#no fucking clue where 'wellington' came from

[scolek]

grandma has decided that he shall be called "Teddy Bear Wellington" or just teddy for short.

[spine-buster]

The President Wears Prada (William Nylander) | Chapter 24

February 29th, 2020

Aberdeen Bloom was laying in her bed looking at her phone.  

A special Blueprint had been uploaded to the Leafs’ official YouTube page and their official website titled “Family Birthdays”.  Filmed perfectly.  Cut perfectly.  Produced perfectly.  It was only two minutes long and featured all the guys.  But the main feature was her.  

The video began as Sheldon’s speech did, except the camera wasn’t on him – it was on Brendan and Aberdeen watching him intently.  When he called out Jason’s name and Jason walked in with the cake, Aberdeen watched her own face drop and change and contort.  The camera cut to some of the guys singing – Willy and Tyson and Auston, then Zach, then Travis – and then back to her once they began cheering.  Brendan started his speech.  The camera cut to some more players.  Then it showed her speech.  The last thirty seconds of the video featured snippets of afterwards – the music playing and the guys dancing, most of them with cake in their hands; Auston shoving a giant piece of it into his mouth; Tyson grabbing Aberdeen and dancing with her to the more upbeat song like they were in the 1950s and at a party.  The closing clip was one of Aberdeen smiling from ear to ear, then one of Brendan smiling from ear to ear too as he stared directly at her.  The Blueprint logo came up on the screen.  It was over.

Aberdeen had never appeared prominently in a video from the Leafs before.  She was in the background of some of the Blueprints, usually always with Brendan and once with Kyle and Peter, but she was mostly anonymous.  Now, with this video, she was known: she was named, shown, shown dancing, and it was clearly evident she’d been with the organization for a while and that the team loved her.  To anybody watching, she seemed ingrained within the institution that was the Toronto Maple Leafs.  The fans seemed to love it – the team had won the game, after all, and had a successful Florida road trip because they also won against Florida on Thursday 5-3.  The fans thought it was cute.  She thought it was cute, too, but wondered now if people, especially people throughout the NHL, would actually recognize her instead of just walking by and ignoring her unless she stood beside Brendan.

Regardless, she went about her morning routine – washing her face, brushing her teeth, doing her hair, putting her moisturizer on.  She fed Minerva and applied her makeup.  It was a Hockey Night in Canada tonight against the Vancouver Canucks, but Brendan was letting her leave after the first period for her birthday party.  A bunch of friends were coming over for pre-drink before they left for Toybox, the nightclub where she’d be having the party (everyone she knew and loved would be there except for Siena, who couldn’t come because of school).  There would be at least twenty of them.  They’d all pitched in to get a table and bottle service.  It would all be very fun, and considering Aberdeen’s clubbing days would probably come to an end soon (serious job, serious boyfriend, serious ambition to be a writer), she wanted it to be very fun. 

Lou was taking Brendan to a dentist appointment that morning, so Aberdeen was planning to just walk to work herself.  She could get in a little later than usual – around 9:45 or 10 – since Brendan wasn’t going to be in either.  So she took her time.  She made herself breakfast.  She turned on the news.  She cuddled with Minerva.  She admired the birthday gift that arrived from Willy last night when she got home from work – he had somehow managed to track down and buy a first edition copy (literally a la 1895) of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, her favourite play.  He did good.  He did damn good.  Between the ring at Christmas and this, Aberdeen couldn’t believe he did that good.  

She took out her phone.

Hope you have a good practice this morning ❤️

thank u minskatt

Are you still in bed lol

love u and yes lol

love you too

don’t judge me

After a while, with time going faster than she liked, Aberdeen put on her coat, hat, scarf, and boots and made her way downstairs.  When she opened the doors of her building, she noticed a guy in a grey Canada Goose jacket and a tan messenger bag smoking almost right outside the door.  She’d never seen him before.  It was entirely plausible that he lived in the building, but he wouldn’t have come down to have a smoke.  She figured he was probably waiting for someone, and went on her merry way.

As she walked down the street, she texted on her phone and made sure to avoid any ice on the sidewalk.  The cold air gave way for a quiet morning – there weren’t a lot of people out walking.  It was also because it was later than usual morning “rush hour”.  From behind her, she heard someone cough extremely loudly – one of those loud smoker’s coughs that could be heard from a mile away.  She looked behind her.

It was the guy from outside her building.  

She felt a shiver run up her spine, and it wasn’t from the cold.  Okay.  Maybe she should give him the benefit of the doubt.  Maybe he had finished his cigarette and was walking the same way she was to his work.  Maybe they had the same route.

Maybe she should take a detour, just in case.  

She turned a corner.  It was technically the wrong way – well, not a wrong way, but it was less direct and a route that made her commute maybe five minutes longer than usual.  She waited about a minute before looking back again.  He turned the corner too.  She felt the shiver run up her spine again.

She turned another wrong corner onto Wellington Street.  Waited a few moments.  Looked back.  

There he was.  

She felt her heart beat increase rapidly.  She was being followed.  She was being followed.  She was freaking out.  She had no idea who this guy was, what he wanted from her, nothing.  She had no clue.  She increased her pace and looked for a storefront amidst all the bank buildings, and she thanked the Lord when she saw a Starbucks.  She climbed the steps and went inside.  It was pretty busy, but not busy enough that she’d be lost within the crowd.  She waited to see whether the man would just walk by or stop.

He stopped in front and lit another cigarette.  

She couldn’t believe this was happening to her.  She tried to steady her breathing as much as possible as she took out her phone and called the one number she thought to call.  

“Minskaaaaaatt, what are you—”

“—Willy?” Aberdeen asked frantically into the phone.

William noticed her tone immediately.  “What’s wrong?”

“Willy I think someone’s following me.”

“Following you?” his tone was dead serious.  

She arched her neck to look out the window and saw the guy was still there, pretending to type away on his phone.  “I—I left my apartment this morning, and I noticed this guy standing outside with a messenger bag smoking and—and I didn’t think much of it, but then I started walking down the street, and he started following me.  And so I started to walk down a different route to work just in case but he—he kept following, and now I’m in the Starbucks at York and Wellington and he’s standing outside pretending to be on the phone but he’s waiting for me and—”

“Stay right there.  I’m going to come get you.”

As if her heart wasn’t already beating rapidly out of fear, now the pace increased tenfold.  She’d called him because he was her boyfriend, because he was the first person she thought to call, but now she realized how much of a grave mistake that was.  “No – no – Willy, you can’t.  Brendan will know and—”

“Stay there and don’t leave.”

“Willy—no, Willy—” she tried, but he had already hung up the phone.  She couldn’t think straight.  She was freaking out, and not just because she was getting stalked by someone.  She should have called Brendan first.  Or Jason, or—

Well, she could text them.  She pulled up Brendan’s number first.  She hoped he’d see it before Willy could do anything.  I’m at York and Wellington Starbucks.  I am being followed by someone.  Can you please come and pick me up?  She pulled up Jason’s number, too.  I’m at York and Wellington Starbucks.  I am being followed from my apartment.  Please get someone to help me.

As she waited, nobody texted her back.  She started to become nervous.  She even sent a few more texts to Willy about getting someone to help him and calling Brendan to help deal with it but he wasn’t responding, and it just made her more nervous.  Jason – never one to leave her on read, even for the simplest of messages – hadn’t responded.  She wondered if he was already driving to practice.  Or with Jen.  Or with his girls.  Or at their school.  Or—

The man still wasn’t leaving.  

Aberdeen gulped.  She didn’t know what to do.  She couldn’t stay in this Starbucks forever even though it seemed this guy would wait that long.  If she left and continued her walk to work, should she acknowledge him?  Should she ignore him?  Should she call him out for following her?  And besides, how in the everlasting fuck did he know where she lived?!  She felt a pit forming in her stomach.  

But she went outside anyway.  Before she did, she started a video on her phone.  As she pushed open the doors from the Starbucks, she watched out of the corner of her eye as he saw her and locked his phone.  As she walked by him, he kept it in his hand.  She began to walk away, down the steps and onto the sidewalk, and she pretended to adjust her hair in her hat.  She saw he’d taken a step forward.  Her heart was racing, but she stopped walking.  She turned towards him boldly, cradling her phone against her chest so it wouldn’t seem like she was recording him.  

When he noticed that he’d been caught, a smile adorned his face.  It was probably nice in everyday life, but considering the circumstances, it was the creepiest thing Aberdeen had ever seen.  “Hey,” he greeted her with a friendly, pleasant voice.  “You know, I saw you in that Blueprint video where the Leafs bought you that birthday cake – you’re Aberdeen Bloom, aren’t you?  Brendan Shanahan’s personal assistant?” the man asked.

Aberdeen found it extremely weird that this man knew her last name.  “How do you know where I live?” she demanded.

“I just overheard the guys talking about it one night and made an educated guess,” he shrugged his shoulders, like it was the most natural thing in the world.  It made Aberdeen’s blood run cold.  “You must recognize me from the media scrums.  I was wondering if you’d like to answer a few questions for me.”

She didn’t recognize him from the media scrums, although she was sure he was there.  Having probably exhausted his good rapport with the players due to his actions (if they were anything like this), the next best thing for him was to terrorize her.  “No.  I don’t speak to the media.  You need to go through—”

Suddenly, a car pulled up to the curb, the tires shrieking against the pavement.  Another car followed just as quickly, shrieking against the pavement as it also grinded to a halt.  From the second car, William barely waited for it to stop before he got out of the passenger’s seat.  Jason followed him from the driver’s seat.  “Get in the car,” William said firmly, not even looking at her.

She noticed Brendan get out of the backseat of the first car, and came to the realization that it was the town car – Lou was driving, waving at her to get in.  “Aberdeen, get in the car,” he echoed William’s sentiments.  “I’ll deal with this.”

She ran towards the town car, opening the door quickly and stuffing herself into the backseat.  She stopped the video on her phone as she watched through the window as Brendan approached the man, who had his hands up and was shaking his head like he wasn’t doing anything wrong.  She felt the sting of tears in her eyes.  “Are you okay, Miss Bloom?” Lou asked from the front seat.  

“I’m okay,” she said.  “Just a bit spooked.”

“Mr. Shanahan freaked out when he got your text.  Almost had a heart attack, I think.”

Aberdeen nodded absent-mindedly, still watching through the window as Brendan looked like he was berating the man.  William looked exactly like he did the night she got hit by the glass – so angry but unable to formulate words – and she couldn’t tell if the redness on his cheeks was due to the cold or his anger.  Jason looked equally as angry, his head moving between Brendan and the man like he was watching Djokovic verses Federer.  When Brendan, William, and Jason dispersed back towards the cars, the man who had followed her was calling out towards Brendan in objection.  Brendan ignored him, and so did William and Jason.  He kept screaming, and Brendan kept ignoring.  

Aberdeen watched through the side mirrors as William and Jason got back in their car.  Brendan opened the backseat door and she turned her head to look at him as slipped in.  Lou began driving the second the door was closed.  “When did you notice him following you?” Brendan asked immediately.

“He was outside my building,” she revealed.

“Outside your building?!” he demanded.  He pulled out his phone.  “I—I’m calling Steve.  No media availability for practice.  None.”

“Brendan—”

“This motherfucker,” he seethed, ignoring Aberdeen’s voice.  “This motherfucker is never getting into our locker room again.”

“Brendan, I don’t care about the locker room,” Aberdeen chastised him.  “He knows where I live!”

“I already called the police.  They’re meeting us at practice,” he revealed.  “I already told them we’re drafting up a peace bond.  And if that fucker even thinks about contesting it, I’ll be out for blood.”

Aberdeen was trying to make sense of what he was saying, but it wasn’t registering in her head.  She’d heard Siena talk about peace bonds before in relation to something she was learning in law school, but Aberdeen couldn’t connect the dots right now.  “What—what’s a peace bond?” she asked.

“It’s essentially a restraining order,” he explained.  “Some of the players actually have them for some people or fans but we’re not going to get into that right now.  All you need to know is that he won’t be able to be anywhere near you, your apartment, work, nothing.  I’ll push for an entire kilometre away from you.  I don’t care if the fucker has to move.  He won’t get anywhere near you ever again.”

Aberdeen calmed down considerably as Brendan spoke, though she was still on edge.  “We…we can do that?”

“Yes.  It’s the—fuck!—it’s the same old story with some of these fucking clowns.  Can’t get what they want in the locker room so they go after office stuff and see which one breaks first.  It’s never enough – whatever we give them is never enough.  All for some inside scoop.”

Aberdeen saw how angry Brendan was about this.  It was like the Ethan situation all over again.  It was different in that, with Ethan, Brendan was calm but she could see the rage inside of him.  Now, she saw the rage both inside and outside.  “I just want to make sure I’ll never have to see him again,” Aberdeen said.

“You won’t,” Brendan seethed.  “I’ll make sure of it.”

***

Aberdeen didn’t exactly like talking to cops – she didn’t think anyone did – but there were two waiting at practice when she and Brendan got there.  They waited for William and Jason to get there, and once they arrived, they all went into a private room to give statements.  Aberdeen showed the cops the video she took.  It played at least seven different times, and each time, she watched William across the table getting redder and redder.  Except this time, he was more vocal.  “Is it possible we can do more than just a peace order?  I mean can’t we press charges?”  “This guy is an obvious threat to the team’s safety if he’s approaching office staff to try to get exclusives on us.”  It was all very…clinical.  She didn’t know the word to describe it.  But Brendan was adamant on the conditions of the peace order, and was adamant that they go even a step further than what some of the guys had because she was a young female.  What surprised her the most was when Brendan called up the guy – literally right from his phone – and the cops read out the peace bond.  This was still in front of William and Jason.  The guy fought back a little bit but Brendan was having none of it and threatened him with court.  The guy had no chance but to accept the conditions of the peace order.  He agreed to sign it.  He agreed to every condition.  The cops would take care of him signing it and filing the peace order with the RCMP.  

It was barely noon.  

When the police left, Aberdeen thanked them politely and watched as Willy and Jason did too.  She noticed William’s eyes on her as she heard Brendan thank them and offer to walk them out.  Then she saw Jason was looking at her too.  “Can I talk to you?  Alone?” he asked.

“Yeah.  Of course.”

