#also the kids are fosters so like they deserve to be loud and happy and play

[katyobsesses]

My neighbour's garden is a fucking amphitheatre that projects noise right into my window I swear. And they have kids, loud kids.

[mochiwrites]

from songbird, are there any grum and jrum thoughts you can share? I just think them and mumbo’s dynamic is so interesting

em beloved!!! :D

and also grum and jrum my beloveds 🥺🥺

some fun facts for you! grum is the older of the pair, he was 13 when mumbo was forced to turn him. and jrum was about 10. obvi they’re way older, but that’s the age of their physical appearances.

between the two of them, grum is the more reserved and quieter one. he’s very polite, respectful. big on rules. he’s very protective of his brother and mumbo. meanwhile jrum is very much happy go lucky. he’s loud and energetic and too trusting. he’s the type that makes silly little hand made cards for grum and jrum during holidays and special occasions

( jrum made mumbo a card for father’s day once. mumbo cried. a lot. )

their parents were pretty well off for their time. but due to an unfortunate accident, they passed away, leaving grum and jrum alone. they had no living relatives so into foster care they went and they uh. ran away.

which is partly how they met mumbo! and they were really curious about him and stuck around until mumbo grew to care about them.

grum and jrum see mumbo as their dad, but they also know how guilty he feels for turning them into vampires. they see how he looks at them like his heart has just been broken. so to ease mumbo’s guilt, they try to help him however they can. they do chores and take care of the house, and try to stop mumbo from punishing himself ( hence why jrum brought grian (and other humans in the past) to the manor <3 )

they don’t call him dad ( even if they do want to because mumbo just. is their dad ), but there have been a few times where the title slipped out. mumbo never spoke about it with them.

I think deep down, mumbo really does see grum and jrum as his kids. but he feels like he failed them and he doesn’t deserve to be their father. but he’d do anything to keep them safe and happy.

[earnestly-endlessly]

kind of an odd request — do you have fics where erik is grumpy with everyone else but a ray of sunshine with charles?

Hi anon, thank you for the ask. First and foremost, I'm so sorry for how long this took me but I've been searching for all the fics that come to mind that fit your request. Second, this is not an odd request because I love this trope so much. I mean, it's basically canon that he's grumpy with everyone except for his Charles, right? Anyway, I might add to this list later on, but I can't sit on this any longer and hope that you have found some fics that you enjoy!!

Fic Recs Where Erik is grumpy with everyone but a ray of sunshine with Charles

Twice as Blind – Darksknight

Summary: Erik is probably the biggest asshole on the face of the earth, and because of this, he'll probably die alone. Charles is a complete flirt and playboy and, probably, will never commit to anyone ever.

(The lesson here is that when you have two friends who are BOTH secretly seeing someone, well, it's probable that they're seeing each other.)

In the moonlight, on a joy ride – scarlettblush

Summary: Librarian AU. Charles is the young librarian and Erik is the college student who is completely besotted with him.

The Proper Care of Actors – Clear_Liqueur, Clocks, Etherei, afrocurl

Summary: Erik is an A-list action star who is notoriously difficult to work with, until the day he gets cast alongside Charles Xavier, rom-com darling who can charm the pants off movie audiences the world over and apparently even one Erik Lehnsherr. The paparazzi catch them out and about soon enough, and their real-life Hollywood movie romance becomes instant tabloid fodder.

Rumor Mill – ikeracity

Summary: Erik is the grumpiest, most foul tempered worker at Stark industries. His grumpiness is the stuff of legends.

So it's obviously the talk of the office when Erik is being made to go to the company party and he's bringing his husband. There's rumors flying round about how much of a masochist or equally antisocial bastard Erik's husband must be to put up with him. Others think he must be a meek mouse perhaps bullied by Erik.

What they weren't expecting was the confident, charming, adorable and unbelievably nice Charles that turns up on Erik's arm. What they certainly weren't expecting was how much Erik obviously adores his husband and how happy he is to let others see this.

Work/Life Balance – pocky_slash

Summary: Alex is pretty sure his weird, anti-social boss is a robot. Right up until the guy's adorable husband shows up. His adorable husband who happens to be a famous actor. His adorable husband who happens to be the very same famous actor who was the source of many of Alex's teenage fantasies.

Terrifying Domesticity – ishipitsobad

Summary: Erik is the most dangerous and notorious mafia boss around for miles, and yet the strangest things terrify him.

For example: his children, and his very pregnant mate.

Of kittens and teacups and love – Ren

Summary: Modern AU in which Charles and Erik are flatmates. Charles studies psychology and likes tea and chess and keeps bringing home stray kittens, and Erik lets him because he's maybe perhaps a little bit sort of in love with him.

Fools Rush In – LoveSupreme

Summary: Erik owns a cafe on the edge of campus and accidentally starts maybe-stalking a Biology Professor there.

Growing Pains – ikeracity

Summary: Twelve-year-old Erik Lehnsherr is an angry, closed-off foster kid with trust issues and a bad temper. Ten-year-old Charles Xavier is a lonely kid in boarding school who just wants a friend.

Logan pretends he doesn't think they're both fucking adorable.

Series

Home Together (The Finding Our Way Remix) – significantowl

Summary: Erik is not the sort of person other students strike up conversations with. His expression, his posture, every part of his manner say: Don’t talk to me. I don’t want to talk to you. But none of that stops the boy ahead of him in line with the collapsible white cane, and nothing can stop Erik from falling for him, like it or not.

Melted Ice Cream and Macaroni Art – pocky_slash

Summary: Everybody likes Charles. Nobody likes Erik. And that's really the source of Erik's doubts. Also, there's ice cream and a baby. Part of ‘the Daycare’ verse.

Walling in or Walling Out – stlkrchck

Summary: Erik stifles a sigh. Of course this is Mr. C. F. Xavier. Of course.

For the prompt: Charles and Raven are throwing a holiday party. Erik is the grumpy neighbor who is annoyed by how loud they are being. So he goes to complain, and Charles makes it up to him.

(Wise Men Say) Only Fools Rush In – wildelybroken

Summary: After reading a fic where Erik and Charles are super sluts, meet at what is presumably Raven and Emma's engagement party, and end up sleeping together, I made the following comment and just inspired myself.

"They start casually texting each other throughout the day, maybe while they’re bored or frustrated at work, and start out meeting up and sleeping together semi-frequently. And eventually they accidentally start dating without noticing it at first, not until Raven and Emma get them alone and are like “wtf you two super sluts are actually dating??” And at first they deny, but then they’re both like “holy shit, we are!” And they meet back at one of their places and they don’t have to say anything, they just look at each other and come together immediately, kissing passionately and ~making love~. In the middle of it they realise that’s what they’ve been doing for a long time now and they confess their love to each other and they live happily ever after because they deserve all the good in the world."

For Charles – Shigai

Summary: Tired of being told he has to find his 'heart', classical piano graduate Erik Lehnsherr decides to travel to Italy and drink from the famous Italian passion for music. While searching for it, he meets Charles Xavier, a graduate in Fine Arts who is basically travelling around the world perfectioning his technique, and who will turn his world upside down.

Together they will discover that, sometimes, what you thought you didn't need is what you needed the most.

Erik Hates People – Anonymous

Summary: Erik hates people- it's his rule, a way of living.

Sugar – humanitys_cutest

Summary: Erik glances at the clock for what feels like the tenth time in less than half the minutes. It feels like he's been in some meeting or other since the day started almost 10 hours ago, and he's had just about enough of listening to these pompous old men discuss what would be the best design for his building like they know anything about it. He tries as subtly as possible to massage his temples to assuage the building migraine, but he knows it's no use.

He just wants to go home.

Everyone Likes Charles – Rosawyn

Summary: '“Everyone who's met him likes him.” Cain's grin was even stupider than before. “Once you meet him, you'll see.”

It was almost like a challenge then. And damn. Erik hated saying no to a challenge.'

Still Going Strong – JackyJango

Summary: Speaking of forty-eight, Erik hates it. Hates it even more that others are aware of it. While he’s pragmatic enough to know and accept that aging is inexorable, the increase in number gives the people around him the freedom to pounce at him with questions, opinions and advice he'd fought to keep at bay all year.

Besides, Erik believes that youth is a state of mind, not a phase in one’s life.

You have a child’s mind in a man’s body, Charles constantly tells him.

But despite his age, Erik is healthy. He works out daily. His muscles are steel and he can dead-lift four hundred pounds. He can break bones without breaking a sweat. Most importantly, he can still carry Charles to the bedroom and fuck him senseless. And as long as Erik can do that, he’s perfectly happy.

All I know is pouring rain and everything has changed – hllfire

Summary: Charles meets Erik, the man he had heard about many times from his sister and some friends, on a rainy Sunday morning. The stories about Erik paint him as a distant and intimidating man, but Charles finds out that maybe the stories had been wrong.

How to Successfully Ruin Your Life – humanveil

Summary: Seventeen-year-old Charles Xavier accepts a job at his local café, expecting nothing more than a fun, new pastime. What he gets is a mysterious customer and a schoolboy crush.

Stolen – ishipitsobad

Summary: Erik is a miserable, grumpy, cantankerous bastard, and he has every fucking right to be. He drew the short end of the stick when he got the Underworld as his domain, and there isn't very much fun to be had in judging and governing dead souls who would rather be anywhere else but with Erik in the depths of Hell.

So when he meets Charles, brilliant and lovely Charles who is more popularly known amongst the mortals as Persephone, and feels the promise of something wonderful that could make his eternally doomed existence infinitely more bearable... you can bet all your drachmas Erik's not going to let Charles go any fucking time soon.

Erik Lehnsherr's Guide to Saving the Universe By Meeting Your Soul-Mate and Falling in Love in Less than 72 Hours – magneto, pangea

Summary:Army Pilot Erik Lehnsherr is just trying to enjoy his day off when a mostly naked person crashes through the roof of his car. Even more alarming, the strange falling naked person—who goes by Charles Xavier when he's not speaking an ancient dead language—brings tidings of the apparent potential end of the world, and begs Erik to help him put a stop to it.

Well. His mother has been nagging at him to go out and meet new people.

The Theory of Partnership Dynamics – Pangea

Summary: “Detective Lehnsherr, how wonderful to see you out on the job!” The fed in the front greets him as they draw nearer. He’s shorter than the other two by a full head, and he’s beaming at Lehnsherr as if completely undeterred by Lehnsherr’s paint-peeling scowl.

“What do the feds want?” Lehnsherr asks bluntly.

“You know I can’t tell you that,” the fed answers cheerfully. Then his gaze lands on Alex, and, impossibly, his grin gets even brighter. “Did you get a new partner?"

“No,” Lehnsherr says through his teeth while at the same time Alex says, “Yes.”

[twicearoundthesun]

baby smc Dahyun:

Dubu is the clingiest little bb omg, she constantly wants to be held or taken care of and they’re happy to (but also trying to get her in the habit of being a lil more independent bc the doctor says they should). They’re more lenient with it, though - i mean, the kid lost her parents at a really young age and then got thrown into the foster system, she deserves a lot of cuddles.

She’s really excitable and gets VERY energetic when she’s happy, but she’ll sometimes get overwhelmed if theres too much going on in the world around her or everything is too loud (jeongyeon is great at recognizing this early and sweeping her off to a calmer, quiet place for cuddles). She loves all her unnies but sees Nayeon and Jeongyeon as kinda “parental” figures, the ones in charge at the end of the day, because she lives with them and sees them the most and bc she was always used to having two parents in her life before the accident. She’ll mis-remember early life events as having Nayeon and Jeongyeon in them but the two do their best to remind her without upsetting her, because they think its important that she knows she had two wonderful parents that loved her very much (“Unnie remember when we went to disney?” “Baby, that was your mommy and daddy with you. Here, lets look at the pictures you have of Disney with them!”)

Momo and Sana are great at matching her energy bursts, though, and she looooves being with them. She sleeps over the MoSaJiMi apartment at least once a week (or more if she can get everyone to fall for her puppy dog eyes) and loves sleeping cuddled up with the two of them… She’s the cuddliest baby so of course she loves her cuddliest Unnies. Jline teaches all the kids little words and phrases in Japanese, but Dahyun seems to be the only kiddo it’s sticking with. Sometimes she mashes it together with her Korean and 3mix has to decipher lol

She’s definitely the baby who’s most likely to throw a ‘tantrum’, but they’ve realized it’s usually got something to do with feeling a little bit of sensory overload. They’ve all got their little ways to calm her down and make her feel safe. She’s the most difficult to put to bed sometimes, too, she’ll have trouble sleeping and go looking for cuddles (sometimes she plays this up because she just wants some cuddles, and thats ok too).

She loooves Kookeu bc he’s small and fluffy and (lazy ) gentle but Boo can sometimes be a little too big and energetic and rough for her. Theyre working on her tiny fear of doggos.

basically she’s the sweetest most lovable little bean 🥺

[mcu-fan-fics-blog]

The Helping Hand

This is a Repost from my Ao3 I wanted to bring it to Tumblr. I hope you like it Its currently 5 chapters I will be uploading the rest throughout the rest of the week.

Word count: 1660 approx

Summary: Y/N Krast Illegitimate Daughter of Tony Stark. Product of an unwanted teen pregnancy. What would Howard Stark be capable of doing to assure his sons future? What will happen when Tony meets our Beautiful, young, genius, rich philanthropist.

Tw: Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Drug use, Drug addiction, Teen Pregnancy. (If there are any I missed please tell me.)

Introduction Ch.1

Ch.2

Back Story 

(AU Howard and Maria Stark were not killed by the Winter Soldier.)

Your name is Y/N Krast First Born Daughter of Tony Stark. Sent away by Howard and Maria Stark. You being the result of an unwanted teen pregnancy. You don't know who your mother or father are. Howard Stark secretly kept in contact with you, until he passed.

Howard gave you a comfortable life and a bountiful trust fund that you gained access to on your 18th Birthday also the year he died. You are a Genius having finished college and high school at the same time with a master’s in Computer Engineering with a minor in Biology. 

After Howards’ death, you were lost… you decided to help others. Thinking that maybe that would help you feel a semblance of happiness. You went to the one place you knew people needed help Sokovia. 

You weren't there for long when you realized that you loved being there. The people and the culture were so welcoming and loving… at least towards you. The people definitely had their reservations, but you didn't mind.

You did as much as you could… you lived a simple life. Gave up the luxury in which you were raised and traded it for a small two-bedroom apartment that you shared with a friend who needed help with the rent. You opened a medical facility it was by no means the best but it could do the job. 

You taught people basic medical procedures, not surgery… but everyday accidents and the occasional riot scene. Stitches and patch-up jobs.

"Hey, y/n what do you want me to do with these boxes here?" You look at him confused when you realize what he is holding. 

"Umm… just leave them there I want to go through them before I leave." David gives you a fond look as he moves to sit next to you. "It's crazy to hear you say that… It seems like just yesterday you were that fresh-faced kid trying to help people."

You clear your throat as you see where the conversation is heading. "Don't go getting all sentimental on me… not now David." You give David a reassuring smile, but to your luck, he doesn't buy it. Now looking at you more seriously he says "Y/N it’s ok. We all understand why you're leaving, no one is mad or angry, just sad you will be missed around here."

You feel your eyes start to water and you quickly turn away from David trying to hide your tears to no avail. "It's just that I’m going to miss this too." He holds your shoulders and turns you to face him. He holds your face, the tears building in his own eyes, and pulls you into a hug. 

"You will always be welcome back, you hear me. Now we are both going to stop crying on the count of 3… and were going to pretend that didn't just happen alright." You nod your head slowly agreeing to the terms you collect yourself. What David and you had is the closest thing either of you had to family. He pulled away slowly but determined. 

"Okay, no more sad stuff alright… the town wants to throw you a going-away party. And you can't say no they just want to say goodbye." You sigh a smile slowly forming on your face and agree. After all, it had been two wonderful years in which you found yourself.

You are interrupted when you hear a knock at the door. It was rather startling but you've grown used to it by now. Shortly after the loud bangs, you called knocks you hear the door open and close. "How are my two favorite people in the world doing?"

Vivian or Viv for short. "Just peachy" you reply, hearing her laugh at your snarky reply. "I'm in my room and David went out to get things situated for the party." 

"Oh well, I just came here to… well you know say goodbye. You are my best friend and I will not forget what you did for me and for my family."

You walk out of your room wearing black jeans and a leather jacket. "You know I would do it again in a heartbeat." Viv hums disapprovingly trying to play it off buy fails. "You see that's exactly what I'm afraid of. You jumped into that building because you didn't care if you did. As heroic as it might seem it was suicidal and we both know it."

You stumble looking for the words " I umm… I was there's no point in lying, but it's not like that anymore." She nods subtlely but you see it in her eyes she's relieved. You take the "out" and change the subject. 

"Come on Viv lighten up it's my last night here and we're missing out on my own party." You nudge her and within seconds you get out of your apartment and into the streets that have seen you grow into the person you now are. 

The party was more than you deserved… There were home-cooked meals and homemade desserts. People that you have grown to be acquainted with saying goodbye and wishing you luck. You can't help but thank them all sincerely. Once the party is over you head back home with David taking in the last of your stay here. 

Once in your apartment you hesitate but end up calling David to your room. "I don't know if you noticed but I never unpacked this box. It was Howard's stuff." David's eyes open showing his surprise. "The Howard… why didn't you open it." 

You sigh not knowing exactly why you didn't "Well we're opening it tonight." You make your way to the box and as if you were a wild animal you ravage the package open not realizing how much you actually wanted to open the box. 

As you analyze the things in the box your eyes begin to water. There are pictures and mementos of your greatest moments stored in a single place. There's a picture of when you first met Howard you were 11. You chuckle lightly causing David to Burst out laughing. "I umm… I'm sorry but you were one ugly kid." You playfully slap his arm. 

"I was, wasn't I. Howard saved me you know in this picture I had just gotten out of the worst foster home I'd ever been in." You'd never said much about your time in the system so David let you talk. "They would hit us, starve us, and some were even sexually assaulted." 

David processes what you had just confessed to him realizing that it's probably not even half of what you've been through. "Howard was my saving grace… I was quite the ugly kid inside and out. I was a kid that had no hope in the world, but Howard changed that."

David collects his thoughts and says "I'd say he did a damn good job you brought hope to everyone here… you know kids here aspire to be like you… you are a great role model." You give him a sincere smile and give him a hug. 

"David, I'm going to miss you, but it's time for me to go. Never doubt calling me for anything no matter how big or small. And I hope that you and Viv continue the work in the practice. Also, you know that Viv likes you, give her a chance. I don't want either of you to be alone… be alone together. Also she could help you with the rent of the place." Your say laughing. "Now go to bed and we'll leave early tomorrow."

David chuckles while leaving your room. When you hear his door close you continue looking through the things in the box.

Flashback 

"Krast come downstairs there's someone here to see you." You jump up startled and cautiously make your way downstairs. You hear part of a conversation but don't invest yourself. You're too frightened when you get to where you heard voices there is a man standing there.

