#Henrik kept his promise

[crimsonlyinglilly]

Mikaelson fluff

some small bright spots of joy to combat the sad I keep writing.

---

The first time Kol realised he was taller than Elijah he couldn’t help but crow about it, pleased and proud, Klaus and Finn had joined him in his mocking by asking if it was hard, Elijah had been good about it, letting out loud put-upon sighs, and reminded them all the things he was better at. 

The teasing had died down after that until Rebekah had earnestly promised Elijah she would be kinder to him when she also got taller than him. 

Elijah had quickly declared Henrik his favourite when he had sworn never to outgrow him, which Henrik had taken in seriousness, stuck his tongue out at them and pulled his ‘best brother’ away.

For the next couple of weeks, all of them kept finding their belongings out of their reach, it only stopped when they discovered Henrik on Elijah’s shoulders red-handed, tying Finn's favourite belt on a branch high above on the tree closest to his hut.

[212-apricity]

chess and muffins

heyy everybodyyyy

ok so firstly i promise chapter 12 of mastermind is coming pls bear w me; secondly ive been watching the olympics and you guys. literally why does everyone look like models like they're GORGEOUS esp steven nedoroscik and armand duplantis like yummmm

also can we talk about the muffins pls bc they’ve had a chokehold on me for way too long now like pls i need to recipe rn

anyways a friend of mine, @curaheehee , asked for this one and girl i really hope this lived up to what you wanted bc guys i tried my best and i lowkey hate it but i hope it was okay for the ask😭🙏❤️

The chatter of the audience around the stadium hums behind me, accompanied by multiple news reporters and retired athletes, everyone giving their opinions on the past events today.

Simone, Suni and I are standing around the sidelines, chatting away trying not to “psyc ourselves out” as we wait for the officials to finish prepping the equipment before we can compete.

“I really wanna try one of those muffins Henrik keeps posting about, they look so delectable” I say, imagining the muffins I’ve seen everywhere but still havent had the chance to try.

“No you really need to, they’re soo good” Simone adds as Suni nods along,

“How long do you guys think they’re going to take? Like its already been almost an hour, I’m getting so bored” Suni says impatiently as we look around and still see the officials fiddling around with the equipment.

“Who knows, the french overcomplicate everything” I say, making the girls laugh as we look around for anything else interesting to keep ourselves entertained during the wait.

Simone spots a rubiks cube under a chair and picks it up saying excitedly, “Hey Y/n didn’t you say you could solve one of these things?”I smile, taking the cube from her excitedly, “I don’t know honestly I think the last one I solved was like two years ago.”

“Try it, I’ll time you” Suni says getting her phone out as Simone reshuffles the cube.

“Three, two, one, Go!”

I shuffle the cube around as quick as I can and finish in 7 seconds, yelling out along with the girls as everyone around us looks at us strangely as we jump up and down out of excitement.

“Okay, on the plane back home you have to teach me how to do that” Simone says.

“Me too!” Suni adds.

I open my mouth to respond but before I can, I feel someone tapping me gently on my shoulder and I turn around to see who it is.

“Hi,”

Steven Nedoroscik.

Of course.

I had seen him earlier this week in the mens pommel horse event and I couldn’t stop giggling over him during and after the event when Simone and Suni kept showing me edits of him.

I try to keep my cool as he speaks, “I think I dropped my rubiks cube somewhere here earlier, have you seen it?”

“Oh! Yes of course,” I’m broken out my trance as he finishes asking his question and I turn around to take the cube back from Suni as she hands it to me with a smirk as Simone tries to repress her giggles, seeing me so flustered.

“Thanks,” He says with a smile looking down at the solved cube, “Who solved this?”

“Oh I did, sorry I didn’t know it was yours.” I say, slightly embarrassed.

“Don’t worry about it, how long did it take you?” he says, making me feel a lot better.

“Seven seconds” I say proudly as he raises his eyebrows in surprise,

“No way! The fastest I’ve solved one in is eight seconds” he remarks, making me laugh.

“Hey how long do they take to set these things up?” I ask putting a hand on my hip and the other pointing to the stage.

“Don’t even get me started, I had a whole nap in my event”

I laugh along with him, “I might just have to start doing that too, but I’m not competing for another week after today so I’ll probaby just spend the rest of the week hunting down the chocolate muffins and playing chess.”

With this Stevens eyes lit up, “You play chess too?” he said exictedly

“A little bit, not like competitively but my dad taught me when I was younger” I say, smiling at his interest.

He goes to reply but is cut off with a thick french accent over the speakers announcing,

“Everyone who is not a gymnast or a coach, please exit the area; the event will begin shortly.”

Before he leaves, Steve asks, “Hey if you’re not doing anything tomorrow morning, would you want to meet up at the dining hall and play a round?”

I’m stunned at first but quickly recover once I hear another announcement over the speakers, louder this time.

“Yes. I’d love that” I say, smiling broadly as he lets out a held breath and nods before leaving, almost tripping over a chair behind him making me laugh.

timeskip

I scan the trays of pastries in the breakfast section in search of the chocolate muffins before giving up when I couldn’t find any and taking a pain au chocolat and water instead and making my way to where Steve was carefully placing chess pieces on the board.

“Good morning,” I say, taking a seat in front of him causing him to look up and smile,

“Good morning,” he says, pushing his glasses up slightly, “I saved you a chocolate muffin they were about to run out”

He hands me a chocolate muffin, still warm, “Oh my gosh stop, I was so heartbroken like two minutes ago I thought Henrick took them all, thank you so much” I laugh, blushing slightly.

“Of course! Shall we start?” he laughs, blushing and motioning to the board.

“No hold on,” I say after a bite of the muffin, “What does the winner get?”

“Hmm…” he thinks, “How about if you win, I get you muffins every morning for a week,”

“Mhm okay I like where this is going”

“And if I win, you go on a real date with me” he looks up nervously through his glasses catching me off guard with wide eyes.

It takes me a minute but I respond, “Okay”

I’ve never tried harder to lose.

again like i lowkey hated it uughh but guys please feel free to send in any requests about anyone bc im rotting away until september 6th and ive got literally nothing to do❤️❤️

[averseunhinged]

it's happening. there is movement on one of the stuck things. really hoping to get this part done sometime in february, but we'll see.

24/7 sylvia plath

snippet 1 of insihta

snippet 2 of insihta

snippet 3 of insihta

very short snippet 4 of insihta

snippet of a later post-graduation installment

i think that's everything in the order in which it happens. i'd meant to share something from when klaus and caroline are actually in the same room, but it's not at a sharing place yet, and i felt too shitty over the weekend to make anything coherent, but i've been unpacking and filling in the earlier parts, too.

so, here's more of klaus Going Through it. falls after snippet 1.

He built a fire the way Finn had taught him, so long ago. A little hut of kindling and tinder--balled up newspaper, now, instead of dry leaves and bark. His brother would likely disapprove, but there was a lighter tucked into the half-empty packet of Silk Cuts he'd picked up the last time he'd been in D.C., easier than the flint and steel set he kept in his pocket. He remained there, knees digging into the floor. A penitent, balancing small logs around the struggling fire and waiting for them to catch.

Finn taught him, and when the time came, it was Klaus who taught Kol, and in turn, Kol taught Henrik with surprising enthusiasm. Even then, Kol had been bloody minded and wild, with little interest in village life. He was a warlock, through and through, disappearing into the wilderness for days at a time, sometimes only returning for the full moon. Unrepentant, even when shouldering Esther's worry or submitting to Mikael's wrath.

Klaus had wished him gone so very many times over the years. He’d been so difficult. Ran away when he should have stayed. Let the madness take him, despite the attention it brought. Didn’t care when his willful disobedience was dangerous for the family. Klaus daggered him just to have a moment's peace. Several moments. Centuries of moments.

He would have all the peace he could choke on now.

He stood, left the fire crackling merrily, singing of warmth and family and safety, and found himself outside before he knew what he was doing, body aching with the need to run farther, fall further. But his cigarettes were still in his hand, and it was as good an excuse as any to press his back against the block facade and stay.

Smoke burned the way it always did, his lungs healing virgin fresh, before he’d even exhaled, a welcome itching, aching pain. Upstairs, he heard the shower spray hitting tile and Caroline's naked body, and her muttered complaints about his conditioner, her hair’s lack of manageability, the tangles she struggled to comb through.

He'd go up the backstairs when she was done. Avoid her until he was clean again, too, and the acrid, grubby scent of second-hand smoke, and the remnants of her stolen blood, her flesh, which he had diseased, and Kol's charred, brutalized body were washed away. It would allow her to leave without seeing him if she wished. She'd promised to speak with him, to gift him her honesty, but he wouldn't hold her to it, wouldn't force her to stay. If she wanted to go, he'd let her.

He would. He would. He would.

It was the least he could do.

[countrymusiclover]

1 - Never Get a Break

Part 2

Family is More than Blood

@secretdreamlandmentality

Mature don't read if you're not 18 +

When we're young, we're taught the distinction between a hero and a villain,good and evil,a savior and a lost cause.

But what if the only real difference is just who's telling the story?

I come from a long line of the villains in the tales you've heard about vampires,werewolves, witches, and everything in between.

The school behind these gates protects the secrets of people like me and my children.

My name is Raelyn Mikaelson, I was born a siphon witch of the Gemini coven. The wife to Klaus Mikaelson and the mother to his four beautiful children…the only vampire in existence to be able to have children once they turn.

I could go into the long and complicated story and how all this happened but you already know everything for the most part. So let’s jump into what has happened since two years ago we finally put the Hollow down and we rid the world of its magic forever.

Hope, Alina and Missy are eighteen now. Andrea is finally a teenager. I can hardly believe it. Little Henrik is seven now. And if I’m right Lizzie and Josie should be fifteen and will turn sixteen soon. I know if you were still here you would be over the moon about all of this.

Hope isn’t a full Tribrid yet she still needs to become a vampire. Missy has become a heretic like me and J. Oh Alina and Jackson are going to school together and she has now become what I call her a werewitch. Andrea should follow her path someday when she and Henrik trigger their wolf curse. Then my little boy will have to die and become a hybrid just like his father.

Caroline has run off again in search of a cure for the merge before her twins turn twenty-two. I try to remain hopeful she will find one since I can’t provide it for her anymore ... .oh Jacob and Hayley are living with us in Mystic Falls even though we aren’t actually there at the moment.

You know Klaus, he promised me the world and everything and he won’t go back on a promise. Regardless I love and miss you with all my heart, I’m not sure why I am writing these letters even though you can’t ever read them, but it has become a hobby. I’ll write more later.

Love you mom, Rae.

Closing the book on my lap I lifted my head upwards seeing my husband come in from the kitchen in our hotel room. He insisted we have the best sweat possible. He smiled, tossing me a blood bag that we had kept in the mini fridge. "With all the letters you wrote to her you could have a whole book written, love."

"Yeah a book that no one can know about. With it saying supernatural creatures are actually real. I'm not sure a publisher would believe anything I'm saying." I sent him a glare tearing open the blood bag drinking from it slowly.

He came and sat down beside me making the bed dip at his weight. His eyes softened when he focused on me. “I could just compel them to ignore that little detail.”

“Then it wouldn’t be real, Nikkaus. If I ever wanted to tell our story. I want everything to be real. Everything to be true and see people’s reactions. But that’s not what you want to talk about is it?” I sent him a smirk, being able to read him like the back of my hand after all these years.

Klaus flopped down beside me on the bed crossing his arms behind his head. “So where do you wish to go in this big wide world next?”

“Nik, we’ve literally almost been all over the planet. New Orleans, then Paris, then Italy. I mean honestly we can’t just snap our fingers and run all over the earth.” I shook my head at him rolling onto my side so we were facing each other.

He reached up playing with hair in between his fingers while he spoke. “We’re vampires, Raelyn. We can do whatever we want. Especially you and me. After all, we are two of the strongest creatures on the planet.”

“Ah I see. You’re still holding back what you want to talk about. Spit it out or I’ll find out through a tickle ear.” I threatened him with a playful smirk on my face scooting closer to him.

Klaus used his vampire speed vamping above me trapping me in between his body and the mattress of the bed. “You said that we would try again for another baby once the kids were older. The triplets are adults now so…can we?”

“Oh my god you’re ridiculous Niklaus. I have only been denying for two years and it’s already driving you crazy!” I smacked his chest with my hands feeling my face turn red at the thoughts running through my mind.

I wouldn’t lie to myself and say that I didn’t want to sleep with him again. I mean we would always be attracted to one another forever. But we had both agreed that until things had settled down that we would do it again. After Lucien/Marcel and the Hollow we had been separated every time we were so close to a stable relationship with our kids. I couldn’t live through anymore time apart from the man I loved. "You're ridiculous, Nik. Are you seriously that needy.” I couldn’t not tease him not believing that he would be so demanding of us sleeping together again. I mean of course I enjoy it who wouldn’t when you have someone like him.

