#and he disappeared as soon as he learned about the pregnancy. her mom kept her though. she was in her 30s when she got pregnant

[malkaviian]

me: so immanuel kant---

brain: lets think about whether your ocs were planned or not

[jungle-angel]

The Calm Before The Trip (Sentry x Reader)

Summary: You and Robert are packing to head to Asgard for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays and you're both excited as ever

Warnings: Parenthood, pregnancy etc.

Tagging: @floydsmuse

"Alright, last one going out," Alexie remarked, zipping his suitcase shut.

He wheeled it out into the living room, leaving you and Yelena to finish the packing. "God I hate packing for holidays," she sighed. "We need one spot to live and that's where we stay."

"Yeah but the clan just keeps growing," you chuckled, arching your back as your baby boy kept kicking.

Robert came into the bedroom a moment later with the laundry basket full of clean clothes, setting it right down on the bed before he began folding up his clothes and packing them in his suitcase.

"Woah woah babes, you shouldn't be standing up like that," he said, helping you up.

"Robert I'm fine," you chuckled. "It's your little hellraiser that's causing me the trouble."

He laughed as he hugged you, his big hand rubbing your bump as your son calmed right down. Normie yipped as he sprang up from the bed, his but shaking as he demanded scritches from the both of you.

"Out! Out with you, floof!" Robert ordered.

Normie sprang off the bed and ran out of the room with his tags jangling. Robert tossed him his tennis ball which would keep him occupied for a few minutes or less.

"S'gonna be so fuckin nice not having to go to work for a while," he sighed. "Still gotta get the nursery put together and everything.

"We'll get there," you told him. "Did you hear what's on the menu in the otherworld?"

"No what's up?"

"Thor and the rest of the wild hunt must've caught a bunch of turkeys that give plenty of meat when they're cooked," you explained. "After they've been eaten they come right back to life and you can eat them again."

"Hope the stuffing's good at least," Robert chuckled.

"He's already given Andrhimir, the cook, everybody's family recipes for the tables," you told him. "Including your mom and dad's chestnut stuffing."

Robert groaned, hungry at the thought of it. Every year they'd have his gram's chestnut stuffing at Thanksgiving and his father and uncles used to fight about who got to make it every year. It didn't really matter who made it, so long as it was on the table.

"Hope Odin and Frigga didn't think it was weird when Thor told them about the family traditions," Robert remarked, throwing an extra pair of jeans into his suitcase.

"Nah," you said with a wave of your hand. "Jane and I were talking and they said they'd been to earth enough times to see how it was done. Frigga said herself that perhaps some of the Asgardians in their household could learn a little thing about gratitude and being thankful for what they have."

Robert nodded in agreement. The last time you guys had visited Thor and Jane in their realm, one of Frigga's handmaids had been a little less than pleased when you had gifted her with a piece of silk you had dyed yourself, earning her a sharp tongued scolding from her mistress.

You heard a yelp downstairs and Clint scolding Cooper who had apparently flopped onto something he shouldn't have. You and Robert continued packing as some of the older kids in the household were already getting ready and their parents trying to keep up with them.

"Hey ya'll got any bananas or ginger?" John asked, sticking his head through the door.

"Fridge, top shelf," Robert answered. "Why? What's up?"

"Liv's havin heartburn again," John answered before he disappeared to the kitchen.

You laughed a little, knowing that like you, Liv Walker's due date was right around the corner. "I'm not gonna be surprised if she has the baby while we're there," you chuckled.

Robert laughed with you and as soon as all was set, he wheeled your suitcases down to the living room where everything was ready and waiting.

Hardly anybody could sleep that night when the tower fell quiet. You and Robert lay in each other's arms as the snow began falling outside, his hand caressing your bump as sleep soon began to take hold of you both.

"You're glowing you know that?" you mumbled sleepily.

"Well thank you," he teased.

"No you're literally glowing," you laughed.

Robert smiled, not denying in the least that he was indeed glowing, albeit faintly. The golden aura around him warmed you both as you slept along with your little boy who lay sleeping and kicking gently inside of you.

[playedbetter]

Haru Maeda Info

Name: Haru Maeda

Codename: Eos

Gender & Pronouns: Cis Woman (She/Her)

Orientation: Bisexual

Age: 20

FC: Shioli Kutsuna

Background

For the circumstances, Haru had a pretty normal early childhood. She was the second child of her poor and single mother, Kayoko, the result of a trist with a Yakuza member, Kenshin Hayashi, who disappeared from the family's life shortly after the pregnancy begun. Her big sister Ayumi, 11 when Haru was born, frequently took care of her as their mother worked long hours to provide for the family.

Both her sister and mother tried to shelter her from the severity of their situation, which did keep her free of the eight of that and free to pursue her interest in plushies and sailor moon, but also prone to accidentally making trouble. Ranging from telling the landlord about damage that they were trying to hide, to getting caught shoplifting.

When she was 8 her mom was in a relationship with another Yakuza, Michi Kimura, one who was abusive towards Kayoko. Haru however didn't know that, and actually got along well with the man, who then mentioned her to some of his friends, incidentally including her biological father who decided that he did actually want the kid after all.

All she ended up knowing as the family was stalked over the next year was that they had somebody after them, no real explanation of who or why. Haru withdrew on herself and frequently spent her whole weekend just locked in her and Ayumi's room playing with dolls. It was one of those weekends when she heard someone break into the apartment, it was the ex and her father, who had knives pointed at her mom. She tried to run but her dad grabbed her and dragged her away kicking and trying to scream as her mom was killed.

Kenshin Hayashi was not a good father, incredibly codependent and unequiped to handle the needs of a child. Haru got brought along to bars and the various businesses the clan owned and exposed to many of his crimes. Around most of the clan she was practically silent, never beginning a conversation and only answering in one word responses. Around Kenshin and his regular crew, she was incredibly hot headed towards their rivals, normal civilians, and even police; and then very reckless in general.

It was at the age of ten that Kenshin took her out to the outside of the city and taught her how to use a gun, he wanted her to be able to defend herself. She took to it well and soon was learning other weapons and how to throw a punch from him and some of his crew. Kenshin let her hold onto the FN Five-seven he taught her with.

She had grown to despise Michi, who delighted in tormenting her in a 'jovial' way when Kenshin wasn't around. When she was elven after a night of drinking that left Kenshin unconscious, Michi decided to whisk her off from home for reasons Haru would never find out. As they walked the streets of the city the air was thick with dread when suddenly some rivals of the clan ambushed them both. Haru hid among the garbage and watched as Michi fought the three, it almost seemed like he was winning. From her hiding spot she drew her gun, and fired a bullet into Michi's heart, then ran back home and told Kenshin that the ambush had killed Michi.

Afterwards that recklessness and hot headedness started showing itself around everybody, and she was breaking out of her shell. If she took her surroundings and what she had done seriously, it would have ate her alive, so she started taking everything as a joke. Kenshin missed the obvious signs of extreme trauma and thought this all was a change for the better.

In tagging along on Kenshin's jobs she started joining in on the fights, and while if she got caught by somebody she'd be in a lot of trouble, her speed kept her out of reach and her shocking force (mostly through her gun or by sneakily stabbing people before they realize she's in the fight) kept her mostly safe.

Given Kenshin's general dysfunction Haru ended up doing the little tidying up the apartment ever received, and as she did so one day when she was thirteen she found a poster for an underground boxing fight, one of the competitors was a woman named Ayumi, and the date matched an upcoming job Kenshin didn't want her coming along for. She came to the conclusion that Kenshin was going to kill Ayumi.

When Kenshin came home from the corner store, she shot him dead with her FN Five-seven. She then ran before the police arrived. With nowhere to go, she slept on the streets with one eye open.

She tried to look for Ayumi, but between having to fight to survive on the streets and nobody taking her seriously, she made no real headway in that. However her attempts, along with the fights she won on the street, and the Yakuza clan after her, caught the attention of the powers that be (by default a member of the high table) who recognized her as a combat prodigy. Wakana Miyajima, the chairman of her own Yakuza clan and member of the high table (/other global crime group) took her in.

For the first time in her life she left the immediate area of Osaka as Miyajima took her to a small island the Miyajima clan owned. It was there that at first Haru was given time to recover from her time on the street, plenty of food to eat, as many hot baths as she wanted, some peace. Slowly though Miyajima had her trained in combat, and convinced her that Ayumi would be better off without her, her place was with the clan and the high table.

Haru wasn't hard to sell on this, desperate for the approval and thus love from the adults in control of her, and full of guilt over everything that happened to her. She was molded into a kamikaze fighter who'd be used for mass destruction.

Her first mission was three years after she got taken in, it was fast and brutal and a success. She continued to be successful on her missions and became a useful tool to the high table despite her quirks.

Currently she's doing her job and exploring the nightlife of the globe in her time off. Unaware that out there in the world, Ayumi still is searching for her.

Personality

Haru is an upbeat and jovial person at a first glance, loud and frequently at the center of attention with her reckless stunts and acting out. She acts out the role of a brat with no real concern for others or anything other than her own enjoyment of life. However she can be a lot of fun to be around for those wanting an enabler or something shallow.

Under that is a terrified and traumatized girl trying to survive a world that seems to want to eat her alive. She is desperate for the support and affection of anybody with control over her, and will do nearly anything to keep them happy. However she'll go behind their and anybody else's back to protect herself, and she'll lie about it.

She is incredibly hot headed when things don't go her way or when people make rude remarks about her. She yells and might even escalate to throwing a fist depending on the severity of the slight and her mood before hand. She also has a lot of trouble forgiving or forgetting when people have wronged her, instead holding onto that for years.

Abilities

Marksmanship: She has had experience with most conventional guns on the market and knows how to weld them. She is good at dealing with recoil and keeping control of her guns, she also knows how to double weld, though with her aim severely suffering. She favors spray and pray tactics and thus submachine guns and assult rifles.

Knife Combat: She knows how to effectively weld a knife in combat. She also knows how to hide one on her person.

Hand To Hand Combat: She’s specifically trained in street fighting.

Stealth: She knows how to blend in with a crowd, avoid notice while in restricted areas, and concel herself with her surroundings.

Multilingualism: She speaks Japanese, and English.

[soulmate-game]

Not related to the other two Bio!mom Harley AUs that I did. Just... similar. I wrote this instead of sleeping, as per the usual.

—*—*—*—*—*

“I need your help.”

No accent, no threats of violence, no beating around the bush (figurative or otherwise). No fighting or unconscious bodies.

Just Harley Quinn with her hair down, no makeup, and completely serious, in the center of the Bat Cave. Even though her usual exaggerated Brooklynn accent (circa 1950s) had become a pretty inseparable part of her personality over the years, every now and then she forcibly stuffed it down and used her mostly unaccented voice. The one reminiscent of days with less colors on her face, a high bun, and a pristine white lab coat.

Every single one of the Bats and Birds present, fresh from an interrupted patrol thanks to her, could count the number of times they had seen Harley like this on one hand. Bruce would have the most recollections, but everyone else would have plenty of fingers left on said hand. So they all knew, especially when Bruce willingly pulled down his cowl so he could look Harley in the eye, that this was the start of something they were not likely to forget. And maybe their chances of survival were slim too.

“Harley,” Bruce’s voice was still gruff, seeing as he was still mostly Batman at the moment, but his eyes were soft. “Maybe you should tell us what you need help with first. And sit down. You look exhausted.”

Sure enough, there were dark circles under Harley’s eyes. She let Bruce-man lead her over to one of their debriefing tables and sit her down. She let out a huge sigh, her fingers tangling in her loose blond locks.

“I have a confession, and it isn’t gonna leave this cave, capiche?” The slight return of her accent relieved a little of the tension, but not much. Taking this as their cue, the rest of the bats spread out into their usual seats at the table. Bruce stayed near Harley, keeping a hand on her shoulder in silent support. Harley didn’t continue talking until he gave her a solemn nod in agreement. She gulped— an action that immediately returned the tension.

“... fifteen years ago, back when I was still with Joker, I disappeared off the Gotham scene for a few months. I’m sure a few of you remember,” she looked up, and a couple of the older vigilantes nodded. Really, Jason has still been Robin back then. But the memory stuck out in his head now that he was thinking about it.

“Yeah, you were breaking away from him a little bit, which was weird at the time,” Red Hood mused aloud, arms crossed. “I think you helped us out a couple times and did some of your first team ups with Ivy before you vanished. Then a few months go by and you were back in action with Joker, so we mostly ignored it as you just being you.”

Harley nodded. “Ah, my Ivy’s a lifesaver, even back then. She helped cover up the timeline by keeping me in action for longer than I should’a been without putting me at too much risk.”

“Timeline…” Red Robin spoke up, eyes huge even behind his mask. “You don’t mean—“

“Harley,” Bruce breathed, having also caught on. “You were pregnant?”

The air went still. Harley sniffed, eyes watering even as she smiled.

“Oh yeah. Shouldn’t have been possible, ya know? Me ‘n Joker being dumped in that damn acid should have made us both more sterile than an operatin’ room. But I knew I couldn’t raise a kid, so after she was born—“

“You kept her?” Damian interrupted, earning a gentle cuff over the head from Dick. Harley just snorted.

“Yeah. Not gonna lie, I thought about abortion. But the baby didn’t do nothin’ wrong, and I was still in love with Joker back then so I was ecstatic that I was able to make something new with part ‘a him in it. Still, I knew a baby didn’t deserve to be raised in Gotham. Especially not my baby, not with my enemies and history. Not with who her father was. I knew he’d never want her, never let me keep her. So I spent the last five months of my pregnancy lookin’ around for the best possible family to take her in. And I found them in Paris, France. A sweet couple, both of them bakers. Sabine, she’s both adorably sweet and super kickass. Comes from a Chinese family that is crazy about teachin’ their women martial arts. But nothing shady about it, I triple checked. Just bonding through kicking people in the face. Which is perfect, I wanted my baby to know how to defend herself. I knew she’d need those skills eventually. And Tom, that’s Sabine’s wife, he’s a gentle giant. Same size as Bane, but as harmless as a puppy and makes the best croissants ever. Seriously, the best.”

“Harley,” Bruce gently prodded, but there was a tiny grin on his face. Seeing her behaving so… so normally, so proud and reminiscent, was a rare treat. Bruce would be lying if he said he wasn’t proud of how far the woman had come. How she had freed herself and become a better person, mostly on her own.

“Right, right. The point,” Harley took a breath, rubbing her forehead. “I came clean to Tom and Sabine, but apparently they knew who I was the whole time. They just didn’t care— did I mention they are perfect? Anyway, once I explained everything, they agreed immediately to adopting my baby. They’d been wanting kids, but it would’a been too risky for Sabine’s health. That’s how I found them anyway, they were in the market to adopt. We named her Marinette. She took Tom and Sabine’s last names, hyphenated. We decided Quinn would be her middle name. And after that, I came back to Gotham and told myself that she was in good hands and I needed to forget about her. Cuz I was no good for her. I knew that. I went back to my old tricks. And then…” Harley chuckled, but it was self-depreciating.

“Then a few years passed, and I started breaking away from Joker for real. Then we broke up, I blew up Ace Chemicals while you guys were outta town doing Justice League and Young Justice shit. I started dating Ivy. And—“ she smiled softly at the table, clearly seeing something the rest of them couldn’t. “Then Ivy convinced me to go see her. Visit my baby, see how she’s been. And I did. Marinette was seven years old, but damn it to hell she was gorgeous. And say whatever you want about me and Joker— most of it will even be true— but neither of us are stupid. And she inherited all of our intelligence. All of it. She got my blue eyes. But she got his hair, which meant Sabine teased me relentlessly about ‘are you sure she isn’t that Wayne’s kid?’ And don’t make that face Bruce, you’d be lucky to have a kid half as beautiful as my Mari-pie. No offense, Damian. Anyway. Anyway, this is the important part. Or part of it.

“She sat there and listened to everything I had to say. Everything. A little seven year old, who could barely understand English at the time, and she listened without interrupting once. She never threw a fit, she wasn’t angry or confused. I told her about the things I’d done in the past— well, G rated versions— and she didn’t care. She called me Momma Harley right away, said she wanted to meet Aunt Ivy sometime soon, and started telling me everything about her that I’d missed. From that day on, she became my sunshine. The light of my life, and I still call her at least once a week every week. When I disappear for a few days out of the city? I’m visiting her—“

“You’re banned from international travel, Harley,” Dick scolded, but he sounded way too amused for it to work. He knew she had her ways, anyway. Nobody could actually stop Harley damn Quinn from doing whatever she wanted.

“—Ugh, she tells me the same thing every time! Disappointed glare and everything. I don’t know how I gave birth to such a goodie goodie, but somehow I did. Not important though! The important thing is, I’m always the first to hear when something new happens in her life. And we had decided that she wouldn’t visit me in Gotham until she was at least eighteen, but apparently she disobeyed me— which I should have expected honestly— and entered you guys’ WE international scholastic competition.”

“Oh no,” Bruce pinched the bridge of her nose. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng? The contest winner?” He finally pulled out a chair and sat down. “The winner gets an all-expense paid trip to Gotham for them and their whole class.”

“Exactly!” Harley threw up her hands. “Mari told me last week, and I’ve been trying to talk her out of coming ever since. But she’s inherited both of our stubbornness too, and she isn’t budgin’ a bit. ‘Momma Harley, I wanna see you and Auntie Ivy though!’ And ‘Momma, Gotham’s nothing I can’t handle,’ or my favorite, ‘Maybe you’ll finally get to see me dropkick someone three times my size then, and I’ll prove it.’”

“So that’s what you meant by you need our help,” Tim said as he leaned forward over the table. “Joker just broke out of Arkham yesterday. You want us to protect her.”

“I’d prefer if one of you was with her outside of the mask too, as often as possible,” Harley confirmed. “I can’t stop her from coming here anymore, but I also don’t trust Joker for a second. As soon as he sees her, I’m afraid he’ll make the connection.”

“She looks like him?” Damian asked, scrunching up his nose at the ugly mental image of Joker as a teenage girl. Harley shook her head, solemn.

“She looks like a dark-haired mini-me,” she corrected. “She even keeps her hair in pigtails as her way of showing support for me. And I know Marinette can kick ass, Sabine’s trained her well. But Marinette inherited more than I’d like from me,” Harley ran a hand through her hair. “I didn’t notice it until she was thirteen. She got a crush on a classmate, and it was almost like watching videos of me back during the early days of— well, of Harley Quinn. Just without the crime and insanity. She didn’t even realize that she was almost stalking the poor kid until I pointed it out, and luckily I was able to put my doctorate to good use and we nipped that right in the bud ASAP. She never meant it that way, anyway. As soon as I explained things to her, she was horrified and immediately asked me to help her learn how to have a healthy relationship. That was a fun discussion,” Harley grimaced. “But she still gets attached to people really, really easily. Once she grew out of her crush on that boy, she adopted him as her unofficial brother. She already calls Selina “Auntie,” even though I’ve barely mentioned her to Marinette. She gets attached fast, and deeply. And I’m afraid that even after all the warning I’ve done, all the stories I’ve told her—“

“You’re afraid she’ll get attached to Joker just like you did,” Bruce finished for her, closing his eyes. “Because she knows he’s her father.”

“Yes,” Tears were slowly dripping down her face already, her hands curled into fists so tightly that her knuckles were paper white. “You know how he is. If he finds out she’s his biological daughter, he’ll immediately try to take advantage of that. And he’s far too good with his words for people like me and Mari. I’m worried outta my mind. Please. Help keep my baby safe from him.”

“We will,” Jason no longer had his helmet on, or the domino mask that he usually wore underneath it. All of them knew masks were merely formality with Harley nowadays. And he needed to look her directly in the eye so she could see how serious he was. “I can sign up as a bodyguard for the class. It won’t be weird, seeing as they’re tourists and this is Gotham. They also have several rich kids in their group if I remember right.”

Bruce nodded, agreeing with Jason. “That’s a good idea. I can lead the class on their tours of WE personally. That’ll serve the purpose of keeping an eye on her and shutting up the investors that keep begging me to make more public appearances for the sake of the company. Marinette’s name is already released to the news as the winner of the contest, so we can’t keep her out of the spotlight long. Tim, you’ll have to keep an eye on any and all pictures of the class. Try to erase or doctor the images with her in it well enough that connections between her and Harley can’t be easily made. Dick, you and Damian will be in charge of keeping an eye out for any activity from Joker. The slightest hint, and you notify all of us. We’ll decide on a case-by-case basis who is necessary to stick with the class and who goes after the clown.”

“She’s gonna sneak out of her hotel to stay with me and Ivy,” Harley admitted, bringing the (now slightly judgemental) attention back to her. She raised her hands up in surrender. “She didn’t tell me that, and I didn’t approve or suggest it! I just know my baby too well to not realize that that’s her plan. Could ya provide an escort?”

