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navalcriminalimagines · 4 years ago

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Pairings: Rafael Barba x Reader, Sonny Carisi x Reader

Warnings: none?

Words: 4,511

Prompt: Rafael spent years keeping his feelings for you hiding.

Missed shot

When Rafael Barba started to work with Manhattan’s SVU, you’d been a detective there for almost two years. You joined the squad shortly before Stabler left. You saw Nick Amaro and Amanda Rollins joining in too. At first, Cragen partnered you with Amanda, and Olivia with Nick, but considering it wasn’t working between Liv and Nick, changes were made, and Nick became your partner.

You two quickly became close, like a brother-sister relationship. He told you about his issues with Maria, you were the first (and only one) to know when him and Amanda became a thing. So, obviously, you told him your secret.

“This is Tomas,” you told Nick, as you were showing him a picture of an 8-year-old boy. “My son,” you added. “Don’t bother counting, I did give birth to him when I was 17.”

“He’s cute. Looks a lot like you,” Nick smiled at you. “Nobody in the squad know?” he asked.

“Cragen does. But he’s our Captain and it’s in my file. But the rest, nope,”

“Why not?”

You told him more about your debut in the police. At first, you did hide the fact that you were a mom. But you quickly realized that your coworkers and others were judging you. People took you as immature, non-serious, and some guy actually pictured you as an easy girl. You hated every second of your debut. So, when you joined the bomb squad, you decided to make your son a secret. It’s much better this way.

Olivia learned about your son when she took Cragen’s place. A part of her was surprised, but another wasn’t. She saw you with kids, you do have that mother instinct. And of course, she promised that nobody would know about Tom.

Working with the SVU squad wasn’t an evidence for Rafael Barba. Nick gave him hard time for no apparent reasons, Amanda wasn’t a fan of him. Fin didn’t care much. But luckily, Olivia welcomed him nicely and then there was you. You were sweet to him, kind. You asked him if you whether call him “Rafael” or “Barba” – “Your choice,” he answered. You ask him how he’s doing every time you see him. You usually bring him a coffee when you stopped by his office.

You’re nice, gorgeous, young, smart, badass… it didn’t take long for Rafael to get interested in you. More than just as coworker. But this couldn’t be happening, so he started to stay away from you as much as possible. At first, it was easy since Rafael only sees you as a detective. He doesn’t know anything about you outside of the office, only that you have Swedish origins from your father. He doesn’t want to know more. He doesn’t need to.

But despite himself, he overheard conversations between you and Nick every now and then. When the name “Tom” came back multiple times, Rafael assumed you had a boyfriend. Good. This should make things easier.

For two years working together, you and Rafael had a normal work relationship. He kept his crush under-wrap, seeing people every now and then, when the thought of you was too much. Sometimes it was one-night stands, sometimes a bit more. But he never kept seeing the same person for more than two months. That’s when people want to make things more permanent. Rafael doesn’t want that.

Keeping you at arm’s length was perfect for him. He couldn’t let you in. He wasn’t open for a serious relationship, and he felt like you could turn his world upside down if he let you in.

He almost did when Nick got shot. You were very worried for your partner, Rafael almost hugged you when you started to cry in front of him. But Liv called at the same point, so he didn’t. And then Nick left SVU, and New York. His departure hurt you a lot, for a moment, Rafael thought you two had some kind of an intimate relationship. But he remembered a conversation you two had.

“Hey Barba, we’re going out for drinks. Wanna join?” you casually asked.

“What’s the occasion?”

“Okay, first, do you need an occasion to go out for drinks? And second, it’s just that Nick needs to get his mind off the breakup,”

“So, it’s definitely over between him and his wife?”

“Yeah, she’s moving to DC with Zara. He’s not doing great,”

“But he can always count on his other partner,” Rafael said, without thinking.

You chuckled, “What does that mean?”

“You two are—close,” Hopefully, it didn’t sound like jealousy. Which it actually was.

“Amanda is the one he slept with, not me. I’d rather sleep with you,” you left right after.

This was months ago, but Rafael still couldn’t believe you said that. He tried not to overthink about it, but he couldn’t. Was this just a joke? Were you just trying to prove a point? Or did you see him as more than just a coworker? He considered trying to explore this, but before he found the courage to do something about it, Sonny Carisi joined the squad and became your partner.

You missed Nick a lot, but you welcomed Sonny with open arms, unlike the others at first. He will forever be thankful about that. It didn’t take long for Rafael to see that you had a bond with Sonny, just like the bond you had with Nick. Maybe more. Liv told him a few times that being partners when you’re a cop is very special. He understands that, but it doesn’t he likes it when it comes to you.

Few months after Sonny join in, Rafael heard the name Tom again. You must have to Sonny about your boyfriend. Since he didn’t hear that name for months, he assumed that you two had broken up. But apparently not. Meaning that there’s nothing romantic with Carisi, but you still have a boyfriend. So, Rafael tried to forget what you told him and kept trying to convince himself that what he’s feeling for you isn’t love.

More months went by. It was obvious for Rafael that Carisi had a thing for you. He didn’t like it, but there’s nothing he can do. But he kept turning down all of your offers when the squad met up for drinks. He didn’t need that. He didn’t want to know the you outside work.

One day, he showed up to the precinct. No one was nowhere to be find. He spotted a gift wrapped on your desk. Curious, he took a closer look. There was a card. He looked around, still no one. So, he tried to take a look at the card.

“That’s very noisy of you, counselor,” he heard for behind. You. He jumped from the surprise, let go of the card.

“A box on a detective’s desk. Had to be sure it wasn’t a bomb,” he said, trying to keep a straight face. You laughed at his excuse.

“Would love to see your reaction if you saw a bomb,” you said, with a smile on your face. Apparently, you aren’t mad, so that’s good.

“I’d rather not,” he shyly smiled at you. “What would your reaction be?”

“Considering that I’ve been there before, I would keep my calm and do my best to defuse it,” you said before walking to the coffee area. Rafael analyzed your words for a moment before joining you.

“Come again?”

“Spent two years with the bomb squad before joining SVU,” you casually said, handing him the cup of coffee you just poured.

In four years, this was the first personal information you gave him. He almost couldn’t believe it.

“I—I didn’t know,”

“Well, yeah. We never talked about anything else than our cases,”

“True,” he took a sip. “And why would that be? In your opinion,”

“Because you don’t like me,”

You had poured another cup for yourself and walked up straight to your desk after those words. You sat, grabbed the gift to put it aside and started to look at something on your computer. Rafael was stunned for a moment but joined you again. He closed your laptop, and leaned against your desk, right next to you. He had never been this physically close to you before.

“Why in the world would you think that?” He asked.

“We’ve been working together for four years, Barba. Not once, did you show some kind of interest in me. You’re best friends with Liv, you tolerate Amanda, you’re courteous with Fin. Hell, you gave hard time to Sonny for the first year but now you agreed for him to shadow you. But me? I feel like you wish I wasn’t here,”

Rafael stayed silent for a moment, analyzing your words. Indeed, he tried to keep his distance with you, but he never thought it made you feel that way. He felt very bad about himself.

“But hey, no problem, okay? We’ve been able to make it work that way for years, there’s no reasons we can’t keep going,”

“You’re very wrong—about everything, Y/N.”

“Then what is it?” You locked your sweet blue eyes into his. For a moment, he was afraid you may see all the love he has for you in his eyes. What reasonable excuse could he tell you? His mind raced. But thankfully, the rest of the squad came back at that moment.

“Barba, Y/N. Are you interrupting?” Rollins smiled.

“Nope,” Rafael stood up right and followed Liv into her office. You watched him leave. No answer. Again.

The gift was actually from Sonny, but it wasn’t for you. It’s for Tomas, who’s now 13 years old. The father left when you told him you were pregnant (he was a bit older) and never saw him again. You raised Tom by yourself, with the full support of your parents, luckily. Your son showed up his interest in makeup and esthetic about a year ago. You completely support him in his passion, brought him whatever he needed/wanted.

Sonny went shopping with his 16 years old niece Mia during the weekend and she wanted to go to the Sephora. He asked her what he could offer to Tomas.

“Uncle Sonny. Are you trying to seduce the mother by being so nice to the son?” Mia asked with a smirk on her face.

“Okay, first, I wouldn’t need to do that. And second, it’s just that—it’s not easy to be different. I just want him to know that he can count on me,”

“Like you wished you could count on someone when you realized you were bisexual?”

Sonny looked at his niece with wide eyes. He still isn’t out to his family. How could she know? “Last year, I figured that this Sam you talked about wasn’t a she but a he. And--I’m bi, too, Uncle Sonny.”

That’s a lot to process in two minutes, while he is standing in the middle of a makeup store.

“There’s nothing wrong with that…right?” Mia added.

“Oh, of course not, sweetheart!” He immediately answered. “When did you know?”

“I was sure when I fell in love with a girl, a few months ago,” she confessed.

Sonny hugged his niece and kissed her hair. “What’s her name? I’d love to meet her,”

“Joy. And that would be nice. I’m so happy I finally told you,”

“I’ll never judge you. And I’ll always be there for you,”

In the squad, you were the only one Sonny came out to. Which makes the two of you even closer.

After the gift “incident”, you and Rafael didn’t talk again for weeks. To be fair, he was trying to avoid you. He almost confessed his feelings for you and that can’t be happening. After this, Rafael decided to call back a woman he used to see. She’s beautiful, smart, nice and wants the same things he does. Exactly what he needs.

He never wanted to talk about his personal life at work, but one day, you showed up in his office. Rafael was on the phone, his back to the door. He didn’t hear you come in, so he kept making plans with Judith. You listened, and felt your chest tightened.

Before he hung up, Rafael heard the door of his office closing. He turned around; nobody was there but he saw you walking out through the blinds. You had heard and walked away.

When Rafael told you, you were wrong about your assumptions, you thought that maybe he was feeling the same way you did. Turns out, you were wrong.

It was Tom’s 14th birthday. You helped him planned an afternoon party. He told you he invited about 10 friends.

But no one showed up. Your son didn’t feel ashamed about his passion - thanks to you and Sonny, mostly - but apparently, his “friends” didn’t like it.

“Baby, why didn’t you tell me they were bullying you? On Monday I’ll go see your principal,”

“Exactly for this. If you do this, it’s gonna be worse. Maybe I should stop,”

“Stop what? Doing something you like? Not under my watch, T. Those kids are just the reflections of their close-minded parents,”

“Yeah, but at least people show up to their birthday parties,”

It broke your heart to see your son like this. You needed to fix this. You need to see your son happy. All day, every day. You went to the bathroom and called Sonny.

“Sonny, I need you,” you said when he answered. “Short things first, those stupid kids didn’t show up to T’s party. There’s no one here. Can you come? With Mia? And Joy? I’m gonna call Liv, see if she can come with Noah,”

“I’m with Mike right now so he’ll be with me. Call Fin too, we’ll stop by Amanda’s to pick her and Jesse,”

“Okay, that’s great, thanks Sonny,”

“Of course. Tom will remember his 14th birthday I promise. Why don’t you call Barba too?”

“Why in the world would I do that?”

“It would be rude not to. Don’t you think?”

“I guess. I’ll see. Can you be there in about an hour?”

You call Liv and she agreed, same for Fin. But Sonny was right, you had to call Rafael.

“Barba,” he answered.

“Hey, it’s Y/N. Sorry to bother you on Saturday afternoon. Um—if you aren’t busy, what do you think about stopping by my son’s birthday? It’s kinda unfair, but stupid kids didn’t show up. I call everyone, they’re all coming. But hey, don’t feel obligated. You don’t have to if you don’t—“

“Okay,” he answered before you could finish your monologue.

“Okay?” You repeated.

“Yeah. When should I be there? And how old is he?”

“I said an hour to everyone. And if you’re asking his age to buy him a gift, don’t bother. Right now, all he needs is people to be there to celebrate,”

“Y/N, don’t make me argue please. How old is your son?”

“14.”

“Okay, thanks. See you in an hour then. Text me the address, please,”

“See you, Rafael,”

Rafael tried to stay calm and natural in front of Judith, but there were some many things in his head right now. Since he went to the bedroom to answer your call, he lied to the woman he was with, pretending a work emergency to leave.

You have a kid. A teenage kid, actually. A quick count made him realized you gave birth when you were 17. Many things made sense now. He needs confirmation but it seems clear that, this Tom he heard about, is actually your son, and not your boyfriend like he assumed.

How could he not know about this? You’ve been working together for almost five years now. He really kept his distance with you. But somehow, he still fell hard for you.

“Hey Liv, I got a call from Y/N. I’d like to buy a little something for her son, do you have any idea?”

“Well, do you know anything about makeup?”

“I beg your pardon?”

Liv laughed. “Where are you? I can pick you up and we stop by a store to buy him something,”

“Okay, I trust you on that.”

An hour later, everybody was there. You welcomed them as they arrived. “If he doesn’t like it, that’s on Liv,” Rafael joked as he handed you the gift he had for your son.

“Nope. That’s on that sells woman that was clearly hitting on you,” Liv interjected.

“She wasn’t— okay, she was. But not my type,”

“Yeah, and Judith probably wouldn’t like it,”

“I don’t know about that. And she doesn’t need to know anyway,” he smiled.

Tom’s mood improved when he saw Mia and Joy. You and Sonny introduced them months ago and Tomas is crazy about them.

“What happened to your face?” Mia asked and Tom frowned. “No makeup, seriously T?” She added, before taking him by the hand.

“Wait—“ you stopped them before they reached the bedroom. “Tomas, meet Mike and Rafael, first. They are the only ones you haven’t met yet,”

It made sense that Tom hadn’t met Mike yet, since he joined SVU a couple of months ago. But yeah, it stings to Rafael. Five years. And he didn’t know.

“You look like a cop,” he said Mike, “but you don’t,” he then said to Rafael.

“Cause I’m not. I’m an ADA, Assistant Dis—“

“I know what it is,” he cut him. “Thank you for coming,”

“Can we do his makeup now?” Mia called out and the three of them — adding Jesse who wanted to go too — disappeared in the bedroom for a moment.

“Thanks, guys, for showing up this quick. It’s a mess,” you sadly said. “T told me that he’s being bullied at school because he loves makeup, lets his hair grow. Apparently, they are calling him a sissy,” your jaw clenched. Rafael saw the mama bear in you. “He doesn’t want me to interfere. But maybe I should anyway,”

“You’re here for him. We all are, that’s what he needs,” Sonny said, wrapping his arm around your shoulders to bring you comfort. Rafael tried to avoid the jealousy in his belly.

Opening gifts arrived fast. Everyone brought him something, mostly makeup stuff. Sonny actually got him an appointment in a famous hair salon in Manhattan. Now that his hair is long enough, Tom mentioned wanting to get a real haircut. Mike listened to Sonny’s advices for his gift.

“This is from Nick,” Liv said as she gave Tom a gift. “He wants you to call later,”

“Mom!! That’s two tickets for California!” Tomas exclaimed before reading the note. “And he’s offering me surfing lessons! When are we going? Before—“

“Soon, my love.” You said before he could finish his sentence.

Then came Rafael’s gift. “You can return it if you don’t like,” he said. But Tom’s face lit up when he saw what it was.

“Mom!!!” He showed you the gift, with a huge grin on his face.

“Wow! You finally got it,” you returned his smile and moved a little to stand by Rafael’s side.

“Thank you so much, Rafael!” Tom stood up and hugged the ADA. Some affection Rafael didn’t expect.

“He’s been bugging me for this palette for weeks. I told him to wait because it’s damn expensive,” you whispered to Rafael.

“It’s okay. I’m glad he likes it,” he just answered.

Tomas was thrilled with all of his gifts. It feels good that with those people, he doesn’t have to hide himself, who he is and what he loves. Later, you noticed that Rafael setback from the others. You stood next to him.

“You’re not mad about the gift, are you?” He asked, before you could say anything.

“A little, to be honest,”

“I can pay for that,”

“I know. I see your clothes every day. But that’s not the point,”

“Then what is the point?”

“For the first five years of his life, I couldn’t buy him things. All the toys he had were gifts from my parents— when I made better money, I spoiled him. For years. And now, he’s a very smart teenage boy but he doesn’t necessarily have the value of money. Which I’m trying to teach him. And you showed up with this hella expensive palette, Nick got him plane tickets and surfing lessons. Even the appointment Sonny got him is expensive. That’s not helping,”

“Great,” he smiled, and you shot him a glare, “you’re not actually mad at me, but more at yourself,”

“Don’t do this. You’re not a parent, Rafael,”

“Indeed,” he took a deep breath, “And how come did I do not know you were one?”

“This will just bring us back to our convo from February, don’t you think? And we both know how it ended,”

“We were interrupted,”

“And you’ve been avoiding me ever since,”

So, you noticed that. You always noticed things. He hates that about you. He intensely looked at you, not knowing what to say exactly.

“But don’t worry, Barba, you won’t have to use force for that anymore,” you gently patted his shoulder and joined the others. “My love, do you mind if I steal your thunder for a moment?” You asked your son.

“Nope. Are you going to tell them?”

You looked at Liv for approval and signed Rafael to come closer, which he did. Everybody waited for you to talk. “I—I’m leaving SVU,” you said. There were gasps, widen eyes and Sonny choked on his beer. “Don’t die yet, Sonny. I haven’t finished,” you paused. “It’s no secret that my father was born in Sweden and move here after he fell in love with my mum,”

That, Rafael did know. You talked about your Swedish origins. “After my mum died, my father moved back there. And he’s been bugging us to come with him and considering I’ve always promised this one,” you said, playing with Austin’s hair, “that we would try to live there for a while, I’m actually taking a sabbatical. And next month, we’re flying to Sweden. But we’ll stop by California first, apparently,”

Only Liv knew. So, it came as a shock to everyone else.

The mood changed after that. They were all happy but also sad to see you and Tom leave. Mostly Sonny. It was very rare to witness a silent Sonny Carisi, but this was it. One by one, people started to leave the party. Mia and Joy took your son to the bowling alley. Rafael wanted to be the last so he could have a talk with you, but apparently, Sonny had the same thing in mind.

Rafael was helping you cleaning up the apartment when you noticed Sonny, on your small balcony. “How long has he been there?” You asked Rafael, who just raised his shoulders, clearly annoyed. You joined Sonny, not knowing that Rafael could hear everything you two were talking about.

“You okay there, Sonshine?” Sonny chuckled.

“A bit stunned, I guess.” He said, not looking at you.

“Yeah, I’m sorry. I—I was afraid to tell you,”

“Why?”

“Because of what happened a few months ago. Because I’m scared to leave you. Because—I was afraid to change my mind after I told you,”

He finally looked at you. “I’ll never hold you back, Y/N. You know that? You talk so much about Sweden, so does Tom. I’m not completely surprised,”

“Under different circumstances—“ you said, letting the silence says the rest. Sonny turned to his side, so he was facing you.

“I was okay with being your second choice, Y/N, as long as you chose me. But you’re also leaving to be away from him, aren’t you?”

You nodded. “I don’t want to promise you anything, Sonny. But maybe—after that year away—“

He knew what you meant. Sonny put his hand on your cheek, softly caressing your skin with his thumb. Before he could lean in to kiss you, you both heard the balcony window opening. Rafael was standing there. “Who’s your first choice, Y/N?” He just asked. Sonny loudly sighed and turned his back to the lawyer.

“Not important, Rafael.”

“Por favor— answer me.”

“You, idiot,” Sonny muttered, still looking over Manhattan.

“Can—can you come inside for a moment, please?” Rafael asked.

“Don’t worry, I’m leaving,” Sonny said, and turned around to kiss your forehead, “Don’t make anything stupid. Call me,” he kissed your forehead again and walked past Rafael to leave.

“Great timing, Barba,” you sighed.

“I—I don’t understand,” he struggled to say.

“You may be a smart-ass lawyer but when it comes to relationships, you’re very dumb,”

“How long have you—?”

“Been in love with you? About three years. Somehow, the more you pushed me away, the more it made me fall,”

“I pushed you away only because I was scared. Scared of the things I feel for you,”

“You can’t—you can’t confess your love to me as I’m leaving the States, Rafael. That’s not fair,”

“If I don’t do it now, when am I supposed to do it? Over the phone while you’re in Sweden? Or when you come back and choose Carisi?” He paused. “Did you guys sleep together or something?”

“Definitely none of your business,” you said. “And you had five years. Five fucking years, during which all you did was making me feel like a burden for you,”

“I—I never meant to do that. I’m sorry,”

“It’s too late, Rafael. I’m leaving anyway,”

“I’ll wait for you if you ask me to,”

“I’m not. Just like I won’t ask that to Sonny,”

“Then—what? What do we do?”

“Nothing. I’m leaving with my boy in a few weeks, maybe I’ll come back next year, or maybe I won’t. And everybody goes on with their life,”

“Are you saying that I missed my shot with you?”

“Probably,”

This will be hard to swallow. Rafael probably never will, to be honest. But one thing is sure, he couldn’t miss his last chance to kiss you. He closed the gap between your bodies, and slowly put his hands on each side of your face. Since you weren’t pushing him away, he took it as a permission and leaned in to kiss you. He softly put his lips on yours. Right here, right now, on your balcony, nothing else mattered but you and him.

Things escalated quickly. The kiss got more intense, and you used force to make him step back into your apartment. Still kissing each other, Rafael slid his hands on your butt and your legs, gently squeezing to signal you to jump in his arms, which you did. He pulled away briefly, just to ask you which one was your bedroom.

He laid you down on the bed, clothes quickly fly across the room. This probably wouldn’t change a thing, but Rafael made love to you as if his life depends on it.

Indeed, it didn’t change a thing. Two weeks later, you and Tomas flew to California, spent two weeks there with Nick, before flying to Sweden.

Part two, anyone?

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darkwritingsnshit · 3 years ago

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Back Home 6

Warnings: This is a dark fic. Please do not read if you’re under 18, or are uncomfortable with dark characters, noncon, kidnapping, alchol mention, drug mention, death threats, asshole characters.

I absolutely hate the holidays and am not big on my family either so I’ve decided to make that everyone’s problem

That night at dinner, everyone wore smug smiles. You remained in a bad mood all day, their amusement was irritating.

“So, dear, you must be thinking of where in New York you’d like to live, now that you’re back together with Steve.” Your father casually mentioned, as though he were talking about the weather.

You choked on your drink, sending some of it spraying onto the table. Your family looked at you like you had murdered someone.

“Excuse you? I am NOT back together with Steve, is that why you all look so damn smug?”

The entire family seemed to be in on it, they wore the same expression on their faces and exchanged knowing glances.

“Well, why not?” Bucky was the one to break the heavy silence.

“We broke up for a reason Bucky, and it’s none of your damn business. Why are you all like this? I don’t want to live here, and I am certainly NOT back together with Steve. Why are you so obsessed with me?” You were exasperated. Your sister and brother laughed at the reference you had accidentally dropped.

“So now it’s a crime to care about your children? Why don’t you call the police then because I’m never going to stop!” Your mother was out of her chair, fuming and pointing at you. You wished her outbursts could at least be predictable. “It’s not our fault you can’t see the life you could have here. It’s like you want yourself to be miserable. We’re trying to give you another option!”

You had to take a few deep breaths and decide the best way to respond without making things worse.

“Mom, I love you so much, and I truly appreciate everything you do, dad too.” You really tried to sell the lie, years of lying as a teenager made it a little bit easier. “I promise that if I’m not happy with how my life is going, I’ll come back here to be closer to you, okay?” While that was the farthest thing from the truth, it at least made your mother sit back down.

