#Single Mom

[bet-on-me-13]

Lady Gotham raises Danny as a single mother

Danny gets de-aged and Clockwork sends him to live with his Daughter, Lady Gotham.

You would expect Lady Gotham to look very Gothic. Like a noble lady from the 1600′s or a ghostly woman in a large veil. Maybe even just a mass of writhing shadows?

But no, Lady Gotham looks like your stereotypical Single Mother at all times, cause she always has to keep her Bat-Kids safe like the rambunctious children they are, and it’s a 24/7 job

She basically has the house-mom look, frizzy hair tied up in a ponytail, a stained apron from making dinner, always looks tired but always has time to indulge her kids games, all that

After she takes in Danny, she decides to create herself a Civilain Identity so she can raise him as both a Human and as a Ghost. And raising the future High King has it's side effects, for example he is constantly producing excess Ectoplasm which empowers her enough to maintain a Corporeal form for much longer than she could before.

Now she can just live in her City, and actually Interact with her citizens like she never could before!

She starts helping out more, dispelling some of the more Nasty curses placed on her City and making people feel more safe than before.

She gives packed lunches to homeless kids, every day without fail, and they are always filled with that kids favorite snacks alongskde some healthy foods. None of her children are going to go hungry on her watch!

She donates to the local homeless shelters, and gives them some Good Luck charms so they experience less problems. She needs to teach her kids good morals after all!

She starts a Rooftop Garden on her apartment Building, handing out the produce to anybody who asks to borrow some. Somehow she never runs out no matter how much they ask for. It's good manners to treat your neighbors with respect! A cup of sugar and all that!

She embodies the "Neighboorhood Mom" stereotype perfectly, just across the entire city instead.

And the Batfam don't even notice for a few months! She isn't doing anything big, just being a good Samaritan, and a good mom.

Then, one day, Red Hood shows up and tells everybody that he was kidnapped by a Lady who kept saying stuff like "We need to get that dirty ecto sorted out, we are long overdue for a check up!"

And now he feels perfectly fine. No more green vision, no more violent tendencies, he's just not as angry about that anymore.

Now the Batfam are trying to find thus lady, but it's kind of hard since all Jason could give for a description is "She looked like a Stereotypical Single Mom. That's all I can remember about her appearance."

[justcallmesakira]

BYE YYOU GUS R SO SILLY @saelique buddyHGGSUG

THIS WAS THE BEST April FOOLS I HAVE EVER DONE I WAS LITEARLLY WHREZING ON THE FLOOR NO JOKE😭😂😂😂😂 YALL I AM A VIRGIM WHO NEVER HELD A BOY IN MY LOFE OH MY GAWD GUYS THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN IMPREGANTE ME IS NIKOLAI EXCEAPT HES COMING OUT PREGANT!

ANNNOUNCMENT!- I GOT PREGANT!

hi guys um so long story short i got pregnant!

basically it was a one night stand but it well i- now i find out i am pegant. So now i have to find a way to tell my parents and leave this blog thank you all so much. I dont know what to do anymore. And um wish my future family luck! and yeah goodbye!

@silverbladexyz- thanku sm for the time silver i appreaciate it

@heartsfourdazai- sorry love, i have to run away with my partner now but i still think ur the best <3

@chuuyasboner- it was fun with you and please dont stalk my child

@riiwrites- i had so much fun with you omg, it all started with a simple ask on how to resize pics

@elizais- we may not have interacted much but i love your writing

@nezuko-kamado-cute-demon- your so sweet yknow that omg wish i could have more time to talk with you

@tsuunara- goodbye tsu, may your writing journey proceed

@rusmii- we are both from se!asia so i found somewhat a resemblance with you but now i have to go mii, good bye

@saelique- I WILL MISS YOU THE MOST BYE EEUAAUGIAGAU *crying noises*

@atlasnessie- looks like we have to end up like beast dazai and oda...good luck atlas

@atzuhi- YDHGHSH we havent talked much but i loved your smaus-

For those wondering who i didnt tag i was too lazy too. I will keep the blog but well goodbye guys! it was nice meeting you <3

[alwaysabeautifullife]

Hey I figured I’d give y’all a chance to pass judgment on my situation and my character with some hot and juicy facts:

My husband had lots of red flags but I ignored them.

