#is anyone else watching emma approved???

[poisonlove]

Hotcake | j.o

Pairing: Jenna Ortega X reader

A/n: I know, it's short 🥞

After a long day of filming, some of the cast of Wednesday were hanging out in Jenna's trailer, trying to relax and enjoy each other’s company. Emma was sitting next to me on the couch, amused by Percy’s antics. Georgie was chatting with Hunter about light topics, while I simply smiled and watched my colleagues with amusement.

But out of the corner of my eye, I kept an eye on Jenna.

The brunette was sitting in an armchair just a few feet away from us, with her headphones around her neck and her phone in hand, presumably replying to messages from family and friends. Even though she was distracted and not actively participating in the conversation, I knew she valued our presence.

Her brown eyes often drifted towards us, and a small smile that revealed her dimples appeared whenever something amused her.

It was such a light and perfect smile that it gave me butterflies in my stomach.

"I’m hungry," Percy suddenly mumbled, stretching out on the couch with an exhausted expression.

Emma shot him an amused glance. "You’re always hungry."

George laughed. "Yeah, it’s no surprise."

Percy made a face but couldn’t suppress a laugh. "What can I do? Working with you all wears me out."

Everyone laughed, but I couldn’t take my eyes off Jenna. Just then, she looked up from her phone and glanced at us. Her lips curved into a slight smile as she listened to our conversation.

"I can make some hotcakes if you’d like," she offered with a small smile.

The room erupted into a chorus of approval.

"Hotcakes!" George exclaimed, as if he had just won the lottery.

"Jenna, I love you!" Percy shouted, almost jumping off the couch with excitement.

Jenna lowered her gaze, blushing slightly from all the attention. It was clear she didn’t enjoy being the center of such a commotion and that the open displays of affection made her uncomfortable.

"Does anyone want to help me?" she asked timidly.

Jenna’s eyes moved between the guests, lingering on mine for just a fraction of a second longer than necessary. My face flushed and a warm feeling spread through my chest as her coffee-colored irises met mine, and a smile seemed on the verge of breaking through.

Jenna made a little grimace, and disappointment showed on her face for the lack of response.

Emma gave me a nudge.

"Ouch!" I looked at the brunette in confusion, and she raised an eyebrow at me. "She was referring to you, idiot," Emma said with a mischievous smile.

My cheeks turned bright red.

I immediately felt embarrassed, but at the same time, I couldn’t deny the wave of excitement that hit me. Jenna was looking at me, and for a moment, we exchanged such an intense gaze that I forgot about everyone else.

"Ah, yes, sure," I said, trying to sound calm, though my heart was racing. "I’ll help you gladly."

As I made my way to the kitchen, I could feel Jenna’s gaze fixed on me. Even though she was always very reserved and shy, there was something in the way she looked at me that made my heart pound. She didn’t say much, but her glances and faint smiles made me blush instantly.

"Thank you for your help," she said with her usual calm and composed voice as she handed me a bowl of flour.

"No problem," I replied, trying to seem as nonchalant as possible. "Although... I can’t promise I’ll be very useful." I chuckled, trying to ease the growing tension between us.

Jenna gave a small smile, looking down at the counter. "You’re already more useful than Percy," she joked. "He’d probably burn even water."

I couldn’t help but laugh, and she looked at me again, this time with a wider smile. "You’re probably right," I added. "Although I think Emma wouldn’t even let him near the stove."

Jenna nodded, laughing quietly. "Yeah, she’s like... the mom of the group."

As we exchanged these light-hearted remarks, the atmosphere continued to lighten. We worked together to prepare the hotcake batter, and every now and then, our hands would brush against each other by accident. Each time it happened, I felt a little shiver run down my spine, but I tried not to let it show.

"Okay," I said, trying to focus on the task at hand, "what do we do now?"

"You need to mix the flour with the milk," Jenna explained, gesturing to the bowl. "But be careful not to make a mess."

"I make no promises," I replied jokingly, beginning to mix with a concentrated expression. However, something went wrong. Maybe I had mixed too vigorously, or maybe it was just my natural clumsiness, but suddenly a small puff of flour flew out of the bowl, scattering everywhere.

Jenna laughed, covering her mouth with one hand. Her laughter was so sweet and genuine that it struck me deeply, leaving me dumbfounded.

"See, I told you!" she exclaimed, shaking her head with amusement.

I immediately felt embarrassed, trying to clean up the mess I had made. "Okay, yeah, maybe I’m not cut out for cooking."

She looked at me with that intense gaze, her lips curled into a mischievous smile. "Don’t worry," she said softly, and then, with a quick motion, grabbed a pinch of flour and dabbed it on my nose.

I was taken aback for a moment, then looked at her incredulously, flour smeared on my nose. "Really?" I asked, pretending to be offended.

Jenna burst into laughter, her face lighting up in a way I rarely saw on set. It was a contagious sound that brightened her face and brought out the adorable dimples in her cheeks. That sight made me blush immediately, with the warmth spreading rapidly from my chest to my face.

"You had it coming," she said between laughs. "You made flour fly everywhere!"

I couldn’t help but smile too. "Okay, fine," I said, trying not to let myself be distracted by how her eyes sparkled when she laughed. "But now it’s war."

Without thinking too much, I grabbed a small handful of flour and attempted to smear it on her face, but she was faster. She moved to the side, avoiding the hit, and looked at me with a challenging expression.

"Oh, so we’re playing dirty?" she murmured, moving closer. Her eyes were locked on mine, and for a moment, I felt completely entrapped by her deep gaze.

The tension between us shifted suddenly. The laughter faded, replaced by a silence filled with anticipation. Jenna was still close, maybe too close, and my heart began to race, making it impossible to ignore the effect she had on me.

Her eyes looked at me intensely.

"How much longer? I’m starving!" Percy’s voice interrupted from the living room.

Jenna diverted her gaze from me, blushing slightly, and headed towards the stove.

With a swift motion, she started cooking, trying to regain her focus. Her face was still flushed, and she struggled to concentrate while preparing the hotcakes, while I, with an amused smile, watched her return to her routine, embracing the chaos and complaints from the rest of the cast.

Damn Percy

[myrtlesandasphodels]

Okay, I don't really talk here, but I feel like there's something that needs to be said.

There's been a lot of discussion lately about whether or not the recent EW photoshoot with Emma D'arcy and Olivia Cooke is queerbait. And, unfortunately, I'm here to tell you that, based on the evidence we have so far, it absolutely is.

I've heard two major points arguing it isn't. First, that these are two real people and real people cannot queerbait, and I'm sorry but we're not talking about two everyday people living their everyday lives. These are two actors doing a photoshoot to PROMOTE a show. The marketing team probably approved this. It's part of a marketing campaign.

The second argument I've heard is that the queerness is subtextual and therefore House of the Dragon is not baiting queer audiences, because there is queer content in the actual show. Now, we can chase our own tails forever about what constitutes subtext, but the point is that it's very subjective. I, personally, agree that Alicent and Rhaenyra's relationship cannot be read in any way other than through queer lenses, and the fact that the casting director chose at least two queer actors to portray them adds to this reading, much to the credit of the HOTD team. However, there are many people who don't see it that way.

The largely cis and heterosexual audience is not perceiving Rhaenyra and Alicent as queer. What's more, the majority of people watching this show do not read press releases and actor interviews, therefore have no clue that the writers and actors have commented on Rhaenicent having a queer undertone. This is not an explicit textual representation of a wlw relationship.

For the record, I think that's okay. Not every story needs to be out and proud, so to say. As a matter of fact, it would bother me very much if the show started using anachronistic terms to describe the characters' experiences. But the point I'm trying to make is that as long as the queerness remains subtextual, the wider audience will not be aware of it, and thus the only people who will understand it for what it is are the same people this marketing campaign is intended for: queer people.

This is not an indictment of any sort. I've publicly stated a few days ago that this will not stop me or anyone else from shipping Rhaenicent. Actually, I'm enjoying the content we're getting very much (my phone wallpaper is currently an image from said interview), but not acknowledging that this is what is happening feels dishonest.

[sosagely]

DESCENDANTS HEADCANONS !!

she's nestled right between harry && cj in the sibling line up.

her trademark red leather jacket does NOT have the hook symbol stitched into the back. instead, there are three smaller patches stitched into the inner lining over her heart. a wheel (for harriet, who steers them and points them in the right direction), a ships bow/figurehead (for harry, who cuts a path forward), and sails (for cj, who keeps them all moving.)

while she might bitch and moan about her siblings, if anyone else tries it they'd be losing their tongue. she's quick to resort to violence, especially when it's in defense of her siblings. as much as they may bicker or argue, they're family. at the end of the day, no matter what alliances she might have, her loyalty will always lie with them above all else.

whatever food she manages to snag, especially things that are rarer and in good condition, are always split into quarter and divided evenly amongst them. she'll leave little parcels all wrapped up at their doors if they aren't around.

at evie's infamous birthday bash, kara's baddie bag had a kitten in it. the runt of the litter, it was a pathetic little thing. still, she loved him. naming him ASMODEUS, or az for short, the sickly little thing grew into a disorienting cat. something seems off or not quite right about that beast. he's long and lanky, pitch black, with overly large ears and hauntingly intelligent golden eyes. he seems to flicker at the edges, almost like he isn't entirely corporeal. he acts as a mousing cat on the ship, and is kara's most loyal companion. if he's not sulking around her, he's chilling out at the tremaine's place with emma ( @a1onea1ways ) who he adores.

speaking of emma, kara is absolutely smitten with her. (not that she'd ever vocalize it. not on the isle.) the same way harry acts around uma is how kara acts around emma, a lovesick puppy and violent guard dog all at once. while she will happily make fun of the other tremaine's (most notably anthony) if anyone says anything against emma she's going to be throwing hands.

kara's firmly against all things auradonian. she blames them for creating the isle. and she sees any attempt at programs to bring them over and channel their "inner good" as hoops to jump through for approval they shouldn't have to seek. she's incredibly wary of all things surrounding auradon and gets snappy about it.

she considers the core four traitors to the isle. they abandoned their original task and lived up their cushy life in the kingdom while stricter rules were pushed onto the isle. already scarce food dried up and things got worse because of them. she holds a grudge post d1.

pre d1, the only one she really has a real problem with is mal. given her loyalty to uma, she sees mal as an enemy. there is disdain for the others given their loyalty / association with mal, but peace could more easily be reached with any of the others.

she's got a wicked temper. sometimes it's like watching a switch flip when it's ignited, an explosion that seems too harsh for whatever set it off. she usually manages to reign it back in.

[dreaming-of-the-reality]

Can anyone else relate to this:

So after finishing episode 6 of House of The Dragon, one of my friends made a comment about how they were finding the series boring or not interesting as compared to Game of Thrones.

So I was thinking about it more, and I kind of feel the same way, in terms of, I can’t wait for the next episode, but as each episode passes it’s not as exciting and I think I figured out why, and want to know if anyone else can relate or feels the same way.

So I think it’s to do with the fact of how much time is passing so quickly in every episode that it seems like every episode there is a new actor playing a character we have already seen on screen. For example, the fact that it’s only episode 6, and a time jump of at least 12-13 years has passed already in the whole series.

Due to so much time passing in such a small period of time, I feel like it’s really hard to connect to any of the characters because their faces are constantly changing and you can’t connect the character to a face. I think this is also why Daemon is more popular, because let’s be honest, in the series he’s a bit of a dick, yet everyone loves him, and besides him and Viserys, no one else has kept the same face throughout the series (also Corlys and Rhaneys but you get my point).

If you think about it, Aegon was introduced in episode 3 I think? As a baby, and just 3 episodes later he is a teen kind of shifting to adult, yet his character has only had a couple of lines spoken, Rhaenyra’s kids have just been introduced, Aemond too, and from the trailer it seems that the kids won’t be kids for too much longer, if not in the next episode. You can see in the trailer that Aemond is seen without his eye fully grown, which leads me to suspect that his ageing is coming soon.

The series just seems very rushed and fast paced that everything is kind of flying over my head. So personally I’m finding it hard to relate or connect with any of the characters, I was starting to connect with Rhae and Milly’s performance but then obviously, more time passed and (Emma is great don’t get me wrong) now she’s changed and she seems so much different now that she’s grown up a lot, and because we haven’t been able to see that process it’s hard to understand what’s happened in the last 9-10 years that was skipped.

Which is a factor as to why game of thrones did so well. Each character had such unique and completely different story lines with so many characters as well, but you understood each characters journey by the end, some of their journeys even redeemed their character.

I found that with Jaime, in the first couple of seasons he was a dick, arrogant, stuck up, etc. however as the seasons went by, you understood that he never had true approval from his father, he defended Brienne, he explained the King Slayers true story, his bond with Tyrion, he became much more enjoyable to watch on screen.

With Ned Stark, just by the end of season 1 so many people were distraught with his sudden death, even though he didn’t appear that many times but his character connected to audiences. This goes for Joffrey as well, at the beginning he seemed to be a bit of a mommy’s boy but seemed like a good man, until you find out he’s not and he becomes one of the most hated men in the whole series, which is done by following his journey.

I find that in House of the dragon they skip a lot of story arch’s that could be played out longer but are just being skipped over completely.

Side note: I feel like it would have maybe been better if they had not assumed that people watching HOTD came from GOT, because let’s be honest, if they started the whole thing with HOTD, they would’ve never been able to do as well as what they are because no one would watch it, but because of the success of Game Of Thrones, we all already understand how stuff works, but it feels like a spin off, which may have been the point, but I feel like they shoudve introduced the life style more. I don’t know how to convey this in words so that will have to do lol.

But yeah, please no one come for me, lol, I just had to get it out there, maybe some of you feel the same, maybe you feel the complete opposite, but let me know your thoughts ☺️

[summersnow82]

Sins of the Past - Part 2

Fanfiction _ Once Upon a Time

Fictober 2022/ Prompt #16: “You’re looking, but you don’t see.”

Fictober 2022/ Prompt #25: “You know I’d do anything.”

Summary: Archie begins to unravel as his visions persist.

Author’s Note: I’m so sorry, Archie. You deserve better. His parents always struck me as charismatic manipulators. Part 3 coming soon!

TW: Suggested suicide, alcohol consumption, parental abuse/neglect/manipulation

……...

He’d been staring at the bottle of amber liquid for an hour now, debating the pros and cons of drowning his fears in the whiskey. He’d walked home at an unusually fast pace, Pongo trotting by his side, and his parents trailing behind him in an effort to keep up. It became clear to him no one else could see them – that had become very evident when he stood on the steps of Granny’s Diner, staring at a sidewalk all his friends swore was empty.

They couldn’t see his ghosts, and he couldn’t explain why he was seeing them now.

“Sounds like a guilty conscience,” Martin quipped to Myrna as they trailed behind him.

“Oh, definitely. I mean, plotting to murder his own parents who gave him everything.”

“You trapped me in a miserable life,” Archie grumbled, refusing to turn around and look at them. They were not there.

“Oh, but dear, it could’ve been so wonderful. I don’t know why you had to ruin such a good thing,” Myrna sighed.

“A good thing?” Archie cried, whirling on his heel. His parents were standing beside a startled Belle, looking ever so proud of themselves.

“She’s a pretty one,” Martin said. Myrna nodded her approval.

“Are you feeling all right, Archie?” Belle asked, brows furrowed in deep concern.

Archie went from furious to embarrassed, his features relaxing as he fumbled over his words. “I’m…I’m so sorry, Belle. I’m…,” his eyes flickered back to his parents, and Belle followed his gaze. “I’ve got to go.”

He’d practically run home.

Now, sitting in his library chair, he picked up the whiskey bottle wondering if the alcohol would make his parents reappear or help him pass out first. “It really is a shame about that boy’s parents, isn’t it, Mother?” Archie’s eyes slid closed.

Not again.

“So sad. If only there was something we could do to bring them back.”

“You know I’d do anything,” Archie rasped, removing his glasses to rub his eyes. “Anything to bring them back.”

“Anything?” Myrna asked sweetly, and he could feel her hand on his shoulder.

“There is…something,” Martin said slowly. “But it’s costly.”

Archie’s throat constricted. They weren’t really here: he was having a mental break, there was a new curse, something, anything. “You could trade your life,” Myrna murmured in his ear. “Trade it for theirs.”

His eyes flashed open. He was alone, but the bottle in front of him was open. A tumbler held two fingers worth of whiskey ready just for him. He lifted the glass, watching the liquid swirl as he debated his choices.

Screw it.

He tossed the whiskey back, feeling it burn as it slid down his throat. He threw the glass hard at the fireplace watching it shatter before he reached for the bottle.

……………

“I don’t like this,” David told Emma, pacing back and forth in the Sheriff’s station. “It’s not like Archie.”

“When was the last time anyone saw him?” Emma asked, looking up from her notes. They’d received several calls from concerned friends and neighbors about Archie’s increasingly erratic behavior. According to Leroy, Archie hadn’t been in the office for the past forty eight hours, and he hadn’t bothered to contact one patient to cancel. Ruby had gone by his home several times, but the house was dark, and there was no answer at the door. Archie’s neighbor, Lucinda, had just called about shouts and banging coming from inside his house – she said it sounded like he was arguing with someone.

David didn’t have a chance to answer. Marco was standing in the doorway, holding his cap, and looking devastated. Pongo trotted in behind him, and laid down at his feet with a low whine. “Please,” he said. “Something… something is very wrong.”

Emma was on her feet at the first sign of Pongo – Archie would never let anything happen to his beloved dog. “Let’s go.”

……………

There had never been a good spot to hide in his parent’s wagon so Jiminy had never been able to keep anything precious or special just for himself. Not the stuffed bear a kind old granny had given him when he was no more than six, or the hair ribbon a pretty farm girl had tied around his wrist when he was sixteen. His parents found everything, and it was all humor and ammunition.

His parents never hit him, never touched him, but they used him over and over again; he realized very early on he wasn’t a son to them – he was a tool. Something to use to get them what they wanted, and he was tied to them out of love, commitment, and duty; he would never be free.

