don’t know this place. I don’t know his friends. I don’t know why he chose here of all places. I don’t know... He feels further away than ever”

“That’s not true. He’s still here. A bit of him and a bit of Krolia made you, and I’m pretty damn grateful you’re here”

“I haven’t been much of a brother...”

“You’ve got a lot going on”

Keith shook his head. That was no excuse

“We used to be... so close. Now I can’t even stand the city. Even being here... there’s so many noises. I don’t know how Lance does it. He tells me to be patient. But I don’t want to be patient... I... said something really stupid and I really upset him. I told him maybe it’d all hurt less if I’d died”

Shiro sucked in a shaky breath

“I can see why”

“So can I... I’m just... done with feeling so... feeling that all of this is so much. I couldn’t even say... I didn’t know what to tell dad. I probably would still be standing there staring at his grave if Lance hadn’t given me some of his strength...”

“Kiddo, you’ve always been strong”

Keith gave a dry chuckle. He’d been a fucking moron, too hell bent on being angry to accept he was overthinking absolutely everything and paranoid that he’d never be seen as himself or outside of Krolia, and Shiro’s, shadows

“Right. I was a jerk to Krolia. Hated almost everyone we worked with. Stuffed up missions. Caused trouble for you and Adam...”

He hadn’t been oblivious to the fights between his brother and Adam. Now that he thought about it, they’d missed the anniversary of Adam’s death... He hadn’t... he hadn’t even been with Shiro on the day... Shit. His head had been full of Lance, not... the man who’d tried to father/brother/guide him the best he could by Shiro’s side

“We can stand here and talk about all the things you’ve done wrong, or you can accept that you were a bit of a dick and you want to make amends”

“I wanted to see mum yesterday. Her. You... I don’t know how you made it through... I’m sorry. I should have done more”

Shiro squeezed him again

“You know, it hurts and it’s hard, but in a way, we got through all of this thinking about you. I had you to help me through. Krolia had the thought of your safety and one day meeting you...”

That didn’t make it okay. Keith groaning when thought about his past “anger loaf” self

“I was such a douche canoe”

Shiro chuckled

“That’s a new one”

What was what? His brother doing him a temporary confuse

“What...? Oh... not really. Lance has all sorts of weird sayings for things...”

“He’s really rubbed off on you... Is he okay? He seems really exhausted. It’s not going to be like it was on your birthday weekend, is it? Does he need blood?”

“He’s okay. Coran said he could feed off me and it hasn’t seemed to have any negative effects... We um... he... um... kind of... yeah”

“It that your way of informing me you spent all afternoon in bed and that’s the real reason Lance is exhausted?”

No. That was him narrowly avoiding telling me his brother that Lance had sort of proposed and he’d agreed... and then they’d had amazing sex, stinking up the hotel room comfortably until his idiot family ruined it

“Yeah. You didn’t have to say it out loud. It sounds bad when you put it like that”

“You two couldn’t keep your hands off each other before, I’m hardly surprised...”

The passion was still very much there, but there was definitely less spontaneous bouts these days. Lance had shockingly low self esteem, maybe he should jump him more often? Huffing, Keith sounded more whiny than cranky with his mate

“It’s... not like that. He’s been struggling with his body changing ever since he first started showing. He’s an idiot. He seriously thought his body changing was going to ruin everything. He keeps saying that he’s fat and not sexy because he’s so heavily pregnant. Its total bullshit... Like, he’s... he’s still him. And god, Shiro... the sex is still amazing... the sounds he makes...”

His ego was getting riled up at the thought. Shiro’s scent starting to grate on his senses when his mind wanted his body in bed with his mate... Still, he couldn’t bring himself to simply push Shiro away. He was a walking bundle of contradictions and felt almost like he’d lose his mind from all the going back and forth he was stuck doing

“I’m going to stop you right there. Okay. I get it. You want to be a good boyfriend to Lance. If Coran says it’s safe for you to feed him, than it must be... but I’m still going to worry about it”

“It seems his curse kills my curse. It hasn’t negatively impacted on the twins... but he is drinking so much blood that it’s hard to not worry”

“How much is “so much”?”

Enough to be what they’d thought all vampires drank on a regular basis

“He’s gone from one bag split over three meals a day, to four or five bags a day, with fresh blood on top of it. The pregnancy has taken so much out of him. You can see he’s visibly older looking now, and he’s struggling to put on any weight he’s lost from constantly vomiting”

“That’s...”

“A lot. You know what he’s like. He doesn’t like drinking blood”

Shiro snorted, deciding now he needed to pretty much lean his whole weight against him. His brother was a dick, Keith half thinking of feigning weakness just to watch Shiro trip over his own feet, but his ego wouldn’t let him

“He’s the most “unvampire” vampire we’ve ever come across. A bit like you... you’re not a very “wolf” werewolf”

“Fuck off. Lance says I’m manly and shit”

“Sure, kiddo. A manly werewolf that sits outside his boyfriend’s window and cries his head off. Matt told me all about your first moon”

Fucking Matt. Keith couldn’t remember his first full moon... that wasn’t playing nicely

“Matt needs to be neutered. He’s a fucking menace”

Shiro clicked his finger, pushing off of Keith and turning to face him. His brother’s smile so wide it verged on creepy

“A menace that’s engaged. Or is getting engaged. He came to Platt to pick the ring up. He swore me to secrecy...”

“I can see how seriously you took that”

Arranging his expression as neutral as he could, Keith was annoyed. Couldn’t Matt have literally picked any other goddamn day of the year

“Hey, don’t look at me like that. He decided seeing you and Lance were away for your one year anniversary, it’d be a good time to step up and put a ring on it”

“Rieva would hit you if she could hear you, and what do you mean “our one year anniversary”? We didn’t get together until May”

“Ahhh, baby brother of mine, you met Lance a year ago, yesterday. You know he never forgets. Someone’s in trouble”

Keith now knew the date. Had Lance chosen yesterday for that reason? It was more likely his fiancé barely remembered the days of the week given vacation time moved differently from normal time

“Yeah. You. You’re going to be in trouble if you keep teasing me”

“Awww, little Keefy is cranky”

It took all Keith had not to pick Shiro up and throw him over the balcony railing, then kick down Krolia’s door, grab her, and toss her over to land on top of his brother. Stupid Krolia... that name was definitely going to stick then he’d have to put up with hearing it from everyone.

“Fuck you. I’m going back to Lance”

“Too cool to hang with your big brother?”

“Not when he’s all smelly. Go take a shower already, you’re getting me dirty again”

“Consider these cobwebs of love”

That didn’t even make any sense. Shiro was getting senile in his old age

“You’ve got cobwebs between your ears, old man”

“Come on, Keith. Give your big brother a hug”

Dodging Shiro, Keith put up a very half arsed attempt. Shiro wrapping his arms around his waist and hoisting him up backwards. The torture lasting a few moments before he was placed back down again. His idiot brother wiping himself against him, trying to get off one last cobweb

“There. You’re all nice and webby now”

“You suck. You suck and that was totally abusing your brotherly privileges”

“Yeah, but you love me anyway. Okay, you’re all dirty now, you can go away”

Huffing at Shiro, the werewolf didn’t know why he was smiling so happily about things when he was very clearly outwardly annoyed

“Oh, trust me. I am going. You better remember to bring me a peace offering for this”

“Nah. I told you these are cobwebs of love”

“And I told you you’re old”

Shoving him playfully, Keith lunged for the handle to his and Lance’s room, smoothly opening the door and darting inside before his brother got any other ideas. Poking his tongue out at Shiro, Shiro flipped him off. Both of them smiling at each other in a way that reaffirmed that everything was okay between them. With the chance of him saying something teasably sentimental, Keith shut the door softly in Shiro’s face, before realising his brother had sentenced him to have yet another shower for the day. His big brother really was a big bother.

[not-close-to-straight]

More Than Words (Final)

See end of chapter for notes AND a post credits scene! (or the book version of a post credit scene? Anyway, stay tuned) 

COMPLETED MASTERLIST HERE

*************

One Year Later

“All I’m saying is, I feel like we shouldn’t have to cross international boundaries to see our friend.” Gwen took a hand off the wheel and felt around the backseat for the Costco-sized container of chocolate covered raisins Harry was trying to hoard. “Isn’t there big trees on this side of the border? Pete and Wade couldn’t have settled down under the old Stars and Stripes? I shouldn’t have to renew my passport for this!” 

“Stop trying to steal my food and watch the road.” Harry slapped the other Alpha’s hand away. “There’s moose up here and I don’t really want to meet one face to face.” 

“There’s no moose in Canada.” Johnny snorted. “That’s only an Alaskan thing.” 

Silence in the car as Mary Jane and the two other Alphas swiveled to stare at Johnny in disbelief, and then MJ cleared her throat and grabbed the wheel when Gwen swerved. “Anyway, I think it’s sweet that Peter is literally willing to move countries to be with his mate. And as far as crossing international borders? Gwen we’re only fifteen minutes into Canada, I could just chuck you back over to the States if you are really so bothered by it.” 

“Pete says the only reason they chose Canada is cos all the land on our side is protected.” Harry chimed in. “Guess the government doesn’t really like people building cabins on national forest land and calling it theirs.” 

“Yeah, well it cost me five hundred bucks for my passport so Peter better make this a hell of a visit.” The female Alpha finally snagged the raisins and crammed a triumphant handful into her mouth.  “I expect room and board, three square meals a day and a spending allowance.” 

“You realize they live an entire hour from the nearest town, and the nearest town has one grocery store and one restaurant, right? What are you planning on buying with your spending allowance?” The Omega grabbed the wheel again and cried, “Gwen! Eyes in the road! You are a terrible driver!”

“Complain all you want, but since Harry didn’t want to bring his fancy new car up to the boonies of Canada, it’s either my adventurous driving or twelve hours in a bus.” Gwen retorted. “Quit bitchin’ and use the seat belt, that’s what it's for. Johnny, who are you texting? Do you even get service up here?” 

“Texting Pete to let him know if we don’t make it up for dinner it’s cos Gwen launched us off a corner and into Canadian Lake Eerie.” 

“Really?” Harry waggled his eyebrows. “Not gonna say we hit a reindeer or something?”

“Very funny.” Johnny scowled at them. “Reindeer aren’t real, s’not like we’re gonna run into Rudolph up here.” 

“...he is twenty six years old.” Mary Jane whispered and Gwen snorted a laugh. “Twenty six! It’s a good thing he’s hot and treats me right during heat cos wow. Just wow.” 

***************

***************

“Alpha my Alpha?” Peter hurried out of the cabin in search of his mate, reading through a text from Johnny with one hand and trying-- and failing-- to button one of Wade’s flannels over his shoulders. “Hey, Johnny says they’re about twenty minutes out from the cabin. Oh, he also says that Gwen is a terrible driver and uh--” the Omega grinned. “--he wants to know if reindeer are a real thing because MJ won’t quit laughing at him about it.” 

“I missed most of that.” Wade set a bale of hay down in the corral and clicked his tongue at the horses before turning back to his mate and letting his eyes slide red as he looked the Omega over. “What are you wearing, Pete? You know m’not gonna let you wear that around your friends. Go change.” 

“There’s nothing wrong with what I’m wearing.” the Omega countered primly, nose in the air and fully aware of why his Alpha had something to say about his clothing choices. “I am completely covered and not showing more than a few inches of skin at my neck.” 

“Pete.” 

“You know, you’re lucky I think your old fashioned ‘no one sees my mate but me’ mentality is cute.” Peter bit his lip to hide a smile when the Alpha huffed at him. “I don’t want anyone seeing me but you, either. But there’s no reason for me to change clothes right now. I’m covered and I’m comfortable and I’m--EEK!” 

He yelped when the Alpha yanked him up close and they were suddenly nose to nose, red eyes to dark brown that flickered playfully gold. “Wade! Let go!” 

“I’ll let go when you promise to change into something that isn’t one of my shirts half open over somethin’ so pretty.” Wade undid one of the buttons so he could see the lacy, croppy top camisole his mate had been wearing all morning. “You tryna make me crazy, mate? Really want your friends to show up and see you stuck on me cos I can’t keep my hands off you lookin’ like this?” 

“Oh, are you gonna knot me up in fifteen minutes?” Peter challenged. “Do you think I’m that easy, Alpha?” 

His Alpha growled, low and pointed and hungry and Peter giggled in delight, scrunching his nose and budging close to rub against his mate teasingly. “Tempting, my love. And I suppose I am that easy for you. But what if I wear the shirt buttoned all the way up so no one sees the lace?” 

“And pants. You have to wear pants.” Wade ordered and the Omega conceded, “And pants. Won’t run around in just your shirt and no pants. I promise.” 

“Thank you.” In the year since officially mating, Wade had gotten more outwardly possessive of the little Omega, making sure Peter wore his ring all the time, making sure shirts were always cut low enough to show off the silvered mating bond, insisting that Peter wore his clothing so the Omega would scent like lavender and honeysuckle and him. 