She followed him to an empty hallway – one she had walked down hundreds of times while working the practices.  Jason made sure nobody else was around before he started speaking.  “Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she nodded her head.  “Just a bit spooked, as you can imagine.”

“Listen, I know you’ve got your parents’ place but my door is always open too if you or Kasha don’t feel safe in the apartment for the next little bit,” he offered.  God, she still needed to tell Kasha.  She still needed to call her fucking parents.  They were going to have a fit.  “You know Jen wouldn’t mind.”

“You’d add another girl to your house?” she tried to joke.

“Don’t joke about this,” he said, his voice so serious Aberdeen almost felt back for cracking the joke.  “Do you want to stay at my place?  Do you feel safe?”

“No.  And yes,” she said.  “No I do not want to stay at your place, but thank you for the offer.  And yes, I feel safe.  I mean, I feel safe right now, knowing that if he breaks that peace bond, he can go to jail.  That’s what’s making me feel safe right now.”

“It should.  It’s serious business.”

“Do you understand how lucky I am that the cops took it seriously and got it done within hours?  Because I guarantee you if it was just me filing the complaint, they wouldn’t have taken it seriously,” she said.  “They only took it seriously because of Brendan and him going apoplectic, and you know it.”

“I do know it,” Jason nodded his head.  “I’ve known it every day since my old teammate’s girlfriend had to get the exact same thing down in Dallas against a group of crazy girls who wanted to sleep with her boyfriend and threatened to show up at their house and suffocate her in her sleep.”

Okay, so apparently this was pretty commonplace.  Well, at least in hers and Jason’s lives.  While it wasn’t a crazy fangirl, he at least still understood where she was coming from.  “I guess I’m lucky he only wanted an inside scoop, I guess.”

Jason shook his head.  “I almost had a fucking heart attack when I saw that message.  You don’t even understand.  I was walking and I stopped dead in my tracks and turned around and started running to my car.  That’s when I saw Will.”

Ah, yes.  William.  She wondered where he was right now.  She’d have to find him after this conversation.  “Yeah.  I was shaking so much that for some reason, his name was the first to pop up.”

Jason stayed silent, nodding his head.  She could tell he was biting his tongue, wanting to say something, deciding whether or not it was worth it.  “Listen…I know…I know I shouldn’t even be asking this, but there’s nothing going on between you and Willy, is there?”

Aberdeen held her breath.  She had to lie to Siena.  She had to lie to Kasha.  Now, she had to lie to Jason.  It would have been inevitable, but she wished she didn’t have to, mostly because she respected him so much and knew how much he cared about her.  “No.  I just…we’re close – kinda – and listen – his crush isn’t exactly a secret, but it’s not like I’m doing anything while I’m working here,” she said, stumbling over her words a bit.  “I would never jeopardize my job or my career like that.”

“Right.  I know.  Sorry,” Jason kept nodding, now a bit bashful that he even brought it up.  “I just…you let him know, you know—”

“Because we’re close,” she reiterated.  “We’re practically the same age.  And because he’s the only guy around my age on the team who has even just some of his shit together because of the way he grew up.  I mean, I didn’t call Auston or Kappy for a reason.”

“Yeah.  Yeah, of course,” he actually cracked a smile.  “I just—sorry, Aberdeen.  I didn’t mean to be—”

“It’s okay, Jason,” she wished he’d just dropped it, because the more he dragged it on, the more she had to lie to him, and the more it killed her.  

There was a moment of silence before Jason spoke again.  “Kappy would have probably taken you to an oyster bar,” he quipped.

Aberdeen snorted.  She began laughing one of those silent laughs as she shook her head.  “You’re probably right.”

***

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Earlier today, a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs organization was followed from their residence to 50 Bay Street.  It is of the utmost importance that members of the Toronto Maple Leafs organization are allowed privacy in their personal lives and are not stalked, followed, and harassed on their way to employment.  Due to the unacceptable actions, we have terminated the media credentials and locker room access of the individual involved in the incident, and they will never be allowed back into our locker room.  We encourage those in the media to review the acceptable guidelines policy given at the beginning of each season.  Legal action has already been taken against the individual.  We will not be answering any further questions.

***

“She what?!” Zach Hyman was in disbelief at what William announced to the room.

“Who was it?” John asked.

“Are they pressing charges?” Tyson demanded.

“There’s already a peace bond – it’s like a restraining order,” Jason explained.  “He can’t get within, like, a kilometre of her or the arena without her pressing charges and him going to jail.”

The locker room was in disbelief at the news that Aberdeen had been stalked on her way to work that morning.  They knew the media could be crazy, they just didn’t know they could be that crazy.  To target a young female member of the office was unheard of.  Usually they were the ones being stalked, not the office staff.  “Is she okay?” Zach asked.  

“She’s doing fine.  She’s Aberdeen.  For what it’s worth I think she’s keeping it all in, just like last time, but that’s neither here nor there,” Jason said, alluding to the Ethan situation.  “It all happened so fast this morning.  That’s why nobody had to do media after practice today.  Brendan suspended it.”

William watched as Auston shook his head.  “That girl’s being put through the fucking ringer, dude.  First the Ethan thing, then that scar, now this?”

“I’m surprised she stays with us,” Tyson commented.

“I don’t.  She loves us,” Mitch spoke up.  “Just like we love her.  This is just…a series of unfortunate events.  Like that book series.”

“You read books?” Auston quipped.

Mitch punched him in the arm.  “So I get why she’d text Jason,” Mitch continued, looking at William.  “But why you?”

William shrugged.  “How would I know?  She was probably shaking and her hand slipped while typing.  Would you be calm in that situation?”

Jason had heard that before.

***

“You’re not scared?” William asked over the phone, sitting alone inside of his car, still in the parking lot after practice.  Everybody had left long ago, but not him.

“A little bit, but I’m not letting it take over my life.  I can’t let it take over my life,” Aberdeen replied, her voice calm.  She was probably talking to him from the employee washroom back on Bay Street.  “If I let the fear take over, I wouldn’t do anything.  I wouldn’t be able to do my job.”

“But this isn’t that type of fear.  This is someone stalked you on your way to work fear.  This is someone hit you with a glass because they hated your boyfriend fear.  This is—”

“—that was a freak accident—”

“—This is a different type of fear, minskatt.  I can’t stand seeing this happen to you.”

“Willy, I couldn’t stand to hear those guys in the bar chirping you, either,” she said.  “You have to trust me when I tell you that it freaked me out and scared me but there’s a peace order now and it’s been dealt with.  I’m not going to let it take over my life.  Remember what you told me?  I’m not what happened to me.”

William took a deep breath to stop himself from getting emotional.  His girlfriend was handling this much better than he was – that was very clear.  “I just love you so much,” he whispered.  Aberdeen could swear she heard his voice crack slightly.  “I don’t ever want to see anything bad happen to you.  It kills me because I can’t help you right then and there.  I can’t even touch you.  It’s hard.  We have to do this instead.  This is the hardest part of keeping this all a secret.”

“I know.  I know,” she agreed with him.  “But you have to trust me.  You trust me, right?”

“With my whole heart,” he responded.

“Then you need to trust that I’m okay.”

***

@reporterchris:  The member of the Leafs organization who was followed from their residence was a woman.  Shanahan, Dubas, & co. are taking this extremely seriously.  Rumours are the team is quite upset too.

@reporterchris: Organization is not naming names for obvious reasons.  But they do tell us the member is doing fine, was not hurt or injured, and continues to perform her full duties with the team.  Org is treating this as a one-off scary episode, but did not want to take chances.  

@reporterchris:  Team is a bit standoffish tonight, with good reason.  Though the culprit is not in the room, players coming out for media availability aren’t as forthcoming as usual.  

***

“Oh my god, there is literally no room to breathe in this thing,” Aberdeen said as she sucked in her stomach as Kasha zipped up her jumpsuit.  She looked at herself in the mirror and had to admit the jumpsuit looked phenomenal on her.  It was skin tight, hugging her body in all the right places and actually made it look like she had some semblance of cleavage, and showed off just the right amount of skin for a February night.  Her long hair cascaded down her back, her makeup was immaculate besides the patch near her scar where she couldn’t put any on, and her heels gave her that extra bit of confidence to pull off the look.  

“You’ll be able to get some alcohol in,” Kasha joked as she finished zipping.  “Or else bottle service was a bust.”

“Bottle service is never a bust,” Aberdeen said.  “I’m just gonna make sure the pre-drink is worth it too.”

Aberdeen had decided against telling Kasha tonight about the stalking earlier in the day.  It just wasn’t the right time, because she knew Kasha was incredibly excited for tonight, and because Aberdeen didn’t want to think about it either.  Much like the Ethan situation, she didn’t want it to creep up in her mind when she was supposed to be having a good time.  She’d tell Kasha tomorrow, when she was hungover.  She’d also tell her parents tomorrow, because if she told them tonight, they’d probably show up to the pre-drink and lock her in her room.

As their friends began arriving, the drinks started flowing.  People brought their own, and of course Kasha and Aberdeen had some booze in stock, and Kasha made sure to take pictures – “thirst trips, Aberdeen, thirst traps!!!!!” – before things started to get too hectic and too alcohol-fuelled.  Evan came, and Masani came, and Tom, and Christian and Gavin and Zach, and Delilah and Ariana and Sloane, and Jude surprised her by coming in from McMaster, and she was surrounded by so many friends and posing for so many group photos that her mind really didn’t think of what happened earlier, and she was happy, really happy, and wanted to have the best time.

They practically fell out of their Ubers and into the lineup outside Toybox, but Masani spoke with the bouncer and he let them all in and they made their way to their reserved table.  Kasha pulled her out onto the dance floor and Aberdeen began moving her body to the beat of the music.  She’d look over her shoulder every now and then, making sure nobody was him, but after the first few times, she came to the realization he wouldn’t be there, and she really let loose.  Kasha was telling everyone who would listen that it was Aberdeen’s birthday so they’d buy them drinks.  Aberdeen accepted them.  Most people asked about her scar.  She told them.  A few guys flirted with her.  She shot them down.  Many more stared at her in her jumpsuit, their eyes filling with lust.  

Then one pair caught her eye, because she could recognize those baby blues anywhere.  

He was across the dance floor, staying a safe distance away from her and her party, but he was still keeping a watchful eye.  Not possessive, not domineering, not jealous or envious or untrusting – just watching.  She wanted him around her; she wanted him behind her so she could grind on him; she wanted him in front of her so she could dance with him; she wanted him close to her so she could wrap her arms around him; but she couldn’t.  He was there and she was here, and that’s where they had to stay.  

Don’t even hav to drunkt text you tonigt when you’re alreadfy here she texted him, downing the last of her vodka soda.  She looked towards him to see him taking out his phone.  It was only then that she noticed Rasmus approaching him with a drink, Kappy too already sipping on his own.

just wanted to make sure everything was ok after what happened today

omg is that rasmus isn’t hew like 12 how didf the bouncer let him inm who did youi pay

u look so sexy

do you know this placve can we sneak away

don’t think that’s the best idea

why not

kasha kappy rasmus

Oh right.  Kasha.  They needed to keep this a secret from Kasha.  And Kappy.  And Rasmus.  Aberdeen’s drunk brain wasn’t thinking very straight right now.  Would Kasha notice if she snuck away for…however long?  Would Masani?  Would any one of her friends?  Were they already too drunk to notice, too drunk to care?

“Who are you texting?” Kasha asked.

“Nobody,” Aberdeen answered absent-mindedly.  She typed out her last text message before locking her phone.

i want your fingers inside of me

“Let’s go back to the booth,” Kasha whined as she grabbed Aberdeen’s hand.  “My feet huuuuurt.”

They made their way through the crowd and up the steps.  Aberdeen looked back to see William looking down at his phone, biting him bottom lip.  He locked his screen and put it in his pocket with an irritated look on his face.  She got him.

The rest of the night was fun.  William stayed away, which meant none of her friends interacted with him or Kappy or Rasmus – even Masani didn’t see him, which was good because if she did she most certainly would have bullied him into giving her Alex’s number since she’d been calling him “the best lay of my life thus far” since June.  She danced some more with her girlfriends, drank some more, got some more drinks bought for her, got asked about her scar some more, and took more pictures in the booth and on the dance floor.  The announcement for last call was the only reason they left, stumbling out of the club at 2am like good twenty-somethings having the time of their lives.  Aberdeen drunkenly hugged every one of her friends before they left in their taxis or Ubers, even placing a huge kiss on Jude’s cheek for coming in all the way from McMaster to join them.  She, Kasha, and Evan got into a taxi together, with Kasha even taking some last-minute pictures of her posing in the back of the taxi, even though Aberdeen thought she probably looked like a mess.  

When she got her phone back, she opened the front-facing camera and used her arms to push up her boobs, snapping a quick picture of her cleavage and herself biting her lip before quickly sending it off to Willy.  Kasha was too busy on her own phone to notice, and Evan was trying to make friends with the driver.  Almost immediately, she saw the three dots pop up.

the next time i see u alone, ur gonna pay for this

😇

 do you wankt sokme more

are u comfortable with that?

She posed again, doing much of the same, except this time she made it a video.  She pressed send.

fuuuuuuck ur so fucking sexy

im sry i do not have boobies

😂

u have beautiful boobs 

perfect for my mouth

Aberdeen smiled.  She held her breath.

i love yourf mouthj on my boobs i love your mouth onb my pussyt

i love my mouth on ur pussy too

where is rasmus is he in bed

FOCUS ABERDEEN

“ABERDEEEEEEEN!” Evan called out loudly, drunkenly.  It was only then that she realized that the taxi had stopped and that Evan and Kasha were already out of the taxi, waiting for her.  “Let’s goooo!”