I believed that if I was good enough of a person, a mom, a wife he would be a better husband, father and person.

I believed God was capable of changing my husband and improving our marriage via the Sacrament of Marriage as my priest who counseled us told me before we were married.

I believed when the priests told me it was the devil destroying my marriage rather than willful acts of abuse or harm.

I believed I couldn’t make it without him.

I believed it was me that made him worse, when I didn’t walk on eggshells well enough.

Even if I didn’t believe these things, I was in love with my husband, emotionally and mentally dependent on my husband, and would have in this love and dependence stayed and forgave him for the things he did. I did not believe he would ever try to kill me. I believed he was my protector.

I am still in love with my husband. I still wish he could be a good person. I still wish he could be the man I “saw in him”. I still wish I didn’t have to live my life without him. I still wish our children didn’t have to live their life without them. I want the healthy marriage I would have suffered for 10,000 years for, I want the stable and healthy husband I would have suffered 10,000 years for. I wish he could be the one to keep me safe.

I wanted to leave, but couldn’t have. If I would have been able to leave sooner…I likely wouldn’t have.

But I’m out now. I’m safe now. I’m alive now.

You can pass your judgment on me; I’m weak, I’m pathetic, I’m stupid, I’m lazy, and I’m to blame. And I’m sure my husband would agree with you too.

And I would have agreed with you 6 months ago.

But I don’t now.

[eric4mansbasement]

Just your local milf trying to figure her shit out.

[roxygen22]

Still Here (Chapter 6)

Summary: Dinner with Timothée reveals feelings.

"There is something I want to show you."

It was Friday, so your curiosity over his words could finally be sated. Timothée was due to pick you up about 6 o'clock so the two of you could go out for dinner in the closest city of any appreciable size, Hartley. Unsure of where exactly where you were going, you opted for a cute blouse, jeans, and cowboy boots.

Madison was cozy on the couch with her grandparents with a bowl of popcorn in her lap when you walked out of your room. She had convinced them to watch the new Wonka movie with her while you were away. You hugged them all and kissed Madison on the head.

"Be good, do as you're told, and remember to brush your teeth."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, Mom."

"Love you!" you called back to her as you grabbed your things and walked to the door. Right as you looked out the window, you saw Timothée's blue truck pull up. You locked the door and skipped down the steps. It felt like you were in high school all over again. You were all smiles as you walked quickly to the passenger side.

"Hi!" you said cheerily as you climbed in.

Timothée looked up and down at your outfit. "Howdy," he replied through a grin.

"Hey now, I can get right back out of this truck if you're going to make fun of me," you sassed.

He held up his hands to feign surrender. "No, no. It's a good look! I swear!"

You playfully popped him on the arm. "So where are we going?"

He put the truck in gear and moved along. "There is an Italian restaurant I love to visit when I'm in town. Thought we could go there."

"And?"

"And what?" He clamped down his lips to prevent himself from smiling.

"There was something you wanted to show me. Surely it wasn't an Italian restaurant."

"Oh yeah, that. Yes, definitely that, too," he said with an exaggerated nod.

"What is it?!"

"You'll have to wait about..." He looked over at the truck's clock. "30 minutes to find out. We'll stop there before dinner so you can actually enjoy the food instead of wonder."

Timothée drove through Hartley's downtown square, pulled up in front of a closed shop, and turned off the truck. "We're here!" he said excitedly.

You looked around. "Ooo...kay. Where is 'here'?"

"Well, come on, get out of the truck."

"But Timothée, everything on this street is already closed for the night."

He held up a key. "Yep!"

He walked to a storefront and opened it up. You followed him through the door. "Wait here," he instructed. He walked to the back and flipped on the lights. You found yourself surrounded by the most beautiful wooden furniture you had ever laid eyes on.

"Welcome to my store."

"Yours. This is yours?" You spun around to take it all in.

