#but imagine bex put it somewhere in the open

[stones-x-bones]

[Handwriting is shaky, but it can still be read. The note reads: ]

“Decided to look up how to deal with overwhelming circumstances. Apparently thinking about what or who makes you happy is a good place to start. And that you should write about them or illustrate them. I chose the latter.” -M

[bellarkeselection]

Hi! 👋. Could you do a Klaus imagine where the Reader is living with the Mikaelsons for a long time, Reader and Klaus like each other but doesn't express it to each other, but all the other Mikaelsons know that they like each other. So Rebekah sets them up on a surprise date ( Rebekah and the Reader are best friends) . The Reader is a vampire. Thank you for writing. I love ur fics ❤❤

Hidden Expresses

Entering the Mikaelson compound I feel eyes staring at me so I glanced over my shoulder seeing Klaus eyeing me before he drank some beer from a glass. A smirk on his lips seeing me looking his direction. "Close your mouth love. You might droll on that shirt." He spoke pulling me from my gaze, as I felt my cheeks staring to turn red so I spun around so he could only see my back again. For the past few years I've been living with the Mikaelson family in New Orleans. When I was turned into a vampire by my best friend Rebekah after a werewolf bite me I soon realized I couldn't resist my feelings for a certain Mikaelson anymore.

Klaus sips from his glass watching you go upstairs to your room never looking back at him. It drives him completely mad that you didn't change when you became a vampire, all of who you used to be was there. The girl he fell in love with, hopelessly in love with. "You know you'd actually get somewhere if you stopped eyeballing her and instead told her how you felt Nik." Rebekah entered the room making him role his eyes. "It's safer if she doesn't know little sister." He replied leaving the room. Rebekah put her hands on her hips getting annoyed with the two of you. Elijah and Kol were the same way. The two of you just wouldn't admit that you like each other.

Someone knocks on my door and I called out reading the Twilight series and finding barely anything in common with real vampires in this book. Rebekah stepped in my room opening my closet and pulling out a dress. "Y/n, we're going out tonight." She tossed me the orange dress and I slowly changed into it. "Bex why are we going out exactly?" I asked as we walked down the street with the moon above our heads. After walking for a little bit we ended up out at the bayou seeing a table with food and drinks for two on it. Footsteps approach in the distance so I spun on my heels showing my fangs only to see Klaus wearing a dress shirt and pants, confusion written on his face. Why is he here. Rebekah what are you doing.

"Little sister what have you tricked us into?" He asked stepping closer towards us his blue eyes flickered from me to my best friend. "You two are being infuriating with the looks at each other. The rest of us can't take all the hidden romance. So you're going to have this date and deal with your problem or I'll shove a dagger in your back Nik." She huffed throwing her arms up before vampiing off into the woods. I tried to not stare at the hybrid before me but failed only to see him eyeing me up and down before holding out an open hand. "Shall we, Y/n." Putting my hand in his he helps me sit down then goes to his seat staring at me. "I can't believe Bex's cooked up this crazy plan. I mean like a date in the middle of the woods." I blurted out seeing him raise a brow at me. "Are you saying you wouldn't have agreed if say I'd asked you?"

Tilting my head down I feel my cheeks get red even though vampires can't really do that. "No I didn't mean it - of course I would've if you - I like you - uh." I couldn't form a damn sentence and he chuckled shacking his head with a smile. "I'm just teasing, love. I must say though I'm not annoyed by your company. It's actually rare for you be exactly the same girl you were when you were human." Taking a sip from my glass I tasted some fancy wine staring into those blue eyes. "Nik, don't laugh or call me stupid for saying this but - before I was turned I had a small crush on you and now it's grown bigger..." I slowly admitted spinning my daylight ring on my finger waiting for his response.

He gets to his feet walking over to my side of the table pulling me to my feet and at this point I expect him to laugh or run at me just confessing my feelings. But instead he cupped my face in his hands leaning down kissing me and I gasped remembering the times I would dream this would happen and now it's for real. Slowly wrapping my arms around his neck I kiss him back playing with the hair on the back of his neck. He tugs me forward to his chest wrapping his arms around my waist. We broke the kiss even though we didn't need air for me to see a smile on his face as he whispered resting his forehead onto mine. "I love you too, Y/n with all my heart. If you wouldn’t mind I'd like to make up for lost time." I stuttered out lightly blushing. "What about Bex she'll come looking?" He shakes his head lifting me up into his arms vamping us into an old cabin that is obandin now. "She won't find us out here and if she does I'm sure she'll be thrilled." He breaths out laying me on a bed after removing his shirt kissing me once more. My hands tangled themselves in his hair deepening the kiss thinking in my head, thank you Rebekah.

Comments really appreciated ❤️

[bowdownbucky]

𝐁𝐀𝐃, 𝐁𝐀𝐃 , 𝐁𝐀𝐃 !

part two!

summary- you have an encounter with rebecca barnes older brother.

warnings- kissing, slight language and hickeys.

pairings- innocent! reader x college! bucky barnes

bye— i had a dream about this and i deciddd to make it a reality. lemme know if you want an actual story cause there is more to this!! not proof read(sry!)

you and rebecca barnes had been best friends for as long as you can remember, but what you don’t know was that she had an older brother. his name was james but everyone called him bucky, bucky first grasped you attention when you and rebecca were putting flyers around the school for you homecoming dance.

you passed becca the bright flyers, watching her on the ladder as she taped them to the walls. “so i booked our hair appointments at ten? is that good?” becca asked you, you often had a habit of drifting off into space but rebecca quickly put you back on earth. “hello! earth to y/n! i swear it’s like i’m talking to a brick wall.”

“sorry bexs, hair appointment, ten, got it.” she rolled her eyes at you. you and rebecca have small conversations until a loud voice bellows through the hallway. “rebecca what the hell?” you watched as a brunette with pretty blue eyes walks toward you. rebecca climbs down the ladder with her hands on her slender hips.

“what do you want bucky? cant you see i’m busy.” rebecca pointed at you and the flyers, bucky eyed you up and down but didn’t pay you any kind. “would you hurry up! i got somewhere to be.” bucky huffed.

“yeah, like smoking pot with your shitty friends is so important. why are you here anyway? i told you to pick me up at seven.” you stay silent as bucky and becca bicker back and forth, you never knew of bucky’s existence and wonder why becca never mentioned him.

“do i look like a chauffeur? hurry up.” bucky rushed his sister. rebecca turned to you and gave you a big hug. “do you need a ride?” you shook your head. “no, steve is picking me up later.” rebecca wiggled her eyebrows at you. you and steve weren’t super serious but you did claim each other, well you claimed him.

“tell me all the deets later!” rebecca gushed. “there won’t be anything to tell, he’s just taking me home.” rebecca rolled her blue eyes and waved goodbye as she caught up with bucky. what you don’t realize was that bucky had gotten a couple glances at you but somehow you were too naive to notice.

friday rolled around and you were sleeping over at the barnes house, you were excited about homecoming, considering it would be your last one as a highschooler. rebecca showed you her dress, which was a pretty pale blue which matched her eyes. you admired your best friend, she was pretty and what every guy wanted, you were her sidekick and you were okay with it. “i like it but i want mom to add some more sparkles and make a cute slit.” becca explained to you. you normally let becca talk for most of your sleepovers, she never really let you get a word in and she always had something to say.

“i’m gonna go see if mom is up to make a few adjustments to my dress. be right back. make yourself at home y/n” you nodded, painting you nails white. you curse to yourself when you over painted your nails, you walked through the hallways, as you made your way to the bathroom you admired the family photos the barnes had placed on a accent table.

you pick up a picture of bucky, seeing him smile made you feel warm inside. he looked just like his mother, the same blue eyes and cheeky smile. you carefully place the picture down and approached the brown bathroom door which was cracked. you opened the door only to become wide-eyed, seeing bucky inhale the smoke coming from his joint. “oh-sorry! t-the door was cracked. i assumed no one.” bucky held his hand up to cut you off from speaking. you immediately shut up not wanting to upset him.

“no worries. shit the door would ya?” you slowly pushed the door close behind you, you mind was telling you to run but you body stayed, intrigued but the boy i from of you. “this is the only place i can get some alone time, mom is always asking about college and dad is going on about finding a job. kinda hard to get high in my room.” he said, blowing smoke out of the window. “so how’s your stay at casa de barnes?” you didn’t dare look at how red his eyes were. you stared at the ground.

“not the talkative type huh? kinda hard to imagine you and my sister as friends. she never shuts up.” bucky released the joint from his lips and held it out to you. “how rude of me, go ahead.” you opened your mouth to speak but nothing came out. you closed it and shook your head.

“good girl, wouldn’t want to ruin you.” you knees almost bucked at his words. you didn’t even know him and he already had you wrapped around his fingers. “so you going to the home coming dance?”

“y-yes, i’ve b-been planning with beck.” you suprised your self when you spoke. you don’t know how you could speak but he had a hold on you and you were stuck in the bathroom fo. with him for the time being. “miss that stuff to be honest, me and the guys used to have so much fun. and the girls, so nervous, wait g for guys to dance with them. but the girls now are different. they don’t have that innocence anymore.” bucky eyes you up and down like you were his next meal. “well some of them don’t.”

he stood up and you hitched your breath, suddenly afraid to breath around him. he made you nervous but he liked it. it kept you on your toes. he walked up to you, dangerously close, you felt his breath fawning over you you, a mixture of weed and cherry suckers. he reached his hand behind you, locking the door. “wouldn’t want to get caught now would we?” his hand traced yours as he drew another hit from his joint. he blew the smoke into you face expecting you to flinch but you stood tall, face to face with him.

he hummed at you, you wish you could enter his mind and figure out what he was thinking. “you know, there’s something about you. you’re not like becca, all prissy and shit. you’re pure, i bet you’ve never ever been kissed before, ain’t that right doll?” he was mocking you and you liked it. you nodded and his smirk grew wider. he moved closer to you which you don’t think was possible. “i bet you taste nice and sweet. you wouldn’t mind if i had a taste right?” he taunts.

before you could speak his lips, brushed over yours. you couldn’t believe you’d be having your first kiss with your best friend‘a brother. he now had his lips fully enclosed on yours, you could taste a hint of vodka on his lips and it was bitter but the bitterness was overpowers by the sweetness of the cherry sucker. he kissed you deeply, his left hand leaving his side and coming to you like a rocket heading to space. his hand touches your waist, lifting you shirt a bit so he could feel your soft skin.

he nudged his leg between your thighs, feeling you pulsating core on his leg. you gasped at the feeling, giving bucky access to slipping his tongue into your mouth. he roamed you mouth like he was trying to find treasure. he moaned into the kiss, pushing you back and forth against him, creating a hot friction to his thought and your hot core. you let out a tiny moan, you could feel him smirk on your lips.

he removed himself from you now red lips and kissed down from your jawline to your neck. “wait, i-i have a boyfriend.” you knew it was wrong of you but steve never was touched you like this, it wa as new experience and you didn’t want it to stop.

“shhh babydoll, i’ll take care of you.” he sucked on you neck leaving dark purple and red bruised, your blank canvas would be littered with his touch. you didn’t want the feeling of euphoria to stop but it sadly had too when rebecca knocked on the door. “y/n would you hurry up? i need you to paint my nails.”

[softlass27]

Robert Week 2020 Day 2: missing scene/rewrite scene

After letting Rebecca take Seb to Liverpool, Robert told Aaron, “I wanted to tell you, I just knew you’d talk me out of it.” In my alternate version of the 2nd November 2018 episode, Robert lets Aaron talk him out of it :)

(aka fuck emmerdale and their ridiculous “a child belongs with its mother” attitude, even when it makes ZERO sense)

AO3 link here

Robert trudged from Keeper’s Cottage to the Mill on autopilot, barely taking notice of Seb’s babbling as he pulled out his keys and opened the front door.

“Never ends, this, does it?” Aaron called over his shoulder as they entered the living room, chucking teddy after teddy into Seb’s toy box.

“Seem to spend half my life clearing your stuff away, mister,” he grinned and took Seb from Robert. “When’re you gonna start picking up after yourself, eh?” Seb gurgled happily and grabbed Aaron’s beard.

Normally Robert would laugh at the sight of his two favourite people together, probably make some sort of joke about charging their son rent or teaching him to use the hoover, but he didn’t have it in him, not today. Aaron’s smile dimmed when he caught the look on Robert’s face.

“You alright?”

He shook his head wordlessly, mouth pressed together in a hard line.

Aaron came towards him, close enough that Seb was slightly squished between their chests, and laid a hand on Robert’s arm.

“Hey, what’s the matter?”

Robert braced himself for the impact.

“I think – I think we should let Seb go.”

Aaron blinked uncomprehendingly, hoisting Seb higher in his arms. “Go where?”

“Go with Rebecca. To Liverpool.”

There was a beat, then –

“Sorry, you what?”

“It might be for the best if – ”

“No, no way.” Aaron took a step back again, shaking his head and tightening his grip on Seb.

“Aaron – ”

“No, Robert.”

“I’m trying to do the right thing here, would you just listen to me for a minute? Please.”

At the quiver in Robert’s voice, Aaron’s incredulous glare softened by a fraction. He exhaled shakily and looked down at Seb, who shot him a gummy smile in return.

“He’s due a nap,” he said quietly. “Put the kettle on while I take him upstairs.”

*

They settled on the sofa facing each other, knees pressed together and each with a mug nestled in their hands.

“Okay, talk to me,” Aaron said and blew on his tea, open and patient in a way Robert never could have imagined him being a couple of years ago. “What’s brought this on?”

Robert floundered for a moment, unsure of where to start.

“Seeing Rebecca earlier… she’s so down, Aaron. Couldn’t stop crying the whole time we were there.”

“Well she has just been dumped, that’s probably to be expected. Though if she had any sense, she’d know that Ross Barton is no great loss.”

“It’s not just that, though, is it? Her staying here for Seb means she’s stuck somewhere she doesn’t want to be. Surrounded by memories of everything she’s lost, all she’s been through… she just wants a fresh start, to be happy. How can I keep stopping her? I just feel like we’re pressuring her into staying.”

“Ross was pressuring her into going!” Aaron snapped, before taking a breath and reigning himself in. Robert could see how hard he was trying to keep calm, to listen and understand what Robert was saying, and Robert adored him for it.

“Look,” Aaron said eventually. “I get that Rebecca’s been through a lot, I do. I know this year has been hell on her. But that’s a big part of why Seb should stay here with us; she’s not strong enough to cope with him, not full-time. She’s never looked after him on her own; even before the accident she had Chrissie and Lawrence helping her out. And it’s not just about her happiness, is it? It’s about Seb’s, too. That’s the most important thing.”

Robert nodded. Of course it was.

“And being in a strange place, away from his home, that’s not what’s best for him. With no family except his brain-damaged mum, who was held prisoner and nearly murdered by her own psychotic nephew barely a couple of months ago. Plus Ross, who isn’t exactly the paternal type, who we know can be unstable, or even dangerous on a bad day. And then what, some nanny – another random stranger who he won’t know? Who we won’t even know? And that’s it, he’ll be alone. He’ll wonder where we are, why we’ve left him.”

Something in Robert’s heart clenched painfully. That was the last thing he wanted; he’d rather die than make Seb think that he’d abandoned him, that he didn’t love him with everything he had.

“I wouldn’t – we’d still get to see him all the time,” he said, even as his resolve began to crumble. “I’d make sure we got plenty of access.”

“That’s too risky, Robert. Everything would be on their terms, and they could change them like that.” Aaron snapped his fingers. “I wouldn’t put it past either of them. And whatever we get, it won’t be enough, you know it won’t. Rebecca’s already agreed to stay, why rock the boat?”

“She’s agreed to stay for now. But she could change her mind one day, she probably will. What if we’re just delaying the inevitable? We might still have to fight for Seb when he’s older – old enough to know what's going on. And if we do, if things get nasty and it goes to court… ”

“The court that might decide he should stay with us.”

“They won’t, Bex said as much.”

“What? When?”

“She – when she was still planning to go with Ross and we were talking about mediation, she said she was more likely to get primary care than we are.”

“Oh, and she knows that for sure, does she?”

Robert hesitated, suddenly wishing he could take back that nugget of information.

“Rob, what?”

“She said… with you having convictions… ”

He saw the exact moment the realisation hit Aaron and the colour drained from his face.

“Oh. Nice of her,” he mumbled, leaning back against the sofa with a crestfallen expression. And just like that, some of Robert's old dislike towards Rebecca, which he normally kept buried for Seb's sake, came rushing to the surface.

“God, she’s not wrong, though, they would drag my record into it. GBH, assault, they’d think he wasn’t even safe with me.”

“Which would be total rubbish,” Robert rushed to reassure his husband, wrapping an arm over his shoulder and squeezing tightly. “You’re the best dad Seb could have.”

“The courts wouldn’t see it that way, would they?” Aaron said, eyes welling with frustrated tears. He scrubbed a hand across his face before gazing at Robert earnestly. “But you don’t even know it’ll come to that, Robert. You can’t give up based on a load of ifs and buts, on something that might never happen.”

Robert nodded slowly, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth. “Yeah, I suppose… ”

“Is there something else?” Aaron asked, nudging him when he remained silent for a tad too long. “Oi, what’s goin’ on in that head of yours?”

“I just… ” Robert’s voice wobbled as he searched for the right words, tried to vocalise the darkest thoughts in his head. "I don’t want Seb to grow up thinking I kept him from her. My dad didn’t let me stay with my mum after they broke up, wouldn’t let me choose. He kept us apart and I hated him for it, what if – ”

“No, this isn’t like that.” Aaron set his mug down and grasped Robert’s hand tightly in his own. “Rob, you did everything in your power to find Rebecca when she was missing, all so that Seb didn’t have to grow up without his mum. For Christ’s sake, you nearly killed yourself over it – nearly gave me a heart attack in the process as well, you idiot.”

“Sorry. Again.”

“S’okay. Just don’t do it again or I’ll kill you myself,” Aaron warned with a tiny smile that Robert couldn’t help returning.

“Yes, boss.”

“But it just goes to show what you’d do for him. You talk about me, but you’re the one who’s an incredible dad, Rob, Seb’s so lucky to have you. And that’s why I know this is the best place for him, at home with you. With me. And the rest of his family.”

Robert didn’t reply, not really trusting himself to speak around the heavy lump in his throat. They sat in silence for a few moments, fingers stroking back and forth softly.

“So?” Aaron asked eventually. “We’re agreed, he’s staying?”

