#brought my dad to live with me because of how things were back in brazil

[chaotic-bells]

🤷🏻‍♀️ meh

[thisismeracing]

oooh lewis + holiday + angst(?) 👀

congratulations on 1k bb! i love your writing btw from fellow brasileira

Holiday | LH44

⸺ the one where you are ready to settle down and go back to your home country, but Lewis is not. ✓ mentions of breakup and feeling homesick.

⁕ one word, a thousand stories blurb night (CLOSED) ⁕ my masterlist and my taglist

When Yn left to pursue her dream she had barely reached the age of twenty-one. The world was fairly new to her and there were so many things to experience and discover.

Ten years later she felt like she had seen a bit of everything. She was aware that there were infinite possibilities of things to see around, but at that point, she wanted to settle for a bit. She was tired of traveling non-stop and all the different languages she had to use. She missed feeling when speaking, and how one word would bring a thousand memories, because speaking in English, German, or Spanish, would be it: just speaking. But speaking in Portuguese would always be communicating exactly everything she felt and wanted others to feel. Speaking in Portuguese was using the word "Saudade" and remembering how it felt to whisper that to her grandmother every weekend as if they were apart for years when in reality they hadn't seen each other for only five days. Speaking in Portuguese was asking for "Cafuné" and getting her hair messed by her mom, who would look down at her lying on the sofa, and caress her shoulders, somehow getting a bit of the weight for her too. Sharing the pain of missing someone they used to see every weekend. Speaking in Portuguese, more than just speaking was going back to the past in a homesick way that would make you feel warm and cared for. It was feeling whole, and right now, Yn felt in pieces.

"What's up, honey?" Lewis asked, sitting beside Yn and handing her a hot cocoa mug.

She grabbed the mug using both hands and shook her head staring at the foam, but they had been together for over three years and Lewis knew exactly when she was lying or dodging a conversation, so he made himself comfortable on the couch and brought Yn closer, kissing the top of her head. The warmth of his body and clothes made her tears finally spill.

"I'm cold," she choked, and he furrowed his brows. "I'm cold and I'm never this cold when I spend Christmas in Brazil. And it's playing Michael Bubblé, but my grandma would always listen to Roberto Carlos," the tears were freely drifting down her face, smudging her makeup and blurring her vision.

"We can spend Christmas there next year, babe, it's n-"

"I wanna spend every day there, Lewis!" She got up, dropping the small blanket that was on top of her legs. She cried harder looking around the empty house. His family would show up any minute, and some friends would probably do too, but her mom and her dad wouldn't. Her childhood friends wouldn't. Nothing that reminded her of home would. "I'm tired of flying nonstop, working from my computer, and having all my coworkers be online colleagues. I'm tired of the taste of the food everywhere we go because none of them tastes like the food my dad would do... I think I saw enough of the world, I wanna settle down, and...I wanna the safety of home." She blurted out.

Lewis listened to everything from his spot and he almost heard his own heartbreaking when she spoke about home as if her hometown was her home and not him. Because to him, she was her home.

“But- I’m not even close to retiring, I still have so much in me,” he mumbled, eyes cast down. He knew they could make it work with her living in a different country, but it would be exhausting. It wouldn't be giving their love the chance it deserved, but rather turning it into heartbreak.

“I know,” she nodded, feeling her heart clench even more. When their eyes met they knew exactly what it meant. They silently agreed to step back.

For Yn, speaking about “Christmas” would never be like whispering "feliz natal" while Roberto Carlos played in the background of the house. And now, for Lewis, speaking about Christmas would always be remembering how heartbreak felt like after you thought you found home.

― ⋆🪩 VOICEMAIL: That was a bit self-indulged, I have to confess. But aaa Im happy you’re liking it in here *mwah* I hope this brazilian!reader angsty reached to your expectations.

I hope y’all like it too!! Don’t forget to reblog and leave me a comment 💗

[draslihanxfahri-bailey]

She winced slightly at his words. "I'm use to having to defend myself and my credentials," she explained. "Too many people I went to uni with thought that the only reason I was there was because of my parents' money. And there's been numerous other times throughout the years where people didn't believe me when I told them about my degrees. I've had to prove myself to others so many times, it's become a sort of habit at this point. That and I'm not use to people wanting to genuinely get to know me still. I... didn't have many friends until I came here to Providence Peak nearly three years ago." Though, Murat wasn't simply a stranger whom she hoped to have a friendship with. He was her twin. Her twin that she was still getting to know after being separated from for thirty years. All of these things should've already been known between them.

Her lips pressed together as she looked from him. Her eyes scanning over the grounds as she listened to him. Admittedly, part of her was worried about telling him about her life growing up. That he might be resentful for all she experienced with the Baileys and thinking that she was bragging about everything she got to do with them. "To be fair, I don't know how to ride a bike," she admittedly, trying to give him a soft smile. "But I know how to ride a horse!" Yet, she wasn't sure if he'd find that funny or not. Clearing her throat, Asli nodded. Trying to figure out where to start off at. "Mango popsicles," she said. "Those were my favourite growing up and I could find them just about anywhere. And I was able to sit out in the summer sun—depending on which hemisphere we were at during the moment. From when they adopted me to when I was fourteen and attended uni in Cairo, my family and I were primarily traveling and living abroad about ten or eleven months out of the year. We have multiple home bases, primarily in London, El Salvador in Brazil, and Cairo. I did plenty of dirt playing, especially at the excavations my dad oversaw. And they would push me on swings, but I was also an extremely independent and grown-up kid. If I wasn't studying or doing research, then I was off exploring on my own." There was so much that she learned and saw growing up, all kinds of people she got to meet. She felt grateful for all the experiences she was able to have and, admittedly, there was so much to tell him. "What about you? What was your life like growing up?"

Asli hummed softly. "I'm sorry," she offered, reaching out for his hand. Squeezing it gently. "Hopefully one day, you two can talk. You never know what the future might bring. You two could always potentially get back together, if that's something you wanted." There was a difference between her brother still having feelings for Cem versus wanting to be with him. Sometimes you can still be in love with someone yet not want to be with them. While she didn't foresee a future with Atlas nor did she want one with him, yet she knew that a part of her would care about him always. The mention about Elijah brought a warm smile to her lips. "Trust me, we've been through our fair share of problems. I'm just happy that we're always able to find a way to work through them." More than he and a good majority of people know. "We met at the record shop a few weeks after Alex and I moved here. We ended up talking about some of the artists we liked and... it was just so natural talking with him. We kept meeting up with each other and soon enough, he became one of my best friends. We've been by each other's sides through so much together the past three years... I can't believe that we have spent the past year together and are going to have a family together." Asli chuckled softly. It was disbelieving still how the past year has happened and everything that came with it. Yet, she couldn't nor wouldn't ask for anything different. "I really love him, Murat. I just... I just really hope that I'll get to have more time with him and the girls." ||📜@muratfhamdi

"You talk a lot about your intellect and how it was nurtured but very little of your memories." Murat whispers cautiously once they're secure on a balcony that looked out over the hospital grounds. He'd found this place by mere accident, in fact, he wasn't sure that he was supposed to be up this high but it had become solace when his job became too much for his triggered mind. "When our parents first spoke of you, I wondered if your favourite popsicle flavour was banana like mine was, or if you got to sit out in the summer sun or play in the dirt. I expected to hear stories of your parents pushing you on swings or teaching you how to ride a bicycle without training wheels - I've noticed that children grow up much too fast here." Murat admits.

"Mostly, all I know of you now is how brilliant you are and how good of a mother you are to your children - which is welcome information but I feel like I know very little of who you are as an individual. I've been thinking about it more now that ever. It's why it took me so long to visit you -" He swallows the emotion, deciding to let it go; they were different, they were raised very differently, but there was nothing really wrong with it - Murat just hated the idea that if his sister were to lose her battle in the end, that not knowing who she was on a level that most brothers were supposed to know their sisters, that he would regret walking on eggshells as not to over-step his boundaries.

The physician nearly laughs albeit guiltily. "With some of the things that I've said to him over the last eight years? I doubt it - he's said before that it seems like I'm an entirely new person to him. I think being able to finally put a name to the reason that I never felt comfortable in my body allowed me to heal a lot of pain that it caused me - in turn, I became who I wanted to be on the inside, somebody who Cem didn't really know because I never expressed it. - you're lucky though, if I had somebody who could love me through difficult times like Eli does for you, I'd be a different person."

He grins. "How did that happen anyway? The two of you?"

[starcookiechu]

ROTT Review

SPOILERS FOR THE MOVIE. You have been warned.

FYI: I just finished the movie. So my opinions may change a bit but here I am writing a full review.

Before I talk about the movie, I have to say this movie has fantastic animation. The music is as good as usual.

Ok now the story. Let’s start with the our Trollhunters.

Fair Lady Claire. My girlie Claire really brought her all into this. I’m really proud of the young woman she has grown up into. However for the sake of the plot and story they make her run out of magic juice quite a bit. But my girl is still the best and gives it her all.

Wingman Domzalski. I will be perfectly honest. Toby is kind of the annoying best friend at times and bothers me as a plus size person. (They really push the over eating thing to the point that it’s his biggest factor.) Toby is a very eager kid who is ready to get in the action. Never being negative to his friend but the best emotional support who will always be at his side. Sure Toby was used a bit as comedic relief in the movie but when push comes to shove, Toby will always be there to do the right thing.

Blinky is amazing as always. One of the best father figures out there.

Aarrrgh was there. Was great for the scenes he was in, but all together didn’t do much that altered the story.

Our Trollhunter, Jim Lake Jr. Someone I admire and basically see as my little brother/child. Kiddo really did it. I know everyone is upset that Jim’s arc was redone when we had the “Unbecoming” episode. If I could come to a peaceful middle ground, I saw we all need to blame Merlin. He really rocked Jim’s world and self worth. When the creator of the object you need to save the world with tells you “You’re not enough”, it really can be a great setback. But once we past that, Jim really pulled through. Amulet or not, he is our Trollhunter.

Mommy Dr. Lake was there. Barbara was mostly there for our emotions.

Dilf Strickler. I felt that he was changed a bit since we last saw him, but he had a new purpose. He was more cautious and happy because he had a chance at a happy life with Barbara. Which makes what happens to him more upsetting. 

Nomura my sweet. This movie did not deserve you. At least she was with Draal.

And Not-Enrique (seriously why didn’t they ever give him an actual name) just wasn’t in the movie.

How about some CreepSlayers?

BABY ELI PEPPERJACK CAME BACK LOOKING SO CUTE. So proud.

Bumbling knight oaf Steve the Palchuckian was great as usual.

I will say though. The whole pregnancy plot was just a way to get Eli and Steve out of the way. I could feel that the writers maybe didn’t like Steve so much since Wizards. But Steve was once again someone to laugh at. Pregnant and out of the way.

How about some Akiridions?

Aja my darling girl, oh how you’ve grown. I understand some think she has changed. However I must say that her preparing a plan B on the side was smart. She isn’t just a princess on earth anymore. She is a queen on a distant planet. So if she thought evacuation was best, it would ensure that everyone would live. And avoid losing more valuable people from her life. So no, I can’t blame her.

DJ Kleb was there. He was kinda doin his own thing and messing with Steve. Brother-in-law stuff.

It was good to see Varvatos Vex.

Stu was the man in the background working on the busy important things like working on the amulet. Personally I feel like the series REALLY underutilizes Stu A LOT so I was so happy to see him being a part of something huge.

And finally some Wizards.

Douxie my love, you were amazing as usual. His powers have grown greatly and have contributed to the adventure. But god the writers really do love to take everything away from him don’t they. It’s unfair.

Archie was kinda just there and just... I understand leaving Douxie but that doesn’t mean I like it.

Nari the sweetest. I can only imagine the guilt she felt to end Nomura. Her self sacrifice was probably the one in the movie most called for.

Alright now I’ll talk about the movie.

I can whole heartedly say this movie was rushed. To be honest I feel like the original writers weren’t completely in this. At least it felt kind of not so much Trollhunters or 3Below vibes but more Wizards, if that makes sense whatsoever. Something is off.

I just want to blame Merlin for everything. To hell with that guy.

The beginning sequence was great. A car chase to a moving train. Which ends up with Toby of course screwing up and breaking the brakes. Of course. The train falling off the tracks which ultimately ends up with Nari gone. Oh yeah, and video recordings of Magic, trolls and being taken in by the police. Great.

WHY TF WAS TOBY TELLING THEIR STORY TO THE POLICE. YOU DON’T MIX THE POLICE IN STORIES UNLESS YOU KNOW THE COP PERSONALLY. CUZ IT’S A MESS AND THE POLICE GET IN THE WAY. GDI TOBY.

Our heroes go back to base on the new and improved Camelot. Where we discover that Barbara and Strickler are now engaged. Happy news and would secure that Jim has another Father figure in his life and his mother’s happiness. Which explains Strickler’s “stay behind” advice. Now he has a family to watch over. He must be careful and warns that Jim’s actions could cost so much that he might not be able to afford.

Enters our Majesty Aja and the new stud on the block, Eli. Dang I wish puberty hit me like that.Truck-kun strikes again. And also enters... the pregnancy thing. I will say, I didn’t mind it too much... at first. But there are complications. Steve is too young to be a father and dang 7 kisses?? I can’t help but feel like Aja should have mentioned that or it was a last minute plan to write out Steve and Eli. (Which it was.) It was funny sure cuz omegaverse and ALIENS but all together it’s really iffy.

They really had Douxie preform a body-swap spell only so it would be undone. And undoing the spell only hurt them both?? C’mon. C’mon.

And they mention the Krohnisfere. We’ll get back to it. Jim gets a brand new amulet infused with Akaridion tech. However theres an issue. It was created by Merlin right? Who is a wizard right? Who uses MAGIC. Shame Douxie wasn’t there to help make it. Ya know. 1/2 of the original creator of the AMULET. So it’s missing a huge part and for the sake of the plot, Jim doesn’t test the Amulet which is out of character personally.

Toby makes a silly big deal over a penny. I was actually hoping they would make it a silly Chekhov's gun later on. But no, it’s just Toby being loud and comedic relief.

The titans are released and we visit a very pregnant Steve. Ok so it’s a rushed kind of thing. ok.

Aja suggests evacuation. You can say it’s out of character but we need context. When Aja helped in the Doomsday Battle, she was ensured a way out but if she let the people of Arcadia perish. She decided to stay and help. But now the Trollhunter himself can’t help. So to ensure the survival of everyone, evacuation. A best chance for everyone to survive. Plus she is now a Queen. She rules over a whole planet which must change her thinking.

Now our characters are split into 3 teams:

Blinky, Archie, Archie’s dad and Claire for the Krohnisfere.

Jim, Aja, Toby, Strickler and Barbara for the Glacial Titan.

Nomura, Douxie and Aarrgh for the Earth Titan.

Now here is where I have problems. WHY. DID. THEY. SEND. TROLLS. TO. BRAZIL. IN. THE. DAY. Nomura dying was just so out of pocket. Unnecessary. I couldn’t even grieve properly I didn’t have a chance to process. The best thought I could think was “At least she’s with Draal now.” 10 seconds later, Strickler makes the choice to sacrifice himself. Because of Jim’s heroic’s, Strickler decided to try to save the most important people in his life. The person who was always dishonest finally had a chance to live a happy life with his family. The one who played it safe now had to make the final impulsive move. And unfortunately, his death was in vain. These deaths were just so forced. It wasn’t in any way good. And Strickler being one of the best written characters just going in such a way was just off. He died for nothing. He could have turned back and fought another battle but... no.

(BTW Barbara was just there... for Strickler’s death.)

We move to Babara and Jim having a heart to heart. I’m glad she didn’t blame Jim but a small moment of anger. Something a little more real for me but no I guess. Barbara will always just be Jim’s mom. She mention’s Jim’s father and it passed so quickly I missed it on my initial viewing. I’m happy that Jim’s father is never revealed or made a bigger part in his story. This is good representation for those of us who did have our fathers walk out on us. That we can grow despite our parents failing us.

And finally team Krohnisfere. Archie just leaves. He’s gone. Poor Douxie. A mentor and now his closest companion.

Our heroes meet up to go against the Volcanic Titan. In comes Varvatos Vex on a Gun Robot. Nice to see some good ol Gundam with a character mentioned throughout the entire trilogy. However it doesn’t last. BTW for the sake of survival, Aja leaves Jim and Toby. Iffy.

Douxie pulls a “Jason stop. This isn’t you.” thing with Nari and is reunited with his friend.(+ points for the shippers. It’s kinda winning me over?) Also, Claire now has the power to teleport a Titan. I know she’s much stronger than she was for the Trollhunters Sn 2 finale, but cmon. You can’t just say she’s out of magic juice and then pull this. C’mon.

(btw did the titan make a War of the Worlds tripod sound? No? Just me?)

Nari sacrifices herself and takes the other god with her. Which takes away Douxie’s other companion. Mr. Stark I don’t feel so good. Why does this movie hate Douxie so much. (I am so sorry shippers. Angst.)

BLINKY DIDN’T SEE A PAGE? ADDRESSING IT IN THE SHOW DOESN’T GIVE YOU A PASS. I forgot the word but this irony isn’t greatttt.

Jim now has to pull out the legendary sword Excalibur. But he can’t cuz he hasn’t harnessed the power of friendship.

And Steve is giving birth. At the worst time. What is this a zombie movie??? C’mon.

Jim says “Magic is friendship” And Stu is finally being used for one grand act. Seriously Stu is just so unappreciated. So he fixes the amulet with magic.

Basically everyone who went on top of the Volcanic titan falls off at some point. Except Jim cuz of course some 1v1. 

ONCE AGAIN Claire is out of magic juice. Because... reasons.

Toby makes the choice to race to Jim’s side with the technology to cancel out magic. (Wait how does science stop magic again)

BTW, For the Good of all doesn’t hit as well BUT it’s not mentioning any glory towards stinky Merlin so I am happy with the change.

JIM HAS A NEW TRANSFORMATION. MY BOY. MY SON. I’M SO PROUD.

Toby races to Jim and his helmet falls off the taco truck. That honestly should have been a huge warning sign. I was worried he didn’t have armor but we know how this goes.

Jim defeats the final titan and everyone is happy. The fight is finally over.

STEVE HAS 7 KIDS. OUCH. 

Seeing Jim run to Toby was heartbreaking. Now this is the one scene where the movie really let out actually process a character’s death. How on earth can you process your best friend, your most faithful companion dying. Jim goes through too much I swear to god.

Now let’s discuss the time travel plot. I honestly feel like they pulled some kind of Attack on Titan ending. The main character burdened with knowing the future and what could have been. And if everything is meant to be how it will be, destiny will reconnect them again. (Jlaire reincarnation AU???)

I’m actually ok with this ending. I understand people would want the time stone to return only a few minutes. But even then, the kiddos still have police records, so many people dead at the titan’s hands (or feet) and now the world knows about the existence of trolls thanks to the internet. In New York no less. And people are still dead.

We return the the beginning of everything, reflecting the “Unbecoming” episode.

(NGL I’m bothered that they didn’t do anything to stop Steve from bullying Eli, but Jim can’t do it. He’s saving it for Toby.)

And now finally, let’s discuss Toby becoming the Trollhunter. From the beginning, Toby never considered himself good enough to be the main star. Always the wingman, the 2nd best. Support. Now it was Toby’s turn to climb the ranks and be the Hero he’s always wanted to be. It’s Jim’s turn to live an easier high school life. I don’t doubt that he won’t follow Toby. But now he knows what to avoid and how to make the story process more smoothly.

I understand some are unsatisfied with this ending, which is kinda trademarked with Dreamwork’s shows. I get it. But honestly as of right now, I think I like the ending.

The amulet didn’t choose Jim because this Jim is not the same Jim as in Sn 1 Ep 1. He is a new man. And I think we all can agree that it’s his turn to be happy.

---

I still love this series so much. It is my favorite cartoon. Of course it has it’s flaws, but this ending is at least satisfactory and not heartbreaking. Now it’s up to us to either continue the story or contribute our ideas in fanfiction. I look forward to everyone’s creations.

Don’t think. Become.

[hitozy]

her love language ≪ masterlist ≫  see you soon! 

The night before he leaves for Brazil, Hinata finds himself in YN’s new apartment in Tokyo. His flight was early in the morning and since YN was the one that bought his ticket there…

Her place was pretty nice actually, it felt like YN. Rich, pretty and warm.

“Baby, I’m home!” Huh? He hears a little pitter patter and as the sound grows louder so does the carrier.

“YOU GOT A DOG?!” 

YN laughs as she picks up the  puppy, “Yep, daddy thought I’d feel less lonely with him around. Meet King Charles,” she hold him out so that I can pet him, King licks my fingers and wiggles in YN’s arms, “he's an 5 month old dalmatian!” Hinata takes KC from YN’s hands and cuddles him as the puppy licks his face and neck, “He is so cute, princess, but uh, I'm calling him King or KC for short.”

“You have my permission. But everyone else has to call him King Charles, I expect nothing less.” Hinata smiles at her comment, he’d guess that for her, this puppy was her baby and she demanded the same respect she receives directed towards him.

YN gave him a tour around her place, eventually showing him ‘his room’.

”Um... whos stuff is this?” He points at the watches and products in the room. ”Ah, Daddy must’ve forgotten to take these with him last week. Don’t worry, you can use whatever you want.” He felt a sting in his heart, hearing that her father came to stay at her apartment, he must be feeling very lonely without his only child there. “Ynnie... why aren't you living with your dad anymore?” “Daddy sold the house.”

“What? Are you guys ok? CAN YOU AFFORD THIS PLACE?”

YN laughs at his outburst, “Relax! Let me explain! A few years ago my dad had a relationship with a, and I mean it in the nicest way possible, a gold digger. It was pretty nasty towards the end and - stop doing that face, their relationship isn't like ours!”

“Miss. Princess, it kinda sounds like-” “Let me finish, please.”

