#arrived in my dads house and immediately started fighting with him before even getting my coat off. okay 👎

[awakenedevildays]

「bf!Stiles headcanons」

bf!Stiles that has a picture of you as wallpaper

bf!Stiles that buys you food only to steal half of it after saying he's not hungry

bf!Stiles that claims he's the big spoon, but finds himself every morning with your arms wrapped around him from behind (he claims you force him in that position, but it's actually him that moves in the position in his sleep)

bf!Stiles that doesn't let you copy his homework but helps you with them (you hate it)

bf!Stiles that teases you by calling you his passenger princess... but when you offer to drive he immediately refuses

bf!Stiles that teaches you how to drive (he's actually the perfect teacher cause he never gets mad at you)

bf!Stiles who loves when you scratch the back of his head, he falls asleep almost instantly when you do that

bf!Stiles that promises won't fall asleep when a movie starts, but falls asleep 30 minutes in

bf!Stiles that calls you every night before going to sleep

bf!Stiles that keeps a box of condoms in his jeep (in his defense, it's the only place you two can have privacy)

bf!Stiles that loves to see you getting along with his dad, even if sometimes is to team up against him

bf!Stiles that, when he comes to pick you up for a date or whatever, always knock on your door to greet your parents: he thinks that using the clacson to warn you he arrived is rude and unmanly, lol

bf!Stiles that talks shit about your ex boyfriends with your dad, your dad ADORES Stiles, he thinks Stiles is the perfect guy for you and, when you told him what your father said, he almost teared up

bf!Stiles that has a pink bathrobe reserved for you in his house that he washes weekly

bf!Stiles that keeps all the hygiene products you usually use in his room in case you need them

bf!Stiles that talks your ear off about any supernatural case but never lets you help him them, he doesn't want you involved with dangerous things and this causes many fights between you two

bf!Stiles that hates when you're mad at him and never lets you ignore him after a fight: he will still drive you back home after school and will still call you before going to sleep, even if the calls or the car are filled with embarrassing or angry silences

bf!Stiles that doesn't know how to cook a single thing but still tries his best to cook something at least remotely eatable for your anniversary

bf!Stiles that blushes every time you compliment him because he's not used to being called 'handsome' or 'pretty' (once you called him 'my pretty boy' to tease him and he stuttered for the next 2 minutes)

[muirneach]

i can tell it will be a rough week at chez muirneach so all i can say is SAVE ME MONTE CARLO MASTERS SAVE MEEEEE

[coquitokisses]

Back Together | Bucky Barnes

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x female reader, (husband!Bucky Barnes x wife!reader, dad!Bucky Barnes x mom!reader)

Word count: 2.4k

Warnings/Tags: Bucky being dad and hubby material, fluff, angst maybe?

Summary: Bucky and reader are married and have two girls, but because of Bucky’s work, reader decides to “break up” and have been separated for a few months. (Let’s say that this “job” was when the whole thing with John Walker happened in TFATWS, idfk lol)

A/N: so I’m currently writing a fanfic (on wattpad) and I had this idea, but I’m not there on the fanfic just yet lol so I decided to just post it here (also, my first language isn’t english so if there are any errors or mistakes, I’m sorry lmao)

The girls are like 4 and 5 years old and those aren’t the names I have planned on using for the fanfic, but it’ll do for now.. and Steve is alive and well lol (he doesn’t make an appearance, but I do mention him, like I said, this idea came as I was writing a fanfic so what I did was try and edit it a little bit so yall don’t need context and shit lol just enjoy okay?)

A/N #2: this is my first time doing this so just bare with me please lmao

It’s almost 10 pm which means Bucky must be on his way to bring the girls back after having them for the weekend. You were away in Seattle the whole weekend for work, but anyways it was Bucky’s turn to stay with the kids. They were supposed to stay with Wanda tonight, but since you arrived earlier than anticipated, you told her that Bucky was gonna bring them over.

You’re not on the best terms. Actually, you’re broken up at the moment and have been like that for like three months now. It all started because of Bucky’s “job”. You always said that he wasn’t being careful with the things he did and you didn’t like the constant worrying about him every time he went out to do his things. He didn’t really see it that way which made you get into a really bad fight and you decided to break up because he wasn’t putting his safety, or his family, as a priority and you didn’t like that.

Which was kinda true. So you’re currently not living together. Bucky has been staying with Steve, or with Sam whenever he comes to New York. The girls usually stay with you and then Bucky takes them on the weekends, but whenever you can’t take them to school (or get them on time) or something on week days, then Bucky takes them without a problem.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to pick them up for you?” Wanda asked while on FaceTime with you

“It’s alright, red, don’t worry.” You replied “Besides, Bucky’s probably on his way anyway.”

“Still haven’t talked?”

“Well we talk, just not about us.” You said walking out of the kitchen

“And are you guys still, like, mad or..?”

“I don’t know.” You let out a sigh

“Steve told you he got out.”

“I know.”

“So?”

“I just.. I don’t know, I haven’t talked to him about it.”

“Well I think you need to.” She said “Just have a little chat and see where things are at.. you guys still love each other.”

And you did. Of course you did. And the girls want you to get back together too. But you just haven’t talked about it again.

“I don’t know, I’ll think about it.” You replied and just as you said that, you saw the car lights through the window “He’s here, I gotta go.”

“Call me if you need anything.”

“I will, love you.”

“Love you more.”

You hung up the call and left the phone on the couch before heading to the door. You opened it and saw Bucky walking over to the house holding Olivia, your youngest, in his arms and Eloise was walking right next to him. And the three of them just looked tired as hell.

“Hi mommy.” Eloise ran over to you

“Hi, pretty girl.” You immediately hugged her

“Say hi to mama, Liv.” Bucky said as he got closer

“Hi mama.” Olivia opened her arms wanting you to pick her up so you did

“Hi, my angel.” You kissed her cheek

“Sorry to bring them so late, we just got out of the cinema.” Bucky said

“Buck, it’s fine, they don’t even go to school yet.” You told him “Did you guys have fun?” You asked the girls

“So much fun!” Eloise replied excitedly “We also went to the trampoline park earlier.”

“Oh well that explains why someone’s a little more tired than others.” You looked at Olivia and she rested her head on your shoulder

“Mommy, can daddy tuck us in tonight, please?” Eloise asked

“Baby, I’m sure mommy had a really long and tired flight and she just wants to sleep.” Bucky told her

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” You said “Daddy will tuck you in, sweetheart.” You tucked a few strands of Eloise’s hair behind her ear

“Daddy, come on.” She grabbed Bucky’s hand

You all went inside and you gave the girls a quick shower before Bucky helped them get in their pjs.

“Mommy, are we staying with auntie Wanda tomorrow?” Eloise asked as she got on her bed

“Yes, baby, I need to go to work.” You replied

“Can’t we stay with daddy?”

“Daddy works too, honey.” You moved her hair out of her face “I thought you liked staying with auntie Wanda.”

“We do, but we wanted to stay with daddy again.” Olivia spoke

“Well I can pick you up at auntie Wanda’s house when I get out of work, how does that sound?” Bucky told them

“And we can get dippin dots too?” Olivia looked at him with puppy eyes

“We can get whatever you girls want.” He said squishing her cheeks making her giggle

You couldn’t help but smile a little. You loved watching Bucky with the girls, he really is an amazing father and they love him like crazy.

“Alright it’s getting super late, time to sleep.” You said to them

“But mom!” Eloise pouted

“No buts, listen to your mom.” Bucky said “Come on, get in bed both of you.”

Each of the girls got in their beds and Bucky went and tucked them both. They have their own separate rooms, but they’re pretty close and they’ve always wanted to sleep in the same room so when the time came and you bought Olivia her big girl bed, Bucky just placed it in Eloise’s room. Anyways, when the time comes when they get to the point where they don’t even want to look at each other, you’ll probably make Bucky move Olivia’s bed back to her room and problem solved. But for now, they absolutely love being in the same room.

“I love you.” Bucky kissed Olivia’s forehead “And I love you.” He then kissed Eloise’s “So so much.”

“We love you too, daddy.” They said

“Now get some sleep because auntie Wanda is coming early tomorrow to pick you up before I leave.” You leaned down to kiss each of them on their heads “I love you both so insanely much.”

“Love you too, mommy.”

“Now go to sleep or I’ll call the slender man.” Bucky said as he turned off the light

He quickly closed the door once you got out of the room and the girls let out a scream that made you both laugh.

“You’re evil.” You chuckled “Creating them traumas so young.”

“It gives them strength.”

You rolled your eyes laughing. “Of course.”

You both went downstairs and then Bucky went back to the car to bring back Olivia’s shoes and a few toys that the girls left in the car. While you put them on the dining table, Bucky was just telling you what they did and how the girls were on the weekend.

“Liv didn’t even asked for my help to wipe her after using the bathroom.”

“No?!” You looked at him kinda shocked

Potty training Eloise was way easier than training Olivia. First she was afraid of the toilet being flushed, then she was afraid that something would come out and bite her, then she didn’t want to stay alone while using the toilet. It’s been a rollercoaster for all of you.

“No, she did it all by herself.”

“Oh my god, really? I’m gonna cry.” You said with a hand on your chest

“She said she’s a big girl and big girls don’t need any help to go potty.”

“She is a big girl.” You said “Fuck, they’re both getting so big.”

“They are.” He nodded “How was Seattle?”

“Fucking amazing.” You said excited “It’s so pretty.”

“And how did it went? Are they planning on transferring you?”

“Hell no, I told Nick I’m not leaving New York.” You replied “If we were still living in the compound, then this would’ve been a whole different conversation, but we’re not and we have kids now so no, I’m not leaving even if they pay me more.”

“Well if they are paying you more then..” he raised his eyebrows

You laughed. “You know what I mean, idiot.” You rolled your eyes “But no, I’m not being transferred.”

“Then why did you go?”

“Nick said that they needed someone like me for some training.” You answered “It was great, I got to teach a few people about self defense, how exciting.”

“I’m glad.” He said with a small smile

He was genuinely happy for you. He knew how much you’ve missed working like that. Being an agent, a spy, you missed it. But at the same time, it wasn’t really in your plans anymore ever since you got pregnant with Eloise. It happened during the blip as well so you weren’t exactly working as an agent or spy anymore so you just decided to leave it behind for good. Until recently.

“You know, if it’s really what you want, then go for it.” He told you “The girls aren’t stopping you and neither am I.”

“I know, but it’s just that I feel like I’m on a different stage in life now.” You said “It felt fucking amazing, don’t get me wrong.”

“Then do it, talk with Nick and tell him to put you out there, that’s what you want.”

“I don’t know.” You let out a sigh

“We’re not going anywhere, you know that, right?” He said and you looked at him “And how cool would it be for the girls to say that their mommy is a spy?”

You laughed. “They will brag about it for sure.”

“And the best part is that you’re great at it and always have been.”

“I don’t know, I’ll think about it.” You shrugged looking at the time on the stove “It’s getting very late.” You looked at him

“Ouch okay, I’m leaving.”

“Oh my god.” You rolled your eyes

“Are we gonna keep this up?” He looked at you

“What?”

“This nonsense.” He motioned his hand between the two of you

“This nonsense?” You arched an eyebrow “Do I need to remind you whose fault is it that we’re on this position right now?”

“It could’ve gone so much better, but little miss I’m extremely petty over here, doesn’t like to listen to people and doesn’t care about anything other than her opinion.” He said

“Oh don’t make me mad, James.” You crossed your arms

“It’s the truth and you know it.”

“I think you can go now.” You said turning around and starting to walk away

“See what I mean?” You heard him say from behind “Can’t we just talk about it like normal people?” He asked following you

“I don’t think there’s anything to talk about.” You said turning around to look at him

“Well I think it is.”

“Bucky..”

“Y/N, come on.” He sighed “It’s been three months, are you gonna keep pushing me away?”

And he’s right, you’ve been kinda pushing him away. To be honest, the whole thing could’ve been avoided if Bucky and you came to an agreement, but you never did. You were upset that he was going away with Sam to do all these things that you weren’t okay with and you were thinking about the kids, which, at the moment, he wasn’t doing and that pissed you off. That was the whole thing. He didn’t want to empathize with the way you were viewing the whole situation and he was kinda making you look crazy. Saying things like “it’s not a big deal” or “everything will be alright, you don’t need to freak out”.

How does he expect you to not freak out when he doesn’t care about doing all this dangerous things? Was he insane?

In other circumstances, if you didn’t have kids for example, maybe you would’ve been a little bit more okay with it, maybe. But it’s a whole different scenario now.

And you were kinda pushing him away, sort of. But it wasn’t intentional, it’s just that you were kinda petty and there were times where he wanted to kinda fix things, but you wouldn’t let him because you would find a way to push him away unconsciously.

“You made me feel like I was exaggerating when I clearly wasn’t.” You said

“Because at the moment I did feel that way and I didn’t want to view the situation the way you were.” He explained “And I know I was wrong for that and I’m sorry.”

You let out a sigh. “You still went.”

“I know, I’m sorry, I should’ve stayed here with you, I regretted it the moment I left with Sam.” He said “And I came back as soon as I could.”

“And you stayed with Steve.” You rolled your eyes

“Baby, you wanted to kill me, do you really think I was just gonna come and ask you to take me back after that shit? Like you were just gonna accept me.”

“… Well, you’re kinda right.”

“I know, Steve told me you were pissed and that you wanted to punch me.”

“I did tell him that.” You nodded

“I’m sorry, I really am.”

“It’s fine, just forget it, I’m sick of the topic anyway.” You replied leaning on the back of the couch

“But are we fine?” He asked

“I don’t know, are we?”

“Well I’d say we are, kinda.” He got closer to you “You want me to do anything?”

“You could start by fixing the damn back door.”

“Again? But I just fixed it a few months ago.”

“Well I think you did it wrong because the doorknob is broken again.”

“I need to change that fucking door already.” He rolled his eyes “Anything else? Are you still mad at me?”

“A little.” You replied

“Just a little?” He moved his hands to your hips “I can help you change your mind.”

“Easy there, soldier.”

“Easy my ass, come here.”

