#and his mum who once told him that the reason his dad and her always fought was becos of him

[russellsppttemplates]

Could you please do teen daughter with lando or Charles where she cries to you about a boy but doesn’t wanna tell her dad bc she thinks he’s gonna get mad or overreact but you convince her to or him to check on her and he handles it so well xx

"Mum, why are men so stupid and dumb?", Charlotte said as she arrived home from school.

"Science says it's about how their brain doesn't develop like ours - why is this coming up?", you asked your daughter, kissing her cheek and hugging her side.

"We broke up, apparently he was getting the idea I was too into him and he needs distance - also, apparently there was another girl he was talking to and they have been getting cosy? I'm not sure, all I know is that I don't want to see that stupid face anyway", she huffed, tears brimming her eyes as you hugged her, "I'm sorry it happened like that".

"Don't tell dad because he'll complain about how soft I am", she grumbled.

"I bet he won't, Lottie", you tried as she pulled away, kissing your cheek and going up to her room without any more words.

"Where's Charlotte?", Lando asked when he got home, kissing your lips and hugging your back, resting his head on your shoulder.

"She's upstairs - her boyfriend broke her heart, ex, boyfriend actually", you reasoned with yourself.

Lando mumbled "that bastard" as he walked away from the kitchen and heading up to Charlotte's room.

"Lottie, can I come in?", he asked, balancing himself on the doorframe and stepping inside once she allowed him.

"Mum told you, didn't she?", Charlotte tsked.

"She didn't do it in a harmful way - why didn't you want to tell me? Are you worried that I'll kick his ass?", your husband joked.

"He's not even worth that", Charlotte said as she walked close to the end of the bed, sitting beside her father and letting him pull her to rest against his chest, "apparently holding hands was too much for him because he had another girl he was seeing and didn't think one of us wouldn't find out", she groaned.

"Men can be really stupid", Lando sighed, "That's what I told mum - were you like that? When you met mum, did you think it was too soon?", she wondered.

"Before I met your mum, I wasn't so keen on a long relationship because I didn't want to - and I always made it clear to them. When your mum came around, I just knew she was the one and I started doing the work to prove it to her", Lando recalled, "one day you'll find someone like that too, who will treat you like you deserve", he kissed her temple, "Boys can be the worst, but the one will come along", he offered, "and he will treat you like you deserve to be treated, and you'll know then".

"Do you want to come with me and play some games? We can ask the rest to play with us and I bet mum will even allow you to win", Lando wiggled his eyebrows, "at this rate it will be the only win in this game - I genuinely have no idea how she got so good at it!", Charlotte chuckled, "which is a bit concerning considering the game is a bit violent".

(Thank you for sending this in ✨️)

[girl-named-matty]

Little morning - Life after Hogwarts

synopsis ✧ Being a parent wasn't exactly easy and Sebastian found that out the hard way after the birth of his first son--who was now two-years-old and they were also expecting another. But regardless, he loved being a father. But the biggest problem with having a pregnant wife? A little toddler who just so happens to be a big mummy's boy that tries to wake her up at any chance he gets.

tags ✧ Fluff, tooth-rotting fluff, like so much fluff you guys. Talks of pregnancy and babies (ofc), toddlers (thats a warning in itself haha), marriage, just all the domestic cutesy stuff we all love. .

word count ✧ 1.6k

a/n ✧ Just some random cute idea I got and I have been ITCHING to write Seb and Matty as parents. You've probably seen my other posts about their kids when they are older but I really wanted to do some of the younger stuff as well because the baby fever is strong rn and I need a outlet LOL.🥺 Hope you enjoy! xoxo

Sebastian Sallow severely underestimated how difficult being a parent would be and just how much sleep he would lose by being one as well. Sure, he knew kids were difficult, and his wife had told him countless stories of the kids she had nannied or worked with who were difficult, but nothing could’ve prepared him for the real deal.

Little Eleazar was just past two years old by now, and yes, he was an abnormally well-behaved child; he still was a toddler, and well—toddlers did toddler things.

But despite the lack of sleep, the rough days, and the struggle of learning how to be a first-time parent, it was all worth it. They loved their little boy, and they loved him just the way he was.

And apparently it was “so worth” it enough that Matty was now pregnant with their second child. Or at least in Sebastian’s words, it was “so worth” having another. Matty had always wanted a couple of children, so she was up for having a second, but Sebastian was definitely the one who pushed the idea to have another.

Hence why she was now seven months pregnant and dealing with a toddler. But thankfully, Sebastian was a very hands-on and involved dad, and it made it all so much easier. He was an amazing husband and father. (She couldn’t lie and say that wasn’t the reason why she considered a second.)

It was nearing seven am when Sebastian, who was half asleep, heard the little pitter-patter of footsteps nearing the bedroom door. They had moved Ele into a different room a couple of months ago so he could get used to sleeping without Mum and Dad, especially once the new baby was around. But almost every morning, like clockwork, he managed to climb out of his crib and sneak off to Mum and Dad's room.

Sebastian, immediately knowing who it was, sat up and rubbed his eyes. The little footsteps stopped right at the door, which meant the door needed to be opened. Eleazar wasn’t quite tall enough to reach the door handle and turn it, so usually Sebastian would have to do it himself since he was the first one up.

He could practically hear his son pouting on the other side of the door, so he swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up, trying to be as quiet as possible so as not to wake up Matty, who was still peacefully sleeping.

He walked over to the door before opening it, looking down at his son. “Well, good morning,” he said, his voice still gravelly.

Eleazar quickly put his hands up, babbling a little to let his dad know that he wanted to be picked up. Sebastian leaned down and grabbed the little boy up in his arms. “You’re two years old; you gotta start using your words, buddy.” He softly encouraged. But it seemed like Ele was too tired to speak anyway since he was rubbing his eyes the moment he was up in his father's arms.

Sebastian sat back down in bed, Eleazar placed in between him and Matty. “If you’re going to be here, you gotta go back to sleep.” He said, trailing his knuckle against his son's chubby cheeks. Of course, he was only saying this to try and get more sleep himself, but when did toddlers ever listen to anybody?

Instead, Eleazar turned around, seeing that his mother was in bed. “Mummy,” he babbled with a big smile, crawling over to where she was sleeping.

Sebastian’s heart almost jumped out of his chest as he had to quickly grab his son and pull him away from his mother in order for him not to wake her up. She definitely needed more sleep. “Wait, wait, no, we can’t go to Mummy right now, okay? Mummy is sleeping.” Sebastian tried to explain.

However, Eleazar did not like being told no. Especially when it came to his mummy. The corner of his lips curled down, forming a little frown, and by the way his little bottom lip quivered, Sebastian could quickly tell that he was going to start crying.

Panicking a little more, Sebastian quickly grabbed the little boy up in his arms. “Hey, hey, it's okay.” He soothed. “We just can’t wake up Mummy right now; she’s resting.”

He knew Eleazar couldn’t understand a lick of what he was saying, but he hoped the tone of his voice would help calm him down. “Mummy is very tired, and she has little brother or sister to deal with too, okay?” He continued. “I can assure you that definitely isn’t easy.” He half mumbled under his breath with a chuckle. But that was more for his own amusement than an explanation.

Ele didn’t cry, but he looked up at his father with his big blue eyes that he had inherited from his mother, a pout still on his face. “Mummy.” He repeated, this time more determined.

Sebastian sighed, shifting to where he was now lying down with the child in his arms. “Mummy is asleep. Which is what you should be doing right now too. You’re still so young to be waking up this early.”

“No.”

Sebastian sighed again. He hated the fact that usually one of the first five words for children was usually no. It was helpful when they could communicate what they wanted, but it also happened to become their favorite word very quickly. Saying no to everything mummy or daddy needed them to do.

“Yes.”

“Mm-hm.” Eleazar shook his head, clearly conveying that he was saying no.

“What am I going to do with you?” He chuckled, pinching his son's cheeks.

But luckily for the both of them, Matty shifted a little, signaling that she was indeed finally awake. Ele quickly looked behind him, seeing his mother begin to wake up. A big smile instantly appeared on his face, and he slipped out of his dad's arms and immediately crawled over to his mother. He was a big mummy’s boy and always wanted to be with her.

When Matty felt two little hands on her arms, she chuckled, opening her eyes. “Good morning, sweetheart,” she said sweetly, the sleep still obvious in her voice.

Eleazar immediately plopped his full body weight onto his mother, giving her a big hug. She laughed, giving him a hug back before sitting up. She looked over at Sebastian and then back down to her son. “Something tells me you’ve been giving your father a little bit of a hard time.” She said, poking her son's little tummy.

“I’ll say,” Sebastian muttered. “Little bugger tried to wake you up the moment he got into bed.”

Matty smiled. “He just loves his mummy,” she cooed, shifting little Ele so she could have him comfortably against her.

Raising a toddler and being pregnant definitely wasn’t easy, but to Matty, it was worth it in the long run. Not all mornings did she wake up as nicely as she did now, but these mornings definitely helped and made up for the bad days.

“Well, thank you for letting me sleep in a little longer.” She said to Sebastian before leaning in for a quick good morning kiss from him. Sebastian smiled into the kiss, enjoying the attention from his wife. Sometimes that was scarce between work and raising a baby, so he was always loving any attention he got from her.

Meanwhile, little Ele was looking at his mother's belly, still wondering what on earth was going on there. It started to frustrate him that he could no longer sit on his mummy’s lap, but he slightly understood the concept of having another new little sibling that was seemingly “in mummy’s tummy” and that it was a baby.

Matty looked down and chuckled. “Say hi to the baby, Ele.” She urged.

Eleazar didn’t say anything, but he did wave, thinking that his little brother or sister could see him do so. Matty giggled a little bit at her son's expression, and she leaned down to kiss him on the forehead. “In just a little bit you’ll have a new brother or sister, and it’s gonna be sooo fun,” she said.

“Sleepless nights and screaming babies are an interesting thing to consider fun.” Sebastian joked sarcastically.

“Remind me whose idea it was to have a second?” Matty said, raising her brow at her husband. She knew he was just joking, but she did like to poke fun at him because, after all, it was his idea to have another baby once Eleazar was a little older.

“It was mine, and I’ll totally own up to that.” He chuckled, pulling his wife close to him. “And I can’t wait to have another. Anything from you is a complete blessing, and I’m lucky to have you and our children.”

Matty smiled and leaned her head against his chest. She had married the right man, that’s for sure. And boy did she love him.

“I hope it’s a girl,” Sebastian mumbled into her neck.

“Don’t want another little boy?” She chuckled, looking at him with a raised brow.

Sebastian shrugged. “I’ll be happy either way. I just want a healthy baby. But since we have a boy already, I think it’d be nice to have a sweet little girl. Beautiful and intelligent, just like her mother.” He said, giving Matty a little squeeze.

“And here I thought you wanted a little mini-you.” Matty said.

“Oh trust me, I do.” Sebastian replied. “But who's to say that a little girl can’t be my mini-me? We can get into all sorts of trouble together.”

“Mhm, right. Not on my watch.” Matty joked with a laugh.

“Worth a shot.” Sebastian grinned.

I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it! Thank you so much for reading! 🥺❤️

[serge-starr]

If you hate Donald Trump and Elon Musk like I do, I need your advice, please read this

Red text - Why I hate them

Blue text - My problem

Green text - Why it's a problem/why I need advice

Genuinely, do I even really have to explain why I hate Trump? Is it not ovious enough? He is one of the most evil people ever known and there is NO SUCH THING as a "good trump supporter". THEY'RE ALL BAD. He is openly a misogynist and talks about women so poorly. He talks about them like they're s-x objects and says that women deserve punishment if they get abortions. He's been accused of SA by DOZENS, literally DOZENS of women. He even sexualises his own daughter and says that he would date her if they weren't related. Furthermore, he's cheated on all of his wives.

And what else? He is racist. Straight up, he is literally just racist. AND transphobic. He also openly admires dictators and said that he wants to become one himself. He said that he wants an army just like (Germany mustache guy)'s. He has a friend called Nicholas Fuentes who also has openly said that he admires (Germany mustache guy), is a Holocaust denier and said, I quote, "your body, my choice" and "there will never be a female president". Trump has unfair tax policies that only benefit rich people and fuck over the middle and lower class. I struggle to explain this and why it upsets me to my parents because my parents don't care about politics or understand me as a person. Even if they did they wouldn't have the same views as me. They're conservative and I'm alternative.

So my problem is that my Mother says that all politicians are narcissists. I tried to reason with her and explain that politicians might just be people who stand for something and want to make change. She said that all politicians are power hungry and all they want is money and fame. I told her that I was passionate about politics and I cared about it a lot. She said that I shouldn't care about politics. I tested her standards and told her "what if I want to work in politics? Does that make ME a narcissist? Or does it not apply to me because I'm your child?" My Mum said that I would never make it as a politician because I'm too soft.

My Dad on the other hand, has bought a tesla, for multiple reasons. Firstly because they're good for the environment, and also because he liked the car's design/functions and he liked that he didn't have to pay for gas. I have begged my parents multiple times to not take me anywhere in that car (we have other cars). My Dad asked me to explain why and I told him that it went against my beliefs to go in the car. The company of tesla is partially owned by Elon Musk who is the richest man in the world and oh my God he is an ASSHOLE. He has so much fucking money that he doesn't even need and once he literally prevented money from being donated to a charity for children's cancer. He is the definition of a priviledged asshole. And of course he's a fucking Trump supporter. My parents believe that I'm being unreasonable but I don't think they understand how much it truly upsets me. At this point, it's not even political opinions, it's a political fact. I don't support Donald or Elon, I never have, and I never will. It is not justifiable to support them.

I need your advice because my Mum has continuously forced me to get in that car and take me places with it, like school, my art club, to town or literally just anywhere. I'm sick of it. I'm sick of people seeing me get out of it at school. It's embarassing. My parents don't understand. My Dad said that if I don't want to get in the tesla then I can just stop going to art club and other places. He asked me to explain why I hated the tesla and I told him it was difficult to explain.

What if people at my school think I'm a trump supporter? Look, I'm always one who doesn't care what other people think, but that's only if I'M BEING AUTHENTIC AND MY TRUE SELF. That tesla is not me, it's not my thing and it never will be. I hate going in that car. I hate its size, I hate its design, I hate its company, I hate everything about it. I'm sick of worrying that my friends and classmates think I'm a priviledged asshole. I wish my parents had a sense of reality and would just understand this.

Please, if you have any kind of solution, tell me. And don't say something like "Oh just try explaining to your parents how you feel and why you're uncomfortbale". DUDE I'VE TRIED THAT 9892423 TIMESSS. THEY WON'T LISTEN. THEY DON'T GET IT.

Who can I call? Who can I reach out to? Who can I ask for help? WTF DO I DO???!?!

That's all! Thanks for reading

[omgrachwrites]

Wicked Game - Chapter One

Pairing: Mattheo Riddle x Weasley!Reader

Summary: When you realise just how bad your parents financial situation is you make a deal with your fathers boss.

Warnings: muggle au, fluff, angst, swearing

A/N: Hope you guys enjoy this! The other chapters are going to be longer and this is going to be a relatively slow burn. Please let me know what you think and let me know if you would like to be tagged! I love you all! xxx

masterlist

Chapter One

You knew that your parents were struggling financially, you had always known, especially when you were at school. They had managed to send all eight of you to an exclusive boarding school so you never minded that your things were second-hand, you thought they added more charm. Now, that you were out of school, it seemed as though your parents were struggling even more, your dad’s boss, Mr Riddle had cut his hours right down.

Arthur and Molly were too proud to ask for help – despite having an array of friends who would drop everything to help – and they had denied your help more than once. You really didn’t want to see your family out on the street so you decided to take drastic measures.

“I’m heading to London today,” you told your mum as you sat down for breakfast on a warm summer’s morning.

Before she could reply, your twin brother spoke up, “Why, what’s in London? I thought you weren’t at the shop today.”

You rolled your eyes, “Ron, just because your nose is enormous doesn’t mean you should be poking it in other people’s business,” you flicked his nose causing him to bat your hand away and he scowled at you, the tips of his ears turning red.

After a quick breakfast, you were out the door and on the way to London, despite being pretty far out in the countryside you only needed one train to get there. The journey seemed to go by so quickly and soon enough you were walking into the lobby of the high rise building. It was so quiet and clean that it seemed clinical. The receptionist looked at you with wide eyes when you told her who you were there to see but you weren’t waiting long until she led you into Mr Riddle’s office.

As you walked in, trying to stop your hands from shaking, the older man looked up at you and took in your appearance, “you’re Arthur Weasley’s daughter,” it wasn’t a question as he gestured for you to sit down.

You nodded as you cleared your throat and sat down, “y-yes, Sir.”

“And what does Arthur Weasley’s daughter want with me?” he asked as he went back to signing the papers on his desk.

“My parents need help,” Mr Riddle glanced up at you with a raised eyebrow and you elaborated, “financial help.”

“Ah,” he had a ghost of a smirk on his face as he dropped his pen on top of his papers and leaned back in his leather wing backed chair, “if your parents hadn’t of had an army of children maybe they’d be in a much more comfortable position.”

It was amazing how quickly your fear turned to anger and you couldn’t stop the next words that fell from your lips, “well maybe if you gave my dad reasonable hours then I wouldn’t be here,” you folded your arms and narrowed your eyes.

Riddle blinked at you before letting out a harsh laugh that made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, “my dear, all working hours have been cut since the war ended.”

“Still, there must be something I can do, please I’ll do anything,” you didn’t mean to beg but you were getting desperate now. Why wouldn’t he help you? A man in his position of power was exactly the sort of man who would help you, but he wouldn’t, not for nothing in return.

“You would do anything to save your family from ruin?” when you nodded he smirked and buzzed for the receptionist, “Bella find my son and send him in.”

Moments later, Mattheo Riddle came striding into the room like he owned it, he was even more handsome than he had been in school with the same sullen look on his face. His eyebrows shot up in surprise when he saw you standing in his father’s office but he nodded at you all the same.

“Y/N.”

“Hi, Mattheo.”

“You see, Y/N,” Riddle started “I have been trying to make a marriage for my son and at every turn he has rejected several extraordinary women,” Mattheo flushed and his eyes dropped to the floor at his father’s words, “you see, it’s very difficult for those fools to take me seriously at the Ministry without a marriage. You say you would do anything to save your family? Marry my son.”

Matteo’s eyes widened, “father,” he started but fell silent as Riddle gave him a hard look.

Riddle looked back at you, “accept and your family will want for nothing. Refuse, and I will make their life a living hell.”

This was the last thing you expected – or wanted – your heart was in your throat but you had started all of this and now you had to see it through. Briefly, you wondered why he would ask you, given Riddle’s opinion of your family. But you realised it was to keep you in line, you weren’t an idiot. You glanced at Mattheo who refused to look at you and you turned back to Riddle.

“When you put it that way, how can I refuse? Of course, you leave me no choice but to accept.”

Riddle smirked, “excellent, I’ll make the necessary arrangements. Mattheo, please show our guest out.

The younger Riddle glared at you as he gripped your elbow and steered you out of the room, “what the fuck, Y/N? Why would you do that?!” he hissed.

You managed to shake him off by the time you got to reception, “you heard your dad, I didn’t have a choice!” you conveniently ‘forgot’ to tell him that it was you who had sought Riddle out.

“You’re going to regret this,” there was a fire blazing in his usually cold brown eyes.

“Trust me, I already do,” you scowled.

As you got home, you had a guilty feeling in the pit of your stomach so you decided to shut yourself in your room. Your parents were going to be so disappointed. You were shut in your room all day, even when Hermione came to visit. You didn’t see anyone till later that evening when your dad barged in.

“We need to talk.”

“About?”

“Mattheo Riddle.”

Your heart sank like a rock as you looked at your dad’s disappointed face, “what do you want to know?”

“You’re not marrying him, Y/N.”

“I already accepted.”

“Well unaccept!”

“I can’t!” you sighed, “you guys needed help, I never meant for it to get this far but it’s done. If I refuse he will make our lives hell, you know he will. All I wanted was to help,” but you feared you had made things worse.

“We never wanted this for you, Y/N,” Arthur sighed as he awkwardly lingered in the doorway.

“Look dad, I know and I’m sorry. I’ll try and get out of it somehow.”

Arthur nodded with a sigh as he left the room, knowing the conversation was over and knowing that he wasn’t going to be able to change your mind.

A couple of minutes later, you decided that you needed some air, you all but crept by the living room where Riddle was having a hushed conversation with your parents. As you headed towards the back door, Harry called after you.

“Hey, Y/N.”

You groaned and turned to face him, knowing that he’d have something to say, he always did, “Harry, please. I really don’t need a lecture off you, of all people.”

“Whoa, whoa,” Harry laughed, throwing up his hands in mock defence, “I’m not going to lecture you. It was brave what you did, stupid,” he added “but brave.”

You laughed, “I agree with the stupid part, but thanks Harry,” you grinned.

“I can’t believe you’re gonna be a Riddle though,” he said with a look of distaste on his face.

“Yeah, yeah. It’s a real tragedy,” you laughed, “see you, Harry,” you shot him a wave as you headed outside into the warm summer air.

The air smelled sweet, like honeysuckle and lemon and you gazed around the wild garden, feeling sadness linger in the pit of your stomach. You spotted Mattheo sitting on the garden wall, smoking a cigarette. With a sigh, you walked over to him and sat next to him as he nodded at you.

“It’s nice out here,” he nodded at the strings of fairy lights that had been weaved through the flowering bushes, “you caused quite a stir it seems,” he mumbled as he blew out a plume of smoke, being careful to not let it get in your face.

“Well, it was getting boring around here, so I thought I’d spice it up,” you laugh as Mattheo’s lips almost quirked up into a smirk, “so,” you started, “what’s your reason for agreeing to marry me? What’s in it for you?”

He scoffed as he looked at you with brown eyes so unlike his dad’s cold blue ones, “my father says jump, I ask how high.”

“Oh,” you bit your lip, you couldn’t imagine having that sort of relationship with your family, “I’m sorry,” you hadn’t just ruined your life, you’d ruined his too.

Mattheo pulled a face, “don’t be silly, you don’t have to apologise for anything. Look, Y/N, despite what the papers say about me, I’m not a monster. I’ll treat you how you deserve to be treated but, Y/N, I’m never going to love you. If that’s what you’re looking for, you’re going to be disappointed.”

Personally, you thought love was overrated, people did stupid things when they were in love, “well, I’m never going to love you either.”

“Perfect,” he nodded, flicking the stub of his cigarette away.

“So, when do you take me away from my family?” you joke.

“Not until the wedding, my dad wanted you to move in straight away but I convinced him there was no need.”

“Thank you.”

The handsome boy looked at you in bewilderment, like he didn’t know why you would thank him, “don’t look for any redeeming qualities in me, Y/N. I have none.”

Before you could reply, Riddle was striding across the garden, “we’re leaving, Mattheo.”

“I guess I’ll see you soon,” the boy nodded at you before disappearing up the country lane.

With a sigh, you headed back inside the house to find everyone sitting around the table. As you walked in they all stared at you as you sat down. Sirius looked impressed while Lily looked like she felt sorry for you. You knew that someone was dying to say something.

“Just don’t,” you said, shaking your head as you reached for your glass of juice.

It was silent for a couple of moments before Ginny spoke up, “hey, at least he’s hot,” everyone let out a nervous laugh and fell into an uneasy conversation as they waited for dinner.

[wa-royal-tea]

Previous | Beginning | Next

(Transcript under the cut - Click Pics for HQ Version!)

Cassia Garden, Belcoast (3:57pm)

Indirah: Where’s my heels? Has anyone seen my heels?

Ginevra: I’m going to wait downstairs. Eloise, are you coming?

Eloise: Yeah!

Camille: Kak Lina, can you do my hair, please?

Catalina: Sure! Let me get the hairbrush first.

Belle: There. You’re all done.

Ginny: Thank you, mum. How do I look?

Belle: Beautiful. You look beautiful, my dear.

Ginny: Mum…please don’t cry. It’s too early for that.

Belle: I know…I just can’t believe you’re getting married already.

Belle: You grew up so fast. I still remember how small you were when I first met you.

Ginny: Mum…

Belle: I remember that day when you asked me if you can call me “mommy”. I can never forget that day, ever.

Belle: You made me a mother, Ginny. Even though I wasn’t the one who gave birth to you, you still loved and accepted me.

Ginny: But you loved me like your own too, mum. You’ve never treated me differently. Not even once.

Ginny: You’ll always be my mum. No one can tell me otherwise.

Belle: I wish Irene was here to see you like this. You grew up so well. She would be proud.

*door opens and closes*

Belle: Hugo? What are you doing here?

Hugo: Mum asked me to call everyone down. The guests are arriving.

Belle: Oh, yeah. Ginny, you wait here, alright? I’ll have Lina or Dira call you later when the ceremony is about to start.

Ginny: Okay. I’ll see you later.

Ginny: Aren’t you going to follow her?

Hugo: Grandpa wants to talk to you. I’ll wait for him outside, yeah?

Ginny: Okay. I’ll take care of him. Have a seat, grandpa.

*door opens and closes*

Anthony: I heard you made your dress.

Ginny: Mhm! Do you like it?

Anthony: Yes. It’s beautiful. You look great in it.

Ginny: Thank you, grandpa.

Ginny: What do you want to talk about? Are you alright?

Anthony: I’m alright, my dear. I just…I need to give you something.

Ginny: What’s that?

Anthony: It’s a letter. From your mother. She wrote it for you before she…passed.

Anthony: I had this since you were a child. But I never found the right opportunity to give it to you. I thought today would be a good time. I’m sorry it took me so long.

Ginny: It’s okay. You have your reasons.

Anthony: Here, read it.

Ginny: What is it about?

Anthony: I don’t know. I didn’t read it. It’s your letter.

Hi Genevieve, it’s mommy. Do you like the name I gave you? Your dad thinks it’s cute, and I agree. I think it’s a perfect name for you. But he said it’s a bit long so we should figure out a nickname for you. Maybe Gee? Vivi? Ginny? I don’t know. We’ll figure it out when you’re here I guess!

Your dad and I are so excited to have you. It wasn’t planned but nothing good in this world is planned!