He’d had a fleeting dream of running away, marrying a farm girl, and raising a family of his own where each of his children would feel special and loved. He could still remember the strawberry blonde hair of the milk maid who kissed him in the shadow of a barn. She’d taken his hand, led him to the hayloft, and for a blissful few minutes he’d forgotten who he was, and what he did.

He wanted to marry her, to care for her, to make her feel loved in a way he never had. She was gentle, and kind, and his mother made sure he saw his father paying her after Jiminy had gone to pick her wildflowers.

“See, dear?” His mother had said. “You’re looking, but you don’t see. See them for what they are: either wolves or sheep. Which are you?”

Jiminy couldn’t answer; if he tried to speak he’d sob, and his lovely milk maid would hear.

And she’d laugh. Just like his parents always did.

The flowers fell from his hand, and he turned away, walking back to the wagon. That’s where they wanted him, and that’s where he would stay – a bird trapped in a cage until it died.

[thornfield13713]

Marigold verse: Grandpastiltskin pre-curse break?

For all Mom's talk about keeping a closer watch on him, it wasn't that hard to sneak out of the house. Sure, there was a lock on his window now, but Mom still had work, even if her 'Saturday town council meetings' had dried up after Sheriff Graham died, and Henry knew where she kept the spare keys. The hardest part was remembering to put the key back just where Mom had left it every time he came back in, because she'd notice if it was even an inch out of place, but now, Henry had the trick of that as well. Anyway, Mom was in a good mood right now. She'd been happy ever since the whole town had found out about Mary and David's relationship, and now she was so busy enjoying seeing everyone hate Snow White instead of her that Henry wasn't sure she'd notice if he ran away to join the circus. Not that the circus ever came through Storybrooke.

He arrived at the diner just before twelve, just in time to snag a good table for him and Emma before the lunch rush meant everywhere was busy...except there was no lunch rush. The diner was all but deserted. Except for him, and Granny, and...Mr Gold, who was leaning heavily on the counter, wearing a dangerous sort of smile and talking quietly to Granny.

"-misunderstandings about what you owe me," he was saying as Henry came in.

Granny's lips were pressed into a tight, thin line. "We're paid up for this month," she said curly.

"Are you, now?" Mr Gold's smile widened. "I'll have to check my books, of course - I've got a terrible memory for these things - but I hope you're right. Mary's always been partial to your hot chocolate, even if your lasagne's a bit overrated in my view. It'd be a shame if she couldn't come here anymore. If, say, you were suddenly forced to shut down due to non-payment of debts..."

Henry was ten, and even he could see that for the threat it was.

Granny bristled. "I haven't done anything wrong. We reserve the right to refuse service to-"

"To anyone you like, yes. Or, as it might be, anyone you don't like. I remember." Mr Gold shrugged. "As I said. I hope I find all my books in order." Point made, he turned away sharply, and seemed like he was about to leave the diner when he caught sight of Henry and brightened, inexplicably.

"Ah, Henry. How're you?"

Henry's mind went blank. "Uh...I'm okay. Um..."

It wasn't as though Mr Gold had ever been mean to him, after all. He'd always been...kind enough, in a faintly-creepy sort of way, but he was still...well, Mom was afraid of him, even if she tried to pretend she wasn't, and that was- That had to mean danger, even if Henry still wasn't precisely sure who or what Mr Gold really was. He wasn't the King, Snow's real father, Henry was pretty sure - Regina had murdered him, at least in the book, and Mr Gold was alive and kicking. But he couldn't think of anyone else, and anyway, Mr Gold was Mary's father, even if he hadn't been Snow's. Which made him...sort of Henry's great-grandfather? Maybe? Was that how it worked?

"You're here to meet Sheriff Swan, I suppose," Mr Gold went on jovially, leaning on his cane - the one he'd beaten a man half to death with not very long ago. "I'll wait with you, if you like. Mrs Lucas, a pot of tea and one hot chocolate with cinnamon, please."

Henry startled nearly out of his skin. "How- How did you know I like-"

"Mary's mentioned it," Gold cut him off smoothly. "You, she and Sheriff Swan form quite a little club for it. I don't exactly understand it myself, but who am I to argue with taste? Shall we sit down?"

Well, now Gold had ordered for him, Henry sort of had to. And- It wasn't particularly sensible, but he'd always sort of liked Mr Gold. Mom didn't like him, or approve of Henry talking to him, but Mom didn't like anyone much, and didn't approve of Henry talking to anyone at all. And he'd always been nice to Henry, even when he wasn't nice - not really nice, anyway, instead of just shamming it - to anyone else, except for Mary.

Anyway, this was- This was an opportunity. Whoever Mr Gold was, he was someone to be reckoned with, and someone Mom didn't like, which...probably meant he was a good guy? If the Evil Queen didn't like him, that just made sense. Henry just had to figure out which one. He couldn't see Mr Gold as a knight, but maybe one of the kings? His name was Gold, so...Midas, maybe? Except that he was Kathryn's dad, not Snow's, and Snow's was dead. Maybe...maybe it was a swap sort of thing? Kathryn got Snow's husband, but Snow got Kathryn's dad? Except that no-one in the book seemed to be all that scared of Midas and, anyway, Mom would never have designed the curse to give Snow White anything.

"Is this all right?" Mr Gold's voice was gentle. "I can leave, if you'd rather wait on your own..."

"No," Henry said quickly, and then reached for the first topic that came to mind. "So...what were you talking to Granny about?"

Mr Gold's faint smile slipped.

"Well...you've seen the way people have been acting lately? Towards Mary?"

Henry nodded, shamefaced. He didn't- He didn't think anyone had missed the way people were treating Mary. He didn't think anyone could.

"Y-yeah. It's not- It's not fair!" he burst out. "She's not- He and- It's all the curse anyway, but everyone's- Even people who are meant to be good are being mean to her and it's not fair!"

"No, it isn't," Mr Gold agreed. "That's what I was doing here. You see...sometimes, to get people to be kinder, you have to give them a reminder of what happens if they're not. Otherwise, they'll just keep on treating people badly. But if you want them to stop, you have to stop them."

"...like...like the Evil Queen," Henry said quietly. "They- the heroes have to stop her, otherwise she'll just keep...keep doing things..."

"Exactly so." Mr Gold smiled at him. "You're a bright lad, Henry. Of course, sometimes it's less dragon-slaying and more...reminders, but it's all for a good cause in the end."

Henry...wasn't sure that made sense. You were supposed to be nice to people, weren't you? And then they'd be nice to you. Except Mary was always nice to everyone, and hardly anyone had ever been nice to her even before everyone had found out about her and David.

Fortunately, that was when their drinks arrived, brought by a nervous-looking Ruby.

"And- another hot chocolate, please," Mr Gold said, just as she was making to go. "Sheriff Swan should be joining us soon."

"Um...okay." Ruby caught Henry's eye. "Uh...everything okay here."

"Yeah," Henry said quickly. "Just...waiting for Emma. And Mary," he added. "She...uh...she's not teaching right now, so..."

"I know." Mr Gold's smile sharpened at the edges. "I'll be popping in at the elementary school next, to...sort out...some things relating to that."

"Does that mean she'll be coming back?" Henry asked, hope leaping up in his chest. "We've got a substitute teacher, but she's..." he made a face. Mrs Boot was...okay, he guessed. Mostly. If she hadn't kept making snippy remarks about their previous teacher, he might even have liked her.

"I hope so." Mr Gold paused thoughtfully, stirring his tea, even though he hadn't added anything to it. "She's always liked teaching. It...wasn't the career I'd have expected for her, but...what about you? Any grand ambitions of your own?"

Henry stared down at his hot chocolate. He hadn't really- When he'd been very small, he'd wanted to be a knight. Mom hadn't approved - knights weren't real, she'd said. Not here. Wouldn't he rather be a pilot, or a doctor, or a lawyer, or follow her on the town council? He hadn't much liked the sound of any of those. Then...well, then he'd figured out Operation Cobra, after he got big enough to realise that it wasn't normal that he got older while everyone else he knew stayed the same age. And then he'd more-or-less figured that he'd break the curse, they'd all go back to the Enchanted Forest and he'd...well, he'd be a...a prince, right? If Snow and Charming were King and Queen, that was how it worked. Emma would be a princess, and then a queen, and he'd be a prince and then - one day, a long, long way in the future - he'd be a king too. A good one, or- he'd try to be. He didn't know how, but- They had government classes at the high school, he could...figure it out there? And Mom wouldn't disapprove, because she wanted him to be on the town council, so he'd have to take government for that...but...it wasn't-

He'd do it, he guessed, but it wasn't...exciting, or interesting, it was just...what was going to happen.

"...I don't know. I could...write stories? I guess?"

"An excellent career." Mr Gold nodded. "What kind of stories?"

"Like...fairy tales, I guess?" Henry frowned. "Not...not the old ones, the ones that have already happened, but...new ones. With dragons and...spells, and magic and...everything..."

"Fantasy," Mr Gold gave a crooked little grin. "Another good choice there. The oldest sort of story there is. Have you read much of it?"

"...a bit."

Half of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, anyway, before Mom had found out and the school's entire fantasy section had been pulled for 'promoting the occult in schools'.

"Well, you're welcome to come by the shop sometime. We get a lot of old books in - some of them might be the sort of thing you're looking for. And even if they aren't," Mr Gold added. "You never know what you might find. It's one of the better things about the pawnbroking business - every item has its story."

"Like the compass," Henry said eagerly. The one that had- the one that had helped Hansel and Gretel find their father. Maybe- Maybe that was the key! Finding something of significance from someone's old life to help wake them up...or- or at least something that might prove to Emma that all of this was real, that she should believe him-

"Exactly so." Mr Gold picked up his cup. "You'd be surprised how much these...material things can mean to people. The memories they bring back. And even if they don't..." he shrugged. "I imagine they can be a very rich source of ideas. Not that you seem to be short of them. Are there any stories you would particularly want to tell?"

Henry stopped dead.

He hadn't-

He'd been so focused on the book, he hadn't done much writing, lately. Even his class creative writing exercises were based on it, a bit, in an attempt to jog Mary's memory, but...if he could write whatever he liked...

"...I like knights?" he offered. "A-and quests. Maybe...something about one of those? I guess?"

Mr Gold's nose wrinkled a little. "...not my sort of hero, but...I suppose I can see the appeal. I rather liked the idea of being a knight myself, when I was a boy."

"You did?" Henry blinked. "What- What sort of knight?"

Was this a clue? It was hard to picture, but...maybe...

Mr Gold shrugged. "Oh- It depended on the day. A lot of slaying of imaginary dragons and rescuing princesses, but other than that..."

"Oh."

Loads of knights slew dragons and saved princesses. It was pretty much what knights were for. Henry guessed some of the kings might've done it when they were younger, but...

"Henry?"

They both looked around. Emma was standing there, looking wary.

"...Mr Gold. What are you-"

"Sheriff Swan," Mr Gold said easily. "We've been waiting for you."

Emma's brows knit together. "We?" she demanded, her eyes flicking from Henry to Gold. "You- What are you doing with my kid, Gold?"

"Just talking." Gold smiled. "He's- Well, teachers aren't supposed to have favourites, but Mary's taken quite a shine to your boy. And I'd say," he added, "That he's got a fine future in front of him as a fantasy author, if that's what he wants to do. Reminds me of- Well."

For a moment, his smile turned slightly sad. Mary had had a brother once, Henry remembered suddenly. She'd mentioned it, once, and then clammed up. Which was weird, because Snow White hadn't had any brothers. Or any siblings at all. Well, unless you counted him, but that was just- that was weird, he was her grandson, he couldn't be her brother as well! And anyway, he hadn't been born yet when the curse was cast.

"Huh- You told him about your book?" Emma asked, glancing at Henry.

"N-no..."

"Just some ideas for stories," Gold promised. "Actually - I've a rather good second-hand edition of The Once and Future King at the shop," he added, glancing over at Henry. "I know your mother doesn't approve, but if Miss Swan's willing to keep it for you, it might give you some idea for that story about knights."

Emma's eyes narrowed. "Uh-huh. And how much is that going to cost us?"

"Free of charge," Gold said easily. "That reminds me, I've been wanting to speak to you about the situation in town right now..."

"You mean about..." Emma trailed off. "Look, I can't- I know you're protective, but there's nothing I can do about-"

"I know." Mr Gold drummed his fingers on the table. "And...I shouldn't worry. That situation will be...dealt with...soon enough. What did I say, Henry?" he added, smirking a little. "Sometimes people need...reminders...of why it is better to be kind."

Emma was starting to look outright alarmed now. "'Reminders' like what you did to Moe French?"

"Nothing so crude, Sheriff, I assure you. And I daresay you'll hear of any harassment charges Mary wants to bring before I do, so..."

"I...don't think that's likely to happen." Emma grimaced. "She's- You know Mary. People aren't really...I mean, there was a bit of graffiti earlier, but...mostly it's just...catty remarks, cold shoulders..."

"I see."

"Gold, don't-"

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean, Miss Swan." Mr Gold gave a thin smile. "Enjoy your hot chocolate. You as well, Henry. I have an appointment with the principal of our local elementary school."

Emma rolled her eyes. "The sort of 'appointment' you'd rather Mary didn't hear about?"

"I'm sure she'll figure it out." Gold snorted. "I'd be disappointed if she didn't. Good afternoon, Miss Swan. Henry. And do stop in sometime for that book."

[minetteskvareninova]

Minette Watched The Lord Of The Tides: Assorted Thoughts

- Pretty Thing Of The Episode: Emma! I mean Rhaenyra. I don’t like her dresses, but she herself is absolutely gorgeous. I mean they. But also the character is a she... Jesus, I am trying my best!

- Viserys’ deterioration is actually kind of heartbreaking, even if he kinda has it coming for making Alicent marry him.

- Lots of warm fuzzy feelings and tearjerkers this episode, but Alicent and Rhaenyra expressing their wish to mend ties, only to be reminded immediately that at this point, they can’t, since they already passed their enmity to the next generation, and that war cannot be averted... On the other hand, it was absolutely hilarious to watch a fight break out the second Viserys left the room.

- We were this close to a Daemon-Aemond confrontation! Alas, Daemon’s BDE was just too strong for Aemond, and he chickened out after a firm stare. On the other hand, it is fully within book!Aemond’s character to pick a fight with a literal child, but back off once Daemon Fuck You Targaryen gets involved. Maybe I oversold his coolness in the last episode. Then again, he gives me enough Mercan vibes to somewhat enjoy him as a character.

- The same cannot be said of his majesty Aegon The Trashy, who has shown himself in full glory this episode. God, I hate him. I hate him so much.

- Even worse, he’s dragging Alicent to his level! Like, you can tell she’s trying her best, but she’s also a mother and can’t get son’s dick chopped off, as much as he would deserve it. She sympathizes with Dyanna, but ultimately she’ll aways choose her children over anything and anyone else. As her good friend Larys Strong once said before immolating his own brother and father...

- Rhaenyra, meanwhile, doesn’t face the same dilemma, because her sons have taken after their biodad, and thus are a bunch of hotheaded, but ultimately decent himbos. But her husband is a Daemon Fuck You Targaryen, and she tacitly approves all of his sexy, sexy crimes, so... But I do appreciate that both she and Rhaenys are trying their best to remain relatively decent people in spite of everything. So far the worst crime Rhaenyra is guilty of is gaslighting the entire country, which isn’t great, but it’s not like she has much of a choice here.

- I do think it would be interesting if Rhaenyra herself ordered the maesters to stop medicating her father in order to keep his mind clear, instead of just appealing to him to make the choice himself... But at least we got Viserys’ last hoorah, that’s gotta count for something. And the fact that she ultimately allows him to make that choice does say something about Rhaenyra’s character (and her bond with her father, which - excuse me while I go to my room to cry profusely).

- Speaking of Daemon and his sexy, sexy crimes. I get what Vaemond is trying to do here, but he lost me when he appealed to Otto. Like fuck, man, how can you consider yourself an heir to Corlys Velaryon and then betray his legacy this hard?! Not saying he had that execution coming, I did feel sorry for him at least a little. Also not saying that it wasn’t super sexy of Daemon. “He can keep his tongue.” - Man, you were just ITCHING to do that, weren’t you?!

- Rhaenyra and Rhaenys finally had a proper interaction, and while she wasn’t Rhaenyra’s cool mamma I had hoped she would be, “nuanced enmity” is not a bad relationship, and I get where she’s coming from. I just wish we had two women in this fucking show with just a good, uncomplicated relationship, is all. Just a single scene of Rhaenyra being a good stepmom (/mother-in-law, because Targaryens) to Rhaena and Baela, I’m begging you.

- Oh, Helaena. My girl’s only notable action this episode was to drag her husband for filth, for which she earned my undying love and devotion. God, she deserved better.

- I am not wild about the “Dance was based on a misunderstanding” angle they are going for, but I chose to interpret it as Alicent hearing what she wants to hear, considering Viserys’ ramblings were quite incoherent and damnit, isn’t that a much more interesting option.

[empireburned-a]

emma: mentions frank churchill knightley: really? him?

[boldlyvoid]

Hypothetically | chapter 11-15

summary: Reader and Spencer were friends in kindergarten, she watched him grow up and explore the world while she was still trying to catch up to him. now that they work together, they fall in love incredibly fast.

friends to lovers, case of the week style story

A/N: Set between seasons 4 and 6, not following canon. all original crimes based on real-life stories.

Warnings 18+: Murderers, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Blood, Guns, mentions of autopsy, Fluff, Falling In Love, Friends to Lovers, bed-sharing, Riding, Unprotected Sex, Virgin Reader, Case of the Week, original crimes, Food mention, Smut, Oral Sex, Light BDSM, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Talk, obgyn appointments and info, Home Invasion, Past Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Emotional Manipulation, Grooming, Pedophilia mention, non-con oral (male receiving), Pregnant Sex, Daddy Kink, Breeding Kink, Homophobia, conversion therapy

Word Count: 10k

chapter 11

“I got him!” Penelope came running into the bullpen. “The VICAP counsellor! He did it again!”