Instead of just opened her door, she crawled across the backseat like a baby giraffe just finding its legs and got out that way.  She thanked the driver and told him it was her birthday before she closed the door.  Evan made sure they got into the elevator.

minskatt?

in elevator no shawarma this time when i gety backj into my room i willk send more pics

😍

do you like my butt

yes i do

i like my butt toop do you wankt pics of my butt

i want whatever u will give me

Evan also made sure they got into their apartment just fine.  Aberdeen immediately kicked off her heels and escaped to her room, closing the door.  The feel of her feet out of her strappy heels and on the laminate floor brought her so much joy.  She faced her full-length mirror and took one last picture, posing with her ass out before she sent the picture to William.

for you and only for you

fuck baby can’t believe how hot u look

let me take off my jumpsuit i have sexyt underwear onm

Aberdeen put her phone down and somehow, someway, got the zipper on her back down low enough that she could shimmy out of it.  The second the skin tight jumpsuit was off, she felt an even bigger sense of relief and comfort than she did when she took off her heels.  Every organ in her body felt like it was settling into their rightful place and not squeezed in by the jumpsuit.  It felt nice.  It felt so nice that she sat down on her bed.  And when she sat down on her bed, the comforter felt so soft against her skin.  Then she saw her pillows.  She fucking loved her pillows.  So she lay her head down on them.  Her eyes became heavy.  Her breath steadied.

that’s so hot baby do u wear them at work too Aberdeen? minskatt? hahahahahahaha goodnight minskatt

[what-is-your-plan-today]

Leave No One Behind

Chapter 11- Mama Don’t Preach Part 1

Co-written with @icanfeelastormbrewing​

Episode Summary: It’s Hannah’s turn to head home for a week to see her Mama, and there’s a surprise request waiting for her too. Meanwhile, back in Sudan Ari’s left holding the baby...or in this case, puppy…

Episode Warnings: Bad Language words. Smut (NSFW, 18+ only)- in Part 2

Episode Pairings:  Ari Levinson x OFC Hannah Horowitz

Song for Episode:  Only You- Yazoo

A/N: This is a big chapter so split into Parts to allow you to read as and when. Part 2 will be posted soon after this.   Translations: “Me cago en todo” For Fucks sake. “Por el amor de Dios” For the love of God “mi niña”- My Girl All I needed was the love you gave, all I needed for another day, and all I ever knew, only you.

Series Master List  //  Main Masterlist 

Hannah looked out of the window, taking in the familiar sights as the plane got ready to land and a few minutes later, as the wheels hit the runway and the passengers cheered she couldn't help but sigh. She was home. Just as she unfastened her seatbelt and waited for the sign signalling they could disembark, her mind wandered to the moment she had said goodbye a few hours earlier that morning. She felt a pang of sadness at the image of Simon trying to follow the truck as Ari had pulled out of the resort to drive her to the airport, a couple of hours earlier than initially planned-she may or may not have told the team her flight was a few hours earlier than it was so that her and Ari could grab a drink at a small coffee shop not far from the airport. It was hardly what one could call a ‘sweep you off your feet’ date but it was nice to get out alone, just the two of them. It had felt good that Ari and her had been able to experience a certain level of normalcy before the inevitable and emotional goodbye and promises to try not to miss each other too much.

She wandered through passport control and after picking up her bag she went out into the arrivals of Ben Gurion airport almost on autopilot but she smiled hard when she saw her Mama and, just like that, her eyes filled with tears as she hurried forward and hugged the woman tightly. After the emotional reunion they headed back to the house, Hannah's childhood family home, where she had been living with her Mama since she had left the apartment her and Andy had rented once they’d gotten married. Unable to stay there alone after his death, she’d moved home and had remained there up until the moment Ari had come into the clinic turning her whole world upside down. As her Mama opened the door Hannah smiled at the familiar décor of the hallway and let out a little, happy sigh as she stepped over the threshold. It smelt like home, it felt like home... it was home.

Hannah headed upstairs and ditched her bag in her room, thinking to herself about how the last time she’d been in here was before she left in January. Back then she’d never have guessed how things would have turned out for her so far in 1980.  She glanced at her reflection in the mirror and decided that she needed a shower so turned to grab some fresh clothes out of a drawer, and as she did so she spotted a few photos of her and Andy on the unit. She glanced at them, a soft smile on her face and then turned to look around her room at the numerous other snaps of the pair of them dotted in various places in the room. She contemplated moving them for a moment before she finally came to a decision and did just that, popping them carefully in a drawer which she slowly closed after a last, nostalgic look at Andy's handsome face. She’d loved him, there was no doubt about that. But time moved on and she was finally ready to move on with it now. Shaking those sad memories from her mind she went into the bathroom to shower and twenty minutes later she made her way down to the kitchen at the back of the house which overlooked the large communal garden they shared with 4 other homes. 

She found her Mama was stood at the stove, preparing dinner, and Hannah approached, wrapping her arms round her from behind, hugging her close. 

"Nothing like your food mama. Not that Aziz’s isn’t good because it is but, well, there’s nothing like yours." she trailed off.

Her Mama turned to look at her kissing her head. "I’m making your favourite from when you were young, mi niña."

"Beef wellington?" Hannah asked, her eyes lighting up.

Mama nodded and Hannah gave a groan. "Sammy is gonna be so jealous when I get back."

"You don’t have beef in Sudan?" the woman asked as she stirred what looked like some kind of gravy in a pot.

"Half the time I haven’t got a clue what I’m eating to be honest, other than when it’s fish. Last time we had some form of steak I think it was camel."

Mama laughed heartily.  "Your brother must be having a hard time, he’s always been the picky one."

"He’s still a pain in the ass, mama." Hannah said as she moved from her mother's frame and leaned casually against the counter.

Mama looked at Hannah spotting the crease on her brow immediately and, raising an eyebrow, she asked. "Are we still talking about food, honey?"

Hannah shrugged.  "In general, and you look just like him when you do that, stop it."

"When I do what?"

"Raise your eyebrow and look at me like that."

"Like what?" the woman, whose eyes were on the pots and pans in front of her again, asked.

Hannah groaned with frustration. "Come on Mama, you know what like."

Mama sighed and, setting the wooden spoon aside, turned to look at her daughter, her hands falling down to her hips in a typical mother stance. "The only thing I know is my daughter, who I haven’t seen in months, looks more gorgeous, relaxed and happier than when she left... In fact, more so than I’ve seen her in years. Which is ironic really considering what you’re doing out there."

Hannah blushed a little at her mum's last sentence but decided to roll with it. "Well it’s nice to be doing something mama, back in the thick of it all so to speak."

Now she saw her mother was sporting a wide smile, not a sympathetic smile but a knowing one. And Hannah knew she must have anticipated something like that, if anything her mother was clever. "Something uh?" the woman said.

Hannah looked at her blankly, not understanding what she meant, or rather not wanting to give in that easily.  "Yeah, the resort and the job."

"I know that look Hannah, You’re my daughter remember, I raised you. Something tells me it’s not simply all down to those people you’re helping." her mother baited her again.

"No…I…it’s not…" Hannah's train of thought stopped as she spotted her mum's eyes skate down her neck just before she nodded to her necklace, and instinctively she reached up to touch it. Mama smiled and whether it was at the necklace or at her sudden need to touch it for comfort, Hannah couldn't tell.   

"That’s pretty."

Hannah smiled back at her before speaking. "It was a birthday present. Along with my watch, look."

She stretched her forearm and turned her wrist slightly to show her mother the watch but the woman wasn't one to be fooled and smiled before taking her eyes off the watch and nodding back at the necklace. "What is it, some kind of bee?"

"It’s a firefly."

"I take it that it was from the only person who calls you that?" her mother asked then and Hannah flinched. She had served her mother the opportunity on a silver plate and now she felt herself growing warm again under her mom’s scrutiny, but, much to her dismay, Mrs N was not letting go. "I’ve got to admit, it was a nice surprise when Ethan told me what Ari was planning to do for your birthday."

Hannah then let out a low laugh, shaking her head at her mother’s tenacity. "Why don’t you just ask me, Mama?"

"Why would I ask when I already know?"

"And what is it that you think you know?" Hannah asked, trying to sound as calm as possible.

Her mother looked at her for a couple of seconds before delivering the final blow. "That you and Ari are together. And not for the first time."

Hannah gasped. That last part had shocked her big time, she wasn't prepared for that. "You knew about us the first time?"

Mama nodded. "I did, yes."

"How did you…?"

"Once again Hannah, I’m your mother. It was pretty obvious to my eyes that something was going on there between you two back in the day.  And then you started going out almost every night and your friends used to call asking for you, so you clearly weren’t with them. And you were glowing, at the time. Just like you did when you were with Andy, and just like you are now."

Hannah looked down shyly before speaking. "Ok, so clearly I wasn’t as good at hiding it as I thought." she snorted and then paused. "Did you know about why…" she began to ask but stopped mid-sentence as she shook her head. "Actually, it doesn’t matter."

"Why you two split up? Yeah, I do. And I was mad at your brother for weeks." her mother conceded with a sigh.

“Seems like everyone knew bar me." she muttered absent mindedly. 

"Sadly it's always like that, honey." Mama stated while rubbing her daughter's arm reassuringly before resuming her work over the stove.

"Did you know it was Andy who told him? About me and Ari I mean."

Mama snapped her head at Hannah, looking at her visibly shocked. "No, No I didn’t."

"Well it was." Hannah snorted. "Ironic huh, I married the guy that broke me up from the first man I…"

"You loved?" her mother asked, finishing the sentence for her, apparently recovered from the shocking news her beloved late son-in-law had some sneaky ways in him.

Hannah gave a little smile and nodded.

"So how did Sammy react to it this time round…not that I need to ask." Mama chuckled as she bent over to check the meat cooking in the oven.

"You know him. Made a huge fuss, punched Ari again." at that Hannah snorted. "Ari let him have the first one but the second time, well I had to stop him from ripping Sammy’s head off."

"Must have been something worth seeing. No doubt I’ll hear all about it in a few weeks when he comes home."

"No doubt you will. He seemed a little better after my birthday party, and the last mission.” Hannah bit her lip, her mind straying back to the disaster of the mission and she looked at the floor.

Her Mama gently touched her arm. "Ethan told me about the woman you helped and how her baby didn’t make it. Sweetie, that must have been awful."

"Yeah it was…" Hannah paused, frowning at her mother "Hang on, Ethan told you? When did you speak to him, mum?"

"Oh he took me out for dinner last week." she brushed her daughter's question off.

Hannah blinked at her mother’s matter of fact tone. "Ethan took you out for dinner?"

"Yes he did. We had a great time. You look surprised honey.” Her Mama’s eyes flashed with mischief “Is it that hard to believe your mother still gets it in her?"

"Oh my God…mama, that’s…ergh…"

"Hey, you’re acting like your brother now." Mama protested.

"Me cago en todo." Hanna cursed in Spanish earning, a scoff from her mother, and then she looked at her mom. "Mama…did you put out on a first date?"

"Young lady, watch your mouth." she said and Hannah laughed. "And have some respect for your mother." she paused for a moment as if considering what to say next. "Besides, what if I did? It's not like you and Ari are playing chess in that damned diving resort every night, is it?"

"OH MY GOD YOU SO DID!" Hannah exclaimed as she brought her right hand to cover her slack jawed mouth.

"Por el amor de Dios, Hannah. I’m not discussing this with you, now go wash your hands…dinner is ready."

"I just showered, why do I need to wash my hands?" Hannah offered somewhat feistily.

"You don’t, I just wanted to shut you up." 

"God, mama, how am I supposed to look Ethan in the face tomorrow?" Hannah whined as she helped her mother with the oven tray.

"Same as I’m supposed to look at Ari in his, when I know what you’ve been up to." her mum retorted.

"Oh, for..."

"Mind you, I can’t blame you mi niña, Ari is a good looking guy. If I was 30 years younger…" the woman trailed, smirking.

"Mama, STOP!"

"What, it’s true?" Mama shrugged, amused by her daughter's reaction.

Hannah just shook her head before she grinned and pointed her finger at her mother "Well hands off, he’s mine."

"I don’t doubt it, honey." her mother declared, a wide smile spreading over her gentle face.

****

The next morning Hannah woke up and it took her a while to remember where she was. It wasn’t the sound of the waves crashing on the beach she could hear, but car horns and traffic. She recognised almost instantly though the smell of her ma's favourite soap in the sheets, but whilst her bed was comfy and familiar it felt odd. There was something missing. No Simon, no Ari, and that meant more to her than all the commodities she could ever have in Tel Aviv.

Well maybe she could trade sleeping snuggled to Ari for being able to eat Beef Wellington once a week… She chuckled and shook her head at her own absurd thoughts. Considering she spent years sleeping alone after Andy died, it hadn’t taken her long to get used to sharing a bed again, and if she was completely honest it was unnerving how she didn’t like Ari not being there, she knew it was stupid but still. She stretched and laid still in bed for a little while more as there were no breakfast duties to get to, but she suddenly remembered she did have a meeting with Ethan at HQ. Hannah cringed at the memory of her conversation with her mother last night, groaning to herself at the thought of the pair of them having dinner and… whatever. How was she going to be able to look him in the face? Shuddering at the thought she threw back the duvet and headed for her morning shower taking her time because she could, and also because she missed decent water temperature and pressure.

After her shower Hannah got dressed and went down to have breakfast with Mama. They sat and watched a little TV, another one of the things they quickly got used to not really having much chance to do in Sudan, before the car arrived to take Hannah to Mossad HQ. Once there she went through the security checks and headed up to Ethan's office, smiling to his secretary who told her to go in. 

No sooner had she knocked lightly on the door before pulling it open, Ethan stood up from his desk, a smile on his face as he strode over and pulled her into a huge hug.

"You look well, Hannah."

"Thanks Ethan."

"Must be all that sun, sea and sand huh?" he said, pulling back to take her appearance in better.

"And life or death situations…" she smiled fondly at the man.

Ethan chuckled and directed her over to the couch where she took a seat at one side as Ethan headed out and asked his secretary to get them a coffee each. Then he closed the door and sat opposite her. They chatted for a little bit, just about how the resort was going, how everyone was, a debrief of sorts on the last mission which Hannah wasn’t all that keen on reliving, but she knew she had to. Then their coffees arrived and Hannah took the time to compose herself, the emotion of talking about what had happened to the baby girl having choked her a little. She took a sip, then eyed Ethan and smiled.

"My mom says you’ve been out on a date."

Ethan paused, his stoic stance faltering a little, then looked at Hannah. "I’ve…taken her for dinner, yes."

"Has she seen your silk robe?" she attacked again.

"How do you know about that?"

Hannah grinned at the sight of Ethan's creased brow. "Ari told me."

"Course he did." he sighed. "And that reminds me... Sarah Levinson called last week asking me when you were home." Hannah blanched at Ethan's words and he noticed. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

Hannah hesitated. She wanted to take another sip of her coffee in order to buy herself some seconds but with a swift glance she realised her cup was already empty, and that was all the confirmation Ethan needed. The experienced agent rolled his eyes at her before stating the obvious.  "I knew this would happen."

