#I feel like a worried mother who hasn’t seen her son in awhile

[internet-go-brrrr]

But what about Cody?

Where’s he at? What’s he doing? Who are his friends? Who’s he hanging out with?

[amelialincoln]

Prompt: Amelia calls home (either mom or sisters) on the Bluetooth in the car home except she has one of Mer’s kids with her who completely exposes Amelia

yes but its scout instead 

Past in Present 

“It’s not that I don’t want to tell anyone.” Amelia sighed, playing with her seatbelt uncomfortably. “It’s just that last time we told everyone immediately...and we lost it...and everyone was walking on eggshells around me for weeks. If that happens again I want to be able to grieve alone with you in private, not with the whole freaking hospital’s eyes on us.” She played with the tiny ultrasound scan in her lap absentmindedly. Link nodded, staring straight into the traffic in front of him. They barely brought it up and she could tell that the topic upset him by how hard he was clutching the steering wheel. “Hey.” She placed her hand on his rigid shoulder. “I’m not trying to be negative.”

“I know,” he whispered, glancing at her and giving her a small smile before pulling her thigh towards the driver’s seat and resting his hand atop of it. “You just know how bad I am at secrets.”

“Yeah, I mean you told Jo like an hour after I told you the first time,” she joked.

“Well, I was in a state of shock,” he chuckled.

“Auntie Jo?” Scout squealed from the backseat, apparently suddenly awake and full of energy. Amelia grinned, turning to face the giggling toddler in the back. She was sure that he’d gotten every last bit of her ADHD.

“Yes, bug, we’re talking about auntie Jo.” She reached to tickle the small boy’s feet and he erupted into happy screams in response.

“Inside voice, Scout,” his father winced.

“Sorry, Dadda,” Scout whispered almost comically, causing Amelia to stifle a laugh.

“Hey, your sister is calling.” Link motioned to the car’s audio display. Before Amelia could ask which one he added, “Liz,” and answered before she could tell him otherwise. “Hey, Liz, It’s Link. You're on speakerphone in the car.”

“Hi, Link,” Liz gushed, causing Amelia to roll her eyes. “Can you hear me, Amy?” 

“Yep,” she replied, forcing enthusiasm. “What’s up?”

“Oh, nothing really. Just wanted to see how you were holding up out there. Also, you know me being the planner I am, I was wondering if you guys were planning on coming for Christmas? Just trying to get everything sorted.”

“That’s like six months away,” Amelia replied, giving Link an exasperated look.

“I know,” Liz laughed. “It’s just we’re deciding whether to stay in the city or book a getaway in Colorado for the whole family and it all depends if you guys are coming or not.”

“Well, I mean--”

“Sorry, Liz, we’re just going under the tunnel so you might cut out for a sec.” Link pressed the mute button on Amelia’s phone.

“Link, what’s up? I can tell her that we aren’t coming just--”

“No, I think going would be fun, it's just you shouldn’t be flying that late in your pregnancy,” he reminded her, rubbing reassuring circles on her thigh as he watched her confusion pass.

“Mommy’s preeganant!” Scout sang from behind them. Amelia would do anything to go back to the night that they told him to witness the look on his face for a second time. To say he was excited was an understatement.

“You’re right, big guy.” She laughed as Link gave the babbling toddler an awkward backwards high five. “It’s fine, babe. We’ll just say no and they’ll understand when we tell them the news another day.”

“Okay,” He sighed. “But if she gets mad, you’re taking the blame. She scares me.” Amelia rolled her eyes, unmuting the phone.

“Hey, Liz. Can you hear us now? Sorry, there was some traffic as we were going under.”

“Yep, all good,” Liz’s voice rang from the other end. “Back to Christmas then.”

“Yeah, it might be a little too much this year. I think Maggie and Winston are flying in from Chicago and Scout hasn’t seen them in awhile.”

“Oh, wow. You’ve really got it all planned out in advance then,” Liz teased, her tone was evident that she knew Amelia was making excuses, as always.

“My Mommy is having a baby!” Scout took the silence as the perfect time for his big announcement. 

“Scout,” Amelia hissed, as the couple turned around to stare at their son in horror. Link burst out laughing and Amelia swatted him angrily.

“Um, congratulations?” Liz’s voice came from the other end. “Nice to hear from you, Scout. Wanna clear anything up, Amelia?”

“Uh, eight weeks along but obviously there’s a chance I could miscarry so I don’t want to give a concrete no for Christmas yet.” She bit her fingernail nervously.

“That’s amazing! You actually have a good excuse this year then,” Liz laughed. “We were all worried you had decided to stop after Scout, with him being five. We just remember you going on as a kid about wanting four kids over and over.” Link grinned at that, squeezing his wife’s thigh excitedly. “Obviously Scout is perfect on his own but we just hoped we were going to get another niece or nephew,” Liz exclaimed happily. Amelia groaned, imagining how many family dinners that her and Link’s lack of babies had been the topic of conversation. “Have you gotten a scan? You know we’d all love to see pictures.”

“Yeah, I’ll send some over,” Amelia sighed, her enthusiasm wearing out. “Well, it was really nice to talk to you, Liz. Just try to keep the baby news on the down low until we’re sure that everything will work itself out.”

“Oh, Amelia, stop fretting. It’s unlike you. I already texted Mom and she’s over the moon.”

“Grandma!” Scout babbled happily, confused by the glare he was receiving from his mother.

“Yes, exactly, Scout. Amy, we all really need to see more of your little angel.” Amelia could her slightly condescending tone through the phone. 

“Alright, Liz. We’ve got to go.” Her finger hovered over the end call button as Liz said her goodbye before ending the call and bursting into tears.

“Mia, what?” Link pulled into their driveway and parked quickly before enveloping her in a hug.

“I’m hormonal and tired, it’s fine,” she mumbled, pushing him away limply.

“Momma, why are you sad?” Scout asked quietly. “Did I say something bad?”

“No, baby,” Amelia sighed, removing Scout from his carseat and picking him up into his arms to console him.

“Give him to me,” Link ordered. “We’ve talked about carrying heavy stuff. He’s too big now.” Amelia sighed, passing the wiggling boy into his fathers arms, not in the mood to argue.

                                                        [][][]

“Hey, I finally got him into bed, are you feeling better?” Link winced as Amelia threw up in response. “Pizza didn’t sit right?”

“Please don’t talk about pizza,” Amelia begged, laying down on the cool bathroom tile. “Just leave me to die.” Link chuckled, sitting down beside her and running his hand through her sweaty hair.

“Baby number two is causing a lot more grief than Scout, huh?”

“Link, this is baby number four,” Amelia sniffled, moving slightly to lay her head on his lap and letting a wave of dizziness pass over her. “Just because Christopher and Jake didn’t make it doesn’t mean...”

“I know, Mia. I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry,” he sighed, trying to read her distant expression. “You want to get in the shower?”

“Maybe, I think that was the last of it,” she grimaced, allowing him to tug off her crewneck and sweats.

“I was talking to Jo and she said she started showing earlier with her second baby,” Link beamed as he stepped into the steamy shower behind her. The topic of Jo being able to get pregnant twice so easily in the time frame that him and Amelia had been trying for one usually set her off but instead his wife smiled softly.

“Yeah, I read that somewhere too. Maybe sometime this month then.”

“Are you upset about the conversation with Liz?” He asked, pouring shampoo on the crown of her head before doing the same to his.

“I just don’t like the idea of them gossiping about our lack of children. Scout is perfect on his own, he doesn’t need a sibling,” she replied, rubbing the shampoo angrily into her scalp.

“Okay, can you have a little bit of faith here though?” Link sighed, tugging her around to face him. “I’m not asking you to get your hopes up or throw a party, I just want a little reassurance that you’re actually happy about this.” Amelia softened.

“Of course I’m happy,” she brushed soapy water off of his forehead, absentmindedly. “We’ve wanted this for years.”

“Okay...do we still want it? Cause I’m confused here, Amelia.” He glanced down at her hands resting on her midsection.

“Link, I want this baby so bad it’s literally tearing me apart and I don’t know if I can handle going through what we went through again. I honestly...” she trailed off not knowing how to find the right words.

“I’m here, Mia. I’m always going to be here,” he assured her, wrapping his arms around her waist and planting a kiss on her wet forehead. “No matter what, we’re going to have each other.”

“I know,” she smiled softly, letting out a long exhale. “It’s just been hard, these past couple of years, watching everyone around us give birth to beautiful, healthy babies. Maggie, Jo, Maya...and everyone keeps asking us if we’re planning on having more and I have to keep saying not right now as if we haven’t been trying for years.”

“Carina said the heartbeat was strong,” Link reminded her with a sense of pride that was usually only associated with Scout.

“I know,” she replied, tiredly. “That’s good.” Link nodded, leaning back under the stream of water to rid his hair of suds.

“Alright, let’s get you out of here. It’s boiling and you look like you’re about to pass out,” he teased.

“I honestly might,” she yawned in response, allowing him to wrap her up in one of their fluffy, white towels and carry her to bed.

[xmalereader]

Bruce Wayne X Male reader

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|| Masterlist ||

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Summary: Bruce Wayne is set up on a blind date by Selena, he meets a cute reader who’s actually a popular artist but remains annoymous until his sons find out first.

Warning: Fluff, insecurities, shyness.

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“I’m not going.”

“Come on Bruce! You’ve been on your own for awhile now and I think it’s time that you start dating! So please just go out with this person for one night that’s all, just one night.” Said Selena as she gave Bruce the eyes.

Bruce could only frown before letting out a deep sigh and silently agreeing to the blind date, Selena cheers quietly as she smiled. “You are going to love him.” She tells him with a big smile on her face, Bruce raised a brow at her. “Him?”

“What? Can’t date a man?”

Bruce looks away, “I’ve slept with a few back then but I haven’t dated any guy before.” He admits as he sets down the newspaper he had in hand and stands up from his chair. “Believe me you’ll like him, he’s really nice and charming and a gentlemen but let’s be honest you are too. Oh! And he’s really great with kids you know? In case things go well and all maybe he can be like the new mother to your four boys.”

“It’s a blind date not an arranged marriage and besides, how do I know who he is?” Bruce questions and makes his way around the manor with Selena following right behind him. “It’s easy, he wear these round rim glasses which makes him look adorable and hsi hair is as white as snow, natural color actually.” She tells the big man as they entered his room. “Why don’t you date him?”

“Oh, I would but as you can see he is not interested in me and I see him more as a friend and roommate than as a boyfriend or dating material, you know?”

Bruce didn’t know.

He’s only dated a few people and his relationships didn’t end so well, the first person he dated at talia and ended up having a son with her and then things went sideways, next was Selena. She was a nice woman and all but he just didn’t see himself settling down with her or anyone else, he was too busy taking care of his own family and focusing on the company and as Batman.

“How old is he?”

Selena frowns, “Why don’t you just go and meet him, I already told him that he has a date tonight at six, told him to dress casual since he’s not the kind of guy to go to a fancy place he says that it makes him feel uncomfortable.”

“So where will I men meeting him or is he or I going to pick him up?”

“You ask way to many questions; But, I didn’t tell him that it was you since its a blind date so you’ll be meeting him at a nice coffee shop that is also a bookstore, been their and not too crowded so not many people will notice you.” She finished explains to him and wasn’t going to answer any more questions wether he liked it or not.

Bruce was looking through his clothing and seeing what he can find to wear tonight. Sighing he rubs his neck as he didn’t find anything casual since he was always wearing something nice. “Alright, ill meet him their and make sure that it goes well. Let’s just hope that your little friend shows up.” He turns around to face Selena with crossed arms.

Selena could only grin and hum. “Don’t worry he’s a nice guy and he won’t leave, actually he’s more afraid of being stood up by you. Thing is that he doesn’t know who you are so just enjoy your date and don’t act all rich around him.” She walks over to Bruce nad kissed his cheek before bidding her farewell, exiting his room she turns around and gasps to see Tim, Jason, Dick, and Damian standing by the doorway.

“You all heard right?” She asks with crossed arms.

“You’re setting up my father with someone? Seriously, I mean if he really needs to cause Trollop than he should just go to a club or something.” Said Damian with a glare on his face as Selena stared at him with a confused one.

“He means sex.” Dick corrects Damian and gave a nervous smile to Selena.

“Oh, well it’s not a one night stand. Both Bruce and my friend need this and I think it’ll work-“ before she could keep going she smirks at the idea that suddenly pops into her head. “Why don’t you follow him and see how the date goes? Maybe that way you can decide if he’s good enough or not.” She leans off the door and began to walk away from the boys.

“She’s not wrong you know.”

“We aren’t following him.” Said Dick.

“I say we follow him.” Tim

“Agreed.” Both Damian and Jason said at the same time as the three boys ran to the bat cave to get ready for tonight while dick groans loudly and chased after them.

Once the clock stroke six, Bruce was getting himself ready for the date tonight and was able to find something casual. He fixed up his hair and sighs as he finished getting ready. He would check his phone a few times to keep track of the time as he drove to hsi destination.

The small bookstore looked nice and warm, almost friendly looking. He could smell the coffee once he stepped inside the shop and saw multiple people walking around quietly with books and coffee in hand. He looks over to the tables and searched for a certain whit haired boy. Frowning a little he didn’t notice anyone with white hair, checking his watch he notices that he’s early and thinks that the other is just on his way. Before he could order his own coffee he noticed a certain man sitting by the window with his hoodie on, he was wearing round glasses as he sketched in his notebook.

Bruce turns and approached the table, setting his hand on the free chair that was across from the other male. “Mind if I sit?”

The other is startled and shuts his notebook, he looks up to see Bruce and quickly takes his hoodie off. “Are you Bruce?” He asks softly and stands up to greet him. “Yes and you must be Selena’s roommate correct?”

“Actually she’s my roommate but-“ he shakes his head. “That doesn’t matter, anyways I’m Y/n.” He extends his hand out for a hand shake which Bruce accepted. The two sat down as Y/n looks down shyly. “I’m sorry but I’m not really used to this sort of stuff, Selena sort of forced me to go on this blind date so I’m sorry if I’m wasting your time.”

Bruce was a little shocked by the others explanation, he didn’t expect the other to be so forward. But he did notice a few things that stood out to him, he noticed that Y/n was avoiding eye contact and kept his hands wrapped around the coffee cup, his fingers tracing small shapes onto it’s surface as if trying to distract himself from an awkward conversation.

This guy was shy and an open book.

“You’re not wasting my time, actually Selena also forced me too but I couldn’t refuse. I’m not the kind of guy who refuses a date.” He smirks at Y/n, trying to flirt with the other.

Y/n could only chuckle softly as he rubs his cheek with his hand. “Guess were on the same page.” He replies with a sweet smile that caused Bruce to feel a little warm inside.

The two slowly began to talk.

It was awkward at first but as time went by Y/n was opening up as they talked about random subjects, just small things to get to know each other.

“Wait so your a single parent?” Y/n asks. They were talking abut Bruce’s small family and him mentioning his sons. “I am a single parent but I’ve never been married before, no. Three of my boys are adopted and the other is my actual son....sort of slipped up on that relationship.” Says Bruce as Y/n smiles a softly and takes a small sip of his coffee. “I think that’s nice of you to do you know, taking in four boys all on your own. Must be tough.”

Bruce laughs and leans back in his seat and nods. “Tougher than you can think.”

“We are not tough!”

“Shut up Jason, you know it’s true.”

The two adults were talking to each other for almost three hours now.

Y/n was actually having a good Time with Bruce, he didn’t feel uncomfortable anymore and more relaxed than ever. It’s been years since he last dated, he was to focused on his career and mother that he never gave himself some time.

Bruce was about to ask Y/n something else but was cut off by the ringing of Y/n’s phone. “Sorry..” he says as he pulls out his phone and stand up. “I need to take this-“

“Don’t worry take your time.” Bruce said with a small wave.

Y/n thanks Bruce and walks off to answer the phone call.

So far so good, Bruce was actually enjoying himself. He didn’t have to dress up nice today and the date didn’t take place in a fancy and expensive restaurant like he thought it would. Instead he got a bookstore and coffee, which he was okay with. Most of the people that he dates know who he is and usually date him for the money, sometimes he only has a one night and moves on but somehow he feels like he wants to continue seeing Y/n.

“I’m so sorry about this,” Bruce is pulled out of his thoughts as he turns to Y/n, hearing a hint of worry in his voice. “I have to get going, something came up and it’s urgent.” He explains and picks up his notebook and slips his phone back inside his pocket. “It’s fine, we all get busy.” Bruce stands up as well, gathering himself once again as he sighs and turns to Y/n.

“I really enjoyed tonight, I hope that we can do it again!” Y/n shouts out as he rushed out the door, waving goodbye as the other ran down the street.

Bruce was left in the shop as he watched Y/n run off, cursing to himself as he mumbled. “I forgot to get his number.” He rubs his neck tiredly and throws away his empty coffee cup and heads back home.

Bruce hasn’t seen Y/n or Selena in almost three weeks now, he’s tried to call Selena and ask for Y/n’s number but she never answered and he didn’t know where she lived. ( I mean they both lived together ) He knows that he could easily look him up but he really wants to give this dating thing a try with Y/n and he didn’t want to look through Y/n’s personal information, not yet.

So, bruce spent the weeks busying himself in the office and going on patrol with his boys.

He remembers one night he was swinging through the city and he swore that he saw a young man with whiter hair down in the streets which caused Bruce to lose concentration and almost slammed himself against a building, but good thing that he was able to focus before anything could happen.

The boys were shocked by this, Bruce would never lose focus and he was always serious when patrolling. So the boys took drastic measures into their own hands, they would keep themselves busy in the bat cave as the searched up the guy that bruce went on a date with not too long ago. They were Able to find a few things about Y/n.

He was a 28 year old man who worked at an art store.

His father died in an accident and his mother was currently in the hospital, diagnose with cancer.

Damian frowns at the new information. “That night he ran like hell.” He blurts out as he hears Tim’s typing stop, getting the attention of the others. “He did say that it was urgent.” Tim answers back as he approached Damian and stands next to him. Damian checks the hospital reports and hums, “As expected his mother was going through a rough stage of cancer the night he and father went out.” He began to explain as he continued to look through the files.

Dick moved over to the computer this time and sighs. “She’s been sick for two years now, she’s been lucky so far but how is he able to get the perfect treatments for his mother?” He asks as he shoved Damian off the chair, earning a growl in response as he made his own research on Y/n. He skims through and stops at a familiar painting that he’s seen before, “Wait-“

He pulls up the information and his eyes widen. “Holy shit, Y/n is a famous painter! This guy makes almost fifty-one thousand a year.” He says as he quickly types. “It’s not really a lot.” Jason cuts in with crossed arms, dick turns around to face hsi brothers. “It ma not be a lot but he stil makes a lot and look,” he pulls up some pictures of the paintings that he’s done and sold. “Half of these paintings were bought by bruce during an art show. He goes every year and buys a new painting from the anonymous artist and turns out that he’s dating that guy but doesn’t know it!”

Jason gasps dramatically. “Oh my god! Why does that even matter?” He frowns at dick and placed his hands on his hips as he tilts his head to the side.

“He’s famous in Gotham, probably the second most popular here in Gotham.” Said Damian. “Fathers dating another millionaire.”

During one of Bruce’s meetings he gets a random phone call from Selena.

Raising a brow he answers the call. “can I help you with something Selena?” He questions as he waits for the others response. “Wow so strict but no, I actually called to see if you wanted to join me in some art gallery show that they are hoisting today.” Bruce thinks for a second before answering. “Why not take Y/n with you?”

“Yeah...wish I could but he’s been busy since you two went out on a date. He’s been doing stuff...” She answers, he could hear her moving around the room.

“What-!? Don’t move me!”

Bruce could hear Y/n’s voice in the background as Selena laughs at the white haired male before she turns back to her phone. “Be ready by five, I’ll meet you there.” Is all she said before hanging up.

Bruce pulls his phone away from his ear and stares at the black screen before groaning and rubbing his temples, why was he always getting involved into this sort of stuff?

Bruce knew that he wasn’t going to be alone at the gallery since the boys were also tagging along. The five of them were dressed up in nice tux’s since it was going to be full of people and mainly rich people since the go to gallery’s to buy art pieces. “Now, don’t cause any trouble.” He warns the others as he was helping Damian with his tie. “Since we are going together to this gallery do you mind if I borrow some money to buy an art piece?” Damian asks, once bruce was finished with his tie he sighs. “Just one piece, we don’t know if their be good artist at this place.” He slicked his hair back as they made their way outside and into their vehicles heading towards the gallery.

The place was crowded and full of people. Everyone was talking and drinking as they admired the art work, some were already buying art pieces while others only critique. “Remember.” Bruce said and glared at the others. “No trouble, espiaclly you two.” He points to both Damian and Tim who in return gets an offend look by his own son.

“Good.” With that he makes his way around the gallery, stopping by every once an awhile to admire some of the art work. He was standing in front of a piece when he hears stand next to him, glancing over his eyes widen as he spots the familiar round glasses and white hair. “Y/N?”

Y/n is startled as he sees bruce next to him, “Bruce? Hey, it’s been awhile.” He said with a small hint of red spreading across his cheeks. Bruce could only smile at him, “Selena told me that you were busy today, said that wouldn’t make it.”

“Yeah, about that.” Y/n started to explain to Bruce about his mother and how she was in the hospital. He would stay days with her and would help her with her treatment but since nothing has gotten better for his mother he tends to worry for her. “I’m sorry that I left in a hurry, I hope that I didn’t make upset.” He avoids Bruce’s eyes and stares down as he drink in hand and shyly rubs the back of his neck. “No need, I suspected that something was wrong you don’t need to apologize.” He answers back.

Y/n lets a small smile appear on his lips before he turns his head to look at the painting. “Beautiful right?” He blurts out, changing the subject as bruce looks at the painting as well. “It really is, The colors are beatiful but I prefer anonymous’s paintings..”

Y/n froze in place, staring at the wall now. “R-really? H-how come?” He stutters out, hoping that bruce wouldn’t notice. “Their art usually tells a story and their portraits are lovely too, I sometimes asked myself if they get professional models or picks popular place as the scenery.”

Y/n’s face was heating up from all the praise he was receiving. “I heard that their new project was impressive.” He mumbles out and clears his throat. “Also heard that it was bought by someone named Mr. Wayne?”

It was Bruce’s turn to get startled as he chokes on his drink. “Are you okay?!” Y/n gasps as he gently pats his back and bites his lip as he watched bruce cough and shake his head. “I’m fine!” He says between coughs before he clear his throat and straightened his posture. “Please excuse me for a minute.” He tells y/n and leaves to search for Damian.

He finds the teenager talking smack on Tim as he approached his son. “You bought a painting.” He states. “Yes father, you gave me permission to purchase one and I did.” Damian stand in front of his father with his hands behind his back. “How much did you buy it for?”

“Well many people were bidding on it and the highest was almost 60K so I bought it for a million.”

“You bought my painting for a million?”

Bruce turns around it see Y/n standing in front of them with a shocked look on his face, “No one has ever done that...I can’t accept that money.”

“And why not? You worked hard on your painting and deserve the money that you earn from it and besides I quiet like it.” Said Damian.

“Yes I know but-“

“Wait, your anonymous? You’re the one that makes all of those popular paintings?” Bruce asks as Y/n looks down. “yes...I don’t really like mentioning it since criticizers usually attack me with their negative thoughts on my art so that’s why I decide to remain nameless, you see I cant handle criticizers very well...” he pushed his glasses up and places with the ends of his tie, staring down at his shoes and biting his lip.

Bruce was surprised to know that this man was the famous artist that he has been buying from. Every time that he bought an art work he always made sure to send them a ‘thank you’ for all the hard work the put into their work but Y/n was a very hard person to find until now.

“You know that you don’t have to be afraid, I like your work and I think that it’s beautiful.”

Y/n blushes again and chuckles shyly. “Thank you, bruce.”

Damian smirks as he opens his mouth. “Your recent art work is very well made, I’m kind of glad that I bought it since it represents your date with my father.”

“What?”

Y/n shakes his head at Damian as he quickly chased after Bruce who walked off to search for hsi art work. Y/n was panicking from embarrassment as he sees bruce come upon his art work, the piece resembled the time that he and Y/n were talking about their past lives. During that moment Y/n was able to get a mental shot of bruce staring out the with a smile on his face. Y/n couldn’t get rid of that image in his head and decides to paint him out, making sure to keep Bruce’s face hidden a bit since he didn’t really get his permission to paint him.

“I-“

“Ill give you 2 million.” Bruce blurts out.

“What? NO!” Y/n shouts out in embarrassment and covers his face from bruce.

[inigofication]

Soleil Masterpost, Sessions 17.5-24

An INCREDIBLY long and detailed catch-up post with how Soleil has been doing!

Session 17.5 (one shot with 2/3 party members)

In the midst of some chaos, Soleil is taking care of the group’s spaceship when a priestess of Erathis shows herself to Soleil, knocking her off her feet and tells her “Your brother still lives. Head to the Far Reaches.” Until now, Soleil thought her brother was dead- clings onto the idea that the Far Reaches is around Pluto (because of what she learned in school as a space pilot). Her and her gang are currently on Mars.

Soleil and fellow pc Hazel hang out at their ship together, Hazel accidentally sets off the hyperdrive and sends them to a magic school made at the beginning of time. Eventually discover that the place is being ran by someone named “The Master”, who is a passed out, scrawny, 19 year old kid that looks interestingly like one of our friend NPCS- possibly his son? Also, we accidentally take a cosmic being back to the present with us and we discover a message from the Master asking for Hazel’s dad.

Session 18

Soleil and Hazel use a scrying orb together to find out that Soleil’s uncle (who she recently learned is a alive) hired a succubus to find Soleil for him, and now said succubus is accompanied with a cultist and a vampire while they track us

Fellow pc Lorelle and Soleil have a shared gay moment over Hazel 👍

Session 19

Soleil discovers that she can’t use Message on her uncle because his appearance has changed so heavily from when she last saw him that it doesn’t work

Soleil tries contacting her brother for the first time. Hears back, “Move to the Eastern flank! All squadrons down! [+ continuous laser fire]” However, all she gets from him is that same message, looping over and over again until the spell ends. Weird, but not confusing; Soleil realizes they might be too far for their Message radio to properly reach him

Soleil full name reveal! A space station that they head for asks for her name, rank, and affiliation: Soleil Aimee Mercier, Rank Pathfinder, Project Neudon

After landing, the AI asks Soleil if she’s heard anything from the Far Reaches Movement; it’s purpose was to seek out exoplanets, train for eventual colonization, etc. The station was told to stay radio silent unless FRM reached out to them first- the AI sent us a distress call regardless because the station was losing power

The AI has Lucas’ (her brother’s) information in it’s database, but Soleil didn’t have high enough clearance to access it

We go to a city called Becon, meet Hazel’s father, and Soleil befriends one of his agents named Dahlia, a character I played in a one-shot previously! :)

Big combat time, the priestess of Erathis shows herself again, Soleil asks if she knows anything else about Lucas and the priestess states that she knows nothing else, only that Erathis herself asked for the message from prior to be passed on

Soleil and Lorelle later get the confirmation that their NPC friend Tomas is in fact a time traveler! Explains how his son(?) the Master may have been able to get to the start of time

Tomas reveals that he knows NOTHING about Soleil in his timeline, so he worries that he’s responsible for what happened to Soleil’s ship and for trapping her here in this timeline instead of hers.

Session 20

Hazel talks a plan with Soleil; instead of running from the succubus tracking them, we could let her find us because she would tell us where Soleil’s uncle is, and we could reunite with him

Soleil and Lorelle are roped into spying on a “not-date” that Hazel and Tomas go on, Lorelle interrogates Sol about maybe having a crush on Hazel

Since they’re at a tavern, Soleil spends the rest of that night drinking with Hazel’s dad’s agents (Dahlia & co). One of them, Eleven, propositions her and Soleil leaves in a very drunk and flustered state

Sol has never been to Becon and of course, in her drunken stupor, gets very lost in the city on her way to the spaceship. She wanders aimlessly before stopping on a bridge, and Sinnafex shows himself to Soleil to talk; he’s getting restless, wants to do some CRIME! Soleil blabbers on about how their relationship is a two-way street and she can’t do everything he says, and in her state, even goes to far as to call them friends (he begrudgingly agrees). He also agrees to be patient with her and Soleil sees something she hasn’t seen in awhile- the manifestations of butterflies that are on her arms.

