#I wish we could have kept Melissa

[thebetterluthor]

Of all the tragedies that plagued Scully during the X-Files run, I think the worst one was Melissa's death.

Her father's was natural, and at some point expected. Her various abductions and close calls, part of the job. She survived the cancer. Emily was a tragedy, but her suffering was short, and her connection with Scully herself even shorter. Mulder, in the end, came back from the dead.

I guess if I accepted William's arc, I'd have to agree that losing your child, twice, is just too damn tragic. But with the way the William plot evolved I feel no respect for it, as it completely ignores character arcs, so I can safely say, Melissa's death was the worst of all.

Melissa was her sister. Her big sister. And not an annoying one, they were close. Can you imagine losing a big sister, and having her being murdered instead of you? In your house? There are so many layers of grief there that have only ever been explored in fanfic, because the X-Files were already buried decades deep into the grief of losing one sister, and couldn't afford to spend time on the loss of another.

And for that exact reason, I think Melissa's death was a big miscalculation from a storytelling point of view as well. Because Melissa couldn't possibly get the attention Samantha did, and Scully wasn't allowed to process what was a tremendous amount of grief, because the show didn't have the space for it.

[janeyseymour]

Intervention- pt 2

an anon asked for a part 2 where Barb might be hurt that she doesn't know about you.

WC: ~2.9k

“You have a girlfriend?” Jacob is the first to gasp out. “Mel Mel, I didn’t know that I wasn’t the only queer one in the school!”

Your girlfriend rolls her eyes. “Yes, I do have a girlfriend, and you ain’t nothin’ special kid. I just don’t make it as known as you do.”

“I’m Y/N,” you smile at the group. You then address them all by name. They look impressed. And then you get to Barbara Howard- of course you know that she’s your girlfriend’s work-wife. “And Barbara, I’ve heard the most about you. It’s truly a pleasure getting to finally meet you.”

“I wish I could say the same,” she glances at you as she shakes your offered hand. “Melissa has kept you her dirty little secret for how long?”

“Barb,” the redhead warns lowly. “She ain’t my dirty little secret- just a topic that hadn’t really come up in conversation.”

“Well, I would say that-”

“Why don’t you guys come on in,” you tell the group softly, trying to get the two squabbling women to quit. There does not need to be any point of contention while your girlfriend’s friends are here, and it certainly does not need to be over you. All you want to do is make a good impression.

They all enter the house that they thought they knew and had seen prior to the breakup with Gary. But now, it’s different. It’s… definitely still Melissa- but the plastic on the couches are gone, it’s a bit brighter, and there’s a sense of someone living in the space. It’s nice. You don’t miss the way that Barbara only continues to study you as you lead everyone in, offering drinks or food in the kitchen.

“Melissa wouldn’t let me in the kitchen for this, so please… know that you won’t get food poisoning from today,” you joke as you hold the redhead’s hand. “There are other beverages outside in a cooler if you would rather a beer or something like that. Please… help yourselves.”

You head outside yourself to go grab yourself and your girlfriend a Yuengling. “Does anybody want a beer?”

Mr. Johnson is the only one that agrees, the others deciding that a water or a soda is okay for now. So, you head out to grab three beers.

Meanwhile, the rest of the crew is staring down the mob-like woman that they thought they all knew.

“What?”

“Damn, Schemmenti,” Ava raises a hand for a high five. “She’s hot!”

Melissa just rolls her eyes, but she does give her boss a high five, along with Mr. Johnson.

“Well, tell us about her!” Jacob and Janine both look at the redhead urgently. “How long have you been together, what’s the deal with her?!”

Barbara just looks at the woman she thought trusted her enough to tell her about a relationship like this with crossed arms.

“She is here, so you can just ask her yourself you know,” Melissa chuckles as she sees you come back inside. You go for the bottle opener on the fridge, expertly popping the tops off of the beers before distributing them out. 

“Ask me what?” you ask as you snake an arm around Melissa’s waist and pull her closer gently.

“About you!” Janine states with fire. “We didn’t even know you existed!”

“Well,” you chuckle. “I’m Y/N, I’m an accountant down at one of the firms in Center City, Mel and I met at a Bally’s in Atlantic City, and we’ve been dating for about… a year and a half?”

“You kept this from us for a year and a half?” Gregory cuts in.

Your girlfriend just shrugs. “Youse never asked if I was dating anyone- just assumed I was single and mopey.”

You see the way that Barbara glares down her friend, and you try to cut the tension by inviting everybody to come sit outside in the small backyard that you have. They of course follow. 

You and Melissa allow everybody to find a seat before you go to sit, but of course, there is only one chair. She takes it while you perch on the side of it. With an eye roll, she pulls you into her lap.

“We’re dating, hun,” she tells you. “You’re allowed to act like you love me.”

“I do,” you laugh. “Was just trying to be respectful and not make anyone uncomfortable.”

“Greg and Janine were grinding up on each other at the club,” Ava laughs with a wave of her hand. “And that was before they were dating. Y’all are together, and have been for some time.”

The two mentioned blush as they look at each other… they were hoping their boss would’ve forgotten that by now.

It’s a bit of time as they chat and catch up, Melissa filling you in on the missing pieces as she sips from her beer, before conversation comes to a quiet lull. Barbara only continues to stare down the two of you, and it’s quite clear she isn’t happy.

Barbara Howard not approving of this relationship is something that could make or break what you have going on with who you genuinely think might be the love of your life. Barbara Howard was the one person that you were really hoping to impress, and she’s making it quite clear that she does not care for you. Barbara Howard hasn’t spoken a word to you or Melissa since the first few minutes that she’s been at the house. And it is making you beyond uncomfortable. 

“Well, I think I might start firing up the grill,” you sigh softly as you stand from your place in Melissa’s lap. “We have stuff for burgers and dogs, so… if everyone wants to let me know what they want, I can get that started?”

You have everyone’s orders being shouted at you faster than you can type the orders down in your notes. All of the orders have been taken except for… except for Barbara’s.

“Barbara?” you ask softly, eyes full of warmth. You’re really trying to get her on your good side.

“I’m fine,” she says astutely.

“Make a couple extra of each,” the redhead tells you. “I’ll grab a couple plates for you to put ‘em on as they’re finishing up.”

Of course, Mr. Johnson, Jacob, and Gregory both follow you over to the grill and make conversation with you as you cook, leaving the rest of the Abbott crew with your girlfriend.

While Jacob is questioning what feels like every aspect of your life at the grill, you can hear Barbara and Melissa getting into it.

“Are you seriously mad?” you can hear your girlfriend ask her work wife, clearly annoyed. 

“I don’t know why you wouldn’t trust me enough to tell me who’s courting you,” Barbara states, hurt evident in her voice.

“Nobody’s courtin’ me, Barb. This ain’t Bridgerton,” the second grade teacher retorts with a sarcastic laugh. 

“I just don’t understand why you wouldn’t tell me,” your girlfriend’s work wife tells her. “We’ve been friends for over fifteen years, and you’ve told me about other relationships- like Gary.”

“Because you approved of Gary,” Melissa tells Barbara.

“And what would make you think I wouldn’t approve of Y/N?”

“Well,” your girlfriend drawls out. “She’s a woman, you’re a woman of God, she’s a hell of a lot younger than we are, and it started out at a casino and sharing a cigarette. Forgive me if I thought that Barbara Howard, woman of God, might not like the backstory I would’ve given you.”

Barbara goes to spit something else out, but Janine cuts in rather quickly. For once, her and Ava are on the same team and are able to divert the conversation elsewhere. 

You awkwardly make your way over to the group, juggling plates in hand. “Dinner is served,” you smile as you set them on the table. “Did anyone want a beer or a seltzer or anything like that?”

There are a few that chime in, ready for a drink. You oblige their requests with a smile. Dinner is nice, if a bit stilted as people try to find common ground to chat with you about. It all ends up leading back to Abbott, and you can’t find yourself complaining. It’s quite funny to hear the hi jinx that happen in an elementary school and all of the background things that happen out of sight of the kids. And then the topic shifts to the relationship that everybody has with Melissa. You find that Melissa is like a mother to Jacob, an aunt to Janine and in turn Gregory, close friends with Ava despite appearances at school, Mr. Johnson and her have some sort of ally between the two of them, and of course you already knew her and Barbara were like work wives.

Barbara just huffs at that sentiment before sighing. “I suppose I should be heading out.”

“But Barb!” Janine protests. “We haven’t even started setting off fireworks!”

“I got the good ones too,” the custodian cuts in. 

But the woman dead set on heading home holds up a hand to halt their protests against her leaving. “It is time that I leave.”

She says goodbye to everybody before turning to you and your girlfriend. “Thank you for inviting me over,” is all she says. And then she’s seeing herself out.

The rest of the fourth of July gathering is quite nice, and you find yourself quite glad that you were able to meet the people that Melissa constantly talks about during the school year.

Before you know it, the school year is right around the corner. Despite having been in the same classroom for the last several years, Melissa asks if you’ll accompany her down to the classroom to prepare for her incoming students. You wholeheartedly agree, knowing that a good deed on your part will end up in well… a good deed.

As the two of you are lugging in a few boxes of new supplies, Barbara pulls up. There is no hello, no ‘how are you’. Just a simple glance before she turns her nose up at the two of you and begins to unload her own car.

“Barb,” your girlfriend calls in the direction of the kindergarten teacher. There is no dignified response. “Jesus Christ.”

“Give her a few minutes,” you tell the redhead softly as you pull yet another box of supplies out of your car. “She’s probably just in a rush to get all of her things in here before she exchanges pleasantries.”

“No,” the second grade teacher huffs. “She’s still all pissy that I didn’t tell her about you. Hasn’t reached out since the cookout.”

You know that to be quite odd. When the two are on good terms, they speak quite frequently- last year over Summer break they had spoken almost everyday. 

You just nod before jogging over to Barbara’s car and politely asking you if she needed any assistance. She told you no. So you jogged back to your own car before picking up the same box that you had earlier and carrying it into the school.

The two of you make another trip, as does Barbara. Still, there are no words spoken between the two, and you can clearly see that it’s upsetting your girlfriend.

In the confines of her classroom, you close the door and perch yourself on Melissa’s desk. “Babe?”

“What?” she asks as she continues to staple the border around her bulletin board.

“You need to take a breath and maybe consider things from Barbara’s side,” you say quietly.

“So you’re on her side?” Green eyes whip around and land on you.

You slowly climb off of her desk and go to pull her in gently by the waist. You give her a sweet peck on the lips before whispering, “I just don’t like seeing the tension between you and your best friend.”

“I’m not even mad at her,” Melissa shrugs. “She’s mad at me.”

“I understand that,” you promise your girlfriend quietly. “But… imagine how you would feel if she started dating someone seriously, and you didn’t find out until they had been living together and dating for a year and a half.”

“I wouldn’t have to imagine that, because she’s been married to Gerald for thirty years, and the two of them are more in love than-”

“Mel,” you sigh quietly. “Just… put yourself in her shoes. Please.”

“I would… I would be pissed,” the teacher admits. “But I know that she wouldn’t like how our relationship started, and I know she was pissed when I ended things with Gary, and-”

“She stood by you through your divorce, she stood by you through your breakup with Gary; you’ve seen her through almost everything her and Gerald have been through. I can see why she’s hurt right now, hun.”

“I don’t,” your girlfriend huffs. “She knows I’m a more private person.”

“But you aren’t with her,” you reason. “Around her, you’re you. She knows every piece of you, even pieces I don’t know yet. I don’t think she’s mad at you- I think she’s hurt. This is just how she’s showing her hurt right now.”

“So what do you suppose I should do about it?” Melissa purses her lips. You can’t resist stealing a quick kiss.

“I think you should talk to her,” you advise. “I think you should apologize for not telling her once things got more serious between the two of us, and then I think you should invite her out for a dinner with just the two of you so you can chat and tell her more about us before suggesting a dinner with all three of us.”

“When did you get to be so wise?” your girlfriend asks you as she pulls you just the slightest bit closer to her.

“I’ve had some practice,” you chuckle softly. Then you pat her butt gently. “Go. Talk to her.”

Melissa bites her lip nervously before nodding. She heads out the door. You follow a few seconds later.

“I’m just going to stand outside the door out of sight in case the two of you need any mediation,” you tell her when she turns around and looks at you curiously.

She nods before continuing her journey down to the kindergarten wing. She knocks on the door in a rhythm that you know is only saved for her work wife.

“Melissa,” Barbara says, but there’s a bit of bite in her tone.

“Barb,” your girlfriend says quietly. “Can we… can we talk?”

“About?”

“I came down to apologize to you,” the redhead says softly as she steps into the room a bit further.

“For?” You can practically see the woman folding her arms across her chest and looking at Melissa as though she’s a student.

“For not tellin’ you about Y/N,” Melissa breathes. “For keeping her a secret from you, and then not being considerate of the feelings that you have. I didn’t mean to upset you. I was just… nervous? I know that you’re a woman of faith with morals higher than I ever thought possible, and if it were to go up in flames with her, I didn’t want you to have to be there to pick up the pieces like you’ve done so many times before.”

“Melissa, if you thought I wouldn’t approve of the relationship you have with Y/N because she is also a woman, I would like to remind you that I adore Jacob like the son I never had,” the kindergarten teacher says evenly. “And we are best friends- I want to be there for you at the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. I do not care that you are dating a woman; I just want you to be happy. I wish you would have let me know earlier than you did. I thought we were closer than that.”

“We are,” your girlfriend says. “I messed up, Barb. An’ I’m sorry.”

“Well, thank you,” Barbara says quietly.

Melissa shifts where she stands. “How can I make it up to you? Dinner maybe? Just the two of us?”

You can hear the shift in tone between the two of them. Something changes. “I’d quite like that. I’ve missed you these past two months.”

You know it’s taking everything in Melissa to not make a comment about how she had reached out over the summer, but Barbara had not reciprocated. “I’ve missed you too,” you hear her say.

“And I better get to hear all about Y/N,” the kindergarten teacher chuckles. “She seems like a sweet girl, and she knows her way around a grill.”

“She’s… she’s really great, Barb,” you hear your girlfriend’s voice go soft- something she really only does when she’s talking about you. “She’s something special.”

“Well, I look forward to getting to know her,” Barbara chuckles. “And ooh, girl, do I have some things to tell you about what my girls got up to over the summer.”

“Over dinner? I’d be delighted, but right now Y/N is here helping me clean up my room for the upcoming year, and I’m sure she’d be more than happy to come help you too.”

And just like that, you know that everything just may be okay. Barbara and Melissa have made up, the kindergarten teacher herself said that you seem like a sweet girl, and now your girlfriend won’t be as much of a grump coming home from a hard day’s work today.

TAGS: @schemmentis @thesapphictimelady @marvel210 @itisdoctortoyousir @morgana-larkin @thesamesweetie @doesthatsuggestanythingtoyou @marvels--slut @gwennybriggs @megamultifandomtrashposts @lemz378 @http-sam @melissaschemmentisbranzino @imaginesmultifandoms @sexysapphicshopowner @lilfartbox1 @maybe-a-humanbean @imlike-so-gaydude @sapphicxrat @a-queen-and-her-throne @sunsol-22 @notinmyvocab @melanielaufeyson @dvrkhcld @cosmichymns @sasheemo

[oneofthetorturedpoets]

Can you write a Melissa Schemmenti x reader, which Melissa writes like secret like cute notes to us but like we don't know it's from her and it being like all fluff and stuff please also maneater was sooooo good ❤️😭

melissa schemmenti x reader

(not proofread please ignore any errors 😭)

old fashioned lover.

“i just wish some things were still old fashioned, everything’s online now” you comment as you open the break room fridge “like buy me flowers, write me letters, something real” Janine nods along.

little do you know, melissa is taking mental notes of everything you say.

-

the first note you got, you thought it was from a student.

you walk into your class room, seeing a folded white sheet of paper on your desk. you opened the little note up.

'you are an amazing teacher, when you first came to abbott, I could tell you were going to make this place better than it has ever been'

you slide the paper into your drawer, smiling at the kind words.

-

the second note made you assume you had a secret admirer. there was a bouquet of beautiful flowers with the note inside.

'your smile lights up any room you walk into. just seeing you makes my day'

you grab the flowers, bringing them up to your nose to smell them. Barbara walks up to the door.

"you got yourself a special someone?" she asks, knowing very well who sent them.

you turn around, smiling. "yes, apparently. but I have no idea who it is, they aren't giving me anything to go off of"

she smirks. "don't worry, time will tell" her words only confusing you more.

-

the third note gave you a little hint at who it was.

'the night when we all went to the bar after the last school year ended is forever burned into my mind. your hair was perfectly curled, the outfit you wore bringing out your eyes. every time you looked over at me, my heart jumped out of my chest. it's impossible to not fall in love with you.'

you remember that night, you and the entire abbott crew went out for drinks after completing yet another school year. your secret admirer is between Jacob, Ava, Barbara, Melissa, Gregory, and Janine. there is no way its any of them, Jacob is gay, Ava and Janine are straight, Barbara is married, Melissa is messing around with that firefighter, and Gregory is still in love with Janine.

who the hell is it?

