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alotofpockets · 1 year

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Misconceptions | Yelena Belova

Pairing: Popular College Student!Yelena Belova x Quiet!Reader

Summary: The most popular girl in school is showing interest in you, the quiet girl. What will happen when you don't realize she's actually interested in you and not just wants you to do her homework? [Full request]

Masterlist | Marvel masterlist | Words: 1.5k

At school you were known as the quiet girl, or sometimes even the loner. You didn’t have any friends at college and made no effort to get to know people. For you there was a reason behind your choices, to others it just seemed like you were weird. You studied alone, you had lunch alone, you didn’t hang out with people, it was just you.

During lunch you felt watched, the feeling was nothing new. People tend to enjoy making fun of the outcasts. When you searched through the crowd to see who it was, you found Yelena Belova’s eyes looking back at you. Yelena was one of the most popular girls in the school, currently sitting with the rest of her popular friends at a lunch table across the cafeteria. She didn’t even look away when the two of you made eye contact, while her friends were laughing. In annoyance you roll your eyes, pack your stuff and head to your next class.

*Meanwhile at Yelena's table*

"What's wrong with you guys? She's just a person." Yelena says, annoyed with her friend's reaction to her interest in wanting to get to know you. "Yeah, a weird person." Josh answers, gaining him cheers and high fives from his friends. "Grow up." Yelena says while she packs her stuff and goes after you. She finds you in the hallway looking at your phone. "Hey, y/n." She says approaching you. You look up from your phone but don't greet her back. Yelena continues on, nonetheless. "I'm sorry about my friends." You shrug, you were used to it by now. "Hey, I was wondering if you would-" You cut her off before she could finish. "I'm not interested in doing your homework." You tell her and walk off. Yelena stands there dumbfounded, is that really how people treated you? All she wanted to do was invite you to a party next week. You went on with the rest of your classes, and continued your day. After your last class you went back to your dorm, turned your gaming device on and plopped down on your bed. Finally, you could relax and not have to worry about people watching your every move.

A few days pass without any major interactions with ignorant people. Until Thursday afternoon, you had just grabbed your books and notes for your next class from your locker and were walking in the hallway on your way to your next class. You didn't think it was necessary to put all the stuff you just grabbed in your bag, since you'd have to take it out in just a couple minutes anyways, so you carried the books and your folder full of notes in your arms. You slow down when you see Chris standing right in front of you. Chris was the quarterback for the school's football team. He was tall. He was strong. He was intentionally blocking your path. You took a deep breath before you said, "Excuse me, can I pass?" He laughs, "I don't think so." There was not much you could do physically to get past him, so your only option was to ask again, as there was no other hallway that led to the classroom that you needed to go to. "Come on, just let me through, please." All he did in response was knock your books and folder out of your hands, your notes flew out of the folder and scattered across the floor.

Before you could say anything else you heard a voice from behind you. "Chris, what is wrong with you? This is not how you treat people." Yelena walks past you and stands in front of Chris. "I do not want to see you near y/n ever again, do you understand?" Chris nods, he suddenly seemed small, like he was scared of Yelena, who was like a foot smaller than him. "Good, now scram." She says sternly. Her stern voice and angry face instantly soften when she turns around and looks at you. "I'm sorry, something like that won't happen again, I promise." She kneels down and starts gathering your papers, you join her and put everything back in the folder. "Why are you being nice to me?" You ask when she hands you the pile that she gathered. "Why wouldn’t I?" Yelena shrugs. “People tend to not be nice to me, as you’ve just witnessed. It’s not really the norm for people like me. People tend to only be nice to me when they want something from me. You know, like you did the other day.”

“I didn’t want anything from you, I just wanted to invite you to a party. I’m sorry people are so horrible.” - “You want to invite me to a party, which will most likely consist of people who are horrible to me?” Yelena looks down at her feet, “Yeah, I didn’t really think that one through.. I thought it would be fun to hang out outside of school and get to know each other.” You’re finding it hard to believe that the most popular girl in the school wants to hang out with you, so you push. “What would your friends think when they see you hanging out with me?” Yelena is quick to respond, “I don’t care what they think. If they were to have a problem with it, which in my mind is totally unreasonable, that’s on them and they should grow up.” Hearing her say that, plus her standing up to you was starting to make you feel like she might actually be interested in getting to know you. You could just see where it would take you right? “Okay, we can hang out, but I’m not going to that party. Maybe we could go to an arcade or something?” Yelena smiles, “Yes, that sounds great.”

You walk to your next class together, now definitely late. Yelena told you not to worry about it and follow her lead. She opens the classdoor and you both walk in. Yelena walks up to the professor and whispers, “I’m sorry Sir, there was a little time of the month issue, if you know what I mean.” He nods, “Take a seat.” The two of you find an empty set of tables at the end of the classroom and sit down next to each other. You worked together on the assignment of the class, and already you started to realize more and more that Yelena didn’t want anything more than to get to know you. You were laughing and making jokes about the assignment together. At the end of the class Yelena writes down her number in your notes. “Text me so we can make plans.” She hands you back the paper and is out the door. You look after her with a smile on your face.

When you get home from school, you grab your notes and add Yelena’s contact. You sent her a message right away.

You: Hey Yelena, it’s y/n. Did you still want to go to the arcades?

Yelena: Yes, of course! Do you have plans tonight?

You: No, not really.

Yelena: Great, can I pick you up at 8pm?

You: Yeah, sounds good :)

You sent her your address before you get started on your homework. Your mom calls you downstairs for dinner, you sit down at the table and tell her about your plans tonight. She’s both excited and nervous, but she tells you to have fun before she leaves for her night shift. Soon after you changed into a different outfit, you heard the doorbell ring. Yelena stood on the other side of the door with a big smile, “I’m sorry, I know I’m a bit early, I was just very excited for tonight. I can wait if you’re not ready yet.” Her eagerness calms your nerves. “I’m ready, let’s go.” You smile and walk to her car. At the arcade you played games the whole evening, you were better at aiming games and she was better at speed games. You had so much fun, you can’t remember when the last time was that you had laughed this much. At the end of the evening you traded in all your tickets for prizes. You got some snacks for the way back from your tickets, while Yelena got the biggest teddy bear that her tickets could buy. She hands the teddy bear to you, “Here, this is for you.” She says with a nervous smile. You take the bear and hold it tight. “Thank you, I love it.” Yelena grabs your hand and leads you back to her car. The moment her hand touched your, your heart skipped a beat.

Yelena drives you back home and walks you up to your door. “I had a lot of fun tonight.” Yelena shares. “Me too, maybe we can do it again sometime?” You look up at her with hopeful eyes. “Yes, I would love to.” She takes a step closer to you and kisses your cheek. “I’ll text you when I get home safely.” You stand on the porch watching her leave. How on earth was all of this happening?

Yelena: I made it. Have a good night x

You: Good night x

💗If you enjoyed this fic, please consider buying me a coffee💗

#yelena belova #yelena belova x reader #yelena belova x female reader #yelena belova imagine #yelena black widow #yelena belova x you #marvel #marvel imagine #college au

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stevesbipanic · 2 months

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@steddieangstyaugust Day 8: Miscommunication

"I just don't know how to tell him, Robs."

Eddie didn't mean to eavesdrop, but he'd forgotten to grab a fresh towel before going to have a shower, he hadn't even known Steve was on the phone. But Steve had sounded worried talking and Eddie couldn't help himself, he always wanted to make sure his boyfriend was happy.

He couldn't hear what Robin said on the other line, but Steve's response was, "I don't want us to end up like my parents." Why would they end up like his parents? They were happy, weren't they?

Eddie had finished his tattoo apprenticeship, Steve was finishing college soon he was excited to start working in a school full-time, Eddie was seeing a bright future for them.

"I'm scared."

Scared? What was he scared of, of Eddie, their relationship?

Eddie couldn't listen to any more, moving quickly back to the bathroom, letting the water wash away his worries.

He tried not to think about it in the weeks that followed. Instead he focussed on work, on holding Steve close at night, on the sound of his voice, the shape of his smile. He wanted to commit it all to memory while he still could. Steve kept leaving in the afternoon, saying he was meeting up with Robin, which wasn't unusual but after that phone call Eddie couldn't help but worry.

It was a bad day at work that made it all come to a head. He'd had a girlfriend of a client come in and berate him for letting her boyfriend get a tattoo, his midday appointment went long and so he had to skip lunch and his car didn't start so his boss had to drop him home.

Steve is making dinner when he comes through the door, the radio is playing softly, the lights are turned low. Steve looks up and smiles at him and Eddie just breaks.

Steve's face quickly changes to one of concern as Eddie begins sobbing in their living room, quickly turning off the stove and taking Eddie's hands in his own.

"Eds, baby, what's wrong are you ok?"

Steve's voice is so soft, Eddie can't bear it. "I don't want to lose you," he cries into Steve's shoulder.

"Lose me? Eds, why would you lose me, I love you, just like you love me right?" Eddie's grip on Steve's fingers tighten, "I love you so much."

Steve pulls him closer, "Then why would you lose me? Did someone say something to you today?"

Eddie shakes his head, "I heard you on the phone to Robin, you said you had something to tell me, that you didn't want us to be like your parents, that you were scared."

Steve's eyes soften, "Eddie, love, you missed the most important part of that phone call." Eddie looked at him confused but Steve took a step back before bending down on one knee. That's when Eddie took in the rest of the room, the set table, the low lights really being candles, the fact that it was the 8th, their anniversary.

"Eds, I'm not just scared, I'm terrified, but you make me feel brave just because I know you love me. I don't want us to end up like my parents but every day you show me that we never will." Eddie is still crying, but for a completely different reason now.

"I do have something to tell you, I want to tell you that you're my person, my soulmate, my love and my future and most importantly I have something I want to ask you." Steve let go of one of Eddie's hands, reaching into his pocket pulling out a small box.

"I know we can't do it the legal way, but that has never really been your style anyway, so, Eddie Munson, will you make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?"

Eddie hopes the kiss he pulls Steve into is enough of an answer but like any misunderstanding going forward, he thinks they can figure it out, together.

#stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #steddieangstyaugust #trope thursday #miscommunication #angst

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nevernonline · 6 months

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✧.* he's all that; lsm mini series

✧.*synopsis: every year the kappa sorority hosted a 'hot or not' greek life pageant show. you've luckily escaped having to bring your own "nottie" to give a makeover to and train in hopes of winning a big prize for the rest of your crew. but, just when you thought your lucky streak was going strong your name get's chosen as a representative and your sisters had just the guy for you to make over.

part of my seventeen movie series.

paring: seokmin x reader (y/n uses she/her pronouns.)

genre/s: fluff, strangers2lvrs, neighbors2lvrs or whatever.

warning/s: alcohol mentions, swearing, cigarette mentions, swearing, some pg-13 jokes. no funny business iykyk. lots of mean girls (rip)

word count: 4.2k

note: im notorious atp for not editing, pls. this edition of nmm is inspired by a true classic she's all that (w/ a bit of greek the tv show/sydney white energy if any of u have ever seen ALSO classics, this was supposed to be one part, BUT! I feel myself getting so carried away so … three parts.) i was going to post my gwag update today but im gonna wait till either tomorrow or Tuesday <3.

beginning ▸ middle ▸ end.

Y/n was dreading the meeting she walked through the front doors of the sorority for this afternoon, the pageant. Kappa and all the other sororities on Greek row participated in what they call ‘Hot or Not’ every year since supposedly the 1980’s something her now head sister Heather claims was started by the legacy that was her mother. Which maybe was true, but y/n could never figure out why it mattered? And while it was fun it was a little bit old school.

“Hey, girls. Everyone settled in? We have a very exciting tradition here at Kappa as you may know.”

The cheers rang through the sitting room, with its white walls, pale pink carpets, and sherpa couches, the cheers and claps of girls hoping Heather draws their name from the glass bowl with her perfectly manicured finger tips.

“Yes. It’s so exciting, we have a few new faces so since you haven’t been a part of this week in past years we left you out of the bowl, but we will have many things for you to participate in this week. Like dine and dash, our famous Good as Gold party, and of course judging the competition at the end of the week. Before we get to the drawing, I wanted to congratulate our last year's winner, Suni. Give it up for her.”

Smiling, y/n clapped along with the other girls, giving Suni her flowers. About to step out behind the two french doors to grab a water or something to drink, when you hear Heather call your name loudly. All of your other sisters and friends spinning around watching her looking like she was attempting to escape the reality of her name being the one chosen after three years of getting out of it.

“y/n! Finally, Come back here, girly.”

Walking through the clapping crown y/n took her place next to the blonde and pretended to smile with excitement as her gut was telling her it was absolutely the worst day of her life.

The only reason y/n was in this sorority was to get extra college credits, that and Heather and her mother met here and have been friends since that very day. Heather was obsessed with being a legacy and clawing her way to the top of the food chain at the university. Y/n was just there for the ride.

“Everyone, you all obviously know my very good friend and our smartest sister, y/n. I personally have been waiting for the day she got chosen out of this bowl. It’s something our moms, co-vp’s of their 1980’s class of Kappas have been talking about for years. So I’m just as excited as I’m sure y/n is to be our guiding light to another victory this year. Anything to say, y/n?”