Before you could even protest, his real hand grabbed your neck and he pulled you in for a kiss that screamed need. You really missed his kisses and just the way he would always give you a peck, whenever and wherever, whatever you were doing, he didn’t give a single care in the world. This man could see you sitting on the toilet and he still would go and give you a quick kiss.

“God, I’ve missed you.” He whispered on your lips “I’ve missed you so fucking much.”

“I did too.”

“Can we please never fight again?” He gently put his forehead against yours

“As long as you don’t piss me the fuck off doing some stupid shit like that again, we’re good.”

“Good.” He nodded before kissing you again

“And I swear to god..” you started saying between kisses “If I see you again that close to John Walker, I’m gonna kill you.”

“I know.” He said lowering his hands to the back of your thighs and picking you up

masterlist

a/n: should I post the fanfic here? What do we think? Lol (I’ve been thinking about it A LOT lately)

**UPDATE! I ended up uploading the fanfic and here is the masterlist for it lol

Anywaysss, hope you liked this! <3

(Likes and reblogs will be appreciated)

[ist4rgirlo]

─ 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 - 𝐜.𝐟 : 𝐈𝐈

Summary: Now that your life has turned upside down, are you still willing to put your siblings' feelings first? Or would you rather fight for your feelings and do what makes you happy regardless of the consequences that might result in the future?

Prev ; Next || Conrad Fisher x fem!reader || My blog

Warnings: S2 SPOILERS! panic attacks (lmk if i missed anything!)

SEQUEL TO BEFORE EVERYTHING HAPPENED.

───────────────────────────

Belly's Pov

Me and Jeremiah decided to go to Aunt Julia's house — just to try to talk to her, maybe we can do something — maybe we can stop her from trying to sell the house.

We even decided to buy her flowers as an offering. As we arrived to her house, I took a deep breath and decided to hop out of the car —Jeremiah following behind me. I walked towards the door with Jeremiah beside me before ringing the door bell.

Aunt Julia opened the door before saying "Can I help you?" she asked. Jeremiah walked towards her and hugged her "Hey Aunt Julia" he said smiling — before pulling away. "Uh uhm Conrad told me you were here"

Aunt Julia looked at Jeremiah "Oh Jeremiah" she paused "and you are?" referring to me "I am Belly, Belly Conklin. Laurel Park’s daughter, Susannah's bestfriend" I told her smiling gently — giving her the flowers that I was holding.

"Oh wow, it's been so long" she said, scratching her forehead. "Uhm, we just wanted to say hi and maybe talk a little bit" Jeremiah chuckled before looking at her and smiling.

"Look uhm if its about the house, I'm sorry. It's decided" Aunt Julia said — smiling gently. Jeremiah's mouth frowned.

"Uhm we're actually doing an open house tomorrow."

"You.. you have to know how much that house means to Jeremiah and Conrad. That was their place, how-how can you let go of such a-a magical place?" I asked Aunt Julia.

"I remember her calling it that" Aunt Julia paused "But i-it's not personal" Jeremiah looked at her — brows furrowed "I bet" Jeremiah smiled sarcastically.

"I'm sorry, I have to go back to work" Aunt Julia said before closing the door. I looked at Jeremiah — I place my hand on his shoulder and patted it. We walked towards the car and drove off.

"I'm sorry, Jere" Jeremiah looked at me "It's okay, we cant really change someone's mind" he said — placing a hand on my shoulder.

TIME SKIP

"Where'd you guys go?" Conrad asked — his hair wet, he was wearing a surf suit. "We went to Aunt Julia's house" Jeremiah sighed.

Conrad face started to fill with hope "H-how did it go?" I looked at him "She's sure about this, Conrad. I don't think we can change her mind." I said -- he nodded before saying "Ofcourse"

───────────────────────────

It seems like the news that we were here in Cousins have spread fast as Taylor and Steven are on the way here. Apparently, me and Taylor were bad at lying thats why Steven knew about it immediately.

I hoped that Y/N was with them but Steven said no. He tried to push her to go but she said she need to do much more important things, I just miss her. We all thought that this news would make her come here but we were wrong.

Conrad and Jeremiah decided to talk to their dad. “Dad should be calling soon” Conrad said, informing Jeremiah.

“Do you guys want to talk to him alone?” I asked — not wanting them to be weirded out that I was there. “I-I can wait upstairs.”

As Jeremiah sat down, Conrad looked at me before saying “You helped me and J get this far. Plus its your house as much as it is ours” he smiled gently. I sat down as the phone started to ring.

AFTER A FEW MINUTES

We did everything, everything to save the house. Nothing is working, their dad is just letting it go. He just kept on sayong that it was legally Aunt Julia’s — it seemed like he never cared for it, for the house.

As the call ended, Taylor and Steven arrived to the house, surprising Conrad and Jeremiah. They were confused about why we looked down — I forgot to tell them that the house is on sale.

“We’re losing the house” Jeremiah said, sighing. “They’re putting it up for sale”

“Oh Cinderbelly” Taylor said as I stood up to hug her.

───────────────────────────

Conrad’s Pov

Here I was again, looking for her. Trying to see if she came with Steven and Taylor but no. She hasn’t even responded to my text. Maybe she’s busy.

I walked towards Jeremiah, sitting down beside him. “Hey” I said, patting his shoulder.

“You know, I thought I could convince dad. I thought we could” He sighed.

I nodded and sighed “I thought so too.” chuckling a little bit.

“It’s just.. it feels like everything is slipping away and-and the house is the only thing - the last thing tying us together” It was true, it did feel like it — we didn’t expect that we’d get together like this, that we’d be complete because of this reason.

“We’re not giving up, Jere” I looked at him shaking my head “We’re going to do something about it, I don’t have a plan. Not yet but I’ll do everything, we’ll figure ig out together.” I told Jeremiah. He nodded.

“I-I just hope she’s here, she’s the only one missing Connie” Jeremiah said — referring to Y/N. She just made everything less worse for everyone, I hope she was here too.

“Me too, Jere. Me too” I paused “You know, we should hang out tomorrow. Just all of us staying here for open house, that’d be a good plan” I chuckled

Jeremiah chuckled then nodded “Yeah we should definitely do that”

TIME SKIP

As me and Jeremiah got done talking we went inside the house and decided to hang out with the rest. They all sat down in their own places. “So what do you guys want to watch?” I asked.

“We should do… this one” Belly said — holding up mom’s favorite movie. I smiled taking it from her hands as I walked towards the tv — i mouthed a “thank you” to Belly.

After that, I went and sat the down on the other couch until I looked at my phone — recieving a text. I felt my chest tighten, I need to get out of the house. I stood up from my seat and went straight to the beach.

It was happening again, It attacked me again. I couldn’t breathe, it felt like someone was choking me. I pulled out my phone again — looking if the text was real, it was, I got in but what about Jeremiah, I can’t.

My mind filled with worried, with anxiety, not until another text popped up. It was like a coincidence, the text — my breathing is okay now, my heart is beating at a normal pace. The text was from the one that I have been waiting for.

She responded, it was from Y/N. She was going to come here, she’s coming here to Cousin. We’re complete now.

───────────────────────────

taglist : @maybankslover @urmomisafinewoman @user3729107491 @melllinaa @anthgoldenhrry @arunabrak @amj2277 @whoisalexa @remuslupinwifee @gulphulp @layanderson @astrvalee @goldenmoonbeam @podiumprincess @johannelis2302nely @silcintilla @smw-96 @apollo3475 @drikawinchester @fangirl-kimora @sanjanapm @milyswrld @scysuxx @starkeylover @fallingforel @mysticalstarlightflower @ifilwtmfc

the next part is here !! hope everyone likes it :)) lmk if y’all have requests and if you guys want to get tagged <3

love lots !!

[meraki-yao]

RWRB Book Thoughts: Ellen and Oscar

Re-reading RWRB and thinking about Oscar and Ellen. The thing is book Ellen and Oscar's relationship scares me because it's like the worst-case scenario of my own parents (they're a lot better now but covid was hell) So I understand it.

Ellen and Oscar are soulmates. As in they are both intelligent, stubborn and headstrong. They are very similar people. Unfortunately this is a case where it's like forcefully pushing two North ends of a magnet together: Ellen in particular wants and needs a complimentary relationship instead of collaborative relationship, which is why Leo works for her: Leo is meek compared to Oscar. He really just listens and generally agrees with Ellen. His appearances are limited in the book but when he does show up he doesn't really have his own opinion. Ellen wants/needs someone who won't speak up against her.

Honestly? I, kinda feel sad for Oscar. He said it himself, "We're both too fucking proud. But God, that woman. Your mother is, without question, the love of my life. I'll never love anyone else like that." It's sad to know that he never stopped loving Ellen while vice versa isn't true, and to know that she's it for Oscar.

When it comes to parenting I honestly think Oscar is the better parent. It was really shitty of him to leave without telling Alex and June and that evidently really hurt Alex til this day, but when it comes to the other parent things? I was re-reading/listening to Chapter Four today when he goes to DC for Christmas, and both Alex and June are so much more comfortable with him. Part of that is probably because he doesn't carry the inherent pressure of being the fucking president, but part of it is that he really cares about his kids as they are. Ellen downplays June's passion for journalism and pressures her into a political job that she didn't want at all, while Oscar "raved about June's latest blog post for The Atlantic". Ellen immediately started piling up all the political consequences of firstprince literally minutes after Alex plucked up the courage to come out to her while Oscar gave him relationship advice. This isn't to say Ellen isn't a good mother, she is flawed, as Oscar is, as all parents are. But if we're looking at non-crisis moments, Oscar's actions are more comfortable for his children.

There's a reason June initially wanted to go to California and be close to her dad. Yesterday I talked a little about how I hated how Ellen and Alex treated June at the earlier chapters of the book. Well in the rest of the book it's implied that she has a much closer relationship with Oscar, jumping into his arms when he arrives at the White House, him picking her up and spinning her when they arrive at the lakehouse.

Either way, Ellen and Oscar clash becasue they're too alike, and my opinion is that Ellen tends to fan the flames more, see Christmas dinner where Oscar suggests campaigning with them to help and she immediately shoots it down with "you can't be serious". Anyways, the children suffer the most. And uh, speaking from experience here, that shit never goes away. My parents are still together and are a lot better compared to the past, but I flinch at any sound of argument/angry yelling because of all of their fighting.

And there's this one paragraph in the book: "Even before Alex's parents split, they both had a habit of calling him by the other's last name when he exhibited a particular trait. They still do. When he runs his mouth off to the press, his mom called him into her office and says ' get your shit together Diaz.' When his hard-headedness gets him stuck, his dad texts him, 'Let it go, Claremont'" and God that's so shitty? To know, to be reminded that one parent hates the part of you that is from the other parent. Even if that's not what Ellen and Oscar's intention is, that's what it feels like, and it's really, fucking, shitty.

I wonder how would book Alex feel if he know that there was an alternative universe out there where his family was functional. I wonder how would he feel if he knew that movie Alex doesn't have his loving sister, but has loving, gentle parents who have a healthy, functional relationship.

My guess, is that he would say that he'd choose his life and his sister no matter what, and he means it because he does love June, but deep down a part of him would be jealous of movie Alex for having a smaller but healthier and happier family.

[my-own-walker]

im so sorry it wouldn't let me answer you abt the tate langdon ask, pre death please and thank u

I Can't Handle Change

note: it's been so long since i wrote anything tate. this should be fun!!

summary: pre-death tate gets comfort from the reader after a fight with his mom 🥺

warnings: sad angsty tate, kissing lol,

+++

Little things wore Tate down over time.

He once told me that he spent a whole afternoon picking fresh lilacs and daffodils out of his mother's garden, arranging them into the prettiest bouquet for her. He was 11. If you truly let that sink in, it's astounding that an 11-year-old boy was sweet enough to do that for his mom. Her response to the gesture was to shout at him about ruining all the hard work she'd put into the gardening.

She threw the handmade bunch into the trash right in front of him. Held his head straight to make him watch and all. The pretty purple and yellow petals crashed down into the can with a thunk.

Their relationship didn't change. Especially when Larry came into their lives. Constance was an interesting woman. She was in no way fit to mother the children she birthed. Her narcissistic tendencies drew her to do things to the children that made them resent her. It seemed she resented them right back.

Tate and Constance were constantly at war with each other over the whole Larry thing. He didn't know what he wanted, but it for sure wasn't a new dad. Nothing could truly fill the void inside of him. If anything, his mother and Larry were working in tandem to dig even more out of his soul, shoveling heaps of it out of him and discarding it right before his eyes. Just like Constance did with the flowers.

When I came along things changed for Tate. We met in school. I'd spend afternoons at his place. Somewhere along the way we started dating. He possessed this all-encompassing love within him. Since he was a child, its tendrils reached out, longing for someone to latch onto to disseminate the intense feeling. He was a lover, but also the child of someone with no room for real love in her life.

I embraced his need for connection. His intensity. Tate was emotional and strong-willed. The love he gave me was the warm embrace that you crave on winter's coldest nights. It was slippery quicksand, pulling me in with no regard for my control.

She hated me, Constance. She didn't like my presence. My effect on her 'beautiful boy.' It was a game of cat and mouse. She didn't want his love, but she wanted him to keep trying. The thrill of rejecting him intoxicated her. When I came into Tate's life, he stopped trying to connect with her. He finally found someone that would accept him.

On a rainy day in November, Constance and Tate went at it again. She expressed her intent to keep Larry in his life.

'He's your new father and you have to DEAL with it!' she screamed.

Larry watched from the corner as she slapped Tate across his face. The coward didn't even say a word. No mother should be hitting her son. Instead, Larry wore a smirk so devilish he could be a minion of Satan, for all anyone knew.

Tate didn't even say a word. He stormed out of the door and straight in the direction of my house. I lived two miles away. He trudged all that way in the pouring rain. When he arrived at my doorstep, he was soaked right through to the skin, shivering from the cold. He broke down on my front porch. Body-wracking sobs left his lips as he crouched down into a ball. I pulled him up by his armpits and guided him inside.

