#(except to maybe like. drill me on my times tables in elementary school)

[rose-n-gunses]

unnecessarily emotional because my dad helps me with my homework

[wexhappyxfew]

The Nightingales of Fortune Favors the Brave

A Band of Brothers Fanfic Coming Fall 2021 (or presumably whenever Landslide finishes up!) 

HELLO!! If you’re reading this, then as you can see, I’ve finally created a master post with all my Nightingales (well, not really mine THE PUBLIC’S but you’ve all gifted them to me ever so graciously, and it honestly, it means the world to me). Just to see the excitement and reception I’ve gotten from so many people in the fandom involving a female group of Pathfinders - an area of war, I have wanted to cover ever since nearly over 2 years ago I got involved in the fandom. All OC’s will have their creators name listed beside them - I did not create any of these OC’s, all credit goes to the lovely people who crafted and gifted them to me for FFTB!

Viewing where I currently am in my life, I’m going to going to college this year! I got accepted into the school I wanted, the program I wanted, even a scholarship! And I’m beyond excited. I really wanted to have something there for me when college does finally, you know, HAPPEN, and so Fortune Favors the Brave was the only way to go! To have a wonderful group of Nightingales, of female Pathfinders in the Band of Brothers fandom, seemed to be the way to go. Updates and such will definitely be different - I’m picking up more work hours this year, probably even summer classes, night classes, weekend classes - whatever I can do to benefit my degree and myself, I’m taking the opportunity. 

And so, updates will presumably be quite different, depending on a variety of things, but...this will be my college story! No matter how many years it takes to complete and update and write, this will be the thing I have with me through it all for when I need a mental break from school! And I am beyond excited for when I do finally get to share this story more than anything! 

We have such a great group of OCs here - different backgrounds, different reasons for joining, different creators who gifted them to me, different friendships, relationships and abundances of sisterhood and brotherhood moments. I’m truly beyond excited to showcase the Pathfinders side of the war in the light of 16 female OCs, whose stories will be told through their viewpoints based on different episodes whether whole or split! 

So thank you ALL!! These past 2 years have been a joy in the fandom and let’s hope for another few more! I’ve managed 3 fics and 4 books total and I’m excited to bring, presumably, my FINAL Band of Brothers fic in the fandom to you all in the near future. Thank you!! <3

THE NIGHTINGALES 

Team C DZ C for 506th PIR, 501st PIR 

-> 2/506 PIR (Stick 2/Plane #4) 

-- TOCCOA VETERANS --

Team Leader 

Captain Eleanor Graham - @basilone

Eleanor Graham had never met a challenge she couldn’t conquer - the eldest of four and a farmer’s daughter, teamwork and diligence were drilled into her mind like clockwork, along with being as much of a leader in the eyes of her family as she could. There was more to life than a farmer’s wife for her future though, no matter how much she adored the farm her family had grown to craft from the ground up. Iowa brought no opportunity except the farm life deemed fit for her, so upon seeing the advertisement “ It’s Your Fight Too “, OCS had never seemed like a better choice in her eyes. Because it was all their fights - man, woman, child, anyone - it was a World War, a fight for all their lives, for human lives. And with the capability to obtain Captain just before leaving for Camp Toccoa, it solidified her position for not only leading in Easy Company, but leading the Nightinagles - the first stick of female Pathfinders.

Assistant Team Leader

Lieutenant Florence Godfrey - @pxpeyewynn

A British lady and an artist at heart, from the little town of Avebury, set inside Wiltshire of Great Britain, her father made it big in New York just as the war that swarmed throughout Europe, erupted into spitfire. And suddenly thrust into the world of an America before war, was unsettling. Her country fought while America remained neutral. Yet, when the advertisement flooded throughout New York City - she couldn’t help but take it as her only way to get into war. OCS was beyond enough challenges, but walking in as a Lieutenant for Easy and for the Pathfinders, she was no longer the little girl who prayed at night to whomever was above to end the people’s suffering, or avoided interaction to instead draw in her notebook. She was a Lieutenant, and she was a woman at war - yet what was she even fighting for? 

Eureka Operators (each equipped with a Eureka Transponder each)

Sergeant (NCO) Marie Reynal - @thoughpoppiesblow

Grandmère Reynal always held her at night, under the dark night sky and sang in her soulful Cajun French, the words flowing from her lips and remaining an ever-present comfort in times where food was hardly ever on the table, or when she had to watch the other girls at school get the latest Mary-Janes and she was stuck with her old ones. Her grandmère taught her to appreciate the small things in life. But when the “It’s Your Fight Too” poster came out in the papers, Marie Reynal knew there were larger things in life than the newest Mary-Janes at school. Packing up what she could, Marie headed out to Camp Toccoa, equipped with nothing but some clothes and her fiddle. 

