#also she said she wasn’t sure where Xander was it

[lyrakanefanaticwriting]

Brothers and Cliffs

authors note: alright i have a TON of requests (not just here, but also on my main) and yes i am going to get around to doing those, but i had this idea for a fic for a long time and really wanted to write it, so yeah! this fic takes place in either glorious rivals or the grandest game, but just pretend that they don’t know gigis kidnapped yet 😭

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Lyra knew she was on the brink of getting eliminated. She knew it, and her heart froze in her chest from the acknowledgment of that fact. Gasping for air as she finally stopped running all around the island, she doubled over, placing her hands on her knees.

“Giving up so soon?” A British taunt interjected. Lyra turned her head, and saw Rohan leaning against a dead tree, smirking at her. She knew that he already knew the answer to the riddle, knew that she was the only one left who didn’t yet, and anger bubbled inside of her.

“No.” She spat, standing up as straight as she could before sprinting off, away from him. Her heart ricocheted in her chest, and Lyra tried to slow her breathing so she could think and not cry. She continued to run, before a sudden image made her halt to a stop. She stalked slowly to the tree, not sure if her eyes were fooling her. There, on the tree, she could just barely see a circle where the ridges didn’t co-align with the others. Lyra knew that was possible, but there was something about the perfection of the circle that made her freeze in the first place. Placing her fingernails into the tiny cracks, she grabbed the small circle of the tree the best she could and tugged. The part of the tree came out, leaving an empty hole inside. Lyra immediately crammed her fingers inside the hole, grabbing at it, before feeling paper and pulling it out. With her heart jolting in her chest, Lyra unwrapped the paper, before readings its contents:

“Without me and within me is death assured, with me and within you is life most pure.”

Lyra paused for only a moment. Water. There was no way it was that easy. That was, until a sudden memory of Jameson Hawthorne speaking to all of the contestants washed over her.

“Don’t be so sure,” Jameson said to Rohan in front of all of us, a reply to when Rohan teased Savannah about wanting to scale her walls. “Scaling walls is harder than one might think.”

Scaling walls. Lyra remembered a “wall” that would be harder to scale than one might think, a wall that stood just over a body of water. The cliff.

Without a moments hesitation, Lyra looked up at the sky, realized it couldn’t be more than 5 minutes till sunset, and took off towards the cliff.

Lyra knew she was getting closer to the cliffs by not only the feel of the wind on this side of the island, but also by the amount of contestants and Hawthornes she saw waiting. She saw Brady Daniels. Savannah Grayson. Jameson Hawthorne. Nash Hawthorne. Xander Hawthorne. Avery Grambs. Grayson, however, was no where to be seen.

Lyra’s mind lingered on that fact longer than she had any right to.

Running closer towards the cliff, a voice slowed her down.

“I know you know the answer by now, and I’m just telling you that if you try to scale that cliff in the time you have left, you are going to get hurt in the process.” Nash Hawthornes Texas drawl told her, as he sat up against the ruins, strumming a guitar. He looked up at her. “There has to be a length you aren’t willing to take, and if there is one, it should be this.” Pettiness rose in her chest. She still had time. 2 minutes, at the most, but time. An idea flashed through her, and, huffing out a breath, she tied her hair up with the small black elastic on her wrist.

“You seem pretty sure about that.” She retorted, determination clear on her face. Lyra figured out a way to find the answer she needed. She wasn’t going to scale the cliff. She didn’t need to.

She started to run, going farther away from Nash Hawthorne and closer towards the cliff. She ran. And ran. And when she was sure there was only a minute left on her time, she ran even more, coming closer towards the edge, slowing to a halt once she finally did.

And then she jumped.

GRAYSON:

Grayson walked out of the ruins, making his way towards Jameson, before a figure caught his eye. Lyra. Grayson held a breath as he watched her talk to Nash. He had looked all over the island, trying desperately to find her and try to help her through the riddle and its answer. She had, what, a minute left? There was a good chance that she wouldn’t make it, and Grayson knew what he would do if that were true. Start a trust fund for her brothers. Try and help with Mile’s End. He knew that Lyra would refuse any financial help, but he would try his best. And then what would happen if she left? What would happen to them?

An annoying voice broke him out of his thoughts.

“I think I’m the first to tell you this, Gray, but wistfully looking at the love of your life is supposed to only be a thing that happens in movies.” Grayson turned towards Jameson, raising a brow and snapping out of his daze.

“You’re an idiot.” He stated, despite Avery’s giggle beside Jamie.

“You two need to stop fighting so mu-“ Avery didn’t even get to finish before Jameson’s voice interrupted hers.

“What the hell?” He said, his voice intense. It was so sudden that Grayson froze, turning his gaze to where Jameson’s was. Grayson watched with horror as Lyra ran closer to the edge, before suddenly, with a jump, leaping off. Grayson hesitated. He paused, frozen alongside his brother who was no doubt thinking the same thing that Grayson was, and he knew he would regret it for the rest of his life. Staying frozen while Lyra could be de-

Grayson didn’t let himself finish that thought before breaking into a sprint towards the cliff.

LYRA:

Lyra turned the best she could in air, reading the message carved into the cliff wall only a second before falling into the water. She ran it over in her head, thinking about it as she scrambled to come above the freezing cold water.

“I am a mother and a father, but have never given birth. I am rarely still, but I never wander. What am I?”

Lyra thought it over. Then she thought over what her mother had said once to her when she was 13 and they were walking through a trail. What she said about the “most nurturing parents of the forest.” And then she thought about where she got her original riddle from.

A tree.

She barely had time to feel relieved before a wave hit her aggressively, dragging her under.

GRAYSON:

Grayson finally made it to the shore of the water below the cliff where Lyra should be, searching the water for her. He barely saw her come above the water, before getting sucked back under. Fear threatened to hold him under, but he pushed it, and the memory of Emily doing this exact same thing with him, down. With a shuddering breath, he took off his suit jacket as fast as he could and dove into the water. With his eyes open, he could just barely see her figure under the crashing waves, and then he was swimming towards her, and bringing her body to his. Her eyes opened once he brought her body to his chest and hooked one hand under her knees with his other arm wrapped around her upper back. She looked even more beautiful underwater. Grayson tried his best not to mull on that, but he still nonetheless drank the feel of her body pressed against his chest in like wine. Ignoring the aggressive waves, he swam back up to shore, holding her body in his arms as he saw his brothers, Avery, and the other contestants run over to them.

“What the hell was that?” Jameson demanded, his gaze turned to Lyra. Grayson could tell by his large pupils that he was also seeing a glimpse of what happened to Emily in Lyra. Avery had her hand on Jameson’s arm, but from his past demand, she took his hand in hers, turning his attention away from Lyra and Grayson almost immediately. Grayson placed Lyra down gently, ignoring his shaking hands as he took his suit jacket off the floor, shook off some sand, and draped it over her shoulders. Lyra immediately pulled it closer towards her, shivering. She was about to speak, when Grayson interjected.

“You could have gotten hurt, Lyra. Then what would happen?” He asked, his voice more hoarse than he wanted to admit. Lyra paused, her mouth stuck open, as her brows furrowed. She shut her mouth then, shrugging as she instead turned to Nash.

“I told you that you seemed too sure about the fact that there were lengths I wouldn’t take.” She told Nash simply. Grayson mulled on that, grappling with a calm that he didn’t in any way feel. Jameson paused, before nodding.

“You did what you had to do, reckless or not. Although I do feel that as Game Master I should warn you away from cliffs and danger in general, as we don’t need one of the contestants to kill themself half way through the Grandest Game.” He said, his pupils finally shrinking. Grayson whipped his head towards Jameson, as his mind still grappled with what was going on.

“This isn’t a joke, Jameson. She could have-” Died. Grayson paused, his voice guttural. Lyra turned to him with a raised brow, but Grayson kept his gaze firmly on Jameson. “She could have gotten seriously hurt.”

“I did just say that, didn’t I?” Jameson retorted, with a raised brow. In Grayson’s mind, he could see the image of Emily jumping off the cliff. Then, he saw Jameson’s smirk a mere few days after the incident. He was already making a joke of things.

“Are you serious?” Grayson was going to continue, before Nash cut him off.

“Enough, Grayson.” He warned. Grayson turned to him. “This isn’t about her.” Nash didn’t have to say who the “her” was for Grayson to know what he was getting at. Emily.

“Her?” Rohan and Lyra asked simultaneously. Grayson’s gaze turned to Lyra. He watched how her brows furrowed ever so slightly, before she turned her attention to Avery. Grayson could see her brain working through the events of tonight, trying to connect them to the Hawthorne heiress in some way. She opened her mouth to speak, before Grayson cut in.

“Not Avery.” He interjected. Lyra snapped her mouth shut, and Grayson held her gaze for only a few seconds before turning to his brothers. He planned on lecturing Jameson more on what jokes were and weren’t appropriate to make, before Savannah interrupted.

“Then who?” She asked, her expression calm as she raised a brow. Lyra, Rohan, and Brady all turned to him expectantly, but he wasn’t planning on giving them an actual answer.

“It doesn’t matter.” He stated, his voice meant to shut the topic down. Jameson raised a brow at him.

“Are you sure, Grayson,” He asked slowly. “That it doesn’t matter to you?” A flicker of anger sparked in Grayson’s chest.

“I could say the same for you, Jamie.” He replied, his tone cool and collected despite the anger building inside of him. Jameson rolled his eyes.

“You have to get over it at some point, Grayson. When’s that stick finally gonna come out of your ass?” He said, his voice louder than before.

“I am getting over it. When are you going to get over that nonchalant nothing-matters attitude? When are you going to finally take things seriously?” He retorted, his eyes narrowing at Jameson. Nash and Avery both interjected, telling the two of them to cool down as Xander watched nervously, but Grayson couldn’t believe it. Would he be cracking jokes at Lyra’s funeral? Making light of things while she’s in the hospital, bleeding out from impact? Grayson didn’t know.

“This is who I am. It’s who I’ve always been, Grayson. Don’t act like part of your personality isn’t being a bitch.” Jameson spat right back, stepping closer to Grayson. Grayson’s jaw tightened. He hadn’t argued with his brothers like this in years. But seeing Lyra on the brink of getting hurt made him…. act different. Maybe it was about Emily. Or maybe the idea of losing Lyra was one that he just couldn’t bear. Grayson took a step forward, before Lyra’s hand shot out to hold his arm.

“What the hell are you doing, Grayson? Calm down.” She told him. Grayson turned to meet her eyes, feeling more calm than he had moments ago from the feel of her warm hand over his arm, before a voice brought that anger back.

“Yeah, Grayson,” Jameson taunted, his eyes hard as stone. “Calm down.”

“Don’t taunt him.” Nash warned Jameson quickly, putting a hand on his shoulder. Behind Nash, Grayson could see Savannah and Rohan send each other interested glances. He didn’t like fighting with his brothers, especially in front of other people, but right now, he couldn’t help it.

“Or what?” Grayson retorted, his eyes dragging back to Jameson’s. A flash of anger entered his eyes, and that’s when the retorts just kept coming.

“The fuck do you mean, or what? It’s not like you’re going to do anything. You’ve always been too scared to ruin that perfect reputation you’ve got going on.” Jameson said, his voice intense as he took a step closer.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Grayson replied slowly.

“I do know what I’m talking about. When are you finally going to get over this bullshit?”

“Oh, you always bring it back to that.”

“Like it’s my fucking fault!” Jameson paused, running a hand through his hair. “Grayson. Do you seriously think that I don’t understand what you’re going through?” Jameson’s voice was more quiet now. And Grayson wanted to hear him out. He really did. But suddenly, a rush of emotions overtook him, and Grayson squeezed his eyes shut. It was only for a second, but still, when he opened his eyes, he was met with Jameson’s pitying ones. He didn’t want pity. And he knew, in his heart, that his grandfather would be disappointed in him for even craving the smallest bit of it.

“I think,” Grayson said calmly, stepping back as his face turned neutral in seconds. “That you haven’t figured out how to take anything seriously yet.” Grayson gave Jameson an unbothered stare, and that must have been the straw that broke the camels back, because in seconds, Jameson flipped him onto the ground.

“When will you grow up, Gray?” Jameson spat, staring Grayson dead in the eyes. Grayson returned the look, flipping him onto his back as he grappled for the upper hand.

“That’s rich coming from you.” Grayson retorted furiously. The two were in a fighting match, on the ground as different verbal assaults came flying from the both of them. Nash tried to break them up, but they seemed to be ignoring him, too caught up in their own wrestling match.

“What are you doing, Grayson? Get up.” Grayson recognized that honey rich voice immediately. Lyra. He tried to turn around and look at her, but his brother used the distraction as an opportunity to get the upper hand.

“You’re fucking unbelievable Grayson.” He spat.

“Please, spare me from your disappointment.” Grayson retorted sarcastically.

“Grayson, that’s enough.” A guttural voice that Grayson identified as Avery’s spoke up. Jameson immediately froze, his lips parting.

“It’ll be enough as soon as it’s enough for Jameson.” Grayson replied in a cool manner. Jameson’s gaze ripped back to Grayson’s, a sneer on his face.

“Oh, fuck off.”

“You. First.”

“What the actual fuck are you two doing?” Grayson froze as his head whipped towards where the angry voice came from. Lyra stood with her arms crossed, her face in disbelief as she ripped off Graysons jacket and threw it on him. Grayson peeled the suit jacket off his face, his brother having stopped fighting too, as he stared up at Lyra.

“Well?” She asked him. Grayson paused, uncertain of what to do. She seemed even more furious at that fact, stepping closer to him as a flicker of anger entered her eyes. She pointed her finger in his face.

“Get. Up. You. Asshole.” She enunciated with each point, staring at Grayson furiously as he slowly got up from the ground. As soon as he got up, Lyra stared down her nose at him, despite Grayson being taller than her by a good amount, before shaking her head.

“Maybe the millions of dollars aren’t actually worth it.” She said, sighing. Nash snorted, the first I’d heard from him since he tried breaking me and Jameson up.

“That was… something.” Brady said quietly, his brows furrowed as he glanced between Jameson and Grayson.

“That was stupid.” Lyra corrected, glancing back at Grayson. “I didn’t get hurt.” Grayson knew that. But she could have. And, selfish as it is, Grayson couldn’t help but think that there would be nothing left for him in the case that she did die.

“But you easily could have.” He finally said, expelling a breath. Lyra mulled on that, pressing her lips into a thin line.

“This is all very heartfelt, and I’m so glad that this melancholy Romeo found his somewhat less melancholy Juliet, but I do feel the need to ask,” Rohan interjected, placing a finger on his lips as if in thought as he studied Lyra. “Is she still in the game?”

“Yes.” Grayson said immediately, his tone defensive. Rohan made a face at him.

“You, Grayson Hawthorne, are no longer a Gamemaster. You, are a contestant,” He said, his tone amused as he smirked at Grayson. “Therefore you have no say in this matter.” Grayson was about to rebuke whatever he said, mainly because Rohan was only trying to deny Lyra of her spot in the game, but also because he was eyeing Savannah in a way that Grayson didn’t appreciate, before Nash interrupted.

“Well, because of these two numbskulls,” Nash interjected, glaring at Jameson and Grayson, “She didn’t actually get to say her answer.” Nash turned his attention to Lyra, and gradually, so did everybody else. He gestured at her, and Lyra didn’t hesitate as she spoke.

“A tree.” She said, her eyes lit up with a courageous look so fierce it burned Grayson. Grayson had typically stayed away from risks, from the spark of danger his entire life. But for some reason, while all these traits do apply to Lyra, he just physically can’t find a way to stay away from her. From the spark in her eyes. From the determined set of her chin. From all of it. Avery’s gaze slid to Grayson’s, and, as if she could read his thoughts, she smiled.

“Congratulations, Lyra Catalina Kane,” Avery said, stepping forward to be face-to-face with her, “you will remain a contestant in the game.” A look of relief barely touched Lyra’s features, before they turned neutral. She nodded, before turning and straying back to the cliff. Graysons eyes lingered on her, before slowly sliding to back to Avery, who was currently speaking.

“This night will be a grace period, but by 8:00 in the morning, everyone should be meeting just outside the house.” Avery stated, her expression kind. All the contestants began to walk back to the house, with Grayson’s brothers trailing after them and casting those looks at the way Grayson was watching Lyra, and soon enough, it was just the two of them left near the cliff side.

“You definitely had a normal reaction today.” Lyra finally said, breaking the silence that threatened to swallow Grayson whole.

“I couldn’t have handled it better.” He said, matching her sarcasm as he strode up beside her. Lyra turned to him suddenly, the movements graceful, yet intense, in a way.

“What was going through your head?” She asked him suddenly. Grayson swallowed.

“I..” He trailed off, before clearing his throat and making his features as simple as possible. “I was worried about you.” And he was. He was terribly worried, that the one good thing in his life would suddenly vanish.

“And if something were to happen to me..” She trailed off. Grayson knew she expected him to finish her sentence for her, but when he didn’t, she just looked up at him exasperatedly.

“Tell me you wouldn’t freak out as much as you did today if I were to die. Tell me that it wouldn’t weigh down on you as much as I saw it did in your face.” She said, trying to make her voice as simple as possible. Grayson wanted to lie. To tell her, ‘yes, I would be fine in the case that any of that were to happen’. But he couldn’t. His heart squeezed at the thought of lying to her. A strand of her dark hair blew free from her wet ponytail, and Grayson had to physically fight down the desire to brush it behind her ear.

“I can’t.” He finally said, his voice more hoarse than he intended it to be. She pressed her lips together, her thick brows knitting together as she gazed up at him.

“Why not?” She said softy, giving him a half shrug.

“Why not?” Grayson repeated, his voice tinged with amusement and disbelief. He wanted to explain to her exactly why not, but he held himself back from the urge to.

“Because….” He trailed off again, searching for a response. Once he found one, he immediately spoke up again. “Because you deserve to find out exactly what happened to your father. Your dying wouldn’t exactly make the search easier.” Lyra closed her eyes momentarily, and Grayson knew exactly where her brain was going; to calla lily’s, to gunshots and blood, and to omega. To everything they had found out while in that room for 12 hours.

“So it’s just about my father? Nothing else?” She finally said, opening her eyes. Grayson couldn’t say no. He couldn’t will himself to lie to her. So, all he could manage was the slightest nod. Lyra nodded back, before speaking.

“Well, at least you’ll go to sleep tonight knowing you mastered the art of being a jackass.” Lyra stated, making Grayson snort.

“I learned a lot of things tonight.” He said, more softly now.

“Oh yeah? Like what?” Lyra rebutted. Grayson paused for a moment. He thought about the bitter and angry person he had become when his mind lingered on the idea of Lyra getting hurt. And then he thought about how those terrible thoughts began to vanish the second she looked his way.

“Quod amor et melle et felle est fecundissimus.” Grayson said softly. Lyra rolled her eyes.

