#Silver Cyclone

[killedbyhotpants]

"Observation: your spirit is stronger than most humans. Even when we found your hideout in the Ace Chemical Plant, you fought valiantly... [Though] ultimately, it was a futile gesture.

But your psyche, though bent, did not break when faced with horrible disfigurement."

- Silver Cyclone, on Red Hood's origin story

Batman: The Brave and the Bold

Deep Cover for Batman! S1E12

[jonny-be-gewd]

Jon as Adm. Beau "Cyclone" Simpson

Top Gun: Maverick [2022]

[hwizou]

stellaron hunters imvu buttons ( @castodust )　f2u w/o credit　♡　no f/o tags 04 blade nd kafka unless cass ;;!!!

[sleepboysummer]

ricky "if sacred places are spared the ravages of war, then make all places sacred. and if the holy people are to be kept harmless from war, then make all people holy" potts

[chainsawworld]

I really like how earth 3's villains are depicted in btbatb and a crisis on two earths but for different reasons I think like in btbatb the villains (and heroes) are clearly the exact same people as their counterparts just down a different path whereas the villains in crisis on two earths are completely different people that stem from the same idea as their counterparts

It's like.. btbatb's earth 3 is the same answer to a different question from their counterparts when crisis on two earths earth 3 is a different answer to the same question. Owlman in crisis is Thomas Wayne Jr. Owlman in btbatb is still Bruce. (not necessarily im not actually sure but you know what I mean)

[kageokami21]

Shade - Family and Friends

YEEEEEEESSS!!! It's done!!! My enormous drawing is done!!! And now it is here for all you guys to see too!!!

Omg, I can't believe it's done!!!! And from the time I started the rough sketch to completing the entire thing, it only took me a couple weeks (not even!) to finish!!! Can you believe that???! But anyways, it's done, and yes, I know there are some mistakes in it, but frick I'm really happy with it!!! This drawing with Shade and my other main ocs (excluding Silver) I've wanted to do for a long time, and finally I've accomplished that! (Two weeks??! Really???!!!!!)

Now, since I've put everybody's names on the page, I don't need to do a "who's who" for you guys. But I will, however, tell you everyone's relation to each other.

So, in my semi-AU (semi because some of the official Sonic characters are involved in it - as you can see - and not just my ocs), Shade is my main oc, and Silver is her boyfriend. Cyclone is one of Shade's adopted brothers, and also friends with Skate. Skate is Shade's best friend (not related to her) and Storm up top is Shade's cousin. (Fun fact, Shade has a lot of adopted siblings as well as cousins. Actually, Storm is her cousin and he has a lot of brothers and sisters. So, yeah..... XD)

Even though it's not perfect, I'm so glad I was finally able to do this! I hope you guys will enjoy looking at it as much as I had fun working on it!

Artwork belongs to me

Shade, Storm, Skate and Cyclone all belong to me.

Silver belongs to Sega

[kakushusband]

Idk if I have the drive for it Today but I want to draw a family photo w/ Citrus' extended family. By god this house is filled with robots

[true-blue-sonic]

Whenever Silver is in the Sol Dimension I could see Blaze not telling him about her problems there(including Eggman attacks) because she wants her home world to be an actually safe space where he can relax since neither the future nor the present of Sonic's world are ever truly safe for long

I can indeed imagine that; if there is no active threat going on, there is no reason for Blaze to really dive into Eggman Nega and all the woes he causes her kingdom. I think the mere thought is definitely going to make Silver all annoyed and huffy, and that hardly fits the vacationing spirit! Lol, but it would be quite funny if Blaze just tracks down Eggman Nega in the days before Silver comes over and trounces him and his robots even if he wasn't doing anything harmful to begin with. While Nega is licking his wounds and rebuilding his army, Silver can enjoy his vacation without stress <3 He'd be enthralled with spendings days on the beach and going out into the ocean on a boat!

[duckduckhjonk]

Hey fun fact, Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver came out just two days before the Cyclone Rollercoaster Disaster. Do with this information what you will

[angelbby555]

Chatter box

Summary: Bradley's girlfriend is a yapper and he's a listener. Word count: 900

The only words Bradley knew ever said to his chatty girlfriend were:

“I’m listening.” 

��Let it out.”

“I’m all ears.”

Based on the way she would eagerly say his name, it was almost instinct for Bradley to say, “Talk to me, baby.” 

She just loved talking about anything and everything. She had something to say about every topic Bradley could think of. He never found his girlfriend's constant talking annoying, only endearing. Over time it just made him become a better listener. Bradley talked too, but not as much as his girlfriend.

He contributed when needed or if he had an opinion, other than that Bradley shut his mouth to listen to her. Bradley didn’t listen because he had to or loved her- he listened to her rant because he genuinely wanted to. Every time she started speaking Bradley's ears and eyes were on her like she was the only person in the room. 

Being a chatterbox did catch up on his girlfriend at times. Like during Bradley’s lunch break when he left base to go eat with his girlfriend. It took her an hour and forty-five minutes to finish her food because she talked so much. Bradley would always finish his meal before her, and he would have to remind her to eat her untouched food. 

“Baby eat.” Bradley cut her off mid-explanation of the song Springs by Fleetwood Mac with a laugh. He had 5 minutes left to get back to base and his girl had only managed to take one bite out of the two pizzas she had. 

“Okay.” She frowned while picking up her pizza off the paper plate. Hearing her sighed, Bradley knew she was feeling insecure about how much had been talking. He couldn’t stand to see her upset for a second. It would be the third time this week that Cyclone threatened to shove a clock up Bradley’s ass so he would get to work on time. Despite the embarrassing scolding he would receive from his superior in the presence of his squadron, it would be worth it since his girlfriend had enjoyed her lunch. 

“What happens after Fleetwood Mac reunites for The Dance?” Bradley watched the spark come back to his girlfriend's eyes since her topic of conversation hadn’t been forgotten. She eagerly set her pizza slice back down, gearing up to talk her ass off again. Eventually, Bradley got tired of reminding her to eat so he ended up feeding his girlfriend her pizza slice while she continued to talk. 

Bradley turned up at base thirty-five minutes late humming the song Silver Springs, knowing he was about to get chewed up so hard for being tardy yet again because he let his girlfriend keep talking.

While deployed the guys would tease Bradley because he had the thickest envelope from his girlfriend that had the density of a small paperback novel. The envelope was only made up of pages and pages of his girlfriend's handwriting. She wrote a lot, so Bradley was severely spoiled with entertainment from her. He wouldn’t even go hit the town with his friends, too busy rereading the 20 pages his girlfriend had written. 

If she rambled through every meal she ate, Bradley couldn’t even imagine how much yapping she was saving for him to hear these past two weeks. When Bradley was able to make a Face time call home, his girlfriend was so excited to hear from him because she missed him so much. Bradley appreciated the concern and her question on how he was doing, but he didn’t want to talk about it. He already had to survive it, he didn’t wanna retell it. All he wanted to hear was hear her sweet voice he’d been missing for 2 weeks. 

“Enough about me, I’m sick of me,” Bradley smirked at her, getting comfortable in the chair in the lounge room. “Baby you better give me an earful, I’ve been missing my chatterbox.” The screen glitched from the horrible wifi on base, so he heard her wonderful laugh before he saw her reaction. 

