#i wanted cream but they got the orders mixed up and i got cheese :(

[quotidian-oblivion]

I'm eating kunafa right now and feeling so much joy this is my childhood, I missed my multi-cultural lifestyle. Everything is only salted nowadays.

[ratzmatazz]

I think I got possessed by charlie chaplin and the only way I can tell this story is by greentext I hope you all understand

>be me (20 year old fool) >live in nyc >walking around and realize I haven’t eaten and also need to do some work so I decide to go to a cafe >walk around for like 30 minutes until I finally find one, looks great very peaceful plenty of people working >walk inside order bagel the guy behind the counter is french(???) and he talks slowly but my brain is on autopilot so I look like an asshole who talks too fast because nyc cafes are usually a quick-time event and I'm disrupting the cafe zen I guess >panic order first bagel I see to redeem myself >ice coffee and loaded bagel (whatever that is) is 20 dollars altogether >whatever the place looks nice for work >barista gives me a number stand for my bagel and I walk away and stand in the main space before realizing I need to still get my coffee? Come back looking even more like an asshole >coffee is in incredibly inconvenient glass cup and filled to the brim too >sugar station is right next to barista so he watches me now pour an obscene amount of sugar syrup but very very slowly >sugar syrup pourer is mildly broken and every time I try to get it to flow faster than "pouring cold tar" it squirts a pump onto the table >sit down >realize I’m sitting in their fucking decorative ~aesthetic~ chair and not a real fucking table >spend 2 minutes slowly dragging a table closer before realizing I look insane and moving all my stuff >still sitting in decorative chair during all of this >guy talking to his friend nearby is watching me and trying not to laugh at me out loud >preparing myself for putting the table back and admitting defeat >do not take coffee off of table >stand up for this but the table is lighter than expected and I tilt the table when I try to scoot it back >coffee leans slowly and cartoonishly close to falling over but I quickly scoot the table over and put it down before it can fully tip and ruin me forever >do this routine of up and down table 3 fucking times moving it back >sit down in shame at real table >guy talking to his friend subtly angles himself to be watching me over his friend's shoulder >take out laptop to work and it’s out of power >no biggie I’ll plug it in I even sat next to four power outlets :) >try first one >no good >try next one >all four outlets don’t work. >want to leave but still have bagel so maybe life is good >bagel arrives >no fucking cream cheese on my bagel. >lady who brings out my bagel is an elderly old-school nyc lady who looks at me with barely hidden disgust for my unknowing bagel monstrosity of 99% spring mix, warm cucumber slices, three pieces of bacon, and a fried egg >bagel is too tall for the second bagel piece to go on top of the bagel >trash can is right next to barista so they’ll see me throw out the untouched shameful top of the bagel too >table is also too small for the bagel plate and my laptop and too cramped for me to easily put it away >eat with laptop on lap (top) (haha) >bite bagel >runny yolk >egg bursts >YOLK ALL OVER LAPTOP. >guy still watching me >tiny courtesy napkin to wipe up my egg shame. >humiliating smooth jazz is playing during all of this. >charlie chaplin's ghost finally releases me from my torment.

[httpsbearily]

☆*: Sweeter Than Pie

Valen being a professional smooth talker but still being bitchless is so funny to me so here is him trying his hardest to court you but lwk being bad at it someone help him Please. It’s kinda slow burn cause that’s my favorite trope, and it’s super rushed, but I hope it’s still enjoyable :)

[Tags]: fluff | valen x reader | GN Reader

[Authors’ note]: ofc my first post had to be with my bbg— valen if you’re reading this ily ♡

The cool morning breeze carried the chatters of the townsfolk all across Holistone. Although the sun had only just risen, there was already a bustling level of activity within the town as its residents prepared for a full days worth of business and chores. Amongst the early morning birds was you, a baker employed by a renowned bakery in Holistone. The owner— your childhood friend—had offered you the job during its rise in popularity when customer demand had surpassed shop output drastically and simply could not keep up. At the time, you hadn’t had much baking experience, but your friend had been desperate for any help they could get and immediately started teaching you the ropes before you could even understand what each ingredient was.

Obviously in your amateur days, your baked goods had not been quite the best—A feat that had your friend apologetically switching responsibilities with you, exchanging their server/cashier duties for your baker ones after you presented a cinnamon roll glaze accidentally made with sour cream instead of cream cheese. However, despite your learning blunders, the knight you met soon after beginning your job had taken (and eaten?!) everything you had practiced on with a charming smile and compliments of all the things you had done well that time.

How the two of you met was quite the story as well; You had only been working at the bakery for a few weeks and had only just gotten a grasp of optimal mixing texture for muffins when the small door bell had chimed, signaling the arrival of a customer. You were a bit surprised because of the late hour but got over it quickly when you set your mixing bowl down and wiped your hands on your apron before making your way to the front station.

“Hello, welcome! Could I help you with anything?” You greeted with a smile, looking at the figure that was bent over looking into the glass display of foods. The sound of your voice seemed to catch the figure by surprise and they straightened up, a curious expression on their face.

“Good evening! I was just stopping by to pick up some desert for my boss since it’s his birthday today, but it seems you’re all out of cupcakes?” The stranger said to you with a casted glance back over to the empty section on the display. He ran a hand through his chestnut hair with a sigh, “I know it’s a little late to be celebrating a birthday, but you wouldn’t possibly have any extras in the back would you?”

“Ah…we do but,” You shook your head slightly, your smile becoming sheepish, “I’m not confident that they’re well enough to be sold…at least, I couldn’t do so without feeling concerned for your health.”

The man only laughed, putting a hand on his hip as he tilted his head. “Oh? Why’s that? As a knight of the Heroic Order, I feel I should ask in duty if they’ve been poisoned or something.”

You shook your head frantically; A knight of the heroic order?! Now you were sure you couldn’t, in good heart, sell your practice cupcakes to him much less his boss! But…on the other hand…if word got out that your friend’s bakery served even the Heroic Order, business would boom more intensely. Of course you wanted nothing but the best for your friend and it certainly was not complain-worthy that your paycheck would increase as well. Still, with your skill level you might end up giving the poor knight and his boss food poisoning, or worse, and that might backfire on the bakery. Conflicted, you decided to explain the situation to the knight and let him decide what chances he’d rather take.

“No, no! They’re not poisoned I swear! They were made by me, though, and I’m still learning my way around the kitchen. By that I mean they’re most likely subpar in flavor…I would not recommend giving them to your boss at least.”

“Really? Is that what’s happened?” The knight, as handsome as he was, made you a little nervous with his full-attention look as he seemed to consider the situation with a smile that never fell. “I see. Well, I’m already here so it’d be more in my favor if I at least try one of your creations. I’ve gotta admit I’m a little curious to see the result. After all, if Alex hired you, then you certainly have potential. We’ve known each other for a while so I feel I could say I understand his character; I don’t think he’d allow just anyone into his bakery.”

“Ah, Alex and I are childhood friends actually. I really didn’t have any baker experience before working here but my working here was convinent for the both of us so it ended up like this,” You responded, rubbing your neck awkwardly at the mention of your boss, “But if you’re really up for it then I’ll fetch those cupcakes for you. As a knight, you must not be much afraid of death after all”. You gave him a look before adding, “They might actually stop your heart. I miscalculated the sugar ratio…”

The knight, whose name you still hadn’t caught, only shrugged like it was nothing. Shaking your head again, you excused yourself to the kitchen where you picked up the messy tray that you had haphazardly covered with frosting in your attempts to add it to the cupcake tops. Dura above, you thought as you made your way back to the knight. You immediately looked to his face in anticipation of his reaction; Some part of you wanted to laugh because this was pretty ridiculous, but the other part of you felt a little embarrassed. “Here you are,” you set the tray down on the front desk, “half a dozen cupcakes made by yours truly.”

The knight hummed only and you really couldn’t tell his expression—was he purposefully keeping a straight face…—but he reached for one of the cupcakes without hesitation and took a big bite. You immediately lifted your hand to your mouth to cover your shock, a laugh threatening to spill from your lips because you knew he was actively schooling his expression. There was no way no one would be able to not flinch at the overly sweet flavor (you knew, you tried one yourself earlier). Nothing was said between the two of you as he stood there chewing the desert for a few seconds before swallowing.

“They’re perfect,” he said nonchalantly, “I’ll take them all.”

Startled, you gaped at him, “..Sir…you can’t be serious. Let me get you some water, I fear you’ve given yourself a sugar induced stroke!”

He waved his hand in dismissal, “I don’t think you’re giving yourself enough credit. The sunset color of them is just right. Good job!”

“The color?!” Disbelief replaced your shock and you sighed. This man really just pulled a compliment out of his ear to save you some face—the cupcakes weren’t even supposed to be sunset colored, but white instead! You didn’t have the heart to correct him so you smiled solemnly instead. “A knight, huh? You truly live up the the reputation. How about I give you a small cake instead, baked by Alex himself. And that cup of water.”

“I’ll take that cup of water, thank you. But I’m fine with these, really. How many people can say they’ve had life changing cupcakes, literally? Besides, if any complaints arise from my boss I’ll just have to come back to you to return them.” That charming smile of his returned and he crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned against the display.

“Oh, we don’t accept returns I’m afraid,” you responded, “but I would be more than willing to work something out, and I’m sure my boss would understand once I explain it to him”

“That’s good enough for me.” Was all he said as you went to work packing the cupcakes in a box. When it was time for him to leave, he simply took the box—and a small paper cup of water—with a ‘thank you’ and turned to leave.

“By the way, my names Valen. You should stop by the Heroic Orders headquarters sometime. If you ever need any help.” And with a two finger salute, and a wink, he was out the door.

Since then, months have passed and regrettably you had never found a good enough excuse to take Valen up on his offer to stop by the knights’ office, but things hadn’t turned out for the worst. In fact, Valen had taken it upon himself to visit you at the bakery quite frequently, and every single time he visited he left with one of your baked creations; And each time he returned, he waxed poetry about them. Over time, your baking skills did eventually improve so Valen had and increasing amount of opportunity to praise more than just the desert’s color, but no matter what he said he left you feeling giddy. At some point during your interactions, he had taken to complimenting you as well, calling you beautiful as casually as he said your name and looking you straight in the eyes as he did so. It didn’t help that, on the occasions in which he would be gone for days at a time on a mission, he would bring you back some kind of souvenir or tell you that he missed your smile.

“Wouldn’t you say it would bring me good luck to have your smile with me wherever I go? It would definitely help reenergize me after a battle,” he had told you one day during a conversation in which he tried to convince you that the two of you should have matching lockets with each others pictures in them.

“I think you would feel better if you took better care of yourself—Look, you’re literally bleeding! I don’t have anymore bandages either, we need to get you to a doctor!”

“Oh, this? I’m fine, it’s just a graze. I was on my way to the infirmary but figured that I’d say hi to you first. I bet you missed me after being gone for a week,” he said to you, running his hand through his hair (a signature move) and leaning close into you.

“You’re going to be gone for the rest of eternity if you don’t stop bleeding out in my bakery,” You crossed your arms over your chest with a small worried frown, “If you go get that wound checked out then we can go shopping for lockets later.”

Valen grinned toothily, straightening up as he pulled out two matching necklaces with lockets from one oh his pockets, “That reminds me, I brought you a souvenir. Look, one of them is even a heart.”

You gave him a deadpan look but couldn’t hold it for long before you couldn’t help but smile. You took one of the necklaces and opened the locket to see a picture of you and Valen together—the picture taken at his surprise birthday party, coincidentally your first official launch as a professional baker since you had personally made the birthday cake. You felt your heart flutter at the picture and all the memories that came with it before looking back up at him with a fond look. In the few seconds that you had looked away, Valen had already put his on and all you caught was a glimpse of him tucking it into his collar.

“I feel better already, what did I tell you.”

“You fool,” you said endearingly, “Go seek medical help before I tell on you to General Hogan.”

“Hey no need to go so far! Fine, fine, I hate to love you and leave you, but all this blood loss is making me dizzy—or, it might just be you taking my breath away—Okay I’m going!” He said as you chased him out with a light blush dusting your face.

[messier51]

In reference to your tags on the food that makes life worth living post - what are chicken squares???

They're kind of like chicken salad sandwiches but wrapped up and baked in crescent roll dough.

They are very delicious.

[image description: four baked chicken squares still on the pan. they aren't very square but the crescent roll dough is nicely browned and they're covered in browned stuffing bits]

At the risk of sounding like a food blogger, these are the food that I'd ask for when given a choice for my birthday. These are kind of an ultimate comfort food nostalgia thing for me. I use an altered version of my grandma's recipe (I measure with my heart, I am so sorry gramma but it turns out just fine this way, and no extra mushrooms) which is below vvvv. There IS a recipe online, on the Official Pillsbury Website (https://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/savory-crescent-chicken-squares/) from one of their contests. The name on the recipe is not my grandma, but the location is not far from where she lived. My grandma's recipe is better (obviously) but they're very similar and the version at the link is half the size if you want to try it but don't want to do math or something.

Part of the reason for making the full 8-sandwich version from my grandma's recipe is that it uses a full modern 8oz package of cream cheese (instead of the 3oz version that used to be common I guess?), and then you do not put the other half back in your fridge and forget about it until it gets moldy. If that's too much food, the chicken squares freeze really well! Just bake them for slightly shorter (I do it about 20 minutes) and then stick them in a freezer bag in the freezer until you want to eat them. They just need to be re-baked!

Chicken Squares Recipe (from aj's grandma)

Filling:

1 8oz package of softened cream cheese

1/2 stick butter (that's 1/4 cup) (recipe says "or margarine" lol) melted (you use the other half of it below)

4 cups cooked cubed chicken (this can be approximate. One rotisserie chicken or so. Leftover turkey works great! Canned chicken would probably be good too. My sister does hers with mushrooms for vegetarian reasons but I have no clue how to do that. You can adjust this though! It's super forgiving.)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

4 Tbsp milk (that's 1/4 cup)

4 Tbsp lemon juice

3 Tbsp chopped chives or onion. (Or like, as much as you want. If you like onion, more onion is really good in this. I have used half a large onion, a whole bundle of green onions, whatever looks good. 3 Tbsp is not enough imo, but if you're not into onions, then maybe ignore me)

2 8oz cans of refrigerated crescent rolls.

Sauce:

1 can chicken broth

2 cans cream of mushroom and/or cream of chicken soup

1 pint cream, half and half, or milk

sauteed fresh or canned mushrooms

Topping:

Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Dressing (not the cubed kind) (you can use whatever breadcrumbs you have but the seasonings are really good! Sage, thyme, rosemary, poultry seasonings, whatever.)

The other half of your stick of butter

Instructions:

Cream the cream cheese (a stand mixer is helpful for this) and beat in 1/2 stick of melted butter. Beat until smooth.

Add chicken, onion, salt, pepper, milk, lemon juice. (Order doesn't really matter.) Mix well.

Separate 1 package of crescent dough into 4 rectangles. Firmly press perforations to seal 2 triangles together. Pat out dough to make thinner and larger (make it sorta square if you cant). (See alternate options below*)

Place about 1/2 cup filling into the center of each dough rectangle. Pull the 4 corners to the center. Twist slightly and pinch together, and pinch the sides that came together to seal. (It's totally ok if they're not perfect. They filling isn't gonna go anywhere.)

[4 unbaked chicken squares on a cookie sheet with a silicone baking mat. Three of them are sealed and kind of lumpy, the fourth is still laying out as a square-ish shape of dough with a scoop of filling in the middle. It's got a lot of green onions in it.]

Repeat with your second roll of rolls.

Melt other 1/2 stick of butter in a shallow bowl or pie plate and fill a 2nd shallow bowl with the stuffing/dressing/herbed seasoned bread crumbs.

Set out a cookie pan (I like to line them with parchment paper but it's fine if you don't, they won't stick).

Carefully lift one sandwich packet. Dip both sides(!) in butter and then in the stuffing. Place on the cookie sheet. (Sometimes I wear gloves for this step, your fingers WILL get gooey. You want the bread crumbs sticking out all over, it'll be delicious.)

Repeat for the rest of them.

[four unbaked chicken squares coated in butter and stuffing bread crumbs on a cookie sheet, ready to go into the oven]

Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes (or at 375 for about half an hour if you live on top of a mountain like me). They should be golden brown when they're done (see photos at top and bottom of the post).

You can partially bake and freeze or refrigerate for later!

Prepare sauce:

(I'm going to be honest I don't bother. Sometimes I make a can of cream of mushroom soup in the microwave and pour it on top. It's good! But it's way too much for just a me, and it doesn't freeze as well.)

Sauté mushrooms in about 1/4 cup of butter (sorry that's another half stick of butter, that wasn't in the list above)

Heat chicken broth and cans of soup.

Mix in mushrooms

Simmer until thick and bubbly. Reduce heat and add cream right before use. DO NOT boil after adding cream.

To serve, ladle mushroom sauce over each chicken square on plate.

[a baked chicken square in a shallow bowl swimming in cream of mushroom soup]

*Alternatives to trying to make squares out of crescent dough:

Supposedly it works with dinner roll dough too but I don't remember ever doing that.

Buy the sheets of crescent dough, which makes it a little less likely to split along the diagonal where you tried to smoosh them together.

Make little roll ups! Spoon filling onto large side of the crescent roll triangle and roll up just like you would if you were making it without filling (this is also really good with jam or nutella js). You can still dip them in the butter and dressing, they turn out great! You get a bigger bread to filling ratio, so you might need more rolls for the same amount of filling. Bake time is a little shorter though, keep an eye on them. They're cute though!

[three chicken roll ups(?) on a plate]

[baked chicken squares and roll ups on parchment paper-covered cookie sheets sitting on the stove]

So, go forth and eat chicken squares. I've got some in my freezer that I made after thanksgiving with my leftover turkey, I'm going to eat some on Monday for my birthday meal, as is traditional.

[ruhorih4ra]

╰⁠(⁠ ⁠･⁠ ⁠ᗜ⁠ ⁠･⁠ ⁠)⁠➝ Part. 6

I have a feeling I just reused a scene from another of my ffs, that's because my brain it's lazy af JASJAJ please feign dementia for me ༼⁠;⁠´⁠༎ຶ⁠ ⁠۝ ⁠༎ຶ⁠༽

Get out of my way 🌈

“Hmm! You've to try this, it's delicious!” Beelzebub looked at you with an expression you couldn't read. Was it yearn? affection? Love? A mix of all? “Why are you looking at me like that?” You kept eating the giant dessert.

It was an exuberant one, the demon lord’s castle made of different kinds of ice cream, just for the two of you.

“Here.” Beel lifted your chin and wiped some ice cream from the corner of your lips, he licked it happily. “You're right! It's delicious!” You blushed almost instantly, not a cute soft blush but something more violent and clearly noticeable.

“I must look like a tomato.” Beelzebub laughed and closed his eyes for a brief fraction of time, tilting his head as if trying to see the similarities.

You didn't know how or when, but he was already by your side. Next thing you knew, Beel was kissing you. His lips were soft and sweet against yours. It felt so real, the smell of candy mixed with something sweeter that you couldn’t pinpoint “No. I would say you taste like cherry.”

Sometimes memories come back in the form of dreams. This was the case, you knew it was a dream but it had happened. Your heart ached knowing that your little oasis was ending.

“Mc, let's do this again! I love eating with you, I love you!” He smiled and you felt at peace, you had the ridiculous idea that maybe you could trap this moment in a bottle.

“Promise me we will.” As soon as you tried to control it, the dream began to fade. This wasn't part of what had happened, at that moment, you hadn't had the need for a promise.

“Beelzebub, promise!” The urge you felt to hear those words was absurd, even more since you knew it was a dream. But you needed it, desperately, you wanted to live that false reality.

You didn't want to remember how Beel started going to eat with Sc instead of you. How he would bring you food as a consolation prize.

“Promise me, please!!” You felt tears streaming down your face, were they real? Beelzebub’s face started to blur and his voice sounded far away. “Mc, don't cry, I prom-”

You woke up gasping for air, you felt sweaty and restless. There was a prominent and growing feeling of hunger. You hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, the fight with Lucifer had sent you straight to your room.

Even if they had offered you something before, you couldn't have eaten it. Now things were different, you felt so hungry that it was actually painful.

“It's quite late, they must be asleep by now, Right? You! Go and check!!” “Why me?! I just got here!!” You took the Little D. of Wrath from one of his horns. “Do it, NOW!” The mirror cracked and your eyes glowed with a furious neon green. “At your orders, MC!!”

While the Little D. went to check, the other little demons looked at you from some distance, clearly gossiping about your bad attitude and mood swings. “The coast is clear!” You immediately went to the kitchen, your stomach roaring quite similar to Beelzebub's.

You opened the fridge, taking the first edible thing that caught your eye. “Delicious. Finally, some good fucking food.” “That's just a piece of cheese, human.”

You took a neatly prepared plate, it was protected with plastic and a note that said: "To Mc, we are sorry. Please eat something." You fell to your knees, removing the plastic and eating with your hands.

The need to consume grew with each bite you took. The more you thought about the brothers… “Don't be disgusting, use a fork.” “No.” It was delicious, you recognized the flavors of your favorite dish. It brought tears to your eyes, but also an incredible great feeling of sadness.

“They think they can apologize with a simple act of care.” You sobbed, discarding the plate and taking a pie instead. The pie had a note attached “Property of Satan. Beel, don't eat it or else...” “Screw you, Satan.” You saw a single elegantly decorated pink muffin. It tasted wonderful. “Hmm, fumckium Amsmo!”

Comically, a glowing poison apple appeared in front of you, you could have sworn a choir of angels was heard. “Okay, okay, I get it. Divine punishment, but yeah I can't eat this, it would literally kill me.” “I'll take it.” You shrugged, whatever to piss Lucifer off. “Okay.”

You saw Sc's baked bread, it looked really good but your stomach had already arrived to its limit. “I think I'll pass.” “Give it to me!!” “Finee!” You passed the bread to the Little D. of Gluttony and... wait, what?

You turned to see the Little D. so fast your neck actually ached. The tiny demon was raiding the fridge, whistling happily.

Your jaw was hanging, surprise clearly written on your face. “No, no, no!! The last one arrived just some hours ago! Why are YOU here!?!” “Don't blame us for your sins!!” “No, no, no. This is bad, absolutely bad.”

There were already four of them, the story didn't mention the time but you had a hunch they hadn't shown so soon.

Not even two days had passed since it all started! “Stop!! You're going to empty the fridge!!” “I'm still hungry!!” You bit your lips, panic taking a hold on you. Without much determination and more resignation, you sat on the floor. “What am I going to do now?!?”

A single tear rolled down your face, you were tired, anxious, worried and alone. Your head fell into your hands as you shook it. “God, I took care of your grown up children, please take care of me too!”

“Hahaha, You're so funny, Mc.” Your heart stopped for a moment. That voice, a calming yet alarming voice. Swallowing, very slowly, you lifted your head from your hands. Your eyes following the voice until they landed on a wide smile.

“Hi, a pleasure to finally meet you! Well, we had already met... But now you can actually see me!!” You blinked twice, painfully slow. “Hahaha, oh please forgive me! I'll start again.”

The beautiful lady in front of you smiled and offered you a hand.

“Hello, I'm Lilith!”

Pt. 8! ಠ⁠‿⁠ಠ

Taglist: @yuumaofc @sc4ry4l3x @kodasstar

Thanks for reading! (⁠人⁠ ⁠•͈⁠ᴗ⁠•͈⁠)

[olichat-reads]

Imagine | ProHero!Bakugou x Villain!Reader #3

Summary: your sides on the field doesn't waver your loyalties to each other

a/n: i haven't posted any fics in a hot minute so i'll just.. yeah.

🌟

You don't even bother looking up when you heard your front door being unlocked, having gotten the heads up from the distinct way your bestfriend fucking stomps all throughout the hallway before he reached the door to your apartment.

"Oi. I haven't seen you in awhile."

"Mm. I've got a big mission to plan for," you mumbled distractedly, going over the newest tips your informant sent in.

Bakugou gave you a once over before walking over to nudge you aside from your laptop, save the document you were working on and promptly shutting it. "Hey-"

"Ass in the kitchen. Now," he all but demanded you, with an underlying threatening glint in his eyes. How dare he. In your own home too. You scoffed at the absolute gall of this man but begrudgingly shuffled after him anyways.

"You look like shit," He snarked as if your exhaustion was the greatest inconvenience in his life. "Stayed home the past 3 weeks and you didn't have time to look after yourself?"

"Its a big mission, Katsu," you clarified, as you slid into a seat at your little kitchen counter, resting your chin onto the palm your hand, watching your bestfriend squirrel around the kitchen with familiar ease.

"Could've asked me for help," he said, not sparing you a glance as he dug your drawers for forks. You raised an inquiring eyebrow at that.

"Its for work, Katsu."

"And?" The bastard popped a pink mochi- your last pink mochi- left on the defenseless countertop into his mouth, chewing loudly. You felt your eye twitch. How dare.

"My villain work?"

"I am aware," he deadpanned.

You couldn't help but huff fondly at that, taking the box of takeout he offered your direction. You smiled at the sight of your favourite order. He even got you that cream cheese crossoint you loved so much even though he says the price is a crime all on its own. You'll forgive him for the mochi theft. Just this once.

"I'm planning to take down some pretty big names, you know?" You started, snapping your chopsticks to mix your food idly, before raising your gaze to meet his. "Dead or alive."

Red eyes held yours.

"My statement still stands."

You stared at each other for a moment, unwavering, both unwilling to back down from where you stood. Eventually, you conceded first.

"Katsu, you're the number one pro hero in Japan. You can't get caught being associated with a villain. Much less actively help me out with the illegal stuff."

"Who said anything about getting caught? I'm not number one for no reason."

You had to huff a laugh at that. "I doubt the reason is to help a villain though, Ground Zero."

