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itslieutenanthawkeye · 3 years

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Beyond the Sea of Pain

Day 3 of Jeankasa Week 2021: Family

AO3

A peaceful life for the girl who longed for love and the boy who gave her it.

Sasha Ackerman had never been one to pry. She carried her mother’s quiet, observant personality, or so her father said. Whenever conversations became for adults only, she excused herself, she never asked too many questions unless it was something that involved her loved ones.

Lately, Sasha had begun asking more questions, simply because most matters revolved around her mother, her mother and the child she carried. At seven years of age, Sasha knew a new baby implied many changes for the family. Both for her parents, and for her. Her whole life, everyone around her had gone to great lengths to make her happy, make her feel loved, and above all, to keep her safe.

All she was surrounded by were protectors: her grandmother who had taught her how to make the omelets her dad liked, uncle Armin and aunt Annie who came to visit the island with hundreds of presents each time, uncle Connie who bought her ice cream and candies whenever he babysat her, and uncle Levi with his perpetual frowns.

This would be the first time she had someone smaller than her, someone to take care of, someone to protect. Her mom had said in conversations she wanted three children, so Sasha had always known that sooner or later she would be the head of a triad of Ackerman children. She would be the eldest sister.

“Sasha, help me, please,” her mother called from the door. She was almost seven months in her pregnancy and still carried out her daily routine as usual. Her father had gotten angry at the beginning, when he caught her carrying things from the market on her own. But her mom was strong, stronger than her father even, and each time she had reassured him with a sweet smile that she could handle herself.

Sasha didn’t want to imagine the level of anxiety in her father during their first pregnancy.

“Where’s dad?” Her mother asked as they laid out the market bags on the kitchen counter. The queen of the island had given her parents a beautiful apartment in the new Shingashina district years ago, for helping bring peace to the world, although her mom always joked that all she and her father had done was work numbers in a library.

“He’s finishing up the baby’s room.” Sasha informed her mother, smiling at the sight of the chocolate biscuits she had bought for her. Her father always said that perhaps names came with traits. And Sasha had certainly inherited her namesake’s appetite.

“Have you helped?” Her mother asked, putting both hands on her waist. “He was up all night setting that crib. Did you paint with him?”

Sasha shook her head. “Dad didn’t let me.”

Her mother sighed. “That man needs to let other people help him.”

“Are you mad at him?” Sasha asked, kind of hoping she was. She had really wanted to help him paint the new baby’s room.

“I don’t think I can get mad at him,” her mother said, smiling as she wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Sasha put her hand on her mother’s belly, drawing in a breath in awe as she felt the baby moving. “The baby know it’s you saying hi. They’re saying hi back to you, you know.”

“Does the baby like me already?”

“The baby loves you, sweetheart.” Her mother replied, placing a kiss on her forehead. Sasha took a hold of her mother’s right arm, her fingers lingering on the ink markings on her wrists, the tattoo that had always been covered by bandages in the pictures from her time in the military.

“Mama, when am I going to get this?” she asked. A crease appeared between her eyebrows then, and for a moment, Sasha feared to have upset her. Her mother crouched to be at her height, with surprising grace despite her advanced pregnancy, and ran her thumb over her cheek.

“My mother gave it to me years ago. She said I had to pass it down to my children,” she said, her hand holding Sasha’s, which still lingered on the ink markings of her skin. “But back then, the world was smaller, honey. We thought this crest was the only thing we had left of our heritage when it wasn’t. There was a whole country beyond the island, and a huge clan with the same emblem and people who shared our blood.”

“That means I can’t get this marking?” Sasha said, feeling a little disappointed. Despite having her mother’s dark hair, she’d inherited her father’s structure; at her age, she was taller than most kids at school, and her eyes were of the same hazel as her father’s. The tattoo would’ve given her another thing in common with her mother, another thing to share that was just theirs.

Her mother seemed to notice the change in her expression, and she cradled her face with one hand. “You can decide to get it or not when you’re older. You’re still going to be my sweet little girl, whether you get it or not,” she said, kissing her cheek. “But I didn’t want to mark you with the emblem, at least not offer it until you became old enough to decide for yourself.”

“I wanted it to remember you,” Sasha replied shyly. “This is how you remember grandma, right?”

Her mother smiled, bringing her closer to embrace her. “You’ll be able to remember me in many, many more ways, Sasha darling,” she said, pulling her apart to face her before she continued speaking. “First of all, your dad and I are going to live for a long, long time. We’re going to take a million pictures, and your dad is going paint a thousand portraits of us. And when those are wrinkled and old, and you’re wrinkled and old, you’re still going to remember our love for you. Because you, dad, the baby, and I are going to live long lives together, okay? We’ll make memories together.”

Sasha nodded, wondering why her mother’s speech had filled her eyes with water. She passed a chubby hand across her face. “I love you, mama,” she said, hugging her again. “I swear, I’ll protect you and dad forever.”

“I love you so much, honey.” Her mother said. Her father always told her she didn’t need to protect them, but it seemed her mother understood her personality a little more in that regard. She understood that drive to protect and remember her loved ones, perhaps because Sasha was much like her.

“Want to go see how dad is doing with the room?” her mother said after a moment, with her usual smile.

Sasha held her mother’s hand as they walked to the baby’s room. The apartment would be small with another child. Their house would be finished in ten months; it had taken a while for his father to convince queen Historia to sell them that land by the river, and a little while longer for them to get all their financing for the house from Hizuru. Her mother had friends there, although Sasha had never met them in person. They would eventually move, Sasha was sure, but in the meantime, dad wanted to make their apartment as child friendly as possible.

“Hello, dad,” her mother said, knocking on the door threshold. They found him finishing up the far wall, the one next to the window. Sasha stared at the paintings on the walls, realizing why her father hadn’t let her help. She would’ve ruined the landscape he’d painted so thoroughly across the walls: it was their summer meadow, the one by the river, the place where they went most weekends to fish and eat and sing. The place that would be their new home in ten months.

Her father turned to look at them with a wide smile on his face. He was tall, taller than most, and had long hair and a stubble on his chin that itched when he kissed her cheeks. “Hello, darling,” her father said, walking up to her mother to give her a kiss on the lips. Then, he gave Sasha a kiss on the forehead. “Hello, little darling.”

And then, her father kissed her mother’s pregnant belly. “Hello, tiny darling.”

Her mother gave him one of those adoring smiles Sasha loved to see. Her mother was beautiful, the most beautiful woman ever, and when she smiled like that, Sasha almost thought she was looking at a doll. It was a look reserved only for dad; it had always seemed her eyes were full of sunlight when looking at him. “Jean, you shouldn’t have done all this.”

“What do you mean?” her dad asked. “Do you not like it.”

“I love it, honey. I absolutely adore it,” she said, grabbing his face to kiss his cheek. “But we’re moving at the end of the year, and you’ve barely slept…”

“You know I like doing this,” her father replied. “Besides, it’s so the baby can get used to the scenery before we get there.”

A low giggle escaped her mother. “Also, Sasha wanted to help you here.”

“She’s a kid, Mika. It was a lot of crouching, a lot of tracing, too much smell of paint,” he said, giving her mother another kiss. He was never shy about showing his love, but the closer she got to the end of the pregnancy, the more did her father kiss her. Sometimes it felt as if he kissed her every second of the day. “I didn’t want her to get all tired.”

“She’s strong, Jean,” her mom replied, smiling still. “She can help you out when I’m not here.”

“I’m sure she’s as strong as her mother,” he said, bending to kiss Sashas’s cheek and then her forehead. “I’m sorry, okay, little darling? I promise you’ll help with the next baby room.”

“Let me have this one first.” Her mom said with a low giggle. “Will you, lover boy?”

“I waited seven years for our second one, didn’t I?” Her father teased.

“Let’s not pretend you haven’t been trying for another one the past seven years, Kirstein.”

“You know I love trying for one, Ackerman.”

Sasha walked over to his set of paints, her eyes on the mixture of colors but her ears on their banter. She liked watching them go about life together; there was such an easy happiness between them, an easy, almost-perfect happiness that could only come from the love they had for each other. A love they poured onto her, a love that filled Sasha with happiness.

Sometimes, when she saw her mother smile at her father, she could barely believe she was the same woman as the one in the pictures from her days in the military. The woman in the pictures was stoic, untouchable, a perfect figure of strength, a statue with the sadness in her eyes as her most defining quality. Her mother, the Mikasa Ackerman Sasha knew, was all smiles, kisses, and kind words; she was low conversations about butterflies, she was warm hugs after a day at school, she was adoring looks for her father when he cooked dinner.

It’s not that her mom didn’t get sad every now and then. Of course, whenever they visited the graveyard where her namesake rested, or when she and her father spoke of the past in hushed whispers in the living room. But still, sadness was not all of her. Her mother had turned into sunlight, that’s the only way Sasha could describe it.

“Why are you frowning, sweetie?” Her father asked.

“You two are being corny again,” Sasha replied. “You’re doing your kissy faces.”

Her mother and father exchanged a look and a smile, and soon her father had lifted her into his arms. “Mikasa, we just made little Sasha jealous,” he said as he twirled her around. It didn’t take long for Sasha to start giggling. “She wants all the kisses to herself!”

“You are too corny! Your beard is itchy!” Sasha laughed. “Mom, help!”

Her mom took her from her father’s arms and gave her a thousand kisses on her cheeks and forehead in the lapse of a second. “All the kisses must be for my sweet little girl,” her mother teased. Her father took her back in his arms, not wanting her to carry Sasha’s full weight so far into the pregnancy. “She deserves them, don’t you think, Jean?”

“Yes, she does,” her dad agreed. “She is the best older sister in all of Paradis. Your little brother already adores you.”

“Or little sister.” Her mother said, giving Sasha another kiss and leaning into her dad to get a peck on the cheek from him.

“Or little sister.” Her dad agreed.

“When do we know?” Sasha asked. “When do we know if it’s a boy or a girl?”

“We need to wait until baby’s born,” her dad explained, using the paint on his thumb to draw a little white star on her cheek. “It won’t take long. We need to be really careful with mommy until the baby’s born, and then some more after.”

“Mommy is top priority,” Sasha agreed, nodding seriously. “Then after the birth, mom and baby will be top priority.”

Her dad chuckled and looked at her mom. “She really does take after you, doesn’t she, Mikasa?”

“I’d say she takes after you,” her mother said, tucking a strand of hair behind Sasha’s ear. “All that concern for my well-being could’ve only come from you.”

“How are we going to name the baby?” Sasha asked then.

“If it’s a girl, we’ve decided it’ll be Carla, right?” Her dad said, and her mother nodded.

“And if it’s a boy?” Sasha asked. Her father exchanged a look with her mother, both at a loss from her question. Sasha figured they hadn’t considered the possibility of having a boy, and the matter of a name for a boy hadn’t come up until now. She shook her head in exasperation; Aunt Annie called them a pair of idiots and although Sasha would never truly consider them a pair of idiots, she could see why she’d granted them that nickname.

“How about dinner?” Her mother said.

“I’ll get to it.” Her father said, kissing her mother again.

Her mother crossed her arms over her chest and let out an exasperated sigh. “Jean, let us help you. Honey, nothing bad will happen to me. I can make dinner for three.”

“I’m sorry,” her father said, frowning, cradling her mother’s face in his hand. “You’re just so pretty. And I can’t believe you’re carrying our child sometimes. I don’t want you to lift a finger, I don’t want to risk you at all, Mikasa.”

“Jean,” her mother said, placing a kiss on his lips. “I love you and I promise I’ll be fine, alright?”

Her dad nodded. “I love you too, Mika.”

“You two are too corny,” Sasha said, jumping from her father’s arms and walking towards the kitchen. “I’ll just eat biscuits while you kiss.”

“Sasha, wait!” Her mother said.

“Young lady, do not fill up before dinner.” Her father called.

Sasha smiled for herself as they followed her into the kitchen. Part of her felt a little bad for interrupting, but if they’d kept being all lovey with each other, dinner would have taken ages. And Sasha cared more about her appetite than letting those two be lovey-dovey. Besides, those biscuits did smell great.

__________________________

It wasn’t until Sasha had gone to bed that Mikasa had the time to sort through the clothes for the new baby. Some had been sent by Levi and Armin, alongside letters promising to visit them after the baby came to help Jean with the house. Some had been made by her own hands; she’d learned knitting from her mother when she was a child, but she hadn’t gotten back to it until she’d met Jean’s mom. All the socks had been knitted by Jean, a fact of which he was proud about.

Mikasa smiled to herself. Of all the things he’d done for her, for them as a family, his biggest pride was that he’d managed to have time to knit a couple dozen pair of baby socks.

“We got a package from Hizuru this morning,” Jean informed her as he walked towards her across the hallway. “Who gives a baby a golden reliquary necklace?”

“Really rich royals.” She said, turning to look at him.

Jean made a disgusted sound as he sat next to her. He leaned his back against the couch and stretched, and Mikasa’s eyes were drawn to the muscles straining against the fabric of his shirt. “Alright, that’s Sasha back asleep.”

“Was it a bad nightmare?”

Jean shook his head. “She keeps dreaming a giant baby’s chasing her.”

Mikasa snorted. “She’s just like you were when she was going to be born.”

“Hey, I wasn’t that nervous. I was just excited.” Jean said, grabbing her gently and bringing her close to his side. Mikasa hugged him, resting her head on his chest for a long moment. She took in a deep breath, enjoying the scent of him, thankful for the constant beat of his heart, for his presence, for his immense love.

Her life had been quiet grief up until the moment they’d returned to the island. She’d never thought she would love anyone ever again as much as she’d loved Eren.

But, apparently, she’d been wrong.

The growth of her love for him had been the thawing of her life, slow but inevitable, leading surely towards what seemed to be an eternal spring. Her constricted heart had gotten used to his presence little by little after his return; in the deep darkness that the rumbling had left her in, Jean had offered his hand to her, and they’d spent peaceful, quiet, love-filled days together.

Their friends had been there for her, but it was his presence, their conversations, their time in silence together, what she came to enjoy the most, what she looked forward to. Soon after, she noticed his appearance, that stirring he caused in her chest. And next thing she knew, Mikasa had been looking at him with the same loving eyes as she’d looked at her first love.

She’d fallen without trying, without expecting to, but she’d fallen irrevocably. And now she couldn’t imagine her life without him, without his kind, gentle presence by her side, always so certain she had the answer to any issue, always so confident in her strength.

The fire, the hatred that had fueled her first love was nonexistent in him; Jean was peace, spring, he was the promise that the world could be rebuilt after being ablaze. And she loved him; she loved all of him, and the fact that he’d given her a child –two, now– had only deepened her love for him. She didn’t regret her past; she didn’t fear the horrible memories, not with him by her side.

“About the name if it’s a boy,” Mikasa said, looking up at him. “I was thinking Marco.”

Jean raised his eyebrows in surprise. “I was thinking Eren.”

Now, it was her turn to raise her eyebrows. Just as he knew how much Eren had meant for her, Mikasa knew how much Marco had meant for him. “But I thought you would’ve wanted to honor him, because of your history together and—”

“I thought the same.” Jean said, brushing her hair back. He liked her hair; on their wedding night, he’d told her about how his crush on her had started, and Mikasa still liked hearing the story every now and then. “I thought you would’ve wanted to have a child with his name.”

“I thought you would’ve wanted to have a child with his name.”

Jean smiled again. “Well, great minds think alike, don’t they?”

“Jean,” Mikasa said seriously. “You’ve done so much for us already. If you were to pick the name, I don’t want you to pick one just because you think that’s what I want.”

“And I don’t want you to think I do all the things I do just to pick a name.”

Mikasa shook her head. “I didn’t mean—”

“I know. Come here.” Jean said. Mikasa finished closing the gap and their lips met. And, like every other time, her chest filled with warmth. She was drawn to him like a magnet was to metal; the comfort his skin offered was unparalleled by anything else she’d ever felt. True, she always teased that he’d been the one to try over and over again for a second child. But, in truth, the one who always seemed to want him on her was Mikasa herself.

“I still think Eren has a good ring to it.” Jean said after a while.

“He’s gonna get teased in school.” Mikasa said, thoughtfully. “What if he travels out of the island, Jean? People out of here don’t like that name. Have you given that idea any thought?”

“Maybe we could call him Aaron or something.”

Mikasa snorted. “You’re silly.”

“And you are gorgeous.” Jean said, kissing the side of her head.

“I still like Marco better for a name.” Mikasa admitted, wrapping both arms around his neck.

“Ah, are you trying to seduce me to get me to agree?” Jean said, placing kisses along her neck, reaching the curve of her ear to whisper hoarsely. “Because it’s going to work wonders, and you know that, Mrs. Ackerman.”

“I’m not,” Mikasa giggled, letting him kiss her neck and chest a little longer. “I just think we need to make up our minds soon. It might be a boy, you know?”

“Why do I feel we won’t make up our minds?” Jean said, his hands searching for the buttons of her shirt.

“I have the same feeling.” Mikasa whispered back, working on the buttons of his shirt as well.

“Well, then, in that case I guess we have only one option.”

“Which is?” Mikasa said, straightening to look at him in the eyes. She enjoyed looking at his hazel eyes; she adored seeing his overflowing love for her in them. Once she’d started to recognize it, she hadn’t been able to keep herself from looking for it.

Jean smiled. “We hope for a girl.”

“Or twins,” Mikasa said as he resumed kissing her lips.

“Or twins.” Jean agreed, kissing her a little more.

“I love you, Jean.” She whispered, going to his ear to kiss him.

“I love you too, Mikasa.”

_______________________

Sasha brought out the tray and smiled proudly at the cookies. They all had perfect shapes, just as she wanted them. The clock on the wall told her she had a couple of hours to decorate and place all the snacks out on the table; her husband said he would be getting everyone from the airport, which was a whole hour and a half away from their small town, and her brother and sister would prepare everything in the garden for the party.

As the eldest sister, she’d always been the one to boss them around, to help them sort out their problems and protect them from whoever tried to bully them. However, the past four years, Marco and Carla (or Charlie, how Sasha liked to call her since her birth, twenty five years ago) had become more than helpful for the little matters she and her husband didn’t notice.

It’s not that they were fools, no. It’s just that they’d been prepared for one child only.

Little footsteps resonated across the hall, and Sasha smiled knowingly as the twins appeared, holding hands as usual, on the threshold of the kitchen. “Sora, Oliver,” she said, wiping her hands on her apron, noticing the mud stains on their legs and faces. She crouched in front of them, using a piece of cloth to wipe the mud off Sora’s face. “Kids, weren’t you going to take a shower?”

“Where’s Jeanbo?” Oliver asked as she went to lean his cheeks.

“Huh?” Sasha replied.

“Jeanbo and Mika,” Sora said, pouting. “They were going to help us choose our clothes.”

Sasha straightened, putting her hands on her waist. “Does grandpa know you call him that?”

“He laughs!” Oliver replied, looking outraged.

“Those two spoil you guys too much,” Sasha replied, shaking her head. “You should be calling them grandma and grandpa. It’s disrespectful to call them by their names.”

“But Mika said it was alright!” Sora said, jumping a little in her spot. “She said it’s cute!”

Of course, her mother thought it was cute. She was the main culprit when it came to spoiling the twins. They were her first grandchildren, and neither of the two had inherited the Ackerman’s serious traits. It was all Jean’s, Sasha’s mother often said…from their cheeky smiles and hazel eyes to their loud, proud voices and talent to become the leaders of any group of children. Perhaps that was why her mother found them so incredibly adorable.

Although, to be fair, Sasha thought, they were incredibly adorable.

“Where are they, mama?” Oliver asked.