-

the fourth note made you even more confused.

'I've tried to move on from you, I even got into a serious relationship thinking if I tried to ignore my feelings for you, they would go away. I was so wrong. I felt like a shitty person because I kept comparing them to you. I learned then that no one can compare to you.'

in the break room, you're showing Janine the note. "it has to be someone in our group." she says, you nod. "could it be Melissa? she has been the only one who was in a serious relationship and broke it off?"

you laugh. "no way, she wouldn't feel that way about me. plus she has that one guy. bob? rob? I don't know, I just know she is way out of my league... I wish though, you know how long i've liked her" Janine shrugs.

Melissa, who is right outside the door, heard everything. you liked her back?

-

it's 8pm on friday, you're on your couch in your pajamas, watching your latest obsession when there is a bunch of loud persistent knocks on your door. "Jesus! I'm coming!"

you get up, running to your door. you open it, revealing an out of breath Melissa. "Melissa? are you okay?" she nods, trying to catch her breath.

"i'm sorry, I just need to get this out. I heard what you said in the break room about your feelings for me-" you cut her off.

"shit. I didn't mean for-"

"don't. let me get this out, y/n. I've been writing those notes for you. I wasn't sure what I was going to do if you found out it was me, I just wanted to make sure you knew there was someone out there who loved you. I never thought you would feel the same about me. Ever since I laid eyes on you, I've loved you." your eyes go wide. not sure what to say, you pull her into you. looking into her eyes for permission. she gives you a little nod. you gently press into her, her lips soft against your.

you pull away. "what about your firefighter guy? weren't you seeing him?"

she shakes her head. "it was one night, just for fun and I hated every second of it." she pulls you in again.

-

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[loverofallthingssarah]

no more runnin’

part 3

melissa schemmenti x reader

summary: you’re hiding, you’re running. melissa finds you and your daughter and helps bring you both back to life.

warning: angst

word count: 1.1k

part 1 part 2

a/n: i'm sorry if there are any spelling errors or grammatical errors.

Melissa takes off running down the hallway and out the front door, and in an instant you were gone.  No cars left in the parking lot but her own. Frustration hit with a slew of curse words flying out of her mouth.  Why couldn’t she listen to Barbara?  Why couldn’t she just leave things alone? 

Melissa takes out her cell phone and dials a number that is engraved in her muscle memory.

“Hey, Barb.  I think I really fucked up…”

You were fighting tears. You had to finally pull over on the side of the road before your vision got too blurry.  Acey was sitting in the back of the car in her booster seat watching her mother break down before her very eyes.  You usually kept this part of you hidden behind closed doors.  Not wanting your daughter to see your vulnerability because you had to be strong for both of you. Carefully, your daughter unbuckled her seatbelt and crawled her way up into the front of the car.  You tried to steady your breathing but found it hard as your daughter wrapped her arms around you.

“It’s gonna be okay, mommy.” she hugged you as tight as she possibly could.  

You wrap your hands around you daughter, “I l-love you, little m-monster.”  

She wiped your tears, “Mommy its time for you to make friends.  My teacher likes you. How can she not? You’re the best mommy in the whole wide world!”  

You chuckle to yourself wondering how you got so lucky to have a smart little girl who mirrored her mothers actions and pet talks knowing that you couldn’t argue against your own words.  

“I wish it were that simple, baby.  But I hear you.” you give her a kiss on her temple. “Now how about you crawl back into your seat and we go pick up some pizza for dinner?”

Two weeks had gone and passed with no contact between you both.  You had Acey walk into the school herself and back out at the end of the day, because you were bound and determined to avoid Melissa at all costs.  You could feel your walls breaking down and avoiding her had to be the glue that tried to hold them back together.

Melissa on the other hands was not having it anymore.  Everyday when Acey walked into her classroom since your last meeting with no one behind her frustrated Melissa to no end.  

Today was even worse because you kept Acey home from school for the last three days, and it was the straw that broke the camels back.  Not being able to see you was one thing, but not being able to see Acey was another. Melissa knew she was going to have to break some rules to be able to see you again and she had the perfect idea to do just that.  

“Pipsqueak!” Melissa yelled down the hallway and Janine came running to sound of her voice.  

“Yes, Melissa?” Janine questioned.

“Can you take my class with yours down to art? I have some business I need to take care of.”

Janine nodded and looked at her coworker suspiciously, but knowing better than to question her actions. 

“Come on kids! Who is excited for art?”

Melissa slips past Janine and makes her way to the front office. She slips past Ashley which isn’t hard because she is literally sleeping on the job.  Ava is doing a tiktok dance in front of her ring light, “body ody ody ody” now forever engrained in Melissa’s head.  “Ava, Jacob is in the breakroom saying that you would be the last to be eaten by a zombie because he is hotter than you.”

Ava snatches her phone as she makes her way out of her office, “Oh hell naw.”

Melissa smirks to herself ‘piece of cake’.  She starts looking through Ava’s file cabinet, her fingers strumming through file by file until her pointer finger lands on a file labeled Hadley, Acey. Quickly snatching it out of it’s place, Melissa starts flipping throught the pages until she lands on the one she is looking for.

“Tsk, tsk,” Melissa all but jumps out her skin.

“Barb! You scared the hell out me. What are you doing?”

Barbara makes her way around the desk and looks at the file within her hands, “Melissa, what do you think you’re dong?”

“I have to.  She won’t talk to me or even come in the school anymore.  I need to talk to her.”

“Why are you doing all of this for a woman you barely know?” Barbara questions.

“I wish I had an answer that makes sense.  There is something about Y/N that I am drawn too and I know she is drawn to me too,” she smiles to herself, “The way she crinkles her nose when I give her compliment.  The way she always gets excited when listening to her daughter talk about literally anything.  She is kind to every single person that I have seen her interact with at this school, even Janine’s annoying ass. I can tell her favorite color is yellow, because every pair of scrubs she wears has a yellow stitching as well as the laces of her tennis shoes.  She has this birth mark on her wrist that is shaped kind of like a flower and when I bring it up she blushes and subconsciously rubs her thumb across.” Melissa looks up a Barbara and sighs, “She is the most beautiful person that I know nothing about yet I feel like I know everything about. I can’t explain it, but I don’t want to give up without a fight.  I have to show her I care and I’m going to be here no matter what or how long it takes.” Melissa finished and Barbara - albeit doesnt understand - nods her head in reliance that she knows Melissa wouldn’t do all of this for just anybody.

Melissa grabs a sticky note off Ava’s desk and quickly jots down your address.

She doesn’t know how she made it throught the four grueling hours left of school.  When the final bell rings, Melissa quickly packed her things before leaving the school and getting in her car.  She pulled up her gps on her phone and typed in an unfamiliar address.  Thirty minutes later she is pulling up to a row of homes until she finally parks in front of a little beige one.  

Gathering her courage she picks herself up and out of her car and walks straight up to the door and knocks three times.  She is twiddling with her fingers nervously which is unlike herself.  Finally she hears footsteps on the other side of the door getting closer and the knob starts to turn.  When she finally sees your face through the crack of the door, she lets out the breath she didn’t know she was holding.

“Hi, Y/n.”

[pinkthrone445]

Hello, I hope you’re good!

I have a Melissa x reader prompt. I listened to Sweet Nothing by Taylor Swift I thought it would be a perfect story. Can you make it? But in a way that Mel and the reader are not together yet in the beginning but it has a happy ending with them being together? Thank you ❤️

-We need each other in all lives-

Pairing:Melissa Schemmenti x Reader

Gender:soft, fluff, love

Warnings:cursing

Summary:Mel was always there to take care of you because you were good friends.

Hi sweetheart! That was a beautiful song! I didn't end it exactly how you want it, but maybe I'll write a next part where they go to prom or something. I hope you like it! I love request with songs! ❤️

Changes, there were times that were good things and others that complicated your existence. Some changes pushed you forward and others made you stagnate in place.

Many years you begged and listened as others begged wishing that Ava would be a better director, but you never thought that the moment when that would happen, you would wish you could go back in time.

After the break, when you returned to work, Ava had made a 180° turn, a turn so radical that it surprised everyone. You had high hopes for this new Ava, until it started banning everything you wanted or enjoyed doing, including breaks.

With so few breaks and teaching two classes at once, you were on the verge of a physical or mental breakdown or both, something that didn't go unnoticed by Melissa.

The redhead and Barbara had almost adopted you since you had started working at Abbott, your sarcastic joke caught Melissa's attention and at the same time your maturity in certain things, caught Barbara's attention and they immediately liked you. The years that followed only strengthened the friendship, although you had to admit that you were closer to the redhead than to Barbara.

There was nothing you could hide from Melissa, she could tell when you lied or hid something, she even noticed how you felt before you told her. She was very aware of how these weeks with more demands had affected you, for that same reason, she was paying much more attention to you than before, even controlling that you ate and drank water.

Since you could no longer take advantage of your free hours to check the kid's work, you started doing it while eating so you wouldn't have to do so much at home.

-"Do you want to go out tonight to eat and drink something?" - Mel offered while you ate with her and Barbara. The red-haired woman slightly pushed your glasses that were on the table towards you so that you would realize that you should be wearing them so that your eyes wouldn't burn afterwards, you smiled slightly at her putting them on and kept correcting the sheets

-"I can't, I have a date with Geral for our anniversary" - The older one commented, and Mel looked at you, giving you a chance to answer

-"I have too much to do... Besides I'm to tired for going out Mel-Mel" - You commented, still looking at the sheets of paper and moving your red pen over them

-"So it's decided, tonight you're coming to my house and I'll make something to eat for you. And don't say no, you need to rest and distract yourself a bit, you're not even eating right now so you can correct those papers" - she commented in an authoritative tone and you nodded in agreement with no other choice.

When night came, you drove to your friend's house with her favorite wine in hand. When you opened the door, a savory aroma surrounded you and the redhead laughed when she saw the joy in your eyes when she noticed how that gave you happiness.

Upon entering the house you sat in your usual place on the counter while she finished cooking, soft music played in the background that was sometimes interrupted by the noise of the pans or the knife chipping something on the board. Mel told you about a new bar she wanted to visit while you showed her pictures of a dog you were thinking of adopting, every now and then silence fell on you but it wasn't awkward, before you resumed the conversation with another topic.

When the food was ready, the two of you went to the living room to watch a movie while enjoying your friend's tasty creation, which also was your favorite food.

Even if you were worried that you weren't correcting the exams, it was nice to take a moment to rest, being by her side always calmed you down not matter what was happening.

When the dishes emptied, you paused the film to wash them quickly; whenever Mel cooked you washed the dishes and vice versa, then grabbed chocolate from the shelf where you knew she kept them and went back to the couch to watch the rest of the movie.

When you had settled down next to her, Mel didn't press play on the movie and that made you curious, so you looked at her with a raised eyebrow

-"Play..."-You whispered and she continued to stare at you

-"What are you thinking? I can see the guilt in your face, you're thinking so loud that subtitles are about to come out of your ears" - Mel asked and you laughed

-"I was just thinking about school..."-You answered and she rolled her eyes

-"Today was supposed to be a night to distract you and relax... Don't tell me that the only way you're going to relax is by doing that thing that we did..." - she whispered with a mischievous smile and you shook your head blushing

-"That only happened once and that was because I was so stressed and tired that I couldn't sleep" - You muttered embarrassedly and Mel opened her arms smiling. A few years ago, you had to take an exam for your teacher application while you were teaching at Abbott, the night before you were due to take the exam, Mel had come to your house to cook something to eat and help you study. When it got late, you begged her to stay with you because you were nervous and scared. She when to bed with you but you couldn't fall asleep, so the redhead hugged you to her chest until you relaxed and fell asleep. That's when you discovered that having her that close calmed you down in an incredible way without having to take any pills or anything.

-"But it worked, so let's do it again."-The redhead commented and you sat on her lap blushing, you carefully hugged her waist and rested your head on her chest closing your eyes momentary as she scratched your hair-"Now I can feel how you stopped thinking, I'll press play on the movie" - The redhead hit play while still stroking your hair and you watch it still resting on her chest.

A few seconds later, your cell phones rang at the same time and that could only mean one thing, a message from school. The redhead grabbed her cell phone while still  stroking your hair and laughed as she read it, making her chest vibrate against your cheek.

-"You and I are in charge of being chaperones at the graduation party Ava wants to throw for the kids" - she muttered and put her cell phone down again

-"Good...I've never had a graduation party or been to one..."- You murmured against her chest with your eyes almost completely closed because of how relaxed you were.

-"Then I'll come pick you up with a corsage for you since you Wil ne my date to prom"-she commented jocking

-"I would love that" - You responded with your eyes finally closed, her perfume invading your senses, her warmth hugging your body, her gentle heartbeat synchronized with yours, the vibration of her voice against your ear every time she spoke, it was enough to block your overthinking brain and relax you completely-"Mel..."-You whispered sleepily and she urged you to follow with a soft hum-"do you think we are friends in another lifes too?"-Mel laughed at your question, whenever you were falling asleep, you would start asking weird and unexpected questions

-"I'm sure of it hon... In every life there is a Melissa who is dedicated to taking care and be next to one (Y/N), there can be no Melissa without you to accompany her, we need each other in all lives..."-she whispered kissing your forehead and you smiled with your eyes closed, almost asleep on the redhead's chest

-" I love you Mel-Mel"-You whispered babbling and the redhead's heart jumped and she doubted if you could hear it or not, how is it that your "I love you" had more effect on her than when her previous partners told her they love her, if you were just friends?... Why was she excited to think about being your date at prom when you were just friends?... Maybe what she was feeling from a few months now was just because she didn't had a boyfriend now... Or maybe you just were really good friends... Yeah... Friends... Why it hurt her thinking about you two just as friends?... Fuck, she was fucked...

-"I love you more hon, more than you know" - she whispered hugging you tight with a million questions in her head, sadly, you were already asleep to listen to her words and the meaning behind it.

[findafight]

okay more lab kid Robin because @thesummoningdark @stobinesque asked...

I want to specify that I did not say MANY thoughts, but...

Robin being a lab kid, maybe doing the classic escape with Kali, gets separated, and ends up in a quirky little couples backyard.

Now, the Buckleys are former hippies, and maybe they're less former than they'd like the good people of Hawkins to believe them to be, but they aren't very high (just a little!)when they see a kid, maybe eight years old, wandering out of the woods. They, obviously, freak out. Adrenaline can sober them pretty quickly. They, also obviously, don't think about calling the cops right away.

They wrap them--her-- up in a blanket and get her clean clothes. Maybe a shower if she's comfortable with that. Get her set up in the spare bedroom the have a futon in to have a nice long nap, cozy and safe.

It's then they realize hey....maybe we should....call someone? But the kid was scared. Kept talking about running away from "bad men", and says her name is "nine" when asked, showing her wrist with a corresponding 009 tattoo. And the Buckleys are not one to trust authorities already, so they think. Fuck that.

They discussion options as the little girl, who will shortly become their little girl, sleeps soundly down the hall. Richard says they can say she's Melissa's second cousin's kid, and they're adopting her. Mel says they'll need to call in a lot of favours for documents. Richard says he knows a guy that owes him and he's pretty sure he moonlights as a forger.

They'll ask her how she feels about names, but they brainstorm a few. They like Robin, their free little bird, and maybe a few middle names like meadow or sunbeam. Things to remind the scared child in the guest bedroom she is no longer where bad men can hurt her.

So. Morning comes and the child that was once Nine is now Robin, and it doesn't take very long for her to reveal that she can make the sugar bowl float. It's very impressive, honestly, though the trickle of blood from her nose is concerning and Mel tells her not to strain herself. Then they learn what geniuses her little ears are, when she repeats it back to her in a perfect imitation of her voice.

So the Buckleys set some ground rules for their new daughter. They tell her that, though she is very gifted, they do not want whatever bad men were chasing her to find her, and that her talents may lead them to her. She nods, and understands. There are things to only do at home, with her mom and dad, and not tell her secrets so the bad men cannot find her.

They emphasize they are not like her papa. That they do not want to trap her here but hope that she stays. Little Robin briefly struggles to understand this, because of course they are not like Papa. Where papa was cold, the Buckleys are warm. Where Papa was angry, the Buckleys may be annoyed, but patient in explaining to her what she did wrong. Where Papa would command her to use her powers over and over and over until her throat was raw, the Buckleys only once told her she needed to use them, so she could tell someone over the phone a lie about who was talking and that she was meant to stay with them. They didn't even make her, just told her it would make things safer for her, but they would find other ways to keep her safe. So she did, and a few months later she was able to attend school.

At school she is strange, but possibly no stranger than other wierd little kids. She runs and plays and learns. She talks and asks questions and laughs, all in her own voice (even if she wishes she could let it rest sometimes, and borrow someone else's). She holds her secret for years and years.She learns three languages, her accents nearly perfect, her ears still little geniuses. Her mother nags her not to be so careless with running her mouth, her father tells her to try to go out with friends over the weekend and asks her if she remembers what the baseball score was last night (of course she does, she recounts it in the announcers voice, and watches a fond smile creep onto her mothers lips and her father huff, likely at the Cubs' score).