“Uh, not really, you said it all.”

Another big fake smile appeared on her face. Laughing and giggling at all the congratulations coming her way.

“Girls, before we enjoy our lunch. Don’t forget tonight is dine and dash, please find your dates and bring them to Carol’s Diner at 8pm. See you there.”

Checking the time on your phone you had roughly 45 minutes before your lecture and enough time to take off the gaudy Kappa logo’d sweater you had to put on for what Heather calls “official business.”

“Y/n what are you checking the time for? We have a lot to do today.”

“I have a class in 40 minutes, I have to go back and change.”

“I don’t get why you won't just move back in here with us?”

“I told you, Heather. I can't. I have to focus on getting into Med School and no offense to you or the other girls, but this isn’t exactly the best place for me to focus when I have to study.”

“Med School can wait just one day right? We have to set up the table at Carol’s and set up for the party later. Would you mind going with the new girl Sam to grab the alcohol? And then you can meet me back here and we will go to the diner together. I’m going to have the girls go out and look for some Nottie’s for you today before that whale from Delta picks them all up. “

“No, but-”

“Thank you! Love you!”

“Also her name is not Sam, It’s Soyeon.”

“Okay got it, toodleoo.”

Searching the house for the person and so called new girl, Sam you stumbled upon her sitting out on the back patio writing in her journal.

“Soyeon?”

“Oh, hey y/n.

“Hey, sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“No, you didn’t. I’m just so used to everyone calling me Sam I forget people know that it’s actually not.”

“Yeah, it took Heather a whole year to not call Suni, Sunny and everyone just kind of follows her suit.”

“I thought you had class? I didn’t know you were still here.”

“I do. It’s just a lecture on the importance of mammograms and breast cancer research so, I guess it’s okay. I can just find it somewhere online.”

“Ready to head out?”

“Would you hate me if we stopped at my dorm? I cannot wear this fucking sweater for more than an hour or I may spontaneously combust.”

“Yeah, I don’t want to be seen with you in public while you’re wearing that.”

“I appreciate your honesty.”

“You should.”

Y/n and Soyeon escaped the general excitement of the rest of the girls by escaping out the outdoor gate and walked viciously together to change the heinous sweater on y/n’s back.

Turning the corner to finally reach the hall her single dorm room lived at the end of, she ran into a tall boy who’s books scattered all across the floor, a boy she had never once run into literally and physically.

“I'm so sorry.”

“No, no I’m sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“You’re y/n right?”

“Yes? Why?”

“Oh, no. Nothing like that. I live across the hall from you. I see your name tag on your door all the time and all the photos of you from all your friends. Which now that I’m talking makes me sound like even more of a weirdo? I’m sorry. I’m Seokmin, my friends call me DK or Dokyeom , whatever. And now I’m rambling, please stop me.”

“No, you’re okay. Can we at least just get off the floor now?”

“Yes.”

Seokmin or Dokyeom whatever his real name actually is, crawled off the floor and stuck his hand out to you for assistance pulling your pink colored body off the floor.

“This is my friend, Soyeon.”

“Sorority sisters?”

“Wait. How’d you know? Oh, fuck the sweater. Don’t tell anyone you saw me wearing this, I know where you live.”

“Don’t worry, I never will. But, sorry to uh, cut this meeting short I have to get to class. I’ll see you again, I’m sure. Bye, nice meeting you y/n. And you too, Soyeon.”

“Bye.”

In unison you and Soyeon watched the tall boy walk towards the elevators. Both of you have differing expressions of looks on your face, one of pure enjoyment watching the awkward interaction and one of pure dumbfoundedness.

“He’s cute.”

Soyeon brought you out of staring at the boy walking away and stepping into the elevator, throwing his fingers up waving goodbye while clutching his mounds of books in his hands.

“What?”

“I said he’s cute and he’s your neighbor. Lucky girl.”

“Oh. Yeah, I can’t believe I’ve never met him before.”

“Why don’t you ask him out?”

“We just met. Plus, I’m busy with school and now this stupid pageant. I don’t have time for cute boys.”

“I’m sure you can make it work.”

Unlocking your door and letting Soyeon in before you so you can sneak a peek at his front door in front of yours. Plain, just a few funny messages and cute stickers of tangerines and tigers pasted on his whiteboard. Maybe he already has a girlfriend? But a boy like that with that many books is probably much like you and had no time for dating.

“Wait. Y/N your room is so nice? Maybe I should move out of the house. It’s loud as fuck anyway.”

“Why are you in the sorority? I’m not judging because I was basically dragged into it too. I’m just curious?”

“My mom always wanted me to join. She said it’s a good way to find friends, I always had a hard time making them. So I figured why not?”

“Got it. Makes sense.”

“What about you? You also don’t serve sorority girl to me.”

“Because my mom also got me to join, that’s actually how I know Heather. Our moms were co-captains of the sorority at some point in the 80’s.”

“Oh, so you’ve known her your whole life?”

“Mhm.”

“No offense or anything, but she’s… kind of a bitch.”

“Kind of? It’s only gotten worse since she’s been in charge. She was okay when we were younger, but you know.”

Slipping out of your jeans and sweater, you threw on a black pair of pleated pants and a loose white button down.

“Also you have tattoos and a sick body, stop dressing like an old woman.”

“I could never pull off what you wear? You’re so cool and confident.”

“Promise me. One party this year you’ll let me pick out something to wear?”

“Okay.”

“You’re very trusting.”

“What? You’re going to make me wear a hot pink dress and try to dye my hair blonde too?”

“Hell no.”

“Exactly.”

Hours passed on as you were getting to know Soyeon more, a part of you realized what you had been missing meeting girls outside of your own circle at school.

People who share your interests and enjoy talking about things other than clothes, shoes, and boys.

It was actually the least stressed you’ve been around someone at the sorority in a long time. Almost like a breath of fresh air.

Getting out of the Uber you took filled to the brim with alcohol and snacks, you were back at the big White House at the end of the street. Not a flaw in sight. Almost like it wasn’t a real reality.

“Should we ditch the diner? We could always go see my friend play at the bar across campus instead?”

“I would love nothing more, but Heather will have my head shaved or something.”

“Okay, well when we ditch later we can head there.”

“It’s a date.”

“Ew, you’re so corny. Save it for your new lover boy across the hall.”

“Shut up.”

Soyeon and you laughed, dragging the last box up the stairs into the foyer of the house. Met with the blonde at the bottom of the stairs.

“There you guys are! I was going to send a search and rescue team to come for you if you didn’t show up soon.”

“We got a little distracted. Sorry.”

“No problem. You’re here now, Sam go up and get ready, I’ll help y/n from here.”

“Okay.”

Soyeon or Sam, picked her poison and shoved down Heather still calling her by the wrong name and walked up to her room to change and get ready for the rest of her night. While you were stuck unpacking the boxes.

“Y/n. Don’t forget to look out for the boys everyone brings tonight. We can pick one from the litter for your Nottie.”

“Look, Heather-“

“I know what you’re going to say and don’t even think about asking me if you can drop out of the pageant, okay?”

“I just don’t think it’s worth it or fair anymore, why don’t we just get the other frat guys to do it? Like Mingyu or Wonwoo, Johnny? I don’t know. I don’t want to make anyone feel uncomfortable.”

“You raise a good point. And it gives me an idea.”

“Which is?”

“We have the other frats competing too, we’ll get more payout and the three uglies will be more profitable than ever for us. You’re so smart.”

“That’s not wha-“

“Ah! I’m so lucky to have you. I’ll let everyone know.”

Heather bounced off into the other room, texting rapidly with her manicured hands on her cell phone, making the fire bigger.

With your head spinning around and around you don’t even remember walking your way to the diner waiting for the freshman girls to bring their guys along to the large table set for someone’s embarrassment.

Taking a seat near the end of the table next to Soyeon and Heather on your other side, you sat and sipped at the Diet Coke in front of you, feeling your mix of anxiety and angel swirling in your stomach and begging for something a little stronger.

“Are you feeling okay?”

Soyeon leaned over and whispered into your ear, seeing the look on your face and noticing your obvious quietness.

“I’ll tell you after.”

“Okay, if you want to go early, let me know.”

“I will”

Heather had her vulture eyes on, waiting to see which she would inevitably have embarrassed by the groups around you with no remorse.

She looked into your eyes and signaled to a cute shy boy across the table, sitting and picking at his nails, making it clear she had made her mark.

“Let me use the bathroom first okay?”

“Yeah, of course. You wouldn’t want to miss it.”

“Right.”

Walking briskly into the old blue stalls in the bathroom, which you didn't even really have to use, but just needed an excuse to go somewhere and release your anxiety.

“Y/n? Hey. Y/n?”

Seeing Soyeon’s platform heels under the bottom of the stall door you jumped up and swung your head out of the blue metal.

“What?”

“Remember that guy you met today?”

“Yes, of course why?”

“He’s here.”

“Someone brought him?”

“No. He’s here with his two friends and Heather invited them to the table. One of them is that dude that’s friends with Mingyu with the that acts like a tiger, the hot nerdy one, and the other one is just some hot short buff guy, never seen him before. Anyway, We either have to get out of here right now or stay and hide in here until they're gone.” L

“Why don’t we just go-“

“No. I don’t want him to think you’re a bitch? Are you crazy? You can’t go dunking on nerds in front of three hot dudes?”

“Okay let’s go.”

As the two of you tried to make your exit from the ladies room you heard commotion outside in the dining room, so you both slipped back quickly into the bathroom, locking the door for some reason as you head the chairs scooting and the bell ringing meaning people were slipping out on one of the boys at the table.

“You think they're gone?”

“Yeah. I hear the sink running in the men’s room, come on.”

As you walked out of the bathroom in front of you Seokmin was sitting at the table covered in a turkey club sandwich looking at the long tab Heather left for him.

“Hey, what are you doing here?”

“Your ‘sisters’ dumped a sandwich on me and left the tab? Do you guys do this a lot?”

“It’s just some stupid shit Heather came up with when she became president. Me and y/n were hiding in the bathroom so we could come and pay the tab. But, you got to it first.”

“Right.”

Not saying anything and standing in your tracks cold, you watched as Soyeon took the check from his hands and waved you on to help him as she went up to pay.

“She dumped her food on you?”

“Yeah, my friends and I were just coming for takeout. I saw Soyeon so I went to say hi and she wanted to come get you. But the blonde girl,”

“Heather.”

“Yeah, Heather. She told me to sit down for a second and my friends went back to their dorm so they could keep studying and deliver food to some other guys. She was okay at first, but once Soyeon left she dumped her soda and sandwich on me and when I came back they were all gone.”

“I’m so sorry? Let me get you dry cleaning money or something.”

“No, don’t worry about it. I can handle it. I’m glad you two were here though, I don’t have my wallet on me. Are you okay though? Have you been crying?”

“I’m fine, just had a moment.”

The small black haired girl popped back over, tucking her card back into her wallet and smiling at the two of you sitting and talking with Seokmin covered in an orange beverage, a little bit of lettuce stuck in his hair.

“Want to come to a party?”

“If it’s at the sorority then sorry, no thanks.”

“No. It’s just some of my friends from the music department. They’re playing a show at O’Malley’s.”

“I don’t think orange soda is really a good look for a party.”

“That’s okay, y/n has to go change too. You guys just meet me there? I’m going to head out and get us a table.”

“Well I do owe you guys both a drink. So, sure.”

“Oh, and Seokmin?”

“Yeah?”

“Make sure y/n actually comes back out, she’s hard to get her hands on.”

“Of course.”

Walking back to your somewhat shared dorm, you and Seokmin walked in silence past greek row, watching all the girls running around to get ready for a greeting ceremony to the frat houses as escorts to their party.

The boy looked at you up and down, imagining you inside one of those grand houses gossiping and dishing on sister life just trying to figure out why you joined in the first place, your friend included.

Reaching your destination with only smiles and small giggles shared between the two of you on the walk over, you both slid into your dorm rooms and found clothes that were far more suitable for a night out.

You noticed the black tank top Soyeon had pointed out before and slid it on, matching it with a pair of dark ripped jeans and your go-to loafers, sliding back into the hallway, finding Seokmin on the other side of the door waiting for you.

He was somehow on your wavelength wearing an oversized black t-shirt and jeans.

“I figured I should try to match Soyeon's aesthetic somehow.”

“Me too. You look nice, I like your shoes.”

“Thank you.”

“Shall we?”

“Yes. I definitely need a drink.”

“So, y/n what is your drink of choice.”

“Anything strong and not sweet.”

“Oh, so not me then.”

“Shut up.”

Seokmin made you laugh, there was no way a boy like him was not taken or at least could be interested in you.

“Have you and Soyeon been friends for long? You guys seem close.”

“Actually, not really. We hung out for the first time today. I mean, I’ve seen her at parties and stuff, but she’s sort of been like a breath of fresh air for me.”

“Really? I’m surprised by that. Why are you in the sorority anyway? You don’t exactly have the same.. Vibe? Or whatever as the other girls. Especially the ones I met today.”