When we got to my room, I immediately stripped him of all his wet clothes and gave him some of the stuff I had stolen from his room. A sweater, some loose-fitting jeans, and a cardigan. I wrapped him in the layers, shushing him as he cried through the process. He collapsed into a heap on top of my duvet cover, face in his hands. Still shivering, he let out another heart-wrenching sob.

I hurried over to the bed and wrapped him in my embrace. His head rested on my chest and his body rested in between my legs. I sat up against the headboard, running my fingers through his hair, letting him cry it out. After some time, his cries became softer.

'Nothing I do is ever good enough,' Tate sniffed.

'You know that's not true,' I tutted. 'You are good enough.'

'No,' he whined, 'With her. In her eyes.' I knew he meant his mother. I didn't even have to ask.

'What happened, love?' I asked softly.

'It's just that ugly motherfucker again,' he sighed. 'She keeps saying he's my dad. She wants me to call him dad.' I stared off for a second not sure what to say. I kissed the top of his head.

'You shouldn't have to call him that,' I decided. He sobbed loudly again.

'She hit me, Y/N.'

I gasped and grabbed his head, turning it to make him look at me. And there it was, clear as day. A welt forming over his eye. I couldn't believe I didn't notice it earlier.

'I ignore him now. I don't insult him. I stay away. But now she wants me to call him dad,' he cried. 'Nothing I do is ever good enough. She knows I can't handle change.'

'Oh, baby. I am so sorry,' I whispered. Looking into his glassy eyes, I saw a brokenness I had never seen before. She went too far, as she always did. I kissed the tip of his nose. 'I'm sure that feels great, huh?' I half-laughed, sardonically, running my thumb gently over his swollen face.

His hand reached up and wiped my cheek. I didn't even realize I had started crying, too. I loved him so much and hated to see him hurting.

'Please, don't worry about me,' I said softly. 'I just cry when you cry. I'm a big dork.'

'I love you so much, Y/N,' he rasped.

'I love you more,' I replied. He sat up more so his face was level with mine. Leaning in, he kissed me delicately. He always kissed me so tenderly, his soft lips caressing mine so beautifully. Tate truly meant his kisses. They had intentions behind them. It was his way of saying 'thank you,' or 'I love you.' None of his kisses were meaningless.

The tenderness dissolved into a passion. We had this insatiable need to be closer to one another. We stayed like this for what felt like forever. Kissing in our mutual bliss. His ever-present need to give love and be loved in return was being fulfilled.

And with that, the broken parts of him began to heal again.

+++

Quickie but a goodie! Thank you for this request. I like writing Tate. He's a moody lil boy.

[journey-to-the-attic]

Is it weird that I want some reaction, and conon reaction to demigod!IK (It would be cool if you did)

i'll see what i can cook up!! just keep in mind that i don't really know how pj works lol - i'm basically looking at the fandom wiki page for demigod abilities and trying to construct stuff around that

it'd be funny if ik had started encountering monsters shortly before being summoned to the devildom, so when she gets there she immediately starts trying to fight everyone

she was given a scimitar imbued with abilities of some sort but she keeps defaulting to hitting people with a frying pan

i say maybe this is a situation where monsters found them first and (drawing on my faint memory of the first book) she fully thinks her dad was killed by one, and is currently on the run

meanwhile the actual gods are trying to track her down to tell her what's going on and ik is somehow evading every last one of them

basically she has no idea what's going on and is super paranoid and is also discovering a whole bunch of demigod powers so she is going CRAZY

so she just. keeps going. diavolo is trying to defuse the situation and explain things but ik is just like "ARGHHH GO AWAY" and THWACKS him the pan

lucifer has to send his other brothers out of the council room while he attempts to help get things under control, but wow is ik a handful

of course they don't want to actually kill her, but ik thinks they do, and is retaliating accordingly

i'm going to say that the powers she gets from melinoe are mostly diminished versions of the powers of children of hades - which includes a whole bunch of stuff actually

but at this point she hasn't really developed them, so what's happening is that she keeps zipping around the dark spots of the room, hitting the demons in the face with her frying pan, then running away again

then she smashes through a window and starts running, and now everyone is really panicking

past a certain point they have to resort to trying to settle her down using force - which is unnerving, because ik just keeps going through all the injuries that were meant to immobilise her

the thing that finally gets her to calm down is when diavolo and lucifer accidentally run into each other cartoon-style, and it makes her laugh so hard that it snaps her out of it

she gets like half an explanation out before one of the rad professors arrives and immediately sedates her

diavolo finally gets to have a proper conversation with her. prior to going in he has a serious talk with lucifer about how they might have to just send her back if she's going to be so disruptive and hostile

when he comes out of the conversation he's immediately like "actually she is staying here forever"

he feels so bad for her dude. like, that is way too much to be going through at that age

lucifer is hesitant but can't go against diavolo's wishes, so he begrudgingly agrees to keep watch over her

ik is actually quite well-behaved after resting for a while, but the other brothers are low-key a little terrified of her now

lucifer, to be honest, thinks it's a bit of a blessing because at least now they're a bit quieter around the house. though he does feel a little bad for ik now

ik befriends solomon first in this au (he hears about what she did upon first arrival and thinks it's hilarious)

maybe solomon already knows about demigod thing (perhaps he even is one himself) so he's the one who explains everything

then monsters start appearing in the devildom as well and the brothers wake up at like 2am to find ik basically fist-fighting one in the yard while simultaneously trying to shush it

they sort of warm up to each other after that

hmm would belphie be able to kill ik in this au?? maybe if he tried really hard... although at the same time ik does have some nightmare-related powers from melinoe so maybe she just helps him out and he doesn't end up trying

[ashestoroses018]

Four Puffs (1/2)

Originally posted in 2017.

mikeygc3000 (mikeygc3000.tumblr.com) said: Could you write one where you’re Dustin’s older sister and all the kids can tell that you and Steve are in love but are in denial so they set up a blind date by tricking you and Steve and you both end up together in the end???? And lots of fluff!???? (P.s I just found your blog and I’m in love with it)

“Dustin, where the Hell is my hair spray? Did you steal it to do your hair again?” You shout through the house.

“Language, F/N!” your dad yells at you. It’s not often that he’s home, considering he travels for work, and when he is home, you have to fight the urge to roll your eyes every time he opens his mouth.

“Dad. He keeps stealing my hairspray and using, like, all of it. And the little shithead never asks first!”

“F/N! One more outburst like that, and you won’t be going out tonight!” Your dad looks over his newspaper at you, an eyebrow raised.

“Sorry, Dad. Do you know where Dustin is, by any chance?”

“Dusty’s over at Will’s house.”

“You couldn’t have told me that before I started yelling for him?”

Your dad folds the newspaper on his lap. “I didn’t have the chance, missy. Just call Joyce. I’m sure she can get him on the phone for you.”

Your battle against the eye rolls is futile, this time. Instead of even gracing your father with a response, you just grab your keys and a scrunchie, tossing your unruly hair up lackadaisically while holding your keys in your teeth.

“Be back before dinner, F/N! Your mom’s cooking meatloaf!” your dad calls behind you.

“’Kay, Dad!” You slam the door behind you, jogging to your beat up ’68 VW Beetle.

She is your baby, but shit if she hasn’t seen better days. Your seats are stained, and the engine makes this weird sound, if you drive Becky the Beetle for more than about twenty minutes at a time. One of these days, she’s going to crap out on you, and fuck if that day doesn’t terrify you. Who bikes to school at eighteen years old?

It takes you roughly three minutes of driving to arrive at the Byers’ residence, and you thank every god you can think of when you see your baby brother’s bike outside on the lawn, thrown there while he was obviously in a rush. What you don’t expect is to see Steve Harrington’s brown BMW in the driveway.

However, when you see that Joyce’s and Jonathan’s cars are both gone, it makes more sense. He must be playing babysitter for the thirteen year olds again. With a sigh, you go up to the door and knock, knowing that you’re about to embarrass the hell out of yourself in front of Steve, considering you’re in exercise clothes – leggings, leg warmers, and a ratty sweatshirt. All over your petty need for hairspray.

You raise your brow when it’s your brother who opens the door. “Oh shit.”

“Hey, Dustin. Wanna let me in?” Your tone of voice brooks no argument.

“I can explain, F/N, I swear.”

“What can you explain, Dustin?”

“I didn’t realize I still had your hairspray in my bag, and you have the Farrah Fawcett spray, and you know they discontinued it, and I really like your hairspray, because it’s better than Aquanet, and – “

You follow your brother through the Byers’ residence. In the living room, his friends are sitting around a table, playing Dunces and Diapers, or whatever the hell the stupid game is called. In the corner, a bottle of Coke in his hand, sits Steve Harrington, whose eyes meet yours as soon as you walk in the room.

“Well, Dusty?” you ask, your voice suddenly saccharine sweet. Your brother gives you an incredulous look at your impromptu change in demeanor. “Where’s my hair spray?”

“I can’t believe you needed it so bad that you actually came all the way out here,” your brother mutters under his breath as he digs through his backpack. “interrupting our game and shit.”

After a moment, he hands you the bottle of Fabergé Organics hair spray, which you immediately notice is nearly empty. “What the hell, Dustin? You used all of it! Do you know how hard this shit is to find?”

He looks down at his feet, biting his lip. “I’m sorry, F/N.”

“I had a date tonight, but I guess I’ll have to cancel. Aquanet sucks.”

“You, uh, you had a date, F/N?” Steve suddenly speaks up, and you glance over at him.

“Yeah, it wasn’t anything crazy, but Billy Hargrove seems like a nice enough guy.”

The redheaded girl, Max, gags audibly. “Billy is a shitstain of a human being. What are you talking about?”

“He really is, F/N. You shouldn’t go out with him. Did you know he beat up Steve?” Your brother is nodding emphatically with Max, his eyes wide.

You raise an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Yeah, he was defending Lucas! Billy’s a terrible person, F/N. You should cancel that date and just hang out with us tonight.”

“Fine, Dustin. I’ll take your word for it, this time. Hey, Will, where’s your phone?”

The Byers boy points you towards a wall handset, and you connect with the operator quickly, asking for the Hargrove residence.

“Hello?” A woman, whom you presume to be Billy’s stepmom and  Max’s mom, answers the phone.

“Is this Billy Hargrove’s house?”

“Yes, it is. One second. Billy!”

A moment later, Billy’s on the line, and though you’re not particularly interested in the boy – aside from his obvious physical appeal – your heart skips a beat at how charming he can be. “Hargrove residence, Billy speaking.”

“Hey Billy, it’s F/N Henderson.”

“Oh, hey, babe. What’s up? I’m still picking you up at 8 to see Ladyhawke, right?”

“Actually, no. A bit of a family emergency came up. Sorry, Billy.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, what?”

“Yeah, sorry. Our, uh…cat went missing again. My mom loves that kitten, so Dustin and I have to look for her.”

“Just tell her that you’re looking with me, F/N.”

“I really can’t do that to my mom, Billy.”

Steve comes up to you, hearing the tension in your voice. You okay? he mouths towards you. You just nod, your mouth pursed.

“Fine. Forget about rescheduling, though. I can get a more attractive whore at Hawkins High.”

“Excuse me? What the fuck did you just call me, Hargrove?”

“A whore. Everyone knows you’re fucking Harrington.”

You glance over at Steve, embarrassed that he’s going to witness what you’re about to say. “I am not fucking Steve Harrington, asshole. And you’re right. We’re not rescheduling. Get bent, shitbag.”

You slam the handset back onto the hook, actually shaking through the force of your anger. “Dustin, come on, we’re going home.”

“Wait, what? But I don’t need to be home until dinner.”

You give your brother a Look. “Please, let’s just go.”

“Let him stay, F/N. Why don’t you stay, too?” Steve asks, in a placating voice.

You bite your lip. “I need to be alone for a bit. I was hoping my brother would be there for me, but I fucking guess not. I’m going home Dustin. Dad says to be home by dinner.”

There’s a fierce migraine brewing in the left side of your head right now, and you just want to take a bath and ignore the world. Careful not to slam Joyce’s front door, you jog to your car, however your beloved Becky the Beetle won’t start. You turn your key in the ignition seven or eight times before slamming your forehead onto your steering wheel. This cannot be happening to you right now.

Giving up, you walk back into the Byers’ living room, much to the shock of everyone there. Steve is the first one to break the silence. “Change your mind then, Henderson?”

You sigh. “My car’s not starting, so I’m stuck here. Maybe you guys can help me push start it?”

“Can we do it after our game, F/N?” your brother asks.

Once again, you sigh. “Yeah, I guess. I’ll just go…sit with Steve, I guess. Enjoy or whatever.”

You collapse on the Byers couch next to Steve, who glances over at you. “You can’t tell anyone this,” he whispers.

“What?”

“I…have a few spare bottles of the Farrah Fawcett spray. Is that what you use?”

Your eyes widen. “Wait, really?”

He smirks gently at your excitement. “Yeah, I do. I can bring a bottle over to your house tomorrow, so you have it for school on Monday.”

“Oh my gosh, Steve, you’re the best!” You lean over and give him a hug, forgetting, for a moment, that you’re not looking your best.

He blushes slightly, his smirk turning into a shy smile. “Glad to help, F/N.”

[the-flaming-nightmare]

Okay, so a couple days ago I rewatched the S3 episode of Lone Star where TK is in his hypothermia induced coma and we get to see what's going on in his head, and oh my GOD did it give me SUCH an amazing idea for an agere mulit-chapter fic!!!

Remember how in TK's coma dream he's back in his dad's house but with his mom and they bake cookies? And how TK tells Gwyn he'll always be her little boy, that he still is? Well Goddamn did all that get my writer brain going!

So, what if both Owen and Gwyn were there in TK's dream, and they were treating him like he was still a little boy? The way I'm picturing it is kind of like that episode of SPN when Sam and Dean go to heaven together and see each other's versions of it, and Dean has that one memory of Mary from when he was 3 or 4–dressed the part and being treated like a little boy despite him still looking and acting like his adult self to Sam and the viewers. That's how I imagine this going with TK.

He still looks like an adult and feels like one, and is incredibly confused by what's happening at first, but quickly begins to enjoy all their attention and babying. And soon, begins to feel like the little boy their treating him as. Like in the episode tho, it's Carlos speaking to him that still inevitably brings him back to waking reality.