"Ah, you must be the young Y/N Krast. How are you, I'm Howard." You don't reply but rather look at Mr. Evans who nods ever so slightly giving you your cue. "I’m doing well." He's silent for a moment then continues "I hear you're quite the genius." You simply nod. When Mr. Evans decides to cut in rather tactlessly. 

"Well, Mr. Howard is here to take you to a new home." You look at him incredulously then turning to Howard and asking him quite bluntly "Are you adopting me?"

Howard simply says "Not exactly, but you will have a family to care for you." The look in his eyes gives you some reassurance. That same afternoon he took you to "your new home." 

You quickly find out what he meant by "Not exactly" while you were living in a better home, you were being raised by employees. Howard would come around every week a couple of times. You both enjoyed each other's company and quickly you grew fond of him.  

"Y/N hurry up we're going to be late" Howard yelled "Yup im coming, you know if you'd given more than a couple hours heads up id be ready." Howard only chuckles and let that comment slide. You both knew that was a lie.

End Flashback 

The morning went by rather quickly. Now you're on the tarmac waiting for your plane to arrive. David was holding your hand while neither of you mentioned it you could not have been more grateful.

"You go and kill em all. Alright I want to see you in a magazine or something. And don't forget to mention me as the greatest inspiration, your daily motivation, and the drive behind you."

You can only chuckle "Those aren't the words I would use to describe you but you are the best." You jug him and wave him off as you board your plane. You cant help but feel guilty as you're currently lying to everyone you care about, but there's no going back now. 

[queerdiaz]

Based on the gifs I can honestly say I have no clue whether or not the episode had a happy ending- but it looks like the gay boys were exceedingly gay for eachother and y'all got whump content? That's good!

But seriously, congrats for surviving one of your "big episodes", now get yourself a warm drink and some cookies (you deserve it!! :D)

alajssksjshshshhs again this is so sweet thank you so much!

Honestly? We got such good ass content with these two gay firefighters even with one of the starting a relationship with a woman. Like it's unreal. First, like you said, we got the perfect amount of whump, Buck literally quickly crawling under a firetruck and GRABBING Eddie (who got shot) with one hand and then dragging him back under the fire truck to safety. AND THEN when they're on their way to the hospital we get Buck ripping Eddie's shirt open and keeps telling him to stay with him and then Eddie wakes just a little and sees blood on Buck's face (it's Eddie's btw) he immediately asks if Buck is okay. Like the man is half-concious, just for shot and bleeding out, and yet his first concern is if Buck's okay. Like??

AND THAT'S JUST THE BEGINNING

The rest of the episode we get Buck being the good coparent that he is and has to tell Eddie's son, Christopher, about what happened. And then when he gets the text that says that Eddie will be okay and tells Chris, THIS MAN FREAKING SOBS IN FRONT OF HIM bc he can't hold it in any longer and then Chris comforts HIM. Like how sometimes kids comforts their parents when something happens to their other parent. And then we see Buck taking care of Christopher.

Meanwhile Buck is not dealing with what happened to Eddie well like AT ALL and practically wants to be the next target of the sniper that shot Eddie if it meant keeping his firefam (who are his family in all the ways) safe bc he feels guilty.

Which leads me to Eddie waking up and thanking Buck for taking care of Chris. Buck basically tells him that it should've been Buck who got shot rather than Eddie (who btw looks SO offended I can't even).

AND THEN AND THEN later Buck is the one to take Eddie home and when they're ready to leave, Eddie brings that up again and tells him that when he almost died last year (all these characters get hurt so much I can't even) it made him think of what would happen to Christopher if he died and so he changed his will to make Buck Chris' guardian. And Buck had no idea lol. And then when Buck asks him why, Eddie tells him "Because, Evan, you think you're expendable but you're not."

So yeah we were FED. Eddie is okay and we got great whump, Buck was going out of his freaking mind and broke down in front of a child (which he never does). Buck is now Eddie's son's guardian if anything were to happen to him and he was already acting like it this ep anyways. And it continues with the theme of Eddie not trusting anyone else in the world with his son than him (something Eddie LITERALLY told him back in the beginning of s3). So yeah, even when Buck got a freaking new gf, these two could NOT be more gay for each other. Like stop being so damn loud you two.

And with the other angst, the couple who are like THE couple of the show had a terrible, angsty fight last ep but not only did they talk their issues through (communication is key ppl) BUT Athena also went to go save Bobby and LITERALLY walked through fire for him (I like to point out that she is not inf act a firefighter).

And Maddie who was starting to deal with postpardon depresion last ep asked SO (Chimney) for help and he was 100% supportive so she's gonna get the help he needs.

Oh and my two married lesbian queens (Hen and Karen) who earlier this season had to deal with giving their foster daughter back to her mother were able accidentally reunite with her and ended up having a picnic together.

In conclusion: this episode did what this show does best. It dealt with everyone dealing with hard things but then having an inspiring ending that makes the viewer both cry AND feel hopeful. So yeah it had a happy ending and we were able to survive without not feeling too much of wanting to throw things at the TV (this ep is literally called "Survivors" too )

Anyways, I did not mean to recap everything and you really didn't need to know all of that I just had to get my emotions out lol. But again, thank you so much for congratulating me on surviving this episode. They really put us through the ringer these past two eps I swear.

Thank you!!!

[d4rkpluto]

𝔣𝔢𝔢𝔡𝔟𝔞𝔠𝔨 𝔣𝔬𝔲𝔯

(they have allowed me to share everything, i believe this was the most accurate reading i have done, it scares me to be honest, the feedback is pretty lengthy)

❦ ok i wanna start off by saying this was by far the most detailed & personable natal chart reading i’ve ever received. i felt like you were in the room with me while reading it tbh, idk if that even makes sense.

❦ i thought it was extremely funny how you mentioned i have a loud tone of voice because literally everyone in my life tells me i'm loud when i don’t even realize it. also you said that my food taste is influenced my by father & i tend to like yellow/spicy food which is completely accurate, i'm half Dominican paternally and i obsess over any type of spanish food.

❦ school was extremely transformative for me. as you stated i may have had traumas that shown through in school, most of my subconscious traumas did come to light within school. early elementary i showed a lot of attention seeking behavioral patterns as well as inappropriate discussion topics for a child that age. during intermediate school there was a lot more escapist tendencies, focusing more on not being involved much with family/school. there were times i had to lie to faculty about where my bruises would come from. high school was the hardest, i’ll only share that when i was put into foster care i was sitting in my headmasters office. i learned a lot more about the negatives and dark side of life and focused a lot more on making it through than living a childhood.

❦ you mentioned my mother being earthy well gf you’re so right📷 she’s a cap sun, libra moon, cap ascendant & probably my biggest trigger/unknown enemy. she was definitely more picky and critical my entire life, causing myself to be self critical, and she was very possessive of myself and my siblings, using us as a scape goat with our fathers/grandparents. my mother’s side of the family in general is very possessive (when myself and my 5 siblings got put into foster care there were multiple fights about who got which kid like we were some object)

❦ i thought it was scary accurate your interpretation of myself on social media because i tend to be more “mysterious” but oh no when i have my episodes everything is reflected on my pages (thank god for private blogs)

❦ i am extremely protective of children like you mentioned. i actually work with children that have developmental and behavioral disabilities, and i started raising some of my siblings at the age of 5 so i have this motherly instinct over them.

❦ my brother is younger than me BUT he’s much taller than me so i’m counting that as a big brother, he has a huge ego (leo/scorpio/leo) and we tend to butt heads a lot on how to cope/deal with the trauma we’ve been through.

❦ OUCH- i’m going to talk about both your lilith and chiron interpretations here because the accuracy & the pain of the accuracy is real. my need for revenge is disgusting, sometimes i feel like a bad person because of it but nothing satisfies me more than seeing people get what they deserve. when i was younger i was coerced into a situation that i wasn’t ready for and taken advantage of. after than i became very embarrassed of my sexual nature. it took a long while for myself to feel remotely comfortable again, but my insecurities still shine through with this need to be in control. (the last paragraph of your lilith interpretation was scary relatable and a little too personal to share, but the accuracy was amazing thank you<3) i did in fact have to grow up at such a young age and i lost grasp of things i enjoyed doing, things that made me happy and i thought was fun. i still have these feelings sometimes, just sitting in my house on a nice day because i have no idea what makes me happy. my mother has caused to most hurt to me, she was a single mom as she was my main life teacher as you mentioned.

❦ my friends always tell me i’m confusing and mysterious, i’m always giving great advice and i’m always great with helping people but i’m horrible with letting people help me. i tend to look through rose colored glasses, as you stated, within my relationships, seeing things as i want to see them opposed for what they are. i never had a good picture of what a relationship is due to my fathers absence and my mother’s rotating partners so i created my own.

❦ i wasn’t always great at communicating but once i learned how to communicate i did find that this was the best way for me to release pent up thoughts/emotions. i have a ton of siblings, and i don’t really know my siblings on my dads side like you mentioned not having information on relatives. this directly relates to your impression of my father mentioned under my sun sign.

❦ i do really enjoy crime & serial killer documentaries, i’m fully immersed with learning about anything occult. i LOVE astrology, life became so much easier when i discovered it and all of this falls under everything you wrote for my uranus.

❦ the way i express my emotions/love can be found in my music (i am super huge on playlists for every mood) i’m definitely a hopeless romantic as you said, i tend to fully emerge myself into a relationship, kind of wanting this otherworldly soul connection causing unrealistic daydreams.

❦ i find myself to be very lucky within work like you mentioned and very healthy for the most part. but i do also find myself being over indulgent & suffering from substance abuse when i feel like withdrawing.

❦ i touched on some of saturns topics earlier but i wanted to point out your comments on tattoos 📷📷 i have an entire arm sleeve and random tattoos throughout my body BUT girl i felt so attacked when you stated “there could be tattoos that were thought very quickly, some tattoos where you think “yeah i should’ve thought about that longer”” ahaha, i have at least 3 tattoos like that! i love them all the same but definitely can tell which tattoos were impulsive.

❦ i do have a tendency to try to escape the physical world, more often than not. i definitely find myself smoking and going on late night drives to get the best escape, but also find myself sitting in my own head sometimes because i got used to escaping mentally when i couldn’t physically.

❦ i’m extremely emotional, obviously bc of my cancer moon, but the way you were able to rope everything together was scary good. i feel a lot, almost everything, but i also feel this impending weight on not sharing what i feel? my mother’s rule growing up was “what goes on in this house stays in this house” and i got a lot of my ‘secretiveness’ from that. mostly due to feeling like a burden or a problem after sharing. i’ve witness my mother get arrested on multiple occasions, even had to console my siblings and pull them away from it before. i’m moody, possessive, and comfort-seeking as you stated, all traits i can see that i’ve acquired from my mother. i find myself taking on a mother role within relationships, platonic, familial, and romantic and i can see in my past where i’ve gotten taken advantage of from that. ❦ overall this reading was amazing, you know me without knowing me. i feel understood and accepted. the time it took to write this and feel the things you wrote make you one amazing astrologer and human being. i love your work as a whole, thank you so much. you’re a d4rk angel📷

(longest feedback i've gotten and i love it, im glad my astrology skills have been upgrading)

natal chart reading feedback ❦

[jckelly]

updated intro / jack 101

Is that JACK KELLY? Wow, they do look a lot like VAN MCCANN. I hear HE is an NINETEEN year old FRESHMEN who are studying AEROSPACE ENGINEERING  at Luxor University. Word is they are an ARISTOCRAT student. You should watch out because they can be PHILOPHOBIC and INSINCERE, but on the bright side they can also be WITTY and IMAGINATIVE. Ultimately, you’ll get to see it all for yourself. [YUNI, 21, GMT, SHE/HER]

 the other two got updated intros n rat man felt left out

basics

full name: jackson noel kelly 

nicknames: jack (does not answer to jackson)

date of birth: december 25, 2001

zodiac: capricorn sun, leo ascendant, sagittarius moon

nationality: dual uk and us citizenship

sexual orientation: straight but will try anything once

course: aerospace engineering

appearance

faceclaim: van mccann 

voiceclaim: van mccann

ethnicity: white (english, irish)

height: 5′8 / 173cm

weight: 58kg / 127lbs

eye colour: blue

hair colour: brown

distinctive features: freckles (many), left ear pierced, scars on his wrists usually covered by long sleeves, northern english accent

clothing preferences: jack prefers to only wear black, or at a push grey, although he’s slowly improving and will Occasionally mix it up with ... navy. his style is pretty basic, usually just a sweater, jeans, and beat up black converse or doc martens depending on how emo he’s feeling. the sheffield united hoodie makes an appearance every time someone forgets precisely which uk city jack is from. 

personality

overview

positive traits: witty, imaginative, perseverant, passionate

negative traits: philophobic, disloyal, insincere, callous

mbti: entp

religious beliefs: atheist

description

the first side most people see of jack is the side he wants you to see. a total asshole. it’s not an exaggeration - he’s pretty much infamous for flirting with everyone, dating anyone and as a serial cheater. he’ll actively try to worm his way into your life, and then just when you start to care, he does something to hurt you. he’s strangely persistent, probably helping him to push people even further, until they snap. there is nothing which satisfies him more than managing to wind people up to the extreme, get them to the point where they give up. adopted parents, friends, nobody is immune to this side - he even tries it on the people he genuinely cares about, as if just to see if he’ll still be able to push them away.

the second side, which most people don’t see, is that at heart jack is a kid. he’s the type of person to ask if owls have ears at 3am, or get some childlike joy out of dumb jokes. of course, this is the side nobody but a very small number of people see. and even if you do see it, it never lasts long. he keeps his true personality under wraps even amongst those he does like, and it only slips out if he’s extremely comfortable with you. otherwise, he’ll go straight back to being a sarcastic, flirty piece of shit.

biography

jackson noel kelly was born in hell on ironically christmas day to his father satan......

jk

jack and his older half brother finn were born in sheffield, united kingdom, to a single mother. a drug addict, she was notorious among social workers for neglecting her children and as a result jack shuffled between foster homes and his mother’s home during his first ten years of life, with finn, less than four years older than him, being his primary carer even when he was back with his birth family. this cycle finally ended when jack was ten and he was permanently removed from his mother’s care, and placed in the first of a series of foster homes which didn’t last particularly long.

the thing was, jack’s remarkably good at pushing people away when he wants to, and as he got older his talents only increased. running away, wreaking havoc, insulting anyone who tried to get close and anything else he could possibly think of meant that for three years he lasted no longer than eight months in any one place. in fact, he frequently took himself back to live with his birth family until social services came to drag him out again. this lifestyle continued until he was fostered by his now adopted parents, claire and george, at thirteen.

much to jack’s dismay, no matter of hell raising would push these newest set of parents away. in fact, they seemed absolutely set on raising him as Their Son, even as his attempts to get them off his back got more and more extravagant. they removed him from his previous school, transferred him to a fancy private school, put him in therapy and tried their best to help him get through all of the issues developed through his slightly fucked up childhood.

the thing was, jack loves his mother. he still refuses to see her as being in the wrong, no matter what people tell him or what he himself recalls, in his mind he has one mother and that’s his birth mother. so he did not take kindly to attempts by his foster parents to become his “new” family, because in jack’s mind? he already had a family. and even though they were actively encouraging him to continue contact with his brother, he couldn’t help but see them as trying to replace his birth family.

jack’s fifteenth year pretty much became the year when all of these issues finally came to a head. he was adopted legally by his foster parents, who had now been fostering him for two years - which should have been a happy occasion, but for jack represented the final loss, the final betrayal to his birth mother and brother. then shortly after his fifteenth birthday his brother went to prison at eighteen for grievous bodily harm, having glassed another boy after an argument.

of course, it would later be revealed that in actuality the assault had been committed by jack. and that finn was simply covering for him. (they looked alike enough that questions were not raised, it had happened so fast.) but in the eyes of jack’s adopted parents, finn was now a dangerous offender and jack had to be protected from him. so he was then isolated from his brother, his mother had relapsed and his continuous guilt over being adopted played on his mind, culminating in a suicide attempt in march 2017. 

of course, he wasn’t successful, but this was the final straw in the minds of his adopted parents. they felt jack needed a fresh start, away from the people who had defined his life prior to that point. so by his sixteenth birthday, jack had been moved to the united states to be near the family of his adopted mother, and subsequently enrolled in luxor academy. 

where he continued to be a menace :))

although it did appear, for some time, that jack was showing signs of improvement. sure, he was still wreaking havoc at luxor. but at home, he had calmed, even showing signs of affection to his adopted family. until his mother overdosed suddenly and died when jack was eighteen and things started to immediately go straight downhill again.

he can’t help but blame himself, for allowing himself to be moved. for the move being his fault, if he’s being honest. and if the honesty continues, jack’s got a whole lot of other stuff to blame on himself. (see: ruining his brother’s life.) so now he’s just taking shit out on everyone to try and make them a fraction as miserable as him. 

npc connections

birth fam

finn kelly / fc: jake bugg / b. may 10 1998 / taurus sun, gemini ascendant, pisces moon

finley, who also refuses to use his full name, is jack’s older brother - same mother, different father.  jack thinks he’s boring because he doesn’t raise hell with every opportunity. finn calls this “being a sane person.” went to prison for jack and regrets it. pastimes include crying over murakami books and trying to look shocked when jack tells him about the newest crisis he’s having. 

lauren kelly / fc: elena tonra / b. february 20 1983 - d. april 1 2020 / pisces sun, aries ascendant, leo moon

jack’s birth mother, who was still a teenager when he and finn were born. she was an on again, off again drug addict and had jack removed from her care when he was ten due to continued neglect. instilled in him a love for oasis and a hefty number of mental health issues. looked pretty much exactly like jack. 

jordan taylor / fc: alex turner / b. october 12 1984 / libra sun, leo ascendant, virgo moon

jack’s birth father, who he knows little about. not for lack of trying on his father’s part, who was prevented from seeing jack as a child by his birth mother and blocked from trying to make contact by jack’s refusal to interact. he keeps trying to message jack and jack is running out of daddy issues memes to respond with. finn thinks jack should give him a chance to redeem himself. jack thinks finn should fuck off. 

adopted fam

claire fielding / fc: julia roberts / b. may 12 1964 / taurus sun, cancer ascendant, leo moon

jack’s adopted mother. loves him very much and is convinced he is a sweet boy who just needs love and help. has written a memoir about adopting jack. jack is mad at her constantly. when he is not mad at her, he is embarrassed by her existence. honestly deserves better.

george fielding / fc: timothy olyphant / b. november 6, 1963 / scorpio sun, capricorn ascendant, virgo moon

is proud of jack, but very deep down underneath a strong layer of calling jack out on his bullshit. has some loud ass shouting matches with jack. also really wishes jack would sort his hair out and maybe not look like a cheap liam gallagher. jack honestly just winds him up constantly and he knows jack is doing it but goddamnit it’s so hard to not be mad at the little rat. 

other

maisie adeyemi / fc: yewande biala / b. january 6, 1997 / capricorn sun, sagittarius ascendant, aries moon

finn’s fiancee. her goal in life is to try to get jack to ruin finn’s life at least 70% less often. she has yet to achieve this goal. her love language is setting finn’s phone to silent when he goes to bed to stop jack from phoning in with some sort of random crisis at four in the morning because the little shit forgot timezones exist. finn will never find out. maisie is grateful that men have no brains. 