"I'm helping you, dumbass."

You blinked at that, before tilting your head, confused.

"That doesn't change anything? I am a villain." Katsuki rolled his eyes like you were the being so fucking stupid.

"Are you now?"

"Yes? Wh-" you tripped over your own words, apalled at what Bakugou was trying to say. "I am. I'm villain Red. Top 5 most wanted villains in Musutafu. Succeeded in evading three top 10 Pro Hero during the biggest heist in Musutafu in the last decade. Responsible for the serial assasination of multiple big named Pros and political figures. Do I need to go on?"

"Yeah, yeah, no need to read me your entire evil resume-"

"ExcUse mE-"

"It doesn't matter," your bestfriend said with such finality, his eyes blazing with an intensity that made your jaw clicked shut. "You're still that snot-nosed brat I promised to watch her back because her situational awareness is shit."

"First of all. We were 8, Katsu. Secondly, rude. I've gotten way better and you know it."

"You're also the same Y/n that cried herself into a panic attack because you couldn't save that kid, even when it wasn't your fault. The same Y/n who has standards even when it comes to crime and isn't afraid to make it known to the rest of the world, good and bad. You may be gray but I know for a fact your victims aren't as sporadic as you make them seem. You're not the big, bad villain you let the world see. I know that."

You had to huff out a ghost of a laugh at that. Of course the great Ground Zero saw through your facade as a feral assasin with body counts piling up faster than

"Your point?"

"I trust you." with my everything went unsaid, but you heard it all the same. Clear as the day. You couldn't help but falter, any protests or arguments ready to slip of your tongue dissolving into exasperated fondness you had for this stupid blonde in front of you.

"..Thanks, Katsu."

You knew if he ever asked for help for his side of the job, you wouldn't hesitate for a second. It was a risk you're willing to take, every time, if it meant keeping your best friend alive. Sometimes it was hard to believe that this devotion went both ways.

"Ok. Now that we all that gross mushy stuff aside," Bakugou started, making you laugh. "Who are we killing?" And there goes the moment, you sighed, rolling your eyes.

"Katsu, I swear. You need to turn down the condoning crime thing. You're making me nervous."

"Tsk. And to think you were just bragging about being the top 5 wanted villains-"

"I can still make it to top three if I kill you now, you know. So, shut it, Ground Zero," you growled, only to bristle even further at the feral grin that spread over your bestfriend's face.

"There's the big scary villain-"

"I will throw you out the fucking window don't TEMPT me-"

🌟

a/n: i have a bunch of unfinished drafts that i might just post as is and call em drabbles bc CLEARLY. they're not gonna be finished anytime soon :')

[spookyscarydemonbabe]

as someone who lives in the small town white trash midwest, i feel like a forgotten trope of teenage boys is how often they frequent the spot in town called something along the lines of ‘Freddy’s’ or ‘AJ’s’ that serves hot dogs, gyros, burgers and all that other nonsense.

here’s my HC for what the boys order at least once a week at their local greasy spot.

Eddie

Bacon cheeseburger with no lettuce, he likes his hands to be greasy afterwards

Large fries, but he only ever finishes half no matter how many times the guys tell him he should just get the small

He usually drinks RC but if he wants to mix things up a little he’ll get a chocolate milkshake

If he knows he’s going home afterwards he’ll make sure to grab a Chicago style hot dog for Wayne

Gareth

Gareth is the type of guy who usually gets the sides instead of a meal

Onion rings with ranch and he always asks for an extra side of it because one thing of ranch definitely isn’t enough for him

Mozzarella sticks with no marinara, he’s a firm believer that fried cheese doesn’t need anything else to make it better since it’s already delicious

Chicken strips (with ranch of course)

He likes to typically wash it all down with a Dr pepper, but in the springtime he’ll get a vanilla shake and mix it with the orange fanta

Jeff

He likes to stick with the classics, two hot dogs with ketchup, mustard, and relish

He also will never say no to cheese fries, but on occasion he’ll go a little crazy and get the bacon cheese fries

He’s got a big sweet tooth so he never likes to leave without something like a cookie or some ice cream

And when he dips his cheese fries into his ice cream the guys get pretty grossed out by it but dipping cheese fries into chocolate ice cream is a hill he’s willing to die on

Grant

He’s a fan of spicy things so he’ll get a Philly steak sandwich and a few sides of hot giardiniera to go with it

And of course he’s getting the jalapeño poppers to go with it

He used to steal fries from Eddie but eventually he just started getting his own, it’s easier than hearing Eddie complain about him taking ‘all’ the fries when he only took about 10 max

He always gets a Sprite but with no ice, it comes out of the machine cold, if it warms up he just refills it

[arpmemething2]

Full House Sentence Starters

Send one for my muse’s reaction.  Feel free to change pronouns as needed.

"Gee, your hair smells like melon. What are you using?"

"Why thank you!"

"Don’t say it if you don’t mean it."

"No way, Jose!"

"She signed up for Shop Class cause she thought it was taught at the mall."

"We have this thing here in America called a restraining order"

“I guess we’re not as old as we thought we were, are we now”

"You don't have to be hip and cool. You're spick and span."

"I hope you're not offended. But if you are, that's her father over there."

"Darling, I just hope you are alright. But if you are alright, I'll kill you."

"You got it, dude."

"The baby's sleeping like a baby."

" Did ya get the triple chocolate with pink frosting in the shape of a clown's face with a big cherry-red nose? Did ya, did ya, DID YA?"

"I'm just cleaning my rubber gloves."

"She had the most incredible hypnotic eyes, the face of an angel, the most amazing body."

"You got a bad attitude."

"I can't have chicken pox, I'm immune."

"That's not a big problem. A big problem is like... well... if your butt fell off."

"You've been in toon-town for 2 days. Now, start acting like a human being."

"Cut. It. Out!"

"Talk to me."

"You're immune to common sense."

"Disco will never die."

"Shame on you!"

"Duh!"

"You should take a drive through a car wash without your car."

"I'm stuck in a room full of eggheads. They're worse than eggheads, they're omelette-heads!"

"Well, pin a rose on your nose."

"Oh, puh-lease!"

"How rude!"

"Don't shake your head. Your story's read. It's time for bed. To bed, I said."

"I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing with you... Only you're not joining in."

"Jail break!"

"Now you can have ice cream and chocolate milk, no cookies."

"Elvis never made one golf movie."

"Boy, this is gonna be a fun night."

"Tell me something I don’t know!"

"This kid has been walking for three days and you haven't stopped taping her. I'll feel sorry for her when she starts potty training."

"She was choking on a bad piece of cheese, so I gave her the Hoover maneuver and sucked it out of her."

"'Sorry.' 'Sorry.' 'Sorry' doesn't change the fact that my chicken tetrazzini is ruined!"

"I had a traumatic experience with squash once. I ate one."

"Aw, nuts!"

"Have mercy!"

"You gotta be kidding."

"A telescope that can only see your face?"

"I think you're a little mixed up."

"We never clean at my house. We move in, trash the place for five years, then move out."

"Yeah, well I bet you won't be getting surprised tonight."

"You can't buy my vote... but you can rent it for an hour."

"I’ll stay home and watch public television."

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Whoa, Baby!"

"Am I the raddest, baddest dad a kid ever had?"

"Oh, mylanta!"

"I tried, and I failed. I'm just glad I figured this out now, and not when I'm 46."

"Hey, you had your adventure and now I'm going to have mine"

"Watch the hair!"

"You. Are. Not. Welcome!"

"I am stoked! Whatever that means."

"Who wants white meat? Scratch the white meat. We have dark meat and really dark meat."

"You have the brain of a paramecium."

"I am not and I'm telling you said that."

"Hey, I thought we were going out for ice cream."

"I need that cake!"

"You’re in big trouble, mister."

"You can keep the drums, but the sticks have got to go."

"Like on 'Oprah!' People married to two people at the same time… oh my god, They are a botanist!"

"Happy birthday to me!"

"That’s not funny."

“I will never die”

[spooniechef]

No-Bake White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake (1 spoon)

It hasn't been a good few weeks in the Spoonie Kitchen, I have to say. Another two weeks of overtime, one of my relaxation days had to be completely scrubbed because of some major electrical work needing to be done on my flat, and the flat upstairs has got into the noisy parts of their renovations so I've been having to do most of my work-from-home job with banging and power tools drowning out my Spotify playlist, never mind the actual dictation I have to type up.

Still, when I did my grocery order for the month, I was insistent that I get a few ingredients for relatively easy treats, becuase the run-up to Christmas feels like a good time for that sort of thing and anyway, with this amount of spoon expenditure, I deserve nice things. So I pulled out my Quick and Easy Gluten-Free Cookbook (by Becky Excell, comes highly recommended) and looked up a few things that might brighten up my days a little. One of the ones that stood out to me was a gluten-free white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake. I mean, I'm still lactose-intolerant, but that's why we have Lactaid. It didn't sound too hard so I gave it a try. It's easy enough to deserve a place here. Now my only problem is having too much cheesecake, though I solved some of that by giving some to my stepfather.

Also this is largely going to be in metric, but that's what measurement conversion sites are for.

Here's what you'll need:

500g mascarpone

100g (around 3/4 cup) icing sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

300ml (1 1/4 cup) heavy cream

250g white chocolate, melted and just cooled

275g fresh raspberries

For the base, you'll need:

320g gluten-free graham crackers (or digestive biscuits)

150g (2/3 cup) butter, melted

I actually have a couple of suggestions right off the bat here. If you're using digestive biscuits instead of graham crackers (which I had to because they don't have graham crackers at all over here, gluten-free or otherwise), you might want to add a little bit of sugar or honey to the butter when mixing with the crumbs, and maybe a tiny pinch of cinnamon. Digestive biscuits are a reasonable substitute but there's some flavour notes missing. Also, to make this dairy-free, just use dairy-free butter, cream, and white chocolate, and substitue dairy-free cream cheese for the mascarpone. It probably won't set quite as well, though.

Here's what you do:

Mash the graham crackers / digestives into crumbs, either putting them in a stand mixer or just putting them in a Zip-Loc bag and beat on them with a rolling pin for awhile.

Pour into a bowl and add the melted butter; stir until well-mixed

Spoon the mixture into an 20cm (8") loose-bottomed or springform pan, compacting it into an even layer at the bottom, before putting it in the fridge to chill

While the base is chilling, add the mascarpone, sugar, and vanilla extract into a bowl and mix until reasonably combined (10-20 seconds with a stand mixer or electric hand whisk on low/medium speed)

Add the cream and blend on medium speed for 1-2 minutes, or until it starts to firm up

Add the chocolate, mix until combined and you have a thick, spoonable mixture (only mix briefly - overmixing will make things start to separate out)

Gently fold the raspberries into the mixture until evenly dispersed

Spoon the mixture into an even layer onto the chilled base; let chill in the fridge for at least 5 hours, preferably overnight

FEAST

The electric hand whisk or stand mixer does most of the work on this one; everything else is all about the spooning and smoothing, so it's pretty ideal for someone whose tolerance for mixing things by hand is pretty low. The results are good, and obviously substitutions can be made for different flavours. I'm already pondering a couple of teaspoons each of cocoa powder and espresso powder sifted into the icing sugar and leaving out the raspberries for a mocha cheesecake. You also probably don't have to use fresh raspberries, but their tartness is a nice contrast to the sweet creaminess of the cheesecake. I'm going to test that theory by defrosting some of the frozen mango I have for smoothies and trying for a mango cheesecake. Basically so long as you have an obscene amount of mascarpone cheese, cream, and enough icing sugar to make it set, you can do whatever you want with this one.

Of course, these do take well to freezing, so you could also probably halve the recipe, use ramekins instead of a springform tin, and have single-serving cheesecakes, taking them out of the freezer to defrost when desired. A good notion for those who like the occasional sweet but can't get through an entire cheesecake by themselves.

Oh, hey, I nearly forgot. I actually took pictures of the results this time! So here you go - No-Bake Gluten-Free White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake!

[cowteapot]

Boyfriend HC

Argyle x Reader

Warnings: substance use, cursing, mentions of sex

———————————————————————

You two met after you ordered a pizza. The call to surfer boys originally supposed to be for a simple cheese pizza but turned into a hour long conversation before he showed up to your place “where’s the pizza?” “Shit.”

You became friends after realizing you went to school together but that friendship blossomed into making out in his van

He’s a huge supporter of you no matter what, whatever your passion is he’s right there cheering you on

You stick up for him always, anyone calls him stupid he basically has to hold you back before you rip their flesh off

Out of all of the boys I’ve done so far on my Boyfriend Headcanons list I’m gonna say Argyle plans the best dates. He like to take you to places you can talk so definitely not the movie theater or an amusement park, he’ll take you out for ice cream on the beach, mini golf, or even just shopping in the little strip malls by the beach

He can surf and really well. You love sitting in the warm sand and watching him hit the water, long hair pulled back into a braid swaying against his body as he stands up on the board the collides with the salty water as he rides out the wave

Definitely tries to teach you, starts out with you two sitting on a board together as he paddles out to get you used to it, he’ll jump off and sit in the water while helping you pull your body up on the board in the still water before your ready to get on your own board

If you ever do ride a wave he’s not far from you screaming with his arms up in the air, once you’ve ridden out the wave he paddling over to you and tackling you off your board with screams of praise

Dancing in the kitchen is such an Argyle thing. Socked feet against linoleum, twisting and turning your bodies together to songs like Is This Love by Bob Marley or I’m a Believer by the Monkees

He LOVES shotgunning with you. Watching you inhale the smoke with an intense stare makes him week in the knees

Giggly during sex, low moans mixed with hearty airy breaths. He does the thing where he slides his hand up into yours and holds it just ugh I love him

You two have matching bracelets that you swore on never removing and in his words “only way this suckers getting off me is if you take my arm”

Matching Halloween costumes are a must. Velma and Shaggy, Westley and Buttercuo, Jareth and Sarah let’s just say you two always go over the top with your costumes and have won quite a few competitions

I see him as loving to touch you with his feet especially if you hate it. He loves when your sitting on the couch watching something and completely ignoring him so he’ll put his toes right on your face “ARGYLE STOP” and he gives a nice little shove pushing you onto the floor below

He wants nothing more than to live in a van with you. Traveling around like nomads and living off the land, the idea of home being where ever you park it gets him all giddy

He doesn’t really have a dream job. When he was younger all the other kids would say they wanted to be firefighters, astronauts, doctors and vets when asked and when he was asked he kind froze up, he still doesn’t know

He has two friends, you and Johnathan. He treats you the same except for the part that he’s fucking one

He was the percussionist in his middle schools concert band and he was pretty damn good, he stopped when he got into high school when some kid from Colorado joined and was just slightly better

You two are extremely comfortable with each other, he often Dutch ovens you when you’re cuddling and you (if you like this stuff) pop his back acne

Bites you to show affection like really just latches on to your arm, calf, or shoulder

cock- warming is one of his favorite things ever, just sitting on his lap while watching a movie, doing homework or reading a book

Tapestry boy, his room is filled with tapestries. Some that you’ve gotten him, his family have gotten or some he’s made himself out of paint and bed sheets

Loves when you steal his clothes, watching you saunter around in his shirts or sweats makes him go absolutely feral

Forcing him to do his homework is an often thing. “Babe we could just smoke” “nope. Finish this and then we’ll talk”

He loves when you tell him what to do, LOVES IT

Crawling up to the roof with blankets and a few joints sounds like a Friday night. Curled up into each other’s sides until the lighter rolls off the roof and into the gutter and you have to help him scale to get it

“Don’t fall!” “I won’t” and then he slips a little and your holding onto him for dear life “babe, ya gotta let go a little so I can reach it”

He has an intoxicating laugh, one that warms you like a thick quilt in a winter storm. A laugh that could pull you out of even the deepest darkest depressions

You two have laughing fits every time your with each other

In all of the upside down mess with Vecna he had one thought on his mind and that was “if anything happens to my baby I have no clue what I’ll do with myself”

He didn’t know it was possible to fall even deeper in love but watching you so calmly care for the kids made his stomach do flips

Giving him the summary of a book that you two were supposed to read in class but he fell asleep

He kisses in a very particular way. Never leaves you with a peck on the lips but holds your face in his hands “I love your eyes” kisses them “your cheeks” kisses them “I love your little spots” kisses every single spot whether it be a freckle, mole or zit, “I love your soft lips” and that’s where his journey ends with a warm kiss

When your cuddling he has you pulled into his chest, a leg thrown over his waist with his legs between yours, hands in his hair and one of his hands or your cheek and the other on your butt

He lets you do his makeup, his eyebrows and shave his face whenever you want

Your back hurts? This man has pulled you up and is manhandling you around to try and pop it, like full on has your feet dangling in the air with your back to his chest, arms crossed as he holds them down and wiggles you around with loud laughs

If you get your period hes the man to call, have you seen that meme with the “what size your pussy?” It’s him

Him and billy were childhood friends and i will stick to that and he tells you about his best friend from when he was a kid

Wants like one kid and then he gets high and thinks about how lonely that one kid would be so he added one but then he thought about how they would need to be close in age so it wouldn’t feel like you just had a mini babysitter and then he got on the topic of triplets and the triplet needing someone so he added another but what if that other was twins and then there would be another kid who needed a friend and even tho twins might not run in your families he definitely went down a twin, triplet rabbit hole

Has on multiple occasions gotten so high he thought he was having a heart attack which ended in you two sitting on the bathroom floor with him in just his boxers and you rock him in your arms and rub where his heart is telling him it’s beating just fine but he insists it’s going to pop out of his chest

My sweet boy has hard days and on these days he just wants you to hold him close “will you hold me?” And before he knows it you’ve pulled him down to where his head is in your lap facing your belly as your brush his hair with your fingers and the other hand running down the bridge of his nose “tell me about your day baby”

Baby, babe, bro, love, dear, homie, and stink are just some of the pet names

Has a special pillow you can’t touch

Definitely is so open with masturbation that you know what not to touch in his room

Owns every Elvis cassette and record

His special spot is an abandoned light house where the two of you go on little dates

He had a ring picked out three days after you started dating

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #51

A friend is coming over today to play Stepmania on my Frankenpad.

I'm excited about this, but also nervous. My house is a neurodivergent one, and it has 5 cats. It looks like a neurodivergent house (as in, clutter everyfuckenwhere), and it smells like there are 5 cats living here. It's not squalid or anything, but… it definitely doesn't look like one of those images you find in Home and Garden magazines.

But maybe it's not entirely necessary for my house to look like it's not inhabited by three neurodivergent people stacked in a trenchcoat trying to pass as a Functional Adult™.

This image sums up our situation nicely, although it's with three people instead of four:

It's not lost on me how lucky I am to have my husbands. I don't know what they see in me, but they keep me around anyway, even though they don't gotta. So I do what I can to deserve them both.

I feel a little better today than I did yesterday. Before bed, I rehydrated with a big glass of warm milk. Warm milk is a nice thing because it doesn't matter how awful or wired or antsy or tense I feel; 20 minutes after I'm finished drinking it, I become super sleepy, and then I'm out like a light. Works every time, for reasons I don't fully understand. Maybe if you ever have trouble sleeping, you can give it a try.

In any case. In order to prepare for today, I made myself some green tea and it was very good. And then I went to the grocery store, both to get ingredients to make pumpkin soup for the weekend (I'll write a letter about this process for you when I begin to make it, don't worry!), and to get supplies to make nachos for everybody tonight. I took a few pictures of my grocery store adventures for you; it was a lot less crowded today. Here:

This is canned pumpkin. I have to get it canned because fresh pumpkin is out of season where I live until next autumn. But that's okay; this stuff is pretty good too:

Here's some heavy cream. This is the basis for any bisque, which is what I am trying to make for my friends this weekend, because, sadly, I cannot make it for you:

And here is some cream cheese, which will also be added to the soup for extra decadence:

And here's a starfruit. Because I adulted today, and that means I deserve a little treat!

The sticker says "carambola", because it's also called that. I like "carambola" better as a word to describe this fruit; it rolls off the tongue better. Try it: "ka-RAHM-bo-la"; it's fun, isn't it?? Haha! 😁

...But then nobody knows what I'm talking about when I say "carambola", so "starfruit" is just easier if I want to be understood. 😅

Maybe it's a little weird, but… in service to the notion that you'd like a normal life, I wish I could bring you to the grocery store and show you all the things and all the best ways to pick stuff out. And I'd step up to anyone who even so much as looks at you funny for your height, build, albinism, long hair, or wing, if it's out. I'd kick them right in their stupid shins and yell at them to get lost before I get REALLY mad and introduce my knuckles to their face at an unpleasant velocity. I'm only 5'8" to your 6'7", but still I can get pretty scary when I gotta! I'd have your back, don't you worry. I'd protect you from anything. It'd be fine. You'd be safe with me; I'd make sure of it.

In any case. You remember that bison and venison I got from my last trip to the grocery? I had intended to use that for making the nachos today. I'm eager to see how it'll turn out. Oh, and I gotta grate some cheese, too; I almost forgot. Thanks for reminding me (I know you didn't really, but it's fun to pretend)! 😜

I have since cooked up the bison and venison, and grated up three different kinds of cheese. Check 'em out:

I was surprised that bison and venison taste so similar. It's almost like beef, but not really. I mixed the three different kinds of cheese into a great big bowl, so the prep work for making nachos later is complete. I already have some chopped veggies and some guacamole and something kinda like sour cream, so it's good to go!

Since writing the last paragraph, we picked up my friend and we played a lot of Stepmania on my awesome Frankenpad! I even managed to snag a video of me on it that I think isn't too terrible! Here:

Certainly, my balance and stamina aren't what they used to be; it's been a lot of years since last I used to do this with any sort of consistency. But that's okay! This was one of my favorite Expert Mode songs; the rhythm with which you're supposed to use your feet is a lot of fun for this one, and I remember when this used to be a "warm-up" tune for me, haha! I'm hoping that if I continue to do it, I'll improve again, over time.

You know? I bet you'd probably be really good at this. I imagine you must have crazy amounts of stamina, and I imagine your sense of rhythm must be impeccable. I wonder which songs you'd gravitate towards. I wish you could play together with me and my friends; I think you might have a lot of fun with it, once you get used to it, and it would be great to see you smiling and having a good time.

In any case, afterwards we ate nachos!! We filled bowls with chips, ground meat, and cheese, and then heated it up in the microwave! It's not fancy, but it's certainly effective! Check it out!

After that, you add your cold things. I had guacamole, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, and the sort-of-sour-cream. Here's what it looked like when the bowl was fully assembled:

And just like that, you add a few juicy veggies and you have a healthy bowl of awesome tastiness! Woot, woot!

We had an amazing time and lots of delightful conversation. I think you'd like this person a lot if you met her. She's very smart and she has a lot of insightful things to say. I'm looking forward to the next time I get to spend time with her.

...I wish you could have been here for any of this. I think you could feel safe and at home and cared for and like you have family at my house. After the hellish upbringing I had, I have, with help, done my best to shape myself into someone who is wholesome and safe, and to shape my home into a place that is wholesome and safe. I know that you could be welcome here. I know that with enough time and patience, you'd adjust to the peace, because you have a smart brain and a flexible mind. You could chill where the kind people and the tasty snacks and the fun things are, and you'd never have to wonder if you belong, because you would. Because you do. Because you always have, regardless of how you came into being, and regardless of what anyone else has tried to tell you. You belong, and you deserve good and wholesome things.

But I guess writing to you about it and sending you videos and pictures is the best I can do; I'm sorry about that - I really, truly am. I hope somehow that any of this might reach you and move you, but... I don't imagine that it will. But I also can't stop myself from trying against all odds anyways, for better or for worse, haha.

You can have this, you know - this simple life, and any of the lovely and good things I've been trying to show you (and will keep trying to show you). All you have to do is make a different choice. All you have to do is take the hands outstretched to you. All you have to do is open your ears and your mind to the kind words being spoken towards you. All you have to do is turn your face back to the light. I'll be over here until you do, singing a little song for you, and weaving a little handicraft, as I always do.

So... please stay safe until you're ready, okay? Please remember that you're loved and cared for. Please make good, kind, and brave choices.

I'll write to you again tomorrow.

Your friend, Lumine

[sun-undone]

New canon obx details from the Pogue Life Scrapbook Hardcover (part 2)

(part 1)

Kiara

During Kie's Kook Year, she performed at a "Rock the OBX" festival, but when she started singing a lyrically modified version of "Get Up Stand Up" that called out the kooks, she got booed offstage and her mom was PISSED. Sarah mentions that Rose had called Kie a bad influence and that she didn't want her around Tannyhill anymore, but Sarah was just super proud to have Kie as a friend in that moment

Kie's summer playlist (i see that Rudy namedrop, go ahead and break that fourth wall with the jiara agenda):

The rest of the pogues' summer playlist, plus a really cute pic of Maddie Bailey cause let's be honest that is all her (and more breaking the fourth wall with the inclusion of Hot Stuff?? v cute):

MORE FIC MATERIAL: During her Kook Year, Kie got really into witchcraft with Sarah, and they both tried to cast spells to make their crushes like them back.....Jarah B and Jiara hello???? They also apparently made a voodoo doll of some bitch from their algebra class and snuck into the cemetery to have a seance for Kie's dead pet hermit crab, Kingston. This is literal gold idc what anyone says

Kie assigns astrological signs to each of the pogues!!! Sarah is a Sagittarius, John B is a Leo, Kie is an Aquarius, Pope is a Virgo, and JJ is an Aries (astrology bitches how are we feeling about these placements) Also unclear whether these are supposed to line up with their birthdays

Anna dropped out of college to start the Wreck with Mike

One time, the pogues showed up to the Wreck high out of their minds after a crazy Saturday night and ended up eating every leftover in the kitchen

When Kie was helping out in the kitchen one day, she accidentally dumped a bowl of pimento cheese into a batch of shrimp and grits. Not wanting to piss off her dad, she just served the shrimp and grits as is, and a bunch of customers started complimenting the "spicy shrimp and grits". After coming clean about what had happened, Mike added it to the menu. (super important jiara note: according to 1x03, JJ's order at the Wreck is beer and shrimp and grits. just saying.)

