#actually it was pretty rainy/miserable outside so it was very quiet

[trenchcoat-full-of-snails]

Bug win!!!! I got groceries 🎉🎉🎉

[coldflame96]

So stay with me and I’ll have it made

Summary: For Kyo Week. Prompt 5; Rain 

Rating: G

Also found on AO3

This is just ridiculously self-indulgent fluff. 

Kyo woke up and saw that Tohru's side of the bed was empty, neatly made, which hinted she's been gone for quite a while. He vaguely recalled her telling him she was going somewhere and then kissing his forehead, but it was hazy. She always was an early riser, and normally he was too, but today he felt...lethargic. Even just sitting up was a struggle, limbs heavy with fatigue, and he had a headache. Was he getting sick? He heard the gentle patter of something hitting the roof and looked out the window.

It’s raining. That explains it.

Learning that the rain still bothered him even after the cat spirit left him was...annoying, but he was used to it by now. He was sure that was probably the reason Tohru went wherever she was going on her own. He heard some shuffling from down the hall and groaned a bit at the thought of having to get up. Good thing it was a Sunday so he wasn’t obligated to be productive…

He stuck a leg out, mentally preparing to leave the comfort of his bed, and right as he did, his door flew open and Emika toddled in.

“Daddy?” She put her arms up for him to carry her. He smiled at her gently.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he hoisted her up, with effort because she wasn’t a tiny baby anymore and she was getting heavy. “What have you been doing?”

She didn’t answer, tugging at his shirt, holding out a large block. “Play!”

He grimaced. “I don’t know if Daddy has the energy for that today, honey. He’s not feeling too great.”

She cocked her head and he wondered how much of that she actually understood. She was still pretty little.

“No play?” Her huge, brown eyes practically inflated.

He wasn’t getting out of this, was he? But he really didn’t wanna get out of bed…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hajime had only turned his back for one minute, and Emika was gone. Mom had asked him to watch over her while she went to the store since it was raining and Dad never did well with that. It’s not like he couldn’t read outside in the living room just as easily as he did on his bed.

Except that last chapter had been particularly intense and one minute, Emika was playing with her blocks and the next minute, she was gone.

And he had a pretty good idea of where she went.

He rolled his eyes, tucked his book under his arm, and headed towards the parents room.

He saw the door completely open and his suspicions were looking more and more likely. His parents always left the door cracked so they could still have their privacy while not locking Emika out since she was too small to reach the handle.

Sure enough...There she was, sitting on top of Dad’s lap handing him a small collection of blocks (How did she even carry all those?) and he sighed. So much for letting him rest.

They both turned to him at the same time. “Did you need something?” Dad asked.

His voice sounded groggy and Hajime felt a little guilty for not doing his job properly.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “I was reading and I got distracted. I was supposed to keep her from bothering you.”

He frowned. “You guys don’t ever bother me.”

He averted his eyes. “Yeah, well, I still should’ve kept a closer eye on her since Mom asked me to.”

“Where's your mom?”

“At the store buying ingredients for dinner.”

Dad gave him a confused look. “We just went shopping the other day.”

He shrugged. “Maybe she wanted to do something special.”

Emika decided at that moment that Dad wasn’t paying enough attention to her and started tugging his shirt again, whining. “Daddy, play!”

“Alright, I’m sorry. Your brother distracted me.” He gave him a sly look, almost secretive.

Hajime rolled his eyes. “I can take her if you want. So you can rest.”

His dad raised an eyebrow. “It’s fine, Hajime. You’re not her parent, so she’s not really your responsibility anyway.”

That was...technically true, but the dismissive tone sort of made him feel a little spiteful. Leaving the room would make it seem like he failed. He tsked and sat on the other side of the bed, the made side, next to them, and leaned back on the pillow, opening his book. His dad looked amused.

“What are you doing?”

“Reading.”

“Alright then.”

He was told to watch over his baby sister and if she was gonna be in here, then so was he.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kazuya’s episode of his favorite cartoon had just finished and it was then that he noticed he was the only one left in the room. Where did Emi-chan and Nii-san go? They were in here just a second ago. Were they playing hide and seek? He jumped from his spot. Well, if they’re hiding, I’m gonna find them.

First place he checked was under the couch. Nothing.

He opened the closet door. Nope.

He saw that Mommy and Daddy’s room was open and cocked his head. Their door wasn't usually open and Daddy wasn’t feeling well. And like a lightbulb, it came to him. They’re hiding in the closet!

He pressed himself to the corner, prepared to sneak up on them, but then did a double take when he saw Nii-san sitting in Mommy’s spot reading, Daddy sleeping next to him.

“Why are you in here?” he asked curiously, and Nii-san jolted, glaring at him..

“Shh!” he pointed at Daddy next to him, and he only just noticed that Emi-chan was on top of him, also sleeping.

“Sorry,” he whispered. Just looking at how comfy they were made him feel sleepy.

He went to his brother’s side, hopping over his long legs to press himself next to Daddy.

“What are you doing?” Nii-san hissed. “If you wake them up, you’ll be sorry.”

He maneuvered his way under the covers, warm from Daddy being there, and gave his brother a triumphant look.

His daddy groaned and both of them froze, Nii-san getting that look he usually did before getting mad at him, but then Kazuya felt an arm around him, bringing him in closer to his dad’s side, and then nothing. He relaxed.

“Nii-san, you should nap with us too. It’s warm under here.”

His brother didn’t look up from his book. “No.”

He pouted. “Why not?”

“Because I’m not a baby and I don’t need a nap.”

“I’m not-” he yawned in the middle of his sentence, “I’m not a baby.”

“Uh-huh.”

And the sound of the rain mixed with the heat of the blanket knocked him right out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tohru sighed, carrying her bags for dinner. She’d been gone longer than she thought due to the market being surprisingly packed for a rainy Sunday.

She opened her door, putting the umbrella in.

“I’m home!” She called out. But there was no response.

Huh, that’s strange. In a house with three children and a husband, it normally wasn’t this quiet.

She put her perishables in the fridge and walked down the hallway. Where was everyone?

She was about to ask Kyo-kun if he knew anything or see if he even was still here, but paused in the doorway at the sight before her.

There was her husband, asleep to her lack of surprise, but the interesting part was all the kids around him, also asleep. Emi-chan was on his chest, Kazu-kun was burrowed under the covers next to him, gripping his shirt, and Hajime-kun was on top of the comforter on her side, pressed against his little brother, an open book in his hand, like he’d fallen asleep while reading.

They were all practically one pile and it was quite possibly one of the most precious things she’d ever seen in her life. She got her phone out to take a picture and moved closer so she wouldn’t have to zoom in. Oh, she was definitely sending this to Uo-chan.

“Don’t,” Kyo-kun grunted.

She pouted. “Oh, you’re awake?”

“Have been since you walked in.”

She knew he was always very in tune with her, but she never thought that extended to her just entering a room. She almost felt bad about waking him.

“Right.” She kissed his forehead. “I’m sorry for disturbing you then.”

She made to leave, but felt a yank on her arm as she fell onto the bed, her husband’s face now in front of her, looking tired but amused.

“Nah, you’re not going anywhere.”  

“Kyo-kun,” she huffed, “It’s Sunday.” Sunday was normally the day she caught up on her chores.

And he knew this and was being smug.

“Should’ve thought about that before coming in here.” His grip tightened. “Now you’re stuck with us.”

She sighed in defeat. She supposed there were worse ways to spend a Sunday than in her husband’s arms, surrounded by her family.

The chores could wait a couple hours.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kyo blinked his eyes open, wincing a little at how bright it was. Why is it so hot? He was sweating. And his chest felt like there was a weight on it. His vision cleared and he saw his daughter on top of him, Tohru against his side, Kazuya and Hajime on the other side. He was completely trapped. He couldn’t get up even if he wanted to.

He saw the sun peeking in through the window. It had stopped raining at some point, but that was fine.

He wasn’t dealing with it alone anymore, holed up in his room and miserable. Now he was surrounded by the people he loved the most, his entire world.

It could rain forever for all he cared.

He was content.

[reliciron]

Planet Misery Scale as Rated by a Long-suffering Cathar

Hutta – Smells horrible. Made him want to die every time he stepped outside. Poisoned mud in fur is a special kind of hell. 1/10

Dromund Kass – Wet and rainy = Constantly damp fur = Irritable Cathar. It’s dark though, which is nice on the eyes, and the jungle smells nice and fairly uncontaminated. Treatment from Imperials gets worse, due to the lingering scent of wet dog. 6/10

Balmorra – Toxic clouds and radioactive waste in parts must be avoided but otherwise not terrible. Constant sound of gunfire and explosions hurts the ears though. 5/10

Nar Shaddaa – NEON AND THUMPING MUSIC. Seriously, after 5 minutes on the strip he wants to crawl in a dark room and hide for a week. Everything smells bad, not Hutta bad, but still gross. Literally the only good thing about it is that there’s no mud or rain. 4/10

Tatooine – Miserable hot. Fur makes it extremely difficult to cool down. Palms and feet sweat but can’t compensate. End up panting like a stupid animal. Sun still manages to burn skin where fur is thin. Skin peels and fills fur with dandruff-like flakes for days. Need to take regular breaks in cantina or ship to cool down fully or risk heat stroke. 2/10

Alderaan – Nicest place yet BY FAR. Killik goo is nasty though, and the pheromones in their nests make him dizzy. A mask is a must. 8/10

Taris – More poisoned mud. Filthy smelling monsters. Somehow the entire planet still manages to smell like death even after several hundred years. 1/10

Quesh – Worst possible smell. Literally can’t breath without a mask because the air burns his nose, the brief exposure to the air he had gave him a sinus infection. MORE poison mud. 0/10

Hoth – Freezing ass cold, BUT minimal offensive odors. Too cold for the snow to easily melt, so not very wet. Fur is actually a boon here. 7/10

Belsavis – Cool air, doesn’t smell all that bad outside. Noise is irritating but not unbearable. 5/10

Voss – Dark Heart feels… weird, but otherwise Voss is beautiful, dry, and relatively quiet. 7/10

Corellia – Another noisy warzone. Lots of smoke and gunfire, burns his nose and feels like his ears are ringing for days afterward. 6/10

Ilum – Hoth 2. Crystals and ice look pretty. 7/10

Makeb – Vibrations from the constant ground quakes are unnerving. And of course there’s the whole destruction of the planet business. Hard to really enjoy the sights like that. 4/10

Manaan – Fucking. Water. Planet. Doesn’t even have the decency to have a beach. 3/10

Rakata Prime – More water, but the beach and jungle mostly made up for it. Smelled nice. Fighting a rancor and being shot at by a capitol ship kinda put a damper on it though. 6/10

Rishi – Same as Rakata, except the constant reek of body odor in Raider’s Cove is disgusting. 5/10

Yavin 4 – Weird Force stuff. Makes his hackles permanently raised the entire time he’s there. Keeps glaring for no reason. Jungle’s really nice, but the rain sucks. 5/10

Ziost – Same unsettling Force stuff as Yavin, except worse, like a buzz beneath his skin. Whole damn place smells like smoke, blood, and charred flesh, keeps making him gag. 2/10

Zakuul – Depends on which level. Upper level smells too clean. Old World’s mostly normal, about what you’d expect for a large ‘civilized’ city. Breaktown reeks. Swamp’s disgusting, constant mud and filthy water, rotting plant matter. Reminds him of places he’d rather forget. 4/10

Odessen – Really nice. Finally a planet with enough sense to be quiet, cool, and mostly not-wet. Only drawback are the fUCKING SHADE STALKERS!!! 9/10

Is there such a thing as a perfect 10/10? No. Is it because Agent Talin is grumpy and picky? Yes.

