#Yeah one could be an aunt or close family friend I guess

[tokyogirl07]

Two lesbian moms and their son in Granada’s The Return of Sherlock Holmes, the third season of 1984’s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (AKA The Slashiest Adaptation). They hold on these three for, like, 4 seconds before returning to Holmes and Watson. The neighbourhood they’re in is an expensive one, home to a politician, and these ladies look to be fairly well to do. That might explain it.

Seriously though, mid-80’s. No one caught this until the past decade?!

[clonecaptains]

On Tap

a jake 'hangman' seresin x shy!reader fic

warnings: none! unless you count jake being shirtless as one; she/her pronouns used; no use of y/n

word count: 1.7k

summary: you work for your family friend penny at the hard deck one summer and meet this handsome pilot....

a/n: i haven't written ?? something in over a year so thanks to glen powell for this i guess? and for yall encouraging me to write!! thank you for reading!

You don’t even remember how it started. And looking back you think maybe divine intervention must have led you here.

Your Aunt Penny – who isn’t even really your aunt, it’s what you’ve called her your whole life – invites you to work with her for the summer at the bar she owns. The Hard Deck.

Divine intervention or just your aunt thinking about you for a summer job has you quick to say yes. That’s how you find yourself working in a busy bar full of handsome men in uniform.

Penny, has you working odd jobs, filling in wherever you’re needed. Even if you never expected yourself to take a job like this – it was the freedom you wanted. To be somewhere else. Away from home.

What you didn’t know was that you’d find your new home here. And it wasn’t at Penny’s – you did live with her for a good while. But no, your new home would be a person. A tall dirty blond pilot with a flashy grin and strong arms that squeezed you tight.

You’d seen him around at the bar of course. He was hard to miss. There was something about him though that caught your eye more than any of the other pilots who frequented the joint.

Hangman they called him.

You asked Penny once what his real name was after he’d asked her for a couple beers. You tried to ask as casually as you could and if she suspected your crush on him, she didn’t say anything to tease. She did, however, tell you his name.

Jake Seresin.

You smiled a soft smile to yourself watching him take the beers back to his buddy. You liked the name. You liked him. You hadn’t spoken two words to him, but you had a crush.

Working with your aunt was already a fun kind of chaos, but you became downright eager to get to work for the chance you might see him.

When he was there? Your heart was in your throat as soon as he walked in. He’d take his sunglasses off and neatly hook them in the v of his shirt. The charisma that oozed from him sent electricity into your heart. The highest peak of a thrill was when he got close to the bar to make his order. You could hear his voice and you tried to be casual while he waited for Penny to hand him his drink.

It wasn’t long before Penny caught on. You were bummed on the nights he didn’t come in. And she saw how you lit up when he walked through the door no matter how much you tried to hide it.

That’s when she began to meddle. Only a little of course. But she saw something that you hadn’t. She’d seen Jake’s quick glances in your direction. She was surprised he didn’t say anything at first. He was usually quick on the draw to talk to a cutie.

She’d get to the bottom of it.

The first chance arose when he came in one night. You couldn’t help but smile a little when he came in. He was alone tonight but he didn’t seem to mind. He liked the atmosphere. The bar would be full of pilots soon and locals, and that energy was something he loved.

He headed straight for the bar, and you could feel your heart pounding harder and harder with each step he made. Suddenly the glass in your hand really, really needed to be dried off. You saw him quickly put his sunglasses on his shirt, and you made eye contact with him right has he did his little toothpick trick in his mouth. You know your eyes must have widened when his smile did.

Yeah, this glass really needs to be dry. This one in particular.

His Texas accent came out heavy when he asked Penny for a drink. She poured it but then handed it to you.

“Give this to Jake, will you? I gotta get this.” And before you could blink, his drink was thrust in your hand, and she was answering her phone. You didn’t have time to think that this was an obvious set up because the panic had set in that you had to hand this to him.

Jake was standing on the other side of the bar, waiting. His smile was growing. If you didn’t know any better, he was enjoying the flustered look on your face.

“Hi,” he said stretching out his hand to reach for his drink.

“Hi,” you answered back, breaking into a shy smile. You met him halfway to put the drink in his hand. His fingers touched yours in the exchange and you felt warmth grow on your skin.

“Jake,” he said as he grabbed the glass in his other hand and reached for you with his right.

You gave your name and took his hand. When your palms clasped, he squeezed and gave you a little wink.

“I’ve seen you in here lately,” he continued, “nice to meet you.” Another wink.

You meekly pulled your hand from his, and he took his first sip of beer. His eyes on you the whole time. You think all the moisture in your mouth must have evaporated from the heat of his gaze.

He wandered over to the dartboard and started to play. You stood frozen where you stood, and a little nudge from Penny broke you out of your stupor.

“Everything ok?” You asked and started to dry a different glass this time, one that actually needed it.

She nodded with a slight knowing smile. She could see the look on your face. You knew she could, but you tried to hide it.

She actually did get a phone call. Normally she wouldn’t answer while working, but it gave her the perfect opportunity to nudge you towards that handsome pilot.

She’d get another chance to nudge that next afternoon.

The two of you were in the bar when she grabbed a notebook of things she was working on. You were wiping down a table, and she called your name.

“Let’s go outside for a bit,” she motioned out back. You shrugged and followed her outside.

The sky was golden. And you squinted a little as your eyes adjusted. Penny sat down, notebook in hand and began to write. Write what you didn’t know or care. Because when you saw the crowd of pilots on the beach your attention was drawn there.

You spotted Jake immediately. Most of the pilots had taken their shirts off, and you managed to catch him as he was pulling off his black tee. You panicked when his glance turned your way. The sunglasses on his face didn’t hide where he looked – at you.

You felt a bolt of lightning, and you almost dropped the drink you had in hand.

“Sit,” Penny smiled and gave you a knowing pat on the back.

You did sit, and you watched them play football on the beach. Your eyes trained on Jake. It gave you a thrill knowing that he knew you were watching. You knew he was a showoff, but you liked to think he did really want you out there.

They weren’t close enough for you to tell exactly what was going on, and you couldn’t make out what they were saying. You could hear the occasional tweet from the whistle and the general chaos of yelling when someone scored.

At one point, you saw Maverick wave at Penny, and you smiled. You loved seeing their little interactions.

When the sun started to set, the game was coming to an end. The pilots dispersed; laughter rang out as the pockets of them split. But not Jake. He was headed right for the bar. His tee shirt in his hand, and you could see the sheen of sweat on his skin from where you sat. He got closer and you felt panic again.

You made up some excuse to go inside to Penny. And for the life of you – you don’t know why you did.

Not straying too far inside, you lingered by the door. You heard Jake walk up the steps and greet Penny.

“Where’d she go?” His voice muffled but you could still hear.

“Inside,” Penny nodded in the direction of the bar. “You better go in there and ask her out. Or I’ll set you up on a date with her myself.” Your heart jumped. There was a lump in your throat you couldn't swallow.

“But put your shirt on Jake, you’ll scare the girl to death.” You could hear the smile in her voice, and you didn’t stick by the door to hear what he said in return.

You headed for the bar, something safe to hide behind. Even though you wanted him to ask you out, it scared you to death. He made your knees weak, despite the thrill he gave you every time you saw him.

The back door creaked, and you felt sick and excited all at once. You glanced in that direction in time to see him pull his shirt on. It stuck to him, and he pinched some of the fabric in his fingers to pull it off his skin.

The blood pounding in your ears was loud, and it only grew as he got closer.

You were the only two people in the bar. You knew of course by now he was in there for you, and there wasn’t a single doubt in your mind now.

“Hi,” he said with the biggest grin you’d seen on him yet. He tacked on your name after his greeting, and you could’ve sworn that was the hottest thing that’s ever happened to you.

“Hi Jake,” you replied back, testing out his name on your lips. “Can I get you something?” You asked him with a smile, you wanted to see what he’d say back.

He leaned on the counter. He was close. You could smell the saltwater and sand on him.

“I don’t think it’s on tap,” he clicked his tongue.

“Oh?” you laughed softly, you know what he’s getting at. But you don’t dare stop him. You’ve been dying for him to flirt with you more, even if you weren’t sure what to do with his attention. “Try me?”

“Don’t suppose I could order a date with you? To go?”

“As luck would have it,” your face is warm, and you are beyond flustered but you find your words somehow. “We do have that, but only for you.”

“Is it available tonight?"

The smile on your face hurt your cheeks, and it matched his grin. Like before, he reached for you. Only this time you didn’t let go.

[jinxs-gf]

The Human Spider

The Team x Spider!Reader

summary: you are this universe’s one and only spider-person.

warnings/content: set before the 1st episode of young justice s1, a few marvel references, this whole thing is from the perspective of the reader who’s basically Spider-Man so the writing is a bit silly…but I like it

word count: 2.1k

a/n: this is essentially an introduction to this world, I’m really hoping I can pop a couple fics within this little universe 😭🙏🏽 if not then…I’m sorry LMAO. only time will tell. ENJOY!!!

Life was good.

I mean, how could it not be? You got to fight side by side with some of Earth's greatest heroes. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash...oh and Black Canary and—

Yeah. It was great. Not to mention how incredibly easy it was for you to defeat the bad guys you'd fought. You definitely didn't have four near death experiences because of them!

Well you did, but they were completely your fault and not at the hands of a couple of phony villains. They happened before you got used to your powers and gone through extensive training.

It seemed like a curse at first, but now you take them with stride. Your super strength foreign as you'd broke nearly everything in your apartment (that hadn't been a fun thing to explain to your Aunt and Uncle when they came home to a trashed place). Sticky hands well...getting stuck to literally everything. The amount of money you spent replacing your clothes after accidentally ripping up your whole closet only trying to get ready for school...that was also not fun explaining to your guardians.

And the webs. Oh boy. You didn't want to think about it. The hole in your wrist that shot out webs like a proper spider freaked you out the most. You nearly turned yourself in to the government after that one. It was something that took the most mental work to control, the weird hole (yuck) closing up when you didn't need it.

The one thing you did appreciate immediately was the abs. Yeah, those were nice to wake up to one morning.

Today was just another day in your life. A simple mission happening in the middle of the city. Actually it was a pretty unusual mission, it wasn't the regular Ice Family or Joker cult you were fighting...but a Rhino. Seemingly a man in a Rhino cosplay. And his henchmen? Definitely not something you see everyday, but you have seen weirder.

Speaking of his henchmen...there was a lot of them. Enough to keep each member of the team occupied. They had insanely advanced weaponry, surprisingly keeping the fight going for a while.

You hadn't realized so many of the guys were on you now, all surrounding you and trying to shoot at you with guns that weren't spitting out regular bullets.

You look to your side and see your best friend (he doesn't think so but that's what you tell everyone so deal with it sucker). Speedy, Green Arrow's sidekick, Roy Harper under the mask, and Pain in the Ass (a nickname you'd affectionately given him) to you.

You were in a compromising position, one that you could easily get yourself out of. But now you've spotted an unoccupied Roy and you wanted to have a little fun admist the chaos.

"Hey pain in my ass! A little help here!" The men were now taking shots with their fists, all failing to land their hits of course. And your best friend had completely ignored you.

"Hellooooo you know I'm talking to you!"

"I told you I wouldn't answer when you called me that. And I thought I made myself very clear." Definitely referring to the embarrassing way he took you down in front of the team after harassing him all week with the nickname a month ago.

"Well you answered right now soo...."

An arrow suddenly flew right past you, nearly grazing your cheek. A couple more followed.

"Um hello?! You nearly took me out!"

"That's my way of saying cut it out while saving your ass. And don't your spidey senses detect that kind of stuff? Danger and threats? You should've seen them coming."

"Huh. Guess you aren't as threatening as you think you are. At least not with that silly little hat on."

He simply glared at you. He was definitely going to kick your ass later. (Again).

With your guys dealt with, you turned to watch as Flash and Kid Flash emptied out a school bus on the road. Well, watched was a strong word. The job was done before you could fully process what was happening.

And suddenly that same school bus was being throw your way by the Rhino-man. Directly above your head actually.

Uh oh.

CRASH!

This was the third time that's happened to you this week!

He had good aim, you'll admit. It landed on you perfectly, but thanks to your incredible strength he seemingly didn't know about (how could he not? You're literally the Spider-Person from tv! Spider-Person...pfft what a stupid name. No one seemed to come up with something better), the biggest indicator to this being his shocked face. Oh how you loved that look. You threw it right back at him. Jokes on Rhino-man, you also had incredible aim.

"It's gonna take a lot more than a school bus to take me out!" Although you could feel the nearly broken rib and bruises you'd need to get checked out before you went home today.

You sighed happily, dusting your hands, "light work to me. Maybe try one of those city buses next time? Might be heavier and more effective-"

The words barely left your mouth before a city bus was being throw at you, "Wait I didn't actually mean it!" You caught the bus this time. And although your senses knew the danger was coming, it was still a bus that caught you off guard with its weight. Your legs and arms quivered at the force of having to hold it up, you could feel every bruise spotted on your body with the strain and it was not fun. While your body healed faster than the average human, it definitely wasn't fast enough to recover from the previous hit.

The back of the bus was fully tipped to the sky. You prayed there was no one in this thing. And sure you were strong, but there was no way you could tip it back on its wheels without potentially hurting someone.

Luckily Superman helped you with that, seeing you struggle. He easily took it off your hands (show off) and maneuvered it so it was placed safely back on the road.

