#aside from having to deal with parents and kids all morning she had to deal with my dad not wanting to

[versacherries]

i had to live one year in my mom’s shoes to forgive her and understand why she acted the way she did when i was little

[artiststarme]

The Party Forgets Steve's Birthday

Thank you for the prompt @nburkhardt ! I hope it meets your expectations!

Now with a Part 2!

~*~*~*~

Steve was used to being forgotten. His parents regularly left for months at a time without regarding him at all, his old friends at school had only ever seemed to remember him when they wanted to use his house to throw a party, and his own girlfriend conveniently forgot about him when she chose to sleep with the guy that gave him his first concussion. He was well past being surprised when people neglected to think about him. 

So he really shouldn’t have been surprised when everyone forgot his birthday. 

He woke up the morning of his twentieth birthday to an empty house and an even emptier heart. Just like every other day, his parents were off on a business trip ignoring his existence. They hadn’t even left him a message congratulating him on making it to twenty, a feat Steve never thought he would accomplish. The mailbox was just as empty as it always was and it was like Steve didn’t exist to his parents at all. He didn’t know why he expected anything different. He’d been ignored, cast aside by them, his entire life and he still had the gall to expect things to change. 

Steve had a shift at Family Video at 4 until close so he had to change out of his pajamas eventually. But right up until the moment he had to leave, he sulked from the comfortable nest of blankets on his couch. He grieved the loss of love from his parents that, looking back, may have never existed in the first place. 

He also waited for his friends to call. Eddie, Robin, Nancy, or Jonathan had to know it was his birthday today. He’d told them enough times and Robin had called him a “troublesome Taurus” at least once. The older teens may not have enough excitement over just another birthday to come over to his house but surely they would call. But as time marched on, his phone sat silent despite his staring at it. 

Well, he was seeing Robin at work so she was probably just waiting to tell him in person. And maybe the others were throwing a surprise party for him. The Party threw a birthday party for each one of the members on their special day so maybe it was Steve’s turn this year to be introduced to the tradition. After the horrific Spring Break from hell, he thinks he deserved it. 

While the Party was fine now, this encounter with the Upside Down had been their worst yet. Max was in a coma for two weeks before she woke up but the repercussions of Vecna’s mind-melt were permanent. She was now blind and she still hadn’t managed to leave her wheelchair over a month later. 

Eddie was ambushed by demobats and ripped apart even though his job was supposed to be the decoy that was out of danger. Steve had to give him CPR to restart his heart through the shock then had to sprint with him out of the Upside Down and into the nearest car in the Rightside Up, a car that he had to hotwire with Eddie’s minimal guidance. Then they had to clear his name with the police and townspeople that wanted nothing more than the outcast to go down for a crime he didn’t commit. 

And Steve. While his injuries were less severe than the others, his skin would always show the scars from the demobats. His neck was still blemished and his abdomen was sunken where the bats tried to use him as a meal. Mentally, his self-confidence was gone and he had nightmares every night about the feel of the teeth tearing through his flesh. He almost didn’t make it out of there this time which made this birthday all the more special. 

When he walked into the video store for his shift, all of the kids and Eddie were there. Steve had the brief thought that they were probably putting their final touches on the surprise party but that passed quickly once they turned to look at him. 

“Oh look, your esteemed babysitter is here which means he can deal with you. Now, if you don’t mind I’m going to go hang out with other grownups instead of sticking around with you children. Bye now!” Robin told them dramatically, waggling her fingers in their faces. She turned to Steve, “hey Dingus, your children have been trying to rent a rated R film for the past twenty minutes. You deal with that while I go on my date with Vickie. Toodles!”

Steve didn’t even have time to say anything in response before she made her way to the back to clock out and left his sight. He was still watching where she used to be when he heard a throat clear. It was fucking Dustin, of course it was. The little bastard had a smug smirk on his face and wiggled his eyebrows. 

“Gross dude, no. I keep telling you that it's not like that with Robin and I. Get your head out of the gutter,” Steve told him, rolling his eyes and shaking his head.

“We can see how you look at her! It’s not rocket science, Steve. Just ask out the pretty girl already and stop being a lonely loser,” Dustin told him in a sarcastic tone. The other kids nodded while Eddie left to awkwardly look through the horror aisle full of movies he’d already seen. That fucker knew Robin was a lesbian and was just leaving him to suffer through this alone, on his birthday no less. 

“Look, I’m not talking about this today and I’m not renting you a tape that’s rated R. Is that all you’re here for?” Maybe this was a ruse and they were going to shower him with birthday wishes. 

“Oh come on! Eddie can rent it for us under his name!” Dustin whined. 

“I said no.”

"But-" Dustin started.

“Whatever, let’s go guys. Steve’s just being an asshole today,” Lucas said from his spot near the door. 

Will tucked his head down instead of acknowledging the asshole comment but still agreed, “we can go to the arcade!”

“Steve’s an asshole everyday. Today he’s just being unhelpful. If we wanted someone useless, we should’ve asked my dad,” Mike sneered at him. 

Being compared to Ted Wheeler was too much for Steve and the brats were starting to give him a headache. “Whatever dipshits, get out of my store. Go bother someone that cares. Bye!”

With some angry mumbles and grumbles, they shuffled out and made their way to the arcade (or so Steve assumes). Eddie poked his head out from the horror aisle then and upon seeing the coast was clear, hopped up to situate himself on the counter. “You having a bad day then?”

Steve sighed, “yeah you could say that. They were starting to give me a headache.”

Eddie hummed and poked Steve’s leg with his toe. “What’s up with you today? You seem… mad. Did something happen?”

Steve wasn’t mad, he was disappointed. He was disappointed that he didn’t mean as much to anyone else as they meant to him. The Party was his family but he was just an inconvenience to them. That was a common theme in life and many people have told him that through the years. His parents, Tommy and Carol, Nancy, some of the girls he’d taken on dates. Every single one of them considered him to be an inconvenience at best, a disappointment at worst. 

He really thought that he’d collected a good group of friends over the past few years that would treat him better, that didn’t just want to use him but loved him as he did them. Apparently not. 

He said as much to Eddie. “Do you ever feel like you mean something to someone and then it turns out that you don’t matter as much as you think you do?”

Eddie’s face twisted and he pulled a chunk of hair to cover his mouth. But he still nodded slightly before clearing his throat and answering his question. “Um yeah, I feel that way around you guys all the time.” 

Steve shot him an alarmed look but he continued. “It’s not meant to be a dig at you or anything! You guys have all been friends for so much longer that it just, it still feels like I’m an outsider still. You know?”

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I feel like that too, man.” Eddie went to cut him off but he continued speaking. “No, seriously! It just feels like no one gives a shit about me even after all these years. Like, I woke up today thinking everyone was going to be calling me and coming over, just making a big deal all around, but no one did. I mean, it’s not like anyone’s ever done anything big for my birthday before but I just. I expected people to care this year.”

Eddie’s face slowly paled the more Steve spoke until his skin was practically translucent. “It’s your birthday today?”

“Yeah,” Steve chuckled sardonically. “I finally made it to the big 2-0. I kinda expected to have a party today since everyone else in the Party got one for their birthday but it’s fine. Even now I’m still just the babysitter, I guess.” 

Tears started to well in Eddie’s eyes and he lunged behind the counter to give Steve a hug. “Stevie, big boy, I’m so sorry! You deserve so much more than just a party today, baby. And you’re so much more than just the babysitter. You’re family to all of us, man.”

Steve shrugged again, “maybe that’s the problem. My family has never liked me either so that’s probably the case here too. It’s fine, I got my hopes up and I shouldn’t have. No one’s ever cared before so why would they start now?”

Eddie went to speak but a customer came in. Steve took their presence as a sign and pushed Eddie gently away from behind the counter. “I have to go help them, Eddie. See yourself out, okay? I’ll see you later.”

And then he was off to do his job and ignore the fact that Eddie was still watching him with tears in his eyes. He had other things to deal with today than Eddie’s hurt feelings. Like helping customers and trying to stomp down the soul-crushing disappointment in his chest. After all, what else could he have expected for his birthday?

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[melswifeasf]

You were never mine

Fandom: Yellowjackets

Pairing: Natalie Scatorccio x fem!reader

Genre: angst.

words: 6.9k

Warnings: major character death, heartbreaking angst and slight sexual themes.

Summary: you loved Natalie more than anything, until your dying breath.

Notes: this one is a sad one so be prepared. ngl i cried while writing this.

not spell checked!

first loves always came and went. at least that is what you had heard since your were a kid. truthfully you had never cared much when your mom said that, even when you were fifteen and you were at the age in which most fell in love for the first time. you'd never cared to listen because you weren't in love. you couldn't understand when she would tell you that your first love will be painful and it will probably make you want to never fall in love again but you would. you never understood it.

until you met Natalie Scatorccio. it had been love at first sight. it was cliche and sounded stupid to anyone else but you didn't expect anyone to understand.

you had tried out for the soccer team per your fathers request. you weren't really interested in it but he was a man that loved sports and you were an only child so he didn't have a son to share his passion with. he didn't force you, simply suggested that it would be fun. even if you weren't the greatest or knew much about it, he insisted that you were on the track team and that you would make new friends and memories that would last you a lifetime. maybe he was right about one thing. you were sure Natalie would be engraved into your memory until your dying breath.

she hadn't paid much attention to you at first, you guys weren't in the same social class so she figured you'd be snobby and bitchy. that was until coach Ben had paired her up with you to help you on some of the skills you were lacking. that had been the first time you had talked, the first time you weren't left admiring her beauty. she was nice. or indifferent, mostly. she knew you hung out with the 'popular' kids and that your parents were rich and she didn't want to tension to form on the team so she figured being quiet would be easier to deal with you.

that was the case at first. until the girls on the team started to hang out outside of practice. Jackie said it was to make you guys bond but you would've loved to be around them regardless. you were closer to Lottie and Jackie, both closer to your social status which meant you shared a lot of friends. you had thrown a party one October night and invited all of the girls on the team. all of them had gone except for Misty, you weren't the biggest fan of her and you assumed she felt the same about you considering you had caught her sending glares at you more than once during or after practice. sometimes even in the hallways which really weirded you out. you'd never been mean to her or said anything, really. whatever her deal was, you didn't care to investigate.

that night you had gotten drunk and got a little too bold. more so then you were used to. you had kissed people before during parties or even got close to hooking up but you'd always stop, not really wanting to give up your virginity to some loser or a girl that probably had a boyfriend and would ditch you the next day. but Natalie wasn't one of those girls. she didn't have a boyfriend, she wouldn't ditch you the next morning or act as if she were straight and you had somehow forced her to do something. she was Natalie.

it was two in the morning when the party was over and you felt her lips all over your body. you weren't that drunk, your thoughts and sentences were coherent. you didn't want to drink much because you had a game the next day and didn't want to slack off. Natalie seemed to have felt the same. you could taste some vodka on her but she seemed pretty sober to you. aside from the alcohol you weren't sure if she had gotten high or something but that didn't really bug you. her wandering hands were making your thighs squeeze together along with her wet lips. she left a couple hickeys on your neck but nothing you couldn't cover the next morning with some makeup.

her hands were everywhere, gripping all over and discarding all of your clothes until you were only left in your underwear. you'd never forget the look in her eyes. it wasn't just lust or hunger, there was a glimmer of something else but a part of you thought you were just imagining it. in a way it was just to make yourself believe that there was a chance. that night before things could progress any further you had told her it was your first time. a part of you expected her to feel awkward and pull away, leaving you there nude and chest heaving. she didn't. she kissed you softly, unlike all of her other kisses and asked you if you were sure. you answered by pulling her into a deep kiss.

Natalie had been the one to make you feel that bliss for the first time. she had been the one to take that part of you and you had no regrets. it didn't matter that she wasn't there when you woke up or that she would kiss you before or after practice once you were alone. it didn't matter that she'd sneak into your room at night to fuck then leave before you had awaken. it didn't matter that she didn't love you because at least you had her. in sone fucked up way you had her. you knew you were the only person she was hooking up with, she had confirmed that early one when you asked about stds and if you should get checked. that made you feel ecstatic, knowing she only ever came to you.

sweat stuck to your body as if you had just gotten out of the shower. your hair was messy and tangled and you could feel your body growing sore from the aftershock of what had just happened. her hand was holding yours tightly from under the sheets and it was probably as sore as your body from every time you'd squeeze it a little too tight. it was silent apart from your ragged breath. your chest was falling and rising heavily and the blankets were making your body feel overheated.

then Natalie popped out from underneath the blankets with a small smirk as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. it was a sight your sure you'd never get tired of. when she was at your level, you could see her bare chest and her hair was almost as frazzled as yours from when you had tangled your hands in it. the cocky smirk she was wearing made you roll your eyes and softly punch her shoulder.

"shut up," you said, a blush coating your cheeks. your face was already pink from the intercourse but even then, your blushing was more than obvious and it made Natalie stop for a second.

"i didn't do anything," she chuckled holding her hands up. you rolled your eyes while pulling the cover further up your body.

"you didn't have to," you responded. "i know what your thinking."

the blondes eyebrow rose in question and she held herself up with one hand, looking down at you. some of her hair fell down her face and you could feel it softly tickle your face so you reached up and tucked it under her ear. the action earned a small, almost ghosting smile on the blondes lips that if you weren't looking, you would have missed. "what am i thinking?" the blonde questioned in a murmur. it was the tone she'd use to try and get you to bed, the tone she'd use when she had hand down your pants or when she would want to leave you hot and bothered. the tone that made you realize she wanted more. "how hot you are after cumming on my tongue?"

almost immediately you felt your face warm up, "shut up." you whispered, very obviously embarrassed. Natalie chuckled softly and you leaned up to kiss her softly. it was always that way with you, her kisses were almost always rough and fast, filled with passion and lust while yours were slow and loving. it was something she couldn't stand, something that always made her run away.

much like she did that night. Natalie pulled away from your a second after and got up and off the bed although faster then you could open your eyes. it wasn't unusual and yet somehow it still surprised you. it was pathetic and almost comical how you'd always be left in shock, processing the way she had just made you feel euphoric and then miserable in the matter of literal seconds.

when you did open your eyes, you were met with sight of her pulling her jeans up. her bra was on by then and you could see that she had fixed her hair. and like always, you stupidly asked the same thing you always did, "want to stay? my parents won't be home for a while and i can drive you home tomorrow." you said, hope filled in your tone. hope that meant nothing, hope that broke your heart, the same hope that had no room in you after so many rejections.

Natalie shook her head as she reached for her shirt, "cant." she said simply. as if it were the most indifferent thing, as if it mattered less than a penny on the street. because you didn't matter, not really. you were someone who she had fun with, the girl that would let her do anything she wanted whenever she wanted. it didn't matter if it was two in the morning or the middle of third period, you'd wake up or sneak out of class just for her. even if you were exhausted or taking a test. she was more important then anything and everything.

you were fun and adventurous and liked to do new things. not to mention the fact that you were pretty and had a nice car and almost always had weed, all things Natalie loved. the only things she ever really noticed. she never saw the way your eyes would always find hers in the middle of a crowded room, never saw the way youd always defend her name with your friends that she'd call snobby. never noticed what your favorite song was or the fact that you loved romcoms because they showed the love you craved. never noticed what your favorite flowers were or that you scrunched your nose when you thought something was adorable. she never cared to notice that you loved her.

it wasn't new and it shouldn't hurt by how many times she had done it and yet it still did. it still left your chest tightening and your throat burning as it would when you'd silent your sobs. it left your eyes burning as if you were having a staring contest with someone and desperately needed to blank. it still left that dread in your stomach, the one you'd feel before getting the results of a test and the one that would leave you feeling sick.

when she was fully dressed, neither of you said a word. she didn't have anything to say while you were trying to keep any emotion a secret. you didn't bother trying to promise yourself that this was just her hiding her feelings, that this was her too afraid to love you back. they were so overused they did more hurt then comfort.

your eyes never left her, not when she turned toward you fully dressed and said, "see you." before leaving without another word or a glance back. when your door closed behind her, it all came pouring out. there was no more hiding it, no more keeping your emotions at bay. you just weren't strong enough for that anymore.

a week after that night, all of your lives changed for the worst.

the plane fell on your way to nationals. what was supposed to be a quick plane ride turned into all of your being stranded in a forest with no hope of being found. at first most of you did but as the days went on all of you started to lose hope progressively. you tried to keep a positive mind but it failed you. there was no point in having hope when you'd just get let down. you didn't have any major injuries, just a couple scratches but nothing that wouldn't heal with time. three days into being stranded Taissa found a lake which followed to finding a cabin. it was nice. at least nicer than having to sleep outside with all sorts of animals.

a lot had changed. most of your relationships had at least. you grew closer to Shauna and Taissa during the short time you'd been there. you half expected to get closer to Natalie and maybe free the reigns she felt from being able to call you guys official. you hoped that without prying eyes and the need to conform to social status that maybe she could take your relationship seriously. you were wrong. so incredibly wrong and it hurt. instead of getting closer to you she was getting closer to Travis. of course she would choose him over you, it wasn't even surprising at that point.

she chose a random guy she had just met to grow feelings for rather than you. the person who had been there everyday. the person who would welcome her with open arms or needed a quick fuck in the middle of the night. you had been there as much as she allowed you to be but of course that still wasn't enough.

the night sky was littered with lights as the full moon reflected on the water. Natalie stood behind you with her arms wrapped around your waist. there were still times in which she would show you affection, mostly when she was angry at Travis or the other way around and this was one of those times. you knew it was toxic and that it was only hurting you but somehow you couldn't stop yourself. having her even just in these small moments was enough. she could never be yours but she was yours, just for that moment. maybe that could be enough.

her lips were being pressed against your neck, her hands softly caressing at your hips making you smile softly. you turned your body around so you could face her completely, your hands finding the back of her neck so you could pull her into a soft kiss.

even if you knew she'd ignore you tomorrow morning, even if you knew that she'd go back to pining over Travis as if he put the stars in the sky for her. even if you'd end up with a broken heart because at least you'd have small moments like these engraved in your memories.

the post orgasm haze was still present and Natalie was aware of that so she placed her hands on the back of your thighs which made you wrap your legs around her waist and let her carry you. her lips were hungry and hot. your lips were grazing her teeth and you could feel a bruise forming, her hands were under your buttocks to keep you from falling and her grasp was strong and rough. everything always was with her, she'd leave marks on you, ones you couldn't cover because of how dark they were or she'd leave bruises on your body. never unwanted and the pain always made you climax faster. but they were marks, ones that came from her and you hated them. what at first made you blush when you'd look at them turned into a sick feeling forming in your stomach and your chest compressing. they weren't anything to be proud of because at the end of the day, she'd never let you leave even a scratch on her.

your body was spent but when she reached down to press her fingers against you, you didn't stop her. a moan left your lips but it was swallowed by her eager lips. the feeling of it all was too much and it made you grip the back of her neck tightly. when she pulled away, it wasn't far. her lips met your neck where they began to leave wet kisses before it turned into sucking and biting. "fuck Nat," you moaned. that made her proud and you could almost feel her smirk against your skin.

maybe you should have realized that you made her feel good. before during  and after sex, you made her feel good. while she only gave you two out of three, she'd always have the advantage of knowing that you were hers while you could only have her when she was horny.

then she began to put more pressure which elicited a small gasp from you. "your doing so good," she praised softly against your neck. those words always made the hairs on your skin to rise and a wave of pleasure to corse through you. all things she knew and always took advantage of.

those words seemed to click something in you. what would once make you quiver made everything click. you were good, good to her. she liked that. she knew how you felt. it was obvious to anyone with eyes. when you'd ask her to spend the night, when you'd listen to the same music she did so you could talk about something, when you'd bring in an extra snack so she had something to eat before practice. the way you would smile at her in the hallways and how all of the sudden no one talked shit to her.

all of those thoughts made you each your breaking point. the pleasure turned numb and all you could focus on was the way tears began to fall and a sob was going to escape your throat. the feelings you had been keeping inside for so long were slowly seeping through the cracks of the border you made around your heart. every memory, every word she had said to make that wall grow higher and higher was starting to launch against it like a bomb. she had been the one to bring those walls up so high and she'd be the one to break them.