I attempted to get up from the bed but he snagged my wrist holding me still in my place.

He spun me back down onto the bed holding my wrists above my head. “Raelyn, surely you’ve felt the desire too. I mean it can’t just be me now..”

He trailed his hand underneath my shirt feeling me jump at his fingertips. “Nik please , ah!”

Klaus leans down, capturing my lips with his in a deep hungry kiss. I kissed him back gently before he started moving kisses down my face. “Ah ah I see what I do to you, Mrs. Mikaelson. That you are so sensitive just as I am.” He kissed down, nuzzling his nose into my neck as he went.

“Ohh Klaus!” I moaned, throwing my head back against the pillows. One hand was bawling the fabric of his shirt in my fingers.

He moaned, crashing his lips onto mine again where I wrapped my arms around his neck. “See you don’t want to leave this bed just as much as I do. Hmm…you can’t….help…yourself either.”

“Klaus stop. I…if you’re going to tease me…get it over with please!” I scooted up onto the pillows feeling my chest heaving up and down with the veins going underneath my eyes.

Klaus sat up on his knees shrugging his gray Henley over his head tossing it somewhere across the room. He moved his hands down to my shirt, tearing it in half. “Gentle or dominant, love?” He questioned throwing my torn shirt off the edge of the bed.

“Either way I don’t care. I just want you right now.” I told him, taking his face in my hands, I drew him in for another kiss.

He smiled into the kiss moving one hand through my hair deepening the kiss. Our hands were moving everywhere across each other. We both began to moan when he fisted the other's hair. “If we have another baby….ah…what should we name it.” My husband breathed out holding himself up by his hands on either side.

“Niklaus shut up and make love to me!” I began to move against him and leaned up pressing my lips down upon his. He embraced me back instantly when my fingers dug into his back, drawing blood that would heal later. He ran his body over every inch of my body he could reach, both of us slick with sweat as he moved against one another, our pants and moans filling the room.

The bed was moving against our actions where he kept hitting the specific spot that we both moaned afterwards to. He broke the kiss where I held his face in my hands tracing his cheek with him thrusting into me slowly. “Rae, I love you!” He moaned when I pulled his head downward burying my face in his neck nuzzling my nose and kissing into his skin.

“I love you too, Nik.” Grabbing a hold of his shoulders I flipped him onto his back catching him off guard where he flashed his hybrid eyes up at me.

He put his hands behind his head looking longingly up at me like this with him. His eyes scanned my neck before he sat up with me sitting on his lap. “Do you want to give this another go?” He traced his thumb over the vein in my neck.

“Absolutely. We belong to each other.” I smiled, brushing my long hair out of his way. My eyes never left his while put his head in the crook of my neck breaking the skin and drinking my sweet blood.

Not wasting a second I buried my face into his neck drinking his blood with the same gentle yet needy feeling running through our veins at this moment. He kept his face in the crook of my neck while our bodies were just molding against each other. We shortly reached our heights in only a matter of minutes where he drew his head back when I harshly tugged on his hair until the phone was ringing like crazy . “Bloody hell…you’ve got to be kidding me!”

“Who is it?” I grabbed my phone from the nightstand with me still staying as close to Nik as I was.

Hope’s voice came through the phone shocking us both never thinking we would hear something like that. “Mom. Dad, we just had to face a dragon. Alairc wants you guys to come back to school now.”

“Uh okay. We’ll book the next flight home.” Hanging up the phone Klaus sent me the same confused look before we separated and got dressed, both annoyed that we apparently couldn’t have a rest from craziness. Especially when we live in Mystic Falls.

Comments really appreciated ❤️

[izzylovesyou2022]

Adventure Is Out There~ Pavel Datsyuk/Henrik Zetterberg

Hank was finishing packing his truck for the camping trip he was taking with his best friend, Pavel, when his cell phone rang. He closed the cab of his truck and, without looking at the number, answered the call.

“Hello?”

“Sasha, where you? I wait outside for 15 minutes. You fast usually.”

Hank snickered and wrapped his fingers around the door handle on the driver’s side.

“Sorry, Pav. I was trying to find all my stuff. It’s been a while since I went camping,” he reminded Pavel as he hopped up into the seat.

A snort from the other end of the line caused Hank to roll his eyes.

“Good excuse, Hank. You want keep me waiting.”

Hank put his keys in the ignition and started up the car.

“Keep that up and I’m not taking you at all,” he playfully threatened, turning his phone onto speaker so he could back out of the driveway.

“Okay, fine. I angel now on. Deal?”

Hank chuckled.

“It’s a deal, Pav. I’ll be there in five, okay? Just stay right where you are.”

Five minutes later, as promised, Hank pulled up to the curve near his friend’s house and honked his horn.

Pavel, half-asleep on his front porch, jolted awake and swung the bags up over his shoulder.

Hank scampered from the car and took one of Pavel’s bags from him.

“Here, let me assist you with that,” he said, throwing the bag into the back-seat of his truck.

Pavel gave him an exhausted smile and climbed into the passenger’s seat.

“Thank you, Sasha.”

Hank got himself buckled in and started the car just as Pavel let out two huge yawns.

“If you’re tired, go ahead and sleep, Pav. It’s a five hour drive anyway.”

Pavel, being the stubborn Russian he was, gave a firm shake of the head.

“Not want you lonely.”

Hank shook his head and carefully turned out of the driveway.

“Not going to be lonely, Pav. You’re exhausted; I can see it in your face. I want you well rested for all of our activities for this weekend. Okay?”

Pavel didn’t argue the matter anymore and curled up into a tiny ball in the seat.

“Lizzy kept up most night. She no stop crying. Momma offered watch her. So I here.”

Hank turned on the piano music he’d kept in the car for Pavel and continued to drive.

“Sleep, Pav. I’ll let you know when we’re there.”

Pavel instantly feel asleep, leaving Hank alone with his thoughts.

As he made his way closer to the camping grounds, he would occasionally glance from time to time at the sleeping man. He couldn’t help but notice the hair that fell in his face, or the way he was using his hands as pillows, or the cute little snores that escaped from his lips, or the smile he got when, Hank assumed, he was having a happy dream.

-I wish I could make him mine. He’s so perfect. He’s just want I want in a boyfriend: beautiful, sweet, funny, and a family man.-

Finally, after four hours of driving, Hank pulled up at the campsite. He climbed out of the car and thought about waking Pavel up, but decided against it. After all, he did have a baby that kept him up all night.

It took him about an hour and a half to unload everything from the truck and put up the tent (which was really hard to manage on his own) but eventually he did it all and then figured it would be a good time to wake Pavel up.

Sneaking to the passenger’s side of the car, Hank smiled softly down at his friend and slightly shook his shoulder.

“Pavs, we’re here.”

A grunt and a glaring side eye met his cheerful tone.

“I need bathroom. Where one at?”

Hank chuckled and stepped back a few paces to let his friend out.

“We might have to walk to find one. Unless you wanna go pee in the forest.”

A pout and a smack on his arm was Pavel’s reply to Hank’s cheerful teasing.

“I need walk anyway,” Pavel said gruffly, starting down the wooden path.

“Hey, wait up, Pav,” Hank called, chasing after his friend. “I need to use the restroom too.”

After walking for several minutes (or miles), Pavel sighed and tipped his head so that his eyes met Hank’s.

“I sorry. Not mad you. Just stress with baby.”

Hank laid a soothing hand on Pavel’s back—at the base of his neck—and rubbed a circle around it with his fingertips.

“It’s okay, Pavs. You just woke up. Not everyone can be a ball of sunshine like me.”

Pavel stiffened at the touch at first, but soon relaxed into it, allowing Hank to massage his troubles away.

“Not blame me if eaten by bear,” he teased, turning his sour mood into a teasing and joyful one.

Hank, pleasantly surprised at his friend’s change of tone, pouted at the joke.

“Not funny. What would you do without best friend,” he countered as the two of them raced into the woods together.

The both of them relieved themselves before Pavel could answer.

“Not bothered poor rookie.  You not steal clothes. You not steal food my house.”

Hank whined and stuck out his tongue.

“You’re not nice, mister. You’re mean,” he said even as he held out his hand for Pavel to take.

The gesture making him smile, even though he wasn’t an old man, Pavel took his hand and got pulled to his feet.

*10 at night, around the fire*

“Pavs, come on! I’m about to make smor’es…… s’mores,” Hank yelled out to his Russian teammate, who was hiding in the tent. Dammit, he still got tripped up on that word. Something about that “S” and “M” combo.

Pavel, dressed in a sweatshirt and jeans, popped himself out of the tent and ran to Hank’s side.

“Sugar. Not good you. But I not care time. I hungry.”

Hank laughed and tugged the tray that held the ingredients towards them.

“Do you know how to make them, Pav?”

The older man snorted and whacked Hank’s elbow.

“I Russian. I not dumb. We invent s’mores, you not know,” he asked, snatching a marshmallow from the bag.

Hank got his own stick and marshmallow and placed it over the fire.

“Liar. We invented s’mores. We just exported them to your country.”

Pavel snorted in amusement and turned his marshmallow over to brown it.

“You not know history. We invent s’mores. Whole world know it. You thank me, not me thank you. Oh, you marshmallow burn.”

Hank moaned in embarrassment and moved his stick away from the flames.

“Great. Now can’t eat it. I hate burned food!”

Pavel snatched the burnt treat off of Hank’s stick before the young Swede knew what was happening and replaced it with his browned one.

“I eat then. Me like burned food. It good. You crazy,” he mumbled through a mouthful of s’more.

Hank rolled his eyes and, unlike Pavel who had decided it was a good idea to stuff the entire thing in his mouth, ate his s’more with small, careful bites.

Then, when he’d finished eating, he caught sight of Pavel’s face. It was covered in chocolate.

“Oh my gosh, Pavs. You look like a little kid. Your face is plastered in chocolate,” he laughed, using his thumb to wipe it away from his friend’s cheeks.

Pavel snickered and playfully licked at his thumb.

“What you? Mother,” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Hank, unable to control himself, howled with laughter, losing his breath in the process.

“Oh….my….word…..Pav…..you…..are…..hilarious,” he gasped between giggles, wiping at his wet eyes with a fist.

Pavel grinned with pride and helped himself to another marshmallow.

“I know. We Russians known that. We famous for.”

Hank, in the moonlight/firelight, almost lost his balance. Pavel’s figure, his graceful movements, his bright eyes, cheerful lips, his wrinkled nose, made him so breathtaking. He was the most beautiful sight in the world.

“Take picture. It last longer. Woods going nowhere,” a heavily accented voice said, breaking Hank through the fog of his thoughts.

“I was just thinking about what trails we’re going to explore tomorrow,” he defended himself.

Pavel shrugged and chewed contently on his bar of chocolate.

“It tomorrow. We enjoy now. Think too much, you do.”

Hank didn’t bother replying to his comment. Instead, he dropped his gaze to the ground and twisted the shirt around in his hands.

-Should I tell him? I don’t want this to ruin our friendship. But, I’m going to explode if I don’t get it out. I have to take a risk at some point, right?-

“Penny for thought,” Pavel teased, once again jolting Hank from his clouded thoughts.

Still, the young Swede didn’t say a thing. Beads of sweat that didn’t come from him standing near the fire appeared on his brow, but that was quickly wiped away.

“Henrik! You worry me.”

Finally, Hank twisted his head to look at his friend.

“Just thinking about someone.”

“Who?”

“A friend.”

“What friend?”

Here was the moment of truth. It was now or never. He had to take the risk.

“Pavel, I really like you. As more than a friend. I’ve had a crush on you for almost the whole year, but I was too scared of saying anything for fear of ruining our friendship. I’m sorry if I scared you off, but I needed to tell you.”

His head, once again, fell onto his chest as the hands, that had sat so still in his lap, started to tremble. 

There was nothing but silence for a minute, but then Pavel spoke.

“You no scare off. Like you too.”

The gasp that echoed from Hank’s lips was unattractive, but he didn’t even care as he gazed, no, stared, upwards at Pavel.

“Y-you mean it?”

Pavel nodded.

“Never surer in life. Want you. Not just love-making, but love you all ways.”

Hank moved himself closer to his friend, trembling, a mix of nervousness and excitement.

“Can I kiss you,” he asked, eyes carefully watching the older man.   

Pavel’s heart couldn’t help but melt at how anxious and shy Hank was acting. If this was truly his first relationship, he’d make sure it was a good one.

“Yes, Henrik. You can kiss me.”

Hank covered the last new inches between them, cupped Pavel’s cheeks, and uncertainly pressed his lips on Pavel’s.

The kiss was awkward, but neither of the men really cared. All they could think of was their love for each other.

When Hank finally pulled away so they could catch their breath(s), he felt like he was on top of the world.

Pavel snuggled himself into the other man’s warm, strong chest and relaxed against it. So, was this what love felt like? He didn’t mind it!

Hank drew his arms around Pavel’s waist and kissed his forehead.