Hannah shook her head. "Why does Sarah want to know when I’m home?"

"Reading between the lines I think she wants to see you." Ethan said, his gaze never leaving Hannah's face.

"But why? I’ve met her like 5 times, if that!" Hannah sort of protested, rubbing her sweaty palms over her denim clad thighs.

 "I think that’s obvious, you’re fucking her husband." Ethan shot, bluntly.

"They’re separated Ethan. And it’s not like that. You make it sound so crass, we’re not fucking…" she trailed off, her initial offended tone dying as she spoke.

"I know." Ethan agreed, his voice softer this time and stood up and headed to his desk. He reached into the drawer for a piece of paper which he gave to Hannah once he had checked it was the one he wanted. "She requested I ask you to call."

As Hannah took the paper from him there was a knock on the door and it swung open to reveal a short, slight, grey-haired man dressed in grey slacks and a light blue, short sleeved shirt. Hannah shoved the piece of paper in her pocket without giving much thought to what it meant and smiled at the man as he stepped into the room.

"I read those fucking reports you left on my table, Ethan, and let me tell you…"

Ethan cleared his throat and nodded to Hannah who blinked at the man, slightly amused at how angry he was despite his unassuming appearance. Ethan gestured to Hannah. "This is Hannah Horowitz. Hannah, meet Barack Isaacs, Mossad Chief."

Hannah stood up and shook his hand. "It’s a pleasure Sir to finally meet you in person."

"And you Mrs Horowitz. I’ve heard a lot about you from Ethan, and of course I knew your father. He was a good man. Taken far too soon." Isaacs said, not an ounce of anger in his voice or features now.

Hannah smiled. "Thank you Sir."

A few minutes later, after having said her goodbyes to both men who would be now no doubt be discussing the reports that had earned all those expletives from Isaacs’ part, Hannah headed down to the car and climbed in the back to head home. She watched the familiar buildings as they moved past and realised that the last time she had been in HQ was when Ethan broke the news of Andy’s death to her, in that very same office she’d been in today. She hadn’t even thought about it until now, but she remembered Isaacs calling her Mrs Horowitz and, now that she came to think of it, Ethan had introduced her to him as such. And whilst that’s what she was, the truth was she didn’t feel like it any more. She felt a little pang in her stomach at her own thoughts, a pang that she couldn’t quite place. Maybe it was guilt, she pondered, but what did she have to feel guilty about? Andy was dead. Had been for years and she had every right to move on. 

Then the car stopped at a traffic light and her eyes drifted to a shop on the corner, nothing special, it was an ordinary grocery store but she remembered her and Ari buying a bottle of wine from there for one of their many clandestine nights in at his apartment. They had snuggled up to the latest Led Zeppelin LP and made out a bit, in fact that was the first night Ari had ever made her come using his very talented fingers. And, as the car set off, Hannah realised that the memories of her so-called hidden relationship with Ari were all so vivid in her head now, especially after so many years of blocking them out. She sighed and her hand fell absentmindedly into her pocket and curled around the piece of paper with Sarah’s number written on it.

By the time she got home she had decided. She was going to call Sarah and see what she wanted. 

****

Ari had no idea how it had happened but Simon was missing. He’d searched the resort up and down and was currently going bananas looking for him around the beach and cursing the day he had backed Hannah up in keeping the damned dog.  He was legit shitting his pants when suddenly he heard him barking as he rounded the rocks with Max and Jake hot on his tail. Thank fuck, Ari thought. He might keep his head on his shoulders after all. He gave a sharp whistle and Simon looked up and then set off hurtling towards him. When the dog was close enough he jumped up at him and Ari caught him in his arms. "Hey, buddy calm down." Simon was whining and whimpering and licking Ari’s face as he rubbed the pup's back. "What the fuck has gotten into you?" Simon continued his little noises and nudged into Ari’s face and he glanced up at Max and Jake who were now within earshot. "You pup-napped my dog." Ari glared at them.

"It’s Hannah’s dog." Max deadpanned.

"He’s more mine than he is yours." Ari snapped, still angry at his two teammates for taking the dog without letting him know. And as that was just what he needed to appease himself, Sammy appeared, watching the exchange with an amused air.

"Only because you’re fucking his mom." Max mumbled.

Ari glared at him. "I heard that, dickhead."

"Technically he’s right." Jake quipped.

"Technically you’re an idiot." Ari bit back at Jake.

He was on edge, he was fully aware of that but there was nothing he could do about it. They had taken his fucking dog and it had almost given him a heart attack, not helping the bleak mood that had fallen over him ever since Hannah had left two days before.

"Technically?" Sammy asked and Simon growled. It was like a reflex action the dog had every time Sammy spoke.

"Never, ever take my fucking dog without my permission, you hear me?" Ari hissed glaring at Max and Jake. 

Once again he knew he was overreacting but he couldn’t help it. If anything were to happen to this dog, he'd be a dead man, plus he’d miss him too. Ari looked at them once more and then headed off, Simon held to his chest like a small child, with both his arms underneath the dog's butt supporting him, Simon’s paws on Ari’s shoulders, head looking around. He nodded to Rachel, who walked past him towards the spot on the sand where Jake, Max and Sammy were, and without saying a word he retreated to his hut.

All three men stood put for a moment watching him leave and then Max turned to Sammy. "God I can’t wait for your sister to come back, he’s being a pain in the ass."

"As grossed out as it makes me I kinda agree." Sammy acknowledged Max's comment.

"Blue balls don’t suit him." Jake groaned.

"Leave him alone you guys, he’s in love. Wait until it happens to you." Rachel, who had reached them now and was shading her eyes from the sun with the palm of her hand, warned them. All three rolled their eyes and she scoffed. "What?"

"Nothing mom." Max quipped, earning a slap round the back of his head from Rachel.

"I mean seriously though, what were you thinking taking the dog? You know he’s in charge of him and he’s been on edge since Han left. Don’t make it worse."

"See, even you recognise he’s being an insufferable bitch." Max whined.

"Yes and you’re making it worse Maxwell." Rachel looked at him.

"Whatever, I’m hungry now."

"What else is new?" Jake scoffed before stating "You were born hungry."

"All babies are born hungry, asshole." Max snapped as he started walking towards the main building.

"You’re the asshole. The Maltese asshole." Jake shouted at him, following suit.

Rachel groaned, following the bickering pair up the sand. Sammy dropped an arm around her shoulder, giving her a squeeze and she shook her head. She really needed Hannah there to help her deal with the bunch of overgrown kids. So much for the trained Mossad agents they were supposed to be.

By the time the sun had begun to set and they were sat at the table having dinner everyone had calmed down bar Ari who persisted in being a little bitch. There he was trying to eat whilst Simon was on his lap as the fucking dog wouldn’t leave him alone now. Jake and Max must have played some tricks on the pup for him to be so anxious and clingy ever since he got back to Ari. 

Assholes. 

Sammy, in turn, was glaring at Simon as every time he spoke, the dog's lip would curl up in a snarl.

"What is your fucking problem?" Sammy snapped at the dog.

"Hey, don’t talk to him like that." Ari warned him, pointing at Sammy with a fork.

"Really, Ari?" Sammy scoffed and Simon growled again at the sound of his voice.

Ari sighed. "Si, quit it for fucks sake."

Rachel who was desperately trying to have a peaceful dinner without having to intervene, again, didn't miss the look Jake was giving at Sammy while mouthing "Si??" so she glared at the pair of them before she cleared her throat.

"We got a letter this morning, from the tourist board."

Ari turned to her "Yeah? What do they want?"

Rachel took the letter from her shorts pocket and handed it to him. She wasn't planning on playing that card, she had just shoved the letter there just in case but the boys' attitude had left her no choice.  "See for yourself."

Ari pushed Simon off his lap and took it. He unfolded it, his eyes scanning the words for a few seconds before he nodded. "They want to visit this weekend. I’ll call Madibo tomorrow morning, tell him it’s ok."

"Yeah…you checked the date?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah it says Thursday…so?" Max, Jake and Sammy exchanged glances and Ari looked around with an air of frustration.  "What?" "Hannah’s back on Thursday." Sammy reminded him, speaking quietly as if he was walking on eggshell.

"And?"

"Nothing." he shook his head. "I’ll pick her up from the airport if you’re busy."

Fuck Ari thought before pausing and shaking his head. "No need. I’ll go. You don’t need me here."

"Yes we do. That letter says he wants to see you." Rachel pointed at the letter.

Ari frowned and reached for it again before groaning as she was right. "Fucks sake. What time are they coming? Maybe I can…"

Once again Rachel, the voice of reason, cut him off. "No you can’t. They’ll be here by 11. Her flight gets in just after."

Ari looked at her as if she had just slapped him on his face.

"Ari I’ll go, it’s not an issue." Sammy offered.

Ari just nodded as he didn't trust his voice to come out right at that moment. He was raging inside, his mind ticking off all the curses possible. And as such he spent the rest of the meal sulking in silence before he excused himself and went back to his hut. As far as he was concerned his evening was over. One week, one fucking week without her and he had just been denied the possibility of picking her up. Instead he would have to put up with Madibo and who knows who else from the fucking corrupted tourist board.

With Simon whining, as he had clearly detected his dad was upset, and snuggling round his head on the pillow Ari laid on her bed for what seemed like hours, contemplating what a needy bastard he’d turned into (or rather Hannah had made him into) in such a short period of time, before sleep overcame him. 

**** As Hannah made the 10 minute walk to the small Café she had arranged to meet Sarah in, the nearer she got the more nervous she was. She’d only ever met Sarah a handful of times, the last one being at her and Ari’s wedding. When she reached the café door her hands were sweating so she wiped them on her jeans and pushed the door open. As soon as she stepped in she spotted Sarah sat at a table near the back. She hadn’t changed much, was just as pretty as the last time Hannah had seen her. Striking cheekbones, deep brown eyes, light red hair. From the photo Hannah had seen of Maya which Ari kept on his nightstand she could see where the girl had gotten her looks from. She was very like her mother but had inherited Ari’s hair colour and face shape.

Sarah looked up, and gave Hannah a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes as Hannah approached the table. She stood up and offered a stiff hand to Hannah, which Hannah took, the shake very business-like.

“It’s been a long time.” Sarah spoke in her deep, American accent.

“Yeah, it has.” Hannah agreed as Sarah made to sit down again. Hannah followed and took the seat opposite her, hanging her purse on the chair back. No sooner had they done that than someone was over to take their order. They both requested a coffee each and when the waitress disappeared Sarah spoke.

“Thank you for agreeing to meet me. I wasn’t sure you’d even call so..”

“Well it would have been rude not to, plus I also have a letter for Maya from Ari. Saves me posting it I suppose.” Hannah smiled and reached for her purse, retrieving the thick envelope. She handed it to Sarah.

“Ari said Maya wanted some photos of Simon- my, well, the group’s dog really and she wanted to see the resort too so-“ she nodded to the envelope “- there’s some in there for her.”  

“Thanks.” Sarah took the envelope, exchanging it for a slightly smaller one. “I also have a letter here for Ari from Maya, would you-“

“Of course.” Hannah nodded, taking it form her.

“You know she asks about you in there.” Sarah nodded to the letter “Her and Ari talked about you when he was home. He told her you picked her little beaded bag out, which for the record she still carries everywhere.”

Hannah blushed a little “I’m glad she liked it.”

“Are there any photos of you in here?” Sarah tapped the envelope and Hannah frowned, not quite sure what she was getting at.

“No.” she shook her head. But before she had chance to say anything else their coffee arrived. Both thanked the lady who set the cups down, then busied themselves adding sugar, Hannah stirring hers a little more than necessary before she broke the silence, deciding to ask the question that had been on her mind since Ethan gave her the piece of paper with the other woman’s number on it. “Sarah, why did you want to see me? We’ve hardly ever spoken before, certainly not like this.”

“Curiosity I suppose.” Sarah shrugged

“Curiosity? About what?”

“About you.”

“Me?”

Sarah nodded, taking a breath “Will you be honest with me Hannah?”

Hanna nodded, steeling herself as she waited for the inevitable question about whether her and Ari were back together.  She knew Ari hadn’t confirmed it to Sarah when he visited, because, well they hadn’t actually labelled what they were then, neither of them knew, but she also knew he hadn’t denied it.

“Do you love him?” Sarah asked.

“Oh…” that had surprised Hannah. She swallowed, “Sarah, I-“

“Because I know he loves you.”

Hannah took a deep breath before she shrugged “Yeah, yeah I do.”

Sarah nodded “In that case then I wish you good luck because you’re gonna need it.”

Hannah frowned and swallowed some of her coffee “What do you mean?”

“I mean when you all finish this mission and you’re not in your little fantasy reality anymore and you’re no longer his ‘bond girl’-”

“Hey, now, just wait a second-” Hannah interrupted a little tetchily but Sarah continued, ignoring her.

“-because he’ll never quit Hannah.” Sarah looked at her “-hell he wasn’t even there when Maya was born because he was stranded in some god forsaken part of Saudi Arabia.”

“He regrets that, he told me.” Hannah sighed and Sarah shrugged.

“I’m sure he does but his wife being 8 months pregnant wasn’t enough to stop him going. His own daughter since has never been enough to stop him going. This life, this sense of duty he has to those people, whilst it’s admirable it’s consuming him. And I just want you to know what you’re letting yourself in for. He dragged you back into all this, Hannah. He won’t be as easy to drag back out.”

Hannah looked at her, mouth hanging open a little as she wasn’t sure what to say. Part of her was pissed off, part of her felt guilty, and beneath it all a pang of sympathy. Ari hadn’t been a great husband or father, and Hannah knew that.

“That said, maybe he will quit for you.” Sarah continued “I mean, maybe me and Maya were simply just not enough…”

“Sarah, it wasn’t like that.” Hannah shook her head, sighing “I won’t make excuses for him being a shit husband and a lousy father because there are none to be made, and he knows that.”

“Yeah, he said all this when he came home.” Sarah gave a huff of laughter “He actually seemed different, happier almost, he was so relaxed with Maya and I get now that’s because of you.”

Hannah took a deep breath. “I kind of feel like I should be apologising for something here Sarah, I’m not sure what but-“

Sarah smiled “It isn’t your fault he’s been in love with you for the past 10 years.”

