#if my dad could become a decent parent for once and stop trying to drive his kids away from the faith by only cherrypicking the parts of it

[cats-in-the-clouds]

my sister got engaged and we’re all really happy for her but my bitter rain cloud of a dad (who naturally she told last) is giving her a bit of passive aggressive grief about it despite her boyfriend being like the best man of our generation (presumably either because he’s not catholic or because my dad sees them as young dumb unemployed people who aren’t ready for marriage or because he’s mad he barely has any real love with his own wife or something). so like pray for us? i wish i knew what to do

[kerubimcrepin]

Liveblog 6: analsysising harder

I am having a finals' nightmare week in university, but finally found the time to sit down and relax, so here's to episode 3.

He's so supportive. For all his faults as a father, (like the fact that Joris might not be able to read yet in here, despite seemingly being pretty ready to be taught how to, as was pointed out to me by @dullard during our separate rewatch from this rewatch) the fact that Joris can sell things at the market all by himself at 7yo and knows what a commission is, is actually really cool. Good job, Keke! This once, I will not kill you with hammers.

Do start teaching your son to read/write soon. Please. Please.

ANALYSIS EVENT LEVEL 10 ALARM WEE WOO WEE WOO. CAN WE TALK ABOUT THIS.

Joris is seven years old. Kerubim was, by his own words, "barely older than him," during his confirmation ceremony at the Orphan Temple. Can we actually ask what Kerubim Crepin was doing, at seven years old, in the orphan temple??

As we know from Dofus Heroes Kerubim comic, he was busy being an orphan, plotting to resurrect his parents, (either adoptive, or step-father and biological-mother. It doesn't really matter !) and being sad, to the point that, as an adult, even while amnesiac, he empathizes greatly with a stray kitten.

Having dreams of not wanting to be lonely, projecting his loneliness onto stray animals... It's the reason why he's afraid of showing people that he's weak and driving them away, and what makes him a compulsive liar, as I've pointed out in the last post. He can't bear being alone.

No wonder, then, that despite being old, and having a decrepit house, he didn't try to find Joris a better home. It would be a betrayal of his own ideals of protecting children from what he went through. It would mean that someone so similar to him would, too, be all alone. And, a bit more selfishly, he does need someone by his side.

I would point out, that Atcham was in the temple, implied to be mistreated, that they are both full brothers who grew up in the same family, and that him and Kerubim didn't have the best relationship even as kids, — with Bashi also disliking Atcham heavily, for unstated reasons, — and how it all might tie into Kerubim also adoptng Joris out of guilt, because he feels like he might end up like Atcham, but I don't have ten hours.

And also bc Atcham doesn't appear often, and I am mostly delusional about this.

Kerubim avoids mentioning Atcham or any of his adventures in Brakmar, so... man just give us anything to work with.

Despite Keke playing it off now, he really didn't have an easy childhood.

For all the times I say he's a bad dad, or that I want to beat him up, it is all in jest. I think he's a very tragic character who was just... never really given a chance to develop a healthy way of interacting with the world.

And for what it's worth, he grew up to be as decent of a person he could have, and did the best he could, at becoming a family with Joris and raising him, as flawed and uneven as it is.

He really just wants this kid to have a good childhood, or an approximation of one, with no violence, loneliness, or fear he went through — and it's all going to be ruined in the movie, isn't it?

It won't stop me from joking about beating him up in the future of this blog, but I wanted to make my stance clear. No non-joking slander of Kerubim in this household. Ever.

I think he was scared shitless of having a deadly quest here, but HAD to pretend he wasn't, for the public. He looks happier now than seconds ago in the queue line, lol.

Low self-esteem can result in seeking attention through being loud and obnoxious, as well as a fear of embarrassment, so, it checks out. Lying is a likely thing for Kerubim to do, and I love and respect him for it.

His immediate reaction to being embarrassed by getting a clothespin, and made fun of, as audience laughs? Double down, baby! Though, his angry facade doesn't last until the end of the line. He's just... looking sadly to the side.

By the way, considering he's only a bit older than seven, the "I've been training for years" is a bit haunting.

Do you know who DOES deserve to get beaten with hammers for real, non-ironically? The god Ecaflip. Can I get an amen?

No wonder, Kerubim coddled Joris and wanted his life to be better! His life sucked!

Of all the things not to lie about, he seemed not to lie about being trained. Doesn't stop him from being beaten up, though...

We have to beat God Ecaflip with hammers. There is no other way.

For all his cockiness, he's so stressed out. His facade is so, so ruined, the second he realizes his plan is not working.

Really, this whole scene puts their relationship together the best. He's a God, holding Kerubim, a 7-9yo orphan, on a tiny string.

His whole life, Ecaflip just belittles him over some random bullshit, makes him hate his brother for being bald, and then gives him a gambling addiction before putting him into a mental asylum to treat it. All of that because he loves him that much.

We have to kill him. There is no other way. I may be a wakfu season 3 hater, but Oropo was right.

Yay, trauma bonding, in its correct definition!

If my whole family died, and a god cared so much about me, he made me the protagonist of various sad cringe stories of overcoming personal adversities mostly caused BY him, I too, would develop some sort of complex to cope. So I get it.

But I feel like, even if Kerubim will never voice it out loud, considering what repercussions may follow, deep down he knows that Ecaflip himself is one of the reasons for his loneliness, and that most of all, he's scared of him.

[elles-archives]

Ransom Drysdale x Wife!Reader

In for a Penny Part: One

Word Count: 1360

Series Warnings: Smut, Angst, Fluff, Spoilers for Knives Out, Talks of pregnancy, Murder, Swearing, Potentially dark themes (but not really), Death, Nausea, Anxiety. (I may add more as the series progresses)

Part Warnings: Arguments, Thrombey Family (They are a warning on their own.) (Let me know if I missed anything.)

Series Summary: When Harlan Thrombey is found dead, the last person you would think is responsible is. The only problem is how far do you go to protect the ones you love the most.

Series Masterlist | Main Masterlist | Add yourself to the Taglist

I was standing in front of the mirror whilst I did the last-minute touches to my make-up. As I was, I had the usual feeling of dread run through me. Going to Harlan’s was never my favourite thing to do, the only people who ever spoke to me were Harlan, Harlan’s housekeeper Fran and Harlan’s nurse Marta. Despite being married to Ransom for four years and being together for ten, his family didn’t trust me one bit. Producing every excuse under the sun to hate. Apparently I am after his money, I am using him, I am controlling him, and I am changing his opinions to fit my own ideals.

All these excuses were ridiculous though and thankfully Ransom didn’t believe them. Being a paediatrician, I am earning a decent amount of money myself and I never relied on anyone else for anything. I always left it up to him on whether he wanted to go to family functions or not. He more often than not chose not to go because of their ‘little display’ at our wedding. My Dad nearly had to throw them out.

I was very grateful for Harlan though. He constantly apologised for his children’s behaviour towards me. I swear that I have seen him laugh after an argument causing me to yell at my parents-in-law.

Ransom once admitted to me that I was his safe space away from his families opinionated and toxic ways. The pure emotion he held the first time he told me about his family and how they were lingered in my mind.

Tonight, was Harlan’s 85th birthday and he insisted that both me and Ransom came. I wasn’t prepared to let the rest of the Thrombey’s stop me from going. Especially after Harlan asked specifically for us both to be there. It was yet another thing Linda didn’t like about me. Ransom no longer attended family events alone. I know she hated it because every time they insulted him, whether it was about not working or some comment he made, I was there to defend him. I tried my best to calm him down when arguments got out of hand.; that happened way to frequently for my liking.

As I finished my make-up, I walked out of the bathroom and down the stairs to where Ransom was waiting for me in the front room. I saw him look up as I entered and then his jaw dropped.

“I always knew you were the most beautiful girl I had even laid eyes on.” He confessed with his signature smirk. I just giggled at the confession and felt myself becoming flustered just as I did anytime my husband complemented me. I wasn’t wearing anything special just a long-sleeved black sweater with a tartan skirt and thigh high boots. The necklace I was wearing was white gold with a diamond shaped heart. Ransom had gifted it to me for our fourth wedding anniversary. He also bought me the matching earrings. Normally, I wouldn’t wear this for family events, usually reserving them for when me and Ransom were on a date. However, I didn’t want to hear any comments about the way I was dressed tonight and ruin Harlan’s birthday.

“You ready Kitten?” Ransom asked me reaching out his hand for me to hold. I smiled at him as I grabbed it and he lead me out to the Beemer.

The entire drive there was filled with pointless chatter and mindless thoughts. I loved how everything was always so easy with him. I never had to hide how I really felt, and I loved how he felt the same. Ransom could also tell I was stressed. As much as I was trying to hide it, when I felt his hand on my thigh and his thumb rub in gentle circles I knew he knew. When we eventually pulled up I noticed that we were, yet again, the last ones there.

We got out of the car and Ransom quickly grabbed my hand pulling me alongside him, almost in a protective way. We entered the house and walked through to the living room and saw the entire family, discussing some probably racist and offensive topic. It didn’t take long for the both of us to be noticed, standing in the doorway.

“Ah, finally. What took you so long Ransom?” His mother asked obviously displeased that we arrived later than everyone else.

“Are we late? Didn’t realize.” Ransom sarcastically replied. As I looked around, I saw Linda and Richard, my parents-in-law, Walt and his wife Donna, Ransom’s uncle and aunt, Joni and Meg, Ransom’s late uncle’s wife and their daughter, Wanetta, Harlan’s mother, Fran, and Marta. I smiled at the last two knowing that they were the only ones who cared for my presence. I had no problem with Meg but she barley looked in my direction due to her hatred for Ransom. The only one’s missing were Harlan himself and Ransom’s sixteen-year-old cousin Jacob.

It wasn’t long before Harlan emerged from his office, requesting a word with Ransom. After whispering to me that he wasn’t going to be long, Ransom followed his grandfather, leaving me with the rest of the family. It didn’t take long for them all to start on me.

“So, Y/N how have you been?” Joni asked in a painstakingly obvious fake tone.

“I’ve been good thank you Joni.” I politely smiled back ignoring the phony atmosphere created.

“That’s good.” Things went silent again before the inevitable happened.

“Nice necklace, where did you get it?” Linda this time.

“Oh, anniversary gift from Ransom.”

“Looks expensive.” I could tell that Linda wasn’t going to give up.

“I guess” I answered becoming increasingly uncomfortable, all eyes on me at this point.

“Though you must earn a bit yourself being a doctor, you don’t really need Ransom to buy you things.” She continued, slowly getting to her point.

“He didn’t just get it for me it was a gift for our wedding anniversary.”

“So, what did you get him then, not much could match diamonds for only a fourth wedding anniversary.”

“A new watch among other things. Not that it really has much to do with you what we spend our money on.” I bit back trying to keep my calm as much as possible.

Linda just scoffed in return and that’s when Walt started.

“Well, it’s hardly just both your money. Most of your income come from my father anyway.”

“I don’t spend your father’s money. I spend the money that I work for at the hospital. You know, helping sick kids.” This was getting out of hand. They were suggesting I didn’t spend my own hard-earned money. I don’t think they realised how ridiculous they sound.

Walt made a noise in false agreement. No one said anything for a while, and I decided to excuse myself to go to the bathroom. If I was going to make it through this evening then I needed to take a breather now. As I exited the bathroom and went to make my way back through to the living room to endure more, Ransom grabbed my hand. Wordlessly, he pulled me behind him as he stormed out of the house. Despite me being incredibly thankful that I no longer had to stay in that house, I was more concerned with my husband’s distress.

“Ran what happened?” I asked him once he started driving home.

“He cut us out of the will.”

“What?” I felt the confusion flood my body.

“We are not getting a cent. No one is. He’s leaving everything to Marta.”

I could tell he was fuming. I remained quiet not really knowing what to day. Neither of us spoke until we got home. I went straight upstairs after giving Ransom a loving kiss on the cheek, silently telling him that I was there for him. He didn’t come upstairs straightaway but just as I got into bed he entered the bedroom to get ready. He joined me in bed but didn’t hold me like normal. Assuming that it was just because he was upset, I let him be as I drifted off to sleep.

**

Taglist:

@bval-1

@dietmountainhoneydew

[alreadyblondenow]

Little cupid

– Jaehyun x female!reader – Single parent au, SMUT, FLUFF – 1,834k – Reader is a bit of a flirt, Jaehyun is a single father, Jaehyun is cold and grumpy at first, his daughter caught you two having sex but had no idea of whats happening because she’s very sleepy, unprotected sex, slow and deep sex ajuju, Jaehyun haven’t had sex since he become a father, making out

Being the maid of honor for your best friend’s wedding made you so excited and all giddy for three months straight, especially when she told you that the best man was very handsome and single. And being the flirty gal that you are, of course, you did your best to make a good impression. Before the wedding procession starts, you tried looking for your assigned partner to try and get to know him and you know... flirt.

“Hi, I’m Y/n. Were supposed to be partners during the wedding procession?” you decided to make the first move.

“I’m with someone else,” he said coldly and turned his back on you. Like he’s not interested in escorting you or even giving you the slightest attention.  

Your best friend was right, he is very handsome. Actually calling him handsome is an understatement but you don’t care anymore if he looked like a god. He was incredibly rude and you don’t want someone like him to ruin such a beautiful day. So just like him, you turned your back and walked away to join the others, only to find someone… unexpected at the corner of the wedding reception.

“Hi there angel, are you lost?” you offered your hand to a little girl who’s wearing a white dress a pretty flower crown. One of the flower girls or perhaps she’s the only flower girl.

“My shoe straps are loose and my daddy is talking with his friends, I don’t want to disturb them. Can you help me?” she asks nicely, pouting cutely and being so irresistible.

“Of course,” you lower yourself and reached for her shoe straps. You made small talk with her while you’re busy with your hands. Asking what she thinks about the wedding and praising her for how nice she looks today. “There, all done. Do you want to be partners for the wedding procession? I can help you with the petals” you offered and she accepted without hesitation. She gave you her basket and gave you a handful of petals.

“You’ve been busy, I’ve been looking all over for you” the familiar voice made you turned around to which gave you a great shock because the cold and grumpy man that you tried flirting with earlier is the father of this nice kid. “Made a friend?” he asks his daughter. Where did the cold and un-interested man go? You only see a warm hearted father whose smile is very handsome.

He then cleared his throat and swallowed his pride and said, “Sorry for what happened earlier. I’m Jaehyun and this is my daughter,”

“Were partners for the procession!” his daughter exclaimed excitedly, smiling so big and giggling as she should be.

“Aaw. Then what about me then?” Jaehyun pouted to his daughter.

“Alright! You three are settled. Since you’re a very cute family, you three can walk together during the procession. Okay? Okay” the wedding coordinator came out of nowhere and left without even letting you or Jaehyun speak and explain that you’re not together, and you’re most definitely not the mother of this lovely girl.

“Daddy what’s a family?” the little girl blurted out. Curious and waiting for his daddy to answer.

“Oh no, we're up next!” you tried changing the topic so Jaehyun won’t have a hard time. You stand on the other side and held the little girl’s hand, Jaehyun did the same and silently thanking you for that little save.  

The day was beautiful because of the beautiful wedding ceremony which made every teared up but you believe that your day became even more beautiful because of Jaehyun and his daughter. It was an unexpected company, and you would rather have this kind of company than flirt with a stranger just so you can score today.

But little did you know, you’re scoring on someone’s heart and you’re winning their hearts fair and square. “I like her” Jaehyun’s daughter whispered near his ear.

“Right? Me too angel, me too” he said and gave his daughter a cute wink when he saw you walking towards them.

After you deliver your speech to your best friend, you looked after Jaehyun’s daughter so he could deliver his speech to his best friend. You didn’t quite expect Jaehyun to be someone so sweet and sentimental and gave the groom a long and heartfelt speech… that his daughter eventually falls asleep in your arms.

When Jaehyun came back, you gave him the ‘sshh’ sign and pointed at the sleeping angel. “Were in trouble, I have to take her home now”

“You sure you don’t want to stay and party? I don’t mind looking after her” you offered your help once again and Jaehyun gave you a handsome smile. His redness was showing and he can’t stop it.

“It's fine you’re not her babysitter and my conscience won't let me do that to you,” he came closer to you so you can hear him better, “I’m sorry for being grumpy earlier,” he smiled once again removed his coat to put it around you and his daughter. What a smooth move, you thought. “Let’s say our goodbyes to our friends then I’ll drive you home”

And while you were saying goodbye to your friends, everyone thought that you and Jaehyun have been seeing each other and you’ve been hiding it all this time.. Which made you laugh but softly because you didn’t want the angel to wake up.

“Let’s take her home first,” you said, “I can take a cab from your house, you can drive me home next time” you said softly and bravely. Looking behind the backseat of Jaehyun’s car to check on the sleeping angel, but really it’s just to avoid Jaehyun’s eyes.