Apparently Midsummers took place on Friday, July 19th, 2019 and this timeline makes me want to claw out my frontal lobe

Entries from Kie's diary documenting the beginning of her Kook Year (why is the first week of school for the Kook Academy in October?? does that actually happen in rich schools or did Kie maybe not transfer immediately??? weird weird idk):

Pope

Denmark Tanny seems to have been a lot like Pope, which is a cool detail. He worked as a cook on the Royal Merchant and wrote in his diary about keeping a level, logical head despite his shipmates getting drunk and generally being wild

The Pogues' top 3 favorite movies and snacks:

Kie - The Outsiders, Heathers, and The Big Lebowski; Buncha Crunch, chili lime churros, and spiked agua fresca Pope - Jaws, The Goonies, and Weird Science; pizza, nachos, and veggies and dip (which Kie of all people makes fun of him for) John B - Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and Stand By Me; hot dogs, Twinkies, and leftovers from the Wreck Sarah - The Breakfast Club, Romancing the Stone, and Dirty Dancing; Skinnypop, vodka soda hidden in a Nalgene bottle, and mint chocolate chip ice cream (why sarah why) JJ - C.H.U.D., They Live, and Up in Smoke; weed brownies, weed gummies, and beer

Heyward capitalized on the kooks' panic surrounding Hurricane Agatha and raised his delivery prices before the storm hit. Some things that the kooks considered "essential" in light of a hurricane were 10 bags of Skinnypop (assorted mix ONLY), 3 Bloody Mary mixes, 10 bottles of cocktail sauce, and 4 tins of Fancy Feast Gourmet cat food (organic ONLY)

Heyward always has a booth at the OBX Boardwalk Summer Festival, and during the summer when Kie and Sarah were mortal enemies, he happened to have a booth next to the Wreck's. When Sarah went to order something, Kie refused to serve her, saying that "traitors go hungry". Pope then told Sarah to spend her money at Heyward's instead, which pissed Kie off and made her tell the pogues that they were forbidden to talk to Sarah

While writing a physics paper about bottle rockets, Pope and the rest of the pogues set some off outside of Heywards and broke 3 windows

Pope has written practice college admission essays about the time he ran out of his scholarship interview to help his friends. I love this quote from one of the drafts: "Opportunities come and go, but there are precious few chances to be there for your friends when it really matters. In the end, I decided to be there for them." 🥹🥹

When Heyward was catering the Kildare County Sheriff's Department Annual Holiday Party, Pope witnessed Shoupe, very drunk on Moscow mules, slamming down oysters and singing a karaoke cover of "I Fought the Law"

When Heyward was catering the Vanderhorst Homeowners Association Annual Autumn Gala, a bunch of the kooks were super rude to Pope and Heyward and not tipping them, so Heyward left bags of empty shellfish and fish bones in their garbage cans, making the whole street reek for days

How each of the Pogues (minus John B apparently) would spend their shares of the money:

Pope: a submarine to research aquatic life, a new video camera, a mansion, a garage full of vintage cars, a vacation for his parents, a tutor to teach him Gullah, founding the Denmark and Cecilia Tanny Scholarship Foundation, and restoring the Freedman's Assembly Church

Kie: recording a double album in her mansion with a built-in studio, emancipation from her parents, a private chef, donating to a bunch of environmental charities to try to save every endangered species, and buying Kildare Island and kicking out the residents so the animals can take over again

Sarah: a wardrobe makeover for herself and John B, buying Tannyhill to kick out her family and give the keys to Pope, an international trip with Wheezie, and taking a private trip to space with the pogues

JJ: The Surf Trip (he says it's with all the pogues not just Kie, but i can absolutely ignore that), a surfboard for every day of the week, a new dirt bike, a marble statue of himself, an upgraded version of Topper's Malibu, a pet monkey, matching pogue jet skis, a $24K blunt, a private island, and private security to knock out any kooks that get too close to him

Pope likes collecting antique electronics because trying to repair them allows him to see the engineering on the inside. Aside from the retro 90's camcorder (RIP), he's collected a vintage iPod, a Gameboy (Tetris is his favorite game), and a Polaroid camera. He found the Gameboy when Kie dragged him to a thrift store on the mainland a few summers back

Sarah

Pre-canon times when Rafe has been a piece of shit: he stole money from Ward and blamed it on Sarah, he killed a spider for Sarah but then left the dead carcass on her pillow, he ripped apart Sarah's dollhouse and decapitated the dolls, during a game of hide-and-seek, he locked Sarah in the cellar for 3 hours and told Rose that she had ran away, he hid his weed in Wheezie's room, AND he creeped on Kie (very vague very ew) during sleepovers

Ward was going to give Sarah his old car, but Rafe went for a joyride with Kelce and totaled it, so Ward used the insurance payout to lease Sarah a brand new car instead

Wheezie DEFINITELY had a crush on Topper. Sarah recounts a time when Wheezie had hidden in her car to try to sneak into a movie night. When Sarah caught her, she let her stick around for the date, and she sat between Sarah and Topper, blushing the whole time (ew girl raise your standards)

Ward didn't let Sarah host parties at Tannyhill, but her kook friends often let her host at their houses when their parents were on vacation. Sarah Cameron parties quickly became legendary on Figure 8

Sarah volunteered at the Kildare Humane Society, and German shepard-golden retriever mixes are her favorite breed (isn't that what Milo is?? more breaking the fourth wall i see you). She's also volunteered at the Shady Acres Nursing Home, the Kildare County Youth Arts Center, and the South Creek Food Pantry

Sarah mentions how Scarlett's "sleepovers" were code for parties, and that they were always wild (i'm only mentioning this because i really wanna see Scarlett in season 3 if we're getting Kook Academy stuff)

JJ worked as a caddy at the golf club 2 summers before the show starts, and since management were dicks to him, he and John B snuck onto the course and drew dicks in the sand traps

Topper is apparently very obsessive about working out

Sarah and Kie made a friendship bracelet together (i have no other details besides that, trust me i wish i did)

There's more confirmation that Kie has a hidden dolphin tattoo, but no hints as to where it is

[madlori]

Food items I am never without.

I like to cook, so I’m constantly picking up oddball ingredients for Some Recipe I found on a blog (usually Smitten Kitchen). But there is some stuff I just ALWAYS keep in stock.

1. Thomas’ Everything Bagel Thins. I eat these for breakfast almost all the time when I’m at home (which is 4 days out of 7). I eat them with cream cheese, Everything Bagel seasoning from TJ’s, and a salted tomato slice. Perfection. They’re also good with some schmear of your choice and lunch meat. A full bagel is just too much starch for me, these are perfect. 

2. Pre-cooked bacon. I buy this gargantuan envelope from Costco. It lasts a few months and is well worth it. Two strips in a folded-over paper towel for 50 seconds and you’ve got nice crisp bacon, for eating, crumbling on a salad, putting in eggs, or in my case, making a wrap sandwich. It’s so much quicker, easier and neater than cooking up bacon from raw.

3. Mission low-carb tortillas. I don’t particularly keep low-carb but these taste exactly like regular tortillas so why not? My go-to work-at-home-day lunch is a wrap made with these, lettuce, chicken strips (which I either cook up myself or get at Costo, they sell great packs of them), pickled red onions (which I make myself by the boatload and am never without), mayo and two strips of bacon. Sometimes I’ll make a quick-and-dirty fish taco with frozen fish sticks in the air fryer, some coleslaw or broccoli slaw mix (or just lettuce in a pinch), pickled red onions and chili sauce. They’re also good to make egg wraps.

4. Frozen acai berry bowls with granola. Another Costco find. I tote one of these to work for morning breakfast and sometimes have them for a snack. They’re really good. One minute in the micro direct from frozen makes them still freezy but soft enough to stir up. This is the item that makes me want a chest freezer for my basement - they come in packs of six and I just don’t want to be at Costco every two weeks.

4. Wasa crispbread. I eat this all the time. When I do avocado toast, it’s on these. A schmear of cashew spread, avocado, lemon olive oil and either salt, dill seasoning from TJ’s or Tajin.

5. Crystal Light. This is what I drink 90% of the time (although Spindrift seltzer has been gaining ground of late). I don’t make up a pitcher of it. I mix up six packs each of lemonade and iced tea together to make Arnold Palmer Crystal Light, put it in a lil dispenser, and mix it up by the glass in these big 30 oz plastic hockey game souvenir tumblrs which are surprisingly sturdy and useful. I go through this so much that I order the packages by the dozen from Amazon on Subscribe & Save. It really helps me put down enough water every day.

6. Taylor Farms chopped salad kits. These kits are the BOMB and they make a very satisfying, big salad. I usually add some chopped chicken and/or hard boiled egg to give it some protein. They have MANY flavors. Creamy Dill Pickle is my favorite. 

7. Mini snacking cucumbers. This one’s hard because they go bad fast. TJ’s has the best ones although the Costco ones are good too but only intermittenly available. I eat these like candy, dipped in Tajin (something else I am never without).

[barbiewritesstuff]

Church Encounters: Chapter 23

-- Sorry this took a while, life got busy! Also please don't be mad, this is 15k words... enjoy!

This fic is written in collaboration with @lgg5989 who will be posting this to her tumblr and her AO3

Previous Part

Taglist: @acarboni21 @unsurebuttrying @dempy @peaches-1998 @bbooks-and-teas @roosterscock @positivelyholland --

“Cupcakes are done!” Natasha said, popping her head through the doorway, her hair covered in four where she had brushed it away from her forehead, “I know I know, I look like whatsername from X-men.”

“Rogue?” Jake volunteered.

“That’s the one!” Natasha smiled,” Anyway, they’re cooling in the fridge, I can make the icing if you want but I don’t know if you want to frost them now or if you’re keeping that for tomorrow…”

“No, I want to get it out of the way, I think. We’ll be busy enough tomorrow as is,” you replied, slowly getting out of the rocking chair, placing Charlotte back in Jake’s arms so the three of them could snuggle while you worked. 

“I made you a coffee,” Phoenix said, “It’s decaf though. I know y’all are only allowed like three cups total, my sister had to kick the habit when she got pregnant,” she explained. You hummed in agreement, placing one hand on her arm and giving it a gentle squeeze of thanks. 

“So we’re making --,” you started, quickly checking your phone for Maria’s cake instructions, “-- a chocolate ganache for the chocolate cake, a vanilla cream cheese frosting with caramel drizzle for the carrot cake and a whipped cream frosting for the strawberry tier -- actually, I’ll do that one tomorrow, whipped cream frosting doesn’t last great in the fridge … I think we can make vanilla cream cheese and caramel for the cupcakes, what do you think?”

“Sounds great to me. What are we doing for the like outside decorations? How does she want it to look?” Nat asked, glancing over at your phone.

“White frosting over the entire cake, with a small chocolate heart saying ‘B + M’ like a carving in a tree,” you replied, “Easy peasy,” you smiled. 

Making the frosting was the easy bit, you knew the recipes by heart now after years and years of baking and being the designated dessert person at every barbecue, dinner party and birthday party any of your friends had ever had, but as much as you enjoyed baking, cake decorating was your least favourite bit. 

Still, you did your best to bring Maria’s vision to life. You whipped up the ganache and spread it between layers of the chocolate cake, made a well in the carrot cake’s cream cheese frosting to pour cooled caramel in, and painstakingly piped buttercream over every single one of the vegan cupcakes. In order to limit what you would need to do tomorrow, you also made the white buttercream that would cover the whole cake, making sure to add a drop of purple food colouring into the mix to really bring out the white. 

You crashed down into the sofa, exhausted and horrified to find out it was already lunch. You mentally went through your pantry and fridge, wondering what you could cook up when the doorbell rang. 

“I’ve got it!” Jake called, coming out of the nursery, still wearing his pyjamas. He made his way to the front door, patting down his hair to look a little more presentable before opening it.

“I bring lunch,” Beau announced, “And bad news, I’m afraid. The Seresin clan are stuck at the airport, the plane’s had a mystery malfunction and they don’t know when they’ll get there. I’m on standby to pick them up until then… I haven’t told Bob and Maria, obviously, they’re already stressed enough…”

“Bob was a wreck last night while we were fixing the car, Father Dan ended up sending him home while we fixed the car just so he could take a breather,” Jake said, “It’s all good, though, the car’s running again.”

“What was wrong with it?”

“Would not be able to tell you,” Jake laughed, “I’m not a car guy, they just told me what to do and I did it.” 

“I would have thought you’d know something about cars, Jake,” Nat said, coming in with a pot of coffee for everyone and four mugs.

“Nat, please move in,” you sighed, gratefully taking your second cup of caffeinated coffee of the day into two hands. Natasha laughed, she took the seat next to you on the sofa, sitting as far away from Cyclone as physically possible.

“It’s weird seeing him outside of work,” she whispered in your ear, “He’s so… normal,” she added. You chuckled, “I keep thinking he’s going to glare at me and tell me off for reckless flying,” she said

“I wouldn’t have to, Lieutenant Trace, if you didn’t fly recklessly. I know Bob trusts you, but that doesn’t mean I have to give you carte blanche for every manoeuvre you can think of when you’re flying against Bradshaw,” Cyclone said, fixing her with one of his famous glares, “I like my son to come home in one piece.”

“Yessir,” she said, making herself as small as possible, like a student being told of by a teacher. 

“Anyway, tuck in,” Beau replied, pulling little boxes out of the brown bag he had brought in. He placed one in front of you, removing the lid at the same time to reveal a portion of Lizzie’s infamous lasagna. Jake disappeared into the kitchen for a second, coming back with cutlery for everyone but before you could scoop a mouthful onto your plate, Jake’s phone rang. He picked up, putting it on speaker 

“Well I’m fucking cursed, is this what I get for getting Maria --” Bob started

“Speaker!” Jake warned, “Beau is here, and so is Phoenix,” 

The line went quiet for a moment before Bob answered, more calmly, “Right, thanks.” 

“What’s gone wrong now?” you asked.

“The Dj was setting up, we had a power cut and the computer won’t start,” Bob sighed, “I’m cursed, I swear…”

“Calm down. I’ll come by and see what’s up, I might be able to fix it for you,” Jake said, abandoning his lasagna and pushing it towards you, “Give me twenty minutes to hop in the shower and drive over, though.” 

He bounded up the stairs, skipping every other step to speed up the process. A few seconds later you heard your ensuite shower turn on and another moment later you heard it turn off as Jake stepped out to find some clothes to wear. Bob was still on the phone, talking to Phoenix and Beau as Maria talked to the wedding planner, telling them where she wanted things to go. 

“Most of the out of state guests on my side have made it here okay, we’re having dinner with my mom tonight. She’s not met Maria, yet -- Oh, I’ve just realised, she doesn’t know I’m catholic… That’ll be interesting…,” he said, chuckling nervously, “Anyway, I better go before something else breaks… I don’t want Maria to have to deal with the stress all by herself…”

Jake barrelled back down the stairs, his own laptop tucked under his arm in case the DJ’s couldn’t be fixed. He kissed you on the lips, waved at Phoenix and clapped Beau on the shoulder before vanishing down the corridor to bid your napping babies goodbye.

“I forgot how much they slept,” Beau said as he watched Jake quietly close the nursery’s door, “And how tiny they are at that age,” he added.

“They’ve already grown up so much,” you replied, looking past Beau at the gallery wall of family pictures. While many were of just you and Jake, you had started adding pictures of the little ones too. 

Taking centre stage was one of the first pictures you had ever taken as a family, albeit none of you knew it at the time, Bob had sneaked in after his first visit, having forgotten his jacket and caught all of you sleeping. You were laying on the bed, the babies were peacefully snoozing in their crib, and Jake had fallen asleep on a chair, his leg over one of the arm rests and his head resting against the wall behind him. Bob had sent it to you as soon as you woke up, and you had it printed two days after getting home. Although it was supposed to be a funny picture, you found it sweet and it showcased just how tiny the twins had been the day they finally arrived. 

“Hmm,” Beau sighed, “Feels like the triplets arrived yesterday…They’re in primary school now… They can write and read a little. Goodness, soon enough I’ll have to worry about them dating,” he laughed but you could tell by the way his head hung low that he felt sad about it. Phoenix stood up, taking the empty cups and lasagna boxes with her to the kitchen.

“You grew up so fast,” he whispered, kissing your forehead, “One second you fit into my arms and now look at you…” 

You stood up, grabbing the waist of his shirt to pull him closer and hugged him tightly, “I still fit,” you mumbled into his shirt, “I’ll always fit.”

You felt him smile against your forehead as he placed a kiss against your skin, “I love you,” he said.

“I love you too,” you replied. 

----

You worried over the arrival of the Seresins’ flight all night, but early the next morning you received the text from Beau saying that they had landed. 

You opened the front door and shivered. While California didn’t know true cold weather, you had lived here long enough to shiver as soon as the temperature dropped below 50F, much to Annie and Audrey’s amusement. At the thought of them, a frown marred your face. Annie and Audrey’s flight had been delayed since yesterday. Lake effect snow from Chicago had hit Indianapolis, grounding their flights. You weren’t sure if they would even make the wedding, but you hadn’t given up hope yet. 

You wrapped your knit cardigan tighter around you, hoping it would keep you protected from the wind but it proved no barrier against the breeze as you stretched out your arm to hug Sophia, who, in her puffy coat, was equally unused to the cold. 

“Hello mama!” she said, her teeth shattering as she spoke, still cheerful despite the time and the lack of sleep. Their flight had landed three hours ago after a six hour delay. They had gone to the hotel to check in and shower, but the adults, full of giddy energy, had all opted to stay awake and come over.

“How are you feeling? How is the baby?” She asked. You paused for a moment, debating what to say. Jake had briefed you earlier that none of his siblings had been told about the twins. 

“We’re all good!” you answered, deciding on the most diplomatic answer you could manage, one that was technically not a lie. You let Sophia through into the warm house where she settled herself onto the sofa, in front of the open fire, palms stretched out in front of her to warm herself up. 

You looked back out towards the driveway where Giovanni Senior, Gio and Tony were unbuckling sleeping children and passing them onto Beau, Isabella and Alessandra to carry into the house. Leaving your post by the door you went to check up on the dryer cycle in the laundry room, you saw the timer had run out. You pulled warm blankets out, folding them into a laundry basket as you went and carried them all to the spare room, where you had set up mattresses and camp beds for the children to sleep in. Giving each bed a blanket, you made sure it all looked comfortable before taking Agostino out of his father’s arms and placing him down on a bed, his toy monkey held tightly in his hands.

“Where is yours then?” Gio asked with a grin, nodding towards his son.

“Still sleeping, you’ll meet them when they wake up,” you said, plastering a smile on your face. 

“Oh come on, enough with the secrecy. We tried to get mom to tell us anything and even she wouldn’t budge,” he said, his voice rather whiney for a grown man, “Wouldn’t even tell us if it was a boy or a girl.”

You let out a quiet laugh, “You’ll just have to wait and see! I think Jake wanted to be here when you met them.” 

“Fine!” he huffed, “I’ll be patient. They better be f--” he started, trying to censor his swear “--firetrucking cute.”

“Firetrucking?” you asked, barely trying to hold in your grin.

“Silenzio,” Gio replied, sticking his tongue out at you. He exited the room and you followed up behind, crossing Tony in the corridor. 

When you emerged into the kitchen, you found Isabella already puttering about, talking to Jake in Italian as she searched through cupboards for the premium Italian coffee grounds. You always kept a small amount for Isabella who simply refused to drink ‘any of that American shit’ as she called it. 

“Bellissimo! È bello vederti!” she exclaimed as soon as she spotted you, engulfing you in a bone breaking hug.  Beautiful! So good to see you!, “Sembri in salute,” she added, stepping back a little so she could properly look at you. You look healthy.

“Mi sento in salute, se non si contano la privazione del sonno,” you replied, dusting off whatever remained of the duolingo course you had started, and never finished after first meeting the Seresins. I feel healthy, if you don't count the sleep deprivation.

Your attempt raised cheers, Tony and Gio enthusiastically clapping and Alessa letting out a couple of ‘Whoop whoops’ of celebration while Jake beamed at you from the other side of the room. 

“Dov'è il caffè, tesoro? Non posso bere questa merda americana,” Isabella asked, getting right back to business. Where is the coffee, darling? I cannot drink this American shit. You walked around her, opening one of the cupboards she hadn’t managed to search through yet and pulled the small tin out from the back, handing it to her with a smile. 

“Shh!” Alessa suddenly said, putting her index in front of her lips, “Ascoltare,” she whispered. The entire room grew quiet, listening out for whatever Alessandra had heard. Quietly, as if talking to himself, you heard Christopher’s little voice. Jake moved to get to the nursery, but he was almost immediately pushed to the side and into Giovanni Senior by Gio. 

Giovanni Junior booked it to the nursery and for a second, no one else moved. Your gaze crossed Jake’s and suddenly, as if everyone else had made up their mind at the same time they all stood up and ran. Jake followed right behind, passing in front of Tony and your sisters-in-law but not quite making it to the door before Gio. Both reached for the door handle at the same time, Gio’s hand landing underneath Jake’s, the weight of which pushed the handle down and the door swung open revealing two cribs, two names painted above the beds and two babies. 

“Buon Dio,” Tony said. Good God, bringing his hand to his forehead, “Ce ne sono due.” There are two. 

Jake pushed past his brother so he could step into the nursery to soothe Christopher, Tony stepping in next to Gio to take his place, effectively blocking the door and any hope to see into the room for Alessa and Sophia who had resorted to standing on their tiptoes, straining their necks to catch a glimpse of the babies.  

“Bontà Graziosa” Gio sighed. Graceful goodness.

“Cosa hai detto?” Alessa asked, touching Tony’s shoulder to grab his attention. What did you say?

“Gemelli? Gesù Cristo…Non fai le cose a mezze misure,” Gio said, his voice so low only Jake and Tony could hear. Twins? Jesus Christ, you don’t do things in half measures. 

“Di cosa stai parlando?” Alessa asked, what are you talking about, getting more frustrated. She threw herself against her husband’s shoulder, causing him to stumble forward and her to fall though, “Gesù, Maria e Giuseppe,” Jesus, Mary and Joseph, she swore, “Sono gemelli,” They are twins, she called out to her sister-in-law.

Sophia gasped. Seeing you making your way to join them, she ran up and hugged you, squeezing the air out of your lungs. 

“Hai avuto un taglio cesareo?” Did you have a c-section? she asked, looking horrified when you shook your head, “Sei più coraggioso di quanto lo sarei mai stato io,” You are braver than I would have been, she breathed. Sophia paused for a second, holding you at arms length so she could look into your eyes as she spoke, “Per favore, dimmi che hai avuto un'epidurale.” Please tell me you had an epidural.

You shook your head again, laughing at her expression of half horror and half reverence.

“Non sapevamo che avremmo avuto due gemelli. Lo abbiamo scoperto solo quando ha dato alla luce il primo,” Jake laughed. We didn’t know we were having twins. We only found out when she gave birth to the first one. 

“I wouldn’t have had an epidural even if I knew I was having twins,” you said, “I had gas and air so it wasn’t completely natural,” you told Sophia.

“More natural than I would have ever wanted. I would have had morphine if I could, especially with Catalina,” she replied.

“Possiamo vedere i bambini o dobbiamo aspettare un altro mese?” Gio grumbled. Can we see them or do we have to wait another month? 

“Li vedrai quando decideremo che puoi vederli. Hanno fame,” You can see them when we decide you can. They are hungry. Jake replied, raising an eyebrow at his brother. The crowd parted to let you through and he handed you Christopher after kissing his chubby cheek, still happily making noises by himself, trying to figure out everything his little voice could do. Jake walked back towards his siblings and into the corridor, closing the door behind him to give you privacy as you fed them. 

“Sei svenuto?” Did you faint? Gio asked Jake as you emerged from the nursery, holding both of your babies against your chest

“I’m not you Gio, I’m not a coward,” he replied, winking at his brother. 

Isabella gasped, seeing you arrive with your precious cargo, “Guarda come sono cresciuti!” See how they have grown! She exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air, crossing the distance between the two of you in two large strides. She fussed over the babies, petting their little cheeks and making cooing noises at them while they looked on with eyes as wide as dinner plates. 

“Non dirlo, mamma. Sono minuscoli. Sono i nostri bambini piccoli,” Don't say it, mom. They are tiny. They are our little children, Jake said, flinchingat his mother’s words. 

Giovanni Senior smiled, engulfing him in a side hug, “Saranno sempre dei bambini piccoli. Anche quando sono cresciuti. Anche quando hanno i loro bambini,” They will always be small children. Even when they have grown up. Even when they have their own children, he said.

“Ma cresceranno, è inevitabile. Un giorno ti svegli e sono tutti sposati, ma saranno comunque i tuoi figli,” But they will grow, it is inevitable. One day you wake up and they are all married, but they will still be your children, he continued with a sigh, tears welling up in his eyes, “Non sono pronto per oggi,” I'm not ready for today Giovanni whispered. 

“Andrà tutto bene, papà. Starai bene,” Everything will be fine, dad. You'll be fine, Jake replied, turning around to properly hug his father, “Non è stato male quando tutti noi ci siamo sposati, andrà bene anche con Maria.” It wasn't bad when we all got married, it will be fine with Maria too.

Isabella shot him a look, “Ha pianto per due giorni quando ti sei sposato...Continuava a dirmi che non era pronto per far crescere il suo bambino,” she said. Jake looked at his father, mouth ajar, looking dumbfounded and amused. He cried for two days when you got married ... He wasn’t ready to see his baby grow up.

