#and when she started her second semester all of her roomies were replaced with new randoms ;-; i was genuinely so sad....lol

[softerhaze]

thinkin about playing through university with ruthie vs actually having to do it

[argylemnwrites]

Why Are We Still Waiting? - Chapter 1

Pairing: Drake Walker x MC (Riley Liu)

Book: The Royal Romance (It Couldn’t Wait Another Moment universe, about 21 months after that epilogue, about 8 months since the prologue)

Word Count: ~4400

Rating: PG-13 (language)

Summary: A new member of the family arrives, and both Drake and Riley reflect on how much things have changed over the past 3 years.

Author’s Note: Let’s try this again, shall we? Sorry for the delay between the prologue and this chapter, but I’m much happier with the character arcs I’ve got planned now, and I think you all will enjoy the story more, too. To catch up on this series, you can check out the It Couldn’t Wait Another Moment masterlist (link in bio).

It was a quiet night in the Kensington neighborhood of Brooklyn. Anderson was curled up in his armchair, dozing lightly after his evening walk. The TV was on, the eleven o’clock news about to start any moment, and Drake was settled onto the couch, ready to watch, no matter how much Riley teased him about being “an old man” for still using the television to get his news. She was stretched out on the couch next to him, her toes tucked under his thigh. She was finishing up her work for the day, reviewing the twitter buzz for the reopening of a restaurant that hired the PR firm she worked for after a video of the former head chef going on a racist tirade surfaced. It was boring, average, and incredibly routine. It was the type of evening Drake enjoyed the most.

He knew Riley saw nights in like this as their “catch up” nights, but honestly, Drake looked forward to them a lot. Sure, in the more than two years he’d lived in New York, he’d come to find many things he loved about the city. The variety of food available at hole-in-the-wall restaurants was amazing, and the portion sizes and prices were always right. The mind games and backstabbing of court were replaced with direct, blunt friendships with Luke, Sunil, Caleb, and Omar, men he’d gotten to know at some of his different temp postings before he got hired on as a permanent employee at the law firm three months ago. And sure, it’s not like he had some great passion for reviewing and cataloging court filings and documents, but it paid the bills. And no one in his life judged him for it.

After Riley had earned her degree, she’d talked a lot about the two of them starting to save up for him to go back to school, researching which universities would take some or all of his previously-earned credits. But at some point, Drake realized that wasn’t really something he wanted. When he’d been younger, leaving Cordonia to get a Bachelor’s degree had felt like a way to establish himself as his own person, independent from the pressure of Court, separate from Liam. But now, he lived in a different city. He had a fiancée and a steady job and his own life already. He didn’t need a degree or a university experience to gain that independence.

And truth be told, with the variety of office jobs he’d held when he was still temping, he was pretty convinced that any career opportunities he could gain from having a university degree would not be jobs he actually wanted, or at least not ones he wanted any more than what he had now. He didn’t want to toil away at some corporate bullshit, striving just to inch up that ladder to get that next promotion. Plus, it turned out he was about as well-suited for office politics as he’d been for courtly politics, which probably shouldn’t have been a surprise. Additionally, if he went back to school, they would have to pay for six semesters, not just two like they’d had to for Riley. Earning that degree just seemed like a total waste of time and money.

Instead, they were slowly saving up for a variety of things these days. Their real honeymoon, not their would-be honeymoon they went on after they postponed their wedding. A road trip out to the West Coast. A bigger apartment for when they had kids. In all honesty, it turns out that he didn’t so much care what his job was. He wasn’t like Liam who found purpose and satisfaction from his work. Nor was he going to be like Maxwell and turn some zany endeavor into an honest-to-god career writing made-for-TV movies. And he did not have anywhere near the skill set and connections that Hana had, allowing her to open a international bakery chain that turned all its profits into disaster relief donations or grants and low interest small business loans for women in impoverished countries. If his job was able to allow him to take care of those he loved, he was happy enough. Taking care of his family and spending time with them was always going to be the most important thing to him. 

His family was on his mind often these days. Savannah was just over two weeks from her due date, and Drake was excited to actually get to know his niece or nephew from the start this time. He and Riley had a trip out to Cordonia scheduled next month, soon enough after the due date that they would get to meet the baby early, but not so early that they would be totally unwelcome visitors. Riley could only get one week off, but Drake was staying for an extra week after she left to spend a little more time with his niece or nephew. He figured it was Savannah’s way of trying to make up for all the time he missed with Bartie when he was little. Regardless, he was looking forward to meeting the second baby Beaumont.

In general, life was just good at the moment. Honestly, things had been good for a while. It was a feeling Drake had never imagined experiencing so consistently. But his life was stable, he knew he and Riley were on a good path, and he had a handful of close friends, both in the city and in Cordonia. His job was tolerable for the pay he earned. He really didn’t feel like he could ask for much more. So he watched the news with a smile on his face, as Riley sat next to him, replying to the occasional tweet.

By the time the newscast got to weather, Drake was yawning. He knew it would just provide more ammo for Riley to tease him about being old, but he couldn’t help it. It was a weeknight, it was late, and he got up before she did.

“Is it bedtime at the retirement home?” she quipped almost on cue, her eyes not leaving her phone screen as she nudged him with her foot.

Drake just shook his head. “Yeah, yeah. You coming to bed soon?”

Riley shrugged. “Not right away. In a little bit.”

He nodded as he stood up, dropping a kiss to her forehead as he passed on his way to the bathroom and bedroom.

“Wait, you forgot your phone,” Riley called out. He spun and saw her extending her arm back over the arm of the couch toward him, her eyes still glued on her own screen. He stepped forward to grab it, but it started buzzing in her hand, clearly startling her as she let out a little yelp and brought the phone forward to see who was calling.

“Why is Maxwell calling you at… 6:25 in the morning?” she asked, quickly doing the time zone math.

He just shrugged as he took the phone from her and swiped to answer the call. “Maxwell, what are you doing up?”

“Break out the cigars! It’s a girl!”

It took Drake a few seconds to mentally catch up to Maxwell’s statement. “Wait, you mean Savannah-”

“Had the baby? Yup! Just under 3 kilos and screaming up a storm,” said Maxwell with a chuckle, “They’re still deciding on a name, but I think it’ll be Caroline Annabelle Beaumont. At least that’s what they were leaning to when I stepped out to give them some privacy and give you a call.”

“I thought someone was going to call me when she went into labor?”

“Well… Savannah kind of forbid anyone from calling you. She said that you would just worry too much and would be blowing up her phone when she needed to be focused on other things. She pointed out that it wouldn’t really make a difference, either, with you being in the Big Apple.”

Drake shook his head and sank back onto the couch. “Unreal.”

“Hey, I vouched for you, man! I told her that you would be fine, but her word was kind of final, you know? Given the situation and all. Anyway, she promised she’d give you a call when it was all over.”

“So why are you the one calling me then?”

“Ouch, I’m hurt. I thought we were best friend roomies!” Maxwell said with a ton of dramatic flair. Drake could practically picture him clutching his shirt in mock pain.

“That’s not…” he started with an eye roll, “What I meant was, why isn’t Savannah calling me to share the news herself?”

“She… well… she had to be rushed back for an emergency c-section.”

“What?” Drake felt his heart rate pick up instantly, even though he knew in his mind that whatever had been the danger was likely resolved at this point.

