#gabriel shaw

[sheawritesstuff]

Meeting the Alpha

[Gabriel Shaw and David x Angel]

[Meet the parents Fluff - 1391 words]

[Little bit of a twist ending ;p enjoy]

“Alright, Angel. How are you feeling? You ready?” David asked, putting the car in park. Angel fidgeted nervously in their seat and stared out the window. Their attention darted rapidly between the big, rustic house in front of them and their own shaking hands. 

“What if he doesn’t like me?” Their voice was uncharacteristically quiet and almost shaky. “What if I fuck it up? Davey I- “ David cut them off with a gentle grip of their hand. They finally turned to look at him, mouth tugged down in a frown. He held their hand firmly and took a dramatically slow, deep breath. They followed suit, filling their lungs with air and breathing out their worry. 

“He’s going to love you, Angel. I promise,” David said, soft and genuine. “It’s going to be ok, it’s just my dad.” Angel nodded, still breathing deeply. They squeezed their boyfriend’s hand and forced a smile. 

“I think I’m ready now.” They said it more to themself than to him. David kissed them once before the two of them hefted themselves up and out of the car. The wolf came to their side and looped their arms together, keeping them nice and close. They walked together to the front door, waited a moment for a few more deep breaths, and David knocked firmly on the thick wooden door. 

A moment later the door opened, revealing the man of the hour. If Angel thought David was big, Gabe was gigantic. He was at least three inches taller and almost as wide as his son, but not quite as muscular. Angel stared up at him, eyes wide and mouth hanging open slightly.

“Well hey! You must be the little Angel I’ve heard so much about,” Gabe declared. He spread his arms, a bright smile plastered across his face, then paused. “Wait, can I- do… do you do hugs?” He pulled his arms back toward his body awkwardly as he questioned the forwardness of his action. 

Angel giggled at him and opened their arms too. They nestled against his chest in a firm, familiar hug. They both sighed, relaxing in their shared embrace as the mutual nervousness faded. They pulled away and found David standing off to the side, arms folded across his chest. 

“Aw, Davey, are you feeling left out? C’mere baby,” Angel teased, approaching him arms first. David groaned, but hugged them back, running his hand over their back. Gabe took the opportunity to ruffle David’s hair, wasting the agonizing half-hour he put into perfecting it. The beta scrunched his eyebrows together and huffed at his father. 

“I did not come here to be ambushed,” he complained, pushing his mate away from him. He turned back toward the door, quickly trying to tidy up his hair. “Are you gonna let us in or not, old man?” David’s grin gave away the fact his dismay was all for show. Gabe rolled his eyes, still smiling wide. He motioned toward the door with both arms and bowed slightly. 

“After you, Davey,” Gabe remarked, stepping inside behind them and closing the door. David mirrored his elder and rolled his eyes. The trio entered the front room of the house together. Angel openly gawked at the gorgeous childhood home of their lover. 

“Dinner is on the table if you two are ready.” 

The dining table was huge, stretching about as far as one end of Angel’s apartment to the other. It was bare, though, save for three neatly arranged placemats on one end with a variety of dishes scattered around them. David led his mate to their seat and pulled the chair out for them. He sat across from them, leaving the head of the table empty for the alpha. 

“Wow.” Angel stared at the feast in front of them. “It looks amazing, Gabe.” 

“It’s crazy, huh. Some people cook and eat actual food,” David joked as he scooped a spoonful of potatoes onto his plate. Gabe half-heartedly swatted at the back of his son’s head. 

“Be nice. You weren’t always the healthiest eater either, y’know.” The older wolf turned to Angel with a smile. “You would not believe how hard it was to convince this boy to eat his vegetables. When he was still a tiny little thing he-”  David covered his face with his hands and groaned. The tips of his ears were bright red as he listened to the retelling of his childhood stubbornness. 

“-and he wouldn’t even look at anything green unless I bribed him with some sort of treat until he was damn near 15,” Gabe laughed and glanced toward the man sitting next to him. David still had his head bowed down in embarrassment, but he had uncovered in face in the interest of actually eating his dinner. “Your mama would be so proud of you,” Gabe said softly. 

David perked his head up and stared at his father, surprise clear on his face. Gabe smiled at him and patted his shoulder with a nod. He turned back to Angel with the same kind grin. “She would love you too, Angel. You’re sweet like she was. I think you two would’ve gotten along well.” His voice was quiet and filled with a fond nostalgia. “You picked well, David.

David stopped eating for a moment, just pushing the food around on his plate as he searched for the right words. He looked across the table and met his partner’s eyes for a moment. He smiled back at them and sighed. 

