#and also ski trip series pt 2

[inevesgf]

the biggest battle i will fight in life is the one i give myself by working on several fics at once

[souliebird]

[[and then I met you || ch. 5]]

Series: Daredevil || Pairing: Matt Murdock x Fem!Reader || Rating: Explicit

Summary:

A one-night stand years ago gave you a daughter and you are now able to put a name to her father – Matthew Murdock. Everything is about to change again as you navigate trying to integrate your life with that of the handsome and charming blind lawyer’s and Matt realizes he needs to protect his new family from not only Hell's Kitchen but from the world.

pt: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

words: 4.4k

It has been one week since you saw Matt Murdock on the evening news, and it feels like it has been a complete whirlwind. First, you reintroduced yourself to him and let him know he was a father, then you had a nice little outing, and to tie it all up, a trip to the doctors to confirm what you already knew. 

Matthew Murdock is the father of your daughter.

It is nice to have an official statement from a doctor and now you can start the process of changing Minnie's paperwork to include his name. You have to go to the courthouse to file for an updated birth certificate. Matt has very kindly offered to take that task on for you - he goes to the courthouse often for his job and he knows the ins-and-outs of navigating legal paperwork. You just have to go and drop off the right documentation. 

You had a brief call last night, after Minnie had been put down, and decided that you would visit his office today to do just that. You are going to kill two birds with one stone - hand over what needs to be filed and give Matt more time with his daughter. 

To your great surprise, your timid little Mouse absolutely adores him. She was not happy to have to be at the doctor's office yesterday and was on the verge of tears before he showed up. Her whole mood shifted, and she had spent the brief time you were in the waiting room and exam room telling Matt about different things around them. 

You have a feeling, when you sit down and tell her the truth, she is going to be thrilled. 

You told her that you are going to visit Matt at work today, and all morning she has been hunched over her sketchbook making pictures for him while you try to get in some hours at work. Try being the key word, as you've been thoroughly distracted by today's news cycle. 

You were half listening to a puff piece about something or other when breaking news flashed across the screen. A neighborhood in Connecticut has been leveled by some sort of explosion, killing hundreds. They don't know if it was an accident or some sort of attack - the epicenter of the blast was a school, so it could potentially be either. You pray it was a freak accident, some faulty pipeline or a weird meteor, because the world doesn't need any more horribleness in it. 

The idea that it might have been an attack makes you nervous. You've been through two horrible attacks on New York, and you didn't realize another big event so close to home would shake you so hard. 

It scares you that you have to raise Minnie in such a harsh world, where monsters of all kinds are very very real and you don't know who you can rely on. The police and government have been shown to be all kinds of corrupt and people who can shoot laser beams fight each other in the skies. 

You end up clocking out and going to sit with Minnie to get yourself to stop your doom-listening. She's got a few drawings scattered around the table and you pick up the one closest to you, smiling at her handy work. 

You recognize the shapes as her interpretation of people - oblongs with stick arms and noodle legs. Unknowingly, she's made her first new family portrait. There are three blob-people all holding hands: you suspect you're the big orange one with a smile, Minnie is the little pink one in the middle with what you guess are pigtails, and Matt is the black one with red eyes, who is also holding a stick. To confirm, you ask her.

"Is this one Mister Matt?"

Her head shoots up and a big grin spreads across her face, "Yeah!  And that's you and that's me and we're gonna go to the zoo!" There is a little flurry of motion and suddenly you are getting a picture show. She holds up the paper she was working on - there's another family drawing, but this time there's green scribbles all around you and a blue square with zig zags all over it. You guess that is some sort of animal. 

"You want to go to the zoo with Mister Matt?" You ask, examining her masterpiece.

"Yeah!" She says, pulling over another picture that you know are her versions of flowers, even if they are all different colors. "And the park!"

"And the park? Wow, that's a lot of things to do. Do you want to ask him if he wants to go to the zoo with us when we see him today?" Minnie eagerly nods at the question and that makes you smile. "Okay, we can invite him to the zoo. When are we going to the zoo?"

The question makes her bounce in excitement, "My birthday!" 

You laugh at her enthusiasm and give her a little back rub, "Exactly. We're going to go for your birthday. And get a big cake with whatever you want on it." That makes her a giggly mess and you temporarily forget all the bad things in the world. 

You hand her back her drawing before kissing the top of her hair, "How about you finish this one up and we get ready to go see Mister Matt? We can only visit for a little bit, because he's working, but I bet he'll love everything you made him."

Greedy little hands take back the paper and instantly Mouse is hunched back over her zoo scene, purple crayon in hand. You get up and go to make sure that you have everything you need to bring to Matt in order. You are extremely lucky that the doctor has the ability to print out things in Braille, so you don't need to make an extra stop to get things translated. 

You debate bringing Matt lunch, but ultimately decide against it. You don't want to push too much too fast, and you think it might be a little weird for his coworkers, to see a random person bring him homemade lunch. You know he hasn't told anyone yet about yourself and Minnie - he had shyly admitted it didn't feel real until the test results were given and you completely get it. 

You tidy up until you spy Mouse dropping her crayons into her bucket and cleaning up her drawing area. You let her do her thing, then approach, "Let's put your drawings with the other things we need to give Mister Matt. That way they won't get lost or wrinkled."

She nods like you've just said something very wise and gathers up her stack of papers before handing them over. There's five in total; the three she showed you and two more full of colorful lines. You decide you'll listen in on her explanation to Matt on those two, as you're curious as to what goes on in her little mind. 

Once everything is safe and ready to go, it's just a matter of getting shoes on. You go with your sensible sneakers while Minnie opts for her frog themed Wellingtons. The plan is for both of you to walk to the office, and after one final wallet-keys-phone check in your purse, you head out hand-in-hand.

It's mid-morning, so foot traffic is decent, but not heavy - nothing that makes Minnie too uncomfortable. Dark clouds are gathering on the horizon, and it makes you wonder if the rain that has been promised in the forecast will be coming sooner than expected and you are glad this outing is the only one you have planned. Taking Minnie around in the rain is never fun. It always seems like everything becomes more bustling in the rain and trying to navigate that with a crying toddler just makes you want to cry as well. 

But the promise of her new favorite person and mild weather has her walking like the born and bred New Yorker she is - a determined little pout with no nonsense steps. No one will be trying to sell her things on the sidewalks once she gets bigger. If she had a different personality, you'd want to teach her to say "Hey, I'm walking here" just to hear a toddler say it. 

As you spy the building Matt's office is in, you realize you should have sent him a text to say you were on your way. You did let him know vaguely what time you planned to stop by and he had assured you that they had no appointments - it was catch up on paperwork day - but that didn't mean walk-in clients hadn't come by. You're so close to already being there that you think the gesture is pointless, so you just keep walking until you get to the building.

"This is where we are going," you tell Minnie as you approach. You scoop her up to show her the business directory on the outside of the building. There aren't very many plaques to begin with, so it's easy to find the Nelson, Murdock, and Page one. "That is where Mister Matt works with his friends."

She leans out and feels over the embossed sign, running her fingers over the different letters. "'M'! For Minnie!" She says, pointing out the letter with a big smile. 

"Exactly. Mister Matt's last name starts with M, too. That word is his last name - Murdock."

That gets her to turn back to the sign, fingers dancing over the letters, brows knitting with curiosity, "How is it spelled?"

You spell out Murdock for her and Minnie repeats each letter after you. You do this a few times until she's able to say it out loud on her own. You don't know how long she'll retain the information, as spelling isn't really on the board yet, but you're happy she's interested. You set her back down and she makes a beeline up the steps, grabbing and pulling at the door with all her three-year-old strength. 

The lobby to the building is sparse, with basically only an elevator and staircase, with a door to what you suspect is a supply closet. "We're going up two staircases," you tell your daughter. 

"Two!" She confirms before taking off towards the stairs. You have a brief moment of panic that she's going to zip up both sets faster than you can catch her, but to your great amusement, she grabs a hold of the banister with both hands and pretends to use it like a mountaineering rope to climb the stairs. She even adds little fake huffs and puffs. You follow behind her, ready to catch her if she slips. She doesn't, and when you get to the floor Matt's office is on, she turns to beam at you, clearly proud of herself, "We did it!"

"We did it," you parrot, offering out your hand again. She takes it and you lead her to the correct door. The same plaque that was on the exterior of the building also hangs beside their door and Minnie astutely points to it.

"Murdock!" 

"That's right, it says Nelson, Murdock, and Page."

"Can I knock?" Mouse asks, raising her fist to do just that.

You hum, then gently explain, "This is business, which means work. For work, we don't have to knock. We can go in if it is open."

As soon as you say that she's opening the door and marching inside and you quickly follow her. 

Matt's law partners, Foggy and Karen, are in the reception area with a man you assume is a client of theirs, talking in hushed annoyed sounding whispers. He radiates intimidation, with a huge black eye and what looks to be a makeshift cast made of duct tape around his right wrist. The three of them turn to look at you and you get the sense Minnie had the right idea in asking if she should knock first. 

Your little one quickly latches onto your leg, turning timid in the space of a second and you can't really blame her. Part of you wants to turn and run. 

Karen recovers first, breaking away from the two exasperated men to step towards you and going into receptionist mode, "Hi. You were here last week to meet with Matt, right?" 

"Uh, yes, that's right. Is he, uh, available?" You ask, feeling like you no longer know how to speak English. The energy in the room is not a pleasant one and you very much feel like you've interrupted something important.

"He's on a call currently but I'll let him know you are here," Karen replies in a voice far kinder than what she uses to address the men behind her a beat later. She turns to them and points to the office you know is not Matt's. "In there. Now."

Foggy throws up his hands, like he's frustrated with whatever is going on and disappears into the other room. The man you don't know doesn't follow, eyes on you and your daughter as Karen crosses the room to knock on Matt's door before opening it and slipping into the office. You quickly decide you are not going to make eye contact with him, instead ducking your head and putting a comforting hand on Minnie's head. She's practically hidden herself behind your legs, clinging to your pants so tightly you fear they might rip.