“Yeah… I had stepped out to the hallway with Dad when they were checking to see how, er… dilated she was, when suddenly the midwife was calling out ‘Cord!’ and in an instant there were dozens of staff running into her room.”

“And you’re just now telling me?” Drake growled out. He felt Riley’s hand on his knee. He knew he should probably put the phone on speaker so that Riley could hear more than one half of this conversation, but he was too focused on not missing any details to risk pulling the phone away from his ear.

“It all happened so quickly. One second she was joking with me in between contractions, the next she was being wheeled out of the room and a nurse was explaining to Bertrand the gear he was going to have to put on to go into the OR. Before Dad and I could even figure out what was going on, Bertrand was back and told us it was a girl.”

“He left her alone during everything?” 

“Apparently, the only risk was to the baby, not to Savannah, but since she was attempting natural labor, they had to knock her out, I guess? Anyway, he was with her when she woke up, holding their little girl. I don’t know, the details kind of went over my head, but everyone is happy and healthy now!”

Drake just let out a massive sigh as he ran a hand over his face. It was a lot to process, but he didn’t think Maxwell would have told him all this info and then lied about Savannah and the baby being okay. He sometimes still felt strange, choosing to live so far away from his sister and Liam. He knew it wasn’t rational. He had certainly been more supportive to Savannah through this pregnancy than her first since he actually knew she was pregnant this time, but part of him felt guilty anytime something major happened and he wasn’t right there.

They were thoughts he didn’t like bringing up with Riley, because he wasn’t sure how to phrase it so that it didn’t sound like he resented her for the fact that he lived in a different country. He just had this feeling it would come across that way, when that wasn’t how he felt at all. But trying to work through the storm of emotions that bubbled up whenever something major happened to his friends or family in Cordonia when Maxwell had called to just let him know he had a niece was probably not the wisest decision. So, he swallowed his emotions down and focused on the good news. His sister had a little girl and it sounded like everyone was fine now.

“Well, tell Savannah and Bertrand congratulations and that I’ll call them in the morning here, alright? And thanks for calling me to let me know.”

“Of course! It’s my duty as part of our uncle brotherhood!”

“Don’t think for a second I’m going to start using that phrase, Maxwell.”

“I’ll convince you yet; you’ll see.”

Drake just shook his head as he said, “Bye, Maxwell.”

“Bye, Drake. Send my love to Riley. And prepare for a barrage of photos from yours truly.”

Drake placed his phone on the couch next to him and let out a sigh before facing Riley. Her phone was now tucked away somewhere as she stared at him, eyes wide and full of concern.

“What happened?”

“Savannah had the baby. A little girl.”

“What had you upset?”

“There were some complications, but he says everything’s fine now.”

Riley snaked her arms around him and gave him a little squeeze. “I’m sure it is. Is he gonna send some pictures?”

Drake nodded, and Riley curled up fully next to him on the couch, leaning her head against his shoulder, waiting for the photos of his niece. Their niece. Kind of.

He glanced down at the ring on her left hand that rested on his knee. Not for the first time, he wondered if they made the right call postponing their wedding for Savannah’s sake. It didn’t feel fair, that Bertrand and Savannah had it all - married with two kids - while they had put plans on pause. And sure, both Savannah and Bertrand had thanked them profusely. But watching as they moved forward with their lives while he and Riley had to plan and save and budget all over again just left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Sometimes, it felt like he should have just told his sister just how insane her ask was. He and Riley would have been married for almost eight months by this point. Maybe they would be talking about starting their own family. But deep down, Drake knew that nothing good came from playing the “what if” game. So he tried to just soak in the moment, at peace and at home with Riley, taking in pictures of Savannah’s new baby. He was happy, his sister and her new baby were fine, and his life was steady. He couldn’t really ask for anything more, could he?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Riley kicked her legs against the exam table and tugged her sweatshirt a little closer as she checked the time on her phone again. Dr. Mehta wasn’t running that late, but Riley was just a little anxious about this appointment. When she’d called to schedule her next depo injection, she was surprised that she’d been booked for a longer appointment with Dr. Mehta herself, not Val, Dr. Mehta’s nurse. She wasn’t sure if something was wrong or why this was happening. All she knew is that she needed to get her depo before their trip to Cordonia. It would be too late to wait until she got back.

She knew Drake was excited to get back and see everyone, as well as meet his new niece, Caroline. But, truth be told, Riley always found it a bit strange being back in Cordonia, even more so now that Hana had moved to London full time. Even though she’d been a nobody in New York for over two years, she still got recognized every time she and Drake had been back there. Last visit, they’d somehow even attracted enough attention that The Ruby Rise, one of the tabloids there, had run a piece speculating they had come back to enter into some sort of thruple with Liam. The whole thing had been a total mind fuck. Being back just always felt a little bit like stepping into a time capsule or a portal to this very weird time period of her life, one where she ended up grabbing Drake and bolting for the exit as soon as she could.

She supposed that wasn’t an entirely fair comparison. After all, it’s not like she considered her time in Cordonia a negative one. For the most part, she’d had a fun experience, and most of her closest friends came from that time in her life. But it still felt weird, returning to the world of balls and galas and courtly politics where she’d been on her best behavior for months. Now that she wasn’t formally a part of that circle, she didn’t hold back from swearing or snarking when she was there. It always caught at least a few people off guard and fully scandalized Bertrand consistently. Olivia had remarked at Savannah and Bertrand’s wedding that the potty-mouthed, bitchy version she was finally fully seeing was somehow more and less annoying at the same time. 

Two sharp knocks jolted Riley out of her thoughts. She turned her head to the exam room door as Dr. Mehta entered with a smile, a clipboard in her hand. 

“Sorry about the wait,” she said with a smile as she plopped down on the stool by the desk and rolled over to sit in front of Riley. “And you don’t need to be up there if you don’t want to. We just need to chat.”

Riley frowned at that, but Dr. Mehta must have noticed that, because she let out a little chuckle. “Nothing bad, I promise! I just wanted to talk to you about your contraceptive options. Honestly, I should have brought this up at your appointment back in December. I just did my math wrong when I was reviewing your chart then.”

“I’m really happy on the depo, doctor.”

She gave Riley a little smile as she said, “And I’m glad. But unfortunately Depo Provera is only safe to use for two years. And we’ve reached that point.”

Riley felt a wave of panic rush through her. “I can’t go back on the pill! I was always terrible about remembering to take it.” It was the truth. Back years ago, she’d been awful about remembering to take her pill, and it was almost never at the same time of day. 

“That’s fine. You aren’t my only patient who struggles with that, I promise. That’s why I wanted to talk about other long term options for you. I’m assuming no plans to try for pregnancy in the next couple of months?”

“God no!”

She laughed at that. “Just making sure! I think for you, either an IUD or an implant are going to be the best options.” She passed Riley a couple of pamphlets and went over the relevant details, side effects, and benefits.

“So, if you want to think about what you want and give my office a call in the next couple of days, we can get you in next week,” Dr. Mehta concluded.

Riley shook her head. “I’m traveling out of the country next week.”

Dr. Mehta tilted her head back and forth a couple of times, then checked her watch. “Well, I doubt we’ll be able to get you in for an IUD placement this week, but if you have a little time now, I can place an implant today.”

So, maybe a half hour later, Riley found herself walking out of the OBGYN office suite, a thick bandage wrapped around her bicep, pleased that she was set for birth control for the next few years. Not only was it one less thing to worry about, but it felt like the sort of thing a responsible adult did. After living so long with no consideration for the future, flying by the seat of her pants, diving into massive decisions without a second of thought, she knew that times like this, where she planned for her long-term, represented a decent amount of progress.

