#and then found a family of kittens outside a few weeks later… the mama (a different one) has proceeded to have 3 separate litters

[ducktracy]

i really like when porky and sylvester are paired together but i always got the vibe from these cartoons that porky,,,, just isnt a cat person lol like yeah in kitty kornered he does straight up say he hates pussycats. i have a hc that in these cartoons porky never even adopted sylvester he just showed up on porky's doorstep 1 day and never left. i do like chuck jones' take on sylvester also but i can very easily interpret porky in those shorts seeing sylvester as just some guy who follows him around over an actual pet. anyways im glad they returned to the sylvester as porky's pet cat dynamic in the put the cat out segments on looney tunes cartoons

MAYBE… Porky has a history of not being super great with pets to begin with (mainly i think his issue in Kitty Kornered is he doesn’t like being CHALLENGED by his cats, he’s all smiles when putting them to bed but i think the moment they get wise with him THAT’s when he’s like I’LL TEAR ‘EM LIMB FROM LIMB. mainly a personality thing more than the cats BEING cats… i think he just hates being challenged and so when domesticated animals challenge AND OUTSMART HIM it purposefully makes a bit of a bad image for him HAHAHA. guess you could argue Sylvester in the Jones shorts is “challenging” him too even if he WAS in the right and Porky is just being his stubborn little self and thus explaining the aggravation) but the cartoons he does have cats with—Sylvester or otherwise—he treats them a lot better than his dogs who he WILL berate for… just… existing LOL. i’ve been indoctrinating an irl friend into these shorts and we’ve both been poking a lot of fun at how mean he can get with his pets but dogs in particular… poor dogs.

different contexts and all but same director, one year apart LOL.

CUTE HEADCANON THOUGH YES!!! reminds me of the greatest image in existence, every time i see this it sends me into a fit of laughter for some reason

SEEING SYLVESTER AS A RANDOM GUY WHO FOLLOWS HIM AROUND WOULD BE… VERY ODD BUT FUNNY LOL another “Goofy vs Pluto” thing i guess. i do love the Porky/Sylvester shorts though and that Sylvester is given a purely domesticated angle. Kitty Kornered is so much fun because it has both angles (we’re led to believe that Sylvester and the gang are all domesticated animals but they immediately launch into a—rather intelligent given the circumstances—scheme to throw Porky out of his own house), but that would be a bit odd in practice to be petting your cat goodnight or something and having him say goodnight back to you HAHAHA.

BUT YES SAME HERE i am VERY excited for more Porky and Sylvester. in spite of my gripes with The Looney Tunes Show i really adore that the pilot had Porky as Sylvester’s owner instead, and even Wabbit/New Looney Tunes had an episode with them that was pretty true to the original Jones format which i love

BUT YEAH, i see him much more as a cat person than a dog person, but i am 99% sure i’m just projecting because i technically own… 10? cats? it’s a long story that i’ll shove into the tags but. i am VERY much a cat person LOL they’re all i’ve known my whole life so i’m probably imparting my bias onto Porky. i just think it’s funny that he’s deemed such a humanoid character that he’s able to OWN any pets to begin with. like… how weird would it be if Daffy owned a pet dog

[notyourdayrdream]

Summer’s Almost Over (So Come Spend it with Me)

Day Thirty-one, Side A: Ostentatious

A/N: the final chapter :( i wanted to thank everyone who read either one chapter or all of them, it means so much. especially when i didn’t update for days at a time lol. i always knew what i wanted to do for the last chapter. this is a sequel to “for as long as you’re with me (or until my mama picks me up)” which takes place ten years after the original story ends. i’m posting it here and separately as an addition to the series. hope you enjoy :)

read it here on AO3

When Kurt was thirty-two, he pulled into a lake house in North Carolina.

Victoria was asleep in the backseat, her tiny three year old body propped up in her car seat. Blaine was asleep next to him, his head resting between the window and his shoulder. Kurt shook his arm lightly without taking his eyes off the gravel road. “Blaine, we’re here. Wake up.”

Blaine rose out of sleep slowly, stretching as much as he could in the confines of the rental car. He sat up and turned to Kurt. There was a reddened print from the seat belt adorably marking his face. “Where are my glasses?”

“Glove compartment,” Kurt said. He made a sharp turn right, which took them a bit closer to the water, where their rental house was.

Blaine smiled to himself and adjusted his frames. “Thank you. Oh, it’s so gorgeous.”

And it was. As they pulled into the gravel driveway, the house and the lake came into view. The sun shone down on the dark blue water and made it glisten. The brick pathway turned into a wooden one the closer it got to the lake, complete with a covered pier. The cottage itself was enclosed by trees and flowers. It seemed big from the outside, far too big for their family of three. There was a deck that swept over an entire side of the house, complete with two rocking chairs. An American flag lapped against the wind by the front door.

Kurt turned the key and practically ran out of the car, walking a bit to stretch his legs and cringing at the loud pops of his bones. God, he was getting old.

He watched from a distance as his husband pulled Victoria from the car, her sleeping body limp against his chest. Blaine seemed to speak softly to her, pointing at the lake and a small swing set. She gave a small nod, and her head lolled back onto his shoulder.

“Should I grab some bags?” Kurt called from his spot. He took a deep breath, and his nose tingled from the husky scent of the wood and water and smoke. Someone was grilling something.

“Let’s just check the place out first!” Blaine whisper-yelled back. “Then we can put this one down for a nap.”

The cottage was a high open concept, so big it shouldn’t even be considered a cottage. Blaine went to lay their daughter down while Kurt wandered aimlessly throughout the house. It was all wood, the same color top to bottom. It was honestly super ugly, but they were only staying a few days. Victoria’s first vacation that wasn’t in New York or to her grandparent’s house.

He was looking out across the water from the deck when he heard the sliding door creak open. “It’s pretty, isn’t it?” He asked without turning around.

Blaine hummed in agreement from behind him. “Tori’s gonna be out for a while. You wanna go on a walk?” He stepped closer and wrapped his arms around Kurt’s middle. When he spoke again, his chin pressed against his shoulder. “Or we could stay inside and do other stuff.”

Kurt turned around so they would be facing each other,

looking at Blaine with a small smirk. “Other stuff?”

“Like sex stuff.” Blaine fumbled with the buttons of Kurt’s open cardigan, looking up at him through his eyelashes.

“Stop looking at me like that,” Kurt’s laugh turned into a soft sigh when Blaine began sucking on the skin just below his jawline. After nearly a decade of being together, Blaine knew just how much that spot drove him crazy.

“Like what?” Blaine asked innocently, taking small kitten licks at his neck. His hands started moving down to Kurt’s jeans, teasing around his belt.

Kurt pulled him in for a kiss, sweet and slow. Blaine completely curved into him, wrapping his arms around his waist. They pressed into each other, Kurt’s back against the wooden railing.

They pulled away, foreheads resting together. When Blaine smiled, Kurt felt his lips curve up against his.

“You should go on a walk,” Kurt whispered practically into his mouth. “I’ll have dinner ready when you get back.”

His husband looked up at him. “You’re sure?”

“Yeah.” When Blaine hesitated, Kurt laughed and pushed him gently forward. “Go ahead.”

Kurt watched him leave and walk down the pebble path that trailed around the entire lake. Far off in the water, a group of teens splashed around in the water, a few of them laying on inflatable tubes. The sun was in the midpoint between setting and bright.

While Blaine was gone, Kurt decided to bring all of their bags into the house. He put their clothes away (it was too hot to wear the few sweaters and pairs of cabin socks Blaine had brought) and slid the suitcases into the closet. Victoria woke up from her nap not much later, full of energy. They swung on the swing set for a while and Kurt looked across the lake for any sight of Blaine.

“You wanna help Daddy with dinner?” Kurt asked, stopping the swing. Victoria whipped her head around, curly brown hair swishing behind her and falling over her shoulder.

“Yes!” She squealed, hopping off the screen and racing back towards the house, completely forgetting about the swing. Kurt chased after her, too concerned that she may fall. The girl was a total handful, and he was already dreading how she would be when she grew up.

Victoria did more dancing and singing than cooking. She and Kurt sang along to eighties hits on the TV, turning the volume up so high it could be heard from outside the house. He was wearing a ‘kiss the cook’ apron he had found in one of the drawers. It was absolutely hideous and stained but Kurt couldn’t help but put it on.

He was spooning broccoli onto a plate when the front door opened and shut, Blaine setting his set of keys in the kitchen counter. He said something, but it wasn’t loud enough to cut through the sound of the Thompson Twins harmonizing.

“Tori!” Kurt yelled. “Turn that off please!” He switched off the gas stove and moved to take off the apron, when Blaine swatted his hand away and wrapped his arms around Kurt’s neck.

“Stop that, it’s cute,” he said, swaying them back and forth.

Kurt rolled his eyes yet smiled. “It’s gross.” He spun Blaine around during the instrumental section of “Hold Me Now” like it was their wedding night. They laughed, hearty and loud.

Blaine leaned forward and kissed him, short and sweet. “Well I like the instructions it gives.” He looked up at Kurt, tracing the words with his finger.

“You’re such a dork,” he shook his head and smiled. And Blaine was giving him that look, the one that made arousal unfurl in his stomach and the blood rush to his face.

And Blaine knew it. He gave him that look all throughout dinner, even sucking the sauce off his finger in a way that was dirty and deliberate. They washed dishes as a family like they usually did, even if it dissolved into a soap war when Victoria splashed Kurt with soapy water.

Blaine cleaned the floors and Kurt gave their daughter a bath quickly. When he closed the door to her room for the week behind him, the lights were off in the living room and kitchen, replaced by various candles that mixed scents in the room. His husband sat on the black leather couch and turned to him, his hair washed from his gel and curled.

“What’s this?” Kurt sat on the couch and tucked his feet under him, accepting the glass of wine Blaine had poured. The gas fireplace sat aglow.

Blaine shrugged. “I just love you is all.” And even after all this time, the three words still made Kurt’s heart swell.

“I love you too,” he murmured, setting his and Blaine’s glasses down and crowding his space, kissing him silent.

Blaine threw himself back onto the couch and pulled Kurt on top of him, opening his mouth so he could lick into the heat of it. It was constant, the rocking of Blaine’s hips under him and the helpless whine that made Kurt’s lips buzz.

He slid his hand under Blaine’s shirt to feel the taut skin underneath, flicking his nipples swiftly and reveling in the moan that followed.

“Kurt…” Blaine’s hands roamed to the curve of his ass, pushing him forward so their erections pressed together in a dirty suggestion of what they could be doing. “Fuck me.”

Kurt groaned and pushed him further into the couch cushions, rocking forward and cupping his cheek with his free hand. The softness of the moment cooled them down, and Blaine curled into the touch. It was only when Kurt heard the sound of his belt being undone that he sat up. The look on Blaine’s face was nearly comical, eyes going wide with confusion.

“I’m not having sex on a leather couch, especially one that isn’t ours.” He laughed. When he led Blaine back to the master bedroom, his back peeled off the couch with a sound like velcro. They’d have to pick up their clothes from the hallway later.

They laid in the hammock after peeling themselves out of bed, laying half on top of each other in their briefs and a thin blanket. The moon shone against the water and the stars twinkled in the black sky.

“The people next door have a Lambo,” Blaine hummed into Kurt’s bare chest. “They parked it right in the front yard.”

“How ostentatious,” he said, chuckling softly. They listened to the quiet sounds of the nature around them; the crickets and frogs in the trees and wind rustling the oak leaves above them. It was still hot, not as much as it had been in the afternoon. Kurt swung them back and forth with his foot digging into the dirt below them.

“Do you have any regrets?” Blaine asked suddenly, causing Kurt’s heart to stop. “I mean, if you could, would you go back and do anything differently.”

Kurt could barely form the question. “What’s this about?” His mind was racing to every possible bad situation; Blaine wanted a divorce, he had a secret lover, he had killed someone. A few of them seemed worse than the others.

“My dad called.”

“Oh,” Kurt felt the fear slip out of his body. “What did he want?”

“He wanted to see Victoria, he said he missed me,” Blaine explained in a quiet voice, edged with apprehension.

“He can see her on Instagram.” Kurt couldn’t help the venom that dripped from the sentence. Mr. Anderson had been nothing but rude to not only Kurt for as long as he could remember, but his own son too. He remembered having to console Blaine the day after his wedding when his dad hadn’t shown up. For all he cared,

Mr. Anderson didn’t deserve to see his granddaughter.

Blaine sighed and sat up a bit further on Kurt’s chest. “That’s not really the point, honey.” His voice sounded thick, and Kurt intertwined their fingers and squeezed his hand.

“He missed me. And, I don’t know, shouldn’t I give him a second chance?”

“But the things he’s said to you Blaine. The things he’s said to me.”

There was a pregnant silence after that.

After they went public with their relationship in their early twenties, David Anderson became even more cold and harsh that he was when they were teens. They didn’t talk about it often, but Blaine would mention how hard it was to live with him. The screaming, the fights, the insults dripping with homophobia. It was a unanimous decision between them and the Hummels to not engage with Mr. Anderson unless it was necessary. Blaine had agreed, but Kurt knew it had to hurt.

“Some people don’t deserve a second chance,” Kurt grumbled after a while.

“He’s my father, Kurt!”

Blaine threw his arms out at that, the force of it tipping the hammock and sending the two of them sprawling onto the hard dirt ground.

“Oh my God, Blaine!” Kurt sat up immediately, ignoring the sharp stab of pain in his side. “Honey, are you okay?”

Blaine was laying still on his side, unmoving. Kurt’s blood ran cold. They had fallen pretty hard from a solidly high distance. Kurt crawled over to his husband, tears threatening to spill from his eyes when he still didn’t move.

“Blaine, please get up,” Kurt cried. It was too late to go for help, and holy shit, he had just killed his husband…

And then he heard laughter, and Blaine moved as if he were shivering.

Blaine sat up, tears spilling from his eyes as he laughed. He touched his head gingerly and winced. “Ow,” he groaned. Kurt could’ve passed out. But he started crying instead.

“Oh, Kurt.” Blaine pulled him closer, holding him in his arms.

In hindsight, Kurt felt a bit embarrassed about crying over a three foot fall. But it was the first time in a long time that he thought he had actually lost Blaine. And the emptiness from it terrified it just as much as it did the first time.

“Shh, Kurt. I’m okay,” Blaine said through a chuckle, kissing him on the forehead. Kurt gripped his shirt like it was the only thing holding him to the earth. “We’re okay.”

Blaine and Kurt went inside shortly after that, with the latter demanding Blaine should hold a bag of frozen peaches to his head. They fell asleep at nearly one in the morning after checking on Victoria and dusting dirt off their pajamas.

Kurt awoke with a jolt, sitting up to find the other side of the bed empty. The sun was just beginning to peek out from the horizon, a soft yellow glow in the window.

He slipped on a pair of slides and dragged a blanket with him outside onto the deck, stretching his arms over his head. Most of the lights in the other lake houses were off, and the only other person he saw was a woman walking a small dog. Until he caught his husband’s eye down at the dock.

It sometimes hit Kurt like a wave how handsome Blaine was, even from far away. His hair wasn’t his usual morning bird’s nest, combed down and contained just enough for Kurt to know he had brushed it. His muscles popped out of the thin long sleeve shirt he slept in, and when he smiled, his brown eyes crinkled.

“Awwh, Blaine!” Kurt gasped, looking down at the scene in front of him.

“Okay, okay,” Blaine stepped in front of him and adjusted his glasses. “Remember when we went out on our first date as boyfriends?”

“You mean when we got breakfast after I jumped you in your own apartment? Yes I do,” he grinned, already knowing where this was going.

Blaine nodded. “Right, and we went to that crappy diner and when I got steak and eggs you got—”

“Cheesecake,” Kurt pointed at the New York Style cheesecake sitting on a checkered blanket, raspberries and mint leaf sitting perfectly on top. “You made me cheesecake?”

Blaine’s smile faltered only slightly. “Um. Well about that. I tried to, I had the recipe and everything. And then I forgot the cheesecake dish at home.” Ah, so that was why Blaine seemed so freaked out when he looked through the bag of food after they left. “So I ordered one.”

“It’s perfect,” Kurt whispered and sat down at the edge of the dock, legs swinging over the edge.

“You’re my family, Kurt. You and Tori,” Blaine said as he sat down next to him. “I don’t need anything else. I just need you two.” He pulled a bottle of champagne and two glasses from behind him, pouring way too much.

Kurt opened his arms and wrapped them both in his blanket, cheesecake forgotten. For now. “Here’s to ten years of us.”

“More like twenty-five, if you include those years of pining,” Kurt interjected, much to Blaine’s chagrin.

“Fine, ten years of marriage,” he knocked against Kurt’s shoulder. “And to ten more.”

He looked down, feigning shock. “Only ten?”

Blaine just rocked forward and kissed Kurt’s cheek. “Happy anniversary, Kurt.” he smiled and took a sip of champagne, curling into his side and looking out across the water. There was nothing. more to say, not for now. They had everything they needed.

[eevee-eclair]

Smitten Like a Kitten

Written by EeveeEclair

TW: fluff, crying, (tell me if I missed one!)

Random side note: This was made possible thanks to @does-this-look-logicality-to-you’s Animal Shelter AU! Thank you!

>~~~~~<

About ten years ago when Patton and Logan were still in college, Logan told Patton about his soft spot for animals. Patton was shocked the ‘emotionless’ man (or so everyone called him) loved something as much as him. And animals no less!

“It’s just… they tend to follow me everywhere and I feel like they understand me somehow,” Logan said, looking a little sheepish. “I know it sounds illogical, but I think I want to open an animal shelter when I graduate.”

Patton gasped and squealed. “Can I help?!” He asked.

Logan looked at him for a second, then gave him one of his rare smiles. “Yeah! And we could help all kinds of animals!” He said.

Patton smiled and got comfortable at the desk he was sitting at, listening to Logan ramble about his dream shelter. He listened as Logan told him about a lamp room and how he would run the place, nodding every so often as giving his opinion here and there.

It was then he realized he might have a crush on Logan.

~~~

A few years after graduation, Logan and Patton bought what would soon be their dream animal shelter. They had asked some family for financial help, and asked their friends Virgil and Roman if they would want to work there.

“I can’t believe this is happening!” Patton squealed as he walked through the empty animal shelter. “Right, Logan?” He asked. He was met with silence, so he looked around for Logan. “Logan?” He called. It took a minute but he found Logan in the backyard where the dogs would be able to run around. Upon closer inspection, he saw his friend crying. 

Logan saw him approaching and wiped the tears away. “Hello, Patton. What do you need?” He asked, trying to hide the fact he was crying.

Patton wasn’t going to let him just forget it, though. “Why are you crying?” He asked, putting a hand on Logan’s back.

“It’s just… I never thought I would be living this dream,” he told him. He laughed a little. “It’s all thanks to you.”

Patton smiled and felt tears build up in his eyes too. “It was only because you told me it was your dream,” he said, hugging Logan.

They sat there, wrapped in each other’s arms crying happy tears for about an hour. It was sundown but the time they went back to their respective apartments.

~~~

Two months after they had bought the empty building, they had their first dog. After everyone saw how happy the dog became only a few weeks later, they got more and more animals and with it came more and more adoptions.

But every time someone came to adopt a pet, they asked how said pet became so happy so fast. Every time, they said the same thing, ‘you can thank Logan Barry’. Yet, every time, the adopter would take one look at the emotionless receptionist and laugh.

“You can’t be serious,” someone once said.

“Ma’am, I've never been more serious in my life. The animals love him,” Patton told her. 

As if on cue, a mother cat and her five kittens all jumped onto Logan’s workspace. His face immediately lit up with the biggest smile, making Patton melt. He watched as Logan put a kitten in his shirt pocket and two on his lap. Logan then set another on his head and the last one on his shoulder, leaving the mama cat, Sammy, kitten-less and given a well deserved break.

Sammy meowed at Logan before jumping off, leaving her kittens to snuggle with the kind man. “Bye Sammy,” Logan said, before turning back to work.

The lady stared at Logan in awe. She gave a small ‘oh’ before leaving with the bird she adopted. Patton smiled as she walked off, happy to have proved her wrong.

~~~

It didn’t take long for Patton and Logan to realize they would need a better way to get to work faster. Both their apartments were about an hour to thirty minutes from the shelter, so they had to get up extremely early. Not to mention the late hoodies they already worked.

“We can’t run on three hours of sleep forever, Lo,” Patton yawned.

“I know,” Logan said, rubbing his eyes. “But for both of us to move would be expensive. It would also take up a lot of time we don’t have to give.”

Patton taped his chin for a second, thinking of a solution. “We could move in together?” He suggested. “It would save us money, be more convenient, and we won’t have to waste a lot of time moving! We could even call Roman and Remus to help unpack!”

Logan nodded. “It would be beneficial for both of us,” he mused. “Okay, I like your idea. But we need to plan it out. We can’t be gone from the shelter for too long or Virgil will have a panic attack.”

Patton smiled. “Okay! I’ll start looking for houses nearby!” He said, opening his laptop to search. Logan smiled as he watched Patton search for houses. He wouldn’t admit it, but he was very excited about the idea of sharing a house with his best friend.