She follows the trail of them to an alley way with a young lady crying at the end of it. Doesn’t get her name, but learns that she ran away from home, and didn’t like all the expectations put upon her, so Soleil saw herself in her. When the city guards showed up, Sol asks her if she still wants to leave- Sol’s identity gets obscured as Sinnafex covers her body in webs as she scoops up the woman to make a break for it

SOLEIL ACCIDENTALLY STOLE AWAY THE CROWN PRINCESS OF BECON (which Sol had no idea of until Hazel and Lorelle told her)

Session 21

Soleil has a dream, set in a dead world by every definition- broken skyscrapers, burnt fields, and everything is frozen in time as a cosmos storms above her, and eyes of radiant light shine down. They speak to her, calling her a Child of Tlachtli, and ask if she’s ready for the end. When Sol says no, they say to prepare for it or else she’ll end with it; this is the destiny of all living things. She is told she can only stop it by stopping the sun from rising; it’s impossible. She “cannot cheat destiny. [She] is not [her] mother.” Soleil wakes up after, taking it all in and wondering what her mom could have done

Surprise! The succubus and vampire get the jump on Lorelle and Soleil at the ship! Meanwhile, the cultist causes havoc at a temple of Pelor with Hazel

Soleil in her frustration accidentally kills the succubus, so resorts to keeping the vampire alive to get information from him instead

Session 22

Soleil realizes Lorelle left and meets both of them at the temple to be met with a horrible scene; Lorelle and Hazel’s families frozen in time by the now dead cultist. She comforts Lorelle while she cries.

A few days later, while Lorelle and Hazel are HEAVILY bickering, Soleil sees a sign of one of their acquaintances- a golden canary lands on her shoulder. She lets it guide her away from the other two until they reach the bottom of one of the city’s mountains, arrive at what looks like more of a fortress than a temple

More canaries appear and they let her into the space; it’s empty, full of blue fire torches and suits of armor. Soleil feels the thrumming presence of Sinnafex still in the Silken Spite. The canaries land on Sol’s head and shoulders, leading her to a room with a pool. The canaries leave and Soleil notices the design of a silver dragon carved into the pool, with a glowing orb in its mouth

(This was the Platinum Dragon, revealing she accidentally got into a temple; she didn’t know this because, as she’s from a different timeline, she doesn’t know a lot about the religion here.)

She wades into the pool, and the Silken Spite immediately reacts, moving up from her side to curl around her neck like a choker, away from the water. Soleil’s “demon arm” (the one she uses to wield Silken Spite) also burns when the water touches the spider marks on her arm. Soleil could use her non-dominant hand, but wouldn’t be as successful, so she throws a quick “SORRY!” to Sinnafex before diving her demon arm into the (definitely) holy water. ITS VERY VERY PAINFUL 😀

Soleil gets a vision; sees herself as a little girl in the Chun Dunes, a desert filled with huge rainbow crystalline chunks scattered across the area. A sword is stabbed into a red gemstone, its light bleeding, letting darkness fester. Soleil feels the need to help before the vision ends. She yanks her hand from the water; up to her elbow is completely burned and scarred. The butterfly mark on her palm is faded, can’t see the webs on her forearm. A woman from the temple finds Soleil, freaking out, and gets Soleil on bed rest despite Sol’s protests.

While sleeping, Soleil rolls over onto her scarred arm and is woken by the sound of the dead skin flaking off (GROSS). She goes to a basin of water to start to wash it all away… the spiderweb markings on her arm have completely disappeared, as well as the butterflies. Instead, they are now replaced with lineart of shimmering, silver scales, all the way up to her shoulder. The butterfly on her palm is now replaced with a silver dragon with butterfly wings.

While the butterflies are gone from Soleil’s arm, she can now summon them whenever she pleases, and make their colors whatever she’d like. She tries blue and pink, colors that remind her of her friends, and Sinnafex appears again to complain about the colors on the lining of his suit changing with it. He reveals that the spiders were less to do with him and more to do with the Spider Queen, and also that when Soleil goes to the dreamverse, her soul temporarily leaves her body for the duration- to him, she becomes an aurora of colors. He tells Soleil of an artifact of the Spider Queen they could retrieve for helping their situation.

When Sol is eventually back at the ship, the princess reveals that she practices conjuring magic, and that with her books, she could supposedly summon Soleil’s uncle, who is now more demon than person. Discuss plans.

Later, a black butterfly flies from Hazel to Soleil; a memory offering itself for her. Soleil looks- learns that both the Elven woman she saw in her dreams once and the princess are both tied to Hazel and her family.

Session 23

Fairly chill session, mostly just deciding plans for getting families back. Get invites to the Fall Festival, Soleil disguises herself to sneak into the princess’ chambers in the castle, retrieve her spell books and GET OUTTA THERE. Mostly an errands session.

Hazel calls Soleil “Soli” and she sufficiently has some gay panic 👍

Soleil talks to Lorelle to make sure she’s okay, talk about Soleil and Hazel maybe dating since Hazel keeps taking Soleil places in private?? Sol assures her nothing has happened with herself and Hazel

Soleil goes off on her own to buy potions and quickly realizes she’s being trailed by someone they saw months ago, someone who was aboard an imperial ship- somehow, they can see Sinnafex with Soleil, even when he doesn’t show himself on purpose

Soleil manages to hide from him for a bit, buys polymorph poison from the apothecary and arms herself- she’s immediately attacked when she leaves the room. She uses her hivemind to tell Hazel and Lorelle what’s happened. The man calls Soleil a heretic and tries to forcefully arrest her, leading to combat. Soleil eventually uses the poison and turns him into a rat, making a dead break for their ship to get away from public eyes and to trap him in one of their rooms.

Soleil gets to the ship before her friends in a frenzy, making a move for the captain’s quarters where Dalm (the vampire!) stays. She gives him her keen dagger, explaining that in 10 minutes the polymorph will wear off, and when it does, she needs his help holding the man here to tie him up.

Lots of talking with the man; he’s a Drow elf named Dimitri. As we tend to his wounds in the medbay, Soleil asks Sinnafex why Dimitri called her a heretic. Sinnafex shifts into a woman’s form and explains Dimitri’s history with the Drow empire. Dimitri says to be from the imperial guard, who have license to arrest anyone they deem is practicing witchcraft (which is why he went after Sol and Sinnafex).

In a moment of panic, Soleil CLOCKS Dimitri because she remembers she can go into his memories if he’s unconscious- plans to try and make him forget that their encounter ever happened. For the entire duration of the dreamscape, Sol’s body is externally covered in shimmering, purple electric static. In addition to checking on Dimitri, Sol also goes into her uncle’s memories. Her uncle is now a monster; a robotic centaur, twice his stature as before

(cw violence) Hazel, upon hearing about what Soleil’s uncle now looks like, has a horrible memory: one of Soleil’s uncle in that centaur form trying to OBLITERATE her family. He sends Hazel’s dad off the balcony and EXTREMELY harms the Elven woman from before. Soleil and Lorelle see the memory at the same time. Afterward, everyone takes a moment to process what they just saw. Hazel insists on leaving for the dinner she and Soleil have with her godfather, no matter how much we insist she needs bed rest.

Session 24 (this one was 12 hours long, BUCKLE UP)

Sol and Hazel go to the dinner with her godfather to get festival invites, he has a very nice mansion and lets them have their own rooms to stay the night.

Before the night is over, Hazel tells her godfather and Sol and Lorelle are interested in each other and wants them to spend more time together at the festival. Soleil FREAKS and finds out that Hazel is genuinely seriously about setting them up.

Soleil and Hazel have a spa day the next morning! Comfy beds, huge baths all to themselves in their rooms. The bath picks up on Soleil’s stress as she mulls over her probable feelings for Lorelle, and bath bombs are added to the bath, as well as the shower to mimic rain. First bath in who knows how long!! :) (also it casted Calm Emotions on her LOL)

Soleil and Hazel get tailored for festival dresses. We later meet Lorelle and the others back at the ship to explain why we were out all night. Whole gang spends hours talking about plans going forward. Afterward, Soleil seeks out Lorelle to check on her again

(tw abuse, scars) Lorelle opens up to Soleil about her abusive ex boyfriend who has been messaging her a lot as of late. Soleil makes sure Lorelle knows how toxic he was and how she didn’t do anything wrong, and herself and the others will always be there for her. She asks Lorelle if her burn scars are because of him, and it’s confirmed. Soleil holds her wrist, and the scale markings flash with the color of Lorelle’s skin. At one point, Dalm and Enu interrupt to ask if there’s “romance happening.” They shoo them off, Lorelle talks about Hazel liking Soleil, Soleil disagrees and tells Lorelle how much she cares about her, they talk about Soleil’s uncle, and she finally heads to her own room at around 4 am.

Upon leaving, Soleil see’s Hazel’s raven familiar in the hall and says goodnight to him- in response, she hears her dead father say goodnight back. She immediately freezes and crouches in front of the raven VERY confused, and gets her eyebrow pecked for it.

While Soleil sleeps in the morning, the Imperial Guard arrive to collect Dimitri (who was sedated and still passed out). It goes off without a hitch, but very quickly after he’s gone, the group needs to decide if they flee or stay, in case Dimitri turns them in when he inevitably wakes up. We get Dalm out and hide Princess Enu under the floor plating.

Guards arrive on the claim that we harbored a vampire, we let them search the ship thinking we’re fine, but they find evidence of things we forgot to clean up (whoops). While we’re manacled, Lorelle’s ex, Lindon, shows up with a group of cultists and start attacking the guards; he came here with the intent of saving Lorelle

SOLEIL GETS BADASS COMBAT TIME! Hazel goes down and Lorelle is on one hit point; Soleil scoops up Hazel and urges Lorelle onto the ship, still trying to keep her away from her Lindon. He insists he can take them to a hideout that’s away from imperial reach. Soleil is pissed and hates his guts, but doesn’t have time for bickering and wants to use him to keep the guards off of us for as long as possible. With Lorelle’s permission, he and his gang get on the ship with us as we leave.

Some party drama with Hazel, leaving Soleil to be incredibly pissed at her for quite awhile. Soleil sticks with Lorelle at all times so she can never be alone with Lindon. Soleil takes the ship to sub-orbital until they all decide what to do. She takes Lorelle to the medbay to help patch her up.

Sinnafex tells Soleil they could vent the cultists and Lindon from the ship if they really want to; Soleil considers it. Soleil leaves to go secretly move Enu back to her room without the new company seeing. She returns to the medbay while Hazel and Lorelle talk

Soleil gets the hideout from Lindon, and passes on the message that he wants to talk with Lorelle one on one. Soleil offers to go with and Lorelle accepts. The talk goes nowhere with Sol there; she argues with Lindon until Lorelle holds her wrist. Soleil squeezes her hand very hard. They leave, and Sol asks if she wants company for the night. Lorelle says yes

While Soleil gets things ready for bed, she realizes Lorelle has been gone for awhile and finds Lorelle and Hazel hugging, Hazel’s huge void of a scar transferred to Lorelle. Soleil waits a whole hour there for them before they leave the vision; they saw Lorelle’s mom (who we thought was dead) working with Soleil’s uncle

Hazel and Lorelle cry themselves to exhaustion, passing out, and Soleil hauls them to the bridge, asking Dalm if he can help grab pillows and blankets from everyone’s room for a huge comfy pile in the bridge where no one has to be alone. Since Dalm is a vampire, Soleil asks him if he could stay up the night while they sleep so that the cultists don’t do anything; he agrees

Dalm grabs Soleil’s hand and tells her that she’s doing a great job, and it’s okay if she needs to cry too; Soleil says “we’ll see.” He gives her a kiss on the forehead and brushes his hand through Soleil’s hair while she sleeps with the other two

LEVEL UP!!! Soleil multiclasses into Hexblade Warlock (5 rogue levels, 1 warlock level)! She takes Eldritch Blast, Sword Burst, Hellish Rebuke and Hex. Flavor text moment, Soleil learned all of her warlock abilities from Sinnafex

(cw light implied nsfw) The next morning, Soleil wakes up first and feels a weight lift off of her; Sinnafex was laying on top of her and he “wakes up”, claiming that “last night was so fun~” (even though nothing happened). Soleil tells him he’s very funny and sits there unamused while he moves to straddle her instead

He says Lorelle is cute, he doesn’t mind sharing. Since him and Soleil are the only ones up, he proposes that they could just go kill the cultists right now- throwing in a “You’re so pretty in the morning… can we go kill that guy now?” Soleil refuses, saying as much as she wants to, it’s not her decision alone. He dramatically falls back, exasperated, and calls Soleil boring

Lorelle wakes up next and tells Soleil about what her and Hazel saw. Hazel wakes up after, immediately leaving the pile.

The space station from before messages the ship again, offering a place to stay if our ship is currently too small.

Soleil goes to get breakfast from the kitchen, Dalm is there cooking, as well as Enu who excitedly tells Soleil that she found the CANNABIS OPTION ON THE FOOD REPLICATOR. Soleil and Enu have an interesting talk about how to limit those snacks as well as energy drinks

Soleil puts a hand on Dalm’s arm and thanks him sincerely for the night prior; he turns the move into a hug and says it’s okay. He asks Enu to go grab his dagger from his room since he forgot it. When she leaves, Dalm pulls away from the hug but still keeps close; “I don’t know what you’re doing to me. I was sent here to assassinate you and now I’m here cooking for you and- and I like it? Did you put a curse on me or something?”

Soleil laughs, telling him they’re all just becoming better friends, and maybe he likes some sort of domestic life more than he thought. She grabs breakfast for everyone and he gives her arm a squeeze as she leaves

Lorelle asks how Soleil slept, Sinnafex makes a comment to Sol about “sleeping between two beautiful women.” She wants to strangle him. She tells Lorelle and Hazel about her earlier visit from Sinnafex but nothing else

Hazel leaves to “give the lovebirds space,” Soleil and Lorelle talk and Sinnafex keeps butting in, telling Soleil to “cut the bedroom eyes.” He gradually makes more teasing and inappropriate comments and Soleil gets more and more flustered, busying herself with the controls on the board- Lorelle knows Soleil is talking to Sinnafex because Soleil stops to respond telepathically.

Lorelle asks Soleil to accompany her on trying to talk to Lindon again, Soleil agrees. Sol takes a moment at the bridge to mentally scream at Sinnafex while Lorelle grabs some things. Lindon agrees to only talk business while Soleil is present, no personal talks. We talk plans with Lindon and then talk about all of our options with everyone

Soleil accompanies Lorelle for her talk with Lindon one more time. Lorelle squeezes Soleil’s hand and says it’ll be okay if Soleil just waits in the doorway, per Lindon’s request. Soleil begrudgingly goes with it. She listens to them catch up and discuss their past, gradually getting more irritated but keeping to herself. Lindon eventually calls Soleil back in when they finish talking.

Soleil and Lorelle leave, talk about it a little before Dalm comes over with slices of cake. He advises Lorelle to go get some sleep, then waits until she’s left to ask Soleil if she listened in; “Of course I did.” “Of course you did. I’m almost disappointed in you.” Dalm says that some people need to figure things out on their own, without their friends with them. Soleil argues that Lorelle wanted her there and that Sol wanted to make sure Lorelle didn’t get hurt. Dalm asks if Soleil thinks she ever cares ä bit too much, Soleil says maybe, and Dalm makes an offhand comment about Soleil being in love with Lorelle- Soleil shuts it down very quickly, flustered; she says no, no, no, and Dalm asks if that means he has a chance. Soleil, assuming he’s joking around, gives him a laugh before parting

Sinnafex tells her “Oh my… this is going to get interesting.” Soleil asks what he means, but he refuses to tell her unless she lets him take control of her just once; Soleil quickly shoots it down

(META GAME MOMENT: WE HAVE CONFIRMED DALM DEFINITELY HAS A CRUSH ON SOLEIL)

The gang goes ahead and makes it to the space station. Dalm asks Soleil if he can go walk along the moon, she agrees to let him out and watch him from the airlock. Before they go, he says they need to have a talk about “romance”, not between Soleil and Lorelle but someone else… HEAVILY hints to Princess Enu having a crush on Soleil- she keeps her diary a secret around Dalm and he once saw her draw a heart with initials in it around some runes. Soleil is STUNNED and thinks he’s got it wrong

(tw nsfw implication, slight manipulation?) While Dalm is gone, Soleil asks Sinnafex if the reveal about Enu was his “surprise,” Sinnafex says OBVIOUSLY not and calls Soleil boring. He shows himself again, this time standing in front of her, hand against the wall behind her and leaning close. He suggests hooking up, Soleil declines while assuring him that she’s fine. He holds her chin getting closer, insisting that it would be good for Soleil to get some “practice” to no longer be a virgin. Soleil mentions being interested in someone else, and he bugs her about it until Soleil confirms that it’s Lorelle. He says again that he doesn’t mind sharing, and asks if he can at least get a kiss. Soleil huffs, frustrated, and only gives him a kiss on the cheek before focusing back on letting Dalm back into the station. Dalm says she should go out there with him sometime.

Next day, Soleil tries her hand at an old Ancient One RPG on a game console that’s aboard! swag

Third day, Sinnafex bugs Soleil while she tries to sleep; “I’m trying to fucking SLEEP!” “And I’m trying to FUCKING!” Soleil later accidentally walks in on Hazel letting Dalm have some of her blood while trying to find the bathroom because he had been growing weak.

Fourth day, Enu approaches Soleil and asks if she’ll go with her to see the station’s fire elemental; Enu wants to learn from it since it’s her specialty, and Soleil understands the whole conversation. It goes on for a few hours before Enu starts to get tired, yawning and exhausted. Soleil says they should get her to bed, and Enu asks “Would you carry me?” While Soleil’s caught off guard, Enu panics saying it was a dumb thing to ask, DEAD SPRINTS back to her room

Soleil and Lorelle meet up while Soleil is heading back from her time with Enu. Lorelle asks how Soleil is and talks about a random dating sim game that the AI recommended for her- Soleil finds it funny and admits to having played that game ages ago back in her timeline. They walk and talk about everything, ending up in a small lounge/sitting area.

Out of nowhere, Sinnafex takes control of Soleil (failed wisdom save), making her grab Lorelle’s hands and tell her how lonely they looked. Soleil gets control again and immediately panics. Sinnafex bugs her while Soleil becomes a bumbling mess of apologies for how sudden it was, getting more flustered by the second.

(cw nsfw implication, manipulation kinda from Sinnafex again) Lorelle tucks Soleil’s hair behind her ear, asking if she’s okay. Sinnafex keeps pushing her and Soleil finally says “This might be… very inappropriate of me to ask. But can I… kiss you…?” Lorelle says yes, and they kiss. Sinnafex takes control again, meaning more kisses, having Soleil put her hand on Lorelle’s thigh and asking if she wants to go further; Lorelle declines

Soleil gets control back and FREAKS out because that’s absolutely NOT WHAT SHE WANTED TO DO. Lorelle tucks Soleil’s hair again, gives her a kiss on the forehead, and tells Soleil she needs better control over Sinnafex; Soleil VERY MUCH agrees. Lorelle suggests getting food, Soleil says she’ll meet her at the cafeteria and goes to her room.

Soleil full on screams into her pillow for a good minute and yells at Sinnafex who shows himself again, with celebratory wine and his tie undone. Soleil argues with him incessantly, he makes fun of her for only just having her first kiss, and abruptly moves in front of Soleil to hold her chin again and kiss her this time, pulls back saying “That’s what a kiss should be.”

Soleil finally leaves, incredibly frustrated (more so when he slaps her ass on the way out JFC), and eventually meets back up with Lorelle. Soleil doesn’t know, but the kiss from Sinnafex created a charming effect on Lorelle, making her even more infatuated with Soleil. For the rest of the night, they get food, talk, and only share kisses before calling it a night at one of their rooms.

SOLEIL GOES TO THE DREAMVERSE! Sinnafex visits Lorelle’s mind while Soleil is gone, telling Lorelle about how Soleil’s soul just disappears sometimes. They talk, and when Lorelle asks Sinnafex to step off with the relationship stuff, Sinnafex explains that he is with Soleil for everything she does; their traits rub off on each other and some bit of him will always be present. He takes the form of a woman again and tries to seduce Lorelle but to no avail. Sinnafex also saves Lorelle from her own shadow demon.

DREAMVERSE TIME!! Soleil feels nostalgic with all the talk of families, so she visits her dad’s memories- but it’s more like visiting his own personal heaven since he’s dead. Soleil watches her dad push her and Lucas on swings at a park, Soleil was a toddler at the time while Lucas was slightly older. He pushes them high on the swings, saying he always knew Soleil and Lucas would fly high. Soleil sees her mom with her dad too.

As Sol leaves the space, she’s presented with the option to go deeper into it. She does, and this time she’s on the swing and not watching herself. Instead of flying off the swing into the air, Soleil lands with a thud into the sand, and her dad immediately becomes confused, thinking he somehow broke the space, saying this isn’t how the memory is supposed to happen. Soleil turns towards him; “…Dad?” “Soleil?” They both realize it’s real, they’re really together, and her dad scrambles over to bring her into a hug. Soleil immediately breaks down, and he tells her how much he’s missed her, how he doesn’t understand what’s happening, and doesn’t know if Soleil died or not. Soleil explains it’s just a thing she can do, and they move to the swings to talk. He asks her what it was like visiting a new galaxy, and reveals that while he’s here, he can view parts of Soleil’s life as they happen, but he’s behind and viewing them in random order. He asks if Soleil has gotten with Tomas yet, that’s what he was banking on, and Soleil admits to have kissing Lorelle that night. Soleil asks him if he knows where Lucas is, and he doesn’t, but he knows about what happened to Soleil’s uncle. While we talk, an older version of Hazel shows up, a version of her where she became a champion of the Raven Queen. She tells Soleil that she can’t be there, has to leave before the others find out. Soleil hugs her dad tight, tells him she loves him, and he loves her too, telling her that she’ll always fly so, so high. The space fades as the sand falls away.

Soleil tries checking on her mother next. Her father told her that she was currently doing something in the North Pole, but not sure what. Soleil tries to see, but not strong enough to get in.

Soleil tries checking on Lucas, hoping to pry her way in to figure out what happened to him. She’s not strong enough here, either, but instead gets tossed into someone else’s mind- her brother’s significant other. She’s with him on a beach, holding his hand, and she asks to hear about Soleil again. He replies “You mean that greedy, self important little trouble maker? … She did always have a sense of humor.” He starts to cry and she comforts him, telling him she understands.

Soleil gets pushed out of the memory, but once again gets the option to go deeper in. She follows the path, and ends up at not the beach but instead a firey battlefield, scattered with ships Soleil doesn’t recognize. Soleil stands on the bow of a starship with a sword pointed at her by the same person, demanding to know who Soleil is. Soleil is still crying from before, and desperately explains that she’s Lucas’ sister. The figure is confused at first but eventually comes around, asking Soleil what happened to the St. Marianne. Soleil explains that the ship was destroyed, and that she ended up here and was found. She starts to tell Soleil that the Order has invaded, they’re at the Gateway, and Soleil needs to bring reinforcements. She struggles to think of the word, then says in French, “the many is one” so that Soleil can understand. Soleil mentions having been in cryosleep for 3,000 years, so she doesn’t understand the war, and the figure is confused on how that can be because the battle has only gone on for 15 minutes. Before Soleil can say anything, the setting resets- the figure moves back to pointing the blade at Soleil, repeating herself in demanding to know who Soleil is. Soleil realizes that they’re stuck in a TIME LOOP.

The memory fades away, and instead, Soleil sees the universe in front of her like she has before, it speaks to her again; “This is what will happen if you free him. Your brother. Freeing him from the gateway will cause cataclysm. The Nine will stand. They will not fall to foreign invaders. Your destiny… the reason you were the one who survived the St. Marianne was to prevent ragnarok. You are a soldier. You are ours. Prepare yourself.”

Soleil suddenly wakes up, alone in her room, Lorelle missing from the bed- instead there is only a trail of black ichor leading out of the room. Soleil quickly gets up, following the trail all the way to the airlock- where she sees Lorelle passed out on the floor, surrounded by the ichor at the brink of life, and her shadow demon pinned to the wall by Sinnafex’s webs.

End of session! If anyone reads all this, I hope you enjoy this LENGTHY summary and feel free to hand over any questions about Soleil or the campaign :)

[moonlightdreamzz]

NCT 127 — Their Black S/O Gets Disrespected By Their Friend Because Of Their Race. (Jaehyun, WinWin, Jungwoo, Mark, Haechan)

(Taeil, Johnny, Taeyong, Doyoung, and Yuta Version)

Request:👋🏾 I was wondering if you could do a reaction for 127 on how they’d react after seeing a friend disrespect their s/o for their race??? (or a friend of the s/o disrespects the member for their race, however you see fit) no rush either😘

Jaehyun:

He knew when his friends got drunk, they could get a little rowdy. Truthfully he was having second thoughts about bringing you around them in such a setting, but you were so excited. All week you had been talking about how you couldn’t wait to meet them and let them know you were his soulmate. Allow them to see you weren’t here to play him if they were having those thoughts.

It all started with a sly comment from one of the boys. You were in the bathroom, so his reaction was way different than he would realize it should’ve been.

“She’s so bad.” They said.

“Trust me, I know.”

“She got a nice ass too.”

All he did was punch his friend, clearly disgusted but appalled so much so that he couldn’t move.

“Shut the hell up.” He spoke, but quieted down when he saw you coming back.

The way he looked at you, you knew something was wrong, but it wasn’t what you assumed.

“Well Y/N, I tried to compliment you about how nice you look, but since Jaehyun doesn’t like that, I guess I’ll let you know that you need to take that hair out. It looks old.” He seethes, walking away in drunken anger.

“What did you just say? Come back here, pussy. Say it again.” Jaehyun is aflame. He knew he shouldn’t have brought you here. The fact that you had to hear that made him absolutely sick. He was two seconds away from punching him right in the back of the head before he felt your hands on him.

“Baby, calm down. Calm down.” You shush him, pressing your lips to his shoulder. “Don’t let it get to you.”

He hated this about you. Well, he hated that he couldn’t be like you. He could never ignore the negativity.”

“Come on.” You utter, taking his hand and leading him out.

Winwin:

He didn’t know why he wasn’t worried about you meeting his family. Maybe his love for you truly did blind him. You were just so amazing. The perfect woman and words really couldn’t describe the power you held over him.

As the two of you sat down, you both could sense the awkward air of the dinner table. As your boyfriend talked to his parents you slid him a text.

— You didn’t tell them I was black did you...

— I didn’t think it was something they needed to know. It doesn’t matter.

— I know it doesn’t matter to you baby, but I think it does to them. :(

“Y/N has been really enjoying China.” He speaks up after seeing your last message. He grabs your hand that was hiding from under the table and places your held hands on display for everyone to see.

“And I am so happy to be here right now. Winwin always talks about how much he misses you guys.” You add on, smiling brightly at their dull faces.

“Really? He hasn’t been home in forever.” His mother speaks.

“And don’t think we don’t know what you’re doing. We know how you black people are—always trying to use someone for money so you don’t have to get on welfare back home.”

You choked on your food immediately, unable to hold in your cough. “Woah.” You were able to breathe out. “I’m sorry you’ve been fed false truths about my people.”

“Don’t try and disrespect me in my own house. To be exact, get out.” His mother spits, and you don’t hesitate to take her advice. Mother or not your temper didn’t wait for anyone, and you didn’t want to do anything drastic.

Sicheng was always a well mannered boy who saw his parents as the greatest people he knew. Today, he was very much so proven wrong. “You guys are disgusting. I don’t even know who I’m looking at right now.” His voice shakes as he can’t believe he put you in position to hear words like those. “My girlfriend is African American, and she is beautiful. She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known and I want to marry her. I’m going to marry her.” He says with confidence. “And if you don’t apologize in the next 24 hours know you lost a son.” He finishes before storming out to run after you.

Jungwoo:

Neither of you liked parties. You both knew in the back of your mind that you would much rather be cuddled up on your couch or in your bed watching a movie or making the movie watch you.

