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mldrgrl · 4 years

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Broken Things 9/24

by: mldrgrl Rating: varies by chapter, rated R overall See Chapter 1 for summary and notes

He likes her more and more with every minute that passes. In some ways she reminds him of his sister. Samantha was such a determined and spirited little girl and he can see the same qualities in Katherine, though it’s clear she tries to suppress them. He suspects that’s a product of both her upbringing and her previous marriage.

He’s excited to get her settled on the ranch and to have her there. As a man raised by a strong woman of considerable influence, he’s missed both the female perspective and the companionship. There is a different energy that women bring with them that has been inspiring poets and heroes throughout history. Perhaps that energy is what Monica Doggett was referring to when she was talking about auras.

The ranch is alive with activity when he arrives. Jesse and Jimmy are training in the corral. Richard is mending fence posts and Trevor is moving the sheep from grazing back to the pen, with Queenie keeping the small herd in line. Melvin is nowhere in sight, which could mean he’s getting supper together or tinkering in the barn.

Mulder stops the wagon just outside the barn. He helps Katherine down and she waits to help with the unloading of her things. He gives her the valise and insists on doing the rest even though it will take a few trips.

“Go on ahead,” he tells her. “I’m going to see to the horses and I’ll be along in a minute.”

Trevor comes along as Mulder is unhitching the wagon and he takes the horses away to be watered and fed. Before he unloads the packages he stops by the corral and checks in with Jesse and Jimmy on the training.

With his arms loaded with packages, he steps into Katherine’s room, but stays just inside the doorway to wait to be invited in. She has removed her hat and has the valise opened and is standing before the open wardrobe.

“Looks like Melvin has been busy,” Mulder says, noting the vase of fresh wildflowers on the side table and the quilt folded at the foot of the bed. The room smells of lemons and a feather duster has been abandoned on the side of the wash stand.

“He shouldn’t have gone to any trouble on my account,” she says.

“I’ll be sure to scold him later and send him to bed without supper. Where would you like these?”

“I’ll take them.”

He hands off the packages to her and she places them almost gently on the bed and then touches one almost reverently. He wonders when the last time she had something new and for herself was. He hopes she got everything she needed and at least a few things that she just wanted.

“I need to take care of a few things with the horses so I’ll let you settle in.”

“I’d like to get started on my responsibilities as soon as possible.”

“You wouldn’t like a day or two to yourself before you start taking things on?”

“No, thank you, I like to keep occupied.”

“I’ll track Melvin down and send him to you.”

“I’ll put my things away then and wait here.”

Mulder takes a few steps to the bed and then twirls a bit of the twine knotting one of her packages around one finger. “This is your home now,” he says. “You are the lady of the house.”

“Are you trying to gently remind me that I should not act as a guest here?”

“Or reminding myself not to treat you like one.”

“Then I will find Mr. Frohike as soon as I have unpacked my things and have him show me what needs to be done.”

“As my lady wishes.” Mulder smiles and then bows slightly. “I will see you at supper.”

↭

She doesn’t have to find Mr. Frohike, he finds her, whistling as he enters the room and then stops when he sees her. He’s carrying two oil lamps, one in each hand. She has just finished putting her packages away in the wardrobe and is folding the paper and balling the twine to repurpose at some point.

“Mr. Frohike,” she says. “Please, come in.”

“Pardon me for not knockin’, Madam,” he says. “I didn’t know you was here. And we’re not big on formalities, you can just call me Melvin.”

“Only if you call me Katherine. Could I help you with those?”

“These are for you, actually. I was just makin’ sure they were filled and the wicks were cut. Got one for the table and one for the desk. I can rustle up a few more, I think, if’n you want.” He sets the lamps down where he said they belonged and then grabs the feather duster that was left behind and shoves it handle-first into the back pocket of his pants.

“No, I can make do just fine with these. I’m glad you’re here, I was just going to come look for you.”

“Me?”

“Yes, I’m ready for you to show me what my duties are.”

“Duties, huh? What kind of duties you after?”

“Cooking, cleaning, mending. Or anything else you think I should take care of.”

“Oh, so Mulder brought you here to overthrow me, did he?”

“You can think of it as lightening your load.”

“Alright then, I’ll give you the rundown on who does what ‘round here.”

Katherine learns that Trevor is the youngest and newest hand on the ranch. He’s sixteen, orphaned from a tender age, and came through town at the beginning of summer, looking for work. Melvin happened to be at the sawmill that day for some lumber when he came asking. He took one look at the boy and knew he was still too puny for hard labor, so he brought him to the ranch and Mulder put him to work seeing to the livestock.

The livestock, she soon learns, was also unintentional. They started with keeping chickens for the eggs, but then Mulder started taking in injured or abandoned animals. It was fairly common for folks to pick up stakes after some time and turn their stock out when they left. And there were also folks who Mulder may have nursed a sick horse back to health for and they may have shown him their gratitude for his time with a pig or a goat.

“That old gal right there,” Melvin says, pointing out a grey goat mixed in amongst the sheep. “She’s called Lucy, which is short for Lucifer. Folks dropped her off with us and said she was the devil himself and they were either going to put her down or see if Mulder could tame her, since he’s so good at breakin’ horses.”

“She looks alright to me.”

“Oh, she is now. Sweet as pie. Mulder knew there was somethin’ bothering her from the start. Said she was buttin’ and stompin’ because she was mighty afraid and just pretendin’ not to be. Turns out, them chickens at her old place were harassin’ her and causin’ the terrible disposition.”

“How did Mulder know that?”

“He says he asked her and she told him.” Melvin laughs. “Likely he just observed that she got ornery when the ladies of the coop got to cluckin’ and put two and two together. He moved the goat pen to the far end over here, away from all them chickens and now she’s got no worries as long as they keep to their end of the ranch. The folks said we could keep her and so we’ve had her with us since.”

“He really cares for these animals, doesn’t he?”

“That he does.”

She learns that Jesse and Jimmy are brothers, the youngest of a family of eight. Their parents have a sheep farm about fifty miles out on the way to Fort Worth. Their two oldest brothers and their wives run the place now and Jesse and Jimmy figured it was time to set off and do for themselves. A lot of mouths to feed out there and there wasn’t much of a place for them any longer. Jimmy is the same age as she is, twenty-two, and Jesse is only a year older. They’ve been working for Mulder for more than two years and spend most of their time helping with the exercising and training of all the horses. At Mulder’s insistence, they ride out and spend at least one week’s end with their family every few months.

Mulder met Richard in Fort Worth when he was there doing some trading. He was skin and bones and crazy whiskers when he boldly went up to Mulder’s wagon, opened the jockey box, and started tinkering with the wheels. When Mulder asked him just what in the hell he thought he was doing, Richard shrugged and said that the pivot was loose and the pin needed fixing.

Richard could fix just about anything, but he’d been kicked out of the army for arguing with the sergeants one too many times. They don’t know nothing about nothing, is what he will say about that.

“He’s a bit of a lone wolf,” Melvin says. “Set in his ways and nobody can tell him nothin’ when he’s tryin’ to solve a problem. Got hisself a temper, but only takes it out on hisself too. Got a wanderin’ spirit, and I think he would pick up and go sometimes if’n the streets hadn’t been so mean to him, poor beanpole.”

“What about you?” Katherine asks.

“I’ve been here from the beginning.”

“But, what’s your story?”

“Bah. I ain’t got a story.”

“You don’t have to tell me. I know that some things have to be kept inside.”

“It’s time we started on supper, let’s get on in the kitchen.”

Katherine follows Melvin into the house, noticing as he walks up the stairs that he has a hint of a limp. He shows her where pots and pans are, where the dishes are, where the spices are kept, how to open the cellar door for the canned vegetables and salted meats. She learns what the boys like for breakfast, what a typical noon dinner is like, and when supper is served.

Melvin is slicing beef steaks and she is slicing potatoes when he starts to talk. “I had a wife once,” he says. “Eliza. Her family settled near ours in what’s now called Lee’s Summit in Missouri. She showed up at the schoolhouse one day with her sister Becky and I was smitten.”

“How old were you then?”

“Nine. She was eight, but she was one of them kids that takes to book learnin’ like a duck to water, so teacher put her next to me to share my reader and work on sums together. I knew I was going to marry her the day I met her.”

“And you did.”

“Yes, we did. I was seventeen, she was sixteen. I got a little plot of land to start a farm and she wanted to be a teacher. We did good that year. The crops were profitable and she was teachin’ at a nearby settlement called Blue Springs.”

“Excuse me a minute, I’m going to put these potatoes on to boil.”

“Almost done with these steaks here and I’ll help with the carrots.”

They move about the kitchen in silence for a few minutes as they tend to supper. She checks the fire on the stove while he greases a pan and then she starts to chopping up carrots and he joins her.

“We weren’t too far off from Independence,” he says, continuing his story from where he left off. “People were comin’ through all the time gettin’ themselves ready to head out to the Oregon territory.”