“Yeah. Yeah you’re right, he belongs here. M'sorry, I just… I’m trying not to be selfish about this.”

“It’s okay to be selfish about this. It’s okay to want to keep him here.”

“Then why do I feel so guilty?”

“Because you’re a good person. Despite what you’d have everyone believe,” Aaron smiled fondly and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I know you, Sugden.”

“Sugden-Dingle to you.”

*

Early the next morning, they were surprised by rapid knocking at the door.

“Who the hell’s come over at this time?” Aaron frowned as he fed Seb another mouthful of porridge.

Robert shrugged and went to open it, finding Rebecca stood in their doorway.

“What’re you doing here? Bit early for a visit, isn’t it?”

She shot him a nervous smile and entered the flat, fiddling with her handbag. “I’m – I’m here to say goodbye. I’m going to Liverpool. Today.”

Robert heard a sharp intake of breath behind him and spun around to look at Aaron, a hint of panic in both their eyes.

“You’ve changed your mind? Again?” Robert turned back to Rebecca, shaking his head rapidly. “Bex, you said you wouldn’t take him from us – ”

“I’m not!” she cried, holding her hands up in defence. “I said he was lucky to have both of you, and I meant it. He needs to stay, I get that. But I’ve slept on it and – and I’ve realised that I can’t. I need a fresh start, and Ross is my best shot at that.”

There was a long silence, only broken by the sound of Seb banging his little plastic spoon on the high chair.

“So you’re leaving? Now?”

“My car’s all packed up.”

“And Seb… ” Aaron stood and approached her tentatively. “Stays here?”

Rebecca nodded, even as her eyes swam with tears, mascara already starting to run.

“This is… the hard decision I’ve ever had to make, but I can’t take him away from his home, from everything he knows. It wouldn’t be fair on him. I’d want visitation rights, of course, weekends and holidays and – ”

“Yeah, of course,” Robert was quick to assure her, heart pounding. “If you’re sure this is what you want, then we can figure all that out, I promise.”

“Okay. Good. Can I have five minutes with him?”

Robert sat in the kitchen with Aaron as they watched Rebecca curl up with Seb on the sofa, holding him tightly and whispering words they couldn’t hear. Eventually, she stood and gave him one final kiss on the head before handing him back to Robert.

“You be a good boy, okay?” She smiled at Seb through her tears, squeezing his hand lightly. “Mummy loves you so much, I’ll have your room all ready for when you come to stay.”

“Good luck, Bex,” Robert said, bouncing Seb on his hip. “I hope Liverpool is – yeah.”

“Thank you,” she sighed, picking up her handbag. “Right, if I don’t go now, I never will. And Ross is expecting me. Goodbye, both of you.”

She gave them a watery smile, before taking her leave. Aaron closed the door behind her, before turning slowly and leaning against it, staring at Robert in shock.

“Well… ” Robert slumped down on arm of the sofa, Seb in his lap. “That’s that.”

*

“You know,” Aaron mused when he came into their room that night. “I think Mr Giraffe is about to steal Teddy’s top spot as favourite toy. Seb stopped crying as soon as I put it in the cot with him.”

“Poor Teddy, cast aside just like that,” Robert smiled and set his book down on the bedside table. “His lordship okay?”

“Yeah.” Aaron pulled back the covers and slid in next to him. “I think he just wanted some cuddles.”

“I can relate,” Robert said, reaching out and pulling him towards the middle of the bed.

Aaron snorted. “Wow, smooth.” But he wrapped his arms around Robert’s shoulders and tangled their legs together, so Robert counted it as a win.

“Speaking of giraffes, I was thinking we could maybe take Seb to the zoo for a birthday treat,” Aaron said a few minutes later, running a hand through the short hairs on the back of Robert's neck absently. “He was only little the last time we went, now he’ll be old enough to properly look at the animals. I reckon he’d love it.”

Robert stared up at him, felt his stomach do a small somersault as he came to a sudden realisation.

“Oi,” Aaron nudged him when he didn’t answer. “You listenin’?”

“Sorry, yeah. The zoo sounds great.”

Aaron disentangled them to prop himself on his elbow, looking down at Robert with raised eyebrows.

“Okay, what’s up?”

“What?"

“I can hear your mind whirring like a hamster wheel over there.”

“Just thinking.”

“Dangerous, that.”

“Cheeky.” Robert dug a hand into Aaron’s ribs, making him squirm with laughter.

“Stop, stop it!” He caught Robert’s hand and pinned it to the bed “Come on, what’re you thinking about, then?”

“Yesterday, when I was – when I had a wobble… ”

“Yeah?”

“Not just then, but when Rebecca was missing. And after the car crash, too. I’ve always been… so afraid of Seb not having his mum around because I know how much I needed mine. Sarah, I mean.”

There was something depressing about having to clarify which deceased mother he was referring to, but Robert didn’t dwell on that now.

“That’s part of the reason why yesterday I thought... maybe he’d be better off with her.”

He hesitated at the hint of sadness in Aaron's eyes, choosing his next words carefully.

“But the thing is… Sarah wasn’t my biological mum, was she? She wasn't there from the start, it was just me and dad until she came along. But that didn’t make her any less important to me, didn’t mean we loved each other any less. When I was little and kids at school would pick on me for not having a mum, I didn’t really care. Why would I? The way I saw it, if I still had a mum – my birth mum – then I wouldn’t have Sarah, and I wouldn’t have given her up for anything.”

Robert could tell by the look on Aaron’s face that he was taken aback by the words, and he didn’t blame him. It was the most he’d said about Sarah in a long time; he hardly ever talked about her like this, not even with Aaron.

But lying in their room at night with the door shut, nestled under the covers and the shadows, always made him feel safe, like he could say anything that was on his mind. And after what they’d been through over the last few days, he needed to say this, needed to make Aaron understand.

“She always said that she chose me, we chose each other, and that meant that what we had was special.”

His voice cracked on the last word and Aaron’s hand shot out to cup his jaw, thumb stroking back and forth over his cheekbone. But he pressed on, a small smile creeping across his face despite the pain that always came with thinking about his mum for too long.

“And today it really hit me, that’s… that’s what Seb has with you. You chose to be his dad when you didn’t have to, and I’m pretty sure he chose you the second you held him for the first time at the scrapyard. You’re his Sarah, and that’s the one thing I’d never want him to lose.”

Aaron’s thumb froze at that, cheeks bright red as he stared at Robert with wide eyes.

“Rob, I… ”

“Sorry, I know this is kind of heavy to dump on you, I just – ”

He was interrupted by Aaron pressing a bruising kiss to his lips, and he let himself get lost in it, arms coming up to loop around Aaron’s neck as he kissed back with everything had.

“You don’t half catch me off-guard sometimes, you know that?” Aaron whispered when he eventually pulled away, hands running up and down Robert’s sides.

“I like to keep you on your toes,” Robert croaked back.

Aaron huffed a laugh, and pecked Robert’s bottom lip once more.

“Of course I choose him,” he said, eyes shining in the low light. “Why d'you think I fought so hard to keep him here? I love the bones of him, of both of you.”

“I love you, too.”

“And I think we're gonna be a pretty damn good at this whole parenting thing.”

Robert grinned and pulled Aaron back down. “We're gonna be amazing.”

[valkyriesryde]

Guardian Angel

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Athena!Reader

Summary: PART TWO OF CALM She won’t commit to him. He doesn’t understand why. But he doesn’t know who she is.

Word Count: 2,130

Warnings: maybe some angst, maybe some fluff, some hinting towards NSFW content but its not explicit. And swearing

A/N: this is a part two but I think it can be read by itself maybe. Its also @mybesttobobcratchit Bex’s 500 Writing challenge! Thank you so much for letting me take part hun! love you <3

Masterlist

~~~

Midgard. That’s what Thor always called it. In the years since the blip and moving forward Thor had come back to earth a handful of times. He’d met Bucky, reconnected with his old friends, those that were still around at least. 

On one of his more recent visits, when Bucky found Thor alone in the common room of their offices he couldn’t help but think of her. Thor was a god and so was she. Thor had power and nobility just like she did. She was still as much a mystery to Bucky has she had ever been and he thought, perhaps Thor had some answers.

“Humans believe in many kinds of gods, do you think it’s possible they’re all out there like you were?” Bucky picks his words carefully, he and Thor don’t exactly know each other well and he doesn’t want to give her away just yet.

“Of course it’s possible, myths always start as facts. Why do you ask? Have you met one? Who is it?” Thor fires questions at Bucky and a smirk spreads over him when Bucky falters at them. “You HAVE!” Thor’s voice booms with laughter as Bucky tries to hush him and looks over his shoulder.

“Maybe! Just be quiet. They can’t know!” His heart beats quickly as he looks towards the door but there’s no sound of someone coming and Bucky can relax. He wonders if she knows he’s told someone about her? If maybe speaking her name would bring her here. 

“But why not? This is fantastic? Who are they? Have I met them?” Thor whispers into the air and the words settle around Bucky for a minute. 

“I don’t know.” He doesn’t know. He has his theories, he’s got the clues. But he doesn’t want to make any assumptions. “She’s like a guardian angel, my guardian angel.” He feels almost breathless talking about her. He’s confused though, he doesn’t know, he’s not 100% sure of anything. She’s cryptic when she talks to him, refuses to tell him anything about herself that digs any deeper than what’s on the surface. 

“She? Do you have her name?”

“Y/N”

“Doesn’t ring a bell,” Thor shrugs his shoulders, he sips his coffee and peers over the mug at Bucky. Bucky who slumps in his seat and is lost in his thoughts until his phone rings and he’s out the door.

~~~

She comes and goes. Like the sun, she passes by and without realizing how long it’s been the sun sets and she has to leave again. She tried explaining it once, “if I’m here for too long people get suspicious James,” she said when he asked her to stay a little longer. “I’ve duties elsewhere you know that. I’ll always come back.” come back those were the words that hurt him. She had come back so far but what if she didn’t? 

The sun was setting again. Bucky watched her tidy her small apartment, the one she kept for whenever she was here. Five months this time he’d had her. It was the longest he’d had her in the same world as him, the longest she had stayed in New York. 

“Do you know when you’ll be coming back?” he picked at the thread of his jumper not wanting to look at the way her face dropped at his comment.

“When the time is right,” she muttered into the room, her focus on the cups she was putting away instead of the frowning man on her couch.

“And when will that be?” 

“James…” she moved to sit next to him, she hated these moments; the goodbye. When he asked her to stay with him for a bit longer and she had to fight herself and tell him no, she couldn’t. 

“How hard is it to give even an estimate? You never tell me, I don’t know if you just don’t know when you’ll be back or if you don’t want to tell me but either way it’s incredibly hard on me just waiting for you to return?” Bucky was angry. Everything came bubbling over at once, he couldn’t stop himself from feeling frustrated and annoyed with her. He thought they were happy, he thought he was enough but why does she keep leaving him. 

“I always come back,” her voice was calm and that just fueled his anger. She shouldn’t be calm at a moment like this, she should be feeling some sort of emotion, at least give him something!

“But I want you to stay! You never do. There’s so much you don’t do. So much you don’t tell me. Do you even care about me? You tell me you favor me, that you love me but do you really?” That angered her. Finally, that was the thing that pushed her over the edge. How dare he question her love for him. 

“Are you really going to look me in the eye and tell me you think I don’t love you?” She stood from her seat and looked down at him with grey eyes that made him feel as though he was in the eye of the storm but Bucky’s emotions got the better of him. 

“You won’t even kiss me. What am I supposed to think?” Bucky’s voice was quiet, he was hurt, every time he would go to kiss her she turned away. She wouldn’t tell him why just that the time wasn’t right. There was never enough time, never the right time. 

“Love isn’t just shown through physical affections, James.” Her voice low as anger fueled it. 

“Sometimes I feel like I barely know anything about you! You just talk about me and everything else but yourself. I want to know who you are!”  

“Who I am?” She held her hands in fists by her side, her jaw tightened. 

“Yes.” He hit back. She straightens her posture in front of him and Bucky sits up.

“I was born when my father developed an unbearable headache. His skull was split open and out I came ready for battle. I had no childhood. I’m always on the winning side of the war. They named a city after me you know? A whole city.” She shakes her head and lets out a small laugh. The simple jeans and t-shirt she wore morphed and a toga, white as snow, formed over her. A familiar golden shield appeared in her hand. The face of a woman with snakes for hair, he knew that story, was on its front, she held a spear in her other as she stood over him. “Gods get forgotten, the new gods are merely the old with different names. That doesn’t change our history. I’m not remembered, I’m no longer worshipped but that does not change who I am. I don’t kiss you because I took an oath. If I kiss you I don’t know if I’d be able to stop myself. It’s bad enough that I favor you and I spend my time in the mortal realm but if I broke that oath? I would be disowned, I would be punished worse than you can ever imagine.”

Bucky stood from the couch and her shield and spear disappeared from her side. He wasn’t quite sure what he was feeling. In awe, enamored, slightly terrified, a little honored. 

“You want to know who I am? I am wisdom. I am the helper of heroes, Odysseus and his son, Heracles, Perseus, Jason...you. I am the protector of the city, Pallas, grey eyes. Minerva. Athena.”

“Y/N.” Her breath caught in her throat when he spoke her name. The only one she’d chosen for herself. Bucky reached up and traced his fingers over her jaw, her chest heaved as he held her in his hands as if she were made of glass. 

“I love you.” He brushed away her tears, she hadn’t even realized she was crying until she felt his fingers brush across her cheeks, “you have to know that.” Bucky nods his head, he feels the salt from his own tears when he licks his lips. Her fingers grip his shirt as he presses his forehead to hers and he lets out a shaky breath.

“I love you,” Bucky breathed out and his lips brushed against hers.

“Bucky-“ his lips pressed against hers and her knees went weak, his arms circling her waist and holding her close.

It was hesitant, gentle and filled with love. But when her fingers tangled in the ends of his hair and he pulled her flush against him it changed. Hesitant turned to confident, gentle turned to rough and the love evolved into passion. Hands pulled and gripped at clothes until they were piles on the floor. Hair was pulled, moans and whimpers filled the room and moved through the hall, they pressed against the wall, were tangled in the sheets, deep sighs and murmurs of love and adoration only reserved for one another floated around them. Somewhere in the distance lightning cracked and thunder boomed, rain poured outside but it only added to the ambiance of it all.

~~~ 

“You can’t love him.” They stood at the mouth of the cave, her bag slung over her shoulder as he leaned against the stone.

“That’s a bit hypocritical of you to say isn’t it?” She narrowed her eyes at the god of thunder. How did he know, how did he always know when she was up to no good.

“If anything my warning should be the one you do listen to. Nothing but pain can come from loving a mortal.” They were good friends, had been for a long time. It’s what happens when you're around for so long, your lives tend to cross every now and then. 

“He’s not just a mortal though. He doesn’t age like them, he doesn’t heal like them. He’s not just a mortal.” She kept telling her it was okay. Everything would be okay. He wasn’t a normal mortal. He loved her. She loved him.

“He’s not immortal either, he’s not like either of us.” Thor always ruined her fun. She can love him for now though can’t she? Does she not deserve this, she’d lived a thousand lives, she deserved to choose one for herself.

“Thor I thought you would understand,” Y/N rolled her eyes at her old friend, she mirrored his stance and crossed her arms as if to challenge him.

“I do. That’s the problem grey eyes, I understand too well. I do not want you to get hurt.” Thor looked at her with sympathy, he knew the hurt, he carried it with him. The pain that came with rejection. Thor loved midgardians but he knew how dangerous they were when it came to their feelings. He didn’t wish heartbreak to anyone, especially someone he cared about.

“You’re not my father,” her father, god of the sky, king of the gods. She wasn’t afraid of him, not as afraid as she should be as she prepares to go home.

“You are lucky it’s me and not him you’re talking to.”

“By now he already knows, if anything being here with you is just me procrastinating the inevitable.” She shrugged her shoulders at Thor who couldn’t help but roll his eyes in return.

“You can’t run away from this, you took an oath.”

“And what does that oath say about love? I’ve kept that oath for thousands of years. I’m sick of it.”

“And what if it’s not love, what if this blows up in your face?” Thor’s warnings came from his own experience and his own fears. He’d been left behind, he’d lost his family and all of those that were closest to him. She was an enigma, she didn’t see the risk of it all, the risk that came with loving someone who could be taken from you so easily.

“I’ve never wanted to break it before him, Thor. If that isn’t love...if wanting to go against what I’ve promised and what I’ve been told to believe because of him isn’t love...then I do not care for it.”

“He loves you.” It’s a fact that Thor states without even thinking about it. He saw the look in Bucky’s eyes when they talked to each other earlier in the week. He saw the way his body completely changed, his posture straightened, his shoulders relaxed, his eyes lit up. Bucky was in love. 

“He sees me, Thor, he always saw me. He was never supposed to see me but he always did...does.” She smiles softly and looks deep into the cave, Thor can see it clear as day, so was she. 

~~~

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[datarevived]

   -- Ⅷ : ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʟғ's ᴅᴇɴ ( PT.1 )

Dusk wasted no time as the orange setting hues of the sky collapsed over the Tower. The humming sounds of returning patrols, exchanged with the well-rested who'd swap their place. The smells of the Bazaar were at their peak, and in the fade of the night, the City slowly but surely began to illuminate with fashioned lights and flame to the gentle breeze.

A constant source of work and noise, not even the nightfall could silence the moving parts of the Hanger. A well-oiled machine, rolling the in's and out's of ship repairs, armor, weapons and more. No rest for the wicked, they say -- no wonder it had been the hot-line for Hunters and the like.

" Hold on there partner. "

The ringing tune of one's voice was common amidst the equipment and bolts. It's southern tint, something curved by the nature of of the City and those who occupied it. Cooped with a demeaner that stood as tall as the Tower itself, as if practiced as a child and through the eyes of a leader. 

It's directed at a man clad in white and blue -- hazel eyes turning in his height to peer down at the approaching sneer that would greet him honest.

