#after i missed them bringing the package to my house my mom picked him up

[nyupuun]

yusei plushie

[heavyhitterheaux]

Flip a Switch

Synopsis: When you find out information regarding your husband and his career, you confront him and demand an explanation as to why he kept it a secret from you

Pairing: Husband!Joe Burrow x Wife!Reader

Requested by: a cutie anon 💕

Please Do Not Repost My Content Anywhere

You walked into the house with a smile on your face and was met with your husband coming out of the kitchen. He was originally looking down at his phone, but once he heard the front door open, he looked up to see his favorite person running full speed into him and he immediately caught you. Your arms instantly went around his neck as he buried his face in your hair.

“I missed you.” You whispered to him as you picked your head up to kiss him.

“I think I missed you more. I didn’t think you would be gone that long, but truth be told I should have known better. Any time the two of you go out together you tell me that you won’t be long and it ends up being the complete opposite.” He responded as he placed you back down on your feet, but still had a tight hold on you.

“Hmm, blame your mom. At first it was only supposed to be lunch, but then we went shopping and then I somehow ended up in the candle section of TJ Maxx and it was….”

“How much money did you spend? Because I don’t see any bags with you.” Joe asked as he looked behind you.

“Oh, they’re in the car. My original plan was to sneak them in, but I saw that you were back from practice so I decided against it knowing that you would probably see me. And I'm not telling you how much I spent.”

“Mm hmm, like those six amazon packages that were delivered last week.” Joe said as he eyed you, but all you did was smirk.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about, baby.” You playfully told him as you kissed him once more.

“Yeah, I think I’ve heard that line before.”

“But, would you mind bringing the bags in for me while I go and take a shower? Then I’ll meet you back down here?” You asked as you batted your eyelashes hoping that he would say yes.

“Don’t I do anything and everything for you? You didn’t even need to do all that. All you had to do was ask.” Joe laughed as he reached down to kiss your nose.

“Yes I did! Your mom also went with me to get them done! Don’t they look good?”

“I… I need to set some boundaries when you two hang out together because every time it gets worse and worse.”

“Hey! Don’t get mad that your mom loves me more than you and wants to spend time with me! But on a real note, I’m super thankful for your family and the way that they embraced me when we first started dating. When you don’t come from that and not being told you’re important and you’re loved, it really is amazing to see.” You confided in your husband and a smile grew on his face.

“From our first date, I knew that they would love you. After we had dinner that one night when I took you to meet them, both of my parents told me that you were the one and that they could see it. Now look, married for two years.”

“Really? You never told me that. I adore both of them so much and they treat me like I’m theirs.”

Your in-laws were some of the most amazing and caring people that you had ever met and you instantly felt at ease when Joe first introduced them to you.

“Oh trust and believe that they do. Any time I call them, the first thing they ask me is ‘how’s Y/N?’ like I haven’t been their child for damn near 28 years, but I get it. I’m obsessed with you just like everyone else is. And now we’re trying to add a little one to that.” He responded as he gently placed his hand on your mid-section.

“Hopefully it’ll happen soon. We can try again later if you’re up for it.” You told him as you sent a wink his way.

“I’m definitely not going to turn that down. But for now, go upstairs and I’ll get your 100 bags out of the car.” He said as he finally released you from his embrace and you were missing his warmth already.

“It’s not that many this time, I promise!”

“Yeah, not listening to you because last time I had to make three trips.”

“I got stuff for you too!”

“Not the point!” Joe yelled back as he had opened the door and was making his way to your car.

Making your way up the steps and into your shared bedroom with Joe, you threw off your clothes and put them into the hamper as you made your way into the bathroom to warm up the water for your shower. You washed your face before checking the temperature of the water and when you were finally satisfied with it, you covered your faux locs with a shower cap and finally stepped underneath the water. You grabbed your coconut body wash and grabbed your wash cloth as you began to lather it all over your body.

You were rinsing off, when you suddenly felt a presence behind you which made you jump. Turning around you were face to face with your husband and you playfully hit him on his arm.

“You scared me! Don’t do that!”

“I’m sorry! I thought you heard me!”

“How in the world could I have heard you with the shower running, babe? Be serious!”

“You hear me any other time! I didn’t mean to scare you.” Joe told you as he leaned down to kiss you.

“I was thinking maybe we could get some practice in before later.” He whispered against your lips before kissing you once more and moving his hands down to your hips.

“But only if…” You immediately cut him off.

“Yes.”

“Then jump.”

–

As the two of you sat on the couch after your shower, Joe's arms were wrapped around you and placing soft kisses all over your face and neck as you scrolled through Instagram.

“Baby! Quit it!” You told him while laughing, but he held onto you tighter and nuzzled his face in your neck.

“Why? You smell so good, like I could eat you.”

“You did that already less than an hour ago actually. Don’t you remember?”

“Yes, and I plan on doing it again later.” He whispered and you playfully rolled your eyes.

"Joseph Lee...." You quietly said and Joe's heart rate instantly began to increase because of the tone of your voice.

"Um, yes baby? Am I in trouble? You never call me by my name unless I am." He tried to make light of it by laughing, but the last thing that you were was amused.

“I'm about to turn you every way but loose if you don't explain this." As you shoved your phone towards him, he began to read the Instagram post and his eyes began to widen as he saw what it was about.

He refused to look at you and muttered a simple ‘fuck’ under his breath as he pinched the bridge of his nose with his right hand as you moved your phone away from his face and set it to the side of you.

“So, that's all you have to say?” You asked him and it was clear to him that there was no way that he was getting out of this conversation any time soon.

“I… babe… look I've just been thinking about it. Nothing is permanent yet. I don't want you to get upset about this.”

“How can I not get upset about it?” You slightly raised your voice as you moved off of his lap to sit next to him.

“Like I said, nothing is certain yet.”

“Hmm, so you hide secrets from me now?”

“Baby, it's not a secret. I….”

“It obviously is a secret because I had to find out on instagram of all places. So when were you going to tell your wife that you want to be TRADED?”

“Soon, okay? I was going to tell you soon!”

“How soon?! Like, how can you even think about that? Especially at a time like this?”

“Babe….”

“NO! We made a five year plan and that plan included us staying here. I just got the job that I had been after for more than three years! We just bought this house! We plan on having a baby! We’re close to your parents and your family. If we leave, we won’t have ANY of that!” You explained to him and the thought of all of that happening so soon honestly terrified you.

“Okay, I get that, I really do. But I also have to think about what’s best for me and what’s best for my career. I thought that you would understand that!”

“Without consulting me?! Last time I checked I was your wife! You literally tell me EVERYTHING. Don’t you think that this is something that we should talk about?! Especially when it literally might change everything that I’ve worked for!”

“In a marriage, sacrifices and compromises need to be made.” Joe told you as he shrugged, and your anger and frustration at him had hit a new level.

“Didn’t realize that pissing me off was on your agenda for the night.”

“I’m not trying to! Like I said, I haven’t even signed anything yet so there is no reason for you to be losing your shit on me like you are right now!”

“It’s the principle of it! YOU LIED TO ME. The person that I married NEVER lies to me. That’s my issue and you are seriously up here acting like it’s no big deal!? I literally just told you earlier when I got back how important your family is to me and that I love being around them and now I find this out? This is the first time that I actually feel like I have one! And me finding this out doesn’t even come from my own husband?”

“The only thing I’m sorry for is not telling you and then you finding out on social media. That’s it.”

“Never thought that I would say this, but I don’t think I want to be around you right now.” You quietly told him as you got up from the couch with him trying to take hold of your wrist.

“Baby….”

“I’m going upstairs.”

Leaving Joe in the living room, you walked upstairs and sat on your bed as you were trying to collect your thoughts about what had just happened. Your biggest thing was that he kept this from you. You were literally the first person that he told everything to so you couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t tell you this seeing as this is a big decision being made for him and his career.

Bottom line was that you were hurt.

Just when things were starting to go your way and you had finally gotten settled and comfortable with living here, it seemed like it was being pulled right from underneath you.

Your phone that had been long forgotten after seeing the post suddenly vibrated and you looked to see that it was a text from Joe’s mom, Robin. Quickly opening it, you saw that it was a screenshot of the same instagram post that you had confronted your husband about.

Robin- Did you know about this? He hasn’t said anything to us.

You- Nope, nothing. I found out the same way you did and I let him have it.

It was now Saturday evening and you and Joe were sitting at the dining room table eating dinner in absolute silence. You had originally found out on Wednesday and had said less than ten words to him every day since then. It was awkward, and Joe knew that he had to be the one to fix it so that the two of you were both satisfied with the decision in the end. Soon after you had walked away from him that night, he had gotten a call from his parents to demand an explanation on why they found out via social media and not him.

“Baby?”

“What?”

“How long are you going to ignore me?” Joe asked and you wanted to jump in his arms right then and there, but you had to stand your ground.

“I’m not ignoring you. I’m talking to you right now.”

“You’ve barely said anything to me since Wednesday and it’s now Saturday night.”

“Hmm, playing for your new team tomorrow or are you still employed with the Bengals?” You pettily asked and Joe immediately sighed before rolling his eyes.

“Seriously?”

“I just asked a question and there’s no harm in me doing that.” You answered as you stabbed your mashed potatoes.

“Are you coming to the game tomorrow?” Joe asked with uncertainty.

“When have I missed a home game of yours?”

“Never. But you’ve never been this pissed at me before either. At least from what I remember.”

“Well you brought this on yourself, but yes I’m coming along with your parents. Now hurry up and finish eating so I can clean up.”

“I can do it, don’t even worry about it.” Joe told you as he sighed and pushed the food around on his plate.

“And are you actually going to sleep next to me tonight?”

“I’ll decide when I get upstairs, but no promises.” You answered over your shoulder as you had started to walk away.

After Joe had cleaned up the kitchen, he made his way to his office down the hall and closed the door. Once he sat down, he dialed Brian’s number who was his agent and he picked up on the second ring.

“Hey, I was just about to call you.”

“Hey, so did you read over the contract? How does it look?” Joe asked as he leaned back in his office chair.

“I did and I personally don’t think this is the best move for you. I get it that you might be frustrated with the way that things are going right now with the team, but this will probably lead you to being more unhappy.”

“How so?”

“First off, they are definitely low balling you for money and they don’t look like they’re changing their minds about that. They claim that they want you so bad, but obviously not bad enough. How did Y/N react when you told her?”

“She found out on instagram and proceeded to rip me a new one. She’s still not really talking to me since she believes that I kept this from her.”

“Well, I can see her point and you did keep it from her. I don’t know who ended up leaking it, but when it happened, I knew that it wasn’t about to go over well. My advice, stay where you are. We can get a few more good years out of them and if you’re still not satisfied, then we’ll look elsewhere.”

“If you think that’s best.”

“I do, but you need to tell your wife first when we get to that point so she isn’t blindsided like she was this time.”

“Now that I can agree with.”

After staying on the phone a little bit longer with Brian, Joe walked upstairs to the master bedroom and was surprised to see you sitting there. Once you looked up at him, you sighed and then patted the space next to you to tell him to sit down. Once he did, you took his hand in yours before saying anything.

“I thought about what I said the other day and I need to apologize to you too. I think that my reaction also made you think that I didn’t support you when that is far from the truth. I will follow you anywhere and do absolutely anything for you. I just… that blindsided me and it also made me think that you didn’t totally support me either. I can find another job, I get that but everything that I want is right in front of me.” You confessed and Joe simply nodded his head, letting you know that he understood.

“I know that you support me and that thought never crossed my mind. You were upset and for good reason. I should have told you and not gone behind your back trying to hide it from you. You deserved better than that and you were completely right when you said that I tell you absolutely everything.”

“So, therefore whatever you decide, it’s fine.”

“No.” Joe quickly answered and you were left confused.

“No?”

“Before any big decisions like that are made, we have to come to that decision together so that we don’t go through this again. I don't like it when my wife doesn't talk to me or she doesn't want to be around me.”

“Okay, agreed. And I also missed giving you kisses.” You confessed and laughed at the small smirk showing on Joe's face.

“So with that being said, we’re not going anywhere.” Joe told you and you looked at him in disbelief.

“But, I thought…”

“Brian looked over the contract and was trying to negotiate, but he told me it’s probably in my best interest to stay here so that’s what I’m going to do.”

“Now, are you absolutely sure?” You asked your husband and he simply nodded his head.

“Positive and at the end of the day, I also want to keep my wife happy since she's in it with me for the long haul.”

“Sacrifices and compromises.” You quietly said as he repeated it back to you.

“Sacrifices and compromises.”

Joe leaned over to place a kiss on your forehead and you immediately embraced him.

“So, I guess my good luck charm is actually sleeping next to me tonight?”

“I am, so you better make sure that you win.” You told him as you got comfortable on your side of the bed with him climbing in next to you and wrapping his arms around you.

It was quiet for a few minutes before you spoke.

“Baby?”

“Oh, so my name is back to being baby now?”

“Don't push it, Joseph.” You told him as he laughed.

“Hmm. Yes?”

“What team were you going to go to? I want to know. I'm curious.”

“I don't even want to tell you because you aren't going to let me hear the end of it if I do. You might even ask for a divorce.”

“You are so dramatic. Why? You're not going anymore so tell me.”

Joe mumbled something under his breath, but you turned around to face him in the hopes that you would be able to hear him better.

“What was that, babe?”

“Ravens.”

“JOSEPH LEE BURROW! WHAT!?” You yelled as you sat up and turned on the lamp that was sitting on the bedside table.

“SEE! THAT'S WHY I DIDN'T WANT TO TELL YOU! Apparently Lamar had been having some issues with his contract soooo……”

“I would have NEVER forgiven you for that one.”

“You made that pretty clear, princess and like I said you would probably ask for a divorce.”

“Not a divorce, but we would definitely have to separate for a while.”

[jensownzoo]

Memorial Post for my cat, Irving (more commonly addressed as ‘Handsome Boy’ and ‘Mister Man’ in the time-honored tradition of naming your pet one thing and then nearly never actually calling them it).

Irving passed away suddenly this morning, absolutely unexpectedly. I was taking a break from an outdoor construction project and we were reclining on the bed near each other when he went into a seizure and passed. It didn’t take more than 15 seconds and he was gone. He was just coming up on his 8th birthday in May.

Nearly eight years ago I was asked to emergency-foster a mom cat who had been trapped by animal control and had given birth in their facility overnight. So mom and her four 12-hour-old kittens were transferred to my care. One of those kittens was Irving, named after the original name of the little dragon Goldie from The Sandman comics (the one that stayed with Cain and Abel). I ended up foster-failing and adopting both Irving and his brother Twinkle Toes (he’s polydactyl). Here are some of Irving’s kitten pics:

The babies were weighed with a kitchen gram scale every day to make sure they were gaining weight steadily. The bowl became necessary after their eyes opened and coordination increased.

See how handsome he’s already becoming with those lovely tabby markings and white socks?

He matured from this little bean into a true longcat of the highest order:

Though he could still fold himself into a nice package utilizing cat physics:

Most of my cats like to take advantage of the ‘knee tent’ when I’m lying in bed covered in a blanket with my legs bent up to support a book or something. They paw at the blanket and I lift it up a bit to let them scoot into the nice warm cave. Irving, however, was the only one who liked being under the covers so much that he’d burrow into a pile all by himself. I kept several microfleece throws on one corner of the bed just for him so he could burrow to his heart’s content even if I wasn’t at home.

Sleepy boy

‘This fleecy rug is mine now’

Twinkle Toes two seconds away from crushing his brother. They were best buddies. Chasing each other around the house, cuddling together, Irving would hold Twinkle Toes down for a thorough grooming. Luckily TT has a good relationship with the other cat, but it’s still going to suck once he realizes that Irving isn’t just in some other part of the house.

We’ve had temps mostly above freezing this week, so the ground was soft enough to bury him right away. In a few months, I’ll pick out a nice flowering bush to plant on top of him to both mark the spot and serve to bring him to mind every time I see it. I’ve been crying off and on all day. It was far too soon and I am going to miss him so much.

[milenadaniels]

Actually, Truly, 14k - Buck/Eddie, Helena POV, post-s4 (AO3)

Isabel calls to tell them Eddie's been shot on a Thursday afternoon and by lunch on Friday Helena and Ramon are landing at LAX. When they land, they learn Eddie's already home recovering and has been for two weeks.

----

Or, Helena (and Ramon) tries to find a way back into Eddie's life and doesn't know what to make of finding Buck around every corner she turns.

Isabel calls on a Thursday afternoon and by lunch on Friday Helena and Ramon are landing at LAX. Their son’s been shot, again, in the line of duty. But this time, instead of being thousands of miles away and out of reach, he’s just a short plane ride away.

Isabel insists they come to her house before going to the hospital but she doesn’t blame COVID protocols for keeping them away from the hospital, so they spend the car ride over imagining the worst.

A complication with surgery.

Permanent damage.

A coma.

The news they receive is that Eddie’s fine, and he’s been home and recuperating for two weeks already.

Helena retreats to the living room while Ramon and his mother fight in the kitchen. They’re yelling in Spanish and for once she wishes she’d never learned.

“Escúchame, Ramon,” Isabel tries to interrupt. Listen to me.

The yelling continues because Ramon doesn’t listen. It’s not his strong suit. Nor is it Helena’s.

Helena paces the length of the living room and holds her phone in her hands, thumb over Eddie’s name in FaceTime, not pressing down.

Eddie’s been home for two weeks.

Isabel hadn’t told them for two weeks.

But Eddie hadn’t either.

They hadn’t seen him in person in nearly two years, and he hadn’t called them since their last fight over a month ago.

Still, Eddie was shot in the streets by a sniper and he didn’t call them.

Mom, listen...

The last time they spoke, it was a phone call, not a video chat, maybe because at that point just the sight of each others’ faces was enough to set them all off. In that phone call, Eddie spoke of a friend whose family was somehow worse off than their own, but who, miraculously, were finally making the effort to fix the broken ties between them in therapy.

“Mom, listen… I spent a long time being angry with Shannon instead of trying to reach out to her and now Christopher is never going to have her in his life again. I don’t want that with you,” Eddie said, his voice brusque but calm, measured. “I don’t want to grin and bear it when you call or when we visit. I want to be glad to pick up the phone, I want to be excited to see you all at Christmas, I want you to be part of our lives. But I can’t do that without you meeting me halfway.” He was resolute, but he was pleading too. “I don’t want to spend the next ten years of our lives like this.”

But the idea of therapy was anathema to the Diaz family and it took only Ramon’s dismissive scoff to reinforce her own distaste of the idea. They called Eddie back to say they had no intention of paying a stranger to tell them everything was their fault and he was blameless.

They didn’t get another call after that.

“— my son!” Ramon yells at Isabel in the kitchen.

“Because, mijo, when you come here, you don’t see your son! You don’t see him living here, growing, Christopher thriving! You don’t see how when you come up here you bring sadness and misery when you should bring joy and comfort.” The words are too close to what Eddie said for them not to have spoken about it together. “By the time I knew he was hurt, he was already out of surgery and doing well. If he wasn’t, I would have called immediately.”

“Oh bueno, so you’ll tell me my son is dying but not that he’s okay?”

“Ramon! Escúchame.” It’s not often that Helena gets to bear witness to the steel in Isabel’s voice, the one she passed down to both her kids. It’s in fine form today. “He was doing well, and had all the help he needed. As soon as things stabilized, I called you. Keep acting like a fool and see if I call you at all next time.”

“If you call? Are you —”

Mom, listen…

“Ramon!” Helena snaps, surprising them all.

“Ramon,” she repeats, more calmly this time. “Listen to her.”

The shock on Isabel’s face almost makes her smile, but her heart is too heavy to commit to it.

“Helena, two weeks she —”

“Our son was shot, and he didn’t tell us.” Helena says, her voice trembling. “Our son was shot, he could have died, and the last thing we would have told him is we weren’t willing to fight for him and Christopher. Weren’t willing to — what? — put our egos aside? Our pride? For one fucking minute to listen to him. To listen to what he needed.”

Ramon’s eyes widen and he hangs his head with a sigh.

Helena faces Isabel, her phone tucked in her palm against her stomach.

“What can we do? We’re listening.”

——————-

Ramon walks it off and Helena helps Isabel in the kitchen in exchange for a promise they’ll go over to Eddie’s for supper. She’s been making care packages for Eddie and Christopher since the shooting, and she’s working on a pasta sauce while Helena starts on her famous banana brown sugar bread — Eddie’s favourite.

“How is he, really?” she asks once her dish is tucked into the oven.

“As well as can be expected,” Isabel replies, throwing spices into the pot with an ease Helena never grew into. “He was tired for the first few days, but now it’s like a broken arm. Uncomfortable but not so painful.”

“How long is it supposed to take to heal?”

Isabel casts a suspicious eye her way as if she can anticipate the date of Helena’s return flight adjusting already, but answers, “they say 6 to 8 weeks. It’s for the bone to heal, mostly, in his back. The rest should be sooner.”

Helena broke her wrist years ago, when the kids were nearly teenagers, and it was three months of hell trying to manage a household one handed while Ramon spent most of that time travelling across Texas.

Who’s helping him? Is Carla back in the picture? Is she working overtime? How can he afford that on sick leave? Is Pepa or one of the cousins going over? Is his girlfriend there? Who’s helping with Christopher? How is he managing?

The questions — all genuine and well-meaning, all a shade too accusatory — are on her tongue, pressed to the back of her teeth to keep from escaping. She’s entitled to answers, even if she doesn’t like them. She knows she has the right to at least know how her son is caring for himself and her grandson while he’s injured. If he’d told them when it happened Helena could have been here in a heartbeat to help, but no, Eddie’s just as stubborn as they are, just as prideful. He’d rather suffer alone than accept their help. Fine. But she’s still his mother, and Christopher’s grandmother. She raised them both. She has a right to—

Mom, listen…

Helena takes a deep breath in, anchors herself in the mixed scents of the rich sauce and the sweet bread cooking, and breathes out. Isabel sends her another look but says nothing.

————-

Helena cries when she sees Eddie, and cries a bit harder when she sees the apprehension in his eyes. Her baby boy looks a bit pale, but he’s standing on his own two feet and answering the door himself.

“Oh, sweetheart,” she murmurs, wrapping him gently into her arms, mindful not to press into the sling or his back.

“Hi, mom,” he says quietly, like he’s trying to gentle the stiffness in his voice.

She releases him, but not before pressing three kisses into his temple, always three. One for each of her kids.

Ramon steps into the space she leaves when she continues into the house and from the corner of her eye, she sees him cup the back of Eddie’s head and take a good look at him. For Ramon, it’s the equivalent of collapsing to the floor in tears.

Helena quickly toes off her boots and makes room at the entrance for the others behind her, which also puts her first in line to catch a sight that nearly knocks her down.

“Who is this young man I see?” she cries, throwing her hands wide to gesture at her grandson. “Last I saw you, you were just a little tyke. Now look at you, you must have grown three feet!”

Christopher giggles and Helena smiles in return as she folds him into her arms, but it’s forced. She’s not lying — he’s grown so much more than she expected. She hasn’t seen him in person since Eddie’s graduation and while video chats are priceless, they didn’t capture this growth spurt.

She can’t believe she let this happen. That she went from spending most of everyday with this little boy and now she’s missed out on two years of his life. Can’t believe Eddie kept him fro—

Mom, listen...

Supper goes well enough. Eddie never truly shakes loose the tension in his shoulders; he trades many looks with Isabel, seemingly spooked by his parents’ behaviour. He talks a lot more than he usually does, probably out of nervousness. But overall, they let Christopher take the reigns; they’re all more comfortable with that. It’s been too long since they’ve last spoken and Christopher is full of stories about his school and his friends.

“Buck says we can go to the Griffin soon. It was closed because of COVID. But before, I went with my class and they made a comet right in front of us!”

Buck. It’s the third time his name has been dropped at the table since they sat down.

She first met him, briefly, at Eddie’s graduation, but didn’t really register him as someone in her son’s life until Eddie and his crew stopped off in El Paso for dinner on their way home from fighting Texas wildfires. Buck had been cropping up in Christopher’s and Eddie’s stories for months by then and she was curious to properly meet him in person. He had seemed...young, she remembers.

“The Griffith Observatory,” Eddie corrects fondly. With Christopher, at least, it’s impossible for him not to soften.

Eddie’s only eaten half the pasta on his plate but Isabel seems satisfied. Helena bites down on the impulse to encourage him to eat more. To remind him he needs his strength to heal quickly for his little boy. She does lift the basket of garlic bread in his direction, because she can’t help herself. He eyes the basket warily as though he expects her to do more, but when she doesn’t, he shakes his head with a small smile of thanks.

“Yeah,” Christopher agrees, “it was cool but we didn’t get to stay long enough to see everything. And if we go later, Buck says we can see real meteors in the sky.”

Fourth mention.

“Christopher is on an astronomy kick,” Eddie adds redundantly.

“Wait, I gotta show you —” Christopher is sliding out of his seat before anyone can stop him and racing down the hall to his bedroom.

“Oh, honey —” Helena grips the arms of her chair out of reflex to jump up and help him — he doesn’t have his crutches, he’s only using the wall for support and he’s wearing socks — but Eddie looks over when her chair creaks.

He can’t really expect her to just sit here while Christopher—

Mom, listen…

They can hear Christopher make it to his bedroom without injury, so Helena slowly settles back in her chair and Ramon clears his throat. “He seems...okay. More okay than I would have expected.”

Eddie keeps his eyes on his father for a beat too long, assessing the comment for any hidden messages.

“He’s a resilient kid. Buck stayed here with him while I was in the hospital, so his routine wouldn’t get messed up. I think that helped a lot.”

Fifth ment— wait.

“Buck stayed with him?” The words — the tone — are out of her mouth before Helena can stop them.

On the shortlist of people she expected to hear stayed with her grandson to watch him and care for him, alone, while his father was in the hospital — Isabel, Pepa, Carla, or even Ana — Buck’s isn’t a name she expected to hear. A coworker — an unrelated man with no children of his own, over Christopher’s family? Over Christopher’s own aide? Over a schoolteacher?

Eddie’s jaw squares up and he sits up in his chair. Like light gray rain clouds suddenly turning dark, weighty with an incoming storm, a heavy tension builds in the air between them.

“Look!” Christopher exclaims as he rounds the corner, nearly throwing a thin, blue hardcover book on the table. Eddie catches it before it can slam into Christopher’s leftover pasta and sets it down on the table for him. “It shows all the things we can see in the sky over the whole year!”

Christopher climbs back into his chair and opens the book up to a random page, describing everything he seems to have nearly memorized already. By the time he reaches the upcoming meteor shower, the tension at the table has dissipated enough for Helena to excuse herself to the bathroom and not have it come off like a passive aggressive storm-off.

She washes her hands with soap pumped out of a fish-shaped dispenser that wasn’t here the last time she visited and trains her eyes on the basket of gauze, scissors and tape tucked away on the shelf above the toilet. That wasn’t there last time either.

Her baby boy was shot by a sniper. In LA.

A bullet tore through the body she created and almost took her son from her forever.

Mom, listen...

But only after she’d almost pushed him so far away he might never come back.

The tears well up again and she sniffs through them, blinking up at the ceiling until she’s back under control.

As she pivots to turn the light off, she spies a purple toothbrush resting on the ledge just above the sink. The other two toothbrushes are electric — one adult-, one child-sized — and stand on the counter.

—————-

Helena and Ramon meet the infamous Ana by accident.

When they leave Eddie’s house on Friday, Helena sends a text message to say what she couldn’t manage to say to his face — that they’re here for him, in whatever capacity he needs, that they’ll take their cues from him, even if that means giving him some space.

To that, she receives a, Thank you.

When she asks for the contact information of the therapist he had scoped out for them, she gets a phone call.

“Not to look a gift horse in the mouth,” her son says, “but are you just doing this because I got shot?”

“Honestly? Yeah,” she laughs mirthlessly. “I’m sorry to say it took our baby boy nearly dying to get our heads out of our ass.”

Eddie huffs a laugh on his end. “Well, I’ll take that silver lining.”

After that, Eddie invites them to a restaurant for brunch on Sunday, but when they reach his doorstep, they find it already occupied by a woman who’s just rung the doorbell, holding a casserole dish in her hands.

When the door opens, Eddie takes in the three of them, his eyes wide and apprehensive.

“Ana, I wasn’t expecting you,” he says, his eyes darting over her shoulder to his parents. He’s smiling, though there’s a clear strain in the corners of his eyes and mouth. They’ve been critical about Shannon for so long — and with good reason, nothing will change Helena’s mind on that — no doubt he’s expecting them to hate this new woman on sight.

“You’re Ana!” Helena exclaims with a wide smile, imbuing her voice with as much welcome as she’s capable. “Hi! It’s so good to finally meet you!”

When Eddie releases the breath he was holding, she knows she was on the mark. Ramon follows her lead and invites Ana to brunch with them on the spot and won’t hear her protests about intruding.

Eddie, of course, doesn’t protest at all but invites them in so Ana can store the casserole in the fridge — it takes both Ana and Helena’s organizational skills to find a spot for it among Isabel’s and Eddie’s tupperwares already invading all available space — and he can finish getting ready. He was already dressed in a nice polo and jeans but when he comes back from his bedroom it’s in a smart button-down he must have struggled with out of sheer stubbornness. Both his parents and his girlfriend are in the house and still he didn’t ask for help.

Eddie and Christopher decide to hop into Ana’s car and Helena asks loudly for directions to keep Ramon from insisting they should all ride together.

“So how long have you kids been seeing each other now?” Ramon asks when they’ve been seated at the restaurant.

“Nearly 7 months now, I think, isn’t it?” Ana replies, looking at Eddie with a dazzling smile — she truly is gorgeous. Eddie was still talking to them when he started dating her so they know she’s a schoolteacher turned vice principal but to meet her in person blows all their other expectations out of the water. She’s lively and sweet, patient and understanding, Latina — a big plus in Ramon’s books ironically. Eddie picked well this time.

Eddie hesitates a moment and nods. “Yeah, that sounds right.”

Every now and again, he squirms in his chair, like he can’t quite settle in and Helena wonders when his last painkiller was taken. But when he catches her face, she smoothes her worry out into a cheeky smile that says I like this one. He smiles back and there’s nothing she can pinpoint exactly but something about it makes her uneasy.

Eddie’s too quiet as they wait for their food, his face pinched, and just when Helena’s about to break, Ana does her the favour of asking gently, “Are you feeling okay? Do you need to take anything for your arm?”

But Eddie shrugs off her concern. “No, thank you. Next one isn’t until noon.” He taps his phone twice and she smiles.

“Sorry, I forgot. He’s got them all on timers with a special ringtone. He’s so organized,” she tells Helena and Ramon with a sunny smile, rubbing her hand down his good arm. “I have one multivitamin and I forget to take it half the time.”

“Buck set it up,” Eddie defers, and Helena schools her face not to react; even at brunch Buck is with them in spirit.

Ramon either takes no issue with the mention or doesn’t register it. He takes the opportunity to share how his new pharmacy pre-packages his heart and arthritis medications into AM and PM slots and Ana listens attentively. Eddie’s fingertip taps absently against the phone case until their food arrives.

Christopher ordered a waffle, and with Eddie indisposed, Helena is already moving to help him when Ana beats her to the punch again. Helena tucks a smile away as Ana leans over and starts cutting the waffle up into smaller pieces.

“He can do that,” Eddie says when he notices Christopher sitting back in his chair, realizing only when Ana startles that his tone is sharp. His voice is softer when he follows up with, “Right, buddy?”

“Yeah,” Chris agrees, picking up his own cutlery with enthusiasm despite his hands being nearly too small for them.

Eddie throws an apologetic grin Ana’s way and brunch continues peacefully, though the stiff line of Eddie’s shoulder never does quite soften.

Mom, listen…

————-

Their first therapy session takes place in Isabel’s kitchen at Eddie’s request. Isabel thinks it’s so he has the option of leaving when he needs to (in other words, when he gets fed up and runs) but Helena hasn’t missed how Eddie has been careful to keep them away from his home since the first day they saw him.

They’ve seen Eddie and Chris numerous times in the week and change they’ve been in LA — more than they’ve seen them since they left El Paso — but always outside of the house. Sometimes they pick Chris up from school, sometimes Eddie and Chris come to Isabel’s for supper, sometimes they go out to restaurants or other outings, but they haven’t been invited back to his home again. She wanted to believe it was because he was hiding the news that Ana had moved in but that’s been shot out of the water both by her ringing the doorbell and an errant comment at the end of brunch about how she hadn’t seen him since the welcome home party.

So it’s out of pettiness, then. Stubbornness. Out of pig-headed inability to accept that he needs help and willingness to believe that they’re making an effort to meet him on his own terms.

She tries not to let it rankle her, tries to find some of that resolute commitment to letting things be and not push. But the next thing she knows, she’s yelling about it to a stranger at Isabel’s island counter.

To be fair, the session with Dr. Jamieson wasn’t going great to begin with. It’s awkward as hell, the three of them balancing on stools, squished in next to each other to try to fit into the screen, but also trying to keep the laptop close enough to still hear her and not have to shout. It’s happening while Chris is at school so they don’t have to worry about keeping him distracted but they can’t exactly ask Isabel to go wait in the LA sun for an hour so she doesn’t overhear, so it’s basically a given that she’s the fourth person on this virtual couch from the next room over.

And beyond that, Helena has kept her mouth shut for over a week which is frankly more time than anyone would have bet on, including herself, and given the opportunity to express herself freely...well…

“You want space? We’ve given you nothing but space since we got here. How much more can we give you, Eddie? You’re hundreds of miles away from us already. Forgive us for feeling the need to check in on our only son who almost died last week,” she yells, her hand nearly colliding with her coffee mug as she gestures.

“Last week?” Ramon echoes with a bark of dark laughter.

“Oh, no, that’s right,” Helena picks up. “I’m sorry! Not a week ago! Nearly a month ago! Because apparently we don’t warrant even a text when our only son almost dies, but that’s not enough space?”

Eddie rakes his fingers aggressively through his hair, his lips pursed.

“We have to move to Mexico,” Ramon continues blithely. “Is that enough space? No, better yet! Sweden! Your family still lives out there, no? We can live on their farm. Completely different timezone, we won’t even be reachable.”

“Yeah,” Eddie bites back, a sour grin blooming on his face, “that’s what I want. I ask you to give me some breathing room — to respect me, my life — and you translate that into living in a fucking commune in Sweden. And you wonder why we’re in therapy. I can’t talk to you, you don’t listen!”

Mom, lis—

“Listen to what, Eddie?” Helena yells, getting out of her seat to pace. “Listen to the months of silence you’ve sent our way? Because we either get on board and blindly cheer on every mess you get yourself into or we don’t get to know you anymore? Don’t get to know our grandson?”

“I never kept him from you — you have our number, the phone didn’t ring. That’s not on me.”

“Because you would have picked up?” Ramon exclaims, pushing away from the island to better look back at their son. “Easy to claim when it’s after the fact in front of the doctor.”

“So now I’m a liar! You raised a liar?”

“I think we’ve gotten off-track,” Dr. Jamieson’s tinny voice interjects from the laptop.

In the bottom right hand corner of the screen, only Eddie remains in the frame.

————

Firehouse 118 was a lively crowd at Eddie’s graduation but it’s nothing compared to the party thrown at the Grant-Nash house in honour of a new probationary firefighter.

Dr. Jamieson pointed out the self-fulfilling prophecy that Eddie protecting himself from criticism and pressure by withholding details about his life in LA was leading to his parents’ growing insecurity over not knowing anything about their son and feeling the need to intervene more and more.

The solution? Let them in on his life and trust that they could hold themselves in check.

For that, even Ramon was in agreement that maybe therapy wasn’t a load of shit after all.

So here they find themselves welcomed into this beautiful and loud home nearly three weeks into their stay in LA. They were allowed to pick Eddie and Chris up so they arrive together but Christopher peels off immediately to find kids his own age.

It’s impossible not to feel the warmth of family radiating from every inch of the home so when Eddie’s shoulders seem to loosen a little as they walk in, Helena can’t find it in herself to begrudge him.

“Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” a woman around Helena’s age drawls, crowding into Eddie’s space for a delicate hug he doesn’t hesitate to return. “Though I could have done without seeing another one of these for a few hundred more years,” she says, gesturing to the sling. “How much longer?”

“Another month if everything checks out,” Eddie says, releasing a sigh.

“It better,” she warns with a twinkle in her eye that says if she learns he’s been aggravating his injury there will be hell to pay.

The woman, they find out, is Athena Grant-Nash, wife of the 118’s captain and consummate host. While Eddie splits off “for a minute”, she leads them to the main area for drinks and introductions before leaving them to mingle. Captain Nash — Bobby — meets them with appetizers and introduces them to the Lees, the de-facto parental figures of the young man who just joined the team.

From the spot she claims at the edge of the dining room, Helena keeps an eye trained on Eddie outside. She feels an itch under her skin knowing it’s been nearly twenty minutes and Eddie hasn’t checked on Christopher, but she knows she shouldn’t go herself. Eddie can do everything on his own, right? He can look after his own kid at a party.

She can, however, go to the washroom and take a peek at what Christopher’s up to while she’s wandering, and that’s exactly what she intends to do.

But for now, she watches as Eddie criss-crosses through the crowds of the patio, prompting a localized burst of cheers at each stop as he reunites himself with teammates he hasn’t seen since the shooting. She recognizes the woman who was on the trip to Texas but the rest conjure only the vaguest memories of Eddie’s graduation and the occasional picture on Instagram — before he stopped posting that is. Just one more way they’ve been iced out.

But he seems happy, almost carefree in a way she realizes she hasn’t seen with her own eyes in...longer than this trip, actually.

Probably years, if she’s honest.

And it occurs to her, slowly, creepingly, that her son is outside, smiling freely and easily, surrounded by people he’s made his new family, while Helena stands inside watching his life through a glass window in a stranger’s house.

Mom, listen…

She swallows past the lump in her throat and sighs. Ramon’s arm comes around her waist and without looking at him, she knows he’s had a similar revelation.

Their next therapy session is in a few days, and they’re not going to fuck it up again.

There’s a late arrival to the party, one of the only people in Eddie’s life she can recognize — Buck. He’s as tall as she remembered but he looks a shade less young now maybe. He greets everyone with a hug or kiss on the cheek as he moves through the party, and bestows a cheer and an enthusiastic hug on Albert, the guest of honour.

When he moves on to the patio and approaches Eddie’s circle, however, the cheerful, long-awaited reunion of best friends she expects doesn’t happen. They catch each other’s eyes for a few beats and share a welcoming smile, then the conversation resumes as if nothing of consequence has happened. Buck doesn’t even linger long, heading back into the house after a few minutes.

When the cake starts being doled out, Eddie returns to meet them at the table and accepts the plate Helena offers him. Helena is scouting the yard for a chair he can sit on to eat when Buck reappears.