Sometimes Wade apologized for his behavior, like when they’d gone to the store and another Alpha had looked Peter over and Wade snarled loud enough to make the cashier scream. Other times like now, he didn’t apologize at all, only wove his fingers into Peter’s hair and directed the Omega close for a tender, claiming kiss that didn’t let up until his mate was clinging to him and purring softly against his lips. 

“You’re mine, sweetheart.” he rumbled and Peter automatically turned his head so show off his silver mark. “All mine. Every inch of you.” 

“Every inch of me.” Peter promised. “Yours. Always.” and then with a hesitant smile. “But um-- what if you had to share some of me with someone else? Maybe-- maybe most of me? How do you feel about that?” 

And before his mate could snarl at even the thought of sharing, the Omega rushed to finish. “It would be someone tiny! And you know… diaper wearing?” 

“Diaper wearing.” Wade repeated. confusion written across his face. “What does that mean, Pete? What are you talking about?” 

“It means that uh-- well it means this.” Peter reached for his Alpha’s hand and pressed it on to his own stomach, eyebrows raised and expression uncertain as he waited for Wade to figure it out. “Get it?” 

It took the Alpha another moment to put two and two together, the notion of this sort of thing so foreign and for so long an impossibility that Wade cycled through at least four different possible scenarios for why he was trying to feel the Omega’s stomach. Did Peter have a tummy ache? Was he craving something odd and didn’t want to say it out loud? What did weird cravings have to do with diapers? Was he putting on more weight? Cos that would be good, Peter had been too skinny for too long and Wade loved when his mate was soft all over. 

But none of those things would make his little mate nervous, none of those things even mattered in the slightest so why...

“Omega.” the truth burned into the Alpha’s mind, his scent twisting first in disbelief and then in hope, eyes flickering red and hazel as his heart beat an out of control pattern. “Peter. Are you sure? Are you sure?” 

“I’m not sure yet.” Peter admitted, both relieved and thrilled when his mate hit the ground on his knees and gathered him up close, the Alpha practically purring as he nuzzled into his mate’s stomach. “It’s still too soon to tell and really, it’s just a feeling I’ve had since my last heat finished up. Too soon to tell, it might not be anything.” 

“But you think it is something.” Wade muffled the words against Peter’s navel. “Right?” 

“You said you and Vanessa never could have kids.” The Omega tracked gentle fingers over his mate’s scalp, down the Alpha’s neck to the bonding mark. “But time travel changed your biology and your mutation and now you get to grow old with me, so I thought maybe-- maybe everything else changed too? Maybe? And lately I’ve been feeling different so I thought maybe--” 

“This is something you want?” Wade interrupted anxiously. “Is it? Cos in Haven you said you hadn’t ever thought about having a family.” 

“I hadn’t ever thought about having a mate either, but here we are.” Peter soothed his Alpha with a quiet trill. “And I’m happy, my mate. So if this feeling ends up being something real, then I’ll be happy about that too.” 

Wade looked up, wide eyed and hopeful. “Yeah?” 

“I also think if this ends up being something real then you’ll have to start whittling toys again.” the Omega’s lavender scent burst with happiness when Wade grinned in excitement. “We’ll need lots of toys, don’t you think?” 

“Hundreds.” the Alpha answered promptly and Peter laughed at him. “We’ll need hundreds of toys. And a crib. And a bed for when they get bigger. And another room for the cabin and--” 

“Easy does it, my love.” Peter shivered when the Alpha pushed his shirt up and scraped feather soft fangs in a possessive kiss at his tummy. “We don’t even know for sure yet. This might be nothing at all.” 

“How long until you’ll know?” Wade demanded and Peter did some mental math before answering, “Another couple weeks? A month at the most, I think.” 

“It will take me that long to pick out the wood to use for the crib.” Wade decided, then stood and gathered his Omega into a long kiss. “Thank you, my mate.” 

“For what?” Peter tipped his head so his Alpha would mouth over his bonding mark. “What did I do besides get ridiculously needy during my heat and not let you outta me until you were ready to beg for mercy?”  

“My god you’re romantic.” the Alpha said dryly. “When you talk like that it warms my heart, Pete. Glad you see our heats together in such beautiful terms.” 

“I am romantic!” Peter laughed through another kiss and asked again, “Why are you saying thank you, though? You came a hundred and fifty years into the future to find me. You stayed with me in the city while I adjusted all over again. We decided to move and you built me a cabin and all the furniture inside then let me buy whatever else I wanted to sort it out. We have polka dot plates, Wade. You let me buy polka dot plates and let me name both our horses and each of the the chickens and then you let me get a bunny and promised it wouldn’t end up as Stew.” 

The Alpha grinned and Peter stood on his toes to whisper, “But beyond all that, you showed me what true love and soulmates were. Why are you saying thank you to me?”

“Cos you’re my whole world, Pete.” Wade answered simply, rubbing slow circles over his mate’s stomach. “My entire world and then some. Whether this is a feelin’ or not, whether I need to start building a crib or not. Thank you.” 

“I’ll accept your thanks on one condition.” Peter said seriously, and started to undo the buttons at his shirt again, baring the lacy camisole and a whole lot of skin. “Is your offer for fifteen minutes still good or….” 

“Nope, cut that shit out!” Clint landed with a thump in the yard, wings flared out wide to counter balance the weight of his Omega in his arms, and thoroughly derailing their moment. “You don’t invite us for food and then start humping right here in the yard. That is not the neighborly thing to do!” 

“I thought the whole point of us bein’ by the river was that we didn’t have neighbors.” Wade retorted, pushing Peter slightly behind him so the other mated pair wouldn’t see him half dressed. “Maybe you show up on time and you won’t see anything you aren’t meant to.” 

“Maybe you don’t try and strip your mate down right here in the wide open where animals and God and the entire world can see. Ol’ Eagle Eyes here spotted you from a mile up.” Logan watched in open adoration as his Alpha’s wings folded away then turned to grin at Wade. “How’r’ya neighbor?” 

“Would’ve been better in about fifteen minutes.” Peter grumbled and Wade chuckled at his mate, wrapped an arm around the Omega’s waist and hauled him in close. “Oh my Alpha says I should warn you guys about my friend, Mary Jane? I mean, I should warn you about all my friends because they are all terrible but MJ will definitely stare and probably get all horned up for Clint’s tattoos and Logan you-- you scent wild and she barely keeps it together around Wade. honestly good luck with that one, okay? You’ll have to pry her off with a stick.”

“I hate teenagers.” Logan grumbled, and Peter corrected, “Oh no, they’re all my age, later twenties. Just um-- just terrible. We are all terrible. Be warned.” 

“Oh great, sounds like a real fun afternoon.” Clint vaulted the corral fence to pet at the horses, crooning softly to the beasts before asking, “Wade, you got something alcoholic in there? Strong enough to survive a day with a bunch of twenty somethings?” 

“I’ve got moonshine and tequila.” Wade confirmed, motioning the other Alpha into the cabin with him. “Come on. My mate, do you want anything?” 

“Just some water, Alpha.” Peter called and Wade’s smile was private and hopeful and so so sweet it almost sent the Omega to his knees. “Th-thank you.” 

He turned back to Logan and immediately backed up a step when he saw the big Omega advancing on him. “Logan? What are you doing? Hey--!” Peter yelped when Logan crowded right into his space and stuck his nose under his jaw. “Logan! Stop!” 

“You told your mate about the baby yet?” Logan pulled away, eyes flashing in a curious mix of anticipation and awe. “Is that why you asked for water instead of liquor?” 

“We um--we don’t know anything for sure yet. Wade hasn’t noticed a change in my scent yet and it’s too soon to tell with a test.” Peter rubbed at his neck awkwardly. “And by the way? The whole half animal hardcore scenting thing isn’t any less weird even though we’ve been neighbors for a while now. Don’t do that any more.” 

And then quieter, “Did you scent anything for sure?” 

“Might just be leftover heat hormones.” Logan waved the question off. “But it sure seems like more t’me. How did the big guy take it? Did he faint? Do you have video of it I can watch on repeat?” 

“I just said we don’t know for sure!” Peter tried not to laugh at the mental picture of his stalwart mate fainting away about a baby. “And we aren’t saying anything to anyone else, so please? Not in front of my friends? You can tell your Alpha but--” 

“Clint scented it on you the minute we landed.” Logan pulled out one of those ever present cigars and lit it up. “Guarantee he’s buggin’ your mate about it right now. Congratulations.” 

“Wade’s biology and mutation means it might not even be an option.” the Omega pointed out softly. “So we can’t get our hopes up yet.” 

“Time travel, kid.” Logan scoffed. “You came to the past, Wade came to the future, you’re hanging out with an Omega who will literally live forever and an Alpha with magic sparkly wings. You’re okay with all that, but growing some teeny squishy baby with hopefully your looks is too far fetched? Give me a break.” 

The big Omega puffed at his cigar few times. “Names picked out yet?” 

“My Grannie’s name was Eleanor so I like Ellie for a girl, maybe Mikel for a boy.” Peter replief absentmindedly, flushing when Logan grinned knowingly. “Okay maybe my hopes are up a little bit. But please don’t say anything.” 

“Won’t say nothin’.” Logan agreed, then inclined his head down the road towards a cloud of dust. “Those your friends?” 

“Umm---” Peter listened close for Gwen’s tell tale brand of terrible music taste and lit up with a grin. “Yeah! That’s them!” 

The car came bouncing and rattling over up the cinder drive, sliding to a stop and opening up to spill four twenty-somethings out into the yard. Harry and Johnny will still arguing about reindeer and apparently whether or not Santa had eight or nine, Gwen was shouting about how she was staying for an entire week because of the six hour drive and also Peter owed her gas money and a refund on her sanity after listening to Johnny sing all day. Mary Jane was as collected and beautiful as always but she still squealed when she saw Peter and hugged him tight enough to choke before the Alphas jostled her away and talked over each other in an attempt to hug on Peter and catch him up on the last several weeks worth of gossip. 

“Holy shit.” Clint paused in the kitchen window to watch the chaos, moonshine halfway to his mouth. “They’re like a pack of wild animals! Are they always like this?” 

“Never fails.” Wade grimaced. “If I didn’t love Pete so much there’s no way I’d tolerate his friends. But they adore him somethin’ fierce so it’s alright. Can’t complain about my mate bein’ surrounded by people that would do anything for him.” 

“I guess.” the Alpha made a face over the drink. “By the way, what the hell is this, sweet apple flavored? Do you have real alcohol?” 

“First time I gave my mate real moonshine he about died.” Wade said dryly. “Gotta ply him with the fruity stuff or he won’t drink with me. Damn shame for an Alpha to have a mate who won’t get all tipsy and sweet with him, right?” 

“Damn shame.” Clint repeated, and then softer. “Congratulations on the little one, by the way. Not telling anyone yet?” 

“Don’t know if it’s anything real.” Wade tried not to smile quite so goofy. “Not gettin’ my hopes up, not with my biology and all. Never thought I could have kids but since the jump forward changed my mutation, guess there’s a chance. We won’t know for a while.” 

“Not getting your hopes up?” 

“Nah.” 

“Uh-huh.” Clint swirled the apple liquor in his glass and nodded. “Got names picked out?” 

“Pete’s granny was named Eleanor and that’s a good old fashioned name.” Wade said absentmindedly, watching his mate get all but tackled by an over enthusiastic Gwen. “We could call her Ellie.” 

“Oh yeah, you’re not getting your hopes up at all.” Clint drained the rest of his drink and set the glass in the sink. “Come on, let’s go meet the friends. Get it over with.” 

“Wade!” Mary Jane was the first to see Wade and she hurried towards the Alpha to give him a big hug, laughing in delight when Wade promptly picked her up and swung her around in a circle. “How are you! It’s so pretty up here! I love it!” 

“Just sayin’ bud, you’re already ridiculously Alpha, you don’t gotta rub it in our faces by picking up our Omegas just to show off.” Gwen was next, socking the other Alpha in the shoulder before grabbing Wade in a hug too. “Also, you owe me gas money and like, several hours of my life back for that drive. I’m staying for a week just to make up for it.” 

“Wonderful.” Wade grunted, and Gwen snarled playfully at him before getting out of the way. “Harry, Johnny.” Wade shook each of their hands. “How was the drive?” 

“Way longer than we thought it would be, so we are also staying for a week.” Johnny informed him. “And Pete never texted me back about reindeer so it that like a real thing? Do you have those here? Like, you raise ponies and also reindeer?” 

“Ponies? What--?” 

“Ignore him, he’s had about six energy drinks and an entire pound of beef jerky.” Harry patted Wade on the shoulder and grinned. “It’s real nice up here, glad you guys finally let us come up. Pete says he refused to have anyone over until it was all the way done. Sure took you long enough.” 

“Pete’s pickier than you’d think when it comes to his dream cabin.” The Alpha replied and Peter retorted, “I wouldn't be picky if you’d just make it perfect!” and the group erupted into laughter and various jeers and vaguely worded jabs at the Alphas lack of skill and more pointed hints at Peter just being high maintenance. 

The noise carried into the surrounding woods, laughter and chatter and happiness that filled the air with the combined scents of family and contentment and smiles. It was like warm wind, gentle and calming as it wove through the trees and branches. soothing as it stirred the leaves along well used game trails, hopeful as it brushed over the mutant standing at a distance and watching the party unfold.