" Holliday. "

" Val. "

" Is there's a problem? " 

" Only if you plan to board yer' girl, " the shipwright smiled. A steady movement between resting a hand at her hip and eyes towards the others' ship -- giving a moment in pause before returning lighter greens upon the opposing blonde. " Boss's orders... can't let ya' leave I'm afraid. "

" I wasn't aware that the Vanguard deemed itself notable to suddenly take possession of my property, " the Titan responded dryly. A noticeable irritation across his face as his jaw tightened up and eyes began to slit. Unmoving in his stance as he merely offers a look over his shoulder, her head just as tall as armed plate. " Last I recall, my ship is not authorized through your family's gatekeeping. "

" Gatekeepin'? First I've heard of it, " the woman laughed, her tone holding a tint of played shock. Hand moving from hip to chest, crossing over the other as she slants her weight in favor of dominant foot. " Can't tell you you're wrong, though. She's a work of art, but I ain't her painter. I'm jus' tryin' to follow orders. "

A deliberate ‘ tch ‘ snaps out of the corner of his mouth. A heated glare towards the shipwright, then back to the horizon in front of him before muttering his speech. 

" To think even in this day and age we deal with the complications of War Lords, " the man snarls, half under his breath before quickly receiving an offensive jab to his side. The jolt of motion causing him to half-step, now examining the woman more carefully. 

Amanda Holliday, treasured face of all recent Golden Age tweaks among ship and sparrow, alike. 

" You really tryin’ to go there? " she glared, face having scrunched in disbelief at the comment. " You're suppose to try'n win me over if you wanna leave -- not givin' me more reasons to nail yer' feet to the ground. " 

Such threat having come met with a sigh, followed by rolling irises as the Titan bared his teeth -- the next few moments presenting a silence between the two. One, unwilling to argue, while the other carried an itch to please. 

How disastrously stubborn this man was -- he'd have no right to talk little of Hunters. A knot in her own stomach to question, whether it would be the right or wrong thing to do when deep down, she knew there was only one option here. She'd hear it from Zavala, later. But at the least - perhaps she could ring out of him an ultimatum.

" Look, I don't know all the details... the who or the why, but, " she started, unraveling arms and waving a hand in her speech, " Y'gotta give me somethin'. I can't just put on the report that you decided to ship out on your own. Too many consequences for the both of us, and I ain't good with lyin. "

The least he could do was give her some poor excuse. Something. Anything.

" ...On-field training. "

" On field... trainin'? With who? Yer’self? " she quirks a brow.

" A Hunter and apparent guest, " Valdourin responds blankly -- eyes having narrowed upon his ship in the distance as his Ghost materializes at the dock. It's black, diamond-esq shaped shell halted in the visible hull outside, scanning the ship with a crimson glow from singular light that specified the Ghost's vitals. " A plenty enough reason to leave a few hours, I'd assume. It seems his orders were fairly clear that I not leave alone. "

Sharing his gaze over towards the jumpship, it was a brief moment in idle thought before she exhaled out a sigh, causing her shoulders to waiver. It was the best she was going to get out of this one -- and so help the Traveler that it wouldn't come to  bite her later. There was no use in trying to power over Guardians - especially the stubborn breed. A curious matter in why she even tried, somedays.

" You win this one... but you better come back with those plus twos, " she points, extending an index finger towards his person. " Else, the logs will keep you at on-field training til I get two look-alikes to walk off that ship with you enough to sell the job. Understand? "

" A matter only important whether or not I return to this accursed place, " he turns a shoulder, feet immediately picking up where they left off towards the ship. Numb to the glaring daggers behind, it wasn't as if he'd bond with those of the Tower any more than necessary to earn their regards in the first place. This was merely a convince.

--

Two hours had gone by since the departure.

The jumpship lingered between the endless cataclysm of space, no provident destination in place unless it had been somewhere past the Sol of which they knew thus far. It was the only reasonable explanation that came to mind, why Commander Zavala would have been so against another enduring a solo-mission, and why it would have taken so long to get there. 

Something clearly uncoordinated by a chaotic duo, two bodies wheezing shoulder to shoulder for air and desperate need to stretch. Whether it'd be the death of them to be revived in a wooden crate. God forbid this man pull aside a planet for a pit-stop or piss break --

" I thought you said he was going to Io?! " " Th-That's what I heard! He definitely mentioned -- " " Mentioned?! You said he was. There's a difference! " " Shhh --! Maybe his jump-drive is just broken! You know, things we take for granted? " " How would you know? You don't even own a ship - " " I'm poor, not stupid! " " Oh? coulda fooled me! " " SHHH! You're gonna get us caught! " " And whose fault would that be, hm? Getting caught in a cargo lift. "

" Oh come ooon, " the Hunter groaned, surrendering over the fight. A complicated scenario of not having the energy to exert, and yet, it was all the energy that was driving her mad with knees pressed to her chest and butt cheeks numbed to the wooden bottom of the crate. 

It wasn't even fair for Bex to complain -- not when he didn't have nerve endings in his toushe that were deflating by the minute. If only he'd take a second to imagine it - what it'd be like sitting in one place for two hours straight, all because he was stressed. Try being uncomfortable and stressed! - -

Preoccupied by her own inner monologue, it takes the Awoken in shock when the Warlock's glove is quickly clamped over her own mouth. First reaction being offense, secondly being that of caution -- narrow eyes demanding an answer as head switches over toward the Exo, only to follow a shy pointed finger at in-between the lines of the crate. A familiar red hue patrolling the hall, this diamond shadow that hovered at waist-height. 

Valdourin's Ghost, they had both assumed earlier. One that hadn't made any noise or notation thus far that it had been aware of their presence.

How quickly that was about to change.

The metallic tap of boots on steel echoed off the interior of the ship, the Titan having made his way back. That despite the pallid aura of his armor, stood dawned in a critical shade of silhouette black, courtesy of the narrowing lights from the cockpit and lack there of in the hold. He's still for a moment, his attention held direction in front of him -- before a peculiar sound begins to pop. 

Brief visual catches of white sting against the air -- static, as charges surge indefinitely, highlighting traveled sections of his armor and through his hair. Like a wolf bearing its' canines, so does the Titan pulling back his lips as grit teeth catch against visible force. If smoke could hold such a straight shape -- as if lightning, itself, breathed from this very body.

They were like moths to a flame --

Their attention is held in awe, unable to process what was about to happen. Selene even so much as scooting her face closer, captivated. She could feel it -- the hair at the back of her neck, and the goosebumps beneath her own wears. And she wonders if Bex feels it the same -- the raw power this man held in his frame. 

The very presence that would ignite the cargo into a violent ray of blue and white lines -- cracking open each and every non-metal structure as the electricity ran through the cargo bay and their bodies like a fluid current. 

A jarring scream is let out from the Awoken -- Bex having collapsed temporarily from the surge, body sprawled against the splintered wood as he focused all concentration to remain optics open. Selene's own, stunned in a staggered movement before collapsing not too far off from her knees. Trials of time and experience still relatively new to her skin, and thus, the pain was just that much more.

" You stalk me, then proceed to poach upon my territory. "

His voice was far more stern in person. 

The bravado lingered in his chest as the Titan turned, facing the wall left of him where the cargo revealed its' carry. Two unknown faces, both in equal shock and pain. He inhales a single breath -- sparks still igniting against the air closest to him, before taking the effort to walk over towards the two.

" I care not who sent you, or what you want. But you've made a critical error in thinking you forgo consequence. "

Before Selene can manage her way back into a sitting position, her face is met with the toe-tip of one's boot. A swallowed chance for air as panic suddenly rose in her stomach, eyes widen in such a fear before hand the size of her face wraps roughly at her throat and pulls her upward. A crushed squeak hissing between her lips before her backside hits against the ship's wall, pinned by single hand as both of hers instinctively clamped around the man's wrist, trying desperately to make space between fingers and neck.

Looking down in between the blurred vision of building tears -- it's the first time she's looking at the Ward in person. One on one, cyan-eyes melting against hunted hazels that glared at her as if some sort of parasite. It's the first time she's realizing the details of this one's face -- a deep scar across the nose with brows that rested pensive. How strangely clean his hair was, despite being a Titan and male. That certain strands set aside from the rest, curving the contorts of his face as if having rested for decades to frame.

A bizarre contrast in comparison to what he was viewing -- an Awoken deer in the headlights, attempting to beg for her life if it hadn't been for the crushing force on her windpipe. Frantically her eyes move from person to person -- once at him, then down at the partially-conscious Warlock to his left. Back to him -- pleading.

Begging.

Praying.

" D-Don't -- "

It was a struggle in itself to stay aware of the situation. 

" D-Don't hurt her. "

Whether it had been because of previous issues -- or that they were simply caught off guard. It was taking longer than a moment for him to get his bearings back in place.

" It was -- it was my idea, " the Warlock churns out, his chest taking in deep breaths as he brought himself 'pon hands and knees. His own optics glaring now, processing -- readying himself to get back in the picture. He will not stay down. " L-Let her go. And you can deal with me, instead. "

In the moments the Exo took to speak, not a second of it was lifted off of the Hunter. Valdourin's attention remaining ever still, his grip unchanging but the whimpers of the other growing in pace. It isn't until the body of the third meets his peripheral does he bother giving a side-eye glance over his shoulders, blue-lining trim of his shoulder pads lining up with the Exo's staring hue -- a vibrant orange shaped into that of scowl -- posture resting weakly against his weight.

" Chivalry is a dead mannerism. And those who wield it bound to follow its' ancestry, " Valdourin speaks dully, releasing the grip from the Awoken's neck, proceeding to drop her back to the floor in a coughing fit. " You have limited time to plead your case, machine. 

I implore you to use your words efficiently. "

[bringyourownbabytaters]

Falling In Love With You ch. 16

Chapter 16. Pretty In Pink

September

Bex sat on Aunt Mei's couch, waiting. Her due date was in a week, and her parents were on their way. She hadn't seen them in almost five months, and honestly, she wasn't even sure they'd recognize her. Her baby bump had grown considerably, to the point that she couldn't even tie her own shoes anymore. She now knew she was carrying a baby girl. She'd also changed her hair again. It was now cut in a bob, and dyed bright red.

In some ways, being away from home wasn't all bad. Aunt Mei was a piece of work, and she couldn't forget about all the things being forced to leave home had cost her; her friendships, graduating with her high school class, and the security of her own home. But in the other hand, she'd found some independence and freedom at her aunt's. And at least she was somewhere where everything didn't remind her of Bowie. Shadyside felt heavy with memories of him.

The doorbell rang. "That must be your parents," Aunt Mei said curtly.

"I'll get it." Bex hobbled to her feet and went to the door, more nervous than she expected she'd be. She opened it, and there were her mom and dad. They hadn't changed a bit. "Hi," she said, suddenly shy.

"What have you done to your hair?" Celia cried. There were tears in her eyes.

Bex touched the tips of her shorter hair. "Do you like it?"

"No, I don't," Celia laughed.

"Just to be clear, I did not give her permission to do that to herself," Aunt Mei told her sister.

"Well, I think she looks cool," Ham winked. He smiled happily. "Come here, kiddo. Give me a hug."

Bex threw her arms around her father's neck, giving him the tightest hug she could manage with her huge stomach. "I missed you so much," she said, tears filling her eyes and spilling over.

"I missed you too, honey." He planted a kiss on her temple.

"I don't suppose you missed me," Celia said softly. Her chin trembled, and she turned her head away, carefully avoiding meeting Bex's eyes.

"I did miss you, mom," Bex said honestly, her heart aching. Her mother reached for her hand and squeezed it.

"You look wonderful, sweetheart," Ham said. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good," she said, rubbing her stomach. "The baby's kicking a lot today."

"May I feel?" her mom asked, cautiously.

"Yes," she smiled. "Of course. Go ahead, mom." She'd quickly learned that when you're pregnant, your stomach becomes public property. Everyone who sees you has to touch it.

Celia gently lay her hand on Bex's stomach. The baby picked just then to give a hearty kick. Celia laughed and sobbed at the same time. "This little girl is going to be a dancer."

"A tap dancer, by the feel of it," Bex laughed. The baby had especially taken to kicking her bladder. Sometimes when she lay down at night, she could actually see the baby moving. It was weird, seeing a lump suddenly bulge out of her abdomen, and move from one side to the other. She hoped the baby would do that later, because she knew her parents would get a kick out of it. It was pretty adorable.

"Where can we put our bags?" Celia asked Mei, glancing past Bex at her older sister.

"You may put them in the guest room," Mei told her. "Rebecca has been sleeping in Ling's room. I thought she would be more comfortable there, with a television and books to read."

"That's very kind of you, Mei," Ham said diplomatically.

Mei nodded. "Well, it's fortunate the room was empty, since Ling is away at college." She emphasized the word college ever so slightly, but it was clear she was gloating. Bex saw her mother's jaw tighten. If only she knew that Aunt Mei had reminded Bex that Ling was away at college at least twice a day since she'd arrived. This was going to be a long week.

****

Bex was propped up in bed, watching Pretty In Pink  and eating Oreos, when her labor pains began. She barely noticed the contractions at first; they didn't feel much different then the false contractions she'd been experiencing on and off for the past few weeks. Absorbed in the movie, she reached into the package of cookies balanced on her belly; she'd found, purely by accident, that her baby bump made the perfect table for snacks, and popped one in her mouth.

Downstairs, she could hear her  mother and aunt arguing. Aunt Mei must have made one passive-aggressive comment too many, because they'd been going at it all evening. She tried to tune them out by turning up the TV.

Pretty in Pink was one of her all-time favorite movies, and it was almost to her favorite scene. She settled back to watch, rubbing her stomach. She was uncomfortable no matter how she positioned herself, and she hoped the movie would take her mind off of it.

By the time Andie had arrived at the prom in her pink dress, Bex had become aware that her contractions were becoming stronger and closer together. And she started to realize that this may not be another false alarm. One thought registered in her mind- that she really liked the name Andie- as her abdomen and back clenched in pain, worse than anything she'd felt so far.

She leaned forward, sucking in her breath, willing the cramps to go away. Finally they did. But a few minutes later, they returned.

She crawled out of bed, bent over, unable to stand up straight. "Mom!" she cried. "Mom! Help me!" She sunk down on her knees, sobbing.

The arguing downstairs ceased immediately. "Rebecca!" Celia had run up the stairs, Aunt Mei and Ham close behind. "What's wrong? What's happening?"

"I'm having contractions," Bex said, breathing shallowly. "They hurt." She squeezed her eyes shut. "Make it stop, mom!"

"I can't, Rebecca," Celia apologized. "I wish I could, but I can't." She turned to her husband. "Get her suitcase from the hall closet. It's all packed. Put it in the car, then call the hospital and tell them we're coming."

"Do you think she's in labor?" Ham asked.

"It looks like it," she nodded.

"I'm on it." Ham jogged out of the room and down the stairs.

Celia squeezed her daughter's  hand. "Can you try to stand up?"

"I don't know," she gasped. "It really hurts."

"You need to try," her mother told her. "You can do it. I know you can." She reached out to help her up. "How far apart are your contractions?"

"I don't know," she sobbed.

"You should know," Celia told her. "You should be timing them!"

"Let me get out my stopwatch, mom," Bex snapped irritably. Then she screamed as another round of pain gripped her. "Mom, please."

"Help me get her up," Celia ordered her sister. Mei came to her other side, and the two of them helped her struggle to her feet.

Bex's legs were shaking under her weight. Suddenly, her body went rigid, and she gasped with pain. She looked down at her feet in shock. Hot fluid ran down her legs and splashed on Aunt Mei's cream-colored carpet in a puddle.

Aunt Mei gave her a horrified look, but Celia cut her off with a warning glance, daring her to say something. Despite her pain, Bex knew her mom was loving that moment.

****

Bex was admitted to the hospital right away. She lay in bed, tense. At this point, her body knew when she was about to have a contraction, and she knew to dread the pain. The dread was almost the worst part. But she knew she was in for a long night; a first baby could take hours, even a full day, to be born, and she was only two centimeters dilated.

"My back hurts so bad," she told her mother. It felt like bands of pain were gripping her. She cried out as another contraction came.

Celia stood beside her bed, keeping an eye on her watch, timing Bex's contractions. "Try to stay calm," she said. "It will be a whole lot easier on you." She rubbed Bex's back, trying to sooth the pain.

****

Six hours later, the pain had only become worse. Bex was practically climbing the walls, and in her mind, she was cursing Bowie and the day she ever let him touch her. "I can't do this, mom," she cried. "I can't!" She gripped Celia's sleeve, trembling. "I don't want to do this!"

"Well, it's too late now," Celia hissed. "If you didn't want the pain, you should have kept your legs together."

Another powerful contraction hit, blinding Bex for a moment. "Get out of here!" she shouted wildly at Celia, pointing at the door. "You're not helping me, so just leave! I don't want you in here!"

"Is something wrong?" a nurse asked, looking into the room.

"I want my mother out of here!" Bex screamed irritably.

"Fine. I'll leave," Celia shrugged, throwing her hands up in the air in defeat. "Good luck." She started to turn away.

Bex changed her mind then as yet another contraction gripped her. "Wait mom, don't go! I need you!"

"I think it's time for an epidural," the nurse said quietly. "I'll go order it."

****

Ten hours later, Bex felt nearly insane. The pain was constant now, despite the medication she'd been injected with to help manage it. She was eight inches dilated. She was shaking and nauseous. All she wanted was for the baby to get out. If it didn't soon, she honestly thought she would die. She didn't think her body could handle much more trauma.

"Breath, Rebecca," her mother reminded her, gently coaching her. "You're almost there." She rubbed the back of Bex's hand softly.

The doctor examined her. "You're fully dilated," she said. "This baby is ready to be born."

"It is?" Bex asked through her tears.

The woman nodded. "It's time for the hard part. But it's almost over."

Bex gasped. She couldn't imagine anything being harder than what she'd already gone through. She didn't want to imagine it. But as the doctor ordered her to push, and it felt like her body was ripping in half, she knew exactly what the woman had meant.

An hour later, the doctor announced that the baby was crowning. It was now September 28th. "Keep pushing," she said. "We're almost there. I see a neck, and a shoulder."

Bex mustered every bit of strength she had left to push through the pain. She squeezed Celia's hand hard.

Then, there was absolute quiet in the room, as if everyone were holding their breath.

And suddenly, shrill cries pierced the air. It was her baby, Bex realized, breathing a sigh of relief. Those seconds of silence had been the longest of her life, but the baby was out, and she was crying.

"You have a healthy baby girl," the doctor told her. "Congratulations."

A nurse quickly wiped the baby off, and lay her on Bex's bare skin, so they were chest to chest, while Celia cut the umbilical cord. Bex wrapped her arms around the infant protectively, and the baby's crying ceased almost immediately, becoming a soft whimper. "Hi," Bex whispered. "I'm your mama. You're beautiful."