It was loud in here, and you knew you shouldn’t have been drinking, but it had been awhile. You also knew Jungwoo had your back. The two of you had been in the corner for the majority of the body party, and for just a few seconds did Jungwoo step away to use the bathroom. A few seconds.

“Damn.” You hear a voice say.

Maybe you shouldn’t have froze. But at the same time, you were praying he wasn’t talking to you. When you feel his hand on your exposed lower back, you immediately back into the corner.

“I have a boyfriend.” You say clearly even through your tipsy state.

“Is he here? I don’t see anybody.” He’s getting closer and you can feel his breath on you. You can’t move. He’s blocking you from doing so. “Look, girls like you kill to be with a guy like me?”

“What do you mean girls like me? You don’t even know me.”

“I know you’re black. And all you black girls are the same. You come to Korea begging for this attention, but when we give it to you, you get all scared.”

You knew you had to defend yourself. You were raised to do so. But Jungwoo got to him first. He pushes the guy on the ground and he’s obviously drunk because he doesn’t even try to fight back. He hit the floor hard too as it grabbed everyone’s attention.

“Baby are you okay?” He questions as he cups your face into his hands, kissing your gently.

“I wanna leave.” You whisper, tears dripping from your cheeks from the fear you didn’t realize you had experienced. “Don’t worry about him just take me home please.”

“Okay okay.” He assures. He so badly wants to beat the shit out of the piece of shit who just ruined your night, but he knows every tone of your voice. He knows you really don’t want him to do anything. You just want him.

Mark:

As bad as it was, you and Mark were eachother’s only friends. He had people who he would communicate with from time to time, but in his eyes, a friend was someone who you trusted with your whole being. You were that person for him and quite frankly he didn’t need anyone else.

Of course he wanted to see his friends in Canada. He hadn’t seen them in too long, and he can remember all the good times. Subways with the boys, school with the boys, they were his boys. Secretly, the two of you met up in Vancouver where SuperM was touring and of course he brought you with him to meet up with his friends. He trusted them enough to not accidentally mention any details of you being there, and he would be sure to remind them 1000x anyway.

Everything was okay. His friends were telling you about all of the crazy things he used to do—say.

“You know it’s crazy. I never would’ve thought Mark would be dating a black girl.” One of them said. It made you uncomfortable, and you unconsciously leaned into your boyfriends hold, but you had hopes that he would clean it up. In some way shape or form, you wanted that to happen.

“Why do you say that?” Mark says in confusion.

“I don’t know. I just feel like you could do better. Like at least get a white girl and secure the bag bro.” He jokes, but Mark isn’t laughing. Your boyfriend was not one to mess with when he was pissed off and it was very clear right now. Especially when it came to you did he not play.

“I promise you that Mark did indeed secure the bag with me, honey.” You chuckle knowing he woke the beast.

“The fact that you just said that dumb shit to me, infront of my girl is proof that I should smack the shit out of you right now. I swear to God.” Mark seethes. He’s standing up now, but you can tell he’s fighting saying so many more things.

“Aye chill, Mark. He was just joking.”

“Is anybody laughing? Because I’m not. She’s not. Apologize.”

“What? For a joke?”

“Apologize.” He says in a low voice.

“I’m—I’m sorry.” He stumbles, and right after is Mark taking your hand and leading you out of the restaurant.

Haechan:

It was obvious that they were trying very hard to impress you. The overly loud rap music. The slang that they were throwing at you in hopes that you would see them in...you didn’t know what. But you didn’t mind. It was better than being rude to you. At the same time though, you couldn’t help but to think that this was Haechan’s idea. That he told them to act a little more seasoned for your arrival.

“Haechan.” You questioned quietely as his friends were rowdy and couldn’t hear you. “Did you tell them to do this?”

“What do you mean?”

“Never mind.” You say, and you can tell he wants to hear more, but doesn’t press on the issue further.

“So Y/N, what’s it like being black?” One of them asks over the loud music. “Like how does it feel?”

“Um...I don’t know. Oppressed.” You dark humor, and your boyfriend laughs, but the guy doesn’t seem impressed.

“This is what I don’t understand about you guys. I mean, even with the black lives matter stuff. I feel like y’all want to be oppressed.”

“Me knowing that as a black woman I’m oppressed does not equal me wanting to be. As people of color we all have our own issues and we would be extremely stupid to try to ignore these factors just because we don’t want it to be that way. Me and my people have targets on our backs whether we like it or not.”

“And you of all people should understand that.” Haechan adds. “You’re sitting here trying to be black and look cool to my girlfriend to then turn around and disrespect her race and try to make her feel invalid for her very valid feelings. Get on the internet or read a damn book you fucking idiot. This isn’t a fairytale. You know what, Iets go baby. Can’t believe this shit.” He spits, standing up promptly.

“Period.” You scoff, slamming the chair into the table on your way out.

“Were you going to ask me did I ask them to act like that?” He questions when you two get outside.

“Yes.” You admit.

“I would never. I promise and I’m so sorry all of the just happened. I’m so so sorry.”

[akatsuki-shin]

Review: 狼殿下 Láng Diànxià (The Wolf)

I’m finally done marathoning this show in the past week, so I thought I’m gonna write my comments on this drama here.

Summary: As a teenager, Ma Zhaixing, daughter of Kuizhou City Governor, Ma Ying, met a young boy at the mountain near her hometown who was raised by the wolves. A severe misunderstanding caused the boy to be implicated of murder and the two were separated, with the boy falling off a cliff, thinking that Ma Zhaixing had betrayed him, and Ma Zhaixing, with her leg broken, continued to live her life ridden with guilt.

Eight years later, the boy, who was apparently saved and adopted by their Emperor, Chu Kui - given the title Prince Bo (Bo Wang) - encountered Ma Zhaixing again after her family was suddenly massacred by an unknown assailants in the middle of the night.

However, their relationship was no longer as how it used to be and the two were tangled in the political conflict between the warring nations.

Main Cast(s):

Li Qin as Ma Zhaixing

Wang Talu as Bo Wang

Xiao Zhan as Ji Chong

Xin Zhilei as Yao Ji

Kuo Shuyao as Yelu Bao Na

Ding Yongdai as Chu Kui

Lin Yowei as as Chu Yougui 

Notes:

This review contains my personal view on the drama and does not represent the entire audience

There are spoilers

THE GOOD(S):

1. Action

Realistic, believable action and fighting scenes, both in small and large scale. A few weren't exactly perfect, but the majority of it is more than good enough to cover for the flaws.

Bo Wang's solo fights, his duels with Ji Chong, and Ji Chong's first battle in the forest (when he and the bandits were trying to kidnap Bao Na) were among the best; those are super cool and intense. They do use quite a lot of CGIs, and while it isn't exactly marvel (as in, you can tell it's fake), the visualization and movement are quite smooth so it doesn't disturb the atmosphere and our watching enjoyment.

Though, I'm a bit sad that Ji Chong's eagle, Zhui Ri, turns out to be a CGI, as well. It looks so real, I thought they were using a real bird. :'))

2. Supporting Characters

With the exception of the two main leads and a few other characters, I can say with confidence that I love the characters of this drama.

The charming, smart, and kind-hearted second male lead, Ji Chong.

The loyal Night Fury Trio - Wen Yan, Mo Xiao, and Hai Die.

The spoiled princess Yule Bao Na, whose first impression was nothing less than annoying, but grows to be the most lovable, supportive girl ever that makes me want to keep rooting for her.

They also have two of the best father characters I've ever seen in awhile, the King of Jin and Ma Ying.

Even a considerably minor character, like Grand Supervisor Shi, was nothing less than lovable, especially when he scolded Ji Chong like a worried mother after the latter finally returned home in seven years.

3. Music

The Wolf has some really beautiful soundtracks, and the songs are placed perfectly in every corresponding scene

4. Cameraworks

This is something quite technical and to be honest, I'm also not an expert in this. But I think the cameraworks in this drama were really good. The angle, how they switch the focus when taking certain characters in a certain scene further emphasizes the atmosphere, and it often serves as a great shot to the breathtaking outdoor sceneries where they shot this drama.

5. Visualization of how the story starts and ends

Xing-er and the Wolf Boy playing in the forest of Wolf Mountain.

------

THE BAD(S):

1. The Main Leads' Relationship

Generally, the big plot and conflict are actually pretty interesting. The politics, the wars, the betrayals, how the opposing sides are trying to trick and outsmart each other are all a classic that we've often seen in many historical dramas and movies. Personally, I never get bored with this theme as long as it is executed perfectly and I think The Wolf executed this in a good way.

Unfortunately, the main pairing ruins this for me and this ends up becoming the biggest flaw that destroys the enjoyment of watching this drama.

"Childhood sweetheart turns enemies" is something we've seen pretty often, and it's not something bad. If anything, when they finally fixed the misunderstanding and reconciled, it would be the climax, the best part of the entire development.

But The Wolf sadly dragged Ma Zhaixing and Bo Wang's relationship to the point that it became annoying.

When Bo Wang first discovered that Ma Zhaixing has never betrayed him in the past, the scene when he rescued her from the kneeling punishment at the palace was so moving I was almost in tears, more so because it finally looks like they can rebuild their relationship despite Ma Zhaixing still hasn't figured out that Bo Wang was the Wolf Boy from her childhood. It should've ended right there. Maybe later, they could add a plot where Ma Zhaixing would finally find out the truth.

But no, they just have to keep switching between love-hate-love hate right to the last few episodes. At this point, there was no more character development, no more relationship growth. It's just a purely unnecessary drama that makes Bo Wang look inconsistent, that strips Ma Zhaixing of any character development that she should've had as the main character of the story.

And speaking of relationships, although Ji Chong being paired up with Bao Na was the best conclusion for the two of them, the development was way too fast, it looks like the drama team is just forcefully pushing it to happen as soon as possible.

At the point where there are only 3 episode left, they didn't have to add that bit of drama between Ji Chong and Bao Na, because 1). They weren't the main characters, 2). The story was nearing its climax, why would you slow down the pace for an unnecessary drama of two side characters?

It almost looks like Ji Chong and Bao Na are taking the spotlight from the main characters. It would've been perfectly fine to end it when Bao Na was accompanying Ji Chong at the bonfire after he let go of Ma Zhaixing to return to Bo Wang; the audience would understand that these two would end up together, and the closing scene where Ji Chong invited her to travel the world with him can still be shown without the intervening drama.

2. The Main Leads’ Hero Complex

Both Ma Zhaixing and Bo Wang keep sacrificing themselves for others and putting themselves at the bottom as if they have no value. It might look heroic the first time they do it, but since they repeated this pattern way too often, it looks to me like they're playing victim instead.

What's more?

Whenever they're about to sacrifice themselves 1). They would always put a burden on the side characters who genuinely love them by asking them for some "one last favor"', 2). They would just end up being saved by the others after all those big talks.

But of course, all of the other characters ideally will still cry for them every single time they're about to do this whole sacrifice thing.

This is seriously the first time I'm watching a drama where the main characters barely have any character development from start until the end.

In fact, I think the main character of this drama is supposed to be You Zhen, the fourth, youngest prince of Yang. He was ever only a supporting character here, but he's got the most character development among others and if you've been paying attention to his story from start to finish, you'll see that is very fitting to be the main character of a political/war drama:

"An innocent, youngest prince who was doted on by his three brothers, but this brotherhood was severely broken by a misunderstanding caused by their own power-thirsty father, and after many struggles and suffering, he found out the truth, fought for the truth, and became the last surviving member of the royalty who would finally govern his people in peace."

3. Inconsistent Character(s)

First of all, the second female lead, Yao Ji.

From the drama's opening, to the first few episodes where she appears, it feels like we are getting this super big villain vibe from her. I really thought she's going to be one of those people the main characters would have to defeat, or maybe turn into an unexpected ally, later near the climax.

But no, she was only strong in the beginning. For the rest of the story, she was only a woman who actually loves the main male lead and wants to keep him safe.

Secondly, Chu Yougui.

What even is his motive to be a villain?

First, he wants to frame and kill Bo Wang because he thought Bo Wang caused their eldest brother's death. But this has since been proven to be wrong because their father, Chu Kui, was the one who set up his own eldest son's death (for whatever reason I don't remember because I don't think the drama ever told us clearly). And then when he was brought back later, suddenly he wanted to overthrow his father and become the King? Just where and how does all this motive come from?

It would've been fine to make Chu Kui the main villain because he's been portrayed as such since the beginning, the power-thirsty tyrant who would stop at nothing to gain authority and glory.

4. Some Technical Things

Ma Zhaixing kept wearing that keepsake of a bell on her belt, even during undercover missions. How come she doesn't get caught?

Ji Chong keeps accidentally hearing everything over the wall in the most perfect timing far too many times

Also, there are many instances where the characters could travel so fast between places, you'd think they are all living in the same town

------

My Verdict: 6/10

Honestly, I almost drop it before I'm even halfway through... o(-(

It has great concept. It has interesting conflict. The actors all did amazing job, I have no complain about their acting. But the execution is just ugh...

[yenni19]

Chapter 10

Akamari is upset crying in her room, Souske knocks at the door

Souske(opening the door): can I come in?

Akamari: your in already so shut the door

Souske: I'm sorry....

Akamari: why did you throw a fit....what's your deal with Sarutobi anyway.....he did nothing to you...it was just a present

Souske: it's not what he did....its what he is to you...and because of his father

Akamari: I don't understand...

Souske: what if I told you that you and Sarutobi are related by blood in some way...how would you see the situation then?

Akamari: it wouldn't matter....

Souske: even if you and Sarutobi share the same father...how would you feel about him then?

Akamari: your lying...that's not true!

Souske hands her a picture of her mother and Kawaki in the hospital room holding thier child

Akamari(crying): no....this can be any other kid!...or....or.....

Souske: this is a picture a day before she died...your grandmother took this picture hours after giving birth

He hands her a small photo book, she flips through it,when she gets to the last picture it's her mother and Kawaki showing a tiny Akamari

Souske: now you know the truth....

Suddenly out of nowhere Souske gets sucker punched as he gets thrown and breaks the door

Souske(scared and coughs up blood): Akamari.....I'm......sorry.....I........didn't....want...to....upset....you....

Akamari(angry while activated byakugan): you and him both....are shitty excuses for parents....him for being a coward....but you....you are the shittiest.....for not coming to see me....now I know why

Souske(catching his breath): no Akamari....that's not true...you still are my daughter.....

Suddenly her gift starts to show red instead of gold causing things to turn to ash

Souske(pleading): Akamari.....please honey...let's calm down...

Akamari(laughing): sorry dad....but I no longer am calm....(screaming) I see red!

Suddenly the whole room is ash as she disappears, Sauske saves his son by teleporting him to the living room

Sauske: what the hell was that Souske...

Naruto(interrupting): it's begun hasn't it...Kayuga's gift is evolving inside Akamari

Souske: it's not the first time this happened....

Sakura: how long ago...how old was she?

Souske: it was was around the time Samari was little...Akamari was seven and they were playing....Akamari got tired of playing but Samari pestered her....and that's when I noticed the gift turning red causing a knife to fly directly across the room almost Stabbing Samari....ever since then I've been so terrified of a tragedy happening that I isolated myself from her and kept her occupied at all times...making sure she had no room for anger...but my biggest mistake was separating Samari from Akamari by sending her abroad just so she was not hurt by her own sister

Sauske: well we better find her....if not there's a chance she's not in this realm....we are gonna need Boruto and her father....

Sakura: but she might attack him....like she did Souske...

Naruto: we must take that chance....its the only way to bring Akamari back here....ready Sauske

Sauske: when ever you are....idiot

---‐--------------------------

Akamari reappears but in a meadow, with a big tree in the middle, it's night as she looks around and sees tall grass with every wildflower in it. Fireflies in every direction lighting up the night like tiny stars

Akamari: where am I.....how did I get here...I really need to control my anger....(smacks her head) damn it why am I so temper mental....why the hell am I this way

She looks around and notices a cabin....she goes inside and sees its dusty....she cleans it

Akamari: this place must of been abandoned....for awhile....well its looks better now since I cleaned it (cracks her nuckles) well its time to start a fire....its getting cold

She starts chopping wood....and gets a fire going, she notices the book shelf with several books, and picks one out to read....within minutes she falls asleep

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

Back at the leaf village, the Uzumakis and Uchias including Kawaki and Sarutobi are trying to find Akamari

Sauske: there's no trace of her....anywhere

Sakura: maybe she's hiding somewhere we don't know about

Hinata: I just hope she's okay.....

Naruto: where can she be?

Boruto(running to his parents): it's been three hours...we have to call it a night...and start again in the morning

Kawaki(meeting up with Boruto): we can't she might be in trouble....who knows where she is

Sarutobi(running to meet up the Uzumakis): I looked as well...its like she disappeared leaving no trace I can't even sense her chakra signature anywhere

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

Four days pass, Akamari wakes up from a deep sleep, she finds a way out from the meadow heading back to the leaf village

Akamari(entering the village): man I'm starving...I'll probably go to the Ramen noodle shop...and order thier special

Suddenly as she's walking...Akamari notices surprised stares coming from the villagers

Akamari(confused): that's weird...why do they look like I was reincarnated or something

She goes to the ramen shop....as she enters inside....everyone is shocked and silent, she shrugs it off and orders her food, the waiter nervously hands it to her

Akamari(smiles): thank you

Waiter(nervosly): your welcome

Phara(sitting next to Akamari): you girl have a powerful gift dont you....its must be amazing to be the last Otsutsuki in your bloodline

Akamari(confused): I'm sorry...who are you?

Phara: my name is not important....but I must tell you something....on the twenty first year of your birthday you will give your life for the sake of humanity as the last Otsutsuki

Akamari: the last Otsutsuki....give my life...

Phara: yes your life....because your gift is rare and powerful you will be a target for those like you....they will stop at nothing to gain it...heed my words and from here on out be careful who you surround yourself with...life is precious

Akamari: but I'm not an Otsutsuki....

Phara: your father is Kawaki Madra holder of the karma.....your mother is Himawari Uzumaki daughter of the jinchuriki who held the ninetail fox and the bayakugan princess

Akamari(shocked): how do you know that....

Phara: I've been watching you my dear....my duty as a birther was to look after you...I'm the last one of my kind who still alive and holds the gift of the forseer which let's me know about catastrophic events

Akamari: but you look so young....how old are you?

Phara: four hundred and fifty years...

Akamari(spits and chokes on her soup): what....you....are....four hundred and fifty....years.....old?

Phara: yes I've was around even before clans turned into cities like this one...I've been and seen how ugly wars can be between Otsutsuki and humanity....you are the last of your bloodline....you will fulfill your duty in order to stop another war from happening....you are destined to be a fallen hero

Akamari(sad): a fallen hero....me....but I don't even train....

Phara: in time you will....you will pick a sensei that most thought to be dead...but don't worry he'll find you...and you will know

Akamari: who...?

Phara: he'll be a man missing a limb....with spiky white hair....a legendary sage who trained your grandfather Naruto...but be cautious he's not who he use to be...he's mean and strict...but I believe you can soften his hard shell

Akamari: wait a minute...the woman chaser that always got my grandfather in trouble....Jiraiya

Phara(smiling): so you know of him...but don't worry....he has lost the habit eversince he realized that he was at the brink of death....he even lost his will to write those repulsive make out tactics...now he just writes poems that are famously known around here...he even changed his name which is now Jerico Myzuki...a famous poet

Akamari(shocked): wait...are you saying my favorite poet of all time...is Jiraiya....Narutos sensei...the so called pervy sage...are you sure it's the same person....

Phara: yes....(getting up to leave) well I have to go I believe you have somewhere to go at this moment....Jerico is having a book signing today and you will miss it if you don't hurry

Akamari: but his book signing isn't four days from now at eleven thirty specifically

Phara(pointing at the calendar): but it's the eighteenth today and it's ten thirty

Akamari(shocked): omg I've been gone four days!...(pays for her food) thank you lady I got to go...I'll see you around

She arrives at the book signing....there are crowds of women waiting for the largest book store in the village to open for the book signing

Akamari(disappointed): damn if I knew there would be crowds of women here I would of came an hour early

Mianari(walking up to Akamari): are you here to get a signature from Jerico Myzuki?

Akamari: yeah why

Mianari: no reason.....I need to see if this was the right book store....there are two more but they are on the other side of town....I just stopped by to give my husband his lunch

Akamari(surprised): wait....are you Jerico Myzuki's wife....

Mianari: oh I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself I'm Mianari Myzuki wife of.....

Akamari(mesmerized): you were the famous singer who managed the group Starfall....which is my favorite group of all time...but it still upsets me till this day they disbanded about four years ago

Mianari: well it was a good fifteen years with them....but the group just wanted to do thier own things....I believe the main singer is a father of two beautiful little girls...and the guitarist is a pharmaceutical tech the other three became solo artists

Akamari(pointing at the crowd): um...one question...how will you get through the crowd of fangirls wanting your husband....

Suddenly Akamari notices the group move to one side of the book store. A large man in a black suit and silver hair walks past the crowd of scared girls and walks up to Mianari

Mianari: Izuke....there you are is my husband inside?

Izuke: yes he is (showing Mianari the way) he is waiting to have lunch with you before the signing miss

Mianari: oh great I thought I came too late (to Akamari) well it was nice getting to know you...hope to meet you again

Akamari(smiling): yeah I hope so too...and by the way Jerico is lucky to have a wife like you

Mianari: thank you well I'm off bye

Akamari(waving): bye...Mrs Myzuki

[fertileimaginationvault]

I Never Even Told You (part 2) - Superbat (DCEU Series)

During the time he had been drinking tea and eating pie with Clark and Martha Kent, Bruce wondered what he had gotten himself into.

The plan was simple. Make sporadic visits to Martha Kent, make sure she had everything she needed; try to make her life as easy as possible in Clark's absence, and leave.

It all worked out perfectly, until Bruce himself decided to bring Clark back to life. That alone would be enough reason for him to stop visiting Martha Kent once and for all and go back minding his own business in Gotham, right? Wrong. He kept coming. The quick visits became a cup of coffee in the living room, which became conversations accompanied by a cup of coffee or tea with biscuits and (countless) slices of pie in the modest farmhouse kitchen.

Two years ago, Bruce would sit in that same chair in front of Martha Kent while she cried, telling him stories about Clark, about his childhood, about how much she missed him. And all Bruce could do was watch her in pain, without being able to do anything else but saying how sorry he was and to accept as many slices of pie as she wanted to offer him.

Now Clark was back. He was alive in front of them, chatting and laughing with them, protesting the fact that he couldn't eat another slice of pie Martha had prepared especially for Bruce's visit. But Bruce himself couldn’t help but thinking that he shouldn't be there, that it wasn't his right to share a private moment with a family he almost destroyed. And all because he was blind with hatred. What a great irony fate has provided him... Clark was still pouting while Martha insisted that Bruce should eat another slice of pie and more biscuits and have some more tea.  “You should stay for dinner, Bruce, you look so wan...”, she said almost as if to herself. "Hasn’t Alfred been feeding you?" "He tries." Bruce allowed himself a rather bitter laugh, which became a smirk to Clark, who was watching him, resting his own chin on his hands, returning the gesture. "So you're going to stay for dinner.” Martha stated, staring at them with a knowing expression. “Mrs. Kent, I ...” "It wasn’t a question." “In this case,” Bruce accepted, feeling defeated. The relentless look on Martha’s face reminded him of Alfred, leaving him no choice. “I’ll gladly stay.” “Like you have any other option” Clark chuckled. “When Ma decides to feed someone, she does it.” “ I've notic- what are you doing?" “I don't think I've ever seen you eat so much food in one day!” Clark has taken his phone out of the jeans pocket to start filming Bruce while he ate. “I'm sending this to the kids. And also to Alfred. they’re gonna love it.” Bruce just glared at him in response, as if he could make the phone destroy itself by sheer willpower. “Ah, you're not going to stop eating now, are you?” "This is ridiculous”, Bruce muttered, still glaring at the camera, turning the simple act of eating a biscuit threatening. “Here we have Bruce Wayne, out of his natural habitat, feeding. Despite of usually hide in the shadows of Gotham, it’s known that he has come to the plains of Kansas to seek for eat human food...” “Clark!” Martha tried to scold Clark, but herself started to laugh in the moment she saw Bruce’s expression. “Pardon my son, Bruce. I swear I tried to raise him well.” “You are ridiculous." Bruce muttered to the camera and went back to ignore Clark, who was still filming him. He continued to eat, also trying to ignore how much Clark was laughing at him. “I know you tried your best, Mrs Kent. He’s just a lost cause.” “Hey!” Bruce could swear the sound of Clark’s laughter resonated throughout the house just like it reverberated inside his hollowed chest. It was light and pure as it was life itself filling him whole. He could hear that laugh for days without getting tired of it. However, Bruce knew that he should be content to listen to the small samples of it. Even though Bruce knew he wasn’t allowed to want that. ‘This is not for me’ he reminded himself ‘I don’t deserve that laugh. I don't deserve any of this ’. __________________________________________ Clark found Bruce on the porch, leaning against the railing as he watched the farm landscape bathed in the mix of golden and orange light coming from the sun setting in the distance. Clark got next to the other man who acknowledged his presence with only a side glance and a hesitant smile on the corner of his lips. The two remained there for some time, just admiring the landscape in front of them while Clark still tried to reassess all that has happened that day. Finding out that Bruce has been visiting the farm was more than just a surprise. It didn’t matter how long has been since their friendship started (even though it wasn’t that much) Bruce was still a mystery to him. He still had so many layers to peal off, so many sides to discover and uncover... it always made him wonder which one was the real Bruce Wayne. Bruce could be cold and distant most of the time but Clark knew that he was also kind to Victor and Barry, that he was patient and loving with his children, and very protective too. And now Clark knows he is a good company to Martha. Someone who comes to tea, someone who tries to fix her very old tv... and buys her a new one when he doesn’t get to fix it.