“I love you, Pasha.”

Pavel poked him in the stomach and offered him a wry grin.

“Love you too, Sasha.”

[dreadfamed]

ON HIS RELATIONSHIPS WITH HIS SIBLINGS .

FINN. there was no love lost between finn and klaus. finn was ever at their mother’s side, and klaus, who desired nothing more than his parents’ affection  ( so often denied him ), would have sheltered no small bitterness over the ease with which finn coexisted with their parents, the good terms on which they could live. however, there was nothing through which finn and klaus could connect. his eldest brother was the most serious of the lot, and even as a boy klaus did not know how to play with him. after their transformation, finn proved the most conservative of the lot, and as klaus grew more and more wild, learned to revel in what he was, he found Finn increasingly not only a bore, but also an annoyance and an impediment.

ELIJAH. elijah never stood against mikael in defense of klaus until after esther’s death, until their father hunted them all across europe. while they were brothers, while they played together as brothers would, joked together as brothers would, though elijah sought to teach the young niklaus the skills their father desired that he master, klaus lacks the same devotion to his brother that he shows to rebekah. at the very core of matters, he does not trust elijah, and especially after klaus’ heritage becomes clear, klaus always harbors a sense that elijah perceives his brother as something ‘other,’ something that does not belong. when they swear ‘always and forever,’  klaus hesitates in accepting and trusting that promise.

as years pass and klaus becomes less and less niklaus and more and more klaus, a monster who thrives off blood-filled indulgences and terror, klaus's distrust only grows: though elijah may be no less bloodstained, his refusal to acknowledge his indiscretions and the scorn he holds for klaus’s serve as but one more wedge between them. though they remain comparatively close, most of that connection comes from their mutual affection for rebekah. it is for her sake: being with her requires keeping company with each other. 

and over time, klaus does convince himself that he cares for his brother, and in some ways he does. yet that affection comes less from a steadfast devotion or deep-rooted affection and the promise of ‘always and forever’ than it does from a shared past. klaus calls himself rebekah’s constant, but in many ways he, elijah, and rebekah are all each others’ constants. they shared their childhood, mikael’s temper, esther’s betrayal, the loss of Henrik, fleeing from their father over a thousand years and witnessing the eternal passage of time. that constancy creates a bond that transcends even their differences and their disputes. it is this which stays their hands when they quarrel, this which would keep them from killing each other no matter what transpired, no matter how much they might convince themselves otherwise. 

KOL. in many ways klaus ever saw kol as the annoying little brother. after all, what brother doesn’t harbor such feelings toward their younger counterpart? but kol was also the most in-touch with his magic, the child of esther who showed true interest and potential. klaus always felt a special pull towards magic, but he possessed no magic of his own due to his werewolf nature, a fact he kept hidden and that left him envious of kol. 

after their transformation, that barrier would have ebbed, and over the centuries, kol became most like klaus. he became the sibling with whom kaus could most identify, who, he sometimes thought, could best understand him. at times, he found in kol a camaraderie as well as that solidarity that comes with time and the passing of years. however, as kol was prone to going too far and alerting mikael to their presence, klaus was forced to dagger him with no small frequency, brewing bitterness and enmity between them. yet, though klaus may put on a facade of not caring much for his younger brother, the loss of him would affect him more strongly than he is willing to admit. 

REBEKAH. of all his siblings, klaus treasures rebekah most. for all their squabbles, for all their arguments, for all he daggers her for her so-called ‘betrayals,’ he does love her unconditionally. it was she whom he was close to as a child, she who never made him feel less or unwanted. it was she he comforted and she who sought to defend him against mikael as they grew. it was she who, after learning of esther’s betrayals, swore never to forsake him. if there is one sibling he will always return for, it is her. if there is one sibling he misses in their absence, it is her. she is the only of his siblings for whom he will openly acknowledge actual and genuine affection, the one for whom he would do almost anything. 

but, with the way klaus loves, he desires and has desired nothing more than her complete and unending devotion. the men who charm her he perceives as threats, for insecure as he is, he is confident she will leave him sooner or later. he does not know how to share her love and refuses to do so. even with elijah, he battles for her attention, rendering their relationship an eternal game of emotional abuse, pulling her closer and pushing her away. he would rather keep her daggered in a box ( but with him ) than permit her to abandon him, no matter how temporarily. but it is with her alone that he can be tender, her alone from whom he does not fear the same judgment he expects from his siblings.

of course, he receives judgment from her with greater frequency over the centuries, as his crimes against her pile higher and higher. her accusations pain him far more than anything elijah or kol might say to him, making him erratic and volatile, but never would he truly harm her.

HENRIK. children possess a certain innocence: they are unassuming. thus Henrik was, until his death, free of all the bitterness that klaus held for his other brothers. henrik was even, in many ways, oblivious to the violence with which mikael treated klaus. this meant there was an ease in their relationship that, while it could not come close to how klaus felt about rebekah, made henrik his second favourite sibling. klaus often dragged henrik out upon his escapades, and the two of them found themselves in frequent trouble.  losing henrik, especially as klaus perceived himself responsible, was harder to bear than any of mikael’s abuse. klaus has largely shut it from his mind, all but forgetting that he once possessed a younger brother.

REGARDING ALL OF THE ABOVE. klaus has a very twisted perception of realty and a very twisted perception of his relationships, especially with his siblings. he expects to be the outcast, as mikael raised him, and so he finds in their actions proof to that end. he expects their scorn, so he hears it in their tone. he expects to be abandoned and betrayed, so he sees innocuous actions as betrayals. the way Klaus understands things is not how they are. 

[crystalninjaphoenix]

*wobbles in with Blanket around me*

Heyo Chap it's me your Friendo :D

I just Finished reading the newest Chapter of TFMAU and Ooooo You got me Excited ^^ and questions came right up on my mind.

Question 1 : You mentioned that everytime Jair gets a Vision The King Notices it. What about Those 2 times where JJ had a Vision where he escaped the King. 1 time It was at the very start Of the Fanfic where Chase Grabbed JJ later they Were with boats somewhere and they were like resting JJ started to get a Vision and everyone didn't know what to do. And the second time where he was in Wvyernlair he Got one there too. Does that mean the king Also saw those visions? And It's still suspicious for me That The king just did let Chase Take JJ.. The king has a plan dosent he? He wouldn't have done it without a reason He knew what he was doing.

Question 2: Why is Henrik taking medicine for what? Did it got mentioned once? If yes I dont remember if not I'm curious why.

Question 3: who is The mysterious Voice? Is the Voice good or has it bad intentions and is just fooling Chase around?

Also for some reason my mind projected The mysterious Voice as my Voice it was weird but also funny My Mind Placed "Me" into that Fanfiction xD.

I hope you're doing Good ^^, I'm sick since 1 week and It's not getting better TwT. Also good that I did Check the # because I think you forgot to tag me in the new Chapter But that's okay dont worry! ^^)>💙

Oh I'm sorry I did forget to tag you D: It's been like a month, but even so, that's on me. I'll make a note for next time, I promise. As for your questions:

Question 1: No, the King didn't know about those visions. There's a distance limit to his powers. If you get too far away, he can't read your thoughts. That's why he kept Jameson so close for so long. As for why he let Chase take Jameson, he does plan to get Jameson back. But also in the moment he didn't want to risk hurting Jameson, since he's very valuable to him.

Question 2: We don't know yet! That'll be revealed later ^-^

Question 3: That will also be revealed later! But I will say that the voice in the well doesn't mean Chase any harm. Not to say that harm won't come because of related reasons, but it's not their intention. That's funny that you heard yourself, haha.

I'm glad you're enjoying it as always!

[beerecordings]

I ALMOST FORGOT TO COME SCREAMING INTO YOUR INBOX LIKE I PROMISED, AAAH!!

Okay so putting the all caps aside- Bee, my gooooood I'm going to miss the wolf au so much ; ; This story has made me feel so many different things, ranging from joy, pity, sadness, anger, hatred, and then something like contentment at the end.

Seeing everyone's different journey was wonderful, to see them grow, change and actively work on themselves, it really put a smile on my face. With Marvin going from his ever constant anger and outburst, Jackie with his unresolved issues with his father, Chase and Henrik's fear and anxiety about their new nature, and even Anti and JJ at the end!!

It's crazy to think back on the earlier chapters where I kept calling Anti a freak and such before the big reveal with Iris had happened. Every interaction we got to see with her just made me feel more and more sorry for him :( So I'm glad that in the end Anti is surrounded by people that wants him amongst them, that will protect him and hopefully let him protect them in return.

I could keep rambling about so many other details but I'm pretty sure I'd be repeating a bunch of other things I've already said in the tags I left, ha ha! I'll just say that this whole au was an absolute delight to witness, and to this day I'm still thinking about the lil ari cameo you put in one chapter :]

(And also one last thing, I still think that Jackie's dad is very punchable)

YAYYYY RAMBLESSSS

thank you Ari I'm so happy you've liked it!! and I love that you have noticed the details :)

Anti did a lot of horrible stuff and they definitely could have decided they didn't want him around, but I just wanted to see them offer him that radical forgiveness because they really do all see themselves in him in different ways. Henrik's felt out of control with his lycanthropy, Jackie, Marv, and Chase have all been victims of abuse, and JJ has the same need for stability and care that Anti has after the way Iris treated both of them.

I did think about having a bit at the end where Jackie texts his dad and his dad doesn't text back, so he just puts his phone down and goes to the park with the pack without worrying about it. cause it doesn't matter anymore

(Marvin also thinks Jackie's dad is very punchable. he respects Jackie enough to let him make his own decisions... but he will also be watching his back!!)

thank you so much to everyone who has left comments throughout the whole story!!!!

[star-kissed583]

Meeting Marvin (chap. 8)

Single dad Jackie AU

Summary: Jackie is now getting ready to meet the potential babysitter. Although there is some events within the morning

<<|Chap 1|<<|prev:7|<<|next: Coming up|>>

"Jackie?...Jackie??....JACKIE!?" Henrik's voice suddenly sounded right in front of him.

Jackie suddenly sat up in bed-trying to wipe the sleepiness away from his eyes, "W-wha?? What's up Hen?" He groans out softly.

Henrik could only point at the door as he tried finding his words, "Jamie...Jamie cry...he piss in bed" he tried informing.

That was all Jackie needed before suddenly throwing the covers off himself. He rushed out, "What! Thanks Henrik, can you help me and get him some new clothes from the closet hon? I'll go help him"

"Ace help Jay now" henrik says before walking out to gather some clothes for the little one year old.

Jackie rushed out of the room after putting on a tank top. Quietly making his way to the room, he could hear Chase and Anthony trying to calm down Jay.

"N-no- sicky achoo achoo-no tears. It's okay! It happens to everyone!" Chase tried saying as he rubbed Jay's back.

Anthony was hugging his brother, unsure how else to comfort his twin. He felt bad-feeling JJ hiding his face in Anthony's shoulder. He was afraid of getting in trouble. He didn't mean to wet the bed, but he had a nightmare and didn't notice until he woke up.

Jackie slowly let himself be known of being in the room, "Hey...everything okay??" He asked softly while going and sitting down beside the little boys.

Jay flinched at the sound of Jackie's voice-worried he was in trouble-it made him start to cry even more. Anthony kept his arms around JJ, looking at Jackie with a brave front, "No mad! He no mean to!" He instantly protested.

"No-I'm not mad...I just wanna help...Jamie will you let me help and clean you up?" Jackie made sure to keep his voice soft in order not to scare the little ones.

Chase stayed silent-as best as he could at least- as he listened to what was going on. Before seeing Henrik walk in with some clothes and Robbie beside him.

Jamie was trembling, he didn't even react to Jackie's question-just squirming uncomfortably while hiding his face.

Jackie sighs, thinking a bit before setting a soft hand on Jay's back, "come, I'll help you clean up, hon. Nothing to be scared of." Jackie says as he carefully and gently picked JJ up, "the rest of you get ready and head down. I'll be down in a bit. Someone should be coming over today."

Henrik gives Jackie the clothes he got before helping Robbie head downstairs.

Chase was trying to help Anthony-but the boy was complaining and whining.

"No!! No! Bubba! Man take bubba!" Anthony shrieks as he tries to follow behind Jackie. Chase having to hold the boy back. Ignoring the hits of Anthony's small fists on his arm.

Jackie carried JJ to the bathroom, getting the needed items to help clean him. He shut the door behind him quietly while setting JJ on the counter.

The blind boy gently ran his hands on the counter surface-getting a feel of his area. Though small sniffles were leaving him with silent tears.

"Hey, no need for more tears... I promise not to hurt you. I'm just needing to get you cleaned up." Jackie's soft voice surrounded JJ while he worked on undressing and cleaning Jay.

Jackie was focused on what he was doing-the only sound in the room being the running water and the occasional sniffle of Jay. When Jackie finished and dried Jay up-helping him change he looks at the little boy, "You wanna tell me what your nightmare was about?" Jackie didn't know how Jay would-considering the little boy couldn't speak-but thought it would be better for JJ to let out his emotions somehow.