"Yes. I made all of this."

"You what? Oh, wow. Mr. McDowell from wood shop would be so proud."

Timothée chuckled. "He was, actually. Bought a chair for his deck before he passed. Your mother bought a piece, too."

"She did?" You went through a mental list of all the furniture in the house as you walked through the showroom. "The porch swing?"

"Yep."

"I love that swing. Even more so now." You fingers gingerly grazed the handcrafted dining table next to you. "It's beautiful."

"Yes," Timothée said, not looking at the table, but at you. He cleared his throat when you turned and made eye contact. "Thank you."

"Where did you learn how to do this? Let me guess, another hobby you took up after you came back from Texas?" you inquired.

He shrugged. "Something like that. I needed to keep my hands busy. I turned the barn on my parents' land into my shop, and I sell out here. More traffic."

"What took you to Texas, anyway?"

Timothée's stomach growled. "Maybe we should discuss over dinner."

You stifled a giggle. "Fair enough. But don't think you are getting out of talking about yourself that easily."

The two of you loaded back up in the truck and drove a couple of blocks away to the Italian restaurant Timothée raved about. After you were seated on the patio and placed your orders, you set your chin in your hand and stared at him.

"Now spill." You grinned and waggled your eyebrows.

Timothée smiled. "Where should I start?"

"Well, the last I time I saw you before running into you at the grocery store was graduation. How about there?"

"As you know, I still hadn't figured out what I wanted to do. I hadn't made any plans for college, so I continued working at the hardware store for a while. That got boring. Sure as hell didn't want to do that for the rest of my life. So I started taking some auto mechanic classes at the vocational school here in Hartley."

"Is that where you learned to fix up the truck?"

"Yep. But that didn't seem like the right path, either. I felt...lost. Like I said the other day, once I got over the hurt of you leaving, I began to understand that you had the right idea all along. I even seriously considered giving you a call to see if your invitation still stood, but by the time I worked up the nerve, I learned from your mother that you were getting married. I didn't want to mess that up for you."

He paused when the server came by with the food. You both thanked her and took up your utensils. You couldn't believe what you had just heard. He considered coming all the way out to California. For me.

"What happened then?"

Timothée continued his story between bites. "Well, I figured I shouldn't waste the momentum to leave this place, so I just got in the truck in left. I held down some odd and end jobs, camped out in state parks or hotels until I got to the oil fields in Texas. Found a steady job and set myself up pretty well there for a few years until Mom died. I came back to help my dad keep up with the land and the house. He's not in great health, either."

"I'm so sorry, Timmy."

He paused, fork mid-air. "You haven't called me that in ages."

"Oh, sorr-"

"No, don't be. I- I've missed it." He half-smiled.

You blushed, dropped your eyes to your plate, and cleared your throat. "Any...significant others along the way?"

"I was engaged for a bit when I was in Texas. She was a nice girl, but I broke it off because it just didn't feel right. That was right before Mom passed. Since then, between work and taking care of my dad, I haven't had much time for, uh, exploring."

"You two ready for dessert?" the server asked as she came back around.

Timothée looked from the server to you. "The tiramisu here is amazing! Want to split one? Dessert's on me."

"That sounds divine."

With the previous candor interrupted, the two of you idly chatted while you waited for dessert. You asked after some of your high school classmates. He asked you about college life in California. Timothée offered you the first bite of the tiramisu when the server dropped it off.

"Oh, wow - that IS amazing!" You covered your mouth with your hand so as to not reveal the half-chewed cake.

Timothée chuckled. "Told you," he bragged as he popped a bite into his own mouth. You continued to take turns taking slivers of the cake until it disappeared.

You leaned back in your chair. "Mmm. That was so good."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it."

You settled the tab for the food, and he did so for the dessert. You left the restaurant and slowly ambled side by side back to the truck.

"Timmy?" You stopped short on the sidewalk in front of the truck, forcing him to turn back to look at you. "Thank you for making this whole...situation...more bearable. I can't imagine how lonely I would be right now if I hadn't bumped into you at the store."

