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free-pancakes · 3 years

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Kiss the Drummer

Summary: a LeviHan Jazz!AU

Levi, a talented trumpet player famous in the jazz clubs of New York, is struggling with his instrument and feels burnt out—he wonders if he chose the right path in life.

The bassist of his quintet, an old friend named Erwin, invites a quirky new drummer to play with them, who brings a new spark into Levi’s life.

Notes: Drum "chops” describe a drummer's technical ability, including a large vocabulary of licks, and how freely they express themselves on the instrument. BPM = beats per minute Songs: Giant Steps - John Coltrane

sorry this AU fic is pure self-indulgence and has become much longer than originally intended lol

crossposted to AO3

CHAPTER 1

He licked his lips and pushed them readily against the smooth, silver mouthpiece, ready to hit the first note of the song, Giant Steps. He suppressed his desire to grumble at yet another fast swing tune.

He stared out into the audience, peering at the people sitting around the tables of the club. Their faces were slightly lit from the reflection of the stage lights, wearing expressions of both excitement and anticipation. “Just another night of the same old thing,” Levi thought to himself, letting out a soft, exasperated sigh, one only he could hear. His stance conveyed confidence, but his eyes spelled apathy.

He heard snaps on 2 and 4 marking their starting tempo at 289 bpm and Levi quickly puffed warm air into his trumpet.

“One… two… one two three four—“

——

Levi wiped down his trumpet, carefully cleaning the beautiful brass after yet another great performance. He gently placed it in his case, and looked up at himself in the dressing room mirror. He stared blankly at his reflection, noting the tinge of purple beneath his eyes—he knew his body was aching for sleep. It had been restless upon restless night for the past year or so, and he wasn’t completely sure why. He looked down at his trumpet case with both affection and disdain. Maybe... he just wasn’t meant to do this for this long.

He didn’t hate playing, but the truth was, he had simply been good at it all of his life. Quite gifted at it, one would say, and thus he passively let it lead him to success. It was just what it was. He was good at jazz, he was good at trumpet. Naturally he studied it at a top university for jazz performance and joined this famous quintet, and naturally he worked hard to improve his skills. But as any routine would, practice and rehearsals became monotonous, grunt work.

While lost in thought, his eyes trailed over to his small, neat pile of math textbooks at the edge of the dresser.

If anything, he did enjoy jazz theory. It was just math, anyway—circle of fifths, cadence patterns, fancy scales—it all just added up and broke down for any message or feeling you wanted to convey with a melody for your solo, and those tools were simply available in your brain to make it happen—tools to play some straight dirty solos that make you smirk satisfactorily when listening. To Levi, it just made sense, to a lot of other people, he was called “genius”. But after years and years of this, he was burning out and he was quite aware of that. He felt like he was losing his edge, and he was just a machine clunking out music most nights of the week. Again he thought, maybe he just wasn’t meant to do this forever. But what else would pay the bills?

Shaking his head, he let his jumbled thoughts fall away momentarily. He picked up a textbook, and leafed through the pages. He clicked open a ballpoint pen and began adding to his lesson plan for one of his students, a young girl named Sasha. Honestly, she seemed utterly hopeless with math at times, but he was determined to help her at least pass her algebra class. Her little friend Connie on the other hand…well that’s a story for another day, he thought, and chuckled softly to himself. If anything, he did enjoy his side job as a math tutor for the local school system. He didn’t really need the extra pocket money, but something compelled him to keep up with it.

As he jotted down notes, muffled noise of cheering and commotion rocked against the door. Tonight’s gig was Nile’s last performance with them, as he was moving out to the west coast to play with another group and accept a teaching position somewhere out there. Levi didn’t care much for his drumming or his personality for that matter, so he wasn’t particularly sad to see him go, nor was he keen on joining the celebration out in the bar. He yawned and continued finish up writing his lesson plan, as he knew he’d probably have to drive his drunk colleagues home.

——

“Levi! I’m gonna miss you buddy!” Nile exclaimed as he aggressively ruffled Levi’s hair, causing the cowlick he spent every morning trying to gel down to stick straight up embarrassingly at the top of his head. “Yeah, yeah, yeah… good luck Nile.” He shoved him and Mike into a cab, as they lived in the same apartment complex. He turned back into the bar to Erwin smiling drunkenly and Nanaba knocked out cold, sleeping soundly as she sat with her head down on a table. Levi grumbled and picked up Nanaba’s saxophone case to haul into the trunk of his car. He returned to pick up Nanaba and carried her on his back, and Erwin walked with them to Levi’s car.

“Hey Levi, Our new drummer is flying in tomorrow. I told her I’d come and pick her up from the airport at 7am.”

Levi looked Erwin up and down with a look of disgust. “In that sorry state, Eyebrows? Tch, go sleep off the hangover tonight, I can go to the airport. What’s her name and what does she look like?”

“Her name’s Hange. She has messy brown hair usually worn up in a ponytail, wears tortoise clubmaster glasses and well… honestly you can’t miss her, I’m sure you’ll find her right away.”

“Okay. So why’d we need to bring in a completely new drummer anyway? Couldn’t we have just brought in Moblit?”

“Ah you know his style doesn’t fit ours as well, plus he’s doing well with his band right now. Don’t worry, Hange and I played together all 4 years of college together, she’s got chops. Plus, I think Hange will probably bring in the change we need. Your playing’s gone a bit stale... hasn’t it, Levi?”

“Stale?! Pfft you’re just drunk,” Levi muttered, irritated as Erwin raised his eyebrows at him. They arrived at their apartment complex and Levi begrudgingly unlocked the car doors, gently woke Nanaba, and the three of them walked up to their floor. Erwin fumbled with his keys, and Levi snatched it out of his hands, frustrated at how long it was taking him. Erwin chuckled, and Levi scrunched up his nose at the stench of alcohol in his breath. As soon as the door opened, Nanaba immediately ran to the bathroom, retching into the toilet.

“I got her,” Erwin laughed. “Go to bed, Levi, you’re the one getting up early. Flight info’s next to the door.”

Levi nodded, turned into his room, and plopped down on the bed. He stared at the ceiling, and wondered how much longer he’d keep playing, or more like, how soon he’d quit. If this Hange person was as annoying as Nile, well… he probably wouldn’t hold out much longer.

——

Levi stood with his hands in his pockets, eyes peeled for this Hange person. He looked at his watch—“Maybe she was still waiting on her luggage,” he thought. He walked over to the small cafe to his left, and waited in line, squinting for any decent teas on the menu. Before he could decide, he suddenly heard a small yelp, and something shoved right into his chest, feeling piping hot coffee running down his white, longsleeve shirt. Before he could yell obscenities at the moron who just ruined one of his favorite shirts, he was met with frantic apologizes.

“I’m so so sorry! Oh my goodness it was a complete accident, can I get you a drink to make up for it? Man I am so clumsy...oh! Maybe you can wear one of my shirts I have here, free of charge! Or I could just—“

He looked up in the middle of incessant rambling to see the culprit—a tall brunette, hair messily tied up in a bun, wearing tortoise clubmaster glasses, and a bright yellow coat.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Levi thought to himself. He looked down to see a large black cymbal case and a stick bag with yarn mallets and drumsticks poking out of it.

—I could just buy you a new shirt! Oh, how bout—“

Levi was livid—this clown was potentially going to be playing gigs with them over the next year? The coffee stained fabric was sticking uncomfortably to his skin and he felt the biggest headache coming on—all this pain just from one person. He reached up and gently placed his hand over her mouth to physically stop her chattering.

“Is your name, Hange?”

She nodded, Levi’s hand still covering her mouth.

“You’re Erwin’s friend?”

She nodded again, her eyes lighting up at the name, Levi feeling her lips forming a smile under his palm.

“Okay, I’m taking you back to our apartment.”

Levi reached for her bags to carry them, but was interrupted.

“Wait—the least I can do is give you the extra shirt I have in my backpack so you can change out of your soiled one,” she said softly. She reached in her bag, and pulled out the shirt and Levi felt his eye twitch in annoyance at the words printed on its front. He sighed, and debated sitting in his wet shirt, but it seemed like he didn’t have much choice—he’d have to wear it.

——

Levi blinked his eyes open. He felt oddly rested, but one thing was strange—he was sitting up, and he felt something unusually heavy on his shoulder.

“What the—“

He looked to the side and saw a mess of brown hair immediately to his right, heard the soft sound of snoring, and felt… something wet on his arm? He looked down and grimaced. “Drool. She’s drooling. On my goddamn arm.”

He looked around for some kind of napkin. He didn’t remember falling asleep, let alone letting this absolute stranger curl up against him. How in the world did he let his guard down this far?

He stared blankly at Hange and thought, “What a mess—what was Erwin thinking? We’ve known each other for less than 5 hours, and she seems to have already made herself right at home. I haven’t even confirmed whether she was good enough to play with us, yet.” He tried to shift out from underneath Hange, but before he could wriggle is way out—

“Kiss the drummer?”

Erwin and Nanaba stood before Levi, both with hair in a complete mess, having just woken up from sleeping off their hangovers. Smirking and holding back laughter, they stared at the scene—Levi wearing an oversized t-shirt with the words “Kiss the Drummer” in bold letters plastered across his chest, along with Hange sleeping quite cozily on his shoulder, her glasses held gently between his fingers. Levi tried covering up the words and scowled at his two friends.

“Laugh it up,” he muttered. “What is this, Erwin? She’s clearly made herself at home already—and we haven’t even gotten to play together yet.”

“Relax, Levi, she’s a great musician. And look, she likes you!”

Levi grimaced at Hange draped over his shoulder.

“Hmph, I still have to hear her play and have my opinion considered. We all get a vote yknow…”

Over their hushed voices, Hange shifted groggily towards all of them and rubbed her eyes. “Erwin?”

Hange’s eyes lit up immediately in recognition, shoving Levi back further into the couch as she jumped up to wrap Erwin in her embrace, excited to finally be reunited with her friend after so many years.

After a few minutes of catching up, Erwin smiled brightly. “Yes, we can take you around the city a bit. Rehearsal’s not til this evening anyway—we did have a gig lined up last minute for the middle of this week if you were comfortable with that, Hange.”

“Of course I’d be down to do that! I—“

“Oi. Like I said, we still vote if you get to play with our group officially. Don’t be late to rehearsal tonight.” Levi then slowly stood up and walked quietly towards his room.

“Don’t mind him, he’s just being strict about our technical audition policy,’ Erwin reassured. He and Nanaba quickly darted for their rooms to ready themselves to take Hange sightseeing for a little while and introduce her to the city, leaving her standing alone in the middle of their living room. Her eyes trailed after Levi, curious about his calm yet sad energy. She felt that she saw through that aura, noticing every little kind gesture he made towards her from the time they met at the airport to the moment they fell asleep on the couch. Hange was determined to get him to show that side of himself a little more. As he turned to grab the door behind him, she smiled at him, and was quickly met with a scowl and the slam of his bedroom door in her face. Seemed it might take some more effort to get through to him than she originally thought.

#levihan #levihan fanfiction #levihan fanfic #levi ackerman #hange zoe #hanji zoe #lol idk what this but here ya go #inspired by the movie Soul and because i miss playing drums

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spencers-renaissance · 3 years

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Rain is a Chance to be Touched Ch.15

if we cannot find the light, we will always make our own

Chapter Fourteen

This is the fifteenth chapter in my ongoing hotchreid fic! Please click here for the fic summary, full tags, trigger warnings, more information etc.

Last Chapter: Derek & Emily called Spencer for a consult, and with him off his antidepressants, things very quickly fell apart.

In This Chapter: Hotch & Penelope pick up the pieces.

tw: depression-related exhaustion, disordered thinking, reference to last chapter's breakdown, discussion of medication

Word Count: 4K

RCT Masterlist // Main Masterlist // Read on AO3

(Quick Note: A couple of chapters ago I referred to Spencer's psychiatrist by she/her pronouns, but I forgot that I assigned that character he/him pronouns wayyy back, so I've decided to go with that one. I just wanted to address that in case anyone else caught it like I did! I apologise for the mistake & any confusion it might have caused.)

AARON

"Find my hand in the darkness and if we cannot find the light, we will always make our own." — Tyler Knott Gregson

Aaron doesn’t fall asleep until well into the small hours of the morning, finally lulled into a cold dreamless sleep once he’s cried himself out. He keeps as quiet as he can, but he knows he won’t wake Spencer up anyway: he’s completely exhausted, and he’s out cold. It’s a small consolation, but he tries to take a small bit of comfort in knowing that his boyfriend is at least getting the rest he needs.

He wakes up only a couple of hours after he falls asleep, and despite feeling completely exhausted, he sets about the things he needs to do. The first thing he does is call Strauss to request a family day — thankfully, the bureau’s been a lot more understanding of his situation since Haley died — before texting Derek and telling him that he needs to take charge of the team if they get sent on a case. Then he calls Jess and asks if she can collect Jack from his sleepover at lunchtime and have him until the evening.

With the technicalities sorted out, he makes a phone call to Spencer's psychiatrist. At this point, if he has to drag him kicking and screaming, if Spencer never talks to him again, if it calls an irreparable rift in their relationship, it won’t get in the way of him getting Spencer the help he needs. After an emergency appointment for 11am is booked, he collapses onto the sofa and calls Penelope.

“Hotch? It’s not even 7am, is everything alright?”

Just hearing her voice, hearing someone ask if he’s okay, is enough to push him over the edge. “No,” he admits into the phone, not even trying to disguise the emotion in his voice.

“I’m on my way,” she says immediately, and he can hear a flurry of activity start up on the other end of the line. “What’s happened, Hotch?”

He breathes out shakily, running a hand down his face. The early morning sun, the bustling city below him, the bright apartment all seems so contrary to the current situation. “Spencer hit a breaking point last night,” he says shakily, unsure exactly how to word it. “Derek and Emily called him to consult on a case, and they were as brisk and focused as we all are when we’re working, but he’s out of practice; he’s not used to that way of doing things anymore. It triggered him and sent him into what I’m gonna guess was a panic attack? But honestly, Penelope… it looked like a breakdown.”

“Oh God,” she says quietly, and the sound of her exiting her apartment reassures Aaron a little.

“I had no idea how to handle it,” he says, dissolving into tears. “He locked himself in the bathroom and was literally tearing his hair out… there were clumps of hair all over the floor. He was screaming at me to leave, telling me he wasn’t good enough that he forgot his place? I had no idea what he was saying—”

Penelope interrupts him. “Oh no.”

“What?”

“Well, when I first found out about his depression, Spencer told me something about how he didn’t feel like he was good for anything except his brain and IQ, you know? He said that he wasn’t cut out for friendships or relationships and I’m pretty sure he called that his ‘place’. It’s stuck with me because of just how awful it sounded.”

“Fuck,” Aaron mutters, sniffing as a fresh wave of tears come to his eyes. “So Emily and Derek consulting him for their case triggered those thoughts again.”

“Sounds like it,” she agrees. “They’re gonna feel so guilty.”

Aaron knows she’s in a tricky situation: her girlfriend and close friend sending her best friend into a near-breakdown, and for a brief minute he feels guilty for roping her in before reminding himself that she wouldn’t be anywhere else if Spencer needed her.

“Yeah, I don’t even know what I’m gonna do about that,” he sighs. “I thought about not telling them, because Spencer doesn’t need everyone knowing about every step of his recovery; it’s personal, right? But more secrets between everyone… I don’t know, it doesn’t feel like a good idea. Especially not for something this serious.”

“We’ll figure it out together,” Penelope promises. “Look, I’m in my car now. I’ll be there in 10, okay?”

He sighs in relief. “Thanks, Penelope.”

They hang up and he drops his phone next to him before staring up at the ceiling for a minute, rubbing his temples. Forcing himself off the sofa, he considers putting the coffee machine on but he doesn’t want the sound of the bean grinder to wake Spencer up, so he settles for a cup of instant coffee instead, putting a slice of bread in the toaster as well.

By the time he’s finished his second slice, Penelope’s letting herself in.

“He’s still asleep?”

He nods, watching as she dumps her handbag on the armchair and walks further into the apartment. It’s always strange seeing her without her usual colourful outfits and makeup on, and although he’s gotten used to it in the past year as they’ve rallied around Spencer, sometimes it still reminds him of seeing her in her casual clothes for the first time when she got shot a couple of years ago.

“I’m just gonna grab some breakfast and a tea,” she says quietly, helping herself to everything in the kitchen as she always does. “You go and sit down, I’ll be over in a minute and we can discuss a game plan.”

He obeys, closing his eyes against the headache coming on, but it’s only a couple of minutes before Penelope’s sitting in the armchair opposite the sofa with a cup of chamomile tea and a slice of marmalade toast.

“Right, the first thing we need to tackle is convincing him to get back on his meds,” Penelope says seriously, keeping her voice low to avoid waking Spencer up.

He nods. “I know. I’ve made an emergency appointment with his psychiatrist for 11am, it’s just a case of a) getting him there and b) making him listen to him.”

“The problem is that he sees going back on medication as admitting defeat or failing at recovery. We need to have a really honest, frank conversation with him about it, but I just don’t know how we’re gonna get him to believe us.”

“Maybe we should use our own experiences? He doesn’t think any less of me or think I’m weak when I take pain medication when my injuries flare up. He wouldn’t think any less of you for accepting pain meds throughout your recovery after you were shot. He doesn’t think less of his mother because she relies on psychiatric medication.”

Penelope nods. “He has a twisted perception of himself. One rule for himself, another for everyone else.”

Something about her words makes Aaron feel suddenly, desperately sad. He’s always been sad for Spencer and what he’s gone through, and he’s been crying most of the night, but the realisation, the reassertion, of just how much Spencer hates himself, what his brain’s put him through over the last two years cuts deep, winding him.

“I just wish he could see himself the way we see him,” he says sadly, another tear spilling down his cheek, as though he has anything left to give.

Penelope’s expression tells him she feels the same.

Hotch goes in to check on Spencer as the clock approaches nine, and his heart breaks for the thousandth time when he finds him staring listlessly at the wall again.

“Morning, baby,” he says gently, making his way into the room.

Thankfully, it grabs Spencer’s attention, and he turns to look at him, misery and self-loathing written all over his face. He doesn’t say anything, but he holds eye contact with Aaron long enough for him to understand that it’s okay for him to be there, and he makes his way further into the room, climbing onto the bed. He’s not expecting Spencer to immediately latch onto him, burying his face in his t-shirt as he clings to him like he’s going somewhere, but that’s exactly what happens.

“Penelope’s in the living room,” he murmurs, carding his fingers through Spencer’s hair. There’s no expectation for him to reply, so he lets the words settle over them as they lay quietly together; the calm after the storm. Aaron hopes it won’t double as the before as well.

After a good couple of minutes, Spencer shifts, and Aaron follows his lead as they shuffle out of the bedroom towards Penelope’s contemplative perch on the sofa. Spencer heads straight towards her, curling into her side and drawing the warm comfort Penelope always has to offer.

“Oh, baby genius,” she whispers, kissing the top of his head. “You’re okay. We love you so much.”

It’s apparently the wrong thing to say, because Spencer immediately withdraws, curling in on himself as he starts to cry.

“Hey, hey, Spencer,” Aaron soothes calmly as he rushes over to his side, “what’s going on?”

Penelope starts to apologise but Aaron shakes his head and she settles for resting a gentle hand on his side instead.

“Can you tell us what’s wrong, Spencer?” Aaron asks, a knot forming in his stomach as he hopes against hope that this won’t turn into a repeat of last night. “We can’t help you unless you talk to us.”

Spencer takes a ragged breath in, turning his face slightly towards Aaron’s direction, and his chest clenches at the bags under his sore, red eyes; his pallid skin. “I’m sorry,” he says shakily, wiping at the tears on his face.

“You don’t have to apologise, Spencer. You just need to tell us how we can help you,” Penelope says gently, her hand rubbing small, consoling circles on his side.

Spencer meets his eyes, his face crumpling as he does and Aaron, in that moment, is reminded distinctly of a star collapsing in on itself. Spencer heaves a painful sob as two more tears spill down his cheeks. “I don’t want to feel like this anymore.”

The admission seems obvious at surface level, but the magnitude of such a statement isn’t lost on either Aaron nor Penelope.

Aaron sighs sadly. “Come here, baby.” Spencer falls gladly into Aaron’s embrace, sobbing dejectedly into his shoulder, sounding so tired and defeated that it’s painful to listen to.

Once he’s finished crying himself out, Aaron and Penelope switch places, Aaron moving to sit on the sofa with Spencer propped up against him and Penelope settling into the armchair.

He approaches his next words carefully. “I’ve made an appointment for you to see Dr Parker at 11am. Penelope and I will take you, and we both think that you should talk to him about going back on the venlafaxine.”

To his surprise Spencer just nods tiredly, no longer crying and instead resuming his blank staring.

“And we also think you should consider talking to Derek and Emily about what happened yesterday,” Penelope suggests quietly, an encouraging expression on her face.

Spencer looks up at her, emotions flying across his face as he processes her words and how he feels about them. Briefly, he looks like he’s about to argue, about to shout or get mad, but he quickly deflates. “They’ll feel guilty,” he says miserably. “Not their fault.”

“Your relationships with everyone have come a long way, Spencer, and that’s great. But everyone is still fragile and affected by everything that’s happened in the past year, and keeping secrets like these is only going to hurt everyone more.”

Spencer’s still and silent for a moment before he nods reluctantly.

“I think that maybe,” Aaron ventures cautiously, “you should avoid doing any consulting work for a while. It’s clearly damaging for you and is always going to come with potential triggers, and when you’re already feeling sad and vulnerable, it’s really just a catalyst for an event like yesterday evening.”

Spencer nods at that, too, and Aaron wishes he could take his acquiescence as a win, but he knows it’s coming from a place of defeat and despair, and he’ll never take any consolation in that.

“Okay, sweetheart,” Aaron says. “We have about an hour until we need to leave, so why don’t we get you some food, get you into the shower, and then you can rest for any left over time? Does that sound okay?”

At Spencer’s agreement, Penelope heads to the kitchen to whip him up something a bit more nutritious than the toast they both settled for, while Aaron takes him to the bathroom to wash up.

“Are you alright on your own?” he asks as he sets the shower up for him, Spencer perching on the edge of the bath as he waits.

Instead of answering his question though, panic suddenly crosses Spencer’s face and he looks at Aaron urgently. “Jack!”

“Hey, it’s alright,” he says soothingly. “Jess is gonna pick him up from his sleepover at lunchtime and have him for the afternoon. I’ve taken a personal day and unless a case comes in, Penelope will be here for as long as we need her. Everything’s in hand.”

“But it’s Jack’s spring break! You should be spending time with him, not herding me into the shower—”

At the first sign of tears, Aaron is quick to step in, reassuring him as best he can. “Hey, I will spend time with him, alright? He was already going to be with Sam all morning, and he’ll be dropped off before dinner, so Jess is only going to have him for a couple of hours. And if you’re feeling well enough once we get back from the doctor’s, then he can come home early, but right now, your health is the most important thing we need to deal with, you hear me?”

Spencer nods reluctantly, but he can tell that the thought of cutting into Aaron’s time with Jack is only fuelling his self-loathing. Having to accept that there’s nothing he can do about that, he makes sure he’s okay in the shower before heading out into the kitchen to find Penelope.

“I can’t tell if that went well or not,” she says quietly, not looking up from the frying pan currently cooking eggs and bacon.