[nostalgic-pancakes]

Room 73- Chapter 4/8

Summary: D&D is planned, two characters get their very own breakdowns, Thomas reminisces, and Virgil has one good day

Pairings: (eventual) QPP’s Remus and Patton, Pre-Relationship prinxiety, sibling-y Virgil and Original Character, Creativitwins

Read on AO3

Word count: 3326

Warnings: Questionable parenting, period-typical homophobia, the foster system, semi-graphic (?) depictions of violent death, rage breakdown, nervous breakdown, minor arson.

Other notes: None!

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

Logan quite frankly had no idea what Janus meant by ‘friendly hissing’. All hissing was a warning sign to potential prey, and wasn’t friendly in any incarnation! How could certain kinds of hissing be friendly? They all sound the same!

This was a level of insanity nearly topping Neil DeGrasse Tyson playing Merlin in the fucking Sharknado movies. But not really. That would top everything. Either way, Janus, someone who also hissed rather often (information citation being Patton) was likely the superior authority in tonal hissing. Logan’s a bit too sleep-deprived looking up resources for ghosts and surviving midterms to care too much.

Either way, the Dungeons and Dragons planning session was starting today. Everyone would be there at lunch this time and that meant that one, he would get to see his brother for the first time since homeroom (no common classes on Wednesdays was not ideal), and meeting with the rest of their newfound friends.

(Logan had never had anyone other than Virgil, and the rest seem to be alright. Janus knows, anyways, and he didn’t hate Logan for it, so it’s probably alright. He hopes it’s alright.)

“Lo-Lo!! Over here!” comes a friendly voice from his northeast. It’s Patton, who’s waving at him, glasses crooked, big smile. Logan fixes his glasses, and tries to smile back. It works, and even feels real.

Patton from up close certainly looks a bit tired, but he’s still happy enough, so Logan refrains from pointing it out.

When they reach the lunch table tentatively labeled as ‘theirs’, Virgil scoots over to let Logan slot between him and Roman, while Patton curls up next to Janus, relishing being with their siblings again, as much as friends are ‘neat’.

(Maybe he’s been getting back into Welcome to Night Vale. Maybe Amma cried and hugged him, calling it progress and Mom sat next to him and listened to her own show, the Magnus Archives and held him close. Maybe Virgil squeezed him tight and brought out the ‘What the Fuck is Happening in Night Vale’ board they’d made when they were twelve. He’d never tell)

Remus starts to hand out sheets of paper, asking everyone to draw their characters while he and Virgil work on plot, and it’s quiet in that little space of three pairs of siblings sketching out D&D characters, later talking about little things, big things and everything in between in the courtyard because the senior kids had exams and therefore none of them had last period. It was pleasant, and they’d all be paying their third ever group visit to Thomas later in the afternoon, too.

This was nice.

…

“Hey, Vi?” Hildi asked from behind him. They were sitting back-to-back, on her bed listening to a new album from All Time Low. The name didn’t matter too much yet.

“Yeah, Di?”

“Wanna do low level arson?” she asked, turning to face him and reclaiming her earbud. This was probably a terrible idea, but Hildi was the one person he wasn’t scared of acting out horrific ideas with. He smiles, and it’s reflected in Hildi’s eyes, dark green like the forest she lives in.

“Sure, why not?” he gets up, and Hildi turns around again for him to take his binder off and put on a sports bra, before putting his jumper (that Patton had given him for his birthday last week) back on, and patting his jean pockets for his phone. Once he knew everything was there, Hildi turned back to him, took his hand and led him outside. - “Okay, so how did you possibly, in any fucking timeline convince me to set fire to your old ‘Secret Diaries’ in the middle of the very flammable woods as if it was, at all, anything REMOTELY RESEMBLING a good idea?!”

“The power of friendship, Virge. Don’t fret, the damages are going to be well hidden in a week.”

“Oh my god but this is how forest fires start, were we crazy?!”

“Virgil calm down, nothing is more than slightly scorched, nothing is dead, and we caught every last ember! You’d know!”

“How would I know? Isn’t that more your department?”

“Spend enough time with a witch, and this is what happens. I regret nothing.”

“I regret so many things.”

“Sadness.” - “Hey, scaredy-bro, Love you.” Hildi whispers into the night, and Virgil remembers nights like this in middle school, when he started to realise that not everyone was as scared as him all the time, and he’d become more scared because everyone was watching, and laughing, and--

And Hildi had been there, a casual acquaintance from primary school becoming his best friend becoming his kind of sister because what other word is there (?), offering him trash earbuds that made the grunge music sound that much grungier, and holding him close on the nights Logan came home, unable to speak, covered in bruises, never letting Virgil tell their parents even though Logan was their twin and Virgil was so scared-- She caught him as he fell, and he hopes that she knows that he’ll forever be grateful for it.

“Love you too, you fucking danger noodle.”

Hildi chucks a throw pillow at him. It misses by at least three feet, falling off the shared bed. They both giggle, loud enough that Hildi’s mum ‘ssh’’s them from her own room, audible even with the closed door.

Three hours later, knowing full well that Virgil’s been on tumblr this whole time, Hildi whispers again.

“Hey, let’s look for Kelpies in the creek tomorrow”

This is an awful idea. But it has fewer environmental ramifications.

“Sure, why not. After December break?”

“Fuck yeah.”

They don’t last a lot longer after that.

…

Virgil wasn’t sure what he was expecting to find when he went to check on Roman, after it was ten minutes past final bell and he still hadn’t shown in the chemistry room after going back to pick up his papers.

Having a minor breakdown was not on that list, even though murder was. Virgil’s brain needed new priorities.

“Ro-Ro, Roman, what’s happening?”

“I-I can’t Virgil, I can't do it, please, I’m sorry” Virgil’s hands clenched tighter onto Roman’s shirt collar, knuckles white from the worry.

“You can't do what, Roman?” he asks, as gently as he can

“I-I’m so scared, Virgil. Mom’s not doing well, Dad’s doing the opposite of helping, and Remus and I don’t know what to do, Virgil. They keep f-fighting. The last time we tried to tell, it was by accident, and Mom had gotten so mad, and she’d said “If you keep talking about how Mom and Dad fight, then there won’t be a mom and dad’ and I can’t-- I can’t live without her, I can’t, Virgil!” Roman blubbers into his shirt, staining his hoodie and and pressing against his (currently unbound, but no big deal) chest, but Virgil literally could not give a shit about his hoodie right then, pulling him closer and cradling Roman’s head in the crook of his neck, one hand in his (fluffy, holy shit is this cotton?) hair, the other cradling his back. Roman smells like wood and some kind of flower.

“Have you told her any of this, Ro?” Virgil asks, and Romab lets out a bigger sob, burying himself into Virgil’s torso. Virgil knew that Roman’s parents weren’t on the best of terms right now, even though they kept trying to be good parents, but this? This was new.

“I c-can’t because-hic- She’ll get more upset, and she’s alsways so close to snapping and i can’t tell dad because he’ll get angry and I can’t tell Remus because he knows but he doesn’t, he doesn’t---fuck”

“Doesn’t?” prompts Virgil, softly into Roman’s hair, muffled by the soft chestnut curls.

“know, not same as I do, he doesn’t get sad, he gets mad, and he doesn’t want to become like dad but he stops talking and locks himself in rooms to not yell at people and I don- I don’t wanna make it worse.” he says softly, and Virgil starts stroking his hair, as a way to try and calm Roman down, trying not to cry a bit himself. He wishes, in a horrible way, that this was a panic attack. He doesn’t know what to do here.

“Could you find a way to maybe more quietly tell her to stay, perhaps?” asks Virgil again, even quieter this time. Roman more feels the words than he hears them, a soothing sort of humming.

“But it’s so selfish, isn’t it? That I think that? She deserves to be happy, and if being without us is happy, then she should, right? But I can’t do this with just my dad- he’s trying, but I can’t, help, please.”

And Virgil doesn’t know what to do, or what to say anymore. So he just holds Roman tighter in that very small corner in the 9-D classroom, and Roman clutches back until he’s cried it out entirely, and is ready to face everyone else. It’s been a few minutes, but they can clean up real quick.

Virgil takes out his spare hoodie and changes into it, Roman with his back turned in the boy’s bathroom, while Roman fixes his hair and washes the drying tear tracks off of his face, which were starting to feel like a mask on his face. He tries for a smile, and it’s small, but at least it’s real.

Virgil passes him a granola bar, and Roman hesitates for a second, before smiling again, taking it in hand and pocketing it. Roman offers his hand for Virgil to take, and he does, feeling the softness of Roman’s hands in comparison to his own, long and calloused with fidget rings on both hands. He squeezes.

Virgil looks up at Roman again, and they share a small smile, before walking out of the bathroom, hand in hand.

Wait- why are his hands glowing?

“Fuck you, Hildi.” he muttered under his breath.

“Huh, what?” Roman looked back at him, questioningly.

“Uh, nothing. Just thinking. ‘Cmon.” he smiles again, and he means it. With Roman, it feels like all his fears can be kept aside for another day.

…

“Oh my god, Remus, no you cannot make yourself a dwarven stripper this is a PG-13 D&D game oh my god--”

Remus looks up from the (probably very gory) conversation he’s having with Patton to reply to Virgil. “And why not? Minnie could be a stripper in the way back!”

“Just… no, thanks.”

“UUUUUGH, you’re no FUN, Virgey.”

“C’mon Bro, you could be… I dunno, a taxidermist?” Remus gets the manic glint back in his eye, snatching his sheet back from Virgil to add in the new information, scribbling frantically. His handwriting is already nigh impossible to read on a good day, so he’d better be able to read his own character sheet.

“Hey Thomas, what do you want to be?” asks Janus, undoing his loops to start a new string game, having finished his character profile- a Tiefling Wizard, about ten minutes ago while Logan became his work partner and roommate (Oh my god they were roommates), a human wizard. Virgil was the DM, therefore without a character other than an ominous voice with anxiety and a god complex at the same time, and Patton and Roman were both Elves, though Patton was an Artificer and Roman was a Bard.

Logan quickly jotted down Thomas’s responding morse code, chuckled, and read it aloud. “He says, and I quote: Can I be the thing that goes bump in the night? But also offer tea and biscuits to wayward travellers.”

Virgil smiles in Thomas’s vague direction, trying to make eye contact with the static. He fails, but Thomas thinks it’s quite nice of him to try.

“You’re too nice, T. I’ll write it down for you.”

You’re too nice

He was too nice to not let them get away with it, to stop them from killing him, to stop them from--

”Oi! You fruitcake, too nice to go running to your boyfriend, huh? Get a taste of this and see whether you’re nice enough to take it.”

He was. He didn’t object to the stuff in the bottle going down his throat, burning up his organs and destroying his body from the inside.

He didn’t have enough vocal chords left to scream, even as the other boy, final year, shook him as if trying to see whether he’s wake up, even as a hole formed in his throat, bleeding and burning and burning and burning--

It’s the last thing Thomas remembers.

“Thomas? Thomas? You’re making static-y noises again. You okay?” it’s Virgil, and it’s been nearly a hundred years and they’re dead and he’s dead and there’s nothing left of anyone he remembers but memories and he pushes aside his last memory, the worst one, to try and think of Valerie, his amazing sister who got to go to his school, sit in the same chemistry room once it was converted into a public school. Terrence, his family friend who came to his gravestone specially when segregation ended, and he could finally come and visit.

Everett, his boyfriend, who kept visiting, every day at four P.M on the dot until he was twenty and left town for college. It feels better to remember them as they were, in loose clothes playing in the woods, hide and seek and dolls and Valerie-the-Nurse and Everett-The-Soldier and Thomas-The-Film-Star and finding ways to get Terrence away to play with them too, as Terrence-The-Mechanic who could fix anything, even emotional problems as their Mom’s tittered and their fathers scowled but they didn’t matter because they were having fun.

He snaps out of it proper when Virgil manages to locate his hand, semi-visible ...

Patton’s pulling at his hair, not enough to fall out but enough to hurt, Sarcastrophe by Slipknot raging through his headphones and he knows that this is bad for his hearing, but at this point if it can drown out the absolute rage pounding in his mind, then going deaf is worth it.

He doesn’t even know why he’s mad. It’s just there and he’s screaming into his sleeves, tears caking on his face for moments before the anger arrives again and there’s a new layer of saltwater on top of it, endlessly endlessly going and he can’t stop it and why can’t it just stop--

There’s someone calling. It’s Remus. And Patton has to be happy and he thinks he might just implode with the… everything building up in him, but he has to do this so he picks up the phone.

“Hi Patty-Cakes!” The nickname makes him want to puke, even though he doesn like it, but he swallows the imaginary bile in his throat and replies.

“H-Hey, Remus.”

“Patton? You alright?” No, not at all he wants to scream and kick and cry but also freeze and never move again and his head hurts and there’s a pit in his stomach that won’t go away!

“YEAH! Uh, yeah. I’m good.” he sniffles, and he hopes Remus didn’t pick up on it. Judging by the silence on the other end, he probably did.

“Pat, please, tell me what’s wrong. I won’t say anything. Just let it out. It usually works for Roman and I, but just- see for yourself, okay?” Remus sounds a little concerned, a little desperate, and Patton thinks Remus can hear him trying to stifle his crying. He tries a little harder and all that comes out is one long moan with hitches for cries and the tears are drying, and Remus starts again, concerned, but Patton can’t hear, because the tears are catching up again and he’s screaming again and his fingernails have cut little red crescent moons into his cheek and it drips a little and Remus is still talking, soothingly and Patton latches onto that voice like it’s the only thing that could possibly carry him through this because it damn well feels like it.

He hears footsteps but not really, too focused on trying to regain control of his breathing, following Remus’s count.

When it's been a few minutes of following the count, and Patton’s breathing has evened out, he wipes off his face in his old faithful broom skirt, always ready for days like these, and he buries himself a little further into his hoodie, covering with it the phone on his ear.

“Patty--”

“No, not that, please.”

“Patton, Do you want to talk about it?”

Yes, actually, but he doesn’t really see the point, since nothing lasts for him. He’s a fucked up foster kid ™ style. Good things don’t happen to him. (Maybe to Janus. Janus deserves good things, good people, better than him--)

“Why wouldn’t this last? And you’re a foster kid?” fuck, he said that aloud? Well, rest in fucking pieces, brain to mouth filter.

“Yeah, f-foster kid here.”

“Janus too?”

“Yeah.” he whispers, throat too tired for anything else. He’s not ready for the universal ‘how’ question, but he’s not been prepared for any of this so far, so maybe he should just not bother.

“Okay. Do your foster parents show any signs of wanting to let you go?” no, not really. In fact, he’d seen Remy and Emile trying to quickly hide a sheaf of papers any time Patton or Janus entered a room, and Patton’s been pushing down the hope as much as possible, even as he sees Janus start to believe it eventually. Patton has to be ready for something to go wrong, he can’t afford to let down his guard, lest he can’t protect Janus anymore. He has to make sure nothing can faze him.

But he wants. He wants so, so badly that sometimes he lies in bed for hours, pushing down the want and trying his best not to cry, until it’s morning and he’s waking Janus up even though he could barely push himself out of bed. He says this to Remus, because he still wants. He wants to stay near Remus forever, recite oddly dark facts and binge-watch the Sharknado movies again while Logan and Janus screech in betrayal and huddle up close and he wants to have this. He wants this so badly.

“Pat, I didn’t know how to say it, but I want to be with you forever too. You like my weird facts, and you stay by me when I’m mad and I want to be there when you’re sad, Patton. I want this too.”

“R-really?”

“Of course, Patton. I don’t lie. Especially not to you.” Patton laughs, somewhat wetly, and Remus’s tone brightens when he hears it, and Patton can feel the smile on the other side of the line, manic-looking but inherently full of kindness, and everything feels a little more okay.

The hurt isn’t gone, but at least he isn’t forcing it down into his large intestine anymore.

“Thanks, Re. I-I’ll talk to Emile and Remy when they come home, okay? I’ll tell you what happened. See you in school tomorrow?”

“Course, Patton. Now I’m gonna go get something for Roman to eat before his stomach acids digest his entire body, eyes and all.”

Patton laughs. “Okay! Just don’t miss your therapy appointment, okay?”

“Never do. Bye.”

“Bye.”

The call finally cuts off, and the timer reads 37:19:73, and he probably spent a good chunk of that time having a breakdown, but strangely enough, Patton doesn’t feel super bad about it. The want is there, and he’s still not super sure about what to do with it, but he knows that he wants it to be real, and even if something does go wrong, he’ll still have Remus’s number.

The door swings open as Janus enters the house, and creaks closed downstairs, and Patton flops onto his bed, eyes still a little red, putting his phone on charge to take a nap. He’ll have emotionally charged conversation, but after this nap, thanks.

[fericita-s]

Epilogue

The end has arrived for the A Mansion House Murder!

Big thanks to all the writers of this quarantine round-robin: @jomiddlemarch, who had the idea to begin with and wrote so many good chapters, @broadwaybaggins and @sagiow who dragged us all across the finish line, and @mercurygray and @tortoisesshells for their wonderful chapters and effusive comments and @the-spaztic-fantastic for the faithful beta-ing. I think this story probably set a record on AO3 for the comments to kudos ratio.  300 comments and 20 kudos?! We are a chatty bunch.  And I love it.

“Thank you, Belinda.  For so much. Not just today,” Emma said from the doorway.  Belinda hadn’t invited her in and Emma didn’t want to assume.  She’d already assumed too much about Belinda’s desires, or discounted them completely. “I’m going to see Mother and explain about Jimmy.  And Frank.”

Belinda looked to Emma’s arm looped through Henry’s, to the pale circle of white around her ring finger where a wedding ring had been.  “Would you like me to go with you?”

“No, Belinda. I won’t ask that of you. I just wanted to tell you all of that myself before you hear it gossiped about.” 

“Well,” said Belinda, a smile turning one corner of her mouth. “I think I’d like to see her take the news.”

“Even if she asks you for laudanum?” Emma asked, matching her smile. It was a sad thing to tell her mother that her brother was arrested, her husband dead, her sister currently in hysterics that Percival was trying to soothe with one arm while signing away the family hotel to Mrs. Morris with the other.  It was sad. But the lightness and laughter kept rising in her chest and she couldn’t stop smiling over the freedom she felt and the relief that she would be leaving soon.

“I can tell her where to find it if she does,” said Belinda, reaching to the peg by the door for a shawl.