She ran up the stairs with her computer in her hands, straight into the briefing room. Everyone followed her.

“Last night in Kansas, a woman reported that the school guidance counsellor might be toughing her daughter. I called the local PD and explained the situation. They gave me his school photo and, boom, Peter Van Swank.”

“So he hasn’t raped anyone that we know of?” JJ asked.

“No, so I asked them not to let this get out. That he can’t know they’re on to him,” Garcia was frantic. “I’ve sent you all the information, and the plane is prepped and ready when you are.”

“Thank you, baby girl,” Derek kissed her head as the team scrambled out of the room.

On the plane, Garcia was FaceTimed in and waiting to give a run down. “He’s currently identifying as Jacob Hultman, 56. The school counsellor and substitute gym teacher. All ‘round icky man who I would very much like to do this to:” she ranted before smacking her fist against her other palm.

“Okay, calm down there, hot stuff,” Morgan laughed at her. “What’s he doing today?”

“The police have asked the Principal to call him to the office when we land, where an officer is going to cuff him and bring to the station for us,” Garcia explained. “They’re prepping search warrants for his property and his computers; they’re just waiting for a team to assist at the scene.”

“Prentiss, Y/N, and Reid, I want you to go to his house and search it all, top to bottom, take the walls down if you need to. We need to know what else he’s hiding. This man is capable of a lot.” Hotch instructed. “Garcia, can you ask them to wait till Morgan and I are outside the school. We should expect him to try to run.”

“on it,” Garcia said before disappearing off the screen.

“Let’s get this fucker,” Prentiss said, fist-bumping Morgan from across the table.

—

At Van Swank’s house, they split into teams to search the place. CSI was digging in the yard; they were lifting loose floorboards and fake bricks in the fireplace. Looking behind mirrors in the bathrooms, and then Y/N saw it.

“Spence, Emily?” She called out.

Spencer and Emily ran down the stairs. Towards the room, Y/N was in, where she had moved the couch and rug and found a hole in the floor. “Who’s going down there?”

“Not it,” Prentiss said.

“I can hold the flashlight?” Spencer offered.

Y/N huffed and moved the wood from the hole, finding stairs and a railing underneath. Spencer held a light over the hole while Y/N took her gun from her holster, taking it off the safety before heading down the steps.

The flashlight at the end of her gun was on. She kept her back to the wall as she looked around the room. “Hello? Is anyone in here?”

She could hear whimpering, “my name is Y/N, I’m with the FBI. If you’re trapped down here, I can help you.” She offered into the darkness.

“I’m here,” a small voice said. Y/N almost got whiplash turning towards the voice.

A girl no more than 16, was naked and alone, chained to some pipes in the corner of the room. “Spencer, I need a blanket or something to cover her up quickly. And we need to get her out of these chains.”

Y/N set her gun down, kneeling in front of the girl. “Do you know your name?”

“He called me Rosie,” she cried.

Emily came down the stairs with a blanket and bolt cutters. They freed her from the chains around her body. They wrapped her up and brought her upstairs into the light.

An ambulance arrived shortly, but the girl wouldn’t let go of Y/N. “Don’t let them take me.”

“I’ll come with you to the hospital, I won’t let anyone touch you without your permission okay? But you need to see a doctor,” Y/N explained to her.

“Okay,” she cried, holding onto Y/N’s hand for dear life as they walked towards the ambulance.

They loaded her up, Y/N sat down in the seat across from her and buckled in. “I know he called you Rosie, but what did your name or anything about who you are?”

“I don’t remember,” she cried.

“That’s okay, you don’t have to remember right now,” Y/N soothed her. “You’re going to be okay.”

“Promise?”

“Yeah,” she smiled. “We’ll find your family and you’ll get to go home. You’ll get a nice bed and soft clothes. Your family probably misses you so much, they’ll be very excited to see you.”

“Okay,” she smiled, slipping off to sleep.

At the hospital, the doctors and Garcia were able to match her to a missing child case from Milwaukee in 2004. Emma Carlton, then 9. She was taken from a schoolyard in the same town Peter Van Swank was pretending to be a school counsellor.

“How was he able to pull off all of this?” Y/N asked Garcia over the phone as Emma slept.

“I did some digging into all his previous identities, just to make sure we didn’t miss anything else and I found he had renovations approved by the City at his home in Omaha before he disappeared,” Garcia added. “So we are sending a SCSI team there now to make sure he didn’t do the renovations just to hide bodies.”

“So he’s a pedophile, a serial rapist, a child captor, and possibly a murderer too. Sick, can I play ‘how the fuck did he get away with this for so long?’ for $600?” Y/N felt the sarcasm seeping out of her body. She was so angry and didn’t have any way to get it out.

“Hey,” Garcia’s tone changed. “Are you okay?”

“I just finished my period,” she replied nonchalantly. “And my IUD expired so my hormones are nuts right now.” Remembering that she needed to call her doctor and switch to condoms as soon as they got back. “But I’m fine, it’s just seeing Emma like this you know? She’s just a little girl.”

“I know, but she has you right now to protect her and soon she’ll start to recover. But you call me if you need me. I know this one is a rough one.” Y/N could hear the smile in her voice.

“Thanks, Garcia.”

She hung up the phone and not 2 seconds later, Hotch called her.

“We got him to confess about Emma before we even told him that we found her. He seemed concerned for her?” Hotch explained.

“She is terrified of him. The doctors said she’s been horrifically abused and she’ll probably need to get a few bones re-broken so they can set them right,” Y/N shook her head, absolutely sick.

Hotch sighed, “he also said we’ll find 3 bodies under the deck at his wife’s house.”

“I fucking hate this guy,” Y/N couldn’t stop herself from replying.

“Me too,” he agreed. “Local PD is sending officers to relieve your duty with Emma. We’re flying back out in the morning.”

“I’m going to stay here till she wakes up, so she isn’t scared when I’m not here,” Y/N explained. “Will you let Spencer know?”

“Sure, be safe.” He hung up.

She sunk into her hospital chair and looked at Emma. She was so frail, her hair had been shaved off. She had cuts and burns and bruises all over her body and Y/N couldn’t stop herself from tearing up.

They were lucky she didn’t pick Van Swank up at the high school. She would have killed him for this.

“Y/N?” Emma asked.

“Hey,” she replied, getting up and standing beside her bed. She picked up her hand and held it. Using her other hand to rub her hair. Feeling the prickle of the buzzcut on her palm. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay,” she smiled softly. “Where’s my family?”

“Do you remember your name yet sweetheart?” Y/N asked.

“Emma, my mom is Sherry and we were at the park,” she whispered. “He had a puppy.”

“Your mom is on her way here now,” Y/N watched as Emma smiled up at her. “Officers are going to stand watch until she and a social worker get here. I’m going to leave my number here with you in case you want to call me when you’re settled at home, to let me know you’re safe.” Y/N hugged her softly. “you don’t have to be alone in recovery.”

“Thank you for saving me,” she whispered into the hug.

“I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

—

Back in the hotel room, she found Spencer reading. She gave him a quick kiss before going to the bathroom and changing for the night. Splashing water in her face and trying to shake the anxiety out before she settled in for the night.

She flopped into bed. Sighing as she settled against the pillows. Spencer looked down at her, “how is she?”

“As you’d expect.”

“Yeah,” he awkwardly pressed his lips together. “Do you want to talk? Or watch a movie?”

She took the book out of his hands, placing it on the table before sitting in his lap. She moved his hair out of his face and looked at his big brown eyes. He was tired, she could see it in his face but she wanted to feel something good.

“Can you show me how a real man is supposed to love a woman?” She asked.

He turned off the lamp beside them, kissing her neck immediately before laying her back against the bed. Doing exactly as she asked.

With every kiss to her skin, he accompanied it with praise. He was extra gentle as he helped her strip from her clothes. He asked permission every step of the way. She slipped away into their little bubble, forgetting about the world outside their hotel door.

She held him close as he rocked into her, “I love you,” Spencer reminded her. Saying it for the millionth time that night.

She smiled every time, believing him wholeheartedly.

chapter 12

Months of cases passed in the blink of an eye. Before she knew it, the BAU went from being her dream job to her family, all gathering to celebrate an early Canadian Thanksgiving dinner at Rossi’s house.

They just so happened to have the right weekend off in October, so they took the chance when they could.

Having Turkey and all the fixings, going around the table to thank each other for another safe year on the job, making Y/N cry alongside the always blubbering Penelope.

Y/N was sat in the living room after dinner, an 11-month-old Henry snuggled into her side as he made her read the same book over and over. JJ knew he’d be smitten with Uncle Spencer’s girlfriend, because whatever Spencer was doing, Henry had to copy.

She loved it, missing all the time she used to spend with her Niece back in Las Vegas. She let Henry snuggle in close, kissing the top of his messy blond hair.

Spencer, Will and JJ were in the kitchen behind them, she could hear them lightly talking to each other as Henry started to fall asleep on her.

“Are you thinking about kids yet?” JJ asked him just after Will excused himself to the bathroom.

“Always,” Spencer replied. “The day Y/N wants a baby, I’m ready. I never thought I’d get to be a dad.”

“You’re a fantastic uncle, I can’t wait to see a little Spencer.”

Y/N picked Henry up softly, resting his sleeping head against her shoulder. She walked into the kitchen, JJ placed her hand against her heart and swooned at the sight.

“Do you want me to carry him to your car?” Y/N asked.

“Please, Will’s in the bathroom before we go, here’s the keys,” JJ handed them to Spencer, “I’ll be out in a sec.”

Y/N slipped on her shoes, Spencer held the door for her and Henry. “You look good holding a baby,” he complimented her. “Do you ever think about having kids one day?” He asked softly.

“Sometimes,” she said as they reached the car, she waited for Spencer to open the door.

She laid Henry in his car seat and carefully buckled him in. Making sure it was nice and tight and his head was correctly secured.

She closed the door lightly and turned to Spencer, “having kids scares me.”

“Why?”

“Because I can’t ensure that they’re safe and fine all the time. My parents were great and I love them but I look at all the shit that happened to me and how they barely know any of it, and I can’t bear the thought of our daughter getting hurt. Or our son being an abuser, god forbid,” she explained.

“I think that’s normal for a parent to feel,” Spencer replied. “Especially one that works in this field. Hotch and JJ both struggle to do this every day and go home to an innocent little boy who they want to protect.”

“I know, it’s just really anxiety-inducing for me right now.”

“What is?” Will asked in his calm southern accent as they approached the car.

“Babies,” Y/N pressed her lips together in an awkward smile.

“Same and then poof, Henry popped up,” JJ ran her hand over her belly. “It’s absolutely terrifying every moment of every day, but the love you experience makes up for it. If I didn’t have Henry in my life, I’d never know what it truly means to love someone so much you’d kill for them.”

“As you should,” Will laughed, knowing she’d kill for him too even if she didn’t say it.

“Well,” Y/N sighed, “you get that little sweetheart home and tomorrow tell him aunty Y/N had a wonderful time with him.”

“Of course,” JJ brought her in for a hug, saying goodbye for the night.

Y/N and Spencer walked back around to Rossi’s backyard where he, Emily, Derek and Penelope were still sitting around a gas fireplace. Everyone with kids had managed to sneak out.

Y/N sat in Spencer’s lap, he held her in his arms as she put her legs over the arm of the chair.

“Margs?” Penelope asked her and Spencer.

“Sure,” Y/N smiled, taking one from her.

“I have to drive,” Spencer said.

“Stay in the guest house tonight if you want to drink, I don’t mind,” Rossi offered, and Penelope put a glass in Spencer’s free hand.

It was so lovely having time off. Sure, they weren’t alone but Y/N basked in the warmth of the fire and the feeling of Spencer’s hand on her side. She pressed her head against his shoulder softly. Ignoring her margarita, feeling drunk on Spencer’s company.

“I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you too,” he kissed the top of her head.

“You guys are cute,” Penelope commented on their sweet moment. “I’m jealous.”

“why, baby girl?” Derek asked her, “come here.”

Penelope got up and jokingly sat in Derek’s lap. They pretended to be all loved-up on each other while the rest of them laughed. “Better now?” He asked.

“Totally,” her sarcasm overly noticeable.

The rest of the night was mostly the same, laughing at dumb jokes and teasing each other. The rest of them drank until 1 am, Y/N stopped after only one drink. She was exhausted by the time they finally broke apart to sleep in the different rooms of Rossi’s gigantic house.

Drunk Spencer wasn’t something that Y/N was used to, even after just 2 margaritas. He was giggly, handsy, and adorable as hell.

Y/N pushed him into the room after finally getting him up the stairs and away from Derek. If it was up to him, he would’ve been up all night telling everyone anything they wanted to hear.

“But-“ Spencer said as she started taking his shirt off in the non-sexy sense.

“Shut up,” Y/N laughed as she pulled the shirt off his arms. “Can you take your own pants off and get in bed, please?”

She watched him struggle out of his belt, “I’m going to get a glass of water for your night table. You better be in that bed when I come back, mister.”

“Doctor,” he corrected her as he tugged his jeans down.

She slipped out of the room and down the stairs to the kitchen. Filling a glass of water and taking a Tylenol from the bottle Prentiss left on the counter.

When she returned to the room Spencer was sitting under the cover’s watching the door, “wow, you listened.” Y/N was shocked.

She placed the pill in his hand and the water on his table, “it’ll make you feel better when you wake up.”

“I know how it works,” Spencer confirmed.

“I’m sure you do,” she laughed.

Y/N took her dress off, laying it over the chair in the corner of the room. She removed her bra and looked through the drawers in the room to see if Rossi had any shirts hidden away.

Sure enough, she found an abundance of old FBI Academy t-shirts in different sizes.

She crawled into bed beside Spencer and cuddled up to him. “Thank you,” she said as he settled against her.

“For what?”

“For asking if I wanted to meet your co-workers that day,” she felt oddly emotional. “Working for the BAU was such a far-off dream for me, I thought I’d be in VICAP for years before I even got considered for a position there. I don’t think I ever really thanked you for making my dreams come true.”

Spencer kissed her neck, “I just needed an excuse to see you all the time, and now you’re mine.” He wrapped his arms and legs around her so tight she had to tap out of his grasp.

It didn’t take them very long to fall asleep, finding a single position, huddled together in the middle of the bed. Just as fast as they fell asleep, it felt like they were being woken up.

Garcia knocked on their door at 8 the next morning, peeking her head in with Morgan just behind her. The two of them burst through the door and sitting on the end of their bed like kids on Christmas morning.

Spencer and Y/N groaned, hiding their faces in the pillows.

“We have a case, a pretty nasty one,” she announced.

“Hotch wants us at the plane in an hour, gives you enough time to race home and get back to Quantico,” Derek patted Spencer on the shoulder. “Come on Shaggy and Velma.”

Y/N sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. “I don’t have pants on, can we talk later?”

“Yeah, sure come on,” Penelope pushed Derek out of the room.

Spencer let out a deep sigh, “good morning, love.”

“Good morning,” she stretched with a yawn, “so much for sleeping in.”

—

Y/N and Spencer made it to the plane with 5 minutes to spare, they sat down together and immediately closed their eyes, settling into the chairs and taking a quick nap with Spencer’s head on her shoulder.

They slept through take-off, then Hotch startled them awake. “Yep,” they both sat up, pretending they weren’t just asleep.

“This is Linda Rivers and her daughter Amelia,” Hotch introduced everyone to the two extra people on the plane. “Amelia is going to sit in the back and listen to a movie with headphones while we discuss the case.”

JJ helped her do just that, sitting close by in case she needed anything.

“Linda came to the FBI at 6 am this morning insisting to speak with anyone who solves child rape cases,” Hotch explained. “Her ex-husband, Captain Rivers with Colorado PD, is in a ring of men who groom and prep their daughters for an annual child sex swap.”

“Excuse me?” Y/N sat up straighter, feeling sick.

“Amelia told me that her father had been touching her on her, parts,” the woman could barely say it. “I got her to explain it as we would with a student, I handed her a doll and asked her to demonstrate what her father asked her to do and I recorded it.”

Penelope sent the file to the in-flight computer, showing them a video of the same little girl in the back of the plane with JJ, only she was traumatized and explaining what her father did and said to her. Y/N hated every minute of it, feeling her body temperature change as she got angrier.

“She said it started last November. He was getting her ready to swap daughters with his buddies, I don’t know if it’s the whole police force or other members of the community. I’m already a cop’s ex-wife, I didn’t expect them to take me seriously. So I came to you.”

“You did the right thing,” Y/N comforted her.

“She only told me because she wanted to know if it would happen again this Christmas, and that’s when it hit me. There’s a father-daughter camping trip that the local dads do right before Christmas. One of the dads owns a golf course with cabins on the property. He said they’d be ice fishing on the lake and riding snowmobiles, but,” she started to turn a shade of green. “He brought her there to trade with his buddies and rape another mother’s child.”

“It made him easy for us to find, however,” Garcia cut into the icky situation with her digging. “Martin Rivers actually did pay to stay at that cabin on the weekend she is referring to. So did the 4 other fathers, and I’m guessing the owner, Barry Chapman, stayed there in the last free cabin as well.”

“I’ve invited a female child psychologist to help us interview the children, as well as a female pediatrician to do physicals on the girls. The Colorado Field Office is waiting for confirmation on the men’s names in order to bring them in.”

“Already sent, they’ll let us know when all 6 men are in custody,” Garcia confirmed.

“What area do you live in?” Y/N asked.

“Boulder,” Linda confirmed.

Y/N and Spencer looked at each other, immediately thinking about the JonBenét Ramsey case.

“You can go join Amelia,” Hotch smiled at Linda, “we’ll keep you filled in.” They watched her walk to the back of the plane, switching seats with JJ.

Y/N kept to herself for the remainder of the flight. Writing in her little book as she over-thought the situation. Recalling all the JBR case info from memory, trying to figure out why her brain wants to connect these cases so bad.