[peach-pops]

ayo emma i’ve had a seriously shitty day and i’m about to cry from humiliation n frustration from shit earlier at school and i don’t know if you do emergency requests but i really just need some semi or kuroo fluff to cheer me up... if you could do that i’d owe you the world but if not don’t worry hehe 🥰

I’m sorry you had a shitty day :( You know you can always message me if you ever need to talk or if you need me to fight someone for you. I hope it’s okay that I wrote a lil thing for Semi because it is your fault for making me completely fall in love with him!!!

A Rainy Escort || Semi Eita 

It really felt like the universe was against you but if this was karma for staying up late last night to binge the new series everyone was talking about, then damn it, maybe you did deserve it. Not only did you wake up late for school, but you also didn’t have enough time to pack your lunch and you had gotten reprimanded by your teacher for being late. 

Nonetheless, you went through your day, as hard as it, was but forgetting your umbrella had to be the worst of it. Sprinkling was one thing but had you had known it would be a torrential downpour, you would’ve just stayed home. 

The station was at least 13 minutes away by foot but if you really tried to run without slipping and dying, you could make it there in 7 minutes. You knew you would be soaked either way but the quicker you got home, the faster you could get this day over with. 

“ You’re not thinking of walking home in the rain are you?” 

You looked over your shoulder to see Semi standing about a foot away from you. It took you a second longer to recognize him since you usually only saw him in his volleyball uniform with his signature stoic expression but since it was a bit chillier this afternoon, it made sense he would change back into Shiratorizawa’s school uniform. 

“ No, I was thinking of running actually,” You let out a pathetic laugh as Semi shifted his stance and looked out to the courtyard. 

Even though he didn’t look it, Semi was practically having a panic attack from holding a conversation with you. You two weren’t necessarily friends but you had always been friendly and sweet to Semi because of your mutual friendship with Tendou. 

Semi had never admitted it out loud but his crush on you had been gradually growing ever since you congratulated him after Shiratorizawa’s volleyball match. He nearly died when you came up to him wearing his volleyball jersey number, something Tendou had set up to try and make Semi flustered. 

Everyone always commented on how serious and intimidating Semi could be and sure, on the court, he was always in that mindset, but it was embarrassing how easily flustered you made him. He was always too nervous to try and talk to you but once he saw you standing alone outside the gymnasium, he knew he couldn’t leave you there alone. 

Semi played with the handle of his umbrella for a moment before handing it over to you,” Here, I don’t mind the rain that much anyway.” 

That was a total lie, Semi absolutely hated getting wet and he knew that walking to the station in the rain would be a miserable experience, but he couldn’t just offer to share the umbrella with you. 

What if you thought he was weird for suggesting that? What if you thought he was just trying to make a move on you? What if-

“ I can’t take your umbrella, I wouldn’t want to be a bother,” You said as you politely handed it back to him, only for him to give it straight back to you. 

“ You could never be a bother, I insist.” 

“ No really, it’s yours. I wouldn’t want you to walk home in the rain without an umbrella.”

“ Please, I can’t let you get drenched because of me.”

“ The station isn’t even that far, I’m sure I’ll be fine.” 

As Semi handed the umbrella back to you, you felt his fingers brush against yours and immediately, Semi’s face began to flush. Semi held his breath as he waited for you to pull your hand away from his in disgust/annoyance, but when you kept your hand there against his, Semi let out a shaky breath. 

“ W-Well since we’re both so stubborn,” Semi began softly,” we could share it to the station if that’s okay with you.” 

You nodded, almost too enthusiastically, as you cleared your throat,” Well...only cause we’re both so stubborn. Thank you Semi-San.” 

Semi opened the umbrella up without a second thought as he smiled to himself from how sweet your voice sounded saying his name. The two of you fit yourselves under the umbrella with a slight gap between you two but once you let the safety of the building, you felt your left shoulder get hit with rain. 

You bumped shoulders with Semi and almost instinctually, you wrapped your hand onto his bicep that was holding the umbrella and closed the gap between you two so you wouldn’t get wet. 

“ I’m sorry, is this okay?” You asked as you felt Semi relax underneath your touch,” I can let go.”

Semi could feel heat spreading across his chest and to his ears; he had never been this close to you before but as nervous as he was, he couldn’t pull himself away. It was a silly thought, but he felt a bit more manlier with you holding onto his arm so protectively and your embrace made him melt on the spot. 

“ No don’t,” Semi said sincerely as he smiled back down at you,” I-uhm, it feels nice.” 

You looked down at your shoes that had just narrowly missed a massive puddle to hide the blush that was creeping up onto your cheeks. It was quiet between you two for a few minutes since you both were trying to enjoy this moment of being so close to each other. 

You understood why people said they liked the smell of rain because it did comfort you in some way, or maybe you had just gotten the smell mixed up with Semi’s cologne. Either way, you felt completely at peace with him by your side. 

Semi felt you shift your arm around his bicep as if your arm was growing restless so he switched the umbrella to his other hand. Now that both of your arms were draped down to your sides, every so often your fingers would brush up against each other. 

Even though he was doing it on purpose, he still felt his heart stop every time he touched your fingers and his heart was aching at the simple gesture. He didn’t want to make a move since he was afraid you wouldn’t want to hold his hand but if that was the case, why were you trying to hook pinkies with him?

“ Thank you again for sharing your umbrella with me. I would’ve gotten drenched if it wasn’t for you,” You thanked as the station was coming up into view,” you’re very sweet Semi. I owe you big time.” 

Semi didn’t want this feeling to end and it only pained him more knowing that there was a possibility he would never be this close to you ever again. He felt like a fool, only he would be dumb enough to have someone as pretty as you sharing his umbrella only for him to never make a move. 

If he was in a movie, he knew that the audience would be screaming at him to do something, anything. But no one was screaming louder for him to make a move than you. 

“ I could never ask you to ever ‘owe’ me...but,” Semi hesitated, only continuing once you interlocked your pink with his, the last boost of confidence he really needed,” there’s this tea house close by...would you maybe want to check it out? You don’t have to say yes but you do owe me...” 

You watched Semi’s flustered expression for the millionth time in the span of only ten minutes and the sight made you want to smile. You slipped your hand into his and once your fingers interlocked, that gave him the answer he wanted to hear. 

“ I would love to, my treat,” You offered as Semi squeezed your hand before shaking his head disapprovingly. 

“ No, my treat.”

“ You just said I owed you so I’ll pay.”

“ I’m not going to let you pay, don’t be absurd.”

“ Fine, then I’m paying next time.” 

Semi didn’t even try to hide his smile as he nodded to himself,” Next time.”

[goldeneyedgirl]

TwiFicMas2020 Day 2: Kidfic

Happy Day 2! Nothing interesting to say today, just on with the offering.

This was written as part of an anthology entitled ‘Five Ways Alice & Jasper Never Met’, which remains unfinished *gestures at WIP list*. After the messed up life I gave the Whitlocks in Against A Wall, I decided I should probably show the family having a slightly happier life. I feel like there’s probably the potential of a series of ficlets in this, showing the pair growing up together, but we’ll see.

Alice being adopted by teacher-Esme and doctor-Carlisle was definitely influenced by the sweetest fic, A Family For Alice by kr2009.

—

Louise Whitlock stacked the leftover pizza in the fridge, long since ready for bed. It had been a very long day. It had been a very long year.

Juggling four kids and a full-time job was exhausting in ways Louise had never considered. The errands list on the fridge was already two pages long; and that didn’t include the other lists on her phone, in her date-book, and doodled on the whiteboard next to the fridge.

It had been over twelve months since she had decided that, after her husband’s sudden death, she couldn’t stay in Texas. She needed a fresh start. And so did her kids. At first, she had just planned to stay in the south, find some small town with a hospital that needed a nurse. Far away enough to get some space, but close enough to be familiar. And be near friends and family.

She didn’t even know why she applied to a hospital in a tiny Pacific Northwest town, but it had seemed like a good idea at the time. Maybe facing down bills she couldn’t comfortably pay, living in a house that was haunted with memories of her husband, she had applied. It was the furthest place she could imagine from home, without leaving the country.  

And then she got the job, and there was really no good reason to turn down the offer, especially when they offered to cover some moving expenses. She had wanted a fresh start, after all.

Looking up Forks to try and convince her kids of how wonderful the move would be had been a shock to all of them. Her three girls had been horrified – no cinema, no malls, very few sporting teams; the rainiest place is the entire country, and the house that Louise had chosen, thinking it was cute, suddenly looked small and cramped when she saw it through her daughters’ eyes. Ten-year-old Lydia had freaked out at leaving her grandparents and her cousins behind; twelve-year-old Ava threw screaming fits about leaving behind their father’s grave. And Fern did nothing but whine about how boring Forks would be.

And then there was Jasper. Jasper had been in the car with Will when it crashed, leaving her baby boy covered in nasty scars. He had only been four, a little ray of sunshine who was always giggling. But afterwards, he was so sad and angry and quiet. He just didn’t talk much. Didn’t smile. It was almost as if she’d lost her baby boy in that accident at the same time. He just shrugged at Louise’s attempt to discuss their move to Forks, staring down at his Lego model.