Corporal Edith Lockner - @mercurygray

Remember to look up - her mother would always tell her that. Especially when things on their little farm got hard in Stanford, Illinois where the only thing that occurred there was the wagering price of corn that fluctuated with the ever-changing times. So...she figured that’s why she always tended to look to the stars when her mother would tell her that before bed each night, looking out the wooden window under her quilt as a cold draft blew in. She always imagined herself up there, amongst the stars and for once seeing what the stars saw. But to be up with those stars and to get to study them, she’d need a lot more money than what ever amount the corn tended to bring in. And the Airborne with a fantastic pay grade, along with the Pathfinders and their earnings -- it seemed her ticket out. Maybe there won’t be stars - but anything’s got to be better than here. 

Wireman 

Corporal Chiyoko ‘Luna’ Omori - @papersergeant-pencilsoldier

Know your place. Eyes down, mouth shut. And most importantly, honor your family. Chiyoko Omori has never been one to step out of line, nor has she been one to speak when otherwise not spoken too. Trained in the art of kendo, the Japanese martial arts that her ancestors trained in, she leads with discipline and integrity amongst the group of Nightingales training as Pathfinders, as the solo wireman of the group. Her intelligence, more than once, has saved her and in war might just save her again and again. Her father’s garage had always been home to a multitude of repairs and many she had learned to do herself. But there she had been Chiyoko. But for war, she must forget who Chiyoko is and embody the only other name besides her family name that she will ever know - Luna. 

Lightmen (each equipped with 2 Halophane Lamps each) 

Staff-Sergeant (Senior NonCom) Sarah Prowse - @junojelli

For once in her life Sarah Prowse would not have her twin brother by her side. He hadn’t been by her side for years after he went back home to fight with the English and lost his life at Dunkirk. But this was real, this was happening - and the Pathfinders withheld the opportunity to prove to herself that Edmund had died with valor and courage. And he would not have died in vain. The nannies had always said they were inseparable but they weren’t those kids anymore. This was real life. And in real life, there was love and loss and pain. And sometimes the only way to get through it all was to do the thing to distract you most from it all. Some days she wished her family could’ve just stayed in England - maybe Mum would still be here. With her sharp mind, and the ability to read people like an open book, rising to the rank Staff-Sergeant had come easily - reading the field and reading people were pretty similar...right? 

Corporal Jean Dawson - @tvserie-s-world

Life in Louisville, Kentucky had always been a sort of cozy-comfort that Jean Doxon had always enjoyed. The weekend fairgrounds filled to the brim with people enjoying the night life it offered, early summers filled with watching her father race horses around the tracks sprinkled throughout the town and nights by her boyfriend, Glenn Hartley, where the sky seemed to stretch forever into the night. That is before the war sent him away to the Pacific. And their only form of communication was reduced to letters, with pressed flowers and the hint of rose perfume. Jean refused to mope about, when she knew this war was hardly far from over. Quick-thinking on her feet, and a town champion for knot-tying in her days in elementary, she packed what she could and left for Georgia the second she was able to take the first train out. The Airborne had much to offer, but more importantly so did the Pathfinders. 

Corporal Mercy Codonoa - @whoahersheybars

Mercy Codona always been a traveler, never staying in one place and always on the move to somewhere new that she might've never quite been before. This meant new neighbors, new friends and a new way of life. Something the United States readily offered. Each new town in a new state had a different way of life than the next. She figured that's why she was so quick to adapt to her surroundings - nothing was ever permanent, nor set in stone. Neither was family. Orphaned by 17 and left to fend for herself, left in the care of her mother's estranged sister, Mercy took the liberty by herself to do what she could to support herself. Taking up odd jobs in each town she traveled to and managing what she could to feed herself. But she was proud of her Romani-Croat heritage and what her ancestors had done in their past lives. She intended on continuing what their stories had not finished. If only she could continue to support herself. It was only when the "It's Your Fight Too" showed up newly on the Fort Wayne clipboard by the post office in April 1942 and then and there in that moment did she decided - with the extra money the Airborne offered, along with that of the Pathfinders, she'd be able to support herself in the future as well as possibly find people with the same dreams as herself for their futures, and for once finally belong.