“My mom. The girl. Heather. Soda spiller, her mom and mine were friends when we were kids, they're legacy members. So I just thought it would be fun, but now.. I don’t feel that way.”

“Can’t you just quit?”

“I guess.”

“Why don’t you want to?”

“I guess I just want to be someone who sees things through. I also can’t offer Heather the satisfaction of knowing I left.”

“She really is that bad huh?”

“Worse. It’s a long story. Can we table it?”

“Of course.”

Reaching the door of the bar, you caught a glimpse of Soyeon’s shoulder tattoo near the stage, through the large crowd of people mingling.

“Go. I’ll order us drinks and meet you there?”

“You sure?”

“You said you needed it right?”

“What about your wallet?”

“Apple pay, y/n. Duh.”

“Your ID?”

“My friend is the bartender, just go.”

“So sassy.”

Walking your way through the crowd by pushing yourself through other bodies you finally reach the girl on the other side and wrap your arm around her waist as a hello.

“What the- Oh my god, you actually came? You look so hot. I’m proud.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s fine. Where’s the puppy?”

“At the bar grabbing drinks.”

“On the leash already? You’re good.”

“No. He’s just nice.”

“True. But, he also likes you.”

“I don’t think it’s like that, but maybe someday you’ll tell me I told you so.”

“I look forward to it. I saved you guys a table.”

“My girl.”

Soyeon gestured her long manicured fingers behind you, noticing the boy making his way with two glasses in his hands and another tall figure following behind him holding a tray with various things on top.

“Hi, Soyeon.”

“Hi, Keom. Thank you for joining us. Who’s the glasses?”

“My friend Wonwoo, he works here, well he just got off. Is it cool if he joins us?”

“Of course.”

“Nice to meet you, Wonwoo. I’m y/n.”

“Hey.”

“So. Since I didn’t get to ask Soyeon what she wanted and I wasn’t entirely sure what you liked. We brought over options. But, we have to finish them all because Wonwoo was nice enough to gift them to us and it’s unfair to not accept gifts.”

“Very charming.”

You made your second flirty comment of the night to Seokmin, even though your sober self normally isn’t entirely as bold as you find yourself being with him now. But, in all fairness you were just trying to catch his vibe. He didn’t respond verbally, but just scrunched his nose in your direction almost as if he was letting you know that he’s interested.

“First, a simple vodka soda, little lemon, then just a couple of beer options, this is a sour, this is just a simple light beer, and an ipa, which ew, but I think Wonwoo likes, some tequila shots and some lemon drop shots, also a whiskey soda and a jack and coke, and then a uh, gin and tonic i think? Right, Woo?”

“Yeah, maybe you should be the bartender, Seokmin.”

“I have other talents.”

All eight of your hands reach every which way around the table and end up with different drinks sat in front of them, you beelined for the vodka and the sour beer, Soyeon went for the whiskey soda and the tequila, Seokmin for the gin and tonic and light beer, and Wonwoo for the jack and coke and the ipa.

“Who wants what shot?”

Soyeon dipped her arm back to the middle of the table covering her eyes with her opposite hand, grabbing a hold of the small glasses very carefully and placing them around the small group.

“There. Decided for you, me and Wonwoo get tequila and you and Seokmin get lemon.”

Smiling widely at your friend next to you, you grabbed a hold of the shot glass and held it up signaling everyone to cheers. Which they all happily obliged.

Soon after the alcohol was going through your bloodstream the band started playing their music that hit you right in the chest, songs about living your life to the fullest and choosing your own path, much to your surprise Soyeon was the one who wrote the music that spoke to your soul.

After the set ended, Wonwoo and Soyeon wanted to stay back and have a few more drinks to congratulate their friends, and enjoy their night, but you were beat thinking about all the work you still had to do over the weekend and dreading the choice of man Heather would embarrass. So you decided to leave with Seokmin walking you back safely to your dorm.

“What are you studying again?”

“Me? Oh, I’m studying to be a veterinarian.”

“Wow really? That’s cool, I didn’t know. You must be busy as hell.”

“I’m sure you’re just as busy, being a doctor for actual humans is way more complicated considering a lot of them are assholes.”

“That’s unfortunately true. But, I love it to be honest. I can understand why people are afraid of the hospital and surgery I guess.”

“That’s good, maybe we should study together sometime? I know it’s not the same exact thing or whatever, but it’s nice to have company?”

“I would love that, tomorrow? I mean if you’re free. We can go to the coffee shop or library or anything really?”

“Yeah, just knock around 10?”

“Okay. Cool. I’ll see you tomorrow??”

“Yes, absolutely. Have a good night, y/n”

“You too, Seok.”

Trying to get comfortable in your bed, some pesky person kept lighting up your phone screen, reaching over to turn on do not disturb you and realized it was Heather. She was asking a bunch of interrogating questions about your new friend Seokmin, begging you to bring him over tomorrow.

Unfortunately for you, you knew her interest in him was about to make your new relationship a very complicated one.

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twstgarden · 1 year

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✿ ❝ 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱 ❞

━ cater diamond x gn! reader ━ cater was your best friend in night raven college and you love him dearly - platonically, but he holds deeper feelings for you past the label of a friend.

f/n stands for first name.

do not steal or translate without my permission.

it was another day in twisted wonderland when you walked down the halls of night raven college with a certain heartslabyul third year. he was chatting about the latest trend on magicam and he asked if he could do it with you. the trend? it was a short q&a video wherein the audio consists of questions, and people - usually a pair - would answer them.

"alright, i can do the trend with you. during lunch break?"

cater beamed and nodded at you, humming in response as he waved his phone. "yup! we have two classes before lunch, so... see ya later then!"

you nodded at him with a smile, waving at him as he waved back at you while walking to the other side of the hall to where his class was. you had history and astrology as your two remaining classes before lunch while cater had mathematics and alchemy, so you two had to separate ways for now.

after your classes, you were in the cafeteria with a bunch of heartslabyul students as you had your lunches together. cater was seated beside you as you both talked about random things, that is until he pulled out his phone and said, "let's do the trend!"

he then propped his phone up on the table with the camera on, ensuring the two of you were in view. after that, he pressed play and while recording, the audio of the trend was also playing, which gave you two a live reaction to the questions being asked.

while you two were doing the trend, trey was minding his own business, having his own lunch while listening to the conversation that ace and deuce had every now and then - since they sat with them for today.

"who cries the most during a movie?"

that was the first question those at your table had heard. both you and cater started answering the question by pointing to one another on who would most likely cry while watching a movie.

"who is most likely to get magicam famous?"

you pointed at cater while smiling at the camera.

"who is most likely to friend zone someone?"

cater pointed at you, to which you reacted with a playfully offended gasp.

"who checks their social media first thing in the morning?"

you pointed at cater.

"and finally, a lighthearted question. who loves the other more?"

a soft chuckle left your lips as you heard that, pointing to yourself as you claimed to love cater the most, and he was pointing at himself, too.

of course, you love cater, he was your best friend on the entire campus and he certainly loves you as well, except his love extends past the platonic light that you seem to have for him.

but you obviously do not know that.

trey heard the question, which made him look up at the two of you. the vice leader noticed the way cater avoided his gaze while laughing softly as he placed an arm around your shoulder, which made trey glance at you as if he was aware of a little secret that cater hides from you.

cater took his phone and started editing the video before posting it to magicam, stating the hashtags that he typed down out loud so you could hear, and then tagging you in the video as well.

as soon as it was posted, a slight vibration was felt in your pocket as you took out your phone which showed a notification of cater's post that you were tagged in. the two of you then chatted for a while until it was time to head back to your afternoon class, so the two of you parted ways once again.

cater and trey walked to their next class together as they both had astrology as their first class for the afternoon. while walking, cater was reading the comments on the video that he posted recently and trey did not fail to notice this. the last question in the audio replayed in his mind as he asked, "have you thought about confessing?"

cater was caught off guard by his question, looking at him with a surprised expression before laughing it off, "pfft... what are you talking about? why would i confess to f/n?"

"...i never said it was f/n."

trey had an amused smile, wanting to chuckle at cater's reaction as he immediately shut his mouth for a bit before letting out a sigh, "ah... i've been caught..."

"it was fairly obvious. have you thought about confessing your feelings to them?" asked trey as he continued walking down the halls with cater.

the third year let out a hum as he said, "nah, i don't want to confess. i prefer things as they are right now." trey gave him a quick, knowing glance as he replied, "uh-huh... if you say so..."

"and besides, they only see me as a friend," muttered cater under his breath, trying to keep up his smile. maybe what he told trey was a lie, maybe he did have thoughts of you two being an item. would you go out with him to cafés and share a drink together? would you proudly show him off on social media? would you two take plenty of pictures together?

would you actually accept his feelings?

unfortunately for cater, he will never know. he will never find the chance to confess, much less get the courage to do so. he will never know the answer to whether or not you actually hold romantic feelings for him.

it will just be another secret that he gets to keep until his last breath.

#this seems rlly short #but here #have cay-kun #i might open reqs soon #thank u for all the love and messages!#disney twst #disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland #twst #twisted wonderland x you #twisted wonderland x reader #cater diamond #twst cater #cater diamond x reader #cater x reader #angst #twisted wonderland angst #twst angst

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winter-leftovers · 1 year

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Til The End Of Eternity || Chapter seven Forget me not (7/?)

(Douxie Casperan x f!reader)

Summary: Y/n is trying to figure her life out but is going to be hard since her brother is the new trollhunter and she is plagued by dreams and feelings she doesn’t understand.

Chapter Summary: Y/n and Douxie go on a date. Barbara is worried about her children.

Word count: 2004

Warnings: nono

(Season 1 Episodes 11/12/13)

Song?: Los caminos de la vida by Vicentico

Previous - Next

Masterlist

Myosotis, commonly known as “forget-me-not”, symbolizes hope for everlasting love, remembrance, true and enduring love, trust, and faithfulness.

Y/n looked at herself in the rusty mirror for what it felt like the thousandth time, while she brushed her hair with her fingers.

After Douxie left, time seemed to change. Her shift went so fast and so slow at the same time. She felt her stomach turn like the chicken she had for lunch. Her body and her mind couldn’t believe she had a date with the only person who could make her nervous: Douxie.

She stepped back and saw Jim’s old Gun Robot shirt. She cursed herself for choosing today to use it.

“I think you should clean yourself up before coming to work, you know?” Randy joked from the door of the small bathroom.

“Not funny” Y/n twirl around judging her outfit, again.

“Where’re you going?”

“Douxie invited me for coffee” she mumbled.

“What?” Randy put a hand on his ear and got closer.

“Douxie invited me to get coffee after my shift” she said a little louder.

Randy laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Y/n looked back at him with her arms crossed. She usually didn’t care about Randy’s teasing but today, her nervousness had killed all the fun in her.

“I was right!” He clapped.

Y/n raised an eyebrow

“Come on! Congratulate me for noticing! I never catch this stuff” he laughed.

She rolled her eyes and returned to the mirror.

“Stop looking at yourself in the mirror. You are going to make a hole on it” he put his arm around her shoulders and took her out of the bathroom “You look great! It’s going to go great!”

“You think?” She looked at him hopeful.

Y/n always considered herself a loner. She had never felt a connection with anyone, romantic or just platonic. Not in high school, not in college. Eventually she gave up. She had all the people she needed: Barbara, Jim, Toby and Nana. She didn’t need anyone else. But when she came back to Arcadia and started working at the shop, Randy made his way through the walls she had built.

“Of course! Just one thing, a small, tiny thing” they walked to the counter “Don’t leave in the middle of the date just because your brother calls you”

“What!?”

“Come on, Y/n! I know you! And I’ve seen you lately. Every time Jim calls, you drop everything!”

“He’s my little brother” she left the embrace.

“I know! But you should have some fun without Jim sometimes” he grabbed her by the shoulders “Have fun with someone your age for once! Outside me of course!”

“Aren’t you like thirty?” She joked.

“Hey! I’m the lovely and young age of twenty seven” Randy went behind the counter.

Y/n sighed. She knew Randy was right. Lately everything had been about Jim and the trolls, maybe distracting herself a little would help.

Right?

“There he is” Randy pointed to the window.

Y/n turned around and saw Douxie walking to the door.

“Have fun but not more fun than with me and be safe” Randy said quickly and disappeared in the back.

Douxie knocked on the closed door.

Y/n took a deep breath trying to calm her nerves.

“Hey” she smiled.

“Hello, love” Douxie smiled back with all the confidence he didn’t have this afternoon “Ready?”

“Ready” she fixed the strap of her bag and closed the door behind her.

Douxie looked so beautiful under the dusk light. His dark hair dancing with the breeze, his beautiful hazel eyes looking at her. Y/n was transfixed

“I brought you this” he gave her three little flowers.

“Forget me nots’” she chuckled.

“Yeah, I wanted to buy you an actual bouquet but I wasn’t sure what flowers you’d like” he scratched the back of his head.