"Thanks Supes!" He gave a nod and his famous smile.

It was only a couple more minutes of fighting and cars being thrown around before the whole thing was wrapped up. The adults would give their words to the police and news reporters, blah blah blah...

While they did that, you and your best friends, the teens (the cooler ones) got together like you always did after a mission.

Superman is being interviewed by the infamous Lois Lane (the talk of the teen team, there was definitely tension there).

All while Wally stands a little behind them making faces and ridiculous poses for the camera. The rest of you stood out of shot either cackling or rolling your eyes.

Wally steps back, clearly offended. "What? All he's doing is flirting with her in front of a live audience. Remember what they said last time? No one's gonna be paying attention to me."

Robin snickers, "What? The whole 'no one can take Superman' 'but you sure can'?" He repeats their words in poorly done impressions.

"That was totally an innuendo!"

"Very mature KF."

"Hey! Robin and Spider laughed with me. And I saw Speedy’s smirk, he sat there trying to pretend he didn't find it funny. Maybe you should get that stick out of your ass, Aqualad?"

Roy, completely serious, replies, "Now that's no way to talk to the adults' favorite."

You perk up, "oh, me?"

Your friends immediately explode into disagreement, apparently in disbelief you'd think such a thing.

It was a simple story, how it all came to be. You got bit by a spider (totally cool about it).

Totally didn't scream your ass off because of it and stay paranoid the rest of the day, constantly thinking there was a creepy crawler on you...no. You found out the next day that you weren't actually paranoid—if you were in the first place, which you were not! Because apparently the spider had camped out in your clothes all day and night...

You totally didn't scream your ass off again that morning at the revelation.

You did scream at the sight of abs on your body that same morning though. And that's the only reason you'll ever thank the spider, forget the cool powers.

After that you thought it would be cool to use your powers for good, inspired by your uncle. You decided to have your own cool hero costume, symbol, and name (which you still haven't gotten. You originally thought of the Human Spider. People on the streets called it dumb, claiming they would not be calling you that). You had (unfortunately) been (TEMPORARILY!) named the Spider-Person. Which was insanely stupid and you needed to come up with something quick before it stuck completely. Maybe the Human Spider wasn't so good but it wasn't as bad as your unofficial name now!

Anyways, as for the cool hero costume. You had to use what you had at the time, which was...your normal clothes. Getting a costume online seemed cheap, and dressing up as an existing character in the media and saving people seemed wrong. It would only deny your identity as a hero. So you put on whatever clothes (mostly colorful pajamas) that you had, covered the bottom half of your face with a bandanna, and called it a night. And boy did that get you a lot of ridicule, but you got the job done, right? The only thing it didn't do was protect your body from scrapes and...stab wounds. You hated little knives.

You're not the smartest in the world and it's not like you had the money someone like Bruce Wayne could pull out of their ass and make cool superhero wear.

Once you were recruited by Batman, he gave you your own hero costume—no, suit. Every suggestion you made was followed. It was perfect. The mask had to be your favorite part though. Something you didn't suggest was the some type of magic on it, something called hammerspace. Basically you could have any type of hair, or ears...probably even a pair of headphones on your head and it won't show through. It'll seemingly disappear to this hammerspace (you weren't sure how it worked exactly, but it works nonetheless so you won't question it). The magic was done by a team member who was needed very rarely named Zatara. Another man with a silly hat on his head.

You attempted to try it with Batman to see if his bat ears would disappear (which was completely encouraged by Robin by the way. No- completely his idea!) He was not happy. (You got benched for a month...no patrols, no missions...and Robin got off scott-free! How was that fair?!)

Wally starts to bring up your part of the fight, specifically the bus incident.

"Hey isn't that the third time that's happened to you this week?"

You sigh, exasperated and playing it up, "yes."

Robin butts in before you could say anything more, "Couldn't you have caught them? Y'know with your spidey senses and incredible strength?" He has the nastiest smirk on his face. His smartass totally figured you out.

"Well yeah, duh. But it's fun seeing the looks on the bad guys' faces when they realize I'm not dead and I can carry a however many pound bus! Is that so bad?"

"No but it's embarrassing for us."

"What? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Yeah, our best friend who's powers include crazy senses that gives them insane reflexes? That best friend can't catch a big, yellow bus being thrown at them? Embarrassing." The one time Roy will take the claim as your best friend is when he's insulting you? Unsurprising.

Kaldur cut in, sensing your defense a mile away, "It is pretty shameful of you."

Your jaw dropped, even Kaldur of all of people was agreeing? Oh this is insane!

You point a figure at your friends, trying to get your threat across, "Well I find that incredibly offensive and you should all take that back before I-"

"Isn't the point of your powers to detect danger before it comes? How come that's the third time this week you've been hit by a school bus? It's embarrassing, Spider." Batman's monotone voice made his words all the more insulting. Your frown deepened.

You sigh, "Yup. Real embarrassing for me. I got that."

"No, embarrassing for me. I've got a reputation to keep up."

He walks away without another word.

"I can't tell if he was trying to joke around like you guys were, but I'm still offended."

"He was being dead serious. And for the record, so were we."

I wrote this before I wrote my Conner fic. I just realized I made Batman tease reader at the end of both fics…??

[aylacavebear]

Soulmates? Yeah, right, pft. - Ch. 10

When you turn sixteen, and your soulmate's name doesn’t appear anywhere on your body that you can find, you figure you had to be the only person on the planet who didn’t have one. Most of the town shuns you, so you stick close to family. Your Aunt Ellen raised you after your parents died in a car crash when you were two, but what happens when the Winchesters return to town and buried secrets begin to come to light?

Pairing: Mechanic Dean Winchester x OC Reader/You

Word Count: 2490

Warnings: Fluff, Dean being a sweetheart, Dealing with emotional stuff.

A/N: This is my non-Supernatural fic I'm attempting. Please let me know what you think, as I always love hearing from my readers.

----------------------------------------- Chapter 10

Over the next two weeks, not much really happened. There were times when the cameras alerted you to movement, but you never saw anything on them. That was frustrating, even after rewatching them a dozen or more times. Not even an animal was in the frames, anywhere. Dean had even watched them, and if he had seen anything or thought of anything, he’d kept it to himself.

You also hadn’t heard anything from anyone about what was going on in the outside world. It felt like being in a sort of limbo, playing the waiting game. Dean had started sleeping next to you in your bed as the nightmares began coming more often. It was only when he held you that they stayed away. They always involved the same people and the bunker being found.

The mark on your collarbone burned often, and when it was really bad, Dean always put cream on it. There was a gentleness in his touch that always seemed to calm you. The new feelings around him were odd but welcoming, and you wished his name would show up on your collarbone already, if he really was your soulmate.

You had also pushed many of your thoughts and questions to the back of your mind. There were far too many, and you had no way of getting the answers you needed. None of the pieces made enough sense to you to act on anything, so you kept things to only friendship with Dean. Hoping had only brought you pain in the past. You chose to enjoy just having a best friend and that you weren’t alone in the bunker, as that would have driven you stir-crazy.

There were times Dean would disappear to a different room than you and be gone for far longer than needed just to use the bathroom. You hadn’t said anything but made a mental note of how often it was, and it was becoming more frequent. When he’d return to whatever room you two were in at the time, he’d always have a small smile, but there was something in his eyes that told you he was hiding something.

You weren’t entirely sure what day it even was when you woke up that morning and crawled out of bed. Dean was already awake and in the kitchen. You found him there cooking yet another odd concoction with what non-perishables were available in the pantry. Yawning, you made your way to the coffee pot and poured a cup.

“Morning, Sweetheart,” he smiled, looking over at you briefly.

“Morning,” you yawned out, taking a seat at the kitchen table, still not awake.

“Hungry?” he asked.

“I guess,” you mumbled, sipping the warm coffee and enjoying the flavor. Dean always made the best-tasting coffee, and you couldn’t figure out how he managed to do that every damn time.

Dean plated up an interesting breakfast. You couldn’t even really tell what it was as you stared at the plate he had set in front of you. It smelled good, at least.

“I swear, it won’t kill you if you eat it. I had to get creative,” he chuckled, seeing the skepticism on your face. 

You gave him a wary glance before taking a bite of the odd-looking concoction on the plate in front of you but were pleasantly surprised with its taste. You weren’t sure if you could compare it to anything you’d eaten before, but at the same time, it tasted familiar. Dean smirked as he watched you realize what he had made tasted far better than how it looked.

“Honestly, it’s not bad,” you finally told him after a couple of bites.

“Glad you like it,” he managed through his laughter.

“I’m looking forward to tasting how you cook normal food,” you teased him with a small smile.

“This is normal food,” he chuckled, taking another bite.

You just rolled your eyes, playfully though, finding him adorable. The two of you ate mostly in silence, only talking about what you’d fill the day with. You’d watched all the movies in the place and had played almost all the simple word games either of you could come up with. As you washed the dishes, you mentioned wanting to look around again. 

Dean groaned from the table, “We’ve been over this place like a dozen times already.”

“I know. I just want to look,” you replied, more focused on your thoughts and the dishes than the conversation.

He made another annoyed grumble that you couldn’t quite make out before he headed out to the living room. A few moments later, you heard the sound of one of the westerns beginning to play. You weren’t all that into those particular movies and wondered if perhaps your father may have been. 

There were times, like today, when the bunker felt almost confining. You missed the sun and watching it set. To see the colors change as it dipped beyond the horizon. Then there were the stars at night and even the moon. They felt like distant memories as you walked into the monitor room. The box of files still sat there on the table. You’d looked through it multiple times but didn’t understand the legal jargon in half of it. With a heavy sigh, you sat down and pulled the papers out again, flipping through them in hopes that something would stand out. You’d put the letters from your parents there as well. As you reread the last one, you frowned, wishing you knew what was going on in the outside world. 

One of the camera recordings began flashing, drawing your attention to it. You changed seats and sat in front of the monitor, closely watching the camera. Still, it was like nothing was there.

I wonder if this place is haunted.

The thought almost made you chuckle. You knew that wasn’t the case, or the cameras would have alerted you far before this set of incidents. They typically didn’t flash during the day, and today, you saw something. It didn’t seem like much to you as you tilted your head and watched the tiny rock barely come into view on the far side of the screen. Hell, you would have missed it if it had happened at night.

“Dean!” you hollered, staring at the monitor.

He showed up behind you far faster than you thought he would, “What? What’s wrong?” he asked, almost sounding out of breath for a moment.

“A rock set this one off,” you told him, still fairly dumbfounded at the oddness of it.

“A rock?” he asked, but he didn’t sound confused, he sounded concerned.

You pulled up the recording and showed it to him on the screen, where it had barely come into view on the far side of what the camera could pick up. “See. There,” you told him, pointing to the rock again on another replay.

“Sweetheart, move,” he told you, and his tone began to worry you, but you got up so he could sit down.

“It’s just a rock,” you said, crossing your arms.

Dean didn’t say anything in return. He began pulling up old videos, and you sighed. Instead of standing there and watching him, you cleaned up the papers on the table and put them neatly back in their box. You glanced at Dean one more time before heading out to the living room, now fairly bored, again. 

You and Dean had moved the furniture around a few different times, just trying to make the place feel different, but it was beginning to feel stifling. The things you missed played through your mind again as you tried to remember what the sun felt like on your skin or the breeze of a cool fall day blowing through your hair.

The two of you had gone over every inch of the place and hadn’t found any more secret rooms, but for some reason, you felt like you were still missing something. You weren’t even sure where to look at this point. Knowing you had to distract yourself from your thoughts, you sighed and began looking over the bookshelf again. 

In movies, they always use bookshelves to hide secret rooms. Is that too obvious? Would my parents do that sort of thing? 

Again, you slid your fingers over the shelves and along the books. Nothing stood out or felt different. It just felt like a regular wooden shelf painted white to match the off-white walls. It was the one piece of furniture that neither you nor Dean could move though. You even checked along the sides of it where it met the wall.

The surface was smooth under your fingers as you slowly trailed them down the side of the bookcase. There was literally nothing there, just shelf and wall. Frustrated, you grabbed a chair from the kitchen and set it in front of the bookshelf. Last time, Dean had been the one to check the top of it and along the wall. You were barely tall enough once on the chair to see the top of the bookshelf. It was a little dusty, so you tried to wipe it away with your hand. Even after you got most of the dust off of it, you still didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. It just looked like a shelf to you. With a sigh, you ran your index finger along the back where it attached to the wall. You may not have felt anything, but you heard something click, and the shelf popped half an inch away from the wall.

You nearly fell off the chair, startled due to standing on your tiptoes. Holding your chest as your heart began to calm down, you slipped off the chair, moving out of the way. Dean still hadn’t come out of the monitor room, so you slipped your fingers inside the small opening and pulled the shelf away from the wall. It was another staircase that led down.

Makes sense. The house above is two stories, why wouldn’t this one have another floor?

The air that drifted from the staircase felt cooler than the floor you were on, and it piqued your curiosity. You glanced toward the hallway before slipping inside, then down the steps. It wasn’t as narrow as the other staircase, but it was dark. I should have looked for a light switch.

Making it to the bottom, you moved your hand along the wall and smiled when you found the light switch there. A light above the stairs came on, causing you to look at it. Then you cursed under your breath for looking at the bright bulb. There was an open doorway to the right of the stairs, so again, felt along the inside of it for a light switch. You really didn’t feel like fumbling around in the dark.