“He couldn’t be pulled away?” Eddie asks in surprise.

“Nope,” Buck replies with a grin before turning to them. “Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Diaz. Good to see you again!” Before they can return more than a smile, Buck continues, “he’s cheating at Unicorn Temple with Harry. Not even cake can pull him away.”

Eddie rolls his eyes and smiles. “My son is not a cheater.” To them, he says, “Buck thinks that whenever he’s losing at a video game, it’s because his opponent is cheating.”

“Not always! Just when they are,” he replies with exaggerated emphasis before scooping a piece of cake onto a plate. “I’m gonna go hide this in the fridge for him for later before it’s all gone.”

Eddie ducks his head and smiles down at his plate, and the questions are building up behind Helena’s teeth again.

Christopher’s been playing video games all this time? Is it an age-appropriate game? Why is Buck checking on your son? Why is Buck saving him cake when nobody asked him to? Why—

But Eddie looks up with an uncertain expression and says, “there’s a table out there if you guys want to join me.”

So Helena stows her questions and says, “that’d be great.”

They eat the overly-sweet cake in peaceful silence until Ramon casts an eye around and says, “you must be glad about the new firefighter. You won’t be the baby on the team anymore.”

Eddie snorts. “I’m 33 and my kid is nearly a teenager — and that’s totally not freaking me out at all,” he adds wryly. “Besides, I was never the baby of the team. Buck is younger than me and forever a kid at heart so I was never in any danger of it.”

“Oh god, don’t remind me that Christopher’s growing up,” Helena only half-jokes. “I can still barely believe he’s old enough to hold his own head up.”

Eddie huffs a laugh and Helena banks it as a win.

“Do any of your coworkers have teenagers?” Ramon asks. “Might have some words of wisdom to share.” Since you won’t ask us, is unspoken and politely ignored by all.

“Athena’s daughter May is just leaving the teen years now, but after her, Christopher’s the oldest. Harry, Athena’s son is 9 and Denny, Hen and Karen’s son just turned 8. It’s great for play dates but not for getting advice on what’s coming up unfortunately.”

“Karen,” Ramon echoes.

Eddie’s fork pauses on its way to scoop some excess icing off his cake and his back straightens.

“Hen’s wife,” he says curtly, daring.

Helena wants to roll her eyes at the posturing. It’s 2021, who cares who anybody loves. She knows Ramon doesn’t, not really, not anymore. It’s a 50-year-long reflex to make a comment, one they’ve been working, if only to have some semblance of a civil conversation with Sophia while she works through a degree in women and gender studies.

But she knows that excuse isn’t going to fly with Eddie.

It hasn’t flown since Eddie was 20 years old and realizing he’d lost a good friend to his father’s caustic words. And Helena can’t ever go back and examine the hurt in Eddie’s expression with fresh eyes. Shemanages to forget about it most of the time until something happens to dig it out of the cold, hard ground and shove it in her arms.

Mom, listen...

But she’s come to LA because she wants to be in her son’s life, in her grandson’s life and she can’t be a coward now.

“They’re a gorgeous couple,” she says, almost too loudly in her enthusiasm. “Are they thinking of having more kids?”

Eddie turns his assessing eyes to her and is mollified by her effort. “Yeah, they’re foster parents now. They’ve fostered three kids so far.”

“That’s great,” she says sincerely. Then, accidentally on purpose and only in part to bring Ramon back to a safe topic, she asks, “Does Ana want a large family?”

Eddie sees through her attempt, but nods. “Yeah, she loves kids.”

Helena doesn’t miss Ramon’s approving nod, or the dark look that passes over Eddie’s eyes when he catches it.

“Was Ana not able to come tonight?” Ramon asks.

“I didn’t ask her,” he answers, his voice a shade too casual. “This is more of a team thing.” As if they hadn’t just been discussing the other families all around them.

“That Ana—” Ramon begins but is interrupted by the arrival of Christopher with a hint of blue icing on his nose and Buck following behind him with two paper plates filled with cake.

Christopher sits backwards on the picnic table bench and uses his arms to lift his legs over while Eddie watches but doesn’t offer to help, and when Christopher is set, Buck places one of the plates in front of him with a plastic fork stuck in the top like a flag.

“Buck was finally able to pull you away, mijo?” Eddie asks as Christopher digs in.

“No, May took her room back so we can’t play on her tv anymore. Harry’s gonna ask his mom if we can play in her room.”

“Yeah...” Buck draws out, sharing a dubious expression with Eddie over Christopher’s head, “I wouldn’t hold out for that, bud.”

“Maybe you can teach the others how to play Scrabble!” Eddie suggests.

Christopher’s nose wrinkles, “Scrabble is boring.”

“Hey!” Buck protests and takes a forkful of Christopher’s cake in retaliation, which prompts Christopher to yell and attack Buck’s cake back, taking much more than a forkful.

The commotion draws attention to their table and Helena’s gearing up to tell Christopher to settle down when she catches Eddie’s eyes on her, waiting.

Helena looks back out to the backyard to say, People are staring.

Eddie looks back impassively as if to say, Let them.

Mom, listen...

Helena swallows her impatience, her anxiety, her embarrassment.

“Hey,” Buck calls, his mouth half full of icing, “did you take your 6?”

Eddie hesitates and that’s enough for Buck to swallow and look put out, already turning and lifting a leg out of the confines of the picnic table.

“Did you turn off your alarm again?”

“I didn’t turn it off the first time, I don’t know what happened.”

“What happened is it woke you up at 6am and you turned it off because sleepy Eddie makes bad life choices.”

Eddie rolls his eyes. “You don’t have —”

“Right pocket?” Buck interjects, already walking away.

“Yeah,” Eddie sighs.

Christopher looks at him and shakes his head with exaggerated disappointment.

“Don’t you start,” Eddie warns, scooping a fingertip of icing and dabbing it on his son’s nose too quickly for him to duck.

Christopher shrieks and reaches for his cake fingers-first.

“Oh no, no,” Eddie laughs, catching Christopher’s fingers with one hand. “Truce, truce.”

Christopher doesn’t look interested in a truce and Eddie’s other arm is in a sling, so Ramon quickly pulls the cake out of Christopher’s reach, and then Buck’s abandoned piece and Helena does the same with Eddie’s.

“Not fair!” Christopher cries, still reaching.

“Your dad’s hurt, mijo, you can’t attack him with icing while he’s healing,” Ramon says reasonably. “Wait till he’s all better.”

“He’s fine!” Christopher declares with the confidence of a trauma surgeon as he tries to climb up on the bench.

Eddie’s not in a position to pull him back down and Helena doesn’t know how far they can take their non-interference but she’s not about to let her grandson hop over a table to fall into three plates of cake. She’s half-decided she’s going to pick up the cake and walk it back inside when Buck returns, depositing a glass of water on the table and a small white pill into Eddie’s palm before swooping in and tickling Christopher’s sides.

He shrieks loudly, gaining looks from all around the backyard, but it gets his butt back down on the bench and Buck sits back down next to him, boxing him in between himself and Eddie.

“What happened to our cake? How’d it get all the way over there?” The plates are very easily within Buck’s reach; it’s a question for Christopher’s benefit.

“Dad got me like you did!” Christopher cries indignantly, pointing to his nose. “I’m getting him back!”

“Oh man,” Buck nods seriously before his finger darts forward, swipes the icing from his nose and brings it to his mouth. “Mmm, this is better than the one I got you with. You sure you don’t just wanna eat it?”

Christopher looks unconvinced.

“How about this?” Buck ducks down to whisper loudly. “You call a truce with your dad, and then I’ll steal all his icing and we’ll eat it.”

The icing on Eddie’s cake is mostly piled in a corner of his paper plate. He’s never been able to stomach the pure sugary sweetness of store bought icing.

“Okay,” Christopher nods back, reaching out again for his plate but without making grabby hands.

Ramon assesses him for a moment before taking the chance to push the plates back within reach.

“Hey, Eddie,” Buck calls deliberately. “You should take your medication now.”

“Thanks, Buck,” Eddie replies with a smile that conveys an eyeroll. “I’ll do that now.”

While Eddie pops the pill and takes a very long drink of water, Buck “sneakily” pulls his plate towards them and scoops all the piled icing onto his own plate before pushing the cake back to Eddie’s side of the table.

Christopher laughs and pushes Eddie’s plate an extra few inches away out of spite.

Eddie plays the disappointed victim passably well with a half-hearted gasp and a shake of his head. “You little thieves.”

As promised, Buck doles out some of Eddie’s icing to Christopher who immediately protests at the amount left on Buck’s plate.

“Hey, when you’re a big guy like me, you get more icing. Keep eating your proteins and you’ll get there in no time.”

Christopher accepts that easily enough. “I’m gonna be tall like dad.”

Buck scoffs, “Aim higher, kid. Literally.”

“I am barely two inches shorter than you,” Eddie laments, not for the first time, it sounds like.

“It’s practically three. Are you really going to lie in front of your parents?”

Wouldn’t be the first time, is on Helena’s tongue because it’s been hours since she could speak her mind, but she holds it in.

“How was the trip from Texas?” Buck asks them suddenly, bringing them back into the fold of a scene they'd never left but somehow stopped being a part of. “Flights have new restrictions on them now, don’t they?”

Mom, listen...

When the party is winding down and they walk outside to the driveway, Eddie surprises them by offering them both a hug.

“Thank you for coming,” he says sincerely, though Helena hears the underlying “and behaving” and can’t help but bristle.

“Thank you for inviting us, mijo,” Ramon says; his turn to save Helena from herself.

And when Eddie lets them know he and Chris will be getting their ride back from Buck, Ramon takes Helena’s hand and they smile almost sincerely as they say their goodnights.

—————-

The next week happens to be Isabel’s 80th birthday and Helena and Ramon keep themselves busy by helping to throw a party that will reunite every vaccinated member of the family in the area (they’re not about to take a chance on Isabel’s health).

Things have been getting better with Eddie. They had a second therapy session, again at Isabel’s island counter, where they lasted a good 25 minutes before devolving into yelling. The next day, Eddie asked Ramon for a ride to physical therapy, and easily accepted his father’s offer of lunch after the appointment.

Then, when Helena asked if she could pick up some groceries for him and Christopher, she was refused — in no small part, she thinks, because he still won’t let them in his house — but instead of going off on him, she channeled that anger and resentment into nearly buying out Costco for Isabel’s party. It felt like progress Dr. Jamieson would be proud of.

That’s why, despite the party officially kicking off around 11am, they’re just past supper time and all tables and counters are still nearly buckling under the weight of the food. They’ll have to send everyone home with leftovers if the flow of people stops. Isabel’s front door has been a turnstile since this morning and Helena knows from experience it’ll likely stay that way until the late hours of the night. Most recently, Helena’s daughters made their appearance, and it’s not at all the reason Helena is back in the kitchen.

Despite coming from opposite ends with different travel distances, Adriana and Sophia arrived within a half hour of each other, a move Helena saw through instantly. The idea that her children coordinated to arrive together instead of risking the possibility of facing their parents alone sets a fire raging in her heart, and she realizes suddenly that she isn’t prepared to be hypervigilant of her every word with all three of her kids here now to push her buttons.

So, she retreats to the kitchen.

She doesn’t expect one of them to follow her in.

“I heard you guys were doing therapy,” Adriana volleys as she approaches.

Helena cracks open the tray of chocolate chip cookies and starts plating them, her face angled down so any kneejerk expression of distaste isn’t as visible. “Apparently, that’s what the cool kids do nowadays.”

“It is,” Adriana agrees, the bangles on her wrists clinking on the countertop as she reaches for the box of oatmeal cookies to plate. She’s a year into her Master’s in communication. What she intends to do with that is a mystery to them. So much of their kids’ lives are a mystery now. Helena closes the lid of the cookie tray hard and relishes in the snap of the plastic groove into the tongue.

“Paying a stranger to tell us when and how to talk to each other is cool,” she bites. It’s not posed as a question, just a bitter acknowledgement.

Adriana is quiet and Helena starts plating mini quiches onto the cookie platter just to stay occupied while her daughter walks away. Sophia is a yeller, she stands her ground and gives as good as she gets. Adriana, however, is a runner, just like Eddie.

But Adriana doesn’t leave in a huff. She turns to the counter and grabs a second platter, moving the mini quiches onto that one.

“It’s cool that you’re open to trying,” she says. “I think that, in any family where there’s love, there’s going to be hurt. And the longer we stay stuck in that hurt, the harder it becomes to talk about it without causing more. We get stuck in patterns that we can’t break out of, and people on the outside can be the best ones to point out those patterns and help you break out of them to get to what you actually, truly want to say.”

Helena knows what she actually, truly wants to say. That’s not the problem. The problem is that none of her kids want to hear it.

“I see a therapist,” Adriana continues. Helena stills and looks at her daughter, calmly arranging the mini quiches into concentric circles. “Since my last year of undergrad. When things got really hard and I couldn’t understand why. They helped me. A lot. Helped me figure out what was wrong and how to get myself through it.”

“You didn’t tell us,” Helena says, her voice thick.

“I know,” her daughter replies simply. “I didn’t know how. I’m telling you now because what I actually, truly want to say is that I’m proud of you and dad for doing this. And maybe if you don’t hate it...maybe we could try a session later too.”

There’s an offer in her daughter’s words, an open hand reaching out. But in that hand, Helena sees her failures as a parent, the judgement of the world for failing her kids, and she doesn’t want to reach her own hand out.

Mom, listen…

Helena looks at her eldest daughter, almost a stranger to her, with an entire life Helena is only starting to realize she has no part in. It hurts — it always hurts when the kids pull away but to realize she didn’t even know the extent of it...she wants to hurt back.

Mom, listen…

But she’s trying so hard to break those patterns Adriana speaks of. So instead, Helena thinks of the therapist’s advice leading them into a piece of Eddie’s life they wouldn’t have otherwise gotten to see and swallows past the indignation in her throat to reach down and find the words she actually, truly wants to say.

“You say when, and I’ll be there.”

———-

The sun is setting when Helena finally agrees to get off her feet and just enjoy the party outside while the cousins take over the serving and cleaning. There are four generations of Diazes gathered around but for the first time ever, most of the cousins are young adults, not teenagers, and it’s nice to be able to pass on the hosting responsibilities to them for a bit.

The sky is clear, the sunset resplendent from Isabel’s backyard, and the conversation is flowing easily. It’s a beautiful evening, warm with a gentle breeze cool enough to let her lean back against Ramon in his lounge chair, one of his arms wrapped loosely around her hip.

For the first time since getting Isabel’s text, Helena feels something like peace wash over her and she almost feels bad for the thrum of vindication in her stomach when she spots Eddie slumped comfortably in an armchair, his legs propped up on another chair.

He’s at home here.

Yes, he was at ease at his captain’s house but this is family, this is where he can really sink into the love and comfort and rest. With his aunts and uncles, cousins and sisters around to take care of him. And Christopher, who spent the afternoon running around and chomping down on all the sugar he could get his hands on, slumped against him, nearly asleep. This is family.

She knows he could find that peace back in El Paso, they both could. Eddie had friends there, and his parents, who knew his son better than he did for most of his life. And there are fires in El Paso same as there are in LA, but less smog, less general insanity.

But Eddie’s a lot like his parents, too much like them maybe, and once he’s decided on a course of action he can’t be swayed. So Helena has made peace with it. Rather, she’s made peace with pretending to be okay with it while she waits for him to come to the realization that he should move back.

And in the meantime, if they can mend this thorniness between them, then maybe she and Ramon can make more of these impromptu trips. Maybe even convince Eddie to come home for Christmas this year. At the very least, go back to regular video chats.

But all that ruminating feels far away right now. She’s moving gently with the rise and fall of Ramon’s chest, and she’s so close to slipping away to the feeling of contentment when a new arrival makes her open eyes she didn’t realize she’d closed.

“Feliz cumpleanos,” she hears someone say in half-decent Spanish from the front door on the other side of the side yard fence.

She doesn’t recognize the voice as yet another cousin or uncle, but Eddie shakes Christopher’s shoulder gently, and says, “hey, guess who’s here.”

It takes a moment, but the words penetrate Christopher’s sleepiness. His eyes pop open and he shimmies out of Eddie’s lap and into his crutches to power walk over to the gate just in time for it to open, admitting Isabel, holding a beautiful bouquet of flowers, and a sheepish looking Buck behind her.

“Buck!” Christopher yells.

Buck’s smile widens and he immediately opens his arms. “Hey, superman!”

Buck crouches down and Christopher throws his arms around his neck, crutches and all. When it’s time to break apart, Christopher’s still hanging on and Helena feels a stab of dark vindication at what’s about to happen, and the look Ramon sends her way tells her she’s not alone. Because Christopher is now officially in the double digits, and while he’s always been an independent kid, becoming 10 years old was a big deal for him and his perceived level of maturity, and apparently the year he decided no one was allowed to carry him anymore.

And now Christopher’s tired and in the grip of a powerful sugar crash. He’s not going to suffer any indignities, and Helena knows she should feel bad about not trying to stop Buck. About just watching this play out to see him be rejected. But she wasn’t expecting to see him here, in this safe haven of Isabel’s backyard, in this space for family and loved ones, and it rankles her. It feels like everywhere she turns in LA, she finds him there. And his being here is just another nail in the coffin of Eddie stubbornly refusing to let his parents back into his home. That he would call his friend to this party just to avoid letting them give him a ride…

So she’s a little bitter, a little resentful of the persistent, low-key rejection. Sue her. Eddie has made it clear he doesn’t want them interfering anyway so this is on him.

“Christopher,” Eddie calls, a warning to not make a scene.

Buck looks over Christopher’s shoulder and smiles. “He’s fine,” he says.

Then he’s heaving Christopher’s body up into his arms and onto his hip and Christopher…

...Christopher slumps down over Buck’s shoulder like a baby koala. No sound of protest leaves his lips. His face, if it shows any displeasure, is hidden behind Buck’s neck.

And when Eddie gets up, it’s not to intercede, it’s only to grab the errant crutches before they hit something, and to pull his own armless chair out for Buck to sit on because apparently Buck is staying, and apparently Christopher is staying with him.

“He’s a bit old to be carried around, no?” Ramon says with a bite, because he can’t help himself.

Eddie, who’s been watching his son fondly, barely bats an eye. “He gets cuddly when he’s tired, and Buck’s nearly the only one left who’s big enough to carry him.”

“Ah, that’s why you spend so much time developing these,” Pepa says with a sly smile as she pinches at Buck’s bicep. The same familiar pinch she gave her own grandkids’ cheeks.

“Gracias a Dios,” Isabel adds meaningfully.

“That was adrenaline,” Eddie dismisses with a teasing grin.

“That was 100 squats and 50 pushups a day,” Buck returns blithely. “...and maybe a little adrenaline.”

“What’s this?” Ramon asks before she can.

Instead of prompting more teasing, the mood falls slightly and everyone looks to each other.

Finally, Eddie sighs. “When I got shot, Buck army crawled under a ladder truck to get me out and lifted me into the truck to get to the hospital.”

It strikes Helena suddenly, shamefully, that in the shock of finding out they’d missed the event itself, the hospital stay, and two entire weeks of healing, that they’d never circled back around for details on what actually went down the day it happened.

She never thought to wonder how he got off that street. How he got to the hospital. Who might have saved his life.

And she wishes she were a better person then. Wishes that learning Buck saved her son’s life overpowered her irritation at having him sitting here in Isabel’s backyard like he belonged here when Helena herself barely felt like she did herself. It does help, though.

“They released the street footage of the shooting,” Pepa continues quietly. “It’s on YouTube. Before I even knew it happened, Marguerita from church just sent me a link saying ‘they said it’s a Diaz, do you know him?’ and I saw.”

The idea of her son’s shooting being passed around like a cat video makes Helena sick, but Pepa lamenting how she hadn’t known when she learned about it in a matter of hours and sat on it for weeks…

“I wouldn’t recommend it,” Pepa says decisively. “But they have an angle where you can see our Buck here go and get Eddie, pick him up like he doesn’t weigh a thing and get him into the truck to get to the hospital. Probably why he’s alive today. So gracias a Dios for those squats.”

Eddie and Buck are both looking away, both looking safely at Christopher while the table digests the news.

“If you were looking for a story of something really dumb, I can point you in the direction of another video of Buck,” Eddie says, his tone jovial but his eyes strained.

“You need to let that go,” Buck says in a definite whine.

“Do I?” Eddie asks. “Abuela did you see the video of the firefighter who went up the crane all alone?”

“Dios mío, Buck,” Pepa laments.

“Did you send it to me?” Abuela asks her, pulling out her phone and her glasses to check.

“No, mamá, it was an idiot firefighter but I didn’t realize it was the one we knew.”

“In the middle of an all-out declaration of war on firefighters,” Eddie begins, quietly for Christopher’s sake, but impassioned, sitting up in his chair, “this idiota and his squat count climbed up a crane ladder, completely exposed and defenseless—”

Buck looks pained. “I was wearing a bulletproof vest and a helmet. And that’s the job sometimes—”

“The paramedics’ job, actually, which you aren’t. So, no, that wasn’t the job.” Eddie’s tone edges into something darker without his meaning to. He takes a drink of his lemonade looking for all the world like he wished it was a beer. “And you know that or I wouldn’t have found out about it from Chim a month after the fact.”

Helena clenches her jaw tight and squeezes Ramon’s hand even tighter so neither of them can say, So you have a problem being left in the dark too?

“Buck,” Isabel sighs with disappointment.

Buck winces. “It was before— ” He cuts himself off, his wide eyes darting towards Helena and Ramon of all people.

“Hmm,” Isabel answers noncommittally, as if to end the conversation.

Just then, Sophia brings out a platter of bite-sized desserts, making the rounds of the whole circle for people to pick at before leaving it on the table. The opportunity to move on is there. That doesn’t mean they’re interested in taking it.

“Before what?” Ramon asks, his tone is forcibly casual.

The silence that greets Ramon’s question is heavy. Guilty. When Helena casts her eyes around, she’s greeted by stiff shoulders and a mix of apprehension shared between her son, her mother- and sister-in-law, and Buck.

Mom, listen...

“Before what?” Helena repeats, her voice uncompromising.

———-

The fight they have in Isabel’s guest bedroom is a Hall of Famer. It’s a screaming match, no doubt about it. The doors from the bedroom to the yard are all closed but there’s no question every member of the family — and Buck — can hear every word.

“Do you really hate us that much?” Helena demands. She’s crying but she doesn’t know if it’s heartbreak or fury, she just wishes it’d stop so she could lean into her anger. “Genuinely, honestly, Eddie.”

“I don’t hate you,” he protests, keeping his own voice down, making it seem like they’re irrational for their anger.

“Bullshit,” she spits.

“You must!” Ramon adds. “You hate us so much that you have to hate your sisters too? Your cousins? You would rather leave your only son to a stranger, some gringo coworker, than with family? That’s how much you hate us? Hate our name?”

“Our name?” Eddie shoots back incredulously. “What are you talking about, our name? We’re not royalty, papi, and Chris’ name would never change.”

“You would leave him to your coworker,” Helena stresses, disgust dripping from her tongue.

“To my best friend,” Eddie retorts, “who Christopher adores, if you haven’t noticed. And who adores Christopher right back.”

“That’s not normal, mijo,” Ramon warns.

“Jesus christ,” Eddie seethes. “Please do not star—”

“What kind of single adult man bonds with another man’s child like that?”

“You’re describing a tío, you understand that right? What, you think it’s weird that Pepa loves me like her own? You think Sophia should stay away from Chris too?”

“That’s family,” Helena argues.

“And they’re women!”

“Ramon, shut up,” Helena snaps.

“Buck is our family, and he’s a man, and he’s got the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met. If anything happened to me, Christopher would be taken care of like if I was still here.”

“Buck, the one who nearly got him killed in the tsunami? That’s the same guy right?” Ramon throws out, his eyes a little wild as he paces.

“The one who saved his life in that tsunami, despite being injured and then some. And the one who’s saved my life more times than I can count, including from being gunned down on the street. We’d both probably be dead if not f— ”

“Isn’t he the one who’s family is worse off than ours?” Helena recalls. “So he has no family, no support, no girlfriend even! So a worse position than you’re in now. That’s what you want to leave him with.”

“He doesn’t need a girlfriend to raise Christopher right, I don’t! And he has a great sister, he has the 118, he has Carla, and he has our family. You think Abuela and Pepa would shut the door on him? He’d be here every Sunday, with Christopher, just like I am.”

“And what does your girlfriend think of this?” Ramon presses. “The vice principal, she thinks this is normal?”

“Ana doesn’t have anything to do with this,” Eddie says, frowning.

Helena balks. “You think the woman you’ve been seeing seriously for nearly a year has nothing to do with long-term decisions about your son? You think maybe she wouldn’t want the option of taking Christopher in if something happened to you?”

“That’s not happening, he’s going to Buck and that’s final.”

“What’s going on with you and this gringo?” Ramon asks suspiciously. “Are you even going out with Ana or was that another lie?”

“Ramon, don’t go there,” Helena sighs, her heart clenching. That’s all they need in this clusterfuck, that layer of pain.

“No, let’s go there because you know what?” Eddie asks darkly. “There is no one on this planet I trust with my son more than Buck and yeah, if we need to lay it all out there, that includes the two of you. I know you love Christopher, just like I know Shannon loved him, but that’s not always going to be enough. Buck isn’t going to fill my son’s head with ideas about the wrong kind of way to love someone. He’s not going to tell him he’s not good enough for his family to love him or support him. Buck’s going to make sure Christopher grows up to follow his heart and find whatever makes him happiest in the world, no matter what that looks like.”

“How could you think—”

“What if he grows up to be gay?” Eddie asks pointedly, staring his father down. “You’re telling me you’re going to be the one to help him pick out a suit to go to prom with his boyfriend?”

Ramon purses his lips but tries, “it’s a different world now,” as if he hadn’t just tried to make crass insinuations just to hurt his son.

“Okay,” Eddie says, not believing him for a moment, “what if he’s trans? Tells you at 15 that he’s a girl and he wants to transition. You’re going to get him on hormone therapy?”

“Eddie that’s not—”

“What if he’s 20 and he tells you he got a girl pregnant by accident and he doesn’t know her enough to love her, and he’s not ready to be a father let alone a husband?”

Helena tries to speak but her throat is suddenly too tight for words to get out.

“You gonna tell him he’s not a man if he doesn’t marry her anyway?”

Ramon says nothing.

“Christopher is going to Buck, and that’s final.”

——————-

Helena and Ramon don’t show up for the third therapy session.

Their plane tickets were only for three weeks, originally, and as the days run out, they don’t talk about extensions.

———-

Helena is sitting out in Isabel’s backyard, trying to conjure up that feeling of serenity she got to bask in for all of two minutes the night of the birthday party.

It’s not working.

They’re going back to El Paso tomorrow, leaving their relationship with Eddie in worse straits than when they arrived.

There’s always been a tension between them and Eddie, but there’s also always been love and respect, and that love and respect formed a polite barrier around the things they couldn’t talk about. It kept their relationship safe. Kept them from getting too close to real honesty where things hurt in ways that couldn’t be walked back.

It feels now like that barrier has fallen. That Eddie’s finally reached the limit of what he could hold back and now there’s nothing to help them pretend everything is okay. Nothing to help Helena believe this is all something that could blow over.

That’s to say nothing of Christopher, who’s never felt as far away as he does now, even while they linger in the same city, only a couple dozen blocks away.

Helena scrolls listlessly through her phone’s camera roll for the last few weeks. There are pictures of Christopher mostly, but Eddie and the rest of the family are there too. It hurts to notice how Eddie is markedly happier in the shots where he’s looking away from the camera. Away from her.

Mom, listen…

Helena opens up Instagram and lets herself forget for a moment that anything is wrong. On Instagram, there is only joy and fun. And Buck.

Eddie hasn’t posted anything to his account in months but starting from the end and working backwards, Buck features heavily. He’s in at least a third of the pictures, usually with Christopher. One of the posts includes a short video that she watches. It’s of the day they unveiled the adapted skateboard, and it nourishes her soul. There’s no sadness here, or tension, only pure radiating happiness and excitement. It’s magical.

And it’s meaningful.

Mom, listen…

Helena is out of her chair and pocketing Isabel’s car keys before she can talk herself out of it. The drive to Eddie’s house is made with a carefully blank mind. She knows if she lets herself think about what she’s going to say, she’s going to spiral and get to a place where all this fear and sadness turn dark and ugly, and she can’t afford to risk it.

Finally, she’s knocking gently on a front door she’s only seen three times in the weeks she’s been here.

Buck answers the door.

————-

The house is quiet when Helena steps in.

She doesn’t bother taking her shoes off this time, she’s not sure how long she’ll be allowed to stay. But she notices that the space where her shoes would have gone is taken up by a pair of large boots she imagines fit perfectly on Buck’s feet.

Buck disappears into the living room and she follows quietly after him. The lights are off but the muted tv glows brightly enough for her to see Eddie reclined on his back on the couch, sleeping, and Buck sitting down on the edge of the coffee table to shake his arm.

Eddie’s always been a light sleeper, especially after the army and Christopher. He doesn’t wake easily now.

He’s wearing the sling, but it’s the only indication that anything is amiss with him. There’s no sign of pain or worry on his face, no tension in his shoulders. He’s practically melted into the recesses of the couch. He’s a picture of comfort. And why shouldn’t he be? He’s in his home, away from family, from expectations, and judgements. Just him and Christopher. And Buck.

Eddie finally takes a deep breath that shows his body is coming around but his eyes stay closed. Buck is murmuring something but she only catches, “ — mom — here.”

Then, at last, Eddie’s eyelids part, and the deep laxness of his body disappears almost in the blink of an eye.

“What?” he croaks, already trying to sit up.

Buck’s hands are already moving to support his back.

“ — says she wants to apologize.”

Eddie scoffs and sits upright, feet firmly planted on the floor as he blinks himself awake.

“Mom?”

“I’m here,” she says, stepping closer into the light of the tv.

Buck catches Eddie’s eye and they have an entire conversation in five silent seconds that ends with Buck nodding and getting up from the table, watching Helena warily as she approaches further.

“Watch your eyes,” Buck says quietly to Eddie before flipping the wall switch and illuminating the room. He lingers for a moment, clearly undecided about leaving, before saying, “I’ll be in the kitchen.”

Finally, Helena is alone with her son in his home. The quiet is almost peaceful, she doesn’t want to break it. Eddie does instead.

“Buck said you wanted to apologize, so I’m assuming he misheard,” Eddie says wryly.

There are pillow creases on the side of his face and Helena can’t remember the last time she saw him look so disheveled, so at home. It makes her heart ache for the days when she’d have to force him out of bed at noon on weekends, drive him to wrestling practice early in the morning, watch over him as he slept sometimes, just to make sure he was okay.

“Shockingly, no,” she smiles sadly.

Eddie blinks up at her for a moment before shifting down on the couch, leaving her some room to sit. She takes the invitation, but once she’s sitting down with Eddie’s full attention on her, she realizes not preparing what she wanted to say might have been a mistake. She has no idea where to begin. What scab to pick at that won’t cause more bleeding.

Then she remembers Adriana’s words.

What is it, under all the posturing, all the hurt feelings, all the history and baggage...what is it she actually, truly wants to say?

“I’m sorry I missed therapy.”

Eddie huffs a surprised laugh. “Of all the things…”

“I know, I know,” she rolls her eyes. “But I am. I…” She forces herself to slow down and consider her words. “I realize that therapy was an olive branch for you. One we took way too late and I’m...I’m just so fucking grateful we were able to take it at all, in the end.”

The tears are coming and there’s nothing she can do to stop them. They gather in the corner of her eyes and she tries to blink them away but has to settle for wiping away the ones that fall anyway.

“You were right,” she says. “You said — and your sister said, and the therapist said — that there’s a lot of hurt, and it’s become too hard to...to connect with each other because of it. And therapy is probably the only bridge through that. So even though I was pissed at you, I should have showed up.”

She hazards a look up at Eddie to find his brown eyes wide and cautiously wondering.

“Therapy is what’s going to help us and the only way to fail at it is to not show up.” It’s what the therapist had said in their first session. It had sounded like an easy thing to do then. “And that’s not okay. I’m not going to do that again.”

Eddie nods and looks away. His fingernails are flicking nervously against each other — a habit he picked up from her. “Is dad on the same page as you?”

Helena takes a deep breath, and blows out, “No, your dad is looking for a match to light the page on fire.”

Eddie rolls his eyes but there’s heavy hurt behind the indifference.

“I hid all of them,” Helena offers, “and left Abuela with the fire extinguisher.”

That gets a small smile.

“I really expected you to be more pissed about it than him,” Eddie says, he reclines against the arm of the sofa but no part of him looks comfortable with this conversation.

“Oh, I am—” The rage swells up in her. The outrage and indignation. But again, Adriana’s voice comes to her. “I...am...really, truly hurt, Eddie. I feel...I feel like you told me I’m not good enough to love Christopher how he needs.”

Eddie’s face collapses with disbelief. “You mean the way you’ve been making me feel since he was born? Are you kidding me?”

“What?”

“Since the moment Shannon got pregnant, you’ve both been hammering it in on us that we’d never be enough, we’d never be good enough for him. Why do you think I joined the army? Why do you think Shannon ran?”

The accusation makes her breathless, it makes that familiar rage bubble up closer to the surface. “Shannon made her own choices, you’re not going to pin that on us. And so did you.”

“No, I can’t pin that on you. She did choose to leave,” he concedes, his voice hardening. “But you spent five years telling her over and over that nothing she ever did was good enough, and when I got back you did the same to me! ‘Don’t drag him down with you.’ Does that ring any bells?”

“I spent five years helping her, being a second parent to Christopher when she was in over her head. She needed help. She wasn’t cut out—”

“No, she wasn’t,” Eddie agrees. “Neither of us were. We were stupid fucking kids who barely knew each other. She was supposed to get back on a plane to California when the semester was done and instead we got married in the backyard because you told us that’s what we had to do.”

“Jesus Christ, Eddie. You want to blame me for Christopher being born? For raising him in a family with two parents?”

“You’re not listening,” Eddie spits.

“I’m listening to you say over and over how I ruined your life because I didn’t let Shannon get an abortion. And that’s somehow the reason to keep us out of Christopher’s life now?”

“No, you’re not—” Eddie closes his eyes and clenches his jaw. “I love Christopher with everything I am. If I had the chance to go back and do everything differently, I wouldn’t. I would never. Being his father is the most important thing I’ve ever done.”

“Then what are you saying?”

“I’m saying, I was a kid in over my head and my parents didn’t know what was best for me. Didn’t know how to help me. And I figured that out on my own, I grew up and became the man I am now on my own.” She wants to argue but he’s on a roll. “And that’s fine, no parent is perfect. I know I’m going to make mistakes and I hope to god Christopher can forgive me, so I need to forgive you yours. But I need you to see me, now. I need you to look at me and realize I’m not that kid you put in a suit in the backyard. I’m not the kid that signed up to get shot at instead of facing his life. I’m not that kid anymore, mom. I’m not.”

“I see that, Eddie.”

“No, you don’t. Because if you did, you wouldn’t constantly be telling me I need to move back to El Paso to take proper care of Christopher. You’d see that our lives are here now. I have a job I love and pays what we need. Christopher loves his school, his friends. He’s a popular, genius kid. He’s happy. I’m happy. And we’re doing good. But you don’t see that. You see that dumbass, scared kid making his next mistakes. And I’m sorry but I’m not going to let you drag me back into that spiral. If you need to be the parent to that kid, I can’t be the kid you’re parenting. I’ve grown up, mom.”

“So,” Helena clears her throat, hoping the waver in it will clear too. “That’s what the guardianship is? We...lost sight of you growing up. We didn’t give you what you needed. So you’re punishing us?”

Eddie sighs as if she didn’t understand.

“No, you know what? No, I’m sorry,” she switches tracks, her voice hard, “how are we supposed to see this new person you’ve become, Eddie? You left El Paso, left us behind, you won’t come home for holidays, you even stopped posting on Instagram, and when we come here to see you’re alive you won’t even let us into your home. So how? How are we supposed to see this magical transformation when you won’t let us in?”

Eddie watches her for a moment, weighing his words. “You show up for therapy.”

And that takes the wind out of her sails.

That’s what she came here for.

To apologize.

Not keep yelling.

Mom, listen…

Helena takes two deep breaths and crooks a smile. “Yeah.”

“You yell a lot.”

Christopher’s voice startles them both, pulling a short grunt of pain from Eddie as his shoulder jerks back. Christopher is leaning against the wall into the living room, wearing the disgruntled pout of someone who was woken up for no good reason.

“Christopher…” Eddie begins, trying to leverage himself off the couch.

Helena pushes him back down, and turns to Christopher, opening her arms.

“I do,” Helena admits softly, as Christopher comes over and leans into her side. “I do yell a lot. I’m...trying to yell less.”

“Dad never yells.”

Eddie smiles tiredly.

“Hmm,” Helena agrees, “I think there’s a lot of things I need to learn from your daddy.”

Christopher nods, his eyes drooping. “He’s the best,” he says, snuggling into her shoulder. She’s getting on a plane tomorrow so she takes the opportunity to relish in this hug, and press a long kiss on his curls.

“Ah, I thought I heard an escape artist on the prowl,” Buck says as he turns the corner.

“We woke him up,” Eddie says redundantly. “We’ll keep it quiet now, buddy.”

“K,” Christopher mumbles.

“Okay, buddy, let’s get you back to bed” Buck says quietly as he leans over to carefully scoop him into his arms. Christopher’s arms loop around his neck like he’s done it a million times, and his head falls to Buck’s shoulder.

“Buck’s the best too,” Christopher mumbles.

Buck’s ducks his face away.

“That’s what I hear,” Helena allows in a tone she hopes is gracious.

As they leave, they can hear Christopher say, “they stole your bed.”

Buck responds but it’s too quiet for them to follow the rest of the conversation.

Eddie ducks his head and sighs.

“That’s why you were keeping us away?” Helena asks, her voice more gentle than she thought she could muster at this point. “Because Buck’s crashing on your couch?”

Now that she’s looking, she spots the folded duvet stacked on the chair in the corner, the pillows tucked neatly below. It only makes her more aware that she found Eddie sleeping soundly on the very same couch.

“I didn’t — I didn’t want questions. I didn’t want dad’s look, the same look he has every time Buck comes up. The same look—” Eddie sighs harshly. “I didn’t feel like fielding questions. He was here for Christopher when I was in the hospital and when I came home… He helps. A lot.”

Helena nods pensively, and surprises herself by finding a kernel of gratitude towards Buck burgeoning in her chest.

“So, speaking of fucking up as parents,” she begins with a crooked smile that fades by the end of the phrase. She doesn’t know how to finish that sentence so she starts a new one. “The...hurt that piles up, that makes it hard to talk through...does some of it come from Matty?”

She can see an instinct flare up in her son to shake his head and dismiss the topic, but he doesn’t let it take hold. It’s time to face this.