“Bradley, don't get me started.” She covered her smile with her mouth while shaking her head. 

“I know you're itching to talk motormouth.” Bradley couldn’t resist teasing his girlfriend. “Baby, you got 8 minutes, can you work with that?” It she certainly couldn't considering she could talk so much to the point she made it till the closing hour at restaurants. 

“I’ll try.” She giggled. 

When Bradley got home the only thing he wanted to do was sleep, eat, and have sex with his girlfriend. On the second day of being home, Bradley and his girlfriend went out to eat lunch and hit the beach. After showering and spending the afternoon at the beach, Bradley wanted to end the day fucking his girlfriend and eating dinner. 

But as Bradley was making out with her on the bed and slipping his hands under her shirt her mind seemed to be completely elsewhere. 

“I used to hate my high school chem teacher with a burning passion but when I saw that bald guy at the supermarket yesterday, I just felt pity because he could probably have a heart of gold but in that classroom, he was such an uptight little-”

“Shh honey.” Bradley laughed against her lips, realizing her mind was elsewhere.

“I’m sorry.” She sheepishly took her bottom lip between her teeth. 

“It’s okay baby. You can tell me about that bald guy after.” Bradley smiled against her mouth. 

Despite her chatter entertaining and distracting herself, Bradley still loved to hear her rant and talk for hours. He couldn’t imagine having a dull girlfriend who hummed and nodded at replies. Bradley preferred his girls chatty, who got upset when they weren’t cut off.

This took me too fucking long to write! Writers, Ladies it's the third top gun summer. Don't start disappearing on us :/

[unbuttonedown]

Fault Lines / Chapter 6

Pairing: Beau “Cyclone” Simpson x Wife!reader (Mitchell!reader)

Word Count: 1.2k

Warnings: Consensual, legal age-gap relationship; Estranged Father/Daughter relationship (Maverick & Reader); Named Simpson!OC child; Angst; Pregnancy; Mentions of birth complications; No Beta Reader

Synopsis: After the successful Dagger Squad mission, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell returns home — only to be blindsided by the revelation that his estranged daughter is married to Vice Admiral Beau “Cyclone” Simpson. Maverick is forced to confront the years he lost and the family he never knew existed. Tensions rise between the two men as Maverick struggles to find his place in a life that has moved on without him, leaving the question — can broken bonds ever truly be repaired?

previous chapter / next chapter

The morning had started off normal — calm, quiet, soft light pouring into the kitchen as you moved slowly through the motions. Beau was already at base, Stella had been dropped off at school in her favorite pair of denim overalls and silver cowgirl boots, and you were looking forward to a slow, uneventful day. Maybe laundry. Maybe a nap. 

But then the first contraction hit like a gut punch. 

You told yourself it was just Braxton Hicks. That it’d pass. You’d had a few already. But this one was different — low and sharp, and then another came minutes later. You sat down. Breathed. Tried Beau’s cell. No answer. 

Another contraction, harder this time. 

You called his office. Voicemail. You leave a message. Trying not to sound as terrified as you felt, though you weren’t sure you were doing a great job. 

You swallowed the rising panic and went for your hospital bag, hands trembling. Then instinct took over. You tapped the name you hadn’t expected to rely on in a moment like this. 

“Hello?” 

“Mav,” you gasped before even thinking about it. “I — I think I’m in labor. And I can’t get a hold of Beau. I don’t know — can you — I need help.” 

“I’m on my way,” Maverick said without hesitation. “I’ll be there soon.” 

The ride to the hospital was a blur of pain and shallow breathing and Maverick keeping his voice low and calm as he drove — his hand on the wheel, eyes flicking to you every five seconds. 

“You’re okay. I’ve got you. Just breathe.” 

But by the time they got you into a room, things were clearly not okay. 

Monitors beeped. Nurses moved fast. Words like heart rate dropping and baby in distress were thrown around in clipped tones. A doctor came in, his face calm but urgent. 

“We need to take you into surgery right away.” 

Your heart was thudding so loudly it made your head spin. The pain was nothing compared to the fear now clawing at your chest. 

As the team began prepping you, wheeling your bed to the OR, and telling Maverick he had to go out into the waiting room, your hand shot out — grabbing at Maverick’s sleeve. 

“I’m scared,” you whispered, breath shaky and eyes filling fast. “Dad, I’m really scared.” 

His whole body stilled. 

You’d said it before you realized you had. The word just slipped out, instinctive and raw. Ten years of silence undone in a second. 

He wrapped his hand around yours and leaned close, voice low and fierce with emotion. 

“I know, kid. But you’re strong. You’ve got this. And I’ll be right here. I’m not going anywhere.” 

They pulled your bed away, toward the double doors that led to the operating room, and you let yourself hold onto those words, your heart pounding against fear and hope. 

The double doors swung shut behind your hospital bed with a hiss, leaving Maverick standing alone in the hallway, hands shoved into his jacket pockets, adrenaline still coursing through his veins.

For a moment, he just stood there, frozen. 

Then he moved. Fast.

He dug into his back pocket for his phone and hit Beau’s contact again, pacing the corridor like a storm cloud in motion. This time, Beau picked up on the second ring, voice clipped with command. 

“Simpson.” 

“It’s Mitchell,” Maverick said quickly, tone sharp. “She’s in the hospital. That baby — she went into labor and couldn’t reach you. They had to take her into emergency surgery.” 

There was a beat of silence. 

Then, “What?” 

“She called me,” Maverick said, softer now. “I got her here, but things moved fast. I don’t know everything — they rushed her in just a few minutes ago. They said the baby’s heart rate dropped.” 

Beau was already moving on the other end. Maverick could hear the scuff of boots, the slam of a door, the sudden urgency in his breath. “I’m coming.” 

“She’s scared, Beau,” Maverick added quietly, voice tightening. 

“I’ll be there soon,” Beau said, lower now. “Tell them I’m on my way.” 

Maverick hung up and exhaled for the first time in what felt like hours. The hallway felt too sterile, too still. He sat down in a stiff wooden chair and stared at the double doors like he could will them to open with good news. 

He glanced down at his hands. 

They were still shaking. 

You’d called him “Dad.”

Not “Maverick.” Not “Pete.” 

Dad. 

It echoed in his head with every tick of the second hand on the hallway clock. 

He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and rested his forehead in his hands. 

“C’mon kid,” he muttered. “You’ve got this. You’re tougher than me.” 

Maverick waited — quiet and unmoving — until the family he’d nearly lost came back through those doors. 

The hospital hallway had gone quiet again, save for the distant hum of machines and the muted shuffle of nurses’ shoes on tile. Maverick hadn’t moved from the chair since you were taken into surgery. His foot bounced restlessly, arms crossed tight over his chest. 

Then he heard the heavy, fast steps coming down the corridor. 

Beau rounded the corner still in uniform — his jacket half-zipped, hair mussed, eyes searching until they landed on Maverick. His pace slowed, but not by much. 

“Where is she?” He asked, voice low and urgent. 

“Surgery,” Maverick stood up quickly. “Still in there. They said emergency C-section. Something about the baby’s heart rate dropping.” 

Beau scrubbed a hand over his face. His other hand was still clenched like he hadn’t let go of the steering wheel until he stepped through the hospital doors. 

