#I just got back from seeing peach in pa and IT WAS SO NICE AND WONDERFUL AND NEEDED AND FUN

[420crematorium]

void

[captain-lessship]

Young Mountain Man Pt. 1

It was damn near predetermined that you would be close with William. Being born within just a few months of each other, your mothers became friends. Exchanging blankets and advice on how to care for you both. Due to their closeness, you two were left to play together.

You and him would have hopscotch competitions, kick a ball back and forth and race to the apple tree that was out behind your house.

Your youth was spent with him. Up until he was old enough to go to work with his Pa and you were settling into your own self.

Of course, he still came to visit and you couldn’t help but feel your heart begin to grow attached to him in a new way. Your eyes lingered on his and your gaze would dip to his lips as he was talking. He was becoming very handsome and you couldn’t help but appreciate it.

The reality that you were in love came to under that very apple tree you used to race to. He was sweet and good to you. He had grown into quite the gentleman: holding doors open, picking up some of your dress so you wouldn’t drag it through the mud, helping you on and off your horse and even helping with chores like wood chopping and helping you carry in any heavy objects.

He also was a fantastic person to converse with. He had many ideas and thoughts about the world and how he would run things or opt to change them. He never shut down your opinions on any subject, even if they were a direct contradiction to his view. He had nothing but respect and compassion for you and you had nothing but the same for him.

You were just sitting under the tree, smiling as you thought of your beautiful blonde boy, working on your embroidered dress when you saw the Hatfield’s coming for a visit. You waved to them and began to pick up your things and headed down to meet them.

“Hey there,” Anse said, hopping down from the wagon, “Your Pa home?” He asked.

“Yes sir, he just got back from the store. Hi Levicy! How are you?”

“I am doing fine, how about yourself?” She said as Anse helped her down from the wagon.

William had to have learned it from somewhere, you thought. “I am doing great! Almost done with the dress!” You held it out to the lady and she smiled at the handy work.

“It’s so beautiful. I bet you pricked yourself a few times making it,” she joked, “But it looks like it’ll be worth it.”

Anse looked at the dress, “It’s rather pretty, any special reason?”

“Oh,” you folded it back up as you walked to the door to let your guests in, “I thought it would be a nice dress to wear for birthdays, parties and holidays. No other girl will have a dress like it.”

You opened the door to the house, “Mama! Pa! The Hatfields are here!” You walked to your room and put away the dress and your threads.

“Ah! Anse! Been a while?” You heard your father say, being as loud and boisterous as ever.

“Well Bill, you know how logging is. Busy work. Hear you ain’t doing so bad yourself?”

Your family had gotten its wealth from clothing, textiles and furniture. Your father made wooden furniture that was so beautiful that you couldn’t help but want a piece in your house. The clothing was made by his team of tailors and seamstresses. It was there in his store that you learned your own skills.

“Winters are cold so you need layers and in summer you still gotta be decent. And might as well take a new wardrobe to store it all!”

As you walked out of your room, Levicy was next to speak, “Sylvia! Just the lady I was wanting to see. I heard your apples and peaches have come in heavy this year. Would it bother you if I just picked some for a pie and eating?”

Your Mama was a very giving person, when she had excess that is, “Of course! Bill is already sick of apples.”

Your Pa laughed, “You put ‘em in everything! Sit down you two, rest yourselves.” He motioned for them to sit down in the living room.

“Say,” your Mama began, “It’s been a few months. Where’s your William? Has he got sick of us?”

There was a silence that gave it away that something had happened. You felt your heart begin to quicken.

“Well, we were cutting timber and the tree fell. Some of the splinters caught his eye.”

“Oh goodness,” your mama whispered, “Is he alright now?”

“We thought he was going to have to lose the eye but he won’t. Though, it’s going milky.”

He had been send you letters during those months and hadn’t mentioned it. You frowned, “Did he think that we would say something about it?”

Levicy shook her head, “He doesn’t even like us looking at it right now. It still has redness to it. In a week or two, it’ll be capped over.”

And in a few weeks, you were riding your way up to the Hatfields with the peaches and apples for Levicy. You were excited to see William or Cap as they were now calling him.

It was a good ride and you reached there in time to help Levicy with some dishes before supper, talking about the days of when you were young to pass the time.

“You couldn’t say William so you called him Illy,” she laughed, “It was cute.”

You smiled, “I couldn’t say Anse either.”

“Oh lord! He got so mad that you were calling him Ann but you were just a little thing. Too sweet to be mad at.”

You giggled at little. Thinking and reminiscing always put you in a good mood.

“I want to talk to you about something.” She calmly said.

“Yes?”

“You’re a real sweet girl. Caring and understanding. I know that you and Cap have spent many days together as friends but,” her brown eyes looked into yours, “Do you love him?”

You thought only for a moment before answering, “I do. He’s always there when I need him.”

“Well, that’s good because he’s asked us if he could ask your parents to marry you. I wanted to know if you would be willing before I said yes.”

“He wants to marry me?” You asked, excitement filling your voice.

“Yes. He’s planning on asking them after church tomorrow. I don’t know when exactly he’ll ask you if they say yes but I guess it would be soon.”

Your face began to hurt due to the smile on your face, “I- That’s wonderful!”

“Do you think your parents will approve?”

“Yes! Mama loves him ‘cause he never denies having a second plate and is always sweet to her, says he’s a real gentleman. Pa has said that the only thing he wants for me is to be happy and marry a hard worker! He’s one! Cap is as hard working as any man in West Virginia or even Kentucky.”

“He is!” Levicy said, hugging you. “Now we just gotta wait! Ooh! It’s gonna kill me.”

“It might kill me too!”

Then a small fleet of men came through the door, the Hatfield men were back from logging. Your eyes caught Cap’s and you smiled. He was just as handsome as you remembered. He turned his face to look at you, letting you look at his eye.

It looked like a pearl one of those fancy ladies up in New York and places like that would wear. True that you missed the pair of baby blues but the mismatched set had their own charm. You liked them.

He smiled at you and nodded to you as he took off his hat, a shyness coming to him.

“Hello! Work good today?” You asked the group.

“As well as it always is.” Anse said, taking his hat off.

“Hey,” Cap said, looking at you, “Are you staying for supper or are you heading home?”

“I gotta head home. Mama is busy baking up pies for the Sunday Dinner tomorrow.”

“Your Ma is baking? Oh boy, better wear the pants a size too big tomorrow. She’s one of the best pie bakers in this county.” Johnse joked. It was true. Her secret? A dash of sugar in the egg wash for the crust. A extra sweet hint.

“It’s getting late, I could go with you to make sure you make it home.” Cap offered, his voice had a twinge of hope in it.

“I would like the company and Mama would like an unbiased opinion on her new creation.”

“Aw, can I come too?”

“No, Johnse, but I’ll be sure to tell you about it.” Cap poked at him. A light laugh leaving him.

You and Cap bid the family goodbye, beginning your descent to your house.

The crickets chirped and a faint hoot of an owl sounded ever so often.

“It’s so peaceful.” You said, voice just above a whisper.

“Yeah, real calming.” He responded. “You like looking at the stars?”

“Yeah, but you know how people say you can see pictures in them? I guess I just don’t know which ones to look at.”

“All I know is the Big Dipper an’ Little Dipper. That’s the main two.”

“The big one points north, right?”

“Yup!” He looked over at you, “I know this might be an odd question but, do you have anyone after you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like boys. Wanting to court you and stuff?”

“No, why?” You asked, knowing damn well why.

“Well I- You’re a very pretty girl and pretty girls get asked by many boys.”

“Not a one is coming for me.” You laughed lightly, “They all like that Rosanna McCoy and that red headed girl that’s originally from Georgia.”

Cap was silent, thinking about it. “Well, if you were to have your pick, what kind of man would you pick?”

You smiled, “I like when they do things just to do it, not expect nothing in return. I also like them smart, reading and writing smart. And I guess he’d have to be very fun to be around. What kind of woman would you want?”

“Kind. Peaceable too, some people just argue for the sake of arguing and I don’t like it. I like when girls smile, it’s very pretty. I like pretty things.”

You both talked about your figurative romances til you got home, the sun fully gone from the sky.

“I will let you go in before I leave. Goodnight.”

You smiled at him, “Goodnight, Cap. I will see you Sunday. Oh! And just make something up for the creation.”

He grinned, “I will.”

You walked up the pathway and through the door, turning to look out the small window atop the door to watch him leave.

[lilyrachelcassidy]

same anon again! and totally cool with the last request :) So I popped up with a new one. Same thing daphne x reader using 15 and/or 47 from the prompt list! (preferably daphne asking out reader but anything’s cool) :))

A/N: Hi lovely anon... You're the sweetest <3 I really think you might be my official fav person rn :D And yes, yes, I'm super happy to see you again in my inbox and... oh boy, I love Daphne x Reader so much. Here you go with with the requests you asked for :)

Warnings: Might add but I consider both of those works as children-friendly lol (maybe some alcohol but that's pretty much it)...

15: “Just tell her that.” / “Such a pep talk…”

"Pansy?"

You burst into the Slytherin common room with as much energy as your legs could carry you with at the late hour as it was. Exactly, 1 am, if to be radically precise. But getting acquainted with Pansy's strange late-night habits for over seven years, you knew you could find her sprawling over the large lounge, still awake, with the Firewhisky drink in her hand per usual.

As presumed, you were right -- she was sitting, still fully dressed in her school robes and staring aloof at the fireplace, drifting more in her perplexing thoughts than she would want to. Hearing your sleepy voice, however, made her tilt her head and glance at you, standing in your emerald-green pajamas, at the entrance of the stairs to the girls' room.

She smirked. "Insomnia playing over?" she asked, teasingly, her sparkling eyes locking with your fluttery ones.

"No," you answered carefully before covering your mouth from a yawn to which Pansy's smirk widened. You flopped tiredly on the sofa, next to her and laid your head instinctively on her shoulder. "There's something I wanted to talk with you about."

"That's why you got out of bed? To talk to me about something you could do as well in the morning but without bothering your pretty face?" she asked, and though you couldn't see her face, you imagined she was frowning in incomprehension.

"Well..." you drawled, already partly regretting you had decided to come over with such a sensitive issue to her. "It's the only time Daphne is not around."

"Oh...Is that--" Pansy gasped in enthusiasm, throwing your head off of her to which you reacted with a small moan of pain, to look directly into your face. "Are you going to finally admit you're so madly in love with her and that you drool at her every time she doesn't look?"

Well, that was straightforward...

"W-what?" you sputtered out, trying to make sense of what you wanted to express. But dealing suddenly with too much confusion and surprise, you found it to be a challenging task to perform. "How would you know? I've never told anyone!"

At the raised, almost frantic tone of your voice, Pansy grinned, probably satisfied with the fact she dared to shock you. "You are the worst player in this puppy-love game if you haven't noticed yet," she said, arching her eyebrows. "It's almost hard to miss you staring at her in the classrooms or... I don't know... even when you talk to her, smiling like mad. Only concerns are for Daphne, who seems to be totally oblivious to that."

"You think? I mean, hasn't she noticed? Did she s--"

"No," Pansy interrupted you intentionally, rolling her eyes. "I think she has other doubts than that. Besides... it's also she who attempts to hide her goo-goo eyes from you."

You frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Ughh... She has a crush on you too! Happy?"

"No, she does no--"

"Of course she does, you unheeding dolt! One time, I even caught her scribbling your name in her notebook with small hearts around. What do you think it means?"

"I--" Momentarily speechless, you dropped your gaze to the hands and unconsciously started playing with your fingers. "I don't know what to say..."

"Just tell her that." Pansy shrugged, finding the simplest solution in everything while eloquently sipping her drink. "It's a normal thing to do. Go over to her during lunchtime and talk to her. Confess."

You huffed, suddenly feeling a stream of sarcasm dancing on your tongue. "Oh, really? Such a pep talk, you know... Thanks, Pans."

She nudged you with her elbow. "C'mon. You've wasted plenty of time daydreaming about her. It's a moment to take up action. Tomorrow, it's your round, or otherwise, it might pass."

Sighing, you peeked at her with seriousness. "I don't know about that."

"Then you'll never know," she commented aptly, and you knew she made her point. "I realize it might be confusing. But hey, no matter what happens, I'll be always there for you. Remember?"

"Remember," you repeated, somehow feeling more confident than you had been ten minutes ago.

XOXOXO

47. “Are you asking if I’m a single?” / “Okay… I-I will.”

The party night was... disastrous, to say at least.

And you really didn't want to be here. But all thanks to your best friend, Susan, who was definitely a go-go type of a person and had been insistently persuading you to get out with her ("This'd be so fun, Y/N!" said she with already a little too drunk tone), by now you were being pushed in the crowd of inebriated people, soaking in sweat due to the heated breaths that were puffing and blowing at your neck from all around. Making your best attempts to push your way, conflict-less, to some less teeming space, you met with a failure by being shoved to your previous position by someone's hips from behind and a loud 'Watch it!'.

Frustration and exasperation accumulated in you, and you felt truly flustered with a situation. As it turned out, flustered enough to provoke the combative self you hadn't known existed in you, to start jostling everyone around to move away from your path to freedom. It required a few angry 'ouches' and curses sent towards you, but finally...Finally, you succeeded in getting away from the bustle and a disgusting odor of sweat that hurt your nostrils just too much.

"Double Scotch, please," you said breathlessly to the bartender as you had reached the bar and casually leaned over the counter. "Triple if needed. Make it extra strong."

The bartender nodded merely, giving you a perfunctory smile, before taking care of your order by grasping some liquor from the shelf and pouring it professionally into the glass. Too distracted with exhaustion from too loud music and screeches from the crowd singing along the songs' lyrics, you hadn't even noticed a blonde girl with a glint of explicit interest in her eyes staring at you. Well, not until...

"Is it a way of dealing with the party?" the girl asked, smiling. "Or are you trying to forget you're here?"

"Both, I guess." You laughed, turning your head to behold a nice-looking gal who was casually sipping her Mohito drink. A really nice-looking, actually. Her hair was laid in the smooth curls on her broad shoulder, emphasizing her soft facial features and shiny, blue eyes. Dressed in the tight gleaming-black dress with the heals lengthening her legs, she looked more than appealing. "I was forced by a friend to come. Not my intention."

"Tell me about it," muttering under her breath, she playfully rolled her eyes and smirked suggestively. Then with an outstretched hand, she proffered you an inviting smile and introduced herself, "I'm Daphne."

You took a hand invitation, shaking in lightly and reciprocating a smile. "Y/N."

"So, you came here with a friend?" the girl, now as you knew Daphne, asked you with an arousing curiosity. "Or girlfriend, or boyfriend?"

Alcohol being the best solution for straightforwardness as it was, forced you to express your first-moment thought without any earlier contemplation. "Are you asking if I'm single?" You took a gulp of your drink and squinted suddenly at the realization of your words. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean that! It's just--"

"It's okay, I'm aware of the after-alcohol effects," Daphne soothed you down and tried her best to hide her pre-momentary shock from her face, though you could still detect it.

You fucking idiot!

"Yeah, I've come here with my roommate. She loves parties and said it would be a crime to miss one, especially on Friday night," you answered her question, attempting to get slickly out of your faux pas.

Smiling, forgetting about your little confusion, and ignoring the noise from the background, you chatted, relishing each other's company and treating it as a make-up for ruined Friday plans, fault laying on both of your friends' sides. How much time had passed while you were sitting there, taking the next rounds from the bartender and goggling at each other you didn't know, but one thing was sure -- you both definitely enjoyed it.

The things came, however, to the end as soon as Susan, plastered as you had never seen her before, approached you in a stumbling manner. She was giggling like mad, which clearly indicated one thing -- it's about time to export her back to the house.

"What the heck?! It's not a funeral, peach. Come dance with me!" she screamed as if she was on the opposite side of the room, putting her arms around your shoulder and dangling on you to keep her balance. "Cooooommmmee..."

"No," you shot back, also drunk but much less than her, which made you take responsibility in your hands. Instead of looking at Susan, however, you glanced at Daphne apologetically. "We're calling a cab."

"But, I--"

"Shut it," you said, a little angry with her intoxicated state but yourself having a bit of a problem creating a coherent sentence. "The party is over. We're- are go-ing home."

Susan made a small groan but said nothing, to which you were very thankful because you wanted to end the conversation with Daphne. The sudden influx of bravery had overtaken, and you asked her to hand over her phone. So she compliantly did, and you tapped your phone number on the screen, saving it on the contacts list before handing it back to the proper owner.

"I'm sorry it turned out that way. In these circumstances," you apologized to Daphne, the weight on your arm becoming gradually heavier as your friend wriggled in her place, still grasping your shoulder like to necessary sanity. "It was nice meeting you."

Daphne smiled at that. "You too. Good luck with..." She didn't finish her sentence, but you concluded she was referring to the little situation with drunken Susan.

"Thanks. Oh, and..." You suddenly changed the timbre of your voice to a little deeper one, almost exigent actually. "...don't forget to call me."

A coy smile spread on Daphne's lips, and she said, more in the murmur than a normal tone, "Okay...I-I will..."

And then, you were strolling away, satisfied with how your Friday turned out, much less lame than you had initially assumed.

Maybe the party wasn't such a bad idea after all.

XOXOXOXO

A/N: I enjoyed writing those actually. These had to be drabbles but somehow turned out to be full-length one-shots. But no fault of mine; these were just my hands doing most of the job! I'm taking a break to spend some quality time with my friends (yes, it's me bragging I have a private life lol), and I'm sitting at my computer to write the next goodie :) See ya in some time!

Btw, as I've counted (via my computer) it's almost 2k words. What's wrong?!

[kippykasey]

Walk Away - Chapter 1: Out of the Shadows

Pairing: N/A

Series Summary: After living in the shadows of her older brothers Alexandra Walker decides to walk away from what everything people expect of her and chase after the dream of working at Stark Industries. She wasn’t expecting everything that would follow after being hired.

Chapter Warnings: Bad parenting, John Walker

Word Count: 2445

Author's Note: So this fic started as a series of dreams. I finally decided to break down and write it. Not to mention my mutuals seemed so intrigued with the idea. So here is the first chapter y'all. **Edit** Big thank you to @captainpikeachu for informing me of the incorrect information I was using. I have now properly edited this chapter.

Disclaimer: All gifs used were found using the tumblr gif tab. I do not own anything unless stated otherwise.

Walk Away Masterlist | Masterlist

Custer Grove, Georgia 2010

Graduation was weeks away and I had just been told that I would be valedictorian. Something neither of my older brothers had been. Sure Mike and John were captains of the football team during their time at Custer Grove High School but I would be graduating with honors and as valedictorian. Finally I was starting to step out of the shadows casted by my older brothers.

I raced home on my bike that night after school. The excitement added a bounce to my step. Mom was in the kitchen when I arrived. I skipped into the room with a grin on my face. My mom looked up from the pot on the stove, she was already cooking dinner. “What’s the grin for, peach?”

“Guess who was made valedictorian of Custer Grove’s class of 2010?” I hopped in place. Before she realized what I meant or I could firmly announce the news the front door opened. My head turned and I leaned back to see my dad entering with a large grin. Mom lowered the temp on the stove and hurried towards the door.

“Here he is, the Walker’s newest West Point graduate, Johnny boy!” Dad announced stepping out of the way to let my older brother in the house. John looked just like a blonde version of Mike, Mike having darker hair than both John and I. He was dressed in the military camouflage uniform, Formal outfit on a hanger in a dress bag slung over his shoulder. It had actually already been a month since he graduated from West Point but was just now making it home.

“Oh Johnny!” Mom squealed in delight while pulling him down to kiss his cheek proudly.

“I missed you too Ma. Hey peaches.” John nodded his head at me and I waved awkwardly. “Hi, John. Congrats on the graduation. I take it Lemar has finished his training too?” John grinned, nodding his head quickly to confirm that his childhood best friend had finished his basic training with the army.