***

“It’s a fair price,” Anne said, though she knew it was a bargain. She also knew how desperate they were to sell and she knew what being desperate felt like, so she didn’t push further. Emma, at least, deserved the money and Anne was eager to send it to her.  Anne had more money than she could spend and Charlotte’s idea for a school was the first thing to excite her about the future since Frederick’s death.  They could scrub the blood out of the walls, purge the secrets from each closet.  The Greens had done it once before.  Anne was determined she and Leah and the Diggs would do it even better. Bridget too, if she could persuade her.  

Percival nodded and might have shaken her hand, but his arms were currently around his wife who was crying.  Anne couldn’t tell if Alice was genuinely grief-stricken and whether it was for the loss of property or the loss of life, and she didn’t much care to find out.  She’d had her fill of mysteries. 

***

    They went to Boston before Williamstown and Mary took her shopping.  In Boston, it was easy to find ready-to-wear, though Mary took her to a favorite tailor and dressmaker and insisted on some pieces made to Emma’s own measurements.  They moved slowly through town, at Mary’s normal pace and Emma’s preferred one for seeing a new city. It wasn’t so different from Alexandria, not really, not until people spoke to her or their eyebrows shot up at her accent. The kid gloves were to guard against the cold more than the sun, and she’d never had nor needed a sealskin toque or fur muff.  But the Yankees weren’t the fearsome lot her mother had promised they would be, practically drowning out the vows she and Henry made to one another in the Green family drawing room with a subdued Dr. Hale doing the honors. 

    After a wool cape and fur-trimmed pelisse that Emma bought with Henry’s money (our money he had said, pressing it into her hands that morning as he kissed her forehead), Mary bought her a silk Paisley shawl with fringe, calling it a wedding present.

“If I was really spoiling you it would be Kashmir.  These are going out of fashion now what with everyone’s desperation to show off their bustles.  But I find them the best way to keep warm at home, at least when Jed’s not there.” Mary pulled the shawl around Emma and fiddled with the fringe. “I hope you’ll be happy here.  I know Henry wishes it too. But I know what it is to lose a husband.”

Emma put her hands in Mary’s and smiled at her friend. “I am happy.  Or, I will be. I’m not sure what I am now, but it’s better than I was.”

***

    He married her in Virginia but, all he had offered since then was a chaste kiss or an arm for hers to loop through as they navigated trains and carriages. Their overnight at the Foster’s home was a late night of reminiscences by the fire, mulled wine, and the steady interruptions of Johnny and Daniel and then even Elias coming to complain about the loud ruckus downstairs.  When Mary finally shooed both the boys and the adults to bed with a meaningful “They’re newlyweds after all, Jed,” Emma and Henry had both hesitated when he shut the door behind them.  

    “You’re weary from the travel; I’ll let you - “

    “Henry,” Emma said, her hands already reaching for the buttons of his waistcoat. “Don’t make me wait any longer.  Don’t you think we’ve waited long enough?”

    Henry closed his eyes and reached for her cheek, remembering his first touch there years ago. When he had wiped away a tear and wished he could kiss her. 

    “Is it that you don’t want me this way? That I’m - “

    “No, Emma not that.” He opened his eyes and stepped back so he could see her clearly, reaching for her hands and squeezing. “I want you very much. So much I hardly know how to start.”

    “Then let me show you, Henry,” Emma said, pushing on him gently until they were at the bed and he sat down heavily, off balance and out of breath. She nudged his knees open with her own and stood between them, her hands on his shoulders and his at her waist, leaning in to kiss him behind the ear and to whisper “I am my beloved’s and he is mine.”

***

Henry and Emma continued west to Williamstown, waving from the carriage that took them from the Foster home and promising to return soon for a visit and to write even sooner.  One week later the Foster boys welcomed their much desired puppy, and one year later, a rather less desired sister.  Jed’s apprehension turned to delight when Mary reached for her daughter with eager arms, bringing her to her breast and leaning back into the pillows with a laugh.  “There’s two of us now.  Three if you count the dog.  We’ll be evenly matched soon, Mr. Foster.”

Jed washed his hands in the basin and looked at the brightness in her cheeks and the sweat on her brow, walking to her to check for fever. He kissed her forehead and then the baby’s.  “Oh, I’m very happily outmatched already.”

***

Frank didn’t haunt her.  But sometimes her own inaction did. Her complicity. 

The cold of Williamstown was nothing to the bone-chilling terror of life in Franklin County, the shiver of fear she felt as she heard horses whinny in the dark and hooves pound the dirt as Frank and his most loyal congregants rode off to wreak whatever hateful havoc they could. 

In Williamstown, Henry knew how to stoke the fire just so, and soon afterwards the Rumford fireplace in the house was replaced by a coal furnace, the intricate ironwork and decorative finials as fancy as any etched crystal her mother had been proud to show.

She did not long for her life in Virginia and it took a while before Henry’s encouragement to write letters to her mother and sister and Belinda yielded missives sent south.  She hardly wrote to Mary because they visited so often - heading east for Boston meetings of the American Woman Suffrage Association with Mary and her friend Josephine Bhaer and then later to meet baby Penelope Foster.

Emma taught Sunday School and led sewing circles and an auxiliary chapter of the AWSA. She waved to Henry’s students as they walked by their house and he brought her flowers that Alice might have called weeds but Emma would not.

When Henry’s hands were on her, she never thought of Frank. The way he loosened her corset and spread his hands over her stomach and chest, pulling her to him before it was dark and he could see her best, it was uniquely Henry. He had started hesitant and unsure, but she showed him with her sighs and fingers spread across his shoulders and legs wrapped around his middle that she wanted this too, so much.

In the end, all of her new fitted dresses and smartly tailored coats that Mary helped her buy were useless by her second winter as it became clear the Reverend and Mrs. Hopkins would welcome a baby with the spring.

***

The first students at The Lou Morris School knew there were ghosts, and they knew Ms. Leah Gordon took care of them.  They knew there had been a war and they knew about loss.  In their beds, under clean cotton sheets, they whispered about the cries they heard in the night, the thuds and thumps and rhythmic banging.  Laughter too, though only when patrons Doctor and Mrs. Hale came on their weekly tours and Mrs. Diggs walked them to an upstairs room.  The children decided the ghosts liked ornate bustles and lacy flounces like Mrs. Hale wore and drew elaborate flourishes on the pictures they drew of the spirits they imagined. 

But after a few years, no one spoke of ghosts, even though Ms. Gordon still sang at night to calm them and Jack and Harriet had been there the whole time and remembered.  The children knew people came in different colors; the grown-ups said black and white, but to them, they were all brown and beige, with a few pink, with freckles all over their faces, like Miss Brannan. They also knew people had different skills; some spoke with words, others with their hands, and some, not at all. Some could run and jump over the fence they weren’t supposed to jump over, earning a scowl from Old Mrs. Green who seemed to always walk by when they were at play in the yard.  Some could walk with some help, and others had special chairs with wheels that needed to be pushed - slowly! the teachers always said, Mrs. Morris most of all, her eyes all seeing, her tone sharp but never mean.

When the cries in the night and the thumps and thuds sounded, it wasn’t with fear that the children strained to listen.  They stilled in their beds to listen for Ms. Gordon’s voice floating down the halls.

Nobody knows the trouble I've seen

Nobody knows but Jesus

Nobody knows the trouble I've seen

Glory, Hallelujah

[onthevirgeofdestruction]

Dreaming While I Wake

Sanders Sides Foster Care AU - Roman-centric Angst & Hurt/Comfort & Abuse Recovery

Roman tries to be upbeat and hopeful despite all the shit that’s happened to him. And a lot of shit has. Luckily, his new foster home is with two literal rays of sunshine (and a sarcastic asshole).

Words: 3,977 Warnings: Spoilers and I’d consider checking them. Characters: Roman, Patton, Remus Universe: Dreaming While I Wake Genre: Power Angst

Chapter 21

chapter 1 for new readers - ffn mirror

   “Remus Reinhart!” A guard called, and the door opened.

   Roman’s heart could have stopped. He was completely blindsided by finally being able to see his brother after so long. He didn’t look different from Roman, other than the fact that he was almost twice as muscular. So his fear was as stupid as he thought. Though it appeared like Remus had broken his nose and it set funny, even though it wasn’t very noticeable. Roman only saw because he looked at it every day in the mirror. His hair was shaggier than Roman’s, which was saying something, but everything else was like staring at an alternate universe version of himself. That would be bizarre if he wasn’t used to it somewhere in the back of his head.

   “Ro!” Remus shouted and rushed up to the table Patton and Roman were seated at.

   “Remus! Holy shit!” Roman exclaimed fervently before he could stop himself. “Have you been lifting the younger kids? What the fuck?” Roman exclaimed in bafflement.

   “Why aren’t you lifting the younger kids? You got to be able to throw a punch!” Remus sat down next to Roman and the pair laughed buoyantly. “‘Ey! Seriously though, Sanvgjet?” Remus pointed to Patton.

   “Huh? Oh, yeah. He’s okay. Do you still speak that nonsense language we made up?” Roman asked curiously, leaning toward Remus.

   “Half of my unit does, the guards can’t break the code since there’s no code to break,” Remus tapped his head with a smug smirk.

   “Remus is your identical twin?” Patton asked loudly and incredulously. Oh yeah, that’s the expression he was looking forward to. Sheer bewilderment. Roman smirked at Patton’s dropped jaw as he glanced between the two.

   “He didn’t know we were twins?” Remus pointed. “You chaotic bastard, you wanted to see his face, didn’t you?” Remus laughed and hit the table lightly.

   “I only just realized they didn’t tell him on the way over. Perfect opportunity. The face is worth it,” Roman smirked. “Seriously, though, this is bullshit. I’m really sorry you’re stuck in here. My SW said something about you getting drunk and starting a fire? There’s no way,” Roman said pointedly.

   “I didn’t get drunk. I’m not that fucking bastard. That family was just assholes,” Remus huffed angrily. “But I did start a fire,” He shrugged, disaffected.

   “You did?” Roman raised his eyebrows. “For god’s sake, why?”

   “I didn’t mean to! They didn’t cook for me there and it was mom’s birthday so I tried to make her paella and it sort of scorched part of their stove. I ran away so they wouldn’t beat my ass for it. Mom would have been pissed if somebody touched us on her birthday of all days,” Remus said sheepishly. “I’m not the best chef, but I was sick of peanut butter sandwiches, and I just really miss her food,” He added solemnly.

   “I knew that was absolute horseshit. I can’t make her paella, either. I’ve been trying, but it never tastes right,” Roman admitted hourly.

   “We’re just going to have to wait till Dia de Los Muertos and ask her ourselves for how to do it, huh?” Remus laughed. “I just… still really want it again, even though I got in Juvie for it,” He admitted much more quietly with a reserved look on his face.

   “If they wouldn’t kick me out immediately, I’d give you a hug, man,” Roman said sympathetically.

   “That’s also horseshit nobody’s allowed to touch anybody. We’re all touch-starved bastards who get off on punching each other as human contact,” Remus bemoaned. “I think we could cordially shake hands like fancy fucks and be fine,” Remus held out his hand and Roman took it and they shook vigorously.

   “Hm, yes, quite, stocks,” Remus hummed.

   “Yes, yes, indeed, business contracts,” Roman nodded. They released before the guards got antsy.

   “So who’s this incredibly baffled looking stiff and how’d a non-parent get in to visit me?” Remus pointed vaguely to Patton with a quizzical expression.

   “That’s Patton. New foster parent. He’s nice, actually,” Roman motioned to Patton. Patton waved weakly, but he looked like he was still processing everything.

   “I mean, he drove you out here, so probably. It’s been fucking years, man,” Remus faced more towards Roman.

   “I’m sorry. I’m pissed about it, too. I’ve had just a real shit lineup of foster families. I lost phone privileges two families back, and I was with them for just short of a year and then I didn’t have your number anymore, I’m so sorry I never called, man,” Roman apologized emphatically.

   “I mean, I’m not happy about it, but I get it. It’s not like I could get your number to call, either. Your jackass social worker would never share it with mine,” Remus shrugged. He didn’t look happy, but he also didn’t look hurt, which was relieving. Maybe Roman was afraid for nothing.

   “Oh, I got a new one. They fired the old one. Long and Kistka story. Events transpired,” Roman replied, honestly not wanting to get into it. Though Roman wasn’t sure he could hold it together if he saw the police here. It was unsettlingly sterile, like those holding centers, and the guards were extremely unnerving.

   “Shit? Kistka? Jesus. Some serious events must have transpired to get an SW fired, I had one who used to hit me and he just got suspended,” Remus said flippantly.

   “Shit, that’s a bad SW. My new one is nice. He pulled some favours to get me on the approved visitors list along with the new guardians,” Roman explained.

   “What, a real bro? Nice. Mental fistbump. If we make fists they will tase me,” Remus nodded. “My parole officer isn’t the worst. I had to throw my weight around for a while, but I’ve got respect now and the other kids give me some space. Can’t be the top of the ladder but can’t be the weakest here. I think I’ve mostly got this place figured out by now,” Remus explained proudly.

   “I’m so sorry Remus, I feel like such a piece of shit for winning the fucking lottery while you’re stuck in Juvie,” Roman wrung his hands and dropped his shoulders.

   “Hey, the fates be dicks like that. Honestly, it’s nice to know you’ve got it good, if that’s what you mean,” Remus nodded encouragingly.

   “Nobody hits, nobody yells, and they have real ice cream. It’s awful I don’t deserve a lick of it,” Roman and Remus laughed together. Patton looked like he tried to object, but Remus cut him off before he could start.

   “Man, I hope I get placed with someone who will let me visit you after I get out. I’ve just got one more month,” Remus said, seeming excited.

   “One more? Seriously? How long have you been here?” Roman perked up immediately at that news.

   “Just a little short of two years. They couldn’t prove much, but the family was intense about pressing charges. So I got a lengthy sentence for freaking out and running off,” Remus said, sounding annoyed.

   “God, I freaked out and ran off last Wednesday and they’ve been nothing but nice about it and it’s driving me up the wall,” Roman rolled his eyes and flailed his arms slightly.

   “What’d you freak out about? The usual?” Remus asked curiously, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.

   “Nah, I got this new thing where I have a fit about being a fuckup and I’m not punished for it, it’s weird,” Roman said dismissively.

   “Ugh, what a nightmare,” Remus laughed. “So you’ve had mostly shit homes, too? I always kinda hoped you ended up better than me,” Remus admitted, sounding disappointed.

   “Same,” Roman agreed sourly.

   “Well, the nice part about Juvie is I’m so desensitized to hitting and loud noises that I don’t freak out about it anymore. I mean, the smell of alcohol still sets me off, but otherwise I’m a little better at handling it.” Remus said. Roman smiled at that. It was a mixed bag at best, but at least it was something.

   “God, I’m worse if anything. Pat says that good environments are hard or something? I don’t follow. I just know I have a mental breakdown every goddamn day and I’m just so sick of it,” Roman groaned and leaned on the table.

“Ugh, that sounds like shit city. I haven’t had one in a while. Some kid choked me out like dad used to recently and I pulled myself together long enough to sock him in the dick and get out of there,” Remus looked proud of himself and nodded.

   “Oof, in the dick?” Roman made a disgusted expression and winced.

   “You’d do the same,” Remus accused and gestured towards Roman vaguely while he tilted his head.

   “I know I would, I can’t even handle shirts touching my neck, but that had to have pissed off some people in your unit,” Roman said, motioning to the building in general with the hand that wasn’t propping him up on the table.

   “Yeah, but ‘dickpunch mcgee’ ain’t been fucked with since. Somebody will doubtlessly try to get me back in the dick, though. I’ve gotta stay ready,” Remus said resolutely. What a nickname.

   “That’s probably the hard part even if you have it figured out. No safe spaces,” Roman nodded hourly.

   “Man, what’s even a safe space anymore. Safe spaces are a lie we tell ourselves. We ain’t safe from ourselves, even if we’re safe from others. Under the bed or in the closet always seems like a great idea until you’re cornered, you know?” Remus said blithely.

   “Deep. Dark. But deep. Turns out I’ve been attacking myself so I get it,” Roman held up his arm. The bandages were finally off, but you could still the healing lines of nail cuts.

   “Brutal. Badass looking though, like you fuckin’ fought a badger,” Remus smirked.

   “Is fighting a badger badass?” Roman raised his eyebrow.

   “I dunno, I fought one in the yard once and people said I was a badass. Rabies shot hurt like a bitch. Do you know when you started doing that?” Remus pointed to the healing scrapes on his arms.

   “I don’t even know I’m doing it. They’ve been making me wear these stupid gloves at home,” Roman said, feeling annoyed with the situation.

   “Gloves are pretty cool, IMO,” Remus made a spirit fingers motion and wiggled his eyebrow.

   “I don’t want to be a ‘Hans’. Who wants to be a ‘Hans’?” Roman’s voice raised slightly and flipped his hand in the air dismissively.

   “I thought Hans was a cool villain! He found himself in a shitty situation, so he made a master-plan to put himself in a good one! If he could have just married Anna off the bat, then he’d have been sitting pretty as princess-consort of Arendelle. I mean, assuming he stopped trying to kill Elsa to ascend the throne. He’d have no need to do anything shitty unless he felt like he wanted to dominate the world or something since he’d assuredly get a say in running the kingdom since he was honestly helpful other than the whole evil plot thing,” Remus explained his standpoint. It weirdly made sense.

   “Huh. I never thought about it like that. I mean, Anna would still have been in a loveless marriage,” Roman said, not completely sold.

   “She could’ve got the weird reindeer fucker as a side piece, it’s super common for royalty to have extramarital affairs,” Remus nodded sagely.

   “Boy, that’s a freakin’ AU I never saw coming,” Roman whistled. “Bypass the events of the story completely. Elsa is clearly a lesbian, anyway. The movie could have used her powers as a metaphor for coming out or something,” Roman mused.

   “Yes, make it gayer,” Remus hissed in delight.

   “Um… Hans is gay and mostly leaves Anna alone. And Anna’s bi and Kristoff’s NB?” Roman suggested, not sure what Remus was looking for.

   “Perfect,” Remus nodded. “Now you can be cool with the gloves,” Remus motioned to Roman’s hands.

   “I do not follow your crack logic,” Roman furrowed his eyebrows.

   “Gloves are gay,” Remus grinned.

   “I’m not-” Roman tried to object.

   “Yes, you are. We’re identical twins, fucko, that’s how I know. That’s dad talking and you need to sock that voice right in the fucking face,” Remus said seriously, looking Roman dead in the eye.

   “Identical twins don’t necessarily have the same orientation,” Roman said dismissively.

   “We’re monozygotic, not dizygotic, we statistically likely have the same orientation and I’m bi as the day is long,” Remus said firmly.

   “Don’t you use math to fool me, I can’t do math,” Roman hissed in displeasure.

   “It’s true, see, ‘cuz you’re gay and gays can’t do math,” Remus laughed.

   “Fine! I’ll consider that maybe it’s dad and reevaluate my life or whatever,” Roman dramatically huffed and gave up.

   “Thank you,” Remus gave Roman a thumbs up. “Any chance you’ll get kicked out in a month and they’ll maybe place us together if there’s a home willing to take two gay teens?” Remus asked hopefully.