"Does she have a name yet?" the nurse asked.

Bex closed her eyes for a second. "I think- I think I want to name her Andi. A-N-D-I."

As she held Andi close to her heart, she was filled with an intense love, so strong that it filled her eyes with tears that spilled over. This day was bittersweet, because Bowie should have been there with her; she could feel his absence more strongly than ever. But she had her baby at last, and she was happy. Andi was a beautiful reminder of what she and Bowie had shared. She was the essence of their love, made into a little person Bex could hold. She kissed Andi's head softly. "I love you so much." Already, she knew she would die for Andi. She would do anything for the tiny girl wriggling in her arms. She was someone she would love forever.

"She's wonderful, Rebecca," Celia said quietly. She reached down and lightly stroked Andi's soft black hair with her fingertips. "Look at all that hair. And that little button nose." Tears rolled down her cheeks.

"She's perfect," Bex sniffled. She kissed Andi again, pressing her nose to the top of her head, breathing in her soft baby smell.

"Please, may I hold her?"Celia sobbed.

Bex's heart squeezed. "Of course you can, mom." She gave Andi one last kiss, and reluctantly let her mother take the infant gently into her arms. Bex's own arms immediately ached to have Andi back in them. She never wanted to let her go, even for a second.

"Hi, sweetheart," Celia cooed, swaddling the baby in a soft pink blanket. "You're so precious." She cuddled her carefully. "We're so happy to meet you. Welcome to the world."

"What do you think of her name, mom? Do you like it?" Bex asked.

"I wasn't sure about it at first," Celia admitted. "But now that I'm holding her, I couldn't imagine her as anything else. She is Andi."

"Andi Mack," Bex smiled.

****

Later, Bex lay in her hospital bed with Andi nestled in her arms, enjoying the quiet while her parents were getting something to eat. She'd just had her first breastfeeding session; Andi had taken to it fast, and now they were resting together. Andi looked up at her through sleepy eyes, and yawned. She was such a good, quiet baby, Bex thought, as she planted a soft kiss on top of her head.

She held Andi's hand, studying her tiny fingers. Her fingernails were so small, they looked like chips of pink seashells. How could anything be that small? Around her wrist, she wore a little hospital bracelet that matched Bex's. It was adorable. Andi was seven pounds, three ounces, and twenty-one inches of cuteness.

Bex smiled as Andi gripped her finger in her little fist. She kissed her round cheek. Her skin was so soft, like silk. "You're the most beautiful baby in the world," she told her.

"I agree."

Bex looked up to see her father. She smiled. "Hi, dad. Where's mom?"

"She's getting a cup of coffee," Ham told her. "She'll be back soon." He came to Bex's bedside and smiled down at Andi. "Well, hello Miss Andi." He bent down and kissed Andi's forehead, then Bex's.

"I think she's ready for a nap," Bex said. "She can barely keep her eyes open."

"She's had a hard day," Ham said. He reached out to brush Bex's hair out of her face. "You both have. How are you feeling, honey?"

"I feel great," she said. "I thought I was going to die when I was a having her, but now I don't even care about the pain."

Her dad laughed. "I hear that's what happens."

"It really is like you said it would be," she told him.

"Whats that?" he asked.

"How much I love her, from the moment I saw her. I didn't know I could love anything so much. It makes me feel almost, I don't know... dizzy, sort of. But not in a bad way. I don't know how I ever lived without her."

Ham laughed. "I told you. There's nothing in the world like seeing your child for the first time."

"I can't believe I'm a mom," she said, her eyes tearing up. She glanced at her camera on the bedside table. "Dad? Will you take a picture of me and Andi before she falls asleep? I want to always remember how she looks right now."

"I'd be happy to." He picked up the old Polaroid and pointed it at Bex. "Smile, and say cheese."

Bex laughed. "Cheese!" She looked down at Andi, grinning as her father snapped a photo. She felt like she was wrapped in a blanket of happiness.

"Do you want me to hold her for a while?" Ham asked. "Give you a chance to rest for a bit?"

Bex nodded. "Okay, dad. Thanks."

He took the baby from Bex, tenderly cradling her in his arms, and sat down in the rocking chair next to the bed. He rocked Andi slowly. "She looks just like you did when you were born," he smiled wistfully. "Gosh, it seems like it was just yesterday I was holding you like this. Then in the blink of an eye, here you are, all grown up. And I'm a grandfather." He sighed contentedly. "But no matter how old you get, this is how I'll always see you. My little baby."

There was no answer from the bed. Ham looked up to see Bex fast asleep.

[arashi-no-megami]

So I wrote a fic based around the first part of this prompt that I got from @intyruswestan !! Here’s the link if you wanna play around with it yourself~

(Homophobia, cursing)

*******

TJ slowly flipped through the box of discounted records that sat outside of the Red Rooster. He started humming the tune of a song he recognized as he looked at each title. He thought that there might be some more records inside, so he pushed open the door to the music shop and walked in. To his surprise, he ran into Andi and an older looking woman, probably in her early 30’s.

“TJ? I didn’t know you were into music!” Andi cheerfully greeted the tall boy.

“Oh...hey, Andi. I was just checking out the records,” TJ awkwardly smiled back.

“Heyyyy, aren’t you that kid who wouldn’t pass Buffy the ball?” The older woman who was with Andi folded her arms with a raised eyebrow and a playful smile.

“Hahaha...yeah, that’s me...” TJ rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at his shoes.

“I’m Andi’s mom. You can call me Bex,” the woman smiled and extended her hand. TJ looked back up at her and shook her hand with a polite smile.

“TJ. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

*A week later*

TJ was sitting at a table in his living room, scrolling through his phone while his parents watched some random Lifetime movie on TV. He pretended not to be interested in the movie, but he actually was listening and following the story. The movie was about a high school boy, not too much older than him, who was trying to make it through school while being bullied for being gay. This boy was in a relationship with another boy, and even though it came with sometimes unbearable consequences, TJ wanted that for himself more than anything. He’s had a secret crush on Cyrus for a good while now, and it only upset him more that he couldn’t be honest with his feelings. All because he was scared of what other people would think of him. He sighed and continued scrolling through his phone. The dialogue in the next scene that played was what got TJ to look up at the screen. The two boys were sitting on a bed, one of them crying.

“I don’t care what names I get called or how many times I get stuffed into lockers. All I care about is being able to be with you,” the Indian boy with glasses told the shorter Blond boy. The Blond boy wiped his tears and smiled weakly at his boyfriend. TJ could feel his heart beat faster as the Indian boy brought his hand up to the shorter boy’s face. The couple on the TV screen shared a short, but emotional kiss, and TJ could feel tears welling up in his eyes. This beautiful moment was ruined when he heard his father’s rough voice groan loudly.

“Ugh, I can’t believe they’d show this shit on television. What if other kids saw this and thought it was okay?”

TJ felt his heart drop to his stomach.

“Aw, I think it’s cute, honey,” TJ’s mother replied, without looking away from the screen.

“Cute, my ass! Imagine having a son, raising him into a fine young man, only for him to go and like other boys. It’s fucking disgusting; my head hurts just thinking about it!” TJ’s father rubbed his temples and slouched back in the sofa.

TJ bit his lip and felt the once-happy tears flow down his cheeks. He quickly wiped his face and got up from his chair as fast as he could. Both his parents turned around at the sudden noise and saw TJ heading for the front door.

“Timmy? What’s wrong, sweetie?” His mother called after him. TJ stopped in his tracks, but didn’t turn around.

“What’s the matter, son?” His father stood up and asked sternly. TJ just shook his head and reached for the door knob.

“Timothy James Kippen, answer me when I talk to you,” his father’s voice boomed. TJ sighed and turned around. His eyes went from the TV screen, to his parent’s faces, to the floor. His father noticed, looked back at the screen, and saw the two boys hugging each other tightly. He realized his son had been crying, and made the connection.

“Son, you...you aren’t...gay...are you?” TJ didn’t respond. He just kept his gaze on the floor. His father grew angrier with every passing second.

“Answer me.”

TJ felt all his emotions come out at once.

“SO WHAT IF I AM!?” TJ flung the door open and stormed out, slamming it behind him. He felt the tears flowing freely and started to run. Where was he going? He had no idea. As long as it was far, far away from his father.

TJ found himself at the playground, where he first spoke to Cyrus. Cyrus. He tried to see if he could text him, but his phone’s battery was dead. He sat down on the swings, exhausted from running all the way from home. It was early evening, and the sun was about ready to set. TJ didn’t move his feet to start swinging, he just sat there, bawling his eyes out. By some weird twist of fate, he heard his name being called.

“TJ?” The basketball player looked up and saw...Andi’s mother walking towards him?? Bex was walking home and happened to pass the playground, where she noticed TJ sitting by himself.

“Hey, TJ, are you alright?” Bex asked worriedly. TJ looked back down and shook his head. Bex looked around and sat at the swing beside him.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Bex offered quietly. Was this really a good idea? Probably not, but there was literally nobody who would listen to him at this very moment. His phone died, so there was no calling Cyrus. He took a deep breath and looked over to the older woman. She gave him a reassuring smile, and TJ nodded.

“My parents just found out something about me that I didn’t want them to find out, and I’m scared. I kinda just...ran away,” TJ explained as he kicked at the wood chips at his feet.

“Really...was it a bad something?” Bex frowned.

“I don’t think it should be. But my dad is really against it...I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to face him again.” TJ felt the familiar sting of tears again, and he closed his eyes. Bex had an idea what this was about, but didn’t want to force TJ to tell her if he didn’t want to.

“Huh...well, whatever it is, your dad’s gonna have to accept it, because it’s part of who you are. And nothing can ever change that,” Bex said softly, while studying TJ’s face. TJ looked over at her with his mouth slightly open.

“Yeah...yeah, you’re right. It’s just that...” TJ took another deep breath, “I-I’m gay...and my dad is really homophobic. T-there was a movie playing on TV about a gay kid and my dad started saying stuff like ‘it’s disgusting’ and ‘I can’t imagine having a son who turned out to like other boys.’ I panicked and just ran out...” Bex got up from her swing and pulled the slightly taller boy up from his swing into a hug. TJ was surprised, but relaxed into the hug and buried his face into Bex’s shoulder. Here he was, hugging and crying on his crush’s best friend’s mother’s shoulder. It should have felt super weird, but it was extremely comforting. Bex pulled away from the hug and held TJ’s shoulders. She looked straight into his eyes, and softly said, “TJ, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. It’s part of who you are. And whoever can’t accept that doesn’t deserve to be in your life.”

TJ stared at Bex for a second, and smiled with relief.

“Thank you...Ms. Bex,” the boy hugged her again.

“Oh, no, please, it’s just Bex,” she laughed. She noticed how dark it was getting, and then remembered that Andi was staying by Cece and Pops’ house tonight.

“If you need somewhere to crash for tonight...my apartment isn’t huge but it’s something at least,” TJ smiled at Bex’s suggestion.

“I’d really appreciate that, Bex.”

She put her hand on his shoulder and walked him to her apartment.

[tjkiahgb]

Episode Recap: 2.24, “We're on Cloud Ten”

Boy, we’re really getting a lot of Andi and Bex cold opens.

This episode, Andi tries to make Bex coffee, but it’s bad, so Bex uses it to kill a plant. Andi intends to make Bex coffee every morning from now on. If I’m Bex, I’m making a heavy investment in flavored creamer. There’s no coffee so bad it can’t be fixed by dumping half a canister of hazelnut creamer into it.

Over at The Spoon, Buffy and Cyrus eat lunch. Cyrus works in an old planner. Buffy wants to know what it is and Cyrus says it’s a “philo-stax.”

And I’m thinking, “Hmmm, that’s interesting. Never heard of that before. Let me Google that.” And it turns out Google’s never heard about it before either.

I’ve tried like a dozen different spellings, too, in case the closed caption was wrong. (philostacks, filostax, filostacks, file-o-stacks - like a stack of files? Nothing makes sense anymore.) I have no idea what Cyrus is talking about. It seems like he’s invented a word so he doesn’t have to call his notebook a planner.

(Edit: A brilliant anon came through with some knowledge.)

Why is Cyrus using this thing and not a phone, Buffy wonders. It’s a good question which Cyrus never answers.

Amber brings food out to Cyrus and Buffy. She’s warm and fuzzy with Cyrus and surprisingly cold towards Buffy. I really didn’t know those two were in a feud, but, well, there you have it...

Buffy wants to know why Cyrus is being friendly with mean people again. First TJ, now Amber.

Cyrus thinks it’s unhealthy to hold on to such animosity, which is a good point, but then he makes a pun, saying they should call it Amber-mosity, which is awful. How can he be so wise and so foolish at the same time? Thus is the duality of man, I suppose.

Outside of Cloud 10, Bex and Andi hand out pamphlets about the new business. Bex tries out some potential slogans.

Maybe don’t do that. Feel free to pull back and give your slogan some more consideration. You don’t think “Plop Plop, Fizz Fizz. Oh, what a relief it is.” was an improv, do you?

The two head back inside where a potential customer asks them if this is a place to get makeovers and Andi says yes, but in two weeks when they open.

I guess I’m not entirely sure what they’re doing here. You want to promote the business before it opens, fine. Set up on the sidewalk and hand out your free samples and water bottles and pamphlets.

But why are you inviting customers in to walk around a mostly empty store that’s still filled with tools and such?

Why do you want people to see this? Ladders out. Paint rollers everywhere. There are probably loose nails lying around just waiting to get stepped on by someone. Exposed wiring waiting to zap someone.

“Yes, it’s an awful, unfinished mess now -- you know, when we’re making our ever-important first impression on you, the customer -- but just imagine what it’ll be like to get your makeup done here in a couple weeks, when it will probably be much nicer!”

You think this is enticing people? You want people to see your potential paint schemes and your unused wood molding and your... power generator? I don’t know what that is in the bottom left corner, but I will say, I guess it does put me in the mood to come back in a fortnight and get my hair done.

On the plus side...

Oooooh, they got the arches! Just like in the diorama! They look great.

Anyway, enough about interior design.

Celia is in a funk because Ham is on another continent somewhere. Bex wishes for a way to snap her out of it and, as if on cue, Bowie magically appears holding flowers. Bowie and flowers? That’s like catnip for Celia.

Bowie makes Celia feel much better, at least temporarily.

As the sneak preview of Cloud 10 continues, Buffy and Cyrus aggressively make themselves over.

Jonah stops by to ask Andi her feelings on trampolines. She is pro-trampolines.

Cyrus and Buffy walk by in the background and all I can think of is what kind of impression it’s going to make on potential customers out on the sidewalk when two children step out of Cloud 10 looking like they just left a European nightclub.

“What the hell is happening in there?”

Jonah invites Andi on a date to trampoline nirvana.

Bowie asks Celia if she’s heard from Ham and she says he sent her a bowl.

Andi tells Bex that Jonah’s taking her on a date. Bex gets excited that Andi’s moving on to that portion of their relationship. Then she tells Bowie to get him excited, too. Bowie determines that he must be there when Jonah shows up so he can be a stern father figure, you know, as you do.

So later, as promised, when Jonah shows up to pick up Andi, Bowie stares him down menacingly.

Which, it’s great that you want to play father figure dress-up, but you are well aware that this small child in front of you is a little ball of anxiety. You’re the one who desperately tried to help him deal with it! Why are you attempting to make him uncomfortable now?

Thankfully, Andi comes in and pulls Jonah away from this before he can start to panic and they leave.

Bex asks Bowie to stick around and make her lunch. And how could he refuse an offer like that?

Jonah and Andi head to trampoline nirvana and just... trampoline the day away.

They jump into a big foam pit and Jonah asks Andi how she’s so good at the art of the trampoline and Andi says everyone’s good at trampolining. Pfft. Tell that to the kid in my high school who tried to do a backflip and broke his neck and then the ambulance had to come and take him away and he had to graduate in a neck brace. I’m sure he’d love to hear your theories on the ease of trampolining!

Jonah and Andi are having a great time and Andi starts thinking about what they could do for their 2nd date next weekend, but Jonah can’t do next weekend. And the weekend after that? Also a no.

See, Jonah’s going to film Shaz-- er, he’s going to camp. For eight weeks. Starting tomorrow.

Andi needs to process this and she leaves Jonah in the foam pit of shame.

Jonah tells Andi he decided to go to camp a few days ago. He tells her about how he failed to make the Ultimate team but then he heard about this frisbee camp and thinks it can improve his game so he can make the next team.

I’m trying to figure out the timeline again and my brain is starting to leak. I should know better than to go down this road, but... it seems like Summer now? I mean, doesn’t it sort of have to be? Jonah can’t really be leaving in the middle of the school year to go to frisbee camp, right? That can’t be allowed as an excused absence. And frankly, it’s negligent parenting. But Andi was just planning dates only for the coming weekends, like they’re still in school. Also, everyone is sort of dressed like it’s Summer now, too, even though last episode -- which was like, a couple of days ago? -- everyone was dressed like it was very much still Winter (or a brutal cold early Spring). It’s like they live in the Twilight Zone. Time doesn’t exist in this town. This isn’t like trying to narrow it down to specific dates, or even weeks, anymore. I legitimately can’t tell you what month this is even supposed to be. I’m going to let it go, though. One, because it’s hurting my head, and two, because I have bigger complaints.

(Hey, to the anon who asked me why I was angry after the last episode: brace yourself, son. You ain’t seen nothing yet...)

Namely...

FRISBEE CAMP?! EIGHT WEEKS OF FRISBEE CAMP?! Who are the con artists who are putting this on? You can learn everything you need to know about frisbee in an hour and a half! Can you throw a frisbee? Can you run? Do you have enough basic motor function to catch a disc that’s floating softly through the air? Congratulations. You’ve mastered the frisbee. I can’t deal with this. I can’t! Jonah and a bunch of other kids going out into the woods, to a secluded spot by a lake to just throw frisbees at each other and say things like “Gnar gnar catch, brah!” What are you doing in week three? What could you possibly be doing in week three? Setting the frisbees on fire? Blindfolded frisbee catching? By week five, there’s no way you aren’t digging into nonsense metaphysical frisbee concepts, like, “Can one become the frisbee they seek to catch? Let us meditate on this.” There are master’s degree programs that don’t go on for this long. Frisbee camp goes maybe a week. A week! And that’s if you include like, some talent shows or something else to fill the time. But TWO MONTHS?! TWO DAMN MONTHS! I’m dying. And not like, crying laughing face emoji dying. I’m dying. This has broken me and I’m dying. TWO MONTH FRISBEE CAMP IN THE WOODS! Lord help me!