—

When they finally landed in Boulder, they sent Linda and her daughter on their way to the Field office in a different SUV than the team.

“Hotch, can I have a word with you when we arrive at the office?” Y/N asked as Hotch drove the SUV, she sat in the passenger seat beside him.

“Do you have an idea?” He asked, “you can say it here if you want.”

“JonBenét Ramsey was from Boulder, Colorado. She wet the bed that night she was murdered and the unsub was able to get in, and out, without it looking like a break-in took place. What if the fathers in this town have been secretly rotating through their daughters every Christmas?” Y/N hypothesized.

“Wetting the bed is a sign of molestation, if he was grooming her like Amelia said her father was, she might have known what was going to happen that night and resisted,” Morgan agreed. “We could be dealing with a community-wide pedophile ring.”

“I’ll make a call to Child Abduction Rapid Deployment, they have connections to everything we’d need to deal with a child sex ring,” Hotch confirmed. “This case is going to be a rough one.”

At the field office, Hotch introduced Dr. Peggy Greenwood and Dr. Anya Accardi to the team. Both women specialized in child sexual assault and were there to help to the best of their ability.

JJ and Y/N were on mom duty. While each of the girls had their physical exams and interview with the Doctors, it was their job to keep the mothers calm. One by one they walked them through the allegation and asked for their perspective of last year’s cabin trip.

All the moms were the same, they never expected that their husbands would ever be able to do something like this to their own child.

“They might not be,” Y/N said to almost every mother. “If they’re bringing all the girls, it’s to exchange them. They might not touch their own children, they just groom them into thinking it’s okay for their friends to touch them.”

Every time she explained that they cried. Which was completely reasonable. This was the worst thing a parent could think of for their child, and Y/N felt for them all.

JJ noticed her mood, she knew something was off. She waited till she was alone with Y/N to ask if she was okay.

“Me?” Y/N asked as if they weren’t the only 2 in the room.

“Yes,” JJ ran her hand along her back. “Are you doing okay?”

Y/N sighed. Taking a moment, “no.”

“Do you want to tell me yet?” JJ asked.

“No,” Y/N was honest, she didn’t know who to talk to yet.

Derek knocked on the door lightly, “hey.”

“I’m going to grab a drink, do you want anything?” JJ asked Y/N, she shook her head to say no and watched her squeeze past Morgan.

Morgan closed the door and sat down beside her, “day’s like today are tough.”

“You have no idea,” Y/N sighed again.

“Actually, I do,” he corrected her, staring into her eyes with truth and honesty. “I was molested by my mentor growing up, it went on for years until I moved away. We arrested him a few years ago but it’ll still always hurt.”

“No one believed me, and he was only 3 years older than me so no one really cared either,” Y/N explained.

“I’m sorry,” he soothed her. “If you want to take a step back, I get it. But these girls need what we didn’t get. Offer support and justice before the damage overwhelms them.”

Y/N nodded, she knew he was right. “What are we supposed to do now?”

“All the mothers are pressing charges against the fathers, this has officially become a case for the state to deal with. Local feds are taking the case and sending us home in the morning for an internal review,” Morgan explained.

“How internal?”

“The NSA has agreed to monitor Boulder for any other pedophile activity, they believe your theory that there is a long-running child sex ring in the area and they’re going to do everything in their power to find out who’s behind this.”

Y/N smiled lightly, “they should invest in more female psychologists to do interviews on all the girls all the way up to the high school to see who else has similar stories. I’d even go on the news asking any girl who has a story like this to come forward.”

“They’ve already had a few women in their 20’s come in saying it happened to them too when they were 8 to 12,” Morgan said. “They’re going to put a lot of bad guys behind bars.”

“Thank god.”

—

In the hotel that night, Y/N couldn’t stop thinking about a world where fathers subject their children to sex slavery. She had felt sick all day, her stomach swelling and making noises all night.

“The world is horrific,” Y/N didn’t realize she was crying as she looked up at Spencer.

He was sitting beside her, reading a book in complete silence while she laid down, staring at the ceiling. “Hmm?”

“Those little girls really thought it was normal for her father’s friends to have sex with them like it was just a weird game they had to endure. That was their normal. There are people all over the world whose lives are absolutely horrific and we have no way of knowing. And no way of helping?” She ranted.

“You help when you’re asked, whenever a case comes in I know you’re going to find a connection and save someone’s life.” He said softly. “You can only control what’s in front of you, and you do that perfectly every time. You may not be able to save everyone, but your impact on the world is life-changing for those who get to experience it.”

“Sorry, I’ve been emotional and annoyed and sick to my stomach all day,” she explained, rolling into his side and resting her head on his shoulder.

“You’re not pregnant right?” He attempted to make a light-hearted joke.

She sat up slowly. “It’s October.” She whispered.

“Yeah?”

She looked at him, terrified. She swallowed sharply but it never made it all the way down, she covered her mouth and ran to the bathroom.

chapter 13

Spencer held her hair and rubbed her back as she leaned over the toilet. She wiped her mouth with some toilet paper and flushed it before laying back against Spencer’s chest.

“I was supposed to call my doctor 2 months ago and change my IUD,” she admitted. “It expired September 3rd.”

“You had your period that week, then we were in Kansas,” Spencer confirmed.

“And I made a mental note to tell you that it expired and that we need to invest in condoms, but then that case got insane and we had sex… right after,” she recalled it all.

She rubbed her hands over her eyes, she couldn’t believe she forgot. “Fuck,” she was so mad at herself.

“I think JJ knew,” Spencer said. “I think that’s why she asked at Rossi’s if I was thinking about kids, you cried at the dinner toast. And you don’t ever cry at work.”

“She also asked if I was okay today and if I wanted to tell her, and I said no,” Y/N added, “I thought she meant if I wanted to explain why I was so triggered today.”

“She has a 6th sense for pregnancies,” Spencer chuckled to himself.

Y/N stood up slowly, “I’m going to go talk to her, I need to talk to someone who’s been pregnant right now.” She didn’t wait for his response, she just walked into the hallway.

JJ and Emily were sharing a room tonight. She took a deep breath and knocked on their door, hearing their laughter pause as JJ came to the door. “Hey,” she smiled.

“I think I’m pregnant.”

“Oh my god, come in.”

Y/N sat on the edge of JJ’s bed, both Emily and JJ in her face asking questions she couldn’t hear. Her whole world was frozen. Emily handed her a bottle of water and JJ ran her hand over her back lightly to calm her down.

“We support you in any decision you make,” JJ said.

“Okay.”

“We mean it,” Emily added. “JJ has had a kid, I’ve had an abortion. We can both help you, whatever path you choose.”

“I can’t believe I’m pregnant,” She repeated. Still in shock.

“Have you taken a test?” Emily asked.

“No.”

“Okay,” she said, slipping into her shoes and grabbing her wallet. “There’s a store across the street, I’m going to get a handful of tests.” Emily left the room and JJ didn’t say a word, she just rubbed her back.

“I need to go to the doctor, I need to get my IUD out before it hurts the baby, I wasn’t supposed to get pregnant,” Y/N worried. “I didn’t want kids yet.” She cried.

“It’s okay,” JJ tried her best to soothe her. “When we land in the morning I can drive you to the ER and we can get it removed.”

“Okay.” The shock was starting to settle and subside.

“You might not even be pregnant, this might just be another period coming, you never know,” JJ tried to calm her down.

“I’m pregnant,” she looked at JJ, tilting her head with a look. “You knew.”

“Your boobs changed,” she smiled. “And then you cried at dinner, and you felt sick on the plane, you’ve never been sick on the plane before. You also had a nap, and I know from experience that you’re exhausted right now.”

“Spencer’s going to be a dad,” she smiled, then she cried. She couldn’t believe it, she was going to be 29 in a few months and finally, she was going to be a mom.

JJ hugged her, “Henry is going to have a cousin!”

They were in a completely different mood when Emily returned, “I got like 12?” She panicked.

Y/N peed in a little plastic cup, letting her friends dip all 12 different tests in it. Laughing at the absurdity.

“Oh my god,” Y/N said quickly, “Penelope!”

“Shit,” JJ panicked then too, the both of them running down the hall and banging on her door.

Morgan answered, “What?!”

“Penny!” They panted, “we need you now!”

She grabbed her slippers and pink fuzzy housecoat and ran with them back to Emily and JJ’s room. “What?” She asked once they closed the door.

“I might be pregnant,” Y/N grabbed her hands and looked her in the eyes, absolutely ecstatic.

“Oh my god!!!” They all screamed and jumped around taking a moment to really just celebrate it.

“They’re ready!” Emily called from the bathroom.

Y//N stood there, taking a deep breath and staring at the 12 tests all placed face down. She went for the clear blue first, that one would be the most honest. She turned it slowly.

Pregnant + 3-5 weeks.

“Oh my god,” she whispered.

Everyone was quiet, waiting for her reaction before reacting themselves. Y/N quietly flipped a few more tests, seeing lines and plusses galore. She grabbed a handful of them and walked out of the room towards Spencer.

She walked into the room to see Derek, once again, sitting on the bed talking to Spencer this time. She handed him all the tests silently, tears falling down her face. She wasn’t sure if she was happy or just pregnant.

“Pregnant,” Spencer confirmed. “Are we happy?”

She nodded as she dove for his arms. Hugging him tightly while the rest of the team gathered in the hallway, clapping and cheering. She expected to get a noise complaint soon. She couldn’t stop crying and laughing, getting tears and snot all over the shoulder of Spencer’s shirt.

By the time she calmed down, everyone had gone back to their own bedrooms. Leaving Spencer and Y/N with 12 positive pregnancy tests, all alone. They were laying flat on their backs, staring up at the ceiling, hand in hand.

“I have to go to the ER in the morning to get my IUD removed,” was the first thing she said to him.

“Okay, I know the gynecologist there. I will call her and ask if she can do it, she’s really good.”

“And can you ask JJ about her OB? We need some recommendations,” she asked lightly.

“Of course.”

“How do you feel about the name Matthew Reid?” was her next question.

“Matthew Gideon Reid,” he corrected her.

“Yeah.” She smiled. “Matthew is another name for Levi, and he’s always been the best little brother.”

“Gideon was the first father figure I ever really had,” Spencer said softly. “So you think it’s a boy?”

“I don’t know, I just always wanted a boy named Matthew first,” she turned her head to smile at him.

“So you’re all in?” He asked.

She nodded with a soft smile, “raising a baby scares me, but raising your children is going to be the best thing I ever do.”

—

They landed back in Quantico around noon. Spencer drove Y/N directly to the hospital, calling in his personal favour beforehand. They arrived to find the on-call gynecologist waiting to take her up to the procedure room.

The removal went smoothly, but they wanted to keep her for the night to make sure she didn’t bleed or miscarry in the night. The doctors didn’t tell Spencer anything more.

Seeing as Y/N wasn’t awake yet and Spencer wasn’t her husband, they couldn’t tell him much. That made him even more scared.

Spencer wouldn’t let go of her hand. He barely slept, he just watched her sleep with teary eyes. He had never felt a love this strong. His heart was beating so hard and so fast he thought he was going to have a panic attack.

When he finally did let go of her hand, he stood up to go get something to drink, only to find Gideon standing in the doorway.

He rubbed his eyes, thinking this was surely the sleep deprivation. But he was still standing there, unamused as always. “I’m really here, kid.”

“Why?”

“Heard you fell in love and got a girl pregnant. Figured you needed a father to talk to,” he admitted.

Spencer walked over to him, hugging Gideon for the first time in a few years. “So, how are you doing?” Gideon asked as he guided Reid towards the cafeteria.

He took a deep breath, “scared.”

“So was I,” Gideon admitted. “However, unlike me, you’re not going to screw this up.”

“You don’t think?” He asked, genuinely seeking praise.

“No,” he shook his head. “It’s impossible for you to be a bad father, you’re so hyper-aware of wanting to be present for this kid because you never got enough time with your own father.”

“How did you know?” Spencer asked.

“Because my son is a father now too, and he loves his kids. He works short days so he can pick them up from school, he’s never missed a soccer game or said no to anything they’ve asked of him,” Gideon sounded proud but jealous. “And he won’t talk to me, those aren’t my grandchildren. I walked away when he needed a father, and he’s never going to do that to his children. Neither will you.”

“I’m more worried about what Y/N will do,” he admitted. “Her job is her dream, but her mother didn’t work until she was 12. I don’t think she’d want to take the time off, but I have a feeling she’ll beat herself up over it.”

“Are she and Jennifer close?”

“Very.”

Gideon raised his hands in a small cheer, “has she ever put Jennifer down or called her a bad mother for working?”

“No.”

“She’s a smart girl, clearly if she’s with you. You will make it through this, okay? You didn’t ruin her career by getting her pregnant,” he reassured him.

“Thank you, I really needed this,” Spencer smiled, pulling Gideon into a second hug. “Would you like to be the grandfather to my child, They're going to need one?”

Gideon had to bite his lip to stop himself from crying, “on one condition.”

“Anything,” Spencer replied quickly, tilting his head to the side wondering what it could possibly be.

Gideon handed him a set of keys. “The house I shared with my first wife,” he explained. “It’s been empty for years, all I have to do is sign the deed over and it’s yours. You need a nice home for my grandchild.”

Spencer was shocked, “are you sure?”

“It deserves to be filled with love and laughter,” Gideon smiled. “Take care of them.”

“Thank you.” Spencer hugged him tightly. “For everything.”

chapter 14

Y/N cried every time she woke up from surgeries, she didn’t know why but she did. Her body hated being forcefully put to sleep for long periods of time.

By the time she calmed down and was able to wake up fully, her doctor was arriving in the room to give her the results of the surgery.

“Hi, Y/N, I’m Doctor Fiona Ashbury. I removed your IUD.”

“Hi,” she sniffled. “Spencer is basically my husband, he can hear all of this.” She confirmed.

“Okay great,” she smiled. “So everything went well. Your baby is doing great and we estimate that you are around 5 weeks along now. The pregnancy was intrauterine and should make it to term. You should expect your little bundle of joy around June next year.”

Y/N smiled up at Spencer who was staring back down at her like she was the only one in the room, “how long till we can go home?” Spencer asked.

“The nurse is going to come and give you one last check-up before you’re discharged. I’ve included my personal card and all the info about my good OB friend. Seeing as this is your first little one I thought I’d help you find the best person in DC to help Dr. Reid.”

“Thank you,” Spencer said, looking at Dr. Ashbury. “Your father was one of the best professors at CalTech. Your recommendation means we can really trust her.”

“Of course, let me know if you need anything else. Congratulations again,” she smiled one last time before leaving.

Y/N waved as she left, “she’s lovely.”

“How are you feeling?” Spencer asked softly.

“Good, kinda feel a little pinch still in my uterus,” she complained.

“We’ll ask the nurse if that’s normal,” Spencer smiled. “but are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she nodded, “still really tired. Did you take the day off?”

“Hotch gave us 3 days, but he said we can add more. The 3 days is just so Strauss didn’t intervene,” he explained.

“Okay,” Y/N smiled before falling back asleep.

Spencer talked to the nurses on Y/N’s behalf after that, telling them she felt a pinching in her uterus, to which they said it was normal but Y/N had asked for no drugs to be administered. Pinching and bleeding were normal in the first trimester, no matter how scary it felt. He tried to remind himself of that.

Spencer tried his best to recall all the info he read when JJ first got pregnant, never wanting to be unprepared if anything happened to her in the field. Spencer stepped out into the room and saw Dr. Ashbury in the hall.

“Dr. Ashbury,” he said softly.

“Dr. Reid, how are they?”

“Good,” he smiled, “really good. Um, I was just wondering what kinds of vitamins and supplements I should pick up for her on the way home tonight?”

“The discharging nurse will have all that information in with the discharge papers, however,” she smiled at Spencer like he was a superhero. “It’s wonderful to see a partner take this much action so fast.”

“Thank you. I love her very much,” he made it clear.

“It’s very obvious you two are going to make beautiful kids,” she nodded slightly and walked towards the elevator.

—

Y/N was discharged later that night, Spencer pushed her down the hallways in a wheelchair, holding all her stuff in a bag over his shoulder. She could barely keep her eyes open as he brought her to the car.

“Can we stop at KFC?” she asked softly.

“What?” He laughed, thinking she was asleep the whole time he was driving.

“I want chicken tenders and fries with gravy, oh and they have really good potato salad,” she let her cravings run wild.

“You’re pregnant alright,” Spencer laughed, turning around in a parking lot and heading towards the nearest KFC.

He went through the drive-through, getting them both a late dinner. Y/N asked for a few of their frozen strawberry cheesecakes at the end of the order as well.

They ate in the parking lot, the car was turned off and the sun had completely set over the town. It was dark, they managed to park under the only street light in the KFC parking lot.

“This is perfect,” Y/N said as she all but stuffed the chicken tenders in her mouth. “The baby is so happy, you get a dad point.” She laughed.

“I’m going to collect dad points like PhD.'s,” Spencer replied, letting the sleep deprivation control the words that left his mouth.

“I’m so glad I didn’t wake up to them saying we were having twins,” Y/N admits, “when you said they wouldn’t tell you anything without my permission I thought, ah, fuck, it’s twins for sure.”

Spencer laughed. “Twins don’t run in my family and it’s normally hereditary. If you have twins in your immediate family, then you’ll be more at risk to have twins.”

“I know, my mom thinks I was supposed to be a twin cause she miscarried and then got pregnant way too close together. She said that her and my dad were giving up and then suddenly she was still pregnant with me,” Y/N explained. “I could’ve had a twin brother.”

“It happens a lot, mostly with twin absorption. However losing one embryo and keeping the other would make a lot of sense,” Spencer said as he continued to eat his chicken tenders.

“When should we tell them?” Y/N asked.

“Our parents? Most women wait till the second trimester to tell their friends and family. You reach the second trimester in 7 weeks,” Spencer already knew everything and it made her smile.

“What else do you know?”