   “I said I’d consider it, I’m not admitting anything! But probably not. I’m getting medical care and shit, I think they might like me for some ungodly reason that I can’t comprehend, I’ve been nothing but an ass,” Roman sighed. “Patton, any chance you’ll send me back next month?” Roman asked, equally hopeful and depressed about the concept.

   “What? Huh? I’m so lost! You’re both talking like a thousand miles a minute,” Patton answered, looking between the two with furrowed eyebrows and pursuing his lip.

   “Any chance you’ll change your mind and boot me out next month?” Roman asked again, a little slower.

   “What? No! Why would you ask that? I told you we’re not sending you back and I mean it!” Patton insisted.

   “Ugh, see? But they promised they’ll take me to visit you even if your new ones won’t take you to visit me. I think they might actually be good for it since I’m here now and all. I’d kill to live with you again, though. I’d put up with you kicking me and everything,” Roman sighed, motioning to Remus’s tapping foot.

   “I do be kung fu fighting in my sleep. But, actually, I shouldn’t share a bed. I sleep-attack anyone within a foot of me,” Remus said. “Defense mechanism, these days,” He tilted his head and shrugged slightly.

   “I’d put up with the sleep fu. We can have 4 AM panic attacks together maybe,” Roman chuckled.

   “Aw, brotherly bonding,” Remus cooed and fluttered his eyelashes.

   “Shut up, you fucking dork,” Roman groaned. “I miss you so goddamn much,” Roman said intensely.

   “Miss you, too. Don’t get emotional or they’ll kick my ass,” Remus shot a look to the door he entered from.

   “Sorry. I know the no emotions rule. I’ve just been waiting this whole time in the stupid hope that maybe we can be brothers again,” Roman admitted quietly.

   “I’m always your brother, you can’t lose me that easily,” Remus smirked and leaned forward.

   “I must start lifting more weights and then I can punch you in the face through the mirror,” Roman motioned to Remus and laughed.

   “Man, that’d be cool. I’d stab you behind the ear,” Remus nodded. “It’d hurt like a bitch,”

   “Ugh, Rude!” Roman scoffed.

   “Mirrorverse Twinicide! Calling the band name,” Remus declared.

   “Shit, that’s a magnificent band name,” Roman nodded in agreement. “Is the food here okay?” He asked curiously.

   “I mean, it’s better than starving,” Remus shrugged loosely, not seeming very bothered.

   “That sucks. Hey Patton, can I give him the chocolates? They made Patton carry them in for some reason,” Roman asked, holding out his hand for the bag.

   “Huh? Chocolates?” Patton pulled the bag out of his shirt pocket and Remus hissed in delight and made grabby hands. Patton passed it over, still looking kind of confused. “We couldn’t bring much, sorry kiddo,”

   “Kiddo? Weird. Thanks, though! Oh my god, I just want to eat them all, but stuff like this is gold in there. I can use it to trade for things or favors,” Remus said, sounding really conflicted, glancing between the bag and the door he came through.

   “Just pick a favour you’d do for yourself and eat a chocolate for it,” Roman offered.

   “Oh, life hack,” Remus nodded and considered it, holding the bag. “There is more here than I need of favours, I think. Hm. Staying alive is a favour,” Remus chuckled and dug out a chocolate to pop into his mouth. He ate it with a massive smile. “Oh my god, I have had nothing sweet since our fuckin’ birthday,” Remus hissed in delight.

   “We can bring more next weekend, kiddo,” Patton offered.

   “What, we can come again?” Roman shot in excitement. Remus looked to Patton with a wild joy in his eye.

   “Bring chips, too!” Remus cheered.

   “I have no idea what’s happening, but sure?” Patton said. “We’re almost out of time for visiting. I think I see why you’re not good with time because I literally do not know how that happened,” Patton sounded really confused.

   “Shit, already? Can we please stay till they kick us out?” Roman pleaded with Patton, holding his hands together.

   “Of course, bud. I know it’s been a long time. Why are they only letting you get an hour, Remus?” Patton asked, still clearly befuddled.

   “Oh, one hour is the ‘good’ amount of time. They don’t let us have more than an hour. If I was in trouble I’d have less,” Remus shrugged.

   “That’s awful. Prison really is better,” Patton’s frown deepened. “There’s not a lot we’re allowed to bring you, but is there something other than chips you want?”

   “Seriously? You don’t know me and you’re willing to buy stuff for me?” Remus asked incredulously. “What’s with this guy?” Remus pointed with this thumb.

   “I still can’t figure it out, honestly,” Roman shook his head. “Too nice. People can’t be this nice,” He tilted to the side.

   “I mean, he puts up with your ass,” Remus pointed to Roman and laughed.

   “And I continue to be baffled by it,” Roman shrugged with amusement.

   “Man, I hope someone will barely tolerate my presence over the clear and present disdain here. I mean, I will be hard to place now because I’m a ‘dirty criminal’. I’ll probably be in a holding center and end up in a group home at best,” Remus said, dejected.

   “I’m so sorry, those centers set me off just thinking about them. I hope you’re not stuck in one long,” Roman was equally distraught at the idea.

   “My parole officer says he’s already working with a social worker to find a placement. He warned me to not get my hopes up or anything, but he knows those places freak me out,” Remus said, a little hopefully.

   “You, too?” Roman asked with a raised eyebrow.

   “I mean, we were screaming like we were being gutted with a fishhook when they dragged us apart. I don’t think anybody in the room was okay with that. I bet we traumatized other people,” Remus gestured outward with his hands.

   “Oh, god, probably,” Roman sighed. “Man, prison’s too good for dad, they should have let mom kill him,” Roman groaned angrily.

   “Wait, what?” Patton asked incredulously. “I thought your mom died protecting you?”

   “She died in the emergency room. The cops separated her from him before she could finish stabbing the bastard after he gave her the fatal internal damage,” Remus spat. “We were all in the hospital, after that. Black and blue with broken bones and shit! ‘Cept good ol’ Arthur, anyway. He was out back at the time. Obviously, dad had to get his guts put back in, but they should have just let him die,” Remus rolled his eyes.

   “I still have fuckin’ nightmares about it. Ugh! Dude, the smell from dad’s guts, holy shit. I’ll never forget it. I try not to use serrated knives…” Roman mumbled and trailed off.

   “I mean the flashbacks and nightmares aren’t great, but serrated knives always just reminded me that mom loved us enough to try to kill him for it,” Remus shrugged.

   “I mean, that is nice of her and all, but that doesn’t stop the fucking blood-curdling screams from playing in my head. Though, to be fair, mom probably thought we were dead when she came in. I mean, we were barely breathing and there was blood all over us,” Roman shuddered. “You think we’d be here if Abuela didn’t have a stroke and she could still take us when dad fell off the wagon again?” Roman asked curiously.

   “Dad would have done it one way or the other. I don’t think Abuela could have protected us forever, as hard as she and mom tried. I miss the fuck out of her, though. Remember when we got bored and sawed off those tree branches in the backyard when she fell asleep so we could hit each other with them and after she was mad she let us keep the branches? Great day,” Remus smiled and nodded.

   “Not that this information isn’t completely and utterly horrific, but do you need me to bring you anything, Remus? We’re running out of time,” Patton shuddered and looked absolutely horrified for some reason.

   “Oh! Right!” Remus smacked himself in the head and they both cackled.

   “Mood,” They deadpanned together.

   “Underwear. Medium. Black boxers,” Remus said. “Boxers and chocolate,”

   “They-” Patton started, looking concerned.

   “Listen, you and your sad smile don’t need to know what sick shit they put us through back there,” Remus pointed behind him with his thumb. “Just trust me on that. Don’t bring too much stuff or they won’t let you in with it. Less candy and only one of those snack bags of chips,” Remus showed the size of the bag with his thumbs and foreigners.

   “I’m going to miss you all goddamn week, Remus,” Roman said despondently.

   “Eh, we waited four years, we’ve probably got this. I dunno about you but life’s suddenly a lot more worth living,” Remus leaned on his arms.

   “Oh, same. I can’t wait to throw you out of a tree,” Roman laughed evilly.

   “Oh, come on, it only happened a couple of times,” Remus rolled his eyes, sounding amused.

   “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind, but a little vengeance never hurt anybody,” Roman smirked.

   “I’m pretty certain revenge hurts people, there, Roman,” Patton stopped him and Roman shook his head sarcastically.

   “The tall twink will protect me from your cold vengeance. He could probably reach in a tree and pull you out. You’re skinny as shit. I could carry you above my head,” Remus laughed darkly.

   “Man, I haven’t had a house that let me eat full meals for years until these gay dorks, cut me some slack,” Roman huffed and flipped his hand as if he was shooing a fly.

   “Gay dorks? All of ‘em?” Remus sounded oddly impressed.

   “Yup,” Roman popped the p. “I mean Virgil hasn’t mentioned it,” He added while considerately tapping his face.

   “You will get so bullied at school if that gets out,” Remus whistled.

   “I’ll just start benching the other kids like you do,” Roman laughed.

   “Time’s up,” A guard barked out near them and Roman and Remus both jumped.

   “Shit,” Roman and Remus hissed in unison.

   “I miss you, I have stupid emotions for you, I’ll see you,” Roman blurted out as Remus got up.

   “Ditto. See you next week, thanks again for the chocolate!” Remus waved as he walked back over to the guard. Roman sighed deeply and Patton stood up to help him out of the table. He grumbled and stared at the door Remus exited through and pulled himself up to his feet to head out. It would be a long ride home.

Personal Taglist: @bunny222 @elizabutgayer @prinxietyforever @kanene-yaaay-o-retorno @the-sympathetic-villain @croftersjam15  @ollyollyoxinfree

the taglist repository:

High school:  @dragonwithproblems @starlight-era @averykedavra  @potatsanderssides

Roman Angst:  @k1ngtok1

Hurt/Comfort:  @callboxkat @nonasficcollection @supernovainthenightsky @evoodo123

Roman-Centric:  @smileyzs  @robinwritesshitposts @thatgaydemigodnerd

Fostering AU:  @i-am-not-a-dinner-roll

literally everything sanders sides:  @katelynn-a-fan @dwbh888 @grouptalekindnesssoul @the-hoely-bleach @anvil527up @fanficloverinthesun  @brain-deadx0 @the-grounded-raven  @ananonsplace

[kikifeliz]

THE WEEK AHEAD: March 15 - March 21, 2021

By Kiki Feliz

♋️♏️♓️ Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces

There is definitely some bad along with the good this week, water signs. The good news is that you will fully come into your power by week’s end!

A very big opportunity is coming you way, water signs! As a result, I see you making the best choices for YOU, even if it means leaving someone behind or out in the cold. If you have to do that, I get the feeling it will be their own fault, because you truly had high hopes for whatever this partnership entails, but there was just too much sneakiness, disappointment, fighting, gaslighting, and possibly even dishonesty for it to work.

Ultimately, I do see you making the choice to separate, either this week or next. You’ve been hoping to move into calmer waters, but there is an emotional imbalance happening in this relationship. You may feel like you have to handle someone with kid gloves, or you may be holding onto the relationship just for the sake of the nostalgia it makes you feel, or because of the good memories that you have created with this person in the past.

You may have believed this person could be a “ride or die,” but it appears that they were really only there for the good times (or, alternatively, only kind to you when spirits were up or maybe when they were intoxicated). Now you’re seeing that they’re actually a lot more emotionally impulsive than you initially believed them to be. Sometimes their impulsivity can be romantic, and sometimes it’s downright destructive. Either way, it’s more than what you feel like dealing with at this time and honestly, you’re literally just above that now.

You’ve manifested so many good things into your life, but you know there is still hard work to do ahead. You are realizing now that you have to dedicate a lot more of your time to the work if you’re going to make it as the hero of this story that you’re hoping to write.

Your patience and willingness to compromise have served you well (and will continue to serve you well!) but you’ve realized things will go a lot more harmoniously if you decide to go it alone. You have all the tools you need, and there’s no reason to spend so much of your time defending yourself to a person who is clearly committed to fighting you! Be a bit more protective of your energy at this time, water signs!

It looks like someone with a lot of money may come into your life! They may judge you very positively, and make an offer of some sort. They could be offering you a chance at “heaven on earth!” This offer, although good, will still cause you some anxiety and trepidation (probably due to your current romantic relationship). This opportunity, however, is NOT romantic, and will allow you to take creative control of your life -- but be aware that it may be a while before you see the fruits of your labor, even if you do decide to take it. As long as you allow your passion to guide you while you work, everything will turn out wonderfully in the end!

Alas, the wheel of fortune is turning and God has something in store for you that will make everything come full circle. If you’ve been indecisive about your relationship up until now, you will see a sign on which direction to take — perhaps in the form of this new opportunity (possibly a new job, or a new resource that is presented to you). Whatever this is, it looks like a chance to end things naturally with your partner and also for a personal rebirth of sorts.

I know that you are a romantic at heart and that you’ve invested a lot into this relationship, so it is sad that it may come to an end sooner than you hoped or thought. You may have even believed that you and this person could go “all the way” (marriage, kids, growing old together, etc). But this person really seems committed to fighting tooth and nail (or being all talk & no action AT ALL when it comes to solving the issues between you) and it’s actually destroying that beautiful vision of the future that you’ve fostered in your head.

You’re trying to find that long-lasting personal happiness with someone who is genuinely STABLE and you’ve come to realize that this person isn’t worth the sleepless nights, anxiety, etc. It may just be best to take some time to yourself for now to recalibrate.

Imagine what it is that you want in a long-term partner.   Does this person embody that image? Are they romantic? Do they share your dreams? Are they caring, emotionally supportive, thoughtful, creative, organized and — again — STABLE? You deserve someone who has their shit together, who knows how to use their time properly, and who is in their bag, too. Sure, you could wait around with this person you’re with now to see if those qualities emerge. But should you????

You may end up waiting another 7 months just to find out that their energy isn’t what you’re looking for. This person may be too proud to admit they are too impatient to do all the hard work of dealing with their issues. They’d rather just run away, loud and wrong.

I definitely see that any decision that you make to either dead or temporarily suspend the partnership will not be taken well, by any means. This person’s true colors (anger, inability to constructively handle conflict) will come out and you will see how they react in the face of defeat. But don’t let an immature argument get you down. Give it a rest, walk away with your dignity intact, and you’ll find you walked away with a new air of confidence and a fantastic life ahead of you!

[papita-adobada]

The Weird Uncle. (A Tedgens story).

For: @personal-history-does-have-its

Note: Ted is 41, Hidgens 62, Ethan is 17 and TGWDLM tragic events never happened.

Hidgens

I don't like Ethan's parents. I know, his dad is my brother but I kind of hate him, he's two years older than me, he always treated me like trash because i've always been different.

His wife? She's just like him and we never talk.

I basically raised Ethan, his parents never were home and they are abusive as fuck to him. I hate that but I love Ethan, he's just a really sweet boy and he loves me too, he says i'm his "Weird Uncle", I don't really know what that means, maybe i'm too old.

I've been living with Ted for a few months, and good God, life's perfect with him. He doesn't know Ethan, so i'm planning to introduce him to Ted.

I called Ethan.

"Hey, how's my favorite nephew?"

"I'm your only nephew." He laughed.

"That's why you're my favorite." I said

"I'm...okay."

"I know you, Ethan, you don't sound okay, tell me, what happened? You can trust me." I was really worried about him, he doesn't deserve this, he's such a lovely boy, he definitely deserves better.

"I know uncle Henry...I just...I'm tired of this shit, I hate here, I hate my parents." I heard his voice crack, I can tell he was about to cry, that broke my heart. Then, I had an idea.

"Hey, listen, would you like to come over? I'll prepare your favorite food for lunch, you can stay here if you want, also, I want to introduce you to someone special."

"You know what? Sounds fun, I'll be there." He said without any doubt.

He hanged the phone.

Ted

I was lying on the couch watching We Bare Bears while Henry was cooking, his food is the best AND today is cuddle night.

"HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA." I laughed really loud.

"Jesus! What the fuck, Ted? You scared the shit outta me!" He yelled with that gorgeous deep voice.

"Those stupid bears. I love them."

"You're such a child." He said, I love to annoy him, he looks cute when he's annoyed.

I laughed again and I heard someone knocking the door.

"Ted, open the door, please."

"As you order, your highness." I said to annoy him again.

"It wasn't an order! I said please."

I laughed and opened the door. I saw a teenager standing there, with a big ass backpack and wearing a leather jacket.

"Sorry kid, we don't buy or sell drugs." I said.

"Uh..." He was confused as shit and so was I. "Is this Professor Henry Hidgens' house....?" He asked.

I got even more confused.

"Wait here." I said and went to the kitchen. "Henry."

"Yes, Teddy?" It's not the moment for pet names you gorgeous bastard.

"There's a kid outside, he wants to see you."

"Oh!" He washed his hands really quickly and ran to the door, I followed him. He looked really happy and excited, he is so adorable when he acts like that.

"Hi uncle Henry!" Said the kid and then Henry hugged him.

"Uncle?." I said.

"Oh!-Of course!, Ethan, this is Ted, my boyfriend, Ted, this is Ethan, my nephew, he's my...brother's son." He said.

"Boyfriend? You never go out, uncle. Did you put a trap outside to catch him or something?" Said the kid and extended his hand.

I laughed at his joke, it was a good one, not gonna lie.

"I'm as surprised as you are, kid." I shaked his hand.

"Teddy," God no, he really called me like that in front of the cHiLd. "Ethan's going to stay here tonight, is that okay?" He asked.

"I- um- well, okay." I said.

I guess the cuddle night is cancelled.

Henry went back to the kitchen and a few minutes later lunch was ready. Lunch was kinda awkward if you ask me, I didn't know this kid existed, I had no clue what to say or what to do, so we just ate in silence.

After eating, we went to the living room to watch a movie.

"I'll go to the bathroom." Said Ethan as we walked away.

"Henry, baby." I said.

"Yes?"

"Why didn't you tell about this kid? What is he doing here? Why is he going to stay here?"

"Oh, Teddy..." He put a hand on my knee and told me everything.

Abusive parents, drugs, depression and all that terrible shit. I felt bad for the boy, I've been there.

"So?" He looked at me with those beautiful eyes, that gorgeous look in his face, he looked so lovely, I couldn't say no, also, the kid deserves a better life.

"I'm-he can stay here as long as he want." I smiled.

"Oh Teddy!!!! Thank you baby!!!" He squeezed my cheeks with his hands and kissed me.

"Yeah, yeah..." My face was bright red, I don't know if it was because of the kiss, because he squeezed my face or because of the pet names. It didn't matter, he was happy, and I love to see him like that.

Night arrived, we went to our bedroom and Ethan stayed in the guest room.

It was around 2:00 a.m when I heard someone crying and in the distance, I woke up and noticed Henry wasn't in the room. I got up and followed the sound, which guided me to the guest room.

The door was half-closed, so I could see and hear a bit of what was happening inside. I saw Henry hugging Ethan, they both were crying.