“It didn’t help,” he admits.

Eddie and Matty met in sixth grade and became best friends almost instantly. They spent weekends in sleepovers, fought off other classmates to be each others’ group project partners, and spent every summer going to the same camps. Matty was an honorary Diaz before they even hit their teens.

Five years later, Matty came out to his family, and then to theirs. His parents took it well, Eddie’s parents didn’t.

The sleepovers stopped, the summer camps stopped, and if Ramon could have sent Eddie to another class he would have.

The day he came out to them was the last day he stepped foot in the Diaz home, a natural consequence of Ramon having run him out with caustic, angry words.

“We…” Helena licks her lips and looks away to gather her thoughts. “There’s a lot of reasons we reacted the way we did. Ignorance, more than anything. It really was a different world back then. But...the world has kept turning, things have kept changing and we can’t pretend to be ignorant anymore.” She looks Eddie in the eye to say, “we were wrong. We were wrong to chase him away. And if the day comes that Christopher is gay or trans or any of the other words we haven’t learned yet, we’re going to love him just as much as we do now.”

Eddie keeps her gaze for a moment before nodding. “I’m glad to hear it.” The way his shoulders gather near his ears says he doesn’t believe her though he’s trying.

Because when Eddie and Matty stood shoulder to shoulder to tell Ramon and Helena the news, Matty wasn’t the only one crushed. And they know, somewhere deep down, that their reaction was as extreme as it was because they were never fully sure if the hurt in Eddie’s eyes was on behalf of his best friend, or if they exploded before more news could be told.

And it still scares Helena to this day, to this very moment sitting on her son’s couch. It’s why they welcomed Shannon at first, the first girl Eddie really brought home, even though they didn’t approve of her overall.

But she knows now that there’s nothing anymore, not her pride, not her ignorance, that will stop her from trying to bridge the gap between them. So she continues deliberately, “and if this new, grown up version of you comes with any of those words, we’re not going to love you any less either.”

His eyes widen and for a moment she’s looking at her 17 year old son in the living room, eyes wide as Matty runs out of the house. She wishes this moment could replace that one, stamp out that mistake forever. But it can’t, so she has to make this one count even more.

“I’ll still be here, and I’m listening. I...I see you,” she says. “You and Christopher. I see you settled in so well here, even now with your injury.”

Eddie remains quiet, but apprehension creeps across his face and his eyes dart behind her where Buck and Christopher disappeared.

“I see the boots at the entrance,” she continues, her voice pitched low, “the extra toothbrush you forgot to hide away. The tupperwares full of food Isabel and Ana didn’t make. But more than anything, I see Buck. Everywhere.” A smile creeps up her lips. “The only place I didn’t see him was at brunch with Ana and call me crazy but I feel like you would have preferred he was there too.”

Eddie’s lip is being chewed to within an inch of its life, and his eyes are trained on the couch cushion.

“Hey,” she taps his knee. “You...grew up to be a good man, and a good father.” The words are so many years too late but she’s grateful to see them land as Eddie’s eyes begin to shimmer. “And you deserve everything you want for Christopher. Happiness, whatever that looks like.”

Eddie swallows thickly and clears his throat. “And dad?”

“Dad...has his head too far up his own ass to see or hear anything,” Helena admits. “But he’s due for a colonoscopy soon so I’ll work on it.”

Eddie chokes on a laugh that catches him off-guard and suddenly they’re both laughing, quietly so they don’t wake Christopher up again.

When they recover, Eddie invites her to the kitchen for a drink, where Buck is packing Christopher’s lunch for school tomorrow.

When she leaves, her stomach is in knots she imagines won’t smooth out for a few weeks yet, but a weight’s been lifted off her chest and her heart is full in a way it hasn’t been in years.

When she lands in El Paso, her phone pings with a message from Eddie: Hope you had a good flight. Free Friday for a call?

———-

When Friday comes, after catching up with Christopher, Eddie tells them he broke it off with Ana.

Helena digs her nails into Ramon’s knee instinctively, but she prepared him well and despite his continued reservations, all he says is, “That’s too bad, mijo.”

———-

Two months of virtual therapy and video chats later, Eddie tells them he’s bisexual. They react the way they should have all those years ago, and Helena tries to be grateful they got to have this moment at all instead of mourn for the years Eddie lost because of them.

There’s no mention of Buck, but Eddie’s eyes flit fondly over the laptop screen every once in a while at Christopher and someone else off-screen.

The call takes place at 8am LA time, and the sling has been gone for nearly three weeks.

———

At Christmas, Eddie and Christopher are waiting for them with smiles on their faces at LAX’s baggage claim. When they get home, Buck is there opening the door and helping them with their luggage.

Isabel isn’t there to mediate but supper that evening goes smoothly. The tension that lurks is anticipatory on all sides, a feeling of this being too good to last. But by dessert, everyone is sitting back in their chairs and smiling. And when Buck rounds the table to start the clean up, he places a hand on Eddie’s shoulder, his thumb brushing the back of Eddie’s neck, and Helena watches as the last bit of strain melts out of his body.

The basket of gauze is nowhere to be found in the bathroom, nor is the purple toothbrush. Instead, there’s a third electric toothbrush standing in line with the rest.

Helena’s been keeping an eye out for opportunities to follow Adriana’s advice. To find the words she actually, truly means, and say them before she runs out of time. So before turning in, she takes Eddie aside and tells him, “I’m really happy you found your home here in LA. I’m really proud of the family you’ve made.”

And when she closes her arms around him, she can feel him fold into her like he used to as a kid, no polite distance or anxiety. Just comfort.

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

A Place To Call Home: Dads

Summary: When the reader gets an offer to make some money on the side, things quickly evolve to Jensen learning about where some of the reader and TJ’s money has been going, namely TJ’s father. Jensen offers to help out but discovers that Rick might be up to something... 

Masterlist

Square: A Place To Call Home

Pairing: Jensen x foster daughter!reader

Word Count: 7,600ish

Warnings: language, angst (so much family angst), minor injury

A/N: Written for @supernatural-jackles​ Tell Me A Story Bingo. This part takes place after the Halloween timestamp. Enjoy!

______

“Thank you, Barry,” you said as he left the office at the brewery. Your head was still up when your dad slipped inside and he shut the door. “What’s up?”

“There’s a talent scout out in the draft room,” he said.

“Fascinating,” you said, going back to reading over a contract with a new distributor.

“Y/N they’re here to see you.” You turned in your seat and stared at him, breaking out into a giggle. “I’m serious.”

“This is by far your worst prank yet.”

“You modeled some of the new merch last week? He’s here for you,” he said.

“To what, model?” you scoffed. “No thank you.”

“Well can you go tell him that because he was insisting on hearing it from you,” he said. You sighed and walked out front, a guy in a suit with no tie on sipping from a glass. He smiled when he saw your dad behind you. 

“Ms. Ackles,” he said, holding out his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“It’s Mrs. Hanover,” you said with a friendly enough smile. 

“You’re clearly used to some hard negotiations.”

“I’m tougher than I look Mr…”

“Elbridge but please call me Dan.”

“What can I do for you today, Dan?” you asked. He walked out to a quieter spot by the railing, settling at one ot the standing tables.

“I work for a talent agency, Mrs. Hanover. We’ve worked with your father a few times when he was starting out,” he said, your dad giving a nod. “We’ve seen your modeling pictures and we’re very interested in you doing a shoot.”

“I appreciate the offer but my answer is no. I’m not a model or an actress or any of the things my parents are besides someone invested in this brewery,” you said.

“She is a tough cookie,” he said as he looked at your dad. “I’m assuming you told her nothing I told you.”

“You gotta sell it on your own,” he said.

“Y/N, we’d like you to be in a commercial with some other women. An underwear commercial.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s a commercial for inclusivity for people with differences,” he said.

“He means the scar on your back, Y/N. From the accident,” said your dad.

“You’re exactly the kind of person we want included in the line. There’ll be a photo run of things too and-“

“Why exactly do you know I have a scar on my back?”

“Your Instagram. I assumed it was public knowledge.”

“Okay but it’s not even that big. Like it blends in. I’m boring. Get like, an amputee or a burn survivor. That’s inclusive. I’m average.”

“We have a vast array of women in the line including those types and all kinds of body types. But you’re...a brand name we could put to the project.”

“Brand name,” you said. He hummed and you laughed. “My dad? That’s a brand name, not me. Throw him in some underwear and I’m sure you’ll get all the attention you want.”

“Well we want you,” he said. He pulled out a business card and handed it over. “Our initial offer is on the back but we’re open to negotiations. Call us if you think you might be interested. Oh and the beer’s great.”

“Thanks,” you said, looking over the card. The guy had wandered off by the time you flipped it over.

“I told him you wouldn’t be interested,” said your dad, sipping from his bottle of water. You blinked at the card, your dad raising an eyebrow. “You’re not considering it are you?”

“Dad,” you said. You flipped the card around and showed it to him, water spitting out of his mouth.

“Hey, Dan,” he said, rushing back and waving him over. Dan smiled as he walked back, drink in his hand.

“I thought that’d-” said Dan before your dad got in his face. “Is there a problem?”

“What are you up to,” he said.

“Dad.”

“Y/N no one gets offered that much money off the street. No one. So I’m gonna ask again. What are you up to?” 

“It’s for a package deal. A photo shoot. A commercial. Ad sponsorship for three months bi-weekly on her social media accounts. We’d also like her to design the set for the commercial. There’s a time crunch of next week so we felt a hundred was a fair offer for that amount of work on short notice,” said Dan. “If she were simply modeling, we’d offer her twenty five but this is our biggest line of the year. You are more than welcome to come along every step of the way.”

“Dan I really do appreciate the offer but I’m not a model. I don’t even remember the last time I wore makeup. I will happily design a set and build if you like and maybe I can do the ad thing but I’m not a model like my parents. Can I talk to my dad for a second?”

He nodded and walked off a ways, your dad sighing.

“Maybe mom could do it or something? She’s done that stuff before,” you said.

“I’m not gonna tell you what to do. Go for the set design for sure. You’re good at it and I know you get to break back into your architecture skills for that. But the rest...once you get on that train you can’t get off.”

“Dad, people already know who I am. I have like...an obnoxious number of followers on my accounts and stuff. My most popular posts? Always about you. I’ve never been in the shadows.”

“I know but that’s different than you doing these things. If you start taking pictures in underwear, you’re gonna attract at least a few weirdos and most of them are harmless but maybe some aren’t and there is a reason that Uncle Cliff still hangs out with me at certain times.”

“It’s a hundred thousand dollars. TJ and I could pay off the lawyer fees for Allie’s adoption finally,” you said. “We could get our mortgage payment down.”

“You’ve never cared about money,” he said. You pursed your lips and he narrowed his eyes. “Are things tight?”

“Dad.”

“Are they?”

“I don’t ask about your finances.”

“I sat down with both you and TJ when you bought the house and even with the renovation costs, your monthly payment was very affordable. Allie’s adoption should have been paid off months ago.”

“Do you stalk our spending now or what?” you shot back.

“Well you haven’t bought a new car or any big expenses. Where’s the money going?” he asked.

“I’ll take the set design and leave it at that,” you said. You brushed past him and over to Dan. 

Thirty minutes later you had a signed contract and were back in your office, your dad grumbling as he walked inside.

“I’m busy,” you said.

“Where’s the money going, Y/N?”

“TJ and I make very good money,” you said, typing up an email. He leaned over the desk and narrowed his eyes. “I took the set design only for twenty. Happy?”

“Why do you need twenty thousand dollars?”

“Coming from the guy who made how much fucking money for a single freaking episode? At least I’m not slutting out my face,” you said. He stood back and slammed the door shut on his way out. You sighed and got up, finding him out back, splitting old pallets down. “Dad I’m sorry.”

“Whatever,” he mumbled. 

“Dad. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.”

“Yeah you did,” he said. “That is exactly why I didn’t want you doing that shoot. Then all you are is a pretty face.”

He moved a pallet and picked up the axe again, bringing it down in the center.

“Dad.”

“What?” he snapped as he spun around. 

“I said it because I knew it’d make you mad and piss you off and get you to drop it. It’s the only reason I said it. Please stop asking about where my money goes. Please.”

“Are you in trouble?”

“Dad I said to stop asking.”

“Tough shit,” he said with a shrug. “Call me whatever you want. Maybe I get pissed off but I’ll cool off too. I know how much you make and I know how much he makes and I know you two have both been taking side jobs recently. You should have your house paid off by now, not barely making your mortgage. What’s going on and I want the truth.”

“I can’t.”

“What’s TJ involved in,” he said. You looked away and he nodded. “There are very few reasons why you wouldn’t tell me the truth and considering how small Allie and Colin are, he’s the only one I can think of.”

“I can’t.”

“Hey! There you are,” said TJ, walking around the corner with a bag in his hand. “I was out at a ranch nearby for work and figured we could have lunch together.”

“Speak of the little devil,” said your dad. He dropped the axe and TJ set the food on the hood of his truck, cocking his head.

“You okay, Jensen?” he asked.

“Peachy,” he said, putting his hands on his hips when he stopped in front of him. “So. Want to tell me what’s going on with your finances lately?”

TJ glanced to you and you shook your head.

“Nothing,” said TJ quietly.

“You want to try that again and not lie to me this time?” asked Jensen. TJ shook his head and your dad shut his eyes. “If you’re involved in something bad, let me help. I have money.”

“TJ just tell him,” you said. TJ sighed and picked up the food, walking over to the employee picnic area and sat down. You took a seat beside him and TJ handed you a wrapped burrito, your dad sitting across from him.

“I’m not angry. Let me help is all,” said your dad.

“It’s not us who’s in trouble,” said TJ. Your dad looked to you and you nodded. “It’s my dad.”

“Oh you two,” he said, shutting his eyes. “You’re paying off Rick’s debt he owes somebody, aren’t you.”

“Rick owes money to a bookie and...he beat him up kinda bad and we have extra so…” you said, your dad staring at you. “He asked us not to tell anyone.”

“How much?” he asked.

“Five...hundred,” said TJ. 

“Five hundred thousand?” he asked, your heads nodding. “Five hundred thousand? What...how much have you given him already?”

“About half,” said TJ. Your dad shook his head and put his hands over his face, quickly pulling them off. “I know it’s a lot.”

“Yeah…” he said, swallowing to himself.

“We got it covered. Really. At the rate we’re doing extra side work-”

“Kids...you’re both so kind I think you missed something pretty important,” said your dad. 

“I don’t understand,” said TJ. He looked to you and you shrugged. 

“Guys that’s a lot of money. That’s...an extraordinary amount of money to a lot of people. How on earth does your father owe that much money all of a sudden?” asked your dad.

“He made some bets he lost on,” said TJ.

“But how could it be that much. What was the original bet?”

“What?”

“What was the original bet he made and lost on?”

“I don’t know. We figured it must have been like a hundred.”

“So your father bet a hundred, say he lost. That’s two hundred. Say he got some insane interest on it. Okay. Maybe, maybe he truly owes that much. But where did he get that original one hundred?”

“He didn’t have it,” said TJ. “We think.”

“Okay. He bet badly and ends up owing the whole thing,” he said.

“Exactly.”

“Do you give this money to Rick or the bookie?” asked your dad.

“My dad. He didn’t want us to get involved with the guy,” said TJ. 

“Okay,” said your dad. “Here’s what’s gonna happen. I’m gonna drive up to your folks this afternoon TJ and talk to your dad, see what’s left he owes. I will pay the rest.”

“Jensen that’s a lot of money.”

“I know it is. But it’s better to get him out of the hole quickly before something were to happen and I can afford it. Okay? I’m gonna head up. You two enjoy your lunch. I’ll be home in a few hours.”

Something was off about him as he stood and left but you weren’t quite sure what was wrong.

“My dad’s gonna be pissed. He didn’t want Jensen to know at all,” said TJ.

“He wants to help. He’s got a point. The quicker it’s paid off, the quicker your dad’s out of danger. Let’s have lunch and you can tell me about that ranch you’re fixing up.”

“Arrow,” you grumbled that night as she reached for the hot pan. “Let it cool off.”

“Why are we having dinner at your house?” she asked. “No offense but you can only cook like five things.”

“Would you like to cook dinner for seven?” you asked. She held up her hands and you rolled your eyes.

“To be fair, Colin still eats baby food,” she said.

“Thank you for volunteering to feed your nephew,” you said with a grin.

“I didn’t-”

“Ro!” he said as he waddled into the kitchen, wrapping her legs up in a hug.

“I hate you,” she said, narrowing her eyes before she picked him up.

“Thank you Arrow,” you said as she put him on her hip. “He’s got dinner in the fridge if you wouldn’t mind?”

“I got it,” she said, opening it up one handed. “Mom and dad have some last minute thing or something?”

“I don’t know,” you said, your phone ringing, Jared’s name popping up. “Can you get that?”

“Hey Uncle Jared,” she said, hitting it on speaker.

“Arrow? Hey you mind finding your sister for me?” he asked.

“She’s busy making dinner. Apparently it’s very difficult.”

“I’m here Jared,” you said. You grabbed the phone and shoved it between your shoulder and ear. “What’s up?”

“Don’t freak out,” he said. “But come outside.”

You turned down the heat on the stove and went out the front door, finding Jared on the seat out front.

“Uh, what’s up?” you asked, pulling the door shut behind you. “This is weird.”

“Your dad may have...listen. Shit went down when Jensen went up to see TJ’s dad whatever his fuckface name is.”

“Jared.”

“Oh you’re about to call him fuckface too.”

“What happened?”

“Well...he had a bad feeling about this whole thing. He and De went up there to talk to them. Things aren’t...your dad’s in the hospital.”

“What?” you said quietly. He stood up and gave you a smile, pulling you into a hug.

“It’s okay. He got a little cut when he got...pushed,” he said. 

“Jared,” said TJ, stepping outside with a curious look. “What’s up dude?”

“Normally being the Uncle is the fun stuff,” he said. TJ frowned when you both saw a cop car pull into your driveway, Cody getting out. “Codes.”

“Dad, I got this,” he said as he hopped up on the porch. You smiled and looked back at TJ. “Oh shut up. I got adopted like six months ago. I might as well.”

“What exactly is happening?” asked TJ.

“Dad,” said Cody again. Jared sat back in the seat, Cody sighing. “TJ...dude I’m sorry. You’re like my brother.”

“Did my...did something happen to my parents,” he said quietly, Cody’s head shaking. “Oh.”

“Rick’s been stealing money from you. There’s no bookie to pay off. Jensen and De went up today to talk to him and they found out the truth and your dad’s got in a fist fight and you guys ought to head up North. It’s not my jurisdiction so I’m not much help.”

“My father did what?” said TJ. Cody glanced at you and you looked down. “That’s not true.”

“Yes, it is,” he said. “TJ the police from your hometown looked into it. He took the money. He’s claiming it was a gift from the two of you but we all know that’s not true.”

“No, he’s been making progress. We’ve been making progress. We’ve been getting along really well,” said TJ.

“Did that start when you started giving him money?” asked Cody.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m just saying what I know as a cop. Did your relationship start changing when money started exchanging hands?”

“Why does he hate me,” said TJ. You grabbed his hand and he shut his eyes. “He must hate me. That’s the only reason I can see why he would do something like that.”

“He doesn’t hate you,” you said.

“He hates you and Jensen. He thinks De is eye candy to stare at. I don’t know how on earth he can pretend to like me,” he said.

“TJ,” said Jared.

“You gonna tell me he loves me or some shit? It’s not good enough,” said TJ.

“I was gonna say you can cut him out of your life if you want to and you’re still gonna have a dad you know. I don’t understand him. I do think he loves you but there’s some resentment towards everyone else you call family. I don’t know why but it’s your choice what you want to do. I’m gonna go inside and finish cooking dinner and we’ll watch all of them tonight. Y/N-”

“I got him,” you said with a nod. 

Ten minutes later you were on the road and driving, TJ staring out the passenger window. 

“Honey-”

“Don’t,” he said, voice barely above a whisper. You reached over and grabbed his hand, TJ squeezing it. “We’re going to my parents house after and we’re packing up as much crap as we can to bring back. I’m never speaking to him again after tonight.”

“TJ.”

“All the late hours I put in doing side jobs. All the jobs you’ve been doing for set design on the weekends. For months and months we’ve been doing it. Straight into his fucking pocket. We could have paid off the house with that money. Paid off bills. That’s our money. It’s our kids money. It’s not some sack of shit’s to go buy whatever he wants with. I could fucking kill him.”

“We’ll get it back,” you said.

“It’s not about the money.”

“I know, babe,” you said. 

“Why is he like that?”

“It’s not an excuse but I think he was raised very poorly and he doesn’t...he knows it’s wrong but I think he thinks we have so much it’s okay if he takes from us.”

“He took two hundred and fifty thousand dollars from us. A year of side jobs for the both of us on top of everything else. We sleep four hours a night. We weren’t handed that. We worked for it. We worked our asses off. All that pressure and all the pressure we thought somebody would hurt him if we were late with money? I can’t believe I ever gave a shit about him. I should have trusted you. You’ve never liked him. No one in your family did. Even Arrow and that kid loves everybody. I should have trusted you guys.”

“TJ they didn’t like him because of the way he treated you, not me. I knew he was a dick when I met him but he belittles you, so, so much. We hate that he does that to you.”

“I don’t know how my mom is married to someone like him.”

“Don’t cut her out,” you said. “She raised you. You’re all her. Anyone who meets you can see that.”

“He’s going to lie when I see him again. I don’t know what to do,” he said. 

“Why?” you asked.

“Because.” You pulled over and he sat back in his seat. He turned his head and you saw all the tears streaming down his face.

“Honey,” you said. You leaned over and hugged him, TJ gripping you back.

“He’d kick my ass for crying right now.”

“Who was it that sat up with my dad after the accident and let him cry all over him? My dad who hates to cry and he’s not afraid to cry in front of you.”

“He’s strong. I’m not.”

“You’re my best friend. The girl who thought she was so fucked up and would be alone. God, Thomas. You gave me something even my parents and family couldn’t. You know how I never thought in a million years I could have this kind of love and you were never scared. The insecurities. The nightmares. The days where I’m quiet and my head gets to me. You just grab my hand and you make it better. You’re stronger than most everyone on this planet. I love and I’ve loved you since I met you and I’ll do anything for you, you know that. We’re partners. If you want to give your dad another chance you can and I won’t question it for a second.”

“I don’t want to talk to him again,” he said, sitting up somewhat. “But how do I say that when you didn’t get a choice? You didn’t get a choice with your parents. They were just gone and you had no say. How can I just walk away like that?”

“My parents didn’t treat me like the way your father does. Neither of my moms or dads ever have. You can walk away from someone that does, TJ. I don’t want you near someone like that. Jared was right too you know. You’re not gonna lose a dad tonight. You’ve always had one and he’s gonna be there for you always.”

“He hurt Jensen, didn’t he?” he sniffled.

“I’m sure he's fine. He’s very...defensive of his children is all.”

“Jensen gave me a letter,” he said. “Addressed to me. That’s when I really knew he loved me.”

“He loved you before that.”

“I know he did. I don’t know why I wanted my dad when I’ve had Jensen the whole time.”

“I’ve been there. Trust me,” you said. He let out a small laugh and you hugged him, TJ taking a deep breath. “I’m sorry Rick hurt you.”

“He hurt both of us.”

“Yeah but I care more about the fact he hurt you. I may deck him when I see him,” you said.

“That’d be kinda awesome,” he said. “But please don’t.”

“Hugs instead?” you said.

“I’ll take hugs,” he said. His stomach grumbled and you kiss his temple. 

“I’m gonna hit the drive thru and then we’ll get on the road again, okay honey?”

“Okay,” he said. You kissed him one last time before you got out of the car and dug around in the trunk. You took out your oversized hoodie and brought it up to the front, handing it to him. “What’s this?”

“You can steal it if you want. Your hoodie’s kinda make me feel better on crappy days,” you said.

“Thanks,” he said. “I really love you.”

“Me too. It’s gonna be okay.”

One Hour Later

“Let’s go to the hospital first,” said TJ as you hit the edge of town. 

“Jared said my dad was fine.”

“Y/N. Let’s go to the hospital,” he said. You nodded and about ten minutes later you were parked and getting a room number. He held your hand on the elevator ride up, kissing the top of your head. “You alright?”

“I’d prefer if he could stay out of the hospital.”

“Me too,” he said, the doors opening. You walked a little too quickly until you found the room, your mom and dad talking as you walked in.

“What are you two doing here?” he asked.

“Jared and Cody came by and we learned some stuff,” you said. “Why are you in the hospital? You look...normal.”

“Your father hit his head.”

“I’m fine.”

“After the accident last year-”

“It was nearly a year ago.”

“After the accident they wanted to be safe and monitor overnight just in case. He got a cut on his arm from some metal but that’s all,” said your mom. 

“I’m fine,” said your dad. He got up out of bed and spun around. “See? No concussion. An itty bitty scratch is all you worry worts.”

“Was there a fight?” you asked. He sat down and sighed. “You don’t look like it.”

“No,” he said. He looked at TJ and pursed his lips. “TJ would you mind grabbing me a drink from the vending machine?”

“Whatever you want to say, you’re gonna say it in front of me,” he said. 

“Mom and I went up to your parents place and it started out okay. But your mom didn’t quite understand what was going on. She thought Rick had been doing well betting horses at a track and that’s where the sudden money came from. Things...devolved from there and Rick got defensive and I was angry so we started arguing and he shoved me and your mom and De shut it down and the cops came and I’m sorry but he took the money for himself. Last we heard from your mom a little while ago she’s giving all the money back to you guys.”

“You pressing charges?” asked TJ.

“It was a shove. He didn’t take my money. You two are the ones that have a right to charge him,” he said.

“Do you know where my mom is?” asked TJ.

“She’s at your house along with your dad,” he said.

“Y/N why don’t you hang here with your parents,” said TJ. You shook your head and he frowned. “You’re worried about your dad. Stay.”

“He’s okay and I’m coming with you,” you said.

“Me too,” said your mom. 

“De-”

“TJ. You’re not gonna win this one,” she said. “Jensen’s okay on his own for a bit and he’d come if he could. You’re not gonna go talk to your dad alone.”

“Fine. Let’s go,” he said, already leaving the room. Your mom grabbed her purse and you ran your hands over your face.

“Go take care of him,” said your dad quietly.

“Dad.” You walked in front of him and he wrapped his arms around you. “He’s gonna be fucked up.”

“I know. We’ll take care of him,” he said. He kissed your temple and pushed you towards the door gently. “Go take care of your husband.”

“We’ll be back.”

“Guys I think maybe I should go in first,” said your mom a short while later, the three of you parked in his parent’s driveway. 

“No,” said TJ.

“Thomas.”

“Danneel,” he said. He turned in the passenger seat and she sighed. “I’m a big boy. I can go in first.”

“Don’t be violent.”

“I won’t,” he said quietly. She kissed his cheek and nodded. 

“Okay sweetie. Let’s get this over with,” she said. You got out and took his hand, TJ not as tense as you were expecting.

“His car isn’t here,” he said quietly on the way up the porch steps. He rang the doorbell and the door flew open, his mom standing there. “Hi mom.”

“I kicked him out for the night,” she said, letting the door open for the three of you. “I’m so sorry. Danneel is Jensen-”

“He’s pissed but fine,” said your mom, following you inside. TJ walked around for a moment, stopping at a picture on the wall.

“Mom. Why does dad hate me?” he asked. He looked over his shoulder and she frowned. “He manipulated me and Y/N. He’s horrible to her family. I get that he went through something as a kid but he’s a grown man.”

“Your father loves you. He doesn’t always know the best way to show it,” she said.

“He hurt me and you’re gonna side with him. Again,” he said.

“He made a mistake.”

“Hell of a mistake,” you mumbled.

“Do you think he wants to be the way he is?” she asked.

“I could have gotten past everything before but this? He doesn’t get to worm his way out of it. I’m done with him.”

“Then you’re gonna be done with me too,” she said. TJ turned around and she lifted her chin. “He doesn’t deserve to thrown out of your life over a mistake.”

“I seem to recall you not saying a word when he almost hit your grandaughter with a belt,” said TJ. “Why do you make excuses for him?”

“Why do you hate him?” she asked. TJ threw up his hands and shook his head. “Always since you were a little boy you’ve hated him.”

“He didn’t want me, not the other way around. I know he worked a lot but all I wanted when he came home at night was a hug or a bedtime story. I wasn’t asking for much,” said TJ. “He resented me.”

“He put in all those long hours for you, to provide for you.”

“I’ve been working since I was fourteen. I paid for my own things from the second I was able to. I paid for school all on my own. My apartment. My car. I paid for my wedding and honeymoon. He paid for food and roof over my head which is the bare minimum he could have done. Don’t tell me he provided for me. He fucking hated me.”

“Because you’re not his,” she said. You and your mom looked at one another, TJ blinking where he stood. “Rick isn’t your father.”

“Excuse me?”

“I cheated on your father because he can be an asshole and I needed an escape. He found out when I was pregnant.”

“Excuse me?” asked TJ again.

“He never wanted children because he thought he’d be a bad father. I guess he was right in your mind,” she said. 

“If you’re gonna tell the story, you might as well tell the whole thing,” said Rick. He stepped out from down the hall, TJ’s mom sighing. 

“So you are here,” said TJ.

“Car’s in the shop,” he said. 

“You hate me?” 

“I love you. It doesn’t mean I’m a good person though,” he said.

“You stole from us.”

“Yes I did.”

“Why?”

“This house is the size of your living room. You have so much.”

“If you wanted money just fucking ask,” said TJ.

“Like I said, just cause I love you doesn’t mean I’m a good person.”

“You’re not even my father apparently.”

“I’m your father,” he said. “Didn’t make ya but I’m your father.”

“What’s the story?” asked your mom. They all looked to her and she looked at TJ’s mom. “What don’t we know.”

“You ever wonder how someone like me wound up with someone like your mother? We’re polar opposites most days,” said Rick. TJ narrowed his eyes and looked between them.

“Don’t tell him,” said his mom.

“Alright,” said Rick. “I must have been mistaken.”

“TJ, can I talk to you,” you said, pulling him into the kitchen. “TJ do you remember in family studies when we had that project to track our family trees and you found your parents marriage certificate and the year was wrong?”

“Y/N what’s that got to do with anything.”

“What if the year wasn’t wrong.”

“It can’t be. They would have gotten married after I was born then.”

“TJ I’m not saying your dad is great but he just lied for your mom. He loves her. Something happened before you were born or after. I have this feeling that she didn’t cheat on him.”

“What are you saying?”

“Maybe I’m wrong but maybe your mom was in a bad situation and Rick stepped in to help because of her.”

“Rick,” said TJ, very quickly exiting back to the family room. “When did you meet my mom. If you ever want to speak to me again, if you want me to speak to her again, you’ll tell me the truth.”

Rick glanced to TJ’s mom, TJ smirking.

“You do care about her.”

“Of course I fucking care about her. I care about you too.”

“That’s great. I feel very cared for,” said TJ. Rick pursed his lips and his mom nodded. “Truth or I walk out that door and never come back.”

“I was married,” said TJ’s mom. “He was charming until he wasn’t. I got pregnant with you and you were born and he would get so angry at you for being a simple baby and crying and...I was so scared of him hurting you that I left. I had nothing and I stayed with a friend for a few days. I met Rick through them and he offered us a safe place to stay with him. It was only supposed to be short term but things developed. He is not perfect but he’s not the monster you think he is. We are safe and the reason you have all you do well and truly is because of him.”

“Do you have anything to say?” asked TJ quietly.

“I loved your mother before I loved you, that’s true. But I learned and I’ve done my best. You were far better off without me in your life. Look at what you have. You’d be angry and bitter if I had more of a hand in raising you. So you can hate me but you do not hurt your mother like that. You do not walk away from her after everything she has done for you. Understand me?”

“I need space from you,” said TJ, Rick nodding. “I also need something else.”

“What?”

“I still don’t understand why you took the money if you weren’t going to spend it.”

“Was gonna impress you, turn a profit on it, give it back with interest. Be like her father, give you some money for once.”

“Jensen doesn’t impress me because of money. Yes, their family doesn’t have to think twice about the cost of most anything. But Jensen, De, they don’t impress me for any reason other than how kind they’ve been to me. They treat me like their son, like I’m their own. They don’t pretend to. They don’t tolerate me for Y/N. They genuinely care about me, all because I fell in love with their daughter, a girl that’s not even theirs and they love her to death. The house is nice. The wedding was nice and so are the vacations. But I could live in a cardboard box and be happy if all I ever got was their kindness. They never made me work for it. They just gave it to me. You could have just given it to me and I would have been a happier kid. But you didn’t and now you have to work for it on my terms. So I want our money back and I want some space from you. If and when I’m ready to talk to you again, I’ll reach out. Alright?”

“Okay,” he said. TJ crossed his arms and nodded before he went outside. His mom followed after and you gave Rick a look. He pulled out his phone and tapped on it for a few moments before shoving it in his pocket. “It says it’s pending for that big of a transfer. It should be back in your account in a few days.”

“Oh I’ll make sure of that,” you said, walking over to him. “Rick. Maybe try some therapy if you really want to salvage this relationship.”

“You think I can afford that?” he said.

“We’ll pay,” said your mom. “Jensen and I will.”

“Why?”

“Cause he’s a fucking awesome kid and he deserves a relationship with you, even if we don’t like you,” she said.

“What about you? You hate me too kid?” he asked you.

“I can learn to tolerate and respect you. But you hurt him and I’ll protect him from anyone that does that, including you. But it’s not my forgiveness you need. It’s his so maybe try the therapy and let him come back if he’s ever ready for that, okay?”

“Alright.” You turned to go when he caught your shoulder. “Can I ask where the money came from? Jensen made it sound like you were behind on bills.”

“It made things tight for us. TJ and I have both been working side jobs nights and weekends to scrounge up extra money. We weren’t handed any of that money we gave you. We even took from ourselves and our children. Just because we live in a nice house doesn’t mean we don’t work for it,” you said. “Oh and one more thing. Touch my father again or call my mom slutty behind her back one more time, you’ll find out which one of us isn’t the good person in this relationship.”

“He what…” said your mom as you walked out, pulling her along behind you. “Dickhead!”

“Come on mom,” you said, pushing her back to the car. TJ gave his mom a nod and hug before he climbed back into the backseat.

“Slut my ass,” your mom mumbled under breath as she started the car back up. 

“Mom, let it go,” you said, shutting your eyes and slumping down in your seat.

“Put on your seatbelt,” she said. You reached up and put it on, turning back to catch TJ with his head leaned back. “You okay back there?”

“I don’t know,” he said.

“That’s probably the right answer,” you said. 

“Let’s get back to dad. I’m sure he’s climbing the walls to get out of there by now.”

Two Days Later

“Howdy,” said your dad, taking a seat in the patio chair beside you as you watched TJ swim in your pool with Allie. “Where’s the babe?”

“Naptime,” you said, TJ tossing Allie up in the air and hugging her tight when he caught her again. 

“How’s he holding up?” he asked, reaching over and taking a chip out of the bag in front of you.

“Better than expected. He’ll give Rick another chance someday.”

“He said that?”

“No. I know Thomas though. He’s too good to hold onto that crap. It might not be for six months or a year but it’ll happen eventually.”

“Well I think he’s a dick,” said your dad. “But if TJ wants to give him a chance, we’ll give him a chance.”

“Thanks for being his dad too,” you said.

“I love the kid,” he said, throwing his arm over your shoulders. “So what are you two gonna do with all that money?”

“Pay off the last of the lawyer fees, pay off a big chunk of what’s left on the mortgage. When that set design comes in then we won’t owe too much more on the house,” you said. “Speaking of which, I gotta go to work on it.”

“Y/N? Use some of that money and take a nice vacation with the kids. Or even just a long weekend away for you and TJ.”

“We really ought to use it for stuff like the house,” you said. 

“Have you and TJ ever taken a vacation just the two of you?”

“Of course. We went on our honeymoon.”

“That doesn’t count. The answer’s no, isn’t it.”

“Dad, I don’t need-”

“Maybe you don’t but somebody in that pool needs to have some fun. Plan a little trip away next month,” he said.

“He’s always wanted to go to Mardi Gras,” you said with a smile.

“You guys would have a blast and I got some pull down there and all. Come on. Let me spoil my grandkids for a weekend.”

“Alright, alright. You’ve convinced me,” you said.

“You mind if the twins have dinner with you guys?”

“We’re actually going to the Pads for dinner. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind more though. You got a hot date?”

“Getting a private college tour with mom and JJ,” he said. “Ya’ll can stop growing up anytime you want you know.”

“She wants to live at home you know.”

“Really?”

“Contrary to her teenage angst as of late, she does love us. Just you know, drop the curfew like you did with me.”

“And we get texts when you stay out.”

“That’s what you thought,” you mumbled. He raised an eyebrow and you shrugged. “I let you know when I wouldn’t be home that night. You didn’t need to know my exact whereabouts.”

“When’s the first time you stayed over TJ’s?”

“Fall of Freshman year in his dorm,” you said.

“Never mind. I don’t need to know,” he said.

“Yup. Let her have fun when she gets there, she’s smart,” you said. “Plus you know she’ll call me if shit happens. Also she has a year and a half of high school left. Relax.”

“At least I know Tom will keep an eye on her too.”

“Already planning the wedding?” you smirked.

“Shut up,” he said, ruffling your hair. “Make sure he gets this.”

He dug into his back pocket and took out an envelope, handing it to you.

“Thanks,” you said quietly. “Dad?”

“Mhm,” he said as he stood. 

“Can you invite him on your fishing trip this weekend with grandpa?”

“Already did,” he said, nodding down at the envelope. “I’ll talk to you soon, tall munchkin.”

“Later dad,” you said, TJ giving him a wave as he headed out. You left the letter on the patio table and went over to the pool, slipping into the shallow end.

“Everything good?” he asked.

“Yeah. My dad left you a letter,” you said, Allie swimming off on her own, doing circles around TJ. He nodded and got out of the pool, drying off some before he went to the table and sat down. “Time for a snack.”

You scooped her up and swung her around in the water, throwing her up your hip. You walked out with her, setting her down to dry her off some. 

“Is daddy okay?” she asked. 

“Yeah,” you said. “Why don’t you change back into some clothes and we’ll get Colin and snack time going.”

She rushed over to TJ and smiled up at him, TJ tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Daddy snack time!” she said.

“I’ll be inside in just a minute, sweetie,” he said. He leaned over and kissed her head, pushing her back towards you. You patted her inside, TJ rubbing his thumb over his lip as he read.

“Take your time, babe,” you said. You kissed his cheek and he nodded. “I’ll leave some tissues just inside the door in case.”

“Thanks,” he said. “Give me five minutes and I’ll be there.”

“Take all the time you need. I got these two,” you said. He nodded and smiled. “Love you.”