You were a big surprise for both of us. I was scared when I first found out about you. I was scared that your dad and his family wouldn’t accept us.

I already had plans for us if his family decided to not want anything to do with you and me. I was sure that I could raise you on my own.

I imagined us living in a small home back in my home country. I can already see our life in it.

You taking your first steps there…

…first day of school…

…moving to college…

…and getting ready for your wedding.

It would’ve been perfect. Just you and me.

But when I told your dad about you, he was overjoyed. And despite his father’s disapproval, he asked me to marry him.

Adapting to this life wasn’t easy. But your dad made sure that I know I can always count on him whenever I needed him. Even when he’s far away for his military training.

He really loves you. Every time we got on a call, he always asks how are you doing. I sometimes feel like he loves you more than he loves me. But it’s alright. I know he’ll take good care of you when you’re here.

Just a few months left, and you’ll be in our arms. And every day I’m looking forward to it. Though I know once you’re here, I’m going to miss having you so close to me. It’s funny.

I hope you know how much I love you, Genevieve. I can’t promise you I’ll be the perfect mother, but I’ll try my best. I want you to know that I’ll always be there for you when things get hard.

Thank you for choosing me to be your mother. I love you, my daughter.

Love,

Mommy.

Anthony: I have been alive for a long time, Genevieve. I have no regrets about anything I’ve ever done.

Anthony: But if there’s one thing that I deeply regret doing is…not being kinder to your mother.

Anthony: I…I was horrible to her. I’ve never accepted her. No matter how kind she was to me, I can never see past my anger towards her for “ruining” Emery’s future by having you.

Anthony: A few days before you were born. I had my first heart attack and your mother was the first person to see the signs and called the doctor for me.

Anthony: If it weren’t for her, I probably wouldn’t be here today.

Anthony: I was thankful. But I was too prideful to say anything at the time.

Anthony: I promised to myself that I’d be kinder to her after that day, but when Emery broke the news that she passed…it was too late.

Anthony: When Emery brought you to your late grammy and me before leaving you with your Aunt Sofia, I saw Irene in you.

Anthony: And I swore to myself that day that I can’t die until I see you happy.

Anthony: I want you to live the best life that your mother would’ve hoped for you.

Anthony: You don’t have to forgive me for my behavior towards your mother when she was alive. And if you hate me now because of that, I completely understand.

Anthony: I’m just glad that I get to see you happy now. And I hope that you’ll remain happy for the rest of your life.

Ginny:…grandpa?

Anthony: Yes, dear?

Ginny: I have something to ask you.

[lokisprettygirl]

Close Ties (Daemon Targaryen x Female Reader) (Modern AU) (Non canon) (18+)

Read Chapter 7 // Series Masterlist

Chapter 8

Summary : After your respective confessions Daemon sits you down to discuss the new development in your relationship with him.

Warning: 18+, dad's best friend trope, canon (we don't know her..don't like don't read), feeling of hopelessness, slight uncle kink if you squint, familial uncle niece sort of relationship but he's not really her uncle, there will be more smut later, significant age gap but reader is in her mid twenties, mention of infidelity, divorce, smoking and alcohol drinking, physical violence implied

Note : i know in fiction we tend to dramatize things (as we should sometimes) so this chapter might feel boring, underwhelming or a bit too realistic but that's how I wanted to keep it for this series. Not a fan of grown men acting like teenagers hence my take on this Daemon is different. Okay enjoy 😊

You were sitting in Daemon's cabin, your heart racing and palms sweating as you waited impatiently for him to return. Even as work hours had ended his work didn't stop. He had gone to meet some people and had asked you to wait there for him because he wanted to drop you home today.

And ofcourse discuss that unspoken thing between you two. You were kind of happy about the alone time you were getting to have in his absence because you needed some time to process what he had just said to you before he left. What was going to happen between you two now? All your life he has been your Uncle Daemon but now both of you had confessed to having romantic/sexual feelings for each other so where do you go from here?

As he finally returned your heart was pounding and threatening to explode in your chest, you couldn't bear the tension.

“Darling get your bag, your parents are back and they want to see you” he said as soon as he entered so you quickly got up from your chair and you were ready to go. On the drive back home you were quiet because you didn't know what to say, even he seemed lost for words, he wasn't even looking at you.

Was he embarrassed? God you hoped not.

“Ummm everything okay?” You asked finally as you couldn't bear the complete silence anymore,

“Yesss”

One word answer? Yeah you didn't need that right now.

“Mom and dad are fine right?”

“Mmmhmmmm”

“They have been going on a lot of trips lately..that's nice, dad really never had much time in his youth and she always wanted to see the world” he turned his head to look at you as you said that.

That's not the reason why they were taking trips together but he couldn't tell you anything just yet.

As you reached home you found your parents right in the living room so you immediately went in for a big warm hug..

“How's my sweetie doing at work Daemon?” Your mum questioned him so he smiled.

“She's a fast learner.. Doing really well” you looked at him as he praised you and he quickly averted his gaze. Truth to be told he was feeling a bit ashamed of himself at the moment, not because of the confession but because of the way your parents trusted him so deeply to take care of their daughter, especially your mum.

What would they think of him once they find out about this situation between you two and that he didn't exactly have innocent intentions for their daughter?

At the dinner table, you struggled to keep your eyes off of Daemon who had taken the time to shower and change into a comfortable white t-shirt and trousers. All you wanted to do was snuggle against him. However you couldn't help but feel as if he was ignoring you, you didn't want to jump to conclusions so you figured that he was probably just trying to not give away anything in front of your parents.

You felt a level of guilt as well, if you and Daemon choose to go down this path it might just wreck havoc all over again and you didn't really want that, you didn't think you'd be able to get over if he was to leave again..

After dinner you spent some time with your mum as she seemed a bit stressed..you had put down your head in her lap so she began to caress your scalp.

“You know you should dress more appropriately in front of Uncle Daemon” you gulped as she said that, you just had a sling night dress on that barely went past your thighs.

“What do you mean? It's just a night dress” you chuckled as you sat up suddenly,

“I know..you know we have never stopped you from doing anything. You're a good girl but he's just a man, a single one now that he's divorced..” you couldn't help but giggle at her words, she was your mother afterall, could she sense that her old friend was up to something? You hoped not.

“Mumma he's not like that you know that”

“I know..he's a decent man, always has been..but in the end men are just that ..men and he had a fling with Cass didn't he? How is she by the way, I haven't seen her lately" she asked you and Cassandra really was the last person you wanted to discuss right now.

“How was your trip?” you asked her to change the subject so she sighed deeply.

“Tiring” she smiled “I bought a souvenir for you from the states. While we were in LA..we bumped into Stella. What are the odds?” you gulped again as she said that,

“You did? Ummm what did she say ..How does she look now?” your tone was inquisitive, you had never really liked Stella even when everyone was besotted with her, perhaps you were just jealous. You remembered her being mean to you on occasions, she had that typical rich snobby girl vibe that you disliked so much. And you were jealous.

“Well she's still the same as I remember her..she asked about Dae, she kept saying that she always wanted him to go back to London with her as she liked it here but he never budged”

You rolled your eyes as she said that.

“Of course she did…I feel like she's the reason why he left, maybe she didn't like it here and wanted to go back to her home so she influenced him somehow..did you ever find out what had happened between him and umm dad?” you asked her so she sighed again.

“I honestly don't know..I have tried enough times to make your father open up to me but he never did, he and Daemon are sewn from the same cloth. Both stubborn and insufferable at times" you chuckled as she said that. She wasn't wrong though. You had asked Daemon about what had gone down between them but he refused to tell you anything. You didn't really understand why.

As you ascended the stairs and made your way to Daemon's room, you knocked on the door, but he didn't answer so you turned the knob only to find an empty room. He hadn't come back yet, he was in your dad's office downstairs discussing business.

You probably should have turned around and left but a part of you wanted to bask in his scent that was soaked in every inch of that space. You found his clothes that he had worn today scattered all over the bed so you picked up his shirt and wrapped it around your shoulders .

“God you're such a creep y/n”

You placed the shirt back down and took a seat on the bed in a sensuous position with your legs crossed and arms placed elegantly on the mattress ..or you tried. You still didn't know the nature of your relationship with him so this felt blasphemous.

A few minutes later he finally entered his room and as he saw you he gave you a small smirk,

“Mum thinks i should dress appropriately in front of you..is this not appropriate Uncle?” He walked towards you as you said that, the smirk stayed.

“A nighty that is barely covering you is sure as hell not appropriate love”

God you wanted to moan just from him using that voice on you.

“What are you doing here?” He asked you so you stood back up.

“Just wanted to talk about..you know what” he sighed as you said that.

“We are going to talk..I'm not going to cross a line and ruin our familial relationship for a few nights of fun” Daemon's voice was serious and firm as he spoke, and you could tell that he was weighing his words carefully. He reached out to grab his coat from the bed and wrapped it around your shoulders, covering your exposed skin.

“Who said I wanted just a few nights of fun?” you argued so he smiled,

“I assumed..you're still young ..i had all my fun in my twenties” he reverted

“I'm not a slut like you” he winced as you said that.

“Touche..first thing first you need to stop calling me Uncle when it's just you and me” he told you and you agreed.

“ Okay Mister Daemon”

“Just Daemon is fine”

“Okay.. Just Daemon”

“Sit down” you sat down immediately as he said that, he reached closer to you and at first you thought he'd kiss you but he just cupped your cheeks and leaned down to kiss your forehead before he walked away from you, pulled an armless chair from the corner of the room and sat down right in front of you.

“Do you know how old I am?” he asked you.

Stupid question you thought.

“Mmhmm freshly turned forty three”

“Do you know how old you are?”

“Will soon turn twenty six”

“That's eighteen years of age gap..almost a generation apart”

“I know..my math is not that bad”

“Don't get sassy with me right now” You bit on your lips to stifle the smile that was threatening to escape your lips “Your dad is wealthy and famous...you could have anyone in the world you'd put your eyes on. Are you sure this is what you want? Even if temporarily” His tone was a mix of uncertainty and genuine concern he felt towards you.

“If I could have anyone then why not you? All my life I have been around people who just wanted to use me because of my dad. What makes you think I'd ever want a boyfriend or a husband who'd marry me for the same reasons?” you answered him confidently and it made him smile. You were always such a good girl and that's what made this harder for him. He didn't want to ruin you.

“What makes you think I'm not doing the same thing to you? I'm certainly broke and homeless and I desire to regain the wealth and status again. Who is better than one of the most influential men in all of the UK to bring me back to glory? After all what's his is going to be yours someday” His voice was low and laced with a subtle hint of sarcasm,

“You won't do that to me” you said to him softly,

“Why not? Perhaps I'm just playing the long game..”

“You're not ..i have felt it..your care, your beautiful heart, I know you Daemon Targaryen” he couldn't help but smile at your words,

“I do care of course, but how do you know that I'm also not lying to you and using you for my selfish purposes?” he asked you so you smiled.

“Because i have known you all my life and a wise man once told me to look into the eyes of the person you are talking to and you'd know whether they're being truthful to you or not..that's how I know you're not lying to me..i see it in your eyes” his eyes immediately and so quickly teared up as you said that “Besides if you wanted to use me you'd have made your move the first night itself but you didn't, you waited for me to do so, that tells me everything I need to know about your intentions”

He smiled as he looked down, he was so proud of the kind of person you had turned into, perhaps it was your upbringing.

“Alright.. Do you understand the consequences of this thing between us?” he asked you, his voice was turning softer and softer with every question.

“I do”

“Does it scare you?”

“Yes, alot”

“Do you think we can go back to being just uncle and niece if you're bored of me after a few nights? When you see the real me and not the man you have built up in your fantasies? When the mirage is broken and I am all bare in front of you?” He looked at you with a mixture of hope and fear in his eyes, his feelings for you evident in every word that came from his mouth.

You got down on your knees and placed your hands on his thighs which made him shudder so he leaned back into his chair, he was hoping you won't see the erection he had now after seeing you in that position.

“I don't think we can just go back but what makes you think you won't be the one to get bored of me? I'm nothing interesting…especially in bed” his brows furrowed as you said that. He couldn't imagine you being anything but a submissive little freak in bed, you just had that aura surrounding you, he noticed how your face flushed every time he was tough with you at work or commanded you to do something.

“Then I'll teach you my ways, I'm certainly not a novice in that department. I stayed in a broken marriage for more than a decade with a woman that wasn't half decent as you...what makes you think I'd give up on a girl who's finessed so perfectly inside out?”

Your face felt warmer as he said that, no man has ever made you feel so desirable as he did in that moment and he hadn't even touched you yet.

“What if we have no chemistry in bed? And it's all just the forbidden aspect of the relationship that's pulling us to each other?” you questioned him so he chuckled in response.

“Entirely possible but you don't need to worry about that, chemistry is precisely why we are in this predicament in the first place” his tone was playful as he said that. Even if there was that one percent chance that you both would have no compatibility in bed he was going to build it up from scratch but he won't hurt you for something so superficial.

“Mmmhm..i didn't think of that”

“What are you looking for in this relationship? Considering we will get to have one” he asked another question, he could feel your fingertips caressing his thighs gently, the touch was making him lose his concentration.

“I date to marry .. always have”

“What if I don't want to get married again..ever?”

“Then we don't marry”

Why did this feel so normal he wondered? Discussing such heavy subjects with you came so naturally to him.

“What if I want children in the future?? Is it something you'd want?” he asked you so you smiled

“Mm never thought about it..what if I don't want kids in future.. but just me and you?” the smirk on his face reappeared as you said that.

“I have gone forty years without procreating..could easily go forty more”

He was a dreamboat wasn't he?

“Mmmm..I'd have to address you as Uncle in public still”

“That is highly inappropriate but we don't have much of a choice here. What if I want to take this thing slow and don't wish to defile you the moment I have your consent?” he asked you so you smiled.

“You can go as slow as you want as long as you are mine..all mine”

“Words have meaning you know..you can't just speak to me like that if you don't really mean it”

“What makes you think I'm playing with you for fun?”

“Because I'm insecure, I don't think I am what you deserve or need in your life”

You stood up and sat down on his lap as he said that, god you had envisioned this scenario a million times in your head so when it was really happening, it felt really surreal, your arms curled around his neck as you hugged him tightly.

She did a number on him but you won't allow him to feel that way ever again, that if he'd be yours for eternity

He wrapped his arms around your waist, the coat he had put on you was discarded on the floor, he could feel the heat emanating from your body as you clutched onto him.

"You're all i have ever wanted..i literally had everything growing up but you" you whispered in his ear so he put his head down on your shoulder and sighed..

“Thiss is not easy for me" his voice quivered slightly as he continued "Acknowledging or accepting that I'm lusting after a girl I have known since she was twelve..it's not easy. What would she think of me?” he said to you softly so you pulled away a little and cupped his cheeks, he was torn between his feelings for you and his own sense of morality, and it was clear that he was struggling to come to terms with the situation.

“I know..but I have lusted for you since I was twelve, when I didn't even know what this meant and that girl that you're worried about disappointing? She knew her Uncle Daemon would never hurt her, she trusted him implicitly with her life and her safety and she never would have judged you for choosing to love her differently when she's all grown up, an adult in her mid twenties. You are lusting after me ..I'm not that child you knew, i have grown in every possible way and you're attracted to that part of me..but you have always cared about me..all parts of me”

Tears slipped down his eyes so you wiped them with your thumbs before you kissed his forehead, always wanted to do that and it felt as satisfactory as you thought it would.

"Also..that twelve year old me would be screaming right now if she could see this" he chuckled as you said that but then his smile faded again.

“You're so young my darling pixie. I don't want to be a mistake you'd regret all your life or be something that ends up holding you back. You have so much potential and a bright future ahead of you, and I want to make sure you're able to reach it." The words slipped from his mouth with an almost paternal affection, and you could hear the genuine concern in his voice. He truly did not want to be the cause of any harm or regret in your life - he wanted the best for you even if it meant he'd have to suffocate his own feelings.

“Even if it turns out to be a mistake you should know I'd never ever feel regret for you..” you said to him so he placed his fingers on your chin and made you look him in the eyes.

“Time is going to catch up with me..I'd only get older and less attractive..you'd not even be the age i am currently when I'm already hitting sixty” he said to you but it only made you smile.

“Is that supposed to discourage me because you have only gotten sexier with age so far”

“Mmmmhmm? You are going to lie and tell me that I look better now when I'm all pudgy then I did before when I had visible abs?” his voice was playful but you could tell he was insecure.

“You have no idea how badly I want to snuggle against you and this thick body of yours right now”

He gulped in nervousness as you said that and then his cheeks flushed. Everytime Stella cheated on him, the men she chose were always shredded and jacked, so he killed himself everyday to look the same but he had given up now, he didn't have to impress her and he certainly didn't need to impress you..you were willing to take him as he was.

He cupped your cheeks and his fingers brushed over lips, eyes looked at you as if you were the best thing in the world.

“Besides, it's not just your body I'm attracted to ..it's you ..all of you Uncle..your age is the last thing I think of when I am thinking about you” You squeezed your eyes as the word uncle slipped your mouth, force of habit you feared.

“That's so dirty”

“What is?”

“You calling me that when you're dressed so immodestly and straddling me like that” he murmured against your mouth, voice barely audible.

“Godd are you going to kiss me or not”

“Patience sweetheart..”

“I have been patient enough” you leaned into him so he grabbed the back of your neck and pulled you away from his lips,

“Mmhm? Have you been a good girl?”

“So good.. uncle” you said it on purpose this time because he seemed to enjoy it, the hard on was a clear indication.

“I must be a complete degenerate to get turned on by that” he whispered as he kissed the corner of your mouth, being as teasing as he could be.

“I don't mind that at all”

“Ofcourse you don't..you were always a naughty girl”

Your breath hitched in your chest as he talked down to you. God you really didn't want to be patient, you just wanted him to take you in his bed right now

“Worry not though, I'll make sure you never step out of line without my permission.”

And you were a goner.

None of your antics worked on him because he made you get off his lap and sent you back to your room soon after that, you got to keep the shirt of his that you were going to snuggle around with until it would lose his essence.

That night, after three months of torture Daemon finally had the luxury of jerking off to your thoughts, the way that silk night dress clung to your voluptuous body but left a mystery enough for his imagination and how you were so desperate to be played with was all he needed to pump his hard and swollen cock into his fist. The truth of the situation that you were his supposed niece turned him on even more even though it shouldn't.

He pictured your sweet face moaning and groaning underneath him, chanting his name like a prayer and it didn't take much as he combusted and painted his torso with thick spurts of his release.

Lord, how was he going to keep you away from him? Leave you so untouched when you were so desperate to give into him?

He was being a tease, he wanted to keep you on the edge you figured and you just wanted to give him whatever he desired. The conversation he had with you had made you realize that he was so unappreciated so you were going to appreciate the heck out of him, worship him the way a man like him deserved to be worshiped.

You were going to make him realize why you are the only woman he'd ever need in his life again.

Next day at the office you pretended to be the good girl he wanted you to be, especially in public and more importantly in the workplace..you had to be extremely careful, there was a sense of taboo attached to your relationship and you understood that well, you also knew that whenever this thing would go out in public he'd be the only one to take the hit for it, he'd be blamed and shamed for corrupting you but you won't let him take the fall all alone..you'd be there for him.

“Your father is sending me on a business trip to Japan” he said to you as he placed some documents in his briefcase, it was 5 pm so you no longer had to pretend that he was just your boss .

“Whatttt? For how long?” You asked him hurriedly so he sighed.

“Four days, could be five” he answered you and he could see how sullen you looked all of a sudden. Did you really need him around you that much? Were you always going to be so needy for him? He didn't really mind that, it has been a while since he had wanted to spoil someone so badly.

“Ohhhh umm.. okay uhhh okay” you mumbled in your mouth as you jumped up to sit down on his desk. You felt saddened that he would be gone for four days and you won't get to touch him, or bask in his scent, you really were obsessed with him.

He smiled as he walked around the desk to stand tall in front of you and placed his hands on your thighs to pull you closer to the edge of the desk and into his body, the sudden action had turned you on immensely. His hands caressed your thighs before they trailed up to your bosom for a brief moment and then he brought them up until he had your cheeks between his palms.

“Do you want me to kiss you?” He whispered against your mouth and you had to remember to breathe because you were definitely going to pass out from how wrecked your nerves were at the moment.

“Mmmm please” your voice came out all whiny and it made him smile.

“Or i should take you home and kiss you in my bed while you're underneath me love” he whispered against your mouth and your whole body shuddered, even he was able to feel you trembling.

“Ohhh God yess…that..i want that”

“Greedy” he mumbled as he kissed the tip of your nose.

“Tease” you quickly replied and that made him smirk “I'd miss you.. alot..you're going to come back right?” Your eyes teared up so he placed his forehead down on yours, an action that felt very familiar to you.

“Come back To you..for you? Absolutely” he kissed your forehead before he suddenly pulled away from you.

“Oh I forgot to tell you something” he mumbled as he grabbed his briefcase from the desk so you stepped down as well as he was going to drop you back home.

“What is it?” you asked him as you grabbed your purse

“Your father wants me to take my only intern slash assistant on this trip with me..you know for learning purposes”

The scream of excitement that you let out was deafening, he was lucky his cabin was soundproofed.

Sure taking this thing slow was his idea but he had a feeling he'd be the first one to break that rule as he finds himself with you all alone on this trip in a foreign place where he didn't have to pretend to be your Uncle.

❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

Note: Hope this wasn't disappointing 😂 plenty of stuff to come..

Taglist

@serving-targaryen-realness @annoyingsweetsstranger @anukulee @mcufan72 @insertsomethingsillyhereple-blog @silentf @ajthefujoshi @stupidthoughtsinwriting @ammo23 @shuichiakainx @daddylokisqueen @ipostwhtifeel @anehkael

[mieeaahhh]

What I think the foxes favourite teddy was like as a kid

Neil josten

An old and beaten up bear named wiggles

He doesn’t have it anymore because he lost it while on the run

He told Matt about it and Dan bought him a teddy bear for Christmas

Andrew Minyard

I silly little thing he could hold in one hand because he could hide it easily. He was scared of someone stealing it

He got it from one of his foster parents and it was the first gift he’d ever gotten

It still sits on his pillow at the Colombia house and gets lost in his duvet all the time because it’s tiny

He pretends it doesn’t exist and once when Neil asked him about it he just said “I have no idea what you’re talking About”

Aaron minyard

A weird little crab thing that was supposed to be a Christmas present from Nicky, though, it was just sent by his parents and they wrote Nicky on the gift bag

It sits on his bedside table and he pretends he doesn’t care about it but if anyone touches it he gets annoyed

Katelyn has named it Christopher

Kevin day

A little bear he was given by his mum when he was born

It’s name was Exy LMFAO

He carried it around with him everywhere until Riko got annoyed with him once and ripped it

Nicky Hemmick

A cute little owl named hoot

He also carried it everywhere with him and acted as if it was real and had feelings, everytime it fell of the bed he’d kiss it and apologise

It’s still his pride and joy but he accidentally left it in Germany and every now and again Erik will send him a picture of it.

^^^ Erik carries ur around with him everywhere in his bag or pocket LMAO

Renee walker

A fuggler because she’s weird and I love fugglers

It was called rufus and was missing an eye for the LONGEST time

She doesn’t remember what happened to it but she stopped caring for toys younger than she should’ve

Allison Reynolds

A build a bear

She had an uncountable amount of clothes for it and the eyes + mouth has stains from times she tried doing its makeup

It’s name was twinkles and they would have princess tea parties

Matt Boyd

A bear his mum sent him for his birthday

He named it bear and always pretended to fight it for some reason

He forgot what happened to it but really his dad had thrown it out because ‘he didn’t know Matt still liked it’

Dan wilds

This weird goblin thing

It’s name was feefee and she put her own socks on it everyday

She couldn’t sleep without it until she was like thirteen

She doesn’t have it anymore because she gave it to a little girl she met who’s mother couldn’t afford Christmas presents

Seth Gordan

This fatass dog

It’s name was Robert and he absolutely adored it

He liked throwing it around and kicking it so it ended up being ripped or muddy all the time

One of his siblings hid it from him once and he gave up trying to find it after a week

[fantasiawandering]

I've been struggling a bit lately and could use some advice from the hivemind. It deals with a lot of the emotional baggage I've been trying to carry lately, so I'm putting it under a cut if you're not in the headspace for that sort of thing right now.

So the relevant backstory: Dad was in love with Mum since high school, and when she died, he went to pieces. My sister, who'd been living at home, helping take care of Mum through the cancer, basically put her grief on hold to keep Dad going through the next six months. Then, on the way home from Mum's memorial six months after her death, he told my sister he was seeing someone. He met her at work when he returned from bereavement leave. Now, I do understand this is a man who never learned how to handle his own emotions. He'd always had my grandmother, then my mother, to manage them for him. But in the next year, he did pretty much everything he could to drive both of his children away for a woman who bailed on him the moment the going got tough. Without getting into too much detail, my sister checked into an institution a while back because she was having some pretty dark thoughts about her own life, and her triggers were feeling like a burden to the family. Mum assured her she wasn't, and that she'd always have a home as long as she needed it. But as soon as that woman moved in and Dad didn't need my sister anymore, he started emotionally abusing and berating my sister, telling her what a burden she was every day until she had no choice but to leave. This was in the middle of the lockdowns. My sister landed with one of the greatest people in the world, and they're living in poverty but relatively happy. Because of this, Dad has convinced himself that not only did he do nothing wrong, he was actually a great Dad, making sure his disabled child developed independence.

But after multiple infections thanks to the woman he was living with (who believed that COVID was "just the sniffles" and vaccines were poison, and as long as they drank colloidal silver they'd be fine), Dad now believes he's developing dementia. His doctor thinks it's actually "pseudodementia," which apparently is mental health related. But Dad watched his mother lost to Alzheimer's and nothing scares him more. And the second colloidal silver and celery juice didn't cure him, the woman he'd moved into the house bounced.