Bruce sighed. “This is gonna be an eventful month.”

[juminsmysticmc]

Omg, rfa + minor trio are here again. I almost droped my phone lmao... Can we have rfa + minor trio reactions when police brings their teenage child home? Thank you and take care!

RFA + Minor Duo’s teenage child being brought home by the police

As soon as I read this request I thought ,,yeah, this is just what I want write about!’’ thank you for your request! I hope I can make you happy! Please enjoy! And yes, ahaha, I am always good for a surprise! Let’s welcome the Minor Duo/ Trio again!

Vanderwood’s child being brought home by the police

Jumin

,,You really should send someone,’’ you mumbled, almost begging your husband.

The problem was that your oldest son, who was sixteen, didn’t want to become the new CEO in line. Instead, he wanted to go into show business, something Jumin didn’t want to let happen.

The amounts of arguments in the house were so many, that you lost count.

But as a mother, you were your son’s side.

,,No, I don’t care,’’ Jumin mumbled.

,,Does he really think that music will provide him with food, warm clothes, and a future forever?’’ he asked you.

,,Well, you could also lose the company, you know…’’ you mumbled, getting a cold look.

Suddenly the door rang, making your second daughter open the door.

,,Uhm, Mom,’’ the fourteen year old called you.

It was 10 pm. when two police officers stood there, your boy between them.

,,We caught him stealing,’’ one of them said.

And after Jumin thanked them and gave them so much money, that they would never ever speak up again, he was ready to scold your son if you didn’t protect him.

,,I DID THIS BECAUSE I WANT TO CHANGE MY FATE! I’M NOT YOUR DOLL!’’ he hissed.

Jumin was speechless, and before he could act, your daughter helped you.

,,I will be the CEO in line. Have some faith in me,’’ she said.

,,Hyung is happier when he’s doing music, not working on your projects. I, on the other hand, love it a lot,’’ she said, solving almost every problem...

Zen

You and your husband were enjoying the day with your newborn when someone rang at the door.

Looking at the clock, you knew that it couldn’t have been your oldest daughter who was supposed to still be at school, however, you were wrong.

,,Mom…’’ the young lady began to sob, jumping into your arms.

,,What happened?’’ Zen asked, when he looked over to his little girl.

,,She was robbed in the middle of the street.

Thank god people were there to help, but she got a little hurt. However, she didn’t want to go to the hospital and instead demanded to be brought home,’’ the other police officer said.

,,I was so scared,’’ she sobbed as she cried into your chest, your hands slowly patting her back in a rhythm to calm her down.

Zen thanked the police officer and then closed the door, hugging his girl as she kept crying.

That night, the three of you slept together in a bed even though she was already so old…

Zen even put his pride aside and asked Jumin Han to give her a few of his bodyguards.

After all, the safety of his family was his first priority.

Yoosung

,,I don’t know what to do anymore,’’ Yoosung sobbed.

It has been three years ever since you died, taking two of your children with you.

It was supposed to be a happy day when suddenly he simply got a call, the call about your death.

It took him a long time to overcome this pain, especially because he still had a son he had to raise.

Everyone tried to support Yoosung, but the young boy he had to raise without a mother began to feel the cold.

He began to miss you, the motherly figure he longed for.

Yoosung’s son was just sixteen when he first got accused of a few bad things. People visited him almost weekly to make sure that the family problems would be solved soon.

However, nothing helped.

,,I don’t need you, old idiotic father!’’ Yoosung’s son yelled.

,,WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?! I WANT AN APOLOGY!’’ he hissed.

,,You?! An apology?!’’ he laughed.

,,You fucking let them kill my mother and my sisters. You didn’t do anything good in life, you studied to save some stray dogs, and let my mother die like one,’’ he laughed.

Yoosung slapped his son and panted in rage.

,,Your mother would be disappointed in you,’’ he whispered.

,,You have no right to say that!’’ and with that, Yoosung’s son disappeared into the night, leaving Yoosung alone for a while until he gathered his strength and called Seven, who immediately searched for the young boy.

However, this wasn’t needed after half an hour when the door rang.

,,Mr Kim, we will need to put your son in jail. We need to talk,’’ the police officer said.

Yoosung, however, knew that whatever happened, he wouldn’t let them take the last memento of you...

Jaehee

You always thought that you and Jaehee managed to have your own little, happy family, without anyone hurting you guys.

However, you were wrong.

And neither you or Jaehee knew how wrong you were until the door rang and your son entered with two police officers.

The shop was closed and you and your wife were actually planning a special for your coffee shop when your life was turned upside down.

,,Kang Jaehee and Kang Mc?’’ they asked before they received the response that they were right.

,,We brought your son home,’’ the police officer said, letting the young boy go in.

,,HUH?”’ you gasped, checking if the boy you were raising into a good man was hurt.

,,He was the criminal. I think the family of the boy he hit will drag you into court. You should be prepared,’’ he said and went away, leaving you and Jaehee alone.

It didn’t take long before your son broke down. He was pretty fragile even though he just caused a problem.

,,I’m so sorry,’’ he sobbed and went on his knees, covering his face in his hand.

,,They made fun of me because I have two moms. At first… at first I didn’t care. Even when they called our shop disgusting, I didn’t care.

But when they called you disgusting… I just...I-’’

Immediately you hugged him, kissing his cheek.

,,You were hurt… you felt attacked. It’s not nice to use violence, but you’re a victim too… we will handle it…’’

Saeyoung

,,I can’t believe you stole something,’’ you sobbed as you watched your daughter.

She was currently in her rebellious phase.

,,Me neither. I mean, how many times did I teach you where the CCTV is? At least you could have-’’

You didn’t even let your husband finish as you hit him on his shoulder.

,,DO YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY?! YOUR DAUGHTER DID SOMETHING ILLEGAL!’’ you hissed.

,,And you, young lady! I am so disappointed in you! Go up to your room, give me your phone, laptop, and iPad and write a letter of apology to the shop owner!

And then, later, I want to know how in the world you came to this stupid idea!’’ you hissed and turned around.

Your daughter was just brought home after the police caught her stealing, or trying to steal, a CD.

,,And you,’’ you hissed ,,don’t support her on these things!’’ you warned him.

After a bit you went up to your daughter and sat next to her.

The first few minutes, both of you didn’t say anything until she began to cry and went into your embrace.

,,Will you tell mommy now why you did that…?’’ you asked her.

Saeran

You were still in bed sleeping when the door rang.

Since you were in your last week of pregnancy with the third child, Saeran let you stay in bed and instead opened the door.

,,What-’’ he couldn’t believe what his eyes saw.

,,Sorry, dad…’’ his young daughter mumbled, her black jacket brown by now.

,,What happened?’’ he asked the police officer.

His daughter actually told him yesterday that she would sleep at her best friend’s house, but now police officers were dragging her home?

,,Mr Choi, we found her drunk on the street. We actually first brought her to the hospital and didn’t call you to not cause a false alarm, and also because she said that her mother was pregnant and didn’t want to shock her too much.

Luckily nothing happened and a young woman called for help when she was found.

We beg you to keep an eye on her and call this number if you ever need help,’’ the kind officer said.

Saeran bowed to thank the officer and then let his daughter in.

,,I am so...angry and disappointed that you lied to us. Go and take a shower, I will wake up your mom so that we can talk about this,’’ he said and went straight to your shared bedroom, where you first began to cry while he tried to calm down. 

Memories came up, he didn’t want his daughter to end up like her, like his mother.

But then you had a good talk with her and decided to call help to support your daughter as best as possible...

Jihyun

,,Did you really break into the park for pictures?’’ you asked your son who nodded..

He explained that the stars and the shining lights were just too beautiful for him to ignore so he just had to go and see them.

,,And… oh dear, you know that it will be registered forever?!’’ you asked him.

Lucy was next to you.

She watched her brother as she tried to calm you.

,,Yes, but I couldn’t stop myself, mom. I’m sorry,’’ he mumbled.

,,We could have gone together while they were open,’’ Lucy commented.

,,I didn’t want any people in my pictures,’’ he commented and looked at his dad, who stayed silent the whole time.

,,Jihyun, it’s your fault for making him crazy about art! You need to tell him what’s right and what’s wrong!’’ you hissed and shook your head.

Together with Lucy you left the room, thinking on what to do next.

,,I know, how it feels,’’ Jihyun said when you were gone, making the young boy look up.

,,It’s wrong, but at the same time, it feels so right that nothing can stop you from doing it. I know it, especially with art.

I believe that this was an experience you had to learn. For the future, keep doing things like that, but instead of going in even though it’s closed, call me or Jumin. We will find a way. Always,’’ he laughed and patted his back.

,,Now, show me the pics!’’

MASTERLIST 1

MASTERLIST 2

MASTERLIST 3

14.03.2021// 19:48 MEST

[quirklessidiot]

Title: coward :: choco pies Pairing: Y/N x Miya Atsumu  Genre: major angst train ahead, romance, and very slow burn [ex to lovers au] Synopsis: its been eight years since you first met Miya Atsumu, six years since you broke it off.  Warnings: Cursing, alchohol, mentions of unprotected sex, unplanned pregnancy, and mentions of abortion. Notes: I am super happy by the positive response sIKE thank u so much, i hope yall stay safe in this pandemic!

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“...L/N-san, why aren’t you going to the banquet tonight?”

“I’m busy.” you simply replied to your co-worker, not even looking up from the sheets of finance papers in your hands, your brows furrowing in deep thought as you encircled some mistakes on the paper.

“It's the weekend tomorrow!” Aiko exclaims, shaking you lightly, “You can take your work home and finish it there! This is only held once a year and it's your first year in the company! You can’t miss it!”

You finally turned to your over-enthusiastic office mate and narrowed your eyes, “I can’t miss the grocery sale tonight.” You deadpan. Aiko blinks once then twice and suddenly she bursts out into a boisterous laugh, “Y-You got me there, Y/N.” she says, clutching her stomach.

Your expression remains the same though and it slowly dawned upon your raven-haired office mate that you weren’t joking at all, “Oh, you were serious.” Aiko stops laughing, realizing how stupid she must’ve looked. You return to your work but she continues to stare at you, ever since you entered the company six months ago, you refused to attend any work-related parties or do a lot of overtimes (this wasn’t a surprise, you always managed to finish your work before deadline)

No one really knew you at the office, you had a mysterious air around you and a rather intimidating aura that scared about half of the people in the finance department, oddly enough, Aiko was one of the few who approached you and made conversation. It was more one-sided in Aiko’s part though since your replies were usually curt and to the point.

The only thing scary about you was how blank your expression was ninety percent of the time.

“Can’t you go to the grocery tomorrow?”

“Can’t.” Your voice seemed a bit assertive now, “Those limited choco pie editions are coming out and they sold out pretty quick.”

“Choco pie?” Aiko blinked, “Aren’t you diabetic?”

“It’s for my kids.”

Kids.

Kids.

Kids?

“What the fuck, Y/N?” she cursed, her eyes as wide as an owl, “My kids? You have kids?”

You hummed a reply, continuing your work, clearly not surprised by her reaction since you were used to these types of things, “Twins actually, they’re in the first grade.” you corrected, remaining indifferent.

“You.” she paused, “You, the Y/N L/N, have kids. Like blood-related kids? With a husband and all that?”

“Yes, although the dad moved on.” You stopped encircling the file, a brief memory of the blonde slowly crossed your mind, “He’s in a better place now.”

It wasn’t exactly a lie, per say, your ex was technically in a better place now. He’s a famous pro-volleyball player who represented Japan two years ago in the Olympics and was currently part of the top national teams in the country. 

You just didn’t bother correcting them when they thought he’s dead.

“Oh, oh, I’m so sorry.” 

“Hm.” You simply hummed a response, “I don’t like leaving them alone a lot.”

“I-I understand,” Aiko sighs, comforting you but it's deaf on your ears as usual, “Have you never considered dating again?”

“Waste of time.”

“Like ever?”

“I’ve got two growing boys, they’re enough for me already.”

Aiko shuts her mouth when she notices that your tone is sharp as if you’re telling her to drop the topic because it’s not in your best interest as of the moment, “May I see what they look like, L/N-san?” she asks in pure curiosity, changing the subject instead.

You simply open your phone next to you and there sits the lockscreen of two wide-grinning and identical-looking boys with raven-colored hair, “They don’t look like you.” she loudly observes but you’re not at all hurt by it.

“They got the best parts from their otosan, I guess.” 

The only thing the boys got from you was your eye color, it seemed like they were their father through and through in terms of looks, over-enthusiastic attitude, and love for the sport. In fact, only recently, the youngest twin had expressed his excitement to learn volleyball, the oldest, being the competitive one too, decided to join in and expressed that he had started to truly like it after a class.

Thankfully, your officemate doesn’t pry more about your life. You ended up resuming your work without much disturbance. You try to finish quickly, you have a sale to catch after all.

People often found it odd when you pointed out that you were the mother of Youta and Yuuto, for one, they looked and acted nothing like you. If you had to describe them, it would be balls of sunshine while you were just the gloomy rain clouds looming over them. It was definitely an amusing sight for many when they got to know your dynamic and many wondered how you made it work.

You watched the pair rush down the grocery lane in a hurry as you push the cart filled with essentials needed for this month, Youta was annoying his twin once again as they paced down the snack lane and tried to find the choco pie they’ve been raving about these past two weeks, “Slow down, you’ll fall.” You scolded lightly.

“Hai!” They called out in unison as they went behind one of the shelves, you stopped to take a biscuit off the shelf and read the nutritional facts, keeping an eye out on your boys from time to time. You suddenly felt a presence on your side, were they done taking the choco pie already? Sighing under your breath, you’re getting ready to be fake scared because they loved sneaking up on you but when you feel no tug on your leg, you’re immediately surprised for real by the familiar face in front of you.

“Miya-san?” 

You regain your composure almost immediately, not wanting him to notice how tense and scared you were, amongst everyone you had to run into, it had to be the twin brother of your ex, “ Well this is a surprise.” he greets, you could feel the distant tone on his voice and you weren’t phased by it the slightest, after what you did to his other half, you’re surprised he even approached you, “Me and ‘tsumu wondered where the hell you ended up after disappearing on him randomly and breaking up over the phone after a week.”

It wasn’t exactly the best plan but it was the fastest way out.

“I apologize.” You bowed down, you were sincerely sorry about what happened but if you could’ve done it again, you’d do it for the sake of your kids and his career, “Whenever I look back, I knew I could’ve done something better than treat him like that.”

Osamu’s brow quirks up, you were still as calm, cool, and collected as you were six years ago. It was scary how Atsumu fell for you when you were this unphased and cold. What the hell was he on when he fell in love with you?

“Well, thanks to you, he worked himself to the bone.” He shrugs, “He’s got a better life now.”

“I know.”

It may not look like it but from time to time, you’d check up and see how he was doing. Even more so during these days since your boys were getting into volleyball. Youta’s favorite was Hinata since he was one of the small guys in the league and he played very, very well. Ironically, Yuuto’s favorite setter was not his own father but a guy named Kageyama Tobio from the adlers who could set the ball at any place and had the greatest timing ever.

“He’s got a girl too.”

“That’s goo-”

“ ‘Kaasan!” A loud yell bursts out, cutting out the younger Miya twin. Osamu looks around, wondering who the boy was calling but when he realizes it was you, he’s in shock and he doesn’t even hide it. The cold facade he was waving in front of you immediately diminished when two identical looking boys ran to you at a fast speed, one clung onto your leg while the other was tattle-taling.

“Oh, is that Miya Atsumu, ‘kaasan? You didn’t tell me you knew him!” Yuuto points out, staring at the large man in complete awe. Youta who seems to finally notice who the guy was, immediately lets go of your leg and joins in with his twin, completely forgetting about the little spat they have.

“I’m his twin.” he corrects, Osamu wasn’t very good with talking to kids yet they didn’t seem to mind at all, they were still as excited when they realized that he used to play too and was the one who spiked his brothers sets back then.

“Woah,” Yuuto exclaims, “How are you not in volleyball? I betcha as good as him! Mom would comment how good he plays when we watch him on TV and mom hates sports!”

Osamu doesn’t know what to say next, he’s just surprised that you even watched and kept track of his twin brother after all those harsh words you said on the phone, what’s even more surprising was that you were a mom (and someone's wife probably)  and you seem to have a good life judging by these kids energetic upkeep. 

“...wish we could watch it live though! I heard the adlers and the jackal’s have another game soon!” Yuuto frowns, crossing his arms, “ ‘kaasan’s always busy.”

“How about yer otosan?” Osamu wanted to let that out for a while, he’s very curious to see who you settled down with, according to one of the many stories about you from his twin,  you weren’t a big fan of marriage and settling down permanently. 

“Oh,” Youta blinks, “Kaasan says otosan’s in a better place now. Do you know what that means, Mister?”

Osamu feels his throat constrict at how casual and nonchalant the boy is, he probably got that characteristic from you. These set of twins dealt with the idea of death way too casually towards a stranger.

“Baby, I think you should give him a rest now. Why don’t you both grab the wafers over there.” You try to calmly take them away in front of the grey-haired man, you didn’t want Osamu to keep interacting with them. There would be breadcrumbs left if the boys kept divulging about their lives towards him, Osamu had always been quick-witted despite his quiet nature.

The boys seemed downcasted right after but they listened quickly and wobbled towards the wafer shelf at the front.

“I thought ya didn’t want to get married.” 

“We didn’t,” you blinked, “He was gone before the boys were born, I wasn’t able to tell him.”

Osamu’s eyes narrowed, “You love him or something?” 

“I do,” you replied coolly, “Very much so until today.”

“I see,” the grey-haired man was still looking at you, trying to gouge any reaction but you remained the same, “I wish you did the same to my brother.”

“He seems happy and successful now.” was all you could reply to his bitter phrase, “As sorry as I am, I can’t take back what I did. I can only atone and keep moving forward.”

Miya Osamu wants to yell at you because you didn’t see the state his brother was in after you left but he couldn’t bring himself to, after all, it seemed like you were unappalled by him and that his words would mean absolutely nothing.

“Then I hope I don’t see you again, L/N-san.” he spat, putting as much hatred in his words as possible.

“Have a good night, Miya-san.” You simply replied, bowing down. 

“I wish you did the same to my brother.”

“Kaasan says otosan is in a better place now.”

“Kaasan, do you think otosan would be proud if I became the super best volleyball player?”

“Stupid, it should be the both of us who’re the best!”

“Yeah! If we became the super best volleyball players, maybe he’d come back from that better place when he sees us on tv!”

You suddenly dropped the plate you were holding, a loud sound resonated in the small kitchen. Shakily, as you picked up the broken shards of the plate, you felt something trickling down your cheeks, “Ah…” you breathed out, wiping out the stray tear.

When was the last time you cried?

“Kaasan?” a small voice called out, you hurriedly wipe out the tears and pick up the broken shards of the plates before turning to the two boys in transformer pajamas.

“Hey.” you tried to reply steadily but the little lump on your throat prevented you from doing so, “Have you brushed your teeth?”

The boys gave each other a quick glance and the only thing they replied with was opening their arms to you, you blink for a moment,surprised by their quietness and their open arms, “When we have a bad day, you’d always do this to us.” Youta mutters, seemingly shy by this, they were never one for big hugs and kisses, saying they were big boys now.

“Did that miya atsumu-fake make you cry, kaasan? Should we get’im?” Yuuto grumbles, their attitude seems to contrast their exciting ones a while ago.

You bend down to their level and just encompassed them in a hug, “Kaasan’s just tired,” you hummed as you buried yourself between them, seeping in the warmth of their hugs and comfort, “I’m all better now, I’ve got you two anyways.”

You placed the small encounter you had with Miya Osamu at the back of your head, not wanting it to be a distraction or a hindrance. You couldn’t cry in front of your kids anymore than that night, you shouldn’t. You were a single parent, the only rock and permanent companion your kids would have for the rest of their lives, you couldn’t let them down.

“L/N-san have you heard?” 

Thankfully it was your day-off today and you could pick up the boys earlier than usual. The mom next to you looked more excited and elated, you were betting that this had something to do with gossip around their circles.

“I’m sure she hasn’t, she’s a rather busy mom, akiko-san.” another gushed.

“Ah yes!” she giggled, “Sorry I can’t contain my excitement but Sugawara-sensei is very good friends with a member of the black jackals, apparently he was his kohai back in high school.”

You feel your shoulders tense, it couldn’t be right? The amount of coincidences seemed to hit you like a truck, first osamu, now your kids teacher?

“Ninja Shoyou was it? Yes, well, they’ve decided to host a mini training camp this weekend! All the members would be there! Ah, I hope my boy gets noticed!” Riya grins, “Your boys would be very pumped, right? I personally heard Sensei telling them how natural they seemed to be. They even had their own jerseys made for the class!”