“Oh, papà! Sei un tale tenero!” Jake laughed but the blush spreading over his face betrayed how touched he truly was. Oh, dad! You are going soft!

“Va bene, basta. Basta!” Okay, that's enough. That's enough! Giovanni Senior grumbled, swatting his youngest son’s hands away from him in embarrassment, “Vediamo quei bambini. Maria sarà qui presto,” he added. Let's see those children. Maria will be here soon.

“Arriverà tra due ore! Sei solo imbarazzato” Jake replied smiling broadly, lunging away from his dad when Giovanni pretended to raise his hand at him. She will arrive in two hours! You're just embarrassed.

“Hai pianto al mio matrimonio?” Gio asked. Did you cry at my wedding?

“No,” Giovanni replied.

“Bugiardo,” Isabella laughed, “Ha pianto a tutti i tuoi matrimoni. Era molto triste vedervi crescere, ma è molto orgoglioso di ciò che siete diventati,” she said, going around to kiss all of her sons on their cheeks. Liar, he cried at all your weddings. He was very sad to see you grow up, but he is very proud of who you have become.

 

“Siamo entrambi molto orgogliosi,” she added. We are both very proud.

“So,” Sophia said, looking at you with eager eyes, “Who’s who and can I hold one?”

You laughed, quickly introducing the twins to the group and passing Christopher off to Sophia while you kept Charlotte to yourself. While you were having a much easier time allowing anyone other than Jake hold the babies, your panic still flared up sometimes. It wasn’t that you didn’t trust them, because you did, but having your babies in the arms of another felt a little too much like having someone rip a part of you away. Having Charlotte in your arms was just as much for your reassurance as it was for hers, she was the least sociable of the twins and tended to get panicky if anyone else so much as looked at her for a little too long.

After Sophia, Christopher was passed onto Tony, then Gio and then Alessa, and, after the commotion woke Luca and Agostino, your baby was passed on to the children who gently held him in their arms as they sat on the sofa, a little scared to move. Eventually, after your little boy had met the entire family, Jake took him in his arms again and Beanie breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

“Look at him, so happy to be in daddy’s arms. He knows he’s safe with you, Jake,” you whispered to him, leaning against his shoulder, “He knows who you are and he loves you,” you added, kissing the sleeve of his shirt.

The doorbell rang, making you all jump. You stood up and walked to get the door, swinging it open clumsily, Charlotte still laying in your arms, swaddled in a pale pink blanket. The wind and cold had turned to rain at some point in the morning and although the sun had risen hours ago, it was still dark out, thick grey storm clouds hanging low above San Diego. Maria stood on the doorstep, soaked through the bone despite Bob’s leather coat, holding a large blue shopping bag. 

You stepped aside to let her in. She stripped off her jacket and kicked off her shoes and her wet socks, shedding her woollen cardigan at the same time. 

“Ugh!” she groaned, “We’re cursed. I swear we’re cursed. First the cake, then the car, then the DJ’s stupid computer and now torrential rain… Oh! And I didn’t sleep last night,” she added, “I feel like such a hot mess,” Maria said, “Did morning sickness kick your ass this much?” she asked in a whisper.

“I’m sorry, I’ll make you a ginger and lemon tea. It helps with nausea. We can say it’s to fight off a cold,” you whispered back.

“You are my favourite sister-in-law, you know that?” she said, shooting you a wink, “Is this my darling baby niece?”

Maria leaned over to kiss Charlotte, leaving a perfect print of her red lipstick on her little forehead, “See this is why I told the makeup artist to use lipstick and not lipgloss. Lipgloss bleeds on everything,” she mumbled, using her long sleeve to wipe away the mark.

You chuckled, “Relax, it’ll all be okay,” you said, rubbing her arm reassuringly.

“I can’t relax,” she sighed, “I desperately want to relax but I can’t because everything is just going wrong.”

“Maria, are you healthy?” you asked sternly. She nodded, “And is Bob healthy?” you said. She nodded again, “And is the baby healthy?” you asked. She nodded again, “Then nothing’s going wrong.”

“I just feel like we’re being punished,” she admitted, “We’ve sinned against Him.”

“Maria, I don’t think the Lord would bother exacting vengeance on something -- I’m sorry -- on something so minor. He’s blessed you with a baby and He will bless you with a happy marriage so just try and enjoy the day you’re having. I know it’s chaotic and stressful, but there are blessings to be found in the hardest days,” you said, “Isaiah 41:10-13: fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. The Lord is with you and he will stay with you for as long as you let Him.”

“You’re right,” she said, “You’re right,” she repeated, a little brighter and more enthusiastic, “Everyone is healthy, I am about to get married to the love of my life and the Lord is with me, everything is going great,” Maria smiled, “But if anything else breaks, I swear I will cry.”

“I’ll bring tissues,” you grinned, “let’s get you that tea before you actually need it to fight a cold.”

You walked into the living room, dropping Charlotte off on Jake’s lap so he could hold both of the children, and continued on your way until you got to the kitchen where you switched on the kettle and prepared a teapot. 

“Who wants tea?” you called out. Four hands shot out into the air while their owners continued the conversation they were having.

As you opened the fridge, Maria made her entrance, having dropped off her bag in the corridor where it could dry off on the welcome mat without staining your hardwood floor any more than you already had. You pulled out a small chopping board and a knife. 

“You’re early!” you heard Isabella shout, Maria’s answer muffled by the hug her mother had pulled her in, “You’re freezing, bellissima,” she gasped, “You’ll catch a cold.”

“I’ll restart the fire, I think Y/n is making tea,” Jake said, standing up. You saw him hand the twins over to Sophia and Alessa and your heart wrenched a little before you forced yourself to ignore what was going on in the other room and got back to the task at hand. 

You cut up the lemon, dropping it in a teapot before peeling and thinly slicing some ginger to go with it, you drowned it all in boiling water and topped it off with a healthy drizzle of honey, mixing it all by gently swirling it around. Once you were satisfied, you put it all onto a tray with cups and some biscuits and joined everyone on the sofas. 

----

Once tea was done, Maria joined you in your bedroom so that you could help her into her dress. You had skipped out on tea early to take a shower and do your own hair and makeup while your children were being carefully watched by Jake and the family. 

“Y/n, you look beautiful!” she exclaimed, taking in the deep emerald velvet of the dress you had chosen for the wedding. It was the first time you had dressed up since having the twins and you were feeling a little more self conscious than usual. 

“Do you really think so?” you asked her. 

“Absolutely, my brother isn’t going to be able to keep his hands to himself,” she said, a devious look on her face. “Thank you again for the tea, I feel much better,” she continued as she put her things down on your bed, “I was hoping no one would realise I wasn’t staying here anymore but apparently someone did some snooping.” 

“Oh?” you asked, confused as to who would go wandering through your house. 

“Dad said he wrote me a letter and that he went to put it in my room, but he found it empty,” she explained, a pained expression on her face. 

You felt more at ease knowing that it was Giovanni, “What did you tell him?” you asked her as you took her dress bag, hanging it on the back of your bathroom door. 

“I just told him Bob and I were doing what you and Jake did, where he sleeps in the guest room and I am in the master,” she answered. 

“Do you think he believed you?” you questioned as you unzipped the bag for her dress. 

“I’m not sure, I hope so,” she said, “Regardless, we are getting married today so it’s not like it’ll matter in,” she stopped for a minute, looking down at her phone, “Three hours.” 

You let out a quiet chuckle as you freed the skirt of her dress from the bag, “Maria, this dress is beautiful,” you said, your eyes widening at the beautiful white material hanging in front of you. Maria’s dress was simply stunning. The gown was a pure, brilliant white. It had a simple strapless, sweetheart neckline, and the fitted bodice led down to a fluffy, full skirt that was every bit as princess looking as Maria was. Unlike what you were expecting, the dress was rather plain, with no beading or lace to be seen. It didn’t need it though, the snow white material was so beautiful, and with its silver underskirt, the dress was literally shimmering in the light of your bedroom. 

“Thank you,” she said, coming to stand beside you, “I just hope it fits, I’m not too far along but I have a little bump forming.” 

“I’m sure it’ll fit just fine,” you said with a smile, “Let’s get you in it!” 

You helped Maria into the dress, only struggling for a moment with the zipper and buttons on the back before carefully pinning her veil into her gorgeous updo. 

“I think you are going to kill him,” you said, your hands pressed over your mouth. 

“I hope not,” Maria replied with a laugh, “I kinda need him.” 

You cracked open the door to your room and peeked out into the hall before fully opening it and ushering Maria into the hall.

The two of you descended the stairs to find the rest of the family dressed up for the occasion, all except for Jake. When Maria entered the room everyone crowded around her, singing high praise at her dress and how beautiful she looked, but your husband only had eyes for you. 

“Hey beautiful,” he said, coming to stand in front of you. 

“Hey handsome,” you replied, “You need to get dressed.” 

“On my way love, will you watch this one for me? Amanda has Christopher,” he told you as he carefully transferred Charlotte into your arms. 

Amanda came highly recommended to you by your paediatrician, she was a nurse at the hospital you gave birth at who babysat small babies in her free time for some extra money. While it made you nervous to leave your precious babies home with someone else, you didn’t want to worry about them all night at the wedding and you knew that they wouldn’t be able to sleep with the noise of the music at the reception. 

“Of course,” you replied immediately, smiling down at your daughter, “I hung your dress blues on the bathroom door,” you called out after him. 

“Thanks love!” he shouted as he made it to the top of the stairs. 

Once Jake was dressed and you were all ready to leave, not without triple checking Amanda had everyone’s numbers and knew exactly where everything was, you loaded into your Tahoe, Jake’s truck, and the rental SUV that Giovanni had gotten at the airport to drive to the church. 

The drive from yours to the Immaculate Conception Church in San Diego took double what it should have. Traffic, despite the fact that it was nearing two in the afternoon on a Tuesday, seemed to have San Diego at a standstill, but when you finally made it to the church’s carpark, the only one seeming stress-free was Maria. 

“It’s not like they can start without me,” she smiled, smoothing out her dress and readjusting her veil. 

“How are you feeling?” Isabella asked, having fussed over Giovanni’s tie so much that she hadn’t heard her daughter speak.

Maria beamed, “Giddy. Mi sposo, mamma!” she said, adding the last bit in a whisper, as if she was telling her mother a secret. I’m getting married, mom! Isabella giggled, taking her daughter's hand in hers and kissing the knuckles.

Gio came up behind her, throwing his arm around her shoulders with the hint of a tear in his eyes, “Sì, lo sei, sorellina,” he sniffled, “E sai cosa ti rende?” he asked. Yes you are, little sister. And you know what that makes you?

“Tutti cresciuti?” Maria answered. All grown up?

“Non è più un nostro problema,” he replied, barking out a teary laugh, high fiving with Tony while Maria rolled her eyes. Not our problem anymore.

“Non essere cattivo con tua sorella il giorno del suo matrimonio” Isabella said, outraged at her eldest sons’ behaviour. Don't be mean to your sister on her wedding day.

“Mamma, si sta per sposare, non è sul letto di morte,” Gio replied, still masking his genuine emotionality with sarcasm and jokes. Mom, she’s getting married, she’s not on her deathbed.

“Mi prenderesti ancora in giro sul letto di morte,” Maria replied. You would still tease me on my deathbed. “Almeno Jacob ha la decenza di sembrare emotivo,” she grinned, pointing at Jake as he wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his dress blues. At least Jacob has the decency to look emotional.

“Queste sono lacrime di tristezza per Bob,” Jake replied, soon devolving into full-on sobs. He grabbed Maria by the forearm and pulled her into a hug, “Ti amo, piccola seccatrice. Prenditi cura del mio amico,” he said against her hairline. I love you, you little nuisance. Take care of my friend.

“Everyone ready?” Father Dan asked, appearing out of his Toyota, slamming the door behind him as he climbed out, “Traffic’s a nightmare today,” he told you.

“Jacob, pull yourself together,” he sighed, sounding exasperated at the sight of a sobbing Jake. Although he sounded annoyed, you saw the sides of his mouth twitch upwards in a concealed smile. Father Dan caught your gaze and winked, “You’ll make her dress wet,” he added before turning to Maria, grabbing her delicate, manicured hands into his surprisingly calloused ones, “Maria, you look beautiful. Are you ready to become Mrs Floyd?” Daniel asked and she nodded, “Let’s get you married then.”

“Yes please,” she breathed

“Alright, Mr Seresin, you stay behind with Maria. The rest of you find your seats. I’ll get Bob and the photographer to come out for the first look” he said.

You nodded at Father Dan, putting your veil on and handing Jake a tissue before stepping into the church, curtseying at the altar and finding your seat. The Seresin side of the church was packed while Bob’s was largely empty. He’d decided not to invite his father or anyone from his paternal family, so the only people currently filling up his side were Beau, Lizzie and the kids, as well as friends from home and from the navy. To make things more equal, you and Jake bid goodbye to the Seresin clan and made your way to the Floyd pews, finding seats next to the Simpsons. 

As soon as you sat down, Mass began, the sound of the Wedding March playing through the church’s organ as Bob walked down, cheeks glistening with tears, with his mother by his side. Minutes later, Maria walked down the aisle, beautiful and beaming, squeezing Giovanni’s arm reassuringly as he led her to Bob, his eyes red and bottom lip wobbling. 

After a beautiful wedding mass, Father Dan pronounced the happy couple man and wife. Guests were ushered out of the church and given cones of white petals, ready for when Bob and Maria would step out. Everyone found their spots at each side of the church steps and waited.

The first few bars of ‘Die A Happy Man’ by Thomas Rhett started playing and the church doors opened again, revealing Bob and Maria, holding hands. You threw a handful of petals up in the air, signalling for everyone to do the same as the photographer stepped out to the middle to get a clear shot of the newlyweds, petals raining down like snowflakes. 

----

Maria had told you three weeks ago about their ‘last minute’ wedding theme change. She had never made it a secret that she had always wanted a white Christmas themed wedding,  and after her impromptu pregnancy announcement in your hospital room, Bob was even more determined to give her everything she wanted. But when she had told you about the theme, you hadn’t quite imagined it would look the way it did when you walked into the venue.

You were fairly certain that Santa’s workshop was less Christmassy than this. 

At the back of the venue, a sixteen foot tall Norway spruce, decorated to perfection with red, gold and pearl coloured baubles and lit up with thousands of fairy lights, seemed to hold up the ceiling. Its foot was hidden by a pure white tree skirt, giving the impression that it had snowed inside and making the room feel magical. 

Around the tree, tables had been arranged, dressed with white tablecloths, gold rimmed plates and a stunning centrepiece of candles, holly, cranberries and golden baubles. To the side of the tables, against the brick wall, Maria and Bob had arranged the bar and buffet, providing guests with an assortment of food, a hot chocolate and mulled wine section, candy apples and showing off the gorgeous wedding cake you had made, that Beau had volunteered to bring over to the wedding venue that very morning.

“Sorry,” the photographer said, tapping you on the shoulder as you looked on in awe, “The bride and groom want a few family photos in front of the tree.”

You made your way down, careful not to bump into any of the other, smaller christmas trees so as to not spray the floor with needles, choosing that path specifically to avoid talking to Mrs Wilkinson, your church’s infamous busybody. You could see her looking in your direction, already calculating a path to ambush you with the same question she always asked at church, and that you had begun to resent. Mrs Wilkingson, coming from an older generation, as was her excuse, seemed to have missed the memo that asking a young mother when she might be ready to ‘bounce back’ and ‘get her lovely, slender body back’, were entirely inappropriate questions to be asking. 

The photographer positioned you to Bob’s side and Jake to Maria’s. He had stopped sobbing about halfway through the wedding ceremony, exactly two minutes before Giovanni Junior started sobbing, and, unlike Gio, his face had lost all puffiness and redness. You both beamed at the camera, feeling a little disappointed that you hadn’t taken the babies, as seeing the little suits and dresses Maria had forced the children to wear made your heart melt. You’d have to make do with Agostino and Luca, who both seemed happy enough to preen and prance in exchange of a steady stream of compliments. 

“One more of the happy couple and then I will let you all sit down and eat!” The photographer said, pointing his camera at Bob and Maria as the rest of you stepped away from the tree. “Three,” he counted, “Two,” his hand moved to his lens, twisting it slightly, “Smile!” he ordered. The flash went off. The camera went down again, and Bob’s smile faltered, his eyes glued to something further in the room. You tried to spot what he had seen but, being smaller than most people present, you couldn’t see anything.

“I’ll just be a minute,” you heard him say to Maria, a tense smile on his face. 

You watched him walk hastily towards the doors at the side of the ballroom. While everyone else dispersed and Maria was caught up with other guests, you noticed her eyes kept glancing towards the doors that Bob had disappeared through. A sinking feeling fell upon you when Beau followed Bob away from the party. Trying to ignore what you were feeling, you made your way to the bar, hoping that a glass of champagne might settle your mind. 

It was a few minutes later, glass of champagne in hand, that all hell broke loose. Maria ran through the room, her voice calling out, “Jacob! Gio! Tony!” 

All three men immediately rushed to her side as you and the rest of the guests stood shocked at her state. Her dress was ripped at the bodice, and her makeup was starting to run with the tears she had running down her cheeks. You quickly set your glass down and made your way to her as the three men took off running to the doors she had just come through. 

Isabella and Nonna met you at Maria’s side where the three of you guided her out of the room and into the hallway. Isabella, though concerned for her daughter, paused at the doors as you and Nonna continued guiding Maria out of the room. 

Isabella turned around to face the crowd of guests who were now gathering towards the door, “We will be back in a moment, please enjoy a few drinks!” with that, she closed the doors behind her and joined your small group at a bench in the lobby of the hotel. 

“Cos'è successo tesoro?” she asked Maria as she crouched down in front of her and wiped a few tears from her face. What’s happened darling?

“Bob left, and when he didn’t come back…” Maria started, a sob breaking up her words, “Then I watched Beau go after him…” she paused again shaking her head, “There was a man in the hall, I came out of the door and he turned to swing at me, like he was going to hit me.” 

Her words made your heart clench in your chest, “Did he hit you?” you asked. 

“No,” Maria said quietly, “Bob stepped in front of me, he took the hit. It pushed him back, and he stepped on the hem,” she said, bringing her hands up to gesture at the rip in the seam between the bodice and skirt of her dress. 

Before she could be interrupted again, she continued speaking, “Bob pushed me back inside, he told me to get the guys, I–”

At that moment, a fuming Jake came around the corner, behind him, Gio and Tony were flanking a man who had a bloody nose. Jake brought the group to a stop in the middle of the hall and his voice startled you as he directed the man to speak, “Apologise, now.” 

If you had been in that man’s position, you would have done so immediately. Jake’s voice was deep and threatening, and the way that Gio and Tony were holding him, made you believe he would have bruises on his arms for days if not weeks to come. 

The man stayed silent. Jake continued, “Fine, don’t apologise,” he turned to Maria, “We will be right back, just taking out the trash.” 

She let out a small sniffle and your group watched as Jake led his brothers towards the rear of the hotel.

The lobby was quiet for a minute before Bob came running around the corner, his eyes widened at Maria’s state. You and Isabella took a step out of the way, watching as he came to kneel before her. 

“I’m so sorry, are you okay? He didn’t touch you right?” Bob fussed, pulling Maria into a tight hug. 

You, Isabella, and Nonna wandered back towards the reception hall, not wanting to intrude on their private moment. When Bob pulled back from the hug, one of his hands ghosting over Maria’s stomach, you turned to Isabella and Nonna, catching their attention. 

“Do we have something to fix her dress with?” you asked quietly. 

Nonna nodded, “I keep a kit in my purse dear. Bella, could you take me back inside?” 

“Of course, I will reassure everyone that everything is alright and then we can fix her dress,” Isabella directed towards you before offering her arm to Nonna. You closed the door to the hall behind them once they were through and turned to find Bob holding Maria to him, his mouth was moving, but you couldn’t tell what was being said. 

When Isabella reappeared with the sewing kit, the two of you made your way over to the couple. Giving Bob a tense smile, you caught Maria’s attention, “Let’s fix your dress, shall we?” you asked, gesturing for her to stand against the wall. 

Bob took a step back from her and seemed to notice the exposed silk of the slip she was wearing beneath her gown. He took his place beside her, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder as you crouched down and carefully sewed the gap shut. 

When you were done, you stood in front of them, “There, now let’s just…” you started, looking around the lobby. Finding a tissue box on a table a few feet away, you pulled a few from the top. 

Gently, you wiped away the streaks of mascara from underneath Maria’s eyes. You felt her take a deep breath and saw the surprise on her face as you pulled the exact bottle she used earlier out from your clutch. 

“What are sister-in-law’s for if not planning ahead?” you asked, a little laugh escaping you as you pulled the stick from the tube and reapplied a fresh coat of the black cream to her eyelashes. 

“Thank you,” she whispered once you were done. 

You gave her a smile, “Anytime,” you paused only when you heard footsteps approaching from down the hall. Turning, you saw Jake, Gio, Tony, and Beau approaching you from the back of the hotel. 

You turned back to Maria and Bob, “Are you ready to go back in there?”

Maria took a deep breath and plastered a smile on her face, “As ready as I’ll ever be.” 

Bob smiled, his hand clasping with hers, “I’m ready as long as I’m with you.” 

As soon as you were rejoined by Jake, you led the way back through the doors. Isabella was standing next to the DJ and as Maria and Bob walked in at the back of your group, she prompted him to announce them. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, for the second time, can we please have a hand for Mr. and Mrs. Bob Floyd?” his voice boomed through the speakers. 

Every guest was standing and cheering as they came into the room, and not two seconds later, everyone was tapping their champagne glasses so that the couple would share a kiss. 

You smiled at the sight of their happiness, the moment interrupted by the bartender, “What can I getcha?” he asked. 

You paused a moment before answering, “A glass of champagne please.” 

Suddenly, you felt a pair of arms wrap around your waist beforeyour husband’s voice added, “And a whiskey, neat please.” 

You turned to face Jake as the song for Bob and Maria’s first dance started to play through the room. He leaned down so that his mouth was next to your ear, “It was Bob’s dad, not too happy that he didn’t receive an invite to the wedding,” he whispered. 

You nodded, letting him know that you heard what he said, “I don’t think he’ll be back,” Jake added before pulling back and beginning to sway with you to the song as you waited for your drinks. 

The rest of the evening was uneventful, and by the end of the night, Jake had to carry you back to the truck because your feet hurt from dancing. You were even surprised when you came home to a quiet house, Amanda was seated on the couch, watching a show on Netflix. 

“Hello you two!” she said quietly, turning the tv off, “How was the wedding?” 

“Magical!” you said, the excitement from the night had not yet left you. 

She gave you a smile, “That’s wonderful! Just so you know, I put them down just a little bit ago after they needed to eat again so I’d say you’re good for at least 3 hours.” 

“Thank you so much Amanda,” Jake said, pulling the cash out of his wallet to pay her. 

“No, thank you two. It’s not often I get to spend time with such adorable babies,” she replied with a laugh as she made her way to the door, “Well I will be on my way. Let me know when you need someone again?”

“Will do!” Jake confirmed as she made her way outside. You heard him shut and lock the door as you made your way upstairs. Jake’s heavy footsteps were not far behind you. 

The two of you glanced into the nursery, content to find both your babes sleeping peacefully, before making your way into the bedroom. 

“Besides Bob’s dad's wedding crashing, I had a wonderful night,” you said, spreading your arms out as you fell back on your mattress. 

Jake let out a chuckle, which was much closer than you expected it to be. You opened your eyes just as his weight caused the mattress to dip. He was holding himself above you, his arms bracketing your head. 

“I’m glad you had a good night,” he said, pressing a kiss to your lips. 

The kiss went from gentle to passionate rather quickly, and suddenly, you and Jake were wrapped up in one another for the first time in the long weeks since your bundles of joy had been born. 

---

Even though the weathermen of your local radio station had predicted ‘biblical downpours’ for the Sunday that followed Bob and Maria’s wedding, when you came out of the house with the babies dressed to the nines for their baptisms, the sun was out in full force, beating down so hard that you wished you had brought a hat and forgotten your coat. 

The church was full when you arrived, as the normal congregation had been joined by your guests, all ready to attend your babies’ baptisms. You and Jake looked on with pride as Bob and Maria took their place as godparents, promising to help guide your children towards a faithful life and helping them understand what it meant to be a Christian, beaming at each other as they did so, Maria’s hand resting on her stomach for a second as she said the words.

After mass, your family joined you at your house, everyone enjoying the garden and sun room while the weather lasted, drinking champagne and eating the sandwiches and finger foods the caterers had brought over. Jake had turned on some music, mainly as a way to keep blanks in conversations less noticeable but partly because Peter Simpson had asked him and Bob for a word and didn’t want to be heard.

You had noticed them pulling up chairs at the back of the garden, talking quietly, slightly hunched over the firepit while Jake held Charlotte who seemed to desperately want to touch the pretty flames. You chuckled at the way her little hands reached down, trying to grab at the fire while Jake and Bob both battled to keep her hands to herself, their serious conversations occasionally interrupted with “Would you stop that,” and “You’ll hurt yourself,” and even an exasperated “You’ve got an arsonist on your hands, Jacob,” from Bob. Peter seemed to be enjoying these interruptions immensely, the grin he had plastered on his face never leaving. 

You approached hesitantly, carrying three flutes of champagne in your hands, and a sleeping Christopher strapped to your chest. Peter noticed and nodded, silently giving you the go-ahead to approach. You handed each man a drink and perched yourself on Jake’s armrest.

“Discussing state secrets?” you asked.

“Just college plans,” Peter replied, “I wanted their advice.”

“On degree or specific school? Because you know Jake is a die hard UT fan, right?” you asked him. 