“Love you too, Y/N.”

_________

A/N: Read the First Summer Timestamp here!

[badapricot]

Lovely Writer: Special 1

This is a rough translation of the first Lovely Writer special. There are 8 in total and other side stories that the author compiled. I’ll try to post 1 a week since they do vary in length, and some are a lot lengthier than this one.

This special is from Nubsib’s POV and it’s about Nubsib remembering his feelings for Gene after seeing him on Facebook, and becoming fixated. Nubsib is 15 at the time and Gene is 20.

At that time, I was in the ninth grade.

Since middle school, my parents had sent me to study abroad with my brother. Because of the wealth of my family, this was never an inconvenience. But living alone in a place that wasn’t your home country required a lot of adjustment, mainly doing everything on your own. You had to learn things that you’ve never seen and known. 

This was one of the methods of teaching the sons of the Thanakitpaisan family.

It was their luck to have a son who was mature since childhood. It didn't take long for me to get used to the culture there, where I went to parties, attended sports clubs, worked a part-time job, and even had typical American teen sex. Being Asian did give me some advantages, when it came to distinguishing myself from the others.

I could only smile when talking to the many blonde women who bragged about our experiences in bed, amongst their group of friends. After some time, I felt differently about it.

"Sib.”

"Yes?" I leaned back on the sofa, and raised my head from his screen when I heard my name.

Neung came downstairs. He was wearing a thick gray cardigan with a scarf. "I’m going to go meet a friend. You're not going anywhere today, right? "

"Hmm."

"Okay, I might be coming back late. Please get my package when it arrives. You’re not going out with your girlfriend, right?”

"We broke up.”

"Huh?” Neung frowned. "You dumped another one? Again? You know, you don’t have the face of a womanizer.”

"…"

Neung opened the door of the house. For a moment, the cool outside air blew in, until the hot air from the heater disappeared. I didn’t care much about either, and stayed looking at my phone screen.

I’m not a womanizer.

It’s just that every time I got together with a girlfriend, something felt wrong. I knew I wasn’t in love with the first girl. The others, I didn’t like particularly much. Sometimes the girls didn’t like me much either, and only wanted a partner themselves, so we’d eventually separate.

It was true, that I was only in the ninth grade. But sex here was too normalized. It had become so normal that I’d become bored. When sex became so commonplace, all excitement was lost.

Mom: (send picture)

Mom: I’ve sent you Thai ingredients that should be delivered soon. They’ll be waiting for you.

Mom: Today, I went to see Aunt Run, do you still remember the house next door? Today is the Aunt's birthday. All of her sons have come home.

Mom: I saw it and I missed you and Neung.

I looked at the message that popped up, from the other side of the world. It was dark here, but over there it was probably in the middle of the day. It was time for them to eat.

Mom: Do you remember Gene? Gene and Jap are all grown up.

Gene?

After reading my mother’s message, it was natural to think of the past. I missed it. During my childhood I would run and play with him everyday, and just the same, Gene would play with me almost every day.

I still remembered “P’Gene” clearly after all these years.

We were five years apart. But we somehow became closer than me and my own brother. Since I moved out of the house, we never saw each other again. We didn’t have any more contact with each other.

When my mother talked about that time, I felt nostalgic.

I moved my finger to type to ask for a picture from my mother. In the end, I sent a simple sticker. I sat on the sofa in the living room for awhile before retiring to my bedroom to shower.

In my warm bedroom,  so different from the night air outside, I picked up my phone again. I went to Facebook to catch up with everything back home. My finger kept scrolling through my news feed, my face blank. I started to feel sleepy, but before I could fall asleep I saw a status.

I wasn’t friends with the person who posted. But I was friends with his mother, who was tagged in the photo.

Jap Jarernpipat posted a picture.

This year, my mother has lost another year, haha.

In the picture was a group of six people. The background was a wide garden and a long table. Both of my parents, and Auntie Run and Uncle Teep were there. But the one that most caught the eye was the man in the lower right corner.

The other person grinned until his eyes were crescents. His hands were raised, flashing a peace sign. His hand held a cake tray with a delicious golden egg. The corner of the mouth was stained with white cream, like he was teasing someone. He was smiling, which made his cheeks round and full.

I couldn't take my eyes off of him. For a second, there was a strange numbness in my fingertips and toes.

I didn’t need anyone to tell me who that was.

P’Gene.

He was still wearing a white uniform shirt. It had been many years since we’d met, if counted by age. Gene would have been in university for three years.

Usually, I was the kind of person who didn’t care about the people around me, or anyone else. But this time, I couldn't control my fingertips. I clicked onto Jap’s Facebook page.

Chasing him down, I found a status posted with the person I was looking for tagged.

Jap Jarernpipat posted a picture

My brother brought me to the movies. What kind of crazy alien movie is this? I might puke, but maybe you guys on Facebook will like it.

The post was from three days ago. One was a picture of a cinema ticket on the top floor of a department store in the heart of Bangkok and the other was of P’Gene in a T-shirt and jeans. He hugged a bucket of popcorn. His hand was holding a large glass of water, lifting it up to his lips and sucking. It was a funny candid photo that many of his friends on Facebook commented on to make fun of him.

...but for me, the only word that came to mind was “lovely”.

I didn’t know why I was doing this but I pressed “save that image”.

Jap Jarernpipat posted a picture

My stupid little brother, you make the whole house look bad.

They were in a garden in the corner of the house that felt familiar to me, but was a little fuzzy. They were in front of a flower bush that had been trimmed into a square. Gene was sitting down, with his butt on the ground. A blue hose fell next to him, the hose spraying in another direction. It made him wet all over soaking his shirt, the thin material clinging to his body.

Both of his arms were behind him, to support his body. Therefore, his shirt and body were stretched, so I could see two small nubs contrasted and poking through his white shirt.

My eyebrows furrowed together, and I frowned.

I cursed when my body immediately had a strong reaction, just from the one picture.

I pressed the comment section, when I saw the high number of comments.

Jiranon Jarernpipat: Jap stop posting pictures of other people.

(Reply) Jap Jarernpipat attached video clip.

I clicked play immediately.

"Ow, P’Jap!”

“Hahaha, why would you say you’ll help me water the plants? You can help if the grass is dead.”

“Can you turn off the water for me first? Why are you recording?”

P’Gene raised his white hand. He wiped the water from his face, and pushed himself off  the ground. His shirt clung to his body, so I could see everything. He had the voice of a man, but he was still so cute.

Finally, the clip ended.

There were still a lot of other videos that Jap posted pranking Gene, all of which stopped me from becoming bored. I saved all of them to my phone and computer. In the end, when more and more accumulated, I created a whole separate folder.

That night when I fell asleep, my brain was filled with pictures of the boy next door, who I hadn’t seen in years.

Another morning, days later, I woke up frowning, and I had to gently breathe out. I’d dreamt of P’Gene again. Since seeing that picture that night, there hadn’t been a day where I could go without seeing his face.

I knew Gene’s Facebook. But he didn’t update much, except to change his avatar or cover photo. But Jap’s Facebook page had tons of pictures of Gene. So I was still able to look at Gene’s pictures and progress in life everyday, like some kind of psychopath.

Even when I closed my eyes to sleep sometimes, I still saw his pictures.

I didn’t want to be this way, but I couldn’t control my subconscious.

I always saw Gene lying in my wide bed. He would smile at me, his cheeks soft and reddish. His hands would hold on to me, and his mouth would gently say, “Sib.”

It was a fantasy that any teenage boy would have. But it wasn’t a woman. Instead, it was the boy next door, who always loved and saw me as a brother.

I circled back to look at his pictures every day. In the end, the feeling accumulated like a huge mountain of snow.

I want to meet him in real life.

I want to hug him.

I want to smell him. 

I want to kiss his mouth. I want to do to him what I do in my dreams.

Since the day I saw his picture and until today, my thoughts and feelings had become more and more intense. So intense, that sometimes I was afraid of myself.

I’d already decided how I’d deal with this.

“Will you finish school here?” Neung had packed all his bags and was ready to go because he finished his studies. I leaned against the door frame, looking into his room.

“Actually, it’s nice here too, you know.”

"No, I'm going home."

“So you’ve changed your mind then?”

I nodded.

“Well, our house is nice and of course, our parents miss you too.”

"…"

"I'm not going to be here anymore, don't bring any women into the house...but you're not dating any girls lately. So it's fine."

I sent off my brother, who took a taxi straight to the airport to go back home to Thailand. Personally, I still had a year to complete my studies.

In the past, I had never thought or worried about how fast or slow time would pass. But now, I felt jealous of my brother.

Back at the house, I picked up the phone. I was still for a while. Maybe it was because Neung had returned to Thailand, but I felt like chasing pictures wasn’t enough anymore. My fingers moved before I could decide to send a message to someone.

Nubsib tanagijpaisarn: P'Jap.

Nubsib tanagijpaisarn: Do you remember me?

I wanted to talk to someone who could tell me everything about P’Gene. 

I wanted to learn everything about him.

[matthewtkachuk]

forgive me - rafe cameron

you’re ready to forgive Rafe, but first you’re going to make him work for it, sequel to ignore me

warnings: smutty smut smut (sorry not sorry), oral (female receiving), penetrative sex, lil bit of cockwarming (for @anxietyandtacos)

pairing: rafe cameron x reader

word count: 2.9k

a/n: in honor of me hitting 700, here’s the long-awaited sequel to ignore me, i hope yall enjoy 😏 (lowkey this isn’t proofread, sorry not sorry)

Rafe Cameron was the most annoying person on the planet, he was persistent and determined and so goddamn stubborn. He didn’t like to take no for an answer, and he knew every button of yours to press, and boy did he enjoy pressing them. He would pick and prod and poke until it drove you absolutely crazy and you had no choice but to acknowledge him. Above all though, he truly, deeply loved you and that’s why you could never stay mad at him. He didn’t need to know that, though.

After some of the best make up sex you’d ever had in your life, after you had left him in a huff to spend the night in the spare room once again, he’d ramped up his efforts to earn your forgiveness. The next morning he tried the breakfast angle again, this time bringing you eggs benny and a mimosa from your favorite brunch place on the island right to you in bed. You had to hide your smile as you sat up against the headboard and took the tray from him without even a half-hearted thank you. He didn’t say anything, but you saw the way his mouth twisted into a little pout and you could practically hear the gears in his head turn as he thought of his next step.

After you’d finished your breakfast, you made your way back home, thinking the extra bit of distance might further frustrate and motivate him. Lying on your couch, you spent your time scrolling through the several messages Rafe had left for you and giggling at his desperation. The earlier anger you had felt had all but faded, leaving behind soft fondness as you scrolled through various iterations of ‘I’m sorry baby’ and ‘I love you’ and ‘talk to me’ and ‘please’.

As it turns out, Rafe’s next step arrived after lunch in the form of Sarah Cameron holding a garment bag in one hand and a box that looked suspiciously like it might hold a necklace within.

You scoffed at the items in her hands, lifting an eyebrow as you told her, “If he thinks he’s going to buy my forgiveness…” you paused thoughtfully, eyeing the label on the garment bag and the Tiffany blue packaging of the jewelry box, “Well, damn he might be right.” Sarah only giggled and handed off the items to you, telling you that was only ‘the beginning’ and to be ready by 5.

Part of you thought about ignoring your instructions, slipping on a pair of fuzzy pajamas and watching movies with a glass of wine. The thought of Rafe’s face seeing you on the couch when he arrived that evening was almost enough to do it. But, truthfully, you weren’t even that mad anymore and you were really curious to see what kind of dress he had picked out for you. Looking at the time, you sighed. You really needed to shower, and you liked to take your time getting ready, so you got off the couch and headed up into your bathroom.

After your shower, you unzipped the garment bag and admired the silky, black fabric of the dress, more than a little impressed with Rafe. You spent the next few hours slowly getting ready, taking the time to do your hair and even bringing out the winged eyeliner. Your last step was slipping on the dress, loving the feel of the fabric against your skin.

At five o clock on the dot, your doorbell rang. You took your time swiping a thin coat of lip gloss to your lips before rolling them with a smack. Slipping on a pair of simple black heels, you checked yourself out in the mirror one more time. Rafe had done well choosing the dress, it was in your exact size and hugged the contours of your body perfectly. A small smirk graced your face as you imagined his reaction, and you couldn’t wait any longer, leaving the sanctity of your bedroom. You heard Rafe making small talk with your parents as you descended the steps. Your mother had loved Rafe the moment you brought him home as your boyfriend, but your father had taken longer to warm up to him. It made your heart happy to see the two of them getting along and so you rushed down the last few steps to keep from breaking out into a wide grin.

His jaw dropped slightly when you came into sight, eyes respectfully roaming the black dress hugging your figure. “You look beautiful,” he smiled, though his eyes furrowed when he noticed your bare neck.

“Could you help me put this on?” You asked softly, handing him the diamond necklace you grasped in your small hand and turning around, lifting your hair. You couldn’t help the shiver as his hands brushed against your décolletage and quickly clasped the necklace. He was grateful you didn’t feel how his hands shook.

Spinning back around, you grabbed his hand and tried to wish your parents goodnight and make a speedy getaway, but of course your father had other ideas.

“Have her back by 11,” your father gruffly reminded him and you rolled your eyes.

“Dad, I’m twenty years old,” You told him exasperatedly, but he just shook his head and reminded you that you were ‘under his roof’ for the summer.

“We’ll see you tomorrow, darling,” Your mom smiled, placing her hand on your father’s bicep to calm him. Grinning at her, you told them you loved them and all but dragged Rafe out the door. The second the door closed, you let his hand fall and walked purposefully to his truck. The way his smile fell a little hurt your heart, but you were playing the long game and it was too soon to give in. Rushing ahead of you, he opened the door and helped you in before shutting it for you and jogging to the driver side. He didn’t make a move to grab your thigh, and you found yourself missing the warm comfort it provided. While avoiding his gaze, you grabbed his hand from the wheel and placed it on its familiar position on your upper thigh, watching the way the side of his mouth upturned in your peripheral vision.

It didn’t take long to reach your destination, the cute new restaurant with seating on the waterfront. You had been talking about going there since it opened, but you and Rafe hadn’t yet found the time to go. You gave him a questioning look, there was definitely a wait list but he just shrugged and smiled before getting out of the vehicle and meeting you on the passenger side, opening the door for you again and helping you out. He tossed the keys at the valet, and walked into the restaurant, and you didn’t let go of his hand this time.

Sitting at your table overlooking the calm water, the late afternoon made its way into evening in a flurry of smiles and laughter and quiet conversation. You didn’t know if it was the way his larger hand held yours over the table, the soft adoration in his gaze, or the messy way his hair fell in his eyes, but by the time the entrees had been cleared from the table you knew you needed him. You could pretend the whole date hadn’t done a thing for you, or you could try and get him to show you just how sorry he was.

As he looked through the dessert menu, you squeezed his hand and murmured his name. He looked up at you and flushed a little under your intense gaze, asking, “Baby?”

“Take me home,” you told him slowly, and you saw his face fall. Sighing a little, he nodded “Alright-“

“No, Rafe. Take me home,” you emphasized the last word, tongue poking out to lick at your bottom lip. This time, you saw comprehension flash in his eyes and he nodded quickly, pulling out his wallet and dropping a couple hundred dollar bills on the table, more than enough to cover your bill and leave a generous tip.

The drive back to his house was considerably quicker than the drive to the restaurant, and his hand rested dangerously high on your upper thigh the entire drive, stroking it softly and ever so slightly moving closer to where you needed him without ever actually touching. The second he threw the truck into park, he was hopping out of the vehicle. Thankful that Ward, Rose and Wheezie were on the mainland for the week and Sarah was probably slumming it down on the Cut, Rafe pulled you into the house and slammed you against the shut front door, eerily reminiscent of when you had slammed it only a few days ago royally pissed off at your boyfriend.

You hungrily kissed him, hands running through and messing up his already messy hair. One of his hands gripped your waist tightly, the other cupped your left breast. Whimpering into his mouth as the hand on your waist slid down your side and slipped under your dress, you tugged on his hair. “Upstairs?” you asked when he broke the kiss to look at you. He smirked and you gasped when he threw you over his shoulder and carried you up the stairs, hand squeezing your ass just because it was right there and he could.

He set you down gently on your feet, both of his hands coming to rest on either side of your jaw as he pulled you in for a slow, passionate kiss. You felt your head spin, seeing stars as one of his hands slipped a little lower and began to gently put pressure on your neck. Gasping, you started to undo the buttons of his dress shirt, slipping your hand underneath the material and pulling it off of him. Your hands trailed down his toned chest and over his abs, before your smaller hands fumbled with his belt, pulling it clean from the belt loops of his dress pants. When you reached for the button, he pushed your hands away and spun you around to unzip your dress, pressing your chest into the door.

First, he pushed your hair over your shoulder and pressed a kiss to your shoulder blade before beginning to slowly pull the zipper down your back. Kissing every inch of back he exposed, all the way down to where your lower back met your ass before standing back up and pushing the dress off your shoulders, allowing it to spill at your feet. You turned around, back pressed to his bedroom door, and stood before him in just your matching lingerie set, and your entire body felt hot from the way he was looking at you – like you were everything he could ever possibly want. “You’re so beautiful, baby,” he murmured, causing your face to get even warmer.

Running his hands from your shoulder blades, down to your wrists, he linked your hands together as he pressed open mouth kisses down your neck and between your breasts. Pausing to mouth at your nipple through the lace of your bra, he continued kissing and sucking his way down your chest and stomach, stopping at the lace of your panties. You sucked in a deep breath as he sunk to his knees, pressing a kiss to your inner thigh before pulling your panties down your legs and helping you step out of them. He leaned back, admiring your core before stroking you slowly with his index finger, gathering the wetness on the tip of his finger. “Such a pretty pussy baby,” he whispered, “and all wet just for me,”

“Rafe,” you whined, hands moving to grip his hair as he lazily played with you, carefully avoiding your entrance and your clit. He smirked up at you, large hand gripping one of your thighs and lifting it to rest over his shoulder.

“Don’t worry baby, I’ll take good care of you,” he kissed his way up your thigh, tongue flicking out of his mouth to lick at your clit once, twice. You jerked your hips, one hand leaving his hair to grip the dresser that stood beside his door. He pulled his head back and tilted it up to look at you, continuing with a smirk, “as long as you forgive me.”

The way he was looking at you coupled by his grip on your thigh had you unable to speak. Rafe mistook it as you stubbornly holding onto your anger, choosing to press his thumb to your clit and kiss the inside of your thigh, causing you to gasp. “Forgive me baby? Please you know I can’t stand you bein’ mad at me. I miss you.” He murmured against the smooth skin of your leg. You still couldn’t speak, and so he pressed his mouth to your clit, sucking and licking as you moaned above him. Suddenly stopping, he leaned back to look at you, indicating he wouldn’t continue until you spoke.

“I- yes, I forgive you, please, I-“ you whined, tugging on his hair. Sighing in a mixture of relief and pleasure as he reattached his mouth to your pussy, your head hit the back of the door with a bang when he slipped a finger into you, then another. You couldn’t help but grind your pussy against his face as he noisily sucked and licked. Eating you out was one of Rafe’s favorite things to do, and he once joked that suffocating between your thighs was the only way he wanted to go. It didn’t take long for you to reach your high after he inserted a third finger into you, curling all three fingers and stroking your walls. Your legs shook and you whined his name as you came, slumping against the door. If Rafe hadn’t been holding you up, you’re certain you would have fallen to the ground, boneless. After he had licked you clean, he gently set your leg back on the ground and rose from his knees before he pressed you into the door, kissing you as you tasted yourself on his tongue. His hand wrapped around your body and easily undid the clasp of your bra, slipping the fabric down your arms until you stood bare before him entirely.

Pressing a kiss to your lips again, he began to undo the button of his pants, before telling you to ‘get on the bed, baby’. Your legs felt like jello as you made the four steps to the bed, crawling onto the bed and laying against the pillows, watching him slip out of his pants and boxers, mouthwatering at the sight of his naked body.

You waited with baited breath as he crawled his way over your body, leaning down to kiss you again, slipping his tongue in your mouth as your chests pressed together. You ran your hands up his muscled back, holding him close to you as you kissed. He leaned his body weight on his forearms that rested on either side of your head, before reaching down to guide himself into your warm heat. The stretch was so good it was almost painful as he slowly entered you, inch by inch until your hips met. He was slow at first, keeping an even pace as he pressed kisses against your neck, your chest. “See how good it can be when you forgive me, baby?” he murmured into your neck. You could only whine in response, holding him tightly to your body.

It was the way his hips thrust in and out of you, the soft affirmations he whispered in between breathy, whiny moans, the way he gripped the headboard. It was the way he told you he loved you when he was fucking you into the mattress, the look in his eyes as he hiked your leg up further up his hip to enter you even deeper. It was the perfectly imperfect combination of all things Rafe Cameron that had your eyes rolling into the back of your head, your pussy clenching on his dick, as you came hard for the second time. Groaning at the feeling of you around him, he fucked you through your orgasm, chasing his own high.

Wanting to help him, you pressed a kiss to the spot just under his ear, smiling when he rewarded you with a whiny moan. Mind clouded with the pleasure he was still giving you, you incoherently rambled in his ear, “God I love you so much baby, you’re so good to me. You make me feel so good, no one can make me feel this good but you.”

Groaning, he slipped a hand down to rub against your clit, hoping to bring you to your third orgasm as he approached his own. Back arching without warning, you came unexpectedly around him again, crying his name and “I love you” and “I forgive you baby, I forgive you.” Your words spurned him on, and he came inside you before collapsing on top of you, cock still buried deep in you. You held him to your chest as it heaved, willing your soul to return to your body.

“You forgive me, huh?” He mumbled, smirking against your chest, “Was it the three orgasms, dinner, or the Tiffany necklace?”

“Oh baby,” you giggled, leaning down to kiss his sweaty forehead, “I already forgave you before all that, just wanted to make you sweat a little.”

Throwing his head back in a whiny laugh, he pressed a kiss to your chest, “Cruel woman.”

“Ya, but you’ll forgive me.”

everything taglist: @velyssaraptor @danicarosaline @copper-boom @x-lulu @prejudic3 @rekrappeter @downbytheouterbanks @ilovejjmaybank @bricksatanakinswindow @jellyfishbeansontoast @sunwardsss @rudyypankow @im-a-stranger-thing @alexa-playafricabytoto @maybankfullkook​@girlsru1eboysdroo1 @sortagaysortahigh @socialwriter @bluesiderudy @anxietyandtacos

[sisterspooky1013]

Only One Choice, Part 2, Chapter 22

Read it here on AO3 / Tagging @today-in-fic

“Five, four, three, two, one, Happy New Year!”

Auld Lang Syne erupts from the speakers at the Gunmen’s, everyone finding someone, or something, to kiss. Scully smiles at the sight of Missy and Byers, snuggled in the corner of the couch smirking around a series of small pecks, whispering something to each other meant only for their ears.

“Sorry, poorly timed bathroom break,” Mulder says as he approaches, putting one hand at the small of her back and the other across her shoulders as he dips like he’s a sailor returning from sea. She squeals, then kisses him in earnest with her hands cradling his face, stopping only when Frohike suggests they get a room. They straighten up, her palms on his chest as his rest just above her tailbone. She beams up at him, optimistic and excited to embark on 1998 as a team. What a difference a year makes, she thinks to herself.

“Happy New Year, Scully,” he says with an affectionate smile.

“Happy New Year, Mulder.”

———

“Ugh, do we have to go?” she whines, curled up on the couch under a blanket.

“Do we have to go to your birthday party? I’m thinking yes,” he says, crouching down next to her.

“I’m sleepy,” she says, tugging on his hand, “let’s take a nap.”

He sighs. “That sounds very enticing, but you already took a nap today and we have to be at your mom’s in forty-five minutes.”

She makes a face. “Fine, but she better have coffee made.”

“She always does,” he replies, pulling her to her feet. “But drinking coffee at 6:00 pm is probably why you’re so tired in the first place. You’re not sleeping well at night.”

She gives him a deadpan expression. “I totally missed you getting your doctorate in medicine, Mulder. You hid it so well.”

He gives her a playful slap on the butt. “Get going, little lady, we’re gonna be late.”

There’s dinner, cake, and a small set of gifts. Missy and Byer’s give her a very fancy set of bubble bath and bath salts, while Charlie opts for a VHS of Weekend at Bernies, which she begrudgingly admits is one of her favorites. Mom gives her two tickets to see Chicago live on Broadway, and insists that she won’t be upset if Dana takes Mulder instead of her. She opens Mulder’s gift last, having already warned him that if it were something inappropriate to open in front of her family, she would punish him profusely. He insisted it was totally safe, so she accepts the large flat rectangular package from him with only a hint of skepticism. She tears the paper away to find a large frame, nearly the size of a poster, with a dark blue circle occupying most of the framed area. Within the circle is a series of white dots and lines of varying sizes. Beneath it is a date and set of coordinates.

May 29, 1996

38.5313718, -77.4456233

She feels her throat constrict with emotion and bites her lip to try and stave off the tears.

“What does it mean?” Missy asks.

“It’s a constellation map,” Byers answers, “it shows the night sky on a specific date and at a specific location. Those are coordinates.”

“For where?” Missy inquires further.

“Quantico,” Scully answers tightly, standing to thread her arms around Mulder’s neck. “Thank you,” she whispers, and he gives her a little squeeze.

“It was written in the stars, Scully,” he whispers back, then holds her while her mother clears the dishes and everyone retreats to the living room.

An hour later, Mulder and Maggie stand at the kitchen sink, washing and drying the dishes while Scully sips a cup of coffee at the counter, her chin resting on her fist.

“Can we go soon, Mulder? I’m exhausted,” she says with drooping eyelids.

“Of course, whatever the birthday girl wishes is my command,” he replies, running a dish towel around the perimeter of a plate.

“Are you okay sweetie, you getting sick?” Maggie asks with a concerned furrow of her brow.

“No, Mom, I’m fine. I’ve just been exhausted lately, no matter how much sleep I get.”

Maggie cocks her head at her daughter. “When’s the last time you had your period, Dana?”

“I don’t get a period, pleasant side effect of my birth control,” she says with a hint of annoyance.

“And you haven’t missed a pill, or whatever?” Maggie clarifies.

“It’s a shot, and I got one in December, I’m not due to get another until next month,” she replies, resting her forehead on the counter.

There is a long silence. Long enough that she lifts her head to see what’s causing it. Mulder is staring at her with wide eyes, his mouth slightly open, and Maggie is staring at Mulder like she’s just come to some kind of realization.

“What?” Scully asks, “you’re freaking me out.”

“I was supposed to remind you to reschedule your appointment in December,” he says softly, his breathing very shallow.

She sits up straighter. “No, Mulder, I got my shot right before we went to California for Christmas.” Even as she tries to convince them all that it’s not what Maggie is suggesting, her face is contorting into one of fear.

“You had an emergency autopsy,” he says quietly, “Trudy was out. You missed it.”

“Oh god,” she says, her mind reeling. “Oh my god.”

“I’m going to give you two some privacy,” Maggie says, exciting the kitchen.

Mulder comes around to her side of the counter, placing a palm in the middle of her back. “Scully?” he asks, though he’s not sure what the question is.

“We need to go to the store,” she says flatly, shifting into problem-solving mode. “We need to pick up a pregnancy test.”

———

They are perched on the edge of the bathtub, the test sitting face-down on the counter next to the sink.

“How long has it been?” she asks, and Mulder checks his watch again.

“Four minutes,” he answers, squeezing her hand.

She pulls in a deep breath and lets it out slowly.

“What if it’s positive?” she asks quietly.

“Then...we have a baby,” he answers.

She looks at him and he gives her a small smile. She tries to smile back but her chin puckers and turns it into a grimace.

“Okay,” she finally responds.

Mulder checks his watch again.

“It’s been five minutes,” he says, “do you want to look, or do you want me to?”

She closes her eyes.

“You look. One line is negative, two lines is positive. Even if the second line is very faint, it’s positive if there are two.”

“Okay,” he says, moving to the counter.

She opens her eyes to watch him as he picks up the test and turns it over. His face is unreadable as he places it back on the counter and walks over to the tub, kneeling on the floor between her knees. He brings his hands to her hips and looks up at her with a gentle expression, then leans forward and presses his lips to her belly.

“Oh my god,” she whispers, tears pooling in her eyes.

He pulls back and takes her hands in his.

“It’s okay, Scully. Maybe it’s not perfect timing, but I love you and I’m excited to have a baby with you.”

She looks at him incredulously. “You are?”

He smiles at her. “Of course. I’ve thought about us having kids someday hundreds of times. I just always figured it would be a little further in the future.”

She gives him a pained smile through her tears, draping her arms around his neck.

“We’re going to have a baby,” she says out loud for the first time.

“We’re going to have a baby,” he repeats.

That night in bed, she lies awake for a long time, the shock of the news overriding her fatigue.

“I can feel you thinking,” Mulder grumbles from behind her.

“Sorry,” she answers over her shoulder.

He pushes his chin into the crook of her neck, his arm slinging over her waist.

“What are you thinking about?” he asks softly.

“Just the future. What’s going to happen next. Where the hell we’re going to fit a baby and all it’s crap in this apartment.”

“We might have to move,” Mulder offers.

“Even if we do, should we rent someplace bigger? Should we buy a house? Would your name or mine be on the deed? Speaking of names, will the baby have your last name or mine? I can picture my mother’s church friends gossiping about the poor bastard child with a different last name than his mother,” she rambles.

Mulder is quiet for a moment.

“We could get married,” he says with the same casualness as suggesting pizza for dinner.

She freezes. “No, Mulder,” she says coldly.

“Why not?” he asks, pulling away and gently rolling her onto her back so he can see her face.

She shakes her head glumly. “I got married for the wrong reasons once. I’m not going to do it again.”

“What’s the wrong reason?” he asks sincerely.

“Getting married because you’re pregnant is about the most standard wrong reason to get married I can think of, Mulder.”

“I don’t want to marry you because you’re pregnant, Scully,” he implores, resting his hand on her stomach. “I want to marry you because I love you.”

“The timing of the question suggests otherwise,” she counters, and his face contorts into a wounded expression. “Mulder, I’m not saying no forever, I’m just saying not right now. We’re about to go through a lot, I’m going to be insane with hormones, and then give birth and feel fat and awful with a crying newborn and will probably resent you-“

“Well with that attitude,” he cuts her off, though his tone is lighthearted.

She rolls to her side to face him, clutching his hands to her chest.

“Ask me again later, Mulder, when we’ve survived this. When you’ve seen me huge and then deflated and unshowered and weepy. If you still think you want to marry me after seeing me at my absolute worst, ask me again.”

“Okay,” he says, planting a kiss to her forehead. “I will.”

[raysofcrosby]

can we see a little sneak peek at the epilogue pleaseeeeeee☺️

sure thing! 🥰

below the cut is a sneak peek of the wltay epilogue!

“You know that they’re getting ready to take off, right?” Matt asked, coming up beside Caroline’s chair and resting his hands against the back of his beside her.

“Mhhm, they handed out the sparklers just a bit ago.” Caroline nodded down at the packaged sparkler in front of her, the packaging giving a time to line up just outside and that someone would be there to light them for them.

“Which means the night is coming to an end…”

“I hope so,” she laughed, placing her glass down in front of her and shifting in her chair, tugging up on her deep coral colored bridesmaid dress and poking out her left foot, still wearing her nude heels. “My feet are starting to kill me and the moscato only helps so much.”

“We can take care of that later,” Matt said, grabbing onto both hands and tugging her up onto her feet. “But right now, we’re going to dance before the wedding ends.”

“But my feet,” she pouted, letting Matt hold onto her hand as he led them onto the ballroom floor.

“I’ll rub your feet tonight and tomorrow,” he stopped in the middle of the dance floor and wrapped his right arm around her waist, pulling her into him as he held onto her right hand with his left. “But right now, we’re dancing. Capiche?”

“You’re not sleeping at your parents’ place tonight?” She asked, resting her left arm on his right arm and placing her hand on his shoulder.

“Oh no, definitely not. Ethan is, but not me. I’m staying with you in your room.”

“Matthew,” she rolled her eyes as he smiled. “We’re not crossing that line.”

“I know, I know,” he replied, sighing. “The one time when we got back from the lake house was bad enough, but I sure as hell don’t regret it. What’s a Stanley Cup celebration without some Stanley Cup celebration sex, hm?”

Caroline shook her head, resting her forehead against his shoulder so he couldn’t see her blush. It wasn’t intentional– her and Matt sleeping together– it really was sort of an accident...that involved being way too drunk from brunch with Brady and Emma that first weekend back from the lake house. They all ended up crashing at Brady and Emma’s place, and while Emma attempted to take a shower while Matt and Brady ordered food, Caroline was supposed to be taking a nap in their guest room.

Until Matt came walking in and cuddled up behind her and the soft kiss against her cheek, turned into a kiss on the mouth, then the hands got involved and before they knew it, the tension was high and they were naked, in each others arms and under the covers being woken up by a slightly less drunk Brady a few minutes later, who came to announce that the pizza was there and that Matt was going to pay to have the sheets and comforter cleaned.

Since then, they haven’t crossed the line. The small touches, lingering hugs and simple kisses were fine to them. Matt could stay the night and sleep in her bed with her and that was fine too– but sex was a no-go. Even while the being around each other was enough to solidify her feelings, it was the sex that would make her want to skip out on the hard work she was putting in with Moira in working through her issues from the past.

And that was something she was adamant about working on, for everyone’s sakes– but more specifically, her own and her little family’s.

“I’m more than okay with just sleeping beside you for the night, no sex needed.” He whispered, resting his head beside hers. “Just something to get used to once we finally figure everything out, because when we do, I can guarantee you that when I’m home for the summer that I’ll be sleeping over at your place.”

“You haven’t considered getting your own place here yet for the summers?”

Matt shrugged, trying to hide the sheepish smile on his face. “I’ll admit that I’ve been looking at a few places in the neighborhood, but I’m not looking to buy until we get everything settled.”

“And by settled you mean…”

“Definitely you and me in a relationship of course, duh.”

“I thought we were starting over, hm?” She laughed, looking at him.

“I mean, we don’t have to start way over...right? I’m pretty sure we don’t have to take it as slow as you and doucheface were. I’ve stayed over plenty of times, you and Ethan literally stayed at my apartment back in Calgary and we have years of history together. How much do we really need to start over with besides the obvious?” He asked, spinning her out before bringing her back in.

“You live in Calgary nine months out of the year, Matt. So what are we talking about here?” She asked, stopping him from spinning her out again. “Living together for three months here every summer in St. Louis where we’re vacationing some of the time? Or living together twelve months out of the year, both in Calgary and St. Louis?”

Matt paused, looking at her as he rested both hands at the small of her back. “It’s whatever you want to do, Care. You and E made a really solid foundation here and it wouldn’t be the first time a player lives somewhere different than his family for the season. I’ll do whatever’s best for you both.”

“Sounds like you’ve got more than just dating in mind there, Matthew,” she spoke softly, a teasing smile on her face.

“The tradition is that the people who catch the bouquet and the garter get married next, right?” He smiled.

“Does it really count if the toss was fixed?”

“Pft, of course it does!” He said, dipping her down slowly as he smiled and brought her back up. “Besides, who said it was fixed?”

“I don’t know,” she smiled, the song coming to an end as they stayed on the dance floor. “Maybe it was Taryn shooing everyone else away from us in the circle?”

Matt rolled his eyes as he held her hand and the two of them walked back to their table. “What my sister does is her own thing. But I can promise you I didn’t set it up.” He pulled her chair out, scooting it back in once she sat down before sitting down next to her and turning towards her in his chair. “But back to your original question, yes. I’ve definitely got more than dating in mind.”

Caroline reached for her glass of moscato and took a sip, savoring the taste before looking at him. “You know...when we were walking down the aisle together, I may or may not have pictured it being you and me on our wedding day.”

“We’re getting married?” He asked, gasping as he grabbed his beer bottle. “An invitation would’ve been nice.”

She was the one who rolled her eyes this time at his teasing tone. “I’m not saying that we are right now, I was just saying it was easy to picture.”

“Do you still have that pinterest board of your dream wedding you made back in high school?” He asked, a teasing smile on his lips as he brought the bottle to his mouth. “Am I still wearing the gray suit and the purple accessories?”

“Lavender, thank you,” she replied, putting her glass back onto the table. “And I plead the fifth on my wedding board.”

“I have been told that is my best color, by you of course...and my Mom,” he laughed, taking another sip of his beer. “Just answer one more question before you cease the wedding talk until our own, hm?”

She picked her glass back up, preparing herself for whatever it was he was going to ask. “Okay, I’m listening.”

“Did you ever look at that board when you were planning your wedding with doucheface?” His tone was playful still, but Caroline didn’t miss the seriousness behind his playful question.

“Nope,” Caroline replied, shaking her head as she brought the glass up to her lips. “Never glanced at it once. And if we’re being honest...I didn’t get very far in the wedding planning process. I only got as far as ordering a magazine to look at dresses, but that’s it.”

“Good,” Matt nodded, failing to hide the smile as he finished off the rest of his beer before putting it down onto the table.

“Momma, I’m tired,” Ethan pouted, walking up and standing in between Matt and Caroline’s chairs, leaning against Matt’s legs.

“You had all that cake after I told you not to, didn’t you?” She asked, looking at him as he nodded. “So now you’re coming down from that sugar high you said you wouldn’t get even though I told you it’d happen, right?’

“Mhhm,” he nodded, still pouting as he pried at Matt’s knees to step between them, leaning further against Matt. “Can we go home now, Daddy?”

“We’ve still got to say bye to BeeBee and Emmy, but after that we’ll ride home with Papa Walt and Mimi, okay?” Matt asked, picking Ethan up and sitting him on his lap.

“Which speaking of,” Caroline said, nodding around them as everyone was getting up to walk towards the designated spot. “We should probably get our sparklers and go line up.”

“What do you think, E?” Matt asked, getting Ethan to lift his head up off of his shoulder. “Can you stay awake a little longer to light up the sparkler? I’ll let you hold mine and yours, that way I can carry you, okay?”

“Okay, I can do that.” Ethan nodded, getting off of Matt’s lap and standing there as Matt stood up, grabbing onto the two sets of sparklers and handing them to him. “Where do we go?”

“Just follow Mom and I, okay?” Matt replied, resting his hand on Ethan’s shoulder as he waited for Caroline to grab her sparkler. “Ready?”

“Ready.” Caroline nodded, adjusting her dress as she stood beside him, draping her purse across her chest and holding onto the sparklers. “What?” She asked, looking up to see Matt smiling at her.

“Nothing, come on,” he replied, shaking his head and placing his hand on the small of her back, walking alongside her to the location they needed to be.