“Sarah…”

“You ever asked him why we weren’t at your wedding?” Sarah suddenly change the line of the conversation and Hannah looked at her, blinking “It was because he couldn’t bear to watch you marry someone else.”

“No, that’s... that’s not…”

“Ask him. He never admitted it but it was obvious. I was always second best in his eyes.”

“Ari loved you Sarah, I know he did, he’s told me.” Hannah implored “You’re the mother of his child.”

“Oh I don’t doubt he did.” Sarah smiled “Just not as much as he loved you. And here we are, he’s got you back in the end.”

At that Hannah felt the nerve twitch in her jaw, pissed at the nerve of the woman sat opposite her, blatantly trying to blame her for Ari’s attitude in their marriage. Like she was responsible for whatever he’d done over the last 8 or however many years it had been. She desperately wanted to defend Ari but couldn’t, simply because he had been an ass hole to Sarah and she wasn’t about to stick up for him when he didn’t’ deserve it, regardless of the fact she was dating him. But, she wasn’t about to sit here and take this crap from his estranged wife, especially not when Hannah had been through enough shit herself. She took a deep breath, folded her arms and arched an eyebrow. “Yeah, I guess he did. And all it took was a dead husband and a divorce huh?”

If her harsh, sarcastic tone bothered Sarah the other woman didn’t show it as she simply looked at Hannah with a small smile on her face, not a shred of anger on her face as she spoke “Well, fate has a wicked sense of humour.”

PART 2

[wiypt-writes]

Leave No One Behind

Ch 11- Mama Don’t Preach Part 1 Co written with @icanfeelastormbrewing​

Episode Summary: It’s Hannah’s turn to head home for a week to see her Mama, and there’s a surprise request waiting for her too. Meanwhile, back in Sudan Ari’s left holding the baby...or in this case, puppy…

Episode Warnings: Bad Language words. Smut (NSFW, 18+ only)- in Part 2

Episode Pairings:  Ari Levinson x OFC Hannah Horowitz

A/N: This is a big chapter! Part 2 will be posted later this week.  

Leave No One Behind Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 10

Translations: “Me cago en todo” For Fucks sake. “Por el amor de Dios” For the love of God “mi niña”- My Girl

Hannah looked out of the window, taking in the familiar sights as the plane got ready to land and a few minutes later, as the wheels hit the runway and the passengers cheered she couldn't help but sigh. She was home. Just as she unfastened her seatbelt and waited for the sign signalling they could disembark, her mind wandered to the moment she had said goodbye a few hours earlier that morning. She felt a pang of sadness at the image of Simon trying to follow the truck as Ari had pulled out of the resort to drive her to the airport, a couple of hours earlier than initially planned-she may or may not have told the team her flight was a few hours earlier than it was so that her and Ari could grab a drink at a small coffee shop not far from the airport. It was hardly what one could call a ‘sweep you off your feet’ date but it was nice to get out alone, just the two of them. It had felt good that Ari and her had been able to experience a certain level of normalcy before the inevitable and emotional goodbye and promises to try not to miss each other too much.

She wandered through passport control and after picking up her bag she went out into the arrivals of Ben Gurion airport almost on autopilot but she smiled hard when she saw her Mama and, just like that, her eyes filled with tears as she hurried forward and hugged the woman tightly. After the emotional reunion they headed back to the house, Hannah's childhood family home, where she had been living with her Mama since she had left the apartment her and Andy had rented once they’d gotten married. Unable to stay there alone after his death, she’d moved home and had remained there up until the moment Ari had come into the clinic turning her whole world upside down. As her Mama opened the door Hannah smiled at the familiar décor of the hallway and let out a little, happy sigh as she stepped over the threshold. It smelt like home, it felt like home... it was home.

Hannah headed upstairs and ditched her bag in her room, thinking to herself about how the last time she’d been in here was before she left in January. Back then she’d never have guessed how things would have turned out for her so far in 1980.  She glanced at her reflection in the mirror and decided that she needed a shower so turned to grab some fresh clothes out of a drawer, and as she did so she spotted a few photos of her and Andy on the unit. She glanced at them, a soft smile on her face and then turned to look around her room at the numerous other snaps of the pair of them dotted in various places in the room. She contemplated moving them for a moment before she finally came to a decision and did just that, popping them carefully in a drawer which she slowly closed after a last, nostalgic look at Andy's handsome face. She’d loved him, there was no doubt about that. But time moved on and she was finally ready to move on with it now. Shaking those sad memories from her mind she went into the bathroom to shower and twenty minutes later she made her way down to the kitchen at the back of the house which overlooked the large communal garden they shared with 4 other homes. 

She found her Mama was stood at the stove, preparing dinner, and Hannah approached, wrapping her arms round her from behind, hugging her close. 

"Nothing like your food mama. Not that Aziz’s isn’t good because it is but, well, there’s nothing like yours." she trailed off.

Her Mama turned to look at her kissing her head. "I’m making your favourite from when you were young, mi niña."

"Beef wellington?" Hannah asked, her eyes lighting up.

Mama nodded and Hannah gave a groan. "Sammy is gonna be so jealous when I get back."

"You don’t have beef in Sudan?" the woman asked as she stirred what looked like some kind of gravy in a pot.

"Half the time I haven’t got a clue what I’m eating to be honest, other than when it’s fish. Last time we had some form of steak I think it was camel."

Mama laughed heartily.  "Your brother must be having a hard time, he’s always been the picky one."

"He’s still a pain in the ass, mama." Hannah said as she moved from her mother's frame and leaned casually against the counter.

Mama looked at Hannah spotting the crease on her brow immediately and, raising an eyebrow, she asked. "Are we still talking about food, honey?"

Hannah shrugged.  "In general, and you look just like him when you do that, stop it."

"When I do what?"

"Raise your eyebrow and look at me like that."

"Like what?" the woman, whose eyes were on the pots and pans in front of her again, asked.

Hannah groaned with frustration. "Come on Mama, you know what like."

Mama sighed and, setting the wooden spoon aside, turned to look at her daughter, her hands falling down to her hips in a typical mother stance. "The only thing I know is my daughter, who I haven’t seen in months, looks more gorgeous, relaxed and happier than when she left... In fact, more so than I’ve seen her in years. Which is ironic really considering what you’re doing out there."

Hannah blushed a little at her mum's last sentence but decided to roll with it. "Well it’s nice to be doing something mama, back in the thick of it all so to speak."

Now she saw her mother was sporting a wide smile, not a sympathetic smile but a knowing one. And Hannah knew she must have anticipated something like that, if anything her mother was clever. "Something uh?" the woman said.

Hannah looked at her blankly, not understanding what she meant, or rather not wanting to give in that easily.  "Yeah, the resort and the job."

"I know that look Hannah, You’re my daughter remember, I raised you. Something tells me it’s not simply all down to those people you’re helping." her mother baited her again.

"No…I…it’s not…" Hannah's train of thought stopped as she spotted her mum's eyes skate down her neck just before she nodded to her necklace, and instinctively she reached up to touch it. Mama smiled and whether it was at the necklace or at her sudden need to touch it for comfort, Hannah couldn't tell.   

"That’s pretty."

Hannah smiled back at her before speaking. "It was a birthday present. Along with my watch, look."

She stretched her forearm and turned her wrist slightly to show her mother the watch but the woman wasn't one to be fooled and smiled before taking her eyes off the watch and nodding back at the necklace. "What is it, some kind of bee?"

"It’s a firefly."

"I take it that it was from the only person who calls you that?" her mother asked then and Hannah flinched. She had served her mother the opportunity on a silver plate and now she felt herself growing warm again under her mom’s scrutiny, but, much to her dismay, Mrs N was not letting go. "I’ve got to admit, it was a nice surprise when Ethan told me what Ari was planning to do for your birthday."

Hannah then let out a low laugh, shaking her head at her mother’s tenacity. "Why don’t you just ask me, Mama?"

"Why would I ask when I already know?"

"And what is it that you think you know?" Hannah asked, trying to sound as calm as possible.

Her mother looked at her for a couple of seconds before delivering the final blow. "That you and Ari are together. And not for the first time."

Hannah gasped. That last part had shocked her big time, she wasn't prepared for that. "You knew about us the first time?"

Mama nodded. "I did, yes."

"How did you…?"

"Once again Hannah, I’m your mother. It was pretty obvious to my eyes that something was going on there between you two back in the day.  And then you started going out almost every night and your friends used to call asking for you, so you clearly weren’t with them. And you were glowing, at the time. Just like you did when you were with Andy, and just like you are now."

Hannah looked down shyly before speaking. "Ok, so clearly I wasn’t as good at hiding it as I thought." she snorted and then paused. "Did you know about why…" she began to ask but stopped mid-sentence as she shook her head. "Actually, it doesn’t matter."

"Why you two split up? Yeah, I do. And I was mad at your brother for weeks." her mother conceded with a sigh.

“Seems like everyone knew bar me." she muttered absent mindedly. 

"Sadly it's always like that, honey." Mama stated while rubbing her daughter's arm reassuringly before resuming her work over the stove.

"Did you know it was Andy who told him? About me and Ari I mean."

Mama snapped her head at Hannah, looking at her visibly shocked. "No, No I didn’t."

"Well it was." Hannah snorted. "Ironic huh, I married the guy that broke me up from the first man I…"

"You loved?" her mother asked, finishing the sentence for her, apparently recovered from the shocking news her beloved late son-in-law had some sneaky ways in him.

Hannah gave a little smile and nodded.

"So how did Sammy react to it this time round…not that I need to ask." Mama chuckled as she bent over to check the meat cooking in the oven.

"You know him. Made a huge fuss, punched Ari again." at that Hannah snorted. "Ari let him have the first one but the second time, well I had to stop him from ripping Sammy’s head off."

"Must have been something worth seeing. No doubt I’ll hear all about it in a few weeks when he comes home."

"No doubt you will. He seemed a little better after my birthday party, and the last mission.” Hannah bit her lip, her mind straying back to the disaster of the mission and she looked at the floor.

Her Mama gently touched her arm. "Ethan told me about the woman you helped and how her baby didn’t make it. Sweetie, that must have been awful."

"Yeah it was…" Hannah paused, frowning at her mother "Hang on, Ethan told you? When did you speak to him, mum?"

"Oh he took me out for dinner last week." she brushed her daughter's question off.

Hannah blinked at her mother’s matter of fact tone. "Ethan took you out for dinner?"

"Yes he did. We had a great time. You look surprised honey.” Her Mama’s eyes flashed with mischief “Is it that hard to believe your mother still gets it in her?"

"Oh my God…mama, that’s…ergh…"

"Hey, you’re acting like your brother now." Mama protested.

"Me cago en todo." Hanna cursed in Spanish earning, a scoff from her mother, and then she looked at her mom. "Mama…did you put out on a first date?"

"Young lady, watch your mouth." she said and Hannah laughed. "And have some respect for your mother." she paused for a moment as if considering what to say next. "Besides, what if I did? It's not like you and Ari are playing chess in that damned diving resort every night, is it?"

"OH MY GOD YOU SO DID!" Hannah exclaimed as she brought her right hand to cover her slack jawed mouth.

"Por el amor de Dios, Hannah. I’m not discussing this with you, now go wash your hands…dinner is ready."

"I just showered, why do I need to wash my hands?" Hannah offered somewhat feistily.

"You don’t, I just wanted to shut you up." 

"God, mama, how am I supposed to look Ethan in the face tomorrow?" Hannah whined as she helped her mother with the oven tray.

"Same as I’m supposed to look at Ari in his, when I know what you’ve been up to." her mum retorted.

"Oh, for..."

"Mind you, I can’t blame you mi niña, Ari is a good looking guy. If I was 30 years younger…" the woman trailed, smirking.

"Mama, STOP!"

"What, it’s true?" Mama shrugged, amused by her daughter's reaction.

Hannah just shook her head before she grinned and pointed her finger at her mother "Well hands off, he’s mine."

"I don’t doubt it, honey." her mother declared, a wide smile spreading over her gentle face.

****

The next morning Hannah woke up and it took her a while to remember where she was. It wasn’t the sound of the waves crashing on the beach she could hear, but car horns and traffic. She recognised almost instantly though the smell of her ma's favourite soap in the sheets, but whilst her bed was comfy and familiar it felt odd. There was something missing. No Simon, no Ari, and that meant more to her than all the commodities she could ever have in Tel Aviv.

Well maybe she could trade sleeping snuggled to Ari for being able to eat Beef Wellington once a week… She chuckled and shook her head at her own absurd thoughts. Considering she spent years sleeping alone after Andy died, it hadn’t taken her long to get used to sharing a bed again, and if she was completely honest it was unnerving how she didn’t like Ari not being there, she knew it was stupid but still. She stretched and laid still in bed for a little while more as there were no breakfast duties to get to, but she suddenly remembered she did have a meeting with Ethan at HQ. Hannah cringed at the memory of her conversation with her mother last night, groaning to herself at the thought of the pair of them having dinner and… whatever. How was she going to be able to look him in the face? Shuddering at the thought she threw back the duvet and headed for her morning shower taking her time because she could, and also because she missed decent water temperature and pressure.

After her shower Hannah got dressed and went down to have breakfast with Mama. They sat and watched a little TV, another one of the things they quickly got used to not really having much chance to do in Sudan, before the car arrived to take Hannah to Mossad HQ. Once there she went through the security checks and headed up to Ethan's office, smiling to his secretary who told her to go in. 

No sooner had she knocked lightly on the door before pulling it open, Ethan stood up from his desk, a smile on his face as he strode over and pulled her into a huge hug.

"You look well, Hannah."

"Thanks Ethan."

"Must be all that sun, sea and sand huh?" he said, pulling back to take her appearance in better.

"And life or death situations…" she smiled fondly at the man.

Ethan chuckled and directed her over to the couch where she took a seat at one side as Ethan headed out and asked his secretary to get them a coffee each. Then he closed the door and sat opposite her. They chatted for a little bit, just about how the resort was going, how everyone was, a debrief of sorts on the last mission which Hannah wasn’t all that keen on reliving, but she knew she had to. Then their coffees arrived and Hannah took the time to compose herself, the emotion of talking about what had happened to the baby girl having choked her a little. She took a sip, then eyed Ethan and smiled.

"My mom says you’ve been out on a date."