I would never admit it aloud but I definitely had a favorite brother and it wasn't John. Heck I would even take Lemar over John as a brother. Maybe it was me or maybe it was the age gap but John and I just didn't really connect. Or maybe it was the whole shadow thing for him too but it just made it worse for me. John was impulsive and the only time he followed a plan was if it was given to him. Not to mention the hidden temper he had. Yet that was a side no one got to see so no one believed it. No, instead they saw the young small town boy, ex captain of his high school football team and now an American soldier.

My mom never did ask me more about the valedictorian mention. I tried to bring it up again that night at dinner but I kept getting talked over. Like usual I helped clear the table and put the leftovers away. My earlier excitement completely diminished. I glanced at the time before going to grab my jacket, it was Friday, meaning movie night at the park. Given the weather was nice the nearby park would show movies on a projector against the side of a grocery store.

“Ma, Pa. I’m going to head to the park for the movie.” I called to my parents as I zipped my jacket. “Hold on, peach. John can take you. He’s going with Lemar and Oliva in the truck.” Dad called back and I let out a silent groan dropping my head back. Yet I patiently waited for my brother.

John and I climbed into dad’s truck after he threw some blankets into the bed. We picked up Lemar first before going to get John’s girlfriend, Olivia. Olivia and I got along well, she was the sister I never had and I really liked that. The girl got in and smiled at me. “Peaches!” She gave me an awkward hug given we were in the back of the truck and I laughed.

“So I missed the details. How did it go? Where did he take you for dinner? Was he a good dancer? Did you kiss?” Olivia’s burst of questions made the two men in front look back at us. “Wait, Alex went to prom?” John wondered aloud. “Went?” Olivia scoffed at her boyfriend as he started to drive. “She was nominated for prom queen! Oh my gosh, Lemar, your mom got her the prettiest dress.” Olivia leaned forward to tell him while I sat back blushing.

“Did you have a date?” Lemar winked at me and I buried my face in my jacket to hide my blush. “Yes she did. She went with Benny Braden.” Olivia answered for me, my brother looked in the mirror skeptically. “How do you know?” Olivia wrapped her arm around me. “I was there when he picked her up. Someone had to help the peach get ready.”

“Where were mom and dad?” John asked as he stopped at a red light. “Visiting Mike for the weekend. They forgot it was prom weekend. I called Olivia after I accidentally burned my neck with mom’s curling iron.” Olivia nodded in confirmation. “So, details.” She poked my side and I sighed. “It was awful. We didn’t get dinner and no he didn’t do something cute like a picnic either. He kept stepping on my feet. By the end of the night he ditched me for his ex. I got a ride home from Amanda Lawrence and her date. So clearly no kiss.”

Olivia looked downcast at the news. “So nothing good is happening?” I shrugged my shoulders as John parked the truck. “I’m valedictorian.” I comment like it wasn’t a big deal. Lamar ran over to me after I got out and he lifted me over his shoulder. “That’s our peach!”

I laughed until he put me down but as we turned to the couple I gasped. There was John on one knee and a ring in his hand, proposing to his childhood sweetheart.

☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰

Mom and Dad threw a party to celebrate John's graduation from the academy. It was there that John and Olivia made their big announcement about being engaged. After two hours I was done with hearing about how proud I must be to have two brave brothers in the military. Eventually I just grabbed the book I was reading for class, found a semi quiet spot outside and began to read.

A throat was cleared drawing my attention away from the book pages up to my father’s face. He gestured for me to stand so I let out a small huff as I closed my book after inserting my book mark. Standing, I made sure to smooth out the skirt my mother picked out for the family pictures we took this morning before the party. Ma grinned as she held a hand out to me as if presenting something magnificent. “George, this is our youngest.” I forced myself to smile as I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. George Ford was the recruiter who had worked with both of my older brothers.

“So, Alexandra, your parents tell me you graduate this year. Have you thought about what part of the army you’ll be joining?” The recruiter questioned as my parents waited to hear that their daughter was joining the nurse corps after her admiration for the Howling Commandos’ ‘Amazing Grace’ growing up.

“Well, I was planning to join the nurse corps. However, I am no longer planning to join the military.” I politely informed George. My eyes glanced over to see my mom’s horrified expression. My dad’s shoulders had even slumped at the news.

“Oh? Why the change of career path?” George inquired thinking I was probably misinformed on something and he could change my mind.

“Honestly, I don’t want to be in my brothers’ shadows anymore. Now if you excuse me, I need to grab some more peach tea from the house.” I walked around my parents to the house leaving them speechless with George.

I hadn't told anyone but the school guidance counselor about my decision. Mainly because I needed help applying for colleges. Sure if I was a sophomore I might still want to join the nurse corps but after Christmas my junior year I had made up my mind, I was going to be an engineer at Stark Industries. Which became even more obtainable when I received my acceptance letter to Columbia University in New York, New York.

☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰

My parents didn’t talk to me for the next few days. Dinner Wednesday night was when John finally spoke up about it. I was pushing some corn around my plate not really feeling hungry after eating part of my meal. Mom and Dad hadn’t made their usual small talk and John had enough as he dropped his fork to the plate. The metal clattered against the ceramic plate drawing my mom’s eyes to him.

“Okay, what’s going on with you three? None of you have been talking to each other since my party.” John looked between our parents and me. I gently put down my fork and looked at John. “Mom and dad are upset that I’m no longer joining the nurse corps or any branch of the military.” I informed my brother, glancing at our parents.

My dad huffed as he sat down the glass of water he just took a sip from. “It’s not that, peaches. It’s more the fact that you never told us.” He tried to defend their actions and I scoffed leaning back so I could cross my arms.

“None of you listen to me.” I shook my head and looked away. “What do you plan on doing now Alex?” John asked curiously. “Engineering. I got into Columbia University in New York. I was planning to start my studies and then apply at Stark Industries.” I explained my plan that I had talked about with my school counselor.

“Where did this come from?” Ma questioned pouring herself more peach tea.

“You know I looked up to Amazing Grace for more than her medical skills. Howard Stark even admitted that she had been a huge help on all his big first inventions. She might have been a nurse but she could take apart and rebuild all of Stark’s gear. She was the real one behind the Captain America signature round shield. So maybe I don’t want to be out in the field helping the world but I can help it in other ways.” I stood up and grabbed the rest of my plate. “Now if I may be excused. I have to finish studying for my exams.”

I went to the kitchen to clear my plate before heading up to my room. Closing the door I leaned back on it. Taking a deep breath I steeled myself. I never really spoke out like that. It was a strange feeling but I felt confident. If this is what it would be like stepping out from my brothers’ shadow I would continue to follow my own path.

☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰

Graduation day was finally here. I paced around my room repeating my speech over and over again as I waited for it to be time to go. My blue graduation gown flowing slightly in the breeze caused by my repetitive steps. The matching cap anchored on my head with bobby pins so it wouldn’t blow away in the football field where the ceremony was held. My hands kept fiddling with the cords and stole that adorned my neck. I wasn’t the best public speaker, that was more Mike or John’s thing, but I was proud to be able to give a speech.

A knock at my bedroom door stopped me in my tracks. Lemar poked his head in with a smile. “Hey graduate. How are you feelin?” He asked, walking into the room and over to me where he fixed the tassel on my cap to be on the right side. “Nervous but you said the speech sounded good so I got this.” I nodded my head more confidently then how I felt.

“You’ll be fine. Besides, a special big brother is going to be here but I didn’t tell you.” Lemar whispered, wrapping his arm around my shoulder ushering me to the door. “Mike’s coming?! I thought he was on deployment?” I gasped. “He got in yesterday and arranged to get home for your big day. Meaning John and I are taking you to the ceremony.”

I smiled and gave Lemar a hug before we headed out to the car to head to the high school. We went our separate ways at the school and I went to get in line for the possessional. Being valedictorian I was one of the first to enter the stadium to sit down. I patiently sat waiting in my seat till I was called to the stage, “Now Custer Grove’s class of 2010’s valedictorian, Alexandra Walker.”

With a wide smile across my face I walked up onto the metal stage and over to the podium. I looked out at the crowd of fellow students, parents, siblings, teachers, and other people who were all staring at me now. My eyes landed on my oldest brother, dressed in the same formal attire as John but with a few metals. Mike gave me a supportive thumbs up.

“Afternoon Custer Grove, on behalf of the graduating class of 2010 I want to thank everyone for being here to share this moment with us. Without you we would not be here. Today we feel like Avengers accomplishing a four year long battle that we call high school. But as we have witnessed just in the last four years proves how unpredictable the world can be. We know now that we live amongst heroes. We know we are not alone in the universe. Now it is our turn to step into the world and make a difference. A wise woman that the world knows as Amazing Grace once said ‘Wars happen every day. It's our choice to fight or not.’ Let’s step into the world and make our choice Custer Grove. Just don’t be like Captain America and take 70 years to visit home.”

I left the stage after a round of applause, returning to my seat. The ceremony continued with a speech from the principal before diplomas were handed out. Tassels were crossed and one chapter of my life was now over. A world of possibilities were out there and I was going to take advantage of obtaining what I could. But first I had to deal with a graduation party. Then it was off to New York in no time.

[just-a-writing-fan]

Day In The Woods

Arvin Russell x Reader

Author's Note: Few things, writing on mobile so there's no keep reading so I apologise. Also I've had a headache all day so bad it felt like being stabbed on the front and side of my forehead at work so I will do my best on this, I just really felt the urge to write and with my anxiety my desire comes and goes so I am taking it while it's here lol. Hope y'all enjoy. 😚

Warnings: fluff, so much fluff, shove a Twinkie in your mouth soft smushie sugar cream filled sweetness and fluff

Summary: You convince Arvin to have a picnic in a special place with you and your daughter Angel

"Arvin, relax baby, she's alright," you laugh as you follow behind him and he follows her. You loved the view to be honest, his shoulders denim clad in that Jean jacket that fit him so nice and you loved how his arms were moving as he walked, not to mention his ass like a peach in those jeans. Aside from him the woods were beautiful right now with all the colors of fall, the reds and oranges and yellows and browns. He was on a mission, his only sight was her.

"I told ya I don't wanna come to the woods," he says as he takes steady strides behind her and she runs a little ways ahead giggling.

"Look how pretty it is though, and the weather is nice and cool, it's nice for a picnic and listen to her enjoy herself honey-Arvin what is that?" You ask wide eyed as his jacket moves just enough to reveal it in the back of his pants.

"We're just makin' sandwhiches the hell you need that for?" "I ain't gonna use it 'less I got to," he assures you without even looking back, still focused completely on her, "Hey, I can't hear ya, sing louder!" He calls out to her.

"I still hear he-" "Angel, sing louder!" It was hard to hear the crunches of leaves and sticks under her little foot steps over the much louder ones coming from your feet and his and he did not like that. "Angel Lenora Russel, when the night," he calls and sings

"has come," you both hear her sing back and you see a smile return to his face as he sings back, "and the land is dark"

"And the moon," she continues

You cross your arms over your chest and listen to your song birds as the walk goes on, "is the only," he sings back

"light we see"

"No, I won't"

"Be afraid"

"No, I won't"

"Be afraid"

"Just as long"

"As you stand"

"Stand by me"

"Stand by me," after she sings this line you decide you want in on it.

"And darlin darlin," you sing out to them, "darlin," he keeps going, smiling back at you over his shoulder

"Darlin," you add smirking and he winks playfully making you giggle

"stand," you hear her, you loved your daughter's voice

"by me," he gets louder as he is getting into the song, "and if the sky"

"we look up on," the little girl's voice sings back, almost knowing the words

"should tumble and fall," he sings back

"or the mountain"

"should crumble"

"to the sea!" She gets excited and he chuckles

"I won't cry!"

"I won't cry!"

"no I won't!"

"shed tear!"

"just as long as you stand!"

"stand by me! Darlin!"

"darlin!" He heard she was closer now so he starts making sneaky steps and you shake your head, "Arvin-," he looks back to you and smiles putting a finger to his lips and smiling, "by me!"

"stand!"

"by me!"

"won't you stand?! Won't you stand!?"

"by me!" He sings and lunches forward behind her to scoop her up from behind. She screams caught off guard then giggles and he tips her for cheek kisses and carries her on his hip.

You couldn't ask for a better day, you had been asking Arvin to do this for weeks now.

"I think there is a clear spot up here that's good," you tell them as you near a spot you remember where you and your family used to picnic. Stepping up to walk behind him you lean against his back to kiss his ear, "darlin, darlin, stand by me," you grab his butt as you sang by me and he jumps.

"Hey!"

"what?" She asks curiously, "nothing baby, mommy is being a bad girl"

"you get spankins'," she giggles and points

"yeah she does" "no, I don't like spankins'," you tease, biting your thumb nail and making innocent eyes. "Mommy says she no likes spankins'" "yeah she does," he laughs and you smack the back of his head and steal his hat, putting it on her head.

"I'm daddy!" She giggles, "you're heavy, too many donuts"

"wonder where she got that from?"

"us," he laughs, "finally," he sits her down and straightens her dress down when you all finally arrive. "You okay darlin'?" He asks looking up at you stare at the space. "Darlin?"

"Huh?" "You just stared out there for about," he checks his watch, "five minutes, you okay?"

"yeah," you nod honestly and lay out the blanket. You had just got a vision of a memory. Your aunt and you with your Ma and Pa and your big sister there laughing before life took a turn for the worst.

"Angel, this is where mommy used to come with her mommy and daddy, and her big sister and her aunt"

"wow," she says amazed and happily accepts the peanut butter and jelly sandwich you give her as she runs around playing with the leaves. You and Arwin sit and you lean against him, "I think it's a good day to tell her"

"Lenora, 'mere," he calls her over and she comes running, crawling to sit on his lap.

"we have a surprise for you," you tell her.

"really?" She asks, a sparkle in her eye

"mhm, your mommy and I are gonna make you a big sister......"

"yay! Yay!" She bounces

"We thought you might want to name them"

"oh my gosh!" She covers her mouth that had formed a o shape with her hands

"we don't know if it's a brother or sister yet though," he tells her, tucking hair behind her ear and wiping jelly off of her cheeks, licking some of it.

"Lenny!"

"Lenny and Lenora," you repeat. "I like it, and it works for a boy or girl" "Lenny it is"

"I gonna be the best big sister," she giggles

"I'm sure you will, I was a big brother so I can show you how to"

"okay and Lenny can sing too?"

"After a while," he laughs

"and we can come here 'gin?"

"sure, if mommy says it's okay"

"oh, so I have to beg for weeks but she asks and it's sure?" You ask, pretending to be offended and he shrugs.

"I guess you say," he stands her up

"what can make feel this way," she joins him

"my girl," he smiles

"I'm not your girl?"

"Nope, youre my lady"

"Damn, you are smooth Arvin Rusell"

"Like a sandwhich?"

"I'm gonna go," she tries to get up and run off, "stand by me while I eat, I can't watch you," he explains pulling her to sit back on his lap and holding her with a arm around her, smoothing her dress down. "Okay," she giggles not understanding as you give the three year old some milk and a kiss and you kiss his cheek.

"Arvin....you okay?" You ask seeing there is more going on, there's a reason he's like this, he simply nods and when you kiss him softly he kisses you back and smiles. "Angel, after daddy eats you can both go play. Do we have a rake in the car?"

"the trunk maybe?" He says confused and you get up to start running back to the car but he grips your wrist quickly. "You too."

"Arvin, I have a idea. I'm just gonna go get the ra-," he gently pulls you down so you're laying on your back on the blanket and holds your wrist down with one hand, her with his other arm on his side, his sandwhich had fallen and he didn't care. He leans over you and she giggles because he's holding her, he kisses you deeply erasing the idea you had from your head, "stay. We can all go back together and get the rake after I eat but as long as we are in the woods, you two are staying with me, understood?" He says a inch away from your lips, nose brushing against yours. What else can you do but nod and stay, and make him another sandwhich after you all sit back up that isn't covered in leaves.

[daydream-believin]

The Never-Ending Roadtrip (waffles)

summary: (part 1) or (part 5) <- reader joins douxie on his quest to protect nari. he’ll need company wont he. (part 6) do you like waffles? also appalachia and nj trollmarket fun. next-> (part 7)

warnings: swearing, fem! reader, maybe an alcohol mention, proof reading is for squares yo

word count: 3875

a/n: i’m sorry to anyone from PA but wtf. i also have no idea why this turned out the way it did. bon apetit.

no gif im trying to test something

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Y/n looked over at Douxie. The blue of his hair was starting to fade into a duller hue. While not as bright and bold as his personality, it was still very nice to look at. This muted blue was softer, almost comforting in a way. Y/n found herself running her fingers through it. It wasn’t just the color that was soft. Like feathers in her hand, she gently caressed the strands. The duller color made him look tired, older, and the permanent bags under his eyes didn’t help. She placed her hand on his face and ran her thumb over a said eye bag. He gave her a very subdued smile in return. His sunken eyes were so beautiful. Her favorite color. Or colors, one should say. They were like an earth toned opal. Y/n’s hand drifted down his face. She used her thumb to explore his cheekbones, tracing constellations in his freckles, and finally settled on his mouth, tracing his cupid’s bow. Douxie couldn’t help but break the stoic face he was trying to hold.

“As much as I hate to ask this, and I really do, but will you please cease what you’re doing, My Love. I’m trying to drive here.”

“Yes, I would also like to ask you to stop, miss L/n. Not wrecking the ship is worth you canning your pda for a while.” Archie added.

Y/n pulled her hand back and exaggeratedly pouted. She teasingly stuck her tongue out at Archie for good measure, but couldn’t help but dissolve into a snicker right after so it wasn’t very effective. But really, it wasn’t her fault that Douxie’s beautifully sculpted face was right there and demanding to be touched. She tried to distract herself by focusing on the scenery around them. North Pennsylvania was delightful, so it’d be a shame if she spent the whole time that they flew through it looking at nothing but Douxie. There was plenty of time for her to do that the rest of her life. It’s not like she didn’t have every freckle memorized already. Every single adorable little dot. Right, Pennsylvania. Appalachia. Y/n was a little disappointed they didn’t manage to go through West Virginia, being as north as they were. She really wanted to know what all the fuss was about. Country roads.

The mountains were hard to transverse through, so Douxie took the boat up high in the clouds. A little too high. The oxygen was thin. While this didn’t affect Archie the dragon or Nari the plant goddess, Douxie and Y/n were getting a bit woozy. Neither would get altitude sickness to the point of dying, thanks to that good ol’ curse of immortality, but their minds weren’t exactly operating at high speeds here. They passed through a low hanging cloud in a puff of fog.

Though they were over it, just being in the range of Appalachia felt odd. There was a presence that clung to the mountains. Even flying high up in the air, one felt as though they were being watched. Like the thousand eyes of the forest were upon them. Looking down below, hanging over the edge like Douxie hated her to do, Y/n saw a herd of deer that might as well be ants. Watching over the herd was a bigger, or maybe closer, stag on a peak of some sort. His antlers were covered in crimson. Y/n hoped he was just shedding.

There were pathways cutting through the trees below, some roads, some manmade trails, some rivers, some troll trails, and some deer trails. Some that wound around in endless curves, some that seemed to start from nowhere and stop at nothing, some that went round and round in a circle, and some that crossed over each other, effectively creating a maze of sorts. Y/n didn’t know why, but she was glad she was above the trees and not in them. Something within her gut told her that as beautiful as the scenery was, she did not wish to experience it first-hand. The deer below were beautiful, but there was something not quite right about them. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to turn down a game of ninepins either, and she could really go for a drink.

Douxie’s brain may have been foggy, but he could certainly see Y/n hanging over the edge again, tantalizing him. He couldn’t help but imagine 174 ways for it to end badly. He’d been pretty passive about this before but now that they were so high up, he had no choice but to be up front now.

“Y/n, My Love,” Y/n turned her attention to him, which also pulled her weight more towards the boat than the sky. Good. “do you mind being back near the center of the ship? I really don’t like you draping yourself over the railing like that.”