Someone who despite all that still keeps Clark at arms length. Regardless of their promise to trust each other more. “How long have you been visiting Ma?” He finally asked. “It’s been awhile...” Bruce answered without getting his eyes off the cornfield. It was clear that he didn’t want to have this conversation but Clark didn’t seem to care. “Why didn’t you tell me?” “You have every right to be upset-“ “I’m not upset about you visiting my mother, I just want to understand why did you think that you should hide that from me.” “You know why.” “Bruce,” Clark sighed, “I thought we were past this...” “Are we?” Bruce finally turned to face him, ready for a confrontation. “Well, yes?” Clark did the same, “If the last two years meant something at least.” “I just want to make sure your mother is safe. Since Luthor has escaped from Arkham she's exposed. We don’t know where he is or what he plans to do next. Luthor may try to hurt her again to get through you-” “Lex Luthor is my responsibility.” “Lex Luthor is our responsibility. I kept him in Gotham so I could keep my eyes on him and he has escaped anyway.” “You think he isn’t coming for you for being associated with me? What about your kids? You said yourself, he knows who you are. All of you.” “My children were trained to deal with this kind of situation. I know how to protect them and I know how to take care of myself.” “But I don't know how to take care of my mother because you didn’t trained me?” “That’s not what I- damn it.” They only noticed how close they were to each other when Bruce turned away from him, back at staring the cornfield, his hands curled into fists. “I shouldn’t have come here.” He whispered. Clark had lost count of how many conversations between him and Bruce became arguments. The smallest of disagreements was able to ignite a spark that brought all the tension between them back at its peak. However, Clark did not want to fight at that moment, and much less wanted Bruce to leave. “’I’m sorry, Bruce.” He came closer to the other man who turned to face him. “I don’t even know why I am freaking out about this, I mean, it’s good to know that Ma likes you so much. I was worried she didn’t...” “Were you? Why?” And there it was. The glint in Bruce’s eyes that always made Clark catch his breath. He couldn’t quite place what that meant, specially when Bruce watched him like he was a mystery to be solved. Clark only knew that he liked it. He liked how it made him feel, like Bruce thought of him as an object of fascination. He wanted Bruce to look at him like that forever even though he didn’t know why. “Uh.. well,” Clark swallowed hard, trying to find the right words, feeling the heat rising to his cheeks. He couldn't believe he was blushing. They were about to throw fists at each other seconds ago and now he's flustered by Bruce’s inquiring gaze. Get a grip Kent. “We’re teammates an-and also, friends... right? You have done so much for us. It’s obvious that Ma loves your visits... and... you’ve been taking care of her.” Bruce shook his head, chuckling in disbelief. His brown eyes reflected the golden rays of the sun that was slowly leaving the horizon when he finally faced Clark. “You’ve been doing the same for me, Clark, remember? You’re always looking after my children, even though you don’t have to.” “They make my life way more interesting,” Clark shrugged, grinning at him “I wouldn’t want it any other way.” “Off course you wouldn’t... I guess it’s like you said,” Bruce took a few steps closer, leaving to Clark the decision to close de gap between them, and Clark had to remember how to breath again, “we’re teammates. That’s what we do.” “That’s what we do...” He echoed Bruce’s words, suddenly not being able to control his laughter that came with realizing a little detail. “What now?” “You tried to... fix the old tv...” Clark almost couldn’t finish his sentence for laughing so hard at Bruce who was staring at him blankly. “Yes, and...?” Bruce said, confuse with Clark’s sudden laughter attack. “That thing was a hundred years old at least. It was already falling apart when I was a baby. No wonder why you couldn’t fix it.” “That didn’t keep me from trying.” Bruce shrugged. “I wouldn’t expect less from you.” Clark couldn’t help but tease, “It was cute to try, though.” “I just wanted to help.” Bruce mumbled, glaring at Clark who was trying not to laugh at his expression (again). “And it took me last than five minutes to realize that thing didn’t need a repair but someone to take it out of its misery.” “So you murdered my grandpa’s old tv to replace it for a new one with 4k definition?” “Yes. It’s part of my diabolical plan, to destroy everything you have so I can replace it with new and expensive stuff.” “You need help.” Bruce only smirked in response, basking in the sound of Clark’s laughter once more, trying to ignore how his chest ached for having the other man so close to him and yet at the same time so out of reach. “I’m sorry.” He whispered, accepting to be pierced by the pair of blue eyes that seemed to look right through his soul. “I should have told you I was visiting the farm.” “Yes, you should have. You don’t have to do this behind my back and you don’t have to buy us a bunch of things either, okay? No more tvs or new tractors... what?” Clark exclaimed as he noticed Bruce’s expression “You think I wouldn't notice a new tractor? Who do you think helps Ma around here?” “I just want to make sure your mother is comfortable, make things easier for her... and for you.” “That’s all you have done for the past two years.” Clark squeezed Bruce’s shoulder in a reassuring way, “I just want you to know that you don’t need to buy us something every time you come to visit. Just bring yourself. That will be more than enough.” “I’ll keep that in mind.” “Thank you for coming here and spending time with Ma, specially considering how busy you are. It means a lot.” “The pleasure is all mine.” _____________________________________________ Clark’s hand slowly fell from Bruce’s shoulder, running through the fine fabric of the suit that covered his arm but wasn’t enough to keep Bruce from fighting to suppress a shiver down his spine. Something almost impossible to achieve when Clark took his hand. “Don’t stop visiting, okay?” “I won’t.” Bruce answered without even thinking twice. Something about Clark’s eyes were so compelling that most of times, he had to fight with everything he had to manage to say no to him. Yet, right now he couldn’t put up a fight. Not when Clark looked at him like that, like nothing else mattered  more than Bruce’s promise to come back. “You can bring the kids next time...” Clark suggested. “Clark...” Bruce sighed, already feeling like paying the price for not being able to say no to the other man. “For the weekend.” Clark continued. “Clark.” “And bring Alfred too.” Clark seemed to pay him no mind. “I can’t impose my presence or my family’s here for a whole weekend. I don’t even think it’s safe.” Bruce winced just to think about spending the whole weekend at the Kent Farm breaking Jason and Tim apart during one of their fights. “You won’t be imposing. Ma loves having the house full and would mean a lot to her to welcome your family. To both of us, actually.” Clark inclined his face to meet his eyes, smiling shyly, “And I’d finally have a chance to show y’all how charming Smallville really is.” “Fine.” Bruce sighed, not knowing if it was for Clark's big puppy eyes or for his lack of willpower to be firm in his decisions at that very moment when Clark’s grin was bigger than never. “You’re a good man Bruce Wayne.” “You keep telling me that.” Bruce let out a bitter laugh. “I won’t stop until you believe it.” Clark insisted, holding Bruce’s hand a little tighter like he was making a point. “Then, I wish you good luck with what I believe will be a torturous task.” “I’m known to be very patient.” “You’re unbelievable, that’s what you are.” “Is that a good thing?” “In your case, it is.” Bruce had to brace himself not to be knocked down by Clark’s bright smile. They were so close to each other now, Bruce didn’t realize how they ended up like that, almost pressed chest to chest, sharing the same air. Their fingers entwined.

He tried to move away but his body wouldn’t respond to such command. This was insane, he should turn away, walk out of that farm without looking back. He shouldn't stay so close to Clark, he shouldn’t indulge himself in something that would never happen. But Clark was so warm, his eyes were so honest, so inviting... but surely not as inviting as his lips, so close to Bruce’s own... It was so easy. All he needed to do was to move an inch or so and their mouths would finally meet. And all the feelings Bruce has been burying deep down inside himself for the past two years would finally pour out... “Master Bruce?” Before any of them could make a move Alfred’s voice cracked in the comm link inside of Bruce’s ear, breaking the sudden bubble that shielded them from the rest of the world, bringing Bruce back to reality. “Yes, Alfred?” He sighed, finally finding the courage to move away from Clark, who he thought looked disappointed for the interruption. He tried not to dwell on that, turning his eyes to the cornfield once again as long as he listened to Alfred’s report in order to focus on the imminent mission the Bat of Gotham would have to face that night. “I’m terribly sorry for interrupting such a private moment, sir,” the sardonic tone in the butler’s voice made Bruce want to roll his eyes, “I thought you would care to know that the Gotham Bank is being robbed... again.” “What’s the situation?” “Harley Quinn have found herself new partners in crime and thought the Gotham Bank was a good place to start her new endeavors.” “And I here thinking she would finally come to her senses after breaking up with that lunatic... Are there any hostages?” “The bank was already closed to the clients so only the staff were there. I've already sent Master Tim and Ms. Stephanie. Ms. Cassandra had arrived from training and is already on her way.” “I’ll get there as soon as I can.” “Very well, sir. Send my regards to Master Clark.” “Bye Alfred.” Bruce grumbled as a reaction to the mocking tone evidently present on Alfred’s voice and tapped the comm link closed, turning to face Clark again. “Duty calls?” Clark asked hesitantly, as if expecting him to say no, although Bruce knew he would be able to listen to Alfred through the comms even from a far. “As usual.” He nodded firmly, feeling his heart sink as Clark’s smile slowly faded, yet doing his best to ignore it. He had work to do in Gotham. The City needed Batman and Bruce had to leave. He turned his back to Clark, heading to the door to find Martha inside the house. “Mrs Kent? I’m sorry but I have to leave sooner than expected. There is an emergency I have to attend to.” “Caped emergency?” “I see you understand that very well." Bruce couldn't help but soften before Martha's understanding gaze. How many times has she seen Clark rushing out the door to help someone on the other side of the world? Among all the people in the world, besides Alfred, off course, Martha Kent was the only person who could look at him like that and make him feel like he was doing the right thing. “Well, hurry then!” She walked him to the front door, “And come back soon. Don’t be a stranger.” “I won’t, I promise. Maybe I’ll bring my kids next time?” He said hesitant, not believing himself for agreeing with Clark on that. “That would be wonderful! You should all come to spend the weekend. And bring Alfred too, I’d love to talk to him about your eating habits.” “Of course, Mrs Kent." he chuckled, " And let me know if there’s anything you need.” “I will honey, thank you. Be safe, all right?” “I will.” Bruce took his coat before saying goodbye to Martha who didn't think twice before bring him for a hug, and went out to find Clark on the porch. “I told you she would love to have the kids here for a weekend.” Clark look at him smugly. “You worry too much.” “I worry enough.” “Do you need a lift?” “No, I brought the bat-wing.” Bruce touched the small screen of his smartwatch and the Bat-Wing appeared at the other side of the field. “Was that invisible?” Clark gasped, turning to Bruce's unimpressed expression, like that was something he did everyday. “I wouldn’t say invisible, it’s in a type of stealth mode. Victor and I have been learning a lot from the mother box and using its tecnology to improve our equipments and defenses for the cave and the headquarters. It’s still in testing phase but I’m sure it will work fine in long term use. Yet is interesting that even you couldn’t see it... maybe we should run some more tests having you as parameter...” “Nerd.” Clark teased.

“It takes one to know the other. At least I think that’s what Tim says... I’m not so sure.”

“Look at you talking like the young people do.” Clark chuckled at Bruce’s expression while trying to remember what were Tim’s exact words. “You know, If you need any help...” “I know.” Bruce nodded again, and turned to Martha, still standing at the door, “Goodbye Mrs Kent.” “Goodbye, honey. Be safe.” "Bye, Clark." "See ya." _________________________________ 

   Clark stayed there, in the porch, watching as the Bat-wing disappeared in the distance. trying to understend what just happened between him and Bruce (or what almost happened). He wanted to make sure that it wasn't just his imagination, Bruce so close to him, their hands linked, their lips mere inches away... And the sound of Buce's heart, desperately beating inside his chest just like his own. What would have happened if Alfred hadn't interrupted them? Clark starteld at the thought that he wanted to find out as long as he stared at the sky, in the direction of Gotham where the Bat-Wing has disappeared to human eye but Clark still could see. “And there he goes...” Martha said, as if she could read his mind, while coming from the door to stay by his side. “Yeah..." Clark let out a heavy sigh, taking a few seconds to turn his eyes from the sky to find Martha by his side, her arms crossed and staring at him with a knowing expression. "What now, Ma?” “I haven't seen you sigh like that since you had a crush on Lana Lang. I remember how you used to sigh every time she would walk past us down the street.” “Ma..." he groaned, trying to fight the heat build up his cheeks. " I don't have a crush on Bruce.” "No one is saying you do.” “I'm serious.” “So you're here looking at the sky and sighing for no reason?” “We're just friends, Ma.” even though Clark chuckled at his mother's words, his own words left a bitter taste in his mouth. He wasn't sure that he would say them again without feeling this way. “Alright...” Martha rolled her eyes, but decided she wouldn't insist. “I mean it!” “I’m not saying anything.” she tried not to laugh at her son, who was slightly blushed while trying very hard not to be. “Ma?” he called breaking their brief moment of silence. “Yeah?” “How long has Bruce been visiting you?” “Since the week after your funeral.” She answered promptly. “He showed up here one afternoon. I didn't recognize him from the start, I thought he was some reporter or someone from the government asking about you. But he told me who he was, and what happened that night... He felt guilty for not being able to save you... For trying to hurt you at first.” Martha’s gaze was on the horizon, like she could see Bruce flying his way to Gotham like Clark could. “After that he kept coming. Then I found out he had payed for your funeral, and he wanted to pay the debts when the bank took the farm. I didn't let him at the time, off course. I’ve told him I could do fine on my own and that he owed me nothing.” Clark took a few seconds to assimilate everything Martha had said. It never occurred to him that Bruce had asked for Martha’s forgiveness too, that he had taken upon himself the responsibility to take care of the mother of a man he didn’t know, a man he despised until the last minute. “Did he... did he tell you everything?” “Yes. It took me some time to digest it all, but I felt that he needed those visits as much as I did. I think he still does. When you came back, I knew it was him. And I thought he would stop visiting... but he still keeps coming here, once a week. Whenever he has the time.” “He... he never told me that.” “Didn't think he would.” “I just don't get him sometimes...” “And yet here you are, staring longingly at the horizon...” “Yeah... I mean, no! I...” Clark gave up on denying anything when faced by Martha’s unimpressed look. She knew him too well that it made pointless to lie about anything he might be feeling at the moment, even to himself. “You're right...” he admitted, helpless. “I'm always right. I’m your mother.” Martha hugged him by the waist. Clark returned the hug, resting his head on top of his mother’s. "I wish he would stay for dinner..." he whispered, taken aback by how sad he sounded. "Me too, honey.” She patted his back in order to comfort him. “But on the bright side, I have ice cream in the fridge and a new tv. What do you say?” “I say my night just got a little better.” “We're gonna have dinner and ice cream and we’re gonna watch all those old movies we both love...” “On your new gigantic tv.” “That thing is huge,” she snorted when turned her eyes back to the living room, “but Bruce was so worried he couldn't fix the other tv, I couldn't just say no...” “I know, he is so sweet... What now, Ma?” “Nothing! I'm just thinking... It’s good that he has so many kids, you know. I get a son in law and grandchildren in the same package.” “Ma, stop...” Clark and Martha had dinner and spent the rest of the night watching old movies on her new tv. He was glad she didn’t make any more comments about him and Bruce and their weird relationship. Still, her words gave him a lot to think.

As Clark has spent more time with Bruce, the more he has realized that the other man wore different personalities as different masks. The dark figure of the Bat, the inconsequential playboy facade, the emotionless person that pushed everyone away. Each one of them was a disguise Bruce has worn for years. Which made Clark a little more optimistic that one day he could get close enough to the point of taking every mask off, and reveal the real Bruce Wayne. He knew that was what he wanted for the past two years. Clark just didn't know what would happen when they get so close again like they did that afternoon, especially if there were no interruptions. He tried to shake that thought out of his head and focus on the movies and the ice cream he was eating but still keeping an ear in Gotham anyway to make sure Bruce and the Bat-kids were safe until they finally got home that night.

___________________

Notes: 

- It’s not the first time I write about superbat inspired by a song, and the song which inspired this was “I Never Even Told You” by Tia Carrere (hence the title), that is part of Batman: Mask of The Phantasm soundtrack;

- I had to post it in two parts becaus tumblr told it was too long - And I hope ya’ll liked it ;)

[ladyseaheart1668]

Endless Summer Book 4 : Daughter of Vaanu (Chapter 50)

Description: Tahira awakens! And she has a plan. 

Tagging: @endlesshero1122 @mysteli @feartheendlesssummer @whatmcsaid @xo-endlessmayhem-xo @tigerbryn11

Chapter 50: Between the Cracks

Tahira

I can't breathe...I can't breathe! I push against the Endless' grip, trying to reach the surface, but she only holds me tighter.

“It's all right, Tahira. It's all right. Just watch.”

The images are still coming. Quinn Kelly, motionless on a bed her hands folded in a funereal pose atop a large, shining stone. She turns into Alodia, clutching the Prism Crystal, but she's no longer lying in repose. Her face is twisted with fury, her eyes gleaming fuschia with the Crystal's power as she attacks an unseen opponent. I can't breathe. I want to get out. Someone get me out of here! I flail, pounding the Endless' arms feebly with my fists. I can't perceive the images anymore. There's only a vague itch at the edge of my mind, telling me that I know something that I didn't know before.

“Tahira...?” I don't recognize the voice at first, but everything around me is fading. The images. The Endless. The ocean. Then, as I finally draw in a desperate breath, I feel something warm and soft on my cheek. “Tahira, baby, can you hear me?”

“...Mom...?” I realize that I have my eyes closed. I open them carefully, squinting against a sudden assault of florescent light. A figure, blurry but definitely my mother, hovers over me. I hear her choke on a sob as she strokes and kisses my face.

“Oh, baby, thank God!”

I become aware of a pressure on my hand, and turn to see Grayson perched on the edge of my bed, holding my hand. His clothes and hair are rumpled, and there's a layer of fuzz on his face like he hasn't shaved in a day or two.

“Do you remember what happened?” he asks anxiously.

“Got stabbed,” I mumble. My mind feels surprisingly clear, but it's taking my body a bit to catch up, I think, because my tongue feels heavy.

“Yeah. The surgery went well, but you took awhile to wake up afterwards. You had us worried. How are you feeling now?”

“Fine,” I answer without really taking stock. As soon as I say it, I realize that my side still feels like it's on fire. But I feel fairly confident I'll heal quickly now that I'm awake. “...Alodia...she was abducted...”

Mom and Grayson exchange a look of mild surprise.

“...Yeah...” Grayson confirms. “And Diego. How did...?”

“Crystal stuff. I'll explain later. ...I gotta talk to the Catalysts. I think I might have an idea about finding her.”

* * *

“You want to...use the Prism Crystal to find Alodia?”

It feels risky to be on a video call with all the Catalysts plus my team while I'm still in my hospital room, but I've got Grayson standing guard, ready to signal me if any staff get too close.

“Hear me out here. Quinn, when you were...possessed by Vaanu, you could feel the Island's Heart, right? You could feel where it was?”

“Vaguely,” Quinn confirms. “I could feel it pulling me toward the other half.”

“And there were other instances of the crystals leading you places, right?”

“Quarr'tel,” Jake says, nodding. “They slipped a crystal into Raj's pocket and it lit up like a firefly when we were headed in the right direction.”

“And when we had three of them staked together, they literally just showed us the path when we looked through them.”

“The Prism Crystal is specifically Alodia's life essence. But it didn't react until I came in contact with it as her blood relative. Maybe that connection will help me use it to track her.”

“I believe your idea could work in theory,” Varyyn says cautiously. “...I would be extremely hopeful, if not for the fact that her abductors have managed to block her psychic link with me. Suppose they have figured out a way to block any link with her that the Prism Crystal might give to you? What if that was a function of the poison you were dosed with?”

“It might well be,” I admit. “But what do we have to lose by trying?”

“Nothing,” Jake says. “If anything, we'd be failing Alodia and Diego by not trying. If there's even a chance it could get them back sooner...”

“I'm not disagreeing with you, Jake,” Dax chimes in, “But there are a few logistical problems to consider. For one thing, Tahira, you're still in the hospital with an abdomen full of stitches. Even with your enhanced healing, it's going to be a process. You won't do anyone any good if you tear out your stitches and bleed out searching for Alodia and Diego. Two, this isn't La Huerta, where you guys were on your own with only Vaanti authority to deal with. If this works, how do we explain it? How do we explain Dragonness disappearing after these two people she presumably has no connection to, and how do we explain how she found them without giving away too much?”

I wave a hand impatiently. “We'll chalk it up to a mystery of the Prism Crystal and assure the public that we're looking into why the Crystal led me to these people. The public have been remarkably accepting of the idea that the Prism Crystal turned people into superheroes.”

“But why Alodia and Diego in particular? Why not any of the other thousands of missing persons in the US? Why would the Prism Crystal choose two people who went missing in California when it's on the East Coast?”

“You're overthinking this,” Jake says. “Look, my sister's a cop. People go missing every day, and most of them don't get half the attention Alodia and Diego have gotten. The only reason they're getting as much media attention as they are is because they were on the La Huerta trip, and the fact that Alodia's pregnant makes people more sympathetic. Once they're safe home, the media and the cops ain't gonna care too much about how they got there.”

“I can't say that I completely agree,” Poppy says. “I know I'm only a fashion journalist, but that doesn't mean I don't know how the media works. Alodia and Diego are still high-profile people, and there are high-profile people involved in their kidnapping. Dax is right. If this does work like we want it to, we do need to consider how we're going to spin it so that the attention doesn't go anywhere we don't want it to.”

“Let's not get too far ahead of the game,” Michelle cautions. “Dax is also right that Tahira needs a little time to recover before she's fit to go chasing anyone down.”

“Simple solution to that,” Jake declares. “If she gets a lead off the Prism Crystal, I'm going with her.”

I try not to grimace outwardly. I should have seen this coming. “Jake...you know I'll be faster on my own. Considering that I can fly without a plane.”

“Not while you've still got a hole in your gut. If this is gonna work, we don't have a lot of time for you to be on bed-rest here. We got a small window, and it's closing fast.”

Michelle nods. “Jake is right. Whether we find her or the authorities do, we really don't have time to just wait if we're going to take any action. She's due in a matter of weeks, and we can't assume she won't go into labor early. At the same time, Tahira, you can't just go on your own in your present condition. Apart from the stab wound, we don't know if that poison is fully out of your system. So, I'll come too.”

“Can the hospital spare you?”

“I've still technically got a week and change of vacation I haven't used, and I haven't officially put myself back on the schedule yet.”

“Well, you know I'm not letting you go without me,” Sean says firmly, taking his wife's hand. “I can't. Not just now.”

“I expected as much, and I won't argue.”

“I will go as well,” Varyyn declares. “Not least because my partner is among the missing, but also because if Alodia or I somehow managed to break through the barrier they've put on our psychic link, it would not do for me to be miles away.”  

I sigh. This is kinda turning into a plan for the world's most batcrap-crazy road trip, but I honestly can't say that I mind. In fact, I feel a wry smile tugging at my mouth. “...Anyone else want to join in?”

“You know Kenji and I are at your disposal,” Eva says, winking. But I shake my head at that suggestion.

“No, not you two. Someone needs to stay to protect Northbridge. We can't just leave DA Katsaros completely high and dry and expect to stay on her good side, especially given the situation with Caleb and the kids.”

“I'll come instead,” Estela says. “In case you need another fighter.”

“I'm rather handy with a fencing sword,” Aleister offers a bit reluctantly. But his sister shakes her head.

“Stay with your wife and son. There will be enough lonely doves among the Catalysts as is, and you and Zahra need to look after the company and field any questions from the authorities.”

“Besides that, we should keep our numbers as small as possible,” I point out. “Even if I can't go on my own, we will go faster the fewer we are.”

“In the meantime, what should the rest of us be doing?” Raj asks. “I mean, I'm good to stay in California if that's where I'm most needed...”

“We'd appreciate that,” Jake agrees. “Keep looking after our folks for us. I'll see if I can send Rebecca back with our parents, but it's possible they won't be willing to leave me alone unless I bring her with me.”

“Well...I guess we're mostly settled then. We can work out the necessary details once I'm discharged.”

“That's assuming this really works...” Aleister says soberly. “We've begun speaking of it as a certainty...”

For a moment, no one says anything. I hear myself speak first. “We'll know that as soon as I'm discharged, too.”

Jake

I'm not surprised when my parents are reluctant to let me go to Northbridge without them. I'm an adult, they say, and they can't stop me, but they do their best to discourage it. I don't hold it against them. I've disappeared on them too many times for them not to be nervous, even after I promise to check in with them. As I predicted, it's Rebecca's promise to go with me and keep an eye on me that finally convinces them to go back to California and look after Alodia's parents. I vow to go back there myself if Tahira's idea with the Crystal doesn't pan out, though of course I don't say that to my parents. I need them to think my visit to Northbridge is open-ended.

The meager bags Mike and I packed for what we expected to be a night or two away from home were retrieved from the motel we were staying at the night before our abduction. By now, I've been discharged and Mike's finally in recovery after surgery, so I bring him his bag as an excuse to visit before I take off. I wouldn't normally think I needed an excuse to visit, but the hospital staff are still hovering like flies, and the pretense of dropping off the bag gets me access to his parents, who manage to finagle a few minutes for Mike and me to talk privately.

He turns his head toward me as I slip into the room and smiles wanly. He looks pale and exhausted, and he's still got an IV in the crook of his arm, but he's awake and propped up on his pillows. Still, the sheet below his thighs is flat over the mattress. I pull up a chair beside him.

“How're you feeling, kid?”

“...You know those old clothes press things that they used to feed clothes through after they were washed to get all the water out? In the olden days before washers and dryers?”

“I think I know what you mean. I think they were called 'mangles'.”

“Appropriate name. Anyway, I feel like I've gone through one of those.”

I cover his hand with mine and nod down at the flat sheet beneath his thighs. “No new legs yet?”

“Apparently they gotta let the nerves heal or something first. I dunno. They got some metal things on the stumps to keep 'em fresh or whatever. The science blinded me a little. All I really know is they hurt like a bitch.”

“Fuck.” I squeeze his hand. “Sure feels like a shit time for me to be taking off...”

“Where are you heading?”

“Northbridge. ...It's not looking like Alodia and Diego were on the island. But Tahira has an idea to track Alodia using the Prism Crystal. Hopefully it works, and hopefully where we find Alodia, we find Diego.”

“No question you gotta go, then. Not like you'd be doing much good bumming around the hospital with me.”

“Probably not. ...Don't know how much good I'll be doing following Tahira around, either. But if there's even a chance of finding her...”

“You don't have to explain. We both know where you're most needed right now.” He turns his hand over to grip mine, his eyes finding my gaze and holding it. “Find your wife. Bring her home.”

* * *

Rebecca, Varyyn, and I get a private flight to Northbridge, compliments of Aleister and Estela, of course. I'm glad not to be in the pilot's chair on this one. I'm probably still not totally clear to operate heavy machinery after that blow to the head, and I'm not sure I could concentrate, even if I were. Problem is that I can't really sit still, either. I know I shouldn't be wandering more than necessary while the plane's in the air, but I feel like I'm gonna lose my shit if I try to stay seated too long. Predictably, Varyyn is perfectly still—almost stoic. Though I know him better than to assume he's not just as much of a hot mess as I am right now.

“...How're you holding up, Varyyn?” I ask, as much to distract myself as to check in.

“As well as you, I expect,” he sighs. “...I am afraid. I am afraid this will not work. I am afraid of what they might be suffering right now. ...I am afraid that if this does work, we will find Alodia alone and have nothing left to lead us to Diego.”

I grit my teeth, shaking my head hard. “Won't be like that, Varyyn. Don't think like that. They're together. They gotta be together.”

“...We don't know that,” he says softly. “We hope it. But do we really have any evidence that it is true?”

“Why else would they have taken Diego?” I demand. “They weren't together at the time of the abduction, so it wasn't just convenience like with Sean and Michelle. No offense to Diego, but I don't think Rourke really has much use for him in this timeline. He probably doesn't have much use for any of the Catalysts besides Alodia anymore, except to control her. And maybe Diego is useful if he wanted to bait you for some reason, but even then, wouldn't it still make more sense to keep them together, since you could track her if they hadn't blocked it somehow...”

“...It all makes sense...” he admits. “...I just...I can't help but fear...”

I sigh, rubbing my hands over my face. “Of course not. I won't lie, it scares me, too. ...But it makes more sense that they're together. Remember that.”

He nods. “...I feel powerless. I should be able to reach them. I should at least be able to speak to her and confirm that they are unharmed...”

“We all feel powerless here,” Rebecca says. “I'm a detective. I should be able to track and investigate. But because it's a member of my own family, I'm not allowed to help...” She trails off, and the silence that follows is heavy. I think we all want to try and say something comforting or optimistic here, but there's not really anything to say that we haven't already said. We all feel powerless. There's a chance that when we get to Northbridge, we'll have our path made clear for us, but there aren't any guarantees. If this doesn't work...what next?

Grayson

“Are you sure you're up for this, Tahira? You only got out of the hospital yesterday...”

Tahira grits her teeth as she carefully makes her way to her dresser, using crutches to support most of her weight and to keep her stitches from tearing. She's healing fast. Fast enough that eyebrows were raised at the hospital. But not fast enough to have her in fighting shape yet, and she's clearly still in pain. Michelle has cautioned her against heavy lifting, even with her super strength. The only way we were able to confirm that her strength was still intact was by having her bend an iron bar that Dax brought over from the lab. Flying, too, is out right now, though she is still capable of it.

“If this works,” Michelle said last night, “You're basically going to be our tracker, at least for a few days. Let the rest of us do most of the work until I give you the all-clear.”

I cautiously place my hand between her shoulderblades and let my palm move in slow, gentle circles. When she doesn't pull away, I increase the pressure just a little.

“When a person goes missing, the first twenty-four hours are the most crucial,” she says lowly. “...That window has already closed. There's no more time to waste. What we have is already borrowed.”

She pulls out a T-shirt and a pair of jeans from her drawer, and maneuvers herself to take off her pajama top. I sigh.

“Here, let me help you with that. I can't really help with the rescue mission, but I can help you get dressed for it.”

“I think providing us with travel vehicles is extremely helpful,” she says, smiling a little as she carefully raises her arms over her head to let me take her shirt off. I help her on with her clothes, finishing just as the buzzer to her apartment door sounds.

“Tahira? It's Eva and Kenji!” I go to let them in as Tahira settles herself down on the couch. Kenji grins at her as they walk in.