"I like your boots," the man says into the quietness. You expect him to sound like gravel, but his gruff voice is rather soft, and you get the feeling he understands how to talk to children "My daughter used to have boots like those."

 Part of you wants to tell the man to not talk to your daughter, but that would be rude and just because he looks like he's been through the ringer doesn't mean he's a bad man. You decide to let her determine how she wants to proceed.

You feel Minnie poke her head out from where she's hidden herself. At first, you don't think she's going to reply, as you know how she is, but she surprises you yet again by mumbling out, "They're froggies." 

"Yeah? You like frogs?"

Mouse somehow tightens her grip, "I like animals." She presses her face against your leg, then admits, a little louder, "we're gonna to the zoo for my birthday."

That makes the man smile, and that changes his whole demeanor. Suddenly he looks friendly and kind and not like he's likely to stab you, "That's a good place to go for your birthday. How old are you gonna be?"

Before she can respond, the door to Matt's office swings open and Karen stalks out, followed by Matt, who seems much less agitated than everyone else. The blonde points to the unknown man, a little scowl on her face, "What did I say?"

The man holds up his hands defensively, stepping away from Karen and towards the office he was previously told to go in, "Alright, alright, I'm going. I'm going." That doesn't seem to help soothe her at all, as she grabs the man by the bicep and frog-marches him to join Foggy, closing the door behind them. 

"They didn't make you wait long, did they?" Matt asks, bringing your attention back to him. There is a cut on his lip that wasn't there the last time you saw him, and your instinct is to ask if he is okay, but you don't know if you are at that level with him yet.

So instead, you address his question, "No, no, we just got here."

He motions back to his office, a smile spreading across his face, and you almost forget about the cut, "Come on back and we can review everything." 

Minnie lets go of your pants only to take your hand again and you lead her into the other room. As you pass Matt, she looks up at him and gives a tiny wave.

"Hi, Mister Matt."

Matt's shoulders visibly relax at her greeting, and you can't help but start to smile, "Hi, sweetheart. How are you doing today?"

"Good! I maded you pictures," she says proudly. That causes him to pause as he starts to follow you into his office. You can tell he is surprised by the news - his voice gets a little choked up when he responds.

"You made me some pictures?"

"They are very good pictures," you advise, squeezing Minnie's hand slightly before letting go, "Do you want to tell Mister Matt what you drew for him?" She nods eagerly, so you point to one of the chairs in front of his desk. "Go sit like a big girl and you can tell him."

She makes a dash for the chair, and you take the time to address Matt, "I'm sorry, I should have called ahead."

He shakes his head, and as he walks past you to go behind the desk, he reaches out and brushes his hand along your arm. A little shiver runs up your spine at the touch and you tell yourself the action was so he could orient himself. "Not a problem, I knew you were coming. How is everything?"

"Everything is good," you reply, a little shyer than you intend to. "I, uh, have everything for you. Is there anything else I need to fill out?"

Matt shakes his head, "Just a signature and date. You've done all the work for me already. I don't think I've ever had to file where I don't need to actually do anything but sign the document. It's a refreshing change."

"Do you know how long it will take to process?" You ask as you move to join Minnie in sitting. "The website gave multiple timelines and I just want to be realistic."

Matt takes his seat with a cocky grin, "Not long at all, I know a few judges I can ask to push it through."

You flush at the idea of him asking a favor to a judge on your account, "That's not necessary, Matt, I don't mind waiting."

He shakes his head, getting that soft look again, "I don't want to wait. I want it to be official in the eyes of the government."  

His words make you feel even warmer, and you distract yourself by pulling the file with all the paperwork out of your purse and pass it over to him. "Minnie's additions are at the bottom of the stack. The last five pages"

His fingers twitch slightly, and you wonder if he wants to flip right to those. You get your answer quickly.

"Minnie, is it okay if I go over the paperwork with your mom before you tell me about your pictures?"

"It's okay!" She replies, her voice much more cheerful now that you are alone with Matt. "Do you needs help?"

Her sweetness makes Matt smile more and he shakes his head, "Not right now, sweetheart. I need to read, and I can do that with my fingers, but after that you can help with some other things."

"Okay," she says happily, kicking her feet a little bit.

You catch her attention and motion to your purse, "Do you want a toy while you wait?" 

She shakes her head and beams up at you, "No thank you, I'm a big girl!"

Both you and Matt chuckle at her declaration and he moves to open the file. 

"There's multiple copies of everything," you tell him as you move onto business, "One printed text and one in Braille for the courts and the same for you. I have the same at home, as well. They are bundled in packets. The court papers are on top, Braille first."

He thanks you then begins to read the forms. Mouse sits up straighter in her chair to try and see what he is doing. She can just peek over the edge, and she watches in fascination as his fingers move over the pages. You wait quietly, not wanting to distract in any way. 

"Everything appears to be in order. We will just need a signature," Matt says after a minute. 

"Should I do that now?" You ask. The response is him offering you a pen, so you lean in to sign the various forms. As you set each document aside, Matt adds his own signature. It is silly how giddy you feel just having the forms finally completed. You don't know how long you've had just blank copies, waiting to be filed. 

"And done," Matt says with a final flick of his pen on the last page. "I'm going to the courthouse on Tuesday, so I'll get it processed then. I'll push to get an updated certificate as quickly as possible."

You have to bite your lip to keep from smiling like a crazy person. This isn't some dream or far off fantasy. Matt isn't just saying he wants to be Minnie's father. He is following through, with urgency. This is something he wants and it's almost surreal for you - you are so used to promises being broken and no one being on the same page as you in your desires. Even if this is all for Minnie and not for you, it is still on the edge of overwhelming for you. 

You never thought you'd be so happy over paperwork. 

"Thank you, Matt," you whisper, leaning back into your seat to sit properly.

Immediately, Minnie parrots you, thanking Matt even though she has no idea what is going on.

"No, thank you. Thank you both," he says, and you wonder if he is also holding back from smiling. He gathers the papers and sets them aside before running his fingers over the folder you gave him and addressing his daughter. "Okay, sweetheart. Do you want to come tell me what you drew?"��

You expect Minnie to stand on the chair and even prepare yourself to balance her, but that does not happen. She hops down and scurries around the desk to be at Matt's side and a moment later, he is pushing his chair back and she is climbing up into his lap. Embarrassment rushes through you - she's only ever behaved like this with you. She actually used to fuss and cry if anyone else tried to hold her. You haven't seen her sit in anyone else's lap since she had a say in who gets to hold her.

"Minnie!" You scold but Matt quickly shakes his head as he helps her up.

"It's okay, I don't mind," he tells you even though he looks completely shocked. If he wasn't her father, you wouldn't allow this, especially with someone so new to her, but he is her father, even if she doesn't know, so you don't tell her to get down.

Instead, you give a stern frown, "Minnie, you still need to ask before climbing on anyone, okay? Can you apologize?" 

Your little girl nods, then looks up at him, "I'm sorry, Mister Matt."

"It's okay, sweetheart. Like I said, I don't mind, but your Mommy is right, and you should ask so I know you are there. Next time, you'll know. Now, your Mommy said there were five pictures. Which do you want to start with?" He asks, scooting his chair back to the desk while wrapping one arm around Minnie's waist to keep her secure. 

Once she's able to, she leans in and picks up the first drawing in the stack. It is the family portrait, and you quickly get your phone out so you can record this interaction as Minnie lays out the picture. She then takes Matt's free hand and guides it to the paper before letting go to point at the circle that represents him.

"This is you," she tells him. He quickly finds where she is pointing and begins to trace the figure. 

"That's me?" And there is definitely more than a little bit of emotion in his voice. 

"Uh-huh, and that is me and Mommy and we're gonna go to see the duckies. Mommy said we can go again. But we're gonna get ice cream too. And a balloon," she says, moving her little finger all over the page. 

You watch Matt's finger follow hers - first over the doodle of himself, then Minnie's, and finally yours. Then, he traces back to the center figure. "We're holding hands?" He asks tentatively.

"Yup!" She answers, popping the p. "Mommy says we gotta hold hands if we go outside." 

Matt licks his lips a little and you see his muscles flex under his jacket as he holds Minnie a little more firmly to his chest, like he doesn't want to let go of her. "That's a good rule." 

"Mommy makes good rules," your little one replies wisely. That makes your ego sing a little. Mouse has always been good at doing what she's told, and you are proud that she understands your rules keep her safe.

Before she moves onto the next picture, you gently prompt her. "Sweetie, was there something you wanted to ask Mister Matt?"

Matt's head jerks up at that, looking right to you with brows slightly knit. Minnie bounces in his lap just a little, squirming so she can turn to look up at him, "I'm gonna go to the zoo! For my birthday! Do you wanna go?"

His lips part in surprise at the question and before you know it, he has both his arms wrapped around Mouse, hugging her to him. She instantly responds, looping her little arms around his neck and squeezing back. He rests his cheek against her head, and you see him slightly rock her from side to side. "I would love to go with you to the zoo, sweetheart."

Minnie giggles into his neck and you one hundred percent know that the transition to suddenly having two parents is not going to be hard for her at all. It might be confusing because Matt won't be living with you, but you have never seen her so comfortable with someone who isn't you. You know it's not just because he gave her a toy. They just click together so well.

You switch from video to your camera so you can sneak as many pictures as you can of Matt and Minnie hugging. They've completely forgotten about you and that is a-okay. 

In this moment, nothing else matters to you - not the strange man in the other office or the devastation a few states over or all the other trivial things that nag you and make your stomach turn. 

Your world is right in front of you and for the first time in a very, very long time, you really, truly believe everything is going to be just fine. 

