#my dad had four kids and only one of em a boy at birth

[homoquartz]

now sad bc i cannot get someone pregnant

[ragingbookdragon]

Each Word Gets Lost In The Echo PT. 1

Roy Harper x Batbrother!Reader

Word Count: 2.9K Warnings: Explicit Language, Mature Themes

Author's Note: I had way too much fun with this but PT. 2 is going to be angsty and y'all are gonna hate me for it. >:) Enjoy! -Thorne

********************************************************************************

So, are you planning on getting us together soon?

He hummed in response, pulling out the pan and spatula. “I dunno. With Gutierrez’s wife giving birth, I want Esmeralda to have some time with her daughter before we pull out again. I know her Samantha wants her home.”

Understood, but…what’s happening in Syria…it’s not going to get better on its own.

“I know it won’t, Nadeen. But until we get a mission from somebody overseas, we can’t exactly go out.” He pulled a few eggs from the refrigerator, cracking them on the rim of the pan, watching the yellow yolks fall in. “Besides, it’s the first week of a three-month leave.” He smirked. “Don’t tell me you’re already bored.”

Are you kidding me? Um and Ab have grounded me from flying. I’m stuck here, (Y/N).

“How is your family by the way? Wasn’t your sister attending the Cairo University?” he asked.

Yeah, and Um is so proud of her.

(Y/N) chuckled, whisking the eggs in the pan. “Someone’s jealous.”

Well, I can’t exactly tell my parents I work for an illegal black ops squad. Kinda puts dampers in relationships.

“Nadeen, we’re not an illegal squad. We’re government sanctioned.”

The fuck we are. They just don’t bother us because they know they can’t kill us all.

Grabbing the pepper, he ground some into the pan. “Jesus, take a vacation, Nadeen. Go to France or something.”

Fuck France. I’ll go to Saint Petersburg first. Oh shit, speaking of SP, have you spoken to Vitsina yet?

(Y/N) frowned, setting down the pepper grinder. “Why? Is something wrong?”

What? No. I was just wondering if you had. She really needs to get a hobby. Hey, maybe I can get her and Walker to come hang out with me at home.

“You’re not going to get Walker out of his flat, Nadeen. You know how he is when he gets on leave.”

And what about Nakamoto?

“You know they’re both paranoid. Remember to—” something clanged down the hallway and he stopped, mid-sentence, going silent.

Hello? (Y/N)? Captain, you alright?

He frowned and turned off the stove, opening a drawer at the far end of the counter. Pulling out the Glock, he cocked it and murmured, “Asghar, lemme call you back.”

Ten-four, Captain. Be careful.

The line went dead, and he crept to the edge of the doorway and paused, inhaling sharply before he peeked around the corner, gun ready. Nothing. (Y/N)’s frown only deepened as he moved down the hallway, quiet and breathless. He got to the first room in the hall, his study and he shifted against the wall, listening for movement. When he heard nothing, he moved slightly, gun pointed into the door as he swept the room. Empty.

Exhaling deeply, he started to move when he heard the noise again and he peeked out the door to his bedroom. There. (Y/N) crept along the wall again until he was at the doorway and he leaned against the frame, listening carefully. Something was in there. Something or someone, he didn’t know what, but he did know.

(Y/N) waited until the noise got closer then turned the doorway and moved in. Someone’s hand shot out, grabbing the gun and he grunted, throwing up his elbow into their jaw. The intruder cried and with their free hand, grabbed (Y/N)’s shirt and yanked; they went tumbling to the ground, the gun falling away, but he didn’t waste his chance, scrambling atop the stranger as he went for the Strider he had in his back pocket.

He flicked it out and brought it down when the person beneath him grabbed it with one hand, the other ripping off the hood he wore. “(Y/N)! It’s me!”

“Roy?”

The archer sighed and went slack beneath him. “God, yes, it’s me!”

(Y/N) relaxed and tossed the knife to the side, hanging his head down. “Jesus Fuck Roy, I thought you were an assassin.”

“Get those often?” he shot back and (Y/N) glowered at him.

“Yeah, I do actually.” He rolled off Roy and got to his feet, holding out his hand for him to take.

“God, remind me not to sneak up on you again.” He let himself be tugged up and rubbed his jaw. “I thought you dislocated my jaw for a second.”

(Y/N) shoved a finger in his face. “You’re lucky you managed to grab the gun because I almost shot your ass.” He bent down and picked up his Glock and knife, putting the latter back in his pocket after he’d flicked it shut. “Are you some kind of idiot? Why the fuck didn’t you just knock on the door? What possibly justified sneaking into a mercenary’s bedroom through the window?”

Roy shrugged. “I thought you weren’t home yet.”

He opened his mouth to retort, then shut it and nodded. “Alright, that’s actually not a terrible excuse.” Sighing, he shoved past Roy and walked down the hall into the kitchen, the archer following him. “But don’t do it again.”

“Why? Worried you were gonna shoot your boyfriend?” Roy teased, wrapping his arms around (Y/N)’s waist, nuzzling into his neck.

“Yeah, I was.” He put the gun back in the drawer and lugged the archer towards the stove where he flicked the burner back on. “Next time just text me and ask if I’m home.”

Roy hummed, pressing a kiss just above the mercenary’s collar. “I wanted to surprise you.”

“Well,surprise me you did,” (Y/N) griped. “I seriously thought I was about to have a firefight in my own damn apartment.” He paused, seeming to remember something and said, “I live in a penthouse.” Glancing at Roy, he questioned, “How the fuck did you get up here?”

“I’ve got skills, babe,” Roy grinned, waggling his brows and (Y/N) rolled his eyes before tapping the Bluetooth headset at his ear.

“Call Nadeen.” It pinged for a few moments.

Captain, you’re back. Everything good?

“Yeah,” he sighed. “Roy was in the apartment.”

You live in a penthouse? How’d he get up there?

“His ‘skills’ apparently.”

Nice. He still going around with your brother?

(Y/N) nodded forgetting she wasn’t in front of him and reclined into Roy as the eggs started cooking. “Yeah. Got a new gig as Red Hood and Arsenal.”

Roy blinked. “Wait, does your squad know…about you know…”

He waved and (Y/N) completed, “That my family and friends are vigilantes? Yeah. Why?”

“Isn’t that a breach of security?”

He snorted. “You act like my squad is friends with every government in the world, baby.” He shook his head. “I trust my team with everything. And in return they trust me with theirs.”

Aww, Captain you do care.

“Does your dad know that they know?”

(Y/N) shrugged. “Probably. But he doesn’t tell me how to live my life and I don’t tell him how to live his.” He scrambled the eggs. “Nadeen, go hang out with Vitsina for a week or two if you’re really that bored.”

She’s back in Russia right now, isn’t she?

“I think so. Said she had a loose end to tie up with Antonovich.”

Oh shit, she’s gonna fucking kill that guy. She might need air support then.

“Hence why I said go hang out with her.”

Wanna come along? You could bring your boy-toy?

“Did she just call me a boy-toy?” Roy blurted. “Excuse you, I am not a boy-toy. I am a boy-man.”

Well, from the pictures Captain’s showed us, you are in fact a boy-toy, Roy.

He blinked and looked at (Y/N). “What pictures did you show them?”

“Nothing,” he coughed. “Nadeen, shut up.”

The ones with the red lace and matching heels.

“You didn’t.” Roy breathed. “You showed them the pin-up photos?!”

(Y/N)’s mouth fell open and closed as he vaguely gestured around. “I didn’t directly show them. Nakamoto hacked my phone like the nosy asshole he is and found ‘em.”

“So that means you still showed them because you apparently didn’t stop them from seeing!”

Oh, look at that, Captain, Ab is calling me. Talk later!

She hung up on him and (Y/N) huffed a laugh, pulling the device from his ear. He set it aside and shrugged out of Roy’s arms, pulling two plates out of the cabinet beside them. He plated the food, smirking at the flush across Roy’s cheeks. “Oh, don’t tell me you’re embarrassed, baby?”

“You showed my nudes to your black ops squad. It’s hot. Ridiculously hot. But also embarrassing.”

“If it makes you feel any better, they were very impressed with them.”

Roy tried and failed horribly to hide the grin coming over his lips. “…They were?”

(Y/N) set down the plates and got up in Roy’s personal space and flirted, “Oh absolutely baby. They were so stunned at how pretty you looked all dolled up in that red teddy, your lips painted crimson.” He gripped Roy’s hips and pulled them flush together, and while Roy was about five-eleven, (Y/N) had a couple inches on him. He smirked when he felt the definition in Roy’s jeans. “Wanna know what my favorite picture is?”

Roy swallowed thickly, one hand coming to grab at the island behind him, the other grabbing (Y/N)’s shoulder. “Which—which one?”

He pressed a kiss to the underside of the archer’s jaw, trailing his lips to his ear where he breathed, “The one where you’re bent down on the bed…” he reached up behind Roy’s back and tugged at the hair at the nape of his neck. “Your ass is up in the air and...”

“Uh huh, what else?” Roy begged, hips canting forward.

“God, you’ve got that pretty red flush across your cheeks.” (Y/N) whispered. “You looked incredibly ravishing.” He breathed in Roy’s ear. “We were on that mission in Kazakhstan for two whole months and all I could think about was getting back home and drilling you into the mattress until you couldn’t walk.”

“(Y/N)…” the archer groaned shamelessly. “Babe, please.”

He smirked, pressing a kiss to Roy’s cheek. “I didn’t show them that one though,” he said, pulling away without a second thought, picking up the plates. “I kept that one to myself. It’s still in my wallet if you wanna go check. I look at it a lot.”

(Y/N) wandered towards the living room and plopped down on the couch, propping his legs up on the coffee table. He snorted when he heard Roy’s moan of frustration followed by the man stomping into the living room with the other plate in his hand, the free one adjusting the front of his jeans.

“I hate you.” He scowled, sitting on the other end of the couch. “I hate you so fucking much it’s not funny.”

(Y/N) shrugged and picked up the remote, switching the channels until he found a football game to watch. “You snuck into my penthouse and almost made me shoot you point blank.” He shot Roy a grin. “I guess we’re both doing things to each other we don’t like.”

“I thought you weren’t home!”

“Mhm. Punishment is still a punishment, baby.” He turned up the volume and dug into his eggs. “Jason know you’re in Gotham City?”

Roy swallowed the food in his mouth, answering, “Told him I was in the area.”

“You know he’s gonna wanna see you.” (Y/N) replied. “If not to hang out, to make sure you’re not into trouble.”

“Are you saying I’m trouble, babe?” Roy retorted and he chuckled.

“You’re my kind of trouble.”

The archer went silent, and his cheeks flushed. “…That was a low blow.”

(Y/N) winked. “Uh huh.” His side vibrated and he reached down, pulling his phone out.

“Who is it?” Roy asked.

“Alfred.” He slid his thumb along the bottom and put it to his ear. “Hello, you’ve reached the answering machine of your favorite grandson. How may I assist you today, grandpa?”

You’re absolutely hysterical, Master (Y/N). You should go into comedy.

“I would but it doesn’t pay that well unlike merc missions.”

Hmm…how are you today, Master (Y/N)?

He smiled. “Not too bad Alfie. Could’ve eaten a perfect parfait with fresh fruit and granola, but beggars can’t be choosers, huh?”

You did miss an excellent breakfast if I do say so myself. Nevertheless, it is Sunday morning. Shall I expect you later tonight for dinner?

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world, Alfie.” (Y/N) agreed.

Wonderful. I shall set out an extra plate in case you decide to invite Master Harper. Have a good day. Until tonight, sir.

The line clicked and (Y/N) pulled the phone from his ear, staring at it in confusion. “Babe? What’s wrong?” Roy questioned.

He shook his head. “Alfred knew you were here.”

“What? He did?”

He looked up at Roy. “Yeah…said he was going to set out an extra plate for you tonight at dinner in case you wanted to come.”

“I get to come to the Wayne Family Sunday Night Dinner? Really?” he seemed awfully excited.

“Dude, it’s just dinner.”

“That you guys do every Sunday night and don’t allow anybody to tread on,” Roy retorted with a glare. “This is special.”

(Y/N) rolled his eyes. “Are you that eager to be introduced to the family?” he dodged the pillow Roy threw at him. “But…if you wanna come, you’re free to.”

“Really?” Roy doubted. “You want me to come over? I thought you wanted to keep this quiet?”

He sighed and pulled his legs from the table, setting the plate on it. “It’s not that I want it to stay a secret. It’s just…I worry about it.”

Roy set his plate down on the coffee table and scooted close. “What about?”

“I don’t know, Roy. I’m just worried that the more people that know about us the more danger I put you in.”

“Babe…” Roy started, placing a hand on the other side of (Y/N)’s cheek so he could turn his face to the archer’s. “We both live dangerous lives. There’s always going to be danger surrounding us.”

“I know,” (Y/N) sighed, leaning into Roy’s hand. “I still worry though. About you…about us.” He met those evergreen eyes. “I’m just worried that every time I leave, it’s going to be the last time we see each other.”

Roy chuckled. “Afraid I’m going to get offed?”

“No,” he murmured, turning his lips into Roy’s palm. “That I will.”

The archer gaped at him. “(Y/N)…why haven’t you told me about this?”

“Because I’m a super soldier who was trained to keep my emotions under control by an anal retentive, over glorified kitchen scale of a father.” (Y/N) deadpanned, then heaved an even bigger sigh and rested his forehead against Roy’s shoulder. “You’ve got enough on your plate.”

“Yeah, Jaybird keeps me pretty busy with missions.”

He chuckled. “Gonna have to tell my little brother to let my boyfriend have a break.”

“Break smeak.” Roy quipped, pressing a kiss to (Y/N)’s temple. “Listen to me, you’re a strong man, (Y/N). You’re probably the best out of your family. Smart and skilled off the charts.” He ran his calloused fingers down his lover’s neck. “If anyone is going to get out alive on a mission, it’ll always be you. Always.”

He sighed, turning his nose into Roy’s neck as he whispered. “You think so?”

Roy smiled, gripping his chin lightly to pull his head up. “I don’t think so, babe. I know so.” He leaned forward and pressed his lips to (Y/N)’s. “I love you,” he murmured against the soldier’s lips. “So much.”

(Y/N) hummed and pressed a hand to Roy’s chest, shoving him backwards onto the couch and he crawled atop him. “I love you more,” he replied and pulled his shirt off his body before pressing his hand to Roy’s chest, except the archer hissed and he let up. “What’s wrong?” he worried, and he shook his head.

“Nothing.”

“Roy.” He warned, cocking a brow. “Where are you hurt?” he asked, pressing the same spot again.

“Ow! Stop that!” Roy grunted. “It’s tender.”

“What’s tender?” (Y/N) inquired and Roy sighed.

“I got a new tattoo.”

He narrowed his eyes and gazed down at him. “Of?”

“Nothing.” The archer muttered, though pink was coming across his cheeks and he sighed.

“C’mon Roy. Talk or I’ll tease it out of you.” He shot him a glare. “And you know I will.”

They stared one another down for a minute then Roy sighed and pulled his shirt off and (Y/N) peeled away the bandage. His eyes went wide when he saw the silver spartan helmet atop the black shield, the gold lettering underneath.

“Is this…”

“Your squad designation?” Roy offered. “Yeah…thought it seemed right.”

(Y/N) traced the raised flesh, eyes flashing to Roy’s when he shivered from the calloused touch. “I can’t believe you got my squads symbol tattooed on your chest.”

“You don’t like it?” he sounded hurt.

“I love it,” (Y/N) huffed, gesturing to his own tattoo on his ribs. “We match now…though you forgot to put your name inside the shield.”

“Well, I’m not technically a Spectre, (Y/N).” Roy said.

“Maybe not, but that’s still where your name goes.” He retorted and smiled. “It’s awesome, baby.”

Roy’s thumb brushed his hipbone. “So does the tattoo get me out of punishment for sneaking in?”

(Y/N) smirked down at him. “It just might.” He reached down and tugged the front of Roy’s pants. “Why don’t you show me how sorry you are for it? I just might decide to forgive you before subjecting you to dinner with my family.”

A multitude of emotions flashed through Roy’s eyes. Arousal, desire, need, and then surprise. “Oh shit, I forgot about dinner.”

“Seriously?” (Y/N) blinked, unsurprised. “God you’re such a man.” He crawled out of Roy’s lap much to the archer’s dismay and groaning.

“Where are you going?”

He paused and looked back at him. “I’m not fucking you on my couch, Roy.” He started towards his bedroom. “Hurry up or I’ll start without you.”

Roy rolled off the couch and to his feet as fast as he could.

[wefoundloveunderthelight]

Mystery Of Pixie Hollow by GleefullyCaptainSwan

Chapter 1/11

Read on AO3: | Chapter 1

Or on FF

Stacy's Tortured Crew: @teamhook @kmomof4 @stahlop @lfh1226-linda @ilovemesomekillianjones @itsfabianadocarmo @mariakov81 @qualitycoffeethings @zaharadessert @jrob64 @jonesfandomfanatic @natascha-ronin @tiganasummertree @xarandomdreamx @therooksshiningknight @batana54 @superchocovian @onceratheart18 @ultraluckycatnd @snowbellewells @karlyfr13s @the-darkdragonfly @xsajx @deckerstarblanche @jonesfandomfanatic

Chapter 1: Neverland

Emma stood at the register, a pile of coins and dollar bills sitting in front of her as she began counting her tips. She had been working nonstop for the last three weeks to save every dime she earned in order to take Henry on a special treat for his birthday. He had seen the flyer in the window of the diner after school one day, immediately calling the carnival to her attention. A traveling amusement park themed to the story of Peter Pan was visiting their town. Henry hadn’t stopped asking questions about it since.

Do fairies really exist?

Can Peter Pan actually fly?

If I really believe do you think I can fly when I’m there too?

With his birthday approaching, Emma knew the best birthday gift she could give him was a trip to the park when it came to town. It was only visiting for three days, and Henry had been completely gutted when they fell on Emma’s weekend at the diner. He had been putting on his best face when she got home from work, her feet tired from standing all day, reciting to her his day, and trying to pretend that he wasn’t disappointed after sitting all day listening to the sounds of the park lofting through his window.

She could barely contain her secret last night when she tucked him into bed, and he told her that he got to spend the day watching Peter Pan skip through the park and it was just as good as being there.

Henry was such a sweet boy, he never asked for things he knew he couldn’t have. He knew that money was tight for them. Emma had been on her own ever since she gave birth to the boy, his father was long out of the picture before he was even born. It wasn’t that the boy was ever without something important, Emma made sure that she saved her money to spend it on things he needed, and when she couldn’t afford it, her best friend, Will Scarlet always pitched in to help her out.

Which was what had happened with Henry’s birthday gift this year. Emma had saved almost enough for the admission price but knew that Henry would want tickets to ride the rides and play a few games, and of course Will tossed some money into the pot, so that the three of them could enjoy the last day of the park together.

“Did you save enough?” She turned to see her boss Mrs. Lucas approach her from the kitchen.

“I made $25 bucks today, I should be able to get him some dinner while we are there.” She said with a smile.

“Get him something from me too while you’re there.” She responded as she held out her hand, a white envelope in her palm. “It’s his birthday after all.”

Emma tentatively took the envelope, lifting the top to see a crisp $20 bill tucked inside. “Gran, you didn’t have to do that.”

“I know, but it’s his birthday, just be sure to tell him it’s from Gran.” She reached out and hugged the woman, a smile growing on her face. The bell above the door made a sound and they both turned to see the customer walk into the diner. “Get out of here, you’re off the clock.”

Emma looked at her watch. “I still have ten minutes left in my shift.”

The woman shook her head and pulled out her notepad to assist the man who sat down at the counter. “Clock must be slow.” She said with a grin. “Get out of here. Take that boy of yours on an adventure.”

“Thank you, see you tomorrow.” She hollered back as she ran out the door to her yellow bug parked outside the diner. She couldn’t wait to get home and tell Henry they were going to Pixie Hollow.

When she opened the door to her apartment, Henry was running circles around the couch as Will chased him through the living room. “You can’t get away from me, mate.”

“You’re too old to catch me.” Henry hollered and Will stopped in his tracks and grabbed his chest.

“Oi, that was quite rude.” He said in a feigned outrage. “I’m not that old.”

Emma laughed and they both turned toward her. “Mom!” Henry ran and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“The lad is being hurtful on his birthday.” Will scoffed.

“Tell your Uncle Will that you’re sorry for calling him old.” She leaned over and whispered. “But say it loudly because his hearing isn’t what it used to be.” Henry fell to the ground in a fit of giggles.

“You know he gets his mean spirted nature from you, right?” Will complained.

“We love you.” She teased as she ran her hand through his short locks and pinched his cheek. She turned and faced Henry.

“Why are you home? I thought you had to work tonight.”

“I wanted to surprise you!” She grinned. “Thought maybe we could go see this Peter Pan you keep talking about.”

Henry’s face brightened. “Seriously? Oh my God.” He squealed “You mean it?”

“Happy birthday, baby.” She smiled. The boy launched himself into her arms. “Ok we gotta get ready to go, get your jacket in case it gets cold after the sun goes down.”

Henry disappeared in a fury to his room to collect his jacket, just as Will’s phone rang.

“Don’t answer it.” Emma protested as he held up the phone and Will groaned.

“It’s work, I can’t ignore it.” Emma groaned as he greeted his boss, a chorus of “Yes, sir” “I know, sir” “Of course, sir.” Carried through the room.

“Yes but I was planning to…” He frowned. “I understand, of course, I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He said sadly. Henry came bounding into the room as he disconnected the call.

“You’re going in to work now?” Emma complained.

“I’m sorry Em, it can’t be helped. They had some sort of emergency, and they need me there right away.”

“So, we aren’t going?” Henry said sadly, looking up between them. Will hesitated, staring between the two. Emma knew he wouldn’t disappoint Henry if it couldn’t be helped.

“I’m sorry lad, I don’t have a choice.”

“We’re still going Henry.” Emma announced.

“Emmie, you can’t go alone.” Will began to protest.

Emma rolled her eyes. “Stop it, I’m an adult. I don’t need you to babysit me everywhere we go.”

“I’m not there to babysit you, I just don’t like it when you and Henry are out late at night without someone else with you.”

“Without a man with me, you mean. I don’t know if you realize this yet, but I don’t need a man, I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

“Are you sure you two will be alright?”

Emma chuckled. “I think I can handle a carnival for children on my own.”

“Alright, but text me when you get there, and again when you get home.”

“Ok dad.” She teased and he slapped her playfully on the arm.

“Happy birthday, Bub.” He picked the boy off the ground and squeezed him. “Don’t have too much fun without me.”

“That’s impossible.” The boy replied.

“Did I tell you that you’re my favorite six-year-old out of all the six-year-old kids out there?”

“But I just turned six. You don’t even know all the six-year-old kids.” Henry wined with a playful smile.

“I don’t have to because you’re still my favorite.”

“You said that when I was five.”

“And I’ll say it when you’re seven or fifteen.” Will said as he sat the boy back on the ground.

“I love you, Uncle Will.”

“Love you too Bub.” He raised his hand, and they exchanged their ridiculous handshake that they had made up when Henry had turned four.

Two taps, spin around, tap down low, shake your booty, tap up high.

It was ridiculous and heartwarming and a reminder of how lucky she was to have such an amazing best friend. Even when she showed up on his doorstep, a positive pregnancy test in her hand, tears streaming down her face, Will simply pulled her into his arms and promised he would always be there for her. Over the years he had been her shoulder to cry on, her Lamaze coach, her sounding board, and her support system. Even with the one drunken misstep that neither of them ever spoke of again, there wasn’t anyone that Emma relied on more than Will.

