#it's definitely going to take a while to heal; the info packet i got from the urgent care said even a minor sprain can take up to 6 weeks

[camillahex]

okay my knee is doing better, i think the swelling is down a little and it's getting easier and easier to walk more on that leg. i figured out using one crutch is the best way for me to get around; i can get a little weight bearing on my knee and walk on it without pain and it's less cumbersome than using both crutches. i did keep forgetting to take ibuprofen today so it's been a little more painful but this morning there was less pain and stiffness than yesterday morning - that could also be because i actually slept on my back with my knee propped up rather than on my side last night, so. things are looking up

[artificialqueens]

hollywoof hills [vet au] - chapter 3 - akita

A/N: this took a lot longer than expected, but hey, i got it done! i dont think any triggers apply really except one case of misgendering someone. theres a little bit of set up in this chapter for later events

It was a quiet day today. There weren’t many appointments booked, and all the calls so far had been to book things in later that week. The phone wasn’t even ringing much, and while you’d think that would be a nice thing for the two on reception, it was not. Since they didn’t have anything to do, they’d both been asked to sort the Pet Health Plan monthly flea treatments. It was a lot of checking info, labelling, and putting  things in packets. Farrah looked frustrated and restless, and Manila looked like she was ready to end it.

“Why can’t the nurses do this?” The pink haired girl mewled, “They all have to sign them off anyway.” “I know! We have other things to do.” “Like what?” Adore barked, having been sat at her desk, “I don’t see you handling any animals, or having to do a fuckload of paperwork.” “You wouldn’t have a ‘fuckload of paperwork’ if you filled it in when you got it,” Manila cockily returned, and yelped when a pen lid hit her neck, “Oi! Don’t throw things. I’ll tell on you.” “You’ll tell on me? Good luck, Jinkx loves me and Max can’t touch me.” “Go back to your paperwork, Delano.”

They fell into a quiet again, making small talk over the crinkle of plastic packets. Then, a moment of salvation - the door alarm rung as someone came through. It was Brutus, his saggy lips slobbering, and his bald belly swinging. For someone who’d had a major bowel op, he was looking pretty happy. “There’s our hedgehog eater!” Farrah cooed as she stood up, before glancing up at the person walking him. She didn’t recognise them at all, having only ever seen this dog with a middle aged woman, but she noticed that they were much prettier than the typical owner, and definitely younger. “What’re you looking at?” They said with a biting tone, though their face followed it with a smirk. “Sorry, I’ve only seen him with your… mum?” “Yeah, she made me bring him in today.”

There was a brief pause, Farrah still getting a grip on herself. They were quite cute, and though they were coming off a little brusque, she wanted to know more. However, she did need to do her job, and eventually asked, “Can you just put him on the scales?” “Why? He’s not gonna have lost weight since yesterday.” “I don’t know, but I’m told I have to ask anyone who comes in with a dog to get their weight.” After pulling a face, they put the canine up on the scales, calling over, “84.5 kilos, the fat fuck.” They affectionately pet his side, “What was he yesterday?” “He was 84.5 kilos.” She returned. “Told you.” “Take a seat, Miss Kween.” “Ew, don’t. Call me Aja.” With that, they wandered off to the chairs, large dog lumbering after.

When Farrah turned back to Manila, she caught her sniggering at her. Pulling a face, she tried to go back to sorting the flea treatment, but there was a fluster on her face, and she kept glimpsing up at the person sat on the chairs, pretty chilled out, fussing the dog and telling him how handsome and brave he was. When Jinkx came out to call them through into the consult, they greeted them pleasantly, like they knew each other. As soon as that door closed, the dark haired receptionist started on Farrah.

“Look at you getting all nervous!” “Fuck all the way off.” She was quick to snap, “So what? I didn’t expect to see anyone my age, or cute, this morning.” “You think they’re cute?” “I don’t not think that, leave me alone,” Whining, she threw one of the empty flea treatment boxes at her. “Why is everyone chucking things at me?” “We wouldn’t if you weren’t annoying,” Adore chimed, getting up to join Jinkx in the consult, realising she was meant to follow. Once she was gone, Farrah mumbled, “Even if I do think sh-” “They.” “-They’re cute, they’re a client, I’m not really gonna get a chance.” “You never know.” She smirked, “We’ll see what happens when they come back out.”