Private Kennedy Rutlidge - MINE

Kennedy Docherty had always had quite a wild and exciting mind, always having a new idea, or a new method on selling the most recent paper that got her a few cents an hour. All through her schooling years and even up to her senior year, she took to the busiest corner on Lake Ave and Lyell Ave, calling out to sell her papers, before heading home for the night and running her normal routine the very next day. She spent summers at Lake Ontario, in her grandmother's home on the lake, where some of her fondest memories of her youth had been born. She always believed that's why she was always fascinated with flying, like one of the birds or hawks that flew out across the lake in the early morning. What she'd give to get that feeling just once in her life, away from school and away from the constant need to make as much money as she could to help with the family. The words "It's Your Fight Too" scrawled across the paper in early April had caught her eye within a second and left her running home just that night to break the news that she was signing up. And almost a week later, she found herself packed on a train towards Camp Toccoa, Georgia, bright eyes and the last bit of innocence fading from sight.

Security Personnel  

Sergeant (NCO) Alexandra Calypso - @iilovemusic12us

A Boston girl who grew up with her proud Jewish faith, with a Greek mother, knew hard work and sometimes it was pushing yourself to the very limit beyond what the human body could handle sometimes. So that meant falling, scrapping your knee a few times, sucking up the tears, sending a quick prayer to God and moving on with your life. Life had always been like that - they weren’t the richest, nor the poorest, but there wasn’t ever enough food on the table or enough money to fix the roof, or even to keep the mortgage paid. But her parents never stopped working. And she supposed what drove her to the Airborne and to the Pathfinders was seeing how hard they worked. And they paid well she had heard. She could work with it. And if anything, the Pathfinders were more accepting than any school in Boston she’d been to. 

Sergeant Nellie Shaw - @hellitwasyoufirstsergeant

Hailing from a small, coastal town in Maine, the proud Scot wanted more than anything to stay out of war when it finally came knocking on America’s doorstep. But Nellie Shaw, loyal as saint, knew that there was one thing she could do for this country and that was fight. Give her a pack of cigarettes or a bottle of gin, and she’d go in swinging for the war effort, even with her grumpy morning attitude that slowly became infamous in her elementary school days among the school children. She had no purpose on a farm on a mountain side anymore, rather destined to do what part of the fight she could. Taking Greer Riddell under her wing, the fellow Scot befriended the least likely person to enjoy her company and yet Nellie’s easy-going companionship slowly became integral to the entirety of Easy Company and the Nightingales. 

Private Greer Riddell - @leighinthesky

Schruz, Nevada was home for 21 years and by the looks of it, home for the rest of her life. A bee farm in a tiny town wasn’t idle for the rest of her life, but if she never got the money for college to get out of the small town, she feared she wouldn’t ever leave. And knowing the military had offered 16 women a stick of a plane to get their shot at becoming Pathfinders for the Army was her ticket straight to Toccoa, Georgia for training. The pay could send her not only to college, but could get her out of that tiny town which had confined her to nothing but her family and a cute little bee farm where hard work always paid off. Don’t be fooled by her subdue and withdrawn nature, the second her hands touched the rifle - the field was hers and yet so was the valley.

Codebreaker [Betchley Park Member]

Sergeant Laverne Robinson - @vintagelavenderskies

For her 23 years of life, Laverne Robinson had known just about every spot in London where you could catch a smoke break and not get caught by one of the older women and get scolded for doing so. She blamed her older brother, he blamed her. It was a mutual thing. But that had been the only thing to fear in London - until war struck, which sent every eligible man off to fight for the effort. Her brother included, leaving her staring out the rain speckled window all alone as the smell of her mother's soup wafted past her nose. Yet, like many women of the time, she wanted to fight too. Fluent in French and German and skilled in mathematics and code-work, Bletchley Park seemed the best fit. Working on codes, both sculpting and breaking them inside the building, keeping her lips shut and going on about her normal day when not inside the institution, life didn't seem as dreary as she had anticipated. Because she knew she was apart of the effort to end this war. That was until, she was called upon in late March 1944 to join up with the 101st Airborne with the first female stick of 12 pathfinders to make the jump into Normandy and assist them in anyway possible. Laverne knew it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and if her brother were there, he would've told her to run with it. Becoming a professor of mathematics would have to wait.