They lined up towards the end of the line, being one of the last people who would see Brady and Emma before they got into their ride to head back home to their apartment before they would wake up early the next morning to head off to the airport and start their honeymoon. Andrew and Nonnie were across the way from them, Keith and Chantal as well, everyone on either side of the line starting to light up their sparklers, using their neighbors as the flame while Brady and Emma stood at the very front of the makeshift tunnel.

Matt carried Ethan on his left hip, turning him towards Caroline as Caroline lit both of the sparklers, using hers before they followed everyone else in holding the sparklers up out in front of them and just above their heads, everyone cheering as Emma and Brady ran by their friends and family, big smiles on their faces and waving as they reached their car. They each stopped by their parents one last time, giving them a hug and a kiss and saying goodbye to their siblings before getting into their car and driving away from the venue and back towards home.

“Can we go home now, Daddy?” Ethan yawned, looking at Matt.

“We can go home now, E.” Matt nodded, pointing ahead of them and he squatted down and put Ethan onto the ground. “There’s Papa Walt and Mimi right there, why don’t you go see if they’re ready to go, okay?”

“M'kay,” Ethan nodded, rubbing his left eye as he walked across the way and over to Keith and Chantal.

“I know I told you earlier when we were walking down the aisle, but you look beautiful tonight,” Matt said, resting his hand on the small of Caroline’s back as he walked them over towards his parents. “If the officiant was still here, I’d have him marry us right now.”

“And you look quite handsome yourself,” she smiled, wrapping an arm around his waist and leaning against his arm. “You ready to go home?”

“With you?” He smiled, bending down and kissing her temple before brushing his lips just by her left ear. “Always.”

[hockeyisit]

All I can think about is Amelia taking the twins to their first game and how much it would mean to Auston to see them in their little 34 jerseys.

Summary: Amelia takes Kai and Noah to the game.

A.N: Hope you guys like it! Let me know what you think and if you have any questions. Remember all of my pieces connect to each other so if you pay attention deeply you might notice some things 😉

Word Count: 3,941

Masterlist

“Shh baby,” I coed as I rocked back and forth holding a whining Noah. Auston had left earlier this morning for practice so it was just me and the babies for now. The season was just getting started and Auston had been really stressed with practicing and helping take care of the babies. Auston and I had gotten lucky because we had the boys back in April so we had the summer to get used to them. They were almost seven months old and it was so hard to believe. Now that we had made it back to Toronto and things were in full swing we were both stressed.

“I know baby,” I told him as I made my way out of the room so Noah couldn't wake up Kai. I had put them down for a nap the minute Auston had left for practice. I was hoping that I could bring them to the home opener tonight and surprise Auston. Because they were born in April and the season was close to the end I wasn’t able to bring them out to a game. I knew that Auston really wanted them to come tonight but I had told him I wasn't sure they were ready for the loudness that would come with the Toronto Maple Leafs arena. Auston had acted like he understood but he was definitely pouting when he left earlier.

I made my way into our bedroom and sat down on the bed as I kept rocking Noah. He had grown so much over the summer and I couldn-’t believe how much he resembled Auston and I. He was absolutely breathtaking just like baby Kai.

“Hi baby, are you hungry?” I asked when his cries kept getting louder. I pulled my shirt over so that he could latch on. His cries immediately stopped as he started feeding. I let out a soft laugh as I took in his relaxed face. I pulled my phone off to confirm my plans with Steph. We had agreed to get tickets to the front row, I was so excited to surprise Auston.

Once Noah was finished I stood up and made my way back into their bedroom. Kai was still sleeping peacefully but I knew that wouldn't last much longer. I set Noah down next to him and stared down at my two beautiful babies. Then I turned around and made my way out of their room. I heard my phone start ringing and I quickly ran for it so it wouldn't wake up the boys.

“Hello?” I breathed out.

“I catch you at a bad time?” Auston teased as he responded to me. I let out a light laugh as I shook my head.

“The boys are napping. I didn’t want my phone to wake them up,” I told him softly. He hummed in agreeance.

“Some of the guys want me to go get lunch,” Auston mumbled into the phone. Auston had been blowing his teammates off a lot lately to help me with taking care of the boys.

“You should go,” I said, cutting him off from continuing.

“Are you sure? I can come home if you want me to,” Auston asked.

“Don’t worry babe go bond with your team we're just napping here,” I told him as I laid myself on our bed.  

“Alright I’ll be quiet when I come back,” he told me before we both said goodbye. Just as I was about to slip into some much needed sleep I heard a cry through the baby monitor another cry joining in two seconds later. I let out a soft grunt as I laid there for a moment before pushing myself up and making my way back to the nursery.

When I made it into the room I reached over and picked up Kai first before reaching fo Noah as well. I started pacing back and forth as I rocked them.

“Were going to watch Papi play tonight,” I told them as I moved back and forth. Noah settled down once I had him wrapped in my arms but Kai’s crys grew louder.

“Bub it's okay,” I cooed as I rocked us back and forth. After a moment both twins settled down as we rocked. Kai was still whining slightly but another hour later I had both of them settled in bed and sleeping.

“I’m back,” Auston whispered as he pushed the front door open. I was sitting on the couch so I sent him a harsh look telling him to shut up.

“There sleeping,” I told him gently. Auston sent me an innocent look before taking a seat next to me on the couch. He wrapped his arm around me pulling me closer.

“Mitch and Steph want to get dinner with us soon,” Auston mumbled into my ear. I gave him a large grin as I nodded my head before leaning back into him. I had missed spending time with adults. Ever since the twins were born I hadn't done anything but take care of them. I hadn't left our house in almost three weeks.

“Do we need to get a babysitter?” I asked him as I relaxed further into his shoulder. His body relaxed against mine as he shook his head no.

“I got one of the rookies on babysitting duty. We just need to decide a day and which rookie we trust the most,” he laughed as he tugged me closer.

“What about tomorrow after the game?” I suggested. They had a back to back game. One tonight and one tomorrow, I would have suggested tonight but I wanted the day to be special considering I was going to be bringing the boys to their very first game.

He sent me a soft grin as he nodded his head. I let my eyes slip closed for a second only to be shaken lightly a few minutes later.

“Let’s go take a name,” Auston suggested. I nodded my head in agreeance but made no move to get up.

“C’mon you gotta get up babe,” Auston grinned down at me. I shook my head.

“I don’t wanna, I'm so tired. I'll just sleep here,” I told him cuddling deeper into the couch. Auston let out a soft laugh as he leaned over me. He reached out and wrapped his arms around me, picking me up bridal style. I let out a content sigh as I buried my face into his chest and wrapped my arms around his neck.

Once we were both under the blankets Auston wrapped his arms around me so he could be the big spoon. We were both out seconds later.

----

When I woke up I was alone in bed and I could hear some slight whining coming from the baby monitor. I pushed myself up into a sitting position as I looked around for my phone to check the time. When I turned it on I had three text messages from Auston. He fed the boy’s, he put some food in the fridge for me, and that he had to leave for his game and he’d see me after. I let out a soft smile as I read each message before pushing myself up and going to check on the boys.

“Hi guys,” I cooed as I made my way into the room. Auston had put them both in Noah’s crib and they were holding hands.

“Papi is going to be so surprised when he sees you little dudes tonight,” I grinned as I made my way to the closet to find the mini jerseys I had hidden. When I had given birth the Maple Leafs organization had sent us a little care package with two jerseys that had said Daddy 34. I knew that Auston loved them but I had asked Kyle if I could get two insead that said Papi 34. Kyle had immediately come through and had them made for me. I had been hiding them in the back of the closet so Auston wouldn't know.

“I quickly changed the two of them into the jerseys and then I set them down next to each other to take a photo. When I had one I was happy with I sent it to Ema. She responded almost immediately talking about how perfect they were.

Once we were all dressed for the game, me wearing a Leafs sweatshirt with a jersey over it and some leggings. I grabbed the diaper bag and then I made my way over to the front door. Felix followed me as I walked to the door.

“Alright buddy I’ll see you soon,” I said as I handed him a bone. He took it excitedly and sat down on the ground. I grabbed both of the carriers and brought them out to the car. Once they were strapped in I made my way over to the driver's seat and took a deep breath. I was slightly nervous that the loudness of the arena would be too loud for the boys. I had gotten noise cancelling headphones but I was still slightly anxious.

When I pulled up to the side door for family, friends, and staff Steph met me and helped me by grabbing Noah while I grabbed Kai.

“Hi honey,” Steph said as she pulled me into a side hug. I grinned back in response. Steph had become one of my biggest helpers in the past month when Auston was away on road trips. I appreciated everything she did for me so much.

“Hi how are you?” I asked as we showed the security our badges. The man looked at my ID before glancing at me and then Steph.

“I’ve been good,” she smiled softly. We quickly made it through security and then started our way towards our seats which happened to be front row. I had asked Kyle in advance if he could save us some seats and he happily agreed. Steph looked down at Kai with a softer smile.

“They are so cute in their jersey,” she exclaimed as she looked closer at their outfits. I laughed as I pulled my phone out.

“I know I took a million pictures,” I said as I opened them up to show her. About ten minutes later the crowd started filling more and Kai started crying in Steph's arms. The minute his cries became full on screams she looked to me in panic.

“How about we switch,” I told her as I held up the quiet Noah. She sent me a grateful look as we did the baby switch.

“Kai isn’t a fan of loud noises,” I told her softly as I tried to sway him. I reached into the diaper bag and pulled out the noise canceling headphones and slipped them on his head.

“Noah loves the noise though,” I continued as I glanced over the quiet Noah.

“Sometimes though if one or the other cries for too long then they both start crying and it’s almost impossible to get them to stop,” I glanced up at the countdown before looking back at Steph who was staring at me in awe.

“What?” I asked blushing a light red. She shook her head softly.

“Nothing, it's just you're like a whole mom now,” she grinned. I grinned as I reached out to poke her. Then not even three seconds later three different things happened. The sound of the horn going off announcing the arrival of the Maple Leafs causing Kai and Noah to both let out a sharp cry.

“I’m pregnant.”

I gasped loudly shocked by the news and the horn going off. I immediately continued my swaying as Steph started doing the same with Noah.

“Are you serious?” I asked excitedly. She nodded her head as she let out a soft laugh.

“I wasn’t supposed to tell you until dinner tomorrow,” she said laughing louder. I joined in as I turned to face the ice to see if Auston was out yet. Kai and Noah’s crying started to settle down just as Auston made his way out on the ice.

“Do I need to act like I don’t know or can I tell Auston?” I questioned just to make sure. She looked up from Noah and shook her head.

“You can tell him just try to act surprised when Mitch tells you at dinner tomorrow,” she laughed lightly. As I went to ask another question Auston’s gaze finally fell on us. He did a slight double take before making a beeline to us. He stopped right in front of me with the biggest smile I had ever seen on his face. He sent me a wave causing me to smile back as I waved back shyly. I started bouncing Kai slightly to get him to look up at his Papi.

“Kai look who it is,” I said knowing damn well that he couldn't hear me with his thick noise cancelling headphones on. Still his eyes lit up as they looked at Auston through the glass. I turned to Steph slightly.

“Can I have Noah?” she nodded her head as she handed him off to me. I moved Kai slightly so that I could hold both of them. Once I was sure that my grip on them was good I turned back to Auston. His smile softened lightly as he stared at the three of us. Noah glanced away from where he was pulling on my hair to Auston. His face lit up the second he saw him and he reached forward in hopes that Auston would take him. Unfortunately the glass was still between us causing his advances to be abruptly stopped.

I let out a light laugh as Noah banged his tiny fist against the glass. Auston took his glove off and then reached out and pressed a closed knuckle to the glass. A moment later Mitch skated over and made a face at Kai through the glass causing Steph and I to laugh again. After that they had to go back into the locker room because the game was going to start soon.

------

“Three fucking goals!! You absolute god,” I quietly shouted at Auston as he approached me and Steph. He let out a light laugh as he dropped his bag and made his way over to me and pulled me into a hug.

“I had motivation,” he mumbled before pressing a gentle kiss against my forehead. He pulled away and grinned down at our two babies.

“Hey Steph,” he said and then “I had no idea you guys were coming,” he reached out and grabbed Noah from my arms. I shuffled Kai around so that he could be more comfortable.

“I wanted it to be a surprise.”

“I love the jerseys so much. Where did you get them?” he asked me as he rubbed his hand up and down Noah’s back.

“I asked Kyle if he could get them made,” I grinned. Kai started reaching out for Auston causing the three of us to laugh.

“I can grab your bag if you want to carry them both to the car?” I asked him. He sent me a soft smile.

“Yo Willy,” Auston called out as he noticed Willy walking by. He turned to face us, his face lighting up as eyes landed on Kai and Noah. He made his way over to us and pulled me into a hug.

“Amelia how are you?”

“I’m good. It’s been so long since I’ve seen you. How are you?” I asked. He sent me a smile as he glanced over to the babies in Auston’s arms.

“I’m good. First game for Noah and Kai?” he asked. I nodded my head with a grin. It was their first time at a game and of course Auston had to be an overachiever and score a hattrick.

“That’s awesome what a great first game,” he grinned.

“Do you want to hold one of them?” I asked Willy when I noticed his eyes kept drifting back to Kai and Noah.

“Oh no. I didn’t shower I still smell pretty bad,” he laughed. I went to respond but we were cut off by Mitch approaching.

“Hey guys. Ready to go Steph?” he asked, glancing at her. She nodded her head as she reached over to hug me

“I’ll see you at dinner tomorrow,” she grinned as she pulled away turning to face Mitch, he slipped an arm around her waist.

“Oh yes absolutely wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I grinned before turning back to face Auston. Both boys were cuddled into his chest as he stared down at him.

“Are you ready to go superstar?” I asked him as I reached out and grabbed his heavy hockey bag. I let out a small grunt as I put it over my shoulder. I wasn’t expecting it to be this heavy.

“See you later Willy,” I waved to him, my voice sounding slightly strained. He rolled his eyes dramatically before reaching out and taking the hockey bag off my shoulder.

“Lead the way to the car,” he said then turned to face Auston.

“I’m a better gentleman then you,” he teased. I let out a small laugh as I shook my head. When we got to the car Willy threw Auston’s bag in the trunk as Auston handed me Noah.

“Thanks,” I told Willy when he was done. He nodded his head as he shrugged his shoulders.

“Anytime,” he grinned. As he started walking away I called out to him causing him to stop.

“Maybe sometime in the next few weeks we can get drinks,” I suggested. It had been awhile since Auston and I had hung out with Willy. He thought about it for a moment before nodding.

“Sounds fun just let me know when,” he then made his escape. I walked over to the other side of the car so I could slip Noah into his carseat.

“Aus, do you want me to drive?” I asked him as

“Nah babe I got it.”

We both slipped into the car and buckled up. I reached out for the Aux cord and connected my phone turning on my favorite song.

“Really babe you're going to play this song again?” Auston teased as he pulled onto the road. I let out a light laugh as I shrugged my shoulders.

“Shut up you love this song just as much as I do,” I squealed lightly as I reached out to tap his arm. He let out a loud laugh causing Noah let out a laugh from the back seat. I grinned as I turned to face the back.

“You think that’s funny, big guy?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. He let out another loud laugh as he kicked his feet. Kai then joined in as well causing me to let out a surprised laugh as I turned to face Auston.

“How’d the game go with them?” he asked, once the laughing died down. I shrugged my shoulders.

“It was really fun, they only cried a few times and they slept. It was really nice to catch up with Steph,” I said as I turned the music down so it was just a hum in the background.

“Good, I’m glad you got to get out of the house. It seems like it was good for you. Your beaming,” he pointed out as he made a lane change. Auston was right. I had quit my job and I spent so much time with the kids at home that I hadn't had much adult interaction lately. It was nice to get out and see Steph and the kids were so calm for most of the night.

“It was good. I almost backed out but I’m really glad I didn’t,” I grinned as I locked our hands together.

“Oh my god, you'll never believe why Steph and Mitch want to get dinner tomorrow,” he sent me a quick questioning look as he stopped at the stop sign outside of our neighborhood.

“She’s pregnant,” I continued throwing my hands up in the air. His eyes shot to me with a look of disbelief.

“What? Actually?” he asked, sounding extremely surprised. I nodded my head as I started speaking.

“Yeah and she was supposed to wait to tell me tomorrow at dinner but she spilled the beans early. We have to act surprised tomorrow when they tell us,” I warned. He put the car in park once he pulled into the garage.

“Okay I’m a master at acting surprised.”

I laughed loudly as we hopped out of the car. We both reached in to grab a baby and then made our way inside the house. When I pushed the garage door open Felix greeted us excitedly.

“Hi buddy,” I cooed as I reached down to pet his head.

“Babe can you take Kai? I want to take Felix on a quick walk,” Auston asked. Felix immediately perked up at hearing the word walk. I reached my arm out that wasn't holding Noah so Auston could settle Kai in my empty arm.

“Alright I’m going to put them in bed,” I told him as I started walking to our stairs. I pushed my way into the twins room and walked over to the changing table and set them down next to each other. I reached over to Kai first and started undressing him. Once he was down to his diaper I reached over for a clean diaper and started cleaning him up before changing him. He started crying at the sudden coldness of the air. I picked him up rocking him back and forth as I tried to get him to stop. I was worried he’d get Noah started.

“Hey,” Auston said, startling me and making me jump three feet in the air causing him to laugh.

“Hi,” I smiled tiredly at him. He walked in and made his way over to me.

“Want any help?” he hip bumped me to the side taking over and starting to change Noah.

“I think they are just really tired,” I mumbled as I started to redress Kai. Auston was quiet for a moment before glancing at me.

“Are you tired?” he whispered. I looked up from Kai making eye contact with him. I felt a rush of happiness run through my body.

“A little but nothing I can’t handle,” I teased leaning forward to place a kiss on his cheek. He blushed lightly before turning his attention back to Noah. When we both finished we put them in the same crib. At first we had been putting them in separate cribs but we realized that they cried less when they shared a bed. Auston wrapped his arm around my shoulder pulling me closer to him. I wrapped my arm around his waist as I glanced up at him.

“Thank you for everything that you do,” Auston looked down at me with a soft smile. I grinned leaning forward on my tip-toes so that I could place a gentle kiss on his lips. His lips moved in sync with mine for a moment before I pulled away.

“I don’t think we should make out in front of the babies,” I whispered. He grinned as he nodded his head.

“Yeah maybe not. But they are sleeping and I scored three times tonight. Think I could score a forth?” he smirked. I let out a light laugh as I walked backwards to the door.

“Only if you play your cards right Matthews,” I smirked as I winked at him. He smirked following me to our bedroom.

“Mrs. Matthews how about you let me take care of you tonight.”

[softranswolves]

For It May Not Be My Time

Fandom: Teen Wolf

Rating: Teen

Ships: n/a

Characters: Derek Hale, Laura Hale, Lydia Martin, Stiles Stilinski, Deaton

Words: 1598

LAURA HALE APPRECIATION WEEK - DAY FOUR THEME: resurrection

When Lydia shows up at his door to tell him his name unlocked the last of the list, he doesn't react. He knows Braeden is watching him, gauging how he responds. He knows Lydia will slowly come down from her premonition and switch to fix-it mode. She came alone, not wanting him to feel subjected to the pack's stares, but he knows that Stiles knows, and the kid has never been great at keeping pertinent information quiet.

He insists that he's fine each time he's asked, Braeden deciding to let him stew in whatever he's feeling while Scott and Stiles try to get more out of him. The latter goes so far as to goad Derek, trying to taunt him into talking but that isn't something they've ever done and he doesn't plan on starting now. It's easy to push back when they ask, because he's being honest. He isn't looking forward to dying, but he's resigned to it, knowing he's made his mother proud, made his family proud. He's worked to right the wrongs Peter has done, making Hale a respectable name again. Maybe he'll get to be with them soon.

"She didn't show you the whole list, did she?" Stiles asks a few days later. The whole pack has been working overtime to protect their own and figure out who is behind the deadpool in the first place. Kira returned after staying in hospital with her mom, and Scott has taken some time away from everyone to be alone with her, leaving Stiles with nobody else to pester.

"Why does it matter, Stiles? I'm marked for death, I know that already." He's exasperated but tolerant, realizing he might actually end up missing the banter they have. His gaze doesn't leave the gun he's reassembling, a task Braeden gave him for when he needs something to fill the spare time.

"Because there's a name on it that might draw your attention, sour wolf." Stiles is serious, and while this has become the norm after his possession, it's still out of place.

"So? Who was it?" He can hear the uptick in Stiles' pulse, scents anxiety in the air, but maintains his focus. If he engages, Stiles may take it as invitation for another attempt at a heart-to-heart.

There's no response for a moment, just the sound of paper unfolding, before a crumpled sheet slides into Derek's line of sight. He looks up at Stiles, who crosses his arms and simply nods toward the paper to emphasize Derek should look at it. Obliging, he scans the sheet, landing on a name two-thirds down the list.

"That's not possible," he says, eyes stuck on the letters. He doesn't pay attention to the numbers, just that string of impossibility.

"Are you sure?" Stiles asks, voice tense but gentle.

"You saw her body, you know it's not possible."

"Also shouldn't be possible for Peter to be alive, what with his quasi-possession of Lydia a few months ago, yet here we are."

Silence blossoms between them, and Derek thanks the universe for Stiles letting him sit with the information.

"Could it be outdated? Maybe the list isn't live, maybe it was made years ago," Derek suggests. He looks up to Stiles, eyes wide in hopeful shock. The only response he gets is a shrug as Stiles considers and starts to pace, running a hand through his hair in contemplation.

"I mean, it could be. We still don't know anything about it besides where the money came from. Lydia says she can feel a tangible thread to Laura, but she never met her and couldn't say for sure what it means."

Derek nods, standing to look out the window in thought.

"Have you talked to Deaton? Maybe he knows something, being human like you."

"We were kind of waiting to see what you wanted us to do," Stiles says. "She was your sister, after all, and there's no way we're bringing it to Peter without you. Y'know, her literal murderer?" He's pushing at Derek's buttons again, but this time he doesn't mind quite as much. He just nods again before turning back to Stiles.

"We can take the Camaro," Derek says, walking toward the door after grabbing a jacket and his keys."Though we should stop to pick up Lydia."

"Why Lydia?" Stiles asks as he follows after Derek.

"She can explain to Deaton what feelings she's having about Laura. He may be able to interpret them better than you or I could."

"Makes sense." Stiles is quiet after that, not saying anything for so long that Derek thinks it may be the longest he's gone without talking.

While he may have preferred this conversation to happen between the veterinarian and himself privately, he knew Lydia and Stiles would be useful at asking questions he may not consider and keep Derek from going too far off the deep end. The last time he'd been in a room with him alone was the night he kidnapped Deaton, thinking him to be the Alpha at the time. Things may have changed but he still kept his distance.

The boys drive to the Martin house, texting Lydia to join them, and continue the last few minutes to the Vet Clinic. Lydia was unsurprised when she sat down in the car, but seems uneasy around Derek, as though his impending death prediction is making her uncomfortable. He doesn't let himself dwell on it, instead focusing on clearing up his confusion.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" Deaton asks when the trio arrives, motioning to the chairs in the back to sit in. Lydia takes a seat while Stiles continues the pacing he had started at the loft, and Derek simply hands Deaton the list of names.

"See anyone on there that shouldn't be? Any impossible names jumping out?" His voice is raised despite his efforts, and he clenches his fists to ground himself.

"I do," Deaton starts, his usual tone of knowing more than the rest of the room. "What do you think?" He directs the question at Lydia.

"I think... it's not an accident that her name is there," Lydia tries. "These lists, they don't feel arbitrary, as if everyone supernatural in Beacon Hills was added. Cora isn't on there, and as far as we know she's alive." She doesn't seem to want to meet Derek's eye, but he can understand it.

"So you think she's alive." It's a statement, not a question, but Derek' bluntness cuts through the room.

"I didn't say that," Lydia says quietly. "She doesn't feel dead, but she also doesn't feel alive either. It's not the same as when you were taken by Kate, but it's similar." She stands and puts her hand on top of Derek's, a similar motion to a few weeks ago when he'd been lying on the same table they're gathered around now, only a teenaged version of himself.

"So where does that leave us?" Stiles asks. He notes the way Derek has gone tense, and decides to push once more. "Derek, what's wrong? Isn't it a good thing if your sister is still with us?"

He's leaning over the table, arms holding his weight up at the edge, and he shakes his head, smiling to himself a little.

"I was so ready to die," he breathes out. "I'm just so... tired, and when Lydia told me my name was a key for the deadpool? I was relieved. I could stop fighting, stop pretending I know what the hell I'm doing, and be with her again."

Lydia reaches her arm up to rub circles against his back, feeling his sigh beneath her hand.

"The others, I miss them everyday. But for years it was just me and Laura against the world. I don't know what I'm supposed to do if she's alive somehow."

"You keep fighting," a voice chimes in, and it's familiar, too familiar. Derek spins around to see his older sister standing there, a sad smile on her face as she plays with the pendant hanging from her neck.

"Laura? Wha- how?" Derek is frozen in place, mouth hanging open as he stumbles over his words trying to speak properly.

"I'm sorry, Derek, I'm so sorry." She rushes forward to pull him into a hug before taking a step back, holding him at arm's length. "You've grown in just these past few months, Der. Look at you." She has tears in her eyes and laughs a little.

Derek still hasn't spoken, but Laura doesn't seem to mind.

"I haven't been back too long, I promise. I just needed to get my bearing before I came back into your life, especially considering how mine ended."

"How did you come back?" Stiles cuts in, curiosity getting the better of him. Laura turns to look at him but someone else answers first.

"Peter," Lydia says. "It happened when I brought back Peter, didn't it?" Her voice is small, shaking slightly as she recalls those traumatic months, only part of which she actually remembers.

"You're the smart one, aren't you?" Laura answers. "I still don't really know how, and Deaton hasn't been able to fully explain it either. But yes, when you resurrected him, it ended up like a package deal. Whether it was some karmic twist of fate or just Hale blood keeping us bound together, I'm back. And apparently being hunted despite only the people in this room knowing I'm alive." She scoffs at this last bit, turning her attention back to Derek.

"I'm back, baby brother. What do you say we figure this out together?"

[tiramisiyu]

【未定事件簿】 Tears of Themis: Xia Yan Personal Story 4-1 Translation

Translation Masterlist | Xia Yan Masterlist | Video

Chapter 4: 4-1 / 4-2 / 4-4 / 4-5 / 4-6 / 4-7 / 4-9 / 4-10 / 4-11 / 4-12 / 4-13 / 4-14 / 4-16

Xia Yan’s Home

Our interactions after I moved into Xia Yan’s house had a long-lost familiarity to them, but also… a strange unfamiliarity.

When I walked up to the washroom door, the door suddenly opened from inside – Xia Yan had just finished showering and was just in the middle of wiping off his hair when he pushed the door open.

Just like in the past, he didn’t try very hard to dry it off, such that the white T-shirt that he was wearing was slightly damp, clinging onto his firm body.

Xia Yan: Why are you up so early?

MC: Sphinx said that he was going to contact us about collaborating on the case, right? I was afraid that he’d come over really early…

Xia Yan: Don’t worry, he won’t.

MC: How do you know? Did he contact you alone?

Xia Yan: Oh, he didn’t. I’m just speculating.

Xia Yan: Sphinx has always preferred operating alone in the dark. Even if he needed to work with us right now, he still probably wouldn’t want to reveal his identity.

Xia Yan: Plus, even if he doesn’t mind that, right now isn’t a good time.

Xia Yan: The two of us just appeared in front of Meng Qishan. Even though I’ve already threatened him to not reveal any info on us to Oedipus…

Xia Yan: It’s always best to take every possibility in consideration. If Sphinx seeks us out right now, he just might send himself to Oedipus for nothing.

Xia Yan: If I were him, I’d also opt to work underground. We’re out in the open while he’s hidden, which is more beneficial for the investigation.

MC: Makes sense.

MC: Right, why did you shower so early?

Xia Yan: Uh… I just finished up my morning run, so I took a quick cold shower.

Xia Yan: Right, are you also going to wash your face?

Xia Yan: Wait a bit, I just noticed that there’s no more toothpaste. I’ll get you a new tube.

MC: No need, I brought some.

MC: If you also haven’t washed your face yet, we can just use my toothpaste.

I helped Xia Yan squeeze out the toothpaste. Then, we stood side-by-side in front of the mirror to wash up.

Because we had grown up, and because Xia Yan’s home washroom was comparatively smaller, Xia Yan and I kept bumping into each other.

The steam that hadn’t dispersed yet in the washroom filled the air with the scent of shower gel. This was just a typical scent, but because Xia Yan was beside me, it felt… somewhat different.

Right now, the past commonplace occurrence of us washing our faces and brushing our teeth together… made me feel somewhat nervous.

The mirror in front of us candidly revealed all my emotions with complete clarity. I shifted away my gaze as if in escape, not daring to look at the mirror again.

MC: Xia Yan, are you still using this brand of shampoo?

The items on the shelves, the shampoo, the shower gel… were still the brands we used at home, eight years ago.

Xia Yan: Yeah. I had to buy new daily necessities after getting back, but I’m no good at picking them out…

Xia Yan: So I chose them based on our old habits – easy and saves me from worrying, haha.

In all these years, he still hadn’t forgotten those little habits. I suddenly felt a little happy.

But Xia Yan’s and my mouth-rinsing cups were a pair in the past, while they were now two completely different ones.

MC: What about your mouth-rinsing cup?

Xia Yan: There’s no one who sells that cup model anymore.

The small happiness that had just surged in my heart suddenly turned into a bit of disappointment.

MC: Is that so…

MC: Uh… about that, Xia Yan…

Xia Yan: Huh? What?

MC: A few days ago, I saw a pair of mouth-rinsing cups that look really nice online, and your cup just happens to be kinda worn… how about we change them together?

Xia Yan: Sure.

--

Xia Yan’s Home, Second Floor

After washing my face with Xia Yan, Sphinx called us, describing his action plan.

Just as Xia Yan had said, Sphinx was planning to continue hiding his identity. We would work out in the open while he remained hidden as we investigated together.

Sphinx: That’s what our plan is.

Sphinx: For these few days, I’ll first confirm whether there are other victims that corrupt detectives are harassing, and deal with their issues.

Sphinx: After confirming that those corrupt detectives have to do with Oedipus, you two can use other methods to investigate while hidden.

Xia Yan: Okay. Then we’ll wait for you to contact us.

Sphinx: Alright, that’s all-

MC: Wait, Sphinx.

The moment before Sphinx hung up, I called out to him.

Sphinx: Does Miss Lawyer have any other questions to bring up?

MC: I have some questions regarding our approaches towards cooperation. Sphinx, I acknowledge the reasons why you do not want to reveal your true identity right now.

MC: But we’ve already started investigating with you. You should at least display your sincerity, should you not?

Sphinx: …

Sphinx: Then how do you want me to display my sincerity, Miss Lawyer?

MC: Return Xia Yan’s box.

I heard a faint chuckle on the other side of the call.

MC: (What’s so funny about that?)

Xia Yan: Sphinx.

Perhaps because the pressure in Xia Yan’s voice, Sphinx’s brazen laughter stopped.

But there was a still faint layer of mischief in his voice.

Sphinx: Of course. I will get in touch with same-city speed delivery right after. You’ll be able to get your box today.

Sphinx: But after receiving it, I’d like to trouble both of you to examine it carefully.

Sphinx: Though you can consider me as a rogue, the point of stealing the box was to develop a cooperative relationship with you…

Sphinx: Logically, I wouldn’t play any tricks on these little things, but the two of you should still personally, carefully confirm it all.

Sphinx: For example, what if something happens with the delivery company and they break the box… then won’t I end up getting a really unfair accusation?

MC: Don’t worry, we will carefully look over the delivery.

Sphinx: If you say so, Miss Lawyer, then I can be at peace.

Sphinx: Although, Detective Xia Yan, why aren’t you speaking? You’re the most important involved party here. You, of all people, have got to be there to look over the delivery.

After Sphinx mentioned his name, Xia Yan’s face twisted very visibly.

Xia Yan: I… will.

MC: (Why does Sphinx sound like he’s messing with him…)

MC: (He hasn’t put something weird in the box to prank us, has he?)

--

These doubts continued until that afternoon, when we received the delivery Sphinx had sent.

I looked at the delivery box with severe caution.

MC: Xia Yan, could Sphinx have messed with something in the delivery box?

MC: I felt like there was something suspicious about his tone in the call.

Xia Yan: That guy definitely isn’t acting out of the goodness of his heart.

MC: No surprises there, you also feel the same…

Xia Yan: Mhmm… I messaged him after, asking what his goal was, but he just deliberately rambled on without saying anything important.

Xia Yan: How about I open it myself first, then call you over to see after confirming that there’s nothing wrong with it?

MC: That won’t do. No matter what happens, we’ve got to face it all together.

MC: Plus, didn’t you say before that Sphinx is an alright person? I bet that, at most, he’s just pranking us somewhere.

Xia Yan: … But I want to rescind that evaluation on him now.

Xia Yan sighed, then opened the package.

That box with the Sherlock Holmes pipe printed on it was wrapped in layers of bubble wrap, looking like it hadn’t suffered any bumps on the way here.

MC: He sure did give it enough protection. Just based on that, I’m willing to forgive him even if there is a prank somewhere.

Xia Yan: Well, that’s something he should be doing.

Xia Yan scoffed and opened the wooden box. The inside was filled to the brim with various little items.

His biology competition gold medals, the models he made himself… as well as many familiar objects. And what was piled at the very top of everything was a ring.

A ring with very crude worksmanship. The ring had been wound from copper into a circular shape, and a laminated four-leaf clover was sitting on the top.

This was the first thing that Xia Yan had personally made for me.

MC: Isn’t this the ring you made for me during kindergarten?

When we were still in kindergarten, we “played house” often, that popular child’s game.

One time, we got too into the game and thought that the ring braided from dog’s tail grass didn’t look nice enough, so we secretly took mom’s ring.

And then… we were both reprimanded severely.

Back then, I didn’t know how valuable the ring was or what its special meaning was, so I really didn’t understand why mom was unhappy.

MC: Back then, dad explained that the ring was one that he gave to mom, so only mom could wear it.

MC: But in the end, you hollered—

Back then, Xia Yan had earnestly yelled “Then I’ll just give her a ring”…

MC: …!

Xia Yan: …

We were long past those times when children’s words held no weight.

MC: (Does Xia Yan… still remember what he said back then…)

I lowered my head in a fluster, rubbing the ring in embarrassment.

When we were little, Xia Yan accidentally made the clover ring too big, so we comforted each other, saying that it would be just right if I wore it after we grew up.

And right now… I couldn’t help attempting to fit the ring on my middle finger.

MC: It’s on. The size is perfect…

Xia Yan: Yeah… perfect.

Xia Yan repeated the words in a whisper, then stared quietly at the four-leaf clover ring.

I stroked the ring on my hand. Suddenly…

MC: Xia Yan…

Xia Yan: Huh? What’s the matter?

MC: It seems like I can’t take off the ring…

Xia Yan: Huh?

Xia Yan held up my hand, trying to shift the ring, but the ring didn’t move in the slightest.

His brow wrinkled as he snatched a small plier from the toolbox on the table.

MC: What are you doing!

Alarmed, I stared at Xia Yan.

Xia Yan: I’ve got to hurry and cut off the ring, or else your finger will end up swollen.

MC: I refuse!

Xia Yan: Don’t fuss, this is just a toy ring. Your finger’s more important.

As he spoke, Xia Yan had already grabbed my hand. I rushed to cover the ring with my other hand, resisting desperately.

MC: No way! You gave this ring to me, so it’s mine! I refuse to let you break it!

Xia Yan: Jeez, I’ll make you another one in the future, okay? Be good.

MC: The one in the future is for the future, but you can’t break this ring either!

We traded fast verbal shots without realizing anything. Only after coming back to my senses did I notice… something wasn’t quite right.

MC: !!!

Xia Yan: …

Xia Yan: Sit tight, I’ll find some lubricating oil to see if it’ll work.

--

Xia Yan soon brought the lubricating oil. He applied some to my middle finger first, then tried to rotate the ring gently, trying to push it off.

MC: Ugh…!

Xia Yan immediately stopped.

Xia Yan: It hurts?

Xia Yan: Looks like this really won’t work.

Xia Yan sighed helplessly, then took a small plier from the toolbox.

MC: You’re…

Xia Yan: Don’t worry, I’ll be really careful. I’ll do my best to not break the ring.

Xia Yan: Don’t fidget, I don’t want to hurt you by accident.

To make working on it easier, Xia Yan half-knelt in front of me, holding up the hand with the ring gently.

His actions right now lent a particular ambiguity to the scene all of a sudden.

MC: …!

Xia Yan: What’s the matter? Did I hurt you?

MC: No… keep going.

How exactly… does Xia Yan see me?

Bit by bit, each scene after my reunion flooded my mind.

MC: (Xia Yan’s always carefully held onto this ring for so long…)

MC: (To me… does Xia Yan also…?)

As soon as this thought popped into my head, my heart started to beat wildly.

Although, why didn’t Xia Yan make it clear with me?

⊳ Out of caution ⊳ Because I didn’t give a response

MC: (Speaking of which, there’s often a lot online about long-time friends who are too scared to confess.)

MC: (They were afraid that if the romance failed, they’d lose an important friend.)

MC: (Xia Yan… probably also wanted to be cautious, so he didn’t say anything.)

MC: (If I do a little something, would he… understand?)

  ⊳ Out of caution ⊳ Because I didn’t give a response

MC: (If I think about it carefully, I think I’ve done a lot of low-EQ stuff…)

MC: (It’s all my fault…)

MC: (I should be able to make changes in time right now… what should I do to get Xia Yan to understand my emotions?)

--

I was just in the middle of my messy thoughts when I heard Xia Yan’s light voice.

Xia Yan: Alright, it’s off!

Xia Yan: Great Lawyer, hurry and inspect it to see if it’s perfectly fine.

MC: Absolutely perfect! Great Detective Xia, you’re way too amazing!

MC: (Either way… since I’m living at Xia Yan’s house now, I’ve got lots of time to figure something out.)

Xia Yan: What’s the matter? You seem a little absentminded.

MC: Not at all, just wondering about what we should eat for breakfast.

Xia Yan: I know several decent breakfast restaurants. Let’s go, I’ll take you over to try them!

[kiirokero]

Redamancy (OT7)

Redamancy: The act of loving the one who loves you; a love returned in full.

Part of the Protect the Village! Oneshot Series.

Masterlist

Pairing: BTS x Reader (Yes, all seven,)

Genre/Warnings: fluff, a bit of angst, strangers to friends to lovers, a lot of mediocre humour, 

Note: The multiverse in this world just got more complicated. But I did it!

Summary: Seven men, all from different walks of life. Then there’s you, their best friend. Nothing good ever comes from loving those close to you a little too much, that’s what you think. Apparently they have another idea.

Word Count: ~12k

UNEDITED please forgive my illiterate ass. Might edit it at a later date. 