~~~

Patton watched with a small smile on his face as Logan walked around the shelter with at least four dogs trotting after him. He also noticed a black cat had fallen asleep on Logan's shoulders and a small bird was snoozing in his hair. Logan saw Patton watching and walked over to him, beaming.

“Ah, Patton! I’ve been looking for you,” he said.

“Oh? And what can I do for you?” Patton asked, smiling back.

“I’ve got a few more adoption papers for you!” Logan told him. “Two cats and one dog!”

Patton laughed at Logan’s enthusiasm. “Alright, let me see,” he said. Logan handed him the papers and he skimmed them quickly. “Alright! I’ll send Roman over for a house inspection tomorrow.”

Logan nodded and walked off, still smiling. Patton noticed that the amount of animals had increased in the few minutes he stood still, as he walked away.

~~~

Logan watched as Patton smiled when another animal was adopted. More specifically, how cute he looked smiling. Usually, he thought nothing of it, but today he just couldn’t shake how adorable Patton looked in the skirt he insisted on wearing even though Logan had told him it would get ruined (and at the end of the day, it was) and how well it worked with his wide smile.

Patton looked in Logan’s direction and his smile turned from customer service to one of his genuine smiles. The kind you can’t say no to.

Logan sat up a little straighter (read gayer) as Patton made his way over. 

“Hi, Lo! Did you need something?” He asked in his cheery tone.

“Oh no, I’m fine!” Logan said. “Just… umm… getting some work done! Yeah, that’s it!” He rushed in a panic.

“Okay, well I’m going to go get lunch! Roman brought sandwiches! Do you want anything?” 

Logan shook his head. “I brought my own lunch, thanks,” he told him, pointing to his lunchbox. Most days it held not only a tuna sandwich and an orange, but treats for the animals that sit around him.

“Okay! If you change your mind, let me know!” Patton smiled, walking off.

Logan waved goodbye before slumping in his chair letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Sammy meowed in protest as he laid his head on her tail.

“Sorry, Sam,” he mumbled. “He’s just too cute!”

Sammy meowed in acknowledgement before tucking her tail in and laying back down.

“Did you just call Patton cute?”

Logan jumped at Virgil’s voice, startling Sammy again and the bird who decided Logan’s hair would make a good napping spot.

“Virgil!” He cried, adjusting his tie nervously. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“Sorry,” Virgil shrugged. “But you’re avoiding my question. Did you just call Patton cute?”

Logan sighed and covered his face. “Yes.”

“Why?” Virgil asked. Then realization dawned on him. “Oh my god, you like Patton.”

Logan’s face turned red and he quickly shushed Virgil. “Don’t say it so loud!” He hissed.

Virgil laughed. “Everyone knows, L. It’s no secret. Well, except to Patton,” he said shrugging. “Poor dude is too innocent for his own good,” Virgil mused.

“Do you have any advice for me?” Logan pleaded, snapping Virgil from his thoughts.

Virgil nodded. “Yeah.”

Logan stared at him for a second. “Well? What is it?” He asked, growing impatient.

“You don’t know?” Virgil asked, shocked. When Logan shook his head no, Virgil groaned. “You’re hopeless.”

Logan began to panic. “What does that mean?!” He cried.

Virgil laughed. “No, dude, like, you’ve never asked out a crush before?”

Logan’s face turned a light shade of pink. “You’re suggesting I ask Patton out?” He whispered. Virgil nodded. “You’re insane!” He cried.

“Who is?” Patton asked.

Logan jumped. Again. “No one!” He exclaimed, adjusting his tie. “What can I help you with, Patton?” Logan asked. 

“Roman found a kitten hiding under a car at a car dealership and I was wondering if you could help us get it to eat?” Patton asked. Logan saw Patton looked distressed and felt his chest tighten at the sight. 

Logan nods. “Absolutely, tell me where it is,” he said, standing up.

Patton smiled. Logan’s heart jumped at his new favorite sight. “Thank you Logan! They’re both in the lamp room,” he said. The lamp room was where they had all their heat lamps for snakes, lizards, and other reptiles. Sometimes they used it for baby animals (like kittens) that had no mother for warmth. 

Virgil smiled as Logan walked away with Patton. He pulled out his phone and started to text his friend, Remy. They didn’t usually hire outsiders, but Virgil introduced him to Logan and Patton and they quickly hired him. Remy was also really good with birds for some reason.

You: u and ro are gonna help me set up our bosses

Sleep King: k. when we startin?

You: lunch. imma talk to ro dont b l8

Sleep King: k see u then

Virgil put his phone up and followed the others into the lamp room to talk to Roman. They had a date to plan.

~~~

Patton smiled as Logan finally got the sick kitten to drink some formula. Normally, Logan wouldn’t have to do this, but there were no mother cats willing to provide milk. Hence, the bottle of kitten formula.

He watched as Logan smiled and pet the small cat for doing such a good job. Patton decided then and there he would do whatever he could to make Logan smile like that more often.

Roman noticed Patton’s helpless staring and nudged him. “You good, Pops?” He asked.

Patton blinked and stopped starting at Logan. “Yes? Why wouldn’t I be?”

Roman laughed a little. “You’re kinda staring at Logan,” he said.

Patton’s face burned red. “O-oh! I didn’t notice,” he mumbled.

Roman stared at him for a second before grinning. “You have a crush on Logan,” it was a statement, not a question.

“Noooo…” Patton lied, looking away. “What makes you say that?”

Roman tried to hide his giggles but he failed miserably. “Oh my god you do!” He laughed. “You have a crush o-“

Patton put a hand over Roman’s mouth before he could finish his sentence. “Okay! I do! But don’t tell him!” He pleaded.

Roman rolled his eyes but nodded nonetheless. Patton removed his hand and sighed. “Fine. But I’m telling the others.”

Patton paled. “You can’t! No one can know!” He cried.

“You can’t expect me to keep this a secret from everyone?” Roman asked, raising an eyebrow.

“A gay can dream, can’t he?” Patton said with a sad but hopeful smile.

“I’m telling Remy and Virgil,” Roman said. “And possibly Remus and Janus,” he added after some thought.

Patton lowered his head in defeat. “As long as Logan doesn’t find out, you can tell whoever,” he mumbled.

Roman took one look at his friend’s sad expression and sighed. “Fine. I’ll only tell Virgil and Remy. Deal?”

Patton nodded, smiling a little. “Deal!”

~~~

Remy sipped his iced coffee as he waited for Virgil and Roman I’m the breakroom. He had been waiting for a few minutes and was starting to get impatient. Usually Virgil didn’t keep him waiting this long.

“Sorry we're late!” Virgil said, stumbling through the doorway with Roman close behind. Both men looked a little rough.

Remy whistled. “Why were you two late? Wait, don’t tell me,” he said, smirking. He laughed at his friend’s red face. “Relax! I’m kidding! I know what really happened.”

“Remy!” Virgil cried. “Get your mind out of the gutter!”

Remy lowered his sunglasses, looking Virgil right in the eye. “It’s not in the gutter, babe. I never said what really happened.”

“Whatever! What’s going on?” Roman asked, changing the subject. He walked over to the fridge and pulled out the salad he had been saving. “Virgil said something about setting up some guys?”

“Yeah, Logan and Patton,” Virgil said. “Logan has this huge crush on Patton but he’s too chicken to do anything about it.”

Roman laughed. “This is perfect! Patton just told me he also had a crush on our Nerdy Wolverine!” He told them.

Remy shrugged. “Well, the answer is pretty simple. We set up two fake dinners. One between Virgil and Logan and one between Roman and Patton. Then, when they both accept, you both stand them up and watch from a different table,” Remy said it like it was obvious. 

Roman stared at him. “That is so cheesy and cliché!” He cried. Then he smirked. “I’m in.”

Virgil rolled his eyes. “Fine. I’ve got nothing better to do anyway.”

And just like that, they had a plan.

~~~

Roman and Virgil got off the phone about the same time, setting up their fake dinner dates. Virgil felt bad about lying to his friends, but Roman assured him it was in that name of love.

“They’ll thank us later,” Roman said.

“Let's hope so,” Virgil mumbled, snuggling into his side. “Cuddle me to make me feel better?” He asked.

Roman put an arm around Virgil. “Of course,��� he said.

Remy groaned. “Get up you two! You have a date to stalk!” He whined.

“Can’t you do it? They could recognize us! Plus, you’d get to see the date first hand,” Virgil said smiling.

