#I don't usually have lunch anyway because my family always just has late big breakfasts and big dinners

[moon-thething]

Hey, so I had an idea again. I mostly just thought of this because I was curious though.

Perhaps Kevin x Reader has where he's married to the reader? Or has of how he'd be if he were married to someone, anyway.

- Kevin Anon

Hello again Kevin anon :) sorry it took me this late to reply 😅 but I hope you like these head canons anyway :)

Romantic or platonic?: Romantic

Readers gender: gender neutral

Type: Fluff

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Kevin's proposal would be an absolute disaster. And I don't mean that in a mean type of way

He would pick to be in a saluted area, maybe like a woods. He would set up a picnic, romantic music, he even has a movie ready on his phone!

But would be stuttering ten times more than usual and he almost dropped his ring once when he was checking if it was still in his pocket

But, after all of that embarrassment he would finally get down on one knee... And say the most cringe and corny crap possible. It came from the heart though! Eh.. kinda

"Y/n." Kevin sighed, looking deeply into Y/n's eyes as he felt his hear flutter. He got down on one knee, grabbing a small black box as you gasped, your hands flying to your mouth

"I may not be the richest, but I promise to love you richer than anyone else. Will you marry me?" You stifled a laugh as tears rolled down your eyes

"Yes!"

He may or may not have made your proposal a joke, but you'll never know

Your proposal wouldn't be anything too big, just a couple of friends and family members, nothing too special. Although Kevin does go all out, ordering decorations and food for the wedding he even paid a professional painter to paint a portrait of you to

But when the wedding is over you best believe he would cuddle you to death when you're finally in your home... Not gonna go into further detail since this is supposed to be fluff

He would be the type of husband who wakes up really early just to make you breakfast. Would make your favorite meal at least once a month

My guy works at a candy shop did you expect a Gordon Ramsay level dish? Nah, you're getting cereal for breakfast, toast if you're lucky that day

I can see him just sneaking up behind you when you're doing dishes and sneak in a dirty plate. You always catch him but it makes you smile when he thinks he managed to go unnoticed and laughs evily while running out

He wouldn't be always like that, if he wasn't tired that day from work he would do everything and let you rest. And when I say everything, I mean everything. Do the dishes, the laundry, clean the bedroom, clean the bathroom, everything that comes to mind, although he lets you cook lunch and dinner since, gonna mention it once again, he only knows how to make cereal and toast

He has a little booklet for every event since he is forgetful. He makes something special for your anniversary, and by special I mean he either takes you to a diner, a carnival or the place where he proposed to you

Same goes for your birthday, he would buy you simple gifts suck as a necklace. Or if you saw something in a store a couple of months ago he would memorise the exact object and buzz it for you

If you have a sweet tooth he would sneak candy out of his workplace at least once to twice a week. No doubt

When he has days off he would either spend the whole day with you or lock himself in your bedroom and sleep, half of the time he cuddles with you

Your marriage isn't completely a bed of roses, you do get in fights but not that often. If you two did fight it would be over something serious, not gonna list of the things but you get the idea

Now, for the apologizing it really depends on who started it

If Kevin started the fight he would apologize when he calmed down enough and when he knew you were calm enough

But if you started the fight he would lock himself in your bedroom and won't get out untill you knocked on the door and apologized. More often than not, he would accept your apology and you two would hug it out and he'll give you a peck on the lips. But if he didn't you would just leave him alone for him to calm down, he would feel guilty after a while and would leave the room and just hug you

But over all, he really loves and appreciates you, 10/10 would recommend

[timeoverload]

I don't know what the hell my problem was yesterday but I'm feeling a little better today. I was just crying off and on all day yesterday. I was getting upset about things that weren't a big deal. I have just been a wreck lately and I apologize for that. I don't like being moody and bitchy. I hate feeling that way.

I don't want to talk about work too much because I know it gets old. I had a long day as usual. I had 14 cases this morning and 17 this afternoon.

The morning was ok aside from losing the adapter for my spray hose in decontam. I looked for it everywhere. I even dug through my trash. I tore down 7 sterile pans to look for it and it wasn't in there so I had to redo all of those for nothing. It never turned up so I'm frustrated about that because the one I had for back up sucks and it falls off more than the other one. They don't want to buy me a new sprayer for my sink because they are so expensive. It gets used so much that the handle falls off so I'm constantly having to put it back together. My air hose is the same way. I don't know why they can't invest in new shit for me. I have been wanting a new ultrasonic for a while because the one I have isn't great. Both of the ultrasonics we use have caught on fire before but we are still using them because they don't want to pay to replace them. They have been repaired but they still have a lot of problems. I understand they are very expensive but I know they make enough profit to cover it.

The afternoon really sucked and I'm proud of myself for not crying. My legs hurt from rushing around. I really can't handle all of that by myself anymore. It is getting to be too much. My label printer also broke and I spent like 20 minutes trying to recalibrate it but I was unsuccessful. I have really bad luck with printers and I hate them. Hopefully I don't have to call IT in the morning but I will try to figure it out myself first. I was also annoyed because everyone just ignores me when I say I am overwhelmed or they say, "wow, you look busy!" and walk away. I try to help them when I can but that doesn't matter. The evening team lead was nice and told me he would clean up the last case so I could go home on time. I was so grateful for that because I felt like I was going to collapse if I stayed any longer.