Natalie noticed right away. she felt a tear drop against her shoulder and your chest stuttered against her own. when she pulled away from your neck, her eyes met your teary ones and she stopped instantly. "what's wrong? did i hurt you?" she asked worriedly. her brows were pinched together and you could see the way her lips were pulled into a small frown. she was worried and she cared for you. in that moment at least.

yes, you wanted to say. 'you hurt me' was all you could think but you couldn't say it. maybe she hadn't meant to hurt you, maybe she never realized how you felt about her. all things you so badly wanted to believe so you could stop the horrible feeling in your chest. but you shook your head and a cry left your lips. Natalie reached up to wipe away your tears and in that moment, her touch was so soft and loving that maybe things could change. maybe she could feel the same.

maybe she was just scared to admit how she felt or to get attached so she did what everyone always did, pull away from the person you love. and so the words left your lips like acid, as if they burned so terribly she couldn't bare even touching you. "i love you."

they were said. the words you had thought about for so long were finally in the air and they had been heard by her. there was no more hiding, no more keeping your feelings a secret. there was nothing that could unsay those words and nothing that could make her unhear them. for a second you almost thought she hadn't heard you by her lack of reaction but when she pulled away from you and your body almost fell if it weren't for you quick reaction, you knew.

even in the darkness you could see the way her face flashed in disgust and the way all and any trace of worry evaporated. nothing but confusion and disgust was present.

nothing could explain how desperately you wished to take those words back in that moment.

"what?" she said almost laughing. it was a fleeting moment, a moment in which she almost thought you were joking but then she realized how hurt you looked and that thought vanished.

"Natalie-" you took a step toward but she immediately took one back, as if you'd kill her if she didn't. the action intensified the already burning sensation in your throat and the lack of oxygen in your lungs. it burned to breathe, it hurt to blink and to even think.

"why would you do that?" she shook her head, confusion written all over her features.

"do what?" you asked, just as confused.

Natalie shook her head once more and her eyes broke away from yours, "why would you say that?"

her words didn't make the confusion go away, "because i mean it." you responded quickly. because you couldn't keep it a secret anymore and because you almost thought she'd say it back.

Natalie turned away from you, her back toward you. more tears fell at her actions and you wanted to wrap your arms around her but you didn't, unsure if she'd react badly. "fuck." the blonde almost screamed but she was still loud and her tone was harsh.

"how do i not love you?" you pressed, "i let you see me in way no one else has. i've spent almost every night with you for the past four months. you are fucking amazing and if you could just see that-"

"stop!" Natalie exclaimed and finally turned around. "stop saying that, stop talking." she snapped.

that hurt like a bullet. it hurt more than anything ever had and all you could feel were more tears fall. the pain was unexplainable, indescribable. it was a cliche almost because it truly felt like someone had held a gun up to your chest and didn't stop shooting until the clip was empty. not to mention the lump in your throat that burned, especially the way in which you were trying to silent your sobs.

the blonde ran her hands down her face roughly, "this was just sex," she said motioning between you and her. "i told you that from the beginning."

her words made a laugh ripple from your throat, "are you serious?" disbelief was present in your voice. "how do i stop myself from falling Natalie? do you want me to just turn off my emotions? to numb myself from any feelings? because i fucking cant! i cant just act like sex meanings nothing! as if being intimate with you doesn't mean anything!" you yelled, careless to if anyone could hear. because in your mind it was just you and her. in that moment no one else existed and you weren't stranded in the woods, you were simply standing in front of the girl you loved most and the girl who would break you heart completely.

Natalie's face didn't change. there was still nothing but anger present on her features, "if i could do it. so could you." the blonde said finally. and that was it. that was the final bullet the blonde needed to completely break the dam and all the water to rush out. every single emotion to pour out uncontrollably and infinitely.

there was nothing left to say. there was nothing you could say. nothing that would make her love you or take back the words that she just been said. she didn't love you. that was obvious and if it weren't for that stupid hope you always carried, you wouldn't have been blinded into believing she could feel it when you admitted the words out loud.

every interaction, every time you had sex, every time in which she'd ignore the hope in your tone when you'd ask her to stay or every time you'd look at her hurt when she'd smile at Travis. they were all moments in which she was practically screaming at you to let her go but you so stupidly believed she just didn't want to get hurt. how naive can a human be when in love.

finally, you pulled yourself together as much as you could and pried your teary eyes away from her. with the back of your hand, you roughly wiped the tears away as you began to walk past the blonde and toward the direction in which your clothes were. as soon as you knew she was too far to hear you, every emotion broke loose. your sobs racked your body making it shake and you closed your mouth tightly to prevent the noise from being too loud. you didn't care to wipe at your tears and you let yourself finally feel everything you so desperately needed to months ago.

leaving with Taissa and the couple of girls wasn't a hard decision. you wanted out of there, you wanted to go back home and simply never see any of them again. you couldn't anymore, you just couldn't. Taissa had a plan, to walk in one direction until you reached something, anything and even though a lot of people were against it, they couldn't exactly argue with her logic. you weren't the only one who wanted to go with Tai, so did Mari, Akhilah, Van and Misty at the last minute. everyone going for the same reason, not being able to wait another moment for help.

you couldn't just sit there with everyone, hoping that someone would find you because the chances were that no one would. if they could, they would've already done it. you were sure your parents thought you had died, wasn't hard to think that. you'd think the same if you were in their position. at first you didn't want them to stop looking, you wanted them to try and try until they searched every possible place but slowly, as the days passed you realized that they deserved happiness. they deserved peace and if they had given up, you couldn't blame them. accepting having lost someone was sometimes easier then thinking what if. you just hoped they'd be able to move on at some point, most likely not soon but at some point at the very least.

Natalie didn't say goodbye. it wasn't surprising. she had asked, no, begged Travis not to go though. you had heard their conversation while packing your own things and suddenly the decision to go didn't sound so bad. at least you wouldn't have to see their longing gaze, see them come back from hunting with love sick smiles and you wouldn't have to endure Natalie avoiding you as if even looking in your direction would kill her.

as expected, she simply ignored you after that night in the lake. what was once her dragging you away in the middle of the night turned into silence. sometimes she'd hold your hand until you fell asleep because she knew how hard it was for you to do so. now you held your own hand, whispered to yourself that you were okay and the panic attack you were enduring would go away.

when you hugged Lottie, Shauna and Jackie goodbye, the blonde didn't step up once. she stood back and watched. watched as they held you with fear and desperation. they hugged you so tightly, it almost crushed your ribs. they found the small comment quite funny, even through their tears when you said it. then it was time to leave and the only thing you got was her eyes meeting yours for less then a second before you turned around and left.

things were complicated with Taissa and the group, the compass stopped working and there was some blood river that apparently Lottie had dreamed of. and then you ran into an obstacle. a huge one at that. after walking for so long all of you needed a break so you stopped at a certain place in which Tiassa deemed best. one of them started a fire, you were too exhausted to remember who and when your eyes closed.. well everything turned for the worst.

wolves were something you’d see on tv, something you never thought you’d see up close but then again, there were a lot of things you didn’t think you’d do and you had to in the forest. that included shoving Vanessa Palmer out of the way so you’d get the worst of a bite. if only you had known that she’d get it pretty bad anyway. just not as bad as you.

all you could feel was pain. pain, pain, pain. everywhere, on your bloody leg, your bloody arm and it ran through your whole body. what could you do? what were you going to do? you didn’t know. death seemed inevitable in that moment, death seemed like the only answer, like the easier answer. suddenly death sounded peaceful, it sounded… like home.

but neither of the girls were going to leave you behind, even when you begged, even when you cried that it hurt, even when you passed out from the pain. why? because you were y/n l/n, the girl who would make them all laugh even after a bad game, the one who always worked with the team and never showed off or gloated, the one who saved Vanessa Palmer from being burned to death. so it didn’t matter how much you fought, how much you insulted them for not being smart and simply leaving you. none of it mattered because it would mean leaving you to die and they could never do that.

it was hard. so fucking hard. Van had a gash on her face but it wasn’t anything too bad, just enough for her to bleed through the cloth wrapped around her head. she and Taissa were the ones helping you, each of them having one of your arms wrapped around their necks. it was easier to walk at first, maybe it was the adrenaline or the fact that you still had blood in you. but as the sun set and you dragged your leg for miles, that blood kept gushing, that blood kept leaving your body until you were left sickly pale and your eyes could barely stay open.

death was inevitable. your born knowing you’d die, it’s the cycle of life. but dying at eighteen wasn’t part of that cycle, it wasn’t supposed to happen. kids are supposed to burry their parents, not the other way around. everyone wakes up knowing they could die that day but you never think it to be true. just like you didn’t think that would be the day you’d die.

but what if dying is the easy way out? what if dying then is easier then dying months from then when your traumatized and starved. what if dying them is easier when you still have the memory of your parents features and voice clear in your mind. what if dying then.. is the only way out. then maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. your parents wouldn’t have to bury you and maybe just maybe, if the girls are ever found, they would have already mourned you and knowing of your death wouldn’t hurt so badly.

until you realized.. you’d be dying hating Natalie. you’d be dying with the words she said to Travis replaying in your head. you’d be dying with her last words being that you were pathetic for loving her. you’d be dying with a broken heart all while knowing the last time you kissed her was also the last time you loved her.

could you die like that? could you die not knowing what being loved felt like? could you die before you healed your first heartbreak? that wasn’t fair. how could that be fair? how could you die knowing you’d never be loved? knowing you’d never love someone and be loved unconditionally. you’d never have a fairytale love, the kind that brings you flowers and chocolates or dedicates a song to you. the kind of love that hurts because of how much you both love each other. equally.

at some point, you blacked out. you weren’t sure when it happened or how it even happened, it was probably the blood though. all you knew was that one second you could hear your name along with Van and Tais being called before your eyelids grew heavy and everything went black. then you were warm.. and there was a hand holding yours tightly. there were droplets hitting your skin and you could feel someone’s face pressed up against your own as they sobbed loudly.

it was when you found the strength to wake up.

Natalie. it was Natalie who was holding you. her scent was unmistakably hers. it was always vanilla and cigarettes except this time there wasn’t much of the cigarettes but even then.. it was Natalie. your Natalie.

when your eyes lulled awake, she broke apart just a little so she could meet your eyes. “hey it’s okay. Misty’s looking at your leg.” she said. you knew. she knew too but her desperation wouldn’t let her see that. but you didn’t tell her that.

“guess i kind of lost to a wolf, huh?” you tried to joke but your sentence wasn’t completed without a couple of coughs and wheezes.

Natalie tried to smile through her tears but you could see the pain behind her eyes. “i lied.” she said quickly. you knew it then too. somehow you had each become a cliche, one you wished to never be. “i didn’t mean any of those things. i didn’t think i deserved you. your so amazing and kind and you make everyone feel safe and i didn’t deserve that. i don’t deserve you so i pushed you away because i knew i’d end up breaking you.” she continued. her tears were falling desperately, they were one after another and you couldn’t help but reach up with your healthy hand and wipe them away. when you did, her hand held yours against her face. she felt so warm compared to your freezing touch and it felt so safe.

“i thought that pushing you away would be better, that you’d get over me and find someone worthy of you.” she continued. you knew what was coming next. you knew what she would say and in a fucked up way, you couldn’t bring yourself to hear them. not like this and not then.

“don’t.” you shook your head. the color from your face was gone, leaving nothing but a pale and discolored shade. your warm and inviting eyes were slowly fading. your smile was weak and it wasnt the one that would make everyone around you smile with you.

Natalie shook her head, “i love you.” she finally said. she said it. the words you had been wanting to hear for so long where finally said and you were dying. how was that fair? how could that ever be fair? why didn’t you deserve love? why couldn’t you have a love so beautiful that when you took your last breath, at least you knew you experienced that love once in your life.

it wasn’t supposed to be like that. she was supposed to say those words in the starlit night, with nothing but water around you and the intimacy of having her nude body pressed up against yours. you were supposed to kiss her until neither of you could breathe and you were supposed to whisper in her ear to prove just how much she loved you. your love was supposed to be meaningful, your love story deserved to be longer, to be sweeter, to last. it was supposed to be for the books.

instead your bleeding out in her arms with your last moment being her screaming at you that loving her was pathetic.

the words had been said and there was nothing left to do. nothing you could do but weakly pull her down so she could kiss you. what was always rushed and passionate kisses was a slow and weak one. your warm lips weren’t skilled and sensual, they were just another reminder of your ticking time. but that didn’t matter. not to you and not her. it would be the last kiss you shared, the last time she’d feel you pour your love into it, the last time she’d feel your hand caressing her face and the last time she’d feel this.

when she pulled away, there were tears in your eyes too. you weren’t ready to die. every thought you had before was gone. you weren’t ready. you still wanted to hug your parents again, you wanted to go to college with the girl you loved, you wanted to have more time with Natalie and all of your friends. you weren’t ready to die but it was useless.

and for the last time ever, “i love you, too.” you managed to weakly whisper. the heart that would beat so rapidly when you last said those words was slow and weak. she could barely feel a hum against your chest. how could she have been so selfish? why didn’t she enjoy the way your heart hammered against your chest when she’d lay on it? after you’d have sex and you’d press your body against here? when you told her you loved her? why didn’t she memorize the rhythm of your heart? why why why?

it was time. you know it. it was getting hard to breathe and the more you tried, the more it hurt. with as much strength as you could muster, you whispered. “remember me, sometimes.” they were lousy words but they were the only thing you wanted. even if it wasn’t always, you at least wanted to be remembered sometimes. maybe when she listened to Queen since it was the only artist you shared. maybe in lillie’s, like the ones you always had in your room. maybe when she looked at the sky or when she thinks the best thing to do is to push the person she loves away. you’ll be the reminder to never take love for granted.

Natalie cried at your words, those words that left a whole in her heart, the words that would leave scars and wounds she’d never be able to heal. “you’ll be the only thing i’ll remember.” she said back. her words made your lips curl just a tad.

then it happened. you took your final breath. your heart stopped breathing. your eyes were left lifeless and your touch slipped from her face. there was nothing left but your lifeless body in her own.

finally, everything she held in while you were with her was finally let out. her sobs were so loud and she didn’t care that everyone in the room could see. that everyone was silently watching with tears in their own eyes. she clutched your body so tightly against her chest, almost as if you’d move away. her cries were so loud they were like a howl on a full moon.

her body rocked with your lifeless body in her arms. crying, screaming, sobbing. her cries of pain were nothing short of heartbreaking. every fiber of her being hurt. she was in fucking agony.

she couldn’t accept it, she wouldn’t. her hand softly shook your face and when you didn’t react, she put you on the ground gently before she began to pump your chest with her hands. her tears kept running down her face and landing on your body as she continued to press against your chest in a steady rhythm. that stupid song in the back of her head. she was trying her fucking hardest. why wasn’t that enough? no one dared to say a thing, not even Travis who stood back and watched with tears in his eyes.

it didn’t matter how much she tried, you didn’t wake up. not after a minute, not after two and not after three. even when she begged, “please come back.” she whispered through her actions. until finally, she stopped. when she did, her shaky hands reached your face and she gently cradled it. she memorized every freckle, every eyelash, every little mark on your face. she memorized the way your lips felt under her fingertips and the color of your eyes. the eyes that would never look at her again. the eyes that she wouldn’t meet across the room, the eyes that wouldn’t look at her in pain, ever again. the eyes she ignored so many times. she felt so fucking stupid then.

but they weren’t your eyes. not anymore so she shakily closed them. when she did, she slowly buried her face in your chest. her arms holding you tightly as she cried softly. as she remembered your scent, as she felt your body in her arms for the last time ever.

Natalie Scatorccio was completely and utterly heartbroken.

you were dead. even when you weren’t ready to. but at least you loved her until your dying breath.

[equallyshaw]

ᴅᴀʏ ᴇʟᴇᴠᴇɴ: ʜᴀᴘᴘʏ ʜᴏʟɪᴅᴀʏꜱ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴜɢʜᴇꜱ- ʙᴀʀᴢᴀʟ ꜰᴀᴍɪʟʏ - ᴍᴀᴛ ʙᴀʀᴢᴀʟ x ᴏᴄ ʜᴜɢʜᴇꜱ

part of holidays with equallyshaw

warnings: none! just angsty and sad :( - but happy ending !

word count: 3.7k+

also oc hughes is 28 going on 29. so two in a half years older than mat.

social media edit.

ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴀꜱᴛ 5 ʏᴇᴀʀꜱ ɴᴏᴡ, the hughes brothers, barzal children, both sets of parents, and the barzals have gotten together in sunny california to spend their few days off together. miranda 'randy' barzal is a content creator and an og vlogger from back in the day on youtube. for the past 5 years she's vlogged their time as a family and it has been an absolute success, even doing a summer series as well, during the offseason.

what could this holiday get-together bring?

❅

"hey guys welcome back to vlogmas, i hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season so far! i know we've had a very busy one and we've loved every minute of it! today we are traveling from long island to orange county, so you'll see some of our chaotic travel! mat will be meeting us in orange county tomorrow morning after a red eye from carolinas. without further ado, lets get this show on the road!" she squealed into the camera, before turning it off. her fake smile quickly dropped, and she felt her nausea grow stronger.

she pushed it aside once she heard her eldest child, marie coming into the room with her baby brother, theo. "hi guys. you guys excited to see grandma, grandpa and nana papa?" she grinned, pulling them onto her lap. they nodded, "yeah grandma and grandpa gives us chocolate." theo gushed, and she giggled thinking about how her kids at her parents wrapped around their finger. "well mama and papa are picking us up soon with tie tie so we can go to california." miranda explained right as the doorbell went off, and then she heard the voices of mat's family echo throughout the townhouse.