Then there are Soviets under the mall and she tells Steve a secret about her not even her parents know, and she's confronted with her little sister throwing a car across the foodcourt. It takes her a week after to tell Steve everything about the lab. About escaping and losing Kali and finding her parents and leaving her siblings. He holds her hand when he tells her she should tell El. (who is, somehow, more his sister than hers at this point. It is odd, but Robin isn't jealous of it, just sad.)

And then he smirks asks if she can do a Ms. Piggy impression.

and that's all i've got right now hehe

[takaraphoenix]

A Brighter Future

Tags: m/m, Erica Lives, Boyd Lives, Pack Feels, hurt/comfort

Main Pairing: Peter & Stiles & Erica (& Boyd)

Side Pairings: Peter/Stiles, Boyd/Erica

Teen Wolf Characters: Mieczysław 'Stiles' Stilinski, Peter Hale, Erica Reyes, Vernon Boyd III

@writersmonth Prompts: wish + hospital

Summary: As children Erica and Stiles met in the hospital, Erica running from her tests, Stiles running from his dying mother. Together, they hide in Peter Hale's room. They become friends and, unbeknownst, they become Peter's pack.

This Story on FFNet | This Story on AO3

A Brighter Future

Stiles Summer Stories 2024

Stiles was running and crying. She hadn't recognized him again, his own mom hadn't recognized him, had called him mean names and screamed at him to get out, so he got out. He ran as fast as he could, even though he didn't know where to. Until he saw a closet door, so he ran into it.

"This one is taken, find your own."

The voice in the dark startled him so much, it tore him out of his sad and angry thoughts. He turned on the light in the closet and saw a little girl, about his age, with long blonde curls. She was wearing a hospital gown and curled together small, looking as upset as he felt.

"It's a big closet," Stiles argued. "It could fit us both."

She looked up at him and frowned when she noticed his tear-smeared face. "...Are you okay?"

Stiles shook his head vehemently, face screwing up. "No. Are you?"

She wiggled her nose and then also shook her head. "No."

"Wanna talk about it?" Stiles asked, tilting his head.

Another shake from the girl. "I just wanna get away for a bit."

Stiles nodded in understanding. "Yeah. Me too. Hi. I'm Stiles."

He held his hand out and the blonde took it after a moment. "Erica."

And then the door opened and a nurse stuck her head in. Not Melissa, that was good, but most nurses knew him so chances were that word would get back to Melissa so he tugged on the girl's hand, prompting her to get up and then he bolted, and she followed.

"Where are we running?" Erica asked wide-eyed.

"The nurse will just tattle on us and I'm guessing you're hiding too, so let's hide somewhere else."

Erica just blinked at him, but she kept following. They ran until they reached patient rooms and then just ducked into a room. There was a woman in there talking to her visitor, so the kids ran off again. The next room, Stiles opted out right away when he saw the flowers and stuffed toys on the table; occupied. It looked empty, on first glance. No flowers, no chocolates, no cards, no personal belongings like pictures or trinkets. But then Stiles saw the man in the bed. Not moving, his face scarred. Stiles frowned at that. Did the man not have anyone…?

"Stiles?" Erica tugged on his hand when she noticed the man on the bed.

But Stiles didn't let go, instead he headed to the bed to read the chart. Peter Hale. Burn victim. Comatose. The frown on Stiles' face turned softer. Comatose meant he was asleep and didn't wake up. But why was the room so bare? Even if the man slept, why had his family not left things here?

"It's okay," Stiles whispered. "Let's stay here. Nobody will bother us here."

He grabbed one of the chairs and pulled it up to the bed, sitting next to it. It felt wrong to ignore the man whose room they were in. Curious eyes regarded the sleeping man. After a moment, Erica pulled the other chair up next to him and climbed onto it. She pulled her legs against her chest and wrapped her arms around them, frowning over at the comatose man too.

"What's wrong with him?" Erica asked in a small voice.

"I dunno," Stiles shrugged. "He was burned badly, and now he can't wake up."

There was a long pause in which the kids just sat in companionable silence, before Stiles' brain decided that was quiet enough. "What's wrong with you? You're wearing a hospital gown too."

Erica wiggled her nose, not looking like she wanted to talk about it.

/break\

Stiles had always been very bad at letting things go. If Peter Hale was burned, then his dad must have some file about it. So Stiles broke into his dad's office and went through the files until he found the file on the Hale Fire. He regretted it for weeks. The images of the burned bodies haunted his nightmares. The entire family, dead. Only three survivors. Two teens who had left the city, and Peter. That explained why Peter had nothing in his room, because there was no one to visit him.

Well. Not anymore. The next time he went to the hospital to visit his mom, he stole some of the flowers they'd brought his mom and then brought them over to Peter's room. He was surprised when he sneaked into the room to find Erica already curled together on a chair, hugging a teddy.

"Hey," Stiles greeted wide-eyed, lifting up the flowers.

Erica grinned weakly, holding up the bear. "I was… I was sad that he didn't have anything. Every time I have to go to the hospital, mom buys me some new stuffed toy. I don't need so many. But Peter looks like he could use a teddy, right? His name is Mister Snuffles."

Stiles smiled at her and nodded. "Yeah, I think he'd like Mister Snuffles."

He pushed the chair up to the sink so he could get a glass from the cabinet above it and then fill it with water. He put the flowers into the glass and then put them on the nightstand next to the bed, before dragging the chair over so he he could sit down next to Erica.

"Hello, Peter," Stiles greeted. "I brought you flowers. They're… from my mom. Well, they were for my mom but we always bring her flowers and she has so many in her room already, so I thought I'd bring you some. They're pretty. They're red gladiolas. Red's my favorite color, I picked them."

"What are you doing?" Erica asked confused. "He's asleep."

"No," Stiles shook his head. "He's in a coma. That's… That's different. I looked it up. Some say that people in comas are aware of what's happening around them, so you're supposed to talk to them. It can help them wake up."

"Oh," Erica scrunched up her face, before she turned toward Peter. "Hello, Peter. I'm Erica."

It made Stiles grin. He kicked his feet back and forth as the two kids started talking to Peter, and to each other. Telling the man about their lives and then interjecting questions to each other's stories. So Erica was here because she had epilepsy and she regularly had to do stupid tests that she hated, and her parents were super overbearing so whenever she had a seizure, they'd bring her here too, and they made her see a therapist about it all and she really hated it.

In return, Stiles talked about his mom, for the very first time. There was no one to talk about his mom with. His dad and grandparents and Melissa, they all treated him like a stupid child. Acting like she was just sick and that she would get better and that everything was okay. She was dying and Stiles knew it and nobody told him the truth because everyone saw him as just a kid. And Scott, he couldn't talk to, because Scott was this puppy-eyed, innocent kid whose world didn't need to shatter with death and disease yet, Stiles couldn't burden him like that.

But Erica and Peter, he could talk to. He could tell them how he really felt.

/break\

For months, did Erica and Stiles sneak away from where they were supposed to be and meet in Peter's room. They would just sit with the man, tell him about their days, tell each other about their days. And then they would wish. They'd wish for a brighter future for them all.

A future where Stiles' mom's health would improve.

A future where Erica had no more seizures.

A future where Peter would wake up from his coma.

A future where neither of them would have to return to the hospital ever again. And, unbeknownst to the two children, Peter was wishing for that future too, for all three of them.

/break\

He was alone, surrounded by flames that licked his soul. The screams of his family as they died around him were the only things he could hear for so long. At one point, he had heard voices, also his family, Laura and Derek, and they had apologized, told him they would leave. Peter didn't understand. Had that been a nightmare? Surely, if they were still alive – he hoped they were still alive, they were only kids, after all, god, the kids, he'd held his infant nephew as the baby took his last breath, a raspy sound as smoke filled his lungs – if they were alive, they wouldn't leave.

They were pack. Pack was important. Pack was all they had. They'd stick together.

But… nobody came. The screams in his mind were the only thing he could hear. The nurses and doctors coming in and leaving were a droning white noise not fully penetrating his mind.

Until there were new voices. Different voices. Not as indifferent as the doctors. Soft, young voices. Filled with pain but also with that childlike curiosity. They talked to him. He heard his name. They called his name and talked to him. It was hazy at first, but the more often they came, the more he understood of what they were saying. When they told him about their school days and about their current hospital visit. How the boy's mother was doing worse, how much the girl hated her tests.

They kept coming back, sitting at his bedside and talking to him and with every visit, Peter felt himself growing stronger, more present. Someone was there, for him.

"Hello, Peter," the girl spoke. "I… I'm sorry. I'm going to be the only one visiting from now on."

Peter's breath hitched, even in his comatose state. What had happened to the boy? Was something wrong? Was his pack hurt? He needed to wake up, he needed to help-

"She died," the girl's voice dropped, sounded shaky. "H… His mom died, yesterday. Her funeral is next week. H… He wanted to come and say goodbye, but all of his mom's family came all the way from Poland to say goodbye to her and he can't get out of it. B… But he… he'll be very busy… and… and very, very sad… for a long time. He says he'll try to visit, but…"

Peter felt his heart break. He couldn't see them, didn't know how old they were, but judging by their stories they were in elementary school. They were both so young. Neither of them deserved to suffer, especially not a loss like that. Even though he'd been aware that his mother was dying – despite all the adults in his life apparently trying to shield him – knowing it and actually experiencing it were two very different things. Peter could hear small sobs and he wished he could wrap the girl up in a hug, tell her that it would be alright, that they'd help their pack-mate.

/break\

Erica felt lonely. For months, she had a real friend in Stiles. Every week, they sat together in Peter's room. But after Stiles' mom died, he stopped going to the hospital. He had no reason to go to the hospital anymore and he was too young to just go there all on his own. There were other reasons too, of course. She could see it on his face whenever she passed him in school. He looked broken and haunted and hallow, with bags under his eyes. He'd lost his mom, how could he possibly focus on being there for Peter or Erica? How could she expect it.

She hugged her mom fiercely and cried into her lap the first time she realized that. Realized that moms could die and just be gone. And even if she hated that they were so overbearing and didn't let her do anything, she would hate it so much more if they were just gone.

So she went to visit Peter alone, and he became her confidant. When things got more rough because of middle school, because girls started wearing bras and make-up and talk about boys, while Erica was so… on the outside, was so different, was so alone, she could sit with Peter and tell him.

/break\

It took Peter years to recover and only when he felt the presence of an Alpha wolf in his territory did he wake up enough to leave. Not fully in control, more on auto-pilot. He needed to heal, he needed to recover. He could do that if he were an Alpha. He could protect his pack if he were an Alpha. Small sobs and sad children's voices clouded his mind as he killed the Alpha.

Erica. That was Peter's first clear thought, when he returned to his hospital room, the Alpha power running through his veins, he could feel it speeding up the healing process. Pack.

He went out, to find pack. A pack of three was too small, two betas, especially human betas, weren't enough. Erica and… and the boy. What was his name. It had been too many years since he'd last visited, but that was okay. He wasn't like Derek and Laura, he hadn't left Peter behind on purpose, he'd just been a child, a pup, and lost his mother. Peter was going to find him, and make sure the pup was safe, was dealing with the loss.

That night, he followed a scent, a scent that he couldn't shake, that seemed eerily familiar, and by the end of the night, he'd attacked and turned a teenager. A part of him, the small slowly recovering part of him, was mortified by that. By just blindly turning someone without even being capable of explaining the ramifications of the bite to the other person. A teen, a kid, at that.

That night, he decided that he couldn't go looking for Erica and the boy. He couldn't go looking for his pack. Not yet. He wasn't healed, he wasn't safe for them to be around. What if he attacked them, what if the Alpha instinct in him made him turn them against their will, alienating his pack from him. He couldn't. He had to stay away from them, until he was… better. So they were safe.

/break\

He'd turned a boy named Scott McCall. Derek had returned to investigate Laura's death – Peter had killed Laura, Peter had killed his niece, he still remembered the little girl with the tooth-gap who struggled with the P sound and called him 'uncle 'eter', but he also knew that she had been his Alpha and she chose to abandon him in that damn hospital for six years, never visiting, not even having him flown out to New York to be with them. Apparently, Derek took Scott under his wing, more or less. Doing an awful job of it, but trying his best, bless his grumpy little heart.

Peter smiled, dangerous and threatening, as he approached Stiles. Scott's best friend. The clever one who kept putting everything together for Scott. Something about Stiles intrigued him. The scent, it was so soothing, so eerily familiar, but Peter couldn't place it as he stalked up to the doe-eyed boy.

"Peter," Stiles whispered and there was too much familiarity to the name.

It gave Peter enough pause for Derek to get to the hospital, push Stiles out of the way and attack Peter and just like that, Peter had more important things to focus on.

/break\

Stiles was just so tired. So tired and angry and confused and sat and frustrated.

Peter had been the Alpha. Peter Hale. In the hospital because Kate burned his whole family. Stiles should have solved it earlier. He had the copy of the file in his bedroom for so many years, but after his mom's death, he… he hadn't thought about Peter in a long time. If he had, if he'd solved it earlier, then Laura wouldn't have returned, wouldn't have died. Peter wouldn't have died.

Because they killed him. They killed Peter. All of them, together. Because Peter was feral.

And Stiles was just filled with so much anger. Peter had gone feral because he was a wolf without a pack, abandoned by Laura and Derek for years, and then the Argents returned and they kept hunting and hurting his family and Stiles got it, he got why Peter killed Kate, he would have killed Kate too if he were in Peter's place. But Derek couldn't forgive Laura's death, and everyone was scared of what Peter was capable, would do next – he'd attacked Lydia – so they killed him.

And Derek. Derek was the Alpha now. Derek was turning people now. Turning teenagers. First Isaac Lahey, then… then Erica, then Boyd. Stiles heaved an even more tired sigh, rubbing his face.

"I'm sorry," Stiles whispered softly as he came to sit next to Erica.

He was aware of Boyd's watchful eyes. The three betas stuck together like glue. Stiles envied that a little bit. Erica frowned at him, feigning that she had no idea what he was talking about. They hadn't spoken about it yet. But there was something she needed to know.

"What are you talking about, Stiles?"

"I'm sorry I never came back," Stiles clarified, biting his lip and turning away from her. "We were friends and I abandoned you and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have. But after my mom died…"

"I get it, you lost her, you had more important things to do than take care of me."

She sounded bitter, but she also sounded like she meant it. Sometimes, a person could understand another's motivation but still be angry at the way they made them feel. Stiles smiled sadly.

"It was so much more than that," Stiles' voice dropped and he couldn't believe he was going to tell this to someone at all. "After her death, my dad started… drinking. A lot. A lot. And I… I took care of the household, of him, of myself, I was… so in over my head, Erica. I didn't know what I was doing, I was drowning in my own grief and handling things no ten year old should. It took my dad years to get sober and get help and by then, we were in different middle schools and we hadn't spoken in two years… I am sorry that we lost touch. You… You were really important to me when I was losing my mom and I'll never forget that, Erica."

"I… didn't know," Erica's face screwed up like it used to when she was little.

For a moment, Stiles had to smile at the memory of that little girl he used to know. He tentatively wrapped an arm around her shoulder and she leaned into him. He allowed a moment of solace before he would get to the painful part that he'd come here to tell her.

"I… I wanted to talk about Peter," Stiles whispered. "I know you know that he disappeared from the hospital, I checked his visitor's records and… and you kept visiting him to the end…"

"He was just gone," Erica frowned. "One week, he was there and I was telling him about what a little bitch Jackson is, the next week, his room was just… empty. Our stuff was all that was left in it and the nurse – new nurse, not his regular nurse – said that he disappeared. How can a comatose man just disappear. It's not like he can just walk out of the hospital."

"Yeah, about that…" Stiles' face did a complicated series of expressions. "You may have noticed the shared last name. Peter was Derek's uncle. Peter… Peter was also the Alpha before Derek. And… Derek took the power from him when we… killed him."

Erica in his arms froze and he launched into a very detailed retelling of everything that had happened since Scott and Stiles had walked into the woods that fateful night. Everything that Derek had left out when introducing his betas to the supernatural. Not out of malicious reasons, Stiles was sure – he more or less liked Derek, most days – but there was too much pain and personal trauma there for Derek to share with anyone willingly. But Erica needed to know. Because for six years, Erica was the only one who had visited Peter, every week even after she became a teen.

By the end of his tale, she was sobbing into his shoulder. Mourning the loss of a man she never had gotten to meet. And a fleeting part of Stiles wondered if it would have changed anything. If his presence would have changed anything. If he had continued visiting Peter, he would have noticed the improvement of his healing, he would have gotten suspicious, he might have figured it out, maybe he could have prevented Peter from killing Laura and then Derek wouldn't have killed Peter and Erica wouldn't be crying in his arms right now and they could have gotten to know Peter.

/break\

It felt different, being back alive. He felt more right. More in tune with his wolf, his instincts. More… at ease. The feral edges were gone, his sanity was, more or less, back. There were parts of it he may never recover, because the memories and the trauma were something he would carry with himself for the rest of his life. But the part of his insanity caused by the abandonment, by being basically an omega for six years – and bonds with two human children were just not enough to tether him, he would have needed an Alpha, would have needed other wolves too, though he knew, deep down, that the torture of his coma would have been unbearable if he hadn't had them.