"I will always be here for you, you will always be my little boy, Ethan. I love you, and I'll take care of you, okay?" Said Henry.

I couldn't believe what I saw, it was just pure love, he was like a father to him, he was so sweet to the kid. The only thing I could think was 'Damn, I want to spend my whole life with this man.'

I went back to my bedroom, I lied on the bed, closed my eyes, and said to myself 'i'm so fucking lucky.'

The next morning when I woke up I saw Henry sleeping next to me, he looks glorious and soft, the way the sunlight touches his silver hair is perfect, he is perfect. I looked him for a while and then he woke up.

"Hm...why are you looking at me...? You creep..." He laughed half-asleep.

I laughed.

"Nothing, it's just...you are beautiful."

He giggled. I love when he does that.

"Hey." I said.

"Yeah?"

"I saw you with Ethan."

"Oh, i-i'm sorry baby, did we wake you up?"

"Not really, I wasn't sleeping at all..." I was. "You know...you're amazing Henry, the boy loves you and you love him, it's beautiful."

Henry

I blushed. He was right, Ethan was like a son to me, I love him, and I love Ted, I love them both with all my heart.

"You're beautiful when you blush." He said.

"Shut up."

He put his hand on my cheek and kissed me softly.

"I love you, nerd."

"I love you too, horny bastard."

We laughed, he kissed me again and then we got up.

Later I got a message, it was my brother.

"I know Ethan's with you, listen, he can stay with you, you know how we feel about him, you know we never loved him, we were waiting for him to be 18 so he could go away, but now he is with you and it's better for us, so, you can keep him."

I couldn't believe it, 'keep him'? He's not a fucking pet. I was furious, yes, but I know Ethan would be better with us, I want to take care of him.

I showed the text to Ted, we decided to tell Ethan.

We went to the guest room and talked with Ethan, it broke his heart, but he also knew it was better for him.

Ted

It's been a few weeks since the text thing happened and honestly? Things couldn't be better.

Ethan is living with us, we kind of 'adopted him'.

He now trusts me and I love that, I love seeing him goofing around with Henry, I love waking up knowing we're now three in the house (well, four counting Alexa), I love watching cartoons with Ethan, I love giving him advices about love, he now has a beautiful girlfriend, that Foster girl or something like that.

I will marry Henry soon.

I love this, I love my life, my future husband, our son, everything.

I couldn't be happier!

Hello! Papita here, i'll be posting some Tedgens oneshots (on wattpad too, but i'll talk about that later). I hope you liked this, I suck at writing so you can see a lot of mistakes haha. Anyways, i'm taking requests, so if you would like to read something just me an ask or DM me!

[winryofresembool]

Things We Lost in the Fire, ch 4

aka Caleo uni au

Fic summary: Calypso starts studying at a new university, but to her annoyance her new flatmate is a loud mouthed mechanic who also likes to sneak his dog in whenever. But as she learns to know him better, she realizes they might have more in common than what she first thought. Eventually, even the darkest secrets come out…

Chapter summary: Leo makes a deal with Piper and Jason.

A/N:  Time to introduce more characters! I'm currently reading The Burning Maze (yeah, wish me luck) so I'm not gonna lie, I'm feeling for Jason and Piper more than before and that will probably show in this fic too. But worry not, no body is dying in my story (yet). Anyways, I had a lot of fun with this chapter and Leo's pov and I hope it shows! As usual, thanks to the lovely Cris for noticing my silly mistakes! Feedback would be really loved as it's the only way for me to know what you guys think of this (and it really motivates me!)

Characters in this ch: Leo, Piper, Jason

Words: 2100+

Genre: romance & hurt/comfort (in the future chapters)

Warnings: none

previous chapter / next chapter / AO3

...

“You know, when you told me you’d be moving out of our flat, I didn’t realize you’d be switching our modest mancave to… basically a mansion.” Leo whistled. He was visiting Jason and his girlfriend Piper’s new home for the first time, only to find out that the place was a new two-floor, 5-bedroom house with a big yard and a garage. Leo knew Piper’s dad was a famous movie star but even so, he couldn’t help but be surprised by the size and the fanciness of the place.

“Yeah,” Jason agreed, ruffling his short, spiky hair awkwardly. He knew about Leo’s background, the part about no biological parents and having to live on the streets for weeks between different foster homes until the police finally picked him and made him go to another family. That’s why Jason didn’t like to make a big number of living in such a place and about the fact that both his and Piper’s dads were rich and well known. As a matter of fact, Jason has moved away from his childhood home already at 16, living with his sister Thalia and working after school to pay for his living because he didn’t get along with his father well. Having Piper’s dad fund the new place had not been an easy thing to swallow for him and Jason swore that once he had gotten a job, he would pay him back. “I told Piper’s dad that we’d be perfectly happy with something smaller, but he refused to listen,” he told Leo too.

“Must be pretty great to have a father like that,” Leo mumbled under his breath, and Jason didn’t miss the tone of his voice.

“I know what it sounds like, but believe me, both of us have had our own issues with our parents.” It wasn’t a lie. Jason’s mother had died of a severe illness when he was young, and his father had always expected him to take over his business when he got older. However, Jason had never wanted that, which led to a huge argument and his father telling him he’d disown him entirely if Jason didn’t listen to him. 

Piper’s dad again was almost never home, being busy with his work, and her mother had left her family when she was a young kid. Piper had visited her occasionally until her teenage years, but these days she only saw her about once a year. From what Piper had heard, she was constantly running after new men and busy with her beauty business. All that meant that Piper was basically raised by a nanny, and she was suspecting that her dad had gotten the house mainly out of regret. 

Either way, even though Jason and Piper’s experiences hadn’t been quite as traumatic as Leo’s, perhaps the problematic family backgrounds had been an important uniting factor for the three of them when they learned to know each other. It was also a big reason why Leo wasn’t actually bitter towards his friends about this new luxury. He knew they deserved to have good things in their lives after what they had gone through.

“Yeah, I know,” Leo replied to Jason. “Don’t worry man, I was just surprised, that’s all. Now you have some space to invite Uncle Leo over sometimes too, right?”

“As long as you remember to pull your head from your machine clouds sometimes,” Jason jabbed back. “It’s been a while since I’ve heard anything from you. How are things going?”

“Busy busy,” Leo answered. “You know, the usual: the profs being a huge pain in my ass, people lining up to get me to fix their things that in reality would take them like 3 minutes to fix and… oh, I have a new flatmate.”

“You do?” Jason asked curiously. “What’s he like?”

“First of all, she’s a she and it’s a long story so I’d prefer to tell it when Piper is hearing it too so I don’t have to tell it twice,” Leo said, so that Jason wouldn’t ask more questions. The blonde boy simply nodded and gestured towards the entrance of the house. After that he gave Leo a quick tour on the first floor. 

“You have this much space here and no workshop? Holy Hephaestus, dude, you need to sort out your priorities!” Leo exclaimed once he had seen most of it. 

“Hephaestus? That’s a new one,” Jason said with amusement. 

“Yeah, well… my new flatmate is into Greek mythology… and Hephaestus is the god of blacksmiths… so that’s kinda cool,” Leo explained as nonchalantly as possible. 

 “Yeah, but did you really pay attention to the mythology lessons? I thought you only care about sciences and handicrafts,” Jason pointed out.

“Fine, you got me. Everything I know about Greek mythology is through my childhood nanny.” Jason couldn’t help but snort at that. 

Leo had to admit he was rather impressed by what he had seen even though the house was still lacking a workshop. Besides, Jason had already promised the guest room would be open for him any time he wanted, which was an offer he would definitely be using soon enough.

“Hi, Leo!” a brown haired girl greeted him happily as soon as he reached the living room. 

“Pipes, hi!” Leo greeted back, throwing her a high five as was their usual habit every time they met. “Would your dad be willing to buy me a place too so I could move away from that old, dusty building?”

“He’s a nice guy, Leo, but he has his limits too,” Piper noted, knowing that Leo wasn’t asking seriously. “Trust me, Jason and I don’t like owing him either. But I thought you liked it in your current flat? What’s the issue?”

“I guess it just isn’t quite the same without you guys hanging out there all the time,” Leo shrugged. “And my new flatmate seems to think after 10 PM is not an appropriate time to fix people’s machines. Go figure.”

“Yeah, why would anyone want to sleep at night?” Piper replied sarcastically but then smiled at him. “So, you do have a new flatmate?”

“Yeah,” Leo nodded, not elaborating more.

Jason couldn’t help but tease a bit: “And it’s a girl and he refused to tell me anything about her.”

“Oh,” Piper said, a curious gleaming in her eyes, “Is that so, Leo?”

Leo punched Jason on his bicep, which however only made him laugh. “Your boyfriend here is changing facts. I only told him that I’d like to tell the full story when you’re hearing it too because I don’t care about going through it any more times than necessary.”

“You’re being quite grumpy about it, though,” Jason retorted. “C’mon, we’re curious.”

“Fine.” Leo sighed. “Her name is Calypso and she’s a history student,” he said simply.

“Wow, I feel I basically know her already,” Piper replied sarcastically. “There must be something else too,” she urged with an encouraging tone that usually never failed to make Leo talk. “What about the long story?”

Suddenly Leo blurted the whole story from their meeting to her cold attitude to Festus breaking Calypso’s desk and to him fixing it and finally cracking her shell a bit. Not much, Leo felt, but at least she greeted him now when they were in the common area at the same time and didn’t seem quite as angry at him anymore. She had even smiled at him the other day. Briefly. Leo tried to shake that thought out of his head. Damn it, why did he always have a thing for girls who were way out of his league (and who hated his guts)?

“Tough luck, man,” Jason said when Leo finished his story. “Maybe she will come around, though.”

Piper, who was very good at reading people’s emotions, though, reacted quite differently.

“Try to think about it from her point of view. She has, based on what you just said, just moved to a new town where she knows no one, and then the first person she meets was – don’t take this as an offense - maybe a bit different than what she expected and then he also breaks what little she owns… I’d probably be pissed off too. So instead of firing back – if she’s still angry – you could try a different approach. You know, actually being nice to her and not making jokes at inappropriate moments.”

Leo frowned. “Hey! It wasn’t like I was intentionally trying to be rude or break anything! I did apologize and fix the desk! She just makes it so easy to be snarky sometimes…”

“Have you really tried to get to know her, though?” Piper asked. “She could be happy if you showed some actual interest in her.”

Leo blushed a bit at the word ‘interest’. “I’m really not so sure about that… To me she seems the happiest when I just let her be.”

“But you’re gonna live together for a while, you can’t just avoid her forever,” Piper pointed out.

“I hate it when you’re right, beauty queen,” Leo rolled his eyes at her. Jason decided to change the topic.

“Hey, how about a card game? If Leo wins, we’ll let you withdraw into your tinkering cave for one more week. If you lose, then we are challenging you to talk to her within the next 24 hours.”

“Sounds like a pretty unfair deal,” Leo muttered. “But knowing you guys you won’t be giving me a choice. However, if I win, I demand to get to live here from next Friday to Sunday, free food and foot massages included.”

“I’m not gonna touch your dirty feet!” Jason protested.

“But if I’m gonna have to talk to her either way, I feel it’s a fair deal.” Leo grinned as if he had won already. 

“Alright. You can spend here even a whole week if you want and we will buy your food BUT we are not gonna massage your feet,” Piper tried to compromise.

“Bummer. I was really looking forward to that. But fine, I’ll accept the deal.” Leo shook both Piper and Jason’s hands to seal it. “Now, let me show you what a real card master can do!”

…

Leo turned out to be an amazing card mixer (his hands always fiddled with something so he had definitely practiced card mixing too) and a good strategist (his main strategy was trying to distract his opponents with bad jokes) but Piper and Jason weren’t bad either. After playing for over 30 minutes, the winner still hadn’t been decided so the trio decided to go all in, the next round would decide the winner.

Piper dealt the cards this time, Leo and Jason taking theirs. A wild grin spreading to Leo’s face when he checked his cards.

“Woah. Sorry, Grace, but I’m afraid I won this game.”

“Is that so, Valdez?” Jason asked, rather confidently as well. Leo glanced at him with confusion only for a moment before he smashed his cards on the table.

“Quads!” he exclaimed happily as he spread the cards on the table for the others to see. Jason’s mouth twitched.

“Not bad, Repair Boy,” the blonde boy said, using the nickname Piper had come up with. “But I’m afraid that won’t win this.”

He showed his cards, revealing five hearts, numbers 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. Leo’s face paled a bit and the grin disappeared.

“Straight flush! That’s impossible!” he yelped.

“It’s not!” Piper said. “But don’t worry, I think this is a win for both of us. We don’t have to buy your food and you get to stop being stubborn a bit faster. C’mon, this could be a good thing. You might have formed your opinion on her too fast.”

“Hmmph. But fine. I’ll talk to her. Tomorrow. Today, my pride has been wounded.”

Jason and Piper both muffled their giggles. Not much later, Leo decided to go home as he supposedly had homework to finish (in reality, he had already finished his physics exercises in class while bored of listening to the professor talk about something that was way too obvious to him) but the other two knew he was simply making excuses. When Leo had decided he didn’t want to do something, it was /really/ hard to get him to do it, because he was that stubborn. And clearly talking with that girl was one of those things.

Once Jason and Piper had waved Leo goodbye and watched him strut farther on the road, Piper asked quietly: “Should we have told him that the dealer may have been a bit partial and she’s also good at card tricks?”

“Nah, let him think it was a fair game. Otherwise we’ll never hear the end of it.”

“Yeah, you’re right there,” Piper admitted and the two burst into laughter.

[wiggly-blue-shite]

You’ll Always Have Me

Lex X Ethan fanfic with a lot of Hannah protection.

This is the first time Ethan and Hannah have ever met. (3400-ish words Jesus Christ)

Hannah sits next to me on the bed. She’s watching some cartoon. Her eyes are glazed over. She isn’t watching. Her eye twitches. I love my sister but I just don’t understand her. She’s just a little kid but sometimes she says things I just don’t understand. I hoped that the things people say about her isn’t true, but when she talks about Black and White, the spider that talks to her, I just don’t know.

Hannah shudders and light returns to her eyes.

“You okay, Banana?”

“Something is coming.” She looks scared. She pushes her head into my shoulder. My arm moves around her subconsciously.

A loud noise comes from the outside of the trailer. It’s two voices. I can distinctly hear Mom’s voice slurring words together. The other voice is deep and unfamiliar.

She brought someone else home from that dirty ass bar. Hannah can’t be here, not right now. Or ever for that fucking matter. Mom had one job that was just to take care of us. I can’t have her be here anymore.

“Get behind me.” I stand up and head towards the door. I don’t want her to see any of this. “Close your eyes… please.” My hand is shaky. I light a cigarette and wait.

The door opens. It’s so creaky, we, well I can’t afford oil to stop it from squeaking. Hannah grabs my left hand. I hate that she’s scared. I hate that I am scared too.

Mom stumbles up the stairs. She looks at me and Hannah. I know she can see Hannah. She must know that she is scared. She has to know that she is hurting her. She’s just a fucking kid. A tear rolls down on my cheek.

“Hi girls.” She’s so close to me I can smell the cheap fucking booze on her breath.

“Hi mom.” We make eye contact. I hate that she can see me crying. Hannah squeezes my hand. How is she so smart?

“We’re going to Deb’s house. Have fun.” I try to make my voice as harsh as possible. I want her to see. Is it to much to ask?

I pull Hannah with me outside, grabbing the sleeping bag I keep near the door. I keep walking until I know that she isn’t coming after us. She’s not going to apologize. She’s not going to try.

I sit down with Hannah at one of the picnic tables in the trailer park. I try to blow the smoke away from her. I don’t want her breathing in too much.

Lexington: Hey my moms being a bitch can me and Hannah hang there

Deborino: oh shit. I’m out with Alice we are with her dad

You know how he feels about me this needs to go well

Lexington: FUCK okay you go get your girl and her dad I guess

“What’s wrong?” Hannah keeps her voice hushed. She’s just watching me. She looks cold. That jacket is thin but I can’t get her a better one right now.

“We can’t stay at Deb’s.” I don’t trust anyone else in the smoke club enough to watch Hannah with me. Well I guess there’s Ethan.

“Oh.” She pulls on the sides of the jacket. She’s so small.

Lexington: My mom is being my mom can me and my sister crash with you tonight

eThAn: Sure anything you need

Lexington: Thanks ❤️

eThAn: Meeting the sis big step ❤️

Lexington: Oh whatever

eThAn: See ya soon

I flick the cigarette into the ground and grind it under my boot. I stand up. “Come on you’re gonna meet my boyfriend.”

“You have a boyfriend?” She makes a little disgusted face.

“Yes I have a boyfriend you silly banana. Let’s go.” I don’t know if they’ll get along. Ethan is smart but he can be intense. I like Ethan a lot but if Hannah doesn’t like him it’s over. I just need to make sure she’s ok.

“What’s he like?” She grabs my hand. It’s cold.

“You’ll see.” God I hope this goes well. We walk off. We have only each other and this old sleeping bag.

-

Ethan’s place isn’t as close as I thought it was. Well I guess it feels farther because of how dark it is, damn daylight savings. I don’t want Hannah out here when it’s so cold and dark, especially not in this neighborhood.

There are a few people out. A lot of drunks. Hannah holds my arm. Keep your head down, don’t make eye contact, be invisible.

Ethan lives in a small apartment, his parents kicked him out and this was the only place he could afford to live. As far as cheap apartments go it’s nice. There’s a pull out couch the smoke club found at the curb. He’s got a fridge. No tv or microwave, but there’s a heater.

We get outside of the building. There’s a tent city down the street, so I keep Hannah close. The sidewalk smells like piss. The air is hazy with smoke and I can see some bonfires going in the tent city.

Lexington: Here

After a moment Ethan opens the door of the building. He’s wearing ripped jeans that definitely didn’t start out that ripped, an old leather jacket, and one worn down glove. He took his earring out. He’s standing in the doorway arms straight at his side.

“Hey.” He waves a little at Hannah.

“Lets do introductions later, it’s cold as hell.”

“Is hell cold?” Ethan’s eyebrow shoots up, he smirks. I stare back at him. All these jokes are nice but I’m cold. “Ok let’s go.”

The building doesn’t have an elevator but you only use it if you have a death wish. So we climb six stories. There are a few people yelling in an apartment next to the stairwell. Someone gets pushed out the door. I try not to listen to the things that they are yelling. Hopefully they don’t see us. I can here gunshots coming from a couple of blocks away.

Ethan cleaned his apartment. His clothes are in an organized pile. He organized the things on the table. It looks like he tried to wash away a stain in the floor. It looks nice. It’s pretty warm in here.

Once we step in Ethan turns around and looks down at Hannah. He seems to tower over her. “So you must be Hannah Foster.”

She nods. She doesn’t look scared. She looks like she’s studying him.

“I’m Ethan... Green. Ethan Green.” He’s more nervous than she is. I’ve never seen him really nervous before.

“Do you live here by yourself?” The apartment is a lot smaller than the trailer. It’s also dirtier.