“Jesus,” he muttered. 

“They acted fast,” Maverick added. “She was scared. But she’s strong, Beau. You should’ve seen her.” 

Beau nodded tightly, then paced a few steps away. He didn’t say anything for a long minute. Just breathed. 

Maverick sat back down, leaving the seat beside him empty. 

Maverick looked up at Beau. “She called me.” 

Beau nodded again, slower this time. “I’ve known her for about seven years. Married for five. I’ve been through deployments, scrapes, hell — one time she got pneumonia and still ran a work meeting from bed — but I’ve never heard her sound like that on the phone. Panicked. Like she didn’t know if everything was going to fall apart in the moment.” 

He exhaled through his nose and finally sat down next to Maverick. 

“I’ll be honest,” Beau said. “I was pissed that I had missed her call. That I wasn’t there for her in that moment. That I couldn’t comfort her when she needed me the most. But then I realized — she trusted you to come through. And you did.” 

Maverick’s jaw twitched slightly. “She shouldn’t have had to trust me for anything. Not after all this time.” 

“No,” Beau said, not unkindly. “But she did. And that means something.” 

There was a long beat between them. Two mean who’d never quite figured each other out, both sitting with the weight of the same fear. 

“She’s my whole world,” Beau said quietly. “And so is that little girl sleeping in her bed tonight. And that baby they’re delivering in there.” 

“I know,” Maverick said. “I see that.” 

Beau looked over at him — really looked — and his expression softened, just a little. Enough. 

“You showed up for them today. For her. I don’t take that lightly.” 

Maverick swallowed, throat tight. “I don’t either.” 

They sat in silence after that, the kind that didn’t feel cold or uncomfortable. Just full of waiting. Full of hope. 

And for the first time since all of this started, it didn’t feel like there was a line drawn between them. 

They were just two men, two fathers — waiting for the same door to open. 

[jonny-be-gewd]

Jon visits Boeing Super Hornets

[lovebvni]

repetition (a pick-a-pile)

in honor of my friends kai ( @klxudykai )and nile (who doesn’t want to be tagged), i want to do a little pap! this will be black white and purple themed for them too (their pfp colours)

i know both of them are going through cycles of repeating their actions over and over, and it is hard for them. i know it’s frustrating — hell i hate repetition. but you find peace in it.

this pick-a-pile is just advice for your manifesting and/or shifting journey. there is no real theme, but i asked spirit to bring up something you need to repeat for each pile.

this pap is intuition and shufflemancy-based. i am not using tarot nor cards at all for this. this is also for entertainment purposes. take my words with a grain of salt AND please do not use this as legal or life advice.

now, inhale and exhale. believe in your intuition, and pick a picture.

[1 ; 2

3 ; 4]

pile 1 the spiral.

hi pile 1! here’s confirmation for your pile : cycles, crying, cynical, the letter c (in your name of in the name of your significant other. casey and clark stand out.), puns, clairaudience, crown, clowns, (a lot of words w the letter c jesus christ..), underwater, drowning, sinking, the sea, oceans, water (s), fix your face, black, sexism, activist, reality shifter, cyclones, spirals, “i feel like im not seeing any signs/progress”

well pile one, you could feel like you are stuck in a cycle. just a torpedo and you’re getting hit with the same things over and over. you’re wondering why things aren’t changing, why this won’t end, but it’s because YOU won’t change. this is the harshest i think i have ever been in a pick a card, but you really need to get over yourself. realize you aren’t the person you should be, throw that person away and reinvent yourself. you want a lot in life, and you aren’t going to get it if you don’t decide to change yourself. the universe chose you for a reason, but if you keep having your own pity party, you aren’t gonna get anywhere. stop getting mad when you’re being told the truth. it isn’t there to hurt you. it’s there to help you. the truth is a tool. and as long as you keep ignoring it, you keep hiding from the monster inside your closet, it’s never gonna leave. it’s gonna haunt you. it’s like a negative spirit. lure it out and keep it coming. it is gonna hurt, but it’s worth it.

your required repetition is “continue to listen and change yourself. transformation.”

the waiting season is one where you need to work, don’t keep sulking.

now to interpreting your song, her by poppy. you have been trying to be someone else that you are not, for someone else. the chorus

“I'm getting to know her And all of her anger You won't recognize her If you encountered I'm getting to know her And all of her anger Picked herself up Put her back together”

you need to change and you know it, and you don’t know how. start with your anger, your sadness, a strong emotion and unravel it. unwrap it like a gift. keep pulling to you get to the root of the cause — hold it.. nurture it… and get the mud off it.

see this as a new start, pile one. i love you. you need to know you’re strong, and you can do this. don’t get annoyed, because i know you’ve been told this before. fix your face.

pile 2 ghouls

hello pile 2! here’s confirmation this is your pile!!: fairies, love, purple, green, heart chakra and third eye chakra, shadows, “on a silver platter”, polite, scars, romance, sacred, girl blogger, skull and bones, doja cat, fear of success, screaming, pink, sexuality, white, sensuality, fire and ice, opposites, blood, self sabotage, royalty, alternative, goth, knight, disability, multilingual, this specific dynamic, vampire

simplicity. simplify everything. that’s all spirit is saying. don’t over complicate things. that’s like all spirit is saying u guys 😭😭

they r literally saying clear your mind, just be the person you are meant to be. listen to your intuition, be creative, have love in your heart, even when times are hard, and let emotions flow.

spirit told me your manifestations are actively coming in 😭😭 idek why you’re reading this pac! like there are no notes, nothing else you need to do. just listen to your intuition and be in tune with yourself. god i love this pile bc yall r js so sweet and light hearted — like there’s so much hidden positivity here that’s waiting to come out.

good job on how far you’ve come, and hav fun where you’re going! love you pile 2!

pile 3 — unclear memory

hi pile 3! here’s your confirmation: “even a worm will turn”, disappointment, ditsy, protector, big eyes, proposal, hobbit core, hermitcraft, minecraft, silence, under another’s control, blush, light colours (pastels), resting, new opportunities, distractions, distant, chapell roan, wlw.

you’re over possessive but you cut out your heart. or someone else cut it out. you need to get your priorities straight. there’s so much going on in your brain. they all lead to the same thing, don’t they? like how a spider web meets in the middle.

you’re sad, i can tell, but you won’t let anyone know. you think you’ve done enough, or even too much, but in reality you’ve been distracted. you’re trying to hide your main in overworking. doing too much.

your repeating advice is “get back on track and focus on your morals”.

but dont become some else. become yourself. stop holding grudges. get yourself back.

pile 4 — kisses

hi pile 4! here’s confirmation this is your pile: shadow work, brooklyn nine-nine, wolf pack, furry, july, suicidal but continuing, height difference, jumbled thoughts, flowers, blue and pink, wash off the makeup, ombré, counting crows poem.

this is my dogs favorite song 😭😭

pile four, you have been looking for outer validation when you don’t need it. you’re searching for signs, for love, for confirmation you’re on the right path when you really jay need yourself. you’re putting yourself down and other people/the universe on a pedestal. YOU ARE THE UNIVERSE!! REALIZE THAT!

what you say goes. what you want will happen. and that’s that.

your advice is as follows ; “you need to just rest.”

and i think that’s great advice. sit down and relax. listen to music, meditate, be at peace. work on yourself. try journaling too!! it will help.

thank yall for reading!! <3 i hope this helps someone. finishing this at 5:55 pm btw!!