These days the organic tech had eaten into most of Cable’s body, spreading across his chest and over his face, hooking into his scalp and nearly covering his one good eye. The repeated trips to and from Haven to see his family and to and from this timeline to keep an eye on both Wade and Peter had all but destroyed the Alpha by now, taxing his mutation and sanity to the breaking point.

Most days it was all Cable could do to fight the voice of the tech inside his head as it tried to take over his consciousness and others days he wondered if it was worth fighting at all.

Eventually Cable would be nothing more than a robot, nothing more than a fragment of himself trapped and lost behind programming and cold steel, but today he was still human enough to smile the slightest bit when the noise of happy conversation reached his ears. 

He’d done the right thing bringing Wade forward through the centuries to meet his mate. It had been the right decision to reunite the pair, to break the rules of time travel for others like he broke them so often for himself.

The right decision, and the sound of the Omega laughing at his mate in pure delight proved it. 

The right decision, and Cable allowed himself another tiny smile before he turned the numbers on his device back to a familiar year and a familiar place--

--and disappeared in a flash of light. 

*************

*************

Haven

1874 

“Cable.” Bruce didn’t look up when the mutant shimmered into place next to him, decades of knowing Cable and decades of forcing himself to calm making it so he didn't even jump. “Welcome back.” 

“How are they?” Cable stripped out of his gear and set it to the side before settling on to the picnic next to the doctor. “How’s my family?” 

“Hope doesn’t have a single ounce of fear in her.” Bruce motioned down the hill to where the little girl was chattering excitedly about butterflies, fingers twined with Eddie’s as she pulled them along the creek side. “When you told Eddie to be friends with her, they were terrified she would scream but children are so pure, she has no clue Eddie is someone the adults fear. She has been holding their hand for at least a solid hour and Eddie has no intention of letting go anytime soon. Almost a week now they’ve spent every day together and I’ve never seen Eddie smile so much.” 

“That’s good.” Cable’s throat closed up as he watched his daughter play with the volatile mutant, pointing at different bugs and chasing down a grasshopper while Eddie followed behind with measured steps and a careful hold lest the little girl trip or skin her knee. Their eyes flickered fond opaline and pointed crowded sharp every time they smiled down at her, but there was no danger in the air, nothing uncertain or scary and Cable relaxed further. “Eddie deserves kindness.” 

“So do you.” Bruce said mildly. “Have you thought about talking to Aliya? To Hope? If they can be comfortable with Eddie, they will be comfortable with you as well.” 

“I wouldn’t disrupt their happiness by trying to--”

“Yoo-hoo!” Aliya came over the rise of the hill, stunning in her simple dress, hair long down her back and a basket of flowers and food. “Doctor Banner! Hope told me she was playing with Eddie again today so I thought I’d bring a picnic!” 

“Oh.” Cable wanted to growl, he wanted to hide, he wanted to break down and cry as Aliya came close enough for him to breathe in her sunflower and rosewood scent. “Bruce, I should go, I should--” 

“Oh hello! It’s Nathan, isn’t it?” Aliya smiled at him and Cable’s heart almost broke. “Nathan Summers? Bruce has talked about you but I’ve never had the chance to say hello. How are you?” 

“I’m-- I’m--” 

“Stay and have lunch with us, I always bring way too much!” Aliya was pure sunshine when she laughed, sunshine and summer wind and Cable thought he’d shatter beneath the easy acceptance in her beautiful eyes. “Please stay, do you like sweet corn? It’s fresh from our garden. What about wine, will you have some?” 

“...I’d love some.” Cable said hoarsely. “And sweet corn is my-- my favorite.” 

“I knew it.” Aliya patted at Bruce’s knee as she passed, patted Cable’s shoulder for balance as she sat next to them. “I saw you and thought to myself, ‘that is a man who likes sweet corn.’ I make corn fritters you will absolutely die for, you’ll have to join us for dinner too? Eddie and Bruce are over at least once a week, Hope is thoroughly smitten with them but there is always room for one more at our table!” 

“Thank you, ma’am.” Cable swallowed hard. “I’d--- I’d appreciate that.” 

“Call me Aliya.” the Omega prompted, sending him a wink that made Cable’s heart twist in his chest. “After all, we’re friends now aren’t we? Call me Aliya.” 

Cable didn’t manage to say a whole lot over the course of the picnic, but Aliya chatted enough for the two of them and when Hope came running up to show off the butterfly Eddie held so carefully in their clawed hands, the little girl immediately decided Cable needed to catch butterflies too. it took nothing more than an endearing smile and flutter of long lashes and the child had Cable caught around her little finger and fully ready to do her bidding. 

“I love butterflies.” She skipped along at Cable’s side as she towed him back down to the creek. “Do you know that? I also love flowers. And I love blackberries even though Ma says I’ll explode if I eat too many and--” 

“You like blackberry tarts, sweetheart?” Cable asked hoarsely, thinking of his own Hope and the way she’d cheered every time he brought her home something sweet. “With sugar crystals and--” 

“-- and a smear of frosting!” Hope finished excitedly. “Do you have any? You would be my favorite if you had some!” 

“I-- I’ll find some.” Cable whispered, blinking back tears as Hope grabbed tighter at his hand and kept right on talking. “Oh hell, I’ll sure find some.” 

Down in the town square in the middle of Haven, a little old man with wild suspenders and patched trousers glanced up into the hills and smiled when his ancient eyes caught sight of the mutant at long last reunited with his family. 

No matter time nor distance, loved ones always found their way together again and in this particular universe, even bending the rules of time travel and the fabric of reality could end in a happily ever after. The mutant wouldn’t lose his loved ones like he’d lost them fifty nine times before and the Alpha that had gone forward so far into another century would get to grow old with his mate. 

Sometime in the future Mr. Lee would be a taxi driver, a pawnbroker, maybe even a tailor creating suits for all sorts of famous people but for now the old Alpha pushed his glasses up his nose and went on his way with an arm full of trinkets to stock his shop.

There wasn’t really a word that could describe the mysteries of the universe and the powers that existed, the way timelines crashed and folded into each other to bring soulmates back around again and again, but Mr Lee was pretty sure these sort of things would always work out. 

After all, he’d done a pretty good job with all the Happily Ever Afters so far. 

He’d do a pretty good job with the rest of them, too. 

*******************

SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE FIC!

IF YOU LOVE WHAT YOU READ, SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL AUTHOR!

Authors Notes: So some of you know that I’ve had this story planned for quite literally a year and a half and I cannot tell express how humbled I was when not one or two but FOUR different readers hit me up and told me they’d be happy to commission the fic if I’d just take the time to finally write it. They didn’t set any boundaries for me, their only input was encouragement and fangirling and I will love them forever for helping make this monster idea a real story.

I have at least five different bonus chapters planned ranging from more about Eddie and Bruce to more about Cable and some about Stucky and of course, slice of life pieces for our Spideypool so while this is the end of the original fic, I promise it’s not the last time we’ll visit the verse. 

This is now officially my longest fic, longer even than Pirate’s Heart, but I’ve got bonus chapters planned for that verse too, so I’m sure the stats will flip again!

I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I did, and to those of you who stuck by me for almost five months worth of updates and chapters-- cheers to you. I wouldn’t write without dedicated readers who support me! 

Keep Scrolling for a Post Credits Scene!

And if you’d like to keep tabs on my writing, ask to be on my PERMA-TAG LIST! 

*******************

@ships-galore @ceealaina @izziebladez @cwar1864 @hausoffro @lookuplaughing @tonystarkisanangel @multishippinglife @girlnic @iam93percentstardust @water-colouredmemories @paranormalmoonlight5 @igotloki @moosette05 @wayward-student-philosopher @kaz-brekkers-gloves @atomicfandombomb @ricecakeandhoney @ardatlily @fawnandgays @bluedreamdino @bibbarnes @blackstar1602 @hi-inevitable-im-deadpool @scientifically-lesbian-jesus @the-pagely-gun-slinger @oshuncheyenne @the-dragonwolf-den @pumpkin-spidey @sozvuchiy @cappunico @tired-dragons01 @chiby-chan @ahumoki0 @kanizsacollage @tulipsnbigcats @hiddenaurora @notchronicle24 @marvels-gurl @iridescent-idiot @badndbourgeoisie @eversomniator @local1dreamer @loveisblindwade  @ssssssssssssssssssssslytherin @theunwantedomega @littlepolypan @marvel-is-literally-life-okay @lovethewitchofendor 

********************

Present Day

“Are you nervous?” Pepper nuzzled a kiss onto Tony’s cheek as he tapped away at the computer in front of the temperature controlled chamber installed at the bottom of the Tower. “This is a big deal.” 

“You think so?” the sassy Omega asked absentmindedly. “Finding the body of a near century old super soldier that is most definitely the result of some pretty terrible experimentation and attempting to bring him out of hibernation without accidentally killing him? I mean yeah, I’d think that’s a big deal.” 

“Brat.” Pepper huffed and kissed him one more time. “Are you sure we shouldn’t ask Director Fury for help with this? Your father started SHIELD, Fury has taken it over, we should bring him in on this project. You can’t just wake up a top secret government project and think to keep it quiet.” 

“Sure I can.” Tony’s eyes flickered blue as he stretched his power inside the containment chamber to manually adjust the temperature. “And I’m gonna do it right now. Look.” 

Inside the chamber, steam hissed as the last of a centuries worth of ice melted away from a still form, clouding the glass and making it hard to see. Tony and Pepper stared wide eyed and white knuckled at the monitors as a broad chest rose and fell with first one breath, and then another, and then a third that came along with clenching fists and cracking knuckles and the wheezy, gaspy sound of an Alpha that had been locked away too long. 

“Tony?” Pepper whispered uncertainly when eyes that should be blue opened dark scarlet and furious, when features that should be strong and patriotic twisted into a mask of rage. “Tony honey are you sure this is Captain Rogers?” 

“It’s Captain Rogers, alright.” Tony didn’t flinch away when the Alpha stalked towards the observation window and slammed a huge fist onto the glass, but he didn’t resist when his mate scaled up and turned golden eyed, Pepper’s claws and wings making an appearance as she shifted into her dragon and growled protectively over her mate.

“Say Pep.” Tony swallowed when Captain Rogers’s furious gaze locked onto his, when the Alpha curled his teeth back and bared fangs long enough to be horrifying. “All those reports about Captain Rogers. Any word on whether or not he survived the mutant serum as human?” 

“You think they turned him into a monster.” Pepper’s voice was low in her mostly shifted form. “You think his body couldn’t handle the change and too long in hibernation brought the mutation out. Any Alpha runs towards feral after too long locked away but this is--” 

“I think maybe they gave him mutant serum with a strong animal influence--” Tony backed up a step when Captain Rogers slammed at the glass again and a spiderweb of cracks broke beneath his fist. “--and I think they had no idea what they were doing--” Another slam and another crack. “--and I think--” 

“Where is my mate?!” the mutant Alpha roared, and the speakers on the containment chambers crackled and burst beneath the noise. “My mate! Take me to my mate!” 

“--I think we should find his mate.” The Omega’s eyes lit blue again and he snapped several pieces of metal over the cracking glass, melding them together and then to the floor so they wouldn’t give. “Pep, did we know Captain Rogers had a mate?” 

“There was no mention anywhere in the files about a mate.” the Alpha muttered, and from behind the metal pieces Captain Rogers howled in heartbreak and rage as he tried to beat his way through the chamber. “But we should figure it out soon.” 

The blocks Tony put up bent beneath the force of a solid punch, bowed and reshaped as the Captain fought against it. “Yeah, we should figure it out now.” 

*****

Across the world in a country no one thought of as important, in a field with no name and no marker on a map, deep beneath the floors of a storage facility that technically didn’t exist and had long been abandoned, an Omega was locked inside a cryogenic chamber, forced into stasis years ago and forgotten until deemed necessary. 

For the first time ever, the Omega stirred without being woken, jerked into motion without being activated, snapped open ice blue eyes, clenched his fist and punched right through the chamber to fall out onto the cold floor, gasping for breath and nearly screaming as his entire body lit up in pain and grief and--

“Alpha.” the Omega lifted metal fingers to press against a long faded bonding mark, a growl working from his throat as a single memory came flooding back through the decades of experimentation and brain washing. 

“Alpha.” he growled again. “...Steve.” 

****************************

[halothenthehorns]

All in the Family

Chapter 19: The Worst Birthday

While they had finally begun to accept, even anticipate, but still never quite get used to that soul wrenching feeling of being pulled through time and space because another chapter had finished, they'd taken that last one with a grain of happiness it would be their last!

Then they all groaned in misery to find themselves not back in their Potions class, not even back at Hogwarts, but back at Number Four, Privet Drive!

"What the bloody hell!" James howled in a temper at once, pulling his wand out and reducing the nearest bush to leaves and roots, then turning his wand on the next without thought.

"That should have worked, we should be back at school," Remus agreed, massaging his abused rib cage and genuinely not understanding why they'd still be trapped out here.