He smiled lazily to himself as he sat on the stairs of the burned out Hale House, listening to Derek and his betas fight. Not that that itself necessarily made him happy – Peter did want the new Hale Pack to be united, to be strong – he didn't even necessarily want to see his nephew fail, but there was still a strange sense of pleasure in someone standing up to Derek and telling him he was full of shit. That kind of spitfire delighted Peter immensely.

"We're leaving, Derek," the girl spat. "We're going to look for a pack somewhere else."

Three betas, Derek had three betas. All teenagers. One would think Derek would have learned from Peter's mistakes – and Peter absolutely counted Scott as a big mistake, if he hadn't turned the boy, he might have never died in the first place, but no use dwelling on the past. Two of Derek's betas wanted to leave, the mated pair, from his observations.

"We can't trust you," her voice was filled with so much rage, it delighted Peter. "I mean, how could we? How could we trust you to have our back when you abandoned your pack!"

Peter paused, curious, tilting his head. "I know you left your uncle to rot in that hospital and I know you killed him to become Alpha. But I don't know from you, you never told us that. Stiles told me. We're leaving, because I don't know how to trust someone who turned his back on his pack in the past – pack who was family, so what are we. We're done."

Him? He was the reason the betas were leaving? Peter was baffled as he listened to the teenagers storm out. Well, color him surprised. And Stiles had told her about it? Why would he do that? The boy had helped kill him, after all. Then again, Peter did feel a strange pull toward the boy. Even before his death, he had been unable to harm Stiles at all. It was peculiar. He wanted to investigate that. Not now though, for now they had a lizard problem to take care of.

/break\

Peter hummed lightly to himself as he sauntered back into the warehouse, Gerard Argent's blood on his claws. The man had tried to slither away, but while everyone else was focused on the curse-breaking kiss between Lydia and the now former kanima, Peter slipped out to track the hunter down and kill him. When he returned to the scene, he was in a good mood.

At least until he noticed the way everyone was leaving. Derek, hunched over and hurt, was leaving together with his only beta, the blonde boy. Scott was trailing after the huntress with a puppy-dog look on his face. Lydia and her boyfriend were walking away too.

The only one left was Stiles, leaning against his Jeep. Peter tilted his head as he walked over to the boy. The boy who was driving him crazy. Bad choice of words. But then, it did feel accurate. Even before he had returned from the dead with enough of his sanity to make rational choices, he had been able to control himself around the boy. Never laying a hand on him, not killing him, unable to turn him against his will. And he sought Stiles out. He didn't have to kidnap the boy to get Scott's location, he could have figured that out in a different way. But after the boy had found him in the hospital, had looked at him with those pretty, wide doe-eyes and whispered his name so softly, Peter found himself drawn to the boy. There was a bond, that much he recognized at this point.

"Why are you special?" Peter asked as he crouched down in front of Stiles.

The boy startled so hard, he hit his head against the Jeep. And then it was Peter's turn to startle as he saw the bruised face. Furrowing his brows, he reached out without even thinking. Gently tracing the bruise. Stiles frowned at him warily, like he didn't know what Peter was doing. Peter didn't know what he was doing either. Why was he feeling so protective of this boy. Sure, Stiles was clever to boot, snarky and sarcastic, incredibly loyal – all qualities Peter cherished. Yet still.

"Who did that?" Peter asked.

"I fell down the stairs," Stiles sneered. "Why are you alive? How are you alive?"

"Didn't like being dead," Peter shrugged, tilting his head. "So I came back. Don't worry. I'm not dangerous. Well, unless you cross me."

"I helped kill you," Stiles pointed out. "Feels like crossing to me."

"Eh," Peter shrugged once more, getting up. "I forgive you."

" What," Stiles stared at him incredulously. "Why would you do that."

"Because you're special," Peter looked down at the boy. "And I can't figure out why."

"What does that even mean," Stiles groaned, hitting his head against his Jeep with purpose.

"I don't know," Peter offered him a hand. "Get up. I'll drive you home."

Pack. The moment that Stiles willingly reached out for him, taking his hand, it clicked. Pack. That was why Stiles was special, because Stiles was pack. How could he be pack? Peter barely had a thin and fragile pack-bond with Derek. How could he have a bond with Stiles, and one this strong? He stared wondrously at Stiles, getting lost in those honey-whiskey eyes as he helped Stiles up.

Stiles went to the passenger seat without complaint, folding himself small. Quiet and compliant did not suit the loudmouthed teen, Peter decided. He furrowed his brows, watching the boy. Not speaking either, because Peter didn't know how to verbalize this sense of pack. Or how to explain it.

Far as he knew, Stiles and Scott had joined the Hale Pack, so it made sense there would be a pack-bond. He'd felt an incredibly feeble bond with Scott snap earlier in the warehouse. But why was this so strong? Why did he have such a strong pack-bond with Stiles?

"Is your father home?" Peter asked as they pulled up in the Stilinski driveway.

"No," Stiles shook his head. "He's… at work."

Peter hummed and got out of the car, rounding it to help Stiles out. The boy glared viciously at him for the attempt and then stalked past him. Good. Better. Spirited was better than compliant. It felt more like Stiles. Why did Peter know what Stiles was supposed to be like, he barely knew the boy.

"Will you let me check your injuries?" Peter asked when they entered Stiles' bedroom.

A heavy sigh from Stiles. "You're not going to leave me alone until I let you, don't you? Some weird, annoying werewolf instincts to make sure your pack's safe."

Peter stared at him, surprised by the acceptance, and nodded. The boy sighed again, even more annoyed, but he pulled off his shirt and then stood there with his arms spread, waiting. Peter's touch was gentle and careful as he prodded the bruises, making sure the ribs were only bruised and not broken. Stiles' breathing picked up and there was a curious scent of arousal as Peter's hands wandered over his sides and chest. Peter did his best not to smirk or tease, concentrating on his task.

"Okay," Peter nodded pleased. "Nothing looks like it needs stitches and nothing appears broken."

"Thanks, Doctor Hale," Stiles deadpanned. "So, can I go and take a shower then?"

"Need help?" Peter raised an eyebrow, smirking.

"You wish," Stiles snorted, flipping him off.

The boy disappeared and once the bathroom door closed, Peter went to the kitchen and rummaged through it until he found everything he needed to make a broth for the boy. His wolf demanded he take care of Stiles. By the time Stiles was done with his shower, Peter was sitting on his bed, the bowl of broth on the nightstand. Stiles raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him.

"You're still here."

"So observant, clever boy," Peter chuckled amused. "Sit. Eat. You need your strength to heal."

Stiles rolled his eyes at him, but he still sat down cross-legged next to Peter and started eating. Peter was content sitting there, quietly watching Stiles. For the first time since the fire, he felt a strong, proper pack-bond like that and he was not letting it go again. His mind wandered, to Erica and to his boy. Now that he was no longer feral, he should go looking for them. Strengthen his pack.

"When you're here anyway…" Stiles sighed, once he was done with eating.

He put the bowl aside and then walked over to his closet. He pulled his chair up so he could climb onto it and every instinct in Peter told him that this was not a good idea for the clumsy flailing boy. Yet he managed to pull a shoe-box out from the top of his closet and return to Peter. He decidedly didn't look at Peter, even as he shoved the box into the wolf's lap.

Peter frowned doubtfully. "What… is this? Are you giving me your old shoes?"

"It's your stuff," Stiles shrugged, folding himself smaller again. "I went to the hospital, after you… After we killed you. Last bound of recon. They were… They wanted to toss it out, since you'd been missing for too long at that point and they decided you must have been miraculously cured and wouldn't be found again. I grabbed it before they could throw it out."

The frown on Peter's face deepened as he opened the lid. A third bouquet of flowers, tried. The flowers his boy had brought him on their second visit. When they'd started wilting, Erica had suggested drying them because dried flowers were pretty and would last longer. The teddy bear, Mister Snuffles, worn down from years of Erica hugging it while sitting at her side and talking to him. The book his boy used to read to him from. The assortment of cards that Peter had found on his nightstand and desk when he had woken up, from scrawny, self-made cards in child-like handwriting, to prettily crafted cards that Erica must have made later on as a young teen, when she talked about getting into crafts, as much as her parents allowed her (they didn't allow her scissors, too afraid of her cutting herself or stabbing herself if she had a seizure). Peter blinked startled when something wet dripped onto the bear. Reaching up, he traced his cheek to notice he was crying.

" Thank you," Peter pressed out, voice raw and vulnerable in a way that scared him. "You… You have no idea how much this means to me."

"It… It does?" Stiles' voice was small.

Peter knew that the nostalgia and the vulnerable, soft, warm feeling of pack were what compelled him to open up to Stiles. "You may find it hard to believe, but there once were people who cared about me. Who chose to care about me. I had… a pack. It was… small and not traditional, but… there were two children and they chose me, for whatever reason, they sought me out to be their solace and they became my solace in return."

"Y… You remember," Stiles sounded startled.

Peter hummed his confirmation, even as he went through the box. He froze when he turned the oldest card around, the card that the children had dropped off with him at Christmas. There was a tree drawn with crayons, a large star at the top. On the back, it said Merry Christmas Peter! From Stiles & Erica. He stared at it bewildered, then looked up at Stiles.

"I didn't take your stuff just for fun, I took it because Erica and I gave it to you," Stiles' face screwed up. "I was feeling guilty, about the part I played in your death, and the… about everything. That's why I went back to the hospital for your things. Because it felt like I could have made a difference, if I had come back, if I'd been there, after my mom died, but I couldn't and-"

"Stiles," Peter interrupted gently, resting a hand on Stiles'. "Slow down, breath."

The boy took shaky, hiccuping breaths and slowly calmed down, eyes squeezed shut. His boy. Stiles was his boy, the boy who had sat by his bedside and read books to him that no ten year old should already be reading. The boy who had left after his mother had died, but Peter never resented him for it, only ever felt compassion for the small child who had to adjust to a life without his mom.

" That is why you're special," Peter's lips quirked. "I've tried figuring you out, ever since we met at the hospital. Why you would look at me like that, say my name like that. Because you recognized me. And I… My wolf recognized you. That's why I could never hurt you, why I kept feeling drawn to you, because you're my pack. I didn't want to go looking for Erica and my boy… you, for you, I suppose, because I thought I was a danger. After I turned Scott, I was afraid to hurt my pack."

For a moment he paused, hugging the teddy bear closer. "Where is Erica? Are you… Are you two still friends? I remember, the last time she was by, she talked about being in a few classes with you and wanting to reach out but not knowing how…?"

Stiles' breath hitched, his eyes widened and the sour scent of panic rolled off the boy in waves. " Erica. Erica. Erica and Boyd. They're… They're still in the basement, he still has them-"

"Stiles?" Peter carefully took the boy by the neck holding him in a soothing grip. "Slow down and tell me what the problem is. What's with Erica?"

"They're in the basement," Stiles repeated insistently, panicked. "The Argent basement. Where… Where I was. Gerard, he had them too, he had me and them and he was-"

"Why would Gerard Argent take Erica?" Peter blinked confused. "How could he know about her?"

Stiles' eyes widened more, and Peter was stunned that this was even possible. Those big doe-eyes were large enough under normal circumstances, but now? Wow. Peter stared into them.

"You don't know," Stiles whispered, blinking. "Erica is part of the pack. The Hale Pack. Derek turned her, to cure her epilepsy. Which actually worked. But yes. She's one of Derek's betas."

Three betas. One girl. The spitfire girl, who had given Derek such a verbal lashing earlier. Because of Peter. That made so much more sense now, if that had been Erica. He'd simply assumed it was about distrust, because how could one trust an Alpha who in the past had abandoned pack. But it was personal, because Erica knew him, cared for him. Erica was his pack first.

Peter shook his head, trying to focus. "What do you mean took them."

"I don't know," Stiles sighed shakily. "Boyd and Erica were in the basement, they were… strung up on electricity and… and I tried to get them down, but I couldn't… When Gerard was done with me, they dragged me out of the basement and dumped me in a ditch near my house and I just… I was barely at home when Lydia came and I drove her here and I… I didn't…"

Boyd was her mate, who had left with her. Peter took just a moment to be happy that she had a mate, had found someone who was hers. And then he focused on the task at hand again.

"Okay, I'm going to get them," Peter got up. "I'll get them and bring them here. You, stay here."

Stiles tilted his head as he stared at him with a frown. "Be… careful."

A small smile spread over Peter's lips as he nodded shortly.

/break\

Erica's loud and angry and emotional reaction when Stiles had told her about Derek's uncle had surprised Boyd. He'd asked, after. Before they had told Derek they would leave. As children, Erica and Stiles had sat at Peter Hale's bed together. She'd done it until he disappeared. Because this comatose man had become a sanctuary to her, where she could leave her life behind.

And somehow, he understood that. He understood that she had lost someone she cared about, even if she didn't actually know the man. She had formed a bond with him, of sorts. And it broke his heart that she had lost that. Never had a chance to get to know the man.

So he understood why she wanted to leave. Wanted to get away from her overbearing parents, who had gotten even worse after her epilepsy got magically cursed. All the secrets were eating away at her, just like they were at him. He didn't mind running away, things at home had been broken since Alicia's death. He'd hoped the pack could be a new family. And in a way, it was.

He loved Erica, loved her more than he ever thought was humanly possible. He cared about Isaac too. About Stiles. He did admire Scott. Derek was tricky, part of him admired the Alpha, a part of him didn't like the way Derek handled a lot of things.

But if he had to chose, between staying and seeing if Derek would improve but losing Erica, or going with Erica and having her, then he had to choose her. He'd always choose her.

They ran away, just to be hunted down by Allison, of all people. Their own classmate. Scott's girlfriend. And, after that, Boyd was kind of reconsidering his admiration of Scott, because how bad was his taste in women if she hunted werewolves for sport and fun. She'd thrilled in hurting them, her father had to tell her to stop. How blind was Scott to be a werewolf in love with a hunter who had no qualms torturing her own classmates if they were wolves?

They got thrown into a basement, hurt, tortured, electrocuted. And then the hunters also threw Stiles in there. And even though he was human, Stiles tried to save them, tried to protect them. Distracting Argent from them with his wiseass ways. In that moment, Boyd felt warmth and kinship flood him and he understood, he understood why Erica cared so much about the sarcastic little shit.

The hunters had dragged Stiles out and let him go and not long after, Allison's father came down, shame in his eyes, as he let Boyd and Erica go. He took hold of her hand and together, they ran.

"There you are, wayward pups."

Both startled and whirled around, coming face to face with a man. Erica gasped, grabbing Boyd tighter. He growled lowly and pushed himself between the stranger and his mate. The stranger flashed his eyes blue, a smirk on his lips. Erica clung tighter onto him.

" Peter," Erica's voice was filled with wonder and surprise.

"Erica," the man's voice softened, filled with… love. "It's good to finally get a face to the voice, my girl. Come, both of you. Stiles sent me to collect you two. We're going home."

Boyd remained rooted to the spot, holding Erica's hand tightly. Peter? As in the dead uncle because of whom they had run away in the first place? The reason Erica had grown distrustful of Derek? And Boyd had too, because her doubts seemed very justified. But Stiles had said the man was dead.

"You're Peter?" Boyd asked warily. "Peter Hale? The dead Peter Hale?"

"What can I say, death didn't suit me," Peter shrugged nonchalantly, cocking his head. "Will you two now please get into the car. I don't like that I had to leave Stiles alone. He's hurt."

The reminder of Stiles, of Stiles being hurt, got both Boyd and Erica moving and they walked up to the man like in a trance. Erica kept staring at him like he was a ghost, which Boyd guessed he was. Or something like that. He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand, soothing her.

"How are you alive?" Erica asked when she stood next to the man.

Peter tilted his head, an unbearably soft expression on his face. He reached a hand out to cup Erica's cheek and she leaned into it, blinking away tears before she broke and threw herself at him. Peter laughed gently, wrapping one arm around her waist and cupping her neck with the other.

"I've wanted to do this for so long," Peter whispered, choking on emotions. "My darling girl, I'm so glad to finally meet you. For so long, you were my only pack. You have no idea how much you meant, how much you kept me going when I had nothing else. You and Stiles, the bonds you formed with me, I can never thank you enough for them."

Erica's eyes were impossibly wide, her mouth a little open. Boyd didn't know what to make of it, he kept watching them, concerned and confused. Not understanding what was happening here.

"W… Wow…" Erica blinked and rested a hand on her heart. "I can… Why is it…"

"Because it's old," Peter smiled at her, caressing her neck. "Your other pack-bonds are new and young, but our bond has been growing strong for six years now. Your bond with Stiles should also feel different, maybe be stronger. I don't know what your relationship has been like lately."

Erica's face screwed up as memories of the past months must be going through her head. Boyd reached out again to take her hand, causing her to look at him with those big eyes.

"I can feel a pack-bond with Peter," Erica whispered. "It's… It's super strong. Like, as strong as ours, but… different, definitely very different."

Peter laughed, startling them. "You two have an entirely different type of bond. You're mates."