“I really hope that that’s not another one of you Hawthorne’s Latin lingo.” She said, her lips quirked. Graysons lips lifted by a hair himself, as his heart felt lighter than it had a mere 10 minutes ago.

“Sorry to disappoint you, then.” Grayson stated, raising a brow. Lyra’s smile grew, before she turned her head to the cliff side. Grayson wanted to fill the silence before Lyra noticed that he was watching her.

“When was the last time you’ve slept?” The question was so sudden that it made Lyra’s head turn in confusion. She studied him, as if seeing if he was joking, but after a moments hesitation, she only snorted.

“Uh, I don’t know, what day is it today?” She asked jokingly.

“Monday.” Lyra made a face.

“Oh… that’s bad.” She blew out a breath, causing that same strand of hair from before to fly upwards. Grayson turned his attention more to her, coming closer.

“When was the last time you’ve eaten?” He asked her, raising a brow. Lyra waved a hand, smacking Grayson’s chest in the process. He liked the closeness of her, and barely held himself back from stepping closer and never moving away again.

“I swallowed a good third of the ocean while almost drowning, so I think I’ll be good for the week.” Lyra joked.

“Lyra.” Graysons tone was serious. She met his gaze again, the humour from her face disappearing.

“We all had dinner last night, remember?” Lyra said, sounding sincere. Grayson’s brow raised deepened.

“Yes, I very much remember. You pushed around your food the entire time.” Grayson stated. He was worried. He didn’t exactly know why she wasn’t eating, but still, he knew whatever compelled her to avoid food, it wasn’t good. Lyra gave him a look.

“Look, I’m not eating because of… that.” She finished lamely. “Not like you should be watching me eat anyway. But, since you asked, sometimes I don’t eat because I get…. stressed. Whenever I’m stressed, I completely lose my appetite.”

“And you’ve been stressed because…?” Grayson trailed off, knowing the answer, but still wanting her to say it herself.

“My father.” She finished, her chest heaving. Grayson nodded, before turning to where he and Jameson had been brawling on the floor, picked up his suit jacket, and dug his hand in the pocket. His hand came out holding a protein bar. Grayson noticed that Lyra had been shivering the slightest bit, almost as if she was covering it up, and he draped his suit jacket across her shoulders just like how he did before. Lyra gave him a look, but didn’t object as she pulled it closer towards her. Now that she was looking at him, Grayson held out the protein bar to her.

“Eat this.” He told her, stepping closer to her again and holding it out for her. Lyra raised a brow at him.

“‘Eat this’? Wow, you’re really good at giving orders, asshole.” She deadpanned.

“Please.” Grayson managed. She held his eyes for a few seconds, before huffing out a breath and grabbing the bar.

“We should go back to the house now.” She said, squinting at the protein bar in her hand.

“Agreed.” Grayson said. They walked in silence, with Grayson watching Lyra, before she finally sighed and spoke.

“You’re going to keep watching me until I cave and eat this bar, aren’t you?” She asks him, giving him a dirty look.

“Yup.” Grayson replied simply, holding her gaze despite the look she was giving him. Lyra sighed again, before ripping open the bar and taking a bite.

“Mm. I just love the taste of sand and granola.” Lyra deadpanned once she swallowed her first bite. Grayson couldn’t help but let a smile loose.

“It adds texture.” He teased. Grayson’s eyes caught on something. Nash’s guitar. He must have forgotten it after the entire… situation Grayson was going through with his brother. He walked over to go pick it up, before walking back to Lyra. Her ponytail was becoming more and more loose, until the elastic completely fell out. Lyra huffed, grabbing her hair in realization that it fell out and gave him a look that said “of course”. Graysons lips lifted by a hair as he walked over to her, saw a little black elastic, slipped it onto his wrist, and kept walking. He’d give it back to her once it wasn’t covered in sand. Or… that’s what he told himself, anyway.

“Ugh, how is there sand in this? It had a wrapper.” Lyra complained, almost done eating the protein bar. Grayson turned to meet her eyes, taking her hand that held the bar and pointing with my other to a label on the bar that said “now has more dark chocolate!”

“I thought you’d like it,” He said, dropping Lyra’s hand and noticing how she immediately dropped her arms to her sides. “it has dark chocolate, after all.” Lyra gave him a look.

“I didn’t tell you I liked dark chocolate.” She said.

“No, but I heard you telling Xander about how you like chocolate, and then I figured you’d like dark the best.” Lyra turned her head, eyeing the doors of the mansion as Grayson held one open for her.

“Well, you figured right.” She finally said, walking in. She was about to walk the other way, towards the contestants rooms, before Grayson spoke up.

“Try and sleep tonight.” He said. Lyra turned and gave him a glare, to which Grayson dipped his head. “Please.”

She looked like she was going to say something sarcastic, but just slumped her shoulders and gazed at him with eyes a gorgeous amber shade instead.

“I can’t.” She finally said, her head bowed. Grayson stepped towards her, gently placing two fingers beneath her chin and tilting it upwards.

“Try.” He said softly. She just looked away, as she chewed on her lip. She looked like she was about to rebuke his one word statement, before Grayson spoke again.

“I’ve been having trouble sleeping too,” he admitted, opening up for her so that she could do the same for him. Lyra looked up at him, and her mouth suddenly quirked into a smile that Grayson was beginning to recognize: a crooked smirk that said “I’m going to say something either really funny or really teasing”. Unfortunately for Grayson. she went for the latter.

“Whoever has darker eye bags tomorrow morning has to third wheel with Rohan and Savannah for a whole hour while being forced to listen to their…. colourful conversations.” She said, a cheeky grin on her face. Graysons cheeks immediately heat up as he shook his head at Lyra.

“I have 0 idea what Savannah could possibly see in him.” Grayson stated darkly, his face sour as he thought of the annoying British man who she associates herself with. Lyra just giggled into the palm of his hand, and Grayson, with cheeks that were beginning to tinge red and a very vibrant image of strangling Rohan in his head, did not think that the moment that they just shared was so awful, because the sound of her laugh could never be associated with anything even remotely negative. Grayson couldn’t help but smile himself, and gestured to her room down the hall.

“You might want to get a head start, because I don’t plan on being forced to stay even 10 feet near them.” Grayson deadpanned. Lyra snorted, and winked at him as she walked away.

“Believe me, I don’t need it.” She retorted. Grayson liked her quick tongue. He liked it a lot.

“Oh yeah?” He asked her with a raised brow as she walked away.

“Yeah.” She replied, tossing her hair over her shoulder and continuing to walk to her room, her steps graceful and filled with poise.

Grayson watched her go, momentarily forgetting about the guitar in his hands. Once he remembered, he strode to Nash’s room, knocking twice on the door. Once he heard Nash’s call for Grayson to come in, Grayson opened the door, walking in and placing his guitar propped up on his side table.

“You definitely were acting out today, Gray.” Nash drawled, crossing his arms as he got up from his spot on the bed, and giving him a look.

“That’s one way to put it.” Grayson eventually said, running a hand through his wet-yet-drying-now hair. Nash made a noise at the back of his throat, before sitting back down on the bed, strumming his guitar again.

“So what were you and Lyra up to?” Nash asked. His tone was innocent, but Grayson knew what he was implying. Grayson shrugged.

“Nothing. She lectured me about what happened, and then I walked her back to the house. That’s all.” Grayson said. Nash nodded, turning his gaze to his guitar again. Grayson took this as his cue to leave, and, just as he was about to walk through the door, Nash’s voice made him halt to a stop.

“Right. And where’s your suit jacket, huh, Gray?” Nash drawled. Grayson paused, turning to meet his gaze with a raised brow. Nash’s eyes were twinkling, and he stopped strumming his guitar as he got up, putting it down and strolling over to Grayson. “Lemme guess: she has it?” Grayson paused, as if thinking.

“No,” He lied, “I just must have forgotten it near the cliff side.” Nash gave him a look.

“I’m sure you did. So, if I get up early tomorrow morning and scour the cliff side, including the beach, you’re telling me I’m going to find it just sitting there on the ground?” Nash asked, stepping closer as he crossed his arms.

“Unless it’s blown into the water, then yes.” Grayson again lied. He hated lying to his brothers, but he knew that if he admitted to giving Lyra his jacket, he wouldn’t hear the end of it. “It’s just a coincidence.” Grayson held Nash’s gaze, until Nash raised a shoulder and walked back towards his bed.

“Oh, and Grayson?” He drawled, pausing to turn around once more and give him a look. Then, Nash stepped forward, took Graysons arm, and pushed his sleeve down, revealing a small black elastic. “That a coincidence too?” Grayson jerked his hand away, giving Nash’s teasing grin an ice cold and unbothered stare.

“She dropped it. I’m giving it back to her once it’s not covered in sand.” Grayson said with a raised brow, as he tried to be as calm as possible. Nash gave him another shrug, before walking to his bed and lying down on it, his ankles crossed and his hands behind his head.

“I’m sure you are, Gray. But don’t go lying to yourself that this little…” Nash paused, before continuing. “Preoccupation you have with Lyra is nothing.” Grayson paused. He could give a sharp answer and shut it down. But he couldn’t deny the way that the steady beat of his heart began to thump faster the second Nash spoke her name. He turned and walked out without a word, shutting the door and hearing a “you’re welcome” from Nash as he did. His… preoccupation with Lyra was none of his brother’s business.

It wasn’t anybody’s. Nobody’s except for his and Lyra’s, if she saw in him what Grayson sees in her. He didn’t know how any of this was supposed to work out. After all, he was a Hawthorne, and Hawthornes are known to be unforgivably cruel to those who aren’t family. Lyra’s father was a prime example of that. Yet still, he could see a silhouette of a future in which the past didn’t control them.

Where they could make their own choices.

Grayson told himself, when he finally winded down to go to sleep that night, that all he’d see is pitch black darkness before waking up.

But as soon as amber eyes and a voice meant to soothe even the worst of man kind itself began to flash through his mind unconscious mind, he knew that he was only lying to himself.

——————————————————————————

if you sent me an ask MONTHS ago and you’re seeing this fic that i made without anybody requesting me to…. no you didn’t 😊����

[um-vvhat]

Unfortunately I am a Yoly hater now. That was some nerve saying yes to Mal just to turn around and not only meet up with Xander, but actively leading her on…. Crazy.

[riddles-n-games]

Sunburn

Pairing: Lyra and Grayson Summary: It's summertime in Texas and Lyra is at the Hawthorne House spending time with her new beau, Grayson Hawthorne. He loves to swim and she loves being outside by the pool with a book in hand but often disregards one important rule: applying sunscreen. Lucky for her, she has one very concerned boyfriend to remind her of this. Length: Moderate Story Type: One Shot

"Didn't I tell you to put sunscreen on?"

Lyra snapped out of her thoughts. Grayson was getting out of the pool and approaching her, sopping wet as she blinked against the glare of the sun. Sunglasses only could do so much.

“And didn’t I tell you to dye your hair so you don’t reflect the sun onto me every time you look my way, Goldilocks?”

He narrowed his eyes at the nickname but let a half smile slip. “Even more reason for you to apply it then.” She rolled her eyes. After retrieving his towel, he sat on the lounge chair across from her and started to towel dry his hair.

They were by the pool at the Hawthorne House, his home. Lyra had only been a handful of times and she still wasn’t sure what to make of it. The manor was stunning but it was unsettlingly huge; she dared not ever going through the maze of endless halls without Gray or any of his family to lead her.

Jameson was usually the best guide but Xander knew of the unconventional interesting spots. According to him, he got lost in the passageways during his grandfather’s Saturday games and sometimes gave up to explore the uncharted territory. It made her wary of him at first but soon after he became one of her most loyal and trusted friends. Interesting where life got her after the Grandest Game when Grayson Hawthorne turned it upside down.

Xander called it the Hawthorne Effect and the theory wasn’t exactly far fetched. Who better to testify than the Hawthorne heiress herself? Alongside her sister and best friend, they secured relationships with three of the Hawthorne brothers in a short interval. And now, the last single brother was Lyra's. Or stolen, as the internet put it; those fangirls were no joke. Lucky her. But Grayson was a dedicated boyfriend and he put those worries to rest with a fierceness that made her confident he was the one.

"What are you thinking about?" She blinked. She'd done it again; her thoughts got carried away and the Hawthornes were in the center of it all and- and it was just overthinking again, wasn't it? Lyra looked down and closed her book, sighing in exasperation before she sliding to the edge of her chair and taking his hand in hers. Grayson's eyebrows were furrowed with concern but he stayed quiet as he watched her trace his hand when she spoke up.

"I'm just... Just overthinking, I guess. Your family, your house, everything about you guys; it's a lot, ok? I know you know that and I'm not trying to put you down. Please don't take it to heart. It's just overwhelming to take in and sometimes I can't deal with my thoughts. But you don’t need to worry, I’m working on it and I believe I’m getting better.”

He smiled gently at her. “That’s fine. I know what it’s like, too. Not in the same way, of course, but there are times when being part of this family also overwhelm me. I just coped by hiding it and now I am unlearning that behaviour or trying at least. You could call it-”

“-Failing miserably?”

“Yes. But I’m only admitting that to you and even that’s risky because the walls here have ears.” He gave her a look that said you know who. She smiled knowingly and nodded. Xander. “So just know that if you ever bring it up, I will deny it in public.”

“Of course.” Lyra winked conspiratorially. He smiled back and brought up the hand entangled with hers to his lips, pressing a kiss to her wrist. Then he lowered their hands and brought his free one into her thick locks, threading through them slowly to get the tangles. She closed her eyes in contentment.

It was one of the challenges for her to deal with during the summer but her and Xander often did haircare together and Gray was all too happy to help brush through her hair with his fingers after. And he was also pretty darn good at giving scalp massages; she was truly gifted with a man of all professions.

"You still haven't put on sunscreen." She opened her eyes and gave him an exasperated look.

“I don’t burn that easy.”

“Maybe not but your nose does and skin cancer is a thing, so humor me.” Rolling her eyes, she settled herself closer to him and leaned forward on her hands as he took the sunblock and took a dollop of cream, smearing it across her cheeks and forehead. He took his sweet time massaging it into her skin and she was pretty sure he was just doing that on purpose to prove his point.

"You know I'm pretty sure you wiped it off with how thorough you're being."

"I'm doing it this way to make sure I feel the barrier form evenly on your face."

"Now you just sound like I do when I'm talking to my little brother."

"Well, now you know how I feel. And I'm pretty sure you also explained the importance of sunscreen to him when you're at the pool but he kept running away. Am I right?"

She rolled her eyes again. "Just for that, I'm going to add triple the amount on your arms. But I still haven't done your nose so I must take care of that before I move on."

"You know, I used to think you were intimidating and very closed off but the fact you're now being this cliché, I'm not sure I recognize Grayson Hawthorne anymore."

"Well, I'm a man who wears many hats."

"That sounded like a very Jameson thing to say." He raised a brow at that and she laughed.

"I'm going to ignore what you just said and let that insult be the one off. I was also going to say that it's all due to my therapist suggesting I put the mushy feelings-yes, that's how she put it-out on display."

"So you're implying I can totally make fun of you for it."

"When did I say that? Nobody gets away with such a thing. Not even Xander."

"Hmm, then what was that thing that him and Jameson were trying to tell me about an atonement night? Something about leather pants."

"Those two are going to die tonight, that's all you have to know."

"Aww, don't be like that. Now I have to know."

"Nope, not a word. That's been redacted from recorded history so it technically doesn't exist and never happened. You are most certainly not allowed to know anything more or less than that. I forbid it."

Her arched brows, wide eyes, and amused grin were very telling of her growing curiosity but Grayson wouldn't budge. He was tightlipped and refused to say anything more on the matter. "Stop trying. You're just making yourself look stupid and I don't want that for you. Now stay still so I can get your nose."

"Maybe that's exactly what I've been doing this whole time; distracting you so you can let go of the sunscreen obsession. Think it's now permanently in my skin." Her nose scrunched in disgust at the thought.

"Good, that way you'll be protected year round and I won't have to worry when I take you skiing at the lodge." In response, she stuck her tongue out but he didn't let that slide. He retaliated with a bigger dollop that he plopped on the bridge of her nose and with a light finger, started making lines all around as if he was going to do her makeup. Then, he started making horizontal stripes. "Are you making a grid? Is this tic tac toe on my nose but you have the advantage because I can't see?"

"Shh. I'm making art." She snorted but Grayson didn't lose focus. Instead, he just patted her cheek in consolation before fixing his grip on her jaw to make her stop fidgeting. With careful precision that made no sense to her, he rubbed in the sunscreen on her nose. "There we go."

Lyra shook her head and sighed. Her boyfriend was a piece of work, not that she minded all the time. Even he could be a dork sometimes and it was cute. Not that he needed to know.

"Oh wait, I forgot one more thing."

"What could you have forg-" Before she could finish, Grayson cupped her cheeks, leaning in and kissing the tip of her nose. She gasped in surprise and went still. He pulled away with a smug smirk. "Now it's all good."

Lyra gave him a long incredulous stare before looking away, finding the plants in the neighboring garden suddenly more interesting. "You're lucky I like you."

"I know you do, that's why you let me do this." He placed a finger on the side of her jaw and redirected her to face him before pulling her in for a kiss. Lyra's eyes widened but she quickly closed her eyes and cupped the back of his head, running her fingers through the semi dry locks. Grayson proceeded to deepen the kiss and slid his hands around her back and under her knees, lifting her from her spot on the chair and placed her on his lap.

She held tight to him and relaxed when he repositioned his arms around her lower back, his hand sliding up and down reassuringly. But soon after that, she had to break away for air and she placed her hands on his bare chest, breathing in hard. He wasn't much better and for a moment, only their shallow pants were the only noise aside from the distant roar of a lawnmower.

When their breathing slowed, Lyra smiled mischievously at Gray.

"So about those leather pants." He scowled. She laughed. His heart soared; maybe those mushy feelings weren't so bad after all.

[infiniteimaginings]

Hii! I know ur requests are closed and stuff and I don’t even know if you’re still writing for this but could you do a Ravi ross x reader?? Maybe an enemies to lovers thing? 😭 I was also wondering if it could be set when bunk’d was taking place if that makes sense! If not that’s ok :) Have a nice day or night.(excuse my English not my first language lol)

Lost (Ravi Ross x GN!Reader)

Summary: You get lost with one of the only people at camp you can't stand and somehow it's your fault? Who's leaving the other if a bear comes? Who's taking the last life jacket and leaving the other? Whose dislike of the other is just intense admiration that they don't know how to handle? Pronouns: You/Yours Warnings: They talk about/to each other rudely, in depth about parental issues lol, but other than that none Word Count: 3.4k A/N: Me saying requests are (ever) closed just means I won't respond to them quickly or look at them closely. If it's open it means I can write for them and I know for a fact I'll be able to post it. Don't worry, you can still send stuff in, it's okay.