_

miranda pulled out her vlog camera and marie quickly took it and began to make faces and that made miranda giggle, and then liana came into the frame and made them as well. theo came over from across the airport lounge, from his babbling with nana and papa. theo made grabby hands to miranda and she pulled him up. "where are we going marie?" miranda questioned as marie flipped the camera towards her mom. "californiaaaaaa!" she yelled into the camera, and miranda did her best to shoosh her. "inside voices baby." she said pulling some hair out of her daughters face, but she pushed her mom's hand away. liana giggled, and took the vlog camera, moving it out in front of her so all four of them were in frame. "barzal hughes holiday commences!" liana grinned into the camera, while marie made jazz hands and theo bobbed up and down on mirands lap.

"hey guys, our flight is boarding." mat's mom said walking over to help with the kids. "time to go guys!" miranda softly smiled.

she would be lying to herself if she wasn't dreading this holiday get-together.

❅

the minute she walked into the beach house that they rented this year, she felt herself sigh. her parents had gotten there a bit earlier and were quickly engulfing the two kids into big hugs. "im gonna take these upstairs, ill be down soon." miranda said to mat's parents, and they went to go greet her parents. she felt herself on the verge of throwing up, and she quickly dropped the bags and went straight to her and mat's ensemble washroom. she let out as much as she could, and groaned.

she knew what she had to do.

she pulled out her toiletry bags and then pulled out her vlog camera, setting it down on the counter. even if she didn't put this out, she thought she'd get a little bit of footage. she sat down on the toilet, staring daggers a the pregnancy test. she sighed, putting the cap back on and putting on a timer. she turned on the camera, "well looks like things are shaping out to be a bit different this year. i just ended up taking a pregnancy test. typically with my past pregnancies, i deal with sickness throughout the day and not in the morning, and I've been feeling like shit the past few days so i thought, why not?! ill check back with you guys as soon as the timer goes off!" she said before turning off the camera. she headed back into the bedroom, and pulled her kids suitcase into their room, across the hall. miranda felt her phone buzz, and she pulled it out to see a message from mat. she responded back, letting him know that they had made it to the beach house.

after taking out her suitcase dividers, her phone went off. she grabbed the camera and turned it on, filming herself from the chest up. she looked down at it, and gave a weak smile. she didn't even bother looking at it yet, just letting herself cry a bit. it was the first time all month she'd let herself be vulnerable on camera. her and mat had been having a rough patch. it was like one thing after another this season, and now that the holidays had rolled around - she wasn't thrilled about putting on a fake smile 24/7. this wasn't the first rough patch in their 8 year relationship, it was just the worst one thus far.

she wiped some tears, sniffling as she smiled. "its been a hard holiday season and its just, been a lot recently. mentally especially, and this whole what if does not help." she said, chuckling at the end. she breathed in and out deeply, before picking up the test that was upside down. she felt her heartbeat begin to pick up, as she saw the positive result. "and we're pregnant!" she said softly, turning the test around. she sniffled staring at it, and smiled back at the camera. a weak one. "well! that's quite the surprise." she paused chuckling, "we'll pick this back up in a bit." she finished, and turned off the camera. she texted her mom quickly, asking her to come see her.

a few minutes later there was a knock on the door. ellen walked in and shut the door behind her, and then quickly walked over to her daughter. who as soon as ellen's arms wrapped around her, she was falling onto her knees. she sobbed into her mom's arms. "whats going on sweetie?" she questioned, rubbing her daughters back. she sniffled, pointing back towards the washroom. ellen stood up, and saw the test on the counter. she didn't react like one usually would, instead she could read the situation with her daughter. she knew how her and mat had been doing recently, and could tell this pregnancy was just adding an extra toll on her.

"oh sweetie." ellen said wrapping her arms around her again, "he's gonna think this is a 'fix it' baby, an attempt to keep him. he's gonna think i did it on purpose-" and ellen cut her off, "no he wont. i promise. i promise." she said trying to reassure her daughter. if there was one thing about mat, was that he always thought the best of everybody and every situation- this wasn't gonna change that.

❅

the next morning around 6 am, she felt the bed dip next to her. she didn't feel mat get closer to her, she didn't feel his arms around her, she knew there was a nice amount of space between the two. and that made her silently cry. she threw off the covers, threw on her cotton robe, and headed down the stairs with her phone. mat looked up at the door once it opened and heard footsteps going downstairs. he sighed following her.

she turned on the camera, filming the expresso machine intently. she heard somebody walk in, and she jumped seeing mat. he knew that he wouldn't be getting any sleep now, so he pulled out a mug as well to make coffee. she stayed silent as she flipped the camera towards her, "its about 6 am now, i just woke up for the day and right now its all about getting some coffee and food in me, before i go check in with the kiddos. and then I'll see where the morning takes us. probably will involve some pancakes, courtesy of grandma and grandpa hughes." she grinned before turning the camera back off.

she took her cup of decaf and headed outside to the deck, and mat knew that she was brewing. he knew that her silent treatment was for a reason and that he was in for one. his expresso finished, and he followed her outside. he sat down across from her, as she looked out at the ocean. "how was the flight?" he questioned, and she shrugged. "same old same old. thankfully your sister and parents were with us. that helped." she said sipping some expresso. mat nodded, "is everything ok?" he questioned a few minutes later. she sniffled, "has anything been ok recently?" she spat. he sighed, "i really don't have the patience this morning, we'll talk about this later." she said through strained tears. she stood up and walked back inside and upstairs.

mat stayed downstairs, and shut his eyes in frustration. the glass door slid open and he heard the patter of small feet coming running towards him. "daddy!" marie screamed and he quickly pulled the two of them in his arms. "did you miss daddy?" mat questioned, and they both nodded. "are you guys happy to be here for christmas?" mat asked and the two screamed. "morning voices lovies, please." he said and the two nodded pulling a finger to there mouth to shush each other. he smiled, and they then got more comfier. their heads rested on his chest as his mom came out. "hey mama." he said and she smiled. "hi hun." she said sitting where miranda had just sat. "is everything ok with miranda?" she questioned and mat shrugged. "hey kids, why don't you go see papa in the kitchen...i heard he's making pancakes with grandpa!" his mom said excitedly, and that was enough for the two to run off.

"no seriously, whats going on with miranda?" she asked and mat's eyebrows crinkled, "i don't know what you're getting at." he said, annoyance lacing his words. "last night she spent two hours with ellen up in your guys' room. ellen then said that it was a bug but you and i know damn well what her pregnancy symptoms are." his mom explained, and mat was dumbfounded. when the hell would she have been able to get pregnant? then he remembered, they had a fight back during american thanksgiving, and a little bit of wine had one thing leading to another. "i also know there's a lot going on between you to but please don't make her any more upset than she already is. you know you can be a real piece of work, right?" his mom asked and he rolled his eyes. "got it mom." he said picking up his cup of cold expresso, and heading inside.

_

back upstairs, she had filmed herself doing her skin care and getting changed for the day, but found herself just sitting at the vanity not doing her makeup like she had planned to. she knew she had to get a move on so they could have breakfast as a family and then head to the beach. she didn't have to look behind her to see who had walked into he room. mat sat down on the bed, his back facing her and she bit her lip. she turned off the camera, and began to put some light makeup on. anything to cover up her anxiety and trembling hands.

"are you pregnant?" he blurted, and she stayed silent. he turned back towards her, "are you pregnant?" he questioned again and she still said nothing. mat sighed, standing up, and headed over to the washroom. he began to look through her things, and in the drawers before he found what he was looking for. he stared down at the positive pregnancy result, and miranda felt like she could vomit. she sighed, spraying some setting spray before standing up. "miranda..." he said softly, and that made her stop in her tracks. she turned back towards him, and she saw the tears pooling in his eyes. she swallowed, waiting for him to say something but he didn't. she nodded, before heading downstairs with her phone and camera.

she took that as his reaction.

she walked down stairs and heard her brothers in the kitchen. her kids laughed loudly, at whatever their uncles had said. "hey sis." luke said stepping over from a few feet and hugged her. "hi." she said softly, before quinn made his way over. "hey q." she said as he pulled her in for a hug, then jack walked over as well. "randy." jack said giving her a longer hug, and then stepped back to his niece and nephew. "wheres mat?" quinn asked drinking his starbucks coffee. "he's upstairs." she responded. she checked with them before turning on the camera, and videoed them a bit with luke offering her the most content to work with. quinn just stared at it with an amused look while jack pushed it away playfully before taking over, while him and luke caught the audience up on what they had done recently. then jack got on the kid's level and talked to the camera with them. miranda made herself busy helping her dad with the pancakes at the stove, hoping that time would pass quickly.

jim stared down at his eldest child, the one who had always been the strongest and most determined, who seemed so lifeless and oh so weak. she gave him a weak smile before she heard mat's voice echo through the kitchen, as he went to go greet the brothers. she swallowed hard, turning around holding a plate of pancakes with a fake smile.

❅

after a whole day of recording at the beach, the hughes and barzals headed back up to the beachouse while ellen and jim had just gone to a restaurant for a traditional Jewish dinner. tomorrow, would be the typical american christmas dinner. but a hughes tradition, was to have a traditional meal on christmas eve. once the kids were sent to bed after eating, she'd be able to shower and then edit the vlog from that day.

they all piled into the dining room, the kiddos going wild over food as they were famished. also, grandpa hughes and papa barzal had promised a little bit of dessert beforehand. and now they were being rewarded, for waiting. back in the kitchen miranda began to get the sippy cups ready with juice for the kids, and while she was putting the juice back mat walked into the kitchen. the two hadn't had a quiet moment between them since that morning, when he didn't say anything about the test.

he was bold and wrapped his arms around her from behind, making her freeze. she was about to shove him off when he spoke. "please...let me have these few seconds. then we can talk once we put the kids down." he whispered close to her ear. she leaned back into him letting him cloud her senses, before grabbing the sippy cups and walking out of his arms. mat sighed as she walked out of the room, and he cursed himself for being so bold.

dinner was going to be interesting.

❅

it was around 2 am when she finished up her vlog, and she ripped off her blue light glasses and set her laptop down on the coffee table. she stretched when she stood up, and then headed upstairs to bed. she didn't think mat would be up, but he was. he was reading a book she had picked up a few months back. "was wondering when you were gonna come to bed." he said as she slid into bed. she shrugged, rubbing her face.

"i didnt purposely get pregnant, if you were wondering." she stated and his eyebrows crinkled, "what? i was not thinking that and i would never think that, ever randy and you know that." he said as he put his book down. she shook her head, "i don't know what to think anymore mat. with the way you've been treating me recently has been hard. its made me question everything." she whispered, and he quickly pulled her into his arms.

"we've lost our way thats all, but its not the end for us randy i promise. don't give up on us. we'll get through this." he said. she sniffled, "i want this to work mat i really do, but i don't know." she said full on crying now. mat rocked her a bit before joining in himself. he couldn't lie and say that these past few months had not been a toll. he did his best and worst thinking on roadtrips, and being alone in a hotel room did not help. "i don't want to give up on us miranda, i don't. i know that I've done a lot over these past few months, i know this but im not ready to give up on us or our family." he said and she looked up at him. her blue eyes wide and full of worry.

"let me take some time off, let me take the next month off. let us work on us-" she cut him off, "i cant ask you to do that." she said shaking her head. he shook his head, "you arent asking, im volunteering. our relationship and family mean more than hockey. you guys are more important than hockey, always." he said placing a hand behind her head. she nodded softly, and he leaned in to kiss her. she softened, pulling him in closer by the neck.

❅

around 7 am the next morning, the door of their bedroom opened and then two sets of small feet tapped against the floor before they jumped onto the bed. mat woke up first, tickling marie making her laugh which then woke up miranda. ellen walked in after peaking her head in with the camera recording, catching a sweet moment between the family of four. theo jumped up and down between them, trying to get them to move quicker- just so they could open presents. "wake up wake up wake up!" marie screamed, joining her brother in jumping. mat and miranda just laughed, watching as they did so. "morning baby." mat whispered, as miranda leaned in to peck him. ellen smiled softly before miranda took the camera from her and videoed the two kiddos jump off the bed and follow their grandma out the door. "we'll be down in ten." mat said and ellen nodded before shutting the door.

she made her way to the washroom, setting up her tripod and proceeded to brush her teeth, hair and wash her face. as she was brushing her teeth, mat came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. she leaned back into him, and he pressed a sly kiss to her neck. she grinned before cleaning up her chin from toothpaste. "do we tell them?" he questioned, and she nodded. "we'll announce after all the presents are done?" she questioned and he nodded kissing her passionately. "you're not gonna be able to keep your hands to yourself mr, are ya?" she grinned, as his hands slowly made their way to her butt. he clicked his tongue, and shrugged. "oh god, you're already horny aren't you?" she rolled her eyes playfully before kissing him once more. "lets go, too bad first trimester dictates everything." she hummed walking towards the door, leaving a groaning matt in her wake.

❅

the tripod had picked up the present unwrapping, and miranda had been ansty the whole time. she just wanted to tell them. "okay mat and i have something to announce." miranda after getting their attention. the hughes brothers all looked at one another, while ellen and him looked at each other. all the while the barzals looked at one another. they were unsure of what was going to be announced.

a divorce or separation...they couldn't decipher.

mat took miranda's hand in his and smiled widely, "we are expecting." miranda announced and the family were stunned for a brief few seconds before rushing over to congratulate them. quinn pulled her in for a big hug, then it was luke and then she would hug jack later as he was spinning the two young kids around in circles. "you two ok?" mat's mom whispered as she brought her in for a hug. "yes! we'll be more than ok." she responded and his mom nodded.

after talking for a few minutes, breakfast was to be devoured. miranda took the camera, and mat came and wrapped an arm around her from the side. "well looks like that will be all for this vlog! apparently, there's footage from my brothers on here and ill be sure to edit whatever is salvageable but were gonna have a full day on our hands, and spend some quality time with one another but ill be back after new years with some exciting news! see you then, and until then its miranda barzal, lets get the show on the road! but as always, happy holidays from the barzal-hughes family!" she smiled widely, and then mat kissed her on the cheek, before she stopped recording.

"ive texted my agent about the next month, its final." he said and she sighed, as he pulled her in for a hug. "this needs to be done, i cant push it off anymore." he said and she nodded pulling back just a bit so they were now looking at each other.

"merry christmas honey, thankyou for our little family and thankyou for your work on being the best husband and father for me and the kids. we are forever grateful." she smiled widely, before leaning in for a kiss.

"yo barzal, what do you mean you arent playing us next month?!" they both heard jack scream from the kitchen causing the two to pull away and chuckle. marie and theo both ran towards their parents, as christmas music started blasting throughout the beach house. mat picked up marie while miranda picked up theo.

a precious moment shared between the small family, only to be ruined by jack and luke coming in to ask mat a million questions about mat apparently chickening out on a rival rematch.

hope you all enjoyed!

tags: @cuttergauthier @jayda12 @dancerbailey3 @jackhues @toasttt11

[urbianasloverr]

Second Chances (part 2)

Warnings: angst. angst. angst. strong language.

Synopsis: It’s six years later and both of your beautiful twin daughters are thriving. Jack went off to Atlanta and missed out on their lives he didn’t even know that you went through with the pregnancy, but he’ll soon find out.

⭐️ None of this content is accurate or portrays these people in real life. I make references to real places and people, but this is simply a work of FICTION. I would love to hear your opinions and critiques. Enjoy 🫶🏽.

A/N: This is way longer than I expected, it’s like 3k+ words oopsies, but let me know how y’all like it.

Part 1 Here

~~~~~~~~

Nine long months after being left to deal with your pregnancy on your own, you gave birth to your girls, Oaklyn and Emery. To say your pregnancy was rough would be an understatement. From the morning sickness all throughout your pregnancy, your emotions being all out of wack and constantly crying over Jack, and on top of that finding out you were pregnant with twins which meant you were now at a higher risk for complications, you were seriously going through it. You had your grandma and doctors in your ear constantly telling you to rest and stop stressing so much, but no matter how hard you tried you couldn’t. You were so scared. When Jack walked out of your life you had no idea how you were going to take care of a baby alone, let alone two at once. But you did it. You raised your beautiful baby girls for six years and you and the girls were happier than ever.

~~~~~~~~

Jack and Urban left for Atlanta without you all those years ago. You never told Jack that you went through with the pregnancy, and you made sure everyone that knew never posted any pictures of them or talked about them on social media or around people that knew Jack. After a few long weeks you finally found the strength to block Jack on everything, you even went as far as to block Jack's parents and all of his friends. Looking back on it now that probably wasn’t the best decision, but you were hurting and you’d be damned if you let Jack anywhere near the kids he chose to leave behind. The only people who knew about your pregnancy were your grandma and your best friend Alyssa, and you even put your pride aside and let your parents know, even though you didn’t have the best relationship with them.

As the years went on it got harder to avoid Jack and people who were associated with him, hell the whole world was becoming familiar with Jack. Even though you had Jack blocked, you could never fully escape him, he was the talk of the town, the whole city of Louisville was talking about Jack. This had you on edge constantly paranoid that someone would recognize you and learn about your kids and it somehow getting back to Jack. But after two long years of living in fear, you decided that you weren’t going to let Jack destroy your dreams while he got to live out his. You had planned to go to college in Atlanta, but never ended up going for obvious reason, but you finally felt that it was time to let go of some of that fear and chase after what you wanted. So you packed up you and your kids and moved to Atlanta. You knew this was a risky move, moving to the same state and city that your ex, who also happened to be your babydaddy, lived in. You didn’t care though, you had worked your ass off since Jack left you.

You worked since finding out you were pregnant and was back at it a few weeks after giving birth. You knew you were going to need money to provide for you and your kids, so you took up multiple part-time jobs and even babysat on the side for some extra money, and a bonus was that you got to spend time with kids and learn a lot about how to take care of them since that’s what you’d be doing for the next 18 plus years. Your grandma and Alyssa would watch the kids which you were extremely grateful for. You and Alyssa’s relationship had grown so much since highschool, she was truly your best friend, so much so that you both agreed to move in together. When you packed up for Atlanta she packed up right with you.