Y/n was getting sick and tired of people always trying to keep her away from edges, advising her not to climb the mountain, telling her to stay inside when there was only a light rainstorm. She could handle it. She wasn’t a fucking porcelain doll. She was not wearing a fancy gown that suffocated her, she could speak, her lips were not perfectly painted on. And she wouldn’t shatter. “Relax, Dewdrop. I’m fine. I’m not just gonna go skydiving for kicks. If anyone has had a penchant for falling through the sky recently, it’s been you, Hisirdoux. I can catch myself with anti-gravity spells, like you taught me. Besides, we walk across tall, crumbly, ancient non-osha compliant walkways all the time. You never had a problem then.”

“Well,” He huffed, “it would be one thing if I was there next to you, but I’m not, so could you please just try to stay safe when I can’t reach you?” Y/n was taken about at how quick his tone went from annoyed to desperate. She furrowed her brows. Doux sighed, “Look, it frightens me, okay. I know that nothing will happen, but what if it does? I can’t- I can’t lose you.” His tone got even feebler in his pleading. “And there’s so many ways to lose you. Especially with the Order on our tails. Please, just give me this peace of mind for at least one thing.”

Y/n stepped away from the railing, crossing over to Douxie. He opened his arm and she nestled into his side. Pressing her head against his chest, she mumbled, “Absolutely. I’ll just—I’ll just stay here then. Next to you. I’m sorry I worried you. That was the last thing I wanted to do.”

He leaned down to press a kiss to the top of her head. “Thank you, My Darling.”

~ ~ ~

The dipped down south to go through the top of Maryland and completely through Delaware to get to the south of New Jersey, in place of just going through Philadelphia. The city of brotherly love was not on the itinerary.  Philly, and the top of New Jersey, were just too densely populated to take a magic boat through. The airspace was filled with airplanes and skyscrapers. It was easier to go the roundabout way.

As they passed between Philly and Lancaster, they went by fantastically named towns such as Paradise the city, where the girls are pretty, Bird In Hand, Blue Ball, and Intercourse. Stellar. Y/n was starting to really like Pennsylvania. It was cursed ground. She made sure to get photographic evidence of every road sign. Douxie was happy to pose with them.

They took a pit stop in a town called Peach Bottom before leaving Pennsylvania. Y/n wanted to go through New Texas, since she was curious how somewhere in the original colonies could be a new Texas, but Nari could sense a river nearby, and wanted to seek it out. Peach Bottom. It was a cozy little town with a power plant that was dumping it’s waste into the riverside it was built on. Toxic river. Fun. Y/n made Douxie explain to Nari why she couldn’t get near the river or touch any of the water. Y/n wouldn’t have been able to stay as calm as Douxie could. There was nothing happening in the rural Pennsylvanian town. Nothing special about it unless you counted their countless nuclear admissions. The locals didn’t care for strangers, and that was alright with them cause they didn’t want to be here for any more than necessary for a restroom break. Dinner could wait.

The top of Maryland was great. Lots of rivers to make it up to Nari. There was just, an incredibly large walmart near the line. Just absolutely humongous whopper walmart. A leach whose name doesn’t even deserve to be capitalized, thank you very much autocorrect.

It took less than half an hour to fly right through the top of Delaware. Hi Delaware, bye Delaware.

Soon they were on the coast of south New Jersey, headed for a sleepy town called Monty. Monty was a town along the Cohansey, split across it with quite an impressive bridge between the two sides. As soon as the bridge became visible on the skyline, Y/n grabbed Douxie’s sleeve and tugged excitedly. She looked up at him with a big smile. Rest. At last, they were going to get to rest. Y/n made herself busy calling Jim to let him know that they were there so he could call someone else to let them know that they were there and to wait by the entrance for them. Neither Douxie nor Y/n had a horngazzle on them at the moment. Y/n had had one in her possession back in Arcadia, being book club buddies with Blinky, but alas that was destroyed along with their bookstore.

They hid that damn magic boat in the forest. While they did plan on staying with the trolls for a few weeks, Douxie didn’t put it back in its glass bottle quite yet, cause they were in fact taking it into New York not tomorrow but the next day. He covered the ground around it with a few more wards than necessary. Y/n threw up an illusion spell around it, as she had been all the other times they’d just left it in the woods, and thought the wards were overkill but didn’t say anything. They started on the trek to the base of the bridge.

The troll at the entrance greeted them cordially. He was a dark green color, with two massive horns resembling those of a longhorn cow, chiseled stone tattoos, and no clothes other than a tiny loincloth which made everyone but Nari uncomfortable. He let them in with flourish, as if he’d always wanted to do this and practiced it.

“Welcome to NEW JERSEY TROLLMARKET.”

Y/n was surprised at how well the town had come along within the two months the trolls had occupied the cavern. It wasn’t the Trollmarket she had known, there was no Blinky and no library, but still marvelous. The new hearthstone glowed warmly, very much alive and not making zombies. While looking pretty similar to the old Trollmarket, with a multitude of shops and homes carved into the mineral covered walls and formations, there was a sort of human touch to it now. Claire definitely had a hand in the planning and maybe the decorative features too. Or perhaps Jim. Y/n wouldn’t put it past the boy to be the one who designed the very elaborate crystal art flower bed she was looking at. Or that weirdly steampunk bridge. Funny thing, a bridge under a bridge.

Dictatious met them soon after they came in to show them around and to where they would be staying. The tour he gave them basically just included him walking them through the main street, waving his arms to various places and vaguely saying that they were shops but not what they sold, pointing out the pub, and then took them straight to their accommodations. Since the home that had been occupied by Blinky, Jim, and Claire was now empty, they’d be staying there, with the place practically to themselves. Dictatious also lived in said home, but rarely stuck around it for long now that his brother was gone.

“Alright, here’s your nest.”

Since Dictatious still slept in the nest that he shared with Blinky, he had given them Jim and Claire’s. The nests were just rocky bowls carved into the floor of the room, with a few comfort items. Thankfully, Jim and Claire had left theirs full of pillows and a couple thick cushions they must have taken from a couch. Unconventional, but better than sleeping on literal solid rock. Speaking of couches, there were way too many couches spread across the apartment. This entire place only had two rooms, a large living area and a nestroom, and yet there were five couches. Not to mention the extra-large easy chair Dic was currently lounging in. Okay, so one of said couches was technically a love seat, but still. There was no kitchen, which was surprising due to this being Jim Lake Jr’s home, and no table besides the one that three of the sofas were gathered around and a paper-covered work desk against a corner. There were glowing crystal lamps all throughout, lighting the house. All in all, interesting interior design decisions. The kids had definitely been trying to make it a more homey human dwelling but had limited options.

Nari nestled into the nest, happy that there were no blankets to smother her. Not even a minute passed and she was out like a light. Douxie and Y/n sat on one of the couches in the nestroom, watching the veggie lady snooze. Archie made himself comfy in Douxie’s lap, who absent mindedly stroked his familiar’s fur. They were underground now. Surrounded by inorganic matter. Some of that inorganic matter could fight, would be willing to fight, would probably be disappointed if there wasn’t a fight. The little devil on Douxie’s shoulder wasn’t really having to work hard. His stomach growled. They had opted to just not stop for dinner in favor of plowing right through their trip route. It was late, and dark, and Douxie really just wanted them to have a roof over their head before midnight. And now they did.

He looked over at Y/n. They had been a couple for an entire day now and he had yet to take her on a proper date. What a bad boyfriend he was. It’s not like Archie would want to come with them or anything either, since he filled himself with birds that didn’t know what hit them while they traveled. The dragon had even caught a hawk at one point, which wasn’t as impressive as it sounds, since Archie was a much faster flyer. He would be happy to watch Nari for them, surely. And Dic had given them a horngazzle so they could come and go as they pleased. It was settled then.

“Arch, watch Nari for us, please, we’ll be back in a pinch,” He grabbed Y/n’s hand to pull her off the couch, “C’mon, My Love, we’re going on a date.”

~ ~ ~

Turns out the only thing open past midnight in small town New Jersey was a waffle house. The perfect date. Y/n had thought it funny to watch Douxie try and deactivate all the fresh wards he had put around the boat. He had to be careful where he put his feet, and it was like he was doing a silly little dance. Ward trap ballet of his own barely thought-out design. At one point he stepped backwards to admire his work, triggering the ward behind him, and Y/n had to free him from the net. Lucky it was just a net one.

Entering the waffle house, they slid into the nearest booth, the one near the jukebox. They ordered what else but waffles. The food of kings and hungover college kids. Not just plain waffles, though. Douxie got chocolate chip and Y/ got strawberry, and they were going to combine them to make chocolate covered strawberry waffles. Everyone knows chocolate covered strawberries were the most romantic food, why else would they push them so hard around Valentine’s.

Douxie leaned in with his head in his hand. “So, tell me about yourself.”

Y/n laughed, decided to play into this bit. “Oh, I’m just a California lass, on her way to New York. Things have been crazy lately. Went to a very convincing renaissance faire, I’m harboring a fugitive, my roommate keeps hitting on me. Very stressful.  Sure am lucky I came across you, Mr. Handsome.”

“Lucky indeed.” Doux snickered.

Y/n pointed to the jukebox behind Doux, which he twisted around to see. “Have you ever heard ‘Last Night I Saw Elvis At Waffle House’?”

“No?”

“Oh, it’s a banger.” She got out of the booth and put a coin in the juke, making her selection. She slid back in with a Cheshire cat grin and Doux was kind of scared now, actually. As the current song ended and the song that they were waiting for began. Well, it was a song. About seeing Elvis in a waffle house. With a country tune he supposed someone thought was catchy in order for them to have recorded this. Douxie didn’t know what he had expected.

“Uh, wow.”

“Yeah, Ain’t it something. I loved this song when I was knee high to a grasshopper. All the waffle house jams really.”

“Your aunt let someone bring you to a waffle house? That’s not very proper.” Douxie chuckled.

“Oh, no, actually. Um, this was before my dad passed and my mother, ah, slipped.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

Douxie rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m sorry I mentioned it.”

“No, no. I’m fine Dewdrop. I can talk about it, really. And, like you said the other day, I’ve been focusing on the Now Love.” The silly waffle house themed song was still playing despite the air of seriousness that had fallen over the duo. It helped keep Y/n from getting too sad and dwelling on the memories she had just brought up. It was comical, really. A waffle house song keeping her grounded. She rubbed the palm of Douxie’s hand. “I still mourn my family, but it’s been so long that the pain’s but a dull ache now. As long as I don’t think too hard about it. If anyone knows about mourning it’d be you, Doux. I can’t imagine meeting hundreds of friends over my lifetime just to watch them all grow old and die while you just have to go on living.” She paused, eyes drifting downwards, “But I suppose that’ll be my fate anyways.”

Douxie reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s actually not that bad, once you get used to it. You just have to enjoy every bit of time you get. That’s what makes other magic friends so valuable, there are some permanent players on your team.” He let his hand linger under her jaw, pulling her face closer to his, “You have me. We have each other. We’re family. We always have been.”

“So I hate to interrupt, but, waffles.” The server put the plates she had been holding down onto the table. Douxie and Y/n pulled away from each other quick as lightning, sitting up straight in their seats. “Again, sorry guys.”

“Thank you.” The two chorused to their fleeting form in embarrassment. Their faces were fire engine red. Archie was right, they did get a little carried away with the pda. It may have been 12:28am in a waffle house but they were still in public. Grabby hands needed to be kept to themselves.

After dinner, neither Doux nor Y/n could bring themselves to go home quite yet, despite the nagging feeling to return to Nari. They loitered around woods, unsure of what to do. Leaning against the parked boat, Douxie got an idea. He put on the music on his phone, turning the volume all the way up and positioning it so it’d put out a better sound the best he could. The playlist he selected was actually the one he had of songs that reminded him of his beloved. Copying what Y/n had done last night, he held out his hand.

“Come on, dance with me, My Darling.”

Douxie twirled Y/n around in the night breeze that blew through the trees. This song was much faster than the one they danced to last time, and there was more energy between them. Y/n’s laugh echoed through the forest. This was a lot of fun, she could do it all night. Honestly, she could do anything all night if it was with Douxie. He lifted her up, like she weighed nothing. Seriously, how strong was this noodle armed wizard. She threw her arms around his neck, looking down to meet his eyes, a rare thing. Y/n kissed his nose, eliciting a happy giggle from his mouth.

He should have put her back down by now. Instead, he still held her up, transfixed by her face ringed in moonlight, like a halo. She noticed the awestruck look on his face, kissing him properly, yet it did nothing to pull him out of his stupor. He had one thought running over and over in his mind. Marry me. But, he couldn’t say that. A proposal had to be special, not after a waffle house date. Their first date, mind you. He couldn’t possibly jus-

“Marry me, Dewdrop?”

Well apparently he couldn’t but she absolutely could.

It took him a moment to take in her words, shocked out of his overthinking. The biggest grin spread across his face as he giddily spun her around in his arms. He finally put her feet back on the ground, crashing his lips into hers. Y/n brought a hand up to drag through his hair and left the other to slide down his back. No battle for dominance, Douxie’s tongue was definitely the one leading here. He just couldn’t believe it. It was if she had read his mind. It was still hard for him to believe she wanted him in the first place, but this much? If this was the afterlife he must surely be in heaven. One makeout session later, Y/n rasped “So I’m guessing that’s a yes?”

“Let’s sign the papers tomorrow.”

~ ~ ~

Despite the uneasy feeling they had both had about leaving Nari alone for so long, she was perfectly fine. In fact she hadn’t even moved an inch form the spot they left her in. Like they never left at all. Archie was asleep on that couch, as peaceful as ever. They’d tell him the news in the morning.

Y/n climbed into the nest and dragged Douxie down with her. After getting comfy on the array of cushions, he opened his arms and she nestled into his chest. She could feel his hands rest on her back. Perfect. It was calming, listening to his heartbeat, being lulled to sleep with the rhythm that gave proof that her beloved was alive. A steady beat that reassured her he was there, he was there. He wouldn’t leave her again.

*** check notes for chapter illustrations lmao

[alliewritesthings]

Can we get a sneaky peaky of a wip?

i love the term 'sneaky peaky' 😂😭

this really is a wip which im intending on calling 'flight', like im 4k words into the first part and still not done. and i dont even know if this is final yet so enjoyyyy.

this is literally a 1k word sneak peak because i couldnt find the best part to start or stop 😂

also i havent proof read this yet so there may be errors.

“Good evening, and welcome onboard this service to London, flight number 437. My name is Chris, and I’m your captain on today's service.” The male voice spoke over the speakers for all the passengers to hear, the Boston accent thick over the PA system.

“Evening, girl. Looking forward to getting home?” A young brunette crew member spoke up as she stepped into the galley area where you were checking the contents of one of the many containers.

“Cannot wait.” You mumbled back in reply. “I always love Orlando, but these flights are exhausting.” A small whine slipped through your lips. These flights were always the same; lots of families, and lots of children, all on their return trip from ‘the most magical place on earth’. You had to admit, you were a big Disney fan, and definitely enjoyed the two-day layover in which you made the mandatory trip to a Disney Park. But the flights... the flights were exhausting. And although todays flight was a ‘red-eye’ flight, and most passengers would sleep, the jet lag and lack of rest always took a toll.

“Bet you can’t wait to get home!” The girl spoke up again, she must have been around twenty-one years old, you’d not spent much time with her on this trip to learn anything more than her name. “I may have done some Insta stalking, and oh boy your fiancé is really something else!” You rolled your eyes at the girl's statement, this wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, really.

“Right.” You tried to avoid any more conversation, focused on ensuring all your pre-departure checks were in place. Of course you were looking forward to getting home, but was it because of your fiancé who waited for you at your luxury home in London? Probably not. Was it because your own comfy bed was waiting for you? Most definitely. You’d left London with a last-minute argument, knowing you were to go back to continue said argument – so no, you were definitely not looking forward to seeing your fiancé; no matter how gorgeous anyone thought the man was.

You took your jump seat about ten minutes later, after all the pre-departure procedures had been completed. The aircraft rolled along the taxiway, making its way slowly to the runway as you stared ahead at a row of passengers facing you, just a few feet away. This point was exhausting; being strapped into a seat and letting the exhaustion from the trip take over but not being allowed to show an ounce of it. To the passengers you were meant to look on full alert, ready to jump straight into action in the unlikely event of an emergency.

You kept checking the time on your watch, waiting for the aircraft to take to the sky and commence its nine-hour journey across the Atlantic. What felt like an eternity later, which was more like a few minutes later, the aircraft was speeding down the runway and taking off into the late evening skies which clouded over Orlando. The planes landing gear could be heard pulling up into the body of the aircraft, a light bit of turbulence rocking the plane as the crew were released from their seats to begin their duties. You instantly shot from your seat, heading straight for the galley and making yourself a hot cup of coffee. You needed the coffee to get you through.

“Your fiancé is a pilot here, right?” The same crew member from earlier had joined you again in the galley. You groaned into your coffee, taking a large mouthful of the warming liquid.

“Yeah, but not sure if you noticed. He’s not here. I’m my own person. He is not my only conversation topic.” You grumbled in reply, the crew member instantly went silent beside you. Her eyes were wide, stepping back to proceed with her duties of setting up the service cart for the drinks service.

“I’m going to check on the guys in the flight deck, won’t be long.” You quickly made the coffees they’d requested earlier on in the day before heading towards the flight deck. As soon as you stepped inside, you breathed a sigh of relief.

“You alright, peach?” Chris spoke up, turning in his seat to look at you. You nodded, offering him a soft smile.

“Just peachy.” You replied, Chris laughing at your statement.

You’d met Chris almost fifteen years ago when you both started at the company, he was fairly new to his flying career and you were a complete newbie to the industry. You had always been close, you two connected and always had each other's backs. Chris was actually how you’d met your fiancé. You’d been on a flight to Barbados around five years ago, obviously excited to catch up since it was fairly rare you ever actually got to fly together. Chris was the captain for the flight, and your fiancé, Liam, was the second-in-command (otherwise known as the first officer). You’d ended up on a date in Barbados with Liam, much to Chris’ encouragement.

“And, that’s why you’re my peach.” He teased, shaking his head as he glanced over at the controls and then out the window. He’d given you the pet name peach within the first few weeks of knowing you, every time he asked how you was – you were always ‘just peachy’.

“Well, here you go gents.” You handed them both their coffees before glancing out at the darkening night sky. “Do you guys need anything else?” You questioned, stepping back towards the door which separated the passengers from the pilots.

“Dinner would be nice.” Chris had teased, glancing over at the first officer, Josh, who’s mouth dropped open in shock at Chris’ statement. People who didn’t know the two of you, didn’t understand the relationship you both had. Chris knew that you hated pilots who had a large ego and let the power get to their head, so he always teased you.

“Stick it, Evans. You can have your dinner when I’m ready.” You called, stepping out into the cabin and slamming the door shut behind you. You could hear the faint laugh through the door.

Time to get to work.