However, almost as soon as they get the tube out of him, he's still panicking and begins to tearfully call for his mama and daddy. Carlos is freaking out but doing his best to calm him down before the nurses have to give him a sedative, reassuring him that he'll call and get his dad here as soon as possible, but in the end TK is too disoriented and scared, and at the doctor's order one of the nurses has to give him a mild sedative.

Carlos calls Owen as soon as TK is fully under the drugs affects and tells him he needs to get to the hospital quick, that TK woke up and was asking for him. By the time Owen arrives, TK is beginning to fight his way out of the sedative's clutches. As soon as he lays his eyes on Owen the waterworks start up all over again and he desperately reaches for him. Owen, while bewildered and worried, just rolls with it and does what any good father would: give his kid as much comfort as he needs.

Owen ends up climbing nto bed with TK (cautious of the cords and tubes still attached to him, of course), and TK eventually cries himself into an exhausted sleep in his arms. The doctor ends up making a return not long after that (Owen still in the bed, not daring to move and disturb his son's rest), and Owen immediately asks the burning question on both his and Carlos' mind; did TK suffer brain damage? The doctor tells the two of them that they can't know for certain until they run some tests on him, leaving Owen and Carlos to stress over the potential answer they'll receive in the next few hours.

As they'll soon find out, however, this has nothing to do with any physical damage to TK's brain, but instead has everything to do with his psyche.

I'm thinking that TK would probably stay regressed for most of the duration of the fic, but that even once he does start to come back to himself, he'll realize that while everything that's happened during that time feels embarrassing as all hell, it also feels right. Like something he's needed for a very long time, but just hadn't known until he got it.

Wow, hyperfixation really said, "Bitch you will write this shit. You may not know when, but you will."

Yet another idea saved in the backlog I keep in both my phone and brain lmaoooo. 😅🥲

[neuroticbookworm]

Parenting in La Pluie, Episode 11

Last week, Tai finally, finally got The Explanation from his parents, and hoo boy, did they NAIL IT. He threw a spectacular tantrum as an adult man at his mom’s wedding and his parents did not immediately disown him, which is impressive in its own right. What’s more impressive is how they talked sense into him, undoing the knots of confusion in his head about their divorce, and how it has shaped his understanding of the concept of love and relationships.

Tai arrives at the wedding, and immediately throws side eyes at his mom and her now-husband, Nu. He sits down at the table with his brothers, and when his brother Nuea asks him about his fight with Patts that led to their breakup, he deflects by saying it was nothing special, it just didn’t work out. Nuea then says “You got a soulmate as your boyfriend. That is precious” and Sangtien and Saengchan emphatically agree with him. Tai then asks Nuea “As it comes down to this, do you still want me to believe in soulmates?” implying their parents’ separation. Their dad arrives, and Tai observes his parents and Nu happily interacting with each other and then asks his brothers “As you see this, don’t you feel something? Dad is congratulating Mom on her new wedding”.

It is clear from Tai’s behavior and his words that he does not understand how a person can love someone and wish them happiness, even when they cannot be the one who gives it to them. Tai gets increasingly upset as his mom gives her wedding toast, and walks away when Yadfah says “They (Warun and her children) are still my beloved ones, I love them, forever”. He walks away because he thinks she is lying, if she still likes Warun, why would she break-up with him? And how can she fall in love with Nu and marry him? It does not make sense to Tai and it does not fit the idea of love he has in his head.

Nu sees Yadfah’s heart breaking into a million pieces, as she watches her son essentially shrug off her declaration of love for him and walk away. He then tells her “The most important thing for him right now is to understand us. If Saengtai is happy, we will be happy. Now Saengtai is my son too” (we love Uncle Nu in this house, ladies, gentlemen, and my non-binary frens).

So, Yadfah and Warun follow Tai to Saengchan’s room, and Warun asks him how he is feeling, since Tai excused himself from the table saying that he is feeling dizzy. This is a tiny but amazing detail to show us how they have been patient and understanding of Tai’s struggle with their separation. They leave the ball in Tai’s court, waiting for him to ask them, when he is ready to really listen to them. When Tai gives them that opening they have been waiting for, by saying “You know I lied. I don’t have a headache”, Warun and Yadfah look at their son, look at each other, nod, and then Warun starts talking. I’m a big fan of parents establishing and reassuring themselves as A TEAM before they try to talk sense into their fucked up child’s head.

A quick detour: this is not the first time I have talked about divorce and the effect it has on the children in the family. I have done it before when Step by Step had a similar scene where Pat’s parents talked to him about their separation, when Pat was having his quarter-life crisis breakdown on their shoulders. I concluded that piece saying that divorce must not always be demonized and blamed as the root of trauma for whatever difficulty children face in their adulthood. And I noticed a few people in the notes, rightfully pointing out that divorce can be a traumatic experience for the children even when it is amicable. I fully agree. I do and I understand. But the reason why I am so defensive about this narrative is that it can be easily reduced and twisted into “divorce is bad, it traumatizes children, so no one should get divorced”. Divorce can be a deeply traumatizing experience for the children, but their parents staying in a marriage that does not work anymore is worse. Nobody wants to break up a perfectly good marriage. Couples who contemplate divorce know that this is the option that will get them and their children out of this unhappy situation with the least amount of pain. And when children are made aware of this, they will eventually grow and heal from this pain. And they will see that their parents still did whatever was best for them, even if that meant separating from each other.

Warun echoes this exact sentiment in his explanation. He apologizes to Tai, telling him that he and Yadfah thought not bringing their problems to Tai was the right thing to do, which in retrospect, is decidedly not. He says “We thought it would be better if you know nothing” and Yadfah adds “especially you, who has hearing loss”, which, as @shortpplfedup notes here, implies that Tai might’ve gotten some special treatment from his parents, being their only kid with a hearing loss. Warun continues and clarifies that he never lied to Tai, a callback to their conversation at the restaurant after Tai’s dinner date with Patts, where he told Tai “I do still love your mom. I don’t lie to myself about it. And, I’m glad for her (relationship with Nu). And I don’t lie to myself about it, either”. He says “Marriage is not only about love” and we see the argument between him and Yadfah in the flashback scene. It shows how even though their lives are centered around their children and their shared goal and desire to provide the best life for them, their points of focus have led them to drift apart in different directions, leading to them spending less and less time together. We finally hear Yadfah say the words “Maybe we should separate”.

At this point, I was ready to be disappointed because I wanted Tai to confront his idea that his mom is the instigator of this divorce and therefore the villain in this narrative. And if Yadfah is the one who uttered the S word first, I was afraid that Tai would latch on to it and regress back into his immature stance. But no, the show surprised me yet again because the writers are so. fucking. smart. The scene shifts back to the present and Warun says “But that is not the day we separated. For a year after that we tried to talk, adjust and move forward”.  He explains that he and Yadfah realized that though they are on different paths now, they still share the same goal. And then he says it. He says “I told your mom that we should get a divorce”. And we immediately see the seismic shift in Tai’s mind, his entire understanding of his mom, his dad, their love for each other, their marriage to each other and their family, crumbles to dust. He looks completely shaken and stunned. The world does not make sense to him anymore.

Yadfah now joins the conversation and reiterates how even though they are separated, they will always care for each other and their children. She says “Our love has just shifted to a different form”. She then adds a statement that shakes the foundations of Tai’s belief system for the second time. She says “Although we are separated, we will still be soulmates forever. When it rains, we still talk to each other” and we see Tai immediately realize how monumentally he has fucked up with Patts. He broke the soulmate bond. He wanted to be free of this destiny and he screamed it out into the universe with so much hate that the universe obliged. But he forgot that destiny is not the only thing that’s tying him to Patts. Patts chose to love him, and Tai could only see that love through the veil of destiny that binds them. He did not understand that Patts loved him in spite of the soulmate bond, not because of it. To quote the ever eloquent and lovely @liyazaki, real love is freedom.

gif by @liyazaki

At this point, the other Saeng brothers and Nu enter the room, and it’s interesting that Saengtai and Saengchan (the tantrum throwers) stand on one side and Saengtien and Saengnuea stand behind their dad, on the same side as their parents. Warun then tells them that he is happy for Yadfah and Nu, and that he would still want this even if he can go back in time. “This is my love for your mom”.

Warun then addresses all his children and says “Being soulmates is not more important than what we believe in”. Oh, so he does know that all his children (but one) are knuckleheads who think soulmates are precious, huh. That’s not to say the one who does not believe in soulmates is not not a knucklehead, he is just a different type of tool than his brothers. Anyway, Warun is an excellent dad who knows exactly how his sons might think and preemptively clarifies before they can do (more) damage.

Finally, Tai unfreezes and tearfully apologizes to his parents. Warun, being the absolute best, immediately says that he and Yadfah were never angry at him, and that they should’ve spoken to all their children before and it would’ve made things better. Tai then tells his parents “No matter what happens, please don’t leave each other alone”, no doubt thinking about how he has left Patts alone. And then we see the most adorable family group hug that has ever graced my eyeballs.

gif by @liyazaki

Tien, my adorable, yet deadly sweet-and-sassy boy, invites Nu to join, but Nu stays put. I told my fellow La Pluie clowns that I would’ve LOVED to see Nu in that group hug, given he had just proclaimed an adult toddler who was ruining his wedding as his son. But @bengiyo pointed out that while Nu may be ready to embrace his new family, Tai was not. And he’s right.

This is not the end of Tai’s journey. He will still have a lot to unpack and understand about love, relationships, family, and so on. He will have thoughts that conflict with this new context and perspective he has just gained and he will have to talk them through with his loved ones. He will have to unlearn old patterns and behaviors that hurt the people in his life, the ones he loves. But it all starts with an open and honest conversation. And what a gloriously beautiful conversation it was.

Shoutout to @lurkingshan for beta-reading this post

[hockeylvr59]

Here With Me Part 28 || Taylor Makar

Author’s Note: Kelsey considers what the future may hold for her and Taylor before jetting off to Calgary to spend two weeks with him and the Makar's. FC: Marina Laswick (@marooshk on instagram). P.S. Happy 1 week until Taylor's season starts.