Anyway, Andi hears about Jonah’s frisbee camp plan and says it makes sense.

I politely disagree.

Andi’s mostly just sad about this whole time apart thing.

At Cyrus’s house, Buffy shows up. She thinks she’s there to play a game with Cyrus, like the one they used to play where they made up crazy phobias like Cyrus’s one about puppets. Cyrus says that’s a real thing. I’m with him. You know why they call it ventriloquism? Because it sounds much nicer and more quaint than calling it what it really is: using witchcraft to make inanimate objects speak.

But that’s not really the game they’re playing. The game they’re really playing is “Surprise Amber.”

Bowie and Bex hang out at her place and watch TV. Honestly, who says Bex and Bowie need to get married? They’ve already moved to the “Watch Netflix on the couch all day” portion of their relationship. That’s considered common-law marriage in a lot of places.

Jonah and Andi return home. Or at least to Andi Shack. Andi’s in need of some late night stress crafting. The two are very sad they’re going to be apart. The show seems even sadder about it than they are. This scene is being played like Jonah’s getting shipped out to the Eastern Front.

My dearest Andi.

Morale is low. Some fellow soldiers and I have taken to throwing around a decommissioned land mine and pretending it’s a frisbee just to pass the time. The Winter is bitter cold and the Germans are closing in on our position. I fear this may be my last correspondence for some time. Things at this moment, by my humble estimation, are most certainly not, docious magocious.

Give my fondest regards to the family, and don’t forget to feed Gus. He’s helpless without me

With warmest regards and love,

-Jonah “Weird Yearbook Picture” Beck.

Andi heads into Andi Shack and is scared by Celia, who’s doing well.

Sorry, did I say well? She’s doing... welp. Just... welp.

Celia was feeling lonely in the house without Ham, so she opted instead to sleep in the small, uninsulated shack in her backyard. Celia tells Andi there’s no need to worry, but I don’t know that I would say no need. Celia’s having trouble sleeping since Ham left. Andi feels like she, too, will have trouble sleeping because of Jonah leaving. The two very sweetly console each other over their missing beaus.

At Cyrus’s house, Cyrus completes his transformation into his parents and holds a therapy session between Amber and Buffy. It takes most people 40-something years to become their parents. Cyrus did it by 13. Every teen’s dream!

Also, it’s nighttime now, so he’s kept these two trapped in this room for several hours. That must have been fun.

Cyrus wants to help the two become friends. He first asks Buffy how Amber has wronged her. Buffy talks about what Amber has done to Andi, but Cyrus wants to know how Amber has wronged Buffy, which... Buffy can’t think of anything. Cyrus asks Amber the same, and Amber doesn’t like Buffy because Buffy doesn’t like her. Cyrus feels they are holding on to their dislike of each other and that feeds their dislike of each other. This reasoning is... let’s say, shaky?

But then Cyrus flips out and starts looking for his file-o-stacks to write down something and Buffy and Amber just start roasting him for it and begin to bond. No better way to grow close to someone than coming together to make fun of the person who was trying to help you. Cyrus says pencil and they lose it.

So, maybe Cyrus isn’t a full blown therapist yet.

At Bex’s, Bex has fallen asleep on Bowie’s lap. He tries to sneak out without waking her. He sets her head down on a pillow, and checks to see if she’s really sleeping, then says, “I love you.”

It’s a sweet moment, but also, dude, weren’t you just in another serious relationship like a day ago? Guy moves fast.

Bowie leaves. Well, first he pretends to leave to see if Bex was awake, but she’s too smart to fall for that and doesn’t move even though she’s awake. So then he actually leaves. And I’m not sure he locks the door behind him. Careless.

The next day, Andi tells Bex about her date. She says her relationship is like a Dr. Seuss book. Brightly colored and often nonsensical? Here, I’ve got a Dr. Seuss rhyme for you:

One fish,

two fish,

red fish,

JONAH’S GOING TO FRISBEE CAMP FOR TWO MONTHS! WHAT?!

Andi and Bex talk about things they could do to hang out together. Andi talks about going to Adrenaline City. Bex says they could go tubing or she could marry Bowie. Andi asks if that’s before of after tubing. And Bex asks Andi if she heard her. Andi wants to know if she’s being serious. I’d like to know more about going tubing, though. Please answer if the proposal will be before or after tubing. Please.

Bex confirms she’s going to marry Bowie. Andi freaks out but then asks if Bowie proposed without her there. Bex says no, she’s going to do the proposing this time. Then the two freak out together and do bee-yah bee-yah bee-yah bee-yah bee-yah bee-yah starfish! from like way back in season 1?

I’m amazed they still remembered that choreography.

[justincaseyouareme]

25 Upcoming Robron Speculations

Some thoughts on next 8 weeks and beyond.

1. The fact Aaron ends up at the hospital at the birth has him dealing with feelings he didn’t think he still had about Rob.  We’ve seen hints before his holiday that he still cared for Rob and couldn’t move on yet.  Ending up being involved with the birth I think will bring that home more than ever to him which will make it hurt more seeing Rob with his baby boy.

2. Rob will struggle with the birth because of his self loathing and not believing he is deserving of a son and that he will be a horrible father.  It will also hit Rob hard when he sees Aaron at the hospital.  His hatred of himself for what he has done to Aaron will just dial itself up to a new higher level.

3. I don’t think Aaron will pull any punches after Rob tells him everything.  He’ll be shocked, ashamed, mad and very disappointed in Rob.  I think Aaron will be just as determined to not be with Rob after learning all of this as he ever was.

4. Even though Aaron is disappointed and upset with Rob he will still give him the “Be a dad or run away like you always do” speech. It will remind us of Dec 2014 before Andy and Katie’s wedding when Aaron ripped into Rob after hearing him be verbally cruel to Andy, Katie, Vic and Diane.  He told Rob to do one if that was his attitude because he had no interest in a man that treated his family that way.  Rob took in everything Aaron said and immediately apologized to his family. Even though the wedding was still ruined b/c of the ring fiasco Aaron was still pleased with Rob that he made the effort to be better.  Aaron will give a similar speech to Rob this time and he will once again take it in and decide to try to be a good father because that is what Aaron expects of him.

5. We all keep wandering what is the event that gets Aaron onside with Rob again to where he wants to actually physically be in his orbit now.  It might not end up being some big event.  It might be something as small as seeing Rob making an effort at being a dad because if you think about last June/July that is pretty much all Aaron wanted was for Rob to not lie to himself and admit he wants to be a good dad.  If they could have had that talk back then who knows if they would have even broke up???

6. Seeing all of the spoilers that I have seen for November tells me that this story is going from zero to 120 the day of the birth and it won’t be slowing done one bit.  We’ve all been waiting for the birth to get here now it’s full speed ahead.  As fast as it will be going and with everything I’ve read so far I actually don’t think we are going to get a lot of air time of happy family w/Rob and Bex and Seb.  We might see a scene or two but I would be surprised if it is anymore than that.  Because of that I’m not to worried about having to watch much happy fam on the screen.  It will be all fake smile from Rob anyhow when Bex is in the room with him and Seb.

7.  I told a friend today considering how miserable it has been waiting these 8 months to get to where we are now....  Thank God humans don’t have the gestation period of elephants.  Imagine if he had to wait 22 months for the baby Seb’s delivery.  EEK!!

8.  Who picked up on Paddy and Chas today sneeking around and Chas saying she likes the sneeking because she hates when everyone is sticking their nose in her business.  I about spit my coffee when I heard her say that of all people.  But it got me to thinking. Chas goes back to Paddy after she ends it last spring and now doesn’t want anyone knowing about it. Sound familiar to what is probably going to happen with the boys? On top of that with all of the spoilers we are now getting nothing is even hinting that Chas is going to have her nose in Aaron and Rob’s business at least in November.  

9. If Rob has properly set up Rug Tree Bonds as a proper company like was hinted on the show by Chrissie then he’s got the 30% of HF fair and square.  The only shares that Rebecca could be demanding Rob return are the 10% that Lawrence gave to Rob.

10. I’ve been getting a real laugh watching Rob attempting to play the “kept boy” of Larry’s and continue to push the romance envelope with him. I saw no one mention the little scene on Thursday when Rob tried to get Larry to go somewhere private with him to open that bottle of wine.  Talk about trying to play the loverboy role right in front of the sisters.  Hysterical.  Then this entire week it has been like Rob has been attached to Larry’s hip.  Milking it for all it’s worth.  With what we know is going to happen on the day of the birth at the hotel it is obvious that Rob has kept working it and Larry is now completely smitten if not in love in Robert.  I will carry this idea on further in another point.

xxxxxxx - At this point everything following is pure speculation and theory and wishful thinking on my part - xxxxxxxx

11. I think a pivotal point in Nov will be the day Aaron reaches out to Bex about Rob seeing his son. I actually believe (and nothing to support my belief) this will be the event that will suddenly solidify Aaron’s thoughts about Rob, Rebecca and Seb.  Their conversation will let AAron realize Rob truly isn’t interested in this woman.  He will realize she is delusional when it comes to Rob.  This will erase that fear that he always had that Rob would eventually leave him for that woman who gives him a child and then set up a perfect proper family which Aaron has always believed he could never do with him as a man.

12. Now for those of you, like me, who are conspiracy theorist, led by Queen Taryn :-) then this could very well be the conversation that gets heated enough between Aaron and Bex that she let’s it slip that Rob isn’t the father. He might even be able to pull out of her that the ONS didn’t happen too.  Now if you tend to be more in the rationale court with Queen Clo then you can just disregard this point all together.  But since I’m a loyalist to Queen Taryn I will continue my theory and suggest that Aaron doesn’t tell Rob right away what Bex has told him.  He will keep it to himself because he hasn’t got his own head around it yet. He also will question if this info will matter or not considering how much has been said and done by each of them over that past months and if they could even come back from all of that even if the ONS and baby didn’t exist.  So he keeps this info to himself for now.....  

13. What if Aaron also doesn’t tell Rob about him exposing the whole Lachlan/prostitute thing to Belle which causes her to break up with Lachlan and tips Lachlan into psycho mode.  Rob is a lot more aware of what Lachaln potentially could do so he would be more alert than Aaron is if he knew but he won’t. I think Lachlan will target Aaron to hurt because he told Belle.  At the same time Lachlan wants to hurt Robert but Lachlan soon figures out that the best way to wound Robert is to hurt/kill Aaron so that becomes his plan.

14. With Lachlan’s spying I think he will overhear something from Bex and figure out she’s been playing Rob this whole time which pisses him off because that is what opened the door for Rob to be back at HF.  Not sure though if he will target her or not?  I don’t know.  But, more importantly he’ll overhear a conversation between Larry and Rob that is implying those two are in a sexual relationship or that Larry is wanting to take it there.  This sickens Lachlan and dials up his psycho level to another notch. I think this makes Larry another target for Lachlan when he realizes how much his granddad has been stupid enough to get sucked in by Robert.

15. Robert’s scheming finally is all exposed which shocks Larry as he thinks Robert really does love him.  Bex finds out everything Rob has been doing with her dad and gets sick over it all.  Larry and Rob get into some type of fight. I don’t expect Rob to hurt Larry that much but I wonder if this is an opportunity for Lachlan to finish off Larry and try to frame Rob?  Or not.???  Don’t have much thought about this yet.

16. Also not sure what all Chrissie is doing through all of this stuff.  Haven’t figured out a role for her in it all yet except for standing on the sidelines with her glass of wine shouting out “I told you so” when it comes to Robert.  LOL  But maybe Lachlan does kill Rebecca and Chrissie takes off with the baby.  Doubt it but it would be a fun little thing on the side to me at least.

17. Through it all Robert finds out that Aaron is Lachlan’s next target so he tries to warn Aaron.  He gets to Aaron at the same time as Lachlan is trying to run him over with his new car. (Yes I think there was a point to making sure we knew Lachlan passed his driving test this week and will now be getting that new car he was promised).  Anyway, Rob will try to push Aaron out of the way but they both get hit. Rob seriously hit and Aaron not so much because Rob saved him..... again.

18. Rob will be on death’s door.  Aaron will be banged up put OK.  This is where Chas/Paddy stick there nose in finally at the hospital trying to tell Aaron not to go back just because Rob saved him.  What they don’t know is what Aaron knows about the baby and ONS...  something he hadn’t told Rob about yet.  So now it will be Aaron at the hospital fearing Rob will die not knowing he didn’t cheat on Aaron.  Aaron finally confesses to Chas everything and surprisingly she will understand and accept Aaron’s decisions. Now Rob just has to wake up and get better.

19. Not sure how the whole Xmas show will fit in.  If it is an outlier show or another part of the story.  However it works out, Rob wakes up, Aaron tells him the truth about baby and ONS and his “I never stopped” feelings. Rob will struggle with accepting the baby isn’t his, that Aaron didn’t tell him right away, and even if ONS didn’t happen he probably still isn’t good enough for Aaron and will try to push him away.  How much will Aaron allow him to push before Aaron puts a stop to it? Don’t know.   The Xmas show then could be some kind of dream like thing for Rob now facing up to his past and his behavior.  Andy is the cameo that walks Rob through it all and helps him see that he needs to hang on to AAron and not push him away.

20. Rebecca has left ED with baby but she gets tracked down after first of year and a paternity test is done to confirm Rob isn’t the father but she refuses to say who is. Everyone assumes it is Ross.  Another test is done.  Ross isn’t the father but someone close DNA wise is..  a father, brother or son of Ross’s.  :-)   Of course I’m a champion of the Adam theory.  It’s proven true and Adam leaves ED because of it.  Who cares if he goes to Bex or not.  I don’t.  Aaron will be both devastated and hurt that Adam had been actively involved with Bex and knowingly allowed her to tear apart Rob and their relationship.  Through all of this Aaron will finally figure out that Rob really was the only truly looking out for him while he was in prison.  Everyone else, including his best mate took the opportunity to hurt Rob.

21. As for Aaron and Rob.  Rob will be seriously injured but I’m guessing the miracle workers of Hotten General will have him fully recovered as fast as Rhona was last year.  I would love to see him have a broken leg or something that requires some hospital time and Aaron and Vic fighting to take care of him after he gets out. Whatever happens I counting on the reunion first kiss on New Years either in hospital or at the Mill.  Aaron will also end up being Rob’s caregiver and learns to be there for Rob like he has always been there for Aaron in the past.  An important growth point in their relationship.

22. I don’t think it will take long after the new year for Rob to move back in to the Mill for the simple fact there is no longer a set at the studio for Vic’s Keeper’s Cottage. The Aaron and Rob scenes will have to be at the Mill and while I expect Rob will still live at Keeper’s or B&B for awhile it won’t take long for him to eventually move in...  or maybe move into the other flat for awhile.  That could happen too.  Live in the other flat but still eat meals, watch movies with Aaron and Liv at theirs. 

23. Since the wedding isn’t until summer I think it allows them to take their time working through all of their issues properly.  It is a soap so it won’t take forever. I also think there will be other things happening drama wise with them in the spring.  It will be voting season again for the BSA’s and I’m guessing Ryan and Danny will be primary targets for ED to promote for best actor which means they will have some kind of drama in the spring again to make them even more visible to the voters.  It doesn’t have to be angsty drama but something.  This is where I think maybe the baby could come back into play if you don’t believe my theory and believe the baby is Rob’s but Bex had left with it.  I don’t know but something will put a spot light on the boys in the spring during BSA voting season I’m sure.

24.  I still haven’t put my finger on the wide spectrum of stuff we got from Vic in all of this.  She has been from one extreme to another.  But mostly not being there for Rob through most of it.  The spoilers suggest even Bex finally calls her out on her meddling.  I think she will be left out in the cold when Rob is hurt and Aaron won’t have much use for her.  Rob will choose Aaron to care for him over her and she’ll feel the outcast feeling that Rob has felt so often and realize some things about her actions.  Adam will be the final hurt for her.  In the end it will be Rob that reaches out to her.  Old Rob would turn his back and let her suffer.  New Rob will love his sister unconditionally and not turn his back on her.  Lots of people in the village will find themselves apologizing. Rob will finally talk to his family about Jack.  The family will bond again.

25. More than likely most of this will be way off base like most of my speculations are.  I guess I just fall into the category of not thinking they are going to throw a baby into the mix while Rob and Aaron are rebuilding their relationship.  This has always been about Robron and if baby Seb remains in the mix it will no longer be about Robron.  It will be about Robastian with Aaron on the side and that isn’t the story they are telling I don’t think.  The little bit of baby we will get in November will be enough to change a lot of Rob’s perspectives on many things and it will give him enough of a taste of fatherhood to make him now want to be a father.  Aaron will develop strong feelings about it too which will make it an obvious easy story line for the new legally married Dingle-Sugden’s in the last half of 2018 to start the adoption/surragacy process.

[killingdoll]

Warnings: spoilers, inappropriate jokes, careless language, messing up the order of events, the usual stuff

First, congrats to JoMo on a very successful episode. The Originals is getting better week by week, the storyline is intriguing and unpredictable, and frankly I don’t understand why some people are complaining it’s an uninteresting plot. Guess they’re just hard to please eh?

The opening scene treats us to a nice view of Charles Michael Davis’s muscled back. I mean, the night view of Nola is pretty and all but I’m mildly distracted by another view…

Just like Sofya’s attempt to distract Marcel from his distraught day, which is leaning towards success until…

… Vincent comes bringing more bad news. Way to go, Vince.

Last episode I thought poor Will was possessed by the blue light; turns out I was wrong and Will seems pretty willingly kidnap the kids. I’m getting vibes that this episode will be the last we see of him.

Yeah, this is the last we see of Will. Our token human is gone. Looks like we’re not going to have a Matt Donovan in this show, are we?

On the other hand, it’s pretty ironic and tragic that Klaus, who once saved Will from Lucien’s compulsion-induced suicidal depression, is the one to severe his mortal coil.

In the French Quarter, Klaus, Elijah and Hayley are bringing Hope to the old Mikaelson compound to meet with Vincent. What a shame to see the once-beautiful compound become a ruin.

Why are there so many crows gathering at the compound, waiting to be killed by mysterious force to form a circle around Hope?!

Anw, Vincent’s mojo isn’t working and Hope’s condition appears to worsen. I wonder why the way the Hollow affects Hope is a bit different from the other kids: she dreams of and draws the Hollow; she doesn’t have to be present at the scene of the ritual, she has visions of other kids and premonition of her dad’s possession. Maybe it’s because she’s very special and the Hollow wants something different from her? Taking over her body and powers, perhaps?

