#anyway he was also a dad who most likely was busy raising his kids and working

[maverickcalf]

I still hold fast to the fact Trapper had written Hawkeye a letter and it was turned back because it was during the time that everyone declared Hawkeye was dead.

And he is too worried that everyone else had died too so he doesn't send a follow up.

[calebsmuse]

not me haunting your asks in every single blog you own 😈 sooo, do you write parents!au? bc I wanted to request some scenario abt how sylus, caleb and xavier would react to their kids telling u to shut up. I KNOW ITS WEIRD BUT ITS A OLD TREND I THINK?? anyway, love ya babe 💘💋💋

੭⠀ A little prank.

⋆⠀AUTHOR'S NOTES: I love parents!au so much 😭

⋆⠀FEATURING: Xavier, Sylus, Caleb.

⋆⠀WARNING: English is not my first language, so it may contain some mistakes.

Your son’s favorite pastime was annoying his father, and he was certainly better at it than anyone else. Not only that, but he also managed to convince you to help with yet another one of his… pranks.

The boy smiled when he saw his father heading to the kitchen and turned back to his video game. Not long after, you walked into the room with something in hand. “Sweetheart, could you take this—”

“Shut up, mom,” he tried to say in an irritated tone, but a smile was plastered across his face.

𝜗ৎ ⠀⠀XAVIER

Not even five seconds had passed before your son was groaning in pain, Xavier’s slipper lying on the couch beside him after hitting the back of his head squarely. “Dad—”

Xavier raised the other slipper, pointing it at the boy. “Apologize. Now,” he said, his eyebrows furrowing. “Is that any way to talk to your mother?”

“But I was busy, and she—” Once again, the boy didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence, the other slipper flying straight at him. Xavier crossed his arms, his gaze fixed on his son.

You widened your eyes and placed a hand on your husband’s shoulder, squeezing it lightly. “Okay, okay, it was a… joke, just a prank.”

Xavier gave a faint smirk, glancing at you. “…Yeah, I knew that.” He pulled you into a hug, sticking his tongue out at your son. “You think I’d stop at that if I saw him disrespecting you like that?”

𝜗ৎ ⠀⠀SYLUS

Sylus prided himself on being an exemplary father. He was patient, fun—or so he thought—and wealthy. I mean, surely his son was already having a better childhood than most people who came from the same place Sylus had, right?

And perhaps it was exactly that freedom and comfort in his presence that made the boy feel confident enough to make that kind of joke.

“I must’ve misheard. Definitely,” Sylus said loud enough for both of you to hear. You turned away so he wouldn’t see your expression, while your son simply grimaced.

“Dad, she could’ve just asked one of my uncles to go—or, I don’t know, gone herself!” the boy said, spinning the pieces of a pistol between his fingers.

Sylus’s steps were almost inaudible; it was as if he had teleported to his son’s side. He crossed his arms, an irritated expression on his face. His son had never seen that look before—at least, not directed at him.

“Don’t you dare talk to your mother like that under this roof,” he said. “I don’t care if she could’ve asked someone else—if she tells you to do something, you do it. She brought you into this world.”

The boy couldn’t hold back his laughter, bursting out in hysterics. Your husband opened his mouth to say something but stopped when he saw you laughing as well. He let out a sigh, rubbing his face. “You too now?”

𝜗ৎ ⠀⠀CALEB

Honestly, your son was expecting Caleb to yell at him or chase after him, but it was even more terrifying to see him stay silent, slowly turning to face the boy.

He froze, setting the video game controller down on the coffee table. Caleb’s eyes stayed fixed on him, and his silence lingered just long enough to make the boy shift uncomfortably under the stare.

When Caleb finally spoke, his voice was strangely calm—and that wasn’t exactly a good thing. “You have five seconds to do as your mother said and come back here, and another five to apologize and explain yourself.”

You let out an awkward laugh before wrapping your arms around your husband. “It was just a joke, I swear.” Caleb glanced at you, slipping a hand under your shirt to give you a pinch. “Ouch! It was his idea!”

He rolled his eyes but let out a relieved laugh, despite his irritation with your newfound way of spending free time. “I should’ve known.”

[astralis-ortus]

you are my sunshine

✱ a bang chan headcanon

— you'll never know, dear, how much i love you.

w.count → 0.6k genre → slice of life, fluff warning → just watching chan (chris) being a parent :> a.n → something light because brain.exe couldn't handle words atm :> also, would you believe me if i said the actual idea behind this was this specific tiktok... lolㅠ ⋆ see masterlist

growing up, you were always sure you didn’t want to have any kids. you have your reasons, but ultimately, you’re scared you couldn’t be the kind of parents you wanted to be and you don’t want another soul to have to bear those sort of consequences after your inability to be one. you should be the one carrying them, even if it meant people will judge you for it.

being together with chris, however, had changed your mind.

no, not because he coaxed you into wanting one or anything like that—you knew he wanted to have kids, but he wasn’t even bothered when you told him about the matter when the topic of marriage came up. but then, whenever you see him doing even the most mundane of things... you just knew you’d be just fine raising a child together with him.

chris would be very hands on as soon as your baby arrives. he knows the best temperature for the baby formula, he knows how to wash and sterilize the baby bottle, he knows how to change your baby’s diaper—heavens, sometimes you even wondered if chris was a walking encyclopedia for any baby related matters.

chris would also be the one taking care of your baby throughout the night. ‘i’m already up anyway, you deserve the night’s sleep’ he reasoned, and being a man of his words, you would actually sleep through the night as chris would go as far as setting a bassinet in his home studio to make sure he’d be able to keep an eye on your baby while he works.

as your child grew up, chris would make sure to attend as many of the parents-teacher meeting as he possibly could. he knew the nature of his work would cause him to be away for quite a period of time when he had to, but when he could, he would even collude with your kid to ask you to let their dad be the one to take part for the next meeting. he just loved to be present when he could, and you could see it through the way he laugh with your kid.

your child’s puberty hits chris the hardest—your kid did not grow distant in any kind, they still look for their parents a lot, but for chris who used to be attached to your kid like a stamp on an envelope, letting your kid learn how to slowly become their own person felt like he’s slowly losing the little sunshine who used to only look for him. chris knew it’s going to happen eventually, but for the time being, he’ll keep himself busy with the tons of pictures and videos he took when his baby was younger.

another big wave of blue hits when chris had to send off your now young adult child to college. chris wouldn’t let you nor your child see, but you know the tears his studio had seen after you two had gone home from the airport, mere hours after your child flew thousands of miles away to chase after their dreams. despite the amount of calls and texts your family groupchat exchanged, it wasn’t the same without your child being home.

lastly, chris would finally let his tears be known when he had to let his little sunshine start off their own little family. the realization that the little baby who once fits in his arms is now ready to become a parent themselves were proven a little too overwhelming for chris—but everyone understood. everyone saw the mountain that is chris’ love for his child, and they understood.

not to worry, though—because now whenever your child visits with their own little bean,

chris had found himself another sunshine to take care of.

©️ astralisortus, 2024. | likes and reblogs are highly appreciated♡

[gilverrwrites]

STOP WAIT THE TIM DRAKE WITH SIONIS!READER THAT WAS AMAZING

love academic rivals to lovers frfr

anyway but tim is also canonically a high school drop out so sionis!reader finishing school without him (technically dropped out when bruce went missing) 💀 idk why but with roman hating the wayne clan so much, I could see it being kept secret.

like a cute little forbidden fruit/secret relationship. robin & the daughter of the most notorious crime lord in the city?? jeez and you wanna ask why bruce/roman are paranoid /hj

but it's them sneaking around and then tim obviously leaves for his search for batman, dropping out of school, and it leaves sionis!reader all alone.

and then tim comes back!! and bruce is back but bruce doesn't really matter to them(reader), because tim left without a word, without a goodbye, and now he's back and I can imagine all the changes between that happened in that year he was too, the angst of him coming back.

like, would they try to find tim? would they try to go to wayne manor and figure out what the hell happened? I feel like it opens the door to possibilities between them

Hang in there, this is a real rambley ramble.

Ngl, I was picturing it for when he went to Ivy (which he also dropped out of lmao), and I like the idea of them being upfront about it for the comedy/reluctant acceptance angle, but there is still the potential for drama. However, I can see the appeal of them keeping it totally secret too (I'm gonna talk about that later in the post).

For now, heres my vision: You’re Romans favourite kid, his perfect lil angel child, the only one who wants anything to do with him so he dotes on you (to the extent that Roman can dote on anyone) and you go to him one day like; “I get perfect grades, I never miss curfew, I help with the family business, I never ask you for anything, PLEASE accept my boyfriend.” And at first `Roman’s just like… “No.”

Queue the “But Daddy I love him!” tantrum.

Unlike with Jason, Roman has never had any strong feelings toward Tim other than a general distaste cause of the Wayne association, so eventually he tries to come around, but it’s just awkward, and Tim hates it too cause he know your dad is Black Mask, and he can’t do anything without risking being exposed as Red Robin or upsetting you by causing a scene/fight. Is it to much to ask for the two most important men in your life to get along for one dinner? Please?

So, every time they meet the vibes are just off. However, they’re both trying really hard to get along cause they love you.

One night Tim unintentionally catches Black Mask red-handed and he can’t not do his job. The whole time they're fighting, Tim has this whole internal monologue going on about whether he should let Roman off with a warning for your sake, but eventually he’s like WWBD?

So, he hands Roman over to the authorities and the next day he sees you and your bawling! Inconsolable! Your dad is going to prison, your life is ruined. You’re also a bit of drama queen but validly tbh, what will this do for your social standings? Your college applications? Your career aspirations? Fuck Red Robin, you hate that guy!

You were raised by Roman Sionis, of course your inherited at least a little of his melodromatic genes.

Even though you're distressed Tim can’t keep from being like ‘You're mad at the wrong person here! Red Robin is the good guy! You're dad is the criminal, he wouldn't have been arrested if he wasn't a bad person! Who does bad things! He needs to face justice!”

It becomes a massive-ass argument until you’re like “Why can’t you be normal about this? I love my dad and this is going to have a huge effect on my life, why can’t you just be upset for me?”

Tim doesn’t have an answer cause the answer is "I'm Red Robin" but fuck that guy, right? The whole issue goes unresolved.

Or maybe he does snap and tell you the truth but that just makes things worse! "You're my boyfriend and you arrested my father! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?"

When you visit him at Blackgate, your father is quietly elated by the break up, he doesn’t say as much. He plays the concerned father, offers you comfort. He reminds you that when he killed lost his parents, it started a new age of loyalty amonst the Sionis clan. As long as you're good to your family (him), it will be good to you. Oh, and btw, he needs you to handle a few things while he's gone. Don't worry, your family pisses money, he'll be out of here in no time but this stuff is important and time sensitive, and he needs you to keep it on the down low.

The next time you see Tim, he’s Red Robin and you’re the one he catches in the act.

Also, Tim telling that Bat-Fam “So yeah, I’m seeing someone new, it’s Y/N Sionis.” And everyone looks at Steph for a second, then back to Tim and is like “Dude! Get a new type!”

Also also, you visit the Wayne family for the first time, and after growing up drilled to hate these people you’re lowkey so nervous. You’re expecting them to hate you, because you learned nothing from presuming the same thing about Tim. The youngest one is definitely scary, and the butler must be convinced you’re gonna steal something because he will not allow you to be left alone (he’s remembering teenage Roman hanging out with teenage Bruce and being the worst), but otherwise everyone is actually kinda chill. Maybe a bit overly polite but not unpleasant.

But I can totally see the appeal of them keeping it totally secret too. Especially if Tim tells you about being Red Robin. How it might force you to come to terms with your morality by enabling your father/not holding him accountable. Major existential crisis material.

Of if he doesn’t tell you, the angst of your boyfriend just up and leaving without a word, not responding to your calls, texts, emails.

When he does come back you’ve ‘moved on’. Or you thought you had until you saw him again. But after he left you high and dry you’re fuming, and won’t allow him to just walk skate back into your life.

Tim pining after you while you’re excelling in your college/job pursuit. You keep catching glimpses of Red Robin while you’re out on dates or visiting your dad. Tim tells himself he’s just vetting your new boyfriends or ensuring your dad isn’t up to no good. But really its because he’s missed you and doesn’t know how to make up for cutting you out of his life.

He also notices how you never bring your dates home. How you still bury yourself in his old hoodie at night. How you haven’t finished binge watching that show the two of you were working on together. Those little nuggets of hope are what keeps him hanging on.

[vigilskeep]

wait, Minerva "canonically" has a baby?? i want to know everything!! when how what - how does motherhood change her, pls elaborate, srry if you talked about this before, i just love them so much

she does!! i talk abt this less bc i think its self-indulgent jghsskks and that people are less interested in this, but it’s super fun to think about for me

the baby was a surprise, minerva was kind of being stupid about it lmao because she was being less careful than she might have been in the circle, especially because she’s a warden now so she’s less likely to get pregnant at all, without really thinking through what might happen. (i’m sure our local kinloch hold spirit healer companions both had their field days telling her off for this at some point.) but as soon as it does happen she wants the baby so badly. as a circle mage and then a warden she had never really seriously considered it a possibility for herself, but she loves children, and it’s been so long since she had a real family

it’s zevran’s and zevran is in antiva most of the time. i think she has a weird crisis about whether he’ll want anything to do with a baby, and she would despise for him to come back just out of obligation but also what if he doesn’t come back, and she ends up procrastinating telling him for, like, months. just a stupid amount of time. bc she was born to stress her man out and to give her wardens unnecessary grudges against him because they thought he had obviously chosen not to be here because obviously she would have told him. truly when will his suffering end. anyway he’s thrilled when somebody eventually does him the courtesy of letting him know

the baby’s a boy, she names him duncan, it sparks a whole other argument with alistair that we won’t get into here. he gets nicknamed junior a lot, partly bc he’s duncan jr, partly bc of the ongoing joke that he’s the resident Junior Warden. he was very much raised in warden blue since the cradle. because minerva is so busy and zevran is often away, he’s pretty much collectively raised in vigil’s keep by the awakening squad and whoever else gets added to that trusted inner circle. which works out bc wardens don’t often have kids of their own so they all just kind of... share this one lmao. (and possibly sometimes also oghren and felsi’s kid if they stick around?) it’s velanna who instigates this bc that’s what the dalish do and she’s also literally the only one here who knows what to do with a baby so thank the maker she’s here (minerva’s practised with kids but by nature they don’t have babies in the circle)

i’m so thrilled that spellblade is a crow-themed rogue-like mage subclass bc that’s exactly what i always pictured for duncan jr eventually. he’s a mage, his magic manifests very young, but minerva is very strict abt his studies and it has the unfortunate reverse effect of making getting his dad or nathaniel or sigrun to teach him combat much more fun. it works out really bc his magic having manifested is a tightly kept secret so it’s good for him not to have to rely on it

being a mother kind of changes/crystallises a lot of minerva’s priorities. it’s one thing to say, like, i would like to improve the situation for my fellow mages at some point, or, it sure would be nice to live past a warden’s usual limits. it’s another thing entirely to have a mage child and need to make a world that’s safe for him and live long enough to see it done. it ends up being a key issue of her conflict with the chantry between origins and inquisition because nobody’s quite certain what the rules are. obviously if she were still a circle mage any child of hers would be taken away. but she’s not a circle mage and arguably the chantry has no right to a child born outside of the circle, with no sign yet (as far as anyone outside vigil’s keep knows) of magic. (like i say it manifested younger than normal so this is believable even to those who think he will eventually show.) it definitely exacerbates tensions, shall we say, because obviously they can pry him out of her cold dead hands

he’s probably still only quite young in inquisition. six or seven? somewhere around there, i hate timelines. not sure where he is while minerva and her squad are on their quest, but given the very short list of people she trusts that much, i have to say that the most insane answer is likely: he’s in denerim as a temporary ward of the king. probably the first elven kid to be such