Ethan paused, his stoic stance faltering a little, then looked at Hannah. "I’ve…taken her for dinner, yes."

"Has she seen your silk robe?" she attacked again.

"How do you know about that?"

Hannah grinned at the sight of Ethan's creased brow. "Ari told me."

"Course he did." he sighed. "And that reminds me... Sarah Levinson called last week asking me when you were home." Hannah blanched at Ethan's words and he noticed. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

Hannah hesitated. She wanted to take another sip of her coffee in order to buy herself some seconds but with a swift glance she realised her cup was already empty, and that was all the confirmation Ethan needed. The experienced agent rolled his eyes at her before stating the obvious.  "I knew this would happen."

Hannah shook her head. "Why does Sarah want to know when I’m home?"

"Reading between the lines I think she wants to see you." Ethan said, his gaze never leaving Hannah's face.

"But why? I’ve met her like 5 times, if that!" Hannah sort of protested, rubbing her sweaty palms over her denim clad thighs.

 "I think that’s obvious, you’re fucking her husband." Ethan shot, bluntly.

"They’re separated Ethan. And it’s not like that. You make it sound so crass, we’re not fucking…" she trailed off, her initial offended tone dying as she spoke.

"I know." Ethan agreed, his voice softer this time and stood up and headed to his desk. He reached into the drawer for a piece of paper which he gave to Hannah once he had checked it was the one he wanted. "She requested I ask you to call."

As Hannah took the paper from him there was a knock on the door and it swung open to reveal a short, slight, grey-haired man dressed in grey slacks and a light blue, short sleeved shirt. Hannah shoved the piece of paper in her pocket without giving much thought to what it meant and smiled at the man as he stepped into the room.

"I read those fucking reports you left on my table, Ethan, and let me tell you…"

Ethan cleared his throat and nodded to Hannah who blinked at the man, slightly amused at how angry he was despite his unassuming appearance. Ethan gestured to Hannah. "This is Hannah Horowitz. Hannah, meet Barack Isaacs, Mossad Chief."

Hannah stood up and shook his hand. "It’s a pleasure Sir to finally meet you in person."

"And you Mrs Horowitz. I’ve heard a lot about you from Ethan, and of course I knew your father. He was a good man. Taken far too soon." Isaacs said, not an ounce of anger in his voice or features now.

Hannah smiled. "Thank you Sir."

A few minutes later, after having said her goodbyes to both men who would be now no doubt be discussing the reports that had earned all those expletives from Isaacs’ part, Hannah headed down to the car and climbed in the back to head home. She watched the familiar buildings as they moved past and realised that the last time she had been in HQ was when Ethan broke the news of Andy’s death to her, in that very same office she’d been in today. She hadn’t even thought about it until now, but she remembered Isaacs calling her Mrs Horowitz and, now that she came to think of it, Ethan had introduced her to him as such. And whilst that’s what she was, the truth was she didn’t feel like it any more. She felt a little pang in her stomach at her own thoughts, a pang that she couldn’t quite place. Maybe it was guilt, she pondered, but what did she have to feel guilty about? Andy was dead. Had been for years and she had every right to move on. 

Then the car stopped at a traffic light and her eyes drifted to a shop on the corner, nothing special, it was an ordinary grocery store but she remembered her and Ari buying a bottle of wine from there for one of their many clandestine nights in at his apartment. They had snuggled up to the latest Led Zeppelin LP and made out a bit, in fact that was the first night Ari had ever made her come using his very talented fingers. And, as the car set off, Hannah realised that the memories of her so-called hidden relationship with Ari were all so vivid in her head now, especially after so many years of blocking them out. She sighed and her hand fell absentmindedly into her pocket and curled around the piece of paper with Sarah’s number written on it.

By the time she got home she had decided. She was going to call Sarah and see what she wanted. 

****

Ari had no idea how it had happened but Simon was missing. He’d searched the resort up and down and was currently going bananas looking for him around the beach and cursing the day he had backed Hannah up in keeping the damned dog.  He was legit shitting his pants when suddenly he heard him barking as he rounded the rocks with Max and Jake hot on his tail. Thank fuck, Ari thought. He might keep his head on his shoulders after all. He gave a sharp whistle and Simon looked up and then set off hurtling towards him. When the dog was close enough he jumped up at him and Ari caught him in his arms. "Hey, buddy calm down." Simon was whining and whimpering and licking Ari’s face as he rubbed the pup's back. "What the fuck has gotten into you?" Simon continued his little noises and nudged into Ari’s face and he glanced up at Max and Jake who were now within earshot. "You pup-napped my dog." Ari glared at them.

"It’s Hannah’s dog." Max deadpanned.

"He’s more mine than he is yours." Ari snapped, still angry at his two teammates for taking the dog without letting him know. And as that was just what he needed to appease himself, Sammy appeared, watching the exchange with an amused air.

"Only because you’re fucking his mom." Max mumbled.

Ari glared at him. "I heard that, dickhead."

"Technically he’s right." Jake quipped.

"Technically you’re an idiot." Ari bit back at Jake.

He was on edge, he was fully aware of that but there was nothing he could do about it. They had taken his fucking dog and it had almost given him a heart attack, not helping the bleak mood that had fallen over him ever since Hannah had left two days before.

"Technically?" Sammy asked and Simon growled. It was like a reflex action the dog had every time Sammy spoke.

"Never, ever take my fucking dog without my permission, you hear me?" Ari hissed glaring at Max and Jake. 

Once again he knew he was overreacting but he couldn’t help it. If anything were to happen to this dog, he'd be a dead man, plus he’d miss him too. Ari looked at them once more and then headed off, Simon held to his chest like a small child, with both his arms underneath the dog's butt supporting him, Simon’s paws on Ari’s shoulders, head looking around. He nodded to Rachel, who walked past him towards the spot on the sand where Jake, Max and Sammy were, and without saying a word he retreated to his hut.

All three men stood put for a moment watching him leave and then Max turned to Sammy. "God I can’t wait for your sister to come back, he’s being a pain in the ass."

"As grossed out as it makes me I kinda agree." Sammy acknowledged Max's comment.

"Blue balls don’t suit him." Jake groaned.

"Leave him alone you guys, he’s in love. Wait until it happens to you." Rachel, who had reached them now and was shading her eyes from the sun with the palm of her hand, warned them. All three rolled their eyes and she scoffed. "What?"

"Nothing mom." Max quipped, earning a slap round the back of his head from Rachel.

"I mean seriously though, what were you thinking taking the dog? You know he’s in charge of him and he’s been on edge since Han left. Don’t make it worse."

"See, even you recognise he’s being an insufferable bitch." Max whined.

"Yes and you’re making it worse Maxwell." Rachel looked at him.

"Whatever, I’m hungry now."

"What else is new?" Jake scoffed before stating "You were born hungry."

"All babies are born hungry, asshole." Max snapped as he started walking towards the main building.

"You’re the asshole. The Maltese asshole." Jake shouted at him, following suit.

Rachel groaned, following the bickering pair up the sand. Sammy dropped an arm around her shoulder, giving her a squeeze and she shook her head. She really needed Hannah there to help her deal with the bunch of overgrown kids. So much for the trained Mossad agents they were supposed to be.

By the time the sun had begun to set and they were sat at the table having dinner everyone had calmed down bar Ari who persisted in being a little bitch. There he was trying to eat whilst Simon was on his lap as the fucking dog wouldn’t leave him alone now. Jake and Max must have played some tricks on the pup for him to be so anxious and clingy ever since he got back to Ari. 

Assholes. 

Sammy, in turn, was glaring at Simon as every time he spoke, the dog's lip would curl up in a snarl.

"What is your fucking problem?" Sammy snapped at the dog.

"Hey, don’t talk to him like that." Ari warned him, pointing at Sammy with a fork.

"Really, Ari?" Sammy scoffed and Simon growled again at the sound of his voice.

Ari sighed. "Si, quit it for fucks sake."

Rachel who was desperately trying to have a peaceful dinner without having to intervene, again, didn't miss the look Jake was giving at Sammy while mouthing "Si??" so she glared at the pair of them before she cleared her throat.

"We got a letter this morning, from the tourist board."

Ari turned to her "Yeah? What do they want?"

Rachel took the letter from her shorts pocket and handed it to him. She wasn't planning on playing that card, she had just shoved the letter there just in case but the boys' attitude had left her no choice.  "See for yourself."

Ari pushed Simon off his lap and took it. He unfolded it, his eyes scanning the words for a few seconds before he nodded. "They want to visit this weekend. I’ll call Madibo tomorrow morning, tell him it’s ok."

"Yeah…you checked the date?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah it says Thursday…so?" Max, Jake and Sammy exchanged glances and Ari looked around with an air of frustration.  "What?" "Hannah’s back on Thursday." Sammy reminded him, speaking quietly as if he was walking on eggshell.

"And?"

"Nothing." he shook his head. "I’ll pick her up from the airport if you’re busy."

Fuck Ari thought before pausing and shaking his head. "No need. I’ll go. You don’t need me here."

"Yes we do. That letter says he wants to see you." Rachel pointed at the letter.

Ari frowned and reached for it again before groaning as she was right. "Fucks sake. What time are they coming? Maybe I can…"

Once again Rachel, the voice of reason, cut him off. "No you can’t. They’ll be here by 11. Her flight gets in just after."

Ari looked at her as if she had just slapped him on his face.

"Ari I’ll go, it’s not an issue." Sammy offered.

Ari just nodded as he didn't trust his voice to come out right at that moment. He was raging inside, his mind ticking off all the curses possible. And as such he spent the rest of the meal sulking in silence before he excused himself and went back to his hut. As far as he was concerned his evening was over. One week, one fucking week without her and he had just been denied the possibility of picking her up. Instead he would have to put up with Madibo and who knows who else from the fucking corrupted tourist board.

With Simon whining, as he had clearly detected his dad was upset, and snuggling round his head on the pillow Ari laid on her bed for what seemed like hours, contemplating what a needy bastard he’d turned into (or rather Hannah had made him into) in such a short period of time, before sleep overcame him. 

**** As Hannah made the 10 minute walk to the small Café she had arranged to meet Sarah in, the nearer she got the more nervous she was. She’d only ever met Sarah a handful of times, the last one being at her and Ari’s wedding. When she reached the café door her hands were sweating so she wiped them on her jeans and pushed the door open. As soon as she stepped in she spotted Sarah sat at a table near the back. She hadn’t changed much, was just as pretty as the last time Hannah had seen her. Striking cheekbones, deep brown eyes, light red hair. From the photo Hannah had seen of Maya which Ari kept on his nightstand she could see where the girl had gotten her looks from. She was very like her mother but had inherited Ari’s hair colour and face shape.

Sarah looked up, and gave Hannah a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes as Hannah approached the table. She stood up and offered a stiff hand to Hannah, which Hannah took, the shake very business-like.

“It’s been a long time.” Sarah spoke in her deep, American accent.

“Yeah, it has.” Hannah agreed as Sarah made to sit down again. Hannah followed and took the seat opposite her, hanging her purse on the chair back. No sooner had they done that than someone was over to take their order. They both requested a coffee each and when the waitress disappeared Sarah spoke.

“Thank you for agreeing to meet me. I wasn’t sure you’d even call so..”

“Well it would have been rude not to, plus I also have a letter for Maya from Ari. Saves me posting it I suppose.” Hannah smiled and reached for her purse, retrieving the thick envelope. She handed it to Sarah.

“Ari said Maya wanted some photos of Simon- my, well, the group’s dog really and she wanted to see the resort too so-“ she nodded to the envelope “- there’s some in there for her.”  

“Thanks.” Sarah took the envelope, exchanging it for a slightly smaller one. “I also have a letter here for Ari from Maya, would you-“

“Of course.” Hannah nodded, taking it form her.

“You know she asks about you in there.” Sarah nodded to the letter “Her and Ari talked about you when he was home. He told her you picked her little beaded bag out, which for the record she still carries everywhere.”

Hannah blushed a little “I’m glad she liked it.”

“Are there any photos of you in here?” Sarah tapped the envelope and Hannah frowned, not quite sure what she was getting at.

“No.” she shook her head. But before she had chance to say anything else their coffee arrived. Both thanked the lady who set the cups down, then busied themselves adding sugar, Hannah stirring hers a little more than necessary before she broke the silence, deciding to ask the question that had been on her mind since Ethan gave her the piece of paper with the other woman’s number on it. “Sarah, why did you want to see me? We’ve hardly ever spoken before, certainly not like this.”

“Curiosity I suppose.” Sarah shrugged

“Curiosity? About what?”

“About you.”

“Me?”

Sarah nodded, taking a breath “Will you be honest with me Hannah?”

Hanna nodded, steeling herself as she waited for the inevitable question about whether her and Ari were back together.  She knew Ari hadn’t confirmed it to Sarah when he visited, because, well they hadn’t actually labelled what they were then, neither of them knew, but she also knew he hadn’t denied it.

“Do you love him?” Sarah asked.

“Oh…” that had surprised Hannah. She swallowed, “Sarah, I-“

“Because I know he loves you.”

Hannah took a deep breath before she shrugged “Yeah, yeah I do.”

Sarah nodded “In that case then I wish you good luck because you’re gonna need it.”

Hannah frowned and swallowed some of her coffee “What do you mean?”

“I mean when you all finish this mission and you’re not in your little fantasy reality anymore and you’re no longer his ‘bond girl’-”

“Hey, now, just wait a second-” Hannah interrupted a little tetchily but Sarah continued, ignoring her.

“-because he’ll never quit Hannah.” Sarah looked at her “-hell he wasn’t even there when Maya was born because he was stranded in some god forsaken part of Saudi Arabia.”

“He regrets that, he told me.” Hannah sighed and Sarah shrugged.

“I’m sure he does but his wife being 8 months pregnant wasn’t enough to stop him going. His own daughter since has never been enough to stop him going. This life, this sense of duty he has to those people, whilst it’s admirable it’s consuming him. And I just want you to know what you’re letting yourself in for. He dragged you back into all this, Hannah. He won’t be as easy to drag back out.”

Hannah looked at her, mouth hanging open a little as she wasn’t sure what to say. Part of her was pissed off, part of her felt guilty, and beneath it all a pang of sympathy. Ari hadn’t been a great husband or father, and Hannah knew that.