It was strange, in a way, to be consistently thinking about the future. For so long, her life had been just her scraping by, hoping to claw her way into a slightly better situation. Getting to go and live with her mother again when she was in a shitty foster home. Getting to go and live in a foster home when her mother relapsed hard or when she had a shitty, creepy dealer as a boyfriend. Getting a new job that would pay more. Always scrambling, never dreaming beyond her next move.

But now, she had a white collar job that paid her a college graduate salary, she had a nice apartment, and she lived with her dog and her fiancé. No one would guess that she’d lived off food stamps and free school lunches and had bounced around from couch to couch and then from foster home to foster home. She lived the life of a well-adjusted woman, and that meant considering the long-term, not just the short term. And today she’d done just that. She felt responsible and capable. It was a nice feeling.

She’d been all ready to brag about her very mature decision, but when she got back to their apartment, things were chaotic. Anderson was bouncing off the walls, and Drake was livid on the phone with the airline about their upcoming flight, so she took out the dog, and by the time she got back, Drake basically had dinner on the table. All thoughts about her birth control were pushed out of her mind through dinner and some heated hands of poker, until she was getting ready for bed that evening. She was tossing her sweatshirt into the hamper and Drake was by the dresser he’d painted lime green for her. As she got undressed, he caught sight of the bandage on her arm for the first time.

“Riley, what happened?” he asked, darting over, eyes locked on her left arm as he sank down on the edge of the bed to inspect it closer.

She couldn’t help but smile. His reaction was so predictable. “Nothing.”

“But your arm…” He gently traced his fingers over her bandage, as if he would find some evidence of some horrible injury on her, something he somehow missed and needed to correct.

“New birth control. Bandage comes off tomorrow.”

“Oh. Okay.” He still seemed leery and continued his inspection of her arm. “Why’d you change? Was something wrong?”

Riley shrugged. “My doctor said that I had reached my limit for depo. Besides this one lasts three years. Seemed mad convenient.”

Drake’s fingers stopped their path with her words, his eyes jumping from the bandage up to her face. “Three years?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.” He didn’t say anything else, just stood up, walked back to the dresser, and started rifling through his drawer.

“What?”

“It’s nothing, Liu.”

“Clearly it’s something,” she said, joining him by the dresser, forcing herself into his personal space until he made eye contact with her again. “You’ve never given a shit what I’ve done for birth control before. What’s up, Drake?”

He shook his head a little before returning to rifling through the drawer, flipping through old t-shirt after old t-shirt. “I told you - it’s nothing. Since you’re the one who has to deal with any side effects or whatever, it’s obviously your call. Have you seen my blue Cordonian football shirt?”

She let out a sigh. “Don’t change the subject.”

He took a moment before he responded, closing his eyes for just a second and taking a deep breath. “It’s stupid.” He opened his eyes again and gave his head a little shake, his eyes still glued on the drawer. “I just… I don’t know, I guess…”

“You want kids within three years.” She finished his thought for him, knowing without a doubt that was what he was struggling to tell her.

Drake finally looked up at her and shrugged. “I mean, it’s not like I have a timeline or anything, but… I don’t know. Three years is a long ways off, you know?”

She did know. “I agree; a lot can change in three years. In fact, three years ago, you were just some rude asshole who clearly thought I was a crown chaser.”

He rolled his eyes at that before quipping back, “I just didn’t realize someone recklessly impulsive enough to hop on a private jet with a couple of guys she’d known for less than 24 hours could survive to be your age. It was really a compliment, me assuming you at least had a goal in mind.”

“When did you realize that I was just flying by the seat of my pants and clearly had no plan whatsoever?”

“When you told Olivia you were going to slap her. That degree of lack of diplomacy just can’t be found in someone who knows how to become queen.”

“But you still thought I was going to be queen at that point.”

“I mean, I just assumed you were going to stumble your way into the role, but do you really want to get into why I thought you would be queen?”

She shook her head, laughing lightly as she placed her hands on his chest and nudged him backwards to their bed, straddling his lap as he sat down on the end. “No, I think the less said there, the better. Besides, we both know I would have been the world’s shittiest queen.”

Drake opened his mouth to respond to that, but Riley didn’t give him a chance, leaning in and kissing him. After a moment, he deepened the kiss, sliding one hand to her shoulder and running another through her hair. But a few seconds later, he pulled back slightly, his hand sliding over the bandage on her arm. He stared at it, tracing his fingers over it again and again. 

“It’s an implant, Drake. I can get it removed if for some reason we are ready for kids in two years or whatever,” Riley said, sliding her fingers under his chin, redirecting his eyes from that damn bandage back to her face. “It’s not a big deal, okay?”

He swallowed roughly, but then nodded. “Okay, Liu.” And then his lips were back on hers, his hands working under her tank top, sliding it up bit by bit. She rolled her hips down against him, ready to move on from their conversation. She could think of far more enjoyable ways to spend the rest of their evening than the minutiae of her birth control choices after all. And as they tumbled backwards onto their bed, she tried not to think about the fact that Drake avoided touching her left arm for the rest of the night.

Permatag:  @walkerswhiskeygirl   @riley--walker  @bebepac @ravenpuff02 @oofchoices @octobereighth @drakewalker04 @kimmiedoo5  @mfackenthal  @thequeenofcronuts  

The Royal Romance/The Royal Heir: @iaminlovewithtrr @ao719 @mskaneko @katedrakeohd @jovialyouthmusic @marshmallowsandfire @axwalker @kingliam2019 @sirbeepsalot @texaskitten30 @princessleac1 @ladyangel70 @dcbbw @yaushie

Drake x MC: @no-one-u-know @drakeandcamilleofvaltoria  @iplaydrake @gibbles82 @drakewalkerisreal @notoriouscs  @drakesensworld @drake-colt-lover-99

It Couldn’t Wait Another Moment: @shz256  @thequeenchoices  @sunnyxdazed​

[acuppellarp]

♬ Full Name: Lacey Renee Mikhailov ♪  FC: Abigail Cowen ♫ Alternate FCs: Odette Annable, Alexis Knapp, Casadee Pope, Bella Thorne ♪ Age/Birthday: 23 / October 30, 1995 ♫ Occupation: Baker at Snickerdoodle’s Bakery, cheerleader for April’s Showers ♪ Hometown: Sandusky, OH ♫ Personality: generous, stubborn, guarded, sheltered, ambitious

Take one part warm Ohio summer nights spent chasing fireflies through wide open feels, two parts Sunday church services, three parts abandonment issues, and one part good, traditional Russian cooking, and you have the recipe for Lacey Mikhailov’s childhood. While she won’t go into too many details if asked about it, she likes to tell people that her youth was everything she could’ve hoped for, and to an extent that’s true. Would she have liked to have a mother who was present rather than someone who spent every opportunity away from home? She absolutely would have. But when Brenda Mikhailov got pregnant young by a man she met in a fit of passion one night, it laid the groundwork for what would be Lacey’s life spent with her grandfather as her source of emotional and physical support.