Both teens turned to stare at him surprised at that. Mates? That sounded… Right. Boyd frowned at that. It did sound right, even if he didn't know what it meant, it felt right. Peter stepped away from Erica, urging them into the car – Stiles' Jeep, Boyd noted surprised. More proof that he was telling the truth then, that Stiles had sent him. Peter drove them to a house.

After parking, Peter ushered them inside and upstairs. Photos on the fall clued them in that they were in Stiles' house. They reached a bedroom, where they found Stiles, vigilant and curled together and looking so bruised and broken. Erica keened as soon as she laid eyes on him, throwing herself at him the same way she had at Peter. She buried her face in his neck and he relaxed. Boyd felt a pull that drew him to them, to sit on Stiles' other side and join the hug.

There'd been a gentle, soft thread that tethered him to Stiles and Scott before. But in that moment, as he held Erica and Stiles like that, he could feel that tether growing strong like a rope, taunt as it tied him to Stiles. What they'd gone through in that basement, it cemented a bond.

"We're pack," Stiles mumbled against them, nuzzling them.

But his eyes went over Erica's shoulder, resting heavily on Peter. Like he was telling the man, reassuring him. Boyd watched, curiously. He felt like something monumental was happening in that moment and he felt warm and reassured to be a part of it.

/Ten Years Later\

"Peter! Peter Stilinski Hale, if you don't get down here right now, I swear! If I'm late to my godson's birth because you took forever to do your hair, I am divorcing you! Pe… Oh."

Stiles trailed off as he walked into Peter's office. The Alpha stood in front of their glass cabinet of pack trophies. A small smile spread over Stiles' lips as he saw the framed wedding pictures of Scott and Allison, Boyd and Erica, Jackson and Lydia, himself and Peter, Kira and Malia. Trinkets and souvenirs from their adventures through the years, symbols of what they overcame. The highest shelf though was reserved for children's cards and dried flowers and an old stuffed bear. Wait.

"Why did you take Mister Snuffles from the shelf?" Stiles frowned at his husband.

"I figured," Peter cleared his throat, closing the cabinet and taking Stiles' hand. "I thought baby Heath could get more use out of Mister Snuffles than this dusty, old shelf does."

A small smile spread over Stiles' lips as he leaned against his mate. "That's sentimental of you."

Peter growled softly at him, flashing his eyes red. Not that it did anything but make Stiles roll his own eyes. Ever since Peter had become an Alpha again all these years ago, when the Alpha Pack had come for them, Stiles had been his rock and his Alpha Mate. The toddler in Stiles' arms giggled when he saw his daddy's red eyes, reaching out for him. Peter smiled softly as he leaned down to kiss Jamie's head, pulling his mate and son close.

"Let's go," Peter said. "Erica is going to be mad if we're late. And Boyd must be freaking out."

~*~ The End ~*~

[xf-cases-solved]

S2E8: One Breath

Case: In part three of our three part + one fever dream episode arc, we begin with Maggie Scully (!!!) telling a morose tale about her daughter murdering a snake—complete with a depressing flashback to baby Scully and everything—and then it cuts back to her and Mulder where, for some reason, Mulder is accompanying her to get a gravestone made for Scully? Why was he a part of that errand?? He and Scully (probably) aren't even fucking yet, that seems like a really personal and intimate thing to invite your daughter's coworker to come do with you.

Whatever. Credits!

Long story sort of short, turns out Scully is NOT dead, but Maggie can't get rid of the gravestone just yet, because while she has been returned from -vague shrugging-, she IS extremely ill and is being kept alive on life support, whomp whomp. No one knows how she got to the hospital, and no one seems very optimistic that she'll be walking out of it either. While Scully's hippie sister (we <3 you Melissa) and Maggie fulfill the wishes of Scully's living will (which Mulder witnessed??? I cannot emphasize enough that they are (probably) not even fucking at this point, but they're witnesses for each others' WILLS?? jfc), Mulder is off doing what he does best in a crisis, which is losing his goddamn mind and making poor choices. He's out to get answers and revenge, and will fight people in parking garages and hold people at gunpoint to get them, but maybe where he's really meant to be... dun dun dun... is at his partner's side. 

X and Mulder have their first parking garage lover's spat; an extremely inconspicuous clue is left for Mulder inside a cigarette machine; I am viscerally reminded this is taking place in the 90s due to the inclusion of a cigarette machine; Scully is stuck in a liminal state between life and death and is vividly hallucinating; Mulder holds Cigarette Smoking Man at gunpoint (I think for the first time, but he does that a lot so I might be wrong); Skinner tells us his tragic backstory that explains why he is a fun mom instead of a hardass like those other assistant directors; through the strengths of Mulder's beliefs, and also like, an angel or something in the form of a nurse hallucination, Scully does not die (hooray!); and I have the same problem I have had every single time I've watched this episode since I was a little kid, and that's that I can't NOT notice how huge Gillian Anderson's boobs are when she's lying on that hospital bed, and I feel like such a creep every time, but she just had a baby and they're RIGHT THERE, okay??

Congratulations, you have survived the abduction arc! I'm sure there will be no lasting consequences from this series of events. 👀 

Does someone die in the cold open: Baby Scully and her brothers kill a snake in cold blood as a metaphor.

Does Mulder present a slideshow: I don't think Mulder is in any state of mind to be putting together PowerPoint presentations right now. Although that did make me imagine him showing up at CSM's house and putting on a slideshow about why CSM is such a little punkass bitch while holding him at gunpoint so he has to listen to the whole thing. That'd be really funny. I wish I could draw, I would totally make that into fanart. Anyway, what was I talking about? Oh, did he present a slideshow? No.

Does the evidence survive the investigation: Uhhhhhhh. I will say that the most damning evidence is Scully herself, and she survived, so... yes? I guess?

Whodunit: That's for THEM to know and for you to maybe but probably not find out.

Convictions: Yeah right.

Did they solve it: Oh god no. But! Scully survived, so I will count it as a leveling up in their search for The Truth. 

[how do i determine if a case is solved? check the scale here: x]

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***

General Total Stats:

(green means stat has changed since last ep; red means new stat added to list)

Total Cases *Definitively* Solved So Far: 15 (they're back together now, tho, so i'm sure they'll solve a case eventually. probably)

Total Number of "Mulder/Scully, It's Me": 9 (no, but mulder does go to her bedside and tells her he's there for her, and it's very sweet and sad)

Total Number of Times Scully Has Conveniently Not Seen Something Crucial: 6 (i mean, she conveniently FORGOT a lot of crucial information, but that's not really her fault. the memories will come back eventually. maybe. we'll see)

Total Number of Times Mulder Has Been in Mortal Danger: 12 (technically he was in a gunfight, but X has too big of a boner for him to actually kill him, but he could have been in significant danger if he had stuck around his apartment instead of going to the hospital, so i'll up it another half a point, if only to get back to a round number) 

Total Number of Times Scully Has Been in Mortal Danger: 12 (i mean, they literally pulled the plug on her)

Total Number of Sexually Charged, Uncomfortably Intimate, and/or Flirty Moments Between Friendly Coworkers: 17 (mulder's beside vigil is a love confession, fight me)

Total Number of Autopsies Scully Has Performed On Screen: 5 

Total Number of Times Scully Plays Doctor: 2

Total Number of Times Mulder Talks to an Informant: 21 (two scenes of my bff X, AND a parking garage fight?? it's christmas :') )

Total Number of Times People Making Out in a Car Are Hurt or Killed: 2

Total Number of Times Someone Correctly Guesses a Password: 3 

Total Number of (Plot Relevant) Nosebleeds: 5

Total Number of Times Mulder Has Tasted/Sniffed/Touched Something Questionable Without Following Proper Safety Procedures: 3 

Total Number of Times People Fight in a Parking Garage: 1 (new stat! i feel like i must have missed one before now, bc it seems wrong that it's taken this long, but i thought i was specifically looking out for those, so??? if you know of one i forgot lmk and i will retcon. i don't count them finding tooms in the parking garage. that was apprehending a suspect, not having a (usually homoerotic) fist/gun fight in a dark, otherwise abandoned parking garage. there's a Specific Vibe)

Total Number of Times Someone Says "Trust No One": 3 

Total Number of Times Someone Says "I Want to Believe": 4 

Total Number of Times Someone Says "The Truth is Out There": 2 

Total Number of Cigarettes Cigarette Smoking Man Has Smoked: 16 (i can't tell if my notes say that he smoked two and a half cigarettes, or three and a half cigarettes, and i don't feel like checking, so i'm just gonna round it out and say he smoked three cigarettes) 

Total Number of Maggie Scully Sightings: 3! (no offense to maggie, but personally, i feel she was real quick to get that tombstone engraved. maybe they were having a sale)

Total Number of Lone Gunmen Sightings: 3! (they taught us about branched dna! remember that, bc it'll come up again, and no, it won't make sense then either)

Total Number of Alex Krycek Sightings: 3 (no more krycek for right now 😔. but like mulder's projector, i want to believe he will return)

Total Number of Times I Had to Look Up What State the Episode Takes Place in Even Though I Literally Just Watched It: 11½ (it feels like cheating when they don't actually go anywhere)

Total Number of Times I Had to Look at an Episode's Wikipedia Page to Fill This Out Because It Was Fucking Confusing and/or Too Boring for Me to Pay Attention: 6 (nah bruh, this is one of those ones i've watched a hundred million times)

[my-mt-heart]

Why Equal Representation Matters for Caryl and McReedus

I love Carol and Daryl equally, and I think they deserve equal representation. That's the key word in all of this, but that's not what I'm currently seeing in the promotion. Extras are getting in trouble for posting pictures with Melissa while set photos with Norman are fair game. Casting calls always say "starring Norman Reedus," but leave Melissa out. The one time I do see her name, it's placed in the wrong billing order and spelled incorrectly. Then there's the title. Daryl's name is in it. Carol's is reduced to a subtitle in much smaller letters.

The past couple of years have been difficult. After Melissa's "exit," which I know wasn't her choice, I kept getting messages from other fans who were battling anxiety and depression because they lost something that meant the world to them, because they felt like they could no longer connect with a story that once made them feel safe. Sometimes those messages included graphic pictures of self-harm. It was overwhelming, but even though I was struggling too, I believed Caryl fans could promote positive change. And we did.

Of course we did, because we learned from the best. We watched Carol overcome anything and anyone who tried to keep her down. Her perseverance and resilience are inspiring. I am so excited to have her back, and I'm so grateful to Melissa for choosing to continue her story. She and Norman looked very happy to shoot together again. I know they get the same amount of input on their characters' arcs, which is great. I just don't know how to reconcile my excitement with my concern that other business practices are still treating Melissa/Carol like the lesser half.

It is detrimental for Melissa to be the only woman in a position of power among several male EPs, execs, and directors. It isn't fair that she has to risk being labeled as “difficult to work with” every time she needs to stand up for Carol. It isn't fair that there isn't another woman to help her tell and promote Carol's story in ways that can reach her largely-female fanbase. For the show to be the huge success we want it to be, that needs to change. Daryl and Carol are partners, "Batman and Batman" as Norman once put it. He and Melissa are leading the show together. That needs to be clear.

For the last couple of years, Melissa’s fans have done all the heavy lifting to support her the way she deserves. It's time for someone in power to be vocal about Caryl’s romantic bond, Carol’s vitality, and respecting Melissa’s wishes, so we know that the show values equal representation. The story should reflect those values as well.

[amazingbananabread]

How do you think your ocs would feel about mine?

(Srry If I asked this before)

✧ MEW ✧

Melissa 👾: A child in this house? Melissa only hope for Mew to be safe and sound, though the fact the child is also a cat person and the fact she could defend herself, Mel doesn't really do much besides drawing with Mew and playing on her smartphone. Mel likes her, just that she is a bit..intimidated because she had betrayed and killed a ratman.

`` U-uh, I don't got much opinion for the cat child, she's pretty okay and cute, I hope we hang out later on..i-i just hope she doesn't do anything harm on me though, nn.. :^[ ``

Mary 💡: The moth lady doesn't know much about Mew other the fact she witnessed the child stealing a cookie on a night. Despite that, Mary thinks she's pretty nice, hoping to talk with her someday.

`` Oh? About one of the members in that house over there? I do not know much about the little girl other than she have some cat features. Though, I wish to meet her, I don't know why but she looks so adorable! ``

Goat Guy and The Wandering Horse ����🐎: the (three) two of them don't know anyone in the Ivory House but they might've seen each other every now and then. Their opinions is that they think Mew's should stay inside and don't explore much in the forest as they know how dangerous it is out here.

`` Don't know who that is, but hope she don't become a stray. (🐐) ``

`` Neigh (agree..🐎) ``

✶ HITCHHIKER C ✶

Melissa 👾: Melissa don't know a lot about Hitchhiker C but what does she knows is that she kept seeing the guy with the dog guy she forgot the name of. She doesn't really have anything to say other than good for him. Keep moving that dawg! 💜

`` I don't know who is that..eh, hope he's good i-i guess. :V ``

Mary 💡: oh she knows him! Well, more like sees him but she saw him multiple times, either killing or not, he's always seems to have some bloods on him.

Though, she's just hope Hitchhiker C doesn't kill her with that axe of his. It look scary..

`` The guy's..a bit scary, i-in my opinion- I'm sure the guy's a good person! J-just..um, let's hope he's likes moths.. ``

Goat Guy NN 🐐: Goat saws the killing that were made by Hitchhiker C, so they being scared of him is underestimating to say the least. If they ever see him again,he would run away FAST.

`` W-why are you mentioning him to me? Can we just talk about something else? Like a g-gem? Shows? I just don't want t-talk about him right now...he's horrifying.. ``

The Wandering Horse 🐎: Phillips doesn't really care about him to be honest, he think he's just trying to survive in the wild, just the way he does it is...very red and bloody. Jane on the other hand, is scared of Hitch.C even though he sounds pretty nice and a chill guy when Phillips was talking with him one time.

`` Neigh..what, you want me to break character for this? Well, C's a nice guy i guess, liked to talk with him but he's gotta chill on the killing, kept seeing him in red. Does he wash his clothes? Eh.. (Phillips) ``

`` U-umm..i don't know bout him, but I hope he doesn't try to kill us later on. (Jane) ``

✢ DANNY ✢

Melissa 👾: Mel encountered the ratman multiple times before Mew killed him off, and she thinks he nice, a bit awkward but then again, she's kinda like him too so..

Such a shame that Danny died, Melissa would've shown him her fanart of him.

`` Awh man, still sad that he died..but anyways, Danny's a good guy, we often talk here and there about stuffs. Sometimes, he would tell me more about the other ratmen. Hope he's in heaven. ``

Mary, Goat Guy, T.W.H 💡🐐🐎: they don't know him, so uh......oof

[dopenightmaretyphoon]

He’s no Romeo

It’s short, just a little something that came into my brain and wouldn’t leave

“He’s not the one for you Barb!”

“What and you are?!”

The silence that filled the room was deafening, it’s crazy how when you have known someone for so long and yet still not have a clue what to say to them. Melissa starts to pace, she did it when she felt unhelpful, unhappy, uncomfortable. Barbra sat down and watches as Melissa kept walking.

Tick tock

Tick tock

The clock wouldn’t shut up and the older woman sat on the couch wishes she could break it, hoping time would stop. She shouldn’t be looking at the red head like this, not right now, not when Barb had just found a confess letter.

She hadn’t meant to see it, Mel had told her to go and get the necklace back that the younger woman asked to borrow, Barbra said yes without thinking about it, as she often did when it came to Melissa.

After grabbing the necklace, she saw the folded piece of paper. Her name in the red head’s beautiful writing, slowly unfolding it, she sat down and started to read

“To My Love,

You have always been the one thing that never changed in my life, I couldn’t live without you. You were always there, through the divorce, through Gary, through everything else. You have seen every side of me apart from the one that loves you more than I ever thought I could. 20 years I’ve sat and watched as he brought you lunch and made you smile. That’s all I ever wanted for you which is why I hide, being your friend is better than nothing.

I love you Barbra Howard”

Barbra had to stop the tears and quickly, she folded the paper back up making sure it was perfect. Shoving it back into the drawer she wipes her face and walks downstairs, that’s when she saw the message

Gerald: “we need to talk”

The brunette couldn’t figure out what her husband would need at 6pm on Thursday, he knew that she would be at Melissa’s house eating the amazing food she cooked and watching a shitty show that Mel loved and Barb thought was stupid

Barbra: “can this wait?”

Gerald: “no, we need to talk”

Sighing she looked at Melissa who was stood over the stove mixing whatever sauce she needed for dinner

“I’m sorry Mel, Gerald wants to talk but won’t let it wait”

Trying to hide the fear in her stomach, Melissa nods

“Ok, text me?”

Nodding, Barbra grabbed her stuff and left. Pulling up outside her home, no her house, she pulled her keys out of her pocket and heads inside.

Gerald sat on the couch watching the wall, Barbara out in her mask and walks over to him

“Hi, is everything ok?”

“I know, you and Mel, you’re together aren’t you?”

