#i finally managed to find a packet of raisins here

[kenjacku]

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[noladyme]

La Cuervo - Chapter 15

She is used to the biker-life, having grown into a woman in the familiar embrace of SAMCRO. A bad decision and a gun-shot later, she gets whisked off to Santo Padre, and put under the protection of another club. What is supposed to be a short stint in the Mayan headquarters just north of the border to Mexico, turns into something more; when la quervo begins to develop feelings for el angel - and he seems to return them in kind...

TW: violence, blood, drug use, alcohol, smut, fluff, angst

In the spirit of "The Crown Princess of Charming", this is a story about O.C. Nina and Angel Reyes. It is obviously non-canon, as characters who have passed on on Mayans M.C. are present in it, and others have been excluded completely. Nina is written as a cis-female, but I have tried to keep her race and looks as ambigous as possible. Should you find any of this story offensive, please let me know.

15.

“What the fuck did you do?”, Nina almost screamed. Filip moved his hands in a calming gesture. “Calm down, las’. There’s still a shitload of 7-year-olds downstairs”, he said. “I’m sure the mom is over the hills at the Mayan parade you’ve had set up!”, Nina snarled. She panicked, and began heaving for breath. She almost tripped over her own feet to reach her bag with her inhaler, but Tig made it to it before her, dug it out, and threw it to Filip; who pressed the canister top, and held it to Nina’s lips. She sucked in the powder, and felt air returning to her lungs. “Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck!”. “It’s fine, Nina. Everything is fine”, Filip said, and rubbed her back soothingly.

Nina ran for her bag. ”I can’t be here right now”, she said. “Good, because you won’t be for long”, Filip said. “What are you talking about?”. “You’re going home, little sister”, he smiled. She scoffed at him, and grabbed her bag. Before she could reach the stairs, T.O. once again blocked her way. “My knee. Your balls. Move!”, Nina growled. “Try me, kid”, T.O. grinned. She tried for pleading instead. “You don’t know… Please just let me go. I can’t go back. I can’t do that to… Please!”. The sound of feet on the stairs made Nina’s knees buckle, and T.O. swept her away to go sit on a stool by the bar. “Please, Taddarius…”, Nina whispered. “This is how it has to be”, T.O. replied. “Now keep your ass in that seat until we tell you otherwise”.

The Sons all gathered to greet the incoming guests. Bishop came up first, giving Filip a half hug. “It’s cold as fuck up here”, he said. “It’s 70 degrees, you didn’t come to Alaska”, Filip laughed. Bishop gave him a friendly smile, before greeting Tig. The rest of the Mayans came up behind Bishop, each in turn greeting the Sons. Nina wanted to crawl into a hole, but they all seemed to pretend like she didn’t exist; at least for now. Only EZ shot her a half smile, as he came up behind the full patches. She looked down at her hands, unable to return the gesture. When she finally lifted her eyes again, she scanned the faces of the Mayans. She saw that neither Gilly, Creeper or Angel was among them; and she was unsure whether to feel relieved or distraught at the fact that her former lover wasn’t there. Of course he doesn’t want to see me, she thought to herself. Nina didn’t know why they were there. It would be in MC fashion to throw her into a van, and drive her back to Santo Padre, to force her to fulfill her one-year promise, or lock her up in a dark room with a couple of rattlesnakes as punishment for going back on her deal; but she was also sure that SAMCRO wouldn’t let her get hurt, so the snakes seemed less likely.

Rat came up the stairs. “The mom decided to take the kids to the Chuck-E-Cheese down the road instead”, he said. “Good riddance”, Filip grinned. “Means we can break out the whiskey. Nina…?”. He looked at her meaningfully. Take you place behind the bar, he seemed to be saying. She slowly got to her feet, and slipped behind the counter, taking down the top shelf scotch. It was set up next to the framed picture of Jackson and her, at Nina’s no-baby-on-the-way-shower. Jax had a cigarette hanging from his lips, and his arm hung casually over her shoulders. In his free hand, he held a packet of condoms and birth control pills; and his grin was brighter than the sun. She’d always been impressed at how he’d managed to smile so widely, without letting his cigarette fall from his lips. Nina looked happy and a bit drunk in the picture, and her eyes were locked on her brother; full of awe and familiar love. Tearing herself from the memory of one of the happiest nights of her life, Nina lined up a row of glasses, and began pouring. Her hands were shaking, and she spilled some of the whiskey on the counter.

“Let me do that”, EZ said, having appeared next to her. Nina swallowed thickly, and handed him the bottle; before wiping her hands. “It’s a long ride to take from San Pad”, she said quietly. “We made a pitstop in San Bernardino”, EZ said, and shot her a look. “Oh…”, Nina said, and had to swallow again to wet her throat. “And Creeper, Angel and Gilly are holding down the fort at the scrapyard, I take it…?”. She deliberately didn’t mention Angel first or last, to make her seem indifferent. “Not exactly… Creep and Gilly are”. He sounded like he wanted to say more, but decided against it. Nina sighed deeply. “EZ, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to… I’m just sorry”, she said bellow her breath. “I know, hermanita”, he said. “We’re good”. He shot her a smile, that reminded her how too precious for this world he was, and she couldn’t help but smile back at him.

Gathering the glasses on a tray, she went over to serve the bikers, who had gathered around a couple of tables. Serving first Filip and Bishop, her eyes met the Mayan’s for a split second. His gaze was enough to make her want to fall to her knees and plead for forgiveness. He didn’t look angry, or even like he wanted an apology; but he did look like he had a couple of things he wanted to say – it just wasn’t the time. Once she got to Coco, he looked up at her, and winked slyly. A smile ghosted her face, and she went back behind the bar.

The bikers all sat and shared road-stories for a while, with the Mayans needing to relax and feel solid ground under their feet. Nina grabbed her cigarettes, and started for the stairs. Tig got in her way, and gave her a knowing look. “Not running… I just need a moment”, she said. She held out her little finger. “Pinky-swear”, she added. He smiled, crooked his own finger with hers, and kissed her forehead; before letting her pass, and walk down the stairs.

---

A couple of broken balloons and an unused piñata littered the floor of the ice-cream shop. She picked up the brightly-colored cardboard mule, and set it down on the counter, before getting behind it, and lighting a cigarette. Digging through the freezer, she found the strawberry-marshmallow ice-cream, and scooped a couple of spoonfuls into a bowl; immediately digging in. She sat for a while, smoking and eating the ice-cream, and stared into the dead eyes of the piñata. It was probably full of small packets of organic raisins, and Nina frowned at it; before punching it, and making it fly across the room. It broke open, and revealed bags of dried apricots. “Would have been better with condoms…”, she muttered to herself, and put some more ice-cream into her mouth.

“What did he ever do to you?”, Taza said from the doorway. Nina gulped down the frozen treat, and smiled embarrassedly. “She was full of shit…”, Nina replied. Taza chuckled, and went to sit across from her. “Got any pecan?”. She dug through the freezer again, and fixed a bowl for the VP; topping it off with some whipped cream and a bright cherry. “Dig in”, she smiled. Taza took a spoonful in his mouth, and smiled brightly. “This place sure as hell beats the scrap-yard”, he said. “Just wait until I whip out the sprinkles”, Nina grinned.

It was strange sitting there with Taza. They’d spoken when she was with the Mayans, but they hadn’t been especially close. She respected and liked him though; and knew that she would have come to care for him deeply, if she’d stayed longer in Santo Padre. “How have you been, kid?”, Taza asked. Nina couldn’t lie. “Not good”, she muttered. “All of this… I feel like shit for going back on my promise to you”. Taza raised a meaningful brow at her. “And you miss Angel”, he said. Nina nodded. “But this is how it has to be. I can’t go back to Santo Padre. It’s not safe”. “We’ll keep you safe”, Taza said. “It’s not about me”, she replied.

Tazza sighed. “I was in love once… He was my one and only; and when I lost him… I was destroyed. I threw in my patch, and gave up…”. Nina was surprised at the sudden sharing of heart. “But you’re still Mayan", she said. “This isn’t the first patch I’ve worn", Taza said. “Years ago, I rolled with Palo. I was a Vato”. “You?”, Nina askes disbelievingly. Taza gave her a soft smile. “I wasn’t always the intelligent gentleman outlaw you see before you now”. Nina let a smile ghost her face. “Well, if you were going to pick up a cut again, you chose the right patch, in my opinion”, she said, before frowning deeply. “If my opinion even matters anymore”. “It does, kid. You’ve become family to us”, Taza said. He took her hand, and gave it a gentle squeeze. "But the reason I’m telling you this, is because Angel is family as well. And he’s not doing very good right now”. A jolt of pain and fear went through Nina’s body. “What did he do?”, she whispered. “He did what I did, when I lost my Davíd…”, Taza said, and let go of her hand.

Realization struck, and Nina felt her already broken heart break even more. “He left the club?”, she croaked. Taza sighed deeply. “He came on the lot a few nights ago, drunk off his ass… He threw his cut at Bishop’s feet”, he said. “I believe his exact words were; None of this shit means shit anymore. Fuck this shit”. Nina frowned deeply. “He’s not exactly eloquent when he’s drunk, is he…?”. Taza chuckled. “No… But he was speaking from the heart. He seems to have lost his meaning to everything”, he said. “To Angel, his path with the club lead to you. When you left… that path didn’t make sense anymore”. “I didn’t want to hurt anyone else. That’s why I left”, Nina said quietly. She chewed her lips for a moment. “And I hate that he is in pain… but at least my leaving didn’t get him killed. If I’d stayed…”. “He would have died?”, Taza asked. “Not him”, Nina croaked. “Hmm”, Taza said shortly.

Before tears could reach her eyes, Nina turned around, and threw her bowl into the sink. She cleared her throat, and shook herself. “Besides, Daniella will get him back on track… In whatever way she can. She’s pretty dead-set on being in his life”. Taza frowned. “You should come upstairs; listen in on the meeting”. Nina felt a chill go through her. “What did you do?”, she croaked. “She wasn’t the snitch!”. “We know… Still; come on”. He got to his feet, gave the piñata a slight kick; and went towards the back door. Nina followed behind him; heart racing, and worried about what she was about to hear.

---

“Welcome to church!”, Filip said, as all the bikers had sat down. Nina slipped through the door as quietly as she could, and went to take her designated seat by the door. She had her own chair there, for when she was asked to join a meeting for one reason or another. It wasn’t often, but it would happen on occasion, when SAMCRO were planning to receive out of town guests, and they needed her to set up the party; or when they needed to prove to themselves how very gender-inclusive they were. She still couldn’t sit at the table though. EZ was stood next to the chair, leaning against the wall, as he had the time, she’d been called in to templo at the scrap-yard.

Filip continued. “So, you’ve come to take away our girl again”, he said. “We have, yeah”, Bishop replied. He sat at the opposite end of the table, facing Filip. The great presidents were convening. “She promised us a year, and she left after less than a month”. He shot Nina a look, and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Is that all? Because if it is, I’m sure we can come to some monetary agreement”, Filip said. “Nina claims it would be unsafe for her to return to San Pad. I know we agreed that we’d let you take her back there; but we’re not about to force her to go anywhere, unless we’re absolutely positive she’ll be in no danger”. “We kept Nina perfectly safe while she was with us. Any fear she felt was unfounded”, Taza said.

“You’re wrong!”. The words fell from Nina’s mouth, before she was able to stop them. “I’m sorry”, she muttered. “No, my love. Continue”, Filip said. Tig nodded encouragingly at her. “I can’t go back… It’s not about my own safety… Just, please!”, Nina pleaded. “You year is not up, and we need you at the clubhouse”, Bishop said calmly. “That’s it? You came to Charming six man strong, driving for 8 hours; just for Nina’s well served whiskey sours?”, Filip chuckled. “Might be her perky attitude”, Tig said, and looked at Nina. She grimaced at him. “Look! So cute…”. Nina desperately tried to make up a reason why she couldn’t go back to Santo Padre. Daniella would call Sala the moment she saw her; she was sure of it. Those two little boys would be dead within hours. In the end she sighed. “Ok… I’ll go with you… But not to Santo Padre. Take me somewhere else, lock me up in the dark and… sell my kidneys. I don’t care, I just can’t be seen in San Pad!”.