“I’ve heard tales about the journey. They say it was long and harsh.”

“Yes, it was.” Melvin stops chopping for a moment and looks off into the distance.

“You went to the Oregon territory?”

“Eliza had an adventurous spirit. As a girl, her family come to Missouri from Wisconsin, and I think she remembered the trek with a child’s excitement. All them folks comin’ through, eager for new land, new starts and the like, it caught her like a fever.”

“She wanted to go, but you didn’t?”

“I wanted what she wanted. We waited until the followin’ spring, sold the farm, and then headed out to join a caravan up in Independence. Our parents begged us not to go, said it was too dangerous and we ought to stay right where we were with our nice farm and all our family and our friends. But, Eliza could not be swayed and so neither could I.”

“You were eighteen then?”

“Just turned nineteen. We left the day before Eliza’s eighteenth birthday, the twenty-sixth of April, 1850.”

“I bet that feels like a lifetime ago for you now.”

“Several lifetimes. You know, I just had a thought, if we peel up them apples Mulder brung in, we could spice them for dessert. The boys will like that.”

“I’ll get them.”

Melvin gathers the carrots into a bowl to boil when the potatoes are finished and he checks the fire in the stove this time while Katherine gathers the apples. It takes her some time to find the peeling knives, and she makes a few mental notes on how she’d like to organize the kitchen when she takes it over to maximize efficiency. She’ll have to ask Melvin about it later so as not to cause any offense.

“What happened next?” Katherine asks, as they sit down to peel the apples.

“The first part of the journey weren’t so bad,” he answers. Nothin’ real excitin’ to look at, but the journey itself was excitin’ enough, I think. We got to Fort Kearney where people did some swappin’ and then we followed a river up to Fort Laramie. I got a little worried because even in the summer it was so cold up there, but Eliza said it was nothin’ what compared to a Wisconsin winter. And the rain was just...so many folks got themselves stuck in mud and we had to leave them behind and hope they’d catch up down the way. We come close a few times, but I think I had the strongest oxen on the earth and they managed to pull us out. I wish they hadn’t, though.”

“You wanted to be stuck?”

Melvin is quiet for a few moments. “We carved our initials on this great big hump of a rock they call the Register of the Desert. Soon after we made a slow climb up into the mountains and on to Fort Hall. By that time there was only half of the caravan left. Some folks just gived up a long way back and turned for home, some folks just died where they was because it was too hot or they were too sickly or it was just too dadgum tough.”

“Did you ever think about turning back?”

“All the time. I think I knew it was a mistake before we even set out, but Eliza was as certain as I was skeptical.”

“What happened, Melvin?”

“They’re called the Blue Mountains. Steep, hard to navigate, rough terrain. I told Eliza to get on in the back of the wagon because I was afraid she’d fall off the seat, it was so uneven. The oxen were slippin’ and I could tell they were tired, but we couldn’t stop. I’ve never been so grateful for anything in all my life when we reached the top and I figured the way down would be easier. It was just too narrow. Too dadgum narrow.”

Katherine stops her peeling and puts a hand over Melvin’s. He lays down his peeling knife and lifts one arm to wipe his eyes on the sleeve of his shirt. She finds that her own eyes are wet and she doesn’t need him to say anything else to know the rest.

“I’m sorry,” she says. “You don’t need to tell me anymore.”

“It’s alright. It’s been thirty-six years, but it stays fresh in my mind. The back wheel went off the path and I know them oxens tried real hard to pull it out, but the fact is, it was just too heavy for them and it happened too fast. We overturned and providence saw to it that I landed with no more than a busted ankle, but Eliza was inside the wagon. I always wonder if things could’ve turned out different if’n I hadn’t told her to go on and get in back.”

“I ask myself a variation of that question all the time. I try not to think like that, but I know it’s harder said than done.”

“It pains me the most that I was spared, and not her. I made it to Oregon with a family that carted me and my busted ankle in the back of their wagon, but she was the one that wanted to go. I spent a lot of years after that feelin’ sorry for myself, roamin’ around this country and refusin’ to settle.”

“You didn’t go back to Missouri?”

“Not ever. I couldn’t face Eliza’s parents after what happened. Or her sister.”

“And you didn’t remarry?”

“There’s no one compares to Eliza.”

“How did you end up here?”

“Same way you did, I guess. Or Richard, or them goats or the whole lot of us. We was in the right place at the right time and we run into a collector of broken things.” Melvin wipes his eyes once more and then lightly slaps the table. “So, that’s my story. Maybe one day you’ll tell me yours.”

“Perhaps I will,” she says. Unlikely, she thinks.

#i wrote this #broken things #chapter 9 #AU #MSR

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inmusicalseveryoneisscreaming · 5 years

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Day 23- 92sies

How did I sneak Newsbians in you may think Welp, you'll see! Sprace is also mentioned

I t r i e d

The Jacobs family was in trouble. David and Les were in a line of work striking, they needed every penny, how would they eat? Sarah had started working extra hours at the factory, not to mention eating less.

Tonight, though, Sarah had gotten home early. She was in the corner of the room, slumped into a chair, sewing the clothing her mother had requested her to. Mayer was resting his leg, it still hadn't gotten better. Esther was tending to the kitchen, using the little they had to the best they could.

Which is why when David and Les came with a tall man home after work, they were all stunned.

“Ma, Pa, this is Denton. He’s gonna write an article about the strike to get us publicity.” David explained gently, Les only running off to greet his sister with a kiss on the cheek and a hug. “That's my mother, Esther. That's my father, Mayer. And that's-.”

“Sorry I'm late, Bryan!” David was interrupted, and his gaze and face soured. When he turned to see who had so rudely stopped introductions, he saw a young female. She wore an awkward smile as she looked at Davey and waved. “Katherine Plumber with the New York Sun. I help Bryan out with writing at times. I'm really just busting out of the social pages, so I thought-.”

David interjected her this time. “Miss Plumber, we already have a real reporter. Don't waste your precious breath and time. Seriously, shouldn't you be at home sewing or something? Or ordering some servant to do so. Your whole look screams ‘rich’ and ‘spoiled’ to me.” Sarah looked up from her sewing, narrowing her eyes at her brother.

“She's as much of a real reporter as… Denton was it? And if you won't give her a chance, I'd be more than willing.” Katherine ducked her head to hide pink cheeks at Sarah’s proposition. Katherine’s secretly totally into girls, and pretty ones who are also smart? That's her kryptonite.

“Essie, you have nothing to do with the strike, honey.” Esther gently reminded her daughter, almost as if she were scolding the brunette. The brown haired girl shook her head, a quiet argument of her own, Katherine noted.

“I do, though. It affects everyone, Mama, I'm sure Miss Plumber would love to put a citizen’s opinion into the article. Would you? We could go up to my room.” The young female turned to Katherine, smiling widely, shyly. Katherine felt her heart melt that bit, the female Jacobs was obviously opinionated, while still being timid. It brought a smile to the auburn haired reporter’s face.

“I would! Denton. Bryan.” Denton turned to her.

“Yes, Plumber?” He asked, smirking slightly. Katherine had only ever told him about her secret, odd eye for girls. Denton loved making fun of it, any time she was around a girl and suddenly wanted to do something. Katherine flushed, just seeing that evil glint in his eyes.

“I'm gonna go interview Miss Jacobs. Essie, right?” David giggled at what the journalist asked his sister, and Sarah’s face went hot as she averted her gaze to hide bright red cheeks.

“M-my name is S-Sarah… S-Sarah Jacobs.” The slightly taller girl stuttered out, taking Katherine’s hand quickly in her own. Trudging through the small hallways, they arrived at a small room. Katherine glanced around, before sitting on the small bed, strings in the mattress squeaking from old age and protest. Sarah sat in front of her, as they were sitting on opposite sides. Sarah smiled that smile that made Katherine’s insides melt again.

“So…” Katherine started.

“So.” Sarah echoes, smiling. “You have questions for me to answer, or..?” Crap. Katherine had completely forgotten about that interview. Her excuse to spend a moment with the smiling girl.

“Uh- Brooklyn-.”

“I'm thankful for them. Very. They stopped my brothers from bein’ soaked.” The response flew out of Sarah’s mouth, and Kath smiled widely at her. She seemed to care for her brothers. More than herself, Katherine inferred, looking at Sarah’s quite skinny figure. Katherine jotted down Sarah’s response on her notepad all the same.

“Of course, that's a good reason.” Katherine agrees, pushing the question of why Sarah looks so malnourished to the back of her mind. “Plus, it gave that Racetrack boy a significant other, I heard.” Katherine giggled quietly, cupping a hand over her mouth.

And then Sarah’s giggle came out, ending with a snort. Now, Katherine’s ears were untrained. She spent a majority of her time in silence, writing. But Sarah’s giggle, that might be the closest Kath’ll ever in terms of an angelic melody. “Sean is dating Toni, has been secretly for the past year.” Sarah informed with gentleness and elegance. Katherine nodded.