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Tuesday 4 September 1838

4

9 ¾

so bit last night that this and the loss of my cloak prevented sleep – got up at 12 ¾, and, on examining my bed killed a louse – enough – sat up the rest of the night, slumbering when I could as I leaned back in my chair – I had luckily brought away nearly 2 whole tallow candles from Bagnères de L- this morning as a separate charge (unusual) was made for them, and one of these with the one we got here made out for the night – aroused at 4 – chocolate at 5 – determined to return the same way we came to look for my cloak – off (from Bosost [Bossòst] at 5 ½ - at the little chapel of St. Antoine in ½ hour at 6 – at the top of the Portillon at 6 35 – had looked and inquired all along in vain for my poor cloak – had thought of sending Charles to the village to Lys to seek my cloak but had hardly uttered all the way till 7 35 when I said I was determined to have it found if possible conte qu’il conte – Charles rather in a pet said qu’il ne l’avait pas enlevé..... this led to some words, and I blamed him for the careless, and was annoyed – however before we had gone ½ hour father he thought better of it and seemed so ashamed and sorry and made so very sufficient an apology (poor fellow! he was in tears – said I was very just – he had been with me so long etc. etc. never did wrong willingly......) that I promised to say and think no more of it and all was right again – for at 7 35 when I had told Charles to go to Lys, seeing that he was for leaving the mule and going on foot, I thought this would not do, and sent Jean who promised to be back as soon as possible and was sure he could get the cloak back if it had been lost thereabouts - .:. at 7 35 Jean set off by our route of yesterday and we returned by the direct road – by and by passed a douanier who asked Charles if we came from Spain – Charles came to tell me that he had said no! we had only been making a petite promenade and all was settled without another word – begged if I was asked I would give the same answer – no! said I, I shall certainly tell the truth if I am applied to – Charles said, he was very glad we had got off so well; for if he had said we had been in Spain, I should have had a fine of 60/. a horse to pay – Arrived à l’hotel du commerce B. de L- at 8 25 – comfortable enough double bedded room à rez de chaussée – very well for merely breakfasting in – breakfast at 9 – boiled milk and pears and peaches – no coffee and gateau de riz at A-‘s desire – Charles got the ‘manteau rouge publié’ cried by the drum-man – the crier goes about with a drum not a bell as in England – at 11 the botaniste guide – (Joachine Martre, Rue de la poste aux Lettres, à Bagnères de Luchon)  and we went with him home to see his collection of Pyrenees plants – the very pretty little pink flower, we saw on the Piméné (vide Tuesday 24 July) and in several other places Coumelie [Coumély]? Begonz? Saongué? (but not the little pink flower of the Piméné the whole plant not more than an inch high) turns out to be Azalea procumbens a little low plant, 5 or 6 in, high with little woody stems – very pretty – my great inquiry was for a specimen of Vératre – he did not know the plant by this name but knew it by the name of Hellébore.

SH:7/ML/E/22/0011

but he had to seek a long before he found a specimen of this plant – his specimen about a foot long – could not judge how much longer the whole plant might have been – he said the colour of the flower was yellow – a person not understanding the difference of the petals (h meant to say the pistils etc. classical distinction as established by Linnaeus) might mistake it for the aconite – How said I the aconite flower is blue and the leaves quite different – yes! but he meant the A. Anthora – is the flower of the A. Anthora yellow? he said the hellébore was plentiful in the Près de St. Jean (near Paillole) –

le Vératre, la plus haute plante des montagnes. Chaussenque [Chausenque] i. 196

les Vératres, l’ellébore des anciens, croissent à hauteur d’homme somewhere sur un plateau herbeux near above la butte de Sers. i. 202.

l’aconit anthora, quoiqu’ vénéneux lui-même, passe pour le contrepoison de la renoucule thora, petite plante – n’a qu’une feuille et une fleur jaune – used by les peuples de nord pour empoisonner leurs flèches. i. 198

while Matre looked for the Vératre, he gave me a letter to read from our late M.P. Mr. James Stuart Wortley from which it appeared M- had been his guide in the valle de Lys, valle d’Arran [Aran?], etc. and desiring to send some pine cones of 2 or 3 different sorts named and the plants according to order, and giving M- an order for the sum due upon W-‘s banker at Bordeaux the parcel to be sent from Bordeaux to England – M- shewed me also a letter from an Angalise Mrs. Martin who had ordered of him a collection of Pyrenees plants – he furnishes specimens at 25/. per centaine – what I paid in Switzerland – but when I said I had paid 20/. per 100 at Chamouni [Chamonix] he said he would furnish me specimens at that price I had asked him the price of guides here, he said 3/. a day per man and 3/. a day per horse and nourriture, but when a man was not mounted and had long courses, he deserved something more – He shewed me also a little work which he praised much, written by a Mr. Bentham the son (he said) of an English general who was with the d. of Wellington in the peninsular war –

Catalogue des plantes ingidènes des Pyrénées et du Bas Languedoc. Par George Bentham à Paris chez Madame Huzard imprimer-libraire Rue de l’Epéron – St. André n°7 1826. and Toulouse chez Vieusseux. and Montpellier, chez Gabon and cie. and Sévalle libraire

Martres’ specimen of Vératre too long for me to bring away – took nothing but gave him a 5/. piece and my name ‘Madame Lister’ begging him to set down the receipt towards anything I might order hereafter – Jean came here to be paid 12/. for man and horse the 2 days, and gave him 10/. with which to pay the man at Lys who had found the manteau rouge (as he said) not far from the cottage where we had fed the horses – satisfied to have my poor cloak back again – it went with me to the top of Mt. Perdu in 1830, and has been my companion too long to be unvalued tho’ now worn into holes round the bottom – Pierre too (Dalgarotte) came here to wish me goodbye and recommended himself and his son for future employment – but Martre would be the man for me another time – A- not having been much amused had probably been proportionally impatient of delay – walked back to the Inn – and off from here – off from Bagnères de Luchon at 12 10 – had we had time Jean had greatly vaunted an excursion to Montné (should it be Mouné?) from the top of which a very fine view of all the mountains around and we should have returned upon Arreau by a new line all the way – I think he said it would only have taken us 7 hours this way to Arreau – we had doubted between this and the valle d’Oo and lake of Seculejo in one road as we passed by our former route – it was now too late for the lake – but we might have done the other – However, I thought not of it at the moment, and we jogged on the old way – at St. Aventin at 1 10 good church and village – Casauz [Cazaux -Fréchet-Anéran-Camors] at 1 ½ just skirt along the top of the village, and close by and under the church – at 1 50 pass thro’ Garrey and just out of the village good view of the glacier of Mt. d’Oo on our left – at the top of the Port (de Peyresourde) at 2 50 and I alighted then and A- afterwards at 3 25 – passed thro’ Loudervielle at 2 50 – A- rather tired and sat down on a wall to rest at 4, for 5 minutes when both mounted – crossed the bridge over the gave and in the highroad in ¼ hour at 4 20 and here we came up with the 2 Spaniards and Bagnères de Luchon guide on foot carrying a largeish deal box on his back, who had passed us ¼ hour before, and they turned left to pass the port de Plan to Vielle [Vielle-Aure] (3 heures) in the valle d’Aure (on account of the Doane [douane] being there) to go tomorrow to Balbastro -  at 4 50 pass thro’ the pretty village of Avvaiyorn (as pronounced by Charles) – A- tired of riding and poorlyish – very picturesque wooded hedgy, corny, well-villaged, fine valle (valle de Louron) – A- very much tired – walked 10 minutes till 5 ½ and I from 5 20 to 5 ¾ thro’ the village of Bordères (vide Chaussenque [Chausenque] i.357) in a nice green bassin – at the hotel du commerce chez Clavière à Arreau at 6 35 – very fine day and evening – Arreau beautifully situated, neat, good, very pretty picturesque little town – delighted to be as it were, at home again with these good people – out in the court and about while A- lay down – dinner at 7 ¼ in ¾ hour – A- sick and poorly – la fille came to ask me in a whisper that the mistress takes all that is given for la fille, and gives her very little of it, and gives her 55fr. a year – begged me to give her herself ½ what I gave before and give the other ½ to the mistress without saying anything – shook and folded all my things and had a thorough wash, all which took me till 9 ¾ - A- better

[slapshot-to-the-heart]

Breakable Heaven (pt. I) - p.l. dubois

As promised, here’s the first part of Breakable Heaven! I’m really excited for this one, there’s so many things I can’t wait for you all to read. This chapter is more setup and background, but I promise it’s all worth it! I’d love it if you reblogged (helps me know people like my work!) or pop into my inbox and let me know what you think! I read all the tags :)

part I part ii part iii part iv

June 4 (thurs)

Laurel clipped her pager back onto her scrubs, leaning over the counter of the nurses’ station. “You ready to go grab lunch?” She had just finished changing the bandages and administering pain medication for a little boy who was recovering from a heart surgery, and was looking forward to getting off her feet for a few minutes. The PICU floor was quiet, only about half of the rooms being filled, and there were no pressing matters that required her attention. If something drastic changed in the next half an hour, she always had her pager. 

Madeline looked up from her chair, where she was finishing up filling in a patient’s chart. “Sounds good,” she said, letting their charge nurse know that they were headed down. Madeline Peltier had been one of the first people to introduce themselves to Laurel when she started; having only been on the unit for two weeks herself, she was still getting a handle on the reins and was more than willing to show Laurel around. 

Madeline was also one of the few on the floor who was just as comfortable in English as she was in French. French had been Laurel’s foreign language through college, but she was made rudely aware upon her move to Montréal that the pronunciation and slang of Canadian French was very different from the Standard French of Madame Anderson’s rural Minnesota classroom. Her grasp of the language was good enough to take the Québec nursing licensure exam — which wasn’t even offered in English — but the spoken dialect was proving much more difficult to pick up. They walked down to the cafeteria, on the second floor, grabbing some sandwiches before swiping their ID badges for the employee discount. 

“I still think they should give us free food,” Madeline said moodily, unscrewing her water bottle and taking a sip. 

Laurel laughed. “When hell freezes over, maybe. Doctor’s lounge usually has some pretty nice stuff set out, or at least that’s what they say. Pity our cards don’t let us in, I’m not above identity theft.” Madeline snorted into her sandwich. 

“What are you doing this weekend?” Madeline asked a few minutes later, starting to peel an orange. 

“Uh, not much?” Laurel said. “Getting my papers together to resign my lease in a few weeks, grocery shopping, but nothing big. It’s been a long few shifts this week and I’m mostly just looking forward to taking it easy. Why?”

“If you’re up to it,” Madeline shrugged, “Patrice and I are going out for dinner Saturday night and we’d love for you to join us.” Patrice was Madeline’s long-time boyfriend, they started dating in university and had been together ever since. 

Laurel rolled her eyes. “Madeline, thank you for the offer, but I don’t want to keep being your third wheel.” 

Madeline let out a conspiratorial grin. Oh no, Laurel thought. This can’t be good. “As it would so happen,” she said, “you wouldn’t be third wheeling. One of Patrice’s friends is back in the city for a few months, and I think you two might hit it off,” she sing-songed. Madeline had been trying to set her up from practically the moment they met; whether it was someone from her gym, one of the critical care fellows, or apparently, her boyfriend’s childhood friend. They were always nice guys, but nothing had ever stuck for more than a date or two. 

---

Twelve hour shifts meant that, at least on work days, there was no way Laurel was going to have the emotional or physical capacity to make herself a real dinner. She’d order in occasionally, but it more common to just pull together something quick like a frozen pizza or grab whatever leftovers she could find in the fridge. Yesterday’s chicken and rice it was, then. Sticking it in the microwave, Laurel opened the door to her balcony, letting Piper out to use the bathroom. Piper was an eight-month-old chocolate lab, the love of her life who she had adopted just after the new year. Laurel had always grown up with dogs; back in Minnesota she had Jackson and Lucy, and she had been missing them more than a little bit since moving to Canada. Piper was incredible. Intelligent, loyal, and so friendly that even her neighbor’s notoriously picky five-year-old son had taken a shine to her. She wolfed down her food, grabbed Piper’s leash and her water bottle, and headed out the door. 

June 5 (fri)

The intricacies of language were hard. And, somehow, learning the intricacies of a language you already knew was even harder. Laurel was trying her damndest to pick up Québecois French as fast as humanly possible, but while she could conjugate l’imparfait in her sleep, the accent and vocabulary were what was really throwing her off. But she intended on making a life in Montréal, and staying as long as she could, so there really wasn’t any option but to hit the books. Immersion worked for some people, and thank God she knew the medical terminology to communicate with her patients and their families, but it wasn’t quite the same when she was struggling through telling the mechanic her car needed an oil change. In a perfect world she’d have someone to help her one-on-one, but she didn’t want to ask Madeline for that big of a favor. And while she made decent money at the hospital — she could afford her own apartment and had a little left over every month to put into savings — it was nowhere near enough to pay for a tutor. So Duolingo, and podcasts, and Youtube lessons it was. 

Letting out a groan, Laurel leaned her head into her hands, shutting her laptop. She wasn’t going to make any progress being this frustrated. She bent down to scratch Piper, whose favorite spot for naps was a blanket right beside Laurel’s desk, between the ears, pulling her leash and collar off of their book by her bedroom door. Piper’s ears perked up, and soon enough she was running around the apartment wagging her tail as fast as it could go, a slightly exasperated but nevertheless laughing Laurel following. She finally managed to clip on her leash; at fifty pounds, Piper still had a little bit of growing left to do, but she had already proven she was more than capable of bending the will of a full-grown and otherwise capable 23-year-old woman. 

She had discovered Parc Saint-François-d’Assise a few weeks after adopting Piper, and had thanked her lucky stars for finding a dog park so close to her apartment. Having a schedule like hers meant that she couldn’t always get her to a weekly training or obedience class — plus, the French that she did know certainly didn’t include ‘heel’ — so the time spent socializing was well-appreciated. It was only a fifteen minute walk, and Piper was good enough on a leash that she only stopped once to bark at a squirrel in one of the many birch trees that lined the street. The park was an acre or two, small enough that she could see all the way across and keep an eye on Piper as she let her off-leash, but big enough that there was more than enough room for all the animals. It wasn’t particularly crowded that Friday; Laurel was confused for a moment before she remembered that most people were busy at 11 AM on a weekday. There were a few families, with kids out for the summer from school, and a man playing in the far corner with his two small dogs, but not much else. 

Laurel leaned down, unclipping the leash from Piper’s collar, and gave the chocolate lab a scratch on the head. “Have fun, girl!” Piper never needed much encouragement, and took off running almost before Laurel had even wrapped up her leash. Rolling her eyes and laughing, she picked up her phone. A text from Allison, one of her only friends in the city aside from Madeline, inviting her out for her birthday next week. Madeline, giving her the address for the restaurant the next night. The Duolingo owl, threatening her with bodily harm if she didn’t log her language progress for the day. She was so engrossed in checking her email that she didn’t hear the shout for her to look out, or the two bulldogs barreling towards her at full speed, until they had knocked her off her feet and she landed straight on her ass. 

“Desolé. Vas-tu bien?” The man asked, holding out a hand and helping her up. Laurel nodded, brushing the dirt off her jeans. 

“Ouais, ouais. Pas de problème, pas de mal. Ils sont chiens, non?” 

He chuckled, patting the smaller of the two bulldogs, which had decided to take a break from accosting passers-by to get petted. “C’est vrai.” They talked for another minute or two before saying goodbye, but she could have sworn it was an hour. 

Walking Piper home half an hour later, Laurel was struck with two realizations. The mystery man — bulldog dad, as she had started calling him in her internal monologue — had very possibly the prettiest eyes she’d ever seen in her life, and she’d be cursing herself for the next week for not getting his number. 

June 6 (sat)

Saturday meant Laurel had a day off, but more importantly, Saturday meant she didn’t have to set her alarm for 5:30 and could actually wake up at a semi-normal hour. Her internal clock didn’t wake her up until half past seven; even then, it was Piper’s soft barks that finally got her up, throwing on a pait of shorts, and leading her out to the courtyard down the hallway to use the bathroom before coming back to her apartment and throwing open the fridge doors. No 7 AM shift meant that she mercifully had enough time to make a proper breakfast. On shift days, there never seemed to be enough time to actually sit down and eat, and Laurel usually ended up just having a quick bowl of cereal or some overnight oats and making a protein shake to drink on the drive over. Eggs, bread, yogurt, a peach she had picked up from the farmer’s market. 

After the bread was done toasting and her tea was finished steeping, she gingerly carried the food out to the balcony, placing it on the table as Piper trotted out behind her. Laurel crunched her toast with one hand as she flipped the pages of a book with the other, a Shirley Chisholm biography that Victoria, her best friend from high school, had recommended her. It was almost an hour later when she finally found a good place to stop. As much as she may have liked to just camp out on her balcony all day and blow through the rest of the book, her pantry was crying out for a grocery run and she was running desperately low on ice cream. 

---

The dinner reservation was at 7, and by 6:30 Laurel was almost ready to leave. Her blue skirt fanned out on the couch as she sat killing time on her phone, tapping the floor nervously with the same pair of block heels that she’d worn to her university graduation. The restaurant wasn’t far from her apartment building, so a few minutes later, she decided to go, leaving Piper with a pat on the head and plenty of food in her bowl. Laurel laughed to herself on the way over, her eyes flickering over the skyline as she walked alongside the St. Lawrence River. 

It’s like what she had told Madeline over and over again, every time she tried to set her up on a blind date with a friend of a friend. She wasn’t actively looking for a relationship but wouldn’t be opposed to it. Whatever happens, happens. Biting her lip, Laurel decided that even if she didn’t hit it off with whatever guy Madeline was trying to set her up, even if things go horribly wrong and he’s the exact opposite of what she’s looking for in a partner, she’ll get a free meal and, hopefully, a new friend.

Laurel hadn’t been told much about her blind date, or anything, really. She didn’t even know his name. From what she had been able to figure out, he was from the area but didn’t work in Canada most of the year — so maybe he was in business? All Madeline told her was that he was tall, attractive, and had a dog. Or was it two? She honestly couldn’t remember. She trusted her and Patrice’s judgement, so if he had gotten their stamp of approval, it was good enough for her. She grabbed her phone out of her bag as she neared the restaurant, letting Madeline know she was almost there and asking where to meet her. She told the hostess she was meeting some friends, and Madeline walked around the corner less than a minute later. “Hi, love!” she said, reaching out and wrapping Laurel in a warm hug. “We’re over this way.” Laurel followed her around the corner and past the bar to a four-seater against the wall. She slid into the seat closest to the wall, leaving a space empty. 

“He should be back in a minute, just ran to the bathroom,” Patrice said, nodding towards the vacant seat and referring to her mystery man. A minute passed, Laurel scanning the wine list, before Madeline threw her hand up in greeting. 

“Salut, PL!” When Laurel looked up, she almost dropped her menu.

 “Oh my God!” The stranger — PL’s — eyes widened in recognition. “You’re the bulldog dad!” 

He chuckled, rounding the table to greet her with a kiss on the cheek. Left, then right. It had taken Laurel a while to get used to; even going to university in Toronto, cheek kissing was practically obsolete, but that changed very quickly upon her move to Montréal. “I am. Pierre-Luc Dubois, good to meet you properly this time.” 

Madeline looked between the two, clearly confused. “You know each other?” 

Laurel shook her head. “Not really, no. His dogs ran into me at the park yesterday when I was there with Piper, we talked for a minute or two.” 

Pierre nodded in affirmation. “So, Piper. The chocolate lab’s yours then?” 

“My pride and joy.” 

June 13 (sun)

 Over the next week and a half, it became more and more common for Laurel to meet up with the group on the weekend, or one of her off days, or really whenever she had spare time. She had learned that Pierre-Luc was a hockey player, Patrice explaining that they had played atom league together growing up and the friendship had somehow stuck. Come to think of it, he had looked a little familiar. The University of Minnesota Duluth was less than an hour drive from her hometown, and besides being the college that the majority of the 50% of college-bound graduates of her high school went to, it also had one of the best hockey programs in the country. So she knew the sport, followed enough to be informed, and had even become a de facto Maple Leafs fan from her time in Toronto. 

Sometimes Madeline and Laurel would bring another friend from the hospital along, sometimes it was just the four of them. Once, a Sunday afternoon coffee meetup turned into just Laurel and Pierre-Luc; Patrice had come down with a bad cold and Madeline was staying behind to look after him. If she was being honest, it was far less awkward than she had anticipated. Pierre had insisted on buying her iced capp, and they had settled in a corner booth, sharing a box of Timbits. 

“Patrice mentioned you’re from the U.S., somewhere in the Midwest?” Pierre asked, sipping his coffee. 

She nodded. “Cloquet, Minnesota,” Laurel sighed, “where there is exactly one hotel, one high school, and life revolves around the mines.” 

Pierre sucked in. “That sounds...interesting,” he said diplomatically. 

