#but man. i wanted to start that comic. and the soonest i can take my laptop in for repairs is saturday

[south-sea]

tragic: starving artist’s whole computer breaks, can no longer draw even now that they want to

[monsta-sextories]

Study Buddy- 4

Son Hyunwoo

word count: 1473

🎧 Fire for You - Cannons

🔥 mild

Hyunwoo is bad at texting. Almost comically bad. There’s a million emojis scattered in odd places, no punctuation marks, and his responses consists of five words max. However, they keep coming rather consistently now.

It’s been a busy week, and it just so happens that Hyunwoo doesn’t have any exams at the moment, but you have three. All your free time is being spent at the library trying to focus and use all the willpower you must not check your phone every second.

You still daydream of the kiss and the nice conversation you had over coffee, but this… you smile at your phone, is unimaginable. You still can’t believe it, but somehow it feels normal. The idea that you might look down at your screen and see a dopey selfie of Hyunwoo, just his face (taken at an unflattering angle… but cute nonetheless), is so thrilling. It gives you butterflies and it’s like you’re holding onto a small harmless secret. There’s something there.

Hyunwoo: where in library

The message on your phone lights up the screen.

Your heart speeds up just a bit. You had told him not long ago that you were studying, not thinking anything of it.

the usual spot…

You reply nervously, and distracted. You don’t want to jump to conclusions but then you see him walking towards you, one full iced coffee in hand. He’s smiling ear to ear as he approaches and you cant help but melt and smile back.

He holds the coffee out to you immediately.

“Aw, what’s this about?” You swoon with a flattered giggle. That’s embarrassing.

“Sounded like you could use it.”

His hair is wet and he smells like chlorine.

“Did you just come from practice?” You ask finishing your sip of cold, refreshing, bitterness. He nods.

“I figured I’d check on you.. hoped maybe I caught you needing a break,” he hints playfully.

You smile and roll your eyes sliding your books away as you take another sip of coffee.

“A bribe, I see,” you joke.

He smiles and looks down, and you notice his hands are fidgeting, which is all too adorable.

“There’s a swim meet. This weekend. Away. Doyouwannago?”

He says the last part kinda fast, but you hear him clearly.

“Uh… where at?” you ask already knowing the answer. You’ve been paying a bit more attention to the swim team’s schedule.

“Ardell,” he says eagerly. “Saturday at 10am. You could take the bus with us.”

His eyebrows are high, his words accommodating.

“Is that what you brought the coffee for?” you ask trying to hide your disappointment. Not with him, just this odd pressure. You don’t want to say no, but you know that’s not something you’d want to do. Draw attention like that? hell no…

“well… I just… we won’t see each other much this week…” he trails off, “there’s plenty of seats on the bus is all.”

“is that even normal?” you half snort, a little awkwardly.

His face tints a bit.

“yeah, I mean the guys bring their girlfriends all the time and some extra faculty…”

Girlfriends?

“oh,” is all you can manage to say, but then his eyes grow like he’s said a curse word and you cut him off before he can say anything to sway you or overexplain.

“I’ll see what I can do, but I have some plans this weekend.”

No I don’t. im just too afraid of what other people will think. I’m not as confident as you, and I don’t want to draw attention or run the risk of someone exposing you to the truth that… you’re waaaay out of my league.

“Oh, uh… yeah I get it. Well it would be really cool if you could,” he says reaching for the back of his neck.

You smile the warmest most sympathetic way you can. Of course you don’t want to disappoint him, but there’s no way in hell you are getting on that bus with Hyunwoo making a spectacle of whatever this is, just so you can obsess over what this is. His disappointment can’t measure up to the heartache of the answer to that dreaded question.

“thanks for the coffee,” you say low with a smile, “again.”

His face slowly twists into that dopey tight-eyed smile that you love to see. He shrugs with a bashful grin, and man… that was easier than you expected. Who woulda thought? You could have that effect on him?

“How is it?” he asks, leaning on his elbows, with these half-lidded eyes focused on you. it looks like he almost licks his lips. And just like that… you realize you were a fool for thinking you had the upper hand just a moment ago. The way his eyes are trained on you, and his words without any intentions behind them have just ignited a fire in you.

“it’s good,” you say feeling your eyes drawn into him, your heart speeds up, and you don’t know how your voice manages not to stutter when you ask…

“want a taste?”

He gulps, expression unchanging, with a lightning speed flicker of a smirk. Your heart races in those moments you lock eyes, and he gives you one firm nod, before pulling in his bottom lip and breaking eye contact.  You see him turn a shade pink, as he reaches for the cup and takes a very charade-like sip.

What the fuck was that…

Your face is hot, and your core is on fire.

Did we just?...

“I’ll uh, let you get back to work,” he says avoiding your eyes, but offering a polite smile.