Y/n laughed to herself “This is a good pick. I love forget me nots” she caressed the three small flowers “My mom told me this story when I was little about these flowers being named that because they were afraid of being forgotten by god. After hearing that, I became obsessed with the flower. I don’t know. Something about that story really moved little six years old me” Y/n turned and saw Douxie smiling at her.

“Sorry. I got weird” she fake laughed.

“No, it’s okay. I get it” he sounded soft. Softer than Y/n ever heard him.

“So, where do you wanna go?” She changed the subject trying to move on from the awkwardness she felt.

“Follow me”

—

The sun was long gone. Douxie and Y/n climbed to the ceiling of Douxie’s bookstore. Between some sweets and the most delicious tea Y/n ever tasted, they talked about everything. Douxie told her about his friends, the band and moving to Arcadia. Y/n told him about her family, her music and how she didn’t know where her life was supposed to go. She couldn’t stop the words from falling. In any other circumstance she wouldn’t talk so much, but Douxie, Douxie was different. He made her feel comfortable, at ease to talk about anything. Anything. At times, she felt like she had to stop herself from telling him about the secret she’s been keeping.

In contrast with the date, the walk home was quiet. It wasn’t an awkward silence, it was comfortable. They walked side by side observing the view Arcadia had to offer, the calmness that existed during the night.

“This is me” Y/n pointed to her door.

They stopped and looked at each other.

“I had fun” she smiled.

“Me too” he mirrored her and took one step forward “I hope we can do it again” he took her hand.

“Me too” she breathed.

Y/n and Douxie were so close that their noses touched.

“What are you doing?” The door swung open.

Douxie and Y/n jumped back. Douxie grabbed Y/n by the waist and pushed her close.

“Jesus, Jim” Y/n screamed taking a step forward “What are you doing?!”

“Oh, sorry, Y/n! I thought you were a gob…”

Y/n moved to the side so her little brother could see she wasn’t alone.

“Oh, hey” Jim frowned.

“Sorry about him” Y/n pushed Jim into the house with her hand.

“Don’t worry” Douxie smiled, his cheeks were still rosy “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah” she smiled.

“Ugh!” Jim was disgusted.

“Go back inside” she pushed Jim inside once more “I’m going to kill you” she whispered once Douxie was far enough.

—

“Master Jim, you must listen to me very carefully. They’ve captured me and want you to come to the Bridge…Alone. DON’T COME IT’S A TRAP” Blinky screamed .

“Give me that! It appears things have grown awkward, Mr Lake. Meet me in the alley beside the theater if you ever want to see your friend again” Strickler said

“DON’T OPEN THE BRIDGE!” Blinky screamed “UNDER NO CIRCUMSTAN…” and the voicemail was done.

“I’ve listened to it a hundred times now, and I still don’t know what to do” Jim sat in the hospital bed with scratches all over his face.

Last night, after Y/n went to bed, Jim left to take care of trollhunting business that end up in a fight with some goblins.

“You don’t have to do this alone. You’ve got Aaarrrgghh, Draal, Y/n, me” Toby said.

“They said I had to be alone. If I’m not, what do you think they’ll do to Blinky?” Asked Jim.

“Blinky made it clear ‘Under no circumstances’” Y/n reminded him.

“Enough friends have gotten hurt because of me. No more”

“Well, it’s your call. You’re the Trollhunter. Here” Toby handed the amulet back to him.

Y/n sighed

“I picked it up in the woods after they dragged you away. I thought since we found it together, we’d always be in this together”

“Hello, Toby” Barbara interrupted.

“Hey, Dr Lake. I was just leaving. He’s all yours” Toby smiled “ Can you believe it? Coyotes!” He added before finally leaving.

Y/n pinched her nose.

“You have good friends. One even stayed by your side all night” Barbara walked to Jim’s bed and sat at the feet of it by Y/n side.

“Toby is a great…”

“Actually, it was a girl. She said her name was Claire” Barbara corrected.

Y/n wiggle her eyebrows at Jim who was dumbstruck.

“I want you to talk to me and I expect to hear the truth. What were you doing in the woods?” Barbara spoke again.

Y/n sat a little straighter and looked at her brother. She couldn’t help him out on this one.

“Well, Claire thought she heard her brother crying in the woods, so we went in, but it was this pack of crazy coyotes and…”

“The truth, Jim.” His mother interrupted his rambling “Those scratches weren’t from coyotes”

“I swear! You can ask Claire!” He insisted.

“Stop lying to me!” Barbara stood up and looked through the window “You come home from school covered in bruises, sneak out in the middle of the night, get arrested for a silly Chubby Tracker?”

“I know you’re angry but..” Jim lifted his hands and Barbara took them

“Angry? I’m not angry and I’m long past worried. I’m terrified!”

Y/n lowered her gaze. She was so consumed in her apparent loss of memory and worrying about Jim that forgot that her mother.

“I found this in a cookbook” she took out an envelope from her coat. It was Jim’s letter.

“It’s…still sealed” Jim said

“Whatever is happening, whatever it is you’re afraid to say. I want you to tell me, face to face” she put the letter on his lap “Believe it or not, there was a time when you used to share everything with me. Both of you” she caressed Jim’s cheek and grabbed Y/n’s hand.

The siblings looked at each other and lowered their gaze.

“Fine” she stood up “If that’s the way you feel, your doctor has discharged you, Mr Lake. Good luck at the play” she left.

“Mom, I’m sorry” Jim pleaded but her mother couldn’t hear him.

—

Y/n sat in the audience, swinging her left foot back and forth, waiting for the play to start, or at least that was what the people passing by could see. In reality, Y/n was waiting for her brother and friends to return from a dangerous crusade.

Jim, Toby, Draal and Aaarrrgghh were rescuing Blinky while she maintained the appearances at the school’s play. Her anxiety was kicking at her ribcage, her right thumbnail almost gone from the constant biting. Nothing could calm her. She wanted to go and fight alongside her brother to keep him safe, but after what happened earlier with her mom, someone had to keep up with the image. Being the one waiting was killing her. Her brain was filling itself with awful scenarios. Bular was strong, powerful and had many years of training over the trollhunters. Everything could go terribly wrong.

She imagines herself running to the bridge and stabbing Bular with a sword from the exhibit giving an end to all of this. No more stress. No more nightmares of Jim dying. Jim could be a normal kid.

Fortunately, Jim showed up on time and with the news of Bular’s slaying. Y/n felt her lungs fill with air more easily. This wasn’t the end. Jim was still the Trollhunter and more dangers were ahead but tonight, everyone would sleep a little better

A/n: fun fact ig?: I didn’t know the existence of the forget me not until i played the arcana! (And got obsessed with muriel 👀) also read the little story on a fan fic long ago so idk if it's a common story or not. It popped up in my head while writing. Also, the selection for the song on this one was so complicated 😭😭 I didn’t want to put a song in spanish but it is the one that fit the most. Look up the lyrics, is a beautiful song

#douxie x reader #tales of arcadia #douxie #hisirdoux casperan #hisirdoux x reader #trollhunters #toa #my writing #Til The End Of Eternity

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prfctparis · 10 months

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I’d Give You My Lungs So You Could Breathe (I’ve Got You, Brother) CH4

AO3 Link / One / Prev / Next / Masterlist

summary:

Danny Fenton was adopted at age ten, with little to no memories about his former family. At age fourteen, he died yet lived and those memories began to return. He didn’t do anything about those memories – didn’t plan to, at least not yet – but then he got captured by the GIW, saved by his friends and someone who might be his sister who he only somewhat remembered, and taken to Gotham to, apparently, his biological father for safety until further notice.

Team Phantom was there, too, and they did not sign up for this family drama.

a/n:

i am so sorry for such the long wait!! but here’s ch4 finally lmao hope you guys enjoy :)

warnings for entire fic:

canon-typical violence of the DC variety; angst; memory loss/repressed memories; do i need to say major character death(s) or is that just a given for this fandom; questionable parenting tho every parent is trying to do good & care for the kids; implied/referenced past child abuse bc of the child assassin backgrounds; pls tell me if i missed something

CHAPTER SPECIFIC WARNINGS: Alfred tells Bruce of Danny’s injuries, but nothing in explicit detail

CHAPTER FOUR —

Tonight did not go the way Bruce thought it would.

The day started out peaceful enough. For his family, that was. Tim had stayed the night after patrol rather than heading back to his place in the city, so he and Damian, both half asleep still, had gotten into a snarky quarrel about cereal bowls, of all things. Apparently there was favorite bowl; it was the perfect size and depth. Damian woke up first, grabbed it, and Tim became grouchy when he discovered that.

Bruce had then taken the bowl away when they wouldn’t stop arguing about it, handed it to Duke who had entered the kitchen at that exact moment, and continued on to get a plate of French toast that Alfred had made and a large mug of coffee. He dutifully ignored his sons’ complaints while his other son just went along with what had just happened.

Then Alfred took Duke and Damian to school, Stephanie appeared out of nowhere to drag Tim into helping her study for college finals that were coming up, and Cass regularly sent him pictures of Hong Kong as a means to let him know every thing was going smoothly for the case that had lead her back over there. Bruce called Dick during his lunch hour at WE, tried to get out of an afternoon meeting only for Lucious and Tim (who was now only a partial shareholder instead of the majority shareholder, since that went back to Bruce) to drag him to it anyway, and told Jason that he might have found something to aid him in one of his cases through e-mail because, once again, Jason had blocked his number.

Bruce had no idea what warranted it this time, and he was hesitant to ask.

All in all, it was a normal day. He might even describe it as a good day. So, of course, he expected patrol to be hell. Maybe a breakout of some sort; an intense hostage situation; one of his children getting majorly injured again; a near death experience or two. Possibly more than one of those, or even all of them. That was what Bruce Wayne – Batman – expected.

Not this.

Not Damian having two secret, older, biological siblings.

Not a group of kids in their late teens obviously on the run, brave faced but scared.

Not a daughter finding him on a random roof on the verge of a panic attack, brave façade crumbling with the fear her brothers weren’t okay.

Not a son no older than eighteen having been vivisected by someone Bruce has yet to find out, and warranting Alfred to perform emergency surgery on him.

After Damian, Bruce swore he was done. No more kids for him; the children and pseudo-children he had were enough. The amount of love he had for them was immeasurable, and with them – because of them – Bruce had a mountain of happiness in his life among all the other shitty and dark valleys of depression and torment.

Now he’s learned Talia had lied yet again.

First, about having a miscarriage back when she had been pregnant with Damian. Second, about how before that, from their first meeting five years prior, she already had twins.

His twins.

Damian had also lied, yet he had been told to do so and promised to by his older sister herself. And he had no idea why.

It occurred to him, then, that Jason knew as well. He recognized Damian’s sister on the roof.

It hurt to know that they knew yet didn’t tell him. Everything about the current situation hurt, if he was to be honest.

“My name is Athanasia al Ghul,” Bruce’s daughter, introduced herself as he helped clean, re-bandage, and stitch her injuries. “My twin– our brother… He was born Dányál al Ghul, but he got adopted when he was ten. Legally, his name is now Daniel Fenton. He goes by Danny most of the time.”

It was surreal. Bruce had to keep himself from questioning her until he got answers – about her, Danny, why Talia never mentioned either of them, why Athanasia told Damian to keep them a secret, what and who they were running from and why, and tens of others. It wasn’t hard to do, but the urge was still there.

Making sure his daughter (he had another daughter) got some much needed medical attention took precedence over that.

For now, he would merely let her speak to him on her own terms.

“Do you have a preferred name you go by?” Bruce asked, because his eldest went by ‘Dick’ and Tim hated it when ‘Timothy’ was used and Steph only let ‘Stephanie’ slide if the person was a stranger and Cass didn’t care one way or another, but she did seem to like when the family used the shortened version of her name more. If Athanasia wanted a specific name or nickname used, he planned to use it.

“My brothers called me ‘Ana’ sometimes,” she said. “Hardly anyone else calls me that, but I won’t mind you do, too.”

Bruce nodded and smiled. He finished bandaging the newly stitched up cut on her thigh as he said, “I will be sure to remember that, then.”

“I still will if you want me to,” Damian spoke up immediately from the other cot he sat on. His foot was propped up and an ice pack laid on his ankle, curtesy of Duke who had brought it over a few minutes ago; he seemed to want to stay, but got dragged away by Jason almost immediately.

What his youngest said took Bruce by surprise. Damian wasn’t the type to use nicknames or shortened versions of names; the exceptions were probably Jon Kent and Maps Mizoguchi. And, now, apparently the twins.

And he offered to.

One corner of her mouth twitched up before she smothered it, going for a neutral expression. Bruce still saw something akin to happiness and relief in her eyes as she nodded. “I wouldn’t mind that at all,” she said, “As long as I can still call you ‘Dames’.”

Damian pressed his lips into a thin line to lessen the size of his smile that he then twisted in a faux frown of annoyance. “If you must.”

Bruce refrained from reacting to that. He knew that Tim tried to call Damian that once, and his youngest son had a very sudden, negative reaction to it. Tim went to Bruce later that day, guilty and frustrated, because he didn’t mean to upset Damian and now they were at odds again; Bruce only got the story out after a spar.