Now Dad's scared. And he's been pressuring us to move in with him to take care of him. My sister will never trust him or put herself in that position again, and I'm of the same mind. He used to do similar to me when I lived there. Meanwhile, I'm still sick with a mystery disease that has no cure yet. I've got GP who actually believes in Long COVID, and a series of specialists I can get to in under 20 minutes. They're basically hacking away at the hydra heads of my symptoms until modern medicine figures out where the heart is. I'm still very much disabled. If I get ANY infection, my immune system goes berserk and starts doing the equivalent of firing a bazooka into a crowd in hopes of hitting whatever is off. I'm just coming off of about 2 months of throwing up at least once a day from the havoc it's wreaked on my digestive system. I can barely take care of myself, let alone another person, and if I moved three hours away to a small town with no public transit, at a time when there's a provincial crisis and NOBODY can find a new GP, not only would I lose my health network, but I'd be essentially housebound in a way I'm not in the city. I also know that I physically cannot handle a three-hour commute either way on days when I have to go in to work, so moving in would involve giving up the career I've been working toward for twenty years.

For all of these reasons, I said no. His siblings are coming at me with varying degrees of "it's your filial duty." None of them really understand just how sick I actually am, but I also don't think that would change things. And I feel guilty. Despite knowing that moving into a place with no infection control could make me bedbound or worse, and that I can't afford to be without a GP or a medical team, I feel like I've failed somehow. I love my Dad. But I can't take care of him and keep myself healthy at the same time. I've been doing what I can from here since he first started feeling like he was losing it. Every other day, I call him and read him a chapter of Sherlock Holmes, and he's told the rest of the family how much he enjoys it. And sometimes it's exhausting to read for that long, but I do it because he needs me and it's something I CAN do. I've also offered to help with his banking and things, but he's turned me down whenever I offer.

Now, since I said no, Dad has said that he wants to sell his house and move into a care community, and that what's holding him back is knowing if he did, there'd be nothing left for me and my sister when he's gone. And I don't think that's an attempt at manipulation, I genuinely believe he's concerned, because he knows how much we both struggle currently. But honestly, neither one of us was counting on getting anything anyway, and as much as we're still deeply hurt by what he did (he also threw my mother's remains away and then informed us in an add-on to an email forward, which broke me in a way I've never been broken before, and when my sister called him out on it, HE got mad and said "it was none of your business, this was between a husband and his wife."), we still want him safe and not alone and scared. We've both told him as much, and that neither of us are the kind of people who'd be sitting around going "raaah, how dare he spend our inheritance! Who does he think he is taking care of himself?"

But it's not an easy thing to deal with, especially given that I'm the one he's leaning on hardest -- I think even he realized he didn't just burn the bridge with my sister, he nuked it from orbit. I've been crying on and off for the last three days. And I don't know how to get myself out of it. Anyway, if you've made it this far, thank you. And yeah, that's what I'm dealing with as I try to drag myself out of this funk. So here's where the advice part comes in. I've been reflecting on a lot of things, and one of the conclusions I've come to is I need something to DO. I fill my days when I'm not working with movies and playing video games with my sister, but I think I need a physical hobby. Something to do with my hands. Something that lets me create things.

I've had to put a lot of what I used to do on hold. My brain still hasn't healed enough to write reliably. I started knitting, but COVID did something to my eyes, and when I look at the knitting for more than a minute or two, the rest of the world goes blurry and I can't see clearly again for another thirty minutes. I have similar problems with the beadwork I used to do. Anything that involves leaving the house is iffy due to my health, so it's got to be something I can do from home. So. Any ideas? What brings you joy?

[x-aefx]

Puppy Love - Bella Ramsey

Summary: whilst you have been busy with college, your brother has been looking after your dog for you. Finally you return home and get to meet his new best friend, and owner.

(the puppy in question is a Cavalier King Charles spaniel because they are the cutest!)

💌

Returning to your family home you were eagerly awaiting to reunite with Milo, and of course your family.

Exams were finally over and you now had more time for yourself. Usually you would spend your days cramming extra study and locked in your apartment. Sometimes going days without any real social interactions.

That was part of the reason you left Milo in the care of your family.

Milo was just a puppy, only a year old, and required a lot of attention. With studying, you couldn't provide that.

Knowing your younger brother, Steven, desperately wanted a dog and had plenty of free time, you knew Milo was in good hands.

Parking your car in the driveway, hastily you made your way to the front door. As you opened the front door you followed the sound of chatter and laughter, leading towards the garden.

Like you had expected your family sat around together on garden chairs spending quality time together. Glasses of white wine were left on the outside tables beside their chairs along with opened packets of crisps.

Your mother and father sat with their backs towards the living room, your father's arm laying on the back of the joined seat as he told tales from work. Your eldest sister, Lily, sat on her own individual chair rolling her eyes but listening intently to her dad's exaggerated stories.

The twins, Steven and Emma sat on a joint seat opposite Lily, drinking cans of soda as they made witty comments every now and then. Milo lay curled up on Steven's lap as he rested.

Walking through the living room the french double doors were open allowing you to quietly sneak up on your family.

Lily was the first to notice you. Her eyes widened briefly, she stood immediately from her seat approaching you with open arms.

"OH MY GOSH! Y/n! It's been ages!" She squealed, hugging you tightly.

You reciprocated the hug. You had always been closest to Lily ever since you were kids.

"I know! I've missed you all."

By now your entire family was standing around you, greeting you and pulling you into hugs.

"we missed you"

"how have you been!"

"have you met anyone?"

"come sit down!"

As everyone crowded around you, you tried answering all their questions, getting confused about who asked you what. A small, high pitched park silenced everyone, one by one everyone's eyes landed on Milo who stared up at you. Your mother and Emma stood a part allowing Milo to walk past them towards you.

Milo did so ecstatically. Running up to you he circled your feet a few times, barking happily with his tail swinging back and forth.

Your heart melted as you looked down at him. Crouching down you picked the small pup up and hugged him, kissing his head and scratching behind his ear as he liked.

"hi baby" you cooed.

Everyone settled down in the living room, sitting cozy on the couches as they watched tv. You were able to catch up with everyone, answer all their questions and ask your own. Milo was happily sitting on your lap, playing with his toy until he began getting restless. You looked down at him confused.

Steven noticed, "I usually take him for a walk around the park at this time. He loves it. His friend Skipper is usually there too"

You frowned but Milo's attention was caught at the sound of skipper's name.

"Whose dog is Skipper?"

Steven shrugged, "i don't know them very well. Their names Bella. We just make small talk as the dogs play."

You looked back down at Milo.

"wanna go see Skipper then Milo?" You smiled.

Milo leaped off your lap as he ran to the front door.

"No! You have jobs to apply to mister!" Your mother warned once she saw Steven standing up.

"but mum-"

"no. You've put it off long enough."

Steven sighed but didn't argue further.

Getting Milo on his lead, you two walked peacefully down the quiet street. Small Worlds by Mac Miller was playing in your earpods. The sky was a lovely pink and orange colour.

Since the park wasn't far from your family's home you made it there quickly.

Walking down the path you reach an empty circular field that seemed to go on forever, with only you and Milo along with another stranger and their dog.

Crouching down you took Milo's lead of him once he started getting excited and eager to run off. The minute the lead was off Milo began sprinting faster than you have ever seen him before, towards the stranger.

You presumed this was the stranger your brother was telling you about, Bella and Skipper.

You walked over to them. Bella didn't notice you approaching. They crouched down and happily gave Milo a few pats, though Skipper demanded attention too.

"so this is who Milo was so excited to see?" You made yourself known. Bella quickly looked up at the sound of your voice. They blinked a few times registering your words before smiling up at you. They stood up to face you.

"you are correct." They smiled sheepishly, "I hope you don't mind. Skipper really loves Milo."

You shook your head, "of course not. I'm y/n." You introduced yourself.

"Bella."

Skipper and Milo began running off, though still in view of Bella and you. It was quiet for awhile as the two of you watched them play.

"Are you looking after Milo for Steven?" Bella began small talk.

"oh no, Milo is mine. I left him with my family to look after for a while whilst I was busy with college." You explained. You assumed that Steven had claimed Milo as his own, something you expected since he often claimed that he loved him more than you.

"Ah." Bella nodded along. "What are you studying."

"fashion design." You answered proudly.

Bella smiled in thought, "maybe you could design me an outfit sometime." They teased.

"I would absolutely love that."

Bella was wearing knee length red shorts, a yellow, blue and red flannel with a white shirt underneath and sunglasses pushed up on their head. You liked their style.

The two of you walked over to one of the park benches, sitting side by side as Milo and Skipper fought over a stick twice their size.

"What about you? Are you in college?" You began a conversation.

"I'm currently doing a course in environmental science."

You pretended to know what that entailed.

As you studied their face a spark of familiarity hit you. You tried and tried to search your mind as to where you might recognise them from. You failed.

"where do you study?" You asked thinking maybe you've seen them around college.

"it's an open University module. So I don't go to college, I do it online." They explained. By now Bella and you had turned your bodies so that you were facing each other.

"oh." You frowned.

"what? Is that not good enough?" They joked, raising their brows in challenge.

You realised your mistake and shook your head and scrambled out an apology, hoping you didn't offend their feelings.

"No-no that wasn't what I meant, I promise! I would never-"

Bella's laugh cut you off.

"relax, I was kidding." They had a gleam in their eyes as they laughed at your distressed state.

You sucked in a breath of relief.

"I just thought I recognised you and thought maybe I've seen you around college." You mumbled in embarrassment. You diverted your eyes to Milo and Skipper. Both dogs now had sticks of their own in their mouths, still twice their size.

Bella's face went blank for a moment, they continued staring at you, whilst you watched the dogs.

"Do you recognise me from somewhere?" They spoke up hesitantly.

You glanced back at Bella, looking at them suspiciously.

"Am I supposed to recognise you from somewhere?" You shot back.

"Do you think you're supposed to recognise me from somewhere?" Bella said again.

"Do you think I'm supposed to recognise you from somewhere?"

Your lips cracked into a smile as you continued speaking in riddles.

"I'm an actor." They said, watching your face for any reaction.

You thought back to every show and movie you had ever watched. Then you imagined Bella in those shows until you figured out what you had seen them in. You were sure you had seen them before.

You gasped, turned to Bella and recognised them immediately.

"I HAVE SEEN YOU BEFORE!" you cheered after finally figuring it out.

"the last of us?" They assumed confidently.

"The Worst Witch!"

How could you have been so blind? That show was your childhood.

"the worst Witch seriously?" Bella laughed in disbelief.

"obviously I've seen game of thrones and Catherine called Birdy, but your hair was way way longer." You shrugged.

"i can't believe the worst Witch is the first thing to come to mind." They say back on the bench, looking over at the pups. You knew they were only joking from the smile on their face.

You gave Bella a nudge of your shoulder.

"it was a pretty great show from what I remember."

Bella's head turned to face you, "oh was it?" They teased.

The sound of small paws running up towards you caught your attention. Skipper and Milo were racing up the field, occasionally their sticks hitting off each other as they ran with them in their mouths.

You covered your mouth with one hand to hide your laugh.

As Milo approached you he dropped his stick at your feet. Skipper doing the same for Bella.

"where did you even find that big of a stick?" You questioned examining the stick from the ground.

Milo wagged his tail proudly. You scratched behind his ear as Bella lifted Skipper up into their arms.

"I think that's enough fun for one day." Bella looked between Milo and their own dog.

You nodded your head in agreement.

"I'll see you around?" You asked hopefully.

"definitely." Bella said without missing a beat.

It was silent as you two stared at each other.

Aware of the time you reluctantly got ready to leave.

You knew your face was beginning to turn red, biting your lip you hoped it wasn't obvious.

"bye Bella" you waved shyly.

Bella giggled, "bye y/n, by Milo."

Mentally you thanked Steven for bringing Milo to the park and Milo for making friends with Skipper. You would definitely be going to the park more often.

[midoriima]

family line | ushijima wakatoshi

[!!!] toxic/physically & emotionally abusive mother, (fem! she/her) reader is a parent-child, mentions of scars & bruises, implications of r@p3. ib maquia: when the promised flower blooms, read at your own discretion cos it might hit close to home, this is kinda a vent after all.

There was nothing special in particular about this evening. Wakatoshi had just finished washing up and is now getting ready to drift off to sleep, as you are in the next room, but when his head hits his pillows, he begins to remember a few blurry memories.

"He is your responsibility! Your ___ is your responsibility so you have to take care of him because I'm busy!" You'd told him he hit his head really hard one time when he was younger, hence why he can't remember the exact words, voices, or faces, but one thing he remembered with that statement was he saw you.

He'd remembered this a few times, but only now did he realize that he did see you. He was very small compared to you but one thing that didn't sit right with him everytime he thought about it was that you looked young.

He always brushed it off as, 'she must have had me when she was young,' but now that he can remember a little clearly, you looked incredibly young and it disturbed him. You looked weak, covered in scars and bruises here and there, and while you were "matured," you definitely did not look like one.

Was she... no, he shook his head, anything but those assumptions, if it ever were the case, he's not sure he'd be able to keep his hands from ruining whoever did it.

He thought some more, it was future schoolwork but he didn't want to stress himself out with it. But right as he closed his eyes, tears fell. Ah, another memory,

You were dressing him up in nightclothes, you carried him on one arm, turned the lights off and tucked yourselves into the comfy sheets of the bed. It was a rather cold night. It was always at least a little chilly every night but this particular night was cold.

"---, I'm cold..." His younger self complained, shivering and curling into a ball, his forehead hitting your shoulder and when he feels the warmth of your body, he inches closer, expecting you to embrace him.

For some reason, he just can't seem to remember what he called you. Surely it had to be 'mum,' because what else?

"Oh! Then, can we cuddle? Only if you're alright with it. I can always get more blankets." He shook his head at your response, "cuddles, please." And that's what happened.

He remembers how he would always crave your attention. Your praises and affection always got him going, that's why he always smiled with you. But he gets angry when you get hurt and also cry when you cry, trying to comfort you like you do with him as streams of tears slowly fall and sobs escape his lips.

I'm very lucky my mother is a good one, he thinks to himself in the midst of reminiscing. You weren't perfect, of course, but unlike other mothers, all the good things you've done for him overwhelms your mistakes as his parent figure.

About to drift off to dreamland, he ponders once more,

Who's his dad? Where is he now? What happened with you? Why did he leave? Or, at least, why is he not here with you?

These questions got him staying up a little later. He wonders how young you two might have been when you had him if you looked that young in his memories. Or maybe you just looked really young?

That said, you always avoided telling him your age. He's sure he's the only son in this galaxy who doesn't know the age of his mother. And that said, why do you avoid it?

He thinks you might really have been young and were too ashamed, he guessed, to say because you might think his attitude towards you would shift once he knew but he reassured you in his own thoughts that he wasn't going to do that.

@midoriima i don't remember the exact details of how i wanted this to go nor do i remember why i wrote this or what message i wanted to to convey but i do remember this was written as a way to vent in the form of fanfic and not entirely alike what i felt or experienced at that time.

also, go check out more on my masterlists cos these partial works are open for any continuation or derivatives, etc. but on one condition: ask permission 🤗 that's allll

[extremelyblackandwhite]

the price of power - 01

pairing: mob boss!sebastian stan x wife!reader

warnings: swearing, mentions of organised crime and violence

masterlist

Y/N had convinced herself as a young girl not to believe in happy endings, or to believe in them in normal circumstances. At least, not the whole story of the prince coming in saving the damsel in distress and galloping into the sunset. Yet, despite all odds, she found herself happily in love, living in the city of love with who she swore was the best baby someone could have. Life pretty much had developed into a fairytale for her, things were good and even if she thought for a long time, she couldn’t figure out anything she wanted. However, no one told her on her wedding night how to actually be what she had signed up to be. 

     - Hey, you gonna serve or you afraid to lose? - her half-brother called out to her, his racket in hand. 

     - You talk too much, Dan! - she rolled her eyes, throwing up the ball in the air before hitting it with the racket. 

She’d taken up tennis as a suggestion from her husband, well, kind-of. Things over the past year had been complicated, going back to normal and adjusting to a life she’d spent her whole life witnessing from the side-lines wasn’t something easy. Gwen had the training, Gwen knew how a wife of a mob boss should behave, knew how an heiress should behave, what to wear, where to go, how to seek and how to protect herself. Y/N did not. Sure, she’d watched it happen, she’d heard about it and god knows she’d heard Gwen complain about it but now it was her life. All of the danger and the moral and ethical code was now something she suddenly had to master while Gwen jet set around the globe. On top of all that, she had her son and learning to become a mum was something new to her as all. Sebastian did what he could, he guided her through all he could but even he had to admit that some things were just, well, some things were just instilled in you. He’d always tell her that he was raised for the job, it comes naturally to him. Funny how she used to consider that a disadvantage. 

Tennis had just been a way for her to find a normal hobby to do, away from the house. She’d usually bring Nate in his baby carrier and play against one of the ladies in the country club or one of the trainers, but today her brother had decided to visit. He’d told her it was to see his nephew and his sister, but Y/N knew better to believe those were the sole reasons. She did know one thing and that was Dan. She knew he was here because he cared but she knew he was also here at the hand of their father. 

      - So, how’s your husband? - and there it was, her suspicions confirmed. It always started like this, like a carefully crafted dance where he attempted to bring up Sebastian as smoothly as possible. 

      - Good. - she replied with a shrug, hitting the ball with the racket once more.

      - How so?

      - If you want to ask about the job, ask about the job, Dan. Although, you’d be better off asking him than me. 

      - You know how cagey your husband can get. He’d soon tell me his blood type than anything about the business. 

      - Maybe dad should ask him. - she smiled sarcastically. - After all, it is dad who wants to know, isn’t it?

      - Can you blame him for worrying about his kid? - he shot back. - The man finally gets to tell you you’re his kid and you get married, knocked up and move to Paris? At least let him worry. 

      - He’s not worried, he just doesn’t like him. 

      - He is worried and it’s not like Sebastian makes it any easier. You’d think he’d be more open to actually sharing considering you’re his wife and one day you’re gonna fill his shoes.

     - One very distant day. 

     - All I’m saying is, it wouldn’t hurt for him to share with dad what he’s doing every once in a while. Or share it with you.

     - You know ... - she put her racket down. - Next time you say you wanna see your nephew, you might wanna talk about him a lot more before moving onto Sebastian. 

She looked over to the corner of the caged tennis court where she had laid the baby comforter. Nate liked being in the sun, he enjoyed the sounds of the balls hitting the rackets and the grass and would usually doze off after one or two matches. These days he was the one who brought her some sense of normalcy, the sense of having a family which matched the one in 80s sitcoms and parenting books. 

      - You do have an adorable kid. - he sighed. - Can hardly believe half of it came from your husband. 

      - Maybe our family just has really strong adorable genes. 

      - I think that’s just you, sis. You know I’ll go bald just like dad in a few years. That if your husband doesn’t speed up the process. 

      - Sometimes I think you two just like bickering. 

      - Well, sometimes, I think you just like watching us bicker. 

      - It ... - the words died in her throat as she noticed a series of black cars pull up. Odd.

Dan had the same thought, crossing over to her side of the court and following her to the corner where Nate was. She recognised those cars, they belonged to Sebastian and as that thought dawned on her, her heart seemed to stop beating and that buzz which accompanied her frequent anxiety attacks settled in her ears. Men who she equally recognised moved down and towards the court with neutral faces and she hadn’t noticed she had started moving away from them until her back hit her brother’s chest. 

     - Mrs Stan we need to go. - the first one on the court spoke but it didn’t register on her. All her brain could compute about was Sebastian. Was he okay? Why were all these men here? - We need to go. 

     - What’s going on? - Dan spoke up, his arm wrapped protectively around her sister. 

     - We need to go, it’s not safe. 

She wasn’t sure when or how she’d gotten in the car and hadn’t completely come to her senses until it sped up down the road. She looked inside the baby carrier, unbuckling her son from the little chair and bringing him instinctively against her chest before turning to Dan. He didn’t know what to do or how to react, instead he just smiled at her, attempting to calm down his sister but that didn’t appear to work. Her hold tightened against her son, her fingers twiddling with the fabric of his onesie as they brought her back to her house. She didn’t want the door to open, she didn’t want to see what awaited her, she couldn’t ... she didn’t want to see it if it was bad and like a bad joke, her mind could only replay him shot on the ground. She couldn’t ... no, he couldn’t. They would’ve told her, right? They would’ve told her. 

One of the men opened the door for her and she struggled to step in, only doing so when her brother held her hand. Inside, the home looked exactly like she’d left it and as she turned her head towards the living room, she spotted her husband on the phone, walking in circles. Her breathe returned to her in a wave, her heart rate decreasing as she attempted not to cry out of relief that he was ok. He turned his head to meet her, dropping his phone to the ground and rushing to his wife. 

     - Are you alright? - he cupped her face, inspecting it for anything different than the one he’d woken up to this morning. - You’re okay. You’re okay. Nate ok? 

She wasn’t sure if he was speaking to her or if he was reassuring himself. 

     - What’s going on? - Dan crossed his arms. - Just sent your whole army of gorillas to get us and they don’t even say a fucking word?

     - None of your fuckin’ business, Daniel.

     - Seb. - she whispered, holding his hand. - It’s fine, we’re fine. What’s wrong?

    - It’s your dad, angel. 

She should’ve known good thing don’t last for very long. 

////////////////////////

taglist: @buckysteveloki-me​

[heyidkyay]

I guess I’ll take this pain, instead of your name |

Part Twenty-Four - Part B

A/n: Hey, Part B is finally here!! It was a struggle to write but I'm so grateful to know that a lot of you were looking forward to it! Means so much. Again, like the previous part, this will be a collection of flashbacks! Please read the warnings on this one! Hope you enjoy x

Summary: In life, things changed. The boys you'd once grown up with were men now, and famous ones at that. The type that toured the world and had millions of adoring fans.

The five of you shared a shit ton of history. But you also shared a lot of mixed emotions for one of them in particular, a certain drummer.

Warnings: Lots of swearing as per usual, talks and acts of violence, abuse and sexual assault mentioned, description of sick/blood

Masterlist

“London?”

I nodded, eyes fixed firmly on the hands I held in my lap.

“London?!” Matty exclaimed again, only louder this time. He’d stopped pacing to stare down at me. The rest of the boys who had gathered on the sofa were all strangely quiet.

“Yeah, Matty. London.”

“The fuck she want to send you there for?” He argued back, and although I knew his anger wasn’t directed towards me, rather the situation at hand, I still couldn’t quite look him in the eye. 

Things at home had gotten… worse. Not that I’d ever let them know. And although I didn’t want to leave the lads for the summer, I didn’t think I could handle staying there another second longer.

“My nan’s down there. Reckons it’ll be good for me, to get away.” I told him in reply, unable to help the small shrug I gave before I begun biting at a loose thumbnail, “It’ll only be for a week or so.”

“But, but what about the EP? And our gigs!” Matty fought back and, honestly, I was all too thankful for the moment when I heard Hann intercept the start of what would only be another long spiel.

“It’s not like she can really tell her mum no, mate. Besides, it’s like she said, it won’t be for long. We’ll still have the rest of the summer.”

Hann looked around at the rest of the boys, hoping to see their nods. He sighed when Matty only continued on, as though he hadn’t even said a word.

“You can stay here! Lou’ll be in Spain with Dad, Mum’s still filming so she won’t even notice- not that she’d mind.” Matty started to plan, glancing towards the rest of the room for some sort of approval. “It’s a good idea, ain’t it? That way, we can all still be together.”

I exhaled, not quite a sigh, “And what do I tell my mum, when my nan phones her up and asks why I’m not there?”

Matty groaned in agitation. “Tell her to piss off! And that you’re spending the summer with your mates.”

I wish it was as easy as that.

“Matt.” Ross cut in with a certain gruffness that made Matty pause. Ross turned towards me afterwards but I couldn’t force myself to look back at him, eyes trained somewhere to the left of his head.

Ross wasn’t stupid, I knew that much. In fact, none of the boys were. But Ross was also obnoxiously observant, more so than most, and I knew that during the last few months he’d been taking notice of more things than not. He was catching on. Brushing off my excuses. Listening to the lies I weaved into truths and narrowing his eyes. He knew something was up.

“B,” He called to me- short for George’s nickname I supposed, but he hardly ever used it. My eyes skitted between his own, then away again in fear he’d be able to see it all written as plain as day across my face. “Listen, if you wanna go down to London, then go. Ignore this twat-“ Matty squawked indignantly. “The band stuff, the gigs, they’ll all still be here when you get back.” The ‘we’ll still be here’ went unsaid, but it was heard. “Only a few weeks, just like you said. If your mum wants you down there, must be a reason, ey?”

I wiggled my jaw. If only it was that simple, I thought, but simply shrugged again. “‘Spose.”

“What, so you actually wanna go?” Matty cut in, looking almost betrayed, always one for the dramatics. “Just leave us here, when everything’s finally fallin’ into place?”

I frowned at him, “No, I don’t wanna go. But-” I don’t want to stay in that house any longer.

“Exactly! Just tell her that then, babe!” Matty rushed out before I could even think of an end to that sentence, “She’ll understand, let you stay, and then we can have the entire summer, yeah?”

He was grinning so wide, it was hard to do anything but just nod in defeat. Ross and Hann shook their heads at him as they huffed and drew themselves up onto their feet.

“Alright, can we get to startin’ practice now then or is this family meeting still happening?” Hann not so subtly suggested, quirking a brow at the lot of us. I was just grateful for the opportunity to cut my loses and run, Ross was already moving over towards the amp, and Matty was nodding his hasty agreement.

“Gonna grab some drinks first though.” The curly haired singer added, and he darted out of the garage before Hann could stop him. I chuckled under my breath at Adam’s pained expression and settled further into the settee, making myself comfortable there. It was then that I caught George’s eye though and he jerked his head over towards the driveway, a quiet indication.

I chewed on the inside of my lip before I ultimately nodded, holding back a sigh. He got up first and then I followed, ignoring Hann’s exasperated huff and the lingering look I felt from Ross.

I thought that’d been it, the London topic dropped. But luck was never on my side and even though I had no idea what George would possibly have to say on the subject, I could see that he’d been far too quiet in there. Something was coming.