It had been completely miserable. After she finally got the kids to understand that it was happening, and nothing they could say would change Louise’s mind, she had to deal with her extended friends and family trying to convince her not to leave. Will’s parents had actually threatened legal action to keep their grandkids in the state; by the time the house was sold, Louise wasn’t entirely sure they were even speaking to her.

The truth was that she had no idea if it was a good plan. No one seemed happy or positive about her plan; no one seemed to want to understand why they had to go. Even Louise was conflicted - was this her way of healing, of embracing a new normal and their new reality, or was she running away?

But a year later, looking back, she knew she’d done the right thing - just by looking at her son.

They had arrived in Forks on a rainy day – water falling from the sky in sheets – and Louise then spent a hellish week unpacking, trying to calm down three girls who thought Forks was worse than prison, and getting all four of the kids registered and ready for school before she started at the hospital. It was exhausting and frustrating in new ways – proper grocery shops involved driving to the next town over, since Forks only boasted a mini-mart; despite her best efforts, Ava and Jasper both needed new weather-appropriate clothing, whilst Lydia and Fern pitched fits about their hand-me-downs.

And the house was far from perfect - the carpet was filthy, the bathroom tiles were chipped and loose, Fern’s bedroom window had been broken in a storm, and the kitchen ceiling leaked. It was enough to make Louise to actually contemplate calling her mother for the money to drag the kids back to Texas. This wasn’t what she had signed up for.

But finally, the first day of school – and work – dawned. And it was chaos - Ava couldn’t find her backpack, Lydia wouldn’t get out of bed, and Fern was hysterical about starting at a new school. Jasper was just silent and solemn in front of his cereal, whilst Louise tried to remember where she’d left her own paperwork.

But miraculously, they made it out of the house on time. Forks had a combination Middle-Elementary school, so it was only one drop-off – at least for the next couple of years. And it looked like a nice school - lots of green space for the kids to run when it wasn’t raining, cheery murals on the walls, and many happy-sounding kids crowding the parking lot. That was always a good sign.

Ava, Lydia and Fern loudly protested their mother escorting them into their classrooms, and headed off to class with their assigned guides, all three of them looking like soldiers bracing for battle.

But Jasper was still glued to her side, staring blankly ahead. It was only because she knew her boy well that Louise noticed the nervous way he tugged at his hoodie as they headed towards the kindergarten building.

The kindergarteners were scattered throughout their gated playground – a sea of giggling, happy faces. One particularly pretty little blonde girl was perched at the highest point of the climbing frame – pink hair ribbons, pink Mary-Janes, even her little pink jeans had ruffles on them – smirking at the boys below, trying to climb up with her, but were struggling to find the right footholds. Two other little girls were sitting on the swings, whilst a redheaded boy lingered in the background, clearly trying to join in their conversation.

Kickball games, chase games, squealing and laughing and yelling: it was happy five-year-old chaos.

Jasper was hanging back, looking concerned, his fingers twisted through Louise’s belt loops. She’d had to call him back on his very first day of school last semester to say good-bye; Peter and Charlotte had been sitting alone, and he’d raced up to them, so eager for friends he’d left without saying good bye or even taking his backpack.

And now he was here, hiding behind her and pleading with his eyes not to leave him.  

Her poor baby.

“We have free play until nine o clock, unless it’s raining,” the teacher, a Ms Yorkie said sweetly, noticing Jasper’s reluctance. “Kick-ball, and hopscotch, and climbing, and tag.” She looked around the playground, and pointed at the climbing frame – a solid looking boy was sitting on the railings below the pink clad girl, laughing. “There’s Emmett and Rosalie. They’re very nice, would you like to meet them?”

Jasper shook his head and buried his face against Louise’s hip.

Miss Yorkie exchanged a look with Louise – it was the universal look of a kindergarten teacher warning that the separation would be ugly, but it would have to happen – the faster it happened, the better it would be for everyone.

“Jasper-”

“Hello!”

Louise turned around at the interruption to see a tiny little girl standing behind her. She looked like a little doll, with black hair cut in a bob, with an enormous red bow in her hair, a red dress over tights, and a pair of well-loved mary-janes.

She was beaming at Jasper, and held out her hand. “I’m Alice. Come and play.”

Jasper stared at her.

Louise didn’t expect Jasper to respond at all, to dismiss or outright ignore the invitation. Ms Yorkie was smiling at the little girl – Alice – who seemed to be bouncing with either energy or excitement.

Jasper stared at Alice for a moment, before stepping out from behind Louise, and taking Alice’s hand.

“D’you like monkey bars?” Alice asked as she dragged Jasper after her. “I like monkey bars.”

Louise watched as Jasper shed his backpack, and joined Alice, never looking back. She could see the little girl still talking to her son.

“He’ll be just fine,” Ms Yorkie said to her. “Alice will take care of him.”

Louise nodded and thanked the teacher, turning to leave.

As she slipped out the gate, she heard a squeal of laughter, and looked back to see Jasper holding little Alice around her legs so she could reach the monkey bars and swing all the way to the other side. Alice was giggling so hard she could barely grip the rails, and Jasper had a tiny smile on his face.

And that was enough for Louise.

--

It didn’t take long for Louise to learn about little Alice, and her family. Her full name was Mary-Alice Cullen, and she was the adoptive daughter of the local surgeon and his wife - who was an English teacher for the middle school students. They lived just outside town, and every afternoon, Alice would dash out the gates and into the middle school to find her mother.

It was easy to pick Alice in a crowd – not only did she wear bright colours, she always wore an enormous bow in her hair; it was almost like a satellite. Having seen how quickly the little girl could move, Louise had to wonder if the largeness of the hair accessories, and brightness of the clothing wasn’t completely intentional.

And where Alice went, so went Jasper.

Every single morning, Alice would be waiting faithfully at the kindergarten gates for Jasper; on the rainiest days, Ms Yorkie had to retrieve her several times from standing out in her raincoat and gumboots – a nearly blinding pink and yellow ensemble. And every time she spotted Jasper, she’d bounce on her toes, clapping and beaming with happiness. Louise couldn’t help wondering if Alice Cullen was the reason the kindergarten was enclosed with a fence.

Alice’s friendship with Jasper brought good things to all of them. Alice had had her mother call up Louise that very first weekend Jasper was in school, with an invitation for Louise, Jasper, and the girls to join them for a weekend barbecue they were hosting.

Esme Cullen was a sweet and gentle woman, who clearly doted on her daughter. The Cullens had the most magnificent house, with a garden that spilled into the forest. Esme had taken the opportunity to invite some other local families, especially those with children the same as Louise’s. It had been nice to talk to other adults, ones that didn’t know her whole story from birth for once in her life. Who didn’t look at her and the kids, and have pity written all over their faces.

And that’s how they settled into Forks. It was strange, how Alice brought Jasper back to life, dragged them all into the fabric of Forks. They became inseparable; when Jasper started soccer, Alice joined the team too, complete with pink cleats and enormous hair ribbons printed with tiny soccer balls. When Alice broke her arm falling off the monkey bars, Jasper had spent the entire weekend sitting at the end of her bed, glaring at any doctor or nurse who caused her pain or scared her. Jasper joined the Cullen family for at two vacations – one camping trip, one beach holiday. On the nights when Louise pulled the night shift, it was Dr and Mrs Cullen who had all four of the Whitlock children to stay, so Louise didn’t have to pay for an overnight babysitter.

It didn’t take long for Alice’s other friends to warm to Jasper either; Alice’s closest female friend was a girl named Rosalie Hale, whom Louise recognised as the pink-clad girl from the first day. A plain-spoken but beautiful girl, Rose was always clad in shades of pink, and seemed to be more of a set-piece for her parents than a child. She was obsessed with Jasper’s car racing set, and more than one rainy Sunday ended with both Rosalie and Jasper sprawled on the carpet, racing those remote-controlled cars.

Emmett McCarty was another of Alice’s friends – a tall, solid boy who seemed to always be laughing – who marched up to Jasper one day, introduced himself, and that was that. The middle child of half a dozen kids, Emmett was full of mischief and fun. The boys had begun construction of a club house in the forest just outside the Whitlock’s back fence, a hopeful lean-to that Louise didn’t think would last longer than the first bad wind. For a moment, she was sad that Will wasn’t there to help Jasper build a proper treehouse or clubhouse for the backyard. But, eventually, she realised that it wasn’t the actual clubhouse the boys wanted; it was the building and planning they had fun with.

There were other two that hovered on the fringes of their group - Isabella Swan and Edward Masen. They were similar – both quiet, awkward, and fairly disinterested in the games the others would engage in, but would tag along. Louise felt sorry for them – Isabella’s mother had divorced her father and left town before the Whitlocks had arrived in Forks, and the little girl seemed to be taking it hard. Edward’s parents were both older, and didn’t seem to understand how little boys were supposed to act, discouraging loud, rowdy games, or sport, and preferring for him to spend his time practicing the piano or reading quietly.

But Alice welcomed them, and so the others did too; though Louise noticed Jasper wasn’t thrilled with Alice lavishing her attention on Edward. The only one less thrilled with the addition of Edward was Rosalie; the two of them fought like cats and dogs, and the Cullens and Louise both had stories of trying to break up whatever argument they had gotten into. Even Louise’s own daughters didn’t have such loud, angry arguments with each other that Rosalie and Edward had.

Everyone was happier in Forks. At ballet practice, Lydia had met twin girls from the Quileute reservation – Rebecca and Rachel – and the three of them were as thick as thieves. Ava had a friend in a girl called Tanya, and Fern had fallen in with a pair of cousins called Leah and Emily. Most weekends and vacations, Louise’s house was overflowing with children, and she couldn’t say that she didn’t enjoy it.  

Her kids were happy. That was all she really wanted from the move in the first place.

Tonight, there were nine children under her roof; nine kids who had tumbled into the kitchen to wolf down pizza and soda, and were now tucked in their bedrooms. She knew that Ava and Tanya were up in Ava’s room, giving each other make-overs, and that Lydia and the twins were in the middle of one of their huge and incredibly messy art projects – Lydia’s bedroom usually looked like a giant art and craft project, with glitter and paint everywhere. And Leah and Fern would play elaborate games with their Barbie dolls until they passed out. The girls knew the rules: ‘bedtime’ just meant ‘quiet games in their bedrooms’ during sleepovers. Louise wouldn’t enforce sleep unless they woke her up.