Bishop frowned deeply. “We’re not gonna hurt you, Nina. We care about you… But our club is in deep shit without you”. “What are you talking about?”, Quinn asked. It was one of the first times Nina had heard him speak at the table. He was still growing into his confidence as a member of SAMCRO; after his years as a nomad. Bishop looked at Nina. “Someone killed Daniella. We believe it was the Vatos Malditos”, he said. Nina gasped, and almost slid from her chair. “Oh god… Oh fuck!”, he croaked. “She was… What happened?”. “Someone let it slip to the Vatos that the woman who killed Palo’s primo was hooking up with Angel; and publicly, that was Daniella”, Hank said. Nina shot an angry look at Bishop, reminded of his master plan of making Angel treat Daniella as his old-lady. “Involved; like…?”, Rat asked. His pureness was almost too much to handle. “What, you wanna know the positions?”, Coco chuckled. “Probably doggy… reversed cowgirl… Sixty-nine…”. Nina pulled off her sneaker, and threw it at the Mayan’s head. He ducked, and narrowly escaped her attack. “That’s my sister you’re talking about”, Filip growled. “She’s a lady. Good old-fashioned missionary is more like it. Good access to the tits…”. Nina took off her other sneaker, and threw it at Filip, hitting him in the chest. “Ow!”, he exclaimed, and threw the shoe back at her. The was a rumble of chuckles around the table. “Are you done laughing at my sex-life?”, she sneered. “Fucking wannabe man-whores probably wouldn’t know a good wheelbarrow if it hit you in the face!”. “Are you sure you want her back?”, Happy chuckled. She shot him a venomous look. “What’s a wheelbarrow?”, Rat muttered. T.O. whispered in his ear, and Rat visibly blushed.

After a moment of heavy breathing, Bishop’s former words hit Nina again. “Daniella’s dead? Do you know if she talked to anyone before she did?”. “As in ratted?”, Riz said. She nodded. “She didn’t. We know she wasn’t the snitch”, Bishop said. “A couple of days after you left, Angel broke a bottle of tequila, and threatened to shove it up her infected cunt, if she didn’t talk about what she knew about you. She spilled the beans on what she’d figured out, but swore up and down your secret was safe with her”. “It was kind of sickening to watch, actually”, Riz said. “Angel was taking her home, when he was crammed between two vans on the road. One of the drivers shot Daniella in the head with a .38”, Bishop said. “Angel…?”, Nina rasped. “He’s fine… physically. His bike was pretty banged up, because one of the vans bumped in to him”, Taza said. “He managed to drive it away, but it died out about two miles from Daniella’s body”.

Nina got to her feet, and began pacing the floor. She was hyperventilating, and shaking her hands in front of her; feeling a prickling sensation under her skin. “She… made me leave”, she rasped. “Daniella made me leave”. “How, niña?”, Coco said. Nina met his serious expression, and tears began falling from her eyes. “She found out about Abel and Thomas”, she said, and looked at Filip. “She said that if I didn’t break it off with Angel, and left Santo Padre, she’d let VM know about them…”. Once again heaving for breath, EZ came over to her and pulled her into his arms. “Do you need your inhaler?”, he whispered. “No, I’m just… Fuck”, Nina replied, and let herself be enveloped in his embrace.

“That absolute gash!”, Filip roared. Nina heard something break, and turned to see that Happy had picked up his chair and slammed it against the wall; making the legs shatter into small wooden splinters. Rat got up, and found a new chair for Happy. “I’ll call SAMDINO. Make sure Nero’s farm has some security for a while”, he muttered, and slipped out of the room. Happy sat down, and Quinn patted his shoulder calmingly. Tig looked like an actual nuclear bomb had gone off inside his head, and he had murder written all over his face. “Did they bury her yet? Because I want to rape her corpse with a knife!”. “She was cremated two days ago”, Taza muttered.

“Who are Abel and Thomas?”, Riz asked. “Jackson’s sons”, Filip said, his face grim. “He sent them to Norco with his ex-wife before he died; to keep them safe from the life… Hurting them – even threatening them – is a death sentence”. “Well, VM got there ahead of you”, Bishop said. “Nina, I’m sorry that you felt the need to keep this from us. We would have helped”. “Daniella had Sala on fucking speed-dial. You wouldn’t have been able to do anything”, Nina said. She pulled out of EZ’s arms, and stepped over to the table. Without another thought, she sat down on Rat’s free chair. Filip gave her a short nod. “I was just trying to protect my nephews”. “I get that”, Bishop said. “And I hope you know that we hold no grudge against you for leaving. I just wish we’d known, so this could have been cleared up sooner”. She gave him a sad but thankful smile. “And we still need you back”, Taza said.

Rat reentered the room, and when he saw Nina in his seat, he simply got another chair, and sat down next to Coco. The Mayan gave him a crooked smile, and nodded. “Packer is on his way to Norco”, he said. “I called Nero too, and he’s on high alert. He’s gonna call in his old gang-relations. The boys are safe”. Nina sighed deeply. Abel and Thomas would be safe; she knew it. Now she just needed to know the next step for herself. “What do you need me for?”, she asked Bishop. “Well, first of all, we want our brother back at the table”, Coco said. Bishop shot him a look, which Nina couldn’t quite read. “Palo figured out Daniella wasn’t Gael’s killer either”, Bishop said. “How?”, Nina asked. “Because the snitch sent him a picture of you and Gael dancing the night of his death”.

“Fucking hell…”, Filip said, receiving agreeing groans from the rest of the table. “Does he know where Nina is?”. “No, he hasn’t linked her to SAMCRO, but he remembers her from the party”, Taza replied. “He wants us to hand you over, Nina”, Bishop said. “It’s either that, or war”. Nina let out a muffled whimper. “Well, that’s not happening”, T.O. said. “Nina is our family, and we’re not handing her over to be killed”. “And neither will we”, Bishop said. “She’s family to us too; and beyond any unwritten rule about not letting family get hurt, we don’t want her dead”. “So what are you suggesting?”, Tig asked. “Well, as you’ve probably figured out, we’ve got a snitch in our clubhouse”, Taza said. “We know it’s a woman, because Palo let it slip that she’s been in contact with him on the regular”. “We need to draw her out; get rid of her somehow”, Bishop said. “And what better way than give her to Palo, letting him think it’s Nina…?”. Nina’s eyes widened at his words. “We’ll bring Nina and the snitch to a location we’ll set up with the Vatos; show Nina to Palo; and then switch her for the snitch, last minute”. “What is this? Mission Impossible? You can’t just put a Nina’s face on a different woman…”, Tig said. “That’s your problem with this plan? You want to let another woman get killed because of me!”, Nina said. “No! I can’t spend the rest of my life looking for women to take my place in front of Palo’s gun, whenever he figures out, he killed the wrong person…! I’m done. No one else is getting hurt on my account”.

She stood up, and stormed out of the room. Filip followed her, waving at the others to wait in church. He closed the door to church, to give them some privacy. “Look, whoever this woman is, she was willing to let you get killed. For money or whatever; I don’t care”, he said. Nina went over to face the bar, and took a firm hold of the railing in front of it; as if it would keep her from exploding in rage. “I am not letting this happen. I swear on Jax’s grave, I will run back to the border on my bare fucking feet; and throw myself in front of Palo’s gun. I’m done! I can’t have another life on my conscience!”. “Nina Teller!”, Filip growled. He only ever used her full name when he meant business. “You owe your Jackson to live! He loved you and cared for you; had you take his name when he got guardianship of you, to get you out of that loveless place you called a home up until you were 16… You are his sister! If he were here, he would not let you throw away your life like this”. He put his hands on her shoulders, and forced her to look at him. “And I won’t let you either. I love you, kid! Like a sister… like a fucking daughter; and you know what that means…”. Tears were forming in his eyes, and Nina threw her arms around his waist, and buried her face in his shoulder. “I’m sorry… but I can’t let this happen. There has to be another way”, she said.

“You have to”. Nina pulled away from Filip, and saw that EZ had come out of church to join them. “If you don’t, Angel’s gonna get himself killed”. Nina shook her head confusedly. “What are you talking about?”, she asked. “Angel’s planning on crossing the border to kill Palo. He wants to keep you safe, and he thinks taking out Palo and VM will do that”, EZ said. “He won’t make it within 10 miles of Palo, before he’s dead!”, Nina exclaimed. “You’re right…”, EZ replied. “But he’s gonna do it anyway… He’s broken, Nina. Doesn’t give a fuck about himself or anything else anymore. You have to come back with us, and convince him that this plan is better than his own. He made me swear not to tell Bishop, but…”. “I’m not gonna let him hurt himself…!”, Nina exclaimed. “He’s already hurt”, EZ said. “But this is suicide”.

Nina went to sit down on a chair, feeling her knees beginning to give under her. “So… either I let someone die in my place, or Angel kills himself; is that what you’re saying?”. “It’s the only plan we have… And going through with it – keeping you alive like this – is the only way I know to keep my brother alive”, EZ said. He sat down across from her, and took her hands. “I’m begging you… For me; for our pap… Please…”. “What if he already…”, Nina began in a panicked voice. “He promised to wait until I came back. Pap is keeping an eye on him”, EZ said. “Does he know you’re here?”, Filip asked. “No. If he knew there was a chance, we’d bring Nina back, he’d shoot out the tires of all our bikes, and probably set them on fire”, EZ replied. “He thinks she’s in danger in San Pad”. He gave Filip a meaningful look. “She’s not. You’ve got my word… if that means anything coming from a prospect”.

Filip stepped over to the table, and EZ got up to face him. “What is this woman to you, prospect?”, he asked. “She’s my hermanita. My little sister… and I love her”, EZ replied. “Then your word matters, brother”, Filip said, and placed a firm hand on EZ’s shoulder. He looked at Nina. “You are getting on the back of this Mayan’s bike, and letting him take you back to Santo Padre”. “Filip, I’m…”, Nina began. “No discussions! When I saw you in San Pad, you were alive… happy, for the first time in forever. You’ve been a fucking wreck this last week; even worse than I’ve ever seen you before”, Filip said. He took her hands, and pulled her up to stand. “Relight that flame inside you, luv’. Fucking shine!”.

Her Angel was in pain, and he was going to get himself killed. Nina couldn’t let that happen; and now that she knew that Abel and Thomas were ok, she wasn’t ready to let the chance of any kind of future with him slip through her fingers. She knew that she wanted to find a way to avoid anymore death, but for now, Angel was her focus. “Tell them I’ll go”, she said. EZ sprang for the door to church, closing it behind him. She heard muttering from inside, before it opened again, and the Mayans all streamed out; the Sons at their heels. Coco came straight up to her, and pulled her in for a tight hug. “I fucking love you, ma’”, he said, and kissed her temple. Nina smiled at him, before she turned to face Bishop. “I’m sorry I left the way I did; but my reason was valid. I know you know that”, she said. “I’ll give you your year, and whatever time after that makes sense; and I’ll go ahead with your plan for now… As long as you admit that your plans have a tendency to suck!”. “Yeah, pimping out Angel was not my best move”, Bishop admitted with a smile. “We love you, kid. I love you. And I promise to do whatever I have to do to keep you safe…”. “Are you fishing for a hug?”, Nina smirked. “No, he doesn’t hu…”, EZ began. Bishop put his arms around Nina, and pulled her in for a tight embrace; taking every Mayan in the room by surprise. “Tiggy, call Lyla, and make them clear out of Nina’s place, before she comes by to get her things”, Filip said. Nina winced. “You know what? No… After what’s probably gone on there today, just burn that shit”, she said. The Sons all laughed.

