#She went crying to my aunt who asked if she bit me again? Cousin nods and aunt says Then don't bite your cousin and she won't bite you!

[harveybwabbit92]

[Isla is babbling nonsensically at Zero.]

Riku: I think my sister is asking you a question?

Zero: How am I supposed to know that?! The little gremlin is speaking in Wingdings!

[Zero points his finger at the toddler who tries to bite it! Luckily Zero removed his hand out of her chomping zone.]

Zero: What the-

Riku: Sorry, I forgot to mention, she's been getting really bitey lately.

[jarigui]

haikyuu boys babysitting with their s/o !

genre/s: fluff

pairing: kageyama x reader, suna x reader, and atsumu x reader

contains: f! reader, timeskip hq boys, talks of having a baby and marriage

notes: n/a

KAGEYAMA TOBIO

he’s a little hesitant in accepting your offer to babysit your 6-year-old cousin with him. he’s awkward with kids, and they aren’t that fond of him either. they wouldn’t approach him because they’re scared of him. but you assured him that your little cousin will like him.

they didn’t get along at the start. your cousin hid behind your legs when you introduced kageyama to him.

your cousin will only ask for your help and not kageyama. although he already expected it, kageyama still wants to put in the effort.

so when he saw your cousin playing with a ball outside, he took the opportunity and played with him. you were in the kitchen cooking dinner, while the kageyama approached your cousin.

“do you play?”

your cousin turned around and shyly nodded. “a bit,”

he crouched down so he’s at eye level. “what do you play?”

the little boy looked at the ground and shuffled his feet. “volleyball and um, soccer,”

kageyama grinned. “i play volleyball too,”

your cousin raised his head to look at kageyama. “really? i want to learn how but i don’t have anyone to play with.”

“i’ll teach you,”

with a wide grin, the little boy raised the ball to show to your boyfriend. “then play with me!”

kageyama’s grin got wider and ruffled the kid’s hair. he played with him in the backyard and even taught him the basics. your cousin was amazed by kageyama.

“wow!” the little boy jumped in awe. “you’re like those guys on tv! the ones who jump really high!”

they played for hours on end. after you finished cooking dinner, you went to the backyard to check on the two of them. you were surprised when you saw kageyama and your cousin laughing while playing volleyball. kageyama was on his knees, trying to get closer to your cousin’s height. the little boy was laughing and squealing while playing.

you called them both for dinner and your cousin came running to you. you crouched down to catch him.

“did you see him? he’s like those guys that i watch on tv! he was cool! earlier, he jumped so high and then he spiked the ball really hard like this!” your cousin placed his hands up in the air to imitate him.

kageyama jogged up to both of you while smiling widely.

“really? he’s that good?” you glanced at your boyfriend.

“yes! he promised me that we’ll play again when you visit me next time,”

you raised your eyebrows. they were already planning for next time. you smiled as you look at your boyfriend who was looking at the two of you fondly.

you told your cousin to wash up since it’s time for dinner. he happily obliged and ran upstairs. you walked up to kageyama to wipe his sweat with your hanker chief.

“i thought you said you’re awkward with kids,”

he placed a kiss on your temple. “maybe not with this one,”

SUNA RINTARO

suna is a natural with kids. since he has younger sister, he knows how to handle kids pretty well. this weekend, your sibling told you to babysit your 5-year-old niece and 6-year-old nephew.

suna let your niece play with his hair and even tie it with her pink clips and hair ties. you smiled at him and fished your phone out of your pocket.

“you look adorable, rin,” you snapped multiple pictures of him.

“babe, don’t send that to the twins.”

he kept the clips and hair ties on the whole day since your niece told him to not take them off. he glanced at you and smirked.

“how about we put some on your aunt’s hair as well? so she won’t feel left out.”

you whipped your head in their direction and saw your niece looking at you, as if asking for your permission, and suna smirking at you.

you sighed and nodded. both of your hair was filled with cute pink clips that day.

he also got along with your nephew. suna would play whatever game he wanted to play and watch whatever video he put on. you have a feeling that your nephew thinks your boyfriend is cool and looks up to him. you notice how your nephew looks at him, listens well to what your boyfriend says, and even copies him sometimes.

he also got embarrassed when you tried to help him take a bath.

your nephew looked away. “i can do it, i’m big now.”

“but i’m just helping you so it’ll be easier,”

your nephew noticed suna looking and his eyes widened a bit. “i’m not a little boy. i can do it.”

suna approached the two of you and crouched down. “how about i help you take a bath?”

your nephew looked at him for a long time before nodding. suna helped your nephew took a bath while you helped your niece.

during dinner, both of them were doting on your boyfriend. your nephew was curious about him and asked a lot of questions. they found out that he’s a professional volleyball player and appears on tv sometimes so their amazement just grew bigger.

by the end of the weekend, both of them were clinging to suna and hugged him tight while saying goodbye.

“how dare you steal my niece and nephew away,” you glared at him.

he smirked. “what can i say? they just love me more.”

you playfully roll your eyes. he wrapped his arms around you and snuggled to your neck. “you know they asked if i’m going to be their uncle,”

your brows furrowed. “what?”

he raised his head to look at you.

“they asked me if i was going to marry you so i can visit them more often,”

“what did you say?”

“i told them that their aunt has to say yes to my proposal first,” he mumbled against your skin.

MIYA ATSUMU

atsumu was excited when you told him that you’ll be babysitting your 2-year-old cousin for three days. he was even the one who said that he wants to tag along. when you asked him why he said that it’ll be good practice for the two of you in the future.

taking care of a two-year-old kid is tiring, but atsumu was there to help you every step of the way. you taught him how to change the diaper, prepare the meals, and even how to put them to sleep. he was very eager to learn and was attentive.

there was even a point that he didn’t want you to lift a finger.

“just take a rest, babe. i’ll do it.” he stood up to soothe the crying toddler.

after that, you saw atsumu and your cousin sleeping on the couch. atsumu was lying on his back while your cousin is comfortably sleeping on your boyfriend’s chest. you secretly snapped a picture of them and then placed a blanket on him.

one night you saw him on the dinner table talking to your cousin like he’s talking to an adult.

“yeah, it’s kinda hard, isn’t it? not being able to walk properly. i’d be pretty frustrated too if i have to use a walker to go wherever i wanna go.”

your cousin mumbled something incoherent and your boyfriend nodded like he was agreeing.

“yeah, yeah, i went through that stage too. it just gets better from there.”

you tried stifling your laugh and walked towards them. “what are you doing?”

he lifted his head to look at you. “we’re having a heart-to-heart talk.”

you giggled. “what?”

you approached your cousin and saw that she’s already sleepy. her eyes are already half-closed.

“i should get her to bed,”

he immediately stood up and walked towards the two of you. “i’ll do it.”

“you already did everything today. you must be tired. i’ll do it.”

atsumu shook his head. “no, no. in the future, you’ll be tired from taking care of the baby too. then of course you’ll be recovering from giving birth too. then i heard that there’s also postpartum-“

“babe aren’t you taking this practice thing a bit too seriously?”

he sheepishly grinned at you. “there’s nothing wrong with being prepared.”

he scooped your cousin in his arms and carried her to her room while you followed behind them.

he gently placed her on her bed and sat beside her. you followed him and sat beside him.

“do you really want a baby soon? they’re pretty high maintenance,” you said quietly while looking at your cousin.

he turned to you and grabbed your hand to place a kiss on it.

“it’s okay. i’m sure we’ll both do great in maintaining them.”

while he was peppering kisses to the back of your hand, your cousin snuggled closer to atsumu. you saw him smile gently.

atsumu definitely had a baby fever after that.

[jeonggukookies]

too young || six

summary: you and jungkook meet up after a surprise delivery happens at the school

word count: 2,018

genre:  parent!au, single dad!jungkook angst

one || two || three || four || five || six

When you thought about your first heartbreak, you’d thought you would be nonstop sobbing in your bed, being surrounded by empty jars of melted ice cream pints and sad movies. You thought that despite the distance, your mom would make the trip and drive all the way to see you, rub your back in small comforting circles and take care of you as if you were a sick child. You thought that everything would hurt so much that you wouldn’t even want to move. 

The only problem? Your first heartbreak didn’t feel like that at all. 

It was all practically numb.

You didn’t fall apart when you did something that reminded you of him. 

You didn’t start breaking down when you watched him pick up Jules and didn’t bother to come in to your office to say hi to you. 

You didn’t crumble to pieces when you had no notifications on your phone from him.

You lived your life normally again just without Jungkook and Jules. 

Alone.

There were no more screams or echoes of noise from Jules and her cousins when you peacefully relaxed, there was no more idle music playing in background as you did your work and there were no more soft breaths and snores next to you in your bed. 

Your mom called you every night on the phone, checking up on you. It was like she wanted you to cry and to feel some pain, just so she could go down there and be there for you. But you told her that you were fine and will deal with whatever negative feelings when they come. 

Life went on whether you liked it or not. 

Three weeks after the break up, at the end of March, there was a familiar knock on your office door after the last school bell rang. You haven’t talked to Jules since the night she found you looking at pictures of her mom, and you really hope it wasn’t awkward when you talk to her. 

It’s the first time you see Jules’s hair was down, strands of her hair going in every direction. She looks like a mess. Tears streamed down her face as she ran towards you, hugging your legs. “Can you help me?” 

“What’s wrong, Sweetie?” 

“I lost Jungkook’s mp3 player,” she cried, rubbing her face on your black dress pants to wipe her tears. “He’s going to kill me!” 

“It’s okay, Jules.” Bending down to comfort her, you wipe her face and stroke her hair. You’ve never seen her this sad, and it made your heart sink. “I’m sure he’ll understand. Things like this happen all the time. It’s okay.” 

She shook her head. “Auntie Moon Soo is coming soon, and I can’t leave without the mp3 player. I can’t.” 

“Why don’t we ask her to come look for it with you?” You asked softly. “That way 3 people are looking for it.” 

Namjoon’s wife, Moon Soo comes out of her van, she’s surprised to see you standing next to Jules. She doesn’t say anything to you at first and tries to reassure Jules that’ll be alright, that they will find it before Jungkook goes home tonight.

When it’s been over 30 minutes, retracing Jule’s steps from her locker to the gym to the playground, she goes to the bathroom, making you and Moon Soo wait outside for her. 

“I’m sorry we had to meet like this in this circumstance,” she said, offering a kind smile. “I heard a lot of great things about you, and I’m sorry things didn’t go well at the dinner with the girls.”

You hear Jules flush the toilet. “It is what it is.” 

“I know what it was like,” she said. “They made it seem like I wasn’t good enough for Joon, and we took a small break too. But at the end of the day, it’s about how you feel about Jungkook and Jules that matters more than their opinions, especially if they brought up Sarah.” 

“I’m almost done!” Jules shouted, turning on the sink. 

“But that doesn’t change the way Jungkook feels about Sarah.” Tears were forming in your eyes, and you bit your lip to hold them back. “But I’m glad you and Namjoon were able to overcome it.” 

“It’s been like what, almost a month? Jules knows Jungkook can easily buy her a new mp3 player, or even a phone, anything she wants, honestly. But think about it...I’m sure she misses you and is using this as an opportunity to spend time with you again.” 

“Can we check out my classroom?” Jules finally opened the door, getting out of the restroom. 

The three of you walk quietly over to her class where she looked through every desk (without touching their things) and looked over to the place where she reads books in the class. She lifted the bean bag in the corner of the room, revealing what she has been looking for this whole time. “Yay!” 

“See, everything is okay.” Moon soo smiled. “Are you ready to go, Jules?” 

She nodded, but then stared at you with her piercing eyes. “Is this going to be the last time you’re going to talk to me?” 

“Of course not, Jules.” You took a breath. “I’m here for you always.” 

“I have to tell you something.” But before she could tell you, she pointed at Moon Soo. “Why didn’t you go to the bathroom when we went, Auntie?” 

Moon Soo raised her eyebrows, then looked down at what Jules was pointing at. She then began holding on to her stomach with a pained look. “My water just broke.”

_______

“Hey!” Namjoon exclaimed, rushing through the hospital doors. Before he goes to Moon Soo’s room, he went towards your direction as you waited outside the room with Jules. “Thank you so much for bringing her here safely and for being there for her at that time. I seriously cannot thank you enough.”

“No worries,” you let out. “I’m glad I was there.” 

He’s about to say something, but you hear Moon Soo scream Namjoon’s name, making him go into the room as quickly as he can. 

Your phone in your blazer buzzed. 

[seokjin]

the whole fam is coming in about 10 minutes 

thank you for taking care of jules

will be there soon and you can leave

“Are you leaving when they come?” Jules asked as she looked down at your phone screen, seeing the texts from. “You’re not going to stay to see the babies?” 

“I don’t know yet.” You lied, knowing you were going to leave once someone is here able to take care and watch over Jules. As much as you wanted to see the twins, you didn’t want to see some specific people. You were doing fine right now in your life and didn’t want to ruin that if you saw Jungkook or some of the girls. “I have a lot of work to do still, Sweetheart.” 

“Will you see the babies with me on different day then?” 

“I hope so.” You couldn’t make an empty promise to her. “Are you excited to have more cousins?” 

She nodded. “I like my small family, but sometimes, I hate being alone. The cousins help me forget that I can’t have any brothers or sisters.”

You sighed, wrapping your arm around Jules. “Never forget that you will always have your family, your uncles, aunts and cousins to support you. They will always be there.”

“Will you?” She asked, looking up at you, once again, her eyes were so piercing.

“I hope so.” You rubbed her back in small circles. 

“I heard what Auntie said when I was in the bathroom,” she said. “I missed you, but I had to find this mp3 player. Jungkook’s new song is on here. I’m always the first to listen, and I didn’t want to lose this song.” 

“That’s good you found it then.” 

She’s about to tell you more, her mouth is slightly opened, but she doesn’t say anything more and started to stare in the direction behind you. Letting go of her, you turned behind, seeing Jungkook walking towards you two. 

He paused, not expecting to see you here, but then continued to walk forward as you looked away, not wanting to meet his eyes. “Are you okay?” 

“I’m hungry,” Jules answered with a pouty look on her face.

He laughed, taking his leather wallet out of his back pocket. He hands her a couple dollar bills, telling her to get something for the three of them from the vending machine. “Go crazy.” 

“You know I will,” she joked. 

There’s awkward silence in the air now, with Jules gone. Jungkook then sat down in the empty chair beside you, with his head turned to you as you looked down at your hands in your lap. He doesn’t know where to start and what words to say. How ironic, coming from a songwriter. “Hey.”

“Hi.” 

“Did you eat yet?” He asked. 

“Nope,” you replied, still not looking at him. “Did you?”

“Not yet.”

“I should get going.” You finally took the first step, grabbing your purse off the ground. 

Before you could take another step, Jungkook reached forward and grabbed your wrist, stopping your movement. “I never loved her, you know.” 

You wanted to shake him off, go on your own way, but you kept standing in front of him, facing away from him. “What?” 

He sighed, wishing he could look you in the eyes. “I never answered you that day because I was too scared to admit it out loud. I never got to tell her either, and I knew she loved me. The thing was I only thought of her as a sister, someone I had to protect. And I was afraid that if I actually told someone that I didn’t love her before she got the chance to hear it from me, I would somehow hurt her even though she’s gone.” 

“Jungkook,” You said this name, but he kept talking.

“I know that’s no excuse, but I am so sorry. I never wanted you to feel like that, and I should have just told you. No one has been competing with you.” He let go of your hand and stood up. “I don’t want you to be Sarah because I love you for who you are. I want you for who you are. My life feels incomplete without you.”

Finally turning around, you stared at Jungkook. It’s the first time finally looking at him up close in three weeks, and he looked like death. Dark circles were under his eyes, his hair was a mess. You could tell Jungkook felt too much.

And he did. For the last three weeks, he got up every morning, trying to ignore the pain he was feeling in his heart. He tried to continue his life like everything was okay, but all he kept thinking about was you. He wanted you to see you when he picked Jules up from school. He wanted to hear you laugh when he watched a movie with Jules. He wanted to you next to him when he was alone on Wednesdays. He wanted to hear you cheer for Jules when he watched her soccer games. He just wanted you. 

With all the pain he had been feeling, he’s been trying to figure out his feelings and all the words he wanted to say to you that night, and now that he was finally letting all of it go, he was crying right in front of you.

“You saw me more than Jule’s guardian. I felt like you were the first person to honestly see me for me. I want to live spending more time with you, watching Jules’s games, hearing all your different opinions and views than mine. And I am so sorry that I damaged us in the process.”

“Hey, Y/N!” Namjoon rushed out of the room. His jaw dropped once he saw you and Jungkook together, looking all sad. Still, his smile on his face reappeared as he asked, “Do you guys want to see the babies?” 

____ 

hi this is so long overdue i apologize, i’ve honestly been stuck :( hope you all have a good day and enjoy permission to dance<33 lowkey not proofread either:/

[berriusagi]

Stomach Bug Ch7

Family Bonding: Jason

It’s my birthday so thought I’d give everyone this chapter early! I hope you all enjoy it I look forward to any comments or suggestions you have for the future chapters.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

If anyone was to ask Marinette how she found herself standing in a private gun range with a heavy pistol in hand aimed downrange at a cardboard cutout of a deranged clown she would have no idea how to answer. Jason was standing behind her leaning down to show her how to properly aim, fixing her grip and stance before holding her shoulders.

“Alright Pixie whenever you’re ready just pull the trigger.” Jason nodded straightening up once he was sure she was ready.

Marinette nodded, taking a slow deep breath before pulling the trigger. A loud bang sounded through the room as Marinette gently set the gun down. She turned looking up at Jason as she took her earplugs out. “How’d I do?” she asked.

Jason hummed squinting his eyes trying to see, “I don’t know if you hit it,” he said, stepping around to walk on the range to get a better look at the cutout. “Yeah sorry pixie doesn’t look like you hit it,” he shouted heading back to stand behind her.

“I told you I’m not that familiar with guns. It's next to impossible to get a gun let alone shoot one in Paris.” Marinette said putting her ear plus back in as Jason picked the gun up.

“That’s why I’ll teach you to shoot,” Jason grinned, fixing his safety glasses before unloading the clip into the cutout. Marinette watched as small groupings gathered around the forehead, heart, and groin. “It just takes a bit of practice and a steady hand and you’ll be a natural in no time.” He smiled as he fired the last bullet before setting the gun down.

“I’m just not sure if guns are my thing,” Marinette said as Jason walked onto the range again to pick up the cut out and bring it back so they could examine the groupings, “I never took an interest in firearms, though most weapons are illegal in Paris.”

“Really? What about self-defense?” Jason asked looking down at Marinette.

“Most people would have pepper spray but it had to be less than 100 milliliters.” She shrugged, “I usually had a small can in my purse just in case luckily I only ever had to use it once.”

“Oh?” he asked, raising an eyebrow, “What happened to make you do that?”

 “The heroes back home were sociable. Ladybug would give interviews and Chat Noir liked to joke with the public. Chat made a habit of dropping by my room to hang out and just talk; sometimes it was just chilling, other times he wanted advice. He was a great guy really it helped break up the routine you know.” She smiled leaning on the wall, helping Jason load bullets into the clips, “Eventually he started just coming into my room through my skylight and hung out on my chaise lounge until I got home if I wasn’t there.”

“That’s a red flag if I ever saw one,” Jason muttered, setting a clip down.

“Yeah well, I was lonely at the time my class was shunning me so any social interaction was a welcomed one. I didn’t mind though I did find it annoying when he’d try and bug me to get into Ladybug’s good graces.” She sighed rolling her eyes, “I managed to set up an interview with Ladybug for one of my ex-friends and Chat thought we were such good friends so I could put in a good word for him. I told him I wouldn’t and that Ladybug probably just wasn’t interested and he should respect that.”

“I’m guessing no one ever taught him to take no for an answer?” Jason asked looking over at Marinette as she just shrugged.

“I guess, he had it stuck in his head that he and Ladybug were soulmates because of their miraculous’ no matter how many times I or Ladybug explained that it didn’t work like that. Everything came to a head after the fall of Hawkmoth. He was publicly revealed along with Mayura, his partner, both were arrested and their families suffered from the fallout.” She set down her finished clip and crossed her arms over her chest, “Chat Noir paid me a visit about a month or so after, he… he wasn’t looking too good.”

Jason set down the gun he was working on and moved to stand beside Marinette placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“I told you he had a habit of just coming into my room to wait for me,” she said her voice going a bit soft as she glanced up at Jason, “My room was a converted attic space with a balcony that you access through the skylight. To get into my room you climbed a ladder and entered through a trapdoor, it’s a good space for privacy but it’s not so great if you have to escape.”

Jason tightened his hold on her gently pulling her into his side rubbing her back arm.

“When I came up I saw my skylight was open so Chat had to be in there but I didn’t see him, that made me a little worried but I chose not to listen to it and came up anyway. Once I was fully in he closed the door and trapped me inside, he… he looked different less… stable his eyes, which normally because of the Miraculous were a toxic green, looked bloodshot like he’d been crying. He wasn’t moving with the same playful easy steps he looked unbalanced. Everything just felt wrong like this wasn’t going to end well.”

“I reached for the pepper spray I keep in my bag and had it at the ready just in case and I tried talking to him. I asked him what was wrong, I asked him why he looked so unsettled, I tried just talking to him to get a response, but he wouldn’t even look in my direction. It was like it pained him to even look at me. Eventually, he did look at me and he was just crying, he was apologizing over and over and his words made no sense. I was terrified. He made me feel like he was going to do something awful. It was like he wasn’t anything like the same person.”

Jason slid down the wall to be eye level with Marinette squeezing a bit tighter to give her comfort as she tried to find the words to continue.

“He looked at me, no he looked through me it felt like and just lunged at me. I was so scared I just sprayed him without thinking and quickly jumped out of the way. I remember hearing him scream in pain and rubbing at his eyes as he cried. It’s burned into my memory he looked at me with such pain and sorrow on his face I felt awful for what I did. The pepper spray just fell from my hands and without thinking I grabbed a scrap of fabric and some water and started to clean his face. I just couldn’t stand and watch him suffer.”

“You’re better than most Pixie,” Jason muttered, patting her shoulder.

“Chat revealed himself,” She said before quickly rushing to correct herself when she felt Jason’s body tense, “Not like that! I mean he took off the mask he showed me who his civilian self was. He dropped the transformation and revealed himself to be a boy I knew quite well and he was the son of Hawkmoth. It made so much sense then, he… he was suffering so much having to fight a war against his father. Then when the war is over he still has to fight to prove his own innocents, it had to have just been too much.”

“He took off his miraculous and gave it to me, told me to give it to Ladybug. He didn’t think Ladybug would want anything to do with him if she saw who he was. If she knew he was the son of the man they were trying to take down, he said it would break him worse to see her hate him or worse pity him.”

“So he gave his miraculous to you, someone who has some connection to Ladybug, to get it somewhere safe.” Jason hummed leaning his head back against the wall, “How is he doing?”

“A few weeks later he left Paris and moved in with his aunt and cousin. He was a good guy just mixed up with the wrong people, he was very sheltered and was raised to be seen not heard. I debate some days on reaching out to him, seeing how he’s doing, maybe catch up and rebuild the friendship we had. He’s dating one of my friends and she occasionally gives me updates about him that she thinks I need to know.”

“Well, Pixie if you ask me I say shoot him a text. He trusted you enough to unmask himself and show his most vulnerable side to you. If there’s one thing I know is that you keep those loyal to you close, I don’t know the full story with this guy. He might have hurt you, he might not have but he came to you at his weakest and trusted you enough to help him.” He said straightening up and pulled her into a firm hug, “I know you’ll make the right choice for you, I feel like you got a good handle on making the right choices.”

“Thanks, Jay,” she smiled hugging him back, “You have any other guns we can shoot, maybe I’m just not good with handguns.”

“I like the way you think Pixie.” He grinned pushing off the wall and went over to the gun cabinet opening it wide for her to see the array of handguns, rifles, and shotguns for them to choose from, “Alright pixie, pick your poison.”

~.~.~.~

“You make absolutely no sense you know that right Pixie?” Jason asked watching as Marinette grinned up at him after landing a headshot on another deranged clown cut out with the shotgun. “I mean the kickback alone on that thing should be sending you back.” He said as Marinette set the gun down giggling at Jason’s confusion.

“Well with shotgun it doesn’t have to be as accurate right?” she asked, rubbing her shoulder, “It’s scattershot so it makes it more forgiving.”

“I guess but let’s call it on that before you bust up your shoulder or bruise it.” He said taking the shotgun storing it away in the gun cabinet as Alfred came in to check on them.

“Master Jason, Miss Marinette are you two having fun?” Alfred asked, noticing all the empty shells on the floor.

“Yeah, Jason just showed me how to shoot a shotgun.” Marinette smiled, “Though my shoulder is a bit sore now.” She said rubbing it a bit harder wincing at the deep ache.

“Perhaps you two should call it quits for today and do something less… explosive.” Alfred offered, “All this gunfire can’t be good for the baby let alone quiet. I heard the shotgun from the other side of the manor.” He added before leaving.

“Well,” Jason hummed, closing the cabinet, “We should run.” He grinned picking Marinette up and broke into a dead sprint out of the gun range and through the winding halls. Marinette held on tightly a surprised shout echoing through the halls as he skidded around a corner before running for the other side of the manor.

“Just how big is this place?” Marinette asked looking around wide-eyed as they raced through the halls.