It started with Jimin. 

     Having just moved to the village, you were just barely on your own two feet. You thought moving to the small town full of, what? 200 people? Would be enough to give you that cottage lifestyle you always wanted. Away from others, on your own, nothing but you and the forest. Of course, living in seclusion wouldn’t be as amazing as the stories make it out to be. You knew this, so you settled on moving to a small village. 

      You grew up in the city all your life. And you hated it. You hated the sickly smell of trash and cigarettes. You hated the constant buzz of people no matter the hour of the day. You absolutely despised the people who lived there too. You never thought people could get so narcissistic. Yeah, there were friendly people there, but the selfish and rude ones drowned them out. 

     So because of your less-than stellar experience with people, you didn’t plan on making many friends. Maybe becoming acquaintances with the lady who walked her dog every day or being on a first name basis with the barista at the local coffee shop. You planned to keep to yourself. Stay confined to your house and small garden, work from home. But the universe, or a stubborn blonde-haired delivery boy, had other plans. 

Because it started with Jimin. 

     Today was like any other day in the oddly cheery village. The sun was out, there wasn’t a cloud in sight, and it was way too hot for you. “Ugh,” You groaned, flopping face first on your dusty couch that was fresh out of storage. You felt like you were sweating off pounds of your body fat. You were sticky and uncomfortable. But that wasn’t even the worst part of the day.

      It was only the third day of moving into your new cottage, and you were already done with it. You’ve sneezed more times than you could count, your muscles were begging for mercy, and the movers broke your bookshelf. You swear you could kill a man. Now you had a box full of books and no bookshelf to organize them on. 

      Sure, maybe it wasn’t as serious as you were making it out to be, but adding on all the additional stresses from the past week, it felt like someone just kicked your cat. Not that you have a cat... But the point was made. You were on the verge of a breaking point. 

     Reluctantly, you went to your bedroom and opened your laptop, searching the internet for a new bookshelf. You tried to lift your spirits by telling yourself that you could get one that matches your mahogany coffee table, but one look at the price tag quickly brought you back down. “This better be an heirloom for my great-grandchildren,” You grumbled, going to checkout and typing in your credit card information. 

      The new bookshelf showed up in 2 days. You would think that would be enough time to get your shit together, but it wasn’t. The past 2 days made you even more stressed as you found important things were either missing or hidden deep in odd boxes they had no business being in. Now you're not a sentimental person, not a lot of items you own hold much sentiment to you. But if there’s one item you treasure dearly, it’d be your mother's necklace. 

      It was an old silver necklace that wound around a small teal stone. The chain was chunky and a bit rusty. Though it wasn’t falling apart, just old. It was a centuries old heirloom. Your mother said it used to be painted gold, but that was when your great-great grandmother had it. How she knew that? You didn’t know, you never asked either. Your mom was always just an oddball. 

      But that wasn’t what caught people’s attention the most. It was the teal stone itself. It was an unnatural shape. It looked like it was split in 2 pieces down the middle, almost looking like a pair of doors. They were trapezoids laid on their sides, wider edges together. You asked your mom why they were carved into such a shape, but she always said the same thing. “Honey, the stone isn’t carved, it’s natural. You’ll understand one day.”

To this day, you still don’t understand. 

      And now you never would, because the priceless family treasure was missing. You could practically hear your mother tsking from her grave as she watches you upturn everything in your apartment looking for it. You were currently bending yourself in half, peering under the couch, when the doorbell suddenly rang. You jumped, bumping your head on the coffee table. “Ow...” You groaned, standing up to answer the door. 

      Opening the door, you saw a blonde man standing on your porch with a large box standing upright next to him. “Hello! I have a package for, um... Y/n?” He said with a smile. “That’s me,” You chuckled, trying your best to at least look like you had your life together. “Is that... Heavy?” You asked cautiously, intimidated by the box that was almost as tall as the man in front of you. 

      “Yeah... A little bit... Would you like me to take it in for you?” He offered, to which you graciously accepted. “You can just put it by the tv stand,” You said. He gave you a determined nod, carrying the box over to the living room while you snuck away to the kitchen to get him a bottle of water. It was a hot day; it was the least you could do. 

      “Hey, um, is this yours?” He asked you as you walked back to the living room. In his hand was the silver necklace you were painstakingly searching for. “Oh! Yes! Thank you, where’d you find it?” You asked, quirking your brow. “It was peeking out from under the tv stand, and I don’t think you meant to put it there,” He chuckled, his eyes upturning into crescents. You couldn’t help but thinking that it was cute. 

      You held the necklace to your chest, basking in the sense of relief it gave you. “Yeah, I was looking everywhere for it. Odd that it was in such a visible place,” Your browns knitted together as you asked yourself how you missed it. You almost upturned the entire house looking for it. “Mystery solved!” The blonde man chuckled, “I’m Jimin by the way. I couldn’t help but notice all the boxes... Did you just move here?” Jimin asked, expression showing nothing but friendly curiosity. 

     You sighed, looking around at the mess that was your house currently. “Is it that obvious?” You joked, causing Jimin to chuckle. “Well, welcome to Bangtan! Not many people move out here.” He pointed out. You shrugged, “It seems nice out here. Peaceful,” Jimin gave you a soft, kind smile, one which you reciprocated. “I hope you like it here,”

     As soon as he left, you’d quickly unclasped the necklace and put it on, vowing to never take it off again. It was the only thing you had left of your mother. You didn’t care if you weren’t a jewelry person; you were now.

It started with Jimin. 

     After that day, you would see him often. Whether he was zipping around main street, delivering inventory to the various shops, or he was bringing you a package. You once asked him if he’s the only delivery personnel in the whole village, worrying that whoever was employing him was running him ragged. “No, but we have our designated areas in the village. I deliver for main street and the forest houses. Aka the houses that boarder the forest... Aka you!” Was his explanation. 

      Besides the occasional run-ins, you and Jimin never really hung out. Until he came bouncing up to your doorstep, asking if you wanted to go to the arcade with him on his day off. You almost said no. Well, you said no... But Jimin practically begged you to come, so you gave in... Eventually. So, one Sunday afternoon, you got dressed and went to the arcade that Jimin was so excited about. 

He showed up, but he wasn’t alone. 

Because next it was Taehyung. 

      It was a nice day. Perfect temperature, lovely breeze, clear skies. You would’ve loved to sit in your garden, enjoying a nice glass of lemonade, but no. Here you were outside of an admittedly pretty, arcade. Waiting for Jimin to show up so you could kick his ass at some air hockey. 

      You picked at the invisible lint on your jeans. Tapping your shoes against the concrete. You don’t know why you dressed nicer than you usually do. Maybe it was because Jimin always saw you in sweatshirts and sweatpants and you wanted to prove that you weren’t the humanized version of a dust bunny. Maybe it was because he always looks like he walked off a runway, even in his work uniform. But now you're regretting it. Your jeans are a bit too tight because you haven’t gone clothes shopping in a while and your black shirt was attracting the heat of the sun. 

      “Y/n!!!” A voice yelled, and you instantly knew it was Jimin. Looking at the end of the street, your suspicions were confirmed when you saw his blonde hair flowing in the wind as he ran to you. It was odd to see him dressed in day clothes, but it was a welcome change. He had on light washed jeans and a plain white shirt hidden underneath a denim jacket. It was a simple look, but he rocked it. 

      He stopped in front of you, hands on his knees, gasping for air. “I wasn’t going anywhere.” You chuckled, patting his head patronizingly. “I huff was just puff excited to see you.” He choked out, taking a few more deep breaths before sitting upright again. You felt your cheeks heat up at his enthusiasm to see you, but you shrugged it off. “Well, you coming?” You asked, pointing your thumb towards the building behind you. “Taehyung’s not here yet.” Jimin said, nonchalantly. 

      You tilted your head, Taehyung? “Who’s Taehyung?” You asked, poking Jimin’s side. “He’s one of my friends! Best baker in town! Well... Only baker in town, but still. He has the day off too, I thought it would be nice for you to meet him,” He shrugged, “Is that okay?” His tone was a worried one, as if he was just now realizing that you could be uncomfortable with meeting others, but you just sighed. “It’s fine, Jimin. If he’s friends with you, I’m sure he’s pretty cool,” You said, and Jimin’s eyes lit up. 

      The two of you continued to talk about random things. What you did yesterday, your plans for the coming week... Jimin was currently telling you the story about one of his other friends being attacked by a giant squirrel when a deep voice called his name. “Jiminie!” The two of you turned to see a man waving at Jimin from the end of the street, jogging over to meet up with you. 

      You could tell that this man was a bit taller than Jimin, but not by much. He had short, light brown hair, like a honey blonde color, that almost reached his eyes. He had slightly tanned skin that seemed to glow in the sun and a boxy smile that showcased his perfect teeth. You wondered if all of Jimin’s friends were model level attractive. 

      The man, who you assumed was Taehyung, and Jimin hugged each other once they got close enough. It was a short but sweet one, and you could tell that they’ve known each other for a long time. “Tae, this is Y/n! Y/n, this is Taehyung!” Jimin introduced the two of you, and you gave him a friendly bow. “Nice to meet you! Jimin’s been blabbering on all the time about you,” Taehyung snickered, earning an elbow to the arm from Jimin. 

     “Oh, really? Only good things, I hope,” You raised an eyebrow towards Jimin, and he raised his hands in defense. “Only good things! Only good,” He chuckled, and you nodded your head in satisfaction. “It’s nice to meet you too. Taehyung,” You smiled, turning your attention back to the man next to Jimin. “Alright! Game time!” Jimin clapped, racing inside the arcade with Taehyung hot on his tail. You snorted at their actions, following after them. 

      When the 3 of you paid for your tokens, you instantly agreed on going right to the air hockey table. “Okay so... Tae and I will face off with each other, then the winner plays you, is that alright?” Jimin asked, looking between you and Taehyung. Taehyung nodded while you gave him a thumbs up. 

      The two of them went to opposite sides of the table, putting in their tokens and grabbing the strikers. “You're going down,” Jimin threatened, glaring at the man in front of him. “Jimin, you’re about as frightening as a newborn puppy,” Taehyung snickered, earning an exaggerated gasp from the blonde. “Asshole,” He murmured to himself, picking up the puck and starting the game. 

      To say watching Jimin and Taehyung play was funny, is an understatement. Every time Taehyung scored a point, Jimin would whine louder and every time Jimin would score, Taehyung would start the game as quickly as possible, cutting off Jimin’s little victory dance. “Come on, Jimin!” You encouraged, looking at the 3-point difference on the overhead scoreboard. “It’s only three points!”

      Jimin tried, maybe a little too hard, but ended up losing in the end. Jimin pouted, his lower lip protruding exaggeratedly. He came over and laid his forehead on your shoulder, whining to you about Taehyung being a try-hard jerk. You just chuckled, giving his back a light pat as you gently pushed him off and went up to the table. 

      “You ready?” Taehyung asked after you put your tokens in. You nodded, waiting for him to start the game. Immediately, Taehyung hit the puck hard and fast, the plastic disc ricocheting off the sides in a zig-zag pattern. It was too fast for you to properly stop it from going right into your goal. Taehyung laughed from the other side of the table, holding his stomach as he bent over, wheezing. 

      You looked at him, unimpressed, snatching the puck from the space under the table. “You looked so helpless,” He wheezed, and you quickly put down the puck and hit it right into Taehyung’s goal, making the score even. “Oh no, you looked so helpless,” You snickered, mockingly. Setting off a competitive fire between you and Taehyung. 

After Jimin it was Taehyung. 

      That day was full of laughs and friendly insults thrown back and forth in the heat of a competitive moment. After you won that air hockey game, Taehyung challenged you to everything after that. “I bet I can score higher on this!” or “I bet you can’t beat that,” To which you proved him wrong about 50% of the time, Jimin being your cheerleader for every game. Besides DDR. Nobody dares to go against Jimin on DDR. Unless it’s Hoseok. 

      But your interactions with Taehyung and Jimin didn’t stop there. Now Jimin felt more comfortable inviting you out, usually to Taehyung’s bakery, so you could get to know each other better. Sometimes you’d even go to Taehyung’s bakery (Aptly named “Kim’s Confections”) on your own, just to talk to him as he made his stock for the next day. 

     Jimin and Taehyung said they had other friends that would love to meet you, but they were just busy, so it would take time. They also told you that 2 were on a business trip and wouldn’t be back for another week while another was swamped with work and the others were just shy. You didn’t mind much; you’d meet them when you met them. 

Which apparently was soon.

Because then it was Namjoon. 

      It was a nice day out today. It was slightly overcast and there was a cool breeze blowing through. Perfect for you. Not so perfect to the sunshine people of Bangtan. Nobody was out and about today like usual. People were treating a slightly dim day like it was snowing. It was amusing to you. When you first got here, you’ve never seen so many sunny days before. It was disorienting. The chilly day was a blissful blessing. 

      But going out on a lovely day was only fun when other people were out on that lovely day. Despite your previous woes, you actually wanted to get to know the community that lived in Bangtan. Jimin said that they didn’t get many outsiders, but everyone here was delightful to you. There was even this old lady how gave you a Snickers! A whole Snickers!

      Instead of letting the lack of people get you down though, you opted to go on one of the nature paths that went through the forest that surrounds the village. Putting on a pair of jeans and a jacket, you grabbed your small backpack off the counter and headed straight for the forest that was behind your house. 

     When Jimin said you lived in a “forest house,” He really wasn’t wrong, the tree line was only a 2-minute walk from your backdoor. You love the fact that you can look out your window and see the wildlife running around, even if some of them look oddly larger than normal. But that was probably just your imagination. 

      Stepping onto a well-worn path, you began your walk. Listening to the songs of the birds and breathing in the earthy smell that surrounded you, it was like heaven. Maybe it was because you lived in the city for most of your life, but you really felt drawn to this place. The vibrant green trees, the lively wildlife, the calm atmosphere. It was all so... Nice.

     The way the wind blew through the trees, rustling the leaves in a peaceful harmony, made pleasant shivers run down your spine. You would playfully wave at the squirrels and birds that you encountered on your path, and they would oddly look back at you, making you chuckle. “Cuties,” You whispered to yourself, your shoes crunching against the dried fallen leaves that covered the path. 

      About 20 minutes into your walk, however, you felt goosebumps rise on your skin. Like a second sense you weren’t aware about. Curiously, you stopped, looking around the empty forest. Nothing but trees, fauna, and flora as far as the eye could see. But it was also deathly quiet. You didn’t notice before, too trapped in your own thoughts, but the birds stopped chirping, like the entire forest had gone still. 

      Shivers ran their way up your spine, and you didn’t dare move a muscle. Suddenly the once refreshing forest air turned dry and suffocating, and it felt colder than before. The rustling of leaves caught your attention, and you whipped around in search of the source. Nothing moved as it went silent again. Scared, you started walking down the path again, eager to get away. 

      You could hear your heart pounding in your ears as your palms became sweaty from tightly clutching onto your bag. But then the rustling came again, this time it was closer. You whimpered, picking up your speed into a brisk walk to a jog, the rustling still following you. You took the risk of looking behind you, and what you saw made you gasp. There behind you was a grey wolf, briskly following you like it had all the time in the world. It wasn’t necessarily threatening you in any way, but it was a wolf, and all you were thinking about was getting away. 

     You broke out into a run, trying to get as far away from the animal as you could. You logically knew that it could easily run faster than you, but you were running on pure adrenalin at this point. Well, you were. Until you slammed face first into what felt like a brick wall. You fell backwards with a thump, groaning at the shock of pain that ran up your ankle. 

    “Oh! I’m sorry!” A deep voice apologized, kneeling next to you. All thoughts of the animal chasing you vanished from your mind when you looked up to see a tan, muscular man. He had sandy blonde hair that was swept to the side and chestnut brown eyes that were filled with worry. His grey shirt was tight, leaving little to the imagination. He was very well built. “Hello? Oh no, did you hit your head?” His voice spoke up again, waving his hand in front of your face. 

    You blinked a couple of times before lightly shaking your head. “No- I’m okay,” You answered, and the man let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good, can you stand up?” He asked, you tried to stand up, but a piercing, sweltering heat shot its way up your ankle and you groaned in pain. “I think I twisted my ankle...” You whimpered, bringing one of your hands down to support it. 

      “Oh no, um... Think Namjoon think...” The man, who you presumed to be the Namjoon he was referring to, paced back and forth in front of you. You brought your backpack around in front of you, looking through it until you pulled out the mini first aid kit you carried. You opened up the small plastic box and got out the bandage wrap that came with it. “Um, can you help me wrap my ankle?” You spoke up, getting the worried man’s attention. “Y-Yeah!” He nodded, kneeling in front of you. 

     “I’m so sorry... Um, I can, uh... Carry you back to my home? I think I have an ice pack in the freezer,” He offered while he wrapped the bandage snuggly against your ankle... You raised your eyebrow suspiciously, not quite trusting the random woodsman you just met. 

      He caught on to what you were thinking, quickly holding his hands up and smiling awkwardly. “I promise I won’t do anything! And if I make you uncomfortable, you can like... Punch me or something,” He said, and you relented, knowing that he was likely your only way out of this forest since you seemed to have strayed off the beaten path. 

“I’m Namjoon, by the way,” He smiled, revealing a pair of deep-set dimples.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Y/n,” 

     After Namjoon wrapped up your ankle, he picked you up bridal style (After getting your permission) and carried you back to civilization. You made small talk along the way. Namjoon told you that he was the town’s mechanic and he lived in an apartment that was above his shop. You told him that you were new in town and you worked as a translator. 

      Soon, you arrived at a small store that looked very much like a smaller version of AutoZone. Namjoon carefully carried you up the stairs and set you down on his living room couch. “I’ll go get that ice pack,” He said, giving you a soft smile as he disappeared into what you assumed to be the kitchen. 

    You ignored the blush that made its way onto the tips of your ears, searching through your bag until you found your phone. Opening your messages with Jimin. 

Hey. I know I said I’d meet up with you later but I kinda messed up my ankle...

Chim: What?! How?

I went on a nature hike and ran face first into this dude Namjoon

Chim: Namjoon? The mechanic?

Yeah, he brought me back to his house and is treating it. Seems super worried. Chill guy though!

Chim: Sounds like Joon. Stay there, okay? I’ll meet you there. I’ll bring Tae too.

You know him?

Chim: He’s the guy I told you about, the one that knocked over the can display.

Oh yeah! lol

After Taehyung it was Namjoon.

      After you texted Jimin about your predicament, him and Taehyung showed up to gage how bad it really was. In reality, it wasn’t that awful. You only had to wear a brace for 3 days and stay far away from Namjoon’s clumsy tendencies for another 2. 

      Namjoon was surprised at first to find out that you knew the two men, and then they enthusiastically informed him that you were the Y/n that they’ve been telling everyone about. You don’t know if it was more embarrassing for you to find out you're a regular conversation topic, or for Namjoon who didn’t connect the dots earlier. Maybe it was both. 

     But besides your rocky first impressions. You and Namjoon bonded quickly. But instead of bonding over competition like Taehyung or frequent meetings like Jimin... The two of you bonded when you found out his love for books, especially old classics. It was only 2 days after your initial meeting. Jimin and Taehyung were busy, and you didn’t feel like being alone, so you visited Namjoon. (Much to his surprise)

      You were keeping him company in the garage while he worked on a car when you referenced a scene from “The Odyssey,” Namjoon had shot his head up and looked at you wide eyed, asking if you were a fan of literature. When you said yes, he couldn’t help but talk animatedly about his favorites as you playfully indulged him. Not minding one bit. 

      The two of you frequently met up to talk about books. Whether it be a debate about whether “To Kill a Mockingbird” Should be as hyped up as it is or deep philosophical conversations about the meaning of “Where’d You Go, Bernadette?” But there was one day when you visited him that he asked if you wanted to go shopping with him. 

Which is how you ended up in a grocery store with cans rolling around on the floor. 

Then you met Hoseok.

      “Shopping?” You asked incredulously as you watched Namjoon emerge from his room with a fresh set of clothes on. “Yeah! It could be fun! Also, Jimin begged me to go with him and I don’t want to go through that alone,” He blurted out, and you laughed, hiding your face in the arm of his couch. 

      Namjoon huffed at your amusement, whining out a “Please?” That you just couldn’t exist. You sighed, getting up from the couch and slipping on your shoes. “Let’s go then, you know how Jimin gets,” Namjoon quickly followed suit, not wanting to deal with a nagging Jimin alone. “You’re right, let’s go!” He rushed, and you giggled, following him out the door. 

      It was another sunny day in Bangtan, meaning more people were out and about. You smiled as people on the street waved at you, becoming more used to your presence in the town. “How different is the city life to this?” Namjoon asked from beside you, hands stuffed in the pockets of his leather jacket. “Much different. People would usually bump into you, then sneer at you like it was your fault,” You snorted, earning a wide-eyed look from the man beside you.

    “People were that rude?” He asked, exasperated. “Yep,” You nodded, finding his distaste for people he’s never met somewhat amusing. Namjoon scoffed, mumbling a “Dumb people,” Under his breath, causing you to chuckle. “Namjoon, there's no need to get so worked up about it,” You poked his shoulder. Namjoon looked at you with pursed lips, “Nobody should be mean to a person like you,” He declared, looking at you with deep intensity. 

    “Guys!” A voice called, breaking through the moment you and Namjoon were having. You cleared your throat, wiping your sweaty palms on your jeans before looking up at Jimin. He was standing in front of the grocery store you often frequented. “Hey,” You greeted once the two of you got close enough. Jimin engulfed you in a hug, squeezing you tight, and you couldn’t help the giggled that bubbled their way up and out of your throat. But you missed the look of jealousy that crossed Namjoon’s face. 

      Once Jimin let go, he gave both of you and a cheeky smile. “So... I know Hoseok technically banned Namjoon from here after last time... But! Today is the day they restock the junk food” Jimin exclaimed, enthusiasm painted on his face. You forgot that living in such a secluded town meant that things like brand-named food went out of stock and stayed like that for longer than you were used to. It was one of the downsides to living here, but like, one out of five.

      “Hoseok? You mean the manager that seems to avoid me like the plague?” You asked, earning a sympathetic look from both of the men. You’re heard about Hoseok plenty of times from Jimin, Taehyung, AND Namjoon. You’ve even seen the dude when you shopped here sometimes, but he always hid away in the backroom when he noticed your presence. Not coming out until you were gone.

    You were convinced that Hoseok didn’t like you for whatever reason, but everyone told you it was just him. He was shy at first, then the loudest person you’d ever meet. “Y/n...” Jimin whined, and you playfully rolled your eyes. “Yeah. yeah. He doesn't have some sort of weird vendetta against me, I get it,” You groaned, walking past both of them. “Let’s just go, yeah?” You pressed, looking over your shoulder at the both of them. 

    The two of them looked at each other, then back at you before they followed you into the store. Jimin quickly took the lead as he guided you and Namjoon towards the candy and chips section of the small mart. “Ah, it’s beautiful,” Jimin sighed, grabbing a pack of spicy potato chips. “It’s unhealthy,” Namjoon mocking him, mimicking Jimin’s dreamy sigh.

    Jimin whipped around to glare at the taller man, not caring that Namjoon had to look down to maintain eye contact with him. “Look, not everyone eats leaves like you Joon,” Jimin hmphed, turning back to the shelf. You snickered, earning an exaggerated gasp from Namjoon. “I’m offended, Y/n,” He said, and you chuckled harder. 

    “That’s it, come here,” Namjoon threatened, reaching out for you to which you immediately turned and ran away. You say run, but it was more like a jog. You and Namjoon were laughing with each other while he tried to catch you. “Weak sauce, Namjoon,” You teased from the opposite end of the aisle from him. “You wound me,” He chuckled, lunging at you yet again. 

    But this time, you narrowly dodged his grasp. You jumped out of the way quickly enough for him to miss you, but he wasn’t quick enough to stop himself from running headfirst into a display of cans. How ironic. The cans sounded a huge crash as they fell to the floor in conjunction, Namjoon falling with them. He let out a groan of pain as he landed on a can, one of them hitting him on the head. 

    You let out a pained hiss, almost feeling the headache incoming. “Are you okay?” You asked, kneeling beside him. This situation feeling familiar before. “Yeah... I’m good,” Namjoon whimpered out, wincing at the pain in his back. Suddenly, the two of you heard rapid footsteps approaching you. “You idiots,” Jimin sighed, kneeling on the opposite side of Namjoon. “This is why Hobi banned you,” Jimin flicked Namjoon’s nose, the elder letting out a choked “Ack” sound. 

     Soon, you and Jimin helped Namjoon back up to his feet, the taller man resting a hand on his back for support. “Of course it was you, Joon,” A new voice spoke up, sounding amused. The three of you focused your attention on the approaching man coming down on of the isles, his eyes trained on Namjoon. 

     He was taller than Jimin but shorter than Namjoon, somewhere in between. He had brunette hair in a mocha-like shade that was a similar hairstyle to Taehyung. He had deep brown eyes and heart-shaped lips that were upturned into a slight smile. You recognized him as Hoseok, the store manager who avoided you like you had a flu and he was immunocompromised. 

    “Well... This situation seems familiar,” Namjoon chuckled, wincing when he realized that made his back hurt worse. “Yes, it is,” Hoseok sighed, looking at the dented and disorganized cans that were scattered on the floor. “Sorry about the mess,” You spoke up, Hoseok’s eyes finally registering on you. He seemed to freeze up, a nervous smile plastered on his face. 

    “It’s fine!” He said a bit too enthusiastically. Jimin snickered from the other side of Namjoon, giving Hoseok a teasing smirk. “Hobi! This is Y/n! The girl I’ve told you so much about!” Jimin smiled, and Hoseok’s cheeks reddened as he avoided eye contact with you. “Nice to meet you,” He coughed out. “You’ve seen me before... I’m not exactly shopping for food anywhere else,” You pointed out. 

     Hoseok looked up to you for a brief second before looking back down at his shoes. “Yeah! Yeah... Sorry you’re just, new,” He nervously chuckled. “I get it, I’ve heard not many people come to Bangtan. You just don’t hate me, right?” You asked cautiously, not knowing what you would do if the answer was yes. “No! I don’t hate you; I swear.” Hoseok cleared his throat, fiddling with his fingers. 

     “What Hoseok is trying to say is he doesn’t know how to approach new people. Like I’ve been telling you,” Jimin interrupted, giving you a “I told you so,” Look. “Whatever Jimin. But um, Hoseok? Could you do me a favor?” You asked, turning your attention back on the brunette. “Hmm?” Hoseok hummed, urging you to continue. “Could you take my place supporting Namjoon? He’s heavy...” You chuckled. Getting a laugh from Jimin, a complaint from Namjoon, and a soft smile of agreement from Hoseok. 

After Namjoon it was Hoseok. 

     When all of you arrived back at Namjoon’s apartment and threw him on the floor, you and Hoseok made quick work of getting him an ice pack and medicine. You got Namjoon comfy on the couch with some blankets and pillows, an ice pack on his back, while Hoseok got him some water to swallow the pills he gave him. 

     Namjoon fell asleep shortly after he took the medicine. Whether he was already tired or the pills knocked him out, it didn’t matter; he was out like a light. All three of you chuckled at the snoring man, even if he sounded like a train in the distance, you thought he was cute. Jimin eventually had to clock into work, giving you a wink as he waved goodbye and rushed out the door. Leaving just you, Hoseok, and a sleeping Namjoon. 

    At first, the air between you and Hoseok was quite stale. The two of you exchanging basic words of pleasantries to keep an awkward silence at bay. But “How old are you?” and “Where are you from?” can only get you so far. So when the conversation died down, Hoseok suggested that you should put on a movie. 

    You didn’t pin Hoseok to be a superhero nerd, but he totally was. If his simping over Spiderman was anything to go off of. You weren’t necessarily a Marvel or DC guru, but you let Hoseok talk your ear off once he got comfortable. 

    Jimin wasn’t wrong when he said Hoseok was shy at first, then the loudest person you would ever meet. Because after a few minutes into the movie, he couldn’t hold in his excited soliloquy anymore. Once he got more comfortable in your presence, he would make comments here and there on what was happening and eventually you joined in, asking questions about anything you were lost on. 

    Hoseok was very sweet about your lack of knowledge about the universe and even offered to switch to an earlier movie in that confusing connected universe. That kicked off an entire movie marathon of Hoseok explaining everything to you and you intently listening, genuinely interested in the weird, bizarre world of super heros. You even picked your favorite out of the enormous bunch. Ironically, it was Spiderman... He’s just so lovable. You couldn’t help it, he was too charming. 

    Eventually, after 3 hours of a lesson on superheros and some villains, Namjoon woke up, still sore, but better. He even joined you on your marathon, mostly because he didn’t want to get up from the couch, but he did pay attention! You, Namjoon, and Hoseok laughed, talked, and bickered over the lore and more trivial things for hours, but it was all in good fun. “You’re cool, Hoseok,” You remember telling the brunette. Hoseok sought out to be a friend you could have endless amounts of fun with after that. 

But the eventful day didn’t end there!

Because then Seokjin burst through the door.

      “Okay so... You’re telling me that there’s this ex-surgeon turned mystical time lord, and that’s canon?” You asked Hoseok incredulously, the brunette trying not to laugh at your disbelieving attitude. Because in this world radioactive spiders, literal gods of thunder, and a whole, invisible kingdom named Wakanda exists... But no! Time lords are too much! “Yes, Y/n. Doctor Strange is canon,” Hoseok chuckled. 

     You furrowed your brow, leaning back into the couch more and (unintentionally) leaning into Namjoon more. He doesn’t mind though, you’re warm. “What are like... The rules of this world? Things like time manipulation opens up a whole new can of worms,” You pointed out. Hoseok shrugged, popping a piece of popcorn into his mouth. “I try not to like about the logistics. I mean, it’s superheros Y/n! Not exactly a philosophical conversation starter about the possibility of multiple timelines and aliens.” 

     Namjoon chuckled as you nodded, seeing his point. “It’s like those fantasy books you like to read, Y/n,” Namjoon said. “I guess I can see your point. Guess I’ll have to discuss the possibility of a multiverse with someone else,” You playfully sighed. Hoseok snorted, opening his mouth to say something before Namjoon’s front door burst open violently. 

     “Joon! You are so dead!” A masculine voice shouted. You shrunk into the couch while Hoseok and Namjoon looked towards the source of the ruckus. “Jin? What are you-” Namjoon speaks up, only to be cut off by this “Jin” person. “Oh you know why I’m here! You were supposed to help me organize files tonight!” The unfamiliar voice complained, and you slowly looked over the back of the couch. 

     Standing in the doorway was a man about as tall as Hoseok, dressed in a pristine grey suit with a green tie. He had dark brown hair that looked almost black in the low light of Namjoon’s apartment in a similar hairstyle to Taehyung. He had thin-rimmed circular glasses that enhanced his pretty brown eyes, that were currently wrinkled in annoyance. He was strikingly handsome with his plump lips and smooth-looking skin. You were seriously wondering what was in the water at Bangtan that made all these men seriously attractive. 

    Namjoon gasped, sitting up to get a better look at Jin, swallowing the wince as the pain from earlier in the day hasn’t quite dissipated yet. “I’m so sorry! It slipped my mind... I kinda... Got occupied,” Namjoon scratched the back of his neck nervously. Jin quirked a brown, still not acknowledging your presence even if you were right next to Namjoon. “What?” Jin asked, crossing his arms. “I... Ran into a can display,” Namjoon muttered out, looking down at his hands. 

     “Before you say anything. Yes, he did it again,” Hoseok spoke up, giving Namjoon a cheeky smirk. “But he got hurt this time,” Jin looked Namjoon up and down, taking in the bump on his forehead and disheveled appearance, finally letting out a sigh. “Alright just, text me next time, okay?” Jin said. Namjoon nodded giving him a thumbs up before he turned to you. 

    “Oh! Jin, this is Y/n.” Namjoon smiled. Jin’s head now turned to look at you, his eyes widening. “Y/n? Oh yeah! The girl you texted me about!” Jin walked closer to you, holding out one of his hands. You awkwardly took it, giving it a shake before Jin smiled. “I’m Seokjin. But please call me Jin because Seokjin makes me feel old and like I’m back at work.” He declared, and you chuckled at his practiced introduction. “Nice to meet you, Jin,” You replied, giving him a smile. 

    Jin’s attention then focused on the mess of junk food that sat on the coffee table, his upper lip furling in disdain. “Have you guys eaten any real food yet?” He asked, looking at all three of you briefly before he started cleaning up the mess. “No... And stop cleaning. It’s my apartment, I’ll get it,” Namjoon whined, only to get brushed off with a “You say that every time. What would you do without me?”

    Jin continued to clean while you watched him and Namjoon bicker back and forth, turning to Hoseok for some sort of escape from how awkward you felt. Hoseok noticed your uncomfortable aura and chuckled. “it’s fine, they bicker like that all the time.” That made you feel a bit better. Knowing that you weren’t witnessing a rivalry go down right in front of you. 

     “You guys stay there and I’ll cook something that will actually give you nutrients, okay?” Jin called from the kitchen, but you quickly spoke up. “Oh no, you don’t have to count me in! I’ll just head home,” You said, standing up. jin quickly tutted you like a scolding mother with a “Nonsense! It’s nothing, really. Besides, I want to get to know you. What better way of doing that then over dinner?” You looked towards Namjoon and Hoseok, both of them shaking their heads, silently saying “There’s no use in arguing”

    You surrendered, sitting back down on the couch. You missed the smile that crossed Jin’s face when he saw you give in, declaring to himself that he’d make an extra tasty meal. You, Hoseok, and Namjoon continued to watch Doctor Strange while Jin clanged around in the kitchen. The scent of what seemed to be bulgogi wafting through the air. 

    Soon, Jin called all of you over for dinner, Hoseok helping Namjoon to the dining room while you helped Jin set the table. Once you all sat down, everyone grabbed their bits of food, the three of them putting more food on your plate when they thought your plate was too empty. Using the excuse of “Leftovers are a hassle,” to subtly shrug off their doting over you. 

    After the first initial bites of food were on everyone’s stomachs, Jin piped up to ask you questions about yourself, offering information and embarrassing stories about him and his friend in return. It was easy to talk to Jin, his dad jokes and open personality meant that you felt it was easy to open up to him. Never once did he make a face of judgement or disgust at anything you said and it made you feel welcomed. (Not that the other didn’t make you feel welcomed, it was just that Jin was easy to talk to,)

    “I love your necklace, by the way. Where’d you get it?” Jin asked, pointing to the old family heirloom that still hung around your neck. “It’s an heirloom, I have no idea where it came from,” You chuckled, fidgeting with the cool, teal stone. “Well, it’s beautiful. Seems oddly familiar too,” He commented, getting nods of agreement from Hoseok and Namjoon. You shrugged, stuffing the last bit of meat into your mouth. “Thank you for dinner. Jin,” You smiled. 

After Hoseok it was Seokjin.

    That night you went home with a full stomach and new contacts in your phone. All the boys you met so far sending you a goodnight text. Some filled with emojis, others declaring that you should hang out with them more. It made you feel all warm and gushy inside. The prospect of having friends that cared about you enough to send you goodnight texts was a dream a few months ago. Now you could send goodnight texts back. 

    The chirping of crickets and rustling of leaves narrated the walk back to your tiny cottage. Now that you were alone, you thought back to when you met Namjoon. That grey wolf you were chasing seemed to suddenly disappear once you bumped into him. Namjoon is tall. Maybe that scared it off? You didn’t know, who knows about the behaviors of wolves? Nature nerds. So probably Namjoon.

     Then again, it didn’t seem aggressive, just curious. What if it saw you and got curious? Just wanting to see what you were all about. That made you feel somewhat guilty. You probably scared the poor thing by breaking out into a sprint. That didn’t mean you’d walk up to one the next time you see one, but it just meant you’d probably be a bit less anxious. 

    And you were right, the next time you saw one you were very calm. Whether that was because the wolf was surprisingly domestic or it was the man you found petting it that made all sense of danger blank from your mind. But the calm wind that blew through his hair as he looked you up and down was something you’d remember forever. Because now, in the strangest way...

Yoongi entered your life.

      You decided to try a nature day again. A run in with a wolf and one sprained ankle isn’t going to stop you from admiring the beauty that is the forest of Bangtan. You were either brave or stupid. Probably a bit of both. Nonetheless, you grabbed your bag, slipped on your sneakers, and set off into the woods with a new sense of determination. 

    You don’t know what your end goal is; you didn’t plan that far ahead. All you cared about was appreciating nature, alone, with no interruptions. Today was a hotter day than before. The skies with nothing but blue as the sun beat down on the world below it. Luckily, the forest had a good canopy of trees to block you from being directly hit by the sun's rays. 

    It was another calming day of birds chirping and small animals scurrying about, no ominous rustling this time, just you and the odd animals of Bangtan forest. You kept up the joke of waving to the animals that would stop and stare at you, some of them taking a few steps closer, some of them tilting their heads, but none of them running away. It made you feel like a forest fairy that could talk to them, even if that was a ridiculous idea. 

    This time you were able to venture deeper into the forest, the trees getting thicker, and the animals seemed to get bigger. Not paranormally so, but enough to notice. “They probably just eat better deeper in the forest,” You observed aloud, continuing your walk as you stopped occasionally to smell the wildflowers that lined the path. 

     While you were busy admiring and smelling what looked to be chicory, a bump against your leg caused you to look down. Down at your feet was a large squirrel. The critter looked up at you with big beady eyes, its small hands holding an acorn. “Aww, hello!” You cooed, not moving in fear of startling the fuzzy creature. It ran laps around your feet a couple of times before stopping, looking back up at you once again. 

    You quirked your head to the side, chuckling at the squirrel's odd behavior. It did that routine a couple more times before you moved, taking a step back onto the path. The squirrel turned and ran a few feet down the path, turning around to look at you once again. The two of you stared at each other before it came back, circling your feet then heading down the path at the spot it was previously in. 

    Curious, you walked towards the squirrel. The fluff ball kept goes a few feet down the path every time you caught up to it, waiting for you before it continued that routine. You questioned yourself whether you were really blindly following a squirrel in hopes of it leading you somewhere important, but you just felt like you had to. 

     Soon the squirrel detoured off the beaten path, turning to look at you from the thick brush. “I’m not moving off the path, little guy,” You said, drawing this goose chase to a close when you felt like it could possibly endanger you. The squirrel didn’t let up though, it just went back to circling and bumping your legs, it’s eyes silently pleading with you. 

    Sighing, you decided that if it stayed straight, then you would follow it, thinking that it would be easy to turn around if this was really useless. The squirrel continued to lead you through the forest, staying on its own straight path before the forest opened up into a clearing. 

     The grass was a vibrant green and there was a thick oak tree standing on a hill, just slightly off center. But it wasn’t the odd natural phenomenon that caught your attention. It was the man and the wolf that were sitting under the tree. The squirrels bumped against your leg again, trying to get you to walk toward them, but you refused, slightly nervous. 