“Yeah, I did, didn’t I.” 

The rest of the evening was filled with good food, laughter, and a plethora of embarrassing childhood stories. As the couple finished their food, Gabe stood to take their plates to the kitchen. Angel peered across the table with a smile painted on their face. 

“I think he likes me,” they sighed. David laughed and pushed himself up from the table. He came around to the other side and draped himself over the top of their chair. A kiss to the top of the head accompanied a soft squeeze to their shoulders. 

“He loves you, Angel. Just like I said he would.” He tilted their head up and kissed their forehead. “But I’m afraid if we don’t leave soon he’ll end up liking you more than me. And we can’t have that, can we?” They giggled and shook their head. He pulled their chair out to give them room to stand as Gabe reentered the dining room. 

“You two heading out?” David nodded and replaced the chair.

“It was really great getting to meet you, Gabe,” Angel piped up. Gabe smiled down at them. His smile had been almost permanently painted on his face since they arrived, but it never seemed any less genuine. 

“It was lovely meeting you too, Angel. Don’t be a stranger, ok?” He leaned down to hug them again and they happily returned it. He patted them on the back as he pulled away. David hugged him too, but it lingered a little longer as he reveled in the moment. 

“I love you, Dad.”

“I love you too, David. Drive safe, alright?” David nodded as he turned to open the door. 

“Always.”

Gabe stood on the porch as he watched them get back into their car. Angel let out a long, low sigh as they sat down. David turned the key with a hum and turned to face his mate. They smiled at him before waving out the window as they pulled out of the driveway. They leaned across the seat to plant a quick kiss to David’s cheek-

The feeling of gentle kisses scattered across David’s face pulled him back to reality. His eyes opened just enough to peer up at his mate on top of him, waking him up “the romantic way”. He smiled softly as the warmth of sleep ebbed away. Angel kissed the tip of his nose and pulled away just enough to make proper eye contact. 

“Good morning, Davey,” they said, voice still hoarse from sleep. “Did you have a good dream?” David tucked their hair behind their ear and smiled as his core thrummed solid in his chest. He stared up at them, admiring the beauty before him for a long, silent moment. 

“Yes, I did.” He pressed a soft kiss to their lips. “I had a very good dream, Angel.” 

[communisticbones]

redacted william and gabe simps be like

[slightlystupidhun]

Ain’t Misbehavin’

Fic inspired by the art of lovely @dizzy-n-busy . After taking out a member of the Shade gang who attacked his favorite detective, Milo Greer, a mafioso of the Shaw clan, finds himself in an interrogation room of his own with his detective running the interview.

“Mr.Greer, this isn’t the first time you’ve been in this room.” They said as they propped themself up in the corner of the room. They sat backwards on a chair arms resting against the back of it and facing him.

“Well, I hope for both my joy and yours, it ain’t the last.” He said with a grin that could knock the detective clear off their feet, but this was business and they had to handle work first. “However, usually folks take each other out to dinner before they break out the handcuffs.” He winked at them.

“Very funny Mr.Greer, nevertheless you have answers that I want.” They sighed as they moved to the table and lifted the tan colored file off of it. It’s pages scrapped lightly against their fingers.“How was your night last night?”

“Was quite fun, I went out with some friends, got into some trouble. Why you wanna join me?” He winked at them, picking up on the way their hands squeezed the file a little tighter and their eyes darted away from him.

“I need you to give me exact locations Greer. Because let me tell you, the evidence, is not in your favor…” they sighed pinching at the bridge of their nose.

“It never is, yet somehow you never have enough to pin me… unless you’re so infatuated that you’ve been letting me go every time in hopes to see me again.” He smiled at them. His accent thick, his charm thicker. So thick they felt as though they would suffocate from it. Maybe they wanted too… but they couldn’t.

“We’ll let me tell you what I have. A notorious member of the shade gang is found dead from an alley way you were seen leaving about 20 minutes before. You look like hell. You’re bloody, bruised. Hell you even got a gunshot wound in your abdomen” They set the file down on the table and put their arms against it. Their warm hands a stark contract of the cold mahogany. “Just what did you do last night.”

He smiled at them and leaned back in his chair. His gelled hair swooping over his face and his gold earrings reflecting the harsh light back in the detectives eyes. “Which one kicked the bucket? Was is the one that was buggin you a few days ago?” He didn’t need confirmation, he already knew that’s who laid dead in the alley.