“You got me there,” Remy mused. “Fine! You can stay. I got some gays to stalk,” he said, walking away.

~~~

Logan fiddled with his tie as he waited for Virgil to show up. Virgil was never late and he was starting to worry. What could make Virgil forty minutes late? To a reserved time no less!

He was pulled from his spiraling by the sound of crying. Looking around he noticed Patton wasn’t far from him. Not only that, he was the one in tears. It broke his heart to see him so sad, so he walked over and put a hand on his back.

“Patton? Are you okay?” Logan asked.

Patton shook his head and wiped at his tears. “N-no. Roman said we would meet up for dinner here but it’s been almost an hour and he’s still not here!” He sobbed. Patton turned to him and it broke Logan’s heart to see his friend so distraught. “Do you think he lied to me?” He whispered, sounding scared.

Logan used his thumb to wipe away a stray tear. “Or course not. He’s probably running late! Virgil was going to meet me here too, but he hasn’t showed up either,” Logan said, smiling.

Patton tilted his head in confusion. He looked like a confused puppy to be honest. “Virgil’s never late to anything,” he said.

“I know, that’s why I’m a little concerned,” Logan sighed. Then he pulled out his phone. “I’ll call him and ask if he’s okay.”

Logan pulled out his phone and dialed Virgil’s number, praying he would pick up this time. Thankfully, he did.

“Hey Logan?” It was more of a question than a greeting. “How’s it going?”

“Where are you?” Logan asked, tapping his foot in frustration. “It’s been forty minutes! And do you know where Roman is? He stood Patton up and I found him crying outside the building!” He seethed.

On the other end, Virgil sighed. “I-I’m sorry okay? It was Remy’s idea. And Roman’s sitting right next to me.”

“What’s going on?! What was Remy’s idea?!” Logan cried.

Logan heard some movement on the other side and suddenly, Roman was the one in possession of the phone.

“Okay, L, listen up! You and Patton obviously have deep romantic feelings for each other and neither of you are doing a thing about it! So me, Remy, and Virgil set you guys up on a date! You’re welcome!” Roman said smugly. “Now go enjoy your date!” He declared before hanging up.

“Roman? Roman!” Logan yelled into the phone, hoping it would bring him back. 

“Is everything okay?” Patton asked. Thankfully, his tears had dried by now and was looking a little less sad.

“Yes. They’re both fine. For now,” Logan added, stuffing his phone back into his pocket.

“What do you mean ‘for now’?” Patton asked, raising an eyebrow. When Logan didn’t answer he pressed further. “Logan, what do you mean?”

Logan sighed. “They set us up on a date by asking both of us to attend a dinner and ditching us both. Leaving us to spend the night together,” he explained.

“Oh! That’s not so bad, right?” Patton asked.

Logan shrugged, but smiled nonetheless. “Yeah, you’re right,” he said. Then he took Patton’s hand and led him to the front door and opened it. “Shall we?”

Patton giggled. “We shall.”

A few years later, the partner-owned animal shelter would become a family business, but for now they would enjoy dinner dates every Sunday and movie night almost every day after work. All thanks to their friends.

Logan was still going to tear them apart later, though.

[atths--twice]

Fourth of July, Friendship, Fireworks, Love...

It’s a day late, I know, but hopefully I’ll be forgiven. Here is a sweet little Fourth of July story of Mulder and Scully celebrating the holiday with some friends-safely of course, but celebrating nonetheless. Hope you enjoy! 

(Oh BTW, this story is a part of my Family Series- the stories beyond the finale. I hope you have all read those so it’s not too confusing. If not, here is the link for it on ao3. https://archiveofourown.org/series/1407691)

July 4, 2020

Scully set her glass of water in the sink and smiled. Everything was ready and she felt nervous with excitement.

“Hey! You ready?” Mulder called from the staircase and she turned around, walking  through the living room, to meet him and Faith as they reached the bottom.

“Yup,” she answered as she smiled at them. Picking up Faith, she swung her around, kissing her cheeks.  

She was dressed in a pale denim blue sundress, with daisies and eyelets around the bottom, a pair of white bike shorts underneath, and a pair of Mary Jane sandals nearly the color of her dress. Scully placed her nose against the side of Faith’s head and took a deep breath, inhaling the unmistakable scent of sunscreen.

“You ready, Love? You wanna go for a walk?”

At those words, Bella barked and ran over to them, bouncing excitedly, figuring out that they were all about to head out the door.

“Yes, Bella, you’re coming along. Calm down, girl.” Mulder laughed and as he reached for her leash and she barked again.

“Bell,” Faith said, looking down at her and putting a finger on her lips. “Shhh.” Bella looked at her and sat down, softly whining, her tail wagging happily. Mulder looked at Scully and shook his head in disbelief.

“Scully…” he said, clipping Bella’s leash on and shaking his head again. “I know we have joked about it, but… there is something about the way animals react to her. Even Grey, as small as she is, and being a feisty kitten, is gentle and different with Faith.”

Scully looked at Grey as she sat on the back of the couch, her head tilted as she watched them preparing to leave. It was true, Mulder was right.

Since he had found her under the porch nearly two weeks ago, she had changed from being a timid and tiny kitten. She had gained some weight and provided hours of entertainment and laughter.

She had slept nearly every night in their bed, much to Mulder’s dismay. Or pretend dismay, as Scully had woken up to Grey cuddled beside him or laying squarely on his chest nearly every morning. He had acted as though he were annoyed by it, but she had seen his smile as he had scratched Grey under her little chin.

She loved to chase her toys or their hands, biting at their fingers as they had teased her to chase them. Not so with Faith, however. When Faith pet her, played with her, or got close to her, Grey had been gentle and slow, purring loudly as she had rubbed against Faith’s legs, hands, or her face. She was so calm with her, it was as though a spell had been cast over her.

“Fucking spooky,” Mulder had whispered under his breath as he watched the change in Grey as Faith pet her with a smile. Scully was unable to argue as it was rather spooky to witness.

“I’m not trying to say anything we don’t want to think about,” Mulder said quietly, pulling her attention from the thoughts of the past couple of weeks. “Some people just have a way with animals and I think she will be one of them.” He looked at Scully with a shrug and she looked at Faith, who smiled at her happily.

“If that’s all she has a way with, then I can live with that,” Scully said, smiling softly at Faith, worry settling momentarily within her as she thought of William and his abilities. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“Scully…”

“I know,” she assured him, looking at him with a nod. “I know, Mulder.” He took a couple of steps forward and put his arm around her waist, pulling both of them close to him.

“It’s not the same,” he whispered and she nodded, her forehead against his and Faith’s head on her shoulder.

“Mama,” Faith said softly, patting her arm gently. Scully laughed and closed her eyes, breathing deeply and feeling a sense of calm settle over all of them.

Until Bella whined softly and Mulder chuckled as he pulled back, smiling at Scully and kissing Faith’s cheek. He looked at Scully again and she nodded with a smile, the worry and sadness from minutes before now gone.

“Okay, let’s get going, or we’ll be the last ones to arrive,” Mulder said and she nodded, ready to go and be around actual people, even if for a little while and even despite the heat of the day.

The day after Father’s Day, Violet had come by during Faith’s nap time, to see how they were doing and if they needed anything. She had brought over some eggs from their chickens, something she had done a few times, and a chocolate cake she had made.

A masked visit on the porch, with space between them, they had made plans to get together on the Fourth of July for the dinner that had been suggested back on Mother’s Day in May. It would not be a dinner though, but a potluck type picnic lunch in which they would remain outside, and spaced apart. None of them had been sick and had remained at home as much as possible during the mandated quarantine.

The day after that plan was made, Rachel had called, checking in on them as well. Skinner had been in the background, grumbling that he had thought she was going to be FaceTiming them so they could see Faith. Rachel had sighed and a second later, the FaceTime was ringing. Skinner was there, coming close to the camera with a grin, calling for Faith. Rachel had rolled her eyes beside him and then smiled at him with such love in her eyes, Scully could not stop grinning as she had watched them.

A discussion of a visit after so long was had and a plan began to form. The two of them would join them and the Turners for the potluck. Everyone was included with the conversation and for two weeks, every day, they had all taken their temperatures and recorded them to be sure they were not sick or showing any possible symptoms. None were found and they were all looking forward to seeing each other again, and also meeting for the first time.

“I’ll get the backpack and you take Faith,” Scully said, kissing her cheeks and handing her over to Mulder. “Little Grey, we will be back soon, okay?” She picked up the kitten, who began to purr immediately as she was laid on her back in Scully’s arms. Her eyes closed and she meowed softly, causing Scully to laugh.

“There you go. Faith gets it from you. Look how she responds when you hold her,” Mulder teased as he put Faith into the hiking carrier, putting on her sun hat and buckling her in, then sliding it onto his back.

“I think I’ve trained her to like laying this way. I can’t tell Bella to hush and she’s immediately quiet. That’s beyond my expertise,” she reasoned, stroking Grey’s ears and kissing her head. “You think she’ll be okay?”

“For the tenth time today, yes, I think she will be okay,” he said with a smile and she sighed with a nod. Walking over to the large scratching post and climbing toy, she set her down and rubbed her head again.

“Be good, little Grey,” Scully said and Grey meowed, pushing her head into Scully’s hand. Scully hummed and Mulder cleared his throat. Turning around, she looked at him as he shook his head with a smile.

“Come on. She’s fine.”

“Okay, okay.” She glanced at her again before walking to the kitchen and taking the big blue bowl Mulder had purchased at the estate sale a few months ago out of the refrigerator. She had made potato salad with hard boiled eggs, the ones from Violet’s chickens, and also a summer pasta salad.

Setting the bowls on the table, she added a bottle of wine to the backpack next to Faith’s extra clothes, diapers, and some toys. Putting it on, she picked up the bowls, and walked over to Mulder, Faith, and Bella.

“Let me take the big bowl. You carry the smaller one and hold onto Bella.”

He took the bowl from her and handed her the leash. Looking back at Grey once more, she stepped through the open door and into the heat of the day. Taking a breath as she stood in the shade of the porch while Mulder locked the door.

“Did you put sunscreen on?” he asked, looking her up and down.

“Umm… no. I forgot.”

“Oh, wife,” he said, shaking his head with a heavy put upon sigh. “Turn around, please.” She did as he asked as he set the bowl on the porch swing and then she felt and heard him unzipping her backpack. A bottle was shaken and she knew it was the sunscreen she had packed in there last night.

“Look at all that pale Irish Scully skin showing,” he said with a tsk, gesturing to her body, as he took the bowl from her and she slipped the backpack off and onto the porch. “You would have been a tomato by the end of the day, woman.”

Laughing, she nodded and dropped the leash to step away and spray herself down. Starting with her neck and face, she held her hair away as she closed her eyes and pressed the nozzle. Her arms were next and she was careful not to get it on the black summer dress she had found in the back of the closet. A dress she had hardly worn, but bought for its simplicity.

And the secret pockets. That was the seller as far as she was concerned.

Arms and face done, she stepped back and handed him the bottle, turning around and moving her hair out of the way, silently asking him to get the back of her arms and her neck.

He chuckled softly and she heard the floorboards creak as he moved toward the swing. Waiting, she gasped as she felt his lips on her neck, and her eyes closed. He kissed softly, his tongue licking gently, before he kissed her again.

“Mulder,” she moaned, and he hummed against her skin. Kissing her once more, he pulled back and she opened her eyes with a shiver. “Sunscreen only or we will be the last ones there.”

“Yes ma’am.” He laughed and she gasped again as the cool sunscreen hit her skin. His fingers pressed into her neck, making sure the sunscreen was rubbed in well. The same was done to the backs of her arms; a kiss placed on her neck before she dropped her hair and turned around.

“Thank you,” she said with a smirk and he nodded. “Do you have sunscreen on, or do you need some assistance?”

“As much as I would love that, I put mine on when I did Faith’s, so I’m good. Let’s put this back and we’ll be on our way.”

She nodded and took the sunscreen from him, placing it in the backpack before sliding it back on. She looked him up and down, enjoying the sight of him in a crisp white short sleeved shirt and a pair of dark brown shorts. They each picked up their bowl and she grabbed the leash, stepping off the porch and into the hot sun.

“Christ, it’s hot,” Mulder stated as they left the driveway. “I’m all for this little gathering, but shit. It’s so goddamn hot.”

“Language,” she laughed, looking up at him and glancing at Faith, but she agreed with him, it was hot.

“Jaf!” Faith shouted, clapping her hands and laughing, when they turned left out the driveway.

“Yeah, Honey. We’re going to see Jaf,” Mulder said with a smile, glancing at Scully.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the Turner’s house. Faith clapped her hands again and kicked her feet as she looked at the big giraffe in their yard.

“Jaf! Hi, Jaf!” she called and they stopped to let her say hello. As she did, Scully took their masks out of the baby carrier backpack, handing Mulder his, and putting on her own.

Scully looked around the yard and saw that a few canopies had been set up and tables with tablecloths and chairs sat under them. The front door opened and Violet walked out wearing a mask and carrying a basket. Stopping at the table, she put it down and started to unpack it, setting out paper plates, napkins, plastic cups, and containers of utensils.

Looking up, she saw them standing there and they could see her smiling happily even behind her mask. Leaving the table, she walked toward them, meeting them at the end of the driveway.

“Hello! It’s so good to see you again,” she said, nodding at them and waving to Faith. “Hey there, sweetie pie.”

“Jaf!” she said, pointing at the giraffe to her left.

“Yup! That’s Jaf. She’s not at all a huge giraffe in a regular sized yard,” Violet said with a roll of her eyes. They all laughed and continued up the driveway, Bella bouncing excitedly as Violet gave her some pats, and set the food down on the designated table.

“We set up a staked area for Bella, as we don’t have a completely fenced yard,” Violet said, pointing to the spot and rubbing Bella’s head. “Also, Denis bought a small plastic pool to fill up later, as she is a Lab, and “might want to go for a dip.”” She made finger quotes and stared at them as they laughed.

“That’s a good idea. We should get a pool for her to play in,” Mulder said and Scully nodded.

“We had a dog who used to love to play in our kids little plastic pool. Denis was giddy to find one for Bella today.”

“What will you do with it after today?”

“Oh, I’m sure Denis will find some use for it. That man…” They all laughed as she shook her head. Scully found the clip for the lead and attached Bella to it. She ran around, stopping short of the tables, but with enough space to lie in the shade.

The front door opened and Denis came out, also wearing a mask. He came down the steps carrying two bowls and caught sight of them as he reached the bottom.

“Hey! So happy to see you three… four,” he called out, setting the food down and walking over to them. Putting out his hand, he pulled it back right away. “Old habits are hard to break.” They laughed and bumped elbows with him instead, each of them feeling the awkward, but necessary, difference of it.

“So, the food is all ready. I’m just gonna go back in and get the rest. Did Violet tell you about the pool? I didn’t want to fill it earlier, not wanting to entice a certain little girl.” He looked up at Faith who was looking over at the giraffe. “But I can see that she is otherwise engaged at the moment.” They all chuckled, knowing without actually looking where her attention lay.

“We turned out of the driveway and she knew we were coming to see you, or more appropriately, coming to see Jaf.”

“Jaf. Mama. Jaf.”

“See?”

They all laughed and Denis went inside to get the food. Scully took off her backpack, took out the bottle of wine, and handed it to Violet and she smiled and went inside to open it. Scully took out the hand sanitizer too, sliding the bottle in the pocket of her dress.

“God, it’s hot,” Mulder said again as he took off his backpack and set it down on the grass. He unbuckled Faith and lifted her out, knowing she would make a beeline for the giraffe.

As she gained her balance, wobbling a little in the grass, a car pulled up the road, slowing at the giraffe and then drove up the driveway.

“Oh… look who’s here little girl,” Mulder said, lifting her up and walking toward the car.

Skinner and Rachel stepped out, much to Faith’s ecstatic surprise, both wearing masks. She screeched and waved excitedly, causing everyone to laugh.

“So, what’s the protocol here?” Skinner asked gruffly, as Rachel opened the back door and took out a bag. “I haven’t seen that girl in months and I’m due for a hug, but I don’t want to cause any harm.”

“We’ve taken as many precautions as we can. We’re all wearing masks. Well, except for Faith. She’s too little to understand how to breathe properly while wearing it. We’re going to be eating together soon, we’re outside… I think we’re okay with a hug.” Scully smiled as she stepped closer to them, nodding a hello at Rachel. Skinner let out a breath and nodded.

“Up. Up.” Faith said, reaching toward Skinner. Mulder made to hand her over, but Scully stopped him.

Taking out the hand sanitizer, she squeezed some into his open palms and he quickly rubbed them together. With a glance and a nod from Scully, he took Faith from Mulder and spun her around, both of them laughing.

“Oh, little girl, I’ve missed you.” Faith touched Skinner’s face with her hands and smiled, laughing as she touched his mask. Scully stepped closer to him, touching his upper arm.

“It’s good to see you. In the flesh.” She smiled and he nodded.

“You too, Dana. And you, Mulder.”

“You two as well. Rachel,” Mulder said, nodding at her and she winked.

“Fox. Dana. Miss Faith, a pleasure as always.”

“Jaf. Jaf,” Faith said, pointing at the giraffe and then looking at Skinner expectantly. He nodded and walked closer to the giraffe, ready to do her bidding.

“Oh, hello,” Violet called behind them and they all turned to look at her. She walked closer and Scully gestured to her.

“This is Violet Turner. Violet, this is Rachel Clarke and that is Walter Skinner.”

“It’s good to meet you both. Denis, my husband, is inside. He should be out soon,” Violet said, her eyes crinkling with a smile.

“Should I give these to you or should I put them on the table?” Rachel asked Violet, indicating the bag she was holding.

“Does anything need to be warmed up? Or is it a cool dish?”

“Well, there is a salad, but also Fettuccine Alfredo.”

“Fettuccine Alfredo, you say?” Scully asked, looking at Mulder, and then over at Skinner, a knowing smile on her face. He stared back with a look she had seen many times in the past. She raised her eyebrows and nodded her head, not needing to hear him say it, but wanting to know for sure. “Did you make that, Rachel?”

“No, Walter did. It’s one of his specialties,” Rachel said with a chuckle.

“Is it now?” Scully said with a smile and a wink and Skinner shook his head.

“I feel like I’m missing something,” Rachel laughed as Skinner walked over to them again, sighing heavily, shaking his head as he looked at Faith.

“Well, I was happy to see your mama,” he told her and Scully laughed. She looked over at Rachel with a smile and cleared her throat.

“I’m just teasing him because his specialty is actually one of my mother’s recipes. One which I shared with him when your first date didn’t quite go as planned,” Scully explained and Rachel looked at her with wide eyes.

“Is that right?” she asked, turning to look at Skinner. “Hmm. Well, no wonder it was so good. If Mrs. Scully was half as good a cook as she was kind, then it makes sense it was such a good second date.” Scully laughed and nodded, turning to look at Mulder who winked and chuckled.  

Rachel took the salad from the bag and handed the bag to Violet, who went inside to warm it up. At the suggestion to get in the shade, they all walked over to the tables, Bella barking a greeting. Setting down the salad, Rachel walked over to her, saying hello and giving her some pats.

“She’s gotten so big,” Skinner said, looking at Faith with a sigh. “I know we’ve seen her a lot on the phone, but it’s not a true judge of her growth the way it is to see her person.”

“She has,” Scully agreed, smiling at both of them, before looking over at Rachel as she pet Bella.

She was wearing a teal knee-length sundress and cute black wedge sandals. As she stood up, she brushed her hair back and caught Scully’s eye. Her eyes flicked over to Skinner, watching him with Faith. Looking back at Scully, she nodded and Scully grinned as she nodded back, knowing the past few months had been good for them.  

Violet and Denis came out, the last of the food set down on the table. Introductions were made again before they went back in again to get the drinks. Two pitchers of ice water and two bottles of wine were set on the table and everyone looked at each other.

Skinner handed Faith to Mulder and stepped back, standing with Rachel. Scully stood beside Mulder and everyone took off their masks, each of them taking a deep breath.

“Well… it’s nice to really see everyone,” Violet said and they all laughed.

Taking turns, they filled their plates and sat down in family groups, keeping distance between them. Mulder held Fatih as Scully prepared a small plate for her from her own. When it was finished, he began to feed her and they all laughed as they watched her wiggling with happiness as she ate.

There was a lot of laughter. Everyone was glad to be around other people again. Stories were told of arguments from being in close quarters without much of a chance to break up the monotony of the days. Shows were discussed, which ones the others had seen, and which had been favorites.

“We did a puzzle that, I swear to god, had five shades of blue in the sky,” Skinner said, shaking his head and looking at Rachel. She laughed and nodded, crossing her arms on top of the table.

“It was probably the worst… not a fight exactly, but definitely a heated discussion that we have had. I think of myself as a patient person, but those few days… I most assuredly was not,” Rachel said and Skinner scoffed, leaning back and crossing his arms.

“I had all the colors arranged by varying shades and then this guy…” She inclined her head toward Skinner and he cleared his throat with his eyebrows raised. “Yeah… you. He comes into the room and starts trying pieces and not putting them back where he found them.”

“She slapped my hands. Twice,” he said, holding up two fingers and she turned her head to look at him.

“Because apparently once wasn’t enough for you to get it.” She stared at him and everyone laughed. Scully squeezed Mulder’s knee as she watched Skinner and Rachel smiling and silently speaking to one another.

“Wow,” Mulder said quietly, covering her hand with his own. “It is annoying watching people speak without speaking.” He squeezed her hand and she laughed, leaning against him with a happy sigh, Faith beginning to fall asleep on his lap; the warmth of the day causing a flush in her cheeks and making her sleepy.

“I’m happy they’re both happy- especially Skinner. He deserves someone like her,” Scully said, as Violet laughed at something Rachel said. “I’m glad she was the one you found. For you. For him.”

“Hmm,” he hummed. “Your mom found her.”

“What?” She sat up slightly and turned her head to look at him.

“She was here on a Wednesday, like always. It was the day we hung the clothesline out back, actually. She suggested that I should see a therapist and gave me a list of names that people she knew had suggested to her. Rachel was the third person I met with and I liked her almost immediately.”

Scully shook her head, looking at him and then at Faith, whose mouth was open as she slept against Mulder’s shirt. Turning her head, she looked over at Rachel and Skinner. They were laughing and arguing as she reached for his hand and leaned back toward him. As he looked at her and smiled, her hand in his, Scully felt tears prick her eyes at the love she saw between them.

“And here I thought it was just the fettuccine recipe,” she said softly and Mulder laughed.

“I think it’s fair to say it could be both,” he responded, his hand moving to rest on her chair, rubbing her back gently.