As your fingers flicked it upward, your jaw nearly dropped. The room was huge. In the center was a pool table, and along the walls were more bookcases, only these held games and books of all sorts. 

Wish I’d found this a month ago.

You chuckled to yourself as you looked around, even peeking into the other room that was there. When you did, your jaw hit the floor. It was a walk-in freezer almost the size of the pantry on the other floor. You licked your lips when you saw all sorts of different meats packed neatly away on the shelves. Dean’s gonna love this.

As you were reading over some of the book titles, you barely heard your name being called from upstairs, which pulled your gaze to the open doorway. Knowing you shouldn’t make him worry, you headed back upstairs, making it past the bookshelf just as he came into the living room.

He looked at you, fairly confused, “What’d you find?”

“You’re gonna love it,” you told him excitedly, completely forgetting the rock thing on the monitor from earlier.

You grabbed Dean’s hand and led him downstairs. He looked just as surprised as you were, but when he saw the walk-in freezer, he smiled from ear to ear.

“Oh, we’re having steak tonight,” he stated after licking his lips. Dean picked out a couple of steaks and then went back into what you had deemed the game room. “Might have to test out that pool table later,” he added as he glanced over at it.

“Do you even know how to play pool?” you asked him mildly curiously.

“Sweetheart, yes, I know how to play pool,” he chuckled, shaking his head in amusement.

The enjoyment was short-lived as a small red light lit up near the doorway, and the two of you looked at each other before running back upstairs. You’d even forgotten to turn off the lights down there. Dean still had the steaks in hand as you reached the monitor room, but again, there was nothing noticeable on the screen. 

He sighed and set the steaks on the table, then stood behind you, “They’re trying to figure out where the cameras are and how far they can see,” he explained in a worried tone.

You looked up at him, still a bit confused, “What do you mean?”

“Your birthday is less than a month away. Sam’s at least got your case in the system, and the first court date is next week, but that’s just to hear it out. Vaught’s men are trying to find you before your birthday and before things get too far in the courts,” Dean explained as he leaned against the table, crossing his arms.

Looking back at the monitor you saw it flash red again. The rocks they were using were almost impossible to spot. “But, they can’t find us here, can they?” you asked quietly, hoping you didn’t sound as worried as you felt.

“So far, I don’t think they can. Jodi even called in some outside help to keep an eye on the house, but these guys are good. At least your parents hid the cameras well. We won’t have to worry unless these people find them and take them out,” Dean replied, keeping an even tone.

It was something you couldn’t understand with him, how he seemed to keep what he was feeling out of his words. He also seemed to keep his expression just as plain. There were little things he did, but they were so subtle they were easy to miss.

“Why does it feel like there's something you’re not telling me?” you asked carefully.

He sighed, still watching the monitor, “Sam found a loophole in the paperwork. If he can’t get a judge to take on your case and have the paperwork in a judge's hands before your birthday, Cole has the legal right to marry you, and no one can stop it. He could even make the case last for years in the system, and you’d have to stay married to him.”

No… ----------------------------------------- Chapter 11

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[goddess-aelin]

Feels Like Home

For @backtobl4ck for the Rowaelin Yulemas celebration/ Secret Santa. For the second year in a row, I once again had the pleasure to write something for Maria! I was so excited when I found out I had you because we both loveeeee fluff and friends to lovers. So I hope you love this little gift and have a very happy Yulemas :) @rowaelinscourt

Masterlist

Word Count: 4k

Warnings: none!

Her hands were everywhere. Her lips touched his softly as she breathily moaned at his ministrations between her thighs. Silky blonde locks brushed his face as he made his way down the side of her neck. He never tasted anything so sweet, so right. “Rowan. Rowan. Rowan.” Her voice got louder and louder as he laid her back on the cushions of his couch, muscles straining to reign in all the things he wanted to do to her. He had to do this right. Move slowly. This thing between them was as precious as the sun’s warmth. “Rowan. Ro.” Her voice changed cadence, suddenly closer and louder. “Ro!” 

A stinging sensation against his cheek woke him. Like lighting, he shot up, catching the arm of the person who slapped him. Once he registered where he was and what was happening, the first thing he noticed were the depthless blue and gold eyes of his best friend. His best friend. Aelin. Who he was in the middle of having a sex dream about.

Rowan could feel his face flush as he became more aware of his surroundings. He silently thanked the Gods that he chose to cover himself with a blanket for this particular nap. Otherwise, it would’ve been painfully obvious just exactly what he had been dreaming about. 

“Must’ve been some dream, huh? Since you didn’t wake up the first twenty times I called your name.” Aelin raised an eyebrow. “Sorry for the slap, though. I just didn’t know how else to wake you up.” Aelin gave him a devious smile. 

Rowan rubbed at the still stinging area on his left cheek. The good thing was that the slap hid any blush that might’ve remained on his face. “Sure you are, Fireheart.” She pouted slightly, giving him her best “but I’m innocent” look. “Wait, how did you even get in here?”

“You gave me a key, remember?”

“Yeah, for emergencies. Not to barge into my house at…” He checked his phone. “4:35pm on a Thursday afternoon.”

“This is an emergency, Ro.” 

He raised an eyebrow and silently commanded, explain.

“Well ok…you see, I have this cousin. His name is Galan. Well he’s sort of my cousin but he’s also not. Not in the sense that Aedion is my cousin. But he’s still sort of close family, ya know? And I got the invite a few weeks back and I hoped that I could find a date but I haven’t yet and I just really think that maybe it would be a fun time and there’s going to be good food-”

“Hold on. What the fuck are you talking about?” Rowan couldn’t keep the humor and huff of laughter out of his voice. Aelin tended to ramble when she was nervous. So obviously this was something she was nervous about. He gently took her hand. “Start again and take a deep breath this time.”

For once, she listened to him. After inhaling and exhaling deeply, she tried again. “My cousin, Galan. He’s getting married and I have a plus one. I can’t go alone because my mother will have a fit and that will make her and my aunts scheme like hell to set me up with one of the groomsmen. But I 100% do not want that. I know Galan’s friends and they’re all dumbasses. I love my cousin, but his groomsmen all make really stupid, idiotic decisions. So no, thank you. So I guess my question is, will you go with me? As my plus one?” 

Rowan took a moment to process the information. What are the odds that he would have a sex dream about his best friend right before she asked him to be her plus one to a wedding? He was treading dangerous territory and he wasn’t sure what to make of it.

He must’ve taken too long to answer because Aelin hastily said, “As friends, of course. And you’d get free food, booze, and a night of dancing. You get to dress up, which I know you hate but it’ll be fun! Plus, you’ll get to have the most beautiful, amazing, graceful date on your arm.” 

That shocked him out of his stupor. Rowan let out a cackle. “Modest, aren’t you?” 

“Modesty is my middle name.” 

Rowan hummed in mock agreement. “Yeah, I’ll go with you. It’ll be fun. A night away, drinking, eating great food, and getting to watch the bridal party get increasingly drunk as the night goes on? I’m in.” 

Aelin beamed but quickly bit her lip. He knew her too well to know that it wasn’t just a nervous tick. There was something else. Rowan narrowed his eyes.

“It’s also like five hours away in Varese so we need to rent a hotel for the night.” She looked apprehensive, as if this new information was going to make him change his mind and say no. 

“O..kay? We’ve been on vacations together before, Fireheart. What’s different this time?” 

She blew out a breath. “I don’t know. I just know you don’t like being the center of attention and I know that my mom and my aunts are going to be all over you like vultures. So I just want to make sure you know what you’re getting into before saying yes.”

Rowan shrugged. “How bad can it be?”

- - - - -

Bad. The answer to his question from a few weeks ago was just that: it could be bad.  The date of the wedding crept up steadily, he and Aelin hammering out the details of their stay in Varese. Aelin, of course, insisted on coordinating colors for their outfits, which is how he found himself standing at the base of the stairs in the grand ballroom attached to their hotel in a black tux and emerald green bowtie, talking with Aedion while waiting for the two ladies to make their grand entrance. Aelin insisted on the emerald green to match his eyes. He really didn’t care either way, he just hoped he was able to reign in his budding feelings when he saw Aelin in what just so happened to be his favorite color. And that if he somehow did accidentally let some of his feelings show, that it wouldn’t make it awkward for when they got back to their hotel room.

Oh right, that. The other predicament he was in. 

Once he and Aelin arrived at the hotel that morning, they were surprised to find that not only did their room only have one bed, it also had one of the most romantic views of Varese, overlooking the river that flowed through the center of the city and its beautiful architecture. Aelin was quick to insist that she had nothing to do with this and that she ordered a double room. At the time, the wedding was only a few hours away and Aelin shoved him out of their room towards Aedion and Lysandra’s across the hall, stating that she needed to get ready and she couldn’t have his broody self in the room while she was doing so. So he and Lysandra had switched places, Aelin assuring him that they’d remedy the bed situation later. 

He and Aedion took a whopping total of ten minutes to get ready in comparison to Aelin and Lysandra’s two hours. Rowan’s foot started tapping of its own accord as the time ticked closer to the ceremony. If Aelin didn’t hurry her ass up- albeit her very, very nice ass- they were going to be late. 

He was cut off from his thoughts by the two sets of clacking heels on the marbled floor coming from the top of the stairs. It took one look at the thigh slit of Aelin’s dress for his mouth to dry up. Another glance at the way it hugged her hips for his body to go wholly still. And one final glance to her beautiful, glowing face for him to black out completely. 

He must’ve actually blacked out since, in what felt like a single moment, Aelin was standing right in front of him. Her emerald green dress matched his bowtie perfectly, of course, the gold accent of her minimal jewelry complimenting her eyes. She didn’t need baubles and gems to make her sparkle. She, just as she was now, was an ethereal being, glowing from an internal, unseen star. 

Rowan tried so hard; so, so, incredibly hard to will his mind to say something, anything. And yet, words escaped him. How could he ever put into words how beautiful she was, how much she meant to him? As saliva started making its way into the dry desert that was his mouth, all he could manage was a “Holy shit.”

Aelin’s laugh was like twinkling bells in his ear. “Back at ya, Buzzard. You look…very handsome.”

Was it just his imagination or did she sound…breathless? He couldn’t help but become aware of every place her eyes drifted to, like they were emitting invisible fire and burning him everywhere. His hand subconsciously came up to rub at the back of his hair, trying to smooth out anything that was out of place. “You’re being sarcastic, aren’t you?” He managed a small smirk. Or, he hoped he did.

Aelin’s eyes continued their unhurried perusal, mouth parting slightly and hand coming up to grab his own to stop him from messing up his hair even more. “No,” she breathed, “For once in my life, I’m not. I Promise.” Rowan could see her swallow hard.

Rowan had to take a deep gulp of air, otherwise he was sure he was going to pass out. Somewhere, deep inside of him, some air of confidence kicked in and gracefully allowed him to offer his arm for Aelin to take. Gently, she placed her hand in the crook of his elbow, both of them silently making their way to the doors where the ceremony would be held. As they neared the room, Rowan purposefully slowed them down, falling behind Aedion and Lysandra. “Fireheart,” he whispered. “You look…you look stunning. It’s what I wanted to say earlier but I couldn’t find the words.”

Rowan could have sworn a blush overtook her face. But she beamed up at him, giving him a sweet, shy smile. 

“Thank you.” He could feel more than see her sharp intake of breath. A breath to recenter and refocus. “Well, shall we, Buzzard?” Rowan nodded and steered them once again to the doors.  

An hour later, the ceremony was over and Rowan’s stomach was rumbling. Loudly. Seated next to Aelin, he knew she could hear it and she continued to sneak glances and little smirks at him. The hunger he could deal with. The sly glances from Aelin? Not so much. She had been driving him insane since she floated down those stairs and it was slowly but surely causing him to lose his cool. That would be if he ever had it in the first place.

And as the night went on, the torture only continued. Throughout dinner, her arm would brush his as she turned to talk to Lysandra next to her, her leg would tap against his own when she told a joke, and she would find any excuse to touch him as often as she could. In normal circumstances, he wouldn’t mind. But they were here as friends. And these touches were making him want much, much more than that. 

The only time he felt like he could breathe was when Aelin got up to dance with Lysandra to an upbeat pop song, leaving Rowan and Aedion sitting alone at their table to chat. Rowan had a few drinks already but he was nowhere near drunk. A nice buzz was flowing through him but he was still very much so in control of his actions.

At least, that’s what he thought until Aedion cleared his throat. Rowan broke his stare from Aelin’s sensuous dancing. Did she even know what she looked like to him? How much she was torturing him just by being herself? He wasn’t sure if she was aware. But Aedion sure as hell was. 

The blonde man gave him a knowing look and raised an eyebrow. Rowan just rolled his eyes and allowed his gaze to maneuver back to Aelin. He caught the moment when she threw her head back and laughed, the sound making his bones feel like they were both on fire and also a pile of mush. It was a feeling that he was unaccustomed to, having only felt anything of the sort with his high school girlfriend. But if that feeling was a good one, this one made him feel like he was flying. Made him feel a need so deep that he wasn’t sure he would ever recover. He needed every inch of her. Not only her body, but her soul, her smiles, her laughter, her tears. He wanted everything.

“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath. 

Beside him, Aedion chuckled. “You’re only now just realizing it?”