Timothée stepped closer to you. He brushed a hair behind your ear that had been loosened by the wind. Your heart hammered at his touch and you felt heat flush your cheeks. He nudged your chin with his index finger so he could look you in the eyes.

"I should have followed you when you asked me."

<><><><><>

Chapter 7

Masterlist

Tag List:

@croatianprincess @bluizh

[yikesxsworld]

🖤🩶🤎🤍

[miguelsslvt]

I’ve always wondered how Miguel would react to singlemom!reader

see personally i think he would LOVE that.

imagine you two have been going out on dates and seeing each other for a few months, but you kept persisting that every time you two wanted to get heated, you would go to his house. eventually, you invite him to yours for dinner one night. nothing odd, no sign of anything until he notices the toys on the floor and the picture frames.

'who's this?' he asks, pointing at the photo of you and your little girl. 'that.. is my daughter. i..i'm sorry. i didn't want you to feel unco-' 'where's her father?' he cut you off. your heart sank. you knew that this would've ruined everything!

'he.. lives down in queens. he's out of the picture, b-but kiara sees him on weekends.. she's at her grandmothers right now.' you said, guilty. you looked down at the floor, tears swelling in your eyes.

'i'm sorr-' 'don't apologise. i.. how old is she?' miguel asked calmly. you looked up, confused. '..she.. turned 6 last may. why do y-' 'i want you to know that i want still want a relationship with you, y/n.' miguel said, keeping it blunt.

you felt your heart doing flips. 'i- you do? b-but-' 'i know you might be a bit cautious, but i do genuinely want to have a relationship. i do not mind that you have a child, besides kiara looks just as beautiful as her mother.' he reassured, as you felt the world fall off your shoulders. 'i.. are you serious?' 'completely.'

your eyes lit up, as you smiled widely. 'i.. miguel..' you whispered, before kissing him passionately.

BONUS:

'kiara, this is miguel.' you say to the little girl, as miguel smiled softly. 'hello, i-' 'are you the reason mommy keeps taking me to grandma's?' kiara said, angrily.

miguel was caught off-guard. 'i- er-' 'listen here mister! i don't want you giving my mommy cooties or anything! got that?!' kiara said, trying to make herself taller by stepping on her tippy toes. miguel couldn't help but burst out laughing. you stifled a laugh. 'k-kiara! be nice to him!' you tried to say, before getting cut off by kiara. 'nuh-uh! i wanna know who my mommy is gonna be kissing now!!' she whined.

miguel watched as you and kiara bickered with one another, and he knew, he was never more sure, that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with these two girls.

[sarahsmi13s]

Duckie Universe

I DO NOT CONSENT TO ANY OF MY WORK BEING COPIED OR TRANSLATED

this is the masterlist for the ‘Duckie’ universe! here you can follow Duckie’s journey!

pairing: bradley ‘rooster’ bradshaw x twin!reader, eventual jake ‘hangman’ seresin x bradshaw!reader

series summary: daughter of goose and carole and twin sister to bradley ‘rooster’ bradshaw, y/n bradshaw also got her papers pulled when she tried to enlist in the Navy. which turned out to not be as bad as she thought.

Story

Chapter 1

mav has pulled the twins papers. bradley is set out to prove something, while y/n takes it as an opportunity to do a reality check and see what other options she has

Chapter 2

when y/n and kendall go to visit bradley in california before he goes to flight school, they’ve got a big birthday surprise for him ;)

Chapter 3

one persons reckless decision turns duckie’s life upside down

Chapter 4

duckie has lost her love before their baby has even been born. but she isn’t alone. and she has a valentine’s day that she’ll never forget

Chapter 5

lil nick is now one! but it brings a lot of the feelings to the surface for duckie.

Chapter 6

duckie tries to start dating as the anniversary of kendall’s death reaches 3 years, but is she ready? and can bradley make her come to her senses about her latest boyfriend before it’s too late?

Chapter 7

it’s duckie and bradley’s birthday! you know what that means... she has kept her promise of no dating until her and brad were 26. and as she celebrates her birthday at the hard deck, she catches the green eyes of one blond aviator.