-

Max was a very polite woman. Politeness was something she’d prided herself on, particularly in this line of work, where you sometimes did have difficult clients. This pre-op check, however, was testing her a little bit. The cat was fine, it was a young male, 5 months old, in for a castrate. He was the right weight for the operation, so that wasn’t an issue. He was looking healthy and happy - or at least, as happy as a Persian could look. In fact, he would be the perfect pet to operate on, until she noticed that in his fur, there was some cat food.

It was necessary to ask anyway, though it was now a lot more important to do it. “Has he had any breakfast?” “I had to give him something, he kept meowing for food.” “So he has eaten this morning?” “Yes.” The owner seemed a little irate at the questioning. Max took a deep breath, trying not to show the annoyance she felt, “Unfortunately, we won’t be able to operate today. When you booked him in, you were informed that he must have food withdrawn the night before, at 8pm.” “But I can’t just not feed him! It’s cruel!”

For a moment, she considered getting someone else into the room. She considered seeing if Jinkx was free, because they were a more seasoned vet, and they must have dealt with this before. But Max couldn’t always go running for help, and after a moment’s consideration, she re-explained the exact risks she’d listed for the owner three days ago when the cat was booked in. “The anaesthetic can make the cat feel poorly, and it can make them vomit. Because of that, we need them to come in on an empty stomach so that they don’t vomit while unconscious on the table, as they can then end up choking, and in many cases, it can kill them. We can rebook you in for later this week, but please, you must not feed him after 8pm the night before the operation.” “Fine. I better not have to pay for this waste of time appointment.” “The pre-op check is free.” Putting the cat back in the basket, she saw the owner off. Milk quickly slipped into the room, saying a quick goodbye to the client.

As soon as the door was shut, Max pulled a face in the direction of where the owner exited. Perhaps it was immature, but it got a light laugh from her nurse, who sprayed down the table and scales with disinfectant. It wasn’t much, but it saved the vet the hassle of wiping things down before another appointment. “The dog for its dental’s here, you want me to start setting up in prep for him?” “I’d say yes but I don’t know yet if his owner knows how to follow instructions.” “I’ll do it anyway,” Milk laughed, “Try not to get too stressed out, if anything, it gives us essentially a free break to catch up on stuff.”

-

Not long after the cat went, and the dog came through, Aja left the consult room, slobbering Brutus lumbering behind them, elizabethan collar clanging loudly on the doorframe on the way out to reception. He was healing well, and they’d been instructed to just keep a close eye on him, and to bring him back again the next day. As they came up to book in again, Farrah near scurried out from the vet’s desk area, where she’d been meaninglessly flipping through worming packets, trying to actually manifest some confidence.

“How’s he doing?” She cooed, sitting in her chair and leaning forward on the wood. “Well, his insides are still in him, so that’s good. And he’s not too inflamed around them or anything. They said I’ve gotta bring him back tomorrow?” “Of course,” she opened to book an appointment, “Is 9.40 tomorrow okay?” “Should be fine, yeah.” After a pause, punctuated by taking one of the business cards, they asked, “You working tomorrow?” “Yeah - Monday, Wednesday, Thursday are my days.” “Guess I’ll see you in the morning then.” With a smirk, Aja waved with their free hand as they headed outside.

When they’d walked out, Farrah turned toward Manila with an incredulous expression. She didn’t want to be getting her hopes up, but there was something promising about the way they asked about her shifts. It could have been just pleasant conversation, but that wasn’t what she wanted it to be. There wasn’t much time for chatting about it though, as the phones were quick to provide an interruption. The black haired receptionist picked up, leaving the other to turn to speak with a bored Adore, who was now on the couch, cuddling a dozy Major.

“Did you finish the paperwork?” “Fuck no,” She snorted, “I have to get Jinkx to double check like all of it as well.” “How much you got left?” “Not a lot but it’s all stuff to be signed off. I’ve filed a few things away though.” “You’ve only got 2 appointments and they’re both after 5, so you have to go clean the groomer’s room out.” She grinned as soon as the woman groaned. “How many appointments Jinkx got?” Moving off the couch, she looked over Farrah’s chair, chin resting on the back of it, “Oh they’ve got like a free morning. They’re helping me now then.”

-

This room was full of just any old garbage. There were rusted dog crates, a broken cat basket, half a broken computer chair, a fold away table  that was for some reason not folded away, and several boxes and bags of decorations. A couple of boxes in the corner, it turned out much to Jinkx’s delight, was full of leashes and collars, clearly put here as spares, which were quite needed. They had a couple of slip leads on the hangers by prep, but they were worn through, and several of them had just disappeared.