Rowan could do nothing but stare at the table, knowing that if he looked at Aedion, his secretly harbored feelings would be completely out in the open for the other man to see. And if he looked up at Aelin, the same outcome. So yeah, he was fucked. 

“I know you’re having a complete crisis over being in love with her but I’m glad you finally figured it out. Took you long enough.” 

That made Rowan look toward the man sitting next to him, brows furrowed. 

“Yeah, we’ve all known this for ages. I feel like it was obvious to anyone with eyes, to be completely honest. Some of us even have a bet on how long it’ll take for you two to finally admit that you’re in love with each other.” 

  Rowan made to open his mouth with a denial but Aedion held up a hand. “Nope, dude. Save the bullshit. I know just by looking at you that you’re so far gone for her, it’s unreal. And I know that Aelin has never been as happy as when she’s with you. She never laughed this freely until she met you.” Aedion let out a small huff of breath. “You have my blessing.” 

Rowan just repeated his earlier statement. “Fuck.” 

Their conversation was interrupted by a breathless Aelin sitting in the seat to Aedion’s right, where she promptly picked up the half-full glass of wine and chugged it. 

“So what are you boys gossiping about over here that has poor Whitethorn all red in the face?”

Internally, Rowan was panicking. Aedion opened his mouth to say something that Rowan was sure to be snarky but before he could, Rowan blurted out, “birds!” 

The corners of Aelin’s mouth quirked up slightly. “Birds…?” Rowan could tell that she didn’t fully believe him but luckily, Aelin was already half drunk. He hoped she would just let it go. 

The first mistake Rowan made was making eye contact with her. She always had an uncanny ability to read him like an open book, despite most people not understanding him. As she narrowed her eyes, the part of their souls that has always been intertwined translated for him, as if to say, I don’t believe you and think you’re full of shit, Buzzard.

So Rowan sent his own thoughts back, I don’t know what you’re talking about, Fireheart. 

The second mistake was continuing to hold her gaze. Not because he gave anything away to her but rather because it prompted the man sitting in between them to throw his hands in the air and exclaim, “Oh no. Oh helllll no. This isn’t happening right in front of me.” Aedion quickly shoved his chair away from the table and got up to leave. Before walking away completely, he turned around and pointed right at the two of them. “I’m tired of this bullshit. You guys need to get it together and just fucking make out already. Gods.” And with his piece said, Aedion stalked away, directly to the bar where he knocked back a shot immediately. 

Rowan turned back to Aelin, whose eyes were wide and brows furrowed. 

“Umm, what just happened?”

The only thing Rowan could do was shrug. He sure as hell wasn’t going to lie to her but he wasn’t sure that he could outright confess his feelings, either. He was saved from deciding by the transition to a slower song, one he knew Aelin liked. As he looked back over at her, her eyes had drifted closed and her shoulders were swaying slightly, moving along to the lilting melody of the song. 

Rowan shoved his chair away from the table, extending his hand toward her. Blue eyes met his own and held his gaze with an intensity that could’ve set him on fire. “Dance with me, Fireheart.”

Aelin managed a small smile and took his hand, following him to the dance floor where Lysandra and Aedion and her parents were already coupled up and swaying back and forth. He gently guided her hand to rest at his shoulder, laying his own on her waist, and cradling her other to his chest. 

Looking down at her, he felt like he could do this forever. Her bright teal eyes were hazed with alcohol and something else, as if she felt content, safe. Slowly, she tilted her head so it rested on his chest. Of their own accord, Rowan’s lips gently placed a kiss to her hair, inhaling her sweet lemon verbena and lavender scent. Aelin always smelled so good. So…comforting. Like home.

Through the haze of their otherworldly bubble, Aelin murmured something. 

“Hmm?” he asked.

Pulling her head back, she answered him, “I said ‘are you going to tell me what that was back there at the table? With Aedion?”

He tensed, Aelin tensing along with him. “It was nothing, Aelin.”

She raised an eyebrow in protest. He knew she was disappointed. She could tell he was lying through his teeth. “It obviously wasn’t nothing. Just tell me. Did my mom say something? She and my aunts have been watching us all night like hawks.”

“Really, Fireheart...I…It’s nothing. Everything’s good.” He gave her a tight smile, hoping she would let it go and they could go back into their bubble. But, of course, this was Aelin. She tensed even further, pulling her hand off of his shoulder and making to pull away from him completely. But before she could walk away from him, he grabbed her hand and as gently as he could, pulled her back toward him. She was caught off guard, Rowan could easily tell that much. 

He slowly began to sway them back and forth again. Not caring about the eyes on them, he murmured “I’m not good at this.”

Aelin’s brows furrowed together. “At what?”

Rowan’s shoulders shrugged up and down of their own accord. “This. Talking about…about my feelings.”

Aelin’s head tilted in that way of hers that told him she was thinking. “And what about your feelings are you having a hard time with?”

“I’m not having a hard time with my feelings, I just…I can’t–” Rowan sighed. “For fuck’s sake.” It was at that moment, when Aelin was looking up at him with her eyes that could see everything, her beautiful mind that could work out any problem, that he grabbed her face. “Aelin–I love you. I’m in love with you.” Rowan felt as if his heart was going to beat out of his chest, his breathing so ragged as he waited in anticipation for what she would say back. But the answer didn’t come after a few seconds. And then it didn’t come after a few more. Aelin just stood there, wide-eyed and mouth opening and closing as if she couldn’t find the words, either. And bit-by-bit, Rowan was beginning to give up hope. 

   Slowly, he loosened his grip on her face, meaning to step back and give her space. But before he could pull away completely, Aelin threw her arms around his neck, dragging his head down forcefully and attaching her lips to his own. If he was being honest, it was probably the least romantic kiss he’d ever experienced but it didn’t matter one bit because it was Aelin. 

The kiss was over before it started and Aelin pulled back slightly. Just enough to murmur, “I love you, too, Buzzard.” 

He couldn’t help the smile that overtook his face. Properly this time, he held her face between his hands and brought her mouth back to his. This kiss was entirely different from the first. Gone was the urgency and desperation and in its place was genuine love and devotion. Would he ever get enough of this? He could’ve died in her kiss a happy man right at that moment. But he hoped that he would get many more chances to experience Aelin in all her glory.

Cheers and clapping broke them out of their reverie, startling them both back into reality. Rowan assumed it was cheering for Galan and his wife but as Rowan’s gaze roamed over the crowd, they all seemed to be watching…him. Aelin’s mother was at the head of her sisters, all five of the Ashryver sisters looking toward him and Aelin. All with smirks on their face. He could’ve sworn he heard a few swoony sighs as he and Aelin made their way back to their seats, faces aflame. 

Once seated, Aelin leaned in close, putting her hand dangerously high on his thigh. “Well, I’d say it’s not such a bad thing that our room only has one bed, wouldn’t you Buzzard?” 

Rowan narrowed his eyes. “Did you plan this, Fireheart?” 

Aelin shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. Who could ever know.” Rowan pinched her side, making her giggle. “I will say, though, that my wheels might have started turning the moment I walked in on you having a nice little smutty dream about me.”

Rowan gaped. “Wh-what?!”

Aelin shot him an answering smirk. “Oh yeah, did you think I didn’t know? You were literally moaning my name in your sleep. How else was I supposed to take that? Unless there’s another Aelin in your life, which, if that’s the case, excuse me, I’ll let you two be alone.” She feigned getting up from the table but he pulled her right back down, bringing her face close to his. 

“And so what if I was, Fireheart?” He murmured in her ear. He both saw and felt the shiver that made its way down her body. 

“Then, Buzzard, I’d say its a very good thing that our room has a king bed.” While his blood heated at her promise, he couldn’t help but think that this was the start of something amazing. Something that felt like home.

Tagging:

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[exaltedfuzz]

Someone already pointed out that you always tend to draw Lana tired and I agree, it feels just right!

Because Lana takes care of Ema and the household since she was a She cooks healthy because of Ema, listens to Ema‘s school day, plays with her, helps her when she has a question because of her school work.

All of that while remaining the top of her class in law school. She has so much responsibility and Lana doesn‘t even seem like the person that complained at least once because of it. And also remember that a lot of colleagues, like Angel Starr, used to look up to her. She endures the responsibility and she‘s honestly such a great role model for me!

Not to put Mia Fey down, but consider this: in contrast to Mia, who had at least her aunt Fey to teach her all of this stuff, Lana probably had no one. In contrast to Mia, who actually left Maya live alone, Lana took care of Ema.

Lana Skye is underrated, so f* underrated.

Thanks for liking the way I draw Lana! I think, yeah... She'd be exhausted. Full-time everything. I don't know that I'd call her a role model, considering how RFTA goes, though... Admirable, sure! But, you know... The whole evidence forgery and desecration of a corpse deal might lose her a couple points in the role model department.

It is super nice to imagine what it was like for Ema growing up! I really wish we got to see them interacting outside of RFTA. Maybe in AA7, though I'm not sure I'd trust the AA5-6 team to pull it off. More hopefully, maybe in the anime! I can't believe RFTA just didn't get an adaptation. I guess it is a bit of a sidestep from the trilogy narrative. Hopefully when (if?) AJ gets adapted, they'll do RFTA as a primer to introduce Ema. Maybe we'd get treated to some filler fluff, to make how Lana is in RFTA really punch you in the gut.

I don't know that Lana was as profoundly alone the whole time as she could have been, either. It says in RFTA that Jake was very close to her and that Neil was like her own brother (and that Jake was nice to Ema), so I figure they would have been some help. And Lana has that coroner friend in Germany who Ema lived with between RFTA and AJ (really wish we got to meet her! All we know is that she's a top coroner, a woman, and in Europe, from Lana's end credits of RFTA dialogue), so it seems like she had a bit of a support circle, which is nice to think about.

It's interesting what you say about Mia. I have some thoughts on that, actually. I wouldn't say what she went through would have been much easier. I think that while Lana's approach is to grin and bear it, and take the path of least resistance, which involves just getting on with it and looking after Ema without searching for any help in that, Mia's is very confrontational of her circumstances. The reason she leaves Maya is to find Misty, to clear her name and to try to reclaim that family she's lost. I imagine Maya would have lived with Morgan too.

A thing I've been thinking, actually, is that Morgan would probably have been delighted to see Mia go off to become a hotshot lawyer, in some ways. Gets the number one heir to the Kurain channelling school out of her hair if she ends up acclimatising to city life and settling down. This would probably be why Morgan never tried to kill Maya until 2-2, since there was the chance Maya would go off and join her sister, just leaving Pearl to take up the mantle.

I guess after Mia dies, it'd be reasonable to assume Maya would get scared off from leaving the village, so Morgan would have to take things into her own hands. So I think Maya probably, though lonely, didn't get off too badly. Morgan wouldn't hurt her if Mia was alive, either, because we see that Mia does get crazy intense at times. There's that little comic (not sure where from) where she snaps the (kendo?) sword over Nick, for one, and there's also her (IIRC) punching Grossberg in T&T... Or, at least, that piece of official art where she's dragging Nick around by his scarf. If anything happened to Maya, Mia would probably strangle Morgan. Then, as well, Pearl says she met Mia. So Mia must have been visiting a bit.

It's a very different context that both Lana and Mia operate in... At the end of the day, the most important thing for both characters is their family, and what they see as the best thing to do for them. Don't pit two GOATs against each other...

Anyway, whoops. Most of this was about Mia. Super glad you like my Lana stuff! I think she's a wonderful character, and definitely underrated.

[ladykailitha]

All My Roads Lead Back to You Part 10

My posting schedule went a tad skiwampus with the First Kiss fic and with it being Memorial Day tomorrow and all that entails with my family I’ll be too busy to post. So...you get this today!

Dustin tells Eddie what really went down with Steve’s last partner Andy. Edie and Harri are beyond thrilled about their dads friendship blossoming. And Steve’s views on fantasy novels are the author’s own (no hate in the comments and tags please).

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9

***

Band practice rolled around again and Steve was finally able to use Dustin’s new ear plugs. The little twerp was right. They fit snugly in the ear without feeling like he was under water. He sat in the front room reading, nearby the garage in case they needed anything.

There was a knock on the door and Steve looked up to see Eddie smiling at him.

“Eddie!” he said with a smile. He scrambled to take out the plugs and put back in his hearing aid. “Are they done already?” He looked at his watch, but it read barely after eight.

Eddie grinned back. “Nah, just wanted to say hi. I got done with my stuff early and figured it would be fun to spend it with company.”

Steve pulled off his glasses and put them away. He was about to set the book next them when it was snatched out his hands.

“Good Omens?” Eddie asked, with a raised eyebrow.

Steve laughed. “Jeff lent it to me. It’s not bad.”

Eddie’s eyes went wide. “Not bad? You are calling on of the best fantasy novels of our generation ‘not bad’.”

Steve shrugged. “It’s not my thing I guess.”

Eddie pressed his fingers into his eye frustration. “You’re going to finish it, at least, I hope.”

Steve smiled up at him. “Sure. It’s not like I hate it or anything. I’m enjoying it, I’m just not...um...” He pursed his lips together.

“No, please go on,” Eddie said in that teasing tone Steve missed.

“Freaking out over it?” Steve finished with a grimace.

Eddie laughed. “God, man. Do you ever change?”

Steve rolled his eyes and scoffed. “I think we both know that I’ve changed a lot since high school.”