[alanaartdream]

Ok my adhd brain doesn’t want to sleep until I draw my Fairy Timmy (with the Nicktoons unite gang) having to deal with grown up Dale hitting on him because

@jaytalking Fairy Timmy au inspired @bunnieswithknives to draw Dale’s one sided love with their fairy Timmy design and I couldn’t stop laughing and giggling seeing a Adult Jimmy Neutron being oooh so mad at dale for trying to get with Timmy in my mind

As you can see I had to sketch it out

Now peri and Jimmy are planning Dale’s demise as we speak while Danny and SpongeBob are wondering if they should help Timmy to get away from this Dale Creep

I kinda want to draw Jimmy with his hair down but figured people might not recognise Jimmy without his classic hairstyle ^^;

Also why Danny drawn as a beefcake here? (Or my attempt at drawing a adult beefcake Danny) well Bustch up on his YouTube channel has given up some drawings/ stories information on what adult Danny Sam and Trucker would be and apparently they’re a incredible ghost hunting team in their future; Sam And Danny get Married & Tucker ends up mayor/ president of their town/ city aaaannnddd because of all the ghost fighting Danny been doing for YEARS he becomes very fit and ripped (( can someone tell me why But h likes to make his male protagonist grow up to be big beefcakes? Because it seems to be a trend with him))

Also I heard someone say that butch once said he wanted to Make Danny Fenton/ phantom and Timmy Turner Cousins but didn’t go through with that idea because that would’ve been pretty good idea AND would explain why A) Timmy and Danny kinda look alike a bit and B) Timmy’s crazy lazy and very dumb birth parents where kinda obsessed with ghost hunting in their past before they had Timmy (but they were SO OO bad at it I mean they way of fighting ghosts was to blow up the house the ghosts were hunting and they blew up everyone’s house and got chased to the other side of town and had to change their names.. Danny & Danny’s parents would be horrified learning there was ghost hunters this bad out there)

Also I was gonna go with Danny saying

*do you see this shit SpongeBob* but then thought no way would Danny swear around his emotional support sponge 🧽

Also in my fairy Timmy can’t stand Dale either

And being as Wanda & Cosmo knows Timmy did want to grow his hair out but his birth father never LET him and would always cut it short if he was to be adopted by them and raised with Peri/poof then I’d know Timmy would grow his hair out and keep it in a ponytail as a fairy adult so it’s why my fairy Timmy has long hair

Danny being as he’s fighting ghosts all the time and being as Butch has said Sam & Danny get married and have 2 kids who inherit Ghost powers but a little different from their Dad he most likely doesn’t want his hair too long and it might just be a little long but not long enough to tie up being as he most likely needs to look professional being the city’s ghost protector/ fighter and likely doesn’t want his hair to bother him while he fights ghosts

Just my own experience being as I work for a hospital and had my hair short before to try to keep it from bothering me during a hot summer working week but thanks to being busy and some lockdowns it’s back to being long now but I understand keeping a hold city and raising kids means yo have no time dealing with long hair so mostly try to keep it shortish

Anyway thank you for enjoying my silly au ideas and drawings it’s been fun to draw them down

[agendabymooner]

about names: an amazing boy with an amazing name || cl16 scenario (1)

dad!charles leclerc x mom!ofc (hearth sister!ofc)

EXTENSION OF OF LONG LINES AND NAMES AND THE LECLERC DAYCARE

Summary: The Leclerc boys and their names go hand in hand. OR times when Charles and his wife Aimee had to explain that their children’s names are meaningful. 

Scenario summary: Charles and Aimee wondered what Hervé meant when he said that his name was silly and that he hated it. Thank goodness, Pascale Leclerc was the one that the boy cannot refuse as she comforts her grandson.

Content warning: Kids teasing kids, possible use of explicit language, fluff, dad!Charles content, the Leclerc family (Pascale and Leclerc brothers) content, briefly mentions Charles' dad, crappy French translations by Apple, sad kids being comforted, fluff, what is beta reading we write things at 2am and post it after lol

Note: One more before I dash out of my dorm for the day lmfaoo

masterlist

Aimee Leclerc was no stranger to chatty kids and pick-up schedules, so it was no wonder why she immediately found herself in front of the elementary school that stood gloriously in the middle of Monte-Carlo as she waited for her two children to be dismissed from the class for the day. 

It was a routine of hers now that her work in McLaren had become remote. Five children took up all of her time and between them and her work— she would’ve immediately left the company if the team made her choose. She’d rather be in Monaco while Charles continued to pursue his career as a racing driver. 

Zak Brown was empathetic enough to understand that a set of children wouldn’t be able to have a stable routine should they continue to travel around the world just to be with their parents who worked overseas, offering Aimee a chance to work at home and adapt to a better routine as she took care of her children. 

She could wait patiently if anybody ever asked her. She had no problem, knowing that she was able to finish her work long before she could pick up her eldest children. 

But the energy that her children had shown merely told her enough: they might have been either excited to see her or they thought that she was rushing them. She caught a glimpse of her twins as they stepped out of the elementary school, their uniforms somehow tidy and less wrinkled despite their busy day. 

“Maman! Devinez quoi?” Guess what? Jules jumped excitedly as he wrapped his arms around Aimee tightly, still jumpy and giddy as he spoke in English, “We did our quiz in maths!” 

“Oh? Is that right, J?” Aimee asked with a smile, her fingers running through her son’s wavy hair. It was surprising how her children’s hair continued to lose its volume as years passed— it was becoming more like Charles’ hair.

They were mini Charleses, indeed.

“Yes, Maman! I also— uh…” It seemed like Jules ran out of English immediately as he said, “J'ai fait si bien! Je n'ai perdu qu'un point!” I did so good! I only lost one point!

Aimee was merely thankful that she could understand French and Italian, or rather, she was thankful her private teacher taught her how to speak those languages; otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to understand her multilingual-speaking children. 

She primarily spoke English and had grown up practicing a standard accent in her Received Pronunciation. She never adapted to her husband’s speaking style, but learned to understand it nevertheless. Their children were being raised in Monaco, after all, and most people spoke in French or Italian. She was only thankful that she was able to teach them to speak English to preserve that part of them. Most of their cousins are raised in England and this gave them the opportunity to converse in that language. 

Anyways.

Aimee beamed at her son and exclaimed, “A good job done, Jules!” Then she turned to look at her other son, who was unusually quiet for such a normal day. Hervé, as Aimee learned while nurturing her ever-growing children, was never quiet — he was one of the boys who would often cause ruckus inside the Leclerc home. If he’s silent like this then Aimee knew he was feeling something along the lines of upset. 

Hervé was never upset. He was so much like his grandfather— his namesake. So joyous. Why was he feeling so down? Aimee didn’t know.

“Hervé, my love,” Aimee called softly, but he couldn’t hear. Jules turned to look at his twin and noticed the boy disassociated, giving his brother’s shirt a tug as Hervé finally looked up. The Leclerc matriarch (2.0) smiled gently and asked, “Is it a long day for you?” 

“Oui, Maman,” he replied quietly, offering her a nod and nothing more. 

Aimee had led them to the Aston Martin family SUV as soon as he answered and drove off to head home. Jules was chatting Aimee’s ears off and it somehow defeaned her. It wasn’t because Jules was loud, no; Hervé wasn’t even talking, and his silence defeaned her.

“Herb,” she called as she looked at the rear view mirror, noticing how his jaw clenched before crossing his arms. “Hervé?”

“Stupid, silly name,” Jules hadn’t seen Hervé mutter those words beneath his breath but Aimee certainly had, leaving the mother confused. What the hell was happening?

“H,” Aimee called once more. Hervé’s angry eyes finally looked up to meet Aimee’s worried ones. Even if she wanted to remind him to calm down, she knew that it would lead to his outburst so she avoided it and asked, “Da’s home? Do you want to tell him about your maths quiz today? Maybe you and Jules can show him the art you made for Mademoiselle Blanc?” 

“Hmp,” the eldest Leclerc twin huffed, turning away from his mother and looking out the window. 

Jules’s eyes narrowed as he gave a brief glimpse at Aimee, turning towards his twin, “Are you okay, H?” 

“Oui,” Hervé muttered, acting as some sort of assurance, but this only made Jules look at his mother with worry. Aimee flashed a smile at her son before continuing to drive on the way home. It was another thing that the Leclerc boys had gotten from their father; they were bad liars. 

It only got worse when Aimee pulled up to their driveway, and the boys made their way inside. Jules dashed out of the car with his backpack to navigate his way around the house, trying to find their father before he gasped, “Da!” 

Aimee watched her other son carefully, trying to read Hervé’s behaviour as he walked past Aimee. She still wasn’t sure what was going on. 

“Oh! Hello, Jules!” Charles Leclerc, a Ferrari driver who had just returned from a doubleheader, grinned gracefully at the sight of his son. In his arm was one of his young twins, Anthoine — or Tony, for most people — while the other half of the pair, Alain, sat on the playmat with his book propped open. “Comment va l'école aujourd'hui?” How is school today?

“Very good, Da!” Jules grinned toothily, “Madame Hurst m'a donné une étoile pour mon quiz de mathématiques!” Mrs. Hurst gave me a star for my maths quiz! 

“Ah, really? Cela signifie que vous avez fait un excellent travail en étudiant avec maman alors,” it means you’ve done a good job at studying with Mummy, then. Charles glanced past Aimee’s legs, seeing the other pair of his twins as he greeted the quiet boy, “Bonjour, Hervé. Comment allez-vous?” Good afternoon, Hervé. How are you?

“D'accord, Da,” Fine. Hervé muttered, his irritation noticed easily by his father as Charles scowled lightly. Every adult in their family knew that it meant trouble if Charles gave this look. 

At first, the Ferrari driver tried to make a light of the situation, “Why the long face, Hervé? The more you do that, the more you’ll look like your Uncle Toto. Give Da a smile?”

“No,” but Hervé wasn’t having it as he snapped at his father firmly, the tip of his ears turning red as he stomped off.

“No?” 

“Don’t call me that!” Hervé snapped, his eyes turning dark as he got angry and upset.

“What? Hervé—“ Charles tried to reason out, but the 7-year-old was anything but reasonable at the moment. 

“I’m not Hervé! Don’t call me that! It’s a stupid name!” 

Charles could have sworn that he, too, was seeing red as he placed the toddler in his arms before marching off the playroom. He followed after his son and exclaimed, “Hervé Louis Sebastien René Mathieu Leclerc! Come back here!” 

“No! No more talking! Leave me alone, Da!”

Thud. The boy had just slammed the door on his father’s face, and Charles— Charles was fuming. 

He loves his boys dearly; he does. But it was moments like this that somehow made him different from the loving father that he is. He wasn’t even sure why he was so upset— was it because of the fact that his son just yelled that he didn’t want to talk, or did he just hear his son say that his father’s name was stupid? He wasn’t sure. 

He was just… upset and confused. 

Charles wasn’t sure where he’d gone wrong with becoming a parent to his sons. He did everything he could despite being a busy driver— he took care of them whenever Aimee was out, he taught them how to be kind to other people and he taught them how to love. Hervé had never been this upset before and it bothered Charles and Aimee to no end. What was he genuinely upset about?

Then they both recalled what the boy said. Hervé wasn’t his name. He thought that the name was silly, from what Aimee had told Charles. Where did that even come from? 

“I— truthfully, I don’t even know where that came from, Charles,” Aimee admitted as she sat with him on the couch that night, sighing heavily while the driver rested his head against his hand. 

They tried asking the boy, from asking him to come down for dinner (with Aimee giving up and leaving a bowl of rice and chicken in front of his door) to Charles asking to come into his room (with Charles not receiving any form of response). But alas, Hervé had no response. He didn’t even respond when they tried to ask if he’d like to come over to his Uncle Lorenzo or Arthur’s place. 

No luck. 

“He didn’t mention anything at all,” she continued, keeping her voice down to avoid waking any of their children up. “He was muttering to himself, I’ve no bloody clue he was upset.” 

“I didn’t know either,” Charles murmured, grabbing a hold of her hand and kissing the knuckles of it. “He isn’t normally like this— he’d tell us if there’s something wrong.”

It was true. Hervé, much like the other Leclerc children, never got into a fight with a friend before. He was upfront about his feelings and would tell either his parents or playmate about being upset. There were some instances when he almost snapped but otherwise managed to control his emotions— he was so much like his brothers and mother in a sense. Aimee always approached them with the five-finger solution before they could even burst into tears or anger. 

So, for Hervé to keep quiet? 

Even Aimee couldn’t get an answer from him. What did he mean by his name was a stupid name? Charles asked himself this a couple of times. 

His name was Hervé— that was a typical French name, no? What made Hervé think that his name, his late grandfather’s name, was silly? Charles tried approaching his son about the matter every minute since the boys got home from school, but much to his dismay, the boy evaded him. 

But there was only one person that Hervé wouldn’t refuse to answer. Much like his late grandfather, Hervé never refused his Mamé. 

So the next day, Pascale Leclerc — the grandmother of the Leclerc boys — took the liberty to have a day off with the upset boy. Jules felt incomplete without Hervé in the school but went nonetheless, and the five-year-old boy PJ went to kindergarten while Aimee, Charles and the youngest twins went out. Pascale stayed at home with Hervé and baked cookies with him. 

After putting the cookie dough into the preheated oven, Pascale served the boy some tea, to which Hervé gratefully drank as his grandmother sat across from him.

She sighed and placed a hand on his knee, “Est-il vrai que tu t'es fâché contre ton père, Hervé?” Is it true that you got angry with your dad, Hervé? She asked, her question leaving him frozen as he looked at Pascale guiltily. 

Hervé carefully sat his mug down on the table and nodded solemnly, not uttering a word. Pascale asked, “Has it been a rough day for you? That’s why you got angry?” 

Hervé shook his head as Pascale suggested, “Veux-tu dire à Mamé ce qui t'a mis en colère? Peut-être pouvons-nous trouver une solution ensemble?” Will you tell Mamé what has gotten you angry? Maybe we can find a solution together?

The longer the silence lasted, the more the tears flowed out of Hervé’s eyes as his lips pursed and trembled. The poor boy couldn’t help but stammer, “Mon nom est tellement silly et stupide, Mamé!” My name is so silly and stupid! He continued to cry out, “Kylian a dit que mon nom venait de «Herbe et fromage» et c'est très stupide! Je n'aime pas mon nom, Mamé!” Kylian said that my name came from ‘Herb and cheese’ and that it’s stupid! I don’t like my name, Mamé! 

Pascale’s eyes nearly teared up at the confession that Hervé made. He hated his name because someone made him feel like it wasn’t worth appreciating. Her poor grandson was subjected to this kind of behaviour, which felt so… disheartening. 

“Oh, Hervé,” Pascale immediately reached out to soothe the boy, shushing him quietly while he sobbed. His eyes shut as tears continued to flow down, soaking Pascale’s cardigan in the process. “Your name is not stupid or silly; did you know that?”