"Maybe, maybe we just got sent back to where we first teleported," Alice tried to offer, going to the back gate and trying it with actual hope again. It refused to swing open, Frank tried to hop it and found this impossible.

"Argh!" Lily snarled, running her hand so hard through her hair she came back with strands in her nails. "This is the last place I wanted to wind back up at, even if this bloody cycle had to continue!"

"I'm sure you're not the only one," Regulus muttered.

With a heavy sigh, though all feeling rather resounded to the fate they'd clearly be stuck like this longer, they began searching for the stupid bloody book, though honestly with no idea why. It shouldn't have anymore to say.

This was a spacious backyard, neatly mowed ruler straight and trimmed hedges all along the back fence, though now with the exception of a few smoldering and threatening to set the whole place alight. The sunlight above already made this a blistering heat of day, the grass dry despite it's clear care, even the garden shed was highly polished on the outside but seemed to gleam threateningly. James was distracted at once by stepping inside and losing track of what he'd been looking for in favor of studying all these odd tools, though this time refrained from touching anything with his fingers still sore.

Peter chose to scale the side of the houses decorative vines for a view, was unsurprised to find he couldn't get very far when on the slanted roof and couldn't even cross to the front of the property, but caught his eye on something he hadn't quite been looking for.

"I think I know what the problem is," he told them as he fished out of the gutters a book of pure green, only the little silver two on the spine distinguished it from the leaves. "We seem to be flashing through the rest of Harry's years."

"Please tell me that is a miserable attempt at a joke," Sirius groaned as he sagged onto the nearest bench, still rubbing at his bruised throat.

"Well, I've found his second year, so I'm guessing not," Peter sighed, making himself comfortable up here and reading out the chapter title to prove his point. Given where Harry was, he imagined all of the kids birthdays were the worst, but wasn't looking forward to finding out about this one in particular.

James hoisted himself up there with him for kicks, and the others just settled themselves resignedly in the grass. Evans went over to the concrete patio, but chose to ignore the chairs and instead crossed her legs on the warm ground and tied her hair up in the evening sun. Frank and Alice lounged against the wooden fences, holding hands and just hoping this one went by without anything closer to alive foliage beneath them. Remus sat himself beside Sirius on the bench and tipped his face back to the sun, closing his eyes and wishing he were back at the lakes edge rather than this place as his friend began.

Sirius couldn't help but notice how much he'd filled out this year, from the thin gangly teen. Not quite as much as the rest of them, Remus' health would always be rather stunted, but the warm light on his face actually highlighted the light brown of his hair rather than the few gray bangs he had, the scarring more shadowed than prominent for once. He grinned at just how relaxed Moony managed to appear during all of this, though his good mood wasn't destined to last.

It certainly didn't start much fun at all, no one wanted any further reminders of what those Dursleys constantly did to Harry, putting him down like this all the time. The argument was stupid, no way could they get rid of his owl, and the Marauders in particular were being restless for not even being able to wreck the Dursleys things in retaliation for it all this time. They suddenly weren't even sure if what they'd done to the inside of the house was still there, did the effect they have on the place they were in remain like it did to them?

"If they think magic is that bad a word, I've got some real headliner news for them," Sirius scoffed.

"You do need to keep in practice, you haven't had a chance to use them on your parents in ages," Remus agreed with a small smirk that dimmed the sun. Sirius couldn't help but lean in closer, grinning just the same, happily escalating this with details of what he would like to give them knowledge of.

Peter couldn't help shifting uneasily closer to James as Harry reflected back on all he'd learned of his previous year, as if they'd forgotten. It was as much news to them as learning of this boy's potential existence! He envied Padfoot and Moony down there, trying to chat their way through this bit!

Prongs, to his credit, tried to brush it off by plucking some leaves out of the gutter and enchanting them to float down on the others. He had the first few batches float down in the shape of a heart to land around Evans, who completely ignored him, which was just a tiny bit of improvement over shooting a hex back. He then spent the remainder of this recap trying to shoot them up unsuspecting noses, muttering all the while for Peter alone it was actually a shame Snivellus wasn't here, his was the largest target.

Peter managed an appreciative titter, James always had found every way to make things seem better, even helping along to ignore his own death sentence.

"Rotten, filthy Muggle, locking that kids things away," Regulus grumbled as he watched his brother and friend on the bench. The two had been quite chummy lately ever since they'd made up, leaning so close together they looked as likely to brush hands as Longbottom and Smith over there. Regulus had almost hoped for just a second Sirius would pull his head out of his arse and remember to agree with him back in this place what a waste the whole species was like he had last time.

It was clearly not going to happen, the two conspiring over there for possible further torment of them or anything else Regulus just hadn't a care to listen to. He burnt an incoming leaf to cinders and thought Potter should count himself lucky he didn't turn the spell on him next.

"I think at this point they don't even know Harry has a birthday," Alice scoffed in disgust of these people treating a kid like that. "I've heard of happier child hoods from-" she cut off when something went whizzing into her mouth, and she spat a leaf out in disgust.

"You arse Potter," she snapped, having already batted away three of them and quite done with his antics, ready to raise her wand in retaliation by now.

He merely hooted with pleasure and wound up for another one.

"You do realize you're only helping the Dursleys, cleaning that out for them," Frank pleasantly called back, at least causing him to freeze in his actions before finally lowering his wand and muttering in disgust.

"Thank you," Alice sighed, leaning back and giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "Maybe we should spend the rest of the time reading around these places, there must be a way to continue to throw that logic at him."

"One can only go so far in tutoring before it ends with beating their head against a desk," Frank disagreed.

"Also sound advice for him, so there's really no down side," Alice concluded lightly.

Lily couldn't help but crack one eye open curiously as Vernon announced it an important day, not that she could ever delude herself by now thinking he'd actually grown such a thing as a heart, let alone a brain about what should have been important that day. It didn't stop her wondering what he could deem important and how she could make sure it never happened for that disgrace on the animal kingdom. A ruddy business deal? She closed her eye again and tried to pretend that Pettigrew's nasally voice was non-existent again, just trying to enjoy the sunshine and not relate to how miserable Harry was feeling. How alone he seemed to feel all the time at this place, and it was all his own family's fault- no! She couldn't think about that now, or she'd burst into tears in front of these people, most of whom she couldn't stand. Sev wasn't here, so she'd just have to tough it out on her own and refuse to let her mind revisit her own summers in a place disturbingly similar to this one.

Those leaves were actually helping, though she'd never admit it to Potter. If she concentrated very hard, she could just be back in her forest, surrounded by trees, waiting for the world to return back to normal at school, just like Harry, where her real friend was...at least while she could still hang around with him, when he wasn't also trying to chat up with so many other terrible people, and she just couldn't understand how he-

"They what!"

She sat up so fast she created a mini-whirlwind of the leaves around her and barely noticed, wand drawn on Lupin's outraged face. "Hermione and Ron forgot his birthday? That's ridiculous, they'd never, not after all they'd been through!"

She almost would have laughed at his personal offense to this if she didn't honestly agree, and had to backtrack a bit to really hear what she'd been trying to block out, and then couldn't even blame him for the outburst. Merlin, no mail all summer, what had gotten into Harry's friends?

"Surely we're missing something," the elder Black pacified, looking more confused than anything. "Hermione wouldn't have an owl most likely, and maybe Ron's parents have to use theirs too often to let him borrow it..." the excuses were flimsy at best and they all knew it. It truly made no sense, and the swell of pity around all of them for this poor kid having no one to acknowledge his birthday, even worse humming the tune to himself! Even her home had never gotten so bad!

"Oh good, I needed a distraction," Potter said from above in an all to familiar tone, but for once in her life Lily couldn't even blame him. She detested the little birks attitude of taking his problems out on others, like her friend, by hexing anyone he felt like. Yet in this instance, she got it. She wanted to curse Dudley to, for being the embodiment of all Harry's troubles! She'd restrain herself of course if the little ponce was put in front of her, drawers dropping or not, but it was almost as much a revelation to her to feel empathy for Potter as to still wonder what Harry had seen in that bush.

Then the real jaw dropping moment came in for everyone else, that poor kid nearly getting his head bashed in with a frying pan. Regulus couldn't give it a second thought but for a bit of empathy, maybe that kid would learn to keep his mouth shut like he had. Instead he remained focused on the inconspicuous, lone little bush behind his brother, the only one Potter hadn't destroyed upon first arriving. Regulus had well learned his lesson from the last book, and he wouldn't again let himself be so easily distracted as everyone else so clearly was, throwing all kinds of abuse around about all the chores Harry was to do. Regulus would have thought at least Sirius could blow the whole thing off as well, they may not be doing chores at their own place but the treatment wasn't unfamiliar to the two, but no, he was just in much of a temper as everyone else.

It was pathetic getting so worked up over something that wasn't even happening, leaving Regulus alone to wonder what had almost happened to the young Potter in that bush. Another attempt at return of the Dark Lord? If so, should he even say anything about it, but instead actually try to find a way to help it along. After all, if this future did happen, if he found a way to help someone so powerful in fact gain another strength in a sooner return to glory, maybe he could stop little boys from ever again feeling afraid in their own home, because there wouldn't be any fear left. The Dark Lord would make everyone an equal, and filthy Muggles like this would be a thing of the past.

Pettigrew finally warned that the first bit of this ending was nigh upon them, and Regulus did all he could to brace himself for whatever good that wouldn't do, admittedly as intrigued as anyone by the final line telling him he may not be far off. Who would be in Harry Potter's bedroom in a place like that?

[magic-and-moonlit-wings]

Chapter 53: Identity

Becoming The Mask

Barbara was at work when her phone buzzed. She didn't have time to check it – she was busy with a toddler who had swallowed a paperclip.

If it had gone into the kid's stomach, things might have been okay. There was some risk of the sharp point doing damage, or the wire catching and tangling in the intestines, but the rounded ends of the paperclip meant there was also a chance it would simply be passed through.

Unfortunately, instead of ingesting the paperclip, the child had aspirated it, so it needed to be removed from her right lung.

Immediately after Barbara got out of surgery, she had to work up the x-rays of a teenager who'd crashed his Vespa into a tree. Nothing was obviously broken and he didn't have a concussion, but there was a risk of hairline fractures.

And then, (because why not,) there were three successive cases of people who had stuck odd things up their butts and gotten those things stuck.

By the time she was able to sit down for two minutes and gulp some coffee, she had forgotten about her buzzing phone.

She didn't even look at her phone until she was leaving for the night. Barbara got it out to turn the ringer off, since she wasn't supposed to be on call that night, which never stopped anyone when they were short-staffed, which was often, and she was tired enough it would probably be dangerous for her to be treating patients again until she'd had some sleep.

(Also, she was probably tired enough that she shouldn't be driving, but Barbara never let herself think about that.)

After finding out she'd missed something as big as her kid sneaking around to fight a secret magical war, Barbara was trying to reassert some boundaries between her time at work and the rest of her life.

Her phone announced that she'd missed a notification.

It was just an exclamation point. What had that been supposed to mean?

Barbara turned her phone off and drove home.

"I'm back, kiddo!"

"We're in the kitchen!"

'We' meant Jim and Toby. Jim was pulling a shepherd's pie out of the oven. Toby and Barbara both inhaled appreciatively.

"You said it's lean ground beef, right?" asked Toby. Jim smiled and rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Tobes. You know if you cut all the fat out of your diet you'd get protein poisoning, right? Mom, back me up."

Barbara took a moment to remember this. She wasn't a nutritionist – she'd encountered this concept in a novel a few years ago and looked it up to see if it was true.

"He's right," she said. "It's the rarest kind of food poisoning. Not much risk of it happening here and now." Not in a city in the United States, haven of processed and instant foods.

Jim portioned out the steaming vegetables and meat and mashed potatoes. Barbara added some sour cream to hers.

"Is Nana out tonight?" she asked Toby.

"Yeah, she and some of her chess buddies are doing a tournament. Informal, I think, but maybe a prize? Like, a gift certificate or something."

"We should see if we can get her and Mr Strickler to play a match sometime," said Jim. "I think I heard once that he's a grandmaster, but I don't know how often he plays anymore."

That combination, Nancy and Walt, made Barbara's brain click and remember the significance of that exclamation point she'd sent herself.

"So … it's been a month. Have you made any progress on telling your friends' families about trolls?"

Both boys froze.

"We gave Vendel a bunch of family stories," said Toby. "Once he's done reading it, we'll find out if we have permission or we're going behind everybody's backs."

"Guess I should warn him the clock's ticking again," said Jim.

"We could maybe tell people now and say we're LARPing, and tell the whole truth later?" Toby suggested. "That's what my therapist thinks is going on."

"You told your therapist?" asked Barbara and Jim together, in very different tones.

Jim's eyes were huge. He had a white-knuckled grip on his silverware. "Tell me you didn't use the word 'Trollhunter' in front of her."

"… No?" said Toby in confusion. "I just said your character was a magic knight on a quest to fight an evil troll."

Jim sighed. "Okay, that's generic enough it's probably safe. Don't use any specific names or terms, though."

"Dude, you seriously think someone is spying on a random high schooler's therapy appointments?"