[shakespeareanwannabe]

As You Wish, Chapter 17

Summary: When arriving at Camp Silver Star, Abby Floyd was anticipating a summer of adventure with an ocean separating her from the three people she loved most: her mom, her Uncle Bob and her Aunt Natasha. But after a run in with Charlie Seresin, an extremely familiar looking and irritating camper in a different cabin, her summer plans take a turn that neither girl ever could have expected.

Trigger Warnings: reader's children are described as being blond with green eyes because genetics are wild and Jake's genes are strong, reader is canonically Bob's sister (but biological relation is never discussed), reader goes by Buttercup and is tattooed, angst (so much angst I made myself cry), panic attack, drinking, sadness, reference to divorce, kids breaking your heart, references to babies, swearing, references to the military, fighting and marital strife, PPD, references to sex (but nothing explicit)

Seresin Residence, Miramar, 12 years ago

Jake sighed as he pulled his truck into the driveway of the little beach bungalow he had scrimped and saved to buy for his family. Normally, he was excited to get home after a long day of training, but lately? Lately, it seemed like all they did was fight. Some days, it was him fighting and Buttercup sitting there, taking it. Others, it was all out warfare, each of them screaming at each other. And after the fight they had had that morning, Jake wasn’t too pleased to be home.

The fight had worn on him all day. He had been absolute shit in the cockpit because of it, and he’d already had a verbal dressing down by just about everyone. Cyclone and Warlock had ripped into him pretty good. Rooster and Phoenix had taken pleasure in seeing him knocked down a peg or five. Maverick had only shaken his head at him in disappointment, and that had probably hurt the most.

With a groan, Jake got out of his truck and grabbed his duffle, heading to the front door. Three months ago, he would have kicked his boots off with a playful, “Honey, I’m home!” before racing to snuggle his daughters, pecking his wife on the lips as he went. But not today. Today, he toed his boots off and tossed his duffle into the laundry room.

It was quiet. Too quiet. Maybe they were all asleep. He wouldn’t be mad about it if they were. Maybe if Buttercup got some quality sleep, she’d be in a better mood.

Jake sighed and flipped on the light in the living room, startled when he spotted Buttercup sitting in her preferred armchair.

“Hey,” he drawled. “You surprised me. I thought you were asleep. Where are the girls?”

“Asleep,” she murmured, eyes tracking him as he grabbed a beer from the kitchen.

“Good. They eat okay today?”

“Charlie doesn’t like not breastfeeding, but she’s getting used to it. Abby’s still not eating enough.”

Jake ignored her cold, indifferent tone. “She’ll get there.” He flopped onto the couch and reached for the remote.

“Jake…”

“Buttercup, it’s been a long day,” he groaned. “I really don’t want to fight tonight. The girls are asleep. Go have a bath or something, let me watch TV, and I’ll order us a pizza for dinner. Okay?”

“So, that’s it then?” Finally, her voice had a touch of a bite to it. “No comment, no nothing from you? You said no and that’s that? Your word is law?”

Jake groaned and let his hand flop back onto the sofa. “I don’t know what else you expected me to say. I’m part of the U.S. Navy. Meaning I have to be in the United States. I can’t move to England just because you got a job interview for a publishing job. There are dozens of publishers that are stateside. Why not go for one of them? I’m sure they’d let you work remotely. I don’t see why you want to move to a different continent.”

“They’re the only ones who have offered to take a look at my writing on top of my publishing responsibilities,” she hissed. “Which you would know if you paid any attention to me.”

“Okay, so you can do your whole writing thing from anywhere, can’t you? Skip the whole publisher thing and focus on writing! When you’re done writing or whatever, you can send it to a publisher! You’d at least get to stay with me that way!”

“How am I supposed to focus on my writing, Jake? I barely get a chance to breathe, let alone sit down at a computer and write!” Buttercup’s voice was weak and desperate, and grating on Jake’s nerves. He hated it when she sounded like that, and she’d been sounding like it more and more. He would’ve done anything to make it better, but he was too tired to try. “You’re not around during the day, so you don’t know what its like! One of them always needs me, and Charlie is fussy, and Abby’s not eating enough, and I can barely breathe! And you want me to what? Follow you around from base to base, taking care of our daughters on my own while you’re on deployment after deployment?”

“That is what you signed up for when you married me!” Jake shouted, his frustration and exhaustion finally bubbling over. “I thought you would’ve known that based on how often your brother gets to go home! This is what it means to be in a military family! This is what you signed up for!”

“I signed up for you!” she shouted. “I signed up for a man who loves me, who is home to share the load with me! Not a man who has his head shoved so far up Uncle Sam’s ass that he can’t see the sun!”

“Don’t you dare!” Jake stood. “Everything I do is for the safety of this country and for you and our daughters. Don’t you want our girls to grow up in a country that is safe?”

“I would rather our daughters grow up knowing their father! They barely see you anymore! And it’s only going to get worse as they get older!”

“I’ll be promoted by the time that they’re older! That means less time deployed!”

Buttercup was shaking her head, shrinking back in her seat. “You’ll never give up flying, Jake. You wouldn’t take a promotion that meant you were grounded. It’s not who you are.” Buttercup’s voice shook. “Just like sitting at home, waiting for my husband to come back while I take care of our home and children isn’t who I am. I need more.”

Jake scoffed, red creeping into the edges of his vision. He felt like he was running on autopilot, unable to stop himself or control his anger. “So, what? We’re not enough for you?”

“Don’t do that!” Buttercup snapped. “Our family is everything to me, but I need more! I need something outside of just being a mom and your wife!”

“Okay, so London is that then? Will London be enough for you?” Jake was wrangling every ounce of his strength to pull himself back, to not do this. They were both tired, both stressed. She hadn’t been herself since the babies were born, and it didn’t help that he had been deployed when they had sworn to him that he would be grounded for his first few months of fatherhood. If they could just get on the same page again, everything would be okay. But that would only happen if he could get Hangman to take a backseat and let Jake handle this.

Buttercup’s eyes flooded at his mocking tone. “Fuck you, Jake.”

Loud cries echoed through the house and Jake huffed before heading down the hall. “Go take a bath, Buttercup. I’ll take care of the girls.”

In the nursery, Jake pulled Charlie into his arms and sighed, rocking his red-faced baby girl in his arms. It would all be okay. The first year was always going to be the hardest. If they could make it through that, they would be stronger than ever.

It didn’t hit Jake that it was too late until a few days later, when he came home to find a teary-eyed Buttercup standing in the kitchen, handing him a pile of divorce papers.

Seresin Ranch, Clifton, Texas, Now

Early morning sunshine danced across her eyelids, and she tried to bury her face in the pillow beside her. It was way too freaking early to be conscious after the night she’d had, she was bone tired, and she was sore in a deeply satisfying way. The dull ache in her muscles and the muted throbbing between her thighs were better than any soreness she had ever gotten from an extended workout. It was an ache that she hadn’t felt in years.