“One more question… Do you think that Pulitzer came from a reasonable place of doing this?” Katherine hated asking of her father, but it seemed necessary. Sarah's face softened a bit.

“Not really. He shouldn't do that to poor families and kids, but, I understand. Upperclassman love their money.” She chuckled dryly, and it felt like a shot to Katherine’s heart. The look on the brunette’s face was painful to look at, and it made Kath’s heart ache to hug her and tell her it was okay. But, she really couldn't.

Katherine nodded to herself, jotting Sarah’s answer. “Okay, I'll be off to talk to Denton-.” Katherine made her way to stand, but the other girl just grabbed her wrist.

“Wait! Miss Plumber! May I give our address to you? And could you write your address for me? I'd like to write to you.” Sarah looked down shyly, a faint pink coloring lingering in her cheeks. The auburn haired girl nodded, curls bouncing as she wrote her address out on her notepad, tearing out the small page and handing it to Sarah. Sarah grinned, adding it to a stack of papers on the nightstand.

“Also, Sarah, one more question…?”

“Mhm.”

“Do… This is a personal one… You- you look as if you weigh 10 pounds, do you…?”

“One piece of bread a week. Water every day, though I limit it to 5 glasses per day.” Katherine’s eyes widened, how is this girl surviving? She must have serious lack of nutrients and other things needed to survive.

“Sarah… Please start eating. I know we’ve just met and such, but, please?” Katherine pleaded, hesitantly catching the other girl’s hands between her own. Sarah sighed, but nodded.

“I suppose I could try, Miss Plumber.” Sarah gave a reassuring smile.

“Just Katherine or Kath.” The reporter corrected with a smile. “Thank you.”

@newsiestober

#Sarah Jacobs #Les Jacobs #Mayer Jacobs #Esther Jacobs #Katherine Plumber Pulitzer #Bryan Denton #Newsies #Newsbians #92sies #Newsies 1992 #Mod Sarah #Newsiestober

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roggling · 7 years

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The Proposal [Kidge AU] Part 2

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Right after work, Katie and Keith both went on their way to the USCIS Texan Office, Keith holding their papers as they entered the office. Katie could see Keith's disdain as he passed by the many immigrants. He shamelessly pulled his jacket closer to his body when he saw a man dressed like a homeless. "Keith-" Katie warned but he only ignored her as he began skipping the line, "Keith! The line's back there!"

Keith only hissed at her, "Come here." Katie muttered under her breath, "Keith!" Nevertheless, she followed him as he looked for an open attendant. When the next one ordered for the next one in line, Keith jogged in front of the person and gave them a fake smile, "Sorry, this will only take a second. I need for you to file this fiancé visa for me, please."

The attendant seemed visibly disgusted with Keith but he didn't seem to notice. "Mr. Kogane?" Keith nodded, "Yes." The attendant closed the file and cradled it in his arms, "Please come with me."

Keith gave Katie a sly smirk and followed the attendant into an office, "You'll wait here for a Mr. Gilbertson, he'll handle your situation." Keith nodded and the attendant went back to his business. Katie sat down on the seat in front of the desk while Keith just stood in front of the door with his hands in his pockets, annoying Katie while he tapped his foot on the floor, "You know, I'm not poisonous."

Keith chuckled, "Well, I'd rather not risk my chances." Katie rolled her eyes and looked at all the awards Mr. Gilbertson received, most for the dumbest thing like: Most illegal immigrants caught. Honestly, the guy looked like the biggest jerk imaginable. Maybe even bigger than Keith if he works hard enough. Katie mused in her head a small smile appearing on her face. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and Keith turned to find a pale-skinned man standing at the door with balding brown hair. His blue eyes stared at Keith's purple ones. He motioned for Keith to step away from the door, and Keith did as told.

"Hi. I'm Mr. Gilbertson." The middle-aged man walked in with a file in hand, "You must be Katherine and you must be Keith. Sorry about the wait. It's a crazy day today." Keith started opening his mouth and Katie knew she was going to regret it immediately.

"Of course. We understand. And I can't tell you how much we appreciate you seeing us on such short notice." Wow, alright. Not what I was expecting but good thing he's playing nice.

"OK." Mr. Gilbertson sighed as he began reading the 'couple's' file while simultaneously make weird noises, causing both Keith and Katie to look at each other suspiciously.

"So, I have a question for you. Are you both committing fraud to avoid her deportation so he can keep his position as Commander in Chief at the Texan NASA base?" Katie narrowed her eyes at the accusation and Keith mentally thanked her for not making them seem suspicious as he began covering for them, "That's ridiculous. Where did you hear that?"

Gilbertson leaned back in his chair and began searching on a sheet of paper, "We had a phone tip this afternoon from a man named-"

"Would it be Lotor?"

"...Lo..tor."

Keith shook his head in fake disappointment, Katie knowing that it was actually rage, "Lotor. Poor Lotor. I am so sorry. Lotor is nothing but a disgruntled former employee. And I apologize." Katie released a breath she didn't know she was holding and thanked her lucky stars that Keith didn't say anything rude.

But she bit her tongue when he began speaking again, "But we know you're incredibly busy with a room fool of garbagemen and farmers to tend to. If you just give us our next step, we'll be on our way." Katie sighed in disappointment to the man next to her, her hate for the idiot growing even larger.

Mr. Gilbertson didn't take any crap from Keith, thankfully, and chuckled, "Mr. Kogane, please." He motioned for Keith to sit down, which he finally did and he interlaced his fingers. Mr. Gilbertson began again, "Let me explain to you the process that's about to unfold. Step one will be a scheduled interview. I'll put you each in a room and ask you every question a real couple would know about each other. Step two: I dig deeper. I look into your phone records. I talk to your neighbors, I interview your coworkers. If your answers don't match up at every point, you will be deported indefinitely. And you, young lady, will have committed a felony punishable by a fine of $250,000 and five years in federal prison." Katie caught sight of a woman being taken away by the police, screaming and trying to get away. She then turned back to Mr. Gilbertson when he called her name.

"So... Katherine... want to talk to me?" Katie shook her head no, looking to the scene contemplating what to do about the current situation. Mr. Gilbertson, knowing that she is about to break, decided to tease her a bit, "No?" Then Katie nodded, making Gilbertson smile a bit, "Yes?"

"The truth is... Mr. Gilbertson... that Keith and I. We weren't supposed to fall in love, but did." Katie turned and smiled at Keith lovingly, him grabbing her hand and rubbing circles. Katie, however, squeezed it hard, making Keith groan and let go of her hand. "We couldn't tell anyone we worked with because of my big promotion coming up." Katie glanced at Keith, smiling at him mischievously, Keith returning her smile with a tightly closed-lip smile, scrunching up his nose in mock doting but, really, he was fighting to not reach for Katie's throat.

"Promotion?" Katie nodded, "Yes. We... I mean, we... both thought that it would be deeply inappropriate if I were to be promoted to Commander..."

"Commander. Mmhmm." Keith commented as he nodded, silently planning Katie's demise.

"... while we were, you know."

"So..." Mr. Gilbertson started, flipping through some pages, "Have the two of you told your parents about your secret love?" Keith shook his head, "Impossible. My parents are dead. I have a brother but I don't even know where he is. So..." Katie looked at Keith curiously, wondering why he never said anything about his parents being dead.

Gilbertson chuckled in surprise, "What, are your parents dead too?" He asked as he pointed at Katie. She shook her head and Keith began answering for her, "Oh, no, his are very much alive."

"No... very much."

"Very much. They're, ah... Well, we were gonna tell them this weekend. Grammy's 90th birthday and the whole family's coming together," Katie turned to Keith, surprised that he actually heard her and that he remembered, "We thought it'd be a nice surprise."

Gilbertson asked, "And where is this surprised gonna take place?" Keith smiled, "At Katie's parents' house." Katie almost stopped working, that was the first time in five years that Keith had ever used her nickname. But Keith nor Gilbertson noticed her tenseness, because Gilbertson began again, "Where is that located again?"

Keith clammed up, especially because he didn't know where their house was so he covered quickly, "Why am I doing all the talking? Why don't you tell him where it is? Jump in." Katie laughed "lovingly" and looked at Mr. Gilbertson, "Sitka."

"Sitka," Keith repeated, getting a feel for the name. But what he didn't expect was the next thing that Katie said, "Alaska."

"Alaskaaaaah?"

He looked at Katie with a crazy look in his eye but Katie ignored it and looked straight at Mr. Gilbertson, who was enjoying this way too much. "You're going to Alaska this weekend?" Katie nodded, "Yep." Keith, still worrying about this new information, "Yes. We are going to Alaska. Alaska, that's where... my little Katie's from." Keith grabbed Katie's hand and squeezed it even harder, making Katie yelp and she smiled at Keith scrunching her nose, while he did the same but, not because they wanted to be cute but because they were very close to killing the other.