He wandered a way away from the garage door, slipping round the side of the house and towards the garden gate before he finally stopped, pausing to settle against the low brick wall there. It was a place we often favoured whenever we wanted a breath away from the others, sheltered by overhanging trees and bushes, you could sort of feel invisible there.

George was quiet even as he tugged an already opened pack from his jean pocket and plucked a cigarette from its case. On impulse I pulled out my lighter and flicked it open for him, lighting the end like I usually did.

“How’s Steven doing?” He asked rather abruptly, so much so that a wad of spit caught in the back of my throat at the question and I had to fight not to choke.

“Why the fuck are you asking me that?” I retorted, swallowing harshly and catching my breath.

He didn’t look at me, eyes hard and focused on the opposing wall. He shrugged a shoulder lazily, but I knew better. “You never mentioned London.”

“And what the hell has my mum’s dick of a boyfriend got to do with London?” I sputtered back heatedly, already knowing the answer.

George levelled me with a look and inhaled slowly, gaze finding mine.

“You know what.”

I scowled and folded my arms promptly across my chest. “Fuck you.”

He rolled his eyes at my reaction and billowed out a breath of smoke above us, handing me the fag in quiet offering. I shook my head. He sighed.

“I thought-”

He tried, but I quickly shut him down, “Fuck what you thought, you don’t know a thing.”

George held a single hand up in mock surrender, ash falling with it. I steeled my gaze on the thick cement tiles below us.

“Not claiming to, Birdie.” George said in his usual tone, unaware of what that nickname of his did to me. “But I know something’s up. Reckon the guys are noticing things too.”

I rubbed the curve of my arm subconsciously, knowing there was truth in his words.

“What do you want me to say?” I asked exhaustedly, all the fight I typically had had been drained from me. 

The question had been mostly rhetorical, but George wasn’t the type to care. “The truth.” He answered and I could feel his stare trained on me now.

“The truth?” I scoffed tiredly, the bitten flesh of cheek I so often ground between my teeth was scarred, bumpy as I pressed my tongue to it and thought the whole thing over.

‘Truth’ was something we’d taken to using for a while now, in the buzzing hum of our frequented cafe, within the confines of the shed at the end of my garden, sprawled on his bedsheets whilst getting high. It’d started after a small falling out I’d had with Vicky a few months prior and had continued on almost unconsciously.

Now though, I didn’t know what to tell him, what truth to acknowledge. What he wanted to hear.

George mimicked the low hum I made, cigarette pressed between his lips but otherwise unmoving. “Who’s idea was London then?”

“His.”

We both knew who I was talking about.

“Right.” George nodded once, “She just agreed then?”

She, being my mum. I dipped my chin, a silent confirmation.

His thumb was tapping away at the jut of his knee now, a rhythmic tic I often stilled with a hand covering his own. I couldn’t find it in myself to reach out and touch him now though.

“Why’s he want you gone?”

In truth, I really didn’t know. Maybe I’d gotten too much. Perhaps he’d gotten fed up.

“Think he has better things in mind than having me hang ‘round all summer.”

“You want to go?”

I let his question hang there for a moment. I was toeing two sides of the line with my answer. To go would be easier on everyone, I’d see my Nana, get to explore a whole other city, and have the chance to escape them. But being away also meant leaving the boys.

George didn’t mind not hearing my verbal reply, I think he already knew my answer. He just wanted to be sure of it. He went on, “My mum’s back in town next week.”

A truth for a truth.

“You never mentioned it.” I said, picking at a fraying edge on my denim shorts.

He gave a slow shrug, “You never mentioned London.”

“Only found out a couple days ago.” He raised a brow in return, thinning his lips. I sighed, “Alright, I should’ve said something sooner but I was thinking it over.”

George hummed, “Dad only told me this mornin’.”

Maybe that’s why he’d been so reserved since we’d met up. The whole way to Matty’s he’d barely spoken a word, but I’d been overly anxious, knowing I was planning to tell them about London, which meant that I’d been talking a mile a minute- an attempt I often used to cover it. 

“What are you gonna do?” I asked him, peering up at his solemn features through a lock of fallen hair. 

“What I always do. Stay out of her way.” He told me honestly before he took a longer drag. I watched his chest rise with it, observed how his eyes fluttered slightly. He was always so interesting to watch.

“Could come to London with me. Hide out there.” I offered and was met with the slight quirk to his mouth, he was amused by my words. “I’m serious!” I reiterated and bumped a shoulder against his arm, “Me and you. Together. Nana loves strays.”

George just laughed at that and I couldn’t help the soft smile I made at the sound. “Sod off.” He told me around a chuckle, “London does sound nice though, be good for you I reckon.”

“For us.” I insisted, the idea fully lodging its way into my brain now. “Come on, G. Don’t you think it’d be fun?”

“Yeah sure, but the wrath Matty would rain down on us fucking won’t be.” George snorted, shaking his head at me softly.

“So?” I pestered again, shuffling round on the wall to face him properly, shin pressing against his outer thigh. He glanced down at it and then away, inhaling again. “I can phone her when I get in,”

“Phone who?” George interrupted just as my fingers found the flannel he’d thrown on that same morning. I toyed with it, rolling my eyes.

“My Nana! Keep up.” I huffed at him, “I’ll phone her, ask if she’d be okay with you coming along too and you can just tell the guys you’re being held hostage by your mum, she wants family time, forcing you to go and see an aunt or summat.”

George was wearing this barely there smirk, one I recognised as a crack in his usual stoic resolve. I was wearing him down.

“Think about it, G… You can avoid your mum and waste half your summer away with me.”

I raised my brows at him, hopeful, but he just stared back at me.

“And what would I tell my dad, my mum?” He retorted, finally stubbing out the end of his cigarette and flicking the butt of it into the soil behind us.

“Tell your dad we’re going camping. All of us. And we can leave before your mum gets in.” I explained, in full out planning mode now. I could see it all coming together in my head and tugged on the cuff of his sleeve in excitement. “Come on, G. Please? Be our little secret.”

George’s gaze trailed over my face, his expression as serious as my own. “You really mean it, don’t you?”

I tilted my head, confused by his sentiment. “Of course I do. If I could, I’d take you everywhere with me. It’s us against the world, G. Always.”

He cracked the tiniest of smiles, an action I knew he had no control over, and it only seemed to grow as I matched it. I had him.

“So we’re really doing this then?” He breathed out in amused disbelief. I nodded with a painfully large grin as I wrapped my arms around his neck, leaning in closer.

“Best believe it.” I replied just as he knocked his forehead against mine. Both of us unable to bite back our smiles.

“London.” George whispered.

“London.” I mimicked, marvelling at the very idea of it.

To think, I’d been dreading this entire conversation. How things so quickly changed.

And change they would…

—

“Yeah, yeah!” I prattled away, hardly holding back my anticipation. 

I’d been back barely five minutes before I’d hurried over to the landline, having snuck in through the back gate and shuffled up the drainpipe to my bedroom. I’d waited until I heard the front door slam then made a run for it, scurrying down the stairs and almost throwing the phone off its hook in my hurry. I had half hour until mum was due back from wherever she usually pissed off to, and didn’t have to worry about Old Steven seeing me as he’d just left for the pub.

“‘Course I’m excited, Nana. Haven’t seen you in ages!” I told the older woman, warmly, through the phone, twirling the chord around my finger as I did. 

She was rambling away now, had been ever since I’d said hello. She’d been gruff in her answer at first, having thought I was one of those poxy telemarketers she could often never shake, but was over the moon to know it’d been me once she’d heard my voice. 

Apparently she was rather excited to know that I was coming down to visit, though she hadn’t heard a word of it until I’d brought it up then- fucking mum. Still, she told me she’d set up the spare room and let my aunt know too, she sounded just as pleased as me. It was then that I thought it best to try and bring up George.

“Aunt Del will be so pleased to see you, love. Have to cook up something proper for when you arrive too, won’t I?” 

I smiled fondly at her voice, her heavy accent so different to mine. “Don’t have to go to too much trouble for me, nan.”

“Oh bugger off, you daft cow! My granddaughter’s comin’ to see me, I’ll do as I please.” Nana scoffed and I bit back a giggle.

“Alright.” I appeased her, then she asked what day I’d be heading off. I thought it over for a second, knowing that G’s mum was due back Sunday night, so that morning probably gave us enough time to set off and make the train. “Sunday, Nana.” I replied and she hummed, but before she could say anything in actual reply I was quick to mention the deal-breaker. “Actually Nana, whilst I still have you, I um, I was meant to ask you something. Just, I don’t want to put you out or nothing…”

“Sweet, you’d best spit whatever ask you have out ‘fore you swallow your own tongue. I ain’t gettin’ any younger and the days ain’t gettin’ any longer. So out with it.” She demanded. She was just as I remembered, headstrong to a fault and overly blunt. The woman said what she pleased and if you didn’t like that then you’d simply have to deal with it, nowt to do with her.

I huffed a mirthful chuckle, “Sorry.”

“None of that now, sunshine. Tell me what you’re after.”

“See, I have this friend…”

“Oh, a friend, is it? Let me guess, this friend of yours, they headed down my way too?” She never missed a thing that woman, I’ll give her that.

“Might be.”

Nana laughed and I could hear her shuffling about, probably in the kitchen from the sound of pots clinking in the background. “Just like your father, I tell you. Cheek on the pair of ya.”

My heart caught at her words, no one spoke of my dad. To hear that I was similar to him in any way, well that paused my whirling mind for a split second. 

Though to my Nana, it had just been an off handed comment, a slip of the tongue, because she was already breezing on by whilst I fought to catch up.

“Tell me about this friend of yours then. They nice? Treat you well?” Nana pestered, last she knew of my life here up North was my closeness with Vicky and my lingering eyes which were often casted towards her older brother, Jamie. How things had changed.

I smiled at the questions and thought of George. He was a hard person to describe in truth. There wasn’t a thing I disliked about him. There were things that annoyed me about him, sure- he was one of few people who knew exactly what buttons to press- but describing George, well it sort of felt like describing myself. That, plus, I didn’t want to give too much away.

“He’s nice, Nana.”

She hummed and I heard the sweet drawl to it, as though she was grasping at something. The sound made me flush a tad. “He’s nice, is he?”

Put my foot right in it there. Could’ve tried getting away with it by being vague, have her think it was a girl ’til George’s ginormous self gangled his way through her door, but nope.

“Yup.” I popped back, too far gone to backtrack now. 

My feelings towards George were honestly a confusing mountain of mess, but they had yet to make me force him away. Hearing my nan allude to something of the like did not help at all.

“Hm, and he’s wantin’ to follow after you, is he? Down ‘ere to see little old me.”

I shook my head even though she couldn’t see. “It were my idea. I-”

She stopped me short, “No need to explain, dove. He sounds like a very nice friend, this boy. One you’d like to keep near I assume?” I hummed noncommittally and could hear her devious smile, “Handsome is he?”

“Nana.” I droned out, regretting ever having even mentioned it now. Should’ve just surprised her, at least then she wouldn’t be teasing me like this. Actually, scrap that. That was a complete lie. She so fucking would.

“‘Course he can come along, love.” She allowed, relenting with her teasing a tad, or so I thought. “Just got the one spare room though, so if you don’t mind putting up with him for a couple nights… or I ‘spose I could just make up the sofa.”

“Whatever’s easiest for you, Nana. And thank you. I,” I inhaled slowly, the sound sharp in the quiet of the house, “I really do appreciate it, you putting me up and that.”

“Nonsense. Always worryin’ ‘bout you up there, that mother of yours never phones.” Nana tutted. If she only knew that half of it, I thought to myself. “But anyway darlin’, there’s nothin’ to thank me for, only way you could is with a pack of Rothmans Blue- Superking, mind.”

I snorted to myself, “Consider it done. Sunday paper, too?”

“Oh, you know me so well. Daily mail, none of that other shite.”

I mouthed the last few words as she spoke them, knowing that they’d be coming, and grinned when I was right. 

“‘Course not.” I said with a smile, “If you need anything else picking up, call this time Saturday, yeah?”

“You got a schedule or somethin’ there, lovie?” Nana joked, laughing lightly even as my own smile faltered slightly.

“Something like that.” I murmured, then thought I heard the key turn in the front door. 

My head snapped towards the sound, sheltering the phone against my shoulder to listen in closer. 

Yeah, someone was definitely home. 

Wary, I hurried to say my goodbyes, “Listen Nana, think that’s mum headed in now with the shopping. I’d best go and help her.”

“Shoppin’? This late?” Nana questioned but I was already standing, bouncing from foot to foot, praying to every star in the night sky that it was mum and not Steven.

“Yeah, she had a late shift tonight. Is that alright, Nana? I’ll call before I leave Sunday, okay?”

I was fretting now, heart racing as the door hinges begun to squeak.

“‘Course it is, love. Say hello to your mum too, won’t ya, sweetheart? And I’ll see you Sunday.”

“I will, love you.” I rushed out and was left with the beginnings of a smile when I heard her parrot it back to me. I hung up just as the front door slammed closed and jumped towards the kitchen sink like a trapeze artist would a free-falling rope. More than grateful to see that there were a few cups littering the basin.

I was washing up just as she walked in, I heard her paused in the archway, probably surprised to see me down here.

“What you doin’ that for?” She asked me and I glanced over my shoulder, holding back a shaky breath whilst I flashed her smile.

“Just thought I’d be helpful, mum.” I replied and turned back to the task at hand to subtly release the balloon of air that’d been swelling in my chest.

She hummed indifferently and tossed her purse down onto the kitchen table, “Steve in?”

I shook my head, “Wasn’t here when I got back.” Liar.

“Right.” She worked her jaw, staring off into space before she headed over towards the fridge, plucking up a cider. “Gonna run a bath, back’s been killin’ me. You alright to make your own tea?”

I swallowed back the hollow laugh that wanted to escape me, I always fixed my own tea. Did everything myself. “Yeah, mum.” I told her instead of voicing that though, choosing not to glance her way again.

“Right.” She repeated and then I heard nothing for a few beats before her feet were wandering out of the kitchen again and up the stairs.

I let myself slump against the counter as I listened to her disappear, hands covered in soap duds and not caring for the water that dripped its way down my forearm. I let my eyes fall close for a brief minute. That’d been too close for my liking.

—

I told George of the talk I’d had with my nan, along with the plan, the next day. We’d leave about nine, Sunday morning, to try and make it to London before the rush of lunch, and my Aunt Del would then pick us up from the station soon after.

We’d been sat on the school playing fields, waiting for the rest of the guys. Just lazing about there, seeing as we only had a couple days before school finally let out. Days like these were always the best kind though, when the teachers gave up on teaching us anything and just stuck a film on. Hoping it’d quiet our ever growing excitement. Did it fuck.

“I didn’t think you were being serious!” George exclaimed with a light laugh once I’d finally finished, eyes wide as he glanced down at me. I was sprawled out on the grass, head in his lap.

“Of course I fucking was! Do you not know me at all?” I replied in the same tone he’d used, titling my head back to exaggerate my own eyes. “We said it! We agreed!”

“So? I said I’d pull the plug on Matty’s life support machine if he ever ended up braindead, don’t mean I’ll actually do it.” George snorted right back, hands toying with the ends of my hair.

“Well, he’s not far off, is he?” I teased, even though Matty wasn’t around to hear. “And besides, I’m not Matty. I’m me. And you,” I exaggerated, pointing a finger up at him, “can’t say no to a face like this.”

“When d’you get so vain, ey?” Was all that George replied. I rolled my eyes and huffed.

“Please, G. Nana’s excited to meet you now. Can’t let her down, can you? Imagine what it’ll do to her poor old heart.”

He dragged a thumb across my lip, wiping the pout I wore right off my face. The surprising action didn’t deter me though, neither did the sickening butterflies I felt.

“Heartless heathen. Just watch this space,” I told him in false seriousness, “See when I turn up all alone and she’s devastated. So utterly heartbroken.”

“Oh shut up, would you?” George huffed, tugging on a strand of my hair and rolling his eyes at my scowl. “I’ll go.” My face quickly morphed and I knew he saw it when he leant in closer to cut off whatever I’d been about to say, our noses a breath apart. “But, only if you help me break it to the boys- my dad as well.”

I mulled it over, “I could do that.”

“You say that now.” He chuckled down at me, brown eyes dancing between my own before he pulled away and glanced over to see the boys headed our way.

To say that the rest of the band had taken the news of George’s departure easily was an utter lie. As expected, Matty had gone off on one, all grumpy and disheartened. Hann had sighed, but said that they could put off any recording sessions for a week or so. And Ross had just sat there grinning lazily at us like a overweight cat stretched out in the sun, unbothered by it but also looking a little too smug for my liking. 

I’d narrowed my eyes at him but said nothing.

George’s dad on the other hand was a whole other story.

I’d only met the man twice. Once when he’d caught me up in George’s bedroom, splayed out on the floor after having fallen out of a handstand his son had dared me into. Then a second time in the supermarket on the high street, I’d been grabbing food for the house seeing as no one else could be bothered, and he’d been on the phone to someone or other, heatedly whispering away. We’d caught each others eye, gave a strange awkward wave, then sped off down separate aisles. 

I’d been mortified both times. Not the best impression to have left on anyone, let alone your mate’s dad.

Still, I’d agreed to help and so now here I was. Sat in George’s kitchen, him at the stove, me perched by the table, both of us waiting for his dad to come home from work.

I was biting at my knuckle nervously, eyes trained on the door, George swatted my arm when he finally noticed, passing by me to pull a pack of pasta from out of the cupboard. “Why’re you so worked up? He’s harmless, plus you’ve met him before.”

Harmless, that’s how Matty often described George. I wondered if the two of them were much alike. Like my dad and I.

“I’m not.” I defended, but was levelled with a look telling me to cut the bullshit. “Fine, I just- I don’t know! Okay? Will you just run me through the story again?”

George chuckled to himself, pouring pasta shells into some salted water. “I’ll start, hint that a few of us are wanting to go camping. He won’t ask who, but if he does just say the lads. Like Hann and that- don’t mention Matty though, they’ve met.”

“He doesn’t like Matty?” I questioned with a pinched brow.

George’s shoulders moved with an unsure shrug, his back to me as he checked on the sauce he was making. I found it strange how I never knew he could cook til now. Or at least I hoped he could, I was supposed to be eating this.

“Nah, not that he doesn’t like him. Just thinks he’s a bit…” He replied, searching for the right word.

“Over the top? Eccentric? Loud?”

With a snort, George nodded. “Yeah. So, just be wary.”

I hummed, fiddling with the coasters that sat nearby. George’s house was nice, looked hardly lived in but it was tidy and inviting. Nothing as extravagant as Matty’s, but not quite like mine either. His family did well for themselves, you could see it.

“You don’t have to do this, you know. I was just pulling your leg earlier.” He told me after a minute or two had passed in quiet.

I shook my head. “I said I would, didn’t I? Don’t go back on my word.” I ridiculed, giving him a knowing look as I thought back to his first agreement over the trip to London. George just rolled his eyes at me and turned back towards the stove again. 

Besides, I thought to myself, I was here now. Might as well.

The telltale sign of a car pulling up onto the drive sounded then and my eyes widened on their own accord. “Oh shit.”

I was regretting everything now. I had no idea how to act, or what to say. I wanted to crawl under the table and hide until it was safe to come out again. My mind screaming at me to just make a run for it before I fucked the entire thing up.

I was sat staring a hole into the kitchen door, just waiting anxiously, when George carded a hand through my hair. I hadn’t even heard him approach.

“Don’t stress.” 

I glanced up towards him, then blew a heavy breath out of my nose, letting my forehead fall against his stomach.

“How can you say that? I’m freaking out, G.” My words were muffled by his t-shirt and so I felt it when he gave a muted chuckle in return. Strangely, the movement soothed me, but the gentle hand he held to the back of my head helped too. 

“You’ll be fine, B.” He murmured out into the kitchen and I pulled away when I heard the front door rattle. “Besides, when have I ever let you down?”

I released a shallow breath and then plastered on a more convincing smile. I caught George’s hand in mine just before he went back to watching the boiling pot and squeezed the digits, he returned the gesture kindly. I was thankful to have him, I realised in that moment, the easy way we worked only just hitting me then.

George was back by the stove when the kitchen handle turned and we both glanced over in the direction of the door to watch his dad walk on through it. The man was tall, that was the first thing I noticed, he had to duck his head to wander through the frame so that he wouldn’t hit it, and he also looked a lot like George. They shared the same eyes.

“Oh.” The older man paused when he spotted me at the table, slowing his movements ever so slightly to process it. It seemed that syllabic reactions were also something that the pair shared too.

“Hi, Mr Daniel. Hope me being here isn’t too much of a bother.” I greeted him, trying for polite, my voice was quieter than I expected though and I noted the way George’s furrowed brow turned towards me when he heard it too.

George’s dad stepped further into the kitchen, placing a carrier bag down on the kitchen counter before he walked over to drop his briefcase onto a wooden chair.

“Not a bother.” His accent was peculiar, it held a hint of, what I could only assume to be, Dutch, that was overpowered slightly by his low speech. “And I’m Jules, no need for formalities. You must be Y/n.”

I nodded and gave a smile when he quirked one of his own, however tiny. “I am, it’s nice to properly meet you.” I told him as he propped himself into the seat sat opposite me. 

“Yes, I agree. Though I have heard a lot about you, George has spoken of you before.” Jules informed, analysing eyes flitting over to where his son was stood, pretending to be absorbed in his cooking, before they settled back on me, “He speaks highly of you.”

A genuine smile broke out across my face then and, unable to stop it, I glanced down to my lap in hopes to hide it.

“That’s kind of him.” I laughed softly and was pleased when George’s dad chuckled along with me, it was a resonant sound one that came from deep within.

“My son’s a good boy. A kind one. I hope he’ll turn into a good man also.”

The look he casted George was sweet, one I couldn’t relate to but adored all the same. This man held his son in high regard, he loved him.

George decided to grace us with a bit of input then. “Are we done talking about me now?” He quipped, looking a bit self-conscious which was new. “Just waiting for him to start telling you my most embarrassing moments or pull out the baby photos.”

I flashed his dad a hopeful grin, “I’d love that.”

Jules just laughed and glanced towards his son. “I like this girl. Where did you find her?”

George shook his head in retort, rolling his eyes but not hiding his fond smile. “She found me.”

The two of us shared a look then and laughed- he had a point.

“Oh?” Jules said, questioning gaze jumping between the both of us now.

“I heard him play. At school.” I acquiesced the older man’s wondering and instinctively he knew I was talking about drumming. “He was hiding away in the music room when I’d been walking past, decided to poke my head in.”

“Ambushed me, more like.” George scoffed, a tea towel slung over his shoulder, looking every bit like the chef he was feigning to be. 

“I did not!” I gasped.

George laughed loudly, I was marvelled by the sound but I didn’t let it put me off upholding my honour. 

“You did.” He affirmed, “Gave me an address on a piece of paper like some slick gangster and told me to be there.” 

“I- it was-” I tried to find the right response but he had me there- although, slick gangster was quite the compliment if I was being honest. “I was just trying to be helpful! Besides, you hardly said a word to me. I thought you hated me at first!”

George quirked a brow, as though this was a surprise to him, maybe it was.

Jules cut in, his question held a hint of mirth, “An address?”

George glanced towards his dad and nodded once more, “For the band. That’s how I joined.”

“Ah.” George’s dad sounded, “Are you in this band too?” He asked me.

George snickered and I tried not to glare at him as I answered Jules. “No, just the boys. I keep them all in order though.”

“The world would crumble without a woman in charge. Count yourselves lucky.” Jules sent a grin towards his son, it was toothy and I noted that the fine lines around both his eyes and mouth resembled those I’d seen on George. His familiar eyes found mine next, “Do you play though?”

I shook my head, if only. “I can play a few chords on the piano but I’m no Chopin.” Adam’s doing, that. 

“Sing?” Jules questioned and I found myself wringing my hands beneath the tabletop.

“A little. Not in front of people though.” I told him honestly, not paying mind to the pause George made or the way his expression deepened. “It’s something of my own.”

Jules looked to me then, really looked at me I mean, and dipped his head in an earnest understanding. “Some things are meant for the heart, these are the things that keep us grounded.”

I nodded too, thankful that he could relate in some way, and the kitchen settled into a peaceful lull for once. No nervous energy to be found. George turned his back on us to drain the pasta and stir a pot.

After a few muted minutes filled with George just puttering about, he padded his way over and placed two plates before his dad and I. We thanked him and he returned with one of his own as well as a bowl of grated cheese. He and his dad tucked right in, loading up on the mountain of parmesan, I however passed.

George cleared his throat once we’d all settled in, his foot finding my ankle beneath the table. I peered over to him but he was still staring down at his dinner. “I forgot to mention, dad. There’s this trip coming up.”

“At school?” Jules asked him, not noticing George’s awkward stance, the way his shoulders were hunched over his plate. I nudged my knee against his encouragingly.

“No, um just a group of us. To celebrate the end of the year.” He replied, having paused in his eating now to watch his dad’s reaction, who was still chewing happily away. “Camping.”

That did catch the man’s attention. “Camping?” He mimicked, one brow raising as he looked to George. “Where?”

“Down by the coast. Margate way.” Wow, he’d really thought this through.

His dad hummed around his next mouthful, then turned to me. I tried not to falter under his attention and the sudden pressure I felt. “Are you going, Y/n?”

I swallowed. 

“I am. It’s a big group of us. Seven or so.” I replied. In truth, there was an actual trip happening with some of the kids in our year- Vicky was actually going. They were all headed to some festival, a few of them camping out there, others staying in hotels nearby or with mates. When Matty had first heard about it he’d wanted to tag along, but then he’d saw the lineup and thought better of it.

“And your parents don’t mind?” Jules prodded, ignoring the sharp look George sent him.

“My mum is looking forward to the peace.” I joked with a soft chuckle, aiming to ease some of the nervousness I felt. “But she doesn’t mind, as long as I keep in touch and stay safe.”

God, I’d really pulled that one out of my arse, hadn’t I?

Jules seemed to buy it though and hummed again, folding his hands together. “When is this?”

“Next week, they’re leaving Sunday.” George answered, taking a sip of the drink he’d made us earlier.

“Your mother-” His dad attempted to say but George was swifter, “I know, that’s why I’m asking you now.”