“They went out for a walk five minutes ago.” Sasha said, looking out the window. “Mom likes feeling the sun, and dad likes holding her while walking.”

Oliver and Sora exchanged an outraged look with each other, then looked up at her. Sasha couldn’t help but to smile wider at the sight of their childish indignation. “They didn’t wait for us!” they exclaimed at the same time.

“Let them be, kiddos,” Sasha said, taking off her apron. Decorating the cookies would have to wait, maybe she could ask her father for help. He’d always been better with art, after all. “Those two will be with you all afternoon. Let them have their romantic time together, okay?”

Oliver and Sora smiled cheekily, showing her the two dimples on each of their cheeks. That one trait, they’d gotten from Sasha’s husband. She adored seeing that tiny part of him on their faces. “What is it, you two?”

“They’re always having romantic time, mama.” Oliver pointed out.

“That’s because they love each other very much.” Sasha said, walking forward. The two let go of each other’s hands and allowed her to stand between them, to hold their hands and lead them upstairs, where a warm bath waited for each.

“Have they always been like that, mama, all lovey-dovey?” Sora asked.

“As long as I remember, yes,” Sasha replied as they went up.

“Will they be like that forever?” Oliver asked then.

“I’m pretty sure. They’ve still got plenty of years ahead, don’t they?” Sasha said, and her children hummed yes in response, at the same time.

Sasha smiled; she’d grown to know their story gradually, how much they’d lost, all the sorrow, pain, and death, and all the light that had followed afterwards. Her mother and father had taken all the little broken pieces of their souls and created a kaleidoscope that reflected in beautiful rays of light in a myriad of colors upon their family. They’d created happiness out of sorrow, and they deserved so many more years together.

They deserved to live through the happy times, the sad times, to grow old together. They deserved to love each other, love their children, their grandchildren, their friends. The family that had bloomed from disaster and pain.

They deserved to live. They all did.

#jeankasa #jean x mikasa #jean kirschtien #mikasa ackerman #jeanmika #Jeankasa Week 2021 #jeankasaweek2021 #fanfiction #ao3 #fluff #Family #Day 3 #shingeki no kyojin fanfiction

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poison--ivory · 4 years

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Uninviting Cataclysm(Alastor x Reader) Chapter 1

Daily routine isn't always good

(You call the old couple mom and dad) *Also sorry I didn't mention until now that you have really curly hair and your biracial(so you can decide what your skin color is)* •You were also raised up north and still kind of speak with that dialect•

June 6, 1915 Age: 20

The morning sun pushing through the curtains along with the sound of dogs barking slowly woke you up. Forcing yourself up and managing to bear from the comfort of your bed and it's still warm sheets. First, tidying your bed spread neat before mom could scold you.

Making your way to the wardrobe to gather clothes for today's venture, you grabbed a (f/c) V-neck, short flutter sleeve dress that hits mid thigh. With matching flats to best match your dress. Oncing over the choice for today you thought it was best enough. Setting them on the bed and quickly making your way out of your room and into the hallway.

Swiftly moving down corridor to the bathroom to freshen up before breakfast. Seeing that your old mom already set a nice bath for you. Letting your gown carelessly fall off your frame and removing your undergarments. Mindlessly going into deep thought about your day.

You usually go to the library to read or grab a book. Maybe chat with the sweet old lady and her seven year old grandson who run the place. Then, possibly taking a stroll around the fair that just open for the summer. By that time your already bringing your twin something for lunch.

Later, you either stop by the market to pick up groceries or you help your mom take care of wealthy white kids. Their parents pay mom a great deal to care for their children. She does literally everything for them from making meals to sewing dresses or little suits. But, some clients left after my brother and I showed up I guess they didn't want their children to be near a person of color for too long. The ones that stayed seem nice enough. My personal favorite being a middle aged man, Henry Bourgeois, who always said, 'hello' and gave me small tips for caring for his daughter Sally.

Your skin started to prune sitting in the water for too long. Stepping out of the tub and snatching a towel from the rack you started to dry off. Starting with hair and slowly making your way down to your toes.

Wrapping the towel around your womanly frame you crept back to your bedroom and got dressed.

__________________________

Once downstairs the smell of bacon and spices hit your nose and triggering your mouth to salivate. Walking into the kitchen you found your mom just about done with her last plate to place at the table with the two others. You greeted her with a warm hug and a 'Good Morning, Mom'. She smiled back and gave your cheek a quick peck. Then went to sit in your chair and wait for your plate.

"Good Mornin', sweetheart. How'd sleep?" She asked, turning back around to slide the eggs on the plate.

"Better than yesterday I can tell you that for sure. The dream I had was so realistic with the flames of hell melting my flesh. I could of sworn that my eyes busted through my soc-" You were cut off by a plate slamming down in front of. Looking up mom had a stern look to her aged face.

"Now ya need ta stop talking 'bout ya dreams like that. Really unladylike especially in public," She spoke with a slight authoritative tone. Lightly limping to her chair she spoke again, "it's just a dame should stay in her own lane. Not that I don't wancha to get a little fire on me now. Men just don't like that talk ya know."

Nodding to her response she took the answer and went on her to turn up the radio for the daily news.

Good Morning, ladies and gentlemen and welcome back to the radio show.

Staring your favorite radio host, I Alastor, to brighten up your morning with a few songs, but let me darken your day for just a minute with such sad news. Another body was found by an egg last night floating down the bayou.

Coppers have yet to capture this Button man. This tallies up to over twenty people in a span of two years. Now what most of you fine folk want to listen to here we have, Mr. Artie Matthew's play the 'Weary Blues'

The piano playing filled in the silence that would have been forks hitting plates trying to pick up flimsy fried egg.

The killings haven't been new and have been the norm for awhile. You can hear people talking about it at every street, alleyway and bar.

The coppers haven't caught the guy yet and it puts lots of people on edge. Especially people with families.

Nearly shoving food in my face causing mom to tell you to slow down. But, hardly listening you shove the rest of the bacon into your mouth and make your way to the sink to scrub your plate and placed it on the drying rack.

"Bye, mama. I'll be back before you know it!" You yelled from the front door way and before you could venture outside she yelled back.

"Pick up some milk and bread before ya get home, would ya?"

"I will, mama."

"Have a safe trip and the cabbage on the table for ya." She slightly limped over and gave both of your cheeks kisses.

Checking the table you hurriedly snatched the money and skipped out the door. Slamming it shut behind you.

Walking down the curvy road that leads into the city. The walk leads you through a small, little wood patch and into a small clearing that slowly shows small businesses and shops. The library is located near the school which is pretty far off from other buildings.

Reaching your destination, the library stairs are long wide, and white cemented staircase with two pillars on each side with the big doors that lead into the actually building. Pushing pass them you nearly run into a little boy, Joseph Bonnefoy.

"Oh, where are in such a rush to?" Smoothing out your dress asked in a slight taunting tone.

"Granny said I could go out for a short break. I'm getting myself a few chocolates as a snack." The words rushed out of his tiny mouth. Hardly catching his breath when he was finished.

"Well aren't you grown now, Joseph. Next thing you'll tell me your getting old enough to get your own house." Jokingly ruffling his hair, he smiled and waved off vanishing from sight once down the incline.

Sauntering into the building you noticed that Claire Bonnefoy wasn't at the front desk where she usually was. Probably in the back.

Making your way down the aisles of books you traveled around for a good five minutes passing books you didn't find interesting or they didn't have good covers. Coming across a couple of good ones you touched 'The Good Solider' reading the summary you decide to give it a try. °°It's set just before World War I and chronicles the tragedy of Edward Ashburnham, the soldier to whom the title refers, and his seemingly perfect marriage plus that of his two American friends.°°

Strolling around the aisle for a bit more you grace yourself with some dark writing. Traipsing on to some dark fiction you grabbed a fairytale book of the 'Grimm work original fairy tales'. Walking back to the front, Mrs. Claire was already their and ready for me. Smiling I greeted her and handed the books over. Smiling she rung them up and complimented the choice for this week.

" How have you been, Mrs. Claire. Not to intrude on your personal life, but is it true that the last person who died lived close to you." You questioned.

"Sadly, yes 'n I've been thinkin' of sendin' little Joseph up state with his aunt 'n uncle in Arkansas for awhile 'til this calms down." Her shaky hand clenched around the book harshly, "Or if they finally catch the bastard whose doin' all of this maybe mah little boy can stay. 'Til then mah old joints can't move like they use tah."

" Lititle Jo 's gonna feel so sad, he really likes New Orleans."

"Yes, I know dear. But, I'd sleep betta at night if he was somewhere safa." She slide the books in a paper bag and handed them over. A melancholy smile on her sweet face. "Been saving up on a train ticket for some time now. Most folk don't come by tah rent out books anymore. So, it took some time 'n hard work tah earn the money."

The killings have did put everyone at alert. Well, most people still hang out past sun fall just to watch the city come to life. Which I won't lie it is gorgeous to witness the night come to life. But, for old bims like Mrs. Claire she's dang plum tire and could use the time to calm her nerves. Maybe I should visit more once Joseph''s left.

"Thank ya, Miss. (Y/n). I'll see ya next week or so."

"The pleasure's all mine and I'll give these books back in no time."

Waving to the old bim you make your way back out the library and on tour way to your next destination.

Making your way back to the house to fetch Issacs's lunch you had to maneuver your way through the crowd of busy people scrambling around to get out of the sweltering heat and catching up with friends.

Your brother works at a boiler repair shop. Fixing cars and getting scraps of cabbage to make up for the bills that weren't paid. He's always been a hard working guy, he's selfless and protective. I still remember when we were kids and father used to hit him, so hard, but came to my defense whenever I was in trouble.

Traveling down the dusty road you made it to the repair shop where two boobs stood out front. One was always silent and the other was a continuous flirt whenever you came around.

As soon as they could hear your shoes hitting pavement the flirt Clay shot up to welcome you.

"How are doing this afternoon, (y/n)." His hand went out to grab your, which you quickly pulled back, "you know that offer still stands that if you wanna get tonight."

"I would, but I'm pretty sure your wife would raise all hell." Walking past him to look further into the garage. "Where is my brother, is he not here?"

Floyd spoke up, which startled you. His voice is pretty deep and gravely for a man only four years older than yourself. Blowing the smoke from his mouth he tapped the ash upon the ground to stare at you.

"He left early to go out with his dame. Told us to tell ya not to worry too much and that he'll be back home later tonight." He stole another drag from the cigarette.

"He could at least gave me heads up before I came all the way out here. What I'm supposed to do with this now." Dangling the bag of food from side to side.

"I'll take it off ya hands for ya." Clay swooning in to steal the bag and retreat back to standing next to Floyd. "Wish my wife could cook like your ma."

Huffing you said your good byes to them both with a very excited 'see ya' from Clay and a small wave from Floyd.

Once far away enough you groaned louder to reduce some irritation of making this heart felt trip. Pulling on your face to stop tears from forming you sighed and kept walking to your next venture.

The scratch mom gave you was enough for bread and milk. But, she also gave you enough to get something special from you little trip. You decided on a cup of coffee at the nearest restaurant with a beignet. It sounds so good right now and with more pep in your step you made it to the store in no time.

The corner store was full of people that day bustling around to grab what they need and storm out. You being the small self you are you tried to cram your way in and failed miserably. You tried this process several times and came out with the same results. Someone bumped into your small frame and sent you falling backwards. Gloved hands snatched you up before you could hit the ground.

You were in a state of shock before being knocked out of your stooper by a young man who you realized pulled you off to the side. With eyes wide you tried to make conversation, but no words would come out the only thing you could look at was his face.

"T-Thanks for helping me." You tried to mustard a smile, but it came out weird.

"You look like you were in quite the pickle their, my dear." Hands still on your waist he motioned with his head down the street. "You know there's a nice restaurant around here that serves the best venison. I think you would just adore it. Could possibly calm your nerves my treat."

Mouth still dry you tried to speak, "I don't want to impose on your lunch regimen." Shaking your head and slowly moving backwards.

"Oh, but I insist my dear I did invite you didn't I." Pulling you closer by the hip, your face heated up more than normal. Now following the man who you didn't even pick up the name you two made your way around the corner and down the street.

Stepping inside the small business you noticed only about six or eight people in here. Nicely decorated with bar stools and five booths along the wall and a bathroom across from the front entrance. But, it did smell really delicious in here maybe it won't be, so bad to have just a bite to eat. He did say he was paying. He lead us to a small booth in the back and waited for me sit down first before taking his seat across from me.

"Why did you bring me here I barely know you, sir?" Playing with your fingers to ease your nerves by making your fingers stretch and squeeze together.

His eyes looked off to the side in deep thought before he shrugged. "You looked interesting, my dear." Reaching over he scratched under your chin and his smiled covered more of his face. "Smile my dear you know your never fully dressed without one."

Making a smile fall upon your lips you smiled back. His eyes slightly narowed and his smirk stretched a bit. Suddenly, a very curvy and thick lady stood in front of our booth.

"Oh, Al are here to hear me sing again tonight. If you are your way too early, hun." She giggled.

"Oh no my dear, Mimzy. I'm here with a new friend of mine. She's going to have seasoned venison." His arm motion towards me and I froze on the spot.

Sticking your hand out for handshake, "HI, my name's (y/n). Nice to meet you."

She stared you up and down before slowly taking your hand and managing a small smile on her face. "You must be a fan, Al here, right. A lot of dumb dora fall head over heels for this man."

I guess she read the confused look on your face and answered for you. "Alastor, the radio man of New Orleans."

"Oh, sorry I guess I didn't notice." Turning your attention to Alastor, "sorry I didn't recognize a popular figure like yourself."

"It's fine dear a lot of people don't recognize the voice with the look." I'm guessing he's talking the creole look. To be honest a lot of people don't sound like the ethnicity on the phone until you see their face. But, I can't really judge I get turned down in person more than on the phone looking for a job.

"Well I'll go tell the servers the usual for you, Al." She looked you over, again. "What will you have?"

"She'll be having the same as me, mim." Alastor strong smile had her face painted in a light pink. She straighten her posture and cleared her throat and told us it it'll come out in no time. Once she gone I asked how long they've known each other.

"Mimzy and I go way back when she was a small singer. Know she travels from time to time to spread that lovely voice of hers." You just took noticed he speaks with hands a lot more than most people. But, you seem to like that.

Smiling back you told him that really amazing. It was you mothers goal before she stated using. He asked you about your occupation.

"Well, I really wanted to be a baker, but no plots are open, too expansive or I'm not the right skin tone for this establishment." Looking up for just a second you could have sworn the smile on his face fell and quickly went back into place.

"Isn't that just dreadful." He focused up at the ceiling for awhile and shot his head down to smirk at me, "How would like to work for me for a fair price a hour?"

"What?"

#alastor x reader #hazbin hotel #hazbin alastor #1920s #human alastor #hazbin hotel mimzy #toxic family #foster family #alastor being a jerk #period typical racism #hazbin hotel au

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cascades-fiction · 3 years

Text

Multiverse Imagines

Just Like The Old Days

co-creator : @QuinniexC in (wattpad)

It was an early day for the Jacksons. They were already up before the first light. Apollo has not even mounted his own sun chariot to bring light above the world.

But that was not the case, the young family decided to pay someone a small visit after not being able to see each other for five years.

Little Serena Jackson sat in the back seat. Still fast asleep with a slight pout, her mother Annabeth watching over her through the rear view mirror, a little smile playing her lips.

Percy had one hand on the steering wheel while the other one held Annabeth's. His gaze was pleasant and at peace.

They drove through the streets of Stamford, overlooking different sets of building apartments and several townhomes. Cars were parked beside the sidewalk and in front of shops.

Elderly women chatted happily in a nearby bench with their husbands who weren't much interested in their conversation.

He drove his BMW for about 47 minutes until arriving at New Haven. The young family decided to stop by and have some breakfast at Atticus Bookstore Cafe.

Percy looked around for a parking space and his eyes immediately fell on a blank spot in front of the store. "You wanna go in first? You and Serena?" He asked

She looked at him and shook her head " No it's okay, we'll all go in together"

He nodded and started to park the car. After he did, the two of them took off their seat belts and looked behind. They were met by Serena gazing at them with sleepy eyes. In unison, they chuckled.

"Where are we?" She asked quietly, rubbing her eyes awake. A yawn letting out her small lips, her hair in two low pigtails. She says it's her new favorite hairstyle.

"We're in New Haven sweetie,"Annabeth said softly, tickling her daughter's feet, earning a sweet giggle. "We are gonna eat breakfast okay? Then we'll go straight to Boston to meet your uncle Magnus!"

"Uncle Magnus?" She tilted her head, frowning. She was clearly not familiar with the name her mother mentioned.

"Yeah baby.. it's mommy's cousin" Percy answered.

"Hmm... Momma's cousin? Okay then!" She smiled, making her parents smile as well. Annabeth and Percy got out of the vehicle. She opened the back door, unbuckling her daughter and lifting her up in her arms while Percy locked up the car. Altogether they entered the cafe.

Once they had gone in, Serena perked up seeing all the stacked books the cafe had to offer. She wiggled out of her mother's hold and immediately started jumping up and down, pointing at the bookshelves, a wide grin plastered on her face. "Momma! I want to see the books!"

Annabeth smiled at her "Later we'll check them out huh?"

"Why later?" Serena pouted

She knelt down to her daughter's level "Because we have to order our breakfast first okay? And then after we find a table, we could go check out the books—"

"Uh uh." Percy intervened, getting a hold of Serena's hand " I could take her there now, it's alright"

"Are you sure?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah definitely." He kissed his wife's cheek "we'll meet you over there" he said, pointing at the farthest table near the window.

"Yeah sure." She looked at Serena, who grinned from ear to ear "Behave with daddy okay?"

She nodded cutely, before dragging Percy with her tiny fingers wrapped around his big ones toward the bookshelves. Annabeth smiled thinking how much her daughter was like her when she was younger and up until now. She lined up from a trail of customers, awaiting her turn.

As soon as she was first in line, smiling, the cashier asked for her order "Hi good morning, what would you like today?"

Annabeth returned the simple gesture "Good morning um, I would like 2 Croque Monsieur with 2 Espressos and 1 breakfast sandwich. Also 1 hot chocolate please"

The cashier nodded, typing down her order on the monitor. "Is that all?"

"Yes that's all" Annabeth confirmed

The cashier nodded once more. She looked up saying, "That would be $37. "

Annabeth took out her wallet and paid. The cashier thanked her and told her to wait. As she made her way towards the table they had agreed on, A little body collided with her leg, wrapping her little arms around her lower limb. She looked down and saw a sight that made her heart melt all the way.

"Momma!" The little girl chirped happily.

Annabeth grinned, hoisting her up in her arms "Baby!" Serena giggled, placing a wet kiss on her mom's cheek. "Where's daddy?"

Serena pointed toward the end of the cafe where they could see Percy carrying handfuls of various books.

Annabeth let out a laugh when she saw Percy's face. He looked so flustered and rapt at the same time. He was never interested in books because of his ADHD and dyslexia but he was always willing to go to a library just for his wife and his daughter. He loves seeing their reactions whenever they see a wide selection of books in a library or whenever they spot a beautiful architecture. They'd always beg to stop the car and he'd be more glad to do so just to see their faces.

"Aren't you a sweet daddy.." Annabeth cooed, putting her arms behind his neck. She brushed the hair away from his eyes and leaned in to give a quick kiss before pulling away and assisting him with the books. "Are we buying all of this?"

"Serena said she'd pick from all of these. Only two or three, okay honey?" He said to his daughter

"Okay!" She answered, flopping down onto one of the chairs, re-scanning all of the books she took whilst her parents settled down to the seats in front of her, watching her adoringly.

"She's a lot like you, you know" Percy whispered, beaming in happiness

She stared at him with affection.