Hinata stays quiet while playing with KC, “She was always in it for the money, pumpkin. She lied to me and my dad, she stole things from our house, she stole things that belonged to my mom…” Hinata knew that YN’s mom had passed away during childbirth (he did some research after a year of being around her), he still found it touching to hear her mention her, because she never did, “Anyway! She stole a ton of stuff without consent and since she was only his girlfriend she didn't have permission to look into our accounts, which she did. The house brought bitter memories for us so he refurbished the house and donated it to a youth center. Since he’s been traveling a lot this year we figured he could stay with me when he’s here until things calm down.” “How does that make me different from her?” “I-...” she stays quiet for a while, probably trying to find the right words, she silently slides beside him and bops KC’s nose, “You don’t want me to spoil you, but you accept it because you know that's my way of saying ‘i love you’ without really saying it.” “Yeah” “Yeah”

Ding dong. "Pizza’s here!”

After eating until they felt like balls of fat, YN told him to take a shower and meet in her room for movies. He was met with the cutest image ever, he had to take a picture of it. YN in bed, surrounded by pillows and blankets with KC jumping around the bed. As he entered, KC barked happily at him, excited to see his new friend. She smiled at him and patted her side, encouraging him to get in.

As soon as he was under the blanket, YN snuggled up to him and gave him the remote, “You choose.”

Ever since that kiss, YN had been a lot more touchy feely with him. She would cuddle up to him any chance she would get and hold his hand when they were out or whenever she wanted. At first she would hesitate but as time went by she noticed how ‘inexpressive’ he was about it, she just went ahead and did it. He was actually having a war in his head because ‘I shouldn’t lead her on’ but ‘I don’t want her to go’ kept on playing on his mind.

He propped his arm around her shoulders and let himself become her pillow, “I’m thinking 101 dalmatians, what do you think KC?” KC barked in agreement, “aight, lets do it.”

As the night moved forward, KC fell asleep in the weirdest position behind YN. It had been a couple of hours since the movie finished, but neither one of them had wanted to go to sleep yet. They watched a few other movies until they just left it as background and talked instead. As her laughter continued he watched her, the abandoned movie illuminating her face, giving her a slight glow.

Hinata felt his heart clench and before he processed it, “Can I kiss you?” YN stared at him, laughter gone, “I-im sorry, I did-” “Kiss me, Shoyo.” He felt her hand caress his cheek. “Go ahead and kiss me.” He leaned in and practically smashed their faces in, YN giggled, “You’re eager.” “‘M sorry” he was so embarrassed as he started to push himself away.

YN held his face in her hands. “Lets try it again, yeah?” “Yeah”

She brought their faces close and she pressed her lips softly against his. She angled her face and slotted their lips together in a slow rhythm. As she continued their slow kiss, he pushed her back against the bed and let his upper half lay on top of her, resting all of his body weight on his forearms encasing her head. He moved one of his hands down, to caress the sliver of exposed skin on her hip, as a result she gasped and it was enough for him to slip his tongue inside her mouth. He groaned at the feeling, it had been more than two years since the last time he had kissed her and he didn’t know how he lasted that long. He felt almost feverish as she combed his hair, her fingers reached the base of his neck, pulling him closer.

He detached his lips from hers, “I’m gonna miss you, you know that right?”

She smiled at him, “I know, and you know that I’m gonna visit you as soon as I can, right?” “You better or else I’m going to cry.”

She snorted and mushed his cheeks together, “Aw my poor cry-baby pumpkin.” “Hmph… when you do visit me, bring KC with you, I bet he’ll love the beach.” “I will.” “I’m going to become better YN, for me. I’m going to get better and get results.” About life, volleyball and us.

She held out her pinky, “Promise?”

He linked his pinky to hers, kissing the back of her hand, “Promise.”

her love language ≪ masterlist ≫ see you soon!

facts:

➜ Dalmatian’s spots are unique! Its similar to a snowflake or a humans finger print. ➜ No one knows where exactly they come from, their origin is a mystery. ➜ They became popular after the movie ‘101 Dalmatians’ but people couldn’t handle how energetic they are and more than 80% were sent back to the pound. (I wanna punch these assholes :))  ➜ King Charles is YN’s first pet and companion. On their first meeting she met his eyes and fell in love. They’ve been together for a month. ➜ YN calls Hinata ‘Your dad’ at King Charles, Hinata doesn’t know it yet... OOPS. A/N: Look, adding King Charles was fully self indulgence and I am not even gonna apologize. Enjoy this fluffy baby just like his mom and dad do. Also, dalmatians are cute af and no one talks about it. 

taglist ➜ open! send an ask to be added ღ

@mint-mai​ . @prettyinblack231​ . @starryleafy​ .  @ilauvcoldpizza​ . @its-the-aerieljeane​ . @daddy-kawa​ . @aizumii​  @pansexualproblemchild​

[alice-beaumont-ravenclaw]

Hottest Spot South of Havana (Part 1)

A/N #1: Yay! The first part of the first fic in the Brazilian series is finally here! It was supposed to be a much shorter fic, but turned out way longer than I expected. Thankfully, dividing it into two parts works. The title is inspired by Barry Manilow’s Copacabana (At the Copa). Fun fact: that song is about a murder. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Galeão International Airport. Local time is 8:10 pm, and the temperature is 27°C. For your safety and comfort, please remain seated with your seat belt fastened until the Captain turns off the Fasten Seat Belt sign. This will indicate that we have parked at the gate and that it is safe for you to move about. Please check around your seat for any personal belongings you may have brought on board with you, and please use caution when opening the overhead bins, as heavy articles may have shifted around during the flight. If you require deplaning assistance, please remain in your seat until all other passengers have deplaned. One of our crew members will then be pleased to assist you. On behalf of British Airways and the entire crew, I’d like to thank you for joining us on this trip, and we are looking forward to seeing you onboard again soon. Have a nice stay!” announced the flight attendant.

“I can’t believe we’re finally in Rio!” said Penny as she looked out the small window. 

“I can’t believe we’re finally going to get off that plane! Poor Dennis. Transfigured into a plush toy for 13 hours,” said Tulip, petting a plush frog.

“They wouldn’t have allowed a live frog on a flight. Besides, why didn’t you leave him at home? You’ll have to transfigure him every time we go somewhere,” asked Andre.

“Not every time! He can roam free on the beach. And I would never leave Dennis behind. I’d feel like I was abandoning my child!”

“I’m sure no one will stare at a girl with a toad on a leash at the beach,” mumbled Alice as she took her backpack from under the seat in front of her, the seatbelt sign having been turned off.

“Why couldn’t I bring Newt with me?” asked Barnaby.

“Your bowtruckle?” asked Tonks, to which Barnaby nodded.

“Because they are magical creatures Muggles know nothing about. It’s like if I wanted to bring a dragon…” said Charlie as he took out carry-on luggage from the overhead bins.

“With the big difference that bowtruckles won’t try to burn everything around to a crisp,” said Diego, smirking as he took the handle of his carry-on.

“Dragons are very misunderstood creatures,” said Charlie with a small pout.

“Sure they are,” said Alice, giving him a small peck on the cheek as she took his hand to lead him out of the plane.

After going through customs, the group went to pick up their luggage before heading toward the taxi area.

“Ok, so, Diego, you take one taxi with Andre, Barnaby, and Charlie. I’ll go with Penny, Tonks, and Tulip,” said Alice as they waited in line.

“Why am I in charge of that group?” asked Diego, raising an eyebrow.

“You speak Spanish.”

“You are aware they speak Portuguese in Brazil, right?”

“I know. But no one speaks Portuguese in our group. We speak Latin languages, so we might be slightly better at understanding Portuguese.”

“Are you sure?”

“Oh look!” said Andre pointing at a sign indicating “Escada rolante” over an escalator. “They have an Escada up those stairs!” 

“Oh! And they even have a library at the airport. I wonder how borrowing works at an airport library,” said Penny as she pointed at a bookstore with the word “Livraria” above it.

“You were saying?” said Alice, looking at Diego.

“Ok, you might be on to something. But that doesn’t mean we’ll be able to understand when someone speaks Portuguese.”

“Oh, I know I won’t. I thought the flight attendant was speaking Russian after making the English announcements until I realized it didn’t make sense since we were heading to Rio, not Moscow. But we still have a small advantage over our friends.”

“Wait, so the guys will be in one taxi, and the girls in another? What if something happens?” asked Charlie. 

“We are four witches. If anyone tries something funny with us, I’m pretty sure we’ll be able to defend ourselves,” said Alice, crossing her arms as she looked at Charlie, bemused.

“Not to mention, I have a stash of dungbombs with me,” added Tulip, making everyone turn around to stare at her.

Before anyone could say anything, it was their turn to take a taxi. They separated into the two groups Alice had planned and headed toward the Copacabana Palace. In the girls’ taxi, Penny and Alice were busy telling Tulip to be careful with the dungbombs while Tonks sat at the front, trying to have a conversation with the taxi driver. In the boys’ taxi, Charlie sat at the front, keeping an eye on the girls’ taxi, Barnaby doing the same thing as he sat in the middle of the backseat. Andre was nodding off as Diego tried to understand what the taxi driver was telling him. 

When they finally arrived at the hotel, Alice made her way to the hotel’s reception while her friends looked in awe at the lobby. 

“So this is how the other half lives,” said Tonks as she looked at the chandelier dangling from the ceiling.

“I’m pretty sure it’s the top 1% that lives like that,” said Tulip as she stared at the people walking around. 

“I feel so out of place,” whispered Charlie to Andre.

“Don’t. Just enjoy it. Your girl really gave us a treat,” whispered back Andre.

“Actually, it’s my father’s treat,” said Alice as she stood behind them, keys in hand.

“Alice! How long have you…” started saying Charlie.

“Long enough to tell you there’s no reason you should feel out of place. You are a charming young man who was raised by the one and only Molly Weasley. As long as you don’t fart or burp in public, and you don’t walk around public areas stark naked, you’re good,” said Alice, linking her arm with her boyfriend’s.

“So, are we getting to our rooms? It’s like midnight in the UK, and if I don’t see a bed soon, I am crashing on those sofas,” said Penny, pointing at the sofas in the lobby.

“Yeah, yeah, just let me tell the bell boy where to drop our luggage,” replied Alice.

After speaking to the bell boy, Alice rejoined her friends and led them to the elevator. Once inside, she pressed on the top floor button.

“Top floor, huh? Isn’t it usually where the penthouse is?” whispered Andre with a sly smile.

Alice froze for an instant, glancing at Andre, before looking back to the elevator’s buttons.

“Oh. My. God. We are in the penthouse?!” loudly whispered Andre.

“Shhhh! We are in two penthouse suites, but nobody needs to know about the penthouse part,” angrily whispered Alice.

“Like they won’t notice. Are you trying to make Charlie uncomfortable? Why didn’t you go for standard rooms?”

“You think I asked for those rooms? They were the only ones left! Dad didn’t tell me until I was back home for the break. He meant well, but I know it looks like I’m flaunting my family’s wealth,” grumbled Alice as the elevator doors opened.

“Welcome to the Penthouse level,” said two butlers.

“So much for keeping the Penthouse part a secret,” said Andre as he patted Alice’s back.

“Crap. Butlers,” said Alice under her breath.

“Penthouse? Damn, Alice, your father is giving us the royal treatment,” said Tonks, tapping her friend’s back as she left the elevator.

“Are you the Beaumont party?” asked one of the butlers.

“Yes, we are,” said Alice as she followed the others out of the elevator.

“Let us show you to your rooms,” said the other butler as they led the group to two doors.

“Ok, so, we will be four per room. The girls will be in that room,” started saying Alice, as she handed the keys to her friends. “The boys will be in the other one.”

“Wait, you’re not sharing a room with Charlie?” asked Penny, raising an eyebrow.

“Hum, no? Why would I?” said Alice, staring at Penny.

“Well… You two are a couple. And after last summer, I thought…” started saying Penny.

At the mention of the summer vacations before their seventh year, both Alice and Charlie became red in the face.

“Welp! Time for bed! Good night everyone!” said Alice as she pushed Penny inside their room.

“But, Miss, we have to unpack your luggage,” said one of the butlers.

“We can manage, thank you,” said Alice as she quickly grabbed the suitcases before closing the door.

“What just happened?” asked Barnaby as the guys entered their room.

“Not really sure… Wait, did you and Alice…” said Diego, staring at Charlie.

“Yup. They totally did,” said Andre, smirking.

“Do you have to tell him?” asked Charlie, frowning.

“Come on. It was all over your face when Penny alluded to it.”

“What did Alice and Charlie do?” asked Barnaby.

“The birds and the bees, Barnaby,” explained Diego.

“What’s so special about Transfiguration?” asked Barnaby, scratching his head.

“Ok, Barnaby and I will take the room, you two get the rollaway beds,” said Charlie as he entered the room.

“Hey! We didn’t even discuss it!” complained Andre.

“You two can’t mind your own business, so you deserve the rollaway beds,” replied Charlie, slamming the door behind him.

“I think we went a bit too far with Charlie,” said Diego, sitting at the edge of his bed.

“Meh, he’ll get over it,” replied Andre, shrugging as he dropped his bag on his bed.

“Huh… Guys?” said Barnaby, standing in front of the bedroom door.

“What?” asked Diego and Andre.

“You think I can go in there even if Charlie just slammed the door in my face?”

A/N #2: Hope you enjoyed this first part which is basically their arrival in Rio and some info about Alice and Charlie’s relationship. Part 2 coming soon.

[immacaria]

A bird and a Cupid

  This is prompted by Day 2 of SangCheng December: Birds and as I’m not quite happy with the end, I would say that the rest of story is good. Here we have Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang tooking caring of Curió, one of the first birds Nie Mingjue gave to Huaisang (I have the odd habit of calling Nie Huaisang just Huaisang, so if you see just ‘Huaisang’ on the fic you know why) and she is a smartass who kind of brought the two of them together. Enjoy the fic and let me know what you think of it! Have a good day! 

Nie Huaisang and Jiang Cheng had met through Wei Wuxian, but they stayed together because of each other, especially after Nie Mingjue went back to Qinghe and Wei Wuxian started dating Lan Wangj. They found a small apartment near their colleges, beautiful and petite and on which Nie Huaisang went absolutely crazy over it, even though Jiang Cheng had to admit it really was beautiful at the end. The building was fairly good and so were the neighbourhood, their neighbours were students as well and they all kind of bunched up to eat lunch, dinner or just to talk.

  It was good on it’s own way. In the morning, Jiang Cheng would wake up at five in the morning and go into a run, come back, take a bath and go make breakfast. Just then he would wake up Nie Huaisang so they would eat together until it was time for him to go to his classes and Nie Huaisang go take his bath and go to his own art classes. At lunch they would meet with some neighbours to gather up money and get food at the little restaurant/cafe near both the college and the art school. At the end of the day, the two of them would encounter at the bus station and go back home walking. Together, always together. When it was dinnertime, a girl down the hall, one the seniors, would make dinner for the four apartments around hers and feed everybody. So, yes, it was good. 

  "A-Cheng!" Now Huaisang screamed from the door, putting his shoes on the shelf Jiang Cheng had made. "A-Cheng, are you home?" 

  "Taking a bath!" Jiang Cheng screamed back from the bathroom, turning the shower off. "How was your class?" 

  "Good, good. I have yet another art project." He answered, hearing the shower turn on again. He let a shaky breath out, pulling a little golden cage from behind his back and putting it on the table, smiling at the little bird inside. "Hello. I missed you, sweetie." He put his index finger inside it, caressing its head and laughing lowly at the small content sounds the bird made. "Are you hungry? I will catch some food for you, hold on." He headed to his room, smiling at the bird. 

  That bird was the first one that Nie Mingjue gave him and one who was beside him through a lot of times, cheering him with his little songs and jumps. It was even funnier how she kind of mothered the younger birds they brought home, even sighing heavily when that did an idiocy or got themselves in trouble. That was one of the reasons Nie Huaisang brought her here, he got hurt trying to defend one the youngest and needed exams and remedy. 

  "What the hell is this? Why is there a bird on my table?" Jiang Cheng yelled from the living room and Nie Mingjue would be proud of the way and speed Nie Huaisang ran to there. 

  “A-Cheng! Don’t scream! She is sick.” Nie Huaisang held his arms, pulling him away from the bird. He obviously had just got out of the bath and instead of going straight to his room like he would normally do, he decided to go to the living room to talk to Huaisang. “Let Curió alone!” He added, readily ignoring the fact that his roommate was just on his briefs and with a towel on his head. 

  “Cur-what? What kind of name is that?” 

  “It’s brazilian, okay? My cousin TongTong suggested it after Da-Ge brought him from Brazil.” Nie Huisang said, shaking his head. “Let Curió alone!”

  “What kind of fucking name is that?” 

  “I don’t know, okay? You already asked that! We were looking at a list of names Da-Ge had found funny while visiting and we found this one the funniest. We were kids, A-Cheng!” He huffed, letting go of him and opening the cage. He let the little brown bird jump on his finger as he set up everything. “But you can call her whatever you want, just give her food while doing it and she will answer… And probably ask for some food.” He shrugged, letting her eat. He had missed that smartass and cunning bird a lot, especially when pleading for food to anyone who gave her a threat out of time. “Da-Ge calls her Xiao Niao, which is very original in the world the old man lives in.”

  “I am going to tell Mingjue-ge you called him and old man.” Jiang Cheng huffed, still eyeing Curió suspiciously. “Is she going to stay here for long?”

  “Curió is sick, A-Cheng! Be good!” He yelped, pushing him away. “Go put some clothes. No one needs to see your naked glory besides me.”

  “Greedy, aren’t we?” He chuckled, lifting his hands on surrender, going to his own room. 

  “Don’t mind him, Curió. He’s just jealous.” Nie Huaisang smiled at her, caressing her head. “You both are the love of my life, along with Da-Ge and all of your children.” 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

  As days passed, Nie Huaisang saw that Jiang Cheng was growing fond of Curió. If he wasn’t near to give her the medicine, Jiang Cheng would do it quicker and better than him. If he was near but had forgotten, Jiang Cheng would appear at his room and scream that he was irresponsible and had forgotten to feed her. At some point, Nie Huaisang got home to see a working Jiang Cheng with Curió sitting at his head, sleeping. 

  Sincerely, the boy could deny all he wanted to, but he had become a bird dad with capital B. Hell, he even defended the name Nie Huaisang and his cousin had chosen based on their six-years-old wisdom and would teach anyone how to pronounce it. So yes, it was very cute and did unholy things to Nie Huaisang’s heart, but no one needed to know the latter. No one besides Nie Mingjue, who would suffer a lot until he could talk about his feelings with Jiang Cheng again.  

  “Da-Ge! I’m dying!” 

  “Good. Die, then!” Nie Mingue groaned and he was sure that he was rubbing his eyes angrily. No wonder why, as it was five in the morning on Qinghe and Nie Huaisang probably just woke him up. 

  “Da-Ge!” He cried out, throwing himself back in the bed. Jiang Cheng wasn’t going to arrive after an hour or so yet and he had enough time to overreact over him. “I can not deal with this anymore! First, he adopts Curió, now he is defending and fathering her! Hell, he even lets her stay on his shoulder and head when it’s just the two of us.” 

  “You are going crazy over?” Nie Mingjue said, even though his tone was lower than it usually would be. 

  “A-Cheng, Da-Ge! Weren’t you paying attention to my rambling?”

  “Didi, you ramble twenty-four hours per day, there are times that, yes, I simply stop paying attention to whatever is that you are saying.” He sassed, making Nie Huaisang gasps in outrage. 

  “You are horrible. Here I am dying and you are making fun out of me.” 

  “Okay, listen. Xiao Niao doesn’t like strangers, even if they give her food. So, if she is so close to Jiang Wanyin, there’s a good chance of the boy being a great child.” Nie Mingjue sighed and Nie Huaisang knew he was massaging his temples. “You are a menace, Huaisang, do you know that? It’s five in the morning and you are screaming in my ear about your crush on your roommate.” Again, his tone was lower than what it would normally be. 

  “Da-Ge, is someone there with you? Is it Xichen-ge?” He smiled, knowing fully well he was. 

  “Stop smirking, I can feel it from here.” 

  “You didn’t answer my question.” He replied in a sing-song voice, knowing the answer fully well. 

  “Yes! Yes, Lan Xichen is here. Happy now?” He growled.

  “Yes. Wait, no! Is Yao-ge…?” 

  “Both of them, you menace, both of them are here.” He interrupted and Nie Huaisang already pictured Lan Xichen on the left side of the bed, sleeping peacefully with his hair in a braid while Meng Yao was wrapped around a pillow, looking like a koala, with his brother in the middle, hugging them both. 

  “And you call me a menace. Bye bye, Da-ge. Happy sleep.” He snickered, turning off the phone quickly. It was a good thing that the three of them finally managed to work themselves around and start dating. It was getting annoying the way they bluntly ignored each other’s feelings. Later, he would have to ask if the video that he sent to Lan Xichen of Nie Mingjue drunkenly confessing his love for both him and Meng Yao had been of any help. But now he had to get up and give his little girl food before making breakfast for him and Jiang Cheng.

  “Hello, Curió.” He greeted the little bird, putting food on a small container inside the cage. “Surprised to see me up, aren’t you? Me too, but since I am already up I guess I will make breakfast for me and A-Cheng, what do you think?” Curió let out a happy sound, that could both mean that she thought that it was a good idea or just that she was happy that she got food earlier than normally. “Yeah, I think so too.” He laughed, going to the kitchen. “Did you know that I met A-Cheng when I was thirteen years old? And that he was a brother who is a danger to society?” He started saying, gathering up everything he needed to make breakfast. “Don’t get me wrong, Curió, Wei-xiong is a sweetheart but he is a feral trash child too and he is so dense. Oh gods, he is so dense that he could bend a knife if anyone ever tried to cut it.” He put a pan on the cooker, chuckling to himself. “And he thinks that Lan Zhan doesn’t like him back. Lan Zhan! The gayest gay I know! But they are coming together and I think they will start dating before the end of the year.” Huaisang said, hearing a flutter of wings. “Coming.” He said, turning the cooker off to go see her. She had already finished eating and was looking expectantly at him, waiting for him to bring her to the kitchen. 