“If you really loved or cared about us, you’d do the right thing and stay here. Your niece doesn't even know you.” The look on your father’s face was one you were used to, frustration and distaste evident.

“That’s not my fault, it’s not like they come visit me, or even accept my calls when I do try to call.” Your sister rarely answered your calls, if she did it was brief and you never got to speak to your niece. Your sister always claimed they were too busy to talk.

“Please, why in god’s name would we come visit you? Don’t you know how difficult it is to travel with a child, or to even get time off? How expensive it is? Oh that’s right, you wouldn’t, you don’t have a child.” Your sister shook her head at you, Bucky made a noise of disbelief at you.

Your mother put her hand over yours on the table.

“You’re not getting any younger, sweetheart…” she started. You didn’t let her finish.

“Please, stop, okay? I can’t take this anymore.” You closed your eyes to silence around the table.

“You’ve always been so sensitive,” your brother spoke up, “you never could take any kind of joke. We’re trying to be supportive, you can’t even deal with that.”

Your sister laughed and nodded in agreement, your parents shook their heads in what looked like embarrassment. Thankfully, they took the hint and moved on from terrorizing you. You didn’t say another word to anyone that night.

You got one night off; one night with no parties, no forced socialization, even your sister and Bucky had gone to their own house. Your father was locked away in his study doing work, your brother was with Steve and your mother had “retired early” to take a bath and lay down. You figured she might just be taking xanax and drinking wine but whatever got her out of your hair.

Realizing that it was your one night of respite, you decided to take advantage of the alone time. You perused your father’s vintage wine collection before deciding on a good year, dug a container of ice cream out of the freezer and went to your room alone, locking the door behind you. You didn’t care if you heard screaming or a murder, there was no way you were leaving your room that night unless the house caught on fire.

Three quarters of a bottle of wine later, you were drunk and enjoying the tv show far more than sober you would. So far you hadn’t heard anything, no yelling, clangs, bumps or other strange noises, thankful for some down time. Downtime wasn’t always a good thing, because even with the tv in the background you couldn’t stop thinking about what happened with Steve.

You wanted to blame everything on being drunk, but you weren’t that drunk, were you? It couldn’t entireley be chalked up to that, so why had you been so goddamn stupid? With Steve it was always easier to give in than to argue, you knew that, maybe you were just tired of fighting all the time. But you had kept fighting with him, last night had felt like a fight, and you had the bruises on your legs and arms to prove it. At least, half of last night had been a fight. The other half made you feel so good you wanted to scream. You DID hate Steve, you knew it, so why had you let that happen?

Thinking back on your relationship with Steve made you cringe. You had been so young and dumb and sucked into the lifestyle your family lived that you couldn’t even see how toxic it was. It made you sick to think about how controlling manipulative Steve had always been, but it made you feel worse thinking about how you ate it up. You trusted Steve completely once, and it ended up almost killing you. Every moment you thought had been sweet or cute, was just a huge red flag in hindsight. You wished you could scream at your younger self to run. Steve liked to control you, tell you what to think, who to see, how to dress, he liked to OWN you, and you had been young and dumb enough to believe that was love. Steve still thought it was.

Apparently thinking of the devil could conjure him, your phone lighting up with Steve’s name. With a shriek you threw it across the room, laughing drunkenly when it hit the wall and fell to your bed. It continued to ring, the next caller was your brother, which you ignored. Your brother called again, and you giggled.

“Your call could not be completed as dialed. Goodbye.” You tried to sound like a robot, hanging up on him and laughing. Annoyed, you silenced your phone and crawled into bed, realizing that this was probably the only good night you’d have until you went home.

Christmas day itself was the biggest headache of the year. Your parents put on a play for themselves, in which your family were the actors and you had to pretend to be a happy family. You weren’t sure why you had to act all day long, since there was nobody at your house until the party in the evening, but it was absolutely expected that you play along to make your mother happy. There were even special clothes set out for you to wear, so that you wouldn’t “embarrass” your mother by not looking good. Again, there was no one at the house except your family and their staff.

You opened presents after a lavish breakfast, your family thanking you for presents you hadn’t bought them. Nobody received anything useful, the lavish gifts were status symbols, instead of something pragmatic. When you opened the small box from your mother you gasped.

“They belonged to your grandmother, she wore them on her wedding day. She wanted you to do the same.” Your mother informed you. The pearls were beautiful, clearly passed down through generations of women in your family. “They stay here though, you can’t take them back to your place when you leave.”

None of the gifts you’d ever received had come without contingencies.

“Thank you mom, it means a lot.” You couldn’t stop looking at the necklace; it matched the photographs of your grandmother in the hall.

“Hopefully you’ll have a use for them sooner, rather than later.” Your father huffed at you, which you ignored.

You really, really wished that after opening presents the day would end, but you didn’t get what you wanted when it came to family. There were a few hours of respite in the afternoon while your parents rushed around, getting everything in place for the guests that would arrive that evening. You weren’t lucky enough to be spared the thirty minute lecture from your mother about how you had to behave and look appropriate. You had been hearing the same speech since you were a child, you could probably have given the lecture to yourself from memory.

Eventually you stopped asking yourself why your family did the things they did. You wouldn’t get it, probably not ever. Why would they make everything complicated, why would they insist on wearing themselves out for the benefit of other people who didn’t actually care? Considering the short amount of time you had left in the house, you again decided the best course of action was to be quiet and not ask questions that would get you yelled at. You only had a few more days of this.

By the late afternoon you watched people filter into the house, and heard the noises of a party begin slowly. Groaning, you wondered how much of this you could put up with. Exhausted by the constant expectation of perfection, you decided to forgo your parents wishes, after all it was Christmas.

That’s exactly how you found yourself too drunk. You thought you were pacing yourself but you clearly hadn’t done a good enough job. The sun had set, the house was filled with people you didn’t care about, so you were on the balcony, hiding away in plain sight.

“Gimme one of those,” your hand was shaky as you held it out towards your brother. Surprisingly without a snide remark, he handed over a cigarette.

Steve already had a lighter in his hand, leaning close to light it. You took a few drags until you couldn’t anymore, you hadn’t smoked in years and the whole thing would make you sick, but damn did just enough make you feel better. Steve took it from your fingers and smoked it with you; you let him pass the cigarette back and forth between the two of you until it was gone.

“You know-”

“Don’t ruin this.” You waved your hand at him when Steve began to talk, and he miraculously fell silent for a few more minutes.

“I haven’t seen you smoke in years,” Steve tried again.

“I need to brush my teeth,” you walked away, not caring about anything he had to say to you.

After a quick toothbrush and hand wash, you thought about how long you could hide out in your room until someone came looking for you. With a sense of dread you slowly went back downstairs. Maybe you could avoid the rest of your family if you tried hard enough. You laughed at yourself in the mirror at the thought, but you were drunk enough to not care.

“Whatever I don’t give a shit.” Your mother was lamenting your intoxicated state. She found you after you came back downstairs, furious at your drunkenness. It was funny how she cared so much about you and your sister getting drunk or tipsy, but didn’t bat an eye when your brother pulled the same stunt.

To prove a point you grabbed the nearest drink, that happened to be in Steve’s hand, and threw it back. You were aware that it was a bad decision but you really, really didn’t care. You were sick of this, it was Christmas and they wouldn’t let you have a minute break from their judgments.

The amount of liquor you’d had was unreasonable, you eyed the tables in the room looking for carbohydrates to sop up the mess in your stomach. You were starting to feel woozy.

“I can’t believe my eyes, someone is finally starting to have a good time!” Steve followed you out to the balcony again where you had gone to clear your head.

“I’m not having a good time, I’m miserable.” Why hide how you really felt?

“You seemed happy enough to steal my drink,” Steve countered.

“I’m not blacking out to have a good time, I’m blacking out to pretend I’m somewhere else.” Steve held up another cigarette which you took and lit, back towards him.

“Blacking out huh? That’s not like you.” He said with a smile you could hear.

“I can’t do this anymore,” you gestured behind you towards your family’s house.

“We can always get out of here,” Steve liked how drunk you were, it made you more compliant.

“Nah, I’d rather not spend any more time with you,” you let him know.

“So you’re gonna steal my drinks and my cigarettes and leave me hanging?”

“My god! I’ll go get you a drink and buy you a pack of cigarettes Steve, why are you like this?”

“Why won’t you come home with me?” He acted like he hadn't heard you.

“Because I hate you!” Your hands were thrown up.

“Nah, you don’t hate me.” Steve would never let you win any argument. “You proved that the other night.”

“You’re disgusting.” He would never let you live down your mistakes.

“Mmhm, well let me know if you still feel the same way in half an hour.” You could see the smirk on his face when he moved closer.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” You weren’t having any more drinks, unsure how half an hour would make you warm up to him.

“That drink was spiked with molly.” Steve nonchalantly threw out.

“What the fuck Steve?” You were suddenly livid.

“It’s Christmas, I’m enjoying myself. And it looks like you will be too.” Steve was all too pleased with himself.

“I need to throw up.” You tried to run to the toilet but Steve stopped you.

“It’s no use now baby, just relax okay? It’s already in your bloodstream.” He sounded so self assured, so pleased that you had fallen into a trap that he hadn’t even set.

“Goddamn it.” You couldn’t believe yourself. How could you be so stupid?

Twenty minutes later, you felt so much better, the people around you were less annoying, the conversations engaging. You surprised yourself with your willingness to talk to people, your leg bouncing the whole time. The people in your house were suddenly far more interesting than before, everyone was so much nicer.

Approaching you with a smile, Steve sat down beside you and ran his hands up your legs, settling them on your thighs but you didn’t care for once, it felt nice.

“Hey, how’s it going?” You greeted him, a smile creeping across your face. It didn’t annoy you that he was there, that he was touching you.

“Feeling better?” A sly look on his face.

“Yeah, I feel great!” All the animosity had left your voice, you weren’t sure why you had been so upset with Steve.

“Yeah I thought you might. You wanna get out of here?”

“Where are we going?” You asked with a giggle.

“Somewhere more private, somewhere we can talk.”

Talking didn’t sound so bad, neither did getting away from the crowd of people in the room.

“Sure, let’s go.” Every part of you felt good, your body was tingling, you couldn't stop smiling. Who would it hurt to go talk with Steve?

Grabbing your hand made you feel an electricity between the two of you, Steve’s skin felt so good on yours. You followed him happily up the stairs into your room.

“What do you wanna talk about?” You were interested in what he had to say, it had been so long since the two of you sat down and had a pleasant conversation.

Hardly letting the words get out of your mouth, Steve had you against the wall, lips on yours, fingers lacing together.

“What are you doing?” Your voice was breathy, but not unhappy.

“Treating you right,” was his reply, whispering into your neck between kisses.

“Mmmm,” was all you managed, Steve’s touches were incredible.

You pulled him closer, wanting more of his skin on yours, you pulled his jacket away, started unbuttoning his shirt.

“You finally want to play?” Steve was grinning, more than happy that you were taking the lead.

“You feel good, you smell good,” you told him, hands still busy taking off his clothes.

“I told you so,” Steve was never one to let you forget it when he was right.

“Shut up and kiss me.” You couldn’t get enough of him. Steve was all too happy to oblige.

Steve’s lips on yours felt right, felt electric, you wanted more. Pulling him by what little clothing he had left, you pushed him down on your bed before climbing on top of him.

“This, I like,” he let you know, a semi surprised expression covering his face.

“Yeah, me too,” somewhere, some tiny part of your brain was telling you to stop, but you weren’t sure why, so you ignored it. You were happy, Steve felt so good, why would you stop? You didn’t care if Steve was finally getting what he wanted, you were too.

Steve pulled at your clothes and you let out a happy sigh, leaning into his chest to kiss him. You let him take everything off, tugging at his pants to touch more of his skin. He let out a soft laugh; you weren’t sure if he was laughing at you but you didn’t care.

Steve flipped you over so you were beneath him, eyes raking over your body, trying to memorize all of it. Humming happily, you ran your hands over his shoulders, his back, his hair. Every inch of him was more amazing than the last. With nothing between you, Steve began to touch you and you couldn’t stop from moaning into him.

“Please Steve?” You didn’t have much control over your body or your voice, your brain cloudy with dopamine. You didn’t want him to stop, you wanted all of him, wanted him to fuck you sensless. Your eyes were half closed in pleasure.

The second his tongue connected with your clit you screamed, white lights blooming behind your eyes, the way Steve made you feel almost had you blacking out. Grabbing his hair, you rocked yourself into him, not taking much for you to orgasm with a sinful moan. Licking his lips, Steve kissed you deep, both of your faces now wet with your juices.

“Baby?” you were whining.

“Anything for you doll,” Steve looked ecstatic, loving the sounds you made beneath him, begging for him.

You almost came immediately when Steve pushed his thick cock into you. You didn’t even recognize the noises you were making as your own, completely blinded by pleasure. Even the nasty words he was whispering in your ear made you feel good. Wrapping your legs around him, you pulled Steve closer. You loved his kisses, his lips were always perfect, his tongue felt right against your skin.

You weren’t sure how long Steve fucked you, time didn’t have any meaning to you. Eventually you pulled him off you and began kissing down his chest, his stomach until you reached his cock, humming around it as you began to suck him off.

“Baby, fuck,” Steve was not expecting this, but molly could have one hell of an effect on the right person.

You had no idea what possessed you to do that, but you didn’t care, you wanted Steve so bad, and his cock down your throat was welcome. You made sure to stop before he came, teasing him before climbing back on top and taking Steve for a ride. You didn’t want to stop, hell you did want to break that bed. What seemed like hours later, you felt Steve cum inside of you, felt his cum drip out of you around his cock. You felt so good, so happy that you made him cum, you still had it.

“I don’t know if I can sleep,” you admitted into Steve’s chest where you were happily wrapped up in his arms.

“Don’t worry about that baby, give me twenty minutes and I’ll have you screaming my name so loud everyone downstairs will hear it.” He kissed the top of your head.

A small smile crossed your face. If Steve wanted to go all night you were absolutely going to encourage it.

@emberenchanted @jemimah-b99 @ blithecapricorn @lovepeaceorelse @aemorr-5885

#writings #My writing #my works #this is dark #dark writings #Dark fics #dark!captain america #dark!steve rogers #dark!steve x reader #dark!captain america x reader #dark!marvel

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jonsa101 · 4 years ago

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New Amsterdam Season 3x7: The Groundwork to Heal and Rebuild

Last night’s episode truly blew me away. It’s definitely one of the best episodes in the series. To be honest, I was incredibly anxious about how the show would handle systemic racism in the healthcare system but I think the writers did a beautiful job. I love how they have redirected Max’s story. It truly is a great character shift. Max has gone from the “how can I help” guy who tries to solve everything and usually always succeeds at it, to the guy who fails miserably and in frustration even throws in the towel. It’s so refreshing because the Max we had before this shift was unrealistic. This season is so good because this season feels real and authentic and Max though idealistic, is finally getting a big dose of reality in how he operates. I don’t think the show is ever going to give us season 1 or 2 Max again and that’s a good thing! That means our male lead is finally growing and evolving. It’s character development baby and we love to see it! I also love where the storyline is going for Helen. I have always had a head canon that Helen has some wild baby sister that would pop into her life to live with her and Helen would look out for her and take her under her wing. The story line with Meena is way better than my head canon and kinda falls in line with what I’ve always imagined. I’m so happy that Helen has a niece and that she’s moving in with her! This is literally the PERFECT ROLE for Helen. There’s nothing better than having a character who struggles with being vulnerable than literally having an unexpected character show up to shake things up and unroot the vulnerabilities/traumas said character has yet to deal with.

A lot of people couldn’t understand why Helen gave up her relationship with Cassian because of her niece but I completely understand where she’s coming from. Helen is completely out of her depth here. She wanted a baby and had know plans to take in her brother’s child let alone a teenager. This is completely new territory for her and the stress of having to juggle this new role, a new relationship and her already hectic job at New Amsterdam was probably overwhelming. Like most people who have a type A personality, she is doing what she feels like she has to do to get ready. Meena moving in with Helen is purposeful on so many levels and there are three things I’m expecting to see on screen because of it.

First, we are going to see so much more of Helen on a personal level. I fully expect to see Helen’s home life way more frequently as we see her step into this aunt/mother role and raise a teenager. This is not going to be a walk in the park. Helen is going to STRUGGLE. Meena will more than likely push Helen’s buttons to know end and and bring out all the vulnerabilities that she tries so hard to keep down. It will be probably be a bit ugly at first but as Helen and Meena start to bond and find common ground, Helen will FLOURISH. We will see her at her best as she thrives in this aunt/mother role. Second, Meena is absolutely going to peep the feelings that Max and Helen have for each other and she’s going to let her opinions be known. For the most part, teenagers know how to read the room and I’m pretty sure Meena will be know different. As Helen and Meena grow closer and as she possibly interacts with Max as well, I’m pretty confident Meena will say something and play a small part in pushing Max and Helen together. Of course this is just a prediction but usually a third character calls out the obvious “Unresolved Sexual Tension” between love interests and my money is on Meena! Third, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Helen stepped down from deputy medical director to step into this aunt/mother role as Max tries to be a single father to Luna while also trying to fill a mother void in Luna’s life. When we were heading into the season finale and going into season 2, I wrote a meta detailing my thoughts about how I felt about Helen deciding to be Max’s doctor again. I didn’t necessarily agree with the decision because I believed that Helen needed to remain true to the emotional and professional boundaries she was trying to set for herself. I also believed that because it was indicated Max and Helen had feelings for each other, her role needed to shift going forward in their relationship. It took two seasons but Helen’s role has finally shifted! 🙌🏾 She is no longer Max’s doctor or deputy medical director and for once Max no longer has the crutch/excuse of trying to navigate how he feels about her through that lense!!! THIS IS HUGE!!!

Max now has to truly sit there with his feelings and feel the absence of not going to Helen for everything because of the necessity of the roles she once had in his life. He will quickly come to terms with the fact that not only is he in love with her but he’s truly wants and needs her as his LIFE PARTNER! On top of that, Ryan has literally been teasing that Max is looking for not only a partner but a mother/mother role for Luna and he’s trying to figure that out fast (I will literally link the article). Max already knows Helen’s desire to be a mom but he will literally get the chance to see Helen step into that role with Meena! This isn’t by accident and it’s all purposeful. I’ve said this a hundred times and I’ll say it again, the showrunners are setting the groundwork for them to get together this season. Something has shifted. There’s a deep longing and desperation behind Max and I genuinely believe that he is consumed with his feelings for her. Through a bathroom door he was trying to convince Helen to be co-medical director to help battle systemic racism but while he’s trying to convince her, through subtext, he is essentially asking her to be his partner in life! I saw someone mention on Twitter that it was basically a proposal in a joking manner but honestly, that’s exactly what it was. It was a subtext laced proposal! His feelings are so all consuming that he can’t truly stay on the topic at hand!!! I think Max is on the verge of the floodgates bursting wide open and he is going to lay everything out on the table. Also, seeing Max’s behavior last night oddly reminds me a bit of Mr. Darcy in the Pride and Prejudice. Don’t get me wrong, Mr. Darcy and Max don’t have the same mannerisms but the depth of the feelings they have for their love interests and how it manifests feels the same. I’ll get into this more at the conclusion of this meta.

Anyway, when I look at the season in it’s entirety so far, I see the show setting up two people that both have to develop and heal in specific areas so that they can eventually come together by the end of the season. Helen is struggling with vulnerability, feeling like she’s running out of a time with the desires she truly wants in life and now in the most unexpected way is being thrust into aunt/motherhood. Max’s idealism has been completely rocked by the pandemic and now more than ever he’s forced to be more self aware of his actions and needs to evolve from the chronic hero syndrome. He’s also essentially stepping into fatherhood again as he tries to learn and navigate being a single dad and making Luna his first priority. I think for a time Max and Helen will need to face their issues head on by themselves but as they go through their own healing journeys, they’re going to need each other. Also, they’re DEEPLY IN LOVE so even though it seems like they’re drifting a part it’s only going to be temporarily. Eventually, they’ll start “burdening” each other again.

Another important point that I want to bring up is this. In the last meta that I wrote, I mentioned how I believed that Max needs to go above and beyond to try meet Helen’s needs and support her and I genuinely believe that we will see that throughout this season. In last night’s episode, after he poured his heart out and told her that he’s grateful that she’s there with him, Helen resigned as deputy medical director. The old Max would have put up a fight and put his needs before hers because he wants her there with him but despite it being painful, he accepted her resignation. That’s growth! Taking Helen out of the equation as his number two at the hospital is going to make him so much more aware of her needs in her personal life rather than the needs of the hospital. They’re relationship has always been so intertwined with their work at New Amsterdam that Max hasn’t learned to truly prioritize Helen outside of that but this season he’s definitely going to. The absence of Helen in his literal everyday work life with the combination of his overwhelming feelings will eventually lead to a wild pursuit. A pursuit to know her heart, her wants, her needs and most importantly a pursuit to be with her.

My last point is this! I’ve made some pretty bold predictions this season about where I see Max and Helen going. Again, I think something MASSIVE is on the horizon and I honestly still think that by the end of this season Max and Helen might very well be engaged!! I don’t know Fam they’re just giving me this vibe especially Max! Last night solidified to me that he is getting to a place where his feelings are beginning to overwhelm him. This brings me back to Mr. Darcy. I believe Mr. Darcy and Max are at the same emotional level when it comes to how they feel about their significant others. When it was to much to bare for Mr. Darcy not only did he declare his love for Elizabeth but he proposed. He literally went from 0-100. Though Elizabeth rejected his first proposal, he proposed again and the second time around they had both done the work that they needed to in order to understand each other better and realize that they loved each other. I can’t help but think of Darcy saying

“You have bewitched me body and soul and I love I love I love you. And wish from this day forth never to be parted from you.”

Is it just me or is Max acting a little bit like Helen has bewitched him body and soul? He’s all over the place when it comes to her lately and his body language has changed too! Did anyone else peep how closely Max and Helen were sitting next to each other? It was so intimate for a second I thought they were going to kiss or he was going to grab her hands. I don’t know it just screamed desire to me. Also, this ongoing theme were he tells her that he “can’t do this without her” or he’s grateful that “she’s here with him” to me is in the same light of Darcy telling Elizabeth that he never wants to be parted from her. From season two onwards Max has openly expressed wanting/needing Helen by his side. Now that we are in season 3, it seems like Max need for this has only gotten deeper. I make this comparison to say that the underlying vibe of how we are seeing Max and Helen unfold this season to me points to something incredibly tangible happening between them at season end.

The thing about Max and Helen is that yes, they are a slow burn but at the same time they’re also a 0-100 type of couple. I want to write another meta to explain this in detail but what I’ll say here is that if circumstances were different in season 1 and Max wasn’t married, Max and Helen would have probably been the type of couple who got married within a couple of months of knowing each other. Also, from my perspective, once Max and Helen finally let each other know how they really feel, it’s not going to be a thing where they’re just dating like with Cassian or Panthaki. It’s going to be like it’s a wrap, I’m all in, you are my person, this is it for me type thing. It’s going to be commitment! I feel like people forget but this show started in 2018. In September it will be four years since the show premiered. Granted COVID happened in 2020, but essentially Max and Helen have been doing this tango for awhile now. The expectation should be that we are finally going to see things come into fruition in a major way this season because that’s 1000% what I believe. Everything in my gut is telling me that the time is now and they are setting them up to do groundwork to heal so that they can rebuild together. A new chapter for them is on the horizon and I’m so excited about it!