You could only nervously nod along and excuse yourself, you wanted to hurry home and deny your boys to go to this training camp. As much as you supported their love for the sport, you weren’t ready for them to meet him. They loved to blab and if Atsumu were to get wind of them, what would he say?

You didn’t want him to deny them right at their faces.

At the same time, somewhere at an upstate part of the city. Miya Atsumu lays on his bed with a naked woman sprawled next to him. His head’s fuzzy from the alcohol he drank last night and how early he and his partner had finished.

“What the fuck, put some clothes on, ya freak.” He hears his brother curse as soon as he goes out of his bedroom. Osamu would randomly make an appearance in Tokyo to fix up his plans for the franchising of his store.

“Thought you had your own place to crash?” Atsumu ignores his brother’s statement as he grabs a short that had been thrown to the side last night.

“I’m going back later, thought I’d swing by before I went home.”

“How nice of you.” the blonde deadpanned, “You should leave though, Riku’s still here.”

“You don’t say...you lot like to go at it like animals in heat.” he mutters, a look of disgust crossed his features, “I’m just here to drop by some food, I can’t leave you dying.”

“Could’ve left it in the ref and dashed off when you saw the panty on the couch.”

“Again,” Osamu crinkles his nose, “Disgusting. Kita-san would throw some disinfectant at you.”

The blonde rolled his eyes in reply as he grabbed some water by the refrigerator, Osamu watched his brother for a bit, wondering if he should tell him. They’ve never talked about Y/N after that phone call six years ago, he had to walk on eggshells around his brother for a year because of that, taking in a quick breather, he confessed, “I saw Y/N.” 

The room turned silent, Osamu waits for a reaction, a curse or anything similar to that yet he’s surprised by the lazy smirk adorning his brother's features, “Hn, it looks like you’re the one who she called and broke up with on the phone.” he laughs.

Osamu is wary but he doesn’t push it, “I was just surprised that’s all, you weren’t exactly in a good place after she left.”

“That was ages ago, ‘samu!” he exclaims, shaking it off, “I betcha she still doesn’t give two shits about me and what happened because that’s how she is but i don’t care because i’m living the life now! I’ve even got a nicer and prettier girl now! Who, mind you, is better than her in many emotional levels. Y/N’s history.”

Osamu didn’t want to tell him about the kids or the ‘man’ you met after Atsumu who you claim to love very dearly so he kept his mouth shut and just went with the flow of the conversation. Not pointing out how his twin just changed the topic right after as if he didn’t want to dwell on it and open anymore wounds.

tag list (closed)

@fortheloveofiwaizumi @svtbitch @ryaaaax @kiyoomile @lovedanii @juno-multifandom​ @gyubit17​

[sweeethinny]

The first Potter

I wrote this after watching the Kardashian series (yes) and seeing Mason's birth, which made me want to finally write what I think about a few weeks ago

fortunately I never got pregnant, but my sister did, so this whole chapter was inspired by the pain and everything I saw her go through, and how I think she and my mother are warriors, for having gone through it a few times and still saying that is the best pain they ever felt!

Harry and Ginny had decided to have their child in a Muggle hospital, for several reasons, but the main one; privacy. They knew it would be a big deal when the firstborn of the wizarding world savior was born, everyone would be crazy, wanting to take the first pictures and be the first to make sure what he would be like, so even if Molly had argued with them about that decision they would have the baby in a Muggle hospital in a well-located London neighborhood, with the surnames Evans.

It was December 26th, after a Christmas full of pain and irritation on the part of Ginny who felt too ugly and swollen to enjoy anything, she had cried in the bedroom when her dress didn't close and when she couldn't tie her own hair without feeling tired and breathless. Harry had a lot of patience, helping her get dressed, braiding her hair, helping with her shoes and enduring all the crying spells - which were not few.

The next day, they spent the day watching movies and series, resting and anxiously waiting for her purse to burst at any moment and finally see that baby they had been waiting for. The doctor, Dr Iver, had predicted that it would be that week yet, and that they might not need to operate on her if everything went well. But then the 26th passed and nothing happened.

On the 27th, Ginny cried when Harry needed to go to work and she was alone, she didn't even know why she was like that, she just wanted her husband back to help her pick up the dishes and take a shower, feeling her son move like never in belly, kicking down her ribs and stomping the bladder, when it didn't seem to push a knife in the middle of the spine and make her grunt with the pain that cut the air from her lungs.

She was so scared.

The pregnancy had been smooth, in general, but it was terrifying to think that everything would depend on her from now on, that the baby wouldn't come out if it weren't for her strength, and Ginny cried whenever she thought she wouldn't be able to do that, that it would cause some damage to the child, who would give up and fail halfway.

Bill and George took turns to be with her, sometimes Ron would jump out of the fireplace and join the company, Angelina and Fleur also showed up, but it didn't matter, none of them were Harry, none of them said the right words, and she knew she was being unfair, but she was carrying a bloody baby's inside herself! She had a right to be!

When her husband did not return that day, Ginny felt that she could start crying with anyone who touched her.

''You know it can take a while, and I'm sure he's doing everything he can to get back as soon as possible'' Hermione soothed her, wetting a towel and placing it on her forehead when Ginny started to sweat, even though it was snowing outside as never

"I'm going to kill Robards for taking my husband away from me" The redhead grunted "This is hurting more than usual" She sighed, the pain cutting her back and making the air disappear from her lungs, her hips looking like they were about to breaking in two. Ginny grabbed the arm of the couch, sinking her nails as she moaned in pain, the bitter taste of blood filling her mouth.

''Are you alright? Do I need to call anyone?'' She denied, trying to take a deep breath, still feeling her hips seem to shake and almost break, the baby moving non-stop inside her

"He looks like that when night comes," she said, crying wanting to flood her eyes. "Love, calm down please, you're going to kill mommy." Ginny rubbed her belly, just like Harry did when it happened, trying miserably to make the pain less.

But nothing happened, the pain got a few degrees worse, and she barely knew if she would have the strength to move from there, with so much pain that she felt itchy at the base of her spine

''Ginny, I think you're feeling contractions'' Hermione then jumped off the couch, running over to the fireplace and picking up the watch they kept there, looking intently at her ''Tell me when this stops'' The redhead nodded, badly listening to her sister-in-law while trying to take a deep breath.

It didn't take three pauses between pains for Molly to be in the room, next to Arthur, running after Ginny's maternity bag and everything she would need more.

''No, no, no, no'' She denied the help to get up, leaning back on the sofa and sighing when her hip stopped burning and finally could fill her lungs with air ''I won't leave here without Harry. He will never forgive himself'' The crying prickled her eyes again, vehemently denying, completely terrified at the idea of ​​doing that without him ''It's over, it's just a false alarm'' Ginny looked out, trying to look for something else to focus, the dark blue night sky showed no stars at all, and the snow seemed to have given a respite, but she thought of her husband, and hoped he was close and coming home

''Gin, baby, we need to do this'' Dad sat next to her, squeezing her hand and kissing her forehad ''We'll be with you'' She denied it, tears coming out of her control

''No, I won't do it without Harry. I will not be able to. I need him'' Harry had been at all times, the first kick, the exams, the first time they heard the heart beat ... he wouldn't miss the fucking birth! ''This baby will hold on a little longer'' But as if to contradict her, a cold liquid ran between her thighs, dripping on the floor and wetting the entire sofa, without smell or color, barely seeming to come out of her body. ''No'' She denied it again, hugging her belly as if her son could fall from there at any moment ''I can't''

''Of course you can'' Molly crouched in front of her daughter as if she were 6 years old and wanted to climb the top of the tallest tree in the garden ''I will hold your hand and ... And Ron can go behind Harry for you'' The woman looked at Hermione, who nodded from the corner of the room, looking very frightened with the bag in her hands

''Are you going to do this?'' Ginny blinked tearfully at her best friend / sister-in-law, biting her trembling lip. ''Do you promise to bring him here?'' Hermione nodded again

''I promise'' And dropping the backpack on the floor, she apparated and disappeared.

Ginny was forced to go to the Hospital, but saying with certainty that there was, that she would not have her child until Harry was there to help her. The pains increased, and with each movement of the car - she would not be able to apparate or go by the Flu, which left them to call a taxi (for Arthur's amusement) - the woman almost screamed, shaking her mother's hand and biting her lips with all the strength.

The arrival at the Hospital was sharp at midnight, Dr Ives was quick to show up and take her to the room, reformulating the whole procedure again, just so that she would be aware of each step they would take thereafter;

''Let's check your dilation, and then, go ahead with our normal delivery plan, all right?'' She nodded, being lifted to settle on the stretcher, already wearing those ridiculous hospital robe and barely able to speak, feeling the nurse puncture her vein to introduce the serum and start doing some things that she didn't quite understand.

"The baby is fine, we need to wait some more time until he is well positioned and you are ready to have him" The woman said, rubbing something cold on Ginny's round belly, making her cry even more when her heart your son's echoed in the bedroom. She needed Harry there, needed him to see that, to hold her hand and say that everything would be okay. Her husband would die if he knew that he had lost his son's birth.

''Where is he, mom?'' Luckily the pains subsided, whatever had been given to her, made her go limp '' Where's Harry? ''

''He's in the way, honey'' Molly stroked her daughter's face, brushing the hair that was stuck to her forehead and kissing there ''You're a warrior, I could never be more proud'' Ginny felt her mother's tears wet her skin, which made her smile and calm down a little.

''Thanks for being here'' But I still want Harry, she swallowed.

The hours didn't seem to pass, the doctors put her in a warm bathtub, then made her sit on a huge pink ball, and they seemed to come back every ten minutes to check how dilated she was. But all Ginny felt was exhaustion.

When the room was full of Weasleys (except Ron and Mione), she couldn't even remember exactly how she got there, ignoring the conversations and photos her mother took, napping for a few minutes - which seemed like decades in her head - and then looking by Harry. The son had calmed down, as if he knew he needed to wait for Daddy to arrive, but now and then he still tapped on her hip and made her grunt with pain, biting her mouth and doing everything she could to breathe.

''Are we ready, Mrs. Evans?'' Dr Iven smiled at all the redheads and households, turning the pregnant woman on the stretcher

''Not without Harry. This baby will stay here until my husband arrives. ''

''I don't know if your son agrees'' The man smiled a little sadly ''He already wants to come into the world'' Ginny denied again, sniffling and trying to ignore the twinge of pain that ran through her spine. Without Harry, no baby would be born

''No'' Molly started to argue with Fleur and Bill, but it was no use, they didn't know how excited Harry was about every little thing, how he cried when they bought the first clothes and set up the baby's room, so excited that Ginny thought she was capable of infusing with love. He was so excited, making plans for the trips they would have together, that now they needed to make a Quidditch court for that little being to learn to fly. There was even a time when he thought Ginny was sleeping while talking to the baby, whispering against her swollen belly; ''I will love you with all my life, as I have never loved anyone but your mother, and I promise to try to be the best father''

If anyone was supposed to be in that room, it was Harry Potter.

"Ginny, you need ..."

''..Not without Harry!'' And finally, when she started to think that she really would have to do it alone, feeling her hip hurt even more, the door was swung open, and a man all disheveled, looking a little sweaty , and with the hospital clothes all pies went in

''I'm here, I'm here'' Ginny thought she breathed for the first time in hours, releasing the tears that were trapped in seeing him there, almost sobbing when he hugged her ''I'm sorry, please'' Harry also seemed to cry , with his head buried in her neck "Ron was slow to find me, and I was too well protected to be spotted easily" She hugged him as she could, nodding

''I don't care anymore, not when you're already here'' She said, sniffling tearfully ''It hurts so much Harry'' She revealed, trying to speak as low as possible ''I'm so scared ''

''No need, I'm with you'' They broke up, and Ginny never felt so confident, shaking her husband's hand as she felt him wipe the tears that stained her cheeks. ''Let's do this together. I'm here.'' She nodded, looking back at Dr Iven, who seemed to be analyzing some paperwork, as if he wanted to give them the moment.

''I'm ready'' 

''Well, now I want everyone to leave ...'' And he started, saying again about all the steps they would take, updating her on the baby's health - perfect - and her health - also, perfect - before adjust Ginny's legs and ask for strength.

It was an absurd pain, it tore all her skin and it seemed absurd that she was going to be able to do that. Harry squeezed her hand, encouraged her, kissed her forehead and stood beside her, looking much more tearful than in his entire life, especially when the doctor said the head was gone.

Ginny can hold her son and take him away, pulling him up and listening to the crying echoing through the room, loud and resounding, showing that he was alive. She could barely see, crying as much as the little one, putting it on her chest and barely caring about all the dirt, kissing the little forehead and looking at Harry beside her, kneeling and trying unsuccessfully to wipe away all the tears.

''What's his name?''

''James.'' Ginny smiled at her husband, exhausted, never wanting to let go of the small package that was in her hands ''James Sirius Potter'' She knew that Harry would have to stun the doctor so that the man would not question his last name but at that moment nothing else mattered

''I think I'm going to die of love'' He smiled and rubbed James's head, the little tufts of gray hair making him smile, his cry still echoing as if he complained about coming out of his hot bubble and comfortable for this cruel and cold world.

Harry cut the umbilical cord that still held Ginny and James together in one body, before he crouched down next to her and kissed her with as much love as the day they were married.

''I love you, and I will always be here'' They were family now.

[kaimelia]

Quarantine Baby (Pt 4)

a/n: okay...I wasn’t planning on doing a part 4, but I loved seeing all of your reactions to the last part and I felt like I had to. The next chapter of paper rings will be up soon, I promise! But, this is really the last part. probably.

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

Link pushed open the wooden door, rubbing hand sanitizer onto his hands and shutting the door. Hayes had insisted they be moved into a private room shortly after their arrival at the hospital, something Amelia was extremely relieved for. It meant they could limit who came in and out, and also not have to constantly wear their masks in the hospital. He pulled his off, placing it down on the table. “Scout’s all good, he kept asking for you, though,” he whispered, looking into the bed to see their daughter’s open eyes darting around the room. “How’s she doing?”

“Been awake for a little bit, now. Hayes said she’s getting better slowly, but surely.” She stepped towards him, breathing in his scent as they hugged. “Maggie hasn’t lost her mind watching all of the kids?” He shook his head.

“Nope. She got Winston to come over and help. They’re all fine.” Amelia sighed contently, walking back over to the chair she had been resting in. “Did you get any rest? In the most loving way possible, you look like a mess.” She laughed quietly.

“Maybe half an hour? I honestly can’t sleep right now. She looks so tiny and fragile, and I’m worried if I close my eyes, she’ll just disappear. I accidentally fell asleep for a little bit, but I woke up when Hayes came in to check on her.” He frowned at her. “I know it’s irrational, but I’m kind of terrified.

“She’s gonna be just fine. She’s a fighter,” he cooed, sanitizing his hands once more before walking towards the bed in the middle of the room. “But, our little fighter needs a name.”

“Should I pull up a name-generating website and just start going through it?” Link shrugged. “We’re really good at naming kids.”

“This is why I said we should do it during your pregnancy. I thought we learned from last time.” Amelia smirked at his teasing.

“We’re not very good planners. How do you want to come up with her name?”

“I want her to have a name with meaning,” Link said, opening the side of the NICU bed and reaching in to take the baby.

“Any ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ characters we haven’t named a kid after?” He laughed softly, careful not to disturb their daughter too much. He picked her up slowly. “How about Maureen? After your mom?” Amelia suggested, leaning back into the hospital chair. Link shrugged, slowly rocking back and forth with the baby in his arms.

“I don’t know. I don’t want to name her after my mom just because she’s my mom,” he said, carefully adjusting a wire attached to his newborn daughter. “What about Carolyn?” The mother shook her head.

“Nope. My mom hasn’t been involved in my life for too long.” Amelia sighed and rested her head on her hand, watching her boyfriend, who was completely enamored by the baby in his arms. She smiled.

“Name her after Meredith? Or Maggie?”

“We can’t just pick one of them,” she muttered. “If we name her after Maggie, Meredith’s not included. And I think that Margaret Meredith or Meredith Margaret is a bit of a mouthful. Too many M’s.”

“And, I’m assuming you don’t want to name her after any of your actual sisters.” She nodded. “What about Addison?”

“Then we’ll have kids with Addison and Derek in their names. Sweet Home Alabama,” she joked, standing up from the chair, cringing as she lifted herself. Link raised his eyebrows at her.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, my body’s just still sore from pushing a whole child out of a very small hole.” He grinned at her, shaking his head in amusement. Amelia held out her arms to take their daughter, and he slowly placed the baby into her embrace, carefully maneuvering the wires attached to her. “You get to give birth to the next one.”

“Whatever you say.” He watched as the baby snuggled into Amelia’s chest, her tiny hands gripping onto the fabric of her mother’s top. Amelia glanced up at him.

“Jo. Or Josephine.”

“Really?”

“I mean, she saved our daughter’s life. She’s your best friend, and I think that she’s someone in our lives worth honoring like this.” Her eyes followed the wires attached to her daughter, staring down the machines helping her to live. “Baby’s already a fighter, too.”

“Josephine Shepherd-Lincoln,” he tested, shrugging his shoulders. He paused for a moment. “Maybe not a first name. Middle name?”

“Something Josephine Shepherd-Lincoln,” Amelia whispered, smiling up at him. “I like it.”

“As long as her first name isn’t Something.” The neurosurgeon nudged his arm playfully.

“What about Charlotte?” She looked back down at her daughter, running her hand over the baby’s tiny head. “I know you haven’t actually met her yet, pandemic and all, but you will one day. She’s one of the best people I know. I wouldn’t be clean, or maybe even alive if it wasn’t for her. And, I hope that one day our daughter will have even half of the strength that Charlotte does.” Link was quiet after she finished, causing Amelia to look back up at him. “Sorry, rambling. We don’t have to name her Charlotte.”

“Charlotte Josephine Shepherd-Lincoln. I love it.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket, snapping a quick picture of his girlfriend and daughter. “You know, maybe this will be the convincing factor to get Charlotte to come up here after the pandemic. The whole ‘we named our daughter after you, you’re kind of obligated to visit’ thing.” The couple’s eyes locked together, their mouths mirroring each other’s in toothy grins until the sound of their daughter’s cries rang through the air.

“Way to ruin the moment, Charlotte.”