"Yeah she is... though she's got so much of your sass and your blue food addiction it's crazy. She's as sweet as you too"

He chuckled, remarking "That's our girl"

"That's our girl…" she agreed, nodding with a small smile.

"Momma! Daddy!" The little girl looked up at them, "These!" She lifted up two books and kinda shoved them in their faces, her look overjoyed. It was Geronimo Stilton and the lost treasure of the emerald eye. And another, Geronimo Stilton and the curse of the cheese pyramid.

Annabeth grinned from ear to ear, "These are wonderful, honey!"

"Yeah they are! All of the books I have at home are too much for kids." She shook her disapprovingly, her pigtails bouncing along.

"But baby, you are a kid" Percy said

"Yeah I am but I'm smarter than most!" She declared proudly, placing both of her hands on her hips with a look of pride on her face.

"Yeah you are…" Annabeth smirked

"Gods she gets that from you—" Percy told her, shaking his head in disbelief

"Does she?" She asked innocently, tilting her head sideways "Oh well."

Percy snorted, gathering the books in his hands "I'll be paying for this," he said, standing up. "Don't have too much fun while I'm gone" he told them, with a playful smile.

"Don't you worry Mr. Jackson," Annabeth assured him "we won't. right Rena baby?"

"Yeah!" She replied almost immediately "Books! Books! Books!" She started chanting

Percy and Annabeth met each other's gaze, her mouthing 'You heard her'

'yes ma'am' he mouthed back and left.

***

Thereafter he had paid for the books she chose, he walked back to the table at the same moment the waitress came with their orders. Serena already returned the excess books with any help from her mother. (Annabeth was very proud)

"2 Croque Monsieurs, 2 Espressos, 1 breakfast sandwich and 1 hot chocolate!" The waitress beamed, tucking a piece of hair strand behind her ear the minute she met eyes with Percy. "Anything else I can get you?" She asked, amorously advancing, not even acknowledging his wife in front of her.

Annabeth noticed this behavior and as fast as lighting, a flash of irritation crossed her eyes. She pursed her lips, clearly not wanting this woman to be in her husband's presence. But Percy being Percy was completely oblivious to the fact that the woman in front has taken a liking to him. He smiled, "3 glasses of water please"

"On the way" the woman winked, swaying her hips as she left. Percy shrugged nonchalantly, sitting down next to Annabeth who stared at him sternly. He suddenly was aware of this. "Wise girl? Is there something wrong?"

She blinked hard. Pointing a crooked finger toward the woman, her other hand formed in fists. "Her."

He looked at the figure she pointed, his eyebrows furrowed. "Her? What do you mean by her?"

"She has eyes on you! Can you not see that?"

He was taken aback. "What? I didn't even notice"

She rolled her eyes, "of course you didn't. You're as oblivious as you can be Percy."

"Wise girl it's not my fault—"

"I know it's not! It's that dam girl!" She half yelled, completely vexed. Serena looked at them with both confusion and concern, still munching on her sandwich happily.

"Wise girl it's nothing okay? She doesn't mean anything to me. Just don't mind her." He tried

"How can I not mind her when she's coming back this way, with your tray of water. Just great" she exclaimed sarcastically. When the woman came, Serena did the most mind-boggling thing in the universe. "Stay away from my daddy!"

Percy's jaw dropped. Annabeth's irritated face turned complacent, feeling a swell of pride coarse through her veins. The woman was gobsmacked, unable to reply to the little girl, Annabeth intruded. "You heard her. Leave the drinking glasses here and walk away. Otherwise you'd find yourself lifeless in a second." She said in a dangerously calm voice, gesturing for her to go and get out.

The woman looked down in shame. Embarrassed. She turned toward the opposite direction and rushed for the door.

Annabeth gave her daughter a discreet thumbs up, clearly proud. Percy got over his shock and looked at his daughter and wife. "Okay, look. I'm really proud of you for being sassy but that was not very nice. Both of you" he stated

"Percy—"

"That was very wrong. She likes me so what? That won't give me a reason to stop loving you. Or leave you. Whatever this world throws at us, I can promise you, I'll always be by your side. You and Serena's. I love you Wise girl"

Annabeth said nothing at first. Her stormy grey eyes were shone with intense light. She looked into his eyes for a long moment as though searching for something of importance. Then, all of a sudden, she smiled and it occurred to Percy that she found what she was looking for, even if he did not know what it was.

Without further warning, she leaned into his tall frame, gently placing her lips on his. To Percy, he did not know if she really had any physical and emotional power over him or if it's only his own spirit but he swore, he felt fireworks explode the moment he felt his lips touch hers.

Truth be told, they only stopped when a voice said "I'm still here you know…" pulling apart, they were met face to face with a glare from Serena.

"Sorry baby, are you already finished?" Percy asked shyly

"Yup! Only drinking my hot chocolate. Also waiting for you two!" Her glare evaporated and was replaced by a delighted grin.

"Oh right! Wait for me and mommy and then we're going straight to Boston"

***

As soon as they had finished their breakfast, the time said it was only 9:00 am and they still had many hours to go before arriving at Boston. They hauled all of their belongings, Serena gripping her brown paper bag with books. She took both Annabeth and Percy's hand, trying her best to reach it and all together they went back to the car.

Percy buckled Serena's seat belt, earning a soft thank you from his daughter. He went back to his place in the driver's seat, starting the vehicle. With that, he placed the key inside the ignition and the car roared to life.

They drove for about 42 minutes through a vast over-lit city, a wide set of buildings towering over them as they crossed an intersection. The streets of Hartford were clean, polished and newly painted. Tall trees were planted near a sidewalk beside poles. Cars were parked on the side of the road and the wind blew a gentle breeze out. Serena looked outside of her car window, completely mesmerized by the scenery as the family passed each building one by one, driving at 55 miles per hour. Annabeth gave Percy her hand and just like earlier, he gladly laced it with hers. Giving her his classic troublemaker smile.

Once they were out of Hartford, the family drove for about 54 minutes, before arriving at Old Sturbridge Village, Massachusetts. As they traveled, they caught sight of a wild field of meadows, overlooking several tobacco barns and modern farm houses. People wore rural New England 1700s clothing, as If it was the day of Halloween. White historical buildings were spotted behind wooden fences. Trees the color of red and gold swayed by. Leaves fell down from the trees, rustling on the pavement.

They arrived at Lexington, Massachusetts at 10:21 am. Lexington is a suburban town in Middlesex county. Only 10 miles from Downtown Boston. They passed through several storefronts and monuments. Teenagers at 14 leisurely strolled by. Orange leaves covered the grass and the asphalt. Tiny American flags were affixed on the grass. Percy turned around the corner and they passed through a sign that said, 'LEFT LANE. MUST TURN LEFT.' When Serena suddenly spoke,

"Momma, Daddy… How come Uncle Magnus only wants to meet me now? Was he busy?"

Annabeth looked at her lovingly, "Yes honey, he was. But now that he's got his work done, we can finally meet him!"

Serena smiled a toothy grin then slowly asked "what does he look like?"

It was her father's turn to smile. "Anyone who would've seen them might assume they'd be siblings, baby" he said

She tilted her head "How come?"

"Well.. he's got the very same blonde hair and the identical stormy grey eyes. Though Uncle Magnus' eyes are more friendly than your mom's" he told her, earning a playful slap from Annabeth and a high giggle from Serena.

"What's he like?" She asked once more

"He's a goofy butt" Annabeth smirked then continued "even so he's amazing. He's only a butt because he made everyone think he was dead"

"So he's not dead?"

"Oh he is but still very much alive" she answered simply. Serena looked confused, locking eyes with her father who only laughed.

They made their way out of Lexington Massachusetts. Passing through numerous skyscrapers and other tall buildings, stores and houses. After 20 minutes of driving through towns they finally arrived at Boston. Percy made his way to the food court in the Transportation center in downtown Boston. When Magnus called the day before, he told them to meet at Fadlan's Falafel.

Serena was wide awake and very cheerful. Hugging her stuffed seal tight to her chest.

Annabeth and Percy always made sure she had a toy inside the car, If not she'd cry all day like the time they went to the grocery store.

Once they arrived at Fadlan's Falafel, Percy parked the car as easy as pie. Then in unison, he and Annabeth looked behind to see their daughter better.

"Are you excited baby?" Annabeth asked, a smile playing on her lips.

Serena clapped her hands giggling, kicking her legs against the car seat. "Yeah! Yeah!" She cheered

The couple shared a look of amusement, unbuckling both of their seatbelts. Both of them got out of the car on each side, Serena waiting her turn.

Annabeth opened her car door and helped her with the seatbelt. Hoisting her up in her arms, Serena reached for her books.

"Mama books!" She said

Annabeth looked back at the car, "You could read that back home baby okay? Right now we are gonna meet your uncle Magnus. Interaction is the key" her mother explained

She pouted cutely but immediately brightened up when she thought about another thing. "Can I atleast bring my seal?"

Her father laughed beside her mom. "Of course baby girl" He tickled her nose, earning a sweet giggle from his little girl.

"I'll go get it right now"

"Sure thing"

Percy walked back to his BMW, unlocking it with his car keys. He went to the back seat, grabbing the white plush seal. Locking the car again, he made his way back to his wife and daughter.

He handed Serena her toy and she gladly took it with a small giggle. "Let's go?" He gestured towards the doors.

"Yup" Annabeth agreed and all together they walked right inside the entryway of Fadlan's Falafel. As they entered, Annabeth and Percy caught a sight of three familiar faces. Magnus, Alex, and Samirah. They seemed to be talking about dying in the fields of Valhalla.

"Magnus I came around at 10:00am and that was still early?" Samirah asked, a tone of disbelief in her voice. The three of them were seated in front of Fadlan's Falafel. "First of all, I was tired and sleeping is my way of relaxation. Besides, 14 hours of sleep isn't even enough! Second of all, yesterday I got burned from head to toe then got smashed by a boulder! Dying can really knock me off." He said and Alex snickered. "Sure does Maggie—" from behind them a voice said

"You could say that again Chase." Percy's deep voice called out from across the place.

On the table, Magnus smirked."Near death ordeals don't count Jackson" he and his friends stood up to greet them, turning around and he stopped short. The sight in front of him made his heart skip a beat. There beside Percy, was Annabeth. Holding a beautiful baby girl with long dark curls and stormy grey eyes. The girl clutched a white plush seal on her left arm while the other arm was wrapped around her mother's neck.

"Hey… I—uh— is this baby—?" He fumbled for words, a feeling of wide happiness spreading inside him. Annabeth nodded, a warm smile on her face.

"Meet our daughter, Magnus."

He and his friends slowly walked towards them, not wanting to scare the little baby who started hiding her face in her mother's neck. "It's okay sweetheart" Annabeth assured her daughter. "Can you say hi to Uncle Magnus, Aunt Alex and Aunt Samirah?"

Serena did a little wave. "Hi"

"Aren't you adorable…" Magnus tickled her small knee with a merry expression, earning a sweet giggle. "What's her name?" Asked Samirah softly from Magnus' side. She looked at the little girl fondly, perhaps wanting to have her own with Amir when she's older.

"Serena Angeline," Percy answered this time. Giving his daughter a loving look.

When the baby looked at Alex, she had to be honest. She felt herself go a little too soft inside. "She's so cute" Alex whispered, trying to go unheard but Magnus was the first to overhear. He snickered, wrapping an arm around his girlfriend (she's a she today), obviously taking the risk of Alex cutting his whole arm "Didn't know you went soft Fierro…"

She slapped him, hissing "Shut up Maggie!"

"Language Alex" Samirah scolded, gesturing there's a baby.

Alex mouthed a soft sorry and then smiled at the baby who returned the action.

"So… are we just gonna stand here? Or what?" Percy pointed out, sharing an amused look with Magnus. "Yeah yeah let's go sit down" he agreed

All 6 of them walked back to where Magnus, Alex and Sam were sitting. The Jackson's sat from across them. Serena in between her parents. "Who'd order the food?" Alex asked

"Me" Percy volunteered

"Me too" Magnus said and the boys left the table. Leaving the girls. "Okay so…let me be honest Annabeth but it is hard for me to believe you're a mom. I see you as a badass greek warrior not a gentle mother. " Alex told the young mom in amusement. Annabeth replied with a breezy laugh before saying, "I'm still a badass greek warrior just not when I'm with Serena"

"Does… does she know about—your world?" Samirah asked carefully

Annabeth nodded sadly "Yes she does...she was attacked by a clutter of spiders when she was sick one time. It scared her and Percy and I decided it was for the best. She deserves the truth after that experience."

Samirah and Alex nodded, sorry for the little girl but then laughed when Serena said proudly "I'm a legacy!"

Alex smirked, holding out her fist "Yeah you are" Serena obliged, bumping her fist with Alex. In a second, Magnus and Percy came back holding trays filled with food. Amir trailing right behind them, dragging a chair.

"You guys have fun without us?" Percy smiled, settling down beside Serena who clapped her hands in excitement. (She was excited to eat the food) "Not too much fun" Serena said to her dad. Amir positioned the chair in front of the table, sitting down. He gave a little wave to the little girl and soft smile playing on his lips "Hi.." he whispered

"Hello" she waved back cutely

"What's her name? She's adorable" he exclaimed

"Thank you.." Serena beamed, her dark curls bouncing. "I'm Serena"

"Hi Serena… you keeping mommy and daddy in check?" He patted her head and she giggled in response. "I'll take that as a yes"

"How are you, Magnus? Annabeth asked in all seriousness. "Many adventures going on, I suppose?"

Magnus nodded "yeah just came back from another one actually" he casually told her

"Oh really? That's cool… nothing too dangerous?"

"Nope" he smiled at her

"Okay.. just making sure"

"Annabeth, your maternal instincts are showing" Alex observed.

She laughed "It's quite natural nowadays"

Samirah nodded thrilled, perhaps excited at the thought she was going to have her own children someday. A young family like theirs with Amir. She would never admit it but she already thought of possible names. For a girl she would name her daughter Amira Ayesha. Meaning princess and the name Ayesha because of her mother. For a boy she would name her son Abdul Hakeem. Meaning a servant of Allah who helps people and is a pious servant of God. She must've been preoccupied because Alex needed to shake her out of her thoughts.

"Yo you alright?" Her sister asked, concerned.

She nodded, saying "never better" Then little Serena spoke all of a sudden. Speaking through a full mouth, she said

"Mommy says daddy has a lot of seaweed in his brain"

Percy choked on his Sandwich. Annabeth almost spit her diet coke but held herself for that would be a bad influence to her daughter. Amir and Sam were surprised, amused smiles on their faces while Alex and Magnus roared with laughter.

"Heck damn she is right! Seaweed brain"

"Annabeth!" Percy pouted

"What?" She said nonchalantly "I ain't lying" Then they all laughed as well.

***

"Goodbye Magnus! It was great to see you!" Annabeth smiles at him, carrying Serena with her right arm while she does her best to hug her cousin with her left. Percy shook his hand, giving him and Amir a man hug. Alex and Samirah bid their farewell to Serena who did not want to leave anymore.

"Momma I don't wanna leave…" she said, playing with her mom's hair

"We'll visit again baby. Okay? No need to get all sad…" she cooed softly

"Yeah that's right honey" Percy gently patted his daughter's back, calming her more "I think we'd be able to meet them again next month if Momma and Daddy isn't busy and Of course we need to consider Uncle Magnus' schedule" he explained to her. Serena stretched her small arms for Percy, wanting him to carry her. He gladly took her from Annabeth, who did not look too happy but nevertheless she smiled and turned toward Magnus. "You. Behave. Alex, Samirah?" she looked at them "Keep him in control would ya? This dork needs some discipline"

Alex saluted "You gotcha!"

Annabeth nodded, calm "Good bye now. Take care of yourselves"

"We will," Magnus smiled, waving farewell. The last he saw the Jacksons, their black BMW Ix turning the corner on North street, Percy singing along with One direction on the radio, Annabeth laughing at his bad voice, loud giggles of Serena heard from a mile away.

"As I said before, They'd cause a nuclear explosion of cuteness." Alex stated, crossing her arms.

"So what now…" Sam asked

"Last one back at Valhalla's a rotten egg" Magnus said hurriedly sprinting off to Forever 21's dressing room.

"Oh no you don't!" Alex yelled after him, trailing behind closely.

Samirah shook her head, crossing her arms "I work with children...Oh why..."

#fanfiction #percyjack #percy jackson and the olympians #lore ol #percabeth

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sxveme-2 · 4 years

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blueberry pancakes // bucky barnes

MASTERLIST

Description: A single mother. Juggling being a mom, a full time pediatrician, and a difficult ex who believed now would be the best time to finally be a father. A soldier ripped out of time. Ex-assassin turned superhero. Learning how to balance a new domestic life with handling demons of his past, while facing the trials of the future. a love story began over something as simple as chocolate chip pancakes with hidden blueberries.

Disclaimer: I do not own any original Marvel characters! All canon plots and canon characters belong to Marvel Comics and Marvel Studios. This is an original work. You may not publish it anywhere else

Status: Edited

Note: Takes place after endgame. I have elected to ignore Tony's death and Steve's leaving. Did not happen. Quick Reminder! My works are only published here, AO3 and on Wattpad, thank you.

Chapter Fifteen: The One Where There Might be a Future

Warnings: N/A

Word Count: 3247

Lily didn't like the effect Bucky had on her sometimes. She wasn't sure if it was the way he was so good with Hunter, or how he was always so gentle with her. Or maybe it's whenever the two were alone he looked at her like she was the only girl in the world. Or perhaps it was the way his hands always lingered places for a second too long to go unnoticed. She couldn't place it. But if anyone asked how she felt about the boy, she brushed it off. They were simply friends. Nothing more. The kiss they shared in the kitchen didn't get spoken about, and the two never felt a shred of awkwardness over the following few weeks.

But it didn't help that his lingering looks and her soft touches didn't go unnoticed by those around them for very long. Lily had found herself living every teenage girl’s dream. She became friends with the freaking Avengers. It didn't help that her sister had begun to get all friendly with Mr. Sam Wilson, either. She wasn't sure if it was because of her lack of love from her ex, or the need for a rebound. But Lily would be there to support her along the way, no matter what form her heartbreak and hormones took.

And although things were great in Lily's social department, the legality of her divorce had become messy. It had been a month since the incident where Cedar supposedly attempted to break into her ex-husband’s house, leaving Lily with the entire month of October being filled with legal battles and a complete rewrite of the separation agreement. All while the police continued to question her younger brother. She wanted to keep that part of the issue secret from Hunter, for the little boy looked up to his uncle as though he were one of the superheroes on the boy’s wall. And Lily did truly believe her brother was not behind this, that something must have happened to him. She knew Cedar, he wouldn't have done this.

However, to distract herself, Lily decided to hand-make her and Hunter's costume for the holiday quickly approaching. As well as busying herself with shopping for Hunter's birthday, which was just a week after Halloween. however, in proper Rose and Gen fashion, they had other plans for the candy-filled day.

"I am not going to a Halloween party with the Avengers!" Lily exclaimed as she spun around from her sewing machine, arms crossed, "And I am not matching with Bucky."

"Come on Lily!" Rose whined, grabbing her sister’s hand, "You've been stressed to the high heavens all month! With finally being granted full custody, as well as this Cedar thing? You deserve to go out and have some fun."

"And Bucky tells us he's had to make you dinner every night when he comes over. And don't act surprised that we know- you send Rose out every Thursday and Saturday. We're not stupid." Gen countered, raising her finger to Lily.