The blood left Barbra’s face, she had only found out half an hour earlier that Melissa felt the same as her and yet he was her husband sat on their couch asking her about a relationship that was only real in her head

“No, we are friends and that’s all”

Gerald tried not to laugh “I’m sorry Bee but that isn’t true, she can’t take her eyes off you. I’m not going to accuse you of cheating but I need the truth. Do you have feelings for her”

Barbra started to pace, it was a bad habit she had picked up from Melissa. Sweet Melissa who had spent ages cooking a dinner for them that her husband had stopped, deciding that she couldn’t live a lie anymore, her head started nodding before she noticed

“Then go and get your girl”

“But Ger, we’ve been together for years”

“We are a habit at this point Bee, we both know you want Mel and everyone knows Mel wants you”

“I’m sorry”

“Don’t be, I’m setting you free”

Gerald grabbed his things and headed to the door, he turns and looks at his wife was 23 years

“I knew the day would come at some point, I thank you for the years you have given me and the family we have had together but you deserve happiness and we both know that’s with Melissa”

Barbra nodded and grabs her phone, she wasn’t going to stay there anyway so what’s the point in waiting for him to leave. They left the house for the last time as a marriage couple

Barbra walked into the Melissa house and sits on the couch

“Sweetheart? Can you come in here please”

The red head was all too happy to agree to the question and walked into the living room, she looks at Barbra confused. She never texted the red head saying she was coming back, of course the older woman had a key. Shaking her head at the thoughts, Melissa looked at Barbra waiting for anything

“He wants a divorce”

Trying to figure out a reaction, cheering would be heartless so Melissa settled on

“I’m sorry, he never deserved you”

“He gave me two beautiful girls Melissa, I’m not going to treat him like a villain”

Shrugging Melissa thinks of a reply, her mouth worked quicker than her brain though leading her to say something stupid

“He’s not exactly Romeo”

“He looked after me for years”

“Yet he still wants a divorce. He’s not the one for you Barb!”

“What and you are?!”

The silence that filled the room was deafening, it’s crazy how when you have known someone for so long and yet still not have a clue what to say to them. Melissa starts to pace, she did it when she felt unhelpful, unhappy, uncomfortable. Barbra sat down and watches as Melissa kept walking.

Tick tock

Tick tock

The clock wouldn’t shut up and the older woman sat on the couch wishes she could break it, hoping time would stop. She shouldn’t be looking at the red head like this, not right now, not when Barb had found the confess letter.

“I saw the letter, Gerald knows of my feelings for you”

Melissa stopped dead in her tracks, she didn’t know what to address first. The fact that Barbra had seen her letter or that she felt the same. Choosing not to say anything, Melissa walks over to the couch and kisses Barbra. Passionately and needy, Barbra grabbed her waist and kissed back.

The was 2 years ago, now sat on the same stop Barbra watched as Melissa paced again . Melissa had asked Barbra to marry her and the brunette didn’t get a change to answer before Melissa was up on her feet and pacing again

“Mel, sweetheart, please stand still and I can give you my answer”

Preparing for a no, Melissa stood still and watched Barbs face for any indication of what she was about to say

“Yes, I’d love to marry you. It caught me off guard”

As if repeating what happened two years ago, Melissa leaned forward and kissed Barbra who was happy to kiss back

[shinigamimailjeevas]

18k in to "we're not dead, we're fighting" and about to hit a section of notes that might stall progress... so here is a random scene. Excuse any issues, this is practically hot off the press.

.

“I agreed with your request, not that Theo was or is dangerous anymore. We were together for years before you ever found out and never once was I injured or manipulated. He changed— he changed and I threw our relationship back in his face like it meant nothing when it meant everything to me. Theo is a good man and I wish you could see that.”

“A good man that killed you while pretending to be your friend. Please, be reasonable. All I want is assurances that you can be safe with whomever your are with. Why can you not see this?”

“I do see that. I also see that you are still dating Chris. A good man that helped killed a lot of good werewolves in his time. A good man that once tried to kill me.” Melissa rears back as though he’d slapped her, as if he would have ever dared to. 

“That is not the same.”                   

“Isn’t it?” Scott fights to keep his eyes from flaring, from adding fuel to an already volatile conversation. “Chris is not the same who threatened to kill me multiple times, whose family nearly succeeded. He learned from those mistakes. So did Theo. I forgave them both a long time ago. Clearly you have forgiven Chris, so why not Theo?” Melissa is not the only one getting frustrated. He has asked her before and gotten hand wavey, cookie cutter responses. He has never expected them to be more than the frigid side of cordial, but wanted his mother to at least tolerate his choice in partner. To look, and see that Theo has made strides in life to do better, to be a better person.

“Because he killed you! I dropped to my knees beside the corpse of my son. Do you have an idea what that was like? If you did then then would never ask me why I cannot forgive that monstrous boy.”

The former-alpha lets her get every heated word off her chest, every barb and poisonous word that has been kept bottled over the years, until she nearly resembles Starry from before she learned control, fists clutched by her hips, breaths panted and eyes a little wild. 

“What do you think it was like for me?” Scott poses the question, voice barely over a whisper. “Theo’s claws were in my stomach. I looked him in the eyes as he did that.” While the memory is not a nice one, still vivid and sharp some days, Scott can separate the boy in the memories from the man he became. “Those same hands that took my life curled around me as we slept. He was vulnerable for me. I could have killed him if I wanted to. With his inferior healing any severe enough alpha wound would have done it. He curled beside me and slept.” Almost desperately he tries to make her understand just how valuable that action was back then. That he is allowed once more to experience it is nothing short of a miracle. He thinks of his mother and Chris, how slowly their relationship progresses and how, finally, there had been talk of permanence. His mother has never been so happy. “Theo is my choice. Liam is my choice. For me they are my Chris. Do you understand yet?”

[yuriko-mukami]

Her Calamity Dark 04

Beta reader: @ruki-mukami-dl

Chapter Selection

Yuriko was washing rice while Yuuto stood right next to her, watching her every move. Sunlight sparkled from the droplets of water, reminding her how sweltered it was outside. It was slightly sweaty in the apartment, too, for it was only one room, and this tiny kitchen along with a bathroom. And right now, the kitchen felt even smaller than usual since Azusa had come with Yuriko. He was now working on the second counter with a vegetable-cutting task he had volunteered himself.

“It’s not difficult. You should use fresh water and then you just keep washing until the water stays clear.” Yuriko rolled the rice over again and again by her hand while staring at it. She wasn’t the best cook – and nothing compared to Ruki – but she knew how to make a few dishes. “Kareeraisu is a convenient choice because you will eat it for several days and the taste only gets thicker later. I made it often when… when I was still living with… Keisuke. That way I could focus on… hmm… other things because I didn’t need to make meals every day.”

“Makes sense…” Yuuto shrugged. “He should have cooked for you tho. It’s a parental duty.”

“Umh… Mom always said it was a woman’s duty to make sure the family gets to eat…” Yuriko shifted. Not that their mother had done that too often. Yuriko had tried to do all possible household chores while studying in middle school and high school. She had wanted to be good. But it hadn’t been enough.

“Dontcha go there…”

Yuriko lifted her head, glancing at Yuuto. “Eh?”

“I know that face. Dontcha let that happen. There’s nothin’ you could done differently. Our parents didn’t know how to raise kids, that’s for sure. So, dontcha let it get you. You gotta keep your head up high and move forward.” Yuuto ruffled Yuriko’s hair, making her blink heavily. She wouldn’t cry now.

“Yuuto…”

“Oi, no cryin’. You’re a tough vixen who can push through, not a pup.” Yuuto smiled, making even more of a mess of Yuriko’s hair. “Didcha hear me?”

“I… I… yes, of course.”  Yuriko nodded. She turned to look at the rice again and poured it into the rice cooker – the necessity she had told Yuuto should have. “Okay… now, we need to fry the pork and then simmer it with the vegetables.”

Yuuto pulled out a frying pan and tossed the meat on it. After setting the gas, Yuriko showed him how he should constantly move the meat with the cooking chopsticks so that it wouldn’t burn into the pan.

“How do you know all this?” Yuuto scratched his head. “I mean... you said our mother didn’t teach you much…”

“I read books. The library had some about cooking too.” Yuriko handed the chopsticks to Yuuto. “You should try it now. Haven’t you cooked anything before?”

“I know how to make an omuraisu.”

Yuriko tilted her head. “Eh? It’s super difficult to roll perfectly, I always end up breaking it. I bet you’ll manage the meat just fine then~” 

As Yuriko kept her eyes on the frying pan, Yuuto worked on the pork. She was pleased to see there weren’t any problems at all. She should send the recipe later to his phone, and then he could make this dish anytime he wished. Next time she would teach him another easy dish.

“I found a cheap laundry service nearby, so that’s settled too.” Yuuto continued frying the meat. “I just need a steady job…”

“You could… ask Karlheinz-sama…” Azusa commended from his duty.

“Absolutely not. I’m not gonna ask that je–”

Yuriko gasped, clapping her hand on her brother’s arm. “Yuuto! Don’t say it!”

“Fuck!” Yuuto tensed under Yuriko’s touch, and she let go of him. “Sorry… It’s just… damn those bloo– Vampires. I still don’t like them…”

“Azusa-kun is right here…” Yuriko whispered.

“It is okay… Yuriko-chan… I know that… Christina, Justin and Melissa… will always… love me…” 

Yuuto mumbled something, but Yuriko poked him between his ribs and left him alone with the frying pan, roaming toward Azusa. She had always wondered who these three friends of his were, for she had never seen them but Azusa had mentioned them often. Since he had been kind enough to bring her here, she should make an effort to get to know him better.

Leaning her bottom on the kitchen drawers, Yuriko smiled at the Vampire. “Say… Azusa-kun… umh… about Christina-san, Justin-san and Melissa-san…”

“Yes, Yuriko-chan?” Suddenly sparkly eyes glanced at the young Kitsune woman. Azusa held the knife firmly in one of his hands while nicely cut carrots occupied the chopping board with pieces of onion. There was still one potato waiting to be worked on.

“These friends of yours… Can I meet them one day?” Yuriko tilted her head, and her curls tickled her cheek. 

If there had been sparkles in Azusa’s eyes before, now they truly lit up as if he had been waiting for this question all along. To Yuriko’s surprise, he put the knife away and started to roll up his sleeve, revealing his slender arm full of faded… Were those scars?

Azusa drew his finger along his arm. “This here is Justin…” He glanced at Yuriko and continued. “This is Christina… and this…” Azusa gasped. “Melissa… is… almost gone… I must do… something…”

Before Yuriko had time to react, Azusa had grabbed the kitchen knife again, running the blade over the barely visible scar. Crimson elixir poured on his white skin.

“Oh my gosh! Azusa-kun!”

“Fuck! Stop that shit!” Yuuto was on Yuriko’s side within a second, snatching Azusa by his wrist and forcing his hand up. Azusa fought back.

“Please… Yuuto-san… stab me…”

“Fuckin’ hell I’d do that! Now, gimme the damn knife!” Yuuto’s words made Azusa release his grip of the knife that Yuuto caught.

Yuriko whimpered, pushing closer. “Yuuto, please, don’t!”

“Huh? I ain’t gonna stab him!” Yuuto pressed the knife into Yuriko’s hands without letting go of Azusa. “What the hell is wrong with you?! You ain’t doin’ such shit in front of Sis, you hear me?!”

“Squeeze… harder… Yuuto-san…” Azusa sounded almost happy, making Yuuto’s eyes widen as Yuriko simply stared at the view. “Ruki said… I can’t ask… Yuriko-chan… but he didn’t say… I can’t ask you… to hurt me.”

Swallowing, Yuriko tossed the knife on the cutting board and took support from the counter. She didn’t understand what was going on with Azusa. Why had he cut his own arm? That must have hurt so badly, and now there was blood slithering down his arm, soaking his shirt. This was terrible. Yuriko clenched her fingers against the edge of the counter as the kitchen swayed before her. She was gasping for air, almost panting. She didn’t want to lose yet another family member. Azusa shouldn’t cut himself; he could hit a critical place and then… and then…

“Fuck! Sis! Breathe!” Yuuto snatched Yuriko by her upper arms, swinging her slightly.

“Is… she enjoying so much… that she is… out of breath?” Azusa’s face appeared closer. Two pairs of eyes stared at Yuriko, one worried, the other curious. 

“I… I… can’t lose more people…” Yuriko trembled. Yuuto pulled her closer, enveloping her with his arms. For a while, there was complete silence in the kitchen as he stroked her back, swaying her back and forth.

“No one’s gonna leave you… It was just an accident.” Yuuto’s speech was mumbling against Yuriko’s hair.

“Yuuto-san… the meat…” Azusa said behind the siblings.

“FUCK!” Yuuto released Yuriko and dashed toward the stove, lifting the pan from it, and shutting down the gas. The smell of burning danced in the air when Yuriko tried to steady her breathing. 

“Yuriko-chan…” Azusa touched on Yuriko’s shoulder.

Blinking tears from her eyes, Yuriko gaped. Azusa’s skin would heal… He wouldn’t go away because of a single wound. He was a Vampire after all; there was no reason to worry. Everything was alright. They were all safe.

“You okay?” Yuuto patted Yuriko’s head and waited until she nodded. “Listen, Sis. I’m gonna need your help. You know how to do this… So, it’s your task now to finish that dish. I’m gonna patch Azusa up in the meantime. Can you cook?”

Yuriko nodded again. “I… I… can.”

“Cool.” Yuuto grinned, turning around, and taking hold of Azusa’s arm. “You, with me.” Without further explanation, he walked the Vampire toward the bathroom. Yuriko was left alone in the kitchen, and it took a moment before she could cut the potato and start cooking again.

Yuriko poked her portion with the spoon. The atmosphere had changed after Azusa’s incident. It was clear that the Vampire wasn’t truly happy that Yuuto had wrapped a new bandage around his arm, securing the fresh wound under it. Yuriko wondered if she should tell Ruki about this later… but he probably already knew that Azusa might do something like this. At least it had sounded like that if Azusa wasn’t allowed to ask her to stab him.

Who would think such a thing beforehand without a reason? Yes, Ruki must already be aware that something like this could happen.

Shaking her head, Yuriko finally tasted the meal. Spices tickled on her tongue. She had added a bit too much but couldn’t be helped now.

“Yuuto-san… do you have… shichimi or chili?” Azusa looked at the Kitsune as if nothing had been up earlier.

Yuriko gaped. “But… but… there’s so much spice already…”

Azusa shook his head. “I could… add some more…” 

“Haa… just a moment.” Yuuto rose from the table and went to get the chili. He placed the tiny jar in front of Azusa who gladly took it. It was almost disturbing how much of it he poured over his rice and curry sauce. 

Yuriko turned her head and decided it was time to sail to the safer waters. Hopefully safer. “Yuuto… say… were you the only one with the white hair in the village?”

Yuuto was just about to push the spoon into his mouth but now lowered his hand. “Yeah. Why?”

“Umh… I wonder what they look like as foxes then?”

“Usually, the color of their fur is close to their hair. Like you and me.” Yuuto tasted the food and smiled. “Damn, this is good! You really know how to cook.”

“It’s just a simple dish.” Yuriko waved her hand hastily but couldn’t hide her smile. Still, her mind was wandering. “Are… are there other white foxes then?”

Yuuto shrugged. “Within the Yako, white’s a rare color. It occurs at times, like in our family apparently. It’s more common with the Zenko but even many of them have other fur colors too.”

“The Zenko?”

“The Kitsune in the Human World. All they do is cause trouble, so stay away from them. They kidnap the Yako children… I was in a rescue party at some point for gettin’ them back.” Yuuto frowned and explained how the Yako already had problems because the Vampires hunted their females and then the Zenko had made the situation even worse by taking some young vixens. It had been a constant fight and Yuuto had worked to get them back a few years ago. “But then Grandpa told me not to go to the Human World anymore. I did other jobs after that.”

Yuriko nodded. So, the fox she had seen could have been a Zenko. But the fox had only watched. And Yuriko was constantly with the Mukamis. So, there was no reason to worry about this matter, right?

Eating her food, Yuriko listened to the talk. Something felt off but she couldn’t quite put her finger into it. Maybe it was just because there was so much new information. Half a year ago she hadn’t known anything about the Kitsune aside from the folklore tales and now living as one had become her reality. Yet, all this talk about the Yako and the Zenko only sounded confusing. 

“Umh… why… the Yako are living in the Demon World and the Zenko in the Human World?” Yuriko pondered between spoonfuls of rice. “I mean… they are all Kitsune. Why fight? They could just get along and live in peace.”

“The Zenko took over the Kitsune Realms in ancient times and chased the Yako out there. The Founders gave the Yako a new realm, so that’s why…”

“Eh? Shin and Carla-san did that?” Yuriko blinked. “Just when…?”

“Dunno. But it was probably their parents… I mean, those jerks are surely ancient but not that ancient.” Yuuto emptied his plate, starting to fill it again with rice and sauce. “Anyway, the First Bloods were away for the longest time. I only saw them comin’ this year. Suddenly, they walked in and said they’d renew the old vows. Whatever that means. It didn’t change a shit for me. But Grandpa was all ‘Carla-sama’, ‘Shin-sama’, beggin’ for their attention… disgustin’. For me, they’re the same blood-suckin’ scum as —”

“Yuuto!” Yuriko glared at Yuuto and then glanced at Azusa, but the Vampire was focused on eating his portion in silence and didn’t seem even to listen to the siblings’ conversation. “Yuuto… Shin is my friend and he helped me to save you. He made Grandpa give your star pearl back. We… we should be grateful.”