The 'couple' turned to Mr. Gilbertson and prepared to listen to what he had to say, "OK. Fine. I see how this is gonna go. I will see you both at 11:00 Monday morning for your scheduled interview, and your answers better match up on every account." Katie and both stood up, Katie grabbing the offered post-it with the appointment written in sloppy handwriting. She smiled and thanked the man while Keith just got a phone call and started talking obnoxiously loud, only giving Mr. Gilbertson a mere wave before leaving the office.

Gilbertson chuckled at Keith, "I'm looking forward to this one." Katie smiled sarcastically, "We're looking forward to this one."

After another reminder that he'll be watching, Keith and Katie both walked out of the building, Keith had just finished his call and already beginning to bark out orders, "OK... so, what's gonna happen is we will go up there. We will pretend like we're boyfriend and girlfriend, tell your parents we're engaged..." Katie looked up at the big USCIS building and tried to calm her beating heart, only listening to Keith when he began being a douche again.

"I guess I will pop for you to fly first class-" Keith was rambling on as he worked on his phone, but he immediately stopped when Katie spoke up, "Excuse me, Keith, but were you not in that room?"

Keith rose an eyebrow and shrugged, "Oh! The thing you said about being promoted? Genius! Genius. He completely fell for it." Katie crossed her arms, "I'm serious."

Keith sighed but let Katie continue, "I'm looking at a $250,000 fine and five years in jail. That changes things."

Keith shook his head, "Promote you to Commander? No, no way." Katie scoffed, "Then I quit, and you're screwed. Bye Keith, nice knowing you." Katie turned and walked down, her heels clicking against the concrete and her hair swishing from her ponytail across her back. Keith breathed out in frustration, "Katherine, Katherine! Fine, fine. I'll make you commander. Fine. If you do the Alaska weekend and the interview, I'll make you Commander. Happy?" Katie stopped and turned to find Keith looking resigned, but she wasn't done yet, "And not in two years. Right away."

Keith sighed for the umpteenth time that day, "Fine." Katie was giddy inside, but she needed to take advantage of this, "And you'll send my prints to Bergen and Malloy." Keith looked at Katie with disbelief and Katie smiled, "Fine. Any other wishes, Your Majesty?"

Katie smiled, "Yes actually, we tell my family about our engagement when I want and how I want." Keith nodded, annoyed and asked again, "Done?"

Katie scrunched her nose, "Nope. Now ask me nicely." Keith furrowed his eyebrows, "Ask you nicely, what?" Katie crossed her arms, "Ask me nicely to marry you, Keith." Keith threw his hands in the air, "What? What does that even mean?" Katie smiled devilishly, "You heard me, down on your knee."

Keith grumbled some incoherent words, but Katie was sure there were some bad words said. Eventually, Keith got down on one knee and looked back up at Katie, "Does this work for you?" Katie smiled, "Oh, it's perfect."

"OK. Would you marry me?" Keith asked, putting his hands in his pockets. Katie rolled her eyes, "No. Say it like you mean it, Keith." Keith sarcastically laughed and looked down at the concrete before looking back up, "Katherine?"

"Yes, Keith?"

"Sweet, beautiful Katherine?"

"I'm listening."

"Would you please, with big, fat cherries on top, marry me?" Katie shrugged her shoulders and pretended to contemplate the question, "I don't appreciate the sarcasm, but I'll do it. See you at the airport tomorrow." Katie stated, turning around immediately, leaving Keith all by himself on one knee. He looked around the sidewalk and thanked that no one was looking at him. He started to get up before someone accidentally pushed him and he fell back down, quickly getting back up and brushing the dirt from his clothes. Keith turned his head up and watched Katie leave with a small smile, "I see why Lotor did this all the time."

Katie turned and flipped him off, making him laugh and wave her away, "Love you, cupcake!" Katie rolled her eyes, "Eff off, Kogane!"

The next morning the two were finally on the plane and are about to arrive, which is why Katie decided to start checking out the questions Gilbertson gave them to study.

"All right the bright side is that I already know all these answers for you. The bad news is that you have three days to learn all this about me." Katie said as she read the questions, thankful that she didn't need to learn any more about the idiot next to her falling asleep as he watched Doctor Strange on the small tv the plane provided.

"Give me that," Keith ordered as he took the folder from Katie, glad that he finally had something to do on the plane. Keith flipped the pages as he skimmed over the words, "You know all the answers to these questions about me?" Katie nodded, getting up and close to his face, creepily smiling into his face, "Scary, isn't it?" Keith leaned away from Pidge and smirked, "What's scary is that huge zit on your forehead."

Katie rolled her eyes and put some space between the two as Keith continued reading, "What are my dislikes?" Katie got comfortable and started listing things on her fingers, "Almonds, chocolate ice cream, sushi, Steven Yeun, happy children-"

"You're hilarious. Here's a good one. Do I have any scars?" Katie looked out the window, "You have one on your lower abdomen."

Keith raised an eyebrow, "How do you even know that?" Katie shrugged, "I saw you changing shirts. And I'm pretty sure you have a tattoo."

"Oh, you're pretty sure?" Katie nodded, "I'm pretty sure, last year your dermatologist called and asked about a Q-switched laser, which removes tattoos. But you canceled your appointment." Keith nodded sarcastically. "What is it? Guns? Japanese calligraphy? Barbed wire?" Keith rolled his eyes and deadpanned, "You know, it's exciting for me to experience you like this."

"Love you too, jerkwad."

Katie returned to watching Doctor Strange as the pilot spoke on the speakers, "Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts. We're beginning our descent into Juneau." Keith put the folder down and began putting on his seatbelt, "Juneau? I thought we were going to Sitka."

Katie put on her seat belt while simultaneously rolling her eyes, "We are." Keith became impatient and asked, "How are we getting to Sitka?"

Katie only smiled mischievously, "You'll see."

"I hate you on so many levels." Katie laughed as Keith tried to keep himself from throwing up on the shaky plane. They flew out of Juneau on a small, ratty plane since it was the only way to get to Sitka, which Keith did not like AT ALL, but it had to be done.

When they landed, Katie looked out the window, finding her mother and grandmother jumping up and down with a poster board saying: WELCOME HOME, PIDGE, making her reevaluate bringing Keith with her to meet her parents, "Alright, here we go."

She turned to look at Keith, who, unfortunately, vomited in a paper bag on the way and was filling his mouth to the brim with mints. Katie scoffed and smiled at Keith's antics as they finally touched the ground.

They finally made it out and the very second that Katie stepped out, she could hear her mother's screaming out her name.

Katie smiled and waved to her mother and grandmother, ignoring Keith as he struggled to walk down the stairs. “Hey!” Katie smiled as she reached out to hug her grandmother and mother at the same time, “Missed you guys so much!” Katie laughed as she felt her mother’s grip tighten. Katie pulled away a bit, “Where’s Dad? Matt?” Katie’s mom shrugged, “Well, he stayed at home, preparing some things for your arrival. You know how he is, always having to do something.” Katie nodded in understanding, though, they could see the sadness in her eyes.

To cheer her up, her grandmother began again, “Well, enough chit-chat. Where’s your boy?” Katie turned and looked for Keith, finding him taking down the luggage from a cart, “There. That’s him.” The two grown women turned their heads to have a perfect view of Keith’s back muscles tensing as he placed Katie’s suitcase down. The two women were practically drooling, and her grandmother even whispered, “I guess the man is a much better word.” Katie rolled her eyes and called Keith over.

As he approached, Katie whispered into his ear, “Be nice.” With a slight nod from Keith, Katie began the introductions, “Keith, this is my mom Colleen.” Keith smiled at Colleen but was taken by surprise when she pounced on him to give him a hug, “Nice to meet you.” Colleen said as she hugged him. Keith laughed nervously but responded kindly, “Pleasure’s all mine.” Katie smiled and began introducing her grandmother, “And this is my grandmother, Grammy.”

Keith nodded and smiled, “Well, hello there! Now, do you prefer being called Keith, or the ‘Devil’s Spawn’? We’ve heard it both ways. Actually, we’ve heard it lots of ways.” Keith’s smiled turned to raised eyebrows and he looked at Katie, who was glaring at her grandmother. But soon enough Colleen jumped in to save the day, “She’s kidding.”

Keith’s eyes brightened and he smiled again, “Oh! Oh, OK.” Keith laughed but he was still glaring at Katie, who was sheepishly smiling, “Well, thank you for allowing me to be a part of this weekend.” Grammy then started talking again with the same huge smile, “Oh, you’re welcome. We’re thrilled to have you. Let’s get you two back to the fort.”

Keith, with fake excitement, yelled, “OK!” But the second, they turned around, he continued glaring at Katie, “Devil’s Spawn?” Katie merely shrugged her shoulders and continued to follow her mother and grandmother to the truck, leaving Keith behind.

On the way to the dock, Keith admired the dark green of the trees lining the path to town when suddenly, they were replaced with lots of shops. But something was weird about the shops, they all included the name: Holt. Holt Photography, The Holt Collection, Holt Parcel and Post, Holt General Shop…

Keith then looked at Katie’s bag, seeing there was a tag on it: K. Holt. He looked back up at his ‘fiancée’ and softly whispered her name, “Katherine.” She kept looking through the window, “Katherine!” She still didn’t hear him, so he did what he had to do: he poked her side. She groaned and glared at him, “What?”