[wlw-lovestruck-fiction]

May I request the MC reaction to Juliette going into labor and how she helps her through the pregnancy?

written by @valkriewonder

-----

It all began with a visit to MCs parents, something the couple did every other week since MC and Juliette had married the year before, the off week being spent with the Optimas. Optimus had grown under their leadership and old employees had learned about the company’s previous dark dealings, and new employees learned this after they settled into their jobs. After being married for a year the couple had decided it was time to start a family of their own. Juliette had wanted to carry their first child, MC would carry the next one. After undergoing the proper procedures they were waiting to see if it had worked. Dinner was progressing well when Juliette felt a wave of nausea over take her. She quickly bolted to the bathroom and managed to make it in time. Once she felt better she felt a familiar hand on her back. Giving MC a grateful smile, Juliette washed her hands before the couple returned to the table. After returning to their seat, Tina, MC’s mother spoke, “Are you all right dear?” “I’m fine, although I’m not sure what is going on, it’s been happening for the past couple of days.” “I’m sorry for asking, but you had the implantation procedure recently right?” MC nodded, “Yeah, we did, a couple weeks ago.” MC thought for a minute, before her eyes widened, “Wait you don’t think?” Tina nodded, “I do, the same thing happened to me.” Juliette looked at MC, “What are you two talking about, love?” “Mom thinks you might be pregnant.” “Despite it’s misleading name, morning sickness can actually happen at any time.” MC’s Dad, Carl nodded, “Just like how your mother was when she was pregnant with you, up at all hours.” “Juliette looked thoughtful, “Is there anything I can do?” Tina nodded, “Well you can try eating smaller meals spaced throughout the day, and if something in particular seems to set it off, avoid it.” The couple nodded. The rest of the night went smoothly and the couple bought a pregnancy test on the way home. After arriving home the two snuggled together before going to sleep. Early the next morning Juliette was first of the couple to wake up. Taking the test out of it’s package, Juliette read the instructions before taking it. She had just finished washing her hands when MC walked in, “Oh, sorry, hon, I didn’t realize you were in here. Did you take the test?” “Yeah, just finished, just need to wait.” After waiting, Juliette took a deep breath, before looking at the test. The word pregnant staring right back at them. The two stared at it for a second, before it hit them what it said. MC swept Juliette into her arms and kissed her. Both sets of parents and The Syndicate were soon told the news and all were thrilled with the announcement. As the weeks passed MC supported her wife however she could. Rubbing her back whenever Juliette had morning sickness, cooking meals and taking care of her wife. As the weeks passed the morning sickness eased before disappearing completely. As she progressed Juliette soon found that she was horny more often than usual. And so it was during a routine examination that she asked her doctor about this, albeit, very red. The doctor giggled, “Don’t be embarrassed, I have heard it all. And no this isn’t uncommon, hormones fluctuate during pregnancy, and increased arousal is very common. As everything is normal, I see absolutely no reason why you should resume such activities.” After returning home they did just that. Juliette’s belly grew to accommodate the developing life within her as she progressed through the second trimester, MC loved to gently rub her wife’s belly, much to Juliette’s delight. MC also loved to help Juliette shower, washing her wife from top to bottom. The couple also maintained their active sex life, experimenting with positions as Juliette’s belly grew bigger and bigger. Once they could they decided to ask the doctor to tell them the gender and learned that they were having a girl. After talking it over they decided to name her Anabel Lily Optima. It wasn’t all good things however, Juliette soon started having weird cravings, everything from ice cream with pickles to chips with chocolate sauce. Tina assured her daughter, when MC asked her about it, that this was also common and it wasn’t anything to be concerned with. The hormones running through Juliette’s body also caused to mood to swing unexpectedly, the doctor assured the couple that this was also normal and was to be expected. Eventually Juliette entered her third trimester, and the couple began to prepare their apartment for their child, with everything from cabinet locks to outlet covers. The room next to their bedroom was soon painted pink and was outfitted with the furniture needed. While Juliette’s libido had waned somewhat, MC made sure her wife knew how much she loved her, MC gave her wife lots of foot, back, and belly rubs, much to her wife’s gratitude. That wasn’t to say they hadn’t completely stopped making love to each other, but as Juliette neared the end of her pregnancy she just didn’t feel like making love as much as before. This didn’t bother MC, she loved Juliette no matter what. Of course the aches and pains only intensified as her pregnancy progressed. After a baby shower, where the couple had been given everything they needed thanks to both parents and the Syndicate, the two settled down to wait for Juliette to go into labor. On December 23rd, Juliette woke up first to wake up, and after making a stop in the bathroom, waddled to the kitchen. She was soon joined by MC, and the two began to make breakfast. After finishing MC gathered the dishes while Juliette headed to the couch, but just as she got there, she felt a cramp in her lower body. It passed quickly and Juliette shrugged it off. As the day progressed the cramps soon began to become stronger and more frequent. It wasn’t long before MC realized what was going on, “I think you’re in labor, love.” As the day progressed Juliette’s contractions gradually became stronger and closer together. MC supported her wife, making sure Juliette was well hydrated and rubbed her back, helping Juliette breath through her contractions. Once the contractions reached 10minutes apart and 2 minutes in duration, MC called the midwife, who told them to head to the birth center, she would gather her things and meet them there. MC quickly called her parents then Andi, all three promised to spread the word and met them at the center Once they arrived MC quickly parked and walked with Juliette inside. They were soon settled into a good size private room with 2 beds, a bathroom with a large tub that could fit the both of them comfortably, and several chairs. Once she was settled, the midwife checked her and found she was four centimeters dilated. “Alright, you’re progressing, but you’re not going very quickly, Let’s see what rest and time do before we talk about other options, try and get some rest, I’ll check you again later.” After the midwife left Juliette dozed off, MC simply rubbed her arm and back, letting her wife rest and gather her strength for what lay ahead. Hearing someone at the door, MC looked up, to see her parents standing there. She waved them in and her mother gave her a hug, “How’s she been doing?” “She’s been progressing slowly, but she’s progressing. I’m letting her get some rest.” “Good idea, she’ll need all the energy she can get later.” After talking a few more minutes MC’s parents left some food behind and headed back to the lobby. Not too long after, Eleanor and Jack entered, they didn’t stay long either, but offered words of encouragement to MC. Not long after, Juliette woke up, “Hey.” “Hey love, you feeling ok?” “Better now that I’ve rested, but do you have anything to eat?” MC nodded, “Mom brought some sandwiches.” Just as Juliette finished eating, a strong contraction gripped her body, causing the blonde to let out a scream of pain. MC just grasped her wife’s hand, letting her squeeze it as hard as she needed to, if this was a fraction of the pain she was in, MC wouldn’t complain. Once the contraction passed the midwife entered, “Hi you two, I’d like to see how much you have dilated, if I could, Juliette.” After she finished the midwife straightened up, “Seven centimeters, just three more to go. I’ll be back in a bit. Feel free to walk around, you can also get into the tub if you want to try that; I’ll keep a birth stool or ball ready if you want them.” Juliette opted to try the water, and soon she was in the tub wearing only her bra, with MC behind her, the water easing her aching back. MC gently rubbed her wife’s belly, hoping to comfort her wife as she labored. Neither woman were sure how much time passed, but eventually Juliette felt the urge to push, MC kept rubbing her wife’s belly and encouraged her to not push yet, she didn’t want Juliette to hurt herself or the baby. Soon the midwife returned and checked Juliette again, “Nine centimeters, almost there, shouldn’t be too long now. But you can’t push quite yet.” MC kept her focus on Juliette, encouraging her and telling her how much she loved her and that she was proud of her. Finally the midwife returned and check Juliette, “Ok, Juliette, your fully dilated, go ahead and push when you’re ready.” Juliette was soon pushing, grunting with the effort as she worked with her body to deliver their child. MC kept encouraging her wife, telling her that she was doing well and that the end was in sight. And although Juliette had expected the pain to level off, it kept getting worse. “It burns! Eventually her lower lips parted in a tear drop shape the the baby’s head descended lower and lower, the tear drop shape soon became a circle as the head started crowning, “OK, you’re crowning, almost there.” Juliette let out a scream a with the next contraction, “It burns! Make it stop!” Juliette howled in pain. Tearing at MC’s heart. “It means the baby’s head is stretching to fit, easy now, too fast and you’ll tear.” After the next contraction, the midwife spoke, “Oh boy, OK Juliette your baby is in what we call occiput posterior position, that means she’s head down, but with the face facing towards your belly rather than your bottom like usual.” “What does that mean?” MC asked. “It means that Juliette is going to have to work harder than normal, and it hurts worse. I wish it was different, but…” “What can I do?” “Just what you are, MC. Keep encouraging her and keep her spirits up.” A couple of contractions later and Juliette was running out of energy, “I can’t do this anymore.” “Yes you can love, I know you’re tired but it’s almost over you have to keep pushing.” Finally with the next push, the head began emerging. “There you go Juliette the head is coming out.” Finally the head was completely out. “Alright the head is out, one more contraction should do the trick.” Sure enough, the baby shoulders slid free with the next contraction and her body slid out easily afterwards. The midwife quickly put Anabel into Juliette’s arms as she took her first breath and started to cry. Juliette ran one of her nipples along Anabel’s mouth and the baby quickly latched on and began to nurse .It was then that the midwife told the couple that the time was 2:47 in the morning, on December 25th, Christmas Day. Juliette had been in labor for over 37 hours. Soon after the cord was tied and cut. Once the families and their friends were allowed in, they all took turns holding Anabel and congratulating the couple. Eventually everyone headed home and MC snuggled against her wife, and drifted off to sleep.

[kittyanonymity]

Marinette is the daughter of Wonder Woman X Superman

Hey have this!!!! I was inspired by @eve-valution and their wonderful art!

Also like.... It’s really just an excuse for Mari to be ridiculously overpowered tbh; plus.... the aesthetic of this tiny adorable girl accidentally breaking things all the time, and getting super flustered over it. >.> It’s cute, ok? lol

Honestly, my original plan for this was Daminette, and this version is; but I might also make some adjustments for a Timinette version (I love them, they’re adorkable together ok)? I haven’t decided yet. ALSO this is just a basic outline; not the fic itself. I haven’t started the fic yet. Feel free to ask things though!! ALSO THIS AU IS CLASS FRIENDLY!!! 

~ DAMINETTE VERSION~

So in the latest DC animated movies, they’ve been pushing Diana/Clark pretty heavily while implying that despite Clark’s attraction to Diana, he’s still in love with Lois; this is seen pretty obviously when Diana and Clark go on a date, and Lois shows up. Clark immediately puts space between him and Diana and honestly, it’s a little telling. (this is all in stark contrast to the Justice League cartoon from the 90’s/early 2000’s, where Diana and Bruce ((Wonder Woman and Batman)) were shipped pretty heavily) Talk about baby’s first OTP, am I right? XD

ANYWAY THE POINT IS THIS.

Lois and Clark are together, like they’re getting married. (somewhere in the world, Damian is turning one; this is relevant later.) One night, Superman has a ‘moment of weakness’, and him and Wonder woman bang. BOOM! Pregnant.

Diana is rightfully upset, as Clark immediately tells her this was a mistake, they never should’ve done that. He goes back to Lois, and they don’t speak outside of the Watchtower anymore. Diana does not tell him when she finds out she’s pregnant. She goes to Bruce, tells him she’ll be out of commission for up to 3 years.

Bruce is rightfully concerned, but Diana doesn’t tell him what’s wrong. He assures her she can leave; they’ll keep it together out here while she rests in Themyscira. She feels bad for not telling him, but resolves to do it later. Home she goes, to see her mom and the rest of the Amazons!

Her mother is disgusted by Clark’s conduct, but Diana has always wanted to have a child. They know it will be a daughter: it always is, Hippolyta says conspiratorially. The pregnancy is interesting, and many of the Amazons are startled at how quickly their princess can finish her projects. Hippolyta watches on in concern; her daughter has become startlingly creative during these months, and as a previous Ladybug that can mean only one thing.

Tikki will be back in the family soon.

Hippolyta says nothing about this to Diana, not wanting to alarm her daughter.

When Marinette is born with dark hair, and blue eyes there is no surprise. Diana stares at her daughter as if she is the most beautiful thing to have ever existed, and to her, she is. Marinette spends 3 years on Themyscira, learning from her mother, grandmother, and all of her many sisters. She’s an excitable child, with a penchant for marking walls with whatever she can draw. She grasps language easily, and much quicker than anyone would think possible.

But Diana has a duty. She must return to the outside world to assist the league. She thinks of the outside world, how it has taught her, hurt her, but ultimately made her stronger; and she knows that she wants Marinette to have all of that and more. So she contacts an old friend in Paris.

Sabine had left Themyscira many years prior, once Diana had cleared the way for the other Amazons to venture out. She’d fallen in love with a baker, and though the 2 couldn’t have children of their own, they were excellent people. People Diana knew she could entrust Marinette with. Sabine agreed after they discussed it extensively.

Diana would come see Marinette regularly once she was 10, giving the girl some years to mature, and come to terms with her mother’s identity. Diana assured Sabine she’d send any and all support requested, along with letters and gifts for Marinette as she grew. Diana hated to leave her daughter, but seeing as she would constantly be in danger once again, she couldn’t bear to put Marinette through that. Diana tells Sabine who Marinette’s father is, so they can be ready.

Sabine threatens to cut his dick off, which Diana laughs at. Diana and Marinette live with Sabine and Tom for a year, letting Marinette get to know and love them; and then Diana tells Marinette she has to go, the world needs her.

And Marinette just nods, giving her mother a smile.

“I know mommy.”

Good byes and I love you’s are exchanged, and after many tears, Diana finally manages to tear herself away, and she leaves. There is a hole in her heart the size of the Earth, but Diana has a job to do.

This is the world where Marinette lives now too, and she must do all she can to keep her daughter’s world safe.

Clark and Lois get married while Diana is away, and Jonathan is born; he’s only a year younger than Marinette, and 2 years younger than Damian like in canon. Clark is curious as to where Diana disappeared to, asking around, but the only one who knows is Bruce. And when Clark asks, Bruce simply shrugs.

“She told me she’d be gone for a few years. I didn’t press her for details. Everyone needs a break, Superman.”

Clark didn’t like it; he was worried. For her to disappear so abruptly… Surely she hadn’t truly loved him? Clark hates himself as he thinks about it, regret permeating him. He does his best to not think about it.

At least until Diana shows back up, 4 years later, and a little more jaded than she used to be. Bruce welcomes her back with a small smile, and a nod. Diana doesn’t even look at Clark.

And for Clark, it’s enough to just know that she’s safe. He doesn’t blame her for hating him; he kinda hates him too.

Literally none of the League know about Marinette; Diana doesn’t tell fucking anyone.

Miraculous canon happens as normal, only difference is that Lila is fucking gone after the Volpina incident. She’s gone after that, no return, nothing. I hate that girl, and honestly, I just wanna write something where Marinette’s friends love her, without the class drama. I can’t forgive the Miraculous writers for doing that to the students. Chat is still pretty pushy in his pursuit of Ladybug, but not in an exaggerated way. However, it does still cause some eventual complications that he needs to learn and grow from. Minimum bashing should be involved, and it will be centered around pointing out the toxic things he does, and him correcting those behaviors. Adrien is my boi and I love him.

ANYWAY.

When Marinette is 10, Diana shows up to see her. Marinette has known that Sabine wasn’t her real mother; Mari still calls Sabine Maman though cause like… the woman raised her, duh. Marinette loves Diana, even though she doesn’t remember what her mother looks like. Diana always remembers her birthday, and all of the holidays; Marinette has saved every letter, and gift her mother has ever sent her. She doesn’t realize her mother is Wonder Woman yet. Well, at least until she shows up on her 10th birthday. Marinette recognizes her as the heroine instantly, but says nothing; she’s seen movies, she knows secret identities are important!

Over the years, Sabine has kept Diana informed on the progression of Marinette’s… abilities. Look, the girl is a split between the Amazonian princess, and a Kryptonian. God only knows what she’ll be able to do. So far, Marinette has displayed signs of super strength and speed, and most recently flight; she’s got the enhanced senses as well, and she carries ear plugs with her when they go out. Diana is happy to know though, that Marinette has a strong sense of right and wrong. She owes Sabine a great debt of gratitude, and knows she’ll never be able to thank the woman enough for raising their (because yeah, Marinette is theirs now) daughter.

(Marinette goes to school, excited to tell everyone about her 2 mommies and her daddy. Despite Diana not being romantically involved with them…. Yet???? Maybe????? HMMMM)

After Marinette turns 10, Diana makes a point to visit every spring for her daughter’s birthday, and to check in on things. The day of Marinette’s 14th birthday, Diana steps off of the plane, and on her way to the Dupain-Cheng bakery, she witnesses her first akuma. Preparing to step in, Diana freezes when Ladybug and Chat Noir appear on the scene.

Diana recognizes Marinette on sight, and the spots are familiar. She remembers her mother, the stories of Tikki, and the adventures they had, the evils they stopped. She remembers how anxious her mother was during her pregnancy, when Diana could not stop drawing, writing, whatever she could be doing.

Marinette is a pure soul of creation, born of Tikki’s essence, and she is Diana’s daughter, an Amazon, and half kryptonian.

Diana watches her daughter fight, hands clenched at her sides. The Amazon in her demanding she see this through, watch her daughter be the fierce warrior she is meant to be; the mother in her is clawing at her throat, preventing her from speaking with the force of her panic.

And Marinette is an excellent fighter. Diana recognizes many of the moves she used to practice while they were still on the island, and they’ve been refined, polished, and put on display to show the world. It had to be Sabine’s handiwork, teaching her this. Did Sabine know she was Ladybug? No, she would’ve told Diana first thing.

Diana does not intervene, watching Ladybug win, and undo the damage.

Once the akuma is dealt with, Diana follows her daughter as she swings away and finds a quiet place to de-transform.

“My little light, you have exactly 2 minutes to tell me what is going on.”

Marinette jumps a mile, whipping around to see her mother, and then Tikki is smiling, hugging Diana’s cheek.

“Diana! It’s been too long!” Diana gives the kwami a smile.

“Hello, Tikki, mother misses you.”

Marinette is dumbfounded.

Diana explains everything, about how she knows, and why; tells her about Hippolyta, and her connection to the Miraculous. It was the most exciting and stressful birthday yet.

Diana starts making more regular trips to Paris to assist her daughter when she needs the extra help; since Diana is generally fairly good at keeping her emotions in check, it works out. Marinette works extra hard to make sure she keeps her extra abilities in check.

She uses her powers in small subtle ways; using her flight to get a better distance out of a yo-yo swing, but doing it in a way where it’s unnoticeable to the standard eye. Or using her x ray vision to avoid people she doesn’t want to see. She lets herself be clumsy, and careless with her movements in her daily life, making sure none of her friends can ever make the connection between her and Ladybug later on; before Ladybug, she’s clumsy so she doesn’t draw attention to her powers. The only one who knows she has powers is Nino.

It’s hard to explain to your childhood friend why you’re flying after all; he had been there the first time she’d accidentally used this new power. OOPS

All abilities/side effects Mari has:

-Super strength

-super senses (hearing, sight, smell, etc ((is taste usually included in this???? hm)))

-Enhanced vision (x-ray, thermal)

-Flight

-Super speed (bout as fast as Superman if she tries hard enough)

-Ladybug luck

-Martial arts/various fighting styles

-Amazon swordfighting & archery

Side effects:

-Sluggish in Winter thanks to Ladybug things; will hibernate if she gets too cold

-Has bursts of creative energy that keep her up far longer than she should be; usually crashes afterwards; these will stop as she gets older, and gets a better handle on her Ladybug powers.

-Gets sick easily during the cold months

-Kryptonite hurts her, obviously; she gets a wicked migraine, and nausea; usually her vision gets bad too.

Marinette’s personality doesn’t change all that much, really. She’s still undeniably kind, and selfless, always going out of the way for her friends. She’s a bit more vocal about her sense of justice, not putting up with bullies. Chloe gets her redemption a bit early because of this. Marinette is also not afraid to just absolutely throw down and brawl if you’re being a violent asshole. Like, damn. She is tiny, but she will miss you up.

ANYWHO.

With Diana making frequent trips to Paris, it catches Bruce’s eye, and he of course gets suspicious. The French government has been keeping the situation with the Akumas under wraps for about 3 years now, no news escaping the country. Marinette is currently 16, Diana has been helping her deal with hard to handle akumas for 2 years; Damian is 17, and Jon is 15.

So when Bruce looks into Diana’s activity in Paris, he’s startled to find little to nothing about Wonder Woman. An article briefly mentions something called an ‘akuma’ but then there’s no further mention. Instead he finds records of Diana Prince shacking up with a married couple and their daughter.

When Bruce finds a picture of Diana standing with the Dupain-Chengs, his breath leaves him. She is staring at the girl in the picture with such a proud adoring gaze, and he would have to be blind to miss the resemblance. The girl’s age lines up with when Diana left, and Bruce remembers how unusually concerned Clark had been about her location.

He’s the world’s greatest detective, and the pieces are too easy to put together.

SO Bruce Wayne does what Bruce Wayne always does.

Finds a way to get information.

He invites Francois-Dupont to his yearly student seminar, meant to help students get a jump start on their careers. They must prove why they deserve to attend, like all the schools invited, in the form of an essay, accompanied by a video of their school.

Mlle. Bustier’s class is selected as the class to make the video representing the school; Marinette and Alya volunteer to head the project with audio assistance from Nino, while Adrien offers to help with the budget. The class comes together to offer some kind of assistance or another, even Chloe, who goes out of her way to help the class plan. Marinette writes the basic video out, how it should look, what it should say.

But they need a narrator.

The class unanimously votes for Marinette.

“You know us better than anyone, Nette. It’s gotta be you.”

“Everyone knows you here, Mari; you’re the sweetest girl in the school.”

“A WELCOME VIDEO!”

It’s Alya who shouts it, grinning at the class.

“It’ll be a welcome video with Marinette showing a ‘new kid’ around!”

Marinette’s gotta admit, it’s genius; the class agrees, and planning begins in earnest now that they have a better idea for it.

All of their carefully laid plans fall to pieces when their high end camera breaks the day they need to film. Everyone is shouting, stress is high, and Rose is crying. Marinette knows she needs to do something before an akuma shows up, but then she hears a yelp, and she looks over to see a first year stumble back as Kim knocks into her. Marinette’s there in an instant, steadying the girl on her feet, and giving her a smile.

“Are you ok?”

She’s unaware of Adrien watching her with a fond smile, while he elbows Alya; Alya stops yelling at Chloe long enough to look over, and quickly take her phone out, and press record. The classes attention immediately shifts, the tension all but disappearing.

The first year nods hesitantly.

“Y-yes I’m ok. It’s just my first day here, a-and I’m…” The dark haired girl bit her lip, looking at the floor, “I’m really scared.” Marinette frowned for a moment before she smiled, and took the girls’ hand.

“I’m Marinette, what’s your name?” The girl sniffled, rubbing at her eyes.

“My name’s Bridgette.” Marinette nodded, her smile growing.

“It’s nice to meet you. Sorry about my friend Kim over there. He gets a little excitable sometimes.” Bridgette offered her a smile.