And then there were the other two.  

Louise paused to look into the living room, the television still flickering some cartoon. Two little figures were sprawled out on sleeping bags – one bright blue, one sparkly pink – on the floor. They were almost sharing a pillow; one of Alice’s arms thrown over Jasper’s chest, clad in the pinkest, most ruffled nightgown Louise had ever seen. Jasper’s plush dog was tucked under one arm, and Alice’s rag doll was squished between them.

It didn’t matter how many times they begged to be able to stay up late - watching movies or television, or playing one of their elaborate games with action figures – they always fell asleep long before they planned to.  

Snapping off the television and the lights, Louise smiled to herself. She remembered her own mother’s stories about her and Will. How inseparable they had been as children - there was always a place at the dinner table for both of them, that it was perfectly normal for Will to spend the night in the bunk below hers. Everyone had warned her parents their friendship would fizzle out in middle and high school.

But it hadn’t. It never would have. Will Whitlock had been her best friend for two decades before he became her husband, and she never forgot that. It might even have been the part of him she missed the most. There was only one thing that could have broken them apart – Will not paying attention to the road and dying in a head-on collision. And only one thing had helped Louise keep it together - their beautiful children.

Maybe it was just a pretty thought; that Alice and Jasper would follow in hers and Will’s footsteps – childhood, the teen years, high school and college, a wedding and a family. That they’d forget all about the time before they met, because they were so in tune that it was strange to think of a time they weren’t friends. Maybe they wouldn’t fall in love; maybe they’d just be crazy-best-friends for life, dragging spouses on vacations to visit, an endless stream of emails and Skype calls. Or even fall out and drift apart – a name in a yearbook, and a hazy memory.  

But Louise thought about all the little things – the text messages Mrs Cullen sent her to warn Jasper when Alice was sick on school days; Jasper saving the green lollipops he got from the businesses around town, because Alice liked the green ones the best. Alice tackle-hugging him whenever a weekend went by without them seeing each other. Alice beating up the boy who made fun of Jasper’s scars, her knees and palms skinned and bloody as she defended herself to the teacher, Jasper holding her backpack and looking stunned.

Louise knew that loyalty.

It might not turn out to be anything, but she was definitely betting on Alice Cullen being by her son’s side forever.

[creepypocky]

Hello! How are you? I was wondering if I could get a romantic matchup and a friend matchup. If not then feel free to ignore this!

I use all pronouns and I’m omni with a preference for men.

I’m 5’0, pale, have long, curly dark brown hair, brown eyes, glasses (though I’ve been wanting contacts for awhile), and a bit of acne (one of my core insecurities).

My style is mostly vintage streetwear. Lots of graphic t-shirts, sweaters, hoodies, and loose jeans. Every once in awhile, I add in some elements of dark academia and cottagecore. I wear lesbian earrings a lot too.

My hobbies are, listening to music, reading (mostly fantasy and historical fiction), karate, singing, playing video games, and instruments (I play the violin, saxophone, and keyboard).

One of my biggest interests is history. I like learning about all types of history and different periods of time but my overall favorite thing to learn about are revolutions, like the American revolution, French, and Russian.

My biggest goal in life is to make my family proud. My childhood wasn’t exactly the easiest, to say the least, and I just want to prove that it won’t keep me down from achieving great things. I hope that makes sense. Anyways..

My favorite kind of person is someone who’s patient and outgoing. I rant a lot about things I’m passionate about, like history for example. My favorite kind of person is someone who well just listen and not just straight up ignore me when ranting about something. I like someone is is outgoing too since I’m the opposite, and need someone to push me out my comfort zone every now and then.

The kind of person I hate is someone who is self-centered, judgmental, and dishonest. Not much to say here since I think it’s pretty self explanatory. This kind of person is just not good to be around.

Things I like are: rainy weather, nature, books, animals, music, picnics, stargazing, libraries, and coffee shops.

Things I dislike: hot weather, insects, seafood, my indecisiveness, loud noises, crowded places, and arguing.

My sun sign is pisces, rising is libra, and my moon is scorpio.

I’m 100% an introvert. I like being around friends and family but I like my alone time more. When I’m with people people for a bit too long, I start to feel drained.

First impressions.. I’m not good at them. When meeting someone, I’m very shy and quiet. They have to be the one to lead the conversation and when they ask questions, I 9 times out of 10 will respond in short answers. I also stutter and fidget a lot.

When I’m with people I know and trust, I’m loud, energetic, and like to make a couple jokes here and there. I only make jokes every now and then since I’m scared they won’t laugh. But when they do, I feel really proud of myself for making them laugh.

Okay, I think that’s about it. I’m sorry that this is long, I got a bit carried away. I hope this all makes sense. Thank you so much! Take care and have a great day/night! :)

Hi hi! Thank you for sending me this. :) I don't mind at all that it's long, in fact, the longer it is the better. This allows me to match you in more detail.

I am well, thank you for asking hon. <3

It was difficult for me to figure out who to match you with, but-

Romantic:

|| I match you with: Homicidal Liu! || (I won’t include Sully because I’m not sure how to include him into this, but in the future I will practice writing that!)

This is exciting, I've never matched anyone with him before, but I'm going to make it work.

First of all, he lovesss your hair and how curly it is he just wants to run his hands through it.

Maybe sniff it too idk...

He thinks everything about you is cute even your acne so you shouldn’t feel insecure about it, he loves you regardless!

He loves to chill with you and hang out with a book, he’ll buy all the fantasy books you want tbh and will love to point out interesting stuff he finds in them. I honestly canon Liu as a bit of a nerd. Lmfaoo

Bro, you like karate?? Watch this guy study karate as much as possible just for you. Maybe even learn it for you, hell, if not knowing some himself already. Let this hot nerd hear you sing for hours it will brighten his day up, honey. Please teach him how to play instruments, he has a hard time learning them even though he’s so interested. Regardless though, he loves to listen to you play and will even ask you to write songs if you’re up for it.

Liu was great in school which means he knows a lottttt about history since he was interested in it too and always studied history, so he could just talk to you on and on about history all day and you both could even learn from each other.

He totally gets wanting to make your family proud as a goal, he also had a very rough childhood due to his abusive dad and growing up with Jeff who was mentally ill at a young age, all he ever wanted to really do was show his family he could be someone better than that. So he completely supports you.

He is most definitely patient and outgoing. He will always let you take your time on things and would never pressure you into doing something, as long as you treat him with that same respect. He’s a really good listener, hence doing really well in school, so he’s willing to just listen to you rant on and on about things. He wants you to feel like you can talk to him about anything as long as you want to, and if you don’t he’ll respect your space. He’s pretty extroverted so he’ll try to help you get along with others more and make more friends.

He really hates liars and judgemental people too, he was bullied a lot by people like that in school so seeing people like that is like a reminder for him. He’s good at keeping his composure though and will simply ignore or avoid the people he encounters that are like that. If they hurt you though, he’s more than willing to put them in their place.

He is pretty indifferent about nature, he’s honestly more of an inside guy and just loves the comfort of inside despite being an extrovert. But he’ll go outside with you to look at nature if you asked him to.

He always loves to take you out and go on little coffee shop dates with you because he loves the sweet smile that comes up on your face. He’ll just sit at the table with you and a coffee and read a book with you if not just talk about random things.

He will squish all insects just for you honey.

If your indecisiveness ever gets to you, he’s willing to help you make a decision so it’ll be easier for you because he doesn’t want to see you upset. He always has an open mind and leaves options open but still gives you context on which would be best.

If you’re ever feeling drained from being around people all day he will let you have your own space and leave you alone, unless you want to spend some cuddle time with him. Otherwise he understands.

He gets being bad at first impressions because even though he’s an extrovert he can still be a bit awkward, but he’ll be willing to start conversations for you when you’re in groups or egg others on to start a conversation so that you don’t feel too nervous.

He loves seeing you loud and energetic and going out of your shell, and your occasional jokes are funny to him not always because the joke itself is funny but also because he thinks you’re a total goof. (In a good way bby) <3

Best friend:

|| I match you with: Masky! ||

Our good ol’ friend Tim here comes across as a rough guy, and is horrible at first impressions too. But to be honest, he’s actually much nicer and outgoing than people think he is.

His style is pretty much the same as yours kinda so the two of you get along over things like matching clothes sometimes. He also thinks it’s really fun to watch you do karate if you demonstrate it to him, but will absolutely refuse if you tell him to do karate for you because he knows he will fail miserably. He does know how to play a couple instruments though and will play the guitar for you if you ask him to. Or he’ll just do it anyway because he feels like it.

He’s honestly a total history nerd too but doesn’t show it, but if you mention history around him he will just “happen” to know the answer or what you’re talking about. Eventually though he’ll come out of his shell and have a conversation with you and maybe Liu if he joins in about history and stuff.

he doesn’t know much about making a family proud, but he does know how it feels to want to meet someones expectations through hard times, especially considering his job and Slender being his boss. He’s constantly having anxiety about wanting to be good enough for him as an employee and he’s scared to death of failing him or not fulfilling his job enough. So he sort of understands your goal and will support you the best he can.

He really doesn’t seem like it at times, but he can be patient and outgoing if he really wants to be. He can have anger issues at times and has trouble communicating with people, but once the two of you get closer he’s a lot more patient with you and is usually the one to start a conversation with you if you’re unable to.

He hates dishonest people too, honestly. Mostly because he has experience with constantly being lied to and betrayed and he is so sick of it. Please never betray him, he doesn’t seem like it but he’s so fragile. ;-; He trusts you as a friend though and he knows you would never lie to him or do something to break his trust.

He doesn’t like crowded places much either, he finds them really stressful and can trigger his anxiety at times. He’s just used to being on his own and in his own space and has trouble going out of his comfort zones when there’s crowds. He totally gets feeling drained when around people for too long, he doesn’t mind being around people in general and interacting with them but he’s still a bit of an introvert and likes to just do his own thing. He loves to go in a quiet room with you and play some kind of board game with you or share books.