@midnightreids @cloudroomblog @yeonalie @thychuvaluswife 

@dorothleah @mattmurdocksstarlight @mars-on-vinyl @mywellspringoflife @sleepdeprived-barelyalive @simmilarly @soupyspence @darkened-writer @akila-twt

@murc0ckmurc0ck @groovycass @sumo-b98 @just3rowsing @tongueofcat @zoom1374

@theclassicvinyldragon @aoi-targaryen @lunaticgurly @nikitawolfxo @shireentapestry @snakevyro @yondiii @echos-muses @honeybug-victoria @the-bisaster @ristare @mrs-bellingham @eugene-emt-roe @cometenthusiast @stevenknightmarc @hunnybelha @

Specialagentjackbauer @yarrystyleeza @ofmusesandsecrets 

@mayp11-blog @danzer8705 @thinking-at-dusk @remuslupinwifee @akila-twt  @mattmurdocks6thscaleapartment

[timextoxhajima]

Playlist Feels

*SHORT SERIES

Member: *falls off his chair* juyeon

Genre: BIG ANGST + drama with chaebol/lawyer juyeon

A/N: NOTE THAT THIS IS A TRIGGER WARNING. I can’t include the reason because it’ll be a spoiler BUT THIS IS FICTITIOUS SO DON’T COME @ ME PLEASE

A/N pt 2: there isn’t much juyeon in this chapter so skip it if you just want some juyeon one shots

Links to other parts:

I Never Wanna See You Again

Frustrated (light smut)

Love Somebody (light smut)

Play With Fire (smut)

Stigma

Bourbon

Highway To Heaven (smut)

I Like Me Better

All Time Low

~

“so much for ‘i love you’.”

“are you sure you want to get on a more-than-twelve-hour flight to freakin’--” sunwoo grabs your passport and flips it open. “Amsterdam?” 

you snatch the passport back, shoving it into the pocket of your knee-length coat. 

“you ran from your family once...” chanhee looks at you with pleading eyes. “are you sure you want to run from this one?”

looking up from the passport, luggage next to your legs and surrounded by your friends, you scan the big, block letters that spell ‘departure’ across the entrance to the hall. 

“i’m not running. i just need to think.”

“the last time you were on a plane, you hurled from the turbulence,” eric scolds. “and it was a three-hour flight.”

you roll your eyes and raise a brow at your friends. they were all just finding ways to convince you stay instead of watching you leave the country just days after you find them jobs that were extremely high-paying. 

the calls you made were probably setting off a thousand alarms that would alert both your parents, since you were relying on the contacts you had as a chaebol. it was just a matter of time before they’d figure out that you left the country or something. 

“so what if i hurl? i’ll be fine when the plane lands.”

chanhee’s features were strained, and eric sighs, pulling you into a hug and giving you a brotherly rub on your head. 

“call us when you get there and tell us when you’re coming back, we’ll come get you.” eric releases you and sunwoo gives you a gently punch to your arm. you nod and look to chanhee, your arms already reaching out to him. 

chanhee takes a small step backwards, eyes looking like he was hurt. you knew he was upset with you for blowing things out of proportion with juyeon. if you didn’t try to defend him, the whole argument with juyeon wouldn’t have happened. but it was a fact that he crossed the line, and it had nothing to do with chanhee.

“if i let you hug me, then it means there’s a chance you’re going to run and i’ll never see you again.”

your arms remained stretched out but your head droops to the side, pouting a little and walking towards him regardless.

“i’m not going to run, chanhee,” you wrap your arms around his shoulders. “and even if i do, i’ll come back just to see you guys. you have my word.”

you hear him sigh in resignation and his arms find your lower back. “i’ll hold you to that. i’ll hunt you down myself if you disappear off the face of earth.”

you snicker as you pulled back, constantly swallowing your saliva so you don’t burst into ugly tears. 

you settle down in your seat and the passenger next to you greets you kindly. the skies outside the window next to you provided you the warmth and a strange feeling of freedom, but there was so much weight in your heart, you were worried the plane wouldn’t even take off. 

you recall the first time you were on a plane. it was a private flight to paris with your parents when you were still a kid. you spent half the time throwing up because of the turbulence.

the second time you were on a plane, it was with eric, chanhee and sunwoo to a nearby country. they watched you hurl out your meals like a fountain and though it might’ve been a little mean and annoying in that point of time, you look back now and realise that all they were trying to do was to make you laugh and get your mind off your motion-sickness.

you wouldn’t be who you were today if it weren’t for them. 

had they not dragged you onto a plane, you’d probably still be scared to fly with your motion sickness. but thanks to them, it didn’t matter anymore. it doesn’t matter if you threw up, all you needed to do was think about them and you’ll be fine. 

you watch the sunset below the clouds that look like cotton and marshmallows, the constant whirring of the vehicle was slowly but surely getting to your head. the pressure of being in the sky was squeezing the juices out of your brain and making your eyes tear up. your ears were slightly blocked, so blasting music didn’t really help.

you feel the familiar ball of stomach acid push itself up your throat and into your chest, and you barely get the words out to the passenger next to you before she shifts and lets you out. 

you watch the half-digested grains of rice and fruit spew out through your lips and into the toilet bowl, the material on your knees soaking up whatever liquid that was on the floor. might’ve been pee, but who cares?

“miss, are you alright?”

“yeah--” you belch out a disgusting scent, a mixture of vomit and food. “i’m okay.” 

you grab a handful of tissue and wipe your lips, leaning back on your heels before losing your balance when the plane shakes a little. your back hits the wall of the cabin, and a headache rips through your temples. 

you grit your teeth and groans of pain unconsciously pour out through your lips, your hands now pressing into your ear as the pressure in them become physical pain. 

“miss! are you okay? do you need any assistance?”

“i’m fine!” you snap back. “it’s just a little... headache--”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“stay with me forever.”

“i can’t pretend you’re not the best thing that’s happened to me.”

“i love you.”

you vision widens and start to focus, but you frown to yourself when you process nothing besides a plain, white ceiling with amber lights lining the edges. 

you inhale a deep breath and you give your nerves a moment to find your fingers. you blink so slowly, you were wondering if you were paralyzed or if your brain was just processing it super slowly.

“you’re awake.”

that voice.

turning in search of the source, your eyes catch a glimpse of the room you were in. there was a table in the corner of the room, a television mounted to the wall, and the floor was carpeted with a cream colored rug. 

you process the views before you spot an IV drip, and it was hooked up to your left hand. the blanket was riled up to your stomach, and the scent of the room knocks some sense into your thinking. 

you were in a hospital ward.

“where am i?” you breathe lightly, shutting your lids and rolling your eyes under to make sure you weren’t in a dream. 

“in amsterdam, where else?” 

“what date and time is it?” you look behind him and note the pathetic amount of afternoon sunlight spilling through the blinds that were closed. 

“i don’t know how that’s going to tell you how long you’ve been here, but you passed out halfway on your flight here. you’ve been in this bed for more than thirty hours.”

you suck in a sharp breath and cover your eyes with one arm, the disgusting scent of medicine and antiseptic making your lungs hurt. 

“how did you know i was here?”

dumb question to ask.

“it was a little difficult to ignore the calls you were making to my sub-ordinates and colleagues and partners. adding on the fact that your mother called to scream at me about you getting on a plane here,” your father gets out of the sofa next to your bed and walks around to the table, pouring a glass of water. “i wasn’t very keen on hearing her out until she told me your flight was to amsterdam.”

he brings the glass to you and holds it out.

“it was tricky to pretend that you aren’t my daughter... who also happens to have motion-sickness but still gets on a flight alone.”

you scoff, sitting up and taking the glass only because your throat was killing you. “fun to know that i need to get on a plane to get your attention.”

your father scratches a temple and waits for you to finish the glass of water.

“enough attention for me to cancel my meetings and fly here from croatia. i left the moment the airline called me to tell me my daughter passed out on the flight your mother was telling me about.”

you gulp the last bit of water and hold it to your chest. he gestures for it, and you reluctantly let him take it away from you. 

it reminds you of all the times his house staff waited on you and how bad it made you feel. but you were always happy knowing that they were comfortable working in that house. 

“so, do i get to know why i had to cancel my meetings to find you here, in a ward?” he lands the cup on the table and refers to the sofa seat next to you. 

“solo trip to get away from city life. i simply passed out from the turbulence a long-flight was putting me through.”

he’s probably not going to buy that.

“that’s not very healthy.”

you scoff, lying back down into the bed and running your hand through your hair. “of course it’s not healthy. anymore throwing up and i’ll erode my own digestive system. if only i could fault someone for my throwing up.”

silence. 

“so... whose is it?”

“what do you mean ‘whose is it’? i was born with a weak gut, so i guess it’s mine.”

silence. 

“i’m not talking about your motion-sickness, y/n. i’m talking about the 15-week foetus inside you.”

the what--

“15-week foetus? what are you--”

oh.

no.

“you didn’t know you were pregnant?”

your heart felt like it was going to explode and a wave of ache rips through your chest. 

“if it’s a 15-week-old foetus, shouldn’t you have already missed like two or three periods?”

your fingers find your temples and you shut your eyes tightly. you start to feel your eyes getting wet and your nose turns sour as you desperately try to find any strand of possibility that this wasn’t happening. 

“i was... working. i thought it was just the stress--” all of a sudden, you see nothing but juyeon’s face in your head. your eyes were sealed shut but you saw nothing but him. 

and now you were carrying his child. 

“huh,” your father calmly watches you go through a whole mental breakdown. “you’re not wearing a ring, so i assume the baby’s father isn’t my son-in-law?” 

you turn to look at him with tears impairing your vision. 

“your mother told me you were engaged over the phone. you can imagine my confusion when you turn up here, on the other side of the planet, alone, pregnant and without a ring.”

this can’t be real.

“get out.”

your father sucks in a sharp breath through his nostrils.

“you can fly back to croatia and tell mother not to poke her nose into this. i’ll deal with it on my own.”

he nods in your peripheral vision, your eyes only staring at an empty space on the ceiling. you shut your eyes and let the tears roll down the sides of your face, curving its way into the crevices of your ears. the sound of the shoes thumping softly against the carpet tells you he’s leaving and you hear the door swing open.