Laurel laughed. “It’s okay, you don’t have to mince words. The people are nice, if you think like they do, and the scenery is gorgeous, but…” She gathered her thoughts. “It’s not the place you can really dream big, you know?” He nodded. “Neither of my parents went to college, my mom’s a receptionist at the elementary school and my dad works in the mines. I knew by the time I was in high school that I wanted something more. There was just nothing for me there, and I didn’t ever want to feel as trapped and beaten down as some people I know.” 

Pierre leaned back in his chair. “Do you go back often?” 

“Once a year, maybe twice?” Laurel said, shaking her head. “I’ve only got a few good friends back there, and trust me, they’re much more excited to come to big-city Canada than I would be to go back to a town of 12,000 people.” 

“Fair enough.” 

Conversation between them flowed easily, so easily that before she knew it, two hours had gone by and he had to leave for a skate. As she walked back to the metro, Laurel couldn’t help but shake the feeling that the two hours she had spent with Pierre had felt more like a date than any she’d been on since moving to Montréal a year ago. But it couldn’t have been a date, because it wasn’t supposed to be. Right?

 June 15 (tues)

 It was half past seven on Tuesday, and Laurel was just getting home from work. She loved her job, genuinely, but twelve hour shifts were no joke. Spinning her key ring around her finger, she stopped in the mailroom, unlocking her box and fishing out the stack of envelopes that had accumulated in the two days since she’d last checked. Walking over to the elevators, she held the bundle in one hand as the other punched in her button to the third floor. Laurel flipped through the envelopes as the doors opened. Water bill, bank statement, letter from Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada. Hang on. Laurel stopped at the last envelope, running her finger under the flap as she turned her key in the lock, opening the door with her hip and letting it slam shut behind her. 

She had applied a little over a month ago for her permanent residency card, which she had been assured by everyone she asked would be a relatively easy and painless process. “You’re a nurse, and a good one. I could use ten of you,” her charge nurse had stated. “You went to school here, you have a Canadian degree and a Canadian license. There’s no reason they would cause you any trouble,” Madeline had said. And she had done her due diligence, double-checked every piece of information, checked off every document on the list. Done everything she was supposed to do. So when she unfolded the paper, the words shocked her. 

Denied. Laurel brought her hand shakily up to her mouth as her eyes raced down the letter. No explanation was given, all she was told was that her application had been rejected and she had until September 17, when her work visa expired, to leave the country. The first thing Laurel did was frantically grab her laptop, seeing if there was some way she could apply for a visa extension, but the deadline had passed; she’d have to go back to the consulate in Minneapolis and try to re-apply from there, but her chances weren’t good if she’d already been rejected. The second thing she did was collapse on the floor, Piper nosing herself under her arm, and cry. 

June 16 (wed)

When the group met up for lunch the next day, Madeline noticed something was off about Laurel almost immediately. Normally someone who was hyper-focused on the task at hand, she was stirring her straw around in her glass, nibbling at a piece of bread and answering questions shortly if at all. “What’s up?” she asked carefully, catching Laurel’s eye as she tried to busy herself with straightening her napkin. There wasn’t really a way she could get out of answering that one. 

“I, uh, I got a letter yesterday,” she said. Pierre and Patrice stopped their conversation. All eyes were on her. “From immigration services. They told me,” her eyes pricked with tears, “they told me my PR application was denied, and I only have until the middle of September before I have to leave.” 

“Like, leave the country?” Pierre asked. She nodded. “But can’t you renew your visa or something?” 

“No, I looked into everything.” Laurel said in frustration, shaking her head. “There’s not enough time for it to be processed, I’d have to go back and reapply in the States, and even then the chances aren’t great.” 

Madeline leaned over, wrapping Laurel up in a hug. “Oh, Laur. I’m so sorry,” she said. “You don’t deserve this.” 

“It’s just hard,” Laurel started, “knowing that there’s nothing there for me back home. That’s the whole reason why I came to Canada in the first place, to get away. To get out. I’d have to retake all my licensure exams and find a new job and I don’t want to have to start all over when that’s not at all what I planned for. I thought I’d stay. I thought this was going to be my home” 

“I can call my friend who’s a lawyer, see if he’s got any ideas?” Patrice offered. 

Laurel smiled weakly “Thanks, Patrice, but I really don’t think they’d be able to do much. I was on the website for hours, and there’s like two ways I wouldn’t be kicked out of the country. And I don’t think I’m going to be able to give birth by September 17,” she said, letting out a watery laugh. 

“You’d have to marry someone or something to stay,” Madeline said. 

“Yeah, that’s the only other way it was going to happen,” Laurel agreed. “But seeing as how I’m obscenely single, I don’t see that happening…” She trailed off. 

“I’d marry you,” Pierre said suddenly, shrugging. 

Laurel’s head whipped to her side. “You’d what?” 

“I’d marry you. We’re both single, by all accounts you’re an amazing nurse and deserve to stay. We get married, stay ‘together’ for a few years until you get your citizenship, and then tragically inform the citizenship and immigration people that while we tried, it just didn’t work out, and get a divorce. Easy peasy.” 

Laurel almost burst out laughing, the idea was so ridiculous. She almost couldn’t wrap her head around what he was offering to do. He couldn’t be serious. Right? 

---

Laurel slung her arm over her head, body tangled up in bedsheets. According to her phone, it was well past one. She couldn’t sleep. She had tried rain sounds, counting sheep, drinking a cup of chamomile tea, but nothing was working; she just wasn’t able to still her mind. Honestly, she couldn’t stop thinking about lunch earlier. More specifically, what Pierre had said. 

As much of a bad person as it may have made her sound, the more she thought about Pierre’s offer, the more it made sense. He was incredibly attractive, so it wouldn’t be hard to fake a marriage to him for a few years. She really didn’t keep in contact with anyone from back home in Cloquet aside from her family and a few friends from high school, so it’s not like there would really be anyone to blow her cover. And she really, really wanted to stay in Canada. It wasn’t just the scenery, or the general human decency of everyone, or even the universal healthcare that pushed her to stay. She had fallen in love with the people, the city, and didn’t want to go down without a fight. 

Rolling over, she grabbed her phone from her nightstand, pulling up Pierre’s contact. Hey, she texted. Laurel immediately cursed herself as the three dots popped up on his side. Hey? She was going to ask this man to marry her and the best she could come up with was hey? He wrote back immediately. Hey. You’re up late, what’s up? Laurel took a deep breath. How serious were you about offering to marry me? His second response was even faster than the first. As a heart attack.

[calpops]

falling facade | c.h.

falling fragment: tour nights

Calum and Arden’s unaccounted for nights on tour. The fragment inside of falling finale.

2.5k words

falling facade masterlist

Copyright © 2020 calpops. All rights reserved. This original work is not allowed to be reposted on any platform in any format (translations included).

<< >>

The tour bus was cramped and racing down streets. The band was still coming down from their performance; adrenaline still coursing through them as they congregated in the back of the bus where a roundabout pleather couch dominated the minimal space. Calum crashed into the cushion, exhaustion trying to find a way through the high he was still living on. They were six shows into the small tour—about fifteen left to go—and the usual routine of tour being scrambled. Arden came out to join them as they needed to keep appearances and the ring in sight of fans and media. She’d been with them for a night and the secrets that followed were best kept behind closed doors and bunk curtains.

Calum had left Arden backstage and noted she was nowhere to be found when the show ended and they filed back into the green room. A PA told him she was back on the bus and as he passed through the thin hall to get to the back he saw her bunk curtain closed. With the band following he didn’t stop to check in on her but slid his phone out and kept it angled away from the others. He asked if she was okay, if she wanted to join them and lit up with hope when he heard footsteps approaching. The automated door slid open and Calum did everything in his power to keep a grin off his face as she came into view wearing his red hoodie with tousled hair and tired eyes. Michael looked up.

“Isn’t that Calum’s hoodie?” He asked and tossed a look Calum’s way.

Arden blushed, hands played at the hem and she swayed where she stood. “Oh, I thought it was yours,” she lied. Calum had given her the hoodie the night before when the bus was cold and shivers ran through her. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Calum answered quickly and peered over at the empty seat beside him.

Arden sat but not where Calum wished she would have. She chose a spot next to Michael and Calum realized it was only due to keeping another set of appearances up to par. Michael still didn’t know there was something real between them, that they had surpassed pretending and dove head first into days and weeks and months of a relationship that always felt real to them. Arden sat poised next to her brother, stayed silent and snuck glances at Calum as they rode on. Chatter filled the bus about their last performance and the venue they were going to be in next. It was growing late by the time everyone decided to split up and head for their bunks. Calum and Arden lingered, hovered around each other and let a nervous energy complicate going to bed. They found their ways to their own bunks and when it felt too lonely without her pressed against him Calum slid his curtain open and thanked the coincidence that her bunk was opposite his.

It was quiet and dark, but a sliver of light from the front of the bus provided enough way for Calum to watch as her curtain slid open and hazel found him. He saw the flash of her hand waving to him, beckoning him over to her bunk for the night. Calum was silent as he slid out of his own, paused a moment when his feet hit the floor to make sure no one stirred. When he climbed up to her bunk she was pressed to the back wall, the limited space always awkward to fit two but once she was in his arms the space was meaningless. She still wore his hoodie though the bunk was warm and Calum grinned as he greeted her.

“Not too hot in this?” He asked and pinched at the worn material as she buried her face against his chest.

“No, it’s nice,” she began with a sigh and continued in a whisper, “it smells like you.”

“Think I could squeeze into one of yours?” Calum asked around a quiet laugh—the prospect of having something of hers, a reminder and outpouring of peaches and sugar, sounded tempting.

Arden let out one of her own quiet giggles and Calum felt it reverberate through him, rattle his ribs and thump his heart a little faster. She scooted down, reached a hand out toward the end of the bunk and grabbed a blanket smushed against the mattress and wall. She draped it over him and though it was warm enough he sank into the material.

“My favorite blanket,” she informed him. “An even trade. You can keep the blanket as long as I get to keep the hoodie?”

It was an offer Calum couldn’t refute, nor did he want to. He burrowed into the warmth and scent of the blanket, noting it was worn on one side and softer on the other.

“Deal,” he said and pulled her back into his hold, placed a kiss to the top of her head and felt the continued movement of the bus. Arden hadn’t fared the first night on the road so well, he knew she didn’t sleep and knew she felt sick from the constant motion when she refused breakfast. He’d make sure she got rest tonight. “Did you sleep at all last night?”

“No,” she admitted and curled her hand up on the shared pillow, their position now laying flush with her tilting her head up to face him. “I don’t know how you get any sleep on this thing.”

“It’s easier when you’re already exhausted,” Calum remarked and wished it weren’t so dicey to give Arden a distraction that might wear her out. “Or when you can finally find some comfort.”

“I think this will help,” she said and Calum wasn’t sure if she was referring to his hoodie or his presence, but either way it was him or an extension of him that she admitted to bringing comfort, and that was okay in Calum’s book. “Thank you.”

Calum didn’t say anything in response, was so used to her thank yous for things he felt he didn’t need thanking for but never wanted to diminish her words or their sentiment. He kissed her forehead in a way of saying goodnight and hoping she’d close her eyes and get some rest. She fought heavy eyelids for a while but once Calum’s hands trailed up and down her thigh in a rhythmic and light touch she had no more fight left in her. He had quickly learned her soft spots and the places he could offer her comfort in. The small of her back, her thighs and collarbones and a kiss to the tip of her nose or forehead. Fingers through her hair when it wasn’t piled on to the top her head in a messy bun.

Comforting her and easing her into sleep was enough to bring Calum to his own tired bliss. He knew he’d have to wake early to make an escape from her bunk before anyone else woke, just the thought was enough encouragement to have his mind startling him awake early enough to do so. He dreaded departing but enjoyed his time with her awake and asleep as much as he could.

***

The next night brought them to different bunks and a hushed quiet. The bus was warmer than usual but Calum kept Arden’s blanket at his side. He found comfort in the worn material and the fact that it was hers and that she was likely curled into his sweatshirt just two footsteps away. He rolled over to face the wall, tempted to text her and see if she was still awake, if one might be able to crawl into the other’s bunk and make up for lost time as the day had kept them apart. But he stopped short when his curtain opened just a breath later a soft touch landed on his shoulder.

“Are you awake?” Arden’s voice asked in a whisper as soft as could be.

He turned with open eyes and a smile. “I was just thinking about you,” he said and made room but she shook her head and darted her eyes out and down the bus. He could tell from just the look that she needed air, the small confines of the bus able to bring stir craziness out in just a matter of days.

“Can we”—she began and let out a breath as she thought through her request—“talk, somewhere else?”

Calum understood her words. She needed an escape. He could use one too. His legs were cramped and his body was warring on overheated. He rolled out of his bunk and slung an arm over her when he realized the coast was clear of eyes who weren’t allowed to see such things. He brought her to the front of the bus where the driver was focused on the road. He cleared his throat and met his eyes.

“Are we stopping at all tonight?” Calum questioned, knowing that Arden could use some fresh air and a chance to get away from the bus, even if it was only for five minutes.

“We’ll have to fill up soon, there’s a station off the next exit. You can have twenty minutes,” the driver informed and Calum was grateful he seemed to understand the question.

They stepped off the bus with whispers and didn’t look back as they abandoned the others. A wooden bench sat in front of the small gas station, it was nearly deserted, just a night clerk standing at the cashier inside the confident store attached. Calum sat and pulled Arden down to settle on his lap, stroked his fingers through her hair and gave her a moment to collect herself.

“I don’t know how you guys do this,” she mumbled and her warm breath hit his cooled skin. “It’s only been a few days and I’m already out of it. It’s like I can’t breathe in there sometimes.”

“I know,” Calum said and tried to soothe. “It gets easier with time.”

She nodded against him but Calum knew she wasn’t all that convinced. She sighed and clutched at Calum’s shirt, his own hoodie hanging off her frame. Michael hadn’t raised an eye or a question at it when he spotted her in it that night. He didn’t think Michael saw the blanket being swapped from her bunk to his but if he did he didn’t say anything about that either. Ashton’s gazers were knowing but they were nothing to worry about. Everything felt right. Even through the lies and stained glass truths they were living. They finally had each other and that was enough to get through the rest.

“I just needed to get away for a minute,” she confessed and it was exactly as Calum had thought. “Wanted to be alone with you too.”

Calum smiled at that, gave her forehead a kiss and trailed his fingers to her jawline. “We’ll be in a hotel room soon enough,” he promised, already planning to slip her his extra key. They’d booked two rooms for them to keep secrets from Michael but for all other pretenses they’d pretend to stay in one for everyone else not in the know—then sneak around to make that pretending a reality.

“A real bed,” she whispered with longing in the three words. “A shower big enough to actually move in.”

Calum laughed. “Probably a shower big enough for two.”

“Promise?” She asked around her own laugh and put thoughts into Calum’s mind that he didn’t want to go away, that he wanted to come true.

“Promise,” he said. “Just have to make it through another night,” he reminded and thought of ways to make it easier for her. He casted a glance into the store and formulated a plan to help her make it through another night. With one last kiss to her forehead he broke away and told her to head back for the bus and tell the driver he’d be coming along shortly, just just needed to get something first.

The next and last night on the bus before the hotel was chaos. The band was on a high and it was hard to settle in after a sold out smashing performance. Calum’s plans for Arden’s night were stowed away in his own bunk—he wanted to keep it a surprise. She kept her eyes on him as the hype started to die down and the eventual need for sleep overtook the band and crew. Michael passed them on his way to his bunk, raised an eyebrow but passed them without any further inquiry.

They lingered in the common area until the last person decided to retire for the night; Ashton finally gettting the secret memo that they would wait him out in an attempt to get some alone time. He even carralled Luke off to his bunk as well. Time ticked by in a painful ache as sounds and lights of phones being used from bunks. Calum waited until he was sure everyone was asleep before showing Arden over to his bunk. He took her hand, knowing the dark would conceal the sentiment if eyes should dare to still be open and wandering. He hoisted himself up into the bunk then offered her a hand.

“Got something for you,” he whispered as she climbed in and took her place resting against his chest; his sweatshirt still on her, seemingly used as her favorite pair of pajamas. Her blanket was stashed to the side of him where her surprise was as well.

“Hm?” She wondered and nuzzled closer into him.

“Your favorites,” he said and brought out a few of her favorite snacks that midnight cravings made sound so much sweeter. “Couldn’t get diner food but I thought these would do,” he went on and watched as she smiled in the dim light from his overhead bunk light. “And I have your favorite movie ready to watch on my phone.”

He passed her an earphone and felt rewarded when his plan resulted in a kiss and a thank you brushed along his cheek. They spent the night in closed curtain bliss with the soundtrack of a romcom and heartbeats sounding through their small space. With snacks and sweet kisses. It wasn’t a spacious hotel room with a king sized bed or a shower with ample space, but it was time with Calum and that was what she truly wanted. What he wanted her to have. It all turned to heavy eyelids and tired sighs, to the phone falling and being forgotten as eyes shut and sleep began to win; just as Calum hoped it would.

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We’ve come to the end of the falling facade journey and I can’t say thank you enough to those who’ve supported it. Calum and Arden’s story will continue soon <3

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[deans-baby-momma]

Wounded Hearts 1

Summary: When John Winchester leaves his two high school-aged sons in a motel in Fairfax IN while he goes off on a hunt, they both make friends. What happens after they have to suddenly leave when John comes to fetch them? Will those friendships endure? Does Dean leave a piece of his soul behind?

Word Count: 3,635

A/N: This is a sequel to Past Haunts, but it’s mostly what happened in the thirteen years between high school and when Sam and Dean return to take care of a haunting in their old stomping grounds of Truman High. The first couple of chapters will be mainly Dean’s POV and then after that, each chapter will switch from Dean’s POV to Rebecca’s POV. I will label them appropriately.

October 14,  1996   Dean’s POV

I watch with pride as Sammy schools some kid. My brother might not look like much but he can fight. I guess all the times sparring with Dad and I have paid off. He gets a few good punches in before laying the bully out. I smile widely as Sam tells the kid that he’s not tough, he is just a jerk. The crowd begins chanting ‘Dirk the Jerk’.

One of the onlookers turns to walk away and slams right into me. I look down to see a girl from a couple of my classes. It takes me a minute to remember her name. Rebecca. Rebecca Quentin.

The blush on her cheeks and the way she pushes her hair behind her ears is adorable as hell! She looks down at the ground after she apologizes but I’ve got to tell her it’s okay. No harm, no foul.

“Hey Rebecca, right?”

I get a glimpse of what a spitfire she is, when I accidentally call her ‘honey’.

“I’m not your honey, Dean!” she rages and honestly it is cute as fuck! 

I smile and try to make up for my obvious mistake. “Listen, Becks,” I begin and cringe at another faux pas. ‘Dammit Dean keep it together.’ “Is it alright if I call you that?”

I sigh and relax when she nods her head that the nickname is okay.

“We got off on the wrong foot. Let me make it up to you. We can go get a bite to eat.” She looks like she is about to reject my offer so I quickly counter. “I’ll even bring my little brother so it won’t look like a date. If that’s what you’re afraid of.” 

When she agrees I can practically feel my heart rate pick up. This girl is beautiful with her gorgeous blue eyes and brown hair. She is a vision and she just agreed to go out with me! Well, Sammy too, but I get to talk more and learn about this angel.

I call Sammy over, never taking my eyes off her. As we leave the school grounds, I wonder if she is aware that she has strategically placed Sammy between us. Was that intentional or just a coincidence? The two of us carry most of the conversation during our trip since Sammy has his nose in some book, the big nerd!

Rebecca Quentin is 17 years old, the same age as me; a senior and is planning on going to college to become a Psychologist. She tells me that she has her heart set on Harvard.

“You must be really smart,” Sam quips glancing up at Rebecca before going back to reading.

On our walk, I learn that she is an only child and lives with her parents on the other side of town. I can’t imagine not having siblings because, although he can get on my nerves, Sammy is my life. I have been protecting him since I was 4 years old, it’s my duty. 