When you arrived safely at their house… you were not judging, but you notice that the place was a mess. And Jaehyun was ashamed and sorry because you had to witness his messy house. “Single parent problems- the cleaning lady isn’t available today so, I’m sorry”

“It’s okay, Jae. No problem,” you whispered and followed him to his daughter’s room. Placing her gently on her bed and Jaehyun then removed her shoes and tucked her in. When she’s all comfortable and snoring, you and Jaehyun made your way out quietly. Which made you both let out a heavy sigh, as a sign of relief because you feel so accomplished that you got her home safe.

“Want to be alone with me before I call a cab?” he whispers and puts strands of hair behind your ear. The man does know how to flirt back.

And because you and Jaehyun did not have the time to enjoy the party, you both made your own in his room with a bottle of wine. Giggling softly while you’re both sitting comfortably in his bed, listening to each other’s random stories and trying to know each other’s personalities through wild guesses. Until Jaehyun became too confident and kissed you without a warning.

It felt good but it made you push him away. “I’m sorry, I should’ve asked first” he said and turned silent. But given that he’s a nice person and he’s naturally warm and confident around you, you feel sorry for doing that to him so you reached for him, cupped his face and returned the kiss. The kiss was sweet, not because of the wine that you’ve both been drinking but because he’s kissing you slowly and whispering sweet things beside your ear that you didn’t know he’s capable of.

“I may be late, but let me just say that you were beautiful the whole day,” he said in between kissing. Smiling through the kiss and caressing your cheek with his hand. Slowly he gained the confidence to touch your body and lift your dress, to which you gave have him the permission and told him he can undress you.

Not long after a few sweet kisses, you’re now naked and fully exposed with Jaehyun in his huge bed. Smiling and giggling softly because he can’t stop kissing your neck. “I haven’t had sex ever since I had her,” he informed you. Hoping that that information did not turn you off. You showed him that you don’t care by wrapping your arms around him, keeping him closer to your body and return the kisses.

Putting an arm in between your bodies so he can reach on your wet slit, he runs his finger up and down your slit before he pumps his cock and lines it to your entrance. Pushing in slowly which made you roll your head back and moan softly and carefully because there’s someone on the other side of the room.

Jaehyun kneads your boobs and sucked your nipples until they’re swollen, kissing your body and making you want him more before he starts thrusting. And when he finally did, slow and deep Jaehyun fucked you that night. Hands on both of your legs, keeping them open for him as he thrusts deeper and watches you loose your mind.

You made him feel young again, you made him feel free again. “Fuck,” he murmured when he felt you clench around him, “Do it again?” he moaned and moaned louder when you gave his request. Bodies to bodies you were so close with each other, feeling your bodies heat up and witness each other’s orgasm build up.  

“Daddy” he giggles and kissed your lips with want.

“Did you just called me daddy?” he asks in a very sexy tone which made you open your eyes.

“That’s not me” you said with big eyes.

And in a matter of seconds, Jaehyun pulled out rolled on his side of the bed. Covering your bodies with his thick duvet and trying so hard to look decent as possible in front of his daughter. “What are you and Y/n doing? Can I sleep here?” she crawled up on the bed and lie in between you and Jaehyun. Hugging her dad first before closing her eyes and continue sleeping again.

Jaehyun mouthed an “I'm sorry” to you and kept his daughter close to him, waiting for her to sleep soundly again.

When she fell asleep again and Jaehyun put her back to her room, you and Jaehyun did not continue fucking and just laugh it all out in the middle of his kitchen so you won't wake her up again. “I’m sorry, I think we were so loud and she’s just… used to absolute silence since it’s been always us only” he pulled you close to him and planted a soft kiss on your forehead. But soon his feathery kisses around your face turned to wet and lustful ones when he reached your lips again. Obviously, he can’t stop himself.  

The night ended after your make out session in the middle of his kitchen, a few praises here and there until he finally called you a cab and watched you leave with a promise that you’ll see him again and finish what you two started in bed.  

[miceenscene]

'tis the damn season

frankie/reader | childhood friends to lovers | pre-canon

wc: 1.8k/2.5k

summary: At one point in your lives, you knew Frankie better than anyone else on earth. When did that change?

warnings: none

an: don't let anyone tell you that second person doesn't work from another character's perspective, least of all yourself while editing

Masterpost | ao3

Chapter 2: Who am I Related to?

December 8, 2012 18:57

Hudson’s was a shitty bar just up highway 210 outside of Fort Bragg, the nearest watering hole to the base as the crow flies.

As a result, it served pretty damn near exclusively military personnel. When it changed ownership about four years back, the new management decided to reflect that and so the place looked like the Fourth of July and Top Gun had thrown up on it. Never mind that Fort Bragg was an Army base. Still, they had cheap booze and greasy food that was far better than the commissary, so it was always busy.

Pope had texted the usual suspects a few hours ago that he was heading to Hudson’s that evening, making Frankie immediately ditch his plans of drinking alone for drinking with Pope and whoever else showed up. Most likely just Benny and Ironhead now that Redfly had semi-retired down to Florida. It was a short drive to the bar from the dorms on base, but it was enough to make Frankie groan and press hands to his lower back as he got out of his car and made his way inside.

Pope was sitting at the bar and didn’t look up from texting on his phone as Frankie gingerly eased into the stool next to him.

“Hey, Fish,” Pope said, rereading the email.

“Hey.” At the bartender’s attention, Frankie pointed to Pope’s beer before daring a slight back stretch.

Pope sent his email and then looked over. “You alright?”

“Yeah, just finished PT.”

He chuckled once. “Back still fucked?”

“More tired than fucked anymore,” Frankie managed, shaking his head and wincing. The bartender delivered his beer, and Frankie took a swig. “When did we get old?”

“¿De qué estás hablando ‘nosotros’, viejo?”

Frankie jabbed an elbow and grinned slightly down at his next swig. “Culero.”

“Hey, before everyone gets here–” Pope looked at him, an oddly serious expression on his face for their usual bar. “I found out today you haven’t re-enlisted yet.”

Frankie immediately dropped his gaze to the suddenly very interesting glass in his hand. “Ah, no. No, I haven’t.”

“I’m trying to pull strings to get Benny into our unit full-time. I think he’d fit well with the team. Then Simmons tells me you haven’t signed your new papers yet. So what’s up?”

Frankie glanced over to see Pope still focused on him. “Nothing, nothing. I… I’m still thinking about it.”

He chuckled. “What’s there to think about?”

“We all want out someday, right? If we’re lucky enough to choose when we leave.”

“Yeah, but there’s thinking and thinking.” Pope smacked his shoulder. “What – are you gonna become a real estate agent like Redfly?”

No. Definitely not. Even just the idea of shilling condos was enough to make Frankie’s eyes glaze over. But still–

“Real estate agents make more money than we do.”

Pope made a considering face for a moment then brushed it off. “Yeah, but you’d miss it. You’re like me. We like the rush.”

Frankie nodded slightly. This is why he was still just thinking about it. It wasn’t a small thing to walk away from fourteen years with the Army. Especially since everyone knew the retirement benefits were absolute shit until you hit twenty. But he could already tell, he didn’t have another six years in him. He wasn’t even sure he had another deployment.

“You know the deadline’s New Year’s, right?” Pope said, cutting through his thoughts.

“Yeah, I know. I have some leave I have to take before the year’s out anyway.”

Pope nodded. “Good. Clear your head, get some perspective. See how fucking boring civvy life is, and then come back Jan 2 and join my team.”

Frankie smiled wryly; Pope always could make anything sound easy. “Something like that.”

“You have holiday plans then?” he asked, leaning an elbow on the bar.

Frankie sucked in breath. “I guess I’ll go back to my parents’. My mom’s been wanting me to visit for a while now.”

“How long’s it been?”

“I saw them in DC last summer, but I haven’t been back home… since I joined Delta.”

“Remind me where they’re at.”

“Up north. Little town in the middle of nowhere. Still in the same house I grew up in.” He could picture the wreath on the door, the twinkling lights his dad always strung across the front fence every December. A matching set used to be hung on the fence exactly opposite across the street. Who lived there now, he wondered. Would they put the tree in the front window too?

“Soldier coming home for Christmas. Sounds like a Hallmark movie.”

“Fuck you,” Frankie replied as the others finally arrived.

--

Frankie got his answer as he ducked out the front door of his parent’s house about a week later. His breath immediately fogged as he sucked in a few calming breaths of night air, the pressure in his head slowly levelling. Out in the still darkness, the noise level coming from the living room was finally manageable. Inside, with all of his cousins and his aunts and uncles and the music and everyone talking over each other and the heater set far too high for the number of people inside– he… he just needed a break.

Seven hours was a decent stint for his first day. He’d be around longer tomorrow. Wading in. That was the key. Because he was now the kind of person that had to treat time with his family like running a marathon. Apparently.

He walked down to the twinkling front fence, making a mental note to shovel the front walk tomorrow, and stopped. The house across the street – your house, as it would forever be in his mind – was completely dark. A small sign posted in the front yard announced some sort of home refurbishment company was going to be arriving soon. No doubt they would come in, strip away wallpaper and old tile and heart to paint it all beige and granite for the quick resell.

He hadn’t had the heart to ask his mother yet how long the house hadn’t belonged to your family. No need for another reminder of how much time had passed, how much he’d missed. He had more than enough already.

The front door opened behind him, casting a temporary warm glow across the dark snow, and his dad stepped out, pipe in hand. He meandered down the front steps to join Frankie at the gate, puffing a few times before speaking.

He shook his head. “It’d break his heart to see it so empty, but I understand why she sold,” he said, looking at the forlorn house with him.

“How long ago?” Frankie asked.

“Few months. Not too long after the funeral.” Dad looked his way for a moment. “I’ll give it ten minutes before I tell your mother you left.”

“I… thanks,” he replied weakly.

“Will you be back tomorrow?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be back.”

Dad nodded slowly, leaving just the pipe smoke wafting between them for a minute. “Take it slow, no need to rush.”

“Thanks.” He stepped through the gate, fishing in his pocket for his car keys.

“Francisco,” he said, making Frankie stop and look at him. “We’re glad you’re back.”

Frankie just nodded and went to his car. Even though he couldn’t bear another minute in the noisy press of his loved ones, the idea of going back to his lonely hotel room was truly abysmal. So after some finagling with the ignition, he started the engine and headed to the one bar he’d ever been to in his hometown.

--

There were Christmas lights in the window and a dancing Santa on the bar as Frankie walked in. Some sort of forcibly cheery holiday classic played over the speakers tucked between quirky memorabilia that hung over every square inch of wall space. And even though public smoking had been outlawed by the state well over a decade ago, cigarette stench had sunk into the very foundation of the place.

It was nothing like Frankie remembered. But it would do.

Eyes automatically sweeping across the moderately busy room for a Thursday night, he headed for a stool at the far end of the bar, ordering a beer when the bartender came by. It was just one step up from swill, but comfortably numbing in its mediocrity. He looked across the room again, checking for familiar faces this time and finding none. No surprise there. A decade was a long time, and really he hadn’t been around too much for the years before that too.

There were couples on dates here, friend groups, some sort of girls’ night happening in the corner, a few loners like him hovering at the bar. Most everyone was smiling, talking, laughing so hard their whole bodies shook. A whole world of Normal. And Frankie was a tourist.

Pope was right. He couldn’t go back to this. He couldn’t make it through one whole day with blood relatives anymore. What was he thinking? That he could just settle into a normal life like the last decade of his work was nothing? Get a 9-to-5 and a mortgage and a girl – not that he’d ever had too much luck in that department. Especially when there was one girl that eclipsed all others, and he didn’t even know her phone number any more.

The door opened, making the Santa on the bar dance, and every thought in Frankie’s head immediately stopped. His eyes drew wide as he stared, jaw barely restrained from slapping against his chest. Was it really – course it was, there wasn’t anyone else it could be. A whole century could pass, and he’d still know that face.

It was you.

Live, in the flesh you. Cheeks pinked from the wind, haloed by the street lights outside, wrapped in a truly astonishing number of woolen layers. Not a half-remembered fantasy, but Real and breathing and even more beautiful than his memory had claimed.

He watched you shake a few flurries out of your hair and stomp the excess snow off your boots, shutting the door behind you as you waved to the bartender. Your gaze swung across the bar, completely skimming past him, and landed on the girls’ night in the corner. You smiled. He stared.

You began to head over to the people you were obviously here to meet. On nothing but pure instinct, he immediately got out of his stool and followed you. Falling into step behind you, he stretched a hand forward to hook a few fingers inside your elbow.

You looked back at him, and for a heart-breaking breath there was no recognition in your eyes.

Till he gave you a half-smile and said, “Hey Bo.”

You blinked, mouth dropping open. “Frankie?” you asked.

He nodded.

Your astonishment ballooned so wide it froze your whole face solid for a moment. Then you laughed, out of far more shock than amusement, and gave him a smile all his own. “Oh my god!! You’re here!”

You immediately wrapped him in a hug. And though it took him a moment to return it, for the first time in ten whole years, he was home.

Chapter 3: Not my Homeland Anymore

taglist: @kelenloth ; @darnitdraco ; @gracie7209 ; @616wilsons ; @icanbeyourjedi ; @astroboots ;

[whatifyoulivelikethat]

bao | myg | 1

pairing(s): yoongi x reader

summary: Min Yoongi is always late to start work. He’s late in starting a lot of things. Like telling you he loves you.

warnings: rated M (18+) for language; mentions of parental injury/surgery; it’s actually SO MUCH fluff; non-idol!AU; (slightly) jealous deliveryboy!Yoongi x hardworking chef!reader ft. bao fiend, next-door neighbor, model!Taehyung; Yoongi gets injured T_T

it’s Weverse magazine Yoongi; can’t be helped he looked too good and yes it’s another fic revolving around food like mango | jjk (less dark this time lmao), guess that’s my schtick now

-

Men in leather jackets?

Yes.

Men who liked to wear silver rings?

Double yes.

Men whose name was Min Yoongi?

Fuck, no.

But, unfortunately, Min Yoongi was both of the first two things, when annoyed you to no end. You could hate Min Yoongi, easy, if he wasn’t attractive, but the truth was that he was very attractive, with his dark hair, cat-like eyes that were the color of black coffee, large pale hands, silver earrings, silver bracelets, and raspy deep voice.

The infuriating thing was, he was always late.

“Sorry,” he apologized for the billionth time. “I had to do something.”

You always have to do something, you thought, pursing your lips as you pushed the paper bags towards him. Each one was stapled with a small piece of paper, indicating the address and complete order of the patron.

“I’m going to fire you if you’re late again,” you warned.

Yoongi grinned as he gathered the bags. He had pretty white teeth too. Fuck. You even liked seeing his stupid teeth. The fuck was wrong with you?

“Nah, you won’t fire me. I’m your favorite delivery boy.”

“You’re my only delivery boy,” you shot back as he retreated.

“Thus, being your favorite,” he chuckled, out the back door once again.

You sighed deeply as you watched the black leather depart. He was wearing black jeans today that showed off his long legs, with a tear in the right knee. Why did he have to look so good? And why was he always late? It was very annoying. You checked your phone, texting your father, asking how he was today.

-

You spent all day taking orders and prepping them for Yoongi to deliver. In between, you continued making buns of all kinds, from savory pork buns to sweet red bean buns. You father owned a small Chinese-style bao shop, but since his back surgery, he hadn’t been able to work for a while. Your mother was taking care of him and complaining quite a bit about having another baby, except this one was bigger and more demanding and sounded way too much like your father.

You just laughed through the phone as your dad asked for more water and a foot massage.

Being their only daughter, you naturally had some experience making bao, but actually running the business was much harder. You weren’t sure how your dad did it all these years to be honest. There used to be a counter where people could drop by and pick up a bun for their lunch break, but the person who worked at that counter used to be your mother or you, and that wasn’t happening if you were making them all day. You weren’t as fast making them as your father either.

Therefore, the small shop ended up being converted to delivery only, and your only delivery boy was late to arrive all the damn time.

Okay, he wasn’t a delivery boy per se, because he was definitely an adult man, but he might as well have been a boy with how often you scolded him about being late. At least he was good at delivering the actual orders on time.

You heard a knock at the back door and scooped up two steaming roast pork buns, brushing the excess flour off your hands before opening the door.

A bright, jovial, boxy smile greeted you.

“Hey!”

Your only exception to delivery only. Kim Taehyung, your next-door neighbor.

You handed him the pork buns and he handed you some bills.

“Keep the change,” he grinned, biting into the bun and gasping a little at the heat. “Mmm, delicious as always.”

You chuckled. “You need to learn how to cook for yourself.”

He pouted, chewing noisily. “Ugh, it’s so hard. Teach me.”

You rolled your eyes. “I tried. You burned it somehow. I don’t even know how that’s possible.”

He shrugged. “I’m better at watching anyway.”

You looked over his attire. A brown suit with a cream t-shirt, green silk scarf around his neck. His hair was dark brown again. “What are you advertising today?” Taehyung was a model. Sometimes you saw him on billboards or ads in the supermarket.