#sharpwin #new amsterdam #max goodwin #helen sharpe #max x helen #sharpwin meta #new amsterdam meta

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tanakavox · 4 years ago

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The screen runs again as shows the red coated Jaune standing around looking annoyed as a voice calls out to him.

"Hey look it's half demon Jaune again!" Nora cheered.

"...Half what? Coco deadpan.

"Jaune in this universe is the son of Ozpin,who's a demon who saved all of humanity. Cinder is like his twins or something." Yang quickly brought the others to speed.

"Teach is a demon?" Coco asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Wait who's the mom then?" Velvet asked, confused.

"That's….. A very good question. We didn't get an answer to that. Yang mused.

"I just wanna know who this person with the annoying voice was." Whitley muttered

"Another good question that we don't get answers to. Sorry."

"Thanks for destroying the lock for me, devil boy! And welcome to hell! Please accept my gift. Don't be humble, just take it. After all, we are buddies aren't we?" The voice the viewers recozinge as Jester as she cackles loudly.

A fountain of blood flows onto the statues which bring out blood bat-based demons called Blood-goyles flies toward Jaune and he cuts it in half with a casual swipe from his sword.

Jaune shakes his head in disappointment. "Well, isn't that special. To be honest, I'm expecting something a little better than this," Jaune then goes to dispatch them and leaves on his way to find Cinder.

The scene cuts to Jaune walking in front of a door with two statues and stopping when they began to start talking. Jaune doesn't look a bit shocked.

"Look brother, it's been ages, but we finally have company," one called Rudra said gleefully.

"I see that," The other is called Agni simply.

"We must entertain our guest."

"You're right. We have to be gracious hosts."

"Brother, what should we do?" Rudra asked.

"How do I know? We need to come up with something," Agni stated.

Jaune began to get impantice pacing back and forward and sighed.

"I don't blame him for getting impantice. These guys are annoying." Mercury stated. He was already starting not like these guys.

"Oh come on they weren't even talking!" Ruby pointed out glaring at Mercury.

"Still annoying."

Rudra took notice with this. "Brother, our guest is... sighing."

"SIGH? What is... SIGH?" Agni asked, a bit confused.

"Well a sigh is when -" Rudra was about to answer until he was cut off by their guest.

"Enough already!" Jaune said, finally snapping, "How long are you two gonna keep carrying on like this? In case you didn't get the hint, I'll spell it out. Your guest wants to go through. Got it."

"Our job here is to guard this door," Rudra said the statue was moving a bit.

"That's right! We can't let you pass," Agni added his piece.

(After Agni & Rudra battle)

"Wow, he took them out without much effort." Fiona said wide eyed.

"That kinda sums up this Jaune huh? He didn't have much trouble with the last guy either. Nora responded with a huge grin.

"He's gonna die when he gets to Cinder though. Emerald said with a smirk. "Remember what happened at the start. Nora turns to glare at her.

"Shut up!" She barked.

After their bodies were defeated in battle, both demon swords spun around in the air until they fell and got stuck on the ground in a crossed-blades position. They see Jaune walking towards the exit of the room, about to leave them behind.

"Wait!" Rudra cried out to Jaune.

Against his better thinking, Jaune turns around to acknowledge the two demon guards

"Yes, wait. We have been waiting for a long time," Agni said after his brother.

"Yes, a very long time," Rudra echoed.

"For someone stronger than us."

"Someone who can control us."

"My name is Agni," the red demon sword said.

"And my name is Rudra. You shall take us with you," The blue demon sword stated.

"We could be a great help to you!" Both brothers said as one.

Jaune took a moment to think about their offer. They were pretty strong together and seeing as how he's already let Cereberus tag along, he could use these two as Devil Arms as well. "Okay, but on one condition," He pressed.

"What is it?" Agni asked ecstatically.

"Name it!" Rudra sharing his brother's joy stated.

Jaune points to both brothers, "No talking!" While they were a strong force together, he would not deal with their constant chit-chat along the way.

"Thank god he said it." Mercury stated.

"Much as I hate to agree with you but yeah." Jaune piped up.

"Jaune!" Ruby cried, lightning punching him in the arm. Jaune raised his arms defensively

"I'm sorry Rubes, But they're really annoying.

"Fair enough!" Agni agreed to the blonde's terms.

"As you wish," Rudra echoed his agreement.

Jaune picks up the two swords and does a kata. The force of every swing of the two swords generated sharp winds and scorching flames. By the end, Jaune couldn't help but smile in satisfaction at how amazing these Devil Arms were and how strong they felt in his hands.

"... That was so cool." Ruby whispered with stars in her eyes.

"Impressive," The blue brother praised his new master.

Jaune flips the swords and bangs the two brother's heads together. "No talking," He repeated their agreement.

Neither Agni or Rudra said anything more, almost like they really were inanimate objects.

"Good," Jaune said in satisfaction, having peace and quiet again.

—

The scene changes to show the young crimsonette walk stealthily down a corridor with a gun in hand, the sounds of heavy steps closing in around her.

"Hey look! It's me! Ruby cheered. She didn't get to show up alot in this movie so far. But she started to get worried. It looked like she was about to get ambushed.

It's all of a sudden when a group of Pride Hell's attempt to ambush her. She's able to evade the swings of their scythe weapons thanks to her fast reflexes, allowing her to retrieve a second pistol from a holster. She shoots at two of the Hells and continues to fire in quick succession. One of the Hells thrusted the blunt pommel of their scythe in her direction, Ruby's able to dodge the strike by hopping on top of it and evade multiple swings directed at her in an expert show of her athletic ability. She continues to return fire to them as they continue to advance.

"WHOOO GO RUBY!" Yang cheered as she went to town on the demons.

Even when she gets cornered she has a plan. Ruby kicked two Hells back with her legs, a gift for each of them in the form of grenades. The explosion results in the Hells along with herself being propelled into the air. She doesn't give them a chance to recover as she continues to send bullets their way via cyclone of death. She finds footing on an embedded scythe in the wall, she fires at a nearby Hell and then uses the scythe as a high bar as a means to continue her attack on the rest of the Hells while performing many acts of peak acrobatic ability and gunfire. Eventually she finds herself upside down, her only support was her feet hooked around two embedded poles. The Hells take this opportunity to strike against Ruby together, they never seem to learn.

"Which version of Ruby seems very skilled,'' Weiss mused.

"You say that like you believe I'm not skilled now Ruby said smiling at Weiss. Weiss doesn't say anything as Ruby stares at her. She pouted at the former heiress. "I'm skilled Weiss!"

"Yes. Of Course Ruby." Weiss replies with a smirk.

Ruby turns to Jaune to get him on her side but stops when she noticed that Jaune crossed his legs tightly and was staring at the screen intently.

"Uh Jaune? Why did you cross your legs so tightly?"

Jaune turns to Ruby wide eyed and stutters out an answer. "Uh I-i just feel more comfortable like this!" No way he was gonna tell Ruby watching her go to town on demons was hot to him. Ruby stares at him for a few seconds and goes back to the movie.

Deciding it was time to bring out the big guns, Ruby draws out her trusty Crescent Rose and fires a missile at the ground beneath her. The explosion knocks back the Hells while propelling her into the air once more. Ruby lands onto the ground in a crouch position with no signs of harm throughout the ordeal. As she looks around, she releases a sigh of relief as the Hells were no longer a threat. She tugs her darling back on her shoulder and continues on, as she leaves the screen pans to an overhead shot to see that the charred remains of the ground resembling a '6.'

Ruby is now seen on a balcony of Temen-ni-gru, reloading her arsenal, sitting on a rock until she hears a voice come from behind her. Upon recognizing the voice she immediately pulls out one of her guns.

"Well, well... You've grown stronger," Raven said as she approached the young woman.

"Mom." Yang had a dark look on her face.

"What does she want with Ruby? Blake asks.

"If you shut your yap you may find out." Mercury said nonchalantly causing Blake to glare at him.

"Go to Hell," She raises her pistol directly towards Raven's face.

"You point a gun at me? Your own kin? Your dear Auntie?" Raven said as though she were truly shocked.

Ruby's face twists in rage, "The only family I ever had was my sister, and she's dead!"

"SHE KILLED ME?!" Yang yelled out in shock? The rest of her team and friends were in shock as well. Qrow couldn't believe it. Yang and Raven never really had a good relationship but he didn't think Raven would kill her own daughter.

Ruby shoots with her pistol four times, but finds that Raven has vanished. She draws out a SMG and aims both guns to her left and right in case Raven could get the jump on her. She scans around her surroundings for any signs of Raven only to find nothing. That only left one direction left uncheck... was above!

"You break my heart. After all, it was I who gave you your name. My darling niece!" Raven yells as she stares at Ruby while hanging upside down on the balcony roof.

Ruby was about to shoot when Raven's book dropped on her face blocking her vision. Raven takes this opportunity to get the jump on Ruby and throws her niece off the platform. Before she was out of Raven's sight, she felt her cheek get grazed by one of Ruby's bullets that she fired her way.

"That should have gone into her head!" Yang screamed, her eyes glowing red. Qrow couldn't help but agree with his niece.

Ruby continues falling Temen-ni-gru, that is until Jaune catches sight of her falling and proceeds to catch her by one of her boots. She looks at what stopped her fall and upon recognizing the boy in red, points both her guns at him.

Jaune looks down at the girl with a grin, pleased to see this interesting girl again. "Well, this is my kind of rain. No wonder the sky looks so funny today," He said while looking up at the cloudy sky.

"Getting bold ain't ya Bondie?" Qrow said, turning to Jaune who gave him an annoyed look.

"Yeah? And you want me to what Old man?" He snapped.

Qrow growled knowing he couldn't do anything.

"Let me go!" Ruby yelled.

"Don't say that stupid" Ruby yelled at the other version of herself.

Jaune looked at her with surprise, "Let you go? But it would be a waste if you ended up as just a pretty stain."

"Smooth Arc. Smooth." Coco teased as Jaune faces red at his alternate self boldness with his best friend.

Ruby having enough this guy's talk shoots him in his head. When the bullet makes contact with Jaune's face, it causes him to let go of the girl which results in her fall down again. This time however she's able to use the blade of Crescent Rose as a means to stop her fall. As she hangs off her weapon, she hears the sound of footst coming from the platform above.

"NO ME NO!" Ruby yelled out in horror at the fact she possibly killed her best friend.

"Huh look at that. He died earlier than I thought." Emerald laughed.

Jaune peers over the edge of the platform at the girl, sporting a bleeding bullet wound on his forehead and a miffed expression, "What the hell was that for? Here I am trying to help you and you show your thanks by shooting me?"

"Oh thanks goodness." Ruby sighed in relief.

"We shouldn't be too surprised. Getting stabbed several times with scythe only made him mad." Oscar pointed out.

Ruby, very confused with how he's even standing, responds by shooting him again.

The bullet once again makes contact, however, Jaune is able to react quickly enough to catch it between his teeth. After spitting the offending bullet out of his mouth he decides it would be in his best interest to ditch the girl, "Whatever, do as you please."

"God me! You just lost your chance at getting a friend!" Ruby said in a disapproving tone.

Ruby lowers her gun as she's finally able to pick up why she's been having a bad feeling about this guy, "So he's a demon too."

As he leaves, Jaune cleans off a bit of leftover blood from his face and wipes it on the wall. "I'm beginning to think I've got rotten luck with women," The line of fresh blood drips down the wall, creating the image of a '7.'

—

The scene changes to the very top of Temen-ni-gru, there stands a black haired woman in the rain, a ethereal full moon shining its light in the night sky, and the only sound that was present was the roaring winds in the air.

The silence would soon be broken as the sound of approaching footsteps began to come up the stairs. Jaune approaches the platform, finally making it to the top of the large tower that was Temen-ni-gru. After fighting multiple demons just to get here he was finally met with his gracious hostess, Cinder.

Cinder turned her head to address her guest, already knowing who it was, "...You showed up," She smiled.

Cinder sat forward in her seat. Ready to see herself destroy this weakening again.

Jaune walks up to her, while twirling Ivory in his hands. There was a smile on his face as he paced around the platform, "You sure know how to throw a party. No food, no drinks, and the only babe just left." Jaune lightheartedly pokes at his sister's very poor party preparation.

"My sincerest apology, brother. I was so eager to see you I couldn't concentrate on the preparations for the bash," Cinder replies with a warmth that was difficult to tell if it was genuine or not.

D-do they hate each other?" Oscar asks. "They seem pretty happy to see each other."

Jaune brushes it off continuing his pacing, "Whatever. At any rate, it's been a whole year since we last met. How about a kiss from your little brother? Or better yet, how about a kiss from this?"

Jaune immediately points Ivory directly at Cinder. The sound of lightning and thunder echoed throughout the dark sky, signaling the change in the atmosphere around the two siblings.

"So, this is what they call a heart warming family reunion eh…" Jaune questions as his face grinned, expressing that he was ready for a fight,

Cinder's eyes darkened, her facial expression becoming cold but determined, "You got that right."

Cinder opens up Yamato with her thumb, its blade gleaming in the moonlight.

"Take down, Fearless leader" Nora cheered.

"Heh. Come red. We both know how this is gonna end up."" Mercury said chuckling at her.

"I thought I told you to shut up?" Nora hissed.

—

Jaune and Cinder separated from each other, both breathing heavily from the battle, after fighting so intensely they took a moment to catch their breath. Their fight in the rain had lasted for some time, as evidenced by Cinder's hair being flat down, wet from all the rainwater.

Jaune is able to recover first so he takes Rebellion and starts charging at his sister, Rebellion's tip generating sparks as he drags it on the ground. Cinder recovers in time to evade his attempted strike, giving her the opportunity to parry with Yamato.

Jaune spins Rebellion with both hands then thrusted the sword towards Cinder, who then sidesteps the blade's path. She rotates Yamato to hold the katana backhanded, following up by knocking Jaune backwards with its kashira (pommel). Both of them quickly clashed their blades together, resulting in both of them being knocked back, Jaune having already off his feet is knocked the farthest back.

Jaune skits to one of the pillars standing on the platform, stopping his backwards momentum. He quickly draws out Ebony from her holster, and fires seven shots at his brunette sibling. The bullets are seen speeding towards Cinder who begins spinning Yamato in a quick rotating motion, deflecting three of the bullets while catching the remaining four that were originally aimed towards her.

Cinder places the caught bullets on the floor with Yamato in single file and then returns them to her blonde brother. Jaune sees the returning bullets coming towards him but he quickly lifts Rebellion over his head and is able to quickly slice through them, which then burst behind him.

"...That was fucking cool. Mercury stated and no one disagreed with him

Cinder points Yamato at him, her face expressing her frustration towards her brother, "Why do you refuse to gain power? The power of our father Ozma?"

"I thought you guys said that teacher was their dad?" Coco turned to everyone with a raised eyebrow.

"He is, that's just his real name." Blake said with a sigh. "It's a long story. Don't ask." Coco shrugs and goes back to the movie.

Jaune, after using Rebellion to help him stand, looks at Cinder as if she told him a bad joke, "Father? I don't have a father. I just don't like you, that's all."

Ozpin's heart ached hearing Jaune say that. He knew that they weren't his kids in his universe but the fact that any kids of his were fighting at all as well one of his sons rejecting him, hurted.

A moment of silence passes before the two siblings charge at each other once more, both of their swords clash against the other, while both Jaune and Cinder stare the other down. The spot where both Yamato and Rebellion met begins turning a bright orange, the generated sparks and heat being caused by the force behind both blades, as the two continue staring down the other. The whining of two metals being tested is heard, Jaune seemed to be exerting everything he had, while Cinder showed no apparent signs of exertion at all. The struggle is finally ended when Cinder strikes Rebellion away from her brother's grasp, the large sword spinning in the air until it strikes against the ground, timed perfectly as Cinder impales Jaune with Yamato.

Cinder smirks as she hears the cries of the blonde fools friends as her blade sinks into his stomach. Today was a good day. Two universes where she totally domanations. She turns to Jaune to see his reaction. To her disappointment the blonde didn't react much. Only had a stoic expression. Jaune knew he was gonna lose but didn't want to give the bitch the satisfaction of his disappointment.

His blood trickles down onto the floor and Yamato itself while Jaune grasps at the blade that was impaling his abdomen.

Cinder looks down at her impaled sibling, her face expressing neither joy or satisfaction in the act, only disappointment, "Foolishness, Jaune, foolishness. Might control everything. And without strength, you can't protect anything. Let alone yourself."

Cinder agreed with her counterpart but didn't really care on how she wasn't enjoying her other self with her impaling the fool.

"She... looks disappointed?" Mercury echoed Cinder's thoughts.

"Maybe they do love others? In some kinda weird way?" Ruby said, scratching her head in confusion.

Cinder forcibly removes Jaune from Yamato's blade then takes his amulet from him and leaves a slash on Jaune's sleeve. She looks at the amulet in her hand for a moment, fixes her hair back to its original shape, and starts to walk away but not before taking hold of Rebellion. When Jaune tries to get up, Cinder turns around and quickly impales him with his own sword.

A pan up shot shows Jaune as his blood begins pooling under him, Rebellion pinning his body to the floor.

"Do you finally have it?" Cinder turns around and there she sees Raven standing behind her, seeming to have just arrived.

"Yes. Now the spell Ozma cast will be broken," Cinder says to the scarred woman.

"Spell?" Velvet asked

"Ozpin in this universe sealed the demon world from the human alongside all of his power.

"And Cinder and Raven want to open the gate to the demon realm to get his power?" Yatshu finally speaks up.

Jaune lays on the platform unconscious, seeming like he is dead… until the skull on Rebellion changes form and the sword is launched into the air, the water rises behind Jaune as he charges ahead and tries to attack Cinder.

She quickly blocks Jaune's fist with Yamato, resulting in his hand being covered in blood as the blade sliced through it. Unlike before, Jaune's face shows no evidence of being in pain due to the injury, instead his face shows significant rage towards Cinder.

"I see, the devil inside you has awakened as well," Cinder said to him. This time showing a peaked interest.

"Holy shit Blondie doesn't that hurt?!" Fiona cried out wincing in pain just watching Jaune's hands sink into the blade.

Jaune forces his impaled arm through Yamato, his tissue healing at such an astonishing rate as once his hand is removed it shows no sign of damage or deformity. He grabs the blade once more, then uses his newfound strength to fling Cinder over his shoulder.

"Interesting. It seems like the boy's regen has increased incredibly."Salem mused on learning forward. "They seem more like my children than your Opsin." She smiles at him mocking but it dropped when Nora spoke.

"Probably because you are their mom."Nora replied nonchalantly while still looking at the movie.

Salem took pauses at this and took a closer look at Jaune in the movie and the one in the theater. She got a weird feeling from him, but she decided to push it to the back of her head and just decided the pink one was talking nonsense.

Cinder lands on her feet soon after, preparing to fight him once more before she is stopped by Raven's voice from behind her, "Wait. We should leave. For the moment we have all that we need."

A white aura surrounds Jaune as he walks towards them, his eyes dulled and his steps heavy as he slowly begins triggering the demon inside of him. It was at this time that Cinder and Raven walked away, jumping off the edge of Temen-ni-gru, letting him transform into his Devil Form for the very first time. After releasing an inhuman roar, Jaune falls to the ground unconscious, returning to his human form.

"Holy shit what was that?!" Ruby looked at Jaune in shock.

"Is that what Cinder meant when she said Jaune unlocked the devil inside of him? Because that is a badass looking devil man!" Mercury shouted, getting hyped up.

—

After some time has passed, Jaune awakens once more and gets up off of the ground. The rain having stopped results in many of the clouds to clear up, one of them showing a figure of an '8.' He rips the broken portion of the sleeve from his jacket, then picks up Rebellion. Jaune finds them gone, feeling defeated he slams his fist at the nearest pillar, which results in the top portion of the structure to explode. Jaune looks at what he's done and he discovers he has awakened newfound power, it surprisingly felt...good.

"Oh know that look." Yang had a knowing smile.

Next thing Jaune knows, he jumps off the top of Temen-ni-gru, beginning his pursuit to get his amulet back from his sister and that scarred woman. During his plummet he decides to test his new capabilities on incoming demons. The incoming Blood-goyles will do nicely.

He slays large quantities of the Blood-goes with extraordinary ease, all of his speed, strength, and agility had increased so much that he was like a blur to the normal eye. He throws Rebellion at a number of Blood-golyes, quickly impaling and to finish the job he fires Ebony at the swords pommel, increasing the speed of his sword so much that it reaches terminal velocity. Jaune chases after Rebellion until his outstretched arm is able to reach the same speed as his falling sword. Once he's able to grasp it, Jaune launches himself off of Temin-ni-grun at a horizontal angle.

"... I hate the fact that I've said that's badass to this guy more there once. Mercury muttered.

This new power felt amazing to him, he felt invincible. Powerful. Unstoppable…

That's when the giant Leviathan in the sky showed up and swallowed him whole.

Salem eyes widen at the sight of the giant whale. "Richard?!" she took a closer look and realized that it was not Richard and settled down/

—

The scene changes to a separate corridor of the tower, where both Cinder and Raven appear before an enormous locked door.

Raven is seen looking into her book, very focused on its contents, starts sharing her knowledge with Cinder, "People once cried out in fear of this tower. Temen-ni-gru, a foundation that brought out fear. Fear. Yes, fear. Can't you feel it? The rage and agonies of people. Those who are confined here... with their desires of evil being unfulfilled... It was all because Ozma slammed the door to the Demon World in their faces…"

Raven looks towards the gate as it begins to unlock its many safeguards. Once they undone, the doors opened, allowing the two to continue forward.

Raven before continuing on turns around to see if someone she knows followed them.

"What's wrong?" Cinder asked the distracted Raven.

"...Nothing," Raven replies, obviously lying to her about her true concerns.

"I hope Ruby comes and ends up shooting you in the head, you witch. Yang said seething with rage.

"Same here." Qrow growled in agreement.

Without another word being said, the two women begin making their way deeper into the tower of Temen-ni-gru.

—

As soon as Jaune finished destroying Leviathan's heart, the titanic beast let out a final bloodcurdling scream as it fell to the ground.

Ruby is seen somewhere outside of the tower continuing her search until she sees an enormous whale plummet to the ground. The force of the beast as it crashed down shook the very earth where she stood, its shock felt all across the tower and even by those in the lower levels. Even Cinder and Raven took note of the aftershock of the Leviathan, even if they dismissed it completely after a few seconds.

"Holy shit he just killed that Whale by himself." Coco looked on in wonder.

"Okay guys I'm blind. What the hell happened?" Fox asked, getting a bit annoyed.

"Oh sorry Fox! Uh Jaune killed a giant whale and is now covered in blood."

"Oh. That's really cool." Fox said simply.

The young crimsonette finds where the corpse of the demon landed and witnesses as its blood colored eye is being slashed as Jaune, having finally got out of the oversized whale that swallowed him. Although he did end up being covered head to toe in its blood, so it was a Pyrrhic victory.

"So, this is the next stage?" Jaune thought out loud, thinking he was by himself.

"Wait!" A voice called out behind him.

Jaune turns around to see that it was the same girl from before, and having recalled their last meeting, he had a sour feeling towards her, "If you're asking for a date, forget it. Because I made it a point not to go out with women who shoot me in the head." Emphasizing his point by pointing to a specific spot on his forehead, where he knows she shot him.

"That's a deal breaker most. You're a meanie for doing that Ruby." Nora teased the redhead. She sinks into her seat with a pout.