Though JJ seemed to think otherwise-shaking his head softly.

Right as Jackie was gonna say something-the door knob of the bathroom jiggled. And then two soft voices sounded on the other side.

"Jackie! Person here-Anthony no, stop" Henrik's voice sounded on the other side-along with a huff and a whine from Anthony.

Jackie finished preparing Jay, before opening the door. Instantly Anthony went to up to Jackie and hit his leg-before trying to reach up to his twin brother, "JJ! JJ!"

Jamie began to squirm in Jackie's arms, hearing the voice of his brother and wanting to be with him.

With a sigh, Jackie carefully set Jamie down, watching Anthony quickly pull his brother close.

Looking up to Henrik, Jackie rose a brow, "Someone knocked??? It must be the babysitter. C'mon boys. Let's go down and meet him"

Leading the way downstairs, Chase was sitting on the coach with Robbie-Robbie was busy coloring to mapay attention while Chase kept an eye on the door.

Taking another deep breath-Jackie heads over to the door and opens it with a friendly smile, though it quickly turns to a shocked and almost flustered smile at seeing who was at the other side of the door.

"Uh...are you Marvin? Right??"

"Yes, you must be Jackie correct?? Mr.Jackleman?"

"Yes! Please call me Jackie...uh come on in!"

Marvin smiles softly as he enters. He wasn't how Jackie image would look-but not in a bad way. Marvin has long hair that was tied into a bun, a bit of a stubble-yet styled out with incredible clothes. He seemed like he actually put effort on his looks-wearing some nice creamy white pants with an orange top-all while Jackie was wearing some simple sweatpants and tank top.

Marvin looked around the area with a soft smile, before making eye contact with a kid that was simply peeking around a wall. Only for more heads to pop out as well-staring at Marvin with curiosity.

Jackie shut the door, before turning around and chuckling. He saw almost everyone-except Jay-staring at Marvin.

"Let's go to the living room-and I can introduce you to the boys"

Instantly-the heads disappeared as Marvin and Jackie walked into the living room.

Marvin was led to a coach-watching as the kids were looking at him like he had three heads-which was fair since he was a stranger to them.

Though Marvin took notice that one kid was looking at him-instead he was playing with some building blocks, though a boy who looked really similar was standing right beside the boy.

"Boys...this is Marvin...he might be your babysitter-for when I need to go out to work" Jackie began to explain, Marvin waving softly at the kids.

"It's lovely meeting you guys...what are your names?" Marvin wanted the kids to grow comfortable enough with him-so what better way to start than having them introduce themselves!

The boys looked at each other-Jay stopped playing at the sound of someone new's voice. Henrik then stepped up, waving softly, "Uh...I Henrik..." he spoke softly.

Marvin instantly took note of the accent. He stared at the boy a bit, trying to figure out what the boy had, only to be startled by the some random sound coming out from a kid.

Chase covered his mouth, seeming embarrassed for the sound he made. Yet, the strong embarrassment only made things worse-as he kept letting out small tics. His hand began to hit his chest, but Henrik quickly grabbed a pillow and helped the poor boy.

"So-sorry! I-BOOM!-I'm Chase-Ow!"  Chase tried speaking before hitting himself on the chest hard-even with the pillow there he could still feel it.

Jamie flinched at the sudden shout. His head shot up in worry. Unsure about what happened-instinctively reaching a hand out for Anthony.

Jackie frowns, "Chase you alright?"

"BOOM!-Need a breather" Chase says softly.

Jackie nods, "c'mon. Let's go out to the backyard a bit" he says as he walks over and gently sets a hand on Chase's back.

As they walked, Chase instinctively reached his free hand out and grabbed Henrik's hand. Tugging him with him. Henrik caught the hint-following behind and keeping the pillow on Chase's chest.

Marvin watched them walk off, hearing Chase's tics still clear as day. His gaze then went over to the three younger boys, giving them a friendly smile, "What are your guy's names?"

Robbie stared at the man, unsure what was going on. He blinked, looking over at Anthony and JJ-who stayed back a bit with the toy blocks. He soon waddles over to Marvin, looking at him curiously.

Marvin smiles softly at the young boy who was struggling making his way over. Once the kid was within arms reach, Marvin gently picked him up and set him down on the couch beside him.

Marvin gently ruffled the boy's hair, "what's your name Buddy?"

Robbie only lets out a giggle-clapping his hands before looking over. He bounces in his spot, "papa! Papa!" He cheers, looking over to where there was a door being opened and shut.

Marvin looks up and sees Jackie entering-this time by himself. He looked apologetic towards Marvin, before sitting down beside Robbie-letting the boy climb onto his lap.

"Sorry for taking a bit-as you could probably tell Chase is the one with Tourette's. Henrik has amputations"

Marvin nods before looking over at the boy on Jackie's lap, seeing the little one was staring up at him curiously.

"What's his name?"

"This is little one is Robbie. He's my biological son. He's got FAS....say hi Robbie" Jackie helped make Robbie wave a hand. Robbie only smiling brightly at Marvin as he giggles.

Jay could hear the voice of another person. He perked up-feeling like recognized the voice. He gets up-about to waddle over-only for a "humpft" to leave him as he was pulled back down by his brother.

Anthony kept an arm on Jay, blocking him from getting up again, keeping the boy close. He kept staring at Marvin with untrusting look-before looking over at Jackie.

Marvin looks over at the twins, trying to give a soft smile at them. "Who must you two be?" He asked softly. But Anthony didn't budge. He just stared silently at Marvin.

'They look familiar...from where though...' Marvin thinks while waiting for a sort of response-only growing uneasy from Anthony's stare.

Jackie rose a brow, "Anthony-wanna introduce yourself and JJ to Marvin?" He asked softly, trying to motion them over.

Anthony shook his head, "no!" He snapped. Furrowing his brows while he suddenly grabbed Jay's hand-getting up and leading his brother out of the room. Jamie followed behind-unsure where they were heading.

Jackie and Marvin watch Anthony walk out with Jay. Jackie feeling more confused on what had happened, "I-I'm so sorry about that...the one that talked is Anthony, he gets seizures, and the other is Jamie, he's blind and mute. Anthony is very protective over his brother" he informed.

Marvin hums, thinking about it all, "Well...how about I help you out today-see how you handle everything so I know what to do. So whenever you need me to babysit, I'll have an idea of what to do"

Marvin sees Jackie's bright smile, knowing now that Marvin was willing to take the job. Jackie nods, wiggling Robbie softly, "You hear that bud? We got y'all a babysitter!" He coos at Robbie, gently kissing his cheek and getting happy giggles from the young boy.

Marvin could only smile as he watched, he could tell this man cared for these kids deeply, even if it wasn't gonna be easy-he's always been up for a challenge.

[crimsonlyinglilly]

No. 19: BLOOD TRAIL

Abandoned Cabin | One Way Out | "Is there anybody alive out there?" (Bruce Springsteen, Radio Nowhere)

Here's Day 19 of @whumptober 2024

back to Reincarnation Woes

----

Kol should have known better, Elijah was his other half, the only constant for several lives now and likely longer as he had no idea how to fix the curse he had accidentally placed on them.

They knew their siblings were out there, Freya and Dahlia as well, given she had prepared a way of immortality before she had come for- well they were all out there in the world somewhere but they thought it kinder not to look for them.

No doubt their siblings had assumed they died centuries ago and Freya and Dahlia had already mourned them once, it was easier for everyone.

They were cursed to lose everyone around them, to lose each other over and start over a handful of years later, there was no reason to bring more into that pain.

They had been born close in age this time,  Kol from a foolish misadventure and Elijah had died of old age.

Elijah had promised not to go, when they heard rumours of undying monsters.

Of one monster hunter the vampires close by.

They knew who it was.

Kol should have known better than to believe Elijah, yet he had returned home to find the cabin abandoned.

Elijah’s weapons taken.

He turns and runs the moment he puts it together.

The first sign he finds in a broken arrow and blood in the snow, vampire blood first, Elijah must have enchanted his arrows to slow a vampire’s healing as he found a blood trail to follow but soon enough he came across an area of churned ground and melted snow. 

A discarded sword, Mikael’s sword.

After that far more blood joined the trail until he got to the end.

Elijah sat against a tree, his own sword sticking out of his torso, Kol didn’t think but dropped to his knees to start chanting a healing spell.

“So-rry.” Elijah wheezed, blood flecking his lips as he did.

“No, no, you don’t,” he hissed as he moved his hand to the wound his magic had done nothing, meaning something was blocking him “you idiot.” he snapped as he realised what it was, old magic, spiteful magic, something Elijah had studied in his third life and Kol’s second 

“I had to.” Elijah told him, a hand reaching out to grab his, it was cold. “I made him relive their deaths, Henrik’s too and the day he returned to find Freya dead. He will understand how I felt and everytime he remembers what he did, he’ll feel it all over again, like I do.”

“No,” he snapped, “you could have stayed home and let him pass. Instead you got killed by your own sword.”

“I couldn’t-” Elijah started.

“You let him kill you again.” he cried, his voice breaking, it was too similar to the first time.

“I hurt him.” Elijah insisted, eyes bright blood, spreading with every word with more flecks of blood, Kol knew the fact the sword remained in him and the cold that kept him alive long enough for him to get here.

“And he killed you.” he said slowly.

“He did-n’t want to.” Elijah grinned at him, pale skin and bloodied lips, dying but pleased about it because it managed to hurt his murderer.

Kol had a sinking feeling this no matter what he did wasn’t going to be the last time. Elijah would take any way to punish Mikael for tearing his family from him

Kol was going to be left to clean up the aftermath, bury or burn his brother over and over.

Like he was going to do anyway, because all of this was his mistake.

“You're going to do this again.”

“Yes.” Elijah told him unrepentant, because why fear death when it never lasted and they couldn't avoid it.

He twisted to sit beside Elijah, shifting his brother to rest against him before pulling the sword free and held his brother as he bleed out, triumph smile still on his lips.

“I’ll see you soon, brother.” he pressed his lips to Elijah’s forehead and he closed his eyes

Elijah would be reborn sometime in the next five years, in a new family of Kol’s bloodline with parents and siblings he would lose eventually, knowing he could never follow them into the place after death.

It was a curse in so many ways.

He really was a prodigy, no one else could have made a nightmare like it.

---

Kol places the stone on his brother’s grave as the sun rises.

He was right, it wasn't the last time.

[lonelier-version-of-you]

I’m now just-over-halfway through my series 15 rewatch/watch, so here are some thoughts so far at this halfway point. I suppose technically I should have done this after “Promises, Promises” if I wanted it to be a proper halfway-point post, but I thought it would make sense to write this up after “Great Expectations”, as obviously Tara’s exit is a bit of a turning point in the series.

- The Ric and Lilah sexual harassment accusation storyline was... not as bad as it could’ve been. I mean, false harassment accusation stories are not the sort of thing I particularly enjoy watching, but there was some interesting stuff in this one, as it wasn’t a flat-out unfounded allegation but in more of a grey area - Ric kissing Lilah wasn’t harassment but it was majorly unprofessional and somewhat unethical, given his position of power over her. And him trying to improve her assessment scores just because he fancied her was really fucked up. Definitely worth a slap on the wrist, but nothing he should’ve lost his job over like Imelda kept saying.

I found it interesting how Lilah’s accusation against Ric was such a big deal that he faced so many consequences for, compared to Henrik’s harassment of Sahira in the previous 2 series, which was essentially public knowledge and yet he faced no consequences for it. I expect that was deliberate, as this was the era when Holby was clever enough to do those sorts of things.

For ages I assumed Ric and Lilah had slept together and that’s what they meant when they were talking about “last night” at the start of “How Lo Can You Go”, but in later episodes they only ever referred to a kiss so I guess that’s all it was after all and “How Lo Can You Go” just took place a day after “After the Party”.

- Tara deserved better. I know I’ve said this before, although I don’t think I say it enough, but she did. Her storyline was brilliantly done, I thought, and her final episodes were even more heartbreaking watching them with full context. But it still frustrates me that she died for Oliver’s manpain, especially as the Holbyverse still does that sort of thing (poor, poor Fenisha!). Plus, it meant that they only got to have the brilliant Jing Lusi for a year.

- I adore Gemma. I can’t believe I didn’t realise how great she is until now. I’ve been over the reasons why in plenty of other posts, so I’ll spare you all from having to read through it again, but... yeah, I love Gemma.

- I didn’t realise how much of a prick early Arthur was, either. He’s nowhere near as bad as early Henrik, but he really wasn’t the saint he’s often made out to be.