"He talks too much," Lily mumbled, "But I wouldn't be able to anyway! Hunter and I have traditions to keep up. We match costumes, then go out trick or treating, then come home, watch Halloweentown and then go to bed." she stated, stealing her hand back from her sister, "plus Rose, you're pregnant!"

Lily furrowed her eyebrows as she watched her sister and best friend share a look. One that the mother knew all too well. They had planned something. And what that was? Well, Lily didn't know. All she knew is that she wouldn't like it. She never enjoyed their plans. The last time she went through with one, she ended up racing home and having to take her husband to court because of the neglect of their child. Plus, she'd much prefer to stay home and spend time with her son. After the month she had, she just wanted a night in with the two of them.

"We figured you'd say no..." Rose began, flicking her hazel eyes to Gen.

"...So we came up with a backup plan. That was actually, Hunter's idea." Gen smiled softly, offering her hand to her best friend, "Come with us and he'll explain."

Lily cocked her eyebrow at the two of them. Standing, the blonde laced her hand into Gen's and was soon led out into her own living room where Hunter sat on the floor with Joey watching national geographic. Lily smiled softly at the boy before she was essentially forced into sitting on their sofa, with both Rose and Gen coaxing Hunter to explain whatever they had decided to try and convince Lily on.

"Mum, what if Mr. Barnes joined us for Halloween this year?" the boy commented, turning off the television and turning towards his mother.

Lily was taken aback by her son’s bold offer. Glancing back and forth at the two women on either side of her, only to be greeted with raised hands of innocence. Moving onto the floor, Lily took her son’s hands into her own, searching his face for any sort of blackmail being used by the two girls behind her. But he seemed genuine. She knew this because there was a rosy hue to his cheeks, meaning he was even embarrassed to ask her something like that.

"Are you sure, Hunt? It's always just been us on Halloween." Lily hummed, running a thumb across the boy’s cheek.

"Mum if I didn't want to I wouldn't have asked. I like Mr. Barnes. He's fun." Hunter stated simply, tilting his head into his mother’s touch.

"If that's what you want buddy, then sure. We can have Bucky here for Halloween." Lily agreed, ruffling the boy’s hair before standing up and turning towards her sister and best friend, "I'm guessing you already asked him?"

When the two gave energetic nods, the young mother shook her head with a laugh, making her way back out towards her office to finish the costumes.

-----

Lily still lived in the real world. And held a full-time job. As did Rose and Gen. Which meant, there was no one to watch Hunter on the actual day of Halloween while Lily worked. well, that's what she thought at first. But of course, who were Rose and Gen to let anything peaceful happen in the life of their best friend and sister. Though Lily was far from bold enough to make such a request, she didn't have much of a choice. Plus, he was already spending the evening with them. Lily still hadn't enough trust in babysitters, despite having a plethora of neighbours whom she did trust...she just trusted him a bit more.

"Thank you for coming on short notice." the blonde sighed softly as she opened up the door to her house, "Gen has a meeting today and Rose is in upper manhattan, so neither were available."

"It's no issue, Lily," Bucky's gruff morning tone cooed as he took a step into the house, "I like the kid, no stress. Sam and Steve may swing by around noon, mind if I bring Hunt with us out for some lunch?"

"That would be amazing, Buck." she hummed, not even giving the nickname a second thought, though her cheeks did subconsciously heat up, "Here." the blonde smiled, digging her hands into her purse, only to have his flesh hand rest on the arm of her thin white cardigan.

"No need. It's my treat." the man smiled, his hand lingering across her wrist before he pulled it away.

The way that he looked at her made Lily's heart skip a beat. His steel-blue eyes pouring into the mossy green of her own. All of the air in the foyer seemed to be sucked out, as though the world paused around her. Neither moved, and the world melted away. It was Hunter who had managed to snap the two out of it. The sound of a glass breaking against hardwood made Lily jump, her hand resting above the pale purple scrubs she wore, gripping her name tag.

Glancing at her watch, Lily sighed, dropping her bag, "I'll go clean that up then head to wo- "

"Let me." Bucky hummed, picking the woman's bag back up, "You head into work. I'll take care of the kid and the mess, I promise."

With one more glance towards the kitchen, Lily nodded slowly before bidding her goodbyes. When she got into the car in her driveway, the blonde let out a deep sigh. Her eyes glanced up to the door of the place she called home for a few years now. She spotted Bucky and Hunter standing in the doorframe, Hunter still in his pyjamas with a new cup of orange juice in his hand. Bucky's hand placed securely on the boy’s shoulder. The picture warmed Lily's heart, and she found her mind wandering ever so slightly.

The same scene, but with Lily standing there. A baby in her arms as Bucky placed a kiss on her temple. Hunter, aged up a few years with Joey by his side. But this image found itself framed, upon the wall of a different home.

Chiding herself, Lily shook her head, reversing from out front of the home. Away from the moment that made her heart swell.

-----

Another day, Another pay. Don't be mistaken, Lily loved her job. She adored being able to spend the day with children and make them feel better. But today was a rough one. Lily had a patient come in with severe symptoms. It broke Lily's heart. He looked around the same age as her son, and that was what she always found most difficult. Seeing the children that were experiencing the same sort of year as her son. Just turning twelve or not even quite there yet. It broke her heart, really.

Pushing the door open to her quaint home, Lily perked an eyebrow up at the smell of something sweet. That of a certain morning breakfast that seemed to be a reoccurring theme in the most recent months of Lily's life. A small smile spread across her lips as she placed her work bag down onto the front bench, kicking off her shoes before passing the stairs and through the hall back to the kitchen where she ducked around the corner, leaning on the wall.

"Well now what do we have here?" she chuckled, catching the two boy's attention.

Sliding her phone from her pocket, the blonde snapped a photo of the mess of a kitchen the two had made. Both had flour on their face, and the mother of the younger boy giggled. The number of blueberries that were on the floor, or should she say, making their way into Joey's stomach, was more than she saw in the bit of batter the two had made.

"We wanted to surprise you." Hunter grinned brightly, lifting his hands in a stance of innocence, "It was Bucky's idea!"

"Hey-! Way to through me under the bus buddy." the taller man laughed, hands dropping to tickle at the blonde boy's sides.

Lily shook her head with a hearty chuckle escaping her lips. Running a hand through her golden strands, the young mom sauntered forward and pressed a kiss to Hunter's head, before giving Bucky a soft glance. Shrugging off her cardigan, the doctor sent a teasing eyebrow raise to the two boys. Tossing the piece of fabric across one of the chairs at the table, the blonde shooed both away from the counter.

"Before you blow up my kitchen," she quipped, "Allow me to take over."

One brand new batch of batter and a new pack of blueberries later, Lily placed a large stack of fluffy pancakes atop the refurnished birch table that Bucky and Hunter sat at. Placing her hands on her waist, Lily merely smirked and shrugged the entire event off as though it were nothing. The main thing that made her happy on the inside, however, was watching the two dig into the golden brown delicacies she had made moments ago.

"Sit and eat, Lil. They're amazing," said Bucky, a mouthful of blueberry pancake muffling most of his words.

"Alright alright. Then we have to get ready to go out. don't want it to be too dark." Lily chuckled, pulling out a chair next to Bucky.

With dishes and the kitchen cleaned, the trio found themselves all dressed and ready to go for the Halloween festivities taking place outside of the home. Kids were already knocking on doors and stuffing their faces with candy. While Hunter was still trying to get the bandana we wore to properly stay on his head, or actually tie it. Hunter and Lily had already planned on taking on Halloween dressed as pirates, and Bucky just happened to have the proper rugged look for it.

Lily herself, well she wore quite the getup. The ripped fabric of white, burgundy, and plaid making up a skirt that hugged her waist. A white peasant blouse that hugged off of her shoulders sat underneath a black leather corset vest that dipped just below her chest. A pirate hat with gold trim and a peacock feather sat atop gentle blonde curls. Suede boots hit just below her knee with fishnet tights underneath. Bucky wore a fairly standard get-up, simple black pants with a loose cream-coloured top underneath a suede vest and taller boots.

"Mum I can't get my bandana tied!" Hunter sighed, dropping his hands against his own dark pants, "Can you do it?"

Lily grinned and made her way over to the boy, doing up the piece of fabric before handing him a pillowcase for the candy he'd be collecting. Turning to glance over her shoulder, the blonde caught the eyes of Bucky. His eyes were already glued to her, and the way they moved up and down her made a bright red flush fill the girl’s pale cheeks. She pursed her lips and let her hands fall to Hunter's shoulders, her eyes unwavering from those cool blue ones of Buckys.

"If you two are done staring into each other’s eyes," Hunter quipped, "I have candy to collect."

"Hunter!" Lily exclaimed, looking down at her boy.

"Yeah doll," Bucky winked, "Keep focused. The kid's gotta get his candy."

Lily watched in shock as the two walked out the door, leaving the blonde dumbfounded as she hooked Joey's leash onto his collar. Rolling her eyes, the blonde followed behind, shaking her head until she caught up to the two.

-----

"I didn't mean to make the kid freak out!" Bucky laughed as the three re-entered the house, "It's not like I'm in a mask! Plus the arm doesn't help give away who I am."

"Oh, please you totally knew he recognized you!" Lily retorted, unhooking Joey, "You kept rolling your sleeve up whenever we saw him!"

"I'm with mom on this one." Hunter commented, dumping the large stash of candy he had collected into the middle of the living room floor, "I think you liked seeing Kellin dressed as you, Bucky." he chuckled, sorting through the pile.

"Well obviously!" the man chuckled, sliding his vest off, "I think what shocked me most was the number of people dressed up like Sam. We can keep the information here. It'll only make his head inflate even more."

The trio continued the night, laughing, eating candy, and watching the iconic Halloweentown. At around ten-thirty, Lily put the young boy to bed, leaving her alone with the ex-assassin that was sitting in her living room. Which she didn't mind, she'd begun to see yet another new side to Bucky. One that made her realize just how much the man yearned for the security and domesticity of a family. And how Lily wished to give that to him. To lay that troubled mind of his to rest at last, and allow him the peace and tranquillity of a modern day family. And for a while, she believed the two had that. That night. He now changed into a t-shirt and sweats he had left at the house last time, Lily in a pair of baby blue plaid pyjama pants and an oversized white sweater. Both sipping lightly on coffee while they sat across from one another, legs touching.

"You've got something good going here, doll." the man hummed, eyes averting towards the fire at the other side of the room, "Back in the ‘40s this is something I believed I'd have one day."

Lily watched the man with a soft expression. The way his eyes seemed to cloud with troubles when he began talking. It broke her heart, knowing that this sweet and gentle man had been through more than Lily could ever fathom. He had murders attached to his name, yet he petted Joey like he would break the dog, and acted as though Hunter was the most precious thing in the world. And when he would touch Lily, her hand, her wrist, it was though she were made of glass. He was sensitive, and Lily's heart grew ten sizes whenever she saw him allow his guard down, even for a split second. Allowing her to peak into that complex mind of his.

"Why can't you have it now?" Lily questioned, "Find a nice girl. Settle down somewhere quiet. Have a family. Why is it so different now?"

The man turned his attention back to that of the woman sat beside him, "That wouldn't be fair to them. The kids...if I had them. The past I have would follow them everywhere, they'd learn about what I did in class. I was a monster, Lily."

Setting her mug to the side, Lily moved a bit closer to the taller man. She took his coffee from his hands and placed it to the side. She wasn't sure what came over her. Her mind believed it to be that of her having such a lovely night with him. Watching him with Hunter. Seeing the way he would look at her. She wasn't sure. She just knew he felt something back towards her. Maybe the kiss they shared was what drove her, but she just knew this was her window.

So she took his face in her hands, "Buck you had no choice. And now? You're one of the most loved heroes. You beat the darkness. I give stickers out of you at work now!" she chuckled, running a careful thumb across his jawline, "I know if I was the girl you settled with, there would be no fear of having a family."

Bucky looked at the girl with a tender look in his steel eyes. His hand reached up and tucked a stray hair of blonde hair behind her ear, moving forward. The air in the room grew thick and a sense of anxiety washed over Lily. She watched intently as he continued his advance forward. Before she could comprehend it, the two shared their second kiss. This one was different though. There was something new behind it. Lily couldn't put her finger on it. But they didn't break apart, no, they moulded together and paused for air every so often. Lily tangled her fingers in the man’s long brown hair, tugging gently.

But a knock at the door interrupted them.

"We'll talk about what you said tomorrow, okay doll?" Bucky cooed, running a thumb across the girl’s cheekbone, "You stay here. I'll grab the door."

Well, that was how Bucky Barnes met Lily Osborne's parents.

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ellewritesathing · 4 years

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Faking It - IV

Summary: You’d done plenty of dumb things in your life, but the dumbest had to be picking Greendale’s latest bad-boy to pretend to be your boyfriend.

Masterlist Prev. | Part 4

Word-count: 3.4k+

A/N: this gif has nothing to do with this part but i thought it was cute and couldn’t find a kitchen gif that fit. hope you enjoy the drama lmao 💕

Of all the ways you saw taking Caliban’s hand the day you met, you hadn’t anticipated the very obvious outcome: that you’d develop feelings for him. Actual, real, not fake feelings. But it’s not like it was your fault - no, you blamed the blonde asshole himself. They just didn’t make guys like him in Greendale, so he completely blindsided you by being … well, himself.

He was intimidating enough that other guys left you alone, and - even though plenty of people found him as charming as you did - he made it very clear that he had no interest in any of them. He was infuriatingly good at everything he did and he looked good while doing it. He laughed at all your shitty jokes and actually listened to you when you spoke. How the hell were you supposed to not be attracted to someone who would sit with you while you worked on your art projects and quote poetry in an offhand effort to distract you?

Who the hell could even quote poetry in real life?

Not you. Not anyone that you’d ever met.

Caliban was just different in all the ways that made your heart race.

The fact that your friends liked him didn’t hurt either. Harvey still rolled his eyes whenever Caliban showed up or made the others laugh, but his anger must have subsided at least a little because you’d caught them joking around between practices. Theo loved Caliban; the two of them had inside jokes, knew each other’s lunch orders, and partnered up for chemistry. Roz would read a book and annotate it before handing it off to Caliban to read, and she liked that Caliban made you smile. Sabrina liked having someone to do dumb and borderline illegal stuff with. They liked him, and now you liked them. The fuckers.

“Are you listening to a word I’m saying?” Sabrina asked, nudging you with her elbow. “You’ve been staring at the baseball field for like five minutes.”

“Of course I’m listening,” you lied. You sat up straighter and tugged your clothing back into place. “Quite frankly, I’m insulted you’d think that I wasn’t paying attention to The Great Kinkle Family Reunion.”

Sabrina tilted her head and smiled politely, that’s how you knew trouble was coming. “Then tell me what you should do when Uncle Tristan starts talking about horses,” she said.

“Uh …”

“Exactly.” Sabrina laughed and looked down at the field where Harvey, Theo, Caliban, and the rest of the team were running laps. “I’ve been to every family get together since I met Harvey, and they all end horribly. Caliban’s mom was really sweet to host one, but she’s in way over her head. Have you met her, by the way?”

“No,” you said. You couldn’t tell if that was weird or not. Were fake girlfriends supposed to meet their partner’s mothers? “But I’m kinda surprised she’s doing this given everything I’ve heard about her and the Kinkles. They weren’t exactly the most supportive of her.”

“Yeah, I don’t know why Harvey’s such a sweetheart when the rest of the family is … It was probably Tommy, now that I think about it,” Sabrina said. She shook her head and turned to look at you before taking your hands in hers. “I just wanted to check-in and make sure you’re ready for this.”

“Brina, I can handle this.” You squeezed her hands reassuringly. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve got a pretty mean right hook. Ask Colin Anderson. If there’s a fight, I’ll be golden.”

Sabrina laughed and let go of your hands. “I’m trying to prevent that fight, but good to know.”

You laughed and bumped her with your arm. “Looks like practice is letting out. You wanna head down?”

“Nah.” Sabrina put on her brightest smile and waved down to a very tired-looking Harvey. “Let them de-stink first.”

---

After two weeks of prep and cover stories, the day of the Great Reunion was here. You’d woken up disgustingly early in order to get yourself together and drive over to Caliban’s to help them set everything up.

You weren’t sure what you expected their house to look like, but clashed with the black BMW parked in the garage. It was a sweet, two-story house with a wraparound porch and balloons in the front yard. The house was painted a soft sunshine shade of yellow and had rocking chairs, hanging plants, and rose beds in the front. It was the picture-perfect house for anyone other than Caliban, but it still fit.

Different.

Gathering up your nerve and the rest of your belongings, you made your way to the door and pressed the doorbell. The tiny pothos plant felt as awkward as you did while it sat in your hands and waited for someone to open the door.

Thank God it was Caliban and not his mom.

He smiled amusedly at your plant before looking up at you. “Is that for me?”

“I know it’s a lame gift but I didn’t know if your mom was allergic to cut flowers and I’m not old enough to buy her wine,” you said in a rush. You frowned slightly and tilted your head. “Well, not legally at least.”

Caliban laughed and reached out to take one of your hands and lead you inside. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”

You didn’t know what else to say as Caliban led you to the kitchen. The house was as much of a surprise inside as it was outside, and it smelled like freshly baked bread. It was colorful and covered in old photos. He seemed very at home here and lighter than you’d ever seen him elsewhere. No, not lighter. Happier.

“Wait.” You stopped dead and let go of Caliban to reach out for a photo of the cutest little boy with missing front teeth and a mess of blonde curls around his dirty face. “Is this you?” You couldn’t help the laugh that came out when Caliban looked pained at your discovery. “Aw, Abercrombie, you were so cute! What’s on your face?”

Caliban sighed and took the photo out of your hand, looking embarrassed for probably the first time in his life. “I was seven years old and I liked eating chocolate. Is that a problem?”

“Oh, no, no, no,” a woman said as she rounded a corner and laughed. She had the most beautiful long, brown hair and kind eyes. “You didn’t just like chocolate. If you came anywhere near it, you used to eat yourself into a sugar coma. I couldn’t bake anything around you without you eating the batter before it even got into the oven.”

She laughed and ruffled Caliban’s hair before smiling at you. You didn’t know anyone could ruffle his hair without losing a hand.

“You must be the lovely new girlfriend I’ve heard so much about,” she said. “I’m Isobel. Is that for me?”

Isobel pointed at your little pot plant and jolted you back to life. “Uh, yeah,” you said and held the plant out to her. Her hands were warm as she took the plant from you. “I wasn’t too sure what to bring but I didn’t want to come empty-handed.”

“Oh, not at all. This little guy is perfect!” Isobel lifted up the plant to look at it. “I’m going to give him some water and put him in the front. Do you guys want to get settled in the kitchen so long?”

“Of course,” Caliban said with a gentle smile. His mom gave him another playful bump and disappeared into some other part of the house while Caliban held a hand out to you. “Shall we?”

“Who are you?” you teased with wide eyes as you took his hand in yours.

You followed him into the kitchen and took a seat at the breakfast bar. They were here for maybe a month and their house already felt like more of a home than yours ever did. How they afforded it all, you had no idea, but Caliban never spoke about his birth dad and you didn’t want to push. All you knew was he gave Caliban his blonde hair and bone structure, nothing more and nothing less.

You were snapped out of your thoughts by the sight of Caliban in a sunflower printed apron. Clearly, your efforts to contain your amusement weren’t nearly as stellar as you thought they were because Caliban raised an eyebrow at you over all the baking supplies on the counter.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

“I didn’t peg you for an apron guy is all,” you said with a small shrug, doing your best to sound nonchalant and not totally, completely chalant.

“I don’t like getting my clothes dirty,” Caliban said defensively. “Without an apron, anything can stain your shirt.”

“I think I’ll take the risk,” you said as you tapped the counter. “I trust myself and don’t think anyone’s going to splatter batter on me.”