“Not a lot of room for anyone else now is there.” He laughs. Hannah doesn’t laugh, but she smiles. It feels like something got lifted off the room.

My stomach growls loudly. I didn’t eat a lot. I didn’t get breakfast. Frank gave me some food at the end of my shift. Weird to think that man is capable of pity. Hannah gets food at school, we’re poor enough to qualify for free breakfast and lunch.

Ethan must have heard. “I have food coming if you guys are hungry.”

Ethan has been jumping from job to job trying to get money any way he can. He can’t afford to get food delivered. He barely has any he money for his rent.

“It’ll be here soon. I’ll go get it.” Ethan is our the door and down the hall before I can ask about how much it cost.

Hannah sits in the couch and I join her. This is way comfortable than the one back in the trailer. Hannah looks around the room. There’s not a lot of decorations, a couple of Ramones posters and a couple of old art projects, all we could salvage before he was kicked out. The floor is warped and the rug is dirty.

“So you’re dating him?” I can’t tell if she’s messing with me or she’s disappointed.

“Do you have a problem with that?” Why does the opinion of a little kid matter to me at all? Even if we’re sisters.

“No, I like him. He cares. Good blood.” She smiles. It’s nice to see her smile. Things might not be going well but she can still fond some happiness.

“I’m glad you like him. You two are really important to me. It’s nice that you can get along.” I smile down at her. She looks back with her giant sad eyes. Even when she’s happy there’s just a little bit of pain in the corners of her eyes.

It’s around 7:45. It’s not a school night so I’m not super concerned about getting her to sleep early. I should have got her dinner earlier though. It was a good thing Ethan got food, even if it cuts into his savings. Growing kids need to eat. Maybe that’s why I’m short.

Ethan opens the door holding a pizza box and something in a brown paper bag. He got a whole pizza. That costs so much. He still needs to pay for rent and basic essentials. But he just walks to the table and sets down the box like he’s made of money.

Hannah shoots up and has pizza in her mouth before I can stand up. It’s still warm despite the fact that it’s cold as hell out. Hannah says that food at her school is usually cold. I’m glad she’s eating something warm.

Ethan opens the paper bag to reveal a little box with the words Garlic Knots on the side. That’s just a waste. He has so little yet he can get something so unimportant.

“How much did this cost?” I think I deserve to know the damage. This effects both of us.

“Does it matter?” Ethan sneaks his arms around my waist. I have to look up to make eye contact. He smiles like nothing matters.

“Yes it fucking does.” I don’t want to be a nag. If thing are ever gonna get better we need to keep the little money we have.

“Can I still eat this?” Hannah manages to say with a mouth full of pizza.

“Yeah, banana.” There’s no point now. You can’t return food.

“Banana?” Ethan‘s eyes light up, his arms fall to his side. “That’s adorable.”

“Don’t change the subject. How much did it cost?” I feel uncomfortable with being this naggy.

“Like twenty bucks.” Ethan says that like it’s not going to cut into his own food supply and gas for that shitty shitty car. “It’s fine. Just eat up.”

“Babe-“

“No just eat.” He grabs a garlic knot and holds it in front of my face. “Taste the garlic.”

I’m not going to laugh because I’m upset. It does look good though. Really good.

“No-“

He puts the garlic knot in my mouth as I am talking. “Eat the food.”

He lets out a little chuckle. I must look like an idiot. I take the knot out of my mouth and let myself laugh.

“Ok ok ok. Just...” it’s nice that he cares but he needs to take care of himself. “You don’t have to spend money on us.”

“You’re not the boss of me.” He smirks and pulls me into his arms. As we kiss I can here Hannah making barfing noises.

“Gross!” Hannah yells at us, “you got garlic mouth!”

Ethan bursts out laughing. I see that I am the most mature in the room. Ethan is literally on the floor. I sure know how to choose them.

“Let’s just eat.” I sit down next to Hannah and finish my garlic knot. I haven’t had good pizza in a while. I think it’s been a while since all of us have had good food.

-

We get mostly through the meal when a loud noise comes from the heater. Ethan checks it.

“Fuck. It’s broken.” He looks annoyed. I’m sure this isn’t the first time this has happened. It sucks that it happens when Hannah is here. The trailer has heat.

I can feel it get colder. Temperature is dropping fast. Stupid thin walls.

“I’m gonna have to fix that. God damnit!” Ethan stares down at the busted machine. Ethan has gotten a lot better at fixing things. Mr. Houston would be proud.

Within 25 minutes Hannah is practically shivering. I swear she’s like a lizard, always cold. I put Ethan’s one good blanket over her. She still looks cold.

I see one of Ethan’s old flannels on the floor. Alice made a joke about it being a gross yellow color and he doesn’t wear it anymore. I hand it to Hannah. She quickly puts it on.

“Looks good. But that’s not going to keep you warm.” Ethan walls back towards the couch. He takes his leather jacket off and puts it around her shoulders. “Any warmer, Hannah banana?”

She smiles and nods. She’s content once she’s stolen every warm thing from the apartment.

“You can keep the flannel if you’d like.” Ethan has a weird look in his eye. Like some weird fatherly instinct has just kicked in.

“It’s so big!” The sleeves completely cover her hands.

“I can shrink it when I was the clothes.” Laundry is my responsibility, so it won’t be too difficult. I’ve shrunk plenty of clothing on accident. Doing it on purpose will be easy.

Ethan turns back to the heater. Goosebumps are visible on his arm. He smiles at me and winks.

“I’ll be fine.” He grabs an older torn up blanket a puts it around himself. He squats down to look at the heater, taking out a Swiss Army knife as his only tool other than his hands.

I kiss the top of his head, “Thank you.”

-

I throw the empty pizza box away. Ethan is still working on the heater and Hannah has been singing a song to herself quietly. I didn’t know she knew long words like “inevitable”. I barely know what that means.

I turn around and see Hannah yawn. It’s not late but I can’t keep her entertained. So I could just send her to bed now. I’m tired. It’s been such a long day. It’s just been taking care of Hannah and working.

“You tired?” I sit down best to her, “Maybe you should go to bed.”

“Noooo.” She isn’t but maybe if I insist I can make her go to sleep so I can go smoke on the fire escape.

“I’m pretty sure I saw a yawn, banana. You can’t lie to me.”

Ethan joins the conversation from the other side of the room.

“We could play a game before you go to sleep.” He smiles, “I have a deck of cards, some dice somewhere and maybe monopoly with some missing pieces. How about banana split?”

She nods. She is still curled up in a big huddle of blankets.

“What’s your poison? Poker, blackjack, Craps-“ Ethan turns one of the janky chairs arounds and sits down like a hound substitute English teacher.

Hannah giggles “you said crap.”

“Oh shit I did?” Ethan’s eyes go wide. Hannah laughs more. A satisfied smile creeps on to his face.

“I think this is a go fish crowd.” His cards are in a drawer in the kitchen, so I go grab them.

“I’m the best at go fish!” Hannah smiles so smuggly I almost want to say than I always let her win.

“We’ll see about that.” Ethan starts to shuffle the cards over the back of the chair.

Hannah shuffled over to the table, wrapped in the blanket and jacket. We play a few intense games of Go Fish that are extremely rigged in Hannah’s favor. Ethan won once but that was just to keep up the ruse.

“Ok Hannah it’s 8:30 time to sleep.” I help Ethan pull the bed part of the couch out. “You’ll sleep on here.” I pat the lumpy mattress. She sits down on it.

Ethan goes back to the heater. He’s not going to fix it today.

“Where will you sleep?” She looks up at me.

“I have the sleeping bag.” It’s going to be cold but she doesn’t need to know that.

“What about Ethan?” She looks a little more concerned for him than she did for me. It’s not like I’m the ones whose taken care of her for the last 9-ish years.

“I’ll just have to wrap myself in blankets like a burrito.”

Hannah yawns again. She makes a little pillow out of the flannel and lies down.

I kneel down next to her head, “Has it been a good day or a bad day?”

“Good day.” Her smile is interrupted by yet another yawn.

“Good.” I stand up again and walk to the light switch. “Good night, banana.” I turn off the lights. I have to stumble through the dark to where Ethan is near the window.

“Night Lex, Night Ethan.” She sounds tired.

“Sleep well.” There is this time of warmth in Ethan’s voice. I’m not used to this side of him. But I like it.

After a couple of minutes Ethan opens the window and we climb out onto the fire escape. We sit down and let our legs hang. His window is facing another building so it’s easier to avoid thinking about how high up we are.

Ethan hands me a cigarette, “ironic isn’t it. Smoking on a fire escape.” He’s too proud of himself for that.

The smoke is the only thing keeping us warm. They say heat rises but it’s cold as shit up here. I’m glad I dropped out of school. They didn’t teach anything useful. Well shop was useful but when that class is cancelled second semester why stay?

“Your sister is adorable.” Ethan puts his arm behind me in an effort to put it around me.

“She can be.” She can also be a brat, “she’s all I have, really. Other than you of course.” I lay my head on his shoulder. He successfully puts his arm around me. It feels like one of those old movies that the smoke club would watch at Alice’s house. Way back before we actually smoked.

“You’ll always have me.” He’s cold but I hope he’s getting some of my body heat. It gets too damn cold here.

“I wish we lived in California. It doesn’t get cold there.”

“There’s no shitty parents.” He laughs, “We’d get to see the ocean, and not just a stupid lake.”

If I lived in Los Angeles I could act. I could be in a movie musical or a super bowl commercial. No one would know me for my moms alcoholism. They’d know me for me.

“I want to be an actor.” I’ve always wanted to be Maria and dance with my Tony till the lights are all out. I would have done the school plays but my GPA was too low.

“In California that could happen.”

But we’re stuck in this shithole. Getting drunk in the same bars as our parents, wasting away at the same jobs as our grandparents. I’m gonna waste my life working for a fucking toy store.

Hannah is going to end up like me.

“We’re gonna die here.” A tear manages to fall from my eyes.

“No don’t cry.” There’s panic in his voice. He turns more towards me and pulls me into a hug.

“What if Hannah gets stuck here too? I work at that fucking mall like my mom did. What if Hannah ends up working there.” The tears keep coming. I clutch to Ethan.

“That’s not going to happen.” His voice is shaky. I know he doesn’t know how to comfort me.

“I don’t want to die in fucking hatchetfield. I want my sister to have a chance.” I’m never going to be an actress. I’m not the next Julie Andrews. I’m going to work for minimum wage until I can’t work anymore.

“I’ll get you to California, Lex. I know you can be the next big actress. Hannah will have a better life.” He pulls away and looks me in the eyes. “I love you. You don’t have to cry anymore.”

He’s never told me he loves me. I want to tell him I love him too but I just keep crying.

“I’ll get you to California, if it’s the last thing I do.”

[teamhook]

The Orphanage ~~ CS AU

I wanna thank @ultraluckycatnd for letting me talk things over, unleash my crazy and helping me when I got stuck. She also checked it over. @gingerchangeling for Betaing and being patient with me. She’s the sweetest!

Never enough eyes to look over a fic, specially if it’s mine.

FFN

AO3

A/N: Not all beginnings are happy, but sometimes the journey makes the end worthwhile.

The Orphanage

Convent of the Sisters of Saint Meissa

The orphanage's dull, colorless walls framed with religious artifacts and idols left little to hope for. The old orphanage was stuck in time without the luxuries of the modern world which currently served as a residential group home for the small towns and surrounding area. The children ranged in age from toddlers to teenagers. This was the place you came when no one wanted you. Emma Swan was one such lost girl.

The young blonde girl had moved from family to family. Once upon a time she had been adopted and had a home. Her happiness didn't last, though. She was soon returned when the family had been blessed with a biological child of their own.

Emma would sneak to the garden to gaze at the buttercups; the colors in sharp contrast to the inside of the archaic building. The garden that night was filled with the aroma of the sweet flowers. The stars and the moon lightly illuminated the colorful blossoms. That is where she first saw him.

The translucent outline of a young child.

She could make out his brown hair, pale skin, and hazel eyes. Her curiosity pulled her to the boy. The closer she got, the colder her surroundings became. She could see her breath as she called out to him. "Hey, who are you?" she asked curiously.

The boy only smiled. "Hello, my name is Henry. Can I be your friend?"

Emma couldn't stop her smile. She didn't have any friends at all; the other kids bullied her by calling her names or taking her things. She had told Mother Superior on them, but that only made things worse.

Nothing else mattered. She had her friend Henry and that was all she needed. He gave her hope. They played together; their favorite game was hide and seek.

The other kids would look at her oddly. The name-calling hadn't been creative, mostly calling her crazy or making fun of her imaginary friend. It should scare her that no one else could see her friend but instead, she felt special. He would only appear to her. Mother Superior would tell the kids that there was nothing wrong with having an imaginary friend.

Henry would encourage her to dream. He would tell her to believe in herself as he did. Following her best friend's advice, she recorded a short song on an old audio tape recorder she found but was interrupted by an older girl in the group. "Poor little Emma, do you really think you are good enough?" the mean girl asked with crossed arms as she glanced at the paper advertisement for a singing competition. "Don't you know Emma? No one wants to hear an orphan sing and you will be alone forever like the rest of us. You are not special." The mean girl walked out of the room.

Emma stared at the ad and crumpled it. "Emma, don't listen to her. She is just jealous because she knows how special you are." Henry smiled as he stood in front of her.

Throughout the rejection, she maintained hope because of her old friend. She never felt alone. Henry had become her constant, her rock.

Sadly there were days when she couldn't shake the feeling of not belonging.

On a fine day, a day that should be a happy day, eleven-year-old Emma and the other younger kids watch as a little girl left in a car for her new home with her adoptive parents. Mother Superior stands next to Emma, as the young girl stared with longing after the family now fading away into the horizon. "Emma, you will have a family someday too."

Once Emma is back in her room she cannot help but mourn for the dream that is slowly dying as she grows older.

The cold gust of air announces her oldest friend's arrival. "Henry, I wanna be alone."

The boy's image solidifies as he smiles at her. "Emma, someday you will have the home you deserve. Once I had a family too, but it wasn't full of love. My mother gave me up to give me my best chance. She was young and fell in love with someone that only wanted to take advantage of her. She left me in a basket outside the door of this very orphanage. I was adopted as a baby but my mother never loved me," Henry sadly confessed. "That is why I'm here. She liked to push me to conquer my fears and one time she pushed too far." He shrugged.

"Oh, Henry." Emma wanted to hug her friend. "How do you know all of this?"

"I don't know how but I just know. I believe that is why I'm here." His form started fading, "I'll leave you alone now. Just remember that you will find the home you deserve. I'll help you find it." He was gone. She knew in her heart that he was right but the pain lingered a while longer.

~~~At Age Thirteen

She had tried to fill the void. She had been placed at several foster homes as she was getting older but nothing stuck. Sometimes she would run away. Or towards something. She still didn't know which one it was.

On one of those occasions, Emma finds herself living on the streets. She is ripping out pages from a fairytale book she had found in the trash. She starts burning the pages to keep warm. As she reaches the page from The Ugly Duckling story, an old friend makes an appearance, although he's clearer than normal. Henry smiles fondly at her. "Emma, stop. Don't do it. You are a lot like that duckling. I think that is why your name is so fitting. This story is about transformation." He smiles. "Do you know what that duckling turns into? A beautiful Swan."

Emma returns the smile and whispers, "I think the duckling was always a swan and didn't know it."

"You might be right but I think she turned into a swan because of the power of belief, and if someone believes in something hard enough, they can change their fate. Emma, if you don't want to be with those families, Mother Superior will always have a place for you at the convent."

~~~At Age Sixteen

Emma becomes a beautiful young lady but somehow that doesn't make life easier for her. Some of the homes interested in her have less than genuine concern for her well being. All they care about is the money they get paid for keeping her. Once she becomes more trouble than she is worth is sent back to the orphanage. She keeps to herself to stay away from trouble but inevitably it finds her. Whether it be harassment from the other kids or unwanted attention from the husbands and the wives turning a blind eye to the unwanted touches, Henry is always with her protecting her. He saves her, always interrupting at the perfect moment with a loud door slam, breaking things; whatever it takes to stop the advances.

Emma decides that it's time to make her own luck. She hops on a bus to Arizona. In Phoenix, she enters a store, her stomach growling. She goes to steal a box of Poptarts, which are her favorite. She notices a girl watching her, but the latter quickly walks away. Emma goes back to the task at hand, food. She conceals the box of pastries in her jacket. Emma slowly begins her escape when a store employee stops her and is about to call Security. The other girl comes to the rescue approaching Emma with a shopping cart smiling. "Thanks for waiting while I went to go get the card to pay for the food. Did you find them?" The employee doesn't seem to believe them. "Come on, let's go pay." The girl encourages Emma to follow her and discreetly put the Poptarts in the cart. The employee follows them to the checkout where the girl pays with a credit card. Emma was relieved that her cover wasn't blown.

Once outside, Emma tells the girl "Thanks for helping me."

"No problem, my name is Lily. What's yours?"

"Emma."

They become friends. Emma assumes Lily is like her, an unwanted orphan. They both notice a man following them, and Emma believes he is a social worker trying to return Lily to her group home. They manage to lose the man. They find a vacant home that they decide to squat in for the night.

Inside the house while they're playing home, Emma notices a star imprint on Lily's wrist. Lily tells her it makes her special so she draws a matching one on Emma's wrist. The two girls smile at each other. While exploring the house, they find a video camera and record themselves pledging friendship forever.

Later that night, somehow the man that was following them tracked them down. Annoyed, Emma confronts the man as he exits his car. "We are not going back!"

The man smiles. "I'm here to take my daughter home. We have been worried sick."

Emma is shocked. "Daughter? You are not here to take her back to her foster family?"

"No, she is our daughter."

Emma feels betrayed. She walks to Lily. "Your father is here for you."

Emma doesn't stop walking as she leaves her friend behind.

Lily screams out Emma's name but is ignored.

Emma rubs off the star Lily had drawn on her wrist.

She misses Henry; he hasn't shown up for some time now. Perhaps he finally tired of her.

A few months later Emma's new foster family already had two boys. Things are going well. In fact they're even taking her on her first camping trip the following morning. She is so excited that she decides to go pack to be ready. While she is packing she is searching the garage for her sleeping bag and finds Lily hiding out there. Emma can't believe she is there. Emma hisses, "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to apologize. I'm sorry, but I didn't lie about being an orphan. We are alike. The difference is that I was adopted.''

Emma scoffs. "We are not alike. I don't have a family," she sniffles. "No one cares if I run away, no one will come looking for me. So no we are not alike. You should leave before my foster parents see you."

Sadly it's too late.

"Emma, did you find the sleeping bag?" her foster father asked as he approached the garage. He reaches the garage and stares at Emma and Lily. "Who is this?"

"Oh hi, my name is Lily. I'm new to the neighborhood."