Taehyung shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m going to the agency right now.” He held up the buns. “But I gotta eat first because it’s gonna be long day.”

You chuckled. “Better go before your manager calls.”

As if on cue, a colorful tune erupted from Taehyung’s pants, chirping loudly. Taehyung shoved one of the buns entirely into his mouth and spoke around it, words muffled.

“Ugh, thanks again. Let’s hang out when I can!” he called as he ran off, snatching his phone from his pocket, mumbling into it as he chewed.

You smiled ruefully, watching him hurry away. “Yeah, like that will ever happen.”

Taehyung was far too busy to hang out with you. You were surprised he still lived in the same apartment complex you did, because he made decent money now, but he said it was because his dog Yeontan didn’t like change and his parents lived nearby so he could drop him off there when he was working.

“Your boyfriend or something?”

You suddenly noticed Yoongi standing next to the door. You jumped back, staring at him. He raised an eyebrow.

“How long have you been there?”

Yoongi shrugged. “As long as you’ve been making googly eyes at him.”

You frowned. “I’m not making googly eyes at Taehyung.”

Yoongi smirked, wiggling his eyebrows. “Ah, he has a name. And no honorifics. Very suspicious, if you ask me.”

Nobody asked you! You wondered if he needed both arms to deliver food, because you were pretty close to breaking at least one of them. Surely, he could drive one-handed? You were a bit disturbed on how imagining that seemed somewhat attractive to you.

“He’s my next-door neighbor,” you huffed, turning on your heel and going back into the shop to pack more orders for Yoongi.

“Next door to you puss–”

You spun around and shoved a pork bun into Yoongi’s mouth. He nearly choked, grabbing it as you let go, his fingertips brushing against yours for a moment. A strange tingle travelled through your palm, going up your arm. You ignored it, purposefully slipping buns into paper packages for an order for a local office nearby.

“It’s your lunchtime anyway,” you said impassively, not looking at him.

If you did, you would have noticed the pink tinge on Yoongi’s cheeks, the furrow in his brows as he chewed on the bun, watching you. You would have noticed the way his jaw seemed to be tense, thinking about what he just saw, holding tightly to the pork bun.

-

Yoongi knew you were the one who made it. It tasted great, almost as good as your father’s. He knew your father well, having been the on-and-off delivery boy through the years, from high school to university to now. Being an underground music producer didn’t make him a ton of money, but he didn’t care too much. If he was more popular, he would have to quit.

And he really didn’t want to quit, because he was staring at your back, hoping one day you’d notice he was watching you.

He knew who Kim Taehyung was. Taehyung came every day. Maybe even for the same reason as him. He never interrupted your interactions with Taehyung before, because it seemed rude. They were always short anyway. But, of course, Taehyung noticed you were alone now, and Taehyung had been dressing nicer, looking cuter, flirting more and more. Yoongi doubted you noticed, but it still bothered him all the same.

Yoongi sighed inwardly as he picked up another bun. You shot him a glare but he shrugged.

“Might make me taller,” was his response.

You raised your eyebrows. “You want to be a fucking skyscraper or something?”

He bit into it. Fucking delicious. “Maybe.”

Truth was, he just didn’t want to stop eating them because you made them.

Yoongi wanted to pretend you made them just for him.

-

"What's this?"

"Pork and leek bao. Tell me what you think."

Yoongi took a small bite, chewing thoughtfully. "Light flavor, but nice."

"Too greasy?" you pried.

"Mm, little bit."

You sighed. "Hm, okay, won't sell them then. I'll have to eat them myself."

Yoongi looked at the huge tray of freshly streamed buns.

"I can help."

"Wait for them to cool and then you can pack however much you want," you said absentmindedly, off to wash the pots. "You have a steamer at home?"

"Mhm."

He looked good today too, still in his black leather jacket and black jeans, different loose gray shirt. Almost cute with the way he was chomping on the steamed bun, his cheeks filling and becoming round. 

Too bad he couldn't be punctual to save his life, you thought, violently scrubbing the metal clean. 

-

Yoongi sat in his studio, holding one of the pork and leek bao you had given him. He stored them in his freezer and streamed them periodically when he was at his desk. Easy, quick meal that had very little mess. 

He chewed on it. 

He should have told you to sell them. 

But he also liked having his freezer full of bao that you had made. You probably would have given him some of he asked, but Yoongi felt bad asking because he knew how hard you worked. They should be for customers, not him. 

He sat back in his chair, taking bites slowly, savoring them. Salty pork with the mild flavor of fresh leek, a little black bean to add a hint of nuttiness, grounding the greasy nature of the meat. Made by your own two hands, your hard work, day in and day out, trying to make up for the absence of your father.

He really should stop being late.

Then again.

Yoongi was always late because he was always working on music and when he wasn't working on music, he was oversleeping his work alarms.

It wasn't until you had gone to university that he realized how much he missed you and your presence at the bao shop. You were smart. Had a Biochemistry degree and everything. Yoongi couldn't make heads or tails of science, so that alone was impressive to him. But you hadn't been able to get a job in your field because your father’s back pain got worse and worse, until he had to get surgery. Now it meant you did everything and, while it pained him to watch you working so hard, secretly he was a little glad that he could see you every day. 

He felt ashamed for thinking that way, because your father had surgery for a misaligned disc and Yoongi didn't wish that on anyone.

His eyes shifted to his computer. 

He hasn't dropped his mixtape for a lot of reasons. One, what if no one liked it? All of his hard work, ignored? Or, what if everyone liked it? What if he made it big? 

Could he handle that?

He didn't know. He wasn't very good with people.

Who was he? A nobody. Yoongi doubted your parents would be happy if the fucking delivery boy wanted to marry you. They were nice people, but of course they wanted better for you. That's why they worked so hard to put you through school to the point of your father's back literally breaking. 

Maybe it would be better if you dated Taehyung. It seemed like he made a reasonable amount of money considering his clothes. He was handsome too. Yoongi saw Taehyung's face at the local supermarket sometimes. His own face would never be in supermarkets. No one would pick up a coffee with his face on it over Taehyung's. 

Yoongi ate the last bite of bao bitterly and returned to his music. 

-

"You're even later than usual today!"

"I'm sorry. I'll grab the orders right away."

"And why are you wearing this stupid hat? It's unprofessional–"

You attempted to grab the black baseball cap off of Yoongi's head, but he dodged you. He seemed more aloof than usual today, but you barely noticed in your irritation as you clicked your tongue and grabbed his leather jacket, yanking him towards you and pulling the cap off.

Three things happened at once. 

Yoongi's body collided into yours. 

He painfully gasped into your neck, turning your skin burning hot with his breath. 

And third, your eyes widened as you realized Yoongi had a black eye.

You barely even noticed the first two things because you were staring at the fair skin around his right eye tinged with rings of purple-red. You released him and he backed up away from you, wincing. 

"What happened?" you asked in a stunned voice. 

Yoongi narrowed his eyes and tried to grab his hat, but you moved it behind your back, eyes glued to his bruise.

"Yoongi, tell me what happened."

You saw him pause. If you weren't so fixated on the actual black eye, you would have noticed his expression change from annoyance, to bitterness, to realization. Your tone was not angry. You were genuinely worried, to the point you felt strangely emotional, like you were going to cry. 

"It's nothing," Yoongi mumbled. "I'm fine. It only looks bad."

Your eyes locked with his. Those dark orbs did not want to say anything. They wanted you to treat it like no big deal, or yell at him some more for being late, anything but address his black eye. 

"Please tell me what happened," you said quietly. 

Yoongi sighed, rubbing the back of his head. Usually his black hair was styled, but it was messy and flat from being under the cap. 

"I did something stupid," he finally replied. "I trusted people. And I got scammed."

You waited. Yoongi shuffled his feet and continued. 

"I produce and make music. I mixed a guy's entire album and when I asked for payment, they told me I was getting paid with exposure," he spat, as if the word itself was disgusting. "I was already in a shitty mood. So I punched him."

"You did what?" 

"I punched him," Yoongi repeated coolly. He shrugged. "There were three other guys so I punched them too."

"Y... Yoongi!"

"What?" he snapped. "They fucking deserved it."

"You can't go around punching people!"

"Yeah." He pointed to his black eye. "Sometimes they punch back."

You stared at him before you held out his cap. He took it from you and crammed it back on his head. 

"Yoongi, go home."

He paused. Then he chuckled, straightening. "What are you taking about?" He changed his tone, making to more lighthearted and teasing. He gestured behind you, to the brown paper bags waiting. "I have deliveries to make."

"I'll do them."

You stood in front of the bags, blocking him. Yoongi frowned. 

"You have food to make."

"Yoongi," you said softly. "Go home and recover. You probably didn't get much sleep last night. I can see your dark circles."

He chuckled, the noise dying in his throat as he looked at your serious expression. 

"I always have dark circles."

"I don't want you to get in an accident because of sleep deprivation."

"I won't get into an accident," Yoongi said impatiently. He tried to move around you, but you and your flour-covered apron blocked him. 

"I don't want you to get hurt."

The way you said it stopped him. You thought of your father, laying in the hospital, doctors and nurses trying to make sure he was okay after the surgery. Yoongi could see it in your eyes. He sighed. 

"Look, it's just a couple bruises. I did this to myself," he mumbled. His eyes shifted from side to side before they came back to you. "I need to make money. I'm short on rent because of this."

"Then I'll pay you," you insisted. "You need to rest."

You suddenly realized Yoongi was very close to you now, looking down at you from under his black baseball cap. His chest was almost touching your chest. The scent of leather and pine cologne filled your nose, vastly different from your dusty flour-covered self. His cat-like eyes were on you, expression unreadable.

"This is my rest," Yoongi said quietly. "Helping you deliver orders is the least stressful part of my day."

For a long moment, you didn't move. You weren't sure if it was because you were still worried or because Yoongi was so close and it felt weird all of a sudden, as if you recalled the way his body hit yours earlier and the way his breath tickled your skin. 

You moved away and Yoongi collected the bags, careful not to drop them. You always ordered them so they were from first to last delivery, maximizing efficiency and order number. He made his way to the back door, using his back to open it. 

You spoke again, voice nearly cracking.

"Please don't get hurt."

Yoongi looked up from under his black cap, expressionless. You expected him to give you a snarky remark as usual. 

"I won't."

He headed out. 

-

2.

--

masterpost

[maxineswritingcenter]

You Saved Me - Derek Hale x fem!reader part 2

So the first part did decently well, so I figure I could add a second part. 

---------

For the next few hours I waited, making sure he was truly asleep. The Michael I knew was a heavy sleeper, but I would never be able to tell if that was a lie too. During that time, I tried to make a plan on how to escape. If this was Michael’s apartment building, it meant it was on the outskirts of town and nowhere near the police station, so my only option was running. But it had been a while since I had any food or water, so my ability to do any running was limited to one short sprint. As far as getting out of the chair went, there was the knife that Michael threatened me with at my feet. But I was conflicted about using it. Had he left it there on purpose to taunt me? It was my only way of escape, so caution had to be thrown to the wind. 

Using the rubber on the soles of my shoes, I carefully got the knife handle between them. The next challenge was to get it up to my hands. All those crunches Coach did were paying off. I took the knife from my shoes and relaxed, gripping the handle tightly. Awkwardly, I began slowly cutting at the duct binding my hands together and then around my chest until I was free. Every cut took what felt like hours, but I didn’t want to be loud to make sure he didn’t catch me. By the time I got finished it was the end of the afternoon, the sky slowly fading from blue to the sunset.  Once free, I stood up slowly, hoping the floor wouldn’t creak underneath my feet. I took my steps slowly, feeling my heart pound. The door to the outside world felt so close yet so far away. Out of the corner of my eye, Michael’s door was in my vision. But the problem was that the door was closed earlier, but now it was opened with just a crack. 

He was awake, but he hadn’t heard me. It was now or never, I walked quickly to the front door and made my way into the hallway, the heavy door slamming behind me. 

“(Y/N)!” I heard Michael shout. I started to run, Michael’s apartment was on the third floor so running down the stairs was the only option since taking the elevator would mean he would be at the bottom. By the time I had made it to the second floor, I could hear his booming steps behind me. 

“GET BACK HERE!” I picked up my pace, almost tripping down the steps multiple times. Until I saw the front door of the building, slamming into it and making my way outside. The parking lot was empty except for a black Camaro, a man was leaning against it, looking towards the woods. It was a risk, this guy could be working with Michael. But Michael never really worked well with others in school. 

“HELP!” I screamed, feeling my legs start to ache from running all those stairs. The adrenaline running through my veins halting, “HELP ME!” The man turned and my heart almost stopped. It was Derek Hale. One of the survivors from the Hale fire six years ago. 

By now he had turned to face me, looking at me and then Michael who was hot on my heels. 

“Help!” I shouted, crashing into him. He didn’t move, it felt like running into a wall, “Please help me.” I held on tightly to his leather jacket. 

“Please.” I pleaded, hoping that he was just there at the right place at the right time. By that point, Michael had caught up. 

“Hey, man.” Michael panted, “Thanks for catching her. My girlfriend gets a little crazy when she’s off her meds.” 

Derek looked down at my face, his expression became hard and frightened me a bit. He took my hands from his jacket. It’s over, he’s going to hand me over. But then, he pulled me so I stood behind him, keeping him between me and Michael. 

“I think you should leave.” Derek said. I had never heard him speak before. From what I could remember from high school, after the fire Derek had become reclusive and kept to himself. 

“Listen, pal, if you don’t hand her over, I’ll need to get physical and we both know you don’t want that to happen.” Michael warned, gripping a knife in his hands. But the way he spoke made it seem like they knew each other, but Michael had never mentioned Derek before. 

“(Y/N), come on. Let’s go home.” Michael said. 

“No.” 

“Fine.” He glared, “Then leave.” He spat his words like they were laced with venom. Derek glanced towards the passenger door, like an invitation to freedom as he made his way to the other side of the car. Michael, however, went back on his words. He stalked towards Derek, knife in his hands. 

“No!” I scrambled to stop his path and the knife meant to Derek’s back found its way into mine. The pain itself made my body seize up, making me fall into Derek once again, his green eyes looked full of panic. 

“Shit.” Michael hissed, pulling the knife from my back and sprinting away. My knees buckled, the last of the adrenaline gone. 

“Hey, hey.” Derek held me up, pulling me with ease towards the back of his car, “You’re gonna be okay.” He laid me down in the back seat, slamming the door and getting into the front, starting the car. The Camaro’s wheels screeched on the pavement as they sped off onto the road. His eyes kept looking back at me in the rear view mirror. 

“Hey, stay awake, (Y/N).” I tried to speak but my vision was going black, as it was I could hear Derek’s voice farther and farther away. 

- 

“(Y/N)?”  A sweet voice called, “(Y/N), can you hear me?” My eyes slowly fluttered open, then squeezed shut at the bright lights. 

“Where am I?” I whispered, my throat was sore.

“You’re in the hospital. We took you into surgery, everything went well and you’re healing just fine.” She said sweetly. I was finally able to open my eyes and found the nurse who had been talking to me. She wore burgundy scrubs and had her blonde hair pulled back into a bun. 

“The Sheriff is here to see you, but I told him that you still needed rest.” She said, standing up and writing her vitals. 

“No, it's okay to let him in.” She took a deep breath, “He’s my godfather.” The nurse nodded and she walked out the door. But instead of Uncle Noah, Stiles rushed into the room, the nurse right behind him. I slowly began to sit up to greet him. 

“Hey, hey, hey, you sit right back down. Are you okay?” His words rushed from his mouth. 

“Slow down.” I smiled weakly, “I’m okay.” 

“You got stabbed.” 

“I’ve been better. How’s that?” Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw the Sheriff make his way in the room. 

“Hi Uncle Noah.” I said softly. He looked like he usually did, stressed and tired. 

“Sweetie, I’m so sorry.” His voice was somber and brought back the memories that my parents and my home were gone forever. My eyes brimmed with tears, my lips tight to hold back my sobs. Uncle Noah came to my side, and sat on the edge of the bed. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his side, rubbing her shoulder softly. I turned into his side, wet spots growing on his uniform from my tears. Stiles held my hand, moving his thumb across my knuckles.

- 

Later after feeling a little more lucid, Uncle Noah wanted to take my statement. 

“Can you tell me about what happened last night?” 

I took a deep breath, “I went out to go to a party. Around eleven o’clock. On my way there I ran into Michael. He….” I looked up, trying to avoid tears again, “He knocked me out and took me to his apartment. And he tied me up. He showed me the news telling me mom and dad were dead.” I hiccupped back a little sob, “He threatened me with a knife then he went to bed. He dropped the knife at my feet, I cut myself out, and ran. He was running behind me and I ran into a guy in the parking lot, Derek Hale.” 

“Derek Hale?” He asked, stopping his note taking. 

I nodded, “Yeah, he was just there in the parking lot. I ran up to him, he was going to drive me away from there. Michael came after him with the knife and I got in the way. I don’t remember much after that.” 