There was never an official discussion about Ilya raising Lacey full-time; it just sort of gradually happened. Brenda asked him to babysit for a day and it ended up being the whole weekend. She said she would take Lacey to her doctor’s appointment, and then call up Ilya last minute to say she couldn’t and he would have to. By the time Lacey started school, it was automatically assumed that her grandfather would be the one to sign her up and take her to her first day, something he did with a giant smile and about three dozen photos snapped and added to a scrapbook that’s still sitting on Lacey’s bookshelf to this day. When Brenda told Ilya that she wanted to “see the world” and move out of state later that year, there wasn’t even a question on if Lacey would be going with her or not. Brenda packed her bags and gave her daughter and father a hug, and then drove off without seemingly any second thought.

Despite growing up outside of the traditional nuclear family unit, Lacey didn’t want for anything. She never knew Brenda as her mother, so her loss didn’t sting much during childhood. Ilya wouldn’t let it. Instead, he would spend their time after he got off of work and she got home from school in the kitchen, showing Lacey how to sift flour and press dough to her heart’s content. Back in Russia, he’d been a baker by trade, and watching his granddaughter fall in love with it was nothing short of beautiful. Lacey always insisted on making homemade treats for her school’s Halloween and Christmas parties, and that’s when she came to love the expression on people’s faces when they first tried her creations.

When she as in middle school, her aunt Dory moved in to give Ilya a hand raising Lacey, and the three of them became a family that was thick as thieves. Ilya and Dory were at every science fair, church program, and poorly-played volleyball match of Lacey’s life and she couldn’t imagine it any other way. Last she heard, her mother had settled somewhere in Washington where she married and had three replacement kids whom Lacey has never met. She doesn’t even know if her step-father or half-siblings know she exists, but she tries not to think about it too much. If you ask her, she drew the best lot in life. She would express to her Aunt Dory (not her grandfather, never her grandfather — the last thing she would want is for him to think he was anything less than amazing) about how it hurt to think about her biological mother not wanting her, something that is still painful to think about even now that Lacey has grown. Dory would assure her that it was entirely Brenda’s loss, but that has never completely dulled the ache.

Losing Ilya was painful, but not entirely unexpected. Lacey was in her junior year of college at the time, earning an obligatory business degree in the hopes of one day opening her own bakery. Saying good-bye to the person who taught her everything she knew definitely left her feeling lost, and she wound up taking the following semester off of school because she simply didn’t have the capacity to give it the focus it deserved. To this day four years later, she still doesn’t really know what compelled her to go to New York in the first place. She’d talked it over with her family and friends, idly wondering if maybe a change of scenery would do her some good, and before she knew it her and her aunt were looking at flights for the East Coast.

It was originally meant to just be a vacation for the two of them, to help set a new pace now that her and Dory were learning to cope. But it’s like as soon as the plane touched down in the city, Lacey felt at home. They were only there for a week and a half, hitting up the city’s tourist traps as well as tracking down some little hole-in-the-wall places. Still, within the span of a few days after returning home to Sandusky, Lacey told her aunt she wanted to move out there for real. By the end of the year, Lacey found herself settling into the city, feeling both terrified and unbelievably proud all at once. Her grandfather had always told her to never hold herself back and being inNew York felt like the ultimate testament to that.

She finished up her last year of classes online and earned herself a degree in business, and was able to soon find a job at a bakery that her and her aunt had stopped by during her first visit. Currently, Lacey’s biggest source of pride has come from introducing a few recipes taught to her by he grandfather into the small business, which now offers a select range of Russian desserts courtesy of her. The next step is to actually invest in her own business, the same goal she’s had since she was little. Lacey’s vision board is filled with photos and inspiration to keep her focused on that goal, and every last bit of money goes into an account to help her get her feet off the ground.

Pets: Two cats with her, plus two more living with her aunt back in Ohio. The little babes in Ohio (Peanut Butter, or PB, and Jelly) were much too attached with her aunt’s dog and Lacey couldn’t bear to separate them. She adopted Eva and Zsa Zsa shortly after she moved to NYC. Zsa Zsa is definitely the more rambunctious of the two and likes to hide in places to spook Lacey (and now her roommates). Good luck opening a cabinet to not find her sitting in there. Eva is much more relaxed and introverted and likes to camp out on Lacey’s pillow, but she’ll wander out to ask for pets every so often.

♬ April’s Growers

Lacey has an entire lifetime’s worth of love to give and was raised knowing the importance of giving back, so she recently signed up to join April’s little committee. She makes sure to give her fellow members nothing but support, but she does struggle when it comes to voicing her own ideas. She’s working on it though, and the more comfortable she becomes in the group, she hopes to be able to give it her all without hesitation.

♪ Jemma Sterling

Coming from a small city, Lace way underestimated how much she’d be able to live by herself in New York. She was able to rent a room from a nice little Russian couple in Brighton Beach for a while, but ultimately decided to move closer to work and ended up finding a roommate in Jemma. She is… more than a bit intimidated by how open and free Jemma is with herself, and she’s seen more of her naked than she ever planned on, but Lacey can appreciate how to-the-point and amusing her roomie is.

♬ April’s Showers Cheerleaders

Lacey loves spreading positivity and showering people with support, so when she first became aware of the little cheering squad for the soccer team, she jumped right in to join. She enjoys all the other ladies, and despite knowing almost nothing about sports, she’s trying to at least get to know them better and have them teach her the ins and outs of soccer.

[whimsicaldragonette]

Just Harry (Drarry Post-war Muggle University AU)

Harry bounced lightly on his toes as he waited in the line marked new student check-in. He hadn’t felt this excited about anything in years. He could almost taste the possibility floating in the air, along with the scents of a dozen mingled body sprays and nervous sweat. The Student Union was bright and cheery; the white and green walls looked freshly painted, and sunlight streamed in through the large windows overlooking the lawn. It was all so fresh and new and exciting!

The line moved forward, and Harry felt his nervous excitement tick up a notch. There was only one student in front of him now, a bored-looking girl with bright blue hair and a slew of silver piercings. Soon she’d wandered off toward the vending machines, welcome packet dangling from her fingers, and Harry stepped nervously up to the desk.

“Um,” he said, smiling at the cheerful blonde girl looking up at him. “Hi. I was told this is where I find out about my roommate and… stuff?” He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as her blue eyes crinkled up into a smile.

“Don’t worry,” she said, laughing. “I don’t bite. You’re in the right place. Name?”

“Harry Potter.”

She nodded and rifled through her drawer, and Harry had to stifle a nervous giggle. He still got the oddest sensation when people didn’t recognize him: a sort of swooping-soaring-sinking feeling in his stomach. He hoped he’d get used to it soon, or else he’d never be able to eat anything.

“Ah, here we go” she said, dragging his thoughts away from how horrid it had been, after the end of the war, when everyone recognized him and no one would give him a moment’s peace. It was over now. Hermione had gotten him what he’d always wanted — a fresh start where no one knew his name.

He blinked as he realized the girl was saying his name. “Ah, sorry. It all feels so unreal, still.”

She nodded sympathetically. “Don’t worry. That feeling will fade soon enough. Now here’s your class schedule, and here’s the important dates to remember - those circled in blue are the last days to change things. Some information on our food plans, oh, here’s how to get a library card…” She kept talking, piling papers and folders into his hands, and he felt his eyes glazing over. “And here’s your dorm room and keycard. It looks like your roommate is already here. His name is on your change request form there, though it’s best to avoid requesting a new roommate until you’ve worked through the conflict resolution strategies — those are in that brochure there — and…”

“Thank you,” Harry said, smiling and pretending he wasn’t completely overwhelmed. I’m sure we’ll get along just fine.” He shoved the papers in with the others, not bothering to look at the name. He wouldn’t recognize it, so it didn’t seem like there was much point. “Which way is my room? I’m awfully tired — the trip here was longer than I expected.”