Adore was currently focused on the unopened packages with ‘VET BED’ scrawled over them in scruffy writing. This room had clearly been meant for storing things they needed, but most of it had gotten completely forgotten about. Opening the box, it was full of the soft wooly bedding, which she decided she would suggest to Chad to use in replacement of the old, overwashed strips of it they were using. There was a lot of the new stuff, so much so that she checked it was from their own order, and not for the groomer. It was delivered a year ago.

“There’s a lot of good stuff in here,” Jinkx mused, “but there’s also a whole lot of… junk?” “You’re free for ages, and Max just has one op, should we take some of this shit out to the dump?” “Why not? It’ll probably take until lunch, so I guess it’s McDonalds today.” “Fuck yeah! We offering to anyone else to pitch in for it or are we just getting it for us?” “I’ll go ask them now, you start moving stuff nearer the door so we can get it out quicker.”

As Jinkx left, she focused quite intently on rearranging the room. This wasn’t Adore’s favourite type of job, tidying up was boring and exhausting and she’d rather be doing something more productive, but the promise of food was good incentive. Plus, she absolutely loved going in the car with Jinkx, as silly as it sounded, because it was always fun. Even if they were going on the worst home visit, the car ride was light and entertaining. Dragging the broken chair to be beside the door, she hoped this wouldn’t take too long, now excited to get out. When Jinkx was back, they helped drag everything toward the door. Once they’d sorted what was going in the tip, they encouraged Adore to help load the car.

-

Sat on the floor in front of one of the kennels, Max was doing the fun job of hand feeding a dog wet food. She’d been warned by the owner that he would wolf it down, so to try and prevent him from aspirating it, she elected not to just leave a bowl of food in his crate, as was the usual protocol. Originally, she’d offered it on a spoon, but he was clanking his gums off it and whining, so the best option was feeding him by hand. Sure, she had a rubber glove on, but she didn’t find it any less disgusting. Milk slumped down beside her, greeting the greedy yorkie with a polite hello.

“For someone whose hands have been inside of animals, you’d think I could manage this without feeling ill.” “Well, animal insides aren’t usually cold.” Nudging her elbow, she offered, “I’ll feed him, if you want.” “No, it’s fine, I’m getting used to it.” Max smiled a little towards her, before focusing again on the dog. After a pause, Milk asked, “How long you been working here? 4 months now?” “I think so, it’s gone by fast…” “Chad was really proud of you, you know. You’ve come on quick for someone so new.” “It wasn’t really a choice, I couldn’t be bad at it, or I’d be out of a job.” “Take the secondhand compliment.”

When the dog was fed, they both decided to hang around the in the room, mostly to make sure the little canine kept his food down. Max had brought her laptop in, and was sat at the prep table, making notes on the yorkie’s file. Milk was now restocking the syringe cupboard, having noticed when prepping the pup that they were running low of 1mls.

“We aren’t shifted for tomorrow, right?” “We never work thursdays, but we have to come in at lunch for a meeting.” “That’s enough time to recover - you want to go out for drinks tonight?” Max raised a brow, “I suppose, who else is going?” “Adore, Farrah, some girls I know from outside of here.” “Alright, sure.”

-

At closing up time, everyone was more than ready to go. Adore had hurt her wrist in moving things out of the car, but had got by her day alright, and was still planning on going on the night out. There was a stray dog handed in, which was reunited last minute, and the owner was kind enough to put a donation in the Guide Dogs box. Farrah was making her last Pet Health Plan call for the day, and when the phone clicked down into place, she cried a loud hurrah, pushing away from the desk to go and pet Major.

“Your turn to cash up tonight ‘Nila!” The door swung open, and in walked Raja. With a snidy tone, Manila turned to the girl on the couch, “Joke’s on you, my ride’s here.” “Didn’t realise I was your Uber driver now, as well as your personal shopper and all around slave.” “You knew what you were getting into when you asked me to get with you, that’s all I’m saying.”

As she gathered her bag and coat, she pointed to the til, “I cleared it with Chad that I could leave early, so this is actually your problem now. See you tomorrow at 12!” When Manila and her partner left, Farrah flipped her off, returning to the desk, but calling the dog with her. If she was going to have to tediously count money, she was having a canine friend to help her. She would have asked Adore, but she was even worse at getting the cashing up done. Knowing she’d be having a miserable time, and done writing up their notes, Jinkx came to sit with her.