“Yeah… yeah…” Yuuto sighed. “You surely have been busy making such friends. Vampires, Founders… What else?”

“Umh… zombies but humans too.” Yuriko pushed the last spoonful into her mouth. This could be a good chance to mention Nalia. “Actually… one of my friends would like to meet you.”

“Huh? Why?” Yuuto frowned again. “I don’t have time for silly little teen vixens.”

“Hmph, my friends aren’t silly little teen vixens!” Yuriko shoved her plate aside and started to search for her phone. “Besides, you have all the time. And she isn’t a teen or even a fox. She’s a nice human.” 

Yuriko put her phone on the table and tapped Nalia’s picture on the screen, turning the phone to face Yuuto. “She’s around your age and I can assure you she’s good company. She is looking for friends, so…” 

“Haa… dunno… I shouldn’t mess up with people. Humans. There’s enough shit goin’ on without.” Yuuto shrugged but picked up the phone, staring at the photo. “Red hair and green eyes, huh? She’s a foreigner, right?”

“Mhm. Her last name is Wagner, so yes, I think she is.” Yuriko realized that she still hadn’t asked where Nalia was from. She totally should do that —

“Nalia-san… is probably from… Germany then…” Azusa said, smiling over his plate. “Wagner is… a German name.”

“See? Nalia is a pretty human lady from Germany, and she’s interested in meeting you.” Yuriko beamed at Yuuto, wondering how Azusa knew about German names. He didn’t strike her as a person who had knowledge like that, more like Ruki could have said it. But maybe there was more in Azusa than met the eye.

“Dunno…” Yuuto sighed, starting to eat his second portion.

Yuriko leaned in, putting on the best pleading face she could manage. She stared at Yuuto with wide eyes and smiled. “Please? It would make me happy.”

“Haa… You ain’t throwin’ me with such lil’ sis’ stuff! Not a fair game!” But no matter how annoyed Yuuto tried to look, a chuckle escaped him. He lifted his free hand and ruffled Yuriko’s hair. “Fine, I’ll meet her. Tell her to come to that park nearby.”

When Yuriko had put her shoes back on and was ready to step out of Yuuto’s apartment, he grabbed her arm and nodded toward the door. “You sure it’s okay to go alone with him?” 

Glancing at the door, Yuriko frowned. Azusa was waiting for her behind it, but she was aware that he could hear them. She placed her hand over Yuuto’s and pushed to remove it from her arm. “I’m sure… don’t worry, Yuuto. I have lived with them for a while now. Neither of them is hurting me or anything like that.”

“He seems… unstable.” Yuuto sighed. “Look, I’ve seen shitty things. Some people just lose it if too much happens. Dontcha be too near to him when… Haa… if things start to go south.”

“Really, Yuuto?” Yuriko placed her hands on her hips and stared at her brother. “You… you and me… have gone through lots of bad stuff too. We… should get others a chance to prove themselves before judging.”

“He pretty much proved himself today…” Yuuto turned his gaze to the wall. “You’re much more stubborn than a little sister should be. You should listen to me more.”

“I… I… start to listen when you… umh… start to make sense.” Yuriko wanted to kick something. As much as she enjoyed having a brother, she wished that Yuuto didn’t butt in her decisions constantly. It had been enough that she had tried to be good for mother and fath– Keisuke. That hadn’t mattered in the least. Now, she would do as she wished. She would keep the happiness that had been handed to her. Even if she needed to fight for it.

“Hmph, vixens should always do as foxes are telling them…”

This again? Yuriko glared at Yuuto. That was the stupidest reason he could come up with, especially since he had learned it from their relatives who had kept him against his will in the Demon World for years.

“Maybe you should reconsider that. You wanted out of there… Now, you should play by the rules of this realm.” Why couldn’t Yuuto understand? Yuriko had imagined how they would do fun things together, how she would finally have a family member who supported her… but she had gotten an overly protective douchebag of a brother who couldn’t accept how she was living her life. “I… I… will go now. I’ll visit you again later. Maybe with Ruki that time. See you later, Yuuto.”

This time Yuriko was allowed to step out. She pressed the door shut behind her and took a deep breath. The sweltering and moist afternoon air slithered into her lungs while enveloping every inch of her skin, making her feel instantly sweaty. It hadn’t been this bad last summer… or any summer before but this year the heat was really a bother.

The walk through the city did not feel any better since the sun was scorching from above. Yuriko was relieved when they finally stepped into the park which had at least some shadows. She hurried under the trees. Maybe they should have used the limousine, but she had insisted on walking since she wasn’t allowed to go jogging in the woods while Ruki was away.

“Are you… sad, Yuriko-chan?” Azusa’s words took Yuriko aback. She glanced at the Vampire next to her, shaking her head.

“Umh… no, Azusa-kun. I simply wish that Yuuto would see how good people you all are.”

“Good… people…?” It almost looked like Azusa couldn’t quite understand what Yuriko meant. “But… are you… missing Ruki now?”

Yuriko turned her gaze to the path they were walking. Going through here would take them into the forest but perhaps that was for the best. Surely, it was less sweaty there. “I’m looking forward to him coming home, yes. And I hope everything is alright with Karlheinz-sama.”

“The Vampire king?!” The voice bounced behind the trees at the same time as a white-grey head peeked out. Amber-yellow eyes pierced Yuriko but they seemed friendly.

Within seconds, Azusa had moved in front of Yuriko. A young man stepped out, scratching his head, and laughing like he was nervous. He was only a little taller than Yuriko. She was pretty sure they must be around the same age. But the most interesting detail arrived when the wind shifted and made the scent of the man waft toward Yuriko and Azusa.

A Kitsune. Without a doubt. He smelled like Yuuto, yet a bit different. In a similar manner, the Vampires had a distinguished scent but each of them was still unique. 

Yuuto said that white fur is rare for the Yako… So, does it mean that this man is… What was the other name? Yuriko shifted, trying to see better behind Azusa.

“You are… a fox person…” Azusa lifted his hand to prevent Yuriko from dashing in front of him. 

“Yeah, I surely am.” The Kitsune grinned, flashing his canines, and ruffled his hair. “The cutest fox in the city… Though… Now, I’m not sure anymore. You have such a cutie there~”

“Emh… How do you know that I am…?” Yuriko placed her hand on Azusa’s shoulder but stayed put.

“Easy! My brother and I saw you in the cafe before… and that smell of yours. Though, there’s so much Vampire in it too.” The Kitsune stopped for a moment, moving a bit closer. “Now, it makes sense. You sure hang out with these Vampires a lot. Such a cool vixen you are! I hope the blond one didn’t give you real trouble… For a moment I wanted to jump in there but Toshi-nii said it would be too dangerous…”

Just how much did this young man talk? Yuriko tried to keep at his pace and absorb every word. Suddenly, it dawned on her. The two white-haired men in the cafe and later in the street when she had talked with Kou! 

And in the library too. But it wasn’t this man… So… probably this Toshi-san he mentioned…

“Yuriko-chan… we must go…” Azusa took Yuriko’s arm and started to pull her along the path, making sure he was in between her and the Kitsune.

“But… but… He seems like a good person!” Yuriko glanced back. 

“I am a cute person!” The man waved his hand. “Kozima Toru is the name! I’m happy to meet a new vixen in the city, but I can see you’re busy now. Let’s talk more later~ Maybe after the mating season is over!”

Kozima Toru? Yuriko glanced back again but the Kitsune had disappeared. The name didn’t ring any bells to her but at least it wasn’t Nakamura, her grandpa’s family name. Perhaps her grandfather had not sent this man after her. Men. The first time, there had been two of them.  But then… They were tailing her on their own? That didn’t seem alright either, and Yuriko was sure Ruki wouldn’t like the news. Yet, she also knew it was better to tell him when he would come back home. Keeping secrets wouldn’t do any good, right?

[bold-writing]

The One With Whiskey Eyes || 22 || Softened, Waves to Glass Shards

Words: 3900

Warnings: None

Previous || Next

~22~

Her employers had apparently saw fit to surprise her when she returned to work, the mess having been completely cleaned and the front window replaced, with an old piano they had seen for sale online. The wood was aged and scraped, the children of the previous owners having scratched little characters and names into the legs, but it made her smile none the less. Damaged and aged, it was magnificent. “We haven’t had a chance to arrange for someone to come and tune it yet, but we’ll have someone stop by this week,” Melissa assured softly as she stood next to Iris, her hand on the younger woman’s shoulder as she smiled down at her softly.

Iris had mentioned time and again over the years that she dearly wished to own a piano at some time in her life—this was as close as she was probably ever going to actually get, and it made her heart soar to know that they cared so much for her.

“Thank you, both of you, so much,” she gushed in return as she looped her arm around Melissa’s shoulders in a one-armed embrace, then turned to her husband and did the same. “I think it fits in perfectly, too. Finally got the one thing that this corner needed.” The piano was situated deep in the store, near the back corner where a few comfortable chairs were placed about sporadically, a coffee-table in the middle, and the new piano taking up residence in the corner.

“You’ll have to test it out once it’s ready, check out the acoustics,” Gerald added a moment later, shifting over to wrap an arm around his wife as they gazed down at Iris as though she was a child they had raised; a prideful, parental glisten in their eyes. Iris thanked them again and once more when they were on their way out of the store. The others asked about her wellbeing as they arrived for work, each getting mostly the same answer. Jessica gave Iris a look that told her she knew something else was up with the older woman—she was much too calm, almost happy, after having been through someone attacking the store.

Returning to her work, Iris was somewhat relieved to have returned to the usual routine—even if a part of her desperately missed the time she had been given to spend with her soulmate. Barry had taken the day off of work the day after the incident, allowing her and Felicia to spend the day together, but he had to go back to work the next day while she was kept off of work to relax and recuperate.

She had read and cooked, spending the day in her apartment before she returned with BT to the zoo, the man having taken over the work-load for the day, and laughed as he ooed and awed over her soup that had been left-over from the day before. She had received a call from her employers, telling her that the surveillance cameras had caught the car driving away, but it was such an old system that it was too blurry to make out the person driving or the license plate.

Barry had already arranged for her to stay in his room another night, bowing to her affirmation that she would be returning to her own apartment in time for her return to work. She could tell he was reluctant to do so, and her email had been overwhelmed with the others trying to persuade her to stay longer as well. However, no one forced her hand and for that she was thankful. Not that she could ever imagine any of them actually forcing her into anything, but it was still reassuring to know that they were kind enough to care without being oppressive.

Jessica finally cornered her when Iris was in the office working on paperwork and it was the younger woman’s scheduled lunch. She scooted her way into the room and put herself right next to Iris’s peripherals, wearing an expectant look that forced a laugh from Iris. She tried to keep her composure, but Jessica’s excited look of ‘tell me!’ was too much.

“I met another soulmate,” she finally caved with a smile. Jessica squealed discretely, throwing her hands up in celebration.

“Iris, that’s fantastic! Must’ve made all of this mess much easier to bear, huh?” Iris nodded along in agreement, wishing that she could tell Jessica just how much her soulmates were making everything easier to bear. She had confided in the woman with a fraction of her soulmates, a feat she never thought she would make, but she wasn’t sure she could tell Jessica the full extent of her situation.

Not only the fact that her soulmates were all housed in one body, but also that there were twenty-four of them.

Felicia’s presence in her life had made it easier, all of them had, but that didn’t stop the nagging feeling that came to her stomach when she went to the front area of the store, or when a car passed slightly slower than the others. It was like the situation with her father all over again; not knowing who had done this or why. For all she knew, it was still her father deciding what new ways he was going to torture her. She wouldn’t put it past him, or her mother, to vandalize property.  Or she could have just been terribly unlucky to be somewhere that some kids decided to do something illegal.

“It’ll still be nice to know what the police find. Who has something against a bookstore?” Iris wondered aloud, trying to derail her thoughts as she turned back to the computer and clicked on the items that she needed to print for their inventory.

Jessica hummed in agreement before she spotted the time on the computer and slipped back. “I’m going to run down the street for my break, but I promise I’ll be back on time, okay?”

“Sure, I know you’re always clocked back in on time,” Iris assured with a calm wave of her hand. As Jessica turned into the adjacent room for her things, she called out again, “And take your jacket!”

“Yes, mom!”

Shaking her head with a smile, Iris collected the sheets from the printer and splayed them in front of her while recollecting her pen. At least with her first day back, there was lots of work that she needed to do and it kept her mind occupied and let the hours rush past without her even noticing. She was beginning to marvel at how much she had actually worked before she met Barry, and subsequently the others. Perhaps it was because she now had something to look forward to, but she couldn’t imagine working so many days in a row anymore.

Knowing that she might have time to meet up with one of her soulmates at the end of a day was steadily becoming the driving force to her work-ethic. Some days were harder to focus than others, excited as she was to have her shift end, but it was getting easier and easier. She had found a dear friend in Felicia the past several days; it was nice to have another female to speak with that wasn’t technically her employee. Jessica was a sweetheart for being there for Iris, but it was different when she could be completely herself and honest about her situation.

She desperately wanted to speak with Jessica, full honesty and disclosure about her soulmates, but there was something in her heart that made her want to keep it quiet. It was almost as though she wanted to keep it just between herself and her soulmates—and Dr. Fletcher—as something that was solely for them. She still wanted to prove to the world that her marks exposed the truth about the alters, they were real people, but she wanted it to be just them for a little while longer.

More than half of her soulmates were still unknown to her, so she was in no rush to expose them just yet.

Continuing to switch between her computer and the pages that were sprawled across her desk, Iris could feel a familiar cramping muscle beginning between her shoulders and rolled them with a sigh. Jessica poked her head back in when she returned, getting a soft hum from Iris as she was deeply focused on what she was typing out at the moment. They only had a short time before close so she was trying to finish her work for when everyone had left.

If felt unnatural to stay in the store alone after what had happened the last time; not that her employers allowed that anymore, even if it was completely dead at the end of a long day. Luke and BT had both sent her emails in all capitals that forbade her from working alone; the frown that had come over her face had Felicia muttering an ‘uh-oh’ before she started to laugh. When Iris had asked what was so amusing, she’d proclaimed that the guys may have put their foot in their mouths for the first time.

Iris did not take well to being ordered to do anything, or ordered not to do something in this case, and Felicia knew that from the hours they had spent talking. Iris had told her about her younger years and her childhood, unfortunate as it was, but skirted around some of the darker parts of her past that she wasn’t quite ready to bring up just yet. None of her soulmates knew the same pieces of her past—Patricia and Barry probably knew the most, but even they weren’t aware of some pieces that the others had been privy to.

Sitting back from her work, Iris flexed and stretched her fingers a couple of times to try and get the stiff feeling out of her joints—a few pops and cracks sounded as she did so, telling her in that instant that she had been working in one position for too long.

The tight muscles in her back gave a faint spasm when she straightened herself and rolled her shoulders backward, issuing a faint groan of discomfort. She was looking forward to a warm shower once she was home, and a tea to help her finally relax. Saving her work in Excel and closing the programs, she began the careful and meticulous process of cleaning up her papers and putting them back in the proper files and folders.

Leaving the office in search of Jessica, she found her already locking the front door and turning off the neon open sign that sat in the small window above the door. Iris busied herself with removing the cash drawer from the register, leaving the printouts to Jessica as she counted through the bills and change, writing everything out as she went. They had closed the store enough times that they didn’t need to speak to one another while they counted and switched papers back and forth with a calculator sitting between them.

“And we’re done,” Iris sighed as she snapped the book closed, turning to tuck the receipts in their proper place. Jessica collected the drawer of the register as Iris snatched her keys, flicking the lights off as they passed the switch to head for the safe in the back office.

“So, what’s this new soulmate of yours like?” Jessica finally asked, her patience having surpassed what Iris expected, as they were pulling on their coats. Everything was locked up, all of the paperwork for the day had been completed and both women were excited to be leaving for home.

Iris pursed her lips as she paused a moment before offering a shy smile, “She’s amazing.”

Jessica was still for only a moment before her expression brightened with a warm grin. “She? Well, what’s her name? And please tell me she’s the one that did your hair!”

Iris’s cheeks warmed while she nodded along. “Her name is Felicia, and yes, she’s always excited to do hair and makeup, which I never really did anything—as you know—so she’s had a lot of fun doing mine the past few days.”

Jessica did an excited wiggle as she followed Iris toward the back door, her purse over her shoulder and her scarf and coat wrapped tightly around herself. Iris’s nagging seemed to have gotten through to her because Jessica was finally wearing appropriate clothing for the weather on particular days. Iris set the alarm and locked the door behind them, Jessica waiting outside in the chill before she helped the smaller woman to close the door and click the lock in place.

“Any plans for the evening?”

“A nice long shower,” Iris sighed, rolling her shoulders again as she tucked her hands—and keys—into her coat pockets. Jessica hummed softly in agreement as they turned to leave the back alley, merging into the people already walking home for the evening. “You?”