Keith pointed to the outside, “Didn’t tell me about all the family businesses, babe.” He shook his head like, ‘What the hell?’ and Katie smiled awkwardly and shrugged. “She was just being modest dear.” Her grandma answered.

“Oh.”

Soon enough, they all reached the dock and they parked near the water, Keith looked at Katie quizzically and asked, “Aren’t we supposed to be heading towards our hotel?” Colleen overheard and answered for her daughter, “Oh, I canceled your reservation. A family doesn’t stay at a hotel, you’re going to stay in our home.” Keith turned and smiled at the kind woman, “Great! Great.”

Then he turned to Katie, “What?!” At that very moment, Katie brought down one of Keith’s very heavy suitcases and she was already mad enough as it is, “Keith, you might wanna shut it before I throw all your luggage into the dock. Trust me, I tried talking to them to let us stay at the hotel, but they didn’t let us, so just deal with it.”

Keith groaned as Katie began following her mother to the dock, “Come on, babe. Haven’t got all day.” Keith huffed and began carrying the luggage behind, almost falling when it got stuck in the gravel. Finally, they made it to the boat and started lowering the luggage, the last one to go down the ladder. Katie looked down to Keith, who just got to the bottom and urged Katie to go down, “Come on.” Katie shook her head and Keith laughed, “Babe, you’re the one who lived here for years.” Colleen whispered into Keith’s ear, “She rarely came to the dock, she hated the ladder.”

Keith pretended to give his ‘fiancée’ an empathetic look, but actually, he was struggling not to laugh, “Alright, babe, I’m going to help you.” Keith walked closer to the ladder and watched her as she started going down, “Looking good.” Keith struggled to keep his laughter and he almost choked as Katie struggled to find the next step, “Take your time.” Katie growled, “Shut up.” Katie was only two steps away from the floating dock and her bum was in hands reach, so of course, Keith took advantage, “I’m just gonna give you a hand here.”

He extended his hand and shamelessly grabbed her butt, making Katie pause and breathe deeply, “Hand off *ss. Off *ss!” Keith chuckled and let go, faking surrender by lifting his hands. Finally, Katie reached the bottom and Keith put his hands in his pockets, “Congratulations. I’m a hundred years old.” Katie glared at him and punched his side, making him laugh teasingly as they approached the boat.

On the ride, Keith stared at the open water taking in the calm sound of the waves crashing on the rocks, but suddenly, Colleen, who was piloting the boat, pointed out an estate by the edge of the water, "We're home." Keith's eyes widened as he studied the huge three-story mansion, "That is your home?" Katie looked back at her boss' surprised face, enjoying his surprised face.

They finally reached the dock and as they were walking down to the house, Keith whispered, "Why did you tell me you were poor?" Katie rolled her eyes, "I never told you I was poor." Keith turned, "You never told me you were rich." Katie kicked a rock, "I'm not rich my parents are rich." Keith rolled his eyes, "You know that's something only rich people say." When Keith turned around, he saw a group of guys wave at Katie, "Hey, Katie! Welcome home!" Katie waved back, "uh-Hi!" Then she turned to her mother, "Mom, what is this?" Colleen smiled mischievously, "Nothing. Just a little welcoming party. Is that a crime?" Grammy then spoke up, "Just 50 of our closest friends and neighbors. And all excited to meet you. Come on. Come on."

Grammy urged as she continued walking, Keith then turning to Katie, "A party?" Katie sighed, "I guess so. Now come on. My grandmother's moving faster than you." Keith grunted and continued walking, dragging his suitcase towards the door.

Once inside, they put their stuff away and began introducing themselves to the party guests. After a few minutes of introductions, Keith whispered in Katie's ear, "How come you never told me you were some sort of Alaskan Kennedy?" Katie shrugged, "Sorry, we were kinda busy talking about you the last five years."

Before Keith could spit something back, a middle-aged man with white hair interrupted their conversation to give Katie a tight hug, "There's my girl!" Keith was slightly confused until Katie wrapped her arms around the man, "Hi Dad." The two hugged for a bit before letting go and Keith still didn't see the man well yet. Katie realized this too and turned her father around, "Dad this is-"

"-Keith."

"Mr. Holt." The two shook the other's hand, making Katie stand there like an idiot, "Uh... What?" Keith smiled as he looked at Katie, which she still needs to get used to, and Sam explained, "I was Keith's mentor when he was in the training camp. Are you still a jerk?" Katie's eyes widened at her father's comment but didn't get to say anything before Keith, "Are you still destroying cadets' dreams?" Katie got in between the two and sent her father away, harshly whispering in Keith's ear, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Shiro's here." Sam announced before leaving, making both of their jaws dropping and simultaneously exclaiming, "No way!" Katie groaned, "Come on! How do you know him?" Keith rolled his eyes, "I'm his brother."

Katie's jaw dropped and she smiled, "You're Mullet?" Keith rolled his eyes and nodded, "Oh My Gosh, you were the cutest as a teen. You should've kept the mullet." Katie exclaimed as she reached for Keith's hair, which is still long, but much shorter than when he was a teen.

"Alright, Pidge, could you stop admiring my brother's hair and come hug me?" The two froze and turned to look at Shiro, who was leaning on the doorway wearing a smirk. Pidge squealed and jumped to give Shiro a hug, which he laughed at, "Nice to see you, too, Pidge." Shiro's eyes then found his brother and let Katie go, "Come here, Mullet." Keith tried to run away, but Shiro caught him anyway and gave Keith a nookie. Keith pushed him away and tried to fix his hair, "I hate you."

Shiro laughed and Katie asked, "Why are you here?" Shiro smiled, "I wasn't gonna miss the opportunity to see my brother's little sister and, since I heard my brother was coming with you, I couldn't miss the opportunity to see the both of you at the same time." Katie smirked, "I know it's because Allura made you." Shiro shook his head, "I can make my own decisions. Allura's not the boss of me."

"Oh hey, Allura!" Katie exclaimed, but Shiro only shook his head, "You're just trying to mess with me, she isn't- Hey, Allura!" Suddenly a tanned, blue-eyed girl stepped in from behind Shiro, her white hair swinging loosely from her behind. "Katie!" Allura exclaimed excitedly, hugging said girl tightly, "I missed you so much!" Shiro visibly breathed out in relief. Katie chuckled and let go, "Keith, this is my cousin, Allura." Keith smiled and extended his hand for her to shake, "Nice to meet you." Allura looked at his hand and ignored it and went for a hug, "Nice to meet you, too." Keith, though still quite awkward with hugs, hugged her back and quickly let go. Allura then turned around and grabbed Shiro's hand, "Come on, Shiro! I think I saw Hunk!" Shiro chuckled as he was practically dragged by his girlfriend.

Katie chuckled after her brother and turned to her boss, who asked, "When are you going to tell them we're engaged?" Katie looked around and sighed, "I'll pick the right moment."

"Pidgeon?" Katie turned around and smiled widely, "Matty!" Katie ran towards her brother and hugged him tightly, both siblings laughing as they embraced, "Heard you got a boyfriend." Matt stated as they let go, making Katie roll her eyes, "Yeah. Keith?" Keith approached Matt, shaking his hand and finally being able to study his face, immediately recognizing his face, "Matthew Holt." Matt smiled, "Nice to see you again, Commander Kogane." Katie huffed again, "You know him too?"

Matt turned to his sister, "We went on a mission two years ago. How come you didn't know?" Katie shook her head, "I'm not allowed to know anything from Keith's missions." Matt nodded and then excused himself and left the two to their own devices. Katie and Keith were somehow separated and Katie bumped into her father again, "Hey da-"

"Why'd you bring him here?" Sam asked harshly as he looked at his daughter, "Excuse me?" Sam shook his head, "You show up here after five years with this man you hated and now he's your boyfriend?" Katie shook her head, "We just got here. Can we wait three minutes before we throw the kitchen sink at each other?"

"Just never figured you for a girl who slept her way to the middle." Katie had to hold in a bunch of inappropriate words and continued, "Actually, I'll have you know that that man in there is one of the most respected Commanders in NASA."

Sam rolled his eyes, "He's your meal ticket." Katie shook her head, "No, dad, he's not my meal ticket. He's my fiancé." Sam stood stiff, "What'd you say?" Katie crossed her arms, "You heard me. I'm getting married."

In the other side of the house, Keith was walking through and was met with a caterer with a plate of hors-d'oeuvres heading his way. He tried to get away, but he had to pass by her anyway, "Hello. Would you care for some hors-d'oeuvres?" Keith shook his head, "No, thank you very much."

However, the waitress insisted, "It's a tradition." She started picking one up and Keith declined, "No. I just, really don't-" Suddenly, the waitress stuffed it in Keith's mouth and he, unfortunately, had to pretend to like it.