“Ok I’m off, have fun tonight.” He smiled and left through the front door. As soon as the door closed Henry jumped up and down in front of her.

“Can we go now?” Emma chuckled and pushed him toward the door.

“Of course, let’s go.”

“You have to say it mom.”

“Say what?” She asked, confused on what he was meaning.

“Second star to the right.” He began excitedly.

“And straight on til morning.” She continued as they closed the door to the apartment and made their way to the park across the street. The lights shone bright into the sky with all the rides and attractions that had their own music playing all around them as soon as they entered the park.

Henry could barely contain his excitement as he bounced about from ride to ride. More than once Emma had to remind him to stay close by, not to get too far ahead of her, but the boy was hard to be contained.

“Mom, look, it’s a house of mirrors, can we go, can we go?” He jumped up and down in front of her.

“Ok, but don’t get too far ahead of me.” Emma laughed as he handed his ticket to the man at the front of the attraction. She didn’t like the way the man glared in her direction, there was something about him that made her uncomfortable in a way that caused the hair on the back of her neck to stand on end. Henry ran ahead into the building and Emma yelled for him to wait as the man seemed to take an extra-long time to allow her to enter behind her son.

When he finally raised the gate, she ran toward the fun house, entering the building and exhaling when she saw Henry standing at the corner waiting for her. “Come on mom, this is so cool.”

“It’s very cool.” Emma replied, looking around the disorienting room. The mirrors at all angles making it appear that Henry was in more than one place in front of her.

“You could get lost in here for days.” He joked as he stepped into the room, his arms outstretched in front of him to avoid running into anything.

“Let’s try and avoid getting lost, I’m starting to get hungry.” She joked.

“Come on mom, I bet you can’t find which one is really me.” Henry yelled, rushing forward, and turning a corner until she couldn’t see him anymore.

“Don’t get too far ahead of me.” She warned, turning the corner he was just at and seeing three versions of him in front of her. “Ok which one is my Henry?” She questioned as she stepped forward, her hand coming into contact with a mirror. She then touched the one next to her but that was a mirror as well.

“I’m right here.” Her son mimicked, before running around the corner again.

“You’re too good at this.” She chuckled, turning, and chasing after him until she ran into one of the glass mirrors. She really hated this attraction. “Ok Henry, I’m really getting hungry. Which way did you go?”

“I’m over here.” She heard him toward her left and she turned to stumble in that direction as she caught a glimpse of him just as she turned the corner.

“Henry, can you just stay in one place until I get to you.” Her tone was starting to sound agitated as she felt her way through the glass around her, dipping in and out of the crevices until she reached a dead end.

“Henry, where are you?” She yelled.

“Mom.” She heard him shout and then it got quiet.

“Henry?” She hollered toward the last place she heard his voice. She felt her way through the attraction until she heard music and felt the breeze of the outside, stepping through the small doorway, she found herself on the other side from where they entered. She looked around for Henry, but only saw other children, families standing around the exit area.

“Did you see a little boy come out of here?”

“I’ve seen a lot of little boys.” The guy grumbled and wandered away from her.

“Henry, where are you?” She yelled, trying to control her voice as the terror started to race in her heart. “Henry?” She ran toward the entrance and the man who took her ticket. “Where is my son, did he come back out this way?”

The man frowned, “No one comes back out the front ma’am. Did you check the exit?”

“Of course, I checked the exit, you idiot, how else did I get out here!” She yelled and he turned to take a ticket from another family.

“I need you to find my son.” She grabbed at the lapel of his jacket and turned him back toward her.

“Hands off lady.” The man warned. “I’ll get my manager.”

“Good, get your manager. I need to find my son.”

The family tried to push past her, and Emma stood in front of them, blocking the exit. “My son got lost in there.”

“It’s not my problem that you can’t keep an eye on your boy, get out of my daughter’s way.” The man pushed around her, leading his daughter into the entrance of the attraction.

Emma ran after them, and the ticket idiot was on her heels. “You can’t go in there without another ticket.”

Emma shoved his hands off her, “Get off me, I’m going in there until I find my son.” She screamed, wandering back into the fun house, her heart racing as she turned in every direction screaming her son’s name. “Henry, where are you?” She yelled, pushing forward through the maze. There was no response except for the grumbling of the people in front of her who she continued to push aside in her quest to find her son.

When she reached the exit again she immediately screamed his name, grabbing at random strangers to ask if they had seen her son, a photo of him pulled up on her phone. Suddenly she was grabbed from behind and she turned quickly to see the ticket asshole with a man. “You can’t go around grabbing our customers.” The man sternly growled at her.

“My son is missing. He went in the hall of mirrors, and he didn’t come out.”

“That’s impossible. There is only one way in and one way out. He must have come out; you’ve just lost him.”

“I didn’t lose him.” She cried. “Don’t you have something you can do. Call the cops, make an announcement, just find my son.”

“Of course, I’m Felix. I’m the assistant manager. Let me make a few calls.” He said with a grin that certainly didn’t set her at ease. There was something off about the man, something menacing and scary, and Emma just wanted to get her son and get the hell away from all of them. “Come with me.” He didn’t ask but tugged at her elbow. “Nothing to see here, she just lost her child.” He announced to the people who had suddenly taken an interest in the commotion.

Emma was too concerned about her child to admonish the bystanders for gawking at her, their looks of contention and disappointment apparent on their faces as if they just watched an irresponsible parent simply leave their child by the side of the road instead of the fact that her son vanished without a trace.

“Ok ma’am can you explain to me what you think happened to your son?” The man closed the door to the trailer and gestured for her to take a seat in the dingy office.

“What I know” she paused, “was that my son and I went into the Hall of Mirrors and when I got to the exit, he wasn’t there.”

“Do you normally let your son run off without you?”

“Excuse me?” She stood up from her seat. “He did not run off without me, he was playing in the goddamn funhouse with me in the room.”

“Yes ma’am so you said, however if he was simply playing with you, then you would know where he was, isn’t that correct?”

Emma was done with this man’s treatment of her, she was done with people not ripping that god forsaken fun house to the ground until they came upon her little boy. She pushed her way past the man and shoved the door open, ignoring his plea for her to stay put. As soon as she stepped out of the trailer, two men approached her.

“Are you the woman who lost her son?”

Emma recognized their badges and the names on them from the Sherriff’s station. “Thank God you are here, these idiots won’t do anything to find my son.”

“I’m officer Nolan, and this is officer Locksley, can you tell me what happened?”

Emma took a deep breath, “My son, Henry, he just turned 6, it’s his birthday today.” Tears started to fall down her cheeks. “We went into the Hall of Mirrors, he was playing hide and seek and trying to get me to find him, but then he called out for me, and I couldn’t find him anymore. When I got to the exit, he wasn’t there, and no one can tell me where he is.”

“So, he wasn’t with you in the Hall of Mirrors?”

“Did you just hear me? I told you we went in together. He was only a few feet in front of me, it’s not like I let my fucking kid just run around alone.”

The man held up his hand. “Alright ma’am, there is no need to get upset.”

“No need to get upset.” She stated, shocked at the audacity this man had standing in front of her like everything was normal that was happening to her. “I lost my son. My baby is out there somewhere, and no one will fucking help me.”

Officer Nolan stepped forward and took her by the elbow. “Ma’am, if you keep cursing in front of the children here, we are going to have to take you down to the station to discuss this matter.”

“Matter!” She yelled. “My son is missing; I don’t give a fuck what you think about my goddamn cursing. Find my son!”

“Is it possible that he simply ran away?” The other man asked.

“Ran away? Why would you even think he would run away?”

“Is his father here with you?”

“Why does that matter?”

“I’m simply asking if the boy could be with his father.”

Emma shook her head. “No, his father isn’t around. He’s most definitely not with that asshole.”

“So, the situation with the father, it’s contentious then?”

Emma couldn’t believe the crap she was hearing. “This has nothing to do with his father. He’s lost, he’s probably scared and all you can do is sit here and ask me stupid questions that aren’t doing anything to find him.”

The men looked at each other and nodded, Officer Locksley stepped into the trailer and shut the door behind him. “My partner is just going to talk to the manager and find out if they know anything else.”

“He’s the assistant manager and he knows jack shit.” She said as she rolled her eyes.

The door to the trailer opened and he gestured for his partner to join him. They whispered at the door for a moment and then returned in front of her, closing their notebooks. “Ma’am, I’m going to give you my business card, we can’t do anything about a runaway until after 24 hours. If he still hasn’t come home by then, give us a call.”

“I already fucking told you he’s not a goddamn runaway.”

“Ok ma’am, we’re going to have to take you down to the station if you can’t control yourself.” She felt their hands on her arms and she pulled away from them, holding her hands in the air.

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“Well, you can’t stay here.” He announced, looking back at the ridiculous assistant manager who was glaring at her.

“So, I’m supposed to just leave my kid?”

“Most times, they show up in the morning, a little scared, hungry, and apologetic for causing a scare. Go home and get some sleep, they usually show back up at home.”

Emma couldn’t believe this was happening, that she was just supposed to go home and leave Henry out here, lost. She looked toward the fun house, wanting to make a run back to it, wanting to search frantically for anything she could find, but she knew he wasn’t there. Something had happened to Henry.

“Ma’am. We need you to leave or come with us.” They stepped toward her, and Emma backed up from her spot. She surveyed the crowd and then paused.

“I’m going.” She announced, turning on her heels and storming toward the exit. When she got to her house she climbed the stairs, screaming her son’s name, hoping he would answer and explain that he got lost and simply went home, but the house was still, dark, and ominously quiet. She went into Henry’s room and pulled open the curtains, the lights from the fair spilling into the window. She pulled the chair over to the wall and sat down, staring at the scene in front of her. She would wait there until she found him, until he made his way back to the house.

Looking down at her phone, she sent another text to Will asking him to call her immediately. Pulling a blanket around her she sat and waited.

Henry, where are you?

~*~

Henry woke with a start, a painful beating in his head. He reached up and winced at the swollen knot on the back of his skull. He looked around in the dark, trying to figure out where he was. Just moments ago he was in the Hall of Mirrors with his mom, they were playing a game. He remembered seeing her, just a few feet away and then his back hit something solid and then it moved. Arms reached out and grabbed him and then everything went black.

He felt around on the ground below him, dirt digging into his fingernails. There was a small light coming in from a tiny opening up high in the room. He groaned as he tried to sit up.

“Don’t sit up too quickly, I’m sure you’re dizzy.”

He jumped at the sound of a female in the room. “Who’s there?”

A face came into view, the light streaming into the dark onto her golden hair. “It’s ok, just give it a minute. You can see in the dark after you get used to it.”

“My head hurts.” He groaned.

“It will only hurt for a couple of days. Then it will go away.” The girl moved closer to him, sitting down next to him.

“What do you want with me?”

“I’m a friend, I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Where are we?”

“Underground. I don’t know really. We move around a lot.”

“Who’s we?”

“Pan’s crew.” The girl said softly, and Henry almost started laughing.

“As in Peter Pan? I must be dreaming. That’s what’s going on. This is a nightmare.”

“I wish it were, but sadly this is real. What’s your name?”

Henry peered at the girl in front of him. “I’m Henry.” Suddenly the shadows moved behind her and he pushed back against the wall.

“Don’t be afraid, they won’t hurt you.”

Henry stared at the faces of the children staring back at him. “Who are you people?”

“We’re the lost ones. Just like you.” She said sadly.

[letsunity]

Not Afraid - Chapter 4

Summery -  

The Bad Batch go to Tatooine to resupply and avoid the Empire. As per the usual, Omega gets separated from the group. Fortunately for her, Krayt's Claw just so happens to be nearby. Bossk and Embo guide her to Boba Fett, who takes interest in why the Kaminoans want her. It's a reluctant partnership, with the Bad Batch having to rely on Krayt's Claw to navigate non-military life.

With some wandering around, Bossk managed to get them a job.

It wasn't anything big, but the pay was good enough - They could get rations, fuel, the essentials.

According to the client, someone is stealing from local farmers. All they have to do is catch them, get their reward and move on. With Hunter's tracking, it shouldn't be a difficult task to complete. They were only dealing with a thief, so Omega would be fine to tag along, which she was happy about.

Seeing how excited she was to join was sweet.

"Don't expect anything, laddies and lady. It goes to plan if you don't have one!" Bossk hissed, cocking his blaster with a grin.

"That doesn't make any sense," Echo countered, pulling a face at the reptile.

"Because you're thinking like a soldier," Bossk smirked, flicking Echo's head. "Plans seldom work. All you need is explosives, knowing what you're doing and instinct. Trust yourself, your abilities, and retreat to bring back more explosives."

"Sounds great!" Wrecker agreed, itching to blow something up. "You guys can get the col illegal stuff, right? We can make things go boom?" The reptile snorted, equally happy about explosions.

With them so happy, Hunter was curious about something. Why didn't they rent speeders to this location; why walk?

The only reason would be that Boba wanted them to see something.

"You wanna see something cool?" Boba asked Omega, having a confident smirk on his face.

He whistled loudly, changing the tune with a harsh rhythm like he was imitating a call. Bossk already knew, rolling his reptilian eyes at his nephew. He knew that it was to give the squirt something special, but still, he was showing off.

Omega waited, uncertain of why he made that noise. While waiting, she saw a wolf-like creature climb atop a hill. Several others appeared, though far darker than the main one. The white one slowly stalked towards them, sniffing warily.

Boba knelt, lightly guiding her hand out and upwards. There was tingling at her fingertips like there was an electrical charge coursing through her. The titanic canid stepped to her, their wet black nose brushing against her palm. In that brief touch, there was the spark of connection.

She could feel it, and it could feel her. It lowered its head into her hand, making eye contact through the helmet.

The wolf grunted towards Wrecker, Echo and Hunter, shaking their head. It grumbled, making several sounds towards them as the other wolves began to run away. With a stamp of its reptile-like paw, it barked and ran off, leaving them confused.

"The centre returned makes seven; burnt comes and makes it six. Anguished are the five, particularly the four. Soon to be three, suddenly two. One shines through, seven again," Bossk translated, thinking over the cryptic warning.

"That's incredibly ominous," Hunter stated, unsure of what to make of that.

"You always get stuff like that from them. It's part of their cryptic 'future sight' or whatever they call it," Boba shrugged, not overly bothered. "Other than the ominous warnings, they're cool to meet. Get them some Wookie meat, and they love you; they're obsessed with it."

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

This new Empire seemed interesting. It didn't affect the Bounty Hunter's Guild, but it could prove profitable.

"Cad Bane. Am I right?" asked some stiff-upper-lip rookie.

Bane didn't care about them, not bothering to remember their name. Admiral Ram-whatever, it wasn't important.

"I prefer meeting on planets without incontinent clouds, Admiral. I don't like rain," Bane hissed, his distorted voice shivering the blank human. Humans had a habit of looking similar to one another. "My price is doubled for that alone."

"I understand, Mister Bane. I can assure you that you'll be incredibly well paid for," said Admiral Rampart, sitting across from the Duros. "There is a bounty on a child named Omega."

"Don't bother. That little brat Boba's probably already involved. At least with his father, you could make a deal, but the boy is annoyingly stubborn."

The kid wasn't popular because of that and was a pain in Bane's ass. His commitment to his rules was somewhat admirable, but it wasn't practical. Even with his little club, the jobs he'll get won't do him much good. He's not going to amount to much in the future.

"You misunderstand, Mister Bane. The Kaminoans want to capture her, and I suspect it's to encourage Tarkin to keep the cloning program. I want you to stop it."

"As I said, it's not worth the time. It doesn't matter where I go; the brat will follow. I'd lead him straight to you, meaning I lose credits."

"I don't want you to capture her, Mister Bane. I want you to kill her."

"Now, that's far simpler. That's triple my pay, but if you'd like, I'll bring you the skin like a rug."

"No, I only need her eliminated. The cloning program must end. To assist you, I'll have my best team to work alongside you. CT-9904 will follow your orders without question, and the other three will follow his example. If this 'Boba' gets in the way, kill him."

"Bounty hunter's aren't allowed to kill each other. I can certainly maim him, though. Give me some credits upfront, some immunity, and I'll bring you her head on a platter."

This was going to be easy.

With the weird female clone out of the picture, project War Mantle will be ahead of schedule. The Empire can grow and prosper without the expensive republican remnants. Unfortunately for this Bane fellow, he couldn't be in the picture afterwards. When the girl was dead, 9904 will kill the hunter as well.

Nobody will know that she existed or mattered. Even with this 'Boba' character, he doubted that things would go wrong. It's only a matter of time.

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

Meeting the wolves were amazing; the white one was soft and warm.

Omega liked the feeling of the grass against her hands, picking a few to inspect them.

While fascinated by the blades of green, she failed to see a nearby Loth-cat. It hissed and lunged at her, its fur raised and bristled.

Instinctively, Hunter aimed his blaster at the animal. It growled, the creature deceptively savage. Boba got on one knee and took some dried meat from his pocket, encouraging the animal to approach.

It hesitantly stepped forward, its pupils widening. It licked his hand then took the meat, backing away from whence it came. It climbed down a hole, poking its head back up again some moments later. Three minuscule heads popped up, chirping at the newcomers. It's only a mother protecting her kits.

Wrecker got down, wanting to have a go as well. Boba handed him some meat, motioning for it to come again. This time, one of the kits investigated, sniffing the food. The mother joined, then the other two kittens.

The family of feral animals chewed the meat, unusually passive and docile.

Omega lightly stroked one of the kittens, amazed by the feeling of their fur. Wrecker grinned, his gloved hand licked by the other two kits.

"Can we keep 'em?" Wrecker begged, looking at Hunter with puppy eyes.

"This is their home," Hunter answered, letting him down easy. "This is where they want to be, so this is where they'll stay."

First, it was reading their emotions, and now communicating with animals. It stank of force-sensitivity, even though he doubted it.

They skipped back into their hole, chirping at them as they passed. Omega waved goodbye, excited to see even more animals.

"How do you do that?" She asked, eager to learn it herself.

"Instinct. Mandalorians are raised from birth to trust themselves, to trust what their gut tells them. It told me that she was only protecting her babies, nothing malicious. You'll learn someday."

"I want to meet all kinds of creatures!"

"There's no limit to what you'll see in this galaxy, Megs," Bossk assured, ruffling the helmet she wore. "So long as Dad Batch are right next to ya."

"We're not the Dad Batch," Echo corrected, although he didn't sound so certain.

"Dad Batch or Bro Batch, either's good with me!" Wrecker smiled, slapping Bossk's shoulder. "We need a fight!" The Trandoshan snarled in agreement, eager to bruise the clone.

They were only a few minutes away from the farm, and in three hours, dusk would begin to set. The more Hunter hung with these odd pair, the more they grew on him. They were capable of skinning folk alive but having that protecting Omega was alright.

Boba was showing Omega a lot of things, even giving her his helmet. He was only three or four years older than her; he had a lot to teach. He was good with kids, too, something Hunter was still learning.

Then there was Bossk's nickname, Dad Batch. Hunter was mimicking what Cut did, so was he being a father to Omega? He never thought of being a parent before, but the past two weeks were unexpected. Maybe he could be a dad to her, be someone to look after her as she deserved.

Not only would Hunter learn a lot about being a mercenary, but interacting with children, too.

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

Saw looked over the bodies, the stench of burnt flesh searing his nostrils. His face scrunched in rage, practically seizing with pure rage.

"I'm sorry, sir, but none survived," Lorc sighed, shaking his head. "They were all wiped out. Not just that, but the dead trooper's wounds are the same as our departed. Friendly fire, presumably."

"Which damned clone was it?"

"That's the issue. It wasn't a clone; it was a random guy in clone armour," Edrio continued, confusing the man. "We've estimated five to have been shot by precise skills matching a clone. The rest were random people. The damage indicates a distance, probably a sniper."

"I know who did it," Saw spat, looking away from the burned bodies. "And we're going to make him pay for it. I want the Bad Batch; I want the one that killed these people as though they were swine. We'll make him suffer for this."

"He and the empire, sir," Mari agreed, charging her rifle.

Saw would destroy this empire, even if it killed him.

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

The farmer was both overjoyed and miserable.

The thief stole food and much of his equipment, most of which she can't replace due to financial struggles. Bossk terrified his Tooka cat, and Wrecker kept bumping his head on the ceiling. Being the second smallest, Boba wasn't concerned with the Toydarian's accommodations.

"Every night, the loth-rat takes more and more. I've set up traps, boobytraps, I even bought a droid, but they stole all of it!" She cried, hovering in distress. "I need them gone. I don't care what you do with them, so long as they leave us be."

"How're you going to pay?" Bossk asked, getting an elbow to the side from Echo. "If you want to afford rations, this is how."

"The local farmers have pitched in. The most we can do is fifteen thousand credits," she sighed, slowly drifting onto a chair. "Our crops haven't done well this year. That war has stripped the galaxy of life; even the planets are too exhausted from it."

"We'll take half," Boba decided, much to Bossk's annoyance. "Lothal's yaim par pirates bal smugglers. Vi ne'waadas eyn sur'haai olar," he added in a strange language, getting a grunt in response.

From the sounds of it, that was Mando'a, the tongue of Mandalorians. Hunter wasn't the best at languages; Tech was more specialised for that.

"By the light of Lothal's moons, you're a blessing to this valley," she whimpered, wiping her eyes. "We wish you luck on this bounty, Fetts."

Plural?

"I'm his uncle," Bossk explained to the confused four, patting Boba's shoulder and glancing at the Toydarian. "We'll make sure that they won't come again."

And so, the quest is on. Find the thief, get paid and get the hell off of Lothal. Omega was happy to be tagging along, asking about boobytraps and the sort. Wrecker picked her up, concerned that she was getting tired from the walking.

Echo would rather have stayed with Highslinger, but walking alone at night wasn't a good idea. Bossk took notice of his hesitancy, snorting for the clone's attention.

"I'm assuming it's all Techno Union?" Echo nodded at the question, the lack of feeling in his 'legs' creeping through his spine. What was left of 'his' spine. "We know a gal who can help with that. She fixes Dengar and Highslinger up after jobs. A friend of Omega's is a friend of ours."

"I'll have to take you up on that. I'd be happier to leave this all back on Skako Minor."

"We can blow it up if that'll ease the anguish."

"Did I hear blow up?" Wrecker interrupted, practically shaking from excitement. "What's going boom?"

"Nothing for now," Echo sighed, shaking his head. "You're going to drop Omega."

"I'm fine!" She assured, gripping onto Wrecker's armour. "Your eyes are pretty."

"Thank you," Bossk said, making a mixture of a chirp and purr in response. "You're a lovely young lady yourself. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, Lil Mega."

Ever since meeting Hunter, things just got better for Omega. She had Clone Force 99 and now Krayt's Claw, an odd but loving family of misfits. They made her feel special, more than just a mere assistant or failed experiment. Bossk talked to her like she was an equal, as did the others.

Being around them only added to the coldness of Kamino. They didn't show nearly the compassion Bossk did, and he'd only known her two days or so. Hunter, Echo, Wrecker and Tech were more family than the Kaminoans ever were, and she wanted it to stay that way.

Even though Crosshair was under the chip, she wanted to get to know him. The lads missed him, and she wanted to know who he really was. Not what the chip made him into or was making him do.

With Boba and his gang, it should be a whole lot easier to help him.

Far away, sitting atop a pile of stones, Fennec lowered her rifle.

[staywritten]

To Be Expected│Bang Chan

To Be Expected│Bang Chan

Synopsis: You sent your boyfriend to buy a pregnancy test, what could you possibly expect?

Genre: One shot, fluff, expecting parents

Word Count: 2412

Masterlist. AO3

This scenario also has absolutely nothing to do with my Dad!Chan series, this was just a one off idea and Chan’s my ult so I wrote about him again.