His crying lasted for several minutes, with Pascale patiently soothing him in the process. When his sobbing quietened, Pascale took this as an opportunity to tell him about his name.

She sighed shakily, not wanting to shed a tear or two as she explained, “Da, Uncle Lorenzo and Uncle Arthur had their own Da— you have seen him before in the pictures, oui?” She felt the boy nod through her chest as she hummed and continued, “That was your Papy. Do you know what his name was? His name was Hervé.” 

“Her—“ the boy hiccuped. “Hervé? Like me?”

“Oui, mon amour,” Pascale replied with a soft smile, “Hervé like you.”

“You are sooo much like your Papy Hervé, that is why Maman and Da named you after him,” Pascale continued, “you are as funny and happy as him. When he was still alive I used to call him Herb. I loved him so much, mon chou.

“And when he was gone, your Da and your uncles filled the rest of the space in my heart that you and your brothers soon took over,” Pascale smiled, “and I think that your name is beautiful like it is with my Herb’s.” 

“It is?” 

“Oui, my love,” Pascale replied, “your name is what keeps your Papy’s memories alive for your Da and your uncles. Do not let anyone think that it is a silly name because you are an amazing boy with an amazing name. Your Maman and Da love you so much, and your Da? He loved his Papa so much that he decided to name another person he loved after him. That’s you, mon cœur.” 

Ever since then, Hervé learned how to embrace his name and would often explain to everyone where his name came from, even in the grid and paddock. 

Nobody needed to ask where his name came from— after all, he is Hervé Leclerc. He was just as joyful and enthusiastic as his grandfather. 

[schrijverr]

All the Things Evan Never Wrote Maddie About

An addition to chapter 3 to 6, wherein we get everything Buck – or Evan back then – never wrote on the cards to Maddie. The things he wanted to write her about, but stopped himself from ever sharing, especially when he was living in El Paso, raising Chris by himself.

On AO3.

Ships: Buddie (pre-slash)