“Either way, it was my mom. Working to get us together and unknowingly doing the same for another couple.” She sighed and shook her head. “I wish I could thank her properly for all she did. I miss her so much, Mulder.”

“I know.” He squeezed her neck gently and she turned her head toward him, not wanting her tears to cause any undue sadness to the others. She took a deep breath and bent her head to kiss Faith’s head, breathing in her sun-kissed scent as she calmed down.

“You okay?” Mulder asked softly and she nodded, her cheek resting on Faith’s head as she took another deep breath. He put his hand on her head and stroked her hair.

“Dana?” Violet said and she raised her head, wiping at her eyes. She sat up and gave Violet a shaky smile.

“Yes. I’m sorry. I was just thinking of my mother.” She waved away any other words she may have said and took a deep breath

“No apology is necessary. I understand.” Violet smiled and Scully nodded, wiping at her eyes again. “Who’s ready for dessert?”

“Yes, please,” Mulder said, raising his hand and Violet nodded with a smile, standing along with Denis.

Rachel stood as well, collecting the disposable plates they had used and throwing them in the trash. Scully joined in cleaning up and soon the tables were cleared. Bella had a bowl of scraps, including ham, and she was immensely happy. Faith slept on, resting on Mulder’s chest, his hand stroking up and down her back.

“So, we usually do a cake with blueberries and strawberries like the Stars and Stripes, but this year… well, we thought we’d do something a little different,” Violet said, coming over to the table and setting down a pink, three layered, Jell-O mold. Scully looked at her in shock and then at Mulder, who winked at Violet.

“You planned this?” she asked him and he shrugged.

“What’s a holiday without a dessert that represents the Fourth of July, fireworks, America, God, and love?” She grinned at him and he pumped his eyebrows. “You’ll notice though, that it’s not lemon-lime flavored.” She laughed and nodded, leaning in for a kiss.

“Thank you.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Violet served the dessert, leaving the plates on the table, and they each went over separately to pick them up. Glancing over her shoulder, Scully saw Denis filling the plastic pool for an inquisitive Bella. When it was halfway full, he let her explore it, drinking the water and then tentatively stepping inside.

Once she figured it out, she would run around and then lay down in the pool, panting with happiness. Everyone sat facing her, watching her enjoying herself, as they ate their dessert.

“We definitely need a pool,” Mulder said and Scully agreed with a nod, laughing at the fun Bella was having.

“Of course it wouldn’t be just for Bella for long.”

“No, but it’s just going to get hotter as the summer progresses, and it’s a good idea.”

“So, how's the kitten?” Rachel asked and Mulder mock groaned softly.

“You mean our new baby?” he asked Rachel and she laughed.

“Stop it,” Scully said and shook her head. “It’s not that bad.”

“She wanted to bring her today,” he teased, and she shoved him gently. “Has a leash for her and everything.”

“Stop,” she laughed, shaking her head. “You make me sound like a crazy person.”

“Well…” He shrugged and they all laughed.

Soon, it was time to pack up and head back home. Faith woke up and wanted Skinner to hold her. His smile as he put his mask back on and came to Scully for more hand sanitizer, was one that warmed her heart, proving once again that he would have been a great father.

Skinner walked around with Faith, looking at all the wooden animals in the yard. They all put their masks back on and began to clean up, to get ready to say their goodbyes. Mulder and Denis took the chairs into the garage as Violet filled the basket she brought out earlier with the extra plates, utensils, and cups. Rachel and Scully moved everything to one table and removed the tablecloths.

“I’d like to see you all again. Soon,” Rachel said, when Violet had gone inside. “Maybe we could come to your place, or meet at a park somewhere? Bring some lunch and meet up?”

“I’d like that,” Scully said, touching her upper arm and rubbing softly. “We’d like that.”

“Good.” Rachel sighed and nodded. She looked over at Skinner and she sighed again. “It’s been a long time, but you remember that discussion we had at Christmas?”

“Yeah,” Scully said with a smile, remembering the conversation they had about her and Skinner.

“Well, obviously you know that with the quarantine we’ve been together. That was… different. We went from newly dating to basically living together in less than six months. I’ve never done that. Never lived with anyone that way actually,” she admitted, with a shake of her head. “It was good and bad, but mostly good. It… it really changed me and my view of relationships. The threat of a horrible virus will do that, I suppose.” She laughed and Scully smiled.

”I love him so much. I’m thankful every day for him, despite his crazy jigsaw puzzle ways.” Scully laughed and Rachel joined in.

“Well, I’d say if you two could survive this, you can survive anything.”

“I agree.”

“Hey. You about ready?” Mulder asked and Scully nodded. He touched Rachel’s back and she nodded.

The backpacks were loaded up, Faith was given one last squeeze from Skinner before she was placed in the carrier, and Bella was coerced away from the little pool, before they all said goodbye to Denis and Violet, thanking them for a great day.

“It was our pleasure to have the company,” Violet said, her hands clasped at her chest. “I wish I could give you all a hug.” They smiled at her and Scully rubbed her upper arm.

“One day. Thank you, Violet. We’ll see you soon.”

Gathering their bowls, a container of leftovers, and a large piece of the Jell-O dessert in a separate container, they walked down the driveway with Skinner and Rachel. Stopping at the car, they said goodbye, with a promise of an upcoming visit.

Waiting for them to drive away, they walked home in the late afternoon sunlight, waving goodbye to Denis, Violet, and Jaf. Taking off their masks, they each sighed, happy with the day.

“That was fun,” Mulder said and she nodded. “And to think I would have gone kicking and screaming to a potluck picnic like that in the past.”

“Like a child, you mean,” she teased.

“As if you were some party girl with heaps of friends.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Things change though, like I’ve said before. This girl,” he said, touching Faith’s foot. “She’s changing us for the better, Scully.”

“She is indeed,” she said looking up at Faith with a smile, as they continued home.

Once they walked through the door, they put away the leftovers and everyone went upstairs to bathe and change clothes. Grey, who had apparently slept the entire time they were gone, ran around chasing the tail of Faith’s towel, as she giggled and dragged it down the hallway.

As the sun began to set, and the air cooled a little, they brought their meal of leftovers out onto the porch. Mulder, at Scully’s suggestion, had gone out to the garage earlier to find the small table and chairs they had set up years ago. Finding them, he had rinsed them and left them to dry in the grass before bringing them onto the porch.

“I think my favorite meal we ever ate out here, was the night among the snow aliens,” he said, as he set the food down and Scully smiled.

“It was freezing out.”

“I’d rather have that than this oppressive heat. Phew, it’s hot.”

“But, we’re in the shade and might possibly hear and see some fireworks. All without leaving our home. Can’t get much better than that,” she said with a shrug.

“Plus, we have non-taint flavored Jell-O for dessert.” He waggled his eyebrows and she laughed with a nod.

They sat down and began to eat the pasta salad and ham, with a side of apples and strawberries for Faith. She toddled around with Bella, accepting bites offered to her when she came near, an outside dinner not as structured as an inside one.

“This was a good idea,” Mulder said, and Scully looked at him with a smile.

“Of course it was a good idea. It was mine after all.” He laughed and nodded, giving Faith a small piece of ham before she walked over to the porch swing and touched it gently.

“Yes. You’re a genius, Miss Scully,” he teased and she nodded as she popped a cherry tomato into her mouth.

“No sugar, Sherlock,” she said with a smirk and he laughed and nodded as the first firework was heard.

“Oh!” Faith gasped, turning around and looking at them. “Oh.” She walked over and tried to get into Scully’s lap. She lifted her and sat her down, looking in the direction of the sound of the firework.

Another went off and she gasped again. This time they could see it, but just barely. A flash of green across the evening sky.

“Oh!” she said, as another went shooting up, clapping her hands excitedly.

Scully smiled as she laid her cheek against the top of Faith’s head, her eyes on Mulder. He smiled as he reached across the table for her hand and she grasped it, squeezing gently.

Lifting her head, she took a deep breath as she watched the multicolored sky and listened to the booming echoes they created. Faith leaned her head back against her chest and Scully closed her eyes, as thoughts of past Fourth of July’s filled her mind.

The happy shouts in the air, her mother’s laughter, her father’s warnings to be careful, her first sip of beer when she was thirteen and the way the yeasty taste made her feel warm, writing her name in the air with a sparkler, and the sound of neighborhoods full of fireworks going off simultaneously.

Opening her eyes, she smiled and squeezed Mulder’s hand again. He laced their fingers together and brought her hand to his lips, kissing it softly.

“Next year we’re getting sparklers,” she told him, as another firework boomed and Faith squealed with excitement.

“Sounds like a plan,” he agreed with a smile, squeezing her hand as they looked out across the yard and watched the evening sky light up with a rainbow of colors.

[jaxteller87]

My little empath

I had taken Mary to work with me. I wanted to bring Thomas along too, but he was napping and I knew I wasn’t going to be there for very long. I just had some paperwork to catch up on and then feed the cat that had given birth to three kittens inside the garage.

“Daddy, look,” Mary said excited and pointed at the huge box. A box I was going to throw out, but luckily kept, it was the perfect size for the new mom and her babies. “I see a baby,” she giggled as one of the kittens jumped up the side of the box. “Does mama know you’re hiding cats at work?” Mary asked me curiously with her big eyes looking up at me.

“No, mama doesn’t know,” I chuckled. I was debating whether or not to tell Amber or just take them to the local vet and let them find a forever for them. The cocky part of me wanted to tell Amber, to show her that her animal whispering skills had rubbed off on me over the years.

“Can we take them home daddy, please?” she asked, once again looking up at me with her blue eyes. Those eyes could talk me into doing almost everything.

“Yes sweetheart,” I sighed with a smile, “after I’m done, okay?”

“Oh thank you, daddy!” she hugged my legs before running over to the kittens again while clapping her small hands.

I had a feeling that once Amber had laid her eyes on the cats, especially the mama, she would insist on us keeping them.

 I packed the box safely in the truck before driving home.

“Go tell mama we have a surprise for her,” I whispered to Mary. She looked all excited, like she could barely stay still, and she flew out of the car and up to the house.

“Mama, we got a surprise for you!” I could hear her yell through the house as I took the box out of the car.

Amber came out into the garage, “a surprise, huh?” she asked.

“Come on, baby,” I smiled as she rolled over to me and I sat the box down.

“Oh my word, Jax,” she smiled immediately as she looked down. She eased down on the floor to be closer to them. The mama cat made her way to Amber right away and she petted her head making her purr immediately. It still amazed me how animals always had a way for instantly trusting her with their life.

“You’re safe now sweetheart and so are your babies,” Amber chuckled looking up at me, “the badass biker here and I will take good care of you.”

 Later that night Amber and I were outside once the kids had been laid to bed. We were sharing a joint and having a talk. “I thought she was just fat to begin with,” I laughed, “and then three days later, I went into work and there she was lying with her babies. I’ve been feeding her and giving them water, and they seem to be doing okay.”

“I know this might sound silly Jax, but I’m very proud of you,” she smiled.

 Before going to bed we peaked in the garage, and the little family was sleeping peacefully.

The next morning after doing my routine I found my family in the garage.

“Thomas sweetheart, be gentle,” Amber said as they all sat around the big box. Amber had one of the kittens in her lap and a kid on each side of her.

“Kitty,” Thomas said happily looking up at Amber. He noticed me standing in the doorway, “daddy, kitty!” he said again.

“I see, buddy,” I walked over to them and sat down beside them. The mama cat jumped out of the box and walked over to me. “Good morning,” I chuckled at her as she meowed at me and walked over to Amber.

“Daddy, can we keep all of them?” Mary asked looking at me with those eyes.

“Yeah daddy, can we keep all of them?” Amber repeated and looked at me with almost the same big puppy-dog eyes.

“One of them, maybe,” I said, “and that’s after I take them to the vet to get checked. I might get that done today.”

 They all said goodbye to the cats and I swore to Mary, that they would get new loving and safe homes. After that I took them to the vet, even though it was hard.

 A few weeks later I called the vet to ask how it had went, getting the cats adopted. He told me that the three kittens quickly found new homes, but the mama was still waiting. It was the norm for older pets, it takes them a big longer to get adopted usually.

On my way home from work, I stopped by the vet. As soon as the mama cat saw me, she started purring.

“Hey sweetheart,” I smiled and poked my finger through the cage to pet her.

“Seems like she picked you,” one of the workers smiled at me, “are you going to adopt her?” I recognized her from when I came in with the kittens weeks ago.

“Yeah I think so,” I laughed, “Amber and the kids would be over the moon.”

Years ago when Amber was still in New York, she used to regularly visit an animal shelter close to her home. She took me there one time, and there was a cat named Wallie and his story have been stuck with me ever since. Amber told me his owner gave him up, because he was old. This cat kind of looked like Wallie, which is probably why I have taken a shining to her.

I filled out all the paper work and the vet told me, that for a stray cat, she was in good health.

“I have no doubt that you, Amber and your kids will give this sweet girl a loving home.”

“Thank you,” I smiled and left to go home and surprise my family once again.

 “You didn’t,” Amber said as I walked in the house with the cat carrier.

“I did,” I laughed as I sat the carrier down and carefully opened it.

Like before the cat made her way to Amber straight away, who was sitting on the floor with Hazel.

“Come here sweet girl, welcome to your new forever home,” Amber chuckled gently petting the cat, making her purr.

Just as we thought, the kids jumped of joy when they saw the cat as they got home.

“So all the kittens found a new home?” Mary asked excited.

“Yes they did, love bug,” I stroked her hair.

 Mary wanted to name the cat Buttercup  so we did. The next night when Buttercup saw Amber, she went straight up to her and started purring.

“Hey sweetheart, how are you? Adjusting well I hope,” she smiled. “What?” Amber asked as she noticed me staring.

“It’s just amazing how animals trust you like that instantly.”

Buttercup walked up between us and laid down.

“I’m an empath,” she chuckled, “or I have some of the characteristics, I’m not a full-blown empath, they have psychic abilities.”

“You’re a what?” I asked confused.

“Here, look at this list,” Amber said handing over her phone.

I skimmed over the list, “yeah some of these definitely fit you to a T,” I laughed.

“I know,” she smiled.

“So do you have any other superpowers?” I joked.

“Yeah, I can always tell when someone is lying,” she joked.

“Why haven’t you told me about this before?” “Honestly?” she asked.

“Please,” I kissed her hand.

“I didn’t want you to make fun of me,” she said softly.

“Baby doll, when have I ever made fun of you? Sure I’ve teased you before, but never made fun of you in a malicious way,” I looked her in the eyes.

“It’s not only that,” she shrugged, “a lot of people think this type of stuff is bad juju or that I’m crazy. I’ve just always though astrology and psychic abilities are very interesting, ever since I was little.”

“Well, I learned something new about you today,” I stroked her hair. “But Amber, darlin’, you never have to be scared to tell me anything. I may not understand it at first, but I would never put you down or make you feel bad. So tell me, when did you learn about this empath thing?”

“You really want to know?” she giggled.

“Yes baby, I do,” I gently kissed her forehead.

“When I was a teenager, there was psychic in town, or medium as she would like to be called, and one day I just went for fun. Five minutes in she told me I was an empath or rather that I have some of the characteristics. I didn’t believe it at first, I thought she was crazy. I don’t believe everything I hear right away.”

As Amber told me all of this, I laid beside her and listened carefully. The smile on her face grew bigger and bigger as she spoke, and it made my heart happy to see Amber share something so important to her.

“What?” she laughed at one point.

“Nothing,” I shrugged and ran my fingers over her cheek, “it just makes me happy to see you all excited like that,” I kissed her forehead. “You could’ve told me this a long time ago, and I swear I wouldn’t have made fun of you or called you crazy.

She just shrugged and I leaned in to kiss her on the lips. “My little empath,” I chuckled as we pulled apart. 

[magnolia-penn]

Aizawa.Exe

Just a drabble that ended up being waaaay too long.

Warnings: Swearing, Mentions of sex, Shitty writing

Under the cut cuz it’s long af

Life has never quite gone your way. There would be high moments that came with teaching high schoolers that strove to become heroes but the loneliness was unbearable. Living in Japan away from your family and friends left a hole in your heart that only got deeper after every failed date or hookup.

You had often joked about your high standards with your colleagues at UA, even to the point of openly wishing for a Build Your Own Boyfriend website. Everyone had laughed but continued to reprimand you for having your standards too high.

It was on your walk home that the ad had first caught your attention.

“Are your standards too high?” The smooth female advert cut through your epic jam session. “Well, do we have a solution for you.”

The advertisement had listed off a website that would allow you to custom order an intelligent robot that would learn and grow to your needs.

You blew it off as clickbait and skipped the ad as soon as you could. You finished your walk home and promptly took a shower. A certain ash blond in your heroics class had chased another student into the forest and you had to chase the both of them down.

As you settled into your nightly routine, you found it hard to keep your mind from wandering back to the ad, imagining the sort of man you’d order.

‘He’d have to be at least six feet tall and handsome as the devil. Hmm, punctual and unafraid to sleep until noon with a sense of humor.’

You continued to play with that idea through the evening and into your slumber, dreaming of what he might look like and how he would feel.

The next morning, you were awoken by a very flustered and excited Nemuri, who let herself in again.

“Y/N! Y/N! Y/N! HAVE YOU SEEN THIS!” The R rated hero shoved her phone into your face before you had even opened your eyes to process what was going on.

Her web browser was open to the website you heard about yesterday.

“YOU CAN CUSTOM ORDER A ROBOT BISHIE BOYFRIEND! THEY EVEN HAVE A COLONEL SANDERS!”

“Nem, you’re an absolute horndog and you don’t need a bishie boyfriend Colonel Sanders. What time is it?” You pulled some hair that had stuck you face via drool from your mouth and stretched.

“ITS 5:45 AM!”

“NEMURI WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!”

You wrestled her into your guest bedroom and pushed an old wardrobe infront of the door to keep her in while you finished getting your beauty sleep.

When 7:00 rolled around, you released your friend and listened to her rant about the website over breakfast.

“Just look at it, Y/N. Please~” You swiped her phone from her hand and scrolles through the other tabs that held customization screens.

“Oh lord.” They had an entire tab for just his manhood.

“Pretty great, huh?”

The idea of customizing a boyfriend almost seemed taboo to you.

“It sounds like it could be clickbait or a way to steal your credit card information.” You returned her phone and turned to the stove to flip the egg you were cooking.

“Uh huh. And what if I told its not?” Nemuri pushes her chest against your back.

“Get off me, and how?” You gently pushed her away from you.

“I ordered one. He came last week.” The smirk she gave proved she was not kidding. “He’s absolutely perfect. After classes today, you can come and see him.”

She really did it? Strangely enough, you’re not surprised she did that.

“Wait, what about Snipe?” You thought everything was going smooth between them.

“Well, our relationship just was kind of a blur between dating and friends with benefits. Our sex was more chill and relaxed then it ever was actually passionate.” Nemuri reached into a cabinet and grabbed a plate.

You nodded in understanding. The majority of your dates ended up in friendships then actual relationships.

“And when I heard the ad for the boyfriend builder, he told me to get one. He said, and I quote, ‘You should get him. He’d make a better relationship. But if y'all ever need a real fuck, you know where to find me,’. AND I DID!”

Nemuri danced around with her egg on a plate before she sat down.

“Have you done anything with it yet?” You sat across from her and tilted your head in curiosity.

“Oh yes. We’ve been on dates and Hizashi is the absolute sweetest. I can’t wait to ravage him.”

“Hizashi?” It had a name?

She nodded. “The website has a name generator that you can use. They base their names off of the set personality. It chose Hizashi Yamada.”

“He sounds sweet.”

“Yep! He’s really loud though. They grow with you, so it’s understandable.”

You almost choked on your egg hearing that. “They’re practically sentient?!”

Nemuri nodded and quickly finished her egg. She washed her plate and announced that she had to go get ready for school. You followed her words and proceeded to get dressed. You lay everything out in the evening, so it didn’t take long to get ready. 

As you ran a comb through your hair, you opened the website on your phone. Deciding that there isn’t much to lose, you began to fill the order form out.

Six feet tall, Long Dark Hair, Just Enough Stubble To Be Sexy. The list went on. You managed to fill it out just in time to leave.

The daily trek to UA was as boring as ever, until you heard an strange noise. An animal in distress. Choosing that you’d rather be late to work then leave an animal hurt in the streets, you followed the noise. It lead to deep in an alley not far off your route.

You sifted through some garbage bags until you found the source of the noise. It was a mother cat with two little kittens. They were sickly thin and clearly struggling to survive. 

Evaluating your options, you came to the conclusion that instead of wasting more time to bring them to the vet all the way across town, you used your quirk to convince the mama cat to let you pick her and her babies up and quickly called up Recovery Girl to cash in a favor she owed you.

She agreed to help the cats and keep them in her office until the end of the day so you could take them home. Rushing to her office and then to your class left you breathless and dead on the floor in front of your students.

“Um, Miss. L/n? Are you alright?” Your problem student, Izuku Midoriya, asked.

“DANDY! JUST DANDY!” You yelled through the muffle of your hair and the floor. “I saved three cats from right outside my house, which is a half an hour walk from here, ran here, ran to Recovery Girl’s office, then up two flights of stairs to get here. I’m pooped.”

You got up and brushed yourself off. After apologizing to your class, you read off the daily announcements. You handed out graded papers and assisted students where they needed it until it was time for their first class of the day.

Using your free time, you stopped in to actually chat with Recovery Girl and check on the cats.

“They were malnourished and most likely wouldn’t of survived another day out there. Both kittens are sick but should recover swiftly, and the mom is already up and walking.” She explained.

“Have you figured out their genders?” You planned on keeping them and wished to find names for them as soon as possible.

“Ones a girl and the other is a boy. Are you going to keep them?”

You shook your head yes and squatted down to pet the mama who came up for some love. “I like the name Kayuma for the mother, but I still need some time for the babies. Maybe I’ll ask my class.”

Recovery Girl agreed and wrote some notes on the cats. You picked Kayuma up and pulled your phone from your pocket. You wanted to get a picture with your new cat, but your attention was pulled to a notification that went unnoticed.

Your order has been shipped! The package should arrive by 4pm!

“It’s already been shipped?” You wondered out loud.