“How's our fearless leader doing? You look like you'll be ready to kick ass again in no time.”

“With any luck, I will at least be ready to do my part when we finally track down Alodia and Diego. Do you have the Crystal, Eva?”

“Haven't let it outta my sight since Caleb tipped us off it they were going after it,” she replies with a mischievous smile, trailing a finger over the chain around her neck. My eyes follow her finger down to where her low-cut top clearly reveals that the pendant on the end is nestled between her breasts. Tahira makes a face as Eva draws the Prism Crystal out of her cleavage.

“That cannot be comfortable...”

Eva shrugs. “You get used to it. Besides....” She grins, waggling her eyebrows. “No way anyone gets to it without me noticing.”

“Yeah, but have you been, like, showering with it in there? Sleeping?”

“Not like water will hurt it. And like I said, you get used to it.”

Tahira rolls her eyes, smirking a little. “Still...maybe I should ask you to wipe off the boob sweat before I try to do anything with it.”

“Tahira, I'm insulted. The very suggestion that I would ever break a sweat...” But she does grab a washcloth out of the basket of clean laundry beside the dresser and rub it over the crystal before handing it to Tahira. “So...what are you going to do with it exactly?”

“I'll start with holding it. Then...I guess I'll think about Alodia...” She shakes her head with a frustrated sigh. “...I'm flying mostly blind here...”

As she closes her hand around the Crystal, we fall silent, not wanting to risk disrupting her concentration. How long will it take, I wonder, before we know if anything is going to happen? I don't have to wonder long. In fact, the thought is barely out of my head before the crystal begins to glow brighter. I hold my breath. For a moment, everything is still except for the bright purple flame dancing beneath the Crystal's surface. Then Tahira's eyes fly open and she gasps softly. I instinctively rush to her side.

“Are you all right? What happened?”

“I'm okay...” she replies dazedly. “...I...think...”

“Did you see anything?” Eva asks. “Do you know where Alodia is?”

“Not exactly, but...” She looks down at the Crystal balanced on her palm, softly pulsing with fuschia light. “I did see her. In flashes. And...I think...”

She stands up and turns a slow circle, keeping her eye on the Crystal. I watch it carefully. It takes a few more circles before I realize what's actually happening, but when I do notice, I feel my heart skip a beat.

“Tahira! The light!”

“Yes!” Tahira cries eagerly, a grin splitting her face! “It dims, except when I start facing this direction! ...What direction am I facing?”

“Northwest-ish,” Kenji says. “Which probably means she isn't on the island...”

Tahira nods. “...If she's even what the Crystal is pointing toward. ...Either way, it's our best lead so far.

* * *

A few more little experiments prove that using the Crystal as a tracking device is a viable option. Although it goes dull when I touch it, Kenji and Eva can both make it react—as can Varyyn and any Catalysts who come in contact with it. And the pulsing light consistently gleams when the one holding it is facing northwest, dimming as they turn south. As soon as is humanly possible, Tahira and her team gather with me and a handful of the Catalysts in the empty executive level of the Prescott Industries parking garage. Two seven-seater SUVs that I rented are the only two vehicles in the place.

“They're both fueled up,” I assure Tahira. “Tire pressure has been checked and there are spares, jacks, and tire irons under the floors.”

“There are also pillows and blankets so you can sleep and drive in shifts and not have to stop as often,” Dax says. “I've also fitted the cars with adaptable communicators so you can communicate through the radios, just in case everyone's cell phones die at the same time. Do you know who's going to be in what car?”

“I'll be with Sean, Tahira, and Jake,” Michelle says. “Since Tahira and Jake aren't cleared to drive just yet, Sean will take the first shift, and Tahira will hold the Crystal to navigate.”

“And Varyyn, Rebecca, and I will follow in the vehicle behind,” Estela adds.

Michelle nods. “I've also got a medical tote stocked. No one mess with that, please. It's not your standard first aid kit. I've also got some sterile towels and blankets double-wrapped in plastic, so hands off those, too. If we find Alodia close to giving birth, we'll need clean towels to lay down for her and something to wrap the baby in.”

“There are also coolers of water, fruit, sandwiches, and about twenty pounds of trail mix,” Quinn adds. “It's not Raj's cooking, and it obviously won't last, but it should mean you don't have to stop for food for a handful of days.”

“I guess we're all set then,” Tahira says. “There's no time to lose. Everyone pile in.”

“Wait...” I catch her hand as she turns toward the car, and pull her in for a kiss, holding her mouth with mine as if I can store up enough of her taste on my lips to tide me over until she gets back. I break away reluctantly and press my forehead to hers. “Good luck. I love you.”

Eva

Kenji and I meet at his apartment that evening. We don't exactly feel safe going back to the clocktower right now, but we don't have a new base of operations yet, either.

“...How much does Caleb actually know now?” I ask him over a cup of heavily-sugared coffee.

“Almost everything. He knows our powers are connected to our DNA, which is connected to the island of La Huerta and a crystal alien that crash-landed here however many billion years ago. He knows that Alodia is that alien's daughter and that Tahira is Alodia's cousin. ...I also basically confirmed that most of what Rourke told him in those interviews is true.”

“And...where is he now?”

Kenji shrugs, talking a long swallow from his coffee mug. “Processing, I guess. He says he can't go back to Gigi anymore. And based on the way their last encounter went, I'm not surprised.”

“And you don't have any reason to think it might be a trick?”

“Just doesn't add up to a trick,” he admits. “He told me he'd originally told Gigi he was going to try to get in good with us to get information out of us, which I know was true. ...But if he was never actually going to turn on her, he probably would have done something to keep us from securing the Prism Crystal once he realized we knew she was going after it. Plus, she was angry enough to try and frame him for burning down the priest's house.”

“...He's out of the hospital, by the way. Don't know where he's living with his house burned out, though.”

“No sign of the kids, either. ...Maybe he's gone after them.”

“Quite honestly, I hope he has. Scoundrel he may be, but I think his intentions towards the kids are good. At least good enough that I'd rather they have him in their corner than be wandering around out there alone. Especially given what's going on now.”

Kenji smiles wryly. “They will have to come back eventually, won't they? Since you still have their dog.”

I snort. “Good luck making me give up that puppy. I think we've bonded.”

“You'll give her up the moment one of those sweet little kids flashes sad doe eyes at you.”

“...Yeah, probably,” I admit. “My cold heart has been defrosting lately. Maybe proof that there's hope for Caleb.”

“There had better be. ...Because if we can't actually trust him, we might be screwed.”

Estela

I am in the office with Aleister and Zahra when the phone on the desk rings. It just barely registers at first, like an acquaintance I give a nod to as I pass on the street. Aleister picks it up.

“Aleister Rourke speaking,” he mutters absently. Then his posture changes. I take notice as he sits up a little straighter. “Raj, hello. Has there been any news.”

My heart wedges in my throat as I sit up to attention. Zahra visibly stiffens as well, her eyebrows knitting as she meets my gaze with anxiety flickering in her dark eyes. Aleister's eyes widen.

“What? Are they sure it's the same one?...” His shoulders sag slightly as he listens to Raj's extended reply. “...Dammit. Does Jake know? ...What are they planning to do?”

There's a longer pause now. Aleister's expression is difficult to read. Zahra stands up from her desk, then awkwardly hovers there as if she's not sure she should come closer.

“...I expect that is the wisest course of action. If the Crystal can track Alodia directly, it would be a waste of time to chase down a lead like that. ...I see. ...Of course. I'll make sure everyone is updated. Thank you. ...I will. ...Goodbye.” He replaces the receiver on the cradle and looks up at me and Zahra in turn. “...That was Raj. The police believe they have found the stolen ambulance that Alodia and Diego were transported in, but it has since been abandoned. They were able to determine that a helicopter took off nearby and they believe Alodia and Diego were on board, but from there, they're having difficulty picking up the trail.”

Zahra and I exchange anxious glances. “...Where was the ambulance found?”

“Cascade mountain range in Oregon. Near Crater Lake.”

“Oregon!” Zahra gasps. “They drove a stolen ambulance from southern California to the Cascade mountains in Oregon and no one noticed until now?!”

“Raj tells me the region around Crater Lake is fairly remote.”

“Maybe, but...” Zahra is already tapping furiously on her phone. After a moment, she turns the screen toward us. “Look, the fastest path to Crater Lake from Riverside is about a twelve-hour drive, straight up through California.”

“They were driving an ambulance,” I point out. “If they had the lights and sirens going, they would have been able to speed and run red lights with impunity. Few people are going to want to impede an ambulance that they think is on the way to save someone's life. Even with the authorities knowing they were likely in a stolen ambulance, I can believe they got as far as Oregon without anyone wanting to risk stopping them. Especially if they swapped the license plate.”

“They still would have needed to stop for gas at some point. And twelve hours trapped in a vehicle can't be good for a pregnant woman. We're still operating under the assumption that Rourke wants Alodia and her baby alive, right?”

“It makes the most sense,” Aleister confirms. “If he just wanted her dead, there are easier ways than kidnapping.”

“What else do we actually know? They found the stolen ambulance, but are they sure Alodia and Diego were inside?”

“They found more than a few hairs inside the vehicle. They matched DNA samples from both Alodia and Diego.”

I nod. “...From what I overheard, I'm guessing Jake and the others aren't going to try to find them in Oregon.”

He shakes his head. “It would be a waste of time, driving some place they have already been removed from when they believe the Prism Crystal can lead them to where Alodia is currently.”

“Why Oregon, though? Why not the island? Why was the Crystal leading them northwest instead of toward the island?”

“...I don't know, Estela. The truth is that we don't know for sure that they don't mean for her to eventually wind up on the island. Maybe the plan is to throw us off the trail.”

I sit back with a frustrated sigh. “...It always feels like our dear father is ten steps ahead of us. The only person who has ever really managed to get the better of him was Alodia when she chose to sacrifice herself for the world.”

“Not entirely true,” Zahra mutters. “...I shot him in at least one timeline.”

“He is a genius and a master manipulator, but he is still human,” Aleister says firmly. “And humans are flawed enough to be outsmarted. Sooner or later, he will make a mistake. I am sure of it.”

Alodia

Something doesn't feel right here. I'm in Elyys'tel. The armor of Andromeda encases my body and gleams gold in the Caribbean sunset. Beneath it, I am wearing my Vaanti warrior's attire. In my hands, I clutch the mask I won in the Valinorim. One hand drifts towards my chest, and my fingers brush the cold metal dogtags that hang on a ball-chain around my neck. My chest is tight, and my head throbs with grief, but I don't cry. I can't cry.

“This isn't going to help, Alodia,” Aleister says solemnly from behind me.

“...They're all dead, Aleister,” I hear myself reply coldly. “He killed them all. Maybe not directly, but he's responsible for all of their deaths.”

“I don't disagree. But killing him won't bring them back.”

I turn to face him, fully prepared to chew him out for his platitudes when he should want his father dead as much as I do. But then I realize what is actually happening.

“...You're going to say that if I insist on joining the battle, you're going to come with me.”

“Of course I am. We're the last Catalysts left. I'm not going to abandon you.”

“...No. You're not. You didn't even betray us this time. You played your father as a double agent. ...When Zahra blew up the MASADA complex, Jake tried to save me. But he was killed in the process and you got me out instead.”

Aleister doesn't seem put off by my explaining what must be recent history to him. “I'm going to die in the coming battle. I have learned that you're the one my father needs to complete his Janus Project. I don't know why yet, but I know that much. I die to keep you from falling into his hands.”

“...And then I bury the last of my family. And I die...and the timeline resets because I can't let it end like this...I can't let any of you die...”

Aleister reaches out to place a hand on my shoulder. “You can't change what's already happened, Alodia.”

“...I don't want to watch it happen again...”

“You don't have to. You know that.” His eyes flick downward. “Don't waste your time on a battle that's already been fought when you have a much more important one to worry about in the here and now.”

I follow his gaze downward, and dark static floods my vision.

The soft flutter of tiny limbs inside me brings me back to consciousness. The pressure on my bladder is unbearable. I push back the itchy blanket that barely keeps out the cold and struggle off the cheap cot I fell asleep on. The thin plastic mattress creaks as I get to my feet, and I hear a gasp and small movement from the cot beside me.

“Allie...?” Diego's voice is anxious, but still clumsy with sleep.

“I'm okay,” I call back. “I just need to pee.”

I make my way to the corner. We've been moved again. There's no en suite toilet in this concrete basement we've been stuck in this time. Only a plastic toddler toilet—the kind Jake and I will be buying in another year or two. ...That is...if I ever see him again... If we ever get to go back to our home in California and lay our daughter in her crib in her jungle-themed nursery...

Lowering myself onto the seat is an arduous and undignified process. I feel tears on my cheeks by the time I manage to relieve myself, and my hand trembles as I wipe with a cheap, rough paper towel—the only thing we've been provided with. By the time I have gotten through the equally undignified process of standing back up and dragging my gray sweatpants back up over my bulging waistline, I am sobbing. I only get a few steps closer to my cot before Diego takes me in his arms and gently draws me against him. I bury my face in his shoulder. When he leans his head against mine, I feel the subtle prickle of facial hair where his cheek briefly brushes my ear.

He doesn't say anything. Our supply of comforting words has all but dried up. Escape seems impossible with me as I am, especially when we don't have any idea how many of them are actually guarding us or how far we are from civilization. We've all but admitted aloud that rescue is our only hope.

I don't want to obey them. I want to defy them. I want to fight them tooth and nail. But I can't fight them while I am sheltering a child within me. And disobedience only gets Diego hurt. So far, the damage has not been permanent. But I don't know if I can keep him safe indefinitely, even if I kill any will to fight that might be left in me.

It's only a matter of time. If help doesn't come for us, it's only a matter of time before they break me.

Diego

I wish I had access to a razor. Or some scissors. The scissors more than the razor, I think. I don't really mind the growth of hair over my face as much as the hair on my head, which is shaggy enough now to get into my eyes, but not long enough to hook behind my ears. It's funny the things I think about when I'm trying not to break apart.

I'm scared. I'm really scared. I'm scared for Allie. I'm scared for her baby. I'm scared for myself. I'm scared of the fact that I can't rely on Allie right now like I almost always could before. It's not her fault, of course. She just needs me to be the brave one right now, and that terrifies me. But damned if I'm not going to do it. Damned if I'm not going to swallow my fear and hold her hand to get her through this nightmare. Damned if I'm not going to look for an opportunity to escape at every new prison they move us to. I know our best option is probably going to be to wait for someone to find us. But I have to keep watching. It helps me keep it together.

We're bound and blindfolded every time they move us. Sometimes we travel by chopper, sometimes by car or van or whatever they're driving. Maybe an ambulance again. We're not long in the concrete basement prison, which I appreciate, because it's really freaking uncomfortable. It's some kind of van that moves us this time. At least we're actually seated and buckled in this time, even if our hands end up tied to what I think must be the handles of the hooks a lot of cars have on the ceiling for hanging up dress clothes.

“Hey, Allie...” I say lightly, turning my head vaguely toward the weight on the seat beside me. “Is there a name for these things we're tied up to?”

I don't know if there's a partition between us and the drivers. I don't know if they can hear us. I am guessing there aren't any windows to either side of us since two people blindfolded in the back seat with their hands tied to the ceiling would probably be conspicuous. But if the driver can hear us, I don't want them to hear us scared.

“I...I don't know,” she replies. Her voice shakes a little, but she's trying to sound nonchalant, so it seems she's picked up what I'm putting down here. “Dress hooks, I guess? Handles? Before cars had seatbelts, some of them had handles for passengers to hold onto, but I don't think there was any special name for them.”

“Where do you think we're going this time? Another nice farmhouse?”

“I hope so. The farmhouse has definitely been my favorite on this vacation. The last place was shit, though.”

“Total shit,” I agree.

We let our conversation be sparse after that, and when we do speak, it's about silly memories from our childhood. We try to remember the rules to a game our first grade P.E. teacher had taught to the class that was like a slightly more complicated version of group tag, except it involved us all playing characters from Star Wars. We try to name all the seasons of Power Rangers that we grew up with. We try to recite the poems we had to memorize for our last literature class in high school.

Allie is nearly through Rudyard Kipling when the van stops and the engine turns off. Although my adrenaline spikes, I can't help but feel a little relieved, too. My hands are starting to go numb. I'm cut loose and I flex my fingers a few times, hissing softly as the feeling floods back into them. I don't resist as they hustle me out of the van and into whatever prison awaits us now. The air outside is bitingly cold, and the ground beneath my feet is hard. The sound my shoes make slapping against it makes me think pavement. Then, the cold air is replaced by surprisingly pleasant warmth. Central heating. A good sign. A less good sign is the way the soles of my shoes are squeaking and sticking against the floor now. I'm thinking this is tile I'm walking on.

We are finally allowed to stop, and my blindfold is removed. The florescent light might as well be sunlight for a moment, but when my eyes start to adjust, a deep, cold dread settles in the pit of my stomach.

The windowless room we're in resembles a doctor's office, with an exam table, cabinets, a sink, and medical instruments hanging from the wall. There are no decorations, though. Nothing to make it welcoming. Which makes the woman standing beside the exam table in full surgical gear—including goggles—all the more ominous. I can't really see anything about what she looks like. I mean, I can tell she's white, and her eyes look brown behind the goggles, but the blue surgical cap isn't giving me a good look at her hair color, and average height aside, I can't tell anything about her build under the shapeless surgical gown.

I don't like where this is going one bit. Neither does Allie judging by her sharp gasp as she takes in the scene. I press close to her, putting my arms protectively around her.

“What is this?!” I demand. “What are you doing?! Who is she?!”

The strange woman spreads her hands, taking a cautious step toward us. “Calm down, Alodia. I am not here to hurt you. I only want to give you a proper exam.”

Allie grips my arm. “Bullshit,” she hisses.

“Watch it, brat!” Fiddler snaps. “Unless you want your friend to suffer for your rudeness.”

“Stay your hand, Jeanine,” the surgeon-woman says mildly. “Just this once, let's try to work with Alodia instead of against her. I am sure she can be made to see reason here without resorting to violence against Diego.”

I can't figure out what it is, but there is something about her voice. My anxiety is ebbing away as I rack my brain trying to place it, but I'm still alert enough to keep my arms firmly around Allie, who glares at the woman.

“Don't touch me!” she snarls.

“I will not touch you if you don't want me to,” the woman promises. “But it would be in your best interests and your baby's best interests to let me give you an examination. Why don't we make a deal, hmm? Jeanine and her soldiers wait outside. Diego can stay in here with you. And you and I can figure out from there how close you want me to get. Sound good?”

“Hardly!” Fiddler scoffs before Allie can answer. “Leave these two alone in here with you? With no one to make sure they don't stab you with your own scalpel?”

“I don't have a scalpel in here, Jeanine,” the woman replies, sounding amused. “And killing me would hardly do them any good with you and your troops standing outside the only exit. Lock the door if it makes you feel better. I will knock when we're finished. ...What do you say to that, Alodia?”

Allie hesitates, looking uncertainly at me. I shrug helplessly. This is crazy. This is totally crazy. Somehow, Rourke has hired an evil obstetrician who is apparently totally okay with the fact that Fiddler and her goons have kidnapped a pregnant woman, but still wants to act like a not-evil doctor by respecting patient boundaries? I can't even comprehend the level of insane that is happening in front of me right now, and I once fought an actual three-headed sea monster. But what kind of choice do we actually have here? This weird woman's offer certainly sounds preferable to any possible alternative. Allie seems to agree, because she slowly nods.

“Excellent. It's decided then. Jeanine, if you would be so kind as to clear out and give the patient a little privacy?”

Fiddler looks like she's going to argue at first, but then she purses her lips, turns on her heel, and stalks out with her goons following behind her. The woman goes to shoo them out, and that's when I see it: a barely detectable green shimmer at the edge of her mask.

Before I can quite process what I've just seen, I hear the door lock from the outside, and the woman turns back to us.

“All right. Now that we have a little privacy...”

The woman touches the stud sparkling in her earlobe, and her white skin dissolves into green as her holographic disguise melts away. She pulls off her surgical cap, revealing her hair underneath—half-lavender and half-bubblegum pink—swept back into a french braid. Now I know why her voice sounded so familiar.

“...Clockmaker...?!”

[chickensarentcheap]

Sanctuary - Chapter 7

Warnings: SMUT

Tagging: @innerpaperexpertcloud, @valkyrie-of-the-light, @c-a-v-a-l-r-y, @alievans007

Nik calls the moment they step through the front door; using his personal cell as opposed to the SAT, and when he announces who it is, he sees the look that immediately appears on his wife’s face. The annoyance that Nik has the nerve to call so after a mission when she’d already agreed to give him a minimum of two weeks off, and the worry that he may actually consider accepting an offer.  

“It’s probably nothing,” he assures her, placing a hand on the back of her neck and pulls her into a kiss.

He can taste the alcohol that lingers on her lips, feel the press of her body against his when she stands on her tip toes and leans into him. She’s normally not a drinker; not a single sip of booze had touched her lips since she’d gotten pregnant with the twins five years ago. She used to be able to keep up with him, now she’d reverted back to a light weight. The four glasses of wine she’d consumed causing her face to flush and both her body and brain to completely relax. And he’s tempted to say ‘fuck it’ and not even answer the call. Just rush through getting the kids to bed and take her into their bedroom and worshipping every inch of her.

“It’s never nothing with Nik,” she grumbles, and pulls his bottom lip between her teeth before departing, hustling the kids out of the front foyer and up the stairs.

“I’ve got some information,” Nik says, before he even has a chance to offer a greeting, and he steps out onto the back deck, sliding the glass door shut behind him.  

There’s a chill in the air; a steady wind coming from over the mountains and bringing significantly colder temperatures with it. And he pulls the hood of his sweater over his head and leans against the deck, elbows on the top railing.

“About this girl that Ovi’s seeing, yeah?”

“She checks out clean. Not even an outstanding parking ticket. Her employment is solid; runs her own day care and has had extensive police background checks done on her and passed every one. Her father is ex Air Force. A chief warrant officer that flew Blackhawks during Desert Storm. Extensive military service on his side. Including an uncle that was a POW in Vietnam and a cousin with who was awarded a Purple Heart in Iraq. Your kind of people, Tyler.”

“Let’s not go that far, Nik. Not many people are my kind of people.”  There’s a big difference between career military men and ex army turned mercenary.

“Things get a little shady on the mother’s side. She’s a nurse at Denver Memorial Hospital. ICU. Has been there for twenty-five years and doesn’t have a single blemish in her employee file. But there are some issues with siblings. Minor drug possession arrests, drunk driving charges, a couple of drunk and disorderlies, assault with a weapon, forcible confinement. Those last two came from a domestic abuse case in 2009. One of the uncles beat up his wife and held her at knifepoint when he came home and found her cheating on him.  He’s in Atlanta now and hasn’t had a run in with the authorities since.”

“So nothing much to worry about,” he concludes.

“Nothing that I think you should worry about. But I get it. Why you wanted me to do this. I wouldn’t want to be bringing strangers into my house and around my children either. Especially considering your history of making enemies.  But I don’t think this is anything to get worked up about. I don’t see any possible threats. I’d be telling you to keep her far away if I sensed even the smallest thing.”

“I appreciate that Nik.”

She gets it. The lingering uneasiness that comes with the job. With the knowledge you’ve pissed off a lot of people who have every reason to want pay back. And while he knows the chance is always out there that someone could show up, he hasn’t really worried about it since their last stint in Dhaka. The move to Colorado bringing about a sense of peace that had been missing in his life for years. Ever since he’d made the epic mistake of leaving for Afghanistan when his son was dying.

“How are you?” she asks. “How’s the ribs?”

“Sore. But I’m fine. I’ve had worse.”

“A lot of things went wrong.”

“Seems to be a recurring theme, Nik. If things didn’t fuck up, I’d be worried.”

“There were too many mistakes. Too many mix ups. A lot is going to change. Things will run smoother next time.”

Next time.  Two years…or maybe even twelve months ago…those words would have been welcome to hear; it meant unbelievably good money coming in and a chance of feeding that constant crave for danger. That urge to live on the edge for a few days and then return to his normal life.  Now those words just fall flat. He feels nothing. Not even the thought of that kind of cash sparks even the smallest bit of excitement.

“No more mistakes,” she vows.

He chuckles. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Nik.”

She gives a soft laugh. “Are you okay, Tyler? You sound tired.”

“I am.”

‘Trouble sleeping?”

“What else is new? Knees been bugging the shit out of me. The shoulder’s fucked again. I have a lot on my mind. Personal things.”

“But things are okay?” she presses for more information. “You and Esme…”

“There’s no problems there. Things are great. Kids are great,” he sighs heavily and turns around to face the house; watching his wife through the thin curtains in the baby’s room as she stands at the side of his crib. He thinks of stranger from that day. First in the ice cream shop and then in the restaurant.  And how he’d noticed the way the man had watched her intently when she had taken Millie to get cleaned up.   “You have someone watching me, Nik?” he asks.  

“What do you mean?”

“Do you have a detail on me? Or my family? Is there something I need to worry about?”

“I would have told you if there was. What’s wrong?”

He tells her about the newcomer to town; a brief physical description followed by how he’d been watching Ovi and Millie together before Tyler had showed up with the boys. There’d been a short interaction: nothing more than a stranger talking about being on a business trip and missing his own family. He wouldn’t have thought any more about it had he’d not seen that same man at the restaurant hours later, and if he’d not noticed the way the stranger’s eyes had followed his wife and daughter on their walk to the bathroom.

Nik listens intently; never interrupting or asking questions. But he can hear the light tapping of laptop keys as she takes down everything he’s saying. She’s meticulous when it comes to gathering info. And he knew she’d go back later and analyze everything he’d said. Looking for clues. If there were any to be found.

“You said he had tattoos,” she speaks only after a period of silence between them. “Can you describe any of them to me?”

“Not really. I didn’t really focus on them. He had sleeves. Shoulder to wrist. Both arms. I’m not sure what they’re of. He said he was from Chicago but he didn’t have an accent. I don’t know if that matters or not. Don’t they usually have accents?”

“What about the baseball hat? Was there anything written on it?”

Sighing heavily, he briefly closes his eyes and runs a hand over his face, laying it across the bridge of his nose.  Thumb and forefinger pressing into his temples. “It was camo. The standard green. Had a mesh back on it. Not one of the fits to the head type. The kind with the snaps. Orange lettering across the front. The initials CRPC.”

More typing. Faster this time.

“What about a vehicle? When he left did you notice if he was driving? Walking?”

“I had my back to the door. I can ask the kid later when he gets home. I wasn’t paying attention to much after we talked. I had my kids with me.”

“Find me the exact address of where you were. I’ll see if they have security cameras. Are they any crosswalks or streetlights in the area?”

“Not for a couple of blocks. It’s pretty much just a long stretch of road. No marked crossings, lights, anything like that. “

“I’ll contact the store. And the other ones around it. Did he say where he was staying?”

“No. But there’s a couple of hotels and a handful of bed and breakfasts.  You don’t need to put that many resources into this. Nik. I’m probably just reading too much into it.”

“When do you ever read too much into things? That isn’t something you do, Tyler.”

“Maybe becoming a dad has made me soft,” he scoffs. “Or paranoid. Or both.”

“It’s made your instincts even sharper. I noticed that about you on this last job. Your instincts were always top notch, but they’ve gotten even better. If you feel something is off, it probably is. I’m coming to town in a couple of days.  We need to talk. In person.”

“About?”

“I have a business proposition for you.”

“I’m not taking another job right now, Nik. I already told you that. I need some time off with my family. Especially with my wife. She’s been the one holding everything together. Least I could do is stick around awhile. She needs me Nik. A lot more than you do.”

“I’m not trying to take you away from your family, Tyler. That’s the last thing I want. And this isn’t about a job. It’s about the job, but not about a job. I’ll look into this man and get back to you. I’ll see you in three days.”

“Nik, I don’t think...”

“Three days, Tyler,” she stresses, and disconnects the call.

***

He checks on the kids. Fixing blankets, fetching favourite stuffed animals and glasses of water, reading stories that he damn well knows have already been read but he finds it too hard to resist those little voices and pleading eyes.

“You’re the best tucker inner, daddy,” TJ had declared, blankets so tight around him that he couldn’t even move his legs or his arms.  “I wish you could do this every night.”