Eddie threw himself next to Steve on the sofa. “Nah. You would call Tommy H. and Carol off all the time. I think you just realized you didn’t have to pretend to be something you weren’t.”

Steve blushed. “Thanks, man. But I’m only a barely reformed mean girl.”

Eddie laughed. “Okay, maybe a little.”

They sat there talking about the fantasy books that Steve had read and what his favorites were.

“I enjoyed the ‘Incarnations of Immortality’ by Piers Anthony up until the last one,” Steve admitted.

“Evil was soo good,” Eddie agreed, “it was hard to come with a finale that came close to that brilliance.”

“Exactly!” Steve replied excitedly. “Time was a little weird.”

Eddie rolled his eyes. “And boring too. Who would have thought that someone living backwards could be so uninteresting!”

Steve laughed.

And it was then that Edie and Harri came into the room.

Eddie looked over at his son with a smile. “You guys done?”

Harri nodded. “Yeah. I’m ready to go whenever you are.”

Eddie patted Steve on the knee and then used it to help him stand. “See you around, Harrington.” He winked.

Steve grinned back. “Laters, Munson.”

After Harri and Eddie left Edie turned to her dad and raised an eyebrow. “That was certainly interesting.”

“What?” Steve asked as he put on his glasses to go back to his book.

“You looked friendly.”

Steve looked up at her over his glasses. “I’m not sure you’re aware of this, but we were friends at one point.”

“You know you keep saying that,” Edie said, flopping on the sofa next to him. “But like how?”

“Turns out that we had more in common than we thought,” he said, setting the book aside. He knew he wasn’t going to get back to it at this point.

“Like what?” she asked, curling up to his side.

Steve put his arm around her and pulled her in close. “Our music tastes, for one. He thought I would be like Aunt Nancy and like pop and synth. But I was closer to Robin’s tastes with bands like The Cure, Depech Mode, and REM. Which aligned closer to his tastes of Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Dio...the list goes on. I opened up his mind to other genres of music and he helped find metal that wouldn’t make head hurt.”

“That’s so cool,” Edie said.

“I got him into mysteries and he got me into fantasy books,” Steve continued, softly stroking her hair. “Uncle Dusty kept trying to push fantasy on me. But not Eddie. He’d listen to my tastes and found books he’d thought I’d like.”

“Sounds like a good guy,” Edie murmured, almost asleep.

“He was,” Steve said. “After your mother and I finalized the divorce, I tried reaching out. But it wasn’t a good time. They were in the middle of the surrogacy of Harri and I was in a bad place. Jeff told me that Jay was good for Eddie and wait until after the baby was born if I still wanted to be friends.”

“And did you want to be friends?” she slurred, seconds from sleep.

“No, honey,” Steve said as she drifted off to sleep. “I was more in love with him than I’d ever been.”

*

Edie woke up on sofa, her pillow under her head and her blanket over her body. When she was little Steve would carry her to bed, but she had long outgrew his ability to do so. But he always went out of his way to make her comfortable.

She got ready for school and kissed him goodbye. He had an early meeting at work and she had drive herself again. She didn’t mind driving, but she missed their talks on the way to and from school.

When she got to school Harri was waiting for her. “Hey, Miss Thing!”

Edie fist bumped him. “H-man! To what do I owe the pleasure of your company on this fine Thursday in hell?”

Harri laughed. “You know, it wasn’t until our dads met that I realized how much you remind me of mine.”

Edie giggled. “Is he an over the top nerd with dramatic tendencies, too?”

Harri looked her in the eye and said, “Yes.”

Edie’s giggle turned into a full on belly laugh. “Duly noted.”

“So...our dads were looking pretty cozy on your couch last night,” he said, wagging his eyebrows suggestively.

Edie rolled her eyes. “I know, right? Dad swears that they were just catching up.”

“Same,” Harri said. “But my dad is smiling more in the last week then he has the five years since my Papa died.”

Eddie waved her hand dramatically. “My dad was singing Judas fucking Priest in the kitchen. I didn’t even know he knew what metal even was!”

“That is incredible,” Harri said. “Judas Priest is one of my dad’s favorite bands.”

Edie scoffed. “Color me not surprised.”

“I think they’ve got too many hangups with each other to get together,” Harri said, pushing his finger tips against each other, “like a couple. But it would be cool if they became friends again.”

“Yeah.”

*

Steve walked into his meeting with Dustin and his top two techs with a whistle on his lips and spring in his step.

“Dude!” Dustin said with grin. “Looking good, Steve-o. What’s got you in such a good mood?”

Steve just shrugged and winked.

“So I hear Eddie’s back in town,” Dustin said, aiming for casual and missed by a mile.

Steve barked out a laugh. “Like you didn’t know that before I did. But yes, I’ve seen him...um...three times now?”

Dustin’s eyes went wide and huffed a laugh. “Three? I thought Edie only had her band practice on Wednesday. That’s twice, Steve. When did you see him the third time?”

“Wait...” Steve said. “Who said anything about seeing him at Edie’s band practice?”

Dustin rolled his eyes. “Eddie did. When he asked for you number?”

Steve huffed. “Right.” He turned to the other two techs. “So what have you got for me?”

Dustin eyed him suspiciously. “Don’t think I didn’t notice you deflecting the question, Steve. I will get it out of you later.”

Steve grinned. “You could try. Or you could ask Eddie. He seems more willing to talk about it then I am.”

“I wonder why that is,” Dustin said.  

Steve shrugged, but the meeting continued without a hitch. All the while Dustin kept glancing over at Steve, a knowing look in his eye.

Steve would just duck his head to hide his smile and Dustin would be forced to go back to paying attention to the meeting.

After Steve left, Dustin pulled out his phone and called Eddie. “You know, when I told you to stop running away from Steve, I wasn’t expecting you to run toward him.”

Eddie laughed. “Blame Harri and Edie for that one. I got told by Harri that if I broke up their band he would release my baby pictures online for everyone to see.”

Dustin blinked and then shrugged. “Yeah, okay. So you decided to what? Befriend Steve?”

“Right in one, Dusty-bun,” Eddie agreed.

Dustin rolled his eyes. “I hate that my mom taught you that.”

“Hey, hey,” Eddie said all seriousness. “We do not disrespect Claudia Henderson, not ever.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Dustin grumped. “So, the reason I’m calling is to ask you not to fuck this up. And I’m going to asking Steve, too, just so you know this isn’t pick on Eddie day. You two were the closest things I had to older brothers and it killed me when you guys tore each other apart. I just want to see you be friends again.”

Eddie let out a shuddering sigh. “I know. I’m sorry I kept forcing you to pick sides. That wasn’t fair. You were helping him with his hearing and I was being a little bitch.”

Dustin sighed. “Maybe just a little one.”

“I’m not going to date him,” Eddie swore into the resulting silence. “I can’t put myself out there like that.”

Dustin sighed again. “I doubt you’d get him to even try if you wanted to.”

“Edie said his last partner cheated on him,” Eddie said softly.

Dustin flopped into his desk chair and threw his head back. “It was more than that. Edie doesn’t know and the only reason I do, is because I was with Steve when it happened.”

“What did happened?” Eddie asked, a frown evident in his voice. “How bad could it possibly be?”

“Like walking in on your partner participating in a gang bang, him and two other guys banging some chick in your bed, levels of bad.”

“Fuck!”

“That’s certainly what they were doing, yes,” Dustin said. “It broke Steve. Like really bad.”

Eddie’s breath became ragged as he fought down his temper. “He didn’t deserve that.”

Dustin choked back tears. “No he didn’t. I can’t go into more than that. But, fuck, man. He was a wreck.”

“And so he swore off dating?” Eddie asked, his voice cracking with emotion.

“Yeah,” Dustin whispered. “So be gentle. Go slow. And of course I’ll tell Steve the same about you. But I just wanted to let you know why.”

Eddie sighed. “Yeah. Of course. Thanks for telling me.”

“Bye Eddie.”

***

Part 11  Part 12  Part 13 Part 14  Part 15  Part 16 Part 17  Part 18  Epilogue

Tag List: @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @artiststarme @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 @pyrohonk​ @trashpocket @goodolefashionedloverboi @chaoticlovingdreamer @maya-custodios-dionach @messrs-weasley @val-from-lawrence @plyerice27 @mightbeasleep @thedragonsaunt @chaoticlovingdreamer @trashpocket @sapphirecobalt-1 @a-little-unsteddie @i-must-potato @danili666  @carlyv @rozzieroos @wonderland-girl143-blog @itsall-taken @steddie-as-they-go @lillemilly @callas-shitshow @bisexualdisastersworld @renaissan-vvitch @immortal-iratze @bookbinderbitch @thylatrek @lilacrobin @nightmareglitter @nerdsconquerall

[sharonisthebettercarter]

Starlight isn't interested in being a mom, she'll protect kids when the situation calls for it and be supportive of said kids, but she's not gonna take care of a child 24/7. She's more "protective auntie" type than "Good mom energy". Nobody expected Billy to be all nurturing towards kids, they shouldn't expect the same from starlight, it doesn't matter if the latter has a stronger connection to kids. We never saw her talk wanting kids nor shown any implications of her wanting to join motherhood. She definitely seems like she's someone who likes kids, but doesn't want any of her own. So yeah, don't expect her to be anyone's mom. Nobody expected Billy to be anyone's dad, especially if you read the comics, don't expect starlight to be anyone's mom. Idgas if she's nicer to kids than billy.

idk what you're on about anon but it's fuckin' weird, i'ma tell ya that.

starlight wanting kids is basically schrodinger's cat here. sure, she's never said or implied she specifically *wanted* kids.

but she's never said or implied that she specifically *doesn't* want kids either, in either iteration so whatever you thought this was, it's just a great big can of nothin' word soup.

or in other words, this random ramble that showed up in my inbox? it don't make a lick of sense.

also, why even care so much if starlight becomes a mom or not??? that is an exceedingly weird thing to grasp onto, i gotta say. it sounds more like *you* specifically don't want her to have kids and are possibly projecting your own desire onto your interpretation of the character, so headcanon i guess?? which fine, but why bother me with it???????? who even cares whether she becomes a mom or not? if they go that route, they go that route, if they don't, they don't.

butt.

i will also say that if starlight didn't ever want kids or had some sort of issue with adopting one, she probably would have freaked out the first second hughie mentioned 'may have signed us up to adopt a kid'. she was pretty unfazed in response so it either just wasn't something she cared to give much attention to in that moment (half because she wouldn't mind/half because more important topics at hand), or her and hughie *are* actually at the stage in their relationship where kids aren't necessarily the goal, but they're okay with becoming parents and have probably talked about it (at least once, generally an important conversation for a healthy het couple that is sexually active)

and why in satan's red hellscape would you designate her as a 'protective auntie' specifically to bar her from 'good mom energy'?????????? first of all, WHAT?? who are you to decide that for another woman?????? how do you even decide *for another woman* 'yeah, she likes kids but def never wants any of her own'??? leik wut?? when did she say *anything* even remotely implying this???????????

why do *you* get to speak for *her*?????? what the hell are you even basing this assumption on????????????

and second, why couldn't she be both???? people can be *both* moms to one kid and aunts to others. if your mom has siblings(or super close family friends/besties), and her siblings(besties) have kids, which would be your cousins(or conisdered family), she's an aunt too(or could be considered one)!

and if mom's sibling is a sister and they both have kids, wouldn't ya know, they're *both* mom/auntie combos!!

leik where is the logic here?????????????

shoot, we might even see them actually adopt a kid (maybe teddy stillwell) if that paperwork did actually go through and i could def picture hughie freakin' out but annie bein' a total boss about it (also lmao would be kinda great since the kid's powers match hughie's, could also picture butcher pushing hughie to adopt teddy specifically to use him... FFFFFFFFFFFFFF--)

butt~ there's also leaked spoilers of a pregnancy reveal in the next season, big chance it could be starlight's, leik big enough to make a safe bet i'd guess, but who knows.

otherwise, i mean if you wanna write starlight not being a mom in fanfic, that's an option. it is free. have at it.

just maybe don't bother the people who do make her become a mom in their own fics or want to see that in the show, or try to implement your personal vision of 'what starlight should be' onto them, that much is a bit of a dick move. (you can make your own meta and nicely discuss but this ask is hella weird)

leik you could have just been honest and said 'i don't want starlight to have kids' and it would have made a 1000 times more sense and been more valid than whatever the hell this thing was.

i ramble a ton but don't care one way or another, which just makes this extra weird anon. honestly wtf. this might make more sense if i gushed about starlight becoming a mom as much as i did about butcher getting impregnated~<3 but i've only ever mentioned it in passing, probably once or twice?? normally in reference to predictions for *if* ryan survives, which i've made pretty clear i'm *not* holding out for. (that kid died in the comic by butcher's hand, given the parallels with the kid accidentally killing his mom in both comic and show, i'm expecting a similar parallel for him and butcher eventually) you sure this one was meant for me???

also, the way things are going + leaked spoilers, maybe don't be surprised if she does in fact become a mom in canon? (or if butcher causes her to have a miscarriage i guess. would not put it past him... FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF--)

[piracytheorist]

Grrrhhhnnn okay venting time because doing that to my family will either make them sad or they'll tell me I'm exaggerating.

So in my family there's two group chats. A big one with relatives from the side of my late father, and a smaller one with relatives from my mother's side. The first one I'm a part of, and though I'm not very active, I do pop in to see photos of the family whenever they share.