“Batter, maybe not …” Caliban tilted his head to the side. “But flour?”

“Flour?”

Before you had the chance to ask what he meant, Caliban threw a handful of flour at you. He laughed at how shocked you were and you took that opportunity to reach across the counter and throw some flour at him. Soon enough the two of you were running around the kitchen, covered in flour, and laughing until your sides hurt.

Caliban wrapped his arms around you and scooped you up, ignoring your pleading and cries that were cut short by laughter. You were still mid-air with Caliban’s face close to your own when Isobel came back.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Isobel put her hands out to get your attention. “We have guests coming in an hour and the two of you are making a mess in my kitchen.”

Caliban set you down, but the two of you were still tangled up and filthy. You didn’t know what to say to the woman you’d met fifteen minutes ago and whose kitchen you’d subsequently ruined.

Isobel laughed and shook her head. “It’s my own fault for leaving this one unsupervised,” she teased, pointing a finger at Caliban as she made her way around to start cleaning up. “Go clean yourselves up. Come back when you don’t like friendly ghosts.”

Luckily for you, flour was relatively easy to get out because you weren’t wearing dark colors for once. It took a while to get it out of your hair and make it look presentable, but it was hard to be too mad at the mess when it was such a fun time making it.

When you got back downstairs, you could hear people laughing and talking in the kitchen. It was still too early for guests but it was clear that it wasn’t just Caliban and his mom.

You were right. You rounded the corner to find Caliban freshly-changed, his mom kneading some dough, and a very pretty redhead with big doe-eyes all laughing at some inside joke. It made you feel painfully other.

“Oh, Luce,” Isobel said when she noticed you come in, waving you over. “You have to meet Caliban’s girlfriend. She’s a gem.”

Luce ... As in Lucy? Lucy from California? Harvey’s first crush? Lucy.

This was going to end badly.

Lucy tilted her head as she turned to look at you. You could see the gears turning in her head as she looked you over. “Girlfriend?” she asked with a friendly (but fake) smile.

“The one and only,” you said with an over-confident smile as you walked over and interlaced your hand with Caliban’s. You wrapped your other hand around his arm, just like the first day you met. You introduced yourself with a friendly yet fake smile of your own.

“You guys moved up here a few months ago and Caliban’s completely forgotten about me,” Lucy teased to Isobel. She moved some hair out of her face and looked over at you again. “He used to tell me everything. We were like this.” She crossed her index and middle finger over each other with a smile.

You’d have liked to show her one of your fingers.

But you didn’t. All you did was smile and make some polite conversation while not letting go of Caliban. You weren’t sure why you were being so defensive. It’s not like you and Caliban were actually dating, but you didn’t like Lucy. Not only did she break Harvey’s heart and cause all the damage you’d spent the better part of two months fixing, but she also just rubbed you the wrong way.

“Okay, not to ruin all the fun,” Isobel said after a while. “But guests should be coming soon. Why don’t you kids make sure everything is set up in the back and keep an ear out for any early birds?”

“Sure thing,” Lucy said, hopping off her seat and leading the way to the backyard.

You started following when Caliban caught your arm and said something to his mom about getting more supplies from the garage. He didn’t say anything else as he led the way and neither did you, but that was mostly just because you were being petty.

Caliban led you to the middle of the garage and tugged on the old light to illuminate the dusty room around you. He lifted your intertwined hands and folded them over each other as he thought about what he was going to say.

You couldn’t wait that long.

“So, what’s the deal with you and Lucy? And I want the truth this time.”

Caliban laughed and shook his head as he looked up at the old light above you. He took a breath before saying, “Lucinda’s my best friend, pretty much my only friend before yours so kindly took me in. If I’d known she’d be here today, I would have said something.”

“Wait, you were best friends with the girl who broke up your family?” you asked.

“She apologized,” Caliban said. “And, besides, you’re friends with Harvey.”

“Harvey’s never made out with me,” you said, untangling your hand from his so that you could cross your arms over your chest.

Caliban narrowed his eyes slightly as he took in your newly defensive stance, and then he laughed without saying anything else. He looked amused when he met your scowling gaze again. “I can’t believe you’re jealous,” he said. “Don’t misunderstand me, it’s incredibly attractive but-”

“I am not jealous,” you said. “I couldn’t care less.”

“I’m sure,” Caliban said with a sarcastic smile. He rolled his eyes as he stepped closer and cupped your face before leaning down to be millimeters away from your face. “Forget about her, alright? I assure you, you’re the only fake girlfriend for me.”

Before you had the chance to say something witty in return, the garage door flew open and the devil herself stood in the opening.

“There you are!” Lucy said. “Cal, I need help with these streamers. I’m way too short to get them where your mom wants them.”

“I’ll be right out,” Caliban said without taking his eyes off yours. He pressed a kiss to your forehead before taking a step back and leaving you in the dusty and dim garage.

You shot a warning text to Harvey about Lucy before you went out to help the others. Though he never answered, he must have got it because he was surprisingly okay when he and Sabrina got there. You and Sabrina shared a look when Lucy got a bit handsy with her hello, but neither of you said anything.

That’s how most of the get together went; you and Sabrina sharing secret, sarcastic looks and staying out of trouble. Well, mostly. You still didn’t know what to say when Uncle Tristan started talking about horses, but Caliban came to your rescue and the rest was smooth sailing.

Until an hour went by when you couldn’t find Caliban anywhere. You asked around but no one had seen him, but his mom pointed you in the direction of his room. Isobel held onto your arm before you could leave.

“Um, I’m sorry if this seems a bit strange but I …” Isobel smiled and looked down at her hand on your arm before letting go, clearly trying to respect whatever boundaries you may have had. “Caliban’s been a lot happier since we moved here and I think that has to do with you. I just wanted to say thank you.”

“Oh, uh- It’s nothing. I’m just a girl and I’m sure Caliban’s brought a few of us around by now with cheekbones like that,” you said with a smile.

“No, Caliban’s never brought anyone home before,” Isobel said, looking like she was trying to remember anything to the contrary. “Sorry, hun, I’ve gotta go. Jan’s calling me over. Good luck with the search!”

“Thanks,” you said quietly.

Isobel disappeared into the sea of Kinkles and you made your way to Caliban’s room. You took your time going up the stairs, looking at all the photos on the wall as you did. It was nice to see that Caliban was just as angry and angsty now as he was at 14 years old.

It was strangely quiet upstairs compared to the rest of the house and the party in the backyard. Quite enough that you could hear someone giggling upstairs, someone decidedly not Caliban.

Roz would have told you to face it head-on and not to sneak around like a creep. Thankfully, Roz wasn’t there to say anything.

You tiptoed as casually as you could to Caliban’s room. The room felt more like the Caliban you knew than the rest of the house did: big windows without any blinds, a tornado of books and sketches on every surface available, and a very pretty redhead making out with him.

“She kissed you, huh?” you asked, echoing the story of when they were younger before turning on your heel and slamming the door behind you. Your heart ached annoyingly when Caliban called out for you as he followed behind you, but your brain told it to suck it up until you were out of the house.

By sheer force of will, you made it back downstairs without turning around, but then Caliban managed to get a hold of your hand and spin you around to face him.

“Would you please let me explain?” Caliban asked.

“No,” you said, pulling your hand away from him. “Look, it’s not like you have anything to explain anyway, okay?” He reached out for you again and you took a step back so you wouldn’t be confused by his touch. “You and me? We were a fake relationship. Maybe this is the universe saying it’s time it came to a real end.”

You knew what he’d say if you weren’t arguing. He’d ask you, with that annoying smile of his, when you started letting the universe tell you what to do. Or he’d make some comment about the universe being a bastard. But all he did now was set his jaw and look down at his hand.

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying this is it,” you said. “Goodbye, Caliban.”

You weren’t sure why you expected him to say something else, to fight for your fake relationship, but all that expectation just led to disappointment. Caliban flexed his hand but didn’t say anything else as you pushed past him to get your stuff from the kitchen so you could rush to your car to cry.

Harvey was tapping on your window just before you started the car. Curse your five-minute breakdown for being long enough for him to notice you were gone.

“What?” you asked as you rolled down the window.

“Are you okay?” Harvey asked. “You ran out of there so fast-”

“You were right, okay?” You put your car in reverse before looking back up at him. “Caliban’s not a good guy and you warned me. Will you just let me go so I can cry somewhere that’s not here?”

“Hey, you know that’s not what I meant,” Harvey said softly, reaching through the window for you. “Let me come with-”

“No. Go have fun with your family. I need to get out of here.”

“But-”

“Harvey, move or I will drive over your foot.”

You didn’t think he was going to do it, but Harvey took a very reluctant step back and put his hands up in surrender. He wasn’t going to fight for you either, not that you’d given him much of a chance. Harvey was stood there, watching you drive away until he disappeared in your rearview mirror.

Music blared in an attempt to drown out your thoughts, but there was one you couldn’t get rid of no matter how hard you tried. Sabrina was right - every Kinkle family get together ended horribly.

Tagged: @miss--moose @marrypuffsstuff @harryscarolinaa @igorsbby @foji2000 @mschfavngz @artaxerxesthegreat @thxmagic @strawberriesandknives @xealia @hotmessindisguise @reheated-coffee @shelby-x @perseny-blog @millie-753 @luneerius @shizzybarnaclee @lettherebelovex @throughparisallthroughrome @ietss @thebookwormlife @mechanicalanimalz @mariamermaid @nqbmf @drrramaaaqweeen

#faking it #caliban #caliban imagine #caliban x reader #caos #chilling adventures of sabrina

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fletchphoenix · 4 years

Text

What I’ve Been Looking For

Hey Gamers! Here’s Chapter 8 of the Varigo Coffee Shop AU and I’m gonna be honest - I think this is my favourite chapter yet! It’s certainly the longest so I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!! Thank you for your support and ON WITH THE CHAPTER!

Word Count - 4853

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A week had passed and it was finally Christmas - aka Hugo’s least favourite day of the year. Passing through his lips was a groan as he turned to his side on his bed, which was only a few bad days away from giving up on him completely. He felt around on the bedside table for his glasses, placing them on his face and laying back again, his head resting against the moss green pillows. Picking his phone up, he smiled at his phone screen - a photo of Varian at the library which was almost completely covered by the wall of text messages from said boyfriend. He let out a small sigh - his boyfriend absolutely adored Christmas, but...he didn’t get the appeal.

At the orphanage, Christmas wasn’t really celebrated at all, it being far too expensive to buy presents for all the kids there. The only real indication he’d had that it was the streets being decorated by a ridiculous amount of lights, a giant pine tree placed in the centre of town with a mass of baubles scattered amongst the branches. Ever after he’d left, living on the streets for a while and after Donella took him in, she’d never been caring enough to celebrate the holiday. In her eyes, it was a ‘useless, excessively capitalised holiday used to manipulate the poor into spending a mass of money at one time’ and ‘a waste of money’. It wasn’t that he didn’t agree, the holiday was vastly overrated and had turned into a way to swindle money from the poor, manipulating the true meaning, but it wouldn’t hurt to get him a gift one year. It could’ve been a small one or something work-related, he wouldn’t have minded, but he never got one.

But that was the kind of woman Donella was, always cold and unfeeling towards everyone, including her son. Kind of. Did she even see him as her son? I mean-he’d always seen her as a mother to him, since she was the one to take him in, give him a home and a purpose...but that was because, in her eyes, he was a valuable asset. She’d only taken care of him, because she could get money from his skills. He knew that - she’d always been transparent about that fact with him - but there were plenty of instances where she’d contradicted herself. Where she’d actually cared. For example, when she’d brought him his jacket.

She’d initially shoved it into his chest, wrapped in a plastic bag with her usual scowl and folded arms greeting him as his eyes met hers in confusion. Her grey hair was perfectly kept, behind her back in a braid which left the scar on her chin on full display as it jolted up towards her lip. She’d never told him how she’d got it, but he had his theories. One of his most outlandish scenarios was trying to trap her old research partner in a magical library, her partner using magic and a knife to scar the skin (11-year-old him had a wild imagination, okay?). Her sickly green eyes held annoyance in every last nook and cranny as she examined the boy in front of her’s confused expression at the package that was thrust towards his chest. “Well, aren’t you going to see what’s inside? I don’t have all day to be standing around waiting for you, Hugo.”

“Yes ma’am.” He replied hastily, hands fumbling as he unwrapped the bag and took out the cargo. It was a green jacket, a grey hood at the top of it. He raised it to his eyes and tilted his head quietly. It was a little bit, but he’d grow into it. The second thing he’d noticed was that it was really, really soft, like..absolutely amazingly soft. Like fur! He pulled the jacket’s sleeves over his arms, noting how they covered his hands completely, before he rolled the sleeves up to his elbows. It was comfy - a childish grin covering his face as he looked up at his mentor, grateful for his gift.

“Your clothes looked ratty,” she said, looking away and trying to suppress her soft smile with a hardened expression. “I got you new ones. Maybe now you’ll look even slightly presentable.” she slowly walked away, Hugo knowing her true intentions behind the present. He let out a small yet happy sigh, his hand trailing through his hair as he walked down the hall towards his workshop again. He’d have to thank her later, he noted as he pushed open the door. He guessed that all the thanks he could give would be finishing off this commission they’d been working on for the past week...that would satisfy her more than a gift or hug or anything. He hung the jacket up on a peg, sitting down on the leather stool by his desk before leaning over and getting to work.

Hugo sat up in bed, finally deciding to get up on this cursed day and standing. He stretched his legs and arms, walking to his desk to give Olivia her daily helping of sunflower seeds, which the mouse graciously accepted with a happy squeak. He yawned and grabbed some clothes from the closet, heading down the hall towards the bathroom for a shower, passing framed photos of him, his boyfriend and their friends along the way. They all got along just fine - them being Hugo, Varian, Nuru and Yong, however him and Nuru did have the occasional sarcastic quip aimed at each other, much to Varian’s annoyance. Despite the playful banter though, they got along well considering the short amount of time they’d known each other, with Varian always taking pictures so Hugo would have to ‘frame his memories’ and place them on the wall. It was sweet, especially how he’d exclusively picked frames that were painted green - a nice little detail that didn’t go unnoticed by Hugo. Still, it felt strange. He thought Varian’s dad had grounded him, so why was he allowed out so frequently to meet up? The thought weighed heavy in his mind, although it disappeared as he arrived at his final destination.

Varian sat up in his bed as soon as he’d woken up, a large smile on his face as he realised the day. “It's Christmas...It’s Christmas!” He yelled as he jumped up, startling the obese cat who was sleeping quite satisfied on his legs, curled up in a ball. The cat mewled and batted at Varian’s arms in response, the teen too excited to care as he threw open his door and sprinted down the stairs. He must’ve moved at the speed of sound, because he swore it only took him a few seconds to arrive in the kitchen, where his father stood preparing some hot chocolate and pancakes. He felt out of place in his teal pyjamas, but nonetheless he still took a seat at the table. “Good morning, Dad. Hey, that smells great!”

“Good morning to you too, son. And thank you.” he replied, placing the pancakes on a plate, picking it up in one hand and the hot chocolate in the other before setting it in front of his son. Varian wasted no time, swallowing it all down so fast, Quirin could’ve sworn he’d just inhaled the things. Chuckling at the thought, he moved and sat down beside his son. “So, we’re stopping off at Rapunzel’s for Christmas dinner aren’t we?” A nod of confirmation came from his son, who was sipping his hot chocolate. “Okay, will we be picking up your boyfriend on the way?”

Varian spat his hot chocolate out in shock at his father’s latter question. What? How did he know about Hugo? He’d never told him about the other boy before...maybe Rapunzel had told his father? No, she wouldn’t do that to him. Eugene? He scrapped that thought as soon as it came. Those two would never do that to him...would they? “No Varian. You need to trust them.” his inner voice reminded him. He composed himself as his eyes met his dad’s, who was quite obviously holding back his laughter. “I...how do you..know about him?”

“Remember the night I grounded you? Last thursday? Yeah, that's how I know.” He explained nonchalantly, leaning back in his chair and sipping his hot chocolate quietly. “I went upstairs with the intent to apologise and saw you two fast asleep and cuddling. You both looked so peaceful that I didn’t want to intrude on your moment, so I left you be and wanted to wait until you were ready to tell me.” He suddenly leaned forward, taking his son’s hands in his own with a serious expression on his face. “Son, you know I love you no matter who you’re attracted to, whether it be boys or girls. You’re still my son and I love you unconditionally. So will your Aunt Adira and Uncle Hector. And we’ll support you no matter what. Although...it would have been nice to have a formal introduction with the boy, he seems very nice.”

A smile crept onto Varian’s face as he rose to his feet, moving around the titular table to embrace his father. “Thank you so much, dad. And yes, we will have to pick him up. I want him to celebrate Christmas - it’ll be his first time celebrating too, which makes it even more special!” he paused. “I’ll let you know where his apartment is. I have a present that I...desperately wanna give him.”

“Speaking of presents..” Quirin began, rising from his chair to look down at his son. “I haven’t given you yours yet. So, follow me.” He declared, leading the way towards the basement door. They hadn’t been down there since his mother left - it used to be her old workspace for anything science related. Varian used to love going down there and watching as Ulla would experiment, combining different elements in processes he didn’t even understand. Their son would watch in wonder as, with one ribbon of metal being added, an acid would change colour, and he’d cheer so loud with the biggest smile on his face whenever Ulla let him act as her ‘lab assistant’ and let him perform his own experiments (supervised, of course).

He did miss the woman and her presence in the house. She brought so much joy to everything she passed, making even the worst of days become one of the best. It was because of her that they even celebrated Christmas, her introducing the holiday to him and the various traditions that came along with it. She really was a loving and caring woman in every way there possibly was - Varian taking after her in that department. She’d sing to their son to help him sleep as a newborn and sit by his crib all night in case he woke up in the night and needed her for anything. But they never saw the stress wearing her down, causing her to become more and more confrontational as the days went on. Hell, the divorce came out of nowhere, Ulla one day stating that she wanted one and was leaving. Nonetheless, Quirin had supported her and let her go, because she was the woman he loved. If that’s what she wanted then fine, he’d let her leave. He bit the inside on his cheek. No time to think of that - it was Christmas and by god, he was gonna enjoy himself.

The door to the basement opened and Quirin gestured for his son to go down the steps before him. Varian obliged, walking down the steps that threatened to break. They’d have to get them replaced one day, he thought as he reached the floor below and flicked on the lights. He was met with the sight of a truly magnificent sight. Tables were pushed up against the walls, a wheeled office chair placed under one. Beakers and a Bunsen burner sat on the side, beside a large stack of drawers that, upon closer inspection, were labelled and filled with all the equipment he needed, such as burets, test tubes, pipettes and micropipettes...it was simply breathtaking. He travelled further around the home lab, a coat peg in the corner with a single, white lab coat hanging from it. He immediately knew it was his mother’s from the small blue patch on the elbow of the left sleeve - a hole caused by 7-year-old him accidentally changing the Bunsen burner from the safety flame to the blue flame, his mom lunging over it to stop him from burning himself. After that, he was terrified of the burner for years after that.

“Dad, this is...this is amazing!” he gasped, running over and giving him a tight hug. “Wow! I love it so much!” he cried as he moved away and excitedly explored the room even more. Pulling on the lab coat, he flattened the creases of the lab coat. A perfect fit, he thought, before he turned to his dad with a smile. “How is it? Do I look alright?”