“Right now our baby has a tail,” he laughed. “It’s still just a small sack of cells, the embryo is starting to develop its spinal cord and brain, running from the head to the rump. It’s roughly the size of an orange seed and you’re finally developing your placenta which will ensure that the baby sticks to the uterine wall and that they receive all the proper nutrients.”

“So, when will we hear the heartbeat?” she asked, impressed with how much he knew already.

“The first system to be operational is the circulatory system, When you're 5 weeks pregnant, the baby's heart is made up of two tiny channels called heart tubes and they're already hard at work. When those tubes fuse together, our baby will have a fully functioning heart, so probably by the end of next week?” He hypothesized.

“Can you believe that we made a human?” She asked, looking at him with absolute wonder. “All we did was have sex and suddenly we made a whole life.”

“It’s amazing,” Spencer agreed. “I’m just not excited to be changing your cat litter for the next 35 weeks.”

“You get to scoop up cat shit, and I get to hope that she doesn’t rip me a new asshole on the way out. You know, totally comparable,” she teased him.

“She?” Spencer asked.

Y/N blushed, “I don’t know, I had a dream in there that we had a little girl.”

“My mom always said she’d have a granddaughter first, and she’s never wrong.” Spencer’s smile was her absolute favourite. His teeth were perfect and he always looked so, so happy.

“What girl names do you like?” She asked him softly.

“I’d like for Diana to be one of her names.” He said. “I also like Marigold.”

“MD would be her initials,” Y/N pointed out, “she’d be the other half to your Ph.D.”

His laugh was perfect, he was so insanely happy and tired that he was a giggling mess. They finished their dinner, threw out their garbage and drove home finally.

Her bed had never felt softer. She laid down and basically passed out. Buddy jumped up beside her and buzzed around her belly, laying down directly on her stomach and kneading her with his paws.

Spencer crawled in beside them, kissing her belly and then her lips. “I love you both.”

“We love you, more.”

chapter 15

Her first baby appointment just so happened to be on Spencer’s birthday. Only thing was, Y/N forgot all about his birthday in all the crazy anticipation of seeing their baby for the first time.

Penelope, however, didn’t forget a birthday. ever.

They were in the OB waiting room when she got a text detailing a party at Rossi’s that Y/N was supposed to keep hidden from Spencer. Her only job was to get him to Rossi’s house at 8 pm.

“Oh my god,” she whispered to herself as she read the text.

“What?” Spencer asked, trying to read over her shoulder before she quickly locked her phone and turned it upside down.

She turned to him, trying to hold in tears but her pregnant brain had other thoughts. “I forgot your birthday today, I almost went through the entire day without wishing you a happy birthday,” she whispered.

“It’s okay,” he laughed, rubbing his hand down her back. “Being a dad is the best present I could get.”

She laughed as she wiped the tears from her eyes. “You know, I always knew your birthday and I’d remember it every year. I would always sit up and wish I could tell you happy birthday. Then, of course, the year I see you again I forget it.”

“Funny how the world works,” Spencer smiled.

The office was tiny. JJ had recommended this OB to them, saying she was wonderful, like having a friend in the room with you. That was just the type of intimacy that Y/N wanted when bringing a baby into the world.

“Y/L/N,” the receptionist called her name as she walked into the lobby. “We’re ready for you.”

They got up and followed the woman into the back office. She was handed a gown and told to take her clothes off and get on a table, she would be seen shortly by a doctor, and that’s when it all really hit her.

She was going to have an ultrasound, and she was going to see her baby for the first time.

She didn’t mind changing in front of Spencer, she took off her dress and draped the gown over her body before sitting on the crinkly papered bed. She hated every second of the noise the paper made against her body as she tried to get comfortable in such a compromising position.

Spencer sat down in the chair beside her. She couldn’t help herself from looking around the room. Paying attention to anything else to keep her anxiety at bay.

The walls were a nice shade of pink. Much more calming than the hospital blues and greys. There weren’t any posters about lumps or diseases, nothing about the damage smoking could do or other images of ruined organs.

All she saw were baby photos all over the walls. All belonging to women who chose these OBGYN’s to deliver their children. Every baby was so different, some cute, some absolutely adorable.

Then she saw Henry. He was wrapped up all tight in a blue blanket and the smallest little hat ever. He was in JJ’s arms, her swollen cheeks smiling wide as she showed off the biggest love of her life.

“One day our baby will be on that wall,” she said to herself, letting the facts sink in.

“Yeah,” Spencer smiled at her like she was the sun and it was his job to just orbit her for the rest of time.

“Good afternoon,” the doctor said as she walked in. “According to Jennifer, I’ve been tasked with bringing the next Steven Hawking into the world?”

Y/N laughed, “as long as he’s healthy, I don’t care what his IQ is.”

“I do,” Spencer joked. “It’s nice to meet you Doctor Korrapati, we’ve heard wonderful things about you.”

“As have I,” she smiled, sitting down on the little rolling stool at the foot of Y/N’s bed. “I read in your chart that your last period was September 3rd, meaning you’re most likely due June 10th... putting you at 8 weeks as of tomorrow.”

“Yep, that sounds about right,” Y/N confirmed. “Are we going to be able to hear the heartbeat today?”

“I don’t think so, but there’s always a possibility,” she smiled. “Have you ever had an internal ultrasound?”

“No,” she shook her head.

“Alright, well it shouldn’t be that weird for you just a little uncomfortable,” she explained as she picked up the wand and slathered it in lube.

Y/N looked over at Spencer with wide eyes, it was gigantic. He squeezed her hand a little tighter and winked at her. Letting her know that everything was fine.

It was uncomfortable, she felt it in angles she had never thought existed down there. Dr. Korrapati kept the screen facing away at first. Rolling the little ball on the cart around and typing in everything she saw.

“We’re measuring right at 8 weeks,” she said as she turned the screen to Y/N and Spencer. “This,” she pointed. “Is your little human.”

It looked like a jelly bean, the tail was shrinking as the limbs were starting to look more prominent. “Here you can see the ears are starting to grow, and if you look closely we might even see some little fingers and toes in the webbing.”

Y/N cried, “he’s so cute.”

Dr. Korrapati smiled, “we won’t know the sex for a while yet. Unless you’d like to run genetic testing next week?”

“How do they do that?” Y/N asked.

“NIPT or non-invasive prenatal testing is a simple blood test. Inside your blood is not only your maternal DNA but also fetal DNA. We can check for down syndrome, trisomy 18 and a handful of other chromosomal abnormalities. Another benefit is we’ll know the chromosomal sex of the baby,” Dr. Korrapati explained softly. “It can be done in week 9 and the results take up to 10 days.”

She nodded along as she listened, it would be nice to know what’s going on with her baby on a more scientific level rather than just looking at an ultrasound and guessing. “I can stop by during lunch next week and do the test.”

She printed off a dozen photos of the baby, leaving Y/N with a warm hand towel to clean up and change back into her clothes. But as soon as she left the room, Y/N and Spencer just sat there, staring at the photos of their baby.

“You’re not scared to know if something is wrong with the baby?” Spencer asked softly.

“No, I’ve always held the belief that if you want kids you better love whatever child you bring into this world. If something comes up positive on the test it doesn’t mean something is wrong with the baby, it just means we’re going to have a different experience raising our child than someone else’s,” she explained, feeling more passionate than she thought she would.

“That’s a beautiful way of looking at it,” Spencer kissed her on the cheek. “You’re going to be a great mom.”

“You’re going to be a great dad, birthday boy,” she smiled up at him. “Let’s go get some dinner, just the three of us.”

“I’d love to.”

All she wanted lately was a chicken caesar salad. She had been eating mostly salads for her daily nutrients, but there was something about the dressing, and the bacon and the croutons that made it feel like her tongue was having an orgasm.

They weren’t kidding when they said pregnancy cravings hit different.

Spencer and JJ had explained almost every aspect of pregnancy in agonizing detail to her over the last few weeks. She now knew that the reason she felt sick all day was because her uterus was the size of a small bowling ball and her digestive tract couldn’t handle big meals anymore.

Garcia took it upon herself to fill her mini fridge with lots of snacks (all high in fibre and calcium), greens in the form of salads and juices, and Kit Kats for her sweet tooth. Who knew getting pregnant meant getting pampered all day as well?

She stuck to lots of snacks throughout the day, skipping big meals to avoid the sick feeling in her throat from lingering all day long.

On the rare occasion that she did eat a lot, like on her boyfriend’s birthday, it made her belly look even bigger than it really was. She sat in the driver’s seat on the way to Rossi’s, having to push her seat back a little so that she could fit behind the wheel properly.

“Where are we going?” Spencer asked.

“I was thinking we could take a look at properties over here. We’re going to need a place with more than one bedroom in 32 weeks,” she reminded him, lying to get his attention away from the road to Rossi’s.

“You’d rather live in the country?” He asked.

She shrugged, “I’d like something bigger without having to pay a lot. We can get a house with 3 bedrooms for a quarter of the price if we leave the city.”

“It would be closer to work,” he agreed. “Turn down this road here, there’s a place for sale that I’ve always liked.”

She followed his direction, following the gravel road into the darkness. At the very end of the road, there was a house, big and beautiful. Tall pillars wrapped in ivy, dark brick, big windows. The outside lights were on, but it was clear no one lived there currently.

She pulled into the driveway and the two of them got out to walk around the grounds. Around the back, there was a huge backyard. The patio was a lot like Rossi’s only it was covered by a roof with lights.

The back entrance was beautiful, the painted green metal and glass framing the kitchen beautifully against the brick. She peeked inside, pressing her nose against the glass. Marble countertops, green cabinets, the most beautiful backsplash she had ever seen.

“It looks like no one has touched it since the ’80s,” she whispered.

“It has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. It’s an entirely open concept downstairs, the office space is my favourite. There’s a wall of old wooden bookshelves that would probably hold my collection,” Spencer explained.

“But how much would this place be? It’s definitely up in the 7 to 8 hundred thousand range,” she said, her voice muffled against the glass as she kept staring at the kitchen.

Spencer handed her a set of keys. “Don’t worry about that.”

She held the keys in her hand, noticing that the keyring also had a ring on it. “What is this?” She turned to him, holding it in shock. They were standing in the dark in a backyard she didn’t know, it was unreal.

“Gideon came to see me when you were in the hospital,” he explained.

“Like... the godfather of the BAU? And your honorary dad? He saw me in the hospital? Why didn’t you tell me?” Y/N asked, feeling like the whole situation was beyond comprehensible.

“I think JJ called him, he knew I’d need someone to talk to because I couldn’t call my dad.”

“And he just gave you the keys to this house?”

Spencer nodded. “It was his house with his first wife. He said it deserved to be filled with love and laughter. I didn’t tell you right away because we were busy signing all the paperwork and insuring it. I also had internet and an alarm system put in so you’d feel safer.”

“Spencer, this is all too much.” She kept moving the key around in her hand, looking at the ring that was attached to it.

She slowly took it off the keyring, twisting it around the metal before taking a closer look at it. The silver band glistened under the yard light. The green stone shimmered to high heavens, taking the attention away from the pearl that accompanied it.

It was beautiful.

“The green stone is because I know how much you love the colour, and the pearl is the baby’s birthstone. Let’s just hope they actually come in June otherwise that’ll be awkward,” he smiled.

“Are you asking me to marry you, Doctor Reid?”

He took the ring from her hands and got down on one knee. “I know you said you’d only agree if we felt exactly the same after a year, but I don’t think we’ll ever feel the same we did that day. Every day I spend with you I discover that love runs deeper than I ever thought possible. It’s never-ending with you. I’m never going to feel the same way about you 2 days in a row, I’m always going to love you more and more.”

She couldn’t stop crying. “I just wanted to stall you before taking you to your birthday party!” is all she was able to say, making Spencer laugh.

He got back up to his feet and wrapped her up in a tight hug. “Which is why I thought this is the best time to surprise you.”

She held onto him tightly. “Okay,” She whispered. “I’ll marry you.”

He pulled back to look at her, holding her face in his hands as he leaned in for a kiss. Breathing her in like he never wanted to separate from her.

When he did, however, he placed the ring on her finger before kissing her knuckles. “Let’s go to that party.”

“What about the house?” She asked, looping her arm around his as they walked back to the car.

“We can come tomorrow when the sun is up, then you can really tell me how you feel about it.”

—

She tried her best to fix her mascara in the car, not wanting the team to see that she had been crying. They were running late and Penelope kept texting her, but she didn’t care. She quietly sat beside Spencer as he drove to Rossi’s, giving her a chance to stare at the ring.

Her life was completely different now than it was when she woke up. She went to bed not really believing she was pregnant yet, only to wake up and see her baby, get engaged and be handed keys to a house. It felt fake, impossible and completely overwhelming.

They pulled into Rossi’s driveway around 8:30, slowly making their way to the backyard where the party had already started.

“There he is!” Morgan cheered, causing everyone to turn towards the door and yell happy birthday at him.

Penelope quickly placed a golden hat on his hand and covered him in gold streamers. “Happy golden birthday to our golden boy!”

“28 on the 28th,” he smiled, fixing the hat with his free hand. “I’m also going to be a dad!” He announced to everyone, who already knew.

They all cheered again, giving them both a million hugs and high fives. “What’s this?” JJ asked, holding Y/N’s hand up.

“A ring?” Y/N replied, biting her lip so she didn’t laugh at her own sarcasm.

“Oh my god!” Penelope cheered, “so much is going on I need to sit down.”

“Me too,” Y/N laughed, rubbing her dress down over her belly to show how much it was sticking out. “I’m so overwhelmed.”

“Come on,” JJ walked her to the patio table. “How was your appointment?”

“Good,” she smiled, everyone followed and sat around the table. “I love our OB.”

“Pravina is wonderful,” JJ agreed. “Did you get any photos?”

“Here,” Spencer dug them from his pocket and placed them on the table, everyone took a copy.

“He’s got your big brain alright,” Morgan laughed.

“One can only hope,” Rossi chimed in. “This child is going to be a natural-born profiler.”

Y/N was so overwhelmed, she zoned out while everyone talked about their possible genius baby. They made bets on when they’d be born as well as how big they’d be, just normal workplace betting.

“You okay?” JJ asked softly. “Do you want to go talk?”

“Yeah, I’d like that,” she smiled, standing up with her, smiling at Spencer as she walked away.

They were quiet for a bit, walking around the side of the house towards a gazebo by the lake. It was chilly, they could hear the birds communicating on the water and the wind blowing through the trees.

“Gideon gave Spencer that house over there.” She pointed.

JJ’s mouth fell open, “you’re kidding?”

She shook her head. “How hard is it to be a mom and work for the FBI?”

JJ just smiled at her. “Hard. But it’s worth it.”

“How do you do it?”

“Luckily, Will really enjoys being a stay-at-home dad,” she said, shrugging. “But it does put a big strain on things. He has needs, he has goals and ambitions and sometimes I can’t always help him with those. But we love each other and we love Henry, and we make it work.”

“I know I’ll want to come back too soon,” she admitted.

“That doesn’t make you a bad mother. You’re allowed to have a life, as long as you go home and you put all your love and energy into them,” JJ reassured her.

Y/N hugged her softly. “You have to promise me something.”

“Anything?” JJ replied, brushing her hair with her fingers while they hugged.

“If anything happens to me you won’t let Spencer spiral,” she pulled back. “I doubt anything will happen, but if it does he needs to be a dad still, and I need you to remind him for me that I’ll never think he’s a bad dad for having a hard time dealing with it. I just need him to be there for our kid.”

“Of course,” JJ replied.

“You’re the only one who gets it,” she explained, pressing her lips together into a soft smile. “I’m sorry if this is too much but it’s been on my mind for the last few weeks.”

“It’s okay, I made Spencer promise to do the same for Will if I die,” JJ smiled right back. “We’ll be okay.”

“Thank you,” Y/N hugged her again.

“Let’s go see if that baby daddy of yours wants to dance,” she changed the topic to a more cheery one, escorting Y/N back to the party.

[ohmightydevviepuu]

writers month prompts

day seventeen:  ice (follow the complete story, try / cry / why? (just a dream) as it posts daily or on AO3)

–

“You chose her,” Cora intoned. “And the consequences of that decision.” (2B canon divergence wherein Emma and Killian deal with the consequences.)

Every part of her body aches.

Her head feels like Leroy went at it with his pickaxe.

All of this is before she opens her eyes to the disapproving stare of David Nolan and the feeling of his absence.

“Where’s Hook?” David’s tone is disapproving, too.

(Fatherly, one might say.)

Emma tries to sit up but she can’t because that asshole cuffed her wrist to the rail and she laughs. “Fuck me,” she says, wincing away from the sunlight and the stare.

“What?”

(Prince Charming does not approve. Shocking.)

“Oh, darn,” she says, louder—pulls on the cuff for emphasis.

“Emma.” He’s speaking slowly and softly like he’s not sure she understands words. “Where’s Hook? And why are you—here?”

(Or maybe it’s the panicked look in his eyes, the oh shit look of a guy who has seen ogres and curses and dragons and witches but has never pictured the day his daughter would wake up with the world’s worst hangover in a bed that’s definitely not hers.)

Emma looks around the room like she doesn’t already know he’s gone. Aside from the cuff—astute deduction, sheriff—his coat’s missing, and she has no idea if any of his other clothing survived the accident.

(It’s seven-fifteen in the morning and way too early for this shit.)

—

All of the magic in a Dark Curse and the Storybrooke Sheriff’s Department looks like every other outdated government building he’s ever seen. Maybe that’s the point, but it’s a strange one, to think of the magic knowing, or maybe it’s just the way the magic works.

(He wonders what will happen to it, after.)

He sees her again, the brown-haired woman with the regal posture and the expensive clothes. Watching.

Just like in the cemetery.

(If he cared enough, he’d wonder what her story is.)

“Hey!” It’s a man’s voice, authoritative, and when he turns back to look at the woman she’s gone.

Again.

Neal sighs.

The man walking toward him is blond and thin and his broad shoulders are covered by a leather jacket that does not fully conceal the shape of the holster he wears underneath. He moves with purpose.