Nina looked around at the faces of her Mayan family. “Let’s go home”.

---

[kitkatwinchester]

Hooray! My first little drabble on Tumblr! And it’s all thanks to @misinterpretedmythology​ and this amazing incorrect quote! Thank you for letting me write this fic! <3 

Hope you all enjoy! <3 

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

It had seemed like such a good plan.

Being the billionaire in the group, Tony’s always been in charge of the grocery shopping. But no matter how many people check his list before he leaves, someone always has a last-minute request that he forgets, or doesn’t like the particular brand of cereal he buys, or needs a bigger box of crackers--whatever it is, it’s always something. 

So it only made sense, in Tony’s mind, to finally put his foot down and make everyone come shopping with him. 

He should’ve known. 

Nothing’s ever that easy. 

“Three dollars for eggs?!” Steve exclaims from a few feet away. “How is that possible?” 

Tony runs a hand down his face, groaning. 

“I already explained this to you, Cap--”

“Then explain to me again why milk is four dollars a gallon!” Steve interrupts, clearly increasingly frustrated. 

“Inflation, Steve,” Tony tries again, despite having already had this conversation on the way here. “Prices rise and fall as the economy changes. It’s been seventy years! Did you really think prices weren’t going to change in all that time?” 

“Yes!” Steve says, angrily slamming the door to the milk. “I never would have been able to afford that!” Tony sighs in response. 

“Again, people make more money now, so things are more expensive. That’s how this--” Tony doesn’t get a chance to finish his sentence as Peter comes racing down the hall, riding on the back of a cart filled with--is that instant ramen? 

“Mr. Stark, they have a new shrimp flavor!” Tony looks at Peter, then back down at the cart. Sure enough, there are a good forty packets of shrimp instant ramen stacked on top of each other. 

“Kid, that has no nutrition at all. I can’t let you get all of those. Your aunt would kill me.” Peter frowns at him, putting on his best puppy dog face. 

“But Mr. Staaaark, it’s shrimp! I’ve never had that flavor before!” Tony raises an eyebrow at him. 

“Okay, but since when do you like shrimp?” 

“Since it was a flavor for instant ramen.” Tony gives him his famous “really” look before responding. 

“Wow, that totally convinces me,” he says, voice laced with sarcasm. Clearly, Peter doesn’t hear it, because he looks up at him hopefully. 

“Really?” 

“No,” Tony immediately responds. “Put them back.” Peter frowns at him, and the dejected look on his kid’s face almost makes Tony back down, but he stands his ground, pointing down the aisle. Eventually, Peter obliges, turning the cart around and moping back to the ramen aisle. Tony rolls his eyes, but he can’t help the fond smile that makes its way onto his face before he turns back to Steve. 

“Now, as I was saying--” 

“Who wants bacon?!” Nat’s voice calls from several aisles down, interrupting Tony yet again. 

“What the fu--” he starts to whisper before the rest of the Avengers chorus “mes” from various parts of the store. In response, Tony sees several other customers turning their heads in various directions, clearly trying to figure out what the hell is going on.

Me too, people, Tony thinks to himself, mumbling apologies at the few people he passes as he tries to find Natasha. Just as he gets close to the aisle he thinks she’s in, another voice rings out even louder than hers. 

“I’M A SLUT FOR BACON!” Clint practically screams, and Tony freezes in his tracks, facepalming so hard his forehead stings. 

Why on earth did I think this was a good idea??

He picks up the pace again, turning the corner to see Clint and Natasha giggling to themselves as they grab package after package of bacon. 

“Are you crazy?” Tony grumbles, stomping his way over. “This is a public place. There are other people here! You two are spies for crying out loud! I’d expect you to be a little more inconspicuous!” 

Nat and Clint look at him, then at each other, and then Nat turns back to him with a smirk.

“You’re one to talk, Stark.” Tony looks at her, annoyed, but eventually just rolls his eyes. 

“Fine. Point taken. Just...grab the bacon and let’s go, okay?” Tony makes his way back down the aisle, and just as he turns the corner, he practically runs into Bruce. 

“Oh, Tony, hey,” Bruce greets, arms filled with several boxes of tea. “I was just about to come find you. Which one of these do you think I should get?” He lifts up the load in his arms. “I mean they're all good, but this brand is cheaper,” he continues, nodding to the two boxes in his right hand. 

“Billionaire, Bruce,” Tony replies with a sigh. “Just, pick one.” However, he can’t help the smile that settles on his face. At least somebody is slightly manageable. 

He barely finishes that thought when Thor comes barreling down the aisle, holding two carts above his head. 

“Friend, Tony! We shall feast tonight on the Pop of Tarts!” Tony stares at him, then at the carts swinging precariously above his head. 

“What the--why do you have two carts of poptarts?! And why are you carrying them? You’re supposed to push the carts!” Thor looks at him and gives him a confused frown. 

“But I can carry them. Why would I push them?” Tony groans and runs a hand down his face again. 

“You know what, forget it. Where did Peter and Steve go?” As if on cue, Steve and Peter both simultaneously call out from several aisles away. 

“Tony, how do you get milk from an almond?” 

“Mr. Stark, can we get cheese sticks too?” 

Before Tony can answer either of them, there is a cacophony of sound as everyone starts talking at once. 

“What about pudding?” Nat. 

“Fuck your pudding!” Clint. 

“But it’s chocolate!” Nat again. 

“Mr. Stark cheetos are on sale!” Peter.

“Can we afford tea cookies too?” Bruce.

“Almonds don’t have milk, do they?” Steve. 

“There are so many flavors of these Pop of Tarts! I must get more.” Thor.

“Okay well what about fruit snacks?” 

“What are you, five?” 

“Mr. Stark Mr. Stark! Buy one get one free for cookies!” 

“We can afford tea cookies. I’m sure we have a coupon somewhere.” 

“How do I carry a third cart?” 

“HOW DO YOU MILK AN ALMOND, TONY??!!” 

He can’t take this. 

“EVERYBODY SHUT UP!” he screams, and to his surprise, the chatter stops, and all heads turn his way--including several heads that do not belong to his very annoying team. 

“Look,” he starts, not wanting to waste their attention while he has it. “Whatever you want, fine. Get a cart, a basket, whatever and just put the stuff in, and bring it up front. I don’t care what it is, I don’t care how much it costs. Just do it and go.” He can already feel the protests and the questions, and he quickly addresses everything. 

“Nat and Clint, get separate carts if you have to, but if you’re gonna bicker, do it quietly and while making your way to the check-out line. Peter, I really don’t wanna condone unhealthy eating, but if you insist on getting chips and cookies, at least try to find ones that you know other people in the compound will eat. And whatever you do, don’t tell your aunt. Yes, Bruce, we can afford tea cookies, and please do not worry about the coupons. Just put them in the cart. Thor, you really don’t need three carts of poptarts, but if you really really must, have Peter help you push the third one. And Steve--almonds do have milk, but they have to be soaked in water first. I don’t really know the process, but if you wanna try the milk, put it in the cart. If you don’t, put it back. Everyone got that?” 

By the time Tony finishes, he is out of breath and even more frustrated, but to his relief, there are several nods before everyone eventually disperses, grabbing various items and putting them in their own carts and baskets. Tony takes a few wonderful minutes to collect himself, but it’s quickly interrupted by a small voice from behind him. 

“Mr. Stark?” Peter mumbles, clearly trying to be as conscientious as possible, and despite his frustrations, Tony doesn’t have the heart to be mad at him. 

“What’s up, kid?” Peter responds by holding up three packs of cookies, a sheepish grin on his face. 

“Do you think everyone would like chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, or peanut butter more?” Tony can’t help the chuckle that escapes him, and he reaches down to ruffle Peter’s hair. 

“You know what, bud, just get all three. What the hell?” Peter grins happily and tosses them in his basket before happily skipping in the direction of the check-out line. 

Alright, Tony thinks to himself. Maybe this whole endeavor wasn’t so bad after all. 

But, of course, as Tony turns the corner to the check-out line, he sighs yet again at seeing the chaos that is the rest of the team, fighting over who gets to have their items scanned first while the poor sales clerk looks on in confused horror. 

With a lot of yelling and even more pushing, as well as several comments of “stop being such a dad, Tony,” he finally manages to get all of the groceries scanned and paid for and all of the Avengers out of the store and as far away as possible. 

As they make their way out the door, the chatter starts almost as quickly as it had stopped, and Tony pauses, stopping an employee as she’s walking towards one of the counters. 

“Please tell me you guys have a delivery service,” he says, and to his relief, she nods, pulling a small card out of her pocket with information on how to order groceries. 

“Thank you,” Tony says gratefully, giving the paper a once-over. 

Never again, he thinks to himself as he pockets the card. I am never ever doing this again. 

[mal-likes-biscuits]

The Picnic - Epilogue

A proper epilogue for this thread with @macabrecabra​, because Magtherius did tell him to be more overt in his affection. Set in Series 2, before Act III and after most of the Series 1 angst has worked its way through. Also after, uhm, other things have happened. You’ll understand.

This is romantic and probably really sappy and there’s absolutely no demon stabbing in it.

“This is quite unusual,” Farah said, smiling as she gathered her zala about her shoulders and followed Malthael out of the library. 

Usually, he appeared at home after her work had ended for the day, or she was forced to interrupt him from his studies in the library in order to get his attention. But today, he had sought her out as she was tidying her desk, with a rather surprising request.

“As you said before,” he replied, raising an eyebrow. “Quite observant.” The sun was just beginning to dip towards the horizon; the amber glow illuminated tree leaves and the few stray strands of his hair that always managed to escape proper wrangling.

That aside, however, he was uncharacteristically.... well-kept. Not that his usual appearance bothered Farah terribly; she knew it was due to his travels, or his becoming distracted with his research. The months they had spent living together had shown her most of his disorganization was kept to his study and himself. Neither hindered her affection for his person, or his ability to demonstrate the same to her.

But such demonstrations were usually subtle or took the form of the gifts he brought back for her. Fresh clothing, a distinct lack of dirt on his face, and him appearing at the library to take her someplace?

Now, that was strange. Had he not maintained his usual verbal wit, she would have assumed something was wrong. Or that some demon had stolen his form in a poor attempt to abscond with her.

“You are thinking far too much about this,” Malthael chuckled, as he led her through Tristram towards the town’s outskirts. 

“You’ve caught me. Usually you’re the one I accuse of that.”

“Rightfully so.”

“It’s not without reason, though.” She spun to walk side-step, so she could better see him. “This is unusual. And I’m very curious.”

“That is entirely the idea.”

“Are you being coy with me, Malthael?” She grinned wryly, and before he could reply, she skipped ahead through the nearest alleyway; there were only so many places in Tristram he could take her, and given their general direction, she had a fairly good idea where they were going.

“You assume a great deal,” he called, though he made no attempt to redirect her.

“Only because you are being surprising. Did you get an idea from Lyndon?”

“No.”

“Tyrael, then?”

“No.”

“My sister?”

“No.”

“Well, that would explain how you managed to keep this a secret. Tristram has loose lips.”

“Verily. I have my ways. Also, you are assuming I needed ideas.”

That was true, though Farah had enough suspicions to know the surprise was more than likely outside Malthael’s area of expertise. He had already taken steps to dress himself in a way that was beyond his usual habits. She sneaked another glance backward, noting what she had suspected before, which was that his shirt was not only clean – it was new.

“You look quite nice,” she offered genuinely. The least she could do was acknowledge his efforts.

Though, unsurprisingly, the comment also brought a subtle colour to his cheeks. He ducked his head in thanks, the twitch of a smirk flashing across his lips before they were hidden behind his hair.