“You look great son, but go upstairs and get dressed. We need to pick up your boyfriend and drive over to Rapunzel and Eugene’s house, okay?” He commented, watching his son’s excitement as he placed the lab coat back on the bed and sprinted upstairs. Quirin’s gaze drifted to the lab coat. He looked just like his mother in that lab coat, it was almost uncanny. He always thought about her this time of year and how much different life was without Ulla’s constant presence in the house. Nevermind,he muttered as he walked to the stairs, flicking off the lights and travelling up the stairs. It was in the past. Now, time to prepare himself to meet his son’s boyfriend.

Hugo sat on the couch, his arms folded and pouting. There was nothing on but stupid goddamn Christmas movies! He hated them! All they did was brag that they had everything he didn’t have, like a family or gifts..it sucked. He especially hated them as a kid, wishing every year that he’d get adopted and have that one day. He’d always imagined his mom being a tall, gentle woman, who’d pick him up and put him on the counter if he’d fallen over while playing, placing a gentle kiss to his wounds before covering them with a bandaid, giving him a hug and sending him off to play. He’d also imagined his dad - a stern, blonde haired man with a soft side, who would always make time for him and show him what he did for work. They’d have good paying jobs too - his dad being a mechanic for some high-class company and his mom being a nurse. He’d had it all planned out. Especially Christmas, where he’d run down the stairs to be greeted with the sight of endless towers of presents, hugging and kissing his parents on the cheek after each one. Instead, he’d been ‘blessed’ with Donella, who couldn’t care less about him or Christmas. No parents, no luxury life, no Christmas. She snuffed out his dream on the final one really quick, being the one to tell him Santa wasn’t real (even though he already knew that, but the confirmation hurt).

He was so lost in thought that he almost missed the sound of frantic knocking at the door to his apartment. “Who the hell is that?” he muttered under his breath as he sauntered down the hall. He ran his hands over his clothes, trying to flatten any creases that might be seen before opening the door. Varian stood, his hand raised as though he was about to knock the door again, with a goliath of a man behind him, causing Hugo to swallow thickly. Oh fuck was that man large. He could probably snap Hugo in half over his knee if he felt like it. ‘Please don’t call him dad, please don’t call him dad…’ Hugo found himself praying.

“Hugh!” his boyfriend cried as he lunged forward and wrapped his arms round the blonde’s neck, who was still in shock at the sight of the man accompanying the titular teen. “Dad, this is my boyfriend, Hugo! Hugo, this is my dad!” he explained. Brilliant. Now he knew if he ever broke up with Varian (“Pfft, as if that’s gonna happen.” his inner voice reminded him, yet again butting in rudely.), he’d be assured a quick death at the hands of this titan of a man crushing his skull.

“It's a uh-a pleasure to finally meet you, sir.” he finally stuttered out, trying to uphold his usual relaxed attitude, however judging by the crack in his voice, he’d failed miserably. He held out his hand, the older man exchanging his greeting and virtually concealing Hugo’s hand in his own, it being barely visible as it was shaken before being mercifully let go. “Why are you two here, by the way. In like-the politest way possible.”

“You’re spending Christmas with us! Speaking of which, we’re meant to be at my sister’s like-right now! So! Let’s go!” he grabbed his boyfriend’s arm, only giving him enough time to grasp his coat, which had Varian’s present concealed in it, and scarf before pulling him out of the apartment and down the stairwell to the street below. Hugo listened to Varian’s rambling about their christmas traditions which didn’t seem to stop even as they got to the car and were heading towards Rapunzel and Fitzherbert’s house. Speaking of which, he’d never seen it, the only conversation he’d had with them being the...rather awkward one the day he’d asked Varian out. What a wild day that had been...it felt like forever ago, if he was being honest. It didn’t seem real that they were together at all. He gave the raven haired boy’s hand a gentle squeeze, his thumb rubbing circles into the back of his hand with a smile tugging at his lips again. He really was helpless for this boy.

The car came to a halt outside a small cottage, very different to the one he had imagined the couple would live in. It was a surprise, albeit a pleasant one - what, a cottage out here in the middle of the countryside seemed like the best place to settle down. He just couldn’t believe someone like Fitzherbert would’ve settled for that. It admittedly looked kind of cute though, lights hung from the roof carefully and around the gate. Varian, however, gave him no time to admire the beauty of the cottage, grabbing his hand and pulling him through the white-painted fence and rushing up the steps before opening the front door. “We’re here, guys!” he declared and almost immediately they were swarmed by a mass of people.

The only four people he’d noticed were Rapunzel, Eugene, Cassandra and Irene, pulling them into hugs and exchanging Christmas greetings with each other. The other three he’d recognised as Kiera, Catalina and Lance from all of the stories Varian would tell him randomly during their dates, such as how Lance had adopted them after they were orphaned (“Lucky kids.” Hugo had muttered to himself bitterly before turning away and staring out the window again). Hugo winced and grimaced at the exchanges, awkwardly returning them before heading towards where he thought the living room was.

Luckily, he was right, and he moved quickly to sit on the couch, immediately cringing at the sight of an excessively decorated and obviously fake Christmas tree sitting against the wall with a mass of presents underneath it. More reminders of the things he’d lacked all his life, he thought bitterly, before a warmth beside him broke him out of his thoughts. Varian cuddled into his boyfriend’s side, kissing his cheek gently with a soft, loving smile on his face. “Hey there, sweetheart..you enjoying yourself?” he asked, an eyebrow raised.

“Yeah, definitely. Don’t you worry your pretty little head over it.” he lied over his teeth, praying his boyfriend didn’t notice his discomfort. It must’ve been his lucky day as, other than a concerned noise, Varian seemed to take this answer as gospel and just cuddled into his side further. Hugo thrived in their moment of peace amongst the madness of Christmas, almost like the week before where they sat in the park at almost midnight just cuddling on the park bench. This only lasted a moment, however, as Rapunzel called them all in for dinner as she placed various dishes onto the table.

Everyone crowded around it, Varian holding Hugo’s hand under the table as they sat side by side (the fact that Varian was left handed helped tremendously, considering Hugo was right handed and both could hold each other’s less dominant hand) with a shy smile on his face as he, once again, answered the numerous questions on how they met. All the while, Hugo sat uncomfortably. It was all too much for him - the family, the food, the absolute love...he couldn’t take him. “Give me a minute.” he muttered as he let go of Varian’s hand, standing up and excusing himself. Hurriedly, he left the room and sat outside on the steps up to the house.

He didn’t get it. How did he deserve any of this? He was a bad person and didn’t see how someone like Varian could look at him and think that he warranted any of this. He was a thief and a liar and messed up everything good in his life. Varian would realise that one day and leave him, just like everyone else in his life did. He didn’t want to admit it but..he knew he wasn’t good enough for someone like Varian. Someone so sweet despite everything he did in his past - someone so forgiving...he didn’t deserve that. The door opened behind him, quickly shutting before footsteps stopped beside him and none other than Fitzherbert sat down beside him. “What. You come to laugh at me or something?”

“Nope. I don’t know why you’d think that.” Fitzherbert commented, looking at the troubled teen and sighing, seeing himself in the boy. He took a deep breath and looked directly ahead as he continued to talk. “I know how you’re feeling. I was an orphan too. You feel as though you don’t belong - like you don’t deserve any of this and you never will. But you do, Hugo. I know I don’t really know you that well, but I’ve been in your boat before and I know Varian well enough to know he adores you. Varian thinks the world of you and looks as though you put the stars in the sky. I’m not trying to invalidate your feelings - you deserve to feel however you want and that's okay, but you need to know that we all care about you so much and...for the record, Rapunzel was really excited to meet you again. Just letting you know, she literally texted Varian asking everything about you like your favourite flavours, colors..hell, even smells!” He let out a laugh, and so did Hugo, albeit a little weak. “You don’t have to come back in..but you can if you want.”

Hugo bit the inside of his cheek before leaning and resting his head on Eugene’s arm, letting the older man put his arm around him before bringing him into a long embrace. One that he didn’t know he needed, especially from someone like Eugene. He let out a breathy chuckle before standing up with Eugene, making their way inside and sitting beside his boyfriend again. Varian gave him a concerned look, Hugo nodding in reassurance and raising his boyfriend’s hand to his lips, kissing the back of his hand before they smiled and continued to eat.

As soon as dinner was over, Hugo found himself sitting down beside Varian on the couch yet again as the others exchanged presents. Eugene had got Rapunzel a purple frying pan (he didn’t question why, the woman seemed eccentric enough to adore the gift, gifting her boyfriend with a mass of kisses), Rapunzel bought Eugene a small ring to match her engagement ring, Irene gave Cassandra a leather jacket and Cassandra gave Irene a pink helmet to wear on the motorbike, Lance got the girls MANY presents that Hugo didn’t have the energy to remember. And that left him and Varian to exchange gifts.

Carefully they both took out their boxes for each other, trading them and opening them at the same time. Both gasped when they saw they’d both bought each other a pair of goggles! Hugo gazed at the goggles Varian had bought for him. They were circular - big enough to fit over his glasses - with orange lenses and spikes around the rim, being painted grey all over. A leather strap connected them at the back, him placing them round his neck. Varian, on the other hand, stared at his in disbelief. A small, extra magnifier was attached to the left eye of the goggles, the rims painted bronze and gold with clear, colourless lenses. They were perfect, he silently decided, leaning in closer to Hugo to place a gentle kiss to his jaw.

“These are perfect, Hugo..I..thank you so much!” he said with love and affection dripping through his words as he put the goggles on top of his head, his hands drifting to the vial around his neck and fiddling with it. It illuminated, shining a soft light across his chest and hands as he gazed down at it in wonder. He looked up at the blonde again, who looked at him with the utmost affection and a dorkish smile on his face. “Anyway, we should be heading back. It’s kinda late and I need my beauty sleep!” he joked, standing and pulling Hugo and Quirin along with him. They bid their farewells, Rapunzel extremely reluctant to let Hugo leave as she hadn’t learnt absolutely everything about him, but she let them leave after a while. They all got into the car and drove back towards Hugo’s apartment complex.

After Hugo left the car, Varian walked beside him hand in hand up to his apartment. “Hey, look at this.” Varian said as they got to the door, bringing a piece of branch out of his pocket and raising it above his head. He raised an eyebrow in confusion, looking down at his boyfriend who quickly elaborated. “It’s mistletoe so you have to kiss me!” he declared, raising himself onto his tiptoes and puckering his lips. His eyes shut and Hugo’s face took on a grin, leaning down to kiss the boy in a long, sweet kiss, pouring every bit of affection they had for each other into it.

The kiss eventually broke and Varian headed down the hall and away from Hugo for the night, the blonde sighing. He pushed open the door, however it stopped part way due to a weight in front of the door. “Huh? Weird.” he muttered, sliding in through the thin gap between the door as his eyes met a package at the door. It was green and moderately large and, after Hugo had kicked the door shut, he crouched down and reached out to read the tag on the box.

‘Merry Christmas - Donella’

Huh. That was weird. Donella ACTUALLY getting him a Christmas gift? That was unheard of in his world up until now, but he still picked it up and carried it into the living room before placing it on the glass coffee table. He slowly untied the bow and raised the lid, noticing what was inside the box. It was a new laptop - one he had been working to try and get for months now. He didn’t think she’d actually listened to him when he talked to her about it. “Well, that’s a welcome surprise.” he whispered under his breath, lifting it out to see something else tucked at the bottom of the box. Setting the laptop aside, he raised it to see another jacket - this one he immediately recognised. She’d worn it all the time when he was younger and he’d always loved it, but now..she was actually giving it to him.

This one was a dark green with a few gold and grey accents across it, the crest of her company embroidered onto the arm only as big as his thumb. He smiled happily, his fingers tracing over the material as he carried both the laptop and the jacket upstairs to his room. He’d always loved the jacket, and usually Donella was overly possessive about her property, so the fact that she was willingly giving it up for him...it was a large statement for a woman like her.

He pushed open the door and placed the two items onto his desk, changing into his pyjamas and laying down on his bed. He took off his glasses and set them aside onto his bedside table, moving to hug his pillow close to his chest and imagining it was his boyfriend. He’d have to thank them both for their gifts when he had the time.

“Y’know...maybe Christmas isn’t so bad after all.” he whispered to himself before letting himself fall asleep, a smile still plastered on his face.

#varigo #varian and the seven kingdoms #varian x hugo #varian tangled #tangled varian #hugo tangled #tangled hugo #alchemy boyfriends #varigo coffee shop au

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bittersweetmelxdy · 5 years

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Day 25: Christmas Time- Victor, Lucien, Gavin and Kiro

There's been times before, you wish for so much more,/ When I was down and filled with doubt, I had you,/ And we made it through the year, it's so good to be here- Christmas C’mon, Lindsey Stirling ft. Becky G

Victor:

Of course, Victor cooks for Christmas, what else did you expect, you used Christmas as an excuse to eat and Victor loved to feed you.

Despite being a bog CEO and you being the head producer of your company, the two of you always made sure that you had Christmas off to spend with each other.

Every year Victor took you to see a ballet, ever since the two of you were dating, he had done this and he still continued this trend, and it became something you looked forward to, every year.

Melody loved going to the ballet, her eyes would always light up seeing the ballerinas dance across the stage, and this eventually sparked her interest in ballet, a passion Victor had no problem investing in.

Christmas for the Li’s always consisted of the annual LFG Christmas Gala, and every year all of you would attend, and every year by the end of the festivities, Victor would find you and his children sleeping on a couple of chairs in the corner of the ballroom, he would always smile fondly, rouse you all gently to take you home, and then proceed to tease you about it the next day.

The actual Christmas day was a pretty grand affair, Victor worked like clock-work regardless of him having day off or not, so he still got up early on Christmas, which was great for the children who would wake up early due to Christmas excitement, but it wasn’t great for you, who just wanted a lie in.

Despite Victor being the most pernickety person you had ever met, he didn’t have a problem letting the children help with any Christmas cooking, especially his son, who from very early on loved to cook (this based on some childhood stories my mum told me about me).

You loved watching this part of the Christmas traditions, as Victor always used a very soft and affectionate tone with his children, he explained things clearly, and he only ever raised his voice whenever the two were in any danger.

You always teased Victor that if Goldman saw how he acted with his children he would faint, or think the world was ending. (Victor never found it funny as you did).

Victor’s Dad and his Aunt always came to visit so you would have a nice big family Christmas dinner, but you would alternate whether you hosted or his father did. When you hosted your aunts and uncles and cousins would also visit, making the house both crowded and noisy.

Of course, Victor’s father and Aunt taught your children to play mahjong (you were still a bit of a lost cause), and you would play games together to varying degrees of success, (Monopoly was banned in your house after your children started crying that Victor was being too mean during a game).

Victor would always make a special Christmas pudding specifically for this day, that would be flavoured with whatever Christmas flavour was popular that year, which you never complained about, you were always happy to eat any of Victor’s cooking.

You would always take Christmas pictures together, and every year Victor would complain that maybe you should take professional photos, to which you would roll your eyes and then proceed to continue to take candid silly photos with your phone and camera (“Victor, no one wants to waste money on a fancy professional picture, I have a phone.”).

Victor made sure to always be off on Christmas day and also to always be home, because he firmly believed Christmas is for family and home, so he made sure that’s where he was, because you and children were his top priority.

Lucien:

Lucien never really saw the true point of Christmas until he started dating you, but it wasn’t because he now felt the Christmas spirit, but more he enjoyed seeing you enjoy the Christmas spirit, you were always so bright to him throughout the rest of the year, but it was something about the festive season that made him unable to take his eyes off of you.

He let you take full control of all your Christmas plans, happy to just take a backseat and let you dictate how various things you wanted to do throughout the day, no matter how cliché it was, once you heard from Lucien how he didn’t “really do Christmas”, you were determined to have him try as many Christmas traditions as possible in hopes that he’d feel more inclined to enjoy Christmas.

He always told you that you didn’t have to cook a lot as he knew how busy you were and you were only ever preparing for Christmas between the two of you.

So, you would often spend Christmas morning cooking together, something you found both relaxing and enjoyable, however this had to be moved to Christmas Eve once Aurora was born so that you could spend most of the day with her.

Every year Lucien will take you to see the Loveland Christmas lights, and no matter how many years you go together, every year feels special, as you always went on a quiet evening so the three of you had the whole park to yourselves, to admire and run around under the twinkling lights.

You have your Christmas playlist blasting throughout the month and as you get closer and closer to the date, you and Lucien would dance around to your favourites, (read: you and Aurora would dance and sing, and Lucien would join in to humour you).

Lucien would often receive a lot of gifts from the Research Centre, so you never have to buy chocolates/ biscuits/ cakes around this time of year, as you always had a steady supply.

You would take the surplus treats, and you and Lucien would also buy enough gifts for all the children at the orphanage, going every single year to see their Christmas play and distributing the gifts, the smile that would light up their faces was like a gift that kept on giving.

If you didn’t have any plans, or it was one or your quieter Christmases you would also go visit the children on the evening of the 25th, just to spend time with them and join the workers in giving the children a memorable Christmas.

Gavin:

Christmas was something you and Gavin kept to your small family of four, as New Year’s was spent with your extended family.

Every Christmas starts the same way for you, with a lie-in, Gavin and you just stay in bed enjoying each other’s presence without the morning rush, as both of you share this day off, Gavin never tells you but since he is conditioned to wake up early, he always watches your sleeping form rise and fall with your steady breathing, as the first sunbeams shimmer through the curtains and bathe your figure in a warm golden glow.

Then the both of you would spend Christmas in a very slow and lazy manner, glad to just have a day where the only commitment the two of you had was to each other.

However once Caleb and Ellie are born, this routine changes slightly, the two little ones knock on the door as early as possible, excited and ready to start the day, bouncing on the foot of the bed, to rouse the both of you into action.

Gavin and you both have a rule not to open presents until after lunch, and every year, no matter how much the children protest, you both stick rigidly to that rule.

So, you spend the morning watching Christmas movies, eating all the various sweet treats you had baked in the previous days, and drinking hot chocolate, (or if you’re allergic to chocolate like I am, just drinking tea/ coffee/ any other beverage).

Then you all sit down for Christmas dinner, and you often invite Eli and Minor to join you for this part of the festivities, something both of them don’t mind as they dote upon the children (although sometimes you do have to remind them they shouldn’t be competing for favourite uncle), and this part of the day is usually the loudest part of your day, and despite how exasperated Gavin always looks at the antics of his “friends”, you know that him seeing the bright smiles on his two children’s faces every year makes it all worth it... just.

Gavin’s brother also came some years to spend Christmas with you all, always happy to see the children, but you understood the rift between Gavin and his family, and never pushed Gavin to spend more time with them than he was comfortable with.

You love seeing your children opening presents at Christmas just because the way they do so, Ellie will rip the wrapping paper in the quickest way to get to the present inside, creating a mess of wrapping paper around her, but Caleb would carefully remove the tape, piece by piece, unfolding the wrapping paper trying to keep it as intact as possible. The stark difference between your two children always made you smile, that and the fact that after they had opened the presents the two of them would each, in turn throw themselves at you and Gavin for a big hug and a “thank you!”.

Eli and Minor at this point would always ask the children which gift they thought was the best and you and Gavin had taught them well as your children would always choose a gift neither of them had bought. (One year, Caleb being put on the spot picked Eli’s gift and Minor proceeded to sulk about it for the next three months, often throwing pointed barbs at you whilst at work, much to your amusement)

Once the two of them left, you and Gavin would spend the rest of the evening playing with the children and their presents, before having a late dinner, consisting of the leftovers from lunch, and an early night.

You and Gavin knew your Christmas’ weren’t as exciting as other people’s but the quiet, lazy kind of way you both did Christmas suited the both of you, you had enough chaos in your work life, so a quiet Christmas was always a well-appreciated gift.

Kiro:

Kiro often had to be abroad during Christmas for tours and filming so he was rarely free to spend Christmas at home in Loveland.