"Someone is spying on a random high school's entire history class," Jim pointed out.

The rest of the meal was tense. After they were done eating and cleaning up, Toby went back home, and Jim went upstairs to do homework.

Jim's yearbook from the previous year was on one of the shelves in the living room. Barbara brought it over to the couch.

She could use this to get an idea of who Jim and Toby's classmates were, at least.

Jim didn't have many signatures in the book. There was Toby's, of course. The rest all had generic messages – "Have a great summer" from Eli Pepperjack, "Have fun this summer!" from Shannon Longhannon, "See you in September" and a doodled smiley face from Claire Nuñez, and "Enjoy summer break" from Seamus Johnson.

People Jim knew? Or random classmates he approached so he wouldn't look 'weird' for not caring about yearbook autographs?

Barbara made note of all the names. She felt like Jim had let slip that the other children who knew about trolls were girls, early on, but she couldn't quite remember for sure and didn't want to rule anyone out. She flipped to the class photos to match names to faces, so she could keep watch for the signatories hanging around her house or across the street.

+=+

Enrique carefully printed the English alphabet. It hadn't been that hard to mimic from a reference image, but this was his first time writing it independently. He haltingly hummed the song to keep track of his place.

"Pretty good," said Claire, reading over his shoulder. He fought the urge to turn and strike. He was (supposed to be) safe. Claire wasn't purposefully lurking in his blind spot to attack him. "Definitely way better than my first scribbles. I guess next you should learn to write your name."

On another piece of paper, she printed it for him to copy.

The first letter was N. Sensible enough. Except wasn't that one pronounced 'nuh' instead of 'en' when it was in a word and not the alphabet? He shrugged. Claire knew this writing system better than he did – if she said Enrique started with N, he'd go with it until he had some evidence otherwise.

The second letter was O. He frowned. That … didn't feel right. Shouldn't it be an R?

The third letter was T. He stopped.

"Read it," he said to Claire, trying not to growl.

"Not Enrique," she said, without shame. "You only copied the 'Not' part so far."

Angrily, Enrique scribbled out the letters he'd written so far and the bit he'd copied from. In fast, shaky letters he copied out the rest of it and underlined it.

"No," said Claire, getting angry in turn, "you don't get to use that name. That's my brother's name, not yours."

"The kid can share. It's mine now."

"Oh, come on," Claire scoffed. "You're, like, hundreds of years old. I get that Jim's used to being called 'Jim' after sixteen years in deep cover or whatever, but you can't possibly have gotten that attached to 'Enrique' in just a few months."

… Did she really not know?

"It's the only name I've got."

"Bullshit. Other trolls had to call you something when you were in the Darklands."

Now he growled for real. "That wasn't a name."

"What, some kind of codename system? Then I'd think you'd welcome the chance to start using your real name again."

"I don't know what it used to be!" he snapped. "No one exactly kept track of who they were grabbing. And if we lived, it was 'Changeling' this and 'Impure' that if it wasn't just 'hey you'! Enrique's the first name I can remember having and you don't get to take it away from me!"

He stood there breathing hard for maybe a full minute. He'd cracked the pen. There was gloppy ink on his clenched fist. He licked it off before ink could drip on the floor, and popped the plastic into his mouth.

Claire's voice, when she spoke again, was a lot softer.

"How did anyone tell the Changelings apart, if … if you didn't have names?"

Enrique snorted. "You think they bothered? One Changeling's as good or as bad as any other. S'probably part of why Jim and the big Boss Man were so quick to change sides when they had the chance."

"Even the other Changelings?"

"The rule about not getting attached starts early."

Claire looked like she was about to cry. That … that wasn't fair, she didn't get to make him feel bad for her when they were in the middle of a fight …

"We give each other nicknames, sometimes," he admitted. Imp had been a popular one, if nothing else about a Changeling stood out. "Us or the goblins. But then when we get up top, it's like a rite of passage, you know? We get a name then. Using the old nickname's … like an insult. Saying you weren't worth making a surface agent."

Claire blinked rapidly a few times, then hugged him. He almost clawed her before realizing it wasn't an attack.

"Oi, easy!"

"You can't have my brother's name," she said stubbornly. "But we'll figure something else out."

"Not exactly your call to make," Enrique retorted.

"Don't ruin the moment."

"What moment–?!"

+=+

Previous Chapter (Troll Dads become official!)

Table of Contents

Next Chapter (Angor Rot’s debut!)

Not featured in the above chapter: Jim's internal panic, as he frantically tries to figure out how much Toby has already told Dr Archenn and how to warn Toby off telling her anything else, without exposing yet another Changeling's identity to humans.

Featured in the above chapter: my headcanon that Otto addressing Not Enrique as 'Imp' in early Season 2 was a deliberate insult. I've actually got a different nickname in mind for Not Enrique, it just didn't feel natural to bring it up in this scene. Imp, short for Impure, is basically a 'starter nickname' that all Changelings have in the Darklands, until and unless something about them stands out enough that the other Changelings start calling them something else.

[savannahsdrabbles]

Ocean Song - Part Seven

rating: PG summary: Marine biology student April O’Neil makes a startling discovery.

notes: 2.1k words - this chapter is a bit shorter, partially because I felt bad not updating and wanted to get something out there to prove that I’m still writing this fic. <3 Thank you to anyone who has stuck around and is keeping up with it! A03 link can be found here. Also thank you to @rusty-wayfarer and @starfiretheninja for beta-reading. <3 We’re almost done!

For a brief moment, all four tires left the ground and the terrified trio found themselves suspended in the air.

April watched out of the corner of her eye as Casey’s furrowed face slowly morphed into a more excited expression, his eyes widening and mouth rounding to let out an adrenaline-fueled whoop.

The turtle in the backseat had finally managed to dig his claws into the ripped upholstery and was clinging desperately even as the rest of his body began to lift off of the seat. Based on the panicked squeals emanating from his beak, defying gravity was a new sensation to him and one he was not particularly thrilled about.

A steep, tree-covered cliffside rose before them almost in slow motion, and April dug her fingernails into the worn armrests as the Jeep began to tilt and angle downwards. The scientific portion of her brain snapped into action, quickly assessing the situation. Based on their trajectory they shouldn’t flip, but it was still going to hurt. She squeezed her eyes shut again. Maybe if she didn’t look, that would help.

Then time began to tick again.

Tires met gravel with a cacophonic chorus of scraping metal and screaming voices. The bottom of the car’s frame skipped once across the earth, nearly tearing off the bumper as the car continued to barrel towards a thick grove of pine trees.

“CASEY – ”

“AAAAAA!”

Illuminated vegetation began to whiz past their headlights in bursts, quickly disappearing into the darkness behind them as Casey jerked the steering wheel from side to side. Years of playing hockey had evidently gifted him with quick reflexes, seeing as he was able to weave the vehicle between several trees before she could even process what was happening.

Heedless to the thumping windshield wiper blades, piles of green needles began to gather along the bottom of the glass as branch after branch slapped against their car. April bit her lip, wondering just how far this tree grove could go and then praying that it wouldn’t end with them flying over the edge of another, steeper cliff. At least the van had looked even less prepared to go surfing through the forest – as if that were something people normally prepped for. Speaking of which… She glanced in the wobbling rearview mirror, scanning the row of green behind them for any sign of pursuit, and then gave the smallest sigh of relief. At least for now, it looked like they were alone on this cliffside adventure.

Before she could even think to verbalize this discovery, Casey stomped on the brakes and the redhead pitched forward with a pained grunt of surprise.  She grimaced as the seatbelt tightened roughly across her torso for the second time that night – at this point, she was fairly certain her shoulders and ribcage were covered in blossoming bruises.

The tires skidded beneath them for a moment, struggling to find traction on the shifting ground and threatening to send them spinning off into the tree line. Finally, after a few agonizingly long seconds, the Jeep came to a jerking stop.

Casey cut the engine the second the tires had stopped rotating, halting the thudding windshield wipers halfway through their pilgrimage and leaving the glass partially covered with pine needles. He turned to face his passengers, a triumphant grin already pulling at his lips. “And that’s what I call a perfect stop! I expect my valet parking tip now, thank you.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” April gave a breathless laugh, her heart still tap dancing in her chest as she unlatched her seatbelt and carefully rotated her shoulders. True to her theory, they were already aching from the vinyl restraint. “Your ‘tip’ is to not drive over the edge of a cliff without at least giving everyone in the car a solid heads up. Now c’mon – we should keep moving.”

“Duly noted,” Casey gave a nod in agreement, but the smug ‘I-told-you-so’ grin stayed on his face even as he climbed out of the driver’s seat. “However, I don’t see anyone following us, so I think that this would be considered a win for Jones and the Jonesmobile.”

A sudden shuffle of movement and a sharp click interrupted April’s quick retort, and the teens turned just in time to see the back driver’s side door swing open. The turtle in the backseat let out an excited chirp, his clawed hands dropping from the door handle and bracing against the seat as he prepared to fling himself headfirst onto the pine needle covered ground.

April yelped in alarm, throwing herself across the center console to grasp at the lip of the turtle’s shell. “Casey –”

“I’ve got him,” The boy was already on the move, rounding the Jeep before his name had fully left her lips. He grunted softly as he caught the squirming turtle under its armpits, then louder as he shifted the creature into a cradling position. As soon as she knew the risk of him falling was over, April climbed out of her seat and jogged around the car to stand by the other two. “Yo, dude, calm down. We’re safe now.”

The creature let out a low growl of frustration, his thick tail whacking against Casey’s thighs as he wriggled in the boy’s arms. “No! Need go Home! No-” he gestured broadly, indicating the entire car, and then attempted to roll out of Casey’s arms. 

“Dude, chill! I don’t want to drop you!”

“Hey, hey! Calm down – ” April reached her arms out, attempting to catch one of the turtle’s flailing limbs and nearly getting smacked across the face in the process. Yikes – she’d felt those claws before and was not interested in feeling them again. Taking a step back, she continued to speak in her attempt at a calm and level voice. “We’re leaving the car, okay?”

The turtle stilled by a degree, giving Casey just enough time to secure his grip and hoist the creature into a more comfortable position. Big brown eyes locked onto April’s wide blue ones, and the creature stared into them imploringly. “No car?”

April gave a nod in agreement, a relieved smile pulling at her lips. “No more car.”

Her promise seemed to have been all that he was looking for, as the turtle nodded in agreement and took a slow, deep breath. It was just then that April noticed the rapid way his plastron was rising and falling with each inhale, and the way his tail had curled back between his legs. Despite being a roughly 200-pound reptile, there was something about his neutral state of nervousness that made him appear almost like a small child cradled in Casey’s arms.

Casey seemed to come to the same conclusion that she did, as his next words were spoken in a soft tone that she could only imagine him using with his younger sister. “I feel ya, dude. After everything you’ve been through tonight, I’d probably hate cars, too.”

The turtle let out a huff of agreement, turning his gaze up towards Casey. “No car. Home.”

“Agreed. I’m ready to go home for the night, too. Now we’ve just got to… um…” the teenage boy paused, his head swiveling like a periscope as he seemed to take in their surroundings for the first time since parking. After a moment of shuffling in a tight circle, thoughtful ‘hmm’s whistling from his nose, he turned back towards April. “Hey, Apes? You’re the scientist here – what exactly is our next step?”

“Oh, we just… um…” Blood rushed to her cheeks as both males turned to face her, confusion etched across their features. April bit her lip. That was actually a good question. She knew from previous experiences in releasing hospitalized creatures that the best way to ensure they made it back home was to release them at or near the coordinates where they had originally been found.  But then again, Oroku Inc. already had that information – and what if they’d already guessed the teens’ plans and were moving that direction? What if the turtle’s brothers were already being herded into cages and taken back to the laboratories?

“I was thinking that we should…” she swallowed thickly, suddenly aware of the way that her throat seemed to be swelling with each wave of doubt. Her darting eyes flicked past the turtle’s wide, staring ones, and she lowered her head in sudden shame. What had she gotten them into? They really had no idea what they were doing – who did they think they were? Steve Irwin? As if. And now her dad was going to find out about what they had done, and they were going to go to jail and the turtle would be taken back and –

A hand suddenly rested on one of April’s own, grounding her in reality even as the tornado of nerves continued to swirl in her mind. Simultaneously, a low thrumming sound almost like a distant motor began to fill the air.

Her face jerked back towards the cliff, eyes instinctively scanning the rocky crags several dozen yards away. Had the goons found them after all? Were they about to come flying over the rails?

“Uh, Ape? He’s vibrating.”

April turned back towards her companions, blinking in surprise when her eyes landed on the turtle. He was still cradled in Casey’s arms, tail tucked between his legs and breathing slowly returning to a normal rhythm. However, he was now leaning towards her, arm outstretched to grab at her nearest hand. A look of concern marred his face – not like the fearful, defensive look that he’d been wearing earlier. No, this was a more timid expression – one of… pity? He was worried for her? And that sound… it almost felt familiar. Threads of long forgotten memories wove through her mind, reminding her of feelings of warmth and safety. She was suddenly a toddler again, curled up in her father’s lap and feeling his chest rise and fall beneath her cheek as he softly hummed. The sensation reverberated deeply in her chest and then up through her bones, slowly beginning to untangle the worried knot in her stomach.