Ruby scoffed, "Date a demon? I'm not that desperate. Besides, I really don't care for guys who stink like blood."

Jaune quickly sniffs at his clothes, then double takes at how bad the Leviathan's blood reeked, "You're right."

That got a laugh out of most of the viewers. But Ruby shook her head a bit. She just didn't get it. A few years ago, She and Jaune were dating, but now they hate each other. It was weird and it made her feel odd. But she keeps watching.

The mood suddenly changed when both Jaune and Ruby pulled out their guns, however, they weren't aiming at each other. Soon enough, a swarm of Demons ambushed them, causing both of them to form an unofficial alliance to fight off all the various demons.

During the shootout between them and the Pride Hells the two moved back to back for a defensive advantage. Seeing as they had time to kill, Jaune thought he should get to know this mystery girl he had allied himself with, "So tell me, what's your name?"

"I don't have a name," the crimsonette quickly replied, not wanting to get buddy-buddy with a demon.

"Uh… But that Raven chick said she named you Ruby earlier." Coco pointed out.

Not dissuaded in the slightest, Jaune continues to ask questions, "Oh, then what should I call you?"

"I don't care. Whatever you want," Ruby plainly replies, she would rather be focused on killing these Hell Prides than getting distracted by chit-chat.

Jaune laughs as he jumps over a group of incoming demons, then turns back to call out to the crimsonette, "Whatever Lady. I'll leave this to you. Because I don't want to miss the party."

"Lady? That's the best you could come up with?" Yang looked unimpressive.

"More concerned that he just ditched Ruby." Blake said, crossing her arms.

"She did shoot him in the head. Might not want to deal with her," Weiss reminded her team to which Blake nods her head in agreement.

Ruby scoffed, "Who counted on you anyway?"

With the red coat demon gone, she continues fighting against the Hells. The screen shows one of her bullet shells that fell to the ground, the ammunition being a '9. millimeter'

—

Jaune enters a gothic structured room, with a stage and all. He was left wondering where the gatekeeper of this room was until a cauldron of bats emerged in the room. They all form into one shape, which happens to look like an extremely attractive redhead with deathly pale skin and crimson eyes, who'd hair acted as a covering for her bare upper body.

Jaune has to admit, as far as demons went for deceiving their prey, this was new. He liked new things.

Nevan looks upon this new guest with great interest and hunger, "Hmm, welcome sir. Is this your first time here?"

"Yeah it is. You'll be nice to me won't you?" Jaune asked her, playing along with her game.

Ruby's eyes dimmed as she turned to Jaune and muttered out "Filth." Which left the Blonde confused.

"What do I do?" He asked but Ruby didn't answer him. What should I do?!" He asked her again but still received no answer.

Nevan laughs sweetly at her guests request, one that was intended to lower his guard, "Of course I will. I'll treat you so nicely, you'll never want to leave."

"Now that's what I'm talking about," Jaune says before drawing Rebellion, making his point clear to his hostess that he wasn't here for that kind of fun.

Nevan, now knowing her guest was not a typical desire driven human, concedes to play with him for a little while. She walks towards her stage until she looks back at her blonde guest, "Then come on, Sugar."

—

Nevan falls back in defeat, or would have had Jaune not catch her in his left arm, "My, you're sweet."

Thinking she has him fooled, Nevan tries lunging at Jaune's throat before feeling her abdomen being penetrated by a bullet from Ivory.

Jaune laughs, "You'd think so, wouldn't you?"

"Good job Jaune." Ruby cheered with a wide smile which left him even more confused as she was just mad at him a few seconds ago.

Nevan also laughed, already knowing she was beaten, having already decided that it would be much easier on herself if she would surrender to him, "Alright. I'll help you. Your father was a handsome devil, but you're no slouch yourself."

"Salem blinked at the she-devil's comment on her ex's looks. And frankly she didn't appreciate it. She wanted to make sure Ozpin never knew happiness with another woman and thankfully her… possibable son killed her.

After giving up her physical form, Nevan transformed into the Devil Arm "Nevan"... an demonic electric guitar.

While performing an amazing death metal solo, Jaune showcases "Nevan's" unique ability as both a demonic guitar and an electrified scythe. The end of his act ending in a shower of fireworks and sparks.

Ruby let out a shriek at Jaune's new weapon. "It's not fair! I want an electric scythe guitar she whines."

"He plays better on the guitar than he did at beacon though." Weiss said with a teasing smirk at Jaune, who stuck his tongue out at her.

—

Meanwhile, Ruby continues to fight against the Hell Prides, utilizing her full arsenal on them while she simultaneously reloads all her weapons throughout the fight. From her pistol to her Crescent Rose.

When all the Hell Prides had been slain, a falling pistol from the sky is caught by the crimsonette, who smiled at its return.

"Welcome back!" Ruby said.

After packing all of her things, she makes her way towards the next entrance, continuing towards her end goal.

—

Raven and Cinder make their way to the final door to their destination, their end goal within their grasp.

Raven expresses excitement to Cinder, having finally been so close to their goal, "Soon we will reach the lair of judgement. Temen-ni-gru will finally regain its full function and lead us into the Demon World. The world where Ozma's power has been sealed. And the one who will lift the incantation is you, his own daughter. It must be fate."

Before they enter the chamber, Raven looks to check back the way they came, Cinder stops walking concerned of the woman's actions.

"Does that woman really bother you?" Cinder asked Raven.

Raven looked at the brunette quizzically, "What are you talking about?"

Looking back at the older woman, Cinder made her thoughts clear, "Why didn't you kill her? Perhaps, because she is your niece? Did some pesky auntie love get in your way?"

"... Why didn't she kill Ruby?" Yang realized Cinder brought up a good point. Raven was fine killing herself but didn't kill Ruby when she got the chance. It was odd.

Raven immediately became defensive in her body language and tone, "That is none of your-"

Raven is cut off when Cinder impales her in the abdomen, causing her to drop her book. Her blood trickles down onto the surface of the book, the drops that landed vaguely reminiscent of the number '10.'

While looking at the wounded Raven, Cinder decided it was time that she shared some of her own background knowledge, relating to Raven specifically, "To further your study of the black arts, you sacrificed your loving daughter, to become a devil as well. Knowing this I thought you'd be more useful to me, but I was wrong. No wonder your attainment of power is incomplete."

"... I'm not surprised my sister did this all in the search of power" Qrow muttered.

Cinder was incredibly giddy on getting her revenge on Raven, Even though it was technically her, it was close enough and she bathed in the scene with great glee.

Raven coughed up some of her blood, trickling from her mouth, before she exchanged an enraged glare towards Cinder, "What about you? You're an incomplete being as well. Both demon and human blood mingle in your veins. You dare judge me, even after you abandoned your own infant child-"

Cinder forcibly removes Yamato from Raven abdomen, her face showing genuine anger, "Shut up. Now that the final door is open, I have no use for you."

Without another word or glance, Cinder left Raven to lie at the entrance of the door as the old woman bleeds out. She has already come this far in her quest for power, she will not allow another minute pass while she is kept away from her birthright.

Everyone in the theater went dead silent at the bombshell Raven had just dropped. No one said a word and they all slowly turned toward Cinder with widen eyes with the expectation of Salem who had a mixture of anger and disappointment on her face. Cinder only look at the floor shaking as the words finally sinked in for herself.

"I… have a child?" She whispered to her in disbelief.

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study-coffee-chicago · 4 years ago

Text

1930s AU (A Halstead Brothers + Halstead Sister + Upstead AU for AU-gust)

A/N: Hopefully this one pops up in the tags now! Sorry to the few people who already liked/reblogged this, but it’d really help me out if you liked/reblogged this one since I’m deleting the one I posted last night. Anyway, the italics at the beginning are essentially "present-day" for the characters (which, in my time frame of the story would be 1945) and the regular font would be a "flashback"...but since the flashback is essentially the whole story which takes place during the early 1930s, I wrote it in regular font. Just didn't want you guys to be confused! Here’s the playlist I listened to while writing this if you want to listen while reading (did not create the playlist myself, I found it): an old fashioned diner jukebox. Anyway, enjoy!

You walked towards the little house that had been your home since you were six years old. "Hey old girl," you said as you petted your horse's head. "I'll see you in the morning, okay? I know Jay and Hailey are awake waiting for me and are probably worried, aren't they?" Your horse picked up her hoof and gave it one good stomp. "I thought so. I'll feed you some sugar cubes in the morning. I'll even give you extra because it'll be Christmas." You gave her one more caress and then walked up to the door of the house.

You used your key to unlock the door and were not at all surprised to see Hailey and Jay in deep conversation.

"Hailey, if she's not here in the next hour, I'm calling the train station. She was supposed to be here yesterday. And it's not like it's that long of a ride."

"Well, luckily you won't have to call," you said as you sat your two suitcases on the floor.

"Y/N! You don't know how worried sick we were," Jay said as he hustled over to you and pulled you into a hug.

"To be fair," Hailey began, "he was more worried than I was."

"Aww, you still worry about me when I'm nineteen," you said as Jay pulled away and Hailey hugged you. "I'm flattered, Jay, really."

"How's betternanian school?" Jay asked with a teasing glint in his eyes.

"Would you give that joke a rest? I was six and didn't know how to properly pronounce veterinarian."

"That probably won't happen."

"How's Natalie?" Hailey asked. "Is she doing okay that Will's away and all her kids are married or at college across the country?"

When you decided to go to veterinarian school, you chose one close to Will and Natalie and they let you stay with them. Then, World War 2 broke out and Will went overseas to work as a doctor in a combat hospital. Natalie's twin boys were both off at separate medical schools across the country, intent on following in their father's footsteps and becoming doctors themselves, and their daughter was married now and living with her husband.

"She's doing as well as expected," you told them. "It helps that Elizabeth and her husband, James, come over for dinner once every week so at least Natalie's seeing one of her children. And, I guess having me around helps mitigate the loneliness. The twins are home from college now for a month's break, so she'll have them there right now, too."

You looked around under the Christmas tree and you spotted a big object covered with a bedsheet.

"Is this what I think it is?" you asked as you walked closer to it.

"It is," Jay confirmed as you lifted the sheet and saw the old rocking horse you used to ride on. Jay had made sure to get you another one when you moved here as the one from Chicago you couldn't bring with you.

"I haven't ridden it since I was eight. You kept it all these years?"

"Right up in the attic," Hailey answered. "We figured it would be the perfect Christmas present for Lilly since she's six now."

"You want something to eat?" Jay asked. "We should probably get out of here and close the doors since all the gifts are wrapped in case Lilly or Anna come to find us."

You grabbed your suitcases and the three of you walked out of the living room and closed the doors.

"Mind if I eat a few of these?" you asked, pointing to the plate of cookies for Santa that Lilly and Anna had placed by the fireplace.

"Go right ahead," Jay told you. But then he heard giggles. "Wait."

You took a step away from the cookies and milk.

"I think we should go check on them," Jay said.

So, the three of you walked down the hall and to the bedroom that the girls shared. "I'll do the honors," you said.

You slowly pushed open the door.

"Now, girls, I thought you were supposed to be asleep."

Eleven-year-old Anna and six-year-old Lilly gasped. "Auntie Y/N!" they exclaimed and rushed out of their respective beds and you first gave Anna a hug and then crouched down to give Lilly one as well.

"Mommy and Daddy said you might not get here in time," Anna told you.

"They did? Well, I'm here now and tomorrow we can play all day with what Santa brought you. But right now, I think you two need to go to sleep so that Santa will come," you said.

"But you just got here!" Lilly complained.

"Yeah!" Anna agreed. Then she gasped. "Can you tell us a story, Auntie Y/N?"

You looked to Jay and Hailey, silently asking if it was okay to let your two nieces stay awake longer. Jay nodded.

"What story do you want tonight?" you asked as you sat down on the rug in the middle of the room and Lilly sat in your lap.

"How Mommy and Daddy met!" Lilly exclaimed.

"You already know that one, Lil," Hailey said as she and Jay sat down and Anna sat between her two parents.

"But it's so good, Mommy!" Anna said. "Please just one more time, please?"

"Oh, alright," Jay caved. "I don't know how much Aunt Y/N will remember since she was your age, Lil, but me and Mommy can definitely tell you the story."

Lilly leaned into you and you ran your hands absentmindedly through her blond hair while Jay started to tell his and Hailey's story of true love and hard times.

***

"Bye, Y/N, I gotta go to work," your big brother said as he woke you up.

"Is Miss Rosalie here?" you asked.

"She is. But, you can sleep longer. I'll be back in time for dinner."

"Why you gotta leave so early, Jay Jay? It's still dark out."

"Because I have to get the milk before the sun rises so the milk doesn't spoil when I'm bringing it to other people."

"Oh, okay." You yawned.

"Go back to sleep. I'll be back later tonight. Be good for Ms. Rosalie."

"I will. Love you, Jay Jay."

"Love you, too."

Then, Jay gave you a kiss on the forehead and grabbed his cap and satchel, said goodbye to Ms. Rosalie and thanked her as he always does, and left the house, the street lamps illuminating the way as he walked towards work.

As he was walking, Jay reflected how it had essentially gotten this bad. At least he had a job now, he used to not have one and you and him were living off of what little money your parents had left behind when they died...at least, the portion that the bank didn't keep.

He had essentially been your primary caretaker for two years. The stock market crashed in 1929, and your mom died a few months after when you were two years old. Not that she had a job though, so it didn't really matter money-wise. Your dad had died in 1931, the same year that Will had graduated from medical school and went to New York to look for a job as a doctor. Jay had worked in a factory at that time and had gotten laid off soon after. But, then he found a job as a milkman. He wasn't getting paid much, but it was enough to pay rent in the crappy and cramped apartment building you both lived in and put food on the table. But, sales were dropping now as no one had money to pay for as much milk as they used to. His sales were half of what they used to be. And, you were now five, six in two weeks, so you were growing and Jay knew that you'd be eating more soon.

When he started loading his company car with milk once he had arrived at work, his supervisor walked over to him and told him that he'd be picking up some of a coworker's route. Well, he was an ex-coworker now because they had laid him off. Jay was just glad he had a job and had enough money to support him and you...even if it was really tight. He hoped he'd be home for dinner like he promised you.

He started on his way and finally, after hours and hours, he was on his new portion of his route.

He made his way up the steps of a house on the corner.

"Good afternoon, ma'am," he said as he set the four bottles of milk down on her front porch. She was currently outside sweeping the porch, her wavy blond hair tied back in two braids. She was in a short-sleeved dress with an apron covering it.

She turned to him and stopped sweeping. "Good afternoon. You're not Jimmy, my usual milkman," the woman said.

"No. Jimmy doesn't work with me anymore. I picked his route. I'm Jay Halstead, ma'am," he replied while tipping his cap.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't introduce myself. I'm Hailey Upton."

"Well, Ms. Upton, pleased to meet you. I'm guessing you have kids just based on me delivering four bottles of milk?" he asked. God, was she pretty. He was getting tongue-tied just looking at her! He knew it wasn't polite to ask that, but it just slipped out.

"No, actually I don't. I'm doing some baking today and that's why I need it. And please, call me Hailey."

"Well, Hailey, I hope it goes well. Should I put you down for four bottles tomorrow as well?"

"No, only one should do for tomorrow, Mr. Halstead."

"Please, call me Jay, ma- Hailey."

"Alright, have a nice rest of your day, Jay."

"You, too. Again, I hope your baking goes well." He tipped his cap once more and headed off. That was his last stop of the day. You and Ms. Rosalie were back at home waiting for him.

***

Jay quickly opened his eyes the minute he felt your hand on his arm. "Jay Jay?" you whispered.

"I'm awake, pumpkin." Your mom had called you pumpkin based on the one time you picked up a pumpkin and dropped it and it splattered everywhere. And, this nickname just stuck.

"I- I know I'm not 'sposed to ask, but I'm real hungry," you said.

Jay didn't bother correcting you on how you didn't ask anything at all; you just told him that you were hungry. And, he was hungry, too. You were running out of food in the house and he needed to run to the market, but everything seemed to be too expensive, so he could only buy the necessities. And, you and Ms. Rosalie had made French onion soup for dinner last night, because that used very minimal ingredients.

Jay hated himself as he scooped out the soup after she left because he realized portions would only be 3/4 of what both of you were used to. He had toyed with the idea of giving you 1/4 of his, so you could have a full serving and he'd have half, but he figured he'd see what would happen. Tomorrow, he knew he'd be giving you a normal portion of whatever he had. After all, he could convince himself to go back to sleep, but you were just a child.

Your parents had always drilled into your head that it was breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And, Jay did his best to try to feed you enough to abide by that rule. But, it was getting harder and harder to do when the entire United States seemed to be going hungry.

"Pumpkin, it's late--"

Your stomach rumbled and Jay swore he felt tears prick his eyes. He couldn't expect you to go to bed hungry.

"Let's go get you something. I'm sure I can find something," he said as he got up.

You grabbed his hand and you two walked into the kitchen. He pulled the string to one of the dim lights, which barely illuminated the kitchen and dining area. Then, he opened the icebox and pulled out a hard-boiled egg and a bottle of milk. He poured half the milk into a glass and handed you the egg.

You went to stick it in your mouth when he stopped you. "No, you have to peel it." You held it out to him. "Do I need to start it for you?" You nodded and he took off a section of the shell and handed it back to you and you continued to peel it.

Normally, Jay would put salt and pepper on it, but you were very low on that as well. And, seeing how hungry you were, you started to eat it without asking for those two basic spices.

Then, you finished the glass of milk and Jay led you back to your bed and you fell asleep with a full tummy...well, as full as anyone in your position could get nowadays.

Unbeknownst to you, you had just eaten half of Jay's breakfast for tomorrow.

***

"How did the baking go yesterday?" Jay asked Hailey as he switched out her four empty milk bottles for one full one.

"It went well. Thank you for asking. I actually had a lot left, so here." She handed him a slice wrapped in tin foil. "It's strawberry pie."

"You didn't have to give this to me," Jay said, trying to hand it back to her.

"Nonsense. So many people are going hungry right now. I have no right to waste food."

"It makes sense when you put it that way. Thank you. My little sister will most definitely enjoy it."

"Oh, let me go grab you another slice so that you don't have to share."

Before Jay could protest, she ran back into her big house and grabbed him another slice.

"Thank you," Jay said as he took the other slice as well.

"You're welcome. No use letting it go to waste. How old is your sister?" Hailey asked.

"Y/N will be six in two weeks," Jay answered.

"Oh, I remember what I was like at that age. I was a little troublemaker, running around with my older brothers even when my mom and dad called me in. And then I'd always make messes in the kitchen."

Jay laughed. "I'd hope she's more well-behaved than that. But, I'd best get going. Thank you for the pie. Can I put you down for one bottle tomorrow?"

"Yes, please. Have a nice day."

Jay nodded at her and then reached down and grabbed the crate with the empty milk bottles. Then, he got in the company car and started on his way back to the factory and then home.

***

"Jay Jay!" you said as you jumped up from your seat at the kitchen table. "I missed you!"

Jay set his satchel, four bottles of milk, and the slices of pie on the counter next to the stove and picked you up and spun you around. "I missed you, too! Were you good for Ms. Rosalie?" He settled you on his hip.

You frantically nodded your head and Jay turned to the older woman. "She was an angel as always. I hope you don't mind, but I made French onion soup again for dinner."

"That's fine, thank you. Your two bottles of milk are right next to mine."

That's how he paid her: by buying her milk. He knew it wasn't a lot, but it's not like he could pay for a nanny. And, she was the one with the cheapest rate in the apartment building. Plus, she had known you since you were a baby, so Jay knew that you trusted her and he trusted her to look after you.

"Oh, thank you, dear." She picked up the two bottles and started towards the door.

"Oh, and tell Mr. Edward I say hello," Jay said, referring to her husband.

"Will do. Enjoy your evening."

Then, she left, and Jay put you down on the floor and moved to start dishing out dinner. When you were both at the table with the food in front of you, a smile spread across his face.

"Pumpkin, after dinner I have a surprise for you."

"Really?" you squealed.

"Yes, really. But, you have to finish your food first and then I will give it to you."

Jay chuckled at how fast you ate your food. He was usually done before you, but tonight you both finished around the same time.

"What's the surprise?" you asked as you set your bowl and spoon on the counter near the rusty sink by Jay's bowl and spoon.

He reached up into the creaky cupboard and grabbed two plates and then two forks from the drawer that would occasionally get stuck.

"How about you go sit at the table and I'll bring you the surprise. How does that sound?"

"Okay!" you scrambled back into your seat and watched as Jay put the things on the plates. He must really have wanted this to be a surprise because he positioned himself so that his back was towards you and you couldn't see a single thing he was doing.

"Now, I need you to close your eyes and I'll tell you when to open them," Jay said, still with his back turned to you.

You quickly closed your eyes and also put your hands over your eyes, causing Jay to chuckle.

He first set his plate with pie and a small glass of milk at his place at the table and then did the same thing in front of you. He crouched down next to you and put his hand on the back of your chair. "And, open."

You threw your hands down at your side and snapped your eyes open. You gasped and turned your head to look at Jay. "We get dessert?"

Jay smiled. "We do. It's strawberry pie from someone who I give milk to. Do you need help cutting it?"

"No, I can do it! Who gave it to you?"

"Her name's Miss Hailey." Then, he went back to his side of the table as you started to eat your pie. He was glad he had given you the bigger slice because you enjoyed it so much; he'd be sure to tell Hailey this.

***

Two weeks later

Jay sighed as he counted out what little money he had saved up in a lockbox under his bed. He barely had enough to buy you a few sugar sticks from the market after thinking about rent that needed to be paid in another two weeks. At least he knew that Will had sent you something because he told Jay in his letter from last week that he'd be sending you a gift along with your birthday letter. But, Jay still felt bad that he barely had enough money to buy you candy for your birthday. He knew you'd prefer chocolate over hard candy, but he also knew that he had to save money for rent and groceries, so when you both went to the market later, you'd only be able to buy a couple of hard candies.

The change clanked back into the box when he heard the sound of little footsteps coming towards him.

"Happy birthday!" he exclaimed as he picked you up and spun you around. Then, he settled you on his hip and walked into the kitchen. "Does six feel any different than five?" You shook your head back and forth frantically, causing Jay to laugh. "Now, what do you want for your birthday breakfast?"

"Hotcakes!" you exclaimed. Luckily for Jay, you didn't notice how his smile flattered for a quick second when you said that.

"Okay then, hotcakes it is! Can you go put on a dress while I make these?"

You nodded again and then Jay set you down and you ran to your room to change.

When you came back into the kitchen after you got dressed--and got distracted by playing with your doll--your pancakes were sitting on the table. But, you noticed there was only one plate.

"Where's yours?" you asked your big brother as you sat down in your chair and he started cleaning the pan that he had cooked in.

"I ate while you were playing. I didn't want to disrupt your game, pumpkin," he told you, with a smile on his face.

"Oh, okay. Can I eat them now?"

"Of course you can. And then, we'll go to the post office to see what Will brought you."

But, Jay hadn't actually eaten any when you were playing with your doll. There was barely enough flour to make you pancakes, let alone him. So, instead of depriving you of pancakes on your birthday, he just went without.

***

"Mail for Jay Halstead, please," he said at the window of the post office while holding your hand.

"Alright, just one moment." The teller went to the back and grabbed a letter and then handed it to Jay.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Jay?" a voice behind him said.

Jay turned, only to be met with Hailey Upton.