“You count the notes, I’ll count the change.” “Thanks Jinkxy!” Now that the ginger was here, the dog had abandoned her to sit by his owner. With the two of them doing the job, it was a lot quicker, and it also meant she didn’t have to wait around for someone to sign off on the amount. “So, I seen you talking to Aja, do you know them?” “No, I’d only seen their mum here. Do you know them?” “They come to the group I run in the art centre, they’ve been coming for about a year.” “Really?” Farrah tilted her head, “What’re they like?” “When they let down the front, they’re sweet. But they like to come off… I wouldn’t say tough, but you get what I mean?” Nodding, Farrah closed the envelope, signing it, and pushing it over to Jinkx, who did the same. It was then put in the locked draw.

“What night does your group run again?” “It’s on Fridays, from 8pm to 10pm, and also Saturday, from 4pm til 8pm.” The group Jinkx hosted in the art centre was an LGBTQ+ support group, mostly for people to make friends, and get advice. They also hosted fundraisers from time to time, and it was something they’d become proud of. It had been running for 6 years now, and they’d been running it since the start. “I might start coming again.” Farrah used to go; that was a leading factor in her getting this job. She’d met Jinkx there 3 years ago, and attended the group for a year. In that time, she’d lost her original job, and they let her know almost as soon as they found out that there was a vacancy for a receptionist position. She’d been here ever since. She only stopped going to the group when she’d started a night class.

When everyone was ready to leave, all having changed into their non-work clothes, the going out girls converged into a group outside as Farrah locked up. A sweet routine that had started was that before Jinkx put him into the car, Major would go around to everyone who’d finished so he could get a fuss before he left. As Jinkx drove away, they would wave out the window, and Major would jump up at the the back seat windows, looking out with a dropped jaw and a happy face. Once the vet’s car out of sight, the girls hit the pub.  

[yuki-setsu]

12 Days of (Lance) Whumpmas! - Day 1 [Fever]

probably the softest whump with the cheesiest ending LOL don’t think that’ll stick through the rest of this writing challenge though welp

part of the 12 Days of VLD Whumpmas hosted by @vldwhumpmas2017! check out more info on the challenge here if you want to participate!

It had been Lance's idea. When Pidge had casually mentioned that she figured it was almost Christmas back on Earth, he didn't hesitate to suggest they hold a Christmas celebration.

“Come on, it'll be fun!” Lance plopped down on the couch next to Hunk, slinging an arm across his shoulders. “We'll have some good food—courtesy of Hunk—sing some Christmas songs, all that jazz. I would say we exchange gifts, but there's not really much to find on the Castle that can really be called a present, so I say it's the thought that counts.”

Hunk was all for it, and it didn't take long for the others to warm up to the idea. Keith had been the hardest to get on board, but Lance's excitement was contagious at that point. Once Allura and Coran learned what Christmas actually was, they were as excited as Lance was, maybe even more.

“I'll find a place to hide the Castle for a bit.” Allura grinned, eyes shining. “We'll still be able to receive and respond to distress signals should they arise, so we should remain on guard for those.”

They decided to have the party in 2 days, mostly because Lance argued that things needed to be perfect for them to have a great time. Hunk had rummaged around the storage area and found some material that was somewhat similar to construction paper, and everyone went to work making a bunch of decorations and streamers. That part had been fun, especially when they discovered Keith was horrifically bad at making snowflakes.

“Dude, you just keep it folded and cut any shapes you want into it.” Lance laughed, busy unfolding another one he'd finished. His were great, since he'd had plenty of practice making them back on Earth during the holidays.

“I am cutting shapes.” Keith grumbled.

“You just keep cutting across in a straight line. That's not a shape. Look at Shiro!” Lance leaned over, grabbing at a small and delicate snowflake. “If he can make cute snowflakes like these, I'm sure you can make a normal one.”

Shiro coughed, the tips of his ears tinged a slight pink as he cut another pattern out. Keith, however, didn't look amused. “What the heck is that supposed to mean?”

Lance patted his shoulder, a solemn expression on his face. “I'm saying you'll get there one day, buddy.”

And he did, eventually. Lance had made it his mission to see Keith cut out a decent looking snowflake before the day ended, and after five more tries, Lance held up a perfectly symmetrical snowflake in triumph, saying that Keith should autograph it and frame it after the party was over. Even Keith cracked a smile at that.