Warnings: referenced child abandonment (Shannon), referenced homophobia, referenced emotionally abusive parents, referenced Doug

~~~

Dear Maddie,

Remember that girl I told you about? The one that comes by the farm? Yeah, it’s actually a little more complicated than that and it didn’t work out. She left her four year old with me and left the state. Don’t worry, his dad came to get him! But he was so stressed. His name is Eddie. He and the girl, Shannon, are divorced. I’m watching Chris tonight. Eddie works the night shift. After me accidentally letting Shannon run, it’s the least I can do. Besides, Chris is a sweet kid and I don’t have anything better to do anyway.

Hope you’re doing okay and your love life is going better than mine. Is Doug still a dick? Did you leave him yet? I hope so.

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

Uh, so I’ve accidentally started co-parenting Chris with Eddie. You don’t know who these people are, but they’re great. Eddie is my only friend here and Chris is such a great kid. I should be out there traveling probably, but I don’t want to. Is that weird? I like raising Chris. But am I too young to be a parental figure to him? I hope not. It feels nice to raise Chris. It feels nice to help Eddie out and he seems to appreciate my help. I hope I’m not overstepping, because I like my place here. Any tips?

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

Guess I’m officially staying with Eddie and helping him with Chris. His mom found out that I was helping and had a screaming fit. She doesn’t like me much, but I don’t think she likes anyone. Still, I get it, it’s not like I know anything about parenting, but Eddie does. He’s my age. I should figure it out if I follow his lead right? Do you know anything about raising kids? Please send advice.

Also I got fired by Mr. and Mrs. Johnson over it, which sucks, but Eddie is letting me sleep on the couch until I figure it out. He’s a good friend like that. I hope you have good friends too. What are you up to? Still with Doug?

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

Chris has to have surgery for his CP and I’m scared. It’s not his first and it probably won’t be his last, but he’s just so small. Chris is the kid I’m helping to raise, by the way. Surprise! Uhm, that felt weird. I didn’t want to worry you and I guess this will worry you. I didn’t mean to. Sorry. I don’t have anyone to talk to. Other than Eddie of course. But he’s also scared. I don’t want to make it worse. You’re a nurse, ER not pediatrics, but still, can you make me less scared?

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

I never send my other card, but Chris has to have another surgery. He has CP and he’s only five. I’ve been helping Eddie take care of him after his mom walked out. He’s a champ, stayed cheery through most of his previous hospital stay and made it through just fine. But here I am, worrying again. And worrying you. I didn’t want to do that. You’re probably busy with hospital shift yourself. I have such a respect for your job. I already did, but the nurses here are great. Thank you for that.

Wish you were Chris’s nurse. Wish you were here. It’s so selfish, but it’s true. Chris is asking for his mom, but Shannon blocked both me and Eddie. He can’t even have that and he cried so much and nothing we could do helped. You probably would have known what to do. I miss you.

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

Did I ever tell you mom and dad made me give the money back? Because they did and I kind of regret saying yes to that now. Surgery is expensive. Don’t worry, I’m fine! Chris had to get surgery. He’s doing fine too, it really helped with his CP symptoms, definitely worth it, but my construction job and Eddie’s night guard salary isn’t going to cover it.

Do you think I could call them from money? I haven’t spoken to them since I left, but they wouldn’t deny a kid, right? Well, maybe they would. They probably think I’m being stupid. Could you ask and then give me the money? No. Nevermind, forget that. I don’t want to create trouble for you with Doug. Or did you leave him? Wish you would reply to me, I can use someone smarter than me to bounce ideas off. Though Eddie counts there.

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

Eddie is going to re-enlist. You don’t know who that is, but he’s my friend. Will be my husband I guess, which is a little weird. It’s nothing romantic though. And it’s going to be a quick courthouse wedding, so no need to come out. Though, I’m not sure if you would anyway. I miss getting a card back from you. It would be nice to have someone here who is on my side. Eddie is, but he’s going to leave. It is the best with bills and I’m so happy he trusts me with Chris, but I’ll miss him. He’s my best friend. My only friend, really. That’s a little sad. I’m doing great, I promise. We’re figuring it out. I hope you are doing great too.

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

You’re officially an aunt! Congratulations and surprise! I adopted this kid, Chris. He’s five now. Me and Eddie, his dad got married as friends. It’s a long story, but it’s for financial reasons and so Eddie’s parents don’t take Chris. They kind of suck. Anyway, we went to court today and I’m now Chris’s dad, so that’s cool. At least, I hope you’ll think it’s cool. I do. Raising Chris is the best job I’ve had so far, he’s an amazing kid, you’d love him.

Maybe you can come meet him some time? But don’t tell mom and dad. Or Doug. They’d just be assholes about it. I promise it’s not as stupid as it sounds. I didn’t tell you, because I didn’t want to worry you, but I’ve already been raising Chris with Eddie for a year now and I’ve gotten a hang of the whole parenting thing.

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

Chris called me papi today! I’ve already been his dad legally for a bit and unofficially for a year, but still, that’s an upgrade! I also didn’t mention any of this before now. Is it a weird thing to drop on you that you’re an aunt because I’m excited about being a dad? Also, Chris is part Mexican, my Spanish is a lot better. Señora Smith would be proud of me. So the papi thing isn’t too weird, though I’m not fully used to it yet.

I hope you’re also having a good time and having good news happening to you. I wish I knew what was going on in your life. I feel like I must be missing so much. Hope I’ll get a card back!

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

Eddie found out today I didn’t tell you about him and Chris. So, uh, he is my husband and Chris is my kid. He’s five. I’m writing this, because I feel bad now. I honestly didn’t think he’d mind, but he seemed so surprised, so maybe I should tell you?

Before I didn’t tell you, because I was just helping out a friend, but then Eddie and I got married so I could adopt Chris and it’s all official now. But I also didn’t tell you, because I’m scared. Not of you, but of mom and dad. And Doug. Eddie understood when I explained, but I still feel weird about it now.

I just I don’t want to be mean, but Doug scares me. I know you love him, but he always felt like bad news and I don’t want him near Chris, or know he exists and where he lives. God, I’m such an awful brother, which is also why I don’t want to tell you, because what kind of person thinks like that over their sibling’s spouse? It would suck if you thought Eddie sucks and I’m not even in love with the guy.

And then you have mom and dad, I know I can ask you not to tell, but what if it slips out? They already think I’m a loser, they probably think this is a stupid decision too. Even if I love being Chris’s dad. I don’t want to deal with them. I’ve already ran, I don’t need them back to judge me. Am I horrible for that? Will you hate me when you find out? I hope not. I hope we’ll meet again and I can tell you and you’ll be happy for me. I hope I get the courage to send another card. Or this one, but I don’t know. I’m scared, Maddie.

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

So, I didn’t end up sending any of my cards about this, but my in-laws hate me. They already did before, but they weren’t my in-laws then. I’m raising this amazing kid, Chris, with my best friend, Eddie. He has to re-enlist to pay bills though, so we got married so I can continue to raise Chris while he’s gone. His parents just found out and… they aren’t happy.

I don’t think mom or dad would be happy for me either, but at least I didn’t have to hear them yelling at me about it, like Eddie had to. Are you also mad at me for it? I hope not. It makes me happy. Wish you were here.

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

Life totally sucks. Eddie left for his service and getting Chris to let him go was a nightmare. I never want to do that again, but that’s a part of being a parent, right? Making hard choices? I don’t like it. I hate it when he cries. And my in-laws still hate me too. They spread all sorts of nasty shit around town and everyone is avoiding me. Is it really that bad to marry a man just to help out with his kid? I’m not doing anything weird, I swear. I just want to help and Chris is an amazing kid. Eddie needed help and I helped. That’s it. I miss having Eddie here. I miss having back up. I know he had to go, but it still sucks.

I’m sorry, I’m whining. And you have no context for this. It’s a long story. I’m doing fine for the most part. My boss doesn’t care about the rumors, so that’s nice. See, not all bad. Positives! I hope you have some positives in your life too. It would be sad if we were both having a bad time. Tell me about it sometime?

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

How worried should I be that Chris is barely speaking? He’s just a kid and his dad just had to leave after his mom already did, but Eddie’s still calling him. He speaks then. Do you think that will go over or not? Have you seen something like this before? Is it normal for kids to react like this? I mean, I miss Eddie too, but it’s not the same, so I have no idea. I’d usually ask him, but, you know, he’s not here. I miss him about as much as I miss you. I could really use someone in my corner right now. God that’s so needy

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

I have a situation and I need advice, so you get a letter instead of a card. You always give the best advice. At least, you used to. I’m pretty sure you still do, but you haven’t been talking back in a while. I’m not even sure you’re still getting these, but I hope you do, because I can really use your help.

Okay, so, a little bit of backstory. Remember that girl it didn’t work out with? Well, she was a mom and it didn’t work out, because she abandoned her kid. Crazy, I know. Anyways, Chris is a great kid. I helped out his dad, Eddie for a bit and it spiraled out of control and we’re married now. Surprise! It’s just a friends thing, though. It was so I could adopt Chris, because Eddie had to re-enlist to pay medical bills (Chris has CP). So, it’s been me and Chris these past few months and it’s gonna be for the next year or so.

With that out of the way, my situation: Chris’s old PT place was homophobic. I tried to explain that we weren’t gay (not that it should have mattered) but they wouldn’t listen or help Chris, so I switched him over to this new place. And I told him not to mention Eddie. I know, I’m horrible!

I’m just worried that they’ll be homophobic again and then the next best place is three hours by car away, I can’t work enough to keep up with it all and drive Chris all the way there, plus gas is expensive and asking Helena (my mother-in-law, I suppose) will only end in her being terrible about it and lording it over me.

It’s the best thing to just not say and I made sure that Chris wouldn’t realize what happened. He has to deal with enough already, you know. But here is the worst part. I also didn’t tell Eddie. I don’t want to worry him, you know. He’s all the way across the ocean in a war zone and I’d just be bothering him, but I also feel like I’m erasing him, while I never want to do that. But I don’t know what to do. Did I make the right choice? Or should I tell him?

I’m sorry about dumping all this on you. That’s a lot of new information. Hopefully you don’t hate me too for keeping you out of the loop. I didn’t want to worry you. Sorry.

I hope your life is going well and you don’t have to grapple with your morals. Though, I suppose as an ER nurse, you make difficult decisions every day. You always keep such a cool head. I miss that. I wish I was more like you. I wish I knew what to do.

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

People have only just started normal around me at the grocery store, but school pick up is still very uncomfortable. And Helena is wearing me down. I hope Chris won’t notice. I don’t know how much longer I can do this. It’s exhausting. I miss you. I want a hug. I want you here. I know I’m being a baby, but god, I just don’t want to be so alone for a moment.

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

Sorry for the tear splatters on the card. It was Chris’s sixth birthday today. Chris is my kid. Adopted. You would know that though, since I was still in Hershey when I was 19, but I guess I could have knocked a girl up on the way out. I’m sorry, that was cynical. But yeah, adopted a kid. It’s a temporary thing. Eddie, his dad, will come back. He has to. He’s serving oversea.

Yesterday was a nightmare. Chris blew out his candles on a video call with Eddie. I tried really hard to make it a good day. I hope it was. But Chris deserved better. Better than I can give him. I’m not his father, not in the way Eddie is. I keep fucking up. I thought I could do this, but I can’t.

Do you think mom and dad ever felt like this? Probably not. They should have. You made my birthdays better. Thank you so much for all of that. I never said, but I appreciated it.

God, this is depressing. I hate it here. I hate myself. I hate that Eddie had to go, I hate that Shannon left, I hate that Helena and Ramon were there when Eddie was supposed to be. I hate that you’re so far. I hate that I’m never enough. I hate it all.

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

I’m so alone. Please, send a card back. Just a small one. I just need to hear from someone, anyone, that doesn’t hate me. Please. I love you. You’re the best sister I could have asked for. So, please, please.

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

My husband almost died today. You don’t know I have a husband and I don’t. Technically. Eddie married me for convenience. He’s in the army. And he nearly died. They had to airlift him to Germany to get him the care he needs. I could have lost him. I thought he died when they called. He’s my best friend and Fuck, Maddie, I’m in love with him. I’m in love with my husband, who is not my husband. I’m in love with my best friend. And he could have died. I was so scared. Still am.

What if Eddie gets an infection and dies anyway? Will I have to raise Chris by myself? Can I do that? What if Eddie makes it? What if he divorces me and I’m all alone again? We said we would, but I don’t know if my heart can take saying goodbye. Not to him and not to Chris. Fuck, why did I ever get into this mess?

I wish you’d talk to me, so you can tell me it’s going to be okay. You’re an ER nurse, what do you about catching three bullets in your body? Is that a thing you see often? Will he die? Will I become a widower?

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

I’ve been very mature and collected about being in love with Eddie. You’d be proud of me. I think. I have been thinking before acting, planning things, not doing anything reckless. That’s progress, right?

Eddie is my best friend/platonic husband, by the way. He nearly died. Okay, this card is already a mess and a long story stacked on top of a long story, but know that I’ve been doing well. I’m thinking about becoming a firefighter. It pays well and has great insurance, plus you don’t need a college degree. I’m going to pitch it to Eddie when we call. I just want to help out. It’s not weird right? I hope not.

What’s happening with you? Anything interesting? In love with someone better than Doug already? I hope so.

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

I’m going to be a firefighter! That’s cool and fun right? And Eddie isn’t going to divorce me yet because of it! That last part is as much news as the rest is probably. But don’t worry about it. It’s a long story, I can explain if you want, but you’d have to be sending me cards back for that. My address hasn’t changed in a while. You can come by. But you don’t have to. I get that you’re busy. I wouldn’t expect you to, that was rude and pressure-y. I just miss you. And I hope you’re doing well. Maybe getting divorced instead of me? Sorry. That’s also rude. Doug is just such a dick, I don’t know why you like him.

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

Eddie came home from service today, my supervisor at the academy gave me the day off so me and Chris could pick him up. It’s so good to have him home again. You should have seen Eddie and Chris’s faces when they reunited. I love them so much.

It feels weird to share this with you. Usually I don’t end up sending these, because I don’t want to worry you, but now it feels a little too late to tell you. I also never told you, because I don’t want mom or dad to know. Or Doug, iew. Sorry. I know you can keep it a secret, but I’d feel bad asking you to do that, just because I want to share being happy with you. Maybe I’ll come back after my divorce and just eat ice cream on your couch for a week.

Do you have things that make you happy right now? Still working in that same ER? I hope so, or none of these will have gotten to you. Though, that might explain the lack of response. I hope you’re okay, wherever you are.

Love, Buck

~

Dear Maddie,

I’m going to die! Okay, maybe dramatic, but I am! My friend, Eddie, he’s injured right now and I have to help him shower. And that’s fine! It’s all fine! I just also have a huge crush on him and he’s straight and I try to be respectful, but he’s all there with soft skin and silky hair and I’m going to die! I don’t know how to give someone a shower in a bro way. What if he catches on to my feelings? Then he’ll divorce me (long story). But it’s so hard (haha), because he’s so sexy and handsome that it hurts. God, this is an embarrassing card to write. You have to burn it after you read it!!! Or maybe I’ll do it for you. No one can find this. Ever!

Love, Buck

~

Dear Maddie,

Your little brother is officially a firefighter! I’m very excited about that, I’m also going to be a firefighter in LA. I mentioned last card that I was getting job offers, right? And I took one with the LAFD. I’d say come to visit when we’ve moved, but I don’t think you ever will.

Eddie is about to start his PT soon. We’re looking at places in LA, both to live and for his and Chris’s appointments. Hopefully there won’t be a repeat of the homophobia incident. But that won’t be a problem when Eddie divorces me. He’s my husband (friendly) by the way, Chris is our kid. Surprise, you’re an aunt. I wrote that line a million times, never send it. I think you’d be a great aunt, but I don’t trust Doug to be an uncle. Are you two still together? Probably. Fuck, I hate that guy. No offense. Well, maybe a little offense.

I’m going to see a lot of ER nurses from now on, makes me think of you. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll be handing over patients to you. That would be fun, right? A family business. No?

Love, Buck

~

Dear Maddie,

I just realized that LA has family of Eddie, which means I have to meet them. I asked Eddie what he wanted to do and he said we’ll go over after we’ve moved in. I really hope they’re going to be cooler than Helena and Ramon. I’m a little nervous to meet them. In-laws, you know. Scary.

How did you deal with meeting them? You did meet Doug’s mom, right, before she died? Was that scary? Probably, if she was related to Doug, but that’s beside the point.

Maybe it’ll be okay, since they’re not actually my in-laws, not like that. Me and Eddie are just married as friends and he’s probably going to divorce me when he recovers from his injuries (he’s a solider, got hurt in Afghanistan). It’s a long story.

Anyway, wish me luck!

Love, Buck

~

Dear Maddie,

Meeting Abuela and tía Pepa went well! They seem to like me. Eddie laughed at me though, but Abuela scolded him for it, that was funny. Did you know family can feel warm? Our house never felt warm. I’m going to miss it when Eddie divorces me. Is it rude to befriend your not entirely like that in-laws, so they’ll continue to be your friend after you divorce your not like that husband?

God, I’m truly a sad person, aren’t I? This sounds pathetic, even to me, but it was just so good, Maddie. I’m going to miss all these people so fucking much. I guess, I should be used to it. I learned to live without you, I’ll learn to live without Eddie and Chris. But fuck, it’s going to hurt. Do you think I can ask Eddie if it’s okay to send him and Chris cards after our divorce?

I’ll have some time to think about it, since Eddie isn’t better yet (it feels weird to be a little glad about that). Hopefully this whole firefighting thing will work out for me. I have my first day tomorrow and I’m so nervous. Any tips about that? Or about my divorce troubles?

Love, Buck

~~

A/N:

I didn’t do enough with Buck raising Chris alone in El Paso, but fuck that shit hurt. I didn’t want to have it get more out of hand and it wasn’t super important to the overall story, so I skipped over a lot of it, but it was a lot of fun to explore here. Hope you all angsted with me :D

Also, me posting this during the Doug arc for Maddie feels very poetic, like she truly nearly doesn’t make it without ever knowing that Buck is okay. That she got him out and he is happy now, that he has a family that loves him, ugh, my heart

[blnationwins]

My stream of conscious having just finished the 4th episode of The Heart Killers:

I’m so confused… I thought they were hit men. But they also plant bugs and tap into software like spies. And they’re also just plain thieves who break into safes to steal jewels? And they have such an extensive wardrobe. Did they also rent a fire truck or hop out Fadel’s jeep dressed like firemen? Did they start a fire? Is there a cat stuck in a tree? Where did Bison get a fresh janitor’s outfit w/ no wrinkles & a PE outfit in their sizes in less than an hour? Speaking of which, where in the world did Style get a burger costume? I can only imagine it’s handmade. What other crafts does Style like to do? When will Style ever help his dad at the shop? Does Style order crop tops or know how to hem and crops any shirt he likes himself? Is he bisexual? Everyone has chemistry with everyone. When will they have a foursome? Is that incest? And why do Fadel and Bison have a burger restaurant as a cover up in the first place? A cover up for what exactly? It’s not a money laundering front. Is it illegal to arrest small business owners in Thailand? Is it truly just Fadel’s passion project? Why does he love burgers? Where did he learn to cook and manage a business? Did he take online classes while training to be a killer? Why did Mother agree to it? Is she a shareholder? Can he cook anything else? How does Fadel not pull his hair out cooking and running food and bussing tables by himself? When will he hire real staff? The most shady part is that there are literally zero employees other than him & Bison and sometimes Style. What is happening?! Why does Kant never lock his door? When is he going to get a ring doorbell? Why do Fadel and Bison live in a mansion? Not really keeping a low profile. Do they have savings accounts? Or do they get an allowance from Mother? Who is Mother and why is she so bad at Mothering? What even is Keen? He looks older than both Bison and Fadel so why is he not “in the field” yet? Is he such a good assistant that Mother doesn’t want him to get killed? How did they train to become hitmen? Where at? Are they actually Mother’s adopted sons or what? Which came first, the adoption or the hitman training? How and when did Bison discover his kink? Does he listen to Rihanna? Does he go on r/bdsm? When will he get to use his ball gag? Why did Kant take a picture of it? How did no one notice him drugging Bison’s drink? He did it so conspicuously! Why would the bartender agree to make those shots and not call security immediately? Dude’s sus! Will they start a gay bowling league? Can Fadel bowl? Will Style have to get a C-section? How in the world are they going to be able to raise a kid? They’re both so busy. Is Bison ready to be an uncle? What are the hours Heart Burger is open? Do they have milkshakes? When will we see a shrew?

Phew!😮‍💨 I could do this all day… Anyway, so far I’m loving this series! Shakespeare would be proud (and I actually mean that)

[atopvisenyashill]

any thoughts about how could it be the dynamic between viserys-naerys- daeron ii in fire & blood 2?

okay so straight up the dynamic i’m MOST interested in learning about in f&b2 is the viserys-naerys-daeron ii dynamic. first of all, those first two are just UNGODLY DISTURBINGLY YOUNG when they have children. viserys has naerys, his YOUNGEST child when he is sixteen. naerys has daeron when she is fifteen. viserys is a grandfather before he is 32 years old. it is truly babies raising babies out here!! i mean fuck, daeron has baelor under significantly less traumatic circumstances but he’s still only 17 by the time he starts having kids! that’s all just wildly interesting and disturbing to me. like, that alone, how close in age they all are because they all married & started having kids at crazy young ages, explains so much about why this period has always felt particularly deranged to me (“this period” being post dance where we get this incredible string of deranged freaks from aegon iii to aegon iv that ebbs into this vaguely “we’re having a targ renaissance yay” era that erupts into civil war anyways! i LOVE this conceptually i’m so ready to be annoyed when f&b2 comes out and i’ve hyped this all up for some more dumb sex stories from another court fool ajsjs).

but then secondly, okay, when you look at the timeline- daeron is born in 153 and the birth nearly kills naerys 15/16 year old naerys. aegon iii is still king for four more years. that last year, aegon iv spends his time (and the next two years after that) shacked up with megette. then aegon spends a few years shacked up/probably raping casella vaith the hostage, before running off to war. then he spends more time raping naerys, wherein she has a miscarriage, and aegon is sent away so he doesn’t rape her to death. daeron marries myriah, has a child with her. but before that child is two, in quick succession, his father comes back home & immediately starts raping his mother again, his mother nearly dies having twins & now he has a sister younger than his son, and daena unveils her new bastard who everyone thinks is aegon’s, and baelor is so distraught by all this he fasts himself to death. viserys is king, and likely dead before daeron’s second son is born and before daeron turns twenty. suddenly the person responsible for making sure aegon doesn’t rape naerys to death are daeron & aemon, who have NO authority over aegon. this man has the audacity to stay alive for twelve more years.

that shit is insane. daeron’s father is only around when he’s raping his mom. the closest things daeron has to a father figure are his uncle who wants to fuck his mom, his grandfather who is probably busy constantly (and also only in his thirties 😭), and his batshit insane cousin baelor. his childhood is marked by almost constant instability until it stabilizes for the worse when his cousins all get locked in the maidenvault, then gets thrown into upheaval once again as baelor & viserys die and now his dad who is only around when he’s raping his mom is suddenly back in town and has total control.

and naerys. she’s like if aemma lived long enough to parent her kids, but worse bc you could argue there was fondness of a sort between aemma & viserys. aegon and naerys hate each other. she is constantly pregnant and on death’s door from the age of fifteen (three years older than her father!) until the day she dies, in her early 40s. it sounds like worse than hell to me. it is a lifetime where the only source of comfort you have is the son you birthed at fifteen, because maybe your life is a nightmare but if you raise him to be marginally less evil, he won’t destroy the innocent little girl you know is going to be sent to court to be his wife. everyone else is actively holding you hostage and applauding you for taking the abuse so well. your whole life is screaming for help and all you get is tears telling you you’re so dutiful and brave.

and viserys just. watches it all happen. of course he does! his kids are simply ungrateful! he had to get married at twelve and his wife wasn’t born in westeros so they had nothing in common and at least they have a living father, they have no idea how lucky they are. why should daeron and naerys blame him when he gave them everything because he had nothing? it’s a shame it wasn’t naerys that offed this man. i do think she was his favorite kid tho and i bet he’s not subtle about it at all.

[shrinkthisviolet]

Alternatively an AU where Eowells 'raises' Barry alongside Morgan and they get to grow up as brother and sister (with the world's shittiest dad)

OOOH I LOVE THIS!

Making the case is easy enough for Eowells—Joe assisted in Henry’s prosecution, he shouldn’t get to adopt his son. And Eowells recently lost his wife and has his daughter, baby Morgan. He could use another child to fill the desolate quiet…and he’s more than happy to take in a child whose pain he might somewhat understand. (And ofc he’s a rich white man—that helps too)

Barry is ofc an angry kid at 11. Made angrier by the fact that he couldn’t even be adopted by someone he knows (Joe) but by Eowells. But…baby Morgan is adorable, and Barry finds himself at least coming to adore her, if not her father. Because yeah—Eowells is “Morgan’s father” to him. Barry won’t change his name, won’t call him Dad. But he’ll softly call himself Morgan’s brother, and hold her close like she’s the most important person in the world. Iris (he’s not allowed to interact with her outside of school, but ofc they find their ways) notices and teasingly remarks on it, saying he makes a wonderful big brother

Barry is parentified by the time…well, maybe by the time Morgan is 5. He was a little bit before, but this is when it really starts. He’s 15, old enough to stay at home by himself, so often he and Morgan have the house to themselves. He soothes her nightmares, sings her to sleep…when he turns 16, he’s the one taking her to and from school. It’s tough balancing this and his own life, he’s not cut out for all this by himself…and Tina notices. She asks after Eowells, but he makes excuses (because yeah, by this point, he considers Eowells his dad and even cares about him, even if that love is mixed with resentment for his late hours working). Still, Tina insists, and Barry reluctantly accepts, letting her shoulder some of Morgan’s childrearing. They become a sort of team…and Tina even helps him out from time to time

In this AU, Morgan is much more attached to Barry than to Eowells. She doesn’t think of him as her dad exactly, but…he’s not far off either, and in a lot of ways, he’s at least more parental to her than Eowells. The first time she got scared of thunderstorms, it was Barry who cuddled with her, sang her to sleep, and told her a funny story about thunder and lightning being “show-offs” that made her giggle. It’s Barry who comes to all her choir concerts and karate belt tests with (or without, on occasion—Tina’s still a busy woman) Tina, being the embarrassing big brother who says “that’s my sister!!” and insists on taking a million pictures and teases her just enough to make her roll her eyes but smile anyway (and she, ofc, gives as good as she gets)

It means that she’s also much less conflicted about Eowells. Sure, she loves him, but if it’s Barry’s life on the line? He’s always been there, Eowells hasn’t. It’s an easy choice to make. She’ll always choose her brother. She even changes her surname to his—although she’s now Tina’s legal child, she’s always been Barry’s baby sister before anything else.

Admittedly, parts of this AU overlap with what I have planned for the Childhood Friends AU (you’ll notice there are some chunks I didn’t address in these headcanons, and that’s because they’d be spoilers for some CF AU plot points 😅), which is…really the only reason I’d hesitate to write it. And yet…👀👀

Also, to anyone else reading this, @fezwearingjellybananas (the wonderful sender of this ask) did sorta write this premise in their amazing Speedster Siblings series (with the addition of Wally, and it’s Jesse rather than Morgan so she’s a speedster). I highly recommend it!

send me an au and i’ll share 5+ headcanons about it!

Taglist (send an ask or DM to be added or removed):

@arrthurpendragon @ocappreciationtag @raith-way @vexic929 @ironverseocs @thechaoticfanartist @goldheartedchaoticdisaster @negative-speedforce @starstruckpurpledragon @angst-is-love-angst-is-life

[graysonshmayson]

AITA for “stealing” my dad’s son?

Ok, stealing is hyperbole, but that's just what my brother says. I also find your theories as to what the “family business” is hilarious (my favorite guess is mafia), but I really can’t tell y'all for privacy reasons! No, a child technically doesn’t have to fulfill the role in the company, it just makes sense for the role and also is sort of a habit now? It’d actually be kind of weird if it wasn’t a kid. But that’s all I’m saying on that. 

Ok so I’ve already made a few viral posts about my relationship with my dad about my brother in this post and then about him not taking care of himself in this post. I really recommend you read them for full context because there’s only so many times I can repeat the same backstory. Short version: my (M28) dad (M48), took me in after my parents were murdered and I then created and fulfilled a role in the family business until I moved out and started my own at 18 due to our tense relationship. A lot of stuff has happened since the last post: first of all, y’all remember T (M17) from the last post? He is now legally my brother! My dad adopted him a few months ago after his parents died which honestly was a crazy ordeal that could be its own post. Secondly, J (M19) is alive??? He legally died for a time, but it turns out he did not die like we thought and came back a few years ago. Anyway, he comes home, and is furious with my dad because the guy that killed him was still a free man and he thought our dad didn’t do enough to catch him. Honestly, he wanted our dad to kill him. Which my dad did not want to do because, like, murder is generally wrong. He was also super mad about my dad “replacing” him in the job like a) he didn’t replace me and b) T forcefully volunteered for the job. Like made my dad accept him. Anyway, J got super vengeful and started getting involved with crime, and literally drug trafficking and all sorts of shady things. The third and most pertinent update is that my dad had a surprise son! A couple years ago, an old fling came around with a kid and said that he needed to take care of him for the foreseeable future while she took care of things following her father’s death. The kid, D (M14), was super angry and violent, clearly raised in a tough situation and mourning his grandfather. 

Here's where my frustration with my dad begins: by the time D showed up, me and dad were like fully okay again. We talked, I visited and helped out, etc. but he didn’t want D at first. He didn’t trust him, and didn’t even want to give him a chance because he was raised by his mother and her father, which is a whole terrible mess of a situation that I can’t even get into. Don’t get me wrong, D was and is extremely difficult. When we first met, he tried to start a fight and told me to “remember who is the blood son”. But he’s just a kid . Yeah, his behavior was troubling at best, but it was because of his awful home situation and reconciling his idolization of his grandpa who was actually a terrible person. He’s as mouthy as he is precocious, but if you really spend time with him, you can see that he’s a good kid under it all. So D shows up, and pretty quickly wants to get involved with the family business. I could tell pretty quickly that even though he tried to act all nonchalant, he really wanted to prove himself to our dad. My dad flat out rejected him at first. He barely wanted D staying with him, let alone being involved in the work. I had to fight this man to give his own son a chance, just like he did for the rest of us. Do you know how hard it is to convince your adoptive father to not shun his own son? It’s kind of scary. 

To give him the benefit of the doubt I can understand his concern. He nurtured me to the best of his ability and I scorned him, and then J died and came back hating his guts and a criminal and T is becoming so much like him it scares him. I think he was scared that he would fuck up another kid (not that I think he really fucked us up. He did his best). I helped D pretty much every day, whether he liked it or not and he eventually formed a mutual trust and respect with our dad. I don’t doubt that my dad loved D, but it frustrated me that it took all of my weedling to get him there. I think that D deserves the unconditional love that he wasn’t given growing up, and having to earn it like that from your own dad? Cant have felt good. He eventually took my old role from T, and has been doing it ever since.

Flash forward to a point around a year ago, my dad goes missing. He frequently drops off the map for work or something, but never this long. He was literally presumed dead. As the oldest, I took control of the family business which I honestly did not want to do. After years of trying to be independent from him, I really can't stress how reluctant I was to take the job, even though both T and J were vying for it too. But I was the best suited for it, so I did it. Because of this, I was working very closely with D. If he had it his way, D would be in charge of the company and he was not happy with taking orders from anyone but his father, so it was really tough to just gain basic respect from him at first. Eventually, though, we made a really good team and even though I was in a position I didn’t want, I felt very fulfilled by our work. I was so proud of D and the progress he had made. I think that while he and dad had a good relationship, dad didn’t really help a lot when it came to expressing emotions or anything like that. And boy, I have been to enough therapy to help with that. So then, a while ago, dad shows up again from where he had been, let's say indisposed , and all the sudden I’m out of the business again, because obviously I gave him his old role back. 

But I don’t know, if I’m honest it feels wrong sometimes without D. Sometimes he’ll come to the city where I live and help me out instead and it makes me really happy. I’m so glad he feels like he can come to me to talk to, or get away, or whatever. He has like one friend besides me and dad so I worry about him a lot. And when we’re all together again, I feel sort of proud when he looks to me instead of dad. Like in my head I think my dad is on thin ice. I worry that if D fucks up bad enough, he will never forgive him. I’m not shy about sharing my opinions on situations involving D with my dad which I can tell he resents it and has led to several arguments. I really can’t tell if I’m overstepping here. On one hand: he’s not my kid and I should probably respect the boundaries set by his father. On the other, sometimes it feels like I’m the only one in this kid’s corner. And I always will be. I don’t know if I can say the same for my dad. So should I keep trying to assert myself as a mentor in D’s life? Or stay out of it? 

[kavalyera]

Howdy! Really intrigued by Manila by Night! Can i have the whole down of the Kindred Politics- like the Primogen council, the Anarchs, etc?

Also I saw that a Baron had his father ghouled by the Prince- how'd that happen?

I really like reading about your game! I love hearing about other people's Chronicles!

HAIIII HELLOOOWWWW thank you so much for asking about Manila by Night which means I have a reason to infodump about it <3 I was shaking when I got this BELIEVE ME !!!

Okay, so Manila in this chronicle is highly Camarilla dominated due to manipulation and propagandra imprinted by the prince and her primogen which consists of:

- Louisa Grace I. Mallari (she/her) of Clan Toreador

- Professor R. Aquino (he/him) of Clan Tremere

- Trisha Marie Gonzalez (she/they) of Clan Malkavian

- Samuel Fernandez (they/them) of Clan Nosferatu

- and very recently added to the roster—Serena Liwanag (she/her) of Clan Lasombra.

and then we have the bitch herself, the head of Manila’s ivory tower (well it’s more of a concrete tower knowing Manila is insanely brutalist) — Prince Alejandra Miriam Salvador de Silva (she/her) (uh huh yes that’s her full name. It’s the average filipino name my irl name is MUCH longer😭) is your average Ventrue prince except she is fueled by astronomical levels of hatred towards those that oppose her rule because in her mind, her and her primogen have done nothing but good for the city (well…).

There is a LOT I want to say about her, considering her tight grip on Manila is honestly a result of her traumas and fears.

There are two major anarchs right now, that being a brujah baron, David Ramos (Domingo) and his childhood best friend, Mae Fernando (Her actual name is Marianne Santos shh) who is a Gangrel!

Currently! Mae is the stand in Baron of Tondo for David alongside others who he added into the mix just in case the Prince wanted to target Tondo next. Which is funny because both he and Mae are technically neonates.

And yea so, David is the Baron of Tondo which is the most impoverished district in Manila hence why I made it an anarch state +it was where a revolutionary hero in Philippine history was born and raised in back then. So basically, David was never from Tondo in fact he’s from Makati City but his father, Francisco Domingo was very distant towards him as he was busy being a cop😭 Anyways! David was a really rebellious kid as he hung out what his dad would call “batang kalye” (street kids) or even worse; “walang kwenta sa mundo na bata” (kids with no purpose on this earth).

Of course, David valued relationships a whole lot, and he was always with kids and adults that taught him not to be a bootlicking cunt. Eventually, during a fire in Manila, David was embraced by a Brujah most likely someone he hung out with a lot and his father thought he was dead.

During the time David was learning the ropes of the Camarilla and the Anarchs in Tondo, away from Makati—Francisco became chief of police of the Manila Police Department where Prince de Silva sought him out during her ever growing grip on the city so she could have more control on the mortals that inhabited her city. She doesn’t know that David is Francisco’s son…yet since David is in hiding for slowly becoming infamous. And also because the Nosferatu Primogen is the Prince’s right hand man.

As of now, Alejandra has Francisco arrest (and brutally beat) kindred that stand in her way of her vision of a perfect city. She put kindred and ghouls in the police force to better aid her pursuit of power.

As a bonus, here are some fun facts!

- David and Mae’s relationship is based off of the corny ass relationship I see on Filipino television but I made it kalye rebel core

- Alejandra is based off of several Filipino politicians, mostly corrupt because she is. I drew inspiration mostly from the current government seat holders from 2010-2024 however I won’t be naming any or else I might get redtagged /j

- The entire chronicle only has Filipino characters so far!