Anw it’s too early to say anything regarding the Hollow as we have just learned its name.

Honestly I have no idea why Klaus has to clean up the bodies of dead crows. It’s not like this place can get anymore trashed, right?

Multitasking huh?

So, not only witches are involved in this evil-mojo business but humans and wolves as well, just like Eva’s narration in the last episode stated. Now, here are some question that I hope will get the answer in later episodes: if this Hollow thing has been present in New Orleans soil since Vincent summoned it (he “gave it breath” right), how come it hasn’t been mentioned once during the course of seven years? And why is it suddenly and violently active now after having laid dormant for years? Whom can it affect? Witches, wolves and humans, but what about vampires? Can’t it reach vampires as well? And does it affect Nola-born individuals or any individuals standing on Nola soil?

Wait a minute, the reason why the Hollow is suddenly active may be because the link with the Ancestors was severed. When Vincent summoned it, the link was weak due to the Harvest girls stuff, so that thing sneaked in and got to Eva. Then the link got stronger and so it laid dormant until Vincent and Davina planted that witch bomb to destroy the link. Plus, that bomb was created by Eva and who knows, maybe she made it under the Hollow’s influence since getting rid of the Ancestors was what it wanted. Without them, it’s easy for this wicked thing to brainwash Nola citizens.

Well, that’s just my theory.

Elijah is particularly handsome in all-dark suit. Like every time he wears all-dark suit, it’s expected his suit will be ruined.

The scene where he blocks the bullets for Vincent and doesn’t even flinch is just too cool. I know he’s immune to bullets and all but it still looks so badass.

Elijah’s having some badass quotes this episode. I wonder if the scriptwriter(s) is secretly his stan.

“That’s quite the monster you got lurking in there. You want to see mine?”

“I will violate everything sacred under the sun in the name of rescuing my niece.” This quote gives me both thrill and chill because it’s not bluff or boast, just bare truth. For his family Elijah’s willing to become the Devil himself.

Nice to see Vincent and the Mikaelsons working peacefully together for the greater good.

I actually feel kind of… sorry for Lara. I don’t think the show means to make viewers feel for her; she has like 5–7 minutes screen time and bamf, drop dead minus the gorgeous. Maybe it’s just me, maybe the actress is really that good that she makes me feel for the wolf girl although I’m not sure if I write her name right. Lara or Laura?

But short-lived Lara dear makes two points before she’s off to wolf heaven. Let’s discuss them one by one.

Marcel makes himself the king and claims to protect the city and its people and maintain peace and such, and he makes good to his words; still, it doesn’t change the fact that Nola isn’t his to rule. In this aspect he’s exactly like his ‘family’ (putting it in quotation marks because Marcel’s vehemently denying it), especially a certain Hybrid whose main concern used to be getting as much power as possible (now it’s just his little girl).

Another wolf blames Hayley for abandoning her pack and choosing the Mikaelsons, leading to the wolf pack disintegrating. So your alpha failed you, you felt bitter, but hello, you’re wolves, get yourselves a new alpha. Aren’t wolves good at that? Choosing the strongest wolf to be their alpha?

Klaus and Hope’s bonding is getting better and better by the episode. He’s super determined to become the exact opposite of his abusive father, Mikael, and this is partly thanks to a certain brave bartender who was there to believe in the good in him and wouldn’t stop encouraging him to nurture it.

Speaking of Mikael, it looks like we get to meet the Destroyer in the next episode.

More Freya x Keelin vibes this episode. They’ll make a powerful couple with intriguing contradictions: the wolf and the witch, the young one and the ancient one, the scientist and the magic user, the lone one and the family protector.

Probably both

Freya’s impressing Keelin again with her magic.

Freya’s being the badass matriarch of the family and honestly, she’s the sister we want to have in our lives.

Klaus’s worried look when Marcel gets dragged into the magic circle. Despite everything the Hybrid still cares about his first child. I’m hopeful that somewhere along the season Klaus and Marcel will mend fences and Hope will get to call Marcel “big bro”. That’ll be very cute (except the tiny fact that ‘big bro’ and auntie Bex screwed each other once upon a time).

.. the Hollow gets to Marcel and Klaus. Nothing surprising because we’ve already been spoiled by the synopsis of the fifth episode. Of course Freya will save her little bro but let’s hope Marcel make it out in one piece too.

That Klelijah moment where they casually share a drink. It’d have been perfect if Elijah didn’t look so depressed. I mean, I don’t think I have ever seen ‘disheveled’ him like this, his shirt dirtied and untucked and him drinking straight from the bottle. There’s no question he would have done the necessary evils if Vincent hadn’t found the loophole, and after that he would have been gnawed by the guilt; even if he hadn’t done it, he is still much troubled. So, to people who wonder how Elijah-stans can still stan him after what he’s done, here’s why: he will do whatever necessary to save his family, and to him it’s the ‘right’ thing to do, but he won’t feel any good from it; instead he’ll be burdened by its weight for as long as it takes for a new guilt to step in and takes the old guilt’s place, and the cycle repeats. That’s the tragedy of his character. If you think he is remorseless, we are clearly not watching the same show.

Hayley’s armor-piercing question and her resolution for them to “do better” for the sake of Hope are much-needed for their relationship building. I’m all for a healthy, supportive and sympathetic relation where both partners are striving to help each other to become better.

Finally an auntie-niece moment to end the rant on a lighter note. Imagine how wonderful and badass it’ll be if by the end of this season, auntie and niece will join hands (figuratively and literally) and use their awesome magic (maybe channel some energy from their family) to kick this vile Hollow thing’s ass all the way to oblivion.

Looking forward to the next episode… and Mikael’s appearance.

[Rant] Keepers of the House – The Originals 4×04 Warnings: spoilers, inappropriate jokes, careless language, messing up the order of events, the usual stuff First, congrats to JoMo on a very successful episode.

[stones-x-bones]

Urgent || Morgan and Bex

TIMING: Current, right after this PARTIES: @mor-beck-more-problems and @inbextween SUMMARY: Morgan finds Bex in the alley behind the lawfirm. And more importantly, the file Bex risked everything for. CONENT: Domestic abuse references, physical abuse mentions

Bex didn’t remember uncoupling her soul from her body, but apparently that’s what had happened. She knew because when her eyes opened, there wasn’t any pain, and there was supposed to be pain. The condition her mother had left her in was painful and pathetic-- and she also knew because she was staring at her own body. It was slumped over next to the dumpster and she wished she knew enough about any of this astral projection stuff to hide her body a little more than it was. It looked so exposed, just sitting there. It would’ve been surreal had Bex been able to feel much more than a morsel of anger every now and then lately. The only time she’d felt things was when she was with Mina, and even then, she hadn’t felt enough. Mina had looked like she was thinking and feeling all too much and Bex hadn’t known how to help, except hold her closer under her blankets before she’d had to kick her out at 5am and send her shimmying down the drainpipe on the side of the house. 

But-- that wasn’t important right now. She needed to get to help. Last time, she hadn’t needed to walk. Her spirit had gone where it needed, but right now, it was still standing in that alley. She knew who she needed to get to, she just needed to figure out...how. Maybe it was like with the dreams, like what Nell had taught her. Just...think of a place and put all of her intention into that place and--

Bex popped into existence inside Morgan’s living room. For a moment, she allowed herself to fall into a sense of longing. She missed falling asleep on that couch, or watching a movie, and hearing Morgan moving about the kitchen, or the backyard, or to the hallway. She missed the smell of Morgan’s cooking wafting in. She missed laying across Mina’s lap. She missed all of this so much and that was why she needed to get those papers to Morgan and Nell.

And to save her unconscious, broken body. She needed someone to do that, too. “Morgan?” she called tentatively, turning towards the kitchen. She didn’t hear the rattling of cups, though. “Mina?” She didn’t know who was and wasn’t home. “Deirdre?” She just needed one of them. Any one would do. 

Morgan was almost done settling into her studio for the night. She just wanted to make a little brain snack in the real kitchen, where she wasn’t at risk of stepping on her own toes moving around. Maybe the quiet would make her feel better and bring her peace. Then she saw the not-spectre of Bex fidgeting by the stove. For a second Morgan thought her mind might have turned into scrambled egg. Her fear had conjured images of Bex like this before: bruised, bloodied, slumped and barely able to stand. But the look on her face, urgent and pleading, was more alarming than anything Morgan dared imagine. 

It took Morgan several seconds to find her voice again. “Bex...a-are you...really here right now?”

“Morgan!” Bex exclaimed, moving towards her as if she didn’t feel the ache in her bones that so clearly showed in bruises and blood on her face, her arms. It was because she didn’t feel it. Not like this. “Yes-- well, n-no, I’m not. I’m in an alley. My body, I mean,” she explained quickly. Last time she had only had a few seconds to explain what was going on, she didn’t know how long she’d have this time. “It’s-- I don’t know how much time I have. You have to come find me. My-- body.” A pause. “I’m not dead!” she suddenly exhaled, putting her hands up. “I’m not a ghost. This is-- I think I’m astral projecting again? That’s what-- it feels like. I’m not dead, but I also don’t think I’m okay.” The truth, not sugar coated. She hadn’t been able to do that lately, to care enough to do that. She needed to get better about it, be in her body. She was doing a really bad job at being in her body lately. This proved it. Morgan was standing in the kitchen looking at her slightly horrified and she didn’t know how to reassure her. “It’s-- I’m at the law firm. Well, in the alley next to it. Not my choice. Just kind of-- e-ended up there, I think.” Her spirit flickered. “Oh, I think I’m going back to my body no--” but she never finished.

Morgan reached out for the projection of the girl as if she could soothe her like this and will her body to teleport to safety. “O-okay. Okay. Okay,” she chocked. “I’m--” Then Bex vanished. “Shit. I’m coming, I’m coming okay? I---” She grabbed her keys. There was no one to hear her, and if Bex was left for dead looking like that, she was wasting her breath. 

Morgan’s insides clenched as she approached the law firm. If there was any CCTV outside the building, they would know she had come. She had even gone in the Subaru out of habit. On the other hand, any distance between Bex and the car was putting the girl’s life at risk. She’d take another hit from Odell if it meant saving Bex. So up she went, bypassing the parking lot and pulling up to the alley. She left the keys in the ignition and started running. “Bex! Bex are you--” There. But the body she saw barely counted as ‘there’. Morgan sank to her knees and touched the girl’s face. “Hey. Honey? Are you awake? I--I wanna move you, but it’s probably gonna hurt.”

Bex jolted awake and everything hurt again, which meant she was back in her body. That was probably a good thing, as much as she hated it. Someone was touching her face and she blinked through the haze, the pain in her head making it hard to see, vision blurry and blocked. “Morgan?” she asked. It had to be. She’d gone and found her, right? That hadn’t been a dream? That was real. It was real. Just like the feel of her cold hands on the bruised skin of her cheek. “You were right,” she managed to mumbled out, blood trickling from her mouth as she couched, “I shouldn’ve gone home…” Her words slurred together a little, still not all there yet. She’d blocked out the pain in the moment, as she’d thrown the papers into the dumpster as she ran from her mother. She remembered her head slamming into the side of it, angry nails grabbing her shirt and shaking her as she was slammed repeatedly into it. It must’ve been dented, her back aching felt as if it must be. “She caught me,” she said, sagging forward into Morgan, “I wasn’ careful enough.”

“Yeah, it’s me,” Morgan said. “Hey, baby girl. Thanks for bringing me here. You did so good, you know that?” She stroked the girl’s hair and slid her arms under her carefully, lifted her slowly. They couldn’t stay here, and if she looked too long at Bex’s injuries she would stop the world to try and fix her this instant. Bex needed better care than that. If Odell was willing to destroy her daughter this much, there was no trusting her to wait for Bex to recover before starting again. 

“You can tell me in the car, okay? I’ll take you to urgent care, how does that sound? Or Nisa? Do you want to see Nisa instead?” As they approached the Subaru, she shifted Bex’s weight so she could balance the girl with one arm and open the door with ease. “Brace yourself, I’m gonna set you down in the seat, okay?”

“I knew you’d know what to d-do,” Bex said through wheezing breaths. Her stomach hurt so much. Something was broken in there. Ribs or muscles or something. “Sorry I keep...calling you like this.” She wasn’t, though. Sorry. The first time she’d shown up at Morgan’s like this, the woman had offered her the words, and she’d never gone back on them. She never would. She smiled at her, as best she could through painful, cracked lips, blood smeared across them like lipstick. Morgan had just lain with her in that hotel room, on that bed, and now she was carrying her like a limp corpse towards her car once again. Except she wasn’t a corpse. Time and time again Bex just narrowly escaped. Because she had people like Morgan. And Mina, and Nell. All there to pump blood back through her heart. 

“No! No,” she exhaled, “no u-urgent care. They’ll k-know. They always know. They just don’t say anything. No Nisa.” She’d just try and convince her to join the coven again. As she was laid down in the back seat, Bex pointed. “The-- the dumpster. A folder. There should be a-- f-folder. Papers in a...weird language. You have to-- f-find them.”

“Don’t be sorry, baby girl, you don’t have to be sorry,” Morgan said, eyes still steadfast on the car, the keys, anything except Bex’s injuries. She set the girl down and knelt to work on the seatbelt. “Hey, hey, shhh. I had to pass by the front to get over here, I don’t think secrecy should be a priority right now. What’s important is making sure you don’t have any internal bleeding or other bad shit I can’t fix with the first aid tub. So, we’ve gotta go somewhere. I’m not letting this get you if I can help it. Think about where you want me to take you and I’ll uh--” She cast a glance back at the dumpster. Stars, the key Bex had paid for with her blood would be in a container almost twice her size. “I’ll find that folder you hid.” She took a deep breath. Being parkour zombie hadn’t been part of her training with Mina, but there was a first time for everything. “I love you. Stay awake. Tell me where we’re going when I get back.” She pet her hair one more time, lightly, desperate not to cause any more pain, and ran off.

Bex liked it when she called her that. She smiled through the bleariness and laid back in the car. The ceiling light was going in and out of focus as she laid there, trying to pay attention to what Morgan was saying. She needed her to figure out where to go. Okay, okay, Bex could do that, she could do that. She watched Morgan go and almost forgot she’d told her to, to find the folder Bex had worked so hard to find. She reached for her as she left, but fell back, groaning in pain, holding her stomach. It burned, it hadn’t stopped burning since she’d exploded the other day. She wasn’t sure she’d eaten anything since then, either. Bex stared up at the ceiling again, trying to focus. She felt like she was fading fast. She hoped Morgan would come back soon. She needed her to find those folders, but if Bex didn’t make it through to do anything with the information, what was the point? She coughed again, more blood trickling from her mouth. Waited until she heard footsteps, but when she tried to sit up, the world went black. “D-did you find it? Please tell me you found it.” This couldn’t have been for nothing. 

Morgan had to put one foot on the dumpster and one on the wall and inch her way up to the top of the dumpster. She braced herself on the rim and didn’t climb or jump so much as fall into the filth and trashbags. Bex’s folder was mercifully easy to find. Morgan just had to swim over the bags to reach it. A few papers had fallen out. Morgan chased them over the trash bags and shoved them back in. In spite of the seconds passing, she couldn’t help but look: Something in a language she didn’t recognize with the signatures of Bex’s parents in brown spotty ink and a blank space for one more and a set of birth certificates. Not exactly a gold mine, but Nell would be able to make sense of the signed paper and maybe that would lead to something more. 

Morgan pressed the folder to her chest and pitched herself over the side of the dumpster. Her back slammed hard against the pavement but in a few seconds, when she got up, no bent bones hindered her movement and she knew she was free to run the rest of the way back to the car. 

She launched herself into the front seat and buckled up, tossing the folder onto the floor. “Hey! I’m here, I found it, it was just like you said. We’re good. Now, where are we going?”

Oh, right, Bex was supposed to think about where they were going. “Home?” she asked, looking up into the front seat at Morgan, even as stars marred her vision. Morgan wanted to take her to the urgent care, but fear still gripped her, clutching her stomach like a vice. “We can...the-the urgent care. But not-- you can’t tell them my n-name. My real name. They can’t know. They can’t know,” she kept repeating quietly, blinking heavily, trying to keep herself awake. Every time, though, she felt like she might pass out, the pain in her ribs reminded her to stay awake. Stay awake. Stay awake. The car rattled over a bump and she cried out, holding her stomach. She remembered her mother’s foot connecting with her abdomen as she lay on the ground. Over and over and over again. “It-- hurts-- like a-a lot,” she mumbled. “Can this thing go any f-faster?”

“Yes!” Morgan cried, fist bumping the ceiling. “Urgent Care! We’ll give you a really boring name, a gentile name, and I’ll just say I found you, and you’ll say there’s no one to call, and you should be okay for a little bit. That’s--brilliant plan. Amazing plan.” She reached over for Bex’s hand, nodding along as they slowed to a stop at the next light. “Uh, I was kind of hoping not to get any attention by breaking traffic laws or making the queasy worse by getting all swerve-y, but you can’t always get what you want!” When the light turned, Morgan floored the gas and sped the rest of the way, hands clenched on the wheel.

She screeched into the urgent care parking lot and dove out, running around for Bex. “Hey, you still with me, baby girl? We made it. And it might be easier if you can tell the nice doctors inside what happened. We’ll uh...say you got mugged? That’s close enough, right?” She didn’t wait for the girl to answer, but pulled her into her arms and started walking.

“No, no they won’t let you come back with me...if you say that…” Bex mumbled, trying to talk through the pain. It was searing, every time her body was jostled. But if it meant getting there faster, then that was okay. She hadn’t been to a real hospital in so long, she wondered if she remembered them right. If Urgent care was anything like that. Would they even accept her? Would they point them to ER? It was a lot harder to be anonymous in the ER. “Can you tell them I’m with you?” she asked, as Morgan came around and pulled her back into her arms. “That I’m yours?” 

Morgan was grateful Bex couldn’t see her expression as she made her request. It felt dangerous, more than it had that first evening when she realized how much the girl meant to her. She couldn’t shake the feeling of being offered a trick riddle. To take, or not to take, and every answer was right and wrong. Odell might find them by morning. And what if she knew someone at the desk, someone who knew she didn’t have any blood family left to her name? Maybe they could both hide. Maybe being someone else was how they caught a break in this miserable town.