“call me if you need anything. i’m still your father after all.”

and with that, you hear the door shut. 

you let yourself sob quietly, the reality sinking into your bones and you swore you could hear your heart beating in your ears. your hands find your abdomen, and you question why the product of your love with him was presented to you not in the form of casual dates and a simpler romance, but a baby, in a world of money you wanted nothing to do with. 

you pull yourself together after about an hour of crying, and through swollen eyes, you find your luggage and bags behind the sofa seat your father previously sat on. fumbling around your bag, you were relieved that your phone had not been turned on the entire time since you boarded the plane. it would still be close to full battery.

your home screen becomes flooded with notifications of missed calls. from eric, sunwoo, chanhee, your mother, even your manager, and him.

you swipe away everything and let the phone adjust to the timezone and boot up, and once it was good to go, your first instinct was to call chanhee. 

“where have you been?! your flight landed like... a billion years ago!”

“chanhee--”

“you better have a damn good explanation for fucking disappearing off the face of the fucking earth when you literally told me you won’t--”

“i--”

“where are you now, huh?! strutting down some random street in amsterdam thinking about coming back like, never?!”

“chanh--”

“believe me, i WILL get on a plane and fly to amsterdam just to strangle you myself!”

“chanhee, i’m pregnant.”

the other end of the line goes silent and you wonder if he hung up or something. 

you hear him breathe into the receiver and that was your cue to finish your story.

“i passed out on the flight and now i’m in a hospital in amsterdam. my father’s in the country because the airline called him about me but i don’t know how long he’s staying,” you pause, bracing yourself to repeat that cursed word reality has decided to offer you. “i’m three months pregnant.”

silence. 

you look down at your hands that were absent-mindedly fiddling with the corners of your blanket. your hair was messy and draped over your shoulders. your eyes struggle to remain wide open after the excessive crying in the last hour. 

“... does he know?”

“no. even i didn’t.”

“what are you going to do about the baby?”

you purse your lips, pain rippling through you when you realise you had to make a decision that would change your life forever.

“i assume you’re not planning on telling him?”

it was your turn to fall silent.

you don’t want to be a shitty person for hiding this from him, but neither did you want him to have an opinion on what you should do with it. 

“i think you should know that he’s been searching high and low for you. sangyeon and jaehyun told us that he’s been to your place and the only thing he hasn’t done is call the bureau director.”

“i’ll tell him after i decide what to do with it.”

“and?”

“i’ll tell him--”

“i know what you’re thinking of doing.”

you feel your facial features strain and compress all into each other, your thumb brushing the skin on your finger where the ring should be. 

“you’re thinking of aborting it and telling him right before you get it done, aren’t you?”

he wasn’t your best friend for nothing. 

“i know it sucks... the situation you’re in. and i don’t want to be the one who guilt trips you into keeping it just because it’s his or that it’s a life. so forget about him, and think about yourself before you decide to do anything. it’s yours as much as it’s his, and i know you have the means to raise it on your own, both financially and emotionally.”

chanhee’s words crush your last attempt at holding yourself together, and you bury your face into your free hand with the phone held to your ear. 

“you’re hurting, and i know there’s nothing i can do to make you feel better besides give you what you need right now, and that’s space and emotional support,” a pause. “so call me when you’ve decided, and i promise i’ll see you soon.”

you sniffle loudly into the receiver, sure that he heard you. nodding to yourself, you thank chanhee and hang up, letting whatever fluids you had left inside you pour out through your eyes. 

THE NEXT DAY

“thank you, it was a great stay,” you smile at the hospital receptionist, handing her the black and silver card that your father left behind. it had your name on it, but this was the first time you’ve ever used it.

you promised yourself you’d return the money when you earn it back. you didn’t want them to use this as a hold to keep you by their side. 

“the bill’s already been paid by your father, miss,” she returns a bright smile and hands the card back to you.

ugh, one step late. 

“in fact, he informed us that he’s booked you a place to stay in a hotel nearby. it’s a five-star hotel so there’s everything you need there, and if you feel uncomfortable or in need of medical assistance, it’s only a five minute drive here from the hotel.”

you provide her a weak service smile as you chuck the card back into your wallet. 

the receptionist calls you a cab and sends you on your way to the castle-looking hotel. the hotel staff get your luggage and belongings up to the room while you roam around the lobby and the compound. you find yourself outside the building, now walking along the path next to the river bank. 

couples were eating and drinking the evening away, the orange beams from the sun shining down on you and elongating the shadows of the birds that fly past above you in the sun’s light. 

you find yourself in a secluded spot where the river opens up to the sea after spending nearly an hour just walking along the water line. 

the only source of light around were the street lamps, and the water extends so far out, you couldn’t even see the horizon. you hear someone walk past every now and then and they kindly greet you. the friendly culture here was making you feel so comfortable, you couldn’t help but laugh at chanhee’s worry about you staying here forever. 

you pull out your phone and dial for the abortion provider of the hospital you stayed at, and for a second you worry about the medical bills. 

but it was quickly washed away once the abortion provider picks up, and you start inquiring about abortion protocols. your eyes travel out to sea as the person on the other end of the line feeds you the information that you were going to need to look over again once you’ve returned to the hotel.

your mind flashes back to the night juyeon proposed to you after you told him about your family. and you truly wonder...

life has a way of putting you in places you were meant to be.

Part 11 (final): Gravity

[portals-to-a-new-world]

Chapter 1: Yorktown

Summary: Leonard is a shameless flirt and Jim crashes a date.

Word Count: 1239

A/N: Just to clarify the timeline, ‘Assuming’ was set after Into Darkness :)

The week following the battle of Yorktown was a blur of debriefs, funerals, and ceremonies, not least among which was your promotion to Lieutenant Commander, and Chief Security Officer. You were still trying to wrap your head around it three days later as you sat beside Leonard, having dinner in an old-fashioned diner. A glance up at him revealed he had been speaking and judging by the way he was running his hands through his hair; you had missed something important. “Sorry, I got distracted. What were you saying?”

“I asked if you’d like to spend some time on Earth together. Jim mentioned he was going back for a month while they’re rebuilding the Enterprise, and I thought maybe we could visit our families while we’re there.” Ah, that would explain why he seems so nervous. He wanted you to meet his family.  You couldn’t help but grin at the thought. You had met Jo already, albeit through vidcall, and almost immediately declared to Leonard that you would fight off an entire battalion of Klingons for her. His response had been a crushing hug, and when he pulled back to look at you through tear-filled eyes, he whispered, “I love you”; the first time either of you had said it. That was nearly a year after you started dating, and since you’d grown close with her, bonding over your shared love for classical literature. Your own family had been asking when they were going to get to meet the man you never shut up about. You had a feeling he would be facing quite a bit of teasing from your brother in law; Jim really didn’t know how to keep his mouth shut, so of course, everyone back home had heard about the…. confusion that preluded your relationship. You reached down to place your hand over the top of his with a smile.

“Doctor McCoy, it would be my honor to accompany you home,” His relief was apparent in the smile that spread across his face.

“Good, because Jim already booked the transport for six weeks from tomorrow.” You rolled your eyes. You started to comment when your brain finally did the math, and you realized when you’d be arriving on Earth.

“Hang on, that means we’ll be there in-” He cut you off, clearly knowing where you were going.

“Mid-August, yeah.” You let out a groan. Dammit, Jim! Didn’t he realize that was smack dab in the middle of

“Hurricane season” You and Bones spoke in unison, earning more than a few looks from the tables around you. “Dammit, Len, it’s gonna be hotter than the pits of hell!” You whined.

“I know, darlin’,” He nodded and leaned in to whisper against your ear. “But now you have an excuse to wear those Daisy Duke’s you think you’ve been hiding,” Your eyes widened, and your mouth hung open, unable to form any words as he laughed. “Honestly, they’re just sitting in the top of your drawer, how did you think I wasn’t gonna notice?”

“Was supposed to be a surprise,” You mumbled indignantly. He just huffed another laugh into his drink before taking a sip.

“Should’ve thought of a better hiding place then.”

“What, like where you hid your bourbon back at the academy?” Jim’s voice said from behind you. You spun with a grin, ignoring Len’s annoyed eye roll.

“Was it in his sock drawer? Cause he still does that.”

“Hey!” You turned back to Leonard, giggling at his betrayed scowl. “Wait, what were you doing in my sock drawer?” He asked, looking slightly more concerned than you thought the situation should warrant.

“I needed a drink after all those ceremonies,” You shrugged. “Why? You got something else hidden in there?”

“No!” He said quickly. You looked over to Jim, who had taken the liberty of sliding into the seat across from you, and quirked a smile as he reached to grab Leonard’s glass of tea. “Who invited you, anyway?” Len grumbled, grabbing his drink from Kirk’s hand.

“Why, Bones, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say I wasn’t welcome here,” Jim said as he grinned. Leonard opened his mouth, obviously intent on telling Jim exactly how much he wasn’t welcome, but you cut him off before he could speak.

“James Tiberius Kirk, what do you want?” He cringed at the use of his full name.

“What did I do to warrant my full name?” He asked, moving his hand towards your glass. You pointed your fork at him accusingly, and he quickly withdrew it.

“What in the deep black expanse possessed your mind to plan a trip home in the middle of August?”

“What’s wrong with August?” You scoffed, looking at Leonard incredulously. Can you believe this idiot? He just shrugged and shook his head. “What?” Jim demanded, clearly confused at your shared exasperation. “I like August, you can drive with the top down.”

“Jim. Am I correct in assuming that you’ve never been to the south during the summer?” He nods, face turning wary at your tone. “Wonderful, I’ll get to say I told you so. Now, what are you doing here?” He hesitated for a moment, a mix of emotions flashing across his face.

“I just came to celebrate with my newest CSO and her grumpy CMO boyfriend.” His tone was casual, but one glance at the way he was staring intently at the menu that the waitress handed him, jaw set, and shoulders tensed, and you knew he was lying. You looked over to Leonard to confirm your theory, and he gave a small nod.