“What’s been shipped?” You jumped at the new voice. Toshinori Yagi.

“Ah, some pet supplies for the cats. I ordered some after reading the announcements.” Technically not a lie because you really did.

“Oh! Already thinking about the newest additions to your family, how lovely.” Toshinori put a hand on your shoulder and gave a reassuring squeeze. “If you ever need any help or a cat-sitter, you can always ask me. My master loved cats so I know a thing or two.”

“Thanks for the offer, Tosh. You’ll be the first I call.”

The bell rung signaling the start of lunch and had the three of you scrambling to prepare for the second half of the day.

A few brief meetings and some class prep later, the day had finally ended. You sent out a quick email to your students asking about names for the cats and packed up your stuff, ready to go home and meet your new boyfriend.

“Hey! Y/n! Wait up!” Nemuri bounced up to you and clung to your arm. “Are you going to come over tonight?”

“Um…. No. I have the cats and I have to get everything ready for them.” You rubbed the back of your neck sheepishly, hoping she wouldn’t catch on.

“Uh huh. How about Hizashi and I come by to meet your new boy?” Nemuri placed her hand on her hip knowing full well that you weren’t paying attention to what she said.

“Oh yes, that would be lovely.” It took a bit before you processed what she said. “NEMURI, WAIT! THE CATS! I THOUGHT YOU MEANT THE CATS!”

“NOPE! WE’RE COMING OVER!” Nemuri skipped away before you could get a word in otherwise, leaving you alone and quite exasperated.

You picked up the cats and trekked home, a feat easier said than done with three now energetic cats in your arms. You pushed the door of your house open with your foot. 

Sighing, you let the cats roam for a bit as you set up the litter box and feeders from previous pets. It was almost four and the nerves were getting to you. Watching the new kittens romp around the living room while Kayuma lied on a pillow by the heating vent.

‘I hope my bot likes cats. I want so many.’ You didn’t get much time to think about your new boyfriend due to Nemuri and Hizashi bursting in at exactly four.

“WHERE IS HEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!” Nemuri squealed as soon as she entered the living room.

“Hey! He hasn’t arrived yet. Do you see a large crate?” Hizashi placed a hand on her shoulder to keep her from pouncing on you. “I apologize for her, she’s terribly excited.”

“Oh yeah, I know. She’s literally vibrating with excitement. I don’t think she’s calmed down since high school.” You stood from the couch where you had placed yourself in preparation for her outburst. “My name is Y/n Y/L. Nem sings praises of your name.”

“I’m Hizashi Yamada. She speaks about you quite often.” He extended his hand and you took it.

Your eyes widened at the warmth of his hand. You weren’t expecting him to feel so…

“Real? Is that what you were thinking?” Hizashi’s words startled you from your thoughts. “It’s always that look when people know I’m a robot.”

“I hope I didn’t offend you! I just wasn’t expecting it.”

“Nah, it’s fine. Better to get the shock over with me then with him.” Hizashi pointed to the door a second before a knock resonated through off of the front door. 

You walked to the door and opened it up. A beautiful woman was standing next to a six-foot large wooden crate. She resembled Nemuri.

“Hello! My name is Kiara! Thank you for ordering a Boyfriend! May we come in?” You nodded and open the door wider.

She picked up the crate with a trolley and rolled it into the house. She wheeled it into the living room and stopped in surprise when she saw Nemuri and Hizashi.

“Well, hello! How have you two been faring?” She set the crate down and stepped up to Hizashi. “You’re looking good.”

“We’ve been fine. How about you?” Hizashi responded.

“Oh, you know, delivering joy and boyfriends. My life and passion.” Kiara patted his shoulder and turned back to you. “Hizashi is probably one of my best. I’m so proud he got placed with my amazing cousin.”

Nemuri blushed and buried her face in Hizashi’s neck.

“Do you… Do you make them all?” You looked to the crate and to Hizashi.

“Yep! I hand make all of them! My quirk makes it super easy to finish quickly!” She clapped her hands together and her expression turned serious. “But enough about me. It’s now about you and your future!”

She quickly walked over to the crate and pulled the front off, revealing your new bot.

No, Boyfriend.

He was everything you imagined him to be. He was just right. He was perfect. He was…

NAKED

You quickly moved to throw a blanket over him while Nemuri cackled like a witch.

“Hah! You should’ve seen the look on your face! Oh, I should’ve gotten a picture!”

“YOU NEVER METIONED THAT THEY COME NAKED!”

“i DIDN’T FEEL THE NEED TOO!”

With that exchange, the two pro heroes pounced on each other in fight of friendly anger. With the attention on them, no one noticed the man in the crate open his eyes to the harsh light of the world. 

He looked down and noticed the blanket draped haphazardly across his body before readjusting it around his waist and stepping out of his container. 

A brief glance around with apathetic eyes shown that the room he was in was loud and obnoxious. Two people stood idly by as another two women fought on the floor. He padded up to the group undetected and observed the others in the room. With every attempt to tear his attention away from your form, the pull to you was overpowering.

Everything about you was mesmerizing. From your H/c hair to the gentle pull of your clothing around your curves. He was enthralled, absolutely enchanted.

“What the fuck is going on here. You two are squealing like pigs in the slaughter.” His mouth moved on its own, bringing the attention to him.

The look in our eyes is something that he’ll treasure forever. It was sweet and full of excitement and love. How he knew this, the answer never came to him, but he knew it was love and all he wanted was to see that look on your face forever.

“Oh! He’s awake! How are you feeling?” The woman in the business suit asked.

“Tired.” As much as he tried, he could not pry his eyes away from you. “Yet, I feel so full of energy.”

The only other male nodded. “Yep. When I first woke up, I felt like that.”

He cast his gaze to the male for as long as he could before his eyes trailed back to you. He smirked and took a step closer to you.

“Are you like us?”

You shook your head ‘no’, “Sadly, I am not. But I promise to love you like we are the same.”

“What’s his name?” The bluette asked suddenly. “Didja get one picked out from the site or did you have one in mind?”

With their eyes on you, it hit you like a truck when you realized that not only did you not have a name picked out for him, you forgot to click the enabler for the name generator.

“Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit,”  you dragged out. “I was so busy with classes and the cats that I forgot. Ughhhhhhhhhhhhh. I’m a shitty girlfriend.”

“Cats?” He asked.

“Yeah. Three cats. They’re around here somewhere.” You flopped dramatically onto your couch and buried your face in your arms.

“Well, we could help. I made him and I know Hizashi’s creative. Not too sure about Midnight though.” Kiara suggested.

“Thanks Kiara. Nem, don’t take any offense to that. She doesn’t know you the way I do.” You peeked at your friends through your hair and noticed that your boyfriend has disappeared. Probably to find the cats.

“She’s right though.” Hizashi snickered.

Nemuri tackled him to the ground and all you could do was watch while they wrestled on the ground.

Suddenly, a knock at the door made you all jump.

“Shit, who is that?” You cursed before standing to get to the door when you heard it open.

A faint, “Um, hello sir. Is Y/n home?” was heard and then some shuffling. Toshinori.

“You’re fucked.” Nemuri said from the floor.

“Yeah, no shit.”

Not a second later, Toshinori followed him into the room where you all were. Thankfully he had found some clothes.

“Hey, Tosh~” You tried to say as casual as you could. “What brings you to this part of town?”

“Y/n, I live down the street from you and you left your papers back at U.A.” Toshinori held up the stack of paper you were certain you grabbed. “And I think you might have mine.”

“Oh yep! Probably. I was so frazzled and excited about the cats I must’ve grabbed the wrong stack. Here, come with me. They’re still in my bag.” You lead Toshinori into the hall where your bag was.

“The cats or him?” He asked and you choked on air. 

“W-wait. You’ve got the wrong idea.”

“Uh huh. And what of that giant crate in your living room? It looks suspiciously like the one Nemuri threw out when she met her boyfriend.” He cocked an eyebrow at you. 

“Ugh. You’re a dumbass but you’re too smart.” You looked around despite the fact everyone in the house already knew. “He’s a bot I ordered.”

“Do you like him?” He asked.

“Huh? I’m not sure.” You pulled your bag off of the hook and started rifling through it. “I’m definitely attracted to him, but feelings will take time.” 

“Yet I can see the empathy in your eyes. There is some infatuation there.” 

“LEAVE ME ALONE! STOP BEING SMART!” You found the papers and checked to see if they were his. “Here. Do you want to meet him? I was going to have everyone stay for dinner to get to know each other.”

Toshinori nodded and quickly tucked his papers in his bag.

You walked back into the living room and the sight made your heart swell. All three of the cats had curled up on his lap while he sat on the couch between Kiara and Hizashi as Nemuri brushed his hair. They were quietly chatting about the cats that paused when we came in.

“Didja get it all figured out?” Nemuri asked.

“Yep. And you’re all staying for dinner. No questions.” You crossed your arms. “And we have a big problem. His name.”

“Oh. We handled that already.” Hizashi said. “Nem emailed your class asking about real names for the cats and then we gathered the responses and let him choose.”

“And?”

“Shota Aizawa.”

That name sent fuzzy feelings through you. It sounded perfect to you.

“Shota Aizawa.” You repeated. It rolled off the tongue beautifully.

“That’s my name. Don’t wear it out. I just got it.” Shota quipped.

Nemuri coughed to hide a laugh and spit out her two-cents, “She’ll definitely be wearing it out tonight.”

You chucked a decorative pillow at her and went for the tackle.

As the two of you wrestled on the floor and the other three attempted to pry you two apart, Shota couldn’t help but to smile at the new family he was gifted.

[sevdrag]

How come you have so many cats by the way? We've had two for a couple years now and they've only recently started being absolutely exhausting... but now they've stopped getting along so I really wonder how you manage to keep the peace in your house. Especially since I think your cats don't go outside? Did I remember that right? Anyway have a great day!

I have 5 cats because I am a crazy cat lady.

There is actually a story that applies here, so let me tell you how I got all of my kids.

Rydia was my first cat. I adopted her in 2004, coming back from my year off of college working in Delaware, because all my class friends had graduated and I knew I was gonna be lonely. Got her through an adoption agency, fairly normal story.

Some time in 2008 or 2009, my then-partner J and I had been talking about getting another cat. Turns out his sister’s boyfriend’s sister(‘s friend? I’ve forgotten now) had been chosen by a cat to have a litter. In their backyard. There were two girls who had homes but they were looking for a place for the two boys. We went up there thinking we’d pick one, but. A few weeks later we came home with both boys. Porter was just so stunning-looking, and Marzy had the best personality ever — we couldn’t choose.

When we broke up I got them in the divorce, having been strictly *told* that they were my cats and I was responsible for their upkeep and maintenance and costs and cleaning and etc.

During this time I successfully fostered and rehomed over a dozen cats, working by myself (with no agency). I saved two strays found in the neighborhood that I still see, and multiple families I took in came by other lovely homes.

Marzy was diagnosed with a very serious heart murmur young in his life, and in March of 2017, I lost him.

Soon after, in the cloud of depression I was fighting through adding my heart-cat’s death onto the four years I’d worked in an incredibly abusive environment, I was moved out of that environment and into a new role. This took away the only source of satisfaction I had in my life, which was feeling competent and successful in that role no matter how hard I was, and left me as a mess.

Cue some time around May, where my friends Kas and Liz found a litter of kittens under a friend’s porch. I agreed to foster them, and they drove Mama and four kittens up to my house from CBus; we spent a weekend playing with them, and after that, I was in love.

I can say with confidence that these were the best kittens I’d ever fostered. So sweet, so playful, so snuggly. I fell in love with every single one, but I knew I couldn’t keep 7 cats in a household and expect any peace. Initially, I hoped to adopt them out in pairs (kittens do better in pairs) and maybe keep Mama as a new cat.

...It turned out that we were so in love with the family in general that K&L took Noctis and Prompto back to their home in CBus, and Mama Rosa, Iggy, and Potato stayed with me. It was the worst/best foster fail of my life.

So I didn’t set out intending to have 5 cats, but they all found me, and even though I still miss Marzy every day, I can’t even imagine a house where I don’t have them.

[themoonandotherslikeit]

The Daughter of a Righteous Man- Chapter 28

*SEQUEL TO THE LOOK IN HER EYES*

After her husband is drug to Hell, Ava Winchester and her brother in law Sam try their best to do right by Dean and raise her daughter, only to find that good intentions aren’t always enough. Loving someone isnt always enough.

Chapter Twenty-Eight, When the World Burns

Dean

About 3 years later

"You really think that an underground bunker is a good place to raise a kid?" I asked, holding Nel in my arms as she pulled on my ears. She was bored. People say it's the terrible twos, fuck no. Try the terrible every year. Maybe it was because she was a Winchester kid, but she got bored running in circles. She’s got that stir crazy gene.

"I don't know where could possibly be safer than this," Sam said, with his arms crossed.

"It is greatly warded," Castiel agreed. "You had to remove a lot just to let me in."

"Yeah, but I want her to have a normal life."

"I don't know if we can while we're still in the life," Sam said gently. "You ready to give up hunting?"

"If there are," I glanced at Nel. "M-O-N-S-T-E-R-S out there I'll be in the life. Gotta make the world safer for my princess." I bounced her in my arms and she fell into a laughing fit. "Want to check it out, monkey?" I asked her.

"I no monkey,” she complained, patting my shoulder to instruct me to let her down.

I nodded. "Of course." I sat her down and her chubby legs pattered around the kitchen of the bunker. "It's going to be a bitch baby proofing this place."

"Bitch bitch bitch," Nel sang.

"Crap," I sighed. I needed to be better.

Those were the moments I missed Ava the most. When I felt like a failure. She would never make those simple mistakes. If she was here, Nel's first word would've been mama like it was supposed to be, instead of glock. How'd I fuck up so bad?

"Dabby,” she said, tugging on my pant leg. "Up."

I smiled at her and picked her up. I pressed a kiss to her nose. "What do you think?"

"I love it,” she said as clear as day, her blue green eyes glowing.

"You heard it, boys. Unpack. We will figure out how to make it normal for her after we get some pizza."

"Pizza pizza!" Nel sang, kicking her legs.

Every night Nel slept in the crook of my arm, her little face against the curve of my neck. I could feel her warm breath on my throat. She would wake up every few hours to place sweet kisses on my skin, and I'd pull her even closer.

Our life wasn't logical. The Impala was never meant for a car seat, but somehow I found Baby a lot sexier knowing my girl was protected. We'd lived in the bunker for a few weeks and gotten Nel into day care. It was particularly difficult, but considering that Cas had his wings, it was pretty easy for him to poof and pick her up at closing time.

I was pretty confident that the women thought we were an item, but I didn't really care. My days of women ended when Ava died. I was a father, a brother, a hunter, and a friend. That was it. I only had room for one girl in my life, and she was more than a handful.

Ella

About Sixteen years later

"What the fuck is that?" Dad asked, looking up from his beer. His eyes landed on the purring lump in my arms. His eyes are wide and his eyebrows raised. He kept blinking as if he expected her to disappear at a moments notice.

"Her name is Clementine," I said flatly, holding the hairless kitten in my arms.

"I said what is that. Not who."

"She is a Spynx, Dad."

"Who let you... why do you...?"

Jack walked into the room lazily, probably to get a glass of chocolate milk, or to make sure the ice cube trays are full. He's always very concerned about that. "Dean! I see you have met Clementine."

"Are you a part of this?" Dad asked Jack, standing up from his seated position.

Jack smiled widely, looking insanely proud of himself. "We cannot have a cat because you are allergic, but I read that you won't be affected by Clementine, and Ellie has been so sad lately. I thought she could use a friend."

Dads expression softened a bit, and he pinched the bridge of his nose. "So you got her a hairless cat."

"Yup," I said blankly, scratching under her chin. Clem grabbed my hand in her paw and licked my palm. "But you won't be around much longer, so what do you care?"

Castiel came from his room, bursting into the kitchen with a large, toothy grin. "Good news."

"Found a lead?" Dad asked desperately, clasping his hands together.

"No, but I did learn how to knit a sweater for Clementine,” Cas said, holding up the roughly knitted purple sweater. There weren't enough holes for all her limbs, but it was the thought that counts.

"Aww, Cas! Thanks. Do you love it, Clem?" I asked her, as Castiel brought over the sweater for her to sniff.

"It looks like a raw chicken. Why does it need a sweater?" Dad complained. "Am I being punked? Is Sammy in on it too?"

"Who do you think picked the name?" I countered, eyeing him.

"The fuck is happening?"

"Jack wants me to be happy. You know, that's what family does." I blinked at him blankly. I knew just how to get on his bad side, so when Jack pressed on what I wanted for my birthday I planted the seeds for a cat.

Nothing could've prepared me for him bringing home Clementine, though. Her big blue eyes and loud purr were growing on me.

"I get that you're mad but this. Eleanor this is just now how we do things. You can't just bring animals into the bunker."

"My other two dads said it was fine. You did say they'd be taking over the parenting when you were in the middle of the ocean, right?"

Cas lowered the sweater he knitted sadly. I was being cruel, I recognized that, but obviously crying didn't work. I needed to make my way down the list of ways to guilt him.

"Can I talk to you in private?" Dad asked, low.

"I supposed. Jackie want to take Clementine?"

"Do I?" He grinned widely, opening his arms. I lifted Clem into his arms and she nuzzled him. "Hello, Clementine. I am your brother, Jack. You are a cat, and I'm half angel, but we are both Winchesters! Family is very important here..." He started rattling off as Cas lead him out of the room.

Dad crossed his arms. "What's this about, kid?"

"You really have to ask that?"

"You don't throw fits."

"Trying something new."

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Michael must've been yelling again. Suddenly I felt guilty. He was trying to do what was right, like what he always did.

"No one said having a teenager would be easy, but fuck you're making it hard right now."

"Well being your daughter isn't exactly easy either, Dean."

His eyes narrowed. "Come on, kid."

"What? You can use my name and I can't use yours? You can demote yourself to less than Cas and Sam and then you're mad when I use your name? I use theirs."

"That isn't the point! El you know why I'm doing this. It isn't all about you! Stop being selfish."

"Selfish?" I bit my lip hard to stop myself from screaming. Blood pooled in my mouth, before I swallowed hard. "That's fucking rich."

We were in a stare off, which stubborn Winchester would bend first. He had years on me, but I had a rage inside of me that was untapped until this point.

"I don't deserve you to talk to me that way."

"I don't deserve to lose another parent," I said blinking away angry tears. "Why does it always have to be us?"

I slept in the bed with him until I was thirteen. He wasn't home that often then, and I used to wake up screaming, afraid that I would lose him, that he wouldn't come home. So when he was here I was attached to him like glue. I slept right next to him, checking on him every few hours to make sure he was still breathing. He was so much more than a father to me. He was my fucking world. My best friend. I turned away from him.

"El,” he whispered touching my shoulder.

"You've made up your mind. I get it, but I do not have to be happy about it. I do not have to accept it. You're just going to have to get used to it," I said, shrugging him off. I held my breath to keep my sobs at bay as I stormed out of the kitchen, and outside into the afternoon air.

Dean

Present

"Dean," Castiel said, standing next to Ava and my bed.

"The fuck, Cas?"

"We need to talk."

"I'm kind of busy," I said, gesturing to my sleeping wife."

"It's important."

"Fine," I said standing up. I felt weird and I looked down at Ava. She hadn't moved an inch. "What's happening?"

"You're dreaming."

"Right," I sighed. "You just invading my head now?"

"I have a message from heaven."

"What's that?" I crossed my arms.

"Lilith is on the last seal. The one that only the first demon can break. You have to stop her, Dean. You are our only hope. Kill Lilith, or Satan will rise."

"And what about Sam? Is he really the answer?"

"Consuming the amount of blood it would take to kill Lilith would change your brother forever. Most likely, he would become the next creature that you would feel compelled to kill. There's no reason this would have to come to pass, Dean," Cas said gently. "We believe it's you, Dean, not your brother. The only question for us is whether you're willing to accept it. Stand up and accept your role. You are the one who will stop it."

I looked back at Ava. She'd be fucking pissed, but it was Sam. It's always Sam. "If I do this, Sammy doesn't have to?"

"If it gives you comfort to see it that way."

"God, you're a dick these days." I shook my head.

I stared at Cas. Something felt off, but maybe it was Sammy in the hole and the fact that I was dreaming. The morning wood I was sporting, also didn't help.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. "Fine, I'm in."

"You give yourself over wholly to the service of God and his angels?"

I shrug. "Yeah, exactly."

"Say it."

I raised an eyebrow. "I give myself over wholly to serve God and you guys."

"You swear to follow his will and his word as swiftly and obediently as you did your own father's?" It weirdly felt like a cult marriage ceremony, but I shrugged again and answered.

"Yes, I swear. Now what?"

"Now you wait, and we call on you when it's time." He looked at me seriously. "You are heavens only hope. We will call on you soon, and you must come."

"Yeah, whatever man. If it stops the world from burning up I'm in, but you know humans do need sleep," I complained as Cas disappeared in front of me in a snap.

I blinked my eyes. My phone was going off on the bedside table. I rubbed my eyes and answered it, feeling Ava stir at my side.

"Dean!" Bobby said urgently. "Shit, son, he's gone."

"What?"

"Sam escaped."

"Escaped?" I shot right up in bed.

Ava looked at me, her eyes wide.

"How the fuck did he do that?"

"Bunch of broken devils traps. Fuck," Bobby grumbled.

"Ruby," I groaned. "How'd she even get through the door?"

"Maybe she's got mojo?"

"Well, I hope it's Ruby."

"Why?"

"She's next on my kill list. I'll be over soon," I hissed, hanging up the phone.

"Sam?" Ava asked weakly.

"Yup. Guess his dealer busted him out of the demon-proof slammer. Pretty annoying."

"You think you can find him?"

"I know that kid better than anyone. I can find him," I sighed. "Cas came to me when I was sleeping, Ave. They're on the last seal. We have to kill Lilith. It's now or never." I took her hand. "Cas said I'm the key. Sammy doesn't have to take down Lilith, and the apocalypse. Heaven thinks I can do it."

"You believe them?"

I met her eyes. "I don't think I have any other choice."

Ava squeezed my hand. "In that case, I'll put on my good bra." She smiled at me, trying to calm me down, but all it did was make my stomach hurt.

Shit was about to burn, and I wasn't sure if we had our fire extinguisher close.

We went back to Bobby's after thanking Lacey for the millionth time for watching Nel. I was starting to think we owed her a vacation, or at least a really expensive scotch.

"Two cars reported stolen since Sams big escape," Ava said, leaned over her laptop. Perks of being married to a detective. Even though I wasn't sure how she still had a job. "Old Gold Mercury Sable, 1994, or a white Escalade only a few years old with custom rims. It's got a spot light on it for sure."

"Sam would never take that," Bobby said.

I stood up with a grin. "And that's exactly what he did. He doesn't want to be found, so it's Opposite Day."

"Looks like the last ping of a cell tower was here," Ava said pointing to the map. "Now the phone is disconnected."