The first day passed relatively quick. Aside from the decorations, Hunk looked through the pantry in search of ingredients that could be used for Christmas-like snacks, and Pidge occupied herself with a “secret project” on her laptop. Lance was glad to see everyone getting as excited for the party as he was, especially since their days had been filled with nonstop missions and alliance meetings lately. They all needed a rest. Tomorrow looked like it was going to be great.

...Was what he thought, but Lance was quickly rethinking that notion when he woke up in bed the next morning. He swore he saw the ceiling swirl before he sat up. The room tilted almost dangerously when he tried to slide out of bed, and he bit back a groan at the sharp pain that shot through his head. Well that's great. Getting sick on a day like this was just his luck. He could probably get through the day and sleep it off, though... Probably.

He gave it a few seconds before he tried to stand up again, catching his balance before he had the chance to fall flat on his face. It took way longer than usual, but he managed to get washed up and changed. The others were probably waking up as well, and Lance wrapped his hoodie around him a bit tighter as he shuffled down to wait in the lounge. Halfway through his trek, it became apparent that he might be a bit sicker than he thought. He was seriously ready to take a breather along the wall for a while, his legs feeling like lead. Wow, he was really cold.

Resting on the couch sounded a lot better though, so Lance forced himself to keep walking, although he did resort to leaning against the wall as he walked as a support. It was nothing short of a miracle when he finally spotted the doors to the lounge, catching his breath as he stumbled inside. It was empty, albeit filled with the Christmas decorations they'd worked on yesterday. Allura and Coran had a field day finding places to stick and hang them along the walls. They looked really nice, even though it was kinda hard to see at the moment.

He all but collapsed onto the coach and groaned as he curled up on his side. Maybe he could nap a bit of it off before the others got here. He shivered, adjusting to pull his hood up over his head in an attempt to get warmer. He should've brought his blanket with.

The doors slid open again and Lance heard more voices and footsteps echo into the room. He easily picked out Hunk's voice getting closer, and he grumbled. So much for taking a nap.

“Lance?” Hunk called out, voice bright. “Whatcha doing lying down like that? You're tired before the party even started?”

If Lance had the energy, he might have laughed. “Dunno. I think I'm a little sick.”

“Sick?” Pidge's voice. “How bad is it?”

Lance wasn't really sure, to be honest. He saw Hunk pop into his line of vision, a look of definite concern on his face as he kneeled down so he was level with Lance's head. A hand touched his forehead, and Lance barely had time to savor the cool touch before Hunk yanked it away with a yelp.

“Dude, you have a fever. And a high one!” Hunk cried out in dismay.

Lance tried for a small smile. “Gotta keep warm for the holiday season, am I right?”

Pidge appeared behind Hunk, peering over his shoulder with a pensive expression. “Woah. You look terrible.”

Before Lance could even think of a reply, Hunk grabbed him by the shoulders, gently sitting him upright. He grunted at the movement, not even having the strength to resist and stay lying down.

“You need to go back to bed and rest, man.” Hunk started, and Lance's eyes widened. He swatted at Hunk's hands, although there was barely any force put into it.

“Uh, no, we have a Christmas party to celebrate. I'm not sleeping through it.”

Hunk huffed out a breath. “We can postpone it, not cancel. It's not really gonna be a fun party when it looks like you're gonna keel over any second.”

“I don't wanna postpone it either.” Lance was sounding whiny, and he even knew it. But he'd been so ready for this day that he didn't want to push it back. Another rush of dizziness swept over and he groaned, letting his eyes shut as his head fell back against the coach.

“What's going on?” Shiro's voice rang in from behind.

“Lance has a really bad fever, but he still wants to do the party.” Hunk said, unhappy.

“Which is ridiculous.” Pidge supplied unhelpfully.

Lance heard more footsteps before another hand was on his forehead, this time a bit longer. It felt nice. He heard Keith whisper something before the hand disappeared, although he couldn't catch what it was.

“Lance...” From Shiro's tone, Lance already knew where this was going. “That's a really high fever. We need to get it down before it worsens and gets dangerous. We'll have the party as soon as you're feeling better, alright?”

“Shiro's right, your health comes first.” Allura piped up, voice gentle. “Rest assured, we will have the celebration once you recover.”