Stretching like a cat, Buttercup slowly sat up against the headboard and blinked against the sun streaming through the grey curtains, and three things hit her in quick succession.

She was not in her bedroom. Her curtains were not grey, and her window did not face east.

She was naked. Her usual t-shirt and shorts were absent as the cool cotton sheets kissed her skin.

The soreness she was feeling was accompanied by a series of hickies and bruises that decorated her body like confetti. Her neck, her chest, her breasts, her stomach, and her inner thighs were littered with the dark purple marks, leaving her feeling like a teenager the night after prom.

Buttercup felt her stomach roil as the memories from the previous night washed over her like a tidal wave. The barbecue, fighting with Jake, dancing with Jake, having 3 a.m. grilled cheese with Jake and splitting a beer with him before giving him permission to kiss her…Jake carrying her to his bedroom and making love to her sweetly and gently, then rolling her over and fucking her hard, then taking her again in the softest, tenderest way as the sun slowly began to rise.

What had she done? What had she done? This wasn’t who she was. She had never been the type of person who just fell into bed with a guy, and certainly not when that guy was her ex-husband. But then, she had always been helpless against him. Back before things had soured between them, she had been almost as good as Maverick at keeping all of the Daggers in line, but one flash of those bright green eyes and those dimples, and she was basically Jello. She had never been able to tell him ‘no’, except for once.

Buttercup pulled her legs up tight against her chest and pressed the heels of her palms into her closed eyes until she saw stars. She was so stupid. So weak. She had put in over a decade of work to make herself stronger, strong enough to withstand being alone, strong enough to be a single mother, strong enough to hold her ground against him. And yet, like a teenage girl, she caved at the sight of gleaming abs and a cocky grin, and the sound of sweet nothings he had whispered in her ear.

What would the girls think if they found out? Would they think they were getting back together? Of course they would, that had been their plan since the beginning. But a one-night stand did not a relationship make, and neither did attraction. Attraction and chemistry had never been their problem. Communication had been, and, though they had clearly gotten better at it over the past decade, it didn’t solve all the problems that still remained between them. Past hurts and past histories and words that had been said that couldn’t be taken back.

God, how she wished she could take them back. She had been sick in the head and sick in the heart when she had uttered those poisoned words to him, wanting him to feel like she did in the most toxic way. She was toxic to him, not the other way around like so many had thought would happen. Her own brother had warned her away from Jake Seresin the minute they met, cautioning her that he would ruin her life, but he hadn’t. He had given her the greatest year and a half of her life and two daughters that she wouldn’t trade for the world. She was the one who ruined him. Just like her nickname, she was a poison, and she would only destroy him more if she stuck around.

Tears began to well in her eyes, but Buttercup quickly dashed them away as she scrambled from Jake’s bed and began searching for her clothes, which she found neatly folded on the antique wingback chair in the corner of the room. Her heart ached at the sweetness of this man, who had opened his home to her for a week so they could both get quality time with their daughters, who had ended his engagement because his fiancée had been cruel to their girls. He didn’t deserve this. Maybe the old Hangman had been cocky and brash and bold, maybe Hangman had left a trail of broken hearts behind him, but her Jake didn’t deserve to have his heart broken because she was so weak and selfish. Her heart ached at the thought of leaving him, of only seeing him at events for the girls, of eventually seeing him engaged to a woman who did deserve him. But she didn’t deserve him. She wasn’t strong enough to be his reason for living once the girls graduated.

The realization had her slowly pulling her clothes on, choking back sobs and dashing her tears away. He needed more than her. He needed someone who was strong enough to hold him up while he figured out what he wanted to do with his life once the girls had moved on. He needed someone who wouldn’t panic at the very suggestion of him going back to the Navy. She needed to walk away so that he could find that person. Despite the pain lancing through her heart and the heaviness in her limbs, she had to. She wouldn’t poison him anymore. Not when she…

More tears streamed down her face as she stumbled into his ensuite and desperately tried to make herself look like less of a heartbroken mess. He would be okay and, eventually, so would she. The girls would struggle, but she would fight like hell to make sure her girls still had so much love and support from both of their parents, even if they lived on opposite sides of the globe. They wouldn’t suffer just because their mother was toxic.

A deep wash of her face and multiple splashes of cool water later, Buttercup, resolved and heartbroken, strolled out of the bedroom and made her way back to the kitchen, finding her daughters sitting at the island while Jake flipped pancakes.

“Morning, Mom!”

“Morning, Mum!”

“Hey, darlin’,” Jake followed up the sweet chorus of their daughters’ voices with a shy grin, so unlike him but still so fitting that it made the ache in her chest deepen. “Did you sleep okay?”

Buttercup fought to keep her face straight as she regarded him with as much cool indifference as she could muster. “Yes, thank you. And good thing too. We’ve got a busy day tomorrow.”

Plates clattered as Charlie set the island for breakfast. “What are we doing tomorrow?”

Buttercup fought the pain and panic rising in her throat as she looked at the smiling figures of her broken family. “A-Abby and I are going home tomorrow,” she croaked out. “Our flight leaves at 9 p.m.”

Silence fell like a heavy, suffocating fog over the kitchen. Abby had frozen in her seat, a juicy red grape dangling almost comically from her fingers halfway between the bowl and her mouth. Charlie wasn’t doing much better, a plate suspended in midair while her face flushed. And Jake? She couldn’t bring herself to look at him, to see the anger or pity or fury that was undoubtedly marring his handsome features.

It was Charlie who broke the silence first. “What?”

The question was so simple, but Buttercup had to brace herself before answering. “We promised you a week together, and it’s been a week. Our flight has always been leaving tomorrow.” She managed a weak smile at her daughters. “I guess time really does fly when you’re having fun.”

“Mum…” Buttercup’s heart nearly shattered at the broken, pleading sound of her baby’s voice. “Couldn’t we stay? Please?”

For the time being, Buttercup was winning the losing battle against the tears that were clogging her throat and flooding her eyes. “I’m sorry, sweetheart, but we can’t. You start school next week and I have deadlines to meet. Uncle Bob and Auntie Nat have to go back to work too. But your dad and I have figured out a good schedule for visiting. You get more school vacation than Charlie does, so you’ll get to come here for a few breaks, and Charlie will get to come visit us when she has breaks, and then we’re going to split the summer in half, okay? I—” Buttercup’s voice cracked, and she turned her eyes skyward to prevent the tears from falling again. “I know it’s not what you want, but it’s the best we can do.”

“That’s BULLSHIT!” Charlie’s cry was loud and harsh. “That’s complete bullshit! You could both stay! Everyone should stay!”

Buttercup’s breath stuttered in her chest as she looked at her daughter, so full of pain and anger. “I know that you wish we could, sweetheart, but we can’t. I’m sorry!”

“You’re sorry?” Charlie was crying now, hot tears running down her red cheeks. “I only get two weeks with you after 12 years and now you’re leaving and you’re sorry? That’s bullshit!”

“Charlie…” Jake’s voice was a soft warning.

“What?” She whirled on her dad. “It is! She could stay here if she really wanted to! But she doesn’t! She doesn’t care. Not about you or me or anyone! If she cared, she wouldn’t have left us in the first place!”