She nodded understandingly (even though she had no idea he’d meant the hassles of international Portkey travel) and pointed. “You’ll be in that dorm there. Just head outside and turn left. It’s the second building. It looks like you’re on the third floor, in the east wing” she said, checking another folder. “Do you think you can find it or should I find a runner to take you there?” She looked around, frowning, and Harry guessed that the runners were probably all busy.

“No, it’s fine, I’m sure I can find it. Thanks!” He smiled at her again, automatically using his “publicity smile,” as Hermione called it. She smiled back at him, wrinkling her freckled nose attractively, and he awkwardly tried to wave before remembering that his hands were full of papers. He fumbled them for a moment, face heating, and then quickly walked away, ducking his head in embarrassment. Undone by a pretty girl — and he didn’t even like girls. Well, not much, anyway. He mentally shied away from Hermione’s latest lecture: Bisexuality is a thing, Harry, and glanced down at his keycard. Room 317, Cedar Hall. Right. He could do this.

He found the room easily enough, and the keycard worked on the first try, thank Merlin, and he walked in to see his roommate rummaging about in a pile of boxes. His lanky form and platinum-blonde hair were instantly familiar and he flinched, feeling it like a punch straight to his gut. It couldn’t be. Could it?

It could.

Don’t turn around, Harry thought frantically, even though logically he knew they couldn’t go an entire semester without looking at one another. I’ll just go and ask for a roommate change. Or—

“Why, hello, roomie,” Malfoy drawled, as he began to turn around. “You’re a bit late, aren’t you. Are you —no.” The book he’d been rummaging for slipped from his fingers as he stared, openmouthed, shocked speechless for the first time in all the years Harry had known him. “Fuck no,” he managed after a moment, still staring blankly. His eyes were shadowed, and the cheerful smile he’d worn when Harry had first arrived was now replaced with one that looked strained, and a bit hunted.

Harry hated that smile. It didn’t look right on Malfoy’s aristocratic features. “Thanks a lot, Malfoy,” he said, forcing his voice to sound light. “Good to see you, too.”

“I was trying to get away from all that!” Malfoy exclaimed, face flushing. “From you,” he added, so quietly Harry had to strain to hear.

“From me?” he asked, somehow needing to hear him say it. “Why? Did you think I’d mock you Malfoy? Call in that life-debt? What?” His voice came out sounding hurt, and he realized that he meant it. He really was hurt that Malfoy would think that of him.

“No.” Malfoy grit out.

“Then why?”

Malfoy let the silence drag on until Harry didn’t think he could bear it any longer, and then he exploded. “I owe you for every scrap of dignity I managed to retain, Potter. I didn’t want to live beholden to you. With the constant reminders of how you are good and wonderful and everything I am not. Could never be. Of how much I owe you that I can never hope to repay!” He stopped, panting, staring defiantly at Harry for a moment and then looking away.

Harry felt off-balance, like he was just too slow to understand what was going on. “Yeah, well,” he said quietly, slumping back against the door. “I ran away from me, too, then.”

“I hated it,” he went on, when Malfoy didn’t say anything. “The fame, the arse-kissing. They wanted to make me Head Auror, did you know? Hell, some of them wanted to make me Minister of Magic. Me, Malfoy. I had to get out of there.” He stared down at the floor, letting the words fall from his lips like stones into a pool, wondering what would happen when the ripples reached Malfoy, poised for flight on the other side of the small room. “I needed a chance to leave all that ‘chosen one’ crap behind and just be Harry. Just Harry.”

He looked at Malfoy, then, in time to see his mouth twitch up into a tiny smirk. “Well, Just Harry,” he said after a moment, “Welcome to our humble dorm.” He spread his arms wide. “Within these walls you will find no arse-kissing, I can promise you that, if nothing else.”

Harry grinned. “Excellent.” He extended his hand. “Friends? I’ve been told it’s important to choose the right ones from the start.”

Malfoy stared for a moment, shocked, and then smirked and shook his hand firmly. “Very well, Just Harry. My name is Draco. Now what say we go mingle?”

Harry shuddered. “Must we?”

Malfoy — Draco — rolled his eyes. “Yes, Potter. Mingling is vital in any new situation. Especially this one.”

Harry grimaced. “I hate mingling,” he groused.

“Well, then,” Malfoy said, with a smug grin, “no one has taught you to mingle properly.”

“Whatever you say, Malfoy,” Harry sighed, having a sneaking suspicion of how most of their arguments were going to go. He let Malfoy lead him from the room, pausing only to toss his papers on the empty desk. Maybe he wouldn’t need that change request form after all.

I don’t know if I want to continue this or not, you guys. Whaddya think? OK, so overwhelmingly continue. Got it. XD Anybody who wants to be tagged in follow-up posts either comment on this post or send me an ask. 

Part 2 , Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Epilogue

Also on AO3, FF, Wattpad

[reytonbleyer]

The Things We Do For Love - Chapter Eight

The worst part of loving someone is realizing you need to let them go. Unless you didn’t have to… Unless you never knew.

ff.net // wattpad

CHAPTER EIGHT: Words of Wisdom

It was beautiful. The way the sunrays slipped through the cracks on the roof setting an angelic glow over all the most ordinary things piling around the barn. Lucas sat in silence on a heap of hay that could have easily been mistaken for gold as it shimmered under the sunlight, observing the world awaken around him. He could hear the horses' steady breaths and the roosters in the distance announcing a new dawn. He was engulfed in the epitome of peace and yet his heart was filled with anything but. Two years today, he thought to himself, two years away from her.

He had hoped it would get easier over time, he'd hoped he might move on. Lucas had been trying to live life as best as he could and, even if he wouldn't admit it to anyone but himself... he was still trying to live a life that would make her proud. He may have not been good enough for Riley then, but it didn't mean Lucas would give up trying, it didn't mean he didn't want to be worthy of her still, even if she'd never know, he owned it to himself and to her to become the best man he could possibly be.

Lucas rubbed his eyes, burning from the little sleep he got that night. He stretched and forced himself up to his feet, walking over to the horse. Not even twelve hours ago, Pappy Joe had called saying Sophia had gotten worse. Lucas didn't need him to finish, a moment later he was speeding from College Station back to Austin, in the pickup truck his grandfather had surprised him with as a welcome gift, when he moved back to Texas.

He was thankful his classes hadn't started yet, though deep down Lucas knew he would have gone regardless. He had to be there. It was already dark when he arrived at the ranch, going straight to the barn where a worried Joe waited for him. Of course Sophia meant a lot to Lucas, that horse had played an important part on one of the biggest decisions of his life. However, if he were completely honest, he had mostly come for his grandpa, not for her.

Joe wasn't the most sentimental of all people, but when it came to his loved ones, human or not, his devotion knew no limits, reason why Lucas had to assure him about a million times that he would watch Sophia all through the night, in order to convince his grandfather to go back inside and get some sleep. The old man hadn't been feeling so well lately, he wasn't the same strong Joe that welcomed Lucas back to his hometown two years ago. He had lost a lot of weight, which he insisted was something to pride himself for, but Lucas couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, despite Pappy Joe's easiness about it all. And it wasn't just that, Joe got tired a lot easier and faster nowadays and his once insatiable appetite was gone. Still the man was stubborn as a mule; he insisted he was fine, ignoring his grandson's persistence that he saw a doctor.