"Hailey, good morning. Came to pick up your mail I presume?" he asked.

"You presume correctly." She stepped out of line to stand with him. "And who might this be?" she asked, stooping down to your level.

You blushed and moved to hide behind Jay's leg. Jay chuckled. "Sorry about that. She's particularly shy around strangers. Pumpkin," he started, addressing you. "This is Miss Hailey. She's the one who made us the strawberry pie a few weeks ago."

"It was good. Thank you," you said as you peeked your head out from behind Jay.

"You're welcome. And you must be Y/N?" You nodded. "Jay's told me a lot of good things about you."

You looked up at Jay as if asking him to confirm it. "I've got nothing bad to say about you, you know that."

"I know. If you did, you wouldn't make me hotcakes today," you said.

"Can you tell Miss Hailey what today is?"

You finally moved out all the way from behind Jay. But you still held his hand as you answered the question. "It's my birthday! I'm six!"

"Wow! You're such a big girl! Are you doing anything special today?" Hailey asked, stooping down to your level.

"I'm gonna get some chocolate!"

"Y/N, what'd we talk about on the way here?" Jay asked.

"Oh." You looked down at your feet. "I'm getting hard candy instead."

Hailey looked up at Jay and saw the sadness in his eyes, something that you didn't pick up on since you were so little. She knew what that statement meant. Chocolate was more expensive than hard candies, so she knew the reason that you weren't getting it was because Jay didn't have any money.

"How about we see what Will got you so that Miss Hailey can get her mail?" Jay asked.

You nodded excitedly and Hailey got back in line. Then, Jay opened the large envelope and handed you a small pouch.

You opened it and looked inside. There were these little metal x's and a red bouncy ball. "Jay Jay, what's this?" you asked as you held the pouch out to him.

He looked inside and smiled. "That is jacks."

You cocked your head to the side. "Who's Jack? And why do I have his things?"

Jay laughed just as Hailey started walking back towards them. "It's the name of the game, pumpkin. You bounce the ball and try to pick up one of the pieces before the ball hits the ground. Me and Will played it a lot, but he always won."

"You lost?" you asked as your eyes grew wide. Jay never lost!

"I lost a lot."

Hailey was next to you and your brother now. "Jacks, huh?" Jay nodded. "Me and my brothers used to play it all the time. I'm actually quite good at it."

"Can you teach me, Miss Hailey?" you asked excitedly.

"I'm sure Miss Hailey has things she needs to do today, pumpkin," Jay said, giving Hailey a sympathetic look.

"Oh, it's no trouble. I've actually got ingredients for a delicious chocolate cake at my house if you two would like to come over. I can easily whip up a nice lunch for us, too."

"Hailey, I can't let you do that."

"Please, Jay Jay? Pretty please?" you asked, looking up at him and clasping your hands together to make it look like you were praying. "It's my birthday. Please?"

He looked to Hailey and she nodded once more. "Just because Miss Hailey said it was okay. Care to accompany us to the store to get her some candy before we go to your house?" Jay asked her.

"I'd love to."

***

You were so full after a delicious lunch of turkey sandwiches, potatoes, apples, and chocolate cake, that you had promptly fallen asleep at the table while you were waiting for Jay and Hailey to finish the dishes.

Hailey said it was no big deal, that she could do them, but you mentioned that Jay always washed the dishes and you always dried them. So, then Hailey finally gave in and let him help with the drying.

"Not to be too forward," Hailey began as she handed a plate to Jay to dry, "but is it just you and Y/N? I've just never heard either of you mention your parents."

"Uh, it's just the two of us. Mom and Dad died a few years ago. Will, our older brother, went to New York to become a doctor, so it's been the two of us ever since."

"Well, that little girl really seems to love you."

Jay sighed. "It's probably because she doesn't know any different. Mom died when she was two, so she barely remembers her. And Dad died when she was four, so two years ago. She remembers him a little, but for most of the past two years, I've been the one taking care of her. Along with our neighbor who helps out by watching her when I have to go to work."

"That's very kind of her."

"It is. So, what about you? What do you do to have such a big house? Secret baking company you run? Because I've had desserts you've made so far and both were absolutely delicious."

"They were nothing fancy."

"Oh, but to Y/N they were. She was so excited when I told her we'd be getting dessert. But, how did you end up here, Hailey?"

"In Chicago? Or in this house specifically?"

"Both," Jay said.

"Well, I was born and raised in Chicago. But, my parents are gone, too...not that I was ever too fond of my father. But, they had this house because they used to own a bar, which pulled in some decent money. They left the house to me and my brothers. All of them have their own families and are scattered across the country, so I got it."

"Would be a bad time to be in the brewing business right now, wouldn't it? With prohibition and all," Jay mused. "That might contribute to the high unemployment rates...but, I'm pretty sure that was mostly because of Hoover." He paused. "I'm sorry. I really shouldn't be talking about the complicated politics of our country right now...especially not in front of a lady."

"I have the right to vote now, you know. And have had it for thirteen years," Hailey said.

"I know. I didn't mean it like that. I think it's great that women can vote. I just shouldn't be talking about it that first time I'm in your home is all." He gestured to you. You were still asleep at the table, your head resting on your arms which were resting on the table. "Glad that little rascal gets the chance to voice her opinions."

Your head popped up. "I ain't a rascal, Jay Jay!"

"Oh really now?" He walked over to you and picked you up and started tickling you. "How about now?" he asked with a giant smile on his face while you laughed big belly laughs.

"Jay Jay! Please stop!"

"Only because you said please." He set you back down.

"Aw, she's so cute," Hailey gushed.

"Did you hear that, kiddo? Miss Hailey thinks you're cute. What do you say?" Jay asked.

"Thank you." You blushed. "Can you teach me how to do braids like yours?" you asked, referring to her French braids. "They're real pretty. Jay can only do plain ones."

She turned to Jay while she raised her eyebrows. "You know how to braid?"

He opened his mouth to dispute what you said, but you butted in. "He does! He braids my hair every day when he doesn't have to work!"

You spun around, giving Hailey a view of your braids.

"Okay, birthday girl," Jay said. "I think it's time we head home. We can play jacks there."

"Can we play checkers, too? I like checkers!"

"I know you do. Now, can you say thank you to Miss Hailey for lunch and for the cake?"

"Thank you, Miss Hailey! It was really good!"

"You're welcome, honey." She stooped down to your height and handed you two slices of chocolate cake wrapped in tin foil. "These are for you and Jay to take home. And, you get the bigger slice."

***

A month later

You had been six for a month, and Jay had known Hailey for around two months. The weather was starting to cool down as summer was turning into fall and there was a slight chill in the air. Because of this, Jay was spending more money on more firewood to place in the wood-burning stove because you now weren't just using it to cook, but for heat as well.

Ms. Rosalie had come down with a nasty cold and didn't want to get you sick. Jay had tried to find a last-minute babysitter for you last night by knocking on nearby apartments, explaining the situation, and even offering to buy them a bottle of milk for their troubles. But no one agreed.

So, Jay told you that you'd have to stay home by yourself. You asked if you could go to work with him, but he said no...even though he desperately wanted to bring you. But, he couldn't risk his job; it was the only meager income the two of you had. Jay needed that job to keep a roof over your heads and food in your bellies. Because of this, he taught you how to lock the door and had made you a quick breakfast and lunch and stuck them in the icebox so that you'd be able to eat while he was gone. And above all, he told you not to answer the door for anyone.

"Bye, Pumpkin," Jay said as he gave you a big hug. "You remember what I told you?"

"Yes. Breakfast and lunch are in the icebox and no opening the door," you answered as you sat up in bed.

"Unless..." Jay prompted.

"Unless it's you, Miss Rosalie, or Mr. Edward."

"Exactly. Now, go back to sleep. I'll lock the door on my way out. I love you."

"Love you, too, Jay Jay."

Then, he left, leaving you alone to go back to sleep.

***

"Halstead!" Jay heard his supervisor yell as he was stacking the last of his crates back at the factory before he hurried home to you.

"Yes, sir?" he asked.

"My office."

Jay swallowed but followed his supervisor.

He entered and closed the door behind him.

"As you know," his supervisor started, "milk sales have been declining at a steady rate as families don't have enough money to buy as much as they used to."

"I'm aware, sir," Jay said as he clasped his hands behind his back.

"This means that we need fewer workers."

No, this cannot be happening, Jay thought to himself.

"I'm sorry to say, but I have to let you go, Jay."

"Please," Jay begged. He knew begging was unbecoming and most likely wouldn't get him his job back, but he had no other choice. "I have a six-year-old sister. I'm the only one who takes care of her. Please sir, I really need this job. If not for me, then please do it for her. Please."

"I'm sorry, son, but I have to let you go. I wish you the best of luck on finding other employment."

Jay wanted to beg for his job back some more, but he knew it was no use. So, he just nodded and left the office, not knowing what to do next.

And, to make matters worse, his rent was already ten days past due.

***

Jay was about to walk into his apartment when he saw a yellow piece of paper nailed to his door. He ripped it down and scanned the big, bold letters.

An eviction notice. He was going to lose the apartment.

If he didn't come up with some money fast, then he and you would have to be out of your apartment in three days.

He sighed and folded the paper and stuck it in his pocket, and then unlocked the door and went inside.

He began to panic when he didn't see you right away, but then he heard a sniffle coming from your room.

You gasped as you heard someone coming towards you and quickly buried yourself under your covers and tried to stay as quiet as possible.

"Pumpkin?" Jay asked. "It's just Jay Jay."

You carefully peeled the covers back from your head. "Jay Jay?" When you saw it was him, you jumped out of bed and quickly crashed into his legs, and clung to them for dear life. "Jay Jay!" you cried. "I was so scared!"

Jay tried to pry your little fingers from his legs, but your grip was so tight that he knew if he tried any harder, he might hurt you and he definitely didn't want that. "Why were you so scared, pumpkin?" he asked as he placed a hand on your head and ran his fingers through your slightly tangled hair.

"There- there were people at the door," you shuddered. "And they made really loud noises and kept yelling."

"What were they yelling?" he asked gently.

"They were yelling for you."

"Did you open the door?"

"No, you told me not to, so I didn't."

"Good girl," he praised. He knew what you were talking about: the men who had nailed the eviction notice to the door of the apartment had probably yelled out his name a few times very loudly, which is what caused you to be scared now. "How about I make us dinner and then we can play checkers, hmm?" he asked. "How does that sound?"

You looked up at him, a few tears still rolling down your cheeks. You wiped them away with your little fists. You nodded. "Can you braid my hair, too? I tried, but I couldn't do it."

That explains all the tangles, Jay thought to himself. "I can do that."

He grabbed your hairbrush and then sat on your bed. You sat on the floor in between his legs and allowed him to brush your hair and start to braid. As Jay was doing this, he was wondering what he was going to do. He didn't have a job, he had an eviction notice, and he had to provide for you. Even though he liked to think he had great problem-solving skills, at this very moment, he had absolutely no idea what to do.

***

"Where are we going, Jay Jay?" you asked as you held his hand and walked through town the next morning.

"We are going to see Miss Hailey," he answered.

"Why?" you asked as you curiously looked up at him.

"Because I think she'd like to spend some time with you."

"Where are you gonna be?"

"I have to go run some errands."

"Can I come? I wanna come with you, Jay Jay."

"I wish I could bring you, pumpkin. But, this is adult stuff. You'd be really bored. You'll have much more fun with Miss Hailey."

You sighed. "Okay."

About twenty minutes later, Jay took a deep breath as he walked up the steps of Hailey's front porch. He hoped he was making the right decision by doing this. He knocked a few times and then Hailey answered the door.

"Jay? What are you doing here so early?" Then, she saw you and stooped down to your height. "Hi, Y/N. Did Jay wake you up to come see me this morning?"

"Yeah," you answered as you rubbed your eyes. You were still kind of tired. Jay didn't know if that was from lack of proper nutrition or general tiredness. He hoped it was the latter. "Jay Jay said he had to do adult things and I can't come with him."

She looked up at Jay and then back to you. "Honey, how about you go run inside to the sitting area and grab a deck of cards or another game we can play while I talk to your brother, how does that sound?"

You looked up at Jay and he nodded. Hailey moved out of the doorway. "Okay!" you exclaimed and then quickly let go of Jay's hand and rushed inside.

"Don't forget to take off your shoes before you get to the carpet!" Jay shouted after you, which caused you to stoop down and take off your shoes on the hardwood before you got to the carpeted areas.

"So, you needed someone to watch her?" Hailey asked.

"Yes. I'm really sorry, but you're the first person I thought of since our neighbor got sick and I need to run to the bank before it gets really busy--"

"Jay, it's fine. She's a little angel. I can take care of her for a few hours." She studied his face and his very worried expression. "Is everything alright?"

Jay sighed. "Hopefully it will be after I go to the bank. Thank you for--"

He was cut off by someone yelling at Hailey from the sidewalk. "Hailey! Still on for tonight?" It was Christopher Hermann, a firefighter.

"Uh, no I'm not baking anything tonight," she quickly answered.

Hermann gave her a confused look but quickly recovered as he realized what she was saying. "Okay, thank you, Hailey."

"You're welcome." Hermann tipped his cap at her before he continued walking. "As you were saying?" Hailey asked.

"I thought you said you didn't own a baking business?" Jay asked.

"I don't," Hailey said quickly. "Sometimes I'll just make some pies for him, his wife, and kids."

"Sorry if I wrecked your plans of baking by dropping Y/N on you. I can try and find someone else."

"No, it's fine. Good luck at the bank and I promise I'll take good care of your little sister."

"Thank you. I'll see you soon."

***

"Sir, I'm sorry," the bank teller told him.

"Please." At this point, Jay wasn't opposed to begging. "I really need a loan. Just a small one so that I can keep a roof over mine and my little sister's head and food on the table. She's just a child. Please."

"If I gave every person in here who had a sob story a loan, I would be out of a job and this bank would be out of business. I'm sorry, but I can't. Best of luck to you and your sister."

He moved on to the next person, leaving Jay close to tears. He was out of options. He was out of a job and he was about to lose the small apartment you two shared in the next two days.

He walked out of the bank with his head held low and tears pricked his eyes. The only option he had was to beg Will to let him and you move to New York to stay with him. But, even though he was a doctor, he still had to feed himself, his wife, Natalie, and his three children. He might not be able to take in two more mouths to feed.

The other thing Jay thought about as he walked down the street back towards Hailey's feeling like a disappointment was moving to a Hooverville. Those were camps set up by the homeless where they lived in tents. Because, in two days, the two of you would be homeless. He could try and sell everything of value he had in the small apartment, but it'd only cover this month's rent, if that, and then he'd just encounter this same problem again next month.

Jay knocked on the door of Hailey's house and she quickly answered it, you right on her tail.

"Jay Jay!" you exclaimed and quickly hugged him.

"Hi, pumpkin. It's time to go home now."

"But, me and Miss Hailey are in the middle of a game!" you argued.

"I've got no issue if she stays to finish it," Hailey said. "Y/N, why don't you go and make sure the pieces are where we left them while I talk to your brother?"

You ran off to go check on the pieces while Hailey stepped outside and closed the door behind her. She took a good look at Jay and saw the tears in his eyes that he was frantically trying to blink back.

"Jay, what happened at the bank?" Hailey asked gently.

"It's nothing I can't handle," he responded coldly.

"Jay, please, just tell me. Maybe I- Maybe I can help. I can't do that if you don't tell me anything."

"I'm just your milkman, well not anymore because I got fired yesterday. Why do you care so much, Hailey?"

"Because that little girl in there needs her big brother. She needs you to be rational about whatever's going on because I will not let her get hurt."

"I would never hurt her," Jay said quickly. "Where is this coming from?"

"Don't worry about it," Hailey said flippantly. "Just, tell me what's going on. Please, Jay. Not just for me, but for that little girl who loves you so much. Maybe I can help."

Jay sighed. "I got let go yesterday. And now I'm getting evicted from my apartment. I even went to the bank to try to take out a loan, but couldn't. I don't know what I'm going to do, Hailey. I really don't."

"Come with me," she said and opened the door.

You were focused on something in Hailey's sitting room, so weren't paying attention as Jay and Hailey made their way to the kitchen.

"I may not have told you everything about myself," Hailey said.

"Hailey, not to be rude, but what are you saying?"

"The reason I have this big of a house when I'm a single woman is because my parents used to own a very successful brewery. My dad, let's just say he wasn't that great of a man, so when prohibition hit, he didn't know what to do. So, he sold the brewery and they moved to another part of the country."

"And you got their house?" Jay asked.

"Yes, but I have to work to make sure I can still pay my bills."

"Then what do you do?" Jay asked. He knew she couldn't make enough money to pay for this place by working in a factory or being a seamstress, which is what most women did to support their husband's incomes.

"You don't know anyone in the government, do you?" she asked.

"No. If I did, they would've been my first visit when I saw the eviction notice, not the bank. Where is all this going?"

"Jay, if I tell you this, I need to know I can trust you, that you won't tell a single person what I'm about to show you."

"You have my word."

"Alright." She walked over to her huge, white kitchen island and pushed, revealing a staircase. "Follow me."

She pulled a string and the staircase became illuminated and Jay followed her. Once they got all the way down the staircase, she pulled another string and then a few more, making the secret basement become illuminated in light.

Jay looked around. There was a bar with glasses behind it and bottles of whiskey and other liquors. On either side of the bar, there were two huge barrels of what Jay assumed had to be beer. There were also three high-top tables with two chairs at each table.

Jay's jaw dropped. "You run a speakeasy?"

"I do," Hailey answered.

"B-But this is illegal," Jay stuttered.

"I'm very much aware."

Jay continued to look around in awe. He knew of course that speakeasies existed and that people had ways of getting alcohol from Canada, but he had never tried it since prohibition happened. Well, he did a few times. But, the minute his mom died, he stopped what little bit he did drink.

"Why did you bring me down here? To drown my sorrows in whiskey?" Jay asked.

"No, I have a proposition for you."

Jay raised an eyebrow. "A proposition?"

"Yes, would you like to hear it?" He nodded. "Since people can't appear drunk on the streets because they'll face arrest and could possibly tell the sheriff about my speakeasy, I need people here to make sure that they sober up before they leave here at night. One of the two people I hired for this job quit last night because his family is moving out west."

Jay nodded, still very unsure where this was going.

"I was wondering if you'd like that job?" Hailey asked.

"You're offering me a job?" Jay asked, trying to maintain his composure.

"Yes. You can have it if you want it."

"I'll take it. Not to be rude, but how much would I be paid?"

"That's just the thing," Hailey began. "Liquor is getting more expensive to smuggle in and brewing supplies are getting more expensive as well because it's all illegal. So, I can't pay you." Jay's face fell. "But, before you say you can't do this, let me tell you one more thing: I have two spare bedrooms in my house. They're yours and Y/N's if you take the job."

"Hailey, I can't put you out like that. You'll have to feed us and I can't let you do that."

"Jay, I have money to pay for more food. Just not to pay for another worker because they always want their wages high since what we do here is so risky. It's no problem. And, think of Y/N. She'd have a roof over her head and she could even have that strawberry pie you said she liked so much," Hailey explained.

Jay couldn't pass up this offer, not when he would be kicked out of his apartment in two days. "Okay, I'll get mine and Y/N's things over here in the next few days. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"It means a lot to me, too. Sometimes men get a little rowdy down here, which is why I have to close when there's only one to help."

"So, that's what that guy was asking about when he asked if you're still on tonight?"

"Precisely."

Jay and Hailey walked back upstairs after Hailey turned off all the lights. Then, she pushed the island back into place and Jay headed over to you.

"Will you play Go-fish with me and Miss Hailey, Jay Jay?" you asked as you held a deck of cards out for him to shuffle.

"I most definitely will, pumpkin, " he said as he sat down on the floor and took the cards from you. "But, I have a question for you first."

"What is it?" you asked as you furrowed your eyebrows. Jay found it cute how concentrated you looked every time he said he had a question for you.

"How would you like to stay with Miss Hailey for a while?"

"What- What about you? You'll be here too, right? I don't want you to leave," you said as your lip started to tremble.

"Oh no," Jay quickly said. "I'll be here, too. I promise. We'll just be living here for a while. How does that sound?"

You nodded excitedly. "Can I bring my dolly, Emmy, here?"

Jay chuckled. "Yes, you can." He started shuffling the cards as Hailey walked back in. "Alright, time for a game of Go-fish."

As the three of you played the game on the carpet of Hailey's sitting room, Jay still couldn't believe it: Hailey Upton ran a speakeasy.

***

"What about this guy?" Jay asked as he held up an old stuff animal Dalmation that once belonged to Will that he found when he was cleaning out the apartment to move into Hailey's. "You want him on your bed, too?"

"Who's he?" you asked as you studied the stuffed animal.

"This was Will's, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you renamed him." He held the stuffed animal out to you and you took it and held it tight to your chest.

"I love him."

"What are you thinking for a name, pumpkin?"

You pursed your lips to the side, a telltale sign that you were in deep thought. "Spot."

"Spot," Jay repeated. "I think that's a perfect name. You think Spot and Emmy are going to be friends?" Emmy was the name of your doll.

"Best friends," you told him.

"Do you want to help me unpack my room or play in here?"

"Play in here," you answered as you picked up Emmy to play with along with Spot.

"Okay. I'll be right across the hall if you need anything."

Jay walked into his room where Hailey was already busying herself by making up Jay's bed.

"Hailey," Jay started, "you didn't have to do that. I'm perfectly capable of making my own bed."

"I'm not busy until tonight, so I figured I'd help you out. I can leave if you'd like some privacy while you unpack, though," Hailey replied.

"No, no, you're fine. This is your house after all. You're allowed to go wherever you want." Jay started busying himself with taking a few things out of a crate. "Can you tell me more about the job I'll be doing tonight?"

"So, tonight, people will knock on the back door. I usually let them in, but they have to say bakery because that's the secret word to be let in. If there's a new person, I'll grab you or Adam, the other guy who does the same job as you, to let him in because I don't know him personally."

"So, for your safety?" Jay asked.

"Exactly. Then, I make the drinks and one of you hands them to the customers. The other cleans tables once someone leaves. And, if the person still seems like a drunk before they leave, you have to stop them from leaving for a few hours until they're essentially back to normal. Typically, I'll explain this to them and it works fine, but sometimes I need some help because, well, I'm small and some of them think it's okay to get handsy."

"I won't let anyone lay a hand on you, Hailey. You have my word."

Hailey nodded. "Thank you. And, before you ask like Adam did about why I don't let you guys make the drinks, it's not that I don't trust you, it's that I know the proper proportions. And, if something happens and one of you is busy making drinks..."

"Something bad could happen to you. I get it," Jay said understandingly. "Being behind the bar is safest for you. You don't have to feel bad about putting your safety first, especially since what we are all partaking in is illegal."

"Thank you for understanding. Now, I'll let you unpack. Just yell downstairs if you have any questions. I'll be in the kitchen making something special for after dinner tonight."

"Please tell me Y/N didn't get a hold of you when I was outside and ask you to make strawberry pie."

"She didn't. And even if she did, I was already planning on making it. She's very polite, Jay. You don't have to worry about her not having manners. You've raised her quite well on that front."

"That means a lot, thank you. This all means so much, thank you."

"Hey, you needed help and I needed help. The feeling's mutual." With that, she left Jay alone to unpack and think about how he was staying with one of the most beautiful and kind-hearted women in the world.

***

"So how does this work?" Jay asked Hailey later that night after he had tucked you into bed.