“It’s ok. It looked interesting so I wanted to get closer, but I wasn’t paying much attention.” Her eyes fell, and she looked off to the side, but Marinette gripped her hand gently, causing her to look up.

“I can show you around the school if you like. Everyone here is really nice, I promise. We look after each other the best we can, and you can always ask one of us for help.” Marinette gestures to her classmates, who offer Bridgette encouraging smiles. It’d been awhile since they’d seen Marinette work her particular brand of magic. Bridgette’s smile grew, and she finally nodded.

“I’d really appreciate that, Marinette thank you.” Marinette simply waved her off.

“It’s fine! We’ll make it fun!” She turned to her class, missing Alya hiding behind Adrien, still recording.

“I’ll be back in a bit guys. Come find me when you get the camera replaced.”

The camera panned around Adrien’s back as Marinette turned away, and began leading Bridgette further into the school. Alya hurried to catch up, the class following shortly after.

Marinette showed the young girl all around the building, from her homeroom class, and to each individual classroom so the girl would never be lost. And she talked to her, learning that Bridgette had just recently moved there from Italy, escaping her old school and the torment she’d endured there. It burned Marinette to know that someone had been so cruel to such a sweet girl, but Bridgette assured her it was fine since she wasn’t there anymore. Marinette in turn, assured her that no one at Dupont would ever treat her so cruelly. And if anyone did happen to do so, she should come find her immediately.

Bridgette laughed, flushing pink.

“Thanks, Mari!” Bridgette’s gaze grew wistful, “It’s been awhile since I’ve laughed with a friend.”

And Marinette was resplendent in her joy, pulling the girl into a gentle hug.

“We’ll look out for you, Bridgette. You can count on us.” The girl returned the embrace, nodding. After a moment, the two girls pulled back, and Bridgette smiled.

“Thanks for caring, Mari.” Marinette shrugged, giving her a smile.

“You’re worth it, Bridgette, remember that.” She nodded her head towards a classroom, “But you should probably get to class now. I think you’re really late. I’ll have a talk with Mr. Beaumont about why right after my class and I finish this project, ok? Just tell him Marinette will explain, and he should understand.” Bridgette nodded, thanking her again, before kissing her cheek, and heading to her classroom. Marinette watched her go with a smile, and sighed, before turning to head back to her class.

Only to promptly freeze at the sight of them behind her, grinning in glee, Alya at the front, phone held high.

Marinette flushed bright red.

“Guys, what’re you doing?” Alya clicked end on the recording and grinned at her best friend.

“Getting our video of course!”

Marinette was certain she was going to die. Or combust on the spot. God, what if she actually did though, and it was just another damn power to worry about???

Needless to say, she’s embarrassed. But once the class reviews the video, they find it to be perfect. They were able to stay close enough to hear Bridgette’s and Marinette’s conversation, and hear Marinette explaining things to her. Nino took the audio and boosted it in certain parts, and making sure to edit out any personal information the girls discussed during the tour.

The video coupled with the 15 page essay Marinette submits secures their spot in the seminar.

Meanwhile, when Diana hears Marinette gushing about their school being invited to the annual Wayne Seminar, she is immediately suspicious. She finds Bruce within the day, appearing in the Batcave with no preamble; Bruce is waiting for her.

He offers her a drink. And Diana sighs, because he definitely already knows; so she accepts his drink, and they sit.

And they talk.

He asks why she didn’t tell him, he would’ve helped her. And Diana laughs, and it’s surprisingly good natured.

“Bruce, you would’ve killed him back then. Don’t think I don’t know how much you two hated each other back then.” She sighed, “You idiots were finally about to be friends, and if I’d told you what he’d said, what we’d done…” She snorted, “I was quite sure you would’ve killed him.” Bruce didn’t deny her accusations, nor did he accept them.

“What’s she like?” And Bruce watched Diana’s whole body relax, a small smile on her face as she swirled the liquor in her glass.

“She is the best thing that has ever existed for me in this world. She’s my little light, and I will see that this world is safe for her.” Bruce thought of his sons, his daughters, and he nodded.

“And her powers?” Diana’s grin grew broad, and she raised her fist.

“She is strong, Bruce. The strongest.” Again, Bruce nodded, having a drink from his glass as Diana stared him down, “If you hurt her while she is in your care, Bruce, we will have problems. You know this?” Bruce sat his glass down, reaching for the bottle to refill his cup.

“I know, Diana. My intentions are purely curious, I promise you.” He smiled, a small upturn of his lips, “She was the star of their video, you know.”

He shows her the video the class submitted, edited to include the class singing the praises of their class president as an intro, before it cut to some footage taken on a cell phone. It followed Marinette around as she guided a younger student around the school, offering advice, and going out of her way to help the girl. The footage ended with the girl’s blushing face before it cut to an outro featuring the Journalist of the class, Alya Cesaire. Alya had said that since Marinette was writing the essay, she knew her friend wouldn’t include her own good deeds, and since Alya was in charge of the video, she’d take care of it here.

And Diana watched her daughter’s best friend proudly declare Marinette’s achievements, and her aspirations; the good she’d done, and the bad she’d prevented, or outright ended.

Bruce pretended not to notice Diana’s tears.

OOF I DID NOT MEAN TO WRITE THAT MUCH OF THAT WOW

Ok so anyway, trip to Gotham gets secured cause of all that. Master Fu will send Kaalki with Marinette as an assured countermeasure against akumas, and Diana promises she will stay in Paris while Marinette is in Gotham. This assures Marinette that between her mom, Viperion, and Ryuuko they could hold their own until she could get there.

To Gotham! YAY!

They land mid afternoon, check into the hotel, and fucking sleep. That’s it.

Next day, they have a guided tour of the Gotham Natural History museum, which is super dope, and everyone is excited; except for Chloe, because even redeemed she’s kind of a brat. I love her. Marinette meets Tim first in this one. Tim is at the Museum because as CEO of Wayne Enterprises he is donating something to the museum. They bump into each other, and she knocks him down.

Tim is kind of stunned cause this tiny pixie like girl just knocked right into him and didn’t even budge, holy shit. And Marinette is stumbling over her words as she apologizes, and helps Tim up, and wow, that is one hell of a grip for someone that size, what the fUCK. Tim is properly dismayed, but waves off her concern good naturedly, saying he shouldn’t have been standing in the middle of the hallway like an idiot; Marinette flushes brighter, insisting she should’ve been paying more attention.

And then Jason shows up, cause like damn Tim, what the hell is taking you so long?

Looks at Marinette.

Hey isn’t she a bit young for you, Drake?

(in another timeline this would probably be a fun Timinette AU, I won’t lie. hmmmmmmm…..)

Tim rolls his eyes at Jason’s antics, offering Marinette a grimace.

‘Sorry about him, he’s deplorable. Again I’m sorry for running into you’

Marinette laughs it off, shaking her head

‘I’m so sorry for knocking you down. I’ll make sure to pay more attention.’

Tim and Jason leave, Jason offering her a wide grin and a little wave; Marinette just shakes her head in amusement, and catches up with the class.

MEANWHILE, SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE MUSEUM

Damian and Jon are hanging out; Jon has decided to come and pester him since his school, Metropolis Prep, is also invited to the seminar, and Damian likes his friend, he really does, but *god* he is suffering right now. Jon is making comments left and right, and Damian is about to lose it.

‘Ooh, am I making you mad, Wayne?’

Damian glares at his friend.

‘Stop talking. My head is killing me, and I am *this* close to killing *you*.’

Jon just laughs, and Damian rolls his eyes.

After awhile of wandering around, looking at things, they go get some lunch in the cafeteria. There’s a large group of French students taking up one of the tables, one dark haired girl standing while the others are sitting; there’s a map and a notebook spread out in front of her. Damian watches as she smiles at her classmates, writing things in the notebook, while marking things on the map.

‘Oh, that’s cool!’

Damian looks at Jon, ‘What?’ Jon grins.

‘They’re planning on what they want to see while in Gotham.’

‘How do you know?’ Jon rolls his eyes as they get some food.

‘Damian. I have super powers, idiot.’ Damian snorts.

‘Doesn’t explain your incompetence though.’

Both boys miss the wide eyed stare Marinette is giving Jon from her table.

She hadn’t MEANT to hear him, but when you can hear pretty much everything, eavesdropping is inevitable; doesn’t mean she has to like it though.

Also, wow that boy looks so much like her?? How weird.

She and the class finish planning other places they’d like to go, while Marinette turns the list of locations into Miss Bustier for her to review. They had a basic schedule set up, but their teacher had allowed them to see Gotham for what it was before finalizing things.

After lunch, their tour resumes, and Jon and Damian find themselves along the same path as Marinette’s class. They’ve moved past some of the older cultural items, and are entering the room of heroes and villains. Wax replicas of Batman, all of the Robins’, Black Bat, Batgirl, and various big name villains line the walls. Damian was on edge the entire time, not quite listening to Jon’s rambling.

And well OF COURSE something goes wrong, because you can’t have the Dupont kids go anywhere with no problems.

Two Face steps down from where his figure used to be, unloading his gun into the ceiling. He thinks he’ll have an easy time taking this French class hostage.

He is not prepared for these kids.

Alix and Kim tag team a couple of his henchmen with support from Max who has outfitted Markov with some new tech as well. Juleka (who has been tapped for the Lion Miraculous before) and Rose (who’s used the Mouse) take one down, while Ivan smashes two more henchmen together, shielding Mylene. Alya takes the knees out another one while Nino comes across his jaw with a hard left cross. Nathaniel is in front of Sabrina, shielding her when Chloe comes down hard on the henchman in front of them.

Adrien and Marinette go for Two Face, each of them a bit surprised at how the other moved.

And Damian is shocked stupid, watching this French class absolutely decimate one of Gotham’s finest rogues.

Meanwhile Jon is stuck staring at the duo. Between looking at the cute blonde boy, or the dark haired girl who is *WAY* stronger than she looks; especially if she can throw Two Face around one handed, damn.

And Marinette is more concerned with keeping her friends safe than hiding her abilities, and she probably moves too fast, and uses too much strength; her classmates buy her excuse of her extra martial arts classes outside of class.

Damian however does not.

And then the police show up, shocked to find this group of criminals subdued by a group of foreign teenagers.

The second Damian is out of the museum, losing Jon for a moment in the chaos, he calls his father.

“Why didn’t you tell me there was a meta among that French class you invited?”

Damian can practically his father shrug.

“It’s not my business to tell, Damian. Just talk to her.”

He growled as his father ended the call; the man knew something, he knew it.

And thus begins the chronicles of Damian trying to figure out WTH is going on with Marinette; which leads to friendship. Damnit.

This is where the typical getting to know you Daminette stuff will happen.. Including dates, and identity reveals.

The biggest conflict of this is honestly dealing with Superman when he finds out. Marinette has known who her father was since she was 10 years old, when she learned her mother’s identity; but Diana didn’t officially tell her until her 14th birthday, after the akuma incident.

“No more secrets, little light; I will tell you everything.” Diana had said; and she had.

Marinette is glad to have Tom, because wow her real father sounds like a dickhead.

When she officially meets Jon (Damian introduces them), she immediately realizes ‘well fuck, I have a little brother???? And he’s best friends with the boy I have a crush on, shit.’

Anyway, Superman finds out Diana had a daughter, their daughter, after the trip to Gotham concludes, and he immediately heads for Paris as Superman. He finds Diana as Wonder Woman talking to a young girl in Red with black spots, but Superman is set on speaking to Diana as he lands, and starts striding up to her.

“We need to talk.” Diana stares at him dispassionately as he walks up.

“I have nothing to say to you. Leave.”

Clark reaches out for Diana’s hand, only to have his wrist grabbed by the girl in red; who is glaring up at him fiercely. Wow her grip is tight…

“If you touch my mother, I will decimate you.”

And Clark is reeling, because holy shit, this is his daughter; his and Diana’s blood. And Clark just looks at Diana, conflicted.

“Why didn’t you tell me, Diana?” Diana shrugged.

“Telling you would not have changed the outcome. I have always wanted a child, and she is everything I need of this world. Why would I tell you?”

“Because she’s my blood too! She’s kryptonian!” And the girl growls, and then she is hovering in front of his face, blocking his view of Diana. Her eyes are a blazing blue behind her mask, and Clark realizes: she can fly.

“I may share your blood, Superman, but I am not Kryptonian; I am an Amazon. I am Ladybug. And I will not listen to you berate my mother for her choices. She told you to leave, and I can assure you, I won’t be as nice when I demand your absence.”

And Clark is just. Stunned. Because yeah, that was definitely an Amazonian level threat she just gave him; but he’s Superman, and yeah, she’s his daughter, but how strong could she be? Should he push the matter?

Clark watches as other heroes slowly appear behind the girl; One clad in orange, one in green; A fox and turtle respectively. Then there’s the one in black, green eyes narrowed at him; a feral cat, it looks like. Then there’s the one in yellow and rusty orange, a snarl marring her lips; a Bee?? Or a Hornet?? The final two are teal and red, a boy and a girl; a snake, and a… dragon?

What has his daughter been up to in Paris?

Grief swells within him, and he sighs.

“Ok, I’ll-”

Ladybug screams.

“Hello Superman, I am Hawkmoth.”

And that’ll be the final fight of this fic I think! They’ll beat akumatized Superman (batfam Zetas in to help, and so does Jon and Connor), and then Clark leads them to Hawkmoth’s base, and Gabriel is dealt with, along with Nathalie. Marinette and Adrien will both do university in America, with Adrien learning under Bruce about business along with Damian (the 2 become surprisingly good friends after a point), and Marinette accepted Audrey’s internship while she goes to school in New York. She frequently pops over to the manor to see the Batfam.

I’m gonna work on the Timinette version of this next; that ship is so adorkable and I *LOVE* it

There may also end up being a Jasonette version?? I haven’t decided yet tbh

[misskittysmagicportal]

When Vicky Needed Honey

(An OC Kiss Week collaboration between @super-unpredictable98 and @misskittysmagicportal. No warnings, just mother/daughter love. Moonwalkers/The Umbrella Academy AU)

I woke up with that weird feeling again. I looked over at Klaus, still pretty much asleep, and grunted. On my way to the bathroom I prayed and prayed, but no luck. My period was nowhere to be found. A couple of days, I can understand, an entire week is a bit more worrying.

The last few days I've been feeling kinda sick, but it could be stress. I've been feeling kinda tired, understandable after two apocalypses. I've been feeling a little dizzy, which could easily be from the time travel... But my period wouldn't come, so that was starting to freak me out.

"Hey, Vanya... Would you buy a pregnancy test for me?" I rehearsed in front of the mirror. "No, no, I should ask Allison. She has a daughter, she'd understand, right?"

I nearly jumped when Klaus shifted in his sleep, I hoped with all my might he didn't hear what I just said. I sat on the edge of the tub and let my head roll back. How the fuck did we let that happen? We always wear a condom!

Well, technically a condom has 98% of effectiveness, according to the box, which I was reading as I thought about it. That means... 2 out of 100 women will get pregnant. With the amount of sex we have, it wouldn't be surprising that I could become part of this 2%. Damn it, Klaus! Why do you have to be so charming? Blame it on three decades of suppressed desire I guess.

I had to talk to someone, someone who wouldn't judge me, someone I could trust. There was only one person I could think of, so I went back into the room and as silently as possible, I slid the black briefcase from under our bed. The date was already set, so all I had to do was open it.

I felt that familiar pull of time travel, that endless rope that dragged me across the universe, which seemed to take forever, even though it was less than a second. As soon as I landed, I regretted it, my stomach did not like the disturbance and I felt like I was about to throw up.

"Vicky? Are you ok?" I felt a gentle hand on my back and took a few deep breaths before being able to turn back.

"Honey! Thank fucking God you're here! I need to talk to you."

"Is it Klaus? It's Klaus. Oh my god, tell me he's alright"

"Alright, I think we should sit down for this one..."

Honey nodded with a smile and took my hand as we made our way to the couch. I chewed on my bottom lip for a little while, thinking of the best way to say it, but I didn't wanna admit it:

"So, I'm gonna say it and I need you to listen because it's very complex," I started. "I think I'm pregnant, and I feel horrible because I don't want to be. Not that I don't want any kids, I do, in the future. The problem is that we just came out of the second apocalypse, everything is a mess, my family is all over the place. I love Klaus more than anything, so I don't wanna throw this onto him, you know? He's been through so much already!"

"Sweetie..."

"And I'm terrified of not being a good mother, the only mother I ever had was a robot. I love her to bits, but what if all I can give my child is robot-love? I don't even know what it feels like, my birth mom clearly didn't love me, she chose to give me away for money, I understand she wasn't expecting to get pregnant out of the blue, but... I don't understand why she couldn't love me. I feel so selfish and so stupid for letting this happen, and I keep thinking about my biological mom, I'm freaking out here," I started sobbing. "You're the only person I can talk to."

**

Honey began to live for the sound of her “kids” popping by the apartment. She brought the books home with her more often in case Klaus would come by to learn more about himself. Or Luther who really just wanted the tiny woman to hold him the way a robot never could. And Diego who well, was always hitting on her. Allison and Vicky and Vanya helped her feel not so alone.

Yeah, they were her children. They were mostly older than Honey. The discarded. The outcast. Who suffered abuse. They were the bought and sold to a billionaire. They were a magical pregnancy and 43 terrified women, one she would become 15 years from now. Thank God she already knew what one of those felt like.

Honey was checking on Sugar and Sunny as they napped. The large crow with his beak buried in his ebony feathers kept one large yellow eye on them from above. Sunny was enamored with the corvid. Klaus, despite being 35 years older than himself, was deeply jealous.

It was from their room, after hearing a familiar VOIP sound in the living room, that Honey just felt in her body something was wrong. There was an anxiety emanating from Vicky whose back was to her.

“Vicky? Are you ok?” Honey gently touched the woman. She wanted to hug her, but opted for minor affection.

Vicky's expression in response worried Honey. “Is it Klaus? It's Klaus. Oh my god, tell me he's alright.” Her lip started to tremble. For a clone of Leon, Klaus was infused with his mother.

Half an hour later, Honey could only stare slack-jawed over Vicky's guts being spilled all over the couch. So to speak.

Honey took Vicky’s hand and did what her mom would do. What she and Julia found themselves doing with their children. Whether they were full grown men or toddlers. Honey kissed Vicky's hand several times and held it over her heart.

“First of all, I can't speak for your birth mother or the others. I know Klaus told me it was a spontaneous pregnancy. Like BAM! We're suddenly giving birth. For me, even being 45,” Honey shivered dramatically, “I would rather kill Reginald and take you all. But whatever the other women did. That's on them.

“But! If anyone knows about an unexpected pregnancy, it's me. She's asleep in the other room with her brother. I think I realized I was knocked up, I just ignored it until Leon mentioned something about my body being new. We NEVER used protection. Pills in the sixties were for married women only. The fact that we had sex for over a year before anything happened is a freaking miracle.

I took two tests in the flat. Then at the clinic. Just a few weeks before, abortion became legal AND funded by the NHS. I told no one, went and made that woman tell me every single step of the process. I asked how easy the adoption process in the UK is. I wasn't keeping it no matter what.”

Now Honey took both of Vicky’s hands, “You have so many readily available options.” She kissed them both again, “But please just let Klaus know. It's YOUR choice. YOURS. Ultimately, I changed my mind. I had her on my own. Pregnancy, birth, her first six months. I wasn't even on the same continent as Leon. But if my baby would have half his looks, and his way of loving, and even an OUNCE of his heart, Leon deserved to be a dad. I WANTED to have his baby. I don't regret my decision. I don't want to regret yours either. We all love you.”

Honey kissed Vicky's forehead, “I mean I'm your mom now.”

**

I would've started crying if I wasn't already, it felt so good to finally have someone to hold my hand. I can only imagine dad's reaction if I told him I was pregnant with Klaus' baby... It was awesome to not be judged for once.

"I wanna tell him, I'm just scared... If I really am pregnant, I wanna keep it, but what if he doesn't like it? What if he doesn't wanna be a dad?"

My desperate rambling was interrupted by a blue surge of energy right in the middle of the room, that could only mean one thing... Klaus and Five fell from it with a loud thud.

I had to cover my mouth not to scream, my heart nearly jumped out of my chest, but Honey seemed pleased with the new visitors.

"Jesus Vicky... I woke up and you were gone, I was worried!" Klaus squeezed me in a tight hug.

"I told you she was fine, Victoria can handle herself," Five rolled his eyes. "It's not like she can get hurt."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to disappear."

Klaus moved to give Honey a hug as well, she kissed his forehead and urged him to sit down between us.

"I know this face, Scnucki..." Klaus placed his hand on my cheek. "What's wrong?"