Jules didn’t look too happy about the interruption or having been put on the spot, but didn’t comment on it, nor did he add to George’s explanation.

“I could call her, mention it.” Jules murmured, thinking it over as his eyes passed over his son’s. “But I don’t think she will mind. As long as you have fun, ah?”

The older man grinned and I felt the tightness in my chest loosen, going back to my food as the duo continued to talk more about the trip and then the football match that was supposedly on later tonight. 

I smiled to myself, figuring that this was probably the most normal family interaction I’d been apart of in a long time. And my smile only grew when George trapped my ankle between both of his feet, a silent acknowledgement.

He walked me home later that evening, hands in our pockets after having said a quiet goodbye to his dad, who’d looked just about ready to nod off on the sofa. 

It was quiet out and the walk was short so we decided on taking the long way, talking amongst ourselves, me staring up at the stars, him kicking at the pebbles we passed by.

“You never mentioned singing before.”

George’s sudden mention of the earlier topic faltered my step briefly, but I kept looking on. “Not something I tell most people.” I replied with a lazy shrug.

“Why?” He asked me, and if it’d been anyone else I’d’ve told them to mind their own. But this was George. George who new more parts of me than most. Who knew and didn’t judge. Who never whispered a word of it to anyone.

I rolled my lips against one another. “It was just something I always shared with my dad.”

George didn’t say anything for a minute or so, probably mulling it over, thinking of something to say. People always got so tense whenever I mentioned him. Death made people weird.

“You any good?”

That ask prompted an unexpected laugh from me and I peered over at him with a bright smile, teeth brushing against my lower lip. 

He knew me so well. I didn’t need pity, apologies, sympathy. 

“The next Britney, me.”

George grimaced and I chuckled some more before gazing down at my feet.

“I don’t know. My dad liked to hear me, said it reminded him of when his grandad used to take him to the local market down by the lock near their house. The women there used to sing on the barges that passed.”

George hummed around a sweet smile, “Will you sing to me?”

“Not even on your dying day.” I quipped right back, laughing when he stopped to narrow his eyes at me. 

“Come on, just a song. A verse!” He attempted to bargain but I wouldn’t budge, shaking my head.

“You’re going to get me in trouble, you know.” I told him with a laugh, “Was meant to be home twenty minutes ago, I’ll have to shuffle up the drain again.”

“Well, we’re already late so you’ll still have to make do with that drainpipe of yours, or I can offer you a shoulder up.”

I snorted softly, “What a sight that’d be if a neighbour saw.”

George gifted me a lopsided grin and continued on walking, “So no chance of a song then?”

I shook my head.

“Not even if I swore to moon the headmaster tomorrow morning?”

I wasn’t quick enough to swallow down my loud cackle, not having expected that response from him.

“As if you’d showcase your spotty arse to the entire school.”

George hip-checked me, “Fuck you, I do not have a spotty arse.”

“Well, how would I know? I’ve never seen it.”

“This your way of asking?” He smirked back, winking at me.

My jaw dropped at his blatant cheek, honestly so surprised I struggled to find a proper retort. “You wish.” 

George snorted at the flustered reply and continued walking on with a proud grin. He’d bested me there, we both knew it.

I huffed and let him have the win. Mostly because we were fast approaching my house and I could already see that the lights were still on.

With a sigh, I slowed my steps, all but lugging myself along the pavement now. George seemed to notice, but when did he not?

“You can always call me, you know? Just a text away.” He spoke, voice trailing out along the late summer air.

He knew I was dreading going inside, but that was to be expected. I always felt that way.

Instead of making any fuss though I merely grinned, waving him off. “I’ll be fine. But make sure you put your dad to bed, hey? Heard him complain about his back as he bent down to get in the freezer. He’ll regret kipping on that settee come morning.”

George gave me a small smile, finding amusement in my truthful words, but I could see the concern in his eyes. The worry lines that aged his face. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?” I assured, smiling up at him. “Last day and then we’re home free, G!”

George nodded at the reminder and tugged a hand out from his pocket to tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear, fingertips trailing along my jaw ever so gently. I held my breath. Wondering if he’d finally close that distance between us. If he knew I wanted it just as badly.

But then he pulled away again and I tried to hide my sinking disappointment.

“See you tomorrow, Birdie.”

I gave him a crooked smile and pushed up on my tiptoes to press a careful kiss to his cheek. “Tomorrow. Night, G.”

…

I was on a bit of a high as I made my way around the side of the house, trainers dodging the dried out mud puddled beneath the kitchen window before I slid through the wearing wooden gate. 

George hadn’t made a move but it was a baby step. 

Ross’s words repeated on a loop in my head as I climbed my way up onto the garden wall to grab at the ledge sat just above the backdoor. Once I was stable there I shuffled my way up and over to my bedroom window, always just leaving it off the latch. 

‘He’s half fucking in love with you.’

‘But that’s alright, I guess. Seeing as he has no clue that you like him too.’

He was a wise one, our Ross. But I don’t know, part of me was desperate to believe him, the other fearful- of what, I wasn’t quite sure.

I forced out a heavy breath as I lugged my body in through the open window, being mindful not to make too much noise as I stuck my landing.

With a breathless exhale I spun around to close the window again, startling when I saw a figure sat in the corner of my room, looming in the old wicker chair I’d had there for years.

My hand jumped up to my racing heart as I processed the shock, biting back the sudden fear that crawled its way up the back of my neck when I noticed his predatory grin.

“Been wonderin’ how you’ve been sneakin’ in and out without me noticing.” Steven commented causally, as though it was perfectly normal for a grown man to be sat up waiting for a teenage girl in her bedroom. “‘Cause at first, you see, at first I reckoned you were just pretty stealthy. Funny that, what with you bein’ so lard.”

He snorted at his own joke, but I paid his cruel words no attention, far too used to the rotten things he’d often spout. Men were all the same, only Steven just didn’t have a single good bone in his body. 

I walked over to my dresser, fiddling with the rings there before I reached for a hair tie. I was trying not to show him that I cared, that I hated him for invading my space, that I wanted to run as quick as my legs would let me away. If I did then it was game over, he’d win.

I almost didn’t hear him stand, so I tensed slightly when a floorboard creaked beneath his weight. He approached from behind, his face coming into view beside mine in the dresser mirror. I didn’t look him in the eye.

“Where you been then? Out with yer mates, or were you gettin’ your leg over?”

Bile rose, it suffocated my senses for a moment before I steeled myself. He wouldn’t get the upper hand here. I wouldn’t give him a reaction.

“Saw you outside with that lad. Harry down the pub says your often with him, sees the two of you out late most nights.” Steven said snidely, “Do you love him, pet? Reckon he loves you back, do ya?”

My eyes flew up towards his in the mirror, “Did you want something, Steven?”

He whistled lowly then and I watched his mouth tug up into a menacing smirk as his eyes grazed over my face in the reflection, slowly making their way down to the curve of my neck and then lower. I kept my head held high even as I turned to slide out from between him and the dresser, only I wasn’t quick enough.

His hips jerked out instinctively and he pinned me to the wooden drawers. My mind buzzed, I was panicking now. He’d never gotten close like this. A punch here, a shove there. But, never like this.

“Let me go.”

“Why, petal? Don’t you think we could have some fun?”

“Let me go.” I repeated, firmer this time, fists steeled against the countertop. 

When he only laughed at my reaction I took the chance his ego gave me, kicking back swiftly with my leg to hit him just below his knee and buckle him. He did, but only just, springing out to claw at me as I darted my way to the bedroom door. 

I screamed when I felt his hands catch at my waist, but the handle was already in my hand and so I tugged as hard as I could. It opened, flying out to catch the side of my face. 

Shocked by the sudden impact, my head fell limply and I stopped struggling for a moment. His hold tightened though and I knew I had to keep on, get to the stairs, then to the front door. 

Just get out. 

“Let go!” I screeched, scratching at his greedy hands and tugging my body relentlessly towards the hallway. 

It was a game of tug-of-war, and for him I supposed I was the prize. But I wasn’t too easily won. I sent another kick backwards, he avoided it. I used the same foot to crash down hard on his toes, he yelped and loosened his arms slightly in surprise, enough for me to break out into the hall, crashing into the wall opposite my room. 

His fist collided with the back of my head just as my cheek bounced off the photo frame mum had hung there, I slumped lower, wiggling my way downwards and towards where I knew the banister would be.

“Don’t, be, difficult.” He grunted out. 

“Fuck you.” I spat back. 

On the floor now, I rolled over and ignored the carpet that burned the skin of my arms. I kicked harder, vision hazy as he loomed over me. He struck me again for talking back, like he often did whenever he was home, but then hit me twice more just because he could. Laughing about it now.

I forced myself backwards, the hallway was dim, the only light coming from the bedroom at the end of the walkway. I wondered if she was in there. If she could hear all of this. “Mum?” I called out, wailing almost. “Mum!”

Steven laughed harder at that. “She ain’t here. Even if she were, she’d be no help to you, you little tramp. Now get up!” He ordered and I felt the back of my hand brush against the wooden beam of the banister. “Up!”

I did as I was told, legs trembling before me. He struck me back down again, then ordered the same. “Up!”

I could hardly feel anything but the licking fire that flooded my veins, every inch of my body hurting. But I couldn’t let it show.

I stumbled to my feet, vision so blurred I ought to be concussed. He pinned me to the wall there, hands roaming, I whimpered and he only grinned, getting in my face.

“Pretty when you try, ain’t you?” He snarked. I gritted my teeth and thrashed about, spitting in his face when I couldn’t smash his head away with my own.

He worked his jaw for a moment, blinking once at me before another disgusting smirk replaced his thinly pressed lips.

“I could kill you, here and now. Make it hurt, do it nice and slow. No one would even notice. Would they? No one would be none the wiser. You hear me?” He hissed brutally into my ear, I was quivering now, whimpering as he drew closer and closer, pressing against me. “Yer mum would thank me, kiss my feet even, for having gotten rid of the tart she birthed. She cries, you know. All the time. Tells me she wishes it were you who died, and not your old man.”

I choked on a sob, thrashing again. He laughed joyfully. 

“Is that it? Do you miss yer daddy, little girl?” He taunted, mouth pressing against the skin of my cheek now, breath hot as his fingers worked at the button of my shorts. “But he ain’t comin’ to help you, petal. No one is.”

I turned my face further away from him, as far as I possibly could. Lip trembling and arms falling slack. He chuckled, shaking his head at me and tutting, but his mistake was thinking I’d make this easy for him. He could go fuck himself. 

As soon as he released one of my wrists to paw at the cut of my shorts, I shot my knee out, colliding with his lower half hard. He groaned in pain, fingers flexing against the jut of my wrist when I shoved him as hard as I could away with my free hand. 

He twisted the arm he still held as he stumbled slightly, but I couldn’t react, not even to the sharp pain that flew up towards my elbow. I had to take the chance while I still had it, thrashing even more and grabbing blindly for the ancient ornament my mum had kept on the shelf nearby for years. I brought it down hard once my fingers wrapped around its metal, smashing it against the hand that still encased my arm. He shouted out and in his agony flew his uninjured arm back at me, knocking the side of the ornament I still gripped and sending its pointed top sailing towards my neck. It pierced the thin skin between my collar and shoulder blade.

I pulled it free thoughtlessly, gawking at the sight of it before he came flying towards me. On instinct I chucked the hefty ornament back his way, catching the side of his head when he attempted to duck away from it. I darted towards the bathroom in the same second, the closest room available, and slammed the door shut behind me. Fiddling with the lock, it slipped through my fingers three times before it finally latched.

I looked around the room for anything to protect myself with, shaking violently, but my only option was the plunger and the cabinet on the adjacent wall. But I wasn’t even sure that it could come away. My next idea was the window. 

Steven banged at the door then, a flight of fury, anger creeping in from the tiny gap beneath it as he shouted at the top of his lungs. I was already crouched in the sink, heartbeat filling up my ears. I fumbled with the window’s latch, coating the white windowsill in red as I forced the tiny pane open as far as it’d go.

I glanced out helplessly, trying to actively ignore the harsh thumping coming from behind me. I was a whole story up and had nothing to catch me down below, not even a ledge or a pipe to help me with my descent. 

I paused for a moment to try and think things through, but that was my mistake, the bathroom door behind me splintered under the full force of his weight and he all but jumped across the tiled floor to grab at me. 

I didn’t even think about it, throwing myself out of the open window in my panic, but not quick enough it seemed because his hand wrapped itself halfway around my leg like a snake would its prey. I was practically dangling upside down out of the window now, my hands desperately clawing at the brickwork to find something to hang onto. Still kicking as he tried to pull me back inside. 

I’d rather die, I thought in the hectic haze, or maybe I screamed it.

I heard her voice then. Her screaming out his name, my eyes shot up to see a flash of her hair above me in the bathroom. But it was in that moment that he chose to finally release me. That he finally let me go. And I fell. Dropped. Barely even feeling the ground as I splattered against it, face full of grass, hip colliding with the concrete patio.

She called out for me then. Said my name. It was the first time I’d heard her say it in weeks. 

My vision begun to flash, coming in and out of focus in thick streaks, I dragged myself upwards. Pain radiated throughout the length of my body as I did, but I just kept on going. Knowing if I kept on going then this would be the last of it. It would all be over.  

Struggling, fighting with myself to just keep on, to escape, I staggered down the garden path to pass through the side gate and out onto the sheltered drive. I clung to the wall there, using it as a crutch to aid me along.

I could still hear their shouts over the ringing, the incessant ringing that distracted me from most of the pain. I kept on pushing, forcing myself out onto the street now. Someone was coming after me, I’d heard the door rattle open but hadn’t dared look back, too focused on moving forward. 

My name.

I heard her call my name over and over. 

But somehow, by some miracle, I managed to break into a limping run. My lungs ached and I was gasping for air, but once I’d made it far enough, as far as I was capable, I felt my body drop against the curbed pavement. Head buried in the gravel road, hand clutching at my throbbing shoulder.

Next thing I knew there were lights, people. Sirens.

I kept on screaming.

“Don’t touch me! Please!” I sobbed, utterly distraught, “Don’t!”

They couldn’t touch me. I wouldn’t- they couldn’t. I wouldn’t let them.

So many voices flittered in and out of focus, attempts to talk me down, to help.

Everyone had gathered around to witness, it seemed, and I caved further into my shivering body, unable to focus on their whispers, the gasps, the looks. I didn’t know where I was. I was too scared to even ask. Too shocked to notice the familiar faces that littered the neighbourhood, looking down at me. Too terrified that he’d find me. That I’d be dragged back.

I sobbed harder. Eyes flicking to and fro. Trying to assess the situation, looking for any and all warning signs. An escape. But I couldn’t. Head too heavy to concentrate, my thoughts shutting down. 

Then there was a scuffle off to the far side and I tensed at the shouting that pursued, someone nearby was ordering people to step back, to go home.

Home, I wanted so desperately to scoff. How could I go home?

“Hey! You can’t be here.” They repeated, their voice itching at my skin, tightening every single muscle in my body. “Move away. Step away now!”

“She’s my friend! Let me fucking through. Y/n! Y/n!” 

Breathless, my head snapped up at the call of my name and through my hazy vision, I caught a glimpse of him. Him. How he’d known I was here, I had no idea, but he was there.

“George.” I sobbed openly, and that was the signal that seemed to allow him access. 

He all but threw himself towards me and the woman crouched about a foot away called out a warning to him, but I was reaching out too. Desperate for that safety that’d been so easily ripped away from me. 

I continued to sob, for who knows how long. He held me, tight. An anchor and a protector. He never let anyone get near. The sirens and flashing lights faded, and all I could hear was his voice. He sounded so lost. I wanted to apologise. I wanted him to hold me tighter.

“Come on, B. You need to get up now, alright? I need you to let them check you over. You won’t stop bleeding.”

He kept on repeating himself. Over and over. I couldn’t understand why. I was fine. Terrified but fine. I didn’t need them. I didn’t need to be touched. I didn’t want to be looked at. 

I wanted to go home. But where the fuck was home?

It wasn’t back there. It wasn’t with him.

I cried harder. 

“Birdie. Hey, Birdie, babe. Listen to me please. I’m here. I’m here and I’ve got you. Come on, we’re going to get into the ambulance, okay? Together. Just me and you.”

Me and you. “Me and you.” I repeated, his hand tightening a fraction in mine.

“That okay? Can you do that for me, love?”

I think I nodded, I couldn’t be sure. Uncertain of which way was up and which way was down. I leaned against his sturdy frame. “George, I lied.” I gasped out to him through my relentless spluttering, clawing at his chest. 

He didn’t reply.

“I lied, G! I said I’d be fine.” I cracked, barely even aware of the words I was spewing to him. “Can you stay? Please can you stay? I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

He wrapped himself further around me, hand in my matted hair. 

“Yeah, Birdie. I’ll stay. I’m not going nowhere.” He assured me, gentle as he lifted me up and into the ambulance. “I’ve got you.”

—

I’d always hated hospitals. Ever since my dad had died. 

I hated the fact that I was here again, in the same one he’d left us in. Left me in. 

I didn’t pay much attention to anything, only ever reacting when someone touched me without warning. Waking when a nurse would pop her head in or when someone would pass outside the door.

George was dozing in the chair beside my bed. I couldn’t remember calling him. I couldn’t remember much. I suppose I didn’t want to.

I ached. Everywhere.

But it was my mind that caused the most pain. Relentless in its pursuit to keep me under. To never let me forget.

I could still feel his hands. The groping, the press of his mouth. The breath on my ear. 

I shivered, forcing back the tears and swallowing past the harsh lump.

My eyes fluttered again. Heavy now. Heavier than ever. The room faded, George’s faint breaths lulling my mind, sleep dragging me under. 

——

“Fuck!” George hissed out, slamming his fist into the opposing wall to keep from chucking up whatever else his stomach had left to give. “Fuck.” He repeated, only with a lot less conviction, less drive.

She wouldn’t stop crying. She wouldn’t let them come near. She’d been so defenceless.

And where was I? His head screamed at him.

Where the hell was I?

His fist collided with the wall above the toilet again, face scrunched up tight to keep from crying too.

His breaths grew ragged, hands clenched hard enough to hurt, all whilst feeling sick to his stomach. 

He startled.

A knock had sounded from just outside and he inhaled a sharp breath, waiting a moment, before he croaked out, “Yeah?”

He sounded so weak. Voice shaking.

“Um, there’s a call here for you, sir.” An unfamiliar voice spoke through the thick door, “Asking for a George Daniel.”

He swallowed thickly, the action doing nothing at all to dull the nausea that rolled through him. “Yeah.” He rasped in reply, pulling the toilet chain and moving towards the door as his insides flushed away.

He stepped out into the quiet corridor, to where she now laid asleep in the room opposite. George’s tired, albeit alert, gaze honed in on a nurse dressed in blue staring carefully back at him. 

“They’ve phone three times now.” She told him, voice soft. “I kept them on the line, but I can’t hold them off any longer.”

George swallowed again and nodded to her, casting a long glance into the room beside them.

The nurse followed his eye, “She’s strong. They’ll let her go soon enough.”

He dipped his head and reluctantly let her lead him down towards the ward’s reception desk, to where a phone was sat off the hook. She gestured towards it with a nod and then left him to it.

It was late enough that there weren’t many people mulling about, let alone any visitors, he’d only been allowed to stay because she’d refused to be treated otherwise.

“Hello?” George answered, voice cracking, having picked up the phone and brought it to his ear.

“Fuck. George, that you, mate?”

Ross.

“Yeah, yeah it’s me.” He answered in a slow breath, “How’d you know to call?”

“It’s everywhere, mate. They say she got jumped, is it true? Is she alright?”

Jumped.

His mind lingered on that word. Staring off down the corridor. Lingered on the fact that people in their shitty fucking town were already gossiping about it. It made him hate himself a little bit more.

“She’s asleep.” Was all that he replied.

“Is she. Okay. George.” Ross demanded before the line went quiet once more, eerily George could still hear the other boy’s resolved glare from down the phone. It was a hard image not to picture.

“She’s,” He had to pause, force down the wetness in his tone, the tears that were coming. “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know?” Ross stressed and George had never heard him sound so serious. So grown up.

“They found her on the road just off of mine. Some woman.” He swallowed again, though the salvia was just pooling in his mouth at this point. “Y/n. She, she was screaming- sobbing. I only knew about it when I heard the sirens, the lights. I- I just had a feeling, Ross. I ran down, hoping, praying, but… Fuck.”

He squeezed his eyes tightly shut and pinched the bridge of his nose, breaths laboured.

“George?” Ross called out to him, “You still there?”

“Yeah,” He rasped in reply, straining to keep his voice even as he wet the flesh of his lip. “She. She’s been checked over, they have her on a drip. No broken bones, just a few sprains. Said she jumped from a window.”

“She did what?”

“I don’t know. I don’t fucking know what happened, but it weren’t good.” George muttered to himself, bloodshot eyes trained on an off-centred tile a way away. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to say. She- there was so much blood, Ross.”

“Blood? What the fuck are you talking about, what went on?” Ross hissed down the phone, George knew that he wasn’t really asking him.

“Stab wound to her shoulder.” He answered though, needing to get it all out, in fear he’d never be able to again. “Wasn’t very deep but they stitched it up. Along with the cut on her head.”

“Hang on- stabbed? George, what?”

“I don’t know, Ross!” He stressed, tears blurring his vision now as he thought back to her sat there on that roadside, beaten, alone, sobbing. “I don’t know, okay! I just- I don’t know what to do. What do I do? What do I say?”

A long pause.

“It’s my fault.” He whispered brokenly into the receiver, “I let her leave. I let her go home.” He admitted quietly, tear rolling down the skin of his cheek. “It’s my fault, Ross.”

“G… mate, you can’t say that. It’s- you didn’t know.”

He did. He knew. He’d known for a long time how bad it was. How bad it’d been. He knew. He knew. He knew. 

“It’s all my fault.”

A piercing scream startled him then and he all but dropped the phone to dart in its direction. Three long strides and he was at her door, shouting at the idiot that’d come in to tamper with the IV beside her, his entire body trembling. 

“Get out!” He demanded, hands shaking in fury, in fear. Before he looked towards her, hating that he saw that same terror reflected on her face. He rushed to her side and she grabbed aimlessly for his hand, he let her take it. Let her burrow her face in his chest as he wrapped an arm around her and settled on the edge of the bed. “I’m here.” He murmured into her hair, “I’m here, Birdie.”

——

No one should’ve known, no one had heard it from me. 

But everyone did.

The police had been by. Twice.

So had Matty’s mum, she’d charged in this morning and started making demands. Not daring to touch me, to ask questions.

She sat with me whilst they ran more tests, George outside with the boys. They were quiet. All four of them. I would’ve felt humiliated, deep down I probably did, but I couldn’t feel much of anything with how horrified I was. With how my mind never let up, never let me rest.

He’d been arrested, an officer had told me. Not charged, not yet. Maybe not ever.

My mum had come by asking questions, someone had sent her away. I hadn’t seen her. 

Next thing I knew I was being carted out of the hospital and into the back of Denise’s car with a pile of leaflets and a therapist to contact. No one said a word. 

The police were outside of Matty’s when we arrived, I ignored them until my eyes found George hunched on the settee. He was still in the same trackie bottoms from before, I could tell because they were still littered with specs of my blood. The white t-shirt was gone though, replaced by one of Matty’s biggest hoodies, which still looked too small on him.

Denise and George stayed with me whilst I was questioned again, repeating the same answers again and again. The boys just outside. I told the officers most of what happened. Told them about the way he’d treated me, and mum. How she wasn’t to blame. How scared she’d been. Liar. 

They spoke to Denise as though I wasn’t there afterwards and, in a way, I supposed I wasn’t. Not really. Mind off elsewhere.

George had let me hold his hand through the entire thing, fingers pale against mine. He’d kept looking at me, every few seconds, as though he was scared I was going to disappear or maybe just fall apart.

I kept thinking back to him. To the ambulance ride. To the whispers he’d gifted me, the promises he’d made. How I’d lied. Liar. 

School had been and gone, my last day snatched from not just me, but all the boys too.

Denise let me have the guest room, running me a hot bath and laying out some clothes. I’d been thankful for the offer but wary, George had followed me up in silence and then planted himself on the floor outside the bathroom without a word.

He’d still been there when I’d let the door creak back open, lifted his head and given me a tired smile before we’d both puttered into the bedroom.

It was barely even afternoon before I crawled into the bed upstairs. Larger than I was used to, having been holed up on the same twin sized mattress I’d had since I was thirteen.

I was fearful that George would go home at that point, but he merely showered and borrowed some more clothes off of Matty. He dwarfed them but I smiled as he entered the room to silently set up the blow up mattress Denise had brought in.

Matty had stopped by to say goodnight, pain in his pretty brown eyes, but with a brave smile limning his lips. I’d let him squeeze my hand before he’d left, shutting the door quietly behind him. George took up space on the mattress below and I shuffled all the way to one end of the bed to reach my hand out towards him. He took it without a second thought and I fell asleep like that, with his hand tucked safely in mine, his thumb soothing careful circles into the back of my wrist.

—

“Are you sure, sweetheart? I mean, you’re barely even out of hospital.” Denise fussed over me as I waited for George to join us downstairs. 

It was finally Sunday. Which meant we were leaving. 

“I’m sure.” I told her quietly, she hid her frown well but I could still see it there, behind the lingering look she gave me.

“At least let me drop you both to the station, or pack you something to take with you.” Denise continued, I smiled when she cradled my cheek. “You’ve hardly eaten since I’ve seen you! Worries me.”

I knew it did. Matty had already brought me up both breakfast and lunch, and it was barely gone ten.

“I’ll take the lift if you really are offering.” I acquiesced and watched a smile bloom on her face.

“Right then, I’ll go grab my keys.”

She puttered off just before George shuffled his way down the stairs, Matty talking his ear off all the while. I smiled at the sight of them, at the way George rolled his tired eyes.

He’d hardly slept, same as me, but I still felt a twinge of guilt ripple through me when he caught my staring. 

“Oh look! It’s the second half to the pair of traitors I once called friends.” Matty scoffed as he bounced off the third step and dropped down onto the floor, he turned his nose up at me and I rolled my eyes in return. Unfazed by his melodramatics.