His solution- where he goes around Christmas, his family goes too!

The only time the two of you spent Christmas apart was the Christmas before the twins were born, you were too pregnant to fly, but to make up for it Kiro video called you for two hours, and when he wasn’t able to be on the phone with you he sent you multiple video updates of food that he tried and things that he did to celebrate whilst he was apart from you, but in every video he made sure to tell you that he loved you and missed you greatly.

Absolutely loves having his kids with him whilst he’s abroad during Christmas, especially if it’s somewhere he’s been before, because he loves taking you all to his favourite food places and celebrating other Christmas traditions together.

Takes so many pictures of your all during Christmas, wanting to document as many memories as he can with all of you that he can.

On the rare occasions that you can spend Christmas in Loveland, you and Kiro strive to make it feel as much as “home” as you can. The twins never see it as boring, just different because you’re at home.

You and Kiro would hide the presents around the house for each other, and later you would do the same for the children, and you would give the person looking a set of three clues for them to try and find their presents. As the age increases the difficulty of the clue also increases, and there was only one year where Kiro had to help you because you couldn’t figure out the last clue because he had made it too hard and you ended up sitting on the floor pouting, whilst Kiro apologised and then tried to explain the clue to you.

Kiro and you would make Christmas dinner together, because the only food he loves more than your cooking is Souvenir, and you would have fun goofing off and cooking together.

Kiro would have no problem dancing around the kitchen/ living room/ hotel room, to all your favourite Christmas songs, every year you both will belt out ‘All I want for Christmas Is You’ whilst dancing together in your socks and pyjamas, often dissolving into laughter at least twice during the song.

Another tradition you do whilst you’re at home is to make cookies with the whole family, the twins loved the whole process of cutting the cookies out in various fun shapes, but unlike before your kids when you only had to stop Kiro from eating the raw batter, now you had to stop three people from eating the batter, but despite your scolding the smile painted on your face clearly showed that you wouldn’t have it any other way.

Kiro loves having a family of his own to spend the holidays with, as even though Savin was always kind enough to let him spend the festive period with him and his family, he always felt a little like a guest rather than a part of the festivities.

So now he has his own special family he finds Christmas even more exciting, as he’s finally a part of something more that’s just him, and he has a group of people that love him and he loves unconditionally, and just being able to spend time with you all was the greatest gift he could ever receive.

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weissfai-blog1 · 6 years

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The Princess of the Two Household

N’Yim is all grown up now. And she’s not anymore the little girl that Ae used to sniff kiss and cradle on his arms... the little niece is now a young lady who can kick anyone’s ass - thanks to Ar Ae’s teaching and can smile like an angel - thanks to her Ar Pete’s advice... This is from the eyes of our little N’Yim all grown up :)

The bell rang at the school indicating that its time for them to pack up and go home.

The petite girl with a cute long hair in ponytails, ivory skin, rosy soft cheeks and bright soft brown eyes hurriedly pack her things. There’s a sweet lovely smile on her lips that even her classmates cant help but wander what happiness is inside of her head.

‘Ai Yim! Are we going to the bookstore?’ Rune asked her friend.

Yim smiles at her and told her friend in a cheery voice, ‘Sorry Ai Rune. I’m heading home now! My uncles are there! Sorry gotta go!’

And even before Rune can answer Yim was out of their classroom in a flash.

Yim is excited.

Super excited!

Why?

Its Perth’s birthday, her little brother is turning 7 years old and it would only mean one thing - family gathering!!!

Its been so long since she saw them.

She pedal faster and the elders who knew the petite girl who pedals like a boy shook their head with a sweet smile on their lips.

N’Yim took after her favorite uncle, boyish in some ways. It warms their heart that the girl is full of bright laughter, she's like the sunshine of their village. She’s friendly, sweet, kind, gentle yet sometimes unladylike especially when someone tries to bully her. She’s not from ‘that family’ if one can just easily bully her.

She came from the family of a strong household.

She smiles when she saw a familiar Mercedes-Benz parked outside her grandmother’s restaurant.

She pedals faster her bike and parks the bike hastily, runs inside and shouted, ‘Ar Pete!!!’

Yim runs so fast and hugs the man who opens his arms to her.

‘I miss you!!!’ N’Yim actually jumps to Pete and Pete catches her while hugging her tight.

’N’Yim! You’re going to topple Pete!’ she heard the voice from Pete’s back and saw her other favorite uncle steadying the back of Pete. More like holding Pete’s waist in a possessive and protective manner.

Yim only grins and sniff kiss Pete’s cheek and told in a sweet honey voice, ‘But N’Yim misses her Ar Pete so so so much. Its been years-‘

‘Oi! It's been 3 weeks only!’ Ae cut her off.

‘Fine 3 weeks! I miss you Ar Pete!’

‘You miss him? Huh?! Says the little girl whose always messaging him day and night-‘

Yim gasped dramatically, ‘Not true-‘

Pete chuckles and let the niece and uncle have their little battle. Pete saw Nut and Oh shaking their head.

’N’Yim get down. You’re a big girl now. Pete cant carry you anymore. Act like a proper lady,’ Ae said in a stern voice.

Yim gets down but with a pout and a smirk, ‘Hmp! Ar Ae, you’re just jealous. You just don't want me or anyone touching Ar Pete.’

Before Ae can retort to that Ae’s parents laugh so loud, they turn around and saw that they’re back from the temple with Perth on their hand.

‘Ai Ae! It looks like Yim got you there! Hahaha!’

Ae rolls his eyes and cross his arms to his chest. Pete smiles and whisper something in his ear that made Ae grins and pinch his soft cheeks with affection.

‘Okay. Stop. I don't want to see you guys doing a public display of affection cause I’ll be jealous!’ Yim said and turn her head with a hmp! and went to hug Perth.

‘P’Oh - what happen to my little sweet niece?’

‘She grew up Ae. And when I said she grew up - she took most of your traits and Nut. Think about what I’m going through!’ Oh said which earns him a jab from his wife.

The whole family laughs and N’Yim smiles.

She loves her family.

She loves them so so much, especially her Ar Pete.

Ar Pete - Pitchaya or Ai Koon Chai - the endearment they all know by heart by now is her Ar Ae’s husband or wife as the later calls him when they are doing some silly things. They’ve been married for several years now and both are living happily in an apartment Pete’s mother bought for them as a gift.

Her Ar Ae is so much a prideful man that he keeps on insisting no when she heard Putcharapon’s word to her uncle: ‘Am I not your mother too? I want both of you to settle in your own comfort zone. I hate it that you travel back and forth to two different apartments when both of you can just live in one. And Ae… I want you to always care for Pete. He might vanished again you know.’ Putch added that as a teasing note but Yim knew that Pete's mother won that battle when she saw her Uncle’s shocked face turned determined and frown at the notion of Pete vanishing again.

And when she saw the face of her uncle, she knew that there’s no second question or any hesitation. She remembers all too well the grief of her Ar Ae when Ar Pete was taken away by the giant airplane. Ae will always cry and stay in his room while touching his ring finger and then crying again. There was nothing that can brighten his mood.

But after 3 years of loneliness, she saw once again the bright laughter and glow of her Uncle because Pete came back. Pete came back to her Ar Ae.

Now they are back together, she can see the glow of happiness in her uncle’s eyes. Its like the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

What’s the best was she become the princess of the two household.

Her Ar Pete’s mother Putcharapon hugs her and told her, ‘I don't have a daughter and Pete now is a grown up man and is being taken care of your Ar Ae - would it be okay if I spoiled you?’

Putcharapon will always brought her gifts and so was Ar Pete’s grandmother. They always - the two family - celebrates special holidays in Ar Pete’s hotel.

But today, as this is Perth’s 7th bday, they will celebrate it within the family first. They dont want to disturb Putcharapon for a small occasion.

And because Pete now is part of the celebration, the simple feast becomes grander for he asked his Par Jiew to cook for them. There’s lots of delicious food, shrimps, bake cookies, short cakes and a cute chocolate fondue. And Putcharapon and Pete grandmother sent out so many small bears that almost filled the room. There was a giant gift wrap in the corner with a note: ‘Happy Birthday dear Perth ~ Loving you always, your great grandma.’

Night time.

‘Happy Birthday to You ~ Happy Birthday to You ~ Happy Birthday Dear Perth… Happy Birthday to You… yey!!!’

‘Perth blow the candles now…’

Perth smiles and blows the candles.

The family claps and each one settles down.

’N’Yim, how’s your school?’ Pete asked her. Pete has always been the gentlest and sweetest uncle ever. Pete will always asked her how was her school, did anyone bully her, did anyone made fun of her, or did she made friends, how was her grades and all and if there’s anything he can help her. Pete is always ready to give his time to her.

Yim smiles and settles to seat beside Pete which made Ae growls. This made Yim giggles, she likes seeing her Ar Ae jealous. Its so funny. She’s her niece but he’s jealous of her getting close to Ar Pete. She remember before that Ae keeps on saying that she cannot hug Pete so much. She didn't know it before, but Ae doesn't like Pete being touched by anyone, and the only one allowed to even kiss or hug Pete is him. Talk about an idiotic possessive boyfriend/husband.

She likes seeing Ae’s expression and Pete’s too so she does stick close to Pete. ‘Ar Pete its fun at school. I have ton of friends but a few close friends…’

’N’Yim is there any guys closing in to you?’ Ae asked leaning on to Pete so that she can see his face, if no one knew her Ar Ae, this face is a man who is mad, angry, threatening her - but to those who knew Ae - there’s only concern, love and gentleness in those eyes and features.

Yim smiles brightly and told him, ‘Nope! No boys are! They are kinda afraid of me or something. I heard that some boys think of me boyish and some says I have uncles not to be messed with,’ Yim grins when she saw Ae blushed and so was Pete and her father Oh.

Nut and her grandma giggles while her grandpa shook his head with a smile.

When Yim enters her 7th grade many have seen the change in her. From when she’s a cute little girl turn into a tall petite beauty of 13 years. Yim inherits her mother’s beautiful flowing light brown hair, cool brown eyes and soft features. But Oh groans when as growing up, Yim inherits most of her Ar Ae’s boyish character and loves of football. Her Ar Ae is Chelsea while she supports Manchester United. Ae loves it when they argued a lot regarding football.

At the first week of her school, Nut told the guys in her family that Yim have several young boys looking at her and whispering that she’s so pretty and that they would like her to be their girlfriend. Many boys argued who will go out with her first. Nut was happily telling it to the boys without knowing the dark ominous aura surrounding the men.

So without talking to one another. One by one the men sets out.

First it was Ae.

Ae was waiting for Yim to finished her class when he heard the boys talking about her outside the school gate. Ae grits his teeth and in a low menacing voice, ‘N’Yim is my niece. If I heard one of you bothering her - you will see this face every second of your life.’

The boys gulped down and turn around. Ae’s face was still the same but with age comes the features that most boys will be scared off. Ae at college already has a fierce harsh features. Though it tone down whenever Pete is with him - without Pete and when Yim is concern, he reverts back to his old glowering look. Eyebrows that is consistently frowning, you think he just killed a lion; dark skin, tall height and what’s scary is the big muscular body.

Second to visit was a beautiful angel.

Some of the boys who wasn't there at the first day and who never met Ae was waiting in the corner of the school gate when Pete heard them talk about how they will surprise Yim and then asking her out and some of the boys plans about a bad guy approach so that the other can save her. Pete then chuckles and the boys turn around. All boys have their jaw drop seeing a very beautiful handsome man with a gentle smile on his face. It was so majestic as if they witness a miracle, even his voice is sweet like honey, but they all shiver when they understand the words the angel was saying, ‘N’Yim is my niece. I love her and will protect her at all cost. If you are planning to accost her, then I have no choice but to call the police and have you all arrested. Would you like me to call them now? My uncle is currently the Phan Tam Ruad Tri ~ Major Superintendent. Do I have to dial his number or you guys will not approach my niece anymore?’

The third day was different. There were a few guys who are waiting for Yim to come. They feel lucky. The competition today was low. They saw on the first day there were lots of boys so they back out. The second day they also back out seeing that they cant compete with them - but lucky them. It seems today Yim will leave early.

They were about to call her when a voice; loud, clear and strong calls out first: ’N’Yim! Your paw is here!’

The boys all turn around slowly to the man who towers them and while waving with a smile, the words that came out of his mouth have them quivering and having a nightmare for a few days, ‘That’s right. I’m her father. Naai Oh. Tell this to all the boys who thinks they can approach my girl - I will have all of you buried in the paddy field and your head sticking out. So scram now while I’m being nice. You don't want her grandfather talking - he is a retired officer with guns still loaded.’

And the rest is history.

No boys dare to approach Yim.

She found that out much much much later. And she laughs out loud. She loves her uncles and Paws so much but 80% they are over protective. But she loves their protectiveness. She always feel safe and so much cherish.

‘Oh! Perth made a friend! ’

‘Really?’ all of them look at the youngest who blushed and growl at her sister.

‘Really sweetheart? You made a friend?’ Nut asked her youngest. It may sound weird to some but Perth is very different to Yim and Ae.

Where both are active and straight forward in their answer and sometimes brash, Perth is the exact opposite.

He is a quiet boy - but this is not because he doesn't care. It’s more like he is observing them. He observes people and he is careful to what to say. Perth at a young age has a deep sense of empathy and he is very sensitive. Perth is easily hurt that’s why he doesn't have any friends. Not physical hurt, but emotionally hurt. Some kids are very harsh and Perth is a very shy kid.

‘Perth?’

Perth blushes and in a small voice, ’Saint… P’Saint.’

‘P?’ Oh asked.

Yim nodded, ‘Yes Paw. It seems Saint came from China and is very new here in Thailand, so instead of enrolling in a higher grade, he's enrolled to a lower grade to learn Thai.’

‘What are they like? Is she beautiful?’

Perth blushes again and nodded, ‘He is beautiful Paw. And he is a boy not a girl. P’Saint is good to me.’

Yim supplied the details to her family, ‘Ai Saint is very beautiful Paw! Like a china doll. I thought Perth was talking to a doll at first but then the doll moves and laughs!’

‘How did the two of you become friends?’ Pete asked with a gentle smile and a gentle hand on the little boys smaller ones. Pete knew how shy Perth can be, he is just like him. It takes time to say the things he wanted to say.

‘He… he saves me…’

‘Huh? Did someone bully you?,’ Ae asked in a angry voice which made Perth flinch with fright.

Pete touches Ae’s arm, ‘Shhh… let’s listen to Perth. I think its not like that…’

Ae nodded.

They waited for Perth to speak up, ‘I… I was walking to the classroom when I slide, there was water and my books got soaked… some… some kids laugh and P’Saint - errr - P’Saint smack their heads with his fist. And shouted at them. They’re about to cry when P’Saint said: ‘Are you going to cry like a baby?’ then he approached me... and he helped me dry my books… and then… I was called in the classroom to recite, but the books are… prints are faded… He moves closer to my chair and lend me his book. And then he started talking to me more and we - we eat lunch together.’

‘Wow! That’s amazing Perth! You must bring your friend here next time so we can thank him properly,’ Nut said and all nodded.

Perth nodded shyly but is happy. He can spend more time with his P’Saint.

‘Ar Pete… will you sleep here tonight?’

Pete gave her a beautiful smile, ‘Would N’Yim like to sleep in our room?’

Ae shook his head to let his niece say no but of course this is N’Yim.

With a beautiful smile, ‘Yes Ar Pete. I have lots and lots to tell you.’

Pete smiles and nodded, ‘Then I will stay here. I have lots and lots to tell you too.’

Ae then bangs his head on the table and grips Pete’s thigh a little tightly - sending a silent signal : “I will punish you… later…”

Pete only smiles while eating his cake.

N’Yim sees all that and smiles.

This is her family.

She’s happy.

She’s blessed.

She loves her family.

She belongs to the Two Great Household of Ae and Pete. She’s the princess who will protect her Ar Ae and Ae Pete from anyone.

She loves their love.

It is beautiful and even at a young age, she knew that their love is one of a kind. They deserve the happiness and deserve to be protected.

This is a work of fiction: Any resemblance to any real people – names, characters and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously (living, dead, or stolen by fairies), or to any real animals, gods, witches, countries, and events (magical or otherwise) is just blind luck, or so I hope. Please be advised/ reminded that ENGLISH is not my natural language but I do try to deliver the story… Please forgive any grammatical error, typo error or any ERROR at all. If you find any error – then feel free to change it in your mind. Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of LOVE BY CHANCE. All rights belong solely to the author MAME and the Director New Siwaj And neither do I make any money from this story. Any resemblance to any real people (living, dead, or stolen by fairies), or to any real animals, gods, witches, countries, and events (magical or otherwise) is just blind luck, or so I hope. I want to say thanks to @opald - she's awesome! I got Perth & Saint's personality base on her astrology talk :) I LOVE HER :) Please read her works - its amazingly wonderful.

#love by chance #lbc #aepete #hcs

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tarotmum13 · 6 years

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Ghosts and ESP

Someone asked me recently what started my interest in the “occult”. I found that hard to answer, because it seems like there has always been some element of paranormal attraction in my life.

As a young child, I didn’t think it was strange that I always knew beforehand when my mum would be coming home, or who was on the other end of the line when the phone rang.

I remember finding a dead duckling once. I was heartbroken. My cousin and I decided we would give the poor little soul a decent burial. We dug a shallow grave, wrapped the tiny body in a handkerchief before covering it with earth and as many wild flowers as we could find. I swear we saw Heaven open up, angels looking down on us and we heard sweet ethereal music drifting down... our imagination? Most likely. A profound experience? Definitely.

You do not question these occurrences when you are young. You just accept them, because your heart is still open to wonder and not yet filled with scepticism and disbelief.

It wasn't until much later on that I found out not everything I had been taking for granted was as "normal" as I thought.

My grandparents lived very close by and I went to visit them daily as a child. Whenever I was at their house, my great-uncle Frans was also there. Sitting in a leather armchair by the window, smoking his pipe. I can still smell the distinctive vanilla-and-bourbon aroma of his pipe tobacco. He never spoke, but he smiled a lot. I would sit on his lap and feel safe there.

When I was 7, both my grandparents passed away within 2 weeks of eachother. My granddad had been sick for a very long time, but my grandmother made him promise not to leave her behind - he made good on his promise and clung to life until my grandmother unexpectedly died. I was on my way home from school when the ambulance passed me. I turned back and told the teacher I couldn't go home because there would be nobody there - I just knew my mum was accompanying her mother in that ambulance but they would not make it to the hospital on time...

So - once my grandparents had passed away, I stopped seeing my great-uncle Frans. I never asked where he had gone or what happened to him.

Years later, going through some old photographs with my mum, I came accross a picture of him. Mum was very surprised that I seemed to know who he was. I said that of course I knew him, recounting the times I sat on his lap, smelling his pipe, bringing him little chocolate eggs coated in sugar as he liked them so much...

Mum looked at me funny. She admitted that yes, uncle Frans used to sit in that chair by the window. Yes, his pipe smelled of vanilla. Yes, he loved those little sugar-eggs... but she couldn't understand how I knew any of this, as according to her, my great-uncle Frans died 2 years before I was born...

This is the last picture taken of my grandmother before she passed away. And also the last time I saw uncle Frans. I remember this day. It was Easter, and I had filled my basket with the little sugar-coated eggs I liked to bring to uncle Frans. In my memory, he is sitting right behind me, in the black leather chair next to the window. Obviously, in this actual picture, he is not there. Which reality is more real? I have very clear memories of him, I know he was there, for me - why? I can't answer that. Maybe one day, I will find out.