“Babe, which one am I supposed to buy?” Chris grumbled into his phone in English, taking salvation in hoping that the old man working couldn’t understand him. There was nothing more embarrassing than standing in a convenient store in the middle of the night looking at the various pregnancy test.

“I don’t fucking know Chris” you groaned pacing back and forth in your living room. “I haven’t done this before-just get all of them.”

“All? There’s like thirty different brands. Have you lost your mind?”

“Yes, Chris. Yes I have because SOMEBODY may have gotten me pregnant.”

“Don’t blame me for all of this, we’re a team. You’re equally responsible.” He sighed looking at the shelves “…Hmmm this should be fine right?” He shrugged, grabbing the more inexpensive of the brands. There was no way in hell he was going to leave this convenient store with only a pregnancy test. He grabbed chips, cookies, and drinks. Anything that’ll prolong the clerk from getting to the pregnancy test. “Babe, you want anythin?”

“Yes, I want to not be pregnant”

“Anything I can get you at the store?” he chuckled.

“Hmm maybe a bottle of soju?”

“How ‘bout somethin not harmful to the possible baby?”

“Good point... ice cream?”

“Deal” he smiled, tossing the ice cream on top and walking over to the counter. Fidgeting and clearing his throat as the clerk took out each and every item scanning and bagging them at arctic speeds. Luckily for him the old man wasn’t too talkative, but he did notice how he paused and side eyed him when he got to the pregnancy test. It was the same judgemental look he expected any grandfather to give him.

There was something about a pregnancy test.

The directions were so simple to follow. There really wasn’t any room for error, and yet you still had to read them over and over and over just to be sure you did it right. You even had Chris read over it a few times.

You set your alarm and then the anxiety set in. This was going to be the longest five minutes of your life.

How did you even wind up in this mess? You were always so careful. Very careful. You’d been on birth control for years it was like second nature to you. But one tiny slip up. One slight lapse in judgment. One bottle of soju too many and all your indiscretion was tossed out the window.

Laying on the bed with Chris you sighed. His king Charles spaniel Berry, tucked by the foot of the bed. It’s like your anxiousness was contagious. This was the calmest she’d ever been, it was like she was trying to ease your nerves. “…What if it’s positive..?” you fiddled with your nightshirt, your nerves restless. “What do we do?”

He smoothed down your hair in an attempt to calm you. “Then we’re gonna be parents.” he shrugged and laughed.

“…Can we afford to be?” you never wanted to be on a tight budget with a baby. You didn’t want to be in a position where you had to decide if you could afford to take care of another human.

“I mean we both have stable jobs. If anything we might have to dip into our savings to get by for a few months but we’re gonna be ok.” he shrugged “If we get desperate you know my parents will help out”

“Where are we gonna put a baby Chris…? There’s no room.” you released a deep sigh. You two had a nice little place. A one bedroom condo, with an office, that he’d turn into a studio. You never needed the extra room before but it became very apparent to you that children needed a nursery, maybe a playroom? Somewhere to explore and live, a place to grow, somewhere safe. 

A home.

“We’ll just get a bigger place” he gave you a warm dimpled smile. “We can get a house, with a playroom, and a little nursery for him, and a lawn.” he grinned. “I miss having a big back yard, running around in the back with my Dad, playing with my siblings...We can share all of that with him” he placed his hand on your stomach.

“Everything’s so simple to you isn’t it?”

“‘Course it is” he pressed a kiss to your hair line, brushing his nose down yours. “I love you, why wouldn’t it be simple?”

Then it dawned on you. 

This was a conversation you two never had. It just never came up, you knew he was good with kids and he always seemed like the kind of person that would want a big family, but you just never asked. Personally you wanted a family, maybe two kids but Chris was your partner, if he told you he didn’t want kids you weren’t sure what you would do. You loved him, but that was the one thing that could probably break your relationship, so you just avoided it. 

It was selfish, but you were scared. 

Before you knew it four years had passed. You two had a comfortable relationship, a cozy little apartment and dreams of the future. But was this something he wanted? “Chris...Do you want to be a parent?” you looked over to him. “No pressure but…? Would you want to?”

“You ask me this now?” he laughed ruffling your hair. “Of course I do. It’s a little sooner than expected but I always wanted a kid. And I mean we've been together for so long my Mum is pretty much just expecting it by this point.” he chuckled. “A little bub crawling around, I could even bring ‘em to work with me.”

“Really?” you sat up staring at him, a little dumbfounded. You partially expected him to say yes, you just weren’t expecting that much enthusiasm. “You thought about that?”

“Sure, little ankle biter at my shows. I can stay home with ‘em when you’re at work or I could bring him to my job. I’ll teach him all about producing and music. Whatever the Tike wants to know.” he chuckled “And it’s not like we have a shortage of Baby sitters, the guys could help out too”

He was always so passionate, and you loved that he was eager to pass that on. He was going to make such a great father. You turned on your side facing him, a smile on your face. “So you’ve already decided it’s a boy?” you brushed a hair out of his face.

He placed his hand on your stomach playfully. “Oh, a father knows. And that there is a boy.”

You laughed leaning your head on his arm and playfully hitting his nose. “I think you’re just afraid of a daughter.”

He leaned into you brushing his nose against yours, and a dazzling smile on his lips, his cheek dimpling. “Terrified.”

Pecking his lips, you grinned. “She’d have you so whipped.”

“Absolutely. Without a doubt. If she’s anything like you, the whole world will be hers.” he caressed your cheek lovingly. “She could just stare up at me with her beautiful doe eyes and I’d be a goner.” He brushed your hair behind your ear and smirked “Can’t let girls outnumber me between you and Berry I’m already weak, so I’m gonna hope for my little man.” seeing you laugh he couldn’t help but smile. “And she’d never be allowed to date so let’s hope for a boy”

He knew this was terrifying for you. You were almost shaking when you set down the pregnancy test. He needed to ease your mind. He had his own fears. Less so about financials and more so on if he would just be a good dad. Was he good enough? Was he gonna figure it out? Was he going to be the man you needed him to be? 

He wanted to be loving, he wanted to be their friend. But he needed to be stern. He wanted to raise them right. But he somehow knew he could if it was with you. “What about you Love? Girl or boy?”

You touched your stomach, mulling it over. “Hmmm… no preference. I just want them healthy.” Shrugging you looked at him. “Honestly, I would like one of each at some point. You ok with that?” you stroked his hand softly.

“Of course I am. We can have an army if you’d like”

“Woah, calm yourself. Let’s just take this one step at a time.” you giggled letting him pull you into his chest.

Suddenly being a mother was a lot less terrifying. You could picture it all so well now. You two could move into a new place after your lease was up. Paint the nursery, talk about baby names, pick out clothes. And you just knew your kid was going to be so loved. Between you two and your family, friends, and all of his members, they were going to have the best support system.

Hearing the alarm Chris jumped up. “You ready?”

“I-I…” shaking your head you covered your eyes. “I can’t look. You do it” That very anxiety that Chris worked so hard to disperse came rearing its ugly head.

He walked over to the counter in the bathroom and turned off the alarm on his phone. Walking out with the pregnancy test in hand he took a deep breath. “Ready…?”

“No. Yes. No” you groaned hugging the pillow to your body. “Yes-Ugh-Just tell me” your heart was racing a mile a minute. “Wait no” you huffed hugging your pillow to your body tighter. “I’m scared”

“Baby…It’s negative.” he set down the test on the dresser. He could pinpoint the exact moment your heart broke. “I…Babe…I’m sorry I-”

“….what?” you dropped the pillow, to look at him. Berry instantly going over to you and nuzzling you with her nose. “No…” your eyes glazed over as you shook your head. “No?”

His shoulders slumped as he walked over to you. He placed his hand on top of Berry, rubbing her head. “It’s…negative.”

“Oh that’s…that’s good.” you swallowed hard, trying to stop the tears that threatened to fall from your eyes. “What a relief…r-right?” your voice breaking at every word. “Everything’s fine. Back to normal.” you forced a smile that didn’t reach your eyes.

“Babe?” he crawled on to the bed. “You ok?”

“No, I’m fine.” you sniffled. “I’m fine. I’m-” but the moment he pulled you into his arms the dam broke and you just lost it. “Why…why does it hurt…?” you gripped his shirt. “I didn’t even lose anything…right? So why does it hurt so much….?” you mumbled into his broad chest, your little hands clenching at his shirt. “I...Why am I crying… This is so stupid…” you sobbed.

“You know I love you right..? I love you with all my heart…We’ll get through this…” he rubbed your shoulders lovingly. “Baby it’ll be ok”

“Chris…I…I think I really…really wanted this baby…” you rest your chin on his chest, looking up at him. “I loved them already and they never existed and I…”

“I’m so sorry…” he felt helpless, all he could do was hold you. He had to be strong for you, you needed him.

It wasn’t as if you two couldn’t just get pregnant on purpose. This was supposed to be a good thing, wasn’t it? Now you two could plan your future better, right? Wait until your married, even more financially stable and plan for a child. And yet you couldn’t help but feel at a loss. This beautiful picture of your family was slipping away from you. And it broke you.

“…I just…need a minute…” you wiped your tears, moving out of bed, and walking toward the bathroom. On your way into it, you stopped at the dresser, looking down at the heartbreaking test. “…Chris…There’s two lines…”

“Yeah…”

“Two lines mean pregnant” you whispered.

“No, it’s not. One line is pregnant.” he dug through the garbage to get out the packaging. Reading over it his eyes widened. “Wait…no it’s not…are you…?” he looked over at you with wide eyes. “Are we- Could it have changed?”

“Maybe? It’s been a few minutes. I have to take another test now.” you looked back at him a frantically. “Should I?” 

He nodded “I think we should” he grabbed his jacket “I’m gonna go buy a new one”

“I’ll go with you” you threw on a pair of sweatpants and followed him out. 

After another run to the convenient store, another judgmental look from the old man working, and opting for a more expensive brand you found yourself in that same anxious position.

Just waiting.

Both of you refused to leave the bathroom, wanting to see the results the moment it happened. He gave your hand a comforting squeeze. “Baby you gotta calm down” he laughed nervously, he could practically feel your pulse. 

“I can’t~” you whined “I’m trying but like I’m anxious, what if it’s negative again?”

“If it’s negative then we both start planning for a kid ‘cuz it became real clear that this is something we both want” he pulled you closer, kissing your hand. “You want this and I want this, so even if you aren’t pregnant in this very second, we’ll still have a family”

And after three minutes you checked the test with him. 

You stared down at the test, it was spelled out and yet you still had to re-read it a few times just to confirm. “Pregnant…” you looked over to him, still blinking in disbelief at the words before you. “That…that says pregnant right?” your eyes filled with tears showing him the test.

“It says pregnant.” he grinned, hugging you tightly. “We’re gonna be parents!”

“We’re gonna be parents!!!” you cried jumping up with him.

“I’m gonna be a Dad- you’re gonna be a Mum.”

“We’re gonna have a baby”

“God, I love you so much!!” he pulled you into a kiss, hugging you tight.

“I love you too Chris…we’re…we’re gonna have a family!” you cupped his face. Berry barked circling you two, happily.

End.

Hey Friends! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ I hope you guys liked that! I realised that I never had a simple one shot for Chan and needed to change that. 

Fun fact I actually wrote the scenario a few years back for a different person, so I changed it a bit for Chan. It was nice breathing some new life into it.

Tags: @skzsprinkles @tophuphu @hugs4chan @channieboyo

[winterscaptain]

do you have a directors commentary for redamcy? it’s my go to fic when i’ve had a rough day

i love redamancy :’) thank you for requesting this one. it was such a gift to go back through this one and 

commentary in bold italics. 

“Hey, Aaron?” You peered around the wall to the bedroom from your place on the master bath toilet. There wasn’t any urgency to your query, which would later make you both laugh until you couldn’t breathe. 

Welcome to this installment of “Tali does the equivalent of voiceover commentary on her fics!” I had so much fun that I’m fulfilling requests on these whenever - all you gotta do is ask :) 

They’ll be a little slow because I like to take my time and I’m also writing other things, but this is a nice break because I don’t need to have original thoughts! Only recycled ones!

Alright so we start off here and I wanted this first establishing moment to give us another little window into their lives - they’re so settled after seven years of marriage and eleven years together and I wanted to emphasize that as much as possible. 

Aaron had a book in his lap and reading glasses resting on his perfect nose, as was usual for bedtime. He turned a page. “Hm?”

You know in marriage when you barely pay attention to each other? We’re there. 

“When you get to a good stopping point, can you grab the go bag?” 

“Yeah.” He got up on autopilot, setting his book down. When he got to the bedroom doorway, he froze and turned over his shoulder “Wait. Why?”

...And yet he’s so keyed into Mom it’s stupid. 

“Oh, nothing extreme,” you said lightly. “My water just broke and I figured we might -“

Fourth baby, third birth. The nonchalance couldn’t be any more extreme and Mom really cracked me up here - I didn’t really realize how casual she’d be, but she surprised me. 

(Also my father is a paramedic, and he delivered 27 (!!) babies in the back of ambulances, so I picked his brain for this whole process. I’m both proud of him and my close-to-accurate portrayal of childbirth in this fic)

Your name left his mouth in a laugh, and he trotted back to you, helping you up and kneeling to assist you with putting on your comfiest pair of pajama pants. You steadied yourself with a hand on his shoulder, stepping into one leg, then the other. Playfully, he snapped the stretchy waistband around you. He was still kneeling before you when he said, “You’re insane, you know that?”

You smiled down at him and scrubbed your fingers through his hair. He leaned into your touch like a cat and closed his eyes. “You are too, I’d like to point out.”

He just LOVES HER!!!! AHHH!!!

He sighed, kissing your belly and resting his cheek on it. “Never said l wasn’t.” He looked up at you. “Is it weird that I’m...a little sad? I’ve loved this part of our lives so much.”

This was my favorite little moment in this fic. My mom talked to me about this when I was on the phone with my dad going over the mechanics of childbirth (from an outsider’s point of view) while my mom offered her two cents about the internal processing and feeling of it all. She and my dad had a really similar moment after my little brother was born - they both knew they weren’t going to do this again, and it was kind of weird for them to acknowledge that. 

With so many kids, Elliot being the fifth, it was central to me to acknowledge that Elliot would be their last baby, and that from that point forward, their kids were always just going to get bigger - they wouldn’t have anyone new to introduce to their family after him. It’s kind of bittersweet, in a way. 

You shook your head. “Me too, my love. And no, it isn’t weird.” You sighed, and held his hands as he stood up and kissed your forehead. “We should probably tell Jack it's go time so he can help the little ones when they get up.”

Aaron paused for a moment, thinking. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea. Isaac isn’t going to clearly remember last time, so he’ll probably be nervous, and this is totally new to the girls.” You reached up and he planted a kiss on your lips. You smiled, pleased. 

I remember being super nervous when my brother was born because I had no idea what was going on, and frankly I’m just as neurotic as Isaac and was about the same age. Thus, it went in!

A little contraction wave hit, and one side of your face screwed up in discomfort. 

Aaron kissed your cheek and said, “I’ll get the rest of the toiletries together.”

You nodded, and padded down the hallway, your socked feet swishing a little against the hardwood floors. You knocked twice on Jack’s door, quietly, and waited for his groggy, “Yeah?”

With access granted, you opened the door with a little smile, and Jack sat straight up. Privacy is important! Parents shouldn’t invade your shit!! AH!  You crossed to his bed and sat down on the edge, opening your arm to him. Though he was almost seventeen, he scrambled out from under the covers and tucked in close to you. 

I love a soft teenager. 

“Your dad and I are headed to the hospital, and Aunt Jess and Em are on their way okay? If you need anything big, dad has his phone and -“

“Mom, we’ve done this before,” he said with a grin. “I know the drill.”

You pushed the hair off his forehead and kissed him. “I know it, but it makes me feel better. The little ones haven’t done this before, and they’ll probably be a little nervous. Please help your aunts so they aren’t driven to the drink by your sisters.”

He laughed a little, and surprised you as he wrapped his arms around your shoulders and pulled you close to him. “Be safe, mom. I love you.” 

Tears pricked at your eyes, and you held him tight. “I love you so much, Jack.”

Jack will always be her first son. I’m searching for a place where she can say, in front of Aaron when someone asks if she has kids, “Yes! I have two boys.” and of course Aaron just melts. 

“Are you scared?”

You pressed a hand to the back of his head, and he burrowed into your neck. “Only a little. I know I’m older, which can make some things difficult, but I’ll always come home to you.”

He nodded. “Promise?”

“I promise as much as I can.”

Jack pulled away and swiped quickly at his eyes with the back of his hand. 

Baby is so concerned about losing another mom I just -

“Hey,” your brow crinkled in lighthearted concern. “What’s gotcha?”

He shook his head. “It’s stupid”

Jack is such a fucking lovebug I adore him and would squish him within an inch of his life if he was a real person. 

“I can guarantee you it’s not.” While still a bit of a boy, Jack looked very much a man in the dark, lit only by the light of the hallway as the wheels turned in his head. You picked up one of his hands, and he put your linked fingers over your belly. 

“I just - I don’t - Ugh. It’s morbid - Nevermind.”

You huffed a laugh. “Baby, remember that one third of this house hunts serial killers for a living. Nothing is morbid.”

A smile quirked at his lips, but it didn’t really reach his eyes. “Just be okay? Please?”

You sobered and nodded, pressing a hand to his cheek. “Jack, do you think I would ever put you or your father into a position that could result in leaving either one of your?”

He shook his head. “But things happen.”

If that ain’t the Hotchner family motto “Things Happen” or, for less mixed audiences, “Shit Happens and People Die.”

“They sure do. Your dad will be with me the whole time and he can send you hourly updates if you want. I promise promise promise you’ll be in the loop, baby. I know you like to know.”

Your son’s eyes flickered to the doorway, where a shadow appeared. It was Aaron, his backpack on and your go bag in his hand. 

“Ready?” 

The Three Musketeers :’)

You nodded, stood (not without effort), and pressed another kiss to Jack’s head. “I love you bud. I’ll see you when our plus one arrives.” 

The plan was easy: Emily and Jessica came over for the kids, and Dave and Spencer would relieve them after 12 hours. Derek, Savannah, JJ, and Will would only be called when the baby arrived, to save them the angst of prematurely wrangling the four children between them. 

The hospital was only eighteen minutes away, but with the way Aaron drove it was more like ten. Time was fairly important - with your body accustomed to delivering babies, having done it twice before, there was a very big chance active labor would only take a few hours. 

Emily and Jess pulled up to the house at the same time, both in their pajamas with their overnight bags.

I love the aunties. 

“Ready?” Jess asked, kissing your cheek. 

You laughed. “Don’t have much of a choice now, do I?” 

Emily set her things down and wordlessly hugged you. You wrapped your arms around her as best you could. 

“Walk me out?” You asked. 

I’m so excited for Reader and Emily to get closer after Derek leaves the team. I think that’s the next logical close relationship that forms from the original team. 

I need to add more with Matt and Luke, and I promise I will one day!

She slung and arm around your shoulders and you walked back out the front door. She situated you in the passenger seat, and you offered her a small smile. 

“You know,” she started with a bit of a laugh, “every single time I’m just as nervous as I was when Henry was born.” 

I LOVE Emily’s concern for those around her, and it’s such an undervalued trait in her that I wanted her and Mom to have a little moment together - just the gals. 

It was also important for me to remind everyone that Mom and Emily joined the team around the same time - 2007ish. The post-Elle era gave us The Girls™ and I think there’s such a special bond between people who join any workplace/team/family at the same time. 

You reached for her hand, and kissed the back of it. “Me too.” 

Everything went according to plan after that. You sat in the car with your stopwatch while Aaron packed the car, checking the car seat base and putting everything that needed to go up with you in the trunk. Jess and Emily were getting set up on the couches in the living room, ready to settle in for the night. 

You were uncomfortable, sure, but it wasn’t unbearable yet. This was the tedious part. 

Miraculously, none of the little ones woke up in the commotion. The magic of white noise machines was never to be underestimated. 

“Time?” He called from where he leaned into the back of the car. He was handling the last details, in full field operations mode. 

You turned around. “5 minutes, 15 seconds.”

The idea that they’re so used to delivering babies that there’s a whole system just made my heart explode. And if you think Aaron doesn’t go right into brisk, efficient, and I Am Ready™ mode, you’re JOKING. 

“Alright,” he looked up at you and grinned widely. “Let’s go, baby.”

He’s so happy :)

+++

Your doctor breezed in and checked your charts and your dialation. “It’s go, time, here I think, Momma.”

You sighed and readjusted. “Do I have to lay down?” Comfortable as you were, epidural all finished, you still felt a little restless. The alternative was worse - you’d delivered Isaac without any pain management, and thought it was the end of days. You didn’t make that mistake again. 

Don’t worry - we’ll get Isaac’s birth! That’s much more dramatic. Not only is he the first, but Mom got to the hospital too late for an epidural (we love working in the field until the LAST POSSIBLE MOMENT and then IGNORING LABOR PAINS. Mom went to the baby delivery school of Jennifer Jareau)

“Not necessarily, but if you’re going to shuffle around I would suggest a squat for the sake of your blood pressure.”

Another contraction hit, and it knocked the wind out of you. You squeezed Aaron’s hand so hard you feared you’d break it, and informed him for the third time that morning that you’d hated his guts. 

“I know, honey. I’m sorry. I know. I’m the worst. Just breathe, okay?” He pressed his forehead to your temple, giving you something to focus on. 

You might have told him to fuck off, but you weren’t sure. The wave crested and then fell, and you slumped back against the pillows. “Okay, maybe I do want to lie down.” 

My dad has so many stories of how tough my mom tried to be while having me, but I was 20 hours of labor and she gave up about three hours in. The insistence that she couldn’t stand him and wasn’t letting him anywhere near her ever again? That lasted the whole 20 hours. 

Everyone stifled a chuckle, but you didn't have it in you to be prideful. While you still had a few seconds, you figured you’d double check the plan. “Hey Brienne, we’re still good to tie today, right?” 

“Yes, ma’am!” Your OB said, way too chipper for the small morning hour. She spoke quickly, knowing she had to finish her thought before your next contraction. “Soon as we’re all done, we’ll do a really quick procedure and everything will be squared away. If, for some reason we have to do an emergency cesarean, we can do it right then as well.” 

Brienne had delivered both Isaac and the twins - she was a great obstetrician and never pulled punches when the news was difficult or stressful. Her straightforward nature immediately endeared her to your whole family. 

Yes her name is Brienne after Brienne of Tarth. Nope. I’m not original even a little bit!

It was too much to think about, seeing as another contraction was sneaking up on you. It felt like only seconds since the last one. You were so tired. 

Brienne gestured to Aaron. They had a bit of a language developed over the last two deliveries, and he pressed a kiss to your temple. “You gotta push, babe.” 

“God, Fuck. I hate you, Aaron. Goddamn you. I’m never letting you near me ever again. Fuck.” A stream of expletives continued to leave you when they could as you pushed and pushed and pushed. 

This was so funny to me and honestly Aaron is the best. Mom knows it. We know it. He’ll live. 

He only held your hand and reminded you to breathe and push. He also told you how much he loved you in between agreeing with your damning assessments. 

If he was honest, he always thought your ire during childbirth was hilarious. It was kind of his fault, and he couldn’t fathom the physical trauma of childbirth, so he figured this was a fair role to fill while you did the hard work. 

See? He’s fine. 

On a small trough in your final set of contractions, you caught your breath enough to ask for his other hand. This was the hardest part, and it always made you a little nervous. “Aaron, come here. Please.” He draped his arm around your shoulders, and you grabbed his hand where it hung by your collarbone. 