Lily's ease at lying should have been a warning to Emma, and it led to Emma begging Lily to leave. The girl refused to leave without her missing crescent moon necklace. Lily's true colors were shown when she steals from Emma's foster family After a few calls, her foster father finds out the truth. Her new foster father had been furious that she had knowingly allowed a criminal near his children. By the end of the night, Emma was left with nothing. Emma grabs her things and runs. At the bus station, Lily approaches her to apologize but Emma doesn't want to hear it. Lily begs her to stay together that she is the only light in her life. Emma walks away from Lily one final time.

Months later Emma ends up in a group home in Richfield, Minnesota. Somehow the camera was still in her possession. One of the older boys noticed it and wanted to take it away from her. She screamed for him to let go of it. Miss Fisher had quickly intervened and promptly returned the camera to Emma. Once the foster mother returned to her activities before the altercation the bully warned Emma of the consequences of not turning over the camera to him. Emma still refused to give it to him. That night she is caught mid escape by Sarah the foster mom. In a moment of conspiracy between the two she tells Emma that the boy is afraid of spiders and where she can find some rubber spiders. Emma decides to stick around. Maybe she is home.

Sometime later, while Emma is at a carnival with Sarah alone, Sarah tells Emma that she is a special girl. Emma starts to feel nervous. She had seen papers from an agency in Sarah's purse. Emma assumes this treat is a goodbye. However, Sarah confesses that she wants to adopt her. Sarah knows Emma might not see her as a mother, but she will be happy to be like an older sister to her. Everything seems to be falling into place for her and she remembers Henry always told her that she would find a home. She misses Henry terribly but she still feels him with her.

The pair are waiting for their bus ride. Suddenly Sarah pushes her in front of oncoming traffic. Before she can think, Emma is pushed onto the sidewalk by an unseen force- Henry. Emma glares at Sarah and flees after realizing that Sarah Fisher is a lunatic who never truly loved her. Emma runs away and never returns.

Seventeen-year old Emma ends up in Portland, OR after getting emancipated before she turns eighteen. She notices an old yellow bug. The car is an antique, she rationalizes; no one would miss it. She is about to break into the car when a whisper stops her. "Emma, don't do it."

She pauses, "Henry?"

"Emma, please don't do it. This will not lead you to your happy ending." Emma's breath hitches, and she slowly walks away from the vehicle. The decision is easy to make because she trusts her only friend.

Minutes later, inside the same yellow car's backseat a man wakes up from a nap.

Across the sea, three men say goodbye to a loved one. The younger two hold each other as their tears fall. The older man, stands behind them promising undying devotion to the boys he now considers his. "My lovely Alice, I promise to take care of your boys as if they were mine. I will guide them and ensure for them to be good men," Dakkar Nemo pledges his lost love. He had met Alice Jones shortly after her husband abandoned her with two young sons. The youngest of the two was only a few months old when he met them, but he was now 17 years old. The slightly older man had become smitten with the young mother soon after their first meeting. Alice had gotten cancer. She had won a few battles but overall lost the war. After her death, in order to start over and provide the young men with a fresh start they leave England and travel to the United States.

Dakkar Nemo had had an exceptional Naval career. He retired not long after he lost his love, and was able to start a successful business in America. They had found their new home in Storybrooke, Maine.

Although Alice Jones had never married Dakkar Nemo, her two boys had grown to love the man that doted on their beloved mother.

The eldest boy enlists in the Navy following in his father's steps. The youngest decided to stay in their new home.

~~~At Age Twenty-One

Emma continues her life of petty crime, just enough to survive on. For years she was able to get away with it. While traveling back to the Maine area where she was found as a baby, she asks an old lady at the local diner for information about anyone who might remember the incident, but she receives nothing. Escaping her troubled past with the law just in time, each time it catches up with her.

She was so close to the orphanage she had called home in her youth. While at the local library she was so lost in her research she didn't notice an older woman sitting down next to her. The lady looked over Emma's shoulder guessing that the abandoned baby was Emma. A startled Emma turns to leave. "I know you stole from stores in Portland and you finally got arrested and skipped bail."

Emma looks back at the woman and tenses; she has a feeling the woman wants to apprehend her. Emma does what she has learned to do best and runs, leaving her research behind. The woman catches up with Emma at the bus station. A defeated Emma goes with the woman, whose name she learned is Cleo.

They go to a motel. Cleo handcuffed her bounty to the bedpost, and decides to jump in the shower.

While the bondswoman is in the shower Emma picks the handcuffs lock easily and steals money from Cleo's wallet. Emma finds an old picture of a girl she suspects is the woman's daughter. Emma is about to leave, but she spots Cleo's laptop which has access to courthouse documents. She does some quick browsing, and discovers the Camden County Courthouse has a file on her.

Cleo gets out of the restroom to find Emma staring at the computer screen. In a moment of weakness, Cleo decides to help her. Emma reminds her of her daughter. They drive to Camden to get the file. "Emma, this file might not have the answers you are looking for or want to see.."

Emma looks at the woman, "I have to try."

Even with Cleo's help the search had been pointless. No solid leads to follow. Days had become weeks and Cleo notices the disappointment in Emma each time they reached a dead end.

"Do you see this?" Cleo points to her red jacket.

"Yeah, what about it? It's just a jacket."

"No Emma, this is my armor. You need to learn how to protect yourself."

Emma's tear-filled eyes, "I just want to go home."

"Emma, I think you should let go of the past, your parents. Sweetie, you're not going to find them. You should pay for your crimes, and start a new life."

"You don't care about me. All you care about is your payout for taking me in."

Cleo stares at Emma, her guilt over giving up her daughter is haunting her.

"I'm going to help you."

"Why would you want to help me?"

"You remind me of my daughter." With those words, Cleo decides to take Emma under her wing. Cleo had gotten some legal help and in the end, Emma was only given community service since her petty crimes had not been too costly.

Emma convinces Cleo to look for her daughter.

"What if she doesn't want to see me?"

"If I was her…. Hell I am her! If I was in her shoes, I'd want to see my parents," Emma says sadly. "It won't be easy but isn't she worth it?"

Working together they soon find Cleo's daughter, Tasha Morris. They find her in Boston working in a clothing store. The reunion is a whirlwind of emotions at first but in the end, it's the calm after the storm.

A few years later they go into business together using their combined savings to open a bonds company, Fox Swan Armour Bonds and PI. They stay in Boston in order for Cleo to stay close to her daughter. Emma understands why they don't want to be apart.

Henry has been quiet since Cleo found her. But Emma tries to not let the yearning of a family of her own haunt her.

~~~At Age Twenty-Four

Things were good for Emma. She was part of a successful business, and Cleo and Tasha were the closest thing to family she had. But something was still missing.

Chasing after her newest skip, a wannabe writer, Emma ends up in a small town in Maine. Storybrooke by all accounts appeared to be straight out of a fairy tale. Perhaps that is what drew the writer to it. He had a good lead on her and she was losing him as she was approaching the corner. Should she go straight or turn the corner? Emma turn - a voice from the past tells her. She turns, except now she's not running into her skip, but a different man as they collide. They both fall and her skip is gone.

Emma mutters, "Shit" as she turns to the cause of her lost paycheck.

Beautiful blue eyes stare up at her from his spot on the floor. He turns to gather his things. "Lass, I'm sorry about that."

"Yeah, well he got away," she sighs dramatically. "What's all that?" she asked as she pointed at the objects he was putting in a box. Some hooks, an iron wolf, and other decorative items.

"Just some of my work," he says as he finally rises to his feet and extends his free hand for her to hold.

She hesitates for a second before he is pulling her up. "So what do you do?"

"I'm a blacksmith."

"What are you, two hundred or something?"

He laughs. "It's mostly artistic work with iron. I do what blacksmiths did in the old days too when needed."

"How about you, lass? What were you in such a hurry to capture?"

"Well, I'm a bail bonds person, and I was chasing a big pay day. He gave me the slip. I will get him, it's just going to take longer than I wanted."

"Ah, you're a tough lass. I'm sure you will get your man." He looked at his box. Nothing seemed damaged. "I'm sorry, where are my manners. My name is Killian Jones."

She smiled. "I'm Emma Swan. I guess I better go. It was nice meeting you. Sort of." She was about to walk away, this time in the opposite direction.

"Swan, if you're going to stick around, you should go to Granny's Inn. That's the only hotel in town. Unless your man has family here, you should probably find him there."

"Yeah, cause I didn't think about that, but thanks." She didn't mean to be snarky. It wasn't his fault she lost the skip. "I'm sure the dude is long gone. I was just going to go see if I could get something to eat. Then, maybe see if I get lucky and get a lead."

"If you don't mind some company, I was going to get lunch myself."

Emma was hungry and the guy had been nice. There's something about him that makes her feel comfortable and apparently her stomach agrees, so it growls. "Okay, so where are we going?"

Killian smiles. "Come along, Granny's Diner is this way." He points in the direction that she was coming from.

Emma vaguely remembers seeing the little diner on her drive into town. It was a quick walk to the diner from where they were. The bell rings as they enter and they find a seat.

"This feels very cozy, very homey."

"Aye, it is. Granny is everyone's grandmum."

"So what do you recommend?"

He looks at her and smiles. "I have a feeling you will love the grilled cheese with onion rings."

The pair enjoys their meal. Killian introduces Emma to the local Sheriff, a greying, good looking mid-forties man, and his perfect counterpart, his bubbly, energetic wife in hopes that he can help with finding the elusive skip.

With the Sheriff and his wife's information on a potential match for her skip, Emma was able to use the background they'd given her to track him down. Turns out the wannabe writer was the adoptive son of the town carpenter. Emma's heart broke for the kind old man as she cuffed his son. She was happy that Sheriff Nolan was there to explain to the man the situation his son, August, was in. Emma had exchanged cards with the Sheriff.

Emma was about to leave the town when Killian stops her to give her a small token. He had one of his first sculptures with him, a swan. She hands him a card just in case he ever needs it.

A couple of days after meeting the young bail bonds woman, the Nolans can't stop thinking about her. Sheriff Nolan was talking with his wife about it. "Sweetheart, I know what you're thinking, and I-" "David, I know what you're going to say. That it's not her and that you don't want me to get my hopes up. I mean we don't know anything about her. But, I can't help it." His wife, Mary Margaret, puts her hand on her heart. "This time, it's different. I feel it here, and it's not because of her name or because she has my chin or that she has your hair. This is it. Our girl found us." She finishes with tears in her eyes.

"Sweetheart, how can you be so sure she's an orphan or ever was?" He didn't want to have to pick up the pieces of her broken heart once more.

"She had a look in her eyes. That look was there when we told her about Marco adopting August as a young boy, and again when we told her he had been getting in trouble with that Cassidy boy, and that the last we saw him was when they stole poor Marco's old yellow Volkswagen and ran away, breaking poor Marco's heart. That was until he showed up here last week. I think that's why she gave them some time to spend together before she hauled him away."

"What are you planning on doing? You can't just tell her, she will think we're crazy."

"The card she gave you says Private Investigator too, right? Well, I'm going to call the number and speak to her boss."

~~~Weeks Later

Back in Boston, Emma can't shake the feeling that she's missing something. She had stayed in touch with both Killian and the Nolans. Killian in particular was never far from her mind, her eyes always landing on the swan sculpture that he had given her that day. On her birthday, she had chosen to stay home. Cleo and Tasha had given her their gifts earlier. Tasha gave her a red leather jacket from the store she worked at. Cleo, for her part, gifted her a paid week off work and insisted, with a wink, that she return to the small town that had her so captivated. All Emma could do was promise she'd think about it.

As Emma was about to light the candle on her twenty-fifth birthday cupcake, there was a soft knock on her door. She wasn't expecting anyone so she approached the door cautiously.

She opened the door and there stood a smiling Killian Jones, with a single red middlemist.

"Uh, Killian, what are you doing here?" Her wide green eyes blinked, before narrowing in suspicion. "And how did you know where I live?".

"Lass, may I come in? I promise I will answer whatever questions you might have." His blinding smile warmed her heart.

"Ok, but don't think I'm taking my eyes off of you for a second."

"I would despair if you did." Killian slowly entered her apartment.

Emma guided him to the sofa in her living room.

"I made a delivery not far from here, and I thought I could surprise you. I hope I'm not overstepping," he sighs.

"So how did you find out my address? I hope you're not some kind of crazy stalker."

He smiles. "I called your office. Your boss said you were off."

"Oh. Cleo told you?"

"She also said today was your birthday."

"Cleo has a big mouth," she sighs. "I always spend my birthday alone."

"She also said you had a week off, and perhaps you would consider going to Storybrooke?" he asked with a hopeful tinge to his voice.

Reluctantly Emma agrees. She feels a connection with the blacksmith that she simply cannot ignore.

Cleo hesitantly agrees to meet with Mary Margaret, where Mary Margaret shares her suspicions about her connection to Emma. Cleo nodded her agreement, saying she will look into it. If she can help Emma find her family like Emma helped her find her lost daughter, she will.

While Emma is in Storybrooke, Cleo visits the Convent of the Sisters of Saint Meissa and speaks with Mother Superior. It had been a miracle to Cleo's ears when they told her that they stored items left behind in the attic. After a few apologies about the oversight from the nuns, they give her a box labeled Emma. Once she is alone in her car, with shaking hands she opens the box. Inside, she finds a blanket with a torn corner just as Mary Margaret described.

Cleo headed towards Storybrooke to meet with Mary Margaret and David Nolan to confirm their suspicions.

Killian and Emma are enjoying their food at Granny's when a text message alert chimes.

"Is something wrong, love?"

"I don't think so, it's Cleo. She wants me to meet her at the Sheriff's office."

"Are you sure nothing is wrong? Your eyebrows are furrowed together," he says, concerned.

"No, it's just that she never calls me on my time off." She sighs, "she's also driving out here."

"If you want, I can go with you," Killian offers.

After a soft encouraging whisper from an old friend she hadn't heard from in a while, without thinking Emma nods.

They arrive at the station soon after.

Sheriff Nolan is waiting for them when he notices the blossoming bond between the town's blacksmith and the lovely bondswoman who happens to share his wife's chin.

Emma turns to Killian nervously. What the hell is going on? Killian squeezes her hand in support as they follow the Sheriff to the interrogation room.

Cleo is sitting next to Mary Margaret Nolan. A box is set on the table. Cleo smiles at her. "Hello, Emma. Please, sit down. You too Mr. Jones."

Killian, always the gentleman, pulled a chair out for her to sit while Mary Margaret is quiet, watching the scene unfold in front of her. David sits next to his wife and immediately holds her hand.

Emma turns to Cleo, "Okay, so what's going on?"

Cleo smiles, "I'll let Sheriff Nolan explain."

Sheriff Nolan clears his throat. "Twenty-five years ago, there were a series of kidnappings. Four newborns were stolen from St. Joseph Hospital during the night shift. The police were able to recover two children right away once the kidnapper was captured. A third was recovered almost a month later. The child had been found by an older couple and they had watched the news. However, there was one child that was not found. Our child. We tried everything. Private Investigators rewards for information, but since the woman had snapped when she took the children, she was of no help to us. She was a nurse at the hospital at the time of the kidnappings. It turned out years before, she had lost her own daughter. Once in custody, though, the woman still remained unresponsive and unwilling to cooperate with police about the whereabouts of the last child. We don't know all the details yet and to be honest, we don't care." David chokes up and turns to his wife, "Mary Margaret could you please continue?"

Mary Margaret sniffles, "We had been on vacation and I went into labor. We never thought that our little girl would be kidnapped at birth. We tried looking for her, but every lead we found was a dead end. Yet we never lost hope. I held on to this for twenty-five years. This is part of a blanket Granny knit for our little girl along with this matching hat." The little hat had twin buttercups on each side.

Cleo smiled, "You will find that the torn piece is a perfect fit to this one." She pulled out a baby blanket with the name Emma with a buttercup next to the name.

Emma is staring at the blanket, her eyes tearing. "What are you saying?"

"Emma, I was so wrong to discourage you from looking. I truly thought I was helping you and protecting you from disappointment. This is your blanket. Mother Superior gave it to me. She was supposed to give it to you, but you never returned."

Killian squeezes her hand gently. "Emma, love, I think you found your family."

"How can you be so sure?" Emma shakingly asks.

Mary Margaret laughs, "For one thing, you have my chin and this is the same blanket I wrapped you in as a baby. But if you need more proof, I'm sure we can get a DNA test. I don't need it, we don't need it." Mary Margaret points to her husband.

Emma still cannot believe it. "I-"

Killian smiles. "Emma, when you love someone you just know."

"I think I need a moment." Emma gets up and rushes out of the room.

Emma walked to her car and needed to think. While contemplating a place to go, she hears footsteps approaching. "Swan, I know you said you needed a moment alone but I was hoping you wouldn't mind if I took you to the perfect spot. If you would allow me to accompany you?" Emma stares at him with teary eyes and agrees.

Emma and Killian arrive at Storybrooke Heritage Park and walk to his favorite bench by the duck pond. They sit in silence as they watch a family of swans swim.

Emma turns to Killian, "I can't believe it's real."

Killian smiles. "It's real. I had wondered why they didn't have kids and Granny told me they had a little girl but it wasn't her story to tell. Emma love, you deserve this. They deserve it too. Please, don't shut them out."

"No, it's just I always wondered why I wasn't enough but I never thought that they were suffering as much as I was."

Killian slowly grabs her face and gently wipes the tears away. "The wondering is over, and now you can have the family you always wanted. Give them a chance, don't lose more time."

Emma smiled, she knew he was right. As crazy as it sounds, it wasn't their fault. Some unbalanced lady did this to them. Should she feel bad for that lady? Because mental issues are horrible, but in this moment she didn't.

"Okay, we can go back." Emma grabbed Killian's hand.

On the way back to the station, she couldn't help but be thankful for meeting Killian; he was nice and sweet. She wasn't blind, he was handsome. She felt connected to him and it was beyond the physical attraction.

Killian could feel her eyes on him. He fights the urge to run his hand through his hair to scratch behind his ear. He feels connected to her. He had laughed when the thought first occurred to him. It was crazy, they've known each other for such a short period. He was smitten, though; that was a given.

Once back at the station, Emma hesitantly embraces her parents for the first time.

Cleo advises her to stick around in Storybrooke longer to get to know her family.

After a few months of living with her parents, Emma finally gives in. She moves permanently to Storybrooke, her life is here. She has loving parents and she had started dating Killian. Their first date had been an experience. Her mother had been so excited, they had gone shopping for a dress to wear and had taken so many pictures of her and Killian. Emma wore a light pink dress that had a v neckline with a bodice and belt. Killian wore his dark jeans, a black shirt, and vest. Her father had done the overprotective thing even though he has known Killian longer than her. She acted like it bothered her, but deep inside it made her smile.

One year and a short courtship later, Emma and Killian marry in an intimate wedding at Storybrooke Park Heritage. Family and close friends gathered to congratulate the pair.

Nine months later they welcome twins Hope and Henry Jones. The little girl shared her dazzling blue eyes with Killian. The boy had hazel eyes that reminded her of an old friend.

This was a new beginning for them all.

Tagging:

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