REPLACEMENTS

Corporal Alessandra Lisi - @tvserie-s-world

Alessandra Lisi had never known her parents. She was always told that sickness had taken them when she was just a child. Her brothers had been older than her and had tried to protect her from the sight of her parents dying. And so when their Nonna had taken them into her home without hesitation, Alessandra grew to look to her Nonna as the other parental figure she’d ever had. Of course, her brothers were always there for her, protective as they were, they never let her get into any sort of trouble without hearing about it first. Alessandra grew to adore her Italian heritage, cooking with Nonna on Sunday’s, inviting family over to enjoy the meals and even getting to stir the sauce as Nonna dropped in fresh, cut tomatoes. That was life and it had always been life as such. But when war sent her 3 brothers away, she knew she would not go down without a fight either. Upon receiving the paper in November 1943, she noticed the cover page withheld the picture of 12 women, adorned in jump wings as well as military grade goggles and scarves standing with wide smiles and bright eyes in front of a C-47, the title 'The Nightingales', lying just underneath. Female Pathfinders. If her parents were here, they would've been telling her what Nonna would've been telling her now. Fight for what you believe in, because while there's life, there's hope.

Private First Class Bettie Smith - @sgtxliptons86

Brooklyn, New York had it all - the kids in the streets, the shops on the corners where you could get a piece of candy for as little as 5 cents, even the corner stores in the summer where you could get ice cream for a dime. And as Bettie Smith grew older, running the streets of Brooklyn became like a weekend job - checking in on the younger kids of friends, riding bikes past the floral shops and picking up flowers for her sister, getting a bag of charcoal for her father. Even throwing some curses towards the boys who would heckle her for the way she wore her hair or the old shoes laced on her feet. Her older sister wasn’t too pleased with it all, but ever since Ma had passed, she seemed to let it slide - it was an escape for Bettie. So when war came knocking on the Smith’s door, anger, yet pride for their country filled the home, as well as the streets of New York, as more men and women began signing up for the cause. More friends left to join the effort, leaving Bettie there on the concrete doorstep. So when Bettie received the daily paper in November 1943, showcasing the 12 female pathfinders of the 101st Airborne, front and center for all to see, Bettie took it in quite large strides and took the first train of December 1943 to Fort Benning, Georgia.

Private Annie Laine - @wereinadell

Annie Laine, the daughter of Finnish immigrants, had always dreamed of leaving the quiet countryside her parents had always preferred for their family for the big cities of the Midwest - maybe she’d go to Chicago and study theater, or maybe she’d go and finally attend college in Milwaukee. Anything to get out of the small town she currently resided in. But the countryside had brought alone its perks - orienteering and hunting were big in the Laine family and every child, her 3 brothers, her and her sister, had all been taught the noble art. Swimming the streams, fishing in the lakes, taking hikes through the forests and coming back with a deer for dinner - life had always been quite peaceful Annie felt. But she could always hope that one day it changed. And it seemed war rung those bells quite early on. Annie was tired of structured life and if anything, she knew that the start of structured life in the military would fall quite nearly to shambles once they hit war. The November 1943 issue of the daily newspaper brought upon not only sudden interest in the military, but in that of the female pathfinders who were paving their way in all of military history to be the first stick to jump into continental occupied-Europe. All it took was what cash she had saved for college and a small suitcase to get her on the way to Fort Benning, Georgia.

Private Marla Hughes - @hellitwasyoufirstsergeant

Lafayette, Louisiana had been home all her life - Baton Rouge just to the East and New Orleans just a little further. It had always been home for as long as she could remember. With the fancy parties her father always allotted for the family to attend, talking with the men in pristine suits, or the women with the big hats, some days Marla Hughes just wished to be able to go outside and enjoy nature instead of suffocating amongst the people who seemed to live in a world that didn’t even seem like real life. She supposed that was when she had hit her breaking point and joined the Airborne in Fort Benning, Georgia. She was tired of the life that did absolutely nothing for her. There was more to this world, so much more and yet she was confined to a party dress and an expensive glass of wine that tasted bitter when it rushed down the throat. There were small bars, where the music played, and you could dance until your feet grew tired, there were beer bottles awaiting to be clinked together with friends and there were people beside the stuck-up society she was forced into. The Airborne accepted anyone far and wide - and maybe she could strip of the posh life given to her and finally be set free.

THESE ARE THE NIGHTINGALES!!!

> if you have any questions, feel free to send them in! if not, it’s all good! these are our 16 nightingales! :) thank you to all of you who sent them in back in early December! It’s been an honor to craft these wonderful OC’s!