He nodded, taking his notes on a small flippad. 

“Isn’t that the guy who survived in that fire five years ago?” Stiles piped in from a chair in the corner. 

“Yeah, that’s him. I’ll have to track him down to find him. Get his statement.” Uncle Noah put his notepad in his pocket. “Get some more rest, kiddo, you’re getting discharged tonight into my care.”

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

Read part 3 here!

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[belovvved]

!!Emergency!! Unsafe Housing Situation/No Transportation!!!!Help a Non-Binary Artist achieve relative comfort!!!

I wish that none of this was real, and that I don't need help. I don't even know where to begin. But I'm trying to open up, I can't keep trying to do everything alone.

PLEASE BOOST... if you cannot donate or help me find resources in my city (San Antonio, Texas)

CASHAPP: $citrinebat ZELLE: freedumb210@gmail.com

Any advice or resources will be much appreciated.

I grew up never speaking out because I would always get silenced, my parents are good at manipulating others to believe that they are decent people. I am not welcomed or safe at home.

Basically, I was born to two teenage parents that weren't ready to have children or mature enough to be with each other.

I grew up seeing my mom get abused by my dad verbally, physically, and emotionally. I would always stick up for her, and so the relationship between my father and I has never existed... In fact he hates me for being outspoken, and protective. My mother takes out her stress and abuse on me too. She's tried drowning me when I was 8 and I found out later from my aunt. My mother has Stockholm syndrome, she even went so far as to take a felony for him and has not had a job in years.

It has been my whole life, and I'm the oldest out of 5 including myself. Many times I've tried helping my mom, only to have her hurt me again in some sort of way- by going back to my dad, borrowing money, gambling, drinking etc. She never admits her faults, and plays victim which is something I am not trying to do.

I still cannot believe that this is what has become of the family I romanticized. I've discovered that my parents, and brother are severely mentally ill- my parents take prescription pills that aren't theirs... some of which I do not know completely. My brother has become psychotic and has black-out rages where he hurts someone in the family or breaks things around the house.

In the past I always had to lean on other relatives (now passed) for support or past partners- (which I do not want to do anymore).

I left as soon as I graduated from school in 2018 (Summa Cum Laude). I wanted to pursue going to art school or architecture. But I couldn't due to the fact that my dad sold drugs and his taxes weren't accepted in FASFA. I had to wait until I turn 21 to file independently but even when this came around (Oct.2020) I wasn't prepared in anyway possible to pursue higher education.

-Things in the past were manageable, because I had my Grandma who supported me in everyway possible while she worked two jobs. She took me and my 4 siblings to and from school. While my parents stayed at home sleeping. She did everything she could for us, and then in 2019 she was diagnosed with cancer and died within 3 weeks, inside of the home I am currently living in.

She bought me a car before right before she died- which my mom used whenever she wanted to in order to escape from my dad momentarily. It had 56k miles at first and I never got to drive it until 100k+ miles. By the time I got it back, my mom cracked the windshield and stained the interior. It got repoed after 3 months of me using it because my grandfather left the country in 2020 to pursue his new wife (in her 20's) and his new family. He stopped paying on the car without telling me, and didn't transfer the title to me, so I had no way of preventing anything.

My only source of transportation was taken from me in March 2021. So I lost my job, my car... and I need help because I have to start all over.

I currently live at my Grandma's house where she passed away inside of the living room. The a/c has been broken since last summer (2020) and there is no heat or hot water and I just endured that during the Texas Winter Storm.

Whenever my Grandfather returns from out of the country I will have to find a place to stay but that means making 2-3x the rent and having a job for at least six months. I cannot return home because my brother is a reflection of my abusive father and I DO NOT FEEL SAFE being around him.

My brother has broken a window on me, physically has hurt me more than once. My dad calls me a whore + so many other worse things. My mom borrows money from me and gambles, and drinks. Just uses me to babysit and has made me quit my art internships in Highschool to babysit while she goes out with friends at the bar

I have been trying to sell art, and nudes in order to get a car... so that way I can try having a job. I have facial piercings and tattoos on my hands so everything is difficult.

The only thing I am at fault for is my way of coping. It's hard to foresee a future for yourself when you're living with trauma...

I didn't want to believe that my parent's don't care but after losing my job and car in March 2021, my mom has not since checked up on me or asked if I was okay. In fact has asked me to borrow money, (she usually doesn't pay back) My dad fixes A/C for a living, and has not fixed the A/C for me since last year.

My mental health is starting to take a toll on me lately and I don't want to end up in the Psych ward again..... Luckily I have a few really amazing, supportive, loving friends. But everyone has their own lives and I can't depend on anyone. I wish I could be the person helping them.

I don't want to take from others who cannot give. I want to be able to have transportation, pursue school, and also feel comfortable and safe where I am living. Past partners know where I stay, and so does my abusive brother and I live in fear of them coming over uninvited.

Please help me get to a place where I can truly grow, and flourish. Please help me feel unashamed about speaking up and asking for help. My dreams are to start a nonprofit for domestic violence victims, foster animals, and start or be apart of a printing press for creatives.

I sell art and make music in my freetime. I lost my only support system a little over a year ago and since then it has been super difficult trying to do things on my own, and I'm tired of depending on sexual partners for help (+ experiencing rape/sexual trauma), as a NONBINARY person being perceived as anything less than a soul is painful.

You can support me by commissioning or purchasing art here. Or donating anything will help- everything goes to my phone bill, food. I am on my last $500. I am really worried because lyfts and ubers add up, and I am uncertain of when I can find a job that will hire me due to my self expression.

Thank you for reading.

[fiveisnumber1]

Timeless - Five Hargreeves x Reader Side Story

I’m in the process of working on the next part of the main story of Timeless but I decided to write this short little side story so I hope y’all enjoy!

Main story parts:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28

_________________________

The Tattoo - “A Family Reunion” Side Story

January 17th, 2014:

After a long day at school, Diego had come to pick you up. Holding the straps of your backpack you walked towards his car. Although the Umbrella Academy had pretty much faded out of the collective thoughts of the public, Diego still tried to keep a low profile for you. You never knew if there were any die-hard fans around so it was better to be safe than sorry. Getting into the passenger seat Diego happily ruffles your hair saying,

“Hey kiddo, you made it to Friday. Congrats on finishing your second school week.”

“Thanks.” You replied softly

It had been hard starting school again. You had been there for only ten days in total and it was completely different from what you knew. Public school was nothing like the private school your parents used to send you to. It was loud and rambunctious and there was never a quiet moment. It was good because you were never alone with your thoughts but the semi-structured environment wasn’t something you were equipped for. And on top of it, you were surrounded by kids your age but they weren’t your friends. You didn’t have friends anymore. As Diego drove away from the school you looked out the window watching the other kids pass by as they got on busses or into their family’s cars. Turning back to sit straight Diego asks,

“Anything interesting happen today?” 

“I pulled a knife on a kid at lunch.” You reply nonchalantly

“I’m not saying you were wrong. But why?” Diego asks

“He had a bow and arrow on him and startled me.” you responded

You hadn’t expected anyone to come up to you during lunch. You typically minded your own business and sat alone. Well, not completely alone. You sat at the same table as a girl from your music class. You knew she played the viola but other than that was quiet and reserved. You two never really talked but every once in a while you’d glance at each other. The kid that approached you though was more outgoing and made his presence known. He was in your gym class and always seen with a taller blond boy. You didn’t know why he had decided to come over to you but nevertheless, he did and even after you had pulled a knife on him he decided to sit down across from you and start talking. You didn’t really respond but you did listen to him. He kind of reminded you of Diego but maybe this would be just a one-off experience. 

Diego had thought about your response for just a quick second before responding,

“That’s reasonable. I’m proud of you for protecting yourself.”

“He didn’t seem like too much of a threat but okay.” you stated

Diego let out a small laugh. Of course, you wouldn’t see some 13-year old with a bow as a threat. Diego continued to drive as you told him about your classes and what you were studying. He listened happily as you discussed the experiments you were doing in Science class and how you were writing poetry in English. The two of you soon came to a stop as you arrived at the boxing club you were both a part of. On Friday’s you would come along with him before going back to the academy the next day. Entering the building you sat down on a nearby chair and started working on your homework as Diego trained with another member. Typically, he would work with you but because he had a match coming up soon he needed to focus on himself. 

Every once in a while though you would go up to the side of the ring and ask for help with a part of your homework. Sometimes you actually needed help but other times you just enjoyed the way your brother’s eyes lit up when you told him you needed him and the proud look on his face when you finally solved the problem. When you had finished your homework you would drag the chair to the side of the ring to watch your brother spar. Swinging your feet back and forth as you sat on the chair you tried to study the practice fight so you could improve your own fighting skills. During the fight though you would catch quick glimpses of Diego’s wrist and the Umbrella Academy tattoo that resided on it. You hated the sight. It was as if Reginald permanently branded him, connecting him to something he never decided to be a part of in the first place. It was a marking that would never go away just like the childhood he was robbed of as part of the Umbrella Academy.

The hours passed and soon it was time to close the club down for the day. Most other club members left and Diego grabbed the mop and bucket from the corner to start cleaning. Cleaning up the club was his livelihood. Al, the owner, was kind enough to let him turn the boiler room into a bedroom and give him a decent wage in exchange for training people during the day and cleaning up at night. You were always so proud of him. Your brother worked hard, harder than anyone else you knew. Even during his time in the Umbrella Academy he always pushed himself to do his best and then some. You admired it and wanted to work just as hard as he did. 

As he cleaned, you tried to help him though. Using your powers you did your best to liquefy the dried sweat and blood so it would be easier to clean. By the time he had finished, it was late and you had grown tired. Diego puts the mop and bucket away before coming over to you and saying,

“I think it’s time you get to sleep.” 

You nodded your head and let out a yawn standing up so you could head to the boiler room that Diego called home. Placing a hand on your back Diego guided you there. You rubbed your eyes before climbing into the bed. Diego tucked you in nicely before sitting on the edge of the bed and stroking your hair until you fell asleep. Once he knew you were completely asleep he carefully got up and went over to a chair across the room. He sat and watched you for a while to make sure you were okay but soon enough he drifted off too.

You started to toss and turn in your sleep. A chill creeping into your bones as images of snow rushed into your mind. The voices of your parents and friends surrounding you. Frantically you look around for them and see silhouettes. Familiar figures extending their hands as they call our your name, beckoning you to them. You rush towards the figures but the snow starts to pick up. The figures become obscured. You run around calling out their names but no one responds. From behind you, you hear the sound of snow crunching as if someone was running away. You turn around from the direction your family and friends were and follow the footsteps in the snow. Up ahead you see a figure that grows clearer the closer you get. 

“Five.”

You pushed yourself to run harder. To try and catch him. When you feel you’re close enough you extend your hand to grab his jacket but just as you do he vanishes. You trip and fall to the ground.

“No!” You called out as you sat up straight in bed.

Your body shook as tears started to prick your eyes. You looked around only to see the boiler room and Diego sitting on his chair off to the side. No snow, no figures, no Five. You took a few breaths before quietly getting up from the bed and heading over towards Diego. Carefully, you shake his arm quietly calling,

“Eggo. Eggoooo.”

Diego wakes up startled but soon calms down when he sees you there. He can see the tears building up in your eyes glisten from the light of the lamp. He always left the lamp on because he thought it would ease the nightmares but they still seemed to happen.

“Bad dream?” He questioned softly

You nodded your head in response. Diego opened his arms allowing you to sit in his lap before he held you close. You were so small and you didn’t deserve all this pain you were going through. He knew from his own experience of how difficult it was to be young and struggling with the pain of traumatic events. Tears slipped from your eyes as you dealt with the fallout of another nightmare. Diego slowly rocked you as he held you, the same way mom did for him when he was still small. When your vision cleared slightly you could see the image of the tattoo on Diego’s wrist. You reached out and using your pointer finger you began to trace the image over and over. Diego noticed what you were doing and questioned,

“Princess, why do you keep tracing that?”

You looked away from the tattoo and up at your older brother.

“If I trace it enough times maybe I can erase it away.” you explain quietly

“Unfortunately, that’s not how it works.” Diego responds

“But heat breaks down ink, if I can just vibrate the molecules enough I can make it go away. I know I can.” You elaborate 

“I’ve come to terms with it you don’t need to make it go away.” Diego softly replies

He hadn’t come to terms with it though. It was an awful reminder of the despicable man who he called his father. The same one whose roof you were now living under. Diego wished that he made more money, that he had a place where he could keep you safe from that man, but he didn’t. He knew you were fiercely independent and smart, but so was Five and their dad still did enough damage to make him run away through time. Five was the whole reason you were even in this mess. Diego wanted to seem strong for you though so he kept his feelings to himself on the matter. He might not have come to terms with it but you were the focus now, his focus, and his residual problems matter much less than making sure you would be okay.

“The one day I wasn’t able to be there...I went with my dad to bring your child to work day and yours did this.” You stated as you continued to look at the marking

It’s true. He did pick the one day where you were busy. You had talked all the week before about bring your child to work day and how it worked. You had gone every year with him since you were 3. He and his siblings were all excited to hear what it was like when you visited the next day but that excitement was ruined by the permanent scar they all received. 

Diego remembered that day in vivid detail. They were all summoned to the parlor and before they knew it the carnage began. Klaus got his tattoo first as punishment for being intoxicated. It was a vicious punishment for such a minor action. Allison went next and cried the whole time. When she finished Klaus held her as she continued to spill tears. Then it was his turn. The needle scared him but he put on a tough face to show that he had the mental fortitude to be a leader. He didn’t even accept comfort from his own mother. Luther and Ben went next and then Five was last. Five had looked at the front door the whole time, probably hoping you would show up unannounced and stop it before he was marked. It didn’t happen. All of them knew that their father chose this day on purpose. It was cruel. Diego looked off in the distance as the memories replayed in his head. He still tried to cheer up the conversation though by lightly joking,

“If he did it on a day you were around you would’ve burned the house down.” 

His joking didn’t work though as you sadly followed up,

“All of you hid it from me. Why?”

“We all knew you’d feel exactly like this, like it was your fault. We made a pact not to say anything because it would hurt your feelings and I’m sure you could guess who led the efforts on that idea.” Diego responded honestly

You nodded your head. Of course, he didn’t want to hurt your feelings.

“I always felt like you knew, but you never said anything so I wasn’t sure. How did you find out?” Diego added

“Vanya.” You respond with a yawn

“Of course it was Vanya.” Diego mumbles

You could feel yourself growing tired again. Your eyelids started to droop as you explained,

“She had drawn the image in black marker on her wrist and when I asked why she told me. He didn’t say anything until I brought it up.”

You didn’t like referring to Five by his name. You barely mentioned him because the wound of his loss was still too much. Diego didn’t understand how someone who cared for you so much could cut you so deeply. It didn’t make sense, but he couldn’t change the past.

“I could’ve protected you all...” You mumbled before falling back asleep

“It wasn’t your job to protect us.” Diego quietly replied

He held your small sleeping figure closer to him and rocked you once more.

“But it’s my job to protect you.”

[mxndoscyarika]

Honeydew (Marcus Pike/Moreno x OC) | Chapter 5

Summary: Erin He moves to DC after working for the FBI in Texas and runs into a hero in disguise; Marcus Moreno. Something about him is familiar, too familiar, yet different in a way that she can’t quite place. Although confused, she can’t deny her feelings for him; perhaps, after years of regret, she finally found the one.

Warnings: winter, food/drink, fluff

Ao3

Honeydew masterlist

Like my writing? Here’s my masterlist.

Author’s Note: Thing are happeninggggggg 👀 Enjoy!

“This place is beautiful, Marcus,” Erin mused, eyes wandering around the restaurant. Like most upscale places, hardwood and chandeliers were the stars of the interior. Perhaps she was a little old-fashioned for liking it, but the atmosphere of dim lights and dark wood was comforting.

“Do you like it?” he asked, a shy smile adorning his face. He didn’t have time to change after work, opting to stay in his button-down shirt and dark pants. Ideally, he would’ve gone home and changed into something a little nicer, just for her, but work had ended later than he anticipated. Thankfully, he wasn’t too underdressed–Erin wore a simple outfit of a dark shirt and skirt, some boots, and a long coat.

Marcus found himself glancing down at her glossy lips as she praised him for picking such a cozy place for their date. There was still a decent amount of snow on the ground, so they didn’t want to travel far. The local steakhouse had seemed like a good option.

Something about the way she spoke, the way she seemed to glow in the soft light of the restaurant, made his heart flutter in his chest. He loved the way her voice soaked into his being, how soothing her tone was. He’d missed that. He’d missed her.

After that day with her and Missy, he couldn’t stop thinking of what a future would be like with her in it. Being in her apartment felt like stepping back in time. It felt like he was being given another chance, another chance to do right by her and show her his l-

“Marcus?”

He blinked, his thoughts slipping to the background. Rubbing his hand along her back soothingly, he asked, “Yes, honey?”