The waitress just stared at Keith as he tried to eat it hungrily and, despite her very pretty face, it made Keith extremely uncomfortable. Suddenly, they could hear Katie's voice from the living room, "Ladies and gentlemen, I have a very important announcement to make. Keith and I are getting married." Keith at that moment spit out his food, "I'm so sorry." The waitress merely kept staring at him, "It's OK. It's wash-and-wear."

After Keith cleaned his mouth, he heard Katie call out, "Yep. Babe? Where you at?" Keith peeked through a corner and looked at Katie quizzically, "There he is." She exclaimed, smiling at him and telling him to come closer, "Come on, babe." Keith smiled sheepishly and began approaching the center of the living room, smiling the whole way.

"Congratulations!" Someone yelled from the crowd, Keith smiling and both of them saying, "Thank you." When Keith got in the center of the living room, they all started clapping for the two and Keith grabbed Katie's hands, pulling her close, "You could've warned me." Katie smiled lovingly at Keith, "Well, I didn't plan this either."

The two stood in the middle for a while longer until they opened the champagne and began celebrating, "That was some brilliant timing." Keith said again. Katie grabbed a glass of champagne from the same waitress from before and smiled, "Nice to see you again, Natalia." The waitress smiled and walked away, but not before staring at Keith some more. Keith smiled awkwardly at her until she left. He heard some laughter next to him and saw Katie laughing, "She-She soooo likes you!" Keith rolled his eyes, "She creeps me out, Katie." Katie only laughed some more until she saw a familiar pair of blue eyes approaching, "Katherine. Hi."

Katie's eyes widened, "Lance? Oh, my God. Hey, hi. Wow!" Katie reached for him and hugged him tightly, giving Keith time to study the man. He was probably around his age. He was taller than him, though. He had light tanned skin and brown hair, making a nice contrast to his blue eyes. He was undeniably handsome and Keith didn't like him one bit.

Katie let go of the man first and began asking questions, "How you doing? I didn't know that you were going to be here." Lance chuckled, "Well, your mom wanted it to be a surprise. So... surprise!" Katie smiled and then Keith cleared his throat loudly, gaining the attention of the two.

Katie suddenly remembered the existence of her future husband and widened her eyes, "Oh, God. Keith, this is my ex..."

"Hi. I'm Lance."

Keith smiled and shook his hand, "Nice to meet you." Lance was completely polite and respectful, Keith could tell, but for some unknown reason, he didn't like the fact that he and Katie were so nice, especially since they were exes.

"Well, congratulations, you guys. So did I miss the story?" Katie and Keith both turned to each other in confusion, "What... story?" Lance rolled his eyes, "About how you proposed?" Lance looked towards Keith with a 'duh' face. Keith suddenly came to the realization that he nor Katie thought of a story to tell the family.

"Oh! How a man proposes says a lot about his character." Keith nodded and started cursing his place in life, "Yes, it does." Colleen, who was holding a glass of champagne, added, "I actually would love to hear the story, Keith. Would you tell us?" Keith started to think up stories in his mind but, he couldn't think of anything, "Actually, Katherine, loves telling that story, so I'll just let her tell it to you guys."

Keith smirked as he passed by Katie and sat next to Shiro, looking at Katie intently as she began, "Wow. How to begin? Wow... uh... So, Keith and I were going to celebrate our first anniversary together and I could tell he was extremely nervous. His hands were sweaty and everything and he would mention having a family lot of times." Shiro chuckled, "Sounds just like you." Keith turned and glared at his brother as Pidge continued.

"And we were going to go hiking. I had some suspicions because I saw a velvet box on top of the bed." The whole crowd laughed, "So once we got there, the whole cabin was decorated-"

"Normally," Keith jumped in before Katie said something he will regret, "Yep. Decorated normally. I mean, I didn't want her to think I was trying too hard. You know? I know Katherine doesn't like that type of stuff."

"But he secretly likes it, so the next morning I found Keith missing and a little box full of cut-out pictures of us all around and a whole lot of little heart-shaped confetti," Keith turned and started glaring at Katie again, "And once the confetti cleared I saw this big-"

"-Piece of paper." Katie turned to Keith, who wasn't even looking back at her and glared at his black hair. "No ring. But inside that box..." Keith turned to Katie, "Underneath all that crap..." Katie smiled at Keith, "was a time and place. I told her to meet me at a small cave in the woods."

"And I was originally gonna ditch him and go shopping because he actually did that on our first date and ended up scaring me." The crowd laughed as Katie continued, "So I went into that cave and initially I saw nothing, it was extremely dark. Eventually, I saw a small light at the end of the cave and followed it. And there I saw Keith-"

"Standing."

"Kneeling."

"Like a man."

"Crying like a baby."

Keith glared at Katie as she finished, "And once he finally cleared his tears he opened the box and he said-"

"'Katherine would you marry me?' and she said yes. The End!" Keith finished excitedly, leaving Katie with a dramatic look on her face. The whole crowd talked amongst themselves, Shiro clapping on Keith's back, "Never knew you were so romantic, bro." Allura walked over to Katie while Keith talked with his brother, "He's such a fox." Katie turned to Allura, who was checking out Keith while he talked to Shiro, "Allura! You already have Shiro! Don't try to steal my man!" My man? Seriously?

Allura chuckled, "Alright, I'll leave him alone." Katie nodded in thanks until she heard Shiro tap a glass, "Hey! Let's see a kiss from you two cuties." Katie froze as she looked towards Keith, who was coincidentally right next to her, "Give her a kiss!"

Keith started blushing and, if Katie weren't doing the same, she would've thought it was cute. "Um.. no?" Suddenly, Colleen spoke up, "No. Come on!" Keith then started blushing more, not believing that her own mom would encourage them to kiss. "Alright, yeah. Here we go." Keith grabbed Katie's hand and kissed its backside.

Everyone groaned and shook their heads, "No, come on!" Lance yelled at the two, making Keith even more uneasy. "Uh..." He looked to Katie, who nodded and whispered, "Just a quick one." Then the two leaned and gave the other a quick peck on the lips.

The crowd groaned again and urged the two to do a 'real kiss'. Lance even went to the extent, "Kiss her on the mouth like you mean it!" Katie glared at Lance and Keith sighed, looking at Katie, who nodded.

Keith then grabbed her hips and leaned in slowly, in case Katie wanted to back out, but she only urged it on and tilted her head. Now the two were kissing in front of the whole house, everyone cheering for them, and right when they were going to separate, they found that they couldn't. Katie lifted her hand to cup Keith's jaw as the two continued, making the crowd clap louder. Then they finally had the strength to let go, but as they looked at each other, they felt something shift inside. And they didn't like it. But they liked it at the same time.

Then Grammy stood up and hugged the two, "I'm so happy for you kids!" The two awkwardly smiled as they stared at the other for a while longer. "Let's bring out the champagne!"

After everyone left, Katie and Keith followed Colleen up to their room, "So here we are." Keith and Katie both walked in the room after Colleen and Grammy, both taking in the beautiful simplicity of it. "Wow. It's amazing." Keith exclaimed as he walked in.

"Here's the bed!" Grammy exclaimed, pointing to the huge King sized bed, causing Katie to chuckle at how excited her grandmother was. "Wow. Exquisite bed, grandma. Well, I guess I'll go look for my old room." Before Katie could get too far, Colleen grabbed onto her hand, "We're not under any illusions that you two don't sleep in the same bed." Colleen started chuckling, "You'll sleep here with Keith." Katie scrunched her nose, "Well, that's great because we love to snuggle. Don't we, babe?" Keith suddenly appeared from behind her, "Huge snugglers."

Suddenly, a flash of red dashed right to Keith's leg, "Oh my God! Is that a cat?!" Keith jumped up in the air, trying to get it away. Katie, however, exclaimed, "Oh my God! It's so cute! Hi!" Katie bent down and picked the cat up in her arms, "Who's this?"

Keith stared at the cat with wide eyes, hiding behind Katie. Colleen grabbed the cat, "That's Red, I'm sorry, Keith. We just rescued him from the pound and he's still in training. Sorry." Keith nodded and stepped away from Katie, now more comfortable with the distance between him and the cat.

"And there are extra towels and linens in here if you need them." Colleen offered but then Grammy added, "But if you get chilly tonight... use this." She said as she pulled out an Eskimo blanket with red, green, and brown, "It has special powers."

Katie took the blanket, looking at it, then eventually handing it to Keith to look, "What kind of special powers?" Asked Keith as he slightly opened it to look at the pattern.

Grammy smirked and with an amused tone in her voice, said, "I call it the baby maker." Keith suddenly clammed up and stared at the sly grandmother surprised. Katie grabbed it and folded it again, "Well, we'll be super careful with that one." She threw on the chair.

"Alright, Annie, let's leave them alone. Alright?" After a quick goodnight (and some winking) they left the two alone. "Cats?" Katie smirked at Keith, which he stammered, "His kind did that horrible scar," Keith defended as he mentioned the scar that Katie once saw when she walked in on him changing his shirt.