His footfalls were close behind hers as she charted the deer trail from Tristram to their destination. The meadow was not exactly a secret, but as Malthael often claimed a spot near the pond to read, it saw little use from the other residents. There were still some who preferred the former-reaper keep himself out of sight, and were therefore happy to concede the more remote location to him.

Farah pushed aside a fruit-laden branch and considered what lay before her.

There, under the reading willow, was a crimson blanket, spread tautly across the grass, its corners pinned in place with several metal stakes. On the blanket was a large covered basket, neatly stored beside matching ceramic dishes and utensils. A row of arcane braziers flickered gently, their light dancing in the water’s reflections and in the glass of a wine bottle, unopened and leaning against the trunk of the tree.

“Oh!” She had expected a book, perhaps. Or maybe a mug of tea. But certainly nothing like he had prepared.

He bumped her shoulder gently with his as he walked to the blanket. Then he took a seat crossed legged on it and gestured for her to join him. “Unless, you have somewhere else to be?” His eyes crinkled.

“You are coy,” she managed, her voice tremoring from warm elation. “And this is entirely unlike you.”

He hesitated. “Is it…all right?”

“Of course!” The blanket was soft to touch, woven from the more expensive cottons that were grown in tropical locales. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have implied otherwise. It’s wonderful. It’s just…you really did surprise me. What brought this on? It’s not my birthday.”

The wicker basket rustled as he opened the lid and withdrew several wrapped packets. He still wasn’t looking at her, but the smile had returned to his eyes. “Is a reason always necessary?”

“For you? I would think yes.” She took one of the bundles, helping him unwrap what turned out to be an assorted variety of picnic foods. Hard cheeses, various smoked meats, long-breads that had been drizzled with several types of cooking oils and vinegars.

It was not too different than what she had brought for him in the past. But she had always taken the initiative to do so, assuming he was not comfortable expressing his feelings for her that way. Still, seeing it all set out before her, clearly his doing, touched her far more than their usual private get-togethers did. It wasn’t the food, or the wine, or any of the specifics.

It was the degree he had gone out of his way to do something for her. Not because she had requested it. But because he knew she would like it.

Their fingers brushed as he handed her the last bundle.

“You won’t tell me, will you?” His hands were cold, as always; she wrapped hers around them, silently sharing the warmth. “Your reason?”

He considered their entwined fingers, and the package clasped between them, his expression nearly unreadable, but softening as he shook his head. She waited patiently, knowing he was trying to find the words, as he so often had to do when he spoke about her.

“Perhaps,” he whispered, drawing his thumb across the back of her hand, “you are reason enough.”

When he finally raised his head to look at her, it was with the most naked, disarmed expression she had ever seen him wear. From a man who was always certain about everything, such clear hesitation about his own words, and her reaction to them, said everything.

Malthael had always been astute at giving her whatever she needed, and whenever possible, she had never made him guess. They were stronger that way. But seeing him show her the extent of his inexperience with his own emotions, and his willingness to trust her with that vulnerability—

“That is a good reason,” she whispered in reply. “Now, how about you show me what you have brought? And then we can eat.”

#

The stars shone through the firmament, pinpricks of light that echoed faintly in the now-still waters of the pond. The earlier breeze had all but gone, leaving only the trilling of birds, and the occasional stifled laughter from the two of them. The empty wine bottle lay discarded on the grass, and they had stacked the plates to the side, to allow them to stretch out on the blanket proper.

“I still can’t believe you liked it,” Farah snickered, turning her head to grin at him. “I assumed you’d tried it before and didn’t.”

Malthael raised a finger and gestured absently in the direction of the wine. “It’s not entirely different from mead.”

“It’s made of grapes, pi’ra.”

“Aye, verily.”

“Which are the same as raisins.”

“No, they are not. Grapes have moisture, and substance. Raisins have been leached of any redeemable quality by the Lords of Hell.” He slapped his palm onto the blanket emphatically. “Wine also has moisture, and substance, and flavour. Because it hasn’t been demon-sapped.”

Farah stifled a cackle, though her grin did acquire some teeth. “How very astute of you, Aspect of Wisdom.”

“If I didn’t know better, I would think you were mocking me.”

“Never. Would not dare. I’ve been privy to your revenge on Lyndon often to enough to know better.”

Neither would she point out the slight drawl to his speech, or the way grammatical contractions sneaked into his usually impeccable phrasing once he’d had something to drink. She enjoyed watching him far too much and didn’t want to tip him off too heavily.

“That is wise.” He paused, then snorted loudly at his own joke. “It’s probably best…it’s the two of us.”

“Cowl down?”

“Cowl is…” he shrugged. “Floating on the water, alongside my sobriety. Somewhere.”

“Somewhere. But not here.”

“I still believe you are mocking me,” he muttered, without bite. “And I am not so drunk as to forget how to plot.”

“If you intend to keep me quiet, that may be difficult.” She raised an eyebrow, intentionally imitating his usual gesture.

“Farah. Owing to my apparent…confusion, you may have to be more forthright. Exactly in what way do you assume I will be distracting you?” Then, after a beat, he mirrored the eyebrow, amusement flickering across his face. “Detailed, if possible.”

“I meant nothing of the sort!” she sputtered, though she knew the mirth in her words gave away the truth.

“I am sensing…dishonesty.”

“And how will you prove it? Scry the Chalice?”

“Mmm, I think not. I think I know you quite well, indeed.” He trailed off, giving her a chance to ponder the joke they’d often tossed back and forth between each other, ever since she’d first caught him off-guard with a particularly effective flirtation.

“Ah, then what am I thinking?”

“If I were to guess,” he murmured, before shifting to her side and wrapping an arm loosely about her. “I assume…” His hair tickled across her face as he leaned close, his forehead gently tapping hers.

He waited for her, as always. She took the moment to close her eyes and absorb the moment. The soft whispers of the night, and the trace of the wine on his breath. Underneath, the always present hints of pine and smoke that were his scents.

“Just this,” she whispered. “No more. I won’t have you over-indulge me to your own detriment because of wayward grapes. Promise?”

“You have my word.”

“Also, I know I enjoy reading about these sorts of things all the time, but it’s not entirely the best climate to do this outside—”

“Farah.” She shivered as he slowly traced his fingers down her cheek. “I brought a quilt.”

Oh. He really had thought of everything. “Sneaky.”

“Verily. Did you expect otherwise?”

“From you? No.” And truthfully, she was more concerned about his respect for his own boundaries than the weather. But she also trusted him, implicitly. And she could help him keep his promise. “I think that is why I love you.”

He pulled her closer, exhaling briskly, the same as he did nearly every time she said it. Then, so quietly, it was almost lost to the night: “And I, you.”

Words she never thought she would hear spoken, and on the heels of an evening already filled with the unexpected. Perhaps it was finally the right time, for him. Or perhaps something else had driven him to it. She didn’t know, and it didn’t matter. It was a thought for another night.

She carefully snaked an arm behind his head, and when he didn’t protest, she buried her fingers in his hair and gently pressed her lips to his.

#####

[Oh hey look @oyeedraw they managed to kiss in writing. >:D]

[nevermindthewind]