Camp Kikiwaka was a summer camp placed in the outskirts of Maine where a bunch of kids would either complain due the lack of cell service or would find comfort in one another through competitions. Most everyone at Camp Kikiwaka got along, that was mainly due to the counselors who pushed everyone together almost against their wills. That worked for almost everyone, almost.

You were extremely likable, people wanted you on their teams, in their campsites, at sleepovers, etc. You were a caring and sweet person who people got along with. This meant you were basically friends with everyone. That wasn’t true though, it wasn’t true because someone in the camp absolutely despised every single thing you did.

That person's name was Ravi Ross, someone who people enjoyed the company of. They thought he was intelligent, helpful, resourceful, and interesting as well as fun. He was also someone you decided to name ‘Try Hard Rich Boy’ because he tried way too hard for a camp where the main objective was to have fun. From the nickname alone, it’s clear the sentiment he shared for you was reciprocated.

Both of you understood the lack of bond the two of you had, and neither of you cared. Sure, you had the same friends, and you were friends with his siblings, but that didn’t matter. You tried to keep any sort of conversation short, and it lasted the majority of the time at camp.

You had to go to the Grizzly cabin one day to grab something from Xander for Zuri. The curly haired girl was currently busy on the docks and kindly bribed you to go instead, to which you agreed after much persuading. You took your time and knocked before letting yourself in due to a lack of response, Zuri said the item was in a bag with her name on it, it should’ve just been on one of the dressers. You knew Xander wouldn’t mind, so you shrugged and began your search.

As you looked you heard a bit of a heavy walk so you turned around and were met face to scales with Mrs. Kipling, one of your favorite campers of Camp Kikiwaka. You smiled gently and crouched down to her, gently using your finger to gently rub from her head to her mid-back. Mrs. Kipling let out a small hum of a hiss which you always took as enjoyment since she never did much other than scoot a bit closer to you. 

 You were so caught up with the seven foot long lizard that you didn’t notice one of the Grizzly cabin members walking in. 

The person scoffed and walked forward, “Can I help you?” They asked, the familiar accent filling your ears, causing your eye to lightly twitch in frustration.

You stood up and turned to look Ravi Ross in the eyes with a blank expression, “Nope.” You spoke simply, moving your head to the side and walking to the dresser on Xanders side, quickly snatching the bag and walking out the cabin, closing the door behind you.

Ravi rolled his eyes, not even looking back to where you walked away. He simply tilted his head down to Mrs. Kipling and frowned, “Traitor.” He spoke with a huff, walking towards the bathroom.

He never enjoyed the fact that his closest companion enjoyed your presence at all. He thought his best friend since his childhood would at least be on his side, but every day he is proven wrong.

Short exchanges, dirty looks, sighs of frustration, and that was it. That was your dynamic, which the two of you were fine with. Everyone else on the other hand, absolutely hated it.

All of your friends were sat in the middle of the cafeteria as you were helping a camper put up banners and Ravi was on the other side, clipboard in hand, giving other campers directions to follow.

Emma put her head down on the table, “I’m sick of this.” She groaned, lifting her head so her chin would sit on her forearms.

Xander nodded, rubbing circles into her back as he looked around the table. “There’s gotta be something we can do, right?” He asked, looking between the two sides of the cafeteria. “I mean, they’ve been so rude to each other since camp started.”

“I know!” Zuri interjected, “I’m tired of trying to get them to talk by sending them to do my chores.”

Everyone looked over at Zuri with confusion, Lou especially. “For once, I’m going to ignore that you just said that.” The brown haired girl said, turning to face Xander. “I don’t know how we would fix…” She paused, waving her hands in the two general directions, “that.”

Tiffany gently rocked herself, “I mean, if they were forced to be together, maybe that would help.” She suggested to which the table hummed in agreement.

“I know if Gladys told them to be partners on something, they wouldn't be able to argue it.” Jorge nodded to his own words, crossing his arms on the table, “That woman is scary.” He spoke lowly, staring down as if he was getting some sort of flashback to every horrifying thing their camp owner has ever done.

Xanders eyes brightened up and he stood up suddenly, “I have an idea.” He told everyone before rushing off, leaving the group at the table with no explanation.

Before the end of the day, Xander was walking into the cafeteria with the menacing woman herself. She looked…bored to say the least. 

“Campers!” She yelled out, causing the attention to be drawn to her immediately, which she genuinely enjoyed. She sighed before scratching at her leg that was shown under her cargo shorts, “We’re having a camp activity in a few days, something of the sorts of an ‘adventure quest’.” She told the campers surrounding her, air quotes around ‘adventure quest’. Gladys rolled her neck a bit before continuing, “I need two campers to go out to one of our set up camps about half an hour from here to gatherer the supplies from this list.” She explained, paper list in hand  

No one raised their hands so Xander coughed a bit, before whispering into Gladys’s ear.

The woman rolled her eyes and pointed to you, “You, and…” She trailed off, looking around before her sharp gaze set on Ravi, “you.” She spoke, pushing the list into Ravis chest before walking off, not letting either of you argue with the decision. “And you need to leave today! Supplies will be provided by your counselors!” She yelled out her final demand before her footsteps got quieter by the second.

The cafeteria was silent as they watched you and Ravi Ross glare at each other. Everyone was highly concerned whether either of you would return from this trip since neither of you are very team friendly with one another.

Not another word was passed between anyone as you and Ravi walked out, in silence, to your own cabins. Xander and Lou looked at each other, a bit of worry in their glance but they hoped it would work. You two were responsible enough to at least take care of one another if the time came, right?...Right?

Lou sent you on your way with a backpack full of camping gear just in case it took longer to get to the camping site. It was pretty late in the day so she wanted to be safe rather than sorry. She sent you off with ‘Be safe’, ‘Don’t kill each other’, ‘If you see the cases of sodas we hid there, bring back a few cans.”

When you finally walked out of your cabin, away from Lou’s smothering, you found Ravi getting the exact same treatment from Xander, an equally heavy bag on his back. The sight was honestly kind of funny, Xanders hands gripping Ravis shoulders as he gave him a stern ‘talking to’.

After the warnings ended, Ravi turned to go to your cabin, but noticed you were already ready, grin on your face. 

“What’s so funny?”

Your smile dropped, “Let’s just go.” You spoke, turning to the trail path, Ravi following with no complaints as he wanted to get this over with as quick as possible. The two of you passed by your friends and other campers waving you off and wishing you well, telling you both to be careful, which you both would try to.

Once you got to the path, you were met with a fork in the road almost immediately. Ravi suggested right, near the deeper portion of the forest where you’d be able to find more signs for where the campsite was. You suggested left where you guys were closer to the shore of the lake.

Both of you knew that either direction would lead to the camp site since it was just ahead, it wasn’t in the middle of the forest, but it wasn’t on the beach. 

After a bit of debating, you decided to choose Ravis way. His way was helpful as you saw the arrow signs directing you both to the site. You guys were making good time, the sun hadn’t set and you guys were almost there, you were almost hopeful.

Almost. And that almost was crushed the moment Ravi stopped walking.

You nearly ran into his back before stepping to the side, “Why’d you sto-” Your sentence was interrupted when you saw the large sign practically screaming at them ‘WAY BLOCKED, UNSAFE TRAIL’

Both of you groaned, and looked around for another way.

Ravi huffed, “If we go back without even getting to the camp in the first place, Gladys will have our heads.”

“You don’t think I know that?” You snarled, rolling your eyes. “Let’s just try to find a way around.” You spoke, stepping around to find a different trail that went the same direction, but was longer than the original one.

Walking, walking, and more walking with extremely heavy bags and short patience, wasn’t fun. 

“Why did we have to go this way specifically?” Ravi asked, knowing there were two other paths that could have potentially been better than this one.

“Because it’s easier.” you answered quickly, stepping forward, looking around more, using the lasting sunlight to get as far as you could.

“No, it’s no-”

You quickly turned around to face him, “Im sorry.” You spoke suddenly.

“You’re…sorry?” Ravi asked, clearly confused from his expression and tone of voice.

You nodded, “Yes, I’m sorry that you're such a control freak that you can't have anyone but yourself have their way.” You told him with a tilt of your head, a glare forming on your face.

Ravi gave you a sarcastic laugh before pushing past you, continuing to walk. “If you only have insults to spit out, just be quiet.” He told you without turning around.

You simply rolled your eyes before following him.

It was getting dark, dark enough to the point you guys couldn’t see where you were going and you felt like you were going in circles.

Ravi hit his forehead slightly, “You’re the reason that we’re lost, you don’t even know where this trail leads!” He suddenly groaned out, turning towards you, you thought. You couldn't tell, it was pitch black. 

“We’re in the woods, I think we have bigger problems than ‘who got us lost’.” You started, pulling your bag off your back to pull the tent. “Which is you by the way.”

“How is this my fault?” Ravi asked, doing the same as you, pulling out flashlights so neither of you would mess something up with the excuse of it being nightfall.

“You took over walking in the front, you lead us deeper into the woods.”

“And you didn’t want to speak up?”

You turned and faced him, puffing out your chest and holding up your finger, “If you have nothing but insults to say, just be quiet.” You repeated his words before rolling your eyes and turning back to putting up your tent. 

Ravi simply scoffed and went to get firewood, deciding not to talk to you because he felt as if his head was being constantly twisted past its limit when speaking to you.

Over time, he got the fire started, and pulled out some food to cook for you to choose from. You found a pretty good stone slab to set one of your prepared towels onto so you weren’t just placing food on the forest rocks. You also pulled a few snacks out of your bag, tossing a few to Ravi without a word. He turned to you with furrowed brows, confused by your sudden act but you were turned towards the fire, already beginning to fix up the food you guys had brought along.

You both sat in a tense but a more comfortable silence than either of you were used to.

Ravi broke the silence, looking up at you for a moment before looking back down to the snacks he just opened as he waited for you to be done with cooking. “I still think we could’ve taken another path.”

“And I’m still sure the path I chose is less deadly and still faster even though we’re camping out.” You answered, the light glistening in your eyes. 

There was no response to that, so you left it at that…until you heard rustling.

You looked back and noticed only one tent was set up, yours. Ravi seemed to be having trouble with his and you couldn’t even find it in you to laugh, because it really was late. 

“Do you need help?”

“No.”

“It’s been half an hour-”

“I don’t need your help, okay?”

You blinked at him before taking the food off the fire so you wouldn’t burn it. You stood up, brushing yourself off, “You are so incredibly stubborn, to the point that it’s ridiculous.” You stated, walking to him and helping him put in the rods, ignoring his protests. “You hate asking for help, even when you really need it.” You continued on, snapping at him to move to the other side to which he reluctantly followed. “You think you need to do everything yourself, fix everything yourself, for what?” You asked him, finishing the seemingly simple set up of his tent.

Ravi shook his head, choosing to ignore you, sitting on the side of the campfire. 

“It’s as if you think no one sees how hard you’re working, trust me everyone sees it.” You grumbled, crossing your arms as you walked to the other side of the camp fire, “It’s infuriating how hard you try with something you really don’t need to put that much effort in.”

“What about you? Huh?” Ravi interrupted, tilting his head, stepping closer to you. “You just blank on people.”

“Blank on-?”

“When you believe you failed at something, it’s like you go dark in your head .” Ravi explained, expression hardened. “What’s up with that?” He asked, raising a brow. “You do so well in everything and when you don’t get the results you want, you shut down.” 

You blinked at him and looked him up and down, “Why do you watch me so hard to notice that I get into my head?”

“Why do you observe me to the point you notice how hard I work?”

There was silence from the two of you, just a stare from across a dancing fire. A stare of two campers who believed they were comfortable in each other's hate, that they didn’t notice how much they really knew each other more than anyone.

Ravi seemed to be the person who spoke up more, which was surprising, but at the same time it wasn’t. 

He looked away, tongue poking the inside of his cheek, “I don’t ask for help because my parents weren’t much help.” He spoke, sniffling ever so slightly as a distraction to his far off gaze.

“What do you mean?”

“Me and the majority of my siblings are adopted.” He told you, finally turning to look back at you, not expecting your eyes to already be on him. "Since my parents are famous, they have to be gone a lot, so we had nannies.” He began to explain, swallowing harshly, “Those nannies took care of us more than our parents did.”

You furrowed your brows, “So, them sending you to camp…?”

“It's like another nanny situation.” He answered, sighing a bit. “We had nannies as we grew up, and our last nanny was our longest nanny, she was great.” He told you with a small smile, “She was there for years, and honestly was the best person who deserved only great things.” He explained to you fondly to which you listened. “She left so our parents could stay for good, but clearly, that didn’t last that long.”

Your expression formed into something Ravi couldn’t explain, he couldn’t tell if you were sad for him, felt sympathy, but the feeling was comforting since he never really talked to his own siblings about this.

“What I’m trying to say is that there’s a freedom you have when you feel as if you’ve been abandoned.” He swallowed harshly as he tried to explain, “It just kind of sucked because I already felt as if I was abandoned as a child since there was a need for me to be adopted. Going through that twice isn't a good feeling.” Ravi told you, trying to laugh through it. “I don’t ask for help, because I didn’t really get help until our recent nanny, and now that she’s gone, I just don’t have that kind of easy connection to ask anymore.”

You hummed a bit, “I wasn’t necessarily saying you not asking for help is a terribly bad thing.” You told him slowly, tilting your head to the side as you looked away from him. “It’s admirable, you do things on your own, you’re intelligent, I know you’re capable of more than the average person.” You complimented him, to both of your surprise.

Ravi continued to listen, adjusting himself to be more comfortable.

“I was just saying that because it’s worrying.” You answered truthfully. “We keep our conversations short, I know, but I still see you working on millions of projects a day.” You explained, smoothing out your knitted brows, “I’m worried you’re going to drop and that’s when people are going to notice that you’re overworking yourself on things you shouldn’t be overworking yourself on.” You told him, puffing air out of your cheeks.

The boy across the fire nodded a bit at your words, “You weren’t telling me to stop trying so hard because you thought I was irritating, you were saying it because…”

“Camp is where you can relax for a minute, you don’t have to prove yourself in anything that much.” You completed his thought for him. “You are a try hard and it’s annoying, because it’s concerning.”  

“Well, since we’re sharing concerns, why do you shut down?” Ravi asked you, wondering if you’d answer or not.

You chuckled a bit before inhaling deeply, “If things don’t go perfectly for me, I feel as if it was better not trying at all.”

“Why?”

“Because everything I’ve ever done to this point was never good enough unless it was absolutely perfect.”

Ravi hummed a bit, nodding, “Was it because of family?”

You nodded with a bit of a scrunched nose, “It’s hard to let go of what your parents put onto you for your entire life, when they’re not around.” You answered honestly, waving at a few bugs around. “If I don’t get everything perfect, what use will I be to anyone?”

“You’re plenty of use.” Ravi interrupted your words, “You help everyone at camp, even the counselors, even Gladys.” He began to list off, scratching at his neck. “I notice that you get in your head, but now that you’re telling me this�� you’re comparing yourself to a standard you’ll never reach.”

“Perfection is reachable, actually, if you try hard enough.”

“Not at camp kikiwaka where the boats are about to fall apart and the food barely looks edible.” He answered with a slightly straight face.

His blank tone and expression caused you to burst out into laughter and nod, “I guess you’re right.”

It was a sudden camp trip where suddenly the two of you felt like you could actually talk to each other. A night of camping where you both realize you had more in common than you actually thought.

A night where neither of you minded that you would be spending extra time with one another to get to the other campsite and back to kikiwaka.

You smiled at Ravi, the food now done as you exchanged stories about your friends and activities you’ve done over the summer. “You know, even though I’m sure we’re lost, I guess I’m glad it’s with you.”

Ravi chuckled and shook his head, rolling his eyes playfully, “Me too.”

[cjsmalley]

Wished Away 7:

Happy Thanksgiving (Early, I Know, Shut up):

“Father, Mother, and Uncle Tucker wish to invite you to our Thanksgiving meal,” Damian said.

“Are you sure?” Bruce asked, “we’re a lot.”

Even without Damian, Bruce had many children and cooking for all of them was sometimes a tall order.

Damian smiled, “We are aware. You are not the only family we are inviting. Every child Father, Mother, and Uncle Tucker has taken in we have invited along with their remaining family if they have any. Even the non-Americans have been invited.”

“We’d be delighted to come,” Alfred said for his family, “should we bring anything?”

“You may,” Damian agreed, “however, the chefs and cooks of the Palace will be preparing the main meal. It will be mostly meatless. Seitan mostly, in observance with mine and Mother’s dietary needs and our beliefs. It will also be made in-line with kosher regulations.”

“Cookies,” Jason said, looking at Alfred, “we can make vegan cookies.”

“Very well, Master Jason,” Alfred nodded, already planning for such a large batch, or several batches.

Damian grinned.

Thanksgiving Day arrived and the portal opened.

They filed through and were greeted by Sam, the younger Sam on her hip, “Happy Thanksgiving.”

Sammy just waved shyly, gaining fond chuckles.

They all echoed the sentiment and were led through the palace to one of the ballrooms, “Not even the large dining room is big enough to hold our horde,” she said with humor.

“Oh?”

“Everyone invited came,” Sam explained before visibly remembering, “Oh, and any red wine you see? Not red wine; we have a vampire in attendance. He eats human food but not really.”

“Of course,” Bruce nodded; only Dick was of age to drink, of his children, but neither one really drank. Still, it was good to know.

“’m assuming the vamp’s friendly?” Jason voiced.

“Friendly as in doesn’t eat humans anymore, yeah,” Sam nodded, “but, well, Spike’s Spike. You’ll understand once you meet him. Don’t go after his humans and he’s nice enough.”

“Fair enough,” Stephanie nodded.

“Also in attendance are a Vampire Slayer, several witches and wizards, two magic superheroes…basically everyone you met at Damian’s birthday party’s here. I know Spike wasn’t there; he had to babysit the Hellmouth that day, so he’s really the only new face. Him and his daughter, Hope.”

“Vampires can have—”

“She’s adopted, from a separate dimension. Danny brought her to the Hellmouth group to hide her. She’s being raised by Buffy and Spike.”

“Oh.”

They finally made it to the ballroom; the doors were wide open; servants rushed forward to relieve the Waynes of the platters of cookies they carried before they entered the room.

Most of the room was divided down the middle by a cartoonishly long dining table, bench seating on either side of it. Settings were already in place.

In one corner was a padded and gated off area where Anakin and the baby that could only be Hope played. Well, played as only young babies could, which wasn’t much.

Dotted around the room were small clusters of regular chairs and beanbag chairs, some of which were already occupied, surrounding small tables with pitchers of water and juices and, yes, blood.

Spike the vampire was easy to pick out from the masses because he had a glass of what looked like red wine in hand. Nobody else did.

The Waynes spread out, first finding Damian to say hello, then mingling and visiting with the friends made at the birthday party.