“Don’t be jealous, Healy. You’ll always be my favourite.” I smirked at him, hoping it looked as genuine as it felt. 

Matty grinned in turn whilst George settled the duffle he’d picked up from his yesterday by the front door, he strolled back over to join us.

“Hear that, G? I’m her favourite.” Matty boasted, sniffing with an overly pleased smile.

George wrapped an arm around my shoulder and, naturally, I leant into him. “Don’t think it matters, mate. You’ll still be stuck here, whilst we’re off in the city.”

Yeah. Matty now knew of our little secret. 

It had all come out late last night, when I’d fought tooth and nail with George about the trip down south. I still wanted to go, more now than ever. But he’d had his reservations.

With a childish scowl, Matty made a face in retaliation and propped himself up against the banister bar. “Still can’t believe you lied to us. I mean, where’s your sense of camaraderie?”

I chuckled to myself, hiding the soft sound in the groove of George’s shoulder.

“I’m stuck here, all fucking summer long, with Hann and Ross… mum too! I can already picture it! The four of us down at the pub, just drowning our sorrows and sniffling into our pints. You can’t actually leave me here with them!”

When I glanced back up Matty had seemingly decided to drop to his knees to beg for an invitation, hands clasped before him, that was also the same moment Denise decided to pop back in.

“Oh, Jesus Christ, Matthew. What in heavens are you up to now?” She scolded with a half-hearted huff, tutting as she shook her head at her eldest son. 

“I’m making a plea, mum.” Matty told her in all seriousness, barely sparing her a glance as she passed by. 

“For goodness sake.” Denise sighed, unable to do much else, which was almost always a given with anything Matty related. “Get up off the floor and make yourself useful, would you? I’ve got the hoover plugged in, be a dear and run over the rugs for me.”

Matty’s hands fell limply to his sides just as his mouth dropped in disbelief. He glanced back towards George and I. “You see what kind of hell you’re leaving me in? What teenage boy hoovers??” 

“Mine!” Denise told him simply, poking at his shoulder to get him to stand with smile, “Now, run along. I’ve got to drop these two off before their train leaves, haven’t I?”

George and I took that as our queue to start grabbing at our things, him swiping up the small suitcase Denise had taken from mine yesterday before I had the chance. I flattened my expression, showing my displeasure. 

“Mum.” Matty all but whined, neither one of them paying much attention to us now. “Can’t I just come? You know, see my mates off and all.”

Denise wasn’t a woman to be bargained with. “No, you’ll see them soon enough. Now, if you’d like to make your goodbyes while I start the car then have at.”

I bit back the giggle that wanted to escape me upon seeing Matty’s dejected face, whilst Denise double checked for her car keys and purse then slid out the front door yelling, “Five minutes!”

“You make it sound like I’d been sentenced to death, woman!” Matty shouted out after her and his mum’s reply was what broke the dam, letting a flood of muffled laughter escape me. “Hoover and you might just live to tell the tale, Matthew!”

Matty grumbled to himself, shaking his head before he peered back over at us with his hands on his hips, looking like a little old lady.

“So, you know what happened here then if I’m missing when you two get back.” He sighed, as though he’d already gone and accepted his fate. “Tell the coppers it was her, yeah? And have a party at my funeral, no fuckin’ tears or nothin’ either. Oh, and I want my coffin a bright pink, the flowers can-”

“Matt.” George spoke with an amused chuckle, cutting into Matty’s longwinded rant. He opened his arm out wide and snorted when the curly haired freak catapulted himself across the hall at him. 

“Gonna miss you lot.” Matty mumbled into George’s shoulder before he pulled away and stepped towards me, a little warily. I moved over to him, silently assuring him that I wanted a good cuddle too. He grinned down at me and I felt him press a gentle peck to the top of my head when he’d wrapped me up in his arms. “Make sure you bring me something back, yeah? Something sick.”

I smiled fondly as we parted, squeezing his fingers briefly. “Promise.”

Matty’s gaze trailed between the two of us then and a sly smirk begun to overwhelm his features. “And I want all the details about this-” he waved a hand between us, “when you get back.”

The fucker. Way to make things awkward, I thought. 

I honestly did go to correct him, to tell him that nothing had happened between George and I. But G beat me to it. 

Well, not really, because he didn’t deny anything of the sort, just laughed as he treaded closer to the door. “Bye, Matty.”

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Matty called out after us, and I chuckled as I followed George out. 

Always one to make a scene though, Matty stood and waved us off from the front step of the house once we’d both settled in the car and Denise had just begun to pull away.

His mum only sighed.

—

I shifted again for what felt like the umpteenth time. 

I was uncomfortable. Incredibly so, enough that I was quickly beginning to regret having been so stubborn about not postponing this entire trip when the offer had been there.  

“You alright?” George asked from where he sat across the table from me, his hands toying with a ticket. 

We were on the train now, the journey just under three hours. But we weren’t even a quarter of the way through yet and I was already dreading the rest of it.

I nodded in reply, still shuffling about. “Just can’t get comfortable.”

My body ached, my head and spine were bruised to bits, but it was just my hip that wouldn’t allow me to settle in my seat. The doctors reckoned I’d sprained it falling out that upstairs window, but they couldn’t do anything for the cramping I kept feeling other than offer me a prescription, which had just been an over-the-counter pain relief.

Tough fucking luck, hey?

“Here.” George motioned to me. I watched him jump up from the seat he’d fallen into when we’d first boarded and then jerk his head down at it. 

I frowned slightly but stood carefully before rounding the tiny table which had separated us, observing closely as he rolled up his hoodie and bundled it against the car’s window. He ushered me in afterwards and I went, letting him take the seat beside me so that he could pull my legs up to lay across his lap.

“Better?” He questioned, a hand wrapped loosely around my ankle now.

I smiled and gifted him a grateful nod. It’d helped a ton actually.

“Good.” He replied, then pulled out a tiny notebook from the duffle he’d brought with him, “‘Cause now there’ll be no excuses when I beat you in hangman.”

I laughed at that. “Oh, you’re on.”

—

George’s quiet laughter only agitated me further as I mumbled to myself about ‘fucking trains’ and ‘toffy twats who didn’t know when to shut the fuck up’ as we manoeuvred our way through the hectic crowds of Kings Cross Station.

We’d spent the last half of our journey surrounded by a bunch of rowdy university lads, who were obviously on their way back home. But listen, because I’m the very last person to have a bitch and a moan about people just enjoying themselves or having fun- even when it inconvenienced me, yeah? But these fucking ignorant twats had really pushed my limit. 

I mean, who the fuck starts a loud debate over their fucking political crushes? And then go on to boast to one another about where they’d be spending their summers whilst simultaneously mocking anyone who holidayed in ‘the isles’ or didn’t at all. 

I’d sent a wide eyed glance at George when they’d first started up and my disbelieving frown had quickly grown into me just biting my tongue to keep from ripping them each a new one when they’d started snickering at the rest of us. At the tiny family down the far end of the car, with its single mother and her chocolate covered toddler who was sporting an upset frown. At the elderly bloke cooped up in the far corner, who kept nervously jumping whenever the train rattled too hard against the tracks. Even at George and I. Because of my fucked up face and George’s nonplussed reaction.

George’s calming hand had been the only thing to keep me stated. Otherwise they never would’ve made it to the station. 

Should count themselves lucky.

“Don’t laugh, George. I hate people like that.” I grunted out as I rubbed at my hip again, thankful that I hadn’t fought him when he’d taken my suitcase. “Looking down on others, acting like their shit don’t stink the same.”

George visibly fought not to snort outright at that and I huffed.

“Keep on, Daniel, and you’ll be hearing a lot worse.” I told him pointedly, but smiled politely at the ticket officer as we passed through the barriers.

“Don’t doubt it.” George replied, hiking his duffle up higher over his shoulder. “But B, you’ve got to learn not to let people like that affect you. Otherwise I’d be having to fight off every idiot that looked at you funny.”

“I can fight my own battles, thank you.” I retorted primly.

George huffed out a chuckle. “I know that much, but no one’s gonna hurt you again with me around.”

My gaze focused on the buzzing swarm ahead, at the giant boards hanging high above us, anything but him. “I thought we weren’t talking about it.” I murmured, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear and wincing when I forgot about the stitches in my shoulder.

I heard him sigh and said nothing more on the topic.

We’d just about made it to the taxi rank, where Aunt Del had said she’d be waiting for us yesterday, when George spoke up again. “I’m gonna grab some deodorant and shit from the pharmacy over there- forgot to pack it in with the rest. You want anything?”

I watched as he settled our bags down beside a bench and then jerk his head over towards a Boots nearby. I shrugged, “Maybe a drink. If you don’t mind?”

George flashed me a smile, waving off the second part of my comment. “Diet Coke, yeah?”

I nodded, flashing him an overdue smile, “You know me so well.”

He shook his head lightly, lips still upturned as he headed in the other direction. I sighed whilst slumping onto the bench.

I’d been in London five minutes and already I felt overwhelmed. The station was hectic, even on a Sunday! There were people everywhere, lights and signs adorned every possible space, and there was never a lulling moment of peace. Everyone was just go, go, go.

Saying that, it was possibly the best place I’d ever people watched. There were all sorts of personalities down here. I mean, it wasn’t everyday you spotted a 6ft woman with a mohawk the length of a tennis racket walking through the streets of Wilmslow. Or an old hippy dressed in a black bin bag, waving a guitar.

It was pretty incredible. And I took the time to search for all the anomalies littered amongst the suits and denim jeans, a game of Where's Wally?. I much preferred their eccentricity.

“Alright, they were out of the stuff I usually get so I got this instead, smelt nice enough though.” I glanced up at the sound of George’s voice and spotted him making his way back to me whilst peering down at the deodorant can he held in his hand. My drink was tucked up under his left arm and he had a carrier bag dangling from his wrist. “What d’you think?” He asked when he reached the bench, holding the can out towards me. I sniffed at the scent whilst he settled the drink he’d purchased beside me and quickly tucked the bag into his duffle. 

“I like it.” I told him honestly, glancing down at the label. “It’s different.”

“That good or bad?” He chuckled in reply and I smiled.

“Good. You’ll pull any one you fancy now that you’ve got something to cover that awful smell that often follows you about.”

His eyes wrinkled as he pulled a face in retaliation, “Hilarious, you. Why’d I ever let you talk me into coming again?”

I chuckled to myself, grinning up at him when he moved in closer to swipe the deodorant from my grasp. “‘Cause you’d be lost without me- dead bored too.”

He hummed, as though mulling it all over. Then leaned down towards me, nose almost touching mine as his face broke into a smile. “Sounds about right.”

I wanted to crane my neck up in that moment, let my lips brush against his. It was all I wanted in truth. But I didn’t dare. Too terrified of how he’d react. If every lie I’d heard ever told about me turned out to be true. If I was just as worthless as their words painted me to be.

“Yeah. It does, don’t it?”

George’s grin was large but still soft somehow, and his brown eyes danced between my own whilst the station continued to buzz around us. He hummed again, rocking on his feet, edging ever so closer.

Smash!

We both jolted apart at the sudden commotion, heads snapping up and over towards the loud bang. We both snorted at the same time, having spotted the culprit.

“They’re a fucking whole different breed down here.” George laughed lowly, shaking his head at a hefty looking pigeon that had seemingly taken the opportunity to try and nab a sandwich from out of an older woman’s hand- only it’d flown headfirst into a shop’s swinging sign.

I could only agree with his statement before I pivoted slightly, pausing only when I spotted another older woman waving her arms about wildly just outside the station doors. My jaw dropped for a second before I found myself chuckling at the sight, nudging George’s side to grab his attention too. He only raised his brows at the mad cow dressed in orange dungarees and a striped tee who was so obviously waving at us.

“I reckon everything down here’s different, G.” I snorted before I was waving back at my Aunt just as eagerly, already gathering up our stuff.

“No shit.” Is all I heard George say in return.

…

“Oh my Christ, ain’t you just grown so big!” Was the first thing Aunt Del said after she’d sprinted over to wrap me up in a long-overdue hug. “My, I swear you look like the double of me when I was your age.” She breathed out, her bright red lips matching her cherry coloured hair, gentle green eyes gazing down at me.

“Hi to you too, Aunt Del.” I chuckled, smiling back at her. She hadn’t changed at all from the day I remembered her, just as bubbly and as lovable as ever. 

“Oh psh, none of that hello nonsense!” She retorted, blowing out a willowy breath as she waved a hand between us both. “I’m too excited! Have been ever since your Nan mentioned the visit. I can’t believe how long it’s been, doll!”

“I know.” I said in quiet agreement, my hand finding hers just before I shuffled over to reveal the tall teenage boy stood not too far behind me. “Oh Aunt Del, this is my friend, George. G, this is my Auntie Delany.”

Aunt Del’s eyes brightened as she took in all George had to offer, grinning a wry little smile before she squeezed my hand tightly. “Your Nana mentioned you were bringing a friend…” She let slip and then nodded her head for George to come closer, “But she never said he’d be a looker. How’re you, love? The train treat you alright?”

I gave a silent snort at the wobbly expression George’s face pulled itself into when my aunt tugged him into a hug as well. He gifted me a bewildered glance from over her shoulder and I shrugged, attempting to bite back my mad smile. He knew it was there though, I could tell from the brief scowl he sent me before they were pulling apart.

“Tall, handsome… you smart as well, darlin’? Or are you only a pretty face?” Aunt Del pondered as she stepped back and tilted her head up at him.

“Del.” I warned, but George’s mouth just quirked upwards ever so slightly.

“Smart enough to know when to use the pretty face to my advantage.” He quipped back easily, and I was relieved to hear Del’s sweet laugh.

“Oh, I like this one, Y/n.” She whispered theatrically, glancing over her shoulder at me before another flood of people escaped the station and she started ushering us away. “Come on now, kiddos. Parked the car over here, din’t I?”

My forehead pinched in concern, “In a taxi rank?”

“Well, where else?” Del laughed, dragging my suitcase along ahead of us while George shot me another bewildered look.

I could only assume that we’d be loaded with a hefty fucking fine.

But before I could voice that, or at least allude to it, Aunt Del had already pulled out a chain of gangly keys on an old piece of string and wandered over to a pink coloured cab.

I blinked at the sight of it. Del caught the look because she was grinning over at me from where she’d just placed my suitcase in the boot. “Good old Hewson here always gets a few heads turning, don’t you, beaut?” Aunt Del said as she patted the cab’s side, I was still taking it all in.

“Sorry, Hewson?” I questioned as she motioned to George to throw his duffle in the back too, “You named your car Hewson?”

But before Aunt Del could answer me, George cut in. He had his thinking face on.

“Hewson as in Bono?” He wondered aloud and Del spun right around to grin at him, he shut the boot for her.

“Bingo. I knew I had a good feeling about you!” Aunt Del exclaimed with a finger extended towards the chuckling teenager. She turned back to me, shaking her head in mock disappointment, “I thought for sure you’d get it, dove.”

With a wry grin I could only shrug my shoulder at her, “Sorry to disappoint, Aunt Del, but G here is the music expert between us.”

Del’s smile only appeared to widen as she shot around to the drivers side door, “Well have I got a playlist in here for you then! Only the greats, mind. So you’d best have brushed up on your seventies trivia.”

George all but beamed as he followed her over and opened up the backdoor for me, very much in his element now. I slid into the cab first, smiling at the leopard print seats and sequinned roof, then G swiftly followed.

“Oh, a gentleman too, is he?” Aunt Del cooed from the front where a pair of fuzzy dice hung from the rearview mirror, her hands gripping at the neon coloured wheel. “You’ve hit the jackpot with this one.” She winked at me and I looked away to hide my flush. “So my Georgie-pie, you get on alright with The Jam?”

George’s hand found my knee as he leant forward in his seat to grin alongside my aunt, the pair of them chatting away whilst she jolted into reverse and out of the bay. I gripped at the door’s handle to keep from being thrown about when we took off down Pancras Road, Town Called Malice blasting out over the noise of the noisy city.

…

My cheeks had begun to hurt from how hard I’d been smiling throughout the entire ride down to the simple terraced house my grandparents owned in Bethnal Green. From what I could recall, it’d been the house my grandfather had grown up in, he’d only inherited it after the Second World War when his own mother had passed away from fever, his father having died earlier on whilst stationed at the frontline. He’d raised both of his kids there, my dad and Aunt Del, after his stoop in prison, before they’d both grown up and he’d eventually passed on as well. Leaving only my Nan and Delaney left.

It wasn’t a very busy street, all the houses old and built right beside the other, but it was nice, pretty even. A vast change in pace to the busy streets of the city we’d driven through on the way over.

Del was still talking a mile a minute when she pulled up into a marked bay, only narrowly avoiding hitting the curb whilst an old Grateful Dead tune continued to blare through the speakers. George hopped out first, slipping around to my side and opening the door for me so that he could help ease me out as well, his hand stayed in mine even as we moved to join Aunt Del by the boot.

“Here’re.” Del said, divvying up the luggage between George and herself. I sighed, but it fell into more of an unhappy groan when I reached up to shut the back door of the car only to have George beat me to it.

“I haven’t lost all capability.” I muttered to him whilst Aunt Del locked up the cab and took off down the pavement, excited to get us inside.

George’s fingers linked between mine and he tugged me closer, his duffle back on his shoulder. “I know that,” He murmured into my ear, breath tickling the skin of my neck, “But it makes me feel useful, yeah?”

I sighed again, only softer this time around, as I slumped into his embrace, letting him have this one thing. At least for a short while. I knew that soon enough it’d start to drive me mad.

“You two lovebirds comin’ or am I gonna have to stand here all day?” Del mocked from where she was now rocking back and forth at the top of a set of high steps, stood in front of an indistinct door.

I shot her a sharp look which she only grinned to, before George and I ascended the short staircase too. Del already had her gangly keys back out again and we watched on as she shoved a Yale cut key into the top lock, shouting out a warning as she tumbled on through it, “Mum, I’ve brought back Northerners!”

I giggled to myself as I followed in after her, eyes racking over everything that they possibly could. We’d entered into a long narrow hallway where an old cast iron radiator still stood atop a mosaic tiled floor. The walls here had been painted a softened white and victorian blue, the blue sat beneath a moulding halfway up and spilled out onto the staircase that’d been fitted with a warm beige runner. Photo frames littered the place, diving beneath a carved ceiling arch and around a few brass fixtures. It was beautiful, homey.

George shut the heavy wooden door quietly behind us and I heard a shuffle sound farther up ahead. Del gestured us further inside, dropping our luggage at the foot of the stairs before wandering down the walkway. We followed silently, both George and I feeling the nerves edge in now, and we were quite surprised to shuffle into an open kitchen and spot a petite looking woman relaxed in an dining chair, cigarette in one hand and a TV Times in the other. She glanced up once we’d entered and the sight of her had my heart climbing to my throat, her toothy smile reminded me a lot of the pictures I'd seen of my dad.

“Well, ain’t this lovely?” My Nana chirped, already moving to stub out the remnants of her fag in a glass ashtray before standing. George released my hand so I could go meet her, legs trembling slightly. “My little dove, how you’ve grown, hey? All big now. Too tall.” She grinned at me as I dipped down a tad to bury my face into her neck.

“Hey, Nana.” I whispered, my smile shaky as she ran a soothing hand over the length of my back.

When she pulled away she pressed a thin, ring clad hand to my cheek, eyes taking me in. “You’re alright, darlin’. Looking so beautiful too. Oh, how I’ve missed ya.”

I chuckled wetly, but didn’t let the shimmering tears that’d begun to well fall, “Missed you too.” More than she knew. “It feels so mad to be here, I remember bits and pieces but not much.”

“Ah the last time you were ‘ere, ought to’ve been when you were about six. You made a right old mess of this kitchen. Treckin’ in mud and kickin’ your feet. My God, your dad had gone mad- couldnt help his grin though when you’d started singin’ that tune he so loved. What was it again, my darlin’?”

“You Make My Pants Want to Get Up and Dance.” I answered her in a whispered chuckle, the song a vivid reminder of days we’d spent dancing around this very room.

Nana released a sweet laugh and turned to Del, “You remember, don’t you, Del? The pair of ‘em, prattling about the place.”

Aunt Del shared a conspiratorial grin with me, nodding from where she’d taken perch over by the fridge. “Oh yeah. That one Christmas mornin’, it was all that’d been on. Drove me bloody mental.”

“See?” Nana enforced, hand falling to my upper arm, “What I tell ya? Might be gettin’ on a bit but my mind’s still as quick as a whip.”

I smiled, but that was when she finally took note of the giant stood crowding her kitchen doorway. George wore a soft smile that only grew in nervousness when my nan’s gaze sought him out. “And this must be the famous friend!” She teased, already motioning him over. “Come on, love. I don’t bite.”

George blew out a small chuckle and walked over to join us, surprising me when he leaned down to wrap an arm around the petite woman. My Nana smiled proudly and gently squeezed George’s wrist when they pulled apart.

“It’s good to finally meet you.” George assured her, his tone quiet, warm.

“And you, sweetheart.” My Nana spoke, smiling up at him. “But my, ain’t you tall? Remind me a bit of my Charlie, you do. He was a giant too, always dwarfed me in size whenever he took my hand. Only ever saw his tie when we was dancin’, and din’t he just love to complain of a sore neck, bendin’ down to greet me whenever he came home from wherever he’d been.”

I giggled quietly to myself, watching the pair. Enamoured.

“Got those eyes of his too, kind but quick. Too smart for yer own good, ain’t ya sometimes? Trouble finds you.”

George’s eyes glanced over towards me at that and he could only agree. “She does.”

Both my Nana and Aunt Del laughed at that, catching on to his sentiment whilst I just tutted and shook my head. “You’re lucky to have me.”

“Ain’t he just.” Nana confirmed with a dip of her chin, her blue eyes twinkling now beneath the kitchen light. “A right pair you make. Reckon we’ll have a few more stories to tell once you leave.”

“You’ve gone and jinxed it now.” George chuckled teasingly, obviously settling in fine, “Only got yourself to blame.”

Nana clucked her tongue, eyes on Del whilst she motioned her head in G’s direction, “Funny, this one. You hearin’ this too, Del? Quite the joker we have.”

I could only grin and watch on as my seventy-three year old nan cajoled George into the chair beside hers. It quickly fell though when I heard how she was planning to spill a few stories from my childhood to him. And I couldn’t even stop her because Aunt Del was already dragging me back out of the kitchen, claiming she needed help picking up dinner from the local takeaway. George merely sent me a reassuring grin when I’d casted an alarmed glance back over my shoulder, and I felt the anxiety in me fall away. 

—

It was a long while after dinner when George and I finally got the first bit of quiet since having left Manchester.

The four of us, being Nana, George, Aunt Del and I, had all camped out in the living-room shortly after Del and I had returned to the house with a couple bags of food- fish and chips actually, from this tiny little shop up on the main road that Del had raved about. 

We’d all been more than hungry so we’d been quick settle down. The tele had been stuck straight on, the very same that’d been there a decade prior, and apparently Nana’s preference for game shows hadn’t changed either, so we’d all spaced out around it, not paying much attention to who was winning or losing. Just talking about the things you did with family.

Nana’s dog, Cyril, had plodded in from the upstairs landing as soon as he’d sniffed out the food. He was this big slobbering beast of a thing that I immediately fell in love with. A great bullmastiff with a red and fawn-coloured coat, who’d gone and plopped himself down on the tops of my feet. George had been taken with him too, cooing to him in the armchair opposite and pouting when the dog hardly spared him a glance. Both Nana and Del had chuckled, Aunt Del saying, “Cyril ain’t too fond of men- din’t give dad the time of day when he was home either. Only ever noticed him when he had a lead in his hand.” George had looked determined though. 

When the plates had been cleared away, Cyril jumped up on the sofa between Nana and I, he’d sniffed at her leg before she’d shooed him off down my end, and he did as he was told, looking over at me with these big puppy-dog eyes. I’d let him curl up beside me, head in my lap, stroking the scruff of his neck as we continued to catch up, Nana asking after George and his life. She was set on getting to know him.

A couple hours had passed before the older woman had shuffled the pair of us on up the staircase when I’d started yawning though, and Aunt Del said that she’d let Cyril out into the garden before she took off home herself, promising to pop back round the very next day. George had helped tidy the living-room away as I’d said my goodbyes to her, catching Nana in the hallway once the door had closed.

“I know you don’t want to hear it, but thank you.” I’d whispered to her in the quiet warmth of the evening light that’d fluttered in. She’d simply taken my hand and gifted me a soft smile in turn.

“You were always welcome here, sweetheart. Just needed you to see it.” Nana had replied, “And anyway, I should be the one thankin’ you. Ain’t had such a lovely time since it was all of us living here together. Feels nice havin’ the house full of people again. And that lad of yours is a real charmer, in’t he? Lovely, lovely boy.”

I’d gone to correct her, mouth halfway agape when she’d just chuckled and pointed a finger up at me. “None of that now. Only known him a couple of hours but I see the way he looks at you, my love.”

It was eerily similar to what Ross had said to me all those weeks before.

“He’s patient too. Bit like your grandfather there. And gentle, which is somethin’ that’s obviously needed when knockin’ about with you. ’Cause don’t think for one second I’ve not noticed the big black eye you’re sporting under that makeup of yours, or the face you pull each time you sit or stand up.”

I’d looked away from her aged eyes, so full of emotion, to hide my guilt. Nana had only grasped my chin though and steered my face back towards her, “But that’s for another time, alright darlin’? You need sleep- must’ve been mental bein’ on all those silly trains. I’ll tell you something now, I never could step on another after the war’d ended, too many reminders, you know?”

Too many reminders. Yeah, that was something I did know. 

I’d only nodded silently at her though and the pair of us listened to the quiet murmur George had made when he’d tried once more to make friends with Cyril. Nana had chuckled and squeezed my chin between her fingers before George had stepped out into the hallway to join us, a little surprised to find us there. An apology had been on the tip of his tongue, obviously not having meant to interrupt, but Nana had swiftly cut him off, stating that she’d already made up the spare bed and laid out a few towels for us.