Erin let out a breathy laugh and tilted her head towards the host. “Aren’t you going to let them know we’re here? You said you made a reservation.”

If they were in broad daylight, she would’ve seen his cheeks redden just slightly, Thankfully, she couldn’t. Kissing her forehead, he answered. “Yes, let’s go.”

They were brought to a table situated towards the back of the dining area, menus and glasses of water already waiting. Once again, Marcus slipped past her and pulled out her chair first, making sure she was comfortable before sitting down.

Erin shivered as his hand brushed her shoulder, reminding her of that night in the kitchen.

They quickly fell into conversation, their voices just above an intimate hum. It was nice to have that time with him. She loved having Missy over at her apartment, but she also wanted moments for just herself and Marcus. Maybe it was a tinge of jealousy that remained, or a remnant of fear that he only liked her because she was good with Missy. The thought hadn’t occurred to her until the day after, when one of her parent’s sayings crept back into her mind. But since it had, she couldn’t shake it off.

What if he didn’t really want her? What if he just wanted friendship, or a role model for his daughter? She had no problem with being the latter–every girl deserves to have a role model–but it was the former that she worried about. What if he didn’t want her, and she was going to watch him slip away just like last time?

As she and Marcus sat there, eating and talking about everything and nothing, she felt the coil of insecurity tighten. He told her about his life both before and after becoming a single dad, and how his late wife had encouraged him to pursue his current job.

“And what’s that?” she asked, a small smile on her lips. “You never told me, Mr. Moreno.”

He was about to answer when his phone rang, cutting him off. Frowning, he apologized and told her it was from the headquarters. They rarely called him after hours; normally they reached out to the others. He knew it wasn’t polite to answer during a date, that it was often a sign of disinterest, but Erin insisted that he took the call. Between her time in the FBI and her knowledge of the Heroics, she knew some things couldn’t be ignored.

Hopefully it was just an update.

Then, Marcus’s eyes widened. “I’ll be right there.”

Erin’s brows furrowed at that. “What’s wrong? Is everything okay? Do we need to get Missy?”

Letting out a sigh, he shook his head and fished out his credit card. “The boss called; there’s an emergency and I need to be there as soon as possible.” He stood up and came around to her. Placing his card in her hand, he said, “I’m sorry, honey. This isn’t how I wanted tonight to go. Stay here. I’ll come back for you, alright? I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

“W-wait, why do you have to go?” she asked, heart sinking. “Isn’t there someone else?”

Marcus’s heart broke as he realized what this looked like. He sighed softly and kissed her forehead gently. “I’m the leader of the Heroics, honeydew. I have to.”

Their eyes met, and he hadn’t seen her as sad since the night he left for DC.

“Okay,” she said quietly, letting go of his arm. “Be safe.”

“I’ll come back for you,” he promised. Then he turned on his heel and jogged out of the restaurant.

---

“Erin?”

At the sound of her name, she looked up from her phone. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw Marcus walking towards her, still in his clothes from earlier, though he looked a bit frazzled. Did he not have a suit to change into?

“Marcus,” she breathed, pulling him into a hug. Tucking her face against his neck, she murmured, “I was so worried.”

His arms immediately wrapped around her, enveloping her with warmth. She felt his lips pressing against her temple as he replied, “I’m so sorry, honey. I’m here now. We got everyone out, and the responders are handling the rest.”

“I’m just glad you’re alright. Though I must say, I never pegged you for a superhero,” she said, smiling as he rocked her back and forth. “Though I wish you’d told me earlier during our date. Were you ever going to tell me?”

He cringed. “About that…. I’m sorry our date was interrupted. I know we’ve been looking forward to this for a while, and I shouldn’t have run out on you like that-” “It’s alright,” she interrupted, her voice smooth. Ice-cold air nipped her skin as she pulled away from him. “It wasn’t your fault. I would’ve probably ditched you if there was an emergency at the office.” A soft laugh. “I guess that means we aren’t so different, huh?”

A soft chuckle left his lips. “Yeah, I guess so.”

Those words echoed in his being. Something about holding her in his arms felt right. He never realized how much he missed her touch until she was right there, in his arms, looking up at him with those beautiful eyes. It had been a long time since he felt that warmth in his chest. For a while, since the passing of his wife, he wasn’t sure he would ever feel it again.

He leaned forward just enough that their foreheads touched. “Erin?”

“Yeah?”

It took everything in him to not close the gap between their lips. “I’d like to see you again sometime. Another date, with no interruptions. How does that sound?”

She paused, her breath caught in her throat. Of course she wanted to see him again. Her sweet Marcus, who treated her better in the few weeks they’d known each other than all her past boyfriends and girlfriends combined. Her sweetheart, who came back for her.

A shiver ran down her spine. Her Marcus. How could she forget? Even after nearly a decade, she missed him. And maybe she always would. But, maybe, it was time to let go and leave it all in the past.

Marcus’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts. “Honey?”

She smiled. “It sounds perfect. I just....It’s been a long since I’ve felt anything like this. I told you I don’t have very good luck with love, and…the last time I loved someone, I never told him, and he disappeared before I could.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” he murmured, his breath warm against her cheeks. “We can take things as slow as you want, or not even try at all. But I want to try this with you, Erin. Do you?”

Erin nodded, smiling. “I do.”

“Perfect,” he said, kissing her forehead. “Are you ready to go home?”

“Only if it’s with you.”

The drive back to her apartment was short, the inside of the car nice and toasty in comparison to the brisk winter air. Erin could barely keep a smile off her face when Marcus reached over to hold her hand as he drove.

When she looked over to his side, she noticed the absence of a ring on his left ring finger.

He walked her to her door, a warm hand settled snugly against her back. Their voices echoed through the hallway, soft and oddly familiar.

“Do you want to come inside?”

The door was propped open by her foot, her keys still dangling from her fingers. He nodded, and smiled at the way her face lit up.

“Sorry about the mess,” she began sheepishly, gathering the papers strewn on the dining table into a pile. “I have an undercover op that I need to take care of in a couple weeks, so I was familiarizing myself with the case.”

His brows furrowed as he came up next to her, a hand coming around to rest on her waist. Indeed, the files were maps and profiles. “I thought you didn’t go out in the field anymore.”

She sighed. “I don’t, this was a special request from my boss. I have the most experience, and a leader leads by example, right?” Placing the papers into a folder, she continued, “I still need a partner, though.” “What’s the case?” he asked. Even back in his FBI days,  he didn’t like seeing Erin dressed for an operation. It wasn’t that she didn’t look good–she always looked beautiful–it was that he worried about her. She was capable, strong, and quick on her feet, but accidents could happen. There was no way he was going to risk losing her again; not now, after they finally could be together.

“It’s pretty low-key,” she began, pulling out an overview of the operation. Snuggling closer to him, she explained, “It’s for evidence against an art collector that’s suspected of dealing in the black market. He’s throwing a party on his private island to celebrate the upcoming marriage of his friends. My job is to get in, download some data from his computer, and get out. My plus-one to the wedding festivities is supposed to make things more convincing.”

“Doesn’t sound too bad. I can go with you,” he suggested, his arm tightening around her waist protectively. “If you want. The Heroics don’t need to get involved, it can just be the two of us.”

She turned to face him, eyes wide. “You’d do that for me?”

“Of course,” he answered, holding her close. “Even leaders need some help sometimes.”

“Cheesy,” she teased, leaning in just slightly. Her gaze flickered down to his lips as she turned to face him, the papers forgotten. They looked soft, plush and pink.

His hand came up to cup her cheek.

“Just for you,” he responded, finally bridging the gap between their lips.

His lips were just as soft as they looked.

They melted into each other’s arms, Erin’s arms coming up to wrap around his neck and pull him closer. Her body pressed up against his as their lips molded against each other. Golden calligraphy spelled out their unspoken words as they kissed, gleaming and sparkling.

Erin smiled against his lips when he let out a soft moan, arching into his touch. His large hands roamed across her back, leaving fire in their wake.

He gently coaxed her onto the dining table, settling between her legs. “I’ve been wanting to do this for a very long time.”

“Me too,” she answered breathlessly. “But now we’re together.”

“Yes,” he murmured, kissing her deeply. A shiver ran down his spine as she whimpered into his mouth, so quiet he nearly missed it. He wanted to hear her again. He wanted to hear how his name would sound on her tongue, how she’d sound at her peak, but it was too soon for that. No, he wanted more time with her; he wanted to show her just how much he loved her before taking things to the next level.

His tongue was tracing the seam of her lips when his phone started ringing again. This time, it was an alarm; the babysitter‘s shift was ending soon, which meant he needed to head home–his other home.

Erin let out a small sound of protest as he pulled away, chasing his lips with her own.

Unable to resist, he returned to her. “I’m sorry,” he said, leaning in for another kiss; one that she gladly granted him. His hands came up to cup her face gently, a thumb caressing her bottom lip. Heat surged through him as her lips parted just slightly, allowing the tip of his thumb to catch in the small opening. “I have to go back to Missy, the babysitter needs to leave soon and I don’t want her in the house all alone.”

The mention of Missy brought her back to reality. She didn’t want him to go–not so soon. But his priority was Missy; they could always continue later. Erin nodded understandingly. “It’s okay, Marcus. We’ll find more time soon.”

“Yes,” he agreed, pecking her on the lips. “Soon, I promise.”

---

A long, hot shower was just what she needed after being out in the cold. Erin exited the bathroom, her phone and watch in hand. She was dressed in a black camisole and sweatpants, hair cascading down her back.

As she set her clothes into the hamper, a  glint from her nightstand caught her eye. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was the ring. She’d left it at home for the date, slipping it off her finger as she got ready.

The ring was a memory, a promise. A promise to herself that she would never forget her best friend, her former love. She’d spent countless hours defending it, justifying the purchase and the clear message it sent to people. She’d wanted to tell the world that she’d given her heart away, and that nothing could replace him.

But maybe she didn’t need the ring to remember her Marcus. She knew he’d want her to find someone that made her happy, even if it wasn’t him. He was always sweet like that, supportive and confident. A part of her wondered if he would’ve liked Marcus Moreno. They were both kind, loyal, caring….they were everything she ever wanted. They were patient, understanding. She always longed to have someone–anyone–who would understand her fully. Or even just someone who cared about Erin He, rather than the supervisor He.

Maybe it was time to let Marcus Pike rest in the past. He wasn’t coming back. Even if he was still alive, he never came back for her. He was gone, and no matter how much she missed him, he wasn’t going to come back. No, not in the way she wished for. Only in memories, memories of late-night pancakes and sunny beach trips.

He’d want her to live her life to the fullest, and give and receive love freely.

A small smile on her face, Erin placed the ring back inside it’s velvet box and closed it.

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[toujoursmiraculous]

Thoughts & Reactions to Sole Crusher & Queen Banana!

Here's my 2 in 1! Starting with Sole Crusher. Loved the tourist feel in the beginning, gives it a very different feel and interesting to see it from Zoe's perspective. Aww Zoe's so nice to Marinette right away. And it's awfully sad that she only ever had one friend. :c I wonder who that friend is? Zoe's right about her family not appreciating the baked goods from the Dupain-Cheng bakery. I don't know if she's fully aware of the history there, or if she just knows how picky her mother and sister are. But it was awfully sweet of her to give them to the tour guide to give to her family instead. So Zoe learned: in order to survive, she had to put on an act and be somebody she's not, because her family wouldn't accept her being a decent person that cares about others. When asked about her middle school, her response, "I found a cockroach in my locker!" Might not be true, doesn't sound like it's the only thing at all if so, but sadly it was enough for her mom to not question anything.

Chloe's definitely a lot worse now after Miracle Queen. In my opinion, this is us beginning to see how low she's gotten and will continue to get. As Avatar Aang once said, "When we reach our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change." I'll write more on this in a separate post later. Zoe's sure scared to object to anything and be herself. Not even hesitating to act like a brat when around Chloe. If she didn't end up growing up around Chloe, how horrible are her parents??? We know Audrey is pretty bad, but even then if she had a decent dad she'd likely not end up like this. I suppose we'll have to see, but this poor girl. :/ Rose: Can we adopt her? Lol awww. Wonderful of Marinette to know that after only one brief encounter with Zoe, she knows that the Zoe at school isn't really her, and wants to genuinely help. How can anybody hate that about her? I don't get it. If it's because she doesn't do things how you'd like them...Most things in life won't go as you want them, or be taken by others as you may intend them, so you have to appreciate what's there and the intent of others actions. "But my family made me think that to deserve my place, I had to give up on some of my dreams." If Andre's talking about his parents here, as he said "When I was young", then oof this poor man, no wonder he's so timid and such a pushover. If he's referring to Audrey and Chloe... then that's a huge oof because Audrey knew exactly who she was marrying and should've never ended up with him in the first place if she didn't want to be with a director. So Zoe left because she couldn't stand it in New York anymore around her dad and the kids at her school. She hoped that she wouldn't have to act anymore and could just be herself. It really sounds like she needed to act a certain way in order to survive getting bullied, or worse. Dang, she really must not have met Chloe before then, or heard anything about her if she thought living with her mom and sister would be better. But in a way, it is better for her, because she has Marinette and the kids at school now. And she has Andre who's probably a better parent to her than her actual parents. Which is surprising and also not at the same time. "We end up hiding our feelings deep down in here." Okay so he says that with a booklet that has Emilie's face on it held up to his chest. Now, it may just be nothing but him thinking about his director dream. But. It could've also been any other object he held to his heart, it could've been something without a face on it or at least not her face. And Andre did work with Emilie. So I would not be surprised at all if there was something there that this is hinting at. Hmmmm. Also, I guess that's not Tomoe Tsurugi? Even though it's Kagami's model they used. And she's really pretty, too! Maybe something will come from this, or the animators didn't think it through when they added that image. Who knows. Even Chloe's first thought when she's in trouble is to go to Marinette what the heck 😂 When Kaalki teleported into Adrien's room...had Adrien turned around as it

happened he would've seen enough of her room to recognize it. Instead the portal changed and was outdoors. But lol poor Kaalki slamming against the window! All his things getting sucked in and Plagg's cheese was hilarious. XD Chloe's second thought of where to go: Luka's. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. 🤔 "This winner and loser thing doesn't exist!" Sad that Chloe thinks this way at all, who even taught her this? x.x Chat Noir: Did somebody start off on the wrong foot today? Marinette: I'm not finished! Chat Noir: Huh? LOL I laughed so hard at this moment. Did she forget who she is at the moment because even Chat's like what "I will always support you!" AWWWWWW what a good friend! And I think by helping Zoe become stronger, she'll in turn help Chloe be a better person too. But I'll talk about this again later. Poor Sabrina in this episode, my goodness. She works in a tiny closet and has to run along the limo. Chloe's seriously getting awful. Zoe's charm is the cutest one so far! So pretty. Ivan giving Zoe a hug was the cutest thing ever. Like, I don't ship them, but this shouldn't have anything to do with it. He and the rest of the kids care about her and respect her for being open and honest with her struggles, and want to be there for her. It's so wholesome. 😭 I find it interesting that even Audrey in this episode doesn't always know how to react to Chloe. xD But thank you Andre for caring enough about her to keep her in Paris and trying to keep some peace between the two. "For the first time in my life, I feel at home." 😭😭😭😭😭 Just imagine for a minute if Marinette didn't bother to help Zoe, believed how she acted at school rather than when she met her, and didn't tell the other kids about what was going on. Everything for her would be so drastically different. All because Marinette showed some kindness. Now onto Queen Banana. Well poor Marinette can't help but faceplant on the news. xD I can just tell what Alya leaned into say "You okay, girl?" and Marinette mumbling under the cape, "that's what the news is going to see of me, aren't they?" "Afraid so." "groan" Ah okay, Thomas was an alumni of the school. Cool. Poor Andre, he's just doing what Zoe suggested of him and not give up his dream of directing! I wonder if being around Luka and Juleka made Zoe want to put that pink streak in her hair. xD I want Luka and Zoe to be really good friends, that'd be so cool. Chloe being really awful some more. To everybody. I've noticed a pattern and I think I have her figured out pretty well. I'll be writing a in-depth post about her soon! She's making them change the entire movie just for her. xPP I said to my sister, "as soon as she leaves they should just film their original ideas." They do, thank goodness. xD I got so happy that we get an Adrienette scene in this ep! And then I saw he's locked in a cage, willingly, smiling at Marinette while the door shuts and I just burst out laughing. He's not even nervous he's locked in a cage, suspended in the air! Booooooy must like Marinette a lot! "Now let's take care of Adrien and get him out of that cage." OMG thank you, Marinette. While the image of him is comical, it's making me so uncomfortable that someone's up there like that and that someone also being terrified of being locked up in such a small space. Also, how long do you think Adrien would've stayed up there had Marinette not said something? Oh? What a change of pace, when Adrien goes to try to make things better for everyone, he screws it up pretty badly to be what really drives Chloe to get akumatized. She may have cooled off enough on her own as she tells Adrien "I'm fine." ...until he suggests apologizing to everyone. "You promised to stop being rude to everyone. And I told you that we couldn't be friends otherwise." OOF. Okay so her reaction to this really goes into the territory I want to talk about in my upcoming post about Chloe. "Banana BOOM BOOM!" lololol it sounds so funny in German dub xDD Marinette instantly pulling Zoe away from the attack x33 Ladybug's spin move with Chat Noir XD

it's like what's happening we're fighting an akuma not dancing This entire akuma feels like a Donkey Kong game and I love it. Those games are my childhood. Ooof Ladybug needs to be more careful with her Lucky Charms, they can sometimes be massive! Like that giant doughnut in Weredad. I seriously legit thought that the Gorilla was Gorilla, Adrien's bodyguard before the episode aired. XD The best heroes in this show tend to be the ones that have the most self-doubt, have you noticed? Ladybug, Carapace, and Vesperia all expressed serious doubt in themselves being a superhero, but when they suit up they're fierce! Like they were born to be a hero. Don't worry about Chat kissing Vesperia's hand. That's just the way he is, it's not in a flirting way. c: I remember when people freaked out about Rena Rouge and Chat Noir. It's the same as that, nothing more. "Or I'll turn her into baby mush!" LOL Chloe threatening to turn Ladybug into baby food hahaha that sounds so outrageous and weird that it's funny. And yet in this situation, would be actually possible so it's quite disturbing....hm. Dang, Hawk Moth trying to reakumatize her immediately. You go Zoe, speak up for yourself! And good on Andre for putting his foot down about Zoe too. "You may hate me, but I love you. And I'll always love you even if the whole world hates you." OKAY, THAT WAS REALLY BEAUTIFUL. Including the way she convinced Chloe to take the charm. Marinette's literally in hearing range of Adrien as she's talking to Tikki LOL she's like 5-6 feet away maybe? But that's okay, he probably would think nothing of it if he heard Marinette talking lol. I really like Zoe's character, I think she makes a wonderful addition to the show and that her character is extremely important. ;) Again I'll talk about it in my upcoming post! I've really noticed a lot of things when it comes to Chloe that I look forward to sharing my thoughts on sometime early this week. I really don't think things are as clear cut as a lot of people seem to think about her.