“You’re almost there, darlin’! We’re gonna be crowning here in a second.” You couldn’t see Brienne, totally locked into her task, but her update was a relief. 

You leaned heavily into Aaron and he rested his cheek against yours. While this was a shorter labor than both Isaac and the girls’, you were exhausted. Bone-deep tired and hot and cold all at once. 

This was another little cinematic moment for me. Just the two of them taking a tiny breather together, being close together, being spouses, being parents. And again, the understanding that this will be the last time they do this together. 

“You’re doing so well. You’re a superhero. I love you so much.” He whispered his words against you, and you wailed as another contraction hit.  Your choice of a walking epidural didn’t knock the pain out entirely and it still totally sucked. But again, better than the alternative.

“We’ve got a little Hotchner head! Keep going!” Brienne patted your knee and grinned at you, and you followed instructions. “Do you want to catch, Dad?”

Before he could answer, you said, “If you move, I’ll kill you,” through your teeth. I laughed. Aaron shrugged and looked over your head at Brienne, who suppressed a smile. 

There couldn’t be any blood left in Aaron’s upper extremities at this point. In the midst of actively disliking him and your presence in your life in that particular moment, you were so grateful for him you could cry. 

The dichotomy between hatred and love in this little section is something that eats me alive whenever I think about it. 

My mom once said to me, “There’s nobody I’d rather yell and actively despise at while bringing his kid into the world than your dad” and honestly? That’s love. 

Well, you could cry for a great number of reasons, but that was definitely one of them. 

A few minutes and a pretty bad time later, a strong cry filled the room and you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. Aaron released you as you unbuttoned your gown to expose your chest. 

 THE BIG MOMENT!!

“Your time to shine, Aaron.” Brienne held up the umbilical cord clamp and snapped it together twice. (Yes, like a dad at a barbecue with a pair of tongs) With a smile, he stood and rounded the bed. 

You tried to peer over to see, but you were only able to see Aaron and Brienne.

A smile ate up his whole face. “Hi!” His voice pitched up, and you started to cry. You just loved him so much your chest could just burst. Did I cry writing this? Yes. Absolutely. 100%. Aaron was always the first person to greet your children as they came into the world, and he never failed to deliver a warm welcome. “Right here, right?” He looked to Brienne, and she nodded. He cut the cord, and the nurse crossed the room for measurements. 

Aaron returned to you and removed his own shirt, ready to take the little one while you finished delivery. After his crew neck was thrown to the side, he gathered you up in his arms again. There was nothing you could do but melt into him. His skin was warm and he smelled good, whereas your skin felt clammy and you probably smelled like a horse’s ass. 

Can confirm. Mom smelled like a horse’s ass. 

Brienne’s voice came to you faintly from the other side of the room, iterating the specs of the newest addition. “Baby Boy Hotchner, 5:37am, August 13th, 8 pounds, 14 ounces, 21 inches.”

Coming up with these metrics was really fun - it was all purposeful for both the zodiac signs, and for his size as a rather large kiddo. 

Elliot shares a birthday with my best friend Phil, and I told him so. He cried. Then I cried. I didn’t expect him to be as touched as he was and it was so sweet. 

Okay I wasn't crazy. He’s actually huge. 

Aaron scooted even closer as you leaned away to get a better look. Brienne set the still-squalling infant on your chest with gentle, warm hands. Your eyes were blurred with tears. Aaron wasn’t any better off, keeping one hand on you and another on your son, his own tears tracking quietly down his cheeks. 

Aaron is soft for his kids! Aaron is soft for his kids! Aaron is soft for his kids!

Your son. 

Brienne sighed and said, “Alright, last bit here and then you’re done.” 

You nodded and Aaron took him off your chest, leaning back with one hand under him and one hand over him. Fluid and other questionable grossness be damned, he ducked his head and pressed his cheek to his son’s head, an ineffable joy radiating through his body. Aaron’s hands almost completely covered him - with his little knees tucked to his chest, he looked like an angry little loaf of bread. 

AARON IS SO BIG AND ELLIOT IS SO SMALL!!!!! Like imagine this - Aaron is so big that his hands almost cover Elliot entirely. I can’t. Oh my God. 

The afterbirth was the easy part, but then it was before, too. All the Hotchner kids were massive - even the girls were bigger for twins. You always made fun of Aaron for “ripping me to shreds, and not in a fun way” (“Hey!” “Okay, fine. Maybe a little in a fun way. Sometimes.”). 

There was a little more pressure, and you looked down at Brienne’s outline behind that infernal green medical paper shit. “How’s it going down there?”

“I’m getting these suckers tied off so we don’t have any more happy accidents. Don’t mind me.” 

This was the most fascinating part to talk about with my dad - he talked for so long about the process (now done by laparoscopic incision) of tying/clamping tubes immediately following childbirth. Basically, they look like those little flat, wired bread ties and they just go around the fallopian tubes and pinch them shut!

Aaron stifled a laugh and you rolled your eyes, still weepy. The nurse passed him a warm, wet washcloth, and he started gently wiping the ick from his son’s skin. 

Brienne finished up and helped you get adjusted with ice packs and that excellent postpartum underwear. When she was satisfied, she removed her gloves, and pressed a hand to your bare shoulder. “Beautiful work, momma. He’s perfect.” 

Every baby is perfect and every baby is simultaneously very ugly. Yes, it’s true don’t deny it newborns look WEIRD

You put a shaky hand over hers. “Thanks.” A little watery laugh left you. Ouch. “I’ll miss you.” 

And it was true. Brienne had been a semi-permanent fixture in your life for close to six years, and had become a friend. You wouldn’t have any reason to see her again. 

Looking back, this was a little silly. Mom would still see her annually for her gyn checkups, but it wouldn’t the same. I think that’s what I was trying to get at here. 

She squeezed your shoulder twice. “You ever need anything, you know who to call. Let someone know when you’re ready to put his name down, and they’ll finish off the birth certificate.” 

With that, she shepherded the nurse out the door, and you were alone with Aaron. 

“So,” you said. 

He smiled, his eyes still trained on the little body who had quickly quieted and was snoozing on his chest. “So?”

“Gimme that.” 

This moment made me laugh. I say this all the time, and my mom said this to my sister after she had my niece. My mom also cut the cord for my niece because my brother-in-law got a squicked out about it lmao 

His laugh was warm, and he placed little one on your chest again. You prodded him awake, feeling only a touch bad about it, and offered him a snack. He latched right away, and you tipped your head back in sheer relief. 

“Thank God.” 

Aaron nodded in agreement. “That’s one less thing to worry about.” He shook his head, as if shaking something off - no doubt remembering the meltdowns night after night trying to nurse Isaac. 

The ANGST that can come with breastfeeding...ridiculous. 

Little one was still naked to the world, so you pointed at the little blue blanket folded across the room. “Can you grab that for me?” 

Aaron just looked at you for a second, as if seeing you for the first time. Did I cry writing that line? Yes.  “Of course.” He crossed the room and threw the blanket over his shoulder and grabbed a diaper. While little one was distracted, he deftly maneuvered the diaper into place and draped the blanket over him to keep the chill off while maintaining skin-to-skin.

More moments of “This is totally normal” that I can’t get enough of. They understand each other so so well, and they are completely tuned in to each other. 

You pulled the blanket back a little so you could see his squishy little face. “Can you call Jack?” 

“Do we want to call him now? It’s pretty early.” Aaron leaned over to his backpack and pulled his phone out, finding a couple requests for updates from Jess. First things first, he turned the camera on you, and you gave him a thumbs up. You detached the little one from your nipple for a second, framing his face with the blanket. Aaron got a good photo of a yawn and fired both pictures off to the BAU group chat before checking Jess’s messages. 

4:12am How we doin? 4:18am Jack’s up with me. He can’t sleep. Em is dead to the world - she gave up about an hour ago. Give us an update when you can. 

6:02am He’s adorable!!! He’s got your nose though, which is unfortunate. 6:02am Kidding. Maybe. 

That made Aaron laugh a little, and he looked at you. “He’s up with Jess.”

You nodded. “Go ahead and call him. He’ll worry, honey.” 

He nodded, and dialed the second number on his speed dial. Jack picked up on the first ring. “Dad?”

Again, I’m a sucker for teenagers who love their parents. 

“Hey, bud.” Aaron couldn't hide the smile in his voice. “Your brother is here and your mom wants to talk to you.” 

“Can I come see you?” Jack’s voice wavered a little, and Aaron knew it was relief he heard, rather than anxiety. Much like his son, he was more than a little concerned for your safety. Now that it was over, he could finally relax. That alone was enough to make anyone emotional. 

CATHARSIS, BOYS! 

Aaron checked his watch. “Are you too tired to drive?” 

“No, no. I’m good. I slept a little after you guys left.” He was quiet for a second. “Can you hand me to mom?”

“Sure, bud.” Aaron nodded at you and you smiled. He started to pass the phone over to you then -

“Oh, dad?” Jack’s voice was only a little urgent. 

Aaron pulled the phone back to his ear. “Yeah?”

“I love you.” 

Did I cry throughout this WHOLE section? Absolutely. 

“I love you too, bud. I want to talk to Aunt Jess when you’re done with mom, so don’t hang up, okay?” With that, he handed you the phone and fresh tears rolled down your cheeks. You knew this part came in waves - the emotions. Your hormones were in shambles, and you forgot how intense it was every time. 

“Hey, Jack.” 

“Are you okay how did it go what happened?” All the questions came out in a rush.

You chuckled. Ouch. “Slow down there, kiddo. We’re just fine. It went really smoothly, but the last part happened kind of all at once and I denied your father personal freedom and geographic agency, so we didn’t get a chance to update you.” 

He laughed, and it warmed you. “It’s okay. I’m really excited to meet him.” There was a shuffle, and you assumed it was his keys. 

Baby boy was done eating, just nosing around your chest at this point. You shifted, and Hotch caught the phone and held it to your ear so you could use two hands, They are so in-tune I just - bringing little one’s head right under your collarbone, tucking him up again. “He’s excited to meet you, too.”

After Aaron had a chance to debrief and game-plan with Jess (“If you bring the little ones over here before 10am, nobody will have any fun.”), Jack was on his way. 

In the meantime, Aaron set his phone on the side table and sat on the edge of your bed. “Are we sticking to the name we picked? Does it feel right?”

Fun Fact: When I was born my parents had another name for me and when I popped out they were like “Nope. Absolutely not. That’s not the right name at all.” so it's a very real consideration!

You nodded. “I think so. What do you think?”

You did your best to inch yourself over - Ouch - so Aaron could have a little more space. He stretched out on the bed next to you, on his side with his arm folded under his head. A very large hand covered yours, pulling the blanket down to little one’s chin. 

“He looks like you,” he said. 

You snorted. Ouch. “Don’t lie. All your damn kids look like you.”

I AM SOFT FOR FAMILY RESEMBLANCE!!!!

“Alright, fine.” He relented with a wide smile. “He looks like me.” He was quiet for a moment, tracing the apple of little one’s cheek with his finger.  His smile morphed into something soft, pensive. It was the look he always had when he was in awe of his children. “What do you think, little man? Is your name Elliot David? How’s that sitting with you?”

The Elliot David in question just made contented little staccato sounds from his chest, his brown eyes looking here and there, surprisingly alert. He let out a little cough, and both you and Aaron went, “Oh!” simultaneously in that drawn-out way parents do when their kids surprise themselves. 

I love parent noises. 

You looked at him, and you stifled a laugh just for the sake of your exhausted muscles. Aaron’s smile soon turned shaky, and tears fell onto his elbow where it rested under his head. He took a big breath, and it caught on the way out. 

“Oh, honey. Come here.” 

I love that Aaron has grown so comfortable with being taken care of (hi tali, that was shit english!!) as he settles further into his family. By this point, he’s so secure in it and he lets mom care for him whenever she wants to and whenever he needs it. 

That’s growth. 

You adjusted again, bringing the head of the bed down with the little remote. As you reclined, you only needed one hand to keep Elliot secure. You raised your other arm, and Aaron scooted under it, resting his head in the crook of your chest and shoulder. He snapped some buttons shut on your gown in the absent-minded interest of keeping Jack relatively unscarred. 

Aaron’s bare arm was warm under your fingers. You traced little patterns into his skin as he stared at the back of his son’s head. Aaron’s finger was caught in Elliot’s impossibly small hand, secured in that death grip only babies seem to have. He couldn't care less that he was nearly twenty-four hours without sleep, missing a shirt, and really hungry. The only things that mattered in that moment were right there in front of him. 

There was no need to speak. 

A nurse stopped by and dropped off the bedside cradle, speaking quietly. “You can put him in here when you’re ready to get some rest.” 

You looked up and thanked him. “Oh, and we’d like to finish the birth certificate in a few hours. Will that be alright?”

He nodded. “Just fine.” He checked your charts and left a few moments later. 

Soon after, the door slipped open, and Jack’s head popped in. “Hi!” He stage-whispered. “Lemme see him.” 

Aaron was stuck where he was, still locked in by Elliot’s grip, so Jack came in on your other side, pulling up a chair as close as he could get it. 

There was a sense of finality to this meeting. Elliot would be your last child, and this would be the last time the Three Musketeers sat together, meeting the newest member of their family. 

“Oh man, Mom. He’s so cute.” Jack cooed and ducked so he was eye-level with his baby brother. He traced a finger along Elliot’s tiny, straight nose. When he rested his head on your upper arm, you kissed his head. All three of you sat there until the sun rose, watching Elliot fall asleep. Aaron followed suit eventually, his breath fanning slow and even across your chest. 

+++

The three of you were relatively well rested by the time your family came to bombard you. Elliot had woken twice - once to be fed and the other to be changed. Jack retreated to the recliner after a certain point, and Aaron threw on a sweatshirt and curled up next to you for the duration. They were out cold, while you rested somewhere between sleep and wakefulness. 

One of the nurses on rotation popped her head in. You waved at her with the tips of your fingers. 

“Your family is here to see you.” 

That woke you up. You made an ‘eek’ face. “All of them?”

I laughed. 

She nodded. “Three at a time?” 

“Please.” You reached over and picked up a neatly-swaddled Elliot and tucked him into your elbow. You checked the corner, where Jack was still sleeping. You were sure a train could drive through the room and he’d still be out. That kid had sleeping superpowers - being sixteen only helped.  

Jess was first, holding the girls’ hands while Isaac trailed a little behind. 

The idea of Jess loving the littles like she loves Jack is like....everything to me. The Brooks-Hotchners are so so special and I’m so excited to dive further into their lives - especially the relationship that exists between mom and Jess. 

You put a finger to your lips and pointed to Elliot. “He’s sleeping, so you have to be really quiet, okay?”

Caroline clambered up on the bed with a few reminders to “be gentle with Mom and don’t lean on her too much,” and peered over you. “Is Daddy sleeping?”

You looked to your right, and sure enough, Aaron was out like a light again, performance evaluations on his chest, his hand relaxed around his pen. “Yeah, baby. Daddy’s sleeping because he was awake for a really long time helping me with Elliot.” 

Newly reminded of the main event, Caro planted herself by your knee while Sophia sat by your hip, taking the good real estate. You looked over at Jess and winked. She slipped out, closing the door softly behind her. 

This was another one of those Renaissance painting moments where I could completely see this image of everyone crowded around Mom and baby. 

You scooted over so you were flush with Aaron’s side. “Come on up here, bubba.” 

Isaac gave you a little smile and perched at your side. “He’s so small.” 

Isaac’s observations are such a key part of his personality and I can’t wait to include more!!!

“Yep. And look at that,” you brushed your fingers down Elliot’s nose and tapped his cupid bow before doing the same to Isaac. “You have the same nose.” 

Isaac smiled and raised a tentative hand. He hesitated right before he reached the dark brown peach fuzz that sat in unmanageable cowlicks on Elliot’s head. 

“You can touch him, bub. Just be gentle.” Isaac’s hand smoothed over Elliot’s head with next-to-no pressure. “Do you remember when Sophia and Caroline were born?” 

I love it when my little boy can really settle in and connect with his family. I’m soft. 

Isaac nodded. “It was super cool.”

“It was super cool.” You kissed his forehead, and adjusted your hold on Elliot. “Sophia, love, can you hand me the pillow that’s by Daddy’s knee.” 

She nodded and very carefully presented it to you. You showed her how to stuff it under your elbow so you could relax while supporting Elliot’s head. Caro was clearly enamored, her eyes never leaving Elliot’s face. 

“Babies are really delicate,” you reminded a wiggling Sophia. “Their heads are too heavy for their little necks, so sometimes they need a little help.” 

At the mention of ‘help,’ Aaron’s eyes snapped open. “What’s up?”  You suppressed a laugh as he realized all of his kids were surrounding him like the children of the corn. He pressed a hand to his face, recovering. “Oh. Hi.” Caro beamed at him, and he beamed right back. He put his files down and patted his lap. “Come here, my little love. I’ve got a really good view over here.” 

The lightning-in-a-bottle relationship that Caro and Aaron have is one of my favorite parts of this universe. It reminds me of me and my mom and my roommate in her dad - we have such special relationships with those parents it can only be fate. 

My mom always says about her brother that “God made us siblings so we wouldnt have to find each other” and every time i think too hard about it I cry. Those two are complete soulmates and I can’t imagine one without the other. Shoutout to Uncle Billy :’)

She very mindfully picked her way over your shins and into her father’s lap. He lifted her so she was up flush to his chest. His cheek pressed into her hair, and he showed her where to find Elliot’s little baby toes under the blanket. 

“Are his feet very very small?” Caroline’s whispered question almost made Aaron cry again. 

Caroline makes me cry on the regular. 

“Yes. They are very very small. So are his hands. Here, look.” He reached over and peeled back a layer of blanket, exposing one of Elliot’s (very very) small hands, pressed flat against the fabric. Aaron wiggled his finger under it and presented it to the kids. “If you look really carefully, you all have the same hands.” 

All at once, three pairs of hands appeared, flipping their palms up and down as each one individually assessed the similarities. 

“And if you look even closer,” he said, flipping his palm down, but keeping Elliot’s hand aloft, “I have the same hands as all of you, too.”

FAMILY RESEMBLANCE!!!

Caroline looked up at him, awestruck and he nodded. She placed her hand on the back of Aaron’s and lo and behold they were the same shape, just significantly different sizes. 

Satisfied, Sophia dropped her hands, leaning on them to get a closer, yet stable, look at Elliot’s fingers. 

She gasped, but to her credit, kept her voice soft as she said, “Look at his tiny little nails!” 

“Lemme see!” Aaron supported Caro as she thrust her body forward to get a better look. 

Babies being fascinated by babies is simply the purest thing I’ve ever beheld. 

Jack stirred in the corner, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. In full voice, he said, “Oh, hey guys.” 

Three big shushes came from the kids, HA! and it took everything in you to keep your laugh locked away. You kept your eyes trained on Sophia (who looked downright offended at Jack’s volume) knowing if you looked at Aaron you’d be done for. 

Jack made the same ‘eek’ face you made earlier. Okay the resemblance even though they aren’t related? I’m dead. Thanks. Oof. “Sorry, sorry.” He crept over, standing behind Sophia and putting his hands on her shoulders. She giggled quietly as he dropped close to her ear. “Cute, huh?”

She wrinkled her nose. “He looks a little funny.” 

“He’ll start to look more like a person in a few weeks,” Aaron said with a smile. “You looked pretty funny the day you were born, maybe even funnier.”

Funny Dad!Aaron sends me straight into the stratosphere. You know after a couple of years he would have the dad jokes on LOCK

He winked at her, and she dissolved into a fit of giggles again, leaning back against Jack. As she did so, her brother wrapped her in his arms and rested his chin on her head.

Isaac was still running his hand over Elliot’s hair, gentle and repetitive. He, like Jack had done hours earlier, rested his head against your shoulder. You pressed your cheek to the crown of his head, soaking it in. 

“I like him.” 

A smile broke your face in half, and you peered around to look at Isaac’s face. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. He’s cool.” 

Your bottom lip disappeared into your mouth as you fought back your tears, still ready to flow without fair warning. You didn’t want to scare them. “I’m so glad you think so, bubba.” 

Bubba :’)

Elliot had once again taken Aaron’s finger hostage, and it took more than a little negotiation to get him unwrapped and tucked back into his blanket. You have no idea how Elliot managed to sleep through all the commotion, but then again, he’d have to get used to it. 

Here we have the first instance of Elliot being the chillest baby on the block. 

Jess poked her head back in. “Ready for some lunch?”

Four heads whipped around and nodded vigorously. Aaron deposited Caro on the floor, while Isaac pressed a heart-wrenching kiss to Elliot’s head before gingerly getting his feet back under him. Jack just lifted Sophia and she hung off his hip, only a little too big. 

He walked to you and kissed your cheek. “I love you, Mom.”

Mom and Jack :’)

You brought your hand up to his temple, the back of your fingers brushing his hair back. “I love you too, my Jack.” 

One side of his mouth turned up in a smile, and he left the room with Sophia, leading the rest of the pack down the hallway. 

A cut from this section: 

Jess lingered, and you grinned at her.

“Come meet your nephew.”

She sat on the very edge of the bed, stroking a finger down his little cheek. “Oh, he’s perfect.” She reached for your hand, and held your fingers in her palm. “Was it super rough?”

You shook your head. “Only about five hours. No complications, and no stitches.” A weak laugh left you. “Turns out after a couple of them, things just stretch instead of tear. Who knew?”

Aaron snorted, and Jess covered her mouth with her hand to avoid laughing out loud. She squeezed your hand once, and leaned back. Aaron met her in the middle and she kissed his cheek. “Proud of you.”

“Couldn’t do it without you.”

“Seriously,” you supplied.

“Who do you want me to get?” She stood and walked to the door, leaning on the narrow edge as you decided.

You looked at Aaron, coming to the same conclusion. “Dave,” you said, simultaneously.

+++

It was safe to say Dave immediately coveted his namesake. You’d plopped Elliot into his arms right away, and said, “This is Elliot David Hotchner. He’s been very excited to meet you.”

He full-on cried, letting the tears just fall onto his shirt as he bounced Elliot all around the room, talking to him about all the ways he’d spoil him rotten. 

It was easy to name him after Rossi. When you finally came down to a couple of first names, it was a no-brainer to pair them up with David. He was your family, like they all were, but you were acutely aware that Elliot would have the smallest amount of time with Dave, no matter how much time that would be. 

This was such an important piece for me to include. BEcause the time is limited, it makes it all the more special. I think about this iwth Aaron too, because while 54 isn’t old, it’s certainly higher than the average age for parents of a new baby. 

I touched a little on this in Rings, but the idea that Aaron is 74 in 2042 really knocked me out. It’s so important for both Dave and Aaron to soak up the time they have with their children (and grandchildren and nephews and nieces and niblings) because they simply have no idea how much time they have with them. 

When Dave was ready to reluctantly give him up, he passed him back to Aaron. Dave crossed to you while Aaron offered Elliot a knuckle to mouth around on. 

Aaron being an auto-pilot dad makes me soft. 

Dave kissed your cheeks and embraced you. He leaned back, keeping his hands on your face. You covered his hands with your own and closed your eyes. You were taking a lot of mental pictures today. 

He pressed a kiss to your forehead, and you were sure you saw Aaron’s one-handed camera work out of the corner of your eye. “Thank you, bellissima.” 

“You’ve more than earned it,” you reminded him.  

“Dealing with you two for fifteen years? You’re damn right I have.”

Here’s something that was cut!! I ran out of steam on this section, and it just seemed perfect to end it with Dave, so I left it right where it was. If I hadn’t though - this is the raw part of what comes next: 

Elliot exchanged hands throughout the late morning and early afternoon, pausing every once and a while for a change or a feeding. 