“That said, maybe he will quit for you.” Sarah continued “I mean, maybe me and Maya were simply just not enough…”

“Sarah, it wasn’t like that.” Hannah shook her head, sighing “I won’t make excuses for him being a shit husband and a lousy father because there are none to be made, and he knows that.”

“Yeah, he said all this when he came home.” Sarah gave a huff of laughter “He actually seemed different, happier almost, he was so relaxed with Maya and I get now that’s because of you.”

Hannah took a deep breath. “I kind of feel like I should be apologising for something here Sarah, I’m not sure what but-“

Sarah smiled “It isn’t your fault he’s been in love with you for the past 10 years.”

“Sarah…”

“You ever asked him why we weren’t at your wedding?” Sarah suddenly change the line of the conversation and Hannah looked at her, blinking “It was because he couldn’t bear to watch you marry someone else.”

“No, that’s... that’s not…”

“Ask him. He never admitted it but it was obvious. I was always second best in his eyes.”

“Ari loved you Sarah, I know he did, he’s told me.” Hannah implored “You’re the mother of his child.”

“Oh I don’t doubt he did.” Sarah smiled “Just not as much as he loved you. And here we are, he’s got you back in the end.”

At that Hannah felt the nerve twitch in her jaw, pissed at the nerve of the woman sat opposite her, blatantly trying to blame her for Ari’s attitude in their marriage. Like she was responsible for whatever he’d done over the last 8 or however many years it had been. She desperately wanted to defend Ari but couldn’t, simply because he had been an ass hole to Sarah and she wasn’t about to stick up for him when he didn’t’ deserve it, regardless of the fact she was dating him. But, she wasn’t about to sit here and take this crap from his estranged wife, especially not when Hannah had been through enough shit herself. She took a deep breath, folded her arms and arched an eyebrow. “Yeah, I guess he did. And all it took was a dead husband and a divorce huh?”

If her harsh, sarcastic tone bothered Sarah the other woman didn’t show it as she simply looked at Hannah with a small smile on her face, not a shred of anger on her face as she spoke “Well, fate has a wicked sense of humour.”

*****

Part 2

[hellyeahomeland]

Threnody(s) | Directed by Michael Klick, Cinematography by David Klein

Sara: The solitude of Haqqani’s final day continues to remind me of what they did with Brody in season three. No resistance, total acceptance. I still don’t know why the writers went in this direction, as it seems very intentional. Is Haqqani Saul’s Brody?

Gail: Haqqani’s acceptance of his fate is framed so beautifully in this shot of him quietly reading. The colors of this scene are very serene and spa-like as well. All of it together is very calming, which is a little odd given the metal bars that remind us he is in jail.

Gail: The shots into the cells of the other prisoners look much less serene than Haqqani’s adding a layer of unease to Haqqani’s dead man walking.

Sara: I mentioned this moment in my recap. The prisoners banging their cups on the cell walls is a real thing that happens in American prisons on death row. I loved this (horrifying) detail and act of protest.

Sara: These two men, both framed in shadow, but with completely opposite fates. These are such incredible shots.

Gail: The cape is to G’ulom like the separated beard is to John Zabel.

Sara: I would have loved the details of these framed photos on Zabel’s wall but the payoff with Wellington’s line– “for someone who was never in the military, you sure do have a pictures of tanks”–makes me doubly love it!

Gail: Ugh, THAT BEARD.

Sara: This on the other hand… If you read closely (and the show allows for it, as they do several close-ups of the text), this speech actually looks startlingly like what Hayes says at the end of the episode. Right down to the details about Jalal Haqqani being the one responsible for the presidents’ murders. This threw me for such a loop when I watched the episode that I was going full-on conspiracy thinking Zabel was in on it. Then I realized it was probably just a gaffe, albeit a massive one. What say you, Gail?

Gail: Oh weird! Has to be a gaffe since Zabel did not know about Jalal at that point. I do love the details on the speech though!

Sara: Haqqani refuses a hood, just like Brody…

Gail: If I had hair like that, I’d refuse that hood too.

Gail: Saul bearing witness to Haqqani’s death is very similar to when he watched Jalal’s brush with death earlier in the season. I also think it’s important to note that Saul stays to watch it. There is honor in that gesture.

Sara: Saul physically jumping when Haqqani was shot is something I won’t forget.

Sara: The scope of this shot is quite masterful. Saul and G’ulom standing opposite each other, both dressed in black. Haqqani’s dress almost blending in seamlessly with the ground and wall behind him, save for the bright red blood stains on his shirt.

Gail: It feels religious as well.

Sara: This is an incredible (and incredibly sad) sequence. The device of Carrie watching Max die from afar and then running a great distance to close that gap was dramatically stunning. Then the contrast when she arrives and gets as close to him as possible.

Gail: Like Saul, Carrie bears witness to a death. And like Saul, there is nothing Carrie can do to stop it. Like Sara, I thought Carrie’s run to Max was beautifully done. The last shot of Carrie holding him in this tight shot put us right there with her.

Sara: I’ll just say it, Linus looks cute in glasses.

Gail: He’s really grown on me!

Gail: I loved how the light filtered through the windows onto Haqqani. The light feels peaceful, even hopeful. Carrie’s call to Saul breaks through the quiet ritual he is observing. Carrie’s heartbreak over Max is palpable. I love how she was sitting down on the ground next to him. She was on his level and protective.

Sara: The way they shot the scene of Saul observing the preparation of Haqqani’s body is so visually similar to Brody observing Issa in “Crossfire” it must be intentional. That said, this phone call between Carrie and Saul reminds me of a brilliant line from Jacob Clifton’s recap of “The Choice”:

“The first time she says his name, he ignores it. The girl whose heart he tried to break, before she died. The girl who tried to tell him love and loss of self were worth it, before he left for a monster’s funeral. He ignores her voice because he would come apart if he could hear it. But the second time she names him, he turns around. It breaks him open.”

Gail: I blame Tasneem for this one.

Sara: Well, my prediction last week that we don’t need to worry about Jalal because they showed him to be quite stupid didn’t pan out too well! That said, I loved they way they shot this scene.

Sara: This episode has so many standout scenes. The climax here, of Carrie kneeling down beside Max to apologize for taking him for granted, is haunting. I just… fuck, I don’t know. This was so good. This moment feels religious in nature (maybe it’s the kneeling?), some sort of grand shift in Carrie’s personhood.

Gail: This scene illustrates so much growth for Carrie. I love everything about it.

Sara: What’s great about this scene is it serves more than one purpose. Obviously we learn just how much Carrie regrets the way she treated Max all these years. There is also a sizable shift in Carrie and Yevgeny’s relationship, beyond the obvious meaning of Carrie being this emotional and vulnerable in front of another person. Yevgeny’s hesitation to comfort her in such an intimate way, before finally giving into it, suggests a similar openness and vulnerability.

Gail: Ugh, I agree.

Gail: Wellington has the higher ground, but it’s short lived.

Sara: *chef’s kiss*

Gail: Saul’s life’s work came crashing down along with those helicopters. The fallout from it is coming in waves like aftershocks that follow an earthquake. Saul’s choreography gets more and more dejected with each one.

Sara: I am finally buying into this storyline of Saul’s great professional downfall, Gail. Maybe it’s shots like this? Seeing all his work this season crumble in an instant.

Sara: IJLTP.

Gail: Does she have dry shampoo with her there? IJLTP(s).

Sara: I truly stan these shots and YES it’s because she looks mean and angry!!!

Sara: What I love about the beginning of the scene is the camera stays close in on Carrie. We can’t see that she’s trapped by the special ops team. This, along with the shaky cam filmmaking, leads to a sense of uneasiness and anxiety among the audience that matches her own. I’d also like to note that after a season-long motif of showing Carrie being trapped inside rooms, cars, etc. – she finally becomes literally encircled by this team of men holding automatic weapons. 

Gail: As the soldiers begin to fold in around her it felt like she was being ensnared in a spider's web. I agree, Carrie’s uneasiness is accentuated with the shaky cam and the uptick of the musical score woven throughout.

Gail: I find it so interesting that Yevgeny stayed to see what happened. Here he is shot center frame, giving the audience a clue as to his importance in this scene.

Sara: This expression of fear and concern (for Carrie’s well-being, obviously) is everything.

Gail: I love how Carrie couldn’t really bring herself to fully point the gun at Saul. It was very half-hearted and he knows it, given his open arms approach to her.

Sara: This season is giving us a lot to live for on the Carrie/Saul front. I’ve already spoken at length about how this confrontation feels monumental to me. Claire and Mandy were so stellar. The dialogue, the way Claire spat “in fucking handcuffs” at him. It’s all so perfect.

Gail: We’ve seen Carrie turn her back on Saul before, but never like this.

Sara: Iconic.

Sara: These twin shots of Carrie and Saul staring back at each other (again, from a great distance) are so evocative. We have an entire scene of shaky cam and then everything gets incredibly still here, the strings in the score build… We have to wonder whether this is the last time they’ll ever see each other (obviously it’s not but we still have to wonder).

Gail: There is no turning back now and they both know it. The reflection of Saul in the helicopter windows is stunning.

Sara: I love when this show surprises me. The way Claire plays Carrie’s reaction surprised me. It’s less hurt and betrayed and more “what the fuck did I just do?” It’s all over her face. 

Gail: Her reaction struck me as child-like. She knows she shouldn’t have just done that, but she did and now what?

Sara: I can’t properly explain how much I love the way this was edited. The close-up of Saul looking out the window, not unlike his expression last season when he left Carrie in Moscow, Yevgeny and Carrie speeding away to God knows where. Again, it feels like something so extremely final has just happened.

Gail: Me too. We are watching the distance between Carrie and Saul grow in real time. It’s powerful.

Sara: … A season’s worth of shots of Carrie looking out a closed car window, and now the windows are down, open-air. Is she finally free?

Gail: Great insight. They’ve been playing all season at Carrie feeling trapped by her circumstances. Now she is creating them.

[shortmania]

If Olga had children, what do you imagine they would be like?

Oh, I created a batch of those years ago. This pic’s from 2014:

To create OC kids, there’s a lot of junk you have to consider. Mother, father, family, parenting styles, income, environment, and all the ways these things might come together to form a person. And thinking about Olga as a mother has always been… fucking hysterical, honestly. Like can you imagine? Can you stand it? I’ve only ever been able to think about it in short bursts because it’s too much for me. It’s too much. 

There’s also The Patakis to think about, and the ways Olga is likely to change as she gets older. Lucky for my sanity, I see her developing into a calmer, wiser, less chaotic sort of person. Less luckily, I don’t see this being a particularly significant development. It doesn’t matter if she’s 20 or 50, she’ll always be Olga Pataki and Olga Pataki is ridiculous. I don’t want to say she’d be a bad mom, but… she wouldn’t be a very good mom, either? She’d do some things right and other things very wrong. I’ll get into that, but lemme just do a quick rundown of the other basic considerations here: dad, income, and environment. 

I created a husband for Olga around the same time I made these kids, but I never developed him very far past a few basic traits and a general backstory. So he’s very basic, but he works. Charles was a good friend from Wellington College (in England) who shared most of her English classes, was the only one to maintain contact with her after she transferred to Bennington, came from money, raised by nannies, bit of a nervous wreck but hides it well because that’s how he was taught–to be pent up and twitchy. His fam wanted him to be a lawyer or business man but he quietly rebelled by becoming an English major instead, knowing full well how useless a degree it is and not caring at all. He eventually goes on to be a successful playwright, though, and Olga performs in all his plays. So, income would be decent verging on very decent, and their kids would grow up somewhere teeming with theatrical opportunities. Probably somewhere really crowded and loud and pretentious.  

Getting right into it then, from left to right, we have Angelique, Helena, and Genevieve, because Olga’s That Bitch. They attend(ed) a fancy private school because Olga’s That Bitch. They’re all very well-read, well-traveled and “well-behaved” because Olga’s That Bitch. But since Olga is, as specified, That Bitch, her kids didn’t escape her influence unscathed. 

Tbh, I do think any kids Olga would have would be Pretty Good Kids™– barring her having any with an absolute scumbag like she so easily could, but that’s another question entirely (I write fluff and comedy, so these kids reflect that) – but. Hmm. I see Mom!Olga being extremely affectionate, extremely emotional, and frequently selfish; generally hella overbearing; definitely stifling. And she wouldn’t want to, but I can’t see her not on some level perceiving her children as extensions of herself, and thus incapable of coping with anything less than Excellence on their parts. Not to say that I think she’d be a monster. I don’t think she’d force them into things or demand they win awards or anything like what Bob or Miriam did to her, but being in the same room as her with a less than impressive report card would be… uncomfortable. And that’d be on top of her always being in their business, looking over their shoulders, and constantly trying to spend quality time with them. Even when they don’t want to spend time with her, and so help any of them that say as much, because Olga’s incredibly sensitive. So layers upon layers of bad, there.

Some rebellion would be expected, then, so Genevieve gets into the goth punk scene. She’s more casual about it as an adult, but Olga doesn’t understand her. Helena uses comedy and misdirection as a defense and smiles very big and very nervous when her mom’s lip wobbles at her a little too expressively. Angelique straight up hides from her. She used to be sweeter, used to gently comfort her mom whenever she inadvertently did anything that upset her, but it took a toll on her and she can’t handle crying, or disappointment, or criticism, and she hates explaining herself so she avoids ever needing to. She’s a little emotionally underdeveloped, as a result. Not good for anyone to avoid conflict.

I also see Olga babying the hell out of her kids, so that would be another reason for Genevieve to rebel and Angelique to be Babey. In some ways, it’d be good, like they’d be generally very sweet kids, but I’m not sure how emotionally stable they’d be. Better than Olga, at least. Their methods of coping with heartbreak and life’s little every day tragedies would be… interesting, though. I sense a lot of Beethoven’s 5689574th and other general dramatics. Dancing, ice cream, black mourning veils being broken out over the smallest things. Either that or just complete repression.

Since you asked specifically how I imagined the kids, I’ll go ahead and give a messy little bio on each.