“Charlie…” Buttercup couldn’t stand the way her voice crackled with tears. “Charlie, I—”

“I hate you!” Charlie turned on her, green eyes full of anguish. “I hate you!”

“That’s enough!” Jake didn’t yell, but his voice held that military tone that immediately silenced everyone in the kitchen, save for Charlie’s ragged breathing and Abby’s soft sniffles. “You do not get to talk to your mother that way. You can be angry all you want, but this is a joint decision between your mother and I, so if you hate her then you hate me too. And no matter how you feel about us, I know that I taught you respect. We do not lash out at other people because of the way we are feeling in this family. We talk it out, and if we can’t manage how we’re feeling then we take a beat before we have a calm conversation. So, go take a beat. Take a lap of the ranch and cool off, Charlie.” Jake’s tone was no-nonsense and left no room for argument. Chest heaving, Charlie stomped away and let the door slam behind her. Jake sighed and looked at his oldest daughter, sniffling quietly in her seat. “Why don’t you go with her, Abby?” His voice was gentler now. “I think maybe some fresh air and a walk will do you both some good.”

Not saying anything, Abby nodded meekly and shuffled out of the kitchen, the front door barely clicking shut in comparison to the slam that had rocked everyone to their very foundations.

Buttercup stood stock still in the kitchen doorway, hand wrapped around her throat as she fought the tears that were falling slowly.

“Buttercup…” She flinched violently away from Jake’s gentle hand on her elbow, and he held his hands up. “Buttercup, it’s alright. It’s all gonna be alright.”

She shook her head, clutching at her throat to get the words out. “She’s right. It’s all my fault.”

“Now, I thought I told you I didn’t want to hear any of that anymore,” Jake said, gently but with a hint of stern resolve. “Now, why don’t we sit down and talk about this?”

“There’s really nothing to talk about, Jake.” Buttercup’s sigh was bone-weary as she sank into one of the island stools. “We have to go home. Abby’s got school, Bob and Nat have work, I have deadlines that I’m already behind on and signings I promised to do months ago and they want me to do edits for a script for one of my novels…We promised them a week together, and that’s what they got.” She shrugged helplessly. “There’s nothing we can do to change that.”

“I get where you’re coming from, darlin’, I do…” Jake leaned against the island across from her. “But…it wouldn’t be too difficult to get Abby signed up for school here, and Bob and Phoenix are grown ups, they don’t need you to take them home. And you…” He sighed heavily. “You can write from anywhere, so why can’t you write here with us?”

Buttercup’s heart cracked wide open, years of heartbreak and loneliness and anger pouring out of her like hot lava. “I can’t believe you’re asking me that again! What about the life I’ve built for myself? My professional reputation? My friends? Abby’s friends? I have a life in London! I like my life in London!”

“I know that.” Jake kept his voice even and calm, even as he wanted to reach out and calm her. “I know I fucked it up the first time. I know I didn’t get it the first time, how much the job and the move and everything meant to you back then. But you’re an award-winning author now, Buttercup. You’re like…number one draft pick in the NFL. You would have dozens of publishers falling all over themselves and each other to publish your stories now. Hell, with the way technology has improved in the last decade, nothing would stop you from keeping your publisher in London and Zooming into meetings with them from here. Isn’t it at least an option?”

Everything he was saying made perfect sense. It was all logical and well thought out, and, for a moment, she could picture it. Staying in Clifton, on the ranch. Turning the guest bedroom into an office for her to write out of while staring out at the pretty scenery, waking every morning in the cradle of Jake’s arms and cuddling with him until their daughters dragged them from bed. Giving them a real shot.

But a real shot meant the possibility of real pain. Pain that she had barely healed from the first time. Pain that she had put him through. Pain that he didn’t deserve. He didn’t deserve any of it, but to protect him, she would have to hurt him.

“I can’t just give up my job, my life because of a one-night stand.” Her voice was cold, belying the white-hot pain that was shooting through her heart, her very soul.

“I thought I meant more to you than that?”

She could hear the pain in his voice and ducked her head, refusing to meet his eyes. “You do…” she whispered, so quiet that he wouldn’t be able to hear her. The words “You did” came at a louder volume. “But I worked too hard to get to where I am now, and so did you.” She gulped down air, feeling like the walls were closing in on her. “I…I finally healed from everything we put each other through, and we can’t just fall back together again because it’s easy.”

Jake scrubbed a hand over his face. He knew what she was talking about. They had put each other through a lot, and it had taken over a decade to even start to heal from that, but they had healed. Wasn’t he worth giving it another go? Weren’t the girls worth trying for? He tamped down the anger he felt growing in his gut and asked, “When have we ever been easy?”

“You know what I mean, Jake.” Her sigh was heavy, bowing her shoulders like she was carrying the weight of the world. “We’re familiar. We’ve been living in the same house for a week, and, in a moment of weakness, we let ourselves fall back into old habits. And it felt good. But we’ve been down this road before. We know what lies at the end of it.” Tears pricked her eyes again and she blinked them back. “Besides, you were just engaged to another woman. You were planning on going back to the Navy. I…I can’t be the thing you hold onto just because you’re afraid of what your life will look like in six years.”

Jake felt the anger within him rise, and he relied on every ounce of his military training to remain composed, to not let the anger seep into his voice. “I don’t think I’m the one who is afraid here. You’re running.”

“Jake—”

Despite the way she was shaking her head, hands covering her face, Jake moved around the island and gently put his hands on her shoulders, turning her to face him. “I know you felt something last night. I felt it too. Just because we didn’t work out the first time, doesn’t mean we won’t work out this time. You don’t have to be afraid of what might happen either, sweetheart.” His voice was filled with so much warmth and passion that Buttercup felt the tears fall faster and harder down her cheeks. This sweet man. She had never deserved him. His hands stroked her upper arms as he continued. “You’ve done such a good job on your own. Abby is incredible and your books…” Jake shook his head in amazement. “You’re incredible. But you don’t have to be strong and do it all on your own anymore. I know you can, but you don’t have to. Let me help. Just stay and let me help.” He was begging and he knew it, but he couldn’t help the tightness in his chest that told him that he had to convince her to stay. That he couldn’t lose her again. “I know you felt it last night,” he ended in a murmur.

Buttercup buried her head in her hands and sobbed. He was saying all the right words and she could feel the warmth and kindness pouring out of him, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she would ruin it all again. “I…I can’t,” she cried. “We have to be the adults here. I can’t just leave my life behind and stay with you. Not again. We tried that once and it didn’t work, and we owe it to our girls to be better this time. We have to be better this time. For them. What we want doesn’t matter.”

Breath whooshed out of Jake’s lungs as he took her in. His Buttercup looked so small and broken, sobbing at his kitchen island. He had done that to her. He had broken his strong, independent, fiercely loyal and kind woman. No matter how badly he wanted to keep her, he couldn’t hold her back again. “This…this is really what you want?”

With doubt clogging her throat, she murmured, “It is.”

Jake’s shoulders bowed, and he grunted to clear the tingling in his throat and in the bridge of his nose. “Then…as you wish, I guess.”

Buttercup nearly ran down the path towards the dude ranch cabins. After a tense breakfast, one where no one said anything to each other, Buttercup got changed and got out of the ranch house as quickly as she possibly could. She felt like she couldn’t breathe with the weight of Jake’s disappointed gaze upon her and Charlie’s hate-filled words hanging in the air around them. Not even her sweet Abby had been able to look her in the eye, so she fled the moment it was acceptable to do so.