Aaron sighs, leaning against the counter top, his eyes fixed on the bathroom door. “I think it went about as well as it could.”

“I texted Emily and Derek, and they’re going to pop over this afternoon if we don’t get a case,” she says. “If Spencer’s not up for it, we can rearrange, but I thought it was better to be prepared.”

“No, you’re right, thank you for doing that, Penelope. What would I do without you?”

“Aw, stop it, bossman,” she says, grinning as she nudges him playfully.

He smiles. “I mean it.”

“I know. But I’m happy to help you guys out. I’d do anything for Spencer, and I know he’d do anything for me.”

“Without a doubt.”

Spencer emerges from the bathroom a few moments later, clad in a white t-shirt and some tracksuit bottoms Aaron is pretty sure are both actually his, damp curly hair a mess on his head. He can’t help but smile despite himself; his boyfriend looking so damn cute will always be a small pick-me-up on even the worst of days.

“Penelope’s cooked up a storm for you,” he says as brightly as the situation allows, guiding him to the sofa and tucking him in with a couple of blankets to get him as comfortable as possible.

He gets a small smile at that, and a murmured ‘thank you’ when Penelope brings him over a plate of bacon and eggs, arranged as perfectly as he’d expect with Penelope serving as cook.

He flicks the TV to the discovery channel, managing to catch the beginning of a documentary on big cats, and he counts it as a win when it catches Spencer’s attention, hoping it takes his mind off the pain he’s feeling just a little bit.

They spend the next forty minutes watching documentaries with Spencer before Penelope notices the time and begins herding them out the door towards the parking garage.

“No way,” Aaron laughs as she heads towards her car.

“What?”

“You are not driving, Penelope,” he says, laughing even more at her incredulous reaction. “I’ve seen you; you drive like a maniac. We’re taking my car.”

She pouts. “I hate you.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Does this mean I have to sit in the back, too?”

He just levels her with a look that has her sighing dramatically and flinging herself into the backseat, but when he looks over at Spencer and sees a smile on his face, he’s suddenly even more thankful for Penelope.

They sit in the waiting room while Spencer has his appointment and try desperately not to make each other more anxious than they already feel. Penelope flicks through fashion magazines at a pace that tells Aaron she’s not reading a single word, and Aaron reads over and over the case notes he’d bought with him to pass the time, no more going in the second, third, eleventh time than it did the first.

Finally, though, Spencer emerges from Dr Parker’s office with a script in hand and they both sigh a small breath of relief at the idea that he’s finally getting the help he’s been needing so badly.

“Okay, baby?” he murmurs as Spencer reaches for his hand on the way out of the psychiatrist’s office, and something loosens in his chest when Spencer nods and smiles, looking happier and more relaxed than he has in weeks.

Derek and Emily come over just after lunchtime, and Penelope gets up to open the door for them, Spencer and Aaron not moving from their position on the couch, Spencer resting his head in Aaron’s lap as one of his favourite sci-fi movies is playing on the TV.

When he sees who it is, though, Spencer moves to sit up slightly, still keeping himself folded into Aaron’s side.

“Hey, Spence,” Emily says softly, taking a seat in the armchair while Penelope comes over to perch on the arm, wrapping an arm around her girlfriend, “what’s this about?”

Both Emily and Derek look confused enough that Aaron knows Spencer will be able to tell that neither he nor Penelope told them what happened last night, willing to give him a last minute out if that’s what he needs, as well as full control over the narrative.

Derek comes over to the sofa and sits next to Spencer, keeping enough distance between them to keep Spencer comfortable, though he still rests a warm hand on his ankle. “What’s going on? You can tell us anything, pretty boy, you know that.”

Spencer looks to Aaron, and the expression on his face conveys what he needs immediately.

“Yesterday, your consult with Spencer on the methanol poisoning case triggered an… event,” he explains, trying to choose his words carefully. He wants to tell the truth, but he also doesn’t want to sound like he’s blaming Derek and Emily or use language Spencer wouldn’t be happy with. “It was a breaking point of sorts and as such, he decided to go back on his medication.”

Relief tied up with confusion are the first emotions he watches play over Emily and Derek’s faces. Everyone’s been hoping Spencer will return to his medication, but he knows they’ll want more information as to what exactly happened and why they’ve been asked over.

“An event?” Emily asks, sounding a little hesitant.

Before Aaron can answer, Spencer speaks up, his voice a little tired and croaky but convicted nonetheless. “It was a breakdown,” he says plainly, not sugar-coating his words. “I was in a bad place already and I was out of practice with what a time sensitive case entails, and it sent me into a tailspin. It reminded me of all the feelings that working in the BAU caused that year, and I couldn’t handle it. I lashed out at Aaron and…”

“The details don’t matter,” Aaron rescues his tailed off sentence. “The fact is we thought that more secrets were only going to make things worse in the long run, and you needed to understand what happened last night since Spencer going back on his meds was bound to raise questions anyway.”

“I don’t want you to feel guilty,” Spencer interjects, his voice anxious and urgent. “It wasn’t your fault, it’s just the way of the BAU and if I’d been on my medication like I should’ve been in the first place it wouldn’t have been a problem, it was just a horrible medley of circumstances. But I’ve decided that I won’t be doing any consults for a while until I can get my head on straight again. It may be that I’m never able to do them without being triggered, but we’re going to play it by ear.”

Aaron smiles at him proudly, kissing the top of his head as soon as he buries back in for a cuddle.

“Oh, Spence,” Emily sighs sadly. “I’m so sorry, we didn’t even think. We were so caught up in the case we didn’t even stop to consider you and how you’d interpret things.”

“I don’t want you to feel guilty,” Spencer says again, this time from his place on Aaron’s chest. “I’m sorry that it had to be you guys that triggered the breaking point.”

“We should’ve been more considerate,” Derek says firmly, his expression filled with regret. “The last thing I’d ever want is to make you feel the way I did last year, and even though other circumstances contributed to what happened last night, we still failed you, kid, and I’m so sorry for that.”

“It’s fine, seriously. In a way, I’m glad it happened. Something had to give, and I’m glad that I can look forward to finally feeling normal again. I talked to my psychiatrist this morning and even though… it still feels a little bit like giving up, I feel better about it. And we’re gonna work on my attitude to medication in the next couple of sessions until I feel more comfortable about it.”

Aaron knows how much Spencer hates talking about his recovery, so it feels like a big step for him to be so personal and vulnerable in front of four different people, even if they are all virtually his family at this point.

“I’m proud of you, Spencer,” Emily says earnestly, and even though Aaron can tell she still feels guilty, at least it’s no longer the most dominant emotion on her face.

“Me too, kid. You’ve been through hell and back and we’re all so proud of you for getting to where you are.”

Spencer smiles gratefully, but Aaron can tell he’s exhausted from the events of the morning, so he sends a look to Penelope and she shows Emily and Derek out, but not before giving Emily a kiss and being teased by Derek for it.

“Right, baby,” he says as the apartment quietens and it’s just the three of them left. “I think you could do with a nap, don’t you?”

“Don’t wanna leave you,” Spencer mumbles tiredly, clinging to his t-shirt.

“Well how about I come and sit with you while you sleep, yeah? You go and get tucked in and I’ll be in in a minute, I promise.”

“You better.” It’s not much, but it’s the closest to teasing Spencer’s come in weeks, and he’ll absolutely take it.

He gives Penelope a warm hug and disappears into the bedroom.

“Looks like I can leave you to it,” Penelope says quietly as soon as the door’s closed behind him.

Aaron looks at her seriously, before wrapping her in a rare hug. “Thank you for today. I mean it. I don’t know what we would’ve done this past year without you, Penelope, but we sure as hell wouldn’t be where we are now. I’m always gonna be thankful that Spencer has someone as wonderful as you to call a best friend.”

“Hotch,” she says tearily, “I love you both so much. You don’t have to thank me, but it means a lot that you did.”

He smiles at her. “You should go back to the BAU. Go and find Derek and Emily who are no doubt beating themselves up and tell them they’re being ridiculous.”

She gives him a mock salute as she smiles back. “You got it, boss.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Keep me posted,” she says as she gathers the last of her things and heads to the door. “Let me know how he’s doing tonight and I’ll pop round after work to see him tomorrow, okay?”

“Perfect.”

As soon as she’s gone, he climbs into bed with Spencer and wraps him up in his arms, feeling — for the first time in weeks — a distinct conviction that everything is going to be okay.

Chapter Sixteen

Soooo, we don't hate me anymore? I really enjoyed writing this part of the fic, I'm such a sucker for third act angst and the resolution is always so satisfying to me, so I hope I managed to give you guys the same feeling. Only one more chapter to go, and then we're done wtf, how did that happen? I can't wait for you to all read the happy lil ending I wrote for you! See you next Saturday, for the very last time :( If this chapter has brought anything up for you and you're feeling unsafe please check out this link <3

taglist: @criminalmindsvibez @suburban--gothic @strippersenseii @takeyourleap-of-faith @makaylajadewrites @iamrenstark @hotchseyebrows @reidology @transhanniballecter @spencerspecifics @bau-gremlin @hotchedyke @tobias-hankel @goobzoop @marsjareau @garcias-bitch @marvel-ous-m @oliverbrnch @sbeno22 @aaron-hotchner187 @kuolonsyoja @reidreids @anxious-enby (add yourself to my taglist here!)

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leafs-lover · 4 years

Text

Because Two People Got Drunk: 13

Series Masterlist

A/N: Italics indicate flashback. I looked into dual citizenship and apparently they only allow it if the parents are married or the mother is Danish. Seems pretty ridiculous to me.

Summary: You and Fred return from the trip and your relationship has forever changed. Oliver takes his first trip to Denmark and you visit your grandparents for the first time since giving birth.

Warnings: Swearing, angst, a little heart break

Word Count: 6441

Chapter 13

March 19, 2022

“Geez" you say jumping up “you scared me.”

“Sorry, he was fussing so I tried to get him without waking you" Fred says as he walks out of the room. You look at the clock 5:06am. You walk out and see Fred heating up a bottle while holding Oliver in one hand.

“You have a game tonight; you want me to do this?” You say groggily.

“No, I’m up anyways" he says sitting on the couch to feed Oliver.

You grab a drink of water before heading off to the bathroom. You return to your room and doze off, barely hearing Fred when he returns Oliver to the bassinet.

You wake up a few hours later and pick Oliver up bringing him to the living room. You see Fred getting ready to leave for practice “you guys still coming to the game tonight?” he asks.

“Yeah of course we’ll be there” you reply. “Okay, tickets are on the fridge" he says leaning down and strokes Oliver’s head and gives him a kiss on the forehead before leaving.

You walk back to the kitchen “still ice cold” you mumble.

Later that night you dress Oliver in his Andersen jersey, while you wear dark washed jeans, with a long white cashmere sweater and a penguins toque, your hair curled. You bring the stroller this time making the trek from the garage much easier. As you walk in the woman are excited to greet you, but mostly to see Oliver not that you can blame them.

“It’s been so long Ollie boy" Christina exclaims as she scoops him up immediately.

“Yeah it has been a while” Kathy says pulling you in for a hug.

“Yeah things with Fred have been…tense.” You explain.

Kathy drags you to the bar and pours some wine “what happened? Last I saw you was after you came back from your trip and things didn’t seem good then.”

“I mean I don’t think he is as mad as he was then, or that he hates me anymore” you start.

“I don’t think he ever hated you. I mean he never talked about it, but he seemed upset not angry.”

“So the second night away we got drunk and were talking and laughing. Everything was going good and then we hooked up. And the next morning I woke up to him in bed beside me. I was wearing his shirt and I panicked.”

You wake up at 7:00 and Fred is still asleep, his arm is draped over your stomach as you lay there in his shirt. He is on his stomach, his hair splayed across the pillow.

What did we do? What about Ollie? How could we have done that? Millions of thoughts begin to run through your head. You lift his arm and head to the bathroom and wash your face attempting to calm yourself down before you decide to jump in the shower.

When you wake up Fred is gone and you smell coffee. You put on some leggings and a sweater and head to the kitchen and sit down at the island.

“Most people on vacation sleep in" he jokes passing you a coffee. You laugh lightly taking a drink as Fred sits beside you.” want to talk about last night?” he questions.

“Yeah we probably should" you respond.

“So it was -" before he can finish you cut him off “a mistake. It was a mistake” you say.

“We have a good thing going, and we wouldn’t want to complicate it” you further explain. Fred shifts to sit up straight.

“Yeah…I was going to say the same thing" he says lightly.

“Good. I’m glad we both feel this way.”

“Yeah. No, you know what? No I don’t feel that way. I don’t regret it. I don’t think it was a mistake.”

“Fred. I…we…I’m sorry.”

“No it’s fine. I’m going to pack we leave in an hour.”

“Oh my god I cant believe that happened" Kathy says.

“Yeah he hasn’t really forgiven me, or talked to me much. Unless it’s about Oliver he doesn’t talk to me, I feel like I’m on eggshells.”

“So do you regret it?”

“I don’t know, yes and no. Like I don’t want to complicate things for Ollie. It’s such a weird situation. I would love it if it worked out, but if it didn’t it could really complicate things.”

“How is trying with him different than dating someone else and it not working?”

“If I date Fred for a year and it doesn’t work and things get bad after the breakup it can affect our abilities to co-parent together. If I meet someone else and date them for a year and it doesn’t work out, it sucks and Oliver still feels that loss, but it’s not going to impact his life every day. Like I never have to see them again where I always have to see Fred.” You say as she nods “this whole situation is making living there so uncomfortable. I thought it would get better, that we would move past this but it hasn’t. I am looking at apartments now.”

“You’re thinking of leaving?”

“I think I have to. When I agreed to come we said we would address the living situation down the line if needed. I think we’re at that point now. It will be better for us to get some space and not be around each other all the time. I mean a year from now I’ll be back in Toronto working so it’s probably better for Oliver.”

You watch the rest of the game and the penguins lose 3-1. You bring Oliver down to the waiting area while waiting on Fred after the game.

He walks out and sees you, and pulls you in for a quick side hug “good game" you say. He doesn’t respond but instead grabs the stroller and leading you to the car.

The following morning you wake up around 7am with Oliver. After feeding him you make breakfast when you hear Fred walk into the kitchen.

“Morning" he mumbles, his hair disheveled from sleep. He pours a cup of coffee before picking Oliver up and cuddling him while drinking it.

“Breakfast will be ready in about 10 -" you start to say before Fred cuts you off “I’m just going to eat at the rink" he says before getting up and sitting on the couch with Oliver for some morning playtime.

The rest of your interactions for the next week are very short and awkward. You are beginning to feel like staying is going to hurt your relationship more, when he is on his next road trip you facetime Allie.

“I feel like being here is hurting us more than me being here. I feel like I’m only here because it’s convenient not because it makes sense.”

“You have to think about what’s best for Oliver, but it’s not like you guys are screaming and fighting. Maybe it can get better" Allie says.

“No were not even talking. I feel like we went through a break up, it obviously wasn’t because we weren’t dating but just because of the history it felt like that. In a normal relationship if you live together and break up one of you moves out.”

“If that’s what you think is best for him than that’s what you have to do. As long as his parents love him I think that’s what important. But you want to try and have the best relationship with Fred. You don’t think this can be salvaged? Like you can’t get back to a friendship or whatever you had before that night?”

“I don’t know, maybe with time. But I think if we don’t see each other every day it could help. Space apart might help us heal.”

There is a pause on the call “why did you walk away from him? I hear the way you talk about him, it seems like more than you let on.”

“I don’t know. I think I did have feelings or I still do but was scared to admit them I case I lost everything. But I honestly don’t know. I can’t tell you right now I want to be with him.”

You continue talking with your friend for a little while later until Oliver wakes up from a nap. Fred is on a 5 game road trip and he barely checks in with you. He sends you occasional messages asking about Oliver and you send him pictures or video’s but he doesn’t call or facetime.

When he returns it is after his last game around 3am. You are awake on the couch feeding Oliver when he walks in. He sits on the other side of the couch “ thought he was done with the multiple wake up calls throughout the night" Fred says.

“Yeah he didn’t eat a lot and had a bit of a fever yesterday. The fever is gone so I think he’s feeling better but now he is hungry” you explain “want him?”

Fred comes over and picks him up from your arms and sits down continuing to feed him. “Missed you little man" he says. You wander off to bed leaving the boys in the living room.

Later that day after lunch Oliver is having a nap, you finish doing some laundry and see Fred sitting on the couch on his phone.

You sit down on the other end of the couch, “can we talk?” you ask.

“Yeah, what about?” he asks not looking up from his phone.

“Us, and our situation” you say.

He finally looks at you “okay, what about us?”

“I just feel like things have been awkward or tense around us for the last month or so. Thought maybe we could talk about it.”

He puts his phone into his pocket and looks at you for a minute “Okay?”

“I am sorry for what happened last month.”

Fred scoffs “for what sleeping with me or what happened after?”

You stare at him and see the pain in his eyes “that’s what I thought. If you didn’t want to sleep with me why did you? You could have pulled away, could have stopped before it started. Instead you went ahead and now you regret this.” You don’t regret sleeping with him, but you don’t know how to explain it, just the timing wasn’t right. You just need time to sort through your feelings, time to process everything.

You stare at him for a minute. “Fred I am so sorry. I never wanted this to happen, I didn’t want to hurt you, and you need to know that. I just want what’s best for Ollie-“

“And I don’t?” his tone changes, you can tell he is becoming agitated.

“No I know you do” you say lightly. “I should have stopped us before we go carried away, and I’m sorry. I’m just wondering if we can move forward from here.”

Fred stares ahead not responding. After a few minutes you finally say “I think I should find my own place.”

This causes him to look at you, still speechless. Finally you continue “we said we would do this only if it made sense. We always left the option of me moving out on the table. I just think it’s best for Oliver if we aren’t around each other with this tension. I worry about it damaging our relationship to a point where we can’t recover and it causes us issues down the line. I think it’s better if we have space between us, can keep our relationship at its best so we can be the best parents for Oliver.

We can work out a custody arrangement. I will keep him when you’re on the road, and you can have him as much as you want when you’re home. And we can split the time in the summer. I will stay here for the rest of my maternity leave, and over the next year we can talk about how to make it work in two different countries.”

“You sure this is what you want (Y/N)?”

“I think we need this. I think we need space, it will help us. If we had of dated and had a kid and then broke up we wouldn’t live together so I think this makes sense.”

“Okay great” Fred snaps getting up and walking to his room.

April 17, 2022

You and Fred have been walking on eggshells around each other. You found a realtor and have been looking into some apartments but you want something close to Fred to make everything easier. You wake up on Easter weekend; at 7am with Oliver and begin the morning routine with him before taking him to get him dressed in a green plaid long sleeve shirt and overalls before putting bunny ears on him. You walk out and run into Fred in the hall who chuckles when he sees him “what does mommy have you wearing? You a little bunny?” grabbing him from you.

You hear him talking to him as he heads to the living room with him while you get ready. When you make your way to the kitchen you see that he has made breakfast for the both of you.

“Oh this is nice” you say sitting down taking in the spread Fred made. Bacon, eggs, hash browns, French toast, fruit and coffee all sit waiting for you.

Fred smiles as he hands you a plate as you scoop the food. “You didn’t have to do all this” you say.

“I know, I just thought we could have a nice family breakfast since I have a few days off before playoffs start and I get really busy.”

You smile lightly as you start eating “Oh this is so good. It’s been a while since you made breakfast.”

“Can’t have you expecting this every day” he retorts “it’s a lot of work” a small grin on his face.

“I give you a baby and you can’t give me breakfast every day. Seems a little unfair” you joke.

“You don’t get to play the baby card every day for breakfast.”

“No you’re right. I should save it for something big and important, not waste it on daily breakfast.” You laugh “so you find a nanny? I know you were looking.”

“Yeah I’ve been looking, but I didn’t see the need to lock someone up with the season almost over. I’ll find someone during the off season, but I don’t think I’ll need someone during the summer with no hockey.”

“Makes sense.”

“How is the apartment hunt going?”

“I’ve seen a couple, I’m trying to find one close to here. Just trying to find one I can afford in a decent neighbourhood. Haven’t seen any 2 bedrooms that kind of fit that mold but I will.”

“Oh well you know I will pay for it.” “What? Fred, you can’t”

“We should have talked about child support or something before. I mean since you’ve lived here I haven’t paid anything to you.” he says.

“I haven’t paid for rent or any bills since I got here. You have paid for all of his doctor’s appointments, and most of the groceries. I didn’t see the need to discuss child support when I have no expenses because you cover it all. When you’re on the road you even leave a credit card in case I needed something for him”

“Which you have not used once by the way” he says smiling as you roll your eyes. “If you aren’t going to be here with me I have to pay support.”

“I don’t want your money Fred.”

“Well you can accept my money or I will get a lawyer to draw up papers to force you to take it” he jokes. “But seriously I want to know you guys are okay so I am paying for your place, so pick whatever you want.”

You sigh loudly “no.”

“This is non-negotiable. How is this any different then you agreeing to move into my old condo in Toronto?”

“You’re impossible” you grumble as Fred continues to stare at you. You are aware that you aren’t going to win this argument “Fine. There actually are a couple apartments available in the condos 2 blocks over, my agent told me about. I didn’t look at them because they were a little more than I wanted to spend”

“Well see if you can go check them out? Playoffs don’t start until the 22nd, I just have practices right now.”

Your agent manages to set up the showings the following day. You set them up around Fred’s practices so he could watch Oliver but he insists on coming. “You really didn’t have to come Fred” you say pressing the button in the elevator.

“Just want to make sure you guys are going to be okay” he says as you walk in the door. It’s a 2+ bedroom, 2 baths. The main living area is open so you can watch Oliver playing while in the kitchen. There is a dining and living area, so large you can have a play area for Oliver without his toys overtaking the main area. There are lots of windows and in-suite laundry and ample storage, not to mention the gym and pool in the building.

It’s amazing you think to yourself. You would love to live here, but you don’t need this much space.

“I think it’s too big, too much I don’t need all this.”

“Well you are getting it, I’m signing the papers. It’s a great place, you deserve this. Besides I like that you will be close to me. We won’t have to spend our time sitting in traffic doing the exchanges and if something happens the other one is really close.”

You are trying to find an argument, because this apartment is more than you need, and more than he should be spending on you.

“I know you love it, especially your walk-in closet. I saw your eyes light up when you went in there” he says. “The closet is really nice, but I’m sure there are other places, that are maybe a little smaller that have nice closets too. I just don’t need all of this. It’s way too much” you say lightly.

“Nonsense (Y/N). I’m signing the lease.”

Before you can object Fred walks over to the realtor and signs a one year lease for you.

“Happy Father’s Day” you say as Fred opens the door for you and Oliver. He has a pair of khaki shorts and a white Nike t-shirt. His t-shirt is tight and you can see his biceps popping out of it, and it’s fitted to his stomach. You think about what is under his clothes. You have a gift bag in your hand and your son is resting on your hip. Fred lets you in before taking Oliver and pulling you in for a quick hug as you feel his muscular back as you grip him. You moved out on June 1st, and with the Penguins out of the playoffs you have been sharing custody of him since then.

“Hey buddy” he says kissing his forehead “I like your shirt” he says at the “Daddy’s little man” written across his chest. You walk into the kitchen and put the milk in the fridge when Fred comes in after you. “This is for you” you say setting the gift bag on the counter.