He couldn't really argue at this point, so he just sighed and gave a weak nod. Hunk shifted his grip, moving to carry Lance bridal style as he volunteered to take him back to his room. Coran was talking about some sort of medicine for the fever, but Lance was getting too sleepy to really pay attention. Hunk talked as they walked down the hallways, but Lance already fell asleep before they reached his room.

Lance woke to numerous voices, most of them hushed in an attempt to keep quiet. He blinked, trying to clear away the bleariness. He felt something cool against his forehead, which was comforting, but he still felt like crap. Not as bad as before though, thankfully. He still heard the others talking, and he shifted to sit up in an attempt to see what was going on.

“Lance!” Hunk was the first to notice, by the bedside in an instant. He picked up the washcloth that fell off of Lance's forehead, handing it off to Pidge. “How you feeling?”

Lance pondered it for a moment, trying to swallow down his dry throat. “...Thirsty.”

“Here you go, my boy.” Coran made his way over, water pouch in hand. He held out his other hand as well, which held two small tablets. “Medicine for the fever. Pidge and Hunk here helped me concoct something that might have similar healing effects to the medicine you all might have on Earth.”

He took those gratefully, downing both the water and medicine. The water felt great, and he finished the entire pouch in no time. Hunk took the empty packet just as Pidge returned with the washcloth.

“Alright, back to sleep with you.” Hunk ordered, letting Lance lie back down before placing the cloth back on his forehead. It had been rewet, and the cool sensation coaxed the tendrils of sleep back once more.

“Where're the others?” Lance mumbled, his eyes fluttering closed.

Hunk's voice was already growing distant, but he managed to hear it this time. “They're, uh, working on something. Don't worry about it. You focus on getting better, man.”

When Lance woke up again, it was in a panic. How late was it? How long had he been asleep? He couldn't even look out a window to gauge the time of the day since they were in space. He burst upright, ignoring the slight pang in his head. Wow, definitely an improvement from the splitting headache he had earlier. But even if the headache had been bad, he wouldn't have noticed it amidst the surprise that washed over him when his vision fully adjusted.

His room was... colorful.

It was littered with familiar snowflakes and cutouts of snowmen and Christmas trees. Somewhere to the side, there was a small hologram of an actual Christmas tree, fully aglow with a bright assortment of lights and ornaments. The star at the top was the brightest, covering half of the dimly lit room with a warm yellowish tint.

Only then did his eyes fall on the others, who were standing in different areas of the room, all looking at him like a deer in headlights. Clearly caught in the middle of finishing something.

“Uhh... Surprise!” Hunk called weakly, hands holding a tray of... cookies? Now that he realized it, the room had the faintest scent of gingerbread, warm and soothing and so like Christmas morning at his home.

Lance was stunned silent for a good few seconds. “... What's going on?”

Shiro shifted his feet, holding a few unhung snowflakes in his hand. His own snowflakes, Lance noted. “We figured that since you needed to rest in bed, we'd just bring the party to your room.” He gave a small smile. “It's more cozy this way, anyways.”

They all watched him, almost eager for his response. Lance felt his eyes sting with tears. He almost feared this was just a fever-delusional dream his brain was cooking up, but he shoved that thought away. This was real.

“This is amazing, guys. Seriously.” Lance finally managed, a smile growing on his face. “Thanks.”

The atmosphere instantly relaxed, and Allura was the first to go back to sticking more snowman decorations along his wall. Shiro and Keith followed along with the decorating as they handed Coran his own share of snowflakes to hang. Hunk made his way back towards the bed, balancing the tray on one hand as he put his free hand on Lance's forehead. He grinned, wide and relieved.

“The fever's definitely gone down. I think this finally calls for a celebration!” Hunk turned around, pointing at the corner of the room. “Hit it, Pidge!”

Lance glanced over, spotting Pidge on the ground with her laptop. She tapped at something before music started to fill the room, light and happy.

Lance blinked. “Is this... Is this 'Sleigh Ride'?” A laugh escaped him, mostly out of disbelief. “How the heck did you get that?”

Pidge smirked, wagging her finger. “That's a secret.”

Hunk laughed, waving a hand towards the group. “Alright, enough decorating! Let's enjoy these Christmas cookies, courtesy of me. I know they smell like gingerbread, but they taste more like peanut butter cookies. Don't ask me why.”

“I'm sure not complaining.” Pidge grinned, setting her laptop down and making her way over with the others.