 “I’m sorry for letting you here, sweetheart.” Nie Huaisang said, smiling at her as he brought the cage to the kitchen with him. "As I was saying, they will start dating at the end of the year if Lan Zhan makes the first move. Either than that we are going to see those two idiots dancing around each other, trying to see if the other likes them just as much." He rolled his eyes, deep frying some fish sticks. Curió chirped besides him, jumping away from the cooker. "I know, I know, I don't like deep frying either." He started humming an old song that his mother used to sing to him when she was happy. Soon, Curió joined in, singing her own version of the song and making Nie Huaisang chuckle on his song. 

  "You know, A-Cheng is as dense as his brother, if not worse than him. Did you see how obvious he is to other people's feelings? It's almost painful to watch!" Nie Huaisang said, putting the table. "Yes, I know I'm one of those people, but no one needs to know that there's people dying over here." 

  "Who is dying?" Jiang Cheng asked, opening the door, hair sticking to his sweaty forehead. 

  "People, A-Cheng. All over the world." He improvised, letting go of the plate he was holding quickly. 

  "Thought it was someone in your family for you to be awake at this hour." He looked at his phone, checking the hours. "Why the hell are you up?" 

  "I woke up and thought it was good to make breakfast for us.” He showed his tongue to him, turning to the kitchen. "Go take a bath so we can eat." He waved at him. They eat in relative silence, talking about Curió and what was going to happen in the rest of the day while Curió sang her little songs. 

  "So, she is better? She is going back to your house?" Jiang Cheng asked, finishing washing the dishes. 

  "Yeah. One last appointment to the veterinary and she is all good to go. I mean, if she is alright, you know." Nie Huaisang nodded, sipping from his hand-painted cup.

  "Never thought of letting her stay here?" He suggested, eyebrows furrowed as washing his hands. 

  "Never thought of keeping her away from her children." He chuckled, shrugging. "She has to have someone to boss around, A-Cheng." 

  "Just like you." He retorted, rolling his eyes at him. "Don't forget to tell me what happened in the appointment, yeah?"

  "Don't even worry about it." He said, nodding again as his roommate passed by him. In the end, Curió was fine and ready to go back to her home and her babies. Both Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang headed back to Qinghe with Curió and were happy when they saw her flying to join the other birds on the Nie' s terrarium. 

  "So, that 's it. She 's back. Want ice cream?" Nie Huaisang turned to him, hands on his pockets, at the same time Jiang Cheng said. 

  "Can we come visit them?" 

  "Yeah, A-Cheng, we can come visit them." He smiled, open and bright. 

  “Can I kiss you?” He asked quickly as if not to lose his courage. Instead of answering, Nie Huaisang threw himself at him, arms hugging his neck as they kissed. It was chaste, sweet and not near a proper kiss as Nie Huaisang couldn’t stop smiling. “What about that ice cream?”

  “You are paying.” He laughed, pulling him out of the terrarium, still smiling wide and soon Jiang Cheng too was smiling and blushing. Later none of them quite believed that it took poor Curió to bring them together, having both of them parenting her the way she parented the other birds. So, yeah, both of them loved that sassy bossy bird they had. 

[capitanogiorgio]

Daniel and Football

So this is just a bit of fun and me linking to of my passion: football (soccer) and Karate Kid. Mainly because a) We see Daniel playing football several times in the first movie b) He is of italian descent and, although we don’t know how close he is to his roots, football is a very popular sport in Italy (probably one of the most popular if not the most).

Based purely on a screen test done by Ralph Macchio when he was 18, I would also headcanon that Daniel’s family (grandparents maybe, I was leaning towards Lucille’s side but that could be both Lucille and Daniel’s dad’s side as well) comes from Naples, southern Italy. Which, you’ll see have its importance.

Lucille and Daniel’s dad both supporting the SSC Napoli (Naples’ main club) and passing it on to Daniel

Daniel and his dad playing together in the park or with the whole extended LaRusso family in the street where they live.

Football being one of the things Daniel and his dad bond over and hence why he keeps playing after his dad’s death even though the US has not been known for its football as a nation, and especially at the time (except the New York Cosmos with their stars but most of them came after Daniel’s dad’s death)

Lucille and her husband cramming into an italian-owned pizzeria, with a radio and managing to find a channel covering the 1968 EURO. Daniel’s dad jumping with him in his arms when Italy finally wins the Euro

The whole LaRusso family having a crush on Dino Zoff, goalkeeper extraordinaire (MAYBE Daniel cries for days when Zoff leaves Naples for Juventus, in Turin, northern Italy)

The 1970 world cup. Italy seen as one of the favourite only to fail in the final against Brazil. Daniel only has fuzzy memories of it but he remembers how he had been so heartbroken and his parents so disappointed.

Games his parents tell him about. A couple they were able to see live the only time they were able to come back to Italy.

Daniel kind of becomes a fan of the NY Cosmos with Pelé and then Beckenbauer, players he only read about in some magasines

He sneaks out once with his cousins to go catch the game against the Los Angeles Aztecs because there’s George Best on the other side and he wants to see how he plays so badly.

Many, MANY, opinions in the LaRusso family about football and the Italian national team. Daniel argues in italian, he’s very opinionated.

Daniel singing Fratelli d’Italia with passion, trying to sing louder than the rest of his family. It never fails to bring a little tear in Lucille’s eyes.

Italy 1982. ITALY 1982. Daniel would be ECSTATIC. The team being doubted everywhere but Daniel believes. Zoff is 40 but he’s still the best, and maybe there aren’t any Napoli players but he doesn’t care. He doesn’t even care Paolo Rossi’s on the team. He’s fed up of all the crushed hopes and he’s sure it’s gonna be their world cup.

Daniel cheering like a madman after every single Rossi goal. Daniel cheering when Scirea controls the defense like it’s nothing.

Daniel skipping school for the final, the only time Lucille allows it and they all cram to the same pizzeria except they know have a TV with the RAI channels and thus showing the final.

Daniel being unable to sleep at night because all he can see is the three goals and the team giving his all and they’re WORLD CUP WINNERS BABY

1984. Maradona to Naples. Daniel can’t believe it. He wishes his dad could be there to see. To see one of the best player in the world join their club. Lucille finds a light blue t-shirt and knit a number 10 in the back to offer Daniel. It’s not much but that’s all they can afford and Daniel loves it

Daniel loves and cherish Ciro Ferrara even though he too, like many others, left for Juventus. He loves him dearly.

After meeting Miyagi, I’m sure he would be a bit curious about japanese football. And when Kazuoyoshi Miura is loaned to Genoa in Italy, he can’t wait to tell Miyagi. Miyagi probably has no idea who that is but Daniel would be really excited and try to keep up with his career (and he’s still active professionally today, aged 53)

When Hidetoshi Nakata joins Serie A, Daniel chooses he’s one of his new favourite players.

The 1994 world cup. THE 1994 WC. And the final was in Pasadena... AND OF COURSE DANIEL IS THERE. Daniel followed the team bumpy’s start before Roberto Baggio wakes up. And Daniele Maldini is all gracious and style and maybe Daniel crushes on him even though he doesn’t play for Naples.

So Daniel managing to get tickets for the final thanks to Mr Miyagi making him a gift and he goes with his mother obviously. And they both have Italian jerseys on, ones family brought with them from a recent trip to Italy and they have painted their cheeks as well and they’re SO into it. And then the game. 0-0, extra time. And then the pens and it’s like 1990 all over again. Daniel talks about Baggio’s cruel miss for days (months even)

2006 is his revange and he’s also super emotional because he cheers with a 4 year-old Sam who barely registers what’s happening and it makes him think of the Euros and World Cups he followed with his dad and the ones his dad tells him about.

He watches the 2002 World Cup in Japan with Miyagi.

He goes out of his way to get tickets to see Andrea Pirlo play with New York City when he joins the MLS.

He’d fight Alexi Lalas in a heartbeat

Daniel still practicing sometimes, some juggling here and there or with Louie (and maybe Anoush who could be convinced to be dragged for a bit of men bonding time over football).

Anyway, Daniel loves football, and that’s one of his link to his italian heritage and I wish CK could show a bit more of this

[electratm]

Posting a quick intro because I’m super excited to get into interactions! Hi guys it’s ya girl Theo, I’m 20 and cursed to be in the GMT+2 timezone. I’m currently in uni studying journalism and pr, but you guessed it I won’t be able to save this PR wreck aka Electra Romero. I’ll have some ideas for connections down below, but if you want to reach me do it though my dms here or you can find me on my discord  —   theoffs#3866 !

.  *  ◜  oh  my  god  ,  you’ll  never  guess  who’s  coming  to  this  party  tonight  !  according  to  stan  twitter  ,  i  heard  that  it’s  electra romero,  a  singer who’s  currently  signed  to  gold  crown  entertainment  .  wait ,  you  don’t  know  who  she is  ?  well  ,  el is  a  cis female known  around  los  angeles  as  having  a  striking  resemblance  to  camila mendes,  &  the  resemblance  is  uncanny  .  they’re  a  twenty-two year  old  who  has  been  signed  to  gold  crown  for  THREE YEARS,  &  have  an  identical  career  to  camila cabello,  which  probably  explains  why  they’ve  amassed  such  a  following  .  ever  since  they  signed  to  gold  crown  ,  they  have  been  known  for  being  quite  astute &  maverick,  but  crown  exposed  seems  to  want  to  paint  them  as  nothing  more  than  detached &   irascible .  i’m  beyond  excited  that  they’ve  made  it  this  far  in  their  career  -  every  time  i  see  their  instagram  ,  i  can’t  help  but  picture  her  collection  of  electric  guitars, patched  denim  jackets,  drunken  swearing  at  paparazzi .  oh  wait  ,  they’re  coming  over  here  –  act  natural  !

Basics —  

Name:  Electra Rosario Romero Nicknames: El, Romero Age & Birthday: 22 /  March 1st 1997 Zodiac sign: Pisces Gender: cis female Occupation: singer / songwriter sexuality: heterosexual ( bicurious ) Born: Los Angeles, California Ethnicity: Brazillian  Career Claim: Camila Cabello Pinterest: here.

Background  —  ( death tw )

when I first applied I didn’t have that much of a backstory on her, but the more I worked on her pinterest and mock blog I fell in love with her messed up self. So the gist of it is that her family moved to L.A before she was born, her mother an aspiring singer and her dad wanted to do anything for his woman plus he is a car mechanic so he could find a job anywhere. Before her they had another daughter,  her older sister by 4 years and  a younger brother that was born 6 years after her. They were never the happiest family, high school sweethearts that got knocked up and wanted to escape the life in Brazil so they went with the ‘American dream’  only it was a goddamn nightmare. Her father found the work he was looking for, but her mother was seriously struggling and her only way of getting jobs being to sleep with whoever offered and she kept it a secret from her husband. Even with doing that it didn’t really lead anywhere, she grew old and bitter and wasn’t the best mother to her three kids. They didn’t see their father that often either, but that’s just cause he worked his ass off to keep them with clothes on their backs and to be able to afford food which obviously isn’t easy in L.A. It was home that never felt like home for Electra, she knew it like the palm of her hand, but there wasn’t that feeling of security as they lived in a pretty crappy neighbourhood. 

They still got around though and the three kids practically raised themselves. Her older sister playing the biggest role in her life as she practically raised her and taught her everything while her mother was off hooking up with random men. Her sister was quite the social butterfly in contrast to Electra and always did what was best for their family. Even if that meant doing some not so ethical stuff to get money. When Electra was 14 though things got really bad and her life literally turned upside down. Her sister had began stripping for money, something she made El swear to keep a secret, not that she understood it well, but she knew neither of her parents especially her father would be okay with that. That left 14 year old Electra looking after her then 8 year old brother after school, making sure he’s fed and okay. Electra actually learned how to take care of herself and others real young. But one day as he was walking back from school just as he was calling her to ask what they’ll have for lunch he hadn’t looked around while crossing the street and was hit by a car mid conversation with Electra. He died on the spot and although it’s not her fault she has always thought that she had a part of it because she was supposed to protect him. 

It was a devastating few months for the Romero’s,  not long after her younger child’s death her mother finally went ahead and left them for another man. Everything that happened made Electra sick and angry, but neither of them could stop and mourn properly cause if they did they’d have no place to live. That’s when around the age of 15/16 Electra started getting into songwriting. Being slightly more mature going into adolescence she started to experience the things that are love and friendship and got caught up with them. Smoking, underage drinking, stealing her first electric guitar and learning to play it so she could impress her then boyfriend. She did whatever she could to distract herself from the sad reality that was her life and for a while it worked like a charm. Her making a living out of singing never seemed like an option to her as she knew her father and sister wouldn’t approve. She saw what happened with her mother and even thinking about it wasn’t a topic of discussion. So it remained a silly little hobby she’d work on while she skipped on school to hang out with her friends until the moment when one of them suggested that she’d upload one of them for her as at the time Electra couldn’t afford owning a computer. She didn’t think much of it and agreed, but instead she went viral  and not long after a producer reached out to her with the chance to join a girl group he was forming. Electra was probably drunk or high when that happened, but somehow she ended up agreeing. 

Singing career / present  —    

Somehow Electra had been discovered by an actual producer that wasn’t going to scam her, and not only that, but he made a pretty decent girl group. Her and the four other girls who also had gone viral in some shape or from made quite the team, each girl different in her own way and attracting all sorts of people. He signed them to his record label and they started blowing up within a year of their release, yet Electra never seemed to take it as seriously as the rest of them. There she was all glamorous singing repetitive pop songs in a short skirt, something that even she found embarrassing, but the money was good.  Her family made a big deal out of it and didn’t want to do anything with her, seeing that she never told them and they found out when they saw one of her first preformances. Not facing them wasn’t that hard as they were almost always on the road doing show after show without consideration for their wellbeing. Not only was this not her music, it wasn’t her life anymore she had no control over it. About a year after they’d began she started getting out of control, skipping rehearsals, snapping at the crew and overall being super problematic which they ignored  for as long as they could, but she couldn’t stop crossing the line. After roughly two years the management kicked her out which they played out as a mutual decision, but it was obvious that she’s at fault. And again it was her fault that her family couldn’t get any money again, this time she could truly blame herself, but she had been so sick of being controlled all the time.

For awhile not working felt good, she got her own sound back, even wrote enough to have her own album, but all the people she had alienated while constantly on tour left her with nothing, but her music. Her sister was okay with talking with her, but her father still refused as he saw the wife that left him in the face of his own daughter. Even if he was mad at her Electra still wanted to provide for them, it’s what she was taught to do so when Gold Crown entertainment reached out to her with a whole plan to get her back in the spotlight she was all up for it. A fake relationship and collab that would make her out to be a new and changed person, inspired by it all she writes an album that becomes an instant hit and suddenly everyone adores her again. They let her write her own songs which she was happy about, but she had to follow this whole PR scheme to redeem herself. She didn’t really care if people liked her, what mattered was that at the end of the day each scandal or drama she was involved with brought money to the table and soon enough she would establish a much more successful image for herself than her girl band days that she wasted. This time she wasn’t going to fuck up. 

Personality  —    

Electra isn’t the nicest person, but she cares a lot. The people that gain her trust are very special to her and she’d do anything for them. She values family even if it’s as broken as hers with a workacholic father, a stripper sister and a mother that’s nowhere to be seen. She’s an honest and authentic person even if what she has to say isn’t pretty. El has seen quite the stuff growing up and doesn’t share it, especially the stuff that makes her vulnrable. Her life is strictly business and she can’t go around telling people her sob story as she feels guilty for it really being that way. At this point she just tries to keep her temper intact and do what she has to in order to have some advantage. She often contradicts herself with the things she believes yet still does the opposite thing cause she’ll get something out of it. She’s been in love and experienced real friendship, but that hasn’t helped her or filled the void of guilt in her heart. 

Wanted connections  —    

I have a lot of those! Whether it’s acquaintances, friends, frenemies, enemies, hookups, pr relationships, I want them all! Here are the main ones that I feel like are crucial to her story:

The PR relationship of a lifetime. This can be taken in any way whether they get along, have actual feelings or hate each other’s guts. The main idea of it is that when Gold Crown reached out to her and had a plan for her getting back to the spotlight this relationship was involved. What started out as an innocent collab at first would blossom into a romance. One that would inspire her to change her ways and write a whole album! Or at least that’s what the public has to see. In reality Electra is trapped by it as cause of it she can’t really have a real relationship with anyone. The only thing she can do is have hookups with people she’s certain won’t rat out that her other relationship is fake. 

Roomies. I suppose not long after she turned 18 and was still in her girl group she moved out due to her strained relationship with her family and started living with someone else. Could be another member from her girl group or just a friend from the business she made along the way. She’s probably really close to that person they’re one of the few to see her caring and protective side. 

Hookups. You know a girl has her needs. Whether she was sad, got drunk and somehow ended up in bed with that person or they made a fwb kinda deal it’s always fun to play out. 

Ex-band members. Another person to leave the band after her or they fell apart who knows, but they all share the long weeks of preforming every night and know the struggle that came in being in a girl band.

Dumped for the job. Another starlet she met in the start of her career. At first they hit it off and even got together, again one of the few people to know the real her and what’s she’s all about and that’s what drove them apart. Inspired but this post. Probably tried to stick by her in her rough patches, but she just kept pushing him away and with her offer for  the PR relationship it was obvious it was never going to last. There may still be some lingering feelings, but not all of them are good. 

These are the main things I can think of. I’m good with anything tbh and if you’re stuck you can take a look at my wanted tag or we can just brainstorm so like this post or hmu!!!

[ciaxlia]

“What If....?” Part 2

“Here’s the rest of her things....” Todoroki sighed out as him and Katsuki collected the few bags she had in his car; A costume case, a purse and a suit case. They made sure Izuku was upstairs, and Katsuki eyed up Todoroki who was more than okay with this situation.

“I don’t get it...” The angry blonde growled out as Todoroki closed his trunk. “You chased her all over America for two years.... you were—“

“I still am in love with her.” Todoroki said simply and Katsuki instantly went on guard. “Which is why I know that this is best for her.” He held up his hand to stop Katsuki from talking. The blonde boiled with rage and confusion. “The day she left, you almost died...” Katsuki's argument was deflated right out of him. “I was in the same hospital room. You were the only one she visited before she left, she came in the middle of the night too, I couldn’t sleep cause of the broken ribs.” Todoroki shrugged his shoulders.

“.... did she say something...?” Katsuki asked, genuinely wanting to know what it might be. Todoroki looked him in the eyes, and let out a sigh.

“Ask her that yourself, moron.” Katsuki stiffened in anger instantly. “They were words I weren’t meant to hear. If she wanted them heard, she’ll tell you herself. So just thank me already.” Todoroki turned and got in his car.

“WHO WOULD THANK YOU, SHITTY ICY HOT!”

“That’s my hero name, don’t wear it out.” Todoroki called from his car, before driving away. Katsuki almost set off explosions in anger, before remembering he was holding her things. He glanced up at the apartment on the top floor, seeing the lights on from the outside. It was something he never experienced before, knowing some one was up there waiting for him.

“I sound like a damn idiot...” he growled out as he stormed inside the building.

“This place is really nice...!” He wasn't surprised to see her hobbling around as she admired his penthouse apartment. “So clean too... I didn’t expect that.” She hummed out as she hobbled into the kitchen.

“I don’t want to hear that from the All Might memorabilia hoarder.” Katsuki grumbled as he shuffled towards the hallway. “Here’s the spare room.” He called out as Izuku hurriedly hobbled after him in the hall. He flicked the lights on to show a simple small bed, an empty desk, and a few sealed boxes. “It’s mostly just for storage.” He grumbled as he put her suitcase down on the desk along with her costume case and purse. “I’ve got spare blankets, those idiots crash here some times.”

“... thanks, Kacchan.” He turned to look at her, and his heart ached a bit as she hobbled towards the desk. “I appreciate it... I’ll find some where to live when I can move properly.”

“Ah... yeah.” He looked away from her, it was hard to see her like this... He wanted to pick her up so she didn’t have to struggle so much... Carry her where she needed to go, help her with every small thing... But he knew that would be the worst thing he could do to her. She was trying because she felt a need to, she felt helpless and wanted to show the others she was capable of moving on her own.

She didn’t want to be weak, that was how she got a quirk from All Might, that was how she became a hero...

That was also how this mess all started.

“The bathroom is at the end of the hall.” Izuku looked up at him, shock written on her face as he pulled some blankets and pillows out of the closet. He set them on the bed as he let out a heavy sigh. He couldn’t be mad at her, he would protest help too, being weak was the worst.... “I’m across the hall; if you need help, don’t bother me.”

“Heh...” Katsuki looked back at her in surprise as she let out a genuine laugh. There was a real smile on her face, how ever small it may be. “Thank you,” she laughed out again and he looked away from her quickly. He hurriedly stormed out of the room and grabbed the door handle.

“Help yourself to the fridge! I’m going to sleep!” He snapped and closed the door with a bang. He could hear muffled giggles on the other side and he ran his hands through his hair. It took all his will power not to swoop her off her feet and kiss every damn freckle on her face. He groaned in frustration as he stormed into his room; All the words he had planned on shouting at her, all the rage he felt towards her for leaving like she did, it was all gone.

“Hmm...” Katsuki woke the next morning from a restless sleep. His dreams haunted by her  horrified features, her crying face and frowns as he slept. It really ate away at him all night, but he moved up out of his bed and scratched his stomach as he yawned.

He opened his door, and saw that the spare room door was wide open. He no longer saw her things on the desk and he took a step inside. The blankets were still folded neatly and the pillows untouched.

His heart dropped instantly. Was it all a dream? Did he imagine her? He scrambled towards his front hall and banged into the corner as he came around.

“FUCK!” He growled out in anger and slammed an exploding hand of frustration on the wall, glaring daggers at the singes he left behind. “GOD DAMN FUCKING DEKU! GOD DA—“

“I’m sorry, d-did I wake you...?” He stopped dead in his rage as he saw Izuku on the floor. Her expression was one full of confusion and a nervous smile was on her face. He saw her crutch was a few feet away from her, and there was a spilled mug of tea beside her hand.