Emily immediately fell in love with him, sitting with you as he nursed and running her knuckle back and forth over his tiny bicep. When he was more than finished eating, Emily took him on her chest. 

You helped her drape a burp cloth over her shoulder, and she expertly shifted Elliot to her shoulder and started bopping around with him. 

Aaron slipped back into the room with a tray of food for the both of you. “Hey, Prentiss, I didn’t realize you were still here.” 

She snorted. “Of course I am, are you kidding? You guys need a break and I get to have this.” Her thumb rubbed back and forth at the base of Elliot’s skull as her hand supported his head. 

You smiled at her, and you and Aaron dug into your food. 

+++

JJ arrived a little while later, with Spencer. She left the kids at home, because “...you’ve had a very long day and that would only make it longer.” 

Luckily, you’d just 

Spencer held Elliot, playing with his little hands. JJ made Aaron sit down, and helped you arrange your pillows so you could get some sleep. 

tagging: @ssaic-jareau @qvid-pro-qvo @joanofarkansass @forgottenword @hurricanejjareau

[1899-newsboy-strike]

The Twins Pt. 3 - Johnny Cade Imagine

The Twins Masterlist

A/N: Just a quick disclaimer, if you see this story on Wattpad under the title “Dallas Winston’s Twin Sister” it is not a copy or I’m not trying to copy it, it is my story from well over two years ago that I am just rewriting and actually finishing 

Warnings: Dallas being Dallas, fighting

Summary: The only things you and your brother cared about were each other, and your best friend Johnny. You cared about the rest of the gang, but Johnny was like the younger brother you both never had. You’d do whatever you had to in order to protect your friend, even when it means you were the one in danger. 

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

When you got to the drive in, the movie was already playing and all four of you slid through the hole under a gate right by the show one by one. You passed this one mustang, and you could hear this girl arguing with her boyfriend making you laugh. The four of you hopped over a railing and got seats almo. The same girl that was arguing with her boyfriend sat right in front of us with her friend making me groan internally. 

"I'm freezing man." Ponyboy complained shifting in his seat uncomfortably. 

"Why didn't you bring a coat stupid?" Dallas asked while he tried to turn on his match to light his cigarette. 

"I forgot." Ponyboy muttered looking at the movie. You slipped off your jacket, handing it over to Ponyboy. 

"Here." You told him, but he shook his head making you roll your eyes putting it back on. Dallas went to the seat next to some redhead and was finally able to light his match, making both of the girls jump. One started giggling and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes. 

"Some cute redhead huh?" Dallas told you making the other girl giggle. "Are you a real redhead?" He asked the girl going up to her real close and not to anyone's surprise the other girl giggled again.

"Come on Dal." Johnny said and you looked over at him shaking your head. If Johnny told him to stop, Dallas would probably get mad and you didn't need Dallas mad at Johnny. 

"Are you real?" Dallas asked again as he put his feet up on the chair next to her making him fall out of his chair making all of you laugh while he got back up. "How can I find out if this is your real red hair? If this is the same red hair that you have on your uh" Dallas started and you smirked trying not to laugh since you knew what he was gonna say next. "These eyebrows. Is it?" He finished and you scoffed making him shoot you a look. Dallas laughed to himself, sitting back down making you shake your head. 

"Cut it out Dal." Johnny told him looking back at the girls. You nudged him with your leg silently telling him to be quiet. Dallas was messing with the back of the girls chair like a child and you had to hold back a laugh because you could tell she was getting annoyed. 

"Get your feet off my chair and shut your trap." The girl said over her shoulder to Dallas. 

"Who's gonna make me huh? Your boyfriend?" Dallas asked her as Johnny got up. 

"I'm gonna get a coke." He told you while he left making Dallas have to put down his legs. 

"Leave her alone Dal." Ponyboy told him and you pinched Ponyboy making him hit your hand. No one tells Dallas what to do, he’d never listen. You saw the giggly girl whisper something to the redhead, making your eyebrows knit together. 

"Sure whatever you say honey." Dallas told Ponyboy, making you smirk and give Dallas a small high five. 

"You better leave us alone or I'll call the cops." The red threatened him making you laugh. 

"Oh my my. You got me scared to death. What, what am I gonna do now Y/N huh? This girl's making me shake." Dallas joked, making you laugh even more. 

"Why don't you leave us alone? Be nice and leave us alone!" The girl said getting mad cutting Dallas off from saying something else. 

"I'm never nice." Dallas replied, getting close to her again. "Can I interest you in a Coca-Cola or a 7-up?" Dallas asked, almost sounding polite. 

"Get lost hood!" She screamed in Dallas' face making you glare at her. 

"Hey I'm sorry. I didn't, I didn't know you had this problem with, yelling in my face. Okay, all right I'll go. I know when I'm not wanted." Dallas explained getting up and walking away. 

"Are you gonna start in on us now too?" The redhead asked, turning around to face you. 

"Please, you're both not my type." You joked, giving Ponyboy a small shove. 

"No." Ponyboy replied to her softly. 

"You don't look the type anyway. What's your name?" She asked Ponyboy as she looked at you cautiously. 

"Ponyboy Curtis." Ponyboy told her, shifting in his seat. 

"That's an original name." She told him laughing a little while she ignored you. You didn't really care since you already didn't like her. 

"Yeah. My dad, he was an original person. I got a brother named Sodapop. It even says so on his birth certificate." Ponyboy told her, sounding excited. If you got money every time he said that you'd probably be able to bail Dallas out of jail whenever he goes. 

"My name is Sherri but my friends call me Cherry because of my hair." She told him, smiling at him softly. 

"Yeah I know. We go to the same school. You're a cheerleader." Ponyboy told her adding the last part when she gave him a confused look.

 "You don't look old enough to be going to high school." The other girl told him. 

"What's a nice boy like you doing hanging around with that trash?" Cherry asked, making you roll your eyes. 

"Dally's my buddy and Dani's brother. I'm a grease too. We're all friends." Ponyboy told her, sounding upset. 

"I'm sorry I didn't know." She told him, sounding like she felt bad, but there was no doubt in your mind that it was probably fake. 

Johnny finally came back from getting coke, and you stopped paying attention to the conversation between Cherry and Ponyboy. You grabbed Johnny's coke out of his hand, drinking some giving him a small smile. He looked at you like he was about to complain about you getting some but, but you quickly kissed his cheek. 

"Thanks Johnny." You laughed making him blush. Dallas walked up with a countless amount of drinks, and handed them to each of you. 

"Here, since I stole some from you you can have the one with more in it." You told Johnny, handing him your cup, switching with his. 

"Here, I thought this might cool you off." Dallas told Cherry, handing her a drink making you laugh a little. 

"Maybe that will cool you off greaser. When you learn to talk and act decent I might cool off too!" Cherry exclaimed while she threw the drink in Dallas' face. 

"Fiery huh? Just the way I like it ‘em." Dallas replied, getting close to Cherry. 

"Leave her alone Dallas." You told him when you saw Johnny was about to say something. 

"What'd you say?" He asked you, getting mad. 

"You heard me. I said leave her alone." You told him standing up. You thought it was better to have Dallas get mad at you than Johnny. 

"What'd you say you little shit? What'd you say to me?" He asked again, getting more mad. 

"You heard me, kid brother." You told him getting mad right back. You were born before a few minutes Dallas and you always used it to your advantage when you had to. 

"You wise ass." He mumbled as Johnny pulled you back down to sit next to him. Dallas got up pushing his chair making it fall before he walked away. 

"Thanks." Johnny whispered to you and you nodded smiling at him. 

"Now you blew it." Ponyboy told you, making you scoff. 

"He's my brother little Curtis, I can talk to him however I please." You told him, stealing a piece of popcorn from his container. 

"Thank you. He had me scared to death." She nodded to you, giving you attention for the first time that night. 

"Sure didn't show it. Ain't nobody talk to Dal like that." Johnny chipped in. 

"From what I saw, she does." Cherry replied looking at you. 

"That's different, I'm his sister, I'm allowed to talk to him however I like." You shrugged, drinking your coke. 

"Why don't y'all sit up here with us so you can protect us?" The other girl asked the three of you, smiling. 

"What do you think man?" Johnny asked Ponyboy who had a smile on his face. 

"Might as well." Ponyboy agreed, wiping the smile off his face pretty quickly. You all sat in the empty chairs near the girls, and got settled in. 

"How old are y'all?" The other girl asked. 

"14" "16" "17" You all told them. 

"Huh I thought both you boys were-" Cherry started and she said 16 while her friend said 14. "You look a little older though." Cherry told you and you shrugged. 

"Go through stuff you might look older too red." You told her, giving her your own nickname, making her look away awkwardly after that. 

"How come y'all ain't scared of us like you was Dally?" Johnny asked them. 

"You two are too sweet looking to scare anyone. You're surprisingly just like your brother though." Cherry replied. aiming the last part toward you making you shrug. People always said that you were like a girl version of Dallas. You’d been to jail about the same amount of times, maybe Dallas a few more than you, but the gang knew me and knew I could be sweet when I wanted to be. "Besides I know about the Winston’s. You and Johnny don't look mean." She told Ponyboy, making you furrow your brows, wondering what she meant. 

"Yeah right. We're young and innocent." Ponyboy said, sounding like an upset child.

"No, you're just not dirty." She told him. 

"Come on Dal and Y/N are okay. I mean they're tough and all but they're both cool if you get to know them." Johnny told her, sticking up for the both of you making you smile at him. 

"He'd leave you alone if he knew who you were." Ponyboy explained. 

"Well I'm glad he doesn't know us. I kind of admire him." Cherry thought out loud making you mentally gag. 

"All right greaser you're dead!" You heard from behind you as someone grabbed Johnny. Johnny jumped out of his skin, and you all looked and saw Twobit. 

"Hey Twobit." Ponyboy called from where he was sitting. 

"This hair's out of place." Twobit laughed running his switchblade over Johnny's hair. 

"Do you mind?" You asked the other girl, reaching for her soda. She shook her head, handing it to you making you nod as a thank you to her. 

"Here kid. Have a beer it'll settle your nerves." Twobit told Johnny, handing him the beer he’d brought. You sucked up some soda through the straw before spitting it at Twobit before handing back the girl her drink. 

"That's not funny Twobit." You told him while he wiped his face. 

"Well who do we got here your great grandmothers?" Twobit joked making the girl laugh. "What are you young ladies doing hanging out with these greasers anyway huh? Twobit asked, trying to sound like a Soc. 

"Dal was bothering them and they wanted us to come sit with them." Johnny told Twobit. 

"He was huh?" Twobit asked near your face, squeezing your shoulder hard getting you back for spitting coke in his face. "Where is old Dal now anyway?" He asked. 

"Yeah where is old Dally?" You heard someone asked and you looked up to see Tim Shepard. 

"He left Tim." Ponyboy told him, picking at his popcorn. 

"Hey I know he slashed my tires." Tim accused, angrily looking over at you. 

"Look Tim. He left. He's not here. Really. You guys seen Dally?" Ponyboy asked all of you winking and you all said no. 

"Yeah well I'll be looking for him. Come on Winston." Tim told you, making you look over at him confused. 

"What?" You asked as he was staring at you. 

"Come on we are going to go find your brother." He explained, walking up to you, grabbing your upper arm pulling you out of my chair. 

"Hey Tim if Dally did slash your tires it's not Y/N's fault." Twobit told him as he was about to get up.

"If I don't find Dally then someone’s gotta pay for it. Got to give him a message now don't I?" Tim asked as he pulled you close to him. You looked up at Tim while he looked down at you, and he had a look in his eye that was meaner than usual. 

"Y/N." You heard from behind you and you looked back seeing Johnny. 

"It'll be alright Johnny don't worry." You told him while Tim dragged you away. 

"Hey I can walk by myself okay." You spat at him, pulling your arm out of his grip. 

"Doesn't look like it." He fired back when he saw you grabbing your side where William had kicked you earlier. "What happened?" He asked, almost sounding worried. 

"Don't act like you care Shepard." You rolled your eyes as you kept walking. He muttered something under his breath and you were about to say something, but he grabbed you by the neck with a firm grip. "There he is." He whispered to me. "Hey Winston!" Tim called Dallas who was talking to a girl. Dallas looked over and quickly walked over to us, ignoring everybody around him. 

"Let her go." Dallas glared at Tim. 

"I know you slashed my tires Dallas." Tim told him, tightening his grip around your neck.

"He didn't slash them Tim. I did." You choked out, lying and saw Dallas look at you in shock. 

"No I-" Dallas started but you cut him off. 

"Don't try and cover for me Dallas. I slashed the tires." You told Tim, and his grip loosened. He spun me around and you got a good blow to the face. He threw you to Dallas and he caught you holding you tightly to him. 

"Do it again Winston and it'll be worse." Tim spat over to us and you sighed when he walked away. 

"Do something like that again and I'm gonna kill you." Dallas explained, shoving you. 

"You already fought someone once today because of me. I just returned the favor." You told him, and  probably made him even more mad. "I probably won't come back tonight because I'm gonna stay with Johnny and make sure he's okay because he's been acting strange lately." I told Dallas and he nodded smiling a little. "Wait." You stopped before walking away. "What did Johnny tell you earlier that he wouldn't tell me?" You  asked, looking up at  Dallas. 

"Now you'll just have to ask him yourself now won't you?" Dallas told you, smiling and avoided the question. You groaned to yourself, walking back toward the drive in and you saw the boys walking with Cherry and her friend before you ran up behind them, jumping onto Twobit's back to scare him.

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

Tag List: Let me know if you would like to be tagged in this series

@the-aussie-fangirl @wnygirl2012 @mathletemadison

[gcldveins]

LASTLY but definitely not least ... daniel weaver ! my newest muse, like literally fresh out the oven .. i’m making this all up as we go fdjngdk so this will be the least organized and thorough intro, i ... am extremely sorry u have to read this...

overview

✎⌠idris elba. cismale. he/him⌡❝ — well, look who’s just arrived ! if it isn’t the one and only daniel weaver. though, around here they’re known as the recluse. don’t tell ‘em i said this but the forty-four year old detective kinda has a reputation of being controlling and abrasive. but y’know, they can be loyal and diligent too. typical scorpio. anyways, welcome home and stay safe weaver ! ❞

statistics

full name: daniel gilligan weaver.

nickname(s): none, literally even his full name he doesn’t like fnjsdfkn

date of birth: october 27th, 1976

hometown: boston, massachusetts.

gender identity: cis gender

preferred pronouns: he/him

sexual orientation: heterosexual

hogwarts house: gryffindor

aesthetic: leather watches, awkward silences, the smell of burnt coffee, late nights, tired eyes, forced smiles, a glass of scotch before five, wrinkled collars, crooked ties, the sound of classic jazz on a turntable

distinguishable characteristics: patron saint of Not Smiling

pinterest board: here

their song from the sigh no more album bc i love this album and it makes me Sad™: sigh no more

background: murder, ptsd tw

— i’m so sorry it’s 1 am and i literally had nothing prepared so this is just going to be a summary and everything else i’ll just ... make up as i go along O_O

— so daniel’s not a misty hollow local, he’s a city kid that grew up in boston ! and growing up, daniel’s family didn’t have a whole lot. he grew up as the oldest son, he has one older sister and then two younger siblings, a girl and a boy. 

— so yeah, big family in an expensive city, money was tight. daniel’s parents were your regular, working class folks who had to pick up odd jobs here and there to make ends meet. but they made it work ! they were an overall pretty happy family !

— even as a child, daniel always stood up for others. whether it be him, eight years old at the school playground, witnessing another kid get pushed to the ground. or him at eighteen, seeing someone in his class getting bullied at school.

— your typical.. very honourable, golden-hearted type. was taught to always show compassion towards others and to give them the blanket off your back if needed.

— that’s why the decision to become a police office only seemed like the natural one ! so he did that, worked as a cop for a few years before eventually making his way up the ranks and earning his title as detective. 

— he worked in the special victims unit ( because i love law & order ) and daniel was on his way to becoming a lieutenant until a particular case hit him hard. 

— missing girl. reminded him a lot of his youngest sister and letting his emotions get the best of him, had made a promise to the parents that he would find her. daniel got really invested in the case, and when they found the girl’s body, dead and brutally murdered, it devastated him. 

— he took a few months of absence at work before ultimately leaving. he picked everything up and accepted the first job offering out of boston that he could find. he moved to a random town in the middle of nowhere .. misty hollow, which brings us to now !

— daniel wanted a fresh start, to lay low and just .. leave all that behind him honestly. he feels like it’s his fault that the girl died and constantly wonders if he had just acted a little quicker.. he still gets nightmares from the case, and there’ll be little things that remind him of it and it just immediately brings him back. so he’s trying to move on from all that. but not properly cause what is emotional intelligence ? idk

personality

— a very closed off and private person. he’s curt and gets to the point, which can come across as rude sometimes.. put he just doesn’t have a lot of patience for dilly-dallying i guess gjdfnk

— very loyal and caring ! once you’ve demolished those stupid walls of his, literally has one of the biggest, softest hearts ever. will over-dedicate himself to people and things that he cares very deeply about. thank god he never got married.

— he knows that he has a tendency to overly-invest himself in others, which is why he often tries to keep others at a distance.

— erm can lean on being self-righteous... so yeah that can be pretty annoying. has this notion that like .. everything rests on his shoulders and is responsible for everyone.

— as jin perfectly summed up “ would die for you but won’t hug you ”

— jesus this is so basic and awful but... i am very sleepy and my brain is drawing a blank right now. hopefully !! you get the gist !! and i’ll be able to flesh him out some more through plotting <3

wanted connections

give this man some fucking friends please

the first person he met in misty hollow ? maybe they showed him around !

if anyone is from boston ... hellauw.. lets do smth with that

drinking buddies !! someone that ( when he’s had enough drinks ) opens up to !

younger muses ... listen.. he’ll be your dad / big bro figure. literally anyone under the age of 40 he sees as a kid that must be protected at all costs ( from their own stupidity, but that part he keeps to himself )

co-workers !!! 

uhh i wanna say casual relationships but .. daniel’s not really inclined towards that, this would have to be like .. a one-off occurrence after some poor judgement and probably lots of alcohol 

someone that just .. bugs the living crap out of him.. pls.. if ur muse is the complete opposite of daniel.. this wld be perfect

god this is difficult because the man is literally.. socially inept .. like might be a robot but ! i’m more than open to brainstorming. so please, feel free to throw anything my way !! and if we can’t figure something out between these two, we can just throw them at each other in a random thread and see what happens !!

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #263

laptop is still broken, nvm. :’)