But before anyone could grab at a cookie, Hunk held the tray away. “Wait, we almost forgot. Ready?”

Lance didn't understand what that meant, but the others seemed to realize, huddled together by the bed with various degrees of smiles on their faces. Hunk counted off before they all spoke in unison.

“Merry Christmas, Lance!”

Lance's heart felt full. It really did. So much that he almost choked up when he replied with, “Thanks, guys. Now let's get to those delicious cookies Hunk made.”

They happily obliged, filling Lance in on how they managed to set up the tree hologram and transferred all of the decorations to Lance's room. Hunk apparently set his first batch of cookies on fire, but he insisted those had been a test trial. Lance listened, munching on the cookie (which was delicious) and watching the others talk and laugh.

He was gonna tackle them all with a hug once he was completely better. Even Keith.

[thetumblingdyspraxic-blog]

Oh my god I got some healing done today

I've stolen that phrase from my friend's mum, she says it after a really nice day catching up with people you love. I had such a great day like that today.

I have a friend who is 22 years older than me and a couple of times during my childhood she lived with us. She is almost certainly the most bizarre person I know, almost definitely neurodivergent. Even though I'm an only child I feel this is what having a sister must be like. And honestly? She was the biggest and best influence I could have had.

At the age of two, we started making in-jokes with each other consisting of silly ways of saying certain words. Which we do to this day. A lot of this involves screeching and cackling like witches. Literally no one else understands what we mean when we do this, we can have whole conversations like it that make no sense to anyone else.

When I was three or four she used to take me on walks and I would never be told off for skipping or running in squiggles or climbing on *everything*. If there was a wall I'd walk on it and pretend I was on a tightrope. She'd look behind her and laugh and say "you and your flippin' walls"

When I was nine I got my period. My mum gave me a leaflet and a biology lesson. My friend screamed on the other end of the phone "WHAT A BLOODY NIGHTMAAAARE" in her best witch voice and every month I'd phone her and say "NIGHTMAAAAAARE" in the witch voice and we'd have a five minute moan about the fall of the uterine wall before getting on to less serious topics

One Christmas I remember us wrapping her dog in a blanket and squealing "IT'S THE BABY JESUS" and the joke didn't die for years.

When I was being bullied at school she took up martial arts and made me go with her. Probably saved my life because it gave me something to hold on to when she wasn't there.

She's half Indian and does not understand what the word "mild" means. Nowadays I can handle whatever she cooks but imagine being eleven and weaned on bland British nonsense and then trying to swallow pilchards marinated in hellfire

Me "I SAID MILD HOW MANY CHILLIES DID YOU PUT IN THIS"

Her "idk like 6, maybe 7? That's not a lot?"

Me *chugs milk from the carton*

I remember my mum getting sooooo pissy when I info dumped about my Special Interests because I made such little sense but my friend just listened and joined in with randomly quoting stuff out of nowhere. To this day we still just take it in turns to info dump at each other and scream quotes in the witch voice, quote poetry and laugh hysterically.

I didn't see her for a long time, but one day I turned up on her doorstep crying after having left my abusive parent and she opened the door and said "Oh my God. I'll put the kettle on". She just took me in without a second thought in her tiny flat and helped me get back on my feet and go back to university when I thought I'd have to drop out.

Even though she doesn't do hugs or physical contact or big displays of emotion (complete opposite of me) she tells me she loves me in strange little ways. I have trichotillomania and while I hadn't gone bald in years, I must have been doing it loads when I first moved in with her. One evening I remember her just sitting on the sofa behind me and taking my hands away from my head and holding them in my lap. And she didn't move, she just sat there for ages holding my hands so I didn't pull my hair.

Tonight we were drinking gin and tonics and feelin' groovy and she was all like "shame the weather's bad, I bought this to put in the fire when you weren't looking. You'd love it if you were sober so it'd be magical right now. Go on take it home with you and use it with your boyfriend on the beach." It was a little packet of powder that makes the fire go all different colours. She knows I am aaaaall about bright colours.

People with difficulties like mine, I'm not saying they don't need famous people as role models because clearly, they do. But you don't have to have made it in life to make a difference to a child. Some children need a slightly dysfunctional, largely misunderstood neurodivergent adult who knows what it's like to be on the outside of acceptable society looking in. And the beauty of it is, once you've got someone else like it, you don't look in and wish you were normal. You forget why normal was ever so great in the first place.