“You didn’t have to get me anything” he replies when Oliver crawls in and pulls on his leg. “Geez I forgot he is doing that, makes keeping an eye on him more fun.”

“Yeah he also can open cupboards. I have someone coming to baby proof my place tomorrow.”

Fred laughs picking him up and reached for the gift bag, reading the card that is signed with Oliver’s handprint before reaching in and pulling out a mug. He immediately starts laughing “Oh my god. This is awesome!” It’s a simple white mug that reads Your pull out game is weak

“I mean it’s not wrong” you say smiling.

“No it’s not. But my shitty reflexes lead to this little guy” he says laughing. “How is the new place?”

“It’s good, has a view of the sunset from the balcony so after he goes to sleep I can go out there and read. It’s nice”

“That’s good, we’re uh gonna head out to the park. Thought he might want to check out the swings, you want to come?”

“The swings eh” you say walking forward and grabbing Oliver’s hands “how can I say no to his first time on the swings?”

An hour later you all make the walk down to the park and Fred places him in the swing. You pull out your phone to videotape it. “He is either going to love it and laugh or it will be his worst experience and he will scream. What one do you think?” you ask him.

Fred chuckles lightly adjusting his hat, “I think he will love it, he’s tough, an adventure seeker. The real question is, are you ready mama?” You nod as Fred begins lightly pushing the swing. After a few pushes on the swing you see a huge smile spreads across his face before he begins laughing, his baby laugh causes a smile to spread across both of your faces.

“He loves it” Fred says as you continue recording.

You stay there a little longer playing on the swings and taking turns on the slide with him. You are preparing to leave the park, and Fred is buckling him in the stroller. He looks at you, and brings a hand up to your hair. He runs his fingers through, slowly pulling a leaf out. Your eyes linger on him a little too long before you whisper “thanks.” You walk back to his apartment where Fred makes some tea, using his new mug. “Can I talk to you about something?” he asks.

“Of course” you reply setting your mug down.

“So I was talking with my dad yesterday. We haven’t really talked much since last summer but I called him for father’s day. Afterwards I was talking with my mom and she asked if Ollie was going to come out with me next month.”

You take a sip of your tea as Fred continues “I planned on going out there for a week, but I didn’t know how you felt about me bringing him.”

“I mean yeah. We can swap some days around, it’s not a big problem.”

“Are you sure, we normally are doing every 3 days, this is more than twice that”

“It won’t be easy but it will be fine. He should spend time with his family.” “You sure you’re okay with this? You’re okay with me taking him out of the country.”

“I’m okay with it, assuming you want to do the 6 hour flight with a 7 month old” you say as you both laugh. “I’m sure he’ll have a great time, and if you want to extend it a little bit longer it’s fine.”

“Thanks but I’m sure 7 days will be enough time with him there. Does he have a passport?”

“Yeah I got him one so I could take him back to Toronto with me when needed. But he should also have a Danish passport, since he’s also a Danish citizen.”

“He’s not a Danish citizen.” Fred quickly says.

“What do you mean? You’re Danish and you’re his dad. He should have Canadian and Danish citizenship. Like a dual citizen.”

“Yeah so 5 or 6 years ago Denmark started acknowledging dual citizens by birth, but since his father is Danish and we aren’t married he doesn’t get to claim dual citizenship in Denmark. If we were married he would get both.”

“Hold up because were not married he isn’t considered to be Danish, even though you, his father, were born and raised there.”

“Yeah but if you were Danish and I was Canadian it would count.”

“Fuck that’s stupid. Don’t they know it’s 2022. People don’t need to be married to have kids, and dads can be single dads too.”

“Yeah I know it’s ridiculous.”

July 16, 2022

“Thanks again for being okay with this” Fred says while closing your door.

“You don’t have to thank me. He’s half Danish he should spend time there.”

“Still it’s a big ask for me to take him on a 6 hour plane ride across the ocean. I really appreciate you being so cool about this” he says kissing your forehead, his hands cupping your cheeks. You breathe in his cologne and laundry detergent, getting lost in it. You bring your hands up and stroke his forearms, getting lost in the interaction a little too long.

Fred looks around and notices another suitcase “you heading somewhere?” he asks pulling away.

“I’m going to Toronto for a few days to see my friends.”

“You could have planned it for another week and brought him with you.”

“I’m actually going to see my extremely judgemental grandparents, and I thought I’d spare him from their wrath.”

“I’m sure they aren’t that bad” he jokes.

“You haven’t met them, and be thankful for that” you say before looking at the clock. “You uh should get going before he falls asleep and you wake him up moving him out of the car.” You walk over and pick him up from his play mat. “Mommy is going to miss you so much little man.” You pull him in tightly to your chest placing kisses on his head “you’re going to have so much fun and I will see you so soon.” Tears begin to pool in your eyes as you keep holding him.

“You should take him before I lose it” you joke. Fred gives you a hug before leaving your apartment.

A few days later you arrive in Toronto. Your friends Carlee and Allie at the airport. “Hiii” you say wrapping them in a big hug.

“I really wish you brought Ollie” Allie says.

“I know, but he is having a great time in Denmark” you say pulling your phone out. “He has been sending me pictures and videos, multiple times a day” you explain scrolling through your phone.

“How long are you here for?”

“I have to be back by the 23rd, but I’m seeing my grandparents on the 21st so I may leave earlier.

After quickly stopping at Carlee’s apartment to change you all head out for dinner before going to a bar.

You put on a pair of white shorts with a red wine long sleeve body suit that has a deep v in the front with some booties. “Damn girl” Allie chirps when you come out of the bathroom.

“Yeah he has been crawling for a bit, he is starting to try and pull himself up. I feel like he will be walking soon which I am not ready for. Also he is making more sounds, I feel like he could start talking soon. Just getting so big” you tell the girls while out at dinner. “That’s crazy, how has Freddie been?” Allie asks.

“Oh he is amazing. He is the best with him, always playing with him. I think he wants to get him in hockey skates soon” you chuckle.

“But how are things with him?” Like with you two?” Carlee questions.

“They got awkward for a while, after we hooked up. But since I got my apartment things have been better. I think moving out was the best choice.”

“Why did you freak out after you hooked up?” Allie questions.

You take a sip of wine “I was worried about it not working. Or that’s what I told myself, I honestly think I just I panicked because I wasn’t ready to face my feelings.”

“What feelings?” Carlee asks raising an eyebrow.

“I think I was pretending they didn’t exist. Or I wasn’t ready to admit I had them, and I thought moving out would help me get over them.”

“Have you gotten over them?”

“No. And every time I see him all I want is to jump him. But I doubt he would go for it after what happened. And we keep having these lingering moments, looks or touches, that I feel like will lead somewhere but don’t.”

“Do you want them to lead somewhere?” Allie asks.

“I don’t know what I want.”

“Sounds like you need a man to distract you.” Carlee says as Allie smirks.

“Last time I needed a man to distract me I got pregnant” you joke.

You all make your way into the bar and start ordering some drinks before sitting at a booth. You are catching up, joking about the old times when your drink empties and you head to the bar. While standing there you smell someone’s cologne as you feel a body bump into you.

“Sorry” you hear the voice say “It’s really crowded tonight.”

You turn slightly and make eye contact with a tall good looking blonde man “no worries, like you said it’s really crowded.”

“I’m Taylor” he says sticking his hand out. You continue chatting as you wait for a bartender to serve you. After a few minutes they finally come and you order a drink for yourself and Taylor. Before you can pay Taylor puts a $20 on the bar.

“Oh you didn’t have to” you say smiling.

“It’s no problem. He wasn’t coming over to serve me, he was coming for the pretty girl. If you weren’t here I wouldn’t have ordered yet” a blush comes across your face. “What do you do?” he asks.

“I’m an environmental specialist for a consulting firm, you?” you feel his hand on the small of your back as he pulls you in closer to him.

“I’m a high school math teacher” he says “you want to dance?”

You agree and he leads you out to the dancefloor, his hands gently resting on your hips as you move to the music. You look to your friends and they nod in approval as you bring your hands to his shoulders. As the music continues you feel him close the gap, his hand now resting on your back, inches separating you two. You can smell his cologne and feel his breath on your neck, as he closes the gap. His jeans are now rubbing up against your pelvis, his hands shift to lightly cup your ass. You moan lightly and turn your head slightly to look at him and see his once blue eyes now dark with lust staring down at you.

“You’re so beautiful” he whispers before leaning down and kissing you. It starts off soft as he waits for your mouth to allow him entrance. You slide your hands into his hair and he deepens the kiss. Your mouth begins to allow his entrance, and you kiss for a moment. Your mind immediately goes to Freddie, Freddie and your son. Guilt washes over you causing you to pull away.

“I’m sorry” you begin stepping away. “I’m going through some stuff, and I thought I was ready to move on but I’m not. I can’t do this” and you walk away back to your friends.

“What happened?” Carlee asks as you slide in the booth.

“It didn’t feel right. I felt wrong for kissing him, all I was thinking about was Fred.”

_____

A few days later you are on your way to your grandparents place. You have been dreading this. You haven’t seen them since before you had Oliver, and you haven’t had a lengthy conversation with them in a few months. You arrive at their home and walk in greeting them both in hugs.

“Can’t believe you finally come visit and don’t bring our great-grandson” your grandma says.

“I know grandma but he is in Denmark with his father” you pull your phone out to show her some pictures Fred has sent you but she walks into the kitchen to finish making lunch.

“Can’t believe you let him go on a trip without you” you grandpa states.

“Well Fred is a great father so I have no reason for him to not let him go. It’s good for him to spend time with his dad.”

“It’s good for him if his parents are together” your grandpa quips.

“If his parents were in love then yes. But we aren’t going to be together just because we have a baby.”

“Well you shouldn’t have had a baby with someone you don’t love. Someone you aren’t married to” your grandma interjects.

Their judgement is one of the reasons why you don’t have the best relationship with them. They judged you for picking your profession, wanting you to be a lawyer like your father. They judged you for so many of your choices throughout your life. Your choice in friends, boyfriends and your love life was always an issue with them. They had some old school beliefs, even if you and Fred had of been dating before you got pregnant they wouldn’t have been accepting of the situation until you were married.

“Well I did grandma, can’t change that.”

“No” your grandpa says “but you could still get married now. Have you even tried to be a family?”

“It’s complicated” you reply. It’s not a lie, your relationship is extremely complicated. You are beginning to feel like maybe you should talk with Fred soon, and really explain everything that happened. Explain that you just panicked, not that you don’t want to try and see if you can be together.

“No it’s not” your grandma says “You should be with the person you have babies with. If you aren’t with them you shouldn’t have sex. We didn’t raise you to be so reckless.”

“Reckless? You guys judge me on one night. On one mistake, and I don’t even consider it a mistake because I got the most beautiful boy out of it. But I know that you consider it a mistake, that’s why I haven’t visited, and why I came without him. I spent my life being judged by you for not being good enough and I won’t have my son grow up feeling this way. I was never going to be good enough for you because my mom wasn’t good enough for my dad in your eyes.”

Tears are forming in your eyes as you continue. Your voice is now louder to an almost yell “Literally since the day I was born I haven’t been good enough for you. You hated how they raised me, how they encouraged me to make my own choices, be my own person. When they died you did everything possible to undo how they had raised me, to change me into your version of perfect.”

Tears are now rolling down your cheeks “This is who I am, you need to accept it. If you can’t accept who I am you won’t be a part of my life, and you definitely won’t be a part of Oliver’s life.” With that you storm out and get in your rental car and head to a hotel. You keep your sunglasses on as you check in to try and hide the puffiness of your eyes.

You arrive in your room and shower to try and calm yourself down. You stand in there way too long trying to de-stress and drop your blood pressure. When you get out you put on your house coat, can’t even bother to get dressed and open your tablet looking for the next flight to Pittsburgh.

You get a text from Fred and its Oliver sitting on the floor reading a book. Without thinking you press the facetime button, Fred answers on the third ring.

“Hey” he says with a big smile “how’s it going?”

“It’s alright, how is Denmark?” you say through a fake smile.

Fred walks over and sits beside Oliver “It’s been going great, everyone loves him.”

“Well how can they not? He is the best. What were you guys up to today?”

“Today was just a relaxing day with just us. We had the Uno tournament yesterday, and he was pretty tired so we are keeping it easy. We went to a park, had a nap and now we’re reading before bed.” You can hear Oliver babbling to himself as he pretends to read the book.

“Sounds like fun” you say trying to hold back a sniffle.

“Yeah. How’s Toronto? Aren’t you supposed to be going to your grandparents today?”

“Yeah I already did. It only lasted 10 minutes before I stormed out.”

“Went that good eh?”

“Yeah I’m looking to see if I can fly back tonight or tomorrow morning.”

“Wanna talk about it?” “Honestly no. I just wanted to see Ollie thought he could cheer me up.”

You talk for a little bit longer before he hangs up to get Oliver ready for bed. You manage to find a flight and fly back later that night.

Aug 3, 2022

You knock on the door. Fred was supposed to drop Oliver up the following morning but Fred asked if you could come the night before and gets him.

“Hey” he says opening the door. He is wearing navy dress pants with a white polo shirt tucked in. His hair is styled and you smell his cologne as soon as you walk in.

“Hey, you look nice” you say stepping in.

“Thanks” he runs his hand through his hair “I have a um…I have a date tonight.”

“Oh nice” you say unsure how to respond or how to feel.

“We were supposed to meet tomorrow but she switched her shift. Thanks for being flexible and being able to get him tonight” he explains.

“Yeah of course” you say picking Oliver up. “Have a good night tonight” you say as you walk out the door.

You buckle him in the car seat and start the short drive home. When you get home you sit on the couch holding Oliver in your lap. He is tired and almost asleep, you know that you should put him in his crib for the night but you can’t bring yourself to do it. Instead you sit there cuddling your son as tears begin to fall down your cheek.

I was too late, I missed my chance you think to yourself. You rock Oliver side to side as you quietly sob; you hope having him in your arms is enough to calm your emotions. You rock him until your sobs stop, long after he fell asleep.

Next Chapter

#Freddie Andersen #frederik andersen #Freddie Andersen Smut #Freddie Andersen Fic #frederik andersen smut #Frederik Andersen Fic #nhl smut #nhl fic #fred andersen #Fred Andersen Fic #frederik andersen x reader #freddie andersen x reader #fred andersen x reader #fredzilla #because two people got drunk #my writing

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spine-buster · 4 years

Text

The President Wears Prada (William Nylander) | Chapter 2

September 9th, 2019

Aberdeen Bloom was late.

“I’m late I’m late I’m late I’m late,” she got progressively louder as she tore through the condo like a tornado trying to get everything she needed for the day. Mr. Shanahan’s driver, Lou, had already texted her and was already downstairs waiting as she rummaged through her things and stuffed them into her purse. They were supposed to be leaving at 7am.

“Do you want some breakfast?” Kasha called out from the kitchen.

“I’m late I’m late I’m late!” Aberdeen began screaming as she gathered the last of the files and handbooks Brendan had given her before slinging her purse over her shoulder.

“Some coffee?” Kasha called out again.

“I’m late!” Aberdeen bulldozed through the main living area, running to the door and slipping on her shoes so quickly they were barely even on her feet as she opened the door and ran out. “I’m late I’m late I’m late!”

She ran through the hallway and frantically pushed the elevator button until the door opened, only to stuff herself into the already full cart (it was morning rush hour, after all) on its way down. When she burst through the front doors of the building, she saw the town car waiting. She opened the door and slipped into the backseat.

“Hello Miss Bloom,” Lou said from the driver’s seat, looking at her through the rear-view mirror. “How are you this morning?”

“I’m good,” she said, very clearly out of breath. She grabbed the seatbelt from behind her and snaked it across her body. She felt the car start to move. “I’m sorry I’m late.”

“You’re not late,” he shook his head. “Sometimes I’d have to wait for Frances for fifteen minutes. You – it’s only 6:58. We’re early.”

She let out a breath as he turned the corner. “Um, thanks,” she nodded her head, grabbing her bag and taking out the new iPad Pro that was set up last Wednesday. It had Brendan’s calendar on it, and she swiped through some of the events of the day. She would need to be prepped for when Brendan got into the car – and Lord knows where that was. “So where are we picking up Mr. Shanahan?” she asked.

“Mr. Shanahan lives on the Kingsway in Etobicoke,” Lou informed her.

Aberdeen laughed to herself. Now she’d have to be back in Etobicoke every day. She would be only several blocks away from her childhood home. A completely different neighbourhood, but still close. The audacity of the universe to do this to her. Before Aberdeen could say anything about it, Lou pulled up to a curb and stopped the car. “What’s going on?”

“You need to pick up Mr. Shanahan’s morning coffee.”

“Oh! But what – what—” Aberdeen exclaimed. Then she panicked. Morning coffee? What was his order? He never told her! He never mentioned picking up a morning coffee and now –

“Mr. Shanahan orders a venti, extra shot, extra hot cappuccino in the mornings,” Lou informed her politely.

“Right!” she said as she opened the door and pushed herself out of the car. The Starbucks was busy, of course. She accidentally paid for the drink on her own debit card and the barista totally put her name on the drink instead of Brendan. This was a disaster.

But as she got back into the car, Lou greeted her with another friendly smile. “The middle comes down,” he informed her, and she pulled it down for the cupholders. “Miss Bloom, you have a lot of nervous energy,” he said as he drove away, heading west towards Etobicoke. “You’ll be fine. You need to let go of the nervous energy. Mr. Shanahan will be able to sense it.”

Aberdeen laughed. “I think that’s impossible. It’s my first day on the job. What happened to the last two personal assistants Frances tried to hire, anyway?” she asked.

“Argh,” he huffed, waving in disgust. “They were bozos. Very rude. Only got into it for the title, then started to walk around the office like they owned the place. Like they were the ones who were trading and drafting,” Lou explained. “Idiots.”

Aberdeen couldn’t help but giggle. “Well, I won’t be doing any of that,” Aberdeen quipped. “I don’t even watch hockey.”

“If you ask me, I think it’s better that way,” Lou said. “Brendan likes people with different interests, anyway.”

The rest of the car ride was fairly silent. It took them about half an hour to get out to Etobicoke thanks to traffic, which meant they rolled into Mr. Shanahan’s driveway at around 7:45. His house was beautiful – as every house on the Kingsway was – big and in the old Tudor style, landscaped beautifully and kept neat and clean. People dreamed of living in these houses. Sometimes, during high school, Aberdeen would go on a run here just so she had something nice to look at. It wasn’t like she lived far – she grew up south of Bloor in an adjacent neighbourhood called Sunnylea. It was much different than the Kingsway though – much more middle class. She still loved it.

Almost immediately, Mr. Shanahan came out through the front door. He wore a perfectly tailored, expensive looking blue suit, with leather oxfords and a red tie. For her part, Aberdeen tried to dress modestly – like cover up her tattoos, however small and unassuming they were – while still maintaining a sense of fashion and style like she always did. Lou exited the car to greet him, with Brendan greeting him happily, and Lou opened the door for him. He slipped in beside Aberdeen. “Good morning, Aberdeen.”

“Good morning Mr. Shanahan.”

“Brendan,” he corrected her. She was uncomfortable with that. He was a man in a very high position of power – she couldn’t just call him Brendan like he was her buddy. “What’s my day consist of?” he asked.

She pulled up the iPad Pro. “It’s pretty easy today, Mr. Shanahan. You only have a meeting with the hockey operations department at 11am – no scheduled end time – and a quick half an hour meeting with a woman by the name of…Hayley Wick-in-heeser at 3pm.”

Brendan glanced at her through his glasses. Did she say something wrong? “Great. Fantastic. Thank you.” He grabbed at his coffee in between them, took out the coffee stopper, and sipped. “Who told you my coffee order?” he asked.

She looked at him like he just asked her to reveal her deepest, darkest secret. He wasn’t smiling. He wasn’t frowning. He wasn’t doing anything. Just giving her a blank stare. She gulped and held her breath. “Lou,” she answered meekly.

Mr. Shanahan let out a slight chuckle. “Thanks Lou,” he said louder. Lou waved.

Aberdeen kept holding her breath.

***

Once back at 50 Bay Street, Mr. Shanahan took Aberdeen on a lightning fast meet-and-greet tour of the offices. She met an array of people she had a hard time remembering the names of. There was Arvind and Joe and Cressida, Rosie and Daniel and Parminder, Henry and Rita and Stefano, Brendan (another Brendan) and Michael and Tony. There were so many people Aberdeen couldn’t remember them all, couldn’t remember their departments, and couldn’t remember their titles. But she nodded along nicely, and shook all their hands, and listened as Mr. Shanahan introduced her as “my new personal assistant” and spoke with some of them longer than others.

Eventually, they made their way to some of the more important departments – hockey operations, who he’d be having a meeting with as part of management, and media relations. There were a few specific people that stuck out to her, mostly because she could tell Mr. Shanahan wanted to make sure she knew who they were.

“Leanne Hederson is the manager of hockey operations. You’re going to be seeing a lot of her,” he said, introducing them. She had a firm handshake and wore a powersuit and Aberdeen loved her already. “This is Steve Walker, director of team security,” he continued as Aberdeen shook the hand of the man. “And this is—”

“New girl on the job?” a loud, booming voice asked from behind them. Everybody turned around. Aberdeen saw a man walk in – tall, conventionally attractive, with a Maple Leafs pin on his lapel – and smile at everybody in the room. “What department? Media? Medical?”

Aberdeen looked over at Mr. Shanahan quickly. He didn’t look too pleased at the interruption but he digressed. “This is Ethan Baker – he works in tech and video playback,” he said curtly. “Mr. Baker, this is my new personal assistant, Miss Aberdeen Bloom.”

“Nice to meet you, Abbie,” he shook her hand, sending her a beaming smile.

Her blood curdled at that name. Absolutely nobody called her that – not even her family. It wasn’t even her nickname. “It’s Aberdeen.”

“Excuse me?” he asked.

“My name is Aberdeen, not Abbie. Aberdeen,” she said. She didn’t even care that she was asserting herself in such a way in front of everyone on her first day of work. She didn’t want ‘Abbie’ to become a thing, so she was going to nip it now. She knew she had a weird name but a nickname was ridiculous. She was a grown woman. People could say her name.

Ethan chuckled awkwardly, and Mr. Shanahan had apparently had enough. “We’ll see all you folks later,” he said, guiding Aberdeen out of the room.

They walked through the offices and back towards their area, where Aberdeen saw her desk clean and cleared from all of Frances’s things. She went to sit down and took out the iPad Pro. “Alright,” Mr. Shanahan began, and she knew he was going to go into a long shpeal about what her job was going to entail. “First of all, you answer the phone. The phone must be answered every single time. I hate when it goes to voicemail. Plus hockey is very fast-paced. If we miss a phone call, we may miss out on trade opportunities and other important hockey operations business.”

“Yes sir…but what happens if we’re not at our desks. What happens if we’re in the arena or—”

“In that case the phone will be programmed to call you on your cell phone,” he said quickly. “You’ll give us your phone number and we’ll program it in. Every single time, Aberdeen,” he stressed.

“Yes sir.”

“You run errands as assigned. You handle my schedule as assigned and remind me of my appointments both personal and professional, meetings, and important phone calls. During game days, you’re here at the arena until the game is over, both teams have left, and I deem it fine for you to leave. You will, of course, travel with the team when I travel with the team, within Canada and to the States. You will show up to all practices, all team events including galas and fundraisers, and all other MLSE events not associated with the Toronto Maple Leafs if I am invited to them.”