Warnings: familial fighting, relationship tension, awkwardness // Word Count: 4,548

~~~~~~

Twenty Seven

Days passed one by one as Kelsey watched the countdown tick away while she did her best to keep herself busy. She met up with friends, continued plugging away at her thesis paper, and worked on applications for med school. Yet she hadn’t been able to get one of the questions on Tufts application out of her head. 

Outside of beginning your residency or other academic avenues, where do you see yourself in five years (family, social, hobbies, ect.)? 

It was something that Kelsey hadn’t really thought about before, so focused on getting into med school so that she could become an obstetrician. Immediately her mind drifted to Taylor and how in love with him she was and what the future held for them. The first year of med school would be manageable, he’d still be at UMass and all of the schools she’d applied to so far weren’t that far of a drive. 

But what about after that? What about once Taylor was done with school? 

That was already in the back of her mind when Taylor brought up being asked back to the Avalanche’s prospect camp in July about a week before she was set to fly to see him. 

There was a strong chance that Taylor would remain a member of the Avalanche organization which would put him in Colorado once he was done with school. 2,000 miles. That was a hell of a lot more distance to cover. 

And it wasn’t like the University of Colorado didn’t have a good med school program, they were just as good if not better than other schools she was applying to. 

So much was still up in the air regarding her and Taylor’s future as a couple but if Tayor was going to be in Colorado, shouldn’t she at least apply and make it an option for herself? At least give themselves that chance? Possibly one year of long distance versus three or more. It seemed stupid not to and before she knew it Kelsey had submitted the University of Colorado’s medical school as one of her primary choices and completed the application and all other requirements. 

Unless Taylor brought it up however, she was going to keep it to herself just in case she wasn’t accepted. No point in getting his hopes up unnecessarily. 

****

Thankfully her passport had arrived a few days prior to her scheduled departure. Kelsey had tried to pack modestly, they were spending a few days in Calgary before heading to his family’s lake house in BC so light clothes were the name of the game. She threw a pair of pants into her suitcase in case of cool evenings but decided she could just steal one of Taylor’s hoodies when she got there in order to save space. 

“And where exactly are you packing to go?” As she packed two new swimsuits, Kelsey heard her mother’s voice appear in her doorway. She had purposely avoided telling her parents about her trip, though she had mentioned going to see Taylor to her dad, just without specifics. 

“Calgary to see Taylor.” As soon as the words left her mouth, Kelsey could practically see the smoke spilling from her mom’s ears. 

“I don’t think so.” The tone of her mom’s voice signaled that she expected those four words to be the end of it. Turning around, Kelsey put both hands on her hips signaling that she wasn’t backing down. 

“You can think whatever you want mom but I’m going to visit my boyfriend and his family.” 

“I’m telling you you’re not allowed to go.” 

“Yeah well last I checked I’m an adult so you no longer get to make decisions for me.” 

“I already told your cousin Mary we would be at her baby shower next weekend.” If her mother really thought she was going to guilt trip Kelsey into staying she had another thing coming. 

“You mean for her fifth child? The one she only got pregnant with hoping it would guilt her husband into staying…yeah I’ll pass.” 

“She’s going to ask where you are.” 

“Because she was so concerned when I wasn’t any of the first four. Yeah I don’t think so.” 

“Kelsey Anne. You’re not going.” 

The glare shared between them could melt a glacier. 

“If I had said I was going to the Outer Banks with some girlfriends would we be having this conversation right now?” 

Her mother didn’t even have to say it for Kelsey to know that they indeed would not be. 

“You’re only acting like this because you don’t like my boyfriend even though you haven’t even given him a chance. And that’s too bad….because I am head over heels in love with him and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that I get to spend the rest of my life with him. So you’re just gonna have to get used to it.” 

“He’s only going to leave you once he graduates.” 

“Given that you know literally nothing about him and what kind of person he is I don’t think you get to draw that conclusion. I’m going to Calgary, that’s all there is to it. Now get out of my room so I can finish packing.” 

Slamming her door shut as soon as her mother walked away, Kelsey leaned against it and sighed. Her mom was certainly doing an A+ job of pushing her away and making her never want to come home again. 

*****

Kelsey hadn’t spoken to her mom again prior to catching a ride with a friend to Boston and hopping onto her plane to Calgary early Monday June 12th. Thankfully she had found a direct flight so after a roughly six hour plane ride she arrived in Calgary mid afternoon. 

Texting Taylor that she had landed, she made her way through customs and to baggage claim to get her suitcase before heading out to the pickup area once Taylor had confirmed that he was there waiting for her. 

Though she knew that the pickup lane was the most practical spot to meet, Kelsey was a little bummed that it meant she wasn’t going to get a hug and kiss from Taylor as they needed to load her bag into the back and get going. All she wanted after three weeks apart was to feel his arms wrapped around her. Nonetheless, after loading her bag, she climbed into the passenger seat and smiled at Taylor softly, though the tension from the flight and everything still lingered in her body. 

“Hey.” Taylor murmured as he leaned over the center console to kiss her softly and quickly before pulling away from the curb. 

“Flight okay?” Taylor asked as he made his way back toward the highway. 

“Yeah, just long.” Kelsey murmured back. 

Once Taylor was safely on the highway with slightly less traffic surrounding them, his right hand fell to her thigh rubbing softly. It wasn’t a hug but it would do for now and Kelsey rested her hand on his, squeezing gently. 

Looking out the window, Kelsey took in the new sights surrounding her, a bit overwhelmed by it all. Eventually Taylor got off the highway and navigated through back streets before coming to a stop. It wasn’t a residential neighborhood, so Kelsey was a little confused. 

“I thought we’d stop for ice cream.” Taylor declared, looking over at her with the softest eyes. 

“Sure.” Kelsey agreed. Ice cream did sound good but first Kelsey really needed that hug. 

Climbing out of the car, Kelsey moved to meet Taylor, stopping in front of him expectantly. 

“Ice cream is that way.” He pointed, a smirk developing on his face. 

“Taylor…” Kelsey insisted, knowing he knew what she really wanted. Chuckling softly, he finally pulled her into his arms, lips pressing softly against her hair. Immediately the tension poured off Kelsey’s shoulders and she hugged him back tightly, face buried into his chest. 

“Guess it’s a good thing I showered after the gym this morning.” He joked after a few minutes, causing Kelsey to pull away, giggling softly at how he always knew how to settle her mood. 

“I missed you.” She shrugged softly, her tone raw. 

“Missed you too. Now let’s get some ice cream.” Taylor declared, tucking her into his side as he guided her to the store so she could pick out her post flight treat. 

With some of her tension finally lifted, Kelsey could finally feel the excitement radiating from Taylor as he kept peeking down at her and it made her feel warm to know that he was so excited that she had come to see him. 

Sitting close in a spot in the shade, they devoured their treats, Kelsey choosing to embrace being in Canada and having maple flavored ice cream made from Canadian syrup and Canadian dairy while Taylor had a vegan coconut lime. It was not her preference but it was still good and something different than she’d had before. 

After finishing, they disposed of their trash before heading back to the car hand in hand. 

“Alright, back to my parents.” He declared as Kelsey stopped him near the passenger door. 

“First I want a proper kiss.” Kelsey insisted, fisting his shirt gently, not satisfied with only the quick peck at the airport. At the moment, the parking lot wasn’t full of kids or anything so it wasn’t like it would be wholly inappropriate. 

Taylor just smiled, face completely relaxed and happy before humming and dipping his head to press his lips to hers as she lifted up against him, exploring him after the separation. 

After a moment, Kelsey felt his dick press a bit more insistently against her stomach and she smiled into the kiss. She was in lazy plane clothing but yet he was still reacting to her. 

Breaking the kiss, Kelsey gazed up at him with twinkling eyes, acknowledging how he’d grown a bit just from a simple kiss with just a look. 

“You’re trouble.” He mumbled into her ear before opening the passenger door for her. Quickly he rounded the car to climb into the driver’s seat but after putting the key in the ignition he leaned his head back against the headrest. 

Reaching over, Kelsey rested a hand on his thigh causing him to turn his head looking at her like ‘let me regroup would you.’ 

Giggling softly, Kelsey pulled her hand back and bit her lip as Taylor adjusted himself in his shorts. 

“Yeah better get that under control since we can’t have sex at your parents’.” 

“What?” Taylor questioned his voice filled with confusion which only made Kelsey confused. 

“We can’t have sex at your parents’.” She repeated.

“My parents don’t care.” Taylor stated matter of factly. “They basically know we’re having sex. As long as we’re safe they don’t care.” 

Kelsey could only stare at him, a mixture of shock and disbelief on her face.

“Kels….” Taylor murmured. “My mom saw the hickeys you left on me before I came home for Christmas and all I got was a ‘just be safe and use protection.’” 

Kelsey’s cheeks flared red and she turned her head to the window clearly looking uncomfortable. 

“Doesn’t mean they’re okay with it happening under their roof.” Kelsey mumbled. 

“Kels if you don’t wanna have sex, we won’t, but I’m telling you my parents couldn’t care less so long as there are no grand babies for a long time.” 

With Taylor’s erection dissipating because of the conversation, he buckled his seatbelt and shifted the car into reverse, backing out of the parking spot and proceeding back to the road. 

It didn’t take long to get home and after parking the car, Taylor moved to help Kelsey with her bags. 

“Welcome to Calgary, Kels.” Taylor grinned, putting that prior conversation behind them and focusing on enjoying the two weeks his girlfriend was here. Following him inside, Kelsey’s first thought was that it was quaint and comfortable, everything she had assumed Taylor’s parents’ home would be. “Mom and dad should be home soon but c’mon we’ll take your bags to my room and then I’ll give you the tour.” 

“Your room?” Kelsey breathed, the words sticking with her the moment he’d said them. 

“Yeah Kels…my room where you’ll be staying…with me.” Taylor declared, turning to face her after setting the bags down at the bottom of the stairs. “Where did you think you’d be staying?” 

“I don’t know…a guest room.” Kelsey shrugged. An exasperated look crossed Taylor’s face before he shook his head softly noting to himself that they would revisit later if she wanted to sleep in the guest room once she was actually sounding like herself. 

“I think we need to have a conversation with my parents later.” Taylor sighed, turning to pick Kelsey’s bags up and starting up the stairs to set them in his room for now at least. 

With Kelsey following, Taylor gave her a quick tour of the house before suggesting that she take a post-travel shower. Though Kelsey hesitated for a minute she finally agreed that was a good idea and so Taylor got her a clean towel and showed her how the shower works before heading back downstairs to the couch.

That was where Laura found him when she got home from work ten minutes later. 

“Hey sweetie, where’s Kelsey?” Laura asked, seeing that Taylor was all alone. 

“Showering.” Taylor replied, running his fingers through his hair. “Can you do me a favor and talk to her about room sharing and stuff?” 

“Sure. I’m just going to change first.” Laura confirmed, knowing something must be off if Taylor was already asking her to talk to Kelsey, before moving to go through her usual post work routine. 

When she came back down, Kelsey was in the kitchen getting a glass of water and Laura immediately greeted her, offering a hug. 

“We’re so glad you’re finally here.” Laura declared, her hug warm as she wrapped Kelsey in her arms. Though it didn’t last long, it was the kind of hug that you couldn’t help but relax into. 

“I’m glad to be here too.” Kelsey murmured back, though her voice wasn’t filled with its usual confidence. 

“Was your flight okay?” Laura inquired. 

“Yeah.” Kelsey agreed. “Just a little long. I’ve only flown along the east coast before so it was definitely longer than I’m used to.” 

“I bet.” Laura replied, moving around the kitchen to get together the things she needed to make dinner. As she did, Taylor appeared from the living room, kissing Kelsey’s head as he moved to refill his own drink. 

“So what’s the plan for the week before we head to the cabin Thursday?” Laura questioned. 

“Just figured I’d show Kels Calgary tomorrow and then Wednesday we’d go hike Mount St. Piran.” Taylor declared, smiling as Kelsey grinned at the thought of a hike. “It’s got some great views and isn’t as crazy busy as some of the other trails out that way so it should be good.” 

“Make sure you take plenty of water and sunscreen.” Laura reminded, as all mothers do. 

“Of course. Kels and I have the whole hiking thing down by now with all our post season hikes.” Taylor bragged because even if it had only been two or three, that was more than he’d hiked at all the previous year in Amherst. 

“Good.” Laura nodded. “Now can you go clean off the grill and get it started for dinner for me?” 

“On it.” Taylor declared, moving to gather the things he needed. 

“And Kelsey can keep me company in here.” Laura added on, gesturing for Kelsey to take a seat at the kitchen island. 

Kelsey exchanged a look with Taylor before he dipped outside and then swallowed hard. 

“How are med school applications going? Taylor mentioned you’d been spending a lot of time of on those these last few weeks.” Laura questioned, trying to make Kelsey comfortable before beginning to ask what Taylor had wanted her to. 

“First round is in so now I just wait for interviews and stuff in the fall.” Kelsey explained with a shrug. 

“Well that’s good. Now you can just relax while you’re here.” Laura stated with a smile while peeling sweet potatoes. “I’m sure Tay took your things to his room since we figured you’d be most comfortable there.” 

Immediately Kelsey turned a little pink and dropped her eyes to look intently at her glass of water. 

“If you’d prefer a guest room, we can get one set up for you that’s no problem.” Laura added, watching as Kelsey opened and closed her mouth a few times without speaking. “Whatever makes you comfortable Kelsey…that’s all we want.”

“I want to sleep next to him…” Kelsey whispered, tone almost ashamed.

“Then what’s stopping you?” Laura questioned, clearly sensing there was more going on. 

Flushing further, Kelsey shrunk into the stool she was sitting on. Meanwhile, Laura continued peeling and cutting the sweet potatoes before putting them in foil and starting on starting on the green beans that would join them. 

“I don’t want to give you any reason not to like me.” Kelsey eventually mumbled under her breath, peeking out to where Taylor was still scrubbing away at the grill. 

“Kelsey…why would that make us not like you?” Laura started. “We got you two a hotel room in Amherst and Gary dropped Taylor off at your apartment to sleep over before that. It’s not a secret to anyone that you have sleepovers together.” 

“Would be to my parents….” Kelsey muttered softly. With the front door opening with Gary’s arrival, the conversation paused as Taylor’s dad made his way into the kitchen greeting Kelsey warmly. 

“Would you look at that, she made it.” He grinned, though he immediately picked up on the tension in the room. 

“Hi Mr. Makar.” Kelsey stated softly. 

“You know it’s Gary Kelsey.” He reminded her, moving to kiss his wife. “Everything good in here?” He asked in her ear. 

“Can you take the chicken and vegetables out to T, he should have the grill going by now.” Laura questioned, the look they exchanged signaling that they were working on some things but alright. 

As Gary headed outside, Laura turned to wash her hands. 

“Kelsey, I’m not going to force you to talk about your relationship with your parents if you don’t want to even though it doesn’t seem to be a healthy one based on what you’re projecting onto us.” Laura stated simply. “I’ll just say, in this house we just want Taylor…and by extension you…to be happy and comfortable. You’re both adults. You’re in a committed relationship. As long as you’re being safe it’s frankly none of our business what you do behind closed doors. We’re not going to suddenly stop liking you because you want to share a bed with my cuddly son or even engage in other adult activities. To be frank, the thing that would make us not like you is if you hurt him by pulling away out of fear of what we might think.” 

“I love him so much.” Kelsey whispered. “I just don’t want to do anything to mess up a possible forever.” 

Rounding the island, Laura pulled Kelsey into a hug.

“If forever is what you want then don’t let anyone outside of you and T define your relationship okay.” 