[echo-bleu]

Alex centric kindness prompt? Alex is in elementary school when he becomes friends with Maria Deluca. He didn’t realize that friendship would also come with Mama Deluca. (Maybe Alex spends the night and is shocked that some parents sing their kids lullabies, and kiss their foreheads at bedtime and he’s even more shocked when he’s included in this ritual.)

Thank you!! I absolutely loved this prompt, although it took me too long to write it.

InsidiousIntent was my amazing beta for this fic, and screamed at me for making her cry. Then she was insistent that I make you suffer the same, so here it is :) The title is her suggestion as well, from an eponymous (I think) poem by Anonymous.

[implied abuse]

Also on AO3

"Alex, we're having a sleepover!" Maria greets Alexenthusiastically when he finds her in the little corner of the schoolgrounds.

"A sleepover?" Alex frowns. He's never had one, except ifyou count sleeping on the floor of the Valenti cabin with hisbrothers and Kyle.

"Mama phoned your Dad and he said yes!"

"Really?" Alex asks, awed. Maria has been talking aboutinviting him to her home for her birthday for weeks, but he didn'tthink Dad would ever agree.

Maria nods enthusiastically and hugs him, dragging them both into alittle dance.

Alex is still getting used to how tactile hisfriend can be. He's never met someone like Maria before. He justfollowed Kyle everywhere, on the first day of school, afraid oflosing sight of the only other personhe knew, and Maria came and jumped on Kyle from behind, nearly makingthem both stumble to the floor. She then proceeded to solemnlyintroduce herself to Alex, explaining that her Mama knew Kyle's Daddyand since Kyle's Daddy knew Alex's Dad, that meant they were allfriends. Alex didn't think that was quite how it was supposed towork, but he didn't protest when she took his hand at the nextlineup.

The three of them have been friends ever since,though Kyle is the only one who is also friends with most of theirclass. Alex tends to keep to himself, and Maria seems to be a bit toomuch for mostof the other children.

"It will be after my birthday party on Saturday," Mariasays when they stop dancing. "You'll stay all night and Mamawill drive you back in the morning."

Alex smiles in response to her enthusiasm. The idea is a littledaunting, but he wants to be as good a friend to Maria as she is tohim. And her Mama seems nice, when she comes to pick up Maria afterschool.

He carefully prepares a small overnight bag on Saturday, with Flint'shelp for once, and puts his gift to Maria inside. It's a wind chimehe made himself, with colorful beads his mother left behind and ashell he picked up at the beach last summer. He traded a whole weekof taking out the trash so Harlan could help him drill a hole in theshell, then threaded a piece of yellow string through the beads, withcareful knots at both ends. Maria loves yellow.

MrsValenti picks him up and drives him and Kyle over to Maria's house.Maria hugs them both enthusiastically, before introducing Alex to hermother between giggles.

“I've heard a lot about you, Alex,” the bright-eyed woman sayswith a smile. She's warm and gentle, and she wears a lot of jewelrythat moves with her and shines. Alex likes her, though he feels alittle intimidated.

“It's an honor to meet you, ma'am,” he says with a tremblingvoice, trying his best to channel his father.

“Oh, don't call me ma'am! Mimi is fine,” the woman laughs.

Alex calls her ma'am again five times during the day, and shecorrects him every time until he shyly tries to call her Mimi. Whenhe does, she gives him a bright smile and a hug.

Alex freezes in place until she lets him go and hides in Maria'sbedroom for half-an-hour.

Alex and Kyle are the only boys at the party, but Alex doesn't mind.The three girls Maria invited are all nice and polite, and theirmothers distant. For once, Kyle is the one tagging along with Alex, abit shy around girls. Maria jumps up and down and runs around a lot,and dances with everyone she gets her hands onto. She blows hercandles in one sweep and ends up with a lot of chocolate on her face.

Alex carefully eats his cake with his spoon and decides it's the bestcake he's ever tasted.

He watches Maria open her gifts, which are all store-bought pinkdolls and miniature kitchen pans, until she gets to his. It looks sosloppy beside the others, because he wrapped it himself, and he'ssuddenly terrified that Maria isn't going to like it. He wants torun, to escape this room with too many people in it, but he's stuckat the table beside Kyle and he can't move. He doesn't even feel thetears running down his face until Maria looks up from tearing off thewrapping paper.

“Why are you crying?” she asks, tilting her head.

Alex shakes his head and sniffles. The other children stare at thetwo of them for a moment, then collectively decide that since Mariahas finished opening her gifts, it's time to go play. In a fewseconds, they're alone at the table.

Maria catches Mimi's eyes, then she jumps off her chair, grabs Alex'shand and drags him to her bedroom. Alex follows reflexively, used toMaria taking the initiative.