“Yes sir.”

“Now, today isn’t a busy day even though the team is in for a skate because I only have two meetings. But there will be days where you’ll be running around here like a chicken with its head cut off,” he explained. “Especially at the start of the season in a few weeks, and most especially at the trade deadline in February. But until then…well, enjoy the calmness.”

“Yes sir.”

“Have you been reading the employee handbook I sent to you?” he asked, walking into his office quickly.

“Yes sir.”

“Any questions?”

“No sir.”

“Great. Then you can start familiarizing yourself with this,” he said as he plopped a giant binder on her desk. It was full of protective sleeves and filled to the brim. Aberdeen gulped. “This is somewhat of a directory of every Toronto Maple Leafs personnel you should familiarize yourself with, as they will be your colleagues,” he opened the binder for her. He was the first one. “Study this. They’re your colleagues. Important colleagues.”

“Yes sir.”

“And you can take this home tonight, but it comes right back tomorrow.”

“Yes sir.”

“I’ll call you if I need you,” he said, returning back into his office, leaving her with the giant binder. She looked down at it and gulped. She wanted to go back and hug every one of her high school teachers who remembered her name after having over 90 students a semester. She didn’t know how any of them did it. “Oh, and Aberdeen?” Mr. Shanahan popped his head back out, startling her a bit.

“Yes sir?”

“It’s Brendan,” he smiled before disappearing into his office again.

‘No chance’ Aberdeen thought.

***

Aberdeen couldn’t believe how many handbooks there were to read. She understood why she had to read them, but God it was tedious. She felt what she really needed was for Mr. Shanahan to slip her “How to Play Hockey for Kids” or something – she figured she may as well start to learn about the sport she was going to be surrounded by. Her first email was Brendan emailing her the 2019-2020 season schedule, and asking her to record every game in both his and her calendar.

After she finished that, she went back briefly to the MLSE Employee Handbook, the book that outlined the rules that employees had to abide by. She had laughed at some of the more ridiculous ones. Of course, there were the regular ones any company would have – employees couldn’t be under the influence on the job, employees couldn’t engage in criminal behaviour – but three stuck out to her most.

The first to make her giggle was number 18:

NO EMPLOYEE OF MLSE SHALL USE ANY COMPANY CREDIT CARD OR LINE OF CREDIT FOR PERSONAL PURCHASES UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO STARBUCKS COFFEE, LUNCHES, DINNERS, ALCOHOL PURCHASES, ETC.

The second to make her giggle was number 27:

NO EMPLOYEE OF MLSE SHALL GIVE, REVEAL, OR PUBLISH THE PERSONAL PHONE NUMBERS OF ANY MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, PRESIDENT, CHAIRMAN, ETC., TO ANY OUTSIDE PARTY.

And, of course, the best one, number 32:

NO EMPLOYEE OF MLSE SHALL PURSUE OR ENTER INTO A ROMANTIC OR PHYSICAL RELATIONSHIP WITH ANY MEMBER OF THE COMPANY’S PROFESSIONAL SPORTS TEAMS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO: THE TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS, THE TORONTO RAPTORS, THE TORONTO F.C., THE TORONTO ARGONAUTS, THE TORONTO MARLIES, THE RAPTORS 905, OR TORONTO F.C. II.

She wondered what happened to whatever poor schmuck to get that made into a rule and published in the employee handbook.

“Aberdeen,” Mr. Shanahan’s voice interrupted her thoughts. She looked up to see his head popped out from the doorway. “I need you to go pick up coffee for the meeting at 10am. Now write this down,” he said. She grabbed a stickie note and a pen as quickly as she could. “One no foam skim latte with an extra shot, and three drip coffees with room for milk, searing hot. And I mean searing. Get them here as soon as possible.”

“Yes sir,” she said, ripping the stickie note off the pad and jumping up from her seat, almost forgetting her purse.

“Yes Brendan,” he called out after her, chuckling to himself.

As she made her way through the hallways, a tall figure appeared at the end, where the staircase was. She recognized it as Ethan, the man who had called her ‘Abbie’ just hours earlier. “Hey Girl Friday,” he greeted her, his voice sounding much sleazier now that he wasn’t in the company of colleagues. “You doing a coffee run?”

“Yes.”

“Good. We need two americanos with room for milk, one grande skinny vanilla bean latte, and one venti extra shot extra hot caramel macchiato with coconut milk.”

“W—What?” she asked.

“Write it down!” his tone was a bit harsh, but she did as she was told. “Brendan’s assistant runs coffee for us all the time. Do you need me to repeat it?”

“No,” she said, somewhat glaring at him. She knew the role of personal assistants – she wasn’t an idiot. “Anything else?”

“A blueberry scone,” he said as he disappeared into his office again, wiggling his eyebrows at her before shutting the door. She shuddered.

The Starbucks down near the foot of the building apparently liked to take it’s sweet-ass time. She was in a rush because she knew the meeting started at 10, and they would have probably liked to have walked in to Mr. Shanahan’s office seeing their coffees, but that wasn’t going to be the case. The baristas didn’t finish making them until 10:10, and then she had the conundrum of how she was going to transport eight coffees and a scone without everything spilling everywhere. She wasn’t a clown despite how much this felt like a circus, so she couldn’t juggle them in her arms. Eventually, one of the cashiers found cardboard cup carriers, so they hung all the cups from those and she was on her way, rushing through the building and back up to the floor.

The second she got off the elevator, Ethan was there waiting. “What took you so long?” he demanded as he finished typing something into his phone.

“Here,” she practically flung the coffees at him for him to carry.

“No no, you need to deliver them to the guys in the office,” he didn’t even reach out for them. “Come on, this way,” he said, having the audacity to snap his fingers for her to follow him like she was a dog.

What the fuck had she gotten herself into here?

After she delivered the coffees, she made a beeline towards Mr. Shanahan’s office. “Is there some reason the coffees aren’t here? Has she died or something?” she saw him pop his head out of the room. He was asking no-one in particular, of course, since she was the only one who was supposed to be there. But then he heard her footsteps, and her saw her rushing down the hall, and he stepped out of his office, closing the door behind him. “Aberdeen, where have you been?”

“I – Ethan – I had to get coffee for Ethan and his department—”

“What?” Brendan asked. “Ethan who? Please don’t tell me Ethan Baker.”

“Y—Yes—”

“Aberdeen, why would you go and get coffee for tech and video?”

She felt stupid. She knew she fucked up, and she didn’t want to have to explain it to him in excruciating detail, although that’s perhaps what Mr. Shanahan wanted. “He – he saw me in the hallway and told me your assistant gets coffees for them all the time—”

“Listen to me Aberdeen,” he said, his tone serious and his voice curt. His voice was in one of those harsh whispers that could tear apart your soul. “Your title at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment reads executive assistant to the president. I am the president of the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey club, not Ethan Baker. You run errands for me, you get my coffee, and you do as I say, not as anybody else in this entire hockey club says, the least of which Ethan Baker. Do I make myself clear?” he asked.

She could feel tears welling in her eyes. “Yes sir.”

“Good. Now give me the coffee and man the desk. You can take your lunch hour at noon.”

She handed the coffee over to him and he walked back into his office. A small applause erupted at the arrival of the coffee. Mr. Shanahan closed the door behind him.

She felt like she was going to be sick.

***

After finished inputting the game schedule into the calendar and taking a few messages from phone calls (one rudely hung up on her when she asked how to spell Bergevin), Aberdeen saw it was noon and took out her lunch. She left her desk to go warm it up in the staff kitchen, but…couldn’t exactly remember where it was. She panicked. She slipped into the door where she thought she remembered it was, based on what Brendan had pointed out very quickly earlier in the day.

When she walked through the door, letting it close behind her, she was not greeted with a kitchen. She was not greeted with a staff room. She was not even greeted with an office. Instead, she was greeted with a room completely full of men who were shirtless and in either tight workout gear or tight underwear.

Bulges out.

Thighs out.

Eyes on her.

“Oh sweet baby Jesus,” she gasped, her eyes going wide before turning around violently and slamming her entire body into the door because she forgot to turn the knob. She did it again before her brain registered ‘TURN THE FUCKING KNOB!!!’ and when she did, she slipped out quickly.

The first thing she saw were the words “STAFF KITCHEN” written on a door across from her.

She should quit now. She should really just quit now and go live in a hole forever.

She escaped into the staff kitchen, popping her Tupperware into the microwave and setting the time for three minutes. Half way through, the door opened again, and a middle-aged man with a Maple Leafs t-shirt and shorts on walked in.

“Hello,” he greeted her politely. When he got a look at who she was, he smiled. “Hey, don’t feel bad. Happened to me the first day too. Luckily that was where I had to go, though.” She smiled politely at the man. Obviously he’d seen her be a complete idiot. “I’m Jason Spezza. It’s nice to meet you,” he extended his hand.

Jason Spezza. Jason Spezza. Where had she heard that name before? Then it hit her – in the employee directory. Jason Spezza was one of the Maple Leafs. She had just walked into the Toronto Maple Leafs semi-nude. She felt like barfing. “Nice to meet you,” she said meekly, shaking his hand. “I’m Aberdeen Bloom.”

“First day on the job, Aberdeen?” he asked. She nodded her head. “What’s your position?”

“Um, I’m Mr. Shanahan’s new executive assistant,” she said. She didn’t even know if she was allowed to talk to him. All the rules from the MLSE Employee Handbook were running through her mind. Would she get fired for this? He started it.

“Ah! Cool!” he smiled. The microwave began to beep, signalling it was done. “I guess we’ll be seeing a lot of you then.”

“I guess so,” she mumbled, opening the door to the microwave and grabbing her Tupperware. “Have a good day.”

She rushed back to her desk, wanting nothing more than to just crawl into a hole and die.

***

When Brendan was finished with his meeting, he called Aberdeen into his office. She’d finished lunch by then, and was patiently waiting for the phone to ring. He was still sitting at his desk as she walked in.

“Any phone calls?” he asked.

“One from Tampa Bay, but they said it wasn’t urgent,” she informed him. “And one calling on behalf of a Mr. Bergevin. I think they said they were from Montreal.”

She could see a small smile appear on his face. Maybe he was in a better mood now after his meeting. “Thank you, Aberdeen. Anything else?”

Yeah, I totally walked into your hockey team half naked. “May I ask you a question, sir?” she asked.

“Of course.”

“Am I allowed to like…talk to the Maple Leafs?”

Brendan removed his glasses. “What do you mean? Talk?”

“Um, well, I know you said – and in the handbook – I was in the kitchen during lunch and Jason Spezza came in and struck up a conversation with me and—”

“Aberdeen,” Brendan interrupted her with a slight chuckle. “Aberdeen…you can talk to the players. I expect you to talk with them and to talk with any other employees of MLSE – Maple Leafs, Raptors, whatever.”

“Oh. Okay. Because he was very friendly and I didn’t want to be rude and—”

“It’s okay to be cordial and be friends in a professional setting. You’re going to be around them constantly and be travelling with them almost as much. You’ll be in the private jet with them and attending events big and small. It’s going to be natural to become friends. The problem is if anything goes further than talking. Romantic relationships, friends with benefits, hooking up as the kids are saying these days—”

“I would never,” she interrupted him. “I would never, Mr. Shanahan.”

“I know you wouldn’t. Don’t worry,” he said, putting his glasses back on. “And stop calling me Mr. Shanahan. I told you that you can call me Brendan.”

Aberdeen was still uncomfortable with the notion. “I don’t think you understand. My parents are immigrants. If they found out I didn’t call someone sir or ma’am or mister or misses they’d guillotine me.”

Brendan looked at her, a smirk on his face. “You’ll get used to it, Miss Bloom. Now come with me. You’re going to meet the only other man you can take orders from.”

His name was Kyle Dubas. He was the young general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs – the other man most responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The “only other man you can take orders from” turned out to be a joke, because Kyle had his own executive assistant – Peter, much much nicer than Ethan – who was responsible for that. Kyle was incredibly nice and welcoming, and Aberdeen had to admit it put her at ease. Even Peter made her feel welcome.

When she and Brendan got into the elevator after leaving, there was already a man inside. “Ah, Mr. Tanenbaum,” Brendan greeted him warmly. Aberdeen smiled politely, but internally she was freaking out. She’d seen Mr. Tanenbaum on TV lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy after the Raptors won the NBA title. Now she was stuck in an elevator with him. What was her life?

“Brendan,” Mr. Tanenbaum nodded courteously. “How’s the preparation for the season going?”

“Great,” Brendan said. “I must say, our most organized ever.”

“Great. I hear we’re close to signing Mitch. It should happen any day now.” Brendan nodded his head silently. “What’s that costing me?”

“Ten-point-eight million, on average,” Brendan revealed. Aberdeen’s eyes bulged out of her head.

“Must be a great winger,” Mr. Tanenbaum commented, causing both men to laugh. He then focused his attention on Aberdeen. “Larry Tanenbaum,” he extended his hand across Brendan for her to shake.

“Oh, I’m sorry. This is Aberdeen Bloom, my new executive assistant,” Brendan introduced them quickly as the elevator pinged and the doors opened.

“Congratulations young lady. A million people would kill for that job,” he pointed at her as he left.

Brendan looked at her. “That’s Larry Tanenbaum, chairman of MLSE.”

“I know who he is,” she said. Brendan looked shocked. “I mean, I watched him lift the Larry O’Brien in June.”

Brendan smiled – a real, genuine smile at something she’d said. “So you watch some sports.”

***

“We can be done for the day, Aberdeen,” Brendan announced once his meeting with Hayley Wickenheiser was over. It was only 4pm, and she had expected to be at the office until later, so she was pleasantly surprised. “You’re free to go. Do you need Lou to give you a ride home?”

“Oh gosh no. I live within walking distance from here. I wouldn’t make him do that,” she said as she gathered her things into her purse.

“Maybe if it was raining,” Brendan smiled, almost to himself. Aberdeen decided not to respond. “Come on, I’ll see you out. How was your first day?”

I got yelled at, I went to fetch coffee, and I walked in on the hockey team half naked. “Great,” she responded. “Thank you for your patience with me. I know I’m still learning but I promise I—”

“Don’t worry about it, Aberdeen,” he said as they walked towards the elevator. “It is very much a learn as you go environment. Especially for someone like you.”

As they stepped into the elevator together, a voice from the end of the hall screamed to hold the door. Brendan stuck his arm out until the person appeared in an impeccably well-tailored suit, slipping by his arm into the elevator. “Hey hey, William!”

“Hey Brendan!” William responded.

Aberdeen looked up. As she did, she looked into a familiar pair of piercing blue eyes. She saw a familiar head of blonde hair. Familiar lips that kissed hers and all the way down her body, making her feel some of the greatest pleasure she’d ever felt in her short life.

Will. It was fucking Will.

“Aberdeen, let me introduce you to William Nylander, one of our star forwards,” Brendan said, introducing them with a giant smile on his face. “William, this is my new executive assistant, Miss Aberdeen Bloom.”

She was going to faint. She was actually going to faint.

“Nice to meet you,” Will said as he shook her hand.

“Likewise,” she squeaked out. She was absolutely fucking mortified.

“You’ll be seeing a lot of William in the future, Aberdeen, as one of our star players,” Brendan kept talking, but she could barely register his words. Will was still looking directly at her, directly into her soul, and she felt ready to faint. “He’s going to have a great season, this year. We’re all looking forward to it.”

She had hooked up with a Toronto Maple Leaf. Oh my fucking God, she had hooked up with a Toronto Maple Leaf. And now they worked at the same company. For the same team. Under the same roof. They’d be flying together. Travelling together. Attending charity and gala events together. The words from the MLSE Employee Handbook flashed in her mind. No employee of MLSE shall pursue or enter into a romantic physical relationship with any member of the company’s professional sports teams, including but not limited to: the Toronto Maple Leafs…

“I look forward to working with you,” Will said, his eyes flashing as he continued to look at her, a smile playing on his face.

She gulped. She’d slept with a Toronto Maple Leaf and she had to keep it a secret. Nobody could find out that they hooked up.

Absolutely nobody.

#william nylander #william nylander imagine #william nylander fic #william nylander fan fic #toronto maple leafs #toronto maple leafs imagine #toronto maple leafs fic #toronto maple leafs fan fic #nhl #nhl imagine #nhl fic #nhl fan fic #hockey #hockey imagine #hockey fic #hockey fan fic #the president wears prada series

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iisasxia · 3 years

Text

Anon: Bakugo,Sero,Hawks, + Mirio react to accidental confession

SideNote: This is my first ask!! Thank you thank you thank you!! And I would love to do this!! Hopefully it’s good for your liking!!💓

➽──────────────❥

-Accidental Confessions-

HeadCannon

➽──────────────❥

Warnings: Fluff!! Angst, Fem’Reader!! Aged Up(18+)

Characters: Bakugo, Sero, Hawks, Mirio

Code Words: Y/N=Your Name, E/C=Eye Color, S/C=Skin Color, etc.

➽──────────────❥

Bakugo Katsuki

As harsh as he seems he’d be frozen. Just standing there like “🧍🏼”

Oh that’s when that shit eating grin pops up/You just boosted his ego by A LOT

So now he’s gonna get back at you or such an “abrupt” confession

He secretly liked you too anyway-

The only thing snapping him into reality was you ready to dash off

It started with You, Mina, and Asui

You were outside in the common room Friday evening talking to Mina and Asui while laying on the couch. “So you do like someone huh?” Mina started teasing..”Ribbit, it’s obviously someone from our school~”Tsu adding on. “Yeah..maybe-“ you looked away trying to think of a way to change the subject when Denki had walked into his dorm. Mina and Tsu looked at each other before looking back at you, “DENKI!?” They shout in unison, the howl making you whip your head back around with a confused look, “What about him?” You ask innocently, “You like Denki-“ Mina whispered, your face began to heat up. “N..no, not even close.” The stammering didn’t help jus ugh your case...”Oooooh Denki!!” They shout out to him, enjoying your reaction. Bakugo was walking down the hallway into the common room, turns out he forgot an assignment on his way out of your dorm while you two studied. “UGH I DONT LIKE DENKI I LIKE BAKUGO!!” Everyone froze, dead quiet..crickets. Bakugo frozen, Mina and Tsu just paralyzed. “Run that by me again?” You hear a voice behind you making you jump. You roll your eyes thinking it was someone messing with you. “I said I like Ba-“ words cut off. You were in absolute shock. Every nerve you held onto just exploded. You immediately turn back around and got up..”Kill me now-“ you mumble under your breath. Looking down and speed walking towards your dorm. A warm hand stopping you as it pulls you in from your waist. “You said my name? Now I’m here. What is it y/n?” Bakugou’s voice neutral for the first time, you pause sucking in the last bit of courage you have left and letting it all out. “I like you..a lot. I have for a while.” You bite your lip afraid of what was next to come when suddenly your body was lifted up in the air. “Well why didn’t you just say so earlier, I’ve been wanting to take you on since we first met” Bakugou’s words soft against your ears as his hands met your thighs holding you tight. “Katsuki-“ you mumble, “She’ll be right back guys, that’s if she can still walk” you shot your head up your body getting goosebumps from the thought of his words.”Katsuki!!” You scream down the hall, Mina and Tsu looking at each other. “It was obvious she liked him, I just wanted to hear her admit it” their laughs fill up the room and the night falls over..💛

Sero Hanta

Unlike Bakugo he’s more..mm shy about it that’s until he sees how embarrassed you are.

Mans saw you stand up and run off had him activate his quirk real quick

Now you were face-to-face with your crush

And no way was he gonna let that get past him

All started when he borrowed your number to meet up for a group party after school. You had it at the bottom of your contacts, assuming you wouldn’t ever need it but hey..it’s your crush why not keep it. To be fair many people were unsaved numbers, so one day your walking down the hallway during lunch ready to meet up with Momo and Toru, you were texting them on the way. “What!? You like someone!?” The ding from the notif sending vibrations to your phone seeing it from Toru in the group chat. “Since when!? And who!!” Momo follows, “Omg we must know him right?”..more texts snd texts follow as your phone dings repeatedly. Texts from others too, you got sick of it and just decided to confess..only to the wrong person-You clicked Sero’s name cause he texted you for an assignment and his was at the top you open it not even paying kind to the text and quickly going “I like Sero!! I have since school started!! Happy now!?” The aggressive text sent, you sigh hoping that would end the notifications only to here one more. “What now?” You scoff, you nearly dropped your phone when you read the text-“Damn that’s one way to confess, usually it ends with a kiss” your hearty DROPPED. Fear ran through you, how could you have been so stupid you quickly turned around trying to make a run for it when you turned around and rammed into Sero. Him off all people why now? You got up apologizing before turning back the other way when he grabbed you with his quirk and had you inches away from his face. “You like me?” He asks, subtle. You walking died right then and there..”Yeah.” The shakiness in your voice from one word unbearable to hear..you were so ready to end it all before he said..”Then I’ll make it worth your while mi amor~” followed by a kiss on the cheek and him holding your hand. Your phone dinging again, “Where are you?!!” Momo asks but you left the chat open forgetting your worries and following along with Sero, a smile piercing your face...🖤

Keigo Takami (Hawks)

You two worked at the same agency so it was bound to happen

But sheesh his reaction was worth the way you confessed

You were talking to yourself (which doesn’t even help the situation chile-😭)

Man...The expectation vs reality never ever gets old especially with Hawks

It was 7am Wednesday morning when you decided to get to work early. Usually your the only person there but you never mind having the place to yourself. You always made everyone coffee and made a special one for Hawks, not that he minded. It was sweet and cute if you to do for him, even if it wasn’t intentional. So as usual you made his coffee and went to go set it down in his workspace. You walk in as you normal but this time you notice a big pile of papers, “Um what the fu-“ you let out a loud sigh placing the coffee on his window sill before gathering up all the papers. “This is so unexpected of him..” you say aloud, “Usually his workspace is so tidy and spotless, what do I see in him sometimes?” That’s when you were met with a dark room, you thought the lights went out when you turn over only to see your winged lover next to the window. “See in who birdie?” He coos, you dropped the paper you were holding ready to shut the window before he quickly got in. Oh shit..A million and one thought cross your mind. “What are you stalking me for?!” Your only reply since you had nowhere to flee too, “I don’t know, why are you in my office?” He asks, inching closer and closer your heart threatening to pop out of your chest before he placed a hand to your waist and the other grabbing your wrist pulling you in. Leaning down he whispers to you “If you like me so much, come stop by my place around 8pm.” That’s when his door opened to one of your co-worker. “O..oh sorry I’ll go-“ he murmurs out of embarrassment, “Ah no it’s okay kid, come on in what did you need?” Hawks quickly replies, “It was about those files you wanted?” The co-worker responded. “Yes yes, thank you..I owe you one I’ll get right with you once I’m done with my baby bird here” his voice cocky. My. The word imprinted in your mind, you scoff a slight smile covering your face. “You are really a mystery, Keigo.” 🧡

Mirio Togata

Oh if you felt shy already be prepared

He would totally tease you about it at first

Don’t get me wrong he’s shy too but he loves seeing you try and hide from him it’s cute

I guess you didn’t learn the first time from Bakugo but you shouted it out with your friends

Oh man oh man, what great timing since he appeared right through the wall nearly giving you a heart attack

You and your friends were on top of the school roof during lunch break. (One could teleport, although theres a door that leads up there) “What’s new with you guys?” One of your friends asks. “Not much, I just got a job” your other friend replies and you both congratulate her. “How about you y/n?”..”Me? Same not much I just have a crush on someone” there food dropped. “A CRUSH!?? WHO!!?” They shout in unison. “Uh—I would rather not say” the butterflies in your stomach cause you to set your food down on the plate. “Aww come on!! Can I guess?” Your friend perks up, “Definitely not!! You’re the worst with guessing.” You bark back. “Fine then tell us” they both tease you. “I like Mirio.” Jaws dropped. “Repeat that y/n?” “I LIKE MIRIOOOOO!!” You shout sick of their child play and that’s only the beginning of your issues. “Y/n?” A soft spoken voice behind you. “Oh shit-“ you groan looking over to see Mirio. “That’s our cue-“ your friend says before grabbing the other one and getting away. Now it was just you and Mirio..and the thought of his name being screamed at on the top of a building. It lasted about 5 seconds before you tried to make your way off the building ready to just sacrifice yourself-.”Hey wait!!” You pause turning around and meeting his intense gaze. “I like you too.” His voice is so delicate it makes your stomach flip, he walks over to you and takes you off the ledge. “You do?” You ask him..”Of course, who wouldn’t fall in love with someone so gorgeous.” You smile, eyes lit up with joy..”But next time..try not screaming that from a building but maybe in my room.” You slap the back of his head playfully before grunting at his statement. “I’m kidding!! Sort of-“ as you two walked back downstairs..he placed a kiss on your cheek. “Cute”💛

Hope you enjoyed love!! Thanks again so much for requesting I hope it’s what you were looking for!!🥺💜💜

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justimagineitblog · 4 years

Text

“You Used To Love Me” Michael Gray Fan Fiction - Chapter 4

A/N: Hi loves! Chapter 4 is a longggggg one so strap in and get some rum, whiskey, tea, coffee, water, hot chocolate, whatever works and settle in for this one x

When I walk into the pub, Tommy freezes in his spot.