Chapter 8

jake has spent weeks trying to get to know nick and duckie, hoping to show her that he was willing to be there for both of them. duckie can see that and she wants to face her fears and dip her toe in the water. so during a morning at the beach that jake stumbled upon, she asks him to go to a farmer’s market with her

Chapter 9

a week after duckie and jake went on their "not-date" she is seriously regretting not getting jake's number before he left -- considering they haven't seen each other since. though, as fate would have it, that weekend they see each other at the beach and as duckie is walking away jake gets a push from his friends to get her number. little does he know he'll be getting much more than that from her

backstory

Last in the Flock

in the wake of carole's diagnosis, bradley gets into an accident, duckie's thoughts run wild and take over

if you would liked to be tagged in this series, please comment or reblog here!! it’ll just help me to keep up with everyone to have a central hub for tags

tags <33: @roosterscockpit @luckyladycreator2 @hotch-meeeeeuppppp @hisredheadedgoddess28 @malindacath @bananas1234 @avengers-fixation @shawnsblue​

love all you ducklings <33​

[chinookorca]

I don't have enough money to pay my up coming rent. I was able to what I owed last month Thanks to everyone's help. but I'm on need of help again. my job has been cutting hours. My paycheck have gone to the other bills my lights, gas and water. and getting to work. Now I don't have anything for rent.

I'm right back to where I was last month. I haven't even bought any food. My daughter and I have been getting by with food banks so that's been a huge help.

but Rent is due on the 5th midnight. please help me raise enough so my kid and I can keep our home.

I'm attaching a screen shot of what we owe in rent. it's $1261.95 + a processing fee $50

I am also in need on funds to get to work this week and next. I'm asking for $70 for rides

thst puts me at needing $1381.95 as my goal

paypal:https://www.paypal.me/AndiPerkins

Venmo: Andrea-Perkins-40

cashapp: $AndiPerkins23

Thank you to everyone who has helped me in the past. We wouldn't ve able to live with your support. Please share widely.

[rat-at-heart]

Honestly she's giving "mother" (to 514 children)

[kirisaki-daichi-scenarios]

Could you please do some head canons for pro player! Nash X single mom! Reader (Nash is in his early 30s and reader is slightly younger and has s toddler)?

pro!nash has been used to having 100% of his s/o’s attention in previous relations - relationships where the girl drops everything when he calls - so dating a single mum is a bit of a culture shock to say the least

but he’s not a particularly jealous sort, especially not when the ‘opponent’ is a 2 year old, and he likes dating someone who has their own life and responsibilities and isn’t always clinging to him 

the only problem is that it’s hard finding time to meet up

he’s either practicing or travelling to matches, and you’ve not got much time spare between your work and your kid

during match season in particular, a lot of the relationship is just texts and late night facetimes, sending you flowers and chocolates, and getting you tickets to local matches so the two of you can spend some time together at last

he’s a big fan of surprise visits as well

mostly at your doorstep, but, one time, he decides he’s going to ramp up the surprise element x10, and picks your kid up from nursery

between your kid’s face lighting up when they see nash, and nash turning his charms on the nursery staff, it’s no wonder that they let him take the kid

but, naturally, you freak out when you arrive at the nursery and find out that a man who claimed to know you has already picked the child up

you don’t talk to nash for a day, and nash says he’ll pay for the best nursery around, because the current one’s security clearly sucks

in general, nash does a lot of paying for the kid

he may not like children much, but this one’s ‘his’ and it’s not like he’s got anything better to pay for

so nice clothes, top schools, daytrips: that’s nash’s card footing the bill

(sidenote: nash is 100% the kind of person to have experienced how damaging it is for children to attend highly competitive schools, and yet he’ll still pay for the kid to do the same)

and, of course, he can’t send the kid nice presents without buying you something nice to wear or read too

anyway, back to the child

nash may not be the kind of person who warms to children - he doesn’t find anything particularly interesting about their babble, and he doesn’t care about first steps - but he’s still good with them

and he’s particularly good with yours

naturally, the kid has a phase of wanting to be like his dad when he’s older, so poor nash patientially puts up with hours of teaching this kid how to play basketball