Now, she was marching to her brother’s cabin to talk to him and his best friend, to get some sort of reassurance that she was doing the right thing. She quickly climbed the two steps up and came up short when the door swung open, Javy emerging in his jeans, carrying his shirt from last night.

“Oh…” They both froze and stared at each other. “Hey Buttercup.”

“Hey Javy…”

“You, uh…” Javy shuffled his feet. “You good?”

“Not really,” she admitted, staring down at her toes. “Is Nat in there? Or Bob?”

“Bob spent the night in Mickey’s cabin with him and Yale. But Nat…” A shy smile pulled at Javy’s lips as he shrugged. “She’s asleep upstairs. I’ve gotta run to practice though. Can you tell her I said goodbye? And that I’ll see her for dinner tonight?”

Despite her own broken heart, Buttercup found herself smiling. “I’m glad you two were able to work it out. I’ll let her know.”

“Thanks, Buttercup.” He grinned and placed a light jab against her shoulder as he passed. “And hey? I’m sure whatever’s bugging you will work itself out in the end.”

“I don’t think so, Javy. But thanks.”

Buttercup let herself into the quaint little cabin and headed straight for the bedroom, where her friend was just waking up. Buttercup thanked whatever not-completely-evil god that was out there that her friend was wearing a t-shirt. After the morning she’d had, the last thing she wanted was to have her friend flash her by accident.

“Hey…” Natasha yawned as she stretched her arms over her head. “What’re you doin’ here? Where’s—” Natasha cut herself off, looking away from Buttercup.

“Javy had football practice. He says he’ll see you for dinner.” That was all Buttercup managed to get out before flopping onto the bed and sobbing.

“Jesus Christ, B!” Natasha scrambled up and pulled her crying friend into her lap. “What the hell?” A gentle hand ran up and down the length of Buttercup’s spine. “You’re alright, girl. C’mon.”

“J-Jake and I hooked up last night,” Buttercup blubbered, burying her face into the plaid comforter that covered her friend’s lap.

“And…was it…not good?” Try as she might, Natasha was struggling to see the problem.

“It was great!”

Both ladies were surprised at the strength of Buttercup’s sobs. It was unlike her to cry so much, but clearly, she had to exorcise some demons, and crying seemed to be the best way to get them out.

Natasha sighed and patted her friend on the back. “Then I am confused.”

“Join the fucking club…” Buttercup muttered, wiping her face on the bedspread before sitting up, her tear ducts seemingly empty. “We…we’re going home tomorrow. I can’t believe I was so stupid as to hook up with my ex-husband right before we’re going back home.”

“Not gonna lie, lady, but you were basically eye-fucking him all night. I’m not surprised that you two fell into bed together. The sexual tension was too great.” Natasha propped herself up against the oak headboard and stared at her friend. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, you know. Lots of couples do one last fuck fest after a breakup or divorce.”

“Is that what you and Javy were doing last night?” Buttercup bit out, no malice in her voice, only exhaustion.

Natasha bit her lip. “Actually…it was more of a ‘lets try this thing again’ than a ‘lets get this thing out of our systems’.”

Buttercup blinked her bloodshot eyes. “How are you two going to try it again when our flight leaves tomorrow?”

One of Natasha’s calloused fingers gently traced the scar that ran over her eye, something that she only did on the rare occasion that she was nervous. “That’s the thing…I’m not getting on that flight. Bob said that he could get me a refund with the airline since it’s, y’know, his airline.”

“You’re staying?” Of all the things she expected her best friend to say, it certainly wasn’t that. “What about your classes? Your friends?”

Natasha shrugged. “One of the other instructors can take over until they hire someone else. And there’s a gym in town that needs a new female personal trainer. Javy’s pretty sure they’d take me on the spot. And honestly, B? What friends? I had work friends that I only hung out with occasionally off the clock, and I had you and Bob. I lived in your home, ate your food, and hung out with you. No offence, because you know I love you, but not going back isn’t that big of a deal to me.”

Buttercup nodded as she looked at her friend. “I hate that you’re leaving me,” she mumbled, pulling Natasha into a fierce hug. “But I’m proud of you for giving him another shot. You just make sure he knows that if he hurts you, I’m only one transatlantic flight away from kicking his ass.”

“Or…you could always stay too and be just a walk down the road away from kicking his ass.” Natasha’s voice was gentle and kind, but Buttercup was already shaking her head. “Why not?”

“Because we tried, and we failed.”

“So did me and Javy,” Natasha nudged her.

“But you don’t have kids who will suffer if you try again and it still falls apart.”

“Fair point…” Natasha hummed and turned towards her. “What if it doesn’t fall apart?”

“I can’t risk it, Nat,” Buttercup murmured, tears welling in her eyes again. “I can’t hurt Abby and Charlie like that. They have to come first.”

“I get that.” Natasha reached out and squeezed her friend’s hand comfortingly. “But you have spent over a decade putting Abby first. You have been an amazing mother to that girl. Maybe it’s time to start putting yourself first instead.”

Buttercup squeezed back, snuggling down in her friend’s bed and sighing. If only it was that easy.

The next 24 hours passed in a blur of emotion. Charlie still wasn’t speaking to Buttercup, despite Jake’s private talk with her when she returned to the ranch house after her walk. Abby wasn’t faring much better, quiet but not angry the way her sister was. More…resigned. And Jake…well, Jake did what Jake always did. He walled up everything he was feeling behind thick, military issue shields and pretended. It was what he was trained to do. Compartmentalize and prioritize. His priority was making sure that his girls didn’t leave the ranch sad.

Buttercup’s eyes remained bloodshot for the rest of the day, and it broke Jake’s heart to see his girl so distraught. Part of him wanted to ask her to reconsider, to ask if her decision to leave was what was making her so miserable, but he didn’t. His Buttercup had only made one rash decision in her entire life: staying with him in Miramar. Every other decision had been meticulously thought out, including going to London to start over. He couldn’t blame her for that, and he couldn’t blame her for wanting to return to her life abroad, no matter how much it felt like it was killing him to let her go again.

So, Jake pushed it all down and tried to make it the best 24 hours he possibly could. He took his three girls on a trail ride after having a small goodbye lunch for their remaining guests. Fanboy, Yale, Payback and his family all enjoyed a small gathering despite the tense atmosphere. That atmosphere remained throughout the trail ride, though Jake had hoped it would help cool Charlie down. Dinner was similarly quiet, the five of them eating their spaghetti and meatballs in relative silence, though it seemed that both Rooster and Charlie were cheered to hear that Phoenix would be staying. Jake couldn’t help the glance he spared at Buttercup when that news was shared before Javy swept Phoenix out the door to keep their dinner reservation in town. He knew he couldn’t question why Phoenix was brave enough to stay and try to work things out, not when he knew why Buttercup was doing the brave thing by leaving. She was doing it so that the girls wouldn’t suffer from the fallout if they couldn’t keep their shit together a second time, and Jake couldn’t blame her. He would do anything to make sure Charlie was happy. Problem was that this decision didn’t seem to be making anyone happy.