When you’re loud and energetic, he really enjoys being around you and you don’t drain him as much as other loud people do because he’s closer to you and just likes to see you have fun. He is the teasing type though and if you joke around he’ll pretend to not think it’s funny while trying not to crack up.

~~~

I hope this was good enough! Thank you for sending me this, it was lovely to write for. I hope you’re having a great day/night and make sure to take great care of yourself, hon! <3

[onemuseleft]

Untitled Guardian Fic,  1/1

Title: Untitled Fandom: Guardian Pairing: Zhao Yunlan/Shen Wei Summary: Shen Wei has a headache, Zhao Yunlan gets to be the one to take care of him for a change.  For @musicalluna, who asked for Shen Wei having a migraine  This is a super rought draft, no betas, we die like men

~ The lights are off in Shen Wei’s office when Zhao Yunlan gets there.

He hesitated a moment before rapping his knuckles against the door, but Shen Wei had said he’d be ready, and if Shen Wei said he’d be somewhere, he meant it. The man had never been late in all the time Zhao Yunlan had known him, barring times he’d been under attack and that one time he’d almost stood Zhao Yunlan up for a lunch date because he’d been cornered by a small pack of enamored first year students who’d presented him with a cake and then very nearly tried to eat it off him (Shen Wei rolled his eyes at this point whenever Zhao Yunlan told the story, but Zhao Yunlan knew what he’d seen when he’d gotten tired of waiting and come to see what was keeping him). 

There’s a brief pause after he knocks and he almost turns to leave, thinking perhaps he and Shen Wei had gotten their wires crossed after all. But just as he’s about to head back toward the stairs he hears Shen Wei’s voice call out, “Come in.”

The office is dim. It’s a miserable, rainy day outside and little sunlight has made its way through the cloud cover. The lights coming in through the door feel strangely intrusive, and Zhao Yunlan closes it behind him. “I thought maybe you’d left without me.”

Shen Wei leaned back in his chair a little and offered him a small smile. “Yunlan. Of course not.” He sounded tired. He looked tired, too, which was a little rarer - Shen Wei managed to look unflappably gorgeous even when the world was burning down around him, so Zhao Yunlan tended to notice the moments when he didn’t. Shen Wei was sitting at his desk, but his bag was neatly packed on the guest chair, and there were no papers or books set out before him - certainly no computer in use. In fact, it looked as if he’d been sitting quietly in the dark with his eyes closed. 

“Are you all right?” Zhao Yunlan asked. He took a few quick steps closer to the desk, but up close Shen Wei looked unharmed as far as he could see. He gave him a once over anyway as Shen Wei stood and collected his things. 

“Just a headache,” Shen Wei said gently. “I attempted to heal myself but it appears that the use of dark energy is contributing to the condition, so…”

“So you just made yourself feel worse for trying.” Zhao Yunlan leaned in and brushed his lips over Shen Wei’s forehead. No fever, he noted, though Shen Wei swayed into his touch a bit. He wrapped his arms around Shen Wei’s waist and held him carefully. “Did you take anything?”

“I had some tea,” Shen Wei said.

“Tea is not medicine, I feel like we’ve had this conversation before.” Zhao Yunlan kissed the top of Shen Wei’s head and pulled back. He kept one hand on the small of his back partially to offer support but partially because he just really liked touching Shen Wei. His hands seemed to find their way to Shen Wei’s body whenever the opportunity presented itself - in the fun way, too, of course, but in more publicly acceptable ways like holding his hand, or touching his arm or an arm slung over his shoulders. Shen Wei had never objected, not even in public, and usually he would even lean into those touches, which never failed to make Zhao Yunlan’s stomach go all fluttery and dumb. “Come on, let’s go home.”

In the daylight, Shen Wei looked a little pale, and the corners of his eyes were pinched. He kept his head down even though the sun was completely hidden behind the rainclouds. He would look up and speak whenever someone addressed him, but each time he did his smile was a little thinner and the skin around his eyes a little more pinched. Once they were in the Jeep with the doors closed, Shen Wei leaned back into the seat with a tired sigh and closed his eyes.

“Seat belt,” Zhao Yunlan said, pitching his voice to be low and hopefully soothing. Or at least not too jarring. He shot a quick text to Da Qing while Shen Wei was strapping himself in, then started up the engine and aimed the Jeep for home. 

It was early in the evening yet; Shen Wei’s Friday classes ended before lunch, and he tended to spend the afternoon doing research or paperwork, which meant they tended to finish up at about the same time. It was the only day of the week where they consistently got off at the same time as each other and Zhao Yunlan quietly looked forward to it all week. Picking Shen Wei up at the University, driving home together, doing the shopping if needed, cooking dinner together… It was super boring domestic stuff that would have sent him screaming into the hills just a year or so ago but now he looked forward to it. Relished it, even, because it was super boring domestic stuff that meant Shen Wei was part of his life now and Zhao Yunlan would not have traded those quiet evenings for anything.

Shen Wei’s headache seemed to be getting worse; either that or his tolerance was getting lower. He spent the ride with his eyes shut, his head resting against the back of the car seat. At one point a car behind them leaned on the horn for some offense or another and Shen Wei actually winced, drawing in a short, sharp breath and eyes clenching tightly shut. His hands were curled into fists on his thighs, pressing down against the pale blue material like he meant to hold himself in place.

Zhao Yunlan reached across the console and laid his hand over Shen Wei’s. Squeezed just a little, just enough to let Shen Wei know he was there. Shen Wei exhaled in a slow breath, and the hand beneath Zhao Yunlan’s slowly relaxed until he could coax the fingers apart and lace his through them.

He didn’t take his eyes off the road because of the traffic, but he was pretty sure he saw Shen Wei smile, just a little.

He parked as close as he could to the apartment, abusing his position as a police officer just a little. He took Shen Wei’s bag, and looped an arm around his waist as soon as he climbed down from the Jeep.

“I’m not injured,” Shen Wei said. “You don’t need to carry my things.” But he didn’t try to take the satchel back, either, and when Zhao Yunlan urged him to rest his head on Zhao Yunlan’s shoulder, he did. 

Zhao Yunlan didn’t turn on any of the lights once they were inside. He hung the satchel on the peg beside the door, in between Da Qing’s jacket and a couple of empty shopping bags, then walked Shen Wei to the bed. He threw back the duvet and coaxed him into sitting down. “Lie down for a while,” he said. He carefully took Shen Wei’s glasses and folded them, setting them down on the bedside table where he would be able to find them again easily. “I’ll get you something for your headache.”

“It’s not so bad,” Shen Wei said. 

Zhao Yunlan had watched him bleed out without wincing, so he was perfectly willing to call him a lying liar to his face if that was what it took to get him to take care of himself. “It’s bad enough. Come on, rest a little now and you’ll feel better later. Try to power though and you’ll be miserable all weekend.” He took the initiative, carefully pushing Shen Wei’s suit jacket off his shoulders and tugging it free, then nudging Shen Wei’s chin up so he could undo his tie.

Shen Wei’s eyes watched him as he worked, soft and beautiful. Zhao Yunlan loved his eyes - dark and rich and shining - like well-polished wood, old and valuable, with a hint of honey-gold. They were kind eyes, most of the time, and Zhao Yunlan loved it when they looked at him, whether it was soft and loving, or annoyed or - his favorite - sharp and hot with need. He smiled down at Shen Wei and dropped a kiss on his forehead, then slid the tie free of his collar and wrapped it around his fist. “Come on, lay down.”

Shen Wei would never dream of putting his feet on the bed with his shoes still on, so there was a brief pause as he tried to lean down and untie them and Zhao Yunlan batted his hands away and knelt down beside the bed to take care of it himself. “Be honest with me,” he said, tilting his head so he could look up at Shen Wei from beneath his lashes. “You just wanted to get me on my knees before you, didn’t you?”

“There are so many other places I would prefer to have you,” Shen Wei said. He laid a hand over the back of Zhao Yunlan’s neck and just held it there as Zhao Yunlan finished untying his shoes. 

“I’m going to want a list later,” Zhao Yunlan said. He let Shen Wei see him grin, waggled his eyebrows a little for good measure. “In order of preference. And maybe some practical demonstrations of these favored positions as well.” He waited till Shen Wei had rolled his eyes at him - aborted halfway through with a tiny wince - then cupped that beautiful, stubborn face in both hands and kissed him properly. Shen Wei sighed into the kiss, eyes drifting shut and some of the tension going out of his body, and when Zhao Yunlan reluctantly pulled back, Shen Wei’s entire upper body swayed toward his, trying to prolong it. Zhao Yunlan cupped the back of his head with one hand, and pressed down on his shoulder with the other. “Rest now.”

Shen Wei obediently lay back against the pillows, his entire body going boneless and practically sinking into the mattress with a heavy sigh of relief. Zhao Yunlan pulled the duvet up to his chest, smoothed it flat and watched him for a long moment as Shen Wei breathed slowly and evenly and the lines around his eyes began to ease.

He set the water to heating up and found the naproxen in the medicine cupboard, then detoured to the front door to finally kick his own shoes off. He brought the pills and the water to the bed, setting them down for a moment as he carefully eased an arm under Shen Wei’s shoulders to help him sit up. Shen Wei gave him a narrow-eyed look for a moment, like he might be seriously considering shoving Zhao Yunlan off the side of the bed and doing it himself just to make a point, but he let Zhao Yunlan hold him up. His fingers shook a little when he took the pills from Zhao Yunlan’s hand, so he held the water glass to Shen Wei’s lips while he drank. Then he dropped a kiss on Shen Wei’s lips - just to make sure they were nice and dry, of course - and lowered him back down to the pillows.

“I’m not an invalid,” Shen Wei said without opening his eyes.

“No, but you’re hurting and I hate that.” Zhao Yunlan brushed a strand of hair off his forehead and over to the side where it belonged. “Let me try and make it better.”

Shen Wei turned his head on the pillow so he could face Zhao Yunlan, though he didn’t open his eyes as he did. “You do make it better. There isn’t anything I couldn’t bear as long as you were at my side.”

“Well, if I’m doing my job properly, you shouldn’t have to bear anything worse than this headache ever again.” Zhao Yunlan smoothed the duvet over Shen Wei’s chest one last time, then let his hand rest there for a little while, feeling the soft rise and fall of Shen Wei’s breaths. 

He should get up and cook dinner, maybe do some chores. There are casefiles he could be reviewing, and there’s a hamper full of laundry in the bathroom that could be thrown in the wash. But there were leftovers in the fridge, and none of the cases were urgent, and the laundry hamper lid still shut so the situation hadn’t reached emergency status yet.

And Shen Wei said him being there made it better. So he stayed.

[earth-ambassador-jim]

Lost Souls: Story One

Of Rainy Nights and Street Lights

Summary: Merlin awakens early from his sleep. He decides that he doesn't want to leaving anything to chance and kidnaps the young James Lake Jr. to began training his Trollhunter as early as possible.

Barbara is determined to hunt down the man who kidnapped her son. In her efforts to get her son back she finds a strange old radio that speaks to her in a woman’s voice. The radio leads her to an underground society of shapeshifters.

Mother and son meet again years later as strangers on opposing sides.

(This is written as a series of oneshots and will not always be chronological.)

AO3 - Fanfiction

~~~~

Barbara leans against the side of the building, watching as the rain falls just outside the shelter of the awning. It’s late, she’s not sure exactly how late. Besides sunrise and sunset, time doesn’t really matter much to her anymore. Once, so very long ago, she would have been wary to be out alone at this hour, but now she’s far more dangerous than any fool she might encounter.