Were we…. Firting?

“It’s a little sweet,” he says as an afterthought as he stands up.

You smile, and he gives you a tiny wink over his shoulder as he walks away.

This… this can’t be real.

…

Now that you have a taste for just how fun this could be, you can’t help but think of cryptic texts to send, or something to give you another spark to ignite that flame. It was so simple so easy but staring at Hyunwoo and seeing him reciprocate that tiny little heat wasn’t just intriguing but addicting.

You dreaded the idea of going to that away meet, but you also knew that might be the soonest you could see him. he wasn’t going to drop by out of the blue with coffee all the time, even if that would be pretty nice. And although you guys had been texting, there wasn’t much you could think of at the moment.

It wasn’t until a few days later, as Saturday was approaching that you decided to send him text around 9pm

What are you up to?

Ten minutes must have went by before you got an answer

Huynwoo: Leaving the gym hbu

Just got done studying

That’s all you said and immediately tried to think of something to add, but five more minutes went by and you almost expected him not to answer.

Hyunwoo: Did you think about saturday

You sighed, wishing you would have seen this coming.

At this rate I cant think of anything but studying

You decide to say, hoping to avoid answering the question

Hyunwoo: not even me?

and there it is…

you said you’re leaving the gym, why would I want to think about you all sweaty and stinky?

of course, sweaty was still kinda hot… but he didn’t need to know that

a few minutes go by and your actually kinda nervous that maybe you messed up this whole flirting thing, like maybe he’s actually upset. You start typing something, going as low as to maybe even just say yest to Saturday but then you get two texts that make your mouth hang open.

Hyunwoo: getting in the shower

Hyunwoo: how bout now?

Did Hyunwoo just give you permission to think about him in the shower? And if he’s giving you permission, better yet, suggesting it… is it possible that maybe he too is thinking about you showering… as in you naked? Or is that a stretch? Either way it’s hot.

You have a good idea of what he looks like already. You’ve seen him nearly nude with nothing but his tight swimming bottoms that don’t hide much, completely soaked, hair dripping, skin flushed…

What are you suggesting? 

You ask, although it’s pretty clear, you want a little bit of transparency

Hyunwoo: Since you’re too busy to see me at least think of me 😊

And you want to respond. You want to think of something, but that alone is everything. That alone makes you smile as you head to the shower and feel the water against your skin and you let the night end with that simple request. That small indication, that transcending moment… the flame that lights the fire. And you let yourself enjoy the warmth.

<<previous

[aion-rsa]

Best Marvel Comics to Binge Read on Marvel Unlimited

https://ift.tt/2UR4Tzi

With an enormous swath of the world involved in varying degrees of social distancing, many of us suddenly find ourselves with a lot of time on our hands. Never fear! There are more options for streaming comics than ever before, and that means we have access to more of comics history, more hidden gems, and more epochal runs than ever before. But the variety of options to read can be daunting. That’s why we’ve put together a recommendation list of some of our favorite comics binge reads to help you through quarantine. Marvel Unlimited has been around for more than a decade. It runs about six months behind print release of books, so it’s a good way to stay sorta-current with the stories you love. But the real draw is the back catalog: with 25,000 issues in its library, you’ve got access to some of the most important and most entertaining runs of superhero books of all time. From Lee and Kirby creating the modern superhero comic in the pages of Fantastic Four through Chris Claremont and John Byrne revolutionizing the X-Men, and through several Wars (Secret, Infinity, or Civil), everything is here. 

You don’t need us to tell you to read some of these stories. You know “The Dark Phoenix Saga,” Kraven’s Last Hunt, “Demon in a Bottle,” or Jonathan Hickman’s behemoth are all important and good. And some of them, Marvel’s even giving you for free. We’re going to skip over some of the obvious ones and point you towards hidden gems, the harder to find stories that fill in the edges of the Marvel Universe and make it such a rich, lush experience. We are also looking for monster runs that will keep you occupied – you can read six issues in one sitting with no danger of nearing the end. Some of these might take you an entire round of social distancing to finish. 

A quick note about the reading guides: We’ll list out the issue numbers for most of these. Many of them may have their own separate entry under Marvel Unlimited’s reading lists – those are helpful, but these are definitive. One of them, we’re going to refer you to the events – to find those, you can go to “Browse”, then scroll over to “Comic Events.” And for one of these, we’re linking to the inordinately helpful Comic Book Herald. They’re a great site for comic reading orders in general, and have helped me through several other binge reads before. 

Walt Simonson’s Thor

Thor (1966) #337-360, Balder the Brave (1985) #1, Thor #361-362, Balder the Brave #2-4, Thor #363-382

This probably shouldn’t be on the list. It is in the conversation for the greatest runs on any superhero comic ever. But if you’ve never read it, you’re truly missing out.