“You wanna talk about it?” Len said softly. Jim sighed and dragged his hand down his face, shaking his head.

“It’s nothing, Bones.” He turned and gave his order to the waitress, flashing her a smile. “Just happy you guys are okay,” Recognition seemed to cross Leonard’s face at his words, but it was too quick for you to be sure. He looked over at you and offered a small smile as he took your hand in his.

“Yeah,” Len spoke gruffly, sending a shiver down your spine. “I know what you mean.” You raised an eyebrow, but he only brought your hand to his lips and place a kiss on your knuckles.

“If this is how you two celebrate, I’m gonna need to run home and raid your sock drawer,” You quipped, earning a laugh from across the table and an amused eye roll from beside you. You tensed as he leaned down to whisper in your ear again.

“Wait till we get home, and I’ll show you how I celebrate,” You flushed at his words, biting into your cheek to suppress a smirk.

“Bones, you could at least try to be subtle,” Jim said with a disapproving wag of his finger. You waggled your eyebrows at him before pulling a grinning Len down for a kiss. You broke apart, laughing at Jim’s frustrated sigh. “You two are insufferable.” He said though the small smile he tried to hide behind his glass gave him away. The evening continued as you all bickered and quipped and planned for the trip to Earth and true to his word, Leonard hosted a celebration for two when you returned to your shared apartment. When you both finally collapsed in each other’s arms, you drifted off into dreams about peaches and clear blue skies. Six weeks couldn’t go by fast enough.

A/N pt 2:  Hello everyone! Just a heads up for future chapters, I will be writing Joanna as around 14 years; mostly because I am soft at the idea of Bones getting to be there for his baby’s first day of high school, but also because canonically speaking she would be 14 around the time this is set anyway. (I think, feel free to correct me if I’m wrong) Anyway, I’ll try and update at the very least once a month, but hopefully, I’ll be able to post a new chapter every other week. Thank y'all for reading, and stop by and let me know what you think in the comments :)

[theloniousbach]

A Listener’s Journal #24: The Jazz Piano Trio in the 1950s, Pt. 3: Monk in Context

I started this (probably) three part series thinking about how Bud Powell, Oscar Peterson, Errol Garner, and Ahmad Jamal (and, Nat King Cole, I was reminded after the fact) helped create the piano/bass/drums but sometimes early on guitar trio as a fixture in jazz.  Art Tatum's virtuosity and embellishment was an influence as these players built a repertoire around the Great American Songbook.

Part 2 looked at Miles's '50s pianists--Red Garland, Wynton Kelly, and Bill Evans with Ahmad Jamal's space and taste as formative on Miles and influential on these players.

Now, I happily think about Thelonious Monk again, in relation to his friends Bud Powell and Elmo Hope along with the under appreciated Herbie Nichols.  These are composers, mostly, and I'll focus on Powell's "Un Poco Loco," Hope's "B's a Plenty," and Nichol's "Shuffle Montgomery."  The Monk trio work includes his original Blue Note 10" recordings recently rereleased, a '65 Columbia date, and two anomalous Riverside discs, one devoted to Ellington tunes and the other of standards.  The anomalies are chances to explore just how he conceived of tunes, the de/re- construction of standards sheds light on the ones he built himself.  

Monk's compositional logic is one of the more immediate rewards of my "listener's piano" exercises which I've reinitiated after a hiatus that began in the summer.  I have been playing much more guitar, in part spurred on by what I had been doing with the piano.  I return to the keyboard with a clearer sense on how to learn music.  "Well You Needn't" was where I started with an A part modulating from F6 to Gfl 6 with a nifty little repeated figure and a bridge with a figure that moves in half steps from G7 to B7 and back down.  I want to return to "Misterioso" which similarly takes a pattern up and down by steps to reinforce my wonder at the sheer logic of Monk's music,  It sounded so fresh, so magical, and so unlike anyone else, that it is a revelation to have even a small sense of how it works.  And how it works is as fascinatingly logical as JS Bach; making my theloniousbach sobriquet even more appropriate than I imagined.

But, it's equally true that Monk didn't exist in a vacuum--and listening to him in relation to these comrades has suggested some context.

Bud Powell is a giant, a mighty improviser who stood his ground with Charlie Parker.  A subsequent Listener's Journal with think about those two with Milt Jackson and Clifford Brown as consummate players (it will be hard to resist calling it "Bird, Bud, Bags, and Brownine").  He plays more covers than the others as he gobbles up improvisational vehicles.  But, his "Un Poco Loco" has a Latin rhythmic feel and Monkish angularity.  It's busier than Monk (nearly everybody is.  Monk can and does play, but his genius is that he's brave enough to let his compositions stand in their stark simplicity.), but it is nicely off kilter and of course he has a flurry of ideas about what to do with it.  Powell was Monk's friend and honored by the contrefactual of "Blue Skies," "In Walked Bud."  They were bebop veterans together, peers.

Elmo Hope was friends with both of them and can be seen as a synthesis of both of them.  That is, he is a fluid, adept player who deftly incorporates Monk's wonderful angles and discords.  He bears serious attention and I have welcomed this opportunity to listen to him closely in this context.  His "B's a Plenty" kicks off his self-titled album.  It's a jaunty bit of virtuosity, a prime example of being the proud little brother of Monk and Powell.  That would be enough except the wonderful little shards of phrases of at least "In Walked Bud" which perfectly makes the point.  It's busier than Monk, but then it's supposed to be.  It's also more than just Bud Powell lite.  His fluidity, invention, and skill deserve their own attention.

Finally, there's the even more undersung  Herbie Nichols who came to my attention years ago in AB Spellman's Four Lives in the Bebop Business.  Just as in this context, he was lesser known than Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, and Jackie McLean.  His portrayal of Coleman as fiercely innocent was formative and Taylor's equally fierce intelligence was vivid.  McLean probably had the most contemporary success yet had that snatched from his too.  Nichols though was perhaps the most tragic figure.  He played the gigs he could, never quite in the mainstream (or perhaps they were too mainstream and old-fashioned).  In any case, his curious (and quite wonderful compositions) never got their due.  There are 4 Blue Note discs, but these tunes really didn't get played until Rosewell Rudd, Steve Lacy, and thenBen Allison and Frank Kimbrough (who in 2018 also did a wonderful survey of all 70 Monk compositions with Scott Robinson, Rufus Reid, and Billy Drummond) did a couple of albums with a quintet as the Herbie Nichols Project which also incorporated manuscripts that were never even recorded.  The exception that proves the rule is that Nichol's wrote the signature Billie Holiday song "Lady Sings the Blues."

Nichols is a thoughtful composer who creates nifty little puzzles to work through.  They are smart but not simply head trips.  "2300 Skidoo" and, for my purposes, "Shuffle Montgomery" have catchy but quirky melodies that sneak up on the listener.  He's a fine player and these albums are appealing, but the emphasis is on the compositions.  Monk recorded several versions of his tunes and that made the individual performances interesting as we got to compare sax players (oh what sax players), arrangements, rhythm sections.  If Monk had only been able to record one version of his tunes, we'd delight in them as compositions and wonder at the piano technique behind them.  Nichols isn't nearly as idiosyncratic as Monk as both pianist and composer, but, insofar as I think I know the dancer from the dance, in Nichol's it's the compositions.  But those are way more than enough to seek out these recordings on their own and in worthy juxtaposition to Powell, Hope, and Monk himself.

The piano trio came of age in the 1950s.  Getting to listen to all of these players chronicled in these three linked essays have secured them in my regular attention in this defiinitive idiom.

[blankdblank]

Secret Scarves Pt 26

Pt 1 - Pt 1a - Pt 1b - Pt 1c - Pt 2 - Pt 3 - Pt 4 - Pt 5 - Pt 6 - Pt 7 - Pt 8- Pt 9 - Pt 10 - Pt 11 - Pt 12 -

Pt 13 - Pt 14 - Pt 15 - Pt 16 - Pt 17 - Pt 18 - Pt 19 - Pt 20 - Pt 21 - Pt 22 - Pt 23 - Pt 24 - Pt 25 -

Implied Smut and a hint of Drama

Tags –

@himoverflowers, @theincaprincess, @aspiringtranslator, @sweeticedtea, @ggbbhehe4455, @thegreyberet, @patanghill17, @jesgisborne, @curvestrology, @alishlieb, @jogregor, @admirationofarmitage, @fizzyxcustard, @here2have-fun, @lilith15000, @marvels-ghost, @catthefearless,  @abiwim, @jotink78, @c-s-stars,  @sweetlytenacious25, @tigereyesf,  @evyiione, @deepestfirefun, @queenoferebor

…

Gentle strokes of fingers smoothed across your cheek pulling the chunk of hair covering your face allowing Thorin’s lips to press to the side of your neck opening your eyes to Legolas in his position across your chest nuzzling his head against yours while Thranduil sprawled across his back with a firm hold on your thigh draped over Legolas’ holding him in place on you. Raising your eyes they met with Thranduil’s who sent you a weak smile and tilted his head to kiss your forehead only to grumble as Legolas stirred and gave you one more squeeze then inched up at your call for breakfast before your plans.

Legolas sat up as the men did too, asking, “What plans?”

Thorin, “We don’t have to be at the airport until five.”

You smirked at him, “Yes, but until then we are taking Little Leaf out.”

Thranduil couldn’t help but smile at your protective urge over him. “And what does that entail?”

“First, breakfast.”

Thorin smirked asking, “Then?”

You smirked back, “Then you will see.” Your hand extended and you helped Legolas up and led him to the kitchen, “Breakfast.”

In the kitchen you joined Frerin, Theoden and Jax already started on the meal you all joined into as you shared with Frerin and Jax about your plans while Theoden shared he would be taking him to Theodreds to watch him and his Cousins for the day while Eomer would be taking over at night freeing him for a date of his own. So with plates emptied you led the men out to your sub and started to drive while a pair of familiar cars joined you. The drive ended and Legolas couldn’t help but laugh at the put put golf place coming into view the young Durins and Tallie climbed out of the cars along with Tauriel.