You knew moving to a new state with toddlers was going to be a challenge, but at least you had Alyssa by your side. It didn’t take you long to settle in Atlanta. You, Alyssa, and the twins moved to a beautiful 4-bedroom apartment, which was perfect for the four of you. You decided on doing college online, pursuing a business and entrepreneurial degree, and got a job at a bar. You’d work night shifts so you could be home with your kids during the day, and do your work for school. Alyssa would work morning and evening shifts and when she got home sometimes she’d watch the kids, but you had found a nanny for the girls, who was always happy to come over at any time which you were extremely grateful for.

~~~~~~~~

Alyssa came home from her shift at the salon, and you had the night off, which you loved so much. On your days off you could spend your night with your three favorite people instead of being surrounded by careless drunks. You were entirely expecting to sit around in the living room and watch movies and eat snacks with your kids and your best friend and just relax, but you were shocked when Alyssa suggested that you two go out that night.

“Come on Y/n, we’ve been here for six months and neither of us have done anything but work and come home. We should go out and try to make some connections and some friends,” Alyssa pleaded.

“What about Emery and Oaklyn? What if we run into Jack? Working and coming home aren’t that bad, I enjoy being home. We've gotten into a good routine,” you told her.

“Call over the nanny, she's always willing to watch the kids whenever, and stop worrying about Jack even if we do run into him he'll probably be too busy to even notice us. We need to break out of our routine a little and make some friends. I love you but I really want other people to talk to and hang out with, you know. It’ll help us feel more comfortable knowing we have more people to go to other than just ourselves.”

“Okay, fine but if this night goes terrible I’m never going out again,” you said sarcastically (not really).

“Great, call the nanny and let’s go get ready!”

You called over Noelle and she was happy to come over and watch the kids. You and Alyssa got ready just on time for Noelle to arrive. You opened the door and hugged her and told her you’d be back in a couple hours and she was welcome to sleep over. And with that you left and went off to the club.

You and Alyssa had, had a few drinks and were currently tipsy drunk and dancing on each other when you heard an unfamiliar voice beside you.

“Ouu girl you tryna come dance on me like that?” a man said half jokingly, but it made you and Alyssa very uncomfortable and you both gave him a dirty look. He put his hands up in defense and quickly realized he fucked up.

“Sorry, I thought you were some of my friends that I came with, guess I'm a little too tipsy,” he laughed.

“By the way my name is Druski, are you ladies new around here, I have never seen you guys here before,” he asked the two of you.

You looked at Alyssa, not knowing what to say. You were shy, you always have been. Alyssa took that as her que to introduce the both of you since she wasn’t shy at all really.

“Yeah we are actually, well we moved here six months ago, but this is our first time really getting out of the house and trying to meet new people,” Alyssa told him.

“Well shit if you’re looking for some new friends I'd be happy to introduce you to some of my other friends that I’m here with, you guys can come and sit up in our section if you want.”

“That sounds good, and thank you,” Alyssa said before Druski turned and led you guys up to his section where there were two women and a man sitting around and chatting amongst each other, whilst sipping on their drinks.

“Essence, Amara, Tae, this is…”

“I’m Alyssa and this is Y/n,” Alyssa said, giving the small group a friendly smile.

“I just met them downstairs, they’re new around town and looking to meet some new people and make friends so I thought I'd introduce them to y’all,” Druski explained.

This was the start of beautiful, and extremely close friendships. You, Alyssa, Essence, and Amara became the infamous friend group of four. You were all basically best friends and would hang out almost everyday, they’d be over at your apartment most of the time and you included going out to the club on weekends into your routine. You even became really close with Druski, he was like a big brother to you, he was truly the funniest person you knew. You loved all of them, but this new friendship would lead to your secret being exposed. Because while Dru was also getting extremely close to you, he was getting extremely close to Jack and neither of you knew.

4 years later (6 years after Jack leaving)

Druski had invited Jack and some of their mutual friends over to his house just for a little get together. And as usual Dru was trying to play matchmaker.

“Yo Jack, you think you’d be down to go on a date with one of my friends?” dru asked.

“You know I’m not looking for a relationship right now, but I guess a little date won’t hurt,” Jack laughed and Dru joined in.

“Yeaa, that’s the spirit, but I just wanna let you know that she is a single mother, but she has her own business and a college degree and she’s out here doing the thing. But it might take a little bit to break through the barrier she has set up. Her baby daddy left her when he found out she was pregnant,” Dru told Jack.

“What a piece of shit, but like I said it’s just a little date nothing too serious. What’s her name and what does she look like?” Jack asked

“Her name is y/n and thi-“

“What?” Jack interrupted before Dru could even finish his sentence. Jack and Urban shared this knowing look and Jack gulped, all of a sudden he was feeling sick. It couldn’t be you, could it? There’s no way. Dru lifted his phone to Jack and it was a picture of you and Alyssa at the opening of your own salon.

“She’s the one on the right. Yo, why do you look like you’ve just seen a ghost?” Dru laughed and asked Jack.

“Nothing. How old is the kid?”

“They’re six.”

“They?”

“Yea… I forgot to mention that she is a single mother of two. She has twins.”

Jack was silent. The memories of that day he found out you were pregnant flooded his mind. The kids were six that matched up perfectly with the timeline. He never knew you went through with the pregnancy. He honestly just assumed you hadn’t since she hadn’t said anything, he didn’t expect you to keep it from him.

“Jack…?”

“Look dru. What I’m about to tell you, you cannot tell a soul. And I apologize in advance because I know she’s your friend. But I think those might be my kids. Right after graduation me, her, and urban made plans to move out here to atlanta, and a few days before we were supposed to leave she told me she was pregnant and I panicked. I left her. I honestly thought she hadn’t went through with the pregnancy, but I guess I was wrong, she just never told me,” Jack admitted and the whole atmosphere of the room shifted.

“Why would she tell you? You left her, and her kids,” Dru said, he was visibly annoyed.

“I don’t know I just thought maybe she’d let me know because they are my kids too. But regardless, you think you can give me her address?”

Dru scoffed. He couldn’t believe what his friend was asking of him right now.

“Are you serious? I’m sure the last person she wants to see or talk to is you. What you did was really fucked up Jack. I never expected that from you.” Dru told him truthfully.

“Look I know I’m asking for a lot, but in order to try and make things better I need to talk to her, and I can’t do that if I don’t know where to find her. Please Dru.” Jack begged.

“Okay, but if you fuck this up more than you already have, I swear. There I just sent it to you, don’t fuck this up Jack.”

~~~~~~~~

It was the next day and you decided you were going to go into the salon a little later today so that you could sleep in. And it was a Saturday so the kids didn’t have school. It was around 9 am when you heard a knock at your front door. You tried to just ignore it because who could be knocking at your door this early in the morning, but whoever was on the opposite side of the door wasn’t letting up. You pulled yourself from out of bed and made your way to the door. You didn’t even ask who it was you just swung the door open in annoyance and asked what they wanted. But when you saw who was on the opposite side of that door you were in disbelief.

“Jack? How the fuck did you find me ? Why are you here?” You asked him in one breath you were so nervous, you felt like you could throw up any minute.

“Yesterday Dru had tried to set me up on a date and when he told me with who he showed me a picture of you. He told me you had twins and how the dad had left. And I realized he was talking about me. I’m sorry I know it’s early, but can we please talk y/n?”

You scoffed and tried to shut the door on him, but he stopped you by reaching out and putting his hand on the door.

“Please,” he asked again.

That’s when you heard the voice of one of you kids yelling for you down the hall.

“Wait here, we can talk but just wait here for a minute,” you told him and shut the door.

“MOMMY!!” Oaklyn and Emery came running at you clearly full of energy.

“What are you doing up girls? I have something to take care of so can you go sit in your room for a little until I come and get you?”

“Yes,” they said and you both made your way to the girls room. After the girls were settled in their room you ran to Alyssa’s room to wake her.

“Alyssa…Alyssa!” you whisper screamed at her.

“Whatttt, it’s too early y/n”

“Yea, well Jack somehow found me and he’s at the front door asking to talk. Can you please go sit in the room with the girls while I talk to him in the living room? I don't want him to see them.”

“Oh my god, um yea c'mon. If things go south and you need me to beat his ass call my name,” she agreed.

Alyssa made her way to the girls room to keep them occupied while you headed back to the front door. You opened it and stepped inside to let Jack through and you led him over to the living room. You were both sitting on opposite couches facing eachother.

“You wanted to talk, so talk,” you told him.

“When dru told me about you and the kids I was a little shocked that you hadn’t told me that you went through with the pregnancy. It hurt to find out from someone else that i’m a dad to two girls that I never got to meet. I wanna see them, Inwanna meet them.”

“You have actually got to be kidding me. And a dad? You are not their dad, you made that clear when you walked out of my house six years ago and told me ‘you didn’t want anything to do with the baby.’ Do you fucking remember that or did that get lost somewhere in that brain of yours? WHY THE FUCK WOULD I LET YOU SEE MY KIDS THAT I WAS FORCED TO RASIE ON MY OWN BECAUSE YOU COULDNT GROW SOME BALLS AND OWN UP TO YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES!?,” you were so frustrated and angry with him that you were now yelling. He had some nerve coming here.

“You chose fame over your kids a long time ago, you don’t get to just show up some six years later and expect to come back into my life, in my kids life and act like nothing happened. You have some nerve, you haven’t even apologized to me about leaving me and you want to meet the children you walked out on? You missed their first steps, their first words, you missed watching them grow up. You weren’t there by my side while I was in labor for 18 hours in pain crying and wishing you were there. You weren’t there to raise them, so you do not get to call yourself a dad. You are no dad, let's be honest, the only thing you are is a sperm donor and a piece of shit!” You got up to walk away but he grabbed onto your arm.

“You can’t keep my kids from me. I know wasn’t there and I know I fucked up but I’m here now and I’m ready to step up and be a dad now. I’m sorry for leaving, I’m sorry I left you to do it all alone, I was young and stupid and I feel bad, but please just let me make it up to you. Let me show you that I can be the dad they deserve, let me meet them. It doesn’t have to be today, but please don’t keep them from me,” Jack practically begged you.