“Neither, actually,” Peter hesitated, “And I heard UT was terrible if you want to do an English degree, anyway. Sorry Jake.” 

“That’s just plain wrong,” Jake scoffed.

Peter raised an eyebrow at him before refuting his claim, “I mean their reviews online --”

“Okay so maybe the english department is bad, but you said you weren’t sure about doing that anyway. Their political science faculty is very good and --” Jake started. 

“You did political sciences?” Bob interrupted.

“Yessir,” Jake agreed with a smirk, “Not as stupid as I look, am I?” he laughed.

“Okay so, you meet your first girlfriend at a D&D campaign, then you tell me you’re the designated IT technician and computer builder for the family, and now I learn you did a pol sci degree?” Bob asked with an incredulous smile.

“And I was on the debate team,” Jake winked.

“Jake Seresin--” Bob started but stopped. He turned to you, “Y/n, darling, I don’t know how to tell you this but… You married a nerd,” he said, grabbing both of your hands in his and adding the last bit in a whisper. 

“I know I did,” you replied, “You want to know what I caught him watching, no, practically participating in last night?” you asked the boys while Jake tried to hide his head behind Charlotte in mock embarrassment, “I caught him answering all the questions on University Challenge, you know, that british college quiz show?”

“Please tell me he got some wrong,” Bob pleaded.

“None,” you answered.

Both boys gasped, pretending to be horrified before Bob spoke up, “Jacob, you need a new callsign. What should it be, Peter?”

“Err,” Peter panicked, “Sudoku?”

“Bob, you’re bleeding off on him,” Jake said, “Look at that! Absolutely terrible!”

“Shut up,” Bob retorted.

“Hey, language!” you told him, frowning at him while trying to hold in your laughter as he opened his mouth in protest and waved his arms about, mostly pointing at Charlotte, trying to silently convey that she was too young to understand anything anyway.

“How about LBJ?” Bob offered, “Jake ‘LBJ’ Seresin… Sounds decent! And it fits, he was a politician, an ex-debate teacher and he was from Texas.”

“Not bad, Bobby boy,” Jake nodded.

“So if you’re LBJ and he’s Bob, what’s my callsign?” Peter asked, grinning widely.

“You know callsigns aren’t supposed to be flattering, right?” you smiled, “They have to come from embarrassing stories or things like that… You know, like that time you lost some of your hair when you used Lizzie’s shaving cream as shampoo, --” you said, sending both Jake and Bob in hysterics.

“Peter ‘Nair’ Simpson,” Bob laughed.

“-- or that time we went swimming at a lake and you got chased by geese,” you continued. 

“I still have that scar, by the way,” Peter added, “It bit my butt so hard Dad had to take me to get stitches!”

“It’s a shame the callsign Goose is already taken,” Jake laughed, wiping tears out of the corner of his eye. 

“How’d you get your callsign then, Dove?” Peter asked. You rolled your eyes, ready to ignore the questions, but both Bob and Jake turned towards you.

“Yes, baby, how did you get your callsign?” Jake insisted.

“I slipped in the showers at the academy after dropping my bar of Dove branded soap. I broke my wrist trying to catch myself,” you replied. The boys tried to keep their laughter in, aware that they shouldn’t find your injury amusing, but the image of it soon had them cackling.

You huffed out a sigh before turning on Jake, “Alright then Hangman, how did you get yours?”

“I leave people out to dry, honey,” Jake shrugged, “Just so detached, that’s how I am, you know,” he added, concealing a smile. 

You swatted his arm, “Oh come on!”

“I played a prank on some kid on our like, second week at the academy. We duck taped him to a wall at a pool party…” Jake started, trailing off with a smirk on his face. 

“Hey, I thought they were supposed to be embarrassing stories!” Peter exclaimed, looking disappointed. 

“They are, Jake’s a liar,” Bob retorted, a sly smile on his face, “I heard of that prank, and weirdly enough, I remember the name of the duck tape kid… Something like J--” Bob started, Jake’s hand quickly coming to cover his mouth and muffle his words.

“Oh my God, you got duck taped to a wall?!” Peter exclaimed, “Why?!”

“I don’t remember,” Jake groaned, “I fell asleep on a deck chair, three seconds later and I’m duck taped to a wall, three feet up in the air. I don’t even know how they did it… But I’ll tell you what,” he said, pointing a finger at Peter, “Removing the duck tape was the single most painful experience in my life. I was shirtless, it was very much like that scene in The Forty Year Old Virgin.”

“Fairly certain that’s the reason I can’t grow much chest hair,” he added in a grumble which made everyone around the firepit laugh, even Christopher and Charlotte who joined in, looking slightly more alarmed than amused.

“So, how did dad get his callsign?” Peter asked.

“Hey dad!” Bob shouted, catching Beau’s attention, waving him closer, “Pee-nut wants to know how you got your callsign,” he explained.

“Nope,” Cyclone said, turning on his heels.

“Oh come on, dad! You’re no fun. We’ve all shared,” you said, egging him on, “It’s your turn now.”

“If anyone -- especially Maverick -- hears anything about it, and I mean anything, I will --” Beau hesitated, trying to come up with something, “ground you two for life,” he said, pointing at Bob and Jake, whose smiles only grew, “And you, young man, I will show any and all future girlfriends the special photo album I have made of ALL the embarrassing pictures I took of you as a child. And might I remind you that until you hit twenty one, you still count as a child, so those pictures of you in Y/n’s wedding dress? She’ll see those too…”

Peter had tried on your wedding dress one day when you had taken Lizzie to one of your bridal appointments. He had finished school early, and bored out of his mind, he had decided to join you. You had been standing on heeled shoes for the entire day, blisters had formed, making standing any longer ever so painful. Peter had seen your struggle, and seeing as he was about the right height anyway, he had put on the dress and played model while the bridal assistants adjusted the size of the skirt. You didn’t quite remember when or where the blonde wig had been found, but when Beau went to pick all three of you up, he had found his son dressed to the nines as a beautiful bride. Between fits of hysterical laughing, he had managed to take a picture.

“Pinky promise,” Peter swore, smiling from ear to ear.

“Fine,” Cyclone said, “You know the Cyclone roller coaster in Coney Island?” he asked, pausing until everyone had nodded, “I made the mistake of going to an all-you-can-eat-buffet beforehand… I’ll leave it at that…”

“Oh!” Peter exclaimed, “You barfed?!”

“Scream louder, would you?” Beau asked sarcastically.

“You know, I don’t know if I can keep quiet about this…” you said, “I mean it’s a hilarious story, and you didn’t really threaten me with anything so I guess I’m -- MAVERICK” you called, Beau lunged forward, covering your mouth with his hand, careful not to hit Christopher in the process.

“Shit stirrer,” he whispered. With his hand still keeping you from talking, Beau turned to the boys, “What got started on callsigns anyway?”

“I’m thinking of joining the navy,” Peter said, “I’m not sure what I want to do in college for sure, but I want to apply for UC San Diego. Hopefully I get in. Otherwise maybe Cal State, or worse come to worse, I can apply for John Paul the Great Catholic University, if I decide to do science.”

“That’s --” Beau said, “That’s great, Pete…How come this is the first I’m hearing about it?” he added, letting go of you, wiping his hand on his trouser leg.

“I just wanted to check with Jake and Bob, see if they think it’s a good idea, considering I’ve applied to replace Bob as youth minister…”

“You’re leaving?” you asked, touching Bob’s shoulder lightly.

He smiled, “No, I’m staying. I’m just taking over Jake’s duties. I’m keeping the teens though, I don’t really know what to do with little kids,...”

“Hey, it’s good practice,” Beau said.

The blood drained from Bob’s face as he looked at you, a horrified expression on his face; You tried to stay neutral so as to not attract too much attention and make Beau question what other meaning his words could have, “Sorry?” Bob asked.

“Didn’t Y/n say you were on babysitting duty for like, a year?” he asked.

“Right! Yes! I’m sorry, I completely forgot,” Bob chuckled nervously.

“I won’t let you,” Beau winked, “Because any evening where you are babysitting is an evening I am not babysitting,” he chuckled, “Don’t get me wrong, I love my grandkids -- Gosh, I feel old -- I love my grandkids, but I forgot how fragiles babies are, and I don’t think I have it in me anymore,” he said, shaking his head, “I’ll gladly take over when they’re older though.”

“Like how old?” Bob asked, “Old enough to drive?!”

“Yeah,” Beau replied, “That sounds good. Good luck till then,” he added, clapping Bob on the back and leaving to find Lizzie again.

Peter watched him walk off, “You know, he’s usually more emotional when I talk about college…” he said.

“I saw a tear,” Bob said, “Worry not, Peter Pan, worry not. He’s still an old sap.”

“Hey, you didn’t mind him being a sap when he told Captain Floyd to never touch, look or breathe near his son again if he wanted to stay alive…” Jake grinned.

“I never said I minded it,” Bob beamed, leaning back against his chair, “I like it, actually,” he added, a deep crimson blush covering his cheeks. 

----

Rooster walked through the sunroom of the house, two beers in his hands, looking for Annie. They had barely been able to catch a moment together since she had landed three days ago, largely because Admiral Simpson watched their interactions like a hawk, and partially since Annie felt guilty about missing the wedding that she had tried to spend as much time with the newlyweds to make up for it. 

She had been looking forward to the wedding since the day Bob proposed, Rooster knew, but an impromptu snow storm grounded the planes for the foreseeable future. Going by train would have just as much time but the Admiral had vetoed the choice as soon as he heard the words ‘greyhound bus’ which Rooster privately agreed with. In the end, Annie and Audrey had made the drive in Audrey’s uncomfortable, baby blue Cruise and arrived, exhausted and aching after thirty-one hours of highways. 

He found her in the kitchen, puttering about the cupboards to plate up some brownies and cupcakes, wearing a lovely white cotton dress that reached her knees. She looked wonderful, she always did, but seeing her like this made Rooster feel a little funny. Somehow, it felt a little too domestic.

“Got you a present,” he said as soon as she spotted him, raising the hand that held the beers up in the air so she could see it. 

“Just what I needed, thanks Brad,” she sighed, brushing a lonely strand of her short blonde bob away from her face, “I swear I emptied a whole can of hairspray on it this morning and it’s still loose,” she added, the hair falling in front of her face again, “I guess this is going to be it, then.”

“You look nice,” Rooster replied, brushing the strand away himself. By miracle, it stayed put. Annie beamed at him, taking the beer from his hand and taking a large swig. 

“Could you help me?” she asked, looking up at him from the task of cutting brownies into perfect squares. 

Bradley smiled, placing the beers down on the counter, he came up behind her, pulling her back to his front in a hug, “Of course, what do you need?”

“Could you reach the platter for the cupcakes?” she directed, using the knife in her hand to gesture to the cabinet to her right, “It’s too high up for me to reach.” 

Brad quickly removed his hands from her hips, holding them up at his sides, “Yes ma’am!” he said, imitating how he would respond to his CO. 

Annie let out a peal of laughter as she cut the brownies. Once Bradley had brought down the platter, he began filling it with cupcakes. The silence they had been standing in was starting to turn awkward and he wasn’t sure what to do other than break it.

Before he could, Annie let out a huff before speaking, “You know my friend, Chloe?” she asked. 

“Yeah,” Bradley said, his attention still focused on the cupcakes, “What about her?”

“Well you remember I told you about her boyfriend, the one who works in Texas?” she continued, now placing the brownies on a plate. 

“Yes, I remember,” Brad replied, his brow raising at where this conversation could be going. 

“She called me the other day, just to chat,” Annie continued, “Said she was moving to Texas. That she needed to get out of Indiana for once in her life, be by the man she loves, all that…” 

Bradley almost dropped a cupcake. He didn’t quite know what to say to that. Turning around slowly, he was met with Annie’s back, her hands were clenched tightly on the edge of the counter, and every muscle in her body looked stiff, like she was waiting for something. 

“That sounds…nice,” he said, his brain slow to find the right words to her story. 

“It does, doesn’t it?” she asked, finally spinning to face him, her eyes bright with hope. 

Bradley’s heart dropped, he couldn’t give Annie the life she wanted. Not with the risks his job provided. Suddenly, an image of his mother and her grief flashed across his mind. There were two days a year he saw Carole Bradshaw cry, he wasn’t sure he could, in good conscience, do that to Annie. 

Realising that what she asked wasn’t rhetorical, Bradley felt his mouth open, then close, then open again, the words he spoke sounded strangled, even to him, “Yeah, I’m happy for them.” 

Not daring to watch the hope leave her eyes, he turned back around, his focus now back on the cupcakes she had directed him towards earlier. He heard a sharp inhale behind him before Annie’s quiet voice caused him to stiffen, “Is there something wrong with me?” she asked. 

Bradley didn’t need to turn around to see her lip quivering, he could hear it in her voice. He turned around anyway, his heart clenching when he saw her. There were tears welled up in her eyes and her chin was dimpled, like she was trying to hold back her tears. 

“No, baby, there’s nothing wrong with you,” he said, trying to diffuse the situation, “Why would you even think that?” 

“Well,” she said, her voice cracking on the word, “You say you love me, but you are content to be over two thousand miles away from me, so there must be something wrong with me.” 

Bradley took a step towards her, but Annie immediately stepped back, the only thing keeping her from retreating further was the counter that was now dug into her lower back, “No,” he said again, his voice firm, “There is absolutely nothing wrong with you.” 

She let out a humourless laugh, “I suppose there is someone else then? Someone skinnier? Prettier? More bubbly?” 

Before Bradley had been confused, but now he was angry, “There is no one else. Why would you even think that?” 

“It’s not a hard conclusion to come to, Rooster,” she said, her voice harder than before, her tears still threatening to swallow her up. 

“Honey, I’m yours,” he said, his voice raising slightly, “You have had me wrapped around your finger since the day we met, there isn’t anyone else, there never could be!” 

“Then why? Why do you string me along with promises of the future? Why do you always choose to leave them empty?” she asked, her own voice raising to match his level. 

“Because I can’t do this now, it’s not the right time,” he exclaimed, turning away from her and running his hands over his face, “It's not the right time,” he repeated. 

“Not the right time for what? You to finally commit to something other than your truck?” she asked, pointing the knife she still held at his back. 

Bradley turned around, pointing a finger at her, “It’s more than that, you wouldn’t understand.” 

“Why don’t you try me then?” she asked, her eyes flaring with the fiery passion he knew and loved, it hurt to see it turned against him. 

“I had to see my mother, for years, mourn the loss of my father. Every birthday, every holiday, every anniversary. She loved him so much, she never even dared to look at another man, I can’t-” he exclaimed, startled when her voice cut through his. 

“Don’t you stand there and talk to me about how I wouldn’t understand. My father died in a crash too, and not only did I have to watch my mother mourn, I had to watch her abandon our family,” Annie had tears running down her cheeks, and her voice was thick with emotion, “Abandon me, every day since he died. At least you had your mother’s love, and Maverick, that man loves you like only a father could. Beau came around when he was able and I love him to bits, but he was focused on Y/n, making sure my mother’s grief didn’t kill her.” 

Bradley felt a heaving breath leave him. He opened and closed his mouth, feeling like a gaping fish, unable to draw a breath. Annie’s own childhood wasn’t much different from his, if anything, it was worse. He didn’t know what to say, so he did what he knew best, he ran. 

As he made to slam the front door behind him, he heard a gut wrenching sob. Bradley was wracked with guilt as he threw himself in the Bronco and shifted it into first, tearing off the side of the street and out of the neighbourhood.

----

Rooster sat on the pew and laced his fingers together on his knees, wondering if he was even doing this correctly. He remembered pieces of the Our Father but he was fairly sure they were all in the wrong order and some of the bits he heard Bob pray before were different from what his father had once prayed with him, but he figured the Lord probably wouldn't mind too much. 

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven," Rooster muttered, confident about the first few lines.

"Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Give us today our daily bread -- No, no. Is this right? Does it even matter?" He asked. Silence reigned in the church, his whispers magnified as they echoes through the empty building, "Fuck, do You even care? I've shat on You for thirty years now, if you care about how I say the Our Father, if this is the line you draw, then you have your priorities wrong, man -- God. Sorry," he stuttered out.

"Err, I don't -- how does this work? Do I just talk?" He asked, "Because I'll be honest this feels fucking weird. I'm just --"

"Perhaps you would like some help?" Someone asked, snapping him out of his reverie. He’d been so concentrated on staring at the ceiling, that he hadn’t noticed that the church was no longer empty. The voice belonged to a small, chubby woman with a straight black bob, and a kindly smile. She walked up to him with long, calm strides, her feet hitting the bottom of her black dress with every step.  

"I -- err -- I'm not sure what I'm doing," Bradley admitted.

"Is this your first time?" She asked, a thick accent coming through her voice. It sounded unmistakably British. 

"First time in thirty years, I think," he replied.

"Out of practice then," she said with a smile,

"I don't know if I believe, to be honest," Rooster replied, his eyes finding a place on his shoes. 

"Well, dear, I think you do. I don’t usually find non-believers praying in my church,” she replied. 

Rooster paused for a second, “Fair…”

“My name is Dawn,” she said, sticking her hand out for him to shake, “Nice to meet you.”

“Bradley,” he said.

“Well, Bradley, if you need any help. You can find me in the vicarage,” she said, turning on her heels, “I’ll have you know I make a very good cup of tea. And I’m a very good listener,” she added.

Bradley smiled, endeared by the forwardness of the priest and he stood, following right behind her. 

“So,” she said, once she had led him out of the church and into the vicarage, a tiny house right off the side of the church. What it lacked in size it made up for in personal effects. The entire house was crammed full. From floorboard to ceiling, Rooster could see books, knicknacks, porcelain dishes and picture frames. Dawn made her way through everything to reach the only tidy room in the house. 

The kitchen was impeccable, the counters clean and tidy, and when she searched through cupboards for two cups, Rooster could see that the cupboards were similarly organised. All in all, the kitchen was fairly minimalist. Rooster liked where her priorities lay. She flicked the kettle on and pulled a large aluminium box from the top of the fridge.

“What’s bothering you then, love?” she asked, shaking the box. It rattled with something heavy. Dawn pried the top open. She looked inside, seeming pleased with the contents and overturned it onto a plate, sending shortbread cascading onto the table, “Oops, I am so clumsy sometimes,” she laughed, “My mum used to say I’d fare better in life if I slowed down a bit, I reckon she’s right but life would be a whole lot less fun, wouldn’t it?”

Bradley just nodded, a small chuckle escaping him. 

“What do you do in life, Bradley? How about we start with that?” she said.

“I’m a naval aviator,” he replied.

“Oh!” she giggled, “You agree with my opinion on slowing down then!”

Bradley smiled. There was something about Dawn he liked, she seemed motherly and welcoming and he felt like he could tell her anything.

“I’m having trouble with something,” he said.

“I’m listening,” she replied, getting up as the kettle clicked, “But before you start, should we have tea in the Noah’s ark teapot, or the Holy Bible teapot?” she asked, holding up the two choices, “We’re having Earl grey, if it helps?” she adds.

“Holy Bible, I think,” Rooster replied, having never been so confused in his life. He watched her pour the water into it and carry it gingerly over to the table, placing it down in front of him. In all fairness, it was a very nice teapot. It depicted two pages out of an ancient illustrated Bible, separated in the middle by a red bookmark. Acting as the lid was a tiny porcelain black cat, peacefully snoozing. 

“You were saying?” Dawn asked, now giving him his full attention, her hands crossed in front of her.

“I’m having trouble with something,” he tried again. He tried to figure out how to explain it to her, but the right words wouldn’t come out. Starting from the beginning would take ages and he didn’t want to bother her with the details.

“Yes. I can see that,” she replied.

“It’s hard to explain,” he said, trying to defend himself.

“Yes, so is the word of Jesus Christ and I do it every week, so get on with it boy!” she said, her words were harsh but she had spoken in such a voice that it sounded encouraging. 

“I lost my dad when I was four. He was a naval aviator like me, only he was a weapons systems’ officer -- which means he sat at the back -- anyway, there was a training exercise and he died on the spot,” Rooster said. While the words weren’t exactly the ones he had wanted to use, now that he had started talking he couldn’t stop and soon enough, he had explained everything from his father’s death, to his mother’s, to Maverick and to the dagger squad. The only thing he hadn’t explained was Annie, and he knew Dawn could feel it.

“I’m sorry you have to live with that, I can tell it weighs heavy on you. That’s not why you’re here, though, is it?” she asked.

Rooster squirmed under her gaze. He felt a little like a child at the principal’s office, regardless of how nice Dawn actually was, “I’m having trouble with my girl. She’s catholic, I’m…whatever I am,” he said

“Is she serious about it?” Dawn asked, Rooster raised an eyebrow in confusion, “I think people take God too seriously sometimes.”

“Now I don’t mean that you shouldn’t take God seriously, I mean, and this is coming from a vicar, believe me, I can take God seriously,” she laughed, “I just mean that I think the Lord likes a laugh,” she explained, pronouncing ‘laugh’ like ‘laff’, “Otherwise, he wouldn’t have invented jokes and he wouldn’t have bestowed english sitcoms upon this green earth. No, what I mean is you know, is she --,” Dawn mimed a frown, “-- about it?”

“No,” Rooster grinned, slowly getting used to Dawn’s strange personality, “She’s fun.”

“Oh, dearie, if fun’s the only thing you have to describe her then I can believe you’re having issues with your girl,” she said with a frown. 

“I’m just answering your question!” Rooster defended himself, “Annie’s kind, she’s caring, she’s bubbly, she’s funny, she’s smart, she’s --”

“Catholic?” Dawn volunteered, seeing him struggle. 

Rooster nodded, “It feels like she wants me to be that too,” he said, “We had an argument and she unloaded on me. I like her, I really like her, but I don’t know if I can be the kind of guy she wants me to be.”

“Her sister’s married a friend, they have this great life together and it feels like Annie wants the same. Honestly I wish I could give it to her, but I can’t. I don’t believe, I don’t want to do the cute church dates and I don’t want to centre my life around someone I’m not sure I believe in,” Bradley said, tears welling up in his eyes.

“Then don’t,” Dawn said, “Well, if only they were all this easy…” 

“Wait, what?” Rooster asked, feeling ever so confused, “Aren’t you supposed to try and convince me? To, whatsitcalled, ‘evangelise’ me?” 

“Do you want me to?” she asked, “Despite what people think, I am actually quite busy, and I’d rather not waste my time trying to convince someone who will not be convinced. Don’t get me wrong, I love to ‘evangelise’, as you say, but it’s almost time for my kids to come home from school, and I have to get dinner started.”

“I’m so confused,” Rooster admitted.

Dawn pursed her lips, “Look Bradley, obviously this girl means a lot to you, but if she wants to change who you are then she’s not right for you. Even if she thinks she’s doing the right thing by asking you to bring the Lord into your life. The Lord wants believers, yes, but He does not want people to pretend to believe, Bradley. And I doubt she wants to wake up one day after fifty years of marriage and three kids to find that you only ever pretended to believe. I’m sure she’s nice, and I’m sure she thinks you need to have a faith, but as much as I would like to see you in my church every Sunday, pretending to love the Lord is as much of a betrayal to the Lord as it would be to the friends and family you’d make in church.”

“She didn’t --” Bradley started.

“What did she say?”

“She talked about her best friend. How she is moving to Texas, to be with her boyfriend,” Bradley started, and he found that he couldn’t stop, the words just kept coming, “I didn’t know what to say so I said that was good for them. Then she asked if there was something wrong with her, or if I was seeing someone else. When I tried to tell her why…why I can’t give her what she wants, she reminded me that we aren’t that different. We both grew up in broken homes and…I don’t know…that I’m not the only one who’s ever lost someone.” 

“It doesn’t sound like she wants you to be faithful, it sounds like she wants commitment,” Dawn smiled, “It sounds like you put the Lord in there. It’s been on your mind a lot, hasn’t it?”

“I guess,” Rooster agreed, “I spoke to a friend of mine months ago. He really let me hear it and I guess I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.”

“About believing?” 

“No, about how the Lord didn’t make mistakes but people did, and that if my dad died it was because of a human mistake. He said I shouldn’t be looking to make the Lord pay for my loss, said I should work through it some other way,” he explained, “He made a point, I guess. He asked if my dad was a Christian, and if he’d be blaming God if he was in my spot…”

Dawn paused for a moment, considering what he said, before asking, “Would he?”

“Don’t know, it’s not like I can ask, is it?” Bradley asked, his hands coming out to the sides in frustration. 

“Well, why not?” Dawn shrugged.

“Right,” Rooster scoffed, “Let me just bust out my ouija board,” he said, his voice laced with sarcasm, “Hey Dad, hope heaven’s good if you’re there, are you pissed at the Almighty for killing you and making your kid an orphan?” he added, pretending to pick up a phone and placing it next to his ear.

Dawn shrugged, “Well, what’s the worst that can happen? I mean you said it yourself, you’re not sure you believe in all of that, so worst case scenario, you don’t get an answer.”

Bradley remained silent a moment longer before lamely adding, “I mean, I guess…”

“Best case scenario…” she trailed off.

“It doesn’t solve my problem though,” he said.

“Bradley, I can do a lot of things, but I cannot help your allergy to commitment,” she smiled.

“I’m not --” Bradley started “I’m not allergic! It’s just that, in my line of work  --”

“Okay, I’m going to stop you right there. First off, you like her, she likes you, you’re both adults so work it out. Second off, you can break it off with her if you’re so keen on not committing for the sake of your job, but it looks like she doesn’t mind the risks,” Dawn said in a no nonsense tone. 

“It’s not that she doesn’t mind, it’s that I can’t--” Bradley started, trying to defend his position. 

Dawn interrupted him, her voice raised only slightly, “This isn’t just your choice Bradley! Let her have a say in what you do! If she accepts your reasons, your fears, and you still like her, then time to man up and commit, boy!” 