"Your eyes are closed right?" Katie asked as Keith laid on the floor with his eyes opened wide, "Yes."

"Are you sure?" Katie asked again and Keith reassured, even though his eyes were open, "Completely." Katie hesitated but she turned off the light to the bathroom and tiptoed her way around Keith and onto the bed. And Keith, being the sneaky bastard her is, turned his head and sneaked a peak.

Keith almost laughed at Katie's Captain America booty shorts and Marvel t-shirt. "Those are the pajamas you decided to bring to Alaska?" Katie inhaled deeply, "Yes because I was gonna be in my own hotel room. Not sharing a room in my house." Keith nodded, "OK."

Katie suddenly heard chuckling and rolled her eyes. "But seriously. Captain America?" Katie sighed, "Shut up like your banana pants are any better." Keith nodded, "In fact, they are."

"Keith."

"Yeah?"

"Goodnight."

...

"Goodnight... Katie."

Katie then turned off the light and put her glasses on the nightstand. And she was about to fall asleep when she heard Keith constantly moving and she knew what was causing his uneasiness. She picked up a remote and pressed the close button, causing the curtains to the window to close and to shut the light out. "Thank you."

#kidge #kidge fanfic #kidge fanfiction #the proposal au #kidge the proposal #fanfiction #voltron fanfic #team forestfire #keidge #katie holt #romantic kidge #ao3

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pikapegasus · 7 years

Note

OMG stamora with number 90 please!! “Our kid is totally the one who wanted to build a pillow fort, not me.”

90. “Our kid is totally the one who wanted to build a pillowfort, not me.”

oh my god this is so late i’m so bad i’m so sorry i don’t even remember what list this is from lmfao

anyway, inbox is closed so i can actually make a dent in all the prompts waiting in here lsdnvlsbroerbnl

also hooray it’s time to introduce starmora kiddo #3 since i got another prompt asking for baby #3,,, introducing katherine “kat” quill named after, you guessed it, cat stevens. goodbye

((also yes i am convinced that peter quill’s sperm is only capable of producing daughters))

It’s been a long time since the Quadrant’s been completelyquiet.

…On second thought, it’s never been completely quiet, but there’s a noticeable difference between thevolume years ago and the volume now, three children later.

But if Gamora’s learned one thing as a parent, it’s thatsilence is hardly a good thing. Mer’s more on the reserved side, so she can be fairlyquiet, and while Ari can be a little rowdy, she’s been busying herself latelyby watching Rocket tinker (no bombsallowed is the rule for that) in awe. Then there’s Kat, their youngest, who’sproven herself to be the chattiest of the three, even though she can’t quitetalk yet.

And if the girls are all hanging out with Peter, then there really shouldn’t be silence.

So Gamora walks to the communal area she’d last seen themall in, only to find the chairs from the dining table arranged in a circle-likeformation beside the couch with blankets draped over them, no girls or Peter insight.

Until she hears a giggle from behind the blanket wall.

She approaches the strange setup, kneeling on the floor andlifting the blanket up.

Two mischievously grinning girls, a giggly baby, and guiltyPeter greet her.

“Hey,” Peter says, holding Kat in his lap. Ari pokes hercheek, making Kat giggle, which, in turn, makes both Ari and Mer giggle. “Ourkids are totally the one who wanted to build a pillow fort, not me.”

A pillow fort. That’sa new one. Must be some Terran game. Gamora raises an eyebrow. “And you’regoing to put everything back afterward?”

“Uh,” Peter looks to the trio between them, who are convenientlynot paying attention to their conversation about cleaning up, “yes?”

Gamora smiles then. “May I come in?”

“There’s a password,” Ari insists, holding her hand up tostop Gamora. “What’s the password?”

“Mommy doesn’t need to give the password,” Mer says,scrunching up her face.

“Everyone has togive the password,” Ari says. “That’s the rules.”

“That’s a dumb—“

“Hey, hey,” Peter cuts in before a real argument breaks out,because Mer and Ari, even at their young ages, have somehow mastered the art offighting over anything. Gamoraunderstands, of course; she and Nebula hadwanted to kill each other for a few years. “Here’s a compromise: you can giveyour mom a hint for the password.”

That seems to placate them, though Ari’s still frowning. Katwaves her arms around with another giggle and Peter readjusts her placement onhis lap.

“Okay,” Mer says happily. “The hint is that it’s Daddy’sfavorite food from Terra!”

“’Food’ is a bit of a stretch,” Peter comments.

“No more hints!” Ari says to him. “Mama gets one guess.”

They’d visited Terra a few times since defeating Thanos, soPeter could reconnect with his home world more, and there was, in fact, onefood—or, really, dessert—he enjoyedmore than anything else there.

“I have my answer,” Gamora says.

“What is it?” Ari asks.

“Ice cream.”

“Awwww, you know me so well,” Peter says.

“Okay, you can enter,” Ari says, nodding.

Gamora ducks her head and crawls into the small space. It’sa little stuffy, but the girls don’t seem to mind. Kat reaches her hands out toher.

“Go to your mama, Kitty-Kat.” Peter passes her over toGamora, who sets Kat down on her lap.

“What happens next in your ‘pillow fort’ game?” Gamora asks,wrapping her arm around Kat to steady her.

“We’re having a team meeting,” Mer says.

“Oh?”

“Like you and Daddy do, ‘cept it’s our team.”

“We’re gonna fight the Soviets!”Ari declares.

“The Sovereign,” Petercorrects. “How do you even know about the Soviet…you know what? Never mind. I’mjust not going to ask.”

“We have to strat—strateg—make a plan!” Mer says.

“That’s a good start,” Gamora says, giving Kat her left handto play with. Kat fiddles with her wedding band. “Does our team have a name?”

“The Avengers!” Ari yells.

“That’s already taken, Ari-baby,” Peter says, poking Ari’sarm.

“We’re the Avengers!” Mer insists.

“Aven!” Kat tries to echo, pulling Gamora’s fingers up toher mouth.

Gamora pulls her hand out of the way just in time. “There’salready a team with that name.”

“But I like their name,” Mer says.

“They’re cool,” Ari says, nodding solemnly.

“You’ve met them, like, once,tops,” Peter says.

“No!” Ari says. “We met them more.”

“And now we’re theAvengers,” Mer says.

Since Kat entered their lives, everything’s pretty muchthree to two now, so Gamora just gives up. Peter shrugs, probably thinking thesame.

“Okay, so we’re…the Avengers,”he says, as if it hurts him to speak their name. “And this is our battle strategymeeting.”

“Groot is gonna be the Sovereign,” Mer whispers loudly toGamora.

“Yes, good, Mer, always know the enemy,” Peter says,gesturing to her. She nods proudly. “We need a plan on how we’ll attack.”

“Charge him!” Ari says.

“That’s a bad plan,” Mer says.

“I think,” Gamora says, “one person should distract him fromthe front while the rest of us attack from behind.”

“Who should be the distraction?” Mer asks.

Kat coos then, and all eyes fall to her.

“That’s Kat’s job now,” Ari says.

“Poor Groot—I mean, the Sovereign—won’tknow what hit him,” Peter says, grinning at Gamora over Ari’s head.

“He’s a good brother,” Gamora says, returning the smile.

As Mer and Ari continue discussing (or, really, bickering over) battle strategies, withPeter chiming in occasionally, Gamora hugs the squirming Kat a little moretightly to herself, pressing a kiss to Kat’s hair. Kat’s their final child (asshe and Peter had decided), so Gamora’s been trying to soak up as much time aspossible with her while she’s still so little. Watching Mer and Ari discuss,she’s taken by how big they’ve both gotten, though they’re still youngchildren.

But, she reminds herself, that’s not of concern at thepresent moment. They still have to defeat “the Sovereign,” of course. That’sthe more pressing matter, clearly.

“Don’t forget,” Gamora speaks up, “after the battle’s won,we need to clean up this fort.”

“But Daddy said we could sleep here,” Mer says.

“Daddy definitely did not say that,” Peter says, grimacing.

“Yeah, you did!” Ari says, frowning at him.

“Uh…”

“Then Daddy can sleep here with you,” Gamora says.

“But Daddy snores,”Mer protests.

“No boys allowed,” Ari says.

“Mommy can stay.”

“Yeah, Mama can stay.”

“Totally uncool,” Peter grumbles, wrapping his arms aroundboth girls and pulling them back to him with a huff. They squeal, trying towiggle out of his grasp. “And here I thought I’d be the coolest parent ever forshowing you how to build a fort.”

“Mommy is cooler,” Mer says with a giggle.

“Yeah!” Ari says.

Gamora just smirks. Peter groans.

“Daughters, man. Ruthless.”