- Two under-appreciated gems of episodes that later Holby could have done with taking cues from are episode 7 “After the Party”, and episode 20 “Unravelled”. “After the Party” has a really carefully written and handled storyline about a teenage girl who was raped, that was better done in one episode than later storylines like Chloe’s rape, That Noncanon Henrik One We Don’t Talk About, or the Evie and Mia CSA story. “Unravelled” handles Gemma’s trauma after being held hostage and her getting psychiatric help for it really well, and doesn’t treat her as a ~poor little broken victim~ like later trauma storylines tended to do, but as a person who’s struggling to move on from something traumatic.

- I really, really like the Malick and Jake storyline. I do feel a bit like Anna was fridged (nowhere near as much as Tara was though), but the storyline is still good. It feels so realistic, and I like how simple and human it all is, and I’m enjoying seeing Malick try his best to connect with Jake. I love Malick in general though, so I might be biased towards this storyline.

- I’m starting to realise that Henrik, Malick, and Oliver all feel like either the same character in different fonts, or different characters in the same font (I’m leaning towards “different characters in the same font”), which is probably why I love them all. No, I will not elaborate. Well, I would elaborate, but I don’t know how to put it into words.

- Jonny is terrible to Jac. I know we’re seemingly supposed to see them as an exciting will-they-won’t-they couple with lots of bickering and tension, but... I don’t see it, I just see Jonny being emotionally abusive to her.

I keep wanting to make a comment about how Henrik and Jonny are both emotional abusers and misogynists that are somehow romanticised by both the show and fandom, and how the women they abused (Sahira and Jac respectively) get treated like they deserved it for being “bitches” and “frigid”, but that wouldn’t really be fair because, unlike Jonny, Henrik was clearly depicted as abusive in this stint. The episodes while Sahira is actually there were clearer about it (S13E33 flat-out parallels Henrik with a 42-year-old woman who groomed her teenage student!), but it’s not like they tried to paint him as great or heroic after Sahira either. He’s more of an anti-hero in this series. I’d like to say “of course, nowadays they wouldn’t have kept him on as a main character at all, and rightly so really”, but then I remember Faith Cadogan is a literal attempted rapist and Casualty still have her.

- Chantelle is my autistic queen and I love her. I don’t have anything in particular to say about Chantelle, I just wanted to acknowledge how great she is.

- Serena is a lot more tolerable pre-Jason. I still hate her and am not a fan of her by any means, but she’s not so bad when she can’t go “look what a saint I am for tolerating my autistic nephew!” all the time, lol. Also, seeing her try to overthrow both Imelda and Henrik has made me wonder what it would have been like if Serena had ever actually been CEO long-term. She couldn’t have been worse than Henrik to be fair.

[nxthero]

Some Sidony headcanons:

Full birth name is Zidonia Xiadis, but she’s been called Sidony for as long as she can remember. She actually doesn’t have a problem with her surname but she rarely sees a reason to use it, and Henrik has encouraged her from a young age to use Sidony as a mononym because of the circumstances surrounding her parents.

“Sid” is okay. She doesn’t give a damn about nicknames tbh.

She’s the bastard daughter of Lord Kossimir Variano and Lady Neomora Xiadis. Kossimir is the son of a baron and is a well-known philanderer in Cumberland and Neomora is Lord Henrik’s younger sister. Their affair spanned three months and was born purely from lust, and Sidony was conceived by accident. Kossimir never wanted anything to do with Sidony, and Neomora had a lot to lose from having a bastard child. She was betrothed to a different noble (a Duke this time) who promised a high sum to her family in exchange for her hand in marriage, which would provide the money needed to pay off the family’s accumulated debts. In order to preserve her betrothal, she hid her pregnancy and gave birth to Sidony in secret a months before the date of the wedding. Sidony was then left in Henrik’s care and remained so for the rest of her life.

Sidony knows who her parents are. She is in contact with her mother. Outwardly she holds no ill will towards her, but she has definitely repressed a bunch of negative emotions about her parentage.

FC is Marlo Hsieh. I’m going by her tarot and concept art for her appearance rather than what we got in-game because assets were limited and didn’t seem to fit what they had first envisioned for her. Also she just looks so much cooler lmao

Hair is long and curly af.  It reaches her hips and is super thick. She washes it well but doesn’t do much else to try and control it; she likes it wild. She does tie the top layer into an updo with decorative hairpins for both the ~aesthetic~ and keeping most of it out of her face.

Body-wise she’s tall but outside of that she’s kind of tiny tbh. Not a lot of muscle or fat in her upper body at all. Most of her weight sits in/near her hips. She’s not very strong physically and doesn’t care to change that since she is not a physical fighter and she can have the dead do tasks for her. She does try to keep in good health for the sake of mobility but other than what’s needed to maintain her current fitness she’s not gonna be doing much training in terms of physicality.

Best magic skills are necromancy (and by extension spirit magic), ice magic, entropy, and force magic.

Uses a staff but is equally adept without one.

Does not use blood magic, but not because she has anything against it from a moral standpoint. She simply does not need blood magic as she already has an expanse of spirits she can call upon without turning to demons, which she views as less worthwhile helpers due to their corrupted natures.

Despite popular belief, she doesn’t actually hate everything, she is just extremely emotionally repressed and doesn’t know how to cope with the feelings she experiences, therefore she tries her best to not experience feelings she isn’t accustomed to.

It may seem like she resents Henrik, and she does resent him to an extent for keeping her so restrained for most of her life, but that dude was basically her father and losing him was her first real heartbreak. She deeply regrets not being able to express to Henrik how thankful she truly was for him before he was killed and hates that their last interaction was her blowing up at him and running away to join the Inquisition, but Henrik knew that she cared and was proud of her anyway. He got in contact with Leliana, who sent reports of Sidony’s accomplishments to him, and he kept every single letter sent to him regarding Sidony in a box in his desk. Sidony finds the box of letters while going through her inheritance from him (since she DID inherit everything from him after his passing) and it gives her closure.

[http-anti]

Ugear hummed softly in sympathy, wishing that the two becoming fallen wouldn't be the reason Anti felt safer. He couldn't deny the fact that it would likely help, though.

"While I wish it weren't that way, he probably will feel safer without a major threat... but that doesn't mean that you should feel unsafe with him, either," Ugear added, not wanting them to be afraid of Anti. Sure, angels and demons had their differences, but this was a situation that could be worked through.

Star looked at the empty doorway for a moment, replaying the scene in her mind. It all seemed to happen so fast. However, that seemed to remind her of something.

"I didn't know you had a son.." she pointed out softly.

"Hm? Oh, yes, well... not biological, of course, but I suppose you could say I adopted him, in a way. He was assigned to me a while after I became a demon and, as I seem to do, I grew attached to the kid. Hell is not kind to his rank of demons and... I wanted to try and give him as good of a life as possible," Ugear explained, a fonder look in his eyes. "He gets angry rather quickly so I apologize for the scene. I promise, he is so much more than that."

In the backyard, Anti kept pacing back and forth. He listened to Henrik, trying to do as asked and taking some slow breaths. Anti knew that he had a tendency to get angry quick and jump to conclusions so while his feelings were strong, he didn't want to dismiss what his husband was saying. It took a few long moments but Anti managed to get himself to focus some more, stopping his pacing and turning to look at Henrik.

"Fine, so... what's the deal, then?" he asked, trying not to sound as upset as he was when it wasn't Henrik's fault.

Falling For You [ x ]

@cute-and-undead

It wasn't unusual for Star to stop by and see Jackie once she knew it was about the time that he would be off duty. She spent a lot of her time down in the human world, looking over her assigned children over the course of the years, while he spent his up in Heaven. She was the lowest ranked angel, a guardian that watched over the lives of the innocent and tried to guide them along their chosen path. Star involved herself as little as possible, but a lot of her time was spent watching humans and seeing how they evolved. Since Jackie didn't get the opportunity to spend time down there, she often shared the things she learned with him.

This time, Star had a new discovery to share with Jackie, and she was excited about it. So she made her way back up to the gates of the place where her kind stayed, dress flowing as she took rapid steps toward the area Jackie was assigned to.

Angels followed a very strict code and very few ever strayed from it. Those who did were instantly met with consequences they would never forget, having their grace stripped away and their wings ripped from their backs. Those frightening threats were the reason Star kept a very big secret, guarding it with her life.

Feelings. For Jackie, specifically.

Not only was she an angel who was not meant to feel, but he was technically her superior. He was a protector who was very loyal to his kind, following the rules perfectly. If he ever found out about how she felt... she didn't know what would happen.

So instead, Star kept things to herself, deciding to just enjoy this sort of friendship they had and telling herself that it was enough. As long as she had him in her life, she could be satisfied.

[whatisreggieshortfor]

Watching You Love

MC watched her long term crush navigate Love Island from home. Only to get a big surprise.

Bobby x MC

You weren’t sure why you agreed to the kitchen boys’ invites to watch your long term crush as he navigated the summer of romance on Love Island. You kept the smile plastered on your face as they cheered for him, but you hated it. Every week you watched, and every week he was trapped in another friendship couple. No matter what. He seemed interested in one girl the whole time, but she clearly didn’t see him as more than a good friend. She was interested in the posh boy that had showed up. The boys joked that she was basically you, except…they cut themselves off when they realized watching this probably sucked for you. Yeah, you thought to yourself, ‘Except you actually have feelings for Bobby.’

When he won the Mr Love Island contest, you hid during the video chat so he could talk to his boys.

You were disappointed when he agreed to take part in Operation Nope. He’d always been a prankster, but he wasn’t a schemer.

But you were proud when he and Marisol teamed up to try and help with the drama surrounding the Villa.

When Casa Amor happened, you were torn between hoping he’d find someone, and hoping he’d come home alone. If he did then you promised yourself you’d finally tell him.

A feeling burned inside you at one girl that was clearly only pretending to be interested in him to get him to choose her so she could stay, but you could see that he saw it too. And he stuck with Marisol, and though he was clearly concerned when he saw she switched, he was more than happy she’d finally found someone after the Rocco fiasco.

When Hannah and Henrik returned, he brightened. Not because of love, unfortunately, but because he had genuinely liked them as people and was excited to see them again. (And a few of the boys were excited to see their Day One crush back). He ended up with Hannah, who had enjoyed riling up her former best friend before showing her that she’d forgiven her already.

You thought they might’ve been something, especially after the baby challenge when your heart felt close to bursting at how well he could care for it.

But then they were a bottom couple, and it was no surprise they were sent home, announcing they saw it coming as the friend couple.

During their goodbyes on screen, Big John was distracted by a knock coming from his front door, and you offered to answer it for him.

You didn’t expect to find a very familiar boy back in Glasgow already.

“Y/N!” He booped your nose before you could blink, immediately followed by wrapping his arms around your middle and lifting you into the air. Over his shoulder you saw the now familiar redhead.

“Bobby-“ His name was almost choked in your throat as you realized Hannah was watching you, and you quickly tried to disentangle yourself until she burst out laughing.

“This is her, Bobs?”

You could feel Bobby’s skin burn where it was pressed to yours as he shot a quick glare at her, “C’mon, we gotta introduce you to everyone.” You blinked as Bobby took hold of your hand, something he’d always done when he wanted you to follow after him or to avoid losing you in a crowd, but you couldn’t help but notice that he just left her to follow.

After the introductions, you excused yourself to the kitchen, claiming you were getting another round of drinks, and you braced yourself against Big John’s counter to steady yourself for a moment. “You know he’s crazy about you, right?”

Your head snapped up to see Hannah a few feet away, the sweet smile on her face that resembled her original time on the show, before she came back spicier. “I- Uh- What?”

She shifted, sitting up onto the counter you were leaning on before nodding her head to where the boys were watching the ending of the episode, “They don’t show some of the heart to heart moments when the episodes aire, but especially when we left you were all he could talk about.” Your face burned and she gave you a softer smile, “I could tell by your face as soon as we got here that you fancied him. Why didn’t you tell him before he left?”

You blew out a puff of air, “Would it have mattered?” You offered weakly, “He was leaving for the summer of love. If he felt that way about me, wouldn’t he have stayed on his own?”

“Not if he thought he didn’t have a chance.” You knew deep down that she was right. If Bobby didn’t think he had a shot, he would never risk upsetting the friendship.

You sighed heavily, almost sagging against the counter, “But aren’t you two-“

She waved her hand, “I love Bobby, but I love him in a much different way. He’s like an annoying older brother that never grew up.”

“Hey!” You laughed, standing up straight to push her shoulder gently, “Bobby is amazing. He’s got the boyish charm thing down.” Your smile faltered for a second, “It’s a bummer the girl he was crushing on the whole time never noticed how perfect he is.”

“Who?” You yelped and spun around to see Bobby leaning against the doorway, “The girl that reminded me of you?”

“Man…” you groaned, “Does she remind everyone of me?”

There was chorus of yes from the boys in the living room eavesdropping on the whole conversation, but Bobby just grinned. “I never fancied her, ya know. It was…she had this vibe about her that was spot on to you. So every time we talked, it felt like you were the one sitting there.”