- Serena’s last name, Liwanag, means light in Tagalog. Funny because she’s a Lasombra.

- David’s name is a reference to “David and the Goliath” story

- Like every Prince, Alejandra’s tower is the Ramon Magsaysay Building, probably one of my favorite brutalist buildings ever in Manila and I chose it because my cousins in Manila fucking hate it lmao so she gets it

- Bonifacio Global City or BGC Manila is THE Camarilla infested area. Skyscrapers, vibrant night life, exclusivity of supplies—this is where the Lasombra, Serene is; managing a night club for kindred (aka Elysium)

- The youngest primogen is Serena, embraced in the 1900’s rather than in the 1700’s-1800’s like the others.

- Louisa and Samuel are distantly related, which is quite silly because Louisa is a Toreador and Samuel is a Nosferatu. Louisa is a very distant cousin of Samuel, they never met properly when they were alive but yeah

- Prof. Aquino is a hematology professor at the University of Santo Thomas!

- Explaining this here now because none of yall are Filipino but kalye means street or alleyway, but colloquially it means someone who has this rebellious spirit or is a really loud, outspoken person. Hence the prince and the primogen call the Anarchs “batang pangkalye” (kids only good for the streets)

anyways enough yapping from me—THANK YEWWW SO MUCHHHHH FOR LETTING ME YAP ABOUT MANILA BY NIGHT‼️ my special interest is filipino culture and history so yeah audhhsshs

[lime-parfait]

Paranatural Parents: A Quick Analysis (Spoilers)

Please blacklist #long post for this because a “read more” will be unavailable if this blog were to be deleted in the future and it won’t be accessible.

Also no beta on this analysis

Anyways, been awhile since reading Paranatural seriously (ever since the story’s style changed to a text format it was harder to focus and read it). Anyways, there’s something that ‘clicked’ for me when reading some the recent pages. And it was simply that Paranatural is full of incompetent adults (no brainer). But specifically, it was full of incompetent PARENTS. Especially the ones who are involved in the whole world of spirits.

Okay, okay. Think about it. Isabel’s attitudes towards her family. The way that her grandfather finds ways to constantly point out her flaws and teaches her to use spirits as weapons. Isabel’s father, who we recently learned about, DOES want to care about his daughter, still chooses to be involved in the realm of spirits because he believes that Cherub’s words will help to make balance in the world. And yet, Isabel still doesn’t want to be around her father (based off the attitudes she has and it took a lot of strength for her to even ask her mom to drop her off). Isabel has something important to tell her father, but she reacts negatively when he doesn’t take her seriously. In a nutshell, Isabel has 2 guardian figures in her life who do not listen to her. Her grandfather wants her to be a disciplined warrior at the age of 12, while her father doesn’t seem to do his part in making communication between them easier.

Cody, his father was also involved in the Consortium. That man is a business man now and all he does is try to take property away from people. Back in the long (Jim the Brain)chapter, Cody is super hostile towards his father, who’s about to kill a spirit (because that’s what his father did back in the Consortium; stab spirits). Cody becomes cold and harsh, saying that the spirit was HIS to kill. Like, Cody took a deadly turn and it makes for a theory that his father taught him to be a cold-blooded killer towards spirits. But in the evidence, it’s vague why Cody feels this way towards spirits (we only got Davy saying that even though he wants to protect those he loves, Davy pulls out the ‘dad will take care of it’ card). Cody yells at him after that, forcing him to leave the school (due to vampire rules). It ‘s clear that Cody doesn’t his father to be on his turf  and that he can hold his ground at school (remember, he’s school president). But Davy and Cody have a family tension the involves in protecting what they care about from the ‘evil spirits.’ However, Davy probably failed really bad as a parent if Cody gave him death glares and yelled at him.

EDIT: another thing to consider is that Davy sees his son as a reflection of him (literally) and gets really pissed when Max counters his statement by saying that Cody isnt his mirror. clearly Davy cannot see his son as a son, but some sort of copycat that needs to follow in his footsteps.

Rick Spender (as an adult) is literally the worst at being a reliable person for the Spirit Activity Club, theres records of the way he failed to be there for most of the members. Failing to reassure and listen to Isabel and purposefully keeps isaac in the dark that sparked these two to fight each other because they were both hurting

Ed’s parents who were clearly part of the Consortium and they eventually met their doom WHEN Ed was BARELY 3 YEARS OLD. Ed’s parents weren’t there long enough to actually raise him and see him grow up. Like, they decided that it was okay to pass their kid off to a new guardian in the most nightmare fueled moments before they disappeared. They didn’t try to leave him have a happy memory, but planned to just erase themsleves from his memories??

There’s plenty of other parents who also failed to be decent parents in the story (they weren’t part of Consortium, but they existed and basically don’t look after their kids. Penny and her parents’ treatment towards her and the way they favored her brother. Where the hell is Isaac’s parents). But it seems that a lot of the adults who are deeply involved in the spirit’s world, often tend to overlook their own children. Most of them claim to want to protect their kids from it, only pushing them away and the kid feeling neglected. But in the end, working in the Consortium makes these parents see their own children as an after thought because they’re buried in this this work, only dragging their kids in the mess.

And let’s look at Max Puckett. His mother was part of the Spectrals and possibly in the Consortium. She must have seen this sort of cycle. All of these parents who had spectral kids and planned out their futures to live that sort of life. Isabel’s family planning for her to be a warrior. Ed’s parents accepting their doomsday fate as workers of the Consortium. Max’s mom looked at all of this and didn’t want that. She would not repeat this mistake as other parents of the Consortium. And you know what? She married Peter Puckett, a man who wasn’t a spectral, or a vampire, or a wealthy man. But here’s the thing that Peter Puckett had that every other parent lacked; emotionally availability and unconditional love and care.

Like, Dad Puckett didn’t give up on his kids when his wife died. He picked himself up and did everything to raise them. He accepts that Max is Max, a moody preteen. He gets into the same interest as he does (Insolent Children music) and get involved in his life. Yes, he seems like a manchild at first glance because of his happy attitude and not being that smart. But he can be serious about serious topics when needed. He takes both of his kid to a kids’ arcade in order to let them have fun and be able to ask if Max was being bullied in school. He doesn’t make it a joke either, Peter Puckett is direct and wants to make sure that Max wasn’t being bullied in school. Hell, Dad Puckett took Max to the hospital for a broken arm and everything and you see that his face was full of concern for Max’s well-being. He literally makes time just for his kids no matter what it is. Going to a concert? Yes. Going to the hospital and rushing to get there? Peter will not hesitate. Like, Dad Puckett found the strength to continuing being there for his kids after his wife died. He moved to a new town to begin a new life, he takes their physical and emotional health seriously, he is involved in their interests and he listens to his kids, he doesn’t put pressure on his kids’ futures, all he wants is for them to be happy and safe. No matter what bad happens, Dad Puckett will always make himself emotionally available for his kids.

EDIT: another thing that was interesting during a re-read was that Peter said that Max took after his mom in personality and humor, and honestly that checks out based on what we know about her. This contrasts to Davy treating his son as a mirror, but in reality, Cody is nothing like him. Basically saying that Mr. Puckett understands his son better than Davy assumes what Cody is.

Meanwhile, all of the parents of the Consortium are fighting against a doomsday and not actually thinking about what their kids need most is to be there for them.

To Mom Puckett: you chose the best husband who was more prepared to care about his children

[ughsimpp]

Unrealistic Moment

Words // 9.9k words

Genre // smut & fluff

Paring // noble!Yeosang x f!reader

Disclaimer // jealousy, kissing, soft!dom, heartfelt, virgin!reader, first time, passionate, cunnilingus, foreplay, first time blowjob, etc.....

masterlist

DAMN this story was long LOLOL but It’s another royal AU story!!! I actually started this a year ago LOL and its finally finished, EHEM anyways currently (slowly*) finishing up like 7 stories lol

The town you lived in wasn’t the poorest nor the richest in the kingdom. You lived with your mom who raised you ever since your dad left you and your mom for another woman because she was pregnant and had a son. You grew up not knowing who your dad was but that didn’t bother you. You were loved by the people around you, everyone helped your mom raised you and was proud to what a beautiful and wonderful girl you grew up to be.

Your mom helped run a pub down the street with her childhood friend Minnie. Your mom helped out by handing out beers and food to guys that came in for celebrations or just to come in to get drunk. As a kid, she let you visit the pub here and there, but whenever things get too chaotic, due to men being drunk and stupid, she sends you home so you don’t see the nasty fights that happens there.

You are now 20 years old and you decided to helped your mom run the pub and also took a side job at the bakery nearby. You worked there in the morning then at night you go to the pub afterwards. The men that go there everyday were like relatives to you and your mom. Ever since your father left, you never had a father figure in your life but the guys at the pub treated you like their own daughter and you were always thankful for them.

It was just a rainy busy night at the pub. Handing out drinks and communicating with the people that came in. You, your mom and Minnie loved the atmosphere that the pub created, it was just felt like home and nothing could have felt any better than that. Minding your own business, the door suddenly burst opened as a man, wearing a black coat that was drenched from the rain, collapsed at the doorway. Your mom and Minnie ran to him as some of the guys who saw what happened helped moved him to the back room. You quickly was about to shut the door until you saw a horse outside, scared and was jumping in places. You sorta knew your way around horses so you went out in the rain to clam it down and led it to the shed that was in the back. You came back inside and headed to the back room. You saw your mom and Minnie try to undress the man due to him being injured.

“Y/n bring me towels and warm water!!”

You heard Minnie yell out and did what you were told. You grabbed multiple clean towels from the shelf and prepared some warm water from the stove. You watched from afar as they helped clean the wound and bandage the man up.

After a while, your mom told you to stay with him in case he woke up. The injuries caused him to lose a lot of blood and he was running a fever due to the rain. You sat next to the man as you continued to re-wet the towel and placed it on his forehead. You looked at man and wondered where he came from and how he got injured.

He had nice features, smooth skin, a sharp beautiful nose and a birthmark near his left eye. He looked too unreal for a guy, like a god or something. Most guys you saw everyday were big, had facial hair and where a lot older, but this mysterious man looked around to be your age.

The next day you woke up to the bed being empty. You remembered falling asleep near him. You ran out the door and was about to yelled out that he disappeared but suddenly you saw him sitting at the table with your Mom and Minnie. The man looked up and saw you at the doorway and waved at you.

“You’re up.”

Your mom turned around and saw you standing there,

“y/n your awake. Yeosang woke up before you and surprised me and Minnie when he came out.”

The man walked up towards you and held out his hand. He was much taller than you expected him to be.

“Your mother told me that you took care of me last night, I just wanna say thank you.”

“No problem but you shouldn’t have been riding your horse in the rain like that...and besides you got injured...”

“Sorry about that. I didn’t know where to go but I saw light coming through this place and hoped that the people here would help me and you guys did.”

“Good thing you stopped here or else you would’ve gotten eaten by wolves haha...but uhm are your injuries okay? And your fever?”

“You're funny but yeah, i'm fine now. Still in pain but no worries. You kept re-wetting the towel for me so my fever is gone.”

“That’s good.”

“Ah sorry for not introducing myself first, I’m Yeosang, Kang Yeosang and it’s y/n right?”

“Right..”

“Pretty name.”

You softly smiled at him as he smiled back. After a while, your mom told you to take Yeosang out and show him around town. You both talked as you showed him around. Yeosang was nice and fun to talk to. He had a certain charm that most guys you knew didn’t have. Funny, shy, awkward but was still able to keep a conversation going and kinda goofy. Something about him was captivating, like as if he put a spell on you.

He told you that he was from a big northern town and that he was the son of a Duke. You didn’t believe him until he showed you his necklace that has a family symbol, proving his point that he was part of a noble family.

“...but no need to treat me any different. I don’t like being considered as one of them, so just treat me like a normal person.”

“Got it.”

You nodded and continued walking. You never met anyone that came from a noble family, but because of what Yeosang said, you decided to treat him like a normal person. Yeosang told you stories of how he grew up and what it’s like. He didn’t mind the high life but at the end he ended up not liking it and wanted to try an be normal for a change. That’s why he ran away but got caught up in some trouble on the way from traveling this far. You told him about your life and how you didn’t grow up with a father figure but everyone in town was like family.

After dinner, you and Yeosang had gotten pretty close. You saw him enjoying himself with the people you grew up with and liked it here. You also noticed him glace at you once in a while but when you caught him, he’ll be flustered and look away, you thought it was cute so you let it pass. 

 A few more days has passed since Yeosang has been staying in the with you and your mom. He gotten close with some of the people and even helped out in the pub, he even followed you to the bakery once but stopped coming because he almost set the whole bakery on fire by leaving the bread in the oven for too long.

It was the last night that Yeosang was staying. He was sitting outside as you came out and sat next to him. You both looked at the stars in silence. The night bugs chirp as the wind blew softly, making your hair move with it.

“Y/n...I have something to ask you..”

“Mhm, what is it?”

“Would you like to come with me? I know it’s all sudden but I really enjoyed my time here and want you to come back with me.”

“I appreciate the suggestion Yeosang but I don’t know if I wanna leave my mom here all alone and-...”

“You should go with him.”

You and Yeosang turned around and saw your mom standing at the doorway.

“Mom??”

“You’ve been stuck in this town for my sake and now I want you to go and live your own life, Go and travel, see new places, make new friends...maybe even find a nice guy to settle in with."

“Gross mom, why would say that?”

You were shocked at her mentioning stuff about falling in love. You knew that she was teasing but also knew what she meant by being on your own.

“I’ll be fine. Go with Yeosang, I have a lot of trust in him and I know he’ll look after you.”

You walked up to her and gave her a tight hug. You felt her brush her hand through your hair. Her silent cry wasn’t heard but she knew that someday, you’ll need to be on your own. The next morning you and Yeosang settle off to go back to his hometown. You gave your mom and Minnie your last goodbyes and soon headed off. You know that you will come back one day but never know how long it will be till you see them again.

It took 2 days to get there but you enjoyed travel there. You lived your whole life in that town so the new scenery during the journey was enjoyable. When you finally reached the town Yeosang lived him, there were these huge gates that opened as soldiers greeted him and allowed you both inside the walls. The town was beautiful, children laughing and playing, people chatting and having fun with one another. The people saw Yeosang and greeted him too. You assumed that everyone knew him since lots of people came crowding around.

You made it to another gate, which barricade around a house. It was bigger than you expected. It wasn’t a castle but a big house that looked like a smaller version of a castle. They had soldiers guarding the place as workers and several maids were walking around the yard.

Yeosang offered his hand for you to get down from the horse. You hopped down but struggled with the landing and fell onto Yeosang, luckily he was strong enough to hold the both of your from falling. You never looked at his face up close before but his eyes sparkled as he looked at you.

“oops, I'm so sorry...”

“it’s fine, just be more careful next time.”

you got off of him and helped him up. you both fixed your clothes and awkwardly stood there. Yeosang was about to speak until someone opened the door.

“Yeosang? is that you!? Oh my gosh your father and I were worried sick!”

the lady came down the steps and gave him a hug, but Yeosang slightly pushed her off and fixed his clothes once again.

“I’m so happy you came back!! You must have been starving and lonely, come inside."

the lady tugged at his arm but Yeosang pulled it back,

“I’m fine, is my father around? I want to introduce him to someone.”

“Yeosang, I told you to call me mother and why?"

She looked at you as you stood behind Yeosang, Giving her a small smile.

"Is this a new worker? She looks kinda fragile to be working at a place like this don’t you think?”

you got offended by when she said 'fragile?'

“No, she’s a friend. Now please tell me where my father is.”

“oh...well then, your father is in his library, as always.”

Yeosang looked at you and he pulled you to come inside, you slightly bowed to the lady and followed him inside. You remember Yeosang telling you that he has a step-mother. His real mom passed away when he was only 8 so his dad got re-married. When he came home from a play-date, he was surprised when he saw a lady standing closely by his father and a little boy standing next to her. Ever since then, he never saw her as his mother, just someone who came into his life unexpectedly, someone who was noisy and wanted to include herself in everything.

You walked inside and saw how big it was. Portraits of his past relatives, expensive looking vases and artwork filled the halls. Yeosang took you to his father’s library and saw that he was going through papers.

“Father!”

“Yeosang my son! You’re home! Are you hurt anywhere? Why would you go and leave like that? If your mother was still here, she would give you and me an ear-full of nonstop nagging and worries.”

“I’m fine, thanks' to you y/n and her mother.”

“Y/n?”

You felt Yeosang pulled you from the side,

“Father I want you to meet y/n. Y/n and her mother took care of me these past few days and I decided I wanted to bring her here and introduce her to you.”

“Ah, well thank you taking care of my son, he maybe clumsy and sometimes can be hard-headed but he’s a good kid.”

You laughed as his dad gave Yeosang a few smacks on the back as Yeosang whined out from the pain, forgot that he was still in pain from the injuries

"Are you okay son?"

"Yea I'm fine, nothing too serious."

His father was worried but soon made his focus on you.

“Where are you from my child?”

“I’m from a small town down south.”

“Is it just you an your mother?”

“Yes, just me and her. My dad left when I was a baby.”

“Ah I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

“No worries, The people in town helped look after me and my mom, so I guess you can so they also became my family too.”

“That’s good. I can tell your mother raised a strong, independent, and beautiful lady.”

You laughed and nodded. Yeosang looked at you as you and his father talked. He actually never seen his dad smiled this much before. You would crack jokes and say things that caused him to laugh loudly.

“Ah father, I almost forgot to ask but would it be okay is Y/n stay with us for a few weeks? I want to show her around since she never been here before.”

“I would be okay with it but just remember your duties and that we are having a gala for you in a few days.”

“Yes I won’t forget.”

Yeosang showed you to your room and left you to get settle down. The bed was huge and the window that showed the city below was beautiful and better than you imagined it to be. There were bathrooms in every room which was nice but also very big. You were used to the small room and small bathrooms back at home, but this, this must be what luxury feel like. You decided to take a bath and get cleaned before dinner since one of the maids came up to tell you.