change of plans

The day started like any other, with Wes waking up to a little voice in his ear. “Daddy, you wanna play dinosaurs?” Wes smiled to himself and opened his eyes, only to find himself face to face with a blue eyed, bed-headed boy with a mischievous grin plastered on his face. Wiping the sleep out of his eye he checked his phone, clicking it to check the time. 6:03. Nice. “Sure, Buddy,” he said with a yawn. “Can Daddy make some coffee first though?” “But Mama already made coffee!” the little boy protested. Wes frowned, confused; he was always the first one up. He rolled over, only to find the other side of the bed unoccupied and the sheets all pushed to the side. “Mama beat us this morning!” he exclaimed, pulling the boy onto his lap. “Can you believe it?” He planted a kiss on the boy’s cheek. “Morning, Buddy.” “Morning, Daddy,” he replied. “Should we go make breakfast before dinosaurs?” “Okay. Can I have pa-tarts?” Wes laughed as he lifted the boy and got out of bed, “Sure, just don’t tell Mama. Our little secret, right Seb?” “Right,” Sebastian agreed, bringing his hands to his mouth as a sign of secrecy. Wes set Sebastian down and put on a shirt before padding into the kitchen. He got a packet of strawberry pop tarts out and threw them in the toaster. While he waited for those he got out two bowls, filling one with Froot Loops and the other with Raisin Bran. After drowning both in milk he left Sebastian playing with his favorite velociraptor on the floor and took the bowl of Froot Loops into the guest-room-turned-study, where he figured a stressed out Laurel would be awaiting him. Sure enough, he was right. Her hair was up, her coffee cup plastered to one hand and a report in the other, and the desk was covered in files. He knew her firm had a huge case coming up, and that Laurel was doing the cross but still, Wes hadn't seen her this stressed in a while. He’d have to tread lightly. He knocked before entering, but Laurel didn’t hear him, or if she did she didn’t acknowledge it. Wes walked in anyway, setting the bowl on the table before placing both his hands on her shoulders and gently massaging them. “I brought you some breakfast,” he said softly. “I mean, it’s only cereal, but it’s pretty much the only thing I know how to make without burning anything.” She looked up, smiling at the greeting. “Thank you,” she sighed, leaning back into his chest. “You sleep at all last night?” he asked. “Like three hours? I woke up in a panic at four and couldn’t go back to sleep, so I just decided to come get some work done.” She reached for the sugary cereal and took a bite. “Ugh, the best. Thanks, babe,” she said, planting a kiss on his hand. “Is the little man up yet?” But before Wes could even respond Sebastian came barging into the study. “Daddy my pa-tarts are done!” he announced. Laurel sat up and looked around at Wes, raising her eyebrows. Wes looked away sheepishly. “Buddy that was a secret, remember?” he whispered. Sebastian immediately clapped his hands to his mouth. “Oops.” “Pop tarts, huh?” Laurel said, putting down her bowl and pulling Sebastian onto her lap. “You know, before we know it we’re gonna have a little azúcar monster on our hands.” She tickled Sebastian’s sides, causing him to shriek with laughter. “Mama no! I not a monster!” he laughed. “You sure?” she asked with a smile, tickling his belly this time. Again the boy shrieked before breaking into a fit of giggles. “Yes!” he cried. “Well good,” said Laurel, planting a kiss on Sebastian’s messy curls. “Then a couple pop tarts won’t hurt, will they?” She lifted him up and gave him another kiss, this time on the cheek, before placing him back on the floor. “Te amo, Osito.” “I love you too, Mama,” he said, giving her a toothy smile. Wes loved moments like this, when he could just watch the two of them interact. He adored his son, more than anything, and he knew Sebastian loved him too. But there was no doubt in his mind that, at the end of the day, Seb was a Mama’s boy through and through. Laurel and him had a bond like nothing Wes had ever seen before. Watching them together was like watching magic; he could watch them forever. “Go get in your chair, and Daddy will come bring you your food, okay?” said Laurel, causing Seb to immediately turn and run back to the kitchen. “Really, pop tarts?” she asked, turning her attention back to Wes. “Sorry,” he replied with a guilty grin. “But it’s just so hard to say no to that face!” Laurel huffed with exasperation as she took another bite of Froot Loops. “What am I gonna do with you?” she asked mid chew. Wes bent down and kissed her shoulder. “Love me anyway?” he asked. It’s what they always said to each other when they were stressed or upset or anything. Despite whatever has happened or whatever would happen, they would always love each other. She rolled her eyes before leaning into his touch. “Love you anyway,” she replied with a soft smile. She squeezed his hand before picking up a file. “Want me to take Seb out for the morning? Let you get some work done?” Wes asked. “Would you?” she asked hopefully, once again looking up at him. “I just need a couple hours. Then we can do something fun this afternoon, maybe take Seb to the park over on 4th?” “Sounds great,” he replied, patting her shoulders and leaving her to work in peace. Little did she know what surprise he had in store. After breakfast and dinosaurs Wes got himself and Sebastian ready and out the door in record time. He put Seb in a pair of pale yellow shorts and a navy button down while Wes opted for jeans and a green and navy plaid shirt, both dressing a little nicer than they normally would on a lazy day like today. “Where we going, Daddy?” Seb asked as Wes carried him out to the car. “We’re gonna run a couple errands for Mama,” Wes replied. “I have a surprise for her.” “A surprise?” the boy asked, excitement in his eyes. “Yep, you wanna help me?” Sebastian nodded fervently as Wes set him in the car seat. “What we gonna do?” Wes explained his plan as best he could to a three year old as he buckled him into the car seat. “So it’s just like Dora, right? It goes jewelry store, flowers, Mama. Can you say that?” “Joo-ry store, flowers, Mama,” Seb echoed. -- There were a couple more steps to Wes’ plan, but they still managed to get everything done in about three hours. They got home right as Michaela and Asher were arriving, Asher carrying a giant speaker up to the front door. “Hey dude,” said Asher, clapping Wes on the back as he got out of the car. “Ready for the big event?” “Asher!” Michaela hissed. “You wanna talk a little louder? I don’t think she heard you!” Wes was about to respond, but he got cut off by a very excited toddler yelling from the backseat. “Auntie Kay! Uncle Ash!” “Hi Buddy! How’s my favorite boy?” Michaela asked, moving to the back door to let Sebastian out and smother him with kisses. “Good,” Sebastian replied with a laugh. “Daddy’s giving Mama a ring today!” “I know! Pretty exciting, huh?” she exclaimed before turning to Wes. “And you? You ready?” Wes stuck his hand into his pocket, feeling the velvet box for the hundredth time since picking it up. “As ready as I’ll ever be,” he responded, the nerves he’d been harbouring for the past few hours peaking through. “I don’t know why you’re even worried,” Asher commented. “You guys have basically been married since Laurel saved your ass in our first class.” He had a point. Even before they started dating, before Sebastian, they’d been a team first, always having each other’s backs. That sort of bond was immediate, one that was only strengthened by time. He couldn’t keep track of how many times Laurel stood by him when she didn’t have to. And now here they were, four years and one incredible kid later, still standing by each other, still each other’s champion. They’d talked about getting married, multiple times, but it never really seemed like the right time. When Seb was first born they were just trying to survive, trying to figure out how the hell to be parents. Then there was graduation and new jobs and on top of that when you threw a toddler into the mix, a wedding just didn't seem feasible. They were basically married already, why go through the all the theatrics? At least that's what he told Laurel. In reality he'd been planning on proposing since the day he'd realized he loved her, the day he almost lost her. The night of the fire was one of the worst of his life. But after feeling completely and utterly helpless as he watched Laurel fight for her life, after hours of trying to imagine life without her, Wes knew he never wanted to live another second without her. She was, and always would be, the love of his life. After that it was just a matter of time. And now after months of Michaela and him dropping not so subtle hints, the day was finally here. “Not worried, just…” Wes trailed off, “I just hope it all goes smoothly.” “It will,” Michaela replied confidently as they made their way up the stairs. “Just don't fu-” “Uncle Connor! Uncle Ollie!” Sebastian cried as Ollie pulled into the parking lot. “Saved by the Con,” Wes whispered under his breath, to which Michaela gave him a playful shove. “Hey Seb-master!” said Connor, ruffling the boy’s hair. “Hi Sebastian, you ready for the big day?” Oliver asked. “Uh-huh,” Seb murmured under Connor’s hand. “And you?” Oliver asked, looking to Wes. Wes rubbed his beard. He’d be better if he didn't have all these people breathing down his neck. “Let’s get going,” he replied as they all made their way inside the condo. “You guys stay quiet in the kitchen, I'll come get you when it's over.” He takes the flowers and Sebastian from Michaela, leaving the other four as the two of them head into the study. “Alright little man, you ready?” Wes asked, bouncing Sebastian before setting him down and handing him the flowers. “Yep!” Wes took a deep breath before opening the door… Only to find Laurel dead asleep with her head on the desk, her coffee cup still in her hand. It was all Wes could do not to burst out laughing. Of course, after all that planning, she was out like a light, throwing all of his plans out the window. Right on cue the music he’d given to Asher to play began wafting through the house. Thinking on his feet, he waved Sebastian over and the two of them inched closer. “Hi Mama!” Sebastian half whispered. Laurel opened one eye and gave her son a lazy smile. “Hey, Osito. Whatcha got there?” The boy looked up at Wes, who nodded, then handed the bouquet to Laurel. “They're for you,” he said with a shy smile. “Wow, thank you!” she replied. She also looked up at Wes, but in sleepy confusion rather than confirmation. He just gave her a smile as he slid down onto one knee. “What are you doing?” Laurel asked with a yawn, still not fully awake. “I...well I have a question for you,” said Wes, his smile growing. “It's kinda important.” “But I'm sleeping,” she whined. “And why is there music playing?” “It has something to do with what I want to ask you.” Laurel sat up, pulling Sebastian on her lap and looking around. “Hold on...music playing, guy with important question, are you on your knees?” she asked, looking down. He nods. “...on his knees,” she smiled, bringing her hand to his face. “Were you so bored on your errands this morning that you decided to ask me to marry you?” Wes laughed and gave her a tiny nod. “Well, kinda, yeah. Yeah.” Then he took a deep breath and asked the question he'd been wanting to ask her for years. “Will you marry me?” She just looked at him for a bit, a small, unsure smile appearing on her face as his question began to sink in. Finally Wes broke the silence. “Any thoughts on the answer? Yes, no, get out of my face loser? They're all possible.” She stroked Sebastian’s hair as she stared into Wes’ eyes. “Hmmm,” she hummed mischievously. “I think I'll go with...yes.” Wes’ eyes lit up, a huge smile returning to his face. “Really?” She nodded, her smile matching his. Suddenly Wes remembered the ring. Pulling it out and fumbling a little bit, he opened the box and quickly slid the ring into Laurel’s finger. “Thank you for asking me,” she whispered. She brought her hand to the base of his neck, pulling him so close their foreheads touched. “And thanks for not going with one of those melodramatic proposals with a bunch of people. I hate other people.” “Me too,” he agreed, kissing her before pulling away. “I'm just gonna go turn the music off, I'll be right back.” He smiled at her until he closed the door and then raced into the kitchen, where the rest of the K5 were waiting with champagne. He held his finger to his lips before they could freak out. “Hey,” he started at a whisper. “So she’s really tired.” They all exchanged glances but didn't say anything. “So I think we're just gonna stay in. But thanks for all your help!” “Wait what?” Michaela exclaimed. “Yeah, we’ll call you tomorrow. Now go, before she hears you!” And with that he heads back into the office, leaving them to show themselves out, unplugging the speaker on his way out. He opened the door to find Laurel showing off her ring to Sebastian. “Daddy did a good job, didn't he?” Laurel asked him, looking up and smiling at Wes as he entered. “Yeah, good job Daddy!” said Sebastian. “Thanks, Buddy,” he replied, picking the boy up before taking Laurel’s hand and pulling her to her feet. “And thank you,” he murmurs to Laurel, a grin creeping back onto his face. “For what?” she asked, looking up at Wes with a knowing smile. He meant to just say for saying yes, for agreeing to be his wife. But as he locked his brown eyes with Laurel’s blue, with their son on his hip, he knew that would never be enough. For so long he'd been on his own, with no one to rely on but himself. But from the minute Laurel walked into his life he had never been alone. Now he never would be. And that was something words just simply couldn't express. So instead he took his other hand and cupped her face, kissing her slow and deep…well, as deeply as he felt comfortable with Sebastian right there. When they pulled apart she looked up at him with tears in her eyes. He laughed as he wiped her cheeks with his thumb. “For loving me anyway.”

[coaldplay]

Promise of Mother’s Love: chapter 3 - “Sighs”

Six years later

Mirai Sarutobi woke up.

She lay down on her back and extended her left arm to the opposite side of the bed.

She sensed he still wasn't there. She turned to see only an empty space.

She sighed. It was her daily ritual, when her husband, Kosuke, was on a mission.

She sat up, resting her back on the pillows. She looked at the watch on the bedside table next to her. It was almost seven a.m. It was just beginning to clear outside. Days were getting shorter and colder. The tree opposite to the window had long started to show first signs of an autumn. Now, their small garden glowed with the colors of green, golden yellow and bright red.

Winter was fast approaching. It will snow soon. She sighed again. Personally, she preferred summer.

Today, they will have to rake leaves again. Her eyes lit up. Strangely enough, she felt happy at the thought. Yes, it will be a good day.

In the end, it was October 10th.

She stood up to welcome the day, with a wide smile. She had many things to do. But first the toilet, shower and other such.

She will wash her teeth after breakfast. Obviously, after breakfast.

During the morning toilet, she repeated the list of things she had yet to buy.

She checked the fridge and cabinets... yes, milk, eggs, flour, absolutely. She was going to make a cake. His favorite. Cheesecake with raisins. But she can't forget about the ramen. Oh, absolutely not. There wasn't Naruto's birthday without the ramen.

At the memory of Naruto eating a ramen for the first time, her mood improved even more. He looked like he had a meal made by Kami herself, who descended from heaven, not lousy Mirai Sarutobi of Konoha.

She didn't even realize, when she started humming a song she recently heard. Who would've thought, that Naruto would like music so much?

After that, he always tortured her, so she would listen to this or that cassette with him.

That's why she knew what to buy him for a gift. A set of cassettes with his favorite bands, that he didn't yet have. When the Third asked her for advice because he had no idea himself, she only told him, that the cassettes were already taken and Naruto already has his own cassette player, so that option was out too.

"And don't even think about buying ramen like last year!" she said.

Yes. It really happened. Even now, she couldn't really believe it. But apparently every of her senses rebelled against her and registered it.

She remembered that Kosuke just shook his head, smiling.

"Really, Hiruzen, try this time. Don't go easy on this. You can't do that. I gave him a blunt replica of Minato's kunai, remember?"

"I just wanted to make Naruto happy," answered the Third Hokage.

Well, Mirai had to admit it. The little one was delighted. It was a large packet with a great inscription: "Ramen in ten flavors!".

Going down the stairs to the ground floor, she promised herself that starting from tomorrow, she would limit the ramen.

She knew, however, that she couldn't keep this promise.

She knew, that she had too big weakness for Naruto.

She hoped that it would be different for Karin. Or Konohamaru.

She had known about it for a week now. She was waiting for this day.

Kosuke said he would make it here, and then, when everyone cools down... she would start the party again!

They've been trying for a year. She and Kosuke had everything planned. When they bought this apartment three years ago, they remembered to have an one room as a store. This room would be soon transformed from a warehouse into a children's room.

After drying her hair, she dressed warmly and went out to the store.

Naruto quickly opened his eyes. He heard the door downstairs closing.

This is the day!

He got up. He started running. He opened the door of his room without even paying attention to it. He ran down the stairs as fast as he could. He was at most a meter tall.

Tup, tup, tup, tup, tup.

He reached the calendar in the kitchen.

He looked for a number ten.

It was marked with a red circle and in red capital letters: "NARUTO'S BIRTHDAY!"

"Yatta!" he shouted from joy.

Of course, yesterday he knew, he will have a birthday today, but he preferred to make sure he wasn't wrong. After all, it was only once a year. Not every day.

It reminded him, how cool it was year ago.

He got very cool kunai from uncle Kosuki. He showed it to Shikamaru, who announced that even if it were a ninja kunai, it was of a very strange shape. Maybe that's why, when Naruto tried to throw it like a real ninja, no matter how hard, the knife had never stuck in this big tree in the garden. It confused him a bit, but at least he could train to become a great ninja, one like his father.