He hasn’t seen me yet since Michael’s gracious return this morning. And I guess he assumed I wouldn’t be coming in for this shift.

He feel him watching me nervously as I begin my usual work routine, setting up the bar, straightening out all the chairs, wiping down all the tables. I can’t even bring myself to look at him.

“Izzy I-“

He stops immediately when I shake my head. With tears in my eyes threatening to spill already.

“I can’t, Tommy” I breathe

He nods sullenly, walking over to place a gentle hand on my shoulder.

“We had no idea about Gina… he’s just shown up after 6 fucking months and-“

“Tommy, please” I cut him off “I can’t talk about it-”

“Okay” he steps back, giving me some space “But just listen to me, just for a moment yeah? You’re still our girl. Our family. We’re all on your side, eh. Me, Poll, Arthur”

I nod, closing my eyes.

Of course they are. They’re just as shocked as I am. Up until this morning we were all in the dark about Michael. Where he was. What he was doing. I guess in a way, we all still are.

“I know” I sigh. Hearing him say those words stings, when I know that in 6 hours time I’ll closing up the bar for the last time and handing him my apron.

“Poll got a call this morning, from Michael, saying he was arriving to Birmingham in an hour, with someone for her to meet. First time she’d heard from him since he left. She’s been crying, I saw her. Says she can’t believe her own son would do something like this. Say’s she keeps seeing your face when you first saw him again-“

“Did he say why?” I question, un able to help myself from asking. It’s not like I haven’t been wondering that all day anyway.

Tommy shakes his head “Poll lost her shit. We all did. Told Gina all about you. About you and Michael. But he just fucking stood there… like a fucking ghost”

“Yeah, I know the look” I reply, flashing back to the cold, dead stare in Michael’s eyes.

“You know you don’t have to work tonight you can go home eh, try and rest, I’ll see you tomorrow night”

I clench my jaw, wishing he’d never said that. I can’t avoid it now.

“I won’t be in tomorrow, Tom” I begin, looking up at the ceiling and hoping that some God might just finally strike me down once and for all.

How am I supposed to do this.

I thought I had reached my limits of what I can bare this morning, but life seems to have decided that today is my ultimate test. If my sanity is still remotely in tact tomorrow, it will be a fucking miracle.

“If you need to take a few days Izzy it’s fine, Finn can cover for you. It’s about time he start leaning how to pour beer anyway-“ Tommy replies sympathetically, not understanding what I’m trying to say.

“No, Tom, I won’t be back tomorrow because I’m not coming back” I hold my breath “Today is my last shift”

Every word was harder than the next, as I forced myself to drag them up and out of my mouth.

Part of me wants this. Part of me want’s to run away from any place where I might see Michael. Jesus, I can’t believe I’m even thinking this but maybe this was the silver lining in him having the audacity to ask me to quit to stay out of his and Gina’s way. Because I won’t have to face seeing them together either. But actually say it, doing it, and breaking it to Tommy like this is incredibly painful.

“Oh” he breathes slowly.

Slowly, I begin to undo my apron. I can’t do this. I need to get out of here. I need to go home. Let my bed and whatever alcohol I have swallow me up. I don’t know how long for. And I don’t care.

“I’m sorry” I say in a harsh exhale as I hand him the apron.

He shakes his head, looking down at the floor almost like he’s to ashamed of how his cousin has broken my heart to look at me. He reaches for my hand to squeeze “No, I’m sorry”

Unable to hold back the tears that have been biting at my already red and glassy eyes, I quickly rush past him, my hand slipping out of his grip.

~ 3 DAYS LATER ~

The next 3 days are a drunken stupor. Coming in and out of consciousness. In and out of sleep, to eat a mouthful of something before washing it down with another mouthful of something strong.

It’s not until the 4th day when I’m woken at 7am by the sound of kids laughing and shouting as they play a game of cricket below my window. I try to muffle it by smothering myself with my pillow, but irritation and anger when it doesn’t go away draws me out of bed. I shuffle over to my window and slam it shut, earning looks from the children, before they forget seconds later and go back to playing.

From there I head straight to the kitchen. An Irish coffee constitutes as a nutritional breakfast, right?

As I let the kettle boil, I open my cupboard for my tried and true whiskey. And I find it… but I find it empty. Luckily that is, knowing in the back of my mind that I’m one more drink away from a hospital visit. But in that moment, I could have smashed the bottle over my kitchen counter in a tired, hangover fuelled rage.

Don’t they always say the cure for a hangover is more alcohol? Or have I just been around drunks at the pub too long?

I sigh. The pub. Over the past few days I have racked up a decent amount of memories that I wish to never remember. One of them, was seeing Michael… shortly followed by seeing his new wife Gina… then coming up at a close third is having to tell Tommy that I was quitting without any explanation why. That’s what the alcohol was for. To forget all that.

Now that I don’t have any alcohol left to immediately distract myself, I’m forced to really take in my surroundings. I look at my kitchen painfully as I count the bottles on my counter. Five. Empty. Bottles. I drank all that.

Jesus Christ, maybe I really am a Shelby.

God Michael would die if he saw this. Part of the reason he cherished me was because I wasn’t like his family. I loved them. I fit in with them. But I still had ‘a humanness to me’, as he called it one day. ‘A kindness.’ He said I kept him soft in a world lacking it. He’d only seen me truly drunk once. I was never a big drinker. I guess I’m not that girl anymore. Just like he’s not the Michael I knew anymore. I guess the only commonality we have anymore is our… dissimilarity.

The irony.

Unable to drink now, and sure as hell not leaving my apartment in this state, I spent the rest of the day moving slowly. Picking up whatever pieces of myself that I can. Showering. Changing clothes. Cleaning up what looks like a bomb site.

When night falls, and I realise I haven’t been shopping days and don’t have enough food to make anything decent, I decide it’s time to leave the house. Beside’s, everyone is going to be inside eating with their families and loved ones, and it’s dark enough anyway to hide myself in the shadows to avoid being seen.

With my biggest coat wrapped around me tightly, and an over the phone take away order placed at a restaurant down town, I head out into night. The cool, night air feels nice, like a splash of cold water on my face, and I’m so sure that I won’t have to face anyone that I begin to relax.

But of course I couldn’t really relax, could I. Because sitting inside the restaurant with a friend, is Polly Gray.

I pause in my tracks, almost tripping over from stopping so suddenly. I want to turn around and run the other way, immediately. And nothing is stopping me, besides the fact that I have nothing to goddamn eat.

“Fuck” I hiss to myself as I keep my head down, angling it away from her as I quickly slip into the restaurant doors.

“An order for Isabelle” I say urgently in a hushed voice at the counter as the worker greets me.

“Good evening ma’am” he grins eagerly as I hand him the money.

“I’ll just get your change” he nods joyfully and I grab my food. Daring to turn around, I peak over my shoulder to find that Polly is already looking at me. Once we make eye contact her eyes widen in shock and begins to stand up, making her way to me.

“Shit, shit, shit” I hiss, grabbing the food from the man quickly and beginning to walk out of the restaurant.

“Ma’am your change!” He calls after me

“Keep it!” I call back as I pick up the pace, jogging out the doors and into the street. I hear Polly’s voice call after me, and I hold my food close to me as I keep jogging, praying she will give up.

“Isabelle stop!” She shouts, and I slow to a stop. My head falls back as I sigh in defeat.

She finally catches up to me and I turn around to face her, but avoid eye contact.

“Izzy it’s me, what are you doing?” She asks as she catches her breath, staring at me in bewilderment.

God I can’t do this. I can’t. I’ve missed Polly so much. I’ve missed Tommy. I’ve missed the pub. Arthur. Finn. Michael. But I can’t be around them. Michael asked me to stay out of his and Gina’s way. I can’t do that if I’m still seeing everyone in the family. And it’s breaking my own heart.

“I just can’t talk right now Polly” I shake my head, praying for this to be over. For her to just accept that and go back to her dinner.

“Isabelle I’m worried about you, no one has seen you for day’s. Tommy said you quit the pub… Isabelle did Michael put you up to this-“

“No” I cut her off immediately. I’m lying. I know I am. But what difference does it make if I tell her Michael told me to keep out of everyones way. That will only make her and everyone hate him even more. And I can’t stand to see them all lose Michael the same way I did. I would never wish that upon them.

“Just talk to me darling-“

“No Polly,” I snap. Not out of anger, but out of sadness. Pain. I know what I have to do. What I have to say to make her stay away from me and fulfil Michael’s wish. But it’s going to kill me to do it. I take a deep breath as she waits for me to speak nervously. What’s that saying. Be cruel to be kind? I have to be cruel, I have to pushing them away. It’s easier to push them away. It’s better for everyone. Then Michael can live with Gina, the Shelby’s can be at peace without me around.

“I don’t want anything to do with your son, or your family. Have I not made that clear enough. I am not your family. I am not a Shelby. Now please leave me alone”

Polly stares at me, mouth open but no words following. I fight to keep her eye contact. To not falter. So that she think’s I’m serious about this. But it hurts. Never did I think I would have to be breaking her heart like this. I can see it breaking, I can see it in her eyes.

Is this what I looked like? Is this what Michael saw when he broke mine?

“I have to go” I manage to say before turning on my heels swiftly, leaving her standing in the street alone.

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queerebrum · 4 years

Text

Your Problem Now

y’know this was supposed to be 1k words. That is my goal for ficlets. And yet, here we are!! Enjoy your 1.7k of Sterrish (Stiles x Derek x Parrish) relationship reflection and sickfic fluff, @wolfflock & the rest of you that encouraged this.

Jordan had just finished putting on his belt when his phone rang on the nightstand. He glanced first at the alarm clock for the time and then back to the phone. Whoever was calling him, it wasn’t Derek, who was usually awake but not yet willing to socialize at this time of day, and it certainly wasn’t Stiles, who was unbearable if woken before 8am.

He reached for the phone and stared at the caller ID with a raised eyebrow. Answering it with a hard swallow he said, “Good morning, Sheriff.”

Calls from the Sheriff were always awkward. Calls from the Sheriff before 7am were downright terrifying. “Jordan, you’re off today,” Noah said, leaving no room for argument.

Jordan blinked a few times. “Okay. Did I do something wrong?” he asked, carefully reviewing memories of the last few days of his shift.

“No. Stiles is sick and I’ve decided that if you’re going to date my eighteen year old son the least you can do is be the one to deal with him when he’s sick.” There was a brief pause. “Or, y’know, the two to deal with him. I’ll let you call Derek. I’m surprised he’s not already at my door, supernatural senses and all.”

Jordan nodded, still frozen in the middle of his bedroom with the phone pressed to his ear. He decided against pointing out to Noah that he too was technically supernatural, and that Derek’s senses weren’t that enhanced. Instead of arguing anything – arguing with either Stilinski was an exhausting and often pointless process – he just said, “I’ll be over as soon as I can.”

“I’m taking one of your sick days for this.” Noah said, his tone lighter.

Jordan laughed at that. “Sure thing, Sheriff.”

‘Stiles is sick I guess? Sheriff says it’s our job to take care of him. See you there?’

Derek yawned and reread the text from Jordan. He grabbed for his half-full cup of coffee and took another long pull, letting the warm, bitter taste settle against his tongue as he mulled over the words.

He had many questions about the content of the text, but the number of question marks seemed to indicate that Jordan too was unsure of exactly what was going on. Derek briefly ran through what he’d planned to get done today.

Which really was nothing he couldn’t put off, because he spent his days as an independently-wealthy 20-something reading books and staring at a blank laptop screen trying to write literally anything that someone might want to read. Sometimes he sat through werewolf council conference calls, which was his duty as the pack Second. Those weren’t really all that more exciting than staring at a blank computer screen, though.

‘Should I bring anything?’ He sent back.

Jordan’s response was: ‘I’m already at Target. What do you know about human illness anyway? :P’ Derek glared at the phone, but Jordan was right. He sat back in his chair, finishing the cup of coffee and climbing to his feet to grab another one from the pot.

Being a werewolf, he knew the coffee was probably just a placebo effect at this point. Both Stiles and Jordan were well aware that waiting until after Derek had his second cup of coffee to interact was the suggested course of action most mornings. It was probably a good thing they didn’t all live together. (Yet.)

Jordan was an early riser, Stiles needed to sleep in, and Derek was a bear (or...a wolf) until he’d had two cups of liquid happiness. It made Derek wonder what their future would look like. Finishing his second cup, he headed to his bedroom with a smile on his face.

It didn’t really matter what his future looked like, as long as he had Jordan and Stiles.

Jordan expected Derek to have beaten him to the Stilinski house, with his overprotective werewolf instincts, but he was surprised to find the driveway empty aside from the old blue Jeep. He pulled up behind it and got out, carrying the bag of odds and ends he’d picked up from Target on the way.

The Sheriff hadn’t said what kind of sick Stiles was, so Jordan had no choice but to pick up a variety of things: cough drops, dayquil, pepto bismol, a box of tissues, several cans of chicken noodle soup and three of the big gatorade bottles. Once, Jordan had purchased a movie, and the look of abject horror on Stiles’s face when he realized Jordan had spent actual money on something like that had dissuaded him from making such mistakes again.

(“Where are we supposed to get movies then?” “The internet, Jord.”)

He carried his bag of supplies - double bagged with the weight of the gatorade and cans of soup - up to the front door and tried the handle. He was surprised to find it unlocked but well, he had told Noah he’d be there as soon as he could. That, and, even sick, he knew better than to underestimate Stiles. He may be human, but that didn’t make him helpless.

“Stiles?” Jordan called, realizing as he entered that he actually had no idea how Noah knew Stiles was sick. It was only just now coming up on 8am, which meant that given normal circumstances, Stiles would still be asleep.

The loud sound of a nose being blown upstairs gave Jordan his answer. Whatever kind of sick Stiles was had probably woken him up. “Ub here.” Stiles called, miserably.

Jordan tried not to laugh as he kicked off his shoes and headed up the stairs, pushing open Stiles’s bedroom door. “A little birdy told me you weren’t feeling well.” He said, dropping onto the corner of the bed. “And...forced me into using a sick day?”

Stiles looked awful. He was even paler than usual, moles looking especially dark against the sickly pallor of his skin. His nose was red and irritated, and he kept sniffling every few minutes. He coughed a few times before he spoke too, small, coughs that seemed to more relieve a tickle than actually dislodge something from his lungs. “My dad called you?”

Jordan took off his jacket and tossed it somewhere in the direction of Stiles’s computer chair before sitting down on the edge of the bed. “Your dad decided that you needed company, I guess.” Jordan couldn’t help the smile that came to his lips as Stiles, seemingly magnetized, fell forward to rest his head on Jordan’s shoulder. Jordan wrapped his arms around Stiles’s body, stroking one hand along his back. “Did he call Derek?” Stiles asked, somewhat muffled between the stuffy nose and his face pressed into Jordan’s shirt.

“No, he told me I could do that. Even made a joke about Derek already knowing you were sick because of werewolf instincts.” Jordan traced the knobs of Stiles’s spine, pressing a kiss to the side of his head. “He’ll be over soon. I think I texted him during his first cup of coffee.” That reminded him. “Did you wake up sick?”

Stiles nodded, halfheartedly, still not lifting his head. “I started coughing in the middle of the night. Woke dad ub.”

Stiles leaned away after he finished speaking, as if saying the word ‘cough’ had manifested the very action itself, tucking his face into the corner of his elbow and letting out a string of bark-like noises that Jordan was now sure didn’t seem productive in the slightest. Sometime in the middle of it, there were footsteps on the stairs, and Jordan glanced back over his shoulder to smile at Derek, whose face was pinched in concern.

“Oh hey–” “–Der, nice of you–” “–to join us.” Stiles managed between coughs, eventually flopping back onto the bed with one of his arms thrown over his eyes. “Fuck.”

Derek had similarly divested himself of his jacket, and he squeezed Jordan on the shoulder briefly as he made his way over to the other side of the bed. Jordan glanced up and smiled, Derek leaning in for a brief, comfortable kiss.

Sometimes, it still mystified Jordan that he was here. He watched Derek sit down on the opposite side of Stiles’s bed, lean over and rest his ear against Stiles’s chest. Jordan felt his smile widen, watching the careful way Derek rested his other arm along Stiles’s, twining their fingers together as he listened.

After a minute, he sat up. “Just wheezy. I think you’ll live.”

Jordan had to bite back a laugh at the malice in the glance Stiles gave Derek when he lifted his arm. “Okay you two.” Jordan nudged Derek’s shoulder with his own. “Be nice, he’s sick.”

“You’re no fun,” Derek teased, but his smile was bright.

Even Stiles’s face had shifted into a smile, and Jordan felt one of his hands – warmer than Stiles usually ran – slid into his own. “I’m glad you’re here.” Stiles said, his eyes heavy-lidded. “I’m gonna go back to sleep though, It’s still so fucking early.”

Jordan lifted Stiles’s hand to his own lips to press a kiss into it. “I brought medicine. You should take something and then you can nap.” He stood up, wandering to where he’d dropped the bag. He rifled through it to find the dayquil and the cough suppressant, tossing one of the Gatorade’s over his shoulder with the full confidence that his werewolf boyfriend would catch it.

He turned around to see Derek crack the gatorade and pass it off to Stiles, who drank from it while Jordan fought with the packaging on the medicine.

And fought.

The damn blister packs were supposed to be childproof not hellhound proof.

Derek was snickering into Stiles’s shoulder, Stiles petting Derek’s hair and biting his lip to hold in his own chuckling. Jordan finally tossed the pack at Derek. “Here, you open it then.”

Derek, ever the show off, flicked out a claw and sliced into the packaging – and directly into the liquid capsule, watching orange-red liquid slide down his finger, sending Jordan into a laughing fit and Stiles into yet another coughing fit.

Several minutes later, Derek’s hands were clean, Stiles had been adequately medicated, and they were all snuggled down into Stiles’s bed for what Jordan suspected would be the first of several naps today. Stiles was on his side, his back pressed along the length of Derek’s chest. Jordan faced Stiles, one if his arms tucked over both of his boyfriends, and his forehead pressed against the sleepy humans.

“Love you.” Stiles murmured quietly. Derek whispered it against the back of Stiles’s neck and reached over to squeeze Jordan’s side. Jordan grinned, more thankful than he could have predicted for the day off.

“Love you both.”

#stiles stilinski #derek hale #jordan parrish #sterrish #idk what the actual ship name is #but that's what I've elected it is #derekjordanstiles #teen wolf #my fic #ficlets #minific #teen wolf fanfiction #sickfic #fluff #polyamory #ss #dh #jp

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sugarbutterbroadway · 4 years

Text

When Davey Smiles

Golden rays of sunlight trickled in through the blinds pouring over Jack’s face. He scrunched his nose up and pulled the blankets over his face. He had already started shifting an hour prior but he had hope that he could slip back into the clutches of sleep. Now it was just pathetic how he was clinging onto the traces of drowsiness. He spent five more minutes with his eyes screwed shut before opening them. The sky was awake so he was awake or whatever the hell it was Anna said. He groaned and sat up a little, rubbing his eyes. If it was anyone else he would have left to not disturb them, but when Davey finally fell asleep, he slept like a rock. Jack chuckled, he could probably do an entire cirque du soleil act and Davey would only groan and roll over.

Man did he love his husband. He was so happy he got to say that, his husband. They had tied the knot a few months ago and he still got all giddy every time he said it. Davey was his husband, his sweet and handsome husband who was currently drooling on his pillow.

“Ew”Jack whispered, pulling a face. He was more disgusted that he thought Davey was still darling with spit pooling out of his mouth. He wasn’t exactly a quiet sleeper, he pulled faces and groaned and snored and sometimes even talked if Jack was lucky. It was mostly lesson plans and history facts so that got old fast. It wasn’t any better this morning, every so often he would groan and every single time it gave Jack a mini heart attack. You’d think he’d be used to it at this point but the kids he grew up with all slept like the dead, unless something was wrong. He worried his lip between his teeth and peeked over at Davey. He promised himself he would stop doing this years ago because it was creepy but he couldn’t help it. He watched his face and looked for any tells that he was having a nightmare. Davey didn’t have them often, but when he did they were always horrible. Furrowed brows,squirming and more often than not he cried. Jack had only seen them a few times but they always broke his heart, the way Davey shot up not knowing where he was, it was like watching a frightened child. So he watched and waited, looking for even the slightest tell. A few minutes had passed and he could finally stop holding his breath, Davey was fine. Of course he was, but Jack could never be too sure. He wanted to slap himself, it was too early to be freaking out over something that hasn’t even happened.

He needed to get out of bed. He was growing restless and it was only a matter of time before he kicked Davey from all his fidgeting and ended up with a 7am scolding. He shuddered, a tired Davey’s scoldings were not to be taken lightly. He slid out from underneath the blankets and nearly jumped back into bed the second his feet hit the floor.

“Jesus christ!”he exhaled, it was freezing. He waddled over to the closet and pulled out a pair of sweats and a hoodie, and if they just so happened to be Davey’s, that was his business. The first order of business was to get some coffee in his system—decafe of course. The last time he had caffeinated coffee he was an anxious wreck the whole day. He shook his head, that was not a good day for anyone. He slid his feet into his bedroom slippers and padded out of the room. The minute he walked into the living room he heard the jingling of a collar.

“There’s my baby”he cooed, dropping to his haunches. Luna happily trotted over and placed her head on his knees. He of course took this as the cue to pick her up baby style and walk into the kitchen.