As we pass a movie rental store, I get the bright idea for pizza and a movie in our motel room. After some coaxing, Rebecca agrees and I rush inside to get the movie. ‘All Saints Day’ is one of my favorites. 

Our money situation is getting sparse but I want to splurge for her so I grab a couple bags of popcorn at the checkout and after paying, I join Rebecca and Sammy on the sidewalk.

We walk to the pizza joint and go inside to place our order. I look around the nearly-empty restaurant as we wait. The lighting is bright but is dulled by the amount of wood inside. Dark wooden panels cover the walls with even darker wood beams line the ceiling. The tables are draped with red-and-white checkered table clothes with a candle and a condiment tray in the center. The whole ambience of the place gives off a romantic vibe and I imagine bringing Rebecca here for a date.

‘Get a grip Dean!’ I think to myself. ‘You just met the girl and had to persuade her to hang out with you. She’s probably not even interested in you like that; just too nice to say no.’ The waitress calls our name and I grab the boxes before we continue our trek to the motel. 

At the motel, I am a complete gentleman, holding the door for her to enter first and I even carry her food for her. We settle in, me on the floor and her on the end of my bed. We watch as David Yeager portrays the Hatchet man. Sometime during the movie Rebecca joins me on the floor and when a jumpscare scene comes up she hides her face on my shoulder. I smile as I lean over and whisper, “I’ll protect you.” That earns me a smile and from the look in her eyes, I can tell she actually believes and trusts me. I can’t help myself as I lean over and press my lips to hers, keeping it chaste and innocent because Sammy is right there.  A few minutes later she places her hand in mine and I entwine our fingers, a smile breaking out on my face. I am scared that if I acknowledge it she’ll pull away and that is the last thing I want her to do, so I sit there with a big old goofy grin. We finish the movie and polish off the rest of the food before Sammy begins complaining that he wants to go to the arcade. I only have $20 left for us to live on until Dad returns and the brat is getting on my last nerve.

Suddenly Rebecca speaks up and pulls some bills out of her pocket. “Here ya go. There’s an arcade down at the end. Go crazy!” she tells him, with a laugh.

Sammy’s whole face alights and he begins begging me to go. “Can I Dean? I promise not to go any further. And to come straight back when I’m done. Please?” 

I look at Rebecca and then to Sammy. That means Rebecca and I will be in the room alone, by ourselves. What if she is expecting something to happen. Fuck! I have not watched enough Casa Erotica on stolen pay-per-view for this. I don’t know what I’m doing. Fuck!

I pull Sammy to the side. “No further. And if you see anything...suspicious come back here. You know the codeword.”

Sammy repeats the codeword and is out the door in a flash. Well this just turned awkward. I run my hand across the back of my neck as I turn to look at Rebecca. I take a step closer to her as she steps closer to me. Before long, we are standing toe-to-toe and I can smell her strawberry, I think it’s strawberry at least, shampoo. Her lips are still slightly swollen from the kiss I gave her and I lick mine as I hesitantly reach for her. She walks right into my embrace and wraps her arms around my neck. I lean down and kiss her and OH MY GOD! This kiss is even better than the first. I take a chance and swipe my tongue across the seam of her closed lips and am surprised when she opens to let me lick into her mouth.

She tastes like heaven, if there is a heaven. Her tongue wrestles with mine and she moans as I begin lightly sucking on hers. My hands begin rubbing up and down her sides, the hem of her shirt catching on my fingertips. I pull back and look at her questioningly and she nods so I grab the garment and pull it over her head. She is wearing a little peach bra with a tiny little bow in between her breasts. I swear I could cum right now. She helps me pull my shirt off and then we discard the rest of our clothing until we are left in our skivvies.

We lay down and make out heavily on the bed. I feel like my dick is going to burst, it’s so hard. I slide her bra strap down and then reach behind her to unsnap it. Of course with my bumbling hands, I have trouble but I get it loose and Rebecca pulls it off, dropping it on the floor. 

I stare at the picture before me. Her nipples are hardening to little nubs as I gaze at them. Seeing breasts on television is one thing but fuck me, breasts in real life? There is no comparison. Gathering up all the courage I can muster, I dip my head and kiss one of the stiff peaks, flicking my tongue across it. Rebecca moans above me and her hands land on the back of my head. I continue laving her nipple all the while loving the sounds she is producing.

I slide my hand slowly down her stomach, praying she doesn't feel the tremble in it. My whole body is vibrating with nerves.  I have never gotten this far with a girl and I'm worried I will somehow mess this up. I want to satisfy and please her. When my fingertips meet her panties, I lightly run them along the edge. I look up to see Rebecca's eyes watching me. She wiggles her hips and smiles. I take that as her consent to keep going. 

I push up onto my knees between her legs, almost embarrassed at the obviousness of my arousal. I hook my fingers in her panties and pull them down. Once I get them to her feet I stand up and take them the rest of the way off. I grab the top of my boxers to remove them but my eyes land on her body. Taking my time, I run my eyes down from her face to her neck, over her heaving chest and gorgeous tits down her stomach to….her pussy. Fuck! I palm my dick as I look at the splendor before me. Her outer lips are bare and smooth and I can just see a peek of her clit. How the hell am I going to last, I'm already about to blow my load. I push my boxers down until they fall to the floor.

 Climbing back onto the bed,  I position myself between her legs and lean forward to capture her lips. My cock rubs against her inner thigh and oh my fucking god! How am I getting harder?!

Rebecca's back arches off the bed, breaking our lips apart. "Dean," she sighs and I look into her eyes. Holy shit! This is happening! I'm about to have sex. I sure hope to god Sam doesn't return anytime soon. "Do you have a condom?"

Fuck!! Fuckity fuck fuck fuck. Yea I have a condom; one dad gave me when I turned 13, four years ago. Dammit to hell. 

I crawl off the bed,  trying to figure out if I want to take a chance with that old thing. I look around the room and spot a half wadded sandwich wrapper on the table. It keeps sandwiches fresh and dry so it should work right? I grab the plastic and notice a few crumbs stuck to it. I shake them off and proceed to wrap the cellophane around my dick,  making sure that the tip is covered well.  When I am satisfied with the protection, I climb back onto the bed and take my previous place. 

I grab the base of my dick and line it up with her entrance. "Ready baby?" I ask as sincerely as I can.

I’m nervous as hell but I want to make this good for her. I look down as I run the tip of my dick along her slit, her juices warm and slippery. I press in to breach her outer lips and notch myself at her entrance. I don’t know why but I am assuming this is her first time too. Maybe it’s the look of anxiety on her face or maybe I’m just seeing things. Either way, I want to ease her into this. Ok, yea and me too. “This might hurt and I’m sorry.”

I press into her and am immediately met with resistance. Yep, this is her first time too. Has to be, ain’t no way they are always this tight, right? I lean down and kiss her to swallow her cries as I pull out and push back in. A few more tries and our hips are flush, my dick is inside her! Holy shit, I am inside a girl and fuck does it feel wonderful! I have to bite my inner cheek to stave off the desire to shoot my load. It feels that fucking good!

When Rebecca whimpers, I freeze. Oh fuck! Did I hurt her? I should have been more gentle. ‘Good going Dean!’ I silently chastise myself. I wanted this to feel good for her, not to cause her any pain. I pull my upper body off her enough so that our foreheads are touching. Neither of us are moving, just our chests from the heaving breaths we are both taking. 

“Are you okay?” I ask, although if she would say no I think I’d have to kill myself. I don’t want to have harmed her in any way. 

Instead Rebecca grins up at me and nods her head. I feel relieved instantly. “Yea. Just keep doing what you are doing. It’ll get better.”

I start a slow and steady drive of pushing in and pulling out all the while trying to hide the euphoria on my face. I lean down and nuzzle into her neck, kissing the skin behind her ear.

Rebecca starts making these sweet little sounds that are so much better than anything I’ve ever heard on pay-per-view. It is music to my ears. I begin grunting on the push in and moaning each time I pull out. I swear I am in heaven. If there is a god, I want to shake that guy’s hand.

 Oh god! Now her pussy is squeezing me tight, making my momentum wobble. I can feel my nuts drawing up and I know I’m about to meet my end. White explodes my vision and I push in as far as I can, pulsing and shooting my load into that plastic sandwich wrapper. This is so much better than jacking off! 

Suddenly, Rebecca grabs my biceps; her fingers digging into my skin. She throws her head back onto my pillow with her eyes closed as she screams, “Oh god! Dean!”  I can feel her getting wetter and seeping out around my shaft.

I kiss along her collarbone, careful to keep my weight off of her as we both come down from that magnificent high. Now I know what all the excitement is about. Sex with a woman is phenomenal!

After cleaning up and getting re-dressed, the awkwardness creeps in. We stand in the middle of mine and Sammy’s motel room, just staring at one another with small smiles on each of our faces. Mine will probably be etched on and never go away.

“Well, I uh….I better get home,” Rebecca stammers, pushing her hair behind her ear. Does she realizes how fucking adorable and captivating that little habit is? Probably not, but it fucking is.

I don’t want her to go but I know she needs to get home. I look at my watch and balk as I see that it is almost 6 pm. So that means for almost an hour she and I had sex. Wow!

I grab her wrist and pull her toward me, running a finger down the side of her face. “See ya tomorrow, Becks.” I lean in and give her a quick kiss on the lips and wistfully watch as she opens the door.

Before leaving though, she looks back at me one more time and smiles. There is a sparkle in her eye and I can’t help but feel proud; I put that there. After the door closes, I turn to grab my flannel; might as well go hang out with Sammy in the arcade. Maybe whoop him in a game of Mario Kart. A spot on the bed catches my attention and my heart flutters when I realize what it is. There in the middle of my bed, is a splotch of Rebecca’s cum. I’ll sleep great tonight, with the knowledge that I finally got laid. And we both enjoyed it. The proof is right there. 

I pull my flannel on, checking to see if I had the room key before I strut down the side of the building to the room that the arcade is located in. I look through the window to see my nerdy ass brother sitting at a game for dorks; some type of trivia shit. I go to grab the door handle and wonder if Sammy will be able to tell a difference in me. I am no longer Dean Winchester, virgin but I am Dean Winchester, sex god. 

I challenge Sammy to a round of Lethal Enforcers, totally demolishing him. But at 13 Dad hasn’t let Sammy get much practice in with a gun. Not like he has with me; by the time I was Sammy’s age I could take apart, clean and reassemble almost any caliber weapon in Dad’s possession. I ruffle Sam’s hair as we head back to the room, much to his chagrin. 

“What’s got you in such a good mood Dean?” Sammy asks. “You and Rebecca do it?” I can tell by the playfulness of his voice and the smirk on his face, Sammy has no idea what transpired in our room.  In an attempt to play it cool and nonchalant, I puff out my chest and say, “Yea. I rocked her world.”

Sammy rolls his eyes and continues walking towards the room. I shudder at how much of a jerk I sound like. It was nothing like that at all. What happened between Becks and I was magical and wonderful and I wouldn’t mind doing it again. At that thought, I remind myself to invest in some newer condoms. 

The next morning

I can’t wait to get to school. I have first period with Rebecca and I am hoping to be able to sit beside her. That is, if Amanda Heckerling and her flunkies leave us alone. There is a skip in my step as Sammy and I walk the two blocks to the school. But it falls away when the cell phone in my pocket begins ringing. I know there is only one person with this number and there is only one reason he would be calling. Dad is done with his hunt and is on his way to pick us up. I curse as I take the phone out of my jacket pocket and flip it open.

After the call, I tell Sammy the news. “Dad will be here by lunchtime to pick us up. Do you have everything in your bag?” We had long ago learned to carry our personal possessions with us instead of leaving them in whatever motel room we stayed in. Easier for Dad to just pick us up and leave town before any questions or concerns arose. 

“Yep,” Sammy answers and I can tell he is as melancholy as I am at the thought of leaving this town. In the three weeks we’ve been here, we have both made friends and hated leaving them behind, knowing we’d probably never see or hear from them again.

I go about my normal routine, checking in at homeroom and grabbing my shit out of my locker before heading to English Lit. As soon as I walk in I spot Rebecca but instead of the smile I expect to see on her face, she looks down. Is she ashamed of what we did? Did she tell someone and they made fun of her for having sex with the boy from out of town? I walk past her and take my usual seat at the back. I can’t wait for Dad to get here so we can get out of this shithole! Lunchtime cannot come soon enough.

At lunch, I track down Sammy and we go to the front of the school to wait on Dad. As we hear the rumble of the Impala coming we both look up at the building morosely. The best and worst things happened here. I met a girl and had sex just for her to turn around and deny she even knew me. “This place sucks. Come on Sam,” I say as I head around the front of the car to get into the front.

As we pass the sign that thanks us for visiting Fairfax, I silently wish Rebecca Quentin a farewell. My heart constricts and I feel sick. I lean my head back against the seat, closing my eyes and daydream about blue eyes and dark brown hair and soft silky skin. 

@tftumblin​ @spnbaby-67​ @markofdean79​ @lostinaseaoffictionalbliss​ @travelingriversideblues-x​ @akshi8278​ @keymology​ @hoboal87​ @squirrelnotsam​ @natura1phenomenon​ @drakelover78​ @larajadeschmidt13​ @blacktithe7​ @atc74​ @sea040561​ @delightfullykrispypeach​ @vicariouslythruspn​ @sandlee44​ @mogaruke​  @deanwanddamons​ @supraveng​ @deandreamernp​  @lyarr24​

[sometimesitrytowritethings]

Mountain Man: Part 2

Part 1 | PART 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8

Pairing: Arthur Morgan x Reader

Word count: 2.8k

Warnings: Swearing, Mention of death, Mourning

Summary: You never thought you’d love again. Then Arthur Morgan came into town. Fate continuously has you meeting each other in odd ways, and a troubled past is something you are both familiar with. Perhaps that’s what will make this time different.

Notes: A MASSIVE THANK YOU to @morgans-whore for helping me out with this!!! If you haven’t read their work, please do so immediately.

------

Worth’s General store was a large building at the end of the Main Street. Although obviously aging, Jacob Worth did his best to maintain the store as much as possible, and keep it as well stocked as he could for the citizens of Valentine. The store was small and dark, despite the bright day outside, but stocked to the brim with goods both local and exotic. 

You stepped over the familiar threshold, and were immediately greeted by the friendly voice of Jacob, “Good morning!” You greeted him with a nod and a smile, moving to the left so that the excited child behind you could dart inside. 

Ben immediately dashed to the small candy display near the register, bouncing up and down in excitement. His curls bounced with him while he looked at the selection with a grin that reminded you so much of his father. Small, dirty hands grabbed for a bar of chocolate and a bag of hard candies, holding them up to his face for closer examination.

 “Are you looking for anything in particular today? We just got in some more of that coffee from Guarma that I know you’re fond of,” Jacob continued, standing behind the counter and keeping his eyes on your son. He indicated to a shelf behind him, with a sign bosting “Fresh Guarman Coffee! $1 per pound!”.

You smiled at him. “Thank you, Jacob, but we’re only here for picnic supplies today. I’ll come back later in the week to pick up more coffee and dry goods, if you could please hold some for me?” Jacob was a nice man, if a bit lonely of late. He had been very close to your husband, and made sure to take good care of you and Ben in recent years.

He nodded, grabbing one of the heavy bags off the shelf and putting it to the side behind the counter. “Of course, happy to,” he wrote your name on a slip of paper and put it on top of the bag. When he stood up, he brushed his fingers off on his apron, and then rose his hands to comb through his unkempt beard. “You going over to see Andrew today?”

With a bittersweet smile, you nodded in affirmation. “Yes, it’s been a while since we’ve gone over there. And since the weather is nice today, we thought we would have a picnic,” you explained, walking over to your son and ruffling his curly hair.  “Isn’t that right, Ben?”

“Yep!” he exclaimed, still mostly focused on the candy in his hands. “And Mama said I could pick out a candy for today, right Mama?” He looked up at you, eyes wide with excitement, reminding you all the more of Andrew. 

You couldn’t hold back the loving smile that lit up your face when he looked at you. The five years since Ben had been born had been tough, no doubt, but seeing the boy grow up was worth more than the world. He was becoming more and more like his pa as he got older, earning you a small, bittersweet ache in your heart every time you noticed the similarity. 

Raising Ben together with Andrew on the little ranch outside of town had been your plan. The two of you had looked so forward to teaching him to care for animals, to giving him more siblings to play with, to raising him into the brilliant young man that he was indeed becoming. Unfortunately, fate had had other ideas. Only one of those wishes was coming to fruition, and you were forced to watch him grow up alone. 

You had grown up in a small town on the eastern edge of New Austin, helping your parents in the saloon and restaurant they had owned, and sadly knew next to nothing about ranching. Andrew, on the other hand, was born on a small ranch just outside of town, and had practically been taking care of animals since he could walk. Sadly, Andrew had passed only a few months after Ben was born, and never got a chance to teach him anything or give him any siblings. 

Ben’s determined decision brought you out of your bittersweet reverie. “I think I want chocolate today,” he said, before placing the small bag of hard candies back on the counter. “I like when it gets all melty when it’s hot. Then I can just lick it off the package and I don’t even gotta chew.” His rambling made both you and Jacob chuckle.

You went back to browsing the shelves, picking up a few apples and peaches, and asking Jacob for loaf of bread, dried beef, and some cheese. As a special treat for you and your son later, you picked up some assorted biscuits as well. The last things on your list were a small bottle of wine for yourself and a bottle of milk for Ben… who was now hiding something behind his back.

He had a shameful smile on his face, and was rocking back and forth from his heels to his tippy-toes. Behind him was an obviously empty space on the shelf where peppermint candies usually sat. He could have only been more obvious if he were whistling. The boy really was a horrible thief.

“Ben, sweetheart, put that down please,” you lightly scolded, getting ready to bring out your stern mother voice if need be. “You’ve got a chocolate bar for later, you don’t need more candy.”

Then again, there is no reasoning with a child. “But Papa’s favorite is peppermints. I wanna get some candy for him,” he says, eyes going wide and shining with definitely-fake tears. He brought the red and white striped package out from behind his back and showed it to you, eyes as wide and innocent as a puppy.

“Honey…” you rubbed the bridge of your nose as you spoke, and closed your eyes, torn between holding your ground and giving into the puppy-dog eyes.

“Please mama?” There it was, the lip tremble. This kid had you wrapped around his tiny little finger. “Please? They’re his favorite. I’ll leave the chocolate if I gotta.” And the cincher. He had to have known what he was doing, offering to put back his own treat to get peppermints for someone who couldn’t even enjoy them? He was a literal angel.

An angel you could simply not say no to.

“Oh, alright, you. Those puppy dog eyes are merciless, you know?” you concede, not hearing the door open behind you and the heavy footsteps coming your way.

The boy jumped in excitement, his curly hair bouncing with him, and ran up to the register to show his purchase to Jacob. You follow suit, pulling a few bills out from under the blanket in the basket and handing it to your friend across the counter.

“Peppermints AND chocolate?” came a husky voice from behind you. “You really must be worth more than I could afford.” You recognised the sound almost immediately, and turned to face the man from the night before. He was again standing casually, observing the scene before him with his fingers looped in his belt, and smiling softly at your son.

Seeing him again so soon made you smile. Last night may have been short, and may have amounted to nothing in the end, but flirting with him had certainly been fun. “Well, hello again Mountain Man,” you responded, teasing him with the nickname Anastasia had unintentionally bestowed on him the previous evening and making no pretense of hiding the fact that you were running your gaze up his body. Although he was wearing the same clothes as the evening before, and was significantly dirtier than you remembered him being before you left, he looked even more handsome in the light of day. “That’s certainly true, but maybe we can negotiate the price over a drink sometime?”

His soft smile that had been reserved for your son turned into an impressed smirk as his gaze drifted to you. “‘d be happy to,” he responded. 

You glanced down at your son, who was still pre-occupied with the peppermints, and decided to forgo any further suggestive talk while he was with you. Which, unfortunately, meant that you weren’t entirely sure what to say next. “Well,” you managed, clearing your throat and turning to pick up the full picnic basket from the counter. “I certainly didn’t think I’d see you in the general store. Don’t you mountain men hunt all of your own food?”