From his aunt Mirai, he received toy ninja armband, a tape recorder, which he had until now... and a cookbook. She said if he could choose a nice dish for her, she would definitely prepare it for him. Only one condition: it could not be ramen. He didn't understand this. He didn't know the word, but it seemed a little funny to him. Of course, it wasn't nice to laugh at other people, especially if they're nice to you, and aunt Mirai was a very nice person, but, well, he just didn't know how to react.

Therefore, despite everything, he liked the gift he got from his grandfather the most.

Ten ramen flavors combo. Even now, a small smile appeared on his little face as he recalled this gift. He forced his aunt to prepare it for him whenever he wanted. He intended to save it for special occasions, but then his uncle informed him, that it had an expiration date and after that date, he could no longer eat it. He then decided: during the next ten days he has to eat this ramen every day, for dinner. He wouldn't let it go to waste.

He didn't know the word either, but he felt it inside: ramen meant too much for him to just like... not eat it, when he had a chance. And so many flavors?

Funny.

At first, aunt Mirai didn't want to work with him. He offered that if she agrees, he wouldn't eat a single ramen for the next month. She agreed.

He did not think it through. He really did not think it through.

He winced. It was the worst month ever in the history of months, for sure.

By the way, he recently noticed that aunt Mirai was strangely pleased, and so much so, that she was smiling at all times. At first, he was surprised. Then, it started to irritate him, because he didn't know why, and he wanted to know why. He decided that he had to find out. In his six-year-old mind, he decided that he must first make her stop being so satisfied with herself.

He started slowly. He would leave toy samurai soldiers in the middle of the room; he would forget to clean up after himself, or he would brush his teeth before breakfast, not after. Nothing worked. He concluded, he had to do something big.

When he consulted Shikamaru, he, at first, didn't know what he wanted to do. When he explained everything, Nara announced, that if he really wants to risk the "mother's anger", as he put it, he should spill milk on the table. Naruto reminded him that Mirai is his aunt, not his mother. He had no mother.

However, to reach his ultimate goal, Naruto did it. The day before yesterday, at breakfast, he spilled milk on the table, when he was pouring cereal. She just looked at him, as if he had grown a second head, threw him an old cloth and told him to clean it all up. He did it, furious. She probably thought he was angry that he had to clean up after all. No; he was angry, because Mirai ignored him again.

Yesterday morning he decided to make the biggest mess in his room, so big, like never before. He managed to do it - he was proud of himself, even. And it was left there for a whole day. Normally, she would start complaining, that she wouldn't clean it up, and she would be screeching at him until he cleaned it all himself. But when, under a pretext, he led her into his room, she acted as if everything was all right. She just looked at him strangely and asked what he wants.

That made him furious. There was no ignoring Naruto Namikaze.

Finally, at the end of the day, she asked why he hadn't cleaned his room yet. He lifted his eyes and then narrowed them, hoping he would feel anger from her, but no. Nothing. Just simple satisfaction, with that stupid smile on her face. His irritation had left him and he felt empty. As if he wasn't really there.

Once, Shikamaru introduced him to Choji. It was at the playground, which they played at from time to time. Akimichi boy asked him, why he had such strange things on his face. He asked what they meant. Naruto couldn't answer him though, because he didn't know it himself. Naruto didn't think he looked weird, because he always looked like that. Since when he remembered. And that's it. It was how he looked. It didn't occur to him, that his appearance might be weird for someone. It was the same with small marks and patterns above his eyebrows. Before Choji, who was the first to notice his freckles and lines on his cheeks, even Shikamaru didn't notice them.

After this event, no one he asked knew what they were was and why he had them. He also asked about his "whiskers", but answer was always the same.

Thick blonde hair. Freckles on the nose. Eyelets over the eyebrows and lines on the cheeks. Ears slightly protruding. Bright blue eyes. He shrugged. He guessed he was just weird. Different. Eh, screw it. Choji was fat. Naruto wasn't. And Naruto didn't react as if he had been hurt, when Choji reminded him that he had a strange appearance.

"And why are you so fat?" he responded back then.

However, from then on, he began to see many things that distinguished him from others.

It occurred to him, that when he was focused, he could see things that no one else saw. He knew; he asked other kids. Once, he told Mirai about that. The day he did it, turned out to be one of the worst in his young life.

He has never seen her so scared. She made him promise that he would tell no one, if her or grandfather hadn't given a permission. He promised, but didn't forget, how she reacted.

Very next day, grandfather Hiruzen came to them, seemingly unannounced.

Uncle Kosuke said "Nothing.", when asked by Naruto what was happening, and Mirai tried to pretend, that this "nothing" was indeed happening. Naruto though could feel, that aunt Mirai was scared; that uncle Kosuke was impatient and upset for some reason, and grandfather... well, he felt guilty, just like as if he had just lied.

They told him everything was fine and nothing was happening.

He saddened. He didn't know why they were lying to him. His family lied to him. But previous day, however, he learned that he should not ask about it, because then everyone behaves as if there was a problem with him; as if it was all his fault.

"No, it isn't" he wanted to say, but felt like he just shouldn't. He never told anything, not to her, not to anyone, so just like Mirai wanted. Not to know.

He didn't like what he felt. He did not like it, not one bit...

The sound of the door opening ripped him out of his thoughts.

He looked around. He was at the kitchen table. Second thing he noticed, he wasn't wearing the pajamas, but something else. He was surprised. He didn't remember changing his clothes. He looked at the clock on the wall. He realized, that he has been sitting in the kitchen for over an hour already.

"Oh... hi, Naruto! I see you are already waiting for your birthday breakfast," Mirai said cheerfully as she entered the kitchen. She had shopping bags in her hands. She went to the counter by the wall.

"Hey, auntie. Yes... I've been here for some time."

She narrowed her eyes. It was a strange answer for a six-year-old.

Recently, he behaved differently. Badly, although he knew she didn't approve. It made no sense. She thought he wasn't that kind of boy to be rude on purpose.

She began to unpack shopping.

"What do you want for your breakfast Naruto? Remember that today is your special day, so you can choose anything," she turned to look at him. "Although I hope it will not be ramen."

"I want cereal."

"Be polite. What you should say?" she ashed him with a smile.

"Please."

She went to the fridge and pulled out milk. After this, she reached into the high side cabinet for his favorite cereal.

She was busy, when he ate, but he didn't even try to start a talk.

She was looking at him from time to time. He looked thoughtful.

"Okay, go brush your teeth now. How about we go to Yoshino and Shikamaru?" she said, when he finished. She wanted to make everything. She already agreed with Yoshino, that Nara would help her prepare for Naruto's birthday party.

She didn't receive a response.

"Naruto? You asleep? Do you want to go to Shikamaru?"

Naruto was as if he just woke up. He smiled broadly.

"Sure!"

"My aunt still behaves strangely," he said to young Nara as they lay there, staring at the clouds. Today was a clear day. A little windy, but warm.

Shikamaru sighed. Why did women always have to be so troublesome? He didn't understand why his father married such a scary person.

"Still, huh?"

"I totally don't know..."

Shikamaru sighed again. He already knew what was going on. He didn't want to be the one to tell him that though.

But Naruto knew his mannerisms.

"You know something and you want to hide it from me."

Nara sighed yet again, even louder. How did Naruto guess this? Troublesome. Blond was looking at him with his stupidly gaping mouth.

"Shut your face, because if you not, a fly will fly in."

Naruto closed his mouth, loudly "clicking" with his teeth.

"I overheard your aunt talking to my mother."

Naruto grinned at this.

Shikamaru, seeing this, sighed again. It sounded like "troublesome".

"Come on, come on! Spit it!"

"Your aunt will tell you. I don't want to get involved in this."

Naruto, now grumpy, turned away from him theatrically.

Shikamaru sat down and put his hand on Naruto's shoulder.

He sighed one last time and began the story.

"So when a man and a woman love each other very much ..."

"... sometimes, out of this love, arises a new life. You will have a cousin, Naruto!" she said happily. "Girl or boy. Just please, don't tell anyone about it! This is supposed to be a big surprise for everyone!"

Naruto cornered her as soon as he saw her.

Yoshino will have a chat with Shikamaru about eavesdropping.

Naruto looked happy for her, and for her unborn child. She had to admit it: she was relieved. She heard a lot of kids get jealous and everything... she was worried, she won't have so much time for him. But that wasn't the day for such thoughts.

She was still worried over his strange behaviour during the last week. Naruto though, when she asked him, said that it won't happen again and that she shouldn't think about it. It sounded a little weird from a six-year-old. Go figure.

Mirumi said to herself, that she will have to prepare him for the time after the delivery. They won't have so much time for him. She remembered, how handful he was... if that was to repeat - but she surely didn't want to think about that now and spoil her humor. She was very happy about finally being pregnant, at least.

Naruto was most pleased, that his aunt's secret was finally known. At least to him. And to Yoshino. And to Shikamaru. And to Mirumi herself obviously. He winced at the thought. It wasn't so much of a secret now, was it?

At least Kosuke doesn't know yet.

He hoped it wouldn't be as bad as he sometimes heard in adult conversations, or from the other kids. He really didn't know what to think about a new member of his family. He has to speak about it to Shikamaru. Shikamaru was super smart. He will help him figure it out. But later.

It was supposed to be a small birthday. Yoshino and Shikamaru. Grandfather Hiruzen, of course. Choji was supposed to be too. His little group of friends. He was worried about the Akimichi; would they really have enough food for him? Yoshino, however, calmed him down, when she also brought some food.

Everything was in place. They just have to wait for grandpa, and they would start.

All that was left was to hope, that his father will come.

_

Back then, six years ago, Hiruzen begged him, to give himself time to mourn.

But he was adamant. There was always too much work for him to be done.

The Third even offered he would take over for a year or two, so that Minato could take care of Naruto.

Minato refused under a pretext, that Biwako was dead too. That was a very low blow.

Today, Naruto turned 6. He was growing fast. He had the character of his mother and his father's appearance. His looked like him.

Hiruzen slammed the door as he left. These times they preferred not to meet too often.

Behind the door, Minato heard a sad sigh. The receding steps.

He remembered what Hiruzen asked Kushina, when she was still alive. She agreed. Minato understood everything. He really did.

"You've been chosen as Fourth Hokage, in part for your merits in the Third Shinobi War. During the same war, Obito was killed. Irony, isn't it? After he was dead, Kakashi killed Obito's love, Rin, who he swore to Uchiha, to protect. You left them alone. It's why both are dead now."

At that time, Kushina was still with him.

"And even after everything, you still haven't learned. You left Kushina alone."

That was his fault.

"That is your fault."

He failed. And that was the truth. But the truth lost meaning. The only truth in existence. She is dead.

"You failed as a Hokage, as a sensei, as a husband and as a father. You are considered the greatest hero of the last war, who, by himself, forced two Hidden Villages into peace. You, the Hokage, who they say led his village to the road of restoration, at the end of which was greatness, that was not seen before in the Elemental Nations. You, the fastest man alive, proved to be always too late to save what is the most important. Kushina is dead. Rin is dead. Obito is dead. Kakashi doesn't talk to you. Naruto probably hates you. Hiruzen is dissapointed. All because you, you! - the fastest man alive!, have proven to be too slow to save what is most important. The love of your life."

The curse placed upon him.

"And now you still want to pretend to be a father? Who do you think you are?! You let your son's mother die!"

He didn't deserve him. He deserved nothing.

"You are nothing. You are no one. You are no one, just like me," said a hoarse voice muffled by the mask. This man's voice never left him.

Kneeling over her body, he promised her, he would take care of their son. However, Naruto's cries were like a knife hammering into his heart. When he was still a newborn, he cried louder and louder, day by day. Minato didn't know how to look after him. He didn't sleep for weeks.

Finally, full of shame, he gave Naruto away, into the care of Hiruzen's daughter. It was then, that they quarreled for the first time with Hiruzen. He convinced himself that this would be the best way. That he would visit him as often as possible. At that time, however, he felt, in surrendering Naruto, he had betrayed everything he once believed.