It certainly made some sense now, why he had reacted like that. And also why he was more tolerant of ‘Dami’ than everyone thought he would originally be, back when Dick first started using it.

…A lot of things about Damian made sense now.

Bruce wondered often about how Damian, an apparent only child, grew accustomed to older brothers and a sister rather seamlessly. Well, after he stopped attempting to murder Tim, of course; and after he stopped insisting that he didn’t have siblings, that he was the only blood son and therefore superior than the others.

(He still occasionally pulled the blood son card. More so now to annoy the others, than anything.)

He grew accustomed seamlessly to the others because of Athanasia and Danny. He had always been the youngest. He was used to nagging, protective, annoying older siblings already.

It made Bruce emotional in so many ways.

The next fifteen minutes or so were spent in silence as Bruce finished tending to Athanasia’s wounds. When he got done, he stepped back to give her space as he picked up everything he had used.

“Do you need anything else?” he asked her.

“No,” she said. Athanasia almost sounded confused on why he asked, and Bruce sincerely hoped he imagined it. No one of any age should be confused when asked that. “Thank you, Batman.”

“Of course.”

Footsteps, hesitant and soft, grew close, catching their attentions. The redhead, Wesley ‘Wes’ Weston as he introduced himself as earlier, stopped a few feet away. His posture and the way his hands sat in his pockets said casual, but his muscles were tense and his expression held exhaustion.

“Wesley,” Athanasia said as a greeting.

Wes half smiled. “Hey.”

Bruce frowned a little. “Is everything okay?”

The teenager nodded. “Oh, yeah. Um, the others just want to talk about something as a whole. I came to get Ana.”

Bruce saw Damian straighten just the tiniest bit in his peripheral.

Athanasia began to get out of the cot, but Bruce held out a hand. She froze, so he kept his hand in the air rather than placing it on her shoulder like he was about to. Then, lowered it.

“You need rest. I’m sure the conversation can wait,” Bruce said to them.

Wes shook his head. “It can’t. It’s important.”

“Talking does not require extensive body movement,” Athanasia said. “And I’m sure Wesley is right about the importance. I can rest later.”

“You need rest now.”

Athanasia stared him dead in the eye and got out. She stood in front him, back straight and no sign of discomfort or pain.

She was tall for a girl, he noticed for a second time that night. Maybe a bit taller than Tim, if not the same height, but still shorter than Dick. The way she stood reminded him a lot of Talia, but that defiant look was something Damian definitely learned from her at a young age.

“I’m eighteen – an adult,” she spoke in Arabic, and that fact made his heart hurt. “I know my own limits by now. I will rest later.”

She then pivoted on her feet and walked off. As she passed Wes, she grabbed the sleeve of his shirt to drag him along. Other than a slight noise of surprise at being forcibly turned around in the opposite direction, the boy didn’t seem that fazed.

Bruce’s eyes narrowed behind the cowl at him as Wesley casually grabbed Athanasia’s hand to remove her grip. Her fingers twitched, almost holding his hand instead, before she pulled away and quickened her pace.

‘Acquaintances’ she said.

Damian huffed. “I don’t like him.”

“Hn.”

Alfred stepped halfway out of the curtained off area and requested his presence. A surge of panic washed over him and he walked over, telling Damian to stay put. Whatever Alfred needed, he hoped it was better than all the negative thoughts now plaguing his mind.

+++

Athanasia ached – for multiple reasons.

The soreness and pain was finally, truly settling in post-fight. With the adrenaline gone, and now able to relax with Danny being taken care of, she was way more aware of what hurt and what didn’t, except for the number areas where Batman had to do stitches. She probably should have asked for Tylenol or Ibuprofen. She didn’t.

Then, there was Damian. Her baby brother. She said that he was still short earlier, and he was, but he had also grown so much. Watching him from afar when she visited Gotham kept that fact from settling in until now.

He wasn’t the tiny, baby faced nine year old anymore. His hair used to be medium brown and wavy, but over the past few years it’s gotten a few shades darker and now the strands curled like her own. His limbs were lanky as he began to enter his teenage years, the baby fat was disappearing, and he was much taller than a nine year old. He stood and had the mannerisms and forming attitude of any other 13 year old.

Dányál was whole entirely different type of ache from realizing Damian had grown and the pain of her injuries. It was tangled up in anger and fear. At the GIW and Ra’s, and what they did to him.

She almost felt ten again, following the servant in the shadows to the Lazarus Pits. Except this time, there were no pools of bright green liquid to heal him to assure survival. Just the talented Penny-One, Alfred Pennyworth, the butler of Wayne Manor and doctor of the Batcave and a pseudo grandfather to many.

And her father… He was kind and gentle in a way she hadn’t expected. Yes, Jason said he was a good man, but she honestly never was able to picture it. Batman? The man who took down criminals nightly? Gentle? It was jarring, but not completely unwelcome.

It hurt knowing he was like that, and Mother kept them at the League of Assassins. It hurt that she now knew Jason spoke the truth, and Mother knew too, and even after Ra’s ran a sword through her son’s chest, she still kept them there. That she didn’t have her servant take her and Damian, too, and rather acted as if Dányál had truly died.

It hurt because she still didn’t believe it. Obviously he trained with the other members of the family, but all Athanasia was able to picture were the training tactics and punishments of the League. Batman trained with them, years ago, after all. Who’s to say he didn’t use the same ones on his kids?

And then there was Wesley. No one knew about Wesley. Not even the rest of Team Phantom. She even kept herself from thinking about it until the mission of finding and saving her brother was done.

Manson and Foley were the first members of the team she’d met – technically. Wesley Weston wasn’t a member when she first visited Amity Park and met him. They grew close; then Athanasia panicked and ran away left town, only to come back when the GIW took over. She felt bad for leaving him, truly, and she didn’t understand why he didn’t seem to be as angry as she thought he’d be.

There were so many aching emotions within her. It was almost overwhelming. Athanasia wanted to rest; she knew her father was right that she needed to. But they weren’t out of the woods yet. Gray and Wesley needed to get back to Amity Park to get Ellie, and then figure out a way to get to Jazz Fenton, or at least somehow inform her of everything that happened.

They needed to figure out what, exactly, they were going to tell Batman about Dányál and literally everything else.

Athanasia sat down where the others had gathered – far enough away so they wouldn’t be heard, but still seen – and made short eye contact with Wesley when he sat in the only free spot beside her. They both looked away at the same time.

Gray and Manson had their own share of fresh bandages, but hardly the amount Athanasia had. Foley had one. A lucky shuriken cut his bicep and an ectoblast singed the bottom hem of his shirt, but other than that he was fine yet exhausted. Wesley was the only one injury free.

A pack of water bottles sat on the edge of the table. Everyone already had one when she got to the table. Foley was the closest to the pack, and he took one out and rolled it over to her without a word. There was a bottle of migraine medicine by Manson’s elbow where she was laying her head down.

“So,” Gray began to start the conversation. “Batman. I thought you were taking us to your dad?”

“I was, but I knew he would bring us to Batman anyway, so when I spotted him I decided to cut out the middle man.”

“Are you sure we can trust him?” asked Foley.

Athanasia nodded. “As a member of the Justice League, I fully believe Batman is trustworthy.”

“Exactly,” he sighed. “He’s a JL member – a founding member. In hindsight, it’s a good thing they have never visited Amity because that would risk any of them getting possessed, but not one member has checked on our town.”

“Well, actually,” interrupted Gray, “there was that British dude in a trench coat, remember? He smoked a lot. I think he mentioned a…Justice League Dark, or something? It was two or so years ago, so I’m not really sure.”

“Oh him!” Foley started laughing. “Oh, Ancients, how did I forget? Danny scared the shit out of him!”

Manson didn’t move, but she did snort amusedly. “That was hilarious.”

“So… What are we telling Batman?” Wesley asked when the laughter died down.

“Not everything,” said Manson. She finally lifted her head, and placed her hands around her eyes to block out some of the light. “For one, we need to figure out if he knows of the Anti-Ecto Act. We need to explain what’s happening in Amity Park, too. As for everything else… Danny should be the one to explain his powers and everything. Not even Athanasia knows it all.”

It was true. It annoyed her. She knew he had to have gotten the powers somehow, but Danny’s friends were tight lipped about it. All she knew was that Danny had ghost-like abilities, could change his looks, and also had whatever an ‘ice core’ was. She shouldn’t know about that last one, but she overheard Foley and Manson talking one night.

By eavesdropping she had hoped things would begin to make sense regarding her twin’s powers. Rather, it did the exact opposite.

“Batman will dig for answers,” Athanasia warned them. “He’s a detective – a good one, possibly the best in the world.”

Manson frowned.

“Then we give him enough info to keep him happy until Danny wakes up,” Foley said. “Then, he can make the decision on telling Batman everything else.”

“What about the others?” asked Gray. She looked at Athanasia. “Batman, sure. But does that include Robin? I saw you with them both earlier.”

“Robin is as trustworthy as Batman. All of the Bats and Birds in Gotham are, including Nightwing in Blüdhaven.”

“You sound so sure for someone who doesn’t know them personally,” Manson said.

Athanasia raised an eyebrow. “I never said I didn’t.”

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “You never said you did, either.”

“Sam has a point,” Foley said.

“About what?”

“You never said if you did or didn’t know these vigilantes personally. You said you were taking us to your dad, and we’re here instead.”

Athanasia’s brows knitted together. “I said my father would have brought us to him, anyway. Why does that matter?”

“Because you said nothing about him in the first place.”

“Why does that matter?” she repeated. “Where do you think we would end up taking Dányál? Certainly not Arkham.”

“I don’t know, but it would be nice if you told us things,” he said, tone turning frustrated. “Like, who was the old dude you wanted to avoid?”

“That isn’t important right now,” she forced out. She knew she had to tell them about Ra’s, but she planned to do that later.

Manson scoffed as Wesley hesitantly said, “Well, no. It kinda is.”

“You mood completely changed when Tucker mentioned him on comms,” Gray said.

Athanasia drew in a deep breath through her nose. “That is not,” she spoke slow and low, “important right now.”

“Like hell–” Gray began.

“Why does it matter right now?” she stressed. “Can we focus on what is happening right now?”

“Whoever the fuck the old man is who came out of the room where they kept our best friend is isn’t important?” Manson asked incredulously.

“For now, yes!”

“How?! That makes no sense!”

“It really doesn’t make sense,” Wesley agreed, with Gray nodding along in agreement.

“C’mon, Ana, just–”

“Don’t call me that,” she snapped at the other boy.

Taken aback, Foley frowned. “But Wes calls you that?”

Athanasia shrugged. “I knew him before you guys,” she admitted after a beat of silence.

His eyes, along with Manson’s and Gray’s, went to Wesley.

“It’s true,” he said with a nod.

Gray leaned her forearms on the table. “So, did you know about the assassin thing?”

“No.” Wesley’s tone wasn’t exactly clipped, but it was clear that he wasn’t happy.

Athanasia held back a grimace.

Gray’s eyes flicked between them, and a spark of realization flashed in her eyes. Her mouth formed a small ‘o’ and she nodded slowly. “Well,” she said, somewhat awkwardly, “have fun talking that out.”

She crossed her arms and shifted in her seat. “Can we get back on track? Please.”

“That old guy–”

“Say it one more fucking time, Manson, I swear,” she snapped.

“Or what?”

“I will make that splitting headache of yours literal.”

Someone cleared their throat behind her. Everyone looked in that direction, and Athanasia was mildly surprised to see her father’s most recent foster kid standing there with a silver tray of sandwiches. He wore a t-shirt and basketball shorts and shoes, and had on a the helmet from the Signal suit. She knew he wore a domino mask earlier, so he must have switched one for the other when everyone else was too busy to notice.

“Athanasia, right?”

She nodded. “Yes, that’s me. You’re Signal.”

Signal – or rather, Duke Thomas – nodded as well. “Yep. Hood said you guys might be hungry so he snuck off and made these real quick.” He set the tray on the table.

“Oh,” she said, still a little surprised but pleased, because honestly Jason made some of the best food. “Thank you, Signal.”

“Yeah, no problem.”

“Wait, Hood?” Foley choked out. “As in, the Red Hood?”

When she and Signal both nodded, Manson sarcastically said, “Oh, so the one you do know personally is the Ancients-damned crime lord. Great.”

“Why is a crime lord working with Batman?” Gray questioned.

“He’s a Bat,” Signal told her. “And these days, he’s more an anti-hero.”

“Former crime lord, then,” she said. “That’s suspicious.”

“Not if they’re family,” Wesley said

Athanasia looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

Signal just stared at him and didn’t make a sound. When he noticed, Wesley shifted in his seat, seeming a bit awkward and uncomfortable from Signal’s stare.

“How do you know that for sure?” she asked him.

Wesley shrugged. “I don’t, it’s one of my theories. I’m not sure if it’s an uncle-nephew thing, a father-son thing, or pseudo family thing, or a brother-brother thing, or what, but I believe it’s something along those lines. Otherwise, why isn’t Batman treating Red Hood like any other criminal, like Bane?”