I’d given her cheek a gentle kiss in an unsaid thanks, still so beyond grateful, and George had followed, smiling to himself when he’d bent down for her and the older woman had whispered something in his ear. She’d shooed us on up after quickly after, patting George’s back just as Cyril trotted to stand beside her at the bottom of the stairs. Our light footsteps had trailed all the way up and then across the landing. 

So as I’d been saying, the quiet that’d settled upstairs in the far bedroom was something of a reprieve. As much as I’d loved spending time with Nana, Aunt Del, and Cyril too, it was nice to shut the door on all the noise and madness and take a second to just breathe.

The spare bedroom sat at the very front of the house, it looked out onto the street below and homed sash-windows which were currently being illuminated by the evening sun shining through. The floor was made of hardwood, glossy and dark in comparison to the lighter walls that had been panelled with pretty mouldings. A fireplace sat at one end too, directly opposite the bed, it was old, one I’d have to ask Nana about using, but had a delicate vase of lilies sat atop it as well as a brass framed mirror.

My eyes flittered about the space, taking in the ancient radio on the windowsill with its lengthy aerial, the large chest sat at the foot of the bed, as well as the wearing guitar propped up against the wall in the corner. George’s eye caught on that too and he wandered over to it first.

“Belonged to my dad.” I told him as I tiptoed over to the edge of the bed, taking a seat there as my gaze continued to roam. “It was his room, shared it with Del when they were kids but then she took over the downstairs den when she’d hit fourteen. Den’s gone now, think they knocked it through to make more room for the kitchen’s renovation after she moved out.”

George hummed and put the instrument back in its place before spinning on his heel, his gaze trailing between me and the bed. 

“You still alright to share?” I asked him, wondering if perhaps he was thinking better of it now. “I could set up the sofa if not.”

Shaking his head, George must’ve shaken off whatever other emotion that’d made him pause because he padded over to join me. “Nah, it’ll be fine.”

His voice was low and as he flopped down onto the mattress beside me I could only smile, thankful for the fact that he hadn’t changed his mind.

“Good.” I responded, grinning over at his slumped form sprawled out on the crisp white sheets, “‘Cause if you can spoon with Matty then you should be alright spending a couple nights shacked up with me.”

George snorted, hands resting on his chest, eyes turned towards the ceiling. “That’s different. We fell asleep on the settee, and he’s a cuddler.”

Still amused by the picture my mind conjured up, I hummed. “And to think you two once hated each other.”

“Wouldn’t say hate. Bit strong there, B.”

I rolled my eyes before glancing down at the spot beside him, silently deliberating. George must’ve noticed because he took my hand in his and tugged me down, laughing when I yelped in surprise.

We stayed there for a short while in silence, his fingers grazing gently at my arm, both of us listening to the heavy paws of Cyril on the stairs and the cars that passed by outside.

He inhaled a little deeper, “How you feeling then?”

I turned my head against the sheets to peer up at him. “Being here?” I questioned him and he nodded, “I feel good. Tired, but good. Happy. Didn’t realise home could feel like this, you know?”

George blew out a breath and scooted a little closer, close enough to drape an arm across the space above my head and come to rest on his side. “Do you want to talk about it now?”

I knew what he meant. He wanted to talk about that night.

I raised my good shoulder in a shrug. “Not much to say. I hope he rots in a cell for a bit though, ‘cause we both know they’ll let him back out soon enough.”

George’s jaw tightened at my words but his eyes stayed soft, locked on me. “Well I hope he finds a decent cliff and takes a dive off it.”

I shot him a look. “G..”

He shrugged, uncaring, but the gentle touch of his fingers tangling themselves into my hair was anything but. “Ain’t gonna lie to you, Birdie. He deserves worse. I-” His eyes slipped closed as he took a breath to calm himself, “Look, I can’t take back what happened. Turn back time and all that just to erase it all. But I can make sure that it never happens again.”

“You can’t be sure though, George. That’s not how life works.” I murmured into the quiet that followed his solemn assurance.

“Well it’s how it’s gonna have to work.” Was all that he replied to me. Ever so stubborn.

His eyes were still closed, that familiar warmth of his sheltered behind fluttering lids, I reached out to trail my fingers across them and then down the bridge of his nose. “This okay?”

He hummed sweetly, mouth twitching when my fingertips traced its curve. He was always so close, only ever a breath away, but even now it felt like we were toeing at invisible lines, both of us too afraid to make that jump.

“I like your nan.” He told me then and I huffed out a small chuckle at the unexpected revelation. “Del too.” He added.

“I’m glad.” I replied with a soft smile of my own, staring down at him even as he blinked his eyes back open. They roamed the entirety of my face, taking in every detail.

“They remind me of you.”

My smile broadened, pleased to hear that. “Oh yeah?”

George hummed a low confirmation. “You want to know what your Nana to me said as we were headin’ up?”

My eyes flickered up to meet his whilst I trailed over a constellation of freckles on his cheek. “What?”

He chuckled deeply, grin wrinkling his nose. “She said, run her a bath, will you? And keep the noise down if you ever do get the balls to make a move.”

A sharp laugh escaped me, eyes wide and alive. “I swear, she’s an actual menace.”

George smirked lazily, “Right though.”

I blinked, all humour suddenly lost as I stared back at him. 

“Right about what?” I asked him quietly, heart in my throat.

His hand stilled in my hair and he knocked his forehead against my own, our noses brushed just above the sheets and he gifted me the sweetest smile. “This.” He whispered back, right before he titled his head and grazed his lips against mine.

—

I’d been on a high all morning. Having woken up in George’s arms under a stream of sunlight.

There’d been a light scuffle out in the hallway, probably Nana getting up to let Cyril out, and I’d laid there listening to the gentle song of the birds outside as well as George’s quiet breathing. He looked different in this light, lashes casting dark shadows across his apples of his cheeks and lips poutier than I’d ever seen them. It’d been struggle not to reach out.

Instead, I’d reluctantly slipped from his grasp when the urge to use the loo became too much to bare and decided to finally have that bath Nana had suggested last night whilst I waited for him to wake. 

Yesterday had honestly been everything I’d been waiting for. With George I just felt so safe, so… loved. Was that a strange way to feel? Maybe it was. But I didn’t care, I thought about it though as I let the steam from the water engulf me, the heat of it doing wonders for my aching bones.

We hadn’t gone any further than kissing. Though if he had tried to cop a feel I wouldn’t of denied him. He was rather sweet about the whole thing actually and we’d spent the time afterwards shooting each other coy smiles as we got ready for bed.

I pulled myself up out of the tub once my hands had begun to wrinkle, hating the feel of it. I wrapped myself in a fluffy towel and combed through my hair once my feet had dampened the bath mat, but groaned when I realised I’d forgotten to grab some clothes beforehand.

Wiggling my jaw as I clasped my bottom lip between my forefinger and thumb, I contemplated just heading back out into the bedroom. George was probably still asleep and I could simply roll my suitcase back in here without waking him.

Yeah, that sounded like the best option.

So I took a deep breath as I silently slipped out of the bathroom and across the landing into the shared room. I was in for the shock of my life though when I spotted George sat up in bed, duvet pooled around his hips as he rubbed tiredly at his eye. His head turned towards me when he heard the handle lift and he stilled in his movements. 

I must’ve looked a right picture, frozen in the doorway with my gob halfway to the floor, and I watched a slow but obvious smirk creep across George’s features as he dropped his arm to get a good old look at me.

I narrowed my eyes in retort and feigned as much confidence as I possibly could with his eyes stuck on me, before I made my way over to where my suitcase was sat. “It’s rude to stare, you know.”

George laughed, it was a gruff and low sound, littered with sleep. “Just wonderin’ if I’m still dreamin’- nice sight to wake up to ’s all.”

I scoffed out a quiet, disbelieving chuckle, “Oh yeah, black eyes get you going, do they?”

“On you? Anything would.”

I flushed at his comment and dropped down to hide it as I worked my way through the pile of clothes I had in my case, gripping the top of my towel.

“Who are you and what have you done with George?” I tossed the question over my shoulder, still feeling his eyes on me. “‘Cause the real George would never act this shameless.”

I could feel his shrug ripple throughout the room. “Teenage boy. Besides, you know I’m the real deal ‘cause when have I ever lied to you?”

My tongue was in my cheek as I shifted through a few tops, he wasn’t wrong there. “I just forgot to grab some clothes before I jumped in the bath. Thought you’d still be asleep.”

“Woke up just before you came in.”

I hummed. Talk about timing. 

“You sleep alright?” He asked and I could hear him shuffling about now behind me. I wanted to take a peek, see what he was up to, but focused on grabbing what I needed instead.

What had he asked again? Oh, “Um, yeah actually.” Best one I’d had in weeks, if we were being painfully honest. “You?”

“Knackered after that journey yesterday but I stayed up a bit after you passed out.” George replied and I jumped ever so slightly when I felt him drape his arms over my shoulders, chin resting against the side of my head. “You look angelic even when you snore.”

I elbowed him lightly and shook my head. “I don’t snore, you knob.”

“Oh but you do.” George chuckled roughly, “Sounds a bit like this.”

He then proceeded to make horrible snoring sounds in my ear, making me cringe and forcing me to wiggle out of his grasp to escape them. “Ah don’t do that! It makes me feel all bleh.” I shivered to exaggerate the feeling whilst he simply laughed.

“What?” He exclaimed teasingly, “That’s what I had to deal with, all night!”

I chucked the top I’d been holding at him. “Idiot. And to think I let you kiss me.”

A beat passed between us and I feared I’d fucked things by bringing it up. I casted a nervous glance at him when I went to try and retrieve a hoodie or something like it.

“Surprised you broke first. Was betting that I’d have to.” George told me, wearing a lopsided grin, he walked over to the duffle that was laid open by the dresser and grabbed at a grey sweatshirt. “Here’re have this.”

I glanced down at it, then back up at his face. I took it carefully, “Thanks.”

He hummed and moved back towards the duffle to find some clothes of his own to wear.

I was then reminded of what he’d just said, “Hang on, you made a bet with yourself?”

George shot me a toothy grin, “‘You don’t do that?”

I shrugged, unsure. Hadn’t really thought about it. “So, we’re still okay then? You know-”

“After you kissed me?” He teased and I scowled.

“After you kissed me, you mean.”

“Whatever you say, Birdie. But I ‘spose we’ll never truly know.” He was being a twat.

“You’re being a twat.” I told him rightly, but unable to help my light chuckle, “You know you kissed me first.”

He hummed, unconvinced.

“G!” I complained but he merely laughed before waving me off.

“Go get changed, will you?”

“Why?” I challenged him, a bundle of clothes tucked up under my arm. “I’m rather alright as I am, thanks.”

“‘Cause you’re driving me half mad stood there like that.” He quipped back with a hand extended out towards me, “Besides, your nan will come looking if neither one of us turns up to breakfast.”

I grinned, “Reckon I’m that easy do you, Georgie?”

He paused and stopped his riffling to meet my gaze head-on. “No, I just know that if you’d let me I’d spend as long as I could admiring every part of you.”

Pursing my lips to fight my smile, I said, “Nana was right about another thing.”

George titled his head at me, sporting a pleased grin. “And what would that be?”

“You, George Daniel, are a right charmer.”

He snorted with a roll of his eyes then turned back to his duffle. “You love it.” He snarked back, sounding sure.

And he had every right to be, because that was one of the many things I loved about him.

Part Twenty-five>

[urisk-factor]

FUCK IT JOHNNY TOPSIDE/SUBJECT DELTA HEADCANONS!

He's the middle child of three. He has an older brother and a younger sister.

He's half Greek half Scottish.

His mother is this tiny little Greek lady who would change the world for her family. She always wore trousers and these big fuck you boots and whenever Delta got in trouble at school she would come storming through. The school staff feared her.

His father was a six foot five Scottish guy from Glasgow. He worked very hard to make sure his family had a roof over their heads and food to eat. When he was home, he forced himself into a sort of house husband role.

Delta was such a mummy's boy. His sister was a daddy's girl and his brother was split equally between them.

That doesn't mean Delta didn't love his dad, who's name was Jonathan. Jonathan taught him how to just flick a bottle cap off a bottle in one go with his fingers. Delta later taught that to Eleanor.

Pre-Delta, he was really tall and lanky, getting his height from his Dad's side. His sister was built almost the same, but his brother is really short, a manlet if you will, and Delta and their sister never let him forget.

His brother and sister had more traditionally Scottish names, and he had a more Greek name. He can't remember it, other than it might start with an S.

They have a Mc surname, but again Delta can't remember what it is past that.

His Mum had the worst potty mouth. His Dad desperately tried to get her to not swear around the kids, but Delta very quickly picked up her language and was unable to drop it. The only reason Eleanor isn't as bad is because after he becomes Delta, while he kinda can speak, it's deep and rumbly and freaky and it kinda strains him so he just doesn't talk, and thus doesn't swear.

The only exception was when some splicers were shoving Eleanor around and talking about hurting her after she ran ahead and he broke through the wall like the cool aid man and bellowed "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH MY DAMN DAUGHTER YOU FUCKING PIECES OF SHIT"

Eleanor went home that day and asked Lamb what "damn" "fucking" and "shit" means. Lamb was not happy.

He can take most of the suit off, but his legs are genuinely fused to it. He can pull it down to his waist before it won't go farther, and roll the trouser legs up to just below his knees. He can take his boots, gloves, sleeves, top half, and helmet off (though provided he removes the tanks, which he can't do on his own)

Unbeknownst to his Mum, he and his siblings have been having sips of alcohol since they were little. Between that, being a really big guy anyways, and everything he went through to become a big daddy, he can outdrink anyone and everyone. It would take like a week straight of almost nonstop drinking to get him drunk.

He decidedly has not given Eleanor any sips of his drinks on the very rare occasion he has any. He was explicitly told by many people that she's not allowed any, after someone figured out that Johnny Topside had a big of a scottish accent slip on occasionally.

He's so autistic. He loves the sea, everything about the sea, especially the creatures. When he first arrived in Rapture he once spent like five hours staring out a window and talking about the sea animals he could see.

He used to surf, and taught his sister to surf. She later taught Eleanor to surf, using the same board that Delta used to use.

He doesn't actually need to eat/drink or sleep. He still likes to drink, it feels nice on his throat. He only eats if it'll bring nostalgia, and he only sleeps when he feels safe to do so, which is almost never.

He likes to try keep his hair a little longer, because when he was a kid he didn't like anyone other that his Mum touching his hair. She didn't have the heart to keep it too short, but to make up for like school rules she would tie it back or braid it so it wasn't actually touching his shoulders.

He once took off his helmet around Eleanor for a rest, and she started braiding his hair, like how he would sometimes do for her. If he still could cry, he would've been openly sobbing.

He's a hugger :)

Delta was technically a nickname he's always had, mostly because a lot of teachers he had refused to use his actual name because it's "foreign" (he and his siblings were raised in America), and refusing to just give up his heritage, he just chose a random letter and said hey use this or don't address me at all. Unfortunately he was a bit of a prankster so they couldn't just not adress him, so Delta stuck until well into adulthood

He met his sister's future husband in college, and accidentally introduced them. He lived to regret it.

By the time his sister married her husband, their father had passed away. Their brother walked her down the aisle, and Delta had to give a speech in place for the father of the bride speech

He was also a maid of honour. He and his brother both wore kilts

His sister is forever grateful that he managed to keep his silliness under control for most of the day.

The only time it was let out that night was because his sister's PILs were being obnoxious and her husband only invited them to save face. They went up to him and said "please, get them out of here by any legal means possible"

Delta then woke up in the fountain outside the venue the next morning.

In the events of a very good ending au where delta fully survives the trip to the surface, he manages to reconnect with his mother and siblings. His siblings have children and he's delighted to be an Uncle. He's sorta like Grunkle Stan to them.

Eleanor is their cool older cousin, she dares them to commit minor crimes.

Delta's mother fully fucking knows that Eleanor is her granddaughter the moment she lays eyes on her. Delta doesn't even have to say anything and she's immediately cooing over Eleanor all like "are you eating enough dear?"

Eleanor is lowkey Delta's mother's favourite grandchild.

Delta has a step dad at this time and he just does not trust that guy at all.

Delta had the delta symbol tattooed on his hands long before arriving in Rapture, it was just a coincidence that he became Subject Delta.

A lot of the alpha series big daddies were meant to live for a really long time, but they keep getting killed before they can get to that point.

The little sisters that grow up and survive being big sisters and whatnot are also meant to live really long, including Eleanor, but she actually does get to live her time.

He and his siblings can speak greek and scots too, but are basically devastated they can't speak Gàidhlig

He has a joking hatred for ginger people (his brother (and technically father but the joke only starts after he passes))

[absurdthirst]

I need advice. You’ve always steered my right before ♥️

I’m so conflicted. Apologies for the essay but i genuinely don’t know what to do.

So, for context, my brother and his partner split earlier in the year. He was living with my parents for a few months before they split because they were having issues. He basically reverted to a teenager. Couldn’t be bothered to see his kids and just wanted to online game all the time. Fast forward to end of Feb, he has a massive blowout with my family and moves back home. It then later transpired that he had been cheating for months prior to all this and his ex kicked him out.

He now lives with my mum (parents are split) and hasn’t spoken to my dad, my husband or I for months (hubby and I didn’t absolutely nothing wrong). He sent a text the day we had our son (after his ex told him to) but that’s it. Radio silence. Taken zero interest in our son. Doesn’t seem to care about any of us.

My husband and I have always been super supportive and have tried to be as present as we can in his kids lives (we do live 2 hours away). His ex has met the baby. Took several trains to come visit and it took her 3 hours but he still, 2 and a half months on, has not bothered to visit (he can also drive). We met his daughter at a month old and his son was a week old.

Now to what I need advise on.

My mum, who I have a strained relationship with as is for many reasons but mainly because we have never been her priority, has been diagnosed with very early breast cancer.

Its completely treatable and hasn’t spread so honestly the best case scenario… but obviously still stressful. One thing to know about my mum, shes a pathological liar and has always used situations to gain sympathy but she has cried wolf so many times it’s hard to believe her when she is telling the truth. She has lied about having cancer once before. She had a benign tumour removed… then changed her story later to say it was cancerous despite telling us initially it wasn’t. I know it is true this time though, only because a close family friend confirmed it.

However, its her birthday in September and she wants us all get together for lunch. As you can imagine I have very mixed feelings about this. As much as i understand she wants her family together, i don’t particularly want to spend an afternoon with my brother. Before this all happened i had told her that we will go but we won’t bring the baby if my brother doesn’t reach out first. She said she’d have a word with him but he still hasn’t.

She’s now trying to use this situation as a way to manipulate me into getting her way but I feel really strongly about him not being introduced to my baby until he demonstrates that he actually cares about him. I grew up feeling very unwanted by my mum and I don’t want that for my child. So I am still set on trying to get someone to take care of him if he still doesn’t reach out.

Am I being unreasonable here? My husband thinks I should just suck it up but I honestly don’t think he gets how hurt I am 😔

Nope. You aren’t required to bring your baby around a potentially toxic situation.

It sounds like your brother has the emotional maturity of a child and he knows he was wrong and refuses to own up to it. He’s too busy living his life how he sees fit.

Given that he’s had no interest in your family, you have no requirement to bring your baby around him. Your mother sounds great. Like my grandmother and I’ve lived less than 40 minutes from her for the past year and I’ve seen her one time. Only for her to lie about me and I’ve not spoken to her since.

You want to protect your child from the heartaches you lived through. There isn’t anything wrong with that.

Although, anon, I do advise you to perhaps speak to a therapist for the feelings from your childhood and for some tactics to set boundaries with your family and deal with their toxicity.

Congratulations on your baby! 💜

[friendly-books]

Whispers Underground read and review

Whispers Underground

Alright this is one of @temporaryyuri favorite books!

“I’d made the mistake of telling my mum what I did for a living” pg. 9 That was a mistake

Oh so Abigail is Peter’s cousin?

“She doesn't invite us in,” pg. 11 Oh threshold magic perhaps?

“Like me Abigail had inherited her hair from the “wrong” parent” pg. 12 Glad that’s in quotations presumably Peter is talking about inheriting hair from the black parent

“but her dad was determined that his child wasn’t going to embarrass him in public” pg. 12 That’s more a you problem than your child’s problem maybe look into why your child’s natural hair “embarrasses” you

“That all stopped when Abigail turned eleven and calmly announced that she had ChildLine  on speed dial and the next person who came near her with a hair extension, chemical straightener, or God forbid a hot comb was going to end up explaining their actions to Social Services.” pg. 12 Go Abigail!

“My mum, says that Abigail’s hair is a shameful scandal” pg. 12 It’s not a scandal

“Looks like wear and foxes maybe.” pg. 16 Ohh foxes!

“And you’re sure this is where it appeared?” I asked

“He appeared,” said Abigail “I keep telling you it’s a he” pg. 18 Yeah Peter respect the ghost's pronouns

“Because-“ Mackey said, and then he got hit by a ghost train.” pg. 23 Ahh

“Lesley’s only supposed to do so much magic per day.” pg. 27 Oh interesting

“Detective Inspector Thomas Nightingale is my boss, my governor, and my master-purely in the teacher-student teacher sense of the term you understand” pg. 27 Nightingale!

“visit Beverly Brooks” pg. 29 Beverly!

“Rising out of the lights was a three meter tall statue of Sherlock Holmes complete with a deerstalker and hash pipe” pg. 34 Wait really?

“The guy lying dead at the end of the platform three had once been handsome.” pg. 36 Bi Peter 9

“Like I said, probably handsome.” pg. 37 Bi Peter 10

“sat down and have what went wrong with the O.J. Simpson murder trial explained to them at great length. With PowerPoint slides.” pg. 43 Oh with PowerPoints how exciting

“Detective chief Inspector Seawoll” pg. 46 Seawoll!

“Oh bollocks,” said Seawoll. “He’s an American” pg. 49 Ha and the appropriate reaction to an American

“Sahra Guleed” pg. 54 Sahra! I like you

“I heard it gets cold in the desert,” said Carey. “You’d need a hat like that.”

Guleed and I exchanged looks, but what can you do?” pg. 56 Carey CAREY why????

“It was the sort of place gay cabinet ministers used to stash their boyfriends back when that sort of thing would have caused a scandal.” pg. 57 More than a scandal it used to be illegal

“Nine point five.”

“Nine point two,” said Guleed. He lost points for the dismount.” pg. 58 Ha

“How about a five minute head start to hide my stash?” he said finally

We surged forward as one.” pg. 59 Ha and what was the guy expecting?

“Are you in a relationship with Mr. Gallagher? asked Carley. “Civil partnerships, long-term committed … no?” pg. 60 At least they’re inclusive questioning

“He was obviously dressed these days by his life partner-probably a second younger model” pg. 72 Oh

“I barely knew four and a half spells and you couldn’t  have got me to give it up,” pg. 84 Yep

“However having ethnicity challenged magician” pg. 85 Ha and I love that they keep using this term

“You’re supposed to turn up on people’s doorstep’s, terrify them with the sheer majesty of your authority” pg. 87 Peter :/

“Curious, I thought, she’d rather let us in than tell us her second name.” pg. 89 Interesting

“You always expect people in wheelchairs to look wasted” pg. 90 Nooo? Do people think that? Am I the strange one for not thinking that? Anyone can be in a wheelchair for a variety of reasons

“I’ll either find a way or make one’

“This is Special Agent Kimberly Reynolds from the FBI” pg. 105 Oh I was told I would like you

“There was coffee; he was being reasonable and I was suspicious.” pg. 110 Ha

“Do I need to stress how important it is that nether he, Agent Reynolds, or, more important, the American media get even a whiff of anything unusual.” pg. 111 It’d be bad

“I’ve got a little confession to make,” he said. “I wasn’t being entirely honest.”

“I’m shocked” pg. 117 Ha

“If you live in London just about the last thing you expect is a winter Christmas” pg. 118 Why?

“I wondered when the last time Nightingale had been here-probably not since the 1940’s” pg. 119 I would love to learn more Nightingale past

“No,” said Guleed “We completely forgot to ask her about the victims movements because we’re just that unprofessional.” pg. 129 Ha

“Nightingale had told me that there was a whole American tradition of wizardly, more than one” pg. 130 I hope we see some of the American wizardly

“Really?” he said, and I swear his face lit up. “How can I help?” pg. 132 Hmmm :|

“I did a quick scan in case Lady Ty was lurking in a corner somewhere.” pg. 138 Always a good idea

“My employer is curious to know who your master is,” said Robert “your true master”

With the emphasis on he put on the word master, I was certain he was talking about magical rather than administrative authority.” pg. 140 Still did he have to use the word master

“So are you two from China?”

“We’re from Taiwan” pg. 141 Way to assume Peter

“The Nightingale is his master.” pg. 141 Oh using “the” very important

“River Fleet” pg. 142 A River!

“He looked at the Metropolitan Police crest in amazement

“The police,” he said “Really?”

“Really” pg. 143 Why is he amazed?

“Stay down or I’ll break your fucking arms” pg. 153 Wow I didn’t expect that

“The figure reached for a gun” pg. 154 Oh no

“I pointed out that nothing had happened, which prompted Nightingale to give me one of his rare smiles.” pg. 156 What do you mean rare? I’ve commented about his smile before

“At the time I thought he seemed inordinately fond of it, though” he said as he watched me as I dodged around the atrium. “Although I must say I’m beginning to appreciate its appeal now.” pg. 156 Ha and did your professor use the personal rain cloud on you nightingale?

“It was Agent Reynolds” pg. 157 Reynolds what are you doing?