“What's wrong?” Maria asks Alex, sitting him down on the bed.

“You−you don't like my gift,” Alex stammers, still crying. Hehates how easily he cries. It makes him weak. His brothers don't evercry, except Flint when Mom left, but that was over a year ago.

Maria holds out her hand, holding the little wind chime tightly.

“Of course I like it!” she says, sounding offended. “There'syellow beads! Did you make it yourself?”

Alex nods, relieved. He wipes his face with his sleeve.

“It's beautiful, Alex,” a soft voice says from behind him. Alexturns to see Mimi leaning on the door frame. “Do you want to hangit now?”

“Yes!” Maria jumps to her feet. “At the window!”

Mimi must be a nice mother to have, Alex thinks, as he watches herlift Maria up so she can hang the chime from the window handle. Hedoesn't remember if Mom ever hugged him like that, only that herhands and her eyes were almost as dark as Mimi's.

“Look, Alex!” Maria points at the chime. “It's the same coloras my shirt!”

Alex is crying again. He doesn't even know why, but he doesn't likeit.

“I think Alex is getting a little overwhelmed,” Mimi says. “Howabout you stay in here for a bit, darling?”

Alex nods. He doesn't want to go back to the other children. There'stoo much noise and too many people.

“I wanna stay too,” Maria says.

Mimi crouches down. “Maria, you can't leave your guests alone fortoo long, but how about this: you let Alex calm down in here whileyou play with your friends a little more, and then we say goodbye toeveryone and you can come back.”

“Okay,” Maria nods after thinking about it for a bit. “Is itokay, Alex?”

“Okay,” Alex sniffles.

Maria rummages through her bookcaseand comes back with a book. “Here!” she hands it to Alex. “Soyou have something to do!”

Then she runs back to the living room.

“Don't worry, little man,” Mimi says. “We'll be back soon,alright?”

Alex nods and smiles a little. He doesn't mind staying behind.Maria's room is very nice and it smells good, and he's used to beingalone.

Later that night, afterthe other children and their parents are gone andthey've eaten dinner, Maria and Mimi layout a little mattress for Alex on the floor of Maria's room. Mimithen sits down on the bed with a book she pulls out of the top shelf,with a picture of a dragon on the cover.

“Bilbo?” Maria asks, excitedly jumping ontothe bed.

“We can start back at the beginning so Alexisn't lost,” Mimi answers.

Alex watches them curiously as Maria curls underMimi's arm.

“Alex, baby, come here,” Mimi pats the space on her other side.

Alex's eyes widen. "Me?"

“Of course,” Mimi says warmly. “Unless you don't want to,that's okay too.”

“I can read,” Alex frowns.

“Then we can all take turns.”

“Come on, Alex, it's a good book!” Maria says. “You'll likeit.”

Carefully, Alex climbs onto the bed. He holds himself just out ofreach of Mimi's free arm, and she doesn't insist on pulling himcloser.

The book is a grown-up book, with very few pictures. The text swimsin front of Alex when he tries to make sense of it. He's not the bestat reading at school. It's hard, and Flint doesn't want to help himlike he used to anymore, now that he's started middle school. Momtaught all of his older brothers before they started school, but Alexwas too small when she left, so he had to teach himself.

Mimi starts reading, sliding her finger along the page to show themthe words, but Alex can't focus on the story. He's too aware of howclose he is to Mimi's body, how warm she is. Maria is staring at himover the book instead of following along. Alex stares back, and shefrowns a little before she starts giggling.

“Maria?” Mimi asks.

“Alex is happy,” Maria says between bouts of laughing.

“Yes, darling. I can feel it too.”

Alex looks up at Mimi. “Really?” he asks. Is that what happyfeels like?

Mimi nods and smiles at him. “Do you want to take a turn atreading?”

Alex struggles with the too long words, so he only reads twosentences before Maria, who is more practiced than him and alreadyknows the story, takes over.

When he slides under the blanket on the mattress a little later,already half asleep, his head is full of dwarves and houses withround doors and adventure. He watches Mimi kiss the top of Maria'shead before tucking her in, and waits for her to leave.

Instead, Mimi bends down again and places a gentle kiss on Alex'sforehead.

He hopes she doesn't see the tear on his cheekbefore shuts the light off.

-

Comments/reblogs make me warm inside. Even if you want to scream at me.

This is one of three prompts I received on the same day, and although I am very slow filling them, they will be posted as a series on AO3.