I was planning on stopping for food on my way home but decided not to. I really need to go to the store but it has been scaring me lately. I get panicky at the store. There's just too many people there most of the time. I have things I can eat so I will be ok. I ate breakfast and lunch. I regret buying lunch though. I asked for half of a chicken enchilada and I paid $8 for it. I didn't notice how disgusting it looked until after I paid for it. The cheese on top was so burned that it was inedible and I had to pick it off. I ate what I could but it tasted like shit. I'm not a good cook but I know I could do better than that. I am going to ask to look at the food next time before I buy it since it's covered up in the warmer. I don't want to keep buying food there.

Anyway, I have been thinking about how it's difficult for me to be the person I want to be. I don't feel like I can do that in my current environment. I enjoy being close to my family but I need to get out of this room. I have no space to be productive or do a lot of the things I enjoy. I am constantly tripping and falling. I can hardly get into my refrigerator right now. Sometimes I have to sit in the dark so I don't have to see my mess. I have been getting spider bites while I'm sleeping so I don't enjoy that. I really don't like living the way I do and I know that it's my fault. I wish I didn't feel like shit all the time so I could do more. I also need to leave my toxic job. I feel like a plant that has outgrown it's pot. I want to go outside. I want to try to do new things but I have a hard time with that due to my hyperfixations with other stuff. I have always had trouble with that. I used to get made fun of for wanting to do the same things all the time but I can't help it because that's the way my brain works. I never understood why I did that until I found out that I'm autistic. I would like it if someone could expose me to new experiences because that might help me. I need someone around to help me have more fun. I want to laugh more. I don't want to have the same routine all the time because that has made my life so monotonous. I feel like I don't have much of a personality anymore and I'm boring.

I'm just really tired right now. I don't even know if I'm making sense. I was having trouble talking to people towards the end of the day because my brain was malfunctioning. I kept stuttering and it was difficult to find the right words to say so that was embarrassing. I think I need to relax now. I don't have much else to talk about anyway. I wish I had more positive things to say. I hope the next 2 days aren't quite as intense.

Thank you for all for listening to me vent and putting up with me when I am grumpy. I appreciate you. I hope you all have a wonderful day tomorrow. 💖💖💖

[yeonjungs-red-blazer]

.

[ghostofbrock]

venomous words

on a rainy afternoon in new jersey, the kids didn't have an option to go outside or not since they knew how strict their mother was on days like this and how their father would react if he saw mud tracked into the house. they'd be toast with the chancla.

so ellie played with her barbie dolls on the carpet in the living room floor with a small smile on her face, giovanni sat on the couch and watched over his baby sister while trying to look for something to watch in netflix, specifically a movie. luke and auggie were upstairs in their room playing whatever the newer generation was into. the two boys were in sweats that had crumbs on them since the boys were munching on potato chips as they played their game. their mother had just arrived from long and stressful day at work, she sat in her car for a minute or two to collect herself before entering her home where her babies and husband would be waiting for arrival. well maybe just her babies... once again.

she covered herself with her purple umbrella since it was pouring rain as she got out her car, closed the door and locked it before walking to her front porch that wrapped around the house. she closed her umbrella as soon as she was covered by the porch's roof. she grabbed her house key out of her pocket and opened her door.

"mom's home!"

she hasn't stepped foot into her home and she was already called out by her kids. luke and auggie jumped out their beds and ran downstairs as soon as they heard their older brother yell. ellie dropped her doll and skipped over to her mommy as gio stood up from the couch and walked over to her.

as sara closed the door behind her and turned around, she was attacked by hugs all over her body. from her thighs to her shoulders, her children had her trapped in a loving hug.

after she kissed them each and asked about how their day went, they went back to what they were doing before she came home. later they were expecting a home cooked meal that she always provided for them since mattia rarely cooked for them nowadays and sara didn't like having her kids eating fast food all the time either for their health. at times it was acceptable but if they didn't need to eat it then they wouldn't.

sara was now sitting at the island that was in the kitchen, she opened the bottled water she grabbed from the fridge and took a sip.

"how was work?" her oldest son's voice came from behind her. he walked from behind her to next to her and leaned against the marble island. "stressful. overwhelming. busy. i don't know how i'm gonna do it..." she rubs her temples with a groan. "don't over work yourself, ma. you got this, you always do." gio rubs his moms shoulder softly and flashed her a smile. a smile that made her feel better and made her smile.

"i know it's just that i wanna do as much as i can for this project. i've worked my ass off for years for this to finally happen and i'm so close. only a few more months of ridiculous amount of stress then i'll have my own clothing line." a weak smile formed on her lips, gio's heart swells at the sight. he knows how much his mom has been wanting this but he also knows how much she can overwork herself.

"isn't dad helping you with any of it? he said he would, right?" gio asked with his mother with hope as she took another sip of her water. "uh yeah. he is but there's certain things he can't help with." she gave her son a tight smile laced with lies.

truth is mattia hadn't even talked to sara about her huge project that she has been working on for over a year now. he thinks his wife can do it herself because of how strong she is but little did he know how weak she was getting from handling everything by herself. she was never the one to ask for help but this time she did ask for help from her husband but his answer?