I looked over at Honey and she gave me a reassuring nod. With a sigh, I took Klaus' hand, tracing the 'hello' with the tip of my finger.

"Klausie," I tried to muster the courage to say it. "I know the timing might not be the best, things are a little crazy right now, but I think I might be..."

"Might be...?" He stared at me nervously.

"Pregnant."

Klaus' mouth dropped and he widened his eyes. Shit! Shit! He hates it, he wasn't happy. He was gonna leave me right there and then.

"But we always..."

"I know, but apparently condoms are only 98% effective."

"You two really abuse your luck," Five mused.

"Timing isn't great, but if you want to keep it, I'm with you. It's our baby," a smile tugged at Klaus' lips. "And I love you, so..."

"Actually," I got up as fast as I could. "I love you too, but I'm not pregnant. If you guys will excuse me, I gotta go to the toilet, like right now!"

**

Honey watched as Vicky ran off to the bathroom. She was left with a bewildered Klaus, slack jawed over everything that quickly took place. She could only snort as Leon popped up from the same corner Vicky had just flown around. Mouth agape identical to his clone.

“Alright love,” Leon kissed her on the cheek. “Never told me the kids were coming ‘round for a visit.” He eyed up Five, still uncertain of him.

Klaus dramatically planted a fist on his hip, “Im thirty-six.”

“Too right. What's going on? Is Vicky ok she looked barmy.”

“Well we were almost grandparents.”

“GRANDPARENTS?! I'm thirty! Bloody hell I can't keep track of the ten we have now. Can't handle a baby, mate. Not coming from you. No offense.”

“All of it taken,” Klaus quipped.

“Well we don't need to worry about it. Pretty sure Vicky just overwhelmingly got her period. Better luck next time!”

Every single person in the room nearly knocked Honey flat with a loud in unison “NEXT TIME?”

She wouldn't make that mistake again.

[wordsandshawn]

The Platonic Series ~ first night home (2018)

Synopsis: In this installment of the Platonic Series, Ella is born, and Y/n brings her home from the hospital. Ellas’s dad has already made it clear where he stands on being a father. Shawn gets on a flight back in time to weather Ella’s first night home alongside Y/n.

A/n: its fluff. its all fluff. Also, just a note for anyone unfamiliar with the platonic series. It’s a series, but each part also functions as a stand-alone, so you can read them in any order. The two parts preceding this piece are when y/n finds out she’s pregnant and when Shawn comes back to visit when Y/n is 8 months pregnant. All parts can also be found here. 

Word Count: 3k 

These last forty-eight hours have been a complete blur. From the grueling contractions getting closer and closer together to rushing to the hospital to enduring eight hours of labor to finally having your daughter in your arms, it was all a whirlwind of pain and emotion. The moment the nurse placed Ella in your arms, everything changed, and it was almost as though you forgot the hours of pain you endured as soon as you stared at your tiny baby girl. 

Your little sister, Olivia, was the one in the room with you when Ella was born. You had texted Stephen that you were going into labor, but he didn’t even bother to respond. He had made it clear where he stood on becoming a parent, but a part of you thought he might change his mind once he found out that the baby was really coming and that he was going to have a daughter whether he liked it or not. The radio silence from Stephen cemented his decision. 

Shawn was traveling for work when you began labor, but when you texted him that you were on your way to the hospital, he told you he would try to get back. You’ve known that Shawn would probably not be there when your daughter was born, but he always insisted that he would try his best to be there, if not when she was born then at least when she went home for the first time. True to his word, Shawn managed to show up at the hospital to meet Ella for the first time a couple hours before you and your newborn baby daughter were released from the hospital. 

Shawn was absolutely enamored by her from the moment he first saw her. You watched him hold her in his arms carefully like he was afraid she would break if he moved wrong. He just stared at her for five minutes straight without moving or saying anything. In all the years you’ve known Shawn, you’ve never seen him look at anyone with that much pure awe and love. 

After Shawn arrived at the hospital, your sister went back to your apartment since she had been with you in the hospital the whole time and deserved to shower and rest. Shawn stayed with you until it was time to be released. He learned to change Ella’s tiny diaper and kept asking if he was doing it right. When she was in his arms, he never wanted to put her down or even share her with you, only grudgingly giving her up when it was time for her to nurse. 

Your parents have not been very supportive of your pregnancy, especially because you and Stephen broke up before you even found out you were pregnant. They made it clear that they did not believe you could give your daughter the type of life she deserved, and they did not support your decision to keep her. However, from the moment you found out you were pregnant, you were determined to be the best mom ever, despite their lack of support. 

Knowing that your parents really did not support you, and knowing that your home environment was never the most nurturing or loving, you made the decision to remain at your apartment near your University as you prepared for your baby. You had been working as a waitress and to help put yourself through school throughout your first two years of University before getting pregnant, but once you found out you were pregnant, you ended up dropping some classes to work more shifts and save up for your own place. 

The road to this moment was certainly not an easy one, but now you have a baby, and as difficult as it has been, you wouldn’t change any of it because it led you here with your beautiful daughter. 

“I can’t believe she’s here,” Shawn says, his eyes on Ella as you finish signing the paperwork needed to be discharged from the hospital. 

“Me too.” You respond with a smile. Everything still hurts, but you’re looking forward to going home. 

Shawn carefully lifts Ella and places her in the car seat, maneuvering her to get the straps over her shoulders and clipping it in front of her chest. As you’re watching Shawn strap her in, you realize something, 

“The base, the car seat base, it’s in my car but Olivia took it.” You tell Shawn, frantically. 

All of a sudden, you’re feeling that familiar feeling of anxiety creeping up. You’re worried that you’ll mess this up. You’ve dreamed of being a mom ever since you were a little kid, but you never expected it to be like this. The idea of taking on motherhood as a single parent has worried you more than you can begin to admit. You’re worried that you won’t be a good mom, and you’re reassured in that worry when you realize that you’re about to take your child home from the hospital, but you don’t even have half of the car seat. 

“Don’t worry,” Shawn responds nonchalantly not taking his eyes off of Ella, “I moved it to my car before she left.”

You look at him amazed. He doesn’t notice your moment of worry, still focused on making sure Ella is safely strapped into her car seat. A nurse enters at this moment, ready to wheel you out of the hospital. You move to the wheelchair and Shawn carries Ella in the baby carrier out of the hospital. When you get to the front, the nurse waits with you and Ella while Shawn goes to get his car. 

Shawn pulls up, putting the car in park before getting out and placing Ella’s car seat into the base in the back seat of his car. Once she’s in, both of you get into the car, and he starts to drive. Shawn’s smiling as he drives, and you can’t help but ask, “What?” 

“You did that. You had a baby, and she’s so freakin cute.” He responds. 

You can’t help but smile too, letting some of that anxiety release as you take in the moment, “I did. She’s really here.” You respond with a soft smile on your face. 

He smiles too, and most of the car ride passes in silence, both of you lost in thought about what just happened and how surreal it is that you actually have a newborn baby. 

When you arrive back at your apartment, you find that Olivia is asleep on the couch, and you’re not surprised at all. After the last couple of days, you’d really like to be asleep too, but you have a baby that needs to be fed. You take your bag to the bedroom, and Shawn follows closely behind with Ella in the car seat. 

She’s awake and crying already, and Shawn carefully takes her out of the car seat, checking her diaper. “Her diaper’s wet.” He says. 

“I can change her, you say, locating a tiny newborn diaper while he places her down on the bed. 

“I got it,” He responds, and you don’t argue. He’s already changed her diaper several times in the hospital, and you’re so exhausted, you welcome his willingness to help. He quickly changes her, speaking softly to her the entire time. When he’s done, he looks up at you, where you’ve plopped yourself down on the bed and readied yourself for her. “Time to eat, baby girl.” He tells her, walking her over to you, and gently handing her to you. 

You take her into your arms and move to lift your shirt up. Shawn leaves the room, just wanting to make sure you’re comfortable, but the truth is, you wouldn’t care if he saw you with your boob out. It’s to feed your daughter. There’s nothing sexual about it, and he’s your best friend. Either way, he disappears, and you wince in pain as you try to get Ella to latch properly. 

She only eats a tiny bit. Nursing is still a struggle. The lactation consultant that met with you at the hospital informed you that it would take some time to get the hang of nursing for both you and Ella, but you can’t help but already worry that she’s not eating enough. After she’s done eating, you burp her and she falls asleep almost immediately. 

You place her in the bassinet you have for her, and take a few seconds to admire her. Even though its only been a day, you already feel so connected to this tiny human. You grew her for nine months, and it has felt like it was just you and her for that entire time. She knows you already in a way different than anyone else, and you know her in a different way than anyone else. 

After making sure that she’s sleeping peacefully, you walk back out to the living room to see Shawn putting away the clean dishes from your dishwasher. “She’s sleeping,” You whisper, when you’re close enough to him to not wake Olivia. 

He nods, “Good, you should get some rest too.” 

“I will. I just wanted some water.” 

He nods, pulling a glass from the dishwasher and filling it with ice and water before handing it to you. “Thank you.” You say, taking it before returning to the room. An hour later, you wake up from your nap, looking over to the bassinet, but your heart leaps in your chest when you don’t see Ella. You sit up quickly, looking frantically around the room. 

Your eyes land on Shawn seated in a chair in the corner of the room, and you sigh in relief. Ella is in Shawn’s arms, his eyes glued to her. 

When she starts fussing, he bounces her softly, his eyes finally looking up and meeting yours. He didn’t know you were awake until just now, and he says, “I think she’s hungry.” You nod, and he brings her over, transferring her to your arms. “I just changed her diaper, so she should be good on that.” 

“Thank you, Shawn,” You say gratefully. You’re not sure how he got her when she woke up before she cried and woke you, or how he managed to change her diaper so quietly, but you’re so grateful for those few extra minutes of sleep.

After you nurse Ella again, you venture back into the living room. Olivia has woken up, and the three of you order dinner and eat together, but Liv has to leave shortly after dinner in order to get back to her Uni for class the next day. You say goodbye to her, and you’re grateful that at least you’ll still have Shawn.

Ella has a crib that Shawn helped you set up a month ago, but since she’s still so little, she’s sleeping in a bassinet by your bed. Its around nine pm when you fall asleep straight after nursing Ella. You know you’ll have to get as much sleep as you can while she’s sleeping.

You awake to the sound of Shawn’s voice and a gentle nudge on your shoulders. “Y/n, wake up.” 

When you open your eyes, you see Shawn standing there with Ella in his arms. “She’s hungry.” He says. Holding her out to you. Wiping some sleep from your eyes while trying to wake up, you take her and pull your tank top down. Ella promptly latches and you sigh in relief. She’s starting to get the hang of it. You look at the clock to see that it’s eleven-thirty, so you got a little over two hours of sleep. When you look over at the other side of your bed, you see that the bed is still made on that side, meaning Shawn either hasn’t gone to sleep or didn’t sleep in the bed. 

You’ve shared a bed with Shawn too many times to count. If he was staying over at your house, he almost always slept in your bed because the couch was too small for him to fit comfortably and you don’t have a guest room. The two of you have shared beds during sleepovers since you were kids, so it has never seemed weird or felt awkward in any way. It has always just been normal. 

Shawn had disappeared into the bathroom, but he returns a few minutes later, while Ella is still nursing. “Did you sleep at all?” You aks him when he enters the room. 

He shakes his head, “No, I figured I’d stay up til she woke up the first time, that way I could get her and change her diaper before she woke you.” He explains. 

“Thanks, Shawn,” You say, knowing every minute of sleep actually counts now, “But you know she’s not your responsibility, right?” You ask, hoping Shawn understands how grateful you are that he has always been so supportive, but at the same time, he’s not Ella’s father, and he has no obligation or responsibility for her. 

He really shouldn’t be waking up in the middle of the night to get her or having to change her diaper all the time. Even in your tired state, you know this, and you hope that he knows it too. Ella is your responsibility, well, she’s yours and Stephen’s, but since he has made it so clear that he does not want to take responsibility for her, then she’s solely your responsibility. 

“I know, but I’m here and I don’t want you to have to do this on your own.” He says.

Ella finishes up, and you shift her in your arms, getting ready to burp her. Shawn steps in taking her from your arms, “I got it, go back to sleep because I know I’ll probably sleep through the next feeding.” He admits honestly, then adds, “But you can wake me if you need anything.” 

You’re still tired, so you don’t argue with him at all, just rolling over and falling back asleep. You take on the next two feedings on your own. Doing the feedings on your own means you’re awake for a lot longer because you have to change her, feed her, burp her, and wait for her to fall back asleep and then fall back asleep yourself. Because of that, you’re lucky if you get an hour of uninterrupted sleep between each feeding.  

Shawn wakes you up again at seven, with Ella in his arms, letting you know that she’s hungry. At this point, you barely open your eyes, but you take her from Shawn and feed her. 

You start to doze off until you feel movement in your arms, jerking awake, you realize Shawn is taking Ella from you. “I got her,” He says, softly, and you’re not even awake enough to thank him before you’re dozing off. 

When you wake up again around nine, you decide it’s time to actually get up, so you use the bathroom and attempt to make yourself at least somewhat presentable before wandering out into the living room. Shawn is seated on the couch, but he’s so focused on Ella who’s in his arms and staring up at him that he doesn’t notice that you’re awake. “Hey pretty girl,” He coos at Ella. “You’re perfect, you know that? You’re really cute, but you make your mom really tired. We’re gonna work on sleeping longer, soon, okay?”  

“Morning,” You say to capture Shawn’s attention. 

He turns to you, “Good morning, how are you feeling?” 

“Sore, tired.” You respond, taking a seat next to Shawn on the couch. 

“But you survived the first night.” He says, trying to look at the positives. 

“We survived.” You respond, nodding your head and choosing to look on the bright side too. 

“My parents and Aaliyah are bringing us lunch, but they don’t have to stay if you’re too tired.” 

“No, I don’t mind, they can come and stay for a while. I know they’ll want to see Ella.” 

He nods, “They do. My mom said she knows what it's like to have an infant, so if you need anything, you can always call her. But I mean, I’ll be around for a while, so I can call her if we need anything.” 

You feel touched that Karen has offered to be there for you, but you can’t help but also be reminded of how your mom isn’t there for you in that way. You know that being a young single mom is going to be hard, but it’s also hard knowing that your family doesn’t support you. At least you have Shawn’s family. 

“Wait, I thought you were just back home for a bit. Don’t you have to finish recording?” 

“I took some time off, remember we talked about it,” Shawn said. And he’s kind of right, you had talked about it, but only a little bit. As your due date neared, Shawn had floated by you the idea of taking some time off after she was born that way he could help you out with Ella, but you had adamantly refused, for several reasons. One of them was that Shawn couldn’t and shouldn’t just put his life and career on hold since there are so many intricate details and never enough time as it is. The other reason is that he’s not even Ella’s dad. She’s not his responsibility, so he shouldn’t feel obligated to take responsibility for her or to take time off. 

However, that was a conversation you had while you were still pregnant. A conversation you had while you were still holding out hope that maybe Stephen would come back around when he found out you gave birth and there was a little baby in the world that was half of him. And lastly, it was a conversation you had before you knew just how exhausting and painful the days following Ella’s birth were going to be. 

“How much time do you have off?” You ask. 

“A month. I have a couple of recording sessions throughout, but I’m not leaving the city.” He responds, his eyes searching yours for approval. He knows there’s a chance you’d get upset with him because he knows that you had made it clear he was not to put his career on hold for your baby and that’s exactly what he did. 

However, the truth is, you need him. You’ve always needed him, and he’s always been there for you. But now you need him more than you think you’ve ever needed him before because suddenly there’s a tiny baby that needs you, and you aren’t exactly sure what to do or how to handle it, and you’re terrified to mess it up. 

“Thank you.” You respond. “You didn’t have to, but thank you.” 

He nods slightly, accepting your appreciation before saying, “I mean, come on. Look at this face. I can’t leave her after just meeting her.” 

[kutemouse]

Caught (Part One)

Disclaimers: All “Save Me” webtoon and BTS MV/highlight reel/film references and plots belong to BTS and BigHit. All pictures of Kim Taehyung belong to BTS and BigHit, I just edited them for my header. The picture of BTS came from Vogue Japan, I just edited it for my header.

A Note from Kutemouse: I know, I know, this has been a long time coming, and I’m so sorry it took so long for me to post this!! I’ve actually had it written for a while, but today was the first day I was able to get up and do some stuff. Pregnancy is rough! Oh, that’s right, if you haven’t seen it yet, I made a Big Announcement earlier today that explains why I’ve been so inactive lately, and also explains my plans for the future.

Age Recommendation: 21+ (this is NOT one for youngsters, kuties, and is MOST DEFINITELY NSFW)

Genre: Mafia!AU w/ BTS, Jailbird!AU w/ Taehyung, Yandere!BTS

Warnings: Not many warnings for this part, kuties. Swears, I guess. Unsupportive SO? Kidnapping. Use of chloroform.

Word Count: About 3k

Summary: Kim Taehyung was the absolute love of your life… until he became a murderer. With him serving a life sentence in prison, you were finally free to live out the rest of your life however you wanted. Just when you thought you were at the top of your game, ready to take on the world, Taehyung reappears like a monster not even your worst nightmares could dream up. He gives you a year to fall in love with him, but now the question is, can monsters even be loved?

Master List

Tag List: @chocolatewolfuniversitytrash​ @btssmutheaven​ @taemaknae​ @rebeccawoodrow​ @sassysaxsolo​ @iconicgguk​

If you want to be added, just lmk!

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Caught (Taehyung Series, Yandere, Smut, Angst) Part One

We were skipping class in the school greenhouse, enjoying the humid warmth and the earthy smell wafting from the plants. We were talking, I forget about what. What I remember most is fiddling with his large, rough hands, intertwining my fingers between his over and over again. I remember his deep laugh that seemed to rumble through the recesses of my soul. I remember glee blooming in my chest whenever he grinned at me. 

His tone was teasing, mine was indignant yet flirtatious. Again, I forget what we said to each other, but I clearly remember those two words. “Kiss me.”

I gaped at him. “What?”

“Kiss me,” he repeated.

I hesitated. “Here? Now?”

Taehyung leaned down, tilting his head, until his lips hovered over mine. I felt each of his exhales on my skin, practically heard my heartbeat speed up.

“Kiss. Me.” It was barely a whisper, yet it resonated through my body, down my spine and throughout my limbs.

Without another word, I pressed my lips to his, melding them to fit his, a thrill running through me at his appreciative groan.

He pulled back, his inky eyes somehow growing darker. “I love you, baby girl.”

I sat up, gasping. Blood rushed to my head, making me see stars. With a groan, I covered my face with my hands.

“Sweetie?”

My fiancé, Lee Chanwook, rolled over and peered at me. “You okay?” he asked, his voice husky from lack of use.

“Yeah. Fine. Just had a dream, go back to sleep.”

“You sure?”

I nodded. He rolled over, his breath growing deep and even as he fell back into the reaches of slumber. If I could be so lucky. I hadn’t thought about Kim Taehyung in… well, it had to be almost a year now. Or two. I wasn’t sure.

Either way, my life moved on without him after shit completely hit the fan. My aunt and I agreed I shouldn’t transfer schools, since I only had a month or so left til graduation. I graduated alongside Chaeyoung, who seemed to be my only friend after Taehyung got arrested. She held my hand tightly the entire ceremony, only letting go when I was called to accept my diploma.

As soon as I graduated, Aunt Sunhee and I moved into her place in Busan. It was a tidal wave of change. Compared to my mom’s cramped, two-bedroom apartment, my aunt’s large house was a mansion. She recently obtained a position as COO of a large company and applied for custody of me immediately after.

Before we moved, I found my aunt’s letters my mom had hidden from me. My aunt had tried to call me multiple times but was never able to reach me. She even flew out to see me a couple of times, but all it took was my mother calling me at school and telling me I needed to stay at a friend’s house for me to stay away. I guess my mom was scared she would lose me.

Yet that’s exactly what happened in the end. My aunt paid for my mom to go to a rehabilitation center, but after only a few weeks, the center called my aunt letting her know my mother had disappeared. Aunt Sunhee called the police and even hired a private investigator, but my mom was nowhere to be found. I succumbed to the realization that she was probably dead. I didn’t get out of bed for weeks afterward.

A year and a massive amount of therapy sessions later, I decided I wanted to do something with my life. I was already attending university to obtain a business degree, but I hungered for more. My aunt got me an internship within her company, and I learned a lot just by working under her. Four years later, with a bachelor’s degree in hand, my aunt hired me as her executive assistant, and I took a year off before going to graduate school to both work and plan my wedding.