“Hood is nothing like Bane,” Signal stated. The corners of his mouth had turned down into a frown, and Athanasia noticed the defensive and protective undertone.

Honestly, she almost said the same thing in the same way.

By the way Wesley’s eyes widened, he noticed Signal’s tone, too. He raised his hands. “Hey, man, I didn’t say he was. That’s just the first criminal who came to mind!”

Signal stared at him for another second, visibly unnerving Wesley even more, then finally looked away. “Anyway. Eat the sandwiches if you’re hungry.” Then, almost resigned, “If you need anything, please tell me. I’m stuck babysitting to make sure Robin doesn’t walk on his ankle, and that kid is borderline grumpy on good days.”

Athanasia smirked. “Good luck.”

“Ugh.”

When he walked away, Wesley spoke up again. “My family theory is growing.”

“Please don’t start trying to figure out their identities,” Foley practically begged. “I’d like to stay on their good sides.”

Silence.

Foley sighed.

“Seriously, Wes?” Gray complained.

“We can talk about Wes’ obsession with secret identities later–”

“It’s not an obse–”

Manson cut him off with a glare. “Later,” she emphasized. “Batman. GIW. The assassins. What and how much are we telling him?”

Much to Athanasia’s relief, she didn’t try to bring up Ra’s again to get her to explain. Her shoulders relaxed at that, and conversation finally got back on track.

+++

Much to Bruce’s short lived relief, all Alfred needed him for was to give him an extra set of hands to apply bandages to the teen. They were almost done. It took longer than Bruce liked, simply because he had so many injuries, old and new.

Alfred finished wrapping bandages around the boy’s torso. Gently and carefully, Bruce laid him back down, having been holding him up to make things easier.

He stared down at Danny. Even under anesthesia from surgery and with a safe amount of morphine to ease the pain, his face was still slightly pinched in a way that told them something still hurt. Bruce wished he knew what else he could do to help him. His kid.

Danny and Athanasia, he thought. Another son, another daughter. One who had one giant wound on his chest and other smaller ones littered about, one who had defensive and offensive injuries and bruises.

He almost lost another son tonight. He didn’t know Danny, didn’t even know he existed until a couple of hours ago. It still hurt. Still settled an ache in his heart – for him, Athanasia, Damian, and the other teenagers.

“Whoever did this…” Bruce began, anger seeping into his tone. “Who would vivisect a child?”

“I’m afraid, these days, that list is longer than any of us would like, Master Bruce,” Alfred said.

Bruce pushed back the cowl and rubbed his eyes with his pointer finger and thumb. “This is…” He had no words. With a sigh, he dropped his hand. “How bad is it, really?”

There weren’t many times Bruce could count on his hands where he saw Alfred look so devastated that he was near tears. To see it now, Bruce almost retracted his question.

“He had internal bleeding that I had to stop. Multiple broken ribs. Broken sternum.” Alfred hesitated. “Misplaced organs that I had to put back.”

Bruce shut his eyes, and backed up to fall into the chair behind him. He leaned back, hand over his eyes. “Jesus,” he muttered. “Anything else?”

“Master Bruce–”

“Anything else?” he repeated, firm.

Alfred sighed. “He has bruises and cuts on his wrists – signs of a struggle against cuffs of some sort. Burns from something I am unsure of. His right forearm is fractured; we will have to call Dr. Thompkins to get it properly taken care of. Until then I placed a splint on it. He has other injuries, but those are superficial and nothing to worry about. If he is anything like anyone else in this family, he will make a miraculously full recovery.”

Taking in the information, Bruce rubbed at his temple, then looked back at Danny. He was pale from blood loss, and from where Bruce sat he couldn’t see the splinted arm but he did earlier.

The heart monitor beeped slower than an average human. It set Bruce’s anxiety off, afraid that at any moment it will slow down to a complete stop.

“There is…another thing that has my concerns,” Alfred spoke as he began to clean the area.

“The Lichtenberg figures.”

“Yes.”

Bruce noticed them when he first began helping Alfred. It was hard not to see them. The ones on his back started at the base of his neck and went all the way down his spine. Most branched off into faint, small lines that followed the nervous system of the body, and quickly faded out; a few went up towards his hairline. But there was one figure that branched off, that stayed prominent like the one down his spine; it went across his shoulder blade and down his left arm, not stopping until it reached the palm.

“They are old, from what I can tell,” said Alfred. “A few or so years, perhaps.”

Bruce brows lowered. “Lichtenberg figures disappear after a few days.”

“Not these.”

Bruce sighed.

The Lichtenberg figures. The horror of what happened and who did it. The Lazarus green on both twins, and Danny’s bandages. The secrecy of the twins.

Bruce had so many questions. He needed answers.

“Might I suggest, Master Bruce, that you wait to interrogate the traumatized teenagers?”

He stilled from where he stood back up. “We need answers–”

“And we can get them once everyone is well rested,” said Alfred. “We have no idea how long any of them have been awake, or where they even came from. Ask questions now, and you will have five exhausted and frightened teenagers giving you the hardest time of your life.”

Bruce thought back to when they first got to the Batcave. Of the persistence and stubbornness, and blatant refusal to let the adults take over. He admired their loyalty and want to protect their friend, but he did not want a repeat of that tonight.

“You’re right,” he reluctantly admitted.

“I often am, Master Bruce.”

“Hey.” The curtain moved. Jason poked his head in. “It’s just me,” he announced. “Gave Duke a tray of sandwiches earlier to give the kids. They have water, too. Need me to do anything here?”

Alfred looked down at the bed Danny was on; Bruce did, too. The sheets and mattress were stained from the impromptu surgery.

“A little help cleaning up and moving Master Danny to a new bed will be much appreciated,” said Alfred.

Jason nodded, then backed out with a, “One clean medical cot. Got it.”

That left Bruce and Alfred to continue cleaning everything else. The former tossed away the old bandages, dirtied thread, and alcohol wipes; the latter picked up the medical equipment that had been used and placed them in a plastic tub to be washed and disinfected later. Jason quickly came back in rolling up a clean bed, and they carefully moved Danny from one to the other.

Silence fell as Bruce began to check that the IV was still secure after all of the moving.

“So,” Jason said, Alfred leaving to put everything away, stained bed included. “Danny, huh.”

Bruce hummed.

The quiet turned tense between them.

“Hell, old man, just go ahead and ask.”

With crossed arms, he looked at his second son. “You knew.”

“Not a question, but sure. Whatever.” Jason motioned to Danny. “I didn’t know about him. Hell, I didn’t even know about Damian until he came here.”

His eyes narrowed a little. “But you knew about Athanasia. You recognized her on the roof.”

“Yeah.” He shrugged, carelessly. Like it wasn’t a big deal.

“For how long?”

Jason didn’t immediately answer. “I don’t know, B. I guess I was sixteen?” He crossed his arms, too. “She looked, maybe, a little younger than Damian is now.”

“So you met at the League.”

“Eh, sure… It would be more accurate to say she found me, and randomly appeared like the fucking Ghost Christmas Past or some shit.”

“And you never told me.”

“Jesus. No.”

“Why?”

“No more dead Robins. No more child soldiers. No more kids dealing with your shit,” said Jason. “Take your fucking pick.”

“They aren’t Robins, Jason, and they definitely are not child soldiers because of me,” Bruce snapped. “They are my children, all of you are, and I didn’t force any of you to do what we do. I wouldn’t have forced Athanasia to become a vigilante if she didn’t want to, if she came here with Damian!”

Underneath his domino mask, Bruce knew Jason was glaring at him. “Are you going to hound Damian like this? He didn’t tell you either!”

“Because he made a promise that he wouldn’t! You didn’t! Six years, son–”

“And she’s been visiting Gotham for two!” Jason yelled.

“What do you mean?”

“She already knew you’re her dad; don’t ask me how because I don’t know. But don’t you think she would have come to you if she wanted you to know?”

Bruce faltered for only a second.

It was long enough for a small projectile to hit him in his temple before he could form an actual response to his son. He flinched from the impact but caught it – a rock from somewhere in cave – and heard Jason begin to chuckle before he also got hit in the side of the head with another rock.

Having slipped into the curtained off area while they argued, stood Athanasia. A few more rocks were in one hand and Bruce had no doubt she would throw another one if she felt like she needed (or wanted) to.

Her expression was a guarded.

Jason glared at her. “What the hell–”

“The others want to speak with Batman. In case you forgot because of your aging mind, I didn’t tell them your identity, so I suggest you put the cowl back on before you walk out.” With that, she ducked out, not waiting for either of them to speak.

There was a beat of silence.

“Insulted by a new kid in under two hours,” said Jason. “That has to be a new record.”

“No,” Bruce denied gruffly, “it still goes to you for calling me a ‘big boob’ and hitting me with a tire iron when stealing my tires.”

“I wasn’t your kid then.”

“Hn.”

Jason exasperatedly sighed. “You’re impossible.” He walked out without another word.

Bruce put on the cowl, but didn’t leave until Alfred came back, wary to leave Danny alone. When Alfred assured him that he would alert them if needed, he left and made his way to Athanasia and the other teenagers.

He wasn’t surprised to see Damian already there. Either Athanasia got him or he forced Duke to help him; whatever the case, he and Duke now sat at the table with the others, while Jason stood off to the side against a nearby cave wall. His helmet was back on, and he watched the group with crossed arms.

He pulled up a spare chair and held laced it between Athanasia and Damian. He had barely sat down for longer than a second when the girl who introduced herself as Valerie Gray spoke up.

“We need to leave.”

“No.”

She reeled back, shocked. The others stared at him with either incredulity or anger. Tucker Foley froze with a half eaten sandwich hovering in front of his mouth, and Sam Manson looked ready to argue.

“Um, yes,” Valerie corrected. “You can’t keep us here, we aren’t prisoners. We brought Danny here for medical attention, and now that that’s done, Wes and I need to head back to Amity Park ASAP.”

“I can’t in good conscience let any of you to take another trip somewhere,” Bruce told them. “I’m not keeping you as prisoners. You need rest. All of you.”

“We can rest later,” Sam argued. “We don’t have time to just- just sit around and do nothing!”

“Resting isn’t doing nothing,” he said. “It’s making sure you don’t push your body and mind too much so you can work more later.”

“We don’t have time for later.”

“With all due respect, um, Batman, sir,” Tucker began nervously, “Sam and Valerie are right. We have a lot to do. This has already gone on for long enough.”

Underneath the cowl, an eyebrow raised. “And what is ‘this’ exactly?”

The group hesitated.

“There is a secret government organization tormenting a subspecies of humans and metas,” Athanasia explained. “The organization call themselves the Ghost Investigation Ward.”

“Ghosts,” Bruce repeated.

The teens nodded.

Duke ‘huh’ed, as if he was piecing things together in his own head.

“Ghosts?” questioned Jason incredulously. “Are you fucking serious?”

Sam rolled her eyes. “There are literally aliens on this world, a dude with a magical ring, an Amazonian woman, a gene in human DNA that gives some of us powers, heroes apparently die and come back to life on the regular, a bunch of other shit, and you’re seriously questioning ghosts right now?”

“What do you mean by ‘tormenting’?” Bruce asked before Jason could properly respond. “And why?”

“Ghosts, or anything paranormal, aren’t seen as good or friendly beings by them,” Tucker said. His eyes became downcast. “They aren’t even considered beings. Or sentient.”

“The GIW are ghost hunters,” Valerie explained. “And over the past few years, they have taken an interest in our town, Amity Park, because of the extreme amount of paranormal activity and ambient ectoplasm we have. Usually our local ghost vigilante takes care of them, and it’s never been that big of a deal, even though they have always wanted to catch Phantom and do Ancients know what. He’s always been able to stop them before anything got too serious.

“Honestly, we didn’t take them that seriously when we probably should have. We call them the Guys in White, because they’re like a lame, evil, paranormal-obsessed version of the Men in Black. Even though they did have bad intentions, they’ve never been successful. But last October…”

“They aren’t so lame anymore,” Wes muttered.

As Bruce quietly took in and filed away the information he just got, Damian gave them a somewhat judgmental look. “You underestimated them. That can very well lead to a deadly mistake,” he said. He glared at them under the domino mask. “It almost did.”

“We know,” Sam responded, sounding equally frustrated and solemn. “They are a government organization that got bested by a group of fourteen year olds when they first came along. What were we supposed to think? They have been getting better over the years, but so have we. We have always taken necessary precautions and we had plans for potential bad outcomes because Danny was insistent on that. But they stopped coming around for some time. We stupidly believed they’d given up on us. Then the Guys in White finally showed their faces again, and we weren’t as prepared as we should have been.”

“It’s why we need to get back to Amity Park,” Wes said. “They put us under martial law and we need to get in touch with another friend of ours.”

Bruce took in what they said. He still had a bunch of questions alongside new ones that he wanted answers to ASAP. Alfred was right, though; questioning them right now – let alone letting any of them leave to continue on their mission – wasn’t a good idea.

This was a group of eager, stubborn teenagers whose town and best friend were in danger. He understood their urgency to keep going, and he told them as such. “But it will do no good for anyone to run yourselves to the ground. I’m even willing to help and hear the full story of what happened, but not until each of you get some much needed rest. That’s final.”