"you're being dramatic"

so she never asked again and instead asked her close friends who were of course open to help with anything she needed. she knew that the kids had brought up the project while they talked to mattia recently either at dinner or something similar. and being the good father mattia is he had to lie because he knew if his kids found out their parents weren't helping each other out then they'd question why and jump to conclusions which leads to arguments and picking "sides".

"oh yeah. i've been helping her with scheduling everything and keeping the tabloids updated. she's not as stress thanks to me."

sara would just simply nod and give a small nod to the kids and glare at mattia who just rolled his eyes at her.

"like what?" gio asked. "it's personal business stuff, g. don't worry about it, okay? i'll be fine. but did your dad take you guys out for breakfast like he said he would?" she changed the subject with a smile.

gio avoided eye contact with her which she automatically meant no.

"h-he just forgot. that's all." he stuttered a bit. sara tried to remain as calm as she could. she didn't want to lash out in front of her baby and took a mental note to talk to mattia tonight about not taking the kids out for breakfast.

"you don't have to lie to me, ya know? i won't get mad at him." she sighed and gave her son a reassuring look. "when i woke up this morning he wasn't here. he sent me a text as well saying that something came up and he had to go meet up with his manager for a gig." he simply explains. "so i made breakfast for us instead and lunch too. he sent us money for post mates but i was just mad-" he stopped himself from venting to his mother about his father.

"i didn't use the money. that's all." he shrugs as sara looks at him with sympathy.

"he promised me that he'd try hard for us. to try being more involved... why would he lie?" gio claps his hands together. "sometimes work gets in the way of things, honey. trust me if he could clear his schedule for a whole week just to be with us he would, okay?" the fact that sara was defending mattia wasn't something she wanted to do.

she had to because she didn't want her son to think bad about his own father, she was trying to protect at least both of them.

after their little conversation sara made dinner while the kids were being entertained by the activities they were doing before she got home. as sara looked over at the clock, she sighed.

it was seven o' clock and mattia still wasn't home. usually he'd send his wife a text saying that he was going to be home late but when sara checked her phone she had no new messages. the kids were now sitting at the table with their mother. she sneaked a quick text to mattia before eating with her babies.

sara: are you on your way yet?

she got no response after she sent it. she called twice and still nothing. she was beyond livid at this point. first, he didn't take the kids out for the day, then he doesn't respond to her text or calls her back? this was the third time this month that this occurred. she didn't show it but she was pissed off at dinner and while she tucked this kids into bed.

"is daddy gonna tuck me in too?" ellie asked as she held onto her stuffed giraffe. "yes, baby. of course. when he gets home i'll tell him to come and give you a kiss, okay?" sara's soft voice said as she placed a strand of hair behind her ear. ellie simply smiled at her mother.

"goodnight, angel. te amo." sara kisses ellie's nose. "buenas noches, mommy. te amo mas." the two giggled. once sara finishes tucking in her kids, she goes to her bathroom to take a shower. she then changed into some house shorts and one of mattia's shirts that fit her like a dress.

she went to the living room and ate ice cream as she watched good girls. without even knowing it, she fell asleep on the couch. she was woken up by someone whispering her name softly and rubbing her cheek gently with their palm.

she opened her eyes to see mattia with a smile. oh how much she wanted to wipe that stupid smile off his stupid face.

"did you make dinner?" he questions her. "yeah. we ate already so i put your plate in the fridge. now if you excuse me i'm going to bed." she was too tired to deal with him right now. she would have to be up bright and early tomorrow for meetings and such so she just didn't want to argue with her husband right now.

she got up from the couch and tried walking away but mattia reached out for her hand to stop her.

"you guys didn't wait for me? what happened to family dinners?" he asks with a pout as he held her hand. she quickly glanced at the clock on the wall for a time check.

2:34 a.m.

"i was not gonna wait till now to eat with you and neither were the kids, mattia. family dinners means that everyone has to be here at reasonable times." she sighs and glares at him. "where were you anyways, mattia? it's past midnight and you barely got home." she questions quickly and changed the subject.

"i was out. it's not a big deal, babe." he scoffs at her.

"not a big deal? if it's not a big deal then why can't you tell me where you were?" she remarked quickly and crossed her arms over her chest.

mattia gives her a look, as if she was crazy or something. all she wanted to know was where he was at, what was so hard about that?

he started walking to the kitchen, sara quickly followed him.

"sara, i've had a long day. please don't start with me right now..." he huffs as he opens the fridge and grabs his plate of cold food. "says the guy who comes home late smelling like alcohol and cigarettes." she looks at him from across the island.

"i didn't do shit! all i did was go to a bar with alejandro and alvaro after i finished my meetings. they drank but i didn't because i knew you'd react like this and treat me like some kid!" he was getting frustrated with her at this point, he showed it by banging his fist on the island. his breath reeked of alcohol so she was even more pissed off that he was lying to her about drinking.

"all i wanted to do was come home to my wife and kids. a nice home cooked meal and after the kids go to bed and we all settle down, maybe some good sex with my wife but i can't have that can't i? ever since you've gotten this attitude all you ever do is complain! you're on bitch mood twenty four seven, sara!" he was now raising his voice at her.

sara had no energy to argue with him right now. literally nothing left. she had a long day, she just wanted to sleep. she looked at him with tired eyes, she scanned his facial expression and saw the anger he always had all of a sudden now. right now she ignored it and walked away, but he didn't let her.