There was no guilt trip quite like a guilt trip being laid on you by a four-year-old.

In the end, the three oldest had all ended up curled up together in the bottom bunk in the twins’ room, listening to one last story before finally giving in to sleep. And he’d spent some time kneeling alongside of them watching them sleep, listening to their soft breathing, stroking their hair, pressing kisses to their forehead. So many things that he wanted to say but didn’t have the courage to say them. About how feared that he would fail them. That one day maybe he wouldn’t come home despite fighting like hell to get there.  Or if they found out the truth about his past when they were older, and they were disgusted and ashamed of him and wanted nothing to do with him.

That thought hurt the most. At least if he was dead, he wouldn’t have to live with the guilt that he’d royally fucked them up.

Next, he went to the baby’s room and held him until he fell asleep. That little body tucked into his chest, breath warm and sweet on the side of his neck, a tiny hand fisting a piece of his shirt. Swaying back and forth in the rocker by the window, eyes closed as he breathed in that fresh, powdery scent that clung to the baby’s sleeper.

He’d been taking those moments for granted; cuddling with his kids, playing with them, kissing them goodnight and hearing them tell him they love him. Letting the job take up way too much of his time both mentally and physically. When he’d been declared healthy enough to get back into the game, he’d thrown himself into it with far more intensity than he had planned to.  Feeling as if he had something to prove to not only the people who’d tried to destroy him, but himself as well. It became an obsession.  Addicted to chasing that next high; the one that came with destroying evil instead of drowning his self loathing with booze and painkillers.

He finds his wife in the tub; immersed in hot water and bubbles all the way to her chin, eyes closed, and head tilted back, a half empty bottle of beer in her hand.

“I take you out one night and you’re already turning into a drunk?” Tyler teases, as he closes the door and locks it behind him.  Just in case. You never know when curious little bodies might come bursting in.  

“I only had…two…or three…” her eyes narrow as she attempts to count on her fingers. “…or something like that.”

“Four,” he helps her out, and then crouches down alongside the bathtub, grimace when his knee cracks and a pain shoots right up to his hip.  “And one beer. You’re usually not like this. What’s gotten into you?”

“It’s what I want to get into me,” she retorts, and then giggles.

“You can have that without getting drunk.  Although this is kind of cute. Seeing you like this. It’s been a long time.”

Their second night during their first stint in Dhaka she’d gotten so drunk that he’d had to carry her up the three flights of stairs to their room. And tend to her while she threw up all night long. He figured it that didn’t scared him away, nothing would.  “Just don’t throw up on me. You know how I feel about puke.” Blood he could. Brain matter. Entrails. None of that got him. But if he so as much heard someone in the act of throwing up…

“What did Nik want?” she inquires. “Phone sex?”

“Let’s not start that okay?” his voice is gentle, hand dipping into the water to scoop up an abandoned washcloth. Sure, booze made her uninhibited, but it also made her extremely combative. Well, more so than usual. “That’s a long time ago.”

“You still fucked her though. More than once.”

“That’s a long time ago,” he repeats, refusing to let it get under his skin. “Way before you. It doesn’t matter. Just like all the guys before me don’t matter.”

“I don’t see the guys that came before you. You still see Nik. Are you still attracted to her?”

“We’re not going to fight,” he runs the soapy face cloth along her leg; the fabric and his fingertips slowly drifting from the top of her foot to the inside of her thigh, then sliding around the back. Smirking when he hits that sensitive spot behind her knee and her entire leg jerks. “So if you want to fight, just stop.”

“Are you?” she challenges. “Do you still think she’s attractive? Do you still want to fuck her some times?”

“No,” he’s being truthful; all connection he and Nik had had in that way had ended a long time ago. He no longer wanted her. In the same way he didn’t want any other woman. “Why would I want to? I have you. I only want you.”

“I bet she still wants to fuck you. I see the way she looks at you, you know. The way she bats her eyes at you and wears those low-cut blouses and her tight pants and…”

“I think you’ve had enough,” he plucks the bottle of beer from her hands, finishing it one gulp and then reaching over to place the empty on the counter. “And you know what…” he begins the soapy exploration of her other legs. Eyes never leaving hers, watching the way her breath hitches when he nears the knee, her body anticipating the sensation.  “…it doesn’t matter what she wants. Because I don’t want her. I want you. I married you. Not her. There’s no other woman I want in my bed.”

His hand travels higher; the cloth now discarded and his palm sliding along the inside of her thigh, their gazes never wavering.  And when his fingertips brush against her mound, she draws in a shaky breath; eyes darkening with lust, nipples hardening.  

“Only you,” he says, and when his fingers push past those swollen, slick lips and make contact with her clit, her eyes closed and her head tilts back. “You are so beautiful,” his voice is low as he praises her; full of lust and need and the strain it takes to hold back. His cock painfully hard in his jeans.  She’s stunning; all the lines and curves of her body, the smoothness of her throat, the way the water glistens on her milky skin. And he longs to get his hands on her…his mouth on her.

She gives a small cry when he pushes a finger inside of her, the fingers on one hand biting into the ledge of the tub, as the other disappears under the water to latch onto his wrist, keeping his hand firmly in place.

He adds a second finger, swallowing noisily as she grinds against his palm. Unable to keep his eyes off of her as she begins to grind against palm. Pressing her body down against it, forcing his fingers as deep as they can possibly go.  Letting her do all the work in an attempt to get herself off. It is always hot when he can sit back and watch her pleasure herself, but this was on another level all in itself. Allowing her to use him…or at least part of him…to give her what she needed.  And he fights the urge to unzip his pants, reach into his boxers and jerk himself off.

“You gonna come?” his voice is raspy now, overwhelmed by the sight of her, of how much ne needs her. Wants her. “Tell me when you’re going to come.”

He adjusts the angle of his hand, so his palm is flush against her pussy, enabling his thumb to come in direct contact with her clit.  She bites down hard on her bottom lip, body jerking and sending water splashing over the edge of the tub, onto him and the floor below.  And when he increases the pressure of his thumb against the painfully hard nub, she reaches for him, grabbing a hold of his shirt and yanking her towards him.

“Kiss me,” she demands, and then shoves her hand into his hair and aggressively pulls him down into her. Her orgasm hitting her hard and fast, his tongue and his mouth muffling the sound of her scream.

His fingers continuing to move inside of her as those inner muscles contract and twitch around them and her entire body shuddering violently. Resting his forehead against hers as he waits for her to come down from her thigh. Listening to her breathing settle and waiting for her body to full relax before removing his hand from between her legs.

“You’re welcome,” he grins, drying his hand off on the thigh of his jeans. “You okay?”

“Mmm…hmmm…” she manages, her eyes fluttering open, regarding him with a content smile.

He stands, grimacing at the discomfort in his knee and lower back, fetching her a towel from the back of the door and then offering her a hand.  Slender fingers curling around his own as she stands on shaky legs, her hands on his shoulders as he uses the towel to try her off.

“You’re too good to me,” she says.

“So we’re not going to fight? I was pretty sure you were trying to pick a fight.”

“No. No fights. But you can fuck me like we were fighting if you want.”

Smirking, he leans down to kiss her, a hand tangled in her damp hair.

“You can even do that thing with your tongue that I like,” she suggests. “I mean, only if you want to.”

When didn’t he want to?

 ***

 He does that ‘thing’  with his tongue she likes. Twice. Each orgasm powerful.  Her entire body arching off the bed, hands in his hair holding his face tight against her, his palm stifling the sounds that erupt from her.  Then he flips her onto her stomach, slides an arm around her waist and forces her up onto her knees. Taking her like that; one strong, powerful thrust filling her, one hand on her hip, the other on her shoulder.  Fucking her as if he hated her.  His movements hard and fast. Unrelenting. Punishing. Grabbing a hold of her hair and pushing her face down into the mattress. And even though it’s what she wants…what she had asked for…he’ll hate himself in the morning for it. When he sees the bruises that his hands have made on her hips and the pained way in which she walks.  It’s always surprised him: how a little thing can take so much. How she can enjoy it as much as she can. When he’s aggressive and mean and uses her solely for his pleasure.

Trust. It’s the trust she has in him. Knowing that he’d never intentionally hurt her. That it’s all just a game and never done with cruel intent. The humiliation and the pain stopping at sex. Never crossing that line in any other aspect of their life together.

He comes before she does. The agony of having to hold back in the bathroom finally releasing. Pressing into her and holding her there, a strangled groan emerging from deep inside his throat as hot, thick semen bathes her womb. Eyes closing and his head falling forward. Legs shaking, chest heaving, feeling as if he’ll never stop filling her.  

And when he finally recovers, he reaches between her and the bed to find her clit, rubbing at it while trailing the tip of his tongue the entire length of her spine. Over the curves of her ass. Biting at soft flesh of her hips. Fingers working her until the fourth orgasm of the takes hold; not as powerful as the first three, but enough to have her crying out in the mattress.

Afterwards, while resting on his good shoulder, he wraps an arm around her and pulls her towards him, her ass nestled into his front. Their hands joining and resting against her stomach, thumb repeatedly brushing against the top and side of her wrist. And he presses a kiss to the back of her head and buries his face in her hair; relaxing in the warmth of her body and that familiar yet still intoxicating smell.

“So what did Nik want?” she asks, and he can’t help but laugh.

“And you accuse me of having shitty pillow talk.”

“I’m not the one that always announces they’re hungry afterwards.”

“Now that you mention it, I am kinda hungry.”

She directs an elbow back into his gut and he chuckles into her hair.

“I can only imagine what she wanted,” she huffs.

“Can we not talk about this right now? Can we not just lie here and not talk about this? The last thing I want to talk about right after we fuck is the job.”

“You didn’t do it, did you?”

“Do what?”

“Take a job.”

He sighs.

“You promised you wouldn’t take something else for at least two weeks. You said…”

He tightens his hold on her. “I didn’t take a job. That isn’t why she called. Well it kind of is, but it’s not all at the same time.”

“You make no sense in your post orgasmic haze.”

“She was just telling me about the girl that Ovi is hooking up. That all the background stuff checked out. Except for some uncle with a penchant for beating up women. There’s nothing we need to worry about. She’s clean. He can do whatever the fuck he wants now.”

“I wonder if he’s doing her.”

“That’s another thing I do not want to talk about or think about right after we have sex. Like you said, he’s grown. He can do whatever and whoever he wants. As long as he’s not doing it under my roof, I don’t give a shit. He can go and get his rocks off at a cheap motel or in the backseat of a car for all I care. Just not where my kids live. Only rule. None of that shit here.”

“You really are going to be the father that doesn’t let his daughter date until she’s thirty.”

“If I had my way, she’d become a nun and never look at a guy.”

“Are you going to think the same when your sons are out getting laid by whoever and wherever?”

“If they knock someone up, I’m kicking their asses. And who cares right now. We have tons of times before we have to worry about shit like that. Go to sleep. You’re drunk. And rambling.”

She heaves a heavy sigh, wiggles her ass back against his crotch, rubs her cheek against her pillow.  “Is that all Nik wanted?” she asks after several minutes, and Tyler groans.

“Esme…please…just go to sleep…it’s late…I’m tired…I’m fucking aching. Just go to sleep.”

“You aren’t lying are you? About taking a job?”

“Woman, you’re killing me here. How are you still awake? I just fucked the shit out of you and normally you’d be passed out cold. No. I didn’t take a job. She didn’t offer one. She just said she’d been in town in three days and wanted to talk to me. In person.”

“About what?”

“I don’t know. She wouldn’t tell me. Can we talk about this tomorrow?”

She releases his hand and flops over onto her side to face him.

“Are you kidding me right now?” he groans.  “Esme…please…just go to sleep. We can talk about this shit tomorrow. It isn’t important. I don’t know what she wants. She just said she wants to talk. That’s it. Now please…” he presses a kiss to her forehead. “…before I smother you in your sleep. You’re  a chatty drunk and I love you, but it drives me fucking mental. Just close your eyes. Sleep. Please.”

“Fine,” she huffs, and tucks her head under his chin. “Tyler?”

“What?” he snaps. “What now?”

“I love you. Even if you are an insufferable pain in my ass sometimes.”

He smiles as he drops a kiss on the top of her head. “I love you too. Even when you are a raging bitch.”

“Me? Never.”

He snorts.

“You married me. You must be a glutton for punishment.”

“You give amazing head and fuck like a porn star. Why wouldn’t I lock that shit down?”

“So romantic,” she laughs. “Don’t ever let anyone tell you don’t have a soft side, baby. You are all fluff.”

“Close your eyes,” he implores. “Go to sleep. It’s late. The kids wake up early.”

She sighs once more, nuzzling her face into his throat. And he holds her, a hand stroking her hair, until her breathing slows and evens out and her body relaxes completely. Finding sleep quickly in the confines and the comfort of his arms.

[maxrev]

A Night of Surprises

This idea came out of nowhere and while I don’t feel I did it justice, it’s not too bad ;)

Happy Halloween! 

(nothing scary, just tooth-rotting fluff)

They sat on the porch together, each with a beer in hand. Kaidan with a Canadian Lager, John with a plain American Budweiser. Kaidan was convinced John liked drinking piss water as opposed to something with actual flavor. To each his own. 

The war had been over for a year and a half but the rebuilding was still going on - around them, in the galaxy, and with John himself. Still, all of it was progress. All the houses in this community wore the term ‘cookie cutter’ because each of them, down to the last tiny detail, were all the same. However, they were absolutely a step up from the prefab homes many of them had been living in. These were actually built out of wood, nails, and shingles. 

This subdivision was near the English Bay, his parent's condo having been destroyed, and Kaidan wanted a place close to the bay but more family friendly. Right now, they didn’t have a family of their own, other than the two of them, but who knew what the future held. Everyone had a dream. 

They made their current home in a community of post war survivors, most of them either having been in the military or married to a soldier. Many of them had children, either taking in those who'd lost family with no one left to claim them or the family hadn’t been found or not yet reunited. 

Some children would never have that closure. 

It was those children, the lost ones, Kaidan thought about the most. Though he and John hadn't spent a lot of time talking about that particular subject, he knew those children were on Shepard's mind as well. 

He'd been one of them after all, once upon a time. 

They watched the children in the subdivision playing together, laughing and running, kicking a ball around. There was an occasional tumble, a few tears, and every once in awhile an argument but by and large, they all got along.

One boy, who they’d seen protecting and helping the smaller kids, kicked the ball hard. It came to rest at Shepard's feet. 

Kaidan waited with baited breath to see what John would do. He was now getting around without a cane but was still a bit unsteady at times. He also had a lot more patience than while in the hospital...but there were still bad days. 

The boy ran over to them, coming to stop in front of Shepard. About ten years old, if Kaidan had to guess.  He had a serious demeanor but if you looked him in the eye, there was a glint of mischief. It reminded him a lot of Shepard - even as an adult. 

"Sorry, sir. I should have paid more attention where I was kicking it."

Before John could reply, another boy, maybe a few years younger then the one before them, started yelling at a little girl, who'd started to cry. Kaidan had only seen that particular boy a few times, thought his family had just moved in. 

The ten year old's head turned, taking in the scene. His brows lowered, a frown appearing on his face. Conflicted, he looked down at the ball, up at Shepard, and then over at the two other children. 

"What's your name, son?" John asked. 

Kaidan's heart lurched, remembering how Anderson had used the same endearment on John. He wondered if Shepard realized he was using it too. 

As if that wasn't enough to tug on his heartstrings, the boy answered solemnly, "David."

Kaidan saw the tightening of John's eyes in the corners but it was only noticeable to him. 

"You have a choice, David. What's more important? The game or the child?"

Barely a second passed before David turned and went to interfere. They both watched intently as he diffused the situation without trouble. He shook the other boy's hand and wrapped an arm around the little girl's shoulders. 

It seemed to have had something to do with the little girl wearing a costume, and it wasn't yet Halloween. Her red hair cascaded down her back in ringlets, the ends frazzled and tangled. She's been playing as hard as the older kids. 

"David!" Shepard called out. 

The boy turned, arm still wrapped protectively around the girl's shoulder. One eyebrow raised questioningly. 

"Your ball." Shepard kicked it to him, swinging his leg out awkwardly. 

The ball rolled off to the side and the little girl ran after it, snatched it up and gave John a wide, toothless grin. “Thank you!” she yelled out. Then took off to begin playing again. 

Kaidan didn’t miss the soft smile on John’s face after the interaction. A sudden idea popped into his head but it might be better if he led up to it gradually. “I’ve seen a few of the kids around here wearing their costumes. Brings back memories of me at that age. I'd wear my costume out almost every year before Halloween even arrived.” 

John turned to him, eyes alight with laughter. “Doesn’t surprise me at all. Even on the Normandy, you were always into Halloween, leaving bowls of candy around the ship.” 

Kaidan shrugged, “Halloween is one of my favorite holidays.” 

“Is there a holiday you don’t like?” John reached down, grabbed another beer for himself and raised an eyebrow at Kaidan. 

He nodded. Taking the proffered bottle, he opened it and took a swallow before answering. “I don’t think so. They each have something worth celebrating.” 

“Do you miss dressing up? Always seemed a little silly to me, adults wearing costumes for a kid's holiday.” 

“I do miss it. And it's a holiday for everyone, not just kids. Time to let loose and have some fun. Not much reason to join in the celebration now. Everyone just trying to find stability. As a kid, there was the excitement and of course, the candy. Plus, I could just be me. After my parents found out I was biotic, Dad found ways to incorporate it into my costume. Halloween was the one night I could be me without being a freak.” 

John heard a note of sadness in Kaidan's voice but let it go. Sometimes, he just wanted to talk. Which he was doing now with fondness. He listened with half an ear as Kaidan went on about all the costumes his parents came up with, how he’d play in them until well after Halloween; the parties his family would have in the orchard every few years, all the cousins dressing up and playing together.

He continued to watch the kids playing around them, a couple of them as Kaidan had noticed, in their costumes. He’d never had the opportunity to participate in Halloween growing up. Couldn't imagine being that silly and spontaneous.

The boy, David, was having trouble getting the little girl to go home as the sun began to slowly slip behind the horizon. Shadows lengthened and John began to worry about them being out late. 

Surprising Kaidan, as well as himself, he got up and made his way over to them, albeit slowly. While he’d begun to make progress walking without a cane, he was still very careful. 

“Isn’t it time you two head home?” Doing his best not to use the stern Commander voice. That was for adults, soldiers who had to listen to orders. He had no idea if these two even lived in the same house. Behind him, he heard Kaidan’s soft footsteps, always careful not to sneak up on him. 

The little girl crossed her arms and pouted, “Don’t wanna.” She gazed up at John with clear grey eyes, “You wanna play?” 

He’d like nothing better, another surprise to him. “I’d love to but don’t you think you’re mom and dad will worry about you?” 

A frown marred her face and David spoke up, “We don’t have a dad. He died in the war.” 

“Oh.” John wasn’t sure how to respond. 

“I’m sorry,” Kaidan spoke up behind him, squatting down to face them both. “I lost my dad, too. Won’t your mom worry about you, though?”

Of course, John thought, Kaidan understood. He didn’t know anything about losing a parent. 

The little girl pushed her toe against the dirt, looking up at Kaidan through her lashes. “Uh-huh.” 

He reached out, offering his hand, “Why don’t we walk you both home?” 

John began to follow them, nearly jumping out of his skin as David slipped a small hand inside his. Thsy was unexpected. They approached their house and a woman opened the door, eyes widening in surprise to see John and Kaidan with her children. 

“Hello. Were David and Allie causing trouble?” she asked, a pensive look on her face. 

Kaidan smiled warmly, “No, not at all. Though Allie wanted to continue playing. She asked John here if he wanted to join her. We figured we’d help persuade her to come home.” 

A smile replaced her worried look, “Thank you. Allie hasn’t had much of a chance to join the other children, so when she can, she usually wants to stay out until after the rest have gone home.” She looked at the little girl, “Right, Allie?”

The red ringlets bobbed up and down. “I can’t thank you enough for bringing they home. You really didn’t have to. You two deserve your privacy." She reached out her hand, "I’m Jennifer.” 

John spoke up, David’s hand still in his. Something his mother seemed aware of with a brief look of surprise. “It was no problem at all...but what do you meant about needing out privacy?”

“David, take Allie inside and help her get ready for bed, okay?” He nodded. Letting go of John’s hand and taking Allie’s instead, he took her inside. 

John missed the boy’s hand in his, the warmth gone. Another one of the many surprises he'd had tonight. 

“Commander, Major…” the woman began, their mouths opening in surprise. She stopped and smiled, “Yes, we all know who you are. We’ve been honored you chose this community to live in and we all decided to give you your space, let you have some privacy. We’re beyond grateful for all you’ve done.” 

This time, John spoke up, Kaidan unsure of how to comment. “We appreciate it. More than you can know...and, we’re sorry for the loss of your husband.” 

A look of pain crossed her features briefly and she gave a melancholy smile. “Thank you.” Her voice quieted, “David has really stepped up to be the man of the house. He’s really taken Allie under his wing, too. She...she was lost, out there in the ruins, and I told him we’d try to find her family. We never did. I can’t bear to let her go, either, so I guess she’s my daughter now. All the dust...I think it damaged her lungs. She can’t play with the others but once in awhile for brief periods. David keeps a close eye on her.” She paused, took a breath, “Thank you again for all you’ve done and for keeping an eye on Allie and David.” 

They both nodded and as she moved to shut the door, John blurted out, “I was thinking we could have a Halloween party for all the kids. They could trick or treat from house to house and then gather out at our house...or do it all at our house.” 

Now it was her turn to be surprised but it was followed with a fierce grin, “That would be wonderful! I think we should let the kids go house to house but maybe after, have a small community get together with games. We don’t have to have it at your house--” at John’s deflated look, she added, “but if you truly want to, I think everyone would enjoy that.” 

“Great! We’ll get some things set up. Kaidan has some ideas of what we could do and he’ll help me get things ready.” 

Impulsively, she stepped outside and gave them both a big hug. “This truly means a lot to these children, a bit of fun and happiness after everything that’s happened. Thank you so much.” 

They both hugged her back and turned to head back home. “I have some ideas, huh?” Kaidan nudged John's arm, careful not to push him off balance. His grin was infectious, John smiling too. 

“Well, you were going on and on about how you did things as a kid. I figured you could put those memories to good use.” John stopped mid stride, stared at Kaidan, “You can, can’t you?” 

A warm chuckle, a hand sliding in his, “You were actually listening this time?" Now John punched him in the arm. "Yeah, I think I can come up with something.” He rambled off some thoughts out loud, not expecting an answer, “I’ll have to talk to mom, see if she has any decorations left from when I was a kid. See if they’re are any apples left in the orchard. Might be some left if the Reapers didn’t stomp ‘em into the ground. Have to find some candy in town, any pumpkins around - plastic or real - get some carved and light them up. I wonder if mom still has that punch bowl. Could make some apple cider - some for the kids, some for the grown ups. I could bake some cupcakes, mom might have some extra apple pies. Maybe find some extra decorations in town. Get a tub, fill it with water. We could do some apple bobbing…” 

John listened, a half smile on his face as Kaidan listed all the ideas he had. 

The next day, true to Kaidan form, he had everything ready. He’d been in command this time around and it was amazing how he’d found all he wanted to use and gotten all the parents to help out. He didn’t like being in charge but not for the first time, John thought how different things might have turned out if Kaidan had been the Commander instead of himself. Certainly more diplomatically. 

As the sun slowly sank in the sky, the yards around them lit up in the waning sunlight. Each cookie cutter house had steps leading up to the front door, a porch the length of the house and a rail long going around it. Some houses had strings of orange and black lights turned on, the lights themselves in various forms of plastic ghosts, black cats, pumpkins or bats. 

Jack-o-lanterns were carved and set out on the steps, smaller pumpkins with drawn on faces on porch rails, some of the houses with strings of fall leaves snaking around the posts and the pumpkins nestled on top. There were spider webs with large spiders hanging on them, paper cut outs in different shapes and plastic skeletons and tombstones.

John was astounded at how everyone had come together to do all they could for the kids. 

Suddenly, he heard laughter and gasps of surprise and delight as the kids stepped outside, ready to run from house to house for their candy. The costumes were a broad variety of themes; some bought, some made by hand. 

They gave out candy, smiling at the choruses of ‘trick or treat’ echoing through the waning evening. John was touched when David came by - dressed in Commander Shepard armor, complete with an N7 logo. He didn’t realize a tear had slipped down his cheek until Kaidan moved in front of him to wipe it away and then grabbed his hand and squeezed. 

David even executed a perfect salute when he said trick or treat, a solemn look on his face. It was overwhelming and John gave him back a smart salute before leaning down to give him a hug, a quiet whisper in his ear, “Excellent job, soldier.” 

The boy's usual serious look was replaced by an ear-splitting grin. The moment was the highlight of the night for Shepard. 

As the line of kids petered out, the party then began with all kinds of games like bobbing for apples, pin the tail on the black cat, a Halloween bean bag toss and even a pumpkin pinata. The parents sat in a circle, watching the kids, talking and laughing, everyone getting to know each other better. 

John held Kaidan’s hand across their lawn chairs, just basking in the ambience of the night. One by one, the younger children began to gravitate towards their parents, climbing in laps to fall asleep. The older children continued to play on, not yet ready to give up their one night of excitement in a world gone mad. 

Allie walked over to her mom, sitting next to Kaidan, princess dress torn and lace trailing behind her. Her tiara was askew, red ringlets frazzled. John thought she looked adorable, even with her eyes heavy lidded from exhaustion and a smear of chocolate beside her mouth. 

She went to her mom but when Jennifer tried to pick her up, Allie shook her head no and whispered in her ear. Glancing their way, John saw a blush bloom on Jennifer's cheeks and she shook her head no but Allie was stubborn, asking again. Again the answr was no, her mom clearly not happy with whatever her daughter wanted. 

Undeterred, Allie marched over to Shepard and simply climbed up on his lap, snuggling in close and before he could react in any way, she lay her head on his chest and within seconds was fast asleep. John was paralyzed, unsure of what to do. 

He looked over and saw Jennifer smiling sheepishly, a look of apology on her face. Kaidan, though, was giving him the most beautiful smile John had ever seen. Looking down at the sleeping girl in his arms, Shepard felt...complete. It was a strange but wonderful feeling. 

He placed a hand gently on Allie's back to hold her in place, his other hand reaching for Kaidan’s once again. “This is nice.” 

“I have to admit, a child in your lap is a good look on you.” 

“Hmmph.” Shepard wasn’t sure what to say but glancing up, seeing the children laughing and having a great time, a sudden thought came to mind. “You know, I bet there are a lot of children out there like Allie, ones with no families. Makes you think, doesn’t it?”

Kaidan reached over and kissed him warmly, “It really does. Especially if you’re thinking what I am.” 

John had no doubt they were on the same page. After years of dancing around each other, they’d found their rhythm. Now, they were always in sync and he was sure Kaidan was thinking the same thing he was. 

Those children needed a home. One full of love and laughter. 

A home they could provide. 

[hunnywrites]

Arcade Dreams: Chapter Eighteen

Summary: There’s a new girl working at the Palace Arcade and Hawkins’ Family Video. Billy can’t stand her, and the feeling is mutual. No matter what everyone else seems to think.

Pairing: Billy Hargrove/OFC

A/N: What’s this? A surprise, early Arcade Dreams update? I’ve been dying for y’all to read this chapter. We’re gonna move away from show canon a little, this is something I’ve been planning since I started writing this fic. This chapter has been a looong time coming, and we’re gonna get some insight to Teddi’s dad’s identity. I hope you enjoy! 

Billy and Teddi had gone out for pizza a few hours ago. Afterwards he’d been able to patch up her tires for a temporary fix until he had more time to replace them entirely. They had been on a bit of a time crunch. Neither of Teddi’s parents were home, and there was no real way of knowing when her mom (who would definitely tell her dad that a boy had been over) would turn up. 

Teddi had spent the rest of the night in her room. Her father didn’t bother her. Out of sight, out of  mind she figured. She was working on some homework when he walked into her room a few hours after he had come home from work. “Your mother and I are going out to dinner. I’m imagining you don’t have any plans tonight?” he asked. Teddi thought of her popped tires. Bastard, she thought bitterly. 