“I don’t know but I’m like 80 percent sure if someone broke in here it’d take them a week to find their way out.” Jason joked as he slowed down to a large set of double doors gently pushing the doors open before closing them tightly behind him before gently setting Marinette down on her feet, “We should be safe here for a little while though at least until Alfred comes to find us for dinner.”

“Where is here?” Marinette asked looking around a soft gasp coming from her mouth as she saw all the books lining the shelves.

“Welcome to my favorite place, the Wayne Manor Library.” Jason smiled walking to one of the shelves and plucked a book off before finding a comfortable plush chair to relax in, “Have a look around, find something to read, or if you want there are puzzles and board games in that cabinet over there.” He added motioning to a cabinet in the corner.

Marinette wandered around the shelves looking over the books, she noticed some were much more loved than others as they have visible use while others looked to be brand new. She eventually settled on a well-loved adventure book and carried it back over to the chairs and took a seat near Jason as she curled up to read.

The following few hours were much calmer than the previous bonding activity, instead of a loud bang to hurt the ears there were jokes and laughs about the antics the protagonists in their books got up to. Marinette smiled from her position lying upside down on the chair with her head hanging off as she read lines from her book. 

“Before you leave Gabriel may I offer you some key advice before you go to visit the Sirodanes?” Marinette spoke her voice lowered and accented to sound like a Viking man, “Take a larger cart they value strength as well.” she finished before bursting into giggles.

“So wait,” Jason chuckled looking over at her, “Gabriel and Eclipse are leaving the Vryhuns with a big cart just full of presents, and the Thane is telling them they need a bigger one?” he smiled.

“Yeah from what I gathered the Vryhun are really big on strength and bravery which Eclipse had in spades so everyone was trying to court her, so they all gave her presents. It’s rude to just turn them down or throw them away so instead they’re taking them with them.” Marinette giggled sitting up and closed the book setting it aside, “Though if the Sirodanes are the same I feel a bit sorry for Eclipse she’ll never get any peace from the suitors.”

“I don’t know, maybe she likes the attention I mean, she stuck around Gabriel and all he seems to do is fawn over her and shower her in praise.” Jason said, closing his book and set it aside, “Who’s to say she isn’t using all these presents to make Gabriel jealous.” He grinned, wiggling his eyebrow.

“Oh what a semi-immortal woman can’t hang around an eccentric man who is determined to explore some hidden islands in the middle of uncharted waters?” Marinette asked, raising an eyebrow, “Not everyone has to date you know, and besides I don’t think Gabriel could handle Eclipse in a romantic setting.”

“Eh you got me there she seems really dominant.” Jason chuckled leaning back in his seat, “Though which did you like more sitting here reading or shooting?”

“Hmm I like both; this was a nice way to wind down after the shooting and I got to find a new book series to read.” She smiled looking at the book, “Do you have the others?”

“Probably unless the author is still working on them.” He shrugged, getting up from his seat and grabbing his books, going over to the shelves to put them away. Marinette relaxed in her chair taking a deep breath as she sunk into the plush cushions further the calm and quiet helping to lull her into a semi-conscious state.

Jason came back after a while noticing Marinette barely awake and smiled grabbing a blanket and set it over her before taking his seat again and picked up another book nearby to keep reading. The library fell into a soft silence with only Marinette’s gentle breathing and the occasional rustle of paper as Jason turned the pages.

~.~.~.~

“Now tell me why you thought it would be wise to leave Todd alone with Marinette.” Damian grit out through clenched teeth as he gripped his sword tightly. “In what world is it ever a smart idea to leave Todd alone with anyone?” he growled.

“Now it can’t be that bad Little D.,” Dick said, keeping his hands up in a calming manner as Tim stayed behind him, “I’m sure everything is okay.”

“We all heard the shotgun, Grayson.” Damian snapped, advancing only stopped by a loud clearing of the throat.

All three turned and looked at Alfred standing in the doorway, “Master Damian please refrain from causing your brother’s bodily harm in the house, blood is quite hard to get out of antique rugs.” He said looking at Damian as he lowered his sword still glaring at the other two, “Now I’ve come to inform you that Miss. Marinette and Master Jason have vacated the gun range. I do believe they are now hiding out in the library so rest assured they are no longer doing any dangerous activities.”

“Thank you, Alfred.” Tim nodded as Damian visibly relaxed knowing Marinette was no longer alone with Jason and firearms.

“Now I must go begin preparations for dinner, please do try to not harm each other.” Alfred nodded before making his way out of the room and down to the kitchen.

Once Alfred was far away Damian looked over at his two brothers with a cold death glare, “If anything is out of place on Marinette thanks to you allowing her to be alone with Jason unsupervised for hours. I will make it my life’s goal to make you regret ever entering this manor.”

“She’s fine Jason isn’t that bad,” Dick said, trying to calm Damian down.

“He cut Tim’s throat.” He snapped.

“It was an accident!” Tim shouted before getting a pained expression, “Maybe, look, it was house rules not to bring up shared traumas.” He glared.

“Okay, how about we all calm down and go to the library and just see how everything is doing? What could they possibly do in the library but read or play a card game.” Dick said trying to placate his two youngest brothers.

“Fine.” Damian glared putting his sword away stalking out of the room.

Dick and Tim exchanged glances before following behind him keeping a few paced behind to not receive his wrath once more. They silently made their way through the halls until coming to the double doors of the library. Damian pushed the doors open looking around until his eyes landed on Marinette curled up in a chair with a blanket over her and Jason seated near her reading.

Jason looked up and waved at them putting his book aside, “Hey guys Pixie’s just taking a quick nap.” He smiled keeping his voice low.

“Todd, care to explain why we heard gunshots.” Damian glared as he quickly headed for Marinette.

“Hmm could be because I showed her how to shoot.” Jason shrugged grinning wide, “She’s a natural, she shot Joker's head off like three times.” he chuckled.

“You let her use the shotgun?!” Dick gasped looking horrified, “Jason she is five foot and pregnant what made you think that was a good idea?” he hissed.

“Can you all keep it down?” Marinette groaned, blinking her eyes open, “this is a library.”

“Habibti, are you okay? You’re not bruised or burned anywhere right?” Damian asked, trying to look her over.

“I’m fine Dami, just a sore shoulder but I’ll live.” She yawned shifting around to sit up properly, “It was a lot of fun but don’t know if I’ll keep up shooting it’s really loud.” she hummed.

“How about you do not do any more shooting until after the baby is born and you’re all healed up,” Damian said sitting in the chair with Marinette pulling her to sit across his lap.

“Fine no more guns,” Marinette giggled rolling her eyes as she rested her head on his shoulder. Damian nodded content with that and relaxed back in the chair. They all fell into comfortable chatter talking about what they were all getting up to; however, it felt more like an interrogation for Jason about just what he was having Marinette shoot.

Marinette watched on in amusement as the three eldest seemed ready to go to war over letting her shoot some guns. All too soon the library doors opened as Alfred entered calling their attention, “Dinner is ready young masters.” He said bowing before exiting the room making his way down to the kitchen.

“Well, I think today has been a lot of fun.” Marinette smiled climbing out of Damian's lap stretching her back out, “I might actually get a good night's sleep tonight.” She added before she made her way out of the library the boys following behind her like overgrown ducklings. Soon everyone was taking their seats at the table and settled in to enjoy their dinner.

Everyone was eating and having fun chatting about different topics, Jason couldn’t stop talking about Marinette’s skill with a shotgun, Dick had to make sure he praised her on her flexibility, and Tim just noted her keen eyes and how perceptive she was. Marinette blushed and smiled at all the praise trying to deflect as much as possible. At some point Bruce had snuck in and watched all the children eat and share stories, he smiled softly just enjoying the chatter and pleasant atmosphere.

All too soon dinner was over and everyone was going their separate ways for their evening routines, Marinette made her way to Damian’s room and gathered her clothes before heading in to take a shower. She set her clothes down on the counter as Tikki reappeared stretching out as she layout on top of Marinette’s pajamas.

“Sorry to keep you locked up all day,” she said as she turned the shower on and waited for the water to warm up, “We can’t risk the others seeing you.”

“I know Marinette at least now I can stretch out and relax.” Tikki hummed relaxing on the soft fabric, “when you bake in the morning can I get white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies?” she asked looking up at Marinette.

“If they have the ingredients to make it then yes,” Marinette smiled and hopped into the shower to clean up from the day taking her time to gently wash her hair and scrub off all the sweat and grime from the day. Once she was cleaned and wrapped up in a fluffy bathrobe she was nearly asleep on her feet as she took her time to blow dry her hair until it fell in gentle waves down her back.

Tikki had fallen asleep during Marinette’s shower so she gently picked her up and set her down on a few folded towels so she could get dressed. Marinette gathered Tikki up and carried her out to her purse and gently laid her down placing a handkerchief over her like a blanket before gently kissing her forehead and moved to lie in bed and get some much-needed sleep.

Damian came in not long after Marinette had turned in for the night and smiled before going about his own evening routine and climbed into bed giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead before laying back pulling her to his chest as he fell asleep.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

@myazael @beautiful-disasters-sunshine @moonlightstar64 @moonlitceleste @stainedglassm  @casual-darkness @mochegato @ultimatetornshipper @heemsanddamemes @nathleigh @qualitypeacepainter @raven-frost-21 @maskedpainter @demonicbusiness @dood-space @trippingovermyfeet @emimar7 @indecisive-mess-named-me @changelinggarden @zerotosiki @alysrose-starchild @s-and-n @wolf2118 @athena452 @jjmjjktth @eliza-bich @solangelo252

[rubysunnday]

Cousin Mine

Y/N had only meant to go outside for a bit of fresh air and a cigarette. 

There were so many people inside the house and it was beginning to get overwhelming - not to mention the fact people get coming up to her and offering her their sympathies. 

She’d never particularly liked Grace. But, somehow, the woman had become a maternal figure in her life despite only really being in it a few years.

Her death had rocked Y/N and she still didn’t quite know what was happening. 

Opening the Grace Shelby institute - the actual title was a lot longer and more tedious but Y/N couldn’t be bothered to remember it in its entirety - was meant to help with that loss and to cope with it and to move on.

Y/N sighed, exhaling a large cloud of smoke as she dropped her cigarette onto the gravel and squished it out with her heel. She turned to step back inside when someone shoved past her, evidently in a hurry.

“Oi!” Y/N yelled, turning to watch them run towards a car. “Watch where you’re fucking going.”

The person slowed down and Y/N could now see they were holding a squirming child in their arms.

The child turned their head and Y/N felt her stomach drop as Charlie looked back at her, his eyes watering with tears.

“What the fuck are you doing with my nephew?” Y/N demanded, marching forwards towards the person, hand reaching for the gun she had in her coat pocket.

Two men suddenly grabbed her arms from behind, pulling her backwards harshly. Y/N stumbled, her shoes slipping on the gravel of the driveway and she tried to fight them off. She went to scream but one of them put a piece of cloth over her mouth and nose. 

Y/N tried not to breathe in whatever was on it but her lungs burnt for air and eventually she did, her knees buckling underneath her as whatever drug was on the cloth took hold and knocked her out.

Tommy sighed as the women finally left him, moving off to go interrogate someone else. He looked around and frowned slightly as he saw no sign of his son in the room.

He looked around again, glancing over at where John’s children were playing.

Still no Charlie.

“Where’s Charles, Ada?” Tommy asked, approaching his sister.

Ada frowned, looking up at him from the man she’d been talking to. “I gave him to you.”

Tommy shook his head slightly, staring at his sister. “Where is he?”

“I don’t know.”

Tommy tried not to let panic overwhelm just yet. He walked over to John and Arthur, trying to ignore his heartbeat increasing. “Boys. Have you seen Charlie?”

“I don’t know, he’s playing isn’t he?” John asked, his eyes narrowing slightly at his brothers panicked state.

Tommy turned around and walked up to Polly. “Pol, where’s Charles?” He asked, pulling her away from whatever conversation she was having with Esme and the mayor.

Polly looked at him blankly, her eyes widening a fraction in concern. Tommy turned and moved on to Lizzie.

“Lizzie. Where is Charlie?” Tommy demanded, looking at her and Linda.

“I don’t know,” Lizzie replied, shaking her head, frowning.

Tommy was beginning to panic. 

His son was missing.

He turned around and walked back to his brothers, pointing at them and listing off locations to go and search as he himself began to panic even more.

“Tommy,” Ada called, running up to them. “Somebody said they saw a nurse take him through the back door.”

“What nurse?” Arthur asked, grabbing Ada’s arm.

“I don’t know,” Ada replied, pushing him towards the door. “Go.”

Arthur ran out the door and began searching the staircase by the backdoor, running up it and then back down it.

“Arthur,” Ada called, running up to him and grabbing the banister.

“What?” Arthur asked, running past her, back down the stairs.

“Somebody said they saw a woman and a kid getting into a car,” Ada, said, following him. “They also said there looked like a girl was with them.”

Arthur paused, halfway down the stairs, and looked back up at Ada, frowning. “What girl?”

“I don't...” Ada trailed off, her eyes widening as she realised.

“Y/N,” Arthur muttered, his own panic growing even more. “Fuck.”

Tommy looked around as John emerged outside the house. “John?”

Arthur then appeared, looking very flustered and even more panicked than before. “John, call Moss. Tell him to block the junctions. Go!”

John nodded at Arthur and turned around, running back into the house.

“Arthur, where is he?” Tommy asked, looking up at his brother as he walked up to him. Arthur put a hand on the back of Tommy’s neck, the other on his cheek. “Arthur, tell me.”

“Someone took him,” Arthur said as gently as he could. Tommy shoved him off but Arthur grabbed him, forcing him to look at him. “Listen to me,” he said, putting a hand on Tommy’s head as his brother buried his head against him, “they put him in a car and drove south. Tom, listen...”

Tommy looked up at him, wondering what else Arthur could possibly say to make his day worse. “What?”

“They took Y/N too,” Arthur said slowly, eyeing his brother carefully incase he needed to catch him. “She was outside when they took Charlie and tried to stop them but got caught in it, apparently.”

Tommy was panicking even more. He couldn’t breathe. “What?”

He fell against his brother and Arthur held him against his chest, keeping him upright as he put a hand on the back of his head, cradling him.

“We’ll find her, Tommy,” Arthur said, trying to reassure himself too. “We’ll find them both.”

Y/N had no idea how long she’d been out for. 

Nor did she have any idea as to where she even was. 

It looked like the back room of a church. It smelt like a church. 

The cross hanging on the wall opposite her confirmed the fact it was, indeed, a church.

Charlie had gurgled happily upon seeing his aunt awake and had made grabby hands at her. Y/N, swallowing down her own fear, had smiled at her nephew and picked him up, holding him against her.

He was now fast asleep in her lap, and she was gently stroking her nephews hair. Her right hand was tied to the radiator behind her, the rope tight enough around her wrist that it was beginning to hurt. 

When she’d woken up, the Reverend had walked in and she’d given the him what for and had ended up being slapped.

Her face was still burning and she knew that there was a significant bruise forming on her right cheek and that her lip was cut - she’d been tasting the metallic tang of blood ever since. 

Charlie was confused as to what was happening, but seeing his aunt had made him content enough. 

Y/N sighed, leaning her head back against the radiator. She bite her lip, hard, as she tried not to cry in front of her nephew.

She hated this.

She hated Tommy.

She hated everyone.

But she was so, so desperate for someone to come rescue her.

Y/N knew that, if Charlie hadn’t been here, she would be raising hell, right now, and breaking down windows and doors and fighting to escape. But she couldn’t risk anything happening to Charlie as a result of her actions.

So, she sat. 

And waited.

And waited.

The sun appeared and then disappeared and then appeared. Y/N watched it through the window, mentally counting the minutes, the hours.

She fell asleep at one point and woke up with a start when Charlie had poked her face to wake her up.

The sun was disappearing once again when the door to the back room was unlocked and pulled open.

Y/N sat up, unconsciously tightening her grip on Charlie as the Reverend walked in holding a tray.

“Good evening,” he said, smiling.

Y/N tried not to show how afraid she was as he walked up to her and crouched down, putting the tray on the floor in front of her. 

“Hi, little one,” he said as Charlie raised his head and looked at him. He held out a sliver spoon to him. “Want a shiny spoon?”

“Leave him the fuck alone,” Y/N warned, holding Charlie close to her as she glared up at the man. 

The Reverend tutted as he turned to look at Y/N. “Such language from a young woman is inappropriate,” he said, shaking his head. “I wish I could’ve taught you better.”

“You’re a fucking creep,” Y/N snapped, still glaring. 

The sound of the slap he delivered bounced off the white-washed walls. Y/N gasped as her head was forcibly turned to the side. The Reverend leant forward and grabbed her chin, holding it tightly.

“Listen here you bitch,” he hissed. “I won’t harm the child, but if you don’t start to learn to respect me, I will hurt you.”

He let go of her and turned back to Charlie who was gurgling happy, completely oblivious, at the spoon his hand. 

Y/N’s head turned to look at the open door as she heard footsteps approach it. The Reverend frowned slightly as he, too, heard them and stood up, walking to the door and standing just outside it.

“What do you think you’re doing, boy?” The Reverend asked who ever was out there.

Y/N couldn’t see what was going and could only, really, hear the Reverend.

“Please don't,” he said, sounding panicked. “Please don’t shoot. Please don’t shoot. Please don’t.”

Y/N heard someone grunt and the sound of fighting. Hoping it was rescue and not someone else who’d come to kidnap her, she reached forward for the bowl in front of her. 

She smashed it on the wall behind her, soup and shards of ceramic going everywhere.

Charlie began to whimper as Y/N swore loudly, a shard of the bowl cutting her left hand as she picked it up.

“I know, Charlie, I know,” she muttered as she began cutting the rope. The blood was dripping down her arm and onto her dress which had long since been ruined, but she kept going.

“Do you know who you’re fucking messing with?” The Reverend yelled and Y/N could hear another man grunting.

Y/N’s efforts increased as she heard the sound of someone choking. She growled, pulling on the rope as she tried to pull it free from the radiator. 

“No!”

Y/N froze as the rope finally snapped and her hand fell limply to the floor in to a pool of blood.

Michael was out there. 

Michael was out there.

“Go call Finn,” Michael said to whoever else was out there with him.

Y/N didn’t hear anything else as she forced herself to stand up, almost falling over as her legs protested. 

She could hear the Reverend choking for air and recognised the sound of a dying man as he gurgled on, what she presumed was his own blood. She grasped the wall behind her and pushed herself up, stumbling over to the open door.

Charlie had crawled over to the door and was throwing random pencils around, cooing happily at Michael.

Y/N could see the outline of the Reverend, dead on the floor, and spotted the edge of her cousin as he sat against the wall next to the door.

She quietly walked up to the door and slid down the wall, facing Charlie. She could hear Michael’s shaking breath and reached out her right hand around the door frame.

Michael looked to his left and saw his cousin’s hand reaching out for his. He lowered his blood soaked one and clenched hers tightly, ignoring the way they both shook.

Y/N leant her head against the wall and sighed softly, holding Michael’s hand tightly as she watched Charlie, oblivious to what had happened, playing happily on the floor.

After a minute, Y/N crawled around to the other side of the wall and sat next to Michael, stretching her legs out in front of her.

She didn’t say anything about the blood dripping down his face, or the fact the Reverend had been killed by his own rosary. 

Michael hadn’t said anything about what had happened to him at the hands of the now dead man, but Y/N didn’t have to have a vivid imagination to picture it.

She hoped the man was rotting in hell.

Y/N looked up at Michael, who was staring straight ahead, eyes wide, and dropped her head on to his shoulder.

Michael glanced down at her. He hesitated for a moment but then lowered his head to rest on top of hers.

There were still lights on inside the office as they walked inside. Y/N followed behind Michael, forcing herself to keep walking even though she was aching with every step. 

Her cousin was holding Charlie in his arms and almost as soon as he stepped through the front door, Polly and Ada ran out and took him from him, both crying in relief at Charlie being safe and in one piece. 

Y/N came to a stop next to her cousin and took his hand in hers, trying not to lean on him too much as she swayed slightly. 

She had blood on her dress, the red staining the fabric that had once been light blue.

Polly turned and looked at her son and niece, her eyes catching the dried blood on Michael’s face, the ruined skin on Y/N’s right hand, the dried blood on her dress and the bruise on her cheeks.

Y/N tried not to flinch as Polly put a hand to her cheek, her thumb gently tracing over the bruises and her cut lip. She looked at her aunt, unable to form a sentence as she dropped her hand and turned to look at her son.

Michael stared straight ahead as his mother embraced him gingerly.

Polly stepped back, watching as Michael turned around, Y/N following him silently as they both left. She watched them both with a sad face, seeing how defeated and broken they both looked.

Michael stopped outside the office front door and let go of Y/N’s hand, putting his hands on her shoulders and turning her to face him. He silently tilted her chin up, eyes scanning her bruised and bloodied face as she looked up at him.

Y/N reached up and wiped away a speck of blood from her cousins eyebrow and blinked against the tears forming in her eyes. One escaped and trickled down her face, dripping off her chin. 

Without a word, Michael brought Y/N against him and held her tightly, hand coming to rest on the back of her head.

Y/N relaxed into her cousins grip and closed her eyes. She put her hands under his jacket and around his waist, burying her hands in the bunched up fabric of his shirt and breathing in the smell of his cologne.

Neither one of them would ever say what they did that night.

[2jaeh]

Surf Shack | Johnny Suh

Genre : angst; some mature themes

A long awaited beach vacation that unexpectedly lead you to a local surf shop owner who helps you out of your toxic relationship.

Surf Shop owner! Johnny ; cheating ? ; toxic ex bf

——————————————————————————-

“I don’t have to come on this trip if you don’t want me to y/n” your boyfriend rolled his eyes as he shoved the last suitcase into the back of his car.

You sucked in your breath and jumped into the passenger seat. You closed your eyes and imagined your feet against the warm white sand, the smell of the salty ocean tickling your nose and the seagulls flapping their wings to signal the upcoming sunset.

He was not going to ruin this for you.

You had planned this seaside trip for a month. You were swamped with work during the first vacation period where your family met up at your old hometown and sadly missed out on a nostalgic weekend away.

But not this time.

This time you managed to book the perfect Airbnb and your family were all available this time of the year and nobody, not even he could spoil this weekend.

“I don’t even get why you’re mad ? All I said was I’d prefer to catch up on the company stocks than frolick in the ocean....it was a joke y/n”

“Then why did you bring your paperwork ?” You muttered and looked out of the window as the car moved quickly out of the bustling city and onto the highway.

You heard him chuckle but didn’t bother to look in his direction. Instead you kept your eyes focused on the cars that passed by.

“Look I didn’t want to bring my work with but I had to” he said in a dead tone “This whole trip...I’m only going because your dad hates me enough...I’ll never hear the end of this if I stayed behind.”

His words were cold and you felt a lump in your throat. You couldn’t understand how at one point he was the reason for your happiness. Wonhyuk was not the same person he was when you two had first dated. He was caring and gentle. He would hate to see you cry and did everything he could to see that smile stretch across your face.

But now, two years later he couldn’t care less about how his words affected you. He had gotten promoted and his career and status made him into the pretentious bastard you see today.

He would flirt with women in front of you, knowing you wouldn’t say anything about it. He would came home at weird parts of the night and you would smell a foreign cologne grace his dress shirts but you stayed silent.

Why ?

Love. You think.

There was obviously a reason you two fell in love and that’s all you were clinging to. Like he mentioned, your dad couldn’t stand him. Your family came from this seaside town while his family came from the upperclass part of the city. He hated small talk or watching sunsets in silence. He liked to talk business he liked to talk about his achievements.

“Atleast pretend like we’re not arguing again for my dads sake ?” You sighed as he pulled into the driveway of the Airbnb lodge and switched off the engine.

“Fine” he pressed his lips together as his eyes met yours and proceeded to offload the car.

You exhaled deeply and faked a smile as you climbed the stairs to the lodge.

“Sunshine!” You heard your nickname bellow from inside the house and your dad gleam at your presence.

“Dad !” You chuckled and jumped into his arms.

“We thought you weren’t going to make it” your aunt teased from the kitchen as she tended to her kids.

“The traffic was awful but we’re here!” Wonhyuk forced a smile as he came to greet your father.

“Ah Wonhyuk I see you’re working on our vacation ?” Your father chuckled. He smiled but you could tell he wasn’t very pleased with your boyfriends choices.

“I just brought a bit of stuff to seem like I’m busy” Wonhyuk shrugged with a grin “don’t worry sir I won’t be stuck in the office.”

Your father simply nodded and returned back to your uncle on the balcony facing the ocean.

“Shit my rash guard just tore!!” You heard someone yell from one of the rooms. It definitely sounded like your favourite cousin.

“Jeno ?” You peeped into the room to find your cousin holding up his swimming gear with a fresh tear around the thigh area.

“Y/n! You’re here! Good! Can you come with me to the surf shack down on the promenade??” He asked desperately.

“Is it urgent ? You aren’t planning to surf already are you ?”

“The waves are perfect right now so yes it IS an emergency” he groaned and pulled you back to the foyer.

“Hey I’m going with Jeno to the promenade for a new rash guard are you coming with ?” You quietly asked Wonhyuk who replied with a shrug and followed the both of you out.

Jeno spoke the entire way, catching you up on what was going on in university to finally moving out of his parents place. You felt Wonhyuk keep a slight distance from the two of you, his mind clearly somewhere else.

“This is the place!” Jeno squealed and ran into the surfshack that dawned a cute straw roof.

You stepped inside greeted by the cool air from the ceiling fan and began browsing the miscellaneous items as Jeno went upstairs to view the swimwear.