[sharks-are-friendly]

Headcanons for Epithet Erased.

This is for Giovanni and his boys (including Molly) none of this is cannon and I basically sprint far away from it. Oh and there's no specific order. Half of this is me just projecting myself onto Spike. I vent through my favourite characters so... She's suffering in at least 5 headcanons.

(I'm gonna be honest, I have no idea what headcanon means but my online friend says that most of these could be considered as headcanons so..)

Ben, Car crash and Spike all have Dyslexia that affects them daily to the point that they occasionally do homework together. (me and my friends used to do this but stopped a couple of years ago)

Darkstar is still wondering if purple is spikes natural hair colour or if she just 'copied' him. (it's been months dude.)

Giovanni still drives Spike, Ben and Flamethrower to school + Molly when her dad forgets.

One time, Car crash nearly killed, Spike and Molly by nearly crashing his car, so badly that spike just went "I'm driving... No I don't have a license, but at least I won't nearly kill us" surprisingly Spike didn't crash the car at all... she ran a red light

Spike is asexual but not aromantic. (she doesn't know what she is)

Molly one time accidentally made fun of Spike's dyslexia when she couldn't read the menu when The Boys went out for lunch together. It didn't make Spike upset or anything but Molly is smart and could tell that Spikes mood had shifted a small amount. (Molly is still a kid, let her make mistakes)

Spike and Dark star both have autism and ADHD, but it affects them both differently.

On her first mission, Spike had a meltdown, it wasn't very bad or anything but it was noticeable to the point that Giovanni actually called it (the mission) off so Spike could properly calm down. (she herself has no idea what triggered it, she kinda assumes that it was all of the loud noises but she isn't sure)

One time, Crusher, Dark Star, Flamethrower and Spike all dressed up in those like fucking dinosaur costumes because they felt like it.

Spike has to hype herself up to take cough medicine.

Flamethrower is more dramatic than a theatre kid.

Flamethrower is all 3 of the mean girls put together. He literally knows everything about everyone.

Molly and Spike bond over having Shitty dad's/parents. By this I mean they vent to each other about it. (I headcanon that Spikes parents are 'staying together for the kid' if you know what I mean)

Giovanni is informed of any learning difficulties, disability or disorder that a new boy has.

Ben is a trans boy and is really happy that Giovanni refers to him as one of his boys.

Spike and Dark star both become that spiderman pointing meme when they see each other at Hot topic.

Spike's hair is longer than she presents it to be. (the helmet helps with this)

Spike and Crusher have no idea what volume control is.

Car crash has nearly hit someone with his car at least 2 times.

They're all trying their best.

Giovanni is so protective of all of his Boys to the point that he 'grounded' Spike and Car crash, Spike for driving decently without a licence. Car crash for almost crashing the car.

'Don't. Touch. My. Food.' - Everyone at each other at some point.

Dark Star, crusher and Spike all live in the same neighbourhood... They totally don't have sleepovers at the weekends, and they definitely don't do each others hair. (it's more like, crusher and Dark star do Spike's hair but still, she finds a way to style theirs)

Despite them both having a crush on Giovanni, Spike and Crusher are really good friends and will support each other till the end of time.

Spike hates being the shortest out of The Boys, she's always been used as the arm rest. Seriously, she could swear that she was taller, then everyone got a fuck'n growth spurt over summer or some shit because now she's smol (I'm totally not bitching about the fact that at least 4 - 6 of my friends are now taller than me through this character)

Out of everyone, Spike and Ben are the most chaotic. Ben is chaotic in a way that borderline dangerous, Spike is chaotic in a fun way.

While everyone else panics when they run into Percy on the street, Spike and Molly are both chill and calm about it.

Molly slept over at Spikes house, and started crying when she woke up to hear Spike's parents just screaming at each other, Molly also did her mute thing around herself and Spike when she noticed that Spike was getting overwhelmed. (am I once again venting through this character.. 100% yes)

Spike knows Percy personally, as her neighbours always call the police for a "noise complaint" because of her parents arguing. Instead of an interview, it turns into a therapy session.

Giovanni breaks into everyone's houses to check up on them, and to update their status on the Banzai records (I literally just made that up). This always turns into a therapy session as well.

That's all... It really took me and my dyslexic ass over like what a month to finish this...

Sorry for how long this is.

[fanficnewbie]

Alan Weighs In

OPEN HEART: SECOND YEAR - CHAPTER EIGHT

(ETHAN x FEMALE MC)

MC is Dr. Francesca Houseman *This entry takes place after Francesca leaves Ethan’s apartment. 

Word Count: 1395 Rated: Teen

@i-bloody-love-drake-walker @senseofduties @octobereighth  @jooous @fenekko @msjpuddleduck @perriewinklenerdie @polishchoicesfan @alwaysmychoices @binny1985 @cordoniansqueen  @heauxplesslydevoted @a-i-n-a-a-s-h @sherlockedmcu @xxdangerouscapri15xx @paisleylovergirl @dr-nancy-house @humaumount @stanathanxoox @trappedinfandoms @padfoot0415 @thefluffyphotographer @oofchoices @crazy-loca-blog @yorit1@hopelessly-shipper @lovebubblechoices  @lifeof-liv @the-soot-sprite @mfackenthal @loveellamae @sharrybh20 @soft-for-drake @choices-lurker@cerisesayeed-ramsey @the-other-ramsey @princess-geek @flyawayboo @riverrune@ethandaddyramsey @queencarb @vika-rafa @ramseyandrys @togetherwearerapture @bellcat2010 @imescullen @teenytinytanya08 @ethanramseyyy @amy-choices @kinkypot

Ethan returned to his apartment where his dad sat waiting.

“Sorry, I didn’t want to be rude.”

Alan looked at him, “That girl, your Rookie, you like her.”

Ethan broke his gaze and went to pour them each a drink, “Yes, she’s a very capable colleague.”

Alan laughed, “Come on Ethan, you think you can get one over on your old man? You guys are obviously more than colleagues. You like her, which is great because it’s easy to see that she cares about you too.”

Ethan handed him a glass and sat down, “Dad, we’re not talking about this.”

“Ah yes, you’d rather talk about why I forgave your mother than matters of your own heart.”

Ethan leaned back, “I’d rather not talk about any of it but Francesca thinks that I…” he trailed off as his father gave him a knowing smile. Ethan glared as he took a drink.

“Okay, have it your way. I’ll just say that she seems like a very lovely woman and I’m happy for you. I’ve always worried that after witnessing what happened with me and your mother, you might choose to never settle down.”

Ethan blanched, “Who said anything about settling down?”

Alan held his hands up in mock defense, “I’m just saying if you did decide, she’d be a good one to do it with. Trust me, I don’t want you repeating my mistakes.”

“So, you admit that being with mom was a mistake?”

Alan sighed and paused, “As I said earlier, it’s complicated. I will never consider loving your mother a mistake. I��m sorry if that hurts you but we had some wonderful times, loving her led to you, and I could never regret that. My mistake, my only regret, was trying to change her. Trying to make her be something that she wasn’t.”

Ethan frowned, “What do you mean?”

“Take Dr. Houseman, she’s a highly intelligent and highly skilled physician, following her true passion in life. Am I correct?”

“You are.”

“Okay, now try to imagine that you did marry her. Had her pull back on her duties at the hospital, instead tried to focus her attention on keeping a house and raising children, how do you think that would turn out for you?”

Ethan thought for a moment, “In that particular scenario, I don’t imagine it would go very well.”

“Well, take a page from your old man, you’d be right. Your mom was a free spirit, someone who valued her freedom and her career. She cherished autonomy. I fell in love with all of those qualities, and then without realizing it, slowly started to pull them away from her with my demands and expectations.”

Ethan scoffed, “Demands and expectations? Dad you don’t demand or expect anything from anyone.”

Alan grabbed his drink, “Not anymore. I saw how it could slowly eat at someone, destroy them from the inside out. Your mother, she loved you. She loved having a child, but she was not fond of the responsibilities of being a parent. Between that and our marriage which, by the time she left, had already taken a turn for the worse – I imagine she was looking for an escape. I don’t condone her actions, I never have. And while I have never forgiven her for breaking your heart, I forgave her for breaking mine years ago. And I can do that, because I have something that you never did, culpability.”

The timer for the chicken went off and Ethan stood up and walked to the kitchen to take it out of the oven. As he grabbed the plates and utensils, Alan walked up to the counter.

“That looks delicious.”

Ethan plated the food and they sat at the counter. After a few moments he put his fork down, “I’m sorry dad but I call bullshit. I understand relationships are complicated, not all marriages are perfect and people can lose themselves. But most of those people don’t just completely abandon their families, that’s not normal.”

“Son, I never said it was normal. I never said it was okay. I was just trying to explain why I think it happened and why my feelings are different than yours. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“Okay, lets follow your logic. Because you felt your expectations helped drive mom out the door, you decided that you’d stop expecting anything from me or anyone else. I could have become a janitor and you would be just as proud?”

Alan took a few bites of his meal before answering. “I learned that happiness is more important than any job description. I know you look down on me because I haven’t excelled in the way you think is appropriate. But I like simplicity, I enjoy knowing that I can do one thing well, make a decent living at it and otherwise enjoy my life. I don’t need to be challenged to be fulfilled and I’m perfectly fine with that. You are more like your mother in that you need a challenge to drive you and to keep bettering yourself. That makes you happy, and so I’m proud of the fact that you found the key to your happiness and that you have excelled above and beyond in that field. I look at life from a different lens Ethan, it’s not right or wrong, and I won’t apologize to you for it.”

“I don’t look down on you.”

Alan chuckled, “Maybe not, but we both know you wish I was more like Naveen Banjeri. I don’t wish that. I’m glad that you found a mentor that you could relate to in that way. But I’m very content being your laid-back father, someone who you can cook a peaceful meal with, share a nice drink with, and not have to name every muscle in the human body while doing so.

Ethan’s lips quirked into a small smile. “Maybe, maybe I have neglected to see the benefits to the balance that you two offer to my life. I can apologize for that.”

“I don’t need an apology son.”

Ethan turned to look at him, Alan nodded, “Okay, okay, apology accepted.”

They both ate in silence for a bit longer, “So, this Dr. Houseman…”

“Dad!”

“Why are you so defensive? You like someone, I don’t understand why it’s a bad thing.”

Ethan exhaled, “It’s not, it’s not a bad thing. It’s a very complicated thing. She works with me, I’m her boss, I’m supposed to be training her on the Diagnostics Team so getting involved is… not ideal.”

“But you do care about her?”

“I…I do. Yes.”

“Then the hell with the rest. I’ve lived with the hurt of losing the only woman I have ever really loved for most of my adult life. The circumstances may be different but the end result can be the same and just as devastating.”

“You really loved mom that much?”

Alan placed his hand on Ethan’s arm, “I still do. If we could willingly turn off and on matters of the heart, this world would be a very different place.”

“I’ve managed to do it.”

Alan shook his head, “No, you haven’t. If you truly didn’t care about your mother then you would have met with her by now, listened to what she had to say and moved on. It’s because you care that you’re not meeting with her. You’re afraid and you’re trying to protect yourself. And don’t say that I’m wrong because the same goes for Dr. Houseman. If you’re so worried about her job and Edenbrook, then just stop caring about her and all your problems will vanish.”

Ethan placed his hands on the counter and grimaced, “I’ve tried and I can’t.”

“Of course, you can’t.” Alan picked up the dishes and moved them to the sink. “And there’s nothing wrong with that. Face it Ethan, you’re a mere mortal like the rest of us.”

Ethan walked over to his dad, “That may be the cruelest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

Alan laughed as he started to tackle the dishes. Once finished he noticed a bag of leftover cherries sitting on the counter, he held them up as Ethan packed the rest of the chicken into a Tupperware container. “What do you say to a cherry tart?”

The two men smiled at each other and started to pull out items to bake dessert.

[et-lesailes]

missing linc // chapter ten

series masterlist

pairing: ceo!dad!steve x reader

word count: 2132

chapter summary: stella and peter come to steve’s place. steve and tiana get into yet another fight.

taglist: @patzammit​​, @lille-kattunge​​,  @rohaintahquil​​, @deidrashouseofpain​​, @peach-acid​​, @allsortsofinterests​​, @mcueveryday​​,  @cptn-sgrogers​​, @heyiamthatbitch​​, @sadella-adams​​,  @aletteredaffair​​​,  @isawritesstories​​, @knuffeltuff​​,  @societalfailure​​​, @brastrangled​​​, @anxiousstark​​​, @captainsbxbygirl​​​, @whimsicalatbest​​​,  @kind-sober-fullydressed​​​, @dreamlesswonder86​, @xoxabs88xox​, @evanstush​, @kelbabyblue​, @bucky-rrogers​

notes: SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG I AM THE WORST I HOPE U ALL LIKE THIS CHAPTER

“Alright, Y/N said we could go over to the place she’s babysitting at for the weekend! You cool with that?”

Stella looked up from her phone, smiling at Peter innocently. “Of course. I can’t wait to meet the love of your life,” she teased, standing up and getting her bag. “You driving, or am I?” Peter immediately turned red, scoffing. “I’ll drive. But hey, now, you better not be like this tonight-- there’s nothing going on between Y/N and I, we’re just friends. Don’t make her feel weird or anything, alright?”

Trust me, Peter, if she knew the whole truth, this would barely make her feel anything.

“Yeah, yeah, I won’t.” The blonde laughed instead, picking up Peter’s keys and tossing them at him. “C’mon, lover boy, let’s go.”

She was not proud of how she had come to learn of you. 

There was a reason she had come here, and of course, the second she had arrived, she had decided to pay a visit to her dear sister’s home. Well, not inside, anyways. She couldn’t help but be nosy, and she justified it by telling herself she had every right to know where her son was staying. It was easy to get the address from her parents; she had simply told them that she wanted to make amends with Tiana and surprise her with a visit-- this ensured they wouldn’t tell her. 

When she was casually driving by the home, she had seen your car. She parked on the other side of the street, keeping an eye on the house. It hadn’t been long before you came outside holding Linc in one arm with a bottle of bubbles in the other hand, the boy laughing and clapping excitedly for you to blow them. Her heart was racing as she stared at her baby. She had seen photos of him on Tiana’s Facebook, she had forced herself to become desensitized to the fact that he was hers and belonged to someone else-- or so she thought. As she gazed at him in real life and could see his happy demeanor and shining personality, she almost wanted to cry.

She stayed low as she watched you play with him. It was obvious to see how much he loved you. He was laughing the entire time, running around you in circles on his little toddler legs, hugging your own leg every ten seconds in bursts of affection. 

The more she watched you play and the more she looked at the large estate, she felt herself getting more and more curious. What was Linc like? Did he take after her at all? Or was he more like his father? He seemed bright and happy, but now that she was here, she wanted to know more. She just wanted one chance to see him in person… that would be enough, right?