He waited for that man to head back home from the bar he was at and pulled him in the alley. It was a bloody beating and Milo was winning until the guy pulled out a gun and shot him. What a sore loser, having to cheat like that. Nonetheless, Milo finished the job and tried to clean himself up, but about 30 minutes later, detectives arrived at his house.

The stealth rolled their eyes pinched their nose again to hide the fact that they bit their lip. “That doesn’t matter. Greer. Tell me what I need to know. Why did you kill that man and how?”

Milo smiled, he was completely smug as he leaned forward, his face mere inches from theirs. “I could ask for a lawyer ya know. But you’re lucky I like talkin to ya.” He then glanced to the side and saw the box of cigarettes on the table. “Can I get a light, detective?”

“Will you talk?” They said reaching into their pockets.

“Maybe, I’ll definitely talk to you, but about what I can’t say.” He smiled as they put the cigar in his mouth and promptly lit it. “So when can I take ya out?”

“For a date or with a gun?” They shot back at him as they started walking around the room. He laughed at their response and spoke again.

“It’s be easier to have this cigarette if my hands were in cuffs. Can I have just one of ‘em back?” He looked up at them with fake puppy dog eyes.

“Give me something and I’ll give you something.”

“Okay, fine I was in the alley last night. And I did see your corpse” He nodded over to the cuffs for them to release one of his hands. They did as promised and sat on the table in front of him. “But I didn’t see your man. I left an entire twenty minutes before he was found. And the wounds I got ere are from a bar fight I got into on the wrong side of town.” Their face fell as they couldn’t argue with what he just said. They had no way to prove his story was true unless.

“Do you have a witness for it?” They said raising their eyebrow at him.

“You wanna being in Gabriel Shaw?” He smirked as he rested his arm on the table. “I know you want this lead but, Sweetheart, Mr.Shaw is a hard man to reach, very busy.”

They smiled at him and crossed their arms. “I think I’ll take that chance Mr.Greer. Oh and don’t misbehave while I’m gone.”

“No worries sweetheart, I ain’t misbehaving, just savin my love for you.” He sang out the popular song with a wickedly charming grin.

[jupiterdive]

gabriel shaw absolutely had a sweet tooth. he would be so quick to deny it, but he absolutely did.

he did the thing where when david was a kid and he got back to his house from trick-or-treating on Halloween, he’d let david snack a bit and not only implement the parent tax (he took david’s candy), but he’d stash it somewhere david couldn’t find it, and eat it himself (one year david caught gabe shoving fistfulls of his Halloween candy in his mouth in the middle of the night as he went to the kitchen to get a glass of water and david didn’t let him take his stash away after that)

oh my god and he’d go fuckin nuts at solstice parties. he’d try to be so incredibly discreet about loading up on sweets and pastries but david absolutely told asher and milo and amanda about what he saw, and they'd all linger by the sweets table and call him out on his sugar stealing whenever they catch him slinking by.

this is true i swear i am literally getting coffee with erik redacted records himself right now and this is canon he told me (erik and i have never talked, nor does the man like coffee)

[reginaldqueribundus]

Star Trek TOS: what if the captain was a slut who got in fights all the time and did whatever the hell he wanted and it all sort of worked out anyway

TNG: what if the captain drank tea and gave speeches instead

DS9: what if the captain was a single father and religious figure trying to hold onto his morals in the face of an existential threat

Voyager: what if the captain was trying to get her unruly scout troop back home and also she had a GUN

Enterprise: what if the captain was a massive dweeb

Kelvin timeline: what if the first guy was actually a horny frat boy

Disco: what if the captain was a cryptofascist? no wait, what if he was just sooooooo handsome, like so mind-meltingly handsome that is just feels unfair? wait, what if he was a deer? no actually what if she did whatever the hell she wanted, but also felt emotions about it?

Picard: what if the captain was a secondary character driven into solitude by his PTSD, and then we suddenly replaced him with some dipshit from Chicago

Lower Decks: what if the captain was your well-meaning perfectionist mother

Prodigy: what if the captain was a purple teenager

SNW: what if the captain was your dad

[4alarmfirecracker]

"The only thing I know for sure is I... need... you."

[starlitangels]

Costumes

I missed my children OMG it feels so nice to have them back 1.9k words

—

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" Natalie shouted. Her little feet thundered down the stairs. She had excitement in her voice but David still looked up in concern. "Look, look, look!"

She ran into view around the corner.

"Ta-daaa!" She spun in a circle.

Oh, thank God, David thought.

His six-year-old daughter was standing in a black-and-white checkered overall dress with a white shirt underneath and her red rain boots. Her hair had been pulled into a pair of pigtail braids. There was a basket on her arm.