Do you have a favorite song by The Cure? "Sweet Soul Sister." (': Are there things you've never told for fear that others would judge you? Yep. Can sex ever be casual? I personally don't support it, but ultimately, so long it's consensual, protected, and both parties understand what's going on, you do you. Would you like to go on television to receive a make-over? Not on TV, no. It'd be awesome to see myself after a professional makeup, but I ain't going on TV to show my ugly face. What will no one ever see you do? Smoking. Are you quick to anger? Rarely. Are you slow to forgive? Not really. Usually. What do you need help with? Being an adult, lmao. Do you take the easy way out of things? More often than I'd like... What is your favorite fabric to wear? *shrugs* I don't pay attention to the fabric I wear, really. Do you still make a wish when you blow out your birthday candles? C'mon dude, you've got to! I don't believe in wishes increasing your odds of anything, but it's a must anyway! Do you look for four leaf clovers? Just casually when I'm walking or sitting outside. What are you the guardian of? My pets! Are you for or against censoring child pornography? I've seen many stupid questions in surveys. But this is the absolute dumbest. What the fuck is wrong with you. Are naked child images in paintings more acceptable than photographs of naked children? GENERALLY, yes, but it really depends on the artistic portrayal. None should be sexualized. Now that we can create such lifelike digital images, do you think it should be allowed for digital child pornography to exist (as in there were no children involved in the porn, it is all digitally made, the kids aren't real, they just look real)? Absofuckinglutely not. The concept is absolutely repulsive. Enough with these fucking questions. Do you like Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy better? Wheel of Fortune, ig. Jeopardy is pretty boring to me. What is your favorite tarot deck? I don’t know enough about tarots to comment. How do you feel about Wicca and Paganism? IT'S SUPER SUPER INTERESTING AND COOL AND I LOVE LEARNING ABOUT IT!!!! I relate most to Neo-Paganism anyway, so I obviously don't mind them. Wicca especially is a very, very misconstrued religion that has just been horribly abused by the media. Do you believe that people who practise the above religions are able to accomplish magic? No, I don't. If you were given the opportunity to lead a creative writing program for a small group of students in a high school with a low budget in generally poor neighborhood, would you do it? No, but only because I could never been a teacher. Sounds fun otherwise. Should high school cafeterias stop serving twinkies and other fatty foods? BIIIIITCH whose HS sells Twinkies????? I need to know?????? Anyway, no, but I believe there must be mostly actually nutritional options. Let kids have the chance to have a little snack during a boring 'ole school day. What band is so romantic that anyone who listens to them must be romantic at heart? BOY Josh Groban. Have your gods and idols let you down? The Christian god did. What do you waste? Whew... time... time. When was the last time that you were neither going to school or working for a month or more? Currently. Ugh. What is your light at the end of the tunnel? The potential of a beautiful future. Speaking of the light, is the light that people see when they die the random firing of electrons or is it something more? Good question. I lean towards it being a natural phenomenon as everything shuts down, BUT I find the reincarnation/birth canal theory to be quite interesting. I don't really believe it, but hey, who the hell am I to decide if it is or not. If you were going to have a mural painted in your bed room what would you want it to be of? A scene of meerkats probably. Is sex more about fulfilling a need or giving yourself? Giving yourself. Do you like your belly? FUCK NO. Do you think more or act more? Think, sadly. Should there be a mandatory retirement age? Of course not. You work all you want boo. What's the craziest thing you've ever done on impulse that worked out well? This is gonna sound... very bad, but my suicide attempt. It made things abundantly clear I needed serious help. It led to my partial hospitalization program. Do you have any exercise tapes or DVDs? No but OH MY GOD this made me remember my lil sister used to a Barbie one that we followed lmaoooo. Does the sound of crickets bother you? No, I quite enjoy it actually. Is the sound of a fan on at night soothing? Yessss. How do you feel you will likely die? I really don't know, but probably cancer-related. Recent events have made it abundantly clear it does in fact run in our family, and genetic testing because of Mom's cancer revealed that at least through her, my sisters and I are susceptible to pancreatic, breast, and ovarian cancer. Once this virus passes over, we're all getting tested for free to get an understanding of what hell Dad gave us lmao. Have you ever been slapped in the face? No. How about punched? Yeesh, no. That was something unique about you as a child? I was CRAZY about dinos for the average little girl. Have you ever come up with a memorable quote? Not really. What is something interesting about where you live? The town is like, really, really old. Downtown looks right out of an old movie. Were you breastfed as a baby? Yeah. If you’ve lost your virginity, what was your first time like? I don't remember it because it didn't really register what we were doing was sex. I still don't know today if you could call it sex since it was really dry humping through thin clothes, but it sounds close enough. What do you think about masturbation? You do you boo. Is it sometimes better than the real thing? I don't think so, though I only had a brief episode where I did it when I was put on a new birth control that made my hormones like so, so far beyond control. I stopped that shit sooo fast. I got almost nothing out of it, honestly. Intimacy is a two-person job for me. Who do you think about most? Jason, whether I want to or not. Favorite way to pamper yourself? Go to bed early lol. What's your most expensive piece of clothing? I don't have a clue. I don't really have expensive stuff. What was your last big achievement? Ugh... I'm not the person to ask. I haven't made any big ones even semi-recently. Have you ever had a "false alarm" moment, what was it about? Oh sure. The first time that comes to mind was when I thought Venus was dying once when she had a series of horrible coughing/gagging fits a long time ago. We took her to the vet with the risk of a respiratory infection, but she was clear, thankfully. I think she had early signs, though. Do you know how to ride a bike? Ye. If you were in the hospital who are the two people you'd want by your side? Mom of course, and it'd be nice if Sara was there if she was at all capable of that, but I'm fine w/ just Mom. If you could ever take a street sign, what sign do you want? Well, I wouldn't, but probably "stop" bc that applies to a lot in my life, lmao. Have you ever not returned something you borrowed and if so what was it? I don't think so? When you pack your lunch, what's your favorite packed lunch? Usually just a good 'ole pb&j. :') What was the one most important thing you learned from your parents? Take care of your goddamn relationship. Talk shit out instead of yelling. Work together. Never neglect the reason you're with each other. Have you done something you worry could come back to haunt you, what? No, because I don't believe in karma. If you had to build a small ark, what 7 animals would you save? Those with the biggest ecological impact, like bees and spiders, for example. I wouldn't be very happy with all my choices while all other animals perished, but you've gotta think of what comes next. Out of just selfishness I'd obviously have to spare a spot for meerkats, aha. They'd help with the bug control, though! I don't know about the other four, though; I'd have to think real hard on 'em. What is something your parents love that you actually love too? Classic rock and metal. Has anyone ever said "I love you" and you couldn't say it back? I firmly remember this is how I ended that childish shit with Joel. He said it and I couldn't. Have you ever ridden a camel? No. What's been the hardest loss you've had to take? Jason. What emotion is your least favorite and the one you are not in touch with? Fear, of course. No one likes being afraid. I'm not all that in touch with greed at all. Do you think facial moles or freckles are cute? I don’t mind 'em. Sometimes they're super-duper cute. Would you ever pick up a hitchhiker? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I don't trust strangers for shit. If you're searching for a relationship, where is your go-to place to look? I don't really "look" anywhere. What book have you read multiple times? I lost count of how many times I've read Meerkat Manor: Flower of the Kalahari. Granted, in subsequent reads, I would skip over the HUGE tangent chunks that were entirely unrelated to meerkats. I seriously remember one long-ass section was like a goddamn essay on why smaller animals tend to have unnaturally large testicles like I don't fucking care talk about Flower again. I think I only decided to read it in full two times, but maybe not even that. Do you keep a budget? I don't have the income to do so. Have you ever test driven a car you knew you weren't going to buy? No, never test-drove anything. What do you have a hard time visualizing? There's a number of things, but this one thing is weird shit: I can't picture my old therapist. Even when I saw her every month, I could almost NEVER visualize her in my head. She's a fucking cryptid or something, paranormal shenanigans is going on here. She's the only person I know where I have that problem. What makes you feel uncomfortable in group settings? I worry I'll make myself look stupid in front of everyone. What was your worst date ever? I don't feel like I've really had a bad one. I've had one that did nooooot go according to plan and I know the average girl would've been annoyed, but I'm actually an understanding human being who found the adventure fun in the end. Basically a flat tire, a sketchy tire place, and a lot of walking happened lmao. Tyler felt fucking awful, felt bad for him. Have you ever gotten in a bidding war on Ebay, if so for what item? HAHA yeah, though it was technically Mom, but she had me keep an eye on it. I remember Parasite Eve took some battling to get. I think maybe a Legend of Spyro game, too? Are you supportive of your friends even if you don't agree with them? So long it's not literally insane or stupid, usually. It really does depend. What did you think was stupid until you tried it? Hm. I'm not sure. What subject do you and your parents never see eye to eye on? Religion. I keep most of my beliefs to myself now. Where do you see yourself in 1 year's time? Honestly, I don't want to ponder and picture this. What is your favorite type of seafood? I only like shrimp. What triggers your inner shopaholic? HA, do tattoos count? See cool ones, and then I'm planning (more than only always...) tons of new ones I want and will just be DYING (ALSO more than always lakdjfwe) to go to the parlor. What public figure do you disagree with the most? I really can't say considering I'm just not educated enough here. What is your opinion on rats as pets? They are absolutely wonderful! Smart, sweet, and very clean despite their stigma. I've had quite a few. What is something you're afraid to try? Sky diving, the Tower of Terror ride. ;___; That kinda stuff. What song makes you dance uncontrollably? None. Do you like nachos, if so what topping is a MUST have? Cheese is all I really need for nachos. Do you have any subscriptions? Yes, to Adobe Creative Cloud. Which is better, Mario or Sonic? Mario games are cute, Sonic's make me cringe - I've watched enough Game Grumps to know lmao. I hate hate hate cringe culture, like let people enjoy whatever, but I absolutely cannot stop my cringe reaction to some shit. I don't judge the people that enjoy whatever it is, though. THAT pisses me off. Who is the most creative person you know? I've known Sara and Connie much too long to not say them. They have such vast imaginations. Besides a pickle, what is your favorite thing pickled? I've actually never tried anything pickled, I think... no wait. Aren't jalapenos? Well there, jalapenos. What did you do for your 21st birthday? If not, 21 what are your plans? I had my normal therapy sessions in the mental hospital lmfao. It's unfortunate, but I do have fond memories of the day. Everyone was so damn sweet, and the friend I made there even got in touch with one of the lunch ladies, who literally went to go buy me a slice of cake. She and the other employees in the kitchen brought it out at dinner, and everyone sang happy birthday. I think I remember tearing up just because it was so goddamn sweet, but also bittersweet in that I was in a fucking mental institution for my BIGGEST birthday. When I got out, Colleen bought me a red velvet cake to "make up for it," ha ha. I miss her every now and then alsdkjf;wae. Are you a role model for anyone in your life? Oh, I doubt it. Do you think you need to slow down and enjoy life more? I don't need to go any fucking slower in my life. Can you impersonate anyone famous? I don't believe so. Never really tried anyone. What is your favorite salty snack? Spicy Cheetos mmmmmmmmmMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM What is your favorite restaurant? Olive Garden for sit-down, Sonic for fast food. Have you ever been in a play for school? In elementary school. I never had a big roll, though. Do you wish you had more friends? Very much. What is the main character’s name in the book you’re reading? Aunt Lydia. Which famous author would you like to meet? I'm not particularly interested in any. Which artist would you like to meet? Hey hey hey. Mark's brother is a comic artist. Meet him, one step closer to meeting God Himself. (ง ͡ʘ ͜ʖ ͡ʘ)ง Which singer would you like to meet? OZZY sobs What celebrity do you have a crush on? Anyone who's even heard about a hint of my Markiplier obsession knows I would fuck him into oblivion. When you were in middle school, were you in love with someone you never talked to? No, I didn't romantically love anyone. Do you believe that there is an unseen spirit realm? I do. Martini, margarita, or sangria? YO STOP I'm weak with these things. I can't pick. Do you feel you are extremely gifted but no one appreciates you? No. I honestly feel like people have more faith in what I'm capable of than deserved. What Lisa Frank character is your favourite? The angel cat, probably. Or tiger. Do you know how to use Braille? No. When you use stairs, do you usually hold the rail? Currently, I have to because of my muscle atrophy. I need help to stay steady. Have you ever worn a veil? No. Have you ever planted a tree? We actually did plant an apple tree in our front yard at my childhood home. Never grew much. Have you ever made anything with clay? A number of things from art classes. Has today been a good day? No, honestly. Have you ever fed a horse hay? Yes. Are you more likely to text "Okay", "OK" or just "K"? "'Okay.' The other two are restricted for when I am in a mood and want someone to know I am in a mood." <<<< HA HA SAME. Do you like the taste of lime? Sure. Have you ever seen a mime (in real life)? Not to my recollection. Have you ever seen a deer (in real life)? Plenty of times; whitetails are common here. Right now, what can you hear? "Game Over" by Falling In Reverse. Have you ever seen a bear (in real life)? In the zoo, yes. I think there's a possibility I have in the wild, but only from a distance? Have you ever eaten glue? No. Do you tend to buy clothes used or new? New. If you have Netflix, how many items are in your queue? N/A

[sigritandtheelves]

For the 5 headcanon AUs - Emily is there with Scully & Mulder (delivery room? home? whatever) when Scully gives birth to Miracle Baby #3.

This came out in one long brain-dump last night, but I thought I should read over it in the morning with a clear head before posting (it was, surprisingly, kind of fine?). I’ve really wanted to try and write Emily, which I have never done. Not to cross universes, but I think @o6666666‘s little Emily might grow up to be something like this big-kid Em, though I can’t promise this story is as good as hers. In this universe, baby 3 is born around 2006 (because … human anatomy and logic). CW for birth stuff (obvs.).

—

1.

They have made this thing work, this family thing. They are even good at it, most of the time, but Scully is so tired these days. Emily, twelve and turning more beautiful by the day, helps them all by getting William ready in the mornings. She wears raspberry lip smackers and purple eyeshadow that Scully only smiles at as she packs their lunches. At the kitchen table, William rocks in his seat until Em lets him pour his own milk. “Careful,” she says, and the little boy nods.

Mulder slides behind his partner (his wife, his first best girl) while she’s chopping up carrot sticks to kiss her neck. He palms her round belly and whispers, “How about today?”

Scully reaches back with her socked foot to wrap it around his ankle. Her deft fingers still the knife, and she leans her head to his shoulder. “Sorry,” she says. “No action yet.”

He makes a disappointed grunt and moves to pour himself some coffee. When the lunches are bagged, he grabs his briefcase and calls out. “Offspring! To the dad-mobile!” And Scully laughs (still laughs after all these years) at his stupid stupid jokes.

2.

In the evening, after dinner, Emily tiptoes into her parents’ bedroom to find her mother curled on her side and reading. Her eyes focus low, on the carpet, on her own feet, and Scully notices. “Hey,” she says. “What’s up?” She scoots back and pats the bed.

Emily sits. She fidgets, fingers in the blanket. Her blonde hair hangs down over her face. After a moment, she breathes deep, sucking in courage. “What if it’s a girl?” She asks.

Scully frowns, grasping to parse the subtext. “Then we’ll have two girls.” Matter of fact is best, she thinks. “You don’t want a sister?”

The wind outside rattles the window: an autumn storm blowing in. Emily shrugs one shoulder. “She’d be yours. And dad’s. Really yours.”

Scully’s eyes fall closed as Em’s meaning washes over her. She sits up, pulls the girl to her—all gangly arms and legs in a cutoff Foo Fighters t-shirt and Chucks. She is growing out of hugs like this, but not tonight. “Emily, you are really ours. You are completely and totally ours, mine and dad’s. The how doesn’t matter to that part of it.”

Against her shoulder, Emily sobs. “But you didn’t know me when I was born. It’s not the same.”

Scully rubs her back. “No,” she says. “It’s not. It’s different. It’s special.” Another choked sob like yeah right, and Scully can only squeeze her daughter tight. “Em, you brought us together. You made us a family.” Fingers over silky hair, knobby knees raised up onto the bedspread, resting against a rounded belly. “Without you,” she says, “dad would probably be out hunting werewolves, too afraid to even kiss me.”

Em pulls back to look at her, smiling now, but confused. “What do you mean?”

Scully shakes her head. “Without you, it might have taken us years, but you made me… made us… everything changed when we brought you home. Good change. Happy change.” She raises a palm to the girl’s cheek, red with tears. “You will always be our girl.”

3.

When she tells Mulder that night in the calm dark of their bedroom, he is shocked quiet. Rain hammers their windows while they curl facing each other in the blue gloom. “Oh God,” he says. “Poor Em.”

Scully nods, her cold toes pressed into the hair of his calves. “I want her to be there when the baby comes,” she says. “I want her to be part of it.”

“Yeah,” Mulder says. He tugs her to wrap around him while he shifts to his back—her own warm body pillow, heavy belly propped on his waist. He touches it, feels the little bumps and shakes under his fingers. “Oh, Dana,” he sighs. “We’re about to be outnumbered, aren’t we?”

She laughs and kisses the warm cotton of his shirt under her cheek.

4.

The dad-mobile is stalled the next morning by the onslaught of heavy contractions just before seven. “Mulder,” Scully says, and by the way she says it, he knows. They’re ready. They have time. He tells himself these things, but still he sits in low-level panic, waiting for Maggie to come so he can drop the kids at school.

“Mulder, I’ll be fine. You can take them.”

But he shakes his head and holds onto her hips like they are keeping him steady, grounding him here in this moment when they are still just four in the house. Scully sighs and raises her own hands to hook behind his neck. Her blue eyes shine up at him, and she gives him a resigned, affectionate smile. “You’re too good, you know that?”

He shakes his head and kisses her through another contraction, rubbing rubbing at her hips. When it passes, she says “thank you,” and rests her head on his chest. He notices Emily watching them, not with the mild disgust of the pre-teen as he expected, but with a fascinated curiosity. She blushes and turns away when she sees that he’s noticed.

When Maggie comes, he takes only William to school, leaving the three Scully women at home. “Be back soon,” he says. He sees that Emily is holding her mother’s hand and he knows they’ve made the right decision, letting her stay.

5.

They are at the hospital by four p.m., Mulder and Scully and Emily, who checks on her mother regularly and gives her sips of vitamin water. It’s Emily who comes to find Mulder in the hall when things pick up. “Dad,” she says, because he’s had to make some quick phone calls. “Dad, her water broke. She needs you.” He hangs up quickly and follows his daughter in.

Scully won’t listen to the nurses, surprising no one, as she kneels on all-fours on the bed. Mulder rubs her back while she groans through the pain and the pushing. Emily watches them both in awe. She cries, as they do, when the tiny pinking body is lifted to her mother’s arms.

“Oh, you did it,” Mulder says, pushing hair back from Scully’s face. “Oh, baby, look,” because the little face is screaming itself known from a flannel blanket. He helps Scully turn, carefully, to rest on her back. They all peer down at the squirming child, who opens its eyes and shoots a fist out from the covering.

The nurses want to cut the cord, but she holds them back. “Delayed is better,” she says. “Em, come see.”

The girl does, leaning over this new tiny thing with such awe. “Is it a boy or a girl?”

Scully tugs away the blanket. “A girl,” she says and smiles at her other daughter. “Do you want to cut the cord?”

Em looks surprised, glances at Mulder. “Dad?”

“Nah, I got the last one.”

So she does it and feels so proud, feels like this is her little sister, feels the whole weight and duration and strength of her family. She tells Maggie and William everything when they come to see.

“Another girl?” William asks, trying not to seem disappointed. But he is fascinated by the tiny hands and feet.

When the baby sleeps and Dana sleeps and Maggie is readying to take the kids home, Mulder pulls Emily aside. He squeezes her shoulder, then hugs her. “You’re my first baby,” he says. “And I love you so much.”

She nods. She tries not to cry. “Thanks, daddy.”

[irepookie]

Infinity Ch.6- Of Unicorns and Fairies.

Summary: QUEEN AU where Roger Taylor is a young single dad struggling to make it into music industry.

Warnings: not really. Just fluff, sappiness and swearwords here and there

Disclaimer : I don't own the pictures. The boys are based on Queen, (but slightly changed for the sake of the plot). Piper, Gina and Callie are mine.

So, I’ve decided to change the names back for this chapter, just because.

Found this pic on Tumblr, don’t remember where. Sorry. 

None of the boys would ever forget the first time they met their niece...

It was four days after Rog and Piper's first day at home. All he seemed to do was feed, being puked on, change, being peed/ pooped on, not sleep, survive on coffee, walk around, feed, being puked on... Oh, and cry. Sometimes it was just impossible not to join her.

Besides, if she didn't decide to grow out of the skin to skin thing and found another way to content herself soon, Rog was going to catch some serious cold.

That's why he was happy to get a call from the boys, that gave him a reason to walk out of the feed-puke-change cycle for a while. Also he was glad to speak with somebody without cooing.

All of that said, the prospect of leaving the house for the first time with Piper was scary.

"C'mon Rog, we gotta knock the last demo out before we can send the album" Brian insisted, when he said he'd <<think about it>>.

"And we wanna meet her!" Fred's voice chimed in from the background.

"You do?" He replied above her cries as he laid her on her tummy so she rested across his forearm. "Shhhhh"

"Of course!" Brian reassured. "She's our niece!"

"I don't know man..." He trailed off,  looking down at his kid, who screamed for no apparent reason, making him feel a total useless man for the third time that morning. "She isn't feeling well. And honestly I'm feeling like a piece of  shit too. Haven't slept in 5 days" he then softened his tone looking down at the little girl as he swayed her side to side in a vain attempt to calm the two of them down. "Hush Princess. You're alright."

"C'mon. Don't make us go there. We expect you there at 3..."

"3 Is tummy time" he said automatically.

"Tummy time? What the hell??" Brian had the same reaction he had when reading about it. It did sound ridiculous if you didn't know what it was about

"Yes it's... Lay her on her stomach so she'll eventually learn to hold her head and stuff. It's very important."

He tried to remember the long list of benefits he had read countless times in the books, but his brain told him to piss off.

"And how long does that take you?" The guitarist sighed.

"Oh just a couple minutes but she can get a bit cranky and that's like... I don't know, the time to get her settled down is different each time and... Right after that it's her feed, and I wanna do that here just in case she gets sick on me which is apparently like her own little Olympic sport so then I'll have to bath her and get her ready. And then... Look, 4-4:15 sounds alright? She'll be asleep by then and I'll have time for one song."

"Ufff..  I'm exhausted just from hearing you pal." Brian chuckled. "Okay, come at 4. We'll get our parts recorded so you do yours when you get there. So our silly mistakes won't ruin your tempo" he mocked.

"Yea, yes whatever." Rog chuckled too, feeling the nappy to see if that was the problem.

"But if you don't like our arrangement,. you can fuck yourself okay?"

"What-fucking-ever mate." He replied. The nappy was not wrong, and he was running out of goddamn ideas.

"John asks if You still remember to play." Brian laughed.

Rog didn't dignify that with a reply and simply hung up to focuse on his daughter. She had to be fine! "Hey baby, what's wrong? C'mon," he pleaded "I've just fed you, and you can't be dirty yet. So what's the matter, hon? Give me a clue and I swear I'll figure it out but I need your help darl'." He began to pace around the small apartment, and placed his hand on her back for support.

He adored her, really, but for someone who couldn't even roll on herself, or anything at all by herself, she kept him on his toes and worn out.

"Come on, come... Oww." Just as requested, Piper replied to his questions by puking all over him. Fuck. He always forgot to burp her after the feeds! He just couldn't remember it when he had to. And the Prune always made him pay the price. He sighed, giving in to the cycle again.

Thankfully, just as Rog had predicted, by 4 Piper had settled into sleep, after being changed, fed, and everything. She was all ready to go. And so was Rog. Or so he thought.

Had he grabbed enough formula? What if he lost a pinky? Better get them all. It was February, maybe she'd get cold so he grabbed a few more blankets. And a parenting book just in case something new happened he didn't know how to handle. Oh and a change of clothes, and half a packet of nappies. And some toys so she wouldn't get bored. Okay, now they were ready to... Oh fuck, where had he left the car keys?!

To put a long story short, he basically ended up stuffing three extra bags into the car "just in case" but almost forgot Piper inside.

Meanwhile, in the studio….

"He's late." Fred pointed out when the clock ticked 5 and their drummer still hadn't shown up. That was usually Fred, who was often late and even tho Rog came close second, it was unlike him to take this long.

Then again, Rog was pretty much unlike himself lately.

"Do you think they're fine?"

"Sure. Maybe he's just fallen asleep." John reassured.

"Maybe he's had to go back cause he's forgotten the baby." Fred giggled. That would be something Rog was totally capable of.

Suddenly the door opened, and Rog entered with a bag one hand Piper's car seat on the other. His hair couldn't be messier if he tried, and... Was that vomit on his shoulder?

"This is she then?"

"The one and only." Rog beamed proudly as he set the carseat where they could all have a look at his newborn daughter.

"She's... " Brian raised an eyebrow, not really sure of what to say. "Um... what's the regular comment?"

"Oh you can say it. She's a prune." Rog admitted, while readjusting the green blanket on her for the 10th time since they had left home. She was wearing 5 layers plus the blanket, and honestly looked so cozy Rog was proud of himself; if he managed to end this first outing without the prune catching a cold, he'd consider this a success.

They nodded in agreement. She was a . wrinkly thing for sure.

"And this is nothing compared to how she looked on her birth day." Rog continued. "But she's a beautiful prune. My lil' raisin" he smiled softly at her before glaring menacingly at his band mates. "And I will punch the shit out of whoever disagrees."

The other three laughed nervously, instinctively backing up a little. They knew Rowan Queen wasn't one to joke about punching.

"She's one cute prune." John agreed a smile from ear to ear, going to hug his friend, soon joined by the other two.

"Em, what's that smell?" Fred said, as they all scrunched their noses and looked down at the carseat.

"I don't smell anything."

"Well, pal... She must've killed your nasal nerves or something cause... Damn" Brian said

"But she can't... I mean she's just gone." Rog leaned over to sniff around his daughter sides so he wouldn't disturb her. "Nope. Not her."

Fred leaned over him and breathed. "When was the last time you took a shower, man?"

The thoughtful expression on their friend's face was all the answer they needed.

"It's you" they all said at once.

"Aw, fuck really tho?" Rog smelt his armpit. "I still don't smell anything"

"Brain defense mechanism." Brian pointed out. "Oh wait you missed that biology class cause you were hangover again."

"Shut up, Brian. I'm hella sleep deprived you don't want to mess with me."

The others chuckled. He was the embodiment of exhaustion, but something had changed. He looked... Happier somehow. And still capable of punching someone in the face if tempted.

"So, let's begin." Rog clapped his hands together, anxious to finally get back behind the drums.

"Wait, you just gonna leave her here?" Ren asked.

"Yes. I can see her just fine from my spot. C'mon." He leaned over to kiss her forehead and entered the booth.

"Ain't getting in there with you, stinky dumpster." John scrunched up his nose.

"You're the ones who wanted me to be in the studio." Rog crossed the door and sat on his beloved stool. Damn it felt good to be back.

He had been so busy with Pips he hadn't really thought about drums, but now he realized how much he needed this.

"Where do we begin?"

"Sandstorm. Remember?" Brian smirked.

"Yes you just... Get the stick, hit the snares..." John joked.

"Don't forget the metal yellow Chinese hats. They're cymbals."  Fred chimed in too.

"And that pedal you have there? That's a base drum, very important."

He rolled his eyes, but played along, after letting his eyes flick to Pips. "How? Like this?" He played badly on purpose.

"Yes, lastly, there's a thing called rhythm , y'know? Try now?" Fred added.

His eyes flicked again to Pip, who stirred slightly. "Okay enough bullshit. Let's get started."

They did it in one take as he didn't lose tempo at all. Infact he was somewhat proud of himself for still having the skill on the kit. (Because, it had been less than two weeks since he had last sat on the stool, but it felt like years.) He also found his eyes flicking to his Piper every ten seconds or so, feeling the compulsive need to make sure he was fine.

Of course she was. She was sleeping in the car seat, nothing was gonna happen.

Timing was perfect. Just as the song was ending, he saw her begin to squirm in her car seat.

He finished the final bit with his eyes nailed on her, even sped up the tempo unconsciously, anxious to finish so he could get to her.

The other members noticed, of course, but didn't say anything when following his gaze towards the squirming infant and figuring out. They'd re-do the last bit later. That could wait. But watching Roger Taylor  interact with a baby -not any baby, but HIS own baby- was something as unimaginable for them at that point as seeing a fairy riding a flying yellow unicorn.