“You’re getting so big, Lu”He sighed, maneuvering her to one arm. “You’re not our little baby anymore. You think you have the right to turn one and get so big, huh?”he picked up a peppermint k cup and placed it in the keurig, god did he love wedding presents. “What’s next? You gonna move out and go to college? Gonna leave me and daddy?” he paused. Then quickly muffled a cackle with his elbow. “You’re literally our first baby, how does it feel?”

Luna squirmed in his arms and whined.

“Fine”He huffed, lowering her to the floor. She quickly jumped from his arms and padded back into the living room.

“I get no love from this girl”He grumbled, once his coffee was done brewing he put in an unnecessary amount of creamer that would send Davey reeling and sat in the living room. If Jack was going to drink coffee he wanted it sweet or not at all, it annoyed Davey to high heaven. He smirked, but it quickly fell into a pout. It was early,he was bored and it was a sin to call anyone before 10am. He pulled his knees up to his chest and tried to enjoy the silence, it wasn’t something he got much of these days. But he didn’t really care for silence, he liked their house loud and chaotic. Not the ethereal hallmark masterpiece it currently was. Their house. That was insane, they owned a house. Well—they owned the mortgage and the bonus was getting to live there.

It was a project to begin with, it was practically begging to be taken off the market and both of them fresh out of college jumped at the opportunity. With help from Medda with the cost and many many breakdowns, it’s finally a place they can call home. He loved their house, their home. He loved it when Davey made breakfast in the morning, it was always without a doubt in his underwear no matter the weather. He loved when Davey sang while folding laundry or showering or even putting his shoes on. He was just a sucker for Davey singing, he rarely did it and when he does it’s always cut far too short because he’s embarrassed. Davey may not like his voice but Jack could listen to it all day long.

He was just a sucker for Davey, especially his smile. The way his eyes shone and his grin reached his ears, man it could make an angel weep. Maybe Jack had spent too much time with him but he knew each one of Davey’s smiles and he loved most of them. The way his lips quirked up into a lopsided grin when he was explaining a lesson planned out for his students. The way he smiled first thing in the morning when his eyes had lost their haziness and focused on Jack. The way he managed to smile even in the worst of times with tears streaming down his face because I’ll be okay Jack, I promise there’s nothing to worry about. And Jack’s favorite, the way he smiled at babies. His eyes would soften and he would grin and coo at any newborn in the vicinity, it gave Jack a deadly case of baby fever. They had spent time with Davey’s family this past holiday season and Jack could hardly bear it with all the new babies around, let alone them and Davey.

“Oh my god a baby.” Jack barely had time to question before Davey was pulling him in the direction of a cousin he definitely hadn’t met. The two embraced briefly before Davey had focused on the baby in her arms.

“Her name is Anika”

He let out a little gasp“Anika”he repeated, his eyes sparkling.

Before Jack knew it Davey was coaxing his cousin to go have fun and enjoy the gathering which left them both on baby duty. Jack was excited himself but he couldn’t help but get a kick out of Davey acting like a complete idiot. He had basically taken over as a stand-in parent with a burp cloth over his shoulder,her diaper bag and a pacifier as they lounged on the couch.

“Ani ani ani ani!”He cooed, tickling her chin, the grin never leaving his face.

Jack grinned himself, that was the happiest he had ever seen Davey, wedding and other milestones aside. He had taken a million pictures and didn’t stop smiling even after they left. He may have gotten a little eggnog drunk but he just remembers Davey repeating the name Anika over and over to himself in the car. It was a beautiful name but it left Jack thinking. Was Davey trying to drop hints? Did Davey want a baby? His eyes widened.

Did Davey want a baby with him?

He shook his head and set his unfinished cup on the coffee table. It was too early to think about babies, it was only 7:30am and he was only 24, there was plenty of time to think about babies later. Besides, he already had one child to look after, three if you count Charlie and Race. he sighed happily, where was Luna anyways?

He heard a scream from the bedroom and a loud thud. He winced, found her. He sprung off the couch, and jogged into the bedroom. Well Davey was awake. Luna was laid comfortably on his side of the bed while he sprawled on the floor staring at the ceiling with vacant eyes. Jack could barely stifle his laughter as he put on a stern face.

“Luna Anne Kelly-Jacobs”He scolded, “Did you push your poor father off the bed?”

“It’s too early for this,”Davey said in disbelief. “The chaos usually doesn’t start until noon”

“Look at what you did”He continued, “You sent the poor man into shock!”

Luna didn’t even bother to pick her head up, he clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“Kids these days man”

“Jack”Davey said, shifting his eyes towards the green eyed man. “Please...shut up”

“Good morning to you too, handsome”He said, he extended his arm and Davey reached up to grab it. With one pull Davey was in his arms, swaying gently.

“Morning”Davey yawned, and leaned in to place a kiss on Jack’s forehead. He missed by a long shot and got the top of his ear, but it was the thought that counted.

“You’re a zombie this mornin”He teased. Davey sighed and wrapped his arms around Jack, burying his face in the crook of his neck.

“My students are idiots,”Davey whimpered. Jack faltered for a second.

“Isn’t that kinda mean?”He chuckled.

“No no, they’re incredibly smart”Davey mumbled, “But oh my god they’re idiots”

“Ah, gotcha”He said, “What’d they say this time?”

“One of-”Davey cut himself off with a groan. “One of them looked me in my eye and told me that Amelia Earhart had big dick energy”

Jack quickly turned his head to the side and howled. If any of their neighbors were sleeping they weren’t now because he was dying.

“It’s not funny!”Davey whined burying his face in Jack’s shoulder.

“You’re right, it’s not funny”He said, attempting to compose himself “it’s fucking hilarious!”

“Jack-”

“But did they lie?”He asked, wiping his eyes.

“No-”

“Raise their grade”He said, “I fucking love that kid”

Davey picked his head up and looked Jack square in the eye, “I couldn’t raise his grade if I wanted to, he’s top of the class”

And Jack was back in hysterics. “That makes it even better!”

That made Davey laugh a bit and he finally pulled away from the embrace shaking his head.

“You are a terrible influence”

“Tell this kid i’m his biggest fan”He pleaded, “Please, I’ll get on my knees and beg”

“I sure would like to see that”Davey laughed, then his face immediately dropped when Jack smirked. “No I didn’t mean it like-”

“Oh really?”He teased, “You wanna see me on my knees beggi-”

“I can’t hear you over the sound of me not hearing you”Davey said, walking out of the room. And he was smiling. Jack followed behind him with a laugh. He loved mornings like this,he loved the days those mornings turned into. For once Jack Kelly finally loved his life.

Bonus

“Will you make us breakfast?”Jack said.

Davey rolled his eyes. “You just want to look at my butt”

“So?”

“At least buy me dinner first”

“We’re married!”Jack exclaimed, “What more do you want from me!”

“I want you to love me for more than my juicy dumptruck!”

“And you wonder where your students pick this shit up from!”

#newsies #broadway #racetrack higgins #jack kelly #newsies broadway #spot conlon #davey newsies #spot newsies #sprace #crutchie newsies #jack kelly x david jacobs #Paint The Sky

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cheryllclayton · 4 years

Text

hashtag game! get to know me

tagged by the following lovelies <3: @daphnesvieira, @likemereckless & @thugheadjones

1. what is the color of your hairbrush? black

2. name a food you never eat - I’ll try ‘most’ things but I will not eat raw sushi or some seafood like oysters

3. are you typically too warm or too cold? Cold but I don’t like being hot, I’d rather be cold and put on a hoody and a blanket than be too hot.

4. what were you doing 45 minutes ago? working lol

5. what’s your favorite candy bar? Hmm...Reese’s Cups, Mirage, Snickers, Twix

6. have you ever been to a professional sports game? Went to my first NHL hockey game with the dear @daphnesvieira this year!

7. what is the last thing you said out loud? I think I was singing aloud to the song on the radio lol

8. what is your favorite ice cream? Cookie Dough...Heavenly Hash...and im also partial to some old school flavors once in a while like bubble gum, cotton candy, tiger tiger and licorice!

9. what was the last thing you had to drink? water

10. do you like your wallet? YES! I just got a new one and it’s black with blue butterflies from ShagWear! I love their wallets, they are soft and durable and cute and can actually hold all my cards and shit lol

11. what is the last thing you ate? Pumpkin cloud cookie :)

12. did you buy any new clothes last weekend? i did by a couple new shirts about a week or so ago...

13. what’s the last sporting event you watched? pfffft i dont even remember....probably the live NHL game in February.

14. what is your favorite flavor of popcorn? White Cheddar or dill pickle

15. who is the last person you sent a text message to? my hubby....or was it @lazydaizies....lol

16. ever been camping? yes, but i haven’t been legit camping (like tent/camper in the woods) type camping in years

17. do you take vitamins? Every day :)

18. do you regularly attend a place of worship? no, i do not

19. do you have a tan? in the summer i tan pretty easy...but i always lose most of it over our long ass winter

20. do you prefer Chinese or pizza? Chinese, but depends a lot on my mood

21. do you drink your soda through a straw? sometimes...it all depends really lol

22. what color socks do you usually wear? i don’t wear socks often actually...and when i do, my socks are all different colors, i don’t like boring socks lol

23. do you ever drive above the speed limit? maybe....

24. what terrifies you? disease i guess....something happening to my kdis

25. look to your left, what do you see? my desktop scanner

26. what chore do you hate most? i hate dusting...always have...

27. what do you think of when you hear an Australian accent? LOVE the aussie accent! I’m jello of the woman who have it ( @lucivar) and it makes me wanna climb the guys that do ;)

28. what’s your favorite soda? used to be diet pepsi and im obsessed with iced tea but i haven’t drank pepsi in over two years and have only had iced tea a few times in that time as well.

29. do you go in a fast food place or just hit the drive thru? drive thru, usually i have kids with me or have things to do...busy busy

30. what’s your favorite number? lucky number 13

31. who’s the last person you talked to? a coworker

32. favorite meat? chicken

33. last song you listened to? Savage Love

34. last book you read? Some romance on a reading app, i think it was called My Bestfriends Sister...or something like that....besides the constant fic i read lol

35. favorite day of the week? Saturday/Sunday

36. can you say the alphabet backwards? Absolutely not

37. how do you like your coffee? splash of milk or cream

38. favorite pair of shoes? flip flops...terrible for my feet but i live in them...when there isn’t snow anyway. When im not wearing them i am usually wearing some sort of sketchers shoes or boots

39. time you normally get up? when i work, by 7am, if i don’t work, whenever i want if i have nothing to do lol

40. what do you prefer, sunrise or sunsets? sunsets

41. how many blankets are on your bed? 2 and a sheet

42. describe your kitchen plates? white with a floral print

43. describe your kitchen at the moment: probably still covered in baking dishes from last night lol

44. do you have a favorite alcoholic drink? mmm i like a good cooler or fruity drink...sangria...margarita...moscato wine....just a cold beer and clamato on a hot day...i’m not too picky when it comes to booze lol

45. do you play cards? yes, all kinds and a lot, just play kaiser and skipbo this weekend lol

46. what color is your car? gold

47. can you change a tire? yes

48. your favorite state or province? BC

49. favorite job you’ve had? the one i am in right now :)

I tag, if you’d like, @lazydaizies @lucivar @thetaoofbetty @charliemeg @alicat-gotyourtongue @anchor-bird-94

#tag game

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thecandywrites · 4 years

Text

Jewel Of The North Part 2

So in case you missed it Part 1. Again, many thanks to @monstersandmaw for sharing the concept of ice orcs with me and letting me run WILD with it. I’m having so much fun with this.

Ok, so Zara Kingsley, top left, top right- Doug Kizzo and just under him is supposedly “Wolf Eye” which is a brand of whiskey I made up just for this story. Fun fact- there is actually a high end brand of whiskey called “Wolves” and they sell whiskey the way designer limited edition sneaker/tennis shoes are sold ($150 a bottle and you have to “register” to even get on a list before they’ll send you a bottle, *sigh* rich people, but I am not a rich person in real life which would explain why in every fantasy story I write, I can change that about my character) anyway, I didn’t know was even a thing until after I wrote this and as a point of curiosity, I double checked to see if Wolf Eye whiskey was a thing so I didn’t have to worry about copyright (Which is why names are Like That in this story) And that beautiful plate of seafood is what I envisioned a “king’s platter” would look like vs. A fisherman’s stew which is the picture right above the little girl who I’ve chosen to represent Sakura in this story and we have the lovely Taylor in the bottom left.

Now let’s go shall we? Off to the Arctic Tundra!

Jewel of the North

Part 2

You woke up earlier than you thought you would, mostly because you were still in your Great Lakes time zone. So what was 10am to your body, it was 7am there. You crept out of bed and snuck into the bathroom to brush your teeth and your hair and put a bra on under your pajamas and then as quietly as you could, unpacked your gifts for Taylor and her family and arranged everything on the table as you quickly made a pot of coffee and some toast for your pre-breakfast and the smell of coffee was what roused Taylor and Greg at about 8:30.

“Good morning.” You greeted them warmly as they were both still obviously groggy but both happily shuffled over to the coffee pot to drink their coffee.

“What’s all this?” Greg asked as he looked at his table which was almost overflowing.

“Presents, Taylor told me to bring seeds.” You answered.

“Did you...like...clean out a greenhouse?” Greg chuckled as he looked at the sheer amount and variety you brought.

“Mmm...more like 5 but that’s not important besides I got to a lot of them just as they were closing out for the season so I got a bunch of it for mere pennies on the dollar and it was just a matter of being in the right place at the right time with money in your pocket.” You giggled with a dismissive wave of your hand. “I don’t do anything small or by half.” You shrugged before you handed him a wrapped present.

“Oof, that’s heavy.” He realized as he took it from you. “You didn’t have to get me anything...oh my gods, you got me Kraken!” He practically squealed when he opened it and pretended to cry as he hugged the gallon jug.

“My precious.” He impersonated Gollum as he pet it which cracked you and Taylor up before you handed her- her own gift as she gasped and tried not to squeal too loudly as she unwrapped a bottle of raspberry peach Grand Marnier. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She practically bounced in her spot, hugging the jug too before she leaned over and hugged you too.

“Alcohol is so stinking expensive up here it’s ridiculous, thank you so much for bringing this.” Taylor thanked you.

“Yes, it’s very generous of you, thank you.” Greg mirrored.

“You’re welcome.” You beamed.

“You know, we really shouldn’t keep all these seeds for ourselves. We should gift these at the festival. That way all the clans can benefit from this.” Greg realized.

“I was thinking the exact same thing, I told her that last night when she told me about them.” Taylor nodded in agreement.

“You got a box we can put it all in for now?” You asked before Taylor grabbed the biggest box she had and the three of you packed the seeds away before you grabbed your other crate that had all the seasonings in it.

“There’s more?” Greg laughed.

“Well yeah, Taylor said the local grocery stores are pretty limited on spices so I brought enough of everything that it should last you until we see each other again.” You shrugged.

“It’s like you brought a spice store with you.” Taylor swooned as she opened some of them and sniffed them before Greg did the same, both of them grinning at the scents in their noses.

“French toast for breakfast?” You suggested.

“Hell yeah,” Greg immediately agreed before you and Taylor began to make breakfast before the scents of breakfast woke the kids up.

“Good morning guys!” You greeted them cheerfully as they stopped and stared at the stranger in the kitchen.

“This is Zara, she’s a friend of ours so you can call her Auntie Zara and she’s going to be staying with us for about a week.” Taylor introduced you.

“And I’m really grateful you guys opened your home up so I could stay with you, so I brought you guys presents.” You told them which made all of them gasp in excitement.

“So, you must be Katie, the sensible older sister.” You asked as you pulled out the presents that had their names on them.

“Lovely to make your acquaintance Katie,” you greeted her formally as you handed her the wrapped gift. Because tweens always loved it when you treated them like little adults.

“And you must be Matthew.” You deduced as you handed Taylor’s son his gift before you got on your knees so you could be eye to eye with the toddler.

“Is your name Jamie?” You asked as Jamie hid his face behind his mother’s leg as Greg and Taylor laughed at his bashfulness.

“Do you think you could take this gift from me Jamie?” You asked as you held it out to him before he took it and ran away.

“You got me a race car!” Matthew exclaimed and promptly high fived you as Katie’s jaw dropped at her present.

“Your mom said it was ok to give you girl pampering stuff, so there’s a few face masks, some nail polish. Fancy hand lotion, a few bath bombs and stuff.” You explained as you pointed everything out before Katie happily enveloped you in a hug.

“Thank you so much.” Katie thanked you gratefully.

“You’re welcome sweetie.” You grinned just as Jaimie squealed in delight at his new toy and came running in and nearly knocked you over giving you a hug which got you to cackle laughing so you were left to sit on the kitchen floor while Jamie hugged you before he left to go play with his toy as Matt was already racing his car around the house before the family finally got to sit down to breakfast as the kids got to know you better by asking questions about you and your family and where you lived as you showed them pictures of your own kids and how you were a widow now and what you did for living and your horses and pets and things as Jamie happily ate his breakfast from your lap and stared at you adoringly and practically inhaled half your breakfast which you didn’t mind one bit. As long as babies ate well, they should thrive and you remembered how your own son Xander was practically a bottomless pit.

Then the calls started to come in on Greg’s and Taylor’s cell phones, all asking if you were there yet.

“Yup, Noah flew her in yesterday.” You heard them both say as their phones then started to blow up from texts.

“Uh, babe…” Taylor looked at her husband in a meaningful look that bordered on concern because word had spread like wildfire as they showed each other their screens, the same people texting both of them, but mostly Taylor because they were hoping she would give better answers than simple yes or no’s that Greg was giving. Except to his brother Doug, who Greg was giving him just about everything that you were sharing with his kids as Doug was already claiming “dibs” to the others.

“Want to go out to dinner?” Greg offered.

“Sure.” You nodded.

“In town there’s really only a few restaurants, Eska’s which is a mom and pop- grandma’s food in a tavern, the bar- Kesuk’s.” Taylor began to list off.

“Is it the place that has the ‘kitchen sink nachos’?” You asked.

“Yes.” Taylor beamed. “And it’s not a “dive bar” but it is very much the local watering hole. Now there is a “dive bar” and that is Goose’s. I wouldn’t go to the bathroom there but we will get takeout from there because they make the best double cheeseburger while White’s has the best wings.” Taylor explained.

“But Swanson’s has the best steaks, but it’s a bit pricey, it’s right next to Gold Horn’s which is the biggest and nicest fishing and hunting retreat around.” Greg explained.

“And one of the nicest butcher shops because most of the hunters can’t take all that meat home.” Taylor added.

“Anyway, the locals around here will go to Swanson’s for weddings, anniversaries, birthdays and stuff, pretty special occasions.” Greg continued before they continued to list off all the places around to eat before you decided on Eska’s because it sounded like the ‘safest’ option and spent the afternoon getting ready while you happily walk Katie through your ‘routine’ of getting ready as you, with Taylor and Greg’s permission helped her get dressed up too and put some simple makeup on her as her new ‘auntie’ and by dinner your nerves were already a little frayed because Taylor told you that you were meeting ‘the family’ meaning not only hers but Greg’s too and you had picked up on the hint of Greg talking about his brother and his accomplishments and such and you gave Taylor a meaningful look to which she looked back apologetically.

If you were honest, you were used to it. If your friend’s mates had failed trying to flirt with you or whatever, often you were ‘introduced’ to so many brothers, friends and especially brother in laws.

You got to dinner and the ‘family’ was already there, waiting for the table to get ready while ‘Doug’ was running late getting ready and there had to be 20 people there, all of them there to meet which you didn’t mind as you did your best to meet and greet everyone before the table was ready and Taylor had you sit at the end of the table as Greg and Taylor made sure that the seat across from you was Doug’s seat and you asked Katie to sit next to you so you wouldn’t be all alone since there was an empty seat next to Doug’s seat because he liked to “stretch out” as you met Greg’s parents and Taylor’s parents and got got catch up because Glenda, Taylor’s mom had missed your mom and to see pictures of your mom on her horse with your kids made them all happy as they got to know you a little as you kept an eye on the door, waiting for ‘Doug’ before an older woman came in with the cutest little girl you had ever seen in your life then a familiar face came in behind them.

Noah.

You instantly blew out a breath of relief at seeing him before a relieved and happy smile plastered itself on your face and you noticed they were walking by you and Noah seemed to see you shortly after you saw him as he soon mirrored your smile as he seemed equally excited to see you.

“Hey Stranger.” You greeted.

“Hey, fancy meeting you here, this is my daughter Sakura, this is my mom, Summer.” He introduced.

“But you can call me Nana Hun.” She warmly smiled at you as you shook her hand.

“Lovely to meet you Nana, and it’s so lovely to meet you Miss Sakura.” You excitedly greeted them as you crouched down to take a knee so you could be eye level with Sakura, she couldn't be much older than 5 and your heart ached at the thought of her losing her mom so, so young and how hard that must have been for her but you didn't want to bring it up because you didn't want that to be upsetting.

“You should be really proud of your Daddy, he did such a great job flying me here yesterday.” You praised to Sakura.

“He’s the best pilot ever!” She agreed which got you and Summer to laugh as Noah chuckled bashfully at the praise. Goodness was she precious.

“I agree!” You confirmed with a very exaggerated head nod.

“So you’re Paradise?” She asked in awed wonder as she stared at you.

“Uh...oh, are you talking about how I look like a paradise orc?” You asked as you ran your hand over your skin of your exposed arm and she nodded before you nodded in confirmation.

“My Grandma’s tea leaves told her that my daddy would be meeting Paradise yesterday.” She proudly informed you as you could see Noah turn a deep sapphire as his smile turned slightly nervous as he gave his mother the side eye.

“Your Grandma reads tea leaves? Mine does too! Only the way my Grandma does it, I think she reads them wrong because they tell her things like my son was ‘a ball’, which, to be honest when I was pregnant with him, I looked like I swallowed a ball and when he was six months old he was almost as wide as he was tall and very, very round because he was a fantastic eater and he’s still practically a bottomless pit but he’s turned out pretty normal so far, he doesn’t ‘bounce’ too much.” You shrugged with an easy grin which got Sakura to giggle at the joke which got you to laugh as Noah and Summer chuckled too.

“But that was really cool that your Grandma’s tea leaves told her that I was coming,” You nodded solemnly. “Did they tell her anything else?” You whispered as you leaned forward as she smiled and giggled and nodded.

“Can you tell me?” You asked hopefully as she looked up to Nana for permission before Nana nodded her permission as well- completely ignoring Noah who looked particularly terrified at the notion and was shaking his head subtly to his mother and his daughter ‘no’ but it was like they couldn’t see him before she came up and put her hands over your ear.

“They said that you were the best mom ever.” Sakura whispered and your heart melted and you almost wanted to cry.

“Well I try, really hard, every day- to be the best one I can be so that’s true.” You confirmed. “And you know what? I tend to adopt every kid that’s around me, so if you see me and if you need or want anything at all, you just let me know ok? And I’m not offering that just to be nice, I mean it. I don’t offer anything unless I’m prepared to be taken up on it. I’m only here for like a week and a half but while I’m here if I’m needed somewhere to either help your dad on the plane or help watch you, I’ll happily do it ok?” You generously offered because you just instantly adored this child and could tell she was just a sweetheart and you just...loved her. The way your love surged for your children when you got to hold them for the first time, that same love was surging for her. Something about her found every heart string you had and pulled on them and made them into a bow and you would happily wrap yourself around her little delicate fingers as you just stayed there smiling at each other before Doug cleared his throat which made you turn your head away to see Greg next to what you assumed was his brother who was dressed really nicely as they both smiled expectantly at you.