"Well that's a start," I sighed. "He's gonna be at a nice place. Flashy. You start callin hotels around there." I pulled out a pen and scribbled down some names. "Here's Sams aliases. Ask for anyone in the honeymoon suite. Trust me."

"You got it," Ava said with a nod. She pulled out her phone and stared to dial the first number on the list, and I walked to the counter for a coffee. The nights and days were blending together. It was getting hard to tell the difference. I had no clue what day it was.

Bobby walked to me and picked up his flask. "So correct me if I'm wrong, but you willingly signed up to be the angels' bitch?"

I glanced at Ava then back to Bobby. "My wife sell me out?"

"She's worried bout ya, kid. After everything you said about them, now you trust them?"

I sighed and took the flask from Bobby taking a swig. "Come on, give me a little credit, Bobby. I've never trusted them less. I mean, they come on like shady politicians from planet Vulcan."

"Then why in the hell did you..." He hissed.

"Because what other option do I have? It's either trust the angels or let Sammy trust a demon?"

He sighed. "I see your point."

"I think I found him." Ava looked up at us. She turned the laptop to us and she pointed to the reservation.

"Yahtzee. Good job, babe. Guess we are headed out."

"Son," Bobby said, taking my shoulder in his hand. "Just remember, you're there to bring him home. Be gentle with him."

"Yeah, Bobby we know," I said weakly.

Ava took my hand and we headed out to the Impala.

Ava sat crisscrossed in the passenger seat next to me. "You're worried," I commented, eyeing her. "You don't think I should work with Cas?"

"I don't know what I think,” she admitted. "I'm just worried. I feel like you're going to disappear, fall through my fingers. I just got you back."

I reached toward her, and put my hand on the back of her neck. I squeezed gently. "You cut your hair. Sorry I never mentioned."

"I just didn't feel like me anymore. I looked in the mirror... my body was misshapen, and my heart was broken. I needed a change."

"There's nothing misshapen about you, Ave. You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. Yeah you look different, but there's nothing sexier to me than knowing that you brought my daughter into the world."

She smiled at me and snuggled closer, unsnapping her seatbelt. She rested her head on my shoulder. "We deserve a vacation after this. Just the three of us."

"I second that," I said, kissing her forehead. "Once this is all over we can finally rest."

I hoped with everything in me that I wasn't lying to her as I focused my gaze back up to the road ahead of us. The road to the fucking end of the world.

—————

Chapter Twenty-Nine, The Moon Who Will Save the World

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[antiquatcd]

you won’t believe who i just saw walking down main street! JESSICA PARKER KENNEDY! what do you mean that’s just LEAH “LEE” MCCOY ? who is SHE? a 32-year-old MECHANIC…interesting. and the CISFEMALE is + INVENTIVE & + PERSISTENT, but i should watch out for when they are - ABRASIVE & - EASILY-RILED? will do.

y’all already know it’s guppy, but finn is being put aside for the time being because i have lost my muse for him. it sucks, and i already miss him, but i know that if i take a break i’ll be back to writing him soon. but, for now, i have lee here. she’s super spunky, sweet, and i hope you’ll like her as much as finn. keep reading to learn more about her!

BIOGRAPHY ( IF YOU’RE NOT INTO SPARKNOTES )

regina george, “big red,” taylor vaughan, alison dilaurentis, chris hargensen, and so many other head bitches in charge give teens in their fictional universes nightmares. they inflict pain wherever they go, from the mental gymnastics they pull or physical pranks that go way too far. their little black books are full of secrets that could ruin you with a single text message. you might even fear them becoming real, and for a few cape hazeliens she manifested as leah mccoy.

the queen bee in stilettos was always leah mccoy. her presence in a room caused a halting silence, her voice could command a crowd, and the snap of her fingers could summon simple items. she was fierce and ruthless, even a bit careless when it came to her use of power. even if she wasn’t the richest kid in the cape hazel area, leah went through middle school and high school putting wannabes in places of power, and crushing those who tried to take her place.

prom princess junior year, president of three service clubs, assistant to the principal. it seemed there was nothing in school leah couldn’t do. outside of school, her work with the local parks committee to clean up the cape hazel wilderness granted her over a thousand hours of community service (okay, so maybe she had someone else do the work for her while she texted her boyfriends, but that was just a small detail).

she had a yearbook superlative almost every year: most likely to take over the world. most likely to find out they’re the princess of a small monarchy. most likely to reach the stars.

all lies, the yearbook committee was pressured into writing these titles by her and her groupies.

real friends? who needs them? certainly not someone like leah, who had enough ambition to replace any other want or need for human connection. even when her parents tried to reach out, she ignored them thinking they were just another obstacle in her way. of course she loved them, but she didn’t have to like them. they took care of her, and she was sure that she would be able to pay them back for room and board later in her life.

( DEATH TW )

that “later” never came, or at least she was too late to fulfill what she thought was filial duty.

in her senior year, right in the prime of her rule, her father suffered a stroke. spending nights in the hospital after his brain hemorrhaged left her too tired to maintain her queendom at school. her mother was tired, too, tired of her daughter acting like their little family didn’t exist.

suddenly leah became a proponent in the household, taking up a part-time just to keep them afloat while hospital bills came rolling in. on days when she would return to school, her “friends” would ask where she’d been and the lies would come tumbling forth from her lips. anything to hold onto that last bit of control she had.

there looked like there was no hope for her father. together, her and her mother watched him slip away as the doctors unhooked all the machinery. leah hadn’t ever cried before, or she didn’t remember crying. but, for the first time, she felt tears rush down her cheeks.

maybe she needed to cry before she could feel anything else but that rage and ambition burning through her soul. after that wave of tears washed through her, she felt something else. something more.

( END OF TW )

graduation had come around, and she’d stopped wearing the heels that were once a staple in her wardrobe. she’d stopped going to the salon every few weeks to touch up her perfect locks. mainly, she’d stopped squeezing the last bit of power she had, letting it trickle through her fingers. she walked across the stage with the rest of her peers, but the name “leah mccoy” no longer struck fear into the other students’ hearts. now she was just another name on the roster, another kid going somewhere, anywhere after high school.

who was leah mccoy? she didn’t know anymore, but her mother did. her mother still saw a girl with ambition and a future, even if leah couldn’t see it herself.

leah doesn’t even remember why she chose trade school. senior year was so hard, maybe trade schools were the only ones that accepted her. whatever the case, she moved down to bangor, maine to attend the eastern maine community college with her major in automotive technology. her dad had always asked her to help him in the garage, but she never listened. now, she felt like she owed it to him to try.

in a few years, she’d moved back to cape hazel ready to embark on a new chapter in her life. forget leah, “lee” had a better ring to it. forget high school, she was past all of that. all she wanted was a quiet life working with cars.

QUICK FACTS ( FOR ALL MY SPARKNOTES FANS )

she used to be the head bitch in charge, and if anyone brings that up she gets real embarrassed.

looks young for her age, so a lot of people underestimate her to be honest. (sidenote: i found out jessica kennedy parker is 34 and lost my mind)

her favorite food is vanilla cake with lots of frosting (okay, so maybe that isn’t a true food, but she thinks it’s delicious)

a whiz with cars. she can usually figure out what the issue is if you just describe it. she didn’t think she’d ever be this into mechanics, but look at her now.

lives with her mama (she rents the basement, it’s like her own little apartment).

loves jean jackets and chokers! she can’t believe that in high school all she wore were those ugly juicy couture outfits and kitten heels with pleated skirts.

call her leah and be prepared to get elbowed in the throat. she hates her full name, now she just goes by lee.

big time gay. if you’ve ever seen haunting of hill house she is kinda like theo crain tbh, like goes to the underground to schmooze cute tourists. she’s got commitment issues, though.

doesn’t like apologizing, it’s hard to get the words sorry out.

hates the following: most savory foods, the color orange, reading, when people use their “parent voice,” and her mother’s greenbean casserole.

loves cape hazel a lot and never plans on moving. she’s only been out of the state twice, and that was to go to massachusetts to visit a cousin or someone in the family (she doesn’t remember, and she never saw them again).

[ashtheshortstack]

Under the Tree

Hey @shelly808! I’m your Secret Santa for the @mlsecretsanta exchange! You asked for some Adrinette and Ladynoir fluff, so I did my best! Happy Holidays!

Chat Noir sat under the dark sky, clad in his leather ensemble, on the roof on Notre Dame. Occasionally, he waved at the fans passing by who called up to him. The patrons must have had amazing eyesight to see him as he had purposely hidden himself in the shadows of the brightly illuminated lights. He was bundled with extra mittens over his clawed gloves, Marinette’s scarf she had knitted him was wound around his neck, and she had also woven him a hat that allowed his cat ears to poke out through the holes. Chat watched his puffs of breath float upward as he exhaled in the chill air. The night was entirely calm.

Until a pair of feet landing next to him almost sent him out of his skin. Huffing, he crossed his arms and gazed up at his superhero partner. “Geez, Mari, send me to an early grave, why don’t you?”

His girlfriend shrugged with a smile, tugging at her own scarf to secure it better around her neck. “It’s not my fault that kitties are easily frightened.”

“Furrightened, you mean.”

Ladybug flopped down next to him with a flat stare. “Adrien.”

“My lady~” he chimed, battling his eyes underneath his mask. Her expression didn’t budge, and he sighed. “Nothing? Fine. How did you find me?”

Holding up her yo-yo, she showed him his location blinking on the map. “Alya told me that a few people had reported a Chat Noir sighting at Notre Dame,” she informed him. Bumping him slightly with her shoulder, she smiled. “She suggested that I go see what my boyfriend was moping about now.”

Chat chuckled at that. “I guess I can’t really sneak around at all now that Alya knows about us, huh?”

“Oh, Kitty… You think she wasn’t on your case before she found out? You signed up for Alya when you started dating me.”

He shook his head. “Actually, Nino inadvertently signed me up for Alya when he started dating her.”

Ladybug laughed at that. Scooching closer, she wound an arm around his shoulder. Chat had other plans when basically just pulled her into his lap, placing her legs comfortably over his own and hugging his arms around her back. Ladybug smiled as she moved both arms around his neck. “So, what’s my kitty doing out here?”

Chat let out a groan before nuzzling into her shoulder. “Do we have to talk about it?”

“Something tells me this has to do with your father…” she said carefully as she stroked a hand up his back.

He nodded against her skin before pressing a small kiss to her neck. “It does. Which is why I would rather cuddle than talk about it.”

“Adrien…” Ladybug placed a peck by his ear. “You need to vent. Don’t bottle stuff up. If not then Tikki has to face Plagg’s wrath after you snap at him,” she ran her thumb across his cheek to cup under his chin, lifting his head so she could meet his eyes. “Talk to me, kitten. You trust me, don’t you?”

Sighing, Chat nodded. “Of course, I do.”

“So spill. What did he do this time?”

“He’s leaving… He’s decided to take a job organizing a shoot in Milan on Christmas,” Chat murmured, visibly deflating as he spoke.

Eyes widening, Ladybug squeezed his shoulders. “He’s leaving you here alone on Christmas?”

Chat nodded, glancing down at his lap. “Yeah. He’s leaving tomorrow and just sprung this on me. I don’t get it,” his eyes watered as he gazed back up at his girlfriend to meet her eyes. “Why am I not enough for him to stay here? Is his job that much more important than me?”

Ladybug’s brows furrowed sympathetically under her mask. She tugged him closer, hugging his head to her chest as she heard him sniffle. “Oh, Adrien… I’m so sorry.”

His breath hitched as tears escaped and cascaded down his cheeks. “I should be used to this by now. He’s left on Christmas before, but not since Mom has been gone…”

Tucking two fingers under his chin, she returned his gaze to her face. Smiling, she shook her head. “You shouldn’t have to go through this, Adrien. You’re not going to spend Christmas alone because you’re coming to stay with me.”

Blinking, Adrien’s face went blank. “What?”

“You’re coming to stay with me after your dad leaves tomorrow. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. You’re spending Christmas with me and my parents. You deserve to be with a family on Christmas, not alone with your servants at home.”

“Marinette… I can’t ask you to disrupt your Christmas for me.”

Ladybug scoffed at him, mouth agape at his words. “What? ‘Disrupt?’ Don’t be silly! My parents would love to have you over for Christmas, Adrien, you know that.”

“Yeah, but…”

Hushing him, she pressed a finger to his lips. “I said ‘no buts.’ Don’t try to argue, you know I’ll win in the end,” she teased with a boop to his nose. Leaning forward, she pressed a comforting kiss to his lips. He melted against her, letting her hold him. “I’ll see you tomorrow evening, okay? I have to go talk to my parents about this.”

Nodding, Chat still seemed shaken, but accepted it nonetheless. “Okay. I’ll talk to Nathalie as well.”

Adrien learned that Sabine Cheng was apparently a very persuasive woman when needed be. Normally, his father probably would have never agreed to let him stay at Marinette’s house for one night, let alone almost a week while he was away, but after a phone call with Sabine, his father’s tune changed rather quickly.

Nathalie cancelled all of his lessons that were still supposed to take place during his holiday break. She seemed rather supportive of the idea that he was staying with his girlfriend for the week instead of being at home under her watch. He assumed she was probably glad that she didn’t have to basically babysit him.

The Gorilla drove up in front of the Dupain-Chengs home, Marinette and Tom waited outside the door of the bakery. Adrien couldn’t help but think about how adorable she looked dressed in her winter attire. When the limo parked, she bounced on her toes and waved excitedly at him. God, she was so cute. Smiling, he opened the door and grabbed his luggage out of the seat beside him. Marinette went to grab the bag from him, but Adrien shook his head. “No, no. I’m carrying my own bag.”

She pouted, crossing her arms. “But, you’re my guest.”

Holding his head up high, Adrien grinned. “I’m also your boyfriend, and Mama Agreste didn’t raise this boy to make a lady carry anything, especially if it doesn’t belong to her.”

Marinette laughed and rolled her eyes affectionately. “Okay, Mister Suave, I wouldn’t want you to disobey your mother’s gentleman training.”

Snorting, he pulled the bag over his shoulder. “More like pounded it into my brain, but I guess the word ‘training’ works too.” Covering her mouth to stifle another giggle, Marinette followed Adrien inside the bakery. When they reached the living room, he glanced back at her with a questioning gaze. “So, where do I put my bag?”

She cocked a brow and pointed to the stairs. “My room?”

Gaping, he stared at her. “What? Your parents are letting me sleep in your room?”

She nodded. “Yeah, they trust us,” she smiled as she reached forward to push him on the nose. “So, no funny business from you, sir.”

Adrien shook his head with a bow. “Of course, my lady. A gentleman never does such a thing.”

Laughing, Marinette smirked. “I’m sure you don’t.”

Adrien awoke the next morning on the chaise in Marinette’s room. Sitting up, he saw that his lady was no longer on her bed across the room. He pushed the blanket off his lap and headed for the trap door that lead into Marinette’s room. Quietly, he decided the stairs, not wanting to disturb anyone.

However, much to his surprise he found Marinette sitting right in front of the Christmas tree, curled up with a blanket wrapped over her shoulders and a steaming mug held tightly in her hand as she seemed to admire the brightly lit tree. Adrien smiled and made his way over to her. She must have heard him coming as she turned around to look up at him. Seeing him made her eyes light up, causing his own stomach to flip with emotion.

“Hey… Merry Christmas morning,” she chimed.

He let out a chuckle before sitting down next to her. “Merry Christmas morning to you too. Did you sleep well?”

She nodding, her cheeks pinking slightly. “Yeah. Honestly, I felt the safest I ever had with you in the room with me.”

Adrien grinned and nudged her lightly with his elbow. “Imagine how safe you’ll feel when I sleep in the bed with you,” he teased as he leaned in close and waggled his brows.

“Oh, hush, you tomcat,” she giggled as she pushed his nose back.

The pair fell into a silence for a moment as Marinette leaned her head onto his shoulder. Adrien couldn’t resist burying his face into her rave locks. He reached up and twirled a few strands between his fingers as she left out a sigh of contentment. Suddenly, she beamed and shot away from him and crawled beneath the tree.

“My lady?” he asked with a tilt of his head.

She scooted back towards him, a present in hand. “Here.”

“A present? Aren’t we supposed to wait until later to open those?” he asked in confusion.

Marinette gave a shake of her head. “No, I actually wanted you to open this one last night, but I forgot. So, this can be an early morning present.”

Smiling, he nodded and took the gift out of her hands. He carefully removed the paper, in an effort to not be too loud. When Adrien reached the box underneath, he opened it to reveal a Ladybug themed sweater inside. His jaw dropped as he quickly took the clothing out of the box and held it up in front of him. “Marinette! This is amazing!” he squealed, only for her to giggle and hush his loud tone. Dropping his voice down to a whisper, he gaped at her. “You went through the trouble of making this for me?”

Poking his cheek, she shook her head. “Nothing is ever trouble when it involves you, kitty.”

Adrien marveled at the sweater. He was in dire need of some more winter apparel, of course his girlfriend would be the person who noticed it the most. “Thank you, Mari,” he hugged the sweater to his chest. “I love it.”

“No problem, only the best for my kitten,” Marinette teased with a smile.

“Do you want your gift now?” he asked as he slipped the sweater over his t-shirt.

She shook her head. “No, not right now. Wait until we open gifts with my parents for that.” He nodded in understanding. A beat passed as he simply stared at her. Concern grew evident on Marinette’s face. She gave a cock of her head, brows furrowing. “Adrien? You okay?”

Suddenly, Adrien reached for her, pulling her into his lap and pressing her head into his chest. He gave her a small peck on the head as his arms tightened around her. “Thank you. Thank you for everything, Marinette. I’m so glad I got to come here.”

“Well we’re happy to have you, my boy!” A voice called from the other side of the room.

The pair jolted and looked up to see Tom and Sabine standing in the doorway. Tom had his arm wrapped around his wife with a smile. Sabine tapped her husband on the stomach with a laugh. “I think you scared them, hun.”

Scratching his neck, Tom laughed. “Oops. Sorry about that.”

Marinette’s face was red as a beat. “How long were you two standing there?”

“Long enough,” Sabine chimed.

Now, it was Adrien’s turn to flush. The thought of her parents hearing them flirt up a storm was pretty mortifying.

“Maman!” Marinette whined as she pouted.

Sabine simply chuckled. “Oh, you two are just so precious. Remember when we were young and in love like that, Tom?”

“Yep! It seems so long ago. You were always such a flirt.”

“Papa! Not nowww!” Marinette cried, obviously falling into her parents’ trap to embarrass her in front of him.

Tom waved a hand. “Oh, you’re right. Why don’t you two come in here and help make breakfast, yeah?”

Marinette looked to Adrien, who nodded with a smile. Anytime her parents offered activities with them, he was always game. It was worth it to hear Tom’s stories about Marinette when she was young, and watch his lady blush furiously like she was now. The Dupain-Chengs always made him feel welcomed and loved. He would always be grateful to them. He hadn’t ever really experienced what it was like to be a family when he was young. But, with the Dupain-Chengs everything felt right.

[miitzwrites]

Hey y'all, I’m back! This new drabble was requested by Raxius on FF.net

The prompt is: Sometimes, Neo Queen Serenity and Chibi-usa sneak out of palace grounds and disguise themselves to go enjoy time as mother and daughter and will sometimes bring King Endymion out when they want time as a family.

I added a bit more to the original idea, hoping you all will like it!

Also, I’m gonna be honest with you, this piece is one of my favorites, and it took me almost a week to complete, because it kinda feels personal. I lost my mom in May, and she never had the chance to read one of my stories, and I couldn’t tell her more about this hobby, and I’ve had a hard time coping with her death, so writing has been very therapeutic to me, and this prompt went straight to my heart, because i hope she’s proud of me, whenever she’s now, so I really hope you all like this.

As always, English isn’t my first language, and this piece was unbeta'ed.

And send me your prompts! I accept pretty much anything tbh.

Without further ado, enjoy!

“Small Lady, where are you?” The voice of Neo Queen Serenity resounded through the walls in one of the farthest places in the palace. Since Pluto’s death, her daughter could be found in front of the Space-Time door most often than not. Diana, the daughter of Luna and Artemis, never left her side, but the Queen could see the veil of sadness that sometimes shadowed the girl’s face.

Just as she suspected, the Queen found the Princess in front of the forbidden door, with her back to her. From her place, Neo Queen Serenity could heard the conversation between the Princess and her loyal companion.

“But you were so brave in battle, Small Lady. Wherever she is, I’m sure she’s proud of you!” The small kitten exclaimed, looking at the Princess from her place on her lap. Chibiusa, or like people called her in this time, Small Lady, petted her gray fur and nodded, not entirely convinced. “I could finally become a Sailor Scout like her, but she couldn’t see me. It is my fault, Diana.”

The tears that clouded the girl’s eyes didn’t go unnoticed by the Queen. She knew there were some hidden issues that didn’t leave her daughter alone, but the extent of them were unknown to her. Even after all these years, she was the same Usagi Tsukino, with a few more years of experience, but the same pure heart that wanted to protect everyone. And when she saw her daughter crying, it felt like a stab in the chest.

Neo Queen Serenity cleared her throat to make her presence known. Small Lady quickly wiped off her tears, and Diana jumped to her feet.

“Small Lady, did you forget your lessons?” Asked the Queen in her practiced ‘mom voice’, as Venus liked to call it. “Jupiter has been waiting for you, and you know it’s rude to make people wait for you.” Resigned, Chibiusa stood up, “I apologize, mama. It won’t happen again.”

“Good. Now hurry up, and when you finish, I would like to talk to you.” Chibiusa ran off to where her lesson took place, the garden, and Diana stayed behind her. When she was sure the girl wouldn’t hear her, she turned to the Queen and bowed her head, in a respectful gesture. “Neo Queen Serenity, please don’t be too severe with her. She just misses her friend.”

The Queen picked up the kitten and kissed her small nose, “I know, Diana, and I want to help her. I think I know how to cheer her up, but I will need your and the King’s help.”

Oooooo

“Come on in!”

Neo Queen Serenity entered the office, and closed the door. Since the new age of Crystal Tokyo began, the King Endymion was the head of the medical engineering advances team, so it wasn’t a surprise to find him with his eyes glued to the screen of his computer.

“Did you bring the file?” He asked with tiredness in his voice. “No, but I brought some cookies, your favorites,” answered the Queen with her bright, contagious smile. She might be the Queen now, but on occasions, Usagi made her infamous cookies, crispy with burned edges, and the perfect amount of chocolate chips.

The King pinched the bridge of his nose, and let out a small laugh. “You only make these when you want something,” he said, taking a bite off the cookie. “What did you do, Usako?”

“Oh, Mamo-chan, is it really too hard to believe that I’m being a good wife? When was the last time I cooked for you?” She answered, crossing her arms over her chest with a pout.