Bruce made his way towards the vampire.

“’Lo,” Spike greeted lowly over his drink, Buffy at his side.

“Hello, Buffy,” Bruce said before smiling with a closed mouth, “and you must be Spike. Bruce Wayne.”

“Not an ape, mate,” Spike snorted, “won’t attack if you smile at me. Sit down, take a load off. Hear you’re Batman. The real deal one.”

“I am,” Bruce took a seat, reaching to fill a cup with orange juice, “where did you hear it from?”

“Dawn was excited; her little brother’s bio-dad is Batman,” Buffy explained, rolling her eyes fondly, “one of my friends, Xander, is a big comic book nerd.”

“Ah. I assume there won’t be any problems?”

“Not from us,” Spike agreed, nudging Buffy with a smirk, “my girl here’s a superhero too. Won’t be any trouble from our lot. Right, Slayer?”

“Yep. No problems from us. If Danny and Sam are good with you being…you know, you then we’re good,” Buffy nodded, “just as long as you don’t put Dawnie or Hope in a suit.”

“I don’t want them out there,” Bruce grumbled, “but if I didn’t help them, they’d all be dead by now.”

“We get it, honestly,” Buffy assured, “Dawn’s given us enough gray hair,” she grinned mischievously at Spike, “she’s even given Billy Idol here some.”

“Slayer, you know that pissant stole—”

Bruce laughed.

Everyone mingled and chatted for a few hours before the meal began; servant after servant carried food and drinks to the main table as everyone found seats on the benches.

Spike and Danny placed the babies into highchairs.

By the time everything and everyone was ready, the table was fairly groaning with the meal.

Danny gained everyone’s attention, standing and grinning, “Welcome to Thanksgiving Dinner at the Palace. Thank you all for coming, even our non-Americans for putting up with our silly traditions.”

The non-Americans laughed fondly, nodding; even Alfred cracked a smile.

“For those who’re probably wondering,” he continued, “our essential living staff celebrated at lunch and most will have the day off tomorrow. Everyone else had the day off today. Now, normally we’d go around and say what we’re thankful for but we’d be here forever if we did that tonight. So, while we eat let’s just think about what we’re thankful for and enjoy the food and the company. Oh, and just so you know, everything’s kosher and most of the ‘meat’ is actually Seitan. Real meat is on the green platters. But before we begin, let’s give a round of thanks to the kitchen staff for making the food!”

Everyone applauded.

“Now, tuck in!”

They all did so with gusto; the meal was magnificent and it was clear the Palace staff had put their all into it.

Most of the Seitan was shaped into meat product appearances, looking indistinguishable from the real turkeys and hams. And it tasted almost like the real things too.

The meal lasted well into the night and everyone went home stuffed and with leftovers.

[wish-i-were-heather]

DRUNK ON YOUR LOVE ⤵ JAMESON HAWTHORNE X READER

ABOUT: 1410 words, no use of y/n

STORY: jameson calls you on a night out with his brothers... drunk.

WARNINGS: none, just jameson being a drunk idiot

A/N: THIS IS A REPOST OF MY OWN FIC!!! I'm posting it again because my account got deleted, but I still want to keep all my fics on my blog. Thanks to everyone for helping me get this all back.

1:53 A.M.

You woke up to the sound of your phone ringing. You almost just closed your eyes and ignored it, your half asleep brain thinking it was your morning alarm, until you opened your eyes and saw the color of a face, someone's contact photo, but you were still too tired to process who.

Forcing yourself to sit up, you reached over and answered the call, not knowing who it was. “Hm, what do you want?”

There was too much noise from the other end. People talking, glasses clicking, and music playing. But then his voice. “Heyyyyy,” Jameson said, his words heavily slurred. “I miss you.”

You blinked a few times and then realized what was happening. You checked the contact and sure enough it was your boyfriend- the name read Jamie and it was a picture of him from that one time you two went ax throwing. 

“You miss me?” You asked. “Where are your brothers?” He scoffed. “Oh, they’re here. Don’t worry. But I wouldn’t be surprised if they left me because sometimes they’re really big… uh… meanies.” You try not to laugh. 

“I- uh, I just wanted to call you and tell you I love you and you’re so pretty and you make me happy. You make me feel like, um, like a puzzle. But when you finish it. You… finish me?” “Save the poetry for when you’re sober, Jameson,” You hear Grayson mutter in the background. “Not that it’d be any better, but at least you’d comprehend my insults.”

“See?” Jameson cried. “Meanies!”

You rolled your eyes. “Is that why you called me, babe? Because you miss me and Grayson is mean?”

“Well also because I… I miss you a lot. And I wish you were here but you’re not. I saw someone who looked like you-” He gasps as if he appalled himself. “Well, they didn’t look like you. No one looks like you, you’re too pretty. But she had the same hair and I was really excited but then Nash told me it wasn’t you so now I’m sad.”

At this point there was no holding back your laughs. “Right, right. Where is Nash right now? He’s not left you alone like this, has he?”

“No, no, Nash is here. And even if he wasn’t Gray and Xander are so- hey!” His voice grew quieter on the phone. “Hey!”

There’s a moment of shuffling and then silence. Then a new voice speaks. 

“Hey darlin, it’s me. Your boyfriend had a bit too much to drink.”

You sigh in relief hearing Nash’s voice, just because you know someone is responsible there. “Yeah, I can tell. Do I need to come pick him up?” “No, don’t worry. I haven’t had anything to drink so I’m driving us home. You don’t need to-”

“But I want her!” You hear Jameson whine. “I want her, I love her, I need her now! Because- because I need her so bad, I need to-” “Jeez, shut up,” you make out Xander interrupt.

If the four brothers go out, it’s never not chaotic. 

“It’s fine, Nash,” you told him, sitting up and slipping on your shoes. “I’ll come get him. You can stay with Xander and Grayson and not have to deal with him spouting nonsense any longer.”

He laughs. “Alright, if you say so. Careful driving in the dark, hm?”

~~ 

You step out of the car and make your way into the bar, looking around for him. And soon enough do you see the familiar brown head of hair, now much more messy than it was when he left the house, practically bouncing up and down when he finds you. You start walking towards him, but Jameson practically sprints to you and wraps his arms around you in the world’s tightest hug. “Mm, missed you, babygirl.” His hands find their way to your hips, resting there. “Love you.”

Before you can even respond, he then goes in and kisses you on the lips, claiming your mouth with his. Then he pulls away and starts kissing all over your face. You couldn’t help but giggle, trying to push him away. “Jamie, stop it. You’re drunk, we’re in public.” “But I missed you.” “I missed you too. But can you at least wait till we're home so Grayson isn’t glaring at us?”

Jameson turned around to his brother and flipped him off. Grayson returned the gesture. 

“Okay, okay,” you sighed, grabbing your boyfriend’s wrist and bringing his hand down. “Put that thing away. Now you’re becoming the mean one.” You gave Grayson an awkward smile as if to make up for it. Not that he cared much anyway- drunk Jameson Hawthorne wasn’t necessarily a once in a lifetime occurrence. 

With only a little struggle, you managed to get Jameson off of you, though he insisted on keeping an arm around your shoulders. It was probably for the best, actually, because he couldn’t stand up on his own.

Nash approached the two of you, helping adjust Jameson to lean in a more comfortable position against you. “Sorry we let him… y’know. Get like this.”

You shrugged. “I don’t mind. He can be annoying sometimes, but it’s kinda cute.”

“You think I’m cute?” Jameson practically shouted.

“Yeah, adorable. Come on, let's get you home.”

He grinned, almost falling over. “Whatever you say, beautiful.” 

~~ 

It was a hassle to get him into the car and buckle up, then to get him to sit still the whole drive, then to get him out of the car. But you did it, despite his constant affection. You loved it, of course, but he was being a bit much. 

You helped Jameson get to bed and he laid down with a groan, almost hitting his head on the headrest. Without speaking, you began to take off his shoes in an attempt to make him more comfortable. You figured he was half asleep already anyway. 

Until you slipped off his suit jacket. It wasn’t worth changing his clothes entirely, since he probably wouldn’t cooperate, but you wanted to at least do something. As you took off the jacket, his half-lidded eyes looked up at you with a crooked smile. “Whatcha tryna do there, huh?

“Getting you comfortable. Don’t get any ideas.”

“Oh, I have a lot of ideas.”

You rolled your eyes affectionately. “Save them for the morning.” You folded his suit jacket and set it on the dresser. Jameson wasn’t done talking. “But I don’t wanna wait. I want you, I want you now…” “Hm, too bad. Tomorrow, promise. But right now you’re drunk.”

“Hmph, fine,” he grumbled, rolling onto his side to face away from you like a grumpy toddler. You were almost tempted to record it- just for him to see in the morning, not for anyone else to see… probably. But you didn’t. Jameson deserved some shred of his dignity left after the other embarrassing things he’d done while drunk. And the things he was forced to do after not answering a 911 text from Xander. 

Plus, you wouldn’t do something like that to your boyfriend. You loved him too much. 

You checked the time. 2:39. It had been almost an hour. And it was very late. You should probably get back to sleep. 

So you decided to change back into your pajamas, which you’d changed out of when you left to pick him up. Even if he was busy pretending to be mad at you, you could feel Jameson’s eyes on you as you undressed. Yet another laugh escaped you as you knew he was watching you, no doubt enjoying the view. 

Ugh, how you loved him.

When you looked back, Jameson immediately turned back around as if he was caught in the act. You sighed, amused with his drunken antics, and laid down in the empty space next to him. 

“I’ll be right here when you need me, Jamie.”

He doesn’t respond. The two of you just laid there together, even if you weren’t speaking. After a while, you thought he’d finally fallen asleep, and decided to get more comfortable and close your eyes.

That’s when he rolled over, eyes still closed, and wrapped his arms around you. He placed his head in your lap and sighed contently, not saying anything. There was no need for words. No need for explanation.

Jameson Hawthorne loved you.

He may have been drunk out of his mind, but he was sure of it.

the writing above belongs to me. please do not copy, modify, repost on other sites or claim as your own. © 2024 wish-i-were-heather

[theredpharaoah]

Watching The Normies react to “Potential” and I wish they had actually made Dawn the Potential. Especially since that girl ends up dying anyway. The comics have Dawn go on to be this super interdimensional being with powers related to being the key, but the show didn’t do that. After Season 5 Dawn’s character is kinda just there. Dawn was this entirely magical being who never got any powers or really had a chance to participate in fights and whatnot. Her being a Potential would’ve made so much sense as she was literally made from the blood of an activated and fully mature Slayer.

And even if they didn’t do this, I at least wish they’d had the message be different. When Dawn thought she had the power, she HAD the power. Xander could’ve gave his speech and then Dawn could’ve either replied right then with that, or figured it out 2 episodes later and told him. I’m pretty sure I’ve said this before but I love Dawn’s character and I wish they���d done more with her.

It also doesn’t make sense that it was that girl based on how the spell acted? If it was looking for that girl then I feel like it would’ve left the house. Instead, it sits in the middle of the house and only moves towards the door when Dawn goes there. And it’s to the point that it literally lifts Dawn up off the floor. It didn’t go through the door it looked like it went into Dawn and then subsided. And we didn’t hear the other girl get slammed up against the other side of the door? I liked this girl but I still think it would’ve been better if it was Dawn.

I also don’t like Xander’s speech all that much when I dig a little deeper. Willow wasn’t born a super powerful witch. She worked to that. Remember Willow in Seasons 2 and 3? I wouldn’t even say she had an aptitude for witchcraft. Willow was just smart and put her mind to becoming a witch cuz she was interested in it. To me, Xander CHOSE to be mediocre. And he proved many times throughout the show that he had the potential to be more. Remember in School Hard and many other times where he’s literally fist fighting vamps? He could’ve and should’ve been at least like Robin Wood by the time Season 7 came around. And I say at least because even though Robin was trained by a Watcher, Xander would’ve had Giles, Buffy, Willow, and Tara to act as collaborators and teachers. Not to mention all the hands on experience he got fighting demons and stopping apocalypses. Xander let his own insecurity control him and he found a way to make peace with that. He then taught Dawn to do that too. He basically said “ Because they’re all special, we have to be average”. The only boxes you’ll find yourself in are the ones others put you in, the ones you put yourself in, or the ones you let others put you in. And considering Xander’s abusive household, I wonder how much that played into it. Willow was extremely scholarly and she and Oz who helped a lot with her self worth issues(caused by her emotionally abusive parents). She then became a witch and that kinda dealt with any self worth issues. Xander didn’t have that. And you guys know I don’t like Xander all that much. 😭

[coraniaid]

Anne is such a well constructed episode.  It’s not the best season opener (that’s Bargaining) and it’s not my favorite season opener (probably When She Was Bad), and if you’re feeling cynical you could argue it’s at least partly a pilot for the Angel spin-off series in disguise (since … it is?), but it’s just so well put together and full of so much foreshadowing and symbolism and references to previous episodes.  I really like it and I really liked rewatching it, almost more than I was expecting to.

The last time I watched it I remember being annoyed by the fact it didn’t focus entirely on Buffy in LA.  I thought the scenes set back in Sunnydale were a distraction from her story: I don’t care about Xander and Cordelia’s relationship and I don’t care about the Scoobies' attempt to stake one very obliging random vampire.   And yet, for some reason, this time around I felt a lot better disposed to this half of the episode.  I do still think it would have been interesting to have a whole episode away from Buffy’s friends, and that the Sunnydale plotline is a lot less intense than what’s going on in LA. But I think it’s a mistake to conclude the scenes in Sunnydale are a waste of time or don’t do something important.

The juxtaposition between a Buffyless Sunndale and a Buffy who’s stopped being Buffy felt a lot more deliberate this time around, whether that meant cutting directly to Buffy’s dream about Angel after Willow said she wished she knew where she was, or the way the big, noisy crowd at the first day of school hard cuts to Buffy sitting alone in silence in her tiny rented room, or Joyce asking Giles “and who exactly is she?” right before Lily comes back to the diner to ask Buffy for help.  And, having set up this pattern, the fact that we never once cut back to Sunnydale while Buffy and Lily are trapped in the hell dimension suddenly feels weirdly claustrophobic, and makes that final jump back to Joyce at home at the end work a lot better than it otherwise would. 

I also really really like Lily.  As Chanterelle in Lie To Me she wasn’t really given much to do, but Julia Lee is really good here as – not quite a proto-Faith, but another alternate Buffy who’s quietly hinted to have a pretty horrible backstory.  That pause after Buffy asks her “what do they call you at home?” speaks volumes, as does the way she assures Buffy she wouldn’t tell anyone about who she is or where to find her because “I know how it is when you’ve got to get lost”, or how quickly she resigns herself to believing they’re in hell later because she “always knew she belonged here”.

And, almost at the same time, she’s also a great comic foil (asking Buffy if she can “come with her” right after agreeing that they should split up, or coming back to apologize to her when she's meant to be getting away "in case we die").  I love that she gets to push Ken off the balcony mid-speech (in fact, I almost think the episode would be stronger if that really was the last we saw of Ken: I’m not sure his reappearance later just to be killed by Buffy herself really adds much).  And I love the argument about Rickie’s death (that isn’t really about Rickie) that she has with Buffy: “he didn’t do anything wrong, why would this happen to him?” versus “These things happen all the time. You can’t just close your eyes and hope they’re going to go away.”

I really like the fact that Lily (as Anne Steele) goes on to be a minor character on Angel, but I do wish we’d had some hint that Buffy really had stayed in touch with her after this episode the way she promises she will.  Once again I am imploring the Buffy writers, decades after the fact, to please let Buffy have a few more friends. 

(Oh, and, look: neither Buffy nor Lily get magically pregnant and die this episode!  The possibility doesn’t even come up!  Maybe this wasn’t a stealth Angel pilot after all...)

And I've not even touched on the wonderfully unsubtle foreshadowing of Ken’s repeated lines about kids “getting old fast here”, or the way this episode almost acts as a proto-Bargaining (with Willow very clearly taking charge of the group in Buffy’s absence, even taking on the Slayer role in the pre-credits scene), or Oz throwing his stake at a retreating vampire and then ruefully noting that “that just never works” as it bounces harmlessly wide, or just how much everyone in Sunnydale seems to miss Buffy in their own different ways, or Larry insisting this is the football team’s year if only they can “keep discipline, maintain focus and not have quite so many mysterious deaths”.  Or that last shot of Buffy back home, and how it’s deliberately framed from her mom's perspective rather than her own.

Honestly, I just think Season 3 is so good and I love it so much (I furiously remind myself, knowing that Dead Man’s Party is up next and will try its best to convince me I’m wrong…)

[zscyber]

Cut section from the next chapter (18) of TDAD

I realized this flashback section wasn't needed, but since it was already written (though unedited) I figured it wouldn't hurt to put it here for anyone interested.

(minor spoilers if you're not up-to-date with chapter 17)

“We have to leave,” Lydia said as Tikala and Hilda worked to create a barrier around the village. The locals had rose for battle at an impressive speed, some wielding weapons and others standing beside their Nexomon. While some might say the Renegades should stay and help the village after the more-than-generous hospitality they’d been shown, she was confident those of the forest could handle themselves.

The rest of Parum, however? Her home on the Drake Isles? That she was a little less confident about. While Parum City and Lateria had their walls for defense (as did the Frozen Tundra, somewhat), none were set up for an onslaught like this.

(There also just wasn’t enough room with the dense trees and denser canopy for all five Tyrants to fight. Especially Petram, who had spent the day trying to disturb the forest floor as little as possible while they were out and Mulcimer, who had remained in his trap since Jin arrived in the very flammable area.)

“Agreed.” Jin had, reluctantly, taken an offered walking stick to use as a makeshift cane while in the village. “The warp stone here is active, correct?”

Celine shifted her weight between her feet. “It is, but are we backing up the kiddo? I’d assume she’s still in Parum City, but-“

“She is not.” Hilda glided over, still glowing slightly from whatever witch powers she was using. “The Queen and her friends have left to confront Ziegler and Xanders, and they are not in place you can reach via the warp stones. However, the Drake Isles, Palmaya, New Ignitia, and Cadium are all under assaults led by Ziegler’s Wardens, while Parum City, Lateria, and the Frozen Tundra are being swarmed.”

“We’ll split up, then,” Jin decided. “Parum City has the most tamers, as well as Vados. I propose we each take one of the remaining cities, based on where we’d have the strongest advantages.” He glanced around the general area of their group, though he missed Logan, who was off to the side. “That would be New Ignitia for myself and Mulcimer. The Drake Isles for Lydia and Eurus. Cadium for Logan and Bolzen. Celine and Petram could help Palmaya or Lateria-”

“I’ll take Lateria,” the dark-haired woman said. “It’s easier for Petram and my other Nexomon to fight in the desert. If they don’t need me, then I’ll head to Palmaya, but I’m sure Merida’s already there. We’d just get in her way.”