“Wait if I explain will you leave him out of this?” pg. 158 Reynolds gone rogue

“Is it because the victim is an American citizen. Do you find the murder of American citizens funny?” pg. 161 Reynolds girl chill you’re at a ten and I need you at a seven. Take a breath and maybe a nap

“I was tempted to tell her it was because we were British and actually had a sense of humor, but I tried to be cruel to foreigners,” pg. 161 Ha

“The FBI is legally responsible to investigate crimes committed against Americans civilians in foreign countries.” pg. 162 No? I admittedly don’t have a lot of knowledge of the FBI but I’m pretty sure the FBI deals with domestic crimes not international crimes

“Do I have to?” he asked

“This is grown up stuff,” I said

“Don’t patronize me”

“I’ll buy you a cake”

He sat up like a small dog “Really?” pg. 163 Ha

“Just a lowly constable”

“That’s me” I said

“Sure you are,” she said” pg. 165 She knows something

“She knew something. That’s the trouble with detectives-they’re suspicious bastards.” pg. 165 Ha

“With the erroneous soft “c” sound in “principia” and “magicis“-Pliny the Elder would have been pissed. I know it annoyed Nightingale when I did it.” pg.  168 Ha

“You can’t be part of this, you’re…a common. This is the Folly; this place is strictly toffs and monsters.” pg. 169 Zack knows?!

“My dad was a fairy.” pg. 169 Really?!

“breasts bounced distractingly. Me and Zack both stared like a pair of teenagers.” pg. 171 No stop that don’t make me get the spray bottle. That’s not even grammatically correct it's Zack and I not me and Zack

“As she walked away I realized I’d forgotten how sharply her thighs were and how beautiful the dimples that formed in her buttocks when she walked.” pg. 171 No. Where’s the spray bottle?

“We both watched in rapt silence until she’d gone around the corner.

That was amazing” said Zack

“Yes she is” I said

“So,” said Zack. “Are you two fucking?”

I glared at him

“No,” I said “she’s”

“Sex on legs” pg. 172 Alright time for the spray bottle. Maybe Leslie doesn’t want to have sex or be in a relationship with either of you did y’all consider that?

“Nightingale leaned forward and whip-fast grabbed Zach’s wrist and twisted it palm up so that Zach had to half rise out of his chair to avoid breaking it.

“You’re in my house Zachary Palmer, eating at my table, and I don’t care how modern you think you are, I know you know that’s an obligation you can’t avoid.” pg. 178 So cool Nightingale

“Good God, Peter” said Nightingale. “I can’t leave the city for five minutes.” pg. 178 Ha

“I can always tell when Nightingale’s been watching rugby because he leaves the place tidier than normal.” pg. 181 Ha

“When I got there Lesley had three-count them, three-apples doing slow circuits in the air of the lab.” pg. 186 Good for Lesley

“But the gun jiggled so violently on its tripod that it produced a spray wide and random enough to satisfy the most exacting standards of the Imperial Marksmanship School.” pg. 189 Ha

“You’ll like this beer,” said Oberon. “It’s from a microbrewery in the States. The management brings it over a crate at a time.” pg. 201 Mac’s brew from the Dresden files!

“I’d done the Middle Passage in year eight at school-I knew slave names when I heard them.” pg. 202 Oh

“I considered pushing it, but I was conscious of how hard Lesley was restraining herself from slapping me upside the head and yelling “Focus” in my ear.” pg. 202 I can’t blame her

“Say something about my face,” said Lesley. “Go on, I dare you,”

Code of the police-you always back your partner in public even when they’ve obviously gone insane.” pg. 205 OK Lesley maybe take a step back and calm down

“He said he got them from Mordor,” she said

“Morden?”asked Lesley. “What, in Merton?”

“No,” I said “Mordor as in “where the shadows lie” from Lord of the Rings.” pg. 206 Nerd

“I started stripping books on either side until I found something.” pg. 212 The gasp of horror that came out of my mouth when I thought he was stripping the books themselves nearly gave myself a heart attack

“Perhaps our Russian nurse was there to do more

“It’s not good to become reliant on specialists,”

“Hear hear,” said Nightingale” pg. 213 Ha

“I’m guessing that the empty one is the first component,” I said

“Top marks, Peter” pg. 217 Ha

“Possibly,” he said. “Comparative thaumatology is a discipline still in its infancy”

This was a familiar Nightingale joke-meaning that I was only one currently interested in it.” pg. 217 Aw

“IDD,” I said. “Improvised Demonic Device.”

“It doesn’t look improvised, anyway,” said Lesley. “It looks custom built.”

“If you two are quite finished,” said Nightingale

Lesley looked outrage but kept her mouth shut.” pg. 219 Why is Lesley outraged?

“This may be somewhat unpleasant,” he said, and pressed  his fingers down.

Fucking major fucking understatement” pg. 220 Bad then

“A dog sir,” said Lesley hoarsely. “Pit bull, Rottweiler, some ugly bastard thing like that.” pg. 220 Slander I say against Pit bulls and Rottweilers the poor babies get a bad rap

“Dogfight” pg. 221 How dare they >:(

“Nightingale sprang up, his face as angry as I’ve ever seen him.” pg. 221 Yep

“If marijuana was legal,” pg. 224 It’s not legal in the UK?

“Lesley was as pissed as I’ve ever seen her.” pg. 228 Why is Lesley mad?

“She was the best of your generation,” he said. “And you broke her” pg. 228 That’s not Peter’s fault

“It’s got that nasty smell that I’ve come to associate with you and that well-dressed piece of shit you work with” pg. 229 Rude

“She flopped against me and I felt her breast squashed against my chest” pg. 231 No

“I could leave the mask on” she said. “Or I could wear a paper bag.” pg. 232 Girl have some self respect

“Her hand found my erection and gave it  a delighted squeeze. I yelped and dropped my keys. “Look what you made me do,” I said

“Never mind that” she said, and tried to get her hand inside my fly.” pg. 232 NO Lesley stop that >:( bad sexual harassment

“I miss being a proper copper” pg. 241 Why? Being a wizard is better

“Do you know what I like about you English?” asked the senator

“The sense of humor?” pg. 255 Ha

“If you call me a nigger you just sound like a racist American,” I said. “And limey is a joke of an insult. You don’t actually know enough about me to insult me properly.” pg. 256 OHH

“You burn down one central London tourist attraction, I thought and they never let you forget it” pg. 264 Ha

“Where does an impoverished Irishman dig up  the readies, especially back then.” pg. 271 Did you really need to comment on the man’s ethnicity?

“Meaningless euphemism at one end and your full-on Unseen University at the other,” I said. “The Unseen University is a bit like Hogwarts-“

“Stephanopoulos cut me off. “I have read some Terry Pratchett,” she said.” pg. 277 Nice reference

“Kumar and I,” said Nightingale. “Not I and Kumar” pg. 281 Grammar police Nightingale

“Agent Reynolds turned to face us, her pale face caught in the bobbing circles of our helmet lights.

“Hi, Peter,” she said. “What are you doing down here?” pg. 300 What are you doing here Reynolds?

Why are we having a shootout in the sewers?

“I realized I’d been muttering the formae under my breath, number six on Nightingale’s list of my bad habits.” pg. 326 Ha and there’s a list?

“Really magic?”

“Yes”

“Fuck me!”

“Now you’re reacting?”

“Well I didn’t want to embarrass myself in front of the American,” pg. 331 Ha

“Enid, Oklahoma” pg. 339 Oklahoma!

“I felt a puff of air on my face and the rails began to sing. It was too late-a train was coming.” pg. 340 Oh no

“Our suspect started shaking and making snorting sounds noises.

“And you can stop laughing,” I told him. “This is really unprofessional.” pg. 344 Ha

“fuck me, he’s a Earthbender- before falling into the black” pg. 346 Oh no

“I was going to reach out and contact Toby the Dog with my mind.” pg. 361 What

“I’ve never been one of those people who tells everyone they’re fine and then tries to climb out of their hospital bed.” pg. 368 Why do I not believe you Peter

“I lay back in my bed, closed my eyes, and groaned theatrically until Lesley woke up.” pg. 373 Do you think Lesley bought Peter’s amazing performance?

“I bet he was fit,” she said “All these supernatural types are fit.” pg. 373 Lesley asking the important questions

“Nightingale turned up,” she said. “He was hoping to shout at you a bit to show his affection in a gruff manly and safety non gay way but you were asleep so he just sort of milled around for a while and then off he went.” pg. 375 Aw

“chasing a suspect through the hospital while wearing an open back hospital gown.” pg. 383 Peter :|

“the Met have some fairly serious views about the illegal possession” pg. 391 Yep

“Sorry, there’s three basic types, okay? There’s born, those who choose, and those that are made different.” pg. 398 Oh interesting

“As she wiped her face I realized that Zach was staring at me-eyes narrowed.” pg. 402 Interesting what’s he thinking?

“We’ve got to go down the tunnels now,” I said. “Before Kevin fucking Nolan manages to kill the lot of them.” pg. 411 What? Why? What did I miss?

“Nightingale was standing under a lamppost in a long oyster white Burberry coat that made him look like something from an old film. All he was missing was a cigarette, a hat, and a doomed love affair with a suburban housewife.” pg. 413 Why’d it have to be a housewife? It could be the husband

“Half caste” pg. 423 Rude. Could people stop being racist toward Peter?

“Half caste, I thought. I hadn’t heard that one in a while. Not since mum fell out with aunty Doris, who having grown up in Jamaica in the 1950’s regarded political correctness as something that happened to other people.” pg. 424 Half caste is a rude and racist word for biracial people

“Nightingale, but even half-shadowed I could see he didn’t like the idea of sending women into danger.” pg. 424 Get with the times Nightingale

“That’s because we’re in their ends now,” said Zack

“Ends?” asked Reynolds

“Manor” I said

“Patch” said Lesley

“Yard?” I tried when Reynolds still looked blank

“Hood,” said Zack

“Gotcha,” said Reynolds” pg. 429 Ha

“Oh shit, I thought if this isn’t the Low King of the dwarves” pg. 432 Cool

“I believe he supplied you with food contaminated with E. coli,” pg. 435 Oh no

“We buy our groceries from the Jew” pg. 436 Why the antisemitism?

“Despite my mum being from a small village in the middle of the forest, I’m not a country person” pg. 438 Peter’s a city boy. I so want Peter to have to go out into the country.

“Even Nightingale’s not going to wait much longer before he comes in”

And it with as many armed officers he could muster.” pg. 443 Because he cares about you

“Ryan Carroll,” I said “you’re under arrest for the murder of James Gallagher” pg. 446 Him! I forgot about him

“Like a bad smell,” said Ryan. “Don’t you hate Americans” pg. 458 Rude and no I don’t I'm an American

“James bloody Gallagher hadn’t been better at singing in his head as well.” pg. 459 So you killed him because you were jealous

“He ran, I chased, we got lost, I hit him with the plate, it broke, he tried to walk away-I stabbed him in the back” pg. 461 Poor James and Ryan is terrible

“Nightingale presented me with a small package neatly wrapped in silver paper.” pg. 462 Aww what a nice gift

“slim Nokia modified to have a battery interrupt and preprogrammed with every relevant number I could think of” pg. 462 Aww they both got each other such nice gifts

“I invited Nightingale but he said he couldn’t leave Molly alone on Christmas Day” pg. 463 Aww

“Ethnicity Challenged Magician” pg. 467 I love that Peter keeps using this phrase

“I have a FBI file” Nightingale wasn’t going to like that.” pg. 471 Peter has one? Does Nightingale have one?

“But I’d counted on having more time to butter Nightingale up” pg. 473 Ha

“I was finishing off the graffiti” pg. 474 That’s dangerous Abigail

“I reckoned that if he got his message out he might get him closure and move on” pg. 474 Aw that’s nice

“Nightingale had been horrified by the whole idea when I broached it before coming down to make the pitch.” pg. 476 Come on Nightingale she’s going to do this again might as well supervise

“Think of it as a boxing club,” I said. “You know boys are going to smack each other in the face anyway, so you might as well channel it into something disciplined. Abigail’s going to be out there looking, so we might as well make use of it and at least this way we can keep an eye on her.” pg. 476 Great idea Peter

“If it becomes necessary I will teach Abigail the forms and wisdoms myself,” he said, and then smiled. “Perhaps she’ll prove a more diligent student than yourself, in any case.” pg. 477 Ha and I hope Nightingale teaches Abigail magic

“A talking fox” pg. 478 Cool

“Tell your friends they’re on the wrong side of the river.” pg. 478 Ominous

Final thoughts

I enjoyed the book. The bad guy caught me off guard. I'd forgotten about him. What Lesley did to Peter was terrible. I liked Abigail and I’m glad she’s going to be part of the story more. I liked the whisper people. I liked Kimberly and Sahra Guleed. Nightingale as always was wonderful. We got two Bi Peter moments bringing our total up to 10. 

Onto Broken Homes

[ourloveisforthelovely]

Never the Same Part 8

Regulus Black AU

Story Summary  Being Bill’s twin, you were always the supportive one. Now that you are stepping outside of your role everything is changing. For your family, it’s for the worse. For Regulus and yourself, it’s for the better.

Pairings: Regulus x Reader

Rating: Mature. Doesn’t follow the book

Part 7 Link 

______

Much to Regulus’ dismay, Walburga didn’t find a new place to “haunt.” Instead, she seemed to latch her claws in even tighter. She proclaimed that she would never leave her home. Nothing that either of her sons had to say could make her do something that she wasn’t ready to.

The good part was she started avoiding everyone and only came out of the master suite if she absolutely had to. This was just fine with Regulus and Sirius. Neither brother seemed overly joyed to have to deal with their mother. It reminded you of zoo keepers having to deal with a ravenous lion. If it wasn’t for Kreacher, you had a feeling that food would be just left at her door with no indication that it mattered if she ate or not. You wouldn’t have been surprised if Regulus and Sirius were playing rock, paper, scissors to decide who would be the unfortunate one to deal with Walburga that day.

You, typically, would have felt sorry for Walburga but after seeing the state that she left Sirius and Regulus in…your “give a damn” was slightly broken. There was also the fact that as your pregnancy progressed you were feeling worse with each day.

“How are you feeling?”

You sighed at Regulus’ question. Looking up from your pillow you gave him a frustrated look.

“Awful! My back hurts. My feet hurt. I don’t think I can stretch anymore and if I don’t stop vomiting…”

Regulus winced, slightly regretting asking that question. He wasn’t even sure why he did. Regulus knew that you were feeling awful. For some reason, he kept asking how you were feeling. If you threw something at him for asking, Regulus wouldn’t be surprised. Normally, you were perfectly sweet and patient but as the pregnancy was progressing… your patience was failing you.

“So…the same?”

Regulus added. You only stared at him. Regulus gave you an innocent shrug. You knew that he was probably as tired of you being pregnant as you were of actually being pregnant. He was too good of a man to say it, however.

“I am never doing this again. I used to want a big family but now I am thinking my parents are mental.”

Regulus chuckled as he moved to put his coat on. He was getting ready to go away for a week, which was also fueling your frustration.

“Well, lucky for you I have never had the desire to have a house full of children.”

You groaned.

“Good, because this is a one-and-done shot. I might possibly jump off of a building if I have to do this again.”

Regulus chuckled before kneeling down beside you. He gently pushed some of your hair away from your face and leaned down to kiss you.

“You can’t jump off of a building and leave me alone with all of these people. You’re the only one keeping me sane. Never mind the fact, that I know absolutely nothing about babies. What if I forgot ours somewhere?”

Regulus was relieved when you giggled.

“You wouldn’t forget them anywhere.”

Regulus blinked a few times.

“My mum and dad forgot me at a funeral parlor once.”

Your mouth dropped. Why this surprised you, you didn’t know. If Regulus told you that his father had forgotten his son’s name it wouldn’t have been entirely shocking. Orion Black seemed to be more of a conversational piece than a father and husband.

“Please tell me that you are joking.”

Regulus shook his head as his face darkened a bit. It was really no wonder that he turned out the way that he did. With his parent’s version of “love” it was a bloody miracle that he was able to talk to you in the first place…let alone be in a healthy relationship.

“Dead serious. I was alone with a corpse for like four hours until Sirius realized that I was gone. It was a lovely experience for a five-year-old to go through.”

You put a hand over your face. If you needed yet another reason to dislike your mother and father-in-law, you had one.

“That’s horrible! Regulus, you would never do something like that to your own child. You are a lot more self-aware than your parents apparently were. Why don’t you just sit this job out? Sirius can go for you.”

Regulus leaned down to kiss you again. He hadn’t told you the exact nature of this job. Something was going down at Hogwarts and The Order needed to get there fast. Regulus watched your face for a moment. He wanted to enjoy each moment looking at you…in case something happened. While Regulus didn’t plan on dying if something happened…he just wanted to enjoy the moment.

“It's already planned with me going. Sirius is going too. If you need me, Kreacher will be able to get to me quickly.”

You wanted to be selfish and tell Sirius to pack an overnight bag. He wasn’t the one expecting twins at any given moment. Regulus was. You had accepted the fact that the twins would probably come early. If Regulus was gone while you were in labor, you would personally throw the biggest tantrum on him that you could muster.

You also weren’t the least bit happy about being stuck in the house alone with Walburga. There were many other tasks that you would be doing versus being stuck in the house with your mother-in-law.

“Fine…if you have to…It seems like all of you are going. Is there something that you aren’t telling me, Regulus Black?

You asked as Regulus moved to stand up. He gave you an innocent look, praying that you would buy it. The last thing that Regulus wanted was to tell you exactly what you were missing out on. Regulus knew that if he told you where he was going you would demand to go. The further away you were from Hogwarts the safer you would be.

“Everything will be just fine. I promise.”

Regulus replied. He knew it was a lie. It was a bold-faced lie and he never should have done it but he did.

“Alright then. Please be careful. It's only a matter of weeks before the twins come and…I can’t do it without you.”

Regulus leaned down to kiss you once more.

“I’ll be back before you know it.”

Sirius stepped into the doorway to see if Regulus was ever coming along. He hadn’t said it but he was amazed at the turnaround Regulus made personally. What had been a moody sullen arrogant teenager had turned into the world’s best husband. You were the one thing that Regulus cared for the most in the world.

“Ready?”

Sirius questioned. Regulus’ grey eyes flickered to his brother before looking back to you once more. Putting a hand on the side of your face, Regulus forced a smile and again prayed that you were believing the bullshit that he was offering.

“See you soon.”

Sirius waited until the front door shut before turning to face his brother.

“You haven’t told her exactly what is going on at Hogwarts, have you?”

Regulus shook his head.

“No, she doesn’t need to know. I need to focus on the task at hand. I won’t be able to do that if she's running around fighting too. One of us will get killed and it will probably be me. Y/n is safe here with mother.”

Sirius muttered “fuck me” under his breath. If he knew anything, it would be the fact that you would be furious for not only missing what would be the biggest battle known to Wizardkind but the fact that Regulus lied. Sure, his brother’s intentions were good. No one’s pregnant wife needed to be putting herself on the line like that she needed to know.

“Reg, she’s going to be pissed.”

Regulus again glanced over his shoulder making sure that you weren’t anywhere nearby.

“Pissed or not, she and our children will be alive. She’ll forgive me soon enough. Now let's go and stop talking about this.”

The two walked in silence until Sirius started chuckling. Regulus’ eyes rolled over to his older brother with a scowl.

“What?”

He questioned. Sirius finally got a grip on himself before speaking.

“I would be pissed if you left me with Walburga. The old hag will probably be having Y/n help her organize her obituary scrapbook.”

Regulus rolled his eyes. The last thing that he wanted was to think about his mother. While Regulus really didn’t want to kill Walburga himself it was beginning to look like that was a decent option. The woman was making everyone’s lives miserable.

“When we get back, we need to make a plan to get rid of the old bitch. If we don’t, she will haunt us until she dies again…that is too long away for my liking.”

(several hours later)

You sat in a near haze listening to Walburga rattle on and on about her dead relatives. While Regulus and Sirius made no effort to hide their contempt for their mother (a prime example was Sirius purposely stepping on every crack in the sidewalk to “break his mother’s back.”) you were trying your best to be somewhat decent to her. It was getting harder as your pregnancy progressed. Your patience was thin and listening to this old bitch be nothing but rude to both of her sons was wearing on you.

“And that’s how Aunt Estrella died…Y/n are you listening to me?”

You blinked a few times to pull yourself from your trance.

“Yes…I am.”

Walburga shook her head.

“If you are going to lie to me at least make it about something good. Your eyes have been glazed over for the past half an hour. So, without my son hovering over you like an overprotective mother hen, I can talk to you properly now. What are your plans for the twins? It has to be getting near time for them to be born. I do hope that Regulus and yourself have made plans for a good nanny.”

You had to stop yourself from laughing at the expression on Regulus’ face when you told him that Walburga compared him to a mother hen.

“Actually, no. We haven’t made any plans for a nanny because they are our kids and we can take care of them ourselves.”

Walburga looked totally baffled by that comment. She had never once been without a nanny at least until Regulus was 7. If she had to take care of her children all on her own, it would have been a major inconvenience that Walburga just couldn’t phantom.

“But what about when both of you are tired…or when Regulus is working?”

You leaned back in your chair.

“My mother made it just fine. That’s with a lot more children than two running around. Besides, my mum will be willing to help me. Believe it or not, Regulus and I look forward to taking care of our children."

“Children should be seen and not heard.”

You moved to stand up as Sirius walked in. His disheveled appearance quickly caught your attention. You didn’t give Walburga a second thought before muttering, “I’ll have to get back to you on that” and going to your brother-in-law.

As you approached him, you realized that his eye had a massive cut under it and his nose had been bleeding. Panic surged through you as you realized Regulus wasn’t in the room.

“Sirius! Are you…Regulus? Where is he?”

Sirius attempted to fix his now-destroyed hair. He wanted to make a joke that it would take ages to make it look right again but your expression told him that you wouldn’t appreciate it like normal. The terrified expression on your face told Sirius that you were NOT in the mood for any of his humor at the moment.

“He’s fine! I swear! Regulus sent me. I need you to come with me and try not to panic…I would say to keep an open mind but there is no way to prepare you for what you are about to see.”

You felt your mouth drop at Sirius’ words. Telling you not to panic worked as well as stabbing you and saying “Ah, you’ll be alright…just ignore the bleeding.”

“Sirius…”

Before you could even finish the sentence, Sirius apparated both of you to what was left of Hogwarts. Your mouth dropped even further the moment that you saw the castle that you loved so much nearly destroyed. Looking around, all you could see was sheer carnage. Bloody students and other various adults were wandering around looking totally lost.

The moment that Regulus walked out of what was the great hall, you all but ran to him.

“Regulus!”

You had nearly knocked him down before Regulus could even get a word out. All that mattered to you was the fact that he was alive.

“Y/n…”

He started but you cut him off as you started looking him over in a state of panic. His clothes were dusty and torn in a few places. Thankfully, he appeared to not have much physical damage other than a bruised cheek and busted bottom lip.

“Regulus, what the hell?!”

“Y/n, I’m fine. Everything is going to be…”

You cut him off yet again.

“If you say fine, I am going to slug you! Nothing about this looks fine! I thought that you said this was a small job. Are you seeing the same shit that I am!”

Regulus reached out and cupped your cheeks.

“Y/n, I am okay. He’s gone… Voldemort is gone.”

“Harry! Oh, Merlin, is Harry…”

“He’s fine! He’s okay. I didn’t tell you because, given your condition, there was no way in hell that I was about to let you come here and be potentially hurt. I had to keep you and the babies safe.”

You looked around as a nearby wall partially collapsed. Turning back to Regulus, you mentally tried to ignore the screaming in your head that today could have very well been the day that you lost the man that you loved. Yes, the dark lord was dead but the good side clearly had a ton of losses too.

“What if you had died? How do you think that I would have felt knowing that I never got to see you again? What about our children…Regulus, I am…”

Regulus pulled you back into another kiss silencing any further words. You slipped one hand onto Regulus’ cheek before sliding to the back of his head and tangled in his curls. Neither Regulus nor yourself seemed in any hurry to let go of the other.

Regulus pulled away after a moment but didn’t move too far away from you.

“Because I knew you would panic…I’m alive, here and with you…that’s all that matters.”

You kissed him again as Regulus placed one hand on your stomach.”

“You really are the most stubborn man that I have ever met. If I didn’t love you so much I really would punch you in the face.”

Regulus chuckled as his eyes went to Arthur Weasley. He sighed immediately. Regulus knew what he had to tell you and he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to ruin the intimacy of this moment and break your heart but he had to.

“Y/n, I do need to talk to you about one thing though. Not everyone made it. We nearly lost Tonks and Remus.”

You stepped back as your eyes widened. In all of the chaos, you realized that you had yet to see any members of your family.

“My parents? Brothers? Ginny?”

You quickly asked. Regulus’ face darkened as he rubbed a hand over his face.

“They’re fine…everyone except Fred…darling, he didn’t make it.”

Regulus’ words felt like a bullet to your heart. Fred was gone. Everything in your heart came to a screeching halt as you looked around.

“Where are they?”

“In the great hall.”

Regulus replied softly. You took a few deep breaths before turning and running into the great hall. Regulus remained motionless for a moment before turning and going after you. This was the part that he dreaded. Regulus could deal with the fighting and chaos but the aftermath was something that he was not emotionally ready for. He would have to attend the funerals. See the loss in his friend’s eyes as they realized the ones that they cared the most for weren’t coming back.

When he stepped into the great hall, you were kneeling down beside George and Molly. Regulus had to look away. He couldn’t bear to see the look of sheer heartbreak on your face. It was bad enough when the Weasleys realized that Fred was dead, to begin with. Now here you were, the one human that he loved the most in the world, having to face the reality that your little brother was gone and nothing could be done about it. He would have to stand by and watch as you went through some of the darkest days and he wasn’t able to protect you…for once he could do absolutely nothing.

You, meanwhile, sat staring down at Fred’s face. His eyes were closed making him look as if he was only sleeping. Part of you wondered if he would suddenly sit up and say “Got you!” You prayed that would happen. For once, you wanted nothing more than for Fred and George to be playing one of their pranks…but you knew that wasn’t the case. The heartbroken look on George’s face, as he sobbed in Arthur’s arms, told you that this was no joke.

Even though you had your own heartbreak to deal with, you knew that George was experiencing devastation worse. Fred was George’s other half…the other half to the puzzle…now he was gone. You slowly looked up at Bill. Your own twin stood holding his wife but his eye was locked on your face. Without even speaking, you knew that the two of you were thinking the same thing. Neither of you would know how to make it without the other. Bill was the other half of your soul. He was the one who came into the world with you. While the two of you still had each other…George was not missing his other half.

In the noise and chaos, you could only think one thought…

Nothing will ever be the same again

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