The obvious clue of her costume was the vibrant red cape with the hood pulled up and bobby-pinned to her hairline.

His mate had, once again, outdone themself. Not that he was surprised. They loved dressing the kids up for Halloween. And them being them, always had to be Extra™ about it.

"You look so good, Natty!" David said with a small smile.

She giggled and ran at him, leaping for a hug. David caught her and hoisted her up to sit her on his hip.

"Are you excited to wear your costume to school today?"

She nodded so hard it seemed like she'd almost throw her hood off even with the bobby pins. "Uh-huh! It's gonna be so fun!" She balled her fist in the chest of David's shirt. "Guess what Gabe's going as!"

David leaned closer to her, conspiratorially (as if his mate hadn't told him months ago). "Who?" he asked quietly.

Natty giggled again. "I'll give you a hint! It goes with my costume."

David pursed his lips. "Hmm... who are you for Halloween again?"

His baby laughed. "Daaaaaddy! I'm Little Red Riding Hood!"

"Oh! Of course." He booped the end of her little nose. She squeaked through her giggling. God, she took after his mate. "So then I'm guessing Gabriel is... a loaf of bread."

She shook her head—her whole body following with the enthusiasm of the movement. "Nooooo!"

"Is your brother... a cookie?"

She shook again. "No!"

"Hmm... is he the grandmother?"

She squealed with laughter. "No!"

"Well, then, I'm stumped."

"Daaaaaddy!" Natalie protested. "It's not that hard!"

At that moment, another set of footsteps thundered down the stairs. "Rrraaawwwrrr!" Eight-year-old Gabriel tore into the room in a button-down plaid flannel and jeans. There were tufts of fake fur glued to his hands and the sides of his face, all disappearing under his shirt. He had some fake teeth in his mouth. His face had been dusted in a slight layer of paint to match the fake fur better and the end of his nose had been blackened in a triangle with some face paint.

Natalie shrieked in delight and squirmed in David's hold to put her dad between her and her brother.

"I am the Big, Bad Wolf!" Gabriel cried, trying to growl and failing through the fake plastic teeth in his mouth.

David chuckled quietly. "You will be one day," he said.

Gabriel preened. "I know! I'm excited."

"I'm gonna be even bigger!" Natalie teased.

Gabriel blew a raspberry. "No you won't! You're a girl!"

Natalie growled—more successfully than her brother if David was honest—and moved to lunge for her brother. David held her tighter to him. "Nope," he said. "You're not going to ruin your costumes before you get to school."

"Daaad! He's being mean to me!" Natalie protested.

"Gabriel. Be nice to Natalie. Natalie, no tackling your brother while you're both dressed up."

Natalie bared her teeth in a childish snarl at Gabriel. Who tried to do the same around the plastic ones in his mouth.

David's mate made it down the stairs at that point. Bits of face paint stained their fingertips where they'd been helping Gabriel. They smiled at the sight of Natalie fighting to free herself from David's hold to attack her brother. David met his mate's eyes. They smiled.

"Alright you two," David said with the quiet, firm, but loving authority of a man who'd been an alpha long before he was a father. "Let's get in the car."

Gabriel grabbed his backpack and David gave both the kids their lunchboxes after setting Natalie back on her feet. They both went running for David's mate's car—where Natalie's car seat and Gabriel's booster seat were buckled in. David and his mate put the kids in their seats and piled into the car to drive them to school.

Natalie filled the whole five-minute drive with rambling. Guessing what her classmates were gonna be dressed up as, expressing excitement for Trick-or-Treating, and so on. Another normal morning for the Shaw family.

When they got to the school and started getting the kids out of their seats, a familiar little voice "Rawr"ed from nearby.

Gabriel leapt from his booster seat in time to collide with Evelyn—who was dressed as Spider-Man. Asher was laughing a couple cars down the drop-off lane as he shut the back door to his mate's car. He jogged over while Gabriel and Evelyn wrestled. Gently, so they didn't mess up their costumes. Asher leaned against David's mate's car with his arms folded.

"I never want them to grow up," he said softly. "They've grown up enough. They can stop now."

David couldn't help but chuckle in quiet, bittersweet agreement. "Yeah," he agreed.

"Uncle Aaaaash!" Natalie exclaimed, barreling into Asher's legs for a hug.

"Oof! There's that strong girl!" Asher said, bending and scooping her into the air while she screamed in excitement. She kicked her legs. "How are you doing, Natty?"

"Put me down!"