“But…you looked so love struck. You never…”

As if on cue, Big John entered the room, offering Hannah a hand to help her off the counter before he looked at you, “Are you really the only one that doesn’t see it?” Bobby swatted at him, sending the two of them giggling into the other room.

The baker rubbed a hand down his face, mumbling unintelligible words before he gave you the most serious face you’d ever seen from him, “I never went after ya because I didn’t know I could, lass. I’ve had these feelings since you walked into the kitchen, slipped on the cleaning rag Big John knocked to the floor and forgot to pick up, and careened face first into the cake I’d baked only to emerge from the icing laughing.”

Your eyes widened, “Bobby- that was-“

“The first week you worked with us, yup. But what can I say? It was then that I knew that you didn’t take things as seriously as other people would, even though you spent the rest of the shift with bits of frosting in your hair and your face tinted blue no matter how much you scrubbed it at the sink.”

“You tried to help me.” You gave him a small smile, and it made him beam twice as much, “That was I knew you weren’t just the goofy boy that made me laugh every day. You still made jokes, but you helped me clean the cake off, tried to brush the icing away. And then you remember what you said?”

“Said if ya wanted to try my cake so bad, I woulda made one special for you.”

You nodded, smile coming in larger as he slowly crossed the distance of the kitchen to you, “And then you did. You showed up the next day with a small cake just for me, and you somehow knew my favorite flavor.”

Bobby flushed up to the tips of his ears, his complexion even darker in the crappy kitchen fluorescent, “Yeahhh, I actually bribed the kitchen manager to slip your mum’s number so I could ask her. Surprised she never ratted me out.”

You snorted before full on laughing, “She wouldn’t have. She’s a bit a prankster herself, but she’s always up for a good surprise. Besides…she didn’t need to ask me about it or anything. I blabbed for like an hour over how sweet it was. Pun totally intended.”

The two of you were almost nose to nose, wondering who’d be the one to make the move, when Hannah’s chipper voice rang through the air, “For the love of- Take the plunge, Bobs! I didn’t follow you back to see a relationship not happen!”

“Fuck it,” he whispered, pressing forward into the last bit of space to press his lips to yours. It wasn’t quick and it wasn’t long, just a steady press of chaste lips, but enough to knock the air from your lungs as he pulled back, “Sorry. Figured she’d kick my arse if I didn’t follow through.”

“I would’ve kicked your arse, too, lad.” You pushed back into him, deepening the kiss this time until the boys’ cheering became too much.

His welcome home turned into something better as he kept your hand in his until he walked you to your door.

Masterlist

[crystalninjaphoenix]

House Party (And Other Matters)

Paranormal Preteens AU: Episode Three

A JSE Fanfic

And here is part three! After this, I’m gonna start spacing out the parts of this AU a bit more, slowly put it into the ordinary AU rotation I have going on. But for this week, we have this! Chase puts some more effort into bonding with Henrik, but soon after, they realize that the whole group needs to get together to talk about the library incident. They hang out for a while, but are interrupted right at the end. But hey, it turns out alright! I promise. Enjoy!

++++++++++++++++++++

The rest of Saturday and Sunday passed in a bit of a blur. Chase knew his mom could probably tell something was up, but he wasn’t about to tell her what happened. There was no way she’d believe him about a ghost in the library. 

Chase had the Jacksons’ phone number now, but he wasn’t sure how to talk to them—or what to talk to them about. What did the two of them even do? Other than wander around town and collect neat rocks (something Chase had seen them do on multiple occasions.) And how do you even start a conversation after seeing a ghost together? Especially when that was only your second interaction with them? So, since he had no idea how to do this, Chase decided to not do it until he needed to, and spent most of the weekend watching TV and occasionally skateboarding down the street.

Things changed on Monday. It was almost one o’clock, and Chase had been alone in the house for the past hour and a half. Mom had taken Henrik out somewhere, probably still trying to get him used to the town. Chase was just wondering when they’d be back when he heard the front door open. He turned around, leaning on the back of the sofa, and watched the two of them walk down the hall.

“—find another one if this doesn’t work out,” Mom was saying. She looked up and saw Chase staring. “Hi, sweets. Did you have lunch?”

“Nah.” Chase shook his head. He’d been thinking about making a sandwich for a while, but honestly? He was half-hoping Mom would bring home food.

“Alright, then. Does mac ‘n’ cheese sound good to the two of you?”

“Yeah!” Chase said. Henrik, standing next to Mom, nodded silently.

“Great. I'll go whip that up.” And with that, Mom disappeared into the kitchen.

Chase and Henrik were alone in the front room. Staring at each other. The TV was on, filling the silence with the sound of commercials. The two of them hadn’t interacted much while at home. Henrik spent most of his time in his room. It wasn’t a privacy thing, since Henrik kept his door open all of the time—even at night! While he slept! So weird—so maybe it was a personal space thing? Chase didn’t really understand. Either way the only time the two of them really saw each other was at meals.

Henrik shifted on his feet, then glanced over at the stairs. Clearly wondering whether it was worth it to go up to his room to wait for lunch to be ready. At that moment, Chase noticed he was holding something. “Is that a stuffed animal?” he asked.

“Was? Ah.” Henrik looked down at the plushie in his hands. “Ja. Your mom took me to the store and let me choose one.”

“Cool.” Chase didn’t have any plushies. At least, ones that weren’t kept in the old toy chest in his closet. But he didn’t have anything against them. “What is it?”

“A bat.” Henrik walked a bit closer, holding up the stuffed animal for Chase to get a better look at. The bat was made of soft-looking black fur, except for some orange felt in its ears and the inside of its wings. It was small and floppy with reflective dark eyes. The main body could be held in two hands, but the wings gave it a bit more size.

“I like bats. They, like, suck your blood and stuff.”

“That is vampires,” Henrik said.

“But there are vampire bats, right?”

“Ja, but they do not eat human blood, only animals like cows,” Henrik explained. “We do not have enough blood for them. And there are many bats. Most eat insects, but there are some who eat fruit or flowers.” He walked a little closer, going around the sofa, and held out the plushie. “Look at this. The bat has...it has...the soft and prickly things on its wings. So you can stick them together and hang it from things.”

“Soft and what?” Chase scooted a bit closer without standing up. “Oh, you mean velcro? Yeah.” There were two squares of velcro on the tips of the plush bat’s wings. “Cool.”

“Velcro,” Henrik repeated. He looked down at the bat and played with the wings, sticking and unsticking them. “It is not very accurate. Bats hang from their feet, not their wings. But I thought it was...cool.”

Chase laughed a little bit. It sounded weird to hear Henrik say a slang word like that. Not really bad. Just weird. He paused for a moment. The silence stretched between them, punctured by ad announcers on the TV. “Hey, uh...you’re smart, right?” Chase finally said. “Do you like, uh...space?”

Henrik blinked. “Do you mean...outer space?”

“Yeah.”

“I...I suppose. I think stars are interesting.”

“Okay.” Chase nodded. “What do you think about aliens?”

“Well...it would make sense for them to be real,” Henrik said slowly. “The universe is very big. But we probably will not see them in our lives.”

“Okay, but are aliens cool?” Chase asked.

Henrik stared at him. “I...suppose?”

“Alright good.” Chase scooted back to his previous spot on the sofa, leaving a full cushion of room next to him. “I was thinking about it, and like, we never have anything to talk about. And I think that’s because we don’t know any of the same things. So I’m gonna show you this show I like. About aliens.”

“Now?” Henrik asked, surprised.

“Yeah, the next episode’s starting soon.”

Henrik took a step back. “I should...I should ask Aunt Jess if I can watch the television.”

Chase raised an eyebrow. “She’s not gonna care, dude. As long as you don’t spend all day watching TV.” Henrik didn’t show any signs of sitting down, though, so he sighed. “But I mean...you can. I’m not gonna stop you. Just be back here really quick, it’s almost time.”

Henrik nodded, then hurried into the kitchen. Chase idly watched the commercials for a minute before he returned. “Alright,” he said, climbing onto the sofa next to Chase. “We can watch the television until it is time for lunch. A-and she said we could keep going after.”

“See? Told you Mom wouldn’t care.” Chase laughed. “You’re just in time, too. I was really hoping you wouldn’t miss the theme song, it’s great.”

It was a little awkward at first. Chase kept glancing over at Henrik to see if he was having a good time. And for a while, it seemed like he wasn’t. He was sitting on the sofa straight up, right on the edge of the cushion, his feet just shy of resting on the floor. Chase had never seen a kid sit like that while watching TV. But after a little bit, Henrik seemed to relax a little. Eventually, he started to ask Chase questions about the show. Chase was all too happy to answer. Once that got going, Henrik relaxed even more. He seemed fascinated with the show.

“—and so now they’re enemies,” Chase finished. “And they fight a few times. But now they’re forced to fight together in this episode because, I mean, how else are they gonna make it through the alien fighting pit? One of them’s on a timer and the other one’s only a tenth as powerful.”

“Ah, okay, okay.” Henrik nodded. The colors of the show reflected in his glasses.

“Do you not get English shows in Germany?” Chase asked.

“No, they do a thing where they get other actors to say the lines in German and put that instead of the English voices,” Henrik said.

“Oh. Maybe you just don’t get this show, then.” Or any of the other TV shows Chase had ever mentioned.

“Maybe we do?” Henrik shrugged, fiddling with the wings of the bat plushie. “I do not know. I do not watch a lot of it.” He paused. “But I think this is...good.”

Chase grinned. “Glad to hear that. Uh...thanks, Henrik.”

“Oh. Ah...” Henrik started to say something, stopped, then started over. “Can you...can you call me the nickname you used instead? On Saturday?”

“At the library?” Chase took a moment to remember what he was talking about. “Oh, you mean Schneep?”

Henrik nodded. “Ah, do not use it in front of your mom. O-or any other adults. But I think—I-I think that if it is just us, or other—other children—”

Chase leaned over and nudged him, pressing his shoulder against his. “Alright, Schneep. If you say so.” He smiled. “I guess it does kinda suit you.”

Henrik—Schneep had tensed for a moment at the sudden nudge, but then he smiled back. “Thank you,” he muttered, ducking his head and half-burying his face in the bat plushie.

They finished the episode and were in the in-between-shows commercials when Mom called out, “Boys! It’s time for lunch!”

“Shoot, we might miss the start of the next one,” Chase muttered. “Whatever, it’s fine. It’s probably not a new one, I can fill you in on what we missed.” And with that, the two of them headed into the dining room.

They were halfway through their mac ‘n’ cheese when Mom set her own lunch aside and sat up straight. “Alright. So. It turns out I’ll have to go into the office tonight, at six. I’ll be back around nine.”

“So we’re staying home alone?” Chase asked, perking up.

Mom smiled a little. “No, Chase, you’re not staying home alone.”

Chase deflated. “Why nooooot? I was staying home alone for, like, all of last year! I was alone earlier today! And then—then March happened and I—”

“March and April were different,” Mom said patiently. “We weren’t about to leave you home alone for that long so often. And you’re right, you were alone earlier. But the difference is that it was daytime, and only for an hour. This is night. I want to be sure you’re safe. And...maybe I would be fine with leaving just you alone, Chase, but I’m a bit more nervous with the two of you here.”

Chase pointed across the table at Schneep. “I’m older! I can look after him!”

“You are only one year older than me,” Schneep said. “Actually, you are only seven months older than me. That is even less.”

“Well, yeah, but you’re kinda tiny,” Chase pointed out.

Schneep looked down at himself, as if he could see whatever factor made him look so short. Personally, Chase thought the big sweaters he wore didn’t help.

“Either way, I still feel nervous,” Mom said. “So...I thought I’d call Jackie to come watch you for those hours.”

“...Oh.” Chase nodded. “Uh, yeah. That makes sense. If you’re nervous.”

Mom chuckled a bit. He didn’t understand what was so funny. “Alright. I can call right now, and see if sh—he’ll be able to make it.”

Suddenly, Chase got an idea. “Oh! Uh, Mom? Is it okay if we, uhhh...when Jackie comes over, we call some other kids to come over too? Uh, those two we saw on Saturday. Marvin and Jameson. And we can hang out and...talk and stuff.” Schneep, catching on quickly, nodded in support of Chase’s suggestion.

“Hmm? Sure, if they can come over, they’re free to.” Mom chuckled again. “I’ll have to ask Jackie if he’s okay with watching four kids instead of just two, though, so be prepared.”

Chase nodded. He looked across the table, and caught Schneep’s attention. The two of them had the same look in their eyes. It was time to talk about the library.

++++++++++++++++++++

The others arrived a few hours later, around 5:30. Chase was in his room, playing on his Nintendo DS, when Mom called from downstairs, “Chase! Henrik! Your friends are here!” So Chase saved the game, exiting to the main menu, and started downstairs. Schneep poked his head out of his room right as Chase passed his doorway, then followed him.

The Jacksons had arrived first. Mom was talking with them. “It’s very nice to meet you,” she said. “Your family lives down on Riverview, right?”