"where the fuck are you going?" he turned her around a little bit too rough. "to bed, mattia! i'm too tired to deal with your bullshit right now." she stated as she tried not to yell at him.

"whatever. go ahead, walk away. that's all you're good at since you can't do anything right. you definitely can't be a good wife." his words felt like knives. she felt like her heart was getting stabbed completely, over and over again.

she walked off, pretending that what he just said didn't phase her and went upstairs quietly so she wouldn't wake the kids.

little did she know, gio was hiding behind a pillar near the stairs where he heard everything.

she went to the room which she shared with her "husband" and jumped into bed. she laid in bed for a minute, thinking about what mattia said. his words repeating in her head like that one song that could never get out of your head.

"you definitely can't be a good wife."

those venomous words scared her pretty much. she couldn't believe he said that... why would he say that? was she really not a good wife? what was she doing that made her so horrible to him? was it the kisses? was it her cooking? was it her looks? was it the sex? the constant need of having him around? what was it?

whatever it was made her feel like she wasn't good enough which was not the case.

sara was always good enough.

she cried herself to sleep that night. and hours later she felt his presence next to her body, his arms wrapped around her keeping her warm but it didn't make her feel loved like it usually did. no, she had a different feeling. she felt like she was in bed with a stranger. why was she feeling this way? shouldn't she be happy that he was still willing to sleep in the same bed with her?

all the questions she thought of made her feel more insecure, not about herself but about her marriage with the man she loved so much. the last thing she wanted was to lose him, it would ruin her.

she hopes for an apology of some sort. perhaps a date to make it up, she'd be willing to forgive him. she knows he lied about not drinking, mattia could never say no to not have a beer or three with the boys. he wasn't thinking straight, she knows her husband too well.

he just didn't want to admit that he was drinking because he didn't want to feel more guilt than he was already feeling since he missed out on dinner.

so the next morning she was woken up by the smell of pancakes and bacon. she went downstairs and saw gio and mattia cooking at the stove, auggie and ellie coloring on the table while luke looked sleep deprived as he walked into the kitchen with his mom.

"morning, amor." mattia walks over to her holding a plate of stacked pancakes with all the works. he bends down a bit to kiss her oh so sweetly, they both smile into the kiss. "i handled everything you needed to do today so we can all spend quality family time and to start off the day i thought of making breakfast." he hands her the plate where she takes it and sits at the table. once everyone is served the all began to eat.

"you have to cook more, pop. these smack!" auggie speaks as he licks his lips. "maybe i will." mattia laughs as he looks over at his son. "how'd you sleep, ma?" gio asked simply. the way he asked her sounded like he knew something (which he did since he heard what his father told his mom last night) but no one thought too much of it.

"good, baby." she lied with a smile. gio could tell that she was lying but he wasn't going to confront her about eavesdropping on her and mattia.

they all ate breakfast in peace and with joy. gio couldn't stop looking at his mom and dad. especially, his mom since she seemed so happy. didn't mattia's drunk words hurt her? was she really pretending that nothing happened between her and her husband? he couldn't believe she was still protecting mattia after what he told her.

"what's up with you?" luke nudges his older brother's elbow slightly. "what?" was gio's response. "you keep on staring at mom. i get that she's beautiful but it's starting to look weird now. quit it." luke let out a dry chuckle after he spoke.

gio just rolled his eyes and finished his breakfast. once the family finished eating they were told to get ready for a day out. mattia said that he'd be taking them out to the carnival since it happened to be in town.

"hey, can we talk?" mattia closed the door behind him as he walked into his bedroom. sara was sitting at her vanity deciding what necklace to wear that she had in her jewelry box.

"yeah, what's up?" she nods and turns her body to face him. he sits in the edge of their bed as she sat across from him in her spinning stool.

"first off, i want to apologize for last night. i know i should've gave you a heads up about dinner and coming home late. yes, i did drink and i didn't mean any of what i said. i was drunk and stupid. i'm sorry, mamas." he gave a look filled with guilt and he really didn't mean those things that he told her last night.

"tia... i accept your apology, okay? you just had me worried because you weren't texting or calling me back. and i just had a stressful day overall yesterday." she sighed. "i know, baby. you shouldn't be overworking yourself either. i also took the liberty of organizing all of your meetings and handling the little things for your project. i know you've wanted this for the longest time and i hate to see you so worrisome about the little things, babe. i wanted to help you." he explains which made her heart feel a certain way. only he was able to give her that feeling as crazy as it sounds.

"i really do have the best husband in the world, huh?" she giggles. "and i have the best wife ever. being all sexy and shit." he winks at her which makes her blush.

"come give me a kiss." he adds and she obeys. she gets up from her chair and straddles mattia's lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and plays with his hair. she dips her head down, he catches her lips with his own. the kiss was soft and sweet, all of their worries seemed to wash away. almost as if all their problems went away as well... boy were they in for it.

[elejah-wonderland]

Love Is A Heartbreak Away/2

Fanfiction

Part 2

AU TVD/TO

Elijah Mikaelson x Elena Gilbert

Kol Mikaelson x reader

Summary: Elena returns to New Orleans, after she had lived seven years in London, England. As a teenager she had a crush on Kol, and dreams of meeting him again. But there is his older, more stern brother, she never cared about. 

a/n: this is inspired by ‘Sabrina’, cuz I love vintage stuff and old movies.