"Jay, I already told you how it works. You just make sure I'm safe and no drunk customers leave or try to get handsy with me," Hailey answered as she was setting up the bar.

"I know that," Jay laughed. "I meant with Y/N. What do we do about her? She's sleeping in a place she doesn't know and I'm not in my room. I don't want her to get upset when she can't find us."

"Oh," Hailey said. "Guess I didn't think that far ahead." She paused as she thought about what she and Jay could do. "How about this: every fifteen minutes either you or I go upstairs to check on her."

"That works," Jay said.

There were thundering footsteps walking down the stairs.

"Hey, Adam," Hailey greeted when he got all the way down. "Jay, this is Adam. Adam, Jay."

Jay and Adam shook hands. "So you're the new replacement?" Adam asked and Jay nodded. "Don't worry, everything's pretty tame down here. There's just occasionally one or two rowdy newcomers because they haven't drank in a long time and forgot what their limits are."

"Good to know," Jay said.

"It's almost time to open, so how about me and Jay go upstairs for the first few customers so he can see how it's done," Hailey suggested.

Adam waved his hand. "Go ahead. Usually, I know most everyone's regular drinks, so I can handle bartending for a little bit."

"Thanks, Adam," Hailey said.

Jay and Hailey made their way upstairs and Jay went to check on you and then went back to Hailey.

"She still asleep?" Hailey asked.

"Out like a light," he answered.

There was a knock at the door. Hailey opened it a crack. "Bakery," the man said. It was the same one who asked a few days ago if they'd be open when Jay came over to ask Hailey to watch you while he went to the bank to see if he could take out a loan.

Hailey opened the door all the way and allowed him in. He came with a friend. "Christopher, Randall, welcome back," she said once they were all the way inside.

"Thank you," they both said.

"This guy new?" Christopher Hermann asked.

"Jay Halstead," Jay said as he stretched his hand out for Hermann to shake. "Pleasure to meet you."

"You as well. The real pleasure is being here where I can drink alcohol, am I right, Randall?" he asked as he turned to his friend.

"No doubt about it," he replied.

"Any stories from work today?" Hailey asked.

"No, just a simple cat caught in a tree. Nothing that caused somebody's house to burn and thank the Lord for that because of how hard it is to secure a loan for a house right now," Hermann answered.

"You two can make your way on in," Hailey said. "You know where to go."

"Thank you," Randall said and then the two walked away and towards the island that hid the speakeasy underneath.

"They're both firefighters," Hailey told Jay. "And, the one that Christopher kept calling Randall, well he told me that at the station they call him Mouch."

Jay furrowed his eyebrows. "Why? Why would a man want a nickname as silly as that?"

"Apparently it means half man half couch. But, just call him Randall. I'm not supposed to know about that nickname, but Hermann told me one night when he got a little too drunk."

"I'm sure Randall's wife is thrilled that he's a lazy bum," Jay said.

"Only at the station where he sits on the couch and listens to the radio until the bells go off. But, his wife, Trudy, can command a room."

Jay looked at his watch. "I should go check on Y/N again. Be right back."

He checked on you and you were still sound asleep.

After a few more customers came in, he went back downstairs and started his new job. It was hard not to like it when he got to look and talk to Hailey all night.

***

It had been a few months since you and Jay had moved in with Miss Hailey. Well, she was just Hailey to you now because she insisted you call her that. Jay insisted on you still calling her Miss Hailey, but Hailey had vetoed that decision.

Jay cracked an eye open as you excitedly pushed his door open. He quickly closed his eyes again and pretended to be asleep.

You pulled on his blankets. "Jay Jay! Jay Jay, wake up! It's Christmas!" He still pretended to be asleep. You pulled on his arm and he cracked his eyes open and rubbed them.

"Mhm, Y/N, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing's wrong, Jay Jay! It's Christmas! Do you think Santa came?" you asked excitedly.

"I think so," Jay said as he sat up and stretched. "Should we go see if Hailey's awake and then we can see if Santa came?"

You nodded excitedly and he got out of bed and you grabbed his hand, practically tugging him out of his bedroom.

You saw Hailey walking up the stairs with a tray with three mugs on it. "Hailey!" you exclaimed and quickly let go of Jay's hand and ran to her. "Did you go downstairs?" you asked excitedly.

"I did," she told you, letting out a small giggle at your excitement.

God, Jay loved that giggle. Hell, he loved everything about Hailey, her heart, her looks, how she wasn't afraid to run a speakeasy when it was illegal. For all intents and purposes, she was a little rebel and he loved it.

"Did Santa come? Did you see him?" you rushed out excitedly.

"I didn't see him, but he came. There's lots of presents and your stocking is almost overflowing."

You smiled widely and squealed in excitement.

"Here," Jay said as he walked up to Hailey. "Let me take that."

"Oh, sorry," Hailey apologized. "I figured I'd make us some coffee and for that little angel, there's some hot chocolate with whipped cream and a candy cane."

"Hear that, pumpkin?" Jay asked as he took the tray from Hailey. "Hailey made you hot chocolate with all the fixings."

"Thank you!" you exclaimed and then tried to reach for your mug.

"Pumpkin, it's hot. I'm gonna hand it to you when we get downstairs, how's that sound?"

"Okay, Jay Jay!"

When the three of you got downstairs, you gasped. Hailey wasn't kidding when she told you there were lots of presents and your stocking was overflowing. "Santa came! Santa came!"

"He did," Jay said as he set the tray on the coffee table. "Do you want to open your stocking while your hot chocolate cools down?"

"Yes please!"

Hailey walked over to the radio and turned it on to a low volume while Jay helped you get your stocking down. Then, he handed it to you and he and Hailey sat down on the floor next to you as you emptied it.

"Oranges!" you exclaimed as you pulled out two of them. "Chocolate...and candy canes!" You pulled out two more things, too, a new hairbrush and socks, but you were more excited for the chocolate and candy canes. "Your turn!" you told Jay and Hailey.

Inside theirs were only oranges, candy canes, and chocolate. They had both agreed to spend the money on you and not on each other.

You opened your presents and you had gotten a stuffed animal Mickey Mouse from Jay and a pack of cards that were specifically for Go-Fish. They had different color fishies on them! You also got a new nightgown from him.

"What's that?" you asked as you pointed to an object in the corner under the Christmas tree that was covered by a bedsheet.

"That, is my present to you," Hailey told you.

"Can I open it?" you asked as you clasped your hands in front of you as if in prayer.

Hailey laughed. "Yes, you can."

As you had been asking Hailey, Jay was wondering where this gift came from. He knew Hailey had been in charge of your stocking, but he didn't think she had gotten you anything else...much less something so big that it couldn't be wrapped.

You tugged the sheet off and gasped when you saw what was under it.

"A rocking horse!"

Jay's eyes went wide. She wasn't even supposed to get you anything and here she was with a brand new rocking horse for you.

Hailey walked over to you. "There's even a pocket on the side of the saddle so that Emmy and Spot can ride with you," she told you as she pointed it out to you.

"Jay Jay! Can you help me get on?"

Jay smiled and walked up to you and picked you up. "One...two...three!" He set you down on the rocking horse, but not before he threw you up in the air once and then caught you and placed you on the rocking horse.

You started moving back and forth on the rocking horse and singing the lyrics to Santa Claus is Comin' to Town. Jay and Hailey just watched you while they drank their coffee, enjoying the morning and seeing you so excited.

"Where's your presents?" you asked after a few songs. "Santa didn't bring you any?"

"He only brings presents to good little children, pumpkin," Jay told you.

"But you were good, Jay Jay!" you argued.

"I know," he chuckled. "But I'm a grown-up, so is Hailey."

You scrunched up your nose. "I don't wanna be a grown-up. It doesn't sound fun." Then you remembered something. "What about the presents I helped you with?" You looked down at the red tree skirt. "They're right there!" you exclaimed as you pointed to the two gifts that were still waiting to be unwrapped. You pointed to one. "That once's for Jay Jay from me and Hailey!" You pointed to the last gift. "And that one's for Hailey from me and Jay Jay!"

Jay got up and grabbed both gifts. "After you," he told Hailey, his eyes twinkling because he knew what was inside.

She gently took the wrapping paper off and then smiled and looked up at him. "How did you know this was my favorite book?" She ran a hand over the cover of a brand new copy of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. More importantly, she wondered how he could afford all this. She knew that she had started paying him a little a few months ago as prices for products dropped, but she knew it wasn't a lot.

"I noticed it on your bedside table one night when I brought you a cup of tea. I just assumed it was your favorite because of how worn the pages were. I'm glad I guessed correctly," he said.

"Thank you. This is- I love it," Hailey said. Her mom had given her a copy of that book once she reached second grade and her mom had helped her read it. She always remembered those good memories when she read it, which was why she's always read if she couldn't make it to the library, even to this day. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." His fingers brushed her hand.

Hailey turned to you. "Did you help your brother pick this out?"

"Yeah! I went to the bookstore with him! It was so big!" you told her as you continued rocking back and forth on your rocking horse. Jay had no doubt that that would be your favorite toy.

Hailey passed Jay his gift. It wasn't hard like her's had been, it was sort of flimsy as well.

"I wonder what it could be..." he trailed off, thinking that you would tell him.

"It's--" you clamped your mouth shut as you remembered what Hailey had told you. "Hailey told me I can't tell you yet! You gotta open it!"

"Okay, okay, I'm opening it." Jay also gently took off the wrapping paper so that it could be saved for next year's Christmas.

Jay removed the paper and saw what was inside: between two pieces of cardboard were two shirts. They were both made out of the same blue and white striped fabric, but one was short-sleeved and the other was long-sleeved. He held the long-sleeved one up to get a better look at it.

"Wow, Hailey, these are amazing. Did you make these?" he asked.

"I did. Y/N helped me pick out the fabric. She said you liked blue," Hailey said.

"Well, she's right. I do like blue."

"And, we figured we'd give you a long-sleeved one that can be worn almost any time and then a short-sleeved one for the summer months."

"You both made great choices. Thank you so much." He looked up at you. "Thank you, too, pumpkin. Now, can you get down and give me a hug or do I need to help you down?"

"I can do it!" You slid down off the rocking horse and then ran to Jay, barrelling into his open arms.

"Arghh, my favorite girls. No better way to spend Christmas."

Your stomach rumbled.

"I should get started on breakfast," Hailey said and stood up.

"I'll help," Jay offered. He let go of you and set you on the couch and then handed you your hot chocolate. "Can you do something for me?" he asked you.

"What is it?" you asked after you had taken a sip of your hot chocolate, getting whipped cream all on your upper lip.

"Can you not get on the rocking horse and stay here and listen to the radio until me or Hailey get back?"

"Okay!" You paused. "Can you put me on there now? I promise I'll be good," you pleaded.

Jay agreed, but only because it was Christmas. "Now, me and Hailey will be in the kitchen if you need anything. Merry Christmas, pumpkin."

"Merry Christmas, Jay Jay."

Jay handed you your hot chocolate to take one last sip and then you handed it back to him. Then, Jay and Hailey made their way into the kitchen to start on the Christmas breakfast.

Hailey opened the icebox as Jay began grabbing some plates...the fancy China ones that Hailey said she'd only get out for holidays.

"So, I'm one of your favorite girls?" Hailey asked while she took the cinnamon roll dough, which she had made a few days ago and rolled up, out of the icebox and set them on the counter.

"I mean, you are, but if you're uncomfortable with that...you know, I think I just meant to say favorite girl to Y/N, but I made it plural and--"

"Jay," she cut him off. "You're one of my favorite boys."

"Only one of them, huh?" he joked. "Who else is there?"

"The firefighters," she answered nonchalantly. "They were the ones who helped me with the rocking horse."

"I was wondering who made that."

"I just told Hermann one night that I thought Y/N would like a rocking horse, and he offered to build it with help from some of the other firefighters. All it took was a night of free drinks for each of them who helped."

"How'd you get it inside? It wasn't there last night."

"Hermann and some of the other firefighters stopped over early this morning and dropped it off. I just threw the bedsheet over it."

"So that's why you had coffee and hot chocolate all made up. You had been awake."

"Exactly right."

Jay opened the oven door turned the dial, then moved out of the way to allow Hailey to put the cinnamon rolls in the oven.

"You don't have to help me, you know," Hailey pointed out when she closed the oven door. She had never met a man so keen on helping her in the kitchen or with daily household chores before she had met Jay.

"Hailey, you tell me this every day. I've been used to cooking and cleaning for the past two years since it was just me and Y/N. I'm not going to wake up one day and stop doing that. Besides, I'm helping you out. You shouldn't have to do everything around here."

Hailey nodded and smiled. God, was Jay sweet and very handsome, too! "Well, in that case, do you want to get started on the eggs while I whip up the icing for the cinnamon rolls?"

"Uh, I was wondering if maybe you'd make the eggs?" Jay asked.

Hailey shrugged. "Okay."

"It's not that I don't want to do it," Jay backtracked. "Y/N just told me she prefers your eggs over mine."

"I think I know why," Hailey laughed.

Jay's eyes twinkled with humor as he looked at her. "Is that so?"

"It is so. It's because you whisk the eggs in the pan and not in the bowl before."

"So she likes the whites mixed with the yolks, got it," Jay replied and reached into the cabinet and grabbed Hailey a bowl. "In that case, care to pass me the icing recipe?"

She passed him a piece of paper and they worked in comfortable silence, the only noises to be heard were the sounds of whisking and sizzling and the faint sounds of the Christmas carols coming from the radio in the living room.

Hailey began plating the eggs and placed them on the counter. "I'll pop them back in the oven to keep them warm once the cinnamon rolls are almost done."

"Good idea. I'll go check on Y/N. Icing's finished as well."

Hailey nodded and then began filling the sink with warm water to start washing some of the dishes.

"I'll be back to help you dry in a minute, don't you worry."

"You'd never miss that," she joked and Jay shook his head as he walked over to go check on you.

When he saw you, he held back a laugh. You were still on the rocking horse, but your head was leaning against the horse's head, the reins loose in your hand, as you quietly snoozed away to the Christmas carols.

He thought about waking you up but thought that Hailey would like to see how adorable you looked as well. So, he walked back to the kitchen.

"Back so soon?" Hailey asked. "Where's my little angel?"

"She's asleep on the rocking horse. Guess waking up early and all the excitement of the presents really tired her out. She's adorable."

Jay waved his hand, signaling for her to follow him and she did.

Hailey cooed at how cute you were as the two of the them stood in the open doorway to the sitting room.

"She really is the cutest little girl alive," Hailey said.

"I'd do anything for that kid," Jay said.

"You're a good brother, Jay. Raising her to have manners and know how to behave, you did really well with her."

"Thank you. I just tried to do what my mother did for me and Will." Since their time together, Jay had told Hailey stories about his childhood and his parents. These were mostly told downstairs in the speakeasy when Hailey had allowed Adam to go home and it was just the two of them cleaning up together.

"Well, she'd be proud of you."

She looked up at his green eyes, which were gazing at her gently. Then, she looked up at the doorway and laughed softly.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing, it's nothing."

Jay looked up and spotted the mistletoe. They had hung it up there a week and a half ago when they had decorated for Christmas. But, they never really did the tradition of kissing under it; it was solely for decoration purposes.

"I don't think we can avoid it now since it's Christmas," Jay said. Hailey furrowed her eyebrows. "Hailey, we've been avoiding the tradition since we hung it up." He took a step toward her and grabbed her hand. "You're beautiful and I've never met anyone as kind-hearted and sweet as you and we're underneath the mistletoe." He tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

"That we are," Hailey agreed and smiled a toothy smile.

They looked into each other's eyes and all they saw was love and affection. So, Jay did what he wanted to do since they hung that piece of mistletoe: he leaned in and gave the most beautiful girl whom he had ever laid eyes on, a kiss and a Christmas kiss at that.

***

Winter had come and gone and spring was finally in the air. Jay and Hailey had finally admitted their feelings to each other and whenever they kissed, you always giggled...which caused Jay to pick you up and tickle you.

You were sitting in the garden with Hailey working on planting new flowers and vegetables, while Jay went inside to grab the three of you glasses of lemonade.

"Are these tomatoes, Mommy?" You asked as you picked up a package of seeds.

Hailey froze. Mommy. She most definitely wasn't your mommy.

"They are, baby. They'll be tomatoes once they get lots and lots of water and sun."

Jay was walking back at the same exact time you started to reply to Hailey. "Okay, Mommy! I can't wait to see them! I hope they're good."

"Hey, pumpkin," Jay said as he walked up to you and squatted down next to you. "You thirsty?" He sent Hailey a look that read that he had no idea what was going on with those names either. He held the glass of lemonade out to you.

"Thank you, Daddy!" you exclaimed as you took the glass of lemonade from him.

Jay's eyes widened and he looked at Hailey once more as you took big gulps of lemonade.

"Pumpkin, who are you calling Mommy and Daddy?" he asked gently, trying to word this as easy as possible so that you could understand it and so that it wouldn't upset you.

"You're Daddy and Hailey's Mommy!" you told him.

He furrowed his eyebrows. "I thought I was Jay Jay."

"You are. But you're Daddy, too," you told him.

"Pumpkin, me and Hailey love you so, so much, but we aren't your mommy and daddy. Mommy and Daddy died when you were little," Jay told you as he took the empty lemonade glass from you.

"I know that," you said as you started digging another hole for more seeds, not grasping how important this conversation actually was.

"Then why are you calling us that?" Hailey asked as she twirled one of your braids between her fingers.

"Because Annie told me all about her mommy and daddy and you and Jay Jay do the same things as them. So you're like my mommy and daddy." Annie was one of the neighbor girls you'd play with outside occasionally. Her dad also came to the speakeasy every Saturday night...but you obviously didn't know that. You didn't even know what a speakeasy was, let alone that there was a speakeasy in the basement of your house. You moved the dirt from the hole and to the side of you.

"Y/N, we love you so much, but you..." Hailey trailed off, not knowing how to tell you that you couldn't call her and Jay Mommy and Daddy.

"You can't call us Mommy and Daddy, pumpkin," Jay told you.

Your lip began to tremble. "Why not? You are my mommy and my daddy."

"Why do you want to call us that?" Jay asked as his heart broke when he saw the tears forming in your eyes.

"Be- because you do Daddy things like pick me up and spin me around. And wake me up and tuck me in and let me sleep in your bed when I'm- when I'm scared."

"And Hailey?"

"She does Mommy things like tuck me in and wake me up, too. She helps me with my hair and you guys always give me bedtime kisses and stories."

Jay looked at Hailey. He really didn't know how to tell you that you couldn't call them that.

"Is there anything else, Y/N?" Hailey asked, looking directly at you as she started to rub your back to hopefully stop you from crying.

"I don't 'member Mommy and Daddy!" you cried and hurled yourself into Jay's arms. "I don't 'member them and I want a mommy and daddy!"

"Oh, pumpkin," Jay said. He never really thought about the fact that you wouldn't really remember your mom and dad and how you might call him that because that's what he seemed like to you. He knew you'd have questions, but he didn't think you'd try and call him and Hailey those titles. "You do have a mommy and daddy. They're just in heaven, remember?"

"But I don't 'member them!" you cried again.

"I know, I know. Would it help if I show you pictures of them?" Jay asked.

"You have pictures of 'em?" you asked, removing your head from Jay's chest.

You had only seen a few pictures of them that Jay had in his room in frames and those were the ones that used to be in your old apartment, too.

"I do. What do you say we all go inside and look at them?" Jay asked.

"Okay."

He helped Hailey to her feet and then placed you on his hip and the three of you made your way inside.

You stayed with Hailey on the couch in the sitting room while Jay went upstairs to grab a box of old pictures.

"This is our mommy and this is our daddy," Jay said as he pointed out the people in the picture when he sat down a few minutes later. "See, you have a mommy and daddy. You just can't see them right now."

"When can I see them?" you asked.

"Not for a long time until you go up in the sky to heaven," he told you.

"Like all the old people?"

Hailey laughed. "Yes, like all the old people," Jay answered.

He pulled out another picture. "There's Mommy, there's Daddy, there's Will, and there's me," he told you as he pointed to the people in the picture.

"Where am I?" you asked as your fingers brushed the black and white photograph.

"You are right here." He pointed to your mommy's belly.

"But that's mommy's tummy, Jay Jay. I'm not there!"

"Yes, you are. You had to grow big and strong and then one day you just came here," he explained.

You placed your hand on Jay's belly. "Where's your baby, Jay Jay?"

Hailey held back laughter while Jay placed his big hand on top of your small one. "I can't have babies."

You cocked your head to the side. "Why not?"

"Because..." he trailed off, looking to Hailey for support.

"Y/N," she began. "That's a talk for when you're bigger." She grabbed a deck of cards from the table in front of you. "Do you want to play Go-Fish? I'll even get you some more lemonade."

That piqued your interest. "Yes, please!"

You slid off the couch and Jay breathed a huge sigh of relief. He had no idea what he'd do without Hailey Ann Upton.

***

"Wow," Jay mused as he looked at the morning newspaper while he and Hailey were sipping their morning coffee.

"What? Shocked that Y/N's still sleeping? Maybe she fell asleep late because she was so excited to go to the fair today," Hailey said.

"No, no," Jay said. "It's not that, even though I am shocked that she's still sleeping when it's eight o'clock already. But, no, they're thinking about ending prohibition."

"What?" Hailey gasped.

"Right here." Jay passed the newspaper to Hailey and pointed to the heading which is what told them that the US only needed one more state to ratify the 21st amendment, which at this point looked like it would be Utah.

Hailey skimmed the article. "Wow. You're right. I mean, I think we kind of knew this was coming, but I didn't think it would actually happen."

"Me neither. Do you know what you're going to do if it does become legal?"

"I mean, I've obviously thought about it, but not all the way if you know what I mean. I kind of wondered about it, but I never made a plan." Hailey tried her best to explain how she had been thinking.

"Do you want to stay in Chicago?" Jay asked.

"I don't know. I love the city, but I'd also like to have the country air. Give Y/N a big yard to run around in instead of the small one we have now."

"Jay Jay! Hailey!" you exclaimed as you ran into the kitchen.

"Speak of the devil," Jay laughed. "We'll talk more about it later." He turned to you as you pulled yourself up on a kitchen chair. "You excited for the fair, pumpkin?"

"Yeah!" you exclaimed. "I can't wait to see all the animals!"

"Which ones do you want to see the most?" Hailey asked.

"The piggies!"

"The piggies, huh?" Jay asked. "Why are they your favorite?"

"They're pink and they're fat and they're cute!"

"Pink, fat, and cute," Hailey repeated. "Great description of pigs. How about me and Jay Jay get started on breakfast and then we can get going. How does that sound?"

"Yay! Piggies!"

Jay laughed and got up to help Hailey with breakfast while you were practically vibrating in your seat with the excitement at the thought of seeing all the animals at the fair.

***

"Piggies!" you exclaimed as you saw them in their pen and tugged on Jay's hand to make him walk faster. "C'mon, Jay Jay!"

Jay laughed. "They'll still be there in a few minutes when we get there."

"There's chickens, too!" Hailey told you. "Maybe you'll see some babies, do you remember what those are called from the book we read about animals at the library?"

"Chicks!"

"Great job!" Hailey praised.

By now you had made your way to the pen and tugged Jay's hand when you walked into it.

"Piggy!" you exclaimed as you ran up to one.

"What sound does a pig make, Y/N?" Jay asked as he crouched down next to you to make sure you didn't put your hands near the pig's mouth.