I was introduced to Chanwook at a company get-together. He was the son of one of my aunt’s business associates, and he caught my eye almost immediately. Mostly it was the way he was the exact opposite of the boy I hadn’t been able to get my mind off of. He was a stickler for the rules, had a great relationship with his parents, and never, ever did anything that would cross the line or damage his flawless reputation. He was kind and funny, but there was no wild or daring side to him. At the time, he was exactly what I needed.

He helped me forget about Taehyung. In the years before then, whenever I had a spare moment for my mind to drift, Taehyung’s wide, boxy grin and deep voice would float into my thoughts. I spent days wondering what went wrong. When had he become a murderer? At what point did he crack? Why hadn’t I noticed sooner?

Chaeyoung and I kept in touch, and I heard some details of Taehyung’s trial from her. I heard he was sentenced to life in prison without parole, due to the one count of murder against him. It would have been two, but Taehyung’s dad’s body was never found. No one was even sure he was dead.

I spent many nights staring at the ceiling, thinking back to the night when Namjoon got that frantic phone call from Taehyung. When Jungkook wouldn’t let me see him. When he completely disappeared for that entire week.

I had no doubt he killed his father. I don’t think he did it maliciously or intentionally. I think he found the strength inside of himself to fight back, and it ended in a death. It didn’t make the murderous act any less horrifying, but it did make me wonder just how deep the darkness inside Taehyung ran. Was he really the monster the media made him out to be?

Aunt Sunhee caught me one night poring over article after article covering Taehyung’s trial. “Y/n, you can’t keep doing this,” she said, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder. “You need to move on with your life.”

It took a long time, but eventually, I stopped surfing the internet for mentions of Taehyung’s story. My conversations with Chaeyoung grew few and far between until they stopped completely. Memories of Tae’s smile, his voice, his laugh, his lips, faded away. I even changed my last name to “Park” both so I’d be recognized as my aunt’s relative, and so no one from my past could find me. Four long years later, I was finally free of Kim Taehyung.

Or so I thought.

Apparently, my damn subconscious didn’t want to let him go. I rubbed at my eyes, trying to wipe away the image of his smiling face. I never imagined that, years later, he would still be haunting me.

I got out of bed, wrapping a robe around my body before stepping out onto our apartment’s deck. The cool, four-in-the-morning air roused my senses even further awake. I stayed like that until the sun began to peek over the edge of the horizon, thinking of Kim Taehyung and our shared past.

“Hey,” Chanwook said, coming up from behind to wrap his arms around me. “Have you been out here all night?”

“Not all night,” I replied. “Just since I woke up from that dream.”

“Mmmm,” he hummed sleepily in response. “Was it a good dream?”

I bit my lip, mulling his question over. “No,” I finally said. “It was more like a nightmare.”

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

That afternoon, I yawned as I re-read the same sentence for the umpteenth time, willing my brain to focus. “You look like you need a cup of coffee,” my coworker, Lisa, said.

“That would be nice,” I murmured in response, still trying to focus.

She stood and grabbed her purse. “I’ll get yours with an extra shot of espresso,” she said.

“Just so you know, I absolutely adore you.”

She blew me a kiss accompanied by a cheeky wink. “I know. Be back in fifteen.”

With the promise of caffeine on the way, I sat back in my chair and rubbed my temples, telling myself I’d get back to that report later. My cell phone began to buzz, and I picked it up, frowning at the unknown number.

“Hello?”

“Miss Park?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Hello, my name is Choi Yeonjun. I’m a representative of the company Bangtan Enterprises.”

“Never heard of it.”

A chuckle came through from the other end. “That’s because we’re a small start-up just breaking into Seoul’s business world.”

“And what does that have to do with me?”

“Miss Park, we’ve been made aware of your extraordinary skills and experience. Your aunt is COO of her company, correct? And you’ve been working under her for how long?”

“Well, if you’re including my internship, about five years now.”

“Excellent.”

“Mr. Choi, what is this about?” I asked as politely as I could.

“As a start-up company, we’re in need of experienced people to help run it,” he explained. “We’re prepared to offer you the COO position here at Bangtan, which comes with your own office, and we’ll double your salary.”

My mouth dropped open. “Double?”

“Double.”

I shook my head in an attempt to pull myself together. This opportunity was huge. I’d been accused of exploiting nepotism in order to get where I was today, but this could be my chance to prove all my naysayers wrong. I could show them I was entirely capable of forging my own path.

Still, I wasn’t going to just jump at this. I pulled my keyboard towards me and searched Bangtan Enterprises. Only a few results came up, but they confirmed my hopes into reality. Bangtan Enterprises was indeed a start-up, but it was based on a very profitable idea and, from the looks of it, had already lined up some high-end clients.

“And you said you’re based in Seoul?” I asked.

“That’s correct.”

So I’d either have to move there or split my time between Busan and there. I chewed my lip, wondering what Chanwook would think. “Your offer is very generous, Mr. Choi. May I have some time to think about it?”

He chuckled once more. “Unfortunately for you, you are not our only candidate. You’re our first choice, but there are others who are willing to start as soon as tomorrow.”

I clenched my phone. “No! I mean, that’s fine. I’ll take it.”

I knew I might regret it later, but this was a hell of an opportunity. Besides, it wasn’t like I signed a contract. I still had time to back out.

“Excellent. We’ll send you an official offer via email. When is the earliest you can start?”

“Don’t tease me, Mr. Choi,” I said playfully. “I thought you said my competition could start tomorrow.”

“That may be true, but—”

“Well, anything they can do, I can do better. I’ll send you my plane’s arrival time.”

“We’ll have a car waiting.”

I swiped off the call, anticipation flooding through me, causing a burst of excited energy to run through my veins.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

“You what?” Chanwook gaped at me.

“I said yes,” I replied nervously. I just told my fiancé about the new job, and he seemed to think it was great up until I said I accepted.

“Sweetie,” he groaned, placing his hands on my shoulders. “Are you serious?”

I frowned. “Yes, of course I am. I wouldn’t joke about something like this, Chan.”

“Well, you’ll just have to tell them you can’t take it anymore.”

I scoffed. “And why not?”

“Because we have a great life here. You make plenty, I make more than plenty. Why do you need another job?”

“Maybe I don’t need it,” I retorted. “Maybe I want it.”

“Want to move away from here? Miles away from your friends, your family?”

I scowled at him in response.

He sighed. “Y/n… answer me honestly. Is this about your mom?”

I snorted in disgust. “Seriously, Chan?!”

“It’s a valid question! Are you sure you don’t only want to go to Seoul to see if you could find her?”

“No, that’s not the reason I want to go to Seoul!”

“Then why?”

“Because! This is something that I earned, that I did on my fucking own. In fact, this will be the first and only thing that’s mine alone.”

“That’s not true.”

“Isn’t it? My job? Came from my aunt. My business degree? My aunt’s money. This apartment?” I said, gesturing around the room. “Your money.”

“So what?”

“So I want something for myself. We don’t have to move to Seoul, you know. I know your job is here, and I’d be willing to make the commute. You know, stay four days there, three days here, or something.”

Chanwook scoffed. “Do you even hear yourself?!” he shouted. “We are getting married! Planning on starting a life, here, in Busan! If you want a job based on your own merit and not because your aunt took pity on you, then find one here.”

I was rendered entirely speechless for a good few moments before I was able to gather myself back together. “I cannot believe how unsupportive you’re being,” I said through gritted teeth. “I’m taking that job. It’s your choice whether you’ll let that affect our relationship or not.”

“Fine!”

“Fine.”

I turned and grabbed my suitcase before stomping out the door, intent on going straight to my aunt’s. If Chanwook was going to be a total ass, I didn’t want to be around him. Thankfully, Aunt Sunhee wasn’t there to ask prying questions when I entered the house with my spare key. I walked up to my old room and hopped on my computer to search for flights from Busan to Seoul. This was my dream. And nothing, nothing at all, was going to stop me from achieving it.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

I walked briskly toward my destination, my heels clicking on the airport floor. As promised, a car was waiting for me, along with another passenger in the backseat. “Miss Park,” he said, extending his hand towards me as soon as I buckled up.

His voice sounded familiar. “Mr. Choi?”

“You can call me Yeonjun,” he said, his blonde hair falling over his left eye.

“And you can continue calling me Miss Park.”

He tossed me a smirk. “So, the boss would like to speak with you,” he said easily. “Nothing to be nervous for, he just wants to get to know you. However, he has an important meeting to attend over on the other side of town for which he’s requested your presence.”

“So this car is going straight there?”

“No, you’ll switch to his car once we get to the office. That way, you’ll have time to get reacquainted.”

I frowned. “Reacquainted?”

Yeonjun chuckled. “I meant acquainted. Slip of the tongue.”

“If you say so.”

We spent the rest of the ride in silence, something I was surprised over. I thought he would want to go over my contract or something, but I supposed that would all come later. The driver pulled the car into a parking structure, causing the interior to instantly darken.

“There it is,” Yeonjun said, pointing. A sleek, black SUV sat in the middle of the road, effectively blocking our way. “Go on. Mr. Kim is waiting for you.”

A shiver ran down my spine at the mention of my new boss’s name. Thoughts of Taehyung rushed through my mind, but I shoved them away. Kim was a common enough last name. I stepped out of the car, pulling my suitcase from the trunk before walking towards the SUV. Yeonjun did not follow. After stowing my luggage in the trunk, I opened the side door and hopped in.

A figure sat on the bench across from me, his face covered in shadow. “Mr. Kim? Hi, I’m Park Y/n,” I said, extending my hand. He did not take it.

“I know who you are,” he said, his voice an eerily familiar deep tone.

“Oh, of course you do. Yeonjun said you wanted to get to know me… What would you like to know?”

“I know everything about you already, baby girl.”

I narrowed my eyes, trying to see through the darkness that covered his face. “S-Sorry?”

“I said,” he replied, leaning forward. The light caught onto his inky eyes, causing me to gasp. “I know everything about you already, Y/n.”

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Kim Taehyung was leaning towards me, a smirk dancing around the corners of his mouth. Sure, he looked slightly different. Older. More mature. He had definitely filled out, and his hair was now a complimentary jet-black falling attractively into his dark eyes.

“Hey baby girl,” he said, his smirk widening. “You lost?”

My body suddenly jumped into full-blown panic, and I grabbed at the car door’s handle, shrieking once I realized it wouldn’t open. Taehyung forcefully wrapped his arms around me, pinning me hard to his chest, clamping a hand tightly over my mouth. “None of that now,” he hissed.

I bit him, causing him to yelp, and continued trying to escape, fumbling at the lock that stood between him and my freedom. Taehyung pulled a handkerchief and a bottle from his jacket pocket, putting a dab of whatever liquid was inside on the cloth before clamping it over my mouth. His chuckle came out as more of a wheeze as he held me to his chest. “Damn, baby girl,” he said. “I hoped I wouldn’t have to resort to this, but here we are.”

With each one of his words, my field of vision grew smaller and smaller until my eyes rolled into the back of my head, and I felt myself falling into a state of unconsciousness not even the fear of death itself could fight off.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

Part Two is Here! 😉

[mywalkintofreedom]

Life at West Main Street - part 2

In my last story, I really just painted a picture of what life was like. I didn’t go into a whole lot of detail about how God came through, though. God really came through for us in many ways, especially through the body of Christ.

Before we moved into our apartment we lived at a friends house for a month. During that month I had a dream that I really believed was from God. We had a lot of things to sort through together and figure out. In my dream I was with my mom and we were walking in the ocean and I had to follow her. I kept looking behind me and was afraid, and every time I looked behind I would start to sink and I would have a hard time seeing where she was going. My mom turned around and said “don’t look to the right or to the left, keep your eyes on me”. After I woke up I had an incredible sense of peace and I knew it had been God. Any time after that when I would start to lose focus, I would think of that dream and God would remind me “don’t look to the right or to the left”. Also in other words, “stop looking at your circumstances”. So much stuff hadn’t been figured out yet, but I had to choose to trust God.

I shared how we had a $20 food budget, which we did, and later in our journey it slowly increased. We also had dear friends that fed us dinner once a week to cut down the cost of food, it was a huge help. We had another church member that dropped off bread almost weekly. We had more church members that gave us food boxes regularly. The body of Christ really upheld us. Without them, I don’t know how we would have done it. We had friends teach us how to coupon and counsel us. When we had a need, we prayed, and God would provide in one way or an other. Sometimes I had a small desire, like I would be craving Nutella, and someone would randomly give me a jar of Nutella at church because they said they were thinking of me.

I shared about having two suitcases and a desk chair when we moved in. Within a matter of probably two weeks, we were donated a couch, a bed, a table and chairs, a stove (which took some months to be able to hook it up, because of funky wiring in the apartment, but we had it), a mini fridge, a toaster oven, a waffle maker, a washer and eventually a dryer. One friend was sending us boxes anonymously with brand new pillows, bedding, blankets, some maternity clothes, towels, kitchen towels, plates, bowls, pots and pans, utensils. Pretty much any essential item was send in anonymous boxes that would arrive, even toilet paper and cleaning supplies. It was very humbling and overwhelming, I mean we even had a can opener! Just imagine packages arrive from an anonymous person with all the things you need, when you haven’t told anyone what you need. It was amazing.

Someone took me to Walmart and told me to pick out curtains and other things we needed for our apartment. It was also someone else from our church that gave us money to turn on the water and power to our apartment. We never asked any of these generous people to do this for us, we never told them our need. We prayed together and stuff would happen. It was life changing.

Micah and I were never good at asking for help, which is why it was hard to take out a loan when we needed to, but people showed up and supported us even if we didn’t ask.

And even in the midst of being supported, it was only us that could walk that journey. We had a lot of support, but I struggled greatly any time I was by myself in those first months. Mostly, because I wasn’t used to being by myself. I had just finished a year of college studying social work before we got married, and was around people every day and had a very fast pace busy life. I also came from a big family where there were always people around me. One of my love languages is quality time, so being by myself was new. Going from that life, to being alone every day was a shock for me, and I don’t mind admitting that. BUT through it all I learned the most valuable lesson I could’ve ever learned: I learned to be content. I learned to be okay with my own company, and most of all, I learned how to entertain myself and to be thankful for every little thing in life. Sounds pathetic, but in today’s society, entertainment mostly comes from technology. I had to really face myself and even find out hobbies that I would enjoy to keep my spirit lifted, because being a millennial, the only way I really entertained myself was by watching shows or scrolling on my phone and hanging out with family and friends.

A few weeks after we moved into our apartment Micah was offered a full time job at a car dealership, where he had been doing odd jobs. This was a huge milestone for us, because it meant that we had some stability and a consistent income. I have to say though, even before he had a permanent job, we had one financial miracle after an other. Somehow there always was an odd job for him to make just the right amount of money. The way we were living really made my faith in God become so real. He truly was the One providing for us.

The apartment continued to be an interesting living space. As clean as we tried to keep it, we regularly dealt with cockroaches. We eventually came to the conclusion that perhaps the other people in the building weren’t keeping their spaces clean. We were given a space heater that would show us the temperature in the apartment. It would get as low as 48 Fahrenheit in the coldest months at night, but when it would go over 55 or so it would feel comfortable. We dressed warm in several layers and I would usually sit right in front of the space heater, which made it not so bad. Pregnancy also helped, because it keeps you warmer as well. Anytime we’d go to someone else’s house, or go to church, my cheeks would get flushed and I would be so hot! I had gotten used to colder temperatures. I couldn’t believe I had taken central heat for granted.

The house next to our apartment that we saw from our window, had a basement in which an entire family was living. A mom and dad, a little, maybe 4 year old boy and a baby. I often felt for them and often wanted to help them. The kids were usually only wearing onesies, even in winter. Upstairs, in the regular part of the house lived the grandparents, I think. I think they bred dogs, they had about 5 tied to trees in the yard. These dogs never stopped barking and often kept me up at night. As much as I wanted to help this family, I also thought about calling the police on them for having these dogs! I might have threatened I would untie all of them in the middle of the night in my hysterical mood. I did eventually get used to the dogs and stopped hearing them, and I think they sold some because they eventually only had 1 or 2.

Our upstairs neighbors, were a couple, probably in their late 50s. It was this lady that actually had hollered from across the street telling us there was an apartment available below them. They were sweet people, and also very troubled people. I would often hear them fight, but it’s not like we never had arguments, so who was I to judge them? I also overheard the lady, what I thought was, dealing drugs one time outside our window. We found out it was her birthday from her husband one time. We put together a little basket for her with a few items we had and went up to give it to her. Her reaction was priceless, as if she had never received a gift before. Anytime we had too much food that we couldn’t store in our mini fridge we would give it to them, and they were always so grateful. I really felt for them and we tried to share the gospel with them whenever we felt there was an open door. I also believed the lady had some kind of disease, because about once a month I would hear her vomit all night and then she would disappear for several days in a row and look different every time she returned. She also was picked up with an ambulance several times. We prayed for them and did care about them. We borrowed things from each other. We often borrowed their plunger and they often borrowed things from us. One time they would not stop fighting and were cursing at each other loudly, so Micah told them if they didn’t cut it out he would call the police. That night the guy came to our door and asked for all of his things back that we had borrowed, which was a giant old tv that we sometimes would watch dvds on from the library, and his plunger. This put an end to borrowing things, but we did still give them food. I still see them at the apartment sometimes when I drive by, and often think about asking how they are doing.

Our neighbor next to us, was an older lady. She was quiet and sweet as could be. She told us she never heard us, and I thought she must have impaired hearing, especially after we had the baby. She always greeted us, but she rarely got out of her apartment.

The other apartment had different people moving in and out. At one point a guy was living there that would never stop playing music. It was music with a loud base and bad words, and I couldn’t stand it. I prayed, and thank God, he moved out pretty soon.

We got to host my sister a few weeks after we had moved in. She had just gotten back from missionary work, so in my mind I had thought, “Surely our apartment will be better than where she’s been living.” But while she was with us the toilet kept clogging up. One morning she was using the bathroom and I had heard her trying to flush several times and after awhile she stuck her head out the door and said “uhh guys, my poop is coming up in the bathtub”. We all busted out laughing, it was hysterical. I had the best time with her. She stayed for three weeks, and I had never appreciated her company more than I did when she came. She helped me make our apartment homey, and we hung up pictures together. It’s some of the most valuable memories I have with her now.

Our landlord, Miss Charlotte, was also the sweetest lady. We experienced a lot of issues with the apartment, and would call her about it, every time she would immediately send someone to come fix it. We eventually got a new toilet, because the repair guy determined that it was too old and therefore clogging so much. We also had trouble with the electricity. Whenever we’d plug something in, the lights in the living space would dim really low. If we plugged more than one appliance in, the power in the entire apartment would go out. We became friends with the electrician named Terry, because he had to come over so often in the beginning😂 Someone gave us a huge microwave at one point, we never really used microwaves but we did use it for popcorn. Well one time when we plugged this beast in and turned it on there was a loud noise and half the apartment was without power and wouldn’t come back on. Terry had to come over again, but it took a few days before he could, so we lived in the dark for awhile until he fixed it. We decided not to use the microwave anymore, we didn’t really have room for it anyways. It was at this point that Micah got concerned about fire safety and collected all of our important documents in case there would be a fire😂, this was dramatic, but felt real at the time. Terry pretty much fixed most issues and we just didn’t use too many appliances at once.

As the months went by my due date was getting closer. Our baby was due on May 3rd of 2015. We were seeing our midwife regularly now, I loved our trips up to Atlanta. It was so fun to spend that time together. Paying for gas stretched our budget quite a bit, but I loved the drive.

What I thought was impossible became reality, our apartment truly became home. I started to feel safe and remember one time coming home after going grocery shopping saying to Micah “you know this really is home”, and he said “I was thinking the same thing”. I was nesting, I stopped volunteering at our church’ school when I was nearing the end of my pregnancy, and actually enjoying the isolation towards the end, and painted just about any piece of furniture that could be painted with cheap crafts paint. Most has held up amazingly well after all these years.

We lived close to the library. All I had to do was walk up a steep hill and there it was. It took me about 7-10 minutes. It was a great motivator to get exersice! I walked up that hill every day to connect my old phone to WiFi and I would contact Micah asking him what time he could come home for lunch. I also got to know the ladies that worked there as I saw them often. The library had a huge selection of Shirley Temple movies, so every day at 4 in the afternoon during my last week or 2 of my pregnancy I watched one of the movies and actually really enjoyed it.

At one point much earlier in the journey I temporarily had Micah’s phone, which had regular service. We thought it would be best for me to have his phone so I could contact him by texting the business’ cellphone. Well, one time his boss called Micah’s phone and I picked up. He said “is Micah there?” I told him no, then his boss said “ he just drove away in a customer’s car and I can’t reach him!” Just a few minutes later Micah arrived at the apartment and he came in and said “get dressed honey, we’re going to pick up some keys in Colombus!” (Sometimes if Micah had to take a trip somewhere his boss allowed me to come along with him). So I told Micah, “I just got off the phone with John (Micah’s boss), that’s not the business’ car, you took a customers car!” Micah’s eyes got big and he got back in the car and drove back to work. He had indeed accidentally mistaken a customer’s car, who had left the keys in their car, as one of the business’ car. He then from then on had to have his phone on him at all times so they could always contact him.