The second one I'm not a part of anymore. I was in it, but my aunt was in there, who can be perfectly described as a Facebook aunt, complete with Minions memes posting. Anyway, I was mostly ignoring the stupid memes she shared in that group chat, until she started spouting anti-vaxxing shit and I was like okay yeah bye. And I left the group chat.

Considering that everyone else in the group chat HAD vaccinated against covid and was PRO vaccine... I expected they'd talk to her and I'd come back into the group and we'd just never have to deal with her shit again.

But nope. I was left out of the group. I told my mother about my complaints over that, and she was like "Yeah okay we'll talk about it" and then we just never did.

It's been years since, and all along they've been sharing photos and news and having video calls in that group chat and I'm just never in, and then they go like "Oh yeah, you're not in that group" LIKE YEAH. FOR A FUCKING REASON. I have mentioned that a few times but they're just like "Eh okay".

Anyway, I've been mostly ignoring the fact that I feel pretty much left alone by my own family, because we Shan't Upset the Anti-vaxxer Facebook aunt, but today I realized my sister, who is visiting the States, did a video call DURING THE FUCKING ECLIPSE. And I wasn't even given the chance to take part. I realized that because she shared a video her friend took with his phone while she was talking to the others, and I could hear her greet someone from the Facebook aunt's camera. In the video (which she shared in the group chat of the other side of the family - which I get why she didn't call there, this group chat has some 30 something participants, while the other has like, seven) the eclipse is very clearly shown, and fantastic tbh, while in the video call she made she says the eclipse wasn't visible. So, I shouldn't get to complain, I guess?

Fuck that, though. Because no-one wants to talk some sense to our aunt, even though we all agree she's wrong, I missed an opportunity for something my sister knows I love. I know I wouldn't be able to see the eclipse from her video call, but seeing her being excited about it live would do as much.

And the thing is... who do I complain to about this? I can't complain to my mom, because I was raised in a "don't make mom sad" mentality, and she has lost her parents, two of her three siblings (with Facebook aunt being her last remaining close relative), her closer aunts and uncles, and recently her husband. How do I come up to her and tell her "Your bitchy sister, the last person left alive from your original family, made me miss a great opportunity for a bonding moment, and it's all the fault of you and the rest of the family for deciding that It's Okay that Nette isn't in this group chat where we share all about our family, and it's better that we keep anti-vaxxer Facebook aunt instead." How do I do that?

I can't complain to my sister who witnessed the eclipse, because I don't want to sour it for her. It was a great moment for her to witness it, I'm happy for her, and I don't want her feeling sad because she clicked "video call" on the group chat of the extended family, which is the one with the most activity.

I can't complain about it to my oldest sister, because she's the type of person who will blame me for overreacting on Facebook aunt's comments, for not talking about it, and for caring so much for a fucking eclipse or whatever. We don't have a lot in common and sadly she has a hard time understanding that I am passionate for different things than she is, and my passions are just as legit as hers. So I'm pretty sure she'll just scoff and blame me.

I could complain about it to my brother, but he lives far away and has little to no contact with Facebook aunt aside from that group chat. He won't disagree with me but he might say I'm exaggerating, and he won't be able to provide any help.

I don't want to complain to my therapist, because I have better use of my 40 euros per session than a stupid Facebook aunt.

I don't want to complain to my Facebook aunt, because she won't listen and, just like my oldest sister, she won't understand why what she originally did was stupid and insulting considering she knows I have a heart disease and I am a high risk group for any disease so anti-vaxxing can be just like lethal danger for me, and she also won't understand why it was important for me to witness the eclipse with my sister, or at least witness her witness it.

And like... UGH. I might go for a walk and listen to some music, fuck this shit. I'm tired of being second thought to anti-vaxxer, minion-posting, ignoring-her-daughter's-very-obvious-learning-disabilities-and-near-arrested-emotional-development aunt.

[marleyybluu]

Miss Ivy

Pairings: Oscar Diaz x black!teacher!OC, Cesar Diaz x black!teacher!OC(obvs platonic)

Genre: Fluff (?)

Word count: 1.3k

no warnings

(he actually had no business being so fucking fine its ridiculous actually.)

The pipeline from needing to be in a relationship to being completely fine in accepting the role of the fun, single aunt is an interesting one. Well, at least Ivy thought so. When she was a teenager all she thought about was boys, she wanted to have that, yeah we're high school sweethearts, storyline so badly but unfortunately, she never got it. If anyone ever asked her out it would be a joke for their own entertainment or it was from someone she just flat out wasn't interested in.

It felt like all her friends got attention from boys and she was left in the back to rot. Then came college, she was getting the attention she wanted in high school but now for some reason, she didn't want it— call it growing up I guess. She'd roll her eyes or make up an excuse as to why she couldn't talk to someone and it made her friends look at her sideways especially when some of the finest men on campus were trying to pull her.

Now with college out of the way and a little more growing up she was entirely too busy for the bullshit anyway. Some of her friends had married off and reproduced, but she was solely focused on her career and she was fine with that. Being an eighth-grade teacher was fulfilling, especially with a class like hers. Her students were absolute clowns, there was middle school drama that they came to her with and family problems that they felt they couldn't express at home. She was their safe haven and she was happy to be.

They filled that void in her life, and she was glad to be that person to help them transition from middle school to the chaotic jungle that was high school.

She did have one favourite student, in particular, his name was Cesar Diaz, an absolute sweetheart with a hilarious group behind him. Cesar was often the last to leave school so he'd come back to her classroom to either finish homework or just hang out. Occasionally she'd put on a movie of his choice or she'd show him movies from her childhood until his father came to get him.

However, lately, he'd been staying a little longer than usual, the school closed at six and he was still there at quarter to seven. I mean Ivy didn't have anyone to go to so she wasn't in a rush but it was Friday and she did want to go home and smoke, drink and watch something unrelated to children.

Cesar sighed, you could tell he was tired himself and maybe even disappointed that he was still at school. Ivy's shoulders fell as she looked out the window, no sign of Ray coming anytime soon. "You hungry? We can order a pizza." She offered. Cesar shook his head and continued to scroll on his phone. The sudden sound of a car door slamming could be heard outside, so hard you'd think the car window would bust. She watched as a younger male with a permanent scowl on his face approached the school doors but they were locked, so she knocked on the window and shook her head hoping he'd get the message. 

"Is Cesar in there?" She heard him ask, she nodded and looked over to her student. "Cesar, do you know who's outside my window?" 

He looked up from his phone and quickly sat up, "It's my brother, Spooky." 

Spooky? What the fuck kinda name was that? 

"Alright, let's go." 

Ivy gathered her things and slugged her arm over his shoulder as they walked down the hall, she caught Mr. Taylor who was the school's janitor sweeping the floor and asked him to unlock the door so they could leave. "Any plans this weekend?" She asked Cesar. "Yeah, uh, me and Monse are going on a date." 

She raised her eyebrows. Monse was a girl in the class across from hers, Cesar had been talking about asking her out for weeks but was too scared to do it until she encouraged him to. Telling him that she was most likely interested in him as well, at least judging by the way she would look at him. "See," She playfully nudged. "I told you she'd say yes. Make sure you get flowers, never show up empty-handed." 

Cesar let off a sheepish smile and shoved his hands in his pockets, he was excited but also nervous. They made it outside to see the same man leaning on a red car, a cherry red 1967 Chevy Impala to be more precise. It was nice and clean, you could tell the owner took pride in it-- she could damn near see her own reflection if she got close enough. He stood with his hands crossed over his chest, she couldn't tell if he was genuinely pissed or if that was just how his face rested but it was intimidating. It seemed to soften once he saw Cesar. 

"I'll see you Monday, miss Ivy." He smiled looking up at her. "Have a good weekend kiddo and good luck on your date." 

He nodded at her and headed over to the car, he received a hug from his older sibling and then slid into the passenger's seat. "Thanks for uh, watching him." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a wad of cash, the gesture making her face scrunch as he counted enough and handed it to her. She pushed his hand back. "Look, I'm not a babysitter, you don't owe me anything. I don't mind staying with him." 

That voice. He could've become a puddle at that soft voice, that caring tone when she said that she didn't mind. He put the money back in his pocket suddenly feeling foolish for even offering it but in his world people didn't do shit for you without looking for an IOU. A question wavered over her mind, "Where's Ray?" 

Spooky dropped his head looking for an excuse on the ground. "He's um, he's working late and I just got off work so." 

There was a moment of silence, the two just gazing at each other. He was handsome, with cute rose-pink lips that sat in the middle of a moustache and his goatee, a small dimple in his cheek that appeared when he flashed her a small smirk-- a clean-shaven head that would've repulsed her a bit if he didn't pull it off so well. He was quite the looker. Which wasn't surprising considering their father was fine as hell too. 

Spooky liked what he was seeing, her beautiful dark brown skin, her wide nose that was accompanied by two nose piercings, his eyes fell to her plump lips that were two shades-- the top lip that was slightly bigger than the bottom was more of a medium brown while the bottom was the same shade but had a pink middle. They were glossy, and little specks of sparkles could be seen even under the street lights. 

Ivy cleared her throat figuring she was lurking a bit too long and stuck out her hand. "Well, it was nice to meet you... Spooky." The smirk was very apparent in her voice even though she tried to hide it on her face. He gently took her hand and shook it, her nails gently scratching his palm as they parted. "Nice to meet you too, Miss Ivy." 

She felt herself becoming warm and decided to head over to her car which was conveniently two parking spots away from his. He watched as her hips swayed, whether it was natural or maybe a little twist in it for him, either way, he was fascinated. Ivy looked over her shoulder and smiled once more. "Have a good weekend." She waved.

"Yeah, you too."

Well hello hello out there. It is finally fucking Saturdaaay and I am so happy to finally upload. Though ill be real this wasn't what I originally wanted to post, I like how this turned out.

hoping to make this a mini series, don't know how many parts yet but it probably won't be mad long. If you liked this story, feel free to like this story. comment and reblogs help and as always

be cool 🤙🏾

[emotionalcadaver]

Part 17: Loved

Fandom: Inception

Pairing: Robert Fischer x OC

Summary: Alice calls her mother with some news.

Word Count: 2,139

Notes: Warnings for depictions of shitty parents and references to emotional child abuse.

Previous Part • Series • Next Part

When she was three years old, Alice broke a teacup.

She had been playing, pretending to serve tea to her stuffed animals, all situated around a table, and the piece of China had slipped through her clumsy little hands, breaking into a million pieces all over the floor. And then her mother was barreling in the room, grabbing at her shoulders and shouting, shaking her back and forth while tears streamed down Alice’s cheeks. 

And for just a glimmer of a moment, Alice was afraid that her mother might hit her.  

It was a memory that returned to her now, as she paced back and forth along the soft carpet in her office, cell phone clutched to her ear while it rang. The door was closed, but even through it she could distantly hear the sounds of splashing and laughter from the pool they had on the back deck. Spooky, who had followed her into the office as if able to sense her distress, meowed, jumping down from where she’d curled up on the couch to rub against Alice’s legs. Stooping, she scooped the little black cat up with one arm, pressing a kiss to her soft head before sinking down onto the couch, Spooky situating herself in her lap. 

“Hello?” the sound of the voice on the other end of the line, picking up at the last ring, made her jump. She had honestly not expected her to pick up.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Alice? Whatever are you calling for?”

Alice sighed, head thrown back and biting her lip. “I just…wanted to say hi, I guess,” it wasn’t the truth. She had called for a very specific reason. But she figured she ought to go about things slowly. 

“Oh.” 

The awkward silence that followed made her wish that the ground would open up to swallow her whole. 

“How are…how are Celia and the kids?” she figured it wouldn’t hurt to bring up her mother’s favorite conversation topic.

“Oh! Just wonderful! The girls are getting so big! Did Celia tell you Kinsley got first place in the science fair? Not that it's surprising, of course…”

“No. No, she didn’t,” Alice figured it probably wouldn’t be the best idea to mention that she hadn’t spoken to Celia in over a year.

“I just don’t understand why Cece couldn’t have given them more normal names, yanno? I’ve never understood it. She didn’t have to go full classical, of course, but something a little more mainstream wouldn’t have hurt.”

“Of course,” Alice said monotonously.

“Do you think you’ll be visiting soon? It would do the girls good to know their aunt.”

Alice frowned. “I don’t…I’m not sure…things are still…settling here,” another lie. The dust had fully settled around the splitting up of Fischer Morrow a little less than a year ago. 

“Of course. Though if you come you’ll also have to swing by your father’s and Tracey’s. If they hear that you were in town from Celia or David and didn’t visit they’ll be upset.”

By “they” Alice knew she meant Tracey. Her father probably couldn’t give much of a shit if she visited him or not.

“I still am amazed how that all…transpired, you know. Even all these years later.”

“Yeah. So am I,” she failed to keep the bitterness entirely out of her voice.

“Really? I mean, Tracey was your friend all throughout high school…”

Yeah, which just makes it all that much worse. One of your closest friends marrying your father almost immediately out of high school wasn’t exactly something that endeared one to either party involved. Her father had settled for unapologetic in his attitude about the whole thing. Tracey still tried to act like they were the best of friends every time Alice saw her.

It had not been her initial intention to fall almost completely out of contact with her family. It just sort of happened. The geography of where they were located certainly didn’t help matters, but the older she got the more she was beginning to realize that this was probably how it always would have gone. Even if she’d lived in the same city as them.