"Oink oink! Mr. Piggy says oink oink!" you said, quoting the book you and Hailey read the other day.

"She must've really liked that book," Hailey said.

"Obviously," Jay agreed as you kept petting the pig. The pig made its snorty oink oink sound which caused you to pull your hand away and giggle loudly.

"Can we get a piggy, Jay Jay?" you asked.

"Not while we're in Chicago, Y/N," Jay told you.

"So if we go out of Chicago, we get one?" you asked hopefully.

"Maybe, pumpkin, maybe."

***

"So, what are you thinking?" Jay asked a few days later when it was he, Adam, Hailey, Hermann, and a few others in the speakeasy late at night.

"I don't know," Hailey said. "But, you saw how Y/N looked with those farm animals and how she loved petting all of them."

"So, you want to move out of Chicago?" Jay asked.

"I don't know, but it sounds like you've thought a lot about it. Care to enlighten me?"

"Oregon, Wisconsin, New York. Those are all options," Jay shrugged.

"I thought we were getting out of the city and not going into another one," Hailey joked. "So why New York?"

"Upstate New York, where there'd be all the forests and wilderness. Obviously, we wouldn't be living out in the middle of nowhere. I don't think either of us would enjoy that."

"No, not in the slightest," Hailey agreed.

Hermann walked up to them. "So, if you two leave with the kid, what's gonna happen to this place?" he asked.

"Didn't your mother ever teach that listening to others' conversations is actually quite rude?" Jay asked.

"Well, sorry. But all us firefighters will have to find a new place to blow off some steam," Hermann replied.

"We'll only be leaving if prohibition actually ends," Hailey explains. "Still waiting on one more state to ratify the amendment."

"So, if it does end, what are you thinking?" Hermann asked.

"Alright, spit it out already," Jay joked. "What are you thinking, Hermann?"

"Well, I'm thinking about retiring soon and if it ends, I'd love to have a business endeavor to throw myself into. If I don't have anything to work on, the missus will not be happy with me."

"So, what are you saying?" Jay asked.

"Hailey Upton, if prohibition ends and you and Jay decide to leave, would you allow me to buy this place and turn it into the most booming bar in all of Chicago?"

"I--"

"Excuse me?" A man asked rudely as he leaned over the bar. "I've been waiting on another drink for minutes now!"

"Sir," Hailey began, "I can only give you so much because we need you to be sober enough when you walk outside to leave."

"I'm paying for this! You can't tell me how much I can and can't drink!"

"Sir--"

"Make me my damn drink, bitch!"

He reached out a hand to grab Hailey's wrist, but she jumped back so she was out of his reach.

"Reach over that bar one more time and I will lay you out where you stand," Jay told him sternly.

"I highly doubt that," he scoffed and went to reach over the bar again.

But, Jay was too fast and landed a solid punch to the man's jaw.

"Son of bitch," he muttered as he grabbed his jaw.

"Believe me now?" Jay asked smugly. Then, he turned to Adam. "Care to take care of this?"

"Yeah, I got it." Then, he turned to the man who was still grabbing and massaging his jaw. "You need to go take a seat, buddy, while I get you some ice. Because, hate to break it to you, but we're not letting you leave for at least another hour."

The man groaned but reluctantly went to take a seat while Adam got him some ice...mostly because he didn't want another punch to the jaw from Jay.

Jay walked behind the bar. "Are you okay?" he asked Hailey.

"I'm fine. He didn't even touch me," she replied.

"Still," Jay said. "I'd really prefer if you went upstairs and went to sleep. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Jay, I'm--"

"Hailey," Hermann cut her off. "I can make the drinks. You just go upstairs and get some rest."

"Hermann, I can't pay you for this. And, do you even know how to make all the drinks?" Hailey asked.

"I'm fine with not being paid, Hailey. I just want to help you out and make sure you're safe, just like Jay here. And, I've been here enough and seen you make the drinks that I'm pretty sure I can handle it."

"Okay," Hailey relented.

"I'll walk you upstairs," Jay offered. "Can you two handle it if I'm gone for a few minutes?" Jay asked Adam and Hermann.

The two said they were fine and Jay and Hailey went upstairs.

"If prohibition ends," Hailey began when Jay and Hailey were almost to her bedroom, "I think we should take Hermann up on his offer."

"Hailey, that's a big decision. Are you sure you don't want to think about it?" Jay asked as he grabbed her hand.

"Tonight opened my eyes. Late nights, the possibility of being in situations I don't want to be in. If we have kids, I'm going to need to be there with them."

"Hailey, I'd love to have kids with you. But, I'm lost. What does this have to do with selling the speakeasy to Hermann?"

"If we have kids, I want us to be there for them at night when they have nightmares, not one of us going upstairs every fifteen minutes to check on them like we do with Y/N. And, if it's all legal, we'll have more rowdy customers. I don't want either of us to get hurt and I also don't want one of the kids to walk downstairs, if we have kids, and see angry customers," Hailey explained.

"I understand that. It's your decision, though. You own the speakeasy. It's your decision. I'll be with you on whatever you decide to do."

"Jay, I love you so much and I never want to be without you. And if you want to move, I'm going with you. I'm going where you go."

"I love you, too. And, you're gonna have to put up with me for a long time because I'm not leaving you."

***

"We've got everything, right?" Jay asked as he and Hailey looked on to the house. Jay held suitcases in his hand and so did Hailey. You held Spot and Emmy close to you.

"You sure about this?" Hermann asked. "You still have an hour before the train comes to back out."

"We're sure, Christopher," Hailey confirmed. "Everything is ready for us in New York."

"My brother had a lot to do with that," Jay supplied.

Prohibition had officially ended a month ago and when Jay had told Will over a quick phone call what was going on, he was shocked, to say the least. But, he agreed to try and find a place for them in upstate New York. So, he took Natalie and his three kids on a day trip there where they looked at some houses and went through the shops and got ice cream. Then, Will told Jay he had found the perfect place. So, Jay and Hailey sent him the money and Will bought the house for them.

"Bar have a--" Jay was quickly cut of by you asking a question.

"What was Mommy's name?" you asked.

"It was Molly," Jay answered. "But, we don't interrupt, okay?"

"Sorry. But, Hailey told me she'd get me another dolly when we get to New York and now I'm gonna name her Molly."

"That's great, pumpkin, really great. Anyway," he started, turning his attention back to Hermann, "Bar have a name yet?"

"You know, I think Molly's would be a good name," he answered.

You gasped. "You're gonna name the restaurant after my mommy? Did you hear that, Jay Jay?"

"I did. Hermann, you can't. It's your bar."

"I know. But, if your mom didn't have you, then you wouldn't have fallen in love with Hailey, and I wouldn't be getting the most important thing to me: the bar," he told him.

"I'm telling Cindy you said that," Hailey joked.

"You wouldn't do that. You're too nice for that, Hailey."

"So, it's Molly's?" Hailey asked.

"The bar's Molly's."

"Well, take good care of it. I didn't run it illegally for years just to have it be destroyed by a regular."

"Don't you worry. And, if all else fails, at least the firefighters will come to it."

***

"This is our house?" you asked excitedly when Will picked the three of you up from the train station. Apparently, he and Natalie made enough money to feed them and their three children and still have enough money to afford a car.

"It is, pumpkin. And look over there." Jay pointed outside the car to a pen...well two pens and a chicken coop.

"Piggies!" you exclaimed. You gasped. "We get to keep them?"

"We do," Jay confirmed.

"There's even a horse that you can ride," Hailey told you.

"Like my rocking horse?"

"Just like that. But you can feed him and brush him. And we have hens, too. Those are the girl chickens."

"They lay the eggs?"

"That's right," Will said. "You sure know a lot about animals, pumpkin. Are you gonna be a veterinarian when you get bigger?"

"What's that?" you asked as you furrowed your eyebrows.

"So, I'm a doctor for people, but you'd be a doctor for animals."

You gasped. "Yay! I wanna be a betternanian!"

Everyone laughed at your pronunciation of the word veterinarian, but you were too excited to realize you had said it wrong and to even care.

As Jay grabbed a few things out of the car and made his way to the house, he reminisced on how he got here. If he hadn't had his route changed as a milkman, if he wouldn't have gotten fired and gotten an eviction notice, then he wouldn't have met the love of his life, Miss Hailey Anne Upton...even though he hoped he'd be able to change her title to Mrs. Hailey Anne Halstead in the next few months. And, even though he had to go look for a job tomorrow, he had a home with you and Hailey, you were happy with all the animals, and he was closer to the rest of his family in Will, Natalie, and his nephews and niece, and that was all that mattered.

A/N I hope you liked the first AU of AU-gust! I think the next one I will be writing will be a high school AU. If you have any ideas for AUs, feel free to comment or send me an ask! As always, thank you for reading! Don't forget to reblog/like and comment as notifications always make my day! And, if you like my writing, you can support me at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Kayela It's only a dollar and it's through Paypal and any currency can be used, no subscription required! (I write these fics for free, so I figured I'd try this out!) Finally, if you want to be added to my taglist, just comment and I’ll add you!

taglist: @theambracer88 @virtualreader @kelelas-life @celyndavies @brookerz122493 @musicismyescape27 @anotherfan07 @thexplosivegirl @dreamingwithlens @xoxmariaxox @onechicago18 @iamasimpingh0e @i-like-sparkly-things @herecomesthewriterwitch @liampayne88

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wonhoarctic · 4 years ago

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mother's day | lee minhyuk

request: hii i love your writing 🥺 could i request a drabble fic with minhyuk? just a bit of some warm fuzzy fluff tgt with creampie / breeding smut with bf min if thats ok?

genre: fluff, but with some smut at the end

word count: 1569

pairing: minhyuk x fem!reader

a/n: hi bub!! you didn't specified the gender of reader, but as you said about breeding, i assume it's fem!reader, but i hope this is what you wanted!! it's not exactly a drabble fic bc it's a bit longer, but it still have all the things you've requested, hope you like it! please, take care, and you can always request something here! <3

contains: a fluffy mother's day in which you and your newly-married husband go to visit his mother in a family dinner and spend the day playing with his nephews and godsons, which leads both of you to want some babies, smut contains fingering, oral (m. receiving), nipple play, missionary position, creampie, and filthy language, basically, a breeding smut

mother's day, so it means that we were going to see my mom at lunch, and we would dinner in his mom's house, which is a place i've ever loved going to, his parents are the sweetest couple alive, they've ever treated me as their own daughter, and i love to spend some time with my mother-in-law, who've taught me to cook his favorite plates, always showed me his baby pics, told me stories about min and her stories about being in love with his dad, and she always supported me on whatever i did

we came back from my parent's house, and after my shower, my husband, minhyuk, went to take his, while i put a dress, fixed my hair and put some makeup on, nervous and wanting to cause a good impression, because there would be some of his relatives i haven't seen for a while

"you look gorgeous, baby" i felt hands on my waist, and a little peck on my cheek, which made me blush, and he laughed slightly, smiling to me "are you nervous?" i nodded "don't worry, love, they probably love you more than me, y/n" he laughed more

minhyuk was fast to dress up, and i wore my heels, so we could finally leave home, after he got the gifts for his mom

when we arrived, i felt myself tense a little, seeing his family after a while — after we went on a 3 months honeymoon — was a little strange, we missed the first months of our little niece, and we couldn't be on the eldest twins birthday party, and yet, here we were, smiling brightly after coming back to korea, and seeing them

"happy mother's day, mom!" he exclaimed, smiling to her, going to get her gifts on the bag "our trip to italy was amazing, i have a lot to tell you, but first, i have to give you all the gifts i bought there with y/n, she was the one who helped choosing them"

after he spent some time with his parents and brother, he came back to me, who was speaking with his brother's wife all the time, finally being able to see our little niece, younghwa, who was turning 5 months old now

"she's grown up a lot... i remember when you were pregnant" i felt hands on my waist, hugging me from behind, a soft and warm voice while speaking with his sister-in-law, who was holding the baby

"minjoon is younger than you, and we already have twins who are 4 years old and a newborn daughter... i wonder when you two are going to have a baby too..." she spoke, laughing a bit

"it might seem a little early to want babies, but y/n and me are currently trying to have babies, right, love?" he turned out to me, who nodded shyly "we had very nice tries of having babies during our honeymoon..." blushing, i slapped his shoulder lightly, escaping from his embrace

"that's not the type of thing we use to say when we're in public, minhyuk!" i screamed in a whisper, still blushed, and he laughed, apologizing

"but it's funny to see you blushing, love~" he grabbed my hand "come here, let's play with the kids"

we came to the playing spot our nephews and godsons did, quickly getting into the 4-5 years old games

"uncle min, when are we having a cousin to play with us?!" our niece asked with sparkling eyes, her brother quickly nodding, asking him for a baby, and i laughed — is it a signal for us to finally have our much-dreamed-off baby?

"as soon as possible, bubs" he smiled to the kids, who returned him the cutest smiles ever

we spent the whole day playing with the kids, and telling his parents about our honeymoon trip, but when we were coming back home, he pressed me against the car

"y/n, today everyone talked a lot about we having a baby, right?" he got closer to me, his lips pressing against my ear "don't you think this is a signal, hm?"

"i think so..." i laughed, wanting to see how far he'd go

"why don't we take this to the bedroom, then?" he started to leave some open mouthed kisses in my neck, not caring if they were going to bruise or not, i tried my best not to moan, trying to focus in other things, but when he kissed and licked at my weak spot, i couldn't help but moan, feeling myself getting wetter by any second

"let's go home, baby, someone might see us here" i spoke, and he stepped back, letting me get in the car, because i was the one who would drive home

when we got in, we removed our shoes, and he lifted me from the ground while we were in an intense make out session, easily carrying me to the bedroom, gently placing me on the bed, sliding the zipper of my dress

"so, you're wearing the lingerie set i bought for you in dolce & gabbana... you're even sexier than usual, love" minhyuk pointed, his hands lowering one of the straps of the black silk balconette, leaving wet marks all over my collarbone, making my breathe heavier than before

"s-stop teasing me... please" i begged, and he looked at me, smirking, easily getting rid of my bra

"you want me?" i nodded, and his smirk grew "where?", before i could say something, his lips got attached to one of my nipples, sucking and licking gently on the hard bud, which was becoming more and more sensitive, and me, wetter by any second

tired of waiting, one of my hands went to remove my satin laced briefs, but he stopped my hand, pulling it away just to use his own hand

he didn't had to rub my clit or whatever, i was already so wet, that he just started to finger fuck me, and he didn't had any mercy, fingering me in an incredible speed, making me moan out loud, my hips jerking wildly to more contact, desperate to cum, and it had passed only 5 minutes since he started to finger fuck me

"you're already that desperate to cum, y/n?" he chuckled, low and dark "i have that much effect on you?" his thrusts were painfully slow now

"p-please, min, let me cum, i'll do whatever you want me to do" i moaned, and before i knew, his thrusts became faster again, and i was finally cumming "you said you'd do anything i wanted if i let you cum, right?" he sat against the headboard, looking at me lustfully "come here and suck me off like the good slut you are" he ordered

as if he asked me to do, i took him in my mouth, sucking and licking him like i could, using my hands whenever i had problems of fitting him entirely in my mouth

minhyuk was a moaning mess, he jerked his hips against my face countless times, but then, he removed me from his dick, gently laying me down on the bed, he was being rough, but yet soft, and i couldn't deny — i was loving it

before giving me any previous advices, he entered me, making me yelp in surprise, just a bit sensitive as the waves from the last orgasm were still there, thrusting in a medium pace so i could get used to the stretch, and once i did, i moved my hip slowly, moaning loudly and asking him for more silently

and he seemed to get my message, starting to slam his hips against mine faster, but being incredibly gentle, not applying much force, and he kissed me so he could swallow my moans, none of us wanting to get expelled from our apartment, because we're both a loud couple

"you're going to take my cum very well, right? you'll need it a lot to grow our child, darling", he started to get sloppier in his thrusts, his breath heavier, and i knew minhyuk was close, especially when his long fingers went down to abuse my swollen and aching clit, increasing the flames in my stomach

"m-min" i moaned "i'm s-so close", and his fingers gained as much speed as his thrusts

"come for me, princess, come all over my cock" he said, and not much longer, as he continued his ministrations on my body, i reached my second high, cumming on his cock

and the new tightness seemed to have effect on him, as he thrusted a few more times before cumming, his hot seed coating my walls, and he pulled out of my slit, pressing a chaste kiss on my lips

"i love you" he said, before pulling me closer to his chest "let's just stay like this, please, i don't want to let you go"

"okay, but can you just help me to clean this mess? i'm sure you don't want me to stain the sheets with your cum, right?" i laughed, and he mimicked me "and min, i'd never let you go, after we clean up this mess, we can even sleep naked, that i'll make sure to be in your arms all night" i smiled, and he pulled me closer, kissing me again, grabbing some tissues to clean us

"i love you too, hyuk, and i hope we can have a baby soon"

#monsta x imagines #monsta x scenarios #monsta x fluff #monsta x smut #minhyuk smut #minhyuk fluff #minhyuk scenarios #minhyuk imagines #monsta x minhyuk #minhyuk #minhyuk x reader

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whydoyouwantmyname · 4 years ago

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Imagine being Sirius’s daughter {Part 3}

Part one

Part two

-Remus never told you that he still believed your father was guilty, his heart was in a state of heartbreak whenever he would look at you, your eyes filled with hope that you could somehow set him free. Remus wanted so desperately to have your blind, bias belief, I mean what little girl wants to believe her dad was a spy for the enemy and was responsible for the death of most of your family, which was the only reason he couldn’t forgive Sirius for his crimes.

-You and the boys wrote each other daily during the winter break.

-On Christmas Remus surprised you with a book by Lockheart, “Everyone says he is very popular amongst the female readers.”

“He also is a fiction writer, I mean there is no way that someone with a face like his could be the smartest ravenclaw there ever was.”

-Remus chuckled at your response, and then surprised you with a trip to Hogwarts, his backpack filled with presents from you both. When you arrived in Dumbledore’s office you immediately wanted to go find Hagrid, to which the two men stated was okay, “We will meet you at his hut shortly.” Dumbledore answered as you raced from the office towards the spiral stairs.

“I know that look Remus, what is on your mind?”

“You promised me he would never get in contact with her while she was here.” His voice was low

“I did, and I have...”

“He has been writing her since she arrived Albus, and now I just had to tell my daughter that he has been writing to her constantly! I had to look my daughter in the eyes and lie to her that I believed her father was innocent. How can I believe a man who betrayed his friends, who murdered them all, almost got his own godson killed, and not once thought about his incredibly smart, talented, humble, compassionate little girl? I wanted to avoid this Albus, but it seemed I can not trust anyone but my daughter.”

“Your daughter?” Albus asked, Remus hadn’t even realized he kept calling you his daughter, normally he would just call you his niece, or by name. His eyes softened towards the headmaster as he hissed, “Well she might as well be.”

-Dumbledore reassured him that Sirius posed no real threat to you or him, “He is locked away in a cell, never to be freed again.”

-When they went to the Hut with McGonnagall, and some of the other professors, when they opened the door, they saw you sitting on the couch opposite the armchair, your coat discarded, revealing your maroon and gold stripped sweater. A mug was in between your hands, whip cream towering over the top of it as you looked at Hagrid, who was telling you a story about Bowtruckles. Your giggles filled the small space as they all filed into the room. That’s when Hagrid turned around and stood, ready to prepare hot chocolate for everyone, as Remus pushed by and sat beside you on the couch.

-The day after Christmas you went to Diagon Alley to try to find a good gift for Fred. You searched high and low, but nothing stood out to you. That was until you saw the window display of the Quality Quidditch Supplies.

“Uncle Mooney, how realistic would it be to hex my bag with the Undetectable Extension Charm?”

-Quite, why?”

“Because I think I found the gift I want to get Fred.” You answered with a smile before opening the shop door.

-One night while Remus was sipping his tea, he looked up at you, curled up at the end of the sofa, reading a book in one of your oversized sweaters, the glow of the fire illuminated your face, as your tea sat beside you, “You know who you look like right now?”

“Your niece?”

“No, you look just like your Aunt Lily. I mean she was a bookworm, intelligent witch, who was somehow involved with the pranksters of Gryffindor.”

“I’m glad.” You smiled, before Remus smiled, a ping of sadness overcoming him as he missed his friends... the only real family he ever had. You could tell he was off suddenly, and looking at him as he sipped his tea again you asked, “Uncle Mooney, tell me about your time at Hogwarts?”

-You both stayed up most of the night, chuckling at the stories he told. By the time you went to bed, the fire was down to just glowing embers, both of your teas cold, but you were happy, and that night you both slept in until noon.

-When the full moon occurred you went to Hagrid’s hut, and spent the day with him walking in the forbidden forest in the snow.

-When you left to go back to Hogwarts, you looked at your uncle on the station, “Uncle Mooney?”

“Yes Love?”

“No more secrets okay, I mean I would hope you trust me enough to tell me anything, cause I certainly trust you.”

-Of course Love.” He smiled before pulling you in for a hug, and handing you a chocolate bar, “For the journey.”

-When you found the booth that the twins and Lee were hiding in your whole face lit up, and you were quick to slip in next to Fred as they all were laughing at the story of how Fred and George turned Percy’s hair pink by adding some of their mom’s herbs to his shampoo, and how it backfired when everyone’s had turned pink.

-Once the train started to move however you smiled, “Okay, so shall we exchange?”

-In a circle you each gave your gifts one by one, Fred got Lee, Lee got George, George had gotten you, and you had gotten Fred. You decided to go in the same order you drew names, meaning Fred went first.

-Fred reached in his bag and pulled out a rectangular box, and handed it over to you, “Here, I hope you like it.”

When you opened it, you noticed the dull blue of the tissue paper, and slowly pulled it back to reveal the knitted yarn, the collar was a pastel purple color, while the rest of the sweater was a minty green, your first initial in the same pastel purple. As you held it up, you couldn’t suppress a smile, “I love it.”

-George got Lee the same present, except his was Gryffindor colors.

-Both boys were estact that you liked their gifts.

-Lee handed George a box, and when he opened it, it was filled to the brim with all different sorts of candy. However when he reached inside he withdrew a gameboy.

“The muggles use it to play video games, I figured it might be an interesting gift, and something your dad would love to learn about.”

-Once it was your turn you smiled towards Fred, “You can’t be mad.”

“How could I ever be mad at you?” He chuckled as you smiled wide, before opening your charmed bag and reaching all the way into it, the boys eyes widening as you exclaimed, “Got it.”

-The package was as neatly wrapped as it could be, the paper was a matte blue, with a green ribbon on top. Using both hands you extended it towards Fred, “I figured if you and Georgie were going to someday be real quidditch players, you might as well have a good broom.”

-When he unwrapped it, he was blown away to see the Comet 260, his hands slightly going over the wood as he admired it. However he stopped for a moment at the handle, “Why did you engrave a G in it?”

“Oh bloody hell, that one was meant for George, give me a second.” You exclaimed reaching back in to pull out another one, this time wrapped in orange paper with a yellow bow, “This one is yours Freddie, I mean I couldn’t get one brother a broom and not the other.”

“You got a present in there for me too?” Lee joked as you reached in and withdrew a box wrapped in green paper, which held a box microphone. “Of course.” However they didn’t see the second small box you withdrew, and as George and Lee admired the Gameboy, you gently tapped Fred on the leg, “Here’s one more gift, and I promise, it isn’t another broom.”