“Hi, be with you in a minute.” You greeted them with a polite smile before you turned back to Sakura.

“Now, you go enjoy your dinner ok Sakura?” You urged her before she launched herself into your arms before you gladly caught her and hugged her, grateful you had taken a knee so you weren’t knocked backwards.

“How did you know I loved hugs?” You cooed as you hugged her tight and rubbed her back and just held her until she let go first because you knew that some kids just needed a good long hug and you didn’t care if you were making Greg and Doug and everyone else wait, all that mattered was Sakura and the poor baby just needed a hug.

When Sakura finally pulled away she was smiling and her eyes were just a little glassy from unshed tears before you reached into your purse and got her a tissue and your business card.

“This is my cell phone number. You call this, and if I’m working when you call, just leave a message and I’ll call you back as fast as I can and if I’m not working when you call, I’ll pick up ok? I’ll always pick up.” You offered and it only felt odd as an afterthought that you just met this child and you were kicked so hard and so high into mom gear that you would already go to the moon and back and bend over backwards for her but it felt like the right thing to do and the best thing you could do for her.

“Thank you.” She thanked you graciously.

“You’re welcome Sweetheart.” You cooed to her as you squeezed her little hands in yours before you reluctantly let them go because Greg cleared his throat again before Noah took the hint and ushered his family to sit in the booth directly behind where you would be sitting. Which was nice that they were so close as you stood to your full height.

“Thank you so much for your patience. I’m Zara Kingsley, the LMT from the Great Lakes.” You introduced yourself to the man who had a familial resemblance to Greg as you politely shook his hand from across the table. He was handsome, that usual olive green skin, gold amber eyes, jet black hair, he was obviously younger by the way he styled his hair and his hipster- black t-shirt, black blazer, skinny jean look and the way he proudly carried himself, his chest puffed out all proud, like a peacock showing off his plumage. You could tell he knew he was one of the most handsome men in the room and his ego was too big for the place. You knew from Greg that he was practically a decade younger than you too. His ex wife had been one of the prettiest women in the Arctic Tundra but they divorced after five years and two kids because they both were having affairs.

“Does every kid treat you like a visiting Disney Princess?” He asked pleasantly which got you to chuckle.

“Yes, very much so, which I don’t mind at all.” You shrugged.

“Well it’s understandable, with a name like Kingsley, it’s kind of a given you should be treated like royalty everywhere you go.” Doug flattered and you heard Noah cough a ‘damn’ behind you like he had just gotten hit in the gut and even you had to admit that was a pretty smooth line. Although it wasn’t the first time you heard that.

“Thanks,” you nodded. Oh gods. This was going to be the longest dinner ever. He was just going to spit game at you all night and you just wanted to turn around and invite yourself to dinner with Sakura and her family as you slipped back into your seat because you were not about wait for Doug here to come around the table to pull out your chair because you were pretty sure he’d try to sneak a peek into your cleavage as he would try to too. The game was on and you were in no mood to be chased by Doug.

Noah though, no he could chase you like the silver fox he was because he was just barely getting a few gray hairs on the sides of his head and it made him all kinds of distinguished and made you all hot and bothered and you could already fantasize his head between your legs, with your thighs resting on his broad shoulders- your powerful thighs clamping around his ears as his tongue…

Oh, that’s right, Doug was talking to you. Damn it.

“I’m sorry what was that?” You asked as you tried hard to refocus on Doug and what he was saying, thankfully the restaurant had gotten louder since Doug sat down directly across from you and started talking and it was kind of hard to hear him anyway.

“I asked how you’re liking the Frozen Tundra.” He repeated.

“Oh it’s wonderful. It’s gorgeous and the people are lovely, very kind and generous and welcoming.” You grinned politely as the waitress came over.

“What can I get you to drink?” She asked you.

“Anything sweet and fruity?” You asked hopefully.

“Lethal too or just light?” She questioned.

“Ooh, lethal.” You couldn’t help but giggle because you would need it to persevere Doug’s advances as Doug started to grin a little wolfishly. Ha! Like he had a chance of scoring with you tonight.

“For sweet and fruity and lethal you have two choices, cloud berry punch or purple peach punch.”

“Purple peach.” You ordered.

“Half or full?” She asked.

“What’s the difference?” You asked curiously.

“A half is served in a tumbler. A full is served in a mason jar and has an order limit of three.” She answered.

“Oh yeah, my kind of drink, a full please and thank you.” You ordered gleefully.

“Do you want your usual Doug?” She asked moving onto him.

“Actually could I get a glass of Wolf Eye?” He asked and you nearly snorted a laugh and covered it up with a cough. May the gods grant you patience to deal with this pretentious asshole. While Wolf Eye was a decent whiskey, it was only popular because celebrities thought it was awesome and the bottle was *couture*. Just like any other designer name brand.

“Do you like whisky?” He asked.

“I do.” You nodded.

“Could I also get her a glass too?” He asked.

“Sure.” She nodded before she got everyone else’s drink order.

“Wolf Eye is one of the better whiskies.” You appraised.

“Have you ever had it before?” He asked.

“Yes I have. My sister Blossom is a whiskey geek/ whiskey snob, my sister Blossom’s husband is a whiskey geek/snob too and my own parents and my brother are all beer snobs while my baby sister Anya is a bartender and she gave me a shot of it once. Usually it’s too rich for my blood to order it though.” You confessed. Even though you had three bottles of it at home from your wealthier clients.

“What about you? Is there any kind of alcohol you’re really into?” He asked.

“It doesn’t really compare to Wolf Eye.” You answered as you realized you probably looked bashful, when really, you were dreading being judged.

Every guy- without fail who got you a glass of Wolf Eye were trying to show you how fancy and couture they were- thinking that because you were jewel orc- you somehow should have very refined, expensive tastes. When in reality, you didn’t. Honestly once those guys heard what you loved- they thought less of you. Or the guys who found out what you liked and weren’t pretentious assholes somehow felt that because you didn’t have “refined” tastes in wine or other booze, that that spilled over into your taste of men which couldn’t be farther from the truth. You were picky as hell when it came to men.

Although if you were honest, you loved your clichés- the bubble gum pop music, sweet fruity wine and cocktails and peppermint mochas and sappy romance novels and romantic comedy movies and you would preferably have all of those at the same time while in the comfort of a bathtub with a bath bomb fizzing away. But that was a world away from this.

“Oh don’t feel bad, you like what you like.” He reassured you but you laughed that laugh that said ‘oh you don’t know what you’re really asking’.

“No I insist, I promise not to judge you based on your answer.” He vowed and you didn’t believe him one bit.

“Ok. So, honestly, in my family- food wise, I’m the queen because I love to cook and I cook really well and my brand of hospitality is you are not allowed to leave my house hungry but drink wise, I’m like the black sheep of the family because I love flavored alcohol, the kind of liquor that’s low on the proof and mostly flavoring, so flavored moonshines and flavored rums and vodkas and especially liqueurs and things like that. The cheap ones that you just pour into some juice and it’s instantly a fruity cocktail. That’s my speed. Sweet and fruity.” You shrugged as the waitress came back and gave you your drinks as you graciously took the glass that had whiskey in it and sniffed it and swished it around the way your sisters always did before you took a tentative sip.

Yup. It was whiskey. Could you tell the difference between a scotch, a whiskey or a bourbon? Nope. Could you tell the difference between a $20 bottle of whiskey or a $70 whiskey, hell to the nope. The only thing you noticed was if it burned or was smooth or not. You knew that all scotches were whiskeys but not all whiskeys were scotches and that was the extent of your knowledge. Honestly if this glass was full of peach whiskey you’d probably like it better. But you knew how to be a gracious recipient of a gift. And you had your manners to keep.

“Very good.” You praised, pretending you knew what the fuck you were drinking as he took a sip and practically moaned and for some reason, that noise coming from him was making you want to gag and one look at Katie who frowned at him was nearly causing you to burst into laughter. Even she could smell his bullshit, which to you was hilarious and part of the reason you wanted her close. Having someone like a niece or a sister or the best ones - a mother or a grandmother, or someone close to whoever you were paired with tended to keep whoever it was- in line- and would keep them from asking inappropriate questions or delving into inappropriate topics of conversation. It was a strategy you learned to employ often in these circumstances.

“So Greg told me that you’re divorced.” You put to him.

“I am divorced and I have two kids, two boys, Doug Jr. who we just call Jr. and Kent, Jr is 5 and Kent is three.” He answered.

“Aw, they must be adorable, where are they?” You asked.

“They’re with their mom tonight.” He answered.

“Oh, well I would have loved to meet them, I love kids, I also have two of my own, Xander and Skylar, but they’re a bit older, Xander is 9 and Skylar is 7.” You answered before you pulled out your phone and showed him as he showed you his kids.

“And Greg said you have joint custody of your boys?” You asked.

“Yup, they get to spend the week with their mom and the weekend with me.” He answered. “And their mother is about to remarry so the bitch won’t bleed me dry with alimony and child support for too much longer now.” He groused and you took a measured deep breath in to keep your face neutral as you heard Summer murmur into her drink. ‘Lucky woman’ and somehow you got the distinct impression that his ex-wife was lucky to have divorced him and to have gotten alimony and child support and just seeing Doug and after knowing him for a whole 2 seconds- you could agree with that sentiment. You could just sense that he was a narcissistic asshole. And your late husband had been one of those and there was no way in hell you were ever doing that again.

“But I understand you don’t have that problem because you’re a widow. Obviously a young one.” He returned as you could tell he was trying to age you.

“Yup, that’s true, my late husband Andrew was in an accident at work about two years ago, but I’m not that young. I’m 35.” You answered and he paused. Greg had told him early thirties, you were mid thirties. You looked great for mid thirties but that was practically middle aged and you only had what- another 5 years of child bearing age left in you? Not that long. But you were supposed to be a rich widow who worked in some kind of spa and had married into a rich family and drop dead gorgeous, he could work with that.

“Wow you really good for your thirties. How long have you been dating since then?” He asked.

“I haven’t really been dating much or for very long, just in the last couple of months actually. I wanted to give myself and the rest of my family time to grieve properly and not rush into anything that not only I wasn’t ready for but that my kids weren’t ready for and it wasn’t until a couple of months ago that they let me know that they were ok with me trying to date again because they are the most important people in my life and I’m really picky about who I let around my kids too. So I can understand why you didn’t want to bring your kids to meet me.” You answered as Greg was kicking himself for not bringing his kids because obviously you connected to kids and if his kids would behave long enough and well enough you could have bonded to his kids and made him a shoe in and this could have been a done deal already.

“So, Greg told me that you work in the fishing industry.” You prompted him.

“I do, I’m a sales executive for First Star, which ships all kinds of seafood all over the world.” He answered proudly. “And the pay is really good and there’s always sales incentives and I get bonuses often.” He grinned smugly as he fingered his heavy gold chain necklace around his neck and he put on way too much cologne. It was almost burning your nose and making your eyes water a little.

“Wow, do you have a business card?” You nodded, pretending to be impressed before he very proudly pulled out his wallet and you could see from his billfold that he must have had at least a thousand dollars on him. He was flexing for your benefit and judging by his gold rings and gold banded tusks and just the general decked out nature of his attire. He was definitely showing off for you as he handed you a brand new business card. It was fancy but...not as fancy or as nice as yours.

“Very nice. Remind me to call you before I leave so I can buy a case or two of crab and ship it home and have my mom put it in my deep freeze freezer.” You urged him.

“Oh, you won’t have to buy them, I’ll happily gift you whatever you want.” He generously offered.

“Aw, that’s very generous of you. Thank you.” You thanked him even though the way he said that you were pretty sure he had another "payment" in mind but this was polite company and Katie was right next to you and you didn't want to expose her to what you assumed was that particular side of her uncle just yet but if he exposed himself that was on him.

“So being a sales rep does your income base itself on how good the fishermen’s catches are or is it pretty stable, like no matter what they catch, you’re bringing home a salary?” You questioned thoughtfully.

“Oh it’s a salaried position and it’s all year long, unlike the fisherman who only run on the boats for a fishing season, like the different kinds of crab have their seasons and the different kinds of seafood all have their own seasons.” He answered. “Or even the pilots who only fly during the spring summer and fall, which is only like a three month window up here and have to live off of that all year long.” He answered as he cast a look past you to see Noah who was pretending to enjoy his own beer instead of eavesdropping.

Oh this son of a bitch had to go for the low blow of putting others down to build himself up. Ok. Honestly you were grateful he was telling on himself like that.

“So are we ready to order?” The waitress asked as she came over, after having gotten Noah’s order already and you were following along with the menu and you already decided that you wanted the same thing because it sounded amazing.

“Yes can I have the King’s platter?” Doug ordered.

“It’s a huge platter, we could share it.” Doug offered to you.

“Oh, no thanks, can I just get the fisherman’s special with the seafood stew?” You requested sweetly.

“Sure thing.” She nodded as she wrote that down and continued to get everyone’s meal.

“So I understand you’re a masseuse?” He asked excitedly once the waitress left.

“No. I’m a licensed massage therapist, LMT for short.” You gently corrected.

“What’s the difference?” He frowned.

“A masseuse uses “massage” as their cover for being a prostitute, which honestly if you’re going to be in the oldest profession, just be honest about it and don’t call it massage. Which, again, if you chose to do that, I don’t judge, I have strippers as clients because they take self care to a whole new level and everything they get from me is a tax write off for them so it’s a win win. However, a licensed massage therapist actually went to massage school and has a license to practice massage just like a doctor has a license to practice medicine and we are held accountable to a board or in my case- to the state medical board just like any other nurse and doctor and an LMT never gives happy endings or has sex with clients in any way shape or form.” You answered with a proud smile.

“Oh,” Doug nodded and even you could see he was trying to hide his disappointment.

“So, are you able to make any kind of real money off of massage or is this just a hobby for you?” He asked and you were ready to dump this overpriced whiskey in his face, but that would be alcohol abuse and an insult to the whiskey itself.

“Well massage has been a passion of mine since I was a kid, so you could call it a hobby that turned into a career. But I’m more interested in what constitutes as “real money” in your opinion.” You posed curiously.

“Anything more than forty or fifty thousand a year.” He patronized.

“I take it you make more than 50 thousand a year then.” You deduced as you overheard Noah whisper to his mother. ‘I barely make ‘real money’ then.’

“Oh I make a few times that. I make about two hundred thousand a year.” He bragged.

“Yeah I can see you’re wearing most of it.” You appraised and Noah snorted his beer and nearly choked on it trying to cover up his laugh because your unimpressed tone was giving him life as you heard a hissed ‘yes’ from Noah.

“You’re one of the lucky ones then. I make about the same. A little over 200 thousand a year actually.” You answered evenly like it was no big deal.

“What? H-how?” Doug frowned in shock.

“Well I have four businesses, all four of them are solely in my name and I own all four outright and none of them have any debt while each of them have their own assets, so my massage business which makes me about a hundred- to a hundred and twenty five thousand dollars a year, my esthetician business which makes me another fifty to sixty thousand dollars a year and then the sales of my massage products, essential oils and esthetician products, skin care line, makeup, all that goods stuff to round it out with another thirty five to fifty thousand dollars a year and the fourth business is the shareholder for all three businesses and I only have to work about thirty to thirty five hours a week in total to do it too and I only work about 9 to 10 months a year.” You beamed proudly as Doug’s eyebrows practically went up into his hairline as you heard Noah murmur a ‘damn’ which you imagined was muffled because he must have said it into his fist behind you.

“W-why?” Doug stuttered as he struggled to wrap his head around all that.

“Well, when my husband was alive, he made about a hundred and twenty five thousand dollars a year and when he died, I turned all four of those businesses which at the time were the side businesses I had to earn my own spending money into my full time career to replace his income when he died because you see I specialize in…” You began as you brought out your business card and listed everything off from the back and added to the additional certifications that weren’t on the card.

“Not bad for a “hobby” huh?” You asked with a smug grin as you heard Noah practically whistle lowly behind you and clap ever so softly and you would have given anything for a mirror to see his face, hoping he was at least impressed.

“Uh, nope, not bad at all.” Doug had to admit.

“So if you got remarried and the man you married could provide you with his income that would either equal or surpass your own would you still continue to work or would you scale back? Retire?” Doug asked thoughtfully.

“It depends.” You answered simply.

“On?” Doug prodded.

“It would depend on the circumstances and the person.” You specified.

“Such as?”

“Well, I’ve been very lucky in that I have the four thriving businesses and because I have a very good and very expansive client base where I live and I fill a niche that very few others can fill in my area and because I live just 20 to 30 minutes outside of few major cities because I’m centrally located in the country in between all of them and I work out of my own private space at my home and the home I work out of is my dream home, it’s a home that my late husband and myself designed together and it’s awesome and the only way I’m moving is if I find a home that’s even better than the one I have and that criteria is pretty extensive plus I’m very well supported and well known and have a reputation that I regularly bank on every year and speaking of support, I have my parents who live right next door and my in-laws live only 15 minutes away and all of them are very involved in my children’s lives. So honestly, I’m not gonna move unless I find circumstances even better than the ones I already have and the person I would be moving for can give me things that I don’t already have which is basically at this point- unconditional love, respect, recognition, dignity, sympathy, empathy, kindness, understanding and freedom to keep my independence that I already have so that if I so choose I could basically start my businesses over again in a new area.” You specified.

“So...what is your criteria for a potential mate?” Doug asked, hoping that you would list off things that he could try to shoot for.

“Well, whoever I choose to marry- he can’t drink to excess, he can’t do drugs, he can’t have a bad temper, he can not yell or scream at me or my children, he can’t be abusive in any way shape or form or I will kick him to the curb faster than lightning strikes but he doesn’t have to make as much as I do or make more than me or whatever. If he had a job that he was passionate about and he loved it as much as breathing which, for me, that’s what my career represents to me, I do what I do because I love it, it’s what I was put on this planet to do and I’m really good at it and to a degree, it’s a skill I can practice anywhere as long as I have a pool of clientele to pull from so there’s some flexibility there.” You mused and you saw Doug nod along with your train of thought so at least it was making sense to him.

“But for me to give it all up for someone and be absolutely dependent on my partner for everything- probably isn’t going to happen because there is inherently a power dynamic that I’ve been on the losing side of in my past marriage. Because my husband had a great job with fantastic health insurance and other benefits and shouldered all the financial responsibility of the family which had its perks because that freed up my time to pursue what I wanted to and he could afford to send me to school to get all these licenses and certifications. But because he made all the money, he felt he had the right to demand whatever he wanted in return and he had a say so on how I spent the money he gave me to care for- as he put it- “his house” and “his vehicles” and such because he’s the one that paid for it all and he was a controlling narcissist. Now, was he all bad? No, he was a fantastic father and he was decent enough as a husband in that he didn’t beat me, didn’t drink to excess, didn’t smoke, didn’t gamble, didn’t do drugs, didn’t cheat on me and didn’t scream at me or cuss me out in front of the kids but I couldn’t get a credit card in my name without him knowing and he tracked me on my phone everywhere I went and if I wanted anything “extra” I had to “earn it”, like a child earns extra screen time for doing their chores kind of thing. It was all about a power dynamic and if I didn’t support him in everything he said, he got after me for not being “a good submissive wife” or “a team player”. And after 13 years of that, I’m done. I’ve had more than enough of that and I will be damned if I ever let that happen to me again. I’m not interested in that dynamic at all. No matter what side of it I find myself on.” You specified as Doug just stared at you, a bit guiltily as he was rather speechless and blushing profusely like you had just pulled his pants down and exposed him and you didn’t feel any guilt for it either and the look on Katie’s face told you that you hit the nail on the head and were preaching truth and her smile of adoration and awe was priceless.

“I have clients that easily double, triple, quadruple even- my own salary because they’re doctors or surgeons or executives or whatever. But they’re the kind of men who feel emasculated when a woman they’re with earns anything because their income is what they base their own masculinity on which is a very dangerous and stupid thing to do in my opinion. And while these men may be really good at earning an income, that’s all they’re good at. Otherwise they’re shitty husbands and fathers. They feel that because they earn so much money that they don’t have to help out at all around their own homes. Heaven forbid they change poopy diapers, do any dishes or laundry or especially scrub a toilet and if they do any of those things, by the gods they will piss and moan and gripe and complain forever and feel “owed” that they did more than their “share”, which is bullshit. They would rather hire someone else to do any or all of that because they feel that’s beneath them as manly, masculine men and feel that a wife’s only job is to stay in their home, raise their kids and clean their house and look flawless while doing so and feel that the only support they need to give her is financial. Which, in my opinion is complete and utter fucking bullshit.” You explained as you watched Doug’s frown get deeper and deeper the more you talked as you heard Noah hum in agreement to that sentiment.

“So... you’re basically just looking for a Mr. Mom?” Doug asked and you could tell by his tone he was offended and incensed just saying those words.

“To a degree, yes. But what I’m really looking for- is a partner who will view and treat me as an equal instead of a lesser or a supporting cast member while they’re the star of the show. Right now I do everything all by myself because I have to and I will continue to do so for as long as I need to because my children need me to be their everything. If I’m going to enter into any kind of romantic relationship, I would look for someone who’s willing to put in work. Someone who will happily and willingly pick up slack and support me as much as I support them. Someone who will work to gain not just my respect and admiration but my children’s respect and admiration as well and it doesn’t matter how much I like or even love a guy, if my kids are uncomfortable around him or just plain don’t like him. I’m not going to force the relationship onto them. Now there have been a couple of guys who my children really clicked with but I didn’t because they were either immature or had other issues and I’m pretty sure the only reason why my kids liked them is because these guys never told them ‘no’ and bought them whatever they asked for which is no way to raise children. There’s ways of telling them no and explaining your reasons why you’re telling them no without belittling them, hurting their feelings, implying they’re stupid or annoying for asking.” You explained as you heard Noah murmur an ‘Amen’ from behind you and instantly you saw all the hope and lust in Doug’s eyes die because he realized that this wasn’t going to work out for him just as dinner came.

Conversation dissolved into idle chit chat while he practically wolfed his food down as quickly as he could and drank his whiskey and excused himself and quickly paid the waitress for his meal and only his meal and begrudgingly- your wolf eye whiskey too, saying he had work to do at home and you were so grateful when he left and so relieved when you peeked over your shoulder to see Noah still there, finishing up his dinner as Katie got up to go to the bathroom, leaving you alone at the end of the table as Sakura and Summer went to the bathroom too.

“Do you like whiskey?” You asked him hopefully as you leaned backward in your chair towards him.

“Yeah,” he confirmed.

“You ok drinking after me?” You put to him.

“Yup.” He nodded before you took your glass of Wolf Eye and put in on his table.

“The whiskey’s good, I just can’t enjoy it knowing a pretentious asshole bought it for me, but I don’t think you’ll have that issue enjoying it yourself. Enjoy.” You beamed at him which got him to laugh.

“Cheers.” He offered before you got your own drink and clinked it with his.

“Cheers.” You mirrored. Even though dinner didn’t go as planned, you got to share a drink with Noah and that was more than you hoped for before Sakura and Summer came back.

“Nana, I forgot my bow.” Sakura realized as she reached up to find that the bow she had been wearing in her hair was gone.

“I can go back to the bathroom and help you look for it.” You happily offered before she took your hand and led you back to the bathroom as you grabbed your purse too.

“Are you going to date Mr. Kizzo?” She asked you as you went into each stall, looking for her bow.