“Jack…let go of me. And get the fuck out of my house! NOW.” You pulled your arm from out of his grip and ran to the girls room and shut the door behind you. You sat on the floor crying, filled with emotion, against the door waiting to hear your front door open and close like you had six years ago. When you finally heard it, ironically you felt like a huge weight just lifted off your shoulders, the exact opposite feeling of how you felt when he walked out of your life all that time ago, but now you were praying he left and left for good this time.

~~~~~~~~

Should you let Jack meet the kids or continue raising them on your own…🤷🏽‍♀️?

A/N: Also if you want to start being tagged in my posts you can message me or send me an ask, kk bye besties 🫶🏽.

@evansxchalamet

@markspliers

[vexic929]

Child in Time

Chapter 2

Warnings: none

Chapter 1: link Next chapter: link

"So let me get this straight," Joe said, leaning forward on the sofa and resting his elbows on his knees as he processed what Barry had told him. The soft glow of the lamp cast a warm light across the room, highlighting the worry etched on Joe's face, and the worn leather of the sofa creaked slightly as Joe shifted his weight. "Somebody - you think you, from the future - dropped off a baby in your lab with no warning and now you think that you need to be the one to take care of him. Tell me again why you can't do the responsible thing and drop him off at a hospital?"

Barry sighed and ran a hand through his hair, exhaustion seeping into his bones. Had he eaten enough? Probably not, he'd been so preoccupied...Joe spoke again before Barry could respond.

"Barr, look. You're barely out of college, you're still figuring your own life out. You're not equipped to take care of a child, especially one with...whatever issues you said this baby has. You haven't even had him for one day and you look dead on your feet, how are you gonna take care of him long-term?" Joe asked and Barry shrugged helplessly.

"Joe, I can't just leave him. I don't know why I brought him here but I know there has to be a reason."

"How do you even know it was you who left him?" Joe countered.

"I left a note-" Barry started but Joe interrupted.

"You know as well as I do that notes can be forged." Joe insisted, his frown deepening.

"Who would forge my handwriting to hand me a baby?" Barry asked incredulously.

"I dunno, Barr, who the hell would give you a baby in the first place? You're not ready to be a dad."

Barry leaned back in his chair tiredly, scrubbing his face. "So, what, I should just let him go into the system?"

"I'm not saying that-" Joe started but the sound of the front door handle twisting interrupted him and they both turned to look as Iris walked through. "Hey baby girl, it's kinda late. Everything okay?" Joe asked after a moment as Barry tried to pretend they'd been talking about anything else.

"I know, I'm sorry, everything's fine, I think I missed packing up a couple of my notebooks and one of them has like all of my notes from Sociology 102," she said, setting her bag and coat down by the door. "What are you two up to?"

Joe shrugged nonchalantly and Barry leaned on the arm of the chair he was sitting in, trying unsuccessfully to look as calm. "Nothing." They each said and Iris pursed her lips, raising an eyebrow in suspicion before heading upstairs to retrieve the notebooks.

Barry let out a heavy sigh and Joe turned to him again, studying him closely. "You sure about this, Barr? This is a hell of a responsibility to take on - and I'm not just talking about the parenting part. I know you're gonna do your damned best and love that kid, I'm not worried about that, but if he has other parents out there you might have to give him up after all this trouble is done."

The thought made Barry's insides twist uncomfortably but he shoved the feeling aside. "I know."

Joe sighed. "Alright, if you're set on this, I'll trust your judgment. Guess we better get things set up, then - in your room, I did enough time dealing with a baby at 2 in the morning."

"Who's dealing with a baby at 2 in the morning?" Iris echoed, entering the hall, notebooks in hand.

Barry's heart ached with the weight of everything he was keeping from her as he scrambled for a good excuse, feeling a bit like all he'd told her lately were lies. "Uh...a friend."

Iris pursed her lips. "Who?" She asked, suspicion evident in her tone.

Barry cleared his throat, his mouth suddenly feeling something like a desert. "Oh, um...a friend from college, you don't know them. They had a...family emergency. I'm just...you know, stepping in."

Iris frowned, clearly not buying it. "Since when do you have friends with babies?"

"Missed a lot in nine months," Barry said, trying to keep his tone light. "It's no big deal, really. Just helping out."

Joe interjected, clapping Barry on the shoulder. "Barry's just doing what he always does, helping people. Right, Barr?"

Barry nodded, grateful for Joe's support, even if it was a bit thin. "Yeah."

Iris studied them both for a long moment, clearly still unconvinced but choosing to let it go as she gathered her bag and coat. "Alright. Well, if you need any help while you're...babysitting, let me know."

Barry smiled, though it felt strained. "Thanks, Iris. I'll keep that in mind."

—

"Well, the blood tests look good," Caitlin said, crossing the room with a stack of papers to show Barry, who was standing and rocking the now sleeping infant idly in the doorway. The med bay was quiet, the soft hum of machines and the scent of antiseptic in the air. Barry peered over her shoulder as she flipped through them. "He isn't deficient in anything, he's even already had some of his immunizations. He's perfectly healthy, at least physically."

Barry breathed a sigh of relief and glanced down at the baby who had smushed his face into Barry's shoulder, his tiny fists gripping his T-shirt tightly. He stroked the soft wisps of hair gently almost on instinct and Eo let out a tiny sigh before burrowing further into his shirt.

"Good. Did you test...I mean...can we see if he's mine?" Barry asked hesitantly.

He wasn't sure he wanted to know and he was pretty sure that Dr. Wells wouldn't like that he'd even asked - something about Barry not becoming attached or learning too much that could alter the timeline. But Barry needed to know at least that much, he couldn't stand not knowing, especially if it turned out Eo was his.

Caitlin nodded, setting the papers aside and crossing to the computer. "I did test and...while he is not a match for you, he did match someone else."

Caitlin pressed a button and Eddie Thawne's photo appeared on the screen. Barry felt his heart drop.

"So...Eddie's his father?" Barry asked and Caitlin shrugged.

"He's definitely related to Eddie but the results aren't clear on how close. Eo does look a lot like him, though." She commented and Barry looked down at the sleeping baby again.

He really did, if Barry was honest, he could easily imagine Eddie looking similar when he was the same age. Barry felt a surge of emotions run through him that he wasn't sure he could identify. It was a good thing, maybe, that Eo wasn't actually Barry's child...right? And, it made sense - Eddie and Iris were already on the fast track to starting their life together. Though his head spun and he felt faintly nauseous as he wondered what could have happened to Eddie and Iris if Barry was now Eo's guardian?

"Barry?" Caitlin's soft voice cut through his thoughts before they could spiral further. "You okay?"

Barry blinked and adjusted the baby in his arms. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Just a lot to process, you know?" He said, forcing a smile.

Caitlin smiled in sympathy and crossed the room again to lay a hand on his arm comfortingly. "I know. This is a lot to take in, but you're not alone. We'll figure this out together."

As Barry set up a nursery in Joe's house and finally settled Eo in for the night, he couldn't help but feel a sudden, overwhelming sense of uncertainty for the future. Granted, everything had been a bit uncertain as of late, but as he sat on the edge of his bed and stared at the crib where Eo slept soundly, Barry felt a pit in his stomach. He knew Joe was right - this was a monumental responsibility, one he wasn't entirely sure he was ready for.

Barry leaned back, rubbing his eyes and trying to clear his thoughts. The house was quiet, save for the soft hum of the city outside and the occasional creak of the old wooden floors. Joe's house had always been a place of comfort for Barry, a sanctuary where he felt loved. Now, it was also Eo's sanctuary, a place where another little boy could find safety, maybe a family.

Barry sat there a moment longer, letting the quiet seep into his bones, before changing into pajamas and climbing into bed, exhaustion pulling him under before his head had even hit the pillow.

[layraket]

Day 1 - Race Against the Clock

Characters: Ocarina (LBS)

Words: 784

Summary: Local musical boy fucks around with time and finds out how bad it is for his well being

Whump scale: 1 (see the full scale here)

-

There is a kid that came last night, Romani said that he left the ranch at first hour of the day without waiting for breakfast. Cremia wanted to give him some milk for the trip and ask him for help to bring some products to Clocktown.

She had heard rumors about him; helping all the people he could, always wearing some sort of mask –now that she thinks about this, nobody has seen his real face–, and carrying all kinds of weapons with him.

They all had their theories: a kid without parents who had to bite back when surrounded, a kid who had to grow up faster that he should, a kid who lost something and is searching for it in this forgotten world.

“Grasshopper has always a fairy with him, I think he came from the forest!” Romani has told her. It is possible, fairies aren’t common in Termina, and if they were found they will be hunted for their blessed blood.

If it wasn’t that he looked ready to chop an arm off to whoever who dared to make a wrong move, that fairy would have been already killed.

Even with that, Cremia knew that he was a sweet child, he helped taking care of the young mare that she found wandering around and seemed that she knew him. He was strong too, enough to carry the boxes full with milk bottles to the cottage where they save them.

Maybe everyone was just exaggerating a little, he had moments where it was obvious that he was still a kid, he even wore a Keaton mask! It was possible that he just liked the toy so much for taking it off.

The first time that she saw him show any type of emotion aside from hesitant was when he came to the ranch looking nothing better than a sick cow.

She offered the bottle of milk that she saved for him in the morning, receiving a low tune that was translated as a ‘no’ by the fairy.

That was another thing that everyone has pointed out about him: he didn’t talk, like, at all. The only sound that he makes is with that blue ocarina he always carries with him, being the fairy the only one who understood what each note meant. It was weird, but maybe is just another thing that the people from the forest do.

“If ye’re not gonna drink it, then help me ta bring it all to Clocktown, will ya?” A nod and they were already on their way.

Some thieves always came to destroy the product, the Romani Ranch provides milk to the bar for a fair price and when the festival was coming. This year, with the whole deal with the moon falling the demand is higher than past years.

It went as expected; the thieves appearing and trying to destroy where the milk was and the boy dealing with them with his bow and finally escaping from them without any loss.

They arrived at the gates before morning, now safe and ready to deliver all the product. She was about to ask the kid to help her bringing the boxes inside when a thump was heard.

When I turned to see the origin of the sound I saw the kid in the floor, grabbing his stomach.

“Hey! Are you okay?!” I came closer to make sure that it isn’t some wound that he got from the thieves.

The fairy was flying around him, panicked.

“Link get up! Don’t scare me, this is not the time!” Now she was bonking his head with her own body without much force.

There wasn’t any answer from the boy, Cremia could swear that she could see one eye without so much of a spark from a small opening of the Keaton mask.

She came closer and gently checked on him, he was so thin and scarred, cuts and bruises that haven’t had the time to heal properly.

“Oh dear…” She looked towards the fairy “How long has he been neglecting himself?” She didn’t expect an answer, and she wasn’t given one.

Cremia grabbed the boy and left him on the carriage, she didn’t dare to try and wake him up. The fairy –even if she acted that she was just upset that he suddenly blacked out– stayed with him to make sure that nothing happens to him.

Bringing the milk inside wasn’t that hard, she didn’t lack strength after all. When she came back the kid was gone, just the blanked that she put on him left in the carriage.

“Wonder why he didn’t even wait for 20 minutes…” She thought aloud with a hint of worry.

A kid shouldn’t be in that state, like if any second lost is like losing a life.

[theobsidianempress]

The Nanny

WARNING: This story contains strong language and sexual themes. If you are UNDER the age of 18 - GO AWAY!

Summary:

Everything was going well for you. A good paying job, just graduated with your masters in child psychology and development along with your teaching certificate. Things seemed to be on the up and up until your boyfriend’s ego go in the way. Before you knew it you were living with your mom again in your childhood bedroom. You decided that rather than wallow in self pity, you’d put your degree to some use only that seemed to be harder than you thought. At the end of your rope you decided to look at the private ads and answered one for a single working father with two daughters. That turned out to be one of the best decisions you ever made.

Chapter 2: Song and Dance

Hectic mornings meant it was going to be a hectic day. Chasing around one four year old to get ready in the morning was hard. Now double it. Then there was making sure they were fed and didn’t mess up their clothes before they managed to leave the house. If one of the girls wasn’t throwing a fit about what they wanted for breakfast, they were squabbling.

“Papa!” Mimiko wailed as she tugged on Suguru’s pant leg, “Nanako hurt my dolly and won’t give her back!”

Before he could respond, Nanako came running, “No, I didn’t! She took my dolly! She hurt hers and tried to take mine!”

“Liar!” Mimiko shouted, “You hurt mine first!”

It was far too early for any of this and he’d not yet had an ounce of caffeine. Suguru put on his kindest face and knelt down on their level, “Well, we’ll have to take her to the doctor so she can get better, now won’t we?”

The girls nodded, “Yeah!”

“Right, but to do that we have to get to the car. I’ll take her to the doll doctor and when you get home from school she’ll be all better.”

“Okay papa!” Mimiko beamed. She ran to the door and began putting on her shoes with Nanako following suit.

“Thank god, that worked.” He sighed.

The girls continued to squabble on the way to school. No matter how many warnings he gave there wasn’t much he could do aside from a stern look in the rearview mirror. He thought he was through the worst of this when they were toddlers. He would stand corrected. The girls were only four and he had fourteen more years of similar arguments and who knows what else to deal with. He loved them with all his heart, but fuck if parenting wasn’t hard. Especially being a single parent. If there was ever an emergency or one of the girls was sick and needed to be taken home or literally anything else, he was the only one to call. Everyone knew that Suguru had kids and never batted an eye when he had to leave a meeting to take a call or leave early because of them. Lately, there seemed to be an uptick in him needing to leave work to pick up one or both of his kids. At work there was also a project that he was in charge of and that was also demanding most of his time. He knew that he couldn’t be in two places at once but what was he to do?

“Just get a nanny.” Satoru said as he took a bite of his lunch.

“Get a nanny and neglect my kids like you do?” Suguru jabbed.

Satoru frowned, “I don’t neglect Megumi and Tsumiki! I still spend time with them! They’re old enough to know that I have responsibilities too. A nanny just helps me out when I need it. I have my strengths, but I can’t be in two places at once and neither can you.”

Suguru hated it when Satoru was right. A nanny seemed like a good idea. His girls were little and they needed more attention and assistance than he could offer in his current role. He did his best to be there for them and make sure they knew that they were loved but wearing himself thin wasn’t going to help anyone.

A knowing grin spread across his friend’s face, “Ahh! I see you thinking about it!”

Suguru rolled his eyes, “Yeah, but I don’t have time to review applications. I’m already neck deep in this project.”

Satoru nodded, “True.” He sat thinking for moment, “Just have your assistant do it. Have her give you the best applications so that way you can kill two birds with one stone.” He took another heaping bite of his lunch.

“I don’t want to involve her in my personal affairs. That’s not what she gets paid to do.” Suguru ran a hand through his dark hair and leaned back in his chair.

“Wrong.” Satoru said with a mouth half full. He swallowed before he continued, “Your assistant gets paid to do whatever you need her to do and if you need her to sort through applications for a nanny, if that’s what you need. If you wanna pay her extra to do so, then by all means do, but she’s your assistant. It’s literally her job to help you.”

Once again, his friend was right. The job of an executive assistant was to help their executive in whatever they needed (within reason). He still hated the idea of getting his assistant involved in his personal affairs but he really, really needed the help.

—————————

When you got settled in at your mom’s house, you turned your phone back on. Just as you expected, your now ex had blown up your phone. Texts filled to the brim with venom, voicemails of screaming and crying and incoherent babbling. That filled you with some joy in through that whole ordeal. For days that man tried to get a hold of you waiting to scream his lungs out at you but you just blocked his number and moved on.

“He can stay mad and die mad for all I care.” You thought as you scrolled through social media. That was really all you do at the time. The further down you scrolled, you found that he had posted a video of the damage and calling you out by name. People were calling you out in the comments and your DMs were on fire. You didn’t care. You felt no need to justify yourself to anyone in his circle and proceeded to delete their messages and block them. He was a piece of garbage and deserved what you did. He’s lucky that you didn’t leave the sink and tub running. He was being a little dramatic but when wasn’t he? You smiled a smug, spiteful smile crossed your lips as you continued to scroll by. Fuck him and anyone associated with with him.

For weeks you were doing the bare minimum to stay alive. You’d only leave your room if it was absolutely necessary. Your appetite was in the garbage, so you hardly ate. What normally felt like it took little energy to do, now felt like it took everything in you to complete. The only thing keeping you going at this point were your cats. They would never let you forget to feed them nor did they ever leave your side. They knew that something was wrong with you and so I did your mom.

“You’ve spent the last three days locked in your room. You need some sun!” She’d say pulling open your curtains. As much as you wanted to just rot away, she would never let that happen. Your mom did all she could to check in on you and make sure you were okay. She always dragged you out from your depression cave against your will. You looked like death every time, but she happily toted you around town with her. Sometimes it was the grocery store or she would take you to the bookstore. When she knew you didn’t have it in you to venture out, you and your mom would sit in the living room watching movies or a TV show on any one of the many streaming services that you shared. While you never said it, you were eternally grateful for her attentiveness and willingness to make sure you didn’t slip further. You were the only thing she had left and she would be damned if she was going to lose you too.

You took things day by day. It was a slow and hard process to get over a break up but you slowly began to piece yourself and your life back together by applying for jobs and hanging out with the loyal friends you had left. You still had more bad days than good days. No one said that healing was a clear, straight path. All that mattered is that you were moving forward.

Fuck a break up. Finding a new job was somehow the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do. You applied to day care centers, schools, after school programs and anywhere you could to work with kids. The only problem was, you’d go in for the interview and the process would go well. Then you’d leave on cloud nine with how well you did to then only get an email a few days later that you were passed up for someone else or never hear back. This same song and dance continued for months. No one would tell you what you did wrong or what made someone else more qualified than you. It was tiring and a confidence killer.

“Ugh!” You groaned at yet another rejection email, “Fuck this! I’m better off being a fucking prostitute at this point!” After you beat your head against the wall for a few seconds something occurred to you, “Private ads. I should check out the private ads. Someone is bound to need a private teacher or nanny for their kids.”

You were right. There were tons of parents looking for help. You sent off your resume to just about every ad that looked promising or that wouldn’t end up with you dead in a ditch. You were thrilled with the amount of calls that you had coming in. You had interviews with parents for days. Only this round of interviews led to a whole new host of problems. Most parents that you met, had unrealistic expectations of what you’d be doing with and for their kids nor did their pay line up with that they’d advertised. Others were swing couples using the guise of needing a nanny to meet a new partner. There were only a small few that actually needed a nanny and had their heads on straight. Out of those, came the classic excuse of, “We still have others to consider for the position” or “We’ll be in touch.” You knew anyone who uttered those phrases would do neither of those things. So, you mentally discarded those meetings and kept sending out resumes.

You were buried under blankets with your cats settled on your legs when your mom came knocking at your door.

“Sweetie? Are you ready yet?” She asked, “I’m really excited to try this new ramen at our favorite spot”

“Oh shit…” you muttered. You forgot what day it was! Tuesdays were the days you and your mom went out to eat together. The two of you decided it was a good way to spend time together as well as keep you out of your depression cave.

“I’ll be ready in a minute, mom!” You shouted.

“Okay. I’ll be in the car!” You could hear the jingle of her keys as she walked away.

You slammed your laptop shut and tossed it to the side,“Move Mochi!” You picked up your fat tabby cat who was clearly comfortable and place him next to his brother. Mochi looked at you like you shat in his cereal then walked off.

Typical cat…

You rolled your eyes then hopped up and ran to your closet. You picked the first thing you could grab then bolted down the stairs and to your mom’s car. You hopped in the passenger seat out of breath. You made the mistake of looking at your mom who was clearly annoyed.

“You forgot what day it was, didn’t you?” She asked.

“I’m sorry! I was deep into applying for jobs.” You replied sheepishly.

“Hmmmm…” She hummed, “Well, I guess you could make it up to me by being my partner in a ramen eating challenge.”

“Mom!” Your eyes went as wide as saucers,”You’re too old for ramen eating challenges!”

Your mom let out a playful scoff, “Age ain’t nothin’ but a number!” She let out a witches cackle as she pulled away from the house.

The two of you pulled up to the ramen spot and your mom had fire in her eyes. She was definitely going to try this ramen challenge with or without you.

“Did you change your mind yet, sweetie?” Your mom asked as you two sat at a table.

“Eh. Why not. Sides, I think I can eat more ramen than you.” You jeered.

Your mom let out another cackle and proceeded to order the Monster Ramen challenge for the two of you to tackle. You were excited. Your mom was excited. This was the most fun you two had in weeks. The two of you were chattering back and forth when your phone rang. you. The number was unfamiliar so you figured it was a potential client calling from one of the nanny/ private teacher positions you’d been applying for.

You excused yourself to answer, “Hello?”

“Hello, is this Y/N?” Asked a young lady.