They didn't know what to expect.

"Hello sweetheart." He cooed, exiting the soundproofed glass to the table where her carseat sat and lifting her small squirming body to his sweaty chest. "Hey my love. Hey. Hush. Shush.  What is it? What's the matter darling?" He cooed, kissing her forehead. She was unusually warm. "Hey, you're feeling hot baby? Hmm? Well let me take care of that."

He lowered her to the couch and unswaddled her before taking another layer out. Maybe he had overdressed her. It was the first time they were properly out and he didn't know what to expect, so he decided to stuff her into 5 layers, before bundling her up. Okay now he knew that was overdoing it. "There we are lovie. C'mere." He brought her back to his chest, a smile escaping his lips when he felt the gentle tug of her small hand wrapping around his hair.

"Shhhhh. It's alright. It's okay baby." He began to pace rythmically around the room for a few minutes, until she calmed down. "There you are, you just wanted Daddy huh? Well I missed you too lil prune" he spoke, oblivious to everything else including the three pairs of eyes following them around as if he was a unicorn holding a fairy.

Damn he was like a completely different person.

"I didn't know he was so good with kids." Brian mumbled, all his doubts and worries clearing, if only a bit, at the look in his friends eyes.

Rog had always looked like he would become the typical bachelor with no ties and no commitment. Now he just looked like someone who was desperately in love.

"Paternal instinct, gentleman" John announced. "But I'm surprised he has one, tho." He added, after a moment of consideration.

The three of them had made a bet on whether the drummer would knock someone up, and apparently he and Brian had won Fred. John had been the closest: he said he'd do it before finishing high school.

But none of them had gone beyond that. Nobody was crazy enough to ever see this outcome happening. However, from that first conversation on the phone, something in his brother's voice when he told them about his new <<Lil'raisin>> sounded just right to him. And the way he now paced the room clutching the small bundle to him as if she was a treasure, just proved his point even more.

"Daddy..." was all Fred managed to mouth out of the hundreds of thoughts flashing on his brain. He was, to put it simple, speechless, but we'll get to that later.

"You're gonna love this place when you grow up, yes you will." Rog's voice continued, as he made his way back to the table. "And we will teach you to play Everything. And I bet you will rock on drums, just like Daddy..." His heart jumped in his chest at the concept of teaching his Prune how to play.

"Yes, he's called himself Daddy without any... Sexual subtext" Brian commented back to Fred.

Oh Fred's subtext was very much so.

"Little Rog finally grown!" John grinned, startling the drummer, who jolted out his bubble and held his daughter close.

"What?!" He hissed, offering his index to the babe.

"Nothing, just..." Brian began.

"Commenting the situation." John grinned.

"Hmm" Was all Fred could hum, still transfixed in his trance.

His friends just waved it off. This had happened before, once backstage -well, if the Campus' canteen restroom counted as backstage-, while they got ready. He was fine after a while.

"Is she okay?" John nodded towards the infant, who hadn't quite settled down yet.

"Oh, yes. Just... Overheated. It's a new feeling to her, cause our home isn't exactly a warmest place, is It?" The new dad changed her to an upright position on his shoulder so he could rub comforting circles on her back. "No it's not, so we have to sleep all bundled up." He looked up at his friends "Which reminds me I need help with the crib. I don't have time to do it alone and I'm afraid to end up crushing her one night."

Well, scared is not the word. Rather <<Terrified to the point sometimes he only felt it safe to sleep on the floor.>>

"Sure mate. We can help you out while you take a well deserved and needed shower." Brian suggested.

"Sounds like a plan"

Meanwhile John approached from behind Rog to get a good look at her. She was still wrinkly, but her eyes were already captivating and John knew she would use them against all of them in no time. Of course it was too soon to make out who she looked like, let alone start trying to guess who the mother was. And... Wait, that on her forehead...  "Is she supposed to have acne already?"

"Yep. I freaked out too when I saw it was, but it'll disappear in a bit." Rog said "Wanna hold her?"

"Woah, you sharing your girls?"

"Gotta look for her pinky anyway."

John grinned and held his arms out.

"Know how it goes?" Rog questioned, without moving one muscle.

"I'm studying pediatric psychology." John said matter of factly.

"That you're studying kids don't mean you actually know what to do with them."

"You didn't even studied kids -or anything at all- and you're fine. I got a bonus."

"If you fucking drop or hurt her man..." Rog warned, suddenly insecure about letting his child go.

"Just give her over, damn." John urged.

Rog kissed her forehead and passed her to John so he had her nestled in his arms.

"All good?" Rog asked. It felt weird, after being just the two of them since they had been discharged, to see her in someone else's arms. Which was ridiculous cause he was only turn around for two minutes to look for whatever pinky that hadn't decided to hide away.

"Perfect. Stop being a moron and do what you have to do." John looked down at his niece "Hello darling Piper. I know your brain is still hardly developed at this point and you're not gonna remember any of this but I'm your uncle John and I already love you very much." And he did. He knew he'd do anything for that new little person.

"Sappy." Fred grinned, back to being his witty self again.

"You cried watching Titanic. Your argument is invalid." John replied, eyes not leaving the tiny girl, who stared back at him.

"Everyone does, always."

"It was the 10th time you watched it!"

"And I don't trust anyone who doesn't cry every time Jack..." He chose not to say it, or he'd break down just from recalling it.

"He's a silly one, that Fred, isn't he?" John cooed down at Piper, who kept looking at him with those round grey eyes, and he had a vision, or a prediction, that those eyes would make him buy her a pony in a few years time.

"I'll just never understand why people speak with that high pitched voice at kids. It's ridiculous" Brian rolled his brown eyes. He was an only child, and the youngest cousin of his family so he hadn't really got to treat with kids too often.

"Well, out of all of us You're the one  who sings like the Smurfs, so cut it." Rowan arrived with the purple pinky and carefully put it in her mouth.

"You gonna go back to sleep or you're done?" He asked with the highest note on his register, just to piss Brian off "We should probably get going to my place so I can shower while she's happy."

"Why the hurry?"

"Cause it's only matter of time before she needs something and I'm not letting you do it. Nor have the time to teach you how to change a nappy or make a bottle" he carefully took her from John and walked back to the carseat, placing her inside and slinging the bag on his shoulder.

"And for the record, you are the the one soprano here, Mr.Galileo." Brian said.

Rog pretended not to hear him, already crossing the door.

"Wow."

"Unbelievable."

"No way."

That was the general reaction to the status of Rog’s appartement, now full of empty/ half full bottles of formula instead of booze, parenting books instead of Playboy magazine and Forbes... And the smell of powder instead of Marlboro.

Just Wow.

"Holy damn Rog" Fred said, unable to hide his amazement.

"What?" He placed the carseat on the kitchen table, and stared at his daughter -who had fallen back asleep with the car's movement- while debating on whether picking her up or not.

"You live in a... This..." He didn't have a right expression to describe what his apartment had turned into

"Is this the wrong house?" Bri joked.

"Nope." He settled on taking her out and putting her on his bed while he showered.

"You live in a bloody nursery" Fred finally said.

He chuckled. "Just haven't had time to organize. Tho I've already assumed she's gonna take a shitload of room. But that's okay." he cooed, gently swaying out of reflex even though she was asleep and didn't notice.

"You've never been good at sharing..." Brian started, but Rog wasn't going to have them pointing out what they thought he could or couldn't do. He had enough with Mom.

"What is this? A kindergarten lecture?" He interrupted.

"Apparently." Fred still couldn't believe his eyes.

"Well shut up and check out the crib."

"Where had she been sleeping?" John questioned as they followed.

"With me. Well, if we can call it sleep."

After 4 days on their own, Rog had got to nearly master the art of swaddling, or burrito Rollin as he liked to call it, and while he knew the likelihood of waking her up in the process was high, he knew it was a risk worth taking. Then again it had taken him forever to get her settled and... What was the worst thing that could happen?

"I'm gonna leave her here. Try not to sit on the mattress cause that may disturb her."

"Can we talk?" Fred whispered. He wasn’t used to babies, he didn’t want to break her or something.

"Yes, and you don't have to whisper. Talk normally. But don't fight. And just... Keep an eye on her, you know?" Rog said, before disappearing into the bathroom next room.

The three men nodded, and turned to the unassembled wooden crib leaning by the wall.  It was actually big for a newborn.

"Why didn't you get a smaller one?" Deaky asked, as he examined the item.

"Cause she'll eventually grow out of it and that will mean having to buy another one." Mom had wanted to give them a present, so he asked her for money to buy a nice crib that would hopefully resist the next couple years.

"Clever."

"Hopefully this one will make it through the next two years or so. Until it’s time to move her into a bed."

"Alright. On with it."

Only 5 minutes into it, Brian noticed the kid's arms moving, as if she was having spasms.

"Errr... Should we tell Rog about it?" He asked his flatmates.

Rog also heard it, tho, and stopped the shower in panic. "Tell me what? What's going on? Is she okay?"

"Is it normal for her not to stay still?" Freddie asked

"Like her limbs are all over the place?" Bri added

"Oh, yea. Fuck you goddamn scared me men!"

"Well she was scaring us!"

"It's normal. It's..." He didn't feel like infodumping an encyclopedic speech about that. He didn't wanna be one of those people. He sighed in relief and ran the shower again. "She's okay. Don't worry."

He closed his eyes and enjoyed the warm, refreshing sensation of the water falling over him. And the relaxing sound it made. Damn, it was good to have a moment of peace without having to worry about his kid being left alone, or feeling guilty that she was next room, or worrying about her waking up with him still in the shower.

Fuck yea, he could've fallen asleep in the act. And he would have

Brian May, John Deacon, and Freddie Mercury were pretty intelligent people. Brian was a honour student, John would have also been if he hadn't caught that flu during the last term of High School, and Fred... Maybe he wasn't the most focused and self disciplined student in the room, but he was creative and witty in his own way.

However, 20 minutes after starting with the crib, they still hadn't figured out one single thing.

"The bloody instructions are in Korean!" Fred complained.

"Yea, we've noticed!" Brian replied, through gritted teeth.

"Why the actual fuck did Rog buy this shit?!"

"It was the cheapest one, for sure." John guessed, pawing around in search of the nail that had just fallen.

"Fred, that screw doesn't go there!" Brian said

"Well it didn't fit anywhere else, so I'm just gonna try in every spot until the goddamn thing gets in!" Fred had never been one for patience.

"Goddamn it..." The guitarist shook his head, running his eyes through the manual one more time, in hopes that he'd come up with something. But no.

"It can't be so fucking hard!" Fred grunted in frustration.

"Guys, I think we're losing perspective here.  We should just calm down and~"

John was interrupted when a cry broke the air, just as Rog was almost done soaping his hair.

"I'll get her. You guys figure it out" Fred announced, anxious to get away the bloody crib.

"Ha. You've never been this near a baby before. I'll do it" John said, also standing up.

"You've already held her earlier. It's my turn." Brian spoke, jumping on his feet.

"Precisely because she's already met me...".

"Oh, bullshit! You just wanna leave us here with the fucking crib!"

"Watch your mouth, Fred! There's a kid..."

"Can  any of you just fucking get my daughter?" Rog's voice called from the bathroom.

John was the fastest, and he lifted the squirming infant up with one swift movement. "Hey darling."

She kept crying, and squirming all over the place.

"You got her?" Rog asked.

"Yep. What should I do?"

"Just hold her until I get out. I'm almost done."

"Okay" he manoeuvered the infant back  in the position he had her earlier, so he wouldn't drop her.

"Just careful, don't move her about too much. I almost drop her tonight when I was making a coffee. Poor Prune's got enough frights."

His friends chuckled. Rog will be Rog. Always clumsy.

"Hey, where's the hammer?" Fred asked Brian .

"Why would you want a bloody hammer now?"

"Cause I can't roll the goddamn screw in, so I'm gonna try smashing the little fucker in!"

"You're gonna break it like that!"

"Well you got better idea? Huh? I didn't think so, so give it here!" Fred demanded, snatching the tool from Brian.

Meanwhile, John was busy trying to entertain the babe until her dad  came. Then he noticed some red scratches on her already red face, his expression changing into concern "Rog" he called over the cries and the shouting between Brian and Fred.

"Yes?" He answered, blinking the urge to sleep away.

"Something's wrong..."

"I've told you, it's normal that she moves that much. Just hold on to her..."

"No, Rog, These cuts..."

"What cuts?!" That was all Rog needed to snap out the drowsiness. The shower stopped, and he jumped out the shower.

Fred almost drops the hammer at T's foot at the sight of soaking wet naked Rog.

He. Was. Hot.

A fucking deity.

Michelangelo's David.

But of course Rog was oblivious to it. Not to the fact that he was hot, that he knew, and had taken advantage of it. Take Piper for evidence.

But what he or the other two band members ignored was that for Fred, Rog was... Everything. And he'd be lying if he didn't say he had actually drawn the Michelangelo's David with Rog's gorgeous face instead.

He'd be lying if he said the sight of his beloved with a baby hadn't made his heart melt and twist at once, and set a storm of butterflies fluttering on his whole body.

He'd be lying if he denied he loved him.

He'd be lying if he denied it, yea. But he'd lie straight away, nonetheless. He wasn't ready. He doubted he'd ever be.

Meanwhile, a few feet away, the concerned dad leaned over to take a look at his baby's face. It did have scratches. Bleeding scratches. But how?

"Oh God." He said "But I... They weren't there 20 minutes ago, were they?"

"No, not at the studio. She was fine." John answered, also examining the wounds. "What do we do?"

🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🎼🎼🎼🎼🎸🎸🎸🎤🎤🎤

Well, as always, a big Hooolaaa a mi hermana del otro lado del charco (across the pond) @definitely-darcy, who’s always giving me little prompts to keep this shit up. Finally used the crib one, but it’s a bit dull maybe? Anyway, love  ya dude!

[externally-upset]

1-100

Alright going all in I see. Let's do this

1. I mainly use Spotify

2. I try and keep it clean but somehow always winds up messy

3. I've got brown eyes

4. y'know I've got a really generic name but I do like it. Why, I have no idea

5. I'm currently single

6. Scatterbrained, happy, adventurous

7. I've got natural black hair

8. So I don't drive because it actually hurts my leg to drive. Also I can't sit still for longer than 5 minutes

9. I shop everywhere that has toys lmao. I'm a toy collector so I'll go anywhere that has em

10. I don't really have a style. I try and live my life as cozy as possible

11. I don't really have a favorite social media account

12. I have a full/queen size bed

13. I've got lots of siblings. In all, I've got 6 sisters and 2 brothers, but some are step family. I've got 1 bio sister and 1 bio brother, both younger than me.

14. I've been looking into moving to Washington recently, but I think I'd rather travel the world than settle down somewhere, for now at least

15. I don't use the filters myself so I can't speak on that

16. I don't use makeup so I don't have a fave brand to talk about

17. I shower everyday, I get really sweaty so I gotta

18. I don't have like a definite fave TV show. It varies from month to month. Although this summer it was Nisekoi, which is an excellent anime

19. I wear a size 11.5/12 shoe

20. I'm 5'11

21. I wear almost strictly sneakers

22. I don't go to the gym, I should though. I really should

23. Dream date would be to have one lol, um I guess to go up to the mountains together and star gaze or something to do with the mountains. I just enjoy being outside

24. Too much to count 💸💸 lmao jk I've got $60

25. Ain't wearing any but if someone came through right now, I'd put some black ones on

26. I had four, but my mom stole 2 of them

27. I was working in drywall for awhile but I hopped out of that and am currently applying to places. I specifically was a taper, so like when drywall is put up in the house, there are gaps between the pieces put up. I covered those gaps up, all over the house. It doesn't seem like a lot but when you've got 15-20 feet ceilings, it gets hard

28. I've got quite a lot of friends and I love them all

29. I've know I've done bad stuff that others remember me for but I can't think of anything

30. Oh man I loooooove lavender scented candles. Lavender scented anything is the best

31. I honestly can't think of any boy names that I like

32. 3 girl names: Sochi, Lavender, and Laurie, which is actually the name of one of my best friends

33. Anthony Hopkins is my favorite actor by far

34. Fave actress is definitely Meryl Streep, I fell in love with her when I first saw the Devil Wears Prada years ago and it just snowballed from there

35. My celeb crush is either Bonnie Wright or Jessica Keenan Wynn

36. Fave movie has gotta be The Great Mouse Detective

37. I used to read a lot, not so much anymore. Of everything I've read though, Christine by Stephen King has been my favorite read

38. Everyone wants to say brains are more important and they are, but unfortunately in the world we live in money rules over all

39. I used to be called Chancho but not any more

40. I've been to the hospital more times than I'd like to think. I had a heart condition that flared up in high school so I spent a lot of time at the hospital. I'm still not even sure what it was and am sure the doctors made it up to take my money

41. TOP TEN SONGS:

Beauty and the Beast - Angela Lansbury

Beauty and the Beast - Celine Dion, Peabo Bryson

Higher - Creed

Eres Mi Droga - Intocable

Crossing Field - LiSA

Don't Blink - Kenny Chesney

Junkhead - Alice In Chains

Your Decision - Alice In Chains

Losing A Whole Year - Third Eye Blind

Forever Halloween - The Maine

42. Nah, no meds for me

43. I think I have an oily skin type

44. Biggest fear is leaving those I love behind when I pass along to the next life

45. I don't know how many kids I want

46. I always have my hair either in a bun or braided

47. I live in a medium sized family home

48. My grandma has been and always will be my role model

49. It was being told how wise I am

50. Last text I sent was to my homeboy, telling him "this school shit is wack"

51. I was 6 years old when I found out Santa wasn't real

52. A nice Truck is my dream car or maybe a souped up Subaru, with an anime wrap for shits and gigs

53. I'm cool with smoking weed, but no cigarettes and only smoke outside, don't need my stuff to smell

54. Yeah, I'm here in college, but I don't like it

55. Rural areas by far. I've always wanted my own farm

56. I wanna be a high school history teacher and that requires a degree, so that's why I'm in college

57. I don't like the shampoo and conditioner from hotels, don't like the way they feel. That being said, yes I'll take them

58. I've got freckles but you can barely see them unless were face to face

59. Yes and no. It really depends on my mood. I try to take more smiling pictures now

60. I've got quite a few, mostly memes though

61. Of course I've peed in the woods, with the amount of times I've been hiking and camping with no bathroom in site, you gotta

62. I watch almost strictly cartoons, if we're being completely honest

63. Chicken nuggets smack, no matter where they're from

64. If it calls for it, honey. If not, then sweet and sour sauce

65. Alright, so it depends where I'm at. If I'm home alone, just my underwear. If there are people here, shorts. If I'm at someone else's house, I wear whatever I have on

66. Never participated in a spelling bee in my life

67. My hobby is collecting. I've been collecting things since I was a kid. I've switched between many things in my life. I've gone from Wrestling figures, to sports cards, to vinyl records, to Funko Pops. I actually collect a little of everything I've mentioned now

68. I can't draw for shit

69. I don't play any instruments, although I've tried learning how to play the Ukulele

70. Last concert was seeing Four Year Strong and Seaway like 2 years ago

71. I prefer tea over coffee

72. I guess Starbucks as I've never had Dunkin before

73. Marriage sounds nice, but I don't need to. Like if I'm dating someone and they said they don't wanna get married, I wouldn't have a problem with it. As long as we're in love, that's all that matters

74. Aha, I'm not answering this one

75. If ever I get married, I don't know what the last name situation is gonna be

76. Burgundy and blue look absolutely fantastic on me

77. Yeah there are a few people I miss

78. I always sleep with my door closed and my closets too

79. I belive in ghosts, although I prefer to call them spirits. Used to see them frequently as a child, still do sometimes

80. Biggest pet peeve is when people try to tell me what to do. Not like suggestions but actually tell me what to do. Irritates me to no end

81. Last person I called I think was my Dad, but that's because I couldn't find him in the store

82. Black Cherry Vanilla is the best but no one sells it anywhere

83. Golden Oreos are pretty damn good so I'll go with those

84. If I have to choose, probably rainbow sprinkles

85. Just a plain white tank top

86. My phone background is a picture of Ricky from Trailer Park Boys saying "Man, maybe I am gay."

87. I can be outgoing, it kinda takes a bit for me to open up though

88. I fucking love when people play with my hair

89. My neighbors across the street are very nice, but next door neighbor is a dick, always judging shit

90. I usually wash my face in the mornings

91. I used to get high a lot, not so much anymore, although I'd really like for that to change

92. I spent a good portion of this year drunk, so that's a problem. I actually only started drinking when I turned 21 last September. Never been hungover either, so I've been blessed

93. Last thing I ate was some chips

94. "Thank you to the miracle that we are able to meet in a dirty and ugly world, even like this" My Song - Girl Dead Monster. This is from Angel Beats and these are rough English translations

95. I prefer winter over summer, but spring is my fave season

96. I love night time, always will

97. I will always pick dark chocolate over all other chocolates

98. September is my favorite month, not because it's my birth month, but it's the one month where everything feels right

99. I'm a Virgo

100. Last person I cried in front of was my homeboy Mason, albeit I was drunk as fuck and don't remember it but he does. Says I scared him

Goddamn that took forever, but I did get over being bored, so bless you Anon

[told-you-teddy]

▌│█║▌║▌║   TASK 001.  ║▌║▌║█│

Teddy was slouching in the chair as detective booth started talking, he was stoned which meant he was willing to cooperate and was more likely to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. Teddy wasn’t one to sugarcoat anything and he had no problems with expressing how he truly felt about Morgan and her death... it had been a year but it felt like yesterday... his secret stays the same and he really does not know or have any idea where he was the night of her being murdered.

Hello, Mr THEODORE GRAYSON. My name is Detective Booth and I’m handling this case. I don’t need to go into details; you know why you’re here, and we already have you down as a suspect in her death. We’ve got witnesses to corroborate and a budding timeline, but we need more information from you directly. Make my day easier and cooperate with me on this, will ya’? I just need you to answer these questions for me. Do me a favor and don’t lie – you’re talking to a trained professional right now, I’ll be able to pick up on certain things whether you realize it or not. Lying will only come back to bite your ass later on. Just some food for thought. Let’s begin.

Q: I’m gonna’ start light. I hate interrogators who go straight into the hard stuff, ya’ know? I find it impolite. So, tell me a little about yourself. Give me your full name. A: Thedore Grayson but everybody calls me Teddy

Q: Alright. Tell me your date of birth and age. A: july 18th 1996 and twenty three almost twenty four Q: Where did you grow up? What was your home life like? Tell me about your family and your upbringing. Give me your story. A: teddy grew up in Michigan with his mom and dad. he had a pretty normal childhood, his dad expected a lot out of him and he rebelled hard core in high school. when it came to college he knew that he wanted to move out of the state. when he found hyland he didn’t think he was going to get in, when he did he knew it was the school for him. he has three sisters and one brother. he is the oldest and very close with his family. “Why does my family and home life have to deal with morgan dying”

Q: Tell me about the most impactful people in your life. I’m not picky – they can be good or bad impacts. A: My boys, my squad and friends... family obviously... people... Q: What are your goals in life? What would be your ideal final ending? What would help you reach these goals? A: to graduate college, get a job... not being a fuck up would help me reach my goals probably but who has time for that right?

Q: How would you describe yourself? A: decent human being. *laughs*

Q: What do you do in your free time? What’s your idea of fun? What sports or extracurriculars are you in at Hyland University? A: i’m in a fraternity and play baseball... partying and hanging with friends is fun

Q: Do you drink? Smoke? Take drugs of any kind? Answer carefully on this one, kid. A: yup, yeah, maybe... why does this have to do with anything?