During these weeks, before our first child came into the world, I had a lot of victory in a lot of areas in my life. I got to a really good place actually before our child was born. I had no idea how my life was about to change, I also had no idea what kind of birth experience I was about to have. I will share more about this in part 3.

[katjacksonbooks]

Ummm, I started this romance last year at some point and then put it away, as I often do. But now that the world feels super bleak (super SUPER bleak? what’s the scale for everything sucks and I hate it all?) I’ve decided to add this story to my list of things I want to finish soon-ish. (I mean, it’s me tho, so what does soon even mean?)

Anyway, if you want to read a preview of Alien Escape (erotic ffm) and meet Drea, a girl with big dreams and a plan to get as far away from her toxic parents as she can, read on!

CW: allusions to domestic violence and emotional abuse

Also, if you’re wondering if I really have face inspiration for an alien couple, the answer is yes. I do! Y’all should watch Star Trek: Discovery!

                                                      Prologue                                    

 “Shut up!”

“You shut up! All you do is come in here and whine like a baby until you get your way.”

“When have I ever gotten my damn way in this fucking house? I work my fingers to the bone—”

“Where? When? Doing what?”

“Oh, fuck you! Someone’s gotta keep food on the table in this damn place—”

That’s about when I tune them out. My parents have the same fight every three to four days, like clockwork. It’s not really about anything, or not about anything specific; they just like to fight and really dislike each other. Mom hates living in Ohio, and she’ll never forgive dad for moving us out here. Dad hates living in Ohio too, but he refuses to admit that this was ever his idea. Money’s tight. There’s nothing to do. Neither of them can keep a job. Somehow, this is all my fault.

Different day, same bullshit, and why I don’t bother listening.

We all learn things from our parents, and mine taught me early and often that we all have lots of times in our lives when we can make decisions to not stay with people we barely know and can’t stand. My parents had more roads to escape than most.

My life as I know it might never have happened if their casual fling — without birth control, because dad didn’t believe in it — hadn’t turned into an unexpected, but obviously expected, pregnancy. That could have been a wakeup call, followed by a visit to a Planned Parenthood and an important life lesson learned, except mom was from a hardcore born-again family and didn’t believe in birth control or abortions. She believed in premarital sex, though, so I’m still trying to make sense of that faith system, but the damage was done. The damage being the mess those two made of my childhood because, even though they could have decided to co-parent or something, they apparently felt compelled to stay together. Why? I’ll never know, and I’m convinced they don’t know, either. My earliest self-realization wasn’t “This fucker took my nose!”, it was “My parents see me as a burden.” Can you imagine? Being barely old enough to sit up without wobbling and knowing, somehow, deep in your bones, that the two people who should love you unconditionally, don’t? It’s not a great life, just in case you need to see it in black and white. To my parents, I was just another mouth to feed, the thing that kept them bound to this person they hated more each day. Their entire relationship and my entire existence were just one bad decision after another, and the soundtrack to my entire life has just been this same argument.

They bickered all over New York in the almost-identical shoebox apartments they could just about afford, during our road trip West and ever since we settled in Akron. They don’t even like each other enough to shake up these knock-down, drag-out fights. Maybe a cheating accusation here, or a “Who ate the last piece of chicken?” there, but other than that, nothing.

The most interesting part of my life was that year just before they finally decided to move to Ohio. Dad had tried to feed me and mom some fairytale about how life would be different here — fewer people, better housing, more trees, less pollution and a stronger family unit. I never believed it, because in each of the yarns he spun, I was still with them — both of them — and there’s no happily ever after with them around; not for me, at least. But mom had been swayed, and next thing I knew, we were in a beat-up Ford truck, the entirety of our belongings packed precariously in the bed and heading West.  Surprise of all surprises, none of dad’s stories had been true.

Well, okay, let me be fair. There are technically fewer people in Akron than the Bronx, and the house we’ve been renting since we arrived is bigger than those small New York apartments, but besides that, my parents’ dysfunctional relationship and my shitty life are business as usual.

There were more trees when we got here, but I’m not giving dad credit for that since most of them were cut down about a year after we arrived to make room for the new pipeline running right through our backyard. That’s why the rent’s so cheap.

My parents fight about that, too.

The move wasn’t a Band-Aid to their relationship, and it certainly didn’t make my life better — not that anyone was worried about me — and as far as my parents are concerned, every problem in their life is my fault. They fight about it regularly and then circle right back around to being united against me, and that’s why as soon as mom banged the pot of spaghetti on the kitchen table, I scarfed down my portion and excused myself immediately.

Their problems aren’t my fault, I know that, but there’s no reasoning with them. It’s best to just disappear. I headed upstairs to my room with a mumbled “homework” and waited. Once I heard them start sniping at one another, I did what I always do and climbed up to the attic and out onto the roof. This is the only place where I feel safe, emotionally, if not physically. If I’m being honest, I really shouldn’t be up here. It’s slippery, and a bunch of the tiles are a good gust of wind away from falling off, but if my choices are inside my parents’ house and up here, the roof wins every time.

Out here, there’s enough space to escape my parents’ incessant fighting. The late spring air is a marked change from the stifling, probably not-quite-safe gas heat in our house. On a clear night, I can stand on the eastern edge of the roof and see all the way downtown, not that there’s much to see there. I mean, I can see the marquis of the Burger King where I work, but I’m not interested in that, so I usually look in the opposite direction. There’s not much to see there either, just a few farmhouses surrounded by large fields and the pipeline.  

But I’m not looking at any of that. I put my earbuds in my ears, turn my music up as loud as it goes and lay back on the roof to stare at the clear, dark blue sky. Sometimes, I haul my sketch book up here to draw, or pull my old astronomy textbook out and try to identify the constellations, but whatever I do, I say a prayer that my singular wish will come true. All I want is to get as far away from my parents as fast as I can.

My classmates are preparing for college, and lots of them want to enlist, but my only real goal post-graduation is to get away. I’ve worked out any number of escape routes up here. Instinctually, I know that I can’t just move to Columbus or Detroit. Those cities aren’t far enough away, and I’ve long been worried that my parents’ obvious co-dependency means that I need to put some serious miles between us if I want to have a chance at real freedom.

I toyed with the idea of leaving the country, but Burger King money doesn’t stretch nearly that far. Right now, I’m making just enough to give my parents one of my checks a month to help with household bills — and keep them off my back — and split the second between my cellphone bill and savings account. After three years, I have enough money saved to absolutely get the fuck out of Akron in exactly six months on my eighteenth birthday, and I plan to do exactly that, but I’m still working out the kinks in my escape route.

I’ve done the math, and I can either buy a decent used car or a plane ticket to California. Every time my dad comes home and tells mom that his paycheck was docked for calling in or mom hides yet another online delivery from dad, I’m tempted to go for the plane ticket, but I usually talk myself down from that impulse because I’m sensible, unlike my parents. Even though the thousands of miles away from here is attractive as fuck, I know that once I get off that plane, I’ll be broke as hell.

On the other hand, the rusty Honda Civic I have my eye on at the used car dealership downtown is sensible. It has less than 100,000 miles, good mileage, and if push came to shove, it could double as a temporary home. It wouldn’t be a six-hour plane ride to California, but I’ve got enough money that I could put some real distance between my parents and myself and have enough to really start the rest of my life.

But when I’m up on the roof, I also have another secret fantasy. It’s not real, but when my parents are really loud, and I worry that the yelling and crashing might turn to the sound of fists hitting skin and bone, I dream of space. Forget California or Tokyo, I wish I could go to the moon or beyond. There’s a tiny, terrified girl inside me that knows in her bones that the only way to really escape my parents is up above me. Sometimes, I lay back on the roof and imagine what it would be like to know that I was far enough away that I’d never have to hear my parents wake me up arguing again. It’ll never happen, but some nights, daydreams of flying up into the sky are the only things that make me feel safe enough to fall asleep. But just like with San Francisco, I bury that deep inside myself and calculate how many shifts I need to work to have the full price of the used Honda. The sky is my fantasy, just like Ohio had been my parents’, but that Honda Civic is the real path to freedom.

The sound of glass breaking hits my ears in the quiet between two songs, and I jump at the shock of it. I tap my cellphone screen to pause my music. I pull the earbud from my left ear and listen, trying to figure out which part of the argument they’re at now.

“Do you feel better?” dad yells at mom.

I roll my eyes, shove my earphone back into my ear and press play on the music again.

Mom likes to break dishes when she’s really frustrated but trying to hold it together; it’s why the few dishes we have don’t match. I suspect she’s gonna drag me to the Goodwill tomorrow to look for a replacement for whatever she’s broken, and I can’t have that. I pick up my phone and tap out a quick text message to my boss, Peter. In a plea that he’s very familiar with, I tell him that I’m available to cover any shifts tomorrow. Peter’s a good guy, and I know that he’ll do what he can to get me a shift, even if it’s just a few hours or closing. I’ll take it, and he knows I will. I’ll also immediately put whatever extra money I get directly into my savings account and readjust my timetable to purchasing the Honda and getting the fuck out of here.

The music builds to a crescendo and mercifully drowns out my parents’ screaming as I look back up at the sky.

On nights like tonight, the moon is so clear and big that I swear it’s close enough to touch. I stretch out my right arm above me, squint one eye closed, tilt my head to the left and pretend to capture the moon between my thumb and forefinger. I smile for the first time in what feels like hours, maybe even days.

And then I see it.

While I’m looking, a small speck in the sky moves across my vision, only visible because it passes the light of the full moon. At first, I think it’s a distant star, or maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me. I blink, and something in the sky moves again. Whatever’s up there, it’s too far away to see clearly, so I sit up, trying to make sense of it all. It’s moving too slow to be a shooting star and too fast to be…well, literally anything else. I pull my earphones from my ears, as if it will sharpen my vision. I stare up at the speck that’s now bigger, closer; close enough for me to realize that the one speck is actually a cluster of distant lights. I’m not looking at a star or a planet but a constellation that’s moving in formation towards me. Toward the Earth.

But that’s not possible. I know that. I aced astronomy.

“What the fuck?” I whisper to myself.

As if in answer to my whispered question, those bright not-stars seem to move faster and get bigger in the large pane of sky above my house as they get closer. The lights seem to fill the sky of this boring ass town with a pipeline running through it dangerously close to the local drinking water; this town my parents hate that I can’t wait to escape.

I shake my head and turn to the right. My eyes land on the pipeline cutting through the fields behind our house. I can barely remember a time when it wasn’t the first thing I saw when I woke up in the morning. I’ve read dozens of articles about what it is and how much time it’s probably shaving off of my life. I guess the environmentalists were right and assume that thing must finally be leaking. It has to be. Because how else do I explain what I think I’m seeing in the sky?

And when I tilt my head back to look up there, I gasp and jump to my feet.

In the handful of seconds when I’d been looking away, those not-stars seem to have come closer. Like real close. Now they’re so close that no one can mistake them for stars because no stars have ever been so damn clear in the sky or moved so fast. I watch as they get closer and closer, and then I shriek in shock as the constellation breaks apart.

If I’m hallucinating this, whatever the pipeline is leaking is grade-A lethal shit.

The lights disperse so fast that I actually miss it. One second, there’s a cluster of lights heading toward me, too many for me to count clearly. The next second, I blink. Then the next second, there are only five lights still above me, but I can see turquoise blue light streaks in the sky heading in thousands of different directions. And then in another second, those five lights begin to slowly move apart, still descending, closer to the Earth’s surface. They’re landing, I realize, and my mouth falls open.

“Fuck,” I breathe as my mouth curves into a smile so wide it hurts.

Now that there are fewer lights and they’re even closer than before, I can just about recognize what’s hovering in the sky above me. They’re ships, and not space shuttles like the ones I’ve seen in my social studies textbooks about the moon landing. These not-stars are huge, bigger than the biggest plane I’ve ever seen in the sky, maybe even bigger than the entire town, and they’re not US-made shuttles or like anything I’ve seen of Russian or Chinese ships. These big, hovering ships look like they’re covered in shimmering jewels, glittering as if reflecting their own sunlight. “Fuck,” I breathe again.  

“Drea, are you up there? Girl, get off the fucking roof, we can’t afford no emergency room visit. Do you hear me?”

I hear my dad yelling at me. I do. I just don’t give a shit, because there’s an alien spaceship in the sky almost directly above our house — an actual fucking spaceship — and this is infinitely more interesting than him reaming me out for being on the roof again. Besides, I hear the moment when he sees what I’m seeing and stops caring that I might stumble and fall off the roof. I hear the choked gasp that comes from his lips just before my mom bangs out of the front door, still yelling. I hear her words cut off when she sees the ship too, the final confirmation I need that I’m not having a pipeline hallucination, but still, I don’t care.  

Because I’m speechless. I know, deep down in my gut, that this ship is going to change everything about the world I’ve ever known, and I can’t help but feel elated. My body feels light, as if I weigh nothing more than my fantasies. I swear I could float up to one of those ships, and that’s exactly what I want to do. I want to bang on the door of a ship and beg them to let me in, because I can feel the surety along every inch of my skin that this ship is going to be my way out. This ship is going to get me as far away from Akron and my parents and that damn pipeline as possible.

My mother’s scream is a delayed response to seeing the impossible, and it rips into the quiet night. She keeps screaming and screaming, but dad and I are too mesmerized to stop her. Eventually, I hear our neighbors begin to file out of their houses, probably when they realize that mom’s screams are different from their regular weekday fights. I hear them gasp and cry out. Babies are crying, and other people’s screaming joins mom’s. There’s even the sound of the hurricane warning blaring out eventually, but none of those noises seem to touch me; not anymore. It’s like they’re far away because I’m already gone.

[sselkie]

C H A R A C T E R     S T U D Y     ⇁     ( 1 / ? )

I. 

   They never knew who to blame it on. The gender. The sex. Perhaps the doctor was the best choice. He had always insisted that it would be a boy; a strong, healthy baby boy that would make his parents proud. He would play football, listen to classical music, become a lawyer. God was sending them a saint. The perfect son. Except you were not a saint, or a son for that matter. Someone had to paint the crib pink and buy some dresses. In fact, all the pants would have to go. Even the binkies and the bibs were the wrong colors. And they certainly couldn’t name a little girl Penley. Only a monster would do that.

   The first words that graced your ears were from that of the doctor, a statement twisted into a question. “It’s . . a girl?” Then your parents had clamored, began panicking. “Wrap her up in a pink blanket! Get rid of the blue — you told us it’d be a boy!” A baby girl. What a nuisance. They’d raise you as their daughter, and what would you do? You’d just take someone else’s name in the end, continue on a different person’s legacy. Bullshit. Total bullshit. But what could they do?

   Yet, they took you home. Long, sleepless nights exchanged between your parents. It should come as a surprise that they refused to hire a nanny with their deep pockets. Part of you might always wonder how they could want you and care for you as a child: screaming, helpless, annoying.

II. 

   For years, they kept telling you a baby brother was on the way. Their expected prince. But for years they couldn’t seem to make it happen. The longer they failed, the farther pregnancy seemed away. Your hopeful little smile dipped farther from returning each time the announcement was retracted. Nonetheless, your father would go out and buy a bouquet each time he’d think they’d done it. You’d sit by them for a few hours each day, memorizing the different colors and the droop of the petals, until eventually you couldn’t help but touch them. The velvety petals would roll between your clumsy fingers and if you didn’t accidentally take one off, then the next morning you’d return and they’d have retracted. 

   It tended to be those same days your parents would get into a heated discussion — the doctor informing them that no, they were not pregnant though you’d tried your best to beg him for a different answer. You would proceed to coax the flower back out, talking till your throat was raw, and your mom peppered you with kisses to inform you that bedtime had arrived. The connection was simple to reach for, but you’d always eventually give in and feel the petals between your fingers. You’d certainly love a baby brother with golden hair like yours, but he was not here and you could not solve that. You loved the flowers, and it was too trying not to strain for their embrace.

   Other days, Mama would set up a picnic out back, the woods edging against your backyard and the wildflowers calling you from a distance. Those were the times that Dad would be at work all day. You’d fill your mother’s antique tea-set with your special punch — melted popsicles, and sip away under the Indiana sunshine. She’d let you run free, go screaming victoriously into the forest. Those were different times. Sometimes you’d come back without a shirt, your skirt riding high in all your childhood glory and she’d lift you up into her arms and chastise you with a smile. Then, you’d both disappear in the forest looking for the lost articles of clothing as she talked about how children of God were supposed to wear clothes and that you were not a witch, not like the people far down the street.

III.

   The news came too soon. Father fumed for days, raving on and on about how that this wasn’t his fault. Given, you didn’t learn till years later that it truly wasn’t. There was no chance for that baby brother you and your mother dreamed about aloud on sunny, summer days. Hope lay stagnant between your parents, but hidden in your underbelly waiting for a new dream to arise. Dormant, realizing that they had hit a wall, Mama and Dad never recovered. Weekends spent watching reruns of Tom and Jerry interchangeably with them were warped into something else. A nightmare you never understood of vodka, rum, wine, beer, anything really. 

   Being perfectly honest, the difficult part was never tucking yourself in at night. It was that you still loved them when they would not give in to your childish pleas of coming home, going inside, and just falling asleep. So that your worrying may not warp your dreams into nightmares. From there, alcohol was the easiest thing to erase from your future.

   But with fifth grade arrived a project. It hadn’t seemed significant at first, just wasteful. You didn’t want to spend the time prepping a tri-fold when you could be running rampant in the woods outside or riding your bike to the park or painting. At some point your parents had even cracked and bought you an easel once they’d tired of constant finger-painting. Of course, you’d rather be tracing dandelions than doing homework. With topics being plucked up within days of the two week assignment, you scrambled for whatever was thrown your way. That was when you knew what you wanted. The job fair had gone smoothly; the idea of being a real life police officer racing through your mind. That concept, the possibility of helping people snagged under your skin.

IV.

   Teenage years passed as a blur in your peripheral vision. They were years of confusion, certainly. You definitely weren’t interested in sex, though you assumed you’d just wait till you found the right person. Additionally, you never bothered dating; you’d rather ignore how you’d always need to strike up a conversation with Jen from physics. 

   Eventually, your parents gave up on trying to sell you the life of a florist as opposed to that of a police officer. In fact, they struggled for anything else they could get you to do. A nurse. A mother. A teacher. A waitress. A secretary.  “Please, anything, but a man’s job.” Your mom was known to beg and for a while you had made them happy as a waitress, saving money and waiting till you could move out. 

   It was no big shock to most in the church community when you were offered a job. You still do not understand your parent’s complete disdain. Many people aren’t thick-skulled. They had accepted the possibility of a woman working a man’s job. Still, the offer was huge to a girl like you. It has been what you’d wanted since forever. You’d have to attend the police academy, not too far from Wheeler, but not within the town limits. In return, you were promised a job at the Wheeler Police Department and half of your tuition paid for.

   You accepted without hesitation and with a noticeable lack of any conversation exchanged with your parents on the topic. Inevitably, the good news couldn’t be stifled for long. Believe it or not, you knew right when they knew; father insisted you were to leave. Your mom, as always, only offered a saddening smile behind his back. You took what was important: your flower pots, bed, bike, clothes, painting supplies, and toothbrush. And in a fit of frustration and rage, you dumped their wine stand onto the floor. The glass and alcohol pooled into a mosaic; one that you can still remember, a message from God no doubt hidden somewhere in it. But you were gone, sprinting out the door and swinging into your friend’s pick-up before it could speak to you. As far as you know it still sits there, waiting to be translated.

V.

   Two and a half years passed quicker than you expected and graduation occurred late April. It was the ceremony that churned by in two and a half years rather than two and a half hours. You achieved near two disembodied claps after your name rang across the stage. There was no “that’s my girl” or cowbell echoing distantly. 

   Within the week after, you had your hand on the bible and an apartment. The week after that, your first day on the job. An early birthday present, better than lamenting in the Chinese restaurant for the third year in a row. 

   Soon though, it seemed that with your hiring came an avalanche of horror. Cassie Klein’s disappearance. You’d broken down in the brush behind the Klein’s house less than an hour after arriving on the scene, praying to God that he need not do this. This karma was reserved for you, not a child. And yet, it appeared he hadn’t listened, not since you had cried till utterly raw with blood dripping from your nose.

   These mental breaks were never supposed to become ritual. But ever since her disappearance (one year exactly), you cannot catch a break. You want to do good so badly that maybe you don’t know when to quit, but you’d like to learn how to do better.