The irony was for what price is anything worth?

The voice of a man in a black coat, as he began to call him, became the voice of his conscience.

He could not look Naruto in his eyes, nor real purple, nor fake blue ones.

He looked at the stack of documents in front of him. The Chuunin exams were approaching. He never had time for Naruto during these times, he told himself. He has duties. He returned to work. Maybe it'll let him forget for a while.

_

Hiruzen started walking. People parted in front of him, full of respect. He nodded to them in greetings. The walk from the Hokage Tower to her daughter's house always took about an hour.

He was far too old to jump on buildings. Or too patient. Could be both, honestly.

It was near the Nara clan compound. The Sarutobi family were friends with Naras for many decades, ever since they were both welcomed to Konoha. Hiruzen was good friends with Shukaku's father, when they were just kids.

When opportunity arose to buy a house in this area, Kosuke and Mirai decided to do it. There was a beautiful forest of the Nara clan, to which they all had free admission. Not many did.

There were also plenty of shops in the area. Of course. This was the Nara clan - lazy and phlegmatic. Every single one of them. Maybe except for individuals, such as Yoshino.

Naras didn't like to walk far, so they just didn't.

Shikamaru and Naruto became best friends. With Choji, three of them, were quite known in the area. Naruto was always the first to make trouble, but his two friends were a good influence.

It was Naruto, who was, one could say, a bad influence.

He was just like Kushina. Always the first to do everything. First to jump into this or that lake, first to climb a tree. First to prank the shopkeeper. Except for the appearance, he didn't seem to have inherited much from Minato.

And maybe that's good.

No, he won't think about him today. It was the tenth of October. Naruto's birthday. He was six years old. It wasn't the time.

He thought about another topic. He wondered, what should he give him for his birthday?

Mirai warned him, that if he gives him ramen again, it would end... badly, for whatever that was supposed to mean. Anyway, it was usually a lot better to listen to her advice, than not.

One day, Hiruzen watched Naruto throwing a kunai, which was a blunt replica of these used by his father. Naruto didn't know this detail though.

He decided, that since the boy was brought up in a shinobi family, and he also came from the Uzumaki clan, his training should begin very, very soon. He was big enough.

Was it really safe? They never found out why it happened to him.

The Rinnegan. Eyes of the Sage of Six Paths.

They wondered, if this was because of the Kyuubi chakra, that might have attacked his body during the labor. This could not be ruled out.

When Jiraya saw the Eyes, he told them the story of a boy who had died many years earlier. The boy's name was Nagato. Hiruzen knew of three orphans from the Rain, that his student had been once taken in, but Jiraya back then did not speak about Nagato's Rinnegan.

The first thing was that the boy was also an Uzumaki. Characteristic crimson red hair, enormous life energy, stamina, high amounts of chakra. Everything fit. The second thing was that Nagato had the same eyes. The Eyes.

Seals, which shortly after the birth of Naruto, were given to him, above all, caused the little one to have normal-looking blue pupils, in his father's image. However, main task of these seals was to limit Rinnegan's power as much as possible. Nobody knew, what it's capabilities were or would be, except that after the blood and chakra tests, it turned out that the boy had all five chakra natures. That was not the case with Nagato, who possessed only Wind chakra.

Wind was rare on its own. Maybe Nagato was Kushina's closer relative? She had Wind chakra too. That was just a speculation.

Whatever was the case with Nagato, there weren't Kyuubi's influence though.

Tiny amount of Kyuubi's chakra was found in Naruto's sample. That fact unnerved them all. They didn't know, what that could mean for the kid.

It was expected that he, like Kushina, would receive some Kyuubi Jinchuuriki features i.e. much faster body healing and huge, even for their clan, chakra reserves. But no. All they confirmed was above average metabolism, which could also come from the Rinnegan.

And that was exactly the problem.

They did not know whether something was the effect of Kyuubi's chakra adopted naturally in Naruto's organism, or whether it was the effect of the Eyes. As far as their information went, it was impossible to say anything definitive.

Which didn't mean they didn't have any clues here, in Konoha. Hashirama's wife, Uzumaki Mito, the previous Jinchuuriki of the Nine-tails, had a son, who was the father of Tsunade.

Darirama, as Hiruzen checked in the ninja archives and in the archives of disease cards, did not have such qualities as Naruto, although his delivery was described to be also very difficult. No characteristic whiskers, no Kyuubi chakra was adopted in his body.

Hiruzen knew him personally. They were good colleagues. He nothing extraordinary though - Darirama was a lively man, cheerful, but that's all. Naruto was a bit like him, not to mention Nawaki, but Tsunade didn't inherit much from her father.

Hiruzen noticed something at the shop window. Kakashi will be overjoyed when he tells him. Unless he knows it already. Which was very probable.

The Third Hokage shook his head. He returned to the previous line of thought.

There were several differences between Mito and Kushina. First, Kushina became Jinchuuriki at the age of ten, and Mito was almost thirty. In their cases, slightly different seals were also used, and besides, in the seal belonging to the older Uzumaki, were also a sizable element of Mokuton's chakra. Mokuton had powerful properties. It perfectly suppressed and dispersed aggressive types of chakras, exactly like of a tailed beast.

That's the reason Hashirama was this powerful against the Bijuus.

Shortly after Naruto's birth, Tsunade was called back to the village by Minato. It was under a threat of marking her in the Bingo Book, if, by some chance, she decided not to assess Naruto's "condition".

When she arrived, however, she first announced that she would not allow the baby's eyes to be removed, if they thought of such a thing. Hiruzen and Minato did not even think of it.

In the case of Sharingan and Byakugan, they could be weakened and masked, but it was only a half-measure, even in their case. If one wanted to neutralize a shinobi, no matter what characteristics this shinobi possessed, the seal was to be put on the body to disturb and take excess chakra above the level specified on it.

Everything they had was hope it would work on Rinnegan.

Paradoxically, it was a lot easier to put a suppressing seal that was supposed to be effective on the whole body, than on a part of said body, for example, just a hand or a leg. The fact that in this case, it was about the central nervous system meant, there was a risk that Naruto could go blind if something went wrong. And back then, if something could go wrong, it certainly would. It made Minato's agreement even more so... scary? Hiruzen didn't know how to call it, but it scared him very much. It still does.

It was then, that the Third understood how much Minato had changed after Kushina's death.

After noticing that by herself, Tsunade even offered that if they didn't bother her anymore, she would let them use her special Transformation Technique in the seal, to mask Naruto's eyes. She even willingly added her Senju chakra as an additional barrier. However, Hiruzen was under the impression, that even if Minato refused her, she would still help the boy, disinterestedly, like she used to. It was obvious the offer was just a pretext to do it.

It was how shocked they both were at Minato's change.

Everything went well. Or so they thought.

Until recently, Rinnegan seemed to be asleep, but Hiruzen then understood that they were the ones to be asleep. They were fools.

After Naruto told Mirai about what he was seeing, Hiruzen understood one more thing: it was time to start preparing him for the news. Shinobi training. It was this matter, that led him to Hokage's office. And Naruto's birthday.

Minato was still Naruto's father.

Hiruzen sighed. By name, yes.

Minato, after initial doubts, agreed that the Third Hokage should train his son for a shinobi. However, when Hiruzen told him that Minato should show himself at Naruto's birthday party, the conversation took a wrong turn. He said he couldn't go, giving the workload associated with the upcoming Chuunin exams as a reason. His usual, annual, excuse.

When Naruto was not yet aware of his surroundings, Hiruzen let it pass, but every year their quarrels became more and more aggressive.

He knocked on the door.

He heard quick steps. Hiruzen smiled.

Door was opened, and how surprising!, it was grinning Naruto himself.

_

Notes:

1. I feel like in canon, we never actually got to see Minato that was not idealized, like he was a knight in a bright armor. Minato's thoughts about Obito and Rin were not shown until the very end and even then, story was focused more on Kakashi. I wanted to give Minato more personality than shown in canon, but not make Naruto really "neglected", as if he had no friends or such, becuase, again, I find "neglected Naruto" fics potentially more unforgiving of author's mistakes. Not that I fear hard topics, it is just not a plan.

2. Rinnegan will not be OP. Rinnegan wasn't really OP in canon, not in comparison. About that: power levels will not be very high above-Pain. No gods. BTW how did Nagato get to know Rinnegan's techniques? Another canon plot hole or Rinnegan users "just know", as if it was Rinnegan's ability itself?

3. I plan to give Rinnegan its justice though.

[sh-lan]

i’m always late for these now but oh well

i can’t believe i’m making an ebay account happy new year LOL

Third day of the new year!

Went to hangout with ryan and leighton. They wanted to try marugame udon so!!! Also i saw adam but didnt say hi, oops. In any case. We were like hey let’s do something like walk around! But it rained a little so we bought some cuties from trader joe’s and ended up at ryan’s house and basically sat in his kotatsu for 4 hours then i came home. I also finally know how it feels like when the manga says that your legs get tangled inside the kotatsu. And when you literally cannot get out of it. Plus the feeling of losing the ability to walk because ya gurl tried to stand up after crawling out of the kotatsu and just fell back down What a day LOL

my brain in general has forgotten how it feels like to study …oh dear

Mommy helped me dye my hair yesterday! It’s lighter than i thought but it was the gray ochre color from palty! And it smells like grape hichews Facetimed vania & yuri today and they noticed the color! And then facetiming with dad and he also noticed LIKE WOW I DIDNT REALIZE PEOPLE COULD TELL? <3

I want a lot of cute phone case but idk what and where to get EDIT: i am still having this problem

I just saw the golden year of the dog items from starbucks korea AND I WANT EDIT: also want the starbucks x pantone planner fml EDIT EDIT: did not end up buying anything good job deborah lan

i was right muster merch colors ARE BEAUTIFUL

The muster merch fmu EDIT: clearly i was overwhelmed with the colors because there were two separate drafts in a row lol

The company insists on having two references….

And now they said they chillin with a peer reference SO I PHONED A FRIEND (aka vania) bless her soul

jan 10th l i f e u p d a t e got the first job offer of my life!! (well official full time offer lol) and so it looks like i’m going to portland? :O

Wow i joined a GO for muster merch New year new me and goodbye money 탕진잼 탕진잼 탕진잼

Wow im glad i submitted the form to get muster merch because THEY ARE SO CUTE AND PRETTY. Okay but i really want PCs so i sincerely hope bighit has some sense and ship PC sets abroad when you order multiple other items Also didnt realize the lenticular key rings would be a hot item but seriously they are so much more adorable than i thought?? Jk’s key ring is so cute i cri EDIT: just found out about no acrylic stand )))): EDIT EDIT: didn’t get squat because ARMYs jump all over everything any time anything is released...

finding housing is hard and i can’t believe that i actually see an appeal to living in downtown…

fmu because bt21 getting released online BUT I REALLY SHOULDN’T BUY but also i finally got my package from jen! ugh omg the bag charms are so cute i don’t know whether to actually use them or keep them in their boxes ;__; and she included some mediheal masks! finally also sent vania her tata as a thank you gift~

deokrim stickers are too cute ima buy two sets

And ugh wow i cant believe i chanced upon cornpeu shop reopening im ded Vania and i didnt catch the timing for bt21 and now i’m still dumping money on bts things HAHA EDIT: not even 15 min after writing this, i bought the stuff from cornpeu lel (which couldve been used to buy the cushion so idk man) time to go preorder for deokrim maybe?