Because of this it is impossible for me not to believe in some sort of afterlife, some existence beyond our world of flesh and bone. Which in turn makes it easier to believe in so many other things. I don't claim to understand everything, but I am open-minded. And willing to learn.

My journey has been eventful so far, and along the way I have found that Tarot is a system that works very well for me, to help me make sense of my experiences, continue my personal development and always keep my mind searching for more.

I have learned so much already, about the Soul of the Universe, and the connection between all living beings - about crystals and vibrations, the Law of Attraction, lightworkers and empaths, magick and affirmations, Indigo Children and the influence of the moon,...

All this energy out there, that we can tap in to if we want... There is so much more to Life than just what our limited senses can perceive. But if you look with your heart you will feel the truth. So go find out. Experiment. Try new things. Find what makes sense to you. Believe.

Xxx

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#spirits #ESP #ghosts from the past

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animationnut · 7 years

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To Gravity Falls, From Piedmont: Final Chapter

Summary: It’s a long way until next summer. Until then, Dipper and Mabel share their daily antics and life problems with their lifelong friends and attentive great-uncles through an endless string of e-mails. Distance makes the heart grow fonder after all, and there’s no place Dipper and Mabel love more than Gravity Falls. Note: When I first started this story, it was to help me, and hopefully others, to cope with the ending of Gravity Falls. Thank you for staying with me on this journey, and I hope you've had as much fun as I did.

Chapter List

To: GF Crew (10+ contacts in this list)

From: Dipper Pines (GhostHarasserfan)

Subject: On the road

Mabel and I are minutes away from boarding the bus and then it'll be a matter of hours before we see you guys. We can't wait!

See all messages in this thread (Expand)

Mabel Pines: EEEEEE I'M SO EXCITED TO SEE MY PEOPLE AGAIN!

Grenda Gosling: We'll have an epic sleepover once you get here! We'll play loud music that'll annoy the neighbours and I've got a stash of magazines with posters of all the cute boys!

Candy Chiu: And we will eat candy and pizza until we get sick!

Mabel Pines: I can't wait!

Fiddleford McGucket: I'm as jittery as a rabid raccoon, I'm so excited! Got a lot to share with you kids when you get here! Oh, and maybe you can help with my gnome problem. Pesky creatures.

Dipper Pines: A leaf blower will fix that problem right away.

Gideon Gleeful: I eagerly await your arrival, my lady. And I suppose it'll be pleasant to see you again, Dipper.

Robbie Valentino: How about Mabel comes and Dork Tree stays in Cali?

Dipper Pines: Aw, I love you losers too.

Pacifica Northwest: We can go shopping. You need more variety than colourful knitted sweaters.

Mabel Pines: I don't know about that, but I like to shop, so you're on!

Soos Ramirez: We're cleaning up the attic right now, dudes! It'll be all ready for you when you get here.

Dipper Pines: You don't have to do that, we can help clean when we arrive.

Soos Ramirez: Nah, it's no problem.

Grunkle Stan: We'll race you. By land and by sea. Let's see who gets there first. Loser has to sweep the Mystery Shack for a week.

Dipper Pines: Deal.

Mabel Pines: How close are you?

Grunkle Stan: Only a few hours away.

Grunkle Ford: And by a few he means ten, and a sailboat doesn't quite get the mileage of a vehicle.

Grunkle Stan: They're on a public transit bus, Poindexter. Probably the same amount of mileage.

Grunkle Ford: Fair point.

Wendy Corduroy: My dudes are coming back home and we are going to party hard!

Grunkle Ford: We will celebrate in a jubilant but responsible manner.

Grunkle Stan: Buzzkill.

Dipper Pines: Oh, here comes our bus!

Mabel Pines: If you need us, text us. But we'll see you soon!

Wendy could hear the vacuum cleaner before she stepped foot inside the Mystery Shack. She paused in the threshold, staring at the streaks of water across the hardwood floor. Shaking her head in amusement she took off her boots and set them aside. She inched her way along the wall until she got to the living room, where Abuelita was pushing the vacuum cleaner aggressively across the carpet.

"Hey, Abuelita," said Wendy, raising to be heard over the noisy machine.

Abuelita glanced up and greeted, "Hello, dear. Soos is upstairs. There are snacks in the kitchen for you to eat if you're hungry."

"Don't mind if I do. Thanks."

Wendy took a detour to the kitchen, halting when she discovered the piles of saran-wrapped plates and containers of food. Eyes wide, she lifted up the wrap of a plate of chocolate chip cookies in bemusement, taking a couple. She promptly shoved them into her mouth to avoid sprinkling crumbs and headed for the stairs.

"Heads up!"

There was a great clattering and Wendy had a glimpse of a large wooden structure hurtling down the steps her way before instincts caused her to dive to the side. She rolled twice, smacking her head against the wall, and she sat up, flinching as the piece of furniture landed with an almighty crash.

"Soos, are you scratching the floor?" called Abuelita.

"Uh, sorry!" answered Soos, hurrying down the steps. "I'll polish it off."

"What the heck?" asked Wendy, straggling to her feet. "I came to work every day this week, so you really don't have a reason to kill me."

"Sorry Wendy," said Soos sheepishly. "I was trying to get the bedframes outside so I could clean them. They're pretty dusty and cobwebby."

"I think it's sweet you and your grandmother are in a cleaning frenzy to get everything ready for the Pines crew, but seriously." Wendy crossed her arms with a grin. "They're not going to care about dust and whatever. I mean, Mr. Pines ran this place for years and he probably never picked up a feather duster in that time."

"We don't mind." Soos wiped some sweat from his brow and asked, "What's up, dude?"

"I was wondering if you needed any help. I got my crew outside who are reluctantly ready to work."

"Cool! Would you mind working on the yard?" asked Soos. "We haven't gotten a chance to start cleaning outside yet."

"It's the outside. It's not gonna get clean. But I will get rid of all litter the jerk tourists left behind. We'll set up the tables and stuff while we're at it."

"You're the best."

"Flattery gets you everywhere. You need help taking these things outside?" she asked, gesturing towards the bedframe.

"Nah, I got it."

"Sweet. We'll be outside if you need anything." Wendy started down the hallway, careful not to slip on the newly-washed floor. She paused when she reached the end and glanced over her shoulder. "Do you know Abuelita made enough food to feed the army?"

"She does that. Pretty great, huh?"

"Definitely. I'll happily drown in her churros."

Wendy ventured outside, where her friends were gathered around Thompson's vehicle. "Can we go home?" asked Robbie.

"No. We're gonna clean this yard up." Wendy swept her arms to the side to accompany her statement. "Grab a rake, grab a broom, let's move it people."

Tambry looked up from her phone, raising an eyebrow. "And what will you be doing?"

"Supervising. I already clocked in my hours at this place." Wendy hopped onto the hood of the car and lowered Dipper's cap over her eyes. Five sets of hands immediately pushed against her body, sending her tumbling to the ground.

"I don't think so," said Nate with a snort as Lee laughed. "C'mon dudes, let's get those tables." He punched Thompson on the shoulder and the three set off.

"You can do the raking," said Robbie with a snicker as Tambry helped Wendy to her feet.

The redhead glowered at him. "Fine. You can clean the port-a-potties."

"Whoa, not on your life—ouch! Okay, okay, whatever, let go before you crush my windpipe!"

…

Pushing open the heavy oak doors of her former home, Pacifica stepped onto the glossy marble tiles and lifted her designer sunglasses to rest on top of her head. She stared at the scuff marks that streaked across the once-pristine floor and she let out a sigh.

"Hey, McGucket!" she called, walking further into the mansion. "Are you here?"

His raccoon skittered down the grand staircase, claws clicking against the wood. Pacifica yelped and stumbled backwards, giving a wide berth between her and the creature.

"Don't worry, she don't bite none," said McGucket, coming down the staircase next. "She's just sayin' howdy!"

"Great," muttered Pacifica, curling her nose. "I can't believe you still haven't changed the alarm codes. Do you know how much of a security hazard that is?"

McGucket shrugged uncaringly. "Lotta work to get new numbers. Besides, this way ya can visit whenever ya want."

"You're getting a new code. I'll get you a new code. That way I'll have the numbers and there's no chance of my parents attempting to sneak back in here. I don't know if they still believe me when I say you got them changed." Flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder, she asked, "Are you ready?"

"Kinda. I couldn't find them decorations you were talkin' about. Ya know how many rooms ya have in this maze?"

"One hundred and twenty-five," answered Pacifica promptly. "We keep them on the third floor."

They made the trek up the stairs and down the corridor. Pacifica led McGucket into a room at the end of the corridor, where elegant party decorations were packed in totes or balanced against the wall. McGucket watched as Pacifica opened up a box and unpacked several crystal drinking glasses.

"Ya take this stuff back home with ya," spoke McGucket. "I have no need for it."

"Neither do we," said Pacifica, making sure all the glasses were accounted for and arranging them back amongst the bubble wrap. "We can't afford parties like we used to and now that my parents aren't as rick as they used to be they've been sort of ousted from their social group. So you can use this stuff for whatever you want. I figured we could use the dishware and the tablecloths Mom found in Morocco. This may be a hick town but it's a special occasion and it won't kill to show some class."

"And usin' this junk will probably make your parents angrier than a pack of hornets," said McGucket knowingly.

Pacifica flashed her winning, mega-watt smile at him. "Maybe."

She took the box and started to stand, accidentally hitting her head on the shelf above her. It jostled from the movement and one of the boxes started to tip off. McGucket swung Pacifica out of the way and the box crashed to the spot where she had just been, glass crunching within and several broken luxury candles rolling across the floor.

"Thanks," said Pacifica, handing McGucket the box. She then wrangled out the Moroccan tablecloths and then the two started back into the corridor.

"Is that all ya need?" asked McGucket, shutting the door behind him.

"We never exactly invested in streamers, balloons and your typical party supplies. Candy, Grenda and Gideon are getting that stuff. I have to go to the Shack and work out the playlist. Do you wanna come?"

"Sure thing!"

As they crossed the foyer towards the entrance, Pacifica couldn't help but glance down at the marked-up floor. "You know what, I'm getting you a cleaner too. You do not want to know how much these tiles cost, but they don't deserve this kind of treatment."

…

Candy and Grenda tore through the party decoration section of the general store, rifling through bins of neon party hats and noisemakers and sorting through rolls of streamers. Whenever they found something they liked they would toss it over their shoulder and into the cart.

"Oof!" Gideon grunted, a roll of purple streamers bouncing off his forehead and landing in the already-packed cart. "Are ya ladies almost done?"

"No! We have not gotten the confetti yet," said Candy.

"And a confetti cannon!" exclaimed Grenda.

Shaking his head, Gideon continued to follow after the girls as they wound their way down the aisle. Their cart was already full of balloons, streamers, noisemakers and packets of glitter. "I think we have enough."

"We're not leaving without the confetti," said Candy seriously.

Sighing, Gideon swung the cart around and went to check the other side of the aisle, where party favours and gift bags were laid out. As he was searching, Candy and Grenda found the cans of silly string. Exchanging mischievous glances, they each took one and snuck up behind Gideon.

"Surprise!" cheered Candy, and she and Grenda unleashed a wave of foul-smelling turquoise silly string upon the younger boy.

Gideon spluttered, raising his hands to block his face. "Stop that! My hair!"

"We were practicing for when Dipper and Mabel get here," said Grenda cheekily. "I think we did pretty good!"

Giggling madly the two raced down the aisle. Gideon slowly touched the substance sticking to his hair and his eyes narrowed.

"Don't make me set Ghost-Eyes on ya."

…

Pressing her face against the bus window, so that her cheeks and nose were squished against the glass. At the sight of the sign that welcomed them to Gravity Falls, she let out shriek. "Dipper! We're here, we're here!"

Dipper jolted out of his nap, rubbing at his bleary eyes. "What?" He nudged his sister aside, able to catch the sign before they passed by it. He grinned. "Yes! Finally!"

They gathered their luggage and the bus rolled to a stop. They climbed off the vehicle and stood on the edge of the road, immediately noticing the blue and pink streamers tied to the trees. "Well…this is a weird welcome," said Dipper in bemusement.

"It's like a cookie crumb trail, but without the cookies and with streamers!" Mabel swung her purple duffel bag over her shoulder and grabbed Dipper's hand. "Let's go!"

Hearts pounding with eager anticipation, they traversed through the trees, Waddles sniffing after them, following the path the streamers marked out, laced amongst the trunks and low-hanging branches. They walked through town, which was oddly empty, and continued towards the Mystery Shack. Even after the months away, they knew the dirt path well and could walk it with their eyes closed.

The second the Mystery Shack came within view the twins came to a halt, eyes widening at the dozens of people crowding the yard. There was a great roar of cheering when the pair finally stumbled out of the thicket and onto the property, and the first ones to rush towards them were Soos and Wendy.

"Dudes!" exclaimed Soos, swinging the twins into a bear hug. "I'm so happy you're here!"

"We are too!" said Dipper feelingly. "It's so good to see you guys."

"My people," said Wendy with a wide grin, looping her arms around their shoulders and squeezing. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you."

Soos set the twins down and Dipper removed the ushanka. "I think this is yours."

"And I do believe this is yours."

They exchanged hats and Dipper set the worn cap over his tousled brown hair. "Man, this is a lot lighter than I remember."

"Oh yeah, this will definitely keep me warm during the morning chills," said Wendy in satisfaction. She then gave Dipper and Mabel a proper hug. "Man, I missed you."

"We missed you too," said Mabel happily.

"Mabel!"

Mabel swung around and beamed at Candy and Grenda, who barrelled towards her. They collided in a hug, laughing delightedly. "Girls!"

"We are together again!" said Candy. She then glanced at Dipper's amused expression and added quickly, "And we are happy to see you too!"

"You don't need to lie. I know who the favourite is," said Dipper dismissively.

"It's pretty obvious," said Grenda jokingly, punching the boy in the shoulder.

Pacifica and Gideon walked over and Dipper grinned. "Bet you two are the happiest to see us."

"Can't you see it in my face?" drawled Pacifica, managing to maintain her indifferent expression.

"It's always a delight to see Mabel. I could do without ya," said Gideon with a smirk.

"I missed you losers too," said Dipper with a laugh. He exchanged a fist bump with Gideon and went to give Pacifica a hug, but hesitated. Pacifica stepped forwards and wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a quick embrace before moving back.

"It's nice to have you both back," she muttered, crossing her arms over her chest and fighting back a blush.

Mabel gave both Gideon and Pacifica a hug, squealing happily. Robbie sauntered over, hands slung in his pockets. "Dork Tree," he sneered, giving the boy a noogie. "Star Shine." He gave Mabel's hair a light ruffle. "Can't believe you actually came back."

"Hey kids!" said McGucket, swooping the twins into a hug. "Welcome back!"

"Thanks for the party," said Dipper, glancing around at his friends, heart swelling with warmth. "You didn't have too."

"Any excuse to party, we'll take it. Besides, you deserve it. We've been waiting months for you to come back," said Wendy.

"Guess you dudes beat Mr. Pines and Mr. Pines," said Soos. "We haven't seen them yet."

"All right, we won." Mabel high-fived Dipper. "But I hope they get here soon. I really really can't wait to see them."

"Just like Grunkle Stan to make us wait," quipped Dipper.

"You can bring your luggage inside," offered Soos. "The attic is all ready."

"Thanks. Where will you and Abuela sleep?" asked Mabel.

"We will have our old house. We'll stay there for the summer. No biggie. I kinda missed living there, actually."

"Okay, we'll be back. Don't party without us!" ordered Mabel.

They made their way through the crowd, shaking hands, accepting backslaps and hugs from the townspeople who stepped forwards to welcome them back to Gravity Falls. Waddles wound around people's feet and scampered after the twins. They stepped over the threshold of the Mystery Shack and they were immediately assaulted with familiar scents, a mustiness and woodsy aroma that brought back a slew of memories.

"We're here," whispered Mabel. "We're actually here."

"Race you upstairs!" challenged Dipper.

They tore through the house and all the way up to the attic, where Mabel burst open the door. They stared at the two beds sitting almost side-by-side, a nightstand sitting between them. Mabel spun in a circle, letting out a sigh of contentment.

"Just like we left it, bro. Splinters and all."

Dipper dropped his bags on the bed and flopped back on the mattress, grunting when Waddles hopped onto his stomach before rolling off. "Is the Invisible Wizard still in the closet?"

Mabel wandered over and opened the door. "Hello?" she asked, waving a hand in the empty space. "Nope, don't think so. Too bad. He's going to miss one heck of a party."

They started back downstairs, pausing in the living room at the sound of the back door clicking shut. Glancing at one another, they moved towards the kitchen, where two very familiar figures came into view. With an ear-piercing shriek and eyes misting over with happy tears, Mabel charged forwards and launched into Stan's awaiting arms as Dipper raced over to Ford.

"Dang it, the runts did beat us," laughed Stan, holding Mabel close. "Told you your navigating stinks."

"I'm not the one who lost the map," shot back Ford, running his fingers through Dipper's brown strands. "You're a sight for sore eyes, kids."

"Sorry we're a bit late. Ran into some trouble. And it wasn't me losing the map." Stan set Mabel down so she could go to Ford and Dipper could step into his embrace. "How was your trip?"

"Tiring, hot and boring," replied Dipper. "But it's worth it."

"Where's Waddles?" asked Ford, glancing around.

"Hope you left him at home," sniffed Stan.

As if on cue, Waddles trotted into the kitchen and went up to Stan, nibbling on the edge of his pantleg. "He missed you," cooed Mabel.

"Don't know why," said Stan gruffly, leaning down to stroke the pig's head.

"Did you see outside? Everyone's here!" exclaimed Mabel. "They're having a party for us!"

"I figured by the number of cars cloggin' the driveway there was something goin' on," said Stan. "That's way we came through the back. Figured there'd be less of a chance of gettin' mobbed before we stick our junk in here."

"Better not keep them waiting," said Ford, setting Mabel to the ground. "I think we've done enough of that."

"Is there food?" asked Stan.

"A ton," confirmed Dipper. "At least three tables."

"Well heck, I'm starved. Let's go greet our adoring public."

Ford linked hands with Mabel and Stan wrapped his arm around Dipper's shoulders. They all knew they would have an entire summer to spend together, to share stories and spend all the time they wanted together. But tonight, they would celebrate their return not only with each other but with their friends, who were just as eager to have them back as they were to be reunited.

The second they stepped outside there was another chorus of cheering, and Soos and Wendy and McGucket hurried forwards to embrace Stan and Ford. There was a lot of excited chatting, good-natured insults and crying (mostly from Soos) and the party soon fell in full swing, pop music pumping through the speakers and laughter ringing throughout landscape.

The magical creatures of Gravity Falls eventually arrived to greet the Pines family for themselves, from the gnomes to the Manotaurs to the unicorns. It was an odd collection of people and creatures, if you were an outsider looking in. But to Dipper and Mabel, it was perfect.

Glass of punch in one hand, his other resting on Dipper's head, Stan listened to Soos speak animatedly, explaining the changes he made to the Mystery Shack with Wendy interjecting every now and then. Ford held Mabel in his lap, a contented smile on his lips.

Though they had been away for months, it was as if they had never left.

"We're home kiddos," spoke Stan quietly, watching as the sun drifted down over the horizon, washing them in a warm orange glow, promising the dawn of another amazing summer. "We're home."

#gravity falls #gravity falls fanfiction #dipper pines #mabel pines #Stanley pines #Grunkle stan #Stanford pines #Grunkle ford #soos ramirez #wendy corduroy #Fiddleford mcgucket #pacifica northwest #Gideon gleeful #Robbie valentino #grenda gosling #candy chiu #to gravity falls from piedmont #byanimationnut

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