Her relationship with her older sister had always been tumultuous. Celia was the superstar of the family. She was good at everything, smart, charming…everyone’s favorite. And she had never liked Alice, and their parents always took Celia’s side. Even when Celia was cruel to her. 

So, when she decided to phase out all contact with her sister outside of the occasional presents sent for her nieces, it really hadn’t been that surprising to either of them.

Her little brother David was different. He had been Celia’s little soldier when they were growing up, but as he got older, he’d softened to her somewhat. They would never be close, but he was probably the only one Alice would even be remotely interested in visiting should the occasion arise.    

Her father had never forgiven her for not supporting his and Tracey’s marriage, and much as Tracey tried to keep their friendship afloat, Alice could never look at her the same.  

And then her mother. Her mother who had always treated her as a nuisance and a failure; never once acknowledging any of her accomplishments. Always making her feel less than her siblings. The only thing Alice suspected she saw her as any good for was a potential avenue to getting her hands on the Fischer fortune. Otherwise, she wondered if her mother would even take her phone calls at all.

“Mom,” she took a deep breath. Might as well just rip the band-aid off and get this over with. Then she could end the call and go back outside to be with her friends.

Her real family.

“Mom, there’s something I wanted to tell you.”

“Alright.”

Spooky, who had nestled herself onto Alice’s lap, meowed up at her, making biscuits against her thigh. She smiled down at the cat, allowing her cuteness to district her for a moment. 

“I got married this weekend.”

The words hung in the air for a long time, nothing but shocked silence on the other end of the phone.

“Married…” her mother said softly. “To Robert?”

Alice’s brows furrowed at the questions. “Yes. Of course to Robert.”

She was met with another bout of silence.

“Alice, are you pregnant?”

She chastised herself for not being ready for that response. In hindsight it was incredibly in character for her mother to ask that. Though it still shocked her.

“What!? No!”

“It’s just…honey, this is…this is so sudden…”

“Robert and I have been dating for ten years!” 

“You’re still so young, Alice…”

“I’m thirty-four!”

“Now, there’s no need to get upset,” her mother said sternly, but Alice thought she detected a trace of defensiveness in her voice. Like she was embarrassed. 

Did her mother really have no idea how old she was?

The realization made her throat go dry, the part of her that was still a small, desperate child just looking for her mother’s approval whimpering in pain. But the rest of her was relieved.

It would make what she needed to do next easier.

The silence on the other end of the line was deafening.

“Is that all you have to say to me?” Alice asked finally, realizing that her mother was waiting for her to speak. Probably expecting an apology.

“Alice…what do you want me to say?” her mother sighed.

“Oh, I don’t know. A congratulations would be nice,” sniffing, she rubbed at her forehead. “Look…if you want to tell the others…Dad and Celia and David…that’s up to you. But I–”

“You’re not going to call them?”

“No,” she said quietly. Truth be told, she hadn’t made up her mind if she would. At least not until that exact moment.

“But…your father and your siblings…they’ll want to know…”

Alice shook her head even though her mother couldn’t see her. “Would they?” she spat out bitterly. “Listen…I’ve thought about this a lot…and I’ve decided that…” she swallowed hard, and forced herself to be strong. “I’ve decided that this is the last time we’re ever going to talk.”

“Wha–wait. Wait a minute, sweetheart. What? What do you mean?”

Alice sighed. “Let’s be honest for a minute, Mom. I was always just the extra child, right? The screw up…the black sheep. None of you were ever proud of me or tried to understand me or…anything. And I know that me being married to Robbie might mean that you now think…” she bit her lip, then shook her head. “I’m not going to be just a bank for you to come running to every time you have financial issues.”

“So you’re just going to cut out your entire family and be down there in Sydney all alone?”

From outside the door to her office, she could hear laughter. “I’m not alone.”

“Alice…”

“Look, I’m sorry, but I have to do this. I…I need to do this,” if Robert was strong enough to tear himself free from Fischer Morrow, she could tear herself away from the cruelty of her family. She could. “I love you,” I’m just sorry you’ve never been able to love me back.

“Alice!”

“Goodbye, Mom,” she hung up the phone before she could hear anymore, quickly switching the ringer off so if her mother tried to call her back she wouldn’t know, tossing it away into the throw pillows on the couch, burying her face in her hands. A few tears spilled from her eyes, chest spasming with them.

Spooky meowed, standing from her lap and knocking her head against Alice’s hands, purring and rubbing her face against her in comfort. Dropping her hands, Alice wrapped her arms around the cat.

“Good girl, Spooky,” she praised quietly, kissing her between the eyes. “I’m okay.”

She gave herself a handful of moments to pull herself together, scrubbing at her face and blowing her nose, taking a few deep breaths before opening the door and venturing out down the hall and into the open plan living room and kitchen. The door to the back deck and pool was open, so their guests could come and go as they pleased. Cider was sitting in her cat tree, watching proceedings with disapproving eyes, but when she saw Alice she hopped down to rub against her legs. 

“Hey,” Robert was in the kitchen, clothed in just his swim trunks and sandals, dumping a bag of chips into a bowl to take outside. “How did it go?”

“Eh,” she shrugged, making her way around the counter to him. “As expected.”

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest, kissing the top of her head. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

“It’s okay. It’s done,” keeping one arm around him, she snagged a chip from the bowl, still leaning her head on his chest while she angled her face to look outside. “Everything still going well out here?”

“Of course. Everyone’s having fun.”

“Mm,” she smiled to herself, watching as Eames cannonballed into the pool, James and Phillipa shrieking in delight from their floaties. Cobb was lounging in an inner tube, watching the whole interaction with a grin. On the deck, Arthur, Yusuf, and Ariadne were lounging in the poolside chairs, chatting. They’d all come down for the wedding; a private affair out on the beach near the docks where she and Robert used to play as children.   

“Hey,” he gave her a little squeeze, nuzzling at the top of her head. “I’m proud of you.”

She smiled a little sheepishly, hiding her face in his chest. “Thanks.”

In all honesty, she didn’t feel that bad about it at all. Certainly not hollowed out or lonely, like she expected. Instead she felt free. Like a massive weight had been cut from her.

The realization of the knowledge she already knew was fully settling in: her family had never been the people who raised her back in California. 

Her family was right there in their house. Her husband, her friends, and her cats. All the people who had always loved her just the way she was. She no longer needed her mother’s approval, or her sister’s acceptance, or her father’s love. And she would never feel the need to return to the old neighborhood in Los Angeles where they all still lived within a few blocks of each other. 

“Let’s get back outside, yeah?” Robert suggested. 

“Yeah,” she smiled, letting him take her hand in his while he balanced the chip bowl with the other. “Hey,” she stopped, pulling him towards her gently until he was right in front of her, so she could stretch up on her toes and kiss him. “I love you.”

Robert grinned so brightly he could have put the sun to shame. “I love you too.”

Yes, she was happy right where she was. 

Where she was loved.    

Previous Part • Series • Next Part

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[ell-arts]

Come to think of it, I don't think we technically know Pac's full personality all that much outside of being someone who used to be closed off towards strangers according to Sunny when referring to Baby Pac, and also being a glutton too....

Unless I'm just dumb and haven't rewatched the show for over three years by now. :,)

But yeah, do you have headcanons on other things about Pac?

Here's how I would summarise Pac's personality;

Introverted

Friendly

Down to earth (at least Stratos thinks so)

A bit competetive

Hard-working

Courageous

Supportive

Sentimental

Happy-Go-Lucky

Goofy

I guess one could consider gluttony/love for food to be part of his character (he wouldn't be Pac-Man without it) but I'd put gluttonous under a behavioural category rather than personality :-)

Now, as for extra headcanons I have about Pac;

He's pretty good with kids and has a soft spot for them. He likes to make jokes and act like a clown just to make them laugh. We saw him willingly share his food with a young girl in one of the Christmas episodes, and in "Nerd is the Word" he posed with a young boy for a picture taken by the boy's father. Pac also acted a bit like a goof in that instance, probably to make the occasion more special for the boy.

Pac wants to feel valued. He didn't take well to being replaced by Spooka Bazookas for his role in protecting Pacworld. Sure, the biggest reason for this could be that he's gotten used to the fame of being a hero, but I'd like to headcanon that another reason for this is because he had a past when he wasn't valued or seen as important by his peers for being the only Yellow One. Becoming the hero of Pacworld was the first time that most of society saw value in him for a change. Of course, there is a risk that excessive attention and value can get to his head, as seen in "Pac-Mania."

Following up on the previous headcanon, Pac has also grown reserved and introverted because of how he was treated by his peers as a kid, and so he only seeks to have serious relationships where friends and family don't take him for granted.

He hates being played for a fool, or to be given false hope. Pac may be happy-go-lucky and carefree, but we've seen a lot of depth to his emotions, too - there's certain lines that shouldn't be crossed, especially when it comes to his family. In "Happy Holidays and a Merry Berry Day," he didn't take well to finding out that his 'returned parents' were just clones made by Dr. B to fool him into revealing the location of the Tree of Life. And just a few episodes later, in "New Girl in Town," Pac was only willing to give Elli (possessed by Mavis and Pinky at the time) a few chances to be serious with him on the matter of his missing parents' whereabouts. Of course he didn't know he was being deceived, but the moment it became clear to him that Elli was just fooling around on the topic, he walked off and left with a bitter and unhappy countenance.

Pac is a dog person. This headcanon mostly goes off of the fact that Pac and Aunt Spheria have a dog named Uggles. He doesn't mind cats, but generally he prefers dogs. (Which is ironic, since his eyebrows look like cat ears.)

His favourite food is ice-cream and pizza. Yes I know he said in an episode that his favourite is "everything" but I'm sure even he has his favourites that he loves just a bit more above 'everything' xD

[taintedevesayori]

Sayo's Route: Ecstasy 02

Sayo's Route Masterlist

Monologue 

It was hard to interact with the brothers like normal after my conversation with Lei.  “My aunt has a room for you!” I had been waiting to hear those words for so long.  And now that I have…here I am hesitating.  I never would have expected to get close enough to the Sakamakis to care about leaving when we first thought up this plan…and I never thought there would be another family of vampires that I would become close to either.  But now I was struggling with the idea of actually leaving because both had happened… Kou said he would let me go back home to see my friends once they weren’t fighting with the Sakamakis.  That would be the best case scenario, but when would that be? Would they ever stop fighting? I have no idea what to do… It was easier to pretend nothing was wrong in front of Kou, but the brothers seemed to have figured out something was up by now. 

-Sayo is taking a walk around the garden

Subaru: Oi, Sayo!

-She glances up to see Subaru walking towards her

Sayo: Hey, Subaru. Do you need something?

Subaru: We need to talk. 

(I had a feeling this would happen sooner or later…I did brush him off that night after Lei’s phone call even though he was trying to have a serious conversation…)

Sayo: Haah…Yeah, okay. 

Subaru: You’ve been acting off since the other night. Is it because of what I said?

Sayo: Not entirely…I’ve just been doing a lot of thinking. 

Subaru: About that guy?

Sayo: Not just that. 

Subaru: You’re being vague…

Sayo: Well…I guess so, huh? I’ve just been thinking about…what I want to do in the future. Not just about the situation with Kou and Laito. In general. 

Subaru: In the future…? Not that I care much about it, but you’re our prospective bride. You’re supposed to marry one of us. 

Sayo: ….Supposed to…

Subaru: You still don’t want to.

Sayo: Would you be happy about being forced to marry someone?

Subaru: ‘Course not. I would kill whoever thought they could tell me what to do.

Sayo: So do you understand now?

Subaru: Haah…Difference is, you wouldn’t be able to kill our father.

Sayo: Fufu…Unfortunately not.

Subaru: …Shu already told us Reiji wants to marry you and succeed the family. I think Laito would fight to take you as his bride if Reiji or any of us decided to actually try. I know you and Laito have had problems but wouldn’t it just be easier to settle for him or Reiji? 

Sayo: I don’t want to have to settle for anyone, Subaru. If I get married, I want it to be to someone I love. 

Subaru: And you love Kou?

Sayo: ….I don’t know yet. Maybe…

Subaru: Che…I don’t get it…

-Subaru walks away

Sayo: Haah….I don’t either, Subaru…

*Timeskip*

Laito: Sayo-chan~!

-Laito rushes up to her, grabbing onto her arm

Sayo: Laito…

Laito: Hm? What’s with the long face? What’s wrong, Sayo-chan?

Sayo: Nothing, really. I’m just lost in thought. 

-She slips her arm out of his grasp

Sayo: I really would like to just be left alone right now, Laito.

Laito: Eh…? 

-He stares, surprised to have been rejected so suddenly

Laito: You’re lost in thought…? It wouldn’t happen to be about Kou-kun, would it?

Sayo: Haah…No. And even if it was, it’s none of your business.

Laito: Why are you being so cold, Sayo-chan? I thought we had moved past this…

Sayo: I’m just not in a good mood right now, Laito…

Laito: Not just now. The past few days, too. Something has been off. 

Sayo: I’ve just had a lot on my mind, that’s all. 

Laito: I don’t believe that…It has to do with Kou-kun, after all, doesn’t it?

Sayo: That and other things! Now that you know, will you please just leave me alone?