“No, sir. Just finishing up homework.” she motioned to her books. 

“Good girl. We’ll be home in a few hours.” and with that he left. Teddi stuck her tongue out at his retreating back. It was like nothing had happened between them. But come tomorrow, he wouldn’t be able to boss her around anymore or torment her. She would be out of the house and on her own. She was practically giddy at the idea. 

Eventually she gave up on her homework. She just couldn’t make herself focus. This had to be how kids felt on Christmas Eve. So excited at the thought of the presents they’d get on Christmas morning that they couldn’t sit still. So she plopped down on the couch with some popcorn and settled in for some channel surfing. It wasn’t something she got to do very often. 

Teddi had settled on the Golden Girls when the phone rang. She nearly let it ring. It wasn’t like anyone was calling for her. But then if it was someone from her dad’s work and she didn’t take a message she knew she wouldn’t hear the end of it. So she got up from the couch with a heavy sigh and shuffled over to the kitchen. 

“Hello?”

“...Teddi?” it was Max. She was speaking quietly, like she was hiding from someone. It was too late for her to be calling just to chat. Teddi’s gut immediately told her something was wrong.

“Max? Is everything okay?” there was a long pause on the other end and Teddi could feel her palms growing clammy. 

“We can’t find Billy.” was all she said. 

Teddi’s heart was hammering in her chest. Everything had been fine earlier. What the hell could have happened between him leaving her to go back home? “Wh-what do you mean you can’t find him? What happened?” 

“He came home a few hours ago and he got in a huge fight with Neil. He stormed off and he hasn’t come home or called or anything...it was bad, Teddi. Do you have any idea where he might be? I mean, you’re his best friend. I’m starting to freak out.” Teddi almost couldn’t hear Max. All of the images of what Neil might have done to his son were running through her mind at a mile a minute. She almost felt sick.

“Um...I think I might have an idea,” she said finally, swallowing thickly. “I’ll go find him, okay? Just try and get some sleep. I’ll call you tomorrow once everything’s calmed down a little.” they both hung up and Teddi hurried to her room to grab her boots and puffy jacket. She knew there was a good chance that her tires might pop on her way to Billy, but did she really have any other choice? She definitely couldn’t walk out in the snow. 

She sped through the streets, praying that her patched tires would survive the drive and that she wouldn’t get pulled over by the cops. Everything in town was closed. There was only one place in Teddi’s mind that Billy could be. The Lake. It was their spot. Well, technically not their spot. They just coincidentally shared it. Teddi shook her head. That part didn’t matter right now. 

When she spotted the Camaro parked out at the water’s edge she let out a loud sigh of relief. She parked her van and hopped out, hurrying over to Billy’s car. She could barely make him out in the dark. The only light coming inside was coming from the end of his lit cigarette. The door was unlocked. She slid in next to him. Neither of them said anything for awhile. 

“...Max called me,” she finally said. “She’s really worried about you.”

“I’m fine.” Billy spat.

She wasn’t going to let him off that easy this time. He wasn’t going to scare her away. “What happened, Billy? ...Did he hurt you?” he didn’t say anything. He simply blew out a cloud of smoke. “...Can I see?”

There was another long pause. Billy sniffed and angrily pushed on the light above them. Teddi’s hand slowly covered her mouth in an attempt to stifle the gasp she wanted to let out. Billy’s left eye was swollen shut. His eyebrow had a cut in it that was deep enough for Teddi to know it would scar. It had stopped bleeding at least, but the blood had run down over his eye and down the left side of his face. There was also a nasty split in the center of his lip. Teddi was surprised he was smoking at all. The boy in front of her was almost unrecognizable. “Billy…” she said softly.

“I was in my room,” he said finally. “It was after I came back from your place. Everything was fine, you know? Susan was making dinner and Max and Neil were watching tv,” he swallowed loudly, flicking his cigarette out the window. His fingers gripped tightly at the steering wheel. “All of the sudden he starts getting on Max’s case about something. I don’t know what. But he wouldn’t stop. And she was arguing back. Sometimes she doesn’t know when to quit with him. But they just kept getting louder, so I stood out in the hall just in case...he just started screaming at her. And I’ve never seen her scared like that. Max isn’t scared of shit, y’know? But he just kept yelling and I could just feel that he was gonna hurt her if I didn’t stop him,” he trailed off, but Teddi didn’t need for him to finish. The shape he was in told her everything she needed to know. 

“I’m not fucking doing this anymore, Teddi. I can’t. Sometimes I catch myself imagining something horrible happening to him. Doing something horrible. And I never feel bad, you know? He deserves it. He’s the reason my mom left. He’s the reason she didn’t take me with her. He’s not my fucking father. Sometimes I think he’s barely even human.” 

Teddi’s heart ached when she saw his eyes welling up with tears. She took one of his hands in her own, her thumb running gently over his bruising knuckles. “I think...I think you should come with me. To the apartment.” she said.

Billy let out a loud sigh. “I can’t. Max-”

Teddi shook her head. “Billy, we need to get out. I know that you’re worried about Max. I’m worried about her too. But if we leave, if we get that apartment...it can be like a safe place for her to go. Whenever she needs it, you know? Until we can figure out how to get her out of that house,” she reached up and touched his face, her fingers ghosting gently over his bruised cheek. Her heart ached again when he leaned into her touch. “You can’t go back there,” after what felt like forever Billy finally nodded. “Come on. I have a first aid kit in my van. We can spend the night here, I’ll call Max in the morning and we’ll go see about the apartment, okay?” 

Billy followed her silently to her van. They climbed into the back, and Teddi pulled out the first aid kit that she kept under the driver’s seat. “Sorry, usually it’s just me using this so I kinda only have girly band-aids…” she mumbled, wincing and apologizing as Billy hissed at the feeling of the alcohol being dabbed at his cuts.

“A pink band-aid’s the least of my worries right now, Larsson.” he was trying to smile, trying to crack a joke with her. Teddi let out a soft laugh. 

“You know…” she said, gently blowing on the cut on his eyebrow before applying the band-aid. “Max said that I was your best friend…” she said with a smile.

Billy shifted uncomfortably. “What am I? A twelve year old girl?” he asked. 

Teddi only shrugged. “...You’re my best friend.” she confessed.

Billy scoffed. “Right.”

“I’m serious. I mean...me and Steve are pretty good friends, but you know way more about me than he does. You know stuff about me that he probably won’t ever know, you know? And like...you’re the first person I want to talk to when something happens. Good or bad. I don’t know...you just are.” she awkwardly shrugged again.

There was another long pause as Teddi finished cleaning Billy’s face. “...Are we gonna make matching bracelets?” he asked. 

“I know you’re being sarcastic, but don’t think for a second that I wouldn’t do that.” 

Billy let out a short laugh. “...Thanks for this, Teddi.”

“Don’t mention it. You’d do the same thing for me.” he would. Of course he would. 

Teddi pulled out her sleeping bag and unzipped it completely before kicking off her boots. “I think we both definitely need some sleep.” 

Billy kicked off his boots as well and slid under the sleeping bag with her. They laid next to each other, both staring up at the disco ball hanging above them. Teddi tentatively reached out, her hand finding Billy’s. He linked his fingers with hers. “...You sleep in here a lot?” he asked finally.

“I have a few times,” Teddi confessed. “Back in New York.”

“...What about your parents? Aren’t they gonna be pissed when you don’t come home?” 

“Who cares? We don’t have to worry about that sort of stuff anymore, right?”

It was a hard thought to wrap their minds around. This was it. No more answering to Greg or Neil. No more unfair rules or punishments. They would be out on their own. Together. 

---

The next morning the pair drove to the apartment building in the Camaro. It was obvious that the building used to be a motel. There was a gated pool out in front, with two vending machines nearby. There was what looked to be a working ice machine that sat just outside of the front office. If the old man running the place could tell that Billy and Teddi were obviously teenagers, he didn’t show it. Billy flashed a fake ID that said he was 23 and that had been enough for him. 

He showed them an apartment on the second floor. There wasn’t an elevator. Teddi was pretty sure it had been two adjoining rooms that they had turned into one larger apartment. There was a tiny living room with a counter that would be their kitchen. Two bedrooms sandwiched a very tiny bathroom between them. It wasn’t the worst thing. The apartment had gotten a fresh coat of paint and some tacky, flowery wallpaper. And it wasn’t like they were used to anything fancy. 

Between their three jobs they would definitely be able to handle the rent. It was close enough to Hawkins that they’d be able to make it to school and work without a problem. And what was most important; it was theirs. 

Teddi couldn’t control her smile as they drove back into town. Her cheeks were starting to hurt. Her eyes were stinging from the threat of tears. “...Is this really happening?” she asked. 

Billy nodded, a smile of his own spreading across his lips. “It’s really happening.” 

They both went quiet as Billy turned onto Cherry road. The Camaro came to a stop outside of the Hargrove’s house, the two of them looking up at the tiny house while holding their breaths. This was really it.

The most important thing would be getting Billy’s things before Neil came home. Or at least as much as they could. Max was outside skateboarding in the street. She hugged Billy tightly when she saw him. He awkwardly patted his step sister on the back. He’d never show it or admit it, but Teddi knew he appreciated the fact that Max cared about him. 

Susan was hovering awkwardly in the living room. She was asking Billy if he was alright and telling him that she had been worried about him when he never came home. Teddi believed her. Teddi believed that Susan loved Max and cared about Billy. She knew that Susan wasn’t the same as her own mother. But it didn’t make her like Susan any. She still sat back and let Neil rule his household with an iron fist. 

Teddi and Billy went to his room, Max and Susan following close behind them. Susan was asking a million questions and Billy ignored each of them. He went for his stereo first. He yanked the power cord free from the wall, turning and handing it over to Teddi. “Billy, please. Don’t you think this is an overreaction? I’m sure you and your father can work things out-” Susan pleased. 

“An overreaction?” Billy let out a dry laugh. “He’s your problem now, Susan. You don’t have to pretend to feel sorry for me and look the other way anymore,” he picked up a milk crate full of his records. “Maybe this is best for both of us, huh? You’ll finally see what a goddamn monster he is when it’s pointed in your direction.” 

That was enough to keep Susan out of their way. She sat on the couch, fidgeting anxiously as she watched Billy, Teddi and Max march back and forth between the Camaro and Billy’s room. His music had been the most important thing. Once his stereo, record player, cassettes and records were all safely in the back seat Billy grabbed a few trash bags and started filling it with his clothes. 

“...Where are you going?” Max finally asked. She and Teddi were both carefully taking Billy’s things from his closet, folding them before putting them in the large black bags. Billy was grabbing fists full of his clothes out of his drawers, angrily shoving them in the trash bags. 

“We got an apartment outside of town.” he muttered. 

Max looked between the both of them. “Together?” she asked. Max had never really understood why Teddi and Billy liked each other so much. She knew that they didn’t really have much in common aside from her and working at the pool. Max knew that Billy liked Teddi, and she knew that Teddi liked Billy. She and El had always thought it was obvious, even if they argued all of the time. But they assumed it was just because they were dumb teenagers that found each other attractive. Now suddenly, seeing Billy finally at his breaking point, and Teddi with a bruise that covered her left eye and cheek, she realized that they had more in common than she had ever imagined. 

Beneath the surface Billy and Teddi were two very lonely people. And now they had finally found someone to pull each other out of that loneliness. 

Teddi nodded, smiling a little. “Together. And Max, you’re allowed to come over whenever you want, okay? It’s small, but there’s a pullout couch with your name on it. You can even have sleepovers with El. Whatever you want. Just promise me that he ever makes you feel unsafe again you call me and I’ll come and get you, alright?”

Max looked over at Billy. He nodded, so slightly that Max almost wasn’t sure she’d seen it. “...I promise.” 

“I’ll pick you up from school tomorrow and show you the place, alright? C’mon, Ted. We gotta go. I’ll come back for the rest,” Teddi noticed Billy pulling a small wooden box out of his top drawer. It was about the size of his hand. It was a sandy color with something etched into the lid. He quickly shoved it into the pocket inside his jacket, like Teddi and Max weren’t supposed to see it. “...You gonna be okay, Max?” he asked. 

“I’m fine. Mom says I’m allowed to sleep over at El’s since Neil’s being an asshole….I’m sorry, Billy. That he went off on you like that. It was my fault. He wanted me to change the channel and I kept arguing with him…”

Billy placed a hand on his step sister’s shoulder, leaning down to meet her eyes. “Don’t ever apologize for him, got it? If it wasn’t that it would’ve been something else. You remember what I told you back home? At Captain Spauldings?” Max’s shoulders straightened a little as she nodded. Teddi couldn’t help but wonder what their secret was. “You call us if you need us, okay? We’ll be there.” Billy awkwardly ruffled the top of Max’s head before heading back to the Camaro. He didn’t bother to look in Susan’s direction as he passed.

He and Teddi finished loading his things into the trunk and got in. Max was on the porch, waving as they drove off. Teddi let out a shaky breath. She looked over at Billy, who was drumming his fingers against the steering wheel even though the radio was off. He looked...calm. This wasn’t a Billy she saw very often. There was a hint of a smile on his lips. He looked like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. 

This all felt like a dream. To be in Billy’s Camaro, the two of them finally about to escape the nightmare that was their home lives. It all felt almost too good to be true. Like at any second something horrible would happen, or she would wake up and realize that none of this was even real. Billy bumped his elbow against Teddi’s, bringing her back to the real world. “Hey,” he said lowly. “You okay?”

He fished his pack of cigarettes out of his jacket and held it out to Teddi. She eyed them for a moment before taking a smoke, clamping it between her lips. “I’m just nervous,” she muttered as Billy lit the cigarette for her. Teddi took a long drag, her eyes falling shut and her head falling back against her seat. “My dad’ll be home soon…” 

“Don’t worry about him. You just worry about getting your stuff.” they both knew that that would be easier said than done. Billy would be somewhat of a safety net for her. Her dad probably wouldn’t do or say much of anything if there was someone around to see him in action. He had too much to lose. But he had been a little unpredictable lately, and Teddi was worried that Billy might have to take the brunt of what was about to come. 

While Billy had been to Teddi’s once before, this was the first time he had ever seen Teddi’s mother. Teddi looked a lot like her. He didn’t understand how Bonnie could look at her daughter, who was the spitting image of her, and feel absolutely nothing for her. Billy hated her. She was sitting on the couch, flipping through the channels on TV when they walked in. When Teddi and Billy walked into her field of vision, she finally looked over at them with a bored expression. 

“And who’s this?” Bonnie asked, looking Billy up and down. If she felt any sort of way about him, she didn’t show it. It was like she wasn’t a real person. Like she was one of those mind control victims in those sci fi movies Max liked to watch. Billy briefly wondered if at one point Bonnie had been more like Teddi. Energetic and friendly. Maybe Greg had succeeded in beating her into submission, like Neil had tried with Billy’s mom. Now he had the perfect stepford wife that was loyal only to him. Even at the expense of his own daughter. 

“None of your business,” there was a confidence behind Teddi’s voice that Billy was a little surprised to hear. This wasn’t the same Teddi that had been fidgeting nervously in the Camaro just minutes before. “I’m leaving.” she announced before heading down the hall. He wasn’t surprised that Bonnie didn’t follow after them like Susan had. 

Billy followed Teddi to her room. He’d never seen it before. It was smaller than his room. There was only a tiny desk, a nightstand and Teddi’s bed packed tightly inside. Teddi opened her closet door, reaching in and pulling out a stack of flattened cardboard boxes. He wondered how many times she had pulled them out before, trying to work up the courage to pack before changing her mind. 

They were silent as they started to pack up her things. Teddi made quick work of emptying out her closet before standing up on her bed to peel the little glow in the dark stars off of her ceiling. Billy went over to her desk. There was a Carrie poster taped to the wall next to a tiny bulletin board. There were about a dozen different movie ticket stubs tacked to it. A grainy polaroid of the statue of liberty next to a photo of Teddi standing on a lake dock. She was in a bright blue bikini with white, star shaped sunglasses and she had her arm around a girl with a head of pink, unruly curls. Teddi looked happy. Genuinely happy. It was a gross contrast from the Teddi that was in front of him now. He carefully picked each of the things she had tacked up to the board and tucked them into a box along with the other things on her desk. 

“Your mother tells me you’re leaving.” Billy jumped a little at the sound of Greg Larsson’s voice. Teddi’s dad was a big guy. Easily about 6’4. He took up the entire doorway. His hair was shaved close on the sides and longer on top. Like at one point he’d been a jarhead and hadn’t been able to let it go. He looked like the poster boy for some sort of weird super soldier experiment gone wrong. Billy’s hands clenched into fists. It wasn’t like him and Neil. Neil was the same size as Billy. If Billy wanted to fight back he could. Greg was almost three times Teddi’s size. What kind of pathetic asshole picked on someone that was so helpless to defend themselves? You about two months ago? He reminded himself. His fists clenched tighter. 

Teddi turned to look at her father with a look of disgust before returning to her packing. “What do you care?” 

“Theodora...is this about the disagreement we had the other day?” he asked, crossing his arms tightly across his chest. 

Teddi laughed. “Disagreement? You mean when you called me a whore and almost fractured my skull?” she asked, pointing to the large bruise on her cheek. Billy knew that if he hadn’t been there she probably wouldn’t have said that to her father. He didn’t mind that him being there was an extra boost of courage. He was proud of her. “What do you even care if I leave? You don’t care about me. You and mom have never cared about me. So let me go and you can just pretend that I never existed like you’ve always wanted.” her voice cracked a little as she spoke, but she didn’t cry.

Billy wondered what might have happened if he hadn’t been there. If he hadn’t inched his way over between Teddi and Greg in case he decided to do something bold. He was thinking about it. Billy knew that he was. His sharp jaw clenched and unclenched. His hand was twitching as if he was trying to keep himself for lashing out at her. Greg watched his daughter with a cold expression. Like if he could kill her right then and there with a look, he would. 

“...If you leave, you are no longer welcome in this home. You’re not going to come crying to me when he gets tired of you and moves on to the next girl. You’re no longer my daughter.” 

Billy didn’t see that as much of a threat. Greg wasn’t Teddi’s father. He’d explained it to Max back in California when she had finally seen Neil for what he really was. Billy and Teddi could call Neil and Greg their fathers all they wanted. But men, and Billy used that term lightly, like Neil and Greg couldn’t be fathers to anyone. They were monsters. Monsters that were keeping Billy and Teddi hostage for their own sick enjoyment.

Teddi laughed again. Her eyes were shiny with the threat of tears. She picked up the box that sat at her feet, walking up to Greg with her head held high. “Good.” 

---

Billy and Teddi were both sitting on their new couch in their new apartment. They were both silent, staring at their reflection in the blank TV screen in front of them. Teddi had cried in the car after they left her parents’ house. She cried the entire drive to the apartment. Billy had reached over, putting his arm around her and pulling her towards him. Teddi cried into his shoulder, her tears soaking into his denim jacket. Neither of them said anything until Billy pulled into the parking lot of their apartment building.

Teddi pulled away from him, wiping her eyes roughly. Her bottom lip trembled, like she could start crying at any given second. She looked over at him, her cheeks still slick with tears. “...Thank you.” she finally said. 

He didn’t really know what she was thanking him for. Leaving with her. Helping her get her things. Letting her cry on his shoulder. It didn’t really matter to him. The corner of his mouth twitched up into a grin. “What are friends for, right?” 

Teddi let out a soft laugh. She bit down on her bottom lip as the two looked at each other. Billy could feel his heart beating harshly in his chest. Teddi looked beautiful. Otherworldly in the red light that was shining down onto the Camaro from the building’s neon sign. She sniffed softly, shifting nervously in her seat before her hand gently ghosted his bruised cheek, just like she had the night before. Billy didn’t move as she bit her lip again, leaning forward and kissing him so softly he was almost scared he had imagined it. She pulled away from him, watching him and waiting to see if what she had done was okay. 

Billy wrapped his arms around Teddi’s waist, pulling her back to him. He kissed her. Teddi let out a surprised sound, her hands gripping onto his shoulders. Teddi had wondered what this moment would be like. What it might be like to kiss Billy. None of it really matched up to the actual thing. Everything about him was...strong. His arms wrapped around her, the feel of his chest as her hands slid under his jacket. His lips. Everything about Billy Hargrove made Teddi feel safe. She never wanted this to end. She would be content staying there in Billy’s Camaro, kissing him and letting him hold her until the world ended. 

“If that’s how you say thank you I should’ve started being nicer a long time ago.” Billy smirked. His arms were still wrapped around her middle, and Teddi was gripping onto his shirt beneath his jacket. 

Teddi laughed a little and rolled her eyes. “Funny,” her hand reached up, her thumb stroking his jaw gently. “...We should probably get inside.” she sighed. 

They brought the things they’d packed up the stairs and inside their new home. Now they were on the couch, their hands just barely touching. “...We should skip school tomorrow. Celebrate our new freedom.” he finally said. 

“Celebrate our new freedom by being irresponsible?” she asked with a smile. 

“It’s one day, Larsson. Come on. Let’s do something fun.” 

Teddi eyed him carefully, trying to hide a smile as her cheeks blushed. “...You better be real careful with whatever you’re about to suggest, Hargrove.” she warned. 

Billy smirked. “Relax. I meant like going to the movies or something. What about that Terminator movie? Freddy said it was pretty badass.”

Teddi made a face. “I don’t know...I’m not super crazy about that Schwarzenegger guy. He’s always reminded me too much of my dad. What about Starman?” 

Billy blinked. “...What’s that?”

“It’s the one with Jeff Bridges who’s an alien pretending to be a human and he and he takes Marion from Indiana Jones with him to try and get back to space?” she explained, as if he were crazy for not knowing. Billy only stared at her. “It’s John Carpenter!” 

“Is that supposed to mean something to me?” 

“Halloween? The Thing? Escape From New York? He’s like the best director ever.” 

Billy rolled his eyes and held his hands up. “....Whatever, Larsson. We’ll go see Spaceman.”

 “Starman.” 

“Whatever.” there was a different energy as they got back in the Camaro. They were both smiling, almost giddy. Teddi flipped through the collection of tapes Billy kept in the glove compartment. She settled on Journey, popping the tape into the deck. Billy’s fingers drummed against the steering wheel along to the beat. 

Their eyes met, the two of them sharing a smile. Billy propped his elbow up on the center console, holding out his middle finger to her. Teddi laughed, raising an eyebrow. “What is this, a Billy Hargrove pinky promise? What are we, five?” 

Billy smirked over at her. “Says the girl that wanted to make friendship bracelets,” he joked. Teddi let out a chuckle and linked her finger with his. His ring was cold against her skin. “It’s you and me now, Larsson. We’re in this together. You ready?” 

She was. Of course she was. They were quite the pair. Two misfits that felt like they didn’t belong anywhere. Battered and bruised. But they had finally found a home. With each other.  Teddi smiled as Billy brought her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to her bruised knuckles. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

[talkfastromance4]

More (c.h) Chapter One

This is something I’ve been working on for awhile, more or less for my own fantasy granting joyness. Not sure how many parts this will be yet.

Summary: Single dad Calum doesn’t want to leave his son, Kai while he goes on tour. A nanny accompanies them and Kai isn’t the only one who falls in love.

author’s note: this is sort of a rushed intro lol sorry

Masterlist

*****

Calum was a bit of stickler when it came to love, especially because the woman he thought he loved left him after having his baby and leaving him on his doorstep with a quick written note, I’m sorry. A tiny bundle wrapped in a blue blanket with his birth certificate with no name except for Calum’s. His son, who Calum named Kai, is a spitting image of Calum, no ounce of his mother at all. He didn’t even know she was pregnant when they broke up but his three best friends were more than helpful.

Kai was one now, and although Calum didn’t think he was the world’s most perfect dad, he loved his little boy more than anything. He was his number one priority but Crystal and Sierra noticed how lonely Calum was even before Kai appeared in his life.

“He’s not going to want to go on a date, you know how much Jane hurt him when she ended it,” Michael says while he and Crystal are having lunch with Luke and Sierra.

“But we know the perfect girl!” Sierra insists. “She’s sweet, funny and she works with kids. We’ve wanted to set her up with Cal since before he and Jane even started dating.”

“I don’t know, I don’t think he’d want to try it,” Luke shakes his head.

“Also, remember that Calum has sworn off love,” Michael adds.

“But he hasn’t met—“

“Babe, I love you but let sleeping lions lie,” Michael tells Crystal and both girls slump back in their seats in defeat.

“So, we’ll be leaving on tour in like a month and a half,” Ashton begins at a meeting to discuss the tour schedule amongst other things. “And Cal, I know you don’t want to leave Kai, so . . . do you have any solutions?”

“Mali suggested I hire a nanny,” Calum says looking over at Kai who was playing with Luke across the way. “Which doesn’t sound like that bad of an idea. We’ll be gone for nine months, no way am I going to leave him behind.”

“That seems like a good idea. Have you been looking into anyone?” Michael asks.

“I’ve been researching a few agencies,” Calum nods, “but I haven’t interviewed anyone yet.”

“Want one of us to do it with you?” Ashton cocks an eyebrow.

“That’d be helpful actually, make sure I’m picking the right person.”

“Let us know when you have an interview,” Ashton says then Kai begins to whine and squirm in Luke’s arms.

“Naptime,” Calum sighs lifting his son from Luke. “Hey buddy, let’s go relax, yeah?” Kai quiets down a little but is still fussing when Calum takes him into his room.

“A nanny is a great idea,” Luke says, “she’d be with Kai while we do shows and interviews and things.”

“Yeah, and he’d still be with Cal,” Ashton agrees.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

 Calum asked Ashton to interview the ladies that he found on a secure, background checked site. They already spoke with five of them but none of them have really stuck out to Calum.

“What about Kate? She seemed good,” Ashton says.

“She’s too proper. I want someone who will be fun but will follow Kai’s schedule and will vibe with all of us. This is hopeless,” Calum rubs his face with his hands. “If we don’t find someone then I’ll have to leave Kai with my mum and I don’t really want to do that.”

“I know, man, don’t worry. We’ll find someone. Next one is Holly Golde.”

Calum does a double take when he hears the door open and sees the woman walking in. She has frosty blond hair, small stature and the biggest blue eyes he’s ever seen. She was wearing all black with a long gold necklace and her smile was radiant. Wow.

“Hi, I’m Holly it’s so great to meet you,” she smiles holding out her hand.

“Ashton, nice to meet you,” he shakes her hand. “And this is Calum, the father of that handsome fella over there.”

Holly turns her gaze to where Ashton is pointing to see Kai playing on a blanket with his favorite toys.

“He’s adorable,” Holly smiles again.

“Thanks for coming, I’m Calum Hood,” Calum greets and shakes her hand as well. He notices how soft they are against his rough ones. All three of them sit down. “So, have you been a nanny before?”

“No, I haven’t, but I went to school for child care, I work in the nursery at my church every Sunday and I’m CPR certified. I know the hours will be abnormal but I’m willing to help out anyway that I can. I love kids, they’re the best thing in the world.”

“And you’re sure you’ll be fine traveling to different countries with us?”

“I’ll manage it no problem,” she nods affirmatively.

“Can I ask how old you are?” Ashton asks.

“I’m twenty-three.”

“Holly,” Calum says and he likes how pretty it is, “We’ll be dealing with fans all over the world. Obviously if I’m not with you you’ll have security so that Kai doesn’t get bombarded with fans but will you be able to handle that? Being around all those people?”

“I’ll be honest, big crowds like that do frighten me a little bit but I promise you I won’t let anything bad happen to your son. I will make sure he’s safe and protected.”

“When—“

Just then Kai starts crying, all three of them turn their heads to see Kai has fallen backwards hitting his head on the floor that wasn’t covered by the blanket. His round face was pinched and red as tears flowed from his eyes. Calum stood up but Holly was faster and scooped him up in her arms.

“Hey there, baby, did you hit your head?” she holds him on her hip using her left hand to cradle his head. “I know it scared you more than anything, but that’s okay. Here, let’s go look for birdies outside, hm?” she walks him to the window and looks out of it, pointing and bouncing him gently in her arms. She’s talking in soothing tones to him and his cries turn to sniffles.