Genevieve: I wanted to play with the dichotomy of the Posh Gifted Nerd archetype and the Cold Badass Rebel archetype. Bob has an influence on her in that he’s something of a military enthusiast (I guess?), and I see Genevieve being lowkey into that as a kid, until she gets older and learns more about what goes on overseas and how much carbon emission hummers give off. Incorporates a lot of her old camouflage into her goth punk looks as a mocking salute to that now. Proudly rides on the outskirts of society in her down time, but she’s the most academically-driven out of her sisters and was absolutely Valedictorian. Reads a lot of books, a lot of Smart Person magazines, and listens to a wide range of music (classical, alternative, showtunes, punk, jazz). Creative. Loves history, but especially the Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian periods of Europe. Super into black pearls and lace. Bit nihilistic, but cares a lot about everything. Always gets into very interesting conversations with Helga, but Olga has no clue how to talk to her.

Angelique: I already kinda rambled about her, but she’s my All Natural Girl. No makeup, no piercings, had to be talked into using conditioner, almost gave up shampoo once (bad month for everyone). Shy, sweet, sensitive. Concerned with the world at large. She tries to be an academic like her family but she’s really not. She dresses and behaves like a perfect little nerd, but school doesn’t interest her, and she feels hella guilty and self-loathing about it. All she ever really wants to do is watch trashy made-for-TV dramas, cook/bake and moon hopelessly over guys. DIY af, buys nothing new. Is Babey. Soft clothes, soft eyes, a little messy and chaotic. Constant low-level thrum of anxiety. Rumpled button-ups and over-worn sweaters energy, forever jeans, rarely in skirts because skirts are stressful. That character you forget and underestimate but shocks you with insight from time to time. Will probably end up a baker or smthn. The oldest of the kids, actually, though she rarely acts like it.

Helena: That girl who raids your fridge, chews twelve sticks of gum and paints your nails whether you want her to or not. No sense of personal space, very touchy-feely, always wants to braid hair and thinks makeup on dudes is the greatest invention ever. Goes against the dress code at her school very brazenly but gets away with it because her work is excellent and the teachers adore her. Attitude in spades but she’s a sweetheart. Lots of friends. Loves her mom to death but tends to avoid her without quite meaning to. More Daddy’s girl, though she avoids him, too. Parents are no fun. Thinks her Aunt Helga and Uncle Arnold are the absolute shit, because why would we want to live in a world where she didn’t?

And that’s my take. There are lots different ways Olga With Kids could go down, but Intense and Stifling are pretty much the two things I see as being universal variables in the equation. So, yeah. Maybe a little less fluffy than originally intended, but Idk. These are old designs. Other drawings and further information on these kids here and here. Shown pic here. I hope this was helpful anyway. Have a good.

[nestaarcheronwillkillme]

Empires Fall~ 1. Descension and Ascension

Livid. Furious. Disappointed. Words could not do justice to the tempest of emotions which Nesta felt. There was simply no way to describe it- that fucking rejection. She had held her head high when the blow was dealt, simply walking out of that stupidly extravagant building. Her sister didn't want her in her city. That was fine. Nesta didn't particularly want to be there anyway. Stood in her dingy hall she couldn't give a fuck about them, she needed to get out. Fast. This place was suffocating her, she couldn't breathe under all its bloody feigned happiness. Sure it was beautiful and idyllic but it was just too forced, it wasn't real. She strode through to her bedroom and packed the few clothes she had in a small pack. Nesta had very few possessions which hadn't been destroyed, by war or herself. She moved to the small kitchen and grabbed a cheap bottle of pub beer. She was a thought away from making for the door before she realized the danger she may be putting herself in. She opened a top cupboard and retrieved a basic health pack containing bandages and the like. Slipping off her current, impractical footwear she searched for some boots. She could only find Elain's gardening wellingtons and put them on anyway. Stepping out her door, she began to lock up. When the fourth lock clicked she stepped back, into the quiet alley and observed her previous residence. "Bye-bye, shit hole" and with that Nesta Archeron was gone.

…

Aching feet and leaden legs failed to stop her from admiring the variety of courts as she trudged on. They truly were beautiful.

Sure, the Night Court was perfect to many but as she trudged on she noticed the mystery in the Day Court’s light and the vulnerability of the Dawn. Her favorite though was not the elaborate showcase of the Winter nor the easiness of the Summer.

She most admired the Autumn. It always was her favorite season but the court. There was something about it that reminded her of home, of herself. It took her breath away, the way the gradients of reds and oranges were like a fire where every flame battled another to see who burned hottest. It almost made her want to live there. Until she remembered the people; Beron, Eris, Lucien. All scorched by the flame. She supposed that she already bore scars though, she would fit right in.

No. Just no, she did not need the label which came when integrating into a society. She had not turned good nor bad. She was Nesta Archeron and she would burn under no one's shadow.

As her feet became numb and bruised anew she supposed she could do with some help in pointing out where she might stay for the night though. She truly was alone. No mother. No father. No Elain or Feyre. No Cassian.

It dawned on her then, exactly what she was leaving behind. Sure, she had let go of the rules and expectations but she had also lost a potential family. She hadn’t had one of those in a long time.

Now she would have all of eternity to find one, she supposed. The realization turned her thoughts to ash once again.

That flame, that anger and pain, and suffering. That was something new. She had not felt anything for months, had been numb and aching for some emotion to let her know that she had made it. That she was alive and kicking. None had come until the fury at being cast away. They had given up on her. All of them.

They did not know- could not fathom- what she was going through, so they gave up. They had no clue as to what power still writhed beneath her skin. At what she could do if she let go of the leash.

Something snapped inside her then. She had nothing else to lose, no one to tell her what she should or shouldn’t do. There were no expectations or standards.

A tendril of her power escaped her. It appeared black, then red as blood. It had a thick, fog-like consistency as it dissipated into the air. She let out a sigh and felt herself completely let go. Her fingers curled, knuckles white, and she aimed for a tree. Death once again was unleashed, something beautiful in the way it danced around the oak’s branches before sucking the life out of it.

With this power, she realized, she was untouchable. The High Lord of the Night Court would tremble at her feet.

Bitch Queen. King Slayer. It all made her and unmade her. She was Nesta Archeron and as she smiled wickedly she forced the earth to quake beneath her.

Tag list: 

@saltydreamcollector @starlightheir @dreaming-of-bohemian-nights @firemadeofgirl @sannelovesreading @blackfyrres @my-fan-side @elle-crys @rairrai @acotar-feels @nestacherons @crimziedrawings 

I hope you all like it and I’m going to try and post every week! xX

[taronfanfic]

Graduate’s Escape

Chapters 1-26 are here

Chapter 27

Christmas Day was racing by, the girls had you up at the crack of dawn to open presents. You helped Taron’s mum with some of the food prep and unsurprisingly got delegated to cocktail mixing by midday. Everyone was in high spirits, singing along to Christmas songs, seeing how many of their presents they could wear at the same time and Taron kept stealing kisses from you whenever he thought no one was looking. After Christmas dinner the whole family went down to the beach for a walk. Mouse and Nutty ran off ahead to paddle in the gentle waves in their brand new Wellington boots.

“Can I have a clue about my last present?” Taron asked as he wrapped his arm over your shoulder and walked closely beside you, following his mum and step-dad down towards the sea.

“I can’t think of anything that isn’t really obvious… I kinda thought you might have guessed it last night too.” You slid your arm behind Taron and held onto his waist.

“There was only one thing going through my mind last night!” He laughed. “You said it can’t be opened under the tree which makes me think it’s something big, but I don’t remember you putting anything big in the car…you’ve definitely brought it with you?”

“Yeah.”

“So it’s not what I’m thinking then…”

“I’m going to say no, because if you’d guessed it we’d be on our way straight back there now.”

“Let’s go then!” He spun you round and started walking back up the beach.

“Taron!” You let go of him and pulled your phone out your pocket to look at the time. “It’s only 4pm, we can’t just leave your family now.”

“So I can’t open it and then go back? I’m so confused!”

“Just trust me. It’ll all make sense later.” You kissed him teasingly before running away to join the girls in the sea. The wind was bitterly cold but you’d all wrapped up in your coats, scarves and hats and grinned your way through the photo requests from Taron’s mum. On the way back Little Mouse had got tired so Taron lifted her up and let her sit on his shoulders. You all crashed out on the sofa and received warm mugs of hot chocolate as you settled down to watch another film. This really was the perfect Christmas.

Y/N: Leave me your keys when you take the girls up to bed. Xxx

Taron frowned at you as he read your message on his phone. Mouse was already struggling to keep her eyes open as it hit 8pm so Taron scooped her up into his arms and carried her upstairs, casually leaving his keys next to you on the sofa. It caught his mum’s attention as you picked them up so you decided this was your best chance to leave.

“I’m going to head back now, could you let Taron know when he comes back down?”

“Of course, are you feeling ok?”

“Yeah I’m good, today’s been brilliant, thanks for everything.” Taron’s mum pulled you into a hug before showing you out to the front door.

“One present left, eh?” She gave you a quick wink and you knew exactly where Taron had inherited it from. You felt yourself blush and you didn’t know whether to go with it or deny everything. Taron had said his mum wasn’t like most others so you decided to see what you could get away with.

“Well when he can afford everything you have to get him something money can’t buy… let’s hope he likes unwrapping me!” You replied confidently watching on as his mum laughed back to you, not at all embarrassed or horrified at your answer. Taron was right.

“I’ll send him on in 5 minutes!” she called back as she closed the door. You ran down the road and round the corner to Taron’s second flat. As you got inside you flicked on a few lamps and threw some blankets out over the sofa, grabbed a beer from the fridge and downed half of it before disappearing into the bedroom to get ready.

“G, what’s going on? My mum was acting super shifty as I said goodbye.” Taron called out to you as he closed the front door behind him.

“There’s half a beer on the side, take your shoes off and get comfy, I’ll be out with your present in 2 minutes… Stop thinking about your mum!” You called back as you stood in front of the full length mirror to make sure your outfit looked good. There wasn’t enough time to fix your hair after this afternoon’s walk on the beach but Taron shouldn’t be looking at that anyway. “You ready?” You shouted again as you slipped your feet into your red stiletto heels.

“I don’t know what for, but yes…” You slowly opened the bedroom door and stepped out to see Taron’s mouth drop open at the sight of you. “Oh Fuck!” His eyes followed you around the room as you made sure he got a full 360 view before you got started. You stopped to put some music on and bent over seductively, allowing the sheer red material which hung down from the red bow tied around your chest to rise up and show off the matching bow on the back of your red caged crotch less knickers. “Oh. My. God.” He spoke slowly to himself as he turned round on the sofa to follow your path around the room.

“Merry Christmas, Taron.” You finally replied with your own smirk. His eyes were wild with excitement, mouth still open and hand reaching out for yours. You took his hand as you walked round the end of the sofa and stood in front of him. His hands immediately moved to your thighs and rubbed round to your almost bare arse.

“You’re so sexy.” He thought aloud as he leant forward and kissed the front of your knickers. His fingers toyed with pulling them down already but you stopped him and used the height of your heels to push your hips forward and a hand to lower his head down between your legs. “Oh yes!” he sniggered filthily as he realised he wouldn’t have to take them off all night. He licked over you quickly and forced his tongue around your clit a few times to help work you up before pulling away and standing up from the sofa to meet your eye level. You stepped up against him and could feel his erection was already rock solid so kissed him powerfully to mark your dominance for tonight and he didn’t try to fight you. As you slipped in a few grazes to his lips you started to unbutton his shirt, moving down to his belt and jeans as he pulled his arms out of his sleeves. He stepped out of his jeans after breaking off the kiss and still couldn’t keep his hungry eyes off you as you took a step back and kicked off your heels. You held out the end piece of ribbon from your top and gave it to him.

“Your final present to be unwrapped.”

“Saved the best ‘til last…” he tugged against the end of the ribbon and watched the bow pull through and fall to the floor leaving you topless before him. Glancing between his bulging cock and eyes let him know exactly where you were going as you moved back against him. Your hand stroked up his length through his boxers before you pulled them down, sank to your knees and wrapped your lips around him. He came apart in less than a minute, his knees bending slightly as his hips rocked forward and low moans filled the room. You swallowed around him and licked your lips and you stood back up.

“Thought that might happen.” You teased as you took his hand and pulled him through to the bedroom. “But now you’re used to seeing me in these you can fuck me all night long.” He kicked the door shut behind him and you took him by surprise by backing him up against it and lifting his arms up above his head. He could overpower you all day long but the impressively quick stirring of his cock let you know he was loving every second of being dominated tonight. You took your time with kissing him, starting slowly and letting the heat build naturally. You reached up with one hand and linked your fingers with his as you pressed your body into him, letting his other arm drop down to caress down your back and head straight for your arse. The boy was obsessed so you might as well give him what he wants. As you stepped away from him you kept him pinned against the door with your eyes, shaking your head at him as he tried to follow you. You threw him a condom from the top of the chest of drawers and then beckoned him over as you bent over the end of the bed, leaving your arse high in the air.

“The perfect arse.” He mused as he placed the palms of his hands to your bum. He slapped your right cheek firmly and moaned to himself.

“Harder.” You demanded, surprisingly enjoying the feeling. He whipped his palm to the side of your cheek and then thrust into you with force causing you to cry out as he took you unexpectedly. There was no slow start to tonight as Taron took to you with pace, thrusting into you with purpose. It felt amazing. You lifted your knees up onto the edge of the bed to go doggy style and relaxed your arms down slightly so Taron hit the perfect spot inside you. “Oh fuck!” You cried out again.

“Yeah, you like that?” Taron replied, wanting tonight to be more vocal than normal.

“So. Fucking. Good.” You replied one word after each of his thrusts. “Don’t stop.”

“You close?” he panted back, his hands gripping your hips firmly. You dropped your head down to the bed as you couldn’t answer him with words this time. You moaned into the duvet as you reached your climax and tensed up around Taron. “Yes Y/N, come for me!” he cried out as he slowed his thrusts and took you as deeply as he could.

“Fuck. Taron!” You moaned back as he held you right there on the edge, waves of pleasure surging through you as you tensed around him again.

“God, I can feel you. Feels so good.” Taron thought aloud through gritted teeth as he upped the pace again and shortened his thrusts to finish himself off. “Shit.”  He panted as he released inside you and let out a low groan.

Taron sat on the end of the bed and then lay back, giving his legs a chance to recover before he went to clean up. You collapsed down and rolled over so you were lying next to him and placed a quick kiss to the top of his shoulder as you got your breath back.

“I bloody love you.”

“And I love you and that incredible Christmas present.” He turned over so he could kiss you properly, his hand resting on the side of your face as he took your lips tenderly to his.