“Yep,” Marvin said.

“That’s quite a ways away.” Mom sounded concerned. “You didn’t walk the whole way here, did you?”

“No, we rode our bikes,” Marvin said, pointing through the window next to the door. “It didn’t really take that long, cause there’s this big hill on our street so we went fast down that and kept up the speed all the way here. That’s cause of, like, some science stuff.” He glanced at Jameson, who finger-spelled something in sign. “Inertia! Stuff in motion stays in motion.”

Mom laughed. “Alright. But if you need me to drive you home afterwards, I’ll be happy to. Or you can use our phone to call your parents.”

The twins nodded in unison. Then Jameson asked something in sign.

“Oh! Yes of course.” Mom pointed into the living room. “It’s right off the front room, sort of under the stairs. Feel free to leave your bag on the couch or something.”

Jameson smiled, signed something else, then headed in the direction she indicated. He waved at Chase and Schneep as he passed.

“Mom, do you know sign language?” Chase asked.

“Hmm? Oh, yes.” Mom nodded. “You know how Grandpa’s getting a little hard of hearing, so I learned ASL, and then figured why not learn BSL too since we’re living here?”

“Oh. Can you teach me?” Chase glanced at Schneep. “And Henrik, too.”

“Of course, Chase. We can start whenever you like.”

“Hi, Chase!” Marvin waved. “Hi, Henrik! Your house is cool. You have a front yard! Do you have a backyard? I didn’t get to see it from outside cause of your fence. That’s called a solid fence style, y’know, and I think your fence is plastic because the planks look too much like each other. But that’s good cause you don’t get splinters.”

“Uhhh yeah, it’s fake wood,” Chase said. “We put it up when we moved in. Do you wanna, uh, go into the living room?”

“Sure!” And without waiting at all, Marvin headed into the living room, forcing Chase and Schneep to follow. “Holy shit! You have three video game boxes!”

“Dude! My mom is right there!” Chase glanced over his shoulder, at his mom who was still in view and definitely within earshot. There was a look of surprise on her face. “You can’t just say words like that!”

“Okay,” Marvin said absentmindedly. He was too busy kneeling in front of the TV and looking at Chase’s game consoles. “You have an Xbox and a PS3?! Jeez! That’s awesome! What’s the purple one?”

“That’s a GameCube,” Chase said. “It’s kinda old. We used to have other old ones too, but uh...not anymore.”

“Cube,” Marvin repeated. “Cuuube. It’s a good name for it, ‘cause it’s a cubical video game box.”

At that moment, the bathroom door opened and Jameson reappeared. “Hi,” Chase said to him, then looked back at Marvin. “They’re called ‘consoles,’ you know.”

“Ohhh. Okay, that makes sense. I’ve heard that word before.” Marvin stood up. “We have a Wii. Right, JJ?” Jameson nodded, and signed something. “Oh, I’m looking at Chase’s game boxes—game consoles. He has three! That’s fucking insane! How many games do you have?”

“Uhhh...this many.” Chase walked over to the side of the TV, where there was a cabinet that came up to chest height. He swung open the doors to reveal shelves of video games. The cabinet wasn’t full; there were conspicuous empty gaps in the shelves. But it was still an impressive collection. “Again, we used to have more old games, but...now we don’t.” Schneep gave him an odd look at that, but the twins either didn’t notice the note of sadness in Chase’s voice or they didn’t care. The two of them clustered around the cabinet, signing at each other excitedly. Chase stepped back to give them some space.

Someone rang the doorbell. Chase glanced towards the sound, moving a bit so he could get a better angle of the front hallway. Mom looked through the small peephole in the wood, then opened the door and smiled. “Hi, Jackie. Thank you so much for stopping by, I hope it’s not too much trouble.”

“No, it’s okay, Ms. Walker. I mean, I’m not doing anything on a Monday night.” Jackie stepped into the house, glancing around. “Um...looks the same in here as last time, heh.”

“Yeah, not much has changed. Not down here, anyway. We’ve done some rearranging upstairs.” Mom kept one hand on the open door’s handle, checking the watch on her other wrist. “I really have to go if I’m going to make it in time. Look, if you have any trouble, I left my phone number on a sticky note on the fridge. There’s also some money to order food if you don’t want to cook. They should probably have dinner soon.”

“Got it.” Jackie nodded. “Don’t worry about anything, Ms. Walker. I can handle it.”

Mom laughed. “If you insist. Still, please call me if you need anything. Don’t worry about interrupting me, this is more important. I’ll be back around nine, nine-thirty at the latest. Good luck. And I’ll see you then.”

“Goodbye, Ms. Walker.” Jackie watched as Mom walked out the front door, waving to her as she got in her car and drove off. Then he closed the door and turned around to see Chase staring at him. “Hey, little man. So, uh...all your friends are over, then?”

“No, just the Jacksons.” Chase shrugged. “Uh...I guess we’re friends? I haven’t really talked to them that much—”

“It’s beanie boy!” Marvin shouted from the living room, sounding delighted. “Beanie boy’s the babysitter!” Next to him, Jameson laughed quietly.

“Hi, there.” Jackie walked into the living room, Chase following close behind. “You’re Marvin, right? I think I told you my name was Jackie. I’m not even wearing my beanie tonight.” True, that part of his outfit was missing. The red hoodie was still there, though. And there was an additional backpack, which he put down on the floor next to an armchair.

“Sorry, I’m not good with names,” Marvin said. “Or faces. Or voices. I know accents, though.”

Jackie laughed a bit. “Alright. Understandable. Hey, are you guys hungry?”

“Is it time for dinner?” Schneep asked. He’d settled down on the sofa at some point.

“It can be, if you guys are hungry. Chase’s mom said she left money for food. We could order pizza.”

Jameson gasped. He nodded quickly, then hurried over to the chair where he left his shoulder bag, pulling out his notepad and pencil. Meanwhile, Chase started up a chant of, “Piz-za! Piz-za! Piz-za!” which Marvin soon joined, and eventually Schneep.

“Alright, alright, I got it.” Jackie grinned, bending over to get his cell phone out of his backpack. “Pizza from anywhere in particular?”

“Mom and I always get Queen Cleo’s,” Chase said. “And we get a bag of—we get two bags of crazy bread.” He looked around at the others. “Guys? What toppings do you want? I want pepperoni, but we can get a half-and-half one. No olives, though, because they seep into all the pizza.”

Jameson already had an answer for this. He flipped his notebook over to reveal what he’d been writing. Marvin doesn’t like any toppings, just plain cheese. I like pepperoni and/or mushrooms. Absolutely NO pineapple for either of us, because that’s just weird.

“What?! Pineapple is good!” Chase said. “Jackie, get pineapple!”

“You already cast your vote for pepperoni, guy,” Jackie said, dialing the number for the pizza place.

Chase made a face, then moved on. “Schneep, what do you want?”

“I...ah...” Schneep looked a little lost. “It has been a long time since I had pizza. I-I think that just cheese is fine?”

“So we’ll get a half-cheese half-pepperoni with two packets of crazy bread, got it.” Jackie nodded.

Jameson reached over and tapped Chase’s shoulder to get his attention. Chase, can we play video games on your consoles?

“Oh yeah!” Chase grinned, practically bouncing with excitement. “Schneep, do you want to play? We have multiplayer games!”

Schneep shook his head. “I do not think I will be very good. But I will sit and watch. It will be like TV, yes?”

“You don’t have to be good at video games, you just have to have fun!”

“Well, I think I will have more fun if I sit and watch. Maybe...another time?” Schneep offered.

“Hmm.” Chase nodded. “Yeah, that’s okay.” He just barely got Schneep to sit down and watch TV with him, maybe video games were too much. Baby steps, as Mom said. “Okay, so what do you two want to play?” he asked, spinning back around to look at the twins.

The two of them were already back by the game cabinet. Jameson pulled out one of the cases and showed it to Marvin. “Really?” Marvin said. “I don’t think more than one person can play that. Why?” Jameson signed something. “Okay, yeah, but he’s not like a cute hedgehog, he’s more like a cartoon who fights crime and has an ‘attitude,’ tee-em. Do you just like it because he’s blue?” 

“Which one are you looking at?” Chase leaned over their shoulders. “Oh, no, that one’s hard, you don’t want to pick that one. And Marvin’s right, it’s only single player.”

Jameson looked him dead in the eyes, and lightly tossed the game over towards the TV, where it landed right in front of the consoles.

“Alright, fine.” Chase went over and picked it up. “We’ll take turns. Switch off every time someone gets stuck, which will happen a lot.” He started setting up the Xbox. “Or maybe we could each do one of the story stages, cause there are, like, three different stories with three different main characters. I call Shadow’s.”

And with that, the four of them settled on and around the sofa, ready to start playing.

++++++++++++++++++++

It took almost an hour for the pizza to arrive, during which the three of them made almost no progress on the game. Chase insisted they start from a new save file, and this turned out to be a good idea, as the twins had no idea how to use the Xbox controller so even the first levels were difficult. The two of them were stubborn, though. Between Chase’s coaching and their efforts they managed to each get through two levels. Meanwhile, Schneep was just as fascinated with the video game as he was with the TV show. He kept asking Chase questions about what was going on. Eventually, Chase found himself explaining each character’s backstory and how they all fit into this game. The other three were all very interested in this, which Chase was happy to hear.

Jackie didn’t participate much in the conversation, letting the four of them play the game on their own. He sat in a chair nearby and watched quietly. Chase kept asking him questions to pull him into talking, though, which he didn’t seem to mind. It was through Jackie that Chase learned there were video games you could play on the computer. And not Internet games, which he already knew about, but full-on game games. Chase asked him what his favorite one was, and Jackie gave a couple examples, none of which he’d heard of.

And then the doorbell rang, and the pizza arrived, and everything stopped so they could eat. It was delicious, of course, but soon after everyone had taken a slice...Chase figured it was finally time to bring up the elephant in the room. “Uh, so. After we finish eating,” he said, “could we talk about...about what happened in the library? Do you think we’ve...processed that enough?”

Marvin and Jameson looked at each other, then nodded. Schneep said nothing, but Chase already knew he was on board. “Do you...are you including me in that?” Jackie asked.

Chase thought about it. “Yeah. I mean, you picked us up. You’re kinda involved.”

“Alright, then. When you’re ready, I guess.”

They sat down in the living room again. Chase turned off the game, making sure it was saved, and looked around. Jackie was back in his armchair. The twins were on the sofa, sitting close enough to take up one cushion while Schneep had the other to himself. And Chase was standing, too nervous to sit. “So...” he said. “Uh...library ghost, huh?”

“Yeah, what happened?” Jackie asked. “I know you told me in the car, but can you tell me again?”

Together, the four of them gave a quick overview of the events at the library. Arriving to film a movie and ghost hunt, getting attacked by a ghost of an old woman, hiding under the desks, then eventually having to make a break for it while that book tornado formed in the center of the library.

We went back the next day, Jameson said. Everything was cleaned up, but one of the librarians said there’d been a bunch of destroyed books all over the ground floor on Saturday. I don’t think anyone saw the ghost other than us. The library was pretty empty, and I think the librarian was on break or something.

“Okay, then.” Jackie nodded. “And...it was definitely an old lady who, uh, attacked you?”

“Yes!” Chase emphasized. Clearly, hearing the story a second time did nothing to convince Jackie that the ghost was real. But he’d offered to help anyway, so there was that. “Well, it was started by that weird shadow.”

“What was this shadowy thing, anyway?” Marvin asked. “I didn’t see it.”

“Well you and Jameson were at the other end of the book aisle,” Chase said. “Schneep probably saw it. Right?” He looked over at Schneep, who merely shook his head. “What? But you were right next to me!”

“I was not looking where you were at first,” Schneep said. “If you saw a shadow, it was not there when I saw you staring at something.”

“Well, it was there.” Chase folded his arms. “It looked like a guy’s shadow, but there was no guy. But it was definitely there. I saw it before, in the park last week, but I’d kinda hit my head when I saw it the first time so I thought my brain was broken or something. But! Seeing it a second time means it was real! It pulled the ghost out of the bookcase and then touched her and made her glow green!”

“Maybe the shadow was coming from somewhere else,” Jackie suggested. “Um, what sort of shadow did it look like? I mean, who would it belong to?”

“I dunno. A guy.” Chase thought back to seeing it crouched on the bookshelf. “Not a kid. It was too tall. It laughed a little, and I think it sounded like a boy’s laugh? It had, like, the outline of hair, and that also looked like a boy’s hair.”

Jackie raised an eyebrow. “What’s a boy’s hair look like?”

“Short, I guess?” Chase said.

“Guys can have long hair,” Marvin said. “And girls can have short hair. Our aunt Linda has a best friend who lives with her named Sarah and she has short hair and likes to wear, like, suits to parties—”

“Ugh!” Chase interrupted. “I know guys and girls can have long and short hair! You get what I mean!”

So did the shadow make the ghost attack us? Jameson asked.