You soaked in the warm water as the bubbles that were created from the soap you used filled up at the top. It was so nice that you didn’t want to come out anytime soon. You wore your best dress, hoped that it fit the liking of Yeosang’s parents and head downstairs. At the table, you sat next to Yeosang and saw that table filled with amazing food that made your mouth water.

"Lidia, can you go get Chan for supper?"

'Chan?' You remembered Yeosang mentioning that name before. He's Yeosang's step-brother but they never got along apparently. A man came from behind the walls. He had brown hair, good looking, and was tall like Yeosang but his built more slim, Yeosang was more on the muscular side.

He sat down next to Yeosang's stepmother as everyone began to eat. You didn’t want to dig in first but Yeosang nudged your arm to go ahead and eat. You tried a bit of everything and the one dish you liked the most was the chicken curry. The curry melted in your mouth as the chicken was tender and juicy, The only thing you wished for the dish to be a bit better was to have more spice in it. You noticed Chan taking glances at you, you gave him a smile but he just looked away.

Yeosang looked over to you enjoying the meal as he laughed at how messy you can be with food. He handed you a napkin and showed you where to wipe, you got embarrassed but noticed Yeosang also had some sauce on the corner of his mouth too.

After dinner, Yeosang showed you around from the ball room to the library on the second floor. The place was too big for you to remember the places he showed you in the beginning of the tour. You both stopped at your room as he waited for you to head inside.

“Get some sleep and tomorrow I’ll show you around town and then we can have some fun.”

“Okay...well good night.”

“Sweet dreams.”

You closed the door as you saw him giving you a soft smile. You brushed your teeth and got ready for bed. The moonlight beamed through the window curtains, making the room look and feel magical.

The next morning you woke up to the sunlight shining through and the birds chirping outside. You sat up and got ready. You woke up pretty early so you decided to walk around the family’s garden. You said good morning to the workers as the one of the maids asked if you wanted tea or coffee. Tea sounded good so she gave you a cup as you headed outside. The garden was pretty to see in the early morning, small animals were around the plants as the small breeze felt perfect on your skin.

Taking your time outside, someone came around you and tapped your shoulder. It was Yeosang. He smiled and sat down next to you.

“You woke up pretty early. I was gonna wake you up myself but the maids said that you were already up and came here.”

“Yea, waking up early became a habit and I wanted to see the beautiful flowers.”

“Flowers bloomed beautiful this year but I prefer looking at you.”

You were about to sip your tea until he said those words. You also choked and looked away.

“Don’t say things like that if you don’t mean it...”

there was a moment of silence until he cleared his throat,

“Shall we get going?”

“Go where?”

“I’m gonna show you around of course.”

You remember that he was going to show you around. You headed inside and got to your room to get your bag and head out with him. He took you to see the different stores and stopped at his favorite places. It was like a whole new world, seeing things you don’t normally see back at home. After a while, you and Yeosang stopped near a cliff to watch the sunset. The view was breathtaking and unreal. The sunset hitting every mountain and forest out in the open. Birds chipping as the night came, creeping through.

In the moment, Yeosang took a glance at you as you watched the sunset. He glazed at your eyes and saw how beautiful you were. You were just enjoying the view, not knowing that he was starring at you.

“Thanks for bringing me here Yeosang, it beautiful here.”

“I’m happy that you are enjoying it here.”

You looked at him and smiled. Unknowingly, Yeosang’s heart thumped more as you gave him that bright smile.

“Shall we get back?”

You nodded as you followed him from behind. You both made it back to his place and was greeted by the maids. You were laughing at Yeosang’s jokes that you both didn’t realize his step-mom what standing near the steps.

“ehem.”

Her voice made you both look up as the laughing stopped. Her eyes gazed you you two as she stepped down.

“Where did you two run off to?”

“We just went out, I was showing y/n around.”

“And I suppose you went out looking at that? Dressed as a common commoner?”

“Yea, I mean there’s no harm in how I dress to the people right? Everyone knows who I am.”

“Yeosang, being part of a noble family means you have to dress and act like one. You must not be seen in such ‘commoner’ clothing. Anyways, there is a guest here for you.”

You both turned to see a girl, dressed in a light yellow dress, walking out from the side. Her hair was wavy and half pinned up with a yellow pin, her skin was smooth and white, like as if she never stood in the sun before. She was really pretty too, someone like from a princess fairytale.

“Yeosang meet my friends daughter, Alina. She’s from the West Kingdom.”

“Nice to meet you, Yeosang.”

She stood infront of him as she bowed,

“Alina will be staying with us for a few days til your party. Your father and I and of course Alina’s parents are expecting for you to show her around and be her escort to the gala.”

Alina walked closer towards Yeosang and looked at him. Her eyes fluttered and a smile formed softly on her face. Her voice sounded elegant and polished, as if she was trained to become a proper lady from a young age.

“Mhm...you are much more handsome in person what your mother described you to be.”

“Step-mother, but thank you. It’s a pleasure meeting you Alina...anyhow, shall we get going y/n?”

Yeosang bowed to Alina and grabbed your wrist, taking you upstairs. He was frustrated and you knew something was wrong.

“Hey Yeosang..are you okay?...”

He kept quiet and kept on walking to your bedroom. You both reached your room as he turned around and stood infront of you. He took a deep breath, before letting go out your wrist.

“Sorry...it’s just...my step-mother is just doing this for me to get married but I don’t want to...not with her picking who my wife to-be will be.”

“Well you never know...maybe Alina isn’t so bad. She seems pretty nice.”

“If I was gonna get married to some girl that I barely know, I would rather die. I want to choose someone who likes me for who I am, not by being with someone that was arranged for me.”

Yeosang was definitely frustrated and irritated. Honestly you would also hate the idea of marrying a man that you barely knew. You looked at Yeosang and smiled,

“Hey maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. You did just met her today , so just try to get to know her a bit more and I don’t know maybe you’ll end up falling for her.”

Yeosang looked at you and looked away, grinding his teeth together.

“I don’t know...but then I won’t be able to show you around anymore. My step-mom is gonna be eyeing me like a hawk to make sure I’m with Alina every second!”

“I’ll be fine! No need to worry about me. I can take care of myself. You already shown me enough for me know my way around. I'll be fine."

"You promise?"

"Yes. I promise."

"I'll try to sneak away so I can so we can hangout more okay?"

He gave you a cheeky smile and hugged you before leaving. You went inside you got ready for a bath. After getting dressed, you headed out to the garden. The night was nice and clam so you decided to go enjoy the night view and maybe read a book. The maid offered you a cup of warm tea as you began reading. The book was one that you grabbed from the library inside, the story line sounded good so you wanted to read it. In the zone of reading you heard footsteps coming from the side. You looked over and saw a man leaning against the wall. The shade was covering his face so you couldn't see who he was.

"Hello? Is someone there?"

The man slowly walked towards you as you saw his face. It was Chan. The light shined towards him as you closed the book.

"A little late to be out here alone right?"

Chan spoke, you never heard him speak before but his voice was smooth. He looked at the book you were reading and smirked,

"Peter Kim."

"I'm sorry?"

"Peter Kim, the author of the book."

"Oh right..."

There was an awkward silence between you both. The sounds of the creatures at night filled the air. There was a slight breeze as the wind moved your hair.

"y/n right?"

"Yea."

"Pretty."

"Thanks."

"So you're from one of the southern towns?"

You nodded briefly

"You like it there?"

"It's not bad, not really fancy like this place but I like it there. It’s home.”

you said as you heard Chan laughing softly.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing.”

“Well it’s getting late, I should go inside now.”

you grabbed your things and got up. you stood infront of him and realized how much taller he was. his eyes focused on you as the moon slightly shined his face as his light brown eyes lit up. his looks were captivating like Yeosang’s.

"Goodnight.”

you walked slightly around him until you tripped. you yelped as you were preparing yourself for the fall but suddenly felt someone grab a hold of you. you opened your eyes and saw Chan holding you, he caught you from the fall. you saw how closed his face was near yours, his eyes focused on yours as his lips were inches away from yours. you got out his gaze and stood up from his grasp. your cheeks were slightly heated up as you tried you act like nothing happened.

“t-thank you for helping me...uhm I’ll be going now...”

you softly spoke, bowed to him and walked away quickly. palming your face as you felt the warmth of your cheeks. you quickly ran up the stairs and went into the room. you closed the door and tried to take a breather from what happened.

‘okay y/n he may be good looking but now it’s not the time to fall for someone'

you went to bed and tried to get some sleep. the next morning you woke up to the sun shining through the curtains. you freshened up and headed out the room. you were offered a simple breakfast and a cup of coffee. the food was good, while the coffee tasted rich and sweet, different from the coffee you had back at home. you assumed this is what the higher class people has compared to people who lives a ‘normal’ live.

you thanked the maids for the breakfast and headed out the gates. you made your way down to the town and watched as everyone did there daily job routine. you did some shopping with the spare money you had and chatted with some of the locals. the people were nice and very generous, it was like you were back at home again. you came across a bookstore and decided to check if they had different books that you can read.

you were welcomed by the shop keeper as you greeted him back. you browsed around as few more people came in after you. it was a couple with their child. assuming they were getting books for the little boy. 

“looking for anything specific?”

“not really. I don’t have a genre in mind.”

“well why don’t you tell me what kind of books you usually read? that can give me an idea on what you like.”

“well I mostly read romance novels.”

“nice taste. love a classic romance novel. I have a few on these shelves, the ones with the yellow star are my wife favorites. you can tell she loves herself a romance novel.”

you laughed at his comment and thought that it was cute for the shop keeper to label his wife’s favorite stories. you scanned through the books and saw one that caught your eye. ‘The Duke’s Flower.’

It was a story about a lonely duke who falls in love with a fair maiden that lives in a different region. he never met her before but after hearing rumors about her, he yearns for her. he travels far from his home as he was able to meet his one true love but when he realizes they both can’t be together, the maiden falls into a deep curse. the duke was on a mission to break the curse but whoever breaks the curse, becomes the replacement of the maidens curse. the duke has to find another way for both of them to live.

you were intrigued by the storyline as the shopkeeper noticed the spark in your eyes as you read the first few pages.

“I think I will take this one.”

“Perfect! when my wife finished this book, she wrote letters to the author and thanked them for writing such a great novel.”

you smiled at him and paid for the book as the shopkeeper gave you a discount, you refused and wanted to pay full price but he insisted. you thanked him once again and left the bookstore. you made your way back to the house as was greeted by the guards. they remember you so it was no big deal of you entering.

you walked in and saw maids and other workers cleaning up the place, you assumed it was for the upcoming party. you swiftly made your way between everyone and finally reached the staircase that led up to the second floor. you looked back and saw how busy it was. the party must be a huge deal to Yeosang’s family. you began walking up but bumped into someone, causing you to drop the book and other items you bought from your visit in town.

“Oh! I’m so sorry, I wasn’t looking-...”

“It’s okay child,”

you looked up and saw Yeosang’s father,

“Deeply sorry, I should watch where I’m going next time.”

you picked up your things as he helped pick up your book. he stared at the book and gave you a soft smile.

“I remember this book...”

“Sir?”

“My late wife, Yeosang’s mother, loved reading so we have a copy of this book in our library.”

You watched as his expression changed a bit and his eyes looked down at the book with a sad smile.

“If you don’t mind me asking but what was she like? Yeosang's mother I mean.”

“Oh, she was the most beautiful and wonderful person I’ve ever laid eyes on. Every party we attended, she always brighten up the room with her smile. She was smart, kind, caring and loving to everyone around her. The people in our town loved and care for her as much as she did for them. When she got sick, doctors realized that there was no cure for her. While everyone was sad that there was no cure, she still tried to brighten up the mood and have us be happy instead. Even though she was hurting, she still had that beautiful smile on her face.”

“She sounds like an amazing person. I wish there was some other way to help her. I would have loved to meet her.”

“Yes well that was long ago. She would have love to meet you too, because you both are similar in fact.”

“Really how so?”

“She would always spend her free time in the library and just read. I sense you're a huge reader too. You two would have bonded over the different stories that you both have read. When Yeosang was little, he loved listening to his mother read to him and just being around her. I can tell Yeosang enjoys being around you.”

“Oh,”

You were stunned at his last comment about Yeosang. Sure you and Yeosang got along but didn’t think of nothing more to it.

“Anyway, you’ll love this book, I've read the book too. You know, you are allowed to explored our library. You would have found this book and just read the copy in our library instead of buying one.”

“Oh no worries, pretty sure once I go back home, this book can be a souvenir for me, as a reminder of me being here so thank you for the offer.”

He gave you soft smile as you both parted ways. you finally reached the second floor and headed to your room. you took the things you bought from the market out of your bag and headed to the bathroom to freshen up. you came back and began reading the book.

the book started off with a small back story of the curse and why it haunts the people of the kingdom. you read and read, until you heard the maid outside your door calling your name. you didn't realized that it was late in the evening, almost dinner time.

"Miss y/n, will you be joining everyone for dinner?"

"ah yes! I'll be out in a moment!"

you quickly closed the book and headed to the bathroom, washing up before dinner. you fixed your outfit, hair, and headed out the door.

you made it to the dining room and saw everyone waiting for you. you took a seat next to Chan as everyone finally settle down, ready to eat dinner. the dinner was quiet as small talk between you and Chan became louder than expected. you quickly realized that everyone was starring at you and Chan. You looked towards Yeosang as he paid no attention to you. You apologized and continued to eat dinner. You made your way to your room but was stopped by someone calling your name.

You turned and saw Chan making his way towards you. He came close and handed you something.

"Here. I think you might enjoy this one after you're done with your book."

He handed you the book as you took it from it. The cover was pretty as the title of the book was in bold letters. "The Girl in the Flower Garden"

"A romance novel huh? Never thought that you would read something so romantic and what not."

"Hey I was bored one day. It's a short book but its really good."

"I'll take you're word on that. Thanks."

You smiled softly and thanked him once more as you headed in the bedroom. You set the book on the dresser and headed to the bathroom to wash up and got ready for bed.

As the new day came by, you and Chan been hanging out a lot more than expected. You didn't mind the company since Yeosang was busy but it was nice to have someone there to talk to. You and Chan talked a lot about his life and yours. Chan wasn't the big dreamer type but he knew what he wanted in life. He wanted to explore and go places but knowing his mother, she wouldn't allow it.

You got to know him a lot better and it was nice to have a new friend around in this unfamiliar town. You both parted ways after lunch since he had to do something for his mother. You headed to your bedroom, setting you're things down and was about to sit down on the bed until you heard a knock on the door.

You assumed it was either Chan or one of the maids but when you opened to see who it was, it was Yeosang.

"Yeosang..."

"Can I come in?"

"Yea..yea sure, uhm come in."

Yeosang walked in as you closed the door quietly.

"So...how you been?"

His voice softly spoke as he walked around the room, checking out how you settled in since the last time he spent time with you.

"I've been okay, getting used to this place and I made a few friends in town. Everyone has been very nice to me and even helped me out whenever I needed it."

"I see, well that's good I assume."

Yeosang walked closer towards you as you were startled at how close he was.

"And I assume Chan has been taking good care of you too?"

His tone of voice changed, as if he was irritated by something, something about Chan.

"Uhm...yes..."

The atmosphere felt heavy as he was technically hovering over you at this point.

"Y/n..."

You felt his breath closing in as his lips gently brushed against yours.

"I don't like seeing you being close with other men, especially if it's my step-brother."

You were taken back at his words. You were about to speak until he lips were pressed against yours. It was a light kiss, sweet but filled with jealousy. He pulled back as he looked at you expression.

"wait Yeosang what about...Lady Alina? what about your step-mother? What would they think if they knew we've kissed?! What if-"

"I like you."

He cut you're words as he looked away, looking flustered to what he said.

"I...I like you y/n...like a lot. I know it may be all sudden but please understand my feelings. I like you so much that the whole time I was with Lady Alina, all I could think about was you. Wondering if you were doing fine here without me. Ever since we first met at your hometown and I saw you sleeping peacefully next to me, I knew you were different. You're someone who would take care of a person that they barely know, someone who would listen to another's problems, thoughts, and not judge them for it."

"Yeosang.."

"And I don't care about what other's think. All that matters is that I like you and that's final. In fact I'm-."

You kissed him to shut him up. He stopped his movement and put his focus on you again.

"Can you please let me speak."

He nodded,

"I like you too Yeosang and I understand your feelings for me but I'm scared about what would happen when someone expose our feelings about one another."

"If that ever happens, just know that I'm gonna stick by you. No matter what. I don't care if my step-mother freaks out because who is she to tell me who I can like or be with? As long as I'm happy right?"

He caressed your face with his hand as you looked up into his eyes. His eyes were speaking the truth and were filled with much passion.

"So please...can you be mine?"

His voice was soothing as you leaned in for another kiss.

"Yes."

You kissed him as his hands roamed your body and your arms were automatically wrapped around his neck. The kiss was passionate at first but quickly escalated into a deeper and lustful one. You were slowly pushed by Yeosang and fell onto the bed. He took one glance at you and knew that he wanted you. You were his, and he was yours.

You looked at him and began removing your clothes slowly, one by one, as your skin was getting more and more exposed. Yeosang looked at your body and felt breathless. In his eyes, you looked beautiful like a goddess. Yeosang quickly removed his clothes as well. You saw his well defined muscles and his scar on his shoulder. You felt the bed weight down as he came in closer towards you.

Yeosang left kisses on your nape and chest, groping and attacking your breast as well. You wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him in closer. You left soft kisses where his scar was as he began to kiss you lower. You felt butterflies in your stomach and flinched at every kiss that was getting closer to your core.

You felt his warm breath near your heat and soon felt his soft lips on your core. You moaned out as he began to pleasure you from below, you held in your moans as he restrain your thighs from closing in on him. Even though it was big house, you never know if anyone was still up and can hear your moans from outside your door.