Arthur barked out a laugh, throwing his head back with it. You were surprised about how attractive it was. “Shoa, if I weren’t such a bad shot, maybe,” he retorted, looking back at you. “‘m headin’ out for a bounty. Just need t’ stock up on some supplies before I leave.”

“Bounty?” That certainly surprised you. Though, now that you’ve had a better look at him, you supposed that he could be a bounty hunter. He did have multiple pistols in holsters at his hips and a couple of repeaters strapped to his back. Not to mention the fact that he could probably wrestle anyone to the ground with his bare hands alone.

“Yeah, some snake-oil salesman been pawning off poison to women with sick husbands,” he explained nonchalantly, pulling his hands from his belt and walking in your direction.

“Ah…” you drew in a sharp breath as he came closer to you, backing you up until you were nearly touching the shelves against the wall. Your heart was pounding in your ears, what was he playing at? He kept his eyes on yours the whole time, the same predatory look in them that you noticed last night, and you would have panicked if it weren’t for the mirth in them as well. Somehow, you could tell he wouldn’t hurt you. This was just a part of the game. 

Without a word, and keeping his eyes locked with yours, he reached behind you and pulled a box of shotgun shells off the shelf.

When he had what he wanted, that stupid attractive smirk returned to his face and he stepped back, giving you room to breathe. “S’posed to be camped out by Cumberland Falls. Shouldn’t take long, if ya’d want to join me for that drink afterwards,” he explained, finally breaking his gaze from you and heading to the other side of the room to the display housing basic tonics.

Now that he wasn’t so close, now that he wasn’t looking at you like he wanted to eat you alive, you could finally let out the breath that you had apparently been holding. “I… I’m a bit busy today, I’m afraid,” you managed, holding up the basket full of picnic foods for him to see. Your heart was pounding, and it was certainly not from fear. You only hoped he wasn’t able to tell.

Completely oblivious to the situation before him, Ben strolled over to you from the cash register, where he had been chattering on to Jacob. “Yeah, we are going to see Papa!” he told Arthur excitedly. “We even got him candies!”

Your eyes snapped to your son at the sound of his voice, only to see him standing beside you with an opened bag of peppermints, one already in his mouth. Faking offense, you bent down to your son’s height and took the peppermint bag from him. “You said those were for papa, you little thief,” you teased, slipping the bag into your basket before reaching out to Ben’s sides.

The boy knew what was coming, and was preemptively laughing and trying to escape you. “He doesn’t mind sharing!” he giggled, backing away from you with a grin.

You narrowed your eyes playfully at the child. “Oh, sure he doesn’t,” you taunted before going in for the kill, “you sneak!” With that, you drew Ben toward you and began attacking him with tickles. Ben’s shrieks of laughter filled the room as the two men watched on with smiles on their faces.

“Mama, no!” shrieked Ben through his laughter. “No tickling! No tickling! Let’s go see Papa!” His laughter died down as you stopped tickling him and released him from your hold. He was breathless and grinning from ear to ear, eyes shining with glee. You simply adored him.

“Alright alright, let’s go, my little thief,” you said, giving him a purposefully loud, wet kiss on his cheek, which he proceeded to wipe off dramatically. He then dashed to the door, careful to keep out of arms’ reach, lest you try to catch him again. You followed him with a smile, stopping briefly at the door to say goodbye.

“Anyway, it was nice seeing you again, Mountain Man,” you said, turning to Arthur with a small wave of your left hand, the light glinting off your worn wedding ring.

He cleared his throat and tipped his hat as you turned back around to follow Ben. “Ma’am,” was his simple farewell, and if you had glanced back, you would have seen his eyes, focused on the ring on your finger in disappointment.

The cemetery, much like everything else in the small town, was just down the street from the general store. Ben ran slightly ahead of you, still within eyesight, the bag of peppermints once again held tightly in his tiny hand. You waved and said hello to the few people that you passed as you walked the short street, but all-in-all it took no time to get to where you needed to go.

Andrew was buried next to his parents, and you knew the space like the back of your hand. The grave was starting to age, but was generally well kept by both the town minister and yourself. It was situated toward the back of the cemetery, under a tree and away from the road - an ironically beautiful spot for a picnic. Andrew would have loved it. 

Just an hour after leaving the general store, you sat atop your picnic blanket, a worn blue and white quilt sewn by yourself and your late mother-in-law during the early days of your marriage, under the shade of the large tree with a book in hand. The half-eaten loaf of bread, leftover cheese, and beef were packed neatly back into the picnic basket, leaving you and Ben plenty of space to lounge.

Peppermints had been scattered over the blanket and beside the grave itself, as Ben played with a wooden horse on top of the weathered stone. He spoke quietly, voice still full of excitement, to his father’s and grandparents’ graves as he played. The book you were holding, a cheap romance novel that you had borrowed from Margaret a few weeks prior, didn’t manage to hold your interest, and you were lost in thought.

About Andrew. About the past. About what could have been. 

Andrew had been beyond excited for your pregnancy, even going as far as building a small nursery onto the small house once he had inherited it from his parents. It had been a hard time for him, torn between the sadness of losing his parents to cholera not a year prior and the excitement of bringing a child into the world with the woman he loved. Thankfully, the entire town had been there to support him: his friends stopped by whenever they could, the Downes next door helped out on the ranch when they got a chance, Ms. Chadwick had even taken to stopping by on a weekly basis to help you during the pregnancy.

It had all gone surprisingly smoothly, and a little over a year after his grandparents’ passing, little Ben was safely brought into the world. The first few months were an exhausted dream, taking care of a child, your child, together. Waking up at dawn to feed Ben and make coffee for Andrew before he went out to take care of the animals. Days spent feeding and playing with your son, working as much as you could, and waiting for Andrew to take a break so you could coo over the little one together. Nights spent cuddled together, looking adoringly at the face of the perfect child that the two of you had brought into this world.

It was so wonderful, and so tragically short-lived, that you sometimes weren’t sure if it hadn’t all been a dream.

But then you remember Ben, so much like his father in so many ways, and the bittersweet memory of that time solidifies in your mind. It was no dream. It was short-lived, exhausting, and too perfect to last. Andrew was gone, but he still lived on in your son, and you wouldn’t trade him for the world.

An excited squeal from the boy brought you back to the present, and you turned to watch him race his wooden horse across the headstones decorated with your family’s names. Not far away, Arthur was also alerted by the sudden shrill noise. Watching the two of you, as he stood by his horse and covered with grime, sweat, and dirt, he smiled.

[crime-bot]

! Creature Gets Lost in a Bootleg OmegaMart, More at Eleven !

A small, grey weasel of a dragon was in the dim and cool alley of a street. They were rummaging through a garbage can, making a little mess of clatters and clangs, but coming up with nothing edible. They paused to droop and lament over their misfortune. In the middle of the pause, and through the midst of discarded cans and empty bags, they caught a glimpse of yellow, clear as day. It must’ve been a banana! Or cheese! They gasped with some new vigor ignited and reached their scaly arm in to get it, but when they got hold of the thing and pulled it out it was just a plastic lemon. They grumbled and angrily threw it at the ground. It bounced away and stopped, resting near the alley’s wall opposite of them.

Their stomach growled.

“Yeah, yeah, I know!” Greyscale said, “I’m trying to find something! Can’t you have any pa-”

They looked up as they hollered and noticed some smoke in the sky, above the surrounding brick buildings.

“Oh, what now, a fire-?”

They had to admit, they’d be intrigued by the idea of a fire somewhere, and at least that’d take their mind off their stomach. What else could smoke mean, after all? They knew the saying: where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

They lept to a pipe that scaled the side of the alleyway and climbed it to the rooftop only to discover the smoke was coming from a particularly not-up-to-code shipping truck, but what wasn’t what caught their eye.

Behind it was a large building with the words “DELTAMART” displayed proudly over a set of clear doors, standing tall and sure in the light of day. A grocery store! That’s just what they needed!

“Actually, I don’t think we’ll have to wait for much longer,” Greyscale said.

They lept and bounded down from roof to windowsill to dumpster. Right as they hit the ground, they made a dash through the parking lot desert, behind the truck, and right right up to the doors, then abruptly stopped and clung to the wall in an attempt to stay out of the eyes of anyone from inside.

They did a double-take, looking for anyone nearby. No one was around. They poked their head around to peak through one of the glass doors of the building that towered over them, a looming mass of bricks and corporate design.

There were some people walking around inside, carrying overflowing cornucopia baskets and pushing carts full of different treats, tools, and other products, but that wasn’t what got them the most. The aisles they could see were filled to the brim with food, and a couple of visible setups of fruits and vegetables looked so delicious and tantalizing in their array of colors that they sparkled to the dragon like precious gemstones.

Greyscale drooled a little with wide eyes.

They anxiously waited until there were barely any people near the doors, and anyone that was there appeared too thoroughly occupied to notice anything sneaking in.

They whispered, “the coast is clear!”

The creature sprang from their hiding spot and scrambled ins-- wait, no, nevermind, they just bonked headfirst into the glass door.

A first-time customer in a nearby checkout aisle got startled out of her waiting stupor and looked over to the sliding doors. Nothing was there.

“Did you hear that?” she asked.

“I hear everything,” said cashier #23,457, mid-scan of a bag of milk with one of his hands.

Understandably, that monotone answer concerned the customer, but she tried to brush it off. She just needed some milk for a recipe quick, and this was the closest store to her house.

“So-- Um,” she pressed on, “what about that thud from outside?”

“Ohh, haha, yeah I did,” he admitted, “Someone probably just walked into one of those doors again.” He handed the customer a grocery bag with her bagged milk inside and said, “Anyways, have a good day!”

Warily, she took the bag.

“You’re... not going to check on th-”

“H-H-Have a good day!” He said.

Now truly weirded out, she quickly said, “alllright thenIwill!” and walked out as fast-yet-also-not-running as she could.

It’s safe to say she’ll make the effort to not come back.

Seeing their chance, Greyscale scurried in under an exiting woman’s line of sight before the glass doors closed behind her.

At last, they made it into the glory of fluorescent lighting and vibrant food! In the midst of their wave of triumph, they continued to make the effort to stay hidden, taking cover behind some shopping carts.

The store was very nicely kept, they had to note. The white and navy blue checkered floors were spotless, and all the aisles and displays of different sorts were a combination of white, and/or blue, with some yellow, too. From where they were hidden, the whole place smelled cold and vaguely sterile, but they didn’t complain about it. They knew that was just how supermarkets were.

They took a great big breath in preparation and ran from the cover of the shopping carts, still with the effort of being undetected. As they perused in their own only slightly feral way, they dove behind grocery aisles, clambered up shelves, and hid in crates to stay out of workers’ and customers’ perceptions.

During this act of stealth and agility, they noticed an aisle with no people in it full of candy from atop a set of shelves.

“Aw, how sweet of fate!” they mused.

The creature made a B-line for it, jumping across gaps between short distance of aisles, and snagged a small bag of candy that had fallen to the checkered floor. They tore into it and began to eat a mouthful of the tart, brittle sweets inside.

Among the midst of the corporately pleasant music playing throughout the store, its jingle chimed in.

It sang, “De-De-deee de DelllltaMart, you have NO ideea what’s in STORE for YOU-u-u!”

They noticed the jingle and stopped their snacking to chuckle.

“You’re right about that,” they said, “I wonder what other good stuff this place has!”

They focused back on their bag of Candy Spiders (Now With 70% More Spiders!), just in time to notice one of the confections moving amongst its kin with its bone-pick legs.

A shocking moment of registration passed. They yelped at the realization and threw the bag away from themself as far as they could.

They sputtered, “Did-- did that--? No-”

They paused and slunk back up to the bag, warily.

The bag was motionless.

Slowly, cautiously, they batted it with their paw. They reeled it back away from the bag, as if it might jump up and bite them. Still, nothing inside moved.

They blinked a couple times and began to doubt what they thought they saw.

“Huh, h-ha, maybe this candy’s expired..” they said.

Greyscale left the bag behind to wander about some more(and put some distance between them and the Candy Spiders, but they didn’t want to fully admit that), and checked the rest of the products out.

They trotted through the deli area, passing by a stiff employee who was still in the process of regaining energy from his charging deck, fixated on the selection of meats. They even tested grabbing a slice of ham, and he didn’t notice one bit!

Once they were done with that, they visited another place that no one was in at the time. It didn’t have anything meant to be edible, but it sure was beautiful. Countless flowers were displayed in rainbows of colors, and the air was chilly to keep them all preserved for longer. Greyscale stayed there, smelling the roses both figuratively and semi-literally, until they had enough of that. They walked out of the section and past a sign that read, ‘HYBRID FLOWERS’. One of the tulips opened its eye.

After that snack and slice of ham they had, Greyscale was undoubtedly more content with their level of hunger, but they wanted to try to make the most of this place. After all, when they’re amongst a bounty of food, it’s good to get as much as they can before they go. They put their two front paws up on the ledge of a refrigerated bin full of organized fruit and poked their snout in, looking to choose which might be tastiest. Should they have a pear, or maybe an apple? Oh, but the peaches looked good, too!

Out from under the side of a display pyramid of apples behind them, a glitching, writhing tentacle rose to inspect its produce.

Ah, yes, every apple was shiny and in order... It had the pigeon grease to thank for that. It was about to retreat back under the apples, but something caught its attention. What it noticed was grey, and.. It wasn’t shaped like a customer either. It was rummaging around in a nearby refrigerator bin full of fruit strictly for customers.

Greyscale felt a couple of taps on their back and jumped, then turned to face-

“aAh-!!”

Nope! Nope, nope nope! They scrambled into and out of the freezing bin of fruit and away from the shifting, glitching-- thing in front of them. It lunged, and they turned and ran only to skid to a halt before smacking into a glass display case of ears.

Oh nonono, they shook the shock from that off and sprinted left into an aisle, only to see one of the store workers pulling can after can out of his mouth to put on the shelves.

They quickly turned again to climb up a shelf from the opposite side of the aisle as fast as they could. They really, really, really shouldn’t be here-

They tried to escape, find a way out, but the more and more they ran and jumped and turned, shifting from running on the ground to balancing on top of aisles, the more the grocery store grew and stretched into a labyrinth.

“NononononoIcan’tbetrappedthere’sgottabeaneXIT-”

They stopped briefly, shuffling and turning in place and trying to catch their breath, looking for anything that could possibly function as a sign to point them out. They launched themself from where they stood again only to smack into a pair of legs they hadn’t noticed.

The owner of those legs, a tall, nicely dressed woman, looked down at whatever had bumped into her.

Greyscale screamed and ran as soon as they realized they got noticed yet again.

“Huh…” she said, “one of the fish they’re selling must’ve got out again.”

She shrugged and continued to read the label of some canned wood she grabbed from a shelf of assorted canned inedibles.

Still thoroughly spooked, Greyscale bolted through the open door of a storage room to hide, but it only led to an expansive area of ventilation pipe trees and tubes protruding out of the ground and sky and distant walls in a variety of angles, all painted in a mess of glowing neon patterns.

The little dragon darted about the dark and dizzying manufactured forest, too worried about getting caught by any foe to realize the nature of the location surrounding them until they finally looked back. They began to slow down to a trot when they didn’t see anyone.

“There’s…” they huffed, “no one.. there…?”

Upon that realization, they slowed down even more, but that wasn’t enough to keep them from losing their footing on a pipe nestled into the glittering ground.

“HuhuUuAH-!”

Before they had a chance to save themself, they were swallowed into further oblivion and shot down the pipework with a series of clunks and shouts, thumping, denting into each abrupt turn going deeper, deeper, faster, faster until they were finally spat out to the end.

Greyscale was flung from the mouth, still held at the whim of momentum, and tumbled to a stop, toppled over themself. The result of that disorienting ride was a dizzy, discombobulated dragon, complete with stars going around their head as it bobbed about, trying to get their bearings despite their eyes having trouble focusing on anything for the time being.

They knew it was bright, or-- maybe it was dark? They couldn’t tell, they could still only see stars and an ever-shifting background. Their ears picked up on a further dizzying soundscape of moving, shifting, falling, corporate music, but the more they strained to focus on and determine a sound the more and more difficult it felt to tell any sound apart from another. It was a surrounding, pattering swarm of noise, and as their vision cleared and they tried to stumble up, they only fell back down onto the soft, squishy.. mahogany(?) surface they had been spat onto by the pipe.

Wearily, they picked their head back up and finally witnessed the shifting, unending world surrounding them. Cans floated through the air, worlds of their own, great candy spiders spun threads and webs of sugar on even more pipes that ripped out of the ground, checker patterns slid across surfaces, and everything seemed to pulse with an underlying life.

They were then aware, horrified, of the unavoidable fact that they were now utterly, hopelessly lost.

Amidst the cacophony of sights and patterning and a ground they couldn’t get a hold of, Greyscale thought they heard a familiar yet muffled jingle, far away in the distance yet echoed everywhere throughout these caverns.

“De-De-deee de DelllltaMart, you have NO ideea what’s in STORE for YOU-u-u!”

Their heart sank.

“Oh no-”

[lu-undy]

G’day! Imagine that Spy, Sniper and Scout now live in the big city, let’s say.. New Mexico, they decide to go on a baseball game, Sniper was nervous because it was one of the first moments they had as Father-Son-Father. Spy calms him down with hugs and kisses. Sniper actually catches the ball and hands it to Scout, Scout for the first times he says to Sniper “Thanks dad!” Sniper was more than happy about it and Spy loved it. And after the game they cuddled in Spy’s and Sniper’s bed as family.

Alright, here it is! I tweaked it a bit but the spirit is still there for a good Spy dad and Sniper dad moment with Scout :)

Spy woke up and found his lover sat up on the bed, his back against the wall. He looked at the time on the alarm clock and frowned. 

"Up already?" He asked. 

"Y-yeah. I couldn't really sleep." 

Spy sat up as well.

"Why?" 

"It's today, isn't it?"  Sniper asked nervously.

"What?" 

"That we promised we'd go play baseball with Jeremy together?" 

Spy nodded. 

"Oui, it is today indeed." 

Sniper's eyes were stuck on his own long and thin legs. 

"Is that an issue? Do you want us to postpone it?" 

"No, no, nah… I just uh, I'm just a bit nervous, is all." 

"Ah…" Spy leaned against his lover's shoulder and took his hand. "It will be fine you know. And believe me, you will not be the worst of us three. Last time I played baseball with Jérémy, the ball was the size of his head more or less." 

Sniper nodded.

"Yeah but it's the first time he accepts that I join you guys. I don't want to make it weird or awkward…"

"Well, with your nervousness you are making it exactly that…!" 

Sniper sighed.

"Yeah, I know, I'm sorry… I just don't want to ruin it all and make him not want to invite me again."

"I understand that…" Spy pulled Sniper down and both lied in bed. The Aussie used his lover's chest like a pillow while Spy laid flat on his back. He let his fingers run in the Australian’s brown curls, slowly massaging his scalp. 

"But I am sure that it will go perfectly. You are a much better human being than I am and you make a better father than me." 

Sniper's eyes snapped wide and he raised his head, looking his lover in the eye. 

"Whot?" 

"You are and it is obvious. You are much more compassionate and easy to talk to. I have locked myself in this arrogant and cold image that everyone has of me. Besides, who does Jérémy go for when he needs help or advice? It is always you and then you repeat it all to me. But never has he come directly to me."

Spy was smiling sweetly. 

"I have failed as a father but you on the other hand, you are becoming a very good one and through you, I am learning myself." 

Spy pulled his lover's face closer with his fingers to the Aussie's chin. 

"So now, do not worry about anything and let me kiss you, please." 

Sniper blushed and when their lips touched, he rolled his eyes up in bliss and closed them. He slowly laced his arms around his lover and squeezed him tight. 

"Hm…" Spy moaned but Sniper instantly broke the kiss and his face went as red as a brick. 