Eagerly Legolas led the way to the mini golf section first, where you all split up to take both courses then swapped filling the previously abandoned place with laughter and jokes making what had happened the day prior the last thing on Legolas’ mind. All while he and Tallie stole more chances to snuggle together while Troy joined the older group as rivals through your being guided around by Fili who flaunted his chance to have you on his arm each time Frerin glanced over between countless photos, a few of which being group pictures he posted on his social pages and linked to yours.

When the golfing was over you were lifted in Fili’s arms as he raced to the go karts when Frerin tried to lead you inside. With a challenging glare he chased after you both with the others right after him to fill the other carts around you both. As the race ended the last place racers had to follow the rules and pay for lunch, that ended with you all racing into the billboard section where your group of intendeds all competed to see who could win the most tickets to get you the best prize. Halfway through you joined Tauriel and Tallie along with Troy all snacking on another round of nachos and watching the eager men racking up as many tickets as they could for each of you, including Nori and Ori who combined their tickets to get Troy the stuffed raccoon with a cape.

.

Back at your apartment again you added your prizes to your room and grabbed your prepacked bag then joined Thorin and Thranduil in Thorin’s car for the drive to the airport after they both grabbed theirs. Between the pair of them you boarded the small waiting jet and sat in the seat between theirs along the back wall on the five seat plane. After take off as you snuggled between them you watched the film they had chosen for the flight on the screen that came down from the ceiling. Through it they both refused to share just where you were going, but after the two hour flight you had landed and pulled on the coat they helped you into before stepping out into the steady snow filled airport to for the short walk to the waiting vehicle Thorin climbed into the driver’s seat.

Through the short drive you watched a large ski resort appear then fade into the distance until you pulled up to a private log cabin. At your side Thranduil leaned in to your side and purred into your ear, “Wait till you see the inside, Love.”

His hand fixed around yours while Thorin helped you out and grabbed your bag along with his after Thranduil grabbed his and led you inside. The warm cabin fully furnished and filled with food for you both welcomed you inside from the cold. Once inside you left your bags at the foot of your large fur coated bed then you turned to join the men, Thorin holding a thick set of blankets and Thranduil with a large basket that seemed to appear out of nowhere. You glanced between them ready to ask where you were going only to have Thranduil plant a firm kiss on your lips followed right after by one from Thorin. Narrowing your eyes in a playful glare you joined the two on the long hike through the knee deep snow up to the tall peak nearby where you found a stone gazebo at the very top.

Between them you giggled knocking the snow off your boots on your walk inside as you asked, “Stargazing?”

With a smirk Thorin purred, “Something like that.” Brushing a bit of snow off your shoulder as Thranduil set down the basket as Thorin set the blankets above them, the pair of them claimed your hands and led you a bit closer to the edge they both assured you was safe. Below you a great drop came into view and under the gently falling snow your lips parted at the sight of the star coated lake below. “Mirrormere.”

Glancing up at Thorin he smiled at you as you asked, “How did you manage all this?”

Thranduil chuckled saying, “Didn’t even have to ask.”

To which Thorin added, “My Cousin Balin owns these peaks and the resorts across them. He offered the best whenever we needed them.”

Leaning in Thranduil purred, “Wait till Valentine’s Day.”

You glanced up at him, “And where will I be whisked off to then?”

He smirked after claiming another kiss from you, “No spoilers, Love.”

Warmly Thorin’s hand settled on your chin claiming a kiss from you as well then purred, “Only the best, Dearest.”

“You will eventually run out of incredible places to take me.”

Thranduil chuckled as Thorin grabbed the blankets, one he spread on the ground and the others he wrapped across your laps. With you snug in Thorin’s arms Thranduil set up the meal and poured out three glasses of wine for you each then snuggled against your free side with a peck on the cheek as you looked out over the snow falling, saying, “That, Love, will take a very long time.” Pressing a kiss to your cheek.

Thorin smirked and purred, “After this we’ve got dessert and more wine back at the cabin, along with a few other surprises.”

“If I didn’t know better I’d think you were trying to get me drunk just to have another try at our New Years game.”

Thranduil chuckled, “There is a full spread of dipping sauces we made sure to bring for, whatever we wanted.” Making you giggle again.

Thorin, “Besides, we would never try to get you drunk.”

Thranduil, “Though if you were to get drunk we would ensure you were safely led back to bed.”

You giggled again, “And what if one or both of you get drunk. How do I keep you from wandering?”

Thorin laughed, “Trust me, we get drunk neither of us are wandering away from you.”

Thranduil, “We’d get back safe enough, though no promises we’d be dressed when we get there.” Making the three of you laugh again.

Together you curled up enjoying the meal and wine joking through the next hour until the snow picked up and you cleaned up and made the trip back down to the cabin again.

.

Inside you three shook off your snow coated layers, stripping and walking into the bedroom to pull on a fresh sweater as the men lit the fire and made sure the window shutters were latched as the wind picked up. Only to turn back as you sat on the couch eyeing the selection of desserts the pair, now in only their briefs, carried over to set on the coffee table in front of you along with another bottle of wine. 

On either side of you they settled slowly inching the sauces closer to you between their lingering stolen lip locks after wishing you a Happy Anniversary. Their game soon brought giggles from you as a trail from your thigh was sucked clean as another on your now bare chest was while fingers dipped to ease inside you. Not long after you three were on the bed rolling, twisting and easing through a series of positions to sate all of your desires until you were laying between the two men taking turns stealing a final rounds of making out before heading off to sleep.

The final act was a pair of winding earrings reaching from your middle ear piercing to your lowest one in a winding set of vines formed from mithril wrapped peridots with two large roses at the base under scattered buds throughout formed from deep garnets to mark your birthstone. Backed with flat round studs that screwed on so it didn’t stab you when you slept. The gift earned the Elf a tight hug he happily returned and accepted his place snuggled around you until morning.

.

In the early morning after another tender kiss had brought on another loving round you wiggled out of bed and pointed at the pair, “No, you two stay.”

With playful gasps they sat up and Thorin said, “We’re-.”

“Also on holiday. My turn, stay here, stay naked.” Making them both smirk and lay back snuggling with their pillows rubbing them tauntingly trying to get you to come back only to watch you walk to the kitchen winding your hair up into a bun.

Not long after you returned with a set of trays in your palms you passed to the pair only to turn back to fetch the rest and the glasses of juice the pair kissed and thanked you for.

Thranduil, “Lunch is ours to prep.” Making you roll your eyes.

Thorin smirked at you, “Dearest, we are supposed to be pampering you.”

You sent them a playful glare across from them, “It’s a two way street. Neither of you will be able to keep me from papering you, or at least I will try to, so no complaints from either of you.”

Both smirked replying, “No complaints here.”

You nipped at your lip only drawing them to lean over and each give you a loving kiss. “You both have years of practice on pampering and long lists of places to sweep someone off to.”

Thranduil, “Consider me swept away. This is my first breakfast in bed.”

You rolled your eyes as Thorin added, “Same here. I feel perfectly pampered, and this is the best omelet I’ve ever had.”

In his lean in to kiss you again you whispered, “You lie, I am sub par at omelets at best.”

Making them roll their eyes and steal another set of kisses before you turned back to your meals. With a smirk Thranduil added, “Besides, you give amazingly thoughtful gifts. Still pour through that book you gave me for my birthday.”

“Mmm.” You chewed and swallowed pointing your fork at Thorin saying, “I need your birthday. I got June so far but Kili said the fourth, Fi the twenty seventh, Ori and Nori the tenth.”

Thorin couldn’t help but chuckle before taking a sip of his juice then lowered it to say, “Tenth.”

Thranduil chuckled, “Dwalin’s is the twenty seventh.”

Thorin nodded, “And Amad’s is the fourth.” His voice dropped to a near growl, “Why?”

You smirked back and playfully quipped, “I found a gift for you.” Making him smirk in return as you added, “No spoilers” and ate the food from your fork in a playful bite.

When the food was finished you cleaned up then were carried back to bed again where you stayed until near noon when the snow slowed and you were free to bundle up and head out for a playful round of chasing each other through the snow until an eager tackle left you three at the bottom of a deeper pit of snow laughing until the sound of snow crunching made you go silent. Peering up at the falling snow your eyes settled on the horns of the giant mountain ram that looked at you curiously while its two sons around him peered in and bleated at you making you giggle and snap a picture of them and you before you were hoisted out and  helped the two climb out. Still giggling you gave the trio an excited pat on their heads before they trotted off again leaving you to your games giggling games again.

Nearly all day you explored and adored the lands around you until you let out a playful squeal at being hoisted over Thorins shoulder for the walk back to the cabin where they ensured you were properly fed and loved on until you discovered the large tub you squeezed into. Awkwardly laughing through taking turns helping one another clean up then dry off and make it back to bed again where loving lip locks ended with you curled up again for the evening so you could make it back to your early flight back.

With midnight came time for you to head back. Your exhausted slump against Thranduil’s side earned a chuckle from him making him hoist you on his hip to carry you to the vehicle he strapped you into the back of then claimed the front seat beside Thorin. Deeply you slept until about halfway through the flight when a sweet kiss on your nose stirred a retaliatory peck on the nose from you only deepening your snuggling pile. Landed at the airport you all repeated the plan for gathering your bags they had left at your place allowing you the chance to grab your bag for the quick drive to school, taking Thranduil with you in yours while Thorin went to go pick Ori up at his girlfriends a couple blocks over.

.

In the parking lot you eyed the time realizing just how early you were bringing on an old tradition of joining Thranduil into his classroom where he led the way into his office as Fili caught up to you in an eager trot stealing a peck on your cheek when he caught you. Winding his fingers in yours his eyes locked on Thranduil on your other side asking playfully, “So, how long have you been calling Uncle Sweet cheeks?”