She knew Tiana would be wary. Perhaps not even let her see him at all. And so she needed another way in. Just to quench her curiosity, that was all. She hadn’t been able to come up with this other way, however, until she had seen you come to the bar with Peter. When she noticed you leave after seeing Tiana, she knew something was going on. What that was, she did not know, and although she had her suspicions, she didn’t care. 

She only cared about her son. 

They arrived at the doorstep about fifteen minutes later, her light brown eyes studying the huge house. Did Tiana like living here? Were she and Steve truly happy in this house? Peter clucked his tongue beside her, his eyes wide with amazement. “Damn. Y/N must be getting paid a shit ton, these people seem loaded.” Stella forced a laugh, nodding her head. “Yeah, seems like a pretty good set up.” She sounded normal, but her heart was pounding. Would you answer the door with Linc in your arms? 

She couldn’t help but feel disappointed when you came empty handed. 

“Hey guys!” you greeted with a smile. “You must be Stella. It’s nice to meet you, I’m Y/N.”

She smiled nonetheless, waving cutely as she stepped inside. “So good to finally meet you, girl! Peter talks about you a lot.” Peter blinked and shot her a look, laughing somewhat nervously. “I, ah, would say I talk about you a normal amount. Nothing weird.” You raised a brow but laughed, nudging him lightly. “Uhhuh. Okay, c’mon, you guys gotta see this home theater. It’s sick.”

Stella couldn’t help but look around as you led them down the hallway, barely nibbling on her lip. Where was her son? Was he asleep? You and Peter were lightly conversing and so she cleared her throat when there was a pause, trying to sound like she was casually speaking. “So, Peter told me you were babysitting? Where is the baby?” She smiled, adding, “I absolutely love kids.” 

“Oh, he fell asleep- but here, I’ll show you some pictures!” She saw the bright smile on your face at the mere mention of him. She simultaneously felt touched and threatened. You took out your phone and went to your photos, swiping through a few images- some just of Linc laughing and smiling, some selfies of the two of you with cute Snapchat filters, even a video of Linc “singing” Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. “Wow.” She breathed out, unable to take her eyes off of him. “He’s perfect.”

“I know right?” you replied obliviously, smile still wide as you sighed. “He’s the cutest thing. I swear, I love him like my own son.” You laughed playfully, and Stella felt a pang in her heart. “So what movie do you guys want to watch?” you asked once you entered the room, and Stella watched as you and Peter perused the collection. 

“Can I use the bathroom real quick?” she suddenly asked, and you looked over and nodded with a smile. “Yeah, it’s right down the hall going back towards the front door,  first door on the left.” She nodded, slipping out of the room and looking back towards you and Peter before quietly making her way to the staircase instead. 

Steve sighed as he leaned back in the plush bed, eyes drifting towards his phone on the nightstand. All he wanted to do was FaceTime you, call you, even text you. He felt like a damn high schooler with a crush all over again. Ever since he and Tiana had arrived at the cabin that day, all he could think about was the kiss the two of you shared. 

At the same time, he was trying to make good on his promise. Just one last weekend with Tiana. A chance to finally get some closure and move on. Surprisingly, the day had been pretty decent. No fighting, no screaming, no tears, no anger- things actually felt… normal. She actually opened up to him over a few glasses of wine, even apologizing for her behavior and explaining where her frustration had come from. She acknowledged that everything had been her fault. That she should have learned how to be transparent sooner. And he appreciated it. He forgave her, and they were able to talk and laugh about the things they used to. 

Still, he couldn’t feel the same way he used to about her. While he was glad he and Tiana had made amends, it all felt incredibly platonic to him. He couldn’t help but wish you were there with him, curled up under his arm in this large bed, making out like a couple of teenagers…

“Hey Steve.” He looked up, blue eyes immediately widening. There stood Tiana wearing nothing but a lacy black slip, biting on her lip as she stood in the doorway of the bathroom after her shower. “Uh… hey.” He greeted, rubbing the back of his neck. “You look great, but what’s that all for?” She looked at him hopefully, coming back towards the bed and slowly crawling onto it. “Do you not like it…? We had such a good day today, and I just wanted to end it with something even more amazing…”

Steve blinked as she placed a hand on his bare chest, leaning down to kiss him. He froze. It took him a few moments, but he finally snapped out of it, gently placing his hands on her shoulders to stop her. “Tiana,” he mumbled softly, and she blinked as she pulled back, looking down at him- she was clearly hurt. “What, Steve? I thought things were going well… you… you really don’t want this?” He sighed, sitting up and running his fingers through his blond hair. “Tiana, you know that’s not why we came here. I told you that I wanted a divorce after this, but I also don’t want us to hate each other-- I thought we came here to just, you know… neatly wrap things up. Get closure. Peace.” Tiana looked at him incredulously, scoffing as she moved back to sit on her knees. ��You really… you really don’t want to even try? Am I that horrible of a person?” Steve blinked, frowning as he shook his head. “No, Tiana, that’s not what I’m trying to say, I just don’t think we’re-”

“This is all because of Y/N, isn’t it? What, are you already sleeping with her? Are you seeing each other behind my back?” Tiana demanded, suddenly standing up and going over to her purse. Steve widened his eyes. “No, God, no, Ti- what the hell are you doing? Don’t fucking call her right now, don’t do this when she’s literally taking care of Linc for us!” He watched as his wife pulled her phone out, but she didn’t appear to be calling anyone. He watched curiously as she tapped on her touch screen a few times, seeing her suddenly look intense and focused. “What are you looking at?”

“O-oh, oh my god,” the woman muttered; Steve could practically see her turn pale. He immediately sat up. “What? What is it, is something wrong with Linc?” He immediately got out of bed, going to her side. His eyes rounded at the sight upon the phone screen. She was watching a live feed of Linc’s room, and there appeared to be a blonde girl peeking over his crib. “That’s Stella, Steve! That’s-- how-- how the fuck did she get into our son’s bedroom?!” Steve stared in shock before quickly shaking his head, grabbing Tiana’s phone from her hand. “When… when the fuck did you put a camera in there? Did you tell Y/N there would be a camera?”

“Is that seriously what you’re worried about right now, you fucking asshole?!” Tiana practically screamed, lunging for the phone. “How can you be more concerned about Y/N when this is happening right now? What if our son is in danger?! H-how did she even get inside?!”

“Tiana!” Steve grabbed her shoulders, staring down at her with heavy breaths. “Tiana, listen to me. I need you to calm down. Stella is a twenty-three year old girl. She’s not going to hurt Linc, okay? I… I told Y/N she could have friends over. Maybe Stella happens to be one of them. You need to take a breath, nothing is going to-”

“How do you know, Steve?! What if she’s back here to take him away from us? I- I can’t-- I can’t lose… you and…”

She trailed off into tears, and Steve finally understood. She was terrified. She was scared of losing the people closest to her. Her husband and her son, both at the same time. He sighed deeply, suddenly wrapping his arms around her and hugging her. “We won’t let that happen, Ti. We’ll talk to Stella. We’ll figure this out. But she will not take Linc from us, alright?” He pulled back and looked down at her somewhat sternly. “But putting a camera in the room without at least telling Y/N was wrong. Have you… have you been spying on her? Ever since we got here?”

“Oh, please, Steve, I’m just making sure our baby’s alright, okay? I-it has nothing to do with her!”

He sighed, rubbing his temples. 

“I’m going to sleep in the other bedroom, Tiana. You should get some sleep too. We’re going to go back tomorrow morning and find out what the hell is happening. But for now, I don’t want you contacting Y/N, do you understand? Whatever Stella’s up to, I know she isn’t going to do anything to Linc-- especially not with Y/N in the house watching him.” 

Tiana frowned deeply but slowly sat on the bed, looking away.

“Goodnight, Steve.” Her voice was ice cold, and the CEO couldn’t help but let out another soft sigh.

“Goodnight, Tiana.”

[shinycorvidae]

Head Cannon Dump Part 4 of 6

The two Vs, NV/Vic/V Part 1: Physicality and Personality

-NV is Vic, my V, a nomad

-Hiro or SKV, her roommate, then friend, then lover, Street kid background (vaguely), hes @smilepal s

Basic/Physical:

She's 28, at game start

Half Cuban, half white and has lived in a desert for most of her life so she has warm brown tanned skin. Warm yellow/brown eyes which can look piercingly through you or soft and understanding depending on her mood.

Her hair is a blue color with a tinge of green. It was supposed to be a forest green but her sister grabbed the wrong bottle of perma-dye when they broke into the local ripperdoc's clinic to dye their hair.

Her lips are also permanently colored. She likens it to war paint but she doesn't want the hassle of applying it/worrying about it rubbing off.

Ex-nomad, sleeps like the dead anywhere because she's used to having people around to watch her back

Her bones crack like fucking glow sticks.

-Johnny: how are your bones in worse condition than mine were?? I was in my 30s?

-Vic *just finger guns*

Vic sleeps like an idiot, all contorted and sideways

-Hiro tries to push her back into a normal situation so she doesn’t wake up with her back hurting more than usual.

Has a snake tattoo snaking around her chest for Viper, got it with funds from the first mission with Jackie. She also has a devils head and Chippin' In lyrics on her back from her teen years.

V really didnt want to admit to Johnny that she was a samurai fan so she goes out of her way to not look at her back while hes in her head. "Who? Is that some bushido reenactment shit?"

This goes well until Johnny has control of her body and goes to the bathroom to check on her ribs, thinking he broke them.

-J: "I know, Vic."

-Nv: "What?"

-J: I know about your secret."

-Nv: "Ehehe secret? Wha-"

-J: "I SAW YOUR BACK V"

-Nv: "oh fu-"

-J: "BUSHIDO REENACTMENT MY ASS."

Pansexual.

She has a pair of mantis blades, which are basically a safety blanket for her, weapons that can't ever be taken away so she's never helpless. So when she's nervous/feeling helpless she runs her fingers over the seam of them.

They’re her weapon of last resort though so if you find her at home cleaning the blood off them, you know a mission went fucking sideways

They were her dad, Michael's, which he got from the army so they're military issue high end suckers. Also around 50 years old lmao.

They make Vik weep because finding replacement parts is impossible

V only smokes the occasional joint and gets drunk once in a blue moon. She's managed to avoid smoking completely and is pissed that Johnny tried to sabotage that.

“She gives him the occasional cigarettes "as a treat"

"Aww Johnny you were actually a decent human being, here have a cigarette"

"I'm not a fucking cat V"

"Just say thank you, Dickhead"

"Fuck off"

"Love you too"

Has a bullet wound scar on her thigh which is covered up with a simple black band tattoo. Her only other significant scars are some on her chest from a motorcycle crash as a 16 year old. She's always had decent access to a ripper doc so while she's been injured a lot, she doesn't have many scars

Personality:

V is a sweetheart. She honestly believes the best of everyone. She grew up in a nomad community where everyone worked together for the good of everyone, and kind of expects the same of everyone in night city.

She continues to trust people blindly, despite being burned a couple times. She has faith in herself to be able to fight her way out of a bad situation should she get backstabbed, so shed rather bet on people being generally good.

Life can be rough in the badlands. Resources are scarce. Vic learned how to conserve resources from a young age. Shes frugal with her money, hoards anything that might be useful, and is really into reusing/recycling things. Shes brought Hiro cyberware she pulled out of dead bodies and is generally handing with mechanical fixes.

This also applies to food. When youve had days were literally the only thing you had to eat that day were some dusty grasshoppers you managed to forage, your standards for food fall drastically.

This drives Hiro and Johnny nuts who often have to stop her from eating random/possibly poisoned food.

The fact that shes a blindly trusting person just amplifies this.

*V walking in with a plate of cookies*

"..whats that V?"

-Nv: "Oh hey, the neighbor gave me these cookies! Want some?"

*Johnny and Hiro who both know you shouldn't accept random food from strangers in Night City, immediately disposing of them.*

-Nv: "What a waste of food :("

-H: "HOW MANY DID YOU EAT?"

-J: "How did you live before us?!"

-H: "Jackie. It was definitely Jackie, the Saint."

-...Not very long later,

"we see you V, don't eat those out of the bin"

-Nv:" :("

She's very secure in her sexuality, a naturally attractive and sexual person. Her clan had very little sexual stigma at all, its hard to have any shame over sex when there's only tents without soundproof walls. Her whole clan was definitely also very into free love/poly/open relationships, to the point were most kids didn't know who their parents were and were raised communally. Having sex was just a platonic thing that just sort of happened.

-Nv: “It’s hard to get all embarrassed about privacy when you grew up in a place with only tent walls. It’s just sex.

-SKv: “V, you blush and get tongue-tied whenever the hot neighbor even vaguely looks your way.

-NV: “WELL I didn’t normally have to ASK for sex, it just kinda happened and flirting is HARD, AND YOU NIGHT CITY RESIDENTS ARE ALL SNEAKY ABOUT IT”

Shes used to having sex with her platonic friends, her first couple of one night stands in NC were just an absolute mess--then she tried to sleep with Jackie which went predictably well.

-NV: “Do you want to have sex?”

-Jackie: *Chokes on his tequila. “What?! I’m with Misty??”

-NV: “...and?”

-Jackie: “I mean...I mean you never gave any signs?!

-NV: “Signs??”

-Jackie: “Hermana, most people in NC don’t just sleep with their friends. I mean. They do. But they don’t. It’s complicated.”

-NV: “Obviously.”

Considering that, V is. HORRID. at flirting in Night City. She's never really had to do that kind of verbal dance before and a lot of come on/innuendo goes over her head. She also has zero body shame and often walks around their apartment naked and will change nonchalantly in public.

-Nv: *Noticing people staring at her at the club and going into work mode*

-Hiro: *Noticing Nv counting the exits*

"what's wrong?"

-Nv: "That man's staring at me. Maybe he's Arasaka."

-Hiro: "He's staring at your ass, V."

-Nv: "Oh."

Definitely has the occasional “why the fuck didn’t you just say so?!” moments with the boys

*Cue SKv trying to be seductive all day, dropping things and bending over to get them all slow, changing in the living room/working out shirtless, ect. Nv is appreciative but she doesn’t really do anything, and by the end of the day*

-SKv: “For the love of god JUST FUCK ME ALREADY”

-Nv: “What? Alright, geeze all you had to do was ask.”

As trusting as V is, she's an amazing soldier. Her ex military father has been training her to kill people and protect their clan since she was six. She killed her first human at 9 years old.

Due to this while she is a friendly, happy person when she's in a fight or during a mission, she becomes a cold and calculated person, all emotion wiping from her face. She makes quick, decisive decisions, cutting her enemies down at the knees before they have a chance to fight back.

She's a brutal shot with her sniper rifle, knows her way around precision rifle and is deadly with knives both as a close range and throwing weapon.

Vic has a tactical brain/training and is always planning. Its instinct by now. Planning the exits to a room, the quickest way to take down any possible assailants, an enemys open weak points. She takes pride in her skills as a soldier as she sees it as her way of protecting/providing for her family.

As outgoing a person she is she sometimes goes too far when in 'work mode' and needs Hiro to be her moral compass/pull her back.

Her ways of tackling missions is finding a snipers nest and waiting patiently until the perfect moment presents itself, no longer how long that takes. Plus a healthy dose of stealth and pinpoint accuracy.

It takes a lot to push her to revenge but if you threaten her family, she will pick you, your backup, adult (v doesnt touch kids.) family and resources apart methodically, patiently and brutally until your the last one standing. Then she will let you stew, waiting for her final shot. It could come immediately, a week later or even a month

[rocksandrobots]

Of Rocks and Robots Ch. 21 - Fishing Trip

"So what do you wanna do this weekend?" Hiro asked Varian.

The other boy only shrugged his shoulders as he had no idea.

It was Friday and they were both walking home from school while trying to make plans for the weekend. All of their other friends were either away or busy due to Father's Day coming up. Fred was going to accompany his dad on a mission. Gogo was driving down to her father's for a few days. Wasabi had bought plane tickets to fly back to his hometown of Seattle. Karmi went back upstate for the weekend with her parents, and Megan was still grounded, but had a full day planned to butter up her dad. Even Honey Lemon was going home to spend time with her abuelo.

This left Varian feeling a little awkward. In Corona they had a Guardians Day, which was meant for both parents or caretakers in general, but for Varian it was always a day for just him and his dad to spend time together. One of the few times in the year when his father wouldn't work in the field, or go to market, or have business at court.

Varian knew precisely what a day like Father's Day meant and how special time spent with the man who raised you could be. He envied his friends, but mostly, knowing this would be the second year without his dad pained him.

In a way, he was thankful that Hiro shared his delima. Though he certainly wouldn't have wished his predicament upon anyone, it was still somewhat comforting to know that he wasn't alone.

They were a less than a block away from the Lucky Cat, still discussing things to do, when a sleek car pulled to a stop beside them. The window rolled down to reveal a man with blonde hair, a large nose, and a wide smile. He was wearing a plaid shirt and a tan floppy hat.