Calum has never seen Kai adjust to someone so instantaneously before, and be soothed that quickly from someone other than him and his friends. He saw his son’s small fingers clutch the fabric of Holly’s shirt as she continues to point outside which he does as well when he sees something.

Calum turns to look at Ashton whose eyebrows are raised in amazement and nods encouragingly. Holly was perfect.

“Holly, would you like to be our nanny?” Calum asks and she turns around. Kai is playing with a strand of her hair and smiles happily at his daddy.

“Really?!” her eyes widen happily.

“Yes,” Calum grins and pinches his son’s cheek. “I’ve never seen him be taken with someone so quickly before. You’re obviously qualified and . . . I have a good feeling about you. I trust you with him.”

“Thank you, Mr. Hood, I would love to.”

“Please, call me Calum,” he makes a face then laughs. “We’re the same age.”

“All right, Calum,” she laughs. “I accept the job. Thank you.”

“Our assistant is right through there, she’ll go over all the details and paperwork with you, make sure you have your passport and all that. But once that’s finished, we’ll be seeing you in a few weeks when we head to New York.”

“Sounds good, here you go,” she hands Kai to Calum. “I’ll head on back, and thank you again, this is an amazing opportunity.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Before leaving for tour, Holly began to nanny for Kai about a week after she got the job. She wanted to make sure she got the hang of Kai’s schedule, and that he would become even more comfortable with her. Calum hated how he wasn’t home that much with Kai since they released the new single from the album, but appreciated having Holly.

He’d come home and the house would be clean, a majority of Kai’s toys would be put away, the dish washer would be runnng quietly and after the first few days, the laundry was done as well. She was impeccable at her job and Calum is extremely happy he hired her. Kai absolutely adores her.

“Hi,” Holly greets with a smile and the laundry basket jutted on her hip. “Kai’s been in bed for about an hour.”

“That’s good,” Calum sighs emptying his pockets of his keys and phones on the countertop. “And thank you for . . . everything. Guess I’m still getting the hang of being a single dad.”

“It’s not a problem at all, and I think you’re doing fine.” She begins to fold Kai’s onesies and his burp rags.

“Thank you, and I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you’ll be coming on tour with us,” he shakes his head and picks up some laundry and begins to fold. “It’d kill me to leave Kai with my parents.”

“Can I ask you a personal question? Please don’t feel obligated to answer, but, what happened to Kai’s mom?”

Calum took his time folding Kai’s onesie that reads ‘Daddy’s little rockstar,’ a gift from Ashton.

“She and I were together for about a year and a half, then out of the blue she broke up with me. No explanation just that it was over. I didn’t handle it well, and then nine months later, she left him on my doorstep with a note saying “I’m sorry.” His birth certificate and full custody papers were with him and it’s been me and him ever since.”

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry she did that to you,” she holds his forearm in sincerity. “You had no idea she was pregnant when she broke up with you?”

“Not a clue. I don’t know if that’s why she broke up with me, thinking I wouldn’t step up or something which is ironic because she’s the one who left. I struggled a bit at first, I didn’t know the first thing about babies, especially having one of my own. So my parents and sister helped out a lot for the first few months, even the guys did too.”

“Well, Kai is a very lucky little boy to have you as a dad.”

Just then Kai’s cries come through the baby monitor, they turn to it then to each other. Holly places her last folded article of clothing on the couch to go get him but Calum stops her by holding onto her wrist.

“I got it, I haven’t seen him all day,” he smiles. She returns the smile and watches him head down the hallway to Kai’s room.

She continues to fold the laundry and hears Calum’s voice soothe his son through the monitor that’s sitting on the coffee table.

“Hey baby, Daddy’s got you, yeah? You’re all right.”

Holly moves to turn the monitor down but stops when she hears him say her name.

“You like Holly don’t you? I’m glad you’re comfortable with her . . . and she’s very pretty isn’t she?”

Holly’s hand freezes midway to the volume dial; did she hear him correctly? He thinks she’s pretty? He doesn’t say anything else after that and she continues folding the laundry until he comes out a few minutes later. She prayed desperately that her cheeks weren’t rosy.

“Is he okay?” she asks.

“Yeah, I think he might be getting his first tooth. That’s going to be fun on tour,” he heaves a big sigh.

“We’ll manage,” she assures him with a smile and because she says so, he believes they will.

[dancingwithdylan21]

I Fucking Knew It

Summary: It’s Thanksgiving at the Stilinski household and a certain guest catches Stiles’ attention.

Pairing: Fuckboy!Stiles x Reader

Prompt: “I won’t tell anyone that you’re scared of a girl.”

~

A sense of calm washes over Stiles Stilinski as he sets foot inside his Beacon Hills childhood home. The delicious aroma of turkey is wafting throughout and it immediately overtakes him. Not wasting any time, he hightails it towards the kitchen to visit with his favorite person of all time. 

“Hey Mom! Happy Thanksgiving!”

Claudia beams at the sound of her son’s familiar voice and pulls him into a tight hug, “Hi honey! I’m so glad you made it home.”

“Me too.” He delivers with a warm smile before kissing her on the cheek.

Unfortunately Stiles has been missing in action lately, he hasn’t celebrated a holiday with his family in some time. His crazy consuming job at the bureau keeping his ass in Washington DC for the last year.

“Who’s coming today?” Stiles asks twisting the cap off of a frosty beer. “Anyone good?”

“Everyone! They’ll all be happy to see you.“

“Naturally.” He smirks before chucking a cube of cheese into his mouth, earning himself an eye roll from Claudia.

The house soon starts bustling as family and friends start to pile in with goodies in hand. The constant focus on Stiles is overwhelming him to say the least - how many times does he have to answer the same shit?

The agent sneaks away to the kitchen for alone time, only to find his long time best friends making out aka devouring each other, "What the fuck, guys. People eat in here.” He scrunches up his face at Scott and Alison.

Scott detaches from his girlfriend’s lips, “Yeah I was just about to eat something.” He winks making Alison giggle.

“Stop it right now. I refuse to be nauseous on Thanksgiving!” Stiles huffs loudly. 

“Dude, chill...” 

“No, McCall. There’s way too many delicious things to eat...”

Claudia grins walking into the room, the sound of the two boys bickering is oddly comforting. It’s finally feeling like old times again around here. The couple start laughing on their way out of the kitchen making Stiles finally smile with victory. 

"The Andersons just came in the door.” Claudia informs checking on the cinnamon cookies in the oven. "Stiles go say hi to Y/N and see what she wants to drink.”

A confused expression breaks out on the agent’s face, "Who?” He moves around the corner, not prepared for what he’s about to see.

You’re easily the most gorgeous girl that Stiles has ever laid his eyes on and it makes his heart speed up. He’s been staring, not even aware until you break him out of his trance with a friendly wave. A nervous smile appears on his lips before rushing back into the kitchen.

"Smooth, moron.” Stiles groans to himself.

“What does she want?” Claudia wonders with her back to him.

“Huh?” Stiles says distracted.

“What does Y/N want to drink?” His mom sighs, wiping her hands on the apron that she’s wearing.

"I didn’t ask.” Stiles answers with a frown. "Who is she?”

Claudia halts her movements, locking eyes with her son like he’s a mad man, "She lived down the street, sweetheart. You two played video games constantly. Almost everyday.”

“Wait what…”

“I always had to yell about going out and getting some fresh air.” She finishes with a chuckle.

"That's…there’s no way that’s her.” Stiles adds with wide eyes, his mouth now turning dry.

“Yup. That’s her.”

“But she moved away in the eighth grade with her family. I never saw her again.” Stiles squints at his mother, trying to search for any signs of a lie.

“I know. She moved back about a year ago. You’d know that if you ever came home for the holidays.” Claudia sasses with a hand flying to her hip.

Stiles ignores his mom’s comment, too distracted when the image of you as a kid pops into his head. "She was such a tomboy. I forgot she was a girl most of the time.” Stiles adds surprised.

“Not anymore.” Mary sing songs, unable to hold back a laugh over her son’s deer in headlights look.

Stiles is unbelievably caught off guard, still not convinced that you’re the girl who he spent countless hours with. There’s really only one way to find out the truth. He’s going to test you. First he just needs to find the balls to approach you.

"Hi Mary!” You stroll into the kitchen wearing an infectious smile, not missing how your childhood friend tenses up.

“Hi sweetie! You look beautiful.” She greets, wrapping her arms around you for a hug.

Stiles gives you a quick smile when you turn towards him but it barely lasts before he looks away. Well this is strange, you’ve always heard that he’s such a ladies man. It definitely doesn’t seem it though.

You’re about to strike up a conversation with Stiles when Scott mischievously barrels into the room. Without warning, he hoists you up off the ground making you squeal in surprise. When he finally sets you down, you notice that Stiles has weirdly disappeared. 

“Need any help?” You ask Claudia, giving Scott his cue to excuse himself before he’s put to work as well.

“You can move the cinnamon cookies onto a platter.” She gestures to the baking sheets behind her. "It’s been awhile since you’ve seen Stiles huh?”

“Yeah. Seems like forever ago.” You admit. “He seems sorta…quiet. Which I didn’t expect because I’ve heard that he’s a real charmer. And also always talking.”

Claudia bursts out laughing, "Yeah. I usually can’t get the boy to shut up. I think it’s because of you.” She playfully winks.

“Me?” You furrow your brows.

“My ridiculous son doesn’t believe that you’re the girl who grew up down the street.”

“Huh.” You giggle softly. “That’s funny.”

~

Stiles searches like crazy for his best friend, finally spotting him hanging out in the backyard. "Ya know the girl that you picked up in the kitchen?”

"Uh yeah…” Scott shoots him an amused look. "What about her?”

“My mom said that she’s the Y/N from when we were younger but it’s not, right?” Stiles studies his reaction closely.

Scott knows what he’s about to do is wrong but he can’t help himself, “Nah. Different Y/N. Your mom always gets the two confused, man.”

“That makes more sense! There’s no way that’s the same girl.” Stiles snickers at him.

Scott refrains from rolling his eyes, a smirk then appears when he sees you walking in their direction. His friend soon catches on, resulting in opposite reactions from each guy.

“Hey.” You grin wide at them, getting a friendly smile from Scott and an awkward one from Stiles.

A ringtone breaks the silence causing Stiles to veer off to the side to answer it. He starts pacing as he talks, his unusual amount of energy is definitely entertaining you.

"Is he always this weird, Scotty?”

“Yup.” He cracks a knowing smile. “It’s worse than normal because of you though.”

“That’s what his mom said too! I don’t get it.” You sigh watching Stiles.

Scott shrugs, "Just a heads up…he asked if you were really the Y/N from down the street. I may have lied and said no.”

“McCall!” You gasp causing you both to erupt into laughter.

“I know, I know. He makes it too easy sometimes.”

“Jeez. Was I that shitty looking back then?” You frown getting a shocked reaction from Scott.

“Not at all, Y/N.” He assures you. “You were just different than the other girls we were around. All they cared about was makeup and going to the mall. You were more into sports and video games.”

"Yeah that’s true…”

“Plus you always wore your brother’s clothes for some reason.” Scott chuckles at the memory.

“Yeah well…I hated all the girly shit back then. My brother’s t-shirts had skulls and stuff so I liked them. My mom wouldn’t buy them for me.” You explain with a giggle.

Stiles ends his call and heads back over to you both, the action makes Scott suddenly announce that he needs more beer. Awesome. Now you and Stiles are standing here alone.

So…you gonna talk to me or run away again?” You speak up with a giggle.

Stiles hesitates then rubs the back of his neck, “I didn’t run away, Y/N.”

You shrug lazily, “Don’t worry, dude. I won’t tell anyone that you’re scared of a girl.”

Stiles’ demeanor instantly shifts, he smugly cocks his head at you, "Oh please, sweetheart. No one would believe you.”

Well shit. There’s the Stiles that you’ve heard so much about. That seems to break the ice and you both continue on with the small talk. But in the back of Stiles’ mind, he keeps wondering if maybe you are the girl from his childhood.

Back then you two were very competitive and constantly played Mario Kart on Wii. He always picked Mario and you always picked Luigi. You both would trash talk all day about whose choice is better.

Even when you weren’t playing, Stiles would randomly exclaim “Mario!” making you always shout “Luigi!” in response. He finally decides it’s now or never to man up and test you about his possible theory.

“Mario.” Stiles states casually, no doubt now eyeing you.

“What?” You play dumb like a pro but it’s literally killing you to not scream "Luigi”.

“Um…”

“Did you say Mario?” You quirk an eyebrow at the brunette. He clears his throat loudly with a slight redness flushing his cheeks.

“Uh...”

“Who’s that?” You question innocently.

Stiles shakes his head at you, "Never mind.” He’s now avoiding eye contact and it’s the cutest thing ever.

You offer him a kind smile and continue to pretend that you’re clueless. Up until a minute ago, the dynamic between you and Stiles drastically improved. It definitely helped when he became less scared of you.

You find yourself sneaking peeks at Stiles, his handsome features almost leaving you breathless. Of course he’s guilty of doing the same thing, trying hard not to get caught.

“Would you like to go out sometime?” Stiles inquires with a boyish grin.

“I’d love to.” You sweetly peck his cheek then start walking backwards. "I’m gonna run inside and grab us a snack. Ok?”

You spin around fast, not allowing Stiles to respond before you rush off towards the deck. After a quick glance at him, you start climbing up the stairs and then pause at the slider door. Without a second thought, you peer over the deck railing and call Stiles’ name.

"One more thing…”

“Yeah?”

“Luigi!” You exclaim proudly before booking it into the house with a laugh.

Stiles’ mouth drops open at your confession, "I fucking knew it.” He chuckles to himself.

~

Masterlist 

[artificialqueens]

Happy Birthday - (Deladore) - Black_Magic

Author’s Note: This is for the fic challenge. The tropes I used were: A and B are best friends who are secretly in love with each other and neither knows, childhood best friends, and soulmate au. I used a bonus trope, which is the magic au.

Danny finished cleaning off the kitchen counter when he heard a yelp of pain. He walked into the back of the kitchen to see his mother, Bonnie, gripping her wrist and visibly shaking. She had burnt herself on the stove while reaching for something. Danny rushed over to her with a worried expression. “Sorry, mom! I forgot to mention I put a hot pan there just a few minutes ago.” He had made pancakes, scrambled eggs and some bacon for breakfast.

“That’s alright, baby. Be careful next time.” He could feel his forearm sting like he got burnt too. The perks of his daily life. He was an empath. That means he can sense other’s emotions and pain around him. Sometimes it annoyed him, but it came in handy. He cared about people and didn’t like when they got hurt. Mostly, his caring nature went to Bonnie, and his closest friends.

“I will, I promise.” Even though he did promise, it was a meaningless one. Both Danny and his mom knew how forgetful he can get. He reached to open a cabinet to get some plates. Of course, he only grabbed two.

“Hon, why did you make all this?” Bonnie looked at the food, confused as to why her lazy son would go through the effort of making all of it within the same day, hour, and time.

“Because, mom! Ben is gonna be here soon, I’m hungry, and you wouldn’t let me get Mickey D’s!” Bonnie laughed after looking at her whining son. He had a scowl and was pouting his lip like a child.

She took the plates and patted her son’s shoulder. “I know you’re excited, but you need to go get a shower. You need to be fresh and clean for today. I’m not taking you anywhere if you aren’t presentable!” Danny dramatically sighed and left to do as he was told.

Bonnie made the plates for Danny and Ben. She sat them on the table just as there was a knock on the door. It opened just afterwards to reveal Ben with his happy smile. “Good morning, Bonnie.” He called into the house.

“Hi, sweetie.” Ben came in, making sure to head straight into the kitchen. He hugged Bonnie and kissed her cheek. “I sent Danny to the shower a few minutes ago. He should be out in fifteen minutes. Although, he was all giddy and happy about seeing you today. He might just go faster than usual.”

“I’m excited too. Can’t wait to spend the day with the birthday boy.” Ben said with a smile. He noticed Bonnie was holding her arm. “Is something wrong with your arm?”

“I was reaching for something earlier and burnt myself on the skillet. Danny forgot to mention it was still hot. It’s just a little thing.” Bonnie showed him her arm. There was a red line on her arm and it looked like it still stung.

“Here, let me.” He gently took her arm and placed one of his hands on top of her burn. Ben waited a few seconds, then removed it. The mark had disappeared, and the flesh wound was all gone. “There, it’s like it never happened.”

“Thank you, Ben.” Ben smiled at her and suddenly held his left arm, wincing like he was in pain. His mark felt like it was burning. It’s been like that since his recent birthday when he finally saw it appear. Bonnie knew what it was. She had talked to Ben about it on his eighteenth birthday while Danny happened to be asleep.

“I’ve been able to ignore it, but it started hurting again today. Must mean I get to meet my soulmate today.” Ben smiled, feeling optimistic.

Bonnie knew the truth. She knows her son, and not because she reads minds. Ever since they were in kindergarten, Bonnie could see how Danny and Ben were drawn to each other. There was a reason why both the boys were clingy with each other and were barely seen apart. They were meant to be friends. They were meant to find each other. Ben and Danny would get their soulmates today. Bonnie has already seen the mark on Ben’s arm. She got to look at Danny’s arm after he woke up and she showered him in birthday love. Bonnie could look at them and see the obvious love they had for each other. She was gonna let the two clueless best friends figure it out. “Wow, look at that, honey. Your mark seems to be glowing.”

Ben looked at it and gasped, looking at it in wonder. It looked like a golden scale. He figured it was because he’s a Libra and the sign was supposed to be a scale. It signified balance.

“Wow, that hasn’t happened before. It looks so mesmerizing.” Ben ran his fingers across it with a grin. Ever since Ben met Danny, he felt like he had fell in love and found the one. From that day forward, he hoped Danny was his soulmate. Ben wouldn’t have it any other way. Little did he know, Danny felt the same way.

Danny thought about falling in love many times before. He wanted to be loved and cared for in the best way possible. Every time someone has asked him what his soulmate looked like, he would always think of Ben without fail. He didn’t want to, since he wanted to save his heart for the special person his was paired with at birth. No matter what he did, he felt like Ben was the one who owned his heart. Ever since he had a talk with Bonnie when he was sixteen, he let himself love Ben.

As Danny finished drying off and getting dressed, he got a weird feeling throughout his body. Then, the pain came. He felt like his right arm was on fire. His mark was appearing. All he saw was a bright flash for a few seconds. “Was that my mark?” He asked himself, then looked in the mirror on top of his dresser. Danny smiled as he analyzed the breathtaking sight. Brand new and still glowing, he saw a gold scale. Of course, Danny had it. Both him and Ben have always been Libras. The thing they have most in common, other than the fact that they are in fact the destined soulmates they have always desired to be. “Fucking party!”

Ben laughed hearing his best friend cheer. Bonnie rolled her eyes. “Daniel, don’t say that word!”

All Danny felt was excitement as he bolted out of his room. “Mom, guess what!” Danny stopped in his tracks when he saw Ben. Ben’s sleeve was still rolled up. They each spotted the other’s mark. The two boys locked eyes and they moved at the same time. Danny wore the biggest smile as he launched forward and brought Ben into a tight hug. Ben held Danny like he was fragile. He couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. He had nothing to worry about. Danny was his. “I can’t believe it. I mean, it’s like I always knew.” The glow from the marks disappeared.

Ben smiled and kissed the other boy on the side of his head. “Happy birthday, Danny.”

“Best birthday, ever. I got the present I wanted.” Danny’s voice was gentle.

Bonnie smiled as she watched a moment she has dreamt of many times before. Her son finally finding happiness. She left the room to give them privacy.

They separated to take a look at each other. Ben took this opportunity to say the words he’s wanted to say for awhile. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Being impatient and excited, Danny took the chance to grab Ben’s face and kiss him.

[estelwenadia]

WangXian's “We catch the same bus home and I always fall asleep, but you always wake me up at my stop” AU

Part 4:

Jiang Yanli felt her hand was once again sandwiched between two feverish palms.

But the warmth felt different somehow.

"Shijie..."

A-Xian?

There was a long, long pause, and then she heard some sniffles. Poor A-Xian must be holding back his tears.

"I'm so happy to see you again, Shijie," There was a grin in A-Xian's voice, but Jiang Yanli could imagine it tremble. "I thought I would never see you again."

A-Xian still tried to smile despite the pain he must have felt. Jiang Yanli wished she could open her eyes. Hug both of her brothers tight. Tell them that she was doing fine. Cook for them their favourite soup.

If only she could move...

"I don't know what Doctor Lan has been telling Jiang Cheng, until he agreed to finally let me see you," A-Xian continued quietly. "I thought he hated me so much. I mean, he has every right to."

Oh, A-Xian, A-Cheng would never hate you.

"I can still remember that particular day I was brought home by Uncle Jiang. Jiang Cheng had puppies. Because of me, Jiang Cheng had to give his puppies away. He liked me even less after that, and it got worse when Uncle Jiang wanted me to sleep in Jiang Cheng's room."

Jiang Yanli remembered that particular day, all too fondly.

A-Xian chuckled, but he sounded sad. "Thanks to Shijie, we made up after that. For awhile. But I still don't think he likes me very much..."

A-Xian...

"But I know you love me, and that's all that matters!" A-Xian said firmly. "That's why you have to get better, okay? We are hopeless without you."

There was another pause, another sniffle and an awkward laughter.

When A-Xian spoke again, it was as if there was no trace of sadness in his voice. In its place was happiness and excitement. As much as Jiang Yanli was glad to hear him happy again, she wished A-Xian was more open to express his pain, not just whip it away behind carefree smiles and careless laughter.

But her A-Xian had always been like that - smiling despite trying times, no matter how much pain he was in.

"By the way, Shijie, have you heard of Lan Zhan? He's your Doctor Lan's younger brother and he is the most beautiful person I have ever seen! He takes the same bus as me every night and be sure to wake me up just before I reach my stop! He is such a gentleman! And to think he is my regular customer in the café I work in! It is such a coincidence, right?"

Lan Zhan... Lan Wangji?

Is he the same Lan Zhan who you liked to tease back then when we were in school? You loved talking about him all the time. To think that you would meet him again after so many years...

But something still didn't add up.

Oh, A-Xian, don't tell me you have forgotten about him ever since both of you graduated from school and went your separate ways?

"But it is strange, though..." A-Xian was saying. Jiang Yanli could hear the frown in his voice. "I feel as if I've met him before... He seems familiar, somehow... But for the life of me I just couldn't remember! I can't believe that my memory is terrible! Maybe I should ask him..."

Oh, A-Xian...

A-Xian went on and on about his admiration for Lan Zhan, his obvious (to her) and oblivious (to him) crush on the younger Lan sibling, and Jiang Yanli allowed herself to float adrift in the darkness.

At least now, the darkness wasn't so oppressive anymore.

It was welcoming and warm, just like the lull of A-Xian's voice.

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

"Go home, Wei Wuxian. I'll take over from here."

A-Cheng?

"Nooooo," A-Xian whined. "I wanna spend more time with Shijie! And you are just in time! I was about to tell Shijie about the last time you were drunk and..."

"No, stop!"

A-Cheng, drunk? Jiang Yanli thought in amusement.

"You confessed to Doctor Lan that you like him!" A-Xian finished triumphantly, laughing merrily when A-Cheng yelled A-Xian's birth name in absolute mortification.

"It's all lies, Shijie!" A-Cheng pleaded. "Don't believe a word Wei Wuxian said! Dammit, Wei Wuxian! You promised!"

"I did nothing of that sort!" A-Xian answered cheerfully.

"Shijie, I'll have you know, that I found Wei Wuxian's sketchbook filled with drawings of Lan Wangji," A-Cheng told her desperately, earning a indignant yelp from A-Xian.

Really, A-Xian?

"Jiang Wanyin! You!"

Their antics reminded her of the times when they were younger.

Her entire being hummed with contentment.

"My, my, what a lively atmosphere we have today," a gentle voice drifted into the room.

A simultaneous greeting of "Doctor Lan..." followed by a not-so-subtle hiss from A-Cheng, "Quit it, Wei Wuxian!"

"Doctor Lan," A-Xian began earnestly, with a teasing lilt in his voice, completely ignoring A-Cheng, "Jiang Cheng here is very single and from what Lan Zhan had told me, you are very single too. Don't worry. You have my blessing."

Desperate to divert attention from himself, A-Cheng hurriedly said, "Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian hasn't gone home to rest since he finished his work today. Please bring him home. And ask him to show you his sketchbook!"

"Jiang Wanyin! That's not fair!"

Jiang Yanli could imagine A-Cheng childishly sticking his tongue out at A-Xian.

"Tit for tat, Wei Wuxian. Turnabout's fair play, pal. Too bad. Now get lost!"

"Wei Ying."

That voice must be Lan Wangji's.

"I'm coming, Lan Zhan! Shijie, wait for me, okay? I'll definitely be back! Jiang Cheng can't hog you all to himself!"

"Just go, Wei Wuxian." A-Cheng sighed in exasperation.

"Good night, Shijie! Wet dreams, Jiang Cheng! Come, Lan Zhan, let's go! Are we going to ride in your car or do we take bus together?"

"Bus."

Then A-Xian's chattering voice faded away together with their fading footsteps.

There was a long silence in the room Jiang Yanli wondered if A-Cheng and Doctor Lan had left too.

"Young Master Jiang, are you not heading back?" Doctor Lan Xichen asked.

A slight pause. "Just a little while longer."

"Your sister has been responding positively to tests ever since Young Master Wei has been coming by," Doctor Lan offered. "You have nothing to worry about. She will wake up in a matter of time."

There was a sharp intake of air, followed by a husky, "Is that so...?"

"Mn," Doctor Lan assured. "Would you like to return home now? I can send you home. My shift just ended."

"Uh, you don't have to, Doctor Lan," A-Cheng sounded flustered, much to Jiang Yanli's amusement. "I can go home on my own."

"It is of no consequence," Jiang Yanli could hear the smile in Doctor Lan's voice. "I can fetch Wangji after that too."

"Well, if you say so..." A-Cheng reluctantly agreed. "Shijie, I will be going home first, okay? I will come again tomorrow."

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

Familiar voices through her consciousness.

Voices she had not heard in a long time.

A-Xuan? A-Ling?

Her brothers' voices abruptly stopped, and each greeted her husband tightly. "Jin ZiXuan."

A-Cheng addressed her son with a curt "Jin Ling."

But it was soon broken by A-Xian's delighted squeal of "Jin Rulan! Oh my, look at how you have grown! But you are still so chubby and adorable!"

"I'm not chubby and I'm not cute!" came A-Ling's cross comeback. "And stop calling me Rulan! Let go of me! I'm here to see Mother!"

A-Xian chuckled, and there was a sound of someone's hair being ruffled affectionately. "Go see your Mother, Rulan. Doctor Lan said that your Mother will wake up anytime soon!"

Jiang Yanli heard a gasp. "Really?"

Smaller hands covered her own. "Mother..."

A-Ling...

"Wei Wuxian. Jiang Cheng."

It was A-Xuan's voice this time.

"What?" Twin spontaneous responses.

Jiang Yanli wanted to laugh. What was that they called themselves back when they were younger? Oh, that's right. Twin Heroes of Yunmeng.

"You don't have to pay for A-Li's hospital expenses anymore. I have it covered. Everything that has been paid for previously will be refunded to your various accounts respectively."

"We don't need your money." A-Xian's voice was steely.

"A-Li is my wife."

"She is our Shijie."

"And she is my Mother!" A-Ling's voice broke into their conversation before it could escalate into an argument. "Please stop fighting."

Well done, A-Ling.

Jiang Yanli focused her energy to wiggle her fingers under A-Ling's hands.

She thought she must have succeeded, because A-Ling gasped, "I think Mother moved! I felt her her hand move!"

She heard a clamour of footsteps, and then excited chorus of her name.

Jiang Yanli, you are the daughter of the Jiang Household. Attempt the Impossible. Open your eyes now! You have been asleep long enough.

She fought her eyes open.

"Her eyes are twitching!

She blinked. At first, the darkness struggled to stay, but it eventually gave way to pure brightness, then the brightness gradually faded away to reveal the relieved, teary faces of her loved ones.

"Shijie!" "A-Li!" "Mother!"

Jiang Yanli broke into a wan smile.

"I'm home."