Asher kissed the top of Natalie's hood and set her down. David's mate caught her hand before she could run off. They smiled at David. "I'll walk her to her classroom. Make sure Gabriel gets inside?"

"Of course."

They nodded and handed Natalie her tiny backpack and lunchbox before walking off holding her hand.

David and Asher watched the two of them go. Gabriel and Evelyn kept wrestling, like they didn't even notice.

"You ever wonder if we made the right choice?" Asher asked.

"Meaning?"

"Sending them to normal elementary school. Instead of the same school Lily, Danny, and Micah go to?" Despite Asher still being Asher, he'd improved a bit at not breaching covert in public.

"No. I don't wonder. Both of our mates thought it was important for our kids to have some normal schooling before puberty. And now that they're here, I agree with them both. I think it's done our kids a lot of good."

Asher sighed. "Just don't want to break their hearts when they go to middle school and lose all their friends."

David leveled a look at Asher that was so full of sarcasm it would have frightened a lesser wolf. "I don't think our girls could lose their friends if their friends wanted them to," David said. "Or have you not noticed we've got the most gregarious girls in the pa—family?"

Asher laughed. "Touché," he said. "And good point." Asher shoved off David's mate's car and snatched Evelyn around the waist. "Nuh-uh-uh, Ev. No pulling on Gabriel's costume."

Evelyn growled, her warm black curls shaking in the weak autumn morning sunlight.

"C'mon, my little monster. Let's get you to your classroom."

Evelyn snapped her teeth playfully at her dad, who wasn't fazed and just laughed.

Gabriel turned to David with wide eyes. The same green as David's own. "Time to go already?" he asked.

"Yeah. But today's gonna be fun. You're gonna have a good time and you'll be home before you know it." David grabbed Gabriel's backpack and lunchbox and handed them to his son. Gabriel shimmied his backpack onto his shoulders and held a hand out.

David took it and walked Gabriel to class.

Gabriel hugged David around the middle before going into his classroom. David passed a friendly wave to Gabriel's teacher before going back to the car. Asher waved to him before driving off himself.

David waited for his mate to come back. "Ash is right," David said to his mate when they returned from dropping off Natty at her classroom.

"That's rare coming from you. About what?"

"The kids are getting too big. They need to stop growing up now."

David's mate gave him a smile. "Awww. Sappy. It's sweet." They popped a kiss on his jaw and went to get in the car.

David climbed in as well. "I just don't want to miss any of this. One day they're gonna be teenagers and they're gonna hate us."

"You think so?"

"Isn't that what teenagers do?"

"I didn't. Did you?"

David thought about his dad. "... No."

His mate shrugged. "Then maybe we'll get lucky."

—

Ten Years Later...

—

"Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad!" Natalie ran down the stairs, a beaming smile on her face. Micah Collins and Danny Greer close on her heels. All three were dressed up. Natalie had on a black cloak and purple, gothic dress with fake fangs in her mouth.

David looked up from his laptop on the kitchen counter. "What is it?"

"Micah's uncle is gonna come pick us up and we're gonna take Rose Trick-or-Treating, if that's okay." Natalie pointed over her shoulder. Micah's vibrant cyan pixie cut had been sprayed white. She looked supremely out-of-character, dressed as a fairy. The glitter and the short pink-and-green dress contrasted with her claw scars from shifter wrestling.

David raised his eyebrows. "Did you ask—"

"Yes, yes. Your mate said yes, Uncle Milo and his mate said yes. Micah's parents said yes. Micah's uncle said yes," Natalie said. "Just hoping for you." She gave him an anticipatory smile.

David gave his daughter a small grin. "Then go ahead."

Natalie beamed and bounced a little in excitement. "Thanks Dad!" she rushed forward and kissed his cheek around the fake fangs in her mouth. "I've got my phone. We'll be back by ten!"

Micah and Danny both grabbed at her arms and the three of them all rushed out of the house, talking excitedly and clinging to one another. Danny tripped over his Superman cape. Natalie and Micah caught him. "Love you!" Natalie shouted over her shoulder. The front door shut behind them right as David caught a glimpse of Vincent Solaire's Porsche SUV parked on the curb.

The three climbed into the SUV. Micah in the front, Danny and Natalie with Rose in the back.

Vincent gave David a wave. David returned it before the car drove off.

David's mate appeared. "Natty and her Musketeers leave?"

"That would have been a good costume for them this year," David deadpanned. "Yeah. Vincent just picked them up."

His mate nodded. "Good thing Rose is eleven and still can Trick-or-Treat so those three can 'supervise'," his mate remarked, perching on his lap. He wrapped his arms around them and rested his forehead on their arm. Their other hand played with his hair.