Nodding into Laura’s shoulder, Kelsey hugged her back focusing on taking some deep breaths. Even once they had pulled apart, Kelsey was still a bit shaky and murmured that she was going to T’s room for a minute. 

After climbing the stairs, Kelsey stepped into Taylor’s room and moved over to the bed, flopping back onto it and closing her eyes. Immediately Taylor’s scent enveloped her causing waves of comfort to wash over her. It had only been 18 days but god had she missed how he smelled. 

Breathing deeply, Kelsey tried to push everything weighing on her mind away and just focus on the fact that she was in Taylor’s childhood bedroom with the man she adored right downstairs instead of thousands of miles away. 

With her eyes closed, Kelsey was unsure of how much time had passed before she heard a throat clearing in the doorway and her eyes met Taylor’s when she opened them. 

“Mom sent me to check on you…” He declared, though he didn’t move from his spot. 

“You can come in, you know…” Kelsey murmured. “It is your room. Though I’m hoping you’re still willing to share it with me.” 

As Taylor moved closer, Kelsey sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. 

“I’m sorry for earlier.” She mumbled. “I just…god I want your parents to like me and my mom can be really damn good at clouding what I think other people are going to perceive and yeah.” 

“Are we good now?” Taylor asked, still standing in front of her. 

“Still processing a little but I think so…” Kelsey murmured. “I just want you.” 

Taylor still appeared a little on edge so Kelsey stood, sliding her arms around him in a hug. 

“I love you T. So fucking much it’s scary sometimes.” 

“Love you too Kels.” Taylor murmured, slowly relaxing as Kelsey rubbed his back. 

“Think dinner is ready? Because I could really use fed…” Kelsey eventually questioned, her stomach rumbling slightly. 

With Taylor nodding, Kelsey stretched up for a quick kiss before moving with him back downstairs, trying to quell any anxiety about being around his parents. 

Thankfully, neither acted like anything had happened and just settled into eating dinner that the guys had grilled up. It wasn’t anything special but having not really eaten all day it definitely hit the spot and Kelsey devoured her entire plate in no time. 

Nudging her side, Taylor offered her a little more chicken from his huge portion and Kelsey nodded, sliding a hand along his thigh in thanks. 

“T, you got invited to Justin Ross’s wedding right? I ran into his dad today.” Gary questioned once he had finished his own food. 

“Yeah…” Taylor confirmed between bites. “Think that’s coming up soon.” 

“Next weekend.” Gary declared. “Assuming you’re taking Kels as your plus one.” 

Taylor was quiet for a moment as if running over the calendar of Kelsey’s stay in his head. 

“Yeah, yeah I guess I am.” He grinned. 

Almost immediately, Kelsey’s fork clattered to her plate and Taylor let out a bit of a yelp as Laura kicked him under the table. 

“Breathe Kels.” Laura murmured. “You and I will go shopping while T goes to the gym in the morning and we’ll find you a dress and shoes.” 

Nodding, Kelsey relaxed though she couldn’t help but shake her head at how much Taylor still had to learn about women. 

“In the future, you might want to give your girlfriend a heads up if she needs to bring formal clothes for something Taylor.” Laura chastised softy. 

“I forgot it was when she was gonna be here.” Taylor mumbled, looking over at his girl. “Sorry Kels…mom will help you find something though if you’re willing to be my date.” 

“You know I’m always willing to be your date Tay.” Kelsey breathed, cheeks a little pink from the added surprise that had been dropped on her when today had already been a little bit of a mess. 

“After we clean up, can we go for a walk T?” Kelsey questioned softly as he finally finished up the food on his plate. “I could use some air if that’s okay.” 

“Gary and I have the cleanup tonight.” Laura insisted. “Go for your walk.” 

“Thanks mom.” Taylor declared, moving with Kelsey to the foyer to get their shoes. 

After probably forty-five minutes of walking around Taylor’s neighborhood, they finally returned to the house slightly sweaty with some of the tension giving way to fatigue. 

As Taylor headed inside to retrieve bottles of water, Kelsey sank onto the front stoop, feeling achy and completely drained after the roller coaster the day had been. 

“Think your parents would care if I went to bed?” Kelsey questioned softly as Taylor sat down beside her. 

“Course not Kels. Finish the water and we can head up to get ready.” 

It was technically only like 8pm Calgary time but that meant it was 10pm eastern and Kelsey had been up since 6am. Add in all the stress and all she wanted to do was sink into bed. 

Drinking the entire bottle of water, Kelsey passed it to Taylor to recycle before pushing herself up to head inside. Passing by where his parents were, Kelsey murmured her goodnights and headed upstairs to Taylor’s room. Running through an abbreviated nightly routine she changed and cleaned up a little before pulling down the covers on Taylor’s bed and climbing in. 

Within just a few minutes, Taylor had joined her, going through his own routine before slipping into the other side of the bed and pulling her close. 

“Tomorrow is a new day.” Taylor murmured softly and Kelsey nodded, ready to put today in the past. 

As she tried to soothe herself to sleep, her fingers worked up under Taylor’s t-shirt in search of his happy trail only to be met with smooth skin. If the day hadn’t been as stress-inducing as it was, she might have been fine, but immediately her bottom lip wobbled and tears pooled in her eyes, dripping onto Taylor’s arm and the pillow beneath her head. 

Rolling, Taylor pulled her up onto his body and wrapped himself around her, playing gently with her hair until the tears had stopped actively falling and she was just left breathing unsteadily on his chest. 

“Kels…” He whispered softly. “What was that all about?” 

When his question drew a few more tears from her eyes, Taylor sighed and just rubbed her back letting her work through all of the emotions coursing through her. 

“Kels…” He prompted once she had calmed down again. 

“Nothing. It’s stupid.” 

“Nothing that makes you cry is stupid Kels.” 

“Just wasn’t expecting you to have shaved it…” Kelsey mumbled, pure exhaustion and fatigue showing in her voice. 

“Shaved…? Oh.” Taylor mumbled as it dawned on him where her fingers had been when the crying started. “You liked the hair there?” 

“Love your happy trail…” Kelsey whispered forlornly. “But not gonna tell you what to do with your body…it’s just been a long day…sorry.” 

Squeezing her tighter, Taylor kissed her forehead. 

“I’m sorry I shaved your comfort spot. Didn’t realize how much you loved it.” 

“It’s your body. I’m just being silly.” Kelsey sniffled. 

“It’s just hair to me, Kels. But to you it’s comfort and security and that means more. So once it grows back I’ll keep it I promise.” Taylor murmured, urging her to lift her head so he could kiss her. “You’re my world Kels. Just wanna make you feel happy and safe.” 

“I love you.” Kelsey murmured when Taylor broke their kiss. 

“Love you too. Now sleep because you’ve had a hell of a day.” 

“Are you taking me anywhere fun tomorrow?” Kelsey asked, rolling off of him and back onto the bed with a yawn. 

“You’ll just have to wait and see.” Taylor mused, kissing her one more time as they settled in to sleep cuddled together.

[cannibalcoyote]

Christopher Pike: Arguments

Imagine having an argument with your father(Christopher Pike) over you having a boyfriend right before the SOS from Vulcan:

"Dad stop, I've known him since high school. You've met him and liked him!" I exclaimed as I walked through the house, my father closely following with an exasperated expression upon his face.

"Yah well, that was then and this is now!" He argued back. Finally getting fed up, I turn around, my hands in tight fists, my hair messy due to my frustration. My father doesn't look as angry as I am, he looks more unhappy than angry. His eyes seem defensive, but his posture screams dominance over the conversation.

"You don't get to stop me! I don't live under this roof anymore, you're not even my real dad!" My words are cold and precise, the sharpness in them could lacerate the toughest of materials. My expression may seem cruel and cold, but I can feel my body subconsciously wince at the low blow at the end of my sentence. I want to take it back, but I refuse to back down.

His strong look falters, his eyes dropping to the floor for a second before reconnecting with mine. His anger is completely gone, left only with an injured look, almost as though I had slapped him. The fight leaves him, I can practically see his body deflate before he speaks.

"You're right.... You don't live here... and I'm not your father." His voice feigns coldness, but I can hear the barely audible tremble at the end. My own eyes burn with tears as he turns his back to me, walking back through the house. I stand there for a few seconds, simply stunned by the turn of events.

I had walked in here with the intent of introducing my father to my boyfriend, who I first met in high school, then reconnected with in StarFleet. He's only a year younger than me, but his intelligence attracted me the moment I met him, and don't get me started on his accent. We had been good friends in high school, and when we reconnected in Star Fleet we developed a new kind of attraction. We've been going strong for a couple of months, and I thought it was time I told my father, and arranged to introduce them to each other.

I didn't, however, plan on my father treating me as though I was too young to make my own decisions. As soon as I brought up my boyfriend, he turned rigid, his eyes hardened, and his fists clenched at the thought that I was dating someone. I admit, I also overreacted. I never wanted this to happen, I just wanted to introduce the man who raised me to the man I fell in love with.

I wanted to walk after him, I wanted to yell out his name and exclaim my apologies. Instead, I pivoted on my heel, turning the polished handle and opening the door, then slamming it shut before driving home.

———————

Arriving at my quarters, I 'gracefully' stumble out of my car, slowly walking into the building to find my room. I sleep in separate quarters as I'm not a student but a teacher. I'm rifling through my purse in search of my keys when I get an instant message that Vulcan is requesting Star Fleets assistance, and to report for assignments.

My heart feels like it's being hit with a hammer, I've only been on a star ship once when my father insisted I go with him, I've never even been in combat before. I'm dreadfully and embarrassingly unprepared to rush in to aid Vulcan.

I push aside my anxiety and nervousness, my heart beat being tachycardic is an expected effect of this sudden event. My legs tremble slightly, but I continue to speed walk, getting to my area and receiving my assignment: Psychologist and physician assistant on board the Enterprise. Of course I get placed on the ship my father is captaining, at least I'll know that he's safe, but I will be stuck in the med bay, so I'll be a little far from him.

———————

I quickly toss on some StarFleet regulation pants and my uniform shirt, because lord knows I ain't wearing that short dress. My hands fumble with the material of my shirt as I walk into the Med Bay, immediately being greeted by the CMO, he's quite nice, immediately telling me what my job will be before going on his way.

I head over to my office, organizing some forms and assessing forms that have already been left for me. I'm about to go talk to the nurses when I notice two men rush in, one placing the other on the bio bed. Standing up, I hesitantly walk over, watching as he gives the other man a hypo, knocking him out within a few seconds.

"What is Jim Kirk doing on this ship?" Yes, I know who Jim Kirk is, my dad talked about him sometimes, I remember when he first went down to Iowa and met him, that was when he became really protective of me.

The other man, Leonard McCoy I presume, immediately straightens up.

"Uh..." He is clearly struggling to find an answer, I know what these symptoms are, and I know the only reason Jim Kirk would have them is if he was given the vaccine.

"I know what you did, but I understand. Promise not to tell." I smile slyly at the end, sarcastically holding out my pinkie to solidify my promise. McCoy smirks in surprise huffing before interlocking our pinkies, both of us then dropping our hands to our sides.

"Leonard McCoy I presume?" I question, my voice steady, although I still feel a little uneasy around these two men.

"That's right. Pike?" His southern twang dimmed down a little. I smile tightly, nodding my head.

———————

We had been en route to Vulcan, and my nerves were beginning to calm down; at least until Kirk woke up.

I was a little calmer because my boyfriend came on screen, he was giving us the summary of what we know and what we are going to do. Vulcan was releasing a distress signal, which we are heading over to help. I was in my head, worrying over how my father might act towards him now that he knows he is my boyfriend, but when Kirk is awake he seems to demand all attention.

He had McCoy and I rushing all over the ship, he was having a severe reaction, although I can say that I've seen worse.

"Kirk, just because I said I've seen worse doesn't mean you get to sprint across the ship and get your heart rate up!!" I yelled at him, slapping his arm. We're currently in the turbo lift, I'm trying to take his vitals when the doors open and Jim immediately pushes forward. Both men rushed out, and I admit I was pushed a little off balance. I stumble, and almost fall before I feel two arms grasp my waist, pulling me back up and into their chest.

I am about to push away from them when I hear their voice.

"Y/N? Are you okay?" His Russian accent is hard to miss, and I can't help but settle into his hold when I realize its him. I want to respond, but I'm so enthralled with the argument that is occurring that all I can manage is a comforting hand atop his interlocked ones and a slight nod of affirmation.

He releases his hold, but quickly follows up by softly holding my right hand in his as we watch the bridge. My father is the captain, and though he is arguing with Kirk and also listening to Spock, he still manages to find the time to glance over at me a couple of times. I know that he's noticed Chekov and I, how close we are, how we glance at each other for reassurance, and most of all how we are holding hands. I'm not quite sure how he feels anymore, at first he was angry, but now he seems to have some sort of understanding.

———————

My father has been stuck on Nero's ship for some time now, I obviously wanted to go with him when the Romulan captain demanded his presence. However, he had Chekov hold me back, whispering a promise that we would have that dinner if it was the last thing he did.

Jim and Spock - after having many fights, Jim even being sent to a planet, only to somehow come back - beamed onto the Romulan ship and are currently trying to rescue my father and their captain, Christopher Pike.

I spent most of my time on the ship trying not to cry as I treated injured crew members. I had to go back to the med bay, they were swamped, and McCoy had become our new CMO after our first had been killed. He was loud and straightforward, giving me a multitude of jobs to do simultaneously, to which I refused to disappoint, constantly thinking about whether my father would make it to that promised dinner.

———————

It was two days ago that Jim and Spock brought my father back to our ship and defeated Nero, he was immediately rushed to the med bay, where I had to watch him be treated. My eyes had tears streaming out of them, I was just trying not to cry aloud, which became especially hard when he reached his hand out for me to hold.

Now I am driving him back to my home, my personal house is out of the city, surrounded by nature. He always told me that he loved my house because the trees and streams helped quiet his mind, so I thought it might be a nice place to take him. The car ride is silent, not a tense silence, but a content one. Content that he is alive, that I am alive, that he can be my dad again.

Though I am enjoying the peace, I feel a force pushing me to talk.

"I... I'm sorry." My tone is low and my voice quiet, I know exactly why I am apologizing. His neutral expression turns to one of confusion, his body turning with his face before speaking.

"Why are you sorry?"

"I'm sorry for what I said. You've been a better father than my biological one, you've raised me and loved me as though I am your own flesh and blood, and I repay you by saying you aren't my father." My chest is tight as guilt floods my system, I glance over to my dad, and am met by his calm, warm eyes.

"It's okay, that conversation is something I regret, too. I know I've been protective, and I do recognize that you are an adult. It's... it's just that you are my daughter, and I feel like you having a boyfriend means you don't need me anymore." His deep tone starts off strong, but gradually becomes quieter and softer.

I pull into the driveway, pulling the emergency brake before putting the car in park.

"No one could ever replace you, dad." Is all I say before getting out of the car, heading over to help him out and up the steps onto my porch.

"Y'know, I've always loved this house."

"...How would you feel about meeting my boyfriend here, I feel that I've hidden him away long enough. I just need you to know that he isn't and never will replace you." My voice is shaky as I look at him meekly.

"I would love to." My chest feels lighter, I can feel myself breathe easier. Glancing over to my father, he offers me a calming smile before opening the front door and walking into my house. I'm left standing stunned on my porch, a smile slowly growing over my face as I message Pavel to come over tonight for dinner.

[heca-tia]

PORTRAIT Summary/Notes

I'm gonna start writing summaries of stories I read for my own benefit. There's a lot of stories, and I have a tendency to forget details.