    But the wolf didn’t seem to give you a choice as it spotted you and bolted right towards you. You felt your heart jump to your throat as you tripped on your own feet, falling backwards on the ground. You prepared for pain. A bite. A scratch. Anything. But you only got the cold wet touch of its nose while it sniffed you and the soft tickle of its fur when it rubbed its head against your head. 

     Slowly, you lifted your hand up and the wolf took the liberty of putting its head under it. You pet the large animal with wide eyes, not noticing that the man from before had gotten up and walked towards you. The wolf curled up next to you, whining whenever you stopped petting it. “He’s a baby,” A sleepy voice spoke up beside you. 

     You whipped your head up to see a man with brass blonde hair and brown eyes. He seemed about as tall as Jimin, and he had a flower sticking out of his pocket. His face was stoic, looking at you with subtle curiosity. “W-What?” You asked, still a bit blown away by the sequence of events that just played out. “Holly, the wolf you’re petting,” He said, pointing down to the wolf that was now asleep. 

    “O-Oh... Yeah,” You said, perplexed, looking down at the sleeping canine. The man sat down next to you, petting Holly alongside with you. “You’re not from around here, are you?” He asked, looking you right in the eye. “Not really... I just moved here... I’m Y/n,” You answered. “I know. The others like to talk about you,” He shrugged, catching you off guard. “I’m Yoongi,”

    Ah, you’ve heard about Yoongi. The others described him as a quiet, old man, and you could see what they mean. Yoongi looked like the kind of person that knew all of life’s secrets but wouldn’t tell you because you “Didn’t ask,” He had an aura of mystery around him, but everyone else insisted he was a kind soul who you could tell all your problems to and he’d instantly make it better. 

“They really talk about me that much?” You chuckled, shaking your head. 

“Yeah, I’ve been excited to meet you,” He said, sounding very unexcited, but you believed him anyway.

“Have you been too busy to?” 

“No, I had to wait for the right time,”

     You tilted your head, furrowing your eyebrows. “The right time?” You asked. “I knew we’d meet, eventually. You’ll meet everyone eventually,” He responded cryptically, and you decided to drop the subject. The two of you sat together in silence, but it was a comfortable one. Neither of you felt to need to talk over the chirping birds or snoring Holly. 

You didn’t quite notice how Yoongi kept stealing glances at your necklace or the hopeful gummy smile that crossed his face. 

After Seokjin it was Yoongi. 

    After that day, Yoongi would invite you over to his flower shop more, insisting that you take a flower home every time you left. The two of you didn’t hang out as often alone as you did with Jimin or Namjoon, but you still became friends. Whenever you were upset, Yoongi would walk with you to that clearing, sitting with you under the tree while Holly rested his head on your lap. 

    The docile wolf used to weird you out, even if Yoongi explained that all the animals in the forest were friendly. You just couldn’t understand that an apex predator could shrug you off and even demand cuddles from you, but Holly was a sweetie, so you didn’t complain. Yoongi would often say weird and bizarre things, most of them very cryptic, but you learned it was normal and everyone just went along with it. 

    Yoongi would often ask about your necklace and your family. Asking where you got it, where your family was from, if they’ve even been to Bangtan. It was a bit odd, but you just chalked it up to Yoongi wanting to know more about you and your weird looking necklace. Besides, it’s not like the two of you didn’t have fun together.

    Sometimes he would sit and talk to Namjoon with you, he’d bake together with you and Jin, get dragged along to the arcade with Jimin and Taehyung, or put up with you weekly movie nights with Hoseok. Yoongi became a friend too, never failing to be a rock for you to lean on or a shoulder to cry on, and he didn’t seem to mind. Not one bit. He even soothed your worries about the youngest of the bunch not liking you. 

Cause then you finally met Jeongguk.

    “Are you saying you don’t like my cream puffs?” Jin gasped, pointing his spatula at the 5 of you currently lounging in Namjoon’s living room. Yoongi shrugged and Jimin stuck his tongue out in disgust, earning another gasp from Jin. “Don’t worry Jin! I like them,” You spoke up, giving the elder a smile. “Thank you, Y/n. You’re the only one I can rely on,” He playfully sighed, getting an eye roll from both Namjoon and Hoseok. 

    You watched Jin move around the kitchen for a few more minutes, “Why are you baking so much?” You asked. Jin lifted his head to look at you, giving you a small smile. “Gukkie’s coming home from the academy!” He exclaimed excitedly. After hanging out with all of them for more that a month, you came to realize that “Jeongguk” “Guk” and “Gukkie” was the same person. “The academy?” You questioned. 

     “Yeah! He had to go for his yearly training, but some seniors asked him to help train the rookies, so he stayed. He’s coming home today!” Jin continued his ministrations as you let out an “ohh” understanding why you’ve heard so much about Jeongguk but he never seemed to be around, even if Yoongi said him, Jimin, and Taehyung used to go to the arcade often. 

     You let out a sigh, laying your head down on top of Taehyung’s lap, closing your eyes. You failed to see the red that painted Taehyung’s face or the way he looked up to everyone else to see if they were seeing what he was seeing. They were. And you all wished they were Taehyung right now. Hoseok pouted, Jimin gave Taehyung a sly smirk. The eldest looking at your tired form with soft worry. They knew you had a long night; it was written all over your face. 

    You don’t know when you drifted off to sleep, but you were awoken with a start. The sound of happy cheers pulled you out of the sleep realm, Taehyung running his hand through your hair to ground you. You looked up with dreary eyes, burying your face into Taehyung’s stomach in an attempt to hang onto the threads of sleep that were slowly slipping through your fingers. 

     “Sorry,” Taehyung whispered to you, feeling his heart pound against his ribcage at how cute you looked. But his efforts of lulling you back to dream land were thwarted and Jimin dragged you off the couch, rambling something about Guk and backs. You didn’t know, you could barely stand at this point. 

     “Guk! Meet Y/n!” Jimin chipped while you rubbed the sleep out of your eyes. You opened your eyes to see a tall man with brown hair like Jins. He had brown eyes like the others, but his skin was tan like Namjoon’s, a little lighter, probably because of working out in the sun. 

    He gave you a shy smile that showed off his bunny like teeth. “H-Hello,” He stuttered out, the tips of his ears reddening. “Hi, nice to finally meet you,” You smiled sleepily, leaning your head on Jimin’s shoulder for support. “You too... You’re very pretty,” He chuckled out nervously, his bluntness caught you off guard. “Thank you,” You giggled, cheeks heating up before he got whisked away by his hyungs so they could catch up. 

    Jin stuffed Jeongguk full of the food he made while Jimin and Taehyung pulled him into annoying Yoongi. It was amusing to watch how well he reintegrated into their group, like he wasn’t gone for 3 months. The boys fit together so easily and naturally, like a perfect ecosystem in play. You wondered if you could get to that point with them. 

    Jeongguk was obviously influenced by his hyungs a lot. He had the love for superheros like Hoseok, the mischief of Jimin and Taehyung. He was physically built like Namjoon put had a soft nature like Yoongi, The only influence that wasn’t overtly obvious was Jin, but you could see the subtle caregiver tendencies like putting extra food on Yoongi’s plate. 

    All 8 of you talked over dinner, everyone else trying to push Jeongguk to talk to you. Which you did. Jeongguk told you about his time as a police officer and some of the odd stories that came along with it. The others occasionally butting in to embarrass him. 

    By the end of the night, Jeongguk and you had gotten to know each other well, with the help of the other, as all 8 of you feel asleep in Namjoon’s living room. Infinity War playing on the tv. You laid on Jeongguk’s shoulder and he laid his head on top of yours; the others cooing at the two of you. 

That was 2 years ago.

     It was a normal day in Bangtan. Sunny, clear skies, and a whole lot of ruckus. The boys decided to visit you for the day, saying that they needed a day to hangout with everyone together. You didn’t mind though; you were more than used to the impromptu visits that any (or all) of them would make to your house. 

    Jimin, Tae, and Guk were sat in your living room playing a game of Mario Kart while Yoongi and Jin helped you make dinner. Hobi and Joon talking to the three of you while they sat around your kitchen island. “Alright, Hobi. Time lords were right on the line. Purple alien dilf? Crossing it,” You laughed, cutting up some radish for the kimchi Jin planned to make with you tomorrow. 

    Hoseok gasped, while Namjoon wheezed with his forehead on the counter. “Okay I’ve heard a lot of things about Thanos. Purple alien dilf is a new one,” He cackled, his lips stretching into the heart-shaped smile that make your face hot. “She’s not wrong,” Yoongi shrugged, throwing some beef into an already prepped pan. “Just because she’s right doesn’t mean she should say it!” Guk called from the living room, obviously hearing every word that was spoken despite him being in another room. 

    You giggled, offering a piece of carrot to Hoseok and one to Namjoon when he whined about you picking favorites. In these past 2 years you’ve grown to really care about the boys who slipped into your life so abruptly, some more oddly than others. (Cough. Yoongi.) But they all just stayed. Every day you would learn more about all of them and they would learn more about you. I mean, you wouldn’t have guessed that Jin loved stuffed animals. But he does. 

    The only problem that came with leaning more about them was slowly turning that care into admiration. What you're trying to avoid saying is the word “love” because you refuse to let yourself feel something that could be detrimental to the carefully crafted friend dynamic all of you have built. But deep down you knew that what you felt for them was anything but platonic. 

   Friends don’t want to cuddle with each other under the stars. Friends don’t look at each other's lips and think about how soft they’d be against your own. Friends don’t think about living in a house together and eventually growing old while you watch your kids carry on your legacy. Friends don’t do or think about that. 

    However, it’s not that you have a crush on one of them. It’s all of them. That’s what confuses you and makes you push your feelings away. How was that possible? Loving all of them? How was is possible to think about getting morning kisses from both Jin and Joon? Was is weird to think about holding hands with both Jimin and Jeongguk while you went to go meet up with Taehyung for a quadruple date? What would they say if they found out you thought about having a picnic out at that clearing with Yoongi, Hoseok, and Holly by your side under the tree while the others play around? The possibility of them being grossed out by you was scary. So you suppressed your emotions.

     You ignored the way you would shiver when their skin brushed yours. You suppress the dreamy sighs every time you got stuck in a daydream. You forced a smile whenever jealously would bubble up in your stomach at the sight of other happy couples, wishing you could have what they have, but with all of your best friends. 

    “Our 2 year anniversary is tomorrow,” Yoongi spoke up randomly, very in character for him. “Random,” Hoseok snorted. “2 year anniversary?” Yoongi nodded, not taking his attention off of the cooking meat. “2 years since Y/n became our friend. We should celebrate,” Yoongi suggested, getting hums of agreement from the rest of the boys. “Wait a minute, I met you all on different days. Except Hobi and Jin. So technically there’s no date to pinpoint,” You pointed out. 

    But Yoongi merely chuckled, turning to you with a gummy smile. “I’m saying that the day you met Guk is the day that we all became friends,” Yoongi declared. “I don’t see why not,” Taehyung spoke up from behind you suddenly, wrapping his arms around your waist. You had to swallow the squeal that threatened to spill out of your mouth. “Maybe we can go to that clearing you and Yoongi are always seeking off to,” Guk said. 

    There was no room for arguments apparently since all of them eagerly agreed and they even gave you puppy eyes so you physically couldn’t say no. Soon enough, Yoongi and Jin switched to prepping food for tomorrow while Hoseok and Guk went to Hoseok’s mart to get some snacks. Namjoon pulled you away from the kitchen with the excuse, “We need to pick books to read tomorrow,” which made you playfully roll your eyes since Namjoon has raided your book collection 2 times already. 

    But you indulged them, letting them do their own things for tomorrow until eventually nightfall came and they had to go home. “We’ll pick you up and 8!” Hoseok called to you as they walked down your driveway. You watched them go from the doorway, heart in your throat as you thought about how amazing they were. 

    The youngest were always willing to cheer you up whenever you needed it. Yoongi was a shoulder to cry on. Namjoon and Jin were overprotective caregiver types that made your heart swoon. Hoseok could always whisk you away from stress and worries by distracting your overactive brain with silly movies and late night rendezvous star gazing. You wanted to cross that line between lovers and friends so bad. But you couldn’t. Because it was all or nothing and you’d never choose. 

    “Holly!” You cheered as the 8 of you broke through the tree line into the familiar clearing where the cheerful wolf was waiting for you. He always seemed to be waiting for you. Holly tackled you onto the ground, nuzzling his head into the crook of your neck before he got up and playfully jumped around you. 

“I still can’t believe you domesticated a wolf, Yoongi,” Jin commented.

“I didn’t,” 

    At this point everyone learned to shrug off Yoongi’s weird speech blips, filing them down as “Random Yoongi Things,” in your brains. Soon, a blanket was set up underneath the sturdy oak tree, you and Yoongi laying down on it, basking in the sun rays that peaked through the leaves. Jeongguk and Taehyung were playing with Holly while Namjoon read and the other three ate, the atmosphere one of comfort and content. 

     “You’ve been thinking about something recently,” Yoongi spoke up from beside you, turning his head to look at you. “You know everything, don’t you, Yoongs?” You snickered. continuing to watch the clouds blow by. “I’m serious Y/n. You seem... resistant. Are we making you uncomfortable or something?” He asked, looking at you with slight worry. “No... It’s not you,” You sighed, turning to look back at Yoongi. 

“Is it work? You know Jin told you about overworking yourself,”

“Nono, please don’t get eomma Jin over here,” You laughed, getting a chuckle from Yoongi.

“Then what’s up? You know you can talk to me about anything.”

    Anything? You thought. How am I supposed to admit to you that I’m in love with seven men when I can barely admit that to myself? You wanted to keep your mouth shut. You wanted to turn away and change the subject to the cloud shaped like a pizza roll, but you were trapped in the sparkling brown of Yoongi’s mocha eyes.

    Just as you opened your mouth, a giggly Jimin tackled you. He hugged you close, hiding you away from everyone else. “Chim!” You giggled, trying your best to wiggle out of his grasp. Soon, Jeongguk and Taehyung joined in on the dog pile, making sure not to crush you but also not afraid to wrestle you a little bit. “Hey! Cut it out! You’ll hurt her!” Jin spoke up in his eomma voice, successfully getting them to stop. 

    Your earlier conversation with Yoongi is forgotten as all 7 of them pass you around for a day full of them. You play with Holly and the youngest, then Namjoon sits and reads with you, Jin makes sure you eat, why you take a quick power nap on Hoseok’s lap, missing the very serious conversation they had with each other. 

“But what if your wrong Yoongi? What is she doesn’t want to be with all of us,” Jeongguk whined.

“She does, I can feel it,”

     “Yoongi, we’re your best friends and you do have freakishly good intuition. But Jeongguk’s right, What if you’re wrong and she leaves?” Hoseok sighed, petting your hair unconsciously. “Trust me, it has to turn out like this,” Yoongi declared. “Or what? The world will end? Yoongi, sometimes I wish you’d speak less like a story narrator,” Taehyung snorted, earning an eye roll. 

“Okay so, we all decided to man up and ask, problem is, how do we do that?” Namjoon questioned, an awkward silence following after.

“We just... Ask...” Jin suggested.

“Brilliant plan Jin. 10/10.” Jimin said sarcastically. 

“I’m serious! What if we sit her down and just talk out our feelings?”

“That could work, alright that’s the plan,” Namjoon settled, the rest of them nodding and planning what they wanted to say in their minds. 

    You rubbed the sleep out of your eyes, looking at the men who were lined up, sitting next to each other in front of you. “Okay, so. What’s going on?” You sleepily drawled, letting out a yawn. “We have something to tell you,” Namjoon choked out, fiddling with his hands. “Alright, go on,” You pressed, giving them your undivided attention. 

    Nobody spoke up, all of them either avoiding eye contact or finding the blanket really interesting. Suddenly they all blurted something out at the same time, looking at each other before trying again and doing the same things a second time. “Oh for goodness sake,” Yoongi groaned, lurching forward to connect his lips with yours.

    You gasped, eyes wide as the feeling of Yoongi’s soft lips clashed with yours. Your eyes eventually fell closed as you savored the feeling of Yoongi’s tongue dancing with your own, him sucking in your bottom lip, giving it a bite as you let out a small whimper. Your body felt feverish as your mind turned into slush. Nothing but the smack of your tongues and the warmth of his plush lips filled your thoughts as everything was solely just Yoongi. 

    “Yoongi! We were supposed to talk, not show!” Jimin complained, tugging at Yoongi’s sweatshirt. Yoongi reluctantly pulled away, giving you a chance to gasp for air, eyes lidded as both Yoongi and Jimin looked down at you with admiration in their eyes. “W-Wha..?” You gasped out, mind still struggling to pull itself back from the depths of passion. 

    Namjoon pushed them both to the side and he cupped your face in his hands. You leaned into his touch, looking up at him with flushed cheeks and swollen lips. “What we wanted to say was... We... We really like you. All of us. All seven. And I know it’s not the most traditional thing ever but we really want to be with you, all of us.” Namjoon spluttered out, trying his best to get his point across.

“How do you feel about seven boyfriends?” Jin asked over his shoulder.

     “Sounds like heaven,” You sighed, feeling like a weight had been lifted off of your shoulders. All of them broke out in smiles, pulling you into a big group hug full of kisses and sweet words that promised to take care of you and be the best boyfriends they could be. Soon, the enthusiastic hug settled more into a cuddle, all of you eventually laying down on the blanket, looking at the setting sun. 

      You slowly felt sleep clawing at your body, the eventful day mixed with the secure warmth of the cacoon the boys wrapped you in. “Does this mean we can hold hands, kiss, and cuddle now?” You spoke up hopefully. “Absolutely” Hoseok sighed, pulling you closer to him. “Um... Y/n?” Jin spoke up. “Hmm?” You hummed with your eyes closed. “Is... Is that normal?” He asked and you opened your eyes to see him pointing down at your necklace. Which was now glowing. 

From that day your life got a lot weirder.

And Yoongi made a lot more sense.

[not-playable-character]

Edit: new link https://archiveofourown.org/works/32099263

ITS DONE!!!!  Finally, the RE8 meets RE7 fic is finished and posted!  so for everyone wondering and if you didn't figure it out already. The image I posted earlier is the seating arrangement of the gang as they play the game.  As always its posted on AO3 and under the cut.  I hope you enjoy @ibest14 I never actually played RE7 but I watched a walkthrough to write this.

It was a normal Saturday afternoon when the Winters family got a very strange package.  It was addressed to the whole family and had no return address.

“What the heck is this?” Rose wondered aloud carrying the small package inside, “Hey mom! Did you order something online?”

“Not that I remember, why?” Mia asked curious why her daughter was asking about the mail, “Who is it addressed to? Maybe your dad ordered something.” She went and stood next to Rose to look at the package.

“Hmm, I think we should wait for dad to get home to open it, I mean it is addressed to all of us.” Mia agreed with her daughter and went to continue making dinner.

Ethan got home a few hours later and was greeted by his daughter with a warm hug, “Haha, hey there kid how was your day?” He asked returning the hug and picking Rose up.

“It was good! We got a weird package in the mail, mom and I decided to wait for you before opening it.” Rose said leading him into the kitchen after he put her down.

“Welcome home, Hon! How was work?” Mia asked kissing Ethan on the cheek.

“Ugh, Williams was an absolute pain again.  He somehow unplugged all of his equipment and disconnected his computer from the ethernet cable again.” Ethan complained sitting down at the dinner table next to Rose. “Chris somehow changed his computer to Arabic and Sal’s computer was changed to have wingdings as the default language and it bricked the whole thing, he said it was an accident, but I think it was one of the dicks that keep harassing him.  I told Chris and he’s looking into it.” Ethan picked up the package and looked at the outside.

“Ugh why can’t these douchebags see that Sal is way better than them.  Probably just jealous of him.” Rose said frustrated at the harassment her uncle was receiving.

“We should invite him over for dinner sometime, lift his spirits some!” Mia suggested placing a glass of juice down for Ethan.  He agreed and thanked her for the juice.

Ethan handed the package back to Rose who tore into the packaging.  Inside was a video game box, “Resident Evil? Isn’t that a game from the nineties?” Rose asked confused.

Ethan leaned over to get a better look, “Yeah it is, I played almost all of them, but I’ve never seen that one.  It looks like its supposed to be the seventh one, but they only made six that I know of.” Ethan became confused taking the box from Rose studying it, it strangely didn’t have a back cover.

“Weird, maybe they are rebooting the series, but why wouldn’t there be a lot of news about it?” Rose asked.  Ethan’s face lit up at the possibility of a reboot of his favorite childhood series.

“Man, I hope so, I always loved Craig Bluemarsh and Leo C. Harrison.  They were the best!  The whole M.O.O.N.S squad from Badger City.  Special Ops turned paranormal investigators was the twist of the decade! And the whole thing with Egbert Walberk and how he possessed himself with countless demons to become basically a god.” Ethan sighs as he reminisces.

“You clearly have bad taste honey because Julie Easter was the best character in the series.  The ace of the M.O.O.N.S squad, the one that Walberk kidnapped to force demons into her with a mind control amulet.  Oh, and don’t forget Chloe Bluemarsh, college kid turned aid worker for those affected by the demons.” Mia added as she chopped vegetables for dinner.

“Ahh yes, how could I forget! Anyway, this looks like a cheap bootleg or fake.  Probably just a prank from Dani or Angie.”  Ethan said tossing the case further on the table looking upset.

“Aw man…. That’s lame dad.” Rose says dramatically throwing herself over the back of the chair.  “I’m keeping it anyway; the box looks cool.”

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A month after the whole package incident, Rose bursts into the house beaming.  “Dad, Uncle Chris just told me that we are having a meeting with the whole gang! We should totally bring that janky game we got and show it off!”

“Whoa, slow down Rose! You’re gonna hurt yourself running around like that.” Ethan says watching his daughter bounce in place.  “Why do you think we should bring that thing anyway? I doubt there will be anytime to just sit around and play a game, if it’s even real.”  Rose rolls her eyes at him.

“Dad, I’m sure Uncle Chris can pull some strings so we can have a little get together.  We never get to see each other all at once!” Rose states, putting on her best puppy dog eyes, “Don’t you want to see the gang, Dad. It would be so much fun.  You know how much I miss them all.” She begs.

Ethan can physically feel his resolve crumbling at his begging daughter, always caving into her once she pulls out the puppy eyes, “Fine, I’ll talk with Chris and we can bring the game with us, but you are responsible for the PlayStation and if it gets damaged or broken you have to buy the new one.” He says in his dad voice, trying to be stern.  Rose squeals and jumps into his arms hugging him.

“You’re the best dad ever!” She says running off to prepare for their long weekend at Blue Umbrella.

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“Ok, is everyone comfy, I’m about to start the game!” Rose said excitedly setting up the PS4 in the Blue Umbrella lounge room.  Everyone was present, Rose even convinced Miranda and Elena to join them after Milena was put to bed.

“I am unsure of what we are even doing sweet thing.” Alcina said settling into her chair near Donna.

“Well, I’m gonna play this weird game I got, maybe Dani can take over if I get tired.  We are just gonna check it out, if its good, Great! If not, we can make fun of how bad it is!” Rose explained sitting down on the couch wedged between Daniela, Angie, and Heisenberg with Bela and Cassandra on the floor in front of them.  Alcina wasn’t convinced that it would be fun, but she couldn’t deny Rose’s request considering how excited she looked.  She sighed and pulled out her reading glasses seeing the small text on the screen.

“Psh, what are you a grandma?” Heisenberg teased. Alcina growled at him.

“Oh, please grow up you child.” She replied trying to de-escalate the situation knowing Rose and her daughters hated when they argued.

“I see making your head bigger didn’t help your eyesight.” He continued to tease sensing her anger.

“I grew proportionally you ignoramus, becoming larger would not fix my farsightedness.” She growled out becoming angrier.

“Guys….” Rose said sadly at the two arguing.  Heisenberg immediately stopped his next sentence and turned to give Rose a side hug.

“Sorry kiddo, I forgot you hate it when we fight.  I’ll stop, I promise.”  He says sincerely as Alcina nods looking guilty, Rose smiles accepting their apologies.

“No more sappiness get to the action I’m getting bored!” Angie cried out from Daniela’s lap.  Rose rolls her eyes at the doll’s bratty attitude and begins the game.

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The game begins with a very familiar video to Ethan and Mia and the sight of Mia recording her warning message on the ship.

“What the…. How is this happening?  It showed the recording from my eyes, but I never recorded that…” Mia says stunned.

The next scene starts with the sound of a phone ringing and the overhead video of a car driving down a highway.  Ethan begins to speak to and unknown man in the voice over explaining how he was contacted by Mia and that she wants him to come and get her.

“This has to be a sick prank!  How did these people get that phone call!” Ethan shouts getting more and more upset as the clip plays. Mia places a hand on his arm to comfort him.

“Maybe there will be an explanation later.  There has to be….” Mia says trying to calm Ethan.

Rose pauses the game as it shifts to Ethan’s perspective in the car, “We don’t have to keep playing if this is making you guys uncomfortable.” She says to her parents.

Ethan takes a deep breath, “No, no… it’s fine, you were really excited for this.  I was just shocked.  I’m okay to keep going, as long as you are okay too Mia.”  She nods in agreement with her husband clearly rattled but pushing through.  Rose nods continuing the game as she walks Ethan through the thick Louisiana swamp towards the Baker house.

The first obstacle they encounter is a locked gate.  She moves him down a path leading to a trashed car with camera equipment scattered around it.  Looking in they find a scrip proposal for Sewer Gators Ep. 17.

They then come across a broken gate with a sign that says, “Accept Her Gift”, “Oh yeah definitely just walk through that incredibly ominous gate into the disgusting swamp.” Heisenberg says gesturing towards the screen, “I’d just say, ‘sorry lady I’m not that desperate for a wife’ and dip.”

“He has a point dad, I mean really its been three years.  Just move on.” Rose says to her father.

Ethan blushes, “Hey you can’t judge a man in love.  I had to know what happened.”

“Nah man, just accept the death bro.  Totally not worth it.” Daniela says interjecting.

“I’m right her you know.” Mia says scolding them.  Rose giggles and continues on.  They come across the remains of a fire with Mia’s purse laying there.  They then enter the Guest house finding it to be disgusting and in disrepair.

“God, I forgot how gross this place was.” Ethan says wrinkling his nose.

Rose looks around the living room area, finding a hidden chain that opens a hidden room they go through. Exploring further leads them into a flooded basement they are forced to crawl through.

“Oh, please Ethan, I know you are insanely stubborn but the corpse in the flooded basement should have been an indicator to leave immediately.” Alcina says as the dead body floats up in front of them.

“Ok, Ok I get it I’m a crazy person for going on, but can we please stop commenting on it.  I’m aware of the insanity.” Ethan replies as Rose comes up into a basement room with a jail cell containing Mia as well as other information on people who were listed as turned or dead.  They pick up the bolt cutters and break open Mia’s cell.  While they are being reunited Mia acts strangely warning him of the dangers and of Daddy.

“Pft, seriously? Daddy?” Dani snickers at Mia.

“Don’t start.  I was possessed by a child obsessed with family.” Mia says glaring at Dani.

Rose follows Mia through the basement where she and Ethan stop to talk about the last three years.

“Come on! This is a life or death situation, get a move on!” Cassandra yells out at the screen.

Rose continues to creep through the basement following Mia as Ethan learning more about her capture as they walk.  They come across a living room type area where Mia starts to act strangely, talking about family and when Ethan leaves, they hear her crash through the wall revealing a staircase to the house.  They move through the house looking for Mia.  They hear crashing coming from the stairs they came from and return to find Mia on all fours crawling up the stairs.  She attacks Ethan looking monstrous as she throws him back up with superhuman strength. She then attacks him with a knife stabbing him through the hand.  After a struggle she regains control rambling about a strange her as she slams her head against the wall.

“Jesus man, that is hard core…” Heisenberg says in awe. Mia grimaces at the memory.  Rose continues on wandering before they are attacked by Mia once again.  They fight her off with an axe.  “Ethan, my friend, you always have to double check that your enemy is dead.  She is definitely gonna get up again, classic horror trope.” Heisenberg says wisely.

“Karl, this actually happened.  I wasn’t thinking about ‘horror tropes’.  I was focusing on surviving.” Ethan says to him.

“Also, of course I’m going to get up, I’m sitting right here.  I’m clearly not dead.” Mia says exasperated.

Rose moves on with the game ignoring them and answers the phone that had begun to ring.  “Dad why did you answer the phone? Just leave.” She says as Zoe gives her warning to Ethan.  “Oh yeah let’s listen to the random phone lady and not just break a window.” She says rolling her eyes.

They move on solving the puzzle for the stairs catching a glimpse of the not at all dead Mia.  Replacing the fuse, they are jumped by Mia again who attacks him with a screwdriver pinning him to the wall before chopping his had off with a chainsaw.

“My god man! How did you keep going!” Sal exclaims looking at Ethan who just shrugs.

They find a pistol in one of the rooms and use it to take care of the attacking Mia as she rants crazily. Finally taking her down, they are ambushed by Jack Baker who punches him in the face.

“See I told you that you should have moved faster, now ‘Daddy’ caught you.” Cass says as Ethan falls over and is stomped on by Jack.  They see him being dragged and Mia being carried by Jack, the scene changes to Ethan strapped to a chair with Zoe staples his hand back on.  He finally fully awakes to a disgusting family dinner with the whole Baker family.

“Ugh, I miss Momma’s cooking so much.” Mia says reminiscing happily.  Everyone stares at her as they see the disgusting meal on the table in game.  She blushes, “Before she went fully crazy, she was an amazing cook.  Her gumbo was to die for, oh and Daddy’s fried chicken, mmm.”  She explains to them.  No one seems convinced as the scene continues with Lucas throwing food at him and Marguerite tries to get Ethan to eat, and Jack cuts off Lucas’ hand. Jack comes over and forces the rancid food into Ethan’s face as Marguerite rants and leaves angrily, Jack then cuts Ethan’s face before being interrupted by the doorbell.  They escape and flee through the house trying to find an exit. They find a key and are chased by Jack before escaping to the crawlspace.

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They explore the house before a police officer tries to ask Ethan questions.

“Man, that officer is kind of a dick…” Heisenberg says realizing how rude and unprofessional the officer is.

“He was a massive dick.” Ethan says frustrated at the memory of their interactions.  They make the way to the garage to meet the rude officer who refuses to take the situation seriously which leads to his death and Ethan’s continued entrapment.  “See, massive dick, we could have escaped, but noooo.” He says.

Rose nods in agreement as she avoids Jack in the garage and tries to defeat him with the car.  The car crashes and catches fire revealing an on fire Jack who is knocked down by the resulting explosion.  They collect the items in the room before climbing up the revealed ladder. Jack stops Ethan and shoots himself in the head with Ethan’s gun.

“I’ll say it again, he ain’t dead.  He’s coming back sooner or later.” Heisenberg says again.

“Yeah, no shit Sherlock. This game’s been full of tropes so far.” Cassandra responds to him rolling her eyes.

Rose continues on solving puzzles and making their way through the labyrinthine house avoiding the obviously not dead Jack and the molded that are scattered around the house. They see Jack mumbling to himself about being “her” and talking about how he is going to kill Ethan.

“God he’s so cool.” Dani says as he leaves the room getting looks from the others, “What? He’s a cool villain.”

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The fight with Jack was a bit of a struggle for Rose, but she made it through with Heisenberg, Dani, and Cass cheering her on.

When he finally exploded, both Heisenberg and Dani called out in joy, “Now that’s how you kill a villain!” Heisenberg shouted out with a laugh and high fived Dani over Rose’s head. As they make their way through the house again completing puzzles and finding Grandma in random places.

“She is the one who caused all this.” Alcina says pointing at Grandma.  Ethan and Mia looks shocked.

“How did you know that?” Mia asks. Alcina scoffs as if it is obvious.

“She hasn’t had the focus at all, yet she appears at random seemingly following Ethan, who we know is the next victim in mind.  She is clearly Eveline.”  She says smugly to everyone’s shocked faces.

Rose moved on ignoring the gloating.  She came across a trailer in the yard, exploring it revealed that it was Zoe’s home containing some useful items that she ignored moving to leave as the phone rang. Zoe explained about the mold and how to progress.

“Why are you so trusting of this woman, you don’t know her, and she has admitted that she is a part of the family trying to kill you?” Bela asked turning to face Ethan.  He opened his mouth to answer but nothing came out, he paused thinking and shrugged.  Bela rolled her eyes at him, “Typical man thing.” She mumbled out returning to her original position.

They move on to the old house and Marguerite just as Zoe instructed. Coming across baby dolls strung up from the rafters of the bridge.  “Whoever made those should be killed.” Donna said quietly.  Everyone looked at her confused.  “The look like such poor quality dolls, anyone who cares would never let them fall apart so easily.  Cheap plastic is the worst fate a doll can experience.” She explains confident.

“You aren’t upset at the fact that they are strung up, just that they suck?” Rose asks her.

“Of course, you can do what you like with them, but the craft must be respected.  These cheap factory made ones are a disgrace.”  Donna explains upset at the virtual dolls.  Rose mumbles an ok before moving on into the bug infested old house.  They make their way through the house avoiding mutant bugs and solving puzzles.

“Gotta say girls, these things really remind me of you three.” Heisenberg says as Rose burns her way through the nests of bugs.

“How dare you compare my girls to these disgusting things!  They are clearly superior in every way.” Alcina says angrily defending her girls.

“Thank you, mother, but he has a bit of a point.” Bela says to her mother with Cassandra nodding in agreement.

“Momma has a point though too! We are better than those things!” Dani says beaming at her mother. Cass mumbles suck up under her breath and is smacked by Dani.

Soon after they find Mia in game again, she explains her amnesia and is taken away by Lucas.  Not being able to help they continue on through the house again.  Eventually they are found by Marguerite who begins to stalk them through the house attacking them with her swarm of insects, insane rants, and vulgar obscenities.

“This lady is something else…” Heisenberg says cringing at Marguerite.

“For once we agree on something Karl.” Alcina agrees cringing as well.  The others nod in agreement with them.

They make their way through a secret passageway revealed by the spider shadow puzzle.  The wall space was infested which had everyone cringing at the writhing masses of centipedes.  They collect the crank and the crow key and try to enter Marguerite’s room before she throws him down the stairs and through the floor.  After a short encounter, she falls into the hole and melts into black goo. They collect information on the D series pieces and Zoe calls again, and she mentions they only need the arm piece as she has the D series head.  They return to the hole to see the goo gone and a long spindly arm take the lantern needed to progress.  They follow the monstrosity to well in front of the old house returning to Zoe’s trailer. They return to a new section of the old house where they are attacked by a mutated spider like Marguerite.

They run around the house, avoiding her swarms and attacks while burning her with the flamethrower and peppering her with shotgun shots to the disgusting nest on her lower half.

“I take it back; you girls are way more similar to the bug lady.” Heisenberg says once she finally dies. Alcina slaps the back of his head and growls at him.

“Momma can we mutate like that too!” Dani says excitedly as Bela and Cass cringe.

“Absolutely not.  Do not even think about trying.” Alcina scolds while Heisenberg and Rose chuckle at them.

“Why would anyone want to have a gross bug vagina?”  Cassandra turns around asking her sister.

Dani shrugs, “I don’t know, I just think it would be neat.” Rose shoves the controller into Dani’s hands and takes Angie from her.

“No more bug talk, you play, I’m getting tired.” Rose says stretching.

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They find their way into Eveline’s secret room and collect the arm.  They go to meet Zoe in her trailer only to find that no one is there.  They answer a call from Lucas where he tells Ethan that he has both Zoe and Mia, and that Ethan needs to play his game to save them and get the head.  They make their way back to the main house’s dissection room where they pull the snake key out of the dead deputy’s neck hole.  Lucas’ voice come out through a speaker explaining they need to find two keycards so they can meet.

“Ohhh, I love this guy! I’m getting so many ideas for new games, hehehe!” Angie says excitedly bouncing in Rose’s lap.  Donna glares at the doll chastising her through their mental link.  Angie pouts at the scolding.

They make their way through the increasingly molded main house solving Lucas’ puzzles and dodging the molded shambling around.  They find the blue keycard and make their way down into a secret room containing the red keycard.  Lucas calls again at the phone in the main hall, leading Ethan to a party in the barn.

They enter the barn to thumping music and glowing paint under a black light.  They come across a room with a television showing Lucas ranting and waving the D series head around, ranting about how he doesn’t want to give up his gift and that they can only get the serum from him before the television explodes.  They make their way through the barn avoiding trip mines and coming up to a locked gate with a passcode.  Lucas makes an appearance taunting Ethan and giving him incorrect passwords before a trap springs and a secret door opens up.

They wind through the barn avoiding the traps and taking out the molded arriving at Lucas’ arena where they fight off a giant molded.  After the fight they find the correct passcode to enter the birthday room.  They solve his puzzles and escape through the hole created by the dynamite.  They see a television with Zoe and Mia, Zoe explains where they are before Lucas cuts the camera to himself ranting about nothing.  They collect the D series head and leave the barn making their way to Zoe and Mia.  They release Zoe and Mia before collecting the completed serum.  Just after they are ambushed by a fully mutated Jack.

“Wait he isn’t dead?! I can’t believe I didn’t call it!” Heisenberg calls out as Dani fights Jack.

After a long grueling fight, taking out Jacks many swollen eyes and using one of the two serums to calcify him at Zoe’s request.  Walking down the pier they are faced with a choice to cure either Zoe or Mia.

“Well clearly we are supposed to cure mom. Its what dad did in real life.” Rose says.

“True, I did.  I did feel bad though, Chris ended up saving Zoe and her uncle, so it all ended up good.” Ethan says.

“Yeah, sure choosing Mia is what really happened but what if we chose Zoe?” Dani asks hovering over Zoe in game.

“No! We can do it later right now we are choosing mom.” Rose says sternly.

“Fiiiiinnnnnee.” Dani whines out giving Mia the serum.  They take the raft down the river listening to Ethan and Mia talk about the situation before they come across the wrecked boat Mia and Eveline arrived on.  They are attacked by the mold, and they switch to Mia’s perspective as they hear Eveline speak to her through their mental connection.

“Well, this is going to be interesting, I’ve never seen this before.” Ethan says as they move into the ship. They find an unconscious Ethan who is taken by the mold deeper into the ship.  They move through the mold infested ship as Mia, getting flashbacks as they move on.  They follow the phantom Eveline to a room containing a television where they watch a video tape that blends into them playing through the situation leading to the crash of the ship and the infection of the Baker family.