"Shh!"

"What?" Spy asked. 

"He's only across the corridor, he could hear us." Sniper answered, whispering. 

Spy chuckled.

"Not when the room is sound-proofed." 

"Y-what now?! You got your room sound proofed?!" 

"Of course. I know I do get quite vocal and if I have a guest over, I don't want them to eavesdrop on me." 

"Yeah, especially if yer guest's your son." 

"Indeed." 

Spy rolled and was now towering Sniper on the bed, a hand on each side of his lover's face. 

"But what this means is I can sing whatever melody you create as you play on my heartstrings and no one will hear so please…" 

Sniper smiled and Spy went to his ear. He planted a kiss right below it and moaned, which prompted Sniper to grab the Frenchman's hips firmly.

"Let's make this a duet…" 

---

"Y'alright, Snipes?"

"Huh? Y-yeah…"

All three of them were on a public park. Spy had brought a basket with fruits and snacks to nibble on while Scout had taken care of the baseball gear. 

"I got my bat and uh… two gloves!" 

"How do you use this thing? It's huge! Also, it is out of any kind of fashion…" Spy said, looking at one glove. 

"It better be huge, Pa', so that you catch the ball easily and even with that it's hard."

Spy had laid a chequered cloth on the grass and put the basket down on it.

"You start playing with Sniper while I ready the snacks."

"Alright. Snipes, wanna have the bat or…?"

"Nah mate, you can have it, I'll try and catch the ball but eh, don't hit it too far!"

"Okay, I'll try." 

Spy watched both of them play. Sniper would throw the ball at Scout and the young man would hit it as gently as he could. 

"Snipes, yo, let me tell you cause you're not throwin' it right."

"Ah, y-yeah, sorry, I'm-I'm really tryin' but I was never good with that so…"

"It's fine, look, gimme the ball, right…" 

And the Frenchman watched as Scout explained the art of throwing a baseball to Sniper who looked intensely focused on the task at hand." 

"Roight, roight, I see…"

"Gentlemen, may I join?" 

"Sure."

"Yeah!" 

The game was now for Sniper to throw the ball at Scout who would hit it in direction of Spy. And it worked pretty well for a while. 

"Wanna hit it, Dad?" 

Spy raised his head and saw that Scout was addressing Sniper and not him. But the Aussie didn't recognise himself. The Frenchman chuckled. 

"I will take a break. My old age requires me to sit down a bit."

Scout understood that it was Spy's way of leaving them alone for this. 

"So, Dad? Daad?"

"Huh?" 

Sniper raised his head. 

"W-wait? You were callin' me?"

"Yeah! Wanna hit the ball and I throw it for ya?" 

Sniper's face turned crimson and felt his knees wobble. 

"I… I don't know… I mean, uh, ahem, c-can I? I mean, you sure you want me to do it?"

"As you wish, really! Or we can join Pa'?"

"Ah y-yeah, maybe let's join him for a quick break, alroight?" 

"Sure!"

Sniper walked to his lover and collapsed on the cloth next to him. Spy noticed it and held back a laughter. 

"Fruits?" He offered and threw Scout a banana and started cutting a peach to share with Sniper. 

They took a moment to eat and drink before Scout stood up. 

"Imma have a look around the park, who wants to join?" 

"Non merci, Jérémy, I could do with a bit more rest." 

"Dad?" 

Sniper was astounded such that he looked petrified. Spy answered for him. 

"He will stay with me."

"Okay, see ya in a bit!"

Spy was used to his son needing to move and spend his energy all the time but him and Sniper were older and better enjoyed the peace and quiet. When the young man was out of earshot, Spy turned to his lover. 

"Mon amour, ça va?"

[My love, are you alright?]

"I… He called me Dad…" 

"Oui, he did."

"I'm a… Dad?"

"Oui, you are.”

"Am I?"

Spy looked around and saw a few people here and there but they were too far to see them clearly. He held his lover's hand. 

"I told you. You are his father and a good father. No doubt you are his best one too. I am actually surprised he calls you father after me…"

"Bloody hell, I'm a Dad…" 

Sniper laid down and used his lover's lap as a pillow. Spy was surprised by the public display of affection from his shy Aussie. He nonetheless did not complain. 

"Did it hit you like that…?" Sniper asked. 

"What?" 

"The first time he called you Dad?" 

"He doesn't call me Dad, he calls me Pa', you are Dad."

"I am Dad…" Sniper repeated overwhelmed by the sudden realisation. He both felt overjoyed and overwhelmed by the responsibility. All of a sudden, he had someone's life in his hand and it wasn't through a scope…!

"Oui, you are." 

Spy continued feeding his lover and himself the peach and soon after they finished, Scout emerged again. 

"How was it?" Spy asked. 

"Yeah, it was alright. They aren't too many people around either so it's pretty calm." 

"Ah, nice." 

"Mind if I join?" 

Scout pointed at Sniper and Spy nodded.

"Please do." 

The Frenchman was sitting on the cloth he had laid, his legs fully extended in front of him, and he had one hand through Sniper's hair. The Aussie's head was on his lover's lap and his eyes blinked slowly under the head massage. Scout laid down and also used his father's lap as a pillow but on the other side from Sniper. 

"Jeremy?" Sniper said. 

"Yeah?" The young man answered.

Spy watched it all happen. 

"Thanks for the baseball lesson." 

"Haha, no problem, man. You're pretty good at it."

"Am I?" 

"Yeah, much better than Pa'." 

"Hey!" Spy exclaimed and both Sniper and Scout laughed. 

"No offense, but Dad's better." 

Spy smiled. He looked at Sniper. 

"See? I told you you were better." 

The Aussie turned as red as a brick and grinned shyly. He knew that what Spy meant was not 'better at baseball', but 'better as a father.'

[howdidyoufindthis]

A small, grey weasel of a dragon was in the dim and cool alley of a street. They were rummaging through a garbage can, making a little mess of clatters and clangs, but coming up with nothing edible. They paused to droop and lament over their misfortune. In the middle of the pause, and through the midst of discarded cans and empty bags, they caught a glimpse of yellow, clear as day. It must’ve been a banana! Or cheese! They gasped with some new vigor ignited and reached their scaly arm in to get it, but when they got hold of the thing and pulled it out it was just a plastic lemon. They grumbled and angrily threw it at the ground. It bounced away and stopped, resting near the alley’s wall opposite of them.

Their stomach growled.

“Yeah, yeah, I know!” Greyscale said, “I’m trying to find something! Can’t you have any pa-”

They looked up as they hollered and noticed some smoke in the sky, above the surrounding brick buildings.

“Oh, what now, a fire-?”

They had to admit, they’d be intrigued by the idea of a fire somewhere, and at least that’d take their mind off their stomach. What else could smoke mean, after all? They knew the saying: where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

They lept to a pipe that scaled the side of the alleyway and climbed it to the rooftop only to discover the smoke was coming from a particularly not-up-to-code shipping truck, but what wasn’t what caught their eye.

Behind it was a large building with the words “DELTAMART” displayed proudly over a set of clear doors, standing tall and sure in the light of day. A grocery store! That’s just what they needed!

“Actually, I don’t think we’ll have to wait for much longer,” Greyscale said.

They lept and bounded down from roof to windowsill to dumpster. Right as they hit the ground, they made a dash through the parking lot desert, behind the truck, and right right up to the doors, then abruptly stopped and clung to the wall in an attempt to stay out of the eyes of anyone from inside.

They did a double-take, looking for anyone nearby. No one was around. They poked their head around to peak through one of the glass doors of the building that towered over them, a looming mass of bricks and corporate design.

There were some people walking around inside, carrying overflowing cornucopia baskets and pushing carts full of different treats, tools, and other products, but that wasn’t what got them the most. The aisles they could see were filled to the brim with food, and a couple of visible setups of fruits and vegetables looked so delicious and tantalizing in their array of colors that they sparkled to the dragon like precious gemstones.

Greyscale drooled a little with wide eyes.

They anxiously waited until there were barely any people near the doors, and anyone that was there appeared too thoroughly occupied to notice anything sneaking in.

They whispered, “the coast is clear!”

The creature sprang from their hiding spot and scrambled ins-- wait, no, nevermind, they just bonked headfirst into the glass door.

A first-time customer in a nearby checkout aisle got startled out of her waiting stupor and looked over to the sliding doors. Nothing was there.

“Did you hear that?” she asked.

“I hear everything,” said cashier #23,457, mid-scan of a bag of milk with one of his hands.

Understandably, that monotone answer concerned the customer, but she tried to brush it off. She just needed some milk for a recipe quick, and this was the closest store to her house.

“So-- Um,” she pressed on, “what about that thud from outside?”

“Ohh, haha, yeah I did,” he admitted, “Someone probably just walked into one of those doors again.” He handed the customer a grocery bag with her bagged milk inside and said, “Anyways, have a good day!”

Warily, she took the bag.

“You’re... not going to check on th-”

“H-H-Have a good day!” He said.

Now truly weirded out, she quickly said, “alllright thenIwill!” and walked out as fast-yet-also-not-running as she could.

It’s safe to say she’ll make the effort to not come back.

Seeing their chance, Greyscale scurried in under an exiting woman’s line of sight before the glass doors closed behind her.

At last, they made it into the glory of fluorescent lighting and vibrant food! In the midst of their wave of triumph, they continued to make the effort to stay hidden, taking cover behind some shopping carts.

The store was very nicely kept, they had to note. The white and navy blue checkered floors were spotless, and all the aisles and displays of different sorts were a combination of white, and/or blue, with some yellow, too. From where they were hidden, the whole place smelled cold and vaguely sterile, but they didn’t complain about it. They knew that was just how supermarkets were.

They took a great big breath in preparation and ran from the cover of the shopping carts, still with the effort of being undetected. As they perused in their own only slightly feral way, they dove behind grocery aisles, clambered up shelves, and hid in crates to stay out of workers’ and customers’ perceptions.

During this act of stealth and agility, they noticed an aisle with no people in it full of candy from atop a set of shelves.

“Aw, how sweet of fate!” they mused.

The creature made a B-line for it, jumping across gaps between short distance of aisles, and snagged a small bag of candy that had fallen to the checkered floor. They tore into it and began to eat a mouthful of the tart, brittle sweets inside.

Among the midst of the corporately pleasant music playing throughout the store, its jingle chimed in.

It sang, “De-De-deee de DelllltaMart, you have NO ideea what’s in STORE for YOU-u-u!”

They noticed the jingle and stopped their snacking to chuckle.

“You’re right about that,” they said, “I wonder what other good stuff this place has!”

They focused back on their bag of Candy Spiders (Now With 70% More Spiders!), just in time to notice one of the confections moving amongst its kin with its bone-pick legs.

A shocking moment of registration passed. They yelped at the realization and threw the bag away from themself as far as they could.

They sputtered, “Did-- did that--? No-”

They paused and slunk back up to the bag, warily.

The bag was motionless.

Slowly, cautiously, they batted it with their paw. They reeled it back away from the bag, as if it might jump up and bite them. Still, nothing inside moved.

They blinked a couple times and began to doubt what they thought they saw.

“Huh, h-ha, maybe this candy’s expired..” they said.

Greyscale left the bag behind to wander about some more(and put some distance between them and the Candy Spiders, but they didn’t want to fully admit that), and checked the rest of the products out.

They trotted through the deli area, passing by a stiff employee who was still in the process of regaining energy from his charging deck, fixated on the selection of meats. They even tested grabbing a slice of ham, and he didn’t notice one bit!

Once they were done with that, they visited another place that no one was in at the time. It didn’t have anything meant to be edible, but it sure was beautiful. Countless flowers were displayed in rainbows of colors, and the air was chilly to keep them all preserved for longer. Greyscale stayed there, smelling the roses both figuratively and semi-literally, until they had enough of that. They walked out of the section and past a sign that read, ‘HYBRID FLOWERS’. One of the tulips opened its eye.

After that snack and slice of ham they had, Greyscale was undoubtedly more content with their level of hunger, but they wanted to try to make the most of this place. After all, when they’re amongst a bounty of food, it’s good to get as much as they can before they go. They put their two front paws up on the ledge of a refrigerated bin full of organized fruit and poked their snout in, looking to choose which might be tastiest. Should they have a pear, or maybe an apple? Oh, but the peaches looked good, too!

Out from under the side of a display pyramid of apples behind them, a glitching, writhing tentacle rose to inspect its produce.

Ah, yes, every apple was shiny and in order... It had the pigeon grease to thank for that. It was about to retreat back under the apples, but something caught its attention. What it noticed was grey, and.. It wasn’t shaped like a customer either. It was rummaging around in a nearby refrigerator bin full of fruit strictly for customers.

Greyscale felt a couple of taps on their back and jumped, then turned to face-

“aAh-!!”

Nope! Nope, nope nope! They scrambled into and out of the freezing bin of fruit and away from the shifting, glitching-- thing in front of them. It lunged, and they turned and ran only to skid to a halt before smacking into a glass display case of ears.

Oh nonono, they shook the shock from that off and sprinted left into an aisle, only to see one of the store workers pulling can after can out of his mouth to put on the shelves.

They quickly turned again to climb up a shelf from the opposite side of the aisle as fast as they could. They really, really, really shouldn’t be here-

They tried to escape, find a way out, but the more and more they ran and jumped and turned, shifting from running on the ground to balancing on top of aisles, the more the grocery store grew and stretched into a labyrinth.

“NononononoIcan’tbetrappedthere’sgottabeaneXIT-”

They stopped briefly, shuffling and turning in place and trying to catch their breath, looking for anything that could possibly function as a sign to point them out. They launched themself from where they stood again only to smack into a pair of legs they hadn’t noticed.

The owner of those legs, a tall, nicely dressed woman, looked down at whatever had bumped into her.

Greyscale screamed and ran as soon as they realized they got noticed yet again.

“Huh…” she said, “one of the fish they’re selling must’ve got out again.”

She shrugged and continued to read the label of some canned wood she grabbed from a shelf of assorted canned inedibles.

Still thoroughly spooked, Greyscale bolted through the open door of a storage room to hide, but it only led to an expansive area of ventilation pipe trees and tubes protruding out of the ground and sky and distant walls in a variety of angles, all painted in a mess of glowing neon patterns.

The little dragon darted about the dark and dizzying manufactured forest, too worried about getting caught by any foe to realize the nature of the location surrounding them until they finally looked back. They began to slow down to a trot when they didn’t see anyone.

“There’s…” they huffed, “no one.. there…?”

Upon that realization, they slowed down even more, but that wasn’t enough to keep them from losing their footing on a pipe nestled into the glittering ground.

“HuhuUuAH-!”

Before they had a chance to save themself, they were swallowed into further oblivion and shot down the pipework with a series of clunks and shouts, thumping, denting into each abrupt turn going deeper, deeper, faster, faster until they were finally spat out to the end.

Greyscale was flung from the mouth, still held at the whim of momentum, and tumbled to a stop, toppled over themself. The result of that disorienting ride was a dizzy, discombobulated dragon, complete with stars going around their head as it bobbed about, trying to get their bearings despite their eyes having trouble focusing on anything for the time being.

They knew it was bright, or-- maybe it was dark? They couldn’t tell, they could still only see stars and an ever-shifting background. Their ears picked up on a further dizzying soundscape of moving, shifting, falling, corporate music, but the more they strained to focus on and determine a sound the more and more difficult it felt to tell any sound apart from another. It was a surrounding, pattering swarm of noise, and as their vision cleared and they tried to stumble up, they only fell back down onto the soft, squishy.. mahogany(?) surface they had been spat onto by the pipe.

Wearily, they picked their head back up and finally witnessed the shifting, unending world surrounding them. Cans floated through the air, worlds of their own, great candy spiders spun threads and webs of sugar on even more pipes that ripped out of the ground, checker patterns slid across surfaces, and everything seemed to pulse with an underlying life.

They were then aware, horrified, of the unavoidable fact that they were now utterly, hopelessly lost.

Amidst the cacophony of sights and patterning and a ground they couldn’t get a hold of, Greyscale thought they heard a familiar yet muffled jingle, far away in the distance yet echoed everywhere throughout these caverns.

“De-De-deee de DelllltaMart, you have NO ideea what’s in STORE for YOU-u-u!”

Their heart sank.

“Oh no-”

[sharpen-jadescythe]

Introducing... Jezzca Jadescythe

Jezz’cayol Jadescythe Sweetwheat Cabin Stormwind, Elwynn Forest

“Dear Jezz’cayol,

Yes, it’s alright if you take over my Stormwind residence while I’m away training in Pandaria. Not like you asked first sis, but you do have my blessing which should ease my mind at least.

And a few other things since you -didn’t- ask me first.

Number one--You have a pet sheep. His name is Lampchop. He likes to be called that, and I keep some extra grain in the barrel out back if he comes by. Just keep him company--I’ve nearly house-trained him--until the neighbor shepherd boy swings around to get him. Lambchop is always wandering away from the herd...

Number second--If you get any mail from the stable master about any of my pets. Do not--I repeat, DO NOT--follow up on any of it. Just send them a short note saying I’ll be back in town at the end of the month. I’ve already told them, but just in case a new person or one of their volunteers isn’t aware, that’ll help.

Third--There are enough preserved veggies and fruits in jars to get you through the winter if you eat them sensibly. DO NOT put all of the peach preserves in a single pie, for instance. And then, you’d obviously waste even more resources and burn that pie because you can’t actually cook.

In fact, no pie.

I’ve worked hard to keep that cottage clean and in good shape for Mister Sweetwheat, so please don’t ruin it.

Um... anything else?

Uh...

Hrm.

The Succulent Tarts are really nice if you run into any of them. But if you embarrass me in front of my fellow performers I will take your pretty little head off.

I will, Jezzca.

Alright, hang in there kitten! Don’t let any Sentinel stuff get you down.”

(And enclosed is, actually, a pandaren postcard with a white tiger cub hanging by its paw from a rope, hopefully about to not fall.)

Five days later...

Raorin Jadescythe Temple of the Jade Serpent Jade Forest, Pandaria

“Sharpy! Hah, I like the Tarts. They came looking for you, and said you had pink hair now, and then they took me out to a dance club, we had “special brownies” with glitter on them even, and we stayed out all night, and oh my goddess--one of them is totes a stripper! Why didn’t tell me you were doing actual cool stuff these days? I thought your life was all brushing down weird pets, ignoring mom and dad’s letters, and trying to keep cat hair out of the food.

Speaking of, the tin that comes with this letter has a slice of peach pie in it. Blah.

Anyway, I solved the problem about not running out of all your precious preserved food through the winter. Lampchop made for a really good stew that lasted a whole week!

And you should know--those three magic beans you got in exchange for your mechengineer’s chopper? Yeah, that shady guy is currently in stitches over at the Cathedral Square care ward. 

You’re welcome. Also, I found your ‘Jiroki box.’ You know the one full of what I thought were my Winter’s Veil presents except they’re all clearly for one person who's a woman, who isn’t any of your four sisters -or- mom for that matter?

What the whaaaat? Let me find out.

Anyway, too late! I did! And no, I’m not so down about Sentinel stuff these days that I have a whole cabin full of my brother’s secrets to rifle through and food to eat, and cool friends to adopt. I should say thank you, I guess.

Heh. And you thought you could buy my silence with a poster. Well, it did make me smile. Hey, you’re a blacksmith Sharpy... is there a way I can somehow paste this poster inside of my shield? Don’t laugh, it’s a legit question! There has to be a way, this is actually really cute. It’s been cheering me up. I feel like I’ve also seen this little white cat with a red bow over her ear in a few places, right?. Can you send me a matching pink wallet from Pandaria if you see one?

Speaking of... You’re closer to mom and dad in Pandaria right now if you wanna say hi for me and tell them I’m being good and to send some money I really need. Well, I’m fine, I’m not broke or anything but I could use some more gold if I’m going to keep up this Elfpacito life style you’ve inadvertently shown me. Unless you want me to tell Ma and Pa all about your glittery burlesque friends?

Muahaha,

Jezzca”