If you watched Thor: Ragnarok and loved how it looked or any of its story, chances are you are going to adore this, the run that Ragnarok borrowed so much from. Walter Simonson took the Asgard realized by Jack Kirby, the mythological realm pumped full of color and Kirby dots, and turned everything way up to create the most iconic Thor run of all time. Simonson started the run on art before handing off to Sal Buscema, and Simonson and Buscema are two of the artists I could recognize by style the soonest. Everything is HUGE. 

Read more

Movies

Thor Comics Reading Order: Ragnarok for Beginners

By Marc Buxton

Movies

Thor: Love and Thunder Release Date, Cast, and Story Details

By Mike Cecchini and 1 other

It’s paced immaculately, with whatever story is in the foreground holding your complete attention, but always with something drip drip dripping in the background that will eventually crescendo. This run made so many characters wonderful, but Loki, Volstagg, and Beta Ray Bill are highlights. And have I mentioned the art? It’s incredible, and doesn’t suffer one bit when Buscema takes over. This is my favorite run on any comic of all time. You absolutely must read it. 

X-Men: the Messiah Cycle

Messiah CompleX, Messiah War, and X-Men: Second Coming

The hottest take you’re going to find on the internet today is this: the Messiah Cycle is the best era of X-Men comics. It has everything I want from the X-Men line: books have distinct voices and missions, but contribute to the overarching direction of the line. There IS an overarching direction to the line. New characters are brought to the front, and new ideas are injected into the line.

Read more

Comics

First New Marvel X-Men Crossover Revealed

By Jim Dandy

TV

X-Men: The Animated Series – The Essential Episodes

By Michael Mammano

You get all of that from the Messiah era. Messiah CompleX picks up with Cerebro identifying the first mutant birth in years; Messiah War has the members of the Mutants with Claws and Swords era X-Force heading to the future to check up on that baby; Second Coming is when she returns to present day. Each one has a different tone; Messiah CompleX and Second Coming bring together every book in the line to tell their stories, but also let each creative team keep telling their stories and end up being the best-handled X-crossovers since Inferno. And Second Coming is the best straight action X-book I think I’ve ever read. 

If you like these crossovers, you should absolutely check out other books from this era. Utopia X, a crossover between Uncanny X-Men and Dark Avengers, is amazing, as is Duane Swierczynski and Ariel Olivetti’s Cable and Zeb Wells’ New Mutants.

Mark Gruenwald’s Captain America

Captain America (1968) #307-422, 424-443

Full confession: this is my current binge read. After years of hearing about how wonderful Gruenwald’s Cap was, I finally decided to jump in and within three issues, I was texting people to scream at them for not forcing me to read it sooner. For starters, the goddamn Serpent Society turns into a union. In fact, the Serpent Society’s union meeting is the most fun I’ve had reading a comic scene in a while, and the fact that it is based on a real meeting of comic book creators from 1978 makes it both more accurate sounding and HILARIOUS (I think Constrictor is Gil Kane, when you read it).

Read more

Comics

Avengers: Endgame – The History of Captain America’s Climactic Moment

By Gavin Jasper

Movies

Captain America Comics Guide and Reading Order

By Mike Cecchini

But the real appeal is how much movie Cap is based on this era. Gruenwald’s Steve Rogers is a really nice guy. Everybody loves him, everyone respects him, and there’s not a lick of condescension or mean spiritedness about anything he does, from sparring with Black Knight to taking on a gang of criminal jugglers with Hawkeye to trying to help joke villains like Rocket Racer. He’s also extremely competent, and Gruenwald and artist Paul Neary do an incredible job of showing this, as Cap breaks into the West Coast Avengers’ headquarters while trying to figure out, through his jet lagged brain, what day it is. It only gets bigger and more traditionally superhero as it goes on, with artistic contributions from the likes of Kieron Dwyer, Ron Lim, and others.

You’ll see even more of this run’s influence in Marvel’s The Falcon and The Winter Soldier TV series on Disney+, as it introduces key characters who we’ll see on screen there, so get reading, and pay attention!

Runaways 

Runaways (2017) #1-current

Rainbow Rowell’s current run as writer on Runaways captures the Marvel spirit better than just about any comic coming out right now. It’s a masterful mix of superheroics, joyful immersion in Marvel continuity, and soapy teenage drama. A lot of people are doing good work at Marvel right now, but nobody is hitting these notes as consistently well as this crew. 

This book is remarkably accessible for something so steeped in its own history. If you’re new to comics, or if you’re here because of the Hulu show, you’ll find plenty to love. But if you liked the original series from Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona, you’re going to be shocked at how much this feels like if that same book had never ended. Even though the characters have grown and changed substantially, their voices are distinct and seamless. This is one of my favorite Marvel comics being published right now, and once you’re