“In all likelihood, there will be nothing much Bolzen or I can do,” Lydia heard Logan mutter to himself. The electric-type Tyrant (and the only one currently out of its trap) buzzed. “Yes, yes. I know there’s no point trying to get out of it. I was just stating a fact.”

“What about the Frozen Tundra?” Lydia asked Jin. “If Merida’s in Palmaya, that means there’s no Tyrants there. Their defenses aren’t that good. I think Edward was heading there earlier, and I can try and order one of my drakes, but…” She tapped on her visor, switching the display. “It looks like they’re already spread out and fighting.” Minus Mystogen, Glamond, and Boscage, who were in the mountains behind the Guild…. Where Xanders was set up.

Ah. That’s where Regina and the other kids were.

Wonderful.

A loud ‘Ha?!’ came from behind the purplette, and she turned to find Atlanta standing there, still wearing Logan’s coat. “What’da ya mean ‘what ‘bout the Tundra?’ Obviously me n’ Nivalis will take it.”

“Atlanta,” Celine tried to caution. “You’re still injured. No one will blame you for sitting this one out.” (Noticing that Logan looked like he was about to comment, and knowing that comment would almost certainly not be helpful, Lydia subtly walked over and jabbed the man in the arm with her elbow.)

The youngest Renegade snorted. “Yeah, Nivalis already tried that n’ you’re not convincing me either. I want my payback, indirectly or not.”

[teotalksaboutstuff]

Danganronpa Despair Time Chapter 2: Episodes 3, 4, and 5

Episode 3

-so no teruko traitor reveal? pog 

-monotv’s incompetence makes him my favorite host of any killing game. reminds me a lot of danganronpa: safety’s on, basically DR1 but Monokuma is about as incompetent as MonoTV is. it’s a great read, highly reccommended.

-teruko being bad at caulking a bathroom is so me. also of course monotv isn’t going to reveal the information but him not knowing it himself is interesting.

-hey, nice caulk.

-people changing clothes being this big thing is very funny

-charles’ straight up phobia of blood is uh... there’s clearly something deeper going on here

-teruko, put the fucking knife away. as much as it’s within reason that you’d be this paranoid, this does make you look like you are trying to murder Charles here, at least to him.

-id love to know whose motive Charles had, now that Teruko’s got it.

-loving charles and teruko actually being friends of some sort now that their positions have basically reversed since chapter 1.

-Chiteruko? i actually like the idea of those three as a polycule and want to see more whit/teruko interactions.

-MonoTV jumping on charles XD

-teruko playing with cacti i literally cannot???? best scene in chapter 2 by FAR

-living for the eden jumpscare here

-THE EDEN GREMLIN SPRITE MAKES ITS APPEARANCE. GOD I LOVE HER.

-Eden’s hope speech is also iconic. Her knowing the world is kinda fucked but still being kind anyways is something Teruko clearly needed to hear.

Episode 4

-what is the tea

-the gurlz are fighting

-naur

-teruko sandwich duck face

-ace markey, the ultimate allistic

-by all rules of danganronpa arei should have died here, and i am so grateful monotv isn’t competent enough to actually enforce the rules but at the same time is arei the mastermind? ofc he wouldn’t kill the mastermind.

-veronika living for the fights is also very me

-’you’ve been acting jerkishly as well’ eden she is literally being deadnamed and STALKED are you blind. J is 100% in the right here.

-nico fucking roasting ace is funny, and i get why he’d think its constructive criticism because i too am autistic and would think much the same.

-see, veronika gets it

-when death threats are the only way to properly resolve an argument

-arei lashing out at monotv is iconic tbh

-jesus christ arei yeah that reaction is a sensible one given your circumstances

-”hey, just so you know, failed hanging attempts are pretty painful” teruko wtf, im not entirely sure how that was intended to be helpful?

-we know what the tea is

-the gurlz are still fighting

-naur

-teruko has 99 problems and these bitchez aren’t about to be number 100

-charles making cucumber flowers is iconic

-DAVID YES YOU STEP IN THERE AND HELP THEM

-yeah people are gonna be... super hesitant about the motive secret thing, and teruko defo needs to talk to the person whose motive was originally charles’ as well as rose, whose she has

-see, j at least has the decency to ask the person before telling their secret

-eden has a dude’s motive secret evidently, maybe levi’s? that would be significant.

-who is the someone they’re inviting

Episode 5

-Arei’s typical ew reaction to everything, unsurprising. Makes sense she’d want to talk about motive though given her position.

-Granted leaving Arei out was before Xander died but nO AREI YOU ARE BECOMING A WORSE TERUKO LIKE AM I THE ONLY ONE NOTICING THE PARALLEL HERE OR AM I SEEING THEM WHERE THERE ARENT ANY?

-Teruko’s reaction being what it is does not surprise me.

-MORE AREI GREMLIN SPRITES WOOT

-oh wow arei actually wasn’t bluffing when she said she had nothing to hide

-is _ illegal nahhhh let arei be a girlboss yall just dont want to see women win

-teruko please stop acting as if you have any moral high ground here 

-i mean unless something like this happened to you then thats another matter entirely

-the true arei trauma dump. contextualizes literally everything about her in a way that actually makes me fascinated with her as a wonderfully complex character. 

-naturally this would develop into a philosophy where kindness is weakness, yeah

-DAVREI??? FUCK YES I SHIP IT!!

-ah, rose time

-yass art therapy, but i can understand why teruko was so freaked out by it

-in all fairness i dont know how you would respond to someone saying the stuff rose was about teruko

-TERUKO THATS LIKE SAYING I HATE YOU TO AN ARTIST?? LIKE CMON TERUKO YOU ARE MAKING IT REALLY HARD FOR ME TO DEFEND YOU THIS CHAPTER

-naturally, rose is fine with the secret coming out. she even has her own trauma dump scene with teruko

-i mean we been knew that teruko didn’t actually mean any of that and now rose maybe does?

-nico was mother for that tbh

-please don’t forget him down there ;-;

-the implication that nico actually likes the teruko gore art is an interesting one

-loving how nico wants rose to teach him painting omg

[charlenasaxen]

Favorite Quotes - The Hawthorne Legacy

“As sure as anyone holding a sledgehammer has ever been.”

my dearest, darling older brother here can’t say a single word until I finish.”

“At which point, if I choose, I can invoke the sacred rite of Taeb Nwod.”

Grayson dusted an imaginary speck off the cuff of his suit. “I believe those rules expired when I was ten.”

“I recall no such expiration!” Xander volunteered.

I glared at Eli, who apparently had a very big mouth.

I followed Grayson. Eli followed me. To Grayson’s credit, he gave up trying to lose me pretty quickly.

Jameson crossed to stand in front of his brother, lowering his forehead until it touched Grayson’s. “I know, Gray,

Xander stopped. So did I—and four feet away, so did Eli.

“And you’re on my team? Not Jamie’s?” Xander gave me a look. “Not Gray’s?”

Xander raised his lone eyebrow

“Other than the fact that my stick-in-the-mud brother utterly refuses to play Drink or Dare while we wait?”

“Grayson has business cards—and yes, I mocked him mercilessly for that

Max said immediately. “Loss reverberates through all the players in her tragedy to this day? Yes, I remember Emily.”

“Jameson what?”

“Jameson when, Jameson where, Jameson who?” That was Jameson, in the background

“We have to go,” Grayson said with a great deal of dignity

either the conversation moved closer to the phone, or the phone moved closer to the conversation,

“I am not.” I could see Grayson in my mind’s eye, every muscle in his body taut

She punctuated the names with air quotes, like she suspected they were aliases, even though I had definitely mentioned both of them to her

beaned Xander with a croissant. “Holding out on us?” she demanded.

“I see our budding friendship has reached its croissant phase,” Xander told her. “I am pleased.”

“You’re also hiding things,”

a new SUV pulled up outside. Jameson stepped out first, then Grayson. Both of them were wearing sunglasses.

Oren had called him the team’s arctic specialist. Because every Texas billionaire needed an arctic specialist on their security team.

The man blamed our family for his nephew’s death. He slept with her out of spite. God knows why Skye did it, but I was the result.”

“Was Toby really the straw that broke the camel’s back—or was I?”

See? I don’t need you to hold me up. I turned back toward my friend Grayson

a clump of snow fell down from the roof, right at our feet.

I looked up just in time to see Jameson dropping. He landed beside me on skis, no poles in sight.

“Nice entrance,” Grayson told him dryly.

I found Max on Xander’s shoulders, inspecting the blades of a fan.

“He’s very tall,” Max told me approvingly. “And he’s only dropped me once!”

In the wake of that bombshell, Xander went to find Jameson and Grayson. Hours later, all three brothers returned from the slopes, looking scraped up

“Don’t bleed on that,” Grayson ordered.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,”

“What are your thoughts on vomiting in that vase?”

“You’re an idiot,” Grayson replied.

Xander said grandly, hobbling over to sit on the fireplace, “I won the Drop.”

Max told me. She smiled wickedly. “Very fine.” She nudged me again. “Jameson Hawthorne is in the hot tub.”

“If I weren’t so confident in our brotherly affection for each other,” Jameson replied languidly, “I would find that comment a bit pointed.”

“Pointed?” Xander repeated in faux horror. “Gray? Never.”

“Am I getting ready to see the crown jewels?” I was only partially joking.

“Of what country?” Oren replied—and he wasn’t joking at all.

“After all, the proper way of starting a conversation often involves lurking in your conversation partner’s closet.”

“Can we see it?” That was Xander, who had poked his head out of the bathroom

I placed her father’s wedding ring on an end table. I’d committed the date to memory. I’d gotten what I needed.

There was no reason for me to take this from her, too.

It was gentle and slow and terrifying and perfect. And for once in my life, I didn’t feel alone.

He plucked the marker from Jameson’s hand and stood. “That was a friendly tackle,” he assured me. “Mostly.”

When I knocked a single pin down, a breath left my chest. Grayson went next and lost his suit jacket.

“Thea was right. Rebecca’s mom is having a rough day. There was vodka involved.

my eyes were starting to sting. “And I think he’s my father.”

because the next thing I knew, Mrs. Laughlin was hugging me, holding on to me for dear life.

it might have actually been worse for her. “Don’t expect me to start calling you Aunt Rebecca.”

That was the exact instant that I realized that if Rebecca was my aunt, then Emily had been, too.

A muscle in Grayson’s jaw tightened slightly. It was a good enough look for him that it took me a second to realize that he was trying very hard not to laugh.

And, Grayson, you’re perfection.” Like he needed anyone else telling him that.

“I don’t want to hit anything,” I said in a tone that did absolutely nothing to sell that statement.

Grayson tilted his head to the side, and his eyes settled directly on mine. “How would you feel about swinging a sword?”

Grayson had a way of smiling: lips closed, slightly uneven

This was what it meant to be a Hawthorne. This should probably be in a museum, but my brothers and I like to hit things with it instead.

the movement so perfectly controlled that I was overcome with the sense that he could cut a hair in half if he wanted to

you were just too busy being an asshole to notice.”

Grayson gave me his most austere look. “Let’s try to avoid using the word asshole, shall we?”

And still he came closer, forcing my blade vertical, until there was nothing but inches

“What are we doing?” I whispered.

His eyes closed. His body shuddered.

Last I heard, I was supposedly dating a princess, and my brother Jameson had some very questionable tattoos.”Monica’s eyes lit up. “Does he?”

Grayson leaned back in his seat. “A Hawthorne never tells.”

“If you’re going to come at our siblings,” he told her, his smile sharp

well aware that he could come out on top in any battle. He didn’t make threats, because he didn’t have to.

My grandfather didn’t raise us to be normal, and this is what he wanted. This is his legacy.”

Grayson gave her a wolfish smile. “None.”

Grayson leaned his head down and crushed his lips to mine

standing on a cliff overlooking the ocean. The wind is whipping in your hair. The sun is setting. You long, body and soul, for one thing. One person. You hear footsteps behind you. You turn.” Max opened her eyes. “Who’s there?”

Anyone. When I pictured myself on that cliffside, I pictured myself alone.

smile, but the one that felt truest to me was devastating. Jameson Winchester Hawthorne had a devastating smile.

She was holding a gun.

“Put it down.” Oren trained his gun on Zara.

Her own weapon held steady, Zara gave Oren her most unimpressed look

“Talk,” Zara told me. “You owe me that much, at least.”

All things considered, I probably did

All three of us turned to face Jameson. Grayson and Xander stood to his sides.

it occurred to me that she loved them.

“Please,” Zara said quietly. “Boys. Just tell me about Toby.”

“Go on,” she told the boys. “Out with the rest of it. In this family, there’s always a rest of it.”

But then you were a little boy. A wonderful little boy, and the newness of it all had worn off for Skye, and you were so lonely because she was never there.”

“But you were,”

before Toby died, you used to take care of me.”

At some point, tears overflowed

Finally, she let the letter go. It dropped from her hand, floating gently toward the ground.

The boys were all frozen in place

Not one of you will see my fortune. There are things I have done that I am not proud of, legacies that you should not have to bear.

I’d never questioned where my mother had gotten them.

Or from whom.

“You Hawthornes,” I whispered hoarsely, “and your invisible ink.”

She taught you to sing ‘Happy Birthday.’ My mom didn’t even call, but Sarah tucked me in every night, into her bed

“My point is that you know who your mom was, Avery. We both do. And she was wonderful.”

My lips should never have touched yours

and wholly rotten and you loved me despite myself

I’m sorry for letting you love me even a fraction as much as I will, to the day I die, love you. I’m sorry for what I did. For the fire.

And I will never stop being sorry about your sister.

Jameson and Xander slipped out of the car after me, and each of them took one of my sides. At least this time, it was me and the Hawthornes against the world.

I almost choked on the word, though I couldn’t have explained why. “Toby loathed himself almost as much as he loved my mom.”

“Heiress?” There was a question in Jameson’s deep green eyes

“I just happened to have my ear pressed to this door. I might have overheard some things, and I have a suggestion!”

Jameson looked like he might actually throttle his brother. I glanced at Oren, who was still pointedly ignoring

“Like I said, I inadvertently overheard some things while my ear was casually pressed to this steel door.

the next thing I saw was his face. Gray eyes, sharp cheekbones, sharper jawline. In the sunlight, his light blond hair looked platinum.

Grayson turned the phone back around and those gray eyes locked on mine. “Avery, have I ever given you reason to believe that I’m particularly averse to danger?” Grayson Hawthorne was arrogant enough to consider himself bulletproof—and honorable enough to see a promise through

Jameson was sticking his head over my shoulder, yelling to his brother

Grayson smiled, and that smile cut into me, every bit as much as his kiss. “Got it.”

Jameson squeezed in beside me to talk to his brother

I turned for just a moment to watch him go.

“That the way it is?”

You might be the only person on this planet who knows thereal me. Hate me, if you can, for all the reasons I deserve it.

I knew you wouldn’t let me go, and I cannot bear to say good-bye.

Harry

Something gave inside me. I closed my eyes and let my head fall, just for a moment

“She’s dead?” Jackson Currie stared at me. “Little Hannah?”

I nodded. “Natural causes.” Given the context, that seemed important to clarify.

But if she’s gone—only seems right to give them to you.”

I looked down at the thing he’d just handed me. I was holding another bundle of postcards.

a different kind of love story. From that point on, every single postcard was about me.

On and on it went, up until the postcards stopped. Up until she died.

My hand shook, holding the last postcard

Grayson’s hand made its way to mine

“Don’t look at me, young lady,” Tobias Hawthorne replied. “This is your subconscious.

The least you could have done was wake up while I was here, tragically backlit, unspeakably handsome, and waiting.”

Heads, I kiss you.” His voice broke slightly. “Tails, you kiss me.

or couldn’t face me. I’d watched him swimming laps every night

“The bomb should have worked.” Sheffield began cuffing the sleeves on his dress shirt, a furious motion—and a familiar one.

Sheffield Grayson’s achingly familiar eyes settled on mine

“Horrible girl.” Toby’s voice was tender.

Trying not to look at the body on the ground—at Grayson’s father

fury gave way to devastation.

“Horrible girl,” he whispered. “Don’t you know by now? No one lets a Hawthorne do anything.”

That was the truth.

I knew, with a strange kind of prescience, that this moment would never leave me. “You’re not staying, are you?”

“What aren’t you telling me?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Horrible girl,” he whispered, his voice tender.

You have a daughter, I’d told him.

I have two.

“Am I ever going to see you again?” I asked, my throat closing in on the words.

pressed a kiss to my forehead, and stepped back. “It would be a very risky gamble.”

I would have to learn to think like the old man.

Twelve birds, one stone.

Maybe I was both. Maybe I was a dozen different things, chosen for a dozen different reasons

“Something to tell me? Is it possible you have me confused with one of my brothers?”

“Jameson has laser focus. Grayson always finishes what he starts.

from everything I’d inherited along with Tobias Hawthorne’s billions.Poison tree and all.

When Thea and I hung up the phone, I went to see Grayson.

The entire time, his face was like stone

I waited for him to look at me, with silver eyes and the weight of the world on his shoulders.

I’d been given the world. It was time to stop living scared, time to take the reins.

It was time to take risks.

This was a risk—one the old Avery never would have been capable of taking.

the last secret built into the walls—there will always be one more.”

“But sometimes you have to improvise.” My heart was racing. I was vibrating with the same energy

Or maybe I was one stone meant for twelve birds, most of them still undiscovered.

Like Jameson had said, this was Hawthorne House. There would always be another mystery

This wasn’t nothing.

This was the beginning—and I was ready to be bold.

[a-student-out-of-time]

Your arei theory is actually really interesting now that I think about it. J being on the title screen feels like it’s definitely going to have more importance than just her secret being revealed first. I feel like most people panicked when first seeing, but almost as soon as J’s secret gets revealed people started thinking that maybe that’s all the title screen meant.

It could mean that she’s the blackened or is important to the case in some way…or it could be that she’s the victim, like you said.

There’s only really 2 big problems I have about the theory tho.

1.I don’t think the bda being at the end of the episode actually means anything. Yes Xander’s bda didn’t end the episode, neither did Ace’s, but both of them were at a point where it made sense from an audience standpoint to end the episode right there. Xander’s death was probably mostly predictable, since it’d be insanely obvious who stabbed Teruko if he was still alive, and the bda itself had to take place early on in the episode, where it couldn’t really end 4 or 5 minutes in. Ace’s death had to be further elaborated on to reveal that he wasn’t actually dead. The majority of canon game deaths had the bda be the last scene before the “deadly life” title card, which is as close as it can be to the episode “ending” as it can. In most non-game fangans I’ve seen (mostly instaronpas, fanfics, and namely Danganronpa f: shattered hope, which follows the same episode format), it isn’t really out of place for the chapter/episode/post to end right after the bda, sometimes as soon as the body is discovered. It could still definitely mean something, especially since the bda music didn’t play when finding her, but I’m not sure we can be certain of it just yet.