“Hmm…. Two weeks ago, when you broke one of the windows in the main hall.”

“Don’t bring that up again, Mamoru-baka! I swear it was an accident.”

“Yeah, yeah, if you say so, Odango Atama”

In public, they were King Endymion and Neo Queen Serenity, sovereigns of Crystal Tokyo, the legendary Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon. But in private, they were Mamo-chan and Usako. Just another married couple that loved each other so much.

The King raised from his seat, sneaked his arms around her waist and kissed her pout away. “Okay, I may need a little favor,” the Queen confessed, stealing another kiss from his lips. “It’s about Chibiusa. I think it’s time for her to start her training.”

“But the girls are busy reinforcing the security system, and the Shitennou are away in a mission.” Mamoru mused, playing idly with her long hair. “And what about Sailor Moon?” Usagi asked, earning a confused look from her husband. “Usako, you haven’t transformed in centuries.” A cloud of sadness crossed her features. She might not openly admit it, but Usagi missed being a full-time Senshi. Being a Queen was rewarding, yes, but at times, it wasn’t enough. Luckily, she had her family and friends, to remind her how loved she was.

Mamoru pulled her even closer, and kissed the crown of her head as Usagi rested her head on his chest. “You think about sending Chibiusa to the past, don’t you? Your old self will be thrilled.” Usagi snickered and shook her head. “My old self could use more responsibility. Chibiusa can learn a lot from her and from the others. It’ll be beneficial for the both of them.”

“She will do great, and when she comes back, Chibiusa will be a full fledged Sailor Senshi,” the King never doubted his daughter, even when she was possessed by the malicious spirit of Wiseman, he knew she would overcome any difficulty.

“There’s also something else I want to ask you,” Usagi looked up at Mamoru, batting her eyelashes, sweetly. “I want a family day. Just you, Chibiusa and me.”

Mamoru wasn’t a stranger to her charms, and with those pleading, blue eyes, he knew there was no way he could deny her anything. “Okay, Usako, just say the day, and we’ll do whatever you want.”

“Whatever I want, you said? Oh Mamo-chan! I want to spend the entire day with you and Chibiusa like a normal family.”

“Considering our history, I would dare to say that we’re as normal as we can,” Mamoru muttered, and Usagi hit him in the arm, pouting again. “You know what I meant!”

“Alright, alright. Whatever you want, my love.”

Yes, he couldn’t deny her anything.

Ooooo

When the lesson finished, Chibiusa returned to her bedroom. Her lessons with Jupiter were always her favorites. She’d learn more about gardening or cooking, and was a personal pleasure of hers to watch her parents’ faces lighten up when she presented them a new dish.

When she opened the door, Diana received her with a smile. “Small Lady, your mother brought you something!” Exclaimed the kitten, as Chibiusa set her eyes on the package placed on her bed. Immediately, Chibiusa unwrapped the box, -she could see that her mother had personally wrapped it, using a wrapping paper full of bunnies and a big, pink ribbon-.

Inside the box, was a note attached that read: “To my dear daughter. May this be the beginning of a new age for you. With love, Mama.”

Excitedly, Chibiusa discovered inside of the box a painting set and new brushes. Most people didn’t know this, but Chibiusa loved to paint. Her mother wasn’t like most, though. She liked to be involved in her daughter’s interests.

“Did you like your present?” The Queen asked from the door, carrying another box with her. Chibiusa ran to her, hugging her. “Yes, mama, I love it! Thank you so much!”

Usagi felt her heart melting in that instant. She was sure that the girl would love the rest of the surprise.

“I have something else for you.” Usagi pulled out from the box a pink blouse and a baby blue skirt that she knew Chibiusa would love. The girl happily took the clothes in her hands, giving her mother a wider smile. “Are we attending another affair, mama?” Chibiusa questioned, placing the blouse and skirt carefully on her bed. “Something like that. You, your father and I will have a family day outside of the palace, tomorrow.” The Princess shoot a confused glance at her mother, and said “But you never leave the palace, last time you did .-” Before she could complete her sentence, Usagi leaned down, and took her small hands, smiling. “Just be sure to be up early. And think about what you would like to do”

With that, the Queen left the room. Diana walked to Chibiusa’s side and nudged her leg to get her attention. “Small Lady, I’d recommend a new hairstyle just for a day,” the kitten winked at the Princess, who nodded eagerly.

OoO

The morning came, and Chibiusa woke up a little after dawn. She wore the outfit that her mother had given to her the previous day, and do her hair into a ponytail instead of her usual buns.

“Mama? Papa? Are you awake?” She knocked at her parents’ door, and was greeted by her father, who had left his usual white and lavender tuxedo and mask, and instead, wore a more casual attire, with a simple pair of jeans and a white button down shirt. “Your mother should be ready in no time. Remember, she’s not a morning person.”

“Oh, shut up, Mamoru-baka!” Usagi called out from their en-suit bathroom, stepping out a moment later, wearing a lilac sundress and a baseball cap. Her hair was up into a high ponytail, just like Chibiusa’s.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you two so casual,” said Chibiusa, inspecting their outfits. Maybe she hadn’t seen this version of her parents, but she remembered fondly the serious clothes that young Mamoru wore, in contrast with the bright and colorful dresses of the young Usagi.

“Have I told you that your father used to have an horrendous green jacket?”

“Usako!”

Ooooo

“Mamo-chan, I want another caramel apple.”

“But you ate two already!”

“Mamo-chan, please, don’t make me beg.”

“Okay, Usako, but it’s the last one.”

Usagi grinned at her husband, and the moved her eyes back to watch as Chibiusa entertained herself with her new painting set. The cool breeze of the autumn evening touched her skin and goosebumps raised on her skin. Mamoru returned a few minutes later, with another caramel apple for her and a cup of coffee for him. He pulled her close, embracing her with an arm around her shoulders, and kissed her temple, his gaze moving to where their daughter was.

“Thank you, Mamo-chan, this day was perfect, and Chibiusa thinks so, too.” Mamoru nodded his agreement, and a small laugh escaped his lips. “Yeah, except for the amusement park and the roller coaster, everything was great.”

“Don’t be like that, Mamo-chan! I haven’t seen you this relaxed in years. We should do this more often.”

“When Chibiusa returns from her trip, we’ll do this again.” Usagi nodded, eating her snack, and a comfortable silence set between them.

Without a doubt, this day had been the funniest in years. With their jobs, it was easy to get lost and overwhelmed, but they knew that, at the end of the day, they would have each other and Chibiusa, to find their way back home. That was one of the reasons why Usagi insisted on having everyday dinner with her family, so they could share a private moment, similar to what she did with her family when she was younger. Mamoru got accustomed to this, too, and when his days were at their worst, he counted the hours until he can have a moment of peace with his wife and daughter.

“I’m gonna miss her,” she broke the silence, snuggling against his side. “The palace will be so quiet without her.” Mamoru ran his hand down her arm, and sighed heavily. “It won’t be the same, but the girls can make you company until Chibiusa comes back home.”

Usagi shook her head, taking his hand and playing with his fingers. “I can’t distract them from their duties, and you know that as well.” Mamoru hummed, “Your girls are busy, yes, but don’t you remember? This century will need a Sailor Moon, and Sailor Moon will need her own guardians. What I mean is, it’s also time to call the Quartet.”

“How didn’t I think about this before?” Usagi responded, and her face lighted up. “If the time comes, this world will need a new protector of love and justice, and I’m positively sure that Chibiusa will do a splendid job.”

Their conversation was interrupted by Chibiusa. She carried with her the painting that she just finished. She could capture the dead of the day and the first stars that appeared on the sky, combined with the beautiful sight of the lake. “Mama, look!” The girl proudly held out her painting to her mother, and Usagi smiled at her, complementing her work. “It is beautiful Chibiusa. It’ll be a beautiful decoration for our dining room.”

“You’ll have to paint one for my office, too, Chibiusa, but that will have to wait until your return.” Chibiusa looked at her father with a puzzled expression, and her lower lip started to tremble lightly, afraid of having done something wrong. If she was honest with herself, deep inside herself, she doubted that hee parents had forgotten what happened with Wiseman and Black Lady.

Usagi hugged her daughter to her chest at her display of distress. “But I don’t wanna leave your side, mama,” Chibiusa weakly told her, and Usagi did her best not to let her emotions get to her. Mamoru, on his part, took Chibiusa’s hand, and rubbed soothing circles in her palm.

“Did you remember what you tell your mother, Chibiusa? That you wanted to work by her side and help her protect this planet?” Noticing the way his wife worried her bottom lip, Mamoru decided to intervene first, “Well, you’re now a Senshi, like Jupiter, or Venus, or Mars, or Mercury. And one day, it will be your duty to be a full time Senshi. But to do so, you must learn some things first, like fighting or how to control the Silver Crystal.”

“I don’t understand, papa,” the girl answered, and Usagi took in a deep breath to try to calm herself down. “What your father meant is that we want you to train with Sailor Moon and the Sailor Senshi from the XXI Century. If you accept this, we’ll make all the necessary arrangements to send you back to the moment you said goodbye to our younger versions. I’m certain neither of them will oppose this idea.”

“I will train with the legendary Sailor Moon and the other Senshi?” The sadness on her face was quickly replaced with a huge grin, and without a second thought, Chibiusa accepted, and hugged her mother tightly. “Yes, mama, I want to train with them. I promise you I won’t come back until I’m a full fledged Senshi.”

A sigh of relief left Mamoru’s lips, and although Usagi was still sad, the enthusiasm of her daughter compensated any negative feeling. “Alright, Ladies, time to get back home. Minako won’t be very happy with you two, eh?”

“Yeah, and wait until she tells Kunzite.” Mamoru groaned, which earned a heartfelt laugh from both Usagi and Chibiusa.

Ooooo

“Are you sure you won’t need anything else?” Asked the King as he opened the Space-Time door. “Yes, papa, I checked twice. And I will be staying with mama Ikuko and papa Kenji. I’ll be fine.”

The King crouched down to pull his daughter into a hug. “Be a good girl, please, mama and I will be waiting for you to come back.”

“Don’t worry, papa, I promise I will make you two proud.”

“But you’ve already made us proud. No matter what you do, will be right beside you.” Chibiusa nodded, and her mother took her in her arms and kissed the crown of her head. “Don’t forget that we love you so much, and please, give this letter to Usagi for me. Oh, and don’t give her a hard time, okay.”

“Yes, mama, and promise me you’ll take my place in Jupiter’s cooking classes, yes?”

“Oh don’t think about that now. I can assure, Jupiter will be very busy until your return.”

“Neo Queen Serenity, will you allow me to visit Small Lady?” Diana asked, jumping off her arms to say goodbye to her friend. “Of course, Diana, just give her some time to adjust to the change.” The Queen conceded her request, and the small kitten beamed to her. “Thank you, Neo Queen Serenity. Small Lady, I will see you soon. Give my father and mother my regards, please.”

Chibiusa smiled at her loyal friend, and with a teary smile, she turned around and walked through the gates of the Space-Time door. With the key that Pluto gave to her, clutched to her heart, Chibiusa recited the words that she had learned by memory. “Pluto, show me the path of light!”

Ooooo

After seeing Chibiusa off, Mamoru and Usagi sat in silence on their favorite bench. Usagi mused about how crazy this time had been, and prayed for a moment of peace. Lifting her gaze up from the fountain, she met Mamoru’s gaze. A blush colored her cheeks as Mamoru’s lips descended upon hers, placing a sweet kiss on hers. And, like the first time they shared a kiss in this very spot, something fell from the sky, and before either of them could react, Usagi saw how Chibiusa fell into Mamoru’s arms, and then jumped off, with her bright and lousy laugh.

“Hi! I’m back!”

[mischiefandspirits]

Beauty and the Beast

Sequel to Roar & We Are One

The team begins their journey to free the universe from Zarkon’s rule. First up, a Balmeran named Shay…

Oh, along with her people and the Balmera they live on.

Find more. Also on: AO3 & Fanfiction

Part 4: Interlude: Mother of Cats, Part 3

The adventures of Mama Red and her rambunctious cub.

“Why can’t you stay?”

“Sorry, Angel, but I have to go. This is a big opportunity for me.”

“I wanna go with you!”

“You’re too young still.”

“But-”

“Angel, stop bothering Shiro while he packs.”

“Sorry, Daddy,” the four-year-old said, looking up to see Akira Kogane standing in the doorway.

“It’s fine, bro. I don’t mind. I’m leaving soon so we don’t have much time left.”

“Alright, just don’t dawdle. We’ve got to leave in an hour. You should have had this packed last week.”

“I’m almost done,” the fourteen-year-old huffed, turning back to his work. “And I did most of it last week, this is just the stuff I couldn’t pack until now.”

“Sure it is.”

Angel snickered as Akira left. Shiro rolled his eyes and shoved the kid off his bed.

“Hey! Daddy, ‘Ro pushed me off the bed!”

“Shiro, be nice!”

Angel stuck a tongue out at him and he returned the favor. The four-year-old giggled and ran off.

“Angel,” Akira called after a while.

“Coming!”

“Slow down, squirt,” Shiro laughed when Angel ran past him as he lugged his suitcase downstairs.

“No!” The child rushed down the stairs and came to a stop in the living room where Akira was talking to their neighbor, Mrs. Rana.

“Thank you for doing this.”

“It’s no problem at all, Akira.”

“Daddy?”

The two turned to Angel and Akira said, “Angel, dear, Mrs. Rana’s going to take you shopping while I take Shiro to the train station. So go put your shoes on.”

“Okay, daddy.”

A half hour later, Mrs. Rana was leading Angel through the mall.

“Where should we go first?” the woman hummed.

“Disney store?”

“Come now, you need actual clothes. How about in here?” the woman pulled Angel into a department store.

Angel frowned as the woman led the way over to the little girl’s section and started digging through the dresses. The child watched the woman for a few moments before wondering off. Eyes widening at the sight of a Spider-Man shirt, Angel ran over and grabbed the shirt, then the Jurassic World one next to it. The four-year-old went to bring the finds to Mrs. Rana before remembering that Akira always picked out bottoms to go with shirts. So Angel headed over to the shelves and grabbed two pairs of jeans.

“Angel! There you are!”

The kid spun around and held out the finds. “Mrs. Rana, look! I found some clothes!”

The woman tutted. Taking the clothes away. “My dear, those are boy’s clothes. You can’t get those?”

“Why?”

“Because you’re a girl. Girl’s don’t wear clothes like that,” Mrs. Rana said as she put the shirts back.

“Why?”

“Because girls wear girl’s clothes, like these.” She held up the dresses she’d picked and Angel frowned.

“Daddy’s never said that.”

“Well, your daddy is a man so he doesn’t understand what little girls like.”

“I like those shirts. Dresses are stupid.”

“Well, I’m sure we can find one for you in the girl’s section. Maybe Moana? Or another Disney Princess?”

“I don’t like princesses. I want Spider-Man! And dinosaurs!”

“Hush, now. Come on, we still need to find you a few more things.”

“But-”

“Hush!”

Angel pouted as the woman shuffled back to the girl’s section.

“How about this one, dear?” Mrs. Rana asked, holding up a green skirt.

“No,” Angel sniffled, scrubbing at blue-violet eyes.

“Now, enough of that,” the woman huffed, stuffing the skirt into the department store bag with the dresses.

“No!” Angel shouted before turning and running away.

The child ran and ran until Angel eventually found the courtyard of the mall. Tucked away in a hidden corner by a planter, the four-year-old curled up in a ball.

“Wrah-wrah-wrah.”

Angel sniffed and looked up to see a slim, spotted cat perched in the planter. “What? Shoo!” The kid waved at the animal, but she just hopped down closer. “No, go away!”

The cat ducked under shoving hands. Blue-violet eyes met with half-lidded gold ones and the cat gave a purr. She stepped into Angel’s lap and gave the underside of the kid’s chin a lick and head bump.

The four-year-old sniffed and stroked down the cat’s back. She pressed into the hand and laid down. Angel frowned and stared down at her. “I know you.”

The cat purred and nosed the child’s stomach.

Angel stared into the cat’s eyes and felt something familiar.

“Angel? Angel?”

The cat’s ears twitched, then it fled.

“Come back!” Angel shouted, jumping up and moving to follow.

“There you are!” Mrs. Rana grabbed the child, who gave a yelp before being towed away. “I have been looking everywhere for you! Your father is going to be furious when he finds out about this!”

“Angel, sweetheart, what were you thinking? You can’t just run off like that. You could have been seriously hurt.”

“Sorry, daddy.”

“Don’t do that again, you understand?”

“Yes, daddy.”

“Now apologize to Mrs. Rana.”

“Sorry, Mrs. Rana.”

“Go to your room.”

Angel nodded and climbed up the stairs. Huffing, the child flopped onto a dinosaur-sheeted bedspread.

“Wrrrrrrrr!”

Angel’s head shot up at the sound and turned to see the cat from before perched precariously on the window ledge. The kid smiled and opened the window. The two were momentarily delayed by the screen until Angel managed to shove it open enough for the cat to squeeze in.

She nuzzled the child in thanks before jumping up onto the bed.

Angel glanced towards the door before following. “Okay, you can stay, but you have to be quiet so Daddy doesn’t know.”

<Hello, Kitten.>

“Hi there,” Kitten said as Red -- or Merla as her cub had started calling her -- pressed up against his side. “Animals aren’t allowed at school.”

<They’re not in charge of me.> She nosed his cheek, trying for Kitten’s attention. When the little one wouldn’t turn, she followed his gaze. <Who’s that?>

“What? You asking who they are? Just some boys from my class,” the six-year-old huffed. “They said I can’t play tag with them because I’m a girl. But all the other girls just want to play with dolls. It’s boring.” He finally looked away, turning to Merla. “Why do I have to be a girl?”

The cat snorted and slipped into his lap.

“Thank you, that’s very helpful.”

Purring, Merla nosed his chest then met his eyes. <You are whoever you feel you are.>

Kitten smiled. “You’re right. Thanks.”

The cat chirped and nudged his hand for pets. He laughed and scratched behind her ears.

“Why do you make more sense than those boys?”

<Because you’re my cub,> she purred.

“Sh, we’re almost there.”

“Did you say something, Angel?”

“I asked if we were almost there.”

“Just a few more minutes. Now remember, I want you on your best behavior. This isn't like your school. You could get in a lot of trouble for messing around here, which could get Shiro in a lot of trouble.”

“I know dad.” Kitten rolled his eyes and peeked inside his backpack to the kitten grumpily curled up inside. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

<I should have stayed home,> Merla whined quietly and swatted up at Kitten.

The seven-year-old bit his lip to keep from laughing and poked the kitten’s side. “Baby.”

<Don’t talk about your mother that way!> she huffed, clawing at the bag.

Kitten rolled his eyes.

Feeling the car slowing down, so Angel zipped up the backpack.

Akira pulled into the makeshift parking area outside the walls of the Garrison alongside the cars of the other family members coming for Family Day. As soon as they stopped, Angel carefully shouldered the bag and jumped out of the car. The kid was ecstatic to finally be old enough to visit the garrison, having been too young to go the past two years.

“Angel, wait up!” Akira called as the child ran for the gate that was letting people in.

“Woah there, son,” a man said, catching Angel’s arm.

“I’m sorry about this,” Akira told the man as he caught up. He turned to Angel with a glare. “I told you to wait for me.”

“Sorry, dad.”

“Ah, it’s no problem,” the man said, letting the kid go. “Boys will be boys.”

“I- Actually, Angel’s a girl.”

Angel’s shoulders stiffened and Merla gently pawed her cub’s back through the bag.

“Really? Well, my apologies, little miss,” the man said, looking awkward as he adjusted his uniform’s hat. “You two best be off now. Listen to your father now, missy. Don’t want to be getting into trouble in there.”

With a ducked head, Angel stomped into the line.

Merla give a low hiss. <What happened to boys will be boys?>

“Adults are stupid,” Angel muttered.

“Empty your pockets of keys, phones, or any other metal,” a woman ordered as they got to the front of the line. Cell phone deposited, Angel moved towards the metal detectors before being stopped by the woman again. “Bags off too, sweetie.”

Angel froze, then slowly slipped the backpack off to hand to the woman. “Be careful with it.”

The woman smiled and took it before waving the child towards the metal detectors.

Once through, Angel fidgeted nervously as the woman checked the bag. Thankfully, the woman closed it after a second and handed it and the phone back with a wink. “Don't worry, I don't think I bothered your kitty too much.”

Angel took it and stepped to the side to wait for Akira. The kid peaked inside the bag to see Merla laying limp inside. A second later she blinked her glassy eyes clear and looked up.

“Adults are stupid,” Angel repeated with a snort.

<Agreed.>

The seven-year-old slipped the bag back on as Akira stepped up and led the way to the main building. Just as they got inside, Merla started squirming around.

“What is it?” Angel whispered, glancing towards Akira.

<I need out!> Merla whined quietly and pawed at her cub’s back again. She felt something, but she had to be sure.

Angel grabbed Akira’s arm and stopped them both. “I need to go potty.”

Akira nodded and pointed to the restrooms just on the side of the entrance hall. Angel paused for a second before ducking inside the ladies room. The kid checked that the room was empty before slipping in a stall and letting Merla out.

The cat immediately started nosing his pocket.

<Give me your phone!>

Confused, he pulled out the device. Merla set her paw on the screen and with a flash of red, the screen was covered in scrolling symbols. Merla was thrilled. She had felt Blue at the edge of her mind ever since she had come to this planet, but now she was actually connected to her love. Her soul-bound.

“Woah! Ok, this is weird, even for you. What are you doing?”

<Calling a friend. I can feel them nearby.>

“Where?”

<I don't know!> Merla yowled quietly, her tail flicking back and forth. They were connected, but they couldn’t actually talk, only share information just as they’d been able to before Reject had stolen her from her molten moon. <Neither do they.>

“Can they come to us?”

<No.>

Kitten hummed. “So what are we going to do?”

<Nothing,> Merla huffed. <There's nothing we can do.>

“Oh.” Kitten fidgeted and glanced towards the door.

Merla sighed and slumped to the floor.

“Are you okay?” Kitten asked, picking her up.

<Fine. Tired. Can't feel them anymore. No energy.> So close! She was so close, but they were just out of reach.

“Sorry.”

<Told them how I got here. They’ll be able to tell the others and figure everything out. We'll just have to wait for the right time.>

“Right time?”

“You’ll understand when your older.”

“You know I hate it when adults say that!”

Merla just yawned and curled up. With an eyeroll, her cub smiled and gently set her back in the bag as she drifted off.

“All done?” Akira asked as Angel came out of the bathroom. With a nod, they continued on to the meeting hall.

“Akira! Angel!” Shiro called as he ran up to them. The three of them hugged then Akira sent the two kids to get a table while he got some drinks for them.

As soon as he was gone, Angel grabbed Shiro's arm.

“Hey, what's wrong, squirt?”

“Can I talk to you about something before dad comes back?”

“You know our cats are magic, right?”

“What?” Shiro asked, looking up from his summer work.

“Our cats,” Angel said, gesturing out the window.

Shiro glanced outside to see the cat he been spotting all summer curled up around the cat Angel had somehow been hiding from his brother for almost three years. It was actually a funny sight since the black and silver cat was shorter than the red-brown spotted one.

“They're magic.”

“Right, this again,” Shiro chuckled, turning back to his work. “Weren't you the one asking me earlier if he was magic?”

“I had to check with Merla, but he is. He's Magic.”

“Sure he is.”

“He is! Merla knows him! She calls him Black!”

“Really? And what does he call her?”

“I don't know. I can't understand him like I can Merla.”

“I see.”

“I'm serious, Shiro, the cats are magic.” Angel glared at him, then huffed. “Fine, don't believe me. See if I care!”

“Hey,” he called out as Angel stomped out of his room.