You glanced at Fili asking, “How-? You’re not looking at me..?”

You glanced at Thranduil who raised a brow at Fili, “I’ve never called him sweet cheeks. Who told you that?”

Fili chuckled watching Thranduil pull out a stack of packets from a locked drawer in his office, “Well the cheer squad overheard you calling him sweet cheeks the other morning and it’s exploded over the weekend.”

Thranduil’s brows furrowed curiously as you let out a giggle and glanced at Thranduil, “Hulwurtag, means sweet cheeks in Khuzdul Big Leaf.”

Thranduil, “I called Thorin warthog.”

You giggled as Fili replied, “That’s not what the crowd overheard.”

Your laughter grew as you covered your face after saying, “I guess the cast on this soap opera has grown a bit.”

Making him roll his eyes and mumble in Elvish, “For Yavanna’s sake.” He shrugged his shoulders, “Only a few months, we can tide these rumors over.”

Within a few minutes the Durins filed in along with Legolas and Tallie who all laughed as all the speculation about the secret romance was spilled before you all split leaving you and your boyfriends with Fili waiting to walk you to class scrolling through his phone for the last picture of a shirt for the concert he’d ordered for you. 

A look between the two brought another giggle from you making Thorin nudge the door closed a bit more allowing Thranduil and his playful glare to approach you and cup your cheek for a quick kiss. After which you turned and he swatted you on the butt cheek making you fire back, “Careful there, what would your sweet cheeks say?”

You giggled then turned as Thorin cupped your cheek claiming a kiss of his own then rumbled near your ear, “Only you get to call me sweet cheeks Dearest.” Then stole a squeeze of his own on your path to class looping your arm around Fili’s as he kissed your cheek when the first students started filing in and began to whisper as Thorin walked out to go to his class after confirming with Thranduil they would just ride it out until May hoping the rumor mill would lose interest.

That hope died when a blonde in Thorin’s class raised her hand to ask, “How long have you and Professor Greenleaf been together.”

Thorin drew in a breath then replied, “We’ve known each other all our lives.”

“But how long have you been dating?”

Thorin, “We aren’t.”

He turned back to his computer to put on the slides only to look back at her with an irritated scowl at her adding, “But you just went away to the mountains for the weekend.”

Thorin, “Excuse me?”

“My Cousin Becca spotted you both driving back to your jet to get back in time for school last night.”

A gasp came from another girl beside her that said, “Unless it was your Brother.”

Making another girl gasp and Thorin to roll his eyes and sit in his chair behind his desk, “But then, what if he’s cheating on Jaqi with Professor Greenleaf?!”

Causing an uproar of assumptions for a few moments until Thorin let out a whistle and clearly stated, “Professor Greenleaf and I are not dating, nor is my Brother. I assure you we are all otherwise taken and your time is better spent studying-.”

The first girl blurted out, “But he called you sweet cheeks!”

Thorin sighed stating, “My nickname growing up was warthog, like the animal, among friends and family. The only person ever allowed to call me Hulwurtag is my Girlfriend.”

“But you called him Leaf.”

Thorin blinked a few times, “His last name is Greenleaf, not a stretch.” He wet his lips as they slumped in their chairs and turned their focus to the slides while Thranduil simply ignored the raised hands and blurted out questions all together.

Pt 27

[tsgdenvercolorado]

Out & About w Scout | October 2019

Mark your calendars!

From pumkin festivals to fashionable trunk shows and inspiring stories from impressive women...find out what we're looking forward to this month.

OCTOBER 2ND

Denver Mobile Teeth Whitening | Teeth Whitening at the Denver Milk Market

Looking for your chance to brighten & whiten? Denver Mobile Teeth Whitening is parking at Denver Milk Market on October 2! 

Denver Mobile Teeth Whitening was founded on the premise that there has to be an easier and more affordable way to whiten teeth professionally. Guaranteed to lighten 5-8 shades in 60 minutes, its FDA approved product is designed for sensitive teeth.  

click for book your session

OCTOBER 3RD

Halcyon, a hotel in Cherry Creek  | Second Summer Sips featuring Soter Vineyards

Elevated Rooftop Bar is excited to launch its Second Summer Sips series, featuring Soter Vineyards.

Soter is a committed winegrower whose passion goes beyond producing wine that is thrilling to the senses, they are also a leader in sustainable farming practices. Join us on Thursday, October 3, as we pour four of Soter's most renowned wines and have perfectly paired bites that will leave your taste buds satisfied.

The wine lineup:

2015 Mineral Springs Brut Rosé

2018 Silver Lining White Blend

2017 Mineral Springs Ranch Pinot Noir

2016 Mineral Springs' White Label' Pinot Noir

Purchase your tickets today. Space is limited.

click for tickets

OCTOBER 3RD-6TH

HobNob | Steamboat Food & Wine Festival

Enjoy a weekend festival in Steamboat Springs featuring collaborations between local and national chefs, tastings with winemakers and master sommeliers, panel discussions, films, cooking demonstrations, an outdoor brunch and the Grand Tasting. Gather your friends for a feast of fine wines and delicious bites, while relishing autumn in the mountains.

Use code ‘SCOUTSTEAMBOAT’ to receive 15% off your tickets

click for tickets

OCTOBER 4TH & 5TH

Andrisen Morton | Double-Trunk Weekend

Get an exclusive look at the latest collections from Isaia and DiBianco.

OCTOBER 5TH

Jennifer Olson Photography | Studio Party

Jen Olson is celebrating 14 years in business with hosting an open house in her new studio on Saturday, October 5th from 5-7:30pm located at Taxi.

Andrisen Morton | Emanuel Berg Trunk Show

Get an exclusive look at the latest collection from Emanuel Berg.

OCTOBER 7TH

Halcyon, a hotel in Cherry Creek | Summer Fitness Series featuring CorePower Yoga

Halcyon’s Summer Wellness Series has been extended through October!

Wind down during happy hour yoga classes at Halcyon’s Rooftop Deck. Set your intention for the week ahead while watching the sunset over the Rockies, led by our favorite instructors from CorePower Yoga. Remember, it's rain or shine!

click to RSVP

Halcyon, a hotel in Cherry Creek | Martinis + Movies featuring Black Panther

Quench your thirst, and check off your summer bucket list at Elevated Rooftop Bar. Head over to Halcyon’s rooftop pool deck and bask in the glow of Denver’s glorious sunsets while sipping martinis and viewing some of our favorite movies throughout the decades.

The showing will begin 15 minutes before sunset on Monday, October 7. We look forward to seeing you all there!

click to RSVP

OCTOBER 10TH

CSextonW Studio | Meet the Artist Event

Join Cora Wheeler of CSextonW Studios at A Line Boutique at their new Cherry Creek North location on Thursday, October 10th, 12pm-6pm.

Take 20% off your entire purchase (exclusions apply) and enter to win a pair of jeans from Citizen of Humanity of Agolde!

RISE Collaborative Workspace | Ladies Who Launch

On Thursday, October 10th RISE Collaborative Workspace is hosting Ladies Who Launch to Denver, kindly sponsored by Bank of America Merrill Lynch for an evening of community, education, and inspiration as we celebrate tenacious women in business!

This will be an energetic and dynamic gathering of 150+ women in business. We hope you can join us.

The goal is to help women-led businesses of all sizes and conceptual stages come together to collaborate, connect, strengthen their livelihoods, and discuss topics that are pertinent to their work.

Through meaningful entrepreneurial sessions on topics such as building and nurturing your brand as well as business and financing strategies,  we'll offer practical tips and tricks that attendees can take home and implement immediately!

click for tickets

1906 New Highs | A Masterclass in Cannabis with 1906 New Highs

The Scout Guide Denver presents an evening of education with 1906 New Highs to explore how high-functioning adults can use cannabis.

1906 is redefining edibles with fast-acting experiences. They've created six distinct formulations that combine low-dose cannabis with targeted plant medicines. Each experience is thoughtfully engineered to help you do all the life stuff better—whether that’s improving energy levels, relaxation, cognitive function, mood, sex, or sleep. This is highly functional cannabis.

Limited space is available. Must be 21+ to attend.

click to RSVP

OCTOBER 11TH-12TH

Emerson Bailey Collection | Fall Fashion Event with Formations

E|B Emerson Bailey Collection is hosting Formations Boutique from Vail here in Denver on October 11th & 12th.

RSVP to 720-291-0707

Andrisen Morton | Eton & JBrand Trunk Shows

Get an exclusive look at the latest collections from Eton and JBrand.

OCTOBER 12TH

Shaver-Ramsey | Shops on 6th Pumpkin Festival

Join Shaver-Ramsey and other participating stores on 6th Avenue for the Shops on 6th Pumpkin Festival. If you visit 4 stores and get your card stamped, you get a free pumpkin!  Be sure to stop by Shaver-Ramsey for pumpkin pie!

Montessori School of Denver | Open House

Join MSD for an open house on Saturday, October 12th from 9-11am. Toddler through 8th grade.

Andrisen Morton | Gravati Trunk Show

OCTOBER 15TH

Montessori School of Denver | Julie Lythcott-Haims, author of How to Raise an Adult

Please join MSD in welcoming Julie Lythcott-Haims, author of the New York Times best-selling book, How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success.

Following her evening presentation, Julie will be available for a book-signing. Whatever age your child is, you can benefit from hearing Julie speak about how to prepare your child for success. This is a not-to-be-missed event, so feel free to bring a friend! Light refreshments will be served.