“Hello!” She called. “We need some help. My daughter’s been hurt.”

[the-unspoken-rules-ff]

Chapter 9

Jungkook's P.O.V

She squeezed me tightly for over three minutes, refusing to let me go. I smiled, knowing she really had missed me, or at least hoping she wasn't putting on a show again. Nayeon was sweet when she wanted to, but she was an overall pain in the ass. I loved her though, more than I could express in words, after all she had helped me though a lot of bad times of my life. She liked to tell people we were together once, even though between us there was never nothing more than a fuck buddies relationship. But I would have been stupid to think that I was the only one she was sleeping with at the time, even though she was only seventeen then. 

She turned her head towards my neck and pressed her lips under my ear. 

"Did you miss me?" She whispered. "Don't even answer, I know you did. I can tell." She said and chuckled. She took a step back and looked at me with her unchanged huge smile that was always spread across her face. "So, what are we doing today?" She asked skipping back to her bed and climbing on top, motioning for me to come and sit next to her. I shook my head slowly. 

"We're not doing anything. I'm gonna go rest. Come to Jimin's room after dinner though, I'll tell you the full story of why I'm here. And I'll make sure Jimin's out." Her smile faded away and she pouted. 

"But I've missed you! I haven't seen you in so long. Can't we hang out?" She said, disappointed beyond imagination.

"No, Nay, not today. I'm tired. I'll nap and we'll hang out tonight." She rolled her eyes and let herself fall on her bed. 

"Whatever." 

"Oh, come on, don't get mad at me. Nay?" She moved and covered herself completely with her blanket until I couldn't even see her head. I sighed and took off my jacket, climbing in bed next to her. I moved her hair from the side of her face and placed my head in between her shoulder and her neck. "You know I hate it when you get like this." I whispered and placed a kiss on her soft skin. She still smelled just like strawberries.  

"It works though. It got you here." Her smile reappeared on her face and she turned her head around and pulled me in for a deep kiss.  She moaned a little and I smiled against her lips when I heart her. When she pulled away, I was still smiling. 

"Don't tell me you haven't fucked since I left cause I don't believe you." 

"No one fucked me like you though." I laughed.

"Keep lying and I won't fuck you at all." I chuckled and got up, picking my jacked off the floor.

"Where are you going?" 

"I wasn't kidding, I really am tired. See you tonight though. My room, 11 pm, make sure your parents are sleeping. I don't want interruptions." I winked and closed the door behind me, walking to the end of the hallway to Jimin's room. He was watching TV when I got in. I dropped on the bed next to him. "Hey, so... can you switch rooms with your sister tonight at like 11 pm." He took his eyes off the TV and stared at me for longer than necessary.

"Yall wanna fuck in my bed?" 

"Yes...?" 

"No. What did I tell you in the train?" 

"Oh, come on, I didn't think you were being serious. Jimin, it wouldn't be the first time, or the second time... or the third time. Let it be." 

"You're using my sister because you're horny. Good job. I'm glad you learned so much from your hyungs." 

"I'm not using her!" I said, a little louder than I intended. "I love your sister. I'm not in love with her, of course not, but I have love for her. I'm not using her for sex, she's my friend. And you're acting like she's not the one jumping on me whenever she gets the chance. And it's not even about sex. I barely come home anymore, so I barely see Nay. I'm not... close to anyone back in Seoul. I can't hug anyone or tell them goodnight. Nayeon adores me. I don't get that feeling from anyone in Seoul. I guess I just need her close. It's not about sex." Jimin looked away from me and sighed. 

"You never told me any of this." 

"What was I supposed to say? I'm lonely? There's nothing you could've done about it." 

"It's not just this. You never tell me anything. Talk to me. At least now, please, just talk to me." He searched for my eyes with his and eventually I gave up and looked at him. Talking about my dad was my least favorite thing in the world. That and no one knew about him except for me and my mom. My hatred towards him scared me, so I avoided to bring him up in any circumstances. 

"When I was ten, I came home from school expecting to find my dad where he usually was, in front of the TV. But that day, it was a thursday, I came home and he wasn't there. I was so tired, my head hurt, but I wasn't able to fall asleep because my dad wasn't there. I kept going back and forth through the house. I was uneasy and I couldn't stop moving. I waited for over three hours before I heard the front door. I watched him stumble with his keys. He dropped them and tried to pick them up, but he couldn't crouch. He held the wall with his hand for balance as he struggled to take off his shoes.  I closed my door and tucked myself in my bed, face towards the wall and pretended to be asleep. I heard him open my bedroom door and I guess he stared at me for a few seconds before he closed it back up." My voice and my hands started shaking and Jimin took one of my hands in his and squeezed it. 

"I heard him knock a few things over in the bathroom. I laid there and listen to him puke." I said, my voice cracked and faded away as the lump in my throat was forcing me to give up and my eyes burned. A few tears came down without my intention to let them go. "I was ten. After that it was just a series of getting drunk regularly. I would start shaking and sobbing while covering my mouth so he doesn't hear. The first time he hit my mom, I was twelve. When I was fourteen he took out a gun and threatened to blow out her brains in front of me. I took his gun and he looked at me, pupils dilated and said 'Go on. Fucking shoot me. You two don't exist without me." I fell backwards and Jimin rushed to keep my head from hitting the side of the bed. I looked at the ceiling, but I couldn't see anything. The tears kept falling down from the corners of my eyes. "I want him dead so bad." My voice barely came out. 

"Who do you want dead?" Nayeon's voice made me jump a little and I quickly wiped away my tears and closed my eyes, hoping she would let it go and just leave.

"Nay, get out." Jimin said, his voice lower and weaker than I've ever heard it before.

"I came to hang out with Kookie, you get out." I sat up and looked at Jimin. His eyes were puffy and red and his face was completely different. He was mad. He let go of my hand and got up, marching rapidly towards his sister. His hand wrapped around her neck and he slammed her violently against the wall behind her. She screamed and closed her eyes.

"I said get out." He yelled in her face and let her neck go. She pushed him as hard as he could and ran out of the room, crying. He sighed and stumbled walking backwards, falling onto the bed. He covered his face with both of his hands and his breathing started picking up. I rushed in front of him and crouched.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey." I took his hands away from his face. "Breathe." He looked at me and nodded, inhaling and exhaling in sync with me until he calmed down. 

We both changed out clothes and jumped into bed for a nap. We didn't say anything else. We both understood what there was to understand. Me and Jimin had a very uncomplicated relationship where everything was clear thorough our eyes, faces and what we did. He didn't have to tell me he's sorry for me, because I knew that he knew I didn't need his pity. I needed him to know and understand which he did. That's why he kept quiet. That's why he almost hurt his sister. Because sometimes he felt me a little too much. Sometimes he just took my emotions upon himself. He was angry that he wasn't there, at 10 years old, next to me to save me, even though he knew that wasn't possible.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rose's P.O.V

I loved Bex beyond imagination, but sometimes I just kept things from her entirely. Like how two months prior to coming here I had enrolled in college and started taking korean classes. Or how her mom wasn't at all the reason I was here. Or how the stranger that just saw me half naked wasn't really that much of a stranger to me. I met Yoongi back in 2014, when they all came to the US. We met at a bar. At the time, I had no idea who he was and we got drunk together. We hooked up that night and surprisingly, I didn't regret it the next morning. Somewhere along the way we became close friends and started talking regularly. And by regularly, I mean daily. His personality really matched mine and I loved it. When I found out that Bex was working for them, I promised him I would come visit. 

Rose: I'm coming upstairs. Which door?

Yoongi: Far left. Don't worry, the guys are out. No one's gonna see you. 

I followed his instructions and ended up in a big room with two twin beds. Yoongi was laying down. I took off my shoes and climbed in the bed, above him and sat on his lap, looking down. His eyes flew open. I smiled and he raised an eyebrow.

"What? I told Bex I was gonna fuck you, at least let me simulate it." A cocky smile spread across his face. 

"Do you want to?" 

"Do I wanna what?"

"Fuck me." I leaned down and kissed him, grabbing his face in my palms. I pulled away slightly to look at him.

"Mhm." 

"Well, you can't. Not now anyway, because the rest are about to come back home and I'm not letting anyone else see you naked today." I groaned and let myself fall off of him, to his side.  He started laughing and I hit his stomach.

"Hey, so, don't be mad, but I think that Jungkook guy is really cute."

"Why would I be mad?"

"Is it okay that I kinda wanna ask him out?" 

"You wanna ask him out? Sorry, I forgot who I was asking. Of course you would. Kookie's the best. Seriously. Go for it. Don't even dare ever compare him with that son of a bitch of an ex of yours. But wait, you just met him and you wanna ask him out?" 

"Well, what's the point in waiting? How else am I gonna get to know him."

"You know that means no more showing up here saying you want me to fuck you. No more nudes and no more video chats in the middle of the night. I'm serious. Kookie's like my little brother."

"Tonight. Last time?" I held out my pinky and he wrapped his around mine.

"Last time."

[iwillsendapostcard]

Lizzie’s anniversary playlist

A playlist to celebrate one year of being in this fandom! 🎉🎉🎉

Listen to the whole thing here.

Part One- The Affair

Part Two- The Chill Era and The Trial

Part Three- Boyfriends to Fiancés Era

According to my very rough outline, this is the longest era of them all 😊

April 2016 Barcelona- Ed Sheeran And you and I, we're flying on an aeroplane tonight/ we're going, somewhere where the sun is shining bright/ just close your eyes/ and let's pretend we're dancing in the street/ in Barcelona…

Ah! The first holiday of many that never materialised. This is a cute little song and while I certainly can’t see the boys dancing in the street I can see them sat outside a café with their drinks (Sangria for Rob, Estrella for Aaron) watching the people go by as they hold hands under the table.

May 2016 You are in Love- Taylor Swift Morning, his place/ burnt toast, Sunday/ you keep his shirt/ he keeps his word/ and for once you let go/ of your fears and your ghosts/ one step, not much, but it said enough…

I managed to find a Taylor Swift song with a lyric about toast so I think I deserve a point for that, right @drawerswithouthandles ?

June 2016 Indestructible- Robyn And I never was smart with love/ I let the bad ones in and the good ones go/ but I'm gonna love you like I've never been hurt before/ I'm gonna love you like I'm indestructible…

We know from canon that this is the first time either of them has felt anything like this love before. And while Aaron’s part relationships have generally been fairly normal (the Jackson storyline aside) another one of Robert’s main character traits is that he’s really fucking terrible at relationships. But loving Aaron and choosing to be in a relationship with Aaron has meant letting go of some of those negative character traits and opening himself up to a kind of love that I don’t even think he knew existed before falling for Aaron.

July 2016 Starlight- Emeli Sande You are my sunshine/ broke through the clouds and now I kissed the sky/ feels like I'm dreaming with open eyes

Ah! The moving in together era! The fight where Liv forced them to talk it though! A perfect example of their ridiculously short break-ups as diligently catalogued by @bartsugsy

Jesus, these boys have overcome a lot in order to be together, huh?

(Side note- this is a really nice track to run to. Or at least it is for me because I run very slowly)

August 2016 Best Part- Daniel Caesar feat. H. E. R. You're the coffee that I need in the morning/ you're my sunshine in the rain when it's pouring… You're my water when I'm stuck in the desert/ you're the Tylenol I take when my head hurts…

Look at them all cute and in love and plotting the Whites’ downfall together. What I love about them is that you can see that coming home to each other is the best part of their day. Robert and Aaron have such beautiful smiles when they look at each other (thank you Danny and Ryan!) which makes it easy to see that even if they have done something to upset each other there’s no one else who can cheer them up as fast either.

September 2016 You Don’t Do It For Me- Demi Lovato Money won't pay for your problems/ you gotta fix them yourself/ vices and pity won't solve 'em/ stop feeling bad for yourself… I'm sorry for honesty, I'm well aware/ I lie to you/ when I lie with you

The only non-robron song on the list, but an opportunity too good to pass up. It’s not every day that a quote from a soap ends up as the title of a song now is it? There’s plenty of foreshadowing for Rob and Bex’s relationship here. I just wish Bex has listened to this while she had her bath, realised what Robert was up to, and buggered off before anyone’s feelings could get hurt.

October 2016 Final Song- MØ But when you're gone the music goes/ I lose my rhythm, lose my soul/ so hear me out before you say the night is over/ I want you to know that we gotta, gotta carry on/ so don't let this be our final song

SSW was one of the rare times that music has been used at really obvious points in an episode. This one naturally foreshadows the near-death experience about to happen, but I also remember this being a massive hit in 2016, and therefore practically impossible to escape. So, it’s certainly something they would have heard around the village or at work.

I think the lyric about losing your rhythm without the other person fits them really nicely. We know that the boys both believe that, in the long term, they are better together.

November 2016 Like I’m Going to Lose You- Megan Trainor I woke up in tears/ with you by my side/ a breath of relief/ and I realized/ no, we're not promised tomorrow

Both of the boys have had near death experiences and both times (three if you want to include Robert finding Aaron at the scrapyard and four if you want to count him and Chas finding Aaron with the broken ankle) the other has been instrumental in saving their life. So, a future story I would love to see is one of them experiencing nightmares about these traumatic events.

For now, this is a cute song easy enough for them to sway around the living room together to.

December 2016 Waiting- BETSY Tell me why can't I hide the way I want this to be/ cause you know, you know that I would die to hold you/ say you'll be there now just waiting for me/ cause this hard-hitting love don't seem to fade/ I live for the chance that one day you'll see/ and you'll know, you'll know that I can't breathe without you

This is one of my favourite songs and so I just had to find an excuse to put it on this playlist. Last Christmas was a wonderfully chill ear with some of the best Dingle family scenes we’ve ever been treated to. It was so wonderful to see the beginnings of the blending of this family- especially the acceptance of Rob and Liv into the fold.

Christmas 2016 was probably the very opposite of anything Rob ever imagined he’d ever experience when he moved back to the village. But hey, that ‘hard-hitting love don’t seem to fade.’

January 2017 Let Me Love You- Mario Baby I just don't get it/ do you enjoy being hurt… you should let me love you/ let me be the one to/ give you everything you want and need/ baby good love and protection/ make me your selection/ show you the way love's supposed to be

One of the oldest songs on the playlist but what a classic. The January break up was the result of Aaron’s jealousy and his less-than-stellar coping mechanisms. But, true to form, Robert wasn’t letting go of him that easy- though I do wonder if the “I can’t make you happy” line was a tiny bit of foreshadowing…

This song is exactly the sort of thing I can imagine coming on the radio just as the boys are thinking about where their relationship is going and how they are going to fix it.

[thexwickedxones]

                          Part two - The crowned Prince

Kaleb sat at his desk till the early hours of the morning, working on different paperwork, from actual office work, to death realm work. When he was finally in bed, there was a soft knock on the door. Slowly sitting up, he rubbed his hair and looked at Theo as he stood in the doorway. “Sorry, did I wake you?” He questioned awkwardly. “No, it’s alright. I wasn’t asleep yet, what’s wrong?” Theo stood there awkwardly, causing Kaleb to roll his eyes. “Theo, it’s three in the morning. What’s the matter?” Theo let out a sigh and looked at him. “I wanted to thank you for giving her the ten days.” It was then that Kaleb climbed out of bed and walked over to his brother. “Just remember, she’s going to die like the others. She’s human, she will be dead in nine days.” A stern expression was on Kaleb’s face as he looked at his little brother. “Do not get attached.” Theo looked at his brother and nodded a little. “Goodnight Kaleb.”

By the morning, Poppy hadn’t had much sleep. Looking at her alarm, she saw it was only five in the morning. Climbing out of bed, she went into the bathroom and took a shower, even if she had to wear the same clothes, she was going to at least be clean. Putting her wet hair up into a bun, she got dressed and made her way downstairs into the kitchen. “Morning.” Looking up, she grinned softly. “Morning Bex.” She smiled softly as Bex placed a cup of coffee in front of her. “Is there poison in it this time?” She questioned, receiving a laugh. “No, don’t worry. I’ve held the poison. When our fearless leader makes a decree, with stick to it.” Poppy let out an awkward laugh and smiled. “Good to know.”

Bex served up some food and then placed a plate in front of Poppy, before eating her own. “So, how are you feeling?” Poppy shrugged her shoulders. “That is complicated if i’m honest, i’m not really sure how I am.” Bex nodded softly. “Understandable.” Glancing at her watch, Bex stood up. !  have to get going I have to get to work. “But, don’t you work in a bar?” Bex laughed. “No, that was just a front. I am actually a funeral director, Ruben is a teacher, Lucas is an art consultant,Theo is journalist.” Getting up, she pushed her hand through her hair. “And Kaleb is a lawyer.” She nodded softly letting Bex know she understood. “Yeah, we have to pay the bills somehow. Anyway, see you later.”

A few minutes later Theo arrived in the kitchen as Bex made her way out. “Morning Princey.” Looking around in confusion, Poppy looked at Theo. “Have you not told her yet?” Ruben asked as he entered the room and winked at Poppy. “This one and our fearless leader Kaleb are the crown princess of the demon realm.” Looking at Theo surprised, Poppy hoped her leg was being pulled. Neither of them looked like they could be a Prince, then again Kaleb did hold himself like one so she wouldn’t have been too surprised if he was actually one. “He’s telling the truth, Kaleb is the crown Prince. When our father steps down from the throne, Kaleb will be taking over.”

Poppy didn’t have time to answer, as someone had wrapped their arm around her from behind and lifted her up. Struggling as she was pulled from the kitchen, she heard an annoyed sigh. “Kaleb?” She asked as he put her down. “Who else would it be?” She instantly shook her head. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, that you treat me like a rag doll.” She snapped looking up at him as he shook his head and sighed. “Look, we need to discuss the rules.” She slowly nodded looking up at Kaleb. She’d not really realised just how attractive Kaleb was until she was stood this close to him, but this wasn’t about romance, or anything like that, this was about living for nine more days.

“What are the rules then?” She questioned clearing her throat. “Rule number one, do not go anywhere without my permission, I need to be able to keep an eye on you and protect you from the agents. I hate agents, I hate having to deal with them and it would be far easier than having to deal with this crap.” She nodded slowly. “I can imagine, it must be hard for the Crown Prince.” At that Kaleb rolled his eyes. “Theo has been running his mouth again then, stay out of my business and everyone else’s you’re only here for nine days, I don’t need you messing in things that don’t concern you.” Poppy opened her mouth to respond to him, but thought better and closed her mouth and just nodded softly hoping to hide the twang of pain she felt as she thought about the fact that she only had nine days left.