They see Mia’s partner Alan who explains he is the reason Eveline escaped he explains that she needs to fix his mess and they begin to track Eveline through the ship.  They finally come across Eveline in the engine room before she runs off again.  They find Alan again in the room next to the one where they started the video tape. As he explains that Eveline is deteriorating, he insults her, and she overtakes him with the mold.  The mold then spreads to Mia infecting her.  They then see Mia recording the warning video from the beginning of the game.  The section ends with Mia being blown off the ship and floating unconscious in the water, before returning to the present with Mia and the Phantom Eveline talking. Making their way to the bridge they use the surveillance cameras to find Ethan trapped in mold in the engine room. On the way there they are impeded by the phantom Eveline and the remaining molded.

As Mia finds Ethan, the perspective swaps back to Ethan’s mind as he speaks to a sane Jack.  He explains that Eveline is the cause of all the murders and kidnappings.  He says that they were infected when He rescued her from the crashed tanker.  Jack also explains that stopping Eveline will stop the mold.  Before Ethan awakens to Eveline and Mia arguing.  Mia rips him free from the mold prison and gives him the tissue sample before locking him out of the engine room urging him to kill Eveline.  They continue through the bayou to a salt mine near the Baker house.  They hear a military broadcast explaining a team was sent in to take down Eveline. They traverse the salt mines finding an underground lab with information on Eveline and the E series mold.  They use Eveline’s tissue samples to make the E- Necrotoxin that is used to kill her permanently. As they exit the mine, Ethan sees flashes of Eveline as she sends the molded to kill him. They exit the mine into the original room Ethan found Mia in where he has a vision of Mia panicking.  He continues to see visions of Mia’s attack on him and Eveline controlling her.  They stab Eveline with the serum, and she reveals her true form as Grandma before melting away and mutating into a large monstrosity.

As Dani fights the massive face of Eveline, Miranda mumbles to herself, “Absolutely fascinating.  How she responds to different stimuli and the delayed injection of the Necrotoxin.” Rose and Dani scream forgetting that Miranda was sitting behind them.

“Jesus Christ! What is wrong with you! You scared the living hell out of us!” Rose yells at her turning to face Miranda who has a notebook open in her lap.  “What are you even doing?”

Miranda blushes at being caught, “I was taking notes on how E-001 reacted and how the family responded to the infection.  It is incredibly fascinating that the whole Baker family mutated without becoming one of the shambling molded.”

“Trust me she was about to run off and work more before I stopped her.” Elena interjects into Miranda’s rambling.  “Don’t worry, I won’t let her work on the Eveline project outside of simply watching videos.” Miranda’s blush deepens and she looks embarrassed at being called out by her lab assistant.

“Good, no more mind control children allowed.” Dani says rudely turning back to the screen continuing the final fight.

Ethan is thrown from the house and sees helicopters arriving at the house as he is attacked by Eveline. He uses an unknown gun to shoot Eveline calcifying and crumbling her finally.  After the battle, Ethan and Mia are rescued by Chris.  The final shots of the game are Ethan speaking over clips of marshlands and the reveal of the Blue Umbrella helicopter.

“Well that certainly was something….” Ethan says as the credits roll.  Mia wide eyed and shocked nods in agreement.

“So, all that actually happened?” Rose asks her parents, they both nod. “Ok well that doesn’t explain how the heck this got made or why we were sent it or by who!” Rose rants.

“Who cares, it was awesome!” Dani exclaims high fiving Angie who cheers with her.

“Can we leave now? My back is beginning to hurt.” Bela complains standing up and stretching.

Rose boos her, “Fine be boring.  What did everyone else think?” She asks everyone left in the room.

“Amazing! Fantastic! Ten out of ten!” Dani exclaims clinging onto Rose.

“It was interesting, very cinematic.  A bit tropey at times but it works in its favor.  Especially since this technically happened.  The villains were enjoyable and empathetic at the same time.” Heisenberg critiques.

“Yeah, whatever it was fine.” Cass says getting up and leaving the room.

“I had quite a nice time, I’m glad you suggested this, Rose.” Alcina says picking up the sleeping Donna. “I’m sure Donna will apologize for falling asleep tomorrow morning.  Have a good night.”  She kisses the top of Rose and Dani’s heads and leave the room.

“It was quite informative, thank you for inviting me, Rose.  I truly appreciate it.  Now I must go and review my notes.” Miranda says looking at her notebook as she slowly leaves the room.

“We are actually going to bed, but thanks for inviting us, Rose.  We’ll have to do it again soon!” Elena says grabbing Miranda’s arm and taking her notebook.

“I think your mom and I have some talking to do, but you guys have a good night sweetie.” Ethan says getting up before kissing Rose on the head.

“Yeah, outside of the horrifying content of this ‘game’ it was fun.  Have a good night honey.” Mia says following her husband to their room.

“Alright seems like the party is dying down and someone has to get Sal to his room.  Seems like he and Donna can’t stay up late like us cool kids.” Heisenberg laughs out shaking Sal awake.  Sal stands up groggily and leans ion Heisenberg as they leave to their respective rooms.

“Lame everyone left. You want to stay up or are you hitting the sack too?” Dani asks Rose.

“I think I’m going to bed too.  I have a lot to think about.” Rose says hugging Dani, “See you in the morning Dan.”  Dani decides to follow Rose and they head to bed.

In his assigned quarters, the Duke watches the group scatter to their rooms for bed, “I’m glad they enjoyed my little gift.  Hopefully, it answers some questions for them.” The Duke says to himself chuckling.

[the-record]

Love at First Sight (3)

Category: FLUFF ABSOLUTE FLUFF

Warnings: Kissing

Spencer Reid x Fem! reader

A/N: Thank you for reading part 3 of this loves! In this a lot of things didn’t happen: JJ never left, Spencer never talked to Maeve, Morgan never was kidnapped but still had his kid (Don’t worry that is too cute) and he didn’t leave the BAU. Enjoy!

Summary:  It’s been 3 years and 6 months since you joined the team. You finally got ahold of your crush and tried to ignore it. However it started to creep back up on you as Spencer and you got even closer than before.

Gif not mine

“Hey Spence.” You said walking in with two coffees and a small package. You hand him one of the coffees and set the package on his desk. “Open it.” You always got him a birthday present and coffee, a little tradition. He carefully ripped off the brown paper to reveal a book and card. He opened the envelope  to take out the card. A 20 dollar bill fell out which he payed very little attention to. He quickly read the long card you gave him and smiled.

“Thank you.” He stands up to hug you, holding you close. He generally hated hugs but loved hugging you. You didn’t mind, you were a very touchy person. “I love it.” That made you smile. 

“Good, I’m glad.” Morgan came over and put his arm around Spencer’s shoulder as you sat down. “Derek. Don’t.”

“What? I didn’t say anything.” He says. “Anyways pretty boy, what’re you doing tonight?” 

“I was going to order in and read. Maybe call my mom.” 

“Spence, no way.” You practically yell. You guys couldn’t go out and drink but there was something else you could do. “My house tonight. If you don’t show up by 6:00 I will pick you up.” He nods and I pull Derek aside. “Before you say anything, it’s just a birthday party. Garcia has been helping me set it up. Everyone is gonna be there so don’t even. Just show up with a present and don’t tell him.” He laughs and nods heading back to his desk. 

You sit in your chair drinking the coffee you got from Spencer’s favorite coffee place. You have so much paper work to catch up on you don’t know if you will even finish it in time to get back to your place and make sure everything is set up. You spend all day at your desk, not taking time for a lunch break. It should be just as easy for you as it is for Spencer but you had taken some time off last week after getting the flu so you had much more to do. You finally finished and looked at your watch. 4:45. Spencer was sitting at his desk reading. 

You stand up and head to Aaron’s office. “Hey, I got to go pick up Spencer’s cake and present. See you later?” he nods. “Good, don’t be late. Garcia will be at my place in a little incase it takes me longer than expected to get home.” You turn to walk out his office.

“Be safe.” You turn to look at him.

“I will. Bye.” You got to Spencer. “Hey, my mom needs me for something but I promise I will be back in time. I will see you at 6:00 ok?” He nods. Before you leave you let Garcia know. 

***

You have the cake and present but barely make it in time. 5:48. You look around and see Spencer’s car isn’t outside thankfully. You had the team park farther away so Spence wouldn’t see their cars. Everyone was here. You came inside to see your house decorated and ready, presents on a table. “Guys this looks perfect!” You set the cake in the fridge and put your present on the table. You hear a knock on the door and smile. You go to open the door to see a very happy Reid. Everyone yells ‘Surprise’ as he walks in, slightly catching him off guard. He hugs you.

“Was this you?” You nod and smile.

“Well kind of. Pen did most of the work.” She comes up behind you.

“Don’t listen to her. It was all her idea and we wouldn’t have done it without her.” He smiles even more and I blush a little. 

“She’s right, it was all Y/N’s idea. No one else’s, we just helped out a little.” Derek says, wrapping his arm around Penelope. “Now come on. We didn’t drive out all this way just for you two to stand around and talk, now come on. I want some cake!” The two walk off together towards your dining room table. You go to the kitchen to grab the cake and put on the candles for him. Lighting them before walking in as the team sang happy birthday. You set the cake down in front of him. As they all finished singing he blew out the candles.

“Happy Birthday genius.” He smiled as he blew the candles out. There were paper plates, a knife, and plastic forks already on the table so you didn’t have to do dishes. You cut the cake giving everyone a piece, letting everyone choose their pieces. You were last to get yours but you didn’t mind. 

As you all sat around the table eating the cake, many laughs and memories were shared. Times Spencer had corrected someone, did something not so smart. You didn’t understand all of them considering you hadn’t known them as long but that didn’t phase you. You were just happy to be with all of them. It wasn’t all about him though, it was also about the rest of the team. Drunk memories and cases. Any little thing that could make someone happy. As you looked around everyone was laughing and smiling. Including Hotch. A very rare occurrence. 

Spencer kept nudging you with his arm or leg every time a memory had absolutely anything to do with you. It was weird but you didn’t mind, you were just happy that he was happy.  You found yourself staring at him smile but quickly stopped feeling his hand squeeze yours. He opened all of his presents and hung out listening to music. You had gotten him a record player and some records. He had been kind of hinting he had wanted one but never directly asked. 

***

Slowly everyone started to spread out. Garcia and Morgan were of course doing whatever they do as usual. Aaron was trying to see if he could get his sister in law to bring down Jack. JJ was on the phone with Will saying goodnight to Henry. Rossi was sitting on my couch drink whiskey. You pulled Spencer aside on your deck. “Hey genius.” He smiled as you talk to him.

“Am I ever going to get a new nick name?” You shake your head no. He sighs but his smile never fades. “Thank you for this. It was really nice.”

“Spencer, spend the night. We can watch Doctor Who and chill on the couch.” He is shocked and caught off guard, his smile going away. “Or don’t. I’m sure you have other plans. I’m just gonna go clean my-” He grabs your face and kisses you. You don’t kiss back at first from the shock of it, but eventually you kiss him back. You put your arms around his neck and he pulls you closer by your waist. You only pull away to catch your breath.

“I would love to spend the night.” He kisses your forehead and you rest your head on his chest. “How long have you liked me?” he asks as you to look at the dark city skyline, lit up by windows all around. 

“Since my first day.” He looks down at you and your arms fall to around his torso. 

“Really?” I nod and smile. 

“Yeah. I thought I was pretty obvious about it. Genius, I literally have extra clothes at your house, we know to to get to each others houses. I know your favorite coffee place and get it for you whenever I can. Spence, I offer to watch Doctor Who and Star Trek with you even though you know I like Star Wars more.” He laughs realizing how oblivious he was.

“So why didn’t you ask me sooner?” I look at him.

“Because I thought you didn’t like me. Thought you thought of me more as a sister than a partner. I have always liked you Spencer.” He smiles holding you tighter than ever before. 

“I love you. I love Y/N. Don’t forget that.” He kisses your head. You never want this moment to end. But just then, just as you are think that, it does. 

“Hey hey. What are you guys doing out on the patio? Alone? Hugging?” Instantly you let go of each other. Of course Derek and Garcia have to ruin the moment. You love them but they have to worst timing ever.

“Uh, I just needed to talk to Spencer and he was giving me a hug.” Derek raises a brow.

“What about?” You look down at your hands which you had started fidgeting with. 

“Family things.” Instantly Morgan’s face went blank and Garcia looked sad.

“Oh, sweet girl. Do you want to talk about it? I know that stuffs hard. Come here.” Garcia says, pulling you into a hug. “I love you angel and if you need to talk just call me and I will be over with wine and a hug in seconds.” Spencer starts to walk away. You mouth words at him. ‘No, please.’ he starts to laugh, waving as he leaves. You start to laugh slightly but Garcia thinks you’re crying.

“It’s ok, it’s ok.” She says shushing you. You force tears into your eyes so when she pulls away she won’t be confused. She holds your face in her hands. “Don’t worry. It’ll all be ok. Now, come one let’s go hang out, apparently Henry and Jack are here.” Your eyes instantly lit up. They were your favorite people ever, well apart from Spencer. You see Jack next to his dad and Henry with Spencer. When they see you they both come running. 

“Y/N!” They come yelling your name at the same time and you pull them into a hug. 

“Hey boys!” You pull them tight, kneeled beside them. “I missed you guys! Did you tell Spencer happy birthday?” They nod.

“Uncle Spencer got me and Jack a piece of cake!” You mouth opens so you look surprised. 

“Really? Did you guys like it?” They both nod, smiling ear to ear. “Oh that’s good, how about we all play a game?” They got very excited. “Ok, ok. What do you guys think about... hide and seek!” They both run off finding a hiding spot. You look around at the team staring at you. “Go on, go hide! You’re playing too. Alcohol goes in the kitchen. I don’t need wine or whisky spread around my house.” They laugh and hand you you’re glasses as you walk to the kitchen. You hear the kitchen door open expecting to see one of the kids but instead you see Spencer.

“It looks like my favorite profiler spot has been taken.” You laugh at him.

“That would never happen ‘Uncle Spencer’ now, what are you doing? You’re playing too birthday boy!” You say pushing him out of the kitchen. He laughs but complies and leaves to find a hiding spot. You take a deep breath just thinking about Spencer. Your future life, not with him necessarily but just in general, although you hope it’s with him. After a minute you walk out to find everyone and do it in record time, the last person being Spencer.

“Well, if it isn’t Spencer Reid. Ok you were my last hider so now-” He pulls you in for a kiss and locks the door behind you so no one can walk in. You have one hand in his hair, tangling your fingers, and your other around his neck. He sits pulls your hips close with his hands as he deepens the kiss. 

“Spence, as much as I wanna just stay up here with you, the team is gonna come looking for us in a second and I have a party to host so if I may.” You kiss his forehead. “Lucky for you, you have all night with me.” He smiles and let’s you go knowing you were right. Both of you walked downstairs together, you first with him behind you. “I finally found him. Ok Pen what’s next?” She looks at you with a big smile, never seeing you so happy before. 

***

Everyone died down and the kids were asleep on you. Henry’s head on your lap and Jack’s on your shoulder. JJ had tried to take Henry home but you told her no and to enjoy the party. “Please JJ, you don’t get very much time away from being a mom and work, I get that all the time. Shoo shoo.” She smiles, glad you said that because she was exhausted and missing before she walked away to finish her wine and talk. You feel your phone buzzing and grab it from the couch before it wakes the boys. 

“Hello?” The voice was familiar.

You whisper into the phone, “Oh hey Emily. I sent you my address right?” 

“Oh yeah you did I’m actually outside right now.” You gasp.

“Oh okay. Try not to be loud or get them riled up, Jack and Henry are asleep on my lap. I will have JJ get the door for you.” 

“Thanks.” She hangs up the phone.

“Hey J, can you get the door for me?” She nods and opens it. You have only met Emily a few times but she was always kind to you and you got along. You smile as the both of them hug. You wanted to do something nice for the team and figured this was the best way. You hear talking from the kitchen, saying how happy they are to see her and how much they missed her and then you know you did an amazing thing which lifts your heart. Jack sits up and turns over to lay on a pillow on the other side of the couch. As he does this you life Henry’s head and replace your lap with a pillow so you can say hi.

“Y/N. Hey!” Emily says as you hug each other. “Thank you for getting me here, I really didn’t want to miss Reid’s birthday.”

“Of course, I’m glad you’re here.” She smiles.

“So pretty girl, how did you do it? Emily only ever comes down for cases.” You smile at Derek.

“Oh nothing, just know some people, pulled some strings, no biggie. And no that does not mean I am able to get her down here all the time. I’m sorry to steal your beloved Emily away but I need to talk to her.” You walk away from the team with Emily following you and you go to a room and close the door.

“Hey, are you ok?” You look at her and smile, your face blushing. “Who is it?” You laugh.

“Emily, I kissed Spencer. Well, he kissed me but Emily, he kissed me.” Her smile is huge. 

“Y/N! When?” You giggle.

“Tonight. I pulled him aside to talk to him on the deck and he just kissed me. Emily I could barely contain myself in there and I desperately need to tell someone. I couldn’t keep it to myself. And I don’t really know you that well so I knew I could tell you. I was a little overwhelmed at first and so I just kind of stood there and I don’t-” She cuts off your rambling. “Sorry, I was rambling wasn’t I?” 

She smiles. “It’s ok. I worked with Spencer for years, you get used to it. I won’t tell Reid you told me or anyone else. I know sometimes things just need to be kept private.” You smile and she opens her arms pulling you into a hug.

“Thank you.” You said as she hugged you.

“Of course. Now let’s finish up the night so you can be with Reid.”

***

Everyone was starting to leave now. Slowly moving out. JJ carrying Henry. Hotch giving Jack a piggyback ride. Garcia and Morgan together, arms wrapped around each other. Rossi, saying his last goodbyes. Finally Emily, hugging the both of you and whispering in your ear. “Good luck.” You smile as she leaves. As soon as the the door shuts he locks it as he pushes you against it, pulling you into a deep kiss.

[unholyobsessions]

Take a sick day (or a dozen)

Pairing: Julie x Luke

Description: Five times Julie takes care of Luke and one time he returns the favor

Requested: Yes

A/N: For the first part technically, Luke should not have gotten the symptoms as quickly, it normally takes days, but let’s just pretend okay? let’s not worry about technicalities

Warnings: Sickness, light cursing

Word Count: 4.7k

Masterlist 

It’s the middle of July. Julie should be getting ready to go to college not taking care of her stupidly adorable little brother. Her dad is out of town photographing a wedding, so when Carlos comes down with Chicken Pox, she is stuck with nurse duty. 

Luke, her ever so caring boyfriend, offers to help her so that is why they are both running around the house, waiting on Carlos hand and foot. Julie keeps phoning the doctor every thirty minutes because Carlos still will not eat and Luke keeps replacing the cold towel on his forehead. 

What Luke forgot to mention when he offered to help was that he never got the Chicken pox as a child. After the third day Luke woke up, scratching at his arms and torso non stop, Julie starts getting worried. A few hours later she gets tired of seeing Luke not so subtly scratching again, so she grabs his arm and pulls up his sleeve. His arms are covered with blisters and Julie lets out a loud gasp. 

“You lied!” Julie exclaimed. 

Luke pulls his arms away from her grasp and raises them in defense. “Technically I didn’t lie. I did not know I never got chicken pox!.” He counters her accusation and Carlos, who is sitting between them, just glances back and forth between the two, highly amused by the interaction. 

“Go take a shower, I’ll go call the doctor and ask him what to do when an eighteen year old idiot gets chicken pox.” Julie huffed out, getting up from her crouched position beside the bed. 

Carlos and Luke stared after her and the former shook his head. “You’re lucky she loves you.” 

Luke let out a small laugh and pushed himself up. “Yeah I am.” 

Fifteen minutes later Luke is out of the shower and now running a high fever. The doctor reassures her that he would be fine and that she should just use the same medication that she has been giving Carlos. 

With that out of the way, Julie realizes that Luke is a giant baby. He complains more than Carlos and whines about the slightest inconvenience. It should be in her best interest to send him home and have his parents take care of him but she knows they both have full time jobs and cannot afford to take a week off to take care of him. So she muscles through it, running back and forth between Carlos’s room and her own room, where Luke is staying. 

It’s after midnight, two days later, and Carlos has already succumbed to the exhaustion so she is sitting next to her bed, placing a cold towel on Luke’s forehead, who had just been complaining that the room is too hot. A moment later, after he had taken his medicine he turns to look at her, a loving smile on his lips. 

“I love you so much. Thank you for putting up with my bullshit.” He says it so softly that she has to lean forward to hear him properly, but there is so much emotion in that statement that it makes her cheeks flush. 

“I would do it one hundred times over Luke, you know that,” she whispers, reaching a hand toward his, curling their fingers together. 

“I know, but still thank you. I know you would much prefer to spend the weekend shopping with Flynn.” That gets a laugh out of her and Luke smiles triumphantly. 

“You would have found a way to tag along,” she retorts and Luke barks out a loud laugh, immediately followed by a yawn. “Go to sleep, I’m in my dad’s room if you need me.” She presses a kiss on the crown of his head and gets up to leave, turning the lights off on her way out. 

. . .

It’s their first semester at University and things are going great. But of course Luke had to go and ruin it all. Julie really does not know how someone could get sick as easily as Luke. It’s normally a common cold that goes away in twenty four hours but no. He had to go all out. 

It’s flu season and Julie is stuck in a dorm room with her very annoying, very sick, and very adorable roommate/boyfriend. 

Luke can barely move, his body feeling heavy. His head is pounding and the room feels both too hot and too cold at the same time. 

Julie walks back into the room after a quick trip to the local CVS store to get supplies. She really hopes this doesn’t last for more than a few days, because she can’t afford to miss too many classes. She makes the mistake of turning on the light, prompting Luke to grown loudly and yell in discontent as if he were being stabbed. Julie rolls her eyes and turns the light off, settling for the lamp on her desk. 

She pulls out the thermometer from the bag and proceeds to tear up the packaging with her teeth because in her state of stress, she didn’t think of just putting the bag down. Once she finally got it open she put it against his forehead and waited for the indicated beep. 

She hisses once she sees the temperature. “102.5. Damn I was really hoping you didn’t have a fever.” She takes out the packet of pills from the bag and a water bottle and hands him two pills and the open bottle. “Take these.” 

Luke obediently takes them and turns to look at her. “Aren’t you worried about catching it?” 

“Not really. I had my flu shot two weeks ago. I told you to get it but you’re afraid of needles.” Julie deadpans and sits on the edge of his bed. 

Luke shoots up with a sudden burst of energy. “I am not afraid of needles,” he exclaims. 

Julie rolls her eyes and pushes his shoulder lightly. “Yes you are you big baby. Now lay down or you’ll get dizzy.” 

Luke mumbles incoherently, no doubt complaining, but he obeys and lays down, squeezing his eyes shut because just as Julie said, he gets dizzy. Julie pulls the covers up to his shoulders and runs a hand through his hair. Luke hums, content with the feeling of his girlfriend playing with his hair. 

“Can you sing me a song?” He asks after a few minutes, startling Julie who thought he had fallen asleep. 

“Yeah, of course.” She nods her head even though he can’t see her. Luke grasps her arm and pulls her down to lay down next to him. She lets out a small giggle and cuddles up to him

“I’m in my bed

And you're not here”

Luke interrupts her, finally opening his eyes to look at her incredulously. 

“Could you have picked a sadder song?” Julie barks out a loud laugh, slapping a hand over her mouth in order to not be too loud. 

“I’m sorry! It was just the song I had in my head.” Luke shakes his head, whispering a soft “unbelievable,” under his breath.

“Pick something happier but still soft.” 

Julie looked down at him, fully prepared to ask him what the hell he meant by his request, but he has already nuzzled back into her side with his eyes closed. She let out a small sigh with a small smile on her face. 

“Any suggestions?” 

Luke stayed quiet for a second before piping up with a tired voice. “Truly, Madly, Deeply. The One Direction song you showed me other week.” 

She decides not to comment on his unusual choice, Luke never having been one to willingly listen to One Direction (he loves them, he just refuses to admit it.) Julie simply kisses the top of his head and with a deep breath, she begins the song.  

Julie missed three days of classes, and every second not spent doing the work she missed or getting Luke his medicine, was spent singing him to sleep. 

. . .

Luke should have known that eating those hotdogs was a bad idea. The food truck was sketchy and mostly without customers but Reggie and Alex dared him to do it and because he’s a prideful idiot, he did it. Now he is suffering the consequences as he retches the contents of his stomach into the toilet as Julie rubs his back soothingly. 

She’s singing something under her breath, Luke doesn’t recognize it at first so he focuses all his energy on listening to her voice. 

“Sana sana colita de rana si no sana hoy, sanará mañana,” and she repeats it again and again. Luke has stopped throwing up by now and is resting his head on the toilet seat, which is not the most hygienic  but he can barely keep his eyes open much less move. He mumbles something incoherently and Julie leans forward, “What did you say?” 

“What the heck are you singing?” 

Julie has to resist the urge to laugh as she answers. “It’s I guess a saying? I’m not sure how to describe it, it’s just something my mom used to say whenever I would get injured.” 

Luke wants to believe that he nods his head in affirmation but in reality, it doesn’t even look like he’s breathing with how still he is, slumped against the toilet. His lips starts moving but there is no sound escaping them and for a moment Julie thinks he fell asleep, but then his arms reach forward to grip the edge of the seat as he starts throwing up again. 

Julie grimaces and continues to rub his back, only stopping when her phone rings and she has to reach her arm up to the counter to grab it. She speaks in hushed words to the doctor on the other end, nodding her head along to what he’s saying. A few minutes later she hangs up and Luke squints at her, wanting to know what’s going on. 

“Well apparently all of your symptoms align with mild food poisoning. Nothing too serious and since you don’t have a fever, it should go away on its own by tomorrow. Only thing is we have to keep you hydrated so I texted Alex and Reggie to get you some electrolytes.” 

Luke didn’t even try to move this time, simply groaning audibly and clutching an arm around his abdomen, which feels like it’s on fire. After Luke goes a full five minutes without throwing up, Julie brings a hand up to flush the toilet. The sudden noise causing Luke to jump up and turn to Julie with a paranoid gaze. 

Julie, not wanting to make him feel bad, hides her smile by biting her lip. She runs a hand through his sweat matted hair and gently pulls his head onto her lap. She continues to softly speak the ‘sana sana’ because even though she knows now that it doesn’t work, her little seven-year-old self believed it could cure any injuries or sickness. 

She stays in the bathroom floor, back cramping and neck stiff, for about thirty minutes, simply enjoying seeing Luke breathing in and out calmly. She knows that as soon as he wakes up, he will be filled with pain and discomfort so if she has to suffer a few minutes of it, then so be it. 

He is woken up by the sound of a knock on the door, no doubt Reggie and Alex with the supplies she made them get. Luke immediately shoots up and starts gagging and Julie doesn’t know how he can still be throwing up after having done so about five times already. 

She gets up and brings a hand to her neck, yelling out an annoyed “coming!” as the knocking persists. She opens the the door, takes the bag out of their hands, and closes it again, the fact that they are the reason she is in this situation not escaping her. 

She makes Luke brush his teeth before bringing him to bed, knowing he will be much more comfortable. She hands him an opened bottle of the lemon flavored drink, but he pushes it away. Julie rolls her eyes and pushes the drink back toward him. He groans and turns away, refusing to even so much as look at what she is offering. 

“I swear to God Luke if you don’t take this right now, I will pour it down your throat myself.” And she knows she is being a bit harsh but this is the only thing he has to take in order to feel better and he is acting like a child over it. 

With fear in his eyes, Luke takes the bottle, bringing it to his lips and taking the tiniest of sips, his mood immediately brightening at the smile Julie sends him. 

(Julie was right and he did feel infinitely better the next day)

. . .

It was supposed to be romantic.  

Julie smiling widely at him as he twirled her and dipped her repeatedly. Their laughter both echoing louder than fireworks and being drowned out by the wind. The rain hitting them at a rapid pace, quickly soaking them from head to toe. But they didn’t care. They were just two teenager in love, enjoying the clicheness of dancing in the rain to the beat of their hearts, which pounded against their chests as one. 

Luke doesn’t remember when exactly he started to sing, a couple of meaningless lyrics he had had stuck in his head for the a few days. And he is not sure when Julie joined him, but by the time they stopped, they were out of breath, it was already dark, and the large raindrops had turned into a light drizzle. 

So in reality, it was extremely romantic. 

What isn’t romantic is Luke waking up the next day with a horrible cough, congested, and a low fever. He tries to hide it, not wanting to admit it is big deal, but of course, Julie sees right through it. 

“You literally have the immune system of a newborn,” she says with a shake of her head. “Go take a warm shower, I’ll go call the doctor.” 

Luke opens his mouth to protest, but one harsh look from Julie sent his way and he immediately heads to the bathroom. He lets the warm water run over him, closing his eyes and hoping the steam created will ease up his nose. 

By the time he gets out, Julie has placed a warm towel and his favorite pair of sweats on the counter. He smiles and quickly dries up and changes. He pulls on one of his old muscle tanks as he exits the bathroom. 

Julie turns at the sound of the door opening and smiles. “I changed your sheets so they will be more comfortable. And the doctor said to give you the same things as when you had the flu but just in smaller doses.” 

Luke simply stares at her because he can’t help but think how the hell he got so lucky. His head is pounding and his throat is sore but with her sitting there in front of him, looking so effortlessly beautiful, he feels on cloud nine. He scampers off to his bed, taking in the scent of the new sheets and closes his eyes. 

Julie appears next to him a few seconds later, holding a bottle of cough syrup, a water bottle, and a small bottle of pills. He lets out a loud groan that is immediately followed by a cough. 

“You know Luke when I said I would take care of you one hundred times over, I didn’t mean it literally,” she says, trying to feign annoyance, but the loving smile on her face gives her away. “Now take your medicine please.” 

Luke throws his head back but takes the items from her hands. “Only ‘cause you said please,” he pouts. 

Julie snorts and kisses the top of his head before turning around. Luke lets out a sound of protest making her turn around instantly. 

“Where are you going?” He asks, voice filled with concern and disbelief. 

“Uhh class?” She phrases it like a question and shrugs her shoulder, not knowing what else she’s supposed to say. 

“And you’re going to leave me alone?” Luke has the biggest pout gracing his lips and he feels his throat closing in a little. Julie never leaves him alone when he’s sick. 

“You’re going to sleep all day anyway.” Luke shakes his head so fast that he has to squeeze his eyes to stop the room from spinning after. Once he has regained control he looks up to find Julie eyeing him softly and he knows she’s caving, so he puts on his best puppy dog eyes. 

With a defeated sigh, Julie drops her backpack. Luke cheers triumphantly and pats the space next to him.

“Wait. Before you lay down, can you get me one of those wet rags for my forehead?” Luke practically begs, and who is Julie to deny him?

She marches up to their little kitchenette and soaks a rag in cold water before filling a bowl with ice. She places the rag in the bowl and makes her way back to the bed, where Luke is just about ready for cuddles. She places the rag on his forehead and Luke shivers involuntarily. 

It is only a few minutes after Julie lays down beside him, when Luke decides to ask for something else. It seems that since he got her to stay, now he will take full advantage of it. This time he asks for a hot peach tea to ease his throat. And after that it’s a cold water bottle. After that it’s a plate of her peanut butter banana toast. 

By the time Luke falls asleep, she has ran around the room about ten times in order to fulfill his requests.  She lays down in her own bed, absolutely exhausted and is about to fall asleep when a loud whine come from Luke’s bed. With a groan, Julie sits up and her heart melts at the sight. Luke looks at her through half lidded eyes and makes grabby hands at her, clearly not liking having her so far away. 

Julie’s sure that by the time he wakes up he will no longer feel any trace of sickness so she goes and lays next to him, enjoying the familiar weight of his arm around her after a long day. 

. . .

Luke has no idea what words are coming out of his mouth at the moment and he supposes that’s an effect of the drugs. Today is the day he got his wisdom teeth out and his parents were supposed to take care of him for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, they had a last minute business trip and who is left with the responsibility? No one other than Julie. 

So that is why she finds herself lugging a nineteen year old back to the car, as he slurs out sentence fragments that don’t make a lot of sense. She finally gets him into the backseat and she takes a moment to breath before making her way to the drivers side. 

“Vroom vroom.” Luke mimics the sound of the engine turning on as Julie turns the key. 

“Yes Luke vroom vroom,” she responds with a smile on her face. Julie has taken care of Luke a number times but she has a feeling that this will be much different. 

When she parks in front of their dorm Luke lets out a loud ‘whoop’ from his place in the backseat. Julie turns and smiles at him and he does his best to smile back with the amount of cotton in his mouth. 

“The first thing I do,” he pauses as Julie wraps an arm around his waist to lead him up the stairs of their building. “The first thing I will do when I die, is ask Jonbenét Ramsey who killed her.” 

Julie stops walking for a full minute but Luke doesn’t seem to notice as he keeps rambling theories on who he thinks killed her. She looks at him, at first thinking that he is spitting out nonsense and then realizing that what he is saying actually makes a lot of sense. She makes a noise of agreement and continues walking up the stairs, letting go of Luke to open their door. 

Once she gets Luke settled he pulls on her arm and grins up at her, a small amount of saliva dribbling down his chin. “Kiss?” 

Julie shakes her head. “Sorry bud, no kisses until you’re no longer on drugs.” She wipes the drool with the tip of her thumb smiling back at him. He pouts and hugs his stuffed koala closer to his body. 

“Kiss!” He says again with a slight bounce. Julie laughs and shakes her head again, telling him to get some rest. “Cuddle?” He asks, trying to compromise. Julie complies with this request and lays down next to him. 

“You know what?” He mumbles and Julie hums, prompting him to continue. “I love you, more than you could ever possibly imagine.” 

“Is that so?” Julie giggles. 

“Yes. You are,” he furrows his brows to try to find the perfect word to describe her. “You’re music Julie. Your voice is the lyrics of my heart and your laughter the melodies.” 

Julie’s heart stops, her breath hitching as she blinks away tears. “I love you too Luke.” 

When Luke wakes up, he asks Julie if he said anything weird and Julie tells him he didn’t. And maybe it’s a little selfish of her but she wants to keep that little love confession to herself. 

. . .

Julie does not get sick often, so it it quite surprising when Luke wakes up and finds Julie curled up in her bed, groaning in pain. He scampers to her side quickly, gently shaking her shoulder in order to get her attention. With a soft whisper of her name, Julie stirs and squints up at Luke. She releases a whine and pulls the covers over her head. 

Luke’s eyes widen and he freezes for a second because, what the hell is he supposed to do? This situation is normally the other way around. He spots Julie’s phone on her desk and he makes a dash for it, knowing that she has the doctor’s phone number saved. 

“Come on, come on,” he mutters under his breath as the phone rings in his ear. He almost yells in success when the doctor’s voice comes through the phone but he is immediately offended by what the man says. 

“Is your boyfriend sick again Miss Molina?” Luke scoffs and responds in an equally sassy voice, because if Luke Patterson is anything, it’s petty. 

“No, actually Miss Molina is the one sick this time,” He waits for the reply, expecting another dig at him but the doctor shows immediate concern and asks for her symptoms. In that moment Luke realizes he doesn’t know what Julie’s symptoms are and has a weird need to turn to his mom (who isn’t there) and have her answer the questions. “Hang on a second.” 

He goes back to Julie’s side and does his best to get her to say something to him. He tells her that if she tells him what hurts he’ll get her ice cream, not actually expecting it to work. Seconds later, Julie is telling him all of her symptoms which he promptly repeats to the doctor on the other end of the call.

He tells her that it is better to bring her in so he can test her for different sicknesses but the one that caught Luke’s ear, is strep. He got strep (unsurprisingly) when he was younger and although he doesn’t remember all the details, he remembers it sucks. 

He coerces Julie to take a warm shower, insuring her that she will feel much better when she does. With a disgruntled noise and a lot of protest, Luke gets her to the bathroom. As she showers he changes her sheets and gets her favorite hoodie of his from his dresser. He places them on the counter for her and then sits by the door, leg bouncing up and down with anxiety. 

A few minutes later he is driving a sleeping Julie to the doctor’s office where they confirm that she does in fact have strep throat. Julie whines about getting her ice cream to ease her sore throat and he makes her promise that she will eat the chicken soup the doctor recommended first. He get’s to CVS and gets all of the medication the doctor prescribed as well as a pint of Julie’s favorite cookie dough ice cream and a few cans of chicken noodle soup. He can’t cook okay?

He tucks Julie into bed, giving her all the extra pillows so she can sit up as Luke heats up the soup. Julie grumbles about it being from a can and Luke does his best to assure her that it’s good, which includes him having to eat his own bowl of it. She falls asleep immediately after finishing the soup and Luke stays next to her, running fingers through her curly, still slightly damp hair. 

He is scrolling through his phone when Julie starts to stir, a noise of pain exiting her lips followed by a whine. 

“Hurts,” She whispers, cuddling closer to Luke. His heart aches for her and he pulls her even closer, kissing the top of her head. 

“I’m sorry Jules. Anything I can do?” He feels her nod and he looks down at her surprised. “Really? What do you need?” 

“Ice cream,” She mumbles into his chest and Luke’s shoulders start shaking with silent laughter. When he tries to get up, Julie clings to him and he has to remind her that she has to let go in order for him to get her the ice cream. She reluctantly allows him to leave and smiles the brightest she has all day when he comes back with Ben and Jerry’s cookie dough and a big spoon. She quietly enjoys her ice cream as Luke starts up a movie on his laptop. 

Luke spends the rest of the day emailing both his and Julie’s professors which takes much longer than he expects since he only has the use of one arm, Julie clinging to the other one tightly. The response from their professors are about the same, telling them to make sure to do their readings and whatnot. Eventually, when it is already late and dark outside, Luke shuts his laptop and goes to sleep. 

The next day, when Julie is a bit more lucid she pushes Luke off the bed in a haste. He yells out a string of profanities as he hits the floor and Julie looks at him incredulously. 

“Why are you in my bed? I’m going to get you sick!” Luke rolls his eyes as her hand goes to her neck, immediately regretting raising her voice. 

“Really Jules? You literally have taken care of me dozens of times. If you think that I’m not doing the same for you, then you’re insane. I love you and I’ll do anything for you. So lay back down while I heat you up some soup.” Luke gets back up and pushes her back into a laying position. 

Julie complains about it but agrees to his conditions quickly, not really having much energy to argue. She is much less clingy, now fully aware that she could let Luke sick if they’re not careful. 

Luke finds that taking care of Julie isn’t as bad as he thought it would be. He teases Julie about her always complaining after he gets sick and she reminds him that she is much less of a nuisance than he is, which Luke supposes is true. After a week of Luke fighting Julie to take her medicine, long whines, five pints of ice cream, and a whole lot of naps, Julie is feeling much better. Luke says it’s all thanks to him, and Julie agrees with him for the sole reason of seeing him smile after she does so.

The most surprising part though, Luke doesn’t get sick and to them, that is a win within itself. 

(He does end up with a twenty-four hour virus going around campus about three weeks later but that’s a story for another time.)