“This is she. May I ask who is calling?” She sounded too young to be a parent but you never knew.

“Yes, My name is Amani Riko. I’m calling on behalf of Mr. Geto Suguru.”

You choked on your own saliva when she said that name. You’d applied to so many positions you never once thought to check the name.

“Are you alright?” Riko asked after hearing you choke.

You chuckled nervously, “Yes! I’m fine.”

“After reviewing your resume, Mr. Geto would like to meet with you for an interview. He’s very busy during the week so weekends are the only time he’s free. I hope that works for you.” You could heard the click of a keyboard on the other end.

You did find it strange to have a weekend interview but at this point the interview could have been at 11 o’clock at night in some dive bar and you would have still said yes, “That’s fine. Is Saturday at nine a good time?” You asked mentally running your calendar.

“Hm….” Riko hummed as she ran through her boss’s calendar, “Can you meet at one instead?”

“Sure.” You chirped.

“Great! I’ll put you down for 1pm this Saturday and I’ll send you the details of where he’d like to meet.” Riko said as she typed away.

The smile on your face was so wide you thought if someone looked at you that they’d think you were crazy. You bid Riko a good day and hung up.

You practically ran back to the table, “Mom, you’ll never guess who just called me!” You were about to tell her when the waitress and two other men came out with pot sized bowls of ramen for the two of you. They weren’t kidding when they said ‘Monster.’

“I’ll just tell her later.” you thought as you sat back down, “For now, let’s tackle this monster!”

You had a blast with your Mom that day. You two didn’t win the challenge but it was still a great meal and an even better bonding experience. The two of you practically waddled out of the ramen restaurant like two cartoon characters with full round bellies as you made your way back to the car.

“We gotta do this again sometime. Maybe we can win if we try harder.” Your mom said as she slid in the driver's seat.

“No. Mom, we are not professional eaters. Maybe we can go back for a normal sized bowl of ramen next time.” You said as you took the passenger side. The two of you closed your doors at the same time and looked at each other with stern looks. You held your mothers gaze for a silent beat before she started to snicker. Then you started to crack and before you knew it the two of you were dying of laughter. As the laughing fit subsided, it occurred to you that you still haven’t told your mom the news.

“Oh! Mom! Guess what!” You posed as you excitedly flapped your hands.

She pushed the start button on her car, “What, honey?”

“I got an interview!” Your voice pitched higher with excitement.

Your mom on the other hand didn’t seem to excited, “You’ve had a ton of Interviews. What’s different about this one?”

“It’s with Geto Suguru! The Geto Suguru of G-tech Industries!!” You let out a happy squeal like a teenage girl. You searched your mother’s blank expression for any shred of excitement. She seemed genuinely lost.

“Honey, you’re going to have to explain who that is because I don’t keep up to date with that kind of stuff.” She said as she shifted the car into drive.

Your excitement was promptly extinguished when you realized that not only would you have to explain who he was but what he did and so on and so forth. It took the entire car ride home to explain how WILD of an opportunity this was for you. She didn’t really get the entire picture but she understood enough to be on the same page.

“So? Isn’t that crazy! Out of all the people he could have chose to meet with- he wants to meet with me!” You bounced in your seat as excitement took over you once again.

“Your credentials must have impressed him. I mean I’m not all that surprised, you’re my daughter after all.” She shot a proud glance your way.

You gave a proud smile in return. “Let’s just hope he isn’t as much of a flirt as his cohort…” you thought as you continued chatting with your mom as you continued home.

———————————

Why? Why did this have to be so damn hard? Suguru was used to putting in hard work but even with Riko’s help, finding a good nanny seemed to be nigh impossible. A lot of candidates looked good on paper, but interviewing them was a whole other story. Some were too old to keep up with the girls. Some were too young and didn’t seem trustworthy and others flat out lied on their resumes clearly hoping not to be called out on their bullshit. Either way, four weeks of this garbage was starting to wane on him. He was hoping that the interviews Riko had set up for him this weekend would be the last of it. He was lucky that Nanami had been willing to watch the girls on the weekends while he interviewed people. While he did pay Nanami, he owed him so much more than money.

Saturday rolled around faster than he would have liked, he wasn’t looking forward to wasting one of his only days with his daughters but this was for their benefit after all. He had just made the girls breakfast when his cell phone rang.

“Hello?” He answered still half awake.

“Hey, Suguru...” Came a hoarse voice.

“No… no, no, no, no, no…” He thought in a panic, “Kento?”

“Yeah… I’m so sorry, but it looks like Yuji caught something at school and passed it along to me.”

Suguru took a deep breath, “No need to apologize. It happens. Feel better soon.”

“Thank you.” Nanami coughed.

“Shit…” He hissed.

While he didn’t want the girls to meet their new nanny until he’d finally picked one so, maybe this was a blessing in disguise. He could see how the girls interacted with their prospective nanny and vice versa. The more he thought about it the more the idea seemed to grow on him. It was either bring them with or risk losing a potential nanny that might actually be a good fit. So, he opted to bring them along. He shot his interviews a text telling them that there had been a change of plans and the meeting place would be a little different than expected. He left his phone on the table and went about getting ready for the day along with the girls.

———————

Your morning could have gone any more wrong if you fell down the stairs and broke your leg. You had your interview outfit all picked out and ready to go on your bed. When you came from the shower you saw Yuki throwing up all over your blouse and blazer.

“Yuki!! You have the ENTIRE FLOOR! Why did you pick MY CLOTHES TO PUKE ON!?” You rushed over and shooed him away. He only made it a few more steps before puking again on your skirt

“Come on!” You whined. You had no time to toss it in the washer nor did you think to have a back up outfit clean and ready. You tossed the ruined clothes in your overflowing hamper and slumped with a sigh. You were on the verge of tears when Something occurred to you, “Mom…” you muttered. Then it hit you full force, “MOM!!” You yelled as you barreled down the hall and down the stairs in an oversized night shirt you tossed on to cover your naked body.

“MOM, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom!” You sounded like an impatient toddler as you tried to get her attention.

“Is everything okay? Did something happen?” She asked as her brows furrowed together.

“Mom,” you yelled for the last time, “Yuki threw up all over my clothes and now I have nothing to wear for this interview! Can I PLEASE wear some of your clothes?” It all came out sounding like one sentence. Your mom sat in her chair processing what you had just said for a second you thought she might say she didn’t have anything for you that would suit you. That was when she snapped her fingers and lit up.

“I got just the thing! Follow me!” She hopped out of her chair and jogged up to her bedroom. You followed closely behind, wondering what she could possibly have in mind. While you and your mom were similar in body type She was taller than you and sometimes her style clashed with yours. You could only hope and pray she wouldn’t have you looking like an old woman or something out of an experimental fashion magazine. You watched as she paged through her closet like a well versed book.

“Where is it?” She mumbled, “I know I still have it.” She flipped back and forth between a down right ugly shirt and a power suit. One more brightly colored blazer to the left she sprang up, “Ah! Here it is! I knew I kept it!” She pulled out a high waisted pinstripe suspender jumpsuit. She handed them to you with a look of pure excitement. You were a little skeptical on how they would look on you but you didn’t really have any other options at this point. You walked down the hall to your room and closed the door behind you. You managed to find a black and white button up to go with the outfit. When you put it all together you were pleasantly surprised with how you looked. The high waist hugged you nicely and the pant legs flared out giving you comfort and style… except they were too long. You looked like a child that was wearing her mothers clothes. You hiked them up and waddled back to your mom’s room.

She hopped off her bed, “Gah! Look at you! You look so cute!” She giddily clapped her hands together with a wide smile.

You grimaced, “Mom, the legs.”

She fanned a hand at you dismissively, “Oh, that’s an easy fix.”

You watched as she rummaged through the drawer on her nightstand and pulled out a small sewing kit. She dramatically motioned you over to a small step stool next to her dresser. You chuckled and shook your head as you walked over. You took your place on your pedestal and watched as your mom worked her magic. She had been a seamstress for over thirty years. You had seen her work on others and yourself multiple times but she never ceased to amaze you with how fast and accurate she was. It was

“Aaaaaannnnd there! It’s just a simple basting stitch which will hold for now. I’ll make it permanent when you get home.” She eyed her handy work with a proud smile.

You hopped off the stool and gave a little twirl. The height was perfect. You hugged your mom tight, “Thanks, mom. You’re a life saver.”

“You’re welcome, baby.” She hugged you back just as tight.

You pulled away and gave her a kiss on her cheek before running back to your room to get ready. You looked at the time and realized you needed to get going like NOW! You did your hair and makeup keeping it simple. You grabbed a white cross body bag and a pair of heeled Mary Janes. You tossed your keys and phone in your bag and made it down the stairs without shoes in hand. You sat on the small stoop, cursing as you wrestled with the small buckle of your shoes aiming to put them on in record time.

“Ding!” Your phone sang from your purse. You pulled your phone out to see a message from an unknown number. You opened the message to find the following:

“Hello Y/N, this is Geto Suguru. I hope that you don’t mind, but there’s been a change in venue. Please meet me at the following address.”

You paste the address into Google to find that it was a cafe next to a park.

“Maybe if I run I can make it…” you thought sarcastically. This new place was actually twenty minutes further than the first place. Now you had two options- tell him you’d be late or run to your mom again. Yea, the train was fast but you were already running behind and the only thing that would save your skin now was borrowing your mom’s car.

“You’re still here! I thought you had to go?” You heard from down the hall.

“Mom! Can I borrow your car?” You asked as you hopped up to face her.

Her brow furrowed, “I can give you a ride, but I’m not letting you take my car.”

You clapped your hands together and begged, “Mom, please! I promise I’ll bring it back in one piece!”

“No. Do you remember what happened to your car!” She put her hands on her hips.

“I crashed it…” you mumbled under your breath, “But that was the past! It wasn’t even my fault!” You yelled trying to Gloss over the subject.

“That was six months ago! And I don’t care!! Either, I drive you or no deal.” Her expression was hard. Your mom trusted you with a lot of things but driving was not one of them. Granted the accident wasn’t your fault but it was clear she was not budging.

You glanced at the cat clock on the wall watching the seconds tick down as its tail and eyes moved from side to side. You did not have the time for this. As the minute hand ticked forward you had no choice but to give, “Fine! Please, give me a ride! I’ll make it up to you later!”

Your mom was far too smug for your liking, “That’s what I thought.” She slipped on her sandals and grabbed her keys.

[comehomeducklings]

Insufferable - Chapter One

Pairing: Neteyam x Oc

Synopsis: After years of bitter rivalry and endless clashes, Neteyam and Ainai reluctantly work together on a high-stakes mission. As they navigate treacherous obstacles and unexpected dangers, they begin to discover surprising layers to each other's personalities. Slowly, the walls they've built around themselves start to crumble, giving way to an unexpected connection. Will they be able to put aside their past grievances and embrace their growing feelings, or will their shared history prove to be an insurmountable barrier?

WC: 2.1k

A/N: This chapter will basically be a load of information to start off their journey. This is an enemies-to-lovers trope where they will maintain their snarky combats even when they are all lovey-dovey. The first few chapters will be building up toward their mission which starts off their romance.

Na'vi Compendium: tsahik- spiritual leader, Olo’eyktan- clan leader, paskalin- honey, sa'nok- mother, yawntutsyìp- darling/little loved one

⇨ Series Masterlist ⇦

The whole clan has gathered to celebrate Tiwell and Koxa’s blessing from Eywa, me. I’ve just been born after several scares I put my mother through while she was pregnant. I remember being adorned with the finest cloths and drowned in jewelry specially made for newborns. At one point I started to cry from all the loud noises that surrounded me. So many people whose faces I would yet be introduced to come up to my parents to congratulate them. When I was old enough I eventually asked my parents why my birth was made into a big deal. Other babies who were born later than me would not have such a big party as I did. Of course, there were mini what our leader would call, “baby showers,” that replaced the big parties. I never understood why they would call it a baby shower back on Earth. I eventually came to the conclusion that it was due to showering the baby with love, affection, and gifts rather than actual water. They eventually explain that my birth had a big celebration because the Tsahik had been receiving signs of my birth years before my mother, Koxa, was pregnant. The only other time she had signs like that was for Neteyam, our leader’s child. It also helps that my parents are close friends with the Sullys. That family made sure that this party was big and boastful, as it was for their own child. This paved the way for my long-lasting friendships with their children. 

⊲──✿──⊳

My mother pushed me forward, “Ainai, these kids are our Olo’eyktan’s children.” I wave in an anxious manner. I have met Mr. and Mrs. Sully before when I was just old enough to talk, but I have never interacted with their children before.

One girl gently waves back while the boy beside her keeps his gaze trained on the floor. They both look around the same age as me while the other boy next to his father looks about a year older. The older one kept his gaze fixed on me, he had an air of authority around him. This confused me a lot because he was as small as the rest of us. From there on, these people would come to be like extended family all except for one boy.

⊲──✿──⊳

“Isn’t this the prettiest flower you’ve ever seen,” I shove a tiny blue flower into Kiri’s face. 

She takes the flower and twirls it between her fingers, “It is very pretty, it is like the color of your skin.”

We continue to fiddle with the new flower I found. Kiri is right, it is very similar to my shade of tone. It was near a river and looked to be the only survivor left along its little flower bed. The rest were trampled from what seemed like Thanator footprints.

“Look at what I found!”

Kiri and I turn towards the voice to find Neteyam holding a basket filled to the brim. Every step he takes seems to tip the contents over the edge, the ground ends up scattered with flowers. When he reaches us he dumps the flowers onto the ground in front of our legs still damp from the morning dew. An array of resplendent floras are all mixed in a messy pile in front of our feet.

“Wow, Nete! These are the best flowers I have ever seen in this forest.” Kiri stands up from the place next to me and starts shifting through the pile in search of the very best for her crafts. I stay rooted to my spot, pouting as Neteyam shows me up in yet another little hobby of mine. 

“Nai these are for you too, you are free to pick whichever you like.” 

I huff and turn away quickly to start the trek back home through the forest, “No thanks, I don’t want those weeds.” 

Neteyam follows me quickly, since he is a year older everything seems to come easily for him. It is starting to get on my nerves.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m finding someone who will appreciate my gift.”

“You have to come back, I promised that I would look after you and the others,” Neteyam attempts to grab onto my arm, “you are being dramatic.”

I gasp and turn around to look at him, “Am not!”

“Are too,” he says in a “matter of fact" tone. This only served to further irritate me, and I found my eyes watering a bit. Before he could notice, I throw my flower on the ground and storm off back to the village.

⊲──✿──⊳

“Keep only three fingers on the bow Ainai, not four,” Mr. Sully explains while fixing my grip. I’ve been having a bit of trouble with my training lately, it just felt so unnatural the way we held our bows. It would feel so much more stable if I could hold it with four fingers instead of three. It doesn’t help that my ring finger could barely hold onto the heavy bow as is.

I could hear a snicker in the background and I immediately lose all confidence in myself. I angrily turn around, “What seems to be so funny?”

Neteyam straightens up and grins, “How do you expect to fight with us if you cannot even hold the weapon correctly.”

“At least when I shoot, my arrow actually hits the target-”

“Enough, both of you,” Mr. Sully removes the bows from both of us and sets them down leaning on a tree, “none of you should be insulting the other when neither has successfully mastered this simple technique.”

Both Neteyam and I held our gazes to the grass below us, neither of us saying a word. I twiddle my fingers lightly. I always hated getting him angry because it came from a place of disappointment. My parents worked hard to get me the opportunity to train with our leader and his son. So when I mess up I take it to heart a little more than others, because I know that I could be replaced with another Na’vi more skillful than me. I will not be able to surpass Neteyam if I am to train with another warrior. Not that any of them are not a master in their field, Mr. Sully is just the best as they come. Since Neteyam is training by him, I have to be trained by him too if I wish to become as good, or better yet, the best. 

“I’m sorry Mr. Sully-”

“I’m sorry sir.”

Jake watches his kids for a moment and heaves a sigh, “You both are dismissed, we will be adding an extra day of training to try to fix the mistakes we seem to continuously have.”

“Yes sir,” I say.

I grab my bow and knock Neteyam’s out of his reach so he would have to bend down to retrieve it. While I walk away I hear his grunt of displeasure from my actions and I try my hardest to push back a smile that tries to creep up on my face. 

“That wasn’t very nice,” Kiri says while she catches up to my stride. She had a bunch of flowers in her hair so she probably came from the flower field not too far from here. Kiri always had something interesting going on about her. The other day she made a crown out of a bunch of sticks for each and every one of us. This little quirk of hers was probably my favorite thing about her. She loves making crafts and especially loves to gift her family and friends with them.

“He deserves it, he got us in trouble,” I counter.

“You both always go at it, almost as bad as he is with Lo’ak.”

I puff out my chest, “That is because Lo’ak is just as smart as I am and he’s jealous he’s not smart like us!” 

Kiri playfully bumps my shoulder with hers, “I’m sure when we get older you both will be as thick as thieves!”

“What does “Thick as thieves mean”?”

“Like, um, well Dad says it's when you are really close with someone like best friends.”

“Then why would we be thick, and why would we steal,” I question. The Sully family is always saying these weird sayings from Earth. Some are common sense while the others perplex even the brightest minds among the clan. 

“Oh hush-” Kiri pushes me forward and we erupt in a fit of giggles. 

We finally arrive at the village and I leave her side to enter my home. Inside I find my mother cooking and my dad nowhere to be seen.

“Welcome home paskalin, the food will be ready soon.” My mother continues to move around in the kitchen while I take in the aroma. The most noticeable note is the scent of fish clinging to the air. Before entering too deep into the house I set my bow off to the side. My mother hates when my father and I leave any weapons around the house. She says it makes it seem as though we are a messy family and do not respect our surroundings. In our defense, most of the guests we invite over are the Sully’s, and they have weapons everywhere.

The front door opens and my father walks in, “I’m back, I was making some quick conversation with Jake.”

“Quick is not the word I would use for when the two of you speak but I digress,” my mother pecks him on the cheek and continues adding the finishing touches to our dinner. She is extremely skillful when dealing with any kind of meat and fish. I bet that if I gave her one vegetable from our garden that she could make a whole meal out of it.

I move towards the cabinets to take out some plates to start setting up the table. To start off, I set down three plates near each other at the end of the table. My sa’nok comes with a plate of fish and sets one down at each of our spots. A lot of the Omaticaya people, my people, usually eat on the floor. They would have mats to soften the ground and designate where a person could sit. My family has a table and chairs just like the Sully’s, we got the idea from them. My mother would admire the intricate woven patterns that the wood of the table would exhibit in their home. Eventually, she had my dad learn how to build one and we all got to carve its designs together. This happened last year when I turned the appropriate age to use a hunting knife. We were singing while making hearts and all other kinds of symbols into the wooden exterior. 

“Momma, do you think I’ll be good as Nok and the others when it comes to combat?”

Nok is a slightly older guy in our clan, he has a couple of years on Neteyam and I. They both often get into arguments even though they barely see one another. Nok already went through the process of getting an ikran. He got his banshee at age 13, which makes him one of the youngest in the clan to complete this ritual. He always rubs this fact in Neteyam’s face, he says that he will probably get his ikran when he is old with gray hair. It is a little mean but it did make me giggle out loud, much to Neteyam’s dismay. That is probably what made him dislike me even more, other than the fact that I am constantly in competition with him for his sempul’s approval. I have four years until I become the same age as Nok. This means I have only three years if I want to break his record as the youngest in our clan to complete the ritual. He used to be a friend of mine who would include me in his friend group’s hang-out sessions. 

They never approved of me bringing Kiri and Lo’ak, they said they were too young. This made no sense to me because I was the same age as them. After a bit of an argument, I went home crying and made a vow to never hang out with them again. Kiri and Lo’ak are my best friends and I am not going to let some old people exclude them from things. They talk as though being young is a bad thing like we had a say for when we are born. 

My dad finishes his plate of food and moves to get mine and my mother’s, “You won’t be as good as them, you’ll be better yawntutsyip.”

This brings a bright smile to my face, I will prove my worth in this clan.

He’ll see, they all will.

[aealrizen]

The rest of the meal was spent with idle chatter between the hosts and Ian, with Whip chiming in mostly only when he was addressed. Midas remained quiet, though not because the others were ignoring him. It had been easy to tell he was overwhelmed already, so Chipo had thought just having time to watch, listen, and not have to respond would have been nice for him. As Benjamin took care of cleaning up the dishes, Chipo led their guests back up the stairs, Olie in her arms and Berko obediently holding onto her skirt. Despite already yawning, Berko kept looking back to make sure the others were following which caused Ian to chuckle softly and wave to him.

“Sorry in advance,” Chipo apologized once they reached the top of the stairs, turning slightly to talk to them without having to raise her voice too much. “We don’t usually have a lot of guests, so we only have one room with two beds-”