“And if she doesn’t?” he asked, his heart sinking at the thought. 

“Oh honey,” Dawn said, suddenly looking sad, “You’re not scared of commitment, you’re scared of abandonment. Nothing I can do about that, I’m afraid. I often think that’s the saddest part of humanity. We live, we love and then we die, that’s what happens and there’s nothing we can do to stop it, no matter how much we try, even pushing people away won’t work. We’re social animals, Bradley, we need contact and attachment,” she continued, placing one hand on top of Rooster’s, “And we need it from people, otherwise we get sad and miserable and I’d really rather you didn’t become the kind of person who cries when their roomba breaks,” Dawn winked, eliciting a chuckle from the man in front of her.

“I guess you’re right. I can’t keep closing the door on people who want in on my life,” he sighed. A key turned in a lock and the front door flew open. The sounds of rowdy kids and an exhausted man approached the kitchen, shooting a look at the doorway, Dawn removed her hand from Bradley’s and leaned back in her chair. 

“Yes. Now go home, pray to your dad and come back to tell me about the results,” she said, waving her hands to shoo him out of the house. Rooster stood up and thanked her for the tea before making his way back to the front door, crossing two ginger haired girls and a small man with an impressive moustache.

Once the cool wind hit his face, Bradley felt like he woke up from a perplexing dream, but somehow he had come out knowing exactly what he needed to do. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and saw he had gotten a text.

Annie: Going back to Indiana. Have fun in San Diego. 

Rooster’s heart dropped in his chest. He knew he’d hurt her, but he didn’t think it would make her leave early. Annie had been telling him how excited she was to see everyone and finally meet her niece and nephew for weeks now, she’d even joked about permanently moving to California with Audrey a few times. The thought that he had done enough damage to make her leave early truly broke his heart. He pressed on her name. It rang five times before she picked up.

“We need to talk. Can I come see you? We can have coffee,” Bradley asked as soon as she picked up, checking his watch to see if he had enough time.

“Bradley, I’m at the airport. I’m waiting for my flight home,” she replied. Behind her, he heard a computerised voice announce boarding times and gate numbers for another flight.

“I know, I can make it in time for boarding if I start now, can I meet you?” he insisted, getting in the Bronco and prepping the key in case she said yes. He wasn’t proud of how he had behaved with her and she had every right to refuse to see him, but he really hoped he hadn’t messed this up. Annie was a wonderful girl, and he truly liked her. He didn’t want her to break up with him because he couldn’t commit, something he had often reproached Jake, but now, Bradley wondered if he hadn’t been projecting.

“I’m sure we can talk over the phone,” she snapped. 

Rooster turned the key, feeling a little victorious. Although it hadn’t been a ‘yes’, the fact that she hadn’t outright refused him meant there was still a chance for him to make things right.

“I thought you wanted commitment?” he asked.

“Okay, I’ll be waiting for you at Starbucks, don’t make me late,” Annie replied, trying to sound like she was still mad at him but Rooster could hear a hint of excitement in her voice. 

“I wouldn’t dare,” he assured her, hanging up the call with a smile as he backed out of the church parking lot and down the street, letting gravel fly underneath the wheels of his truck.

[lgg5989]

Church Encounters Chapter 23

We are back with a new chapter for you guys! I hope everyone likes it. 

This fic is written in collaboration with my bestie @barbiewritesstuff so be sure to give her a like and a follow! I hope you enjoy the lovely moodboard @barbiewritesstuff​ made, the previous chapters can be found on my Masterlist and the whole story thus far is posted on my Ao3!

Tag list: @roosterscock @sydneyhlove @mygyn @inky-sun​

“Cupcakes are done!” Natasha said, popping her head through the doorway, her hair covered in four where she had brushed it away from her forehead, “I know I know, I look like whatsername from X-men.”

“Rogue?” Jake volunteered.

“That’s the one!” Natasha smiled,” Anyway, they’re cooling in the fridge, I can make the icing if you want but I don’t know if you want to frost them now or if you’re keeping that for tomorrow…”

“No, I want to get it out of the way, I think. We’ll be busy enough tomorrow as is,” you replied, slowly getting out of the rocking chair, placing Charlotte back in Jake’s arms so the three of them could snuggle while you worked. 

“I made you a coffee,” Phoenix said, “It’s decaf though. I know y’all are only allowed like three cups total, my sister had to kick the habit when she got pregnant,” she explained. You hummed in agreement, placing one hand on her arm and giving it a gentle squeeze of thanks. 

“So we’re making --,” you started, quickly checking your phone for Maria’s cake instructions, “-- a chocolate ganache for the chocolate cake, a vanilla cream cheese frosting with caramel drizzle for the carrot cake and a whipped cream frosting for the strawberry tier -- actually, I’ll do that one tomorrow, whipped cream frosting doesn’t last great in the fridge … I think we can make vanilla cream cheese and caramel for the cupcakes, what do you think?”

“Sounds great to me. What are we doing for the like outside decorations? How does she want it to look?” Nat asked, glancing over at your phone.

“White frosting over the entire cake, with a small chocolate heart saying ‘B + M’ like a carving in a tree,” you replied, “Easy peasy,” you smiled. 

Making the frosting was the easy bit, you knew the recipes by heart now after years and years of baking and being the designated dessert person at every barbecue, dinner party and birthday party any of your friends had ever had, but as much as you enjoyed baking, cake decorating was your least favourite bit. 

Still, you did your best to bring Maria’s vision to life. You whipped up the ganache and spread it between layers of the chocolate cake, made a well in the carrot cake’s cream cheese frosting to pour cooled caramel in, and painstakingly piped buttercream over every single one of the vegan cupcakes. In order to limit what you would need to do tomorrow, you also made the white buttercream that would cover the whole cake, making sure to add a drop of purple food colouring into the mix to really bring out the white. 

You crashed down into the sofa, exhausted and horrified to find out it was already lunch. You mentally went through your pantry and fridge, wondering what you could cook up when the doorbell rang. 

“I’ve got it!” Jake called, coming out of the nursery, still wearing his pyjamas. He made his way to the front door, patting down his hair to look a little more presentable before opening it.

“I bring lunch,” Beau announced, “And bad news, I’m afraid. The Seresin clan are stuck at the airport, the plane’s had a mystery malfunction and they don’t know when they’ll get there. I’m on standby to pick them up until then… I haven’t told Bob and Maria, obviously, they’re already stressed enough…”

“Bob was a wreck last night while we were fixing the car, Father Dan ended up sending him home while we fixed the car just so he could take a breather,” Jake said, “It’s all good, though, the car’s running again.”

“What was wrong with it?”

“Would not be able to tell you,” Jake laughed, “I’m not a car guy, they just told me what to do and I did it.” 

“I would have thought you’d know something about cars, Jake,” Nat said, coming in with a pot of coffee for everyone and four mugs.

“Nat, please move in,” you sighed, gratefully taking your second cup of caffeinated coffee of the day into two hands. Natasha laughed, she took the seat next to you on the sofa, sitting as far away from Cyclone as physically possible.

“It’s weird seeing him outside of work,” she whispered in your ear, “He’s so… normal,” she added. You chuckled, “I keep thinking he’s going to glare at me and tell me off for reckless flying,” she said

“I wouldn’t have to, Lieutenant Trace, if you didn’t fly recklessly. I know Bob trusts you, but that doesn’t mean I have to give you carte blanche for every manoeuvre you can think of when you’re flying against Bradshaw,” Cyclone said, fixing her with one of his famous glares, “I like my son to come home in one piece.”

“Yessir,” she said, making herself as small as possible, like a student being told of by a teacher. 

“Anyway, tuck in,” Beau replied, pulling little boxes out of the brown bag he had brought in. He placed one in front of you, removing the lid at the same time to reveal a portion of Lizzie’s infamous lasagna. Jake disappeared into the kitchen for a second, coming back with cutlery for everyone but before you could scoop a mouthful onto your plate, Jake’s phone rang. He picked up, putting it on speaker 

“Well I’m fucking cursed, is this what I get for getting Maria --” Bob started

“Speaker!” Jake warned, “Beau is here, and so is Phoenix,” 

The line went quiet for a moment before Bob answered, more calmly, “Right, thanks.” 

“What’s gone wrong now?” you asked.

“The Dj was setting up, we had a power cut and the computer won’t start,” Bob sighed, “I’m cursed, I swear…”

“Calm down. I’ll come by and see what’s up, I might be able to fix it for you,” Jake said, abandoning his lasagna and pushing it towards you, “Give me twenty minutes to hop in the shower and drive over, though.” 

He bounded up the stairs, skipping every other step to speed up the process. A few seconds later you heard your ensuite shower turn on and another moment later you heard it turn off as Jake stepped out to find some clothes to wear. Bob was still on the phone, talking to Phoenix and Beau as Maria talked to the wedding planner, telling them where she wanted things to go. 

“Most of the out of state guests on my side have made it here okay, we’re having dinner with my mom tonight. She’s not met Maria, yet -- Oh, I’ve just realised, she doesn’t know I’m catholic… That’ll be interesting…,” he said, chuckling nervously, “Anyway, I better go before something else breaks… I don’t want Maria to have to deal with the stress all by herself…”

Jake barrelled back down the stairs, his own laptop tucked under his arm in case the DJ’s couldn’t be fixed. He kissed you on the lips, waved at Phoenix and clapped Beau on the shoulder before vanishing down the corridor to bid your napping babies goodbye.

“I forgot how much they slept,” Beau said as he watched Jake quietly close the nursery’s door, “And how tiny they are at that age,” he added.

“They’ve already grown up so much,” you replied, looking past Beau at the gallery wall of family pictures. While many were of just you and Jake, you had started adding pictures of the little ones too. 

Taking centre stage was one of the first pictures you had ever taken as a family, albeit none of you knew it at the time, Bob had sneaked in after his first visit, having forgotten his jacket and caught all of you sleeping. You were laying on the bed, the babies were peacefully snoozing in their crib, and Jake had fallen asleep on a chair, his leg over one of the arm rests and his head resting against the wall behind him. Bob had sent it to you as soon as you woke up, and you had it printed two days after getting home. Although it was supposed to be a funny picture, you found it sweet and it showcased just how tiny the twins had been the day they finally arrived. 

“Hmm,” Beau sighed, “Feels like the triplets arrived yesterday…They’re in primary school now… They can write and read a little. Goodness, soon enough I’ll have to worry about them dating,” he laughed but you could tell by the way his head hung low that he felt sad about it. Phoenix stood up, taking the empty cups and lasagna boxes with her to the kitchen.

“You grew up so fast,” he whispered, kissing your forehead, “One second you fit into my arms and now look at you…” 

You stood up, grabbing the waist of his shirt to pull him closer and hugged him tightly, “I still fit,” you mumbled into his shirt, “I’ll always fit.”

You felt him smile against your forehead as he placed a kiss against your skin, “I love you,” he said.

“I love you too,” you replied. 

----

You worried over the arrival of the Seresins’ flight all night, but early the next morning you received the text from Beau saying that they had landed. 

You opened the front door and shivered. While California didn’t know true cold weather, you had lived here long enough to shiver as soon as the temperature dropped below 50F, much to Annie and Audrey’s amusement. At the thought of them, a frown marred your face. Annie and Audrey’s flight had been delayed since yesterday. Lake effect snow from Chicago had hit Indianapolis, grounding their flights. You weren’t sure if they would even make the wedding, but you hadn’t given up hope yet. 

You wrapped your knit cardigan tighter around you, hoping it would keep you protected from the wind but it proved no barrier against the breeze as you stretched out your arm to hug Sophia, who, in her puffy coat, was equally unused to the cold. 

“Hello mama!” she said, her teeth shattering as she spoke, still cheerful despite the time and the lack of sleep. Their flight had landed three hours ago after a six hour delay. They had gone to the hotel to check in and shower, but the adults, full of giddy energy, had all opted to stay awake and come over.

“How are you feeling? How is the baby?” She asked. You paused for a moment, debating what to say. Jake had briefed you earlier that none of his siblings had been told about the twins. 

“We’re all good!” you answered, deciding on the most diplomatic answer you could manage, one that was technically not a lie. You let Sophia through into the warm house where she settled herself onto the sofa, in front of the open fire, palms stretched out in front of her to warm herself up. 

You looked back out towards the driveway where Giovanni Senior, Gio and Tony were unbuckling sleeping children and passing them onto Beau, Isabella and Alessandra to carry into the house. Leaving your post by the door you went to check up on the dryer cycle in the laundry room, you saw the timer had run out. You pulled warm blankets out, folding them into a laundry basket as you went and carried them all to the spare room, where you had set up mattresses and camp beds for the children to sleep in. Giving each bed a blanket, you made sure it all looked comfortable before taking Agostino out of his father’s arms and placing him down on a bed, his toy monkey held tightly in his hands.

“Where is yours then?” Gio asked with a grin, nodding towards his son.

“Still sleeping, you’ll meet them when they wake up,” you said, plastering a smile on your face. 

“Oh come on, enough with the secrecy. We tried to get mom to tell us anything and even she wouldn’t budge,” he said, his voice rather whiney for a grown man, “Wouldn’t even tell us if it was a boy or a girl.”

You let out a quiet laugh, “You’ll just have to wait and see! I think Jake wanted to be here when you met them.” 

“Fine!” he huffed, “I’ll be patient. They better be f--” he started, trying to censor his swear “--firetrucking cute.”

“Firetrucking?” you asked, barely trying to hold in your grin.

“Silenzio,” Gio replied, sticking his tongue out at you. He exited the room and you followed up behind, crossing Tony in the corridor. 

When you emerged into the kitchen, you found Isabella already puttering about, talking to Jake in Italian as she searched through cupboards for the premium Italian coffee grounds. You always kept a small amount for Isabella who simply refused to drink ‘any of that American shit’ as she called it. 

“Bellissimo! È bello vederti!” she exclaimed as soon as she spotted you, engulfing you in a bone breaking hug.  Beautiful! So good to see you!, “Sembri in salute,” she added, stepping back a little so she could properly look at you. You look healthy.

“Mi sento in salute, se non si contano la privazione del sonno,” you replied, dusting off whatever remained of the duolingo course you had started, and never finished after first meeting the Seresins. I feel healthy, if you don't count the sleep deprivation.

Your attempt raised cheers, Tony and Gio enthusiastically clapping and Alessa letting out a couple of ‘Whoop whoops’ of celebration while Jake beamed at you from the other side of the room. 

“Dov'è il caffè, tesoro? Non posso bere questa merda americana,” Isabella asked, getting right back to business. Where is the coffee, darling? I cannot drink this American shit. You walked around her, opening one of the cupboards she hadn’t managed to search through yet and pulled the small tin out from the back, handing it to her with a smile. 

“Shh!” Alessa suddenly said, putting her index in front of her lips, “Ascoltare,” she whispered. The entire room grew quiet, listening out for whatever Alessandra had heard. Quietly, as if talking to himself, you heard Christopher’s little voice. Jake moved to get to the nursery, but he was almost immediately pushed to the side and into Giovanni Senior by Gio. 

Giovanni Junior booked it to the nursery and for a second, no one else moved. Your gaze crossed Jake’s and suddenly, as if everyone else had made up their mind at the same time they all stood up and ran. Jake followed right behind, passing in front of Tony and your sisters-in-law but not quite making it to the door before Gio. Both reached for the door handle at the same time, Gio’s hand landing underneath Jake’s, the weight of which pushed the handle down and the door swung open revealing two cribs, two names painted above the beds and two babies. 

“Buon Dio,” Tony said Good God, bringing his hand to his forehead, “Ce ne sono due.” There are two. 

Jake pushed past his brother so he could step into the nursery to soothe Christopher, Tony stepping in next to Gio to take his place, effectively blocking the door and any hope to see into the room for Alessa and Sophia who had resorted to standing on their tiptoes, straining their necks to catch a glimpse of the babies.  

“Bontà Graziosa” Gio sighed. Graceful goodness.

“Cosa hai detto?” Alessa asked, touching Tony’s shoulder to grab his attention. What did you say?

“Gemelli? Gesù Cristo…Non fai le cose a mezze misure,” Gio said, his voice so low only Jake and Tony could hear. Twins? Jesus Christ, you don’t do things in half measures. 

“Di cosa stai parlando?” Alessa asked, what are you talking about, getting more frustrated. She threw herself against her husband’s shoulder, causing him to stumble forward and her to fall though, “Gesù, Maria e Giuseppe,” Jesus, Mary and Joseph, she swore, “Sono gemelli,” They are twins, she called out to her sister-in-law.

Sophia gasped. Seeing you making your way to join them, she ran up and hugged you, squeezing the air out of your lungs. 

“Hai avuto un taglio cesareo?” Did you have a c-section? she asked, looking horrified when you shook your head, “Sei più coraggioso di quanto lo sarei mai stato io,” You are braver than I would have been, she breathed. Sophia paused for a second, holding you at arms length so she could look into your eyes as she spoke, “Per favore, dimmi che hai avuto un'epidurale.” Please tell me you had an epidural.

You shook your head again, laughing at her expression of half horror and half reverence.

“Non sapevamo che avremmo avuto due gemelli. Lo abbiamo scoperto solo quando ha dato alla luce il primo,” Jake laughed. We didn’t know we were having twins. We only found out when she gave birth to the first one. 

“I wouldn’t have had an epidural even if I knew I was having twins,” you said, “I had gas and air so it wasn’t completely natural,” you told Sophia.

“More natural than I would have ever wanted. I would have had morphine if I could, especially with Catalina,” she replied.

“Possiamo vedere i bambini o dobbiamo aspettare un altro mese?” Gio grumbled. Can we see them or do we have to wait another month? 

“Li vedrai quando decideremo che puoi vederli. Hanno fame,” You can see them when we decide you can. They are hungry. Jake replied, raising an eyebrow at his brother. The crowd parted to let you through and he handed you Christopher after kissing his chubby cheek, still happily making noises by himself, trying to figure out everything his little voice could do. Jake walked back towards his siblings and into the corridor, closing the door behind him to give you privacy as you fed them. 

“Sei svenuto?” Did you faint? Gio asked Jake as you emerged from the nursery, holding both of your babies against your chest.

“I’m not you Gio, I’m not a coward,” he replied, winking at his brother. 

Isabella gasped, seeing you arrive with your precious cargo, “Guarda come sono cresciuti!” See how they have grown! She exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air, crossing the distance between the two of you in two large strides. She fussed over the babies, petting their little cheeks and making cooing noises at them while they looked on with eyes as wide as dinner plates. 

“Non dirlo, mamma. Sono minuscoli. Sono i nostri bambini piccoli,” Don't say it, mom. They are tiny. They are our little children, Jake said, flinchingat his mother’s words. 

Giovanni Senior smiled, engulfing him in a side hug, “Saranno sempre dei bambini piccoli. Anche quando sono cresciuti. Anche quando hanno i loro bambini,” They will always be small children. Even when they have grown up. Even when they have their own children, he said.

“Ma cresceranno, è inevitabile. Un giorno ti svegli e sono tutti sposati, ma saranno comunque i tuoi figli,” But they will grow, it is inevitable. One day you wake up and they are all married, but they will still be your children, he continued with a sigh, tears welling up in his eyes, “Non sono pronto per oggi,” I'm not ready for today Giovanni whispered. 

“Andrà tutto bene, papà. Starai bene,” Everything will be fine, dad. You'll be fine, Jake replied, turning around to properly hug his father, “Non è stato male quando tutti noi ci siamo sposati, andrà bene anche con Maria.” It wasn't bad when we all got married, it will be fine with Maria too.

Isabella shot him a look, “Ha pianto per due giorni quando ti sei sposato...Continuava a dirmi che non era pronto per far crescere il suo bambino,” she said. Jake looked at his father, mouth ajar, looking dumbfounded and amused. He cried for two days when you got married ... He wasn’t ready to see his baby grow up.

“Oh, papà! Sei un tale tenero!” Jake laughed but the blush spreading over his face betrayed how touched he truly was. Oh, dad! You are going soft!

“Va bene, basta. Basta!” Okay, that's enough. That's enough! Giovanni Senior grumbled, swatting his youngest son’s hands away from him in embarrassment, “Vediamo quei bambini. Maria sarà qui presto,” he added. Let's see those children. Maria will be here soon.

“Arriverà tra due ore! Sei solo imbarazzato” Jake replied smiling broadly, lunging away from his dad when Giovanni pretended to raise his hand at him. She will arrive in two hours! You're just embarrassed.

“Hai pianto al mio matrimonio?” Gio asked. Did you cry at my wedding?

“No,” Giovanni replied.

“Bugiardo,” Isabella laughed, “Ha pianto a tutti i tuoi matrimoni. Era molto triste vedervi crescere, ma è molto orgoglioso di ciò che siete diventati,” she said, going around to kiss all of her sons on their cheeks. Liar, he cried at all your weddings. He was very sad to see you grow up, but he is very proud of who you have become.

 “Siamo entrambi molto orgogliosi,” she added. We are both very proud.

“So,” Sophia said, looking at you with eager eyes, “Who’s who and can I hold one?”

You laughed, quickly introducing the twins to the group and passing Christopher off to Sophia while you kept Charlotte to yourself. While you were having a much easier time allowing anyone other than Jake hold the babies, your panic still flared up sometimes. It wasn’t that you didn’t trust them, because you did, but having your babies in the arms of another felt a little too much like having someone rip a part of you away. Having Charlotte in your arms was just as much for your reassurance as it was for hers, she was the least sociable of the twins and tended to get panicky if anyone else so much as looked at her for a little too long.

After Sophia, Christopher was passed onto Tony, then Gio and then Alessa, and, after the commotion woke Luca and Agostino, your baby was passed on to the children who gently held him in their arms as they sat on the sofa, a little scared to move. Eventually, after your little boy had met the entire family, Jake took him in his arms again and Beanie breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

“Look at him, so happy to be in daddy’s arms. He knows he’s safe with you, Jake,” you whispered to him, leaning against his shoulder, “He knows who you are and he loves you,” you added, kissing the sleeve of his shirt.

The doorbell rang, making you all jump. You stood up and walked to get the door, swinging it open clumsily, Charlotte still laying in your arms, swaddled in a pale pink blanket. The wind and cold had turned to rain at some point in the morning and although the sun had risen hours ago, it was still dark out, thick grey storm clouds hanging low above San Diego. Maria stood on the doorstep, soaked through the bone despite Bob’s leather coat, holding a large blue shopping bag. 

You stepped aside to let her in. She stripped off her jacket and kicked off her shoes and her wet socks, shedding her woollen cardigan at the same time. 

“Ugh!” she groaned, “We’re cursed. I swear we’re cursed. First the cake, then the car, then the DJ’s stupid computer and now torrential rain… Oh! And I didn’t sleep last night,” she added, “I feel like such a hot mess,” Maria said, “Did morning sickness kick your ass this much?” she asked in a whisper.

“I’m sorry, I’ll make you a ginger and lemon tea. It helps with nausea. We can say it’s to fight off a cold,” you whispered back.

“You are my favourite sister-in-law, you know that?” she said, shooting you a wink, “Is this my darling baby niece?”

Maria leaned over to kiss Charlotte, leaving a perfect print of her red lipstick on her little forehead, “See this is why I told the makeup artist to use lipstick and not lipgloss. Lipgloss bleeds on everything,” she mumbled, using her long sleeve to wipe away the mark.

You chuckled, “Relax, it’ll all be okay,” you said, rubbing her arm reassuringly.

“I can’t relax,” she sighed, “I desperately want to relax but I can’t because everything is just going wrong.”

“Maria, are you healthy?” you asked sternly. She nodded, “And is Bob healthy?” you said. She nodded again, “And is the baby healthy?” you asked. She nodded again, “Then nothing’s going wrong.”

“I just feel like we’re being punished,” she admitted, “We’ve sinned against Him.”

“Maria, I don’t think the Lord would bother exacting vengeance on something -- I’m sorry -- on something so minor. He’s blessed you with a baby and He will bless you with a happy marriage so just try and enjoy the day you’re having. I know it’s chaotic and stressful, but there are blessings to be found in the hardest days,” you said, “Isaiah 41:10-13: fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. The Lord is with you and he will stay with you for as long as you let Him.”

“You’re right,” she said, “You’re right,” she repeated, a little brighter and more enthusiastic, “Everyone is healthy, I am about to get married to the love of my life and the Lord is with me, everything is going great,” Maria smiled, “But if anything else breaks, I swear I will cry.”

“I’ll bring tissues,” you grinned, “let’s get you that tea before you actually need it to fight a cold.”

You walked into the living room, dropping Charlotte off on Jake’s lap so he could hold both of the children, and continued on your way until you got to the kitchen where you switched on the kettle and prepared a teapot. 

“Who wants tea?” you called out. Four hands shot out into the air while their owners continued the conversation they were having.

As you opened the fridge, Maria made her entrance, having dropped off her bag in the corridor where it could dry off on the welcome mat without staining your hardwood floor any more than you already had. You pulled out a small chopping board and a knife. 

“You’re early!” you heard Isabella shout, Maria’s answer muffled by the hug her mother had pulled her in, “You’re freezing, bellissima,” she gasped, “You’ll catch a cold.”

“I’ll restart the fire, I think Y/n is making tea,” Jake said, standing up. You saw him hand the twins over to Sophia and Alessa and your heart wrenched a little before you forced yourself to ignore what was going on in the other room and got back to the task at hand. 

You cut up the lemon, dropping it in a teapot before peeling and thinly slicing some ginger to go with it, you drowned it all in boiling water and topped it off with a healthy drizzle of honey, mixing it all by gently swirling it around. Once you were satisfied, you put it all onto a tray with cups and some biscuits and joined everyone on the sofas. 

----

Once tea was done, Maria joined you in your bedroom so that you could help her into her dress. You had skipped out on tea early to take a shower and do your own hair and makeup while your children were being carefully watched by Jake and the family. 