“But–”

“Batman, you don’t understand–”

“Running on fumes will get you no where,” he spoke firmly and loudly. It was the same tone he used on his kids, both in and out of suits, when they were misbehaving or did something they shouldn’t have. “It might even lead to another almost deadly mistake. You all need to rest. You can either stay in a safe house, or I can get in touch with Athanasia’s father and see if you can go there if that’s what you want.”

“What if we want a hotel?” Sam asked with a glare that hard to tell if it was from anger at him or the migraine she had.

“I won’t let you,” he bluntly admitted. “A government organization is after Danny and you guys by proxy, for reasons I don’t know. It’s either a safe house, or Athanasia’s father’s home that I have personally created a security system for.”

No one responded. A short silence fell over them.

Bruce decided to stand up. “I will let you guys choose. I need to check on my partners out in the field.”

#dc x dp fanfiction #dc x dp fic #dc x dp au #dc x dp crossover #dc x dp #dp x dc au #dp x dc fic #dpxdc #dp x dc #dcxdp #dp x dc fanfic #dp x dc crossover #batpham #stay with me my blood #my writing

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pbandjesse · 1 month

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My stomach hurts today but in a different way. Which is annoying. I think it's more stress and anxiety more then anything else. It's almost the end of camp! I'm sad it's almost over. I'm sad about who isn't coming back next year. Change. They grow up, they move on. But I hope they visit.

I slept a little better last night. But I had absolutely bizarre and intensely realistic dreams about camp. But the field behind art was a lake. It was just a lot of things happening and I woke up dizzy tired and out of sorts.

But I would shake it off best I could. And I would feel pretty alright. I liked my outfit. I packed my backpack. Poured a drink. Hugged on James. They helped me bring some materials out to the car. And wished me a nice day.

And it was a nice day. I was in a pretty good mood and my energy was the best it's been. Even if I felt slightly uncomfortable in my belly, the rest of me felt a lot better and that gave me the energy to really start working on cleaning up the art building for the end of the season.

Once I got to camp I would work on collecting trash. Sweeping. Putting things away. There is still more to do but I spent a good hour working and that felt really good.

I would take a break half way through to go chat with Heather about specialty and packing up. Aaron had passed by this morning and he told me he took his stuff to store somewhere else. And I had to reiterate that it is all supposed to come to art. And so I let the office know how everything was going and the plans for camp cooking and a few other things. But would soon head up to art to keep cleaning and wait for my group.

All my groups were great today honestly. I loved talking to everyone about the winter and hopes for next year. The kids were really creative today. And while a couple of them would burn themselves a little, there was only one who had big tears. But I think it mostly just scared her. I would be very calm and tell them to go hold their hand under the rubbing water until it cooled down and everyone was really good about it.

My two morning groups were also just really sweet. Struggled to clean up but we got it done and I was having a good time.

I spent lunch chilling in my hammock. I had cereal again. Just trying to find things I can eat that are safe. And cereal feels safe.

I had three afternoon groups. My day camps were very sweet. The little ones were so brave using the hot glue (with super vision) and I just kept telling them that we are practicing a skill: not burning yourself. They are low temp so unless they pour it in themselves it won't hurt to much, it's more startling then anything. But I was really proud of them.

I also just really had a nice time talking to councilors. About what they hope for for next year, roles and different specialties and it was great to hear. I really hope I can help influence that for next year. And after chatting with Heather I think we are on the same page about a lot of it. Which feels really good.

My last group of the day was stockade. And they were very good boys. Very silly. One of them had a wildly deep voice and a southern accent and was very respectful and helpful. I mostly chatted with Jorge. He's finished college now and is hoping to have a job by November. So he won't be a counselor next year but he promises to visit.

The boys were making sculptures and they kept saying they were making mountains. A pair mountains. Twin peaks. They were making boobies!! Which I normally wouldn't allow but it was the end of camp. They are 15. It was funny and also they were actually trying so you know what, whatever. I don't even care. Make boobies. I love making boobies. Can't blame them.

I went home after that. They helped me clean up. Called me ma'am. And thanked me for a fun class. And then I was off.

I would have some traffic to delay with. And would get home right before 430. Beat James home. So while I was waiting for them I fixed Crabcake's outside enclosure. Tucked all the tarp under the dirt so he can't climb it. And let Sweetp enjoy the concrete outside while I cleaned the frog tank. And while I was doing that James came home.

I was very happy to see them. They would make dinner for me. They brought fries from the pizza place and would make me little veggie chicken sliders. And it was probably to much food to fast but it was really good and it felt nice not to be in crazy pain.

I would feel really tired though and wouldn't want to do much for the rest of the evening. I would lay around outside. I would lay around inside. And eventually I went to take a shower. Where I would sit on the group and just be sleepy. It was calm though.

I feel really dehydrated but all my water cups taste bad? I don't understand it. James got me a new cup and a new straw. And an ice pop. But my mouth just tastes bad. I'm going to brush my teeth soon and keep trying to sip water. And hopefully just go to sleep soon.

Because tomorrow is a long day!! It's the last day of camp!! And then Anne and Tucker are coming over for dinner. I am looking forward to a good day.

I hope you all have a good day too. I love you all goodnight!!

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aperfectangelgirl · 15 days

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i think the most painful part is that despite it all, most of our memories were happy.

she went to daycare with me, towards the end, before it was abruptly shut down. she was there for the tea parties. the pool days. the afternoon snacks.

we got to ride the bus together. we started going to my grandparents’ in the afternoons in eighth grade. we would make popcorn and douse it in spray butter and watch happy tree friends on youtube until her mom came to pick her up.

in ninth grade, we had our first class of the day together. we would scroll on blogging sites instead of doing our work. i clearly remember sitting in that classroom, in front of our computers, when she told me she was worried about getting pregnant for the first time, and we fretted over it together, wondering if we could use the school computers to google such scandalous things.

in tenth grade, we took a photography class together. he was there, too. but she and i got to be each other’s muses in our photos. i remember climbing in the giant drain pipe in the back of the school property together, looking for the perfect shot.

in eleventh grade, he broke up with her, right after prom. i was finally able to tell her everything. his attempts at me. the way he spoke to me. the way he had kissed me as soon as she went to fill up her water bottle, one day in the band hallway after school, the previous year. she cried and said she was sorry that i felt i couldn’t tell her. she said he was a pig, and she blocked his number. unfortunately for everyone, she had it memorized.

in twelfth grade, at the end of the school year, we went to the mexican restaurant in town. we had virgin daiquiris and talked about dumping my boyfriend, the cute boy i had met at my job at the grocery store. i backed into a trailer in my honda crv leaving that lunch date. i broke up with my high school boyfriend not long after.

we were roommates our freshman year of college. everything was great. until one day, she woke up sour; she wouldn’t talk to me while we got ready for class. she texted me when i was in my international relations class: “you didn’t tell me you kissed.” it was so out of the blue; why had he brought that up? i was so confused, because i did. i told her everything. i couldn’t understand why she was mad at me. maybe because she had to remember it again.

i went home to community college for a boy who would ultimately break my heart. she stayed at our school one more year before she made the decision to transfer to a college in another state hundreds of miles away. i told her it was a stupid idea; so expensive for a degree she didn’t need for that kind of work. selfishly, it was because i wanted her to stay (but i was right about that degree).

every year i visited her. as much as i could. i was a broke college student. i paid for my flights myself. i packed only what i could bring in a backpack. i couldn’t afford to bring more bags. i had a toothbrush at her place. i used her shower things because i couldn’t bring my own. she would get me into disney for free, most of the time. those visits were some of the highlights of that time in my life.

but those visits are also when he started to try me again, without me even noticing.

and that’s what hurts the most, still. i have all of these years of happy memories; overshadowed now, yes, but she knew the whole time. even if she tried to deny it, it was always there in the background. i have no doubt that all of these memories were ruined for her the day she was forced to face it.

i knew her through all of her phases; as kids. with braces. dying the underside of her hair blue. the heavy eyeliner. the pretty eye makeup she wore every day. her years at the ice cream stand. her brief dream of being a photography major. her time in florida, where she flourished. her time in connecticut, where she withered. i won’t know any more of her phases. she is frozen in time in my mind. i don’t know her anymore.

i know that i haunt her. i know that she probably thinks about it as often as i do. she could have cut out that cancer of a man so long ago. and then maybe her memories would be as happy as mine.

but does it really matter? it’s all tainted anyway. this is just nostalgia. and no matter how hard i wish or cry or scream or claw or beg or plead, i can’t go back. we can never go back.

#thoughts #grief

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riaaanna · 2 years

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London - 13 Nov 2022

As a continuation of this post here are pictures from my visit to London last month! I dropped by some Queen-related places, it was a long list and impossible to get to in only 1-2 days. I'm also horrendous at schedule management so I missed places that were actually close to each other, welp.

But anyway! Here are the places I got to visit that day. You can click to see the full pictures. Please do not repost my photos!

Garden Lodge was the first stop! I think this place needs no explanation. Lovely place during a lovely weather. I had the area for myself for about 15 mins before a few other fans came along as well to take pictures.

The next stop was 12 Stafford Terrace in Kensington. This was supposedly Freddie's first flat in London, and it is the location of many familiar photos including this one above I attached. It was a really nice place, not that we question it but Freddie had an excellent taste.

Afterwards I had to rush off and barely caught what used to be the location of Kensington Market. Here's a video I took from the bus lol. The market was sadly already demolished and is now a Currys. If I get to go there again I'll take a proper photo of the entire area!

From Kensington I went to Soho and visited 143 Wardour Street. This address was where they took this well-known photo above (Watal Asanuma)! This area is where I should have visited the original Marquee site as well as Trident studios, but I messed up the day's schedule that I didn't get them. Next time for sure!

On my way back from lunch in Soho I went to Carnaby Street where they have the lyrics of Bohemian Rhapsody (I didn't think they were still there!). They were put up there to celebrate the launch of the movie in 2018. I bet they look a lot nicer at night but I was there in the afternoon so this is what I got.

Next up is Royal Albert Hall. This was very annoying because there was a huge tent set up that ruined the scenery and again thanks to my bad scheduling management this was the last day I could go anywhere. So I couldn't stand on the exact steps that Smile stood on in this photo (Douglas Puddifoot) without the tent in view, but oh well. I tried my best!

Just around there I went to see the plaque for PRS for Music Heritage award, which commemorates Queen's first public performance in London at Imperial College. Also got a video of where exactly it is. It was originally unveiled in a different place (as shown in photo) but after about a month it was then moved outside for better visibility.

While around Imperial College I looked for this specific site where Queen took this picture when they were still with Mike Grose. It was fun searching for it (it was quite hidden imo) and I felt really triumphant once I found it! There were several compartments (?) but I just picked one that I think is the same one lol.

Genuinely tried my best to keep up with the sun but it set so quickly so I dropped by whatever was on the way back to my hotel. This building at 54 Russell Gardens was formerly Kensington Tavern. This was apparently where Freddie first met Ibex and Roger met John Harris. Pretty iconic! It's a shame that it was closed down.

And from there I finally went to 100 Holland Road, which was also a flat where Freddie once lived in. Firstly, I regret not taking this when there was still sunlight because it didn't look as pretty as it I hoped it would. Secondly, scaffoldings... ugh. Just my luck. Well here's a photo of when it looked nice, hope I can get a shot of it like that next time. This flat is also where this iconic photoshoot (Douglas Puddifoot) took place.

Lastly, below are some bonus of tourist-y photos I took the day before haha. It was a cloudy night but the lights were so pretty!

And that's all for this part of London visit! Again I know I missed a lot of obvious places in literally the same areas that I visited, but with the combo of my bad route planning and the fact that there are just so many historical places in London related to the band, it was obvious that it's going to require several dedicated visits to eventually get to all of them, if I really want to.

My sincerest thanks to Ribbit London who made me a custom map for my visit, put up with my whining about tents and scaffoldings, and always responded so quickly when I get lost pretty much every other turn looking for a specific landmark lol. I couldn't have made it without you!

I will be visiting London several more times for sure, and I hope to be able to get to as many Queen-related sites next time!

#queen band #freddie mercury #roger taylor #brian may #john deacon #London #Ri goes to UK

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xthelastknownsurvivorx · 6 months

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It’s Beas nice ask day!