Wonhyuk joined you inside the store but lingered around the entrance, pulling out his smartphone and looked seemingly bored.

“Uh..those are half price” you heard a deep voice but couldn’t find the person who matched it.

You finally felt a presence behind you and their shadow casted over your entire body which unconsciously made you swallow hard.

“I-I’m just looking thank you” you mumbled and felt the person move past you and back to the counter in the front of the store.

You let your eyes slowly gaze over to the counter to find a tall, well built brown haired boy in a Hawaiian shirt take his seat at the cash register. His dark eyes moved from the screen in front of him to yours. He studied your face, your movements, unsure of what you were doing in his shop.

“H-how much is this ?” You said abruptly mentally cursing yourself for even speaking up.

The boy’s pouty lips curled into a smile and stood up to get a better look at the product you were holding.

You watched as his barely buttoned shirt revealed a bit of his toned chest as he moved. You had never looked at another man like this let alone have your heart race like a school girl crush.

All while your boyfriend was in the same room.

“That’s $7 but I’ll let you take it for 5”

His accent and the way he lazily spoke made you feel butterflies and you had no idea why. Was this your subconscious finding a way to replace Wonhyuk because you two were currently in a debacle ?

“Hey babe what do you think of this necklace ?” You asked, finally snapping out of your daydream and turning to Wonhyuk.

“Why do you also choose such tacky jewelry y/n ? Come on the stuff I can get you in the city are 10times more classy than that” his words felt like a dagger.

You felt embarrassed. You obviously did not know the man behind the counter but you still felt embarrassed that he had to witness that.

Before you could reply Wonhyuk’s phone rang and he quickly received it and marched outside.

You felt your breaths become heavy, much like those nights when Wonhyuk would come home late smelling like another woman. You prayed that the tears won’t fall until you felt a soft but firm hand on your shoulder.

“Your boyfriend doesn’t have any taste this is actually a very unique item, you have a good eye” the handsome counter boy smiled and lifted the necklace from your hand.

You blushed slightly still embarrassed from the scenario that unfolded.

“He’s just...got a lot going on with work he doesn’t mean that” you lied. You knew he meant what he said and you knew he was trying to get a reaction out of you.

“Damn it’s really true. All the pretty girls really do have the douchiest boyfriends”

His grin got wider as you chuckled at his words.

“I actually really like it” you cleared your throat and pointed at the necklace in his hand

“How much is it again ?”

“Free off charge” He smiled and ripped off the tag, stepping behind you to place the necklace on you.

“Are you sure ? I can pay for it” you bit down on your lip as his soft fingers moved your hair out of the way and fastened the necklace on, letting his touch linger for a bit.

“It’s really okay” he reassured you and walked back to his counter. His eyes narrowed as he caught your so called boyfriend talking to a woman just outside the store. Something in him wanted to intervene and punch that bastard in the face for betraying you like this but he held back.

He turned back to you and noticed you had seen the scene outside but quickly looked away pretending like it wasn’t happening.

“My names Johnny, what’s your name ?” He quickly spoke up noticing your eyes becoming hazy.

“Uh...my name is y/n..”

“You from around here y/n ?”

“No but my dad lives about 10 minutes away though, this is kinda my hometown” you replied keeping your eyes on the floor and fighting the urge to cry.

You looked up at the second floor and noticed Jeno was ready to check out which meant it was time to snap back to the fake happiness.

“Y/n....” Johnny whispered “come see me later.”

He held your hand but you felt him place a piece of paper in your palm before greeting Jeno and ringing his order up.

Wonhyuk finally entered the store and you quickly stuffed the note in your pocket and walked out with Jeno completely ignoring Wonhyuks low chuckle after glancing at your new necklace.

——————————————————————————-

The sun began to set and the red and orange tint filled the lounge area as everyone began cleaning up after supper and heading off to their respective bedrooms to chill out and unpack.

Wonhyuk went straight to the shower which gave you a chance to finally read the note from Johnny.

‘10pm, lifeguard hut - swimwear’

Was he really expecting you to sneak out behind your boyfriends back to meet him ?

This was stupid. This was supposed to be a stress free vacation.

Just as you were about to make your decision you noticed a message pop up on Wonhyuks phone from an unknown number.

‘What time are we meeting tomorrow haha don’t make your gf too anxious now I hate being a homewrecker xo’

That familiar feeling you always had back home came flooding back. Was it someone from work ? Was is the woman he was talking to today ?

You glanced over at Johnnys note and quickly changed into your swimwear, throwing your hoodie and trackpants over and left Wonhyuk a note.

‘Visiting Aerie, she’s going through a rough spot might stay over don’t wait up’

Aerie was a friend Wonhyuk knew of that was in the area and sleeping over at her place was not something out of the ordinary especially when you visited the small town.

You decided to take a quick stroll through the night market and get a sweet treat while you killed time. The loneliness was somewhat therapeutic and the sounds of the night market were nostalgic of your childhood.

You loved every minute of it and the best of part was Wonhyuk wasn’t around to ruin the atmosphere.

You checked your phone and it was already 9:50pm so you decided to head over to the lifeguard hut. The area was quite deserted except for two couples cuddling on the beach under the dark night sky.

Slipping off your shoes you jumped into the white sand, loving the cool feeling in between your toes and made your way over to the hut.

A tall figure was posted up against the wooden frame and you noticed the bright yellow Hawaiian shirt that welcomed you earlier in your day.

“You actually showed up” his voice was velvety making the butterflies from earlier occupy your stomach once again.

“I dont usually do this...” you spoke, finally approaching his figure watching as the dim light from the hut hit his features perfectly.

“Oh so why did you ?” He smirked playfully.

You shrugged and gazed upon the dark waves hitting against the shore.

“I need a distraction”

“Yikes” Johnny winced and clutched his chest “kinda hurts I’m just a distraction but I’m glad you’re here nonetheless.”

You giggled and shook your head at his goofiness as the two of you headed to the deck of the hut.

“Are you planning a night swim ? It looks quite dangerous out there” you shivered as the dark sea made you slightly uncomfortable.

“We are going to the tidal pools! Much safer and less chance of a jellyfish sting” he winked and grabbed your hand lacing his fingers with yours.

It felt so natural being with him yet you only knew him for a very short amount of time. He took away any anxiety that built up during the day and chucked it away with ease. Being with him even in these short hours gave you a sense of freedom you had been craving deeply.

“Watch out it’s a bit slippery here” Johnny warned as he took care of you every step of the way.

“Are we even allowed to be here ?” You asked nervously as you saw it was now only the two of you.

“I come out here very often trust me it’s safe and nobody really cares unless you’re causing some sort of Ruccus” he grinned his eyes stretching along with his smile and you felt your face heat up.

You finally reached the tiny tidal pool and Johnny immediately unbottoned his shirt and jumped into the pool without any thought.

He finally surfaced and his brown locks stuck to his forehead as he gestured for you to join him.

You were a bit nervous getting down to your swimwear in front of a complete stranger. You have never thought of being with someone else or being attracted to someone else since your relationship with Wonhyuk began.

Johnny placed his hand over his eyes, letting you change comfortably without feeling embarrassed which he couldn’t understand why.

You were beautiful.

He had never felt this type of immediate attraction to someone before. He wanted you to feel like yourself which he noticed was not the case around that bastard.

You finally shimmied out of your tracksuit and submerged yourself slowly into the water, sucking in a deep breath at the cold sensation.

“It’s nice isn’t it ?” Johnny murmured as your eyes were lost in the stars above the two of you.

You felt him move closer, his warmth approaching as your eyes fixated on the constellations that formed in the night skies.

“I’ve never felt this calm in such a long time” you sighed and brought your eyes back to meet his.

“I can tell” Johnny caressed the pendant of the necklace he had given you earlier on.

“Why is it so fuckin hard to leave and move on” you groaned, throwing your head back “why am I stuck with someone who hates me, who gets to do whatever he wants and I have to deal with it.”

Johnny brought his hands to your face and made you meet his gaze again. His eyes were filled with concern and his smiled faded as he saw the pain in your eyes.

“It’s hard seeing the person you once loved turn into someone you hate but hey that’s life y/n nobody is perfect and you sure as hell need to keep searching for the right person for you. A consistent one” Johnny reassured you as he brought your trembling frame into a hug.

“I know I’m just some random guy you just met but I immediately knew you were being cheated out of a good relationship with an asshole who doesn’t deserve your patience and love.”

You couldn’t help but sob at his words. You knew you couldn’t take much more of the toxic relationship you were accustomed to and you did deserve better.

“J-Johnny...can you kiss me ?” You whispered looking up into his brown eyes and then letting your gaze fall onto his lips.

Johnny responded by pulling you close enough for you to wrap your legs around his toned back and push yourself up to meet his face.

He made the first contact by bending down to meet your lips and sighed into the soft peck. He pulled away slightly until you gave him permission to continue and the second kiss was much stronger than the first.

Johnny wrapped his arms tightly around your waist as he followed your lead in the kiss, only breaking to catch his breath and met your lips once again.

His lips were incredibly soft and he playfully nibbled on your lower lip each time you pulled away, eager to feel you against him once again. His lips eventually moved to your jaw, followed by soft kisses down to your neck and back up to your now swollen lips.

The two of you stayed just like that. In each other’s arms which felt like the best place to be, the right place to be.

In this moment.

[moral-turpitudes]

New Beginnings:

Masterlist | Rules | Peaky Prompts

Trigger Warnings: Swearing, Angst, Fluff, Mentions of Adoption, Slight Descriptions of Drug/Alcohol Abuse.

Word Count: 4,122

Characters: Johnny Dogs x Female!Reader (Polly’s Eldest Daughter)

Requested by: Anon, you can find it here. This was a bit challenging but I hope you like it! :)

Summary: Y/N and Michael Gray get the surprise of a lifetime when their blinder cousin Thomas and his friend Johnny Dogs show up at their doorsteps, but little does Y/N know what’s in store for her regarding the company.

“Is she alive?” Polly asked the local medium who’d been known for telling fortunes and such. The medium’s eyes were dark beneath her jewel-toned veil as she answered the female blinder.

“Your eldest, Y/N, is in London. Go find her and your boy Michael. He’s living on a farm out in the country side.” She said flatly, her voice void of emotion.

“And what about my youngest daughter, Anna?” Polly asked, knowing in her heart that the truth wasn’t always the easiest thing to hear.

“She’s dead.” She said, tightening her grip on Polly’s hand as she shook with emotion, tears streaming down her face as she remembered the little baby girl placed in her arms years ago before her death. Knowing too that her son and eldest daughter were ripped from her arms at such a young age after their drunk of a father died lodged between a boat and a dock in the cut.

“Thank you.” Polly said shakily before leaving. Putting a few shillings down on the table as the woman nodded and watched her leave.

“What’d you expect aye? She tells you what you want to hear Pol’....”Thomas said, as she told him about her meeting with the medium earlier that morning.

“I just needed confirmation is all. God I can’t believe they’ve been out there all these years. You have to help me find them Tommy. Please.” She said, pulling her hands to her mouth nervously as she bit at her nails. Her eyes still tinged red from crying and her makeup smudged slightly.

“I’ll do what I can with the information we have. Until then I think you should take the day off unless you think you can work in the condition you’re in.” He said, looking over the papers from her son Michael’s entry into an orphanage and then glancing at the adoption papers where he’d been named Henry.

“Henry of all names...can you believe it? Disgraceful.” She said.

“Any word on Y/N? She has to be nearing 28 by now. The poor woman will probably faint when she finds out.” She said, feeling herself wanting to close herself off into her apartment as the thought of re-kindling a barely-there relationship loomed over her.

“I’ve found her adoption papers. They kept her name, but she’s in London as far as this goes. This address is where she’ll be.” He said sliding the document towards her and running his index finger over the crinkled paper.

“Alright.” She said, shakily lighting a cigarette.

“Pol’...I’m serious. You need to prepare for this if this all works out alright? Can’t have our best woman down. We still need you.” He said, looking into her glassy eyes. Tears threatening to spill once again.

“I will. I’ll go home right now. But please bring them to me once you get them.” She said. Thomas nodded as he watched her walk out the door quickly. Her nerves rattled as she sped off to her lavish apartment that had been vacant for far too long.

“Johnny?” Thomas said over the phone, the rowdy traveler making it to a payphone to report how their latest burial was going.

“Oi! How are ya Tommy? Just got done burnin’ the old bastard. What’s next?” He asked.

“You’re going to help me get Polly’s children back. She has a son named Michael in his late teens and an older daughter named Y/N who’s 28.” He said quickly, checking his pocket watch.

“Christ....alright.” He said, looking out at the burning pile in the distance.

“It’ll help her make peace Johnny. She needs this for more than just her. For the whole family really.” He said.

“I know I know. If only that poor bastard Gray didn’t die a drunk then none of ya would be in that mess aye?” He said, a long silence lingering over the phone.

“Perhaps.” Thomas said, his mind remembering all the hell their family went through as they grew up. The poverty, the fights, the nights sitting up in fear as their father yelled at their mother, their mother succumbing to her visions and bouts of depression, the feuds with the other families around them, the long nights in the trenches of France, and the whole family business being shoved onto their shoulders with no parental guidance besides their aunt Polly. She being the one saving grace of the whole family.

As Thomas and Johnny drove out to meet Michael, Polly sat at home pacing back and forth as she wondered how the next few hours or even days would go. Knowing once Thomas put his mind to something he always tried to finish it, especially if it involved family.

“I’m here for Henry. His mother wants him home.” Thomas said bluntly to the woman who’d practically raised him.

“My Henry? I have the papers...He’s mine.” She said.

“Aye, and I have the papers too. I’m his cousin. And I know his birth mother would love nothing more than to see him since he was ripped from her arms. Let the man go and meet her. Once he’s done that he can make his decision.” He said, eyeing the woman coldly.

With tears in her eyes, the woman called for Michael to come forward, the fawn-haired young man running over to him.

“Hello Henry. Your mother wants to see you.” He said. Michael’s face evolving into one of confusion.

“But she’s right here? Who are you anyway?” He asked, a sassy tone to his voice that reminded Thomas of Polly.

“I’m your cousin Thomas Shelby. Your birth mother is Polly Gray. Your real name is Michael Gray. Now you can stay here on this little farm or you can leave to meet the woman who’s fought to find you for so many years. Which one will it be?” He asked impatiently, lighting a cigarette.

Michael nervously looked around and pulled his little sister in for a hug, telling her to be good and then giving his adoptive mother a hug. Knowing she was fuming inside.

“I-I’ll ring you alright? I’ve been wondering why I never had pictures here of when I was younger...and...I’ve been wondering why you all look different than me. I-I think it’s time I go find out for myself mum.” He said, giving her one last hug before going off with his blinder cousin and his friend Johnny Dogs.

“Now on to your sister.” Thomas said, driving off towards the busy London area.

---

Your head pounded as you got up. The drinks from the night before doing your head in as a sharp knock sounded at your apartment door. You shrugged on your red laced robe and lit a cigarette as you hastily put your wild locks in a bun, your eyes burning from the sunlight streaming in through the window nearby.

One more sharp knock sounded as you neared the door, making your blood boil slightly.

“Bloody hell. Hold on a moment will ya?” You yelled out, tying your robe around your nude frame. The stranger in your room snoring loudly in the back room of your haphazard apartment.

“What’s all this then? It’s a little early to be soliciting people don’t ya think?” You asked, blowing out a cloud of smoke as you took in the men before you.

One had piercing blue eyes, who had one of the coldest looks you’d seen on a man in a long time. Knowing he’d probably seen more hurt than happiness in his past years of life.

The other two had darker eyes, one of them younger and oddly familiar as you thought about your own facial structure. You had the same eyes. Eyes that never matched your adoptive parents. Eyes that the kids in the orphanage always picked on for being too brown in color when theirs were reminiscent of the sea and the sky and all the green earth in between.

The seemingly oldest of them looked on from the distance. His cigar dangling from his lips as his dark eyes scanned you up and down. He had a rough look to him, like he’s seen more sun than anyone here. That he’d lived everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

“Who are you all and why are you hogging my doorstep?” You asked.

“We don’t have a lot of time, but long story short, I’m your cousin Thomas Shelby. And this young man here is your brother Michael Gray. We only just found him. Your mother...Polly Gray...has been looking for you all these years.” He said bluntly.

“What? I thought she was dead or something. God knows father was.” You said, remembering the drunken man vaguely as well as a beautiful dark haired woman you were sure to have gotten your good looks from.

“You remember them?” Michael asked, a bit envious that his newfound sister was able to remember such a thing.

“Mhmm. Well...when do we meet her aye? I have some business to take care of.” You said, fiddling with your hands as Johnny continued to stare.

“Go do what you need to. We’ll wait out here.” He said.

“Who’s the rough looking fellow? A bit quiet aye?” You asked, pointing to Johnny.

He cleared his throat and took his cap off. His bright smile catching your eye as you blew smoke out from your lips.

“Sorry. I’m Johnny. Johnny Dogs. Traveler and helper of the Shelby family and such. Nice to meet you Y/N. Heard lots of good things ‘bout ya.” He said.

“Oh really? Like what? That I’m a drunk like me father? That I’m a whore?” She asked with a smirk, her laugh sending Johnny’s heart over the edge.

“Gods no. That you’re beautiful actually. Polly said so herself. She remembers ya well.” He said with a small smile that was soon extinguished by a cold glance from Thomas.

“Right....well I’ll be out in a moment.” You said with a slight smile, walking back inside and throwing your best clothes on and hurriedly doing your makeup.

“Well hello there love, who are you getting ready for this morning?” The man lying on your bed half naked murmured as you put on the last of your makeup.

“Get out.” You said, pulling your coat over yourself as you grabbed your purse.

“What? After last night you want me to leave?” He asked.

“What is this? A bed and breakfast? I said get the fuck out of me house!” You yelled, not even bothering to remember the lads name as you followed him down the hall, his pants put on haphazardly as he ran shirtless out the door.

“You’ll pay for this!” He yelled, causing the three men to look on curiously.

“Actually you did sir, thanks for the tip love!” You yelled.

“Fucking asshole.” You added under your breath.

“Who was that?” Michael asked as you got in their car.

“Just a joyride love. Don’t worry about it.” You said, not bothering to filter yourself as Thomas smirked slightly. You we’re definitely Polly’s daughter. There was no doubt about it.

As you all neared Polly’s house you and Michael exchanged a nervous look with each other, knowing you might as well have forgotten her since it’s been so long. Your adoptive parents never mentioning her unless you started acting up. But the vague memories you did have always swirled around in your mind.

“Here we are. She said you could stay there with her if that’s something you both want. But I’ll let you both go on.” Thomas said, helping you both up to the apartment.

You knocked hard on the door, your hands shaking as you looked to the ground. You hoped for this day for years but you never thought it would happen so soon.

“Do ya want me to help em’ wit their bags Tom?” Johnny whispered from the car as he watched the woman standing nervously with her brother.

“No. Just stay in the car.” He said, bringing the rest of the bags up to them as Polly opened the door.

“My god...” she said, her hair a bit disheveled as she adjusted her dress and shawl around her shoulders.

“Mum? H-hi. Um....it’s me...Y/N...and Michael.” You said with a small smile on your face.

She didn’t say anything, instead just rushing forward and enveloping you both in a hug as Thomas stood by awkwardly.

“Thank you. Tommy my god thank you.” She said, giving him a short hug as well as you and Michael made your way inside the lavish apartment.

“Just make sure you’re all at the office early tomorrow alright? We’ll have a family meeting.” He said, a small smile on his face that hadn’t been there in ages.

“We will.” Polly said, waving him and Johnny off as she closed the door behind her.

“Now Michael...I know you don’t know me very well. But I want you to know I’m here for you always alright? You too Y/N. I can’t believe I have you back.” She said giving you each a tight hug as you wiped tears from your eyes.

As the night went on you all both gradually settled in, Polly agreeing to let you go to your apartment when you wanted since you were of age. But for now you accepted your place here, wanting to get to know the woman you’ve searched for all your life.

“Michael...it’s alright if I call you that right?” She asked hesitantly.

“Mhmm. I-I guess it’s growing on me. Never felt much like a Henry.” He said, unpacking his things.

“Right, well I’ll leave you two for the night. I’ll be expecting you both up early for Tommy’s meeting tomorrow. Welcome to the family.” She said, her mind racing as she left the room. Her heart slowly mending back together after being torn to pieces so many years ago.

---

At the shop the next morning, Michael and you both walked in a bit on edge, having gotten the rundown from Polly about what the business entailed on the way there. The workers around you eyeing you up as you lit a cigarette and walked past them in your heels and red overcoat. Michael looking around as well but with a smug smile on his face as he made acquaintances with the younger blinders rather quickly.

“Alright so the new members of the family as you lot can see are Y/N and Michael Gray. They’ve both confirmed they preferred their natural names so that’s what you’ll all call them. The papers and everything else are being sorted to give Polly any parental rights, and Michael...I have a proposition for you.” He said eyeing the young man who had a tough-yet laid back demeanor about him. The innocence of his past life slowly fading the longer he stayed in Birmingham.

“Alright. What is it Tommy?” He asked, smoking a cigarette carefully since he’d only done so once before at college.

“You’re going with us to the races. After we see what you’re made of, I’ll consider you for an accounting position.” He said.

“Sounds good to me.” He said swallowing hard and looking towards his mother.

“It doesn’t bloody sound good to me. I’ve just gotten my children back and you want to put them through some peaky initiation?” Polly snapped at her nephew. Ada, Arthur, John, and Finn looking at you and your brother with curious eyes during the awkward silence that ensued.

“It’s the only way Pol’ he’ll be fine.” Thomas said flatly, his voice still void of emotion.

“What will I be doing? I can’t stay cooped up here all day.” You said, blowing a cloud of smoke from your lips as you stared down your blue eyed devil of a cousin.

“Well, you could work here with the rest of us or you could work with the Lee’s and the rest down at their stop. Think of it as being a liaison for us.” He said.

You looked around at the dark and cramped place, your mothers familiar eyes knowing what you’d pick. You were an adult and had been on your own for many years, knowing full well how to handle yourself for the most part and besides, if you got to get out in the open air for a while it wouldn’t be half bad.

“I can do that. Just tell me how to get there and I’ll go.” You said. Thomas handing you a map as he grabbed his car keys.

“You can still stay at the house you know.” Polly said as you gathered your things.

“I know mum. I’ll be back, it’s just work. Don’t worry.” You said giving her a hug and Michael a fake punch on the shoulder as you waltzed out the door.

“It’s better if I go with you. You don’t know them.” Thomas said, opening the door for you.

“....alright. Do I need to do anything before we go?” You asked.

“Just please tell me you know how to shoot a gun.” He said, starting the car.

“Just point and shoot right? I remember one thing before dad died and that was going hunting with him in the woods. Just that once.” You said.

“That should be good enough. Take this.” He said, handing you a small handgun from his jacket.

“Do I have to kill anyone?” You asked, the thought making a shiver run down your spine slightly.

“Only if they come after ya or the family.” He said.

You nodded your head silently as you understood. You’d heard of the blinders while being in London, and from Polly’s rundown before getting to the shop, but you’d never thought you’d be related to them in such a way. But maybe this was the start you’d needed. At least now you weren’t making a living off cleaning houses and singing in taverns.

“Here we are.” He said after a long while of silence. Your eyes adjusting to the bright sunlight that spread across the vacant land where a slew of vardo’s were parked. Bonfires lit near them as they sat around the flames. Various animals roasting on a spit as music played in the distance.

“This is where I’ll be?” You asked, not seeing an actual brick and mortar house in sight. But remembering bits and pieces of the old vardo you had grew up briefly in with your mum. Her late teenaged self doing the best she could to care for the three of you young children.

“Mhm.” He mumbled as he led you through the tall grass to the people you’d be spending most of your working days around.

“There they are! What a sight! How are ya Tom?” Johnny asked rather loudly, a smile dancing across his face as he greeted you with a quick kiss to your hand.

“Good. Y/N here is going to be staying every few days or so. She’s the new liaison between the families here. Teach her what ya know and show her where she can call from. She’ll be reporting to me about anything going on that may need our attention. Think of it as security aye?” He said, eyeing Johnny as he stared slightly at the gorgeous woman.

“Will do, will do. Say let’s get you shown around, we have a place for ya all set up.” He said, taking your hand in his which made you smile. A flush of red hitting your cheeks as you looked on at your new place of work.

“Don’t do anything stupid Johnny.” Thomas said threateningly, knowing he could sense that Johnny had some feelings for his cousin.

“No worries Tom.” He said, tipping his cap to him as he led you to a vacant vardo.

“So what’s a woman as beautiful as you doin’ round these parts anyway? Did Polly drive ya off already?” He asked, setting your luggage down.

“No. I volunteered to come out here. Didn’t wanna be cooped up in that old dusty building.” You said, brushing a stray hair behind your ear.

“Well you’re in luck, darlin’. No dusty buildings here. Just a few snakes though.” He said as you jumped slightly, eyes making a mad-dash to the ground.

“I’m just messing with ya, doll.” He said, leaning up against the back steps.

“Is it hard being out here all the time? I know a few bars in London we could go to sometime. Get ya out for bit.” You said looking into his brown eyes that glowed almost golden in the bright afternoon sun.

“Not as hard when we have pretty women such as yourself here. Say...I’ll take ya up on that offer. How ‘bout later this week after we show ya the ropes?” He asked.

“Sounds good.” You said, smiling as you helped him carry things to the pond nearby. Children running around and skipping stones as you both made small talk while washing various clothes.