“Y/n, you look beautiful!” she exclaimed, taking in the deep emerald velvet of the dress you had chosen for the wedding. It was the first time you had dressed up since having the twins and you were feeling a little more self conscious than usual. 

“Do you really think so?” you asked her. 

“Absolutely, my brother isn’t going to be able to keep his hands to himself,” she said, a devious look on her face. “Thank you again for the tea, I feel much better,” she continued as she put her things down on your bed, “I was hoping no one would realise I wasn’t staying here anymore but apparently someone did some snooping.” 

“Oh?” you asked, confused as to who would go wandering through your house. 

“Dad said he wrote me a letter and that he went to put it in my room, but he found it empty,” she explained, a pained expression on her face. 

You felt more at ease knowing that it was Giovanni, “What did you tell him?” you asked her as you took her dress bag, hanging it on the back of your bathroom door. 

“I just told him Bob and I were doing what you and Jake did, where he sleeps in the guest room and I am in the master,” she answered. 

“Do you think he believed you?” you questioned as you unzipped the bag for her dress. 

“I’m not sure, I hope so,” she said, “Regardless, we are getting married today so it’s not like it’ll matter in,” she stopped for a minute, looking down at her phone, “Three hours.” 

You let out a quiet chuckle as you freed the skirt of her dress from the bag, “Maria, this dress is beautiful,” you said, your eyes widening at the beautiful white material hanging in front of you. Maria’s dress was simply stunning. The gown was a pure, brilliant white. It had a simple strapless, sweetheart neckline, and the fitted bodice led down to a fluffy, full skirt that was every bit as princess looking as Maria was. Unlike what you were expecting, the dress was rather plain, with no beading or lace to be seen. It didn’t need it though, the snow white material was so beautiful, and with its silver underskirt, the dress was literally shimmering in the light of your bedroom. 

“Thank you,” she said, coming to stand beside you, “I just hope it fits, I’m not too far along but I have a little bump forming.” 

“I’m sure it’ll fit just fine,” you said with a smile, “Let’s get you in it!” 

You helped Maria into the dress, only struggling for a moment with the zipper and buttons on the back before carefully pinning her veil into her gorgeous updo. 

“I think you are going to kill him,” you said, your hands pressed over your mouth. 

“I hope not,” Maria replied with a laugh, “I kinda need him.” 

You cracked open the door to your room and peeked out into the hall before fully opening it and ushering Maria into the hall.

The two of you descended the stairs to find the rest of the family dressed up for the occasion, all except for Jake. When Maria entered the room everyone crowded around her, singing high praise at her dress and how beautiful she looked, but your husband only had eyes for you. 

“Hey beautiful,” he said, coming to stand in front of you. 

“Hey handsome,” you replied, “You need to get dressed.” 

“On my way love, will you watch this one for me? Amanda has Christopher,” he told you as he carefully transferred Charlotte into your arms. 

Amanda came highly recommended to you by your paediatrician, she was a nurse at the hospital you gave birth at who babysat small babies in her free time for some extra money. While it made you nervous to leave your precious babies home with someone else, you didn’t want to worry about them all night at the wedding and you knew that they wouldn’t be able to sleep with the noise of the music at the reception. 

“Of course,” you replied immediately, smiling down at your daughter, “I hung your dress blues on the bathroom door,” you called out after him. 

“Thanks love!” he shouted as he made it to the top of the stairs. 

Once Jake was dressed and you were all ready to leave, not without triple checking Amanda had everyone’s numbers and knew exactly where everything was, you loaded into your Tahoe, Jake’s truck, and the rental SUV that Giovanni had gotten at the airport to drive to the church. 

The drive from yours to the Immaculate Conception Church in San Diego took double what it should have. Traffic, despite the fact that it was nearing two in the afternoon on a Tuesday, seemed to have San Diego at a standstill, but when you finally made it to the church’s carpark, the only one seeming stress-free was Maria. 

“It’s not like they can start without me,” she smiled, smoothing out her dress and readjusting her veil. 

“How are you feeling?” Isabella asked, having fussed over Giovanni’s tie so much that she hadn’t heard her daughter speak.

Maria beamed, “Giddy. Mi sposo, mamma!” she said, adding the last bit in a whisper, as if she was telling her mother a secret. I’m getting married, mom! Isabella giggled, taking her daughter's hand in hers and kissing the knuckles.

Gio came up behind her, throwing his arm around her shoulders with the hint of a tear in his eyes, “Sì, lo sei, sorellina,” he sniffled, “E sai cosa ti rende?” he asked. Yes you are, little sister. And you know what that makes you?

“Tutti cresciuti?” Maria answered. All grown up?

“Non è più un nostro problema,” he replied, barking out a teary laugh, high fiving with Tony while Maria rolled her eyes. Not our problem anymore.

“Non essere cattivo con tua sorella il giorno del suo matrimonio” Isabella said, outraged at her eldest sons’ behaviour. Don't be mean to your sister on her wedding day.

“Mamma, si sta per sposare, non è sul letto di morte,” Gio replied, still masking his genuine emotionality with sarcasm and jokes. Mom, she’s getting married, she’s not on her deathbed.

“Mi prenderesti ancora in giro sul letto di morte,” Maria replied. You would still tease me on my deathbed. “Almeno Jacob ha la decenza di sembrare emotivo,” she grinned, pointing at Jake as he wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his dress blues. At least Jacob has the decency to look emotional.

“Queste sono lacrime di tristezza per Bob,” Jake replied, soon devolving into full-on sobs. He grabbed Maria by the forearm and pulled her into a hug, “Ti amo, piccola seccatrice. Prenditi cura del mio amico,” he said against her hairline. I love you, you little nuisance. Take care of my friend.

“Everyone ready?” Father Dan asked, appearing out of his Toyota, slamming the door behind him as he climbed out, “Traffic’s a nightmare today,” he told you.

“Jacob, pull yourself together,” he sighed, sounding exasperated at the sight of a sobbing Jake. Although he sounded annoyed, you saw the sides of his mouth twitch upwards in a concealed smile. Father Dan caught your gaze and winked, “You’ll make her dress wet,” he added before turning to Maria, grabbing her delicate, manicured hands into his surprisingly calloused ones, “Maria, you look beautiful. Are you ready to become Mrs Floyd?” Daniel asked and she nodded, “Let’s get you married then.”

“Yes please,” she breathed

“Alright, Mr Seresin, you stay behind with Maria. The rest of you find your seats. I’ll get Bob and the photographer to come out for the first look” he said.

You nodded at Father Dan, putting your veil on and handing Jake a tissue before stepping into the church, curtseying at the altar and finding your seat. The Seresin side of the church was packed while Bob’s was largely empty. He’d decided not to invite his father or anyone from his paternal family, so the only people currently filling up his side were Beau, Lizzie and the kids, as well as friends from home and from the navy. To make things more equal, you and Jake bid goodbye to the Seresin clan and made your way to the Floyd pews, finding seats next to the Simpsons. 

As soon as you sat down, Mass began, the sound of the Wedding March playing through the church’s organ as Bob walked down, cheeks glistening with tears, with his mother by his side. Minutes later, Maria walked down the aisle, beautiful and beaming, squeezing Giovanni’s arm reassuringly as he led her to Bob, his eyes red and bottom lip wobbling. 

After a beautiful wedding mass, Father Dan pronounced the happy couple man and wife. Guests were ushered out of the church and given cones of white petals, ready for when Bob and Maria would step out. Everyone found their spots at each side of the church steps and waited.

The first few bars of ‘Die A Happy Man’ by Thomas Rhett started playing and the church doors opened again, revealing Bob and Maria, holding hands. You threw a handful of petals up in the air, signalling for everyone to do the same as the photographer stepped out to the middle to get a clear shot of the newlyweds, petals raining down like snowflakes. 

----

Maria had told you three weeks ago about their ‘last minute’ wedding theme change. She had never made it a secret that she had always wanted a white Christmas themed wedding,  and after her impromptu pregnancy announcement in your hospital room, Bob was even more determined to give her everything she wanted. But when she had told you about the theme, you hadn’t quite imagined it would look the way it did when you walked into the venue.

You were fairly certain that Santa’s workshop was less Christmassy than this. 

At the back of the venue, a sixteen foot tall Norway spruce, decorated to perfection with red, gold and pearl coloured baubles and lit up with thousands of fairy lights, seemed to hold up the ceiling. Its foot was hidden by a pure white tree skirt, giving the impression that it had snowed inside and making the room feel magical. 

Around the tree, tables had been arranged, dressed with white tablecloths, gold rimmed plates and a stunning centrepiece of candles, holly, cranberries and golden baubles. To the side of the tables, against the brick wall, Maria and Bob had arranged the bar and buffet, providing guests with an assortment of food, a hot chocolate and mulled wine section, candy apples and showing off the gorgeous wedding cake you had made, that Beau had volunteered to bring over to the wedding venue that very morning.

“Sorry,” the photographer said, tapping you on the shoulder as you looked on in awe, “The bride and groom want a few family photos in front of the tree.”

You made your way down, careful not to bump into any of the other, smaller christmas trees so as to not spray the floor with needles, choosing that path specifically to avoid talking to Mrs Wilkinson, your church’s infamous busybody. You could see her looking in your direction, already calculating a path to ambush you with the same question she always asked at church, and that you had begun to resent. Mrs Wilkingson, coming from an older generation, as was her excuse, seemed to have missed the memo that asking a young mother when she might be ready to ‘bounce back’ and ‘get her lovely, slender body back’, were entirely inappropriate questions to be asking. 

The photographer positioned you to Bob’s side and Jake to Maria’s. He had stopped sobbing about halfway through the wedding ceremony, exactly two minutes before Giovanni Junior started sobbing, and, unlike Gio, his face had lost all puffiness and redness. You both beamed at the camera, feeling a little disappointed that you hadn’t taken the babies, as seeing the little suits and dresses Maria had forced the children to wear made your heart melt. You’d have to make do with Agostino and Luca, who both seemed happy enough to preen and prance in exchange of a steady stream of compliments. 

“One more of the happy couple and then I will let you all sit down and eat!” The photographer said, pointing his camera at Bob and Maria as the rest of you stepped away from the tree. “Three,” he counted, “Two,” his hand moved to his lens, twisting it slightly, “Smile!” he ordered. The flash went off. The camera went down again, and Bob’s smile faltered, his eyes glued to something further in the room. You tried to spot what he had seen but, being smaller than most people present, you couldn’t see anything.

“I’ll just be a minute,” you heard him say to Maria, a tense smile on his face. 

You watched him walk hastily towards the doors at the side of the ballroom. While everyone else dispersed and Maria was caught up with other guests, you noticed her eyes kept glancing towards the doors that Bob had disappeared through. A sinking feeling fell upon you when Beau followed Bob away from the party. Trying to ignore what you were feeling, you made your way to the bar, hoping that a glass of champagne might settle your mind. 

It was a few minutes later, glass of champagne in hand, that all hell broke loose. Maria ran through the room, her voice calling out, “Jacob! Gio! Tony!” 

All three men immediately rushed to her side as you and the rest of the guests stood shocked at her state. Her dress was ripped at the bodice, and her makeup was starting to run with the tears she had running down her cheeks. You quickly set your glass down and made your way to her as the three men took off running to the doors she had just come through. 

Isabella and Nonna met you at Maria’s side where the three of you guided her out of the room and into the hallway. Isabella, though concerned for her daughter, paused at the doors as you and Nonna continued guiding Maria out of the room. 

Isabella turned around to face the crowd of guests who were now gathering towards the door, “We will be back in a moment, please enjoy a few drinks!” with that, she closed the doors behind her and joined your small group at a bench in the lobby of the hotel. 

“Cos'è successo tesoro?” she asked Maria as she crouched down in front of her and wiped a few tears from her face. What’s happened darling?

“Bob left, and when he didn’t come back…” Maria started, a sob breaking up her words, “Then I watched Beau go after him…” she paused again shaking her head, “There was a man in the hall, I came out of the door and he turned to swing at me, like he was going to hit me.” 

Her words made your heart clench in your chest, “Did he hit you?” you asked. 

“No,” Maria said quietly, “Bob stepped in front of me, he took the hit. It pushed him back, and he stepped on the hem,” she said, bringing her hands up to gesture at the rip in the seam between the bodice and skirt of her dress. 

Before she could be interrupted again, she continued speaking, “Bob pushed me back inside, he told me to get the guys, I–”

At that moment, a fuming Jake came around the corner, behind him, Gio and Tony were flanking a man who had a bloody nose. Jake brought the group to a stop in the middle of the hall and his voice startled you as he directed the man to speak, “Apologise, now.” 

If you had been in that man’s position, you would have done so immediately. Jake’s voice was deep and threatening, and the way that Gio and Tony were holding him, made you believe he would have bruises on his arms for days if not weeks to come. 

The man stayed silent. Jake continued, “Fine, don’t apologise,” he turned to Maria, “We will be right back, just taking out the trash.” 

She let out a small sniffle and your group watched as Jake led his brothers towards the rear of the hotel.

The lobby was quiet for a minute before Bob came running around the corner, his eyes widened at Maria’s state. You and Isabella took a step out of the way, watching as he came to kneel before her. 

“I’m so sorry, are you okay? He didn’t touch you right?” Bob fussed, pulling Maria into a tight hug. 

You, Isabella, and Nonna wandered back towards the reception hall, not wanting to intrude on their private moment. When Bob pulled back from the hug, one of his hands ghosting over Maria’s stomach, you turned to Isabella and Nonna, catching their attention. 

“Do we have something to fix her dress with?” you asked quietly. 

Nonna nodded, “I keep a kit in my purse dear. Bella, could you take me back inside?” 

“Of course, I will reassure everyone that everything is alright and then we can fix her dress,” Isabella directed towards you before offering her arm to Nonna. You closed the door to the hall behind them once they were through and turned to find Bob holding Maria to him, his mouth was moving, but you couldn’t tell what was being said. 

When Isabella reappeared with the sewing kit, the two of you made your way over to the couple. Giving Bob a tense smile, you caught Maria’s attention, “Let’s fix your dress, shall we?” you asked, gesturing for her to stand against the wall. 

Bob took a step back from her and seemed to notice the exposed silk of the slip she was wearing beneath her gown. He took his place beside her, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder as you crouched down and carefully sewed the gap shut. 

When you were done, you stood in front of them, “There, now let’s just…” you started, looking around the lobby. Finding a tissue box on a table a few feet away, you pulled a few from the top. 

Gently, you wiped away the streaks of mascara from underneath Maria’s eyes. You felt her take a deep breath and saw the surprise on her face as you pulled the exact bottle she used earlier out from your clutch. 

“What are sister-in-law’s for if not planning ahead?” you asked, a little laugh escaping you as you pulled the stick from the tube and reapplied a fresh coat of the black cream to her eyelashes. 

“Thank you,” she whispered once you were done. 

You gave her a smile, “Anytime,” you paused only when you heard footsteps approaching from down the hall. Turning, you saw Jake, Gio, Tony, and Beau approaching you from the back of the hotel. 

You turned back to Maria and Bob, “Are you ready to go back in there?”

Maria took a deep breath and plastered a smile on her face, “As ready as I’ll ever be.” 

Bob smiled, his hand clasping with hers, “I’m ready as long as I’m with you.” 

As soon as you were rejoined by Jake, you led the way back through the doors. Isabella was standing next to the DJ and as Maria and Bob walked in at the back of your group, she prompted him to announce them. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, for the second time, can we please have a hand for Mr. and Mrs. Bob Floyd?” his voice boomed through the speakers. 

Every guest was standing and cheering as they came into the room, and not two seconds later, everyone was tapping their champagne glasses so that the couple would share a kiss. 

You smiled at the sight of their happiness, the moment interrupted by the bartender, “What can I getcha?” he asked. 

You paused a moment before answering, “A glass of champagne please.” 

Suddenly, you felt a pair of arms wrap around your waist before your husband’s voice added, “And a whiskey, neat please.” 

You turned to face Jake as the song for Bob and Maria’s first dance started to play through the room. He leaned down so that his mouth was next to your ear, “It was Bob’s dad, not too happy that he didn’t receive an invite to the wedding,” he whispered. 

You nodded, letting him know that you heard what he said, “I don’t think he’ll be back,” Jake added before pulling back and beginning to sway with you to the song as you waited for your drinks. 

The rest of the evening was uneventful, and by the end of the night, Jake had to carry you back to the truck because your feet hurt from dancing. You were even surprised when you came home to a quiet house, Amanda was seated on the couch, watching a show on Netflix. 

“Hello you two!” she said quietly, turning the tv off, “How was the wedding?” 

“Magical!” you said, the excitement from the night had not yet left you. 

She gave you a smile, “That’s wonderful! Just so you know, I put them down just a little bit ago after they needed to eat again so I’d say you’re good for at least 3 hours.” 

“Thank you so much Amanda,” Jake said, pulling the cash out of his wallet to pay her. 

“No, thank you two. It’s not often I get to spend time with such adorable babies,” she replied with a laugh as she made her way to the door, “Well I will be on my way. Let me know when you need someone again?”

“Will do!” Jake confirmed as she made her way outside. You heard him shut and lock the door as you made your way upstairs. Jake’s heavy footsteps were not far behind you. 

The two of you glanced into the nursery, content to find both your babes sleeping peacefully, before making your way into the bedroom. 

“Besides Bob’s dad's wedding crashing, I had a wonderful night,” you said, spreading your arms out as you fell back on your mattress. 

Jake let out a chuckle, which was much closer than you expected it to be. You opened your eyes just as his weight caused the mattress to dip. He was holding himself above you, his arms bracketing your head. 

“I’m glad you had a good night,” he said, pressing a kiss to your lips. 

The kiss went from gentle to passionate rather quickly, and suddenly, you and Jake were wrapped up in one another for the first time in the long weeks since your bundles of joy had been born. 

---

Even though the weathermen of your local radio station had predicted ‘biblical downpours’ for the Sunday that followed Bob and Maria’s wedding, when you came out of the house with the babies dressed to the nines for their baptisms, the sun was out in full force, beating down so hard that you wished you had brought a hat and forgotten your coat. 

The church was full when you arrived, as the normal congregation had been joined by your guests, all ready to attend your babies’ baptisms. You and Jake looked on with pride as Bob and Maria took their place as godparents, promising to help guide your children towards a faithful life and helping them understand what it meant to be a Christian, beaming at each other as they did so, Maria’s hand resting on her stomach for a second as she said the words.

After mass, your family joined you at your house, everyone enjoying the garden and sun room while the weather lasted, drinking champagne and eating the sandwiches and finger foods the caterers had brought over. Jake had turned on some music, mainly as a way to keep blanks in conversations less noticeable but partly because Peter Simpson had asked him and Bob for a word and didn’t want to be heard.

You had noticed them pulling up chairs at the back of the garden, talking quietly, slightly hunched over the firepit while Jake held Charlotte who seemed to desperately want to touch the pretty flames. You chuckled at the way her little hands reached down, trying to grab at the fire while Jake and Bob both battled to keep her hands to herself, their serious conversations occasionally interrupted with “Would you stop that,” and “You’ll hurt yourself,” and even an exasperated “You’ve got an arsonist on your hands, Jacob,” from Bob. Peter seemed to be enjoying these interruptions immensely, the grin he had plastered on his face never leaving. 

You approached hesitantly, carrying three flutes of champagne in your hands, and a sleeping Christopher strapped to your chest. Peter noticed and nodded, silently giving you the go-ahead to approach. You handed each man a drink and perched yourself on Jake’s armrest.

“Discussing state secrets?” you asked.

“Just college plans,” Peter replied, “I wanted their advice.”

“On degree or specific school? Because you know Jake is a die hard UT fan, right?” you asked him. 

“Neither, actually,” Peter hesitated, “And I heard UT was terrible if you want to do an English degree, anyway. Sorry Jake.” 

“That’s just plain wrong,” Jake scoffed.

Peter raised an eyebrow at him before refuting his claim, “I mean their reviews online --”

“Okay so maybe the english department is bad, but you said you weren’t sure about doing that anyway. Their political science faculty is very good and --” Jake started. 

“You did political sciences?” Bob interrupted.

“Yessir,” Jake agreed with a smirk, “Not as stupid as I look, am I?” he laughed.

“Okay so, you meet your first girlfriend at a D&D campaign, then you tell me you’re the designated IT technician and computer builder for the family, and now I learn you did a pol sci degree?” Bob asked with an incredulous smile.

“And I was on the debate team,” Jake winked.

“Jake Seresin--” Bob started but stopped. He turned to you, “Y/n, darling, I don’t know how to tell you this but… You married a nerd,” he said, grabbing both of your hands in his and adding the last bit in a whisper. 

“I know I did,” you replied, “You want to know what I caught him watching, no, practically participating in last night?” you asked the boys while Jake tried to hide his head behind Charlotte in mock embarrassment, “I caught him answering all the questions on University Challenge, you know, that british college quiz show?”

“Please tell me he got some wrong,” Bob pleaded.

“None,” you answered.

Both boys gasped, pretending to be horrified before Bob spoke up, “Jacob, you need a new callsign. What should it be, Peter?”

“Err,” Peter panicked, “Sudoku?”

“Bob, you’re bleeding off on him,” Jake said, “Look at that! Absolutely terrible!”

“Shut up,” Bob retorted.

“Hey, language!” you told him, frowning at him while trying to hold in your laughter as he opened his mouth in protest and waved his arms about, mostly pointing at Charlotte, trying to silently convey that she was too young to understand anything anyway.

“How about LBJ?” Bob offered, “Jake ‘LBJ’ Seresin… Sounds decent! And it fits, he was a politician, an ex-debate teacher and he was from Texas.”

“Not bad, Bobby boy,” Jake nodded.

“So if you’re LBJ and he’s Bob, what’s my callsign?” Peter asked, grinning widely.

“You know callsigns aren’t supposed to be flattering, right?” you smiled, “They have to come from embarrassing stories or things like that… You know, like that time you lost some of your hair when you used Lizzie’s shaving cream as shampoo, --” you said, sending both Jake and Bob in hysterics.

“Peter ‘Nair’ Simpson,” Bob laughed.

“-- or that time we went swimming at a lake and you got chased by geese,” you continued. 

“I still have that scar, by the way,” Peter added, “It bit my butt so hard Dad had to take me to get stitches!”

“It’s a shame the callsign Goose is already taken,” Jake laughed, wiping tears out of the corner of his eye. 

“How’d you get your callsign then, Dove?” Peter asked. You rolled your eyes, ready to ignore the questions, but both Bob and Jake turned towards you.

“Yes, baby, how did you get your callsign?” Jake insisted.

“I slipped in the showers at the academy after dropping my bar of Dove branded soap. I broke my wrist trying to catch myself,” you replied. The boys tried to keep their laughter in, aware that they shouldn’t find your injury amusing, but the image of it soon had them cackling.

You huffed out a sigh before turning on Jake, “Alright then Hangman, how did you get yours?”

“I leave people out to dry, honey,” Jake shrugged, “Just so detached, that’s how I am, you know,” he added, concealing a smile. 

You swatted his arm, “Oh come on!”

“I played a prank on some kid on our like, second week at the academy. We duck taped him to a wall at a pool party…” Jake started, trailing off with a smirk on his face. 

“Hey, I thought they were supposed to be embarrassing stories!” Peter exclaimed, looking disappointed. 

“They are, Jake’s a liar,” Bob retorted, a sly smile on his face, “I heard of that prank, and weirdly enough, I remember the name of the duck tape kid… Something like J--” Bob started, Jake’s hand quickly coming to cover his mouth and muffle his words.

“Oh my God, you got duck taped to a wall?!” Peter exclaimed, “Why?!”

“I don’t remember,” Jake groaned, “I fell asleep on a deck chair, three seconds later and I’m duck taped to a wall, three feet up in the air. I don’t even know how they did it… But I’ll tell you what,” he said, pointing a finger at Peter, “Removing the duck tape was the single most painful experience in my life. I was shirtless, it was very much like that scene in The Forty Year Old Virgin.”

“Fairly certain that’s the reason I can’t grow much chest hair,” he added in a grumble which made everyone around the firepit laugh, even Christopher and Charlotte who joined in, looking slightly more alarmed than amused.

“So, how did dad get his callsign?” Peter asked.

“Hey dad!” Bob shouted, catching Beau’s attention, waving him closer, “Pee-nut wants to know how you got your callsign,” he explained.

“Nope,” Cyclone said, turning on his heels.

“Oh come on, dad! You’re no fun. We’ve all shared,” you said, egging him on, “It’s your turn now.”

“If anyone -- especially Maverick -- hears anything about it, and I mean anything, I will --” Beau hesitated, trying to come up with something, “ground you two for life,” he said, pointing at Bob and Jake, whose smiles only grew, “And you, young man, I will show any and all future girlfriends the special photo album I have made of ALL the embarrassing pictures I took of you as a child. And might I remind you that until you hit twenty one, you still count as a child, so those pictures of you in Y/n’s wedding dress? She’ll see those too…”

Peter had tried on your wedding dress one day when you had taken Lizzie to one of your bridal appointments. He had finished school early, and bored out of his mind, he had decided to join you. You had been standing on heeled shoes for the entire day, blisters had formed, making standing any longer ever so painful. Peter had seen your struggle, and seeing as he was about the right height anyway, he had put on the dress and played model while the bridal assistants adjusted the size of the skirt. You didn’t quite remember when or where the blonde wig had been found, but when Beau went to pick all three of you up, he had found his son dressed to the nines as a beautiful bride. Between fits of hysterical laughing, he had managed to take a picture.

“Pinky promise,” Peter swore, smiling from ear to ear.