Akiomi is having an interview for the first time in a while about his idol career and modeling. He talks about how no one would probably remember him as an idol because he was unsuccessful, but he was a pretty popular model. He talks about "the incident at the department store that made him have to take a break from modeling."

This takes place 14 years before the establishment of ES. Akiomi is in middle school, so I'm guessing he's around 14 here. Izumi is 5-- MAYBE 6. Arashi and Makoto would be 4-5.

Akiomi arrives at a photoshoot early, announces himself as the "Shining Prince of the industry," and baby Izumi calls him a loser. Makoto is in the middle of a shoot, and Izumi snuck out of his house to go watch Makoto and spend time with him. He notes that Makoto is reaching his limits, and tells Akiomi to get him some water and a place to relax once he's done. He offers them the place he usually goes to relax away from everyone. Despite Izumi acting like an angry brat, Makoto notes that he looks kind of happy today.

Arashi has been following Akiomi since that morning (she was trying not to be seen, but she's not very good at it) and she says it's because Akiomi is her enemy and she's observing him so she can take everything away from him. Once she's done with him, she'll take down Makoto next. After the shoot, Izumi's parents barged in and forcibly dragged him home with them.

Akiomi runs into Makoto all alone on the street, and says he's "here to see brother." Akiomi brings him into his modeling office where Izumi is there and throwing a fit. Izumi's parents got in a fight with his manager at Izumi's modeling agency, so he got kicked out and moved to the same agency as Akiomi and Arashi because their company promises to take anyone and turn them into a successful model. Also Izumi's parents immediately started spreading rumors about his old agency.

Izumi is freaking out because he's going to be separated from Makoto, and says that Makoto can't do anything without him. He gave Makoto the address to his new agency in case he ever needed anything, and they could see each other whenever. Eventually, (after Arashi slaps him) Izumi calms down and falls asleep with Makoto. Akiomi and Arashi are being a bit loud and bickering (Arashi let's slip that she admires him), and Izumi thinks its annoying that they're being so loud when people are sleeping, but thinks they're all like a family and wishes he had a family like this.

Arashi and Izumi are said to be similar. They're both rude, bratty, and violent. People don't seem to like working with Izumi because his parents are terrible and "problematic to work with." Arashi mentions that she has a "normal family," but none of them are interested in each other.

Notably, Makoto seems a lot less well spoken and childlike compared to Arashi and Izumi. Akiomi says that he probably uses phrases he's told to say around people and just uses them without thinking. Arashi mentioned his parents were terrible as well.

Akiomi and Makoto both get cast in a movie, and are on the film set at a department store. Makoto was forced to act in the movie even though he doesn't want to, and is disappointed he doesn't even get to see Izumi. Originally Makoto wasn't even supposed to be in the movie, but they changed the script so he could be in it to advertise the new "prodigy" of the modeling industry.

Makoto's dad is dead and his mom is sick, so he has to work hard and earn money for him and his mom. Again, he is like 4 years old here. Izumi bursts in and both he and Makoto are happy to see each other, despite Izumi's parents warning him to keep away from Makoto, and the industry warning Makoto to stay away from Izumi.

Akiomi doesn't want to separate them, even though he knows he'll probably get scolded, which he does. He asked for a role in the movie so he could be close to Makoto and let Izumi accompany him so they could be together. Akiomi gets in trouble with the director of his company for taking on a menial task from with their rival company when he has plenty of other work to do, and makes up the excuse that he wants to become and idol in the future, and wants to gain more experience in other areas. He notes that, although he answered impulsively, he does want to be an idol in the future, and that he's getting less modeling jobs as he gets older. He wants to become someone like Jin Sagami who is needed and loved by everyone.

Arashi sneaks up on Akiomi while he's walking home. She startles him, and he scolds her for being out so late. Arashi is jealous that Akiomi isn't "just hers" anymore, and that he's changed after meeting Makoto and Izumi. After sending Arashi home, he finds out that Makoto and Izumi are missing and runs back to the movie shoot to find Makoto still there. Akiomi feels bad for leaving them to do his other work despite taking the role of their guardian, but figured they would be find since he left them with someone from Makoto's and Izumi's old agency. Makoto says that Izumi isn't friendly with anyone but him, and Izumi got in a fight with the staff member and left to "go on an adventure."

Akiomi finds Izumi in the other room putting on lipstick and being upset that he can't get prettier like his mom is, even though he's copying her. He says he's not going home, and he's going to live there with Makoto. Izumi says his parents are the worst, and they're always talking bad about Makoto. When Izumi told them to stop, his dad got angry and his mom started crying. He notes that they were probably surprised he talked back, because he's always so well behaved.

Izumi wants to stop doing only what his parents tell him to do, and do what he wants to do: stay with Makoto. Makoto is the first thing he's ever wanted for himself that wasn't given to him by his parents. They need each other. Akiomi notes that being able to have Makoto was probably the first time Izumi has felt any kind of freedom.

Izumi started modeling because his parents told him too. They wanted everyone to see how pretty he was and to love him. He didn't like it because unlike his parents, the people he worked with were always angry. Makoto was the only one who was nice to him. They started talking more, and Izumi would teach him things as his senior, and Izumi would do things to make him happy. Izumi says that since his parents keep getting in the way of him and Makoto he doesn't need them anymore and he's getting rid of them. (Not in the murder way.) Izumi says Akiomi can live in the department store with them, because he's more useful and kinder than the other adults.

Akiomi knows that pulling the kids out of their fantasy world would be the "right" thing to do, but for now he just suggests he and Izumi go back to Makoto in the other room. They run into some dude in a mascot outfit on the way there.

Makoto is waiting in the other room, because Izumi told him to. He wonders if his mom is awake and misses him, and says she makes good meals. He's hungry in lonely, but he has to endure it so he'll be a good boy.

Arashi shows up and tells Makoto to stop dragging Akiomi into their mess. Akiomi is supposed to be hers alone, and she worked hard and did "a lot of awful stuff" to be able to catch up with him. She won't let anyone get in her why until she can stand by his side. Makoto says she must have been enduring a lot of stuff she doesn't like, just like he has. When he was little(r), his dad told him to endure everything so he could help his mom.

After some bickering, Arashi properly introduces herself, and Makoto calls her "Narunaru onii-chan" which is cute ngl. I think Makoto is actually few months older than her.

Makoto here's some weird noises, and Arashi gets a bit freaked out because she hates ghosts and things that can't be explained. Makoto thinks it's coming from Izumi.

Meanwhile, Akiomi is running away from the person in the mascot suit with Izumi thrown over his shoulder. It's throwing sharp things at them, and chasing them. Akiomi wonders if he'd have an easier life if he didn't get involved with these kids and ignored them, but then he would be just like the the adults he looks down on. Arashi calls Akiomi on his phone, but he's trying to get away from the mascot, so Izumi answers it instead. Akiomi is about to run down the stairs with Izumi, but Izumi remind him to go back for Makoto. Akiomi promises to get them all home safely, but Izumi says that home isn't always safe and comfortable. Right now, he does want to be help by his mama and papa a lot, though.

Arashi calls out to him, and he's surprised since he sent her home hours ago. She says that he "always switches between an adult and child depending on what's convenient." Izumi explained everything to her on the phone, and to save the lecture, they need to deal with the person in the costume. She already called the cops, so they have to buy time until they arrive. Arashi told Makoto to hide in a dresser.

Izumi, Arashi, and Akiomi are hiding (and bickering) and the mascot moves away from them and towards the dresser where Makoto is hiding. Izumi starts struggling to go help Makoto, but Akiomi holds him back and says he'll do it instead. Izumi argues, but Akiomi finally puts his foot down and tells them both to stay where they are. Kids can't win against adults, and even though he's still a kid too, he's the only one big enough to stand up to the mascot.

Arashi asks if there's anything she can do, because she wants to be useful to him. She wants to be praised and loved by him.

Back to the present interview: Akiomi does end up taking the person down from behind, and the kids get picked up by the cops and sent home to their parents. Izumi's parents were too overwhelmed to be angry, and held onto him and cried. Arashi's family, who were usually indifferent, all came to pick her up, and apologized for neglecting her. They seemed to be slowly having a chance of heart. Makoto's mom fainted from reliefe the moment she got him in her arms. Akiomi's parents were the calmest, and worried about him normally.

To this day, they don't know the motive behind the person who broke into the store, and tied up the security guard. As a result of the aftermath, the security of the department store and both modeling agencies got backlash from the public, and the movie got canned.

Akiomi got blamed for "endangering the kids," so his relationship with his agency got strained. He got less modeling jobs after that, and started focusing on his highschool entrance exams to enroll in Yumenosaki to follow Jin Sagami's footsteps and be an idol. With everything happening, he became more distant with the kids, and his involvement with them was only for a brief moment.

Akiomi goes over what they're all doing now, and how Makoto was basically forced to be a model because his father was. He wants to do something for them now. Not as a senior, but as their teacher who can guide them.

Makoto comes into the room looking for Akiomi who wanted to talk to him. They talk, and apparently Makoto's dad isn't dead, he just went to prison from "stress from childcare," but just got released recently. Makoto says he's from a single parent family to maintain decency. He hasn't even told Trickstar. He hasn't been in contact with his dad since he got out of prison, and he took his mother's last name. Makoto doesn't wish him any ill will and hopes he's living happily. Akiomi says he's sure Makoto's dad wishes the same from him.

Oh my god, the interviewer is Makoto's dad. Oh my god, the guy in the mascot costume was also Makoto's dad. Well. He says he's happy to see Makoto happy and healthy, at least.

Makoto's dad believed the slander spread by Izumi's parents about the modeling agency, and wanted to save Makoto. By dressing up in a mascot suit and kidnapping him???? Maybe?????? Akiomi says even though he was convicted because of that "rampage driven by misunderstanding and futility," he couldn't bring himself to blame him.

Makoto's dad was on parole when the incident happened, and because of it he got his sentence extended. The world changed completely while he was in prison, and that's why he came to talk to Akiomi.

Akiomi tells him he doesn't have to disguise himself as a journalist next time, an can just visit like everyone else.

Izumi busts in and accuses Makoto of cheating on him with Akiomi. Makoto says Izumi used to be a lot cooler when they were kids.

Arashi also barges in and says she saw Akiomi in the room with a beautiful guy and thought she was being cheated on. Why is everyone in Knights like this?

Anyway. Akiomi tells them to go out and work hard and show off everything they've gained. They're idols now, and they're born to be loved.

[percontaion-points]

Lifeblood chapter 20

Today's review might be difficult for some; reader discretion is advised

Click to see the rest of the snark & image descriptions

Chapter 20

My parents were good to me...at first. The older I became, the more involved they became in their work. Dad was a representative in the House of Myriad, helping to pass realm laws for humans. Mom had her paintings. One day, I woke up, cooked my own breakfast and realized I had been raising myself for years. 

They spent time with me only when I required discipline, and the knowledge had hurt. Badly. I’d become an afterthought to the people who were supposed to love me.

Not only that, but they were still expecting for her to blindly follow in their footsteps simply because they demanded it? Yet at the same time, couldn’t be bothered with their own child? 

It’s even worse when you think of how the book is trying to redeem Ten’s mom. Like sorry that you started having second thoughts, but it’s literally too late. Especially when you remember that mom broke the law and had a second kid, but subjected said BABY to a life of suffering, and almost immediate death. A LITERAL BABY. 

At sixteen, I became a bargaining chip. Because of my supposed Fusing with a Myriadian General, the realm offered my parents more money, more fame—but only if I made covenant. I wasn’t a daughter. I was a key. 

I’m pretty sure that I said this a lot during the first book, but not one single person seemed to give a shit about Ten. They only wanted her power, and the things that she wanted to do didn’t seem to matter. 

Look me in the eye and tell me that Troika gives a shit about Ten’s wishes. They talk an awful lot about free will, yet demand that she go into the field after like a week of training. 

“And my dad? How is he?” 

“He’s being trained as a Laborer, but not with the new arrivals. He has a private tutor because he’s on the fast track.” 

I’m not surprised. At the end of his Firstlife, my dad’s love for me—if he ever really loved me—had darkened into hate. He blamed me for the loss of his fame and fortune, and paid to have me killed.

I enjoyed how Myriad had branded daddy dearest as a traitor who tried to get around the child clause in his contract by having a second baby. But all of that was apparently for show, since they’re treating him WELL in Myriad. 

“Any leads on the spy?”

 “Nothing yet.” 

Who could it be? Kayla, Reed, Deacon, Victor? I trust them. Elizabeth? I would love to blame her. Levi? Even though I’m angry with him, he doesn’t strike me as a fox but a shepherd. He fights foxes, keeping them away from his flock.

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but the entire idea of a spy is acting like nothing is wrong. Even if you’re sometimes acting against the side that you’re spying for in order to maintain your cover. 

So literally any one of those could be a spy. 

He can’t pass through the Veil of Wings to reach me in Troika, but I suspect he would try if he thought I was in trouble—try until he died.

Chapter 20 summary: Ten and Killian start making out on the patio of the French cafe. As he pulls her away to somewhere more private, Ten randomly thinks about how shitty her parents were. Not only at the end, but how neglectful that they’d been before that. 

They start making out in an alley, but then they move to the cave that they camped out in right after Killian and Archer helped Ten escape from the asylum. There, they continue to make out. Killian eventually stops her, and says that he doesn’t want their first time to be when they’re wearing their shells, which is fair. But it’s also kind of a terrible thing to say, especially since he’s still refusing to deflect. 

Killian tells her that Levi comes to him sometimes. But during their last chat, Levi told him that he’d found a barrister for Ten’s mom, so now her trial is going forward. Ten is relieved to hear that, and asks about her father. He’s basically being treated super well, which pisses Ten off something fierce. 

They talk about the Troikian spy. Killian says he kidnapped Victor to prove that he wasn’t the spy. But even after all of that, he’s still not convinced Victor wasn’t somehow getting messages out while in captivity. He also says he didn’t wipe Victor’s memory, which is super suspicious right now. 

He goes on to tell her that he knows that the souls in Myriad are not resurrected. Ten says she thinks that they end up in Many Ends, but he isn’t sure about that. He explains his reasoning in the resurrection thing in explaining about his mom. His leaders had been hedging around about the new identity of his mom, which was frustrating him to no end. So he looked up the info on his own, and went to visit this woman. Except he knew that it wasn’t her when she tried to sleep with him. Ten isn’t sure about that, since Killian died when he was a baby; he never knew his mother, so how does he know that she wasn’t a slut? She goes back to the Many Ends thing, and describes the lake that she, Kayla, and Reed had to swim through to get to Myriad. Killian is lost in thought, so she thinks that there’s a similar lake in Myriad. 

Before they leave, he gives her a Pi necklace, with an emergency beacon connected to him. She gives him the gun-ring Meredith had given her. 

[yourneighborhoodneighbor]

black cat and his kittens ch8

(masterpost to my fics while ao3 is down) AO3

fic under the cut

previous chapter