“What the....?” He looked at the clock. It was 6am, she should be asleep if she was injured, or have run away again. “What are you doing? Where was your stuff?”

“I-I put it in the closet... I wanted to keep the room tidy...” She continued to smile at him nervously as he walked over to her and slumped down into a squat with a sigh. He lazily nudged up the mug and looked at her.

“The blankets were still folded...” He analyzed her face, and saw dark circles under the blood shot eyes.

“Ah uhm...” she looked away from him and his brows knitted together. “I couldn’t sleep. Jet lag... different time zone... you know...” she shrugged her shoulders. “Also the broken bones hurt a bit, I was thinking of seeing Recovery Girl today.” She laughed out and looked over at him finally.

“You’re a bad liar.” He told her simply and he stood up. She looked up at him curiously as he bent over to grab her crutch before lifting her up by her arm easily. “Here,” he shoved the crutch into her good hand before he picked up the mug and went to his kitchen. “Sit your ass in the living room,” he grunted out before he began making a quick breakfast of toast and eggs. While the items in question cooked, he cleaned up the spilled tea with a rag.

“Ehm... thank you, again... for letting me stay here for a bit...” Izuku laughed out nervously as he grabbed some plates. He started some coffee for them both and glanced over at her as she carefully sat on his couch. “How are your parents...?” She turned her head to look at him and he shrugged his shoulders.

“They’re fine, she still looks thirty while dad looks fifty. She’s still loud and he lets her do what ever.” Katsuki poured the coffee and tossed some sugar and cream into one mug. He stirred it before he gathered everything and walked over to her. She was staring at her knees nervously as she sat straight on the couch, like a nervous little kid who was in trouble. He rolled his eyes before he set the food on the coffee table and sat down on the other end. He held out the coffee and she looked at in surprise before taking it in her hands.

“Thanks...” she muttered out shyly, and he shrugged his shoulders before flicking on the TV.

“The damage done by the Villain Alliance has been seen all across the world.” Katsuki’s eyes widened in surprise as he saw the news showing him and the others helping out in Japan, along with clips of news from Australia, South Africa, England and Brazil.

What came next though almost made him drop his own mug. A bloodied Izuku stumbling over a pile of rubble, holding an unconscious All Might on her back, tears in her eyes as flames roared behind her.

”The Symbol Of Hope, Deku fought valiantly in New York a few days ago, but the damage was too great. With the rise in villainy and lack of heroes, she was—“

“TURN IT OFF!” Katsuki was brought back to reality as he heard the 'Symbol of Hope' shriek at him from two feet away. He looked over at her and her emerald eyes were wide with horror as she looked at the screen, tears forming in her eyes. “TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF!” She cried out again and the mug shattered as sparks of green electricity arched off of her skin. She grabbed at her head and Katsuki quickly stood up and flicked the TV off. Her sobs filled the room and he threw his mug down on the coffee table and grabbed her shoulder. “ALL MIGHT! GRAN TORINO!” She cried out loudly and Katsuki looked at her horrified face. “SAVE THEM! I HAVE TO SAVE THEM! WHERE IS THE BACK UP?!? SAVE THE—“

“DEKU!” She stopped instantly as she heard him snap her name, and her wide emerald eyes flicked to look up at him. She saw concern written all over his face as tears streamed down hers.

“Ka... Kacchan...?” She looked up at him in confusion before she looked around the room. His hands gripped her shoulders firmly as she seemed to realize where she was before she looked up at him again. “Kacchan’s apartment....” She nodded her head, before looking down at the broken pieces of mug on her lap and the spilled coffee. “Kacchan’s mug... haha...” her echo of a laugh rung through the silent air, and Katsuki felt his heart wrench in pain.

Just what happened? She was so shaken... So shattered by what he only saw a glimpse of... Yeah what happened yesterday was an awful shit show, but at least he had...

“Help....” He muttered out and she looked up at him, that fake sad smile on her face. “Let me help you... you got coffee everywhere.” He told her before standing up.

“Sorry... broken hand, you know...” she laughed out halfheartedly before she was picked up swiftly by him in a princess carry. “K-KACCHAN?!”

“Shut up, you’ve spilled too many liquids all over my apartment.” He told her firmly before storming down the hallway.

“I-I’m okay, I can clean it up...!” She cried out as she tried to get out of his grip, but he held her firmly in his arms as he nudged the bathroom door open. She looked around the large tiled room with wide eyes and he set her down on a stool for washing.

“Strip,” he told her simply and turned his back on her.

“I-I can’t do that!” She cried out and he let out an exasperated sigh as he got a bucket and a cloth with some soap for her.

“After I leave, idiot. Wash yourself off, be careful of the casts. I’ll call recovery girl here.” He handed her the bucket and she looked up at him with wide surprised eyes and a bright red face. “You can do this much, right Deku?”

“Y-yeah....” she nodded her head slowly and he nodded back at her before leaving the bathroom. He shut the door with a click and clapped a hand over his face.

“Shit like that is the last thing on my mind, fuck...” he hissed out before he went to get his cell phone. There was thousands of concerned texts from the others. He flicked them all away before phoning Recovery Girl. It was a simple call, she didn’t seem surprised and didn’t mind making the trip to his apartment for Izuku. He let out a sigh as he hung up, before he heard clattering in the bathroom.

“Kacchan...?” He raised an eyebrow at the shy tone of voice. “I-I need clean clothes...”

“Ah...” He almost exploded his phone, before he shook his head again. “She’s injured, idiot.” He grunted out to himself and went to the spare room. He found her suitcase at the bottom of the closet, and opened it up. He was irritated but not surprised to see it was a cluttered mess inside. He ruffled through it for a blouse and a skirt. “Should be easy to get on...” he sighed out before he ruffled through the mess for her underwear. He felt his face redden as he held up the unexpectedly adult underwear she had, and put a hand over his bright red face. “... fuck me...” he hissed out before he heard a clatter of pills. He stopped, and looked at a makeup bag. He picked it up and zipped it open, surprised to see a few different bottles inside. Some he recognized as pain meds, but one was a name he didn’t recognize.

“Kacchan...?” He hurriedly zipped it shut and tossed it back inside the suit case. He went to the bathroom and grabbed the handle before pausing.

“You covered up...?” He called out and heard a clatter inside once again.

“Yeah, sorry...!” He could almost feel the second hand embarrassment through the wooden door, before he opened it up and saw her doing her best to stand by holding onto the sink. He expected the towel wrapped around her chest to cover her body, but it was the one over her head like a hood and another on her shoulders that puzzled him.

“Don’t use all the damn towels.” He grunted out as he dumped the clean clothes on the sink and yanked a towel off her head.

“S-sorry! I uhm....” she was red all over and he felt his own cheeks redden. “I’m just... never been uhm... naked... in front of... a man...”

“Get dressed!” He snapped and Izuku stood up straight in surprise. “Recovery girl will be here in twenty minutes!” He turned and left in a hurry, slamming the door behind him.

“Fuckin' Deku....” he growled out as he cleaned up the living room from her mess. He looked at the pieces of mug in his hand and glared at them before looking at the TV. He wanted to know more, but he didn’t want to see her hysterical like that again, what ever happened it broke her more than just physically... he grunted as he finished cleaning up the mess and went to his kitchen to make more coffee.

“Kirishima.” He had his phone to his ear as he poured more coffee for himself.

“Bakubro, is everything okay?” He heard the concern in the red heads voice, and sighed. “Not really... I’m gunna take today and tomorrow off, got it?” He grunted out into the phone.

“That should be fine after yesterday, I’ll let Iida know. Can you at least be on call?” Kirishima asked and Katsuki could hear the bustle of the office in the background.

“On call is fine, but somethings not right.” Katsuki made up a mug of coffee for Izuku again, three sugars and extra cream. “... maybe arrange the schedules so some one can be around her for the next couple of weeks.”

“That should be manageable.... Todoroki is back here at the office now too,” Kirishima sighed out.

“...Tell Icy Hot to call me when he’s free, I’ve got fucking questions.” Katsuki growled out, before he hung up the phone.

“Ah... that was harder than I thought...” He turned his head as Izuku hobbled out of the hallway, fully clothed now. “... You didn’t dry your hair.” Katsuki grunted out as she made her way to the couch and sat down with a thump. He handed her the new coffee, and she sipped it gratefully. He set his own down and went to get a brush and hair dryer.

“Y-you don’t have to—“ Izuku looked at him confusion before he turned the dryer on and began brushing it out for her.

“Just shut up, I don’t need you having a cold while being broken to bits.” He told her simply, and she sat silently as he did her hair. It was quiet aside from the sound of the dryer, and he could smell his shampoo in the air, but it smelled sweeter some how.

The doorbell rang and Katsuki stopped the dryer, shaking his head. He went to answer it and a tiny old woman smiled up at him as he let her in.

“Bakugou, you look well!” She said cheerfully as he lead the way in. “Where is Miss Midoriya? Ah...”

“Recovery girl...!” Izuku smiled warmly at the woman from her spot on the couch. Katsuki narrowed his eyes at her as he noticed that once again the smile didn’t reach her tired eyes. “Sorry to bother you....”

“It’s never a bother anymore.” Recovery girl laughed out as she approached Izuku and looked her over. “Obviously broken bones... some cuts and bruises... more or less the usual with you, let’s see.” The woman set her bag down and Katsuki excused himself to his bedroom.

He changed his clothes and combed his hair while he waited for the check up to be over. He grumbled a bit in annoyance as he tried to pass time, kicking stuff into his laundry basket before he heard Recovery girl call his name. He hurried a bit faster than he cared to admit as he entered the living room and was a bit shocked to see Izuku passed out on the couch. Her arm was out of its cast along with her leg, but both were still wrapped up.

“I’m sure you’re well aware she could have used the sleep.” Recovery girl sighed out as she disposed of the casts and looked up at Katsuki.

“It’s pretty clear in her eyes...”He muttered out as he looked at the old woman. “I found this weird medicine in her bag...”

“You shouldn’t be snooping through a woman’s things.” Recovery girl tutted and he rolled his eye in annoyance. “But you’re bringing it up for a reason I assume...?”

“The name was weird...” he wrote it down and Recovery girl looked at it before sighing.

“It’s a psychosomatic treatment drug. “ she told him and he raised an eyebrow at that. “She must need it to sleep, but the side effects are iffy.”

“Should she be taking it...?” He asked and Recovery girl seemed lost in thought for a moment.

“She’s probably bothered by the stress of the situation that happened in New York.” Recovery girl patted the sleeping Izuku on the head. “Considering I’m her primary doctor, I know a lot about her medical history... this isn’t the first time she’s needed it.”

“What...?” Katsuki was floored by that and Recovery girl nodded her head. “Well what do—?”

“She’s been given a month off, I would like it if you made sure she doesn’t work at all, and just relaxed.” Katsuki grumbled at the thought of babysitting for a month. “I’ll be flying to America to check on All Might. I leave this up to you. Phone me if anything happens.”

“Alright, alright...” Katsuki grumbled and waved a hand in annoyance, before letting the woman out of the apartment.

[universally-the-same]

Magic, truth, fear and authenticity

Magic.  It's all around us and it's wonder lies in the eye of the beholder.  We must be open to receiving it, in order to see it.

I wrote a post on magic in April and it was all about shifting your perspective and seeing the magic in synchronicity.  In these last two months though, I have stayed open to even more fantastical ideas of magic, and have not been disappointed.  Some of it is what is considered to be woo-woo stuff, but in aligning myself with people who also look for the magic in the world, I'm discovering that it isn't very woo-woo after all.  In fact, it is very real.

I believe there are many reasons that some people don't "see" that magic exists.  One being that there are those who are simply not ready for it.  Perhaps they have other lessons to learn in this lifetime, or other purposes to fulfill.  Another big one is fear.  Perhaps it is fear of what their friends and family will say.  This is a big one for me, but I'm realizing that I've surrounded myself with so many wonderful people who love me for who I am.  Some of the friendships I have developed in recent years, are some of the the deepest I've ever had.  We support, encourage and inspire each other to be authentic.  To be our true selves.  To figure out what makes us happy and to be unafraid to reach for those stars.

I think something else that hinders people is the fear of opening their minds and not receiving.  Let me say that if this is your fear, you will receive what you are supposed to, when you are ready to receive it.  Three years ago, I wanted to have that connection back with the universe so badly.  As a teenager, I had constant signs and synchronicities, but the further I drifted off my path, the more I lost that connection.  It took several months for me to reestablish it, but once I did... I was hit with so many synchronicities at once, it seemed unreal!

I also believe there are those who might be afraid because they don't want to know what possibilities really exist.  I, myself have never been this type of person, but I feel like I have known many.  I believe that the fear is not recognized, and that they might be so rooted in their routines that any change or deviance from that is not welcomed.  If this sounds like you, or someone you know, there is nothing wrong with that!  We are all unique, and we are all on different journeys.  The truth of the matter is, that "the truth" is different for each and every one of us.

This is the biggest reason why I try to stay open-minded.  While I do not believe everything I hear, I do believe that there is truth in everything.  Whatever the story, there is always some strand of truth.  Something inspired the tale.  The trick becomes figuring out how much truth there is in the story for you, but the even bigger trick is remembering that others will pull their own version of truth from the same story.  While there may be little truth in a particular tale for you, for other's it may be all-encompassing.  Again, it all comes back to that concept of perception.

For me, many truths have been coming out, but my favorite one is that my spiritual journey has led me back to my interest in mysticism... something that I was interested in as a child.  My mother, who is not a very nice person, dabbled in crystal healing when I was in grade school.  After my parents got divorced, she became abusive to me and by summer going into eighth grade, I finally found the courage to tell her I wanted to live with my dad full-time.

Growing up (and still to this day), any time I've gotten too close to the woo-woo stuff, my dad warns me to stay away from the crystals.  For many years, I agreed with this notion.  I didn't know what set her off.  What she got mixed-up in, what made her become "evil".

Pretty early on in my spiritual journey, I've found myself exploring the concept of healing.  I became a Reiki practitioner last year which has really helped me tune in to being able to physically feel energy.  I feel that I've always been somewhat of an empath as well.  I've always had a big heart and feel that I am empathic by nature, but my father always had me consider the feelings of those around me by putting myself in their shoes.  I think that, along with living with an abusive mother and learning to read her erratic moods helped bring it out that empathic nature even more.

Throughout my journey I've been drawn to subjects, and things that heal.  Reiki, sound healing and being in nature to name a few.  I've also found that I have a natural draw towards things relating to Shamanism...an avenue I have not yet explored.  What I find particularly fascinating is that I have had this natural draw towards healing, yet I didn't remember that my mother claimed to be a crystal healer until about a year ago.

Last year, after suffering through a 4 month asthma battle, I bought a salt lamp. After four rounds of steroids, I was willing to try anything to keep my allergic asthma as bay.  I kept reading about the benefits of Himalayan salt lamps and figured, why not?

I noticed immediately that my calico, Jorga, started sleeping next to the lamp 18 hours a day.  She is 14 now, was 13 at the time, and had a previous knee injury that prevented her from jumping any higher than 12-14 inches off the ground.  We have pet steps in our house to help her get on the bed and the couch.

Two weeks after bringing the lamp home, I noticed that she started jumping higher.  She no longer needed the steps.  It was a pretty incredible testimony to the power of this element.  There is no way that a cat could be fooled into a placebo effect.  Also, I could notice a difference in the energy of our home.  Walking into the living room just felt so good.

I started noticing a similar energy in some of the places I frequent and I started realizing that all those places had crystals.  Maybe there was something to these rocks after all?

I started talking to the owner of a Float facility about the incredible energy in his place of business.  As I had suspected, he gave the credit to his crystals.  He gave me the name of his "crystal guy" and sent me home with a gift; a piece of amethyst that he let me intuitively chose.  I brought it home and set it next to my salt lamp and stared at it for days.

Weeks went by and I kept thinking about my mother.  I was afraid.  But what was I afraid of?  I'm a smart woman.  I have a huge heart.  I knew that I wasn't going to suddenly turn into a heartless, abusive bitch.  I certainly wasn't afraid of the rocks themselves.  So far, the experiences I had with them were positive.  After calming my fears of turning into my mother, and realized an even bigger fear.  I was starting to find positivity in something that held negativity in my life for so long.  And frankly, I was scared of what my dad would think.  But holding yourself back from something based on preconceived notions, or how other people might feel is not being authentic to who you are.

One night, I was talking to my husband about my insecurities.  We were talking about my mother and who she became.  Not to make excuses for her, but she definitely went through some shit in her life.  So have I, so have we all.  But perhaps she wasn't strong enough to handle things properly.  Perhaps her lesson in this life time was something that many of us could never understand.  My husband made a very interesting point that night... he posited who she would have been had she not found the crystals.

Granted.  Her "snapping" and the crystals came at the same time, but what if she was going through her own journey and the crystals helped soften her blow?  Maybe if she didn't have them, (or in an even more abstract thought - "them" meaning "something to believe in" or "a source of connection") she might have been even worse?

After much debating, I decided to give Tom's "crystal guy" a call.

Thus began the journey of collecting crystals.  I had read that you don't choose the crystal, the crystal chooses you.  Its funny, but becoming so in touch with energy helped me very easily select the few beauties that came home with me that day.  People experience the connection in different ways, but for me I can feel the energy in my heart chakra (and recently my solar plexus as well).

Not only do the stones feel good, but that "feel good" energy in my home has amplified even more.  And an extra bonus is that they are beautiful to look at.  I enjoy not only learning about the metaphysical properties, but also learning about where a specific stone came from.

I currently have a piece from Uruguay and another from Brazil.  This makes me feel even more grounded/connected with the Earth knowing that I have these beautiful little pieces of her from places I will probably never get to venture to.  Below is a photo of an amazing piece of green flourite from a one-time find in Madagascar and when you hold a light up to it, it glows the most electrifying combination of emerald and lime green.

My hope in sharing this story, is that it will inspire people live a more authentic life.  To think about the roots of your fears and to question things.  Question your truths.

Have you ever stopped to think about why you believe something?  Is it because it's a belief that you were raised on?  Is it something that you heard?  Is it something that you researched? Is it something that you just deep-down in your soul knew is what is right and true for you?

My journey may be very different from the journey you are on.  Our truths may be very different.  But that is what is so incredibly beautiful about these lives we get to live.  We have the opportunity to learn and experience so much from each other if we just stay open minded enough to be unafraid of experiencing that which might be outside of our norm.

Stay authentic.  Stay open-minded.  Stay Wonderfull.

*this blog post was originally posted on my StayWonderfull blog on 7/5/2018 when it was a personal blog, and moved to my Universally the Same blog.

[elejah-verse]

Love Hurts/Epilogue

Elijah Mikaelson x reader

Epilogue

AU TVD/TO story

summary: Y/N received a letter from a lawyer from New Orleans, stating she inherited a part of an Estate. She went there to find out what it was about. There she met two brothers, Elijah and Klaus Mikaelson, who also owned part of the property. 

a/n: And so we came to the end of the story. Thanks so reading this story and liking and reblogging. Love you guys, xoxo

tags

@rissyrapp20 @captainshurley @goddessofthunder112 @hides2000 @cassienoble2000

__________

Morning dawned with Elijah and Y/N snuggled up sleeping carefree in the little guest house.

It was the same for Klaus and Caroline 

And definitely not much different for Jackson and Andrea, who chose to spend their honeymoon in Florida Keys, flying out there straight after the party.

The only one that was up early was Mary, who now coordinated the clean up. She didn't remember when she was so content. The great feeling of happiness and love returned to the house. She walked in the kitchen finding Hope there pouring herself a glass of orange juice.

"You are up already?"- Mary said-"I thought, after dancing so much, you would sleep at least till 10."

"Aunt Josie promised to take me and Tom riding. I am so excited, I couldn't sleep."-Hope said.

"Right. So, what do you want for breakfast?"- Mary asked.

"Deviled eggs."- the girl replied.

"Coming right up."- Mary said now going over to the fridge.

At the same time in the Guest House, Y/N woke up and her eyes met Elijah's.

"Morning"- he whispered lovingly removing  a streak of her hair from the forehead his eyes still gazing into hers.

"Morning"- Y/N replied with a smile, stretching a bit now.

"Love you"- Elijah then said, before Y/N could utter-"Have you been watching me?"

"So what if I did? It's the most amazing thing - you next to me, with me- I can watch you forever- you are so beautiful."

Y/N smiled again now brushing through his hair with her hand neared him and placed a kiss on his lip, then saying-

"You are beautiful, too."- Y/N chuckled a bit now -"But I still can't decide if I like you  better with a beard or clean-shaven. Jeans or suits- so hard to choose. You looked so hot  in the jeans, in that white T- shirt, when you were helping build that gazebo with Jackson. I think that I have fallen in love with you then."

"Then?"- Elijah said with a whiff of disappointment in his voice.

"Maybe earlier"- Y/N now said with a teasing smile putting her thinking face on-"or maybe when you came from Florida, that morning, when we had  a two-minute coffee together."

"Well, I know I fell in love with you the moment I saw you."

"You did?"- Y/N/ said slightly surprised smiling happily.

"I did."- Elijah said now looking at her sweetly.

Y/N now leaned over and kissed him. Elijah now deepened the kiss, both of them falling again into zillion set of kisses, feeling the love stream all over them so tenderly and divinely.                  

Eventually they appeared in the main house, slipping up to their room to shower and change. Not long after, they were down chatting to one another about where they would actually live, as her work was at the Plantation house and Elijah's was in New Orleans.

"How about three days in the city and then the weekends here?"- Elijah suggested-"and when the baby comes, we can be in New Orleans. It is more practical."

"By then Andrea and I will have to find good replacements, because we will be at least six months out. There is tones of things to do. I never thought in a millions years that my life will change so much when I first got here."

"I never thought my life would change at all"- Elijah said-"and it has- for the better. I have so much hope about everything. Marcel Jr, too."

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. I got the message from my friend Rebekah Gerard, who knows a hot-shot lawyer in New York. She is this expert custody lawyer. Katherine Pierce. She is more than happy to look into your case. Sorry, I forgot to tell you. We spoke briefly last night, before you got to the guest house, and when you kissed me I just forgot about - pretty much the whole world."- Y/N said.