“Come on, let's get to work.” Poppy nodded, but stopped as she felt a hand on her shoulder. “Poppy?” Slowly she turned around and looked at him. “Yes, Kaleb?” She questioned softly. “We don’t do this because we like it, we follow fate. Fate decides and we follow it. We’re not just killing you because we want to.” Looking up at him, she nodded softly. “I know, I understand.” Walking away from him, and into the kitchen to pick up her bag. “Poppy?” Looking up as Theo said her name, she smiled. “Yeah?” Theo stepped closer and went to place a hand on her shoulder, but stopped at the last second. “If you need some clothes, I can go pick up some for you if you like.” Poppy stared at him a little surprised. “That would be great, thank you.” Theo grinned widely at her, then rushed off leaving Poppy stood with Lucas. “Morning.” Poppy said with a bright smile, only to be ignored by Lucas as he made his way out of the room to head off to work. “Poppy, hurry up!”

The walk to work was quick, Poppy struggled to keep up with Kaleb. He seemed to take large, quick strides as he made his way to the office. Poppy struggled to keep up with him, each step was two or three for her. There was no talking either, Poppy could tell Kaleb wasn’t the type that liked to talk on the way to work, so she stayed quiet. By the time they got into the elevator, Poppy was rather puffed out, she stood against the wall and took a deep breath. “Remember, don’t go anywhere without me!” Looking at Kaleb, Poppy nodded softly. “Of course.” Kaleb nodded softly and looked away as the doors opened and the pair of them both stepped out.

Poppy had forgotten about their supposed date, but by the time Leah caught the two of them getting out of the elevator, it all instantly came back to her and the fact that she was wearing what she wore yesterday, this looked back. Instead of saying bye, she rushed off to her desk and took a seat to start doing work in the vain hope that Leah wouldn’t come and start asking questions.

It didn’t take her long, she arrived with coffee about ten minutes after you’d clocked on and began working. Poppy really didn’t want to talk about last night, however she seemed to. “So, how did it go? Was it amazing?” She asked, causing Poppy to let out an exasperated sigh. “No, nothing happened, we had a drink, then he took me home. However there was a problem with my apartment so he was kind enough to look after me. Sorry to disappoint you, he was a perfect gentleman.” Poppy stood up at this point, ready to head to the printer. “Oh, alright. Did you want to have lunch today?” Poppy wanted to say yes, but she knew she should. “I can’t, i’m sorry.”

As Lunchtime arrived, Poppy could feel her stomach starting to churn, she was starving. Letting out a sigh, she got up and picked up her wallet. “Kaleb won’t mind, if i just get some food.” She uttered to herself as she got into the elevator and made her way downstairs. Leaning back against the cool metal surface she thought about where to go, figuring the best place right now to go would be somewhere close, she decided on the Thai place across the road.

Getting outside into the warm sticky air, she looked around and shrugged. There was no one that looked like an agent… not that she knew what one looked like, but that wasn’t the point. There was no sign of anyone that wasn’t buying food. Rushing across the street, she noticed the amount of people inside the place she was about to enter and decided against it. Letting out a sigh, she turned and started to head down the street, heading to small cafe nearby that her and Leah often went to.

She kept walking, enjoying the warmth of the world around her. She tried hard to ignore the fact that this was her last week alive, she would only have a few days in this beautiful sunny weather. The happiness that she felt, turned to sadness. It was something that caused her to not notice at all the two that were tailing her or the pair of eyes that were close by waiting for her to turn the corner. “I’m about to die.” She uttered, it was something that she’d yet to think about and process, but even how she wouldn’t have a chance to.

Rounding the corner a hand grabbed her quickly. “Run!” With Kaleb already running the moment he’d spoken, Poppy had no time to ask what was going on. Instead she did was she was told and followed him down an alley. “What’s going on?” She asked panting slightly. “Shhh!” Grabbing hold of Poppy, he wrapped his arms tightly around her and moved behind a dumpster. Her cheeks started to flush as he held onto her. “What are you doing?” She uttered, doing everything in her power to not stammer. “Shhh, i need to focus.”

Once he’d finished speaking, Poppy started to feel dizzy, it felt as if all the air had been knocked from her lungs as she held onto him. “K-kaleb…” She said softly, earning a hush from him. “Save your strength.” He uttered. Her arms became heavy as she held onto him, slowly dropping to her sides.

“She was right in front of us, how can you lose her, Mason?” A woman’s voice came first stopping near the start of the alleyway. “I didn’t lose her Natalie, we lost her. There is a big difference!” A guy snapped back at her. Poppy could hear them, but it sounded like she was underwater. Whatever Kaleb was doing to her, it made her feel very weird.  “I can’t even feel her soul anymore.” The man spoke again. “Neither, come on. She can’t be far, let’s find her.” The sound of running came next, causing Poppy to feel Kaleb’s body to relax against her.

A moment later she was fine, looking up at him, she shook her head. “What was that?” She questioned as she saw him stumble. Deciding to get the answer later, she moved quickly to catch him, her hand holding him as he looked at her. “I told you not to wonder off, I told you to stay near me.” He stood up with Poppy’s help, she looked at him with a mix of confusion and sadness. “I’m sorry, I was only going across the road, but it was packed.” Kaleb placed a hand up to silence her, looking at him with a hint of annoyance on her face, she let it drop after a moment.

“Get back to work, now.” Poppy nodded and walked back to work without saying a single word, she felt bad that he’d had to save her, none of this would’ve happened if she’d listened. She sat back down at work, not bothering to think about how hungry she was right now, she needed to focus on work and following rules, even if she really wasn’t very good at them.

The day came to an end and Poppy met Kaleb at the elevator, she couldn’t help but notice that he looked exhausted. “Come on, let’s head home.” His words stopped her in her tracks. “Do you mind if we go and see my sister?” She expected him to protest, say not after what she did today, but instead he smiled softly and nodded. “Come on, let’s go. Lead the way.” Poppy couldn’t help but smile a little as they started to walk down the street toward where her sister lived. “So, the pin. Is it the royal family crest?” She asked curiously, he nodded softly, hardly looking at her, instead looking around to make sure everywhere was clear.

Falling silent after a moment, she was surprised as he spoke. “You and your sister, you’re close aren’t you?” Poppy grinned and looked down, a small smile appearing on her face as she nodded. “Yeah, we are. My parents travel a lot, so it was always me and Jenny home alone, she was older so she taught me most of what I needed to know. She was like a mother to me.” Poppy explained as they arrived outside of Jenny’s door. “Oh, just to warn you, her hormones are all over the place, sorry if she gets a little crazy.”

“Poppy!” Thank god you’re here.” Hugging the man who opened the door, Poppy smiled. “Hey Alec, it’s good to see you. How is Jen?” He nodded. “Alright, insisting on cooking everything in the fridge and freezer. Oh, who is this?” Poppy went to introduce him, however Kaleb stepped forward and held out his hand. “Kaleb Darke, one of Poppy’s co-workers, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Alec smiled at him. “Firm handshake, i like that.” Poppy shook her head and slipped past the two of them and went to see her sister.

“Hey you, how are you feeling? Anything I can do? Any sign of it coming soon?” She asked question after question, only to get a laugh from her sister. “Come on Poppy, i’m not due for nine days and even then with the first it might be late.” The words hit Poppy like a ton of bricks, she didn’t show any emotion however, but to hear that she might not even be alive for the baby, even after all this, it broke her. “Let’s hope he or she comes on time.” Poppy smiled and hugged her sister tightly. “Do you want to stay for dinner?” Poppy shook her head. “I can’t, I have a friend waiting, i’ll come back on the weekend, be safe.” Kissing her sister on the forehead, Poppy left quickly, trying to not cry as she feared her sister would figure out what was wrong if she saw her getting emotional.

No one was home when they got back, Kaleb instantly sat down on the couch and leaned back, closing his eyes for a moment. “Are you okay?” Poppy asked softly. “Can I get you something?” Kaleb sat up after a moment and shook his head. “I’m alright, it’s just that doing that, takes a lot out of me.” Walking into the kitchen, not listening to him, she got the pair of them a coffee, before sitting down on the edge of the couch and looked at him. “What was that you did back there?” Taking his coffee, Kaleb looked up at her. “I lowered your life force.” He explained. “Agents pick up on life force, so by lowering yours, it helped them lose your trail. Ironically if you’d kept your usual routine, they’d have had less chance to find you.”

Poppy slowly sat back and let out a gentle sigh. “You’re telling me if i’d not blown off Leah, like I did, this wouldn’t have happened?” He nodded softly, causing Poppy to scoff. “Typical. No matter what I do, it seems to go wrong.” Poppy mumbled, before standing up and walking into the kitchen and starting to cook. “Are you hungry?” She questioned from the kitchen. “Starving, we just order take out usually though.” He explained, causing her to shake her head. “No way to live.” Poppy commented as she pulled things out of the fridge and pantry and began making food.

Half an hour later, she placed a pot down along with two bowls. “Dinner’s ready.” She smiled softly, as he sat up and sniffed. “What is this?” He questioned curiously. “Stew.” She replied with a grin as she got both of them a bowl and offered him one. “Thanks.” The pair sat in silence as they ate, neither of them daring to say anything until the first bowls were finished. “Mind if I have another?” Kaleb asked, Poppy let out a laugh and nodded. “Help yourself to as much as you want.” She finished her own bowl and then had another small bowl.

Poppy was surprised as Kaleb put away four bowls and basically drained all of the stew that she’d made. “You were hungry.” She said with a soft giggle. “Thank you for dinner.” Standing up, he gathered the things to go wash them. “It’s alright, i’ll do it, it’s the least I can do seeing as you saved me today.” Kaleb looked down at Poppy as she spoke, his fingers reached up and pushed a piece of hair out of her face. “Good night Poppy.” Nodding softly, Poppy gave him a weak smile. “Good night.”

Washing up done, Poppy sat down on the couch and rested her head on the arm, her eyes staring off into the distance not bothering to put the television on. She had far too much to think about, he didn’t even bother to yell at her running off like that, was she imagining things or was the dynamic between the two of them changing? Did it matter? Not with only eight days left.

[the-unspoken-rules-ff]

Chapter 2

Bexley's P.O.V

I was sitting on the bed, taking everything in. Once again, I hadn't had the chance to properly talk to all the boys yet. Their schedule was an unorganized mess. They were always practising and when they weren't, they were either sleeping or somewhere out. I never managed to meet all of them. Today was the day I had to move into the guest house. I took most of my stuff from the apartment I had rented, leaving the things I no longer needed. 

In the meantime, I had done all possible research on the group, from their debut up to the present and I wasn't exactly shocked when I remembered watching their early videos with my sister. I knew a little bit about each of the boys and I was surprised I hadn't properly met the leader of the group yet. The guest house I was going to live in for the next two years was bigger than I had expected, beautifully painted and decorated. If I looked out through the window I could see the huge front yard of the main house, the one the boys lived in. The yard was a green paradise, almost like a park, having a beautiful white swing in the center. White and red flowers all around it. I started thinking about how easy it would be to get lost there. Not literally lost, but spiritually. You would be overwhelmed by the nature right away.

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by someone knocking on my front door. I put on my slippers and rushed to open the door.

"Hey! Can we come in?" Namjoon, Jin and Jungkook were waiting at the door.

"Sure." I moved aside to let them get in and closed the door behind them. 

"I think I didn't get the chance to properly introduce myself. I'm Namjoon a.k.a Rap Monster, the leader of BTS. This is Jin" he said, showing the brown-haired smiling guy on his right, "he's the oldest member. And this is Jungkook, our maknae." he said, this time showing the baby-faced guy on his left. I smiled back and introduced myself.

"I'm Bexley, but you guys can call me Bex. I'll be taking care of you from now on. But on that note, please take care of me while I'm here." I said, bowing respectfully. "Do you guys know where the other members are? I really need to talk to you all in order to plan exactly what I want to do next." 

"We don't, but we'll find them for you, don't worry. We have a conference room in our house. We'll all be there in about half an hour. Thank you for choosing to work with us and we hope we won't disappoint you." Jungkook said, smiling casually. I nodded and watched them leave. 

That half an hour really flew by while I took a shower and ate some snacks I found in the kitchen. I left the house with exactly five minutes to spare and enjoyed the walk through the yard all the way to the main house. I didn't know if I should go in or knock and wait for someone to come, so I knocked once and entered the house without waiting for a response. 

Across from the main entrance there was a spiral staircase that went up to the first and second floors. They had photos of themselves everywhere. Individual portraits and group photos. I walked up to one to see it up close. They were all laying on a bed. It looked like a photoshoot. I touched the frame and traced my finger across the patterns. All of a sudden something touched my shoulder and I jumped forward banging my head against the picture frame. I instantly grabbed my forehead with my hand and rubbed it, trying to make the sharp pain go away. 

"That's an instant headache." I said, turning around to see Jimin staring at me with the biggest eyes I have ever seen. "Oh, hey there!" I said, flashing a forced smile. 

"I'm so sorry! I really scared you. And hurt you, apparently, God. Why am I always like this?!" He said, frustrated. It was obvious that he wanted to do something, but he was too polite to touch me. So he just stood still, making a very adorable 'sorry' face.

"Don't worry about it. It's my fault. I came in without knocking." I took my hand away from my forehead and his eyes became even bigger -something that I thought was impossible-. He pointed at my head and I looked at my fingers, noticing that I was bleeding. I had scratched my forehead and now I was bleeding. Sometimes I really wondered if someone had cursed me as a baby. 

"Can you tell me where the bathroom is? I'll go wash this off and I'll be right with you guys." 

"No way." He said, very serious, still watching me carefully.

"Okay, then I'll go wash this off in my bathroom and I'll be right there--"

"No. I mean you're not just 'washing it off'. That can get infected." 

"Oh, come on! It's not like I live in a dungeon. Really, it's fine. I won't die from this." I said, laughing slowly. I tried to go past him, but he grabbed my arm and squeezed it, still not saying anything. I looked at him waiting, but he was just watching me. After a few moments, he started walking, dragging me along with him. I wanted to protest, but I knew it was useless. He took me to the kitchen and started looking around the cabinets for something. 

"Can you sit on the table?" I looked at him clueless, thinking I started to imagine things. "So I can reach your forehead..." He pointed at my head again and waited patiently. I jumped back on the table and watched him pull a first aid kit out of the cabinet. 

"You guys keep the first aid kit in the kitchen?" I laughed and he smiled nervously. 

"Put 7 guys in a kitchen together and ask them to cook, you will need more than one first aid kit. We're kind of reckless." He put the first aid kit down and opened it, taking out a cotton swab which he dipped in sterile water. He walked over and stopped for a few seconds before coming closer and leaning in his head to look clearly at my forehead. If you think I wasn't breathing at that moment, you're right. I wasn't. I stopped the moment I saw him in front of me. 

"Ouch!" I said and he immediately took away his hand and stepped back. I started laughing. He shot me a serious look before he started smiling, realizing that I was just messing with him. He wiped the rest of my wound and pulled out a small band aid. I did that on purpose, because I was running out of air. 

"Hey, did you see--" Tae came rushing in and he stopped when he saw me sitting on the table. "What's... going on?" Jimin started speaking in korean, not facing him and I waited until he finally put the band aid over my scratch so I could get off that table and start breathing again. "Are you okay?" Tae asked me, concerned. I nodded my head as a yes.

"Can we go to the conference room? I've been waiting to talk to you guys." 

"Sure. Come on." Tae started walking in front of me, but Jimin stayed behind a few more seconds before I heard his footsteps behind me. When we entered the room, they were all waiting for us. I asked them to sit down and I stayed at the top of the table, so I could see them all. 

"I'm not gonna keep you more than a few minutes. Okay, so, from what I've seen, you guys don't really have much of a schedule, which is not good for the long run or for you. You need to properly balance everything you do in order to succeed and be healthy and happy. So I am going to make you a schedule for practice, meals, sleep and so on. Don't worry, I am a workaholic, but I'm not crazy. I know your limits. I won't exaggerate, I promise." They all nodded in agreement. 

"We used to have clear schedules, but that kind of got ruined when we ended up without a manager. Thank you for taking care of us. It might not seem like it yet, but we really appreciate it." Namjoon said while the other guys listened carefully to his words, some nodding while other simply just looked around. "You can work on it here. You have everything you need. We'll be around the house. You can come give us the schedule after you finish it. Our rooms are on the next floor. We have our names on the door." -----------------------------------------

It might sound weird, but working on the computer really made me remember my father. He died when I was 10 and I could barely remember anything about him. The only memories I had of him were when he was working and I would barge into his office. He would yell at me, but I wouldn't care. Now, over  15 years later I was really glad I'd done that. At least I could remember something. He wasn't completely gone. His famous words that my mom always threw in my face - I couldn't remember him say any of that. All I knew is what my mother kept telling me - that he used to give me life advice, but I was obviously too little to remember or understand any of it. 

I started the printer and printed out 7 copies of the practice schedule I had put together. For some reason, I was really starting to get sick and somewhat dizzy. I figured it might've been the sudden memories of my father playing in my head. I climbed the rest of the stairs to the second floor and noticed the wodden doors which were all uniquely decorated. I went closer only to notice something that I absolutely hated seeing. I slapped my legs in frustration. "They should have mentioned that the names are written in hangul. I swear someone cursed me as a baby." I said frustrated and decided to just go into the first room I saw. I knocked on the door and waited this time, until Jungkook opened it and stepped aside, letting me come in. I handed him the papers and he took them. Just when I thought he was going to turn around and go back to his desk, he took two steps forward, leaning his head forwards and staring at my face.

"Are you wearing contacts?" He said, still not backing away. A pillow came flying my way, but hit his head instead and he turned around, getting ready to throw it right back at the person. Jimin sat up from the bed and rubbed his eyes. 

"People can have blue eyes, stupid." He said, his voice raspy. I figured he was trying to sleep, but obviously wasn't. Jungkook threw the pillow aiming for his head, but missed, hitting the wall behind him instead. 

"I know!" he said while Jimin started laughing at his failed attempt to fight back. 

"Her eyes are too beautiful to be contacts. They're yours, right?" Jimin stated, falling back on the bed. 

"Yes." was all I could say. Not only because I was overwhelmed by the whole situation, but for some reason the room was spinning. I grabbed the edge of a chair near me when my vision started getting blurry. "I think I... have... a concussion."

Everything went black and I fell.