The blonde did his best to shake his worries away as he entered Sofia's stable. She wasn't getting any better, though it was already a small miracle she was still standing. She'd been doing poorly long before Lucas moved to the lone star state and things had only gotten worse since. She was old and tired, but a true fighter. Nevertheless, he doubted she would make it through another night. Lucas hugged her neck and patted her back, just like he'd done over a decade ago when he helped deliver her baby on this same barn, suddenly feeling like that terrified little boy again, except this time it wasn't the birth or a life that scared him, but the death of one.

"How's our girl doing?" Joe limped into the barn, smiling at his grandson, though it didn't quite reach his worry filled eyes.

"Not so good." Lucas looked from Joe to Sophia and back, his heart breaking for both of them "Pappy Joe, I'm going to be honest with you, I don't think she will make it through tonight." Joe nodded, averting his eyes to the ground as he chewed on his bottom lip "I'm really sorry."

"I know you are, boy. I am too." He took a deep breath, his expression softening ever so slightly "Do you have to be back on Campus yet? I was planning on making us some breakfast. What do you say? Care to spend some time with your old man?"

"I'd love to." He smiled sadly, watching as his grandfather turned around, walking with difficulty back to the house.

Lucas wasn't lying. Over the last two years he'd grown much closer to Pappy Joe. They had always had a good relationship, but their bond had strengthened considerably since Lucas's move. The first six months were hell, he'd admit to that. Back then, Lucas resented all things Texas. During those dark months, he had barely seen his grandfather at all, always coming up with excuses not to visit, he either had to study or he had a test or a project, whatever it was, there was always some matter he couldn't possibly postpone keeping him busy, which was funny considering he damn near failed his first semester.

He couldn't find it in him to focus. He hated college, his classes, his dorm room and even his roommate, with whom he wouldn't exchange anymore words than strictly necessary. He'd also drink. A lot. Lucas was spiraling, a small part of him knew so, but for the most part he didn't care. Until one night, when he picked a fight with a guy in a bar, over something so stupid he couldn't even remember now. Lucas went back to his dorm late that night, bleeding, bruised and more than a little drunk, trying to reach the bathroom as silently as he could, but failing not to wake up his roomie, Nate, who much to Lucas's surprise didn't hesitate to help, even though he had no reason to show him any kind of mercy.

He had treated the guy like crap for months and still the redhead didn't give it a second thought before leaving their room only to return a few minutes later with an ice bag and a first aid kit. Lucas laid in bed that night unable to fall asleep. He had done his best to keep his mind off of her since arriving in Texas, but for the first time since leaving New York Lucas allowed himself to openly think about Riley Matthews. It might have been Nate's kindness, the fact he cared for Lucas when no one else did, when he didn't even deserve it... it reminded him of Riley. Hell, he hadn't gotten into a fight ever since she'd walked into his life, he'd thanked her over and over again for helping him accept and control that side of himself, for believing in him, for being his calming influence. Now look at me, he thought bitterly. Lucas suddenly felt disgusted.

He woke up the next morning determined to turn his life around. He would make her proud. He apologized to Nate for his behavior over the previous months and thanked him yet again for being there for him when no one else was. Lucas dived into work, tearing through his books and whenever his will wavered he'd just look himself in the mirror, staring at the scar above his right eyebrow, a permanent reminder of that fight and the man he refused to become. It wasn't easy, but he managed to pass his practically unsalvageable semester.

Even though his college life finally started to ride on the right tracks, Lucas knew he still had a lot of making up to do family wise. Lucky for him, his grandfather and parents were ready and waiting with open arms for their prodigal son to return. It took a while for things to be like they were before, Lucas had been lost and angry for a long time, said and did things he regretted, things that hurt his loved ones, but eventually they found their way past those wounds.

With time, he became good friends with Nate too and, because of his constant support, Lucas decided to try out for the football team on the beginning of his second year. Now, a year later, he was the best student on his class and the star quarterback. He should be happy, he kept telling himself that. To anyone on the outside looking in, Lucas Friar had it all. But he didn't. He had managed to put himself back together pretty well, and for that he was grateful, but there was a part of him missing, a huge part, one he could never replace.

"Luke! Are you coming or what?" He heard Pappy Joe yelling from the porch, snapping him back to reality.

"Coming!" He yelled back, leaving Sophia's stable and jogging back to the house.

He was welcomed to the kitchen with the smell of freshly brewed coffee and bacon. Lucas sat on one of the stools behind the counter, observing as his grandfather worked through the cabinets, the ever present limp in his right leg making it harder for him to move around.

"Need some help? I make some mean pancakes." He chuckled, trying to sound more relaxed than he felt.

"Oh I know you do, I taught you how for Christ's sake! It's your grandma's recipe though, so I won't take all the credit." Pappy Joe focused back on the stove "And I don't feel like pancakes. Today is more of a scrambled eggs day."

"If you say so... hey, grandpa" Lucas bit the inside of his cheek as he thought through his next words carefully "How's your leg doing?"

"Great! Just like the rest of me." He laughed "Why do you ask?"

"Hum, nothing, it's just, it looks like your limping is getting worse."

"Yeah, well, you know, just regular old man's issues. You'll understand someday." Joe waved his hand around dismissively, quickly changing the subject "So I hear you're going back to the city for the holidays this year." When his grandson shot him a curious look, Joe chuckled "Jen told me."

"Of course she did." Lucas laughed along. His mother just couldn't keep anything to herself "But yeah, I am. We talked a couple days ago and decided it was about time I go back, hum, home." Even as he said it, Lucas knew the word sounded weird coming from his mouth. New York didn't feel like home, though for some reason Texas still didn't either.

"You mean they decided?" Lucas's words failed him, his mouth agape as he stared at Joe "Oh come on, Luke. You've been avoiding New York like the plague since you moved here and you haven't stepped foot in the city again. Don't get me wrong, I love having you and your family over for the holidays, but we both know your mother is a sucker for Christmas in New York and your dad finds that stupid New Year ball drop incredibly amusing for some reason. And I know you. You're doing this for them."

"Well... yeah." He muttered, playing nervously with his fingers.

"Look, I know you didn't leave New York under the best circumstances, but whatever happened then is now two years behind you. You're better now, stronger, more mature. I don't know what you're afraid of, but it really doesn't matter. You know what we say about fears. You either ride them..."

"Or they ride you." He nodded, forcing a weak smile "Thanks, Pappy Joe."

"I'm always here for you, boy." He fixed Lucas his breakfast, placing the plate on the counter before him with a smile "I always have been."

"I know."

The rest of their morning was filled with much easier conversations than that one. Lucas helped Joe with the ranch's chores, mostly feeding the animals and cleaning after them. Soon it was noon and the Friars returned to the kitchen to cook lunch together. They watched some TV and finally gave in to their tradition, finding their way to the porch's rocking chairs.

The afternoon flew by while Lucas filled Joe in on how he was doing on the team. He loved playing football and it kept him busy during those few free hours he had between classes. His social life suffered from it for sure, but that was one of the perks if you asked Lucas. His packed schedule served as the perfect excuse to dodge his way out of most social events, so he only ever went to the parties he absolutely had to, he was the quarterback after all, he was required to make some appearances with the team.