- As he opened it, he noticed it was also charmed with the Undetectable expansion charm. Reaching inside he withdrew a Jersey, which was maroon and gold, and had the snitch embroidered onto it.

“Figured you could be the most official looking player when you match up with your siblings.” You whispered

“You really didn’t have to.” He replied, tears in his eyes as you rested your chin on his shoulder, “No, but what are friends for, we are supposed to support each other’s dreams.”

-After that, you and Fred were always close, Lee used to joke that he liked hanging out with you far more than his own twin brother.

-About a month after arriving, at the feast table Albus leaned over to McGonagall, “10 Galleons says that Fred and [Y/N] are dating by their seventh year?”

“I say it will be by their fifth year.” She replied, before reaching her hand out to shake on it

-You never told the boys you knew who created the map, nor did you tell your father that George and Fred were using it to prank students and staff during the school year.

-Sirius wrote you once a week.

- You were in all the same classes as the boys, and it made it so much easier for you to help them with homework. The boys were pretty bright, however they would sometimes get carried away thinking about who to prank and how. Occasionally you would chime in, but most times you would just chuckle and shake your head.

-Percy always looked at you and asked how you could be friends with people like his younger brothers, to which you always gave a witty response. The responses would always cause Fred and George to laugh.

-One night Lee looked at you, both of the twins were running late to dinner, meaning it was just you and Lee for a while. Knowing that the food would disappear probably before the boys made it to the Great Hall, you made a plate for both boys, and made sure to grab an extra pudding for Fred.

“You never get me an extra pudding?” Lee faked whined as you raised an eyebrow, “Lee, I literally gave you my pudding yesterday.”

-When the boys arrived Fred sat across from you, and smiled, “No way, you snagged me an extra pudding.”

“What are friends for?” You smiled as George looked at his plate, which you had put extra turkey on for him, a smile on his face as he looked at his friends.

“You know something, we should all get together this summer.” George suggested, as you raised an eyebrow, “George it’s only March.”

“Yeah, and school ends soon. Then we have to go 3 months without seeing each other. We could ask our mum, I am sure you all could stay in our room.”

“My parents would probably be okay with that, what about you [Y/N]?”

“I’m sure it would be okay, I can ask him.” You let it slip, as they all looked towards you.

“Don’t you mean them?” George asked

“Um..... no. I ummmm live with my uncle.” You answered, you had never told them you didn’t have a mom, or that your father was in Azkaban on a false charge, or that your uncle who you lived with was a werewolf.”

-The boys went silent, and after several seconds, they began their regular banter.

-The next day you wrote Remus, and asked what he would think about you spending some time with the Weasleys at the burrow. He replied within the week and said it would be fine with him, as long as you never returned on a full moon, or the day after.

-When George and Fred asked their parents, Arthur expressed some concern to Molly in private, “I mean how do we know we can trust her, what if she is just like her father?”

“She is just a little girl Art, besides she has basically lived with Remus her whole life. He would never let her grow up to be a monster. Let’s just give her a chance, besides the boys will be heartbroken if we say Lee can come and not [Y/N].”

- The first time you went to the Burrow, you used Floo powder to get there, your eyes widened as you took in the scenery. Everything about the burrow looked homey, and you were fascinated by the use of magic throughout the home. The needle moving to create a sweater, the sponge moving itself in a circular motion on the dishes, the stove turning itself off as the kettle whistled, the broom sweeping into the dust pan, as the mop followed behind. The dry dishes putting themselves away, as you exited the mantle.

-Molly rounded the corner as you stepped out, her round face dressed with a smile as she extended her arms, “You must be [Y/N], it is so nice to finally meet you my dear.” She quickly advanced towards you as she wrapped you in a hug, “I hope you got here alright.”

“Of course Mrs. Weasley, thank you so much for allowing me to stay for a while in your lovely home.”

“Of course my dear, and no need for formality here, Molly is fine.” She smiled, before calling, “Boys! [Y/N] is here!”

-You couldn’t help but smile as 3 pairs of feet came raising down the stairs, and tackled you onto the couch. The room erupting into a fit of laughter as the boys all dog piled you, and as they stood up (After Molly telling them to), Fred reached out to help you up.

-You slept in the twins room, the boys had made up two cots for you and Lee. Your cot was closer to Fred’s bed. Most nights after the rest of the house had fallen asleep, you and the boys would stay up quietly giggling at future pranks.

-Ron and Ginny loved having you around, whenever they would try to hang out with their two older brothers they would say that they were busy with their friends, yet you would say, “If you want we can do something, who needs these losers anyway to have fun.”

-You always offered to help Molly with the chores, and some nights you even convinced the boys to help.

-One night while you were doing chores with Molly, she leaned over, “I never thanked you by the way.”

“For what?”

“Fred and George were so excited when they got home, they wanted to show us the new brooms they had written us so much about. I know it is just a material object, but most people don’t know that the boys are skilled quidditch players. They just see the jokes, and the pranks, which leads them to get labeled as the general prankster. I can’t tell you how many times the boys have gotten rubber chickens, and whoopie cushions, or little fireworks. You actually showed that you listen to them, and that is all a mother can ask of her children’s friends.”

“No problem Molly, they are wonderful boys.” You smiled, as Ginny raced into the kitchen, “Hey [Y/N], do you think we can have a girls night?”

“Of course.” You smiled.

-You always helped with the twin’s chores, which Molly thought was wonderful.

-You hated weeding the garden though, so you would just lay in the grass and read while the boys labored in the dirt.

-You were only supposed to stay for two weeks, however you ended up staying for a whole month. Lee left after the two weeks though.

-Whenever they would play quidditch in the garden George was insistent on having you on their team, you were an okay player. Whenever you all had some free time between chores, Fred and George would teach you how to play, helping you learn strategies.

-When you went home each of the Weasleys gave you a hug, Molly of course looked at you and smiled, “Now don’t be a stranger, you are welcome anytime.”

“Really, if you don’t mind me asking, may I come stay August 6th?”

“That’s next week?” George replied, his tone questioning as you smiled, it wouldn’t be for too long, just a day or two, my Uncle is going to be out of town for those days. I didn’t want to spend the day alone.”

“Of course Love, whatever you need.” Arthur smiled, his whole attitude towards you altered after your first visit to the burrow.

-After that visit, you spent all the full moons at the Burrow. None of them ever asked why you always stayed on full moons, nor did the professors ask why you stopped coming to Hogwarts.

-Remus hated when you were away, the cabin was so quiet, but he couldn’t stop you. He knew your father was the same way during summer breaks so he could only imagine it was the Black genes in you. You however always came back with a smile plastered on your face, and spent the week telling him all about what you did.

-When you went shopping for your supplies for your second year, Molly and Arthur invited you and Remus to join them, which you eagerly agreed to.

-The plan was to meet at the Burrow, as soon as the twins heard the sound of an Apparition spell, they were out the door. Immediately they had you wrapped in a hug, your arms hanging around both of their necks as they gripped you tightly. Pulling away they then looked at Remus.

“You must be Mister Lupin, pleasure to see you again sir.” They both said at the same time, hands rocketing out for a handshake. He just looked at the pair and replied, “And you must be George,” he pointed to George, “And Fred.” He pointed to Fred before reaching out and shaking both of their hands.

“Blimey, not even our own mum can tell us apart like that.” George joked as you immediately piped up, “Your mum can tell you apart just fine, it is just the two of you that like to switch identities to see if anyone will notice.”

-Next out the door was Ron, his kind of grown out red mop blowing in the wind as he raced over and into your arms, “I missed you.”

“I missed you too kid.”

-Fred and George rolled their eyes at the interaction, both of them had figured out during your first stay that Ron had developed some little crush on you, Remus of course saw the eye rolls and whispered, “Now don’t tell me you never had a crush on one of your brother’s friends when you were his age?”

-while all the kids raced around the yard before going, Remus talked with Arthur and Molly. Of course the awkward subject came up, “So does she know...”

“Yes, she knows exactly what her father did, and as much as I hate it, she believes he was framed. However we don’t discuss the topic of her father unless absolutely necessary. I would hope the same is being done here.”

“Of course Remus.” Molly replied, shooting Arthur a disapproving look, “Our kids don’t know anything about him, and I doubt she has told any of them.”

“I mean Fred and George might know, seeing how close they are.” Athur piped up, but Remus just looked at him, “No they don’t, she would never risk losing your boys. I dare say she would protect them with her life if she had too.”

“Just as her father was supposed to?” The response was automatic, Arthur hadn’t even thought of it when it slipped out, and he immediately regretted it, whispering an apology as Remus shot him a disapproving look, as Molly gave him the look of death. However all Remus replied with was, “She is nothing like her father.”

- The twins and you wanted ventured out on your own as soon as you arrived to Diagon Alley, Remus chuckling as you looked at him quickly, “You can join us if you like.”

“Are you sure darling, I would hate to spoil your fun?” He replied as George laughed

“Nonsense Mr. Lupin, [Y/N] tells us you were quite the prankster when you were our age, we would love to hear more about it. Maybe get some ideas.” Fred smiled, as Remus looked towards the ground, a ping of sadness entering his heart as he chuckled, “Now Fred, I was not the prankster of the group, that title was held by [Y/N]’s father, and her Uncle James.”

-After going to a few shops looking for supplies, the four of you all went to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, and got some ice cream. As you sat at the table Fred and George asked Remus what it was like when he was at Hogwarts. As you licked your cone you couldn’t help but chuckle as Remus’s face lit up, telling Jame’s and Sirius’s prank stories to the twins.

-Their personal favorite was when Sirius and James had discovered a new muggle song, and somehow disguised a boom box in the Great Hall, and turned it to Maximum volume. The entire day the Hall was filled with Don’t Go Breaking my Heart by Thin Lizzy, on a loop. They earned two days of detention with Flich, in which he had them polish all of the trophies in case.

-At one point while you were shopping, Fred picked up a flower on the side of the road, and paid 15 Sickles for it, he then walked up beside you and leaned over, “Figured you might like this.”

“You bought me a Garden Rose, is it bewitched?”

“Course not, can’t a boy just buy his best friend a pretty flower?” He smiled as you cautiously took it from him, and thanked him.

-Remus was watching you both from a distance, and smiled as he thought of his niece falling in love, and was hopeful that it was at least with one of the Weasley boys.

-When it was time to part ways Fred asked Remus, “Sir, do you mind if one day, George and I come over, and stay for a week? We would love to see what your home looks like, and to hear more stories?”

“Unfortunately boys, I don’t think that is possible, however I would be more than happy to come to the burrow whenever you want to tell you more.”

-Remus didn’t know how to explain the scratches that were randomly scattered along the interior and exterior of the cottage.

-When you got home, Remus looked at you with a smile, “I like those two.”

“I knew you would.” You smiled, as you put your bags down, and dropped your garden rose into a vase.

-You sent your father letters all about the Weasley twins, and told him how they looked up to him and Uncle Prongs after Remus shared their stories. You had no idea how much it meant to him that Remus was still talking about him.

-When it was time for you all to go back, Remus stood on the platform with you, “Now don’t let those boys rope you into any pranks that will get you expelled.”

“Course Uncle Mooney.” You replied, before wrapping him into a hug. As you pulled away you saw two tuffs of red hair race over, “Come on [Y/N], Lee’s already on the train saving us a booth.” George whined as they both grabbed your hands and led you away, while shouting, “Good to see you Mr. Lupin.”

-When you started your second year you noticed you were in all the opposite classes as the boys. Your smile dropping as you tried to envision classes without your best friends.

-That first night in the common room the four of you all sat around in the corner, the moonlight pouring into the window as you watched Lee and Fred compet in a game of Wizards Chess, George scribbling down prank ideas. Finally he looked at you, “How do you think we can pull off your father’s prank?”

“What?”

“You know the one where they blasted muggle music throughout the Great Hall?”

“Don’t you think that will be too odvious, I mean the only people who would know about that would be [Y/N], we would be had for sure.” Lee replied, before saying, “Pawn to E6.”

“Besides, I think we can pull off far better pranks then my dad and his friends, I mean you two are the Weasley Twins, greatest pranksters to ever attend Hogwarts.” You smiled as Fred slightly blushed.

-Lee and George both noticed how Fred blushed, and when you went to bed that night both of them looked at him, “Okay, spit it out.”

“Spit out what Lee?” He asked confused.

“Do you have a crush on our very own Miss Black?” George asked, as Fred began to stutter, causing both boys to smile.

“Blimey Fred, why don’t you just tell her then.”

“It’s not that simple Georgie, I mean... what if she doesn’t feel the same, how will that affect the group. We can’t lose her, she is the brains behind a quarter of these pranks.”

-The rest of the term you helped the boys with all of their schoolwork, as normal.

-You were the top of your class, all the professors were proud of your work, even Snape.

-Most nights you and the boys would end up sitting at the table in the corner, or on the love seats that were against one of the farthest walls. Whenever you were on the loveseats, Lee and George would make sure you and Fred were on the same sofa, and whenever you’ll would sit at the table they would arrange the seats so that you were also next to Fred. You didn’t think anything of it, but Fred knew what they were trying to do, and he would always just stare at them with dirty looks when you weren’t looking.

-When they tried out for the Quidditch team, you were sitting in the stands, your scarf and hat on as you watched them prove their skills, your applause Louder than everyone else’s as you cheered them on.

-When George and Fred made the Quidditch team, you were the first person to congratulate them, a huge smile on your face as you leapt into Fred’s arms, as he twirled you around. Then you went to hug George, and looked at them both, “I am so bloody proud of you.”

-Hagrid sat with you at every game, and afterwards you would go to the hut with him and share a cup of tea.

-Remus wrote you often, and told you about the woods, and the lilies. However he wasn’t a fan of how quiet it was, and often found himself playing music throughout the cabin. The records that he had were classics that he had collected over the years, but he always found himself gravitating towards the small collection of records that Lily had given him. They were some of her favorites, and he had given him a few copies of them once they were out of school. The genre of them varied.

-Every once and a while however his fingers would find the section of records that were not his... they belonged to Sirius. He had taken them when he went to the house to collect your things, he wasn’t sure why he had the urge to take them from the house with your stuff, but he didn’t feel right leaving the house without them. He would take the vinyl disk out of the sleeve and spin it between his fingers a few times before placing it on the player, his body slumping into the armchair after putting the needle on. His eyes would shut as he put his fingers to his temple, the familiar melodies filling the space as he remembered the days he would go to Sirius’s flat and he would be blasting the record player. Most times you were resting on his hip, a huge smile on your face as he twirled you around and danced to the beat. Your giggles almost drowned out by the guitars, and drums. As Remus listened to them, tears would normally slid down his cheeks, as he thought to himself, “Why Pads, why did you do it?”

-Before leaving for Christmas break, you did the secret Santa again, this time you drew Lee’s name.

-That Christmas break you went to the cabin, and stayed with Remus the whole time, both of you just enjoying the comfort of being together. He would sometimes find himself chuckling as you sat at the dining room table and wrote letters to the boys, and your father.

-You were laughing when on Christmas Day you found a present under the tree addressed to you from the Weasleys. You opened it to find that you once again had received a Christmas sweater, this time it was purple and blue, there was a note attached that read, “You might as well be part of the family.”

-On the last night you and Remus were sitting in the living room, the fire roaring as you looked toward Remus, “Uncle Mooney?”

“Yes love.”

“Do you ever wonder how Harry is?” This wasn’t the first time you had asked about Harry, but this was the first time in a while. Your head was resting on your knees as he spoke, “I am sure Harry is just fine, I am sure he is sitting at his Aunt Petunia’s right now surrounded by all his presents, and is filled with fmdread that school is going to start back up.”

“I hope so.” You answered with a smile. You had no idea though that Remus was slightly filled with doubt. Every time he would think about Harry, he would remember what James used to tell him about Petunia Evans, and how she was a arrogant, closed minded bitch when it came to anything in her sister’s life.

-When you got on the train you were excited to see the three boys, all of them wearing their Weasley sweaters. George laughing as he looked towards you, “I love that we are all matching, it’s almost like we planned this.”

“Too bad we didn’t.” Fred barked, as you plopped down next to Lee, your back leaning against the wall of the booth as you put your legs over his lap. His arms laying over your legs as you spoke to the twins across from you both.

-Finally after swapping stories of the break Lee smiled, “Time for secret Santa?”

“Course it is, I’ll go first.” George replied, as he reached into his bag and withdrew a small box, thrusting it towards Fred, “Here you go Fred.”

“You got me?” He asked, taking the box in hand, “You told me that you had gotten Lee.”

“What was I supposed to do, tell you that I drew your name out of the hat and that I bought you your present right in front of you. That would ruin the whole tradition.” George replied as you smiled, “He has a point Freddie.”

-When Fred opened the box he was greeted by a whole box full of dungbombs. He chuckled as he carefully removed one and whispered, “Wicked.”

-Next was Lee, who handed a gift towards George, “I can’t top the gift [Y/N] got you last year, but I sure as hell can try.”

-In the box was a Gryffindor colored Hackey Sack which George twirled between his fingers, “What is it?”

“You kick it, when we get to Hogwarts I can show you how to play with it.” Lee smiled as you reached into your bag and withdrew a box, the boys all chuckling at the fact that your bag was still charmed from last Christmas. “Here Lee, just promise me you won’t use it to blow us up.”

“I promise, however are you trying to tell me you bought me a bomb?”

“You’re just gonna have to open it to find out.” You smiled as he tore the paper slightly and revealed that logo of Dr Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks. “No way.” Lee gasped as you smiled.

“Figured we could light it off down by the lake.” You replied as Fred pulled a rectangular, brightly wrapped present out of his bag, the ribbon on top of it still in tact as he placed it on his lap. Your eyes still on Lee, he was taking in the smallest details of your face, and watching how the fluorescent lighting in the booth made your eyes twinkle slightly. After a few minutes though he noticed you had looked towards him, a smile plastered on your face as you asked, “So guess that just leaves you Freddie.”

“Ummm yeah.” He answered, looking down quickly, before sticking his hand out towards you, the present grasped tightly between his fingers as he said, “Looks like I got you again.”

-You carefully unwrapped the paper, and smiled as you revealed the limited edition cover of Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them. You smiled wide as you looked up, “Fred, I love it.” You smiled as you slowly opened it and looked at the updated drawings.

-You spent the rest of the train ride reading, while the boys groaned about going back to class.

-When you went to get off you were walking beside Fred, and bumped your shoulder into his, “Thank you again, I really do love it.”

“I’m glad.” He smiled

- After a month back at Hogwarts you found yourself sitting in the common room, and heard the portrait open, the room filled with the giggles of the three boys you valued, your eyes raising from your parchmentad you looked at them. “What did you do?”

“We may have just set off a bunch of dungbombs in Snape’s classroom.” George gasped while trying to maintain his composure.

“Oh bloody hell.” You sighed, “he is going to assign your class extra homework now you know?”

“Worth it.” Lee replied as Fred flopped down on the couch next to you, and added, “Besides he will have no clue who did it.”

“You really think he won’t put it together?” You asked, your eyes meeting his as he answered, “Nope.”

-The next day they came in with a groan, and looked at you, “Want to help us with our Potions homework?”

“He figured it out, didn’t he?” You smiled, your eyes never leaving your book as George groaned, “Yup.”

“Told you.” You responded, as the three boys flopped around you.

-You used to sit in your dormitory with the Marauders Map, and study it for hours, watching as the little footsteps moved across the parchment. It made you feel closer to the Marauders.

-You alternated which spare jersey you wore to the games, since George and Fred had both given you their spares to wear.

-Towards the end of the year you found yourself helping the boys more with the pranks, which they loved because you were always telling them how not to get caught.

-At the end of the year you went straight to the Burrow, since it was a full moon. You smiled walking into the Burrow, a sense of home washing over you as Ron raced into the kitchen, and looked at you, “Bloody hell, I am starting Hogwarts this year, where did the year go?”

-And that’s when it hit you... Harry Potter was starting at Hogwarts next term.

-When you went back to the cabin you closed the door and slowly slid down it, the sounds of your father’s records filling the space as Remus sat in the armchair. Your trunk abandoned next to you as you leaned your head back, your thoughts filled with the idea of Harry coming to Hogwarts. You wondered if he knew who you and Remus were, or if you were long forgotten. You wondered if he knew about your father, you were sure he would have, even if he lived with muggles. Would he judge you? Would he be angry at you for your father’s false crimes?

-Remus turned in the chair, and watched you sit there, knowing that the wheels were turning in your head. Finally after five minutes he rose slowly as turned the music down, before making his way towards you and kneeling in front of you, “Would you like to go out tonight?”

“Where?”

“Anywhere you want my love.”

-You chose Hogwarts, and you ended up sitting in Dumbledore’s office with Remus, Hagrid, Dumbledore, and McGonagall. You were all smiles and laughing as you listened to them share stories.

-That summer you spent another month at the Burrow, most days you would lay in the sun with the Twins, and discuss possibly opening a joke shop in the future, which was the twin’s dream.

-Molly always told you that you didn’t have to help with chores, however you would always smile and reply, “You really think Freddie and Georgie will do chores if I don’t help.”

-Sometimes at night you and the boys would lay out in the grass and look at the stars, the cool summer air breezing over your forms as you all laid with your heads pointed towards each other. A few times you had fallen asleep while you all were out there, which resulted in Fred carrying you upstairs to your cot. George would always trail behind, slightly chuckling as he wondered when you and his older brother would get together finally.

-Ginny and you would sometimes sit in the couch and just talk, or you would braid her long, ginger hair. Ron would occasionally join as well but Ginny always looked at him and snapped, “Piss off, she doesn’t like you like that.”

-One day while you brushed her hair she asked you if you could ever see yourself dating one of her brothers. You smiled and replied, “Who knows, maybe one day I will, however that is probably going to be the day that I lose all my sanity.”

-On your last night there, you and the twins snuck out to the roof, and sat out there for hours. However at one point George went inside to pee, leaving you and Fred alone.

“Hey.” His voice was quiet as you looked towards him, the wind picking up a strand of your hair as you smeirked, “Hey.”

“I want to ask you something, but I don’t want it to make things awkward between us.”

Your heart rate escalated, and your palms became sweaty, you were hoping he would finally ask you out, “Nothing you ask me would make stuff awkward Freddie.”

He scooted closer to you, maintaining eye contact as he did, soon you were shoulder to shoulder as he took a deep breath.

“You gonna ask me, or should I wait for tomorrow?” You teased as he let out a chuckle.

“No.” He looked at his hands, which were entangling in each other, and then back at you, his eyes glassy as he whispered, “Why do you live with Mr. Lupin?”

“What?”

“Like what happened to your parents?”

“Well... my mom didn’t tell my dad at first that she was pregnant. He didn’t find out I even existed until I was 6 months old, when she dropped me off at his flat and disappeared. I was starting to display accidental magic, and she freaked out because she was a muggle. I lived with my dad until November of 1981, that’s when I moved in with Uncle Lupin. My dad, ummm, got arrested on false charges.”

“What were they?”

“Murder, and everyone also pinned him as a death eater. He didn’t do anything though.”

“So your father is in...”

“Azkaban.....” you were silent for a second, before looking up towards the stars, “Yeah, he is.”

-There was silence between you and Fred, neither one sure what to say, until his hand slowly glided towards your leg, and he gently placed it down on your thigh, “We don’t have to talk about it again, I just wanted to know.”

“It’s fine Freddie, really.” You replied, before leaning over and resting your head in his shoulder, your eyes closing as you took a deep breath of the summer air, wishing that life could have been slightly different.

Part Four

Part Five

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