Ever so slowly, as if a sudden movement would make everything come crashing down, April rotated the hand that the turtle was touching and held it palm side up. The turtle seemed to recognize this gesture and moved his own hand to accommodate. Thick claws and scales wrapped slowly around April’s hand, and she smiled warmly.

“I don’t know what you’re doing, but thanks,” she offered softly, closing her eyes and letting out a shaky breath. The humming sound continued, quietly clearing the fog from her head and making it easier to think. “And I’m sorry – I didn’t mean to freak out just now. I’m just trying to figure out the best course of action. Like we’re going to get you back to the ocean – that much I can promise. I’m just trying to figure out the best way that we can do that and get you home while still protecting you and your family.”

The thrumming sound faltered as the turtle listened, head cocked and eyes squinted. “Protect Family… from Bad Humans?”

April felt her heart sink a smidge, and she glanced over the turtle’s head to make eye contact with Casey. He really did understand more than they had initially thought; she might as well explain the situation at hand. “Yeah, those two guys that had you in their van were really bad, and they have more bad friends. We got you away from them for now, but they already know where it was that you were initially captured – so I’m worried that if we take you back to that location and leave you there with your brothers, they’ll just show up tomorrow and start this all over again.”

As April spoke, the humming sound slowed to a stop and the turtle slouched in Casey’s arms. His forehead creased in thought as he processed her words. “What if… what if Brothers move? Then… protect?”

“That might work,” Casey used one of his hands to pat the turtle’s shell in agreement. The creature arched his back, still not a huge fan of being touched more than was necessary. “If you guys moved somewhere else like, ASAP, it would be harder for anyone to find you.”

“But for how long could that actually work?” April asked, squeezing the turtle’s hand again. “And you guys would have to move pretty fast – like within the hour of us getting you to the correct coordinates.”

He hummed softly, this time sounding more tired. “Have Sometimes Home? Not long travel from Home, but still good.”

“Ok – that could work!” she nodded enthusiastically, equally trying to cheer him up and reassure herself. For now, this was the best idea they had – it would have to work. “But before we do anything else, let’s get that collar off.”

[chosenkeepersworld]

The Curses We Inherit - Chapter 9

Original Work

Date Posted: August 11, 2021 (Tumblr)

Word count: 1, 169 words

A/N: Work is unbeta'd but I do hope you'll still enjoy reading it. Comments are always appreciated! And if you can't wait to read what happens next, this story is also up on Wattpad (under the username ChosenKeeper0971) but with way more chapters, I appreciate your support there too!

Thank you so much, I hope everyone is having an awesome day and happy reading :)

Masterlist / Part 8

"Are you serious? You really did that?" Danika asked, grinning with wide eyes.

Jacqueline roared with laughter, nodding.

"Yup" was all Krysa had to say.

They were on the road again, with Krysanthe driving this time while Jac hung out in the passenger side and Danika kept her place in the backseat. The heiress had gotten hungry and started snacking on the food her aunt had packed for her which consisted of bread and homemade dip, fruits and little brownie slices. At the sound of crunching Jac immediately turned in her seat to see what was making the noise and when Danika realized Jac was watching her, she offered her treats without hesitation. To which Jacqueline descended upon with much gusto. The brunette, as she devoured Danika's food, would feed Krysanthe too.

As they continued to eat and began talking, they relaxed more and more around each other eventually getting into deeper topics.

One topic in particular, that was surprising to Danika, was the incident that made Krysa say no initially.

"Then what happened?" Danika scooted closer.

"Okay so on the way from the party with my friends, or the people who I thought were my friends, stopped at Gilded because Rhian asked me to bring her some documents. She had thought that I was at study date and I didn't want to tell her the truth. I always felt like she saw me as someone else, she had expectations of me and I didn't want to disappoint her." Krysa paused "Anyway, we got to the store and we've been drinking so you know this won't end well" she gave a humourless chuckle.

'My friends thought it would be fun to keep drinking, I got pressured into it and then I blacked out. When I woke, Rhian was there and I had never seen her look so furious." she said "We trashed the whole place and my so called friends, uh, " she paused, tilting her head up slightly, squinting "Th-threw me under the bus?" she turned to Jac who nodded, tossing another grape in her mouth.

"I was in real trouble but Rhian, even though she didn't have to, helped ease my punishment so I just had a lot of community service hours. Since then I was no longer allowed to come into the shop without Rhian there."

"I'm sorry, Krysa. That must have been hard" Danika said quietly.

"No, no I deserved that" Krysa insisted

"But it's been years" Jacqueline argued "You think she would go easier on you now"

"I broke her trust, Jac. That isn't an easy thing to forgive"

Jac didn't respond right away "...you're also talking about that guy from London, right?"

Krysa's head snapped to Jac's direction to glare at her.

"What's the deal with this guy anyway? Bad break-up?" Danika asked

Jacqueline grinned as Krysa's glare slowly turned annoyed. The curly blonde let out an exasperated sigh but relented. "I met him when I was attending university in London. I was working as a waitress at the time, and he saved me from some grabby customers."

Danika watched in amazement as Krysa's cheeks darkened, she saw Jac's eyes widened from the rearview mirror and both girls shared a look. The man who made Krysanthe blush must have been really special to her.

"Our situation wasn't exactly stable. After graduation I would be coming home to the Isle and he was there to temporarily oversee the security of his cousin's new building after that he was supposed to go home so we tried to just be friends but..."

"You caught feelings!" Jac squealed

"Yes. Another problem was that we butted heads often, he was a bit of grouch and he thought I was a little stuck up"

The other two girls shared another look but otherwise stayed silent.

"It was the night of my graduation where things blew up. We argued, he went to work and after a while I decided to see him and apologize, when I got there I overheard him talking about me and what he said made me feel horrible. I left without seeing him, packed up and headed back to Ireland that very night" she finished nonchalantly with a shrug.

"Dude, that sucks. I had no idea" Jac breathed "Did he ever look for you?"

Krysa shook her head "Not to my knowledge"

Danika bit her lip, there was nothing she could say that felt appropriate. The heiress was at a loss, this wasn't a situation she was familiar with. All the youngest of the three could do was squeeze Krysa's arm comfortingly.

Krysanthe looked startled when Danika did this but then smiled reassuringly at her for a moment before turning her attention to the road.

"Guys, it's okay I don't-"the florist squeaked when a loud noise suddenly erupted behind them and fought to control the car. The truck screeched to a stop on the side of the road.

Jac and Krysa both went out to check on their situation.

Danika jumped when she heard Jacqueline swear loudly, causing her to come out as well. She saw Krysa standing at the side eyeing the side while she crossed her arms

Danika then saw Jacqueline opening the trunk.

The blonde moved closer and gasped at the sight of the blown tire "What can we do?"

Jacqueline didn't answer, instead she climbed the back of the truck and rolled a spare tire to the edge "Well you can sit your pretty butt to the side and let us handle this". Krysa moved forward to take the tire, grunting as she lifted it out of the truck and stumbled to set it down.

"Could you teach me?" Danika asked "To change a tire I mean"

Jac and Krysa paused to stare at the younger blonde, a big grin spread across Jacqueline's face while Krysanthe had an intrigued look on her face.

"Alright, kid." Jac reached back into the truck an odd looking X shaped tool "Get ready for a life skill lesson"

A little while later, with Jac's eventual intervention, Krysa's truck had a new tire and Danika learned the basics of tire changing.

The two blondes gave a cheer when Jac finished tightening the last bolt.

"We are ready to go" the tallest of the three grunted before pulling the wrench away. "Let's just load up the stuff and we'll get going"

Danika moved forward to help her when a feeling came over her, cold sweat began to bead at her forehead, she shuddered at the feeling of eyes watching her. The blonde turned, but all she saw was the shrubbery and trees.

A dark presence was within those woods, Danika turned back to Jac and Krysa the brunette was fine and unaffected by the presence in the woods but Krysa looked uneasy, peeking at the woods from the corner of her eye.

The unease never went away from either girls, not that Jac noticed, even as they drove away from that place, a the dark presence followed behind. Taglist: @mel-writes-with-her-dragons @woodhousejay @dustylovelyrun

[emo-potato-virgil]

Desert road

Daryl Dixon X Male Reader.

Angst fic, character death.

I wrote this years ago for a challenge and found it again recently, decided to throw it out there.

Summary: Y/n picks Daryl up from a bar in town, miles from their home. Shitfaced drunk, Daryl experiences the most traumatic event in his life.

Warnings: Drunk Daryl. Verbal fighting. Daryl being an asshole. Injuries. Death.

Setting: Right before season 1 of twd.

Enjoy!

It happened on a Saturday, late at night, or maybe early Sunday. Not that it mattered. It was a memory that haunted him every night, every single night. It didn't matter whether he was asleep or not, the dark sky, the side of an abandoned road at night, a walker with bloody flesh hanging off its dead mouth, it all reminded him of that one night. If only he had known what would happen, if only he had listened, he could've stopped it. But he didn't know at the time, couldn't have known. And he didn't listen, too absorbed in other things to even cast a glance to the side. And he couldn't stop it, because it had already happened before he had the chance to turn around. He beats himself up over it every night, every single night. 

~

"Daryl, c'mon, we gotta go home!" The voice calling for him was familiar, but Daryl's drunk mind couldn't process who it was or where it came from. When did the music get this loud? He turned his head to the left, and then to the right, searching the sweaty, dancing bodies around him, trying to find the person who the voice belonged to. A hand on his shoulder caught his attention, and he whirled around to see the face of his lovely boyfriend. He tried to smile at him, but it faltered as soon as he saw the glare directed at him.

"Y/n? We, we can stay here! It's f-fun!" His words were slightly slurred, but he sobered up just by looking into his boyfriend's angry eyes. Y/n was never angry at him, annoyed, sure, but never angry. It's like Y/n wasn't capable of being angry, always smiling, trying to cheer people up or solve a problem. Y/n hated arguing, and often didn't see the point in getting mad. But this was different.

"We are leaving, right now." His voice was a bit lower than usual, just a tad bit intimidating to get through to Daryl. Daryl's mind barely had time to process the hand grabbing at his sleeve, and he soon felt the cold air hit him outside the bar. When did he start walking? His boyfriend was talking, probably to him, but he was distracted by the bottle in his hand that he hadn't noticed before. When did he get this? He took a careful sniff at it, and once he knew what it was, he took a sip. The alcohol burned his throat, but it felt good. Life had been cruel to him for too long, the only good thing about it being Y/n, and he needed a break.

The walk to the car was long and awkward and cold, and Daryl disliked every second of it, but so did Y/n. This was the third time in a month that Daryl had gotten so drunk he could barely walk, and Y/n was getting sick of dragging him out of a random bar in town before he could start a fight. Daryl got drunk often, started fights in bars, and seemed to have little to no respect for Y/n while in this state, but he loved the man, and he won't let such a thing ruin them.

Y/n slowly guided them down the sidewalk, making sure Daryl didn't trip over his own feet, and unlocked the car once they got to it. He lowered Daryl into the passenger seat and got into the drivers seat himself, glad he didn't drink that night. It was then that he noticed the already half empty bottle in his boyfriend's hand, and sent him a questioning glance.

"Seriously? You're still going at it?" He started the car, not really expecting Daryl to answer, and drove out of the parking lot. They drove in silence for a long while, stuck between not knowing what to say and not wanting to say anything at all. The longer they drove, the more tense the air became, until Daryl had had enough of it. He leaned his head against the cool window, watching the scenery pass by as he blurted it out.

"Y'know, I don't need you to babysit me. I can take care of myself." If he had been sober, he would've slapped himself for saying that, but in that moment, he couldn't think.

"Oh, well, I'm sorry for wanting to look out for my boyfriend. And I also sincerely apologize for keeping you out of fights, and for taking care of you when you have a hangover, and for driving miles through a goddamn desert to come get you, and for driving miles through a desert again to take you home. Wow, yeah, I'm such an asshole, and so unreasonable, and oh my, I think you should just get out now and walk the rest of the way, or maybe back to the bar seeing as you can't get enough of that whiskey." His voice was even, calm, and nothing like the tone Daryl's past partners have used in an argument. That's a thing Daryl loves about Y/n, he never raises his voice unless absolutely necessary, and he always listens to Daryl no matter how unreasonable he's being.

Daryl is about to snap back at Y/n, to say something he doesn't mean and will regret later, but he doesn't get the chance. His boyfriend slams down on the brakes, causing the car to make a screeching sound and stop in its tracks. Y/n's arm shoots out to stop Daryl from smashing into the window, and he turns on the mist lights, dark, scared eyes scanning the empty road around them. Daryl takes a few long seconds to process the sudden halt, and his drunken mind tells him to be angry.

"What the hell was that?! You can't just do that!" His angry roar breaks the silence, and Y/n visibly flinches. Oh. He didn't mean to scare him, but he doesn't realize that now, his temper worsened by the high percentage of alcohol and his reason nowhere to be seen. Y/n doesn't answer him, doesn't even spare him a glance, as his eyes search the road and desert around them, for what, Daryl doesn't know.