So my question for you: What is something you haven’t shared here (or shared very recently) that is so shocking and surprising nobody would believe it

hi beas!

can't believe I didn't think of this story immediately upon receiving your ask (probably because it's equal parts trauma, hilarity, and friendship) but here we go with some lee lore

it's a long story though so below the cut it goes

my freshman year of college two friends and I decided to go to karaoke together one weekend. it was going to be a fun trip without anything out of the ordinary happening. we took the bus out, had lunch and a lot of fun singing (since it was a restaurant with an old machine not a dedicated karaoke place), then returned to the bus stop.

unfortunately we had forgotten that this stretch of road had bus stops on either side and you had to go to the correct side, otherwise the bus would be going the wrong direction, and I think we saw the right bus leaving before we could cross over

it was the middle of winter and decently cold by that time (late afternoon) and there wasn't another bus on the right side due for a while. we could have gone back inside to the restaurant (and probably should have), but we didn't feel like it. so one of suggested we walk to the next stop while waiting

however, one stop became another, and then another, and then another, and then—well you get the point

soon enough we had basically committed to just walking home. and for context our school wasn't in the city—it was near a couple of towns but also bordered rural areas, meaning there wasn't sidewalks for the entire stretch of this decently size road that we were walking home on

eventually we came to a (literal) fork in the road and had to decide which way to go: the unlit bridge to the shopping center or the back road behind it, neither of which had a sidewalk. by that time it was dark and, not wanting to get hit by a car or fall into the ditch by trying to walk on the outside of the bridge, we decided on the back road

it probably was the better decision in the end, but the back road came with its own, uh, complications. there were far fewer street lights along the way and the journey was starting to take longer than it seemed like it should have (spoiler alert: the road was a diagonal away from the mall but we didn't fully realize it at the time). we did spot the back of the mall eventually, but it was completely blocked off by a high fence and I wasn't interested in accidentally getting electrocuted either, so we couldn't cut back unless we completely retraced our steps, which wasn't worth it at that point

the longer we walked in the endless cold dark night, the more insane I felt and the more certain I was that we were going to end up kidnapped or something. especially when we turned back onto a busier road and a car started slowing down, its headlights blinding and far to reminiscent of one of those spotlights during a chase scene in movies. there was also a randomly big rectangular hole in one of the yards me passed by, deep enough not to be able to see the bottom

anyway we made it back to the mall after around two hours of walking, breaking into fits of deranged laughter once we had reached relative safety. this time we waited and took the bus the rest of the way home, nothing else happening on the way back to campus or our dorms

it was the absolute wildest, most fever dream-like thing I've ever had happened to me. definitely falls under the is it really college if you don't almost die at least once experience. so, uh, there you go

#have not thought about it in ages tbh #it was fucking wild man #and if there sounds familiar to anyone #yes i did write a dramatized retelling a few years ago #nice ask week

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eva-knits12 · 8 months

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Daddy, Mommy I dance.

Trigger warning: parenthood, fluff

Summary: Pete comes home to you and your daughter watching the Disney channel.

I had just come home from grocery shopping with our two year old daughter, Zoe. Earlier today, we went to toddler time at the library, an activity which me and Zoe love. Then, I got lunch for everyone, and took it over to Pete's office. Then, I went grocery shopping. I got the groceries and Zoe is just so good and so easy to have a grocery shopping partner. She doesn't make a fuss about getting into the cart, she always helps me pick out groceries, and is always wanting to try new foods that are also toddler friendly.

After I unpacked and put away the groceries, I took Zoe up to her nursery, and checked her diaper. She was in need of a change.

"I need change, mama," says Zoe.

"I know, baby girl," I say.

Zoe and I talk while I change her diaper.

"Thank for change, mama," says Zoe, who then kisses my cheek.

I take Zoe over to the rocking chair in her nursery, and read her a story. She soon falls asleep, and I put her in her crib. She naps for most of the afternoon, and I sit in the rocking chair, working on an afghan for Pete. It's going to be an anniversary gift for him.

My mind flashes back to our first wedding anniversary. I remember telling Pete that I was pregnant with Zoe.

"Pete, I love you. You're the best husband ever. Soon, You'll be the best father ever. Happy anniversary," I say. I give him the large envelope with the small box attached. Inside the small box is the positive pregnancy test.

Inside the envelope is the ultrasound. Pete kisses me lovingly and deeply. He gave me a scrapbook of all of our couple moments, and the photos are just lovely. He had been visiting my aunt and cousin, who had been helping him put it together just for today.

"Sweetness, this is wonderful news! I love you," says Pete. Pete knelt down, kissed my then nonexistent bump, and started talking to our daughter.

"Hi, baby, growing inside my beautiful wife. This is your daddy. I love you so much. I never thought I'd love anyone as much as I love your mom. I love you," says Pete.

Pete took the job at my dad's insurance company, in our moderate sized suburb. It beat working for the pharmaceutical company. It was a pay cut, at that point, Pete had moved back. Pete and I went to high school together, and had a few classes together. We went our separate ways. I stayed back to go to college, and he moved away for college. It wasn't until his pharmaceutical company brought him back. He ran into me when I was getting coffee for the office, and we got to talking. We exchanged numbers, and we started dating shortly after that. He decided to stay. At that point, Pete wanted some stability, not moving to a different town or a different state every few months.

He quit the pharmaceutical company, and took the job selling insurance with my dad's office. I remember my dad's office well. I was working there as a receptionist in college, and made my way to a sales associate after college. I took the certification exam. But, I quit when I found out I was pregnant with Zoe. My mom would come over every day when I was pregnant with Zoe to help with laundry, cleaning, etc. My dad would come over every morning, and would come back during lunch with Pete. My parents wouldn't let their only daughter who was pregnant with their first grandchild lift a finger or be on my feet. Pete wouldn't let me even lift a finger. When I woke up in the morning, Pete was always talking to my belly, and kissing my belly. When he came home, Pete always gave me a foot rub and a back rub. After, he would place me in a sitting position, and then kneel in front of me, place his hands on either side, and place his face on my belly, and talk to our daughter. It was during one of those talks one evening that Zoe kicked for the first time. Pete's face lit up with a huge grin when he felt our daughter kick for the first time. I wouldn't go anywhere without someone's assistance.

Flash forward three years later. Zoe is peacefully napping in her crib. It will be a while yet before she wakes up. I'm crocheting the afghan for Pete. I occasionally look at Zoe, who hasn't even stirred. I kiss Zoe on her forehead, and head to the kitchen to check on the chicken for tonight. I dice the chicken, and put it on a separate plate, and cover it with saran wrap. I clean the knives and I clean the cutting board, then load it in the dishwasher. I make sure that I have the buffalo chicken sauce, and honey for Zoe's portion. I'm serving the buffalo chicken bites with some mashed potatoes and peas with carrots and pearl onions. Dessert will be chocolate cake and Zoe will get a cupcake.

I go back to the nursery, and work on the afghan for a little while longer. Zoe stirs and cries indicating that she's awake. I check her diaper, and she's bone dry, she hasn't pooped. I carry her to the living room, and put on the TV. I start prepping for dinner, when my phone rings.

"Hi, honey. I'll be home, soon. Just worry about Zoe, and I'll start dinner, okay," says Pete.

"Thanks, honey. The chicken is already diced. The mashed potatoes and the peas are ready to go. Honey will go on Zoe's portion, but there's buffalo sauce for us," I say.

I turn on the Disney channel, and Zoe is hypnotized. Bluey is on, and she gets up and starts dancing when she sees the beginning.

Pete arrives, and greets me with a kiss. He picks up Zoe and kisses her cheek. He sets her back down, and we then go to the kitchen, and start dinner. Zoe stops dancing, watches Bluey, then dances again when she hears the music.

"Daddy, Mama I dance. I dance," says Zoe. Zoe giggles, and keeps dancing.

Pete and I clap, and Pete takes her and checks her diaper.

"I need change, daddy," says Zoe.

Pete changes Zoe, while I keep an eye on the chicken that is baking in the oven.

"Thank for change, Daddy," says Zoe, who kisses Pete's cheek.

Pete comes back with Zoe, places her in front of the TV, who is now watching Bluey. Pete gets the mashed potatoes and the veggies, and starts to prepare them. Zoe is dancing again, and Pete and I watch while we wait for the potatoes and the veggies and the chicken. I check the oven, and the chicken has a way to go.

"How was the rest of the afternoon, honey?" I ask Pete.

"Nothing much happened today. We only had three customers this afternoon who only wanted to look for homeowner's insurance," says Pete.

I remember afternoons like this. I actually liked them because I could get my work done more productively. Now that I've quit to take care of Zoe, I realize that I miss the adult conversation at times. But, when we go to the office to have lunch with Pete and Grandpa, I realize now that this makes it worth it because I now have a family of my own, and that I wouldn't trade this for the world. Zoe is now the office mascot in a way because Jean will give her cookies and candy when Pete and I aren't looking, my dad will have Zoe in his lap, and let Zoe draw on a blank piece of paper, just like he did with me and my brother when we were little. Pete will feed Zoe her lunch while I eat mine, and we'll just talk. Everyone just wants to spend some time with Zoe.

"Are they newlyweds, or were they engaged at this point?" I ask.

"All newlyweds who just bought their first house," says Pete.

"That's nice," I say.

"I remember when we got this place," says Pete.

"Yeah, it seemed HUGE at first, but now with Zoe, it's perfect," I say.

Pete checks on the potatoes and the veggies, and they're just about done. He pulls the chicken out of the oven, and dishes out Zoe's portion. I check on the peas, and they're done, and so are the potatoes.

Pete gets Zoe, and sits her down in her booster seat. I put some honey over her chicken, and Pete lets her try some peas and carrots to see if she likes it before we serve it to her.

"Yumma yumma, daddy. More! More!" says Zoe, who was excited about eating solid peas for the first time. Zoe claps and squeals when she tries a new toddler friendly food.

She then tries a few carrots, and repeats yumma yumma and says that she wants more.

"Okay, you can have some more in a little bit, Zoe", says Pete. Pete dishes out some mashed potatoes on her toddler plate that has three different compartments, and Zoe grabs her toddler spoon and puts some peas in the spoon.

"Yumma! Yumma!" says Zoe.

Zoe puts some of the chicken covered in honey on her fork, and says yumma. She then puts some mashed potatoes on her spoon and repeats yumma. She takes a sip of water after a few bites, and Pete and I talk. I grab a Hawaiian roll, and Pete and I talk.

I go to clear the plates when everyone is done, and Pete stops me.

"I'll get the plates and dessert, honey. You just spend some time with Zoe," says Pete. Pete cleans up, and then comes back with our dessert. Pete comes back with a chocolate cupcake for Zoe.

We eat our chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream on the side. Zoe is eating her chocolate cupcake, and she has frosting and crumbs all over herself.

"Oh, Zoe. You now understand that all girls love chocolate," I say.

Zoe laughs and squeals.

"Pete, honey, can you watch Zoe for a few minutes? I think someone needs a bath," I say.

I gather Zoe's sleeper, and a lay out a fresh diaper. I draw Zoe a bubble bath, and Pete brings up Zoe to the bathroom. The water feels nice, not too hot, but not too cold. Pete undresses Zoe, and she's bone dry. Pete disposes of her diaper, and hands Zoe to me. I put Zoe in the bath tub.

"Yay! Bubbla baf. Bubbla baf!" says Zoe, who is excited about taking a bubble bath.

"Ahh, nice, mama. Ahh, nice," says Zoe.

"I'm glad your enjoying your spa night, Zoe," I say.

I look at the test I took earlier today. I flip it over, and it's negative. Pete and I dodged a major bullet. I ask Pete to watch Zoe for a few minutes, and I go to the en suite bathroom. I pee, and I see blood in my underwear. Nature was also telling me that I wasn't pregnant this month. Pete and I want another baby, but maybe now isn't the time. It just seemed that my period was a few days late.

"Honey, are we?" Pete asks when he sees the test in the trash.

Pete has a sparkle in his eyes, and his eyes look hopeful.

"No, Pete, not this time," I say.

"Oh, honey, one day it will happen again," Pete says. Pete pulls me in his arms, and just holds me for a while. Pete seems devastated. We both wanted this.

Pete puts his arms around me while Zoe relaxes in the tub, and we just enjoy watching Zoe. After a while, I wash Zoe, and then I wash her hair.

"You're right, Pete. I think fate is telling us that it's not time to give Zoe a sibling right now. If it doesn't happen, then I'm fine with that, too," you say.

"That's the spirit, sweetheart," says Pete, kissing me on the forehead.

After a while, I remove Zoe from the tub, and dry her off. Pete gets her in her diaper, and then puts her in her sleeper.

"Mama, no cry! No cry, mama," says Zoe, who senses my sadness.

"It's okay, Zoe," I say. "Why don't we go watch the Disney channel, then I'll read you a story, okay," I say.

I take Zoe to the living room, and turn on the Disney channel. Pete walks in later. Zoe hears the theme song to Bluey, and dances again.

"Daddy, Mama, I dance. I dance." says Zoe.

"That's great dancing Zoe," I smile.

Zoe grabs me by the hand, and says "dance, Mama. Dance Mama. Mama dance. Mama be happy when dance," says Zoe.

I smile, and start to dance with Zoe. Pete joins me and Zoe and dances with us. It's such a nice, normal family moment. I now realize that making memories are what families are all about. So is spending time together.

Pete watches this lovingly. After Bluey is over, I take Zoe to her nursery and read her a story. Pete then comes in, reads Zoe another story, and she soon falls asleep. We put her in her crib, and Pete and I kiss her good night. Our daughter, Zoe, has changed everything for the better. We don't want this to end.

#pete brenner #family #fluff #disney channel #bluey #cute toddlers #dancing toddlers

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