Elijah now stopped and looked at her dearly-

"Have I told you lately how much I love you."

"I don't know- but I am ok if you say it again."- Y/N smiled chuckling.

"I love you, Y/N."

"I love you, too, Elijah Mikaelson."

He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her.

As they were now close to the kitchen everyone in there heard them. Mary looked at Klaus and Caroline, who were having a late lunch saying-

"Sunshine has returned to the house. It truly has."

Elijah and Y/N greeted everyone in the kitchen asking if there was anything left for them.

"I will rustle you up whatever you like. "- Mary said, as they sat down at the main table.

"I don't mean to be like too picky, but I really want a burger."- Y/N said.

"The cravings are kicking in?!"- Mary stated.

"Oh, in Brazil, I just wanted chocolate all the time, and milk shake. I would like one now, and I know it is not healthy, but- I am starving."- Y/N said.

Abby now smirked a little and she remembered that she was like that when she was pregnant with Bonnie.

"Talking about Bonnie, spoke to her last night, as well, and she is coming the next weekend. Katherine is coming down from New York, too. And- I need to organize a meeting to bring Bonnie and her mom to sit down and talk"

Mary now asked if Elijah had any particular wishes lunch-wise.

"I am ok with the burger, too. Double cheese. But no milk shake. Thank you, Mary."

Klaus now got up as did Caroline.

"Where are you going?"- Elijah asked.

"We have to get back to the city. Need to get last minute production things done before the opening night."- Caroline said.

"Oh, can't wait for it. How come it took so long?"- Y/N said.

"We had some glitches with the stage production and then the other producer pulled out. I put all my money in it. But I believe it is going to be huge. We were talking about staging it here- for Halloween if it takes off."

"Yep."- Klaus said.

"That would be so good. We can make it like a special event."- Y/N's eyes already sparkled with ideas.

"Let's first see how the opening night goes."- Klaus said-"we are sold out for that at least."

"I will need tickets for my mom and dad, too. They would love to see it."- Y/N said.

"Done."- Caroline said and then she and Klaus left.

"Oh, yeah, they are arriving the day before."- Elijah now remembered pouring himself some juice.

"Don't tell me you are nervous? They are ok with us. I told you."

"I could tell in his voice that your dad was not really pleased with the way things went."- Elijah said.

"Once they see how happy I am, everything will be ok. And I am really happy."- Y/N said now giving him a small peck on the lips.

"What garnish would you like on the burger. Elijah only likes ketchup."- Mary said now serving the chocolate milk shake to Y/N and coffee to Elijah.

"Mayo and - do you have those pickled- shrimps?"

"Yes, I do."- Mary said.

Elijah looked at Y/N now wide-eyed as she asked for the pickled-shrimps.

"Be prepared to see the oddest combinations."- Mary now remarked.

"I am not saying anything. But pickled shrimps and milk shake- aah! - Elijah said.

Y/N smiled- "I was never an ordinary girl."

That much was true. After the most unusual luncheon, the two of them went for a walk. 

☆☆☆

The next day after work, Elijah went into an antique jewellery store. He had already been to see rings before Jackson and Andrea's wedding and thought of the most romantic moment to ask Y/N to marry him. And all the rings he had seen so far were not sunshiny enough in his opinion. But in this place as the woman recognized him being Dahlia's nephew, she brought rings from a backroom showing him some rare pieces. Still none of the rings were the one in Elijah's opinion. He now said-

"My girlfriend's name is Y/N and she is like a a ray of light and I want the ring to be like this sun, this light. I don't know how to explain"

"I think that I've got something for you."- the woman now went to an old  cupboard unlocking it. As she brought it to Elijah.

As she took it out of the box she gave it to him, and Elijah looked at it with a small smile on his face, he said-

"This is the one!"                  

"I thought you might like this one. The stone is from Mexico and it was called Tonatiuh, which is the name of the Aztec sun god."- the sales woman said.

"Really?"- Elijah was surprised to hear it.

"Yes."- the woman replied.

"I will take it."- Elijah said.

Happy he had found the perfect ring, leaving the shop she made a call to Sophie Deveraux and then Andrea. As she answered he said-

"Hey, I need a huge favour."

"Name it"- Andrea said.

"I am going to propose to Y/N, and I need you to take her shopping or do your lunch thing or something-"

On the other side of the phone, Andrea nearly screamed with happiness stopping Elijah in the middle of the sentence-

"OMG! Of course- when? You're setting something up here?"

"On Saturday. I am sorry it's such short notice. I just got the ring and I talked to Sophie, she will do the food and Jane-Anne will do the deco."

"There is this arts and crafts weekend in Baton Rouge. We were talking about going there. So, no problem."

"Thank you."- Elijah replied-"I got to go now, but will call about details later."

"Ok. Talk to you later."- Andrea said hanging up.

The next day

Y/N arrived at the New Orleans house, some time before seven, as she had a routine doctor's appointment.

As Y/N got it, Mary met her all worried saying that Elijah was calling and she tried as well.

"Ah, my battery went flat. Sorry. I really need the bathroom. Can you please call him and tell him that I am not going to the Plantation tonight. Thanks."- Y/N now went upstairs.

Mary now called Elijah letting him know what had happened. Elijah, who was a hundred yards from the house thanked Mary for the call. He parked up and got into the house.

"She is upstairs."- Mary said to him and Elijah went now up.

"Y/N-"- he called and as he got in, he found Y/N holding the box in her hands, looking at the ring, her eyes lost in its bright shine.

Elijah now stood in the door and smiled.   

"Elijah- is this what I think it Is?"- Y/N now stood up from the bed.

"Yes. You found me out."- Elijah joked a little now walking in.

Elena looked at him elated, now saying -

“Yes!!!”

"Yes?"

"Yes- of course yes!!!! I will marry you!”- Y/N flung her arms around his neck and then she stopped like half-frozen-”That’s what the ring is - about, right?”

“Yes, that’s what the ring is about! You know, I had this whole thing planned- a romantic dinner for two- pickled shrimp salad- you and me- but- somehow it fits that we are here- in this house, where you first came, and I consoled you in my arms - when you read that letter- I fell in love with you there and then."

"Yes, it's perfect. This is perfect."- Y/N said all emotional. She moved a little and now passed him the box.

Elijah now took the ring from the box and taking her hand now looking into her eyes, said-

"Y/N, will you marry me?"

"Yes, Elijah, I will."- she replied exalted.

Elijah now slipped the ring on her finger and Y/N wrapped her arms around his neck and they kissed with little whispers of I love yous intermingling. 

___

Everyone was so very thrilled about the most unusal of proposals, but nothing about Y/N and Elijah was ordinary. And both of them wanted a very small and quaint wedding, that was held in the family circle a few weeks later. 

Just before she was going to walk out to the garden, where the ceremony was to take place, Y/N went to the Salon and took Dahlia’s picture in her hands-

“Thank you so much for - bringing me here. I have no words to express how happy you have made me. And the baby is a girl and we are naming her Lena Dahlia. Thank you.”- Y/N now put the picture down as Andrea came to tell her that everyone was waiting for her. 

“Yes”- Y/N now went out of the Salon with the maid of honour. 

Four month after Lena Dahlia Mikaelson was born. The new princess of the Mikaelson Estate. The proud parents were completely in awe of their precious little girl. She was the center of their world, but also the whole Mikaelson heritage and the Estate. 

As Mary had said once, with Y/N arriving in New Orleans, the sun returned in the house and she was like this unusual amulet that broke the curse, if there was any curse that was set on the family. 

Y/N often would later say to Mary that it was just a sad chain of events that happened. Life. Love hurt. It was Mercury-retrograde.Blame it on the universe and planets. But good stars align again and things get better. More than just better. 

Klaus, proposed to Caroline, some time later. They both bought the small independent theatre and nine month after welcomed a baby boy. Hope was more than thrilled to get a baby brother, Michael. 

The big Plantation House was buzzing with children, their parents, their friends and their children. Laughter and happiness  was the order of the day.

____

Night of the Ball

five years after they reopened the Mikaelson house

Klaus now walked to Elijah, who stood in front of the picture of them taken on the Ball. Klaus now passed his brother a glass of champagne and said-

“To Family”

“To Family”- Elijah said and as the clinked the glasses they took a sip.

“Ah, here you are”- Y/N said as she walked in the Salon. 

Elijah and Klaus now turned to the woman, who brought the happiness back to their lives.

“The family and everyone else is waiting for you, so we can open the Ball”- Y/N said.

“We have no time to reminisce”- Klaus said.

“No. We can do that later.”- Y/N said-”now we have work to do.”

“Right”- Klaus said putting the champagne glass aside-”Let’s go then.”

Elijah now put his arm to his wife and said -”Let’s go and open the Ball.”

The three of them now walked out of the Salon, down the corridor to the Grand Ball room. 

Everyone now greeted them with a clap. 

And as the tradition was, all three of them welcome the guest and after a little speech they declared the Ball open. 

The music started and everyone took their respective partners to the podium for the first dance.

And as they swayed to the music, Elijah looked at Y/N and said -

“Always”

“And Forever”- Y/N concluded. 

And they live happily ever after. The End.

__________

[niall-is-my-dream]

Light of my Life - Part Seven

2500 words

"Are you ready?" Harry asked you nervously.

 "Ready as I'll ever be!" You reply smiling.

 "Are you sure you're ok with this?"

 "Yeah, are you?" You asked, you knew could see how nervous he was.

 "I think so, it's the easiest way of getting the news out there. Hopefully we will get a positive response from the fans."

 "Agreed! Come on lets go."

You'd been standing at the end of the drive by the gates for a few minutes, both of you nervous with what you were about to do. Jeff had called John a self employed photographer from Brixton and told him to be by a certain bridge in Hampstead Heath just after 10am on that warm Thursday morning.

John was a nice guy, he never hassled celebrities, instead getting his pictures without being intrusive. It also meant that he was very often called up by management teams and told to be somewhere. He got given exclusives because of the manner in which he worked and he was about to get a massive exclusive.

Harry was pushing Jacob in his pram, the sun parasol covering the sun from his face. It was end of August and quite a warm day. Jacob was dressed in one of his new outfits from Anne, a pair of white cotton dungarees with dark blue anchors on them. A light blue blanket covering him loosely.

Walking through the park, you headed towards the direction you knew John would be. Harry hated these types of staged pictures but had done it a couple of times over the years for various reasons.

You linked your arm with Harry, leaning in to kiss him. His trademark dimples appeared and he nudged your shoulder with his. You decided to pretend that John wasn't even lurking in the bushes, and started a conversation about what time Louis and Liam were coming over this afternoon. Harry chatted casually, as you did a small loop of the area and exited towards the high street.

You'd not seen John but knew he was there, you'd felt like you were being watched. Walking around the local food shop, Harry's phone buzzed in his pocket. A message from Jeff was displayed.

"John got some great photo's, he offered his congratulations and said you looked very much in love with each other. He wishes you both all the best."

You smiled up at Harry.

"Come on, let's get back and get this stuff sorted for lunch." You said smiling.

"Just so you know, I am very much in love with you. " He whispered, as you stood in the queue to pay.

"Good, because I am very much in love with you to." You replied.

Louis engulfed you with the biggest cuddle when he and Liam arrived that afternoon at 2pm. Arms full of gifts and a huge bouquet of flowers for you.

 "So good to see you Fliss." 

 "You to Louis."

Liam was the first to walk into the living room, desperate for a cuddle with Jacob.

 "Can I have a hold?" He asked, as he hovered over the moses basket.

 "Of course." Harry replied, reaching in and picking up Jacob.

With the summer weather still glorious, you'd set up the covered patio outside with snacks and drinks. You all took a seat, Liam still cuddling Jacob.

"So......." Louis started saying, eyeing you both up. "What the hell happened with you two?"

Harry looked across at you, it had been a while since he'd caught up with the boys face to face. He briefly saw Liam when they were both in Brazil but Harry obviously hadn't spoken to him about what had happened with you both.

"Well......I very stupidly ended things with Fliss at the end of November last year. I um.......hadn't been dealing with my grief very well and...... I basically pushed her away."

Liam and Louis both sat looking at him, the worry on their faces was evident. Harry had hidden his issues from them as well.

"Then 12 days ago I saw Fliss coming out of the supermarket and I called out to her and practically chased her down the street. She um.........had Jacob with her. We've been building things back up with each other........we've both made mistakes but we want a future together."

You hung your head in shame, you couldn't bring yourself to look at either of them.

"And you didn't know about Jacob's existence until the other day?" Liam asked, his voice calm.

"No."

You weren't sure what Harry had told them in the email he'd sent to them and Niall but apparently he hadn't really explained the situation.

"Fliss, why did you keep it a secret? We all would've supported you?" Liam asked, his face covered with the look of confusion.

You went to answer but Louis cut you off.

"Did you know you were pregnant when I saw you in January?" 

"You saw Louis?" Harry asked you.

"Yeah, we bumped into each other near my work. Louis had a meeting in a nearby office. And yes I did know."

"Why didn't you tell me love?" He said sighing.

"I didn't want anyone to know." You mumbled.  "I haven't told any of our mutual friends, even my Dad doesn't know I kept it from Harry or that we even broke up. Just thought it was the best thing after Harry ended things.  I thought it would cause trouble for him,  especially since things didn't end well."

"Fliss knows about the.......um girl I kissed behind her back. We've not got any secrets from each other now and that's how it's going to stay." Harry said, he reached his hand across to yours and brought it up to his lips.

You could feel the tears threatening to fall. Liam and Louis just continued staring at you, trying to process what you'd both just said.

"I don't know what to say." Liam said. "I'm upset you didn't think we'd help you or support you. And I'm angry that you kept this from Harry." He paused for a second. 

Liam had always taken on the role of older brother to the boys, especially with Harry since he was the youngest. Harry had told you about a few months previously when he'd been bombarded in his hotel in Brazil and Liam organised it for him to stay at his hotel with him. He was there doing some promo for his single and had heard about Harry's troubles. The band very much still looking out for each other even though they were all pursuing solo careers now.

You felt the tears slip down your cheeks and you hastily rubbed them away with the back of your hand.

"I didn't mean to upset you." Liam said, he handed Jacob to Louis and crouched down by your chair. "Just shocked that's all."

"It's fine, I was worried everyone would think I'd fallen pregnant to trap him." You replied. 

Liam pulled you into a hug, stroking your hair.

 "We would never think that Fliss, ever."

"So I have a question." Louis suddenly said. "So do you think if Niall has a son in the future, that baby, Freddie, Bear and Jacob will form a boyband?"

You all burst out laughing. 

"Maybe Louis, maybe!"  You replied, smiling.

The afternoon spent with Liam and Louis had been amazing. You'd really missed them all and you felt it had done Harry some good to. 

Sitting in the doctors surgery the next day, Harry was doing his nervous foot tapping thing again. You looked at him and glared, but he just smirked.

You didn't have to wait long before your names were called and you went through to the examination room. The doctor didn't even bat an eyelid when she saw Harry, you weren't sure if she knew who he was. You wondered if Harry liked it when people didn't recognise him.

Stripping Jacob down to just his nappy, the doctor checked him over, listening to his heart best and checking his joints moved correctly. Jacob was an absolute dream and was pretty much asleep for the whole thing.

Handing Jacob to Harry, the doctor had you lay down on the bench so she could examine you. She asked you how you were feeling, pressing on your tummy to make sure everything has gone back to normal in there. 

"Everything looks great with you both, Fliss you're obviously taking care of yourself and have recovered well. So have you thought about your contraception options?" She asked.

Oh god. It was now you wish you'd made Harry stay in the car.

 "Um, well I was thinking of just going back on the pill I was on before."

"Are you sure? There are other options of you want me to go through them with you both."

"No I think I'll go back on it, but be careful in the future if I take antibiotics with it."

You could see Harry out of the corner of your eye, looking between you and the doctor, you knew you were blushing. The conversation was making you nervous, the doctor obviously didn't know your history, so thought she was just chatting to a young couple with a new baby. Since you had reconnected with Harry, you'd kissed quite a few times and were acting like a couple. You had spent quite a few nights cuddled up on the sofa, however apart from Harry occasionally grabbing your bum during a kiss you had both kept your hands from wandering.

Sitting back in the car and fastening your seatbelt, the prescription for your pill in your hand, you could feel Harry staring at you.

"Felt like I was back at school when she started the sex chat!" He said, trying to lighten the mood.

You couldn't help but laugh, it had reminded you of Health and Social lessons at school where you leaned about safe sex.

"Um, is it ok that I chose to go back on the same pill I was on before?" You asked him hesitantly, still not looking at him. "I mean, I know it failed before."

It felt awkward having this chat, you both had agreed to take your time with reconnecting. However in the last two weeks, you'd moved in with him and started acting like a couple again. You weren't going to lie, you'd only that morning been staring at him standing in the kitchen in just his boxers. His back to you as he made the coffee, his broad shoulders flexing as he lifted the kettle. You'd managed to hide the pathetic squeal that escaped your lips with a cough and had been glad that the radio was on.

The last time you had both been together sexually, had been around the time you'd fallen pregnant well over ten months ago. Harry had admitted that he hadn't slept with anyone else since you or even kissed anyone. When that God awful model had tried to kiss him, he had reacted quickly so she'd barely even grazed his lips, before he told her to back off.

"Well um, it's your body and I know it helped with your monthly cycle and stuff." He mumbled, looking down at his hands. " I don't mind wearing condoms, you know when we are ready to take that step if it will put your mind at rest."

"Yeah, um.......... We can think about it. I mean it worked for us for almost three years it was just my antibiotics that stopped it working."

You sat in silence for a minute before Harry looked over at you.

"I'm happy to take as long as we need to um.....you know do anything more than we are. I don't want you to feel like you have to do anything else. I mean a lot has happened between us and you've had Jacob since."

"I know we said we'd take one step at a time but I feel like things are moving really quickly between us. It's only been two weeks but it feels like we've never been apart."

"That's probably my fault, I'm just so happy to have you back.....I just can't help myself."

"Harry, it's not a case of it being someones fault, I can't help myself either. I'm sat here thinking about how much I want to kiss you right now."

He didn't waste anytime, leaning over to cup your face and kissing you, your hands instantly gripped his t-shirt. His fingers were threaded through your hair at the back of your head, not wanting you to pull away. The kiss ended up being fast, mouths clashing together, both of you wanting as much of the other one as possible.

"Maybe we should change it to going with the flow?" You whispered against his lips.

You felt him smirk against your lips.

"I think that's better."

After cleaning the kitchen and loading the dishwasher you left Harry and Jacob chilling in the living room, heading up the stairs to take a shower. Harry was sitting on the sofa, his knees bent up with Jacob lying along them singing to him, completely ignoring the programme currently being showed on the tv.

You smiled to yourself as you climbed the stairs, you always knew Harry would be a great father. Many times over the years when you had been together had you imagined having a family with him.

Stepping into the shower, the water was hot, the shower cubicle soon filled up with steam. Lathering up your hair with shampoo, humming away at the music you had playing earlier that was stuck in your head. Getting up in the night with Jacob had never been easy, luckily he was now only waking once and going longer between feeds. Taking a bath or shower in the evening always relaxed you and helped you sleep better.

You were just rinsing away the last of the bubbles from your body when you heard Harry's voice. He was shouting something to you and you started to panic. You quickly shut off the shower and opened the screen, just as you were about to grab your towel Harry came bounding into the bathroom with Jacob in his arms, his eyes wide.

"Fliss, Fliss, watch this!" He paused, looking down at Jacob. "Jacob....Jacob......Daddy loooooooves yoooooouuuu."

You looked down at them both, wondering what the hell was going on and that's when Jacob gave you both a beautiful beaming smile. You quickly  covered yourself with your towel, realising that Harry had noticed your nakedness.

"Oh my god!" You said. "Do it again!"

"Jacob....Jacob......Daddy loooooooooves yoooooouuuu."

And once again Jacob gave you both a smile.

Harry's face was filled with absolute devotion to Jacob. His eyes then fell to you. "Isn't that just amazing?! I did that! I made him smile!" He leaned down and placed kisses on Jacobs forehead, a massive smile on his face.

"Um, sorry about barging in, I was um .......... was just so excited." He said, and you could see he was suddenly embarrassed.

A blush rushed up across your face. "Don't worry, it's not like it's nothing you've not seen before." 

You looked across at Harry, and then down at Jacob and you knew then in your heart that you were doing the right thing.

Next part

https://niall-is-my-dream.tumblr.com/post/179202271513/light-of-my-life-part-eight

[ugly-crying-over-bucky-barnes]

Be My Baby Part 15 *Epilogue

Summary: Charlotte goes by Charlie in the summer of 1963. Sebastian works at the resort her family is staying at. He teaches her how to dance.

Chapter Summary: Summer. 1969. 

Warnings: None 

Epilogue: At Last Save the Last Dance for Me

My lonely days are over and life is like a song

At last the skies above are blue

So darlin’ save the last dance for me.

           Summer 1969

           I wasn’t sure when I’d return to the Downey Resort, if ever. It certainly seemed to be an opportune time. I’d been in Nepal for a little over two years on my trip for the Peace Corps. Then I left again for Brazil, spending another two years. Now I was back in the states, ready to start a new chapter of my life.

           Problem was I wasn’t sure what that chapter would involve. I was fast approaching my twenty-fifth birthday and my mom was horrified that I was married and pregnant with my third child. I assured her there were more important things in life than settling down but that didn’t calm her.

           I hadn’t found anyone who made me feel the same way he did. For a year or two, I chalked it up the relationship to puppy love. That’s what my parents said. But over time I realized it was more. I had perhaps met my soulmate.

           We had kept in touch right up until I left for Nepal. I often missed him and kept a few Polaroid pictures of him with me as I traveled. But I was so busy there wasn’t a lot of time to brood on the relationship.

           Now it was August and I was back in the Catskills. I drove up with my parents who I was living with until I found my own apartment. We were meeting our sister who was already there vacationing with her husband, Chris, and two children.

           They didn’t waste time. Right before I left for Nepal, Chris asked Laurie to marry him and they had a whirlwind of a wedding. Laurie refused to wait because she wanted me there as her maid of honor and did not want to wait two years for me to get back.