thanks to the belial eye, and societal restrictions on using streetball moves on literal 2 year olds, this basketball training is ridiculously boring for nash

but he still puts up with it :’)

in contrast, the kid worships the ground nash walks on and tells everyone his dad’s a magician because he can make the ball disappear when dribbling

it’s a trick that never fails to amuse the kid, even when he’s in the middle of a tantrum

yeah nash tries to be a good dad, especially during the off-season, to make up for the amount of time he spends away

anyway, final note

nash makes sure to keep the relationship very private

after all, he’s got a brand and “nash gold jr, the suave player who can be a right dick on the court” is not synonymous with “dating a single mum” 

it’s not that he’s ashamed of you

he just doesn’t want you or the kid getting harassed by the media, or being tainted by association

and he likes having your home as a safe space where he’s free from being nash gold jr, pro basketballer

where he can just be nash, lover and dad

[justmyfuckingluck]

[lecsainz]

race strategy — charles leclerc + single mom

I don't know how it works sorry

✩ I'm not sure if this is what you wanted sweetheart, buuut I hope you like it! 💗

single mom — you make me smile. every. single. day.

✶ purpose by justin bieber I put my heart into your hands learn the lessons you teach no matter what, wherever I am you're not hard to reach and you've given me the best gift that I've ever known

⟡ bad reputation by shawn mendes she got a bad reputation nobody gets too close a sight of a soul when it's breaking making my heart grow cold and into the deeper she's sinking I'm begging her please don't let go

✶ long live by taylor swift if you have children someday when they point to the pictures please tell them my name

⟡ maria by justin bieber maria, why you wanna do me like that? that ain't my baby, that ain't my girl maria, why you wanna play me like that? she ain't my baby, she ain't my girl

✶ nothing new by taylor swift ft. phoebe bridgers and will you still want me when I'm nothing new? how long will it be cute all this crying in my room when you can't blame it on my youth and roll your eyes with affection? and my cheeks are growing tired from turning red and faking smiles

⟡ matilda by harry styles you don't have to be sorry for leaving and growing up, matilda, you talk of the pain like it's all alright but I know that you feel like a piece of you's dead inside you showed me a power that is strong enough to bring sun to the darkest days // you can start a family who will always show you love

★ and I included maria cause it's one of my favorite songs OF ALL TIME and now it's going viral on tiktok which makes me a little 🤏 jealous of her 😭

[roxygen22]

Still Here (Chapter 3)

Summary: You have a chance to catch up with Timothée over lunch.

Catch up on previous chapters here.

<><><><><>

You didn't have to wait long to see Timothée again. You crossed paths at the pharmacy three days later, where you were shopping for toiletries and other sundries for you and Madison. There was something oddly...final...about buying full-size shampoos and conditioners, instead of the travel-size bottles you packed in California. Like you had finally accepted that you would be here for a while.

You spotted Timothée's distinguishable curly dark hair over on the next aisle. Your heart stuttered. You had hoped not to run into anyone you knew, especially someone with whom you shared a complicated past. Who was I kidding? This isn't a crowded Target in Cali where you can just blend in. You took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Should I say hello? Should I put down my stuff and come back later? [Y/N], stop it. You can't run away from this. It's a small town, and you are here for the foreseeable future. May as well embrace it. Besides, it may be nice to have a friend again, if he's willing after things ended.

You looked up at the signage above to see what was there. You didn't want to embarrass him if he was shopping for something...personal. Ah, shaving accessories. Nothing embarrassing about that. You smiled, briefly reminiscing how the boy you knew could never grow a full beard despite how desperately he wanted to.

You worked up the courage to go say hello. You intentionally came up behind him as payback for startling you earlier in the grocery store. "If I didn't know any better, I would think you were stalking me, Timothée Chalamet."

He quickly spun around, initially looking over your head before looking down to meet your eyes. His big, lopsided grin sent your heart into palpitations again, just as it did over a decade ago. "Well well well, I could say the same about you, [Y/N] [maiden name], or, umm, I guess it isn't [maiden name] anymore," he fumbled and grimaced.