I hope you like this story. xoxo

tags

@rissyrapp20 @dendrite-lover @cassienoble2000 @captainshurley @goddessofthunder112 @elejahforever @hides2000 @idkhaylijah

if you wish to be removed from the tag list, let me know xoxo

____

Esther arrived earlier and the first thing she did was to sit Kol down to talk to him. As per usual it didn't go all too well.

"Racing is one thing I am good at"- Kol said to his mother-"I am not giving it up."

"Do you know how I feel every time you get into that boat to race. My heart clumps up, and I just cannot breathe from fear that something might happen to you."- Esther said.

"Nothing will happen to me. Anyway, this may be the last season I race anyway. I want to get the grand prix once more. I am right up there among the greatest, mother, you know. Three times in a row. Noone achieved that."

Esther huffed a bit, not happy about it all, but now said-

"Right. You promise you will quit after this season is over? I want a solemn promise! And you will not go back on it?"- Esther asked.

Promising something he wasn't quite sure he would be able to keep, especially if he said the words now he would have to uphold- it was not easy for Kol. And so, well, he could not bring himself to do it.

As he wavered, Esther now disappointingly just waved at her son-

"Go, please."

"Mother, I just-"- Kol started, but she cut him off.

"I don't want to hear anything more, Kol."- Esther said-"please now leave. I am at the end of my thethers with you!"

Kol hated leaving things so tense and continued-

"I know that this is all because of what had happened to Father and Klaus, but- I cannot live under a sheltered glass dome, you so want to put me in, same as Elijah. This is not me. Sorry, but I just can't"

Kol's phone rang and he let it ring, standing like the lost sheep, feeling bad, as Esther was now teary remembering Klaus and Mikael.

"Will you answer this phone-"- she now said agitated.

Kol looked at the display-uttering-

"It's Y/N"

"Answer her"- Esther urged her son.

Kol now answered, leaving the study.

Esther sat down in the armchair wiping her tears off glancing at the family photo on the desk.

"I miss you so much" - she uttered.

There was a knock on the door and Elijah entered saying-

"I am sorry to interrupt, but Larson asks when it would be best to serve dinner? Also, I have just met John's niece Elena in front of the house-"

"Ah, yes-"- Esther now looked at Elijah-"I completely forgot to tell you that she was coming-"

Kol, who finished his conversation with his girlfriend now came back in and said-

"Elena? Little Elena?"- Kol asked-"the hermit?"

Elijah now recalled that they spoke about John Gilbert's niece not long ago. Now he turned to his brother and asked him why he called a hermit.

"Ah, she would always hide. Lurking. Never could talk to her. Well, she could not even get a word out. So, she is back? She came to visit her uncle?"- Kol said.

"Yes."- Esther replied adding-"And I want her to feel like she is at home."

Both Kol and Elijah were uttering Of course, that goes without saying.

"Fine"- Esther said and the woman was ready to get out now and find the butler, when they heard a knock at the door. As Esther said enter, Elena walked in.

She didn't look anything like the teenager Kol remembered. He now looked at her wide-eyed. There in front of them, stood a sheer beauty, greeting everyone present politely, especially Esther.

"Elena!"- Esther now went to the woman welcoming her warmly. Elijah nodded at her not taking his eyes off of her as well. Elena also nodded back at him. Then Kol took over expressing all what Elijah's heart thrummed at that moment, not understanding what was happening to him. It's not like he had never seen a beautiful woman before, or been with one.

"Is this really you? Wow- you've changed! Hey- great to see you! Where have you been hiding all this time? Ah, yeah, London, was it?"

"Yes. I lived in England"- Elena replied.

The butler now knocked wanted to know if dinner could be served.

And now Esther ushered everyone to the dining room. And Kol continuing to chat about London with Elena as they went out of the study. Elijah and Esther followed, letting those two go, stopping his mother for a moment asking about the lunch with the Y/L/N.

"They are ready to invest"- Esther said-"but they want 40%"

"That is steep. The board would not be happy."- Elijah said.

"If they become family, things could be negotiated."

"What do you mean, family?"- Elijah asked.

"Well, Y/N and Kol have been together since their freshmen year- so they hope this will end up in marriage. At least Marie sees it that way"

"Kol- getting married?"- Elijah said like he had never had anything more ludicrous in his life-"they might have been together- and I can't believe they really are still together- because- of all, well - his escapades with other women."

"Well, she has done her share of escapades, too. It's that kind of a generation. They don't take anything seriously. Especially not love. Like Kol said they were not really exclusive."- Esther said. "

"Exactly"- Elijah remarked-"so how do you see them getting married?"

"There is a possibility- well, nothing is confirmed yet. Y/N still needs to go to the obstetrician- but she might be pregnant. And I don't want to get ahead of ourselves here, but, when she returns to New Orleans in a few days, we will know."- Esther said- "now let's eat. We can't keep Larson waiting any longer."

Very shortly, the dinner was served and the star of the evening was Elena, of course, who was now telling them about her life in London, all she did and a little bit about her eccentric benefactor Dahlia.

Even though sisters, Dahlia would not call Esther for years on end. She had not heard from her the last two years.

"She moved her atelier to the Shetland islands."- Elena informed the woman-"I plan to visit her in the spring."

Elena then continued to talk about what she was doing lately.