This event was made possible by generous donations from the MSD auction in April 2019.

click to RSVP

OCTOBER 18TH

Visions West Contemporary | Aaron Zulpo

Visions West Contemporary is proud to unveil Aaron Zulpo’s latest exhibition, Family Vacation, a series of narrative paintings infused with mystery and adventure. The paintings created during Visions West's first artist in residence program, took him across ski hills and ski towns in Montana and Wyoming. This series portrays a family ski vacation with a background story of theft and mystery simultaneously unfolding in the background. The story of the “family vacation” includes repeated characters, as they engage in these ski trip activities. “Though they are in the story, it isn’t really about them”, Zulpo says. While these landscapes will feature the essence of a memory or experience, the use of light and atmosphere are the key elements that the artist will be exploring. To achieve these, Zulpo will use his previous experience with plein air painting to capture a particular moment in nature before translating that onto a larger scale work. Zulpo’s playful style of painting encourages the viewer to place themselves in the story, the moment captured becomes a curious story. The natural landscape incites a familiarity in people who have grown up taking trips through it and towards it. Zulpo doesn’t focus his work on the intricacies of reality, rather his take on the landscape is an archetype, a sense of place.

OCTOBER 18TH-19TH

Andrisen Morton | Boglioli Trunk Show

Get an exclusive look at the latest collection from Boglioli.

OCTOBER 21ST

Halcyon, a hotel in Cherry Creek | Summer Fitness Series featuring CorePower Yoga

Wind down during happy hour yoga classes at Halcyon’s Rooftop Deck. Set your intention for the week ahead while watching the sunset over the Rockies, led by our favorite instructors from CorePower Yoga. Remember, it's rain or shine!

click to RSVP

OCTOBER 26TH

Tansey Contemporary  | Chris Hill

Tansey Contemporary proudly presents The Power of Line, Chris Hill Solo Exhibition. The opening reception will occur Saturday, October 26 from 2-4 pm and Hill will be present to deliver a brief artist talk at the gallery. Please join us to celebrate!

Plum Sage Flowers | Floral Design Class

Plums Sage Flowers is hosting a Floral Design Class on Saturday, October 26th from 10:30-12:00pm.  It’s $75/person which includes materials and light bites.  Please call Plum Sage Flowers to RSVP: 720-328-2190

OCTOBER 25TH-26TH

Andrisen Morton | PT01 Trunk Show

Get an exclusive look at the latest collection from PT Torino.

TELL THEM SCOUT SENT YOU

[singintoothbrush]

2018 Year in Review

2018 has been a great one.  I think it's a good sign when, as the year is drawing to a close and reflection comes to the forefront, the overwhelming feeling is that I would repeat it in a heartbeat.  I had the opportunity to work in new places, meet new people, explore new parts of the country.  From January to May, you could find me in Plains, MT, a tiny town of 1000 people about an hour and a half northwest of Missoula and 2 hours south of Glacier National Park.   Some highlights included visits from amazing friends who made the trek north, a ski weekend with my cousin in Sandpoint, ID, a bike trip to Yellowstone with new friends, a week long visit from my mom and dad (most of the time singing Wild Montana Skies by John Denver), Whitefish Bike Retreat with my sister, and a great road trip home with my mom plus solo weekend trips to Helena, Whitefish, Kalispell, and Wallace, ID.  Truly gorgeous country and very fun to experience life in a small town for a few months. 

After a brief stop in Denver to see family and friends and a trip to Amsterdam where a good friend/colleague and I presented a poster at the first International Conference on Physical Therapy in Oncology, I headed off for the big city of Omaha, NE.  Summer in Omaha (holy humidity!) was interesting.  But, the College World Series was a great time, the concert scene did not disappoint (if you have the chance to see Lake Street Dive or Esme Patterson, I would highly recommend both), and weekly bike rides with Omaha Bicycle Co. and exploring state parks while training for a long run kept me sane (and very sweaty).  Plus, Omaha being on the way to many places via I-80 meant I had several visitors both passing through and again wonderful friends who made Omaha a destination. I also had wonderful coworkers and friends at Children’s Hospital in Omaha so overall it was a great experience. 

August brought with it several trips.  The original plan was to take the month off but I ended up squeezing in the travel around working.  A reprieve from the flatness but not the humidity came in the form of a Thomas family vacation to the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee where we all stayed in a huge house, hiked, biked, ate lots of food, played euchre and whiffle ball, and saw almost too many bears to count.  It was wonderful.  A week later I jet-setted up to Burlington, VT to meet college girlfriends for a long weekend and then headed west to Couer d'Alene, ID for a long weekend of boating, hiking, card playing, eating, and drinking with friends from PT school. Having multiple days to catch up with friends and family I don't get to see very often was the best.

The last month in Nebraska was not kind to me physically (or as my sister likes to say, my age caught up with me) and I ended up breaking my left shoulder while "mountain" biking and injuring my left ankle two weeks later on a "trail" run (both locations were surrounded by cornfields).  Despite both injuries (and against anything I would recommend to someone coming to me for PT), I managed to continue training for and completed my first Ultra marathon, a 50k run up to Mt. Hood Meadows in October (32 miles 2 days after I turned 32).  I was lucky enough to have two wonderful friends crazy enough to do the run with me (one was the instigator of the whole thing and the reason I finished the last three miles on two feet instead of crawling and the other is my birthday and adventure buddy who ran the 32 miles on his 32nd birthday).  Unfortunately we didn't get to experience the amazing views of Mt. Hood we had read about because it was rainy and foggy the whole day, but it was still an absolutely incredible experience.  Turns out Coca-Cola and a cheese quesadilla taste divine after 27 miles and adrenaline and endorphins are powerful drugs (my ankle and shoulder honestly did not hurt the entire run).  After the run, my sister and I spent a few days eating our way through Portland while also exploring the many incredible parks located within city limits.  We both agreed we could easily spend more time there for the food and drink alone. 

After my original plan of heading up to Boston for the fall didn't come to fruition I landed in Avon, CO for the ski season which has been the best unplanned landing place so far.  Actually, all of the places I ended up working this year were unplanned and all have been, as one friend put it, "happy mistakes."  Besides the lingering ankle injury slowing me down a little bit, the early season snow has been magical and I am loving winter in the mountains with a group of wonderful people who have welcomed me with open arms and helped put the cherry on top of an unforgettable year. 

When I left my job at Children's Hospital November 2017, I had no idea what the next year would bring.  I have learned that I love exploring new places (alone and with company), that balance in life is important, being physically active really does keep me mentally sane, meditation and being present is powerful medicine, connection and relationships with people, however long or short, transient or ongoing, give life meaning and purpose, and that  I should put my phone down, quit surfing the internet and read a book more often.

Cheers to a wonderful 2019! 

[elsaeckhardt-blog]

18 mai Pt 1. - Påske ferie

The last time I recapped on life here in Norway was early April, right before Easter break (or Påske ferie in Norwegian). In Norway, Easter represents both a religious holiday as well as a 9 day vacation for everyone, working or in school. My family went to Oslo for our påske ferie to visit my brother, Eirik. It was really neat to visit another big city in Norway, as I hadn’t been far outside of Ålesund before. Here is a day-by-day of what we did :)

9 april: So my family drove to Oslo as opposed to taking a plane, which took about 8 hours one way. On the way we drove through Lillehammer and checked out the old Olympic ski jump. Lillehammer was a pretty calm place, and more quaint than I was expecting. We didn’t make too many more stops on the way because we wanted to get to Oslo ASAP! We got there late that night and met Eirik. This was the first time my host parents saw his apartment, so it was super exciting to visit with him and get a first glimpse of the city.

10 april: We got a late start to the day without any real plans, which was very different than the version of “vacationing” I was used to- in America I’m used to packing in as much as possible when visiting a specific place, so it was foreign to me to wake up at 11 am without any pressure to get out of the door. When we did get out of the door, we walked to the mall near Eirik’s apartment (which was pretty freaking big) and poked around for a little bit. Soon after we headed to popular tourist attraction in Oslo, the Holmenkollen Ski Jump. We walked up the jump and then into a museum/gift shop. The museum was so, so cool, as it showcased the history of Nordic skiing. After checking out the museum we took an elevator-type-thing to the roof looking over the jump where you could see completely over Oslo. It was a stunning day and it gave me a really special perspective of the whole city. The rest of day was spent relaxing, and after dinner we went on a trip into the city to see the lights and streets at night. We saw the Opera House and a drove to an overlook of the city (fun fact: if you’ve heard of the Norwegian TV series “Skam”, the scene of Nora and William on their first date on the bench was the same place we visited ;)). Beautiful night with my beautiful family!

11 april: The next day we took it easy and slept in again, and after breakfast Frida and I took a tram into the city. We shopped a little bit and saw the King’s palace and grounds, which was free for all to walk around and see (not inside the palace but everywhere outside). It was magnificent! We also began chatting with a local who happened to be originally from Ålesund and had lived as a hippy-musician in New York for a few years in the 70s. Small world! Frida and I went to a hole-in-the-wall spa and got Thai massage after taking tram after tram looking for the place. It was fun adventuring around such a spectacular city so independently. We took a train to our cousin’s apartment after dinner and visited for a bit with the whole family. I noticed that although my grammar was still pretty broken when I spoke Norwegian, I understand about 75% of whatever conversation was going on. In the month and a half since then my Norwegian has improved (I hope), but it is pretty cool that just being surrounded by a new language has taught me so much so quickly. We drove back to Eirik’s after chatting and eating until late hours and got some rest :)

12 april: Unfortunately we had to head home on the 12th, but before we did so we stopped at a place called Eidsvoll Building, which was where the Norwegian constitution was signed in 1814. The building wasn’t open but we read a little about it on the signs/statues around it. We then head home and said our goodbyes to the capital.

Although we weren’t in Oslo for very long, it was a really awesome experience. The rest of vacation once we were home was just that, vacation :) It was nice to relax with friends and family <3

One difference I wanted to point out was that in America we celebrate Easter Sunday with a family dinner and church (typically), but here the whole vacation was kind of that celebration. We (Frida and I) got little eggs filled with godteri (candy) at one point during vacation, and there were little Easter decorations in our house, but otherwise there wasn’t one big day dedicated to celebrating like there is in the U.S.

Part 2 might be kind of delayed (like this post- sorry sorry!) because my host family and I are going on a trip to our hytta in Geiranger for the next five days :)

love love, elsa <3