Nobody got much sleep that night, the tension growing over the house like a big black storm cloud, what ifs and maybes swirling like a tornado. Day dawned without sun; the metaphorical storm having grown into a real one that had rain lashing at the windows. Breakfast was a silent affair, and Jake could barely choke down any lunch, one final meal before he had to say goodbye to his girls.

Bags were piled at the front door, waiting for the airport limo Bob had called for, complimentary because of his position with the airline. Six adults and two children stood in the doorway of the ranch house, waiting for the telltale sound of tire on gravel to signal the end. When Jake caught sight of headlights bouncing through the darkened sky, he sighed and gathered Abby into his arms.

“I love you, baby,” he murmured into her hair, and his heart broke as she clutched him tighter. “I’ll see you at Thanksgiving, okay?”

“I love you too, daddy.”

Jake opened his eyes and saw Buttercup ringing her hands as she approached Charlie, who had her arms crossed stiffly across her chest.

“I…I’m sorry, Charlie,” he heard her soft words and his chest ached for her. For both of them. His two girls were so strong and so stubborn, and they were both in so much pain. “I love you, sweet girl. I hope you remember that.” When it became clear that Charlie was not going to embrace her mother, Buttercup sighed and pressed a kiss to her hair instead. “I love you, darling.”

Buttercup turned to Rooster, who wrapped her in a tight hug. “You take care of yourself, alright, Buttercup?” he gravelled.

“I will. You take care of them for me, okay?”

“You know I will.”

A similar exchange happened with Javy, though Jake was sure that it included some sort of threat about treating Phoenix well, based on the slight grimace on Javy’s face as Buttercup turned and hugged her friend.

It was at that point that the car pulled up to the front door and Jake forced himself to release his daughter.

“Go say goodbye to everyone while I take your bags out,” he whispered to her, trying his best not to crumble at her tear-stained face.

She nodded and ran over to Phoenix, almost knocking her over. “I love you, Auntie Nat.”

“I love you too, kid.”

She squeezed Rooster next, the two of them having a whispered conversation as Jake passed, taking the bags out to the limo. He didn’t care that his white t-shirt was becoming see-through. He didn’t much care for anything at the moment. He was completely numb, just like he had been when he watched Buttercup and Abby walk out his front door the first time. He took his time loading the bags into the trunk before heading back into the house, feeling like he was walking to his execution.

When he stepped into the foyer, his eyes went straight to Abby and Charlie, embracing by the stairs. He sighed and turned to Bob, shaking his ex-brother-in-law’s hand before turning to Buttercup, who was watching her daughters with a sad sort of smile.

A gentle hand on her shoulder pulled her attention to him right as he pulled her into a hug. She folded into him the same way she always had, like she belonged there. Jake told himself that her trembling was because he was soaked to the bone, and if he felt moisture soaking into the front of his shirt, he told himself that was just the rain too.

She pulled away a few moments later, surreptitiously wiping at her eyes as she murmured, “It’s time to go, Abby.” She met his eyes for a fleeting second. “Thank you, Jake.”

“As you wish, sweetheart,” he murmured and escorted them onto the covered porch, where he gave Abby one more hug before pulling Charlie into his arms as they watched Bob, Buttercup and Abby make a run for the limo.

Bob held the door open as Abby slid in. Buttercup glanced over her shoulder at Jake and Charlie, standing like statues on the porch. She waved a sad goodbye before sliding in beside her daughter. Bob gave him an understanding nod before joining them and slamming the door shut. The limo roared to life and started down the dirt drive, rain and wind whipping at the windshield as they went. Abby and Buttercup huddled together on the leather seats as Bob gave instructions to the driver, and then they were silent.

Jake’s chest heaved as he watched them go, watched two-thirds of his heart walk away from him again.

“Wait!” Charlie cried, throwing off his hold and taking off down the wet and muddy driveway. “Mom, wait!” Jake lunged after her, grabbing her up in a hug as the limo disappeared between the trees, the falling rain too loud for them to hear her pleas.

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[hannie-dul-set]

could you do loud sungchan who gets quiet and shy around quiet and cool y/n please 🙏

[blizzard]. there is a storm in korean language department.

“midterms over! guess who’s throwing a party this friday?”

the storm’s name is jung sungchan.

“hey, man! see you!” he high fives with one of his peers, greeting them one after another like a hurricane sweeping everything along the path into his relentless torrent. “mrs. kang! wanna join too?”

loud and outgoing, friends with everyone, jung sungchan. from day one, he’s made a mark on the walls for skateboarding and crashing into the lecture hall— a literal mark, because the scratches his stunt left on the tiles are still there. the fact that he wreaks havoc in his wake is very fitting for the metaphor.

“that guy was talking shit about you the other day. why did you ask him to come?” one of his friends questions. sungchan simply shrugs and continues his series of thirst-second small talks with everyone he passes by in the hallway.

“you’re invited! and you’re invited! and you’re invi—” 

that is, until something puts the storm to a halt.

“invi...invited...”

someone, rather. there’s only one person that can silence jung sungchan— catch him voiceless and stuttering, demoted to a mere drizzle by their mere presence. his eyes widen and he stops dead in his tracks, nearly stumbling over, like the sky clearing after a sudden downpour. the calm after the storm.

and that person is you. 

“uhm,” he starts, eyes averted, pulling down his collar with a swallow to let some air in. “i have a party this friday. would you— would you like to come?” 

when you don’t reply immediately, your silence and blinking eyes filling the air, sungchan feels his airways clog and head going dizzy. “oh,” you simply say. he can’t feel the muscles on his face.

“it’s— it’s not a birthday party or anything, no, it’s just to celebrate the end of our midterms and—”

“yeah, i heard you,” you cut him off. “i’m just surprised that you’re talking to me.”

what...what is that supposed to mean? jung sungchan is friends with everyone. he knows the name of the 8 p.m. security guard’s grandson, and how miss lee is going to get married next week. he doesn’t have any trouble striking up a conversation with a stranger, and awkward silences don’t belong in his vocabulary.

but awkward is the only way to describe the silence here. 

the storm has died. it always disappears when you’re in the equation. it’s either your quiet nature just cancels out sungchan’s innate sociability, or perhaps your usual calm and unmoving face just makes him nervous and uncomfortable around you.

“w—well, everyone’s free to come! free booze, or whatever, haha.”

the answer is none of the above.

”i have an appointment in the evening,” you reply “but i’ll stop by if i can. thanks.” when you walk past him, you leave behind a pat on his shoulder, and sungchan suddenly hears thunder rip out— a turbulent, violent storm crashing in. 

the answer lies in the fact that jung sungchan has a stupid fucking crush on you

your face slices off his silver tongue in an instant, and your touch makes his steady heart go crazy like there’s a cyclone shaking it up to oblivion. he he clutches the remnants of your warmth seeping into his clothed shoulder, a bright shade of red painting his face.

there is a storm in the korean language department. it’s in jung sungchan’s ribcage, and there’s no sign of evacuation.

[rabbithaver]

Sonic characters and their favorite weapons!

Sonic: foot

Tails: cyclone mech

Amy: piko piko hammer

Knuckles: fist

Shadow: gun

Rouge: heart bombs

Omega: entire body

Blaze: fireball

Silver: 2017 Honda Accord