Q: Tell me about the relationships in your life. Friendships, romantic, everything in between. A: i mean a couple of my best friends slept with her, i guess i'm really close friends with Bridget i think they got along... dominique and i were fairly close... i guess she was always just somehow roped up into my life somehow by somebody... girl was everywhere and in everybody

Q: What’s the best thing that has ever happened to you? What’s the worst? A: best thing, probably being a big brother.. worst blacking out the night of morgan’s death

Q: Let me throw in a fun one, lighten up the mood. Would you rather only be able to tell the truth or only be able to lie? A: tell the truth, i don’t sugar coat anything

Q: Did you kill Morgan Parrish? A: no but she had it coming, everybody couldn’t stand her *rolls eyes*

Q: Let’s get some background information on this. How do you know Morgan Parrish? A: i guess you could say we were ‘friends’ but that didn’t last long, girls crazy.

Q: Explain the extent of your relationship with her. Was it platonic? Civil? Rocky? Romantic? A: i guess you could call it frenemies, didn’t care for her if i’m being honest

Q: In your own words, describe Morgan Parrish to me. A: dead to me... *coughs dramatically*

Q: Would you say your life got better or worse upon meeting Morgan Parrish? A: isn’t everybody's life worse?

Q: What was your favorite thing about her? A: she had hot friends

Q: What was your least favorite thing about her? A: manipulative and selfish

Q: Where were you the night of her murder? A: *shrugs* a party?

Q: Where were you the day before? A: at school and at a friends dorm room

Q: Where were you after? A: at the frat house with sawyer, jack and emma

Q: How did you feel about her passing? A: i guess it didn’t surprise me

Q: What do you think about the way she died? Just as a refresher, Morgan Parrish was drugged, strangled, beaten, and then shot. A: karma’s a bitch isn’t it...

Q: Did you make any sort of tribute to her death and put it on social m- A: nah i don’t use social media and wasn’t close enough to do a tribute to her

Another interrogator walks into the room. She’s holding a folder with your picture clipped to the front. She opens it in front of Detective Booth and whispers something into his ear. He shoots you a look and then excuses himself from the room. He returns twenty minutes later, features stony. He quickly writes something down on his notepad and then caps the pen.

Q: Change of plans. I’m going to scrap the questions I had prepared and ask you what I see fit. Where were you exactly the night Morgan Parrish died? A: a party... and my dorm... what else do you want from me? *sighs* Q: Tell me all the details you can remember from that night. A: nothing that has to do with morgan Q: Were you intoxicated at any point? A: wasn’t everybody... Q: Are there any witnesses able to corroborate your story? A: yup! i checked into the fraternity and my friends signed them in as guests Q: I feel like you’re leaving things out. Tell me all the details you can remember from that night. A: *studders and stops* “I was at a party with some friends, it was a great night“ that i remember Q: … are you telling me the truth, kid? We got six other students we’re talking to today – sure would suck for you if one of ‘em was able to prove that something you’re saying is false. A: i don’t have to prove anything... hope you get more information with the other six students Q: What was the last thing you said to Morgan? A: stop being a bitch *laughs* guess that wasn’t the best thing to tell an almost dead girl Q: Have you ever gotten into a physical altercation with Morgan before? A: almost, reid and aleks a stopped me.. bitch was blackmailing my friends again Q: Have you ever fought verbally with Morgan? A: isn’t that all we ever did? Q: Would you say you felt safe around Morgan? A: there’s nothing safe about that girl Q: Do you wish you had never met Morgan? A: life would be simple if i hadn’t met her Q: Do you own a gun? A: nope Q: Have you handled a gun before? A: nope don’t mess with that kind of stuff Q: Do you know someone who owns a gun? A: nope Q: Have you gotten into physical fights before? A: i’ve had my fare share of fights Q: Is there anyone who can prove where you say you were on the night of her death? A: sawyer, jack and emma, they were all at my place Q: Do you think Morgan deserved to die? A: i wouldn’t use the word deserve.... Q: Do you wish she was still alive? A: doesn’t make much of a difference

Q: Do you miss her? A: *laughs* in all do respect, does anybody? Q: Has your life gotten better or worse since her death? A: the same, she didn’t really phase me too much Q: If you could bring her back to life, would you? A: God no! Q: Are you hiding something from the people of Hyland? From your family? From me? A: nope i don’t really need to hide anything Q: Have you been telling the truth this entire time? A: yup, you got anything else sir? Q: Did you kill Morgan Parrish? A: nope and i don’t know who did

[riivvcrs]

( min yoongi / cismale / he/him ) yooo, wassup ( river soo ) ? aren’t you the ( twenty three ) year old ( senior ) going to college for ( photography ) ? that’s tight! ( saoirse, 21, she/her, est )

uh i had a really lame intro for ya boi last time around but this time? its still lame but this river is a lil different so here we go lets get to the good shit

family life // background

so basic-fucking-ly >:( my mans is the oldest of the soo fam (the soo gang, if u mcfucking will), he’s got four younger siblings, and the oldest of em wasnt even born until he was eight , so obviously he had a big hand in raising all of them, but the age gap and the responsibility tha t weighed on him vs the lack of responsibility on his siblings made them kinda distant from each other - his siblings all felt closer to each other than to him basically

except for his youngest brother, who was born when river was 12 and has accidentally called river ‘dad’ on multiple occasions- every time it happened, river would practically shit himself and basically peace out on his whole family for a couple days, uh , cause fuck that uwu shit

the main reason for his age gap with his siblings is bc his parents were real young when they got pregnant with him, they weren’t married and deff not ready for kids but they decided that true love would guide them through everything honk honk surprise bitch it didnt, , but they had a shotgun wedding while she was still pregnant, found a two bedroom apartment for cheap and really tried it!

but uh life aint a fairytale dummies! they werent ready to have a kid, esp since they were cut off from their only financial support- river’s maternal grandparents- as soon as they found out that they were keeping the child, and esp esp with a child as chaotic and uncontrollable as our boi our son our demon baby.

so they kinda gave up on river a lot and let him go buckwild as soon as he was old enough to go out by himself, esp bc they were essentially blaming him for the downfall of their youth and their once happy relationship hahaha wild....

the only real semblance of parenting he actually got was from the same grandmother that cut his parents off at the news of his birth- bc she wasnt behind the idea of not being close to the grandson of her only daughter, so he reached out to them when he was a kid. the only time he got a warm, homecooked meal or a baked treat made w love was when he’d go to his grandparents’ place after school.

his grandfather was opposed to their blossoming relationship at first, but river grew on him, annoyingly likable and abrasive even as a kid, so they grew really close as well and his granddad even gifted him rivers first camera, saying that the kid needed something positive to channel his shit into that wasnt destructive or angry :(

so obviously it broke the poor guys’ heart when they passed away within 6 months of each others’ death- someone at the funeral told river that his grandfather loved his wife so much that he died of a broken heart and river couldnt help but laugh out loud at the lady he never met before bu t was allegedly related to him- when he was fifteen.

hyuck hyuck so basically river learned to take care of himself and fuck other people off from like a pretty young age, prepping him with all the tools he needed to YEET outta there as soon as he was 18, leave the soo family to be a happy and normal one w out him fucking it all up (and not bc he knocked someone up eithe r thanks) so he moved out here then , taking 2 years off to work and save money and get his dick/pussy wet and smoke all the weed he could get his grubby fingers on bitch!!

now // personality

wowo well we all know ya boy right??!?!?! painfully obtuse, overtly sexual at all times, and so far his own ass he aint been able to see straight for years (bc hes bi)

spends his days fucking, taking photos, getting high, drinking iced coffee (or his cruel mistress, redbull), eating takeout and just pissing people off in general, yall know the drill aye??

but listen THE FUCK UP MY LADIES, BABIES AND GRAVIES... my boy makes his coin by whipping his impressive uh schlong out on web cam okay?? does he talk abt it openly? surprisingly, not a lot as youd expect him too, but its also not really a secret, bc you KNOW my boy aint got nothing to be embarrassed abt u hear??

uh u guys are pretty up to date on him in general and this is really long so imma cut thi s off now peace.

[soul-music-is-life]

I have an emison prompt: Alsion and emily finding out they are having a boy the second time around Alison is pregnant. And they have a bet on what they are having.

I’m really not a big “holiday” person. But I do take stock of what I’m thankful for this time of year, and I’m more than thankful for my fans (it feels weird calling you ‘fans’ when I consider you friends). You have legitimately occupied my mind enough with the PLL/Emison stuff to where the loss of my mother isn’t constantly in the forefront of my mind so much that it makes me want to pull some “Thelma and Louise” cliff-dive. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Enjoy. Had to add a “read more” link cuz I prattle.

****

Emily’s eyes were closed in concentration. She delicatelymassaged her fingers against her wife’s exposed skin. Alison reached down andtucked her fingers underneath Emily’s chin, drawing her wife’s attention awayfrom her little protruding baby bump and up to her face.

Alison couldn’t help but smile at Emily’s dedication tomaking sure her pregnancy was as stress-free and relaxing as possible. That’show they’d ended up snuggled on the couch, Emily talking to their growing littleone. Emily had become very enamored in her conversation with their unborn babywhile she was trying to determine the sex. Emily rubbed her palm over Alison’sbelly and focused in on it in deep concentration.

“It’sa baby, Em. Not a magic 8-ball.” Alison laughed.

“Iknow.” Emily rubbed her belly again with a smile. She pressed her lips againstAlison’s exposed skin right below the midriff on her shirt. “Talk to me, littlenugget.”

“Again,a baby. Not gonna talk…” She was cut off when she felt movement, a kick.

Emilysmiled and looked up at Alison.

“Youwere saying?”

“Thatwas just a coincidence.”

“Oh,really?” Emily lifted her brow. “Kick your mommy’s bladder if you can hear me.”

“That’snot funny, Emily. I already practically pee myself every fifteen minutes as itis…”

“Sheloves you despite her complaining.” Emily assured the little fetus.

Alisonfelt movement, a reaction to Emily’s voice. Alison couldn’t help but smile.

“Okay,real important question here, peanut.” Emily spoke soothingly. “No pressure.”

“Youare ridiculous.” Alison laughed.

“Maybe.But my methods work. I have a sixth sense for this.”

“Ifthat’s true why didn’t you know we were having twins the last time?” Shemotioned to their twelve-year-old girls sitting across the living room playinga video game.

“Shh,I’m doing important work here.” Emily shushed her jokingly. “Okay, baby.” Emilyaddressed Alison’s stomach again. “Now, are you a little girl…”

Shewaited a few seconds. No motion. No movement. No kick.

“So,you’re a baby boy, then?”

Unbelievably,there was a kick.

“Fool-proofFields method.” Emily nodded. “My dad did it when my mom was pregnant with me,and he was right. So I’m casting my ballot. My vote is baby boy.” Emilygrinned, rubbing Alison’s stomach. “My little man.”

“God,if he is a boy he’s totally screwed. As if his mommies aren’t hormonal enough,he’s going to have to contend with two moody teenage sisters.”

“Youguys know we can hear you, right?” Grace looked up from the TV, a video gamecontroller in her hand.

“Ha!Suck it, Grace!” Lily took the opportunity to edge Grace out of the game theywere playing.

“Hey,no fair. I paused it for a reason…”

“Yeah,because you’re a sucker.” Lily grinned.

“Moms,she’s being mean to me…”

“She’sgloating. There’s a difference.” Emily shrugged.

“Punishher for gloating.” Grace demanded.

“Notmy fault that you can’t beat me.”

Grace’scheeks flushed red in anger. It wasn’t uncommon for them to fight every day,sometimes three to four times a day, about who was better at what. Grace hated to lose. When she was a toddlershe’d throw tantrums. Lily had beat her at Candyland once and Grace had yankedon her hair and stabbed her with a game piece. Everything was a competitionwith the two of them.

“Payup, loser.” Lily flipped her hand over, palm up. She gestured slightly with herfingers curling towards her body.

Gracelooked at her mothers and then at her sister, an idea suddenly coming to mind.She’d heard all the adults talking about whether her moms were going to be having aboy or a girl. They had even taken it as far as placing bets on it. Gracedecided she wanted in on the action.

“Howabout another game?” Grace asked.

“Comeon, I’ve already beat you three times. You really want to keep embarrassingyourself?”

“No. A different one. And the odds are 50-50. Gives us both a fair shot. But it’s along game.”

“I’mlistening.” Lily was intrigued.

“Soyou’re in?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool.Let’s take this pot and add a buy in of ten bucks for the new game. Fixed odds.Double or nothing,” Grace said.

“Whothe hell taught you gambling terms?” Alison frowned.

Grace’sand Lily’s eyes both flickered towards Emily. Emily glared back at them forthrowing her under the bus.

“Didyou teach our children to gamble?” Alison exclaimed.

“Teach is kind of a strong word. They may have stayed up late with me and thegirls for a few poker nights.”

Alison’sjaw dropped, but it had nothing to do with teaching their children how togamble. She was upset for another reason.

“Youplay poker without me?”

“Baby,you know I love you, but you give away too much with your tells.”

Themost ironic thing about Alison being one of the biggest liars in Rosewood whenshe was a kid was the fact that now that she was grown, she couldn’t bluff forshit anymore, especially not when shewas pregnant and emotional.

“Thatshouldn’t matter.” Alison sulked. “We’re supposed to be in this marriagetogether. Through better or worse, through wins and losses…”

“Iwon two grand the last time I played without you.” Emily interrupted her.

“Shuttingup.” Alison nodded.

“So,girls, you want in on the action of the baby pool?” Emily smiled at her twins.

Theywere just as mischievous and devious as she and Alison had been when they wereyounger.

“Yeah.” They replied in sync.

“Idunno. What do you think, Alison?” Emily asked with a teasing smile on herface.

“Ithink I gave birth to two suckers and it’s mean to let them practically give ustheir money.” Alison joked. “But they’ve got to learn somehow. Better at homethan at the tracks.”

“Soyou’ll let us play?” Lily smiled in excitement.

Emilynodded.

“Thereare three polls going, but only two big ones. The first is whether it’s a boyor a girl. And the second is the day you think your mom is going to givebirth.”

“What’sthe third one?” Grace asked curiously.

Emilylooked at Alison in amusement. Alison glared at her, warning her not to tellthe girls.

“Howmany times your mother swears in the delivery room.”

“Ohhh,I definitely want in on that one. Ifit’s anything like her road rage, I could clean up with my winnings of thatone.” Lily smiled.

“You’regrounded until you’re thirty-five.” Alison scowled at her eldest daughter.

After a few seconds a smile spread across her face and the two of them laughed.

Lilystood up and walked over to her moms. She looked over Alison’s stomach as if itwas a difficult word problem that needed to be solved. She flipped her tonguein between her teeth and tried to decide. Ever the scientist, she was lookingfor any factor that could steer her in the right direction. Also, gambling withher sister was serious business. She hadto win.

“Whenyou were pregnant with us did your belly stick up or hang low?”

Alisonlooked at Emily, and though she couldn’t say what she was thinking, Emily pickedup on her train of thought,

She makes it sound like adick.

Thenagain, maybe that was the point. Maybe it was part of her scientific process.Or maybe her mommies just had filthy minds.

“Icarried mostly in the middle with you girls. I started showing pretty early,but then again there were two of you.”

“AuntHanna suggested that it’s going to be twins again.” Grace smirked.

“You’renot allowed to hang out with your Aunt Hanna anymore,” Alison said dryly.

Godhelp them if they ended up with another set of twins. They loved Lily andGrace, but they couldn’t do two babies again. Not on top of the surly kids theyalready had.

Lilytook her mom’s answer into account and then her face tightened inconcentration. She looked a lot like Emily when she was trying to mentally worksomething out.

“Whatkind of cravings did you get with us?” Lily glanced at their half-eaten dinneron the coffee table.

“Sweet.Always sweet. I ate entire box of chocolates on Halloween.” Then she’d promptlypuked. “I also had a thing for dill pickle chips.”

“Yeah,and always at like two in the morning.” Emily scoffed.

“Soyou’re the reason I love pickles.” Grace nodded.

“Werethere any smells that made you nauseous?” Lily asked.

“Coffee.”

“Sobasically you couldn’t hang out with Aunt Spencer at all.” Lily laughed.“Anything else?”

“Pineneedles.”

“Oh,yeah.” Emily nodded. “Christmas was hell for you.”

Alisonhad insisted on letting Emily decorate a real tree even though it made her sickto her stomach. She knew how much Emily loved Christmas.

“Wasthere anything…”

“ForGod’s sake, Lily, just bet already!” Grace exclaimed impatiently.

Lilylooked at Grace with a snooty expression.

“Ithink mom is right.” Lily looked at Emily. “I think it’s a boy.”

“Andhow did you scientifically concludethat?” Grace snorted.

“Simple.”She walked over to her sister and plopped down next to her with a smile. “Momis always right.”

Emilygrinned. Alison hit her for gloating.

“Well,I think it’s a girl.” Grace disagreed.

“Why?”

“Idon’t have to tell you my methods.”

“You’rejust saying it’s a girl because I think it’s a boy.”

“No,I’m agreeing with mom.” She pointed to Alison. “She said the other day that thebaby was bitching at her. Girls dothat.”

“Youcurse in front of our children?” Emily looked at Alison with a smile on herface. “And you give me crap for letting them play poker.”

“Ah ha! You do let them play!” Alison pointed an accusatory finger at Emily.

Emily reached over and pinched Alison’s side where shewas ticklish and she almost leaped off of the couch. Alison glared at her, butthen laughed. Grace and Lily glanced at one another and rolled their eyes,because their moms were like so totally ridiculously mushy.

They went back to trash talking one another over their video game whileEmily and Alison watched. They didn’t have much else to do but wait. Becausethe new game they were playing was a long game. They had another three weeksbefore they knew whether they were going to have a baby brother or a babysister.

[fluidityandgiggles]

Sleep Is For The Weak - prologue

Also known as: the Remy-centric KHS prequel

(Trigger warning: this fic will include quite a bit of transphobia. Transgender rights in the US were quite... interesting, to say the least, until 2010.)

—

The University of Michigan was the most boring place Rebecca ever went to. Then again, it wasn’t like it was her fault. She didn’t want to be here. It wasn’t her idea at all. That program she was in in Columbia basically just signed her up to this stupid summer camp thingy after talking to her parents, without asking her anything about it. And how fair is that, huh, Columbia?

Not. Fun. (Also not funny, for that matter.)

It wasn’t even a camp. It was like summer school for geniuses. And there was a reason geniuses did not need summer school.

That. Was. Preposterous. There was no point in motherfucking hell in sending him to summer school, in Michigan of all places, when he was already—

Yeah, okay. Maybe he overreacted just a tad bit.

However, there were some positives. Michigan wasn’t that bad (surprisingly), the girls she was rooming with were hilarious (especially that Sammy girl who carried her ukulele around), the classes were kinda sorta interesting… sorta...

The highlight of camp, though, was this one boy. His name was Logan. He was a teensy bit older, slightly taller, wore glasses and was a massive frigging nerd.

And she liked him. (A bushel and a peck.)

On the first day of camp “activities”, which basically just meant going to class without actually being at school (complete nonsense, in her opinion), they were asked to say their name, their age, and what they want to do when they grow up.

“I’m Sammy, I’m thirteen and I want to be a writer.”

“I’m Evan, I’m twelve and I want to be a doctor.”

It just went on like that for a bit. When it was her turn, she suddenly felt sick. It wasn’t a new feeling, this… sickness. It’s been there forever.

And he had no idea why.

“I’m Becca, y’all, I’m twelve and a half, and I wanna be a psychiatrist.”

Rebecca hated introducing herself to people.

“I’m Logan,” said the kid next to her. “I’m thirteen, and I want to be a cop.”

——

“Logan!” It was the fifth time that day that Rebecca looked for her only friend at “camp”.

“I was trying to read.”

“I don’t care, lovely, we gonna talk and you’re gonna participate. Ain’t no time for your book, darling.”

Once the book was closed and put down, once Logan fixed his glasses, it was time to embarrass herself in front of the person she considered to be her only friend here.

“Lolo, my sweetheart, my lovely, my precious little angel, i have something very important to tell you. I’m gay.”

He did not look shocked in the least.

“You gon’ say anything, sweetie?”

“...you’re gay. Like… like Ellen?”

“Oh, no! I like boys way too much, darling.”

That was when he got shocked. “But… aren’t you gay?”

“Yes, Logan. I’m gay.”

“...okay, I guess.”

——

There was no point to making “friendship bracelets” or any of that. Once the program was over, it was over. Rebecca turned thirteen and went back to school, but other than that, nothing really changed. Her mother still watched Friends like her life depended on it, her dad was still trying to learn to cook more than scrambled eggs. The program in Columbia still focused more on utter nonsense than on actual psychology. Nothing changed.

Not even the sick feeling she felt every time she introduced herself.

Only ‘herself’ didn’t feel right anymore. It never did, not really. It’s what made him sick. So why did she— he? Why did he keep doing this?

“Mom, I need to talk to you…”

Her - his? - mom was watching Friends when she (he? Maybe he should try he instead of she) got home from school. She always did, ever since that show first aired. It was a disaster.

His mom was a disaster.

“What’s going on, sweetie?”

“I’m gay.”

Why did she look so concerned? It wasn’t like he didn’t make it clear. Obviously he liked boys. It wasn’t like it wasn’t the most obvious fucking thing ever.

Right?

“Becca, are you okay?”

“Well, yeah…”

“But… you know what? We’ll talk about this with your dad later.”

And then they did. His dad was… to say the least, probably even more confused than his mom.

“But you don’t like girls, Rebecca! At least not… that way!”

“Well, maybe I’m not a girl! Ever thought that was an option?” He let out a loud, exaggerated sigh. “This is ridiculous! My own parents refuse to believe me! What have I done to deserve this?”

And then - and then - everything turned silent. His mother looked at him like a deer in headlights, and his father… he almost cried.

Maybe… maybe it was a tad bit too soon.

And then his mom spoke.

“Go to your room, Rebecca.”

“But—“

“Go to your room!”

Regardless, he listened. He could always hear it when his parents were screaming. There was no pretending otherwise. And they screamed a lot.

“What are we doing wrong with her? What did we do wrong with her? Are we being too harsh? Are we—“

“She needs our help! He needs our help! We need to be there and—“

“I did not give birth to a—“

Among all the shouting, though, he heard something rather nice.

“She needs to see a psychiatrist, Linda! He needs to see a psychiatrist!”

——

Rebecca Harris was born four years after the term “gender identity disorder” became the official classification for trans people by the APA.

It took about fourteen years for him to change his name to Remy.

And four years after that for his life to fully change as well.

——

September 2002

“Why don’t we go around and introduce ourselves?”

Just like summer school.

“I’m Kelsey and I’m bisexual.”

“I’m Tessa and I’m a lesbian.”

It went on like that for a bit. Some elaborated beyond that, some didn’t really give that much of a fuck. And then it got to him.

He no longer felt sick introducing himself.

“I’m Remy, I’m gay as fuck, and my doctor won’t let me start transitioning to male until I’m twenty-five.”

—————

(Credit to @broadwaytheanimatedseries for hearing about my insane hc and going “YOU SHOULD WRITE A KHS PREQUEL ABOUT REMY IN COLLEGE”, and thanks to @whatwashernameagain for letting me write this and being adorable in general!)

This story should be... interesting. To say the least. (The 00s were an interesting time to be trans.)

@royallyanxious @em-be-lievable @madly-handsome @hanramz-the-fander @poisonedapples @the-incedible-sulk @virge-of-a-breakdown @anony-phangirl @supremestoverlord @ultimate-queen-of-fandoms2 @adoratato

(If any of you could tag the rest of the fanclub it would be amazing! I love y’all so much!!)