"What the fuck are you looking for? Hey, Y/n! Why’d ya stop driving?" He couldn't stop himself from snapping again, his words landing like a blow to the face. Y/n curls in on himself, eyes going impossibly wider.

"I, I just.. There was, I think, and I saw-" He takes sharp, uneven breaths, and points a shaking hand at the road.

"There was someone, a, a person, I think." Daryl scoffs, shaking his head as he looks where Y/n is pointing.

"There's nothing there, you're just seeing things." He leans back against the seat, expecting Y/n to start the car again, which he does. The car rumbles for a few seconds before it starts, and they continue to drive down the road. After a few, silent minutes, Y/n takes a longer inhale and tightens his grip on the steering wheel.

"Yeah, you're right. I think I'm probably just seeing things."

Dead trees and bushes flash past them, illuminated by the bright lights of the car. Y/n still hadn't turned off the mist lights, too shaken up by the strange, stumbling figure he had seen about a mile back.

"What if it was someone in need of help? What if they got stranded in the desert, injured, alone and without food? Why didn't we get out of the car to look? To ask them?" Daryl sighed as he listened to his boyfriend's rambling, sitting up a bit and turning to him.

"Look, Y/n, I know that you tend to worry about others, but we ain’t going back. If they need help, another car will come by sooner or later. And what if it was someone on drugs? Or a serial killer waiting for their new victims? Just take us home and forget about it."

"What if I can't?" Daryl's eyes snapped open at that, and he glared fiercely at his boyfriend.

"Don't you fucking dare." His warning didn't do anything, as Y/n turned the wheel and changed the car's direction, driving back the way they came too fast.

"Y/n! Y/n stop! You're gonna cause an accident!" Daryl tightly grabbed at his seat, desperate for something to hold onto as the car sped down the dark road.

But no one was prepared for what happened next.

It happened in mere seconds, but both of them felt as though it lasted minutes. The car slipped, the brakes stopped working, the car slid over something on the road, it spun around, three, four, five times, before it came to a halt, lower to the ground than it was supposed to be. The airbags had shot out, softening the impact of Y/n's head hitting the steering wheel. Daryl had been somewhat lucky, his hands clamped so tightly to the seat and window that he hadn't crashed into anything.

"Daryl?" He took another sip of the whiskey, which had also survived the almost crash, before he looked to his left, seeing Y/n with a bloody nose and a forming bruise on his right cheekbone. He wanted to worry, to wipe away the blood and place a soft kiss over the bruise, but his rage won the battle, settling deep into his core as he realized what had happened, and who had caused it.

He stepped out of the car, rounded it, and noticed that the two front tires were flat. He cursed loudly, opening his boyfriend's door and almost yanking him out of the car, pointing at the damage.

"You fucking idiot! Are you kidding me? You ruined our car! How are we getting home now, huh? How are you gonna fix this?" His voice was like thunder, and Y/n flinched out of his grip.

“I’m sorry, I really am! But I swear, there was something on the road!” He wiped at the blood on his face, this was the first time he was truly afraid of Daryl. But his boyfriend would never hit him, he never had and he never would.

It was quiet then. They didn’t know what to say or what to do. What could they do? Their car was ruined, and Daryl was so drunk he could barely keep standing.

“I’ll call Merle to pick us up, he’s probably still in town anyway.” He turned away then, leaving Y/n to himself. He muttered something about Merle probably being drunk as well before turning to the car and looking at the reflection of the window.

“Fucking great, lovely, it’s not like I have a goddamn job interview in two days.. Nope, not at all.” He hissed as his fingers brushed over the bruise, quickly pulling away. Daryl had walked to the side of the road, sitting down on a fallen tree as he tried to reach his brother.

“What did we hit in the first place, anyway?” Y/n wondered as he took a few steps away from the car, rounding it and searching the road for anything that could’ve caused the car to crash. He took out his phone and used it to shine a light on the road, noticing some red, sticky substance.

“Okay, well, that’s unsettling. Look at me, talking to myself in the middle of the night, looking at blood, sounds like a goddamn horror movie!” He sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair as he inspected the blood. But a long, vicious groan cut his train of thought off. It came from under the car.

“Okay, what the actual fuck. Daryl?” His boyfriend was still on the phone, apparently now arguing with his older brother, and he didn’t look up at the mention of his name. Y/n was about to walk over, when another groan came from under the car. His gaze snapped to the source of it, and he kneeled down.

“Please don’t be a poor dying cat, please don’t be a poor dying ca- WHAT THE HECK?!” A hand shot out, but not a normal hand, it was rotten, with flesh loosely hanging around it while black blood coated its fingers. It grabbed a hold of Y/n’s wrist before he could pull away. Y/n screamed, a loud, distressed sound which had Daryl drop his phone and jump up immediately.

Then a head came from under the car, dead and rotting and the stench was unbearable. It released another groan before diving its teeth into Y/n’s arm, biting through the flesh and muscle. But it didn’t stop there, it tore off the skin, turning the arm into a bleeding mess.

Y/n screamed again. A long, agonizing sound ripped through the air as he yanked his arm back, cradling it against his chest and staining his shirt with blood. His breaths came out fast and short as he struggled to move away, the pain in his arm so overwhelming he could barely sense Daryl’s hands on his shoulders.

“Y/n! Y/n, look at me, it’s okay, you’re gonna be fine.” Daryl’s face came in his vision, the familiar warm eyes and worried expression soothing Y/n’s incredibly fast beating heart. Their eyes locked for a brief moment before Daryl’s attention was on the wound, his hands hovering over it as he tried to figure out what to do.

“Okay, it’s, it’s not that bad. Let me just, grab s-some spare bandages from the trunk, okay?” He made sure to place a reassuring kiss on Y/n’s forehead before standing up and heading to the car.

“Wait!” Y/n’s hand shot out, catching Daryl’s wrist.

“Please don’t go, I don’t feel so, so good.” A sweat broke out on his forehead and his cheeks flushed.

“What’s wrong, how can I help?” Daryl’s worried tone did little to no good as Y/n slumped backwards, too weak to sit up anymore. Daryl quickly fell to his knees beside him, putting his hand of Y/n’s forehead to check for a fever.

“You’re burning up!” His mind shot into panic, he didn’t know what to do. Things like this normally didn’t cause an instant fever. But normally, a not-so-dead corpse wouldn’t bite into someone’s arm..

“I’m so sorry, I’m sorry, Y/n I’m so incredibly sorry!” He cradled Y/n as he spoke, afraid that this would be it, that this would be the last time he could look into those beautiful eyes.

“For what?” Y/n’s weak voice hurt his heart, this is really it.

“For everything. For drinking so often, for yelling at you, for blaming you for everything. I love you, so so much, I never wanted to hurt you.” Tears streamed down his face as he cupped Y/n’s cheek, stroking it with his fingers.

“First of all, I forgive you. It’s okay, I stayed, didn’t I? And second, you act like I’m dying! C’mon Daryl, I’m fine!” He coughed then, long and hard. His vision blurred a little as he tried to sit up. What in the world was happening to him?

“Let me call an ambulance, please?” Daryl knew how stubborn Y/n could be, especially when it came to injuries, but he was just so worried. He could be dying for all he knows! Y/n sighed but nodded, watching as Daryl walked towards his phone.

His head hurt, his vision was blurred, he felt dizzy and the pain in his arm spread through his whole body, but he still smiled, because he had a reason to smile, he had Daryl. With that thought, his consciousness faded and his body slumped on the ground.

~

[13-reasons-ideas]

Can’t Go Back Part 8

A/N: I apologize for the delay on this chapter. I had issues writing their second date. 

Our ice cream date on Wednesday was great. I didn’t realize Monty could be so… fun. He was kind of a goofball when he wasn’t with his friends. It started with a funny look when I asked for a spoon with my ice cream cone. “Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of an ice cream cone?”

“No, it mostly just makes it easier for me to steal bites of yours.” I teased.

“Oh-ho, I see. This date was all a ploy to get extra ice cream.” He smiled. I shrugged and scooped a bite of my chocolate ice cream. I licked it off my spoon and felt a smile spread across my face.

We walked around for a bit, making our way to the docks, where it was less populated. We aren’t hiding. It’s just easier to not have to explain whatever this is for now. Trying to be discreet when we found a place to sit, I leaned over and scooped a sliver off of his cookie dough ice cream off, quickly sticking it in my mouth. He pretended not to notice. I sat against a tree with my legs stretched out in front of me. I leaned on his shoulder while we watched the ducks in the lake. There was a baby duck that was straggling at the back and the mama duck was not having it. Montgomery laughed quietly when mama swam around to the back and seemed to give the duckling that look every mother gives their kids. With him distracted, I snuck another sliver of ice cream. Once again, he pretended not to notice.

My yellow dress had ridden up slightly and my knee was exposed. He placed his hand on it and squeezed absently. Soon after the duckling was given crap by mama duck, they hopped out of the water. They walked in a single file line around the shoreline. “Awe. They’re so cute.” I said more to myself than to anyone.

“They are. Danger Duck seems to have fallen in line.”

“Danger Duck?”

“Yeah. The one at the end.” Awe. He has a soul. I didn’t acknowledge that he named the duck. Instead, I decided to nick another bit of his ice cream and mix it in with a bit of mine. “My ice cream good Addy?”

“Mhmm.” I answered through my mouthful of ice cream. He laughed again. His laugh is so nice. “Very.” I said after finishing my bite. We had both gotten near the end of the cones, and it had begun to melt. I wasn’t sure if our silence was because we were comfortable or if we just hadn’t figured out what to talk about yet. Growing tired of the quiet, I leaned forward to stretch. I felt his eyes on my back and turned my head to peek back at him. He quickly looked away and pretended he wasn’t looking. I shrugged and turned my head back. Soon after, I could feel his eyes on me again. I turned again, catching him watching me. I stuck my tongue out at him and he smiled. His smile is so nice. I wish he did it more.

Finally, the silence was broken when I leaned back again. “How did your English paper go?” he asked.

“It was okay. I read The Book Thief for fun a couple of summers ago. It made it easier to find the literary devices and things, so I didn’t have to hunt through the book again when I was done reading it while I wrote.”

“Did you get the grade you wanted?”

“Yeah. I could have done better but it wasn’t like I did bad or anything. How was your physics test?”

“It was okay. Mr. Brown tests fairly easily though so that isn’t surprising.”

“I cannot explain how glad I am that I don’t need to take physics. I hated the physics unit in science class. I’m much more of a chemistry or biology person.”

“It’s not really that bad. He can at least make it interesting.”

“I guess. I just don’t really have the brain for it. I’m more of a memorizing things person than a mathematic formulas person.”

“Is that why you’re friends with Zach?”

“No. I happen to like Zach. Sure, he can be kind of an ass sometimes, but he’s not bad when you get to know him. And we aren’t best friends or anything, just see each other sometimes outside of school. I don’t tell him things very often. Having a study partner isn’t a bad thing either.”

“That’s fair. Is that why you keep Foley around?”

“Yeah, he’s my best friend. Justin is the person I talk to about things. We’ve been friends for as long as I can remember.”

“You talk to him about everything?” He asked, with a playful wiggle of his brows.

“Depends how it goes. I do stick to basics though. You know, if it was good or not. No specifics.”

“I see. So, you aren’t the virginal queen he makes you seem like. Interesting.”

“No. And I’m not telling you who it was so don’t even bother asking.” He shrugged, as though he would get it out of me eventually.

“Will you talk to him about me?”

“That depends on if I have anything to tell him.”

“You might. How do you feel about movies in the city?” We had begun walking back to our cars by now.

“I don’t do slasher flicks. I think they’re dumb.”

“Not because you’re scared?”

“No. It’s because I can’t justify paying for bad acting like that. If I wanted to watch that bad of acting, I would go on incognito and watch the before sex part of porn.”

“Oh! She’s got jokes too. That’s fair though. If you are scared though, that’s what you have me for. Action?”

“I’m down for that.” I nodded.

“Saturday? Pick you up at four? We can take a drive into the city.”

“Sure. Meet me at the end of my street?”

“You got it Addy. I’ll see you at school.” I nodded and leaned up to kiss him softly.

I arrived home a short time later and found my mom sitting in the kitchen at the desk. “Hey Mom. What are you up to?”

“Just looking at some recipes I can copy onto note cards. I finally decided to go through Nan’s box of cookbooks we brought home from Boston.”

“Sounds fun. Need any help?” I asked, walking towards her and grabbing a pen.

“Sure. You can start with Mastering the Art of French Cooking. You did your homework at the library, right?”

“Yeah. It was mostly just some reading comprehension stuff. What recipes do I do?” I made my way to the island with the large text.

“I tabbed them off. Some will need more than one note card.” I nodded and set to work.

A while later, I had written out five recipes and took a bit of a break to stretch my hand. “While I’m thinking about it, Justin and I are going to a movie in the city on Saturday night.”

“Okay. I’ll let your father know. Maybe we can have a date night or something.”

“You’ll let me know what?” My dad asked, coming downstairs.