Wow my left hand hurts like shit did i really break it playing superstar bts like mom said? No way right

Ahhhh got my muster merch in the mail today and it’s so niceeee *^* Ima stick that washi tape like everywhere LOL

I hurt myself four different times today smh

In portland for the weekend! I deadass ate two packets of honey roasted peanuts on the plane ride over because i didnt realize i was so hungry and now i’m just waiting for the pimples to cOME ;__;

I walked into a stationery store in portland and just. FOUND MY PEACE. jk but i bought some stickers i been looking at online blesssss

No. Tax. Anywhere. (So far)

I had coke last night after my flight and i legit didnt feel tired until 3:30am oops

Omfg i cant believe someone was selling the trust issues photobook by snowpeach in the luce in altis project for $15 last night WOW LIKE THE FEW DAYS I DONT CHECK SHIT, THERE’S ALL KINDS OF SHIT I WANT. $15 is so cheap ;___;

went to portland with alice to check out apartments!!! woot. lots of fun going around/looking at the city. landed on thursday night and waited at the airport for alice and ate mcdonalds/watched the office haha friday: alice had work all day ): so i went out to meet up with yuri and leslie who happened to be out in portland too! walked to the alberta arts district to eat with them at pok pok noi. just walked around afterwards exploring in the rain before getting back home to eat dinner with alice at like 8…lol we went to bamboo sushi in sw and alice treated me to omakase as a congrats on getting my new yob!! woot also did some walking around in the neighborhood - will likely spend quite a bit of time in the powell city of books! saturday: the day we actually went out to see properties! grabbed some blue star donuts and headed into nw district - looked at some apartments and then grabbed lunch at this cute italian place that i will most likely frequent. started talking to alice about stuff and being weak, i cried and then we got free hazelnut ice cream…LOL. it was really good sunday: since we toured places that i actually liked yesterday, we basically just decided to walk around different areas. waterfront park, pioneer square…we spent a while in nordstrom rack and sephora looking for stuff for alice! lol. then dinner again at bamboo sushi and dessert at salt & straw :> monday morning: waking up early to get to the airport for alice’s flight. bought more donuts at the airport for mom! then i sat at the airport watching the office and eating until the airplane ride where i got a whole row to myself~

and that was my portland trip shortened LOL. but~ excited about the new city, definitely excited about the donuts!

Furniture shopping is hard Moving is hard Everythinf comes down to money S M H

Got approved for my apartment today!! #excited

legit on phone calls for an hour getting stuff down and ready. now to wait on emails so i can get to the next step to sign my lease!

It’s been hot in sf like ??? In other news, i put coconut oil in ma hair - let’s see how it feels tomorrow! :O EDIT: idk, it didn’t feel different?

Omg feb 5th: suddenly a day where i can play hard mode on ssbts wow what a day

I just saw the new bts game where you get to “live chat” the boys as the user becomes the manager and takes care of the bois I am literally gonna die All armys gonna die Why do they do this to us …BECAUSE THEY KNOW WE’LL NEVER BE THEIR MANAGERS

Today i threw away my first lip tint because it looked funky funks and was like dying Good bye you were good to me - onto more an new lip tints! On another note. The balenciaga cap is $350??!?!

Being fat today and ordered three desserts with han at creations. And then went to the beach because pokemon but ended up star-gazing and it was niceee

Just came across its it ice creams on IG and since it’s been so hot (cause like spring came early or something??) i want it!! Also, it’s like the only time i ever consume oatmeal raisin cookies (unless they just oatmeal - in which case, delicious) But omg i didnt know strawberry is an OG flavor? Althought mint reigns supreme. But. GREEN TEA??

A BUMBLEBEE FLEW INTO MY HOUSE THE OTHER DAY AND I WAS ALONE AND COULDNT HELP also raided mewtwo yesterday!! Woot. Surprisingly got the gym bonus after much hardwork but dayum caught with only one ball LOL

Ever since that one time on the airplane with the weird ass headache/tension above my left eyebrow….i got like two headaches in a week that were like that. Also in between those, my right ear hurts and honestly…am i broken somewhere cause lel Body please get better

Lmao so last time i put on a screen protector, i cracked it in two days cause i dropped it. And i just put on a new one last week and lo and behold, it hath cracked again but this time, in my purse. I’m so ????? Smh

Landed in portland once again with han for move in!! Woke up super early…. Just went to target/tj maxx to buy stuff. Smh should’ve bought a swiffer and gotten it sent here ): Got a shower rug! THE SOFT SQUISHY ONE. But failed in the shower curtain department cause it’s too short… Makeshift bed with blankets and bed sheets lol…we shall await the mattress coming in tomorrow~ Do have quite a bit of stuff to buy in general…): Anyways. Had a burrito for dinner and like ?!! Aluminum foil gave me an aluminum cut so…ow No internets yet - good thing han downloaded some movies!

My cuticles are dying because my hands are dry and wow this is terribad

Went and bought a shitton of strawberry chocolates for 50% off at cvs MUAHAHA

Went to macy’s (or we’ve been going often since it’s going out of business so things are going on sale) and got the seiko watch i was kinda eyeing last time. ONLY TO FIND OUT (forgot to check on amazon) that it was 38 dollahs cheaper ;__; but. EHHH it’s all good. Seems like the one on amazon has strap problems being too smol so…like, it’s totally chill

February 19th

My first day of work!! Went in earlies and had onboarding for about two hours with amother new hire. Then i returned to my room where i met my coworker and my manager! Both of whom are in the same room and we each have a desk. (Ima have to request a standing desk :O) anywayss. Got a company laptop - thank god it’s not bulky. And then i’ve got two monitors on my desk too! #bless

Then jlw went through more ux stuff with me and i also went to a stand up meeting. Like. Those are real man. Then went to company lunch! Where new hires introduce themselves and i realize that i have never used a dishwasher before and everyone was shookt lol.

Afterwards, i went to a sprint meeting AND BOIIIII PLANNING POKER DOE??? Lololol. I have to say i did not understand a single thing that was going on. Took about an hour and a half…

Anyways. went back in where jlw continued where she left off and then finally let me read some onboarding stuff on my own before she headed out at 4 and then me, leaving swiftly at 4 as well LOL

SO that was my first day! Trying to get everything in order - i hope that everything goes great and that i learn lots and lots! :> although…windows computer already killing me, no wonder people use mouses instead of the trackpad. Also…gotta learn Axure + in depth photoshop so…WOOT WOOT

Oh and we also have a huge snack cabinet i might just become a potato

Light snowfall is so pleasant :>

Bucketlist checklist:

Eat alone - check! First lunch break :> (exciting!)

Watch a movie by myself - check! Love, Simon

Second day - drank too much coffee while i’m still weak against caffeine. It’s 1:26am. HNNNGH

i got really bored at work today because even though it’s week 2 now, i was done with my shit at like 2pm so i just started looking at axure tutorials for another however long until 4:30 LOL side note: might actually do my post-its idea thing then i realize that i didn’t bring any post-its over to portland… also i cracked my screen again today because i slammed it on the counter while trying to save it from falling so did i really save it….

bought rice and shin ramen on amazon lel

Gonna try out my post it idea in the office tomorrow. Hope it goes well 🤞

2/28/17 First ever happy hour but also goodbye party for kyle - also like the first time i talked to him since the one and a half week i been there (minus when we introduced ourselves) but sads cause he was kinda a squish and everyone seemed to have a chill time working with him :/ oh well

ALSO THE FIRST DAY THAT YA GURL GOT PAID $$$ (which is just directly going to rent - oh the woe of getting paid bi-monthly LOL)

Wow i did a great job sticking on my phone screen protector! #yes EDIT: no i didnt. It’s blocking the camera slightly on top smh

Ya gurl cut her finger on a tape measure lmfaooo

Alice came two weekends in a row to help me buy and build stuff and daymn. That was some hard work and tbh i only built a shelf and a bed LOOOOL I think ima go for the sofa + table rather than the desk. I think it might work! Also went to ashun market. Good weekend :>

I went bowling today!! It was an engineering celebration so i thought - why not, let’s be social for a little bit. And it turned out to be fun~ we had some fuds and i played two rounds. And I got a strike in one of the rounds! Woot woot. Anyways. It was enjoyable, not as awkward as i had envisioned. Also i was able to successfully catch the bus home so that was great :>

I think i’m reverting back to my eating habits because there are ENDLESS SNACKS IN THE OFFICE. Oh dear

Really actually thinking about that dicon photobook because the pictures are so nice :<

ALSO FINALLY FCKIN DISCOVERED ELECTRICITY CHARGE ON KWH DIFFERS ON A MONTH TO MONTH BASIS in addition to usage. Wow the things you discover and uncover as you adult

Also city of portland why do you have a base charge of $11???????

Ahhh xfinity wifi was too good to be true Apparently only 5 devices could connect to it at one time. So i guess i gotta shop for internets now…LOL EDIT: NAWP. ALL GOOD. THAT WAS FOR HOME HOTSPOT. WOOT

Lmao my manager went to ucsd when marshall was still called third im

In other news. It looks like my one on one anxiety wont dissipate soon. Esp since last week, the vp of engineering just sent me a calendar invite for a one on one and i literally got stressed out for a straight 30 min before i said yes to the invite and could slowly go back to focusing on work lol…. EDIT: it ended up being around 15 minutes and i did not really enjoy it at all

We are bulletproof pt 2 came on today while i was walking and i still cannot believe that the first lines still got me smiling like a fckin idiot

Ok so i finally talked to this girl at work (who i think is really pretty omfg) the other day and she’d been curling her hair recently and as we were walking out of the bathroom i was like I REALLY LIKE YOUR HAIR And then she said my hair is so straight and healthy - “do you straighten it? It’s really pretty” and i’m just over here crying on the inside because it looks like hay and only happened to be really straight that day for god knows what reason. SO BASICALLY THE STARS ALIGNED JUST SO WE COULD HAVE THIS CONVERSATION Also she said she recently bought a curler that just “does it for you” and gurl i need that because idk how to DO ANYTHING TO MY HAIR UGH

I woke up with the blankets already nicely proportioned off the sides of my bed - so i just crawled out without making my bed today lool

Thought i could handle watching burn the stage but i saw the screenshot of jungkook lying down and it already broke my heart Need to be secluded with some tissues ;__;

A two day trip to see The Rose in seattle or a five day trip in san diego… 🤔🤔🤔

last day of march went to lunch with my coworkers for the first time and i actually enjoyed it! it was fun :> glad that my coworker actually dropped by the office to invite us to lunch~

good friday today because:

lunch was good

really honestly did nothing because we were troubleshooting visual studio

also basically did nothing because double sprint planning and retro LOL

HEADING HOME FOR THE WEEKEND UNTIL WEDNESDAY

#gotpaid

but no joke, on the ride to the airport, i got carsick and i honestly didn’t even know that was possible but if you think about it, i basically haven’t been on any kind of transportation for at least a month… also my uber driver is like some viet gangsta or something that gets pulled into the room every time he tries to go to canada O_O LOL

Deadass trying to save money but The rose concert in seattle, want to make an sd trip, want the 2k18 asia trip But also bts comeback sometime during the first half of the year and SUDDENLY WANNA ONE IS GOING TO HAVE A WORLD TOUR??? Dammit dude DAMMIT

My heart dies a little every time my coworker comes by and invites me to lunch with everyone *ugly sobs* Dies a little in a good way - just for clarification LOL

Mom dyed my hair for me! And it was darker than i thought BUT GREAT. Curiously enough, after two washes…it’s already lightening?? NO PLEASE STAY DARK. PLEASE. EDIT: lol i realized there was another “mother dyed my hair” somewhere on top lel. just for clarification - nobody else dyes my hair including myself cause i am incapable lOL

omfg i just saw the we bare bears x spao collab AND THEN FOUND THE ADVENTURE TIME X SPAO CLOTHES, SO CUTE!!! the jake and bmo hoodie )):

didn’t realize that i missed them so much ;__; we thought we would all die with the black hair but actually they just killed us with softness good thing they didn’t come out with foreheads lOL

okay lol basically that’s it because nothing happens in my life although i realze that i video recorded a lot of experiences and they’re all just video files sitting on my phone and that’s why maybe i haven’t been writing any everyday things down :O will i ever edit them? unclear

in any case - planning lots of fun things for the months to come hopefully!