#starmora #gamora #peter quill #star lord #guardians of the galaxy #mcu #mer and ari and kat quill #fanfiction #tumblr exclusive #hooooly fuck this is late as hell #Anonymous

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misssophiachase · 7 years

Text

Let’s Talk About Sex

New Orleans, LA - 17 months post TVD finale

"What's sex?" Klaus was rendered speechless by his little girl's question. One minute they were happily making beignets in the compound's expansive kitchen and the next he was struggling to form words.

"Um, where did that come from, Hope?' He replied, clearing his throat and brushing the stray flour from his jeans to buy a little extra time. "I mean, uh, what do you know about..."

"Sex," she repeated, wiping some icing sugar from the nearby plate and licking it off her index finger. She looked so sweet and innocent and then she just had to go and throw that three letter word at him without any warning whatsoever.

"Let me rephrase that," he coughed. "Why are you asking about..."

"Sex."

"Could you please stop saying that word? I'm acutely aware of the subject matter of this particularly awkward and painful discussion with my seven year-old daughter," he rambled, more so to himself than his rather confused child.

Klaus thought it might come one day but never this soon. His most pressing concern wasn't the fact he'd been celibate since a certain tryst in the woods but the fact that he had to explain the birds and bees to his only daughter.

If he'd known, Klaus might have at least done some reading and practiced his spiel in advance. How she'd stumbled across this knowledge was another concern, and if it was who he thought they'd be liver-less come dinner.

"Well," he began, motioning for Hope to sit down on the nearby stool next to him. Even though it was a foreign feeling, Klaus was fairly certain it was something resembling embarrassment. Who knew the big, bad hybrid could be vulnerable to such an emotion? "Uh, when a man and a woman really love each other..."

"Like you and mom?'

"Well," he mumbled, avoiding that particular question for obvious reasons. Explaining sexual intercourse was one thing but having to revisit his fleeting past with Hayley was another. "They like to show that love by sharing a very, uh, intimate experience..."

"What does intimate mean?" Klaus resisted the urge to roll his eyes in his daughter's presence. It was difficult enough he couldn't articulate what he wanted to say but he was having to simplify his vocabulary too. Kids were a tough crowd that was for sure.

"Looks like I arrived at the perfect time," she interrupted, leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed over her chest in amusement.

"Don't you have anything better to do, Rebekah?"

"Apparently not, please don't let me interrupt your little chat," she replied, her tone saccharine laced. Klaus couldn't miss the sly smirk tugging at her lips and all he wanted to do was wipe it off her face. Unfortunately some good old Mikaelson sparring in the courtyard would have to wait until Hope wasn't in their presence.

"Does Aunt Rebekah know what sex is?" Hope asked, her eyes trained on his sister now.

"Well..."

"Maybe she could explain it instead, dad," Hope interrupted. Patience never really was her strong suit, much like her father.

"Well, if you'd prefer to speak to your Aunt about this subject, then who am I to object?" Rebekah's grin had now morphed into an outraged glare in his direction. That's what she got for trying to be so smug during his time of parental need.

"Hope, sweetie," Rebekah smiled, making her way towards the bench and placing her hand on the little girl's mane of red hair. "I'm not sure if I'm the best person to explain that."

"I'm hardly surprised given that drought you've been experiencing of late, sister dear," a cheeky, male voice chuckled from the stair case above. Klaus was seriously rethinking this shared living arrangement yet again, if only to spare his poor daughter.

"Why you son of a..."

"Enough both of you! Watch those unsanitary mouths," Klaus muttered, protectively placing his hands over his daughter's ears. "You are both over 2000 combined but yet my seven year-old daughter is even more mature than you!”

"For all she knows I'm talking about the bloody weather," he growled. Kol always did have to get the last word. "Not Rebekah's lack of..."

"I already had my daughter saying that word multiple times, the last thing I need is you joining the damn chorus," he hissed, finally removing his hands from Hope. "Although that reminds me that we need to have a chat about what specific terms are deemed acceptable in this house."

"And here I thought freedom of speech was written into the Constitution," Rebekah drawled.

"What's the constitution?" Hope piped up. At least she'd moved onto something more savoury conversation-wise. Now this was definitely something Klaus could explain. Before he could elaborate his suit-clad elder brother entered looking at them all curiously before fixing his gaze on Hope.

"Politics at such a young age, I am impressed Hope."

"We were actually talking about something much more exciting like S-E-X," Kol spelled out. "But King Klaus has apparently decided to legalise censorship."

"I can spell you know, Uncle Kol," Hope offered, nibbling on a beignet. She seemed unusually calm while her father and his siblings bickered, Klaus hated to admit it but it was kind of a normal occurrence in the Mikaelson household.

"I really shouldn't be surprised that you've filled the poor girl's head with these mature terms," Elijah scoffed. All of the siblings recognised this as the beginning of one of his long-winded lectures. They could be here for a long time at this rate. "Kol, it's time you started to realise just how much your actions reflect upon impressionable minds..."

"I overheard Aunt Katherine telling you just how good you were at sex last night and that she really wanted to show you..."

"What was that you were saying Elijah?" Kol boasted triumphantly. He didn't reply but his flushed cheeks were a clear indication that he'd been caught out by his niece.

"And you were the one I thought I could trust," Klaus muttered. This situation had been escalating out of control the past fifteen minutes. All Klaus knew was that he had to get Hope out of there and now. "How about we go out for some ice-cream, honey?" The one thing he knew was that the promise of sugar would surely dampen her persistent interest, well for a few hours at least.

As he walked out, Hope ahead of him, Klaus whipped back around. "We are having a family meeting when I get back, oh and make sure Katherine gets that memo too." The look on all their faces was enough to tell Klaus he'd made his point.

He opened the heavy, wooden door, gesturing for Hope to walk outside. What Klaus hadn't counted on was the familiar blonde standing on his front door step dressed perfectly in a white dress, denim jacket and boots. Especially after that pesky sex discussion which had stirred some unexpected arousal within him at the thought of their hot and heavy outdoor activity. Sexual frustration was an understatement.

She looked just as beautiful as the last time he'd seen her up against that tree sans shirt and panting heavily with that creamy skin flushed and those golden waves tousled. As much as he was happy by the surprise visit he wished she hadn’t turned up with such an unpredictable little girl on the loose.

"Hello," he offered, albeit feebly.

"Yeah, hi," she bit out. It sounded like someone was a little nervous herself. All of the possible reasons for her surprise appearance ran through his mind, the most obvious being a certain cheque he’d donated to her magic school that Klaus knew hadn’t been cashed.

"Who are you?" Hope asked, interrupting the prolonged silence. Caroline tore her blue eyes from his and focused on his daughter.

"That's not very polite, sweetheart," he chided. "This is Caroline."

"You must be Hope," Caroline smiled. "It’s nice to meet you."

"You're pretty," she grinned. Klaus couldn't have said it better himself and didn’t even have to bribe her to say it.

“Thank you,” Caroline uttered, her cheeks slightly tinged pink from the unexpected and lovely compliment from his daughter.

"So, do you know about sex, Caroline?" She asked. Whatever pride he was feeling towards his daughter was replaced with instant mortification. There wasn't much else he could feel at this point.

Obviously the promise of ice-cream wasn't enough to quell those questions and to his ex-lover of all people. If Klaus could have melted into the floor he would have. If Caroline was shocked she was doing an impressive job of masking her reaction. "Apparently no one here can explain it."

“Why am I not surprised?” She asked, shrugging her shoulders in his direction.

“Excuse me?” He baulked incredulously. Caroline didn’t respond just folded her arms against her chest defiantly. “Hope, honey why don’t you go to the car?” Her curious glance between the two before she walked away told them she would have preferred to hear the rest of the conversation.

“I wasn’t having sex with myself against that tree last time I checked.”

“Charming,” she drawled. “Maybe you should start with that as an explanation to your daughter, Romeo.”

“Fine,” he admitted. “I had no idea what to do or say. She just came out with it and then I had Rebekah, Kol and Elijah interfering as bloody usual.”

“Well, I have to admit when I was on my way here I didn’t see this being our first conversation.”

“I’m shocked,” he joked. “How did you envisage it happening?”

“I was going to throw your cheque back unceremoniously and then leave but I have to be honest I’m entirely too intrigued to see how this all plays out first.”

“Believe me if I knew that I’d give you a preview.”

“She’s a bit of a handful like her father, huh?” Klaus looked over at his gorgeous girl as she played animatedly in the front garden.

“I wouldn’t have her any other way,” he grinned.

“You’ve really changed, Klaus.”

“Is that a good or a bad thing?” He asked leaning in closer so that he could inhale that vanilla scent he’d missed terribly.

“I don’t know I’ll have to get back to you on that,” she replied, nudging him playfully.

“How about some ice-cream?”

“Fine, but don’t think you can rope me into this whole birds and the bees talk, Mikaelson.”

“Well, it was worth a try at least,” he teased, placing a stray lock of hair behind her ear and then guiding her towards his car, thinking he could get used to outings like this with Caroline and his daughter.

On FF HERE

#let's talk about sex #klaroline drabbles #the beginning of another story #misssophiachase

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