2.This is a pretty big one but, the timing of her death just doesn’t seem to support how someone could’ve killed and dressed up another person (especially J, who had Arturo following constantly) *and* also leave the crime scene before Teruko or the others find them. The first scenario where J’s killed before the morning announcement can’t really happen, which, unless Arei was also dressing up as J for whatever reason, can’t be possible since we’ve seen J ourselves. She was one of the first to look for Arei. Even if Arei was dressing up as her and we, the viewer, in the pov of teruko couldn’t discern her face, someone like Arturo, who obsesses over beauty, especially J’s, would definitely see something wrong with her if it wasn’t really her. The 2nd scenario, where J’s killed after she leaves to find Arei doesn’t seem possible either, since the killer would have to find a way to get her away from Arturo (unless it’s Arturo himself, which would cause him to be the main suspect unless everyone still thinks it’s Arei who died), kill her without anyone seeing, dress her up as Arei, and hang her in the play ground before escaping, despite how Teruko said that most people were looking around in the first floor, and the elevator was the only way to get from floor to floor. The blackened would almost certainly have to be somehow already carrying around Arei’s clothes too, since it’d take too long to kill someone, leave them unattended, go to another floor, come back, and replace their clothes, before going back to J’s room (which is probably locked), and putting it back.

The theory’s definitely really fun to think about, but from someone who was also hoping Arei was going to survive longer and not get hit by the chapter 3 curse a chapter early, I just don’t see how it’s possible with the timing of it all.

//I admit my theory's not flawless with the information we have now, and it's probably going to be revealed how exactly all this happened

//The key is that maybe they didn't switch clothes immediately, but instead were pretending to be each other for a little longer so J could get Arturo off her ass for a little bit. They could've switched keys and everything

//If you take that into account, then there's plenty of time for this scenario to have played out like I believe it did. Especially regarding whatever fucked up secret Arei happened to get, and how it relates to this scenario as well

[spnae]

37 Living Dead Girl

“Buffy? Spike? Buffy?”, there was yet another knock at the door and Buffy realized she couldn’t ignore it and started fumbling blindly for her bathrobe; which wasn’t where she normally kept it… Shit.

She lifted her head. It felt like the roadrunner had smashed an anvil into it. Buffy let out a groan and the arm she hadn’t realized was snaked around her constricted. Spike.

The pounding on the door resumed, “Buffy?”

She groaned again, “What do you want, Xan? We’re half dead in here.”

“It’s too early for your puns, Love. Make the boy go away,” Spike grumbled into a pillow as he shifted onto his stomach like a sullen kid.

Buffy huffed without looking over at Spike, “Go away, Xan!”

“Come on guys! I’m supposed to get you up! The coma girl’s parents are here. She woke up and they want to talk to you so get some clothes on!”

Spike groaned and pulled himself up out of bed, “Bugger all,” he grumbled, pulling on his jeans gingerly over his injured leg and limped over to the door pulling it open fully. Xander’s eyes grew wide in shock when he saw Spike’s bare chest.

“Dude, what the hell is going on here? Have you looked at yourself in a mirror?”

“Not as of late, no, you ninny,” he murmured as he looked down at himself. He knew she had written her name under his left collarbone, but he hadn’t realized she had also drawn swirling doodles and a few hearts into his skin. The doodles interspersed with the numerous cross burns dotted all over his chest certainly told their own story. The burns were nothing more than little pinkish-red marks now but they stood out in sharp contrast against his pale skin, “Bollocks. How bad are the bits I can’t see?”

“Got a turtleneck?” Xander scratched his own neck indicating corresponding marks on Spike, “Those are pretty obvious, man. What the heck did you do to him, Buff?” he asked as he tried to poke his head into the room to talk to her.

Spike blocked him, “She’s not exactly decent, mate, getting dressed and a bit hungover too. Who’s with the Andersons now?”

“Faith answered the door and sent me to get you. Will and Giles are in serious book mode. I think they’re in the library but I’m avoiding. Faith wants me and Callum to put the girls to work on the duplex, while she takes the grads to the airport.”

“Right, we’ll be down,” he closed the door as Xander turned away. “You hear him, Pet?”

Buffy had pulled on a purple sleeveless top over a long black skirt with purple embroidery. Her hair was still a mess from sleep and it made him smile as she tamed it.

Buffy nodded as she finished and pulled out a pair of cute but practical sandals, “Yeah, we better get down there.” She looked up at him, “Maybe you should just stay up here. Keep off of that leg.”

“It’s about Sheena and Ruby. I need to be in this.”

She paused taking in the extent of the marks on his chest, “Fine, but maybe go with one of your dress shirts and that new black infinity scarf I just got. I really did a number on you last night,” she grimaced apologetically.

“Nonsense, I love your handiwork. As for that scarf, I might be a bloody poet, Pet, but I sure as hell aint about to dress like one of those trendy wankers running around nowadays.”

“Do you want to make Mrs. Anderson faint again? Because I’m pretty sure advertising evidence of kinky vampire sex might just do it, call it a hunch. Xan’s right, I must have left it on too long in a few spots, a couple of those don’t look good. Look at it this way, at least it’s a plain scarf, no frills.”

He frowned, “Yeah alright. I hear you. As nice as they were, I get the feeling they aren’t going to be all smiles in regard to Ruby’s new living arrangements and lifestyle as is.”

“Which part? The dead but soulful part, the undead-living-here part, or the liking women part?”

“Hard to say.”

“Let’s see what they want first, they might just want to tell us about Sheena.”

“Phones work.”

“True… let me track down Willow. Sheena might have said something to them about our visit.”

“Right, I nearly forgot ‘bout that. Got a bit distracted last night. All went well I take it?”

Buffy shrugged, “I was just the guard dog, but the mind walk Will did with Ruby did the trick. I didn’t really do much except help get Ruby’s stuff out of her room and lend a minimal hand with Odette. Ruby ‘did pretty much all the work. Odette didn’t seem like much of a fighter to be honest.”

“Probably just the regular demon stuff. I certainly didn’t teach her anything. I’m still dumbfounded that Dru just let her go.”

“It’s crazy to expect crazy people to make sense”

Spike shook his head, “Dru is insane but she always made some sort of sense. Even if I didn’t see it right away. In the end she almost always did.”

“I don’t know how you put up with her for so long.”

“Can’t really explain it to be honest,” Spike said awkwardly and rolled a shoulder.

“We better go, I want to see if Will is in the library.”

*****

When they reached the library they were surprised to find Ruby lounging with her leg up over the arm of the chair in the corner with a book in hand. She was situated a short distance away from the large table where Willow and Giles were pouring over books and a stone tablet.

“Hey guys!” Buffy interrupted them, “Ruby’s parents are downstairs.”

Ruby’s head shot up from her book in alarm, “Do they know about me?”

“We don’t really know what they know. Just because we didn’t say anything to them doesn’t mean that Sheena didn’t.”

“How do you want to play this Buff?” Willow asked.

“I think Spike and I need to get down there. Give us a minute or two and then come down with Ruby, but maybe just hang out in the stairwell by the living room so you can hear what’s going on. Oh and by the way, once I get him downstairs, Spike is forbidden from getting off the couch.”

Willow and Ruby smirked at each other and Spike rolled his eyes. Soberingly, he looked squarely at Ruby, “You and I need to have a talk young one. I was out of line but there are things you need to know.”

Ruby nodded, “Whatever you say, g-“

“And don’t you bloody well dare call me grandpa!”

“I was going to say, go see what my parents want. And maybe don’t mention Willow is a witch, I just don’t think they’d respond well.”

“Oh, well right then.”

Buffy put her hand on Spike’s chest, pushing him back slightly from where he was leaning against the doorframe, “Talk later.”

In a matter of minutes the two of them were downstairs greeting the Andersons. Faith took a step towards the staircase, “Sorry to cut and run Buff but I got to make sure Addison and Ursula make their flight.”

“No, it’s fine. I know you got a busy day, thanks for doing this.”

“No problem, B. Hey,” she grabbed Buffy’s arm and gave Spike a barely perceptible glance, “Everything 5x5?”

“Yeah, all good.”

“You gonna fill me in later?”

Spike gave Faith a nod, “Mind yourself, Doe-eyes, doin’ much better now, thanks. You get the beer later and maybe Buffy and I will spill the relevant bits.”

“You’re on, pal,” Faith replied as she headed up the stairs.

Buffy turned back to the Andersons and directed them into the living room.

“What can we do for you?'' Buffy asked cordially as she and Spike sat down together on one couch, the Andersons took the other.

“We’ve just come from the hospital. But I think you already know Sheena is awake.”

“Oh, well I was just there visiting and—“

“Ruby was with you wasn’t she? You found our girl and you didn’t tell us?” Mrs Anderson was trying to keep the accusation out of her voice but it was still there.

“It’s more complicated than that—“

Mr. Anderson bristled, “Our daughter is alive and you didn’t think we should know? When did you find her? How long has—“

“Mr Anderson, please calm down. We were planning on calling you when Ruby decided she was ready. She’s been through—“

“She is our daughter!” he roared, standing up, “What gives you the right to keep her from us!?”

Spike stood up with a deep growl, “You need to have a seat, mate. The lady is trying to explain the situation.”

The Andersons looked a little shocked, they hadn’t missed the growl but they didn’t understand it either. Mr Anderson didn’t sit down, “Young man, perhaps we should be talking to Mr. Giles. I don’t—“

“Don’t you ‘young man’ me, I was—“

Buffy reached for Spike’s wrist, “Sit down, you need to rest that leg.”

“Leg’s not so bad, Pet. I’m fine. But if he thinks I’m just—“

“William, please.”

“Buffy, you know as well as I do that we’re the only ones willing and able to help them and they—“

“Don’t know the whole story.”

Spike deflated as he sat down, his leg really wasn’t fine and he stretched it out in front of him on the coffee table.

Buffy hit Mr Anderson with a hard gaze until he relented a little and sat down too. “Thank you. Now maybe we can talk like adults. As I was saying. Ruby has been through a lot. We have been helping her.”

“Helping her?” Mrs. Anderson asked, “What has happened to our girl? First you tell us she might have been turned and now we find out she’s been hiding out here and you didn’t say a word. Where is my daughter? I want to see her!”

“You will. But I think you need to hear what happened after Ruby attacked Sheena.”

“After— but—“

“We haven’t been keeping you in the dark so please stop acting like we have been. You know she was turned, you know she attacked Sheena. Denial isn’t going to help anyone here. What you don’t know is that we were able to capture her afterwards and hold her here.”

“You held our daughter hostage?”

“We held a demon inhabiting your daughter’s body as a prisoner,” Spike corrected, “You’re welcome.”

Mr. Anderson wrapped an arm around his wife tightly. “But she was with you at the hospital wasn’t she?”

Buffy inclined her head a little, “Yes. We were able to have someone retrieve Ruby’s soul and put it back in.”

“So what does that mean? She has her soul, she’s cured? I thought you told us that it couldn’t be done.”

Spike huffed, “It’s not a cure. That’s utter nonsense. She’s still a vampire, she’s still dead. Crosses still burn and she still needs blood to survive. Animal blood, that is. She hasn’t had human since she’s been with us.” He paused looking at Mrs. Anderson. She had blanched at the mention of blood but didn’t look faint so he continued, “She’s also more her true self now. She has all her humanity back. She can discuss literature sensibly again, and thank god for that because trying to talk with her about Oscar Wilde without a soul was just— bloody painful…” he stopped catching a bewildered look from Buffy, “Point is, she can make opinions and decisions based on morality and has a working conscience again. It doesn’t mean she’s any less of a vampire. It also means that she essentially has multiple— How do I put this?”

“Just tell them what you told me,” Buffy reassured him.

He bobbed his head once and continued, “There’s more to her now. A lot of it she doesn’t even understand yet. First off she’s what we call a fledgling. Her demon didn’t have a lot of time to get real used to things before she got the soul shoved in. She’s getting off easy but she’s still got, sort of, multiple voices in her head.”

“Like multiple personalities?”

“No, no, think of it like the angel and devil on your shoulder kind of thing except a bit more literal. She has a lot she needs to work through before she can figure it out. Takes some getting used to. The guilt alone is enough to drive anyone mad.” Spike looked down, only just noticing Buffy’s hand clenched tightly in his own.

Mrs. Anderson’s eyes flickered from their hands and back up to his face, “You’re speaking from experience, Mr. Spike.”

He turned earnest eyes to her, “Yeah I am, and I know first hand how difficult it is. I was fortunate to have someone to fight for and who fought for me in return when it got to be too much. The least we can do is try to do the same for Ruby.”

Her eyes flicked to Buffy, “But you’re a Slayer like Sheena aren’t you?”

“The original, yeah.”

“Ruby is in good hands.”

“That’s what you said about Sheena and she still—“

Buffy bristled, “That was out of our control. It’s thanks to Spike and one of the other girls stabilizing her before the paramedics got to her that she is even alive. And further thanks to my friend Willow and Ruby for her waking up. I shouldn't need to tell you that Spike has cared for your daughters like his own family. Our family. We only want to help and part of that is helping Ruby make amends, getting her back on her feet and letting her make her own choices.”

“That’s why she was with you at the hospital.”

“Yeah, she wanted to see Sheena, help her if she could, and she did.”

Spike nodded, “She’s been doing really well, all things considered.”

The Andersons shared a look, Mr. Anderson turned back to Buffy and Spike, “I think we understand. May we see our daughter now?”

Spike turned towards the door concealing the staircase, “You get all that, Rubes? What do you say, feel like having a chat with your folks?”

The door opened and Ruby walked into the living room followed by Willow.

Ruby had pulled on what Buffy recognized as Giles' cardigan. She was holding it closed around her middle tightly, giving her the look of an awkward child, “Hey, Mum; Hi, Daddy.” Her parents descended upon her immediately enveloping her in a hug.

“Ruby! Oh my sweet girl! We thought we’d lost you!” her mother was crying.

“Well, you did, Mum, you did but I’m me again. For the most part. Not completely, but it’s mostly still me, like Spike was saying,” she nodded heavily as she pushed her parents back a little at arms length so she could look at them better, “He’s right it’s— it’s not easy and I was afraid to call, yet. I didn’t want them to contact you so please don’t blame them. Don’t be angry with Buffy and Spike, they’ve done nothing but help me.”

“We’re just glad you’re safe. When will you be coming home, sweetheart?”

Ruby shook her head, “I’m not coming home. I just can’t.”

Her parents looked at each other “But why not? I don’t understand,” her mother pleaded.

“What about uni?” Her father interjected.

Spike stepped in, “It’s Ruby's choice of course, but I have to say I agree with her. For one thing, living in a regular house like that can be kind of dangerous for a vampire, especially a young one. We are experienced here. Buffy has been dealing with the likes of me for years now and the castle is vampire safe. Ruby has already started to make herself comfortable and has a private space to call her own. Buffy and Willow here even went to help her clean out her room at University so you don’t have to worry about that. We’ll see to getting a phone line set up for her at some point here.”

“What happened to your mobile?” Her father asked.

Ruby shook her head, “Lost it the night I died.”

The phrasing seemed to strike her parents hard and Ruby‘s mom looked at her a little bewildered. With some effort she seemed to collect herself, “Well that’s simple enough, you’re still on our family plan, we will simply call our carrier, let them know that you lost your phone and see about getting you a new one. At least let us do that for you, sweetheart,” she nodded and looked pleadingly.

He nodded, “Seems silly not to. We’ll be happy to get it replaced, that way you can keep in touch.”

The unease in their voices didn’t go amiss to anyone, least of all Ruby, “Mum, Dad, I really do think it’s best for everyone that I stay here. I can train with Spike and Buffy and help them out where I can. I really think it’s what’s best. My afternoon class would kill me proper. I’d be a pile of dust on the sidewalk before I even got there. But yeah, a new phone would be brilliant.” She smiled at them both.

“But what about your future?”

“I’m dead Mum. The only future I have at the moment is right here, doing work with them. Fighting the good fight.”

Mr. and Mrs. Anderson exchanged another troubled look.

“It’s part of the deal I made when they offered me my soul. I chose this. I’m sure. Besides, it’s not like I’ll be that far, I can still visit.”

Willow stepped forward next to Ruby, “Absolutely! I can even bring her over tonight or tomorrow. Ruby was talking about wanting to get the rest of her things moved in.”

“That’s true, it would be nice to have the rest of my books and a proper bed,” she looked apologetically at Buffy and Spike, “I appreciate the cot but I’d love to have my own bed down there.”

Buffy rolled a shoulder, “Yeah of course, whatever you need; it’s your space. As long as your parents don’t mind you taking it, you can move whatever you want in there. It’s totally Ruby-ville.”

“Thanks. So what do you say? Can I come get my stuff?”

Her mother seemed a little overwhelmed, “I- we— If— yes of course. Can we see where you’re living?”

Ruby frowned a little, “I don’t really have it finished yet. Willow was going to let me paint.”

“This is Willow?”

Willow stuck out her hand, “Sorry! Yes, Willow Rosenberg. I teach math and science. I’ve invited Ruby to take the basement bedroom on my half of the duplex we started renovating.”

“You’re the one who helped Sheena?”

“I sure am. I’m also the one that ensouled Ruby too. I’ve sort of been keeping an eye on her, she’s been doing a lot better the last day or so.”

The Andersons seemed stunned, “But didn’t you say you teach maths and science?”

“I’m a woman of many talents.”

“And thank the Lord for that, and for everything you’ve done for our girls already. So Ruby will be living with you, not at the castle?”

“It’s on the grounds, you’re welcome to come and see it if you don’t mind a construction site,” Willow turned to Buffy, “do you know if they are working on your side or ours today?”

“No idea, Xan just gave Spike a quick rundown, and Faith didn’t say anything at all.”

“Or you’re welcome to come back another time after Ruby has had a chance to fix it up the way she wants.”

They glanced at each other, “I think we just want to see where she’ll be, that's all.”

“Willow—“

“It’s fine Ruby, Buffy and I can show them around, you just hang out with Spike. You two have a lot to talk about anyway.”

Ruby nodded to Willow, “Yeah alright, what do you say, Spike? Mind if I join you while you heal up and get that talk out of the way?”

Spike had already rested himself back onto the couch with his bad leg up, the other foot still on the floor in case he needed to intervene, “We can bond over a pint— or tea if you prefer, I’m not particular.” He was about to say “a pint of blood” and caught himself just in time, he wasn’t sure if Mrs. Anderson would have stayed vertical or not.

“Ruby?” Willow looked worried, remembering the tea incident from only a few days ago, “Are you sure you’re all right to go back in the kitchen?”

Ruby shrugged, “Feeling a little more stable. Giles said it was better in there now and at least I know Sheena is gonna be okay. I can’t stay out of the kitchen forever, I like to cook too much.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have said anything, we might put you to work, Slayers like to eat,” Buffy joked.