Upstairs, Gabriel was yelling at Evelyn and Lily while the three played a video game together.

David felt his mate rest their cheek on his head. "Wanna go downstairs and watch a movie?"

David blinked. "Sure. Which one?"

"That one that scares Gabriel."

"Guaranteeing we get a couple hours alone, angel?" he asked, almost teasing.

"I plead the fifth," they replied, sliding off his lap.

With a low growl, David pursued his laughing mate down the stairs.

—

Tag list: @zozo-01 @pinksparkl @arialikestea @shellssstuff

[salswisteria]

Thought's:

Gregory Keaton and Gabe used to date. (Asher and David style but like, it happened in their mid 20's or sumthin) But even though they both thought they would definitely be mated to eachother, something happened (I'm tired) and they broke up, but still remain close in touch and very good friends. Few years later, David's mom and Gabe meet. Gregory meets David's mom as one of Gabe closest friends and it's basically OG Asher and Angel.

[gabrielbae85]

[aimedis]

new video

so mr. shaw, does your father know how much of a whore you are 🤨🤨🤨

[the-rest-is-weather]

This Schön photoshoot gives me STRONG 1970s-Greta-Gill-AU feelings...

On secondment from the VH International marketing team, currently running all over Manhattan, charming prospective advertisers for the newly-published womenSports magazine. At the behest of Vivienne, of course - she being a close personal friend of Billie Jean King.

Oh, did I mention, after a busy day Greta heads home to her wife, Carson - who teaches coaching skills to women across the country in the wake of Title IX (even though this is slightly historically misconstrued... but, just... let it happen).

And yes, they absolutely meet the Peaches at the diamonds in Central Park every weekend to play ball...

[fidjiefidjie]

Bon Soir 💙👍👌🆕️

Peter Gabriel 🎶 The Court (Dark-Side Mix)

Vidéo de Oranguerillatan avec le sculpteur Tim Shaw

(I/o)

[lostinanothersmemories]

darlin ending up hanging out with mates when sweetheart starts talking about how david isnt all that scary and angel calling him a big softy and babe saying he acts like a office boss

while darlin is like laying on the ground remembering every terrifying moment theyve had with a shaw including david literally stalking them cause they snuck out one night as a teen

[incorrectx-menquotes]

Daken: [glaring and smiling] I’ve always been nice to you, Shinobi. We go way back.

[both begin speaking Japanese]

Gabby Kinney: Oh, you guys are bonding in Japanese. So great!

Laura Kinney: I dropped out of learning Japanese but I definitely heard the word 'kill.' Also, 'river.' So not great.

Gabby Kinney: So kill, river. Maybe they're planning a fishing trip?

[starlitangels]

(Like The) Fairy Tale Movies

L i s t e n. Yesterday’s video got me soft and Davey had to tell his kids about how it happened in canon. 2.1k words

—

“Angel—no, Natalie, get down—angel can this please be the last time you leave me alone with the kids?” David asked over the phone. I laughed, watching my screen as he had to move and snatch our daughter.

“I’ll be home tomorrow. I thought you said you could handle them both for a four-day business trip.”

“I can. But Asher decided to bring Evelyn over for a playdate—and Asher decided to also bring a Halloween-sized bag of candy.” The video jerked. “Gabriel, stop pulling your sister’s hair.”

“Davey, you know sugar highs aren’t actually a thing, right? Like, placebo effect maybe but the kids don’t even know what the concept is.”

“I’m well aware. But that doesn’t mean the kids don’t get overexcited when we get unexpected friendly visitors bearing candy, and you’re not here to help me rein them in,” David grumbled.

“Uncle Aaaaash!” Natalie shouted somewhere in the background.

The video call lurched again—I was gonna have to look away soon or risk getting motion sick. “Natalie Jean Shaw. You do not try to jump off the counter!” David snapped. My daughter’s maniacal giggle was all that she gave him in response. I heard him sigh heavily.

“Whaaat?” Asher’s voice asked off-screen. “C’mon buddy. Sometimes, ya gotta let her learn the hard way! She jumps off and takes a tumble and she learns not to jump off the counter anymore! Problem solved!”

Natalie giggled again. I caught a glimpse of her pigtail braids on the screen.

“I do not need her breaking her arm and the three-hour lecture from Marie about being a more careful father when she has to come heal it.”

“Just call Sam, then,” Asher said with a laugh. “He’s got Micah. He knows how these girls are.”