"Hey Hiro! Go grab your overnight bag and some sunscreen!" He joyously ordered. "Your new brother, cousin, thingy too. We're going fishing!"

Varian could only look on confused, he didn't know this man nor why he wanted to him and Hiro to go on a fishing trip with him. However, Hiro apparently did know him and was also apparently not onboard with this idea at all. He stood with his mouth a gape with a look of horror in his eyes.

After processing this terrible news, Hiro could only sputter out, "But.. but why?"

The man in the vehicle began to offhandedly list his reasons. "Because fishing by oneself isn't any fun unless there's someone else around to show off to. Because I had an awful childhood, whose own father would never take fishing, and now I'm living vicariously through you. Also, you're still my intern and for the rest of the year, I still own you."

The man flashed another wide grin and Varian began to put the pieces together. This must be Krei. Owner of Krei Tech, the man in charge of the portals that brought him here, and also Hiro's boss. Though, this new revelation did nothing to stem the confusion in his mind. He couldn't for life of him see why he was being invited along on the trip nor did he understand Hiro's objections.

"But...but...b, but…" Hiro suttered desperately trying to think of way out of going.

"No buts! I've already talk with your aunt and got her permission, reserved the campsite, and I even bought you both fishing poles!" Still grinning, he reached down beside him and lifted the new poles up for Hiro and Varian to see.

Hiro let out a wordless half groan, half whine in defeat, before turning around and slumping towards the cafe. Varian blinked and looked back and forth between the two of them unsure what to do. Krei waved to him cheerfully, clearly excited for the upcoming trip, and Varian numbly waved back before deciding to follow Hiro and pack his own bag.

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

Varian found himself enjoying the fishing trip more than he had expected. The first day was spent mainly getting there and setting up the campsite. The second day was spent fishing, exploring, and just taking in the scenery.

Varian had been allowed to bring Ruddiger along, as Hiro had also brought Baymax. His pet was overjoyed to be back in his natural environment and Varian had to admit that he felt more at home here in the great outdoors than in the crowded streets of San Fansokyo. The big city was fascinating but he'd always be a simple farm boy at heart.

Krei felt much the same way. The businessman hadn't been raised in the countryside the way Varian had, but he had a great love of camping, fishing, and being out in nature. His passion stemmed from childhood summers spent on vacation at something called 'summer camp'.

Varian found he got along with older man well. They spent the ride up chatting about science and it's more practical applications, spent the trip sharing wilderness tips, and fishing out in Krei's boat. Fishing had never been Varian's favorite activity, but he now found a new sense of nostalgia for it and the praise Krei would send his way whenever he caught one helped to fuel his enjoyment of the sport even more. Plus he got a chance to show off his cooking skills after they had cleaned their catch. Not the most pleasant task ever, but Varian could stomach it much better than butchering other kinds of meat.

Hiro however did not enjoy fishing, or camping, or anything to do with the outdoors really. The other teen mostly sulked the whole trip. When he wasn't busy gagging at the worms used for bait or getting scared by the unfamiliar sounds of the local wildlife that is. Mainly he stuck close to Baymax and the tent, bored out his mind and annoyed he had been forced to come long. Varian's enthusiasm only aggravated him further and, if he was being honest with himself, he was a little jealous by how easy things came to the other boy. He'd spent half a year trying to get on Krei's good side and impress him, while Varian had managed it in mere minutes of meeting the CEO.

The only time Hiro came out of his grumpy shell was at night, when they built a campfire and roasted marshmallows. Varian had never had smores before, but they were tasty, if also sticky and a little too sweet. Ruddiger however went nuts over the fluffy sweets and had to be kept from stealing the whole bag of them. Hiro didn't really care one way or the other about the traditional treat, but was more than eager to share ghost stories with the rest of the group. Gleefully recalling with gory detail about the spirit of an ax murderer who apparently stalked the woods. Perhaps it was a little vindictive of him, to try his best and scare the other teen, but Hiro couldn't help filling a little thrill whenever Varian gave a little jump or clutched his pet raccoon even tighter in comfort.

Keri was only amused by the story. He'd heard similar ones growing up at camp. He laughed at the end of Hiro's tale.

"Ha! Kids are still telling that one? Let me tell you a real horror story."

It was about tax audits.

Both boys could only shrug at each other.

"I do not understand the purpose of a 'ghost story'." Baymax observed.

"It's suppose to be for fun." Hiro informed him.

"I see; an adrenaline rush within a safe and controlled environment can be considered a pleasant feeling for some people. However I do not understand how taxes figure into that."

"Uuuuh, neither do we." Hiro admitted, "but I guess fear is subjective. Do you have any stories to share, Varian?"

Varian had to rack his brain on that one. His own life was more of a horror story then most ghost tales he knew, but he didn't want to devel into that. Instead he told a folk legend that his dad had once told him. It had been an old story from his home country; a parable about a rich man who was so greedy that he hoarded a well from the poor townspeople during a drought. Forcing them to pay him tribute lest they die of thirst, but he made the mistake of refusing water to a witch and so was cursed to become a vampire. To spend an eternity in thirst himself and to be forever alone, because he could no longer get close to other people without risking harm to them.

"And so a leader must care for his people, son," he remembered his father instructing him at the end of the tale, "He must share and give back to the community. He who sacrifices love for his fellow man in exchanged for selfish possessions, forfeits his right to live among mankind and to even be called a 'man' himself."

If only his father's words had been true. If real life had been as simple as stories, then Corona would have sided with him and not the evil king who kept the wondrous healing flower hidden away and who turned his back upon people need. But Varian conveniently left out this more personal anecdote.

"Wow." Hiro said flatly. "That's deep."

He wasn't used to horror stories having explicit morals attached to them and didn't know how else to respond. The tale hadn't been scary so much as eerie with an unnerving ending. Unlike his serial killer story, it wasn't anything you could be afraid of happening to you, yet questioning your place in the world was somehow more off putting than simple dismemberment.

The mood was broken however, by Ruddiger stealing Hiro's marshmallow off his roasting stick. It turned out to be last one as Krei had spent the majority of Varian's story battling the gluttonous raccoon over their food stores.

"I know racoons aren't 'mankind', but does this mean he's doomed to be a marshmallow vampire now?" Hiro joked as Varian got onto his pet.

"I don't know. Your robot looks like a walking marshmallow though." Varian shot back good naturedly.

Now out of food, save for leftover fish, they all decided to tuck in for the night.

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

Hiro hated the woods. He hated how unfamiliar everything was, how inconvenient it was, and most of all he hated how gross it was. He woke up irritated and sore from sleeping on the thin sleeping bag inside the tent. He couldn't find anything decent to eat for breakfast. He never stopped grumbling while he was forced to use the bathroom outside. To make an awful morning even worst, he couldn't shake the feeling of being stalked as strange animals hooted and howled. One bush in particular shook right when he pasted it. He nearly jumped out of skin when Ruddiger pop out of it holding the last of the fish in its mouth.

He groaned as he watched the raccoon scurry away and climb up a tree a little ways off from the campsite. He didn't much care for the creature, or for wild animals in general, but he knew how important the pet was to Varian and so had tried to be polite about having it around. Still Hiro's patience was wearing thin. The walking bottomless pit had eaten practically everything in the camp.

Hiro reluctantly followed after, debating if it was worth trying to get the fish back. Probably not, he didn't even like the taste of fish all that much to begin with. He stopped in surprise when an apple core fell from tree and nearly hit him. He looked up and found Varian sitting in one of the top branches, raccoon by his side, and reaching up to pick another apple off the tree.

The other teen paused when he saw Hiro. "Hey! Morning! You wanna an apple for breakfast?"

Hiro's stomach growled in response but all he actually said was, "How did you get up there?"

Varian laughed, "Climbed up here. How else you do think? Fly?"

Hiro looked up at him blankly. It was an obvious answer, of course, and he felt silly for having asked it.  

"Come on up!" Varian encouraged. "There's plenty of apples to go around."

"I..I can't." Hiro admitted sheepishly.

"Why not?"

"I don't know how to climb a tree." He mumbled.

Varian looked surprised by this revelation and before Hiro could do anything else, the other boy quickly climbed back down to join him.

“You never climb a tree before?”

‘Well, I did once, with Baymax’s help.” He rubbed the back of his neck self consciously.  

“It’s not like there’s a whole lot of trees in San Fransokyo to climb.”

“Oh, well, it’s easy. Here, I’ll show you. Just put your foot there, in that knot, and place your hand here on this bump in the bark.” Varian instructed, helping Hiro find the footholds. “Now you see that groove up here, place your other foot there, and as you hoist yourself up grab that lowest branch with your other hand, like climbing a really uneven ladder.”

Hiro did so, though not without some struggling, but eventually he pulled himself up onto the lowest branch.      

“Great!” Varian cheered and followed after with practiced ease. “The hardest parts done. Now all you gotta do is swing up the rest of the branches, like so.”

Varian took off, showing Hiro the best way to navigate the tree top. Hiro followed him, mimicking the other boys actions. With great effort he hauled himself up onto the final branch and heaved a ‘wooooph’ in relief of having made it up.

His sigh quickly turned to awe though when he caught sight of the view. The early morning sun sparkled on the lake. Further out a misty fog was beginning to disperse and you could see the opposite shoreline reflected in the water like glass. Beyond that giant redwoods poked out of the canopy of trees and way, way off in the distance you just about make out the tips of blue mountains.

“Woah.” He breathed. Hiro had to admit, you didn’t get scenery like this in the city.

‘Here.” Varian handed him an apple. It was smaller than the ones you’d buy in the store, with pink and yellow skin. Hiro tentatively took a bite. It was crunchy and very tart, but edible. Not to mention it was practically the only food they had left in the camp, so Hiro wound up eating it all and started in on a second one.

“So, where did you learn to climb?” Hiro asked taking another large bite of the wild fruit.

“Oh, I’ve been climbing trees since I could walk.” Varian laughed. “We owned an apple orchard along with the farm. Also the forest is right next to my village.”

Ruddiger joined them, procuring his own apple and sitting right on Varian’s lap to enjoy his meal. Varian scratched his pet’s ear.

“Does he ever get full?” Hiro asked.

“Nope.” Varian replied, and then they both broke into giggles.

Once the laughter had subsided Hiro commented, “I guess that’s why you’re so good at this outdoors stuff. This is the first time I ever been fishing, and with any luck, it’ll be my last.”

“My dad taught me.” Varian quitely confessed. “He’d take me on trips like this sometimes. Try to teach me how to hunt and fish. The fishing is a lot better than the hunting, let me tell you. I never could fire an arrow right and I can’t stand the sight of blood.” He cringed as if recalling a gruesome memory. “But, I guess he was just looking out for me. He taught me the skills he had to live on to survive. Apparently there were no farms where he grew up, the land was always baren. I guess that’s why he prefered gardening to being a knight.”

“Wait, your dad was an actual for real knight?”

Varian nodded, “Yeah, I found his armor after...after the accident. Along with a bunch of other important stuff he never told me about.” He added bitterly.

Hiro didn’t know how to respond to that. So he stayed quiet and let Varian dictate the conversation.

“Anyways, it worked. The fishing did come in handy. I had to do a lot of that, when.. when I was on my own.” He worked his jaw as he mulled over that last confession, his eyes gazing out to into the distance, clearly not seeing the breathtaking view before them.

Hiro’s heart dropped. He had a vague idea of what happened to Varian, but this was the first time it really hit home just how messed up the other’s teen’s life had been before now. He could empathize with losing a loved one, but he had always had his aunt and his friends to depend upon. If nothing else to be there and take of him as he sank into depression. But Varian had to do everything for himself, even while battling that same depression. The idea of having to catch or scavenge for your own food on top caring for you ill father was a nightmare that Hiro could barely comprehend. A nightmare that only somehow got worse.

“Fortunately, there’s a river that runs through my village, and I could set up lines overnight and just go check them in the morning, and we had food stored up for winter. Like oats, bacon, dried peas, that sort of thing. That is, until spring rolled around and the king's guards run me out of my house.” He said irritably.”Then I just had to forage or steal to survive.”

“Be...because you stole medicine?” Hiro asked disquietly. He couldn’t imagine a world so cruel and yet to his surprise the story got even worse.

“Oh no, this was before I stole the flower.” Varian said matter of factly and Hiro just stared at him in horror. Varian heaved a heavy sigh and went on to explain. “My father was the only other person who knew about the sundrop. The king kept it hidden from everyone. I guess when he found out that my dad, was, was ‘gone’, he decided to try and remove me from the picture, so as to keep his secret safe. He made a bunch of false charges about me ‘attacking the princess’ so that no one would believe me when I asked for help or told them the truth about the flower. Then he sent his elite guard to arrest me and I had to run.”

Varian gave a little shrug and added, “I guess after that, ‘treason’ didn’t seem like that big of deal. I mean they were going to throw me in jail either way, and not many people leave those dungeons alive.”

Hiro could barely process what was being told to him. He didn’t know what to say. His stomach churned and his breath shallowed. Varian’s past was far scarier than any ghost story.

Then suddenly he felt guilty. He’d been so caught up in his own grief and his own struggles with readjusting, that he hadn’t actually stopped to think about things from Varian’s perspective. He had thus far grinned and bared the discomfort of having his life turned upside down, because, well because that's what he thought he needed to do in order to be a mature decent person. And while that was true in part, it never occurred to him that this move was yet another upset in Varian’s life, in a long, long string of seemingly never ending upsets.  

Hiro found himself so easily annoyed by the other teen, yet he really had no right to be. Varian was readjusting to whole new culture and way of life in addition to struggling with his grief and trauma. So what if he cooked weird food sometimes, didn’t always know the appropriate conduct to certain situations, or was so super confident in nearly everything he did that it made Hiro self conscious and a little jealous at times. Deep down, Varian was suffering through something that no one in Hiro’s little corner of the globe could fully understand, and the least that Hiro could do was try to be a little more patient and a little more open about letting Varian into his life.

“You know,” Hiro slowly said, trying to ease the conversation and offer a little understanding, “I never really knew my dad. I was just four when he and my mom died. It was always Tadashi who taught me things, like how to ride a bike or how to hotwire a robot. Though he never taught me to climb to tree, so I guess that’s one I owe you.”

He smiled encouragingly at Varian, who nervously returned it. Once again Varian wasn’t used to praise or acknowledgement that he anything ‘right’.

“Maybe, you could teach me more outdoorsy stuff.” Hiro offered. “And I can teach you more about more modern stuff, like how to play Mind Smith II Turbo .”

“That..that’s that video game you like, isn’t it?” Varian asked as he tried to remember what Hiro even talking about.

“Yeah!” and with that Hiro eagerly launched into a detailed description of the game.

Soon the boys were interrupted by Krei emerging from the tent. He stretched sore back and tried to reheat the leftover instant coffee he’d brought. He then promptly spit it back out in disgust. The boys tried their best to suppress their snickers. Keri spotted them anyways.

“How ‘bout we pack it up and go get tacos instead?” He asked them.

“Yeeesss!” Yelled Hiro, who was more than ready to go.

“Sounds great!” Agreed Varian. “We’ll be right down!”

Keri went back in the tent to start packing and Ruddigger scurried down after him, hoping to maybe steal another treat from the camp.

Varian stood up and started to also make his way down when Hiro’s voice stopped him.

“Ummm...Sooo how do you get down exactly?”

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

The day ended with a trip to Yaki Taco and a huge feast of fast food nachos and deep fried burritos. Rudiger was once again confined to his carrying cage, but was allowed a cup of some cheese sauce to snack on. Baymax was let out of his charger case to kept an eye on the mischievous raccoon. All agreed it was actually the best part of the camping trip.

“Say, ‘cheese’.” The robot said, as he took a photograph with his internal camera.  

The three guys sing songed the the word even as actual cheese dripped off the burritos they held in their hands, plastering on dopey grins for the camera. Then a few more pictures with silly faces to complete the set.

“Fantastic!” Krei said. “I want copies for the office.”

“Why?” Hiro asked.

“So if any clients come in I show off ‘my family’ to them instead just the photo of my mother. I love the woman but she doesn’t necessarily impress the image of ‘family friendly company’.”

“I knew there was a catch.” Hiro scoffed.

Keri looked wounded. “Hey, I told you, my employees are my family.”

Hiro rolled his eyes but he couldn’t help giving a little smile at that. He knew Krei well enough by now to know that, underneath his seemingly conviving self-serving self, he had a heart, and he wouldn’t have invited Hiro and Varian along if he didn’t care.

“Aunt Cass put you up to this, didn’t she?” He prodded.

“I’m sworn to secrecy.” Krei insisted and they gave Hiro a knowing wink. Then more seriously he said, “I know what it’s like not having your dad around on Father’s Day. So, I figured, why not a fishing trip? It’s better than being stuck at home while your father’s away on a business trip to Tahiti that weekend.”

Hiro raised in eyebrow. Keri had a tendency of oversharing at times.  

“Buuut, enough about me. Who wants dessert!?”