“I...don’t know,” Chase said slowly. “Maybe? It kind of...summoned her.”

“Maybe the shadow is another ghost?” Schneep suggested. “But it was one that was not as powerful, and could not make a body like she could. So it woke her up instead.”

“Is there anywhere the shadow could have...come from?” Jackie asked. “Like, if someone was on the balcony in the library and had a light shone on them, it could have looked like their shadow was down there.”

“No, we were away from the balcony when the shadow and ghost showed up,” Chase insisted. “The shadow couldn’t have come from anywhere. I know how light works, and it wasn’t at the right angle for a shadow to look like that!”

“Alright, alright, I believe you,” Jackie said, raising his hands.

“You do not believe us,” Schneep muttered.

Jackie shook his head. “No, I do. I don’t think you guys are making this up. I just...I-I don’t believe in ghosts.”

“I did not either, and then one started to throw books at me,” Schneep said.

Chase laughed.

“Why’d you come ghost hunting with us if you didn’t believe in ghosts?” Marvin asked, confused.

Schneep shrugged. “I-I think...I think I wanted to see what would happen. I, ahm, did not expect there to be one. But maybe it would be...interesting.”

Jackie sighed. “Well—”

There was a knock at the door.

No, it wasn’t really a knock. More like...a thud. A really loud thud against the front door. Everyone froze, looking towards the door. And again, there was a thud, this time followed by some scratching noises.

“Uh...that’s probably not your mom, is it?” Marvin asked. Jameson rolled his eyes and shoved him. Marvin shoved him back.

“It sounds like an animal or something,” Jackie said quietly, slowly standing up.

Chase frowned. “I don’t think there are any animals around here. I mean, the Hendersons have a cat, and Ms. Kennedy used to have this dog, but he ran away. And he wasn’t big enough to—”

Thud. The door shuddered. Then more scratching, the sound of claws digging into the wood.

“...do that,” Chase finished.

“Chase,” Jackie said in a low voice. “Does your mom keep anything in the house that’s big, heavy, and could be used as a weapon?”

“I-I think we keep the big mop in the closet down here.” Chase pointed. Unfortunately, the closet was really close to the front door. “And I have my baseball bat in my room.”

“Okay.” Jackie nodded. “You guys stay back.” He pulled out his phone and slowly walked forward. The others watched him go. Those who were sitting stood up and backed as far away from the front door as they could, while still being able to see it. Thud. Thud. Jackie stopped in his tracks, then took a deep breath, and looked through the small peephole in the wood. From where they were standing, the four boys barely heard him mutter, “What the hell?”

Thud. Jackie jumped backwards. He reached behind him, fumbling until he found the closet handle and opened it. He glanced down at his phone and dialed a number with one hand, while his other reached into the closet and blindly searched for something. While the phone rang, he looked back to the others. “Guys, go upstairs. It’ll be safe up there.” Then the other end of the call must have picked up, because he turned away and started talking. “Hi, yeah, I-I don’t know if I’m supposed to call you guys for this, but uh...I-I think there’s some sort of rabid animal trying to get into this house.”

Chase glanced back at the other three, his eyes wide. Marvin and Jameson looked over at him, their identical faces wearing identical shocked expressions. Schneep, meanwhile, had gone completely white, arms half-raised in front of him protectively. “Let’s go,” Chase whispered. He grabbed Schneep by the arm and ran for the stairs, pulling him along.

The two of them stopped at the top of the staircase. Here, there was a small landing-like area where you could look down at the living room. Marvin and Jameson hadn’t followed them. Instead, the two of them had run into the kitchen. Chase could see Jackie standing in the living room and staring into the dining room entrance. One hand held Mom’s mop, while the other still pressed the phone to his ear. “What are you two doing?!” he hissed. “Get up there!” Then he switched to the phone again. “Yeah, there are some kids here. Uh, four of them. Me? Uh, sixteen. Well, technically I—yeah. Yeah, the address is—”

Marvin and Jameson ran, sprinting up the stairs to the landing where Chase and Schneep were. As they dashed past the front hall, the thudding grew louder. The door shuddered in its frame with only the small lock holding it in place.

“What were you two doing?!” Chase half-shouted, repeating Jackie’s question.

“Getting stuff,” Marvin said simply.

Chase looked at what he was holding. “You didn’t need to get the pizza!” Was this really the time to claim the last slice of pepperoni?!

“No, look.” Marvin held up the plate with the slice. “This is important. I’m gonna—”

Thud! Thud! CRACK!

Something in the door broke. Chase wasn’t sure if it was the lock or the wood around it, but something broke and it flew open. Still on the first floor, Jackie gasped. He dropped his phone and held the mop up defensively in front of him.

A huge animal lunged into the house. It was a dog, but a dog bigger than any Chase had ever seen. Its head would come up to an adult’s shoulders, meaning it was as tall as the twins and taller than Chase and Schneep. Its fur was matted, shades of brown and black with the occasional white. It was built like a wolf, and yet, its ears were floppy, not the triangle shape that a wolf’s would be. And the tail was different: long and thin, almost snake-like as it dragged on the ground. The eyes glowed green, and drool dripped from teeth that looked way too large for the mouth. Besides him, Chase could feel Schneep shaking slightly, and he instinctively wrapped his arms protectively around him.

Jackie backed up, wide eyes locked on the impossible dog in front of him. The dog stared back at him. It growled, the muscles in its legs tensing.

And then Marvin leaned down from the top of the stairs and threw the slice of pizza right past the dog’s face. It splattered against the wall. The dog instantly looked towards it, and jumped to the side, sniffing the strange, food-smelling object. Jackie broke into a run, darting past it and over towards the stairs.

“Jesus fucking hell, what is that?!” He shouted, stopping on the landing by the others.

“It’s some kind of monster dog,” Marvin said, as if it was obvious. “Maybe it’s a werewolf? No, it’s not a full moon tonight.”

“Why are its eyes glowing?!” Jackie looked over the landing banister down at the monster dog, which was now licking the pizza off the wall.

“Well I guess there’s more weird stuff around than just ghosts.” Chase tried to laugh off the situation. “But, uh, I bet you believe us now, huh?”

“I...am considering it,” Jackie said slowly. He looked back at the others. “Anyway, are you guys alr—why do you have a knife?!”

Unlike Marvin, Jameson had not grabbed pizza from the kitchen. Instead, he was holding one of the big knives from Mom’s knife block. He looked down at it, shrugged, and signed something—which was pretty dangerous to do while holding a blade.

“I—okay? Fair enough?” Jackie shook his head. “Here, give me that. I think I’ll know how to use it better.” The two of them traded weapons, though Jameson didn’t look too happy about it. “You guys stay behind me, okay? We’re gonna back up. Maybe if we’re out of eyesight, it will lose interest.”

Slowly, the group stepped backwards down the hallway. Every single one of them kept their eyes locked on the monster dog, which was now sniffing around the entrance to the kitchen, until it disappeared from view. They carefully moved into Chase’s bedroom, with Jackie closing the door behind them. He kept one hand on the doorknob, keeping it closed, and the knife clenched in the other hand. Meanwhile, Chase suggested they start making a blanket rope, just in case they had to go out the window. The twins got right on that, but Chase himself just couldn’t. Schneep was still shaking, staring at the door, tensing every time there was a clatter from downstairs. Chase had to stay with him. He just...he just had to.

After a while, the sounds faded. The group was quiet, listening. But five minutes passed, and there was nothing. Jackie slowly opened the door and peered out. He walked into the hallway, and a minute later, shouted, “It’s gone!”

One by one, the four others filed out of the room, through the hall, and down the stairs. Jackie stood in the kitchen entrance, staring at open cabinet doors and spilled food all over the floor. He looked back at the others. “Are you guys alright?”

“Holy shit, it destroyed your kitchen!” Marvin shouted. “I knew it was gonna look for food!”

“We’re alright,” Chase said. “Just, uh...scared. I mean, I’m not scared, duh, but everyone else is.” Schneep was holding tightly onto his arm. He patted his hand awkwardly.

Jackie smiled a little. “Of course.” Then he sighed. “Uh...I called the police. They might be here any minute. What...what do we say?”

“Well. If you didn’t believe us about the ghost, they’re definitely not gonna believe us about the fucking huge dog,” Marvin said.

“Right.” Jackie sighed. “I guess we should just say we didn’t get a good look at it. Except that it was big. We all ran up the stairs before it broke in.” He paused. “I should call your parents. Explain what happened and that we’re alright. But then...what do we do about this?”

Silence. Then, Jameson cleared his throat. He signed something. “JJ thinks we should go back to the library,” Marvin translated. “Because we might be able to figure out what’s going on.”

“Yeah...yeah!” Chase nodded. “Maybe we can get that ghost and ask her some questions. Maybe she knows what the dog was all about!” He nodded faster. “Okay, so tomorrow—”

“Oh, we can’t do it tomorrow,” Marvin interrupted. “We’re going to the animal shelter to pet cats and hang out all day.” Jameson nodded, backing Marvin up. “What about the day after?”

“Sorry, I-I can’t,” Jackie said. “I’m not letting you guys go alone. But the day after tomorrow is, uh...my birthday. And my family’s coming over.”

“Oh, happy birthday,” Chase said. Schneep and Marvin echoed his words, and Jameson signed the same.

Jackie grinned a bit. “Thanks, little guys. So...what about Thursday, then?”

The others exchanged glances. “Uh, that’ll work, I guess,” Chase said.

“Great.” Jackie looked back at the ruined kitchen. He sighed. “I guess I’ll call your parents and then clean this up for your mom. Until the police show up, anyway. What do you guys want to do?”

Nobody said anything. Then, “I want to forget about this,” Schneep mumbled. “Can we play the video game again? And...forget about this?”

“Yeah, we can do that,” Chase said quietly. “What about you two?”

Marvin and Jameson looked at each other, then both nodded. “Sounds good,” Marvin said.

“Okay, then.”

“You guys go do that,” Jackie said. “Don’t worry about this for the rest of the night. I’ll talk to everyone.”

And so, the four of them played video games through all the chaos that followed, slowly relaxing. Until the Jacksons’ parents came to pick them up and Chase’s mom insisted the other two go to bed.

Surprisingly, they fell asleep quickly, drifting off into a dreamless darkness.

[cute-and-undead]

Hemrik gave a small hum as Anti kissed him, a half hearted smile forming for a moment as he felt it on his temple. The silence then seemed to sit for a moment, and he didn't rush to break it. With how Anti was always working of his communication, Henrik wasn't going to force him to vocalize complicated feelings if he wasn't ready to. He'd already revealed enough for Henrik to understand them, so he wasn't forcing more.

And soon he got another question, looking over and seeing that curious look in Anti's eyes. His intrest was peeked again, and soon he got what he was waiting for. It made him chuckle a little towards the end, appreciating how open Anti was to hearing possible concerns, but he just found himself shaking his head.

"I definitely questioned things, but.. none of it was your fault." he admitted slowly. "I mean you know this already, but at the time, me and feelings weren't the best together. So that was sort of the hurdle. Because I got used to you being a demon when I moved in. You came with the house." he joked teasingly. "It was mostly when feelings happened that I had things to.. work through. I was already questioning my faith by then so it was mostly me unpacking a lot of internalized hatred I held for myself just for liking men."

"However, as much as it sucked to do alone, when I ended up confessing to you - which you handled so much better than I thought you would by the way - I.. I saw the effort you were putting in for me." he then began to explain. "Now I know that they were sweet little things, but.. us learning to meet the other where we were at and have those little gestures helped me so much."

"Actually, a funny thing. You were the reason I ate or slept properly some nights." he confessed with a little chuckle. It felt a little embarrassing to admit now, but it was true. Anti was so sweet when he offered to have dinner with him or show him the shows he liked. "Still feel bad I kept sleeping through your shows.. I promise I didn't mean to."

Late Night Walk (Closed Rp)

It had been a little bit since they had the time to do this. Every day with a nice evening lately, either Anti or Henrik had been too busy or too tired to make it happen. But now, they both had some free time and it wasn't supposed to be too cold tonight. The sun just set a little while ago, a gentle chill in the air as a soft breeze blew through the forest behind the house.

So after dinner, they got ready to go. It was a relaxing day, so they had to get out of their night clothes for a little bit. Henrik got himself a thick turtleneck and a dark pair of jeans, hearing Anti picking out his own clothes from his closet behind him.

It didn't happen often, but every once in a while, Henrik would catch himself in the mirror. It was usually after a meal when all of it was still sat in his stomach, noticing all of his new curves. He had a stomach that stretched over his pants a bit when he wore them, his thighs larger than they used to be, and both areas having the stretch marks to prove it.

He looked nothing like he used to. It was a thought that held a confusing weight in his chest when it happened, the conflict in his eyes as a hand came up to feel over the markings on his stomach. He knew he was much healthier now, in the best condition of his life, but it still felt so... Odd.

((@http-anti ))