David pinched the bridge of his nose on my screen. “We are not having this discussion, Asher.” He turned to look at me. “Can I call you back in an hour, angel?”

“Of course. I’m just at the hotel for the rest of the night.”

He gave me a soft look. The one he reserved for only me. “Thank you.”

“I love you, Davey.”

“I love you too. So much.”

I blew him a kiss. He smiled and pretended to catch it before disconnecting the video call.

—

David flopped down width-wise across the bed. After Asher and Evelyn left and David finally got his nightmares ready to go to bed, he’d called his angel, finished their conversation, chatted a little more, and then they had to get some sleep—being several timezones ahead.

He was tired in a way that he hadn’t been since Natalie was an infant. He loved his spouse and was proud of the work that they loved so much, but he missed them terribly when they weren’t home. He enjoyed having some one-on-two time with the kids—but it could get exhausting fast. Natalie was so curious and always had questions. Gabriel was easier but damn he could get rowdy when he wanted to. Especially when Evelyn was around. Those two were a Dynamic Duo if he ever saw one.

He knew he needed to get up and shower before getting in bed, but his muscles kept saying, “One more minute,” whenever he tried to get them to respond.

Finally, he grumbled and got to his feet. His shower was quick and thorough, as usual. He threw on his pajamas and plopped back onto the bed. Considering a short nap before going back downstairs to finish the paperwork he’d been falling behind on.

He felt his eyes fluttering closed.

“Daddy?” a small voice asked from the door.

David took a deep breath and sat up.

Natalie was standing there in her smiley-face-star-patterned purple pajamas. Her comfort blanket was in one hand, the small wolf plushie she’d dubbed “Sheldon” in the other. The hand with the blanket was up under her eyes.

“What is it, baby girl?” he asked gently, holding his arms out.

She toddled into the room, stumbling on the hem of her blanket every couple steps. When she got to the tall king-sized bed, David bent down and hoisted her up into his lap.

She sniffled. There were tears in her eyes. “I... I miss them,” she said quietly.

David sighed, a melancholy smile appearing on his face. “I know, Natty. I do too.” He wiped her eyes with the opposite corner of her blanket.

A floorboard creaked, muffled slightly by being under the upstairs carpet.

“I know you’re there, Gabriel. You can come in,” David said.

Gabriel ran in, jumping as high as he could to try and get up onto the bed. He was tall for his age but still too short to make it, and bounced off the corner like a rubber band. David put Natty on one leg so he could bend and scoop up his son, putting him on the mattress next to him. “You missing them too?”

Gabriel nodded, eyes wide and staring up at him. David never quite got over looking down into his own exact eye color at his son, or his mate’s when looking at his daughter. He wondered if he ever would. Probably not.

David pulled Gabriel in close to his side, keeping Natty secure with his other arm. “It’s okay, Gabriel. I miss them too.”

Both of his kids clung to him, small fists balling in his pajama shirt.

David scooped them both up, one in each arm, and scooted across the bed until he could get under the covers with both of them. They each rested their heads on his shoulders.

“Daddy?” Natalie asked.

“Yeah, baby girl?” He gave her damp braid a gentle tug, acknowledging he was listening.

“How did you know you wanted them as your mate?” Her voice was small.

David smiled, a soft chuckle rising, unbidden, from his throat at the memories. “Because they acted a lot like you do, and you know how much I love you.”

“But I wasn’t born yet,” she protested.

“Nope. Not by a long time. But they were bright and happy and sweet and playful—and they liked teasing me. No one had teased me in a long time because I was the alpha and my friends thought they couldn’t anymore. My mate didn’t know anything about magic or wolves when we met.”

Gabriel nodded. “Like how we can’t mention it to our cousins on their side of the family.”

“That’s right, buddy,” David agreed. “But when I met them, I knew I was going to like them. Then, the more time we spent together, the more we fell in love.”

Natty giggled. “‘Are you hungry’?” she asked, trying to drop her voice in a low imitation of his. But it sounded more like how his angel imitated his voice than his actual voice.

David heaved a heavy sigh. “Of course they told you about that,” he muttered under his breath. “Yes, that’s what I asked after I told them I loved them for the first time.” Gabriel giggled too. “I didn’t know what else to say. I’d never told anyone I was in love with them before.”

“Were you scared?”

“A little.”

“Awww! Daddy, why? Didn’t you know they loved you too?”

“I hoped so. But... sometimes it feels complicated when it comes to love.”

Natalie shook her head. “No it doesn’t. If you love somebody, you say it!”

You’ll understand what I’m talking about when you’re older, David thought, but didn’t say out loud.