Ruby laughed at that and hugged her parents again, “I have a good feeling about this, don’t worry about me alright?”

They nodded reluctantly and pulled away

Buffy frowned at her skirt, “I hope they aren’t going all dust happy over there,” she looked up at the two vampires in the room, “You know what I mean, alright, let’s see what’s going on over there.” She said firmly as she leaned into Spike, squeezing his shoulder and applying a little pressure with her thumb where her name was burned into him. “Remember to stay off that leg.”

“Yes, Slayer,” he had managed to keep his tone even, but it still hit Buffy the same way as if he had purred into her ear with his hand down her pants.

Oh my god Spike.

It’s not my mind that’s in the gutter for once, Slayer, he said silently with a smug grin on his face.

You just behave yourself, Mr. Pratt, don’t make me tie you up again.

His grin widened, Yeah like that’s a real deterrent.

She rubbed a hand over her eyes, I really hope I didn’t create a monster last night.

Oh sweetheart, I’ve always been a monster. You just unchained me…

Unless I decide I want you in chains again, however you wanna look at it. It was Buffy’s turn to smirk.

Willow caught the interaction between the two of them and raised her eyebrows, “Buffy, are we going to get going here or do you two need a moment?”

Buffy tried her best not to blush as she turned to her best friend, “Right, okay, Mr and Mrs Anderson, come along with us. We’ll show you out there, It’s the big stone building you guys sort of past on the way in and it needs a lot of work so it’s going to be a while before anyone else is going to be moving into it but the basement on Willow’s side is in exceptionally good shape so since Ruby doesn’t really need a whole lot it’s fairly well set up for her already.”

“What do you mean by that; she doesn’t need a lot?” Mr. Anderson asked as they headed outside.

“Well she’s dead, she doesn’t really need a lot of creature comforts, it’s just a fact. You should have seen Spike’s place when we first started,” she cleared her throat, “seeing each other,” she ended diplomatically.

Willow shot her a glance but didn’t say anything.

“You both went by ‘Summers’ at the hospital but you’re not married are you? I just assume because you all call him ‘Spike’.”

She cleared her throat again, she had really wanted to talk to Willow about Spike, but not like this. It really was like Spike said; that in many ways they already were married, so what was the answer; Not yet, but we’ve been talking about it OR Yes, we accidentally eloped in Paris and we’re technically on our honeymoon but we’re probably going to have a wedding anyway?

Before Buffy could make up her mind about how to answer the question Willow chimed in, “Oh no, they got married a few months ago. William took her name but we have all known him so long we still just call him ‘Spike’ out of habit.”

Buffy gaped at her best friend, had Spike talked to her about their plans? Mrs Anderson smiled “Well I’m glad to hear it. It certainly makes me feel better knowing that she will be around people who are setting an example for a normal life.”

Buffy‘s eyebrows shot up “Normal?”

“Well, yes. It gives me hope that despite all this, that perhaps someday she can still settle down. She has never shown much interest in finding someone but now she won’t be at university. Maybe she’ll be able to get her nose out of her books long enough to focus on finding a good man and make a life for herself.”

Buffy caught Willow’s eye and she shook her head warningly. “Ahh huh, yup,” she tried to sound convincing. Any more comments like that and she wasn’t sure if she would be able to stop herself from breaking her nose. If Willow didn’t beat her to it first.

Ruby stood in front of the microwave waiting for the timer to go off. Her eyes kept darting towards the corner she had thrown the girls into. The memory of it mixed with the vision from the mind-walk were colliding violently in her brain and it was all she could do to stand still where she was. At least her stomach wasn’t trying to expel itself, although actually drinking the blood in her mug might not be so easy.

She was having very mixed feelings about blood. On one hand, her body and her demon demanded it, but at the same time the idea was repulsive to her. She figured that would just be one of those things she would have to come to terms with. She tried to distract herself by looking out the window towards the partially burned orchard and another pang of guilt shot through her.

Despite several of the girls receiving various injuries, only one Slayer had been lost in the attack and that was on her. She didn’t think they knew of the extent of her involvement in the attack and in some ways that was worse. Looking back at it now, she couldn’t blame the dark haired girl who had snuck in to beat the crap out of her while she’d been tied up in the utility room. She didn’t know the Slayer’s name but she did know that she had left the castle already. Which really just meant that she never had a chance to apologize. She couldn’t blame any of them for hating her and she knew she didn’t deserve their forgiveness, apologies be damned.

She took a deep breath to settle herself just as the microwave finished. She gathered their mugs and whisked them out to the living room where Spike waited for her. “Here ya go,” she murmured, setting it down in front of him.

“Ta, luv,” he eyed her carefully.

“So, what did you want to talk about?”

“Thought I’d start with an apology for last night. You did good. Buffy told me you took Odette out pretty easily.”

“Did she also tell you I was blind with rage?”

“Didn’t need to,” he sipped the blood.

“So is that what you wanted to talk about, me killing Odette?”

“Partly. Did Buffy tell you anything about our line?”

“Sort of, you were sired by your ex and she was sired by some bloke named Angel. Then from what I gathered from your outburst last night, I’m guessing that there was quite a bit o’ funny business going on between the three of you.”

He ignored the comment, “You’ll probably meet Angel before long and I rather hope you never meet Drusilla. Don’t much fancy seeing her again myself.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because Buffy will likely have to be the one to put her down when it really should be me or Angel who does it.”

“Oh…”

“There’s a lot there. I could start anywhere and just keep goin’ into next week. So let’s start with some questions. Anything you want, ask.”

Ruby puffed out her cheeks, “Why were you so upset last night when Buffy mentioned Odette?”

“Hadn’t given her a thought in years and thought she was dust long ago for starters. For all the carnage I’ve been responsible for over the years, I never really turned too many vampires. Turned Odette just to get back at Dru. I imagine it’s why she left you in the crypt the way she did, it’s what I’d done to her except that I was waiting there expecting a shag when she woke up.”

“You like to keep it in the family, huh?”

Spike laughed, “You’ve read Dracula, you got the gist of things. Stupid ponce and his bloody brides,” he grumbled and took a sip of blood.

“What?”

“Nevermind, I don’t think he’ll be gunning for Buffy again anytime soon so you won’t have to worry about that wanker. Go on, drink up. It’s best when it’s warm.”

She looked at her own cup, “He’s real?”

“Git still owes me money.”

Ruby gave him a look that said she would be expecting more of that story later, “Sure… so what’s the plan for me?” She took a tentative drink from her mug. It wasn’t Slayer blood but Spike had been right about the herbs. The sip turned into a gulp.

He watched her with interest as she gulped it down hungrily. She clearly hadn’t been feeding properly which he had expected. “Good question. I thought I’d start you out joining in with the Slayeretts’s training. You can fight, that comes standard with your demon. But there’s always more to learn. Don’t get complacent. The best way to take advantage of the whole immortality thing is to roll with changes.”

“Says the punk rock poster child?”

“Pot. Kettle. Changes can be slow and I quite like my hair this way so I’m not likely to change that anytime soon. That and it’s sort of what keeps me alive with the Slayeretts when we go on field trips.”

“Are you saying I should start dyeing my hair a distinctive color?” She smirked.

“Don’t get smart.”

“Can’t help that, just am.”

“Yeah alright smarty pants, there’s still a lot I want to cover with you.”

“The girls hate me,” she blurted out suddenly.

“True. Deloris was a sweetheart. The girls aren’t real happy with you being here. Won’t do anything with me and Buffy around though.”

“Yeah, sort of already got that message.”

“Yeah, well that is just something you’ve got to deal with. Fact of the matter is that we don’t really belong much of anywhere so we got to make our own place in the world. I sure as hell didn’t just wake up one day and say ‘Oh I’m just going to be good now’, not that I didn’t try. I was a sodding mess, one big bloody morally-gray mess for a couple of years. Trying to suss out what I should do and how I should act to make Buffy happy, make her tolerate me, even if she couldn’t love me. Then something happened… I— I lost control— I nearly hurt Buffy beyond forgiveness. If she hadn’t…” he flinched inwardly, he couldn’t bring himself to talk about that night. “If she hadn’t knocked some sense into me... Left in search of my soul just after that.” He added weakly.

“So that’s what you meant before. The thing about it being a grand gesture of love. You did it for her.”

Spike hung his head down, he had almost forgotten he had said anything to her about that, “I was out of my mind in love with her but the demon can’t really process love the same way as a human soul. It’s close. Damn close. But there’s this— line in between and I nearly crossed it. Knew I couldn’t look her in the eye. Not after she’d seen me for the monster I was. Not when all she deserves is a good man to support her in everything she does. I couldn’t blame her for hating me, so I went to find the thing that would turn me into the man she deserves. I got it; and everything fell apart after that. Lost my mind. Buffy helped me shove my marbles back in place.”

“But clearly things worked out between you, I mean you’re together now, and you seem sane enough.”

“Sure as hell wasn’t overnight. Whole thing is far too complicated to get into now. You’re coming along quickly but then I sort of figured you would, pipsqueak. You and I aren’t exactly brooders like Angel. Can crack a smile for starters.”

“You don’t like him much do you?”

“We’re getting on alright now. Lots of unpleasant history there. Some of its guilt. Angel is big on guilt. Blames himself for everything he did plus everything me and Dru ever did. Well I don’t know about Dru really. I don’t think he can look at her without feeling at least a little pride. She was his greatest masterpiece after all. And then when she turned me, he thought he’d take on a new pet project. Taught me everything I know. Tried to twist me to be just as nasty as him but it just never did quite work. No one was more twisted and sadistic than Angelus. I didn’t bother trying to be like him after a while, became my own monster as it were. Started hunting Slayers.”

“Until you fell in love with one.”

“Yup.”

“Almost sounds like you were searching for your soulmate even then.”

“Bollocks, didn’t have a soul,” he said a little too quickly. The truth was that it wasn’t a new thought. The idea had often kept him awake, especially just after he had first realized his feelings for her. The thought had crept back into the forefront of his mind after Buffy had told him about meeting his soul in the heaven dimension she was in.

“No, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some prophecy or something out there that says you were destined to fall in love with a Slayer.”

There was a ring of truth there that he wasn’t sure what to do with, so he just kept his response clipped. “What do you know about prophecies?”

“Nothing really. Willow has just been filling me in on some of the basic things she does with your group and mentioned something about them.”

“Good storyteller is she?”

“Could probably listen to her read the dictionary if I’m being honest.”

“Got it bad for the witch don’t you?”

She shrugged, “Not really a secret. She’s kind, sweet— generous.”

“You’re going to make your own choices no matter what I say but can I give you some advice?”

“It’s what you’re here for isn’t it?”

“Red is working on getting out of a crappy rebound relationship after losing the love of her life. A real nice girl I liked a lot too. Now Red clearly likes you, but the last thing that girl needs right now is some hot little thing twisting her head round.”

“But—“

“I’m not saying stay away from the girl. Just take it easy. Pump the breaks. Do you both a favor and take the time to get yourself right in the head first. By the time you do that, maybe the time will be right for you both.”

She nodded glumly, she suddenly wasn’t feeling as secure about her situation as she had less than a half hour ago when her parents were in the room. Now she was feeling almost claustrophobic, the weight of unknown possibilities pressing in on her. She looked at the thin layer of blood coating the bottom of the cup and grimaced.

“Ruby?”

“Hum?”

“You alright there?”

“Yeah, just thinking.”

“Willow?”

“Yeah but also— This soul thing, and the fighting evil thing and–”

“The blood?”

“Yeah…”

“You need your strength. You’ll get used to it, and so will the girls. Willow too. Just wait and see.”

[scorbleeo]

Book Chat: Vicious Prince

Royal Elite (Book 5) by Rina Kent

Source: Google Images

He’s prince charming. Just not hers.

I have a secret. I stole a heart, or rather a marriage contract. It wasn’t mine to own, to look at or to even consider. But it was there for the taking so I took it. Huge mistake. Ronan Astor is a nobility in this world. Arrogant player. Heartless bastard. Vicious prince. Now, he’s out to destroy me. What he doesn’t know is that I’m out to destroy him too. My name is Teal Van Doren, and I’m where princes go to die.

Source: Goodreads (2020)

As Misled As Teal

Titling this book Vicious Prince was in all ways misleading but the best kind of misleading. I think on some level, being misled and after all the revelation, I was experiencing this book like how Teal experienced Ronan.

As I went into the Royal Elite series, I expected to like Teal and Ronan as much as I do. Sure, them individually were extremely likeable but I always thought them together would be rather boring. Love that I was wrong. If you thought them individually was already good enough, them together is so much better. You would think Teal and Ronan would have an angsty relationship but man, they are cute together. If Kim and Xander's relationship is on a soulmate level, this pairing's relationship is on the most adorable couple level. It made reading Vicious Prince a rather fun time.

I am not sure this is book number what on Kent's bibliography but I've seen extensive improvement in her writing. If you read back my thoughts on Cruel King or Deviant King, you would know just how much I disliked her writing. This gives me a good feel for her subsequent books because I will be diving into her later series.

As for Vicious King, I really enjoyed the balance between plot development and smut, it's not 50-50 but in terms of my reading preferences, there was neither too much or too little smut while the plot developed in a steady pace. The character growth of our two protagonists were on a steady pace too, if you are not actively looking out for it, you would not know when it actually started. It felt absolutely natural.

I know I said Ronan and Teal is crowned (by me) the most adorable couple among all the Royal Elite couples, but do not assume that their story is not as dark. Personally, Vicious King is darker on another level. Please do check the trigger warning or feel free to ask me.

That being said, despite the dark aspects of this book, I felt that it could be a little worse, just a LITTLE bit more considering the kind of stories Kent already wrote in the past. I think that bit more could have brought me on a wilder roller coaster ride but I also know that bit could also be too much for many people.

If you ask me regarding if you should read the other books before getting to Vicious King, I will tell you it is not necessary. Sure, by this book, Kent wrote it in a way where she assumed you would have read the previous few books because she does not go in depth with introducing the crucial Royal Elite characters. However, with how the story played out in this book, it is absolutely not necessary to read the other books.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5/5)

More on the Royal Elite series here: Cruel King (#0) | Deviant King (#1) | Black Knight (#4)

[jordanprice]

June 8 - Last Day in Tokyo

I can’t believe it has already been two weeks since I’ve arrived in Japan. Tokyo has been a pretty great time and there have been so many cool things to do. One thing I keep talking with people about is that it doesn’t feel like we’re in Japan, then every once in a while we remember that fact. That’s how comfortable it is. The language barrier is honestly very navigable, and many things have English text as well. The metro is honestly so impressive as well. The trains are always on time and they can get you just about anywhere faster than by car and much cheaper as well. I’ve been thinking that I might want more time here as well, and may end up staying longer in Japan! Between temples, shrines, museums, parks, themed cafes, shopping, arcades, hiking, and more, there has been so much to do here and still so much I haven’t done.

So, the day started out with packing. One thing that was cool is that we were presented the option to ship luggage to Kyoto instead of having to take it on the train. There ended up being enough room in the budget for this, as the exchange rates are very beneficial for USD to yen at the moment. I ended up shipping two bags: my big suitcase and my duffel bag, which was mostly filled with Lauren’s stuff. She didn’t have enough room for everything so I offered it to her to use. Leina was kind enough to show up an hour earlier than planned so that people going to the studio ghibli museum could more easily turn in their bags to be shipped. She is such a W tour guide and everyone on the trip loves her. I’m happy she’s coming to Kyoto with us (because Riki as always abandoned us :( how rude of him).

I unfortunately did not have tickets for the ghibli museum, as they sell out fast and I wasn’t sure about going. However, I did get dragged along with guy Sam to go to a maid cafe. It was him, Bryan, Xander, Julie, and I. I can say with full confidence that it was definitely one of the meals I’ve had on this trip and that it was certainly an experience I had in Japan. It was honestly fairly uncomfortable, and the food wasn’t all that great, but I respect their commitment and the effort that goes into making the vibe of the place. It just wasn’t for me though, but at least I can say I went to one I guess. I do really appreciate the invite from Sam though, he’s a cool guy.

(Also, this photo of Sam actually goes so hard)

Later, Lauren, Bianca, Ana, and I went to the Cinnamaroll cafe. They were headed there from the ghibli museum and I was headed there from the hotel. We managed to get there roughly at the same time, but unfortunately I was late due to google maps lying to me. Once I got to the first station, it showed that the route I was going on no longer was an option, and that it would be an extra 18 mins to get there. I ended up rushing, and was only 10 or so minutes late to the cafe though. The cafe was cutely decorated and everything, but it was quite the let down that one they only had 5 food options, and two that only 2 of those options were actually available (the rest were sold out). I got a chocolate parfait and it was pretty decent. I just feel bad for Lauren because now that’s the second time that something she had been looking forward to and wanting to do didn’t exactly work out. First, Bar Lupin (a bar where famous authors used to hang out) didn’t have seating and turned us down, then Cinnamaroll cafe which had like no food. She apologized for dragging us around to these things, but it’s not like it’s her fault or anything, and I just feel bad that things she wanted to do didn’t work out.

Her and I then went and got food from and food court and it was alright. A couple interesting things happened there though. One is that they MADE ME order four toppings on the pizza I got. Like it said a pizza came with four toppings, and I only wanted two. But when I asked if I could only do two, the guy told me that I had to order four toppings. Also, the “bacon” was just straight up ham, which was a disappointment. The other interesting thing is that when I paid with a 2000¥ note, the cashier looked surprised/confused. One thing that I had heard people mention before on the trip, and that I had looked up, is that apparently 2000¥ notes are rare, having only been printed in the year 2000. Apparently they are mostly only available at currency exchange places. It was kinda funny to me that the cashier then picked up the coin tray in the register and placed the note under it, as there was no slot in the machine for those notes, and it was the only one in there.

(L-Breath lol, why isn’t this a breath mint brand??)

After that, I headed back to the hotel and finished packing (for the most part) to leave in the morning. I’m gonna miss Tokyo, but I look forward to Kyoto!

[karahalloway]

Riley was tired. She’d been on her feet most of the day and she hadn’t even been able to ride half the things she’d wanted to because she was too pregnant. She was seriously thinking about leaving early and letting the guys deal with the kids. She didn’t want them to have to miss out, that’s why she hadn’t complained. Her feet hurt, her back hurt and the damn Braxton Hicks contractions kept getting worse.

I am not surprised! I once made the mistake of running down a hill to the train station to catch the train when I was 7-8 months pregnant and boy did I pay for it afterwards! I literally could not move 😖 So the fact that she made it all the way around Disneyland is seriously impressive!

Almost as if they weren’t the irregular in frequency, less intense contractions that are the body’s way of preparing for labor and that usually go away with a position change.

Hmm... You think...? 🧐 That said, every pregnancy is different, so it's very possible that it doesn't 'feel' like labour has started.