"It is. I'm divorced," you forced out. You still weren't used to saying it out loud. You watched as a whole range of emotions swept over his face before landing on sad, pitying look.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I wondered if that may be the case when you said you moved back in with your folks. You know, I run into your mother from time to time in town. It was through her that I knew you had gotten married and had a baby. She was always happy to show off pictures." He paused to chuckle. "But she didn't say anything about the, uh..." He gestured awkwardly with his hands.

"Yeah, well, my parents aren't big fans of the d-word. It was a very recent development, too, one they have not yet come to embrace despite not being big fans of Michael." You suddenly found your sneakers very interesting, unable to make eye contact with Timothée.

"Well, hey, I'm just here to grab my dad's meds. I was thinking about swinging by the diner to grab a bite to eat before driving back. Would you like to join me?"

"Uh, sure. Maddy is hanging out with my parents and they aren't expecting me back immediately. Might be nice to have adult conversation again." You chuckled. The two of you paid for your items and walked across the street to the restaurant.

Timothée, ever the gentleman, opened the door for you. Everyone looked up at the sound of the metal bells hitting the glass. Whispers started floating around as soon as you stepped foot inside.

"Is that [Y/N] [L/N]?' "I thought she was in California." "Maybe she's just visiting her family?"

You ducked your head as you felt your cheeks heat up in embarrassment. You followed Timothée to a table in the corner and sat with your back to the rest of the diner, not wanting to see the curious looks. It was somewhat reassuring, though, to know that you still bore enough resemblance to your former self that people recognized you. You hardly recognized yourself in the mirror anymore.

Right as you got settled in your seat, you heard footsteps stop beside you. You raised your head to see that your server was also someone you knew from high school, Amanda. You smiled and softly said hello.

"They said it was you, but I didn't believe them. How are you doing, honey? Where is that baby of yours? Your mom hasn't been by lately to show off any pictures." Only after her barrage of questions did she look across the table. "Hey, Timothée."

"Hey, Mandy," he replied quietly.

"Oh, she's hanging out with my parents while I did some shopping. She's not a baby anymore, though." You pulled out your phone to show Amanda a recent photo.

"She looks just like you, [Y/N]! And they are always babies, no matter how old they get. How old is she? Looks about 9 or 10. I have a 12 year old, almost 13. Practically a teenager!" Amanda pulled her phone out of her apron to show you her lock screen.

"He's very handsome," you offered with a friendly smile.

"How long are you in town for?" she asked.

"Uh, well, I'm not sure. However long it takes to get back on my feet. I recently got divorced, so I am trying to figure out what's next," you replied solemnly as you traced the patterns on the paisley tablecloth with your finger. You were trying (and probably failing) not to give away how incredibly overwhelmed you were feeling. You were grateful when Timothée interrupted the exchange.

"Hey, Mandy, what's the special today?"

"Oh, of course! You are here for a reason, after all. I was so eager to see if it was really [Y/N] that I forgot the menus. I'll be right back." She patted your shoulder before retreating. She returned as quickly as you could mouth "thank you" to him.

The two of you silently scanned the menu and then placed your orders. As you waited on the food, you easily fell into conversation about high school, then your time in California. You had forgotten how easy it was to talk to Timothée. You gleefully showed him pictures on your phone of your favorite landmarks and landscapes until you accidentally swiped to a photo of you, Madison, and Michael together at one of the national parks. The reminders of the fleeting happy times were painful.

Sensing the shift, Timothée grabbed your hand. You felt lightning surge throughout your body from his touch. He squeezed once and then let go just as quickly when he spotted Amanda heading to your table with your orders. You looked up and saw the smirk on her face as she eyed the two of you.

"Enjoy! I'll come back to check on you in a bit."

You turned to look at Timothée. "You know we are going to be the hot gossip for at least the next week, right?" you said playfully.

"Let them talk. There are worse rumors than being spotted with you." He cleared his throat, then popped a French fry in his mouth. "So, was there anything you missed about Tennessee?"