She broke off when Berko threw his hands up, reaching towards Ian while also remembering to stay near his mom. “Grandpa can stay with me then!” he chimed abruptly, then his excitement grew too great and he reached over to latch onto Ian’s hand and pull him towards the door with his nameplate on it. Whip couldn’t hold back a sputter of amusement, but refrained from commenting.

“...Honey, I think your bed is too small for him…,” Chipo tried to decline gently, giving Ian an easy way out if he didn’t want to spend the night dealing with a younger child. They had an escort job to get to early in the morning afterall. Ian didn’t need to be kept up late by her son’s chattering, and incessant wiggling in his sleep.

To her surprise though, Ian just chuckled softly, allowing Berko to drag him around. “It’s alright. I’ve slept in worse situations. If it’s alright with mom I don’t mind staying the night with him,” he agreed, putting the condition that Chipo had to be okay with it since he wasn’t sure how she would feel about an essential stranger staying with her son. Family or not, they had only met that afternoon. He wouldn’t blame her at all for not trusting him.

It seemed it was Ian’s turn to be surprised though, for after getting past her initial shock Chipo just gave a relenting sigh and smile. “It’s fine,” she agreed, a strange softness in her expression. “He doesn’t get to see family much, and it’s been awhile since he’s gotten so attached to someone. If you don’t mind, it would be nice for him to get to enjoy himself for a change.”

It was unexpected for Chipo to comment about Berko not getting attached to people, and Ian was stunned silent until his memories could supply a possible answer. “...Military life can be quite stifling, huh,” Ian sympathized, shifting his grip to give Berko’s hand a gentle squeeze. It was common for those who lived with people in the military to have a more isolated life. What with having secrets to keep and eyes boring holes through their walls to make sure they did so. He wouldn’t be surprised if Berko didn’t have a lot of friends simply because other kids were subconsciously scared of him, channeling their parent’s unease. “There are kids where we usually stay that use me as a pillow all the time. I don’t mind letting him do the same,” Ian assured, giving Berko a warm smile. Anything to give comfort to others in this barren world.

The comments earned a chuckle from Chipo, and she leaned over slightly to address Berko. “Go get your pajamas and come to mommy and daddy’s room for a bath. We’ll let the guests use the bath in the hallway tonight.”

“Yay! Big bath!” Berko cheered, swinging his hands up for a moment once more before rushing into his room. The childish antics earned chuckles from the adults aside from Midas, who was too busy zoning out in a daze from the antihistamines while following Whip around.

“Big bath tonight,” Chipo repeated with a chime, reflecting her son’s excitement as he ran off. Stopping by a sliding door closet in the hall, she used one hand to pull out a towel and spare set of sleeping clothes for her guests. “Luckily since Benny is in the military we get guests often enough that they provide us with a set of sleepwear in a couple different sizes. So hopefully some of these will be comfortable enough for you all, and I can put your clothes in the wash tonight to be ready in the morning.”

“That would be wonderful,” Ian responded, already basking in the idea of having clean clothes.

“Thanks,” Whip grinned, catching the towel and clothes Chipo handed him and also making sure Midas didn’t drop the ones that were passed his way. “Go ahead and shower first,” he directed, a mild chuckle behind his voice as he gave Midas a nudge towards the bathroom. “Before you fall asleep where you’re standing,”

He only earned a soft grunt in return as Midas waddled in a half asleep haze into the bathroom, fumbling slightly to close the door behind him. It was small, with only a shower and half bath one could only sit in, but it was still something strangely fancy to him. Something other than a bucket and a curtain over stone. It was nice though. Just turning handles and having whatever temperature of water he wanted. Not being covered in a layer of sand and dirt for once. He found that lukewarm water was the most comfortable, and this time the soap didn’t bother him as much. Chipo had mentioned something about getting a brand with a more simple ingredient mix this time, and it strangely smelled more like the soap that was used in the slums. He knew not to take too long though, there was always a line. And after he was dressed in the soft fibers of city clothing he stumbled out of the bathroom and by the other two with the towel still over his head and weapons loosely in his hands. They would have to store them somewhere the kids wouldn’t get into them, and he didn’t really feel like letting them out of his sight anyway. Not because he felt unsafe without them, but simply because it had taken a lot of effort to find the parts to build them. He didn’t fancy having to start over.

Whip and Ian had been quietly chatting in the hall while they waited, but once Midas opened the door Whip just had to snicker. A quick direction to the guest room they’d be staying in before he got his own shower, cranking the shower a little warmer than necessary to enjoy the rare experience of steam and prickly clean skin before the luxury was relinquished to Ian.

Rubbing the towel on his head, Whip came back to the room to find Midas tucked away in the corner, a plush pillow squished close to his chest, almost hidden by his curled form. Whip ended up giving yet another soft snort as he moved to the bed and plopped down with little grace. “What are you doing?” he asked, keeping quiet just in case someone in the neighboring rooms had already fallen asleep.

The question went unanswered as Midas continued to stare at the air in front of him, lost in his own thoughts like so many times before. After a stretch of time being filled by Whip massaging the water from his hair, Midas finally spoke up. “... Hey Whip?... Do you think I’m weird?”

The question caused Whip to blink, finding it rather sudden and without context. His immediate thought was to answer ‘yes’, Midas was a rather weird kid when compared to other people his age. But there weren’t any other kids Whip knew that had to deal with losing their identity on top of being turned into what half the population considered a monster. The weirdness Midas had had never bothered Whip, but he refrained from voicing his first thought out loud. Sometimes when Midas asked questions he used different words in place of what he was really asking. Unconsciously watering down the question to make it more palatable for others.

“Weird in what way?” Whip instead asked in return, keeping his focus on drying his hair. He didn’t usually like to take a shower so close to bedtime, but he was glad to have something to focus his attention on so that Midas didn’t feel stared down.

The response was slow to come, and Whip wasn’t sure if it was because Midas was reluctant, or just extremely drowsy because of the antihistamine. But eventually he drew a long breath, rolling his head slightly to the side. “...Unwanted,” he clarified. People didn’t like weird things. Unpredictable was dangerous, and therefore undesirable to have around.

“No.” Whip was quick to answer this time, brows furrowing as he was a bit perplexed what brought this up yet again. “Why do you think you’re weird this time?” So far nothing in this new environment had made Midas comfortable. While most other people Whip knew would have been ecstatic at being there, getting to experience the clean rooms, soft clothes, warm meal, and all the other luxuries the city folk took for granted, Midas just seemed either afraid or discontent. Other than the food of course. And while the response was unusual, Whip was quickly coming to learn it wasn’t unwarranted. Emotions were confusing enough as it was, and without the memories behind them Whip was starting to learn that talking Midas through his confusion seemed to help considerably.

“.... The bed,” Midas admitted succinctly, drooping gaze shifting over to the bed he was deliberately sitting away from. The floor was more closely familiar to the ground he’d slept on for as long as he could remember. Even if it was smooth wood instead of gritty dirt covered stone. “I’m… afraid to use it. Chipo said it’s fine. I can’t imagine she’d rescind her offer. I don’t want to think she would. She’s a nice lady. But… it’s weird…. If I sit down…” he faltered, mouth trying to find the words his mind couldn’t quite come up with coherently. “I… would I even be able to get up again? It’s strange, I feel like I’ll end up trapped there. Like always…”

Like always? Whip turned to stare in confusion at Midas, but the question died before it was voiced. Midas looked like he was moments from falling asleep, and Whip found he couldn’t blame him. This had been an unintentionally exhausting day for him, and while Whip was intensely curious what Midas meant by ‘always’ he knew he most likely wouldn’t get a coherent answer. Breathing a short noise of relenting amusement, Whip slipped his hair into a low ponytail to keep it out of the way before he pushed off the bed and approached the sulking, awkward child in the corner. “C’mon kid. Let’s go to sleep,” Whip beckoned, offering his hand to Midas. A short time ago he wouldn’t have thought Midas would have taken it. But now he wasn’t surprised when Midas reached out after blinking blearily at the hand for a moment.

Pulling Midas to his feet for just long enough to drag him over to one of the beds, Whip carefully shoved him over onto the mattress. Midas only gave a noise of complaint, but found it hard to sit back up once his face squished into the soft material. It was so enticingly comfortable. Being cradled in a cushion of foam instead of balanced like a board on hard ground. A strain of panic was starting to rise from the concern his fears were manifesting. But it halted when Whip gracelessly flopped over next to him, mercilessly shoving him around to make room and almost ending up with Midas’ back against the wall so they both could get comfortable. It earned some pathetic snickers from Midas, and Whip grinned before reaching up to pat the boy on the head. “If you find the bed has stolen you when you wake, just give me a shove and I’ll pull you back up,” Whip half joked, giving Midas a gentle ruffle before shifting into stillness.

For half a second the voice sounded like someone else in Midas’ nearly sleep stolen mind. The words were different, so Midas couldn’t quite hear the voice behind them. But the feeling was still there. The intent to pull him away from being trapped in what normally brought comfort to others. Who was that? It was too warm and peaceful to focus for more than a heartbeat before his mind was shutting down for rest. The weight of a quilt on his form after Whip pulled it up, and his face squished into a pillow held close to his chest as he curled around it. The figure of someone else right next to him, soft breaths and warmth making their presence known. This had happened many times before. Midas couldn’t actively remember it in his mind, but he still felt comfort built up from familiarity cultivated over many years seeping into his bones. The last thought he had was more of a feeling before he drifted off.

He’d be alright. Tomorrow might be an effort to wake up, but he would still be there to greet the morning. Like always.

____________________________

First

____________________________

Let me just crash over the hurdle that was the first part of this post with all the grace of a baby giraffe new to it's legs OTL That was such an effort, eugh.

[d-s-winchester]

My Only Wish This Year

Part Two

Master List

Pairing: Jensen x Reader Word Count: 1,188 Warnings: angsty teens A/N: Part two is finally here! Thank you all for being patient with me! I write when I can find the time and I’m sorry this took so long! If you’d like to be tagged let me know, in an ask (it’s the best way for me to keep track)! Hope you guys like it! Anyway, feedback for this is crucial seeing as I’m just stepping back in! :)

Jensen unpacked his things and did his best to get settled in the small but cozy room. He plugged in his phone, and changed into some pajamas before going to knock on the door joining his room to Jordan and Lizzie’s. Lizzie opened the door a few seconds later and stepped aside to let Jensen in.

“You guys settling in ok?” he asked.

“Fine,” Jordan snapped, shoving his headphones into his ears as he slumped onto his bed.

“We just finished unpacking. Unfortunately,” Lizzie said, sitting at the foot of her bed, rolling her eyes.

“I expect the eye rolling and the attitude from your brother, but not you,” Jensen said. “What’s going on, Half Pint?”

“You and Y/N,” she said. “We saw how you two were looking at each other and we didn’t like it.”

“And how exactly do you think we were looking at each other?” Jensen asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Like you wanted to rip each others’ clothes off,” Jordan piped up from the bed.

“Jordan!” Lizzie said.

“What? It’s true,” Jordan said. “Didn’t realize you would move on from mom so quick.”

“Jordan, I’m not moving on from your mother,” Jensen said, rubbing a hand down his face.

“Sure, dad, whatever you say,” Jordan said, rolling his eyes.

“Enough with the attitude, Jordan,” Jensen said. “I want this to be a nice vacation for us so can we please at least be civil with each other until we get back in the car to go home?”

“Whatever,” Jordan replied, pressing play on his phone.

“What do you think about all this, Half Pint?” Jensen asked, turning his attention to his daughter.

“Stop calling me that,” she said, putting her own headphones in. “It’s just Lizzie.”

Jensen let out a sigh, not wanting to deal with any more fighting that day and reminded his kids about breakfast, doubting they could hear him over the music, and shut the door behind him as he entered his room.

With another sigh, Jensen settled himself into his bed and went to check his messages and emails from the past couple of days. He had a few messages from Jared, letting him know the dogs were loving hanging out at his house, and a couple messages from his parents asking about the drive and seeing how the kids were doing. He answered the messages and flagged some emails before grabbing his book from the end table next to him and settled in for the night.

The next morning Jensen was shocked when his kids were actually awake to make it down for breakfast. He took that as a sign that maybe, just maybe, this trip would end up being the positive family bonding experience he’d been hoping for. That hope was dashed, however, when breakfast was spent mostly in silence with both Jordan and Lizzie on their phones followed by them racing back up to their room before he had even finished his coffee. Not sure what to do with the time to himself, he sat with his coffee and opted to read the book he’d brought down with him on the off chance his kids wouldn’t want to have breakfast with him. He was silently glad he’d opted to bring the book with him.

“You can take the coffee into the living room if you want to sit in a more comfortable chair,” Jensen heard and he looked up to see you standing across the table from him.

“I’m sorry?”

“If you want to be more comfortable while you read you can bring the coffee into the living room,” you chuckled. “I know these chairs aren’t the most comfortable.”

“Oh, yeah, that would be great,” Jensen smiled. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” you said, returning the smile. “Jordan and Lizzie decided to skip breakfast?”

“Nah,” Jensen replied, setting his book down on the table. “They ate and ran right back up to their room.”

“Teenagers,” you chuckled.

“Exactly,” Jensen chuckled as well.

“Well, I’ve got to get breakfast all cleaned up, but you are more than welcome to hang out in the living room or the library with the coffee,” you said, gathering some of the plates from the table. “There’s some more in the pot if you want another cup.”

“Do you need some help?” Jensen asked. “With the dishes, I mean.”

You locked eyes with him and suddenly it was like ‘no’ was a word you never learned. It didn’t really go against policy or anything for the guests to help out with chores, but you made it a habit to politely decline when they offered. Jensen, apparently, was different though.

“Uh, yeah, sure,” you smiled. “As long as your kids won’t miss you.”

“Please,” he chuckled. “If you were taking their phones to do the dishes with you they may have a problem. But their old man? They won’t even notice.”

“Well alright then,” you said, motioning for him to follow you. “Kitchen is this way.”

Jensen picked up his coffee cup and his book and followed you into the kitchen. You made small talk while he washed and you dried and put away the dishes. You found that you were really enjoying his company and had to keep reminding yourself that he was one of your guests and would be gone after Christmas. You weren’t allowed to get attached to him. Once the dishes were done you thanked him profusely. He assured you it was nothing and left the kitchen to go check on his kids. You did your best to collect yourself and control the blush you could feel creeping up your cheeks, completely taken aback by the fact that just washing dishes with Jensen caused this kind of reaction from you, and went to head to the front desk and get back to work.

Jensen once again knocked on the door that joined his room to Jordan and Lizzie’s and waited for it to open. This time it was Jordan who let Jensen into the room and didn’t even utter a word to his father. Trying not to let it get to him, Jensen forced himself to smile, and asked his kids how their morning was going.

“We’re bored,” Lizzie said. “There’s nothing on TV and the movie selection sucks. Can we please just go home?”

“No, Half – Lizzie,” Jensen said, catching himself using his daughter’s nickname. “We’re here through Christmas, like I’ve said a thousand times. But I get that you’re bored. What do you say we go explore the town? We can see what they’ve got there and maybe get some lunch?”

“Ok,” Lizzie said, already getting her shoes on.

“Jordan?” Jensen asked.

“Will you let me stay here by myself if I say I don’t want to go?” he asked.

“Not a chance,” Jensen replied.

“Then, fine, we can go to town,” Jordan groaned, but followed his sister’s lead and put on his shoes.

Once the family of three had their coats, hats and scarves on they headed out to Jensen’s SUV and made their way into the small town a few minutes away from the Inn.

Forever Tags: @iwantthedean​ @mrswhozeewhatsis​ @fudging-jefferson-starships​ @chelsea072498​ @dauntlessdiva​ @evyiione​ @xtina2191​ @ellen-reincarnated1967​ @jerkbitchidjitassbutt​ @smoothdogsgirl​ @illisea​ @growningupgeek​ @atc74​ @thing-you-do-with-that-thing​ @musiclovinchic93​ @leigh70​ @padacklescumslut​ @ever-mischief​

Dean/Jensen Tags: @akshi8278​ @sandlee44​ @anjiep24​ @thisismysecrethappyplace​ @mrsjenniferwinchester​

My Only Wish This Year Tags: @mimi-luvzyu​ @mlovesstories​ @impalaslytherin​

[ladylooch]

Imagine Lio finding out how he was conceived by overhearing Timo and Emma's conversation in the kitchen talking about that night like her halloween costume, how drunk they were, and their hookup, not knowing that Lio has been eavesdropping the whole time?

“Silence.” Timo murmurs to Emma as he comes down with the baby monitor for the twins room. “Sweet, sweet, kid free silence.” Emma laughs, eyes drinking in Timo as he comes towards her. He opens his arms, pulling her into his chest. He presses a smooch to the top of the head, then rubs his hands up and down her back lazily.

All four Meier babies are tucked into bed on a cool October night where the wind is whipping the changing leaves off the trees. It’s perfect snuggling on the couch weather. It is also a reminder of the upcoming team party they are attending at the end of the week.

“We still need costume ideas for the halloween party this weekend.” Emma mumbles into his chest. Timo grunts out an annoyed huff.

“You know I hate coming up with ideas for this stuff. That’s why I married you… cause you’re so good at it.”

“T, I have like one brain cell left right now. Please help.”

“Okay, you be Tinker Bell.”

“I’ve already been Tinker Bell. It was pretty memorable.” She rests her chin in her hand, looking up at his face. 

“I remember how good it looked on the floor of Nico’s place. Everything else is fuzzy…”

“Well, we had a baby 40 weeks later.” 

“39, he was early.” He reminds her, then kisses her nose. Emma laughs. “But you were so drunk that night, I don’t expect you to remember that.”

“I was buzzed, not drunk.” She pats Timo’s ass then steps aside to grab the popcorn from the pantry.

“Beer makes me soooo drunk, hehehe.” He mocks while going to the cabinet with the wine glasses. “Although I want you drunk and needy again tonight, I know we have an early morning. So, white or red?”

“Surprise me.” She requests. Timo disappears downstairs to their wine cellar, then comes back up with a bottle of red wine from Napa Valley the year Lio was conceived. “You feeling nostalgic?” She asks, thinking of the night 7 years ago where they unknowingly changed their lives forever. Timo shrugs.

“A little.” He works the metal into the corkscrew. “Was thinking today about how lucky we are. Even though it’s all a little chaotic right now with the boys.” 

“That’s why we have wine.” Emma shrugs, sprinkling in the unpopped corn into the pan. 

“Tell me, babe…” Timo trails off, popping the cork open. His eye glaze up Emma’s body, resting on her face. “What was your favorite position that night?” 

“Missionary on the table.” 

“Excellent choice.” Timo nods, pouring Emma a healthy glass of wine. “Mine was on the floor to end the night.”

“Making looooooove.” Emma admires longingly as he walks forward with her wine. “Thank you.” She murmurs, grabbing the glass from him and taking a long sip. She sighs happily, watching Timo pour his glass. “I loved the next morning too.” She confesses. “Waking up next to you felt so right.” Timo smirks. 

“Then you ran off.” 

“Hey, I didn’t have a choice that time.” She defends herself gently. 

“Ran home to Switzerland with my baby inside of you. A Lio the lion.” Emma grins.

“Ugh, he loved that stuffy so much when he was a baby. I wish he was still that little.” 

“I know. He was sleeping with it the other day, did you see?”

“No I wasn’t.” Comes a sassy little voice from the stairs. Lio peers around the corner at his parents who are surprised to see him.

“Well… this doesn’t look like your bed?” Timo questions curiously.

“I needed a glass of water.” Lio pads further into the room, going to the cabinet next to his parents. Neither of them move, watching their self-sufficient boy get his own cup of water. He sucks it down fast, adding in an Ahhhh afterwards. Emma hides her smile in Timo’s t-shirt. 

“Good stuff?”

“Mhm. What’s missionary?” Lio wonders. “And whats it got to do with me?” Timo starts laughing immediately, of course, leaving Emma to deal with the question on her own. Emma slaps Timo’s back as he walks away. 

“Thanks for making it worse, T.” She calls jokingly to him. “Um, that’s a question for when you’re older. And it’s not past your bedtime.”

“So tomorrow? I’ll be older tomorrow.”

“Mmmm, nope.” Emma holds her ground, turning his little shoulders towards the stairs. “Quit delaying. I’m not fighting you about going to school tomorrow because you’re tired.” 

[snkts]

She bought him a card.

While perusing the aisle of a local pharmacy, mikoto has come across the store’s shelf of greeting cards. Cards for birthdays, cards that offered encouragements to “Get Well,” “Thinking of You” cards, and of course, Father’s Day Cards. Curious, she had picked-out a couple. Father’s Day was this Sunday. Mikoto made a mental note to call her dad that day and also… she bought a card, one that had a picture of some American National Park on the front. It looked natural and it reminded her of Logan.

When Mikoto returned to the mansion, she wrote on the inside of the card: “Logan. Thanks for looking after me, Mikoto,” In Japanese. Then stuffed the card in its envelope, addressed it to Logan, and left it on her desk. Within four hours of buying and writing her card, Mikoto chickened out of giving it to him. (It was too much, he wouldn’t appreciate it, she was just a student). It remained on her desk for the rest of the week and all through Sunday. She called her dad that morning, had a nice fifteen minute conversation with him, and then, admittedly, the rest of the day was like any other Sunday. A symptom of living on the other side of the planet from her parents.

Then again, every Father’s Day had been like this since Mikoto was a child. Her change in location had effectively changed nothing.

But that evening, after dinner and playing some card games in the common room, Mikoto returned upstairs. The light was on in her room and she only had a second to process that as odd, before she turned into the doorway and saw Logan standing at her desk. In his hand, the envelope open on the desk, was the card she had bought.