“How long do you all stay out here? It’s beautiful.” You said after a while of learning how to do various chores.

“Oh about a month or so. Never too long in one place in case the coppers come by bootin’ us out. We belong to ourselves, not to them. The sooner you learn that the better off you’ll be here aye?” He said, a hint of warning in his voice.

“Did someone tip you off one day? I’d never do that. I’m just working for Tommy and me mum.” You said, never wanting to come between anyone’s business.

“Yeah. Lost a few people a couple years back. Wasn’t good. But that’s all done now. New beginnings aye Y/N?” He said raising his flask to your glass of whiskey as you all sat near the pond.

“To new beginnings.” You said, staring off into the sky as you realized you’d be here more often than you’d thought.

---

The next few weeks seemed to fly by as you got used to living half there and half at Polly’s place. It was a hard decision but one you felt deep down needed to be made as you sold your apartment in London to be closer to your mum and Michael. Turns out he wasn’t as good and innocent as he’d claimed to be, gradually going on business with the boys and coming back high as a kite on cocaine. It was something even you hadn’t done in a long while, and something you swore one night to never do again after a bad spill landed you in the doctors. So it was safe to say your hard partying days were over, except for when it came to Johnny.

Over the course of the few weeks you’d been working together and updating Tommy on the business there, you grew closer and developed feelings for the rowdy traveler. Johnny’s smile and snarky remarks always bringing a wide grin to your face when you’d hear him with the lads or when you’d both go off drinking with people at the camp. But unfortunately, good things seemed to come to an end once the month was up, seeing as Tommy visited at a bad time one night and caught the two of you together. You’d been slightly embarrassed, but didn’t think he had it in him to ruin a good thing. But ruining things was Tommy’s specialty.

The night was abruptly ended when he dragged a naked Johnny away from you and threatened to terminate both of your positions with the company if things continued. But you were stubborn and strong willed just like your mother, and kept seeing him anyways even if it meant you were out of the company.

“I don’t see why I can’t love one man Pol’ Tommy’s gone and probably fucked every woman in town! He’ll he has enough children by various women to worry about already and here he is worrying about what I do with my life and my time?” You yelled as you packed your things away. You’d discussed moving out there with Johnny to spare the family drama. Thomas could tell you liked it out there and he had to admit, you gave him good information on people you’d come across, even if it was by letter or by pay phone more often than in person. And Polly knew you were like her, wanting to be free to do whatever you pleased and as much as it pained her to see you leave for a life on the road, she loved that you were the only one who kept that spirit alive. The only one who decided to throw away the silver spoon you’d been fed with half your life, to live for yourself and for a man that made you happy, even if he worked for the blue eyed devil himself.

Johnny Dogs Tag List:

@flysafepapi, @gaytommyshelby, @ta-ka-shi-ma

If you’d like to be added/removed just send me an ask/message! :)

[imherongraystairstrash]

Hey I love your writing so much!! Could you consider writing a fic about Alexander’s birth and more importantly everyone’s reaction and first time meeting him. Gideon,Will,Jem,Tessa, Charlotte, Sophie, Henry and all of his cousins and Anna and Kit of course I feel like it would be so sweet

Thank you so muchh!! It ended up being too long haha! Since you asked for the TID reactions, I split up the fic so that my response to this ask will include them. Here’s part 1, in case you want to read it

Defender of Men (pt 2) [Alex Lightwood birth]:

“He’s absolutely precious.” Sophie said, holding Alexander in her arms. Eugenia stood behind her, smiling widely at her new cousin. 

“I want a baby,” Barbara said mournfully, from where she was kneeling beside Sophie, fixing Alexander’s hat.

Gideon choked on what must have been air.

“I’m not going to get myself pregnant, father.” Barbara said, rolling her eyes “I just said I wanted one.”

“Well, you can take care of your cousin until then.” Cecily said with a wink. “We just saved you another five years, Gideon.”

“I think ten years would be more reasonable.” Gideon said. 

“Papa!” Barbara said, her tone still hushed in the presence of the baby.

Gideon smiled at Barbara.

“Has he opened his eyes yet, Aunt Cecy?” Thomas asked. He and Kit were sitting on the floor beside her. 

Cecily smiled down at him, “Yes, darling. They’re a darker blue than Kit’s. I want to say they’re the same color as Anna’s, but I’m not quite sure.”

“Will’s never going to let you hear the end of that.” Gideon said to Gabriel.

“You’re right,” Will said, James in tow. “Lightworm’s descendants are going to look like me.”

“Technically, they’ll look like Cecy.” Sophie said.

“Who just so happens to look like me.” Will said, before coming to a stop behind Sophie and smiling down at the newborn baby.

“Isn’t he adorable?” Sophie said. 

Will nodded, his smile growing wider. “Good job, Lightwood.” He said, clapping Gabriel on the back. “You too, Cecy.” Will said, looking over at her.

Cecily saluted him from where she was. 

James came over and smiled down at his new cousin.

“Oh, I’m hogging the baby.” Sophie said, standing up, ready to let the next person hold him.

“Do bring him here so that James and Thomas can hold him.” Cecily said.

Thomas’ eyes widened. “Oh, I’ve never held a baby before. Best let James do it.” 

“I’ve never held a baby either.” James said.

Cecily laughed, “I guess it’s time to learn.”

Both boys looked equally dismayed and terrified.

“It’s not hard,” Sophie said, kneeling down beside them. 

Cecily and Sophie taught them how to place their hands, and, despite it being his first time, Thomas held Alexander perfectly. When Cecily put Alexander in Jamie’s arms, he was clearly nervous and tense. Cecily ruffled his hair.

“Good, Jamie bach.” She said smiling. “You boys are naturals.”

“I’d even go as far as to say that they’re better than the girls.” Sophie said, smiling.

“I heard that!” Eugenia said. 

…

By the time Tessa and Lucie came, the room wasn’t as full since Anna, Barbara and Eugenia had gone to do lord knew what. They were always disappearing, saying they were discussing things that were of importance to them. Sophie and Cecily always joked that they were planning a revolution. Well, half-joked.

“Oh, Cecily, he’s beautiful.” Tessa said, fixing the baby’s blanket.

“And lazy.” She added. “He’s been asleep this entire time.”

Will raised his eyebrows at Gabriel. “Maybe he’s tired of having to deal with his father.”

“Lucie wouldn’t stop crying when she was born, maybe she was disappointed when she realized her father was the way he was.” Gabriel cut back.

Cecily and Tessa rolled their eyes at them in synchronization, like they do whenever their husbands are around each other. 

“What’s his name?” Tessa asked.

“Alexander.” Cecily said, proudly. 

Tessa smiled wide. “Oh, I do love that name. It reminds me of when I went to school in New York. Alexander Hamilton, the United States founding father.” She added the last sentence after receiving a couple of confused looks. 

“Aunt Cecy, can I babysit?” Lucie said. Before Cecily could respond, Lucie spoke again. “On second thought, I can barely take care of myself. Perhaps it is not the best idea to leave me in charge of a child.”

“You can take care of him while we’re in the same room.” Gabriel said with a smile.

Lucie nodded eagerly. “Yes! Wonderful idea, Uncle!” 

…

The rest of the day had been a flurry of fawning over the new baby and congratulations. Gabriel and Cecily had gone to surprise Charlotte and Henry, with the baby in a basket, tucked under a mountain of warm blankets, to keep out the cold. 

When Henry opened the door, his eyes widened in surprise and then extreme excitement. 

“What ho! Cecily! You’ve given birth!” 

“Yes!” Cecily laughed.

“How wonderful, absolutely wonderful! Oh, do come in; Charlotte will be ecstatic!” 

Charlotte was ecstatic indeed. When she saw the baby, her hands fluttered to her chest and then she came over to kiss both Cecily and Gabriel on the cheek. 

“You crazy children! We would have come to your house. You didn’t have to bring the baby here.” 

“We wanted to surprise you.” Cecily said. 

Charlotte took her shoulders and sat her down. “And you should be resting.” 

“Does that mean you don’t want to see him?” Gabriel asked, lifting Alexander in his arms.

“Of course I do,” Charlotte said, laughing. She went over to Gabriel and looked at the baby. 

Her face softened immediately. 

“Oh, how precious,” she said, brushing his pink cheek. 

Gabriel brought the baby down a little bit so that Henry could see better. Cecily smiled at the way Gabriel showed the baby to them excitedly. 

“Have you decided on the name?” Henry asked. 

“Alexander,” Gabriel said, placing him in Charlotte’s arms.

Alexander fussed a little bit at being transferred from his father’s arms to somebody else’s, but then quieted down once he realized Charlotte was just as warm, if not, more warm than Gabriel was. 

“Alexander Lightwood.” She said, “he’s absolutely perfect.”

…

“Am I better at holding babies than James?” Matthew asked, looking up at Cecily.

Cecily shook her head, smiling. “I thought you were supposed to love your parabatai.”

“I do! I love to compete with him.”

“Either way, I’m not telling you who’s better.”

“It’s alright, Aunt. I know it’s me.” Matthew said, looking back down at the baby. 

Cecily nudged his head with the palm of her hand affectionately. 

…

When Alex had finally woken up again he was in Henry’s arms and he stared at him like wide eyes, blinking slowly.

Gabriel and Charlotte were talking about something in the other corner of the room. Matthew was leaning over Henry’s bath chair, his forearms braced on the handles. 

“Who’s that, Alex?” Cecily asked. “Is it your Uncle Henry?”

Alexander made the softest of noises. 

Cecily kissed her son’s head. 

“Little Alex. You have quite a lot of names to remember.” Henry said. 

Cecily laughed. 

Quite a lot of names to remember, indeed. But at least he’ll know that behind each of those names, are people who love him and would follow him for his first milestones:

His first words were “nana” and “-it” because of his siblings. 

His first steps were into his cousin Thomas’ arms.

His first laugh was with his father, his second with his uncle Will, though it was Matthew who made him laugh the most. 

His first of smiles was when his mother was hugging him and when Barbara and Eugenia spoke with him, pretending they understood everything.

He’d play shadowhunters his all of his cousins, though specifically with “Mames” and “Ucie”. He’d go on walks with his parents, Aunt Sophie and Uncle Gideon. 

There were many other memories, all with his large family, all of whom he loved very much, and who all loved him in return.

Tagging: @tsccreatorsnet  @atla-lok143  @rinadragomir  @youngreckless  @autumnangel20  @julemmaes  @cupcakesandkittens  @no-scones-allowed  @fictionally-fantastic  @stxr-thxif  @writeforjordelia  @itsdaughterofthemoon  @jordeliasupremacy  @cordelia-cardale  @will-effing-herondale  @axoloteca  @heronstairs2014  @ilovemanicures  

If you want to be on my tag list, or if you changed your url recently and your not in the tag list anymore, let me know! Oh, an if you asked to be on the tag list and you’re not on it, please tell me (I’m very absentminded haha)

[yespleasetommyshelby]

Love in the 21st - Jay Halstead Fic - Two

"Alright, Halstead, Dawson, Lindsey, you guys breach first, the rest of us will follow behind." Voight instructed receiving nods from everyone as the first three made there way up the metal staircase of the old motel. Just as they reached the top bullets started flying as three men burst out of the room and ran for it round the back of the building, residents screamed and tried to duck to avoid being hit in the crossfire.

"Everyone move out and find them, Platt, you're with me!" Voight yelled through the coms, everyone holding their guns up as they raced to catch the shooters.

Following Voight's lead we made our way to the room that was our original target, I kept my gun up as Voight slowly pushed the door open fully and stepped inside, me right behind him. The rooms were covered in blood, noticing a trail on the floor I motioned over to Voight who nodded and began to follow. The trail led us to a bathroom where the body of a man was laid over the bath tub that was full of blood, but his head was resting on the sink, he'd been decapitated.

"Jesus Christ." I whispered to myself as the rest of the team came in after losing the suspects.

"That's Rev." Jay spoke as he took a closer look at the lone head sitting and watching.

"Get forensics down here, let's head back to base." Voight instructed walking out of the room. I started to follow until I heard what sounded like a sniffle coming from a closet in the hall.

"Hey, anyone checked in here?" I asked raising my gun as I received shakes of the heads from my team. Keeping my gun raised I slowly opened the door only to find a teenager sat in the back corner, looking scared out of his mind. "Hey, it's okay, what are you doing here?" I asked reaching out and watching as he slowly took my hand pulling himself up.

"They just barged in, I ran and hid in here, I could hear him crying man, he was begging for his life." The boy said as he stared at the ground, almost like he was reliving what just happened.

"What's your name kid?" Voight asked coming up besides me.

"D'Anthony, I'm just a runner, I swear!" He said holding his hands up in defense.

"It's gotta be a cartel, beheadings are their thing." Antonio said as he walked over to the three of us.

"Alright, lets head back to base, you're coming too kid." He instructed patting the boy on his shoulder.

------------

As we arrived back at the district Voight and Al took D'Anthony down to an interrogation room and came back up all of half an hour later with the name of a Columbian cartel hitman, Pulpo. That was an hour ago and since then we've got no closer to finding this guy's real name, let alone where he is.

"I gotta go talk to a CI, keep on digging and find me something on this piece of crap. Everything we do stays in-house, you tell me the truth so that I can lie for you." Voights loud voice carries through the bullpen as he walks away without a second look.

----

"This guy is known as Coop," Voight starts as he slaps another picture up on the board. "My CI says that this guy will know where Pulpo is, lets move out." He says, everyone rushing to the armory to get their gear.

As we approach Coop's place with our guns raised Jay signals that the door has been left open slightly, slowly and quietly making our way inside we clear the house room by room and it's empty, except for the body of man laying in a puddle of his own blood whose head sits on top of the counter lifeless, its own smaller puddle of blood slowly dripping down onto the floor.

"I guess this is Coop." Erin says taking a closer look at the lone head.

"Someone's cleaning house." I thought out loud receiving nods of agreement from my team members.

------------

"Hey Officer Platt, how's it going?" My Aunt's voice makes me jump as I walk past her desk towards the stairs leading to intelligence.

"Hey Sarge, how's it going?" I asked turning and leaning on the front of her desk.

"How's intelligence treating you?" She asked handing a patrolmen a set of keys without looking at them.

"So far so good, well, other than the cartel cutting peoples heads off." I said sarcastically just as the patrolman Kim, that I'd met earlier walked in looking rather pissed.

"Listen, I got a cousin in the morgue downtown, I need you to go and grab me something." Trudy started as she wrote an address down on a slip of paper before siding it over the desk towards Kim. "It's a small gold ring with a diamond, he wears it on his pinky finger of his left hand, get it and bring it to me." She instructed apparently not realising just how weird that sounded.

Kim turned to me looking just as confused as I felt. "I'm sorry Sarge, what?" She asked in disbelief as she looked at the address on the paper.

"The man owes me money, he's not getting out of it just because he died. Now go." She spoke shooing her away, with another odd look between me and Trudy, Kim slowly walked away looking back over her shoulder at me with a raised brow, I shrugged since I didn't have a clue what was going on right now.

"What cousin exactly?" I asked as I looked back at Trudy.

"On my mothers side, you wouldn't have met him, he borrowed four hundred bucks a couple of years ago and I want my money back." She said nonchalantly shrugging and going back to her computer.

"Right." I said slowly nodding. "I'm gunna head back upstairs, we do have a Colombian hitman to catch." I sighed turning and walking up to the hand scanner to buzz myself up to intelligence.

"Be safe!" She called just as I went through the gate.

"You know I will be!" I called back without turning around.

"I pulled Coop's phone records, there's multiple calls to the same number in the last week or so, problem is it's a burner phone and it's gone dead." Jay announced just as I got to my desk.

"Can you find out where the phone came from? There could be security footage of the guy who brought it." I said looking over at Jin, intelligence's resident tech guy, who nodded his head.

"Give me two minutes." He said before disapearring back to his tech cave, as I like to call it, Jay right behind him.

"The phone was brought in a store down on the south side, known territory for the Columbian Cartel." Jay says as he comes back up from the cave.

"Take Platt, go get me a name." Voight nodded before walking back into his office.

"Let's go mini sarge." Jay smiled as he walked past my desk. Narrowing my eyes at him I couldn't hep but laugh slightly, grabbing my coat and following him out.

----

"Ready?" Jay asks as we got out of the car and started walking to the store that sits on the corner of the street.

"You know I am." I grinned cheekily at him before pushing the door open and walking in. "Hey, we need a name of a guy that came in here just over a week ago and purchased a burner phone." I said getting straight to the point shrugging when Jay raised an eyebrow at me.

"I don't know what you're talking about." The guys said shrugging his shoulders and avoiding eye contact, a lone receipt apparently much more interesting than the two intelligence officers stood in his store.

"Come on man, we know it was brought from this store, so we aren't gunna leave until you give us the name of the guy who brought it." Jay told him motioning between the two of us only receiving a shrug in reply. Alright, we tried talking, let's do it my way.

"Hey Jay, a lot of stores round here get robbed quite often, right?" I asked looking over at him, leaning against the counter casually as the store keeper watched me with caution in his eyes.

"Uh, yeah, almost everyday." He nodded going along with me with a slight confused frown.

"And most stores keep a weapon of some sort behind the checkout right?" I asked him again receiving a nod and a confused look in reply. "I'm assuming you've got something behind there, am I right?" I spoke turning to the shopkeeper this time.

"Um, yes I have a bat, but it's totally legal man, it's only for self defense, I've never even used it." He admitted holding his hands up with wide eyes.

"Can I see it please, Sir?" I asked holding my hand out for the bat. With a sigh and a slight nod he reached down under the checkout and pulled out a wooden baseball bat that, like he had said, didn't look like it had been used.

Nodding my head slightly I held it by the handle tightly and suddenly swung, knocking down a display of sweets that was at the front of his store. Ignoring his yells for me to stop I took another swing, knocking bottles of this and that off of the shelves, he's lucky they were plastic or he would've had quite a problem there.

"You got to stop her man, come on." The guy yelled at Jay who was watching with a slight grin on his face, shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders at the man.

"Give me a name and I'll stop." I told him shrugging while slightly swinging the bat by my legs.

"I don't have a name." He yelled looking between me and Jay, who just raised an eyebrow at me.

"Alrighty then." I shrugged before I swung the bat into his shelves once more, only aiming to knock things off the shelf, not cause any real damage, but he didn't need to know that.

"Fine! Omar! Omar Rojas!" He yelled just as I raised the bat to swing again. "Just stop! Please!" He pleaded.

Nodding his head Jay patted the owner on the back. "See, wasn't so difficult was it?" He asked sarcastically as he stepped over packets and bottles that were littered over the floor to get to the door.

"You might wanna tidy up in here, its a bit of a mess." I smiled sweetly at the man before throwing his bat on the ground and walking out to be met by Jay.

"Hey, don't get me wrong that was real badass, but not exactly by the books." He laughed as we made our way to the car.

"Yeah well, what is it Voight said? Tell him the truth and he'll lie for me?" I asked with a laugh climbing into the car, him following with a laugh of his own.

Hey guys! So, I don't actually know how to creat links and what not on here (I'm on mobile) so I've tagged the series as 'love in the 21st One/Two/Three etc..

[juminsmysticmc]

so i’ve been ghosted from one of my closest friends and could you maybe make the mc lose confidence afterwards and have more and more panic attacks because like everything seems to stress her out? if you’re okay with that i’d love to see that with all of the RFA + the trio! either way i hope you’re doing good and life’s not too hard! i love your hc‘s so so much and honestly they’re somehow my safespace! <333

RFA + Minor Trio getting ghosted by a close friend and feeling very bad because of that 

Trigger Warnings: Mention of Panic Attacks, Fears, sensitive content  

Hello baby! Thanks for your request, we already talked about this privately and I will say it again but when I actually read the request, I kind of felt ,,happy’’ that I wasn’t the only one. I always thought ( and I still believe ) that as soon as I lose a loved person it’s only me who is in pain and misses them. I hope my writings can stay being your safe space  for you and everyone, I will be always here to listen to you, I mean it. Love you! PS. These scenarios are all based on true stories and Mc is me and how I reacted.

Jumin

Your husband kept observing you.

This morning everything was alright, but suddenly you were odd, as if something switched in your head, you became distant. Your fingers didn’t stop typing on your phone screen and you seemed to tremble.

However, he didn’t want to get in your way. Maybe you were doing something important.

He reacted when you suddenly got up and walked to your shared bedroom without saying a word.

Jumin pressed his lips together and decided to just follow you.

He was happy that he did what he felt like he needed to do, because you were currently on your bed crying.

Maybe even hyperventilating or panicking.

Jumin didn’t really know. All he knew was that you were in pain and that he had to help you.

And so, your husband quickly went to the kitchen and took a bag, immediately bringing it to you to make sure that you could breathe into it.

,,Ahhhh,’’ you gasped and cried. Jumin felt so helpless as he saw your eyes turn red and teary.

He never stopped stroking your back as he observed you with sad eyes.

It took you quite a while to get better and be able to breathe again.

,,Mc,’’ he whispered. You were still hiccuping, but at least you were breathing again.

,,Sorry,’’ you whimpered.

,,I thought… I had the feeling that the air would cut my throat and I couldn’t breathe,’’ you explained.

,,Aish, what’s wrong…?’’ you asked yourself.

,,Want to tell me?’’ he asked you and tilted his head to be able to look at you and look into your eyes.

,,I- I don’t know why… but my childhood friend…’’ you began to hiccup again.

,,Everything is spinning… ahhh, Jumin, she suddenly began to ignore me, not answer my texts, and block me from social media as if she never knew me!’’ you cried.

Your tears didn’t want to stop anymore.

Jumin pulled you into his arms and hugged you with all his love.

,,I… I had such a great time lately and now my whole world is falling apart… I’m so so sad… I helped her so much. Why is she doing this? She said that she wasn’t the kind of friend to just let go of me, Jumin, why?’’ you kept crying.

Jumin wished that he could help you. However, he had no idea.

,,Sometimes,’’ he whispered, ,,people just have a hard time… and then they just do this. She had her reasons and she doesn’t know that she’s hurting you that much… I know it’s hard, but try to let go… and one day I’m sure she will tell you why…’’ Jumin whispered and stroked your head.

,,I know it’s hard, but you don’t need her. You have me… I will be your rock, your husband, and your best friend…’’ he consoled you, hugging you again.

Zen

,,She’s odd somehow,’’ you told Zen as you guys came back from a family gathering.

Your boyfriend, who was currently chewing on his gum, looked at you.

He knew who you meant because he saw how your cousin behaved.

He saw how she ignored you, how she looked away, and acted as if there was nothing to talk about with you, even though you two always talked about God and the world.

,,I… I don’t know… I can’t handle losing someone again…’’ you mumbled.

He knew that you lost a lot of friends in the last few months. You went through a lot and Zen tried his best to support you.

You suddenly teared up and began to distract yourself, using your nail to pinch your fingers.

Zen of course saw what you were doing and quickly took your hand. ,,Don’t, Mc…’’ he begged you in a whisper to stop.

You pulled out your phone and read your messages. ,,I don’t… I don’t understand…’’ your voice began to tremble and Zen felt nervous.

He was scared that this would drag you down again. He never wanted to see your sad face again.

,,We just talked about… about BTS this morning and… we talked about idols dating… this morning!’’ you hiccuped.

,,Mc… maybe she had a bad day?’’ he asked you.

You wet your lips with your tongue and shook your head.

,,No, she is ignoring me. She’s putting a wall between us…’’ you ironically laughed.

Ever since then, you never chatted with her again.

However, the next family gathering soon approached.

As soon as you saw her coming in with two of your other cousins who ignored you, a panic attack came over you.

,,Hyun,’’ you whispered, making Zen look at you. He could see that you were close to crying.

,,Don’t, Princess, you’re too beautiful,’’ he whispered, trying to help you to calm down.

Luckily, everyone was still greeting everyone so no one saw that you were currently having a panic attack. Well, no one except your mother and aunt who dragged you and Zen to the nearest toilet.

Zen observed you as your mother stroked your arm and your aunt made you open your mouth to give you some medicine to calm down.

,,What’s wrong?’’ they finally asked you. You were still trying to hold your tears.

,,Mc, do you want to walk a bit with me?’’ he asked you, knowing that you just wanted to go out of the room as soon as possible.

And indeed, you accepted his offer.

As soon as you were outside, Zen began to sing a song that you knew better than anyone else ,,We woke up to a bad dream A world full of uncertainty But mirror, mirror I see you, and all your hopes and fears I'm a stay by your side So baby let me dry your tears I know that it feels like The world is falling down And you can't make it through There's gon' be better days, better days, better days Better days, better days, better days….’’

,,Hyun… that’s my favorite song from SuperM,’’ you smiled emotionally.

,,I know better days…’’ he said, naming the title. ,,Let her be. She never deserved you. I know that it hurts, but why hold onto someone who behaves that way? Better days will come. I’m sure it hurts now, but it will be better. I will stay by your side, okay? So please don’t be sad and cut them out of your life if they’re toxic. You deserve so much better,’’ he whispered and stroked your hair.

You nodded. By now you didn’t have the feeling of tears coming up anymore.

Yoosung

,,It just feels… off,’’ you whispered.

Yoosung sat on the couch next to you and he watched you as you looked past him.

,,I… I don’t… I have no one,’’ you mumbled. Yoosung noticed that you were tearing up.

He moved closer to take your hand.

,,Do… you, do you know this feeling when you find something… for example on TikTok and you want to send it a friend, but you notice that… it’s off between you and this other person and so you end up realizing how lonely you are and that there is no one anymore…’’ you asked him.

Yoosung looked at you with a sad face.

Your tears were falling down and a sob left your mouth.

,,I’m… I’m scared. Is this my fault?’’ you asked him.

Yoosung wasn’t quick enough to tell you that you weren’t at fault because you were a wonderful person, but you were quicker than him.

,,Maybe I’m not the victim… maybe I’m the toxic person,’’ you gasped and looked at him.

Yoosung never saw so much fear in your eyes than in that instant.

,,Maybe… you will leave me too? You will leave me alone and then… then I will stay here, alone… how will I go on with my life?’’ you asked him and sobbed into your hands.

,,Mc…’’ Yoosung whined. He moved even closer and finally touched your arm, stoking your cold skin.

,,I will never leave you, okay? Trust me. I love you and… you aren’t the toxic one. I’ve been by your side this whole time. Your friends just cut you out and that wasn’t fair!’’ he defended you.

You looked up, your eyes red, your tears wetting your cheeks, and your lower lip trembling.

Yoosung stroked your cheek with his hand, feeling that you were warm.

,,Please don’t worry…’’ he begged you.

,,How can I, Yoosung…’’ you hiccuped.

Suddenly, you had the feeling that air was missing.

You began to shiver and felt so cold and hot at the same time.

,,How can I if everyone I love is turning their backs on me?! They’re all leaving me! As if… as if I never meant anything to them! I was the one who always supported them! Maybe it was too much, maybe I am really the one who annoys them, if not, Yoosung, why is there no friendship that goes longer than half a year?!’’ you asked him.

,,You have me. We’ve been married for seven years now,’’ he told you.

,,Mc, they don’t last long because they just aren’t the right people for you. They just used you, but real friends are coming,’’ he smiled sadly.

,,Well, no, actually you have the RFA and me, your hubby!’’ he smiled.

The truth was that Yoosung, even though he felt sad for you, also felt angry because your ,,friends’’ were hurting you.

,,Thank you, Yoosung,’’ you choked and hugged him, putting your face on his chest.

Yoosung kept stroking your back until you felt better and you knew that with him you were safe…

Jaehee

This morning, when you were about to meet a friend, you looked totally happy.

You were baking a cake and preparing your bag.

So how could that beautiful day for you change so much? 

Jaehee always wondered why some people were so mean to you when were a wonderful person…

She observed you as you angrily unpacked your stuff and put took the cake out of the box you wanted to take with you.

,,Are you okay, Mc?’’ she asked you, concerned.

You hardly slapped your palm on the table and turned around.

,,NO!’’ you hissed.

Jaehee flinched at your sudden yell.

,,I DON’T UNDERSTAND HOW PEOPLE CAN BE LIKE THAT!’’ you screamed.

,,Mc…’’ Jaehee tried to calm you down.

,,First, I got asked to come, I was almost taking my bus, and I would have been on my way for three hours! Then suddenly, they just canceled a meeting we planned for two months?! And when I tell them that I’m hurt and ask them if they even want me to come, they just push me away?!

Am I some dirty toy?! Jaehee! Explain this to me please, cause I have a feeling that the world is joking with me!’’ you hissed louder.

,,Mc, please stop yelling,’’ she first said to try to calm you down.

You took a deep breath and looked at her. ,,You’re right. I’m sorry, Jaehee,’’ you apologized and suddenly the tears that were being held back by your anger finally came out.

You let your body fall into the chair behind you and burrowed your face into your palms, your elbow on the table supporting your body.

,,I… I really don’t get it… Why do things like this always happen to me?’’ you asked her.

Your girlfriend approached you and rubbed your back.

,,Mc, please don’t… don’t feel bad…’’ she begged you, actually tearing up too.

,,I… I thought that I found a new friend and suddenly they behave like this and now they don’t even respond anymore. Am I really that easy to play with?’’ you asked her and looked at her.

Jaehee felt a sharp pain in her heart when she saw you.

She quickly hugged you and rubbed your back.

,,I’m scared,’’ you cried.

,,What if I’ll never be able to be stable enough to hold a friendship for more than half a year? I’m even scared to bond with people… I should stay alone!’’ you whined louder.

,,Jaehee, back then, at school, I never had friends! I always stayed at home! I never talked to them and there I also felt bad and lonely, but right now I feel worse! I know the feeling of having friends now. I know how it feels like to go out in a group, to share a hobby, and suddenly, just when I get used to that feeling, they let go of me! What did I do wrong?!’’ you asked her, not able to calm down.

,,Mc… please, don't say that. You have me… I can be your girlfriend and your best friend. You don’t need to worry,’’ she whispered, by now her voice trembling with you.

,,I… I’m scared that you will leave me too… What if you leave me? What if you think of me as an annoying girlfriend? I… I don’t want to feel that way… I want to be happy. I’m tired of these panic attacks, I’m tired of these feelings of fear, of my heart beating like crazy, of my head feeling lightheaded, and I just want to smile! I want to be happy!’’ you sobbed.

,,You will! Soon, you will,’’ Jaehee said, crying with you by now.

,,You will find your true friends, and until that day comes, Mc, I will stay by your side, so don’t stress yourself out. I will stay here and I will never leave you. I love you and this love will never ever fade away!’’ she assured you, making you feel better.

Saeyoung

Your fiancé observed you as you checked your phone for the sixth time in a row.

Apparently you were waiting for a message.

,,Mc, can I help you?’’ he asked you, meaning to hack into that person’s phone.

You looked up from your phone and by now he noticed that you were crying.

He quickly got up and approached you.

,,It’s okay,’’ you assured him, also acquiring his brother’s attention.

,,I mean, I’m used to cutting contact, I’ve just never had people do it so suddenly… I’ll be fine again in no time!’’ you smiled.

However, this was one of your biggest lies.

Back then, Saeyoung didn’t want to stress you out, so after you stopped crying and calmed down, he went back to his place.

Days passed and Saeyoung noticed that nothing was working out for you.

You were sad, there were songs on your playlist you simply skipped because you suddenly hated them, even through you once loved them.

Saeyoung noticed that it was time to talk to you about it when he heard you sniffle while watching a video.

,,What happened? Do you wanna tell me?’’ he asked you and stroked your back.

Usually he would make fun of your red eyes or your voice, but he knew if he was to joke right now, you would break in front of his eyes.

,,I wish I could respond to this,’’ you said as you looked into his eyes.

,,My friends began to ignore me from one social media to another, blocking me from Discord, Instagram, and Facebook,’’ you said.

,,I don’t recall having done something to them. I didn’t say anything hurtful either… I just… maybe I was just annoying and they wanted to get rid of me?’’ you asked him.

Saeyoung couldn’t believe what you were telling him.

,,Mc, we both know that isn’t true…’’ he mumbled.

You sighed as more tears left your eyes.

It feels so weird. Usually we would have a phone call at this hour, but right now… I’m just lonely. I’m… it’s just me…’’ you responded.

Saeyoung hugged you tightly and stroked your head. In the same moment, he heard you crying even louder.

,,I’m just… so scared that in the future I will stay all alone… I don’t want to miss them if they can cut me out so well… Why is that? Why do I feel like this? Vulnerable, lonely, I hate these feelings!’’ you whined.

Saeyoung kept holding you and patting your head while he encouraged you. ,,Just be happy and show them that you can go on without them and that you don’t need them,’’ he told you.

You nodded. ,,I’ll need time,’’

,,Of course,’’ he agreed and pushed you away to look into your eyes.

,,You will feel like this for a long time. Tomorrow will be the same, but maybe next week you will realize how happy you are now without them and that they were just toxic,’’ he smiled.

,,You are strong, I’m here, Saeran and the RFA are here. Why do you need two more friends who don’t know about our mess?’’ he asked you and made you laugh.

,,Come on, let’s eat ice cream with Saeran. He’s worried too,’’ he smiled and helped you get up.

Saeran

Your boyfriend observed you as you sat on the opposite chair at the table.

You were totally dull. The favorite food he cooked for you to make you feel better didn’t help either as you poked into your noodles.  

,,Mc,’’ he spoke up, making you look up.

Once again, your lips were trembling. You were sad and he could see it in your teary eyes.

Even though you were going through a hard time, you managed to stay strong and not cry in front of him.

,,I know that it’s painful, but I’m here for you,’’ he told you with a smile.

You just nodded. ,,Who knows for how long…’’ you laughed and kept poking your food.

,,What do you mean?’’ he asked you and observed you. You finally let go of the tears.

,,Who knows how long you will stay here with me! I mean, if they can manage to leave me, why should you stay? You… you will ignore me soon too!’’ you snapped, letting go of your fork.

You grabbed your shirt with your right hand as you pressed the material between your fingers.

By now you were sobbing and breathing hastily.

Saeran understood immediately that you were having a panic attack and he didn’t want you to go through this pain for anything in the world.

,,Breathe. Try to breathe, Mc. I’m here, I promise. Nothing will happen to you if I’m here,’’ he whispered and approached you, pressing on your hand as you tried to stay calm.

Your tears made your vision blurry. You had the feeling that you were dying, that the world around you was crashing down, and no one loved you. You felt that everyone would leave you at some point without telling you why.

Later, when you managed to calm down. You and Saeran sat together on the soft couch with a blanket over your legs as he stroked your arm.

The music box you bought last week was playing. ,,She is in the rain’’ by The Rose, a Kpop band that was helping you manage all the negative feelings lately. 

,,I’m scared that if I find new friends, they will leave me too, so I thought it would be better to not bond,’’ you said.

Saeran nodded. ,,That sounds plausible. I would react like that too, but it won’t work,’’ he told you as he looked at you.

We all need people, friends who love and support us. For now, you think you don’t need anyone, but imagine you see something funny and take a screenshot to send it to someone. You can just delete it, but those are the times you realize how lonely you are and I don’t want you to feel like that…’’

Your teary face observed him.

,,I know,’’ you hiccuped again.

,,But I… How can I find new friends? I’m scared that the more people leave me, the more I will be in pain…’’ you explained.

,,I understand,’’ he nodded, ,,but real friends won’t leave. You didn’t leave me either back then and the RFA won’t leave. They weren’t healthy even though you loved them deeply,’’

You chuckled. ,,How do you know all this?’’ you asked him, wondering if he experienced something similar. You couldn’t imagine him being hurt like that while staying in Mint Eye.

,,You made me realize that there are real friends,’’ he smiled and kissed you.

Jihyun

,,I don’t understand how they could do that to me,’’ you hissed and put your phone with it’s display on the table.

It was 11pm now, Lucy was already asleep while Jihyun sat in bed with you.

,,And you’re sure that there weren’t any misunderstandings?’’ he asked you and rubbed your arm.

You looked up with your eyes and tried to think about everything.

,,No. We talked about children, I told them how cute Lucy was and that they should come and visit us…’’ you mumbled and took his hand.

He could feel that you were trembling.

He could see that you were scared and that you were angry and restless.

,,Maybe they will answer your messages tomorrow. Why don’t you sleep a bit?’’ he asked you and put the blanket over your body.

You nodded and laid down while hugging your husband.

He stroked your back as you turned your body towards him, your head nuzzled in his chest.

The next day, however, nothing turned out to be how you hoped it to be.

You were crying on the floor in front of your bed while Jihyun tried his best to calm you down.

,,They deleted me everywhere. They’re just ghosting me! This isn’t fair! Why do they have to leave me with these thoughts?’’ you asked him.

You tried to calm down and breathe calmly, but nothing worked.

Jihyun kept rubbing your legs to make you calm down and show you that he was by your side, but nothing seemed to help you.

You took your phone and with all your hate, you crushed the gadget on the floor, making the screen crack.

You pulled your legs towards your body as you kept crying.

,,Mc, Mc, look at me!’’ he called you, lightly shaking you and making you look deep into his eyes.

,,Stop right now. You need to stay calm. This won’t help you! Besides, it’s not worth it, okay? Now, breath with me,’’ he whispered and showed you how to calm down.

He was holding your hand firmly as he watched you breath.

,,They weren’t real friends so let them go. It’s not the first time and we both know that, but you loved them too much to realize. Now you can finally let go, okay? I know, it’s hard, you will miss them, you will have things that remind you of them, but it won’t help,’’ he whispered.

As soon as he said these words, he hugged you, making you cry into his shoulder.

,,I… went to visit them. I went there and spent so much money because they said they felt lonely. I was always there, I always responded to their calls, I always wished them a good morning, asked how they were feeling and if everything was okay…’’ you sobbed.

,,Did they ever ask you?’’ Jihyun asked you, making you hiccup.

,,I don’t want to hurt you, but you need to understand that you gave your all while they didn’t, and finally they gave you the chance to search for better friends, okay?’’ Jihyun knew that this would make you feel bad for a long time, but he also knew that you were strong.

,,I know you can do it. Now let’s get up and I will make you feel happy today, okay?’’ he asked you with a smile.

And he didn’t lie when he said that.

The both of you laid in bed the whole day and when Lucy finally came home from the school, you all ordered some food and stayed in the whole day. ,,We need some time out. Today and tomorrow we can start over again,’’ Jihyun smiled. You weren’t crying anymore and Lucy was happier than ever to spend the day with her beloved parents.

Vanderwood

Vanderwood hugged and patted your back as you cried in his embrace.

He tried to calm you down, but nothing helped as your feelings got hurt.

Your best friend just began to ignore you, blocking you everywhere without any signs.

The worst was that the both of you met in the shopping center half an hour ago. The expression on your friends face towards you was filled with so much hate that even he was surprised.

But the worst was that he couldn’t understand how you could stay their friend for such a long time.

Of course, he also knew that this situation still could hurt your feelings.

,,I… maybe I’m just a bad friend,’’ you said and looked up, looking straight into his eyes.

You were sitting on his lap as he kept trying to make you feel better.

,,You‘re not and do you know why I believe that you are the best friend ever? Because you’re the one that’s in pain. You’re here thinking about the situation. You care so you aren’t a bad friend,’’ he whispered and kissed your cold wet cheek.

,,Okay, but why did they… I don’t understand… and even though I’m so angry I’m so disappointed and… I miss them so much…’’ you sobbed.

He nodded.

,,It’s normal. You can’t forget them from one hour to another,’’ he smiled.

He hated to see you so sad and hurt.

,,I’m… just worried. Maybe it was a misunderstanding, and they’re in pain too…’’ you mumbled.

,,Then they should approach you. You tried your best, Mc, let go… they’re toxic and you will break,’’ he whispered.

You sobbed even stronger and hugged him.

,,Will you leave me too?’’ you asked him, feeling scared.

You were afraid that you were the real reason and you were scared that people would leave you, never to approach you anymore. Even worse, what if people would begin to use you?

,,I won’t ever do that,’’ he smirked, taking your chin between his fingers and pulling you to him, kissing your cold wet lips.

You were so thankful that he was here supporting you, however, the fear of losing him never left you that day.

It took a long time until you could understand that sometimes you couldn't help other people and that sometimes you just had to change your friends and let go of them.

You also had to learn that Vanderwood was the one you could really trust, because even though you were scared that he wouldn’t last more than a year with you, he showed you that he would stay with you forever.

MASTERLIST 1

MASTERLIST 2

MASTERLIST 3

30.04.2021// 22:30 MEST

[ecto-american]

Hello there! I forgot if I asked this before (my apologies if I did, I don't mean to rush you, take all the time you need), but I was wondering if you were able to possibly continue of have a part two for that one request where Star stumbled upon Sam and Danny playing bowling. I really enjoyed it, and would love to see more. Thanks!

I take prompts within reason but literally never expect me to write it within any reasonable amount of time because ho boy

The first part mentioned in the post

But why Sam? Out of all girls in town? Well, ghosts were spooky, makes sense that they’d attach themselves to goths like moths to a light. Did that mean the ghost boy hung out with a lot of local goths? No...surely at least one of them would have spilled the beans. 

Star stared off into nothing as she thought, only-half listening to her boyfriend’s commentary on the game. While she wasn’t looking at anything in particular, the popular teen couldn’t help but let her gaze fall into the loser trio’s direction. They were a few lanes down from them, bowling. Why they were in public being losers was beyond her. Especially knowing that Sam’s basement had a bowling alley.

Danny bowled, and he did an excited jump, saying something to the other losers. He had gotten a strike. This was his third one. Valerie had told her he was good at bowling, but she didn’t really ever think much about it. Her cousin was sulking, as normal for her weird, goth self. Sam glanced in her direction, and they met eyes. Star looked away to stare at her own game. Paulina was up, and as normal, she wasn’t a very good bowler. She got a gutter and was complaining to Dash about it.

Star lightly sipped a milkshake to avoid needing to reply, until Kwan finally snapped her out of her thoughts.

“Hey, Starlight? You okay?” he questioned. She glanced at him, and she shrugged.

“Just lost in thought,” she replied honestly. 

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Kwan was always such a sweetie, and Star couldn’t help but smile.

“It’s just some weird family stuff I can’t quite figure out,” she confessed. It was Kwan’s turn to steal a glance at the loser trio.

“Something happen with Sam?” he asked quietly. Kwan was the only one who knew the cousin connection, and he only knew because her parents had accidentally told him. If anybody besides Kwan, who for some reason really liked Sam, knew that she was cousins with that goth freak, her social life would be over. 

“...Sorta.” Star went back to watching them. The three had seemingly completely stopped their game, instead exchanging looks to each other.

And suddenly, they completely abandoned their game.

She didn’t even hide her confusion as she watched them simply...leave. As a group, with their game not even half over and leaving behind nothing, still in their bowling shoes, collectively going towards the back door. Where were they going? They had to be coming back, Sam would have never dared to leave her favorite pair of boots behind. 

Kwan noticed too.

“What’s up with them?” he asked. 

“I have no idea,” she mused. She stood up. “I’m going to go see. Just bowl for me if you want, or Dash can.”

“Gotcha!” Kwan nodded. “Let me know if you need help.”

“I can handle a goth,” Star lightly joked, smiling as she began to make her way towards them.

Sam was the last in line to exit out the back door, but she had seen Star coming for her, and she paused. She turned to her friends, saying something Star couldn’t make out before shutting the door on them. Sam turned to stare at Star as she approached, frowning.

“What the fuck is with you?” Sam demanded to know the second Star was close enough. “You’ve been super weird since Saturday. You actually texted me. You never text me.”

“Well yeah,” Star scoffed, crossing her arms. “I saw you and Phantom bowling together, and now you’re here? Bowling again?”

“Will you stop that?” Sam grumbled. Her hands went to her hips. “I was home alone all Saturday until you and Aunt Rene showed up. Nothing happened. Stop spreading false rumors just because you need a popularity boost in your prep crowd.”

“I don’t need anything from you,” Star replied. “Besides the truth I mean. Something’s going on. I wanna know what it is.” 

“Nothing’s going on,” Sam argued. “Why are you so hung up on this?”

“Because I know I saw something! I heard something!” Star insisted. She jumped, and Sam flinched as a loud crashing noise came from above. 

Star jerked her head to the ceiling, but saw nothing. She glanced at Sam, seeing her cousin stare worriedly above. It was obviously ghosts, any Amity Park resident could tell you that much. 

...Is that why Sam and her friends were eager to go? To see the ghosts? How did they know that there was a ghost fight going on before anybody else? That had to mean that her weird loser friends knew Phantom too. But Fenton’s parents hunted ghosts, didn’t they? They were the weirdos in town that wore jumpsuits everywhere. Maybe they had a tracker device? 

“We should leave,” Star spoke up. “Ghosts are dangerous.” She could have sworn that she saw Sam roll her eyes.

“I’m sure it’s fine,” Sam just seemed to brush off the danger. There were hard thuds on the ceiling, making the room shake, and Star flinched. 

“That doesn’t sound fine,” Star frowned. 

Sam opened her mouth to reply, only for the ceiling to completely collapse as a ghost rammed inside. Star flew back a few feet from the impact, doing a roll as she was only stopped by the railing that separated the main floor from the bowling lanes. All the lights had gone out, and she could hear people scrambling for the exit. 

She looked up to see a full black ghost with its hands around Phantom’s neck, pressing him into the ground. Phantom kicked the ghost off, blasting him with some kind of green energy she had seen him use several times before the ghost screeched in pain, letting go of him and slithering off into the darkness of the bowling alley. 

“Are you okay?” Phantom’s voice asked, and Star immediately panicked. Sam.

She rushed over to see Phantom phasing Sam out from under some rubble, moving her away a few feet behind the bowling shoes counter. Star fell to her knees next to them. Sam looked dirty and had a few immediate scraps and bruises that began to form. Her foot was the worst. She couldn’t tell so much in the dark, but Star knew something was off. 

“I got her,” Star assured the ghost. He looked at her, almost...quizzingly. “She’s my cousin, I’ll ride with her to the hospital and call Aunt Pam.” 

Phantom blinked in absolute awe, glancing between her and the goth with disbelief. Well, it probably was kind of hard to believe. They were nothing alike. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it. Why was he so hung up on that? 

“Wait, what?” 

Sam scowled, grabbing Phantom by the collar and yanking him to her.

“Danny, go stop the damn ghost already!” she snapped at him. Danny? Oh, right. Danny Phantom. So weird that Fenton and Phantom shared a name. Well, Danny wasn’t that uncommon. They had several Dannys in their grade. 

Phantom broke out of his stupor, and he nodded. He took her hand off him, and he lightly squeezed it. Like they knew each other. It was subtle, but Star saw the touch and that brief look of intimate concern for her. 

“Get out,” he spoke to Star, and he soon jumped over the counter, and back into the action.

Star watched his leap, before she returned to Sam. With Phantom gone, Sam seemed to finally break a little. She had tears in her eyes now, and she gave a hard sniffle as she tried to not openly cry. Family rivalry was brushed aside, and Star leaned in to hug her. Surprisingly, one of Sam’s arms wrapped around her in a light hug back.

“Come on,” Star said quietly. She let go, and she got to her knees, staying squatted next to her cousin. Sam stared at her, lip quivering.

“I’m not going to be able to walk,” she complained quietly. 

Another glance at the injury, and well, yeah. No way Sam was walking on that kind of a twisted ankle. 

“It’s okay,” Star soothed. “I’ll help.”

Star glanced around, seeing the ghost fight finally be taken out of the bowling alley and back outside. The emergency exit they were by before was completely blocked, and several lanes had been torn up. But at least it was ghost-free from the immediate looks of it. 

She sighed with relief, standing up before holding her hands out to Sam. She pulled Sam to her foot, quickly shifting as they put their arms around each other’s shoulder. Sam leaned into her, and Star wrapped her arm around her waist, and they began to slowly make their way out, staying hugged along the wall. 

“Star! Sam!” The girls snapped their head towards Kwan, who had rushed up to them. He looked a bit disheveled, mostly dirty more than anything else, and he was glancing at them, concerned. “Are you guys hurt?” 

“Sam hurt her ankle pretty bad,” Star explained. Kwan glanced down, and he paled a bit. 

“It looks bad,” he replied bluntly. Star glanced down, seeing the injury truly in better light. Kwan was right. It did look bad. She didn’t realize until now that Sam was actually bleeding from her ankle too, and that the blood was on her cousin’s tights as well as some on Star’s pants. “Here, let me.”

Kwan shifted to pick Sam up bridal style, and Star immediately rushed for the door to open it for him. Kwan carried her with ease outside, where police cars were already pulling up. Star waved an officer down as he was exiting his car.

“We need an ambulance!” she called out. The officer just nodded, speaking into his radio as he came over.

“What’s the damage?” the officer asked. 

“My ankle,” Sam replied, lightly lifting up the injured foot in question. Now in the full bright light of the day, Star was absolutely sure that it was broken. The boot hid her foot, but it was at an odd angle that feet just didn’t bend at. 

“Come over here,” the officer instructed. He motioned for them to follow him as he took a few steps back towards a bench. “Set her down here.” 

Kwan did just that, with the officer’s help, putting Sam sitting down on the bench. Sam gave a small groan of pain as her foot brushed against the ground as she was transferred.

“Did you call your parents yet?” the officer asked. Sam shook her head no.

“I’ll call them,” Star promised. The officer nodded.

“Star, please call Grandma Ida,” Sam pleaded. Star glanced at her. “Mom’ll flip out.”

“I’ll see if I can reach Grandma first,” Star promised. She pulled her phone out, scrolling for her contact, and she rang up their grandma.

She answered, and Star quickly filled her in on the details, even though her mind was still thinking back to Sam and Phantom. Things were still way too weird. They way they looked at each other, Phantom’s reaction to the family connection. They knew each other. Star just knew it.

[imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl]

The Perfect Bad Boy (Pt. 15 of 18)

Pairing: Billy Hargrove X Reader

Word count: 3 K

Summary: Working as a lifeguard in the Hawkins Community Pool, you try to fit in after moving from New York. Things were going pretty well when you notice you've been under someone's stare. Billy Hargrove, Hawkins' bad boy, has been staring at you since day one. You never intended to have anything to do with him, judging by the reputation he has. But Billy won't leave you alone, determined to show you his feelings are different this time...

As if your heart flooding you with confusing feelings wasn't enough, there are weird, strange animals lurking in the woods... But those have to be just part of the wild live of the woods surrounding Hawkins... Right?

<- Previous part (14)

Next part (16) ->

{Stranger Things Masterlist}

×

Missing

There are seven holes. Seven. But they aren't seven different nests, they're tunnels, with seven openings to the surface of the Earth. You only know that because Eleven spent the whole night focused on finding them, seated in the living room of Joyce's place, a piece of fabric covering her eyes. The map from before remained on the floor beside her, and she reached out to draw where the tunnels reach. You barely had any sleep, just the pair of hours you slept with your head on Billy's shoulder, seated on the couch, but someone's voice woke you up.

Relief fills your heart when the morning comes. During the night, you could only think about those things lurking around. After a quick shower, and using one of Eleven's shirt, you go to the kitchen and decide to have breakfast there, where you can be alone. Eating a bowl of cereal, you run a hand through your hair, trying to understand how are you going back to the pool today and act like none of this is happening.

“Hey, princess,” Billy says, coming into the kitchen. Hair is still wet and wearing only his jacket. “Are you ok?”

“I'm trying to be.” Pushing the bowl away, you watch as he makes himself the same meal you had. “Wondering how am I going to work today.”

“Wanna stay here? I can tell Anthony that you're sick. If he even shows up.”

“No. It'll be worse if I stay.” You're confused, not sure what's the best or what's worse. But at least in the pool you'll have something normal going on.

“Hey, you two,” Joyce says as she comes in. Her voice gets your attention, and when you look at her after exchanging a glance with Billy, you see that Hopper is right behind her, arms crossed and eyebrows furrowed together. “How are you two doing?”

“Uhm... Good.” It sounds like a question. Joyce sits at the table, with Hopper standing behind her. He has the chief face on, and you have no idea why. “Everything alright? Are we in trouble or something?” Gesturing at you and Billy, and cross your legs, an eye on the clock because you'll still need to stop by home to get the swimsuit.

“No, of course not. It's just that the kids were talking about something and–”

“Are you two living together?" Hopper speaks up, swallowing Joyce's words. She gives him a hard stare, and there's some kind of conversation going on through facial expressions that you can't understand.

“Yes.” You answer, not sure why you're in this situation in the first place. You feel like you're having the talk with Diane all over again. Diane. You have to call her, just to make sure everything is alright. “Why?”

“There were some rumors running around that–”

“That Billy Hargrove got some chick pregnant.” Hopper again. But this time Joyce slaps his arm.

“We agreed you'd let me do this.” She whispers.

“Then just get to the damn point.” He snaps back.

With wide eyes, you look at Billy. He doesn't seem bothered by this, peacefully eating his cereal. There's a smile on his lips that he tries to hold back, but you know him far too well now. You can see it. He's having fun.

“Look, guys, Uhm... These rumors started after I fainted on the pool, but it was from heat exhaustion, so...” Deciding to just end whatever this is, you speak up, kicking Billy's leg and whispering to him. “Say something.”

“(Y/N), honey, do your parents know about that?”

This makes you laugh, but then you remember Joyce doesn't know about your relationship, or better saying, the lack of it. “No, and I don't plan on doing that. But my aunt Diane does.”

“And she allowed it?” Hopper takes his time pronouncing every word as if this is absurd. “You're lucky you're not my daughter.”

“Hopper, just...” Joyce mumbles, her voice fading. “We just wanted to make sure you guys are... You know... Going somewhere with this. Living together is something really big and important to do.”

“I'll only say two things.” Billy finally makes his presence known, getting up and throwing his bowl in the sink. “First of all, I'm planning on marrying (Y/N). Second, we better go now or we'll be late. Again.”

There's a weird buzz in your ears as Billy takes your hand and starts pulling you with him. Joyce and Hopper have wide eyes, mouth half-open, in shock. You're not that different, and all your body is able to do is keep following Billy outside and to his car. You're silently looking through the window as he drives, but you're doing that on purpose, just to get back at him for saying that out of the blue.

“Aren't you gonna say anything?” He asks parking in front of the house.

“Absolutely not.” Stepping out of the car, you don't wait for him, heading inside. “If you really wanna do what you said, I'll patiently wait until you propose, Hargrove.” Turning around just enough to wink at him, you bite back a smile.

You're quick to get ready and manage not to be late. The song is blasting when Billy pulls over on his parking spot, and the moment the song is gone, you hear the chattering, noticing three police cars.

Your heart skips a beat when you leave the car, taking a deep breath. “Hey,” Billy calls, taking your hand. “Let's check what happened before jumping to conclusions, ok?”

“Ok.” Holding his arm, you move to the entrance, where a small crowd gathers. Hopper is here, and by the messy way of his clothes, he had to run over here. He immediately notices you and Billy, a sad look on his face. And that's when you see Monica, running a hand through her hair, tears glistening on her cheeks.

“Mon?” Calling, you let go of Billy and runs to her. Monica breaks a little bit when she sees you, and you're quick to hug her. “Mon, what happened?”

“It's Jason. My cousin is missing, (Y/N).” She cries on your shoulder, and you close your eyes tight because the first thing that comes to your head is probably what got him. The Demodogs. “He went out yesterday to buy dinner a-and his mom called mine saying he was taking long and...” You pull away, holding her hands. “...that was early evening yesterday. And he's still missing. The family spent the whole night looking for him and–”

“Mon, I'm sure we'll find him.” It's hard to lie. It's even harder not to break down in front of her. “Maybe he felt bad and fainted or something like that. We'll find him.”

“I hope so.”

“I'll drive you home, ok? Billy can keep the pools safe for one day.”

When she nods, drying off some tears, you make your way over him, who's talking to Hopper. He probably already knows, but you try to keep a straight face.

“Come here, princess.” He opens his arms and you don't even hesitate, hugging him tightly. “I'm so sorry. But we'll find him. The party is already aware of everything.” Whispering on my ear, Billy places a kiss on the top of your hair.

“I...” Getting rid of the single tear that escaped your efforts to hold it back, you pull away. “I'll take her home, she's very shaken. Can you just keep an eye–”

“Keep an eye on the kids, of course.” He bends over to kiss you, and your arms, almost automatically, move to be around his neck. “I'll pick you up after work, ok? I love you.”

“I love you.” It still makes you blush to hear those words, but you absolutely love to say it back. After one last kiss, you part ways.

Monica talks as you drive to her place, sharing memories with her cousin. Some of them you already know, but you don't stop her, laughing and making silly comments, trying to keep her mind away from the fact that Jason is missing.

Your mind also starts remembering. Obviously, you didn't have all the time around Jason that Monica had, but he was one of the first people you met when you got here. He's always smiling, carrying his siblings around, always complaining, but always happy to be with them. Jason is funny, even when he's the only one who actually gets his jokes.

Jason is missing.

Demidogs need a lot of food. An almost 6 feet tall male human has a lot of meat.

Shaking your head lightly, you push these thoughts away. No breaking down now. Monica needs you strong, to keep her strong too. Her family is either at Jason's or still looking, so you're alone. Both of you stay seated on her bed, and you give her your shoulder when she starts crying again. He's gone for one night and she's already losing it... If anything bad happens...

Her parents return home a couple of hours later, thankful to you for taking her back home. You drag her into the living room, turning the TV on this random movie and trying to convince her to pay some attention. You can hear her parents in the kitchen, making lunch, but you also hear when her mother cries, the low, cracking voice as she talks to her husband. It's getting hard by the minute to stay here, pretending you don't know what probably happened, but if you cry, if you start doubting Jason is ok, Monica will break apart.

A knock on the door, an unusually loud and frenetic knock, gets your attention. Looking over your shoulder, you see as Monica's father goes to answer it.

“Hi. Is (Y/N) here?” You hear a feminine voice, and you soon recognize it's Nancy.

Excusing yourself, you get up. “Yes, she's–”

“Hey.” You go to the front door, seeing Nancy and two cars in the sidewalk, many eyes looking at you. “Something wrong?”

“Sorry, but we need you. Uhm... Maxine is sick. We need to have a doctor check on her.”

“What?” You exclaim, running a hand through your hair. “Mon.” Calling her, you quickly make your way back to the living room. “I'm so sorry, but Maxine is feeling ill, I have to go. But I promise I'll call you later, ok?”

“Sure. Go help.” She says, nodding and clearing her throat since her voice is all clouded by her crying.

“Stay calm, honey. Jason is alright, I'm sure.” Another lie. You shouldn't make promises you don't know if you can keep. Giving her a quick hug, you run outside, muttering a goodbye to Mon's father as Nancy does the same.

“We'll go looking for him.” She says in a low voice as you move toward the cars. “We don't stand still when shit happens.”

Her choice of words makes you raise your eyebrows. You never heard her saying anything like that. “Thanks.” Muttering, you seat shotgun in Steve's car as she goes to Jonathan's. There are four kids on the back seat, fighting for some more space. You're happy to see Max is alright. For a moment, you thought she was really sick.

You park in the woods, and there are already some people here. Everyone but Hopper, because he has to be in the official search party, and Billy. God, you wish Billy was here.

“Alright, let's do this,” Mike says, and he freely starts separating you in groups. “Eleven and Will with me. Lucas, Jonathan, and Robin. Uhm... Max, Steve, and (Y/N). Joyce–”

“Why are you messing up the groups, man. I wanna go with Max.” Lucas complains and Mike rolls his eyes. “Groups of four, as usual.”

“Since when?”

“Alright, just gather in groups, c'mon, guys,” Joyce says, eyeing both her kids until they go to stand by her side, alongside Nancy.

You move to stand with Max and Lucas, and after playing rock, paper, scissors with Robin, Steve comes to your group. You raise your eyebrows at him, trying to get why they had to use that method to choose a group. “Nobody wants to be with these two lovebirds.” He says when he's close enough.

“That's something I can understand.” There's no doubt Max and Lucas are into each other, but they're constantly fighting. It's funny to watch, actually.

“Let's get started then, guys. Be careful, pay attention to the radios, and let's find Jason.” Joyce announces, taking over Hopper's role in this.

And everyone starts moving, each group in a different direction. You're going to the holes first, just to check, and then you'll cover a specific area. Max and Lucas are once again responsible for the map and walk a couple of feet ahead.

“Hey. Take this.” Steve gets your attention, taking the bat from his backpack and handing it over to you. “I know Jason was a close friend of yours. Sorry this happened.”

“Yeah.” You lay the bat over your shoulder, careful not to entangle your hair in the nails. “I really thought it couldn't get any worse but life proved me wrong.”

“I remember when Will went missing. I was a total jerk back then so I didn't really care.” You glance over to Steve, and he has an apologetic look on his face. “They found the body and there was a funeral. But the body was fake and Will was fine in the end.”

“Someone should make a movie out of that story.” You mumble, taking a deep breath. “Do you think Jason could be in the... Upside Down?”

“No. According to Eleven, no portals were open. The Demodogs just made these woods into their new home and are doing what it takes to survive.” Through the corner of your eyes, you see when he almost slips, opening his arms slightly to regain balance. “Don't laugh.” He says, but you're already chuckling. “Anyway, wherever he is, he's here.”

“Why don't we tell Eleven to just use her powers and find him. Wouldn't it be easier?”

“These woods are huge. And we usually just do that when it's the last resource.” Lucas answers.

“We don't like pushing her. It always brings back sad memories.”

That's something you can understand perfectly. “We do it the old way then.” You've seen how complicated it is. Eleven's nose wouldn't stop bleeding while she was figuring out the tunnels, and after while blood came out of her ears too. As much as you want to find Jason, you'd never ask her or the party to do something just so you'd feel better. They're in it far longer than you, so you trust them to make the decisions and set the pace. “I just hope he's alright. He's Monica's cousin, and she's worried to death.”

“Yeah, I get that.” It doesn't go unnoticed how Steve doesn't make false promises as you did with Monica. He doesn't say he's ok, that you'll find him. Running a hand through your hair, you take a deep breath, confused between having hopes or just expecting the worse. “So, changing the subject.” He speaks again. “You and Hargrove. I never thought Billy would actually fall in love.”

A smile comes to your lips, and you're thankful for having something else to think about. “Yeah. It took a while for me to believe that but he... He worked hard.” Involuntary, your hand goes for the necklace, fingers playing with the earring.

“Joyce and Hopper were saying something about marriage...” It sounds like a question, and you give Steve a glance, giggling. “They were trying not to let anyone hear them but Hopper doesn't really know how to whisper.”

By the heat spreading through your cheeks, you know you're blushing. Could it be real? Would Billy marry you? Is he really considering such a thing? “We spoke about it, Uhm... Twice, I think. But not a real conversation, he just spilled it out.”

“Holy shit, he's going serious with you then.” He playfully elbows your arm. By what you've seen and by what Max told you, Steve usually grows protective of everyone since he joined the party, and you think it's cute. He's like everyone's babysitter. “Send me an invitation, would you?”

“I will.”

“You–”

Maxine's yell cuts him short, getting your attention as you notice you have fallen behind. Immediately, you and Steve start running towards then.

“Man, that's...” Lucas says as Max hugs him, eyes tightly shut.

You're about to ask them what the hell happened when you follow Lucas' scared stare.

It's a weird sensation when you're brain refuses to take in the information. When your eyes, focused on something, are blind. And your ears are deaf and the wind blowing doesn't touch your skin. It's like you're not there.

Jason's body is stuck between a big rock and a dead tree. His torso is opened up, and there's nothing inside.

As there's nothing inside Jason anymore. He's empty. Body and soul. There will be no laughter leaving his lips, no more jokes, no more arms to carry his baby siblings around. Nothing. Just flesh and bones, both ripped apart.

“(Y/N).” You're sure it's not the first time you hear someone calling your name, but you're not even sure where it comes from.

You only move when an arm pulls you, and you feel it around you. “We have to go. C'mon.” Steve says, and, far and distant, you hear static, and voices, coming from the radio. “(Y/N).”

“I need Billy.” It's the only thing that comes to your head, and you find a way to force the words out of your throat.

“Alright, let's go,” Steve says, and you're only set on motion because of his arm around your shoulders.

Everything is a blur. You notice people moving around, and some of them come to hug you as they start regrouping near the cars. Nodding and thanking their kind words, you remain silent, arms crossed, the image still burning in your brain.

Jason's rib cage broken open, the blood staining his clothes and the ground around him. His head twisted in an awkward way, neck probably disconnected from the body.

“Let's get moving. She wants to talk to Billy.”

“The pool will close in an hour. Take her home.”

“No, she's scaring me. We need to take her to Billy.” Max intervenes, and Steve pulls you to his car. You let Max seat shotgun, feeling better in the backseat where you can curl into a ball, knees pressed against your chest as the landscape passes by.

It reminds you the first time you saw that thing. You were trying to beat Billy, driving back to your place. Maybe, if you had gone to the police station the next day, let them know something was out there, you could've avoided this. But who would believe you? You didn't believe it either. What are you going to tell Monica? After saying things would be ok, that they would find Jason alive and well when you knew being out in the woods all night long probably meant he'd become Demodog's meal.

You knew it, yet you lied. Vain hope is the worst kind of hope, and that's what you gave her.

“(Y/N).” Steve gets your attention, touching your shoulder. “We're at the pool.”

Blinking a few times to wake up from the stupor, you bolt out of the car, making your way to the entrance. It's crowded today, but you don't see faces, you just see obstacles.

It finally starts kicking in.

You went to find Jason, and you did. But instead of the dear friend you so easily grew to love, you found a dead, empty corpse. The tears threat to overflow as you rudely bump into people, making your way through the pool. At a distance, you see the moment Billy finally notices the commotion, his eyes quick to find you. By the way his face changes, the way he takes off his sunglasses and jumps to the ground, shoving people out of his way, you must be looking terrible.

But you don't care. Billy is everything you need, the only thing you see and you know you can break down in his arms. You just need to reach him, and when you do, you collapse against his chest, not able to hold back the tears anymore, the sobs building up your throat as you hold onto him.

“I'm so sorry,” Billy mumbles in your ear. He knows. How could he not?

You suddenly feel him lifting you up, and you hide your teary face on the crook of his neck. Seconds later you're at the locker room, and Billy screams for the other girls to get out as he puts you down, seated on one of the benches.

“I'm so sorry, (Y/N).” He repeats, kneeled before you, thumbs coming to dry off some tears, just to make space for more.

“I saw him. H-he was all eaten, Billy. His body was-his body was wide open and everything was gone–”

“Stop, stop.” He begs, pulling you into a hug. “You don't have to tell me, not now.” Nodding, you take in his scent, feeling safe, secure, despite the terror creeping under your skin. “I'll take you home, ok?”

“No.” You mutter, pulling away just enough so you're foreheads are touching. You don't know what comes to you, but this has to be said. This feeling has to be let out. Not after, not tomorrow. Now. Maybe it's the fact that you saw death for the very first time. You just need to let him know “You're my home.”

×

@chloe-skywalker @dpaccione @dreamin-of-dacre @funeral-7 @uncookspaget @youhavemyfantasticbeasts @halloweenbitch2764 @redlovett @multific @shinydixon @nikkixostan @clockworkballerina @nope-thanks

[obeyme-kaidii-writes]

Family

Leviathan x gn!MC

Words - 3215

Content warnings - angst, family issues, lots of comfort, a sprinkling of humor

Prompt/Inspiration - none

Summary -  Levi learns why you didn’t want him to meet your family.

AO3

Family had always been a bit of a sore subject for Levi. He may have 6 brothers that he would have been willing to do anything for - die for, if it came to it - but he still felt like the odd one out. The black sheep.

Asmodeus had Satan. Belphie had Beel. And Lucifer was well, Lucifer. And even if Mammon was easily the most picked on of them all, he still frequently hung out with Asmo and did whatever it was that normies do when they go out.

But for Levi? He was largely just left to his own devices.

At least, that was before you came. Now that you were here, he found himself able to spend more time with his brothers. And you helped him find common ground so he could share his interests with them too. Mammon in particular had gotten a lot closer to him and hung out with him far more frequently. Levi was still the undisputed otaku in the family...but Mammon? Well, he had his moments.

When Levi found out you would be going to the human realm to visit your family, he was curious. His only experience with human families came from his anime and manga that he’d import to the Devildom, so he wanted to see how close those things were to reality. At least that’s what he told you. You were skeptical about his motives. And also concerned about the whole “meeting people” thing - but he assured you if it was just your parents, he could manage.

You initially told him that you thought it best that you go alone, but after seeing how hurt he was you quickly changed your mind. It wasn’t that you didn’t want your family to meet Levi, you weren’t trying to hide him. But you didn’t want him to meet them . They just weren’t the sort of people you wanted to spend much time with. To put it simply, it was a miracle that you turned out as well as you did.

The only reason that you were going back at all was because Lord Diavolo insisted. He thought it would be a wonderful idea. The next step in bringing harmony to the realms. The human exchange student and their demon boyfriend. You tried to explain to him that your family was not the understanding and accepting sort, but he was confident that if you could win Lucifer over, some humans shouldn’t be a problem at all. Totally ignoring the fact that you had already spent the majority of your life with these people and had not had any progress thus far.

You had tried your best to manage Levi’s expectations. You didn’t want to make him too anxious about the visit but you also didn’t want him to get caught completely off guard either. You briefly considered giving him a list of subjects to avoid, just so he didn’t draw anymore attention to himself than necessary. But you knew that wouldn’t be fair to him, and he was self conscious enough as it was - you didn’t want him thinking you were embarrassed to be seen with him.

As you pulled into the driveway of your family home, you stole a glance at Levi. He was white as a sheet and bouncing his leg up and down nervously, taking deep breaths to calm himself. You reached out and gently placed your hand on his own that was resting on his leg. He jumped a little, having gotten a bit lost in his thoughts, but soon gave your hand a squeeze in return.

“Maybe this was a bad idea…” he said.

“You really don’t have to, you know. We could just hide out in a hotel and tell Lord Diavolo everything went great…”

“No! I-I-I want to do this.”

You gave Levi a small smile. You really had to appreciate how hard he was trying. He wanted to impress you. This was supposed to be what boyfriends did, right? Visit their partner’s family? Bond with their father over drinks? Win the heart of their mother with his gentlemanly demeanor? He could do that. He was sure. He had to do it. Levi wanted to stay in your life for a long, long time, and this was the next logical step, wasn’t it?

“Alright, but if it gets to be too crazy for you, just let me know.”

He nodded, smiling back at you and giving your hand another squeeze before climbing out of the car. As you two walked hand in hand up the driveway, you started to notice that something wasn’t quite right. There was a new car in the driveway you didn’t recognize, for starters. And you heard the raised voices of a rather large group of people talking. By the time you reached the front door, you were positive there wasn’t just your parents here.

“Umm Levi, I really…” you had started to explain to him your suspicions, when the front door suddenly opened and your mother greeted you, arms open wide.

“OH MY BABY! YOU'RE HOME! I watched you walking up the driveway but I just couldn’t WAIT!”

Levi watched in horror as this woman wrapped you up in a tight hug, screeching out a greeting that made his skin crawl and his blood run cold. Why did she have to be so... loud ? It didn’t take long before she had released you and finally turned her sights on him. He gulped as he prepared for his introduction, but thankfully, she was much more reserved this time.

“Well ain’t you just the cutest thing,” she cooed, pinching his cheek, “You must be Levi, right? C’mon in the both of y’all. The family is in the backyard while Daddy is working on the grill. We’re having barbecue tonight!”

“The family…? No, Mom, you didn’t…”

“Oh hush. We haven’t seen you in forever! Of course we had to invite the rest of the family. It’s not like we ever know when we’re gonna see you again…”

For a brief, fleeting moment Levi had started to think maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all. Your mother was loud and shrill...but she seemed nice enough. She called him cute, after all. But when he turned to look at you after learning that the “rest” of your family had been invited, his smile started to waver. You looked like you were about to cry one minute, and then like you were ready to spit hellfire the next. For all the headaches he and his brothers had caused you - he had never seen you this upset before.

Eventually you plastered a smile on your face and accepted your fate, reminding yourself that they hadn’t done anything yet. Maybe they would behave for once and there wouldn’t be a repeat of The Holidays ‘09™️ where half your family ended up at the local urgent care clinic before the night was out because someone decided a food fight with flaming marshmallows was a good idea. (And it had quickly progressed to much more than marshmallows on fire)

You adjusted your grip on Levi’s hand, lacing your fingers together, determined to not let him get separated from you, and followed after your mother through the house. Levi gave your hand a small squeeze, in his own attempt to reassure you, because as perfect as your fake smile was, there was no hiding just how tense you were. You turned to look at him giving him a small, genuine smile before mouthing, “I’m sorry,” as you stepped outside into the yard.

————

To your great surprise, things really weren’t that bad at first. You walked around and introduced Levi to the various cousins and aunts and uncles that had arrived, and everyone had been mostly polite and courteous. He looked a little worn out, but nothing like you had imagined. You were also able to keep him safely by your side, so there weren’t any opportunities for your more mischievous family members to cause trouble. By the time the food was ready, you were starting to let your guard down a tiny bit.

And that, you would soon learn, was a grave mistake.

Your family had gathered around the large picnic table in the backyard, and lunch was being served. You had managed to get a seat near the end so Levi was not sandwiched in between you and your family members, and the rowdier of your cousins were seated at the further end, far away from the two of you. You were listening to your family chat, occasionally exchanging touches and smiles with Levi to check in with him, when the conversation suddenly shifted to you.

“So dear,” your mother started, “when are you going to get serious about getting married?”

“Pardon…?!” you choked out, as you desperately grabbed for the glass of water in front of you to clear your throat.

“Yeah hun, you’re coming to that age when you should start thinking about your family. You need to start looking for a suitable partner,” one of your aunts chimed in.

Your face flushed scarlet, and you felt your stomach flip, “I’m good. I already have a boyfriend. I’m not looking for another,” you finally managed to answer, hoping to make it sound like there was no room for argument.

Your mother, however, did not take the hint.

“Do you mean him dear? He’s very cute but he doesn’t exactly look like the responsible type.”

“Hey son, what’s it you doing for a living?”, your father asked, leveling his gaze on Levi, who had been trying to ignore the conversation.

You felt Levi flinch beside you and you shifted so you were sitting just a little bit closer to him, your legs now pressing together. Oh how much you wished you could have just grabbed him and run right now. You were so stupid for doing this. Arrogant even, for thinking things were going to be fine with you there to deflect the awkward questions.

“Dad, that’s really not something we need to talk about right now.”

“Mind your father,” your mother warned, “Let the poor boy answer.” All eyes then focused on Levi, waiting for his response.

In that moment, Levi really wished he could just turn invisible. He hadn’t taken his eyes off his own plate yet, but he could feel everyone else staring at him. He felt you shift closer to him, and while he did appreciate the reassuring touch from you, it did nothing to quell the anxiety bubbling up in his stomach.

“Umm...I’m...a...I’m a Devil...errr...YouTuber…”

“A what now?”

“A YouTuber. He makes videos of gameplay and walkthroughs, things like that. He’s really good at it too,” you explained, smiling at Levi, hoping that your little bit of encouragement would help soothe his nerves.

“Well hun, that ain’t a real job.”

“Your mother’s right. You need to find someone with a stable career that will be able to contribute to your family. You don’t want to be stuck carin’ for a mooch, like your Auntie Tammy do ya?”, your father asked, followed by snickers from your cousins at the jab towards your conspicuously absent aunt.

“I’m fine. That’s between me and Levi.”

“You can’t really be serious, dear.”

“I am.”

“Hahaha, but he looks like such a dweeb!”, cackled one of your cousins, from the very same rowdy bunch of cousins you had tried best to avoid all evening.

“Watch it,” you snapped, tightening your grip on Levi’s hand. This was going downhill. And fast.

“Don’t talk to your cousin that way.”

“I’m uhh...I’m going to the bathroom…” Levi mumbled as he stood up and made a hasty retreat inside the house, having finally had enough of your family’s judgmental looks and insults.

“And you wonder why I don’t come by very often…”

“Now hold on, what is that supposed to mean?” your mother asked.

“It means, y’all are a rude bunch of assholes and I’d rather chew glass than sit through another meal with you.”

And cue your mother’s crocodile tears.

“Look what you did! Apologize to your mother now!” your father said, his tone sharper than it had been before, as he struggled to maintain his composure.

“Sure, after you apologize to me and my boyfriend.”

“Apologize for what? We just want what’s best for you. Why can’t you see that?” your mom said, sniffling and dabbing at her eyes with a napkin.

“Because we’ve had this conversation a thousand times. You don’t approve of my choices. You’ve mocked every partner of mine that’s had the misfortune of meeting you. And frankly, I’d rather be living in hell than spend another moment here.”

And with that you stood up, ignoring the shouts and your mothers sobs as you went on the hunt for Levi, whom you were sure was not going to be returning to the table anytime soon. When you finally found him, he had taken refuge in the small upstairs bathroom, hoping that anyone who may be looking to use the restroom would go to the downstairs one first and leave him undisturbed.

“Levi?” you knocked on the door, “Can I come in?” You heard some sniffing and shuffling around before the door finally opened, revealing a very red faced Levi who was trying (and failing) to hide behind his bangs. You quickly slipped inside, locking the door behind you. When you turned back to Levi, he was sitting on top of the large bathroom vanity, his feet dangling over the edge, and you didn’t waste another minute going to him and wrapping your arms around his neck, as he slipped his around your waist.

“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry,” you said, over and over again as you hugged him, “They’re a bunch of angry, miserable people. Please don’t listen to them.”

Levi pulled you closer, burying his face in the crook of your neck. He took a deep breath, inhaling your scent, and trying to distract himself from his chaotic thoughts. This was not how today was supposed to go. It was supposed to be his chance to get to know your parents, but from the moment your mother answered the door things had started to go south. Why hadn’t he listened to you when you suggested spending the day in hiding?

And what was going to happen now? Was this it? Did this really mean there was no future for you and him? Of course there wouldn’t be one. He was foolish to have ever thought there could be. Your parents weren’t wrong when they said he didn’t have a real job. And what did he even know about supporting a human family anyways? Why did he think he’d be able to take care of you at all? You probably wanted someone who knew what they were doing. Not someone who you’d end up caring for.

“I love you so much. Please don’t listen to them. Please.”

“...they’re not wrong though...I...I don’t have a real job…”

“Levi, look at me,” you said, pulling back slightly and taking his face in your hands, gently turning him to look at you, “You’re one of seven demon lords of the Devildom, Grand Admiral of The Hell’s Navy. I think you’re ok in the job and prestige department.” You smiled at him, and he gave you a small, weak smile in return.

“Even my family would have been impressed with that if I could have told them,” you teased, before leaning forward and pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek, “Besides, there is nothing wrong with being a You...DevilTuber anyways. You’re good at it, and you enjoy it. That’s all that matters.”

“You’re not worried about being stuck with your loser boyfriend who uses up all your time and money for his failed hobbies and selfish interests and…”

“No, Levi. I’m not worried about that. For starters, I don’t even have a loser boyfriend,” you said, this time kissing Levi softly on his lips, “I have a very talented boyfriend whom I’m very proud of.”

Levi blushed at your compliment before pulling you closer and resting his head on your shoulder. This day sucked. He was exhausted. And he really just wanted to go home and go to sleep. But at least you were here with him, and hadn’t left him alone to deal with the pack of wolves that was your family.

“Are they always like that?”

“My family?” you asked, wrapping your arms around Levi’s neck again and kissing the top of his head, “Yeah. Pretty much. That’s why I don’t see them often.”

He finally understood why you had been so anxious about this whole trip, and why you stayed glued to his side the entire afternoon. You weren’t worried about him embarrassing you or himself - you were worried about your vicious relatives attacking your boyfriend. How many other friends and partners of yours had they mistreated? he wondered.

“I thought since you were so nice, they couldn’t be that bad…”

“Pffft. No. They definitely could be that bad. It’s said that kids can go one of two ways - they either turn out just like their parents, or the complete opposite and use their parents as the blueprint for everything they don’t want to be in life.

I am obviously part of the latter category.”

“Good.”

You laughed at Levi’s reply, glad he seemed to be feeling a little bit better. His head was still resting on your shoulder and you could tell he had reached his threshold for human interaction for the next decade, at least. You started to comb your fingers through his hair, snuggling him close. Levi’s arms tightened around you, letting more of his weight rest on you as he started to relax.

“So, do you want to go ahead and go back to the Devildom?...or do you want to find the fanciest hotel around and spend the night there on Lord Diavolo’s dime?”

“...what kind of fancy hotel?”

“The kind that offers 24/7 room service and will cook up anything you can imagine.

Oh, and, can’t forget to mention this, the kind your brothers don’t know about so they can’t interrupt us.”

“...that sounds good.”

“It’s the least Lord Diavolo can do for us I think, after forcing us on this awful trip.”

“Could we rent movies too?” Levi had turned his head to look at you, his eyes sparkling as he started to remember some really good anime movies that were currently only available in the human realm.

“Oh definitely. As many as you like,” you smiled, giving him a quick kiss.

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get out of here before your mom tries to hug you and starts screeching again.”

Laughter filled the small bathroom as the two of you began giggling at his comment, taking turns shushing one another in an attempt to keep quiet. It didn’t matter what your family thought about your life choices, or whether they judged Levi “worthy” of your time. All that mattered to you was that you were able to enjoy moments like this, with your best friend and partner. And you weren’t about to give that up.

[louiseleblancdiggory]

I just read the pregnancy rowaelin angst and it made me feel so many things. Would you write a second part, where Aelin actually find out she's pregnant again and is all happy but also scared to tell Rowan? And then the first ultrasound happens? Maybe they already have an adopted child and they are so excited to become a sibling and it's all cute and fluff. ❤️

This is so sweet. Like so fucking sweet it gave me toothache. I threw as much fluff as I possibly could because as I said, pregnancy is something personal to me and I love happy endings. It’s fucking long but I hope you enjoy every single second of it. This is the part one!

Warnings: literally none, it’s just really cute

Safe haven 2

--

Aelin was resting against the hood of her car, arms crossed and eyes scanning the crowd for…

“Mommy!” A little girl screamed from the school’s door. Her inky black hair bounced as she ran to Aelin, her green eyes shining with excitement. “Mommy, here!”

Aelin’s face broke into a wide grin as she jogged in her daughter’s direction and grabbed the little girl in her arms. She immediately peppered her daughter’s face in quick kisses, earning delighted laughs.

“Hello, Aurora. How was your day at school, baby?” Aelin asked, standing up with Aurora in her arms. The girl hugged Aelin’s neck fiercely, resting her head on her mother’s shoulder. “Made any friends?”

Aelin fought a smile when she saw Aurora blushing and smiling sheepishly. “His name is Lachlan, and he’s new to the school. He speaks nice.”

“Oh, he does?”

“Yes. He said is how people speak where he come from. Some kids made fun of it, but I think it was pretty. Just like daddy speaks a little different too.”

Aelin nodded, kissing her daughter’s crown. For all her excitement and free spirit, Aurora was awfully shy around anyone who wasn’t her family or people she knew since her adoption. Her best friend, Aedion and Lys’s daughter, was a year younger so they couldn’t be in the same class. Rowan and Aelin had been hoping for weeks now that Aurora would make at least one friend in school. She was six and smart like her dad, which caused her to feel a little bit different from the other kids.

Aelin couldn’t wait to see the relief on Rowan’s face that their baby had made a friend.

“So now you guys are friends?”

“Yes!” She smiled excitedly and clapped her hands. “He said he’s gonna bring me some candies from his kingdom tomorrow, and I said I would bring a picture of Fleetfoot.”

“That’s so great, baby.” Aelin smiled, putting Aurora in her seat and buckling her up. “We’ll find the most beautiful picture of Fleetfoot to show Lachlan.”

Her daughter squeaked with delight, and Aelin laughed as she opened her window and closed the door. She stood on the side walk once more, looking around again, searching for someone else.

“Mom!” A teenage boy called her.

“Nino!” Aurora shouted from the backseat. “Nino, I made a friend!”

Nino smiled at her voice, his friend group smiling too. They all waved at Aelin as her son jogged in her direction, giving her a quick kiss on her forehead. Although Nino was adopted, everyone liked to joke he had gotten Rowan’s genes. His and Aurora’s green eyes were the exact same shade as Rowan’s, and Nino was becoming as tall as his father.

He waved back at his friends and they were shouting their goodbyes as they walked away.

“Bye, aunt Aelin!” Evangeline shouted.

Aelin smiled at her and waved back. Evangeline had been Aedion and Lys’s ward much before Aelin and Rowan had even considered adoption. Eva was much as Lys’s daughter as Nino and Aurora were her kids.

“How was your day in school?” Aelin said, getting in the car as Nino took the passenger seat.

“Fine.” He said, and Aelin only raised a brow at him. He sighed, rubbing his eyes under his glasses. “I bombed math.”

Although she should be pissed, should act like the strict mom and reprimand him from bombing another math test, Aelin had to fight a smile. “Your dad is gonna eat your liver with a spoon if you keep failing math exams.”

“Mommy! That’s disgusting!” Aurora said, and Aelin looked back to see her frowning her whole face with disgust.

Aelin laughed, and so did Nino.

“I know, I know. Evangeline also barely passed, Malik did worse than I. Phedre said she could teach me.”

“Oh, she did?” Aelin was absolutely certain that her son had the biggest crush on one of his best friends, Phedre. Whenever Eva came to their houses with Aedion and Lysandra, she would also tease her cousin endlessly.

“Mom.”

She batted her eyelashes innocently. “Yes, sweetie?”

“Stop that shit.” Aelin also knew she should reprimand him from cursing, but she fully believed that a sixteen year old boy should be allowed to say some curse words here and there. Never in important occasions, but both she and Rowan were fine with it during their daily lives.

Aelin only snorted, and silence fell upon the car.

She quietly looked at her two kids, Aurora playing with a doll she had found and Nino typing something on his phone, and a small smile played on her lips.

When Aelin learned that she would have difficulty getting pregnant three years ago, her world fell. She didn’t want to base her whole life on that fact, but it was like seeing some of her biggest dreams getting crushed right in front of her eyes. Even when Rowan started explaining to her how the adoption process would be, a part of her was still sad by the prospect of not getting pregnant.

It hadn’t taken them too long to go to foster care. Aelin had to admit, she was only half paying attention during the beginning of their visit, her mind still heavy with a sort of mourning. She still remembered the feeling of being completely devastated, and only Rowan’s pine green eyes had taken her out of her stupor.

She stopped mid track when she again saw Rowan’s pine green eyes staring at her, only it wasn’t Rowan because he was walking behind her. Aelin took in the little three year old sitting on the floor, playing with two old dolls.

That moment had been Aelin’s epiphany.

It was like a whole new path had been revealed to her, a striking realization that she might have dreamed of getting pregnant, but that wasn’t all that there was. She could keep trying, but she wouldn’t waste away in grief.

“Who’s she?” Aelin’s voice was low, and the social worker stopped talking to Rowan, both of their heads turning to her. “The little girl with black hair. What’s her name?”

“Who? Aurora?” At that, the girl smiled at Aelin and Rowan, extending one of her dolls.

For the first time in a week, Aelin’s smile was genuine. Her heart was beating so fast, hope blossoming where grief had been. She approached the girl and seated on the floor with her, taking the doll and starting to play. She felt Rowan’s soft gaze on them, and also heard the whispered words with the social worker.

“How old is she?”

“Three.” The woman responded. “Although our highest demand is for babies, Aurora would have a greater chance being adopted if she didn’t have an older brother. Not everyone is willing to take in two kids, much less when one who is so much older.”

“How old is he?” Aelin said, turning to look at the social worker and Rowan standing behind her. Aurora seemed content with playing with Aelin’s doll even though Aelin wasn’t moving it.

“Dominique is thirteen. We all call him Nino because Aurora couldn’t pronounce Nick, only Nino.”

Aelin stared at Rowan, and he stared right back. They had come here to look for babies, that’s for sure. Aelin wanted to be there every step, wanted to see every phase. They didn’t even know what they would do with a teenager. Or with two kids at once. But Aelin’s heart had almost burst out of her chest when she took a look at Aurora, and the thought of just going home and never seeing her again hurt.

“Can we meet the boy?” Rowan asked, not taking his eyes off Aelin.

“Of course, just a second.” The woman wandered off, and Rowan came to sit by Aelin.

Aurora eyed him suspiciously, but relaxed when he gave her a reassuring smile.

“I’m Aelin, this is my husband Rowan.” Aelin gestured between them, her voice soft so she wouldn’t scare the girl.

Aurora smiled at them, and was opening her mouth to say something when her brother entered the room.

If Aurora had been Aelin’s epiphany, Nino had been Rowan’s.

Rowan looked at Aelin and both of them shared a secretive smile.

And that had been that.

Rowan got all the papers to bring the kids to live with them and then the adoption papers. It was strange in the beginning, the new addition to the house, but they soon feel in such natural normalcy that Aelin sometimes wanted to cry when she thought of it.

Nino absolutely loved Aelin, but he adored Rowan. His father was his role model, and Nino did everything to build a relationship with Rowan as fast as possible. They went to hockey and football games together. Rowan always took Nino to practice, and they would always go out just the two of them after to eat something. Aurora was closer to Aelin, but she adored her father just the same and had him wrapped around her little finger.

There was so much love on Rowan’s eyes when he looked at their kids that Aelin’s heart skipped a beat.

She loved her family so much that sometimes she felt she could die from it.

“Mom?” Nino woke her up from her memories. She parked the car in front of Rowan’s clinic, and when Nino started taking off his seatbelt, she put a hand on his wrist. He looked at her puzzled, but didn’t say anything. He rested against the seat again, playing on his phone as Aelin took Aurora out and walked in the clinic.

Rowan was a surgeon, but he sometimes did some clinic consults. On those days, Aelin would bring the kids to spend the day with him. She waved at Fenrys who was talking with a patient, and he waved back and winked at Aurora, making her giggle at her uncle.

“Dada!” Aurora shouted the moment she saw Rowan’s silver head, and his head snapped up with a smile already on his face.

“If it’s not my two favorite girls in the whole world.” He stood, walking to them. Rowan took Aurora out of Aelin’s arms and bent down to give her a kiss. He gave another quick one before standing straight again. He gave a peck on Aurora’s forehead and she laid her face on his shoulder. “Where’s Nino?”

“Sick.” Aelin lied. “I’m taking him home. Nothing serious, just a little headache and nausea.”

Rowan’s brows instantly furrowed, and he looked to the entrance as if he could see his son sitting inside the car. “Want me to check on him?”

Aelin laughed. “He’s not that sick and would hate the fussing. He’ll be better once you go home, but for today is only you and Aurora.”

He nodded, still not fully convinced.

“Actually, Aurora has something to tell you.” Aelin said with a smile. “About her new friend.”

Rowan’s face broke into a curious smile and he looked at his blushing daughter. “Oh?”

“His name is Lachlan and he speaks nice.” She said shyly.

Rowan bit his lip not to laugh, and Aelin did the same. She stepped closer to him, giving him another kiss. “I’ll see you home. Love you.”

“Love you too, Ace.” He called after her as she left, immediately turning to his daughter to hear about her new friend.

The moment Aelin got into the car, Nino looked at her. “So, what are we hiding from dad?”

“Why would you think that?”

“You say you know me because I am your son. Well,” he shrugged. “I know you because you’re my mom.”

She smiled at that, but it slowly fell. “It’s a secret, Nino. And I really need you to keep it.”

He was suddenly serious. “You can tell me whatever, mom.”

She blew a breath. “I’m pregnant.”

He stared at her for a few moments before a smile broke on his face. Nino had known since the beginning how much his mom wanted to get pregnant. It had never made him feel less wanted or loved, and he couldn’t be happier for her right now. “Mom, that’s amazing! Why can’t dad know?”

“What if I lose it again, Nino? I can’t put your dad through it again. I remember the miscarriages from years ago and although he doesn’t think so, I knew the devastation on his eyes. I never held for more than three weeks. I’m so sorry to put this weight on you, sweetheart, but I just couldn’t go to the ultrasound alone.”

“It’s no weight, mom. Of course it isn’t.” He was still smiling at her. “How long?”

“I don’t know. The treatments mess up my periods so I haven’t had one in two months, but that doesn’t mean anything. I started getting morning sickness a few days ago, so maybe a week.” Aelin was tense, her palms clammy as she started driving to the hospital. “I’m so nervous, Nino. It crushed me three years ago, and I haven’t had a pregnancy scare since then.”

“You had three years of treatments, mom. Everything is gonna be alright and Aurora will have a little sibling to pick on.” Despite her tension, Aelin laughed. Nino was always calm, always a steady presence. His reassurance made her calmer, even though she wished she could call Rowan. He was the only one who really knew how to soothe her nerves.

The last few days had been torture. Her hands had been trembling when she bought a pregnancy test. Trembling even more when it came back positive. She wanted to tell Rowan so, so bad. Wanted to have him by her side as she discovered if she would be able to hold it or not, but she couldn’t bring herself to break his heart again. They had been so happy for the past three years with Aurora and Nino that Aelin wouldn’t dare to break his peace.

In the waiting room, Nino talked to his mom about anything to distract her. Aelin forced herself to listen about his classes, about hockey practice, about how Malik, his best friend, had gone to the infirmary after Evangeline accidentally decked him during gym. How he and Phedre had laughed their asses off while watching the scene.

She was smiling softly at her son when the nurse came in, asking her if she was ready. Just like that, all her calm disappeared. Her heart was beating so fast that it was all she could hear as she walked entered the room.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Whitethorn. How are we doing today?” The doctor asked as Aelin laid down. He rode her shirt up to expose her belly, applying the cold lubricating jelly onto her skin. “Your son?”

“My oldest, yes.” Aelin answered automatically. She was too nervous to elaborate further. Nino was sitting on a chair by the bed, elbows on his knees while he stared at the black monitor.

“So let’s get over with it, shall we?” He said with a smile, asking her a few questions before putting the transducer against her skin. Immediately the black screen lit up, and the doctor stared at it, moving the thing across her belly.

Aelin couldn’t tear her eyes away from the screen, trying to understand what was going on. Her heartbeat was steady but so strong that she could feel her whole body shaking with it. “So?” She asked after a few moments.

The doctor was silent, still analyzing what was on the screen. When he turned to her, he gave her a smile. “Everything seems fine, Mrs. Whitethorn. Because of your treatments your period was irregular, and that was most likely what stopped you from noticing the pregnancy earlier. Judging by the size, you have two healthy and strong babies inside of you for two months now. I would still recommend biweekly visits just to make sure nothing changes but... The pregnancy seems fine, nothing apparent to worry about. Congratulations.”

Aelin’s whole world stopped at that moment. She could feel her cheeks dampening, her mouth letting out a small sob but she wasn’t really there. Her mind was spinning and she had never known this feeling. She wanted to put her hand on her stomach, above the two little things she could not even feel but knew that were there.

“Would you like to hear it?”

She nodded, her eyes glued to the monitor. When Aelin first heard the two soft heartbeats twining together, she was fully crying. It was like hearing the response to so many questions she didn’t even know she wanted the answers. It cracked a damn inside of her, and she closed her eyes, basking on the sound of her babies’ heartbeats.

She turned to Nino and he was smiling at her. “Damn, now I have to share my heritage with two more people?”

Aelin laughed out loud, the sound merry to her ears. “Can I record it? To show my husband?”

“Of course, and if you want a picture we can provide that.”

Aelin nodded eagerly, and held onto the recording and the pictures all the way home. When they arrived, Rowan’s car was already parked in the garage.

“Where were the two of you?” Rowan asked the moment Nino and Aelin stepped inside. “And I thought you were sick.”

Nino smiled at his father, speaking to him as he went up the stairs, his voice gloating. “I knew first.”

Rowan’s face was a mask of confusion as he watched his son disappear. He turned back to Aelin, sitting on their couch. “Knew what first?”

Unable to help herself, tears started falling from her eyes and she went to him. He immediately grabbed her in his arms, holding her on his lap. Even not knowing what was going on, Rowan whispered soothing words to her and rubbed her back.

He gave her a strong kiss to the forehead. “Fireheart, what happened?”

She wordlessly took out her phone, looking for the recording. He watched her intently, worry showing on his face.

Rowan was a doctor, he would understand what that was without her explaining, she she silently played it. It took him a moment of listening to the recording to understand what it was, for the expression on his face to go from worry to absolute exhilaration.

He put a hand on her stomach, the other one going to the back of her neck to hold Aelin in place when he kissed her. His lips were warm and soft against hers, and Aelin sighed in complete happiness as she hugged his neck. She could feel the smile on his lips, all the love and happiness he was feeling in that kiss.

“You’re pregnant?”

She nodded cheerly, her eyes watering again. Her tears started falling the same moment a single one fell from Rowan’s eye. “Two months, Ro. And they’re fine, healthy and big and strong.” She laughed, kissing him again. “We’re going to have two more kids, Ro.” She showed him the picture of the ultrasound, the two little things laying next to each other.

He grabbed the picture with one had, staring at it in awe. When his eyes fell upon Aelin’s face, the expression changed to so much love and adoration it knocked the air out of her lungs.

He boomed a loud and happy laugh, standing up with her in his arms and sweeping around. Aelin was laughing, her arms tight around his neck. “I love you. I love you so much, fireheart. I love you so fucking much sometimes I think I’ll combust from it.”

She was crying again, holding onto Rowan as if he was her life line. “I love you too, Ro. I love you so much that just looking at your face makes me loose my breath. I love you so much that I think it’s impossible to love you more, but it happens every day.” Aelin kissed him, euphorically and sloppy.

“The two of you are disgusting. Find a room, for fuck’s sake.” Nino said from where he was standing at the stairs, Aurora in his arms. She was beaming at her parents, and Rowan held Aelin with one arm as he extended the other one to their kids.

Nino smiled and went up to his father, hugging his side as Aurora threw herself at him. She was blabbering about the babies, about being an older sister and Rowan, Aelin and Nino were quietly laughing at her. Aelin, still holding one of Rowan’s hand, pulled Nino into a hug. “Thank you for going with me, Nino. You’re the best son I could ever dream of.”

His cheeks turned a shade of pink but he hugged his mom back, looking at his father. “I knew first.”

Rowan faked impatience, narrowing his eyes. The intimidating effect was completely ruined by Aurora in a pink tutu in his arms, pulling his hair in all directions. “You’ve gloated already, boyo.”

“I’ll never let you forget.” Nino was grinning, his arm around Aelin’s shoulder. She bit her lip to hold her laughter.

“Gods help me.” Rowan muttered.

“You could even say I am mom’s favorite man in the house.”

“You’re asking to get grounded.”

“Lost your position, old man.”

Rowan rolled his eyes. “How was your math test?”

“Actually,” Nino said, taking his arm off his mom’s shoulder and backing up a step. “You can have the favorite man position.”

“Nino Galathynius Whitethorn.”

“It’s all yours!” Nino shouted to his dad as he ran up the stairs.

Rowan looked exasperatedly at Aelin, and even with all her efforts she couldn’t keep her joyous laugh from escaping her lips.

“He gets being shit at math from his mother.” Aelin shrugged.

Rowan huffed a laugh. “The bunch of you will give me silver hair.”

“Dad!” Aurora shouted from his arms. “You already have silver hair, duh!”

This time, when Aelin’s laugh rang out, Rowan’s did too.

Tags:

@abookishfreak @faerie-queen-fireheart @in-love-with-caramel-macchiato @jlinez @courtofjurdan @aelinfeyreeleven945tbln @ladywitchling @maastrash @morganofthewildfire @queen-of-glass @bilkul-sharam-nahi-aati

[seasonsofeverlark]

Pumpkin Pie and Cheese Buns

Author: @evestedic​

Prompt: Hard working coming home for thanksgiving. Stops at the store on the way to pick up the dessert she didn’t bother to make no one will notice anyway and runs into their ex lover. Tries to leave fast but has to take the walk of shame back to grab the cranberries too. Arrives home not just with the cranberries and pie…  [submitted by anonymous]

Rating: T

____________

“God damn it!” Katniss was not happy. 

It was Thanksgiving, which meant she was being forced to spend time with people she didn’t even know.

Why?

Because they’re family, Katniss.

She could hear her Aunt Martha’s voice. 

Why should she care that her cousin was getting married?

Or that her nephew had gotten into college? 

Or that her godfather was slipping her a 20 buck bill while winking an eye at her? 

She wasn’t a total bitch, so she bore with it, but this was people she saw one fucking time per year! 

If it wasn’t for Thanksgiving, she was sure she wouldn’t see them again as they never even called. Nor did she.

But, be that as it may, Prim loved big gatherings and the attention; she was, after all, quite cheerful. Her father also bore with it, although better than her. 

However, who knew? This year her mother was coming with her new boyfriend. 

Ugh, puke… 

And that was why she was there, November the 26th, coming back from work and on her way to Aunt’s Martha’s house. 

Katniss was not happy. 

She had already left the store not five minutes ago, but something kept nagging at the back of her head while she accommodated the bags in the back of her car. 

Of course, being who she was, she had forgotten dessert. The pumpkin pie with maple whipped cream. Sighing and fuming, she went back to the absolute chaos of the aisles. If she arrived at her aunt’s without dessert…well, she would rather face a biblical plague. 

After perusing the dessert stand and seeing everything was completely wiped out‒not even crumbs were left‒she gave up and thought about getting some canned peaches and cherries.  That’s when she heard it…   

“Is that you, Katniss?” 

That voice. 

She had loved it at one point. Now, it was just nails on a chalkboard. 

Turning around, she set her eyes on a huge blonde guy; he had a perfect gym advertisement body, a smirk on his face, and his arm around a blonde girl with the same perfect gym advertisement body. 

“Cato.” 

“Buying for Thanksgiving?”

“No, just came because I was craving some peaches.” 

“Oh.”

Seriously? It was the most direct sarcastic answer ever, and he had actually believed her? 

Katniss rolled her eyes and was about to turn around when the Barbie clone spoke. 

“Is this the one, babe?”

“Yes, baby, that’s her.”

“Oh, I thought she’d be…I don’t know, prettier?”

“She never wanted to put in the effort, baby.”

“She is standing right here. And if working out turns you dumb, I’m glad I didn’t do it.” 

Katniss had gone out with Cato for two years when they were nineteen. Back then, he had been a kind guy, funny and perhaps a bit silly, but very nice, normal. He had asked her out after a college party, and she accepted; the rest was history. 

However, after one year of being together, he began frequenting the campus gym and suddenly started to change. All he could talk about were diets, exercise, and protein. Katniss was all in for a healthier life; hell, she knew if she kept on eating Greasy Sae’s food every other night, she was going to clog her arteries by the time she was 35, but Cato was relentless. He got rid of all of her comfort food and she had been forbidden to eat chicken and meat ever again. Only turkey and fish were allowed, vegetables, no dairy or eggs, no sugar! She was going crazy; Katniss had reached the obscene point of hiding in the bathroom to eat a Snickers bar, only to quickly brush her teeth and rinse with Listerine at least thrice so that her boyfriend wouldn’t taste any trace of chocolate when he kissed her. It was that night when she knew she couldn’t do it anymore. She no longer recognized the guy she had agreed to date or herself, for that matter. So, Katniss decided to end it right then and there. She skipped her next class and went to their dorm only to find him banging the very same Barbie girl who was in front of her in the canned aisle right now. 

Quickest breakup ever. 

He had said it was her fault for not ‘putting in the effort,’ and she hated him for it. 

“Jealousy doesn’t fit you, Katniss. Well,” Cato gave her a once-over, “I doubt anything does. Have you gained weight?” 

“If I have, that wouldn’t be any of your fucking business. What are you doing here? Came to buy something for dinner? I think there’s a celery and mineral water pack on sale.” 

“Still salty because I chose someone better?” Cato shamelessly licked the girl’s ear, making her giggle in an obnoxious way that made Katniss want to gag. 

She didn’t have to stand here and watch this; she-

Was that a hand on her waist?

“Hey, sorry I took so long. I literally had to wrestle this from an old lady.” 

That voice. 

Peeta Mellark was holding onto her waist and smiling that charming smile that could probably tame a wild animal, while proudly presenting a ham to her.

“Um…” Eloquent as always. 

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t know you were with friends.” 

“Yeah, no…Not my friends.” 

“Aren’t you the baker guy? You’re slumming it with the bakery employee?” Cato laughed while Barbie‒Katniss really couldn’t care less about her actual name‒looked at Peeta appreciatively. 

“I haven’t introduced myself,” Peeta said, extending his right hand but not letting Katniss’ waist go. Cato immediately took it, flexing his bicep as he did so, but his expression faltered when he shook Peeta’s hand. “Peeta Mellark, owner of ‘The Cake Lair’. Have you guys ever been?” 

Katniss was confused. 

It wasn’t as if she and Peeta were actually friends. They had talked, yes. She simply loved the pastries he sold, and because of how she had raved about his cheese buns, well…the double entendre put her in an uncomfortable position, but he had only laughed and thanked her for the compliment, as he had, in fact, baked those himself. 

Peeta always made sure to set aside at least two cheese buns for her prior to the end of the day. 

And okay, yeah, they had exchanged numbers and texted from time to time, but nothing deep. It was always things about the weather, the cheese buns, or how Prim was. Did that qualify as being friends? 

Katniss was awful at being a good friend, hence why she only had two: Gale and Madge. Her sister and father didn’t count; they were family. 

Shaking her head, she returned to the present to find that arm still around her and Cato’s face getting red. 

“Just let go, dude.  You’re about to pop a vein.” Peeta chuckled. 

Katniss directed her gaze at their hands; she could see they were both squeezing the hell out of each other. Cato probably thought he could scare Peeta off with his muscles, but he clearly hadn’t seen Peeta shirtless on a hot day, hauling 100-pound flour sacks onto his back as if they were light cargo. Peeta was strong, like ‘I could iron clothes on your stomach’ fit; he just didn’t flaunt it, and Katniss appreciated that.

Cato huffed and let go, and Peeta smiled once more and winked at Barbie, who was giggling like an idiot. 

“So, we should be going soon if we want to make it, Katniss. You know how Aunt Martha gets if we don’t get the groceries in time for her.” 

So yeah, she had told him about her hellish weekend to come last week, but Katniss didn’t think he would remember. 

With his hand still on her waist and her still not shrugging it off, they made to pass Cato and his doll, but, of course, the bodybuilder felt the need to use the sole neuron in his brain. 

“You know you’re just a replacement, right? I mean, she went and looked for the next guy that kinda looked like me because she clearly can’t forget me.” 

Tuck your thumb over your middle finger to make a proper fist. If you wrap your fingers around your thumb, you’re likely going to break it. 

Her father’s words and the boxing lessons came back in a flash, and before Peeta could hold her back, Katniss pivoted on her left foot, momentum aiding her, and connected her first with Cato’s jaw. She wasn’t an expert boxer or anything of the sort; she just liked the exercise, and she was strong. But Katniss must have been lucky enough to hit the sweet spot because Cato dropped to the aisle floor, unconscious. 

“Babe!” Barbie girl screeched, and suddenly, two more gorilla-looking guys were coming to her aid. 

Friends of his, no doubt. 

“Tell your boy toy, next time he wants to bully me to think twice, lest he finds himself beaten up again by a woman,” Katniss spat at the blonde girl. 

“You did this?” A broad and tall black guy asked. He was actually pretty scary, but Katniss held her ground and managed to nod. To her surprise, he chuckled and sort of bowed to her. “He’s an ass. I bet he had it coming. We’ll take care of him.” 

“Thresh! He’s your friend…” Barbie girl actually had tears in her eyes. 

“He’s not. We’re just in the same weightlifting class. And don’t cry; he’ll come to soon. Finnick, help me bring this idiot back.” 

“You must have a mean right hook, hon,” the guy with reddish hair and perfect teeth told Katniss. 

“I do.” She jutted out her chin proudly; her dad had taught her well. 

“Nice to know you have it all sorted out. Katniss, should we go?” Peeta was pulling her a bit, and she let him, both soon finding themselves out in the parking lot, having decided to leave behind the cans and the ham. 

Once they were in front of her car, Katniss did something she rarely did. 

“I’m sorry I cost you your ham.” 

Peeta seemed surprised, but he simply smiled. “That’s okay. There are a lot of hams left, actually; I just needed an excuse to walk up to you.” 

“Why did you do that?” 

“That guy was an ass, and I know you could’ve handled it on your own, but…,” he leaned in a bit and whispered, “doesn’t it feel good to let him know you’re with someone much better now?” 

Katniss couldn’t help it, she laughed. “You’re full of yourself, Mellark!” 

“Hey! I’m a catch, I tell you. Owner of his own bakery, hard-working; I know how to cook and bake, and I’m easy on the eyes, too.” 

“Not to mention, tons and tons of humility.” 

“That, too.” He smiled, and Katniss rolled her eyes, but she really didn’t feel angry with him. She hadn’t needed his help, but he had offered it freely without expecting anything in return. “So, I guess this is where we part ways.” 

“What are your plans for tonight, Peeta?” Katniss suddenly asked, and he was surprised as well. 

“Uhhhh, not much. Bake something? Eat it while watching TV, nothing exciting.” 

“You can come to my Aunt Martha’s, if you want. Prim would love to see you, and this way I can repay your ‘act of kindness’.” 

“Really? You sure it wouldn’t bother you?” 

“If it did, I wouldn’t have asked.” 

“Sure, I’d love to.” 

“Okay, but before that, there’s something I need you to do for me.” 

“What is it?” 

“Can you drive? My right hand is killing me.” 

                                                °•. ✿ .•°

“Why couldn’t you just buy it?” Katniss whined.

“Because I actually enjoy baking. You should know this already.” Peeta chuckled as he handled the mixer. After a few more turns, it seemed everything was ready. “I just need to flour the containers now.” Peeta patted his hands on his apron and went back to the pantry. 

Katniss took her chance. 

She slowly inched her hand forward, her eyes not leaving Peeta’s back, just in case. 

Two more inches and-

“I swear, Katniss, if you’re reaching for that dough I won’t make any cheese buns for a week.”

“You wouldn’t dare!” she exclaimed, shocked. That wasn’t fair! Peeta hadn’t even turned around, but he knew what she had been about to do. 

“Try me, love.” He then approached the table again, watching a grumbling Katniss cross her arms. “You know you can’t have raw dough while pregnant.”

“That’s a stupid rule. I bet it’s invented. How did women manage centuries ago, then?” 

“Oh, I don’t know. They sometimes died intoxicated, so no biggie.” Peeta was serious now. 

“I wouldn’t die over a bit of dough…” She said it under her breath, but he heard.

Peeta sighed, and Katniss felt a pang of regret. Damn him. “Katniss, do we really have to discuss this again? It’s Thanksgiving, and I’d bet my bank account Aunt Martha would come down here and force you to go to the party if you weren’t so-” 

“Go on, finish what you were going to say.” Katniss knew she was so big she might be in need of her own postal code. 

“-tired. You’re carrying twins, and that’s not an easy feat. The only thing she asked for was the pumpkin pie with maple whipped cream.”

“Every fucking year.” 

“She indulges during the holiday.”

“Why not just get one from the bakery?”

“She wants it fresh.” 

“Why doesn’t she come down here and get it herself?”

“You really want your Aunt Martha here? Right now? Today?”

“…No.” Why did Peeta have to be so logical? 

“I know you’re crabby and your feet are probably swelling. Let me put this in the oven, and then I’ll massage them with some of that lavender cream your mother gave you.” 

“And a bath.”

“A massage and a bath, you got it.” 

Peeta, of course, fulfilled his promise and left Katniss so relaxed she fell asleep and didn’t even notice her husband had gone and come back from the Everdeen’s annual Thanksgiving gathering. 

By the time she opened her eyes, he was sitting next to her, reading a book. 

“Hey…did you all get a proper rest?” Peeta put a hand on her belly, smiling. 

“I think so, yeah; they just started moving.” 

“I can feel. Here, let me help you up.” Peeta’s strength was no joke. He could single-handedly lift her up, yes, even when she felt like a whale, and prop her on the bed so she could sit comfortably. “That okay?” 

“Yes, perfect.” 

“Happy anniversary, love.” He presented her with a huge cheese bun, making her laugh.

“Peeta, just because we fucked for the first time four years ago today, doesn’t mean it’s an anniversary.”

“For me it is! Come on, I bet you didn’t think we’d end up doing it in the bathroom that night.” 

“I seriously didn’t.”

“But here we are, and that’s all that matters.” 

Her husband really was the cheesiest person alive, but she secretly adored that part of him. 

“Shut up and let me enjoy my cheese bun.”

“Your wish is my command.” 

[kinglazrus]

Not Your Danny – Ch 6. Obsessions

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Word count: 3109

Eventually, Dani has to go back to Fenton Works. She stays with Sam and Tucker at the mall for a few hours, enjoying their company; but, as the afternoon wanes and evening draws near, their hangout time comes to an end.

"I can't believe my parents are making me stick to a curfew. I'm eighteen. I didn't have a curfew a month ago," Sam says when she notices the time.

"A month ago, they didn't know you part-time as a ghost hunter. I can't believe they made your curfew eight," Tucker says.

They manage to hit a couple more stores before Sam has to go, and even swing by the food court again to grab some food-to-go. By the time Dani goes home, she has four bags of new clothes plus a box of pizza all to herself.

"Here." Tucker leans across the passenger seat and holds something out to Dani.

When she takes it, shuffling the shopping bags around her arms so she has a free hand, she notices that it's a cellphone. Basic, with a touch screen.

"It's pre-paid. I have a bunch, so don't worry about it. Mine and Sam's numbers are on there, so you can text us if you want to hang out again."

Dani clutches the phone to her chest. "Thank you."

"No problem."

Dani waits until Tucker has pulled away before turning toward the house. It's hard to tell with the curtains drawn, and the harsh glow of the Fenton Works sign splashed across the building, but it looks as if the lights are off inside. A quick scan of the street shows that Jazz's car is gone, although she could have parked around back, or by the garage instead. Dani heads up to the front door and tries the knob. It doesn't budge.

Rather than trying the doorbell or knocking, she goes intangible and walks right through the door. Inside, the lights are off, just as she suspected. She doesn’t bother turning them on. With her enhanced vision, she can see perfectly well in the dark, albeit in dark, muted shades.

In the kitchen, she finds a note from Jazz: Mom and Dad out testing weapons. I will be at Spike's. There's food in the fridge. Dani doesn't know who Spike is.

When she peeks in the fridge, she finds a tin-foiled plate of meatloaf waiting for her, as promised. She doesn't bother with it, though, taking her pizza up to Danny's room instead. The house without the Fentons there feels... pretty much the same. Without the ambient noise of Jazz's typing or Jack's distant footsteps, the house is far quieter than Dani has ever heard it. Even at night, Maddie's chainsaw snores—which surprises Dani more than it annoys her—keep the house from falling completely silent.

Now, there's nothing but Dani's soft breathing.

It's quiet, and yet, the house feels no less empty than it always does.

She deposits the shopping bags at the foot of Danny's bed and takes her pizza to his desk. Since arriving, she has cleared away enough clutter that the box can fit, although it's a tight squeeze. One side of the box rests on top of the keyboard. She looks between the greasy cardboard and the keys, wondering if it might wreck them. There shouldn't be enough grease that it will leak through, but she decides not to risk it.

Dani lifts the box and shoves the keyboard aside. It smacks into the base of the Challenger's display case, sending it toppling over the edge of the desk.

"No!" Dani throws herself out of the chair, reaching for the model. Her fingers skim the glass but miss. Blind panic fills her and something in her chest bursts. A bright glow launches from her palms and surrounds the case.

The model jerks to a stop a mere inch from the floor.

Dani's heart hammers in her chest. The horrible realization of what would have happened if she missed drains the blood from her face. Careful not to make any sudden moves, she pushes herself onto her knees, arms still outstretched. A thin thread connects the light surrounding her palm and the display case. It tugs on her, like a sixth finger, each movement sending an unfamiliar ripple up her arm.

Telekinesis is not a rare ability among ghosts. A common power, like intangibility, invisibility, and flight, more than half of all spectral entities have some form of it. But unlike those first powers, telekinesis can rely heavily on a ghost's power level and general skill. Where one ghost may struggle to move a toothpick, another can uproot a whole tree with nothing more than a thought.

Dani, until this moment, could not use it at all.

When she flexes her fingers, the model drifts toward her. The moment she has it in hand, the light disappears, and the model's weight hits her. Heavier than expected, enough that her arms bow under its sudden presence. She holds the model in a tight embrace as she rises to her feet. With her elbow, she pushes the keyboard out of the way to clear space and returns the display case to the desk.

After a moment's consideration, Dani nudges the model closer to the middle of the desk. Even if it makes things tighter, she doesn't want that to happen again

She returns to the chair, but rather than eating her pizza, her focus stays on the model. It looks undamaged inside the case, still fixed to its wooden base. At a glance, it seems sturdy enough that it could hold up to a bit of knocking around. A hard smash to the floor would probably do it in, though. The thought makes her stomach twist.

With most of Danny's things, their importance still eludes her. Now that she has her own clothes, and a phone, it's starting to dawn on her why people like things. It's nice, to speak frankly. Being able to have something, to keep it somewhere and return to it, is a nice feeling. But then there are feelings attached to the items, too.

Jack said this model was Danny's favourite. Dani has no way of knowing if she is right about why it was his favourite. It was only a guess based on what she knew of her cousin, what he thought of his parents. Danny didn't smile a lot when it came to them, at least not as far as Dani saw. Maddie and Jack rarely came up during cousin bonding time unless they came after Dani and Danny while they were hanging out. But, sometimes, Danny would smile so bright at the mention of his parents.

If he had done well on a test and they congratulated him. If they took him to the planetarium. If they went stargazing recently. None of these things happened often, but when they did, and Danny told her about them, his smile would be so bright Dani found it hard to look at.

Thinking about her new clothes, Dani wonders if the smile she can feel on her face is just as bright as Danny's had been.

"I'm sorry I lost the music player you got me," she says to the Challenger. "I didn't realize how important it could have been." She shrugged it off at the time. Even now, what little guilt she feels over it stems from losing something that could have been dear to her rather than something that wasdear.

How many things has she lost that could have been important? She already knows the answer: far too many.

—

Jazz was distracted during the funeral. She tried to hide it, but Jack knew his daughter all too well. As she gave her final goodbyes to Danny, she kept wiping her eyes and looking over the crowd, her gaze searching. Jack looked over his own shoulder a few times, trying to see what Jazz was searching for. He couldn’t find it, obviously.

There weren't many people in the crowd. Immediate family; Sam and Tucker, plus their parents; Valerie came, as well, along with Casper High's vice-principal. Jack had no other family to speak of besides his wife and children—now child. And the only relative still in contact with Maddie, her sister, could not make it in time. Jack understood although it hurt.

Over the past few months, Danny had grown closer with his aunt. Jack wasn't sure when it happened, and it took him a while to catch on. Maddie and Alicia spoke on the phone at least twice a month since Alicia didn't have a cellphone or internet. It was standard practice for Maddie to drag one of the kids into the conversation to say hi. Jazz always went willingly. Danny usually complained.

However, at some point, his complaints stopped. If Danny caught Maddie on the phone, he would eagerly jump into the conversation. He even started shooing out whoever was in the room. Jack blamed it on teenage antics. It wasn't until Jack caught the tail end of one of their conversations that he realized something had changed.

Danny sat at the kitchen table, phone to his ear. When Jack entered, he sat up straighter.

"I'll try and bring it up next time I see her. Not sure when that will be, but her birthday's coming up." Danny paused as the person on the other end replied, then nodded. "Cool. Bye Auntie Alicia, love you."

"Alicia? Don't you think your mother would have liked to say goodbye before you hung up?" Jack asked.

Danny set the phone down on the table. "That'd be weird since Mom didn't call her. Is she even home right now?"

Now that Jack thought about it, no, she wasn't. Maddie went to the store nearly an hour ago to buy cookie fixings. "Good point!" Now that Jack was paying attention, he saw the phone on the table was Danny's cell and not the house phone. "Was she leaving you a message for Maddie?"

"No, I called her."

"Plans for your mom's birthday next month?"

"Nope." Danny stood up and pocketed his phone. "I'm going to Sam's. See you later."

Jack paid more attention after that. There were other phone calls, always the same, where Danny would find somewhere private to talk. Sometimes he clammed up when Jack walked in and quickly ended the conversation. Once, Jack thought he caught Danny crying. It was late. Jack himself had only gotten home a little while ago thanks to a particularly nasty ghost attack that day. For nearly twenty minutes, he and Maddie had chased the ghost boy, trying to catch him while he was down. Phantom was a damn good flyer, though, even when injured.

The first thing Jack did when he got home was check on the kids, and that's how he found Danny curled up beside his bed, his phone cradled against his ear. Every blanket in the room was pulled tight around him.

"I don't know if I can do it anymore," Danny had said. "It keeps getting harder, and today I just–" his voice cracked.

The moment that followed was quiet. Not a single sob escaped Danny, but his shoulders shook. Jack was about to step inside when Alicia's voice, strong and steady, so loud in the silence, came from the phone.

"You're gonna be okay, kiddo."

Jack didn't go inside. Maybe he should have. Danny asked several times when they would be visiting Alicia next after the phone call. Every time he asked was like a punch to the got, but Jack never spoke up. If Danny wanted to come to him, then he could. If he was more comfortable talking to Alicia about this mystery problem, that was fine too.

He'll come to me when he needs to. Jack kept telling himself that until the day Danny died.

—

Jazz hoped she might see Dani in the crowd. A small part of her whispered that maybe she had missed Dani, glanced away right as she appeared. But, considering how few people were in attendance, that seemed unlikely. Beyond that, if a halfa did not want to get seen, they would not be seen.

Which brought Jazz to another guest she expected, although did not welcome: Vlad. Her worrying proved pointless, though, when he never showed up. As the lingering crowd thinned, Danny's friends and loved ones saying their final goodbyes, Jazz searched the heads once more. No red beanie or glowing white hair, and no pompous ponytail.

At the first opportunity, Jazz pulled Sam and Tucker aside. "Have either of you seen Dani?"

"Uh... is this some kind of joke?" Tucker asked. He glanced none too subtly toward the freshly filled grave. Sam at least had more tact and waited for Jazz to elaborate.

"Dani-with-an-i."

"Oh." Tucker shook his head. "No. We've been trying to contact her, but there isn't a great way to reach her. Left some messages with some ghosts, but that doesn't help if she's not in the Ghost Zone right now."

"She isn't." Jazz checked on the whereabouts of her parents. They were nearer the grave, speaking solemnly with Angela and Maurice Foley. Most importantly, they were well out of earshot. "I saw her at Fenton Works last night, but she ran away."

"Damn." Sam lifted the black veil hanging from her hat, revealing red eyes and smudged makeup. "I hope she's okay. Did she say anything before she left?"

Jazz hesitated. Although the whole exchange only lasted a few seconds, it had yet to leave her mind, for reasons she was ashamed to admit. And yet, no matter how guilty she felt about her initial reaction to Dani, she could not forget about it.

"No," she said. "Dani saw me and bolted. She might have thought I was my mom since it was so dark."

"We'll have to keep an eye out for her. I don't if she would stay without Danny here, but it's not like she has anywhere else to go, either," Sam said.

"I will, too. I thought she might show up here, but..."

"Sammykins!" Pamela Manson called from the cemetery gate. She tapped her wrist, although she wore no watch. "There's a crowd forming, dear."

Jazz grimaced at the sight beyond the funeral gates. A small gathering of Danny Phantom fans stood on the sidewalk, some bearing signs, all dressed for mourning. It was the most inappropriate display she had ever seen. None of them had breached the cemetery, but Jazz suspected that was because of the hired security standing at the gate and not the onlooker's own sense of morality.

She dreaded what the crowd might do as soon as she and her family left.

Sam scowled. "I can't believe them. I get if they want to mourn the local hero, but this is such gross behaviour." She looked remarkably like her mother as she hissed those words, her lip curling in disgust as she glared at the onlookers.

Jazz agreed wholeheartedly.

"I'll text you as soon as my mom takes me off house arrest," Sam told Tucker. "Jazz, let us know if you see Dani again. I'll sleep a little easier knowing she's alright."

Jazz nodded and gave her guarantee.

—

Vlad has lost obsessions before. Most well-balanced ghosts have. Any experienced ghost knows to have a few central obsessions and a handful of smaller ones. Latch on to a passing interest hard enough and all it takes is a little dedication to turn that into a full-blown obsession. Then, once it becomes tedious, let it go and move on to something else.

There have been some obsessions that he lost against his will. He once had a bonsai tree, a nice juniper, that he loved dearly. It went up in flames with his Wisconsin mansion the first time Danny destroyed his home. Vlad felt the loss like a bitter sting. At the same time, his determination to capture Danny for himself only grew, overwhelming painful prickle. Every slight against him only fuelled his desire more. Never had he fought so hard for something without immediate success. It made the game that much more fun.

And it was a game. Danny learned fast, but there was so much he didn't know, couldn't do. It was so easy to toy with him, egg him on, guide him to new abilities. The potential within him was limitless. Vlad could have overwhelmed Danny in seconds but there's no fun in that.

Perhaps that's why it was so easy for his other obsessions to slip away without him noticing.

He drifts through the halls of his mansion, familiar yet alien at the same time. On the landing, he drags his hand along the bannister, dust gathering against his fingers. His limb flickers, wispy blue, jumping sporadically in and out of intangibility. He designed the balustrades himself, inspired by the first twisted haunts he discovered within the Ghost Zone.

The wood cracks and splinters as his fingers solidify while passing through.

Before him, the front hall looms. Vast, open, a point of pride in every mansion he has owned. Better to impress the guests with a grand display upon entry. Now he finds it suffocating. All his hours of work, his obsessions wasted. Where simply looking upon his walls once filled him with pride, now they sicken him.

There is nothing for him here.

He went to such desperate lengths. Threats, bribery, manipulation, cloning. Nothing ever worked. Each new failure cut him deeper, made him more desperate, more eager. No. No, that wasn't right. He was subtle, clever, controlling an oblivious pawn in a cruel game. The winner, the mastermind. The cloak, not the dagger. The cat, not the mouse. But still always losing. Surely something he had to work this hard for, harder than anything in his life, had to be worth it.

And then, in an instant, in the span of an ectoblast, his obsession died.

"Maddie." Vlad moans, voice breaking. "Maddie. Maddie. Maddie." His please reach no one who cares. All his attempts to reach out, reforge that connection they once had, have been rebuffed.

"Maddie." Once, not so long ago, the sound of her name alone was enough to light his core ablaze.

But when, when, when, how, somewhere along the way that warmth died.

"Madeline, I need you." Please, please. Don't leave me to this. Don't go.

The cold wind whips against him, not unusual for an October day, but it startles him, nonetheless. He hunches halfway down the drive, the empty halls of his mansion long behind. He could return home, but... no. Home won't help him now.

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