-She rushes off down the path. It takes him a minute to recover since he wasn’t expecting her to outright admit Kou was part of the cause

Laito: Tch…That bastard…

-He heads back to the mansion, knowing he won’t be able to have a conversation with her like this. Meanwhile, Sayo continues to wander around the garden

Sayo: Haah….Dammit…How did everything end up like this…? Why can’t it just be easier…?

-Unbeknownst to her, Kanato is listening in from above her on the balcony

Kanato: Hmph…Stupid girl…

-To be continued

[themultifandomgal]

Tommy Shelby- Didn’t Have To Learn To Love Pt1

I've been watching way to much Call the Midwife and one of the episodes inspired this imagine.

Pt2

Marriage. A union between two families. Usually because of love. Not for me though. I married because I got pregnant

"How are you feeling love?" Polly asks walking into the room

"Fine. Would be better if Tommy could even look at me. For fuck sake I wasn't the only one to get us in this position. He didn't have to marry me"

"You know he did. Now..." before Polly continues there's a knock on the door "I'll get it. You put your feet up" Polly walks over to the front of the house "hello? can I help you?"

"Hello. I'm Alice I'm YNs midwife" hearing this makes me get up knowing that Polly will push the midwife away

"Midwife? no you must have the wrong YN and address. I will be..."

"Polly let the poor woman in would you. She'll catch herself a cold stood out in this rain"

"You can't be serious YN, your having a midwife to come. You've got me and Esme to help"

"Polly I love you and Esme. I really do. But I want a midwife to deliver the baby, just in case anything goes wrong"

"Please your daughter needs to rest and stay calm"

"She's actually my husband's aunt" I chuckle waddling over to the sofa

"Polly would you make us all a cup of tea?" I ask. Polly scowls but makes her way to the kitchen "sorry about her. Most ladies have a overbearing mother in-law, me? It's a crazy aunt in-law" I laugh but feel a twinge

"You ok?" Alice asks

"Yeah just a little pain"

"Have you been having these a lot?"

"They started yesterday, but Polly said that it's my body getting ready for the birth"

"And she's right, but how about we check what baby is up to?" I lay down on the sofa letting the midwife check me over as Polly comes in with a Pot of tea and some cups.

She checks my blood pressure, the heartbeat and where the baby is positioned "everything's in order Mrs Shelby and dare I say baby will be here in a day or two"

"I guess I will be staying over then" Polly smiles

"Yay" the door opens again and closed

"Pol? YN?"

"In here Tom" I call out. Tommy walks into the living room wearing a suit, looking so good might I add "Alice, this is my husband Thomas. Tommy. Tom this is my midwife Alice"

"It's nice to meet you Tommy"

"Yeah. I'm going to my office" I give him a weak smile, but Alice seems to notice

"Polly could I trouble you for some biscuits?" Alice asks and again Polly walks out, this time muttering something to herself "Mrs Shelby, is everything ok with you and Mr Shelby?"

"Oh yeah don't worry"

"Are you sure? because baby needs a steady safe environment"

"Of course. Tommy and I didn't fall in love, get married then have a baby. When we met I wasn't like I am now, the war messed us up and we found comfort in one another. We were friends, then an accident happened between us and here we are. No love, but we make do" Polly walks back into the room and places a plate of biscuits in front of me "thank you Polly"

"Ok I just need to check the home if that's ok. To make sure it's ready for a home birth"

"That's fine. Mary?" I call out and immediately Mary pops her head through the door "would you take Alice around the house for her checks"

"Of course Mrs Shelby"

"Are you coming back to bed or are you doing to pace a hole in the floor" Tommy asks not even looking at me as I walk back and forth

"Sorry, can't sleep. I've had this pain all day and it's just getting worse"

"Come back to bed and..." I then feel wet down my legs

"Tommy phone the midwife" I tell him while pain shoots all throughout my stomach. Tommy quickly leaves the bedroom and downstairs to his office where the phone is. He also wakes Polly up in the process who comes into the bedroom

"Ok lets get you on the bed YN and I'll check..."

"Sorry Polly but I want to wait for the midwife"

"Midwife" she scoffs "never used to have such things"

"I know but please Polly, it's not that new of a concept. They've been around for near 30 years now. They're trained they know stuff you might not"

"Midwife will be here in 10 minutes. What can I do Polly?"

"You can leave the room and wait got the midwife to arrive downstairs" Polly pushes Tommy out of the room

20 minutes later I have my knees up and I'm pushing

"I can't do this" I cry feeling tired and weak

"You can YN, because once you have the baby in your arms this will all be worth it" Polly takes my hand in hers and gives it a squeeze

"Ok YN I can see the head. Your next contraction your going to push as hard as you can ok?"

"You can do this YN" I nod my head pushing when the pain hits me

"That is heads out. Now just one more little push then your done" I push once more then the cries of my newborn fill the room

"Congratulations Mrs Shelby, you have a healthy baby boy"

[seabear87]

Just a quick fanfic from ages ago.

The grass was wet, he noted. But she didnt seem to mind, laying there and just moving her hand about where the fireflies would gather. She would draw her hand lazily through them, watch them disperse just to come back again.

He cleared his throat as he approached, but she didnt look over at him.

"Was wondering how long you were gonna stand there."

"I wasn't sure you wanted company." He muttered. "It has been a rather...weary week for you."

"Mm." Raine sighed. "Word travels fast."

"Small town, my dear. It doesnt take much to get the rumor mill running."

"Yeah well maybe they should just mind their own damn buisness."

He raised an eyebrow and watched her wave an irritated hand at a firefly.

"I see." Elliott rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I suppose...I shall leave you to your musings, then."

He had turned to leave but he caught her lunging forward to sit up, scattering the lightning bugs all around.

The look she held on her face worried him, and the internal struggle seemed to take all her focus. Perhaps she wasnt aware of the expression that strained her already thin features, but for a moment he could see past the facade.

He didnt step away like he intended. How could he? He pulled a sigh in through his nose and moved closer and she had turned away from him.

"I'm sorry." He nodded at the apology, wincing as he pulled his jacket off to lay it on the wet grass. Yet another victim to the undergrowth, he cursed.

"I understand, Raine. You needn't get upset."

He sat next to her, smiling as the fireflies sensed the calm again and floated close.

"They always talk about him." Raine finally muttered, picking at the grass. "I hear Lewis bitching to Marnie about it but no one is willing to help."

Elliott nodded again, looking out past the cliff. He heard about the whole thing from Willy, but the old fisherman was good about glossing over the fine details.

"I haven't spoken much to Shane myself." he admitted, "The man is rather...abrasive."

"Hes an asshole."

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow and she shrugged.

"I suppose he is." He leaned back with a sigh. "Are you two close then?"

She barked a laugh, "No, no not at all. He used to come to the farm all the time when i was a kid and chase me around with foxtails and pull my hair and stuff."

A screaming little Raine in dirty overalls and messy hair. He couldnt help but smile.

"We had an old horse named Lucy that would chase him off the farm."

"She sounds protective."

"Lucy was short for Lucifer. Grandpa couldnt break him of biting so he just used him as a guard dog instead. He was fond of going for the butt."

Elliott tried his best not to laugh but when she started he couldnt resist.

"I feel for him." Elliott chucked, wiping a tear from his eye. "I'm surprised you two didnt garner a close friendship later."

"He would only be here for a summer. But I guess things didnt turn out so good." Raine leaned down and picked up a beetle. "Marnie isnt really his aunt, she was just a family friend I guess."

"Ah."

A comfortable silence fell, and Raine leaned back to lay on the grass again. Elliott watched as she raised her hand up towards the dark sky.

"There's a heaviness in the Valley, you know?" Raine muttered. "Its been weighing on me since i got here."

"Is it the valley, or just the burdens we bear?"

He caught the sad smile.

"Probably."

"You dont need to bear them alone, Raine." Elliott said, leaning over her. "I know that perhaps i dont have Shanes... Illustrious history with you, but you've become one of my closest friends. I want you to be able to come to me if you need anything."

He frowned as her lip trembled ever so slightly, and to save her embarrassment he sat back up.

"Ill...take you up on that."

[hmspogueobx]

Everything to me (Paul Lahote)

Chapter One: Reunions 

The wheels of my suitcase rattle behind me as I march out of the airport. I take a deep breath as the smell of rain envelopes me. It's an all too familiar smell, seeing as I just came here from Vancouver, BC. But it's comforting to still have that reminder of home with me. Peering around through the bustling crowds at Sea-tac, looking for my aunt Sue, I hear her before I see her.

"Ahh Lucy!!" I hear a squeal of my name and whip my head around just in time to see a sheet of brown hair flying at my face as she crushes me in a hug. "Oh honey, look at you! I missed you!" She pulls back and smiles at me.

"I missed you too Aunt Sue!" And I truly did. This woman had to be the warmest, kindest soul I'd ever known. I moved away from my family with my father when I was little, but I never lost contact with Aunt Sue. We talked on the phone all the time, and at least once every couple of months, my dad would drive me to meet her at some random small town between Vancouver and LaPush.

"Uh, you are just absolutely beautiful Luce." She beams at me. Looking down at my feet, I nudge my aunt playfully. "Come on, let's get you in the car and you can catch me up to speed on the way home."

********

Everything out my window is reduced to a blur of green as we speed down the road to the small town I'm about to call home again. I was born here, and lived with my mom and dad for the first 8 years of my life. But one day my mom just up and vanished. The police never found her body or anything, so me and my dad were forced to try and mourn without closure. It eventually became too much for my dad, so he packed us up and moved us out of the country.

Vancouver was ok, and I had good friends there, but I always missed the closeness of the people of LaPush. I missed my cousins and my old childhood friends Jake and Quil and Embry. And I missed my Aunt Sue and Uncle Harry telling me stories about our Quileute tribe around the campfire. I was certainly glad to know the tribe's legends - I guess the right word is histories - when around 15 I came down with a serious fever and an attitude problem that eventually landed me on four legs.

It was my anxiety that finally did me in. The boy I liked at school asked about mom and I tried to tell him about her, I really did. But the knot in my throat made it impossible to speak, my vision got all blurry and I could feel my heart trying to beat it's way out of my chest. That's when a flash of rage and heat swept over me, and shoving the boy into the locker behind us, I ran out of school into the woods behind it. I called my dad just as a tearing sensation ran up my spine, and white and grey feet came down in front of my eyes.

As much as my dad tried to help me, he'd stopped shifting so long ago so he could grow old with my mom. And I had so much trouble keeping my anxiety under control enough to stop shifting. Being alone in this definitely didn't help that. But when my Aunt Sue told me that some of the boys on the reservation were starting to shift too, I longed to go back home. My dad wouldn't budge on the matter though. I was already 17 by the time it was too late and... my accident gave him no choice but to let me go live with his sister in LaPush.

Steering my mind away from the accident before I spiral right in the truck, I bring my focus back to the present.

"So, you said some of the boys are starting to shift? Is there a pack?" I say turning my head to look at my aunt.

"Yeah there is. Do you remember Sam Uley?" I nod. "Well he was the first, so he's the alpha here. Then little Jared Cameron from your preschool was number two. Paul Lahote from down the road - he's the same as ever, life of the party, but his temper flips like a switch-" You remember a young Paul on the playground pushing a kid for making fun of your outfit and smile to yourself. "Then your old friends Embry, Jake and Quil. That's it" She finishes. But my eyes have gone wide at the mention of my old friends.

"My boys are shifters?!" I squeal out, making your aunt wince and giggle.

"Yeah honey. Actually Sam was thinking of having a bonfire tonight to officially welcome you to the pack. We've never had someone join this way, so he wanted to make sure you got to meet everybody. Is that ok?"

My heart swells at the thought put into the gesture. The excitement of meeting my future pack tonight builds in my chest.

"Of course! That sounds perfect... Maybe I should shower first though" I say, cringing at the sight of my airplane hair in the side mirror. Aunt Sue lets out a snort beside me.

"Well yeah. Let's get you settled in first. It's at the blacks house. You've got plenty of time honey"

We finally pull into a long driveway that leads to the sweetest little blue house. It's the perfect mix of Aunt Sue and Uncle Harry and it just welcomes you in. I barely make it out of the car before Leah and Seth are on top of me making sure I know how much I was missed. My Uncle Harry greeted me with a warm hug and heated me up some leftover fish fry. After the initial excitement of my arrival wears off, Leah helps me set up my new room, and we're left laying on my new bed, filling each other in on everything.

"So he just picked her over you... our second cousin.... WHAT AN ASS!" I blurt out. "Yeah. He didn't even give me an explanation. He just loves her now I guess." Leah says with a frown on her face.

"Well I don't really know the guy, but I hate him for you. And you can bet your ass I'm going to give him hell tonight. Is that why you aren't coming?" I ask her as you run a brush through your waves.

"Mostly yeah. But I think it's just for Sam's friends... I assume they're trying to initiate you into their cult." She says with a smirk.

"Well naturally. I'm the best." I throw back at her with a dazzling smile, making us both burst into a fit of giggles.

Once we've settled down and I've tamed my dark brown waves Leah shoots me a look.

"You know Paul is going to be there hey? Didn't you used to have a huge crush on him?" she asks.

"Used to? I saw a picture of him on Facebook like last year and he's still so frickin cute." She raises her eyebrows at me.

"Dude, he's not cute anymore. He graduated to hot a while ago. Actually all those boys have really filled out, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised"

"Hmm, well then Leah... lets make me look hot too so I fit in" She throws her head back with laughter and gets to work on picking out my outfit.