All evening Elijah listened to Elena speak. Quiet as he was, he was not bombarding her with questions like Kol, but  nevertheless, soaked in every word she had said.

Elena was like the fresh breeze for all of them. Extraordinarily, this was the first night in a long while that Esther was sitting down for dinner with both of her sons. Kol would usually be somewhere with his friends, Elijah would either work or stay at the town house. She felt like the universe bowed down and sent her Elena, like a special gift.

At the end of the dinner, Esther extended a special invitation to Elena to attend her birthday party the next day.

"Thank you so much"- Elena said.

She bid everyone a good night and left the room. And before she went she just once glanced back at them, her eyes streaming at Elijah at the end.

That what was incrompenhensible to her. Why was she saw compelled by him. With these thoughts she trailed off to the little house not far from the Grand  House where her uncle lived.

When she was a teenager, all her dreams involved around Kol - the way she would kiss him, go off to the wildest parties with him, come home in the early hours in the morning. And all these years abroad, she wondered what he was like, if he had changed at all. It proved that he hadn't much. It felt that all was even more enhanced. As always his life was exciting. But when he was talking she blocked some of it off, and found swaying her look to Elijah. She was not into men in suits, workaholics, as her uncle described the eldest Mikaelson.

So, why was he on her mind? He barely spoke two words to her, except for a few polite questions about what drew her to study industrial design. She shook her head as she now put her hair down and combed it, before getting into the shower.

In his bedroom, in the Grand  house, Elijah had a view on the  guest house she was staying at. After a shower, he went to the window glancing out. What was he doing there, looking out- He shook  his head, and returned to his agenda for tomorrow. Even though they were hosting a huge party tomorrow night, he still needed to go to the office.

The next morning, Elena, as an early riser, had already done her yoga and had her breakfast. Her uncle was amazed how disciplined she was.

"I have been invited to the Birthday Gala tonight and I don't really have anything appropriate to wear, so I thought I would head into town. Can I get a lift?"- Elena asked.

"I would offer you my car, but it broke down. And I barely had time to look what it is. I am now Mrs Mikaelson's personal driver and she will not be going anywhere today, but I still have to stay. I'm sorry"- John explained.

"Hey, it's not a big deal. I should have rented a car. I think Kol has said that he would be going into town. I will ask him if he could take me. I don't think he would mind. I'll see you later."- Elena said taking her bag.

Before John could say anything, Elena was already out of the door walking over to the main house. As she was about to enter, Elijah appeared at the door, nearly bumping into her.

"Morning"- he said somewhat startled.

Elena slipped a good morning as well, backing up a bit, suddenly feeling a strange nervousness flushing all over her.

"Can I help you?"- he asked.

"Ahm- no. I was-"- she hated that she seemed to have lost the power of speech as if she was a teenager again, all shy and not finding the right words to express herself. She felt his eyes were piercing right through her, making her even more clumsily restless.

"Yes?"- Elijah slipped.

Elena now got herself together and said that she was hoping Kol or someone was going into town and she wondered if she could get a lift.

"I believe Kol is still in bed. This is too early for him. If you don't mind I am happy to take you as I am on my way to the office."- Elijah said moving with his hand towards his car.

Elena let a little silent sigh excepting the offer and he opened the door of his black Lincoln MKZ. She slipped in, and he closed the door. As he got in, he asked if there was a special place she wanted to be dropped off, and she muttered that she needed to get a dress for the Gala.

He knew exactly where to take her. It was something she didn't expect. But then again, he was a man that had impecable taste in clothes himself, as well as cars. She was intrigued by him. The half an hour drive to New Orleans was spent mostly in silence, till Elena broke the ice by asking about the Mexico Plantation, and she didn't even know why she had asked about it.

"It's a marvellous place. I have enjoyed living and working there."- Elijah said-"it is a completely different world out there. My great twice removed grandmother was spanish and mytwice removed great grandfather married into the family. A Mikaelson and a Fuentes. You know that the spanish once ruled Louisiana from 1762 to 1802. This is when the Plantation in Mexico came to our family's possession."

"I didn't know that"- Elena said-"you grow oranges there? That's how much I remember."

"Yes."- Elijah replied.

They had arrived and just before Elena got out, Elijah said-

"I will be returning to the Grand House at about 4 p.m. If you wish, and if you will be staying in town that long, you can come by the offices, and I can give you the lift back."

"Ah, thank you. I was kind of thinking of going to the race practice at 4. You will not go?"

"No."- Elijah said abruptly. He wished her a good day and left. She didn't know what to think by his clear cut negative response to the boat practice. Her mind trailed off to something else now. It was her day out to enjoy the French Quarter and completely indulge in all NOLA had to offer.

After acquiring the dress she wanted, she went to the bookstore and got herself a book on Mexico. She read all about Tamaulipas, the state where the family's mexican plantation was at.

Walking around the French Quarter, and taking photos, being a keen photographer, Elena arrived late to Kol's practice. But he was glad to see her. He introduced her to some of his friends, with whom she had a drink as well. It all turned soon into a small party like it has always been the case with Kol. She wouldn't have minded staying on with all of them, but since she was invited to the Gala, and Esther being so wonderful and kind, she didn't want to disrespect her host, and above all make her uncle look bad. As Kol was not ready to leave just yet and it was pushing seven, Elena got herself a taxi.

Everything on the Planantation was ready for the grand party to start in an hour. Elena rushed to get ready.