(He moves as if he’s more used to the weight of a sword at his hip than a gun.)

What’s weirder is that he looks familiar, which isn’t actually possible. Assuming this guy got dragged over by his father’s curse, Neal is at least a hundred years older than anyone else here.

“Mr. Cassidy?” There’s command in the way he speaks, and Neal knows power when he sees it. Call it another souvenir of a crappy childhood, but this guy has it. He stops in front of the building, his posture relaxed but at attention and his voice low, but assured. Neal is grateful for that much, at least; names are Power, and he does not want his father to know this one, not that there is any reason he should.

“That’s me,” Neal says, tossing his to-go cup in a trash bin on the sidewalk with a smile—no littering—and reaching into his pocket for his pack of cigarettes.

“No smoking in my station,” the man says, his lip curling.

“Oh.” Neal pulls one out and lights it up. “Your station?”

It’s foolish to be making a scene. He knows that. But the guy is seriously asking for it, and—if the scuttlebutt at the diner is anything to go by—his father’s energies are focused elsewhere.

(On a woman.)

(Not his mother.)

Neal takes a long drag to calm himself until reason wins over. He grinds out the butt and walks through the door with a sheepish nod to the man holding it open for him.

“I’m glad you’re here,” the man says. “We have some questions for you about your friend. Michael Darling?”

“Uh. Yeah. I thought I would be talking to Emma.” The man’s eyes narrow when he says the name. “I mean, Sheriff Swan.”

“I’m the deputy. David Nolan.” Together, they walk up the stairs, though Neal is certain the deputy is watching his every eyetwitch. “Sheriff Swan is—“

“The good sheriff is, unfortunately, rather tied up at the moment.”

(How? How?)

(What the actual fuck is this town?)

He’s locked up in one of the two cells, looking like he doesn’t give a shit about it and then he turns and says “Hello, lad,” as if it’s been days and not decades since they’ve seen each other.

Captain Killian Jones.

Hook.

“What the hell is he doing here?” The words come faster than Neal can stop them.

(And the bastard hasn’t aged a goddamn day.)

The deputy gives an exaggerated sigh. “He was skulking around town this morning. He’s wanted in an attempted murder, and Granny has a crossbow.”

“Of course he is,” Neal mutters, but both men ignore him.

“I was not skulking. I don’t skulk, Dave.”

The deputy whips around. “Do. Not. Call. Me. Dave.” Then he cocks his head. “So. You two know each other?”

“As it happens,” Hook says, “I was looking for him.”

(Absolutely the last thing Neal wants to hear.)

(Maybe the second-to-last.)

“You should have said something.”

“It mattered not, Dave. You knew. She sent you after me.”

It’s obvious in his body language that the deputy wants to deny it. Equally obvious is that it would be a lie. He nods, a tight movement of his head, his shoulders stiff. “You shouldn’t be out.”

Hook gestures, a move that looks strange when his wrist is blunted and tied off with a bandage under the brace. Off-balance, somehow. His leg is wrapped in a cast, immobilized from ankle to thigh. “You saw to that, didn’t you?”

“I probably saved your life. You’re welcome.”

Hook opens his mouth to protest; for a second there is a faraway look on his face before he seems to change his mind. He stays silent.

Neal clears his throat. “What the hell is going on here?”

“You need to answer some questions, Mr. Cassidy.”

That’s when the deputy punches Neal in the face.

—

Emma knows immediately when Hook is found—the feeling is strong enough to break through her hangover, which means that her mother notices. Her mother, who had sailed in at 7:20 with a to-go cup of coffee in each hand and silenced David with a single look.

“Now is not the time,” she’d said as Emma reached, one-handed, for the precious post-hangover life-giving elixir and took a grateful sip and felt the burn on her lips.

(Not from the coffee.)

She ignored the hurried whisper between them because she needed David gone and she needed him looking for Hook and saying that Hook and Neal knew each other didn’t seem to be enough of a motivation for anything except more questions.

“He doesn’t have the hook, if that helps,” she said. “It’s in the desk drawer.”

(She managed not to flinch when David’s hand squeezed her shoulder.)

“We do need to question them,” he said as he left.

But Emma didn’t say anything, just sipped her coffee and tried to sit upright in the empty bed that wasn’t hers and the handcuff that was until Mary Margaret sighed and sat down next to her. She’d put her empty coffee cup on the nightstand and her hand over Emma’s and before Emma even realized what was happening the cuff popped open.

(Right. Bandit.)

(She really should read that book of Henry’s. One day. In all of her spare time between crises.)

But now it’s 8:16 and she knows David’s found him. The coffee’s gone, the dregs cold, the silence—inviting, Mary Margaret staring at her with those tell-me-everything eyes.

“Why are you here?” Emma says, finally. “Did I—say something last night I shouldn’t have?”

“Emma, no.” The hand clasps around her wrist. “But I wanted to check on you to make sure you weren’t—leaving.”

“Hook’s the one who left,” she says, even though she knows almost exactly where he’d gone—and why.

(Because after the enormity of what she’d said to him in the place that wasn’t real, it still hurt to have him gone when she woke. She couldn’t help it.)

(His kiss—hot, hard, demanding—and the hope was there, in the corner of her mind, whether she wanted to acknowledge it or not. Because they had a connection. More than just the curse. More than the magic.)

(I need you.)

(We’re a team.)

(And the look on her mother’s face says she knows that already.)

“I didn’t want any of this,” Emma says, flexing her wrist. She draws her legs up and swings them over the side of the cot, her back to her mother’s.

“Maybe not. But it’s still happening.”

“I’m trying to adapt. You know, I just woke up one day and there was a kid at my apartment and this is my life now.”

(The Savior.)

“So I’m trying. And this—”

“Attraction?” Mary Margaret hasn’t moved. She’s talking to Emma’s back like she knows that’s easier.

Like she knows Emma’s lying.

Her hand goes back to her lips, where she can still taste the fire. And the magic.

Real.

“I’ve seen the way you two look at each other, Emma. I don’t think it has anything to do with Cora.”

She turns, a half-twist on the bed, to look at her mother.

“You have to open yourself to the possibility of a happy ending. Of hope. Let yourself be ready for the good.”

(Something new.)

(Something different—since the first minute—push and pull, give and take.)

(Fire and magic.)

(Meaning in the chaos.)

(Hope.)

“Is that what this is?” Emma snorts. “Then why are you leaving?”

“What?”

“You said you were leaving,” Emma says.

She regrets it immediately, her mother’s face for the first time resembling its namesake—white as a sheet of ice.

“Oh my god,” Mary Margaret says. “Emma, is that what—”

“I’ll be fine,” Emma says. “Whatever this is, I’ll be fine.”

“Emma—” Mary Margaret stands when she does but then she shakes her head. She says, “Do you mean it?”

That’s when she gets another flash. “Ask me tomorrow,” Emma sighs. She reaches for her jacket with shaking hands and tingling fingers.

(Her mother says nothing about the sparks.)

--

@spartanguard​ @optomisticgirl​ @shireness-says​ @profdanglaisstuff​ @thisonesatellite​ @katie-dub​ @mariakov81​ @kmomof4​ @stahlop​ @thejollyroger-writer​ @tiganasummertree​ 

[alma-berry]

Timeless Horizons

A sweet little Kitty fic, with a special surprise! This is a collaboration with the amazing @toka-sketch​, who made two beautiful illustrations for this story. 

Here’s a little sneak peek of Dru and Ty! You can see the full illustrations of them and Kit down at the bottom, as they are filled with spoilers!

Enjoy ❤

Dru is hiding.

Yes, it’s practically comical by now. She’d spent far too much time trying to avoid closing herself from her family and be more present, but today… she can’t help herself. The institute is just swamped with people, with preparations, with the shadow of old ghosts. The only ghost she actually wished to see was Livvy, who by all means should have been present for her brother’s engagement party. Instead, she dreads of meeting the more corporal ghosts of her past… plenty of whom was invited.

Hens, the hiding. Dru wasn’t stupid enough to do it inside the institute, where early guests and the battalion of her siblings were probably itching to make her fold napkins or whatever if any of them laid eyes on her. She was hiding outside the sanctuary, running her bare toes over the sandy concrete stairs that lead to a road connecting the highway.

In a mundane scenario, this wouldn’t have been the brightest choice for a hiding spot, but everyone uses portals these days anyway… it’s not like Magnus Bane would make a road trip out of it and drive all the way from New York to Los Angeles. Dru was sure he doesn’t even drive to the grocery store, not that he even needed to when he could just snap his fingers and voila!

Dru sighed in frustration, she would have loved to be able to summon up some Carmel corn right about now… hiding is dull work.

A loud sound of something like crackling grew closer to where she sat.

Dru sprang to her feet, not intending to be caught in a welcoming party of any sort. But when she started to head back into the institute, a single dark figure became visible right in front of her.

It was a man, climbing down off his motorcycle. There was something familiar about the fluid movement of his body that made her stop in her place and stare.

Long, strong thighs wrapped in tight dark gear stretched as they lifted themselves off the massive bike. Dru arched her eyebrows and let her gaze linger over the soft leather of the rider’s jacket with quiet appreciation, and latched onto the strands of fair hair that peaked out of the helmet that still lay on his head.

A ring of recognition went through her, and it wasn’t long before she connected the dots. This was Jace Herondale.

She ran towards him, avoiding the questions that his abrupt appearance brought up - where was Clary? How did he bring his motorcycle from New York? And most importantly, was it the one that could fly?

Before she could call for him, the man lifted his helmet and a curtain of long, golden curls fell on his neck. Dru’s breath caught in her throat as long, elegant fingers pushed back the tangle of hair and made way for two lucid blue eyes.  

This was not Jace Herondale. This, Dru realized with a sharp pang in her chest, was Kit.

“What,” her voice pitched, “the hell are you doing here?”

The shock made her words sharp and shrill. She blushed with sudden guilt, and it was a moment until she remembered she was more than entitled to be upset to see Kit Herondale.

Dru wasn’t supposed to be so surprised to see him. Jem, Tessa, and their cute little peanut, Mina, were already there, but when they said Kit would probably be joining them later, Dru assumed it was just an excuse for Kit to bail on them. Again. She was angry with him, for leaving them, for lying to her. And above all, for leaving Ty.

She cleared her throat and sharpened her gaze on his eye, but the look she found in them silenced her. Kit looked at her like he was afraid she’ll put a blade between his teeth. He also looked like he would have let her. Maybe that look, of a convicted criminal, was what made her soften her expression… and when she did, Kit visibly relaxed, but kept his distance from her all the same.

“I was invited,” Kit said. His voice was husky, hard, but his body was all discomfort. He looked at his boots, his hands twisting down his front like a complicated pretzel.

“I didn’t want to come, I know you probably don’t want to see me,” Dru could feel the acid, eating away the iron of his voice. “But Emma threatened to shave my head while I sleep if I missed this, so… yeah. I didn’t have much choice.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Said Dru.

Kit’s brows rose alarmingly high, his body closing in on itself. Dru knew animals from years of watching her older brother bringing all sorts of creatures inside the institute, so she had seen her fair share of cornered animals. Kit looked like one, so Dru schooled her face into a soft, neutral expression.

“Listen I’m, I’m sorry about-“ He was panting, fighting so hard to get the words out. From his expression, every syllable was a knife to the chest.

Dru silently took back every bad thought she had about Kit. If even after all of this time he reacted like this to the mere sight of her, he couldn’t have been so cold and indifferent like she convinced herself he must be. She hated the times when she caught herself doing the things she criticized most in others, like twisting the truth into an opinion. Like ignoring facts, knowledge, experience, and boxing them into a mold born of hurt.

Searching Kit’s half-shut eyes, Dru let herself remember the boy who lied to her only to keep her brother’s secret safe. The boy who lied only because he had to, not because he wanted to.  

“I’m sorry I ditched you and-“, Kit’s voice was small and his face was a patchwork of pale and blotchy. Dru couldn’t take it anymore.

“It’s okay, Kit. I know why you left, it’s…” Dru swallowed hard. “I understand.”

“You do?” Kit paled. He looked honestly startled before his face settled into a frozen non-reaction.

“Yeah… I know about Livvy, and how it, umm, didn’t work out.”

Kit’s blank expression didn’t change, it was as empty as the desert’s sky. Something pulled up Dru’s stomach. She opened her mouth, but between one blink of an eye to another, Kit’s stone face washed under by a strange reservation, and he mumbled “Yeah, okay. Umm, thank you.”

He wouldn’t meet her eyes. He was scanning the institute behind them so intensely she wondered for a minute if someone was approaching, and then she realized - he must be thinking about Ty.

Kit radiated with coiled-up energy, tense and unforgiving. Dru wasn’t sure if he was afraid, expectant, or both.

“He’s not here.” She said in a small, soothing voice.

Kit stayed still, but Dru detected a slight tightness in his jaw. Was he disappointed? It must be confusing for him, being here after so long, in his hometown, in the first place he learned about being a Shadowhunter. He must be completely overwhelmed. She remembered how pained Kit seemed to be when he tried to apologize to her just a minute ago, and it was just her. He probably would’ve had a fit if it was Ty here in her place.

“He’s still at the Scholomance.” She said into the silence. “They have this super-secret, highly sensitive, just for elected few stupid mission.” Dru let out the exasperated mixture of pride and annoyance her brother’s stories usually made her feel, and although Kit has just nodded once, she was sure his lips had twitched upwards a tiny bit.

“So... a motorcycle, huh?” She smiled at him. “Very Herondale of you.”

Kit let out a full-fledged smirk at her comment, and Dru felt a familiar tap on her heart. This was the Kit she remembered, and the feeling made her push a little more. “I knew they called it Grand Theft Auto for a reason. I can’t wait to hear what else you managed to steal from the head of the New York institute.”

Her taunt was a downright success. Kit barked a laugh so genuine, Dru felt thirteen all over again. She would poke him some more if it made him this cheerful. “It’s not considered theft if it was given you freely... just don’t tell that to anyone. I don’t want people to think I lost my touch.”

Dru felt her eyes widen in surprise. “So it is Jace’s motorcycle? I knew it!”

“Yeah…” Kit rocked on his heels and glanced over at his bike lovingly. ”He gave it to me for my eighteenth birthday.”

That is one legendary gift, Dru concluded. She wouldn’t mind a cousin that gifts sexy automobiles, but the thought of Julian approving to let her near a thing like that was less likely than her becoming the youngest consul in Shadowhunters history.

“So... how did you get it here?” Dru asked. “It’s not exactly a short ride from New York or Devon.”

“Magnus,” Kit answered with a shrug. “He portaled us and then just... did that thing he does where he poofs things out of thin air, like chocolate-chip cookies or... tents. Magic is so...”

“Yeah.” Dru sighed in agreement, thinking about that caramel corn.

“So where were you?” They began to trail back towards the institute. She could feel Kit tensing up with every step. She didn’t know if it was just because it brought up memories, or if it was something else. She still debated herself whether to pry into that subject, while she pried into others.

“Umm... I just,” Kit’s fingers roamed through his long curls in a somewhat nervous gesture. “I thought I’d check out my dad’s old place. See if there was anything left.” His sky blue eyes seemed clouded with memories, and from the little she knew or remembered, they weren’t all good. “I didn’t really get a chance last time, after, umm,” Kit cleared his voice. “After he died.”

He sounded stiff, and a bit drained. She almost forgot he was an orphan, like her. Of course, she had Julian, which was an amazing brother-father, and Kit has Jem and Tessa. She didn’t know Johnny Rook at all, but from what she heard, the Carstairs were definitely an improvement.

“And did you find anything?” She asked, carefully.

Kit took a long moment to answer her. They were already at the sanctuary’s doors when he finally answered.

“No. There was nothing left.”

*

Kit’s appearance didn’t make her want to join the herd of party planners all of a sudden, and by the looks of him, Kit wasn’t up to a large reunion yet. So she offered him to go practice in the training room and was pleasantly surprised when he agreed.

Kit wasn’t a regular Shadowhunter, in the way that he didn’t have to endure rigorous training for his entire life the way Dru was. So when she picked up her favorite misericord and gotten into a fighting stance, she felt rather confident that she could give Kit a run for his money, even with all of his bulging muscles and chiseled arms.

She was absolutely, painfully, wrong.

Kit might not have been raised as a Shadowhunter, but whatever it was they were feeding him in Devon, it made him a beast in a fight. Well, maybe not so savage as it sounded, but he whooped her ass in a matter of seconds, flipping her on her back without breaking a sweat.

“Damn it, Herondale.” She gasped. “Aren’t you supposed to be inexperienced? Why are you so good at this?”

Kit’s face lit up like a campfire. “Am I?”

Dru blew out a whine. “Don’t get all modest on me, you’re ruining your brand.”

There was nothing modest in the grin Kit shot her back. He flashed his teeth wide, like a Cheshire cat, and ran up to climb the training room’s pitched roof until he balanced himself lightly on the highest of the rafters. He didn’t pause to look at her and just jumped gracefully, somersaulting in the air like he was a goddamned acrobat.

Right before he straightened up, his black shirt, which had a Deadpool logo, a fact that made her enormously happy, having it being another thing that looked like the Kit she knew, rose up a little and flashed the tip of a black pattern that was inked into his lower back. Dru wondered which rune it was, and who put it on him. It was such a strange location for a rune, not somewhere you can mark yourself. It must have been Jace, but that left the question of which rune Kit needed Jace to mark him with, that he couldn’t do himself?

“Was that sufficiently Herondale?”

She stared at him, completely dumbfounded until she caught herself and shut her gaping mouth. “I’d say so… yeah. You caught in quickly, haven’t you?”

Kit brushed the dust off his gear pants and shrugged.

“Jace. That man is… relentless.” Kit flopped on one of the training mats, making a loud poof when he did. “You know, he almost threw me off a tree once, when I refused to jump? Twisted my ankle three times. He said if I won’t make it, he’d disown me. Still not sure what I was supposed to be disowned off, his rusty collection in the armoire?”