“What!?”

“Have you talked to Akira yet?”

Angel frowned and stared down at his feet. “Not yet.”

“Keith?” Shiro shouted as he threw the front door open. He jumped as a mini cheetah leaped out of the shadows and started growling at him. “Woah! Hey, Merla, it's just me!”

The cat stopped and eyed him for a second before turning and wandering back into the house.

Shiro sighed and kicked off his shoes before following her up the stairs to Keith’s room. “Hey, buddy, you in there?” he asked knocking on the slightly open door as Merla slipped inside.

He heard Keith whisper something to his cat before calling out in a stuffy voice, “I'm in here.”

The older boy pushed open the door to see the younger curled up on his bed. He was holding his stuffed hippo with Merla wrapped around him. Shiro came in and sat down next to them.

“What are you doing here?” the nine-year-old sniffed.

“Someone contacted garrison and they told me. I’ve been allowed leave to come take care of you. Get everything in order. Are you alright? Why are you here alone?”

“Mr. Hull was here. He ran to the store.” Keith sniffed and buried his face in his toy. “This is my fault.”

“What? Keith of course it isn’t.”

“I told him and now he’s gone.”

“Keith, this has nothing to do with that.”

“Then why did he leave?”

“I…” Shiro sighed and slipped his arm around the boy, pulling him as close as he could without disrupting Merla. “I don’t know, buddy.”

“Then how do you know it’s not my fault?”

“It’s not your fault. I don’t know why he left, but if it was because of that, it’s not your fault. It’s his. This is who you are, Keith, and if he can’t accept that then it’s better that he’s gone.”

<That’s what I’ve been telling him,> Merla growled. She sat up and set her chin on his shoulder, pressed against his back like a hug.

Keith sobbed and buried himself in Shiro’s chest. Shiro held him close as he cried.

<How is he?>

Shiro looked up to see Ryou poking his head through Keith’s window.

<Oh.>

He gave a low whine and jumped over to the bed to curl up with the three. Shiro scratched his head and Keith pulled away to hug him.

A knock sounded from his door. Another knock sounded. A third one sounded and Keith wondered when they’d take a hint.

“Keith Kogane?” a muffled voice asked and Keith sighed. Never apparently.

“Present,” he said, just loud enough that it’d make it through the door.

There was silence for a moment then the door opened.

Not for the first time, Keith idly wondered why a glorified military school couldn’t afford simple door locks for its dorms. He’d need to rig something up to keep out annoying interlopers.

“Keith?” asked one such individual.

“What do you want?” he growled, not looking up from his school book. He was already five chapters in and school hadn’t even started, that’s how boring military school (“It’s not military school, Keith,” Shiro sighed in his head) was. You think he’d be used to this after three years in the pre-program.

“I- Um…”

Keith looked up when nothing more was said to see a young man -- early twenties, dressed in Garrison uniform -- standing in the doorway staring off to Keith’s right. The thirteen-year-old followed his gaze to see Merla curled up on the spare pillow that he had tossed on the desk under his window just for that purpose. Huh, when did she get here? He wondered.

Merla glanced at the man, but instead of hissing like she normally did to anyone that wasn’t Keith or Shiro she turned around and curled back up facing away from the door.

Keith looked back at the man and asked, “Are you just going to stand there?”

The man raised an eyebrow and turned to Keith. “You know, pets aren’t allowed here.”

<How dare you!> Merla lifted her head up and bared her teeth at the man with a hiss. She then stood up and kicked the pillow off the desk before disappearing out the open window. <Me? A pet?>

“I don’t have any pets.”

The man stared at him for a moment before laughing. “Alright, I’ll bite. I’d keep it out of sight from everyone else though.”

“Don’t know what your talking about,” Keith said, focusing back on his book. When the man didn’t immediately leave or get on him about Merla, he added, “Did you want something or…”

“Oh, right, sorry. My name’s Matthew Holt, but everyone just calls me Matt. I’m you Alumni Mentor.”

“Mentor?” Keith asked, eyeing the man suspiciously. “So what, like my babysitter? No thanks.”

“No, mentors are assigned to certain freshman students who show promise. I’m here to help you around the campus and-”

“Thanks, but I’ve been here for three years now. And I’m not a freshman either. I’ve been cleared for the tenth grade courses, last I checked.”

“Oh, you were in the pre-program.”

Keith hummed.

Matt shifted nervously before a knock came from the door. He stepped to the side so Keith could see Shiro standing in the doorway. “Am I interrupting something?”

“No,” Keith said, holding his book in front of his face.

“You- You’re Takashi Shirogane!” Matt gasped.

“Y-yes? I'm sorry, have we met?”

“No, I was two years below you in the academy. Engineering program. But everyone talks about you! You're a legend! They say you're the best pilot of our generation!”

“I, uh, um…” Keith snickered at Shiro's stumbling and blush.

“Legend? So you haven't heard that Shiro can't even go fishing without losing half the bait in the river or about the time he nearly blew up our cabin trying to light the campfire with gasoline or the time-”

“Alright, Keith, thank you.”

The boy saluted him and returned to his book.

“You… know each other?” Matt asked, glancing between the two.

“He's my legal guardian or whatever,” Keith explained.

“But you're only-” Matt started, only to be cut off by Shiro.

“Nine years apart. Yeah, we know.”

“Everyone feels the need to point it out,” Keith added.

“It's complicated,” Shiro finished.

“Okay,” Matt said, bemused.

“So, you know my name,” Shiro started, holding his hand out to Matt.

“Oh, Matthew Holt. Matt. It's a pleasure, sir,” he said, shaking Shiro's hand.

“Shiro, please. And likewise. Now, what's going on here?” Shiro sent Keith The Look. “Are you in trouble already?”

Keith stuck his tongue out at his uncle.

“No, no, I was assigned to be Keith's mentor.”

“And I was just telling him I didn't need one.”

“Actually, I think a mentor is exactly what you need.” He patted Matt on the shoulder and chuckled, “Good luck with this one. He can be a handful.”

“I hate you.”

“Love you too!”

“Don’t go too far,” Keith told the cats as he saw them running a bit away from the shack. Ryou was attempting to catch Merla, but despite her height disadvantage of being in her kitten form, the serval easily pranced and dodged away from the Maine coon.

Of course, she then made the mistake to turn to Keith in order to hiss, <Make me!>

Ryou used the distraction to dart in and scoop up the red cat. Keith laughed as the domestic carted over his hissing kitten by her scruff. He curled up a short ways from Keith and proceed to teasingly groom Merla.

<Help! Keith! Save your mother!>

Still chuckling, the fourteen-year-old turned back to his bike. He finished up his work and shut the engine compartment. “All done. Wanna take it out for a ride?”

<Yes! Save me!> Merla whined and wiggled about until she finally managed to slip free. She ran past Keith and scampered up onto the bike.

<I think I’ll take a nap.> Ryou stood up and stretched before turning and heading back into the shack. <You two have fun.>

“Guess it’s just us.” Keith shrugged and hopped onto the bike. “Ready?”

Merla slipped into the carrying bag he had attached for her and Ryou. Her head popped out and she purred. <Ready!>

Keith powered up the bike and took off towards the canyons. The two spent an hour swerving through the canyons, pulling tricks, until Keith felt something stirring. Keith slowed down the bike and stopped.

<Keith?>

“Do you feel that?”

Merla tilted her head before climbing out of the bag and crawling up onto his lap. She looked around, her ears twitching.

Finally she turned to Keith. She didn’t even make a sound and he knew her answer.

“Well, this seems to be the general area that the energy’s coming from.” Keith folded up his map and looked around.

Ryou hopped down and started looking around. Merla immediately followed and started running about at random.

Merla spotted a lizard and called out before taking chase. <Want!>

Keith and Ryou searched the area for awhile until Merla called out again.

<Come here!>

“If it’s another lizard, I don’t want it,” Keith called back. “Four is more than enough.”

<Come here now!> she hissed.

Keith sighed and headed in the direction she’d gone, Ryou at his heels. Keith slipped around a rock and spotted the red cat sitting in the mouth of a cave.

“Alright, that could be interesting,” Keith allowed.

Merla gave a prideful purr. The three slipped into the cave and began looking around.

“Woah,” Keith said as he spotted a large carving on the ceiling. “Is that… a lion?”

Merla gave a sad, wordless whine and Keith turned to her. She was a bit farther into the cave, staring at another carving, this one tinted blue.

“Friend of yours?” he asked pulling out his camera. She gave a sad chirp in response and nuzzled the carving.

[survivingmexico]

2016 was a low birth year for us on the Flores mini-ranch overall. We had no horses, puppies, kittens or chicks born. Our goat duplication was also minimal. Instead of everyone having twins, there were only singletons or none at all in the summer. Well, except for Queenie. She’s been a consistent twinner all along.

So in 2017, we weren’t surprised when Whitey was yet another singleton. He wasn’t too happy about being the only kid. There was no one to play with when the mommies went out to graze. He was very vocal in his displeasure. He also didn’t have anyone to huddle with under the trough. He took to waiting until everyone was settled down and then climbing on top of one of the goats, usually his mom, to sleep.

About a month later, the big white nanny goat, a recent acquisition and thus still nameless, decided it was high time to have her baby. She waited until the middle of the night to ensure privacy. I heard the wailing of an unhappy baby goat sometime around 2 am. As my husband was not home, I went out to check it out.

Sure enough, there was a little white kid expressing its dislike of its new condition. But where was the mother? Oh, there on the other side of the corral. It looked as if she wasn’t finished kidding yet as she was still pawing the ground. Whitey wasn’t pleased with this new addition and added his own bleats to that of the new baby.

I waited outside for about 15 minutes, sure that any second she would give birth. As the minutes ticked by, I could see that she was having difficulty. She lay down yet again and stretched her legs into the air. I had never seen a goat in such distress. I decided that emergency measures needed to be taken.

I woke my son from a sound sleep and sent him up the road to my father-in-law. I was concerned that the nanny goat wasn’t going to make it. In the 10 minutes or so that it took for my son to return with my father-in-law (much more skilled in goat husbandry than myself) she popped out another baby goat. However, she was still carrying on.

It turned out that there was yet another baby goat. At this point, she was exhausted and the kid was presenting feet first, which was delaying things a bit. My father-in-law helped out a little, and voila, baby 3. Triplets! There were 2 boys and a girl which we tentatively christened Curly, Moe and Larry.

The next day, mama goat was still exhausted, as were we. The triplets weren’t too fussed if she was out of sight, but move one of their siblings and they became hysterical. Mama goat needed a little extra time to recuperate, but soon enough was back on her feet.

As mama goat had only two teats, feeding time became quite a hassle. One of the triplets decided that he and Whitey would be brothers and hunkered down with his new family. This worked out until Whitey’s mom was sold. The first night she was gone, something happened to the adopted triplet. We found him dead in the morning.

The deaths didn’t stop there. Later that afternoon, Pinta birthed a stillborn kid. We ended up on the plus side by the end of the day, though. Bunnie gave birth to itty bitty Brownie. Just a few hours later, Venada had twins–a boy and a girl, twice the size of Brownie.

Venada’s boy/girl twins are a day younger than little Brownie but look at the size difference.

Brownie gave us quite a scare about 2 weeks later. We had left the goats unattended for about 30 minutes while we went in for lunch. When my husband came out to check on the goats, he gave a holler. Brownie was in the water bucket up to his neck in water and unmoving, although still alive.

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Drying Brownie off.

Having a friend visit to play.

Up and around again!

My husband wrapped him in a towel and sat with him in the sun. As he still didn’t show any inclination to move about, he brought one of the triplets that had befriended Brownie to nudge him a bit. About 45 minutes later, Brownie tried to get up. Whew!

It was about 2 hours before he could wobble around any. Now that the danger had passed, we puzzled about how this could have happened.

We think we have an assassin mama goat. The triplet that died, might have been killed. The stillbirth might have been caused by repeated stomach butting. Another triplet has a torn ear. And it just wasn’t possible that Brownie fell into the bucket. He would have fallen head first and that would have been the end of him. We think he was tossed through the air and landed in the bucket. And our probable suspect was Venada.

I’m all for ousting the murderer, but she does give healthy twins even though she goes overboard in her need for world domination. My husband agreed to keep an eye on her and since the bucket incident, there’ve been no new attempts on anyone’s life.

Finally, a month after we thought all the kids for the season had been born, Vaquita presented us with Skunk. He’s long legged, long-eared and oh so cute. She too waited till dark to give birth and had a bit of difficulty. The kid was big and this was her first baby. She’s also pretty skittish compared to our other goats, so didn’t like anyone close enough to give assistance and once delivered, didn’t want anyone near her baby. Of course, the dark coloring make Skunk hard to see and has been causing no end of grief for his nervous nellie mom. My husband separated Vaquita and Skunk in hopes that the assassin goat doesn’t have an opportunity to strike again.

  When we did some additional paring down of the goats, Venada and her babies went up on the auction block.  We just couldn’t have murdering goats around, even if there was a good probability of twins every season.  Instead, my husband purchased Jirafa (Giraffe) and much to our delight, she presented us with twins.

Jirafa and one of the twin daughters. She takes after her dad I guess.

The other daughter–just like mom!

  ************************

This post was proofread by Grammarly.

Assassin goat 2016 was a low birth year for us on the Flores mini-ranch overall. We had no horses, puppies, kittens or chicks born.

[thegrumpypenguin]

The first time I saw “Cinders and Ashes” outside the den

Ember in her den

On May 5th of last year I was leading my Workshop group on a tour of the Zoo’s African savanna. Owing to an issue with the water fixture in the main lion exhibit, the white lion cubs were temporarily on display in their behind-the-scenes holding. I took my charges down the path to the lion house and showed them the playful balls of fluff cavorting about there. Only two other members of the public were back there at the time, and those two ladies were having a conversation with the Keeper who was monitoring the proceedings. After we had been there a few minutes, I heard the Keeper raise her voice and say, “I’ll bet Steve would know!” I glanced over to see all three of them grinning at me, so I asked my group to wait a moment while I walked over to see what they were talking about. The Keeper told me that the ladies (I recognized them as Zoo Members I had seen before) had been down in the Canadian Domain and were certain they had spotted a baby lynx in the den there. She wondered if I knew anything about it. Thinking they meant the den behind the exhibit – and remembering the cub that had been born in there the previous year but had not survived through the summer – I hesitated to say anything until I had more information. Eventually I replied that I hadn’t heard anything of a recent lynx birth, but I would head down there myself the next day to check into it (I had to leave that afternoon right after the Workshop was done).

Six days old!!!

The next day was Friday, May 6th. I had another Workshop that day and as soon as it was done I hurriedly changed clothes and rushed up to the lynx exhibit. I saw Ember in her den at the front of the exhibit and she was surrounded by straw. I realized that the women had thought they had seen a baby in that den, which made a lot more sense. In the meantime, too, I had asked around a bit and it seemed the rumour of a lynx kitten was making the rounds. I fully expected to see a baby, so I settled in to wait until it came into view. I was there a good 20 minutes or so when I suddenly realized that what I had thought was one of Ember’s paws was actually the tiny head of a newborn kitten! I texted my partner, Sarah, to tell her of the exciting news and waited for a chance to grab a photo or two. This was quite difficult to achieve, because the den was very dim and I had to shoot through a small-mesh fence at the front of the exhibit. Nevertheless, I was able to snap off a few shots, with the one here being the very first of them.

A second cub!!

I had been there for about another 20 minutes or so, watching Ember and her baby and kind of zoning out a bit, when I began to realize there was something kind of odd about the kitten’s ears. I couldn’t work out what was bothering me about them, until all of a sudden it struck me: they were two right ears! This epiphany had not yet had time to germinate into the obvious conclusion when all of a sudden the two right ears split apart and went different directions. Oh my goodness, there were two kittens!! I excitedly texted this info to Sarah as well, then proceeded to spend the next 45 minutes or so convincing myself that there were three! four! five babies! in the den. Everything that moved at all was another baby, in my mind. At the end of the day, however, it was pretty obvious that there were “just” the two of them. I went home and immediately shared the news with everyone, including the Keeper who had alerted me to the possibility of a lynx baby in the first place. (I found out later through an information sheet that the Canadian Domain Keepers themselves didn’t confirm the second cub until that weekend – even though they had been born on April 30th –  which seems to indicate that I was the first person to be aware of the multiple birth!)

13 days old – and about to be famous

I went back day after day after day for the next few weeks – or months, really – because these babies were not common knowledge for quite a while so I had easy access to them, whereas all the other “marquee” births were besieged with visitors from the start. At one point the head of PR got a hold of me, saying she had “heard a rumour” that I might be in possession of the best photos of the cubs taken so far, and would I be willing to donate one or two for their press release – with full photo credit. I was thrilled to do so, and presented her with two dozen choices of which the one you see here made the final cut. Unfortunately, even though the Zoo put my name on the press release, the outlets that reprinted the photo gave the Toronto Zoo the credit. A bit disappointing, but acceptable. What was not acceptable was seeing the photo then appear on the Zoo’s Facebook page with, again, photo credit given explicitly to “The Toronto Zoo”. I’ve recently gone back to that post (it actually used two of my photos) and corrected the error in the comments; I guess it stayed a sore point a lot longer than I had realized! Anyhow, onward and upward, right?

I could honestly fill about four pages here with photos of these gorgeous creatures, but that isn’t really the point, is it? Or is it? Hmm. Well, here: how about a small mosaic of some of the other photos I submitted to PR for the press release?

My favourite

*boop!*

(My favourite – and it’s not close – is the first photo at the top left where Ember is watching one of the kittens squeaking with a wide-open mouth.

The cubs and mom after 6 1/2 weeks

As I’ve previously mentioned, I saw quite a lot of this family as the kittens grew. This photo at left will forever be the single greatest one I took of the family among the myriad here on my hard drive. The sole reason this one wasn’t on the calendar? It looks very weak if cropped to 11 x 8 1/2. However, it’s striking when square – and I made a 16 x 16 version of this for my Stepmom as a Christmas present last year and it hangs proudly on the wall in her den. I showed it to my Dad and told him about the present in early November; it was the very last day I was able to show him any photos before he passed away. This shot holds very special for me, for Sarah, and for June. And I simply don’t see how I could ever have grabbed a better capture of these three gorgeous girls.

One month old

For it turned out the cubs were both girls, although for the longest time we were all pretty sure that the larger, more aggressive one would turn out to be a boy. And the story behind the photo that did make the calendar is kind of a cool one, too. The photo at right here is from the same morning: May 30th, the day they turned one month old. I had not yet seen them out of the den and, as it was a beautiful day and I had all the time in the world, I arrived at the lynx exhibit before the park even opened and planted myself there. For almost five hours when all was said and done. But oh my, was it worth it. Just before noon, with the babes settling down for yet another nap after a long drink from mom, a chipmunk made the ill-advised – and very nearly fatal – decision to run up to the entrance of the den. Luckily it realized the folly of its ways just slightly before Ember spotted it; it was thus able to escape back out through the fence with the adult lynx in very hot pursuit on its heels. Of course, this meant that Ember had bolted away from the cubs in a flash, leaving them a bit bewildered and upset in the den without her. They searched around in the straw for their mom for a few moments until she returned to the mouth of the den – but she did not enter right away. This made the cubs very brave indeed and they began to come out of the den and into the sunlight via the soft underbelly of their mama. When they had cleared Ember and were hit full-on by the bright light of noon, they were spectacular. Their eyes were an incredible shade of blue; their fur, a golden brown I had not expected. I was almost too overcome to take any pictures; luckily I snapped out of it in time and the result appears at the top of this page (and on the April page of the Baby Boom! calendar). I will trade five hours of any day to witness such beauty as a reward, let me tell you.

Ashes (left) and Cinders

On February 13, 2017 the sisters and their mom left the Toronto Zoo for Parc Safari in Quebec, still having not been officially named by the Zoo – although I’d been calling them “Cinders and Ashes” (Cinders is the larger, slightly more red sister) for many months. The lion cubs left on the same day (I’ll save that story for later) so I guess it made economical sense to make just the one trip. However, this came as a surprise to a great many of us and by the time I found out it was too late to say goodbye to my beloved girls. They were off exhibit being crate trained by early February; as a result, this photo at left – taken on January 18th – is the very last one I ever took of the girls together. At that, I was very luck to get any shots of them that day; they were all in the house when I arrived – as they had been for the previous few visits because the weather had turned cold – but this time I decided I was going to wait them out. So I sat down on the viewing platform, pulled out my phone, and began to play a game. I think I was there a good 20 minutes when a Keeper vehicle passed by; I watched it go up the road and then turned to see these two beautiful faces in the doorway to their house.

Cinders, for the last time

Eventually Cinders came out (but not Ashes) and I spent a good hour talking to her and just watching her enjoy the air. I had no idea it would be the very last conversation I would have with her at the Toronto Zoo. I did go back and say “goodbye” to the three of them and I am certain they heard me (they certainly responded to me with great calmness for all the months I went to visit them); still, one last glimpse would have been very much appreciated. At some point this summer we will visit them in their new home when we travel to Montreal to see my cousins and aunts. I hope I’ll be able to see all of them at that time!

I will leave you with one more collage, made up of various photos I took throughout the summer and fall of 2016 as the girls eventually grew into their enormous feet – including some from a memorable day in early January when Cinders really, truly seemed to believe she could fly.

Next month is one of the two (the other being December) where I chose an animal whose birthday I did not know for sure to be in that month. I have to say, though, that there still is a strong possibility this cutie was born in May, judging from the date I took the photo. It’s a species I love to hang around with, in an area of the Zoo which is quieter than most. See you then!

2017 “Baby Boom!” Calendar – April Story On May 5th of last year I was leading my Workshop group on a tour of the Zoo's African savanna.