Natalie squirmed out from under his arm and climbed up onto his torso. Even resting her head on his chest, she was so small that her toes didn’t even reach his knees yet. She put her chin on his sternum and looked up at him with wide eyes. “Did you ask them to marry you or did they ask you?”

David chuckled. “I asked them, sweet pea. We’d been together for... nearly four years.”

Natty wiggled on top of him. “How did you ask? Was it like the fairy tale movies?”

“It felt like it, but it wasn’t as... fancy,” David replied. “You remember the big party we have with the whole pack in December for the MoonBound solstice?”

Natty nodded fervently. “Uh-huh. I love the party!”

David reached up with his now-free arm and set a hand on her back to hold her in place before she slipped off his torso and landed on her brother. He nodded slower. “Well, it was after the party. The rest of the pack had gone home. It was just me and my mate in the house—the one we owned before this one. We were just having a quiet rest of the night before the strength of my magic started to fade again after the pack run. We were just... sitting on the couch... relaxing.”

Natty scrunched her whole face up, not having mastered just scrunching her eyebrows yet. “And you just... asked? You didn’t get down on one knee?”

David smiled and laughed softly. “Let me finish, baby girl,” he said. “I did get down on one knee. I said some mushy things about how much I loved them and wanted to spend the rest of our lives together, then I got down on one knee and asked if they’d marry me.”

Natalie gasped. “Did they say yes?!”

Gabriel scoffed. “Of course they did, stupid,” he snapped. “They wouldn’t be married now if they didn’t!”

“Gabriel, we don’t call people stupid,” David chided.

“But... Uncle Ash calls Uncle Milo stupid,” Gabriel pointed out.

“Uncle Asher needs to learn how to talk nicely to other people,” David said firmly.

“Are you going to wash his mouth out with soap?” Natalie asked.

David couldn’t stop the snort that made both his kids jump. “No, Natty. His mate might, but that’s their job, not mine.”

“Oh, okay.” She moved her head so her chin was no longer on his sternum but instead rested her ear to it. 

The three Shaws were quiet for a few minutes. Gabriel seemed to have fallen asleep.

“Daddy?” Natty asked again, quietly.

“Yeah, baby girl?”

“I’m glad you got married.”

He smiled. “Me too.” He smoothed some of her messy flyaway hairs off of her face.

“You could have been more fancy when you asked though. Like the fairy tale movies.”

“I could have. But keeping it simple felt right for us.”

Natty yawned. “Okay,” she said.

David chuckled lightly. “Get some sleep, baby girl.”

She yawned wider. “Okay.”

Within seconds, she was breathing deep on his chest. Sound asleep.

David’s small smile grew. “I love you, baby girl.”

“Love you too, Daddy,” she whispered in her sleep.

—

I crept into the house at five in the morning, waving to Sam in thanks. He waved back and drove off. He’d volunteered to come pick me up since it would be before dawn and he hadn’t wanted David to have to pack up the kids that early.

Once the door was eased shut and locked behind me, I abandoned my suitcase next to it and snuck up the stairs.

Gabriel’s room was the closest to the stairs. I poked my head in to see if he was sleeping.

His bed was empty, the sheets rumpled. Wolfy McFloof—the larger wolf plushie Asher had given him when Natty was born—was jammed haphazardly between the bedside table and the bed itself.

My heart started pounding louder. I took a step and a half across and up the hall to Natalie’s room.

Her bed was the same. But her small comfort blanket and Sheldon were also missing.

A pit formed in my stomach and I ran to my and Davey’s room, ready to throw open the door and see it empty. To see my family snatched in the middle of the night while I was gone. By whom, I had no idea.

I grabbed the knob and shoved the door open.

A large, misshapen lump sat in the middle of the bed, covers draped over it.

On quiet feet, I slipped over.

The anxiety eased away when I saw David’s face. Gabriel tucked under one of his arms—and Natalie lying on his chest with a small smile on her face. Sheldon and her blanket in each hand. I sighed with relief and sagged down, kneeling beside the bed.

Davey heard me. One of his lush green eyes peeked open.

He gave me a soft, lovestruck smile. The same one he only ever gave me.

“Welcome home, angel.”

—

Tag list: @zozo-01 @arialikestea @mainhoesstuff  @darlin-collins (I’m adding you tentatively because this is David even though you didn’t specifically request the Pups AU. If you don’t wanna be tagged in this kinda stuff, you can let me know if you’d like)

[salswisteria]

To me Gabriel Shaw just looks like @wolfythewitch 's rendition of Odysseus.

(beard Odysseus to be exact)