Mikoto’s breath caught in her throat, her cheeks flushing. He had obviously already read the card but Mikoto couldn’t read the look on his face. What should she say? What does she even do in this situation? She couldn’t even think of a joke to crack the tension or play off the card.

“I wasn’t going to give it to you!” Mikoto blurted-out. And before she could stop herself the words tumbled out, “I bought it but then I thought it would be weird since, we’re not — you’re not my — and you probably don’t want to be… not that I need you to but, anyway, it’s not that I don’t, but now that you’ve found it, I guess. You should just ignore it. Sorry.”

Her eyes fixated at the floor, just in front of her feet. Mikoto wound a strand of hair around her fingers, tugging lightly on her scalp. Finally, she sighed.

“Can we please forget this ever happened?”

Logan knows what day it is. Of course he does. He just didn't think he had any reason to care. It wasn't a big enough deal for Charles to postpone training or classes, which suited Logan just fine. When it came to combat and survival, rust formed fast. Only way to keep it off was to keep active. ... But maybe he'd be a bit more lenient today if they were a minute or two late.

"Sorry, Mr. Logan, had to call my Dad!" or "Couldn't get the old man off the phone, you know how it is." greeted him every time the footsteps fell a bit faster. (No, he didn't know how it was, but he didn't say that. Only grunted and told them to fall in.) A part of him couldn't help but twinge with jealousy. The part that still remembered Itsu's soft hand in his when she told him they were finally having a baby. (The bright dark horrible red steaming against the stark white snow as he saw that future stolen forever.) But that was an old wound, and, like all his injuries, it healed enough that he could stay standing. Crying didn't bring anyone back. Besides, the kids were happy, and he wasn't about to ruin that for them - not today.

Aside from those minor interruptions, it had been pretty normal. Some of the kids had surprised Charles with a few little trinkets which he had accepted gladly. Dinner had been a bit fancier - that had been nice. Sure, the food here was always good, but he wasn't one to turn down fancier eats when offered. The kids had gone off to their evening classes, and he'd managed to score the Danger Room for a few hours of private training. After that, it was time for the most important nightly ritual of all: A glass of good whisky and a nice cigar. Both were kept in his room, secure and hidden from anyone who might want to share (labelling your shit only went so far in this place). He was leaning on his balcony, arms loosely crossed, tumbler dangling from his fingertips and cigar hanging from his teeth, when he noticed something weird. He could hear the muffled chatter of the kids in their classrooms. Birds chirping, check. Wind blowing, check. Crickets chirping, check. But overtop of the rustling of critters in the underbrush and Storm in the greenhouse upstairs was another noise - metallic sound effects and a repetitive, simple song. The first time it played, he ignored it. The third, he growled. The fifth, he jammed the cigar into his ash tray, threw back the rest of his whisky, and went to shut it off before he lost his damn mind.

"Christ, Skippy, what're you doing in here?" He pushed the cracked-open door the rest of the way, brow furrowed in annoyance. "Ain't you s'posed to be in class any-...?" He trailed off. The room was empty. Nobody was here. The overheads were off, the only light coming from the monitor. 'PAUSE MENU' flashed on top of the screen in bright letters. Logan sighed and shook his head. Of course. Well, time to look for the mute button. He bent over the desk and reached for the mouse when something else caught his eye. An envelope.

An envelope with his name on it.

Logan cocked his head and furrowed his brow. What was this? Some kinda ransom note? He plucked it off the desk and straightened. That was her writing, sure, and he didn't notice any weird smells here, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. There were plenty of people who could make that happen - Mesmero, for example, or Mastermind, assuming she didn't decide to run off on her--

Own.

...

Oh.

He blinks at the card in his hand, waiting for his thoughts to catch up to his eyes. It's a card. It's a Father's Day card. It's a Father's Day card for him. What? ... What? He opens it carefully, half expecting it to explode or crumble to dust or be made out to someone else and put in the wrong envelope, or who knows what else, but no, that's his name in there, too.

He's too busy reading and re-reading the message to notice the footsteps. He does hear the sharp intake of breath and his head snaps to track the sound. He stares at her. She stares at him. She turns bright red and he glances down at the card again. And she starts talking. And talking, and talking, and talking. She did that when she was nervous. Opened her mouth and didn't seem to know how to close it. He folds the card closed again with one hand, and when she looks like she's not about to light him up like a Christmas tree, he closes the gap between them. A strong arm circles around her shoulders and pulls her close, holding her against his chest.

"Thanks, Skippy." He says, resting his chin on her head and giving her a squeeze. "Means a lot."

More than he could ever put into words.

Happy Father's Day, indeed.

[the-bar-sinister]

Saturday Morning S.T.A.R.S: The Animated Series

Episode 17: Mini-golf Madness

A-plot: Despite warnings of stormy weather, Chris, Barry, Jill and Wesker go minigolfing on their day off to settle a bet between Chris and Wesker.

B-plot: New recruit Rebecca is in the office manning the phone lines, and dealing with increasingly ridiculous antics of the RCPD.

Act one:

Rebecca comes into the office and reads notes on procedure left by Wesker. Turning on the radio she hears a weather report about a massive thunderstorm warning for Raccoon city later that afternoon.

Under a grey sky, Chris, Barry, Jill and Wesker show up at the Raccoon City Family Fun Center Mini-golf course.

Barry insists on bringing his real golf clubs from home and is bragging about his swing.

Jill is giggling and excited talking about how she hasn’t been to Mini-golf since she was a kid.

Meanwhile Chris and Wesker are deadly serious about the competition to a ludicrous degree.

In the background of the course we see another family golfing with their young, disruptive son.

In the office, Chief Irons tells Rebecca to turn off the damned radio and get serious. Flustered, she turns it off, only to get a call from downstairs, the RCPD officers want her to order them some pizzas.

Act two

The golf teams are Wesker and Jill vs Chris and Barry.

Barry is a total show off, talking up how much he knows about the game but comically overshoots every hole, or has his swing disrupted by hazards.

Jill turns out to be an absolute ace at Mini-golf, promoting Chris to playfully call her a traitor and demand to know her secret. Wesker jokes about having her ‘specially enhanced’ for the mission.

The kid with the golfing family is messing around, forcing his parents to chase after him.

At the S.T.A.R.S office Rebecca is juggling calls from RCPD officers hazing and taking advantage of her. We see her grow increasingly frazzles and frustrated, running around the department, cleaning up spills, finding lost keys, accepting pizza deliveries etc. Meanwhile the phone won’t stop ringing.

At the golf course the teams are neck and neck going into the final hole, which is an enormous, elaborate set piece styled like Castle Dimitrescu.

Over the last few scenes it’s started to rain, but Chris and Wesker insist to keep playing. Thunder rumbles. They have to use their police clout to be allowed to stay while the Center closes.

As the center closes, the father of the golfing boy is seen talking to the course staff, saying that he can’t leave because his son ran off and vanished.

Chris and Wesker stop bickering momentarily as the pay attention to the conversation about the missing boy.

The storm picks up and a strike of lightening hits the fake castle. There’s a scream. Everyone looks up to see the missing boy in the top of the castle– which has caught on fire

Act three

Chris and Wesker put aside their grudge match to rescue the boy in danger.

The team works together, despite not having their equipment, to find a way to scale the burning building and rescue the kid.

Chris grabs a hold of the child, but it looks like they’re both going to be hit with falling debris, only to be pushed out of the way by Wesker at the last second.

At the RCPD, an officer tries to get Rebecca to clean the men’s room for him. She finally has had it up to here and let’s off a little tirade before playfully whacking him with a plunger and stomping back to the office.

Returning the child to his parents, Chris and Wesker agree that the bet has ended in a tie– for now.

Jill calls them both ridiculous, but is seen bandaging Wesker’s burns with a sigh.

Barry laments that he wasn’t able to show them his hole in one.

Final scene

The crew comes into the office the next day. Wesker and Rebecca each ask one another how the day went, and both claim to have had a completely normal day.

S.T.A.R.S. says!

Standing around the coffee machine in the office, Chris and Wesker explain to the audience that competition is all well and good, but not to let it go too far. Be a good sport, and make sure you’re never in a situation that will get someone hurt!

[loosingmoreletters]

🌩️ and/or ☔ for the wip game please!

☔Is there a fic concept you have that you'd like to just explain and share because you're not sure you'll ever write it? If so, what is it?

Oh gosh, I have too many fic ideas for MDZS but here is one: funky gender and pregnancy ahead.

LWJ returns from his travels with a beautiful woman. She’s strong and smart and when he asks permission to marry this Wen Ying, both his uncle and brother are unwilling to give permission.

You’re too young, she’s a Wen and worst of all - no Lan will have a fox bride.

But, well, LWJ is stubborn and his love dejected.

“I should’ve expected it,” they say. “I can turn myself into a woman, have Wen Qing adopt me into her sect and follow all those rules, your uncle barely took more than one look at me before he said no.”

What a fool Wei Ying had made of himself, thinking he might have a chance. But, well, Lan Wangji is stubborn, so in the morning, LXC sends out disciples to find his brother and his runaway fox bride, but for all sense and purpose, they’ve vanished into the wind.

Three years later, LXC sees his brother again, as he marches into the Lan camp with a Wen General’s decapitated head.

“They burned down our village when we refused to fight,” says LWJ, Hölle like he’s never been. “They killed my spouse and child.”

LXC pulls his brother close.

At the other war front, Jiang Cheng meets the brother he should’ve had. The last time JC had thought of him had been when rumors of the second Jade of Lan eloping with a fox broke through. His father grew sad then, spoke of the boy he couldn’t save. JC feels inadequate as a sect leader, but he hopes he can do his father proud in this. Wei Wuxian is a walking nightmare, has cultivated six blackened tails from the resentment of the dead. “Wen Chao took the three I had,” Wei Wuxian said. “I want his head and heart for my dead spouse and son.”

Jiang Yanli looks at him and thinks WWX needs help, JC thinks that perhaps he can do his father proud if he offers WWX a place in their sect, something to live for.

And then, there in the heart of Qishan, is Wen Ning. He lacks confidence, most of the time, so people think him incapable of lying, but he was taught to lie by the greatest performer of all. He does not remember the day his mother came home with an injured boy and offered him a place to stay, but he does recall the day WWX asked for etiquette lessons, and the day he returned home again with his fiancé and asked if they could hold a wedding there in Dafan, the money WN and his sister put aside for a marriage to Gusu Lan instead used for travels, and later fixing up a cottage to live in until the child would be born. The point is this: WN lies well when the situation demands it, so he lied about the child he pulled from the charred remains of his best friend’s home, claimed the kid as a direct cousin, instead of an adopted nephew. Now all he needs is to get him back to his parents.

Or: I really wanted a fic wheee wangxian meet early and wanna get married but there are enough objects for LWJ to leave his sect, but it escalates into “how long can two characters think they lost everything they loved.”

🌩️ Share something funny/cracky from your WIP.

From an Omegaverse, somehow T rated fic about bitching.

“The quicker you accept it, the easier it’ll be to deal with,” Jiang Cheng advised like a wise old mentor and not the younger brother he actually was.

Entirely unacceptable.

“I can fix this,” Wei Wuxian insisted.

And, despite knowing better, Jiang Cheng asked, “How? Lan Wangji can’t bitch you—”

Wei Wuxian paused in his splashing and raised his head just to see Jiang Cheng’s horrified expression. He couldn’t tell if that was because his brother refused to think about Wei Wuxian’s sex life, which was also what Wei Wuxian preferred, or because he’d hit the nail on the head. Wei Wuxian cackled.

[unholywriter]

Chapter Three

Percival Fredrickstien von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III

Warnings: None.

We’re All Runaways

Chapter Four: From The Hideout

Nor’i didn’t even give time for Reginald to help open the main doors. The pure bulk force from this woman was remarkable. Heading out, she managed too allow the brisk nip in the air too blanket her exposed skin. Shuffling through the snow, she sped on too the town square.

As for Percival, he finished his tea, set it down and gave Lord Euston a fair warning. “Don’t make dealings with the Briarwood’s.” As his tea cup left his hand finally, Lord Euston looked down at the paper he set it on. Signature’s from the Briarwood’s that were on a letter sent to him were now stained with tea splashes of red.

Before he could look up and search Percy’s eyes. Percy had already left the study, and continued his way out of the estate. Nor’i trotted through the snow, leaving behind a trial. But among the other prints for those who’ve woken this morning, it would be hard for Percy to track. Even her weight, you’d expect her to be slowed down. But she was light as a feather and left just as quick leaving the white haired boy far behind. What was he even thinking? Actually considering to work with such a stranger? He sighed, taking a hard right and heading back too the tavern.

As for Nor’i, her thoughts cared not for Percy. He was an obstacle she’ll have no choice too encounter down the road on this job but, for now she was scouring the market watching young children and teenager’s toss snow balls straight at each other’s faces. Lord Euston spoke of Lance’s friends. The rift raft of Ironheart. Standing aside the bakery’s doors smashing on a fresh baked bread; she kept her gaze with limited attention. She’d look upon the children, and then the few others that headed too their morning errands. she was looking specifically for the roughest of the bunch. The bully, the one who’d run tail between his leg’s because that’s what they’d all do with a situation like Lance’s. Although the assumptions were tossed aside as a blonde haired, freckled brown eyed girl came barreling after one that be considered a small fry. Oh how she was the leader of this possible rough batch of runts.

She pummeled a smaller kid with dirty blonde hair, a ragged looking overall attire with patch worked gloves. He stood no chance as he balled up in the snow and the rest of her followers joined in with more snow balls. A sigh left her lips, she couldn’t say anything because she was that girl when she was young. All she could remember was the times her and Grove bullied younger kids into doing things they didn’t want to do. Although, Grove real quick was the one who managed to turn Nor’i around really fast once he saw his feathers were falling off. It was a learning process of being young, not only that. Grove was indeed an Orphan so her parents took him in. Growing up together, she missed that. A solemn expression crept on her face. Someday, this girl will learn. Just the fact Lance’s death should have been enough. Although, someone so young might have a hard time realizing that it’s their hand they dealt the fate of others in.

Stepping forward, she managed to walk and stand behind the kids without notice. She cleared her throat, and crossed her arms waiting for their response. It was as if scaring a bunch of gutter cats. Their hair all raised up at their spines, the petrified look of being on edge. Spinning around, the teenage blonde girl looked up at Nor’i wide eyed. “W-what do you want?!”

The bratty tone that left her mouth only made Nor’i raise an eyebrow. “Look kid, if you don’t start allowing that poor boy a breath he might rain some hell on you later on in life that’ll you’ll definitely not see coming.”

“What? Bigly? Ha!” She sort of snorted. “He couldn’t tie a shoe lace together let alone come up with any master plan to get back at us.” The blonde girl crossed her arms together, the others following and snickering laughs.

“Is that what you thought of Lance Euston before you got him killed?” Nor’i tilted her head, and the instant sound of crickets that played as a melody for these kids only confirmed she was right.

“I ain’t got nothin’ to do with that!” The blonde girl pointed at her and was beginning to step away. So far that she began to stumble on the kids behind her. “H-he’s the crazy one…” She began to push past them. “Move!” And as she did she began to run, the kids soon following in suit. Nor’i continued to watch with a shake of the head. The story with those kids were over so far, looking down she saw Bigly, still curled up sniffling in the snow.

“Come on kid.” She bent down and held out her hand. From under his arms he still held his head tucked under, two pair of blue eyes pierced at her like ice daggers in fear. There was hesitation, so she smiled. “Let’s get you warmed up and you can tell me all about how these kids are a bunch of little shits. Maybe I can tell you how too stand up for yourself in exchange, yeah?”

“They’ll make it worse if I snitch!” He began to loosen his tense posture but still kept his position.

“The only thing that makes it worse if you do nothing about it.” She kept her hand out, that smile still tugging her lips. It was gentle, and genuine. For some reason, she remembered Grove all drenched in oil, dirt and curled up in a back alley of a town her family was visiting at the time. Slowly the kid began to rise. “Bigly right?”

He took her hand, and she helped him up. “It’s Murphy actually, they just call me that to be mean.”

Nor’i began walking to the Bakery yet again, seeing her bread she dropped in the snow. “Well come on Murphy, let me get us both something warm to eat and I can lend you my war stories for when I was younger.”

“Okay.” Left his lips, and the two ventured back inside. The heat of the ovens was yet again welcoming, and Murphy fastened his pace too the display case. He turned back too her, his hands still on the glass and the biggest puppy eyes fell upon his features. “Anything?”

A sigh left her lips, as if she wasn’t going to give the kid what he wanted. “Yes, anything.”

After a quick transaction, Nor’i and Murphy settled back at the tavern. They began to eat their breakfast now warming up yet again. She watched this kid ravish the cherry filled dumpling’s as if he’d never eaten such a treat ever before. “This is so delicious.” He beamed. “Thank you.”

“Your parents do feed you right?” Nor’i snacked with small bites at her muffin.

“More than they eat themselves yes. But we can’t afford stuff like this all the time.” He took another rambunctious bite. From down the stairs, Nor’i’s back turned she didn’t notice. Percival had stopped dead in his tracks once he saw her. Raising an eyebrow as she sat with this young boy not more then fourteen.

“Then you already know the lesson of cherishing the things you have. That’s a good one too know.” She tilted her head, another smile being displayed. Percy moved to stand close by, leaning against a wooden pillar hidden from both their views. He crossed his arms and continued too listen in.

“I’m sorry lady, but you don’t look like you got too worry much about whether you get a next meal or not.” He wiped a bit of cherry off his chin.

“I get by here and there, but years ago I had to figure out first hand that there’s a once in a million chance some kind stranger would pay for my dumplings out of the kindness of their heart.” She took another small bite, savoring the berried flavor.

“But you need to know things about Lance Euston don’t you?” Murphy’s full attention was now on her. Her smile quickly slithered into a grin.

“Sharp perception my fine little pastry covered friend.” She tittered a small chuckle.

“I know what bribery is, but you could have just asked me instead of buttering me up you know.” Murphy let a grin soon follow.

Nor’i wasn’t too surprised, children are often very sneaky and very mischievous. “If you’re this smart Murphy, why’re you letting those kids be such dick’s too you?”

“Maybe later down the road they’ll need something from me and I bet it will make them seethe when they finally cash it in. Especially Kilana.” He wiped some cherry off his cheek.

“She’s the ring leader right?” Nor’i rose an eyebrow.

“Only because of her fists, I always wonder what could be rattling inside her head sometimes though.” He pressed his lips together. “Look, that night wasn’t supposed to happen like it did. We all weren’t even supposed to be up at the hideout.”

“Hideout?” She tilted her head yet again. Much like a cat with its own curiosity. It just so happen Nor’i matched the agileness too.

“It’s a secret cavern an hour or so up the Fallen Rock Trial.” He consulted. “It’s a place the rest of the towns kids have been going too for ages. I’m sure the adults know about it, it probably some way or another connects to the mines as well.”

“What happened that night?” She narrowed her eyelids now.

“Well I had brought a bunch of-“ He cut himself off getting bashful. His eye contact faltering.

“Spit it out kid, was it some ale or something?”

“Y-yeah.” He took a deep breath in and said with a hush. “I may or may not have taken a crate from Lady Zenobia here.”

“Uh huh.” She shook her head with a grin. “You could have done a lot worse Murphy, don’t worry about it too much. Beside I’m sure you learned your lesson.”

“Absolutely.” He nodded with haste and widened blue eyes.

“And Lance?” She took another small bite of her muffin.

“He brought some bottles of this fine wine he said he got from his dad. Dragon tears?” He sighed. “I don’t remember the other names.”

“Of course, was he trying too fit in too much did you notice?” She looked the kid over for maybe the millionth time trying too memorize his tells.

“Well, the others followed in line with Kilana, and she didn’t like him at all because he’s a noble so they all seemed to not like him either.” A look of grief crossed his features.

“And you?” She dusted the remaining crumbs from her hands. But she stopped abruptly once she noticed how tense he was now, how he looked to his lap with an overwhelming sense of sorrow. He didn’t respond and she furrowed her eyebrows with gloom. “You cared for him didn’t you?”

“Mhm..” He nodded still avoiding eye contact. His tone broken and timid now. A shaky exhale, and he continued. It was more of a whisper. “I got him killed you know.”

“How about you tell me more and I can determine if that’s the case alright Murphy?” Nor’i spoke so gently now. She knew she had to handle this delicately. So this was as delicate she’d go.

“I told you we all weren’t supposed to be there.” He continued looking up now. He was still bashful, and a tint of pink lit up his cheeks. “It was only supposed to be me and Lance since the others didn’t like him much. But some how they found out, and they came in and ruined everything.”

“How so?” Nor’i began to suspect but didn’t press. He needed to tell the story.

“They acted like finally he was apart of the group. Everyone was having fun, even Lance. But I couldn’t. I sat back most of the night and was about to leave when Lance came up to me all drunk on whatever he could get his hands on.” He furrowed his eyebrows. “Kilana was basically force feeding him more Ale by the end, and I think…” He trialed off. “I know he liked her. I guess I was a little upset about that because I screamed at him. I said some really mean things and trailed off out of cavern. The snow was coming down heavy again. But I remember him reaching for my arm.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in. “I told him I liked him. That it drove me crazy he was hung up on Kilana. How absolutely stupid he was for thinking she liked him back.” Looking up his eyes burned into hers. “He didn’t get to reply when we heard the rumble, felt it come from the cavern.”

“Did it cave in?” Nor’i tensed slightly, but it was very unnoticeable.

“No. Something got out.”