Nate would constantly give him hell for it; he was always saying Lucas was very likely the quarterback to get laid the least in all history. He knew his friend had a point, even through his troubled start on college, when he was all kinds of messed up, Nate hadn't yet seen Lucas with a girl and that hadn't changed to this day, though he never asked why and Lucas didn't intend on giving him an opening to do so. Riley... she was off limits. It hurt a little less if he didn't talk about her.

But it wasn't like he had completely closed himself up. He talked to most people on his football team and he was pleasant to his classmates and teachers, he'd just rather maintain a safe distance. He'd made the mistake of getting too attached once, he wasn't looking forward to doing it again. He had his family and Nate and Lucas found that to be more than enough. He still talked to his friends in New York on occasion, mostly Zay, but it wasn't the same anymore. Time and distance had taken their toll on all of them. As for Riley, he hadn't seen or talked to her since the break up. He'd never ask about her either, afraid of what type of news he might get. Lucas knew she'd likely moved on and he wanted nothing more than for her to be happy... He'd just rather be spared the details.

Pappy Joe asked him about his classes as well, he always did, and as usual Lucas told him how in love he was with veterinary medicine. It was the right career for him, but that they'd both known for years. He described his whole schedule to his grandfather, who listened intently to every detail. Lucas then explained about the volunteer tutoring he had been doing and the extra credit he would start getting this semester, for the work he would begin at A&M's Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. He wasn't required to work there just yet, but his favorite teacher Mrs. Collin, given Lucas's great promise, had suggested he took an early start, so he could get more experience.

It wasn't until he was done rambling about his routine that Lucas realized he had been the only one talking for over an hour, while his grandfather simply stared at the horizon, seemingly lost in thought.

"Pappy Joe, is everything ok?"

"I don't know, Lucas, you tell me." He frowned, looking back at his grandson.

"Hum, I'm not sure I know what you mean." He shifted uncomfortably in his chair, a little intimidated under his grandfather's stare.

"You've just spent the past two hours telling me about all the exciting things you're doing on college and, while I'm happy for you, I'm also worried. You're always either on class or studying or practicing or playing or volunteering and, God, now you're about to start working at the hospital too."

"I still don't see the problem." Lucas muttered, not meeting Joe's eyes.

"It's too much, Luke. When are you living? When do you have time for yourself, for your needs, not as a student, not as the quarterback, but as Lucas Friar? Look, all I'm saying is... be careful, I know you're doing your best and you should, this is your moment to shine, just don't burn yourself out too quickly."

Lucas nodded "I'll try." He hated to lie to him.

His grandfather didn't get it. That was exactly the point. Yes, Lucas had a lot on his plate right now, but it was a win win situation. By packing up his schedule, he was not only making the most of his college experience, but he also kept himself busy enough not to think about Riley. Whenever he had too much time to spare, his mind helplessly wandered back to the pretty brunette who stole his heart in seventh grade. And no matter how fond of their memories Lucas was, the knowledge those moments were forever behind him was a knife to the heart. So he worked. Lucas worked through his every waking moment so he wouldn't get too caught up in his thoughts of Riley all the while, inwardly, doing his very best to make her proud. He decided not to argue with his grandpa about it though, he sure wasn't going to try and explain his reasons, Joe wouldn't understand even if he did. Instead, the two Friars just fell in a comfortable silence, watching the sun hide behind a distant hill.

"This was your grandmother's favorite time of the day." Joe declared softly, a unique kindness to his voice Lucas only ever heard when he talked about his late wife "We'd sit here just like this for hours. We never ran out of things to talk about. Oh Katherine, she... she never ceased to amaze me. She used to say people were like sunsets, a balance of light and dark, always different, but beautiful in their own way."

"You miss her." It wasn't a question. Pappy Joe simply rolled his head forward, a half smile gracing his features.

"Every day."

"Does it still hurt?" Lucas asked carefully. His grandfather rarely talked about Nana Katy and Lucas genuinely wanted to know, even if mostly for his own selfish reasons.

"It did. For a long time. You'd think the hardest part about losing someone you love is the separation, that very moment when you're pulled apart from the person you were supposed to spend the rest of your life with. But it isn't. The worst part is living through the aftermath. The next morning and every other one after that, when you have to get up and go about life as if a huge part of it hadn't been taken away."

"How do you make it stop?" His voice was almost inaudible, asking the question Lucas wanted more than anything to have answered.

"You don't. You wait. You do your best to keep living, even when it feels like you're just surviving. And someday, you wake up and it hurts less. Someday you wake up and the pain has turned into something else, a resigned longing, wrapped in the comfort that comes with knowing you made the most of the time you had together."

He was taken aback by his grandfather's words. Throughout his life, Pappy Joe had taught him many lessons, shared various pieces of advice, so Lucas was no stranger to his wisdom. Still, this was unlike any other conversation he had ever had with Joe. And he just so happened to have chosen today, of all days, to... That's when it hit him. Coincidence? Maybe. But Lucas didn't believe in those, something he'd learned from his grandfather himself.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I know what day it is." He admitted without a trace of hesitation, his voice calm and steady as he continued, ignoring Lucas's surprise "You might be fooling everyone else, Luke, maybe even yourself. But you ain't fooling me. And I know you don't like talking about this, so I'm only going to say it once. If you believe there's even the slightest chance you can save your relationship with Riley, do it. Do everything you can. Because that comfort I was talking about, you'll never find it if you give up. And you deserve better than to live haunted by your past and all its what ifs."

Lucas's eyes were locked on his grandfather's, but it felt like he was looking right through him, his gaze empty as his mind wandered somewhere else, on someone else, and Pappy Joe had a pretty good guess as to whom. Hopefully Lucas had understood the message. Joe had watched him hit rock bottom, rise against all odds and fight every day since to be his very best self. But beneath all that, the boy was still just as broken as he'd been when Joe picked him up at that airport. He couldn't just stand by and witness his grandson's suffering. None the less, he knew Lucas needed time, so he changed the subject.

"It's getting late, we better check on Sophia."

"Yeah. Of course."

They walked to the barn together, Lucas's mind racing with a million thoughts per second, thoughts he hadn't allowed anywhere but in his dreams for years. Had he not left all his hope at that airport back in New York? Was it possible that after all this time there was still a chance for him? For them? Was he willing to risk putting himself through all that pain again? And could he even survive it this time if it came to it?

All those questions disappeared a second later. The voices in his head went silent as he opened the door to the barn, his eyes scanning over Sophia's stable. He couldn't see her and, unfortunately, Lucas knew exactly what it meant. He closed his eyes and breathed deep, forcing his legs to take him closer to the stable, where Sophia laid lifeless on the ground. His grandfather said nothing as he walked past Lucas, crouching next to the horse, losing his balance in the process. Lucas hurried to his side, helping Joe steady himself and finally kneeling next to him, watching the old man caress Sophia's belly.

"Of course this would happen today." He muttered underneath his breath, frustrated.

"It's life, Luke. It's just life." Pappy Joe sighed "She was suffering. I hate to see her go too, but she deserves the rest." He finally looks up, his eyes finding Lucas's and a small smile curling the corners of his lips "Thank you. For helping me take care of her these last couple years and for being here today, just... thank you."

"No,Pappy Joe." He smiled back at his grandfather, Joe's words of wisdom once againreplaying through his head, a warmth he hadn't felt for a long time taking holdof his Lucas's heart "Thank you."