“Meeting some old friends from school,” she answered easily, almost swaying happily at finally being out of work. “Do…do you want to come?” she offered a moment later, glancing over to Iris as though worried she would scare the woman away with her offer.

Smiling in assurance, Iris shook her head ‘no’. “Thank you for the offer, Jess. But I think I’m just going to try and settle in and sleep.”

A small frown found its place on Jessica’s usually happy expression. “Are you having trouble sleeping? Because of…what happened?” Shrugging one shoulder sadly, Iris confirmed the younger woman’s worries without actually saying a word. “Oh, Iris.”

Iris waved her off calmly. “It’s okay, really. They’re getting better, and I do sleep for most of the night. I’ll be fine! Everyone’s done so much after what happened, I honestly can’t ask for anything more. This last bit is…for me to work out.” Jessica smiled sadly before she saddled up next to Iris and looped her arm through hers, linking them together as they continued down the street. She asked rapid-fire questions about Iris’s soulmates, gushing over how sweet her meeting with BT had been and looking forward to the chance of meeting the others. Iris wasn’t sure how that would turn out, actually, since they all wore the same face.

She might be able to see the differences in them easily enough, but she was sure others struggled with it a bit more.

Finally, they came to the intersection that would separate them and they offered farewells and hugs before Iris jogged to reach the other sidewalk before the light changed again. The evening wind was beginning to pick up, causing her to duck further into her coat for warmth as she quickened her pace to get back to her own apartment. Barry had another staff meeting this evening, so he was going to be working a bit later than her.

Quickly scaling the stairs to her floor, Iris unlocked her apartment—looking anywhere but the section of her door that had once held her father’s note—and slipped silently inside.

The smell of her morning tea still lingered throughout the small space, coaxing her to breathe deeply before she carefully removed her coat and hung it up in its usual place. Leftovers from the night before were already packaged and waiting in her fridge, needing to be reheated, but the thought of a warm shower to loosen up her muscles was much more appealing.

Leaving her dinner until later, Iris entered her small washroom and shucked her clothes off after turning the shower on to a decent—though slightly warmer than average—temperature.

The small space was immediately enveloped in steam, fogging up her mirror and making the air thick and humid. Stopping for a moment, Iris leaned her lower back against the cool counter and heaved a sigh. Her fingers swiped beneath her eyes tiredly. It did nothing to wake her up or relieve the fatigue that was weighing on her bones. She had returned to the habit of trying to drink a variety of calming tea before bed, but it was never enough.

She’s slept better while staying with her soulmates, but she’d noticed that her best nights were when they were within reach. Her nights with Barry close by, or when Patricia had remained after her nightmare. She’d fallen asleep once when she and Felicia were sitting on the couch at her place, talking in quiet tones as they sipped at hot chocolate Felicia had made. She hadn’t even been aware she’d begun to doze, but her soulmate had been watching her energy waver for a while and had been keeping an eye on her. The hot chocolate had been rescued from her hands before Iris had the chance to drop it and a blanket had been tucked around the brunette for warmth.

Iris wasn’t the kind of person to normally nap, and she was shocked how often she’d fallen into an easy sleep around her soulmates. Felicia especially had a knack for soothing her to sleep, calmly playing with her hair and stroking fingertips with just the right pressure down against her scalp.

Slowly, Iris was being enveloped in comfort and warmth. It made going home to a cold apartment that much harder.

Inhaling the humid steam of the shower that had filled the room, Iris finally pushed away from the counter and slipped beneath the stream of water. Her skin stung momentarily as the hot water made contact, but it soothed away quickly and she could swear the heat penetrated right down to the muscle. The ache that had settled between her shoulder-blades finally seemed to melt, allowing her back to relax for the first time all day.

Pulling her elastic from the end of her braid, she carefully began pulling her fingers through her hair to undo the tightly bound plait. Tipping her head back under the water, she sighed in relief to finally have her hair freed. It wasn’t until that moment that she’d realized the tightness of her braid had probably done her no favours. She’d had no headache, but the loosening of her hair made her feel like the last of the tension she had been carrying for the day finally let go and washed away down the drain.

Taking longer than she had for a while to wash her hair and scrub down her pale skin, she was left a pleasant pink from the combination of a soapy loofa and hot water. Turning her body this way and that, letting the water remove the last of the suds from her skin, she stroked her hand along the prominent scars left through her marks. The one on her right thigh suddenly felt substantially softer.

Leaning her back against the warmed shower tiles, her thumb continued to trace up and down the scar absently. She was sure that it had once felt rough; proud flesh that had been split and tortured back together with needle and thread. However, the silvery line seemed like it had smoothed out to better match the surrounding flesh.

Had it been in her head? Did the memories attached to the scar somehow make it feel rougher than it really was?

After taking one more turn around beneath the water to ensure all soap was washed away, Iris finally shut the water off in an effort to force herself from the comfort of the hot, steamy cubicle of her shower. She flinched as she remembered that she hadn’t turned on the little heater out in the main room, meaning the comforting cocoon of warmth was going to be abruptly broken when she opened the bathroom door.

Towelling herself down in an attempt to remove as much water from herself as possible, the petite woman carefully wrapped herself in the terrycloth softness before her focus was drawn away by the familiar chime she had set on her phone to alert her of any incoming emails. She rarely received an email from anyone other than her soulmates, since everyone else she knew—even her employers—would either call or text her. Tucking the upper corner of the towel in as securely as possible, she opened the door in a rush and quickly slipped out into the main room in search of the phone she had left in her coat pocket.

“Oh!” she gasped against the shock of cold, quickly clicking on the heater as she passed, before she resumed her rush for her phone. Goosebumps almost immediately erupted across her damp, exposed skin. Pulling the aforementioned  phone from her coat, hung carefully as it always was once she returned home, she brought the screen to life and looked at the listed notifications.

She must not have heard it, but her phone had gone off several times since she’d returned home. Emails from Patricia, Luke and BT were waiting for her, each only a few minutes apart. An uncontrollable smile softened her features as she read their names. Her little bubble of happiness made her momentarily forget how cold it was in the room. A small droplet of water fell from her hair and hit the screen, blurring Patricia’s name for a moment, and brought reality back to Iris.

Tossing the phone onto her bed, she began pulling warm clothes out for the night. Dressing with haste and using her towel to twist her hair up and help it dry, she curled herself up on her bed with her legs crossed and feet tucked beneath her thighs for warmth.

The little heater was slowly doing its job.

Opening Patricia’s first, she smiled at the older woman’s motherly concern as she asked if she had enough food and hoping she was eating a good dinner. Do not overwork yourself, Iris. Please, promise me you’ll take all the time you really need for yourself. I’m sure you are an amazing employee, but they can manage—your health must always come first.

Warmed by Patricia’s concern, Iris typed back a response assuring her that she still had an additional day off a week and explained, in detail, what she had made herself for dinner the night before; which reminded her, she needed to toss her leftovers in the oven so they had adequate time to reheat properly. She also told her about the gift her bosses has surprised her with upon arriving at work. She was sure her excitement was palpable through her typed words.

BT was checking up on her in a similar fashion, as well as discretely slipping in the question about whether she would be cooking for them again soon. Apparently her soup had been a hit among those who had the chance to eat it, which made her wish she had made more; there had maybe been leftovers for six, so not everyone was able to have a bowl. She offered a promise to make more for everyone soon, the next time she visited their home, and wished him a good night.

Luke, unlike the other two, had an additional message at the end of his email.

Would you like to go out on a date with me? Dinner, tea, a movie? Anything.

Iris’s heart felt as though it stuttered in her chest before a smile lit across her face until she was sure her eyes had laugh-lines creased at the corners.

Previous || Next

[lexusiswriting]

A love you deserve (Ricky Olson) - Part 8 of ?

Hi guys!

I know I said in the last part that this story will have 2 more parts, but apparently it would be more than that, haha. I hope it's a good thing.

Warnings: none.

Tags: @multifandomcrackhead, @nicelittlenightmares,@roll-tide-babe89, @skulliecadaver-blog, @21-century-tae, @melissa-anderson, @abiomens (thank you for reblogging! <3), @w743, @insanitywulf, @awkwardalex, @philomenie

Requests: OPEN.

_____________________________________

After 6 years, Lexus’s point of view

6 years ago, I promised Chris I would be happier, and I like to think that I kept my promise. Not fully, but I’m definitely better than I was.

A wish that I always had was to have my own personal record label, where I could help the new bands to make a name for themselves, and I’m happy it actually came to life. Our beginning in the industry was rough, and now I could make it all easier for them. Even though we were busy with our band as well, the boys helped me in every possible aspect to make it work. After we celebrated one year of the record label, people started to say that everything that was signed by me turned to gold, and that was the best compliment I could have ever received.

Our band was doing better than ever. We have received lots of awards in these past years, our albums were doing great, and we were touring all around the world.

While professionally everything was going great, when it came to love it was a completely different story. It took me a little over a year to forget about Ricky, and it was the most difficult thing I had to do. He never contacted me since that tour, and I tried to avoid him at all costs. Now, I don’t have a problem when someone mentions him, but it seems like our paths don’t want to connect anymore.

After the worst year of my life, something great happened. While we were working on the album that was released in that year, we got a call that changed our lives. More precisely, my life.

The one and only Corey Taylor called to let us know he has a free spot on the Knotfest with our band’s name on it. We thought it was a joke at first, but he said how perfect we would be in the line-up. Of course, we accepted it, and we got the chance to play on the same stage as Korn, Trivium, Parkway Drive and of course, Slipknot.

While we were on tour, Corey and I got very close. At first, we would only share about our experiences on tours or talking about music in general. Then we started to know each other better and got to see what an amazing man he is, making me laugh in every occasion he got. He had a little acoustic concert on one of his free days, and I was the only one to get an invite, and he played my favourite song from Stone Sour, even though it was not on the set list. After this concert, he asked me if I would go on a date with him after Knotfest ends. I said yes.

We started dating shortly after our first date. Our relationship was always seen as weird, because to the world we seemed very different. It was true, he was more extroverted than I would always be, but we made it work. After one year, he proposed. To which I say yes.

After 3 months into our marriage, I found out I was pregnant. We were both extremely happy when we got to hold our baby girl. I remember when I got to hold her for the first time how I thought she was the most perfect thing in this world and still is to this day.

It’s hard having this kind of career and being a mother at the same time. But for our little angel, I would do everything in my power to have the most perfect life.

_______________________________________

Today was a special day for me. While I was driving to my record label, Chris called me saying he will visit me there. Our schedules rarely matched, so seeing each other was really hard. But I still consider him my best friend.

When I opened the door, I was greeted by Stephanie, my receptionist.

“Hello, Lexus. Chris is waiting for you in your office.”

“Thank you, Stephanie.”

While I was walking to my office, with lots of papers in my hands, I tried not to drop them.

“Chris! I’m so happy to see you!”

I put the papers carefully on my desk and turned back to Chris to give him a hug.

“I missed you so much, Lexus. I think it’s been 3 months, right?”

“Yeah, too much if you ask me.”

We both laughed, and then I sat on my chair, while Chris sat on the one in front of my desk.

“Well, even though I truly missed you, that’s not the only reason I am here.”

“Is this reason more important than me?”

“Of course not, but it’s really important for me.”

He seemed worried. I saw him playing with his fingers, trying to find the best way to tell me about his problem.

“So, the thing is that… our contract will come to an end soon. We can have a new one with the same record label, but I wanted to ask you if there is a possibility to sign with you.”

At first, I didn’t know what to say. I sat there for probably more than a minute to think about it.

“Look, before you answer, let me say just one more thing. If you don’t feel okay with having Ricky here, I get it and I promise it will not affect our friendship at all.”

“I don’t have a problem with him anymore. What happened, it’s in the past. I think we can act like two adults now, right?”

“Of course. I can assure you, he is not that much of a jerk now.”

“I would be happy to have Motionless here. But I need to talk to all of you, to make sure the contract is fair for you all.”

Chris had the biggest smile on his face. I was doing this only for him, for every little thing that he helped me with.

“Is tomorrow at 3 p.m. alright?”

“Yeah, we will be here.”

He hugged me once again, spinning me a little. After I was back on the ground, his eyes moved to my desk.

“What’s with all the paper work? A new band coming in?”

“Oh, no, it’s nothing important.”

He raised his eyebrow, feeling that something was going on. For the moment he was too happy to bother with it, so he left the subject in the air.

[cabeswaterdrowned]

Your tags on that sparia post have me going insane. do we think the gangsey could unmask A? the important questions

Lol! For context those tags were actually a reference to a Sparia TRB au I’m trying to write where Aria is Blue, Spencer is Gansey, Emily is Adam (part of this is because I’m also convinced Spemily could do Adansey—) haven’t fleshed out Ronan’s part in this as much but he’s vaguely Hanna. Melissa is obviously Helen and this way I get to write Melissa hitting on Emily and Spencer being mad/jealous about it, and obviously Spencer and Aria meet when Spencer is trying to set up Emaria who could do Bluedam (definitely want to get a version of that canon ~are you expecting me to change the tire because I’m gay? ~ no, but your the sporty one exchange into it somehow but change the specifics obviously) anyway! Onto the actual question: 

If you put trc chars in the plot of early pll it’s interesting because I think Gansey is the char most suited to the dead girl role for obvious reasons, and I also think Adam is a bit Mona coded so I could see an au where Gansey disappeared pre series and Adam had never had that roadside conversation with him that changed his life and so kept having an obsessive hate crush on him (like Mona with Alison), pulled a full Mona and kept an A lair with pictures of Gansey everywhere and plotted to get rid of him…. orchestrating something where he gets to pull Gansey out of a grave and comfort him at the Lost Woods for a night then panic and manipulate him to leave town. There is of course a gaping hole in this idea because Gansey isn’t going to bully Adam to make this even a little justified… maybe you could make this an au Gansey who didn’t have the wasp death incident happen to him and therefore grew up to be a little more Whelk-esque like Maggie said he would be then but I think then he’d be less kind but still not go out of his way to hurt people. So maybe there is a big misunderstanding of some sort like Adam thinks Gansey spread certain rumors about him and that’s why he’s being treated poorly at Aglionby or something but when Gansey is confused about this and then warm to him he panics about *feelings* and convinces Gansey to leave town and fake his death. Of course for Gansey to be willing to leave he needs to already want to on some level, which is tricky if he’s already friends with Ronan… maybe this is an au where Niall didn’t die but he and Aurora are on the brink of separating or just divorced because Niall was cheating on her with another blonde woman maybe she’s his student…. so basically Gansey and Ronan are still Insane about each other but not at the level of codependency they were at in trc since part of that was traumabonding (I just need a reason for this to work)… so I imagine in some ways this Gansey is lonelier than he is in canon and he is already sometimes quite lonely in canon Cordelia voice I can be surrounded by people and still be completely alone … anyway he also thinks someone wants to kill him, and this Gansey has less of a death wish. So in his absence Henry Ronan and Noah who are his circle of friends are mourning him and grow apart a bit. I’m unsure if I want to recreate a version of the vandermarin dynamic here at first I thought maybe you could have that with Pynch but I don’t think any version of Ronan is going to be receptive into being molded into a version of Gansey the way Hanna was because Ronan and Blue are chars who are very authentically them and I don’t see them being into wearing masks of other people’s faces over their own or purposefully making their personalities malleable in the way characters like Adam or Gansey or Mona or Alison or Hanna tend to do. So that’s out, maybe if we keep the Mona transforming one of Alison’s friends to wear her skin with her / be the new Alison with her it could be Noah since he’s more timid and likely to be in the shadows, even if he’s more energetic here like he was when he was alive. So then Noah is Adam’s first real friend, and when he starts getting closer to the others again Adam is jealous and brings on the A games where he pretends to be Gansey in a way… then Blue turns up as the new girl (they don’t go to an all boys school here) and Noah starts falling for her which ups the stakes even more! 

Oh I know I got off topic I think Adam would be A in a pll au was my main thing. Also I’m trying to think of a version of this where someone other than Gansey dies or disappears at the start I just can’t get there, I mean I guess Kavinsky?? But he doesn’t have the Gansey/Alison power of making everyone talk about him like they’re in love post mortum and that’s really essential to the text… Kavinsky could be Jenna maybe but not Alison. I guess you could have Henry be Mona because he wants into the group and his hate crush on Gansey could also lend itself to these themes… so that’s the route to go for non A Adam I think is Henry as A. and then the essential group dynamics are a bit closer to the canon ones with Adam taking leadership over mystery stuff (in the alternate it that would be Henry!) in Gansey’s absence, and be like my ideal version of TRK that had a whole section about the other chars between Gansey’s death/disappearance and his return…I do think either way A gets unmasked but in the latter I think Henry will be forgiven pretty quickly by Gansey if not by anyone else, like I said for the former idea to work Gansey would need to be a slightly colder version of himself although still not an Alison at all in terms of meanness… so think it would take longer. Whichever way you slice it there is perfectionists au potential afterwards it just depends on whether it’s Adansey or Chengsey who go to Beacon Hill. 

I clearly went on a little mental journey there lol but it was fun thank you for the ask <3