The brick is rough and cool against her fingers. She heaves a sigh and slides to the ground, uncaring that she will get cold. Her mistress’s attention is not on her right now. She just needs a moment… A moment to be herself. Not Morgana’s champion or her voice piece, not the newest head of the Janus Order, not Nemesis… Just Barbara… Whatever that means at this point.

She closes her eyes and leans back, listening to the steady patter of rain against rooftops and cement and the distant hum of cars. The lone light on the street buzzes softly. She draws in a breath and lets it out slowly, taking time to just exist.

A soft sob breaks through the air. Barbara opens her eyes and looks around. There isn’t a soul in sight. After a moment there’s another sob, short and muffled. Whoever it is doesn’t want to be noticed.

Barbara contemplates leaving; finding somewhere else to be, but curiosity gets the best of her. She shifts silently to her feet and waits.

There.

Barbara follows the sound. She doesn’t have to go far, the source of the crying turns out to be the dumpster around the corner. Cautiously she looks over the edge and…

Finds herself staring into a very familiar set of blue eyes. Barbara and the Trollhunter share a moment of frozen shock.

The lanky blue troll is curled in a nest of trash. He’s holding his arm close to him, she can see that there’s an open wound on it through a tear in his dark blue hoodie. More puzzling the blood is red instead of silver blue as trolls generally bleed or purple like a changeling’s. Even though she’s seen him bleed she has never noticed that before.

The Trollhunter breaks out of the trance and growls at her. Barbara tenses, ready to fight, but he doesn’t move.

“What do you want?” He asks instead. “Are you here to kill me?”

She stills at that, unsure.

The troll stares at her for a moment longer before letting a harsh scoff. He turns away, curling away from her and into himself.

“Go ahead, do your worst,” He says in a jaded tone. “I don’t care.”

Barbara is left staring at his back in shock. This is so far outside her normal interactions with him that she doesn’t know what to think. Normally they start fighting on sight. She’s always hated the way he can sound so righteous and noble when working for an abhorrent being like Merlin.

None of that confidence is here right now. Despite being a six foot tall being made of stone, the Trollhunter looks so small and broken and defeated… like her.

Barbara sighs and pushes back her hair. It’s drenched now. The water has worked its way through her clothing as well, she feels even more miserable. She glances back at the awning she had been sitting under.

“I’m getting back under cover,” She says finally. “You can join me if you want.”

The garbage rustles as he turns to stare at her in shock. She ignores it and returns to her shelter, sitting against the wall again. To Barbara’s surprise she hears a rattle and a couple thumps and then a large form settles down beside her. She glances to her right to confirm that, yes, it really is him; she hadn’t expected him to actually join her.

They sit there in awkward silence.

“Let me see your arm,” Barbara says finally. The dark patch of blood on his sleeve is bothering her.

The Trollhunter glares at her and pulls the injured appendage closer to his body. She sighs. That was fair.

“Look,” She says. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m just…”

She trails off unsure how to finish that thought.

“I used to be a doctor,” She says instead. It feels like such a long time ago. Back before her world was shattered and she lost herself to revenge. “I can help you.”

He snorts at that, lip curling slightly to expose a sharp canine.

“At what price? My soul? Your mistress seems pretty keen on them.”

For a moment she draws herself up to argue, but just as quickly she deflates. There isn’t any fight in her tonight. She’s tired of it all; she wants to be whole again.

“I just want to do something right for once.” God, she sounds tired.

She can practically feel his gaze on her, assessing. For as brash as he often seems, the Trollhunter is not stupid.

“Fine, but no magic.”

She blinks in surprise as he holds out his arm. Slowly she reaches out to touch it. He flinches at the contact, but doesn’t pull away, so she draws it into her lap. She glances at his face out of instinct but he’s looking away. His shoulders are tense.

Moving carefully, so as to not worsen the injury or startle the troll, she begins to examine the wound. It appears to be a slash from a bladed weapon of some form, about a half inch deep and seven inches long. It must have been a pretty hard blow to have cut through his stone skin; even harsher if he had been wearing his armor.

She pulls out the small first aid kit that she carries for herself and picks out the alcohol to clean the cut. Once she’s done with that, she’s left hovering uncertainly. She isn’t sure that she has anything that would be useful in closing a troll’s wounds.

“It will heal on its own in a day or so,” The Trollhunter says indifferently, as if sensing her thoughts.

She doesn’t like that statement.

“It will heal a lot better if it’s closed,” She responds.

He grunts.

After another moment of consideration, she pulls out some superglue and carefully spreads it along the edge of the cut.

“This is going to hurt,” She warns him before pressing the sides together.

He stays tense and silent as she waits for the glue to set, once she’s sure it won’t come apart, she bandages it and then makes a makeshift sling.

“Put this on and then keep it in the sling and dry for your normal healing period,” She tells him, a little bit of her old “doctor voice” slipping back in.

He nods and then they’re back to sitting in silence. The rain continues without ceasing. A truck blows its horn. The Trollhunter pulls his hood lower at the sound.

“So why are you out here?” He asks.

“I needed a break,” She says.

He nods solemnly at that.

“Me too,” he says. “training was…”

He trails off and she figures that’s all she’ll hear of that line of thought. Only a fool divulges their personal issues to their enemy.

“Is it bad to have friends?” He asks suddenly.

She stares at him in surprise.

“I… I know my job is dangerous and that I have a duty, but… but,” His voice wavers. “I just… is it really that selfish?”

There’s a quiet desperation in his eyes as he stares at her, brows furrowed and pointed ears low in his shaggy hair. Her enemy is utterly vulnerable and all she can think is…

“How old are you?”

He blinks looking as caught off guard as she feels. Wariness returns to his expression for a moment and then he shrugs.

“Fifteen,” He says, voice slightly defiant.

Fifteen… Fifteen!

Barbara leans back against the wall, a feeling of shell-shocked numbness and disbelief running though her. She’s been fighting a child.

Wait…

“If I remember correctly fifteen year old trolls are still infants…”

“I’m not a regular troll,” He says giving her a crooked sort of grin.

Of course he’s not. She’s known that. She’d just never thought about what that entailed.

She runs her hand through her hair with a sigh, deciding not to pursue that line of questioning. She doesn’t want to hear more of Merlin’s atrocities right now…

“To answer your question,” She says instead. “I don’t think it matters if you’re being selfish.”

He blinks at this.

“Everyone needs friends, especially someone your age. It’s good to be a little selfish. As someone once told me: ‘Do what's good for you, or you're not good for anybody’.”

“Oh,” He says, he faces forward again seeming to contemplate this idea with a look of wonder and surprise as if no one’s ever suggested that. “Thanks.”

“Of course.”

They sit in silence listening to the rain again, but it doesn’t feel quite as uncomfortable now.

~~~~

~~~~

Author Notes:

This was inspired by a post @twistedmashup made suggesting an AU where Merlin decided to kidnap Jim as a child (x).

Anyway I have no self control so I figured I’d try to make a series of oneshots with it. 

I hope y’all like it. Be sure to tell me what you think!

[shutup-sorry]

A flower for every petal [1]

A/N: Sooo this is my first fic like ever! I hope you like it and if you do, let me know if you want me to tag you :) P. S. english is not my native language, so if there are some grammar mistakes I apologise haha

Words: 3.7k+

The wind was strong that morning. Only sound breaking the silence on this, unusually, still street, was the angirly roaring wind. They said that the big storm is coming tonight and mother nature is preparing us for that.

For Iris, London was always such a depressing city, she for sure didn't like it here, never knowing why. So many unhappy people, lost souls that are just trying to go back to the right path, afraid of a little bit of risking. She wanted an adventure. She wanted to travel the world. But she knew well-enough that that's not going to happen any time soon, so she had to deal with that, that's what her mother used to tell her.

But on this particular day, it was even sadder. Everything seemed to be in black and white, like other colors didn't exist. The sky was so gray and misty, it almost looked like it was about to cry, his tears representing drops of rain. She never liked rainy days, or even worse, storms. It always reminded her of her lonliness and how she didn't have anybody by her side. Her family was far away, all of her friends and people from hometown had probably already forgotten her, and she was nostalgic. She missed her home, the happiest and safest place on this planet.

She tried to light her cigarette, but the damn wind wouldn't let her do it, so she put her hand up to protect a little flame that was coming out of her lighter. After few more attempts, getting even more annoyed, maybe by the fact that she was already so late to her first lecture, or maybe by the fact that it was so cold outside and she had to walk to university, she finally succeeded and shoved her lighter back in the bag. She took a long drag before continuing her 20 minutes walk to university, cursing the fact that she still doesn't have a car or someone to drive her there.

After few minutes of walking the rain started. Great, that's exactly what she needed at that moment. She instantly hurried up and threw her jeans jacket on her head, to protect herself from wetting her hair.

When she arrived at the university, after what seemed like forever, she started fast walking towards her classroom. She could only imagine how she looked like, and in every way was negative. Her hair was probably a mess, so she quickly combed it with her hands, trying to make it seem less bad, and then wiping her a little bit smudged mascara, as she mentally prepared for judgemental looks when she walks in almost more than half an hour late.

She entered the lecture, murmirng a little 'sorry I'm late' under her breath, and quickly taking her seat in the first free chair that she saw. Some students whispered something looking at her, probably gossiping, and the teacher just sighed and continued talking.

After some time of trying to focus on the actual words that the proffesor was talking about, but failing miserably, and then giving up, the class has finally finished. She packed her things and quickly exited the classroom, rushing into the hall of uni.

The hall was crowded with students, some with their friends, talking, laughing, and some alone just walking or sitting and reading their books.

She stopped walking when she saw a big poster on noticeboard that had big "Queen" written on it. It said that they are perfoming at the local pub on Saturday night.