But she was only thirty-seven weeks pregnant, and all her other babies had waited until thirty-nine weeks, except Jax who had to make a damn entrance or something, waiting until week forty-one. The contractions had to be Braxton Hicks, she was sure of it.

What did I say just now...? 🤣

“We may have to stop for snacks before then,” Max said, “Xander is starving.” “Of course he is,” Liam replied, “his stomach is empty now!” Drake chortled at the reminder, “Kid’s got excellent aim though.”

🤣🤣🤣🤣

“You didn’t say the same thing, at all, tata.” She informed him. “How was it different?” “You said she was huge and looked tired. Poppa told her she was pretty, and he wanted to take care of her.” Ellie nodded sagely.

“I…..” Drake stared at her with his mouth open. She was right though, wasn’t she? How clueless was he that both Max and the eight year old understood how this worked better than he did? He blew out a frustrated sigh. His bluntness was not always a good thing.

It's what he meant... just not what he actually said 😆 His heart is in the right place

“Are you ok, Ri?” Max asked in concern. Riley panted out, “It’s time.” “It is?” Max blinked down at his phone screen, “No, our monorail ride isn’t scheduled for another twenty minutes.”

Bahahahaha! Talk about being clueless 🤣🤣🤣

Drake bit back the reply that was on the tip of his tongue, now was not the time to argue about her intractable stubbornness. Instead, he asked the more pertinent question, “How long have you been having this particular set?” “About an hour.” “What?” His hands flew to his head, where he pulled at his own hair, this woman was going to be the death of him, “Why didn’t you tell one of us!”

Dying 🤣🤣🤣 She's so nonchalant while Drake is about to have a heart-attack! 😆

“I didn’t want to spoil everyone’s fun! It’s fine. I had contractions off and on for two days before I gave birth with both Ellie and Xander, remember?” “Yes, and I also remember that your labor with Jax was three hours from start to finish. Do you remember that?”

😬

“Drake! She’s in labor!” Max’s voice was laced with panic. “Yeah, no shit!” “We have to get her to the first aid tent!” “First aid tent? She doesn’t need a fucking Mickey Mouse band-aid Max! She needs a goddamned hospital!” Drake spat as he pulled out his phone.

But to be fair to Drake I don't think the first aiders would be able to cope with a pregnant woman... Or maybe they would? Disney gets A LOT of visitors - it's very possible that Riley wouldn't be the first mom to give birth unexpectedly at the park!

“Why are you calling 911? What’s happening?” Liam sounded panicked as he pushed his way through Drake and Max to get to Riley. Leo was right behind him, but Drake’s free arm shot out and clotheslined him before he could get to her. “Not the time, Rys!”

bahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahha 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Drake with his ninja skills even in a crisis!

“That’s good, but we have our own paramedics.” Jason explained.

Yes - makes sense.

“This is bullshit!” Riley gesticulated, “I should still have at least two more weeks!”

The fact that she's so angry 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Liam was sure his fingers were broken but he gritted his teeth as he reminded her, “Also, you didn’t get a sonogram until well into the second trimester, and the doctor said those are much less accurate for dating-“ If looks could kill Liam would have died, been resurrected and died again as Riley’s eyes boiled with rage, “I can’t help it that royal duties kept me too tied up for a sonogram, Liam, you’re the one who wanted me to be fucking queen, remember?”

Chris... 😶 Talk about fuckin' livid! Liam, move over - Drake is probably better placed to handle an in-labour and raging Riley 😆

Jason blinked, “Queen? What’s she-“ Max slapped him on the back with a nervous laugh, “Oh, ha ha ha, just a little inside joke!”

Drake looked up as a wall formed around them. Mickey, Mini, Pluto, Elsa, Dumbo, several of the dwarves, and Donald Duck had formed a barrier between them and onlookers. “It’s for your privacy.” Jason explained.

Omg that's just beyond creepy!!!!

There was a scuffle as men tried to push their way through the barricade. Drake craned his neck to see who it was then told Jason, “They need to let those men through!” “But, sir, we’re trying to protect her privacy-“

Wow... I get that Jason is trying to help, but this is just causing more mess than solving, isn't it? 😅

“No, I’m not. Not yet anyway, but I am a med student at UCLA.”

YOU COULD'VE SAID SOMETHING BEFORE!!!

“I don’t suppose anyone has gloves on hand?” Jason asked doubtfully. “Oh, yes, actually!” Max quickly pulled a pair of surgical gloves from the diaper bag. In response to Jason’s incredulous stare, Max explained, “For the extra messy diaper changes.”

Bonus points for Max! 👏👏👏

After a quick examination he said, “I’m pretty sure she’s fully dilated and effaced.” “Pretty sure?” Liam questioned. “Yes, pretty sure, I told you I’m a med student, not a doctor yet!”

Haha that he did! 😆

“Get her off the bench but hold her up, in a squatting position.” Jason instructed. “That’s the easiest position for delivery and the least painful.” “Then why do they have women lay down on their backs in hospitals?” Liam asked in perplexment.

Yes.............. Why indeed...........?

Liam and Drake pulled her upright, then Drake told her, “Look at me, baby, we’re going to squat down now, hold onto both of us and don’t let go, ok?” She just nodded as her eyes locked on his. They slowly sank toward the ground into a crouch as Max moved directly in front her, “Look at me now, Ri, ok? Just use me as your focal point, like we talked about, remember?”

Yey - team work finally kicks in 🥰 They're always at their most effective when they can work together! As each of them have different strengths and weaknesses 🤗

Somewhere behind them Leo had lost control of the kids, Jax was awake and crying, Xander had crawled under the bench Riley had just vacated to hide from Pluto. Ellie was explaining to Elsa how babies were made.

Hahaha figures 😅

Ellie was bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet, “Baby! Baby! I want to hold the baby!”

🤣🤣🤣

In the next instant, Jason had the baby in his hands, “Congratulations you guys! It’s a boy!”

Whoo! That was a ride and half! But very accurate - each subsequent labour is normally shorter and faster than the last one bc your body is gets more and more 'used' to it. Glad they were able to pull it off without a hitch! 🥰

PS - Sorry that this reblog is not as giffy as it normally is! My normal gif site is down atm 😞

Bad Romance Disney Adventure Chapter 3: Oh, Baby!

Miniseries: Bad Romance Disney Adventure

Main Series: Bad Romance

Fandom: The Royal Romance

Pairings for series: Riley x Liam, Liam x Max, Riley x Max, Riley x Drake, Riley x Leo (past)

Rating: MA

Warnings for this chapter: Language, Depiction of childbirth.

Word Count: 2,390  

A/N: This was originally supposed to be a three-shot, but here we are. It got away from me again, and now there will be one more chapter. (Ok, it was supposed to be a drabble in the first place, then it turned into a three-shot in the second place so I guess we've arrived at the third place)

A/N 2: This was inspired by an ask from @queen-arabella-of-cordonia and will be completed in the next chapter.

My other stuff: Master List.

Riley was tired. She’d been on her feet most of the day and she hadn’t even been able to ride half the things she’d wanted to because she was too pregnant. She was seriously thinking about leaving early and letting the guys deal with the kids. She didn’t want them to have to miss out, that’s why she hadn’t complained. Her feet hurt, her back hurt and the damn Braxton Hicks contractions kept getting worse. Almost as if they weren’t the irregular in frequency, less intense contractions that are the body’s way of preparing for labor and that usually go away with a position change.

But she was only thirty-seven weeks pregnant, and all her other babies had waited until thirty-nine weeks, except Jax who had to make a damn entrance or something, waiting until week forty-one. The contractions had to be Braxton Hicks, she was sure of it.

She paid for her purchases and let Max carry the bag as Drake carried a tired, cranky, absolutely missed his nap Jax. She listened to Max and Liam discuss where to eat for dinner as they walked.

“We may have to stop for snacks before then,” Max said, “Xander is starving.”

“Of course he is,” Liam replied, “his stomach is empty now!”

Drake chortled at the reminder, “Kid’s got excellent aim though.”

The group met Jason outside the bathrooms near Calypso Pool. “Where is he?” Riley asked.

Jason pointed and opened his mouth to answer but before he could even speak, Liam took the bag from Max, “I’ll take them to him, you stay put, love, you really should sit.”

Riley started to protest, but Drake forestalled that, “He’s right, babe, you’re hugely pregnant and you look tired. You should sit down, get off your feet for a minute.”

Riley gave him a doubtful look, “You and Liam just don’t want me near Leo and it’s silly because you know you have nothing to worry about, right? Especially in my condition! Even if I wanted him, which I don’t, by the way, but even if I did, I’m in no mood and no condition to be-“

“Ri, come on. He’s just asking you to rest for a minute, because you’ve been on your feet all day and because, as you just pointed out, you’re eight and half months pregnant!” Max cajoled, “We’re just worried about you; we just want to take care of you. I know you don’t need us to, you make it look so easy, you’re so pretty and you’re glowing, but we want to! So, come sit, for us? Just for a little bit? Please?”

Riley sighed as she waddled over to a nearby bench and let Max help lower her onto it. She was tired, and achy, but she wasn’t going to admit it.

Drake shook his head as he grumbled quietly to himself, “I don’t get it. Isn’t that exactly what I just said? But she listens to Max!”

“Nu uh.” Came a small voice.

Drake looked down at Ellie, “What?”

“You didn’t say the same thing, at all, tata.” She informed him.

“How was it different?”

“You said she was huge and looked tired. Poppa told her she was pretty, and he wanted to take care of her.” Ellie nodded sagely.

“I…..” Drake stared at her with his mouth open. She was right though, wasn’t she? How clueless was he that both Max and the eight year old understood how this worked better than he did? He blew out a frustrated sigh. His bluntness was not always a good thing.

While Drake was distracted with the kids, Riley let herself grimace at the pain as another contraction ripped through her body. She gritted her teeth as she breathed through it. She couldn’t lie to herself anymore. The contractions were real, and labor had started.

“Are you ok, Ri?” Max asked in concern.

Riley panted out, “It’s time.”

“It is?” Max blinked down at his phone screen, “No, our monorail ride isn’t scheduled for another twenty minutes.”

“Max!” Riley’s voice was a little shrill, it held notes of annoyance and exasperation that were usually reserved for Drake or Liam. He was the good boyfriend. His head snapped up in confusion, trying to figure out what he’d done wrong.

“Ri? What’s wrong little blossom?”

Riley gritted her teeth and pushed out a long breath before responding, “Contractions, Max, I’m having contractions!”

“You’re…what? Drake! Get over here!”

Drake hurried over to the bench, dragging all three kids with him. “What is it, Beaumont? Is she ok?”

“She’s having contractions!”

“For how long?”

“I don’t know!”

Drake turned to Riley and demanded, “How long?”

“I mean, I don’t know! I’ve been having them off and on all day.”

A cry of frustrated disbelief escaped him, “All day? Why the hell didn’t you say something?”

“They were Braxton Hicks! Meaningless! I have at least two weeks to go!”

Drake bit back the reply that was on the tip of his tongue, now was not the time to argue about her intractable stubbornness. Instead, he asked the more pertinent question, “How long have you been having this particular set?”

“About an hour.”

“What?” His hands flew to his head, where he pulled at his own hair, this woman was going to be the death of him, “Why didn’t you tell one of us!”

“I didn’t want to spoil everyone’s fun! It’s fine. I had contractions off and on for two days before I gave birth with both Ellie and Xander, remember?”

“Yes, and I also remember that your labor with Jax was three hours from start to finish. Do you remember that?”

“Right, but what are the odds-“ The sentence cut off as she pitched forward, grabbing her stomach and letting out a pained yelp.

“Drake! She’s in labor!” Max’s voice was laced with panic.

“Yeah, no shit!”

“We have to get her to the first aid tent!”

“First aid tent? She doesn’t need a fucking Mickey Mouse band-aid Max! She needs a goddamned hospital!” Drake spat as he pulled out his phone.

“Who are you calling?”

“911 to get a fucking ambulance, what do you think?”

“Why are you calling 911? What’s happening?” Liam sounded panicked as he pushed his way through Drake and Max to get to Riley.

Leo was right behind him, but Drake’s free arm shot out and clotheslined him before he could get to her. “Not the time, Rys!”

Leo fell backwards and landed on his ass on the pavement.

“I was just trying to help!” Leo protested from his spot on the ground as he rubbed the front of his neck in annoyance.

“Did he just say she’s in labor?” Jason asked Max.

“Yeah, I wanted to take her to the first aid tent but-“

“I’m not going anywhere, Max!” Riley yelled at him, “I’m in fucking labor and I. Am. Not. Moving!”

Jason pulled out his walkie talkie and started shouting into it.

“I’ve already called 911.” Drake told him.

“That’s good, but we have our own paramedics.” Jason explained.

“You do?”

“Yes, because they can get here quicker.”

“That’s…impressive actually.”

“Yes, well….”

“What?”

“Apparently someone had a heart attack on one of the other attractions and our paramedics are tied up at the moment.”

“Where is that ambulance?” Liam yelled as Riley squeezed his hand hard enough to cut off circulation. He didn’t dare complain about it though.

“This is bullshit!” Riley gesticulated, “I should still have at least two more weeks!”

Liam shook his head, “No, remember, Dr. Russo told you that an estimated due date is just that, estimated and you didn’t remember when your last period was so we couldn’t date by that-“

“I can’t help it if I’m irregular Liam!”

“I know, love, I’m not blaming you-”

“Well, it sure sounds like you are! Aaahhgghhh!” She gripped his hand even harder.

Liam was sure his fingers were broken but he gritted his teeth as he reminded her, “Also, you didn’t get a sonogram until well into the second trimester, and the doctor said those are much less accurate for dating-“

If looks could kill Liam would have died, been resurrected and died again as Riley’s eyes boiled with rage, “I can’t help it that royal duties kept me too tied up for a sonogram, Liam, you’re the one who wanted me to be fucking queen, remember?”

Jason blinked, “Queen? What’s she-“

Max slapped him on the back with a nervous laugh, “Oh, ha ha ha, just a little inside joke!”

Drake looked up as a wall formed around them. Mickey, Mini, Pluto, Elsa, Dumbo, several of the dwarves, and Donald Duck had formed a barrier between them and onlookers.

“It’s for your privacy.” Jason explained.

“Not like that big dog!” Xander pointed at Pluto.

Ellie turned to look where her brother was pointing. Pluto put his hands over his face then turned and ran away.

There was a scuffle as men tried to push their way through the barricade. Drake craned his neck to see who it was then told Jason, “They need to let those men through!”

“But, sir, we’re trying to protect her privacy-“

“I understand that, but those men are part of her security detail.”

“Security….who are you people? Your name’s not really Smith, is it?”

“I told you that was a lame alias, Liam!” Riley screamed at him.

The security team was let through, then the characters closed ranks again. The guardsmen formed a ring within the already existent ring, and both sets of people faced outwards, the security team scanning the crowd for threats, their backs to the royal family for privacy.

“What’s happening to mommy?” Xander started to cry.

“She’s having the baby, dummy.” Ellie told him.

“Here, Leo, be actually useful for once.” Drake said as he transferred a sleeping Jax from his arms to Leo’s so he could make his way to Riley’s side while Max comforted Xander.

Drake took her other hand in his, “Look at me babe, breath, like we learned from the doctor, remember?”

Her eyes fixed on his and she nodded as she mimicked the breaths he demonstrated for her.

“Excuse me, but, may I help?” Jason asked as he approached.

Drake gave him a fleeting look, “You’re not a doctor, so I don’t know what you think-“

“No, I’m not. Not yet anyway, but I am a med student at UCLA.”

“What?” Liam felt relief surge through him, “Then yes, yes! By all means!”

“Um…we’re going to need to remove her pants so I can check on things.”

She wasn’t letting go of either Liam or Drake’s hands so neither she nor they could pull her pants down.

“Max! Get over here!” Drake yelled.

“Coming!” He called out as he shoved Ellie and Xander toward Leo, “Stay with Uncle Leo, ok?”

Liam and Drake lifted her just enough for Max to remove all clothing from her lower body.

“I don’t suppose anyone has gloves on hand?” Jason asked doubtfully.

“Oh, yes, actually!” Max quickly pulled a pair of surgical gloves from the diaper bag. In response to Jason’s incredulous stare, Max explained, “For the extra messy diaper changes.”

“Ok.” Jason shrugged, taking the gloves and slipping them on, “Cool!”

After a quick examination he said, “I’m pretty sure she’s fully dilated and effaced.”

“Pretty sure?” Liam questioned.

“Yes, pretty sure, I told you I’m a med student, not a doctor yet!”

“Dilated and effaced? What’s that mean?” Leo asked.

“It means the baby’s coming now!” Riley yelled at him, why was he so annoying? Why were they all so annoying? “Shit! Fuck! I hate you all! None of you are ever touching me again!” She started to slide off the bench.

“Get her off the bench but hold her up, in a squatting position.” Jason instructed. “That’s the easiest position for delivery and the least painful.”

“Then why do they have women lay down on their backs in hospitals?” Liam asked in perplexment.

“That’s a good question, ain’t it?” Jason replied dismissively. He had other things to focus on.

Liam and Drake pulled her upright, then Drake told her, “Look at me, baby, we’re going to squat down now, hold onto both of us and don’t let go, ok?”

She just nodded as her eyes locked on his. They slowly sank toward the ground into a crouch as Max moved directly in front her, “Look at me now, Ri, ok? Just use me as your focal point, like we talked about, remember?”

She nodded as her fingers sank into both Liam and Drake’s shoulders.

Somewhere behind them Leo had lost control of the kids, Jax was awake and crying, Xander had crawled under the bench Riley had just vacated to hide from Pluto. Ellie was explaining to Elsa how babies were made.

“You can rest in between contractions.” Jason told her.

“Fuck you!” Riley panted, “There is no…uuuggghhh….in between…..gaahhhh!”

“Are you pushing?” Jason asked in alarm, this was information he needed to know.

She just gritted her teeth and bore down harder.

“She’s pushing.” Drake verified.

“The baby is crowning!” Jason informed them, “I can see the head!”

All three men spoke at once.

“You’re doing great baby!” Drake kissed the back of her hand.

“It’s almost over, love!” Liam gave her a quick kiss on the temple.

“You got this, Ri!” Max leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead.

Ellie was bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet, “Baby! Baby! I want to hold the baby!”

Xander had gone quite and wide eyed from his spot under the bench, thumb in his mouth, attention glued on his mother. Even Leo was silent for the first time all day. Not a single smart assed remark left his lips as he watched Riley squatting on the ground at Disneyland, pushing out a baby while he rocked Jax in his arms, patting the child’s back and swaying softly side to side.

“The head is out!” Jason announced, “You’re almost done, Riley, one more push, make it a good one!”

Riley sank her fingers into Liam and Drake’s shoulders hard enough to bruise as a low, guttural sound ripped out of her, but neither man flinched away.

In the next instant, Jason had the baby in his hands, “Congratulations you guys! It’s a boy!”