“So, Ki. ~Eijirou~ was there.” Shouto teased his brother. The other immediately blushed and started sparking off and angrily sputtering. Toshi barked a laugh at that, and even Zu, who was now walking, but still holding dad’s hand, grinned widely.

The black haired boy, who had dyed his hair red, had been a regular costumer at their cafe for a little under two years now. He had been shyer at first, but had opened up with time and even managed to befriend the explosive teen all on his own with his increasingly sunshine-y personality. It had helped that said teen had developed a crush on the pointy-teethed boy, something all of his siblings often teased him for.

While they had known Eijirou (who had insisted they call him by his first name since he did the same to them to avoid the confusion of having so many Aizawas) was attending UA (the boy having told them so excitedly during one of his visits) they hadn’t really expected to meet him there. Shouto was already thinking on how much time he would bet the others it would take before the hero in training realised he already knew who the vigilantes were under their masks.

“Shut up, Sho! He doesn’t even know who i am under the mask!” Katsuki finally managed to reply as they went up the stairs and into their home. Shouto chuckled and gave the other a smirk.

They had arrived at their little afternoon and evening cafe, Bermuda. Originally the name was just the first thing they had come up with because they needed to call the place something, but it eventually came to fit well, the place becoming somewhere anyone looking for sanctuary could come and get lost in, a place where no one would find them (and harm them). If Shouto were to get even more poetic, he’d even say compasses stopped working in there, the moral kind at least, since so long as you weren’t a major asshole or started a fight, anyone, hero, villain, vigilante, civilian, was allowed in indiscriminately.

Bermuda had come about four years ago, when dad had already found him and all of his siblings and had decided he needed a more stable income than “bartender at a seedy bar on a bad part of town” and a home for his family better than “the crumbling apartment he could afford with that”. After calling in some favours he was owed and some help from his friends, dad had somehow gotten a small two story building, miraculously cheap thanks to the fact it was said to be haunted. In Shouto’s humble opinion, the only thing haunting the building was his family, who lived upstairs of the cafe.

They all went into their home to change and get ready to open up the cafe, the house currently empty since the four oldest siblings were at a friends house for the day. They bickered and teased Katsuki while they prepped the cafe for opening, and only really let up once the first costumer came in.

Teasing looks got thrown all over the place when a certain redhead walked into the cafe, though. Specially since the boy was none the wiser as to just who he was talking to.

_________________________________________________

Shouta had to steer his youngest four back to work a few times, but he wasn’t really bothered by the easygoing atmosphere they had made. Shouta would never call them out on having fun and feeling well, as long as it didn’t put them in danger.  His youngest was already opening up again and becoming more animated, even if he still hadn’t verbally spoken.

As afternoon turned into evening and evening turned into night the last patrons left their little Bermuda Triangle. Shouta was picking up the plates and mugs on the tables when he saw it.

The napkin.

He probably would’ve just bunched it up and thrown it away with the rest of the trash if he hadn’t caught sight of the ink at the last second. Initially he thought perhaps someone had just made random notes on the napkin, or maybe a drawing to pass the time, but as he uncurled the white thing his stomach dropped to the other side of the world.

‘I see after the fight that your kids are doing well. Hope that it stays that way’

It wasn’t signed.

Rationally thinking, it could really have been a random note. Maybe someone was thinking of what to say to someone else. Maybe the note was for someone else. Maybe it was for Shouta, but it was worry instead of a threat. But the father could not take any chances. Not where his family was concerned. Specially when they, above all Izuku, still had the last dregs of a criminal organisation after them that neither they nor the heroes had managed to bring down yet.

The man wanted to punch a wall so badly. He would’ve, had he been alone. Scaring his kids wasn’t worth it, though. When he had adopted them, first just emotionally, then with illegally forged documents and then had finally legally turned them all into Aizawas with Nedzu’s help, Shouta had promised both himself and them that he would never hit them. Never lash out at them, never lash out around them. They had all seen and lived more than enough of that.

His blood boiled more. He hated his children’s biological parents. He hated All for One and his stupid followers who were still out there, looking for revenge on the son they had literally dumped in the trash after the father had been killed almost six years ago. He fucking hated the lives his kids had been made to have before he found them.

But he would always, always, love his kids more than he could ever hate anyone else.

So he would protect them. Make sure the lives they had all built wouldn’t end. Make sure they didn’t have to suffer like that anymore. Ever. All for One’s trice damned organisation would come down. Soon. Shouta would make sure of that. He put the napkin in his pocket and kept on cleaning the place up.

He would have to tell his children once the older ones returned home.

_________________________________________________

People usually didn’t expect Izuku to cuss. They said he looked too nice and cute (whatever the hell that had to do with cussing?) and with his quiet demeanor, most thought him a purehearted fluffy thing or something. Thing is, not only did he have Katsuki as a brother, the rest of his family didn’t particularly have a filter either. So he thought it was pretty in-character when he let out a very long ‘FUUUUUUUUCKKK’ as his first word after not speaking the whole day when dad told them there was a good chance All for One’s the fucker people were either making a move or planning to do it.

The retrograde soggy pancake of a man that was his unfortunate DNA donor had been dead for years thankfully and he was still causing trouble for Izuku and his family. What a bother. The dead really had no respect for the living. Bastards.

In theory, the green eyed teen understood that as long as All for One’s followers were still free, he wouldn’t fully be. Him and his family and dad’s hero friends and UA had managed to get most of them locked up forever, but there were still some out there. It was just their luck that ‘quality over quantity’ applied, since it was the ones closest to All for One and therefore the most powerful that were still out there, looking to be assholes and mess with Izuku’s existance.

In practice, Izuku sometimes even managed to forget there were people still after him. He was so happy, felt so safe, so good, when he was with his family, the people who had found him and taken him in and taken care of him and taught him how to live and not just survive. He didn’t even want to think that losing them was a possibility. He didn’t want to be alone.

But Izuku wasn’t alone anymore. He knew, down to the deepest depths of his bones, that his family would be with him through it all. Things would never again be as bad as they had been before they had found him and taken him in. Together they would get through whatever the All Gang decided to do. As a matter of fact, this time, they would be the ones going down, down to where they would never be able to hurt anyone ever again.

That didn’t mean he didn’t still get scared.

He only noticed he was lightly shaking and breathing a bit faster than usual when he felt arms slowly and gently wrap around his midsection from the back, silently asking if a hug was alright. Looking down, he instantly recognised the forearms as Touya’s. Izuku melted into the embrace, grateful for the warmth the other provided. That was all the answer his brother needed to fully embrace him, supporting all of the younger’s weight in his arms.

After some much needed hugs from his family, they moved to the kitchen to discuss what they would do next.

They didn’t have much to go on other than the napkin and with it the knowledge that someone was watching, at the very least. They knew who the three bosses were, the three who had been directly under All for One’s orders and no one else’s. They knew their quirks, their appearances, names. But that was all old news. More important was whether or not they had gotten more followers, and if so, how many.

They needed to get the information first. How many, why now, what where they doing? Kai, Touya, Tenko and Himiko, who were all between 18 and 20 and therefore allowed to go out alone as vigilantes, volunteered to up patrols and look for information. Dad said yes as long as the buddy system was in place. He then called UA for help, one because they were a part of the case, and two because their contract worked in that both parties, legal and illegal, helped each other out when needed. Izuku and his remaining (still underage) brothers were to be with someone trusted at all times. The green eyed boy wasn’t complaining about that, he did not want to be caught. He couldn’t go back. Ever. Best case scenario, they’d kill him, but he doubted that. He shook his head. He didn’t need those thoughts right now, he was with his family and they would protect him. There. Suck it, fear.

He focused back on the conversation just as dad was telling them to go to sleep for now, Himiko quickly declaring it a fort night (im so sorry). Tenko, Himiko, Izuku and Shouto went to get everybody’s blankets and pillows to make the fort in the living room, big enough for all of them to cat-pile in and sleep. Touya busied himself with calling his chicken of a boyfriend to bring him into the loop, while Kai called some friends who also happened to be vigilantes. Katsuki, Hitoshi and dad took the opportunity to be the first to get ready for bed (or technically the floor, tonight) while the others were busy.

Soon enough everybody was ready to turn in for the night. In a mess of limbs on the floor, Izuku had little trouble falling asleep. Sure, he was worried and scared, and he was more likely than not going to wake up from nightmares tonight, but he knew his family would be there for him always.

Being found by the most amazing people in the world had been the best thing to ever happen in Izuku’s life. The first good thing.

He wouldn’t let anyone take that away, much less the memory and legacy of a dead man he had never wanted any relation to in the first place.

With his family, everything would be ok.

next chapter

[backstamber]

fights and bathroom counters

summary: nate is an asshole, you try to step in and say the wrong thing. nate beats you up and maddy takes care of you.

warnings: fight, maybe cursing idk

word count: 1345

when you went to that party that your best friends, rue and jules invited you to, you didn't think it would end in you fighting anyone. especially not nate jacobs.

you didnt even really want to come but your two best friends forced you. they told you it would be fun. yeah, you definitely had a lot of fun.

it all started when you saw them, maddy perez and nate jacobs in the middle of the dance floor, kissing. everyone knew nate and maddy and knew that maddy would go back to him no matter how bad he treated her. you felt bad for the girl and you thought she deserved a lot better.

anyone (you) would be better than nate, that was for sure.

but something about them was different, maddy looked uncomfortable. she is always tense around him but not like this. something was wrong.

you didn't know if you should do something. was there even anything that you could you do?

you turned to your two best friends, ''hey, do you think maddys acting weird?''

both girls looked at them for a few seconds and shook their heads.

were you imagining it? you couldn't be.

you decided you would observe them for a bit and if something happened you would go over there. which would be kind of stupid of you but you didn't really care, you just wanted maddy to be safe.

you didnt know why you cared so much all of the sudden but you did.

after a few minutes, nate started pulling maddy closer to him and she started looking increasingly more uncomfortable. how was no one but you seeing this?

you decided that this was enough and went over to them, you didn't even know what you were going to say but your feet just took you over there.

when you arrived in the middle of the dance floor you tapped maddy on the shoulder.

she looked relieved to see you while nate just had his usual scowl on his face.

''hi maddy! im going to go home now so if you want to have another sleepover can come with me!'' this was probably the dumbest and least believable thing to say but you didn't really care about that.

maddy smiled at you and went to answer before nate did it for her. ''no she's coming home with me tonight.''

you just faked a smile at him, unimpressed. ''i was talking to maddy, not you. she can decide what she wants to do''

nate laughed in your faced and went to pull maddy away.

maddy was panicking, you could clearly see that in her face and the way she held her body.

you had to think quickly. what would stop nate?

''nate let her go or ill tell everyone about your dad and his little films.''

nate completely froze but you could feel the anger radiating off of him. you were scared shitless. nate jacobs could kill you if he wanted to and right now he definitely wanted to.

before you could apologize or run away, nate turned around and ran at you. he threw a punch at your jaw and it hurt like a bitch.

he kept throwing punch after punch at you and you thought he was going to kill you.

maddy was screaming, she looked terrified. you didn't know if she was scared of nate, scared for you or both.

you managed to land some hits on him but nothing like the ones he was giving you.

you thought this was it. nate jacobs was going to kill you. sad way to go.

that was until your friend, fezco pulled him off and threw him on the ground. nate just shook his head and walked off, leaving maddy there.

you internally smiled, at least maddy was out of that situation.

fez and rue pulled you up and sat you on the couch. the dark haired girl was immediately in front of you.

''why did you do that, y/n?''

you were surprised that she knew your name. you just smiled at her.

''you looked really uncomfortable and i wanted to get you out of that situation.''

maddy smiled lightly at you.

''thank you, but that was really stupid. he could've done so much worse. I'm going to take you to my house and clean you up. is that okay?''

you nodded at her and looked at your two friends silently asking them to help you to maddys car. they did and bid their goodbyes.

maddy looked at you with worried eyes.

''does it hurt a lot?''

you didn't know if you were supposed to tell her the truth, you didn't want her to feel bad.

''not really, I've had worse''

maddy just nodded, still incredibly worried.

the rest of the car ride was silent. you didn't know what to say and neither did she. her ex?? boyfriend just beat you up. she feels like it's her fault.

''we're here.''

maddy stopped the car and went over to your side and helped you out, leading you into the house and into her bathroom.

''sit on the counter, ill get the first aid kit.''

you jumped on the counter, swinging your legs back and forth, and waited for her to come back.

the second she came back you smiled at her and she couldn't help but smile back.

even though your face was completely fucked up you still looked cute.

maddy went between your legs and started cleaning your wounds, muttering small apologies when you would wince.

you were so close. you could feel her breath on your face and it was driving you crazy.

you didn't know why you felt like this all of the sudden, sure maddy is beautiful there was no denying that but why do you suddenly have the urge to kiss her?

you were studying her face the whole time and by the nervous smile on her face she seemed to be aware of that.

''stop staring at me, you're making me nervous.''

you averted your eyes with a sheepish smile.

''im sorry you're just really pretty.''

maddy looked up at your eyes. this was the first time you ever made direct eye contact and you fell in love with the color of her eyes. they were so beautiful and displayed whatever she was feeling.

you were snapped out of your thoughts about her eyes when maddy spoke.

''can i kiss you?''

she looked so nervous and vulnerable.

you simply nodded and leaned in, waiting for her to close the distance. you wanted her to be completely sure.

and she was. maddy was never so sure about something else.

so she kissed you.

the kiss was slow and sweet. maddy liked it a lot. kisses with nate were rough and fast. this was the first time someone handled her with such,,, care.

your touch was soft and loving and not rough and possessive like nates.

your hands felt a lot better on her body.

she felt safe with you, which might be crazy because she only properly met you an hour ago but she didn't care, you made her feel good.

maddy was the one that pulled away, leaning her forehead on yours with her eyes still closed and a small smile.

''that was amazing''

you could only let out a breathy yeah.

you didn't want this to be a one-time thing and hoped maddy thought the same.

''maddy?''

maddy had her eyes still closed, she was content.

''Yeah?''

you were nervous to ask this but decided to do it anyway.

''can i take you on a date?''

maddy opened her eyes and looked at you with a small grin. she pecked your lips and nodded.

''i'd like that.''

you might've been really beaten up but you couldn't care less. the greatest girl of this town was in your arms and agreed to go on a date with you. you couldn't be happier.