"You coming?", someone said behind her back, snapping her from her thoughts and scaring her. She turned around and saw a young man with big, curly, hair and beautiful smile looking at her, then at the poster. "Oh sorry, didn't mean to scare you", he said nervously, noticing her scared expression on face.

"Oh no, I just wasn't expecting anybody that's all", she smiled truthfully and he nodded. "And, uhm, I don't think I'll come. Don't wanna go alone.", she shrugged her shoulders.

"I think you should come, they are pretty good, you'll have fun", very familiar curly boy, that she thinks she shares a class with, told her smirking.

"I suppose that you've seen them play, when you say that like it is a fact?", she laughed.

"Well tehnically, yes", he nodded smiling, "I am in the band, a guitarisst", he said proudly and she raised her brow. "Oh yes, and I'm Brian by the way", he hold his hand to shake and she took it, still smiling.

"I am Iris, nice to meet you guitarisst", she smirked sarcastically.

"So you coming or not? I would love to see you there", she put her index finger on her chin, pretending like she's thinking about it and he laughed, "Oh come on, why not? You won't be alone, I'll be there"

"Well I don't know you, for all I know you could kill me there", she joked and he scoffed at that, "I'll see, but probably won't come"

"Okay, but have this incase you've changed your mind", he gave her a piece of paper, that probably had the address of the pub or his phone number, "Goodbye Iris", and then he left.

She stood there looking at him leaving, thinking about the offer he gave her.

It was the Saturday afternoon, she was cleaning her apartment from the mess she made over the week, when she accidentally found that piece of paper that that Brian guy gave her the other day. She had totally forgotten about it. It was this Saturday. She looked over her clock and it was 7:17pm, she had an hour to get ready. She bit her lower lip, thinking about it.

Was it good idea going there alone? But if she didn't go, she would probably regret that, always thinking about what-if.

Fuck it, she thought to herself, throwing her cleaning gloves, making her way to the bathroom.

She wanted an adventure, this is the closest thing to the adventure that she can get.

After 20 minutes of showering, she did her makeup and styled her hair the way she wanted it to be. The cab arrived and she started her way to the pub, feeling anxious.

She never liked going anywhere alone, even though she lived alone. The irony of that. She always wanted company in anything she was doing, even if it was just going to the market or just walking around town, and this lonliness was killing her. Not that she wanted to admit that, but deep down she knew that.

Her thoughts were interrupted when cab stopped, giving her money to the awfully quiet driver, and then turning towards the pub. Outside of the pub was suprisingly crowded, so she could just imagine what was inside. Surprised that this band was so popular, she entered the pub, scent of smoke and alcohol hitting her right in the face.

There were a lot of people, and she immediately regreted coming here alone, but she for sure didn't have intention on going back home. She sighed, making her way to the front place so she could have a better look at the band. She thought about Brian, if he would be happy that she came, but then quickly realised that he had probably forgot about her and that it was just a stupid thought.

Some people were talking, some people were already drunk, some people were making out, and some people were alone there, just like her. She felt a relief that she wasn't the only one, miserable. Lights went off and the crowd started yelling. First row were just girls, clothed in small pieces, big enough to cover the most vulgar parts of their bodies, and Iris rolled her eyes at them. They were groupies. There's nothing wrong with being a groupie, she just couldn't stand them. She looked at what she decided to wear and her body, feeling a little anxious. All of these girls were so much prettier then her. She was an average looking girl, with average body. And they were all like models, beautiful and smoking hot.

Her thoughts were interrupted by four young men filling in the stage. They had huge, wide, smiles on their faces as they were looking at the crowd infront of them. The crowd wasn't huge, but for a small band full of young students, it was more than enough. The lead singer, who she learned was named Freddie, had black fluffy hair, then there was Brian with his guitar, and two unknown guys. One with fluffy brown hair with his guitar, or bass, she couldn't tell, and then the blonde behind his drums. The blonde looked chaotic, he had angry look on his face, only one not smiling at the crowd. He just took his drumsticks in his hands, swirling them anxiously, waiting for Freddie to stop talking so they could start playing.

She knew that she was staring at him, but she just couldn't keep her eyes off of him. It's like he felt her deep gaze at him and he looked her right in the eyes, unfazed by it. She didn't know what had gotten into her, but she was confident enough that she didn't look away, and got even more confident when she noticed that he didn't look away either, sending him a flirty and playful wink. In response he just licked his lips, before the first song began and he focused on playing his drums.

The way he looked when he was playing his drums, with that chaotic blonde hair falling everywhere, with his button up shirt that was unbuttoned showing off his bare sweaty chest, turned her on. She bit her lip at the thought of him. Now and then, he would look for her in the crowd, and when his eyes finally found hers, he would send her a seductive smirk.

After several songs, the band, had finished their gig for tonight. Freddie thanked the small audience as they all clapped their hands, because truth to be told- they were wonderful. Probably the best show she had ever attended, they had the most breath taking energy. Everybody did their parts perfectly. Freddie's voice stood out the most, this band is going places.

She decided to sit down at the bar, who could know that dancing, singing and having this much fun could be so exhausting? She thought to herself. Or maybe she just got so used to boring life of just studying and doing nothing over the days that she forgot how it felt to loosen up sometimes.

It took her some time to try and avoid, now very drunk people, praying to get home safely, when she finally saw the bar. She looked over and saw a free chair. She sat at the high chair by the bar, looking through her purse for the pack of cigarettes, and when she finally found them she realized that she had forgotten her lighter. She sighed, with cigarette between her plump red lips as she continued trying to find a lighter, even though she knew that it wasn't there. She cursed under her breath.

"Here ya go", she heard a soft male voice next to her speak, making her jump from her seat a little bit. _Can people stop scaring her like that?_She thought to herself. She looked up and there he was, the drummer from the band, standing infront of her, grinning and before she had any chance to reply to him he had lit her cigarette, that was still between her lips, his big ocean blue eyes never living her deep green eyes. She just sat there, feeling her cheeks turning red, she blushed and that rarely ever happened, and seeing that made him smirk.

"Thank you", she said, shyly, trying to cover up the fact that she had just blushed at him, puffing the smoke from her cigar.

"No problem, love.", he said still smirking at her. It made her feel tingly, and she didn't like that feeling at all. The way he looked at her, practically undressing her with his eyes, picturing things he could do to her. The way his eyes focused on hers, then, as she puffed smoke, he would focus on her lips, but then, again, on her eyes. He still looked sweaty from his gig, hair sticking on his neck and forehead. That made him look even hotter, If that's possible.

Stop being so fucking horny and stop imaging things Iris.

"You don't look like a type of girl to be here, or to smoke too. ", firstly he pointed at the place they were in and then at cigarette in her hand, lighting his that was between his lips. She was taken aback by his statment, making a weird face in confusion.

She raised her eyebrow at him. "What's that suppoused to mean asshole?", she said with bitterness behind her words, not caring if the nickname she gave him would offend him in any way. And it didn't.

He chuckled. "Easy there, love. I was just saying. You're new here, I've never seen you before.", he said as he raised his hand so bartender could notice him. "Want something? It's on me", he winked and she rolled her eyes at him, shaking her head no in response, as he murmured 'why not'.

"I don't drink", she said taking his lighter of the table, without asking for it, and lighting a new one.

"See? Told ya you don't look like a type of girl to be here. You just proved me right. ", he smirked and she rolled her eyes, again. "But, I must say, you're a one hell of a smoker"

The more he talks, the more she regrets thinking about him in the way she was while he was performing. She found him really annoying and wanted him to leave.

"What can I say? We all have our addictions", she raised her eyebrows dramaticly and he laughed at this shaking his head and murming little 'I guess you're right', before she spoke again. "And by the way, what if I'm not new here and you just haven't noticed me before? I mean, you have a lot of fans here. Especially girls, I mean you couldn't possibbly notice every girl that enters this place, now could you?", she stated matter-of-factly, pointing at all the girls that were now looking at them, making angry faces at her for taking their 'man', and a little bit of sarcasm behind her words, but not too much.

"Oh, trust me, I would notice. ", the bantender interrupted his words as he gave him what he had ordered, this misterious drummer drinking whatever liqour in one shot, and then continuing, "Ugh, rough. ", he laughed, "Where was I, oh yes. Trust me I would notice a smoking hot girl like you anywhere. I have seen the way you looked at me while I was playing, and I would lie if I told you that that didn't turn me on just a little bit", his voice turned into whisper as he was now close to her ear, sending shivers down her spine. But of course, she wouldn't admit that and feed his, already, big ego.

She snorted at his cockiness, rolling her eyes, for the, probably, hundreth time tonight. "Don't even bother drummer boy, I know what you're doing. I know the guys like you, I have dated them. That's what devils look and sound like", he laughed at this biting his lower lip. That turned her on even more_._

"Oh really? So what am I doing, misterious girl? Hm? Tell me", he is still whispering, and that amused her a little too much. She didn't know where was her confidence coming from, but she liked this version of her, not afraid of saying wrong thing, being relaxed. Maybe it's the fact that this night, she felt so good after such a long time that she just didn't care. It was an adventure.

"You, mister drummer, are trying to get me to bed", she leaned in closer, tempting him as she knew exactly what was she doing to him. He just kept looking at her lips, not caring about her noticing that, as she bit her lower lip, in intention of seducing him even more. She succeeded in that as he quitely groaned at that act of hers. "And you were right. I'm not the type of girl who comes to places like this, as I'm not a type of girl who's just gonna be one of your groupies, so I advise you to just forget about it blondie and maybe find other girl to hit on and bore", she leaned back where she was before and he just snorted, now looking infront of him into unknown space.

"Tease. I like that", he admitted truthfully and she proudly smirked at herself for how amazing she was. Who would know that she had it in her? She was always an uptight person. "And could I get your name, love?"

"Does it matter? It's not like we're gonna meet again", she teased and that being said made him roll his eyes, playfully.

"Oh, darling, I think we will", he teased back and she giggled.

"And why's that?"

"Because", he leaned in, putting his hand on her thigh, making her have goosebumps all over her body, "I'm not that easy to get rid of. You're gonna see more of me, darling", he winked at her and just as she was about to come with the comeback, the yelling was heard and the drummer quickly moved his hand away from her tigh, that was travelling higher and higher, to her inner tighs, making her even more desperate. She silently groaned at the loss of touch.