“Fine,” Cyclone said, “You know the Cyclone roller coaster in Coney Island?” he asked, pausing until everyone had nodded, “I made the mistake of going to an all-you-can-eat-buffet beforehand… I’ll leave it at that…”

“Oh!” Peter exclaimed, “You barfed?!”

“Scream louder, would you?” Beau asked sarcastically.

“You know, I don’t know if I can keep quiet about this…” you said, “I mean it’s a hilarious story, and you didn’t really threaten me with anything so I guess I’m -- MAVERICK” you called, Beau lunged forward, covering your mouth with his hand, careful not to hit Christopher in the process.

“Shit stirrer,” he whispered. With his hand still keeping you from talking, Beau turned to the boys, “What got started on callsigns anyway?”

“I’m thinking of joining the navy,” Peter said, “I’m not sure what I want to do in college for sure, but I want to apply for UC San Diego. Hopefully I get in. Otherwise maybe Cal State, or worse come to worse, I can apply for John Paul the Great Catholic University, if I decide to do science.”

“That’s --” Beau said, “That’s great, Pete…How come this is the first I’m hearing about it?” he added, letting go of you, wiping his hand on his trouser leg.

“I just wanted to check with Jake and Bob, see if they think it’s a good idea, considering I’ve applied to replace Bob as youth minister…”

“You’re leaving?” you asked, touching Bob’s shoulder lightly.

He smiled, “No, I’m staying. I’m just taking over Jake’s duties. I’m keeping the teens though, I don’t really know what to do with little kids,...”

“Hey, it’s good practice,” Beau said.

The blood drained from Bob’s face as he looked at you, a horrified expression on his face; You tried to stay neutral so as to not attract too much attention and make Beau question what other meaning his words could have, “Sorry?” Bob asked.

“Didn’t Y/n say you were on babysitting duty for like, a year?” he asked.

“Right! Yes! I’m sorry, I completely forgot,” Bob chuckled nervously.

“I won’t let you,” Beau winked, “Because any evening where you are babysitting is an evening I am not babysitting,” he chuckled, “Don’t get me wrong, I love my grandkids -- Gosh, I feel old -- I love my grandkids, but I forgot how fragiles babies are, and I don’t think I have it in me anymore,” he said, shaking his head, “I’ll gladly take over when they’re older though.”

“Like how old?” Bob asked, “Old enough to drive?!”

“Yeah,” Beau replied, “That sounds good. Good luck till then,” he added, clapping Bob on the back and leaving to find Lizzie again.

Peter watched him walk off, “You know, he’s usually more emotional when I talk about college…” he said.

“I saw a tear,” Bob said, “Worry not, Peter Pan, worry not. He’s still an old sap.”

“Hey, you didn’t mind him being a sap when he told Captain Floyd to never touch, look or breathe near his son again if he wanted to stay alive…” Jake grinned.

“I never said I minded it,” Bob beamed, leaning back against his chair, “I like it, actually,” he added, a deep crimson blush covering his cheeks. 

----

Rooster walked through the sunroom of the house, two beers in his hands, looking for Annie. They had barely been able to catch a moment together since she had landed three days ago, largely because Admiral Simpson watched their interactions like a hawk, and partially since Annie felt guilty about missing the wedding that she had tried to spend as much time with the newlyweds to make up for it. 

She had been looking forward to the wedding since the day Bob proposed, Rooster knew, but an impromptu snow storm grounded the planes for the foreseeable future. Going by train would have just as much time but the Admiral had vetoed the choice as soon as he heard the words ‘greyhound bus’ which Rooster privately agreed with. In the end, Annie and Audrey had made the drive in Audrey’s uncomfortable, baby blue Cruise and arrived, exhausted and aching after thirty-one hours of highways. 

He found her in the kitchen, puttering about the cupboards to plate up some brownies and cupcakes, wearing a lovely white cotton dress that reached her knees. She looked wonderful, she always did, but seeing her like this made Rooster feel a little funny. Somehow, it felt a little too domestic.

“Got you a present,” he said as soon as she spotted him, raising the hand that held the beers up in the air so she could see it. 

“Just what I needed, thanks Brad,” she sighed, brushing a lonely strand of her short blonde bob away from her face, “I swear I emptied a whole can of hairspray on it this morning and it’s still loose,” she added, the hair falling in front of her face again, “I guess this is going to be it, then.”

“You look nice,” Rooster replied, brushing the strand away himself. By miracle, it stayed put. Annie beamed at him, taking the beer from his hand and taking a large swig. 

“Could you help me?” she asked, looking up at him from the task of cutting brownies into perfect squares. 

Bradley smiled, placing the beers down on the counter, he came up behind her, pulling her back to his front in a hug, “Of course, what do you need?”

“Could you reach the platter for the cupcakes?” she directed, using the knife in her hand to gesture to the cabinet to her right, “It’s too high up for me to reach.” 

Brad quickly removed his hands from her hips, holding them up at his sides, “Yes ma’am!” he said, imitating how he would respond to his CO. 

Annie let out a peal of laughter as she cut the brownies. Once Bradley had brought down the platter, he began filling it with cupcakes. The silence they had been standing in was starting to turn awkward and he wasn’t sure what to do other than break it.

Before he could, Annie let out a huff before speaking, “You know my friend, Chloe?” she asked. 

“Yeah,” Bradley said, his attention still focused on the cupcakes, “What about her?”

“Well you remember I told you about her boyfriend, the one who works in Texas?” she continued, now placing the brownies on a plate. 

“Yes, I remember,” Brad replied, his brow raising at where this conversation could be going. 

“She called me the other day, just to chat,” Annie continued, “Said she was moving to Texas. That she needed to get out of Indiana for once in her life, be by the man she loves, all that…” 

Bradley almost dropped a cupcake. He didn’t quite know what to say to that. Turning around slowly, he was met with Annie’s back, her hands were clenched tightly on the edge of the counter, and every muscle in her body looked stiff, like she was waiting for something. 

“That sounds…nice,” he said, his brain slow to find the right words to her story. 

“It does, doesn’t it?” she asked, finally spinning to face him, her eyes bright with hope. 

Bradley’s heart dropped, he couldn’t give Annie the life she wanted. Not with the risks his job provided. Suddenly, an image of his mother and her grief flashed across his mind. There were two days a year he saw Carole Bradshaw cry, he wasn’t sure he could, in good conscience, do that to Annie. 

Realising that what she asked wasn’t rhetorical, Bradley felt his mouth open, then close, then open again, the words he spoke sounded strangled, even to him, “Yeah, I’m happy for them.” 

Not daring to watch the hope leave her eyes, he turned back around, his focus now back on the cupcakes she had directed him towards earlier. He heard a sharp inhale behind him before Annie’s quiet voice caused him to stiffen, “Is there something wrong with me?” she asked. 

Bradley didn’t need to turn around to see her lip quivering, he could hear it in her voice. He turned around anyway, his heart clenching when he saw her. There were tears welled up in her eyes and her chin was dimpled, like she was trying to hold back her tears. 

“No, baby, there’s nothing wrong with you,” he said, trying to diffuse the situation, “Why would you even think that?” 

“Well,” she said, her voice cracking on the word, “You say you love me, but you are content to be over two thousand miles away from me, so there must be something wrong with me.” 

Bradley took a step towards her, but Annie immediately stepped back, the only thing keeping her from retreating further was the counter that was now dug into her lower back, “No,” he said again, his voice firm, “There is absolutely nothing wrong with you.” 

She let out a humourless laugh, “I suppose there is someone else then? Someone skinnier? Prettier? More bubbly?” 

Before Bradley had been confused, but now he was angry, “There is no one else. Why would you even think that?” 

“It’s not a hard conclusion to come to, Rooster,” she said, her voice harder than before, her tears still threatening to swallow her up. 

“Honey, I’m yours,” he said, his voice raising slightly, “You have had me wrapped around your finger since the day we met, there isn’t anyone else, there never could be!” 

“Then why? Why do you string me along with promises of the future? Why do you always choose to leave them empty?” she asked, her own voice raising to match his level. 

“Because I can’t do this now, it’s not the right time,” he exclaimed, turning away from her and running his hands over his face, “It's not the right time,” he repeated. 

“Not the right time for what? You to finally commit to something other than your truck?” she asked, pointing the knife she still held at his back. 

Bradley turned around, pointing a finger at her, “It’s more than that, you wouldn’t understand.” 

“Why don’t you try me then?” she asked, her eyes flaring with the fiery passion he knew and loved, it hurt to see it turned against him. 

“I had to see my mother, for years, mourn the loss of my father. Every birthday, every holiday, every anniversary. She loved him so much, she never even dared to look at another man, I can’t-” he exclaimed, startled when her voice cut through his. 

“Don’t you stand there and talk to me about how I wouldn’t understand. My father died in a crash too, and not only did I have to watch my mother mourn, I had to watch her abandon our family,” Annie had tears running down her cheeks, and her voice was thick with emotion, “Abandon me, every day since he died. At least you had your mother’s love, and Maverick, that man loves you like only a father could. Beau came around when he was able and I love him to bits, but he was focused on Y/n, making sure my mother’s grief didn’t kill her.” 

Bradley felt a heaving breath leave him. He opened and closed his mouth, feeling like a gaping fish, unable to draw a breath. Annie’s own childhood wasn’t much different from his, if anything, it was worse. He didn’t know what to say, so he did what he knew best, he ran. 

As he made to slam the front door behind him, he heard a gut wrenching sob. Bradley was wracked with guilt as he threw himself in the Bronco and shifted it into first, tearing off the side of the street and out of the neighbourhood.

----

Rooster sat on the pew and laced his fingers together on his knees, wondering if he was even doing this correctly. He remembered pieces of the Our Father but he was fairly sure they were all in the wrong order and some of the bits he heard Bob pray before were different from what his father had once prayed with him, but he figured the Lord probably wouldn't mind too much. 

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven," Rooster muttered, confident about the first few lines.

"Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Give us today our daily bread -- No, no. Is this right? Does it even matter?" He asked. Silence reigned in the church, his whispers magnified as they echoes through the empty building, "Fuck, do You even care? I've shat on You for thirty years now, if you care about how I say the Our Father, if this is the line you draw, then you have your priorities wrong, man -- God. Sorry," he stuttered out.

"Err, I don't -- how does this work? Do I just talk?" He asked, "Because I'll be honest this feels fucking weird. I'm just --"

"Perhaps you would like some help?" Someone asked, snapping him out of his reverie. He’d been so concentrated on staring at the ceiling, that he hadn’t noticed that the church was no longer empty. The voice belonged to a small, chubby woman with a straight black bob, and a kindly smile. She walked up to him with long, calm strides, her feet hitting the bottom of her black dress with every step.  

"I -- err -- I'm not sure what I'm doing," Bradley admitted.

"Is this your first time?" She asked, a thick accent coming through her voice. It sounded unmistakably British. 

"First time in thirty years, I think," he replied.

"Out of practice then," she said with a smile,

"I don't know if I believe, to be honest," Rooster replied, his eyes finding a place on his shoes. 

"Well, dear, I think you do. I don’t usually find non-believers praying in my church,” she replied. 

Rooster paused for a second, “Fair…”

“My name is Dawn,” she said, sticking her hand out for him to shake, “Nice to meet you.”

“Bradley,” he said.

“Well, Bradley, if you need any help. You can find me in the vicarage,” she said, turning on her heels, “I’ll have you know I make a very good cup of tea. And I’m a very good listener,” she added.

Bradley smiled, endeared by the forwardness of the priest and he stood, following right behind her. 

“So,” she said, once she had led him out of the church and into the vicarage, a tiny house right off the side of the church. What it lacked in size it made up for in personal effects. The entire house was crammed full. From floorboard to ceiling, Rooster could see books, knicknacks, porcelain dishes and picture frames. Dawn made her way through everything to reach the only tidy room in the house. 

The kitchen was impeccable, the counters clean and tidy, and when she searched through cupboards for two cups, Rooster could see that the cupboards were similarly organised. All in all, the kitchen was fairly minimalist. Rooster liked where her priorities lay. She flicked the kettle on and pulled a large aluminium box from the top of the fridge.

“What’s bothering you then, love?” she asked, shaking the box. It rattled with something heavy. Dawn pried the top open. She looked inside, seeming pleased with the contents and overturned it onto a plate, sending shortbread cascading onto the table, “Oops, I am so clumsy sometimes,” she laughed, “My mum used to say I’d fare better in life if I slowed down a bit, I reckon she’s right but life would be a whole lot less fun, wouldn’t it?”

Bradley just nodded, a small chuckle escaping him. 

“What do you do in life, Bradley? How about we start with that?” she said.

“I’m a naval aviator,” he replied.

“Oh!” she giggled, “You agree with my opinion on slowing down then!”

Bradley smiled. There was something about Dawn he liked, she seemed motherly and welcoming and he felt like he could tell her anything.

“I’m having trouble with something,” he said.

“I’m listening,” she replied, getting up as the kettle clicked, “But before you start, should we have tea in the Noah’s ark teapot, or the Holy Bible teapot?” she asked, holding up the two choices, “We’re having Earl grey, if it helps?” she adds.

“Holy Bible, I think,” Rooster replied, having never been so confused in his life. He watched her pour the water into it and carry it gingerly over to the table, placing it down in front of him. In all fairness, it was a very nice teapot. It depicted two pages out of an ancient illustrated Bible, separated in the middle by a red bookmark. Acting as the lid was a tiny porcelain black cat, peacefully snoozing. 

“You were saying?” Dawn asked, now giving him his full attention, her hands crossed in front of her.

“I’m having trouble with something,” he tried again. He tried to figure out how to explain it to her, but the right words wouldn’t come out. Starting from the beginning would take ages and he didn’t want to bother her with the details.

“Yes. I can see that,” she replied.

“It’s hard to explain,” he said, trying to defend himself.

“Yes, so is the word of Jesus Christ and I do it every week, so get on with it boy!” she said, her words were harsh but she had spoken in such a voice that it sounded encouraging. 

“I lost my dad when I was four. He was a naval aviator like me, only he was a weapons systems’ officer -- which means he sat at the back -- anyway, there was a training exercise and he died on the spot,” Rooster said. While the words weren’t exactly the ones he had wanted to use, now that he had started talking he couldn’t stop and soon enough, he had explained everything from his father’s death, to his mother’s, to Maverick and to the dagger squad. The only thing he hadn’t explained was Annie, and he knew Dawn could feel it.

“I’m sorry you have to live with that, I can tell it weighs heavy on you. That’s not why you’re here, though, is it?” she asked.

Rooster squirmed under her gaze. He felt a little like a child at the principal’s office, regardless of how nice Dawn actually was, “I’m having trouble with my girl. She’s catholic, I’m…whatever I am,” he said

“Is she serious about it?” Dawn asked, Rooster raised an eyebrow in confusion, “I think people take God too seriously sometimes.”

“Now I don’t mean that you shouldn’t take God seriously, I mean, and this is coming from a vicar, believe me, I can take God seriously,” she laughed, “I just mean that I think the Lord likes a laugh,” she explained, pronouncing ‘laugh’ like ‘laff’, “Otherwise, he wouldn’t have invented jokes and he wouldn’t have bestowed english sitcoms upon this green earth. No, what I mean is you know, is she --,” Dawn mimed a frown, “-- about it?”

“No,” Rooster grinned, slowly getting used to Dawn’s strange personality, “She’s fun.”

“Oh, dearie, if fun’s the only thing you have to describe her then I can believe you’re having issues with your girl,” she said with a frown. 

“I’m just answering your question!” Rooster defended himself, “Annie’s kind, she’s caring, she’s bubbly, she’s funny, she’s smart, she’s --”

“Catholic?” Dawn volunteered, seeing him struggle. 

Rooster nodded, “It feels like she wants me to be that too,” he said, “We had an argument and she unloaded on me. I like her, I really like her, but I don’t know if I can be the kind of guy she wants me to be.”

“Her sister’s married a friend, they have this great life together and it feels like Annie wants the same. Honestly I wish I could give it to her, but I can’t. I don’t believe, I don’t want to do the cute church dates and I don’t want to centre my life around someone I’m not sure I believe in,” Bradley said, tears welling up in his eyes.

“Then don’t,” Dawn said, “Well, if only they were all this easy…” 

“Wait, what?” Rooster asked, feeling ever so confused, “Aren’t you supposed to try and convince me? To, whatsitcalled, ‘evangelise’ me?” 

“Do you want me to?” she asked, “Despite what people think, I am actually quite busy, and I’d rather not waste my time trying to convince someone who will not be convinced. Don’t get me wrong, I love to ‘evangelise’, as you say, but it’s almost time for my kids to come home from school, and I have to get dinner started.”

“I’m so confused,” Rooster admitted.

Dawn pursed her lips, “Look Bradley, obviously this girl means a lot to you, but if she wants to change who you are then she’s not right for you. Even if she thinks she’s doing the right thing by asking you to bring the Lord into your life. The Lord wants believers, yes, but He does not want people to pretend to believe, Bradley. And I doubt she wants to wake up one day after fifty years of marriage and three kids to find that you only ever pretended to believe. I’m sure she’s nice, and I’m sure she thinks you need to have a faith, but as much as I would like to see you in my church every Sunday, pretending to love the Lord is as much of a betrayal to the Lord as it would be to the friends and family you’d make in church.”

“She didn’t --” Bradley started.

“What did she say?”

“She talked about her best friend. How she is moving to Texas, to be with her boyfriend,” Bradley started, and he found that he couldn’t stop, the words just kept coming, “I didn’t know what to say so I said that was good for them. Then she asked if there was something wrong with her, or if I was seeing someone else. When I tried to tell her why…why I can’t give her what she wants, she reminded me that we aren’t that different. We both grew up in broken homes and…I don’t know…that I’m not the only one who’s ever lost someone.” 

“It doesn’t sound like she wants you to be faithful, it sounds like she wants commitment,” Dawn smiled, “It sounds like you put the Lord in there. It’s been on your mind a lot, hasn’t it?”

“I guess,” Rooster agreed, “I spoke to a friend of mine months ago. He really let me hear it and I guess I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.”

“About believing?” 

“No, about how the Lord didn’t make mistakes but people did, and that if my dad died it was because of a human mistake. He said I shouldn’t be looking to make the Lord pay for my loss, said I should work through it some other way,” he explained, “He made a point, I guess. He asked if my dad was a Christian, and if he’d be blaming God if he was in my spot…”

Dawn paused for a moment, considering what he said, before asking, “Would he?”

“Don’t know, it’s not like I can ask, is it?” Bradley asked, his hands coming out to the sides in frustration. 

“Well, why not?” Dawn shrugged.

“Right,” Rooster scoffed, “Let me just bust out my ouija board,” he said, his voice laced with sarcasm, “Hey Dad, hope heaven’s good if you’re there, are you pissed at the Almighty for killing you and making your kid an orphan?” he added, pretending to pick up a phone and placing it next to his ear.

Dawn shrugged, “Well, what’s the worst that can happen? I mean you said it yourself, you’re not sure you believe in all of that, so worst case scenario, you don’t get an answer.”

Bradley remained silent a moment longer before lamely adding, “I mean, I guess…”

“Best case scenario…” she trailed off.

“It doesn’t solve my problem though,” he said.

“Bradley, I can do a lot of things, but I cannot help your allergy to commitment,” she smiled.

“I’m not --” Bradley started “I’m not allergic! It’s just that, in my line of work  --”

“Okay, I’m going to stop you right there. First off, you like her, she likes you, you’re both adults so work it out. Second off, you can break it off with her if you’re so keen on not committing for the sake of your job, but it looks like she doesn’t mind the risks,” Dawn said in a no nonsense tone. 

“It’s not that she doesn’t mind, it’s that I can’t--” Bradley started, trying to defend his position. 

Dawn interrupted him, her voice raised only slightly, “This isn’t just your choice Bradley! Let her have a say in what you do! If she accepts your reasons, your fears, and you still like her, then time to man up and commit, boy!” 

“And if she doesn’t?” he asked, his heart sinking at the thought. 

“Oh honey,” Dawn said, suddenly looking sad, “You’re not scared of commitment, you’re scared of abandonment. Nothing I can do about that, I’m afraid. I often think that’s the saddest part of humanity. We live, we love and then we die, that’s what happens and there’s nothing we can do to stop it, no matter how much we try, even pushing people away won’t work. We’re social animals, Bradley, we need contact and attachment,” she continued, placing one hand on top of Rooster’s, “And we need it from people, otherwise we get sad and miserable and I’d really rather you didn’t become the kind of person who cries when their roomba breaks,” Dawn winked, eliciting a chuckle from the man in front of her.

“I guess you’re right. I can’t keep closing the door on people who want in on my life,” he sighed. A key turned in a lock and the front door flew open. The sounds of rowdy kids and an exhausted man approached the kitchen, shooting a look at the doorway, Dawn removed her hand from Bradley’s and leaned back in her chair. 

“Yes. Now go home, pray to your dad and come back to tell me about the results,” she said, waving her hands to shoo him out of the house. Rooster stood up and thanked her for the tea before making his way back to the front door, crossing two ginger haired girls and a small man with an impressive moustache.

Once the cool wind hit his face, Bradley felt like he woke up from a perplexing dream, but somehow he had come out knowing exactly what he needed to do. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and saw he had gotten a text.

Annie: Going back to Indiana. Have fun in San Diego. 

Rooster’s heart dropped in his chest. He knew he’d hurt her, but he didn’t think it would make her leave early. Annie had been telling him how excited she was to see everyone and finally meet her niece and nephew for weeks now, she’d even joked about permanently moving to California with Audrey a few times. The thought that he had done enough damage to make her leave early truly broke his heart. He pressed on her name. It rang five times before she picked up.

“We need to talk. Can I come see you? We can have coffee,” Bradley asked as soon as she picked up, checking his watch to see if he had enough time.

“Bradley, I’m at the airport. I’m waiting for my flight home,” she replied. Behind her, he heard a computerised voice announce boarding times and gate numbers for another flight.

“I know, I can make it in time for boarding if I start now, can I meet you?” he insisted, getting in the Bronco and prepping the key in case she said yes. He wasn’t proud of how he had behaved with her and she had every right to refuse to see him, but he really hoped he hadn’t messed this up. Annie was a wonderful girl, and he truly liked her. He didn’t want her to break up with him because he couldn’t commit, something he had often reproached Jake, but now, Bradley wondered if he hadn’t been projecting.

“I’m sure we can talk over the phone,” she snapped. 

Rooster turned the key, feeling a little victorious. Although it hadn’t been a ‘yes’, the fact that she hadn’t outright refused him meant there was still a chance for him to make things right.

“I thought you wanted commitment?” he asked.

“Okay, I’ll be waiting for you at Starbucks, don’t make me late,” Annie replied, trying to sound like she was still mad at him but Rooster could hear a hint of excitement in her voice. 

“I wouldn’t dare,” he assured her, hanging up the call with a smile as he backed out of the church parking lot and down the street, letting gravel fly underneath the wheels of his truck.

[bhaaliestspawn]

The cheesecake was too runny he kept complaining like it was my fault the llama disappeared I had no idea you had to order it online but I had no 2 day shipping marked and you know I would've admitted the truth about the last sabotaged sandwich but no one stepped up when last week they opened the new mcdonalds and the spiky one started having heart palpitations like I get it the orange peels weren't worth going after for 3 hours but what was I supposed to do I was already planning my next exit and truth be told I was hoping we could get one of them in ground trampolines because whilst he will never admit the dog was scared when the wind picked up and you know what else picked up the uncontrollable desire to squish it everyone knew that but no one wanted to say it IT GOES ON THE SECOND STEP ONLY like it's not that hard to slice it diagonally I know I saw them practise it at least 3 times a week but after the blocked phone call emotions were running high not everyday you have that many lemons it takes time to get used to it but eventually I agreed that the best course of action is to take the train even if the sponges were outdated you can still get it more blue but the smoll one cried said it was worthless now but that's why you should never carry that many everyone can smell it anyway I'm hoping next Saturday is when it will all be more obvious I'm getting kinda tired of the same shapes the eyes are just not what they used to be even tho I keep on wishing good luck but hey a man gotta do what a man gottta do cant stop the leak just because the shoe got lost in the mail at least I got the last spoon and you know how the edges taste the best.

i think that when his ass is leaking maybe don’t shout it out loud don’t yell it from the windows @ the passerbys they will not appreciate it, actually maybe don’t tell everyone only tell your friends. only tell some of your acquaintances probably don’t tell your family. you can also tell a random stranger outside your building you know the one one that’s puking all over the street lamp because they mixed vodka and other hard liquor which i have personally never done i simply have full knowledge. you should never drink on empty stomach but i would not recommend to eat that cheesed cake before drinking because the texture is simply not ideal . when your friends tell you to keep cumming in his gay ass well that’s your time to perk up and listen because your friends know what they are saying, they want the best for you. and if your friends tell you that maybe you should try to bake a different dessert, perhaps a brownie, nice and simple, well you can try that too. i had a chocolate fondant the other day with mango ice cream on the side and it was the most delicious thing. even though it was all fucked up and slorped all over the plate before i poked with my spoon in it. the chocolate goo and mango ice cream reminded me of the little one because the ice cream was kind of orange and he is always kind of orinj but the kind of orinje that you didn’t know god could create. i think if i licked the bronzer off id get radiation poisoning but sometimes you have to risk it all to get to the final destination, sometimes that destination is his hole. don’t ever say i’ve never done anything for you when i say that the best way to show your affection is to bend him over your knee and colour his ass one hundred and thirty two shades of red for the little brattery (being a major brat) because some people are simply created for such purposes and there is nothing you can do about it.perhaps i am biased but when you eat the cheesecake eat it with some blueberries perhaps some raspberries to give some variety to your life also gag him and muzzle him so he can’t eat ur piece of cake it is simply way too good to be shared. but if he’s still leaking take a pity and maybe leave a small piece that’s fine. does anyone have any good recipes for beginners