           They had a honeymoon baby, John Christopher Evans or Jack, and then Sandra Mae Evans came along. Now Laurie was pregnant again, this time with twins and I was at least happy to be able to be there for the birth this time.

           Even with kid three and four on the way, Laurie and Chris were still just as in love with each other as the day they met. And I was so happy for her. But I wondered if that could’ve been Sebastian and me.

           “Grammy!” Two little toddlers rushed up to us. My mom gasped and knelt down to scoop up her grandchildren.

           “Hi, my little ones.” She kissed their cheeks. Laurie and Chris had moved to Boston about a year after they married. Chris landed a well-paying job and Laurie was the housewife she always wanted to be. Fortunately, she listened to my rants about women’s rights and agreed whole-heartedly. But she was happiest at home with her children, which was fine by me.

           I smiled at my niece and nephew. I wasn’t the best with kids. I’d done a lot of work with children in orphanages during my time away. But I wasn’t confident with my ability as a nurturer. Chris and Laurie made it look so easy but I was sure if I babysat Jack and Sandra I’d make a mistake.

           But I was warming up to them, especially since the two toddlers refused to leave me alone.

           Laurie squealed and ran to hug me tightly. “I’m so glad you decided to come!”

           “Well, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to walk down memory lane.” I forced a smile. In reality, the drive up the mountains had been tough. My mind couldn’t help but wander to the wild idea that Sebastian would be there. He wouldn’t be.

           Chris walked over and smiled. “It’s nice to see you, Charlie.”

           “You too. Excited for a fuller house?” I teased.

           “We’re ready. We just have to double everything and we should be all set.” Chris chuckled and wrapped an arm around Laurie.

           “Well, I’m happy for you both. I couldn’t imagine a more perfect family.”

           “You might be closer than you think, sis.” My sister replied cryptically.

           “What?”

           “Never mind.”

           I walked into the already crowded ballroom. Nothing had changed. I heard soft piano music and perked up. But when I looked over he wasn’t sitting at the bench. I sighed quietly and felt regret sinking in. I should’ve realized that I would be able to forget how much I missed Sebastian. There were reminders everywhere I turned.

           I bit my lip and turned to leave. I had lost my appetite and my nerve. I wanted to go back to 1963 when I knew where Sebastian was and where I could find him. He could’ve been anywhere in the world at that point. Just like every able-bodied American man, I was afraid he’d been drafted. But I didn’t even want to think about that possibility. The possibility that he could’ve died before I saw him again. My stomach churned and I desperately needed air.

           I walked back out into the night and stood near the croquet lawn, where we first formally met. The world had changed so much. John and Bobby had been assassinated, Dr. King was assassinated, Nixon was president, I wasn't sure when the Vietnam War would end, and man had landed on the moon. But you wouldn't know it standing on the quiet mountain. It was as if the resort was immune to the test of time. I desperately wanted to go back to 1963. Back then I knew where Sebastian was. I wanted to hear his voice again.

           “Still bad at croquet?”

           My heart jumped and I turned quickly. “Sebs…” I whispered.

           He smiled and opened his arms. I wasted no time running right into his arms. I hugged him tightly and closed my eyes.

           “Oh my God, I didn’t know you’d be here,” I said breathlessly.

           “I didn’t know you would either.” He chuckled and held me closer. “Fuck, I missed you.”

           “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.”

           He pulled back to look at me. He pushed a curl behind my ear and touched my cheek. “I forgot how beautiful you were.” He murmured.

            My chest tightened and I was in such disbelief. “How…why...what are you doing?” I rambled.

           “Chris asked me to come back for tonight. I wasn’t sure why but I guess he and Laurie…”

           “Were scheming, yeah that sounds like them.” I sighed.

           “I didn’t know you were back. I heard you left again. I was looking forward to getting back in touch with you but Chris said you were already on a plane.”

           I bit my lip. “I’m sorry, I was worried you didn’t want to hear from me.”

           “Charlotte, I never got over you.” He admitted. “There wasn’t a day I went without thinking about you.”

           I felt tears in my eyes. “Me too…I just thought it was too naïve to think we could ever end up together.”

           “Well…I did my best. I’m playing professionally now. Mackie’s managing everything for me. He’s really the reason I’m staying afloat.” He revealed.

           My eyes widened. “Really? Sebastian, that’s incredible.”

           He smiled shyly. “It wasn’t easy but I’m finally living the life I wanted to give you.”

           “Me?” I looked confused.

           “All my life, I wanted to have money but I figured I would still be okay if I never ended up rich. As long as I was happy it would be fine. Then I met you and I wanted to give you everything you possibly could want. You deserve so much, Charlotte.”

           “Sebastian…I don’t know what to say.”  I was completely at a loss for words. Everything inside of me was leaping for joy. It was all so overwhelming to process at once.

           He smiled and leaned in to kiss me. I eagerly reciprocated and wrapped my arms around him. I couldn’t believe I had forgotten how perfect it was to kiss him. It was like looking up to the sun during a nice spring day. It was soft, warm, and brought me so much happiness. I couldn’t hold him close enough.  

           “Say you’ll marry me.” He whispered when we drew apart.

           My thoughts screeched to a halt. “What?”

           “I don’t have a ring…and I haven’t really asked for your parents’ blessing but I couldn’t wait to ask.”

           “I uh…I don’t know if I’d be a good wife.” I laughed weakly.

           “It’s just a term, I don’t want to limit you. I just want to know that I’ll see your smile every day and tell you I love you every night. And if you still want that too then I want to marry you.”

           I couldn’t believe he had remembered what I said all those years ago before we parted ways. “That’s all I ever wanted.” I felt tears sting my eyes. “Yes, yes I’ll marry you.” I hugged him tightly and he lifted me off my feet. “Oh my God, my mom and Laurie are going to be so happy.”

           He chuckled but it faded. “What about your dad?” He set me back on my feet.

           “I think he’s too tired to care anymore,” I admitted and bit my lip. “My cousin was killed in Khe Sanh last year. It broke my aunt and uncle and I guess my dad realized if he had a son the same thing could’ve happened to him.” I explained. When I returned home, he told me the news in the airport. He held me close and wouldn’t let me go. I had never seen my father cry before. He apologized for pulling me away from Sebastian.

           “I’m so sorry…”

           I nodded and took his hands in mine. “I guess I should be glad you didn’t get drafted. Chris too.”

           “They almost did. But I told them I was an immigrant. Finally a legal citizen now.” He smiled slightly. "So I guess that's something else we can be happy about."

           I smiled and hugged him again. “I love you,” I whispered.

           “I love you too.” He kissed the top of my head. “So…big wedding? Small wedding?”

           “Small.”

           “Honeymoon?”

           “Wherever is fine.”

           “Kids? No kids? Some kids? Lotsa kids?”

           “Maybe one or two. I don’t think I could handle the number of kids Laurie and Chris are planning for.”

           “They’re not stopping after the twins?” Sebastian asked with slight horror in his voice.

           “I doubt it. Laurie wants a litter and a half.”

           He chuckled and sighed. “I’d be content with one or two.”

           “Mhm…” I rested my head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat. It was like I was restarting our time together. “I don’t want to leave you again.”

           “Then don’t.”

           “I won’t. I couldn’t bear it.” I smiled up at him. “Think we could still do that lift?”

           “Uh…maybe? I’m not sure.”

           I reached down to take off my heels. “Let’s do it.”

           “It would be easier to start in the lake again.” He reminded me but proceeded to take off his sport coat.

           “Ready?” I asked and hiked up the skirt of my dress a little to get a good running start.

           “Go for it.”

           I hoped for the best and jumped into his arms. He held me over his head for about a second before I lurched backward and screeched. Sebastian did his best to catch me as we tumbled into the grass. It wasn’t a bad fall so we both erupted into laughter.

           “Okay, so that’s a no.”

           “I guess we’re just too old now. Unless we practiced some more.”

           “Oh well.” I grabbed his hand as he helped me stand up. "I still think we can dance together though." I reminded him.

          "You have no idea how long I've waited to dance with you."

          "Well, I haven't danced with anyone else," I said as he pulled me close. We swayed softly to the faint music from inside the ballroom. I couldn't have been happier than I was in that moment.

           “Tell me about your trip,” Sebastian spoke up. “I want to hear all about it.”

           “Well, I started in Nepal and then Brazil. It was amazing…I learned so much. You should’ve met one of the translators he was so funny. He didn’t get a lot of my jokes or sayings. There was this girl from California there too she told the best stories about the actors she had run into…”

I could've talked to him for hours under those stars. We had all the time left in the world to talk though. We could talk at our wedding, we could talk on our honeymoon, we could talk through my pregnancy, we could talk to our son, we could talk during our anniversaries. But talk was cheap. I just wanted to dance with him. That's all I ever wanted.

//Thank you to everyone who read! Check out my other RPFs and one-shots on my page!

Masterpost

[artificialqueens]

Here I Go Again! (Group Fic) - Epilogue (Finale!) - pureCAMP

A/N - at long last she is done and she is here and she is the dancing queen young and sweet only seventeen

In all honesty, Trixie wasn’t sure she was going to go on a honeymoon at first. As she planned the wedding with her mom, the only thing on her mind was that her mom would struggle to cope. Trixie was in no position to be gallivanting off to the four corners of the world, seeing and exploring because of her frivolous dreams. She was old enough to know that money was tight, the workload was excessive and Sharon would struggle to complete it all without Trixie’s help. 

Of course, she could never say it out loud. She’d planned a honeymoon just so that her mom didn’t question her. Sharon would be mortified if she knew that Trixie had actually planned to stay at home after the wedding, and continue her work. She’d insist that Trixie went out to see the world, found a home elsewhere - but Trixie just knew she couldn’t.

It wasn’t fair.

But things changed on the day of the wedding. With Trixie unmarried, and Sharon now married, she didn’t see why she couldn’t travel the world. Her mom had someone to care for her, even if she swore up and down that she didn’t need to be taken care of. It was no secret that she worked too much, and he could make her take a break. Additionally, they’d want some privacy for a honeymoon of their own - which was the least that Trixie could do for them.

So, with bright smiles and teary eyes, Trixie and Brian sailed away from the island she’d grown up on, heading for the musty airport that would take them all over the world.

They saw America, from California to Texas to Florida to New York. They made their way through South America, visiting the beaches and cities in Brazil and Argentina and Peru and Mexico. They toured Europe, starting in Scotland and making their way round to Ireland, back to Wales and then to England, to France and Spain and Portugal and Germany, moving further and further across the map. Trixie could hardly name all the places they’d been to, the things they’d seen. To her, it was a jumble of new places and new sights and new people and new experiences.

Brian somehow retained everything, which Trixie loved. He rattled off random facts about the cities they had walked through, hand in hand whether it was raining or sunny. He’d even gone to the extent of buying a huge world map, marking the places they’d been with little hearts. To anyone who asked, they were on an unofficial honeymoon. Everything was perfect.

“I miss my mom. Does that make me childish?” Trixie asked one night. She was already in the hotel bed, tucked up to her chin under the thick sheets, waiting for Brian to finish brushing his teeth. When he came in, flashing a pure-white smile, he shook his head.

“No way. I miss your mom too.” He replied, deadly serious. “You’ve written to her, though. At least you know she’s not worrying too much about you.”

Trixie sighed. “Yeah. You’re right. I just wish she could write back, you know? But it takes so long for my letters to arrive from wherever the hell we are when I write them, and then by the time she responds we could be anywhere else! I want to know how she’s doing.”

“Well, judging by your nosy snooping, I’m sure she’s doing just fine with her new beau.”

After Brian had been told the full story - the diary, the three guys, Sharon’s story - he seemed quite amused by the whole situations. Letting him read the diary had definitely been a mistake, though. He thought it was absolutely hilarious, and whilst reading about your mom’s sexual escapades in hopes of finding your dad is one thing, reading it with your boyfriend whilst he laughs is another thing entirely.

“Gross, Brian. You promised not to talk about my mom like that!” Trixie told him off, shoving him as he climbed into bed. Grinning, he wrapped his arms around her tightly, clinging like koala as she struggled.

“I promise not to promise things, such as myself to you and talking about your mom.” Brian said. “Hey, we’re not out here much longer. This is our last week, then you get to see her again.”

For a while, there was a peaceful silence. Trixie had almost fallen asleep until Brian interrupted it.

“Do you think Sharon married Justin because she loves him, or because he’s your dad?”

Trixie rolled over. “Both. We don’t know for sure, but we both… we both think it’s him. And it’s clear how much she loved him then and loves him still.”

Things felt calm. Their previous drama and stress was over. Trixie had seen things she’d never dreamt of seeing in her lifetime, that were worlds apart from the sandy beaches and simple life of her home. Though she missed it dearly, things felt good. As she fell asleep, in the last week of her honeymoon, she dreamt of a happy family, reunited on the Greek shores.

On their flight home, however, Trixie didn’t fall asleep to happy dreams as she had most nights on their trip. A childish excitement had stirred up ever since they’d boarded the plane, with the knowledge that soon enough, she’d be home again. Having grown up alone, Sharon was a combination of a mom, a sister and a best friend, rolled into one. Trixie missed her beyond belief.

With Brian fast asleep on her shoulder, Trixie had alternated between reading her book - a strangely exciting story detailing the love, loss and drama of a new political figure - and making small talk to the old lady sat beside her.

They’d chatted mundanely for a few hours, partially because Trixie felt bad for her. She was clearly travelling alone, with a sad look on her face. At a guess, Trixie would put her at mid-seventies. Her grey hair was swept into an elegant, but slightly dated bun, and was mostly grey. Despite her morose expression, she had a kind face and spoke in a friendly manner, introducing herself as Joan.

“So, what’s bringing you to Greece?” She asked.

Trixie glanced over at Brian, peacefully sleeping, and smiled to herself. “Coming home from a vacation. It’s a pretty long story, but it was kind of a not-honeymoon. What about you?”

Joan sighed quietly. “Returning home, too.”

“Oh, whereabouts in Greece do you live? The mainland?”

“Not… quite.” She said uneasily. “I don’t live there, not anymore. I used to, a long time ago, but unfortunately this time, I’m being brought back by a tragedy, if you will.”

Trixie furrowed her brow. “I’m so sorry, I hope you’re okay.”

For a moment, Joan was silent, frowning to herself. Something about the look on her face was incredibly familiar, but Trixie had no idea why. As far as she knew, she had never met this woman in her life until now. Yet somehow, there was a lingering sense of familiarity.

“I’ll tell you this: you’re young, and you can learn from my mistakes.” Joan turned, staring straight at Trixie. “Teach yourself to forgive. Someone I loved dearly made a mistake once, and I didn’t forgive them. My… My husband’s recent passing has made me realize that life is short and can easily be wasted. I have a fear now that it may be too late to forgive this person, or that quite rightly they won’t forgive me. Learn it young, and don’t make my mistake.”

Trixie nodded thoughtfully. She wanted to further comfort the old woman, but she wasn’t sure what she could say to make any of it better. She couldn’t even begin to imagine how lonely it must’ve felt. Her whole life, even if it wasn’t much, she’d always had her mom. Family was the one thing that Trixie knew she’d always have. Joan had nothing.

“I don’t see why they won’t forgive you.” Trixie said eventually. “Time is supposed to heal all wounds, isn’t it?”

Joan smiled sadly. “So they say. But some mistakes don’t deserve to be forgiven. You surely wouldn’t forgive your mother for kicking you out.”

Trixie frowned. “She wouldn’t do that to me.”

“Then she’s a good mother. I wasn’t.”

“H-Her mother kicked her out.” Trixie found herself saying. “She was pregnant really young, and she was kicked out as soon as she found out about me. She never let it stop her, if anything she grew from it.”

Joan listened intently. “Would she forgive, do you think?”

Trixie shrugged. “She’s… very headstrong. I was never really allowed to ask questions about Nana. She always said we didn’t need her because we had each other.”

“Gosh, she sounds just like my daughter.” Joan smiled, a hint of bittersweet sorrow tainting the happy expression. “She was a firecracker, she did what she pleased. Nowadays it’s celebrated, but we all thought it was shameful behaviour back then.”

Somewhat detective-like in manner, Trixie noted that Joan had said ‘daughter’, rather than ‘someone’. She wasn’t sure why, but the genuineness of the older woman beside her made her want to help unravel the story. She seemed kind and deeply regretful, and the idea of her being able to reconcile with her daughter made Trixie feel all warm inside. Perhaps one day, Sharon would be able to meet with her mom and their broken relationship could also be fixed.

But maybe Trixie was thinking ahead a little too much. Next to her, Brian snored quietly, jolting her back into real life.

“Either way, you have to try.” Trixie affirmed. “There’s no way you can receive forgiveness without asking for it. No matter how scary, you have to try.”

Joan nodded. “You’re very wise for such a young woman. I’m impressed, dear.”

Trixie grinned. “That’s all down to my mom. She’s the best woman I’ll ever know, guaranteed.”

She showed Joan the photograph on the lockscreen of her phone - Sharon and Trixie smiling together on the hotel courtyard, just after Sharon had ended up getting married to Justin. Standing side-by-side, their identical smiles made them look almost like twins.

Upon seeing the photo, Joan faltered for a moment, as if there was a flicker of recognition in her eyes. Within moments it had faded, and the older woman seemed to shake herself, smiling at the image. Trixie brushed off the sudden change in her expression.

“She’s very beautiful, like you. How old are you, dearest?”

Trixie blushed. “I’m twenty.”

Once again, Joan’s face fell for a moment before she regained her composure. The change was ever so slight that Trixie wasn’t sure she’d actually seen it or not.

“This was what was supposed to be my wedding. Me and Brian here were engaged, but we called it off because it felt too soon. My mom ended up getting married instead, but that’s an even longer story. Let’s just say, I threw her life into chaos for a few days and she managed to forgive me.”

Joan chuckled. “I see. Well, Trixie, it’s been lovely talking to you. I should probably rest now, but I’ve enjoyed your company a lot. Thank you.”

“It’s no trouble. Goodnight,” Trixie finished amiably, settling back into her novel. Every page took her a little bit closer to home, and that was all she needed.

—

“TONY! TONY!” Trixie yelled, waving as hard as she could from the docks. “TONY!”

She was running, one hand wheeling her suitcase behind her as Brian lugged the rest, burdened with the weight of it all. As soon as they’d touched down back in Greece, with the sun just an hour away from rising, she’d purchased a garland of fresh flowers from a local street vendor on the mainland and was wearing them around her neck. They bounced as she ran, tangling over her white vest.

Tony, one of the sailors who took people back and forth from the mainland to the island, was a few feet out into the small stretch of sea, fishing by himself. Usually, he would only take passengers on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, but Trixie knew he’d make an exception for her. Much like many islanders, though he wasn’t one himself, he had watched Trixie grow up.

“EH? ÀNGELOS? IS THAT YOU?”

The nickname of ‘angel’ had arisen simply from her blonde hair, a trait which both Sharon and Trixie had. It was a little more uncommon on the island, of traditionally olive-skinned and dark-haired residents, so many referred to her in such a way. Brian, however, still grumbled that he needed to stop making a move on his almost-wife.

“You’re so stupid.” Trixie giggled, kissing his nose. “TONY? CAN YOU TAKE US HOME?”

Tony nodded, and in no time he had sailed back from his perch, handing his fish to one of the market vendors with a shrug. He and Brian carried their bags onto the little boat, and soon enough they were sailing in the early morning sun, ready to go home.

The warm sunshine and cool sea-spray on Trixie’s skin felt so nice. Of course, some of the places they’d been had the same kind of weather, but nowhere felt as right and as natural as her home did. Part of her was convinced that, at this point, she could memorise the exact pattern of the waves beneath her.

“I’m so excited. I feel like it’s been forever since we saw my mom.” Trixie breathed, spreading her arms wide to take in as much as she could.

“Almost four months.” Brian agreed. “Three and half, I think. Have you ever been away from her that long?”

Trixie shook her head. “Nope. I think a week might be the longest.”

“Christ.”

“I never needed to!” Trixie defended herself, laughing. “Anyway, it was probably for the best this time. She deserves some time to relax and celebrate with her new husband.”

Brian wrapped his arms around her waist. “Yeah, you’re right. Justin’s a cool guy, I need to hang out with him. You and Sharon can have a girly catch up, and we’ll have some bro time.”

“Sick of me already?” Trixie teased, mock-offended. “I’m kidding. But no offence to either of you, I don’t think you’ll be having bro time. You’re not exactly the bro type.”

Brian hummed. “I guess not. Man to man time, then.”

“If that’s what you wanna call it. Me and mom just call it, you know, friendship.” Trixie shrugged.

“That works too.” Brian said, and then burst out laughing. “Hey, look, land ahoy.”

Before Trixie could react to Brian’s statement, or make a dumb pirate joke as she normally would, she spotted the edges of the island beginning to form in the horizon. There it was, her home; tall and hilly and with white buildings and white sand and beautiful memories permeating the entire place. Her heart warmed at the mere sight of it.

“I’m home!” She trilled, squeezing Brian’s hand. “Oh my god, I’ve missed it so much. I’m home!”

Trixie squealed and bounced like a little girl for the entire rest of the journey, when Tony assisted their bags off and waved them goodbye. Within seconds, she’d discarded her shoes and was running in the sand, revelling in the knowledge that she was actually, really home.

“Trix? Bags?” Brian tried.

Same as before, Trixie wheeled her one suitcase up the steps, as Brian struggled with the rest of it. It was still early in the morning, so the two of them had time to creep into their new home and dump the luggage there. Sharon had fixed up one of the old parts of the hotel that was no longer used - a similar area to where she had raised Trixie - for the two lovers, as a wedding gift. They had their own little place, with two storeys and a balcony onto the sea, but they were never more than ten minutes from Sharon, should they need her help. Trixie knew they definitely would in the coming years.

“I always thought pink was the prettiest colour,” Trixie remarked, looking around at the teal that made up the entirety of their interior. “But this is seriously beautiful. I love it.”

She flopped backwards onto the bed, breathing deeply. “Mm, fresh sheets… and they smell of sandalwood! My mom is amazing.”