_

In the Grand House, Esther was worried about Kol not showing up. Elijah tried to get hold of Kol, who finally answered his phone and reassured his brother that he would be there in a little while. In he was there in the nick of time.

Elijah got to his room and now gave him the piece of his mind about his reckless behaviour-

"You need to grow up! Enough is enough! This is a very important day for mother and she's got only us."

"I am here, aren't I?"- Kol said getting into his tux as he got out of the shower. To change the subject he now said-"Did you see Elena?! Wow- she is a real knockout. Where were my eyes before-"

Elijah hated the way he spoke about women in that way and gave him a stern look saying-

"Do not speak about Elena in that manner- or any other woman!"

Kol now stood still for a second as he put his jacket on. He looked at Elijah saying-

"What is this? Did I just hear agitation in your voice?"

"Shut up. We have to get down. The first guest are arriving"- Elijah said-"adjust your bow tie. It's crooked."

Kol followed his brother. They were late and they had to be there with her as the whole birthday speech started, so they rushed down.

Kol's phone went and since it was Y/N, he went off answering the call. Elijah now proceeded into the garden where Esther was already in full swing mingling with all the guests. He stood still for a second admiring the view of the woman, who brought such great stir in him, something he had never thought was possible.

She was like the summers breeze that comes out of nowhere and makes all difference in a particular moment in time. He could stand there and look at her forever.

Elena turned around now seeing him slightly lost in his gaze. She smiled a little at him as came over to her. 

"I hope you had a nice day?"- Elijah then said to her-

"I did"- Elena said not taking her eyes off of him.

"Good."- Elijah uttered.

Both of them stood there without saying anything further. Eyes exchanging small delightful nothings filled with gladness about being in each other's company. Maybe they would have stay like this till the end of the party, and it would have been ok, but the butler came to Elijah telling him that his mother wanted him and Elijah slipped clumsily- "duty calls."

Elena nodded a little and dreamily watched him go.

Kol now appeared from behind saying-

"Ah, good. Elijah will do the speech. I so hate these things. Hey, where did you escape?"

"I got a taxi."- Elena replied.

"You should have stayed with us. Tom did these crazy impressions of the ballroom dancing judges."

"Right"- Elena just said and taking a glass of champagne that was now passed to everyone moved forward as the butler singnalled both her and Kol to join Esther as she had asked for them.

Elijah's speech was short but heartwarming, and Kol added only a big happy birthday to his mother wishing her many happy returns.

Esther thanked both of them and then all who came to the party. At the end she gave a special thanks to Elena, introducing her to everyone as her guest of honour.

Elena looked at the woman a bit lost, not understanding where this was coming from.

"Last night was one of the most amazing nights I have had in a very long time"- Esther said to Elena-"I cannot remember when the three of us sat down together as a family. Well, ever since Klaus and Mikael-anyway, it would so wonderful if one day I might call you my daughter."

Elena thanked the woman for her kind words. Esther could see that Elena was somewhat flustered with all and now called for the music to start. She went off to some guests who had arrived late, leaving Elena with Elijah.

"I think her emotions are running high. It has been so for days"- Elijah said feeling he had to explain his mother's behaviour towards Elena.

"Don't you spend time together? I mean- at least for Christmas?"- Elena asked.

"Christmas is the worst, as it reminds her of them. The boating accident was two days after Christmas."- Elijah explained.

"Oh- I just- can't remember. No one really talked about Klaus and your dad."- Elena felt bad thinking she really put the foot in it.

To get off sad subjects, Elijah now put his hand out to her saying-

"Would you care to dance?"

Elena nodded and took his hand. hey walked to the dance floor. And like the song said-both of them felt like they were suspended in the air as they swayed to the tune. Both now not still quite sure what it was that made me feel so extraordinarily different.

 Could he really be starting to feel something for this woman, so out of the blue? And she? Where was all this tingling inside of her come from as he put his hand on her back gently? He was not her type at all. She had always been with guys like Kol, reckless, daring. She couldn't remember falling for a guy like Elijah. What was happening to her? 

________

[hashtagsmitty]

Smitty's Thailand Adventure - Day 7

Goddamn happened again - I spent two hours on this post and my phone deleted it.

In which snakes get tortured, an expatriot hero is honored, a suit is fitted, and axes don't get thrown.

I slept weird again last night - I'm not used to box spring mattresses. I have a Koala foam mattress and April has a futon, so springs poking me in the ass all night is a new experience for me. Plus the air con, it's hot then it's cold, etcetera.

Usual morning routine - the Hitler Youth and White Family Mart for breakfast. I planned my day while I ate - I wanted to visit the snake farm. Technically, the late queen's memorial snake farm. I thought that sounded awesome.

Skytrain to Siam, swapped to the other line. Not much new to say about the skytrain except there's this jingle that one of the ads plays that I will never get out of my head. Also, there's barriers around some but not all of the platforms, and the train stops perfectly such that the doors are between the openings in the barriers. It's pretty special.

Crazy Thai traffic aside, I made it to the snake farm. It looked like something out of the Walking Dead:

It was mostly the rust on the spikes. And the overgrowth. And the barriers in front of the entrance. And the red cross trucks unloading pallets of gear. I did not think I was supposed to be in there, but the sign said this way to snake farm, so in I went.