He had a British lilt to his voice. The way he pronounced certain words, round and elongated, was something he didn’t used to do back then. It was charming, Dru thought. He was charming. A bit self-conscious, still, with the way he occasionally tugged down his shirt or bite his lower lip, scrunching it to one side.

Dru always thought that if she ever met Kit again, she’d let him have a piece of her mind. But he was so… Kit. Quiet, sarcastic, familiar. The things about him that felt foreign to her weren’t really foreign, but more of an enhancement of what he used to be. There was something bright about him, almost luminous. He wasn’t particularly happy at the moment, so she couldn’t blame it on his mood. But there was something in his features… they were fine, delicate. He was all muscle, but the way his hair fell on his skin, gold on gold, felt fragile, almost monochromatic.

Kit must have sensed her staring, and his eyes narrowed at her in a silent question.

She put the misericord back on its hanging and placed her hands over her hips.

“So, wanna sneak down to the beach?”

*

The infinite stretch of water in front of her was shining bright like there was a blanket of diamonds spread all across it. The sun was low, and every ray hugged the waves with bright whispers.

They weren’t so sneaky as she hoped. Giving Kit a sideways glance, she hid a smile, remembering how Emma crushed him in a tight embrace.

“You are so big, Kit! I haven’t seen you in a year and you became Godzilla. I do not approve, Jem. He’s not allowed to be stronger than me.”

Kit choked out a bruised laugh. “You don’t have to worry about that, Em. Just… lay off with the hugging, you’ll crack a rib if you won’t let go of me.”

Mina’s answering giggle was more than enough to break the two apart. She reached her arms for Kit and he tugged her to him without a second’s hesitation.

He reminded her of Jules so much, of how he used to hold Tavvy when he was her age, nuzzling his baby hair and murmuring soft words to his ear.

There was something so vulnerable about this Kit, but when he was with his baby sister, she could see how he simply glowed. The love that he felt for that little girl was so evident, so undeniable, it made Dru’s heart play a low, painful beat.

He seemed troubled now, his brows screwed together, as he stared into the sunbathed horizon.

“How is he?”

It was almost a whisper, but Dru heard.

“Alright.” She answered. “Tall. Taller than Julian.”

Kit’s shoulders hunched inwards, and the grip on his arms was so tight, she could see his knuckles whitening.

“But, how is he? With Livvy, and,” he choked on the last word. “With everything.”

Of course he wanted to know about that. She almost forgot he knew at all. Dru was so accustomed to having to keep the slight shifts of Ty’s attention to herself, knowing he must interact with Livvy in a way that was reserved to them alone, even after death.

“He’s okay, she’s… okay.” She said. “Not that I could really say for myself. He doesn’t say much about her. He’s better now, with me.”

Dru loved her brother fiercely. All of her siblings, but Ty… Ty was something else. She didn’t love him more, but she loved him differently. In him, she could sometimes see her Livvy, and wondered whether it’s a twin thing, or was it just her presence, revealed and kept only by him. They were better, now. There were things he only said to Dru, like the story of how they found his Lynx.

“Oh, he has a cat! Well, she’s not really a cat. She’s a Carpathian lynx. Scary as hell, doesn’t like anyone other than Ty.” Dru said with her nose screwed. She liked cats and didn’t appreciate Irene’s snobby attitude, even if she gave her the creeps.

Kit muffled a laugh. “Sounds like Church. That cat gives all other cats bad reputation, devil creature.”

Dru’s hands flew to her mouth. “Church! Awww I miss that furball!”

Kit snorted. “You can have him.”

Dru let herself look at Kit’s eyes. The smirk on his lips didn’t reach them.

“And you? How are you, Kit?”

Kit seemed startled by the question. For a second, the guard he kept up slid off him, and an endless sorrow spilled away from him like ink, staining his face with shadows. It didn’t linger, but it didn’t really keep away.

“I’m okay, Drusilla.” He put a calloused hand on her arm and squeezed. “So are you, it seems. I’m happy to see you again.”

The smile Dru gave him was wide, silently trying to convey that so was she.

She patted his arm and rose to her feet, dusting sand off her black velvet overalls, which were an unfortunate choice for the beach.

“I’ll head up to see if they need some last-minute help. Can’t pull the hostess trick for much longer, I suppose.”

Kit only nodded and fixed his gaze back onto the sinking sun.

*

When Dru was halfway to the institute’s doors, she noticed a tall, dark figure headed her way. Her breath caught in her chest, and she ran towards him, blessing the sand for muffling the sound of her feet.

It wasn’t long until she reached him, her eyes tingling with excitement and apprehension. Ty reached for her shoulder, grabbing hard. He didn’t even look at her, her face set ahead, on the black and gold figure sitting a breath from the water.

“Ty! When did you get here? I thought you weren’t coming, Jules and Em almost called this thing off!” She was jabbering, she knew it, but she wanted to distract Ty so she could wage his mood, see if he could handle Kit’s presence.

“The mission was over,” Ty answered. “I texted Julian a few hours ago. When did he get here?”

Dru stared at her brother until she realized he was talking about Kit.  “Oh! Umm, a few hours ago? We trained together a bit and then we just… hung out here. I was just heading back, do you…” she hesitated, “do you wanna come with me?”

Ty averted his gaze to his left hand, which was when Dru noticed the agitated movement.

“No.” He said. “Did he, umm,” Dru wasn’t used to seeing her brother so hesitant, one of his hands fluttering, one clutching her shoulder in an iron grip. “How is he?”

His tone, his words, the exact mirror to what Kit had asked her moments ago. Ty didn’t try to mask his feelings, Dru guessed he wasn’t aware enough of her presence to try.

So she weighed her words carefully, before answering. “Sad. I think he’s sad.”

Ty’s breath hitched, and for a moment, she thought it was a reaction to her words. But when she looked into his stormy eyes, she saw that he was looking down at the waters again. At Kit.

Dru turned to see Kit has risen to his feet. He was chucking his jacket away, unbuckling his pants. She’d never seen him swim when he was staying with them, but the salty smell of the ocean and the light breeze was intoxicating enough for her to understand the urge to plunge inside the ocean.

Kit reached for the hem of his shirt and started to lift his shirt up. Dru tensed, suddenly remembering the rune she glimpsed back at the training room. She straightened her back, readying her eyes to catch the mark from the large distance. But when Kit’s shirt rose up over his neck and his fair hair slid sideways, she could hear the air escaping her lungs, echoed in the stunned gasp that came from Ty’s direction.

Kit’s entire back was inked with an intricate pattern, looping from the nape of his neck, down his shoulder blades, and all the way to his lower back. A beautiful arrangement of vines, tracing the dips and ridges of his muscled back, the black, thin shapes draping his skin like skeleton feathers. It wasn’t a rune at all, it was a tattoo.

“Thorns.” She whispered, disbelief marking every syllable.

“Blackthorns.”

She turned back to look at her older brother and was startled to find a fierce smile blazing through his lips.

His hand left her shoulder, and he was walking slowly towards Kit, who had already lost his gear pants and was paddling through shallow waters.

Dru just stood there, her thoughts an incoherent tangle inside her head. She watched Ty making his way towards Kit, and found that her heart understood before her mind did. It was unexpected, to say the least, but it also wasn’t.

Memories washed over Dru as she watched Ty closing the distance between them, three years worth of distance, and felt the past washing over her at once. It was the way it was always supposed to be, the two of them together.

With one last glance towards the strange painting of past and future, Dru turned her back to the sunset and headed back home.

[alleycat97]

Slippery Slopes Pt. 1

MTFL:

A day on the slopes ends up ruining everyone’s day and backfires for another.

Pairing: Ava x MC (eventually)

Kinda follows the book and MCs decisiveness. Ava is endgame on this one eventually. Slow burn but not that slow.

Tags list: @samanthadalton @fundamentalromantic @penda-bear and anyone else!

...

This vacation was everything everyone needed. Unexpected by everyone involved but welcomed by the mega mansion and all its luxuries. If you told Emma Price that on Christmas Break she’d be sitting in a hot tub in nothing but her underwear with the 3 people she loved, she’d have called you crazy.

But this trip was about becoming friends and finding out who she really loved the most, a lesson that was soon to be learned.

Fresh powder graced the gang the next morning on the slopes. It had been years since the Price’s had come to ski. It was something that their mother loved to do and ever since her passing, they just stopped coming. And the time away was showing in Emma’s skiing.

She was rusty but it was like riding a bike. A couple falls and face plants were expected but every once in awhile, Noah, Mason, or Ava was there to catch her. Emma loved the way each of their hands lingered on her waist as they helped guide her down the slopes. It may have been freezing outside, but their touch was burning her up.

Principal Jennings took note of the forwardness of the group toward Emma. Mason was spending way too much time with her trying to teach her, when he could be shredding with Ava. All Emma Price was, was baggage. She was handicapping Mason and this year was showing on his academic and athletic performance.

He had to get Mason away from her and back into Ava’s arms. That girl was going places, much better suited for Mason.

“Ah Mr. Harris!” Jennings said coasting up to Noah.

“Just the man I needed to speak with.”

“Me? Why me I didn’t do anything.” Noah asked in question.

“Oh now. I need a favor. I’m planning on having a downhill race amongst you kids, Mason always did love a good race and I’m much too old to be competing.”

“Ok spit it out Jennings.” Noah said annoyed.

“Down on the last curve before the finish line I need you to place a barricade. The outside curve is much too fast with the banking so we need to block it off so no one gets hurt.”

Noah raised an eyebrow in suspicion, “Why me? Just do it yourself?”

“Well I need to get in touch with the crew working that slope to make sure it’s available to only us for the race. I’ll be back here before we start.”

Noah bought it and agreed to setup the barricade, he slowly made his way down the course checking to make sure it was safe and he saw what Jennings meant, that last curve was sketchy. He pulled out some of the barrels outlining the course and stuck them in front of the curve for easy visibility and made his way down to the lift.

Jennings did as he said a ‘cleared’ the race with the crew and huddled everyone up at the starting line.

“Ok we are going to do this race tag team style. Dave? I want you to make sure we start on time and the start is fair. Mackenzie, you will wait at the next spot to make sure it’s a clean transition and I will wait at the finish line.”

“Where is mom?” Mason asked looking around. “She’s going to miss the race.”

“She’s back at the Cabin overseeing lunch.” Jennings spoke.

“Ok the two teams will be Noah and Emma, and Mason and Ava.”

Of course everyone thought. Classic Jennings.

“Noah and Mason will start the first leg and tag off to Emma and Ava. Take your mark boys and have a clean race. Dave at exactly noon, send them on. Girls? Follow me to the next location.”

The adrenaline was pumping between the boys, it was a simple race but they are boys and competition clouded their mind to anything else going on. They just wanted to beat the other.

Down the slope, Jennings placed Ava and Emma into their positions while Mack sat off to the side. He slid over to Ava before taking off, “Remember before the last curve, hold tight into the inside. I’ll tell Emma.”

He hurried over to Emma to tell her the same, “Before the last curve, hold to the inside and you’ll be fine. You girls be ready the boys should be here any minute.”

The race had done started and Mason and Noah were neck and neck. Neither of them gaining the edge as the cold air kissed their faces. They twisted and turned down the course and Noah accidently bumped Mason.

Mason slacked up a little to regain himself and quickened up overtaking Noah tossing fresh snow into face as he rounded the curve tagging Ava to start. Noah finally able to see tagged Emma who quickly thrusted herself forward squatting down to become aerodynamic.

She had to catch Ava, but just like sprinting, she was faster and had the endurance. Ava began to tire as they approached the final curve and Emma easily slipped past her to the inside forcing Ava out. But as they approached the curve Ava could see an obstruction in Emma’s path, a tree limb was sticking out at knee level on the blindside of the curve and Emma couldn’t see it.

“Emma look out!” Ava screamed but it was too late. Emma took the limb to the shin and it sent her end over end flying into the woods taking a face full of limbs and softly coming to a halt in the snow.

Ava stomped on the brakes and rushed over to find Emma buried face down in the snow. Jennings watched from down the hill with a smirk on his face and hurried to the crash site. He made it the same time the others did all to find Emma, not Ava as the victim. Jennings swallowed hard as his plan backfired and began to think of his way out.

Emma was unconscious and her leg was at a bad angle. Dave rushed over to check on her, “We need an Evac quick!”

“Boys! Hurry down to the lift and call for help.” Jennings barked trying to seem concerned.

“Will she be alright Dave?” Jennings asked to break the silence.

“Her leg is shattered and she’s unresponsive, we have to get her out of the snow or else she will get hypothermia.

“I tried to warn her! I screamed and yelled, I was...I was too late. It’s all my fault!” Ava cried out while Mackenzie grabbed her into a hug.

“It’s not your fault Ava.” Mack tried to calm her down, as the boys returned.

“They’re sending a helicopter, ski patrol is coming to move her to the LZ. They said this slope was shutdown for maintenance?” Mason spoke.

“Impossible. Mr. Jennings spoke to the crew and got it approved.” Noah replied looking at Principal Jennings.

Ski patrol rolled in a shoved everyone aside before he could lie. They quickly and carefully scooped her onto a gurney and drove her to the LZ down the hill right as the chopper arrived.

Dave stepped in and argued with the crew, “I’m a doctor and her father! I will be riding with her.” The crew finally gave in and let him in as they took off.

The shock had worn off as the ski patrol turned to the bunch looking for answers.

“Who’s in charge here?” The man asked.

Jennings, being the oldest was singled out, “Ah yes that’s me. Jennings, Jim Jennings.”

“Ok Mr. Jennings, are you aware this slope was shutdown for the day?”

“Uhhh well.” Jennings stuttered.

“Yeah he knew. He called you guys and got permission.” Noah spoke up.

“He did no such thing. There are signs at the top of the slope and on the lifts closing off this slope.”

“We didn’t see any signs.” Mason spoke up.

“Yes that’s right no signs.” Jim spoke up.

“And we checked the course beforehand. It looked safe. But that limb wasn’t there when I set the barrels up in the curve.” Noah recalled.

“It wasn’t there when I came through either...must have just fallen.” Jennings lied.

“So Noah is it?” The patrolman asked, you placed these barrels into the curve directing the skiers into the inside?”

“Yes, only because Mr. Jennings told me to. He said he was contacting authorities to ok this so I setup the barricade.”

“Hmmm and this limb wasn’t here?” He asked.

“No sir. Mr. Jennings was the last one through. He can tell you.”

“Um yes it wasn’t I swear it must have fallen right after I passed.”

“Ok but the fact remains, this slope was off limits and you broke the rules...”

“We did not, there were no signs!” Jennings protested. And their wasn’t because he removed them. The patrolman’s hands were tied.

Surveying the scene one last time something stood out, “You claim this limb...fell?” The man asked Jennings.

“That’s what I assume. Looks like a fresh break.”

“Yes it’s fresh I’ll give it that. But this limb was healthy and it was clearly placed here. You can see the tree it fell from. Limbs don’t just fall this far.”

“What are you insinuating?” Jennings barked.

“That someone placed this limb here on purpose.”

“Dad!!!!! How could you!” Mason screamed.

“It wasn’t me boy! Hush! This is all one big misunderstanding.”

“I’m going to need you and Mr. Harris to come with me.” The patrolman asked. “As for the rest of you. Get your butts off the slopes, you’re banned for the rest of the day.”

[archadianskies]

trying my best; trying to find happiness

→ on Ao3

@dbhrarepairs Wednesday Day 3: Past & Future • Separation; post-revolution Daniel/Leo 

A missing scene from [heavy with hoping]

He remembers going to Greektown specifically to visit Bellini Paints when he first moved to Detroit. It had been a small detail he remembered from an interview with Carl he watched in school; Carl Manfred had pure pigments imported via Bellini Paints and mixed his own paints by hand when he couldn’t find the right premade tubes. 

Sixteen year old Leo had treated it almost like a pilgrimage, visiting the store his father relied on to create his masterpieces. Sixteen year old Leo had been so full of hope, so full of yearning to connect with his biological father. What an idiot he’d been, that sixteen year old boy desperate for approval from a man who’d been more than happy to keep their relationship purely monetary. 

Bellini Paints is no less beautiful thirteen years on. The walls are lined with jars of pigments and illuminated with soft ambient lighting. All the cherry lacquer cabinetry has a pleasing rosy hue to the wood, and the polished brass knobs and handles aid in the stately, regal aesthetic of the brand. It feels old and timeless, an institution that will remain even when he is long gone. 

He’s no longer that naive, hopeful teen and though he’s left that Leo in the past where he belongs, he feels no anger or frustration towards him. How could he? All that Leo had wanted was to connect with his father and be loved; surely seeking love and approval from a parent isn’t asking for the world?

Not that it matters now, anyway, not when Leo’s got a brother now- a Manfred that matters in a meaningful, healing way, and it’s for that Manfred that he makes the trip to Bellini Paints. Which is now closed.

“Ah shit,” Leo swears, rolling his eyes in exasperation as he stands in front of the locked store.

 *~*

He remembers going to Greektown as chaperone for Emma and her friends one weekend to watch a movie at James & Carter cinemas. There were four children in total, including Emma, and one other domestic android, an AX400 accompanying them. Daniel paid no attention to the movie, but what he does remember was Emma’s fascination with Bellini Paints. 

The children had been chattering away avidly after leaving the cinema, discussing what they’d just watched, but they’d fallen into a hush when they passed the store. He remembers Emma’s delighted gasp, remembers her walking to the window and peering inside at the rows of pigments on the shelves. 

“Hey Daniel, which one matches my eyes?” She’d asked, and he’d pointed at one of the jars in the top right hand corner. She’d laughed so brightly, and then her attention turned elsewhere and the moment was over, the moment lived on only in his perfect memory. 

They’d gone to Essie’s Bakery afterward because Caroline specifically did not like the place but Emma loved the buttercream cupcakes there and she knew her mother would say no, but Daniel would always say yes. Even that Daniel in the past had been well on his way to deviancy because even a direct order from Caroline became meaningless when Emma pleaded for leniency.