Brian laughed, throwing some clothes at Trixie so they could change out of their airport garb into something more topical. As the sun properly rose, filling the room with light, Trixie watched the sea ebbing and flowing. A sense of peace washed over her, like the tide erasing the stress of a day’s footprints along the beach. She was a clean slate.

After freshening up a little, Brian joined her on the balcony. Their view was amazing - they could see the whole of the beach, and a little of the courtyard where hotel guests ate and hung around during the day. As usual, the washing lines were all still strung up, with colourful sheets flapping around in the breeze.

“Sheets are still up. Your mom must be slacking.” Brian nudged her and grinned. “She’s usually up by now, isn’t she?”

Trixie shoved him, even though he was right. “Hey! She’s just gotten married, she deserves a vacation! Her idea of a vacation probably is starting work at six thirty instead of five, anyway.”

Not long after she spoke, Trixie spotted two figures walking into the courtyard. Though they had their backs to her, she knew exactly who they were instantly.

“There, see! Mom and Justin.”

Brian nodded appraisingly. “Guess you’re right. Speak of the devil and she shall appear. In a skirt, no less.”

For most people, the observation would’ve been a little pointless, but it made sense to Trixie. Sharon never wore the kind of long, flowing skirts that she was wearing today, preferring to wear practical clothing that she could work in. Her usual attire was denim dungarees, patched up at the knees where the material had worn thin from her constant toiling. It was beyond unusual to see her in a skirt, but Trixie thought nothing of it for the time being.

“Come on, come on, we have to go down and say hi! I can’t remember what they look like anymore.” She exaggerated, giggling. Her eyes lingered for a couple of seconds on the pair, tearing down the coloured sheets into baskets and laughing together, before she turned away.

“Hurry, Brian!”

They made their way down towards the courtyard as fast as they could, now unencumbered with bags and suitcases. A childish thrill was still holding Trixie’s chest, causing her heart to hammer and thump with sheer excitement. Even though she’d kept on about it, she truly hadn’t realised the extent of how much she’d missed home.

The sound of their footsteps skidding onto the stones caused both Sharon and Justin to turn in unison. Upon seeing her mom’s face, Trixie gasped in delight.

“Trixie! Oh, my baby girl!”

The two all but ran towards one another, hugging as tightly as they possibly could. Trixie couldn’t see, hear or smell anything other than her mom, the most amazing woman she’d ever known. Everything about her was home, especially the tight-squeeze of her full body hug. Trixie blinked back tears, just about managing to subdue them as they talked without breaking apart.

“Oh, my girl. I’ve missed you so much on all your adventures. You need to tell me everything,” Sharon rushed out, all of her words spoken into Trixie’s neck.

Trixie responded by squeezing even tighter. “Of course, of course. Oh, mom, it’s so amazing to see you again. I’ve missed you every single day.”

“You’ve been gone so long, my gorgeous girl. So many things I want to talk to you about.”

At last, Trixie pulled away from the hug, gazing lovingly at her mom’s face. As she had expected, she looked happier - younger, even, like she’d taken a dip in the fountain of youth. Her blue eyes were sparkling, and a pink flower was tucked into her hair, presumably by Justin.

However, her eyes didn’t stay searching Sharon’s face for long. They soon wandered down, noting the definite curve of her stomach that hadn’t been there before. As both Trixie and Brian stared at it, wide-eyed, Justin wrapped an arm around Sharon’s waist and tenderly kissed her temple.

“Welcome home, Trixie.” Sharon said, her voice impossibly soft.

Trixie’s mind was reeling. “Mom, you’re…”

“You’re not upset, are you?” Justin’s tone was gentle.

It took Trixie a moment to realize that they were nervous about her reaction. Sharon was chewing her lip, uncharacteristically insecure, and Justin was rubbing her back. He seemed to be hiding it better, though there was a hint of doubt in his usually-twinkling eyes.

“Upset?” Trixie asked incredulously. “How could… How could I be upset? You’re having a baby! You’re really pregnant!”

At that, Sharon’s face split into a grin, a mixture of relief and tearfulness all in one. Both Trixie and Brian rushed forwards to congratulate the pair. It was possibly the most unexpected news they could’ve heard, but Trixie was positively ecstatic about it. Images of a tiny baby had already started flitting into her mind. Would it be a boy or a girl? Would they have Sharon’s eyes, or Justin’s hair? For the second time that day, Trixie was sure she could feel her heart swelling with love.

“How long have you known about this?” Brian asked. Trixie was overjoyed to see the excited smile on his face, mirroring her own emotions.

Justin beamed. “We went to the twelve-week scan on Monday, so nearly thirteen weeks. It’s already been such an amazing ride.”

“You’ve seen nothing yet, babe.” Sharon laughed. “It’s not all fun and games and cold jelly. Well, not for me anyway.”

Justin shook his head. “Gross or ugly or whatever will happen, I’m here every step of the way. That’s the least you deserve.”

Brian frowned. “Correct me if my maths is wrong, however I had an incredibly comprehensive mathematical education back in Mother Russia so I doubt this frivolous linguistic formality very much, but twelve weeks is three months, yes?”

Sharon nodded. “Yes, I’m three months pregnant. Hence the slightly more forgiving loose skirt.”

“So this happened pretty much straight after the wedding? Justin, you sly dog.”

As they cracked up, Trixie protested. “Hey! Don’t call my dad a sly dog!”

She wasn’t sure why ‘dad’ had came out, nor why it sounded so natural, but it made her stop and smile briefly, her protest suddenly forgotten. Whether the genetics agreed or not, this was her dad, stood with her mom, and Trixie was going to have a little sibling.

From then on, they eased back into a somewhat altered version of their usual routine. Justin, it seemed, had insisted on taking on the physical work, so that Sharon didn’t have to. She still pottered around like mad, doing laundry and sweeping and cleaning and cooking for their few guests. Trixie had noticed a proper reception was now set up, with one singular computer, antennae and wifi-box courtesy of Willam, which meant that a few more people were beginning to hear about the place. There was currently a total of twelve - two groups of young vacationers that had heard about the place from the new-fangled website. It sounded small, but it was their most in years.

Each morning, after Sharon had taken down the dried laundry, folded it away and cooked breakfast for the guests, Trixie and Sharon would head down to the beach, to walk, relax and catch up in the sunshine. By lunch, Justin and Brian would’ve finished most physical work and they’d eat lunch as a family on the sand. Evenings were spent finishing off any odd jobs, Sharon cooking dinner for the guests, and then spending their free time however they wanted, but usually together.

It was perfect.

Justin, for one, was loving the new routine. He got to wake up next to his beautiful wife and spend the days with his daughter and her boyfriend, like a real family would. Of course, Sharon would always protest that it really wasn’t that glamorous, but Justin begged to differ.

He didn’t care that he had to hold back Sharon’s hair as she was sick, and rub her back, and clean up any stains where she hadn’t gotten to the toilet bowl on time. Though she told him he was crazy, he relished every moment of it. This was what he had missed beforehand. If anything, it tugged at his heart to remember that she had done this alone all those years ago. It would be awful of him not to be as involved as he was.

“God, I’m so lucky.” He’d said, the night that Trixie and Brian had returned. The couple were lying in bed, almost half-asleep until he’d spoken.

Sharon had smiled. “Why’s that?”

“It’s amazing.” Justin told her. “I have all the joy of a beautiful grown up daughter, and life-changing experience of raising a baby, and the most breathtaking wife I could ever imagine. As far as luck goes, I’ve got it all.”

At that, Sharon had blushed, even though it was hard to tell in the fading light of dusk. She’d curled up closer to him, guiding his hand towards her tummy as she lay her head on his shoulder.

“Three months… Wow. I couldn’t have predicted this if I tried.”

“Oh yeah?” Justin teased

“Yeah!” Sharon laughed. “You and me? Marriage? A baby? Twenty years ago, maybe, but now? It feels like a fever dream.”

Justin grinned. “I can assure you that you’re awake, doll. I’ve had to pinch myself every morning since I got here and you’re still here, so it has to be real.”

For the most part, Sharon seemed okay with his enthusiasm. He appreciated that she’d done this before, and knew a lot more than he did, but she seemed to be letting him fumble and learn and try to protect her anyway. Thankfully, she wasn’t too shy to let him know when he was being too much, and her stubbornness had helped to ensure that everything stayed the way she wanted it.

It wasn’t all too often that Justin was right over Sharon, and he wasn’t sure he liked it.

“You’re such a worrier! You’re just like Trixie, a little fusspot. I’m fine, pumpkin. I can handle myself.” She told him, shaking her head affectionately.

“But the repairs are gonna take at least the next few days. I don’t wanna leave you on your own-”

Sharon cut him off with an open palm. “Justin! I’m not gonna be alone, you know that. I have Trixie, Brian if I need him, and anyone else I can intimidate into helping me. I’m only holding down the fort, I’ve been doing this for well over a decade.”

Justin conceded; she was right, after all. Every time he glanced down at the bump, he felt an urge to sweep her up and protect her, but he knew inside she’d hate to be bubble-wrapped and treated like she was fragile. This was Sharon, after all.

So he headed off towards the back of the hotel, where one of the buildings had seen the roof collapse entirely. Something to do with rain, he had been told - rotting wood and the weight of the water had caused it to cave in. It would take a while, but it needed to be done and there was no way he would let Sharon do it.

Well, that wasn’t strictly true. She was amazing at handiness and repairs, like she was amazing at everything. It just so happened that cooking and cleaning was amongst the skills that Justin wasn’t so good at, and Sharon’s guests didn’t deserve food poisoning. It made more sense for her to relax and take the easier jobs that he couldn’t do.

Over at the hotel courtyard, Sharon was mentally ticking off the list of jobs she needed to complete. The laundry had been taken down and folded into a basket, ready to be sorted and reused. Breakfast was done, and she was in the middle of serving it. There wasn’t a lot else to do, besides taking in any late arrivals. Maybe she could check her o-mails, or whatever they were called. Willam had set her an account up, and she was finding it quite fun to talk to him all the way in LA.

“Alright, two sausages, one egg and some beans for you…” Sharon stacked the plates along her arms, grinning at the young group of vacationers. University students, she guessed. “Traditional Greek salad… pain au chocolat… and some toast! Hope this is good enough!”

Ever since being put online - or was it on the line? She still wasn’t sure - Sharon had seen a surge in the amount of guests. Not too many, yes, but young people on gap years had begun to show up, having learnt of their whereabouts from the Internet. It was definitely brilliant for business.

“You know, I don’t understand why this place isn’t like, a five star booming business. It’s so nice here! So quiet!” One of the girls said.

Sharon smiled at her. “You’re sweet, thank you. No one really knows we’re here, we’ve just scraped by over the years. It’s nice to see new people.”

Another member of the group nodded. “I’ve been texting all my friends telling them that they have to come here. It’s not expensive and yet it’s worth, like, triple the price. This place is amazing!”

“Texting, that’s like o-mail, right? They’re similar?”

The group laughed. One girl volunteered, “Uh, it’s email… But yeah! Come look.”

Within minutes, the girls had pulled up a chair for her, and were scrolling through their phones, showing her bits and bobs she’d never remember. Texting was easy enough, but she didn’t understand some of it. Instant gram seemed confusing, as did Snapped Chat. Still, she had a lot of fun experimenting.

A little more time had passed than she’d anticipated, laughing with her new guests. It was only when she caught sight of the time, on tiny numbers on top of somebody’s screen, that she realized.

“Shit! My new arrivals were dropped off ten minutes ago! I’m the worst host…” She sprang up from her seat. “Sorry, ladies, it’s been really fun with your Twe- Twi- Twitter, but I gotta dash-”

Before she could go any farther than the centre of the courtyard, Brian appeared up the steps, leading the group of tourists with him.

“No worries, Sharon, I got them. Ladies and gents, this is Sharon, the hotel’s superwoman and owner. If you need anything at all - new towels, bedsheets, a friendly chat, advice on where to go, she’s your woman.” He introduced her, grinning the entire time.

Sharon swatted at him, before pulling him into a quick hug. “Yeah, sorry guys, it’s a little crazy. If you want to follow Brian to our new reception desk so you can sign in and sort your booking, I’ll be right there.”

Under Brian’s control, they headed out, many of them admiring her hotel as they went by. Sharon felt a feeling of pride sweeping through her. It had been hard, yes, and it had taken a lot of work, but she really had something to be proud of. Against all odds, she’d raised a child and managed to run a successful business. The payoff was so worth it.

One of the new guests hadn’t followed Brian, she was stood behind, where she had been at the back of the group. Sharon turned, about to ask the woman if she needed assistance, when all the blood drained from her face, and she stumbled.

“Sharon.”

Everything about her was what Sharon had sworn she would never have to look at again. Loose but smart clothing, telling of somebody who knew the climate well. Christ’s cross hung on a chain of silver around her neck. The same brown hair, though greyer than Sharon had last seen it, in the same twisted bun.

“No. You’re not here, I know you’re not. I’m imagining this.”

Sharon could see this very face in her mind, clear as day, yelling ‘I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU IN MY HOME AGAIN!’ at her. She remembered those same blue eyes looking at her with disgust, not love, and the way those same thin lips had pursed and curled. She remembered being pregnant and scared and cursing herself that somehow, twenty years later, the situation was exactly the same.

“Y-You’re trembling…” One of the young girls reached out to try and steady Sharon, but she only stumbled back further.

“God, she’s as white as a sheet…”

Unable to see straight, Sharon rubbed her temples, trying to make the black spots go away. It didn’t work.

“This isn’t happening.” Sharon said firmly, sure that if she believed it hard enough, it would be true. “You’re not…”

—

“SHARON FAINTED! COME QUICK!” Someone yelled.

“What?!” Both Trixie and Justin yelled in unison.

Bored with having nothing to do, Trixie had spent her time with Justin, helping him with some of the roof repairing. She’d learnt a thing or two from her mom - just enough to be a useful asset.

“She fainted? Fuck, I knew something like this would happen. Quick, come on Trix.” Justin breathed, dropping his tools as fast as she could.

Trixie bit her lip. “Should we just leave all this?”

“Yeah.” Justin decided, his face grim and marked with sweat. “Fuck the repairs, she needs us. We gotta go.”

“You’re right.” Trixie agreed, sprinting as fast she could alongside Justin. Sharon had been there for Trixie her entire life, and would continue to be. The least Trixie could do was be there for her.

As she ran, her heart pounded with fear. She knew logically that her mom would probably be fine, but the worry still had encased her chest in its icy cold fist. Sharon had never fainted before, especially not out of the blue. It was well known that she wasn’t shaken easily. Besides, she was pregnant. Even if she was fine, they needed to check on the baby. Trixie poured on the speed, thinking of her tiny sister or brother and her mom all at once.

“There you are!” Brian gasped, the messenger stood next to him, panting. “I… I don’t know what happened. I didn’t see it.”

All of the new guests, along with the current ones, were gathered in a circle around Sharon, who lay across three chairs in the courtyard. Trixie shoved past them, noticing Justin doing the same.

“I… I didn’t want to risk moving her too much, so I just put her here.” Brian explained, looking distressed. Trixie placed a calming hand on his back.

“Okay, that’s okay. Mom, I don’t know if you can hear me, but you’re gonna be fine.” She spoke quietly, her lips close to Sharon’s ear. Nearby, she could hear Justin taking control of the situation, making everybody clear off and go back to their vacation. The last thing they needed, or even wanted, was everyone gawking.

“Ma’am, that includes you. I know everyone is concerned but I can assure you her family are going to take care-” Justin was saying.

She looked up as he was cut off by the remaining guest.

“I’m her mother, and I should be here too.”

Trixie didn’t have time to make the connection in her head before she was freaking out. She knew this woman; they’d been sat next to one another on the plane. Her name was Joan, and she hadn’t seen it before but she really did bear an uncanny resemblance to…

“You need to go.” Trixie said, forcing urgency into her shaky voice. “You caused this. Get out!”

Joan squeezed her eyes shut, as though she were in pain. “I need to speak with my daughter, when she wakes up.”

“Maybe you should’ve thought about that twenty years ago when she needed you. She doesn’t need you anymore.” Trixie replied curtly.

Justin sniffed haughtily in agreement. “She won’t speak to you. She has more respect for herself than that.”

“I know.” Joan said. Not once did she attempt to defend herself. “I have to talk to her, though. You said it so yourself, Trixie. There’s no way you can receive forgiveness without asking for it. No matter how scary, you have to try.”

Trixie scowled. “That was before I knew you were my grandma, the woman who made my mom’s life an unnecessary hell! You could’ve changed everything. I could’ve grown up with enough food on the table and a mom who wasn’t overworked to the breaking point. But I didn’t, because of you.”

“I know.” Joan said again. “I’m ashamed. But with the passing of her father, there’s no one left.”

Justin looked livid, far angrier than Trixie had ever imagined he could be. His eyes were fire, his jaw clenched as though he was exerting an extreme amount of control. Judging by his white knuckles, he was.

“She doesn’t have no one. She has a beautiful, intelligent daughter. She has a husband. She has a baby on the way. She doesn’t need you.”

“I need her.” Joan replied simply. “I’ve been awful to her, but a wise young woman who was raised by the most resilient person I know told me that I had to at least try. My husband’s dying wish was for us to have some kind of relationship after so many years apart. He wanted me to seek her out because he knew he didn’t have long enough left to do so himself. I’ll allow you to think on it, as I need to go to my room. Please, if she awakes, let me have one moment with her. That’s all I ask.”

With a deep sigh, Joan turned and walked away slowly. Trixie watched her back until she was gone, her chest heaving up and down with repressed anger.

“I don’t like this. Not one fucking bit.” Justin spat.

“Me neither.” Trixie agreed. “Why the fuck should she be allowed to waltz in after twenty one years of nothing?!”

Brian rubbed her hand gently, soothing her. “As someone who isn’t technically affiliated with Sharon in any way… I’m kinda looking at this objectively. Sharon’s mom wants to reconcile with her estranged daughter. This could be a chance to apologise and reunite, couldn’t it?”

“But twenty one years, Brian! Why now?”

Brian shrugged. “It’s as good a time as any, really. In a non-biased way, surely it’s better to apologise after two decades rather than never apologising at all?”

Neither Trixie nor Justin could formulate an answer. They didn’t even have a chance to try, as Sharon began to stir.

“I d-don’t know what happened, I-I was just stood up and then-” She spoke quickly, sounded disorientated. “What’s going on?”

Justin was the first one to her side, kissing her cheek and placing his hand on top of hers, resting on the bump. His concern was so genuine and tender that Trixie squeezed Brian closer to her, touched by it.

“You’re okay, baby. Just relax for a moment, before we delve into-”

Sharon bolted upright, moving so quick that both Trixie and Justin flinched back in surprise. Her face twisted into an expression of pure dismay, and she rested her head in her hands.

“Oh, god… she’s here, isn’t she? She’s really here.”

Unable to hear her mom sounding so dejected, Trixie knelt besides Justin. She had to try and cheer her up somehow.

“It’s alright, mom. It’s not a huge deal, right?” She tried. “I was- I was sat by her on our flight back. I never would’ve known…”

Sharon scowled. “I’ll bet she fucking knew. Fuck, Trix, I’m so sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?” Trixie was confused.

“I… I don’t know. I don’t know how I feel.” Sharon murmured. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know why she’s here.”

The more Sharon spoke, worrying herself about the sudden arrival of her mother, the more Trixie started to come around to Brian’s idea. Truthfully, she didn’t think Joan deserved a chance to talk things out with her daughter, not after so long, but there wasn’t much else that they could do about it. Surely, she reasoned to herself, getting closure would be better than leaving things open ended like before. Speaking softly in order to try and keep the situation calm, Trixie expressed her thoughts. Justin pursed his lips.

“After everything she did?” He exclaimed. “I shouldn’t have left, but the least she could’ve done was looked after you. I didn’t know. She did.”

Sharon sighed heavily. “I know what you’re getting at, Trix, and you too, Brian, but… I don’t think you understand how scary this is for me. The last time I saw that woman’s face, I was eighteen years old, three months pregnant and not sure what my future would be. I’m in the exact same situation right now, just older.”

In a way, Trixie could understand it. She’d already been rejected once. She wasn’t sure if she could handle it a second time.

Brian cleared his throat. “Sharon, if you don’t mind… Again, I’m the outsider here. I’m not really part of this family.”

He waved off Trixie and Sharon’s attempts to reassure him that he was indeed a part of the family, and always would be.

“The way I look at it… yes, it’s been a long time, and yes, she fucked up bad. But she’s here now, in your home. She can’t reject you or hurt you here. All around her is the evidence of your success. You’re happily married, you have one and half kids - your life is something to be proud of. Make her see that. Let her be sorry.”

Sharon nodded fractionally, like she was afraid to agree. “I-I guess it’s worth a shot, isn’t it?”

—

The past few months of Trixie’s life had seen more change than she had ever thought possible, and she loved it.

Her mom, for the first time in twenty years, was speaking to Joan. It was clear from the get-go that no matter what, the relationship would be tense and strained and awkward, but they were at least trying. Sharon had made it clear that she didn’t want her mom back in her life, and Joan was perfectly understanding, but they had talked. Talking was a good start.

From what she’d been told, Sharon had caught her up on everything that had happened, from the day she was kicked out until now. She had said her goodbyes to her mom at her dad’s funeral, feeling much more confident in her decision with the support of her family. Though the damage couldn’t be undone, the air was clear. A building weight of twenty years had been lifted.

Secondly, she’d watched excitedly as her life transformed around her. A baby sister, the doctor had said. Somewhere inside the bump, sleeping soundly, a tiny baby sister was waiting to meet her family, and Trixie couldn’t wait to see her. Hours and hours of her free time outside of the hotel were spent perusing shelves of clothing, fawning endlessly over little pink dresses and shoes and blankets.

Though related, the last and biggest change was the arrival of her sister.

Trixie remembered wondering how one tiny human could look so beautiful. She was a perfect porcelain doll, too pink and precious to be a real baby. As she was swaddled into a warm bundle of white blankets, blinking her big blue eyes at the world in front of her, Trixie swore she felt her heart doubling in size.