I found the place fine. Once I got past the zombie movie shit anyway. The farm looked awesome!

It was a big pagoda with open air snake enclosures all over the place. Very tropical, very novel. There was a big old rat in one of the enclosures. I watched him for ages to see if a snake was going to get him, but he was as still as a statue, with only his tiny rat ears twitching.

After the pagoda was an indoor museum - much the same, but with single cages for each snake. With glass. It wasn't quite what I expected from a Thai snake farm - far more like a zoo than a snake farm. Not enough zero-fucks-given Thai dudes with snakes wrapped around them. I looked at the snakes for a while. This guy was my favourite:

He's a Malayan Mangroce Cat-Eye Snake. I think he's gorgeous. I also thing I have a thing for snakes. They're like nature's ropes.

There was maintenance work going on inside - some drilling or digging or something. Lots of noise. I found it unpleasant, and I'm not a creature whose entire experience of the world is through vibrations. I didn't stay long inside, and left straight after.

I'm not 100% certain that I would never get a snake as a pet. I was before the snake farm, but now I'm not sure.

On the way back to Siam, I saw the Jim Thompson store! I had to go inside and pay my respects to a true expatriot hero.

Thompson's business was selling Thai silk, so the entire store was silk scarves and shirts and other stuff. Expensive silk stuff - one shirt was $200. The cheapest thing I saw was a scrunchie for $40. I looked around for a while then left, richer for having experienced the life of a great man. Also richer for not having bought any of that tourist bait.

I went back to Siam and went book shopping. I had almost finished Growth Mindset and needed something else for the plane. I found this awesome bookshop:

It took up the whole floor, it was so big. It had the largest non-fiction section I'd ever seen. I spent an hour walking around looking at stuff. It was great. I love bookshops.

I bought Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius, a stoic philosophy book I've been meaning to read for ages. I also got The King in Yellow, by Robert W. Chambers. Lovecraft listed it as one of his influences, and I love spooky.

The coolest bit was that the clerk wrapped the two books in plastic to keep them safe. I thought that was a really cool idea, and I was impressed by how quickly she wrapped them - like 5 seconds each. I only noticed later that the plastic had the store's logo on it - even better, now I won't forget its name.

I went home via Thai KFC. I wanted to try it before I left. I knew it was a mistake going in. I always know that KFC is a mistake going in, but this was bad. Weak McDonald's style chips, boring chicken "pops". A waste of time, what with bonchon around the corner. I regret it immensely.

I went home and chilled out for a while - it's been a big week. I've walked a good 75km, according to my phone. I finished Growth Mindset and wrote some notes, listened to music, charged my phone, lazy stuff. Josh texted me and I met him at my station. We went back past Siam to a station near the tailor.

We got bonchon chicken for a late lunch/early dinner. It was great - best I've had in Thailand, and way better than the culinary abortion I had for lunch before. I distracted Josh with a game I've been playing :

It's a programming game, which is 100% Josh's thing. He hated it, but couldn't keep his hands off it. It's based on Assembly, a really old programming language. The first one, pretty much. It frustrated him because it wasn't like normal programming, but I thought it was a good challenge in thinking iteratively.

We walked to the tailor from bonchon. I cursed that I was going to be fat for the fitting. Josh could barely move - we got 18 pieces of chicken and he had 12 of them. I was still full from my mistake earlier.

On the way, I told Josh how frustrated I was with Bangkok's footpaths. There are lips and cracks and broken bits of concrete everywhere. Manhole covers that could drop you into a sewer if you're not careful. Just look at this:

That's a tame one. I've lost count of how many of these things I've tripped over. Or on trick edges to the footpath - step down onto the road, expect it to be level, nope there's another step down, don't you look smart. Or, walking down the steps from the skytrain, again, expect it to be level. Nope! It's on a raised platform, enjoy your trip, see you next fall.

Josh told me to not stand on the manholes.

We walked past some massage girls. I finally saw first hand what Josh has been talking about all week - they pretty much screamed at him. "hey handsome man," they'd say, and he'd say "no thank you," and they'd say "come over here sexy," and he'd say "no thanks". It looked uncomfortable for everyone involved.

I don't know if I Iook less approachable, less wealthy, less naive or less desperate, but none of them have reacted to me like that. Maybe it's because he's 6'3".

We got to the tailor. The suit was almost ready :

Looks awesome - the vest turned out exactly how I wanted it to. The tailor is going to courier it to the hotel tomorrow after some last minute changes. I hope.

We walked back to the skytrain, but the foot traffic was terrible. Peak hour in Bangkok is insane compared to Melbourne. We couldn't even get onto the platform last time we tried. So, we sat down at Starbucks and shot the shit for a while. I showed him my notes on Growth Mindset, and we argued about that a while. He talked about how he was going to do some of Bill's contract, then renegotiate. Seemed reasonable.

We headed home around 8 - our earliest night this week, but it's been a big one for both of us. Josh is moving to a new condo tomorrow. The train ride back was bittersweet - it's been a fun holiday. We both said while walking around that there's very few people either of us could hang out with for a full week without going crazy. He's probably coming back to Melbourne next month though, so it's not too bad.

I'm going to miss him when I head back. But I'm not going to miss much else. Bangkok is -

I guess I'll save my thoughts on the city for when I'm safely no longer in it.

I found this set of signs on the street today and it made me laugh: