#Yeah! She's Zach's (Day 2) cousin

[cheezyharu]

Pokeddexy 2024 | Day 11 - Ground (Yamask)

The local mischief, she often wears a mask and runs around, performing various pranks in the name of justice.

"Wait, so it was from you???"

"Hah~" The boy with the gray-red mask sighs "It was me, yeah. I made that mask for her while her family came over. I'd never expect that she'd do the same thing as us here."

"I mean, are you proud of her for that?"

"...No comment."

...

...Third half-ghost in a row! I can't help it they're so cool...

Yamask is definitely one of the Pokemons that stick with me through childhood, that museum episode in the bw anime scared the heck out of me...

-> Day 1 | -> Day 10 | -> Day 12

[rickybowensfever]

Sicktember - Zach has a headache

Another @sicktember post! Today’s story is with my oc’s Kylie and Zach. 

Prompts: 

Blankets

Medicine

Missing Out 

Headache 

Fever

 Zach and Kylie are in the last week of summer before their senior year of high school and want to make every minute count. So, when Zach arrives at Kylie’s family’s End of the Summer BBQ looking flushed and develops a headache, Kylie drops everything to take care of him. 

Zach swings by the kitchen where his sister, Emily is garnishing her avocado toast — a sprinkle of paprika, an egg over easy — before taking the right Instagram photo to share with her friends.

“‘Morning!” Zach croaks, startled by the sound of his voice. Must just be my morning voice he tries to convince himself. 

He grabs a glass from the wooden cabinet nearest to the refrigerator and pours a glass of orange juice for himself before finding a quick breakfast. 

His eyes grow wide when he sees a white plate with four pieces of bacon lying on it. He quickly takes piece by piece until only one remains on the plate. 

 “Zach!!” Emily exclaimed, her eyes raised and face scrunched in annoyance. 

“Those were for Mom!” she explains, holding a hand on her hip. 

“Sorry…” he mutters, “That would’ve been nice to know before, you know” he gestures his hands to the plate of bacon, pouting his lip. 

“Ugh, it’s fine. I can just make more” 

“Sorry, I have to be at Kylie’s soon for their barbeque and I totally woke up late,” he says trying to justify his actions. 

 “Oh, nice! I’m going to try and stop by later with Kara”  she half-smiles. Emily has been seeing a girl named Kara for over a month now since they met at her summer job as a school nurse at a summer day camp. Emily’s first job since she graduated from Med School. 

 Zach touched his Home screen button to reveal the time, 12:48 PM with five unread messages from Kylie probably asking him where he was. 

 “Fuck. I better go” Zach said, panicked. He had been up late watching Netflix aimlessly and his throat was sore. He had tried everything: tea and honey, gargling with salt water, and honey-flavored cough drops. Nothing was curing the aching in his throat. 

Finally, around 2 am, he was able to fall asleep thanks to some NyQuil. 

But, he was deeply regretting his decisions when he woke up at 11:45 am after Kylie told him to get to her house at 12. 

Luckily, the pain in his throat had hindered. Please, don’t do this to me again, he said into his mirror as he pulled on a blue t-shirt and khaki shorts. 

 Zach pulled into the Daniels’ driveway which was beginning to pack up with cars. As he parked his car, Kylie’s brother, Blake ran over to him waving his arms around in excitement. 

Blake was a year younger than Kylie and Zach, playing in a band with some of his high school friends. 

“Yo! You playing tonight?” Zach asked as he got out of the car to greet him with a handshake. 

Blake laughed, “Nah. I got out of that tonight. One of my bandmates is taking their brother to college,” he said. 

Blake escorted Zach to the back gate where their ingrown pool was fenced in and the party was brewing. Kylie waved to her boyfriend the minute she saw him. She wore an ombre purple bikini top with denim shorts and flip-flops, pulling out pool noodles for the kids to play with. 

Zach smiled, walking over to her, greeting her younger cousins. He pulled her in for a kiss on the cheek.

“Do you have any water?” he asked feeling dehydrated. 

Kylie perked up, turning her head toward him. 

“Yeah! Right in the blue cooler”, she mentioned, throwing a couple of pool noodles into the pool at the kids. The kids screamed with excitement, one laying on their stomach and the others blowing water out the trunk of the noodle. Kylie giggled. 

Zach pulled a cold water bottle out of the cooler and sighed out of relief. Suddenly, he felt light-headed and super thirsty. He chugged the water bottle until only drops of water remained. 

“Let’s go inside. My mom still needs help getting everything set up” she mentioned. 

Zach nodded, following her lead. 

Kylie closed the gate over and started heading into the house. 

When they walked into the Daniels’ home, Zach was immediately greeted by her family members. 

“Zach! Nice to see ya,” Uncle Tim said. Zach nodded waving at him. “I’ll be right back, you chat” Kylie whispered in his ear. 

Zach shrugged. “Ready for senior year? Do you have any colleges picked out?” Aunt Michelle (Tim’s wife) asked. 

Zach dreaded this question. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. 

“Uh, I’m going to community college, actually,” he said, confidently. 

“Oh,” they said in unison. Zach was so used to hearing the disappointment in their voices when he told any adult he wasn’t going the “traditional” route for college. 

Why was it so bad that he’d rather save money and figure out what he actually wanted to do instead of contributing to being in crippling debt from student loans? His sister had done the same thing and now, she landed a job as a school nurse. When he figured out whatever the hell he wanted to do in life, he would be successful, too. 

“Yeah! Trying to save money” he said smiling at them. This was his cue to walk away. He walked over to the sectional in the living room across from the kitchen where the TV was playing a re-run of a Food Network competition. 

Once the winner was revealed and another episode started, Zach looked around for his girlfriend. The chatter of Kylie’s loud relatives made his head start to hurt and fatigue set in. 

His eyes lit up when he saw a hint of purple and his girlfriend bringing in a folded chair for an elderly woman to sit in. He ran over to Kylie as soon as he saw her. 

 “Hey. Can I go lay down in your room? I have a headache” he said, talking low so no one could hear him. 

“Sure. Do you want some Advil?” she asked, pouting her lip with concern, “You look a little flushed” she mentioned. 

Zach nodded, “Yeah, that’d be great” and jogged up the stairs turning a corner in the hallway to enter her room. 

The noise died down as he closed the door. Now only hints of loud voices were in the distance. Zach grabbed a fuzzy blanket from a wicker basket and lied on top of her dark purple comforter, closing his eyes as his head pounded. 

Then, the door opened. 

Kylie rubbed his back saying, “Hey, I brought some water and Advil” 

Zach opened his eyes and grabbed the two pink tablets from her hand, chasing them with the water. 

“A nap might help? You look exhausted” she said brushing her hand through his soft brown hair. 

He nodded, “Thanks” and curled back into his position. A shiver went through his body. Making Kylie now more concerned. 

“Do you feel okay? Besides the headache?” she asked quietly. 

“Mhmm” Zach mumbled. “Alright, I’ll check in later, or come and get me if you’re feeling better,” she said, closing her door over. 

 Zach woke up an hour later, feeling cold, his throat burning, and his head pounding more than earlier. He groaned. He could just go home and rest, but driving felt impossible. 

He laid in the bed trying to muster up some strength to send Kylie a text. He waited, counted to five in his head, and slowly picked his body up. 

Z: come here pls i need u 

K: coming! 

He threw his phone down and curled back up in his position. Shivering under the one blanket from earlier. 

The door opened and Kylie quietly walked. 

“Hey, everything okay?” she asked, calmly. 

Zach opened his eyes seeing she changed into a Lakewood University shirt - the college she was most eager to attend. 

“Need to go home. Can’t drive” he muttered. 

“Aw, what’s wrong?” she asked, worried.

“Everything,” he said, his voice raspy. “I just need to go” 

Zach groaned. “Babe, you can stay here. I don’t mind. I know you don’t feel well” she offered. 

He was silent. 

Kylie held in a laugh, resting the back of her hand on his forehead. “I think you have a fever,” she said frowning. 

“Why don’t you stay here until you’re feeling a little better? Then, I’ll drive you home” she suggested. “Your sister and your mom are already here, so I don’t think anyone would even be at your house”

“Okay,” he mumbled.

 “Let me get you some medicine and see if you have a fever,” she said, running out to the hallway closet where the Daniel’s stored their medicine. 

Kylie returned to the room with a bottle of Tylenol and a digital thermometer. 

“I’m sorry, but I need you to get up. Please” 

Zach slowly, painfully got up and looked at his girlfriend. 

Kylie frowned at his glassy eyes and pink cheeks. 

“This should help relieve your symptoms for a bit,” she said gesturing to the pink bottle.

Zach just looked at her. He looked exhausted, she thought. 

She poured the liquid into a plastic measuring cup and handed it over to him. Zach took a big gulp of the medicine, wincing from the taste. 

“It’ll make you feel so much better. I promise” she said smiling softly, then grabbing the digital thermometer. 

“Next,” she said holding the thermometer in the air. Zach opened his mouth, letting the instrument rest under his tongue. 

“I’ll get some more blankets while we wait,” she said softly. 

Even though he felt like utter shit, Zach was so grateful for Kylie. She would drop anything for him, even their family’s annual barbeque. Even before they made things official, as just friends, she was still always there for him. 

Beep. Finally, the thermometer beeped as she held two blankets in her arms. 

She placed the blankets on the bed as Zach lied on his back with the blanket she gave him earlier. 

Kylie took the instrument out of her boyfriend’s mouth and read it. “Okay, you probably just have a bad cold. Nothing we can’t fix! And, you have a little fever, but the medicine should help with that ” she explained. 

Zach grabbed the blankets at the end of the bed, ignoring whatever she was saying. 

“Zach? Are you listening to me?” she asked noticing her boyfriend’s extra blanket. 

He placed the blanket on top of the other and sighed out of relief. 

“Sorry, what did you say?” he asked. 

Kylie sighed. “I said, you have a little fever. But I think you just have a bad cold. Nothing we can’t fix” 

Zach nodded, feeling warmth under the blankets. “Sorry. I really was looking forward to today” he muttered. 

“Oh, don’t even worry! We had a great summer, anyway. Now, let’s get you better” she said kissing him on the forehead. 

See more of Zach and Kylie! 

LOVE SICK 

[holidaywishes]

Undercover

  Requested: 👍

  Summary/Request: i was wondering if you could write one where the reader and freddie are in a secret relationship but then the team find out at a gala and freddie and the reader kinda like «make love» when they get home?

  Warning: Smut (as per request), little bit of fluff because why not?, maybe some angst but I’m not sure yet.

  Author’s Note: I hope this is kind of what you were looking for when you made the request @all-time-fanatic. It’s a little bit different but kind of the same idea, I hope anyway. I’m sorry it’s a little late but I was pretty tired after the birthday party shenanigans, so, here it is. It’s a little rushed and a little short but it’s kinda cute so I was happy to be able to write something like this again!

  masterlist

  the other masterlist

xx

  At first, Freddie would show up at your door at 2 am and you’d give in to his dark eyes and strong hands. He’d hold you and kiss you and act like he loved you but he’d never stick around until you finally told him you deserved better or at least more than the girl he called for a hookup.

  “I don’t think you’d want my lifestyle” he whispered to you as he kissed your neck

  “How do you know?” you replied

  “Can’t this just be simple? Just fun?” he said

  “I want more than fun...” you sigh, pushing him away as you did so, “if you don’t, then fine, but I can’t do this booty call thing anymore.”

  “Do you know what the guys would think?” he yelled

  “Since when does it matter what they think? You’re your own person!” you shout back

  “I don’t think you understand...”

  “Then help me understand!”

  “I’m not the relationship type. At least not to them.”

  “Does it have to stay that way?”

  “Yes!” he shouted and you stepped back in disbelief.

  “Well...” you shook your head in shock, “I don’t know where to go from here then...”

  “I really like you, (Y/N),” he said, sweetly and intently, “but these guys... they’re young and they don’t care about relationships. They expect me to be as available as they are”

  “And you expect me to be even more available...”

  “(Y/N)...” he sighed

  “I want you, Freddie. But I want all of you. Not just the 2 am version of you that I only seem to get.”

  “Okay, well... what if we kept it a secret?” he suggested

  “A secret? Seriously?” you scoffed

  “It could be fun?” he continued, “this way we can be together but not have the judgement from all the prying eyes of the Maple Leafs”

  “How would that even work?”

  “Simple. We go to restaurants in parts of the city where the guys don’t go. Go to plays and movies during the week. Stay in and catch up on Ozark or Game of Thrones or Will Ferrell movies.”

  “And I just never interact with team functions or games or anything?”

  “If you can keep your hands and eyes off me, you can absolutely go. But if you’re going to do anything to give yourself away, then it’s best if you stay away.” His smirk at his final statement made you fall for him all over again and you found yourself agreeing to his terms. This arrangement lasted longer than you expected yourself to allow it but at the end of the day, you couldn’t imagine not spending your time with Freddie; so, it had to be a secret. So what?

xx

  Christmas and New Year’s had come and gone; you and Freddie were still playing your games behind everyone’s backs. You’d thought you could keep this going as long as possible until your friend handed you an invite to the Leafs annual MLSE fundraising gala.

  “Are you going to this?” she asked and you furrowed your brow

  “I don’t know... I don’t really have anything to donate...”

  “Why are you getting an invitation?”

  “My internship. I’m probably still on the list of employees.”

  “That was years ago?”

  “I don’t know, Mads,” you sighed, trying to come up with lies on the spot, “I made some friends in the organization. Maybe they remembered me and thought I’d like to go?”

  “Do you get a plus one?” she asked cheerfully and you sarcastically examined the invitation

  “No.” You stated bluntly and she rolled her eyes before scoffing at you. When the night finally came, you arrived at the hotel where the gala was being held; making your way to the ballroom where you were met by all kinds of glamour you didn’t expect.

  “Hello..” a woman’s voice greeted you as you stood in the doorway, she smiled at you when you finally met her stare, “can I help you find your table?” She asked politely and you nodded shyly, giving her your name so she could find where you were sitting; she outstretched her arm to direct you to your table where you saw a few familiar faces

  “Thank you” you said with a smile, sighing as you made your way over to the table

  “(Y/N)!” Mitch called out while Freddie sipped his champagne

  “Mitch!” you greeted in return while Zach pulled out your chair for you to sit down, “thank you.” You said shyly to him and he smiled before taking his seat next to Alannah

  “When we sent out the invitation, we didn’t think you’d show...” Auston added

  “You guys sent me the invitation?” you asked, glancing at Freddie who’d barely made eye contact with you yet

  “Of course!” Morgan exclaimed, “we liked having you around and we thought you’d have fun!”

  “Well, I guess I owe you all a thank you,” you smiled, “but I probably mostly owe it to Steph, don’t I?”

  “Yes. Yes you do” she laughed. The rest of the night, you tried getting Freddie’s attention. “Accidentally” losing control of your fork and flinging food in his direction, laughing loudly at Auston’s jokes (which were awful and not funny at all,) getting up to go to the washroom and brushing your arm against his shoulder as you walked by; nothing. He wouldn’t budge or acknowledge you and it was driving you insane. His words from when the arrangement began echoed in your mind, ‘If you can keep your hands and eyes off me, you can absolutely go. But if you’re going to do anything to give yourself away, then it’s best if you stay away,’ and all you could think was that this was some kind of test.

  “Would you like to dance?” Willy asked from behind you and you turned to him before smiling in agreement. Making your way to the dance floor with Willy felt strange, like your younger cousin had asked you to dance to appease his mom, but you still hoped that Freddie would see and get jealous.

  “How’s it going, Willy?” you asked awkwardly and he smiled at you before dropping his eyes to the floor

  “Good, good. You?” he replied and you furrowed your brow. It was then that you realized something was going on and you smirked to yourself

  “What do you know?” you sighed

  “What do you mean?” he answered your question with a question, forcing you to roll your eyes

  “Willy... Why did you ask me to dance? What’s your angle?”

  “No angle. Just wanted to dance with you...” he was avoiding eye contact now and you knew he knew something so you watched where his eyes went and followed them back to your table

  “WILLY!” you whispered to grab his attention and he jerked back to you, “tell me what you know!”

  “I-- I really don’t know what you mean...” You huffed as he spun you once, bringing you close to him again

  “I know you’re hiding something. What I don’t know is why...” you tried not to give yourself away but you feared you’d already failed at that.

  “I’m not hiding anything,” he smiled, “this is just my face.” he replied and you laughed at his choice of words as the song ended; he kissed your hand before walking back to his table and you made your way to the bar

  “Can I just get a Gin and Tonic please? Thank you”

  “You’re going to blow our cover” Freddie said, walking up to the bar and standing as close as he could to you

  “He speaks” you whispered as the bartender handed you your free drink and you put some cash in the tip jar

  “I told you that we couldn’t give ourselves away...”

  “If you think not talking to me is helping keep this a secret, you’re wrong. You’ve talked to me before in front of these guys. You not acknowledging my presence here is just going to catch their attention.”

  “What did Willy say?” he asked suddenly

  “Nothing. Does he know something?”

  “I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking you what he said”

  “This is ridiculous Fred...” you whispered, turning your body to him while he continued to face the bar, “they don’t care. They’ll care that we tried to hide it but come on. They don’t care that we’re together. So just hold my hand and dance with me...” He rested his arms on the bar top, taking a second before finally turning his head to look at you, letting out a sigh when he saw the pleading in your eyes; choosing to walk away instead of say something. You grabbed his arm before he got too far away and he wrapped his arms around you to dance so you didn’t garner the wrong kind of attention

  “Don’t do this...” he whispered

  “Are you embarrassed of me? Is that what all of this has been about?” you whispered back, leaning your head on his chest lightly before he made you look up at him

  “I could never be embarrassed of you. I just didn’t want you to get hurt.”

  “This is hurting me,” you said, gesturing to the two of you and the table, “not telling them is hurting me. Hiding is hurting me. I don’t know what you want from me. You say you like me but you’re too scared to actually be with me.”

  “I’m not scared...” he countered

  “Prove it then! Tell them”

  “(Y/N)...”

  “Or kiss me.” The words left your tongue quickly and you couldn’t take them back. Freddie didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Didn’t look away. You weren’t sure what he was going to do or how he was going to act, so you braced yourself for whatever reaction would come next, surprised when he smirked at you and leaned down to capture your lips. Your table broke out in cheers and applause as they watched you and Freddie finally embrace, leading you to laugh against Freddie’s lips.

  “We were wondering when you would finally do that... or something like that” Auston laughed as the group walked over to you two

  “What?” Freddie questioned

  “Oh come on, Fred,” Alannah smirked, “did you really think we didn’t know?”

  “I see (Y/N) regularly,” Stephanie added, “she went from moody and tired to... well, happy.”

  “Yeah and we saw that you were happy, almost giddy, too. When I would talk to Steph,” Mitch said, gesturing between him and his girlfriend, “it didn’t take long for us to put the pieces together. But you two were just... never public”

  “We thought we’d respect your privacy,” Zach added, “if that’s what you wanted.”

  “It’s not like any of us had any proof anyway” Willy chimed in from behind you

  “But we never thought you’d keep it a secret for this long. So, we never got our proof and we didn’t want to say anything in case it would...” Morgan said, “ruin everything”

  “Well well well...” you said triumphantly, “who was right all this time, Andersen?” He growled at you

  “You’re never gonna let this go are you?”

  “What? That I was right?”

  “Yeah that...” he sighed and you smiled, wrapping your arms around his waist and he kissed the top of your head. You spent the remainder of the night attached to Freddie, with his big arm hanging over your shoulders or wrapped around your waist, the two of you barely separated. With all the commotion of the night, no one seemed to notice that the two of you slipped away or they just didn’t care enough to stop you, “let’s get out of here...” he whispered and you smiled before popping yourself up on your tip toes to kiss him

  “I’d love to”

  “I wanna get you alone” he smiled, making you laugh. He had been grazing the skin of your inner knee with his thumb the entire ride home and you had been imagining the many ways he’d make you moan. You held onto his waist as the two of you walked to his apartment but the anticipation was almost too much to bear. Once you got into the elevator, Freddie pushed you against the back wall, placing sweet kisses along your neck and you giggled at the feeling of his beard ticking your skin.

  “Freddie...” you moaned, “did you press the button?”

  “Hmm?” he said absentmindedly

  “Are we moving?” you giggled and he seemed to snap out of it. Stretching his arm back to press the button while still keeping his lips attached to yours, groaning when you moved to remove his suit jacket. 

  “We’ll be there soon, love, just wait” he teased, lips trailing your neck as he spoke

  “Too long. Can’t wait.” You replied, moving his face up to yours so you could kiss his lips. He quickly moved you to the elevator doors so he could pull the emergency stop button on the panel, the small space soon filled with heavy panting from the two of you. You pushed Freddie’s jacket off and you proceeded to undo the buttons on his shirt before the fabric hit the ground; moving from kissing his lips to marking his torso with little bites as you made your way down to his belt. Undoing the buckle without taking your eyes off of his, watching him bite his lip as you pulled down his pants and began pumping your hands up and down his shaft before taking him in your mouth. He lobbed his head back against the wall where he stood and moaned at your ministrations, encouraging you to move your mouth faster as your hand followed in sync. 

  “Fuck, (Y/N),” he growled, “that feels so good.” You smiled to yourself as you took him out of your mouth, messaging his length with his precum, taking care to catch his gaze as you licked his tip. It didn’t take long, after you took him back in your mouth, for his warm juices to fill the back of your throat; you wiped the corners of your mouth as you swallowed and he stood you up. You thought, for a minute, that he was going to trail down your body and take his time moving his tongue across your folds but when he crashed his lips onto yours, you knew he had other things in mind. He lifted you up and you wrapped your legs around his hips as he pressed you against the wall, his fingers slowly trailing down your chest until they reached your core. His lips feverishly connecting with yours distracted you from his finger entering you quickly but once you noticed it, you melted into him; moaning his name as he worked his finger inside you, adding another when he wanted you to moan louder.

  “Freddie!” you moaned, panting into his mouth when you tried to kiss him once more, “oh god, fuck!” Your arms fell over his shoulders and you leaned to whisper in his ear, “fuck me Freddie.” Your words were met by an unflinching Freddie, who didn’t need to be gentle with you today. He entered you swiftly, his thrusts harsh and fast, your body hitting the wall forcefully with each thrust and you could feel bruises forming on your sides. You lobbed your head onto his shoulder, whining his name as he bit your shoulder to stop himself from being too loud

  “Fuck!” he finally let out and you scratched his back as his movements became deep and your whole body begged for friction

  “Freddie...” you whined but he didn’t move, only kissed your jaw as you moaned into the air, “fuck, baby. Fuck... Fre-eh-ddie...” When your breath hitched in your throat, he began moving again but this time he was slow and stayed quite deep in you. His moans overcame him and he began to pump into you faster than he had before, bringing him closer to his orgasm with every move he made

  “Fuck” he whined, capturing you in a kiss to contain himself

  “Scream, baby,” you coaxed, “I want to hear you scream my name.” You bit his ear lobe as the words exited your mouth

  “Fuck, (Y/N)! God damn, shit, fuck, baby.” He practically chanted, forcing a smile to make it’s way onto your face. He moved his hand back down to your core to bring you to your climax, Freddie biting your jaw as your body writhed underneath his powerful frame. He made sure you came first and he kissed you as he came down from his high, putting you down gently so you could fix yourself. You knelt down to pull his pants up for him, reversing the order that this had all happened in, and he laughed at how duteous you were being.

  “What?” you giggled

  “I just think you’re cute” he admitted as you button his shirt for him and handing him his tie

  “You’re not too bad yourself” you smiled, stumbling a little when you went to pick up his jacket from where it had been thrown; not realizing how little feeling you had in your legs at the moment. Freddie caught you as you made your way back to him, “thanks” you laughed, kissing him deeply as he hit the emergency stop button once more to allow the elevator to move. You helped him put on his jacket just as the doors opened and you were met by an older couple who gave the two of you a sly smile; leading Freddie to push you out of the elevator and hold you in front of him the entire way to his door.

  “Do you think they knew?” he asked, kissing your cheek as he got his key out

  “God, I hope not.”

  “He sure seemed like he knew.” You hit his chest and scoffed at his remark, crashing onto the couch after he’d let you in.

  “I’m glad I’m not a secret anymore,” you admitted, drifting off to sleep, “I like you too much.”

[dilf-manifester]

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60 for the ask thing ;));););)))

wow :smirk: thank u for the ask 

1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans? wine glasses 😌✨they make me feel fancy yk how it is

2. chocolate bars or lollipops? lollipops ✨dunno why im like this but here i am ig

3. bubblegum or cotton candy? bubblegum bcs?? have yall tried the hello kitty grape bubblegum??? that shit slaps

4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you? as was with every gay person “a pleasure to have in class”

5. do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups? cans bcs then i can crush it with my hands and flex on everyone else

6. pastel, boho, tomboy, preppy, goth, grunge, formal or sportswear? goth and formal bcs uhh yeah 

7. earbuds or headphones? earbuds 🤧i dont like the fact that people can hear ur music with headphones

8. movies or tv shows? uHHH i’d have to say tv shows 😩i can pay more attention to shorter episodes yk

9. favorite smell in the summer? the mix of humid summer air and those mosquito candles

10. game you were best at in p.e.? bro im gay did u actually think i would be good at pe 

11. what you have for breakfast on an average day? i don’t 🥰thanks for asking!

12. name of your favorite playlist? either songs for when the drip or fuck i got blood on my nice white shirt

13. lanyard or key ring? keyrings r better dont @ me

14. favorite non-chocolate candy? black licorice cats 😳😳they’re so good like holy shit

15. favorite book you read as a school assignment? the bell jar 😔👉👈its one of my favorite books to this day

16. most comfortable position to sit in? on the floor or with my legs hanging over the arm of the chair

17. most frequently worn pair of shoes? leopard print slip ons 🙈🙈they’re so comfortable i stg

18. ideal weather? snowy so i can just sit inside with the fireplace going and do some writing 

19. sleeping position? uHHHH idk what to call it but i think the closest thing is fetal position 😭

20. preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)? honestly whatever scrap of paper is closest 😭im not picky

21. obsession from childhood? dinosaurs. that’s it that’s the post.

22. role model? i have a few but markiplier (cringe ik) and john green r my main ones🤧🤧🤧i just look up to them a lot yk

23. strange habits? i always have to knock on a door 5 times before entering and okay that might seem excessive but as it turns out idc

24. favorite crystal? malachite or tiger’s eye 😳

25. first song you remember hearing? brown sugar by the rolling stones 😭my mom used to have sticky fingers on vinyl so she used to play it constantly

26. favorite activity to do in warm weather? swim even tho i am AWFUL at it

27. favorite activity to do in cold weather? play in the snow or just sit inside with the fire going bcs im literally 5 years old mentally

28. five songs to describe you? she’s out of her mind by blink 182, goddamn by never loved, do what you want by ok go, impressive depressive by bad luck, and true romance by she wants revenge

29. best way to bond with you? just talk to me straight up or send me music recs pls

30. places that you find sacred? cemeteries and abandoned schools. they have a rlly specific vibe to them ngl

31. what outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names? uhhh so its rlly just my docs, black jeans, a mesh type undershirt and whatever top shirt i pull out of my drawer

32. top five favorite vines? is that a police??? im calling the weed❗❗, stAHp i could’ve dropped my croissant, that one where the alien’s walking on the treadmill, summer solstice summer summer solstice, and zach stop 

33. most used phrase in your phone? ‘omfg what the fuck’ bcs for some reason thats my automatic response to anything

34. advertisements you have stuck in your head?  whatever the fuck the ad for the 2001 buick lesabre was 

35. average time you fall asleep? like uHHH 12:15 am 🤧

36. what is the first meme you remember ever seeing? doge 😭😭idk why i remember it so vividly but my sister showed me the orignal doge meme and i thought it was the funniest shit

37. suitcase or duffel bag? suitcase 🤧they make me feel cool

38. lemonade or tea? both 🙈i’m an arnold palmer kinda mf

39. lemon cake or lemon meringue pie? lemon meringue pie 🤧banger dessert methinks

40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school? a fence caught on fire in front of the science rooms bcs someone was smoking weed on the roof and threw their blunt on the dead bushes and everything went downhill from there

41. last person you texted? my grandma asking her if she could pick up some tomatoes from vons 🧍‍♂️

42. jacket pockets or pants pockets? JACKET POCKETS SUPREMACY❗❗❗

43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket? ngl i wear all of those but i gotta go with the hoodie 🤧🤧

44. favorite scent for soap? lavender or vanilla rose😌✨

45. which genre: sci-fi, fantasy or superhero? sci-fi bcs uhh yea fuck it thats why

46. most comfortable outfit to sleep in? just an oversized shirt that’s it that’s the post

47. favorite type of cheese? swiss or havarti and you can fight me on that

48. if you were a fruit, what kind would you be? pineapple 😌😌😌

49. what saying or quote do you live by? ‘fuck’ -markiplier 2021

50. what made you laugh the hardest you ever have? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=553CfZAADag i swear the first time i saw that i laughed so hard i thought i was gonna die

51. current stresses? everything; next question

52. favorite font? comic sans bcs im 8 years old 

53. what is the current state of your hands? smoov and v well taken care of 

54. what did you learn from your first job? capitalism is the root of all evil and that traditional working is outdated also raise the minimum wage 

55. favorite fairy tale? vasilii the beggar 🤧🤧idk if anyone else knows it but its always been one of my favorites

56. favorite tradition? every year during rosh hashanah we go over to my uncle and tia’s house and i absolutely kick ass at mariokart bcs all my cousins suck at itn also lighting the hannukiah (hanukkah menorah)

57. the three biggest struggles you’ve overcome? low self esteem, anxiety over literally everything, and an inferiority complex (now replaced with a fucking god complex bcs there’s no inbetween for me)

58. four talents you’re proud of having? i can play like a bunch of instruments, im rlly good at writing, i’m good at building things and doing things with my hands, and i can identify what song’s playing rlly fast if i know it🤧

59. if you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be? motherfucker or son of a bitch 😊😊😊

60. if you were a character in an anime, what kind of anime would you want it to be? slice of life like bro just please give me a break

[poc-movie-supremacy]

Merry Christmas

On one very Merry Christmas, disaster strikes the Lim-Ilnyckyj family. Will everything be okay or will it be deadly Christmas for all???

------

Steven hates eggnog. He hates that it’s only sold on Christmas. He hates that he always forgets to buy more of it. He hates that he made Andrew go get some on that Christmas night. 

Yesterday night…

Steven loves Christmas. He loved it when he was a kid and he loved it now. He loved the Christmas music, and the twinkling lights, and the constant buzz of happiness. It’s become even more special now that he has Andrew and Sunny and Mark. 

“Do you have everything you need for the party tomorrow, baby?” 

Steven surveyed the kitchen. “I think we should. Do you wanna get started on the dumplings?” 

Andrew nodded and started getting out all the ingredients. “Sure are you going to start the banana bread?”

“Yup.” Steven maneuvered around Andrew as he got out his ingredients. They worked together in the kitchen seamlessly to produce a Christmas feast. Tomorrow in the late afternoon, they were hosting a large Christmas dinner with all of their friends and family. Considering who was coming they were planning on making a large meal. 

“The ham is going to be ready for pick up tomorrow right?”

“Last time I checked honey.” Steven had on a Hanukkah sweater under his apron. It was a gift from Zach a few years ago. He also had an elf hat that Adam gave him and a discrete hickey from Andrew. Didn’t need the kids seeing that.

As they cooked, those same kids sat on the couch watching Christmas movies.  Currently they were enthralled by Disney’s A Christmas Carol. The lights from the Christmas tree blinked lazily at them. It painted the kids in a warm glow. The smells of cooking food and scented candles wafted around the house. The adults kept a half an eye on them as they worked in the kitchen. 

As Steven stirred the banana bread mix, he felt a slight tug on his pant leg. Looking down he saw his baby boy holding on to his leg. “Hey Markie, what’s up?”

Steven knelt down so he could hear his son better. “Baba, are ghosts real?” Steven almost fell over laughing. It was making his son agitated but he couldn’t stop. Sunny and Andrew started to look at them curiously.

Before Mark could start crying Steven squeezed his hand. “Buddy, hey, Buddy I’m sorry. You know what, when your Uncle Shane and Ryan come over tomorrow you ask them ok? They know more about this than I do.” 

“Oh God, Ghosts.” Andrew groaned into his hands. He looked almost comical in his zany red Christmas sweater and Mickey Santa hat that Ryan got him a few years ago. Their poor kids look very confused at their parents. Steven almost fell down from laughing too hard. 

“Do you think when they finally started dating Shane would intentionally scare Ryan so that Ryan would go to him for comfort?” Andrew wondered. The red Christmas light fell on his profile, emphasizing his strong jawline and beard. It made Steven’s heart happy to look at. It was also hilarious sine he looked like a giant red man from where Steven was crouching on the floor. 

“Oh most definitely. I had to help him sometimes.” Steven rolled his eyes exasperatedly while Andrew chuckled. 

"Anyways, you kids wanna make Christmas cookies after me papa are done?” Steven asked. Papa and Baba’s cookies were a special treat for the Lim-Ilnyckyj kids. They enthusiastically took any chance of making them with their father’s as they could. 

“Ok watch a few more movies while Papa and I finish cooking, alright?” They nodded and went back into the living room. Frosty the Snowman and It’s Christmas Charlie Brown played through before Steven and Andrew were ready for them. Sunny and Mark rushed into the kitchen eagerly, happy to bake with their parents. It got a little messy, but they had fun. Andrew had flour in his hair and icing was everywhere. After that adventure, Steven and Andrew wrangled their kids to bed. Then they cleaned up the house to make it more presentable. 

Half-way through the clock struck midnight.  Steven was busy fixing the mistletoe so he missed Andrew coming up behind him. He squeaked when he felt Andrew wrap his arms around him. “Merry Christmas, Baby.” Andrew reached up to press a quick kiss to Steven’s lips. 

Just as quickly he pulled away leaving Steven a giggly mess. He playfully swatted Andrew on the shoulder before getting back to work. “Merry Christmas to you too, Honey.” 

Christmas Day for the Lim-Ilnyckyj household was chaotic. Sunny woke up Mark and together they woke up their parents. They were found sleeping back to back holding hands. They did not go to bed like that. It made Sunny and Mark laugh as they bounced on the bed. Their giggling is what actually woke up the two parents. Andrew gave Mark a bear hug while Steven tickled Sunny senseless. When they finally escaped their parents hold,  the kids pulled their parents to the Christmas Tree. 

“Don’t forget we’re going to Mass at noon. Then everyone’s coming over at 3. Can you get me some matcha honey?” Steven asked. 

“Sure.” Andrew stood up from the couch to go get some coffee in the kitchen. Light streamed in from the open windows onto the children. It made them almost glow in the morning light. 

Steven peacefully watched the kids divide up the presents. Mark got some nice lego’s and a coloring book while Sunny got a kid-safe detective and chemistry kit. They got a few other gifts but this was their favorite. Andrew came back with two cups of matcha, one for Steven and one for himself. Steven smiled happily and kissed his husband’s cheek in thanks. They hadn’t been planning on opening their gifts, but Sunny and Mark insisted. 

Steven’s gift was an art project and a Ratatouille stuffed animal. Sunny and Mark smiled eagerly at him. “Uncle Adam helped us pick it out! Do you like it Baba?” 

Steven pulled his kids into a hug. “I love it so much.”

“Your turn papa.” Mark handed his father one of his presents from Sunny and Mark. It was another art project and a stuffed animal of a cat possibly from the Aristocats. 

Andrew squeezed the cat close to his chest. “You guys, this is great.” 

“You like it?” The kids asked him excitedly. 

“I love it. And I’ll open the rest of the gifts after I get the ham. Ham is the last thing we need right?” 

“It should be..” Steven said. It wasn’t. 

“Ok, let’s eat some breakfast, I’ll get the ham then we’ll go to Mass. Sounds good?” The kids nodded distractedly. Steven made them special christmas waffles (which were like regular waffles with a lot of sweets in them).

“You’re going to give them a sugar rush,” Andrew said.

“Yeah and they’ll crash during mass.”

Andrew smiled sneakily at his husband. “You're so smart.

Steven shrugged with faux humility, “I try.”

The kids did in fact crash half-way through Mass. Steven and Andrew had to carry them the rest of the celebration. All the Church goers cooed as they passed. At home, Steven and Andrew let the kids sleep as they made sure the house was ready for the party. The wrappers were all thrown away and the Christmas lights were turned on. The food was arranged artfully around the kitchen table. At 2:20 the children were woken up and cleaned up for the party.

The first people to show up were Uncle Ryan and Uncle Shane. Their three kids, Sherry Linda and Benny stood behind them carrying gifts. After hugging Ryan and shane, Steven graciously took the gifts from his nieces and nephews.  Mark ran up to Ryan’s leg and pulled him down. “Uncle Ryan, Uncle Ryan, Baba told me I could ask you a question.”

“What’s up slugger?”

“Are Ghosts real?” Mark whispered.

 Ryan immediately started wheezing while Shane groaned. Mark looked around very confused. His dads had the exact same reaction. At the same time Ryan told him yes, Shane shook his head no. An argument ensued to Mark’s utter confusion. Linda rolled her eyes, took her cousin by the hand and pulled him away.

“Ignore my dads. They can’t agree on this.” Sherry, her younger brother Benny and cousin Sunny and followed Linda and Mark. They made their way to the play room away from the bickering adults. 

“If you ask me,” Sherry started, “I think they are.” Benny nodded too. He was three so there was a 60/40 chance he was just agreeing because his older sister said it, but none of them commented on it. 

More guests started to arrive, The Fulmers, the Habersburgers, Cool Uncle Adam. The kids all went to play upstairs while the grownups stayed downstairs to talk.  

Christmas music rang throughout the house as Christmas lights twinkled around them. The cookies and eggnog were a big hit, especially after someone spiked it. Steven didn’t account for this and sadly they ran out of eggnog quicker than he planned. “Do you want me to get more?” Andrew whispered in Steven’s ear. He had seen Steven start to play with the hem of his shirt, a tell-tale sign he was agitated.

Steven played with the hem of his shirt more and almost started to bite his lip. Internally he was having a debate with himself. “Are you sure? You don’t mind?” Steven whispered.

“No it’s ok. The trip would be quick.”

“Want me to go with you?”

“Nah stay home. I think Bergara’s going to do something to my clothes, I want you to stay guard.”

“Yes sir.” Steven smiled and kissed his husband on the cheek. Silently Andrew left the party to get some eggnog. Annie saw this and quirked an eyebrow. 

Steven answered her silent question. “It’s all good.” No it wasn’t “He’s just getting some eggnog.” He wanted to get some eggnog.

Annie nodded slowly like she was debating on what to say next. “The roads are slippery. I hope he’s careful.”

The thought made Steven nervous, but nothing bad could happen right? It was Christmas Day so he decided to trust in God and believe that Andrew would be alright. Steven nodded at Annie and steered the conversation towards studio ghibli. 

-_-  -_-  -_-

It takes half an hour to get from the grocery store and back to the house. Steven knows after all the times one kid has gotten sick and he had to rush to the store for soup. It had been 20 minutes so far. Steven wasn’t too worried. He went to the kitchen to get more cinnamon rolls  where he caught Ryan staring out at the snow. 

“Snowstorm. Must be blue moon today,” Ryan whispered when he noticed Steven beside him. “First time I’ve ever had to bundle up like I do visiting Shane’s family in California. Kids were ecstatic though.”

Steven snorted softly. “I can imagine, Cali boy.”

Ryan fondly rolled his eyes, “That was an awful nickname and you know it. By the way, where did Andrew go? I haven’t seen him in a while.”

Before Steven could answer, his phone rang. Excusing himself, he answered and started to walk away. He made it four paces before he felt his heart shatter. 

-_-  -_-  -_-  

Steven was stock still in the middle of the kitchen. He wasn’t moving. Ryan called out to him, but he wasn’t responding. Hesitantly, Ryan walked over to Steven. His breaths were shallow and his eyes looked bloodshot. Carefully Ryan took the phone out of Steven’s hand.

“Hi, my name’s Ryan Bergara, I’m… Steven’s relative, what seems to be the problem?”

“Mr. Bergara, as I was just telling Mr. Lim, Mr. Andrew Ilnyckyj has been in a car accident. He’s in St. Luke’s hospital on 5th and 9th.” The operator had a sympathetic voice, probably picking up on how much Andrew means to Steven. Ryan took a deep breathe in an attempt to steel his nerves. He couldn’t break down, not yet, not until this whole mess was sorted out. Someone had to be strong for Steven.  

“Oh, um thank you, Steven and I’ll be there as soon as we can. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas Mr. Bergara. I hope your friend turns out okay.”

“I hope so too.” Ryan hung up and pocketed the phone. He turned towards Steven who was still stock-still and crying. “Hey man, I need you to breath. He’s going to be okay. Shane and I’ll drive you to the hospital, the rest can stay back and watch the kids.”

“The kids… you can’t tell them just yet. You can’t. It’s Christmas Ryan. Wait, wait until tomorrow.”

“Ok, ok I promise. Wait right here. I’m going to go tell the grown ups and get Shane.”

As he was about to leave, Steven reached out and tightly gripped Ryan’s arm. “Don’t, don’t leave.”

Ryan paused and took a deep breath .”Ok, slim lim, come with me.” Slowly Ryan tugged Steven back to the living room. To get everyone’s attention Ryan made one sharp whistle. 

Everyone turned to look at them and concern colored their faces when they saw Steven’s tear stained face. Before they could speak Ryan’s voice wobbled out, “Uhh, Steven just got a call from the hospital,” Annie held a hand over her mouth, “Andrew’s been in a car accident. Shane and I are going to take him there, but we need someone to stay behind to watch the kids. It’s Christmas. I don’t want them there quite yet.”

Shane walked up to stand on Steven’s otherside. He wrapped an arm around Steven’s shoulders and rubbed in an effort to calm him down. 

“We can stay with the kids,” Katie offered. She sent a sympathetic look towards Steven that went unnoticed. The others offered to clean up before either going to the hospital or going home.  

Ryan and Shane ushed Steven into the car and drove as quick as they lawfully could to the hospital. When they came to a stop in front of the hospital, Steven jumped out and made his way to Andrew’s room. They watched him go silently, sadly. Before they joined him they parked.   

-_-  -_-  -_-

Steven ran down the hallways as fast as he could. Christmas music played softly through the halls, but it doesn’t have the same soothing effect anymore. It started to become more threatening as it played in his mind over and over. You better watch out. You better watch out. YOU BETTER WATCH OUT  you better not cry, you better watch out I’m telling you why… 

It made him sick. His anxiety increased two-fold. The washed out hallways seemed to stretch on forever. It was freezing to the bones in there. For every step Steven took, the hallway added another foot of length. 

401… 402… 403.

Steven felt like he was running on borrowed air. Like when he got that phone call Satan stole his breath and wouldn’t give it back to him. He didn’t stop running though, he would run as quickly as he could to get to him. 

Finally, finally after his ugly christmas sweater was starting to choke him, finally after his tears were starting to stream down his cheeks, he made it to him. 

Andrew was lying unconscious in his hospital bed. There was a long scar over his left eye and a bruise on his left forearm. Steven almost fell over at the sight of it. Yet he pulled himself together and staggered to Andrew’s bedside. Tightly he grabbed one of Andrew’s hands as he willed himself to stay strong, stoic. 

The hospital room was cold and unfeeling. It smelled of antiseptic and medicine. Steven hated it. He hated that he was here, he hated that he was the okay one. Steven, Steven burned with anger. But anger doesn’t last long, especially for Steven who quickly goes from murderous to deep tragic sadness. It makes his knees weak. 

 He pulls up a chair so he could fall into it. While still holding his hands, he rests his forehead onto Andrew’s stomach and let the tears fall. At first it’s singular droplets but then it becomes heaving sobs. All the pent up energy he feels is released through the tears. He’s relieved the kids aren’t here to see either of their parent’s like this. They’re too young. 

He hears Ryan and Shane approach but he pays them no mind. All he’s aware of is Andrew’s soft breathing and the beep of the heart monitor. The sound is both a blessing and a curse. As much as he hates the incessant beeping, he’d take it over its silence any day. The boys walk over to Steven, Ryan on his left and Shane on his right. 

Shane’s quiet as Ryan speaks. “The nurse says there was some internal bleeding, and he has a few broken ribs. The roads were a little slippery the other car couldn’t break fast enough to avoid collision. She checked your insurance. They’re going to send in robots to fix up the bleeding. Thank God we updated the healthcare on time.” Ryan tried to joke to alleviate the dour mood. It didn’t work that well. 

Steven tightened his hold on Andrew’s fingers. Jaggedly, he nodded his head. Shane placed a hand on top of his shoulder. “Hey man ease up. Don’t break his fingers.” Steven wanted to hold onto his husband’s hands like a lifeline, but he knew Shane was right. Instead he grabbed one of Shane’s hands and one of Ryan’s. No one spoke as they quietly watch Andrew sleep.

When the nurses had to take Andrew into surgery, Steven let them lead him back to the waiting room. The lights were bright in an awful way, harsh on his eyes. They sat together on one of the uncomfortable hospital chairs. No one spoke, unsure of what to say. Steven played with the hem of his Christmas sweater and prayed the rosary over and over internally. 

Later on in the night, Adam, Annie, Rie, and Niki came over to sit with them. Unless it was to offer Steven a comforting word no one spoke. They all waited apprehensively for an update on Andrew’s situation. Annie wrapped her arms around Steven who curled into her. 

“I’m sorry I jinxed it.” Her voice was whisper-soft and shaky, like she was about to cry but didn’t want to. 

“You didn’t do anything wrong. Just more evidence that you might be a little more magical than we thought.” Steven tried to humor her. Annie just held him tighter and kissed his forehead. 

“I’m magical as fuck and I’ll use my powers to make Andrew come out the surgery room brand new,” Annie declared confidently. Despite himself, Steven smiled. 

-_-  -_-  -_-

Andrew’s surgery lasted a few hours. Ryan shot a text to Katie that Andrew would be staying overnight and Steven would too. Katie offered to stay the rest of the night with them, but Adam refused. He drove back to keep an eye on the kids while Katie and her husband went home. She gave him a sympathetic smile and made Ryan swear that he would update them on Andrew’s situation. After that they sent Steven one last sympathy text before heading home. 

Luckily the surgery went smoothly. He’d wake up from the anaesthetics in a few hours. Since only one person could wait for him in the hospital room everyone stayed in the waiting room. Steven went to visit Andrew alone. He pulled up a hospital chair and fiddled with the hem of his sweater as he prayed. 

Half-way through the night, Ryan and Shane had to go back home to pick up the kids and put them to bed. Annie stayed with Steven the whole night. She went with him to see Andrew before having to go back home. Well into the morning, once the kids were awake and ready, Adam took Sunny and Mark back to the hospital to wait for Andrew and Steven. They were quiet and still for once chock full with worry. Adam tried his best to distract them. He played youtube videos, read to them, and let them play games on his phone. Nothing seemed to work however. The only thing the kids wanted was their father. 

They looked up when a nurse called Adam’s name. They got up together, one kid holding one of his hands. The nurse gave him a pleased, tired smile. “Everything went well, so well in fact that you all can visit him.”

“We can visit Papa!” Sunny squealed excitedly. It made the nurse laugh. 

“Yeah, your father’s waiting for you.” Sunny would’ve sprinted off if it weren’t for Adam. He quietly thanked the nurse before turning his attention back to the squirming kids. 

“We walk together, no running off. We can’t run into anyone.” The kids sullenly agreed with Adam. Together they walked towards Andrew’s hospital room. He didn’t let go of the hyper kids until they crossed the threshold. Sunlight light up Andrew’s hospital room. There were some flowers and candy lying on the side table. Steven and Andrew had matching red rimmed eyes as they held hands. Big Smiles shone on their faces when they saw their kids. Before the kids could pounce on Andrew’s torso Steven scooped them up onto his lap.

“Hey, hey, before you shower your papa with all the love in the world, we got to go over a few ground rules.” Steven waited until he had his kids attention. “Your father’s chest and stomach is very sore so you can’t put any pressure on it. That means so sitting on it, no tight hugs, no leaning against it. Ok?”

Both kids nodded solemnly before Steven let them onto Andrew’s hospital bed. Mark sat on his left while Sunny carefully climbed over him. When they started talking they also started crying and they did this on top of each other. Adam went to stand silently behind Steven. No one could fully understand what the kids were saying. It was something between, don’t go, I’m scared and it was confusing. Andrew let them cry it all out. He rubbed Mark’s arm up and down as he tried to thumb away Sunny’s tears (in vain). Gingerly he let the kids lay on him, wanting to be just as close to them as they needed to be to him. 

“I’m going to be ok guys, I promise. Papa just got in a little tumble.” The kids didn’t really believe him, he did have a scar on his face after all. They did always like the rumble of his chest when he talked though, so they just quietly listened. Andrew told them a story about one of his Christmases as a boy. It was long enough to have them fall asleep by the end of it.  Andrew kissed them on the forehead before turning towards Adam and Steven. 

“They fell asleep quickly. What did I miss from the 24 hours or so?” 

“Nothing much. After Steven got the call, half of us went to the hospital while the other half stayed behind to clean up the house and watch the kids. They’ve had some trouble sleeping. Very worried for you.” Adam informed him. Absentmindedly Andrew tightened his hold on his kids even if it pained him. 

“Merry Christmas to us,” Steven quipped sarcastically. 

Andrew snorted. “Hey, I turned out fine. Little banged up but I’m ok.”

Steven carefully squeezed his upper elbow. “You better be. I didn’t want to tell the kids that pops went out for milk and never came home.”

Andrew and Adam laughed out loud. “I promise baby, I’m not going anywhere.”

[bobbyshawsupremacy]

Hello! Asking about your Ocs!

I FORGOT TO ANSWER THIS LAST NIGHT BECAUSE IM AN I D I O T BUT YES THANK YOU SO MUCH

you’re all going to hate me i’m sorry but i love my ocs so very much,,,,,,, please don’t cancel me until you’re done reading

ok so!!

tw for mentions of drugs and alcohol in the following!! also HIV

people develop alex and reggie and luke’s families all the time!! but never bobby!! and that is simply unacceptable because as we all know- i am a bobby stan account. so let me tell you some things about The Wilsons.

milah wilson is bobby’s mom. she’s kinda terrible at it? she didn’t mean to be- she had a rough childhood, got into weed, got into some harder stuff, spiraled from there. she got pregnant at 16 and... well, nothing really changed. she loves her son, she really does, but she loves him as him, not as her child. they’re not really family. they’re just two people that know each other.

(HIV mention is here) stavros wilson was bobby’s dad. he wasn’t that bad. he was kind of dumb and kind of emotionally stunted (aren’t we all), but he cared about his family. he just- i mean, he cared about the drugs more. he didn’t mean to. that’s just what happens. he got the disease off needles and he was gone. it happened when bobby was ten. they moved to l.a. from santa monica that year.

zach wilson is bobby’s uncle i don’t like him

ella wilson is bobby’s aunt, she’s pretty cool. she’s not really into the harder stuff like most of them. she just drinks a lot. smokes weed, but so does bobby, so he can’t really fault her for that.

jimia wilson is bobby’s other aunt. she- yes. she. everyone calls her jim. she’s a wreck, because it runs in the family, but she’s a wreck that takes the time to hang out with her nephew and is genuinely trying to find a way to get better. she’s trying so hard......... i love jim, ok?

now for!!!! his cousins (:<

his oldest cousin is zach’s son, patrick, who’s two years older than him. he and bobby are incredibly close, and pretty much consider each other brothers. patrick is the kind of guy that likes to go swimming with his shoes on- i am aware that this doesn’t make a lot of sense, but it’s the most concise description of him that i can think of.

kristen is zach’s daughter from his first marriage, which... didn’t work out, lmao. (nothing really works out with zach. also i don’t like him) she isn’t a big fan of uhh most things tbh? she’s just really tired, which. mood. she’s the ONLY person in the house that knows how to cook this is not a joke. she grows weed in the backyard send tweet

molly!! molly!! molly molly molly!! i love her SO much it’s crazy. molly wilson literally owns my heart and i DON’T know why. she’s bobby’s best friend!! they are each other’s main support system and she would do anything for him- except quit drugs but like. yeah. she’s a year younger than him. (tw for nsfw implications) the funniest thing i’ve ever said abt molly is that sometimes if she has a crush on someone she’ll say “wanna do me?” and if they say yes then well.. yes and if they say know she’ll just pull out some ecstasy (i.e. molly) and be like “no it was a pun haha”  anyway i think about molly wilson every single day. she’s exactly 5′2″ and she cries about it

ollie is molly’s brother and yes they were named like that on purpose...................... jim rlly thought she was doing smth there..................... anyway he’s baby. i mean, he does meth, but he’s baby. he’s very hyper. think of like. a rabbit and also john mulaney? that’s ollie. he’s kind of dumb but we stan. also he eats raw onion

those are!!! the wilsons!!! i love them with my whole heart (except zach i don’t like him). they all live together and it is........ utter chaos. literally a wreck. every single one of them is a disaster in their own unique way (:

additional notes:

-bobby, kristen, and ollie are the only kids still in school. patrick got expelled bc he’s a moron and got caught with lsd and molly dropped out because she was Tired Of It

-the boys all share a room. it is the basement. everyone is scared of the basement

-kristen is the only one that can cook but she rarely does because uhhh she doesn’t want to? next question

-they have so many wilson inside jokes. idk why this is just a Thing they do. they’re all very sarcastic and strange bc their sense of humour is a family trait

-i know nobody shares these headcanons please just don’t hate me for them

ok thank you for your time ((: i also have non wilson ocs!!! i am just very Tired rn so i might make a separate post about them if anyone is interested

[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 2: Guidance (originally published December 14, 2020)

Author's note: I think I'm gonna try releasing new chapters every Monday, for Part 1 at least. Anyway, here's Guidance.

Synopsis: Steven helps the students of Little Homeschool get jobs, but they're not very good at them.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven, Onion

Michaela Dietz as Amethyst, Blue Lace Agate,

Ian Jones-Quartey as Bixbite, Snowflake Obsidian

Michelle Maryk as Larimar

Aparna Nancherla as Nephrite

Charlyne Yi as Doc, Leggy, Army

Amy Sedaris as Teal Zircon

Kimberly Brooks as Zebra Jasper, Cherry Quartz

Natasha Lyonne as Smoky Quartz

Colton Dunn as Mr. Smiley

Dave Willis as Andy

--

On another lovely day in Beach City, Amethyst was walking along the boardwalk with a blindfolded Steven into Fish Stew Pizza. "Okay, two steps to the left." Amethyst instructed him as the two stepped into the pizza shop. "There's a chair right behind you." Steven did as he was told and sat down across from his sister figure. "Sit down aaaaand….okay."

When Steven undid his blindfold, he found himself inside Fish Stew Pizza with Amethyst in front of him and another Gem making pizza for them. "TADA!" Amethyst exclaimed with her arms excitedly spread out.

"Fish Stew Pizza? What a nice surprise." Steven giggled amusedly. "I mean, it has been a while since we last been here."

"No, that's not the surprise." Amethyst corrected him. "Notice anything different?" She gestured over to the Gem working with Kiki Pizza, perfectly slicing the toppings to pieces with utmost grace, laying them atop a crust that was put into the oven by Kiki.

"Oh, hi Steven!" the crab-like Gem greeted Steven.

"Bixbite? Is she working here?" Steven asked Amethyst.

"Yeah dude, and she's crushing it!" Amethyst answered. "Bixbite is an expert on slicing and dicing, and now she can put those skills to good use in a pizza parlor."

Another pizza came in fresh from the oven courtesy of Kofi, and Bixbite obediently brought it over to her friends. "Order up you guys!" she declared while setting the pie down. "So, any thoughts?"

"That's awesome!" Steven gasped at the pizza in awe of how well-made it was.

"Check out that 'za brah." Amethyst agreed, shapeshifting her hand into a ruler and a protractor to measure Bixbite's cuts. "Each slice exactly the same length, 45 degrees." She concluded, and then took a slice to eat. "Wow, pure perfection! I almost feel bad for eating this! You made me proud Bixie."

"Thanks for the compliments you guys." Bixbite thanked the pair. "And I couldn't have gotten here without you Amethyst."

As Bixbite walked away, Steven took a slice of the perfect pizza too. "I didn't even know she wanted a culinary career."

"Yeah, we talked a lot about her interests and experiences the other day." Amethyst revealed. "Then I set her up with Kofi, and here we are. Bixie is just the beginning y'know. I've been wanting to do something big for the school, so I've been helping Gems get human jobs, and everything is going amazing so far! I call it Gem-Human Excellence Mentorship, or G.H.E.M for short."

"I get it, like Gem." Steven came to a realization, much to Amethyst's mild frustration.

"No, I said Gem-Human Excellence Mentorship." Amethyst corrected. "Anote the H."

Suddenly, a Ruby clad in a suit and sunglasses burst through the door and let out a war cry while tearing off her sleeves, revealing the gemstone on her left shoulder before regaining her composure. "All clear my mayor."

Another Ruby dressed in the same clothes entered Fish Stew Pizza, wearing her shades over a yellow visor, by somersaulting into the room and stood alongside her compatriot. "All clear too." She repeated before allowing Mayor Nanafua to enter the pizza joint.

"You got Rubies in your program too?" Steven asked. "And why those Rubies in particular? I mean, they didn't try to kill me like Eyeball and Navy did, but they're still a little intense. Especially Army."

"I just found them to be a little more agreeable compared to those two." Amethyst replied while Doc & Army surveyed the area and Leggy helped the mayor to a chair. "Anyway, I got them working as bodyguards for the mayor."

"How many other Gems have you given jobs?" Steven asked again.

"Glad you asked!" Amethyst replied with a smile, and took Steven outside to show him her progress.

--

Amethyst took Steven from Fish Stew Pizza all the way to Beach City Funland, where she showed him just how many Gems she got to work there.

"Blue Lace Agate?" Steven gasped, seeing Blue Lace working at the ring toss booth and using her horns as targets, before discovering Biggs Jasper operating the Ferris wheel and Crazy Lace Agate handing out balloons. "Biggs? Crazy Lace? Have the Quartzes taken over Funland?"

"Yeah, I've been understaffed for so long so it was about time I had a few extra hands." Mr. Smiley said as he appeared behind the two Crystal Gems. "It could take a whole army to keep this park running!"

"An army?" Steven became worried, but then became distracted by what was going on in the sky.

"Hey check it out, Nephrite's doing some skywriting!" Amethyst cheerfully pointed out Nephrite drawing Steven's face in the sky with the smoke from Steven's cousin Andy's plane. "With all her experience flying dropships, it was only natural she do skywriting. Heck, she might even be better at flying than Andy! Still a bit of a perfectionist though."

As Nephrite crossed out her drawing, Steven began getting a little concerned with Amethyst's idea while they walked through Funland. "Um, Amethyst, isn't this a little on the nose?" he asked.

Amethyst however didn't pay him any mind, and instead pointed towards a pair of Gems giving a snowcone to the mayor. "Oh oh, look! Snowflake and Larimar found an ice-related job on the boardwalk!" she shouted while Snowflake Obsidian summoned a large pillar of ice for Larimar to scrape at, and the shavings formed a snowcone for Nanafua to enjoy.

"I still don't know about this." Steven muttered bemusedly.

"About what?" Amethyst asked him. "Everyone's doing pretty fine here."

"I mean, ice Gems doing ice jobs, pilot Gems piloting and guard Gems still guarding." Steven pointed out. "These are basically the exact same jobs they did on Homeworld."

"I swear Stee, these are totally different!" Amethyst nervously assured Steven, only for Leggy to walk by and prove her wrong.

"Wow, these jobs are exactly like what we once did in the old days." Leggy said before she high-fived Army.

"Thanks for the help Amethyst!" Army yelled to Amethyst.

"These are the jobs they wanted, I swear!" Amethyst continued nervously.

"Well sure, maybe they think they want to do this stuff," Steven explained. "but it's still up to us to get them out of their comfort zones!"

"I dunno man." Amethyst objected. "Comfortable can be good too."

"Bear with me for a bit here." Steven declared, and walked towards Snowflake and Larimar. "Hey you two, I just wanted to know what your duties were back on Homeworld."

"I dug ice trenches for the army!" Snowflake answered.

"And I made ice sculptures for the Diamonds!" Larimar added. "You should've really been there for some of my finest work, it was some of the best I've ever car-"

"So is ice kinda your default mode?" Steven cut Larimar off.

"Uh, yeah." Snowflake stated, sharing a look with the smaller Gem. "I mean, with a name like Snowflake Obsidian, what else do you think I do?"

"That's not the point I'm trying to make." Steven said. "Did you ever try doing something else?"

"Like filling ice trenches?" Snowflake answered, just as Nephrite coincidentally flew overhead on Andy's plane, giving Steven an idea.

"How about flying a plane?" Steven suggested.

--

Steven and Snowflake followed the plane to an open meadow where it landed. When Nephrite noticed Steven waving her down, she jumped out to see what was up.

"Hey Steven, what do you need?" Nephrite asked him.

"I'm gonna need you and Andy to talk with Snowflake here for a bit." Steven said, bringing attention to the Obsidian behind him. "I want to get her out of her comfort zone for a bit, so I think maybe she'd like to fly a plane."

"You sure about this kiddo?" Andy asked his cousin worriedly. "I mean, I already got a fine pilot right here." He patted Nephrite on the back, which gave her a smile. "But then again, I'll try anything once. Come on big guy."

Snowflake sheepishly got on the plane with Andy and began for take-off. "I don't snow about this." She punned while the flying machine quickly flew away.

"What's that, can't hear you!" Steven cried over the sound of the engine turning on and the plane finally leaving for the skies. "Have fun!"

--

Next, Steven took Larimar by the hand to the Appalachian, where Cherry Quartz was currently working. "I have an idea for you Larimar." He said to the little ice-carver. "You could operate the Funland roller-coaster. It's a great job, and you get to help people have fun."

"He's right, though I'd really like to actually ride it myself." Cherry agreed with Steven.

"Oh, what is that wonderful noise?!" Larimar asked excitedly while the coaster riders cheered from the adrenaline.

"That's just the screams of joy from everyone on this old thing." Cherry answered proudly.

"Human screams are my favorite of Earth's delights!" Larimar exclaimed happily. "I'll take his job, so I can hear them screaming forever!"

"Okay, that's a little creepy." Steven beamed nervously at Larimar's off-putting enthusiasm. "But I'm glad your heart's in the right place."

"One day, I shall make you scream Steven." Larimar said, before she was taken to the coaster's control room. "I suppose this must help it function, correct?"

"Yeah, you just pull the lever up and down to either speed it up or stop it." Steven instructed. "Why don't you give it a shot?"

"Give me the screams!" Larimar shrieked eagerly, pulling the lever up and making the riders yell louder, while Steven returned from the control room to see Amethyst waiting for him.

"See Amethyst? With just a few small changes, your plan is working even better than before!" Steven claimed, but the overcooked Quartz wasn't buying it. "Don't look so worried, let's go help more Gems!"

--

Much to Amethyst's dismay, Steven went around the town assigning the Gems new jobs far more different than the ones Amethyst gave them.

Instead of working at Funland, Ocean and Zebra Jasper were taken to work at Fish Stew Pizza. Bixbite, meanwhile, was now selling balloons. Army was now selling flowers, Teal Zircon was dragged out to become a taxi driver, Nephrite now worked selling snow cones, and Amethyst was still powerless to stop Steven.

"Wow, sure feels good to be helpful." Steven congratulated himself as he sat at a table at Fish Stew Pizza. "Hopefully everyone can get more experience outside of their comfort zones, but for now, I think I'm beat."

But just when Steven thought he could relax after a job well done, he instead got a pizza to the face. "Order up!" Zebra Jasper cried while she tossed more pizza at Steven and began messily cutting the pies up.

"Delivery, delivery, delivery!" Ocean Jasper yelled as she delivered pizzas by throwing them at passerby's outside.

"Here you go, and I'll take that." Leggy said to a downed person, handing him some flowers and taking his wallet. "Here you go." She added to a woman covered in pizza before taking her purse, and then triumphantly holding up the valuables while setting them on fire. "Yeah, mission complete!"

While Bixbite was handing out balloons, Ocean Jasper threw some pizza at her head, causing her to pop some of her merchandise and let the rest fly away. "Oh no, not the balloons!"

The balloons floated towards Andy's plane, giving Snowflake a shock and causing her to cover the aircraft in ice, making it lose control while the two screamed in fear.

Back on the ground, a car driven by Teal Zircon beeped loudly while it crashed into a lamppost, to the anger of her passenger. "Apologies sir, I have no idea how cars work." She apologized to her customer, who simply walked away in a huff. "Aw come on, not even a hug to make it up to you?!"

As Steven witnessed all the chaos he had accidentally created, he had only one thing to say. "I've made a huge mistake."

--

"Hit me with another Nephs." Amethyst ordered Nephrite to make her a syrupy snowcone at the arcade, oblivious to the chaos outside, when Steven came running in. "Oh hey Steven, want some?"

"No Amethyst, I need your help!" Steven panted in resignation. "Our brilliant plan is basically kaput. I tried to help all the Gems get out of their comfort zones, and look what happened!"

"See Steven, this is what happens when you don't listen!" Amethyst declared accusingly. "You didn't listen to any of my ideas today!"

"That's not true; the Gem mentorship thing is a great idea!" Steven tried assuring his friend.

"It was a great idea when the Gems were doing what they thought they were best at," Amethyst continued. "but then you came in and told everyone what you think they should do! Even me!"

"I was wrong." Steven admitted. "I should've put more trust in you with the program. I don't know why I thought I could just take it over like that! I'm so sorry for today."

"Well, I'm glad you came around Steven." Amethyst accepted his apology with a hug. "Cause right now, I think we have our work cut out for us."

Outside, Teal Zircon was trying her hardest to fix the car she crashed, but to no avail. When she noticed Steven and Amethyst looking at her, TZ changed her tune immediately. "Hey guys! Don't worry, I have this totally under control!" The car then burst into flames. "I'm being serious. Totally under control."

"Yeah, I can see." Steven replied sarcastically to Teal. "So what do you say Amethyst? Want to help me unhelp everyone I've helped?"

"Yeah, alright." Amethyst replied before noticing that Snowflake and Andy were close to crash-landing. With no time to lose, she dragged Steven by the arm out of the arcade, and they formed the chubby half-human fusion Smoky Quartz. "SMOKY!"

Summoning their yo-yo, Smoky Quartz tossed it at the plane and wrapped the string around its tail, but they accidentally cause the tail to break off and make everything worse. "Uh, oops."

While the plane kept spiraling out of control, Smoky bounded off Teal Zircon's destroyed car and summoned another yo-yo to keep them airborne. A third yo-yo was tossed soon after, forming a net that caught the plane and allowed Smoky to return it to the ground safely. "Hey guys, you cool?" Smoky giggled at their pun. "Get it, because of the ice?" The giggling soon ceased and they started panicking. "Anyways, I'm so sorry! You okay?"

"I'm fine." Snowflake answered while clambering out of the plane. "Except that I now have a fear of flying, so there's that."

"Seriously, my life flashed before my eyes for a bit." Andy added, adjusting his flight cap. "Good thing you came in for the save."

"Phew, thanks Uncle Andy." Smoky let out a sigh of relief before they turned to the havoc at Funland. "Gotta run, roller coaster on the fritz!" With that, Smoky made a run for the amusement park, in the process putting out the flaming car with the wind, where the Appalachian had now spun out of control.

"These are not the screams I was hoping for!" Larimar cried, unable to regain control of the ride.

Smoky Quartz began running faster as the coaster started to fall apart, all while having an inner argument with themselves. "Seriously, we're not gonna make it in time! C'mon, faster!"

"If you can save the universe Steven, then I can sure save a roller coaster!" Amethyst declared through Smoky.

"But saving the universe took time!" Steven replied hastily. "I don't have any time, and I sure won't take thousands of years to save this!"

As more of the coaster began falling apart, Smoky was in full panic mode. "Agh, what do I do?!"

"I don't know, I don't know!" Steven replied through their fusion, just as panicked. "Just give me a second!"

Suddenly, Smoky began turning pink thanks to the parts of them that came from Steven, and they suddenly started going even faster than before. Or rather, everything became slower.

"Whoa, cool!" Smoky gasped in amazement at their new form just as they made it to the Appalachian in time and jumped onto the broken rails. "Gotcha!" they exclaimed, but then they noticed how slow-moving everything and everyone had now become. With this sudden new power of slowing down time, Smoky decided to use it to their advantage.

At the front were Sour Cream and the ex-Mayor Dewey, whose hat was flying off his head from the intense speed. "Whoa okay, that goes there." Smoky muttered, putting the hat back on Mr. Dewey while borrowing Sour Cream's phone to take a picture of the three of them with, before returning the device to its owner. "Okay everyone, last stop!"

Smoky quickly got to work, taking all the humans out of the coaster, and safely returned them to the ground. As they were all tossed out of the ride and back onto the pier, they were dropped incredibly slowly due to the intense slowing of time. When Smoky rescued the last of the riders & safely returned them to the ground, time finally returned to its normal flow and they were no longer pink.

"Everybody's all safe and accounted for!" Smoky stated. "Now onto saving that coast-" They were too late to save the roller coaster as it went off the rails and launched off the broken rails into the ocean. "Ah well." They muttered. "Sometimes you can save the people from the roller coaster, but you can't save the coaster itself."

The coaster then combusted in the water, leaving a massive mushroom cloud in its wake. "And that's okay."

--

Later that day, Steven and Amethyst had successfully returned everything to normal and treated themselves to snow cones as a reward. Steven was mostly silent throughout, but Amethyst was ecstatic at how they had controlled time earlier as Smoky Quartz.

"Dude, that was intense!" Amethyst exclaimed. "We basically slowed time just like in one of those manga Lapis reads, but I'm bummed that it didn't come with the power to summon steamrollers. We were going so fast; everything almost came to a screeching halt!"

"Yeah, that was pretty nuts." Steven giggled anxiously.

"It was awesome!" Amethyst added, still super excited. The two of them looked around to admire what they fixed. Bixbite was back to working at Fish Stew Pizza, Nephrite was flying with Andy again, Teal Zircon swore never to drive a car again and the Rubies had now returned to defending the mayor.

"Now that I look at it, you were pretty spot-on with everyone's jobs." Steven confessed. "It just makes me wonder, you think I'm a bit too controlling?"

"Okay, maybe a teeny bit." Amethyst admitted to Steven. "As for me, I didn't just guess what everyone wanted to do. I actually sat down with all these Gems and asked what they wanted. Everyone has had a crazy history, so I felt they should be able to choose how they feel and what they should do in the future. I feel like I finally know what I needed to do; I just needed to figure it out for myself. But now, I feel like I'm just as good at helping Gems decide that for themselves."

"Yeah, you're right." Steven agreed.

"So, what about you?" Amethyst asked Steven. "Now that things are starting to settle down, what do you want to do? Come on, let's talk about your future! The doc is in, first session is free!"

"Thanks Amethyst." Steven laughed lightly. "But I don't know. I still want to help people, but I think I might be losing my touch."

Just then, Steven felt someone tap his shoulder, and he turned to see Larimar standing before him, with a large stuffed bear poorly hidden behind her. "Hello Steven, it's me, Little Larimar!" Larimar greeted Steven. "I got you a surprise. Can you guess what it is?"

"Uh, no." Steven answered, clearly noticing Larimar's bear, but he decided to play dumb to humor her.

"It's a teddy bear!" Larimar announced as she presented the bear to Steven, who took the toy kindly.

"That's so nice Larimar, thanks." Steven thanked Larimar. "But why did you get me this?"

"I got this for you as a way of saying thank you." Larimar responded. "I know I'm not great at handling the roller coaster, but I find myself excelling at giving things to others, like handing prizes to children! Oh, their joyous laughter warms me so. It sounds kind of like screaming!"

Steven and Amethyst were a little weirded out by Larimar's comparisons, but they were still happy she found something that made her happy.

"I think these Earth children quite like me too." Larimar continued. "I never felt so happy in my life."

Steven and Amethyst's nervous expressions turned into sweet smiles, but as the destroyed roller coaster drifted past them in the ocean, Steven made a shocking realization. "Oh my gosh, we forgot Onion!" he panicked seeing Onion still in the coaster, and Onion gave him a little wave, which eased Steven's nerves. "Eh, I'm sure he'll be fine."

--

Thanks for joining me for another chapter of Alternate Future. Like in Regular Future, Little Homeworld and Guidance were merely appetizers for what's to come, because the next chapter will be where things get really interesting. It will be a fusion of Rose Buds and Volleyball, and we'll even get our first hint of something, or someone, plotting against Steven and Era 3. What am I even talking about? Well, tune in next week to find out!

[miss-choco-chips]

Put a ring on it 2

Gonna drop this here super quick and then go back to cram for my finals. Who allowed me to schedule six finals in one week? I’m gonna die. Pray for me.

Tagging @jedissica ‘cause they asked me to, and @animemangasoul who I think will like this.

---.---

-Batman, here we are. It’s been a while since you last called an emergency meeting. Is everything okay?

-Were you aware that our children eloped together?

-...what.

-As in, my third kid, your first one, Diana’s second, and Barry’s… grandchild. I’m not exactly sure about who married who, but there was more than one wedding and they have a group chat called ‘hubbies and waifu’. Whatever that means.

-...

-...

-That’s my girl. I always told her, go big or go home.

-Diana, no.

----.----

Cassie’s phone went off again with her specific Diana ringtone, and she gave up, turning it off and throwing it on the pile with Kon’s, Bart’s and Tim’s (the last one had four all by himself, so it was quite a big ‘phone tower’; Hah, pun intended).

-You’re gonna freak out so badly over this when you actually wake up -she informed Tim’s fluffy hair. 

Said vigilante only released a cute little snore, face buried on her lap, legs thrown over Kon’s, one hand that had fallen from the couch resting on Bart’s head where he sat on the floor in front of them.

-Well, they were going to find out one way or another. And this was probably among the best scenarios.

-How? I’m sure this one was top five on Tim’s ‘worst case’ nightmare list.

-I was there and saw their faces. I didn’t even know Batman could express any emotion other than ‘cold’ and ‘overflowing with rage’. That image will bring me joy in future distressing times, I’m sure. My patronus memory, if you will.

-I’m soooooooo jealous, dude.

Cassie snorted, carefully not moving an inch, fingers cradling through Tim’s hair. Over her dead body would he ever cut it, now that it was finally long enough to make itty tiny braids all over it, her favorite therapeutic iddle work.

-We’ll make Tim give us footage when he wakes up. He has to provide for us, after all.

Kon let his arm, resting on the backrest of the couch, fall over Cassie’s shoulders- Be sure to include footage from after we left, too. Nightwing’s  ‘As in more than one?!’ part was solid gold.

-No kidding, I want that as my ringtone for you and Tim -chimed in Bart, carefully moving Tim’s hand back to the couch and then running to the kitchen- Ice cream?

-Do you even need to ask?

---.----

By the time Tim woke up, the hero gossip network had done it’s thing, and almost everyone with a costume was aware of the news. Even Cissie, who was officially retired, and Zachary Zatara, away on his shows and usually out of reach, had called, the first one to offer congratulations and ask if the thing was real emotionally-wise, the second to just laugh at them for full six minutes before hanging up. 

He did text them later, asking when the celebration ceremony would be.

-It’s not a bad idea -mused Cassie, showing them her phone screen with the magician’s text- a party, I mean.

Tim, from his place working a case on the Titan’s main computer, tuted- Batman might actually kill me for that. I think we’ve survived this far only because there are no written records making this official, and a part of him must think it’s all some elaborate prank.

-It’s not -insisted Bart, head poking out of the kitchen- we are family now, officially. No take backs.

Their Robin shifted in place just enough for them to see his smile, a gift on itself- I know, guys, and the sentiment is much appreciated. But from a legal standpoint, it’s not that different from what a few kids on a playground could do while playing family. Only place this could stand against judgement would be the future, some ancient Amazonian tribe, or Krypton.

-Doesn’t matter, as long as it’s true for us. And, I mean, we didn’t want to cut your options if you ever wanted to actually get married the classic way.

This time, their bird actually turned around, a warmth on his expression that he usually reserved for his team. It made them feel special like nothing else.

-Yeah, I know. Thank you for that. It was really considerated.

As if they would drag Tim into something like legal marriage without previous consent. The fact that he even felt the need to thank them for showing him basic human decency was making their blood boil with the need to punch a bat on the face.

Kon flew over, the high chair preventing him from draping himself on his best friend’s back, but not from hugging his neck and messing his hair.

-Back at my point -cleared her throat the amazonian-, your former mentor can suck my metaphorical Freudian dick. We could throw a party, and it would only be different from a normal one because marriage celebrations include gifts, which I’m totally for. I haven’t seen Zatara, Cissie, Greta and Anita in a while, and Miguel, Raven and Gar might murder us for not telling them about our plans and not making it up to them with a party. No ‘adults’ out of the ones on team, or mentors, invited, enough alcohol to re-drown Atlantis, fancy food bought with Bat’s credit card…

-You are right, it does sound kinda nice -hummed Kon, floating just out of Tim’s range when former Wonder Boy tried to slap his hands away. Silly bat, always denying affection.

-All in favor?

-I don’t know -giving up, Tim went back to his case files- I have a lot to do this days, and there’s a lead that might take me to Asia…

-Isn’t Cass there? Ask her to take over it for you, as a marriage present or something. C’mon Tim, do it for the gifts. Imagine what Zatara might get for us. So crash.

-If  it’s a magical object, I won't want it anywhere near me. We bats don’t have the best track record with that stuff, and I swear to god if I get deaged I would use my non-prosecutable age to murder someone. Probably Zatara himself.

-Adorable as that might be, it totally won’t happen.

----.----

-....can you repeat it one more time? Slower, though. I think I’m getting hearing problems.

Raven, through the video call connecting the Cave with the Tower, didn’t seem fazed by Nightwing’s slightly threatening tone.

-I said, the team had a party, everyone got drunk, and it was fine for a while. I was watching over them, but then I needed to use the restroom. When I got back, someone had gotten ahold of Zachary’s gift for Tim, Cassie, Kon and Bart, and…

-Why for those four? -asked Hood, standing right by N’s side. He had came in during Raven’s first explanation, and felt like there was something he was missing.

-It was a marriage gift. Moving on…

-A what?! Since when is Lil Red married? The fuck happened while I was in Russia?!

-...someone had gotten ahold of the gift -Raven kept going, cool as a cucumber. On the background behind her, teen heroes were running back and forth, people were screaming and something was smoking-, which happened to be some sort of magical artifact. Zachary wasn’t really aware of what it did, he just randomly choose it from among his collection of magical tools when he remembered at the last possible time a gift was mandatory for a wedding party. I returned from the bathroom and everything was a mess, the couch was turned upside down, a pipe had burst, the tv was on fire and Tim had been de aged.

There was a battle scream, in a distinctly childish voice, somewhere on the room out of view of the camera, and Raven’s eyes left the screen for a second as if looking at it.

-Was that Red Robin? -Batman, because of course he was listening in, started typing at the console, frantically trying to get a new angle to see what was going on on the Tower.

-He’s unharmed, and everything is under control.

Another scream, this time louder.

-...that didn’t sound under control -mused Dick, apparently still processing the information. Bruce typed faster. Robin gripped his sword tighter, as if readying himself for a war.

Jason still looked utterly lost.

-Marriage? She said marriage? AND YOU ASSHOLES KNEW ‘BOUT THIS?!

-He’s… throwing a tantrum -the woman ignored him, still looking only at her former leader-. Something about using his age to kill Zatara without being convicted. I’ll need to leave now, I only called to ask you to take over Tim’s cases while we solve this issue.

-Wait! Rae, if Timmy’s a kid, he needs to be with us. We are his family, it’s our jurisdiction.

A green bird suddenly landed on her shoulder, halthing whatever response she might give. Gar pecked her on the cheek lightly before turning his beak their direction.

-Husbands and Wives get priority, N, you know that. Cassie, Kon and Bart are looking after him, and keeping him from killing Zachary, while the rest of us research how to turn him back. Zach is actually trying to contact his cousin, maybe the great Zatanna will quicken this process. So, yeah, no Bats allowed on the Tower until then!

-But/!

A loud crash, followed by a wail, made Gar wince and Raven’s head to snap to the side and growl.

-Whelp, gotta go, Tower out! -a ‘Tim!’ could be heard in the background just before the screen went dark.

-...

-...

-...

-...Anyone gonna fill me in?

-Drake eloped thrice over without informing us and has been living in sinful unworthiness with his three partners since last month or so, that we know about. Probably more.

-...Partners?

-You heard her. The speedster, clone and amazonian.

-...

-...

-Dickie, how t’fuck did ya allow’is to happen?!

-IT’S NOT LIKE I WAS ASKED FOR MY BLESSING, JASON!

-B, what the utter hell, ain’t ya supposed to keep track of this kinda shit?!?

-...

-Don’t bother, Father has been broken since learning of Drake’s mistake, and will go unresponsive at the most inconvenient times.

-...

-Fuck, I need a drink. Also, ’m going there.

-You heard Gar, Jay -pointed out Dick- we can’t just walk in there, and the Tower is legally his. We have to be smart about this, plan this through, and/

-Yeah, no, he said ‘no bats’-gesturing at his gun holsters, he started to walk to where his bike was parked-. RIP ya’ll, but I’m different. See ya.

-...

-...

-Tt. Useless. I’ll go back to training. Father, Grayson, should you two, as the plebeians say, ‘snap out of it’ and come with a good plan to get Drake back under our tutelage, I’ll be by the mats waiting.

-...

-...Don’t look at me like that. I raised him for a few months tops, but he’s your kid, not mine. Same with Tim, and Jason’s entirely your fault.

---.---

Meanwhile, back at the Tower, Kon let out a screeching ‘Tim!’ before diving out and catching the baby bird in his arms, halting his fall from the ceiling rafters where he had been climbing. Behind him, Cassie let out a relieved breath.

-God’s above, you almost gave me a heart attack. Okay, new ground rules, this two little feet stay on the ground.

Tim, as proudly as a three year old toddler could, frowned at him.

-Don’t patwonize me, Kon. And lemme go, I havta cacth Zac/ Zat/… Magic-boy.

Bart materialized by their side, arms looping below Tim’s armpints to carry him to the recently put back to its correct place couch. He dropped there, tiny bird in his lap, cooing all the while.

-Aww, you’re precious.

-I could still huwt you -pointed out the toddler, resigning himself at being manhandled.

-I know -replied Bart lovingly, softly stroking his turf of hair.

Somewhere on the side, Cissie clapped her hands, as if getting rid of the dust there.

-Okay, I putted out the fire, so now I’ll be heading home. This magical bullshit is way out of my ‘retired’ comfort zone.

Cassie landed by her side and gave her a quick hug, while Greta walked up to them- I understand, thanks for coming.

-Give us a call when this is solved, we can have a coffee while you complain about your husbands. And… child, now, I guess. God, it was already weird calling Tim your husband, but now he’s a baby and it's doubly weird. Figure this out quickly.

-Will do. See you guys later.

One by one, they all left, some offering their support (appreciated, but not needed, thank you, we’ll manage), some still laughing. In the end, only the Core Four, Gar, Raven and Miguel remained. Zachary probably was there somewhere (if he dared leave without helping them fix this, he was dead meat), but out of the enraged toddler’s sight, which. Wise.

Even if said little human being was pint sized and cow eyed, he was probably still the most dangerous person in the room, unarmed or not (you know what, scratch that; if time with Tim taught them anything, was that no bat was ever unarmed. Even bare handed, their own bodies were weapons).

-...So... What should we do while we wait for Zatara’s solution?

-I vote movie night. It’s not like we can keep on drinking, with a kid in the room/ Auch! Pointy elbows, Tim!

Kon swooped in, picking Tim from Bart’s not invulnerable lap and cuddling to him on the couch by the speedster’s side. Tim knew better than to hit the Boy of Steel without proper equipment, so he let himself fall back against the broad chest. Cassie, talking to the older members of the team on the side, smiled softly at them before returning to her conversation.

As mad as his current situation made him, Tim couldn’t bring himself to pout too much. It had been a fun night, all things considered.

-----.-----

[quackspot]

imagine someone just going 1-200 and you have to answer 200 questions for a stranger

well u better strap up becuase im about to do it

200: My crush’s name is: i dunno who do u think my crush’s name is199: I was born in: a year which is 2004198: I am really: a homo sapien197: My cellphone company is:  i think its samsung196: My eye color is: brown195: My shoe size is: 9 or 9.5 i think just 9194: My ring size is: WAIT RINGS HAD SIZES????? i dunno193: My height is: 5′4 ISH but i just say 5′4 because im actually really sensitive about my height and the less than an inch that brings me to 5′4 makes me somewhat happier with myself192: I am allergic to: maybe dustmites 191: My 1st car was: not yet190: My 1st job was: NOT YET189: Last book you read: technically a book called Dad Jokes theyre really funny jokes but if you mean story with plot then probably Grand & Humble unless if you include everything then yesterday i peeked in some books188: My bed is: a bed which i sleep in and that’s pretty much it actually i havent really made my bed in a while 187: My pet: jax and nibsy r the family pets jax is a shih-poo shihtzu poodle mix and nibsy is a cat186: My best friend: my brother185: My favorite shampoo is: shampoo184: Xbox or ps3: hard choice there’s xbox overall and little big planet this is actually a very hard choice lksiiro3jedsklmf,gsda little big planet is great........................183: Piggy banks are: piggy banks. theyre great182: In my pockets: I DONT HAVE POCKETS IM A WOMAN181: On my calendar: whats a calendar lol!!!!180: Marriage is: marriage 179: Spongebob can: dodod od odo dodooo178: My mom: IS GREAT i lov her shes a good mom177: The last three songs I bought were? i dont buy songs i listen to them176: Last YouTube video watched: i mean im listening to boyfriend big time rush on youtube right now but if you mean actual watching its snufkin saying “hi moomin” to moomin a quick 6 second clip175: How many cousins do you have? i duno174: Do you have any siblings? yeah173: Are your parents divorced? yeah172: Are you taller than your mom? probably not :(171: Do you play an instrument? i play the trumpet i did it today and it was really boring i dont want to go to any more graduations not even my own170: What did you do yesterday? things[ I Believe In ]169: Love at first sight: not really but somewhat and i like it because its a fun little thing to put in fiction 168: Luck: yea im very lucky167: Fate: its my destiny to die someday . . .. .  in the futuuuuuuuuuuure

166: Yourself: as far as im aware no165: Aliens: yeah probably164: Heaven: i know it probably isnt real but i cant help believing163: Hell:i know it probably isnt real but i cant help believing162: God: only to blame them for stuff161: Horoscopes: yea theyre fun to read160: Soul mates: ehehehehehhe fun in fanfiction and would greatly b ok with it irl159: Ghosts: who else would hold my hand at night...... not even a ghost :) (but yea i do believe in them when i grow up i wana be a ghost)158: Gay Marriage: why wouldnt i believe in gay marriage 157: War: what is it good for156: Orbs: borb155: Magic: i like magic so i will believe in it [ This or That ]154: Hugs or Kisses: yes153: Drunk or High: probably high i guess152: Phone or Online: ONLINE151: Red heads or Black haired: black haired 150: Blondes or Brunettes: BRUNETTES dude blondes r ok but i personally like darker hair149: Hot or cold: hot148: Summer or winter: SUMMER I HATE WINTER SO FUCKIGNT OASJKU*($@IRWJKOSDIUOKLJEZUDIFLK:LDSK:LKF:LJIODSKZVDJFKL mostly becuase i hate being cold and i hate snow becuase i have to shovel snow and its so cold147: Autumn or Spring: either one 146: Chocolate or vanilla: choc o late145: Night or Day: night144: Oranges or Apples: apples143: Curly or Straight hair: curly but i guess straight is ok142: McDonalds or Burger King: burbger king good milkshakese141: White Chocolate or Milk Chocolate: idk uhh milk chocolate140: Mac or PC: pc139: Flip flops or high heals: neither......138: Ugly and rich OR sweet and poor: ugly and rich i can just buy surgeries to make me prettier lmao137: Coke or Pepsi: coke136: Hillary or Obama: i dont wanna answer this :(((((( i dont like being bullied135: Burried or cremated: cremated babye put me in the flames ;3c134: Singing or Dancing: i like singing i like dancing i like trains 133: Coach or Chanel: what132: Kat McPhee or Taylor Hicks: who are these people131: Small town or Big city: im just a mere small town babye ;3c big cities sound scary 130: Wal-Mart or Target: target has the good cheeseballs129: Ben Stiller or Adam Sandler: i only know adam sandler128: Manicure or Pedicure: i dont do my nails 127: East Coast or West Coast: uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhh both are coasts126: Your Birthday or Christmas: birthday i get more gifts then uwu125: Chocolate or Flowers: chocolate124: Disney or Six Flags: disney because idk what six flags is isnt it a restaurant or something123: Yankees or Red Sox: a baseball bat [ Here’s What I Think About ]122: War: what is it good for!121: George Bush: idk 120: Gay Marriage: yeah gay rights119: The presidential election: im not that into politics so i dont understand the elections and i dont think their fair since i get all my facts from adam ruins everything this isnt even a joke118: Abortion: pro choice i dont giv a crap about some lifeless baby. its only alive if it can properly move its arms or cry or feel.117: MySpace: haha dead116: Reality TV: idk 115: Parents: theyre parents 114: Back stabbers: ow my back113: Ebay: website.... money112: Facebook: lizard man111: Work: what110: My Neighbors: idk who they are but my old neighbor was one of my best friends i should talk to him this summer109: Gas Prices: probably too high108: Designer Clothes: clothes107: College: something i dont plan on going to any time soon106: Sports: something i dont plan on doing any time soon105: My family: a family104: The future: spooky. very scary. idk what my job will be[ Last time I ]103: Hugged someone: idk (update it was today)102: Last time you ate: 4:13 ish i made ramne101: Saw someone I haven’t seen in awhile: i duno100: Cried in front of someone: today i suppose i almost cried???? maybe my dentist appointment a few weeks ago??99: Went to a movie theater: lego movie 2 i think98: Took a vacation: 6th grade im in 9th grade now its been like 3 years97: Swam in a pool: over 1 year i dont go to the pool anymore96: Changed a diaper: NEVER AND I NEVER PLAN ON IT95: Got my nails done: i duno94: Went to a wedding: i also dunno its been too long93: Broke a bone: not that i can recal92: Got a peircing: never and never will91: Broke the law: i duno90: Texted: just now i told my mommy to pick me up it wasl ike 1 hour ago[ MISC ]89: Who makes you laugh the most: me88: Something I will really miss when I leave home is: my momy and nibsy and jax and probably zach but he’d already move out by the time i leave87: The last movie I saw: i dont remember probably lego movie 2 or osmething on tv86: The thing that I’m looking forward to the most: next year drama club85: The thing im not looking forward to: dying?????? idk man 84: People call me: moto moto (not really idk what they call me)83: The most difficult thing to do is: the most difficult thing82: I have gotten a speeding ticket: never though i probs will someday81: My zodiac sign is: aquarius sun leo moon aries rising80: The first person i talked to today was: probably kiley79: First time you had a crush: kindergarten i think78: The one person who i can’t hide things from: myself77: Last time someone said something you were thinking: idk76: Right now I am talking to: nobody 75: What are you going to do when you grow up: *has a crisis over my future plans as i do not know*74: I have/will get a job: im gona work at target or burger king next year maybe it depends on if they like me73: Tomorrow: 5/20..............72: Today: today71: Next Summer: in a theater near u70: Next Weekend: my first summer weekend 69: I have these pets: I ALREAD YSAID WHAT PETS I HAVE I LOVE NIBSY WITH ALL MY HEART and jax with some extra parts of my heart68: The worst sound in the world: a sound67: The person that makes me cry the most is: me66: People that make you happy: me65: Last time I cried: ealier today64: My friends are: online63: My computer is: on62: My School: is a school61: My Car: nonexistent 60: I lose all respect for people who: are really mean and seem to hate people for being happy. people who make jokes that make me uncomfortable. i generally avoid them.59: The movie I cried at was: all of them58: Your hair color is: brown57: TV shows you watch: idk56: Favorite web site: idk probs youtube55: Your dream vacation: nowhere 54: The worst pain I was ever in was: A FEW WEEKS AGO I GOT STITCHES IN MY MOUTH AND IT REALLY HURT UGHGTUERIJOKFLDc53: How do you like your steak cooked: edible52: My room is: a room51: My favorite celebrity is: myslef..... just kidding idk any celebs 50: Where would you like to be: where i am 49: Do you want children: no 48: Ever been in love: hoo ha hoo ha i duno how love feels exactly47: Who’s your best friend: MY BROTHER46: More guy friends or girl friends: guys i think 99% of my friends are my brothers friends so45: One thing that makes you feel great is: being happy44: One person that you wish you could see right now: nobody right now but sometimes kiley43: Do you have a 5 year plan: 5 years??? haha no i only plan on using savings accounts to make a bit more money and MAYBE moving to kiley but idk for sure since i like my parents and my brother and my parents plan on driving around in an rv but idk man moving to another state would be HARD and im kinda lazy and i’d have to get a whole new driver’s license 42: Have you made a list of things to do before you die: no41: Have you pre-named your children: lmao all my ideas are jokes40: Last person I got mad at: probably myslef39: I would like to move to: my bed???????38: I wish I was a professional: personer. talker. socialer. [ My Favorites ]37: Candy: probably snickers or a salted nut roll36: Vehicle: big car. tahoe shape. tahoe size. idk. something like a tahoe thats my only reference35: President: I Don’t Care34: State visited: probably florida its the only one of 3 states i’ve been to33: Cellphone provider: what32: Athlete: WHAT31: Actor: idk 30: Actress: idk29: Singer: not me? me? idk28: Band: taaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally hall??? ? ?? ? ?? ? ? ? I DONT KNOWIJ DSKJZLFKSJKLDSHDLfjklskl;fdkl;sfk;laf 27: Clothing store: i legit have like no faves god this is the hardest part26: Grocery store: target probably25: TV show: maybe the simpsons???24: Movie: idk ive seen a lot of movies23: Website: one of them22: Animal: one of them21: Theme park: universal studios20: Holiday: none of them theyre all ok but ??? meh19: Sport to watch: none.18: Sport to play: idk i dont like being competitive but??????? gym class is a fun sport! :)17: Magazine: none of them16: Book: one of them15: Day of the week: wednesday sounds like a good day. maybe sundays. 14: Beach: what13: Concert attended: frankly the only concerts i’ve been to are my own12: Thing to cook: probably ramen11: Food: cheeseballs??????? burger king milkshake, a drink?10: Restaurant: buuuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrger kiiiiiiiiiiing?9: Radio station: 101.9 kelo eff emmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm8: Yankee candle scent: what7: Perfume: what6: Flower: what5: Color: red or purple4: Talk show host: wha

3: Comedian: i duno2: Dog breed: one of them1: Did you answer all these truthfully?  yeah i tried but i kinda gave up slightly after i came back from a graduation party though i also kind of gave up from the start so

[theragamuffininitiative]

Last Days of Summer @KCRep

Well this has been long in coming

Guys.

I saw Last Days of Summer with Corey Cott and Emily Padgett and it was amazing and now I’m here a week and a day late to talk your ear off about it. ;)

I went with my favorite cousin (shhh don’t tell the other cousins) to see the show because she likes theatre too but her family doesn’t care so they never see things.

She knew I was a fan of one of the cast, and I did my level best not to fangirl too hard and I think it was an all around success. :D

This was yet another exercise in the “how far will Rags drive across the country to see a show if it is at all a possibility to do so” which I think is going to drive my parents insane.

When we got there, I did what I forgot to do at The Lion King and asked if it was ok to take pictures of the curtain call. Unfortunately, because of copyright reasons with Jason Sherwood’s set design, pictures were not allowed. :P But now at least I think I’ll remember to ask the ushers at shows, because curtain calls are my favorite thing and someday I will get pictures at them.

I’m not going to spoil the story for anyone who may want to read the book the musical is based off of, or just in case it gets produced again. (please please please) But if you’re curious, there’s this.

We went the last night because I couldn’t get away sooner. I would have loved to see the first show and then seen the closing show because I know they did a lot of changes, but I’m really happy with the version we saw.

It opened with a radio suspended on a wire, and the crackling voice of a baseball announcer set the narrative into motion. The radio was one of my favorite parts of the production, it was a great storytelling technique.

Robbie Berson as young Joey Margolis was amazing. All the kids in the cast were, but as the main protagonist....antagonist? hm, anyways, the main character, he carried the story the whole time in a great way, always believable as an incorrigible kid and strong enough to dig into the deeper parts of the story.

Jim Kaplan as Craig Nakamura was also amazing, and I love the character of sweet but feisty Craig so much.

These two boys, honestly, they were such pros.

And what can I say about Corey and Emily? They are stars, obviously, and I loved every second they were on stage, together or separate.

The end of Act One features a pretty big blow up between Joey and Corey’s Charlie, where Joey allows his emotions to get the better of him and turns on Craig. Charlie scolds him and tells him he has no choice about growing up and gives him a thing or two about being a man. Honestly, that act one closer was pretty great, but it also gave two of my favorite moments of the show:

1) When Charlie gets fed up with Joey’s selfish behavior, Corey bellowed “sit down!” and one older audience member audibly went “whoa” XD XD XD.

2) in the song that follows (”Says Who? Says I”), there was a moment where - for lack of a better description and realizing it’s a pun considering what team Charlie Banks plays on - Corey became a giant on that stage. For most of the production, all the players were equals. Kids and adults and ensemble members alike, they complimented each other and no one outshone anyone else. But near the end of the song, and probably on purpose for the story, Charlie/Corey towered above everything else as he belted out lines that were equally self-deprecating and proud about who Charley and Joey should be. I was in awe. It was a great moment.

Emily’s disguised yet still noticeable baby bump made for some fourth-wall-breaking humorous moments for the audience, considering her starlet character and lead romantic interest persona. But it was all good. XD

I. am. seriously. in. love. with. that. staging. I could talk about the sets all day.

Jeff Calhoun’s directing. Can I get an amen.

Jim/Craig’s performance of “We Always Had a Garden” is honestly the part I got the most emotional over, and he sang it like an angel, I was very wow.

I need the album.

Chris Dwan as Stuke was great. I started to get worried about Stuke’s mortality when he went from “occasional comic relief” to “goofy tag-along friend” and, well, I was right. But he was great and he had this fantastic little random dance number (”This Time It’s For Real”) while singing about his latest crush. It was precious. XD

There was, as the review I linked to said, a lot crammed into this little show. Like, a lot of a lot. The first act balanced everything pretty well, the second act was a little stuffed.

One of the big climactic moments in act two felt very rushed, and one of those “we’re just going to assume the audience gets what we mean” and the audience gets it but isn’t allowed any time to appreciate it. I’d like to see that done a little differently, but I completely chalk it up to there just being such a wealth of plot to deal with in those final scenes and numbers.

Speaking of numbers, if you want a taste of some of the music aside from that one clip with Robbie and Jim, Corey performed some of the songs with some cast members at his concert that week:

“You Never Have to Say Goodbye” - cue tears

“No One Else For Me” - sweeeeet

I love Big Band music so much. Jason Howland for the win.

“That’ll Be You and Me” is sort of a bonding moment for Joey and Charlie and it reminded me a lot of the character dynamic between Zach and Henry in Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, one of my favorite movies.

The wedding scene was hysterical. You’re just gonna have to take my word for it, but the blocking on it was perfect and the characters played tug-of-war across the stage trying to get Charlie to board his train on time and keep the rabbi from passing out as he flew through the “ceremony.” XD The Rabbi was a good character. Give Gary Neal Johnson a hand.

I did not cry. There were moments. But I didn’t. XD

Everybody kept swearing and then the boys would make “can we say that word” jokes, like in the middle of a song, when you knew what they were going to say because it rhymed, and I’m old fashioned but it was also great. XD

There’s an earlier scene where the baseball team is helping Joey memorize his answers for his Bar Mitzvah (”The Only Way to Score”) and it was both funny and precious as everyone except Joey learns all the Hebrew answers.

“Just Like Us” and its reprises kept the show solidly focused on Joey, and his buddy Craig.

I wanted to give both Joey and Charlie all the hugs.

I whooped for the orchestra at bows. I’m always like the only person who does that at a show, but I appreciate the orchestras so much, it’s just my thing now: I whoop loudly in support of the pit musicians, deal with it everybody.

My cousin enjoyed it :D :D :D

Standing ovation, btw, of course.

Okay, so, after the show:

We stuck around with a group of peeps to stagedoor. Folks, this is the first time I successfully stagedoored something lol.

Corey was the first person to come out, and... - poor guy. XD He was booking it, making a very determined beeline for the exit. If I was left to my own, I would have let him go, but the guy in front of me stopped him so I got up my courage. He was polite and kind to us, but you could tell he just wanted to go home. (and afterward he ended up apparently getting delayed like seven hours trying to get back home to the city, so I don’t blame him at all) So he signed a couple posters and playbills, and then as he was walking away I stepped forward and asked if I could get his autograph. He was like “yeah, ok” and then, rather than giving him the playbill, I pulled out my Bandstand album jacket. :D :D :D Guys, he lit up, it was the cutest and happiest thing. He went from “ok sure” to “awwww yeaaaaah!” and signed it like six times because my marker wasn’t working properly lol, and then was like “um that’s gonna have to be good enough” even though I told him the first time was ok. XD

So then everyone else started to come out, and I got a lot of the cast to sign my playbill, including all the main kids, Emily, and most of the baseball players - who were the coolest about doing autographs so bless you dudes. Young Jim somehow has the neatest signature.

And then we went home! XD

As usual, I am certain I am forgetting all the things, but there we are. I only wish I could have gone twice. I would love to have gone earlier so I could tell everyone to go see it. But I’m reasonably sure it will get more productions, so be on the look out for it! :D

[the-unholy-trinitea]

The Andrews Family: The Great Escape: Part 2

•Aliyah•

Archibald sighed but didn't speak.

"Archibald, spill it now!" I say.

"Well   I know that it may sound strange but after dad lost and we found out   Jughead was alive I went to the..." the intercom buzzed and calls   Archie's name and mine since I'm singing with Josie at his ceremony.

(At the ceremony)

"Oh hail our fair river dal..." the doors to the gym pull opened and Sheriff Minetta walks in followed by a bunch of cops.

"Archie Andrews you are under arrest for the murder of Cassidy Bullock."

Under arrest.

Murder.

Cassidy Bullock.

"I didn't kill him!" Archie stuttered, and then I heard it:

"Archie!"

"Oh my god Arch!"

"Oh, Archiekins!"

Jughead, Veronica and Betty bolted off the bleachers quickly. Jughead and I get all up in Sheriff Minetta's face.

I sprint over.

"Archie!   Oh my god! Let him go! Oh my god Archie?" I  pull his arm and he looks   at sheriff Minetta and says, "I didn't kill  him," and has when I see   what he had seen. Hiram Lodge who helped  save Chandra Blossom lurked in   the shadows. "What the hell?" I say,  I'm still gripping Archie's arm   tightly.

The last   thing Archie says to me that day is,  "Call dad Aliyah. I'll be okay if   you just call dad."

Or so I thought...

He was about to get dragged away when Jughead made a sudden move

"Juggie, DON'T-" Betty advises.

"Mr. Jones you can't be down here. He's..."

"This is a school and you're on school grounds. You have no proof and he's not going anywhere Minetta."

Jughead grabs my wrist and takes out his switchblade. "If you won't let him go I will!" And Jughead Jones pries open my cuffs. "What the..." Betty asks. "Call my dad! Betts!"

"Juggie! What about..."

"Call MY DAD!"

He pulls out his phoSheriff Minetta puts his  hands on me. In pure self defense I   bit him. He pushes me off and has  Weatherbee restrain me. But I break free.

"C'mon Aliyah," Jughead yells texting someone as we're running. We reach his motorcycle and Archie pulls me pulls me on. We speed off.

"Jug...what was that about?" Archieasks.

"Veronica called me and told me to take measures to protect you. This is one of them."

"Where are we going?"

"Thistlehouse. Cheryl and Toni are talking their way out of school as we speak."

"Cherry Bombshell to the rescue." I whisper

Cheryl

"Principal Weatherbee!"

"Yes Cheryl?"

"Can the vixens please have the rest of the day off unless you want us to develop PTSD from the demise of golden boy, Archie Andrews." I pull Veronica's hair, "Look at her, she's practically breaking down! I don't think..."

"YES... Miss Blossom. The Vixens can have the day off."

I cheer and sashay over to Betty. "Cousin, Veronica is coming over to mourn. I'm sure you're sad too so please join us and Toni for a girls'day at thistlehouse."

Veronica shoots Betty a look.

Betty nods, "Okay, Cheryl."

We walk to Thistlehouse to lower suspicions. I go inside and tell them to come in.

"Archie!" Betty yells.

"Shut it down, Betty! You'll blow our cover!" Jughead whispers.

"So, what exactly am I doing here? And why is this necessary I didn't kill..." Archie stutters.

"Well, you need to become a serpent. I might not be the serpent king but I very well could've been their leader." Toni says sarcastically.

BANG! BANG!

"Open up! Let me see my mija!"

"Shit. It's my dad!" Veronica snaps.

I start to panick, "TT. Take ginger Zach Efron to Nana Rose's closet. And hobo... you just stay here and act like you and Betty are in love or whatever." I whisper.

As they run upstairs, Veronica opens the door to reveal Sheriff Minetta and Hiram Lodge with a warrant and a few pairs of handcuffs.

"We have a warrant to search for Archie Andrews and Jughead Jones."

"Yeah and-" Jughead snaps.

"You are under arrest for resisting arrest." Minetta says.

"With all due respect Sheriff Minetta, you can't possibly have any right to step into my house. It's private property. And as I recall this is a conflict of interest since I saw you lurking in my barn with my mummy and Uncle Claudius, Hiram." I say, pulling the warrant out of his hands.

"Mija... you still are my daughter so please come with me." Hiram says with mock sincerity.

"Oh daddy, didn't Mom tell you? I'm moving in with Betty. After all, I still have a that million dollars. Or at least half of it."

Sheriff Minetta tries to handcuff Jugheax but cousin Betty won't let him go.

"Hey Mom," she says, "Call Mr. Andrews and FP. You guys need to get here now. Hiram Lodge is harassing us."

"Betty, honey- we've been harrassed enough and so have FP and Jughead. I just texted Fred and he's on his way."

She hangs up and Sheriff Minetta storms upstairs.

I call after him. "My girlfriend's taking a shower you perverted swine! TT get dressed!"

•TONI•

Cheryl calls for me to get dressed from downstairs and Archie is in Nana Rose's closet.

"Hey, Andrews, you need to do as exactly as I say. Get out of the closet and into the shower with me."

He follows me and I push him into Cheryl's walk in closet and lock the door.

I turn on the shower and get in.

Minetta burst in and I'm shocked. "Sheriff Minetta! This is harassment! I'm literally in the shower and not even dressed! Get out so I can actually be in an uncompromising position around you."

"Miss Topaz. Put on a towel please. "

I oblige.

Archie's phone goes off.

Shit.

Sheriff Minetta picks it up.

"How'd you get Archie's phone?"

"I um... Jughead took it off him before Archie chased him this morning..."

Minetta glances at the door and tries to open it. I tell him that it's Cheryl's bedroom and she keeps it locked all the time. I refuse to unlock it until hear the other side unlock and Cheryl's voice talking to Betty. He's out. Phew.

I open the door.

Nothing is there.

He takes me downstairs.

[happily-lost-in-oc-writing]

Broken Constellations chapter 2- Give em Hell, kid.

Word count: 2247

Cassie's POV

Valentines day! I roll over and hug the teddy bear I got last year from a girlfriend. That was one of the only happy relationships I had. I slam my face into the pillow as my dad opens the door, flicking the light switch on.

"Get up, kiddo. It's time for school. Wake your brother up too." He smiles and goes downstairs to shower and get ready for work. I get up and throw on a sweater and jeans, shuffling to get Zach. I knock on the door and alert the devil it's time for school, as I go back and get ready. Last night was a shit show, and in actually surprised Jessie talked to me. Jesus, man. That's gotta be rough. I yawn and grab my bag, shoving shit in it, and looking in the mirror.

Today is a new day.

I walk downstairs and count the change in my wallet to get a Soda, I put on my shoes and tell my dad I love him, before leaving and walking outside. The air is cool and soft, remanence of winter lingering around the corner. I rub my eyes, god this is a long week of the same routine. I get down the road before I hear a loud honk, and see a familiar black car pull up next to me and roll down the window: mythic bitch, Jessica Smith.

"Get in." She commands, looking ahead with a bored stare.

"Uh...." no way. Fuck this. What's she gonna do to me. I look around for someone to help me.

"Yes you. Get in. I'm giving you a ride."

"No thanks." I pull my beanie over my head more, feeling my throat tighten up with anxiety.

"Come on. It's valentine day, and no one will see. Let me be nice, bitch."

I groan, and begrudgingly get in. This is going to be a long day.....

She starts driving again and I stare at my bag, an uncomfortable silence filling the empty space.

Part of me wants to chew her out for all the shit she's done to me when I didn't do anything to her.  Part of me wants to ask her if she's okay and Tell dickasoarus-Rex to go to hell.

I choose option a.

"Why?" I ask, looking at her and keeping one hand near the door handle, moving my hair to my back.

"Why..?" She glances at me as she drives, waiting at the intersection of the school.

"Why do you all torment me? What did I do to you to piss you off so bad? This place is hell enough without you- and your- bullshit...." I trail off, looking away.

Her hands tighten on the steering wheel and she takes a breath in as she parks, and I wait for a minute, turning my body to her, and she stares at her lap.

"I see." I say, angry. I at least wanted an explanation for being put through hell. I get out of the car and walk through the back door of the school, headed to the cafeteria. Today was gonna be hell, for more than me.

It just depends on who starts the fire.

I walk over to the vending machine and start getting a Soda, when I see Theodore come up.

"Sorry man, im done he-" he leans on the vending machine and cuts me off.

"I saw you talking to Jessica last night."

"Yeah- crazy right- I can talk to people- ooohhhhhhhhh~" I wave my hands around like a ghost story, joking with him.

"What were you talking to her about?" Teddy looks at me, and I roll my eyes.

"Why, dear Holmes, I was talking to her about personal shit. It was an A-B conversation. So "C" yourself out of it." I snap, walking into the cafeteria before getting pulled back.

"Don't act so innocent. I don't see any good reason for you to want to talk to her. She hates you. She's a horrible person to you!!" Worry lines his voice.

"Yeah, well I'm human. I don't see a slightly-drunk sad girl and think "let's just drop her off and check her ass out as she walks away before driving around the corner!" So I think seeing someone upset, deciding to be a decent human being, and ask about her emotions is a good enough reason to spark a conversation." I cross my arms and rip away from him. "Don't give me shit teddy. You're my friend. Not my warden." He frowns and walks by me, his dirty blond hair fluffing around his tan face with emerald orbs, and a supernatural t-shirt. He and I met when I came here, we met through a friend and hit it off really well. His concern is well placed, but annoying.

We sit down and talk aimlessly, and he smiles and pulls out a large 2-liter of coffee and candy.

"Oh you bITCH I LOVE YOU!" I yell and hug him, laughing. He laughs too and hugs back. I reach in my bag and hand him a giraffe plush and a bag of rainbows.

"Get it? Cause you're a gay giraffe-"

"I'm not gay!!" He yells, and I giggle and take a sip of the coffee. Yes bitchhhhhhh.

We talk about classwork and assignments that the teachers gave that were bullshit. Queen bee and her friends walk in, and I notice the angry distance between Rex, Erika, and her. Those must be the guilty party members.

Amber walks in the mirror awkwardly, trying to strike up conversation without crossing any lines. It was like they had stepped on a battlefield made up of dancing around the issues and passive-aggressive comments. I raise my eyebrows and lean back on the table, looking at teddy.

"Oof. Look at that cluster fuck, like-"

"Yikes." Teddy agrees, watching. "What's with them?"

"The demon queen realized her empire was broken. She woke up to see the roses have thorns. The kingdom has lost their king."

Teddy looks at me.

"Seriously what the fUCK CASSIE?!?" He looks extremely concerned and I snort.

"Sorry- sorry." I give him a sheepish smile and we turn back to each other, talking aimlessly. I see Jessica set her things down and huff, talking to Amber and giving Erika and Rex the classic silent treatment. I give her a soft smile; and for once I see her return it.

Anger doesn't kill politeness.

"Seriously Jessica stop being such a bitch to me!!" Rex pleads, pulling her arm. She pulls away.

"After I went to find my friends what did you do?"

"I talked to my cousin!"

"Oh, so were kissing cousins now?" She snaps, and I "oh" damn. That was viscous.

Teddy snaps me back from my little zone out and I turn to him.

"Sorry- I got distracted." I shake my head,

"You seem distracted a lot. What did she do? Do I have to-"

"Stop, Teddy. Stop trying to be my knight in shining armor. I'm not a damsel in distress and I can rescue myself. Shit went down last night and she talked to me about it. She's in pain. Now drop it." I stand up, slinging my bag over my shoulder.

"Cassie-"

"Happy Valentines Day." I snap, and walk away, then I remember Jessica and how she couldn't answer and I get angrier and start moving faster. Teddy watches me leave and shoots Jessica a look, but I don't care. I don't give a fuck right now. It's too early to live out a high school trope. I rush to my next class, sit down, and pull out my books. Jessica and Amber walk in, jessica right behind me, Amber behind me to my left. The teacher talks about equations and steps, and Amber tries to snap my attention to ask for paper. I hand three sheets back and go back to work, keeping my head down, but I can't get her crying on the sidewalk, being realer than she ever shows, out of my head. It's tiring. There's too much going on and she should be the last person on my mind. She's my bully, not my friend, and everyone has a moment of weakness.

I lay my head down and groan, finish the page, and turn it in. Jessica throws a ball of paper at me. I groan and open it up reading.

"We need to talk." Well.

Fuck. that.

I pocket it into my bag and focus on the assignment for homework, planning out what we need to do for literature, and I smile softly at the idea of being able to discuss literature and get away from the world.

Today we're supposed to talk about Valentine's Day,

And I want to talk about how Valentine's Day is for the viscous.

I stand up and get a pass for the bathroom, tears forming in my eyes- it's the first day of school all over again. Crying over the past and what I'm missing. Crying over bullies and dicks and people who play with your heart for a gag. Crying because nothing stays the same.

God- I am a bitch. I camp out until class is about to end, grab my stuff, and go when the bell rings. The day moves slowly, inching minute by minute, and when it gets out, I thank god. This is too much weird shit for me to deal with.

"Cassie!!" I hear teddy call as he runs by me. I smile at him, walking out of school. "Do you wanna hang out?"

"Not really. I'm- a lot of shit is going on emotionally and I just want to nap, Teddy." I groan, rubbing my eyes.

"Come on! It's valentines day. Please?" He insists, and I sigh, Text my parents, and look at him.

"Fine. Where to?" I grab my bag strap and feel like shit, a sinking feeling in my stomach.

"We can go to my place! Watch a movie or something." He smiles, and I follow him to his car. My parents- begrudgingly- like teddy. He's a sweet kid. He's a good friend too- sometimes possessive, but, I think it's protective. We get to his place and I throw my bag down in the kitchen in a chair and walk into the living room. His parents would be home in an hour or two.

"So what movie are we gonna watch?" I ask and look over at him. He walks over and sits down, smiling. He turns on Gifted, and I smile. He knows me.

"Yessssss" I laugh and watch the movie. He subtly moves closer and I turn to him- he leans over and starts to peck my lips- I push him off-

"Woah- teddy! What the fuck?" I ask, pink and flustered. He turns pink and frowns.

"I- I thought- that's why you agreed to hang out with me...? On Valentine's. That's why we got presents-"

"teddy- jesus- I'm your friend- And- Teddy I'm gay." I tell him, biting my lip.

"You just haven't been with the right guy." He says, and leans in and kisses me again, holding my waist. I slap him and push him off, grabbing my bag.

"Cassie-"

I say nothing as I run out of the house. I don't want to see him right now. My stomach twists and I feel sick-

Not even my best friend is a safe place anymore.

I hurry and catch my breath, thinking. Thinking too much. Overthinking.

This day can't possibly get worst.

I grab my earbuds and look up how far the distance to my home is. 2 miles. I grab my earbuds, blast music, and start walking. I feel like I'm in the twilight zone: Jessica Smith gave me a ride, teddy tried to confess, and I'm being slowly dragged into the plot of a high school movie cliche.

To make things worst I can't get Jessica "Jessie" smith out of my head.

And I wonder what her hugs feel like.

I slap myself and walk in silence, letting the music think for me. After about a mile, I stop by the dollar store and buy a drink and some snacks, put them in my bag, and notice Rex and Erika hooking up.

Gross.

"Jessica was being such a bitchhhh" Rex says, panting.

"Ugh. I know right? She didn't even give me a ride home. I- I guess I see it.... but- still. She's not dating you."

"She's only in loooove with me!" He snorts.

"Right. So you two should shit talk her and mock her emotions. Classy. Why would she ever be mad? It's like you two did something wrong!" I sarcastically smile, moving them so I can get out.

"Fuck off, Goth moth. It's not like she's your friend. You should hear what she says behind your back-"

"I do. But I see the shit you do behind here and I figure at least she's not leading someone on and shattering their heart. Grow the fuck up, be adults. Honestly? You two are perfect for each other. Shallow and rude, and not realizing what you have." I snap, and they glare, cursing my out as I walk away. I just have to take the back roads and I'll be fine.

I walk away from the rude remarks and bitch fits and think about how ironic it was that I was right:

Valentine's is for the Viscous.

[minowen]

my life is a disaster and i want to stop existing, jfc

there's a few key characters: Tim, my BFF forever and always Zach, one of Tim's BFFS who lives in NC Ty, Zach's cousin, also Tim's friend Amber, Zach's wife Kacey, Ty's girlfriend Julie, Ty's mother Josh, Ty's brother

so back in Nov. Zach comes to me (we met in October) and says that he and Amber are getting divorced and he could really use some emotional support. This is a HUGE thing to experience, so I offer him my support. We talk about it a lot. He say she cheated on him 3 times and the only reason he never left her was because they have a 3 year old son-- and like holy smokes, kids complicate everything so I totally understand

so we get to talking and he is discussing how he is working a lot (he works at Lowes) and is worried about doing the holidays separate this year . I send him some things for his son for Christmas--all books and educational toys, and even some things from my childhood that were well kept (action figures and what not) we end up getting really close during this period, because he is coming to me almost every day however, he hasn't told Tim or Ty & Josh about all of this he says he isnt ready for it to be public men are weird-- but I promise I won't tell any of them. After all, it is none of my business fast forward a little, Zach starts getting flirty with me. I don't notice right away (oops) and just sort of brush it off. But shit after all the hell I've helped him through I can't help but feel some sort of way about him too. I still don't really know what that feeling was, because I also have never met the man in person in a way, I almost felt responsible for him as weird as that sounds

it get's better, this is when things get saucy. Zach and I are going pretty steady in our Not-a-relationship, relationship we know there's something going on here, but we never really label it

By April, this has been going on for a few months. I fly back to Colorado to see Tim He works at UNC and Zach makes a comment and says, "Are you ever going to come see me?" And I was like, "I mean, you've never invited me to come. I may? I will be a 6 hour drive from your house all summer." And then he makes some comment about how he finds it odd that I flew to see Tim three times this year and never asked to come see him and I was like, "Well with everything you're dealing with, I didn't find it appropriate to ask for that." honestly, it just never crossed my mind. I figured I'd see him when I drove to Asheville, since I knew I was stopping at Ty's house and Ty only lives an hour away from Zach

if he had asked, -- I would have gone. I was that emotionally invested in this boy

but he never asked me to come

So anyways, while I am in Colorado with Tim, Zach is 1. super jealous of Tim? and 2. Calling me every day with some new crisis

the last day I am in CO he tells me that there's some girl stalking him from work, and he's suing Amber for custody of their son Zach is jealous of Tim because Tim & I have a well-established friendship and we really care about each other? And in another life, we were probably soul mates lmfao but we are happy with our friendship the way it was but Zach thinks Tim is a threat to whatever not relationship we have So with this new crisis, I drop everything to talk to Zach for like TWO HOURS

while I'm with Tim (but you know, I have to tell Tim something else is going on bc Zach doesn't want him to know about the lawsuit) I keep it from Tim out of respect for what Zach wants and I spend the next few days looking up NC state laws trying to help him figure out how he can get custody of his son and then one day I wake up... and Zach has blocked me on EVERYTHING (this was the very end of April) and I'm not entirely sure why he blocked me he just did even my phone number

so I'm a little in shock and sad and it's finals week at BG, so I'm already manic but I focus on school and decide not to worry about it the mean time, I confide in Ty and ask him if Zach said anything to him Ty doesn't know anything, but he is happy to talk to me and cheer me up a week or so goes by, and Ty and I start making plans for the summer. I am driving to his house in VA and we are going to spend a few days together before I head to NC and Ty is watching Oakley while I wait on my accessibility papers to come through we start looking for things we can do in June-- things that are short drives from where I am or where he is-- and things that we can meet up at basically, we decide "Fuck Zach, we are still going to make the most of the time we have" on my drive to VA back on May 17th Ty calls me so that we can figure out dinner plans Ty tells me that he heard from Zach finally and apparently Amber, Zach's wife, found out he was cheating on her. And I was like "wat" And Ty tells me that Zach was apparently caught sleeping with some girl he works with at Lowes. (so it wasn't me she found out about, but I was shocked because 1. he told me they were completely separated. 2. he was also then cheating on me??? So Ty is telling me ALL THIS TEA about Zach and I finally just sort of cave, because I'm sad and angry and I tell Ty EVERYTHING that had been going on, even though I promised Zach I wouldnt

IT GETS BETTER So i tell Ty that Zach and I were seeing each other but I didn't know Amber was still around So Ty is like "Wow. I'm so sorry that Zach did that, but I'm not surprised." Ty is literally a ray of sunshine and he is very supportive and assures me that it wasn't my fault this happened we ended up having sex... part of me was allowing it to happen out of pettiness cause I knew he'd tell Zach and I wanted Zach to be mad it was a bad decision on my end, and I probably shouldn't have allowed it to happen oops whatever we both agree that it was just a one time thing, we aren't going to go down that path Ty and I were happy just being friends.

So anyways, fast forward. Ty and I haven't really changed our relationship at all.  We still talk every day-- he does flirt with me a little, but it doesn't seem like anything out of the ordinary. Last Wednesday he asks me to drive to his mothers house this past Friday so I could get my dog his mom lives 4 hours from me, so i'm staying the night there-- and it's her birthday so he told me she'd be really excited to have someone to talk to and hang out with to celebrate she's totally fine with me coming, she's excited to meet me (he says) er name i Julie, and I really love her. She's so sweet.  We end up watching a movie all together. So I'm sitting on their couch and Ty is laying with his head in my lap (mostly because there's not a lot of seating options) and he keeps putting my hands on his head because he wants me to scratch his head lmfao okay. And then he keeps holding my hands and it's fine. HIs mother asks if we are dating and we both say no she says, "Oh my, I thought you were. Are you just really close?" and we just sorta pause and say, "yes, we are." she says, "Do you both mind sharing a bed? I only prepared one of my guest rooms... I thought you all were dating so it didn't even occur to me." we say it's fine so when we get ready to go to bed-- at this point, I'm so confused. Ty has been flirting with me all day and I'm just not sure how to process my fickle ass kind of likes it lmfao

so i was rebound and I was like no and at this point I was already having my own internal conversation bcause I was not trying to catch feelings for him because 1. he's not my type 2. he's zach's cousin 3. he wouldn't really mesh well with any of my friends 4. he's zach's cousin 5. he's vulgar 6. he's zach's cousin???? 7. his brother is really attractive and i can't handle that like Ty's brother is so handsome. like why would I settle for Ty when i could have Josh?

Ty is cute-- but his brother is beautiful NEVER SETTLE FOR APPETIZERS WHEN YOU CAN HAVE THE ENTREE so the worst part-- despite all of this shit i still caught feelings and I caught them HARD so embarrasing

and then on Sunday... Ty messages me

he tells me we can't be friends any more because he told Kacey (the girl he was seeing) and he wants to try and work things out with her and the only way he can do that is if he doesn't talk to me

SHE IS MARRIED

so ty says we can't be friends anymore, we aren't allowed to talk at all

so I go to Tim and tell him and he is furious FURIOUS because apparently Ty came and confessed to him that he has a lot of feelings for me and wanted to know how to pursue them and Tim was like, "Yeah I can help-- this is what shadae likes, these are things you can do together, these are things they don't like-- blah blah"

so Tim was so angry because Ty lied to him too and the worst part is that his fucked me up so bad so bad last night I went to a fast food chain that Ty introduced me to and I cried because I wanted to tell him I went but I couldn't

and then this morning I went to my office and I cried because for the past two weeks, I spent a lot of time on the phone with Ty while I was in my office because I knew he wouldn't be calling me

[donotbealrmed]

A to Z

By: distortedfishbowl/Lauryn

Ch. 2

I push my bags into the trunk of my junky Jeep and close the hatch. I can hear a sniffle behind me and I see my mom and Aunt Willy identically covering their noses.

"Guys," I draw out, "c'mon, we knew this was coming." Fall break was longer this time than it was last year: a whole month. And I could tell already at the start of the break Mom wasn't ready to let me and my brother go so quickly.

"No, Ant, I'm fine. Don't worry," Mom says wiping the tears away from the corners of her eyes. "I'm just- I miss my baby boys." She slumped her way over to me and draped her arms over my shoulders, sniffling and weeping the whole way. "Anthony, I'm your mother and I love you."

Off to the left, the patio doors open and close. A carbon copy version of me says "Hey, what's this blubbering for? And where's my hug?" Mom begins to laugh and shuffle over to Seth while Aunt Willy and walks over to me with open arms and her signature I'm-gonna-miss-you smile.

"Be good for us, 'kay Anthony?" Her hug is tight around me just the way it is every time we hug. I smell her ivory soap and her knock off Beyoncé perfume.

I nod into her hair feeling my eyes sting. I really didn't want to leave Mom here with the state everything is in. After Seth stuffs his things into my car, we say our I love yous with already longing looks and leave the driveway.

In my rearview mirror, I see my Dad, seemingly out of nowhere, hovering behind Mom and putting his hand on her shoulder where he had hurt her before. I see him urge Aunt Willy to go home and she throws her hands in the air and retreats to her car.

It was only an approximate twenty five minute drive to the school I went to. Yeah, I go to a boarding school and not because I'm 'prestigious' but because Mom didn't want us in the new environment that Dad had conjured up for us. It had only took a nasty bruise on my arm and a cigar burn on Seth's collarbone to send us somewhere where Dad probably couldn't get to us. It was a long shot but Mom said it was worth protecting us for. I still didn't feel good about leaving her alone like that with him but Aunt Willy assures me every few days that she's with her and she's okay and, of course, that puts me at ease. I still didn't like it, though.

I help Seth take his things to his room first with his roommates in tow. They were all in a lower grade than me so it was funny to see them flirt with other girls even though it was evident that they had no experience.

I give my little brother a quick hug but, of course, not without his dear roommates bellowing, "That's gay!" behind us. He's my brother, dude, what the hell?

"Guys, just shut up. You can't even get a girl to look your way." Seth retaliates.

One of them says, "Oh, and you can?"

Seth playfully tenses his chest. "Bet," he whispers seriously.

I stand back chuckling to myself and slowly let myself out. "Bye Seth!" I call as I walk down the hall and head to my car.

As I get to my car door, I see a familiar face leaning against it with arms crossed and legs propped a certain way to the ground, and there was only one person I knew that did that effortlessly.

"Ben!" I yelled out, hurting my throat a little. I ran to him even though I was two feet away and gave him punches to the arm like I always did.

"Hey, Ant." He smiled at me with all of his newly braced teeth on show.

I point at him and wink. "Rockin' the braces, Benji."

"Can't wait to get this shit off." Ben complains. He says his braces are the literal bane of his existence and he tries to hide them every time he smiles but what he doesn't know it just makes him that much more adorable. "Well, anyways, Tess is waiting in the lounge. Let's go before she comes and finds us."

As Ben and I head over to the lounge, which is halfway across campus, he asks me how my break was.

"Went to my Aunt's wedding," I said. And I saw the prettiest guy ever.

"Oh really? Did you meet some cute girls?" Ben jokes because he knows my history with girls, but not with boys.

I chuckle, trying not to smile too widely. "I guess you could say that." I wasn't ready to tell him that lately it hasn't been girls I've been looking at.

Ben jumps up a little. "Ant finally getting a girl? Should I record this on the calendar?"

"Nothing has happened yet, don't get your hormone hopes up." I said. I didn't have a chance to ask Ben about his break because we were rudely interrupted by a 5'2" girl who was speed walking towards us.

"Guys, where have you been?" Tessa was a short brunette who didn't mind the taller people around her. In her mind, she was tall.

"We were heading over there, Tess. Calm down." Ben says.

"Yeah, right. Well, now that we're here, how was the break for you two? Better than mine, I hope."

Ben claps his hands together. "Alright, I'll tell you. I went to stay at my cousin's house at the start of the week and on the third day," he pauses with the slyest grin on his face, "I met the prettiest girl around. I hooked up with her and guess what- we're still in contact to this day."

Tess and I clap for him like Dumbledore does for Harry since it had been so long since Ben kept in contact with a girl for more than two days.

Ben then motions towards me. "Why don't you tell us about your break, Ant?"

I know he wants me to tell about how I met a girl but I hadn't met a girl at all. Or even a person in general. I sat with Willie while oogling a boy I told myself not to get involved with. I couldn't tell them that; I wasn't ready.

I shook my head no. "I'm good," I say, avoiding the topic. "What about you Tess?"

Tess tenses up and sighs. "Kenan cheated on me." she says. She puts her hands to her head. "I told you guys I thought something was up and yeah. It was with this random girl he met at his brother's going away party."

I put my arm around Tessa's shoulder and Ben hugs us from the back. "We don't need him anyway" I say.

Tess chuckles and links her hand with mine. "Thanks, Ant. I just want to forget about it, I don't want to sit in my room forever thinking about it."

"We could go out to eat tonight at Funky's," Ben suggests, unclasping us from his hug.

Tess nods. "That'd be good for my health, honestly, just eating Funky fries until I die from obesity."

•°•°•

I had to finish all of my first day back assignments before I had even thought about going out with my friends. I knew I would forget if I didn't.

Ben walks into our room from the bathroom with a towel around his waist. I stare only for a second before I snap myself back to my homework.

"Hey Anthony, can I borrow a shirt? All my good ones are dirty." Ben asks, walking over to my bed and standing right beside me. With all of his good features on show.

"Yeah, just go into my dresser." I say looking past Ben.

He thanks me and makes his way across the room where our dressers are located beside each other. Ben and I have been friends since 2nd grade and I didn't think of him in another way at all but that didn't mean I didn't notice how great he looked.

I revert back to the real world and out of my thoughts when Ben asks me, "Why aren't you ready?"

I look down at myself and shrug. "I'm almost done with my work, just give me a second."

After I finish my homework, I jump into the shower for a couple minutes and get fresh clothes to wear. "Ben," I say. "Did you use the rest of my cologne?"

I smell my cologne all over the room. Ben tosses the bottle to me and he says, "No, there's a little left in there."

I attempt a spray at myself and only get a small spit. "Gee, thanks buddy." Instead, I pile up on deodorant basically everywhere on my body. It did a decent job for a substitute.

About fifteen minutes later, we're pigging out at Funky's. Tess is literally stuffing her face with Funky fries and Ben is gulping down a cherry cheesecake shake. I'm still on my burger and only four bites have been taken out of it. I don't know why, I just wasn't as hungry tonight.

"Ant, your Funky burger is still on your plate. You okay?" Tess asks crossing her arm over to mine.

I put a small smile on my face and almost say "I'm fine," but as if on cue, the icing on the cake, I see a familiar face across the restaurant.

Tess notices and looks past her shoulder. "Oh, do you know him?"

I gather my current emotions and get them in order. "Yeah, I mean, not personally. He was in a band that played at my aunt's wedding over the break."

"Oh, he's a snack." Tessa sighs. She rests her head lazily on her hand and stares at the prettiest guy ever.

I pick at my burger with a fork and mutter "I mean, if you like guys like that."

As if my mind is clouded and I don't know what's happening, Ben says "Wait, hold on, why is he coming over here? He's waving, does he know one of us?"

I hadn't reacted until Tess said, "Well, Ant says he knows him."

My head snaps up and my plate rattles. "Wait, what." And before I know it, a tall and dark Latino figure is walking over to me.

"Hey," he greets, "my father played for your cousin, yeah?"

"She's actually my aunt but, yeah. He did." I say, trying to keep the coolest of cools.

His smile is different this time. It's not crooked like before but it's fuller, like he's using his whole face for it. But why? What was different this time?

"Well, I had a great time at your aunt's wedding. The food was incredible." His teeth are beaming at me and his eyes are smiling. He holds out his hand for me to shake. "Zach."

I take it and we share two shakes. "I'm Anthony." I smile but I'm trying to keep what I'm actually feeling deep down inside. The way his voice caramelized over to my ears all the more while he looked so suave just standing there in front of me might've just mended me a little.

Find more here!

[queseraone]

Maybe One Day - Part 11

A collection of one-shots of Jay Halstead as a dad. Because we all need that in our lives. Co-written with @halsteadpd

When canon gives you lemons, you make fluff…

Catch up here. (This chapter in particular is a direct “sequel” to Part 9)

Intelligence was hard at work trying to locate two brothers involved with a drug deal linked to three murders. Erin reclined back in her seat as she took a look at the board in the bullpen; well past the point of being allowed out into the field, she had been doing whatever she could to support the unit from behind her desk. When she felt a sharp kick, her hand quickly shot up to cradle her growing bump and she smiled.

Jay’s eyes met hers, his brow raised, silently questioning if everything was okay. She waved him off and leaned forward again to focus on the files on her desk.

And that’s when she felt the familiar pain in her abdomen.

Two months early.

The tearing pain felt vaguely familiar, although she barely ever felt it as dopamine would be coursing through her body as her baby—pink and beautiful and perfect—would be laid on her chest. Yet, the pain was familiar.

Erin tried to persuade herself that what she was feeling wasn’t real—it was just an illusion—so she just took some deep breaths hoping to alleviate some of the pain. Over her many years as a cop, she had learned how to control her breathing in times when her adrenaline was pumping and her nerves had her hands shaking, making her anxiety unnoticeable, not drawing the attention of any of the others in the bullpen.   

Except him.

When she didn’t immediately pick up her pen to resume writing, Jay knew something was wrong. He watched her face from his desk and noticed that her eyes were concealing pain. Her shoulders moved up and down as she breathed, and he managed to count out the seconds as she attempted to calm herself down.

“Erin?” He was up and at her desk in a matter of seconds, squatting down in front of her with his hands on her knees. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m… just… in a lot… of pain. Jay, I think something’s wrong!” Erin grabbed onto his hand and squeezed as hard as she could and she tried to keep her breathing steady.

“I’ll go get the car!” Ruzek got to his feet quickly, swiping his keys and phone from his desk before making his way down the stairs.

“Erin just keep breathing. Do you think you can walk? Maybe I should call an ambulance?” Jay stood up and looked down at his wife; his legs felt like they would give out from underneath him at any second, so he leaned against her desk.

“Med’s only… five minutes away. Help me up.” Atwater stood on one side of Erin as Jay wrapped his arm around her waist, hoisting her up. The two men helped her slowly down the steps and into the backseat of Ruzek’s car that was waiting outside.  

“Jay… the baby’s not really… kicking anymore. Something is seriously wrong.” Tears were flowing steadily from Erin’s eyes as she grasped onto her husband’s hand tightly. “This can’t be happening Jay, it’s too early.”  

“Ruzek, step on it!” Jay yanked his phone from his pocket, quickly clicking one of the numbers on his speed dial. “Will! I don’t know what’s happening, but Erin’s in a lot of pain. We’re almost at Med, just please meet us there with her doctor.” Erin fell limply against his side, crying, as he hung up the phone. “Deep breaths babe.”  

Will and Maggie were waiting at the emergency doors with a few others when Ruzek pulled up.

“Okay, let’s get her on a gurney and into Trauma 2.” Maggie directed, reaching her hand out to hold Will back. “Dr. Halstead, this is your family, you can’t work this one.”

Will sighed and for a second it looked like he was going to argue, but then he looked over and saw the fear on his brother’s face. Will was at Jay’s side immediately as they rushed into the exam room after Erin. Jay looked up, his eyes red with fear and unshed tears. “Will, what… what am I supposed to do?”

“Shh, it’ll be okay Jay. Everything will be okay.” Jay let Will pull him into a hug.

“What’s happening to her?”

“It could be a number of things, but it’s most likely that the baby is just under some stress.”

“So the doctor can fix this, right?”

“I don’t know Jay, we just have to wait. We need to give them space to work.” Will led Jay out of the exam room, closing the curtain behind them.

A few minutes later, the curtain flew open. “We need to get her up to surgery right now. The baby can’t stay inside of her any longer, we’ll need to do a c-section immediately.” The team of doctors and nurses quickly moved Erin’s bed past the two Halstead men. The sheets were soiled in blood around her and when Jay looked back into the trauma room, the floor was no better.

“Jay.” Erin’s skin was pale and diaphoretic and the oxygen mask on her face was clouded from her breaths. “The kids.”

“They’re at school. Will can pick them up. Don’t worry about any of that right now babe.”

Erin grabbed Jay’s hand as she was pushed toward the elevator. “Jay, promise me you’ll make sure this baby is okay.”

“Of course babe, it’ll be okay. Everything will be okay.” Jay squeezed her hand in his own.

“No Jay… I mean… if it comes down to me… or the baby… Jay, I need this baby to live.”

“Erin, w-what? No. Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Please Jay, promise me?” Will held Jay back, while Erin’s bed was pushed into the elevator.

“I love you, Erin!” Jay was sure she opened her mouth to say the same thing to him, but was interrupted by the closing of the elevator doors.

As the tears Jay had been holding back finally fell, he felt his brother pull him into another hug. “I can’t lose her Will, I can’t.”

“You won’t. Erin’s the toughest woman I know, she’ll be okay Jay.”

Jay had been waiting for an update for what felt like forever, his leg bouncing almost involuntarily as he sat on the edge of his seat on one of the hard chairs in the waiting room. Will had gone to pick Ben, Zach and Maddie up from school, but they would be back any minute—Jay didn’t know what he was going to tell them.

Sure enough, his three kids suddenly burst through the waiting room doors, followed closely by Will.

“Look Daddy, we got hamburgers!” Maddie exclaimed, her voice filled with excitement.

Despite the situation, Jay couldn’t help but smile at his little girl as she climbed into his lap. “Wow baby, aren’t you lucky!”

“What’s going on?” Zach asked timidly as he settled into a chair beside his father.

Jay opened his mouth to speak but no words came out.

Will jumped in to explain, kneeling in front of his nephews and niece. “Um, your mommy is having the baby right now, buddy.”

“Really?!” Maddie asked excitedly.

“Uncle Will, can I play on your phone?” Ben asked, sounding bored; he remembered his uncle had a racing game on his phone the last time he and Owen hung out together. This was Ben’s first real time experiencing the birth of one of his siblings but he knew from when his little cousin Zoey was born that they would be there for a while.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Daddy, is Mommy having a girl? Do I get a sister?” Jay chuckled at his little girl’s tenacity. Ever since they had told the kids they were having another baby, Maddie had been adamant that it would be a girl.

“I don’t know yet, sweetheart. We just have to wait and see.” Jay’s voice was quiet as he tried his best to keep his emotions at bay.

“Jay, if you want me to take the kids to my place—”

“No.” Jay interrupted Will’s offer, his voice hoarse. “I… uh… I want them here. I need them here. Can you get an update or something?”

“I don’t know if they’ll tell me anything, but I’ll try.” Will shot his brother one last look of concern before turning and heading toward the nurses’ station.

“Daddy why do you look so sad?” Maddie reached up and traced her little fingers along the worry lines stretching across her father’s forehead.

Jay’s eyes fluttered shut for a moment as he allowed himself to be calmed by his five-year-old. He took a deep breath and answered as honestly as he could in that moment: “I’m okay Mads, I’m just a bit worried about Mommy. But everything will be fine.”

“Why are you worried?” Zach asked from the chair next to Jay. He had been leaning against his father’s side, but sat up quickly at Jay’s words.

“Because… Mommy had some pain before we came to the hospital.” Jay chose his words carefully. Just because he was terrified didn’t mean his children needed to be. Jay felt Ben settle into the beside him, Will’s phone out of sight. As Jay made eye contact with his oldest, he recognized that Ben knew there was more to the story than he had let on. There was fear in the boy’s eyes but he didn’t say anything, instead just resting his head against his Dad’s shoulder. Adjusting Maddie in his lap, Jay moved an arm around Ben, rubbing small circles into his back. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

Jay wasn’t sure how long he sat cuddled up with Ben, Zach, and Maddie, but before he knew it, Will had returned. The look on his face told Jay that he still didn’t know anything. Will settled in the seat beside Zach and the little boy quickly climbed into his uncle’s lap.

It felt like hours before Erin’s doctor finally burst through the waiting room doors. All three children had fallen asleep: Zach was cuddled up in Will’s arms, Maddie’s face was buried in Jay’s chest, and Ben was reclined against his father, using two chairs as a makeshift bed. Jay quickly rose from his seat, careful not to disturb Ben as he adjusted Maddie in his arms. He tried to ignore the blood all over the doctor’s scrubs.

“Dr. Perez!” Jay exclaimed before launching into a million questions. “What’s going on? What happened? Is Erin okay? Is the baby okay?”

Dr. Perez held his hands up at Jay. He had delivered both Ben and Zach—and he was supposed to deliver Maddie too—so he had gotten to know the Halsteads pretty well over the years. “Slow down, Jay, just relax. Everything is fine. You’ve got another little boy in the family.”

“And Erin? How is she?”

“Erin will be fine. She had a placental abruption, that’s what caused all the blood and the pre-term labour. She lost a lot of blood, so the recovery will be slow, but she will be just fine.”

Jay blew out a deep breath at the doctor’s words. “And the baby, he-he was early…”

Dr. Perez knew what Jay was hinting at: “He’s small, so he will need to spend some time in the NICU, but considering he was delivered at 34 weeks, he’s actually doing very well.”

“When can I see them?”

“We just moved Erin into a recovery room. She’s a little groggy but she’s already asking for you.”

Jay reached out to shake Dr. Perez’s hand, muttering words of thanks. He carried Maddie over to where Will sat with the boys and carefully handed his little girl over to his brother. “You sure you’re okay to stay with them?”

“Of course. Go see your girl.”

Erin was reclined in the hospital bed with her eyes closed when Jay walked in. Her complexion was still pale but she seemed comfortable. When she felt Jay’s presence in the room, she immediately opened her eyes. “Jay…”

He practically ran across the room, gingerly sitting beside Erin on the bed as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. “Hey, how you feeling?”

“Exhausted.” Erin’s face erupted into a tired smile. “We have another little boy.”

Jay leaned down to kiss her, smiling against her lips. “Maddie’s gonna be so pissed.”

“Wait, where are they?”

“Outside sleeping, they’re with Will.” Jay murmured into Erin’s hair.

“I wanna see them. Did they eat? What time is it? Shouldn’t they be in bed?”

“Erin… Erin, relax. It’s not even seven o’clock yet. Will picked them up from school and they got burgers.”

“What about you? Did you eat?”

“I’m supposed to be the one worrying right now, not you.”

A knock on the door interrupted the moment the couple were having and when Jay turned around to face the door, he could see Will popping his head into the room. “Would you like a few visitors?”

Erin nodded at Will with a smile—she was anxious to see her children.

“Be careful guys, Mommy had an operation, so she’s a little bit sore, okay?” Jay explained as he helped Erin sit up. The three kids slowly walked into the room and over towards the bed, each taking a turn giving their mother a careful hug.

“Mommy are you okay?” Zach asked worriedly as he furrowed his brows.

Erin reached out to cup Zach’s face in her hand. “Yes baby, I’m okay.”

“Mommy, where’s my baby sister?” Maddie asked.

“Mads, come here baby,” Jay began slowly, picking her up and resting her on his hip. “I know you really wanted a little sister, but… the new baby is a boy.”

The little girl’s mouth was agape as she listened to her father’s words. “A boy…”

“Mhmm, you have another brother! Mommy and Daddy are going to need a special helper with the baby, maybe his big sister?” Erin tried to sound as excited as she could, hoping to distract her daughter with thoughts of the new baby.

“Yes Mommy! I can help!” And just like that, Maddie’s excitement about the new baby had returned.

“Where is the baby?” Ben asked as he looked around the room for a crib.

“He um… he’s really little, so the doctors are just checking him over a bit more.” Jay explained, combing his fingers through his oldest son’s hair.

“You guys will get to meet him really soon, okay?” Erin added. “But I think right now it’s probably bedtime.”

“Who’s up for a sleepover at Uncle Will and Aunt Natalie’s?” Will piped in enthusiastically.

Jay gave Maddie a kiss and set her down so she could say goodnight to her mom. “Hey Will, are you sure you guys are okay to—?”

“Dude that’s not even a question, of course.” Will clapped his hand on his little brother’s shoulder. “You just focus on Erin and my new little nephew right now, okay?”

“Thanks bro, I really appreciate it.” Jay gave Will a quick hug before saying goodnight to his boys.

When he and Erin were alone again, Jay pressed his lips against her forehead. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay babe?”

“Jay, I’m fine. Are you okay?” Erin rubbed her hand across the scruff of his face.

Jay closed his eyes and relaxed against Erin’s touch. “I was so scared babe. I just… I thought I was going to lose you.”

“I promise you, that’ll never happen.” She leaned forward slightly to kiss him. “Besides, you can’t get rid of me that easily.”

“Knock, knock.” Maggie popped her head into the room a little later. “How are you doing Erin?”

“Not too bad.” Erin managed a smile, but Jay could tell she was still in pain.

“Well, a little birdie told me there’s a baby boy who wants to meet his mommy and daddy.” Maggie beamed at them.

“Really? We can see him?” Erin asked.

“You bet. I’ll just need to get a wheelchair for you and then we’ll all head on upstairs.”

Jay and Maggie helped Erin out of the bed and got her settled into the wheelchair. He knew she was in pain when she didn’t ask to walk up to the NICU instead of using the wheelchair.

When they got out of the elevator on the NICU floor, Erin grabbed Jay’s hand and pulled him in front of her. He quickly bent down in front of her, “What’s wrong babe?”

“I’m sorry.” Erin looked down, avoiding eye contact with Jay.

“Sorry? What are you sorry for?” Jay reached up to cup her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him.

“He’s so early, if I just rested more and didn’t go into work everyday like you and Hank said this wouldn’t have happened.”

“Babe… it’s not your fault. He just wanted to meet us a little bit early.” Jay tried to lighten the mood to ease Erin’s concerns. “He’s going to be just fine.”

As Maggie led them into the NICU, they were mesmerized by their baby boy. He was tiny and hooked up to various monitors and machines, but to Jay and Erin he was still absolutely perfect.

“C-can we hold him?” Jay asked tentatively.

“Of course! Maybe we could try some skin-to-skin with the both of you? It generally helps the baby stabilize.”

Jay helped unclasp Erin’s gown as Maggie put on a pair of gloves before carefully lifting their son from his small incubation bed. She placed him against Erin’s chest, adjusting the wires so they weren’t getting in the way.

“He’s beautiful.” Erin whispered, gently pressing her lips against the top of the tiny baby’s head.

“Does he have a name yet?”

“Not yet, we wanted to see him first.” Jay murmured, reaching up to carefully run a finger along his son’s cheek.

“I’ll leave you three alone for a few minutes.” Maggie smiled before quietly leaving the room.

Jay and Erin sat quietly for a while, just staring at their perfect little baby snuggled up against his mother’s chest. “Did you want to try? Skin-to-skin?”

���You just want me to take my shirt off, huh?” Jay chuckled as he grabbed the collar of his t-shirt and pulled it over his head in one fluid motion.

Erin watched him from her seat with a smile on her face before handing off their baby to him. The baby looked so small as Jay held him against his chest, lightly swaying his hips to keep the baby calm. Jay kissed his small forehead gently, relishing that new baby smell. “Hey bud. I’m your Daddy. I know we just met but I love you so much already.” When Jay glanced back up at Erin, he saw tears streaming down her cheeks, taking a step closer to her. “Er, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, it’s just… hormones and crap.” Erin laughed a little through her tears. “Oh Jay, I’m just so happy that our babies have you as a father.”

“They’re even luckier to have you. And so am I.” Jay smiled as he bent down to kiss Erin’s lips.

Jay spent the night in Erin’s room, sleeping on and off in an uncomfortable chair between his wife and his newborn son. The baby was doing well enough that he had been wheeled down from the NICU to share the room with his parents. Due to his oxygen tube and IV lines, they couldn’t pick him up too much so he had to sleep in his cot, much to the dismay of both Jay and Erin.

The next morning, Jay called Will to have him bring the kids back to the hospital to meet their new baby brother. About an hour later, Jay and Erin’s three kids plus Owen came running into the room followed by Will—who was holding baby Zoey— and Natalie, eager to see the newest member of the Halstead family.

“Where’s the baby?!” Maddie asked impatiently.

“Is he okay?” Zach added.

“What’s his name?” Ben chimed in.

“Hey guys, calm down. You need to use your inside voices.” Nat said, reaching to try to hold them back.

Once the kids had given their parents hugs and kisses, Jay led them over to the incubator where the littlest Halstead was sleeping. “Okay guys, this is your baby brother, Sam.” Ben, Zach, and Maddie were all silent as they stared intently at their new brother, smiles appearing on each of their faces.

“Can we hold him?” Maddie asked as she looked up at her father.

“Not yet, he’s still got some growing to do and he can get sick if he gets germs.” Jay answered. “But if you wash your hands with some soap at the sink you can still touch him.”

“What’s his full name?” Will asked Erin.

“Samuel James.” Erin was beaming with pride at the sight of her husband and three older children all entranced by their new addition.

“You named him after Grandpa?”

Jay’s head snapped up at his brother’s question, an emotional smile crossing his face. “Yeah.”

“That’s perfect.” Will grinned, crossing the room to pull his brother into a hug.

“Oh Erin, he’s beautiful.” Nat said as she watched her nephew sleeping. “How much did he weigh?”

Erin smiled softly as she answered. “Almost five pounds. Not too bad considering he was so early.”

The conversation was interrupted by Sam’s muffled cries. Natalie immediately recognized that the baby was hungry, so she beckoned for Will to help her get the kids out of the way.

“Who wants ice cream?” Will asked.

“Will, it’s ten o’clock in the morning!” Nat exclaimed as they ushered the children from the room.

“Ice cream knows no time.”

Once Will, Natalie and the kids were gone, Jay carefully lifted Sam out of the incubator and brought him over to Erin’s waiting arms. As the newborn latched onto Erin, Jay couldn’t help but stare; he was completely overwhelmed with love for his wife and children. When Sam was done eating, he burrowed his nose against his mother’s chest, and Erin shifted a little, motioning for Jay to come join them on the bed. He gingerly slid in beside her, wrapping his arm around her and kissing her cheek as she relaxed in his arms.

When Will popped his head into the room a few minutes later, he smiled at the sight in front of him. Jay, Erin, and baby Sam were snuggled together on the bed, all fast asleep.

Jay woke a couple of hours later to a text from Will letting him know that he and Natalie took the kids back to their place. He put his phone onto the table next to his bed, carefully snuggling back into Erin. They had put Sam back in his bed, fearing that his little body would get too cold.

“Who was that?” She mumbled sleepily, nuzzling her face into her husband’s chest.

“It was Will. He and Nat took the kids back to their place.” Jay ran his hand through her hair, leaning down to press a kiss against her temple. “Go back to sleep.”

“You need to take them home.”

“But I need to be here with you, you need me.”

“Jay, we’re probably going to be here for a few weeks. We can’t leave them with your brother for that long. They need you more. Please babe.”

Jay sighed. He ran his hand across his face before finally answering. “Are you sure you’ll be okay here without me?”

“Babe, we’ll be fine. I’m worried about the other kids, and you. You look so stressed and you’re barely getting any sleep. The kids have school on Monday. You’re gonna have to keep up with them.”

“Alright, okay.” Jay sighed again. “I’ll pick them up from Will’s on my way home.”

“Thank you.”

“When’s Mommy coming home?” Maddy asked from her seat at the island as she ate a snack.

“Hopefully soon. She needs to get better and Sam needs to get a little bit bigger first, okay?” Jay smiled at his daughter.

“Okay.” Maddie grumbled.

“What’s wrong sweetheart?”

“I miss Mommy.”

“I know, I miss her too.” Jay approached his daughter and kissed her forehead. “Tell you what, how about we do something fun this afternoon? And then before dinner, we can all go see Mommy again.”

“Can we bring Mommy dinner and eat with her? Like a picnic?”

“Of course we can.”

Over the next week, Jay did everything he could to keep his three oldest children occupied while Erin and Sam were in the hospital. But he’d be lying if he said it wasn’t exhausting. All his children had different interests and it was difficult trying to give his attention in three places at once. And soon, there would be a fourth to keep up with.

Antonio had been amazing, allowing Jay to work shorter hours so he would be able to take the kids to and from school every day. And every day, after picking them up, they went to the hospital to see Erin and Sam.

Finally, after a little over a week in the hospital, Sam and Erin were ready to come home. They dressed Sam in a simple white onesie and kept the small blue hat the hospital gave them on his head. He had gained almost a full pound during his time in the hospital and was thriving.  

“Ready to come home bud?” Jay cooed at his youngest son as he strapped him into the carseat. “There, you’re all set little man. Erin, babe, are you ready to go?”

“Yeah just a second.” Erin replied as she pulled a sweater over her head. “Okay, ready.”

Just like when they first brought their other children home from the hospital, Jay drove even more cautiously than usual. Hank had offered to pick the kids up from school that day and take them for dinner, giving Jay and Erin some extra time to get settled at home with Sam.

Jay had arranged to take some furlough to help Erin with the baby while she continued her recovery. He would feed Sam and put him down to sleep before dropping off the other kids every morning. His evenings consisted of helping each child with their homework, making dinner, and making sure Sam and Erin were comfortable. He tried to get all the housework done while the kids were at school, but there was always a load of laundry to do and when there wasn’t, there were clothes to fold and put away. He vacuumed the floors when the baby was awake and made sure to check in on him periodically. To give Erin a break during the day, Jay would wrap Sam in a baby sling attached to his chest, humming softly while he sterilized the baby bottles.

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever commented on how hot of a house husband you make.” Erin walked into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water from the fridge. “Maybe I should require rest more often.”

“You’re supposed to be in bed.”

“I’ve been in bed all day, every day. I’m allowed to walk around you know.”

“Yes I know, but I would just feel more comfortable if you were resting.”

“Bite me, Halstead.”

“Gladly.” Jay wiggled his eyebrows, a devilish smirk flashing across his face.

“Come cuddle with me? I’m bored.” Erin pouted, knowing she could get her husband to do anything that way.

“I need to go pick up the kids, after that we can all cuddle. I promise.”

Erin huffed out a sigh of annoyance. “Fine.”

Sticking to his word, as soon as Jay brought the kids home from school, they took off for the master bedroom, climbing up onto the king-sized bed. “Someone requested a family cuddle?” Erin shifted a sleeping Sam in her arms as she reclined against the headboard of the bed.

Jay slid in beside Erin, wrapping his arm around her, while Ben snuggled against Erin’s other side. Zach was practically laying on top of his father, and Maddie was sandwiched right in between both of her parents. Within minutes all six Halsteads were sound asleep—their family finally complete.

Let us know what you think! :)

[the-netchiman]

Stolen from gf @lionel-del-rey

1. Who was the last person you held hands with?

smol cousin at some family function a while back.

2. Are you outgoing or shy? Neither? 

3. Who are you looking forward to seeing? My gf

4. Are you easy to get along with? Fuck no lmao

5. If you were drunk would the person you like take care of you? I have no doubt that they would try

6. What kind of people are you attracted to? Funny, kind, down to earth people are cool

7. Do you think you’ll be in a relationship two months from now? I’m about to purchase a plane ticket for my gf so I severely hope we’re together by then lmao

8. Who from the opposite gender is on your mind? ur mum

9. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable? Only if it makes the person I’m talking to uncomfortable

10. Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with? My dad. I guess???

11. What does the most recent text that you sent say? “what the fuck do you want for chrimbus, you little bitch?”

12. What are your 5 favorite songs right now? Oh no I don’t know gonna pull these out my ass real quick Black Irish by The Devil Makes Three Almost Blue by Chet Baker Desperado by The Eagles Stillborn (acoustic) by Black Label Society 512 by Lamb of God

13. Do you like it when people play with your hair? idk? 

14. Do you believe in luck and miracles? Yes

15. What good thing happened this summer? I got to visit a friend in Texas. Other than that, my summer went by in a big shitty blur.

16. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? Not for all the money in the world

17. Do you think there is life on other planets? Ye

18. Do you still talk to your first crush? Nop

19. Do you like bubble baths? Ye

20. Do you like your neighbors? I don’t dislike them. I don’t speak spanish, so we haven’t talked much.

21. What are you bad habits? I stress myself out over little things too often

22. Where would you like to travel? Ireland would be cool, but I definitely could never go there. Outside of that, idk, anywhere is cool

23. Do you have trust issues? oh yes

24. Favorite part of your daily routine? Eating

25. What part of your body are you most uncomfortable with? My chest or my neck

26. What do you do when you wake up? Check my phone

27. Do you wish your skin was lighter or darker? I think its a fine how it is

28. Who are you most comfortable around? My friend Ari I guess

29. Have any of your ex’s told you they regret breaking up? yes

30. Do you ever want to get married? wow what an awkward question to have on something my gf is for sure going to see (yes)

31. If your hair long enough for a pony tail? ye

32. Which celebrities would you have a threesome with? Oh, idk

33. Spell your name with your chin. dickhead

34. Do you play sports? What sports? Not any more, but I used to play Football (American) and boxing 

35. Would you rather live without TV or music? Tv

36. Have you ever liked someone and never told them? Nah. Well yeah, but they figured it out eventually lmao

37. What do you say during awkward silences? “wow this got awkward”

38. Describe your dream girl/guy? Mark Ruffalo

39. What are your favorite stores to shop in? Nerd stores (y’know, where nerds gather to play cards and dnd and stuff, occasionally comics are also there) and music stores. I’d spend all day in guitar center if no one stopped me.

40. What do you want to do after high school? Already out, and lemme tell you I’m already not doing what I wanted to do

41. Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance? Most people. A few people definitely deserve nothing less than a life time of suffering.

42. If your being extremely quiet what does it mean? Nothing, or something. I’m quiet most of the time.

43. Do you smile at strangers? I think I do but I have the resting bitch face big time so I mostly just look slightly less mad at people in public

44. Trip to outer space or bottom of the ocean? The ocean would be fantastic

45. What makes you get out of bed in the morning? Mr Socks won’t SHUT THE FUCK UP

46. What are you paranoid about? oh, y’know, most things

47. Have you ever been high? Oh yes

48. Have you ever been drunk? frequently 

49. Have you done anything recently that you hope nobody finds out about? yes, but not because i’m embarrassed, just don’t want to upset anyone

50. What was the colour of the last hoodie you wore? Black

51. Ever wished you were someone else? Nah. Careful what you wish for, right? Don’t want to say that and then wake up to find I’m somehow an even bigger piece of shit.

52. One thing you wish you could change about yourself? Wish I were in better shape, but I’m working on that so

53. Favourite makeup brand? Don’t wear it, so my favorite is whatever my gf asks for lmao

54. Favourite store? Guitar Center. lemme obnoxiously test pedals all day

55. Favourite blog? dunno

56. Favourite colour? Red. a certain shade of blue is pretty good too.

57. Favourite food? Anything featuring potatoes 

58. Last thing you ate? a fuckin 1/4 cup of cheese. my diet has been weird recently.

59. First thing you ate this morning? Nothing yet, but I have designs on some tacos

60. Ever won a competition? For what? ye, a few. i hate bragging so im not going to go into detail, but i used to actually be good at things.

61. Been suspended/expelled? For what? Yep. suspended two or three times for getting into fights, one time for accidentally bringing a knife to school. weirdly, the girl that decided to pull the thing out of my pocket got in no trouble at all.

62. Been arrested? For what? No, but boi have i come close

63. Ever been in love? i am, at this moment, very in love

64. Tell us the story of your first kiss? Not really much a story? It was an awkward childhood kiss.

65. Are you hungry right now? Yes, very. waiting on me uncle tho

66. Do you like your tumblr friends more than your real friends? don’t really have tumblr friends

67. Facebook or Twitter? Fb

68. Twitter or Tumblr? Tumblr for art, twitter for memes

69. Are you watching tv right now? nah

70. Names of your bestfriends? Ari, zach, mr socks

71. Craving something? What? Oh y’know things

72. What colour are your towels? Got turquoise, black, blue, purple, white. 

72. How many pillows do you sleep with? two

73. Do you sleep with stuffed animals? Nah

74. How many stuffed animals do you think you have? Got a few plush pokemon, i guess that counts?

75. Favourite animal? Really like bears

76. What colour is your underwear? N/A

77. Chocolate or Vanilla? Vanilla

78. Favourite ice cream flavour? oh, uh, cookie dough? oreo? orange sherbet? can’t decide.

79. What colour shirt are you wearing? N/A

80. What colour pants? look if the last two clothing questions didn’t tip you off, i’m naked. are you happy now?

81. Favourite tv show? oh, idk. haven’t really had the interest in shows since i got super depressed like a year ago lmao

82. Favourite movie? i guess kung pow?

83. Mean Girls or Mean Girls 2? WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD EVER PICK 2? 

84. Mean Girls or 21 Jump Street? Mean girls

85. Favourite character from Mean Girls? that chick that made out with a hot dog that one time. big mood.

86. Favourite character from Finding Nemo? The stoner turtle

87. First person you talked to today? My gf

88. Last person you talked to today? My uncle

89. Name a person you hate? just one? nah.

90. Name a person you love? my gf (duh) all these friends i met on the internet, and some of my family i guess

91. Is there anyone you want to punch in the face right now? so, so many people. 

92. In a fight with someone? like, currently? how would i be doing this?

93. How many sweatpants do you have? don’t wear sweats

94. How many sweaters/hoodies do you have? a couple

95. Last movie you watched? uhhhhhhhhh something shitty on netflix, probs

96. Favourite actress? oof uh, idk. 

97. Favourite actor? also dunno

98. Do you tan a lot? got them irish genes, i burn

99. Have any pets? Mr. Socks, the best cat in the world and i will fight anyone who disagrees. 

100. How are you feeling? Cold

101. Do you type fast? Nope

102. Do you regret anything from your past? Not really. If they didn’t happen, i wouldn’t be where i am now

103. Can you spell well? dubya eee ell ell. fuck you.

104. Do you miss anyone from your past? kinda? define past.

105. Ever been to a bonfire party? ye

106. Ever broken someone’s heart? i would hope not, but maybe

107. Have you ever been on a horse? ye

108. What should you be doing? going to the store

109. Is something irritating you right now? always

110. Have you ever liked someone so much it hurt? YES

111. Do you have trust issues? Yes

112. Who was the last person you cried in front of? an ex, probably

113. What was your childhood nickname? didn’t really have a nickname

114. Have you ever been out of your province/state? Yep

115. Do you play the Wii? I have a wiiu, but i don’t really play it much. its mostly the netflix machine now

116. Are you listening to music right now? Autumn Leaves by Chet Baker

117. Do you like chicken noodle soup? Fucking yes

118. do you like chinese food> YE BOI

119. Favourite book? don’t know

120. Are you afraid of the dark? Nah

121. Are you mean? I think so. others say different. its weird, man

122. Is cheating ever okay? in a relationship? no. in a video game to give your character a giant bobble head? absolutely.

123. Can you keep white shoes clean? the trick is to not wear white shoes

124. Do you believe in love at first sight? No lmao

125. Do you believe in true love? as opposed to fake love? i guess???

126. Are you currently bored? ye

127. What makes you happy? knowing that others are happy

128. Would you change your name? nah

129. What your zodiac sign? taurus

130. Do you like subway? not compared to my other sub options

131. Your bestfriend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do? i don’t know. she’s married, so like...what the fuck how 

132. Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with? my dad, i guess

133. Favourite lyrics right now? I've held the hand of God and I've sang the Devil's song And when it comes my time no tears are gonna fall But some will light the fire and some will mourn the one Left longing for the ire of, of their departed son.

134. Can you count to one million? ain’t got that kinda time, fam

135. Dumbest lie you ever told? I don’t really lie? I think i just say dumb shit and people take me seriously 

136. Do you sleep with your doors open or closed? Closed

137. How tall are you? 5′5. I’m a manlet.

138. Curly or Straight hair? no preference

139. Brunette or Blonde? brunette

140. Summer or Winter? Winter

141. Night or Day? Night

142. Favourite month? idk, december i guess because i have a mandatory week off work,

143. Are you a vegetarian? I wish, I don’t have the willpower.

144. Dark, milk or white chocolate? Dark chocolate

145. Tea or Coffee? tea. coffee is more of a tool for me? gotta wake up, tea is just good.

146. Was today a good day? dunno yet

147. Mars or Snickers? Snickers

148. What’s your favourite quote? don’t really remember quotes

149. Do you believe in ghosts? Kinda

150. Get the closest book next to you, open it to page 42, what’s the first line on that page?

“As I approached the northern cliffs where I’d find the Serpent’s Sanctum, I could see the soaring towers of Skyreach off to my right.”