“No, absolutely not, he is not the man for me.” You shook your head adamantly.

“Oh good, his boys are mean.” She pouted.

“Have they been mean to you?” You asked as your protective urges surged again.

“They play really rough and they knocked me down and they didn’t even say sorry!” She complained and you gasped in horror.

“No! How rude! Well if we ever go anywhere together and they’re there, point them out to me and I’ll protect you.” You insisted before you found her bow sitting on top of the toilet paper dispenser in the last stall before you quickly sprayed some sanitizer on it before you had her take a seat in one of the chairs in the bathroom so you could brush her hair and get it looking gorgeous again because you kept a little brush in your purse.

“My Daddy likes you.” She blurted as you brushed her hair out.

“Aw, I like your Daddy too, he’s a really good guy, he’s sweet and caring and protective and I can tell he loves you a lot and he works really hard to take care of you.” You praised as you smiled happily at her in the mirror.

“He cries a lot.” She revealed.

“Well I cry a lot too,” you nodded.

“He cries because he misses my mama,” she added.

“Well, I can understand that because your Daddy and I both lost our marriage mates and we miss them sometimes and the happier we were with them and the more we loved them, the more we miss them and the more it hurts to lose them. Do you cry a lot too because you miss your mama?” You asked gently as she nodded.

“I’m so sorry you lost your mama sweetie, I can’t imagine how much that must hurt.” You sympathized with her before she got out of the chair and reached her arms up before you readily picked her up and held her tight as she started crying before you took the seat in the chair and just held her as she cried on your shoulder and you just held her and rocked her gently and comforted her before Nana came into the bathroom.

“What happened?” Nana asked.

“I was brushing her hair and she told me her daddy cries because he misses her mama and I completely sympathize.” You told her as you did your best to keep your composure but you were failing spectacularly because you were an empath, her pain felt like your own as Summer pulled up another chair from the nursing mother’s area as she shot Noah a quick text just as Taylor came in looking for you and seeing how Sakura was crying in your arms, she instantly knew what was going on.

“Noah and Anarra, or ‘Neena’ as she was better known as- were basically Frozen Tundra’s sweethearts. Neena still is greatly missed, she took care of a lot of the older ones whose kids have moved away or are on the coast making their money on the fishing vessels and when she got sick, everyone rallied around her but...by the time she started showing signs she was sick- it was too late. None of us have been the same since she passed away. Noah puts on a pretty strong face but he’s probably the most fragile.” Nana revealed as you nodded in understanding as Taylor nodded along too.

Taylor had told you about “Neena” because Taylor and Neena were best friends and you didn’t put it together until just now that Anarra and Neena were one and the same which would explain why you and her had gotten so close so quickly because you had bonded over your losses as Sakura’s cries turned into whimpers and sniffles as you just held her and pet her head and her hair and held her and rocked her as she curled up in your lap and happily soaked up all your affections as you kissed the crown of her head affectionately as she clung to you as Nana and Taylor filled you in on the situation.

“Neena had brain cancer. One day she was fine, the next, she had such strange symptoms and doctors around here are rare and expensive and by the time we found it, it was too late, there wasn’t anything we could do. She barely had enough time to make some videos for Sakura. She died holding her.” Taylor said as she nodded towards Sakura in your arms as you wrapped your arms tighter around Sakura as your heart effectively broke in your chest.

“Her last words were how much she loved her and Noah.” Nena added as you passed around your thing of tissues because you were crying your makeup off.

“My husband’s last words to me were a ‘honey do’ list, which was- ‘do the dishes, do the laundry, clean the bathroom and to brush my damn cats’ who he hated and I’m so grateful they outlived him, I know that sounds awful but they love me more than he ever did and he wasn’t dead a week before I went to the local shelter and adopted a dog for each member of my family and another cat so that there’s three cats and three dogs and we were renting from his parents at the time and before it was only because I bore them their only grandchildren that I got the ‘privilege’ of having the two cats before. And they didn’t dare argue with a new angry widow about ‘protection’ dogs for their only grandkids and didn’t want me moving away into a new place just to get them animals while we waited for our house to be built.” You revealed.

“Did he at least have life insurance?” Nana asked which made you nod emphatically.

“Yeah Andy wasn’t an idiot or heartless, he had a life insurance policy through work and a private one as well and because it was an accidental death at work, it paid out even more and his parents had a life insurance policy on him too that they handed over to me because they had the good sense to have life insurance policies on me and him so that if anything ever happened to the both of us, they could raise our kids comfortably and at the time, I was working for another outfit and even I had my own life insurance policy on him so we’re all set, the house is paid off, all debt is paid off, all the vehicles are paid off, I own everything outright. Other than utilities and of course food and insurance, which I can easily take care of myself, we’re ok.” You answered.

“Did Neena have any kind of life insurance?” You asked and Taylor and Nana both shook their heads no.

“No, Noah barely had enough money at the time to cover the funeral. When she died in the fall, at least he didn’t have to work and could stay home with Sakura and he already knew how to take care of himself and her because Neena was always caring for others, which he was very proud of her for doing and he supported that. He was always helping her to help others because so many ice orc men have moved away chasing “better lives” anywhere other than here and ice orc women are left to either do the same or stay behind and have to deal with the others who come up here, either looking for gold or fish or lumber or other resources and it used to be every summer solstice that all the tribes would get together and alliances were maintained and marriages made but all the young people are rejecting those practices because they feel they don’t have a place in the modern world. Our ways are dying, our languages are dying and Neena was one of the few women who embraced the old ways and was teaching all the kids the native languages. And when she died, a lot of the same older ones reached out to Noah and helped him with what they could and unfortunately after Neena died, some of the older ones she took care of followed, but they left Sakura everything because Neena was like a daughter to them and because she took care of them, all they could do is leave her what they could leave behind and when Neena died, that left Sakura as heir in her mother’s place, but she’s a child. She’s had so many men come back to claim what they felt was their birthright, which is mostly land at this point but thankfully the courts upheld Sakura’s rights as heir since their parent’s had the good sense to get it writing with the local lawyer who fights for the clan’s rights.” Nana explained.

“That’s...that’s a coincidence, I know exactly how that feels.” You nodded.

“How?” Nana asked as she tilted her head.

“When Andy died, I was really close to several older clients as well, I got to work on them when they were at retirement age and came into my work and when their health declined, I stayed with them because they were close friends and I wanted their last moments to be in peace and as pain free as possible. They didn’t have any family to take care of them either and I endeared myself to them enough so that when I lost Andy, they all individually entailed everything they had to me too because I was their favorite person and they wanted to make sure I wouldn’t financially suffer because of my husband dying. Within six months of losing Andy, I lost almost all of them within a span of only three months. So the nine months that followed Andy’s death were just...the worst. But then to meet with dozens of lawyers and get check after check, after check, and deeds and titles and property and vehicles, I was so...numb. It didn’t mean anything to me, but man did I sure learn a lot very quickly about how to handle my newfound fortune. But the worst of it was the vultures circling because it felt like the minute I inherited all that money and property myself, suddenly every vulture of a guy somehow found me and circled me like wolves. Cause I was this “hot young desperate lonely widow” who didn’t know how to handle that much fortune and here were all these ‘knights in shining armor’ coming to “help me out” and “be there for me”. It was ridiculous, as if I couldn’t see right through them and what made it even worse was the way Andy died at work, it was a freak accident that killed not just him but five others. So the company he worked for sued the company who built the crystal grower because this was a known and very well documented issue. And the company used my picture because I was ‘the prettiest of the widows’ in the news and in the courts and they won and I got the lion’s share of the settlement because I was the one who was the public face of it and because I was the public face of it, I had organization after organization reach out to me to try to help me out too and by that point I had 5 very good lawyers and a private investigator in my pocket who were more than eager to be at my disposal. So I know exactly what it’s like to be an unwitting heiress. It’s really, really hard, thank the gods my in-laws are so great with money because they’ve been helping me structure it and organize it and keep it all and make it work for me.” You revealed lowly.

“Could you teach Noah and Sakura any of those lessons?” Nana asked hopefully.

“I would be more than happy to, I feel I need to at this point.” You admitted.

“Because no one else around here knows what to do or how to help. Even now Noah’s dad Ukluk works as guide at Gold Horn and pilots his own bush plane for the hunters but it doesn’t pay as well as others, Noah’s brother Nago works for the postal service but he and his family are in June Neau. And now even Neena’s parents are no spring chickens. I know they would really appreciate it if they knew you could protect Sakura and Noah with what you know.” Nana insisted.

“Consider it done,” you agreed.

“So are you ever gonna get married again?” Sakura finally spoke up.

“I would like to.” You answered honestly.

“What are you looking for?” She asked.

“I just want to be with someone who makes me happy and loves me for me and loves my kids as their own too who won’t hurt us but will protect us.” You answered.

“What if they already have kids?” She asked.

“Then I would hope that their kids would like me too, I do love being a mom, it’s the best job on the planet in my opinion and if those kids would let me love them as much as I love my own- even better and if my kids and those kids could get along, oh man, I’d be so so so happy. You see it doesn’t matter he’s rich or poor or whatever, money doesn’t matter to me. Who and what kind of person they are and how they treat others- that’s all that matters to me.”

“And if they happen to be well endowed enough so that when...” Taylor double clicked her teeth. “Happens, you can’t walk straight after...” She hinted which made Nana raspberry her laugh.

“That’s a bonus.” You readily agreed which made you start to laugh through your tears which made them do the same.

“Well Noah’s you know,” Taylor implied as she clicked her teeth and winked which got you and Nana to start busting out laughing.

“He’s what aunt Tay-tay?” Sakura asked as she turned to look at Taylor.

“Handsome, he’s very handsome.” You quickly supplied which earned you a solemn nod and an appreciate grin from Nana.

“Ok, no more tears, let’s get cleaned up.” Nana insisted which prompted you to gently get Sakura off your lap so you could rinse the rest of your makeup off in the sink before all four of you left the bathroom to see Noah looking particularly worried.

“Everything ok Pumpkin?” He asked his daughter.

“Yup, we were telling Paradise about Mama.” Sakura told him. Every trace of sadness now gone as a happy smile plastered itself on her face.

“And she brushed my hair and braided my hair and held me and comforted me and everything, can she come over to our house to watch me?” She asked.

“If she wants to.” Noah answered.

“I would love to, just give me the address, I’ll be there any day you need me there, free of charge.” You immediately offered.

“Work an extra long day tomorrow Daddy, I want to watch my movies with her.” Sakura insisted which got Nana to snicker a laugh.

“Uh,” Noah stuttered.

“I can do tomorrow.” You immediately agreed.

“You could have Taylor and her kids come too, because usually Taylor watches her on Tuesdays.” Nana added.

“We’d love to.” Taylor immediately agreed as well.

“So it’s a date. What time should I be over?”

“He leaves early, like six in the morning.” Nana informed you.

“Won’t be a problem. I’ll be there at like 5:30 then.” You insisted.

“I won’t be there that early, I’m going to sleep in until a decent hour and come by later but we’ll drive by and show you where Noah lives and you could walk there if you wanted to because he’s like a ten minute walk away, five if you run because normally, she spends the night so that I don’t have to get up that early.” Taylor added.

“But my body is still on Great Lakes Time Zone so 5:30 am here is only 8:30 am to me which is a normal time for me to wake up. So it’s not a problem at all.” You reassured Nana and Noah.

“Ok, thank you, very much.” Noah nodded as he avoided Nana’s smug grin that screamed ‘I told you so’.

“Well good night then, sweet dreams guys, I’ll see you in the morning.” You offered as Taylor tugged on your arm as Katie peeked her head back into the restaurant and gestured for you and her mom to hurry up.

“What about my bill?” You asked her.

“He got it.” Taylor answered as he gestured to Noah.

“Aw, thank you for dinner!” You thanked him as she had to take your hand and pull you out of the restaurant.

“I really love Paradise.” Sakura said dreamily as she watched you go.

“Well she is lovely.” Noah admitted as he got his box of leftovers and got out of the booth.

“She likes you back, she told me so.” Sakura informed her Dad as she took his hand in one of hers and continued to hold your business card like a beloved photograph.

“Oh yeah?” Noah returned, pleasantly surprised to hear that.

“And she’s an heiress like me and she promised that she would teach me what she knows about it.” Sakura revealed.

“Really?” Noah turned to look at his mom to either confirm or deny that.

“Oh yeah, she knows how to deal with not just foxes but wolves and vultures too. The gods sent us the perfect person to help. And I have a feeling she won’t leave until everything is well taken care of and we will be hearing from her and seeing her very often from now on.” Nana predicted.

“How?” Noah asked.

“Just wait and see.” Nana simply grinned.

#modern orc love story #modern orc #Jewel of the North #Jewel of the North Part 2 #ice orcs #jewel orcs #orc #orc love story #orc romance #orc reader insert #Female reader #female reader male monster #orc boyfriend #exophilia #exo #monster boyfriend

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cg29 · 4 years

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4 Very Old But Short fics for the birthday boy himself - Virgil Tracy 💚

Sorry for not adding the Read More option, it doesn’t appear to be working.

***

1: 15th August - From Virgil Drabbles, C1.

I’ve been here before and I always swear, ‘Never Again!’

But then… It’s over and for a few seconds, which always feels longer, I hear nothing. Then the sound I’ve been waiting for… That first cry, followed by:

“Congratulations, it’s a boy!”

The relief washes over me, as I look to my husband. The obvious pride flowing from him as our new baby is placed in my arms, and his soulful eyes lock with mine.

“Do you have a name?” Someone asks.

It’s at that moment I know I’ll be here again.

“Yes,” I nod, “his names Virgil… Virgil Tracy.”

***

2: The Birthday Gift, part 1. Brotherly Love - From The Tracy Family, C4.

‘Mm, 7am.’ Virgil thought to himself as he opened his eyes slightly and glanced at the clock. ‘A couple of more hours will be good.’ To make himself more comfortable, Virgil rolled over in his bed, with his eyes shut, puffing up his pillow as he did so. Letting out a comforting sigh, his eyes flickered open and then shut. ‘Wait, what the…’ Virgil’s eyes shot open again. Okay, his eyes weren’t deceiving him. There was his oldest brother, sat on a chair next to his bed, bouncing up and down, like a nonstop Jack-In-The-Box. “Scott, its 7am.”

“Yes and?” Scott said happily, as he continued to bounce up and down on his chair.

“Scott, what is wrong with you… Or should I really ask, how much candy have you eaten?”

“None, yet… But the day is young!”

“And how many coffees have you had?”

“Only 2. Although I did have 3 energy drinks as well this morning.”

“Yes, I can tell!”

“Well, I needed the energy to keep me going for your big day.”

Seriously Scott, you are like this every year with all of our birthdays and I’m sure you get worse every year.”

“Yes, and?” Scott replied beaming like a Cheshire Cat.

“You do realise I’m 22 and not 10 today.”

“So?”

“Scott, we’re not kids anymore!”

Scott stopped bouncing up and down and surveyed his younger brother. “Yes, you are… You see little bro, in my head all I see is the excited kid who would rush out of bed so that he could open his presents, before shovelling down pancakes for breakfast and then stuffing himself silly later in the day with his birthday cake. I’m afraid Virg, that you are stuck with this for life. Even when we are all grey and old… I’ll be waking you all up early for your birthdays, even if I need to hit you with my walking stick to get you up. Besides, you need to get out of bed because Alan and Tin-Tin get back from their honeymoon later and it would be rude not to be awake and alert for when they arrive. Plus, Kyrano is making all of us pancakes, Grandma is making you a birthday cake, Penny is flying out here as well, then we can all have a big party later tonight and you can open all your presents.”

“Presents?” Virgil asked with a grin.

“Yes, presents… Lots and lots of presents. Of course, my present to you is obviously the best!” Scott started to become excited and began bouncing up and down on his chair.

Virgil lay on his bed and shook his head. “You know who you remind me of when you bounce up and down like that?”

“No, who?” Scott inquired beginning to clap his hands together joyfully as he continued to bounce up and down.

Virgil let out a laugh. “Tigger, from Winnie The Pooh.”

“Who...Hoo…Hoo…Hoo” Scott bellowed out loud at the top of his voice.

“You’re not letting me get back to sleep again, are you?” Virgil asked pulling his big eyes look at Scott.

“Nope! And you should know by now that look doesn’t work on me.”

“Please Scott, just 1 more hour? Then I’ll promise to get up.” Virgil pleaded, pulling his big eyes face again.

Scott stopped bouncing up and down and tilted his head sideways as he looked at his younger brother. “Okay, just 1 hour, and if you’re not up then I’m dragging you out of this bed.”

“Deal.” Virgil answered, relieved that he may finally get some more sleep.

Scott stood up and turned towards the door as Virgil settled himself down in his bed. “Nah, changed my mind.” Scott said as he turned back towards Virgil pulling the blanket of him. Virgil went bright red and made a grab for the blanket pulling it back over himself. “Oh, err… Sorry Virg. Err. Maybe I should have got you some Pyjamas for your birthday instead? Yes, anyways, I’ll be going… and let you get ready… Don’t be too long Virgie…

“Okay Scott, I’m getting up. Now get out.”

“Okay, I’m going.” Scott went towards the door.

“Oh, and Scott…”

“Yes bro?”

“Don’t call me Virgie!”

“Okay, okay,” Scott went to pull the door shut calling out to Virgil as he did, “see you in a bit. Oh, and happy birthday… Virgie!”

***

3: The Birthday Gift, part 2. The Last Gift - From The Tracy Family, C5.

Virgil sat by his piano in a world of his own, playing some new music, he had received for his birthday. Meanwhile, Jeff Tracy stood leaning against the doorway listening to the beautiful melodies that were flowing from his artistic son. “Virg?”

“Virgil glanced up from the piano and smiled at his father. “Oh, hi dad. Sorry I didn’t see you there.”

Jeff walked over to his middle child and sat next to him. “Did you have a good birthday?”

Virgil grinned while he continued to play the piano. “It was fantastic dad, thank you for the party.”

“Anytime son,” Jeff replied, pulling Virgil into a warm embrace.

Virgil returned the hug and then looked at his father. “Is everything okay dad?”

“Yes, it’s fine. I just… I wanted to let you know how proud of I am of you, all that you have achieved and everything I know you will become.”

“Thanks dad,” Virgil replied slightly blushing.

“Plus, I wanted to give you this,” Jeff pulled out a small box and a card from his pocket and handed it over to Virgil.

Virgil took the gift and card from his father and held it in his hands. “Thanks dad.”

“It’s not actually from me,” Jeff looked down, then back up into Virgil’s eyes, “it’s… it’s from your mother.”

“Ah?” Virgil responded looking at the gift in confusion.

Jeff breathed in deeply and continued. “Your mother’s family have always had a tradition… On a child’s first birthday the mother will chose a small gift that can be found within the home that they believe encompasses their child’s personality. They will wrap it and put it away ready for when they turn 22.”

“Oh… Why 22 and not 21?” Virgil asked.

Jeff chuckled to himself. “I remember asking your mother the same question. Apparently, even though 21 is usually seen as someone stepping into adulthood, the family itself felt that 22 was the official age, because when you are 22 then you’ve officially left those childhood years behind and become an adult… Your mother really wanted to continue this tradition and I remember how happy she had been, when it came to her picking out the gift, wrapping it and then writing the accompanying note… A short time after she had passed, I found the gifts for all of you boys packed carefully away. I decided that she would want all of you to receive them as planned… So, I gave Scott and John theirs when they reached 22, and now… Now it’s time for yours.” Virgil glanced thoughtfully at the gift and card in his hands, unsure of what to do. “Do you want me to stay, while you open it?”

Virgil nodded, carefully opened the card and began to read.

… …

My darling Virgil.

So, today is your 22nd birthday, that’s hard for me to imagine right now as I sit here writing this on your 1st birthday and stare over at you fast asleep in your father’s arms.

I know my son, that whatever you do, or whatever you will become, I will always be proud, and both myself and your father will always be there to hold you whenever you need a helping hand.

The gift I have chosen for you encompasses something I have noticed from the beautiful personality that you are starting to develop. Ever since you were born you have been soothed by music, whether that be a record, when I am singing you a lullaby, or when I am practising on my beloved piano. So, that is why I feel that this gift is perfect for you.

Always here, never far.

Your mother. xx

… …

Virgil with tears in his eyes passed the card over to his dad and cautiously began to unwrap the gift, revealing a small black box, which when opened played a gentle lullaby. “A Music Box.” Virgil exclaimed, with tears trickling down his face.

Jeff put his arm around his middle child and held him close. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, thank you dad,” Virgil replied wiping the tears away.

Jeff smiled as he looked at the music box. “I should have known she would have given you that music box. You loved that lullaby when you were a baby.”

Virgil smiled. “So, what did Scott and John get?”

“Well, it seems your mother sussed you all out really well. John was given a golden star that used to hang on the Christmas tree, he had been so fascinated by that star, even though he wasn’t that old on his first Christmas. He was also enamoured with the star mobile we had above his bed, I remember your mother saying he would probably end up in space just like me… And Scott…” Jeff let out a laugh. “Scott was always trying to climb the furniture and jump of it. Whenever he saw a bird or an aeroplane he would go quiet and watch with fascination. Your mother gave him an old air loom of her grandfathers, a small-scale Spitfire… Anyway, everyone is probably gathered in the kitchen waiting for you to cut your cake, are you coming?”

Virgil nodded, carefully picked up his gift and card. Then with his father’s arm placed around him they both left the room.

***

4: Birthday Wish.

Eighteen.

My first without you

Only one month you’d been gone

Our tears were still new.

Yet despite our grief

and my reluctance to celebrate

A party was given

In honour of the date.

Family and close friends

And no rescue calls

A good time was had

By one and all.

Then right at the end

After many speeches filled with praise

A cake was presented

With candles ablaze

Close your eyes they said

And concentrate really hard

Then make a wish

For whatever is in your heart.

So, I closed my eyes

And those candles I blew

I wished for you to return

But it never came true.

…

Nineteen and Twenty

One injured, the other a major rescue call

Yet at the end of each day

I was presented with a birthday ball

After food and drinks

And everyone felt contented

A cake with candles aflame

Was once again presented

Time to make a wish

My family all said

So I hoped and I prayed

And I pictured you in my head

Then, I closed my eyes

And those candles I blew

I wished for you to return

But it never came true.

…

Twenty-One.

Was the biggest of them all

Except by pretending to forget

Their plans went slightly AWOL

A diversion rescue

That was meant to just stall

Swallowed my whole day

And made me miss this year’s ball

The very next day

Although I’d protested

They offered to make it up

And a birthday cake was presented.

I gazed down

Twenty-one candles all gleamed

All awaiting my hopes

And my dreams

So, I closed my eyes

And those candles I blew

I wished for you to return

But it never came true.

… …

Twenty-Two and Twenty-Three

Had candles shining bright

Would these years come true

If I wished with all of my might

So, I closed my eyes

And those candles I blew

I wished for you to return

But it never came true.

… …

Twenty-Four

A trip to our other home

Gran Roca Ranch

Where we had all grown.

A morning with the horses

An afternoon barbecue

The evening watching the sunset

Where my silent thoughts turned to you

Were you still out there

Or were you really gone

Would we ever know

Or was it time we moved on.

Except I couldn’t give in

Not yet, not ever

This year if I wished harder

Maybe my next birthday would be better

So, I closed my eyes

And those candles I blew

I wished for you to return

And on my twenty-fifth birthday it came true.

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