[acuppellarp]

Welcome (back!) to A Cup-pella, Jeanne! We’re excited to have you and Lacey Mikhailov in the game! Please go through the checklist to make sure you’re ready to go and send in your account within the next 24 hours. 

OOC INFO

Name + pronouns: Jeanne, She/Her Age: 25 Timezone: EST Ships: /Chemistry Anti-Ships: /Forced

IC INFO

Full Name: Lacey Renee Mikhailov Face Claim: Abigail Cowen Age/Birthday: 23, October 30th Occupation: Baker at Snickerdoodle’s Bakery, cheerleader for April’s Showers Personality: Generous, stubborn, guarded, sheltered, ambitious Hometown: Sandusky, OH Bio:

Take one part warm Ohio summer nights spent chasing fireflies through wide open feels, two parts Sunday church services, three parts abandonment issues, and one part good, traditional Russian cooking, and you have the recipe for Lacey Mikhailov’s childhood. While she won’t go into too many details if asked about it, she likes to tell people that her youth was everything she could’ve hoped for, and to an extent that’s true. Would she have liked to have a mother who was present rather than someone who spent every opportunity away from home? She absolutely would have. But when Brenda Mikhailov got pregnant young by a man she met in a fit of passion one night, it laid the groundwork for what would be Lacey’s life spent with her grandfather as her source of emotional and physical support.

There was never an official discussion about Ilya raising Lacey full-time; it just sort of gradually happened. Brenda asked him to babysit for a day and it ended up being the whole weekend. She said she would take Lacey to her doctor’s appointment, and then call up Ilya last minute to say she couldn’t and he would have to. By the time Lacey started school, it was automatically assumed that her grandfather would be the one to sign her up and take her to her first day, something he did with a giant smile and about three dozen photos snapped and added to a scrapbook that’s still sitting on Lacey’s bookshelf to this day. When Brenda told Ilya that she wanted to “see the world” and move out of state later that year, there wasn’t even a question on if Lacey would be going with her or not. Brenda packed her bags and gave her daughter and father a hug, and then drove off without seemingly any second thought.

Despite growing up outside of the traditional nuclear family unit, Lacey didn’t want for anything. She never knew Brenda as her mother, so her loss didn’t sting much during childhood. Ilya wouldn’t let it. Instead, he would spend their time after he got off of work and she got home from school in the kitchen, showing Lacey how to sift flour and press dough to her heart’s content. Back in Russia, he’d been a baker by trade, and watching his granddaughter fall in love with it was nothing short of beautiful. Lacey always insisted on making homemade treats for her school’s Halloween and Christmas parties, and that’s when she came to love the expression on people’s faces when they first tried her creations.

When she as in middle school, her aunt Dory moved in to give Ilya a hand raising Lacey, and the three of them became a family that was thick as thieves. Ilya and Dory were at every science fair, church program, and poorly-played volleyball match of Lacey’s life and she couldn’t imagine it any other way. Last she heard, her mother had settled somewhere in Washington where she married and had three replacement kids whom Lacey has never met. She doesn’t even know if her step-father or half-siblings know she exists, but she tries not to think about it too much. If you ask her, she drew the best lot in life. She would express to her Aunt Dory (not her grandfather, never her grandfather — the last thing she would want is for him to think he was anything less than amazing) about how it hurt to think about her biological mother not wanting her, something that is still painful to think about even now that Lacey has grown. Dory would assure her that it was entirely Brenda’s loss, but that has never completely dulled the ache.

Losing Ilya was painful, but not entirely unexpected. Lacey was in her junior year of college at the time, earning an obligatory business degree in the hopes of one day opening her own bakery. Saying good-bye to the person who taught her everything she knew definitely left her feeling lost, and she wound up taking the following semester off of school because she simply didn’t have the capacity to give it the focus it deserved. To this day four years later, she still doesn’t really know what compelled her to go to New York in the first place. She’d talked it over with her family and friends, idly wondering if maybe a change of scenery would do her some good, and before she knew it her and her aunt were looking at flights for the East Coast.

It was originally meant to just be a vacation for the two of them, to help set a new pace now that her and Dory were learning to cope. But it’s like as soon as the plane touched down in the city, Lacey felt at home. They were only there for a week and a half, hitting up the city’s tourist traps as well as tracking down some little hole-in-the-wall places. Still, within the span of a few days after returning home to Sandusky, Lacey told her aunt she wanted to move out there for real. By the end of the year, Lacey found herself settling into the city, feeling both terrified and unbelievably proud all at once. Her grandfather had always told her to never hold herself back and being inNew York felt like the ultimate testament to that.

She finished up her last year of classes online and earned herself a degree in business, and was able to soon find a job at a bakery that her and her aunt had stopped by during her first visit. Currently, Lacey’s biggest source of pride has come from introducing a few recipes taught to her by he grandfather into the small business, which now offers a select range of Russian desserts courtesy of her. The next step is to actually invest in her own business, the same goal she’s had since she was little. Lacey’s vision board is filled with photos and inspiration to keep her focused on that goal, and every last bit of money goes into an account to help her get her feet off the ground.

Pets: Two cats with her, plus two more living with her aunt back in Ohio. The little babes in Ohio (Peanut Butter, or PB, and Jelly) were much too attached with her aunt’s dog and Lacey couldn’t bear to separate them. She adopted Eva and Zsa Zsa shortly after she moved to NYC. Zsa Zsa is definitely the more rambunctious of the two and likes to hide in places to spook Lacey (and now her roommates). Good luck opening a cabinet to not find her sitting in there. Eva is much more relaxed and introverted and likes to camp out on Lacey’s pillow, but she’ll wander out to ask for pets every so often.

Relationships:

April’s Growers — Lacey has an entire lifetime’s worth of love to give and was raised knowing the importance of giving back, so she recently signed up to join April’s little committee. She makes sure to give her fellow members nothing but support, but she does struggle when it comes to voicing her own ideas. She’s working on it though, and the more comfortable she becomes in the group, she hopes to be able to give it her all without hesitation.

Jemma Sterling — Coming from a small city, Lace way underestimated how much she’d be able to live by herself in New York. She was able to rent a room from a nice little Russian couple in Brighton Beach for a while, but ultimately decided to move closer to work and ended up finding a roommate in Jemma. She is… more than a bit intimidated by how open and free Jemma is with herself, and she’s seen more of her naked than she ever planned on, but Lacey can appreciate how to-the-point and amusing her roomie is.

April’s Showers Cheerleaders — Lacey loves spreading positivity and showering people with support, so when she first became aware of the little cheering squad for the soccer team, she jumped right in to join. She enjoys all the other ladies, and despite knowing almost nothing about sports, she’s trying to at least get to know them better and have them teach her the ins and outs of soccer.

EXTRA INFO

Lacey ♥ / mikhailacey/ Trying to save the world, one red velvet cake at a time 🍰🍪🍩 Five latest tweets:

@mikhailacey: When your aunt facetimes you just so you can say goodnight to your cats ♥♥♥ @mikhailacey: A little boy said I look like Princess Ariel today, no compliment will ever hold up @mikhailacey: Question for people who’ve ridden public NYC transport their whole lives: how? @mikhailacey: Is crimped hair still in style? Asking for a friend (read: me) @mikhailacey: I can bake marlenka in my sleep but I just burnt microwavable mac and cheese #sendhelp