He wonders if someday Emma will visit Essie’s Bakery of her own volition, and buy one of his buttercream cupcakes, because that’s where he works now, now that he is alive and free and has been given a second chance. He loves it here because he can hide out in the back and just create food to be consumed, and no one can eat baked goods unhappily. That he can somehow contribute to someone’s happiness is enough for Daniel, more than enough, and certainly far more than he ever deserves. 

The workday ends and he packs up, cleans up and locks up. Daniel wraps a scarf around his neck made of chunky blue yarn that Simon knitted for him because Simon is good, and kind, and all the things Daniel used to be but isn’t now. He’s trying, though, he’s trying very hard because Simon believes in him and Daniel loves him too much to disappoint him. 

He makes his way towards the bus stop only to bump into someone outside of Bellini Paints.

“Oh, sorry-!” The young man looks familiar, and Daniel recognises him from a few days ago.

“Leo?”

“Danny?”

“It’s Daniel, I told you that,” he corrects automatically, bristling. “What are you doing here? Bellini’s closes at 6pm.”

“Ugh, I thought I’d have enough time after my therapy session to swing by and grab Markus’ pastels order,” the young man groans, jamming his hands in his pockets. Leo Manfred, human brother to Markus Manfred, leader of Jericho and object of Simon’s unrequited affection. Daniel’s interacted with Markus several times now and doesn’t care much for him despite the whole ‘saviour’ thing. He’s grateful, no doubt about it, but anyone who Simon fixates on and loves so openly only to fail to return such affections isn’t so great in Daniel’s eyes. 

“They’ll open at 9am again tomorrow, though if you’re in a rush, Vincent’s here by 8:30am,” Daniel points out, thinking fondly of the genial EM400. 

“Uh, no, I value my sleep,” Leo rolls his eyes. “But I’ll swing by around lunch probably. You heading home now?”

“Yes, if I catch the next bus it should line up with when he leaves your place and we can take it home together,” Daniel nods and Leo shrugs. 

“I’ll call you a cab- that way I can go home and Simon can continue on with you,” he takes out his phone and opens an app. “Don’t worry, I’ll put it on the house card. The old man’s got plenty to spare and he’d be more than happy to pay for Simon to get home safely.”

“Simon, but not us,” Daniel drawls as Leo snorts back a laugh.

“I mean, we’re all in agreement here though aren’t we?”

“Yes, Simon is always the priority,” Daniel replies without hesitation.

A taxi pulls up and Daniel climbs inside as Leo takes a seat opposite him. He generally avoids interacting with humans but for some reason Leo is the exception. He’s so stubbornly blasé about Daniel, so readily casual with his invitation of friendship that he can’t help but accept. It’s as if Leo’s willing to pester him into becoming friends and truth be told, Daniel wants it, Daniel wants someone to want him. Simon does, and that’s why he loves him, because Simon has a way of stubbornly killing him with kindness when everyone else loathes him. 

“So, the other day Simon was telling me he was at the DPD for some important meeting or other,” Leo begins, hands gesturing animatedly, “and all he could focus on were the shitty store bought muffins on the meeting table. Which got me thinking of how you could make some of your amazing pastries to totally wow them, and give Simon the perfect window he needs to talk to the Anderson brothers.” 

“You want me to bribe the DPD into silence so we can set up my brother to not be with yours?” It’s so stupid it makes Daniel want to laugh. Stupid, but plausible, and really, it’s for Simon and they’d both do anything for happiness. “I’m in.”

He’ll do it for Simon, but who knows, maybe there’s a little scrap of happiness held in store for him in the future too.

[girlsloveamystery]

"Has she said anything?" Sweet Pea asked, jerking his head towards Ethel, who chuckled.

"She has a name and is sitting in the same room, Sweet Pea," Ethel said politely. "Please don't pretend otherwise."

Jughead couldn't help the infuriation that was rolling off him in waves. Ethel had admitted to killing the love of his life's sister and for what? So she could have the approval of some psychopath more psychotic than her? Fuck that. Fuck that.

"You know who else had a name, Ethel?" Betty said, tone calm and demeanor relaxed. "Polly. My sister. The woman you murdered without a second thought and for what? Because Glen told you to?"

"His name is…," Ethel began in a hiss, but Betty moved to the table and leaned down in front of her, placing her palms on the table top.

"His name is Glen. He isn't a god to look up to. He murders innocent women – kidnaps and tortures them – something you knew, by the way. You knew about my personal hostage experience – warned him that I'd cause "undue stress". So no, we're not going to be calling him by his moniker. Say his fucking name," she said, tone calm and eyes burning.

Ethel chuckled and Emma smiled slightly. "Something funny, Ethel?"

"Not really, Emma," she replied.

"Didn't give you permission to call me that," Emma said casually, flicking something off her blazer nonchalantly. "You still don't have the permission."

Ethel shrugged and looked towards Sweet Pea. "Your girl is fun."

His expression hardened. "I'd be wise about what you said, Ethel. You're not sitting in a good position."

"Oh, I'm sitting just comfortably, thanks for worrying," she smiled, and Jughead watched her features carefully before speaking up.

"He wasn't," he said indifferently. "Worried." Watching her once more, he didn't miss the way her eyes flashed and he looked at Betty, who nodded discreetly and pulled out the chair in front of her, taking a seat as she studied Emma.

"How'd you meet Glen?" Betty asked, tone cold.

Ethel smiled that same serene smile. "I met him traveling after college. I was drunk – had gone out with a few girls from college who had travelled at one point with me – and he was there."

"Glen?" Emma asked and Ethel looked at her like she was an idiot.

"Obviously," Ethel snapped before continuing. "I was being harassed by these awful men and he stepped in and helped."

Emma and Betty exchanged a look before Betty turned back to Ethel, matching her smile head on. "So, he saved you?"

"Yes," she breathed. "He loves me. He'll always save me."

Betty chuckled a bitter chuckle, shaking her head as Emma moved to pour her a cup of coffee and bring it to her. It was only after she had taken a sip did Betty look at Ethel. "Ethel, Glen isn't capable of love. And, he sure as shit doesn't love you, make no fucking mistake about it."

"You always did think you were better than me," Ethel laughed quietly. "I mean, Jughead fell for you, didn't he? He never once paid attention to me. And then you came along, and he had no eyes for anyone else."

"Just going to take a guess here, but it might have had something to do with the fact that I didn't force an unwanted kiss on him," Betty said.

"No, you just kissed his best friend," Ethel replied calmly. "Which is worse?"

"The unwanted sexual approach, by far," Jughead said, voice hard as he spoke up. He was definitely going to let Betty and Emma control how things played out, but he'd be damned if Polly's murderer hurt Betty even further.

Ethel's eyes flickered to Jughead and he wasn't surprised to find them cold. "She can't give you what I would have been able to. She wouldn't be able to know how to."

"Her name is Betty," Jughead snapped. "And, you fucking murdered her sister. Even if I didn't love her, I would never love you."

Betty held up a hand, bringing the attention back to her. "I thought you loved Glen, anyways. Why are you concerned with Jughead?"

Ethel laughed and the sound was a maniacal sounding as ever. "I do love Glen. And, he loves me. Although, I could have lived without seeing you two fucking."

The crass words jarred Betty but Jughead seemed to be the only one to see it as she slid her mask of indifference back onto her face. "You're the one who put the cameras into my apartment?"

"Yep," Ethel said calmly. "You honestly think that he had that done when you were in the hospital, Betty?"

Betty looked at her and nodded with a slow smile, before looking at Emma who nodded as well. "Agent Morrison and I need to step outside. Get comfortable. You're not going anywhere."

They ducked out of the room with Sweet Pea and Jughead following after Betty ensured there were two officers inside with Ethel. Turning to Emma, she spoke. "You catch that?"

"The fact that she either accidentally or on purpose let slip that you had cameras in your apartment before the kidnapping?" Emma asked. "Yeah, I caught that."

[chiropteracupola]

Tagged by @i-was-bored-so-this-happened, thank you so much, gosh gosh gosh!

Post 7 comfort movies and tag 7 people

I don’t get to rewatch a lot of things anymore, mostly because I am not highly technologically adept and don’t have much time...

1. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)  This should not be a surprise to anyone.  I knew this movie backwards and forwards before my brain had settled enough to actually remember character names.  This may be a clue as to why I am the way I am.

2. The Secret of Pirate Island (2009)  If you’ve ever heard of this in your life, please let me know.  The brother and I watched this so frequently that we can still probably recite the entire thing.  I have many questions, such as who funded this absurd Playmobil movie, who approved this plot, and how can I meet them.  There is a game show, with fabulous prizes.  There is a dragon.  There is, as my friend puts it, “suddenly John Lennon but he’s southern”.  Also definitely influenced why I’m Like This.

3. The Hunt for Red October (1990)  Probably a weird choice for a “comfort” movie, but it reminds me of my granddad, and, to a certain degree, more modern warships are just as Aesthetic™ as older ones, just in a very different way. 

4. The Green Hornet Strikes Again! (1941)  I have never finished this, ever, and I doubt that I ever will.  But, given that the full serial has a runtime of about 4.5 hours, and I can only watch it at my grandparents’ house, I think that’s reasonable.  It just has strange, nostalgic vibes, and the constant alternation between Sudden Intense Cliffhangers and Everything Being Perfectly Fine is weirdly relaxing for me.

5. Emma (2020)  Amazing colors, amazing costumes, amazing sets... the entire cast continually astonishes me with their beauty... and the soundtrack.... *is currently listening to the soundtrack*  Johnny Flynnnnnn....

6. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)  *shrugs* It’s just good!  The music alone... I have nothing more to say.

7. Wolfwalkers (2020)  Possibly the most beautiful movie I’ve ever seen.  The animation style is like nothing else I’ve ever seen, looking alternately like old woodcuts or watercolors... also I just love a well-done werewolf story. 

Tagging.... let’s say.... @urtica-dioica-22, @thescarletpaperback, @dratandbotherbotheranddrat, @littlewoodenworld, @graduatedpillowmonster, @natdrinkstea, @benjhawkins, if you want to?

[xmalereader]

Thomas Shelby X FTM ! Reader

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|| Masterlist ||

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I hope no one gets offend by this if I didn’t write this correctly, it’s my first time writing FTM so bare with me, also 1920’s was a rough time for same sex couples so do your research before you attack me :)

Requested; hey! hope you're well!! could i request a Tommy x m reader where r is ftm and is feeling Not Good Enough™ and Mr T Fooken Shelby makes him feel better? I'm aware that's vague as fuck and i am so sorry! :) ☀️✨

Warnings; fluff, reader struggling withchange, Thomas being a softy for his boi, cuddling, Shelby family being supportive, Tommy loving his boi, gonna use a random girl name for awhile!!

@chicken-poncho

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He’s finally done it.

No more dresses, no more long hair, no more with having to deal with being someone he is not! Today was the day that he came clean and would confront his boyfriend of one year that he was a changed man and that this is who he truly is.

He stares at hismelf in the mirror, taking in the details of his new haircut and clothes. He can’t help but smile at himself, this was the right thing and it felt right...but would tommy approve? He’s heard of all the rumors about this sort of stuff and how they are casted out and treated like they were mental. His sudden happiness faded away into anxiety as his body shook in fear, was he really ready for this?

His anxiety spikes up once he hears the sound of the front door slamming shut, telling him that tommy was home. He gives hismelf one last look in the mirror before placing his own cap on and heading out to greet his own boyfriend.

He makes his way down the stairs in silence as he hears Thomas enter his office, he drapes his coat over a chair and grabs a glass cup, pouring hismelf a drink as he sighs tiredly. All he wanted to do right now was have a smoke and then sleep away his troubles, hoping that the next day would be less troubling.

As he hears his office door squeak open he can’t help but think that it’s Emma entering his office. “Sorry that I’m late darling, I know that I—“ he turns around to face the stranger that stood inside his office.

Thomas rasies a brow at the strange man that stood in front of him and in silence, he sets his drink down and slowly approaches him. Studying the man closely as realization hits him. “Emma?”

The other flinches from the name, the name that was given to him by birth. A name that he truly hated. “Not anymore...” he can only whisper out as he avoids Tommy’s eyes, waiting for the other to blow up on him or to kick him out, maybe call him disgusting or send him away to a a doctor—!

“Then what should I call you.”

His eyes widen at the sound of Tommy’s soft voice, his head snaps up to see Thomas staring down at him. He didn’t show any signs of anger or disgusted, he couldn’t tell what he was feeling so he swallows his anxiety and responds back. “Y/n.”

Tommy reaches up to remove the cap, slowly lowering it down as he takes in y/n’s new cut. Chucking he ran his fingers through his new cut. “Did the maid cut it, she seems to have missed a spot.” Y/n is surprised by Tommy’s words. “What?”

Thomas sets the cap down. “Whoever cut your hair missed a few spots, you’ll need to fix that in order to look like a man.” Y/n stares in shock, “Thomas aren’t you—“

“Upset?” Tommy finishes for him as the other nods slowly.

“Why would I be, besides I always knew that you weren’t comfortable in those dresses. They never did suit you.” He chuckled out. Tommy didn’t need an explanation about this, he already knew all along he was an observant man and can read anyone like an open book. He once caught y/n trying on his clothes and noticed how comfortable he looked in them and how happy he was, that’s when he put two and two together and figured out everything. He didn’t need to confront y/n since he wanted him to speak up about it first when the time was right.

“You knew?”

“You’re an open book, love.” With that he leans down to steal a kiss from him, causing the other to blush.

“Now, I’ve been very busy and I’m very tired so why don’t we go upstairs into our bedroom and get some rest, yeah?” Tommy grins as he downs his drink and walks back over to y/n, wrapping an arm around him as the two head to their bedroom.

Y/n’s lip twitch up into a smile as he follows Thomas to their bedroom. After a year of being together he never expected Thomas to be so accepting towards him, always thinking that he felt uncorktable around him when really he just loved him a lot more.

—

“Alright everyone, family meeting!”

Tommy was shouting around the betting shop as he rounds up his family members, making sure that he has everyone in the family room before closing the double doors that lead them to the shop. He makes sure to count everyone up, knowing that everyone was here and waiting for him to speak.

“Alright—“

“Wait, where’s Emma? She’s part of this family too you know.” Said Polly as she lights up a cigar and raises a brow. “Don’t tell me that you left her for another women, she was a nice girl you know.” Tommy sighs, lowering his head as he shakes it. “Emma is—“ he didn’t know how to explain to the family. So, to put it all to rest. “She’s dead.”

“Bloody hell, tommy.” He hears John say as the rest of the family are shocked by the news. “Actually she was never really born.” He adds, only getting confused looks from the others. “Tommy what’s going on?” Said Ada, growing stressed and worried.

Tommy stands up straight and clears his throat. “Y/n, get in here.” He calls out as a pair of tapping shoes are heard from coming down the stairs. Y/n steps out to face the Shelby family, keeping his head down as he grew anxious and nervous.

“Emma?” Said Ada as she is able to see y/n’s face clearly.

“No Ada,” Said tommy as y/n approaches him and stands next to him, avoiding everyone’s eyes as he tries to concentrate on his shoes or on the floor, just something to keep him distracted.

“That women that you all knew was never born and instead grew up as a man, someone who we all dearly love and know so from today on, you will address him as Y/n.” Said tommy as he eyes everyone, Polly was the only one to be able to put the puzzle pieces together, she knew that tommy wasn’t very good at explaining this sort of stuff to others which means that she must be the only one that understood.

As the room grew silent, Y/n’s anxiety can only spike up. He hears the sound of a chair scraping against the hardwood floors and the sound of tapping shoes, his eyes slowly widen in fear as the person gets closer. He notices the high heeled shoes and quickly recorgnizes them as Pollys.

He flinches when he feels her fingers graze against his cheek as they trial down to his chin, lifting his head up slowly as he looks into Polly’s eyes. Polly slowly smiles at y/n. “Welcome to the Shelby family.” She says softly, using her thumb to wipe away y/n’s tears that were slowly trailing down his cheeks.

Tommy smiles at Polly as she pulls y/n into a hug, whispering soft words into his ear as she tries to calm him down. “Now, now, dear. No need to panic, we all support your decision and we promise to keep a close on you, we don’t want anyone else to notice, now do we?” She says the last part out loud as the rest of the family agrees. “People like you can easily get hurt but your now a part of the Shelby family so your safe with us.” She places a kiss on his forehead.

Y/n chuckles lightly at her humor. “Thank you, Pol.”

“Oh! He sounds handsome too.” She says, earning another laugh from him.

Y/n blushes, not noticing the others approaching as they pull him into hugs. He would get his hair ruffled by Arthur and John while Finn could only stare and blush at Tommy’s boyfriend, suddenly acting nervous around him while Polly and Ada started throwing him complimates and teasing him as they flirted as well.

Tommy watches his family closely, leaning against the wall as he watches Y/n being showered in affection and support from one of the most dangerous families of all. He can’t help but let one of his rare smiles slip as he continues watching his lover getting the suppprt and love that he deserves.

He pushes himself off the wall and walks over to wrap his arms around y/n and pull him into a hug. “Alright, no more affection form you guys, that’s suppose to be my job.” He says as he shoos away his family members who laugh in return. Y/n giggles as he fixes his hair and turns to face Thomas. “Thank you, for everything.” He tells hims. “You’re welcome, for everything.” He says back and leans down to kiss his boyfriend.

Y/n kisses back and smiles against his lips, he hears the others whistle causing him to blush in embarrassment.

“Right that’s enough.” Tommy shouts at his brothers as they laugh and tease the couple. “Back to work now.” He adds as the brothers groan and head back into the betting shop.

“You better not fuck under this roof, you have your own house for that.” Said Ada as she passes by them, a grin on her face while Tommy glares in return.

Y/n shakes his head. “No promises.” He gives her a smirk in return, feeling Tommy’s arms tighten around his torso. “Just like he said, no promise so will be starting now.” And with that he drags y/n upstairs and into the spare bedroom, making sure to lock the doors not wanting to get interrupted by anyone.