"Oh here you are, you idiot! Roger, I've been looking for you for the past half an hour, you said you were just going to the bar quickly! Freddie is on the parking lot being hysterical as he always is and needs your help with the van and the instruments. You need to hurry up and leave that groupie alone. ", the curly, furious looking guy, that invited her here, named Brian spat at the blonde boy. His words hurted her a little, but she ignored his comment about her being a groupie as she annoyingly looked at him. Brian, realising who she was, looked guilty about his choice of words. "Oh hi there Iris, I didn't see that it was you. Uhm sorry for that nickname, I didn't mean it. I see the two of you have met already", Brian spoke just too quickly and she laughed at him, as he continued rambling, "I'm glad you made it here-"

"Oh so Iris?", Roger interrupted, earning a glare from Brian, but complety ignoring that, smirking as he had just found out her name, teasingly looking at her, already, annoyed facial expression, as he continued. "Nice name, very meaningful. Do you know that, that in Greek mythology, Iris was the goddes of rainbow, a messenger for Zeus and Hera, who rode the rainbow as a bridge from heaven to earth? Iris is actually considered a symbol of power and majesty, representing faith, wisdom and valor. Are you called after a goddess? ", he said, putting his index finger on his chin, pretending to be thinking about it, as he continued his philosophy, while she stood there, vividly, shocked and without any words, and that's a rare thing. This man is well educated, or just too good with his words, or maybe just lucky. "Or are you named after the flower? You know, they come in a lot of colours, and you remind me of some purple or blue just like your deep eyes that seem to hold in just too much sadness in them. Even though, in most of the cultures Iris means happiness and summer. "

Her eyes never left his as he had just put her in some sort of trance. She blushed at his words, and cursed at herself for letting herself blush just too easily, quickly trying to cover her cheeks, but failing. He already saw what he did to her and smirked, proudly, knowing he had won this conversation.

"What's wrong, love? Did I say something wrong?", he grinned at her, taking a drag of his cigarette and leaning back against his chair.

Brian just stood there, confused to what was happening, carefully watching Roger talking. He seemed to be, just as she was, in some kind of trance.

"You're full of shit, drummer boy", she laughed at this whole situation, as she tried to pretend that this actually haven't affected her, and he joined in her laughter. Brian still stood there confused and bored, as he didn't find this funny at all. He looked annoyed, but they didn't seem to care at all. "Do you say this to all the girls you pick up at one of your gigs, or should I feel special?", she raised her eyebrow, waiting, patiently, for his answer.

"Don't flatter yourself, love. I'm just good with my words. I've made your heart melt, didn't I?", he asked, but it wasn't a question, because he already knew the answer and he knew that she would never give it to him.

"If that would help you sleep at night then okay, blondie", she winked.

"You can call me Roger you know, not those ridiciolus nicknames you have." , he said and she nodded. He stood up starting to walk past het but for the second he stopped. "And I'm gonna call you Petal, that sounds cute. Right Petal?", he smirked at creative nickname he gave her.

"Why Petal? Most people call me by my name, or my usual nickname, Izzy", she said facing him with confused look on her face.

"Well that's a bit boring, don't you think? Mine is much more creative", he put his hand on his hip, letting her know how proud he is for making that up and she laughed.

"Yeah, okay. Whatever, blondie. ", she shrugged and he laughed.

"See you soon Petal", he just left and she watched him go until he disappeared behind the door that led to a parking lot, Brian disappearing with him as well.

Taglist: @killer-queen-ofrhye @magicwithaknife @rogertaylordome @yourlifeuniverse @pyrotechnic789 @supersonicqueerace :)

[bravehardts]

Day 6 - Edinburgh: History and Haggis

Lo and behold, we were awarded with another beautiful day here on what we worried would be a rainy and cold vacation. I hope this doesn't jinx our luck but today was the warmest and clearest day yet. Traveling up The Royal Mile from our hotel, we met our close friends Brendan and Esther Cooney at a breakfast place called Hula Juice Bar for avocado toast (so California) and porridge (so Scottish). It was great to catch up and see some familiar faces this faraway from home. After cajoling a couple of passerbys to take our picture together outside, we parted ways and wandered further up towards the most popular attraction here, Edinburgh Castle. As we approached the castle, the crowds kept getting more and more dense. Fortunately we had purchased our tickets beforehand so we could skip the queue and print them right away. We passed through a large stadium that is hosting the "Military Tattoo" during festival season--on display was a giant military jet suspended above the entrance and a navy helicopter. As we would soon learn in the castle, Scotland is VERY proud of their military, both past and present. Walking up towards the castle, we were transported back to medieval times (not the restaurant, but similar). This would be the third castle we visited, and by far the best! The layout was winding and asymmetrical--probably an advantage for any invading hordes, trying to conquer the castle. Perched high on a hill, it also has a huge tactical advantage. It could likely only be attacked from one side, since the other sides are steep cliffs overlooking the city. As our friends advised us, we headed straight to the top of the castle (which is a series of independent buildings, all part of the greater structure). We entered an area to view the Scottish Crown Jewels, after seeing a series of historical mannequined recreations. No pictures were allowed in the room with the Crown Jewels--but there was a sword, a scepter, and a red velvet crown, just as you would imagine from British royalty. There were some other types of jewels but Alex was already antsy so we didn't get to spend too much time in the final room. We visited various other areas of the castle, though it was already starting to get packed with throngs of international visitors and tour groups. Of note, we visited the "Great Hall", decorated with swords, muskets, and armor (YES!), the War Memorial (no pictures allowed), a quite stunning indoor memorial to Scottish soldiers, navy men, nurses, etc. It felt like a small cathedral, and was very moving to see all the different divisions of the Scottish military's honored deceased. Other attractions were Mons Meg--the largest cannon of that era, that could fire a 300 lbs. cannonball 2 miles; the Prisons of War Exhibition--recreations of prison cells from various eras of the castle (definitely in Allison's wheelhouse)--St. Margaret's Chapel, the Dog Cemetery, and at least three military museums (including the National War Museum). If we had spent the time to really read every sign, look at every artifact (swords, medals, rifles, kilts, helmets, gas masks, machine guns, flags, etc) we would have been there for HOURS. But of course we didn't, because first of all Alex can't read, and second of all after you've seen 50 swords they all start to look the same. But I was pleasantly surprised by the bagpipe soundtrack blaring the "Last of the Mohican's" theme song, which I didn't realize was either 1) an original Scottish bagpipe song ripped off for the movie, or 2) a really great song from the movie that is cool to play on the bagpipe (will look up an answer shortly--and more on that song soon). A quick side note--we grabbed lunch within the castle at a delightful cafe. As it had one of the only bathrooms in the area, I wandered down the stairs to take Alex, and noticed the longest, most miserable line of women I have even seen, waiting for the Lou. I've seen happier people in line at the DMV. Heading out of the Castle, we passed by absolutely massive lines of people waiting to buy tickets. We were lucky to have entered the castle first thing in the morning, and clearly it would only get more and more crowded during the day. Walking back down The Royal Mile, the crowds did not get thinner by any means. And top of that were throngs of street performers with terrible costumes and loads and loads of youngsters handing out flyers for various "free shows" during festival week. We powered through these masses of people--a nightmarish sea of activity for folks like us who don't love big crowds too much. Eventually we got back to the hotel, for a little rest and Lego Star Wars. For the afternoon, we planned to grab another Hop On Hop Off bus pass, and move around the city. Sitting on the open top of the bus, the sun was fully out and actually getting uncomfortably hot. This bus tour did not cover as much area as the one in Dublin, but the traffic was so thick that it took forever to get anywhere. But the sights of hilly Edinburgh are so stunning from almost any spot in the city, I would call it a good choice for us to get our bearings and see more of the city. We decided to get off the bus at Grassmarket, an active area of pubs and restaurants not too far from our hotel. The first pub we went to told us that we could only have a kid inside if he ate a "full meal" (liquor regulations I guess). The second we tried was more lenient--as long as he had a snack, that was fine. And have a snack we did! The pub was called "The Last Drop" (love it!) and we had a cozy little area in the back. Alex had mac and cheese which he annihilated. Allison had a vegetable broth soup. I went all in and tried the Haggis with Neeps and Tatties--because how could I leave Scotland without trying it? For those who only know Haggis as a joke in "So I Married an Ax Murderer", it is apparently banned in the US because it contains an ingredient not allowed to be put into our food: Sheep lungs. Oh, it also has sheep heart, liver, and is cooked in the stomach. That being said--it was pretty good! Not good enough for me to eat the whole thing, but the Neeps (mashed turnips) and Tatties (mashed potatoes) were just great when drizzled with whiskey cream sauce. The haggis itself was like a hearty thick paste with some spice to it. I could see getting used to it, but of all the exotic things I've tried, lungs is a new one on my list, and a little hard mentally to get past. I also tried a local beer--Innis and Gunn Lager. Tastes like a lager, and not much more to say about it. We hiked back to the hotel, staying on Cowgate (far enough away from the busier streets to be sane) and crossing under bridges, before ascending the hill to our hotel. There are loads of bridges around here, but no river. They just cross between hills and over streets far below. Before dinner, I took Alex to the little pool in the basement of our hotel. The small pool was a big hit, as would be expected. And finally, we took a nice long hike to our dinner restaurant, The Fisher House--the best meal we have had so far. The fresh seafood was fantastic--Alex devoured his sole (I helped him polish off the squid ink gnocchi), Allison fell in love with her lobster and scallops, and I went batty for my Panang curry with shrimp and fish. Also, a fried octopus appetizer started things off with a bang. Alex finished the meal by using Allison's lobster claw to crush any remaining food items in sight.. As we walked back to the hotel, there were still loads of people out--the setting sun was beautiful on the stone monuments and statues around the city. The festival attractions (pop up restaurants and bars, bands playing all around the city) were making us regret not having a babysitter so we could go out on the town. Oh, and we walked by a street band again playing the "Last of the Mohicans" theme song on Bagpipe, but this time with a full drum set and electric guitar. I loved the jam, and so did Alex! While I write this in our dark, quiet room in the back of the hotel (with Alex trying to fall asleep), we are so close yet so far away from the bustling city life that will surely be drinking, dancing, and doing whatever else there is to be done here, all night. No regrets though! This was a hugely busy day for us, and tomorrow we get to fill in the gaps of our Edinburgh experience. There are so many historical buildings, winding streets, mysterious closes (the walking alleyways leading from the streets), that even a week wouldn't be enough to see all that this amazing city has to offer.