A lot of things had happened in Trixie’s life, with many differing opinions on them all. But one thing that everyone could agree on was that Aquaria was the perfect name.

[future-fangirl]

Get What You Want

The idea from this story came from a couple of high school experiences and the usual high school AU fanfiction out there. And a conversation with @savvylark about demisexuality. Somehow it turned into this. I will warn you that Katniss is a bit OOC in this story. She is living in a present-day setting so she isn't so terrified of relationships and romance. And Everlark shippers, don't worry, this is an Everlark story even if it seems like it isn't. I had the unrequited love thing going on in high school though in my case the guy I liked was more like Peeta than Gale. So parts of this are inspired by that. I remember the whole desperate desire to look "hot" so that guy will notice you. Newsflash, it rarely does work. Edited to Add: I am having major formatting issues with all my writing. I am going to try to fix it but it's driving me crazy.

"But how do I make him notice me?" I sat down beside Johanna on her bed and played with the hem of my t-shirt. Johanna was the girl to go to when you wanted to know how to play sexy. She was two years older than me and knew how to drive guys crazy. We had been friends for years but so far I had avoided her attempts to make me over into something hotter. I wasn't very good at sexy. In fact, I really didn't like it at all. But it was the only way to get him to notice me. Gale was mine and I was his and anything else was unthinkable. Well, ok, I had a crush on him and he still thought I was the cute cousin. We weren't actually cousins but we looked alike enough people thought we were. He was two years older than me and we had been friends for years. Recently though he had started hanging out with the older kids. And now that he was in college I saw all the posts on Facebook with the hot blonde girls. And even though I had made a couple of awkward advances he hadn't taken the bait. I was getting a little desperate. Was there something wrong with me? I mean, I knew I wasn't as pretty as Glimmer Williams but I wasn't ugly. I wore glasses, had worn braces, read books, sprouted obscure fandom knowledge and wore a wardrobe of a librarian. Still, my hair was nice and I thought my features weren't that bad. I was flat chested though. "Did you try what I told you? The lip bite thing and the smiling and the touching your hair." Johanna answered. "Yeah, and it didn't work. He just kinda ignored me. He spent all the night with Cashmere." I sighed remembering how they had spent the whole night making out while I sat there and tried to pretend it didn't bother me. "I even asked if he wanted to dance. But he didn't." Johanna winced. Then she sat there for a couple of minutes and said, "Maybe you should make him jealous?" I hadn't had a boyfriend. I was scowling and irritating and most people found me scary. I sat alone with my other friend Madge and read books. I hadn't even been kissed. I was almost eighteen and I hadn't been kissed. I wasn't sure about kissing, it seemed a little weird, but people were supposed to enjoy it. "I could try. Maybe once he figures out I'm not a kid he'll be interested." "Listen, Katniss. Don't lose yourself trying to get some guy to notice you. I've been there, done that. And it's not worth it." I nodded but wasn't particularly paying attention to Johanna's advice. I had a mission. Find some guy who would make me look desirable enough to get Gale to notice me. I thought down the list of boys in my class. Cato? No, he was the kind of guy who carried knives in his pocket to look tough. Marvel? No, he was just plain creepy. Thresh? No, he was Gale's friend and he wasn't the kind to agree to my plan. Peeta? He'd be perfect but he'd never agree. Peeta Mellark was the golden boy of our class. He was class president, debate champ, wrestler and extremely popular. With his golden-haired good looks and bright blue eyes, he looked almost as good looking as Finnick Odair who was a senior and considered to be the hottest boy at Panem High School. Finnick was very much taken though. He only had eyes for Annie Cresta who spent most of her time reading books and swimming. I liked Annie. Her story gave me hope. If Annie Cresta could snag the hottest guy in the senior class I could surely succeed in my mission. But Peeta was also nice. He was the kind of guy who helped old ladies across the street and volunteered to tutor students. But what could I offer him? I didn't have a lot of money. I doubted offering to wash his car would do it. And what else could I offer him? Then I remembered something. His last girlfriend was Cashmere. And Cashmere had spent the whole night making out with Gale. If I pretended to get with Peeta it might make Cashmere jealous too. Possible Peeta could get her back. And even if he didn't he would get revenge on her. It wasn't a very nice thing to do but I wasn't known for being nice. The next day at school I cornered Peeta in the art room. He was painting a picture of a dandelion. Peeta smiled as I came up to him. "Hey, Katniss." "Hi, uhh… that's really pretty." I motioned to the painting. "Oh, thanks. I love dandelions." "I was wondering if…" I paused and then tried to gather up my courage. Finally, I blurted out my plan. I stumbled through a lengthy explanation and stared at my feet. I was messing this up so badly. "So you want to fake date to get his attention?" Peeta looked confused. "Well yeah, but I thought maybe with Cashmere…" I really regretted doing this. I was crazy to have gone to him. I should have found some guy like Bristel. Not the golden boy of Panem High. "Cashmere and I broke up without any hard feelings. But I'll do it." Peeta said. "Why?" I didn't understand why he was doing this. "Because I don't have a girlfriend so I can do it. And because I certainly don't mind spending time with a pretty girl like you." He grinned at me and I felt myself blush. Nobody had ever called me pretty beside my mother and sister and Madge. "But I…" I paused trying to collect my thoughts. I didn't want any feelings involved. Not that I was fooling myself into thinking that he would ever like me. "I know. It's not real." He nodded and added, "He's a lucky guy. To have a girl like you interested in him." "Oh no," I mumbled. "I'm nothing special." "You have no idea, do you? The effect you have." Peeta said softly. I guessed that was one of his motivational speeches. He wanted to make me feel better. "So uhh… how do we do this? I've never actually had a boyfriend." I confessed. "How about this? I pick you up Saturday night, assure your mother I am not a serial killer and we go see a movie." "Great," I replied. My mother would be relieved. She kept asking why I didn't have a boyfriend and why I spent so much time doing things like hunting and not hanging out at malls doing my makeup. She'd like Peeta. He was the kind of boy parents liked. He'd probably go to a great school. "It's a date, Everdeen." He winked exaggeratedly making me laugh. Then the bell rang and I ran off to my English class. I knew on Saturday Gale and his friends always went to the movies. He would be sure to see me with Peeta. On Saturday Prim helped me find the perfect blouse to go with my nicest pair of jeans. She helped me put a little makeup on and then sat and gave me advice. I was a little scared when my fourteen-year-old sister started talking about kiss proof makeup. But Prim said she read it in a magazine. She was way too young to be kissing boys. Peeta rang the bell and my mom opened the door. She looked him over critically then called, "Katniss, he's here." I saw Peeta turn the charm on my mother full force. He asked her how her day was, offered to help take the casserole out of the oven and talked all about the recent debate tournament he was in. By the end of their conversation, my mother was smiling and had lost any suspicion. Prim attacked a plate of cookies Peeta had brought by. I wondered why Peeta had spent so much time and effort on me. I was just a fake girlfriend. "So what movie do you want to see?" Peeta asked. I considered for a moment. Gale had talked about seeing Black Panther. And I wanted to see it as well. "What about Black Panther?" I suggested. Peeta grinned. "You have excellent taste. I was worried you'd want to see some sappy romance." "I don't like that kind of thing," I replied. "Ahh…well some sappy romances are ok. I draw the line at creepy or rapey." Peeta replied. He hadn't struck me as the romantic kind but now that you thought of it he was the kind who'd cover a girl in chocolate, flowers and make her breakfast. "It's just unrealistic. The whole soulmates thing. My parents were like that. And then my dad died. And my mom just lost hope. I don't want that kind of thing. I want something less…intense." I flushed wondering why I was telling him this. I didn't talk about my dad to anyone. "My family is the opposite. My parents didn't really love each other. They got married because I guess mom got pregnant. And then they got divorced. I think love exists. It's just most people are selfish." The movie was great. I wasn't much for Marvel movies but this one was great. It was nice seeing people who weren't white onscreen. I was one of the few people in Panem that weren't lily white. And I had faced a lot of discrimination growing up. My dad was from Brazil even though he spent most of his childhood in England since his dad was British. That explained why my last name sounded so British. Prim looked so white she could have appeared on a propaganda photo for white nationalism. But she wasn't. I remembered that time she had defended me in a store when a woman was accusing me of shoplifting just because I looked "suspicious". Prim knew more about my dad's roots than I did since she was interested in that sort of thing. But this was Panem and most people thought Trump was great and racial diversity was unnecessary. Perils of living in a small town in the south. I saw Gale in the corner with his friends. I was surprised to see Madge sitting next to him. Madge was the mayor's daughter but she was still my friend. I felt a flicker of jealousy as I watched her sitting there. Maybe he liked Madge? She was his type. Blonde, curvy and glamorous. But Madge knew I liked him. Didn't she? Peeta bought me popcorn and sat down beside me. In order to seem more authentic, I leaned my head against his shoulder. I didn't mind it actually. He smelled nice. Like cinnamon and something faintly sweet and spicy. And he was strong. I had never been much for gym rats but Peeta didn't seem like a gym rat even though he must spend a lot of time working out to get this physique. When the movie finished he grabbed my hand and ostentatiously went over to the others to say hi. I watched Gale's reaction. He just grinned and gave me a pat on the shoulder. "So you finally got yourself a boyfriend? Don't scare him off with the arrows." I rolled my eyes but inwardly felt disappointed. Gale didn't seem to notice my outfit or how I had a boy interested in me. In fact, he seemed just kind of amused and almost happy for me. Madge seemed so excited. She whispered in my ear how great it was that I was dating Peeta. "He's such a great guy. And he's cute too." Somehow my disappointment didn't seem as great as I expected. I had just had a nice time. Even though I had failed to make Gale jealous I had watched a great movie. And Peeta was just as nice as Madge said. He was easy to talk to. I found out over the next few weeks that being his "fake girlfriend" had definite perks. He gave me baked goods, posted inspirational posts on my Facebook page, and sat with me and Madge. We sometimes spent hours texting back and forth about books, movies, and TV shows. I talked about how I would probably be spending my first years of college at the community college since like many kids in Panem I couldn't afford the state university. He talked about how he wanted to be an artist but his mom wanted him to get a degree in business. We went to see more movies and he took me to Winter Formal. When I posted a picture on my Instagram Gale posted an emoji with a smiling face and wrote, "You two are way too cute." I shut off my phone and tried to sleep. It was starting to dawn on me that my plan wasn't really working the way I had intended. Gale and I were no closer than before. I certainly hadn't convinced him to date me. And something else hurt too. I'd grown used to having Peeta Mellark in my life. I wondered what it would be like when we were no longer texting about Star Wars, web series and science fiction novels. I had started to notice how handsome he was. I mean I had noticed before, I'm not blind, but I started noticing and finding it affect me. His eyes were so blue and his eyelashes were golden but very long so they looked like they'd tangle up but they never did. I found him easy going but sometimes he had a toughness that reminded me he didn't win debates or wresting championships by being nice. There was one thing I had to try before I fully accepted the fact that my feelings for Gale were unrequited. I needed to show him I wasn't completely innocent. Maybe if I kissed someone else that would show that I wasn't a child anymore. The problem was that I had never been kissed. And I wasn't sure if Peeta would even want to kiss me. Pretending to date and hanging out wasn't unpleasant. In fact, it was fun. But he might draw the line at kissing. I mean, I wasn't anything special and kissing me wouldn't probably be that great. I didn't know what I was doing. That night as we walked by the little lake my father used to take me to fish I blurted out, "Would it like…um.. freak you out to kiss me? Cause I've never been kissed and well…I" "Wanted to know what it's like?" Peeta finished. I glanced down at my feet. Yeah, honestly I did. Right now wasn't about making anyone jealous. There was no one around to see. I just wanted to know what this kissing thing was all about. People seemed to like doing it in movies. "Yeah, I'd like to. And well, I was thinking it would be good…practice." I saw a shadow pass across his face but he smiled at me. "Ok. Everdeen. You start." I lunged forward and pressed my mouth to his. But I completely miscalculated and ended up knocking noses and teeth. I felt red creep across my face in embarrassment. I was hopeless. "Ok, well, here. Close your eyes." I closed my eyes feeling the weight of his gaze on my face. "Tilt your face towards me." I tilted my head a few inches. "And here. This is a soft kiss. The kind you can do in public." His lips pressed against mine for just a couple of seconds. His lips were warm and soft. A little warmth seeped into my body. "And?" I asked. That didn't seem like the most spectacular kiss. It was nice but I had expected something a little more…intense. More like the movies. I might be an inexperienced person but that didn't mean I didn't watch R rated movies. "This is a real kiss." I felt his mouth descend on mine again. This time he nipped at my bottom lip until I parted my lips a little. Then he sucked my bottom lip into his mouth. His hands found their way into my hair and I pressed myself closer to him. I found myself eager to explore. The warmth was growing inside and seemed to want to find a way to leak out of me somehow. I started running my fingers through his hair. All too soon he pulled away. "Was that what you were looking for?" he asked. I nodded. Now that I had discovered I liked kissing him I wanted another one. But probably it had been just a kind gesture on his part once he figured out I was so hopeless at it. "Yeah, I" I hesitated and finally said, "I really liked it." "And this is how you make out." I sighed in relief when he kissed me again. This time I kept my mouth half open and focused on trying to mirror his actions. Then I felt his tongue press against mine. For a second I was a little grossed out. Then I felt the warmth inside me start burning down my fingers and legs. A moan slid out of my mouth making me blush. This was a little too intense. But I didn't want to pull away. It felt so good. When he kissed the side of my neck I sighed. It didn't matter anymore if all of this was fake. "Wow," I whispered when he finally pulled away and grinned at me. He gave me another kiss right before I left the car to go into my house. It was much closer to the first type but it still left a smile on my face. My mother saw me and said, "You like that boy?" I hesitated to wonder when that had happened. But I still felt obligated to try to complete my plan. And besides, there was no way a popular, handsome boy like Peeta Mellark would ever like an average girl like me. "Yeah, he's nice." She laughed and said, "More than nice if that mark on your neck is any indication." I had expected her to be mad but I always forgot my mother was pretty modern and cool about things. She believed me when I told her we hadn't done anything more than kiss. I told her I wasn't ready for anything else. "That may be true. But I'm not taking any chances. You're going to start taking birth control. It's good to help regulate your periods anyway. I just want you to be safe." My mom had already talked about sex and had encouraged me and Prim to come to her with any questions. So far I hadn't had any need to. I was always surprised at how my mom dealt with this. I didn't think I needed birth control. I was definitely not ready to have sex. But I also knew people who had thought the same thing and had gotten into trouble. So I let her discuss birth control options and all those other embarrassing details. The next week I went to Madge's birthday party. Peeta was invited but had to cancel after he got the flu. I went by myself. For some reason, I felt much more confident. I decided that now was the time to confront Gale and ask him if his feelings for me had changed. I sat there and drank soda and played some weird game with Annie. Annie and Finnick were being ridiculously adorable. It almost made me envious. Even though I didn't believe in soulmates I didn't doubt their love. I stepped outside and started as I saw two people on the other side of Madge's ridiculously huge pool. Madge and Gale. Kissing heatedly. I felt my stomach drop as I saw Gale draw back and look her in the eyes. It was different than with Cashmere. I knew neither Cashmere or Gale meant anything serious by it. They were just looking to have a good time. But Madge was well…my best friend. And …She was kissing the boy I liked. And of course, it was Madge. Madge who looked perfect with her amazing pale skin, blue eyes, and full figure. Madge with her piano playing and perfectly applied lipstick and intelligence. I felt resentment surge up in me. Madge had known about my feelings. I thought I made them clear enough. I had told her about a year ago I liked Gale. But I hadn't said anything more. And then I started dating Peeta. Of course, I started dating Peeta. "Katniss…" I saw her turn and look at me. She looked shocked at my expression. Then she pulled away and raced towards me. "Katniss, I thought…" "You thought what…" I spit out. All I could think of is how much time I had spent crying over someone who would never like me. Who would like my best friend instead? I remembered what Johanna had said. Belatedly I realized she was right. "I thought that you and Peeta. Once you started dating. I mean you weren't going to date someone while liking someone else." Madge looked near tears. "It wasn't real. We just pretended to date. I was trying to make him jealous. I told you I liked him. And then you went behind my back to date him." I felt my stomach flip. I glanced up to see Gale was standing near Madge. He looked shocked and almost angry. At me. Shame filtered through me. I was so stupid. Stupid to ever think anyone would really want…me. Ordinary Katniss Everdeen with her weird habits and inability to see things the way they really were. "I didn't know, Katniss. How was I supposed to know you were fake dating Peeta. Which was a low blow. Peeta has been crazy about you forever. And you can't see what's right in front of your face." Madge turned and ran into the house. I paused trying to digest what she had said. Peeta crazy about me? That was impossible. Then I remembered his kind words when we first started this experiment, all the thoughtful gestures and those melting kisses by the lake. Had I misinterpreted everything? Did he really like me? And what's more, did I like him back? "I didn't know, Katniss." I looked up to see Gale looking at me. "I thought you were just joking around. But I guess I've always seen you as the crazy kid sister." "I know. I was stupid. I knew it I just hoped…" I trailed off feeling miserably embarrassed and wanting to throw myself in that pool. "And Madge is right. Don't throw away something right in front of your face. I know you well enough that you aren't a very good actress. But you and Peeta looked pretty real." "I'm sorry. I messed everything up so badly." I sank down on a chair by the pool. Gale handed me a can of Coke and I took a few sips. "We all do from time to time. And I know what you mean. Last year I was just determined to have the complete college experience. A few hangovers and bad hookups later I realized that wasn't what I wanted from life. And Madge is one of those people." "I'm glad," I whispered. "And remember, Catnip," I turned around. "If you break up with Mellark you won't get all those cheese buns you like so much." In spite of myself, I laughed. I found Madge and apologized for accusing her of something she hadn't done. I had been the one who was less than forthcoming. I went home and had a good cry over it. I felt a little bit like a fool. Part of me was starting to realize I hadn't been in love at all. I had just been fixated on the only boy who ever paid me any kind of attention. And liking Gale was safe especially since he hadn't returned my feelings. There wasn't anything vulnerable about that. I didn't feel that same mind-numbing warmth that I felt that night at the lake. Admittedly I had only kissed Peeta but I still felt it even when I wasn't kissing him. The next day Madge changed her relationship status to "In a relationship" and posted a picture of her and Gale together. I posted a cheerful comment congratulating them. I then sent Peeta a text saying that when he was better I wanted to talk to him. Later that day he replied that he was really sick and probably wouldn't be able to see me for awhile. I forced myself not to worry. Peeta was healthy and strong and even though the flu had been bad this year he was able to fight it off. When I told my mom he was sick she marched off to the deli to get chicken soup and ran it by his family's bakery. I sat there and fought back insecurity. Then I went up to the door and saw Mr. Mellark open it. "Katniss, how are you?" he asked. "Please, isn't there something I can do?" I was definitely not a nurse. "You shouldn't be here. You'll catch this thing. But if you want to go up there for a few minutes I'm sure he'll appreciate seeing you." Mr. Mellark said. "Hey Peeta," I said as I walked into his room. He looked pretty awful honestly. His face was red and he looked so pale other places and he just looked sick. "Katniss," he croaked. "Why are you here?" "Had to check on you," I replied. "The act is over. Why do you care?" he replied. I realized he must have seen Madge's post. Did he think I cared that little about him? Yeah, he probably did. I had never indicated that he was anything but a means to an end. No wonder he was upset. I hadn't been a very good friend. "Of course I care. You're my friend. And we have to talk when you're better. My mom got some chicken soup." I opened the window to let in a little fresh air. "Ok," he said wearily. "Remember we're madly in love. Feel free to kiss me anytime." I laughed. He was quoting that stupid movie we watched a few weeks before. That dystopian young adult movie where the hero said those exact words. "Hmm not right now. I don't want to catch your germs." I went home feeling a little better. Once Peeta and I talked I felt sure I could resolve the differences between us. But it was almost two weeks until I saw him again. I caught his flu and spent the next week coughing and shivering under the covers and regretting coming to see him. I didn't want to talk to him at school. There were way too many people around. So I asked him to meet me after school at the lake. I sat there nervously trying to think up something to say. Hey Peeta, I want you to be my boyfriend for real. Sorry for fake dating you almost three months to get another guy. No, that sounded crazy. I looked like a ditzy girl who didn't know her own mind. "Hey Katniss," Peeta stood before me with a smile but it didn't seem like a genuine one. I noticed his eyes still looked sad. "Hey," I replied. My brain was stuck in a panic loop. I wasn't sure what to say. "I just want to know I'm not blaming you. I mean you were nothing but honest about this whole thing. I was the stupid one who thought things might be changing. I know Gale's like most girls dream and I can't compete. I'm just sorry things didn't work out for you." Peeta sat down beside me on the picnic bench. I blinked, not sure how to respond. Peeta honest thought he wasn't able to compete with Gale. He was popular, handsome and just so charming. "That's not true. You're like the most popular person at school. Everyone likes you." "Yeah, well, believe it or not being popular doesn't make you hot." Peeta shook his head sadly. "Now stop that right now. Stop with the nice guy so girls don't like me bull shit." I glared at him for a second. "I think you're hot. And sweet and basically the best boyfriend a girl could have. Fake or otherwise. It's kinda terrifying. You brought not just flowers for me but also ones for my mom and sister. Prim is still raving about it and my mom basically signed my future away." "Katniss, I really appreciate the pep talk but…" "But what?" "I like you for real. It's not a game for me. It never was. And I know you have feelings for someone else. I get that. I can't pretend anymore, though." Peeta flushed and looked away. "And I was so blind. I didn't see what was right in front of me. I was so focused on what I thought I wanted I didn't notice what I did want." "And what did you want?" "You," He tried arguing with me but I wrapped myself around him and continued, "I want what we had before. But this time for real." His eyes brightened and I smiled. I then dove in and pressed my mouth against his. I had missed kissing him. It felt so good to have his arms around me anchoring me in place and feel the warmth flowing through my veins again. "You like me, real or not real?" he asked as we pulled away for breath. I leaned in again and murmured in his ear, "Real."