You, you thought automatically. "I eventually came to miss how much simpler things feel here. How life slows down in the woods and the mountains. In LA, everyone is always in a hurry. There is so much traffic. There were so many people, yet it was so lonely. Michael was really my only friend there." You went on, and Timothée listened intently as you provided a high-level retelling of what brought you back.

"...and so I packed up our clothes and a few belongings and drove out here. I got into town about two weeks ago and have been laying low with my tail between my legs." You stared down at your now empty plate in shame.

"Does he stay in touch with Madison?"

"No. He barely saw her after we separated, and he hasn't reached out since we left the state. But she's convinced that he's going to send for her to come live with him once he's settled in his new house in Sacramento with his girlfriend."

He shook his head. "You deserve better than that. SHE deserves better than that." You detected a hint of anger and disgust in his tone.

"Yeah, well, unfortunately, we are both paying the price for my poor decision-making." Your voice was thick with remorse. "She doesn't deserve to pay for my mistakes."

"[Y/N], you can't do that to yourself. You were young. All you can do is make the best of now." Amanda came by and set the check down on the table. You were grateful for her timing because you weren't sure what to say next. Your fingers brushed his as you both reached for the ticket.

"Please, let me get this," he said assertively. "I invited you to join me, remember?" He slid his credit card and the check over to Amanda, whose face was all grin. People were definitely going to hear about this.

You narrowed your eyes with playful scorn. "Fine, as long as you let me get it next time," you rebutted before fully thinking it through.

"Next time, eh?" His eyes lit up as he cocked his head to the side.

You blushed. Whoops. "Umm, yeah, next time. All we talked about was me today. We didn't even get to what you have been up to for the past 10+ years!"

"Fair enough, though that won't take long to tell," Timothée shrugged and signed the receipt after Amanda returned. You both stood and walked out the door to make your way back to the pharmacy parking lot.

"You still have the same truck!" you exclaimed. You jogged the rest of the way and ran your fingers across the emblem on the front. You and he made a lot of...memories...in that truck.

"Yep. Restoring her became somewhat of a hobby when I came back from Texas."

"Texas?" You never knew he left town. From what you remembered, he had never planned on going anywhere, especially not that far.

"A story for another day. Next time, remember?" he smirked.

"Well, maybe we should actually make plans for a next time instead of just hoping we run into each other in town. Here." You handed Timothée your phone. "Plug in your number so we can chat."

This time it was his turn to blush. He took the device from you and called himself. "So I can save your number as well," he offered.

You recognized the digits when you had your phone back in hand. "You never changed your number."

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

You laughed softly. "Fair enough."

"Well, I better get going. It was good to see you again, [Y/N]."

Timothée opened his arms for a hug, which you reciprocated. For a moment, all was right in the world with your head on his chest. I missed this. But I can't want this right now, you lectured yourself. You stepped back and gave him space to get into his truck. He rolled down his window to say goodbye once more.

"Tell your folks I said hello, please," you called out over the noise of the engine. His smile fell just briefly.

"You do the same."

<><><><><>

Chapter 4

Masterlist

Tag List: @croatianprincess

[yikesxsworld]

Been a minute 😬🤍

[beenovel]

I think my favorite part of pjo is how accurate the single-mom and only-child relationship is. Sally and Percy have a relationship that is SO SIMILAR to my mom and I’s relationship. Like obviously there are differences, I’m not a boy or a demigod, our personalities are different, but they’re there all the same.

My mom worked herself to the bone to provide for me growing up. As in she was constantly sick from the hours she worked and ended up in the hospital on more than one occasion. She sent me to private schools and made sure I had nice clothes and always had food. We didn’t always live in the safest or nicest apartments, but she did her best to make sure I always felt safe.

She is my closest friend and confidant. I would walk into and through hell to save her. I would lose my entire mind if she died. Every time I’m with people I don’t know how to talk to, I just start talking about how amazing my mom is and how much I love her. We’re both neurodivergent and that made going to school and daily life a huge struggle for both of us.

I am not my father’s daughter. I am my mother’s daughter.