You felt him attacking more at your clit causing you to gasp loudly at the feeling. Yeosang slowly inserted a finger and begin to finger you slowly while eating you out. This whole experience was new to you and your body wanted more. You tried to moan softly as you came all over his finger and mouth. You shuddered from the feeling of your orgasm as Yeosang smiled at you. After you came back to reality, Yeosang positioned his cock at your entrance.

"Can I?"

You slowly nodded and he gently pushed in. You cried at his size as he was entering. You felt his cock pulse between your tight walls. Yeosang leaned in closely lowly groaning at your tightness. It was your first time, and you didn't expect it to hurt that much. He kissed you as he gave you time to adjust and waited til you were ready for him to move. You looked at him as he knew that it was okay for him to move. His thrust was nice and at a slow pace. His groans filled the air as you whined softly as the new feeling. Every thrust he gave caused your eyes roll back.

"Fuck...you feel so good my love."

Yeosang picked up his pace and thrusted in faster than before, leaving your breathless. The way his dick hit your sweet spot better than before made you see stars. He lean down as you wrapped your arms and legs around his body. The way you tighten up around his cock and the increased moans you drove out, he knew you were close on giving another orgasm. His pace became faster and his groans became louder as well."

"Oh- Yeosang...I'm-I'm close!..."

"Come for me, I know you can."

You let out the loudest moan as Yeosang had to cover your mouth with his hand. He rode out your high as he came afterwards. He released his warm cum on your stomach and smiled brightly. Yeosang leaned in and kissed you passionately. You can still taste yourself on his tongue. He looked into eyes and knew at that moment, he wanted to stay with you forever. He kissed your forehead as you snuggled closer to him. You drifted to sleep as he slowly left your side, tucking you in and left the room.

The next morning you woke up to an aching pain down below and decided to take a warm bath to help sooth the pain. You were about to leave the room until you were stopped by one of the maids hold a bouquet of flowers.

"Miss, these are from Sir Yeosang."

"Oh, why thank you."

It was a bouquet of pink roses and daisies, beautifully arranged and a note was left in the middle of the bouquet. It read,

"Good morning my love, I'm sorry for not staying with you last night due to me having some errands to run but please meet me tonight in the garden, I have a present for you. See you soon." - Yeosang

you smiled at his note and thanked the maid for delivering the flowers. you went on with your day waited for night to fall. you walked down the hall and didn't noticed Yeosang's step-mother and Lady Alina coming the opposite way since you had your nose stuck in a book. you accidentally bumped into Lady Alina and was about to apologized but she made a huge scene about it.

"AH! this girl just dirtied my dress! Auntie please do something about her!"

You were confused on why she was acting that way, all you did was accidentally bumping into shoulders.

"You girl, get out this instance! Lady Alina are you alright?!"

"I'm-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

You bend down and dust off her dres from the "dirt" you left on her dress but she screamed even louder. You stood up and were about to apologize again but soon you felt a hand landing on your cheek.

The sound of the hit echoed through the hall.

"Don't touch me."

You looked down and held your cheek from the pain.

"You disgusting insolvent girl."

You felt Yeosang's step-mother raised her hand and was prepared for the hit but soon heard a voice called out your name.

"Y/N!!!"

The three of you turned to look and saw Yeosang run towards you.

"Oh Yeosang, this girl dirtied my dress and she wouldn't apologize for-..."

"Y/n are you okay?!"

He moved your hand away from your cheek and saw a bright red mark.

"Yeosang, but why?-"

"Come on y/n, let's get you some ointment for that injury before your cheek swells up."

Yeosang ignore Alina and his step-mom, leaving them both unfazed and confused. Yeosang took you to you room and requested the maid to bring a cold towel and ointment for your cheek.

"Are you alright?"

he quietly asked as he held the cold towel on your cheek.

"Yea, I'm fine."

"I'm sorry, I didn't think they both would lash out on you like that."

"It's okay, I guess they sorta figured out our relationship."

"I don't care about that right now. Right now I wanna focus on you."

you looked into is eyes and noticed how worried he was. the pain wasn't as painful when you first got slapped but he still looked worried.

"Yeosang?...."

you grasped his hand that was on your cheek and made him look at you

"mhm..sorry. I just don't know what would have happened if I didn't get there in time. What my step-mother would have done to you..."

"Hey, I said I was okay."

"Mhm I know."

You leaned in and kissed his lips, assuring that him you were more than okay. he looked at and smiled. Yeosang got up and grabbed a huge box that sitting on the desk.

"I was supposed to gift you this in the garden but when I was looking for you, my step-mother and Lady Alina....anyways, hear you go. I hope you like it."

You grabbed the box and set it down next to you. The box was beautiful wrapped as you didn't want to ruin it. You slowly opened it and pulled out a beautiful light pink ballgown. It was the prettiest dress you’ve ever seen and was truly touched by it.

“It’s so beautiful. Yeosang but I don’t think this would be acceptable, I mean this probably costed you a lot of money and-and not to mention what-.”

“Wear it tmrw to the gala.”

“What?! I mean obviously I will attend but I can’t show up in this gorgeous gown….ur mom and Lady Alina both know that I come from a poor background. What if they sabotage me and say that I stole one of Lady Alina dresses-.”

“They wouldn’t.”

“How would you know?”

“Because Pink doesn’t suit Alina, Yellow does.”

He brushed your hair away from your face and gave you the sweetest smile. You smiled back and kissed him.

The next day was the day of the gala. Maids and other servants were roaming the house, setting the decorations up and preparing food, beverages for guest. You walked around and asked if they needed help. The workers enjoyed having you help around, it was unsual since most guest that visited never offered a helping hand, but you were exceptional. It was easy but there was so much work due to the house being so big, especially in the ballroom. After a few hours of working, a maid called out for you. You were expecting to do something but she led you to your bedroom.

She opened the door and there were people standing around the room. The maid that came with you gestured for you to sit down at the mirror.

"Miss Y/n, please have a seat. From Sir Yeosang's request, we must get you ready for the gala."

You slowly walked and sat down. Soon the people began helping you get ready. You never had your makeup and hair done so you just told them to keep it natural. They started with preping your skin, makeup then your hair.

After a long period of time get ready, there were people showing up as the ballroom was being filled with important guest from all over the kingdom.

You were waiting for when you should head down to the ballroom, until you heard a knock on the door. You opened it and saw Chan waiting for you.

Chan looked at you and saw how different you looked. It was like he was starring at another person. He caught himself starring and cleared his throat.

"Ehem..know I'm not the one you were waiting for but my brother has his duties to escort Lady Alina to the party."

"No it's fine, I understand."

"So...shall we?"

He gestured his arm out and escorted you to the ballroom. You felt your heart beating faster as you got closer. You never been to party so it was nervewrecking. You began to think of what would happened if you made the wrong move, or if you embarrassed yourself.

"Don't be nervous. Just be yourself."

You looked at Chan after he said that. He must have noticed you were nervous from the expression on your face. You took a deep breath before entering. The doors opened as both your names were announced. The people stared as you and Chan walked through the crowd. You heard people whispering to one other and saw a couple of shady glances from girls that seems to hate the fact that you came in with Chan.

"I'll be back. I'm gonna go greet some people okay."

You nodded as Chan left you alone. You looked around and felt out of place. The whole room was filled with important people and you didn't know whether to make conversation with anyone or just stay alone.

There were some people who smiled at you and complimented your dress but that was about it. Chan hasn't come back yet and you assumed Yeosang were somewhere in the front or also greeting the people that came. One of the servers offered you a glass of wine and you gladly thanked them. You took a few sips as the lights dimmed down.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, may I have your attention please?"

The announcer cleared his throat as he was about to speak again.

"On behalf of the Kang family, Sir Yeosang would like to say a few things."

The man gestured Yeosang to come to the front. Yeosang was wearing a white suit. His hair was pushed back as some fringes were left out. He looked like a prince, a character that came out of a story book.

"Uh...good evening everyone. I wanna thank you all for joining us this evening and very thankful for those who came far. I also want to thank my Dad, he's done so much for me and I appreciate everything he has given me. Most of you might not know what this party is for, but this party for everyone to know that I will now be making my own path. I am starting my own chapter and hopefully all of you will support in future circumstances. Since I will be starting my own chapter, there is someone I want to be with. She's someone who is very special to me, someone that I hope my parents approve of. "

You were confused when Yeosang mentioned that he was getting married. He never mentioned it and if he's getting married to Lady Alina, then why did he sleep with you. Your brain was getting all mixed up with uncertain feelings. You gulped down your drink and set it on the nearest table, making your way through the crowd, trying to get some air to clear your mind. His voice was still being heard from behind but you weren't listening.

"...that special someone is named Y/n."

You froze as he said your name. Stopping your tracks, eyes were fixated on you as people began to whisper again. You can hear in the background Alina making a fuss that it wasn't her and his step-mother almost fainting, gasping for air.

"Y/n, please come up here with me."

You slowly walked towards him as he put his hand out, smiling at you. Yeosang said a few more words as everyone in the room cheered. The whole room was so lively as some of them came to greet you. You looked at Yeosang as he gave you that sweet smile once again. His father came towards you both, scared on what he's gonna say. You noticed Yeosang quickly stood straight, getting prepared for whatever lecture he was gonna get from his father.

"Son..."

"Father, before you say anything, please don't blame y/n for my decision. I know step-mother was anticipating for me to be with Lady Alina but, it's not what I want. I know if mom was still here she wouldn't have forced me to be with someone who I have no interest in and besides, there are many young suitors for Lady Alina. If you truly believe that I am capable on being on my own, then I am also capable of choosing the women I want to be with."

His father slowly smiled and patted his shoulder.

"You didn't let me finish, but I agree. I was never against you and y/n being together. Ever since you brought her here, I can tell you truly wanted to be with her. You had the same look in your eye as I did back then when I first met your mother. And you're right, your mother wouldn’t have done that to you, she would have told you to follow your heart and I know you're mother would have loved meeting y/n."

His father turned to you and grabbed your hands.

"Take good care of my son for me."

He said softly, giving you a smile.

"I will."

After the party ended, you and Yeosang went to his bedroom. It was your first time being in his room, everything was so different compared to the room you stayed in, it was 2x bigger. You assumed all the bedrooms looked like yours but you guessed wrong. After a bath, you and Yeosang was snuggling close to one another. The light from the opened window allowed some moonlight shine through as you were able to see his face. He brushed you hair away from you face and kissed you sweetly.

Soon that kiss became more passionate, deeper than before. You felt his hands rubbing against your sides and slipping underneath your blouse, reaching for your breast. You softly gasped as you felt him play with your nipples. He removed your blouse as the cool air made them perk up a bit. He attacked both boobes, stimulating you as you felt a tingly sensation.

Yeosang removed your bottoms as he kissed down your stomach. Giving you butterflies as he went down lower. He stopped at your core, waiting for you to look at him, in which you did. He went in and started eating you out. Even though he did it the other day, the feeling of his wet tongue moving in between your folds, up and down your clit felt sensational.

He glares up at you to watch your reaction he realized the faster he moved his tongue, the more you squirmed. You thighs were closing in on him but Yeosang was much more stronger than you so he was able to keep your legs apart. After a few minutes, you felt you stomach build up and came all over his mouth. Yeosang licked up all of your juices and watched you as you shuddered from the stimulation. He smiled and lean in to kiss you, you could taste yourself on his tongue.

He was about to line up his cock at your core ut you stopped him. You had a thought of doing it to him since he already did it to you. You pushed him as you kissed his body. He only had sleeping pants on so his full upper body was already exposed. You left light kisses along the lines of his abs. You finally reached at his pants and removed it slowly.

His cock sprung out as if it was excited to see you. You looked at it and wondered how it was able to fit inside of you last time. You began licking his tip and noticed that Yeosang became more sensitive when it comes to that area of his dick. You decided to put the whole thing in your mouth. His groans were loud but not loud for people to hear from the outside.

"Oh fuck...fuck that feels good."

You pulled away and licked all the way from the base of his dick to the tip and sucked on it lightly. You knew you weren't able to fit all of him inside your mouth but you wanted to try. Yeosang moans loudly as he felt you trying to shove his whole cock inside you mouth.

You began pumping the rest that couldn't fit all the way in your mouth and started to move up and down. It was a new feeling for Yeosang, he couldn't control his moans and started to push your head down more so it can reach the back of your throat. Leaving you in that spot for a few seconds as you pulled back for air. It was your first time doing that so you didn't know whether you liked it or not, but wouldn't mind doing it for him again.

You slowly moved on top of him and position yourself on top of his cock and slowly moved your hips down. You slowly slid down as it reach in deeper inside, causing you to gasp out loudly. It took you a few seconds to adjust and soon you began to ride him. You used his chest for support as you bounced on top of him. The pace was slow but it was hitting deep inside and it felt good.

Yeosang suddenly changed the position and wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you in and started to thrust in fast. You moaned loudly at the pace, wanting to grab a hold of something but he held your tightly. He stopped and changed the position were he was on top and your legs bent forwards. He rubbed your clit before thrusting in. He lifted your butt and put your legs over his shoulder, which caused him to thrust in deep as well. You cried out his name as your moans filled the room and he went faster.

"AH! Yeosang!! fuck!...."

"Come on my love, cum for me. I know you can do it."

He whispers deeply into your ear. The tension in your stomach was building up as you felt his cock twitching inside. The more you moan, the closer he knew you were. He watched you as you came and rodeo your high. You twitched below him as he smirked devilishly.

"Good girl."

A few seconds later, Yeosang came after you, cumming on your stomach. Yeosang leaned in and gave you a deep passionate kiss. Yeosang got up and grabbed a towel to wipe you down and later laid next to you. You nuzzled in closer to him, Yeosang kissed your forehead and whispered,

“I love you.”

You smiled and said it back softly. You both drifted to sleep as the night went one and morning came. It was a brand new day as you and Yeosang were preparing to set off back to your home town. You wanted to tell your Mom the good news and hopefully she'll give you both her blessing for your new life together.

Ever since you met Yeosang, every moment felt unrealistic, as if within those few weeks of you being there, felt like a princess story.

[aki-draws-things]

They got me upset at work, so I...scribbled a bit of sad. (Cause yes, I was angry, but angry me gets really emotional and I have no control over that.) (Yes i tried not to cry writing... barely succeeded, just barely.)

(Also, Jake thinking his nightmare was a prediction of the future is the same of me having dreams connected to bad things happening to very close family members. It happened before, different times)

@oh-surprise-its-me

Jake is 15 when he gets in a bit too much trouble. Police involved kind of trouble. The kind of trouble that could keep him off of USNA even.

Obviously they get him out of trouble, but, Ron is angry this time. It's 5 days before he and Tom are deployed again. Chris won't be able to protect him that way, he grounds Jake. Because yes, he is pissed. His kid could've jeopardized his own future, was it worth?! He thought they raised him better, he thought HE raised him better.

But Jake is 15, and he's angry at the world. And his dads are going to miss yet another birthday. Sure he understand their sacrifices, he wants to follow their footsteps after all, but he's still angry somehow. And maybe craves more of their attention, despite knowing they love him more than life itself. He's just so, so angry at papa because it was papa who grounded him.

So he just burst. He yells at him all the anger he has, he says things he never thought of even think, things he never wanted to say, hints he doesn't really think. He says them anyway and locks himself in his room.

He doesn't say bye when they leave. He waves at Tata, but that's all. No begging to get back safe, no good luck and stay safe. Just a wave.

Fuck. It breaks Ron's heart so much. His chickie said that he's not his father. He doesn't have his name, and if anything, he would take Tata's name anyway. He doesn't have his blood. Even though Ron was the only one between them who could give him blood when Jake needed it when he was a toddler. Jake said he doesn't love him that much either.

He knows he was just angry, he was crying when he yelled it.

Chris tried to talk to Jake, to have him apologize, at least before deployment. Jake knows, he can see the hurt in his Papa's eyes, but fuck, he can hold a grudge.

Yup. No good luck hug and kiss.

Ron tells Chris to give him a kiss from them every time he calls. Jake is not that angry anymore, but he's stubborn, just like them all. Especially Ron.

One time Ron doesnt call. Busy, they think, it's okay. Come on, they're navy.

But he doesn't call the following day either, or the one after. Or after. He skips 2 whole weeks and so does Tom. Chris tries not to think anything of it. He tries not to show.

Jake wakes up one night screaming at the top of his lungs, like he's in actual, physical pain, he cries, sobs. Chris runs to him so fast he almost trips over Ron's dog, a big mixed breed he found in the side of the road and who apparently only really loves ron, Tokyo. He believes his son is hurt.

Jake keeps sobbing when Chris gets to him, checks him all over, holds him tight. And calls for papa in the most desperate way. It takes almost two hours, and now a killer headache, for Jake to tell him he had a nightmare where Ron got shot down and he's found dead. All because he sent them anyway without a hug.

Chris calls Holly and wolf, he asks them for help, asks them to see why ron and tom went suddenly on radio silence for this long, see if they're okay. Jake is deadly sure they're not okay.

Ron was actually shot down. Left stranded. Took them a while to find him, he's alive though, unlike Jake's nightmare, barely but he's alive.

Broken ribs, one leg, a wrist and badly concussed. Bleeding. Cold.

Tom never called because he was searching for him and couldn't think of anything at all but to find Ron and get him home.

He's moved to a ground base hospital, Chris packs a few things, grabs Jake and flies there.

Ron's sedated when they get there, they had to take some extra scans, check that there's no bleeding in the brain. Jake freezes, he trembles, he breaks in their arms and cries. He's scared how close his own nightmare came to be real. He's terrified that they found papa when he had that nightmare, like he predicted it somehow.

He knows he's not a little kid anymore, but curls up in the bed, careful of all the injuries.

They don't know when he'll wake up, scans show nothing so it's just a waiting game now, they say he'll wake up when his body will be stronger.

Jake keeps having terrible nightmares until ron open his eyes again. (After too, just less terrible, only bad.)