“Addison is going to a movie Saturday night.”

“That’s nice.” Was all the response he could muster on the topic. “I’m sure the two of us kids can find something to do for the night.” He said, leaning down to kiss my mom’s temple, lovingly. She beamed up at him like it was the first time she was seeing him. It was really sweet to watch. “You’ll do the dishwasher before bed, right Addison?”

“Yeah.” Satisfied, my dad went to the living room to watch one of his shows. Open concept may look pretty, but it can be distracting.

Once I had called it quits on recipes for the day, I quickly did the dishwasher. I made sure to mark dishwasher packs on the grocery list before I went upstairs to get ready for bed. Upstairs, I checked my phone for the first time since I had gotten home. I saw that I had a few Instagram and Twitter notifications. I cleared those away. I had a couple of texts from Justin and a few from Monty. I opened Justin’s texts first.

Didn’t see you after school. Everything okay? Followed by, Mom is out of it for the night again. just a few minutes ago.

I answered him quickly. Hey sorry, I just checked my phone since getting home. Everything is good. I just had some stuff to do. Are you okay? Do you want to come over?

With that handled until I got a response, I checked the texts from Monty. I got home okay. That’s normal enough. I read the other two quickly. Had a great time today. Followed by How did you lose it by the way?

I rolled my eyes before responding. Sorry. I was helping my mom with some stuff. Glad you got home okay and I had fun too. I assume you know how Monty. I went about my nighttime business while I waited for the boys to respond to me. While I was brushing my teeth, I got a text from Justin. Seth is back. I’ll be over in fifteen.

Window will be open. Unless you want me to let mom and dad know?

Sure. It’ll be easier to come in the front door.

Okay, door will be open. See you in a few. “Mom? Dad?” I called, poking my head out the door.

“Yes?” Dad answered.

“Justin is coming over for the night. His mom isn’t feeling very well and doesn’t want him to get sick.”

“K. Whatever.” I raised my brows and rolled my eyes as I closed my door. I threw on my pyjamas and ran down to unlock the front door. A cup of hot chocolate was then set in the microwave to heat up, along with some leftovers. I knew he probably hadn’t had dinner.

Ten minutes later, Justin knocked on the door and walked in.

“Hey, thanks for letting me come over.” I watched as he placed his gym bag on the floor near the stairs.

“Of course. You know you’re always welcome here.” I watched as he walked over to me in the kitchen. I searched his face to see if Seth had done anything. His face seemed fine and he walked normally. That’s good. The microwave dinged as he got over to me and he jumped a bit. “I put some cocoa in for you. There’s also whatever leftovers we had from today. I wasn’t home for dinner.” He nodded and hugged me. I held him close for a few moments until the microwave beeped again and I heard his stomach rumble. We both laughed quietly. He grabbed his plate and mug and sat at the island.

“You weren’t home today?”

“No. I had stuff to do, like I said Justin. By the way, my parents might ask you about plans on Saturday to go to a movie. Just agree.”

“Um… okay.”

“Enough about me. What’s going on with you and Hannah Baker?”

“I don’t know. She’s pretty cute.”

“Do you like her?” I asked, cheekily.

“Maybe. She seems nice.”

“Okay.” I left it at that.

“Why do you need me to agree with your parents about plans Saturday, Addy?”

“I just have some stuff to take care of Justin. Don’t worry. Nothing really major.”

“Uh-huh.” He didn’t seem to believe me but didn’t press on. I think he was just tired.

“Ready for bed?” He nodded and placed his dishes in the sink.

We made our way upstairs to get him ready for bed for the night again. His varsity jacket was hung on my door rack and his bag was placed beside my desk. “Did you want me to take the floor tonight or did you want to sleep together?” i asked, as I ushered him into my bathroom.

“Together? It’s been kind of a long day.”

“Of course.” While he got ready for bed, I grabbed his pillow from my closet and switched it out with the one on my bed. I was doing a touch of reading for English when he climbed into bed beside me. He curled up beside me, almost immediately falling asleep, and I kissed his head softly. “Good night Justin.” I whispered into the darkness.

The next morning, I was able to rope Justin into helping me pick an outfit. We settled on a pair of black leggings and a longer red tank top, paired with a light grey cardigan and black flats. Downstairs, we made a quick breakfast of cereal and toast. “Hello Justin.” My dad greeted from his seat.

“Morning Brooks.”

“Morning dad.”

“Morning.” He half grunted to me. Justin glanced at me and I shrugged.

“Good morning Justin. How is your mum feeling?” Mom asked.

“Morning Margot. She’s feeling okay now, I think. Probably another stomach thing.”

Mom eyed me, knowing it wasn’t a stomach bug. I grimaced in response. “Well I hope she feels better soon.”

“Me too Margot. Me too.” He muttered. Surprisingly, they didn’t ask him about our “plans” Saturday. I suppose it wasn’t that surprising though, as I had never really given them a reason not to trust me before.

I drove us to school and we walked to his locker together. “I’m just saying. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to you know, talk to her. She is totally into you.”

“I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

“Really? You’re Justin freaking Foley. You can just say words and she will fall at your feet. She’s already seen you shirtless.”

“That was different.”

“Right, right. Different.” At his locker, he was once again beckoned by Bryce.

“I swung by your place this morning to see if you wanted a ride. Didn’t look like you were home.” I rolled my eyes.

“Yeah, I was out last night. It’s fine.” Bryce’s eyes went back and forth between the two of us.

“You smell like strawberries.” Monty added. I tried to hide my blush and bit back a giggle.

“Do I?” He sniffed himself. “You said it wouldn’t be that strong Addy.”

“Yeah, it’s not. If you use a normal amount. You used more shampoo than I do. I wasn’t going to say anything about it though.” He made a face and I caught Monty’s eye. I smiled politely back at him, trying to keep appearances and all. “I’m sure you could ask Jeff for some of whatever makes him smell like that.” The group of boys looked at me with slightly wide eyes. “You want to deny that he smells good?” A few shrugs and head shakes were the answer. I turned when I heard him laughing with Clay and Leah. “Speak of the saintly devil. Hey Jeff Atkins.”

“Addison Hawthorne, what can I do for you today?”

“Justin smells like girl and apparently that’s a bad thing now.”

“It is when I smell like you.”

“Hey. I smell nice you jerk.”

“I know you do. But I don’t want to smell like you.”

“Ah. You need body spray. Come to my locker and I’ve got you. You coming, Addison?” He’s the only person who uses my full name and doesn’t sound like I’m in trouble. Maybe Monty will sound nice using it.

“Yeah. I’m headed that way for French anyway.” He nodded and the five of us made our way to his locker, Monty’s eyes boring into me as we went.

I was sitting in the library working on some homework during my free period, listening to a playlist on Spotify, when I was interrupted by someone dropping their bag on the table. “Jesus Christ.” I exclaimed. I looked up as my- my what exactly? -Monty sat in the chair across from me. “Oh, it’s just you.” Mystery solved; I went back to my homework.

“Sorry.” He mumbled as he leaned back. He appeared to be making himself comfortable.

“We are at school you know.”

“I noticed that, yeah.”

“People might notice you’re sitting with me.”

“We share classes. You’re friends with someone on the football team. Not going to cause that much of a stir.”

“Alright. Since you’re here and we share classes, did you finish the chemistry assignment?”

“Yeah. Need to copy some answers? Am I rubbing off on you already?”

“No, I just want to make sure I did question seven right.” I heard him hum and then dig around in his bag, looking for his assignment. “Is your bag also where things go to die?”

“Maybe.”

“Is that a boy thing?”

“Definitely. Here you go.” I compared the answers we had and the work we did. Seeing that it looked right, I nodded.

“Did you actually want something or are you just here to look pretty?” I asked after a while of him sitting and watching me.

“Why does Justin smell like you?”

“He spent the night last night and needed to shower this morning. We ran out of his regular soap and I haven’t had a chance to go to the store to replace it.”

“Why?”

“Why did he stay over? Or why does he have no more soap?”

“Both.”

“His mom was sick, and she didn’t want him to catch anything. He has no more soap because he didn’t tell me he was out until he was going to shower this morning.”

“He has soap at your house?”

“Yeah. He showers at my place when he spends the night and doesn’t always want to smell like, and I quote, ‘girly soap with frilly names’.” He hummed in response. It didn’t seem like he was too impressed with my explanation. Oh well. Before he could voice his displeasure, the bell rang. “I’ll see you tomorrow Monty.” I muttered as I gathered my things and walked away, leaving him to brood by himself.

Saturday came around and we had a fantastic time on our movie date. He gave me some playful crap about my movie snack choice. We drove around for a bit afterwards, just listening to the radio and enjoying each other’s company. He had his hand placed on my thigh, as though it was made to fit in his grip. It felt like the natural place for it to sit. We didn’t really want to call it a night just yet. But we also didn’t know what to talk about. Our superficial conversations flowed easily. The issue came when we had deeper things to talk about. It felt like to go any deeper, we had to define what we were first. That didn’t seem like the kind of conversation to have after a movie date, at this time of night. It was past ten when he dropped me off. I crept into the house quietly. My dad was sitting in the living room watching tv. He didn’t even acknowledge that I had gotten in. I didn’t really care anymore, since I was used to him paying little to no mind to me.

Upstairs, I changed into my cat pyjama bottoms and an old t-shirt. I was ready for bed shortly after. I cracked my window open some to let in some fresh air and spent some time scrolling through Instagram under my blankets. I liked some of my friends’ posts and commented on others. I lost track of time when I started watching videos and was brought back to reality when I heard what sounded like my name being called quietly outside. Thinking it was Justin coming over unexpectedly, I stood up and opened my window all the way. I motioned for him to climb the ‘decorative’ ladder I had my parents install. It does fit the house better than lattice. I was startled once again, when Monty poked his head up in my window. “Monty? What are you doing here?”

“Hey. I couldn’t sleep. Can I come in?”

“Yeah, sure. You’re up here now.” He nodded and I watched as he climbed and then fell through my window, extremely ungracefully. The accompanying thud did little to make the situation better. “Fuck Monty. Make some more noise why don’t you? I don’t think the people in Tibet heard you.” I glanced at my door and waited a minute. When no knock came, I let out a breath.

“Sorry. I’m sure I could knock a thing or two off the shelves while I’m here though. Oh, by the way, you should really look before inviting people in through your window. I could have been an axe murderer.”

“Please don’t. I thought you were Justin. He comes over unannounced sometimes.”

“Still.” He sat on my bed and took in his surroundings, now that I had turned on my lamp. “Cute room. Very much what I pictured.” I sat next to him and tried to put myself in his place as I looked around. I examined the cream walls. The black and white furniture. The books piled on my desk neatly. The fresh lilacs on my dresser between pictures of my friends and me. My jewelry holders in the corner of my dresser. The mirror on my closet door. He’s not wrong. It’s what I would have pictured too.

“Not that I’m upset about seeing you again, but what are you doing here Monty?”

“Told you. I couldn’t sleep. I needed to see you.”

“Alright. Uh… were you planning on staying or…?”

“I could stay if you want. Or I can go in a while. It’s your room.”

“If you stay, you have to be gone out the window in the morning.”

“That sounds doable.” He leaned back and made himself comfortable. Okay then. I mean, not opposed to him sleeping in my bed, but it’s a little early for that. I shrugged and crawled in beside him. I felt him pull me closer into his side and rolled over to face him.

“I wouldn’t have pegged you for a cuddler.”

“What can I say, I’m full of surprises.”

“Clearly. The first one was that I make you nervous.” I giggled.

“And why is that surprising?” he smirked back at me.

“Because you don’t seem like the type to get nervous around girls. And don’t say you weren’t nervous.”

“I wasn’t.”

“Bull. But whatever helps you sleep at night.” I smiled. “Are you going to sleep in your jeans?”

“Do you want me to take my jeans off?” he asked, smirking slightly.

“It just seems like it would be uncomfortable to spend the whole night in jeans, is all. Don’t be getting any ideas, you.”  

“I said nothing.” He laughed. I smiled and rolled my eyes at him.

“You thought it. I know you did.”

He shrugged. “Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t. No rule that says I can’t think that about my girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend?” I squeaked. We hadn’t defined what we were. I wasn’t expecting this conversation to happen for a while yet, if at all.

“Yeah. Did you think I just ask anyone on dates?”

“I mean, I guess not…?”

“I don’t.”

“Okay.” I nodded, before resting my head on his broad chest. After a few beats of silence, I spoke up. “Hey Monty?”

“Yeah Addy?”

“Can… would it… could we keep this between us for now?”

He paused for a minute, “yeah. If that’s what you want, then we can keep it quiet for now.”

“It’s just that I don’t want to deal with people’s opinions or anything, you know?”

“By people’s, do you mean your friends?”

“And other people. You know how the kids we go to school with can be.”

“That’s true. They’ll run with this.”

“Yup.” It was quiet for a time again, while we just listened to each other’s breathing. “Monty?” I whispered.

“Yes?” he whispered back.

“Good night.”

“Good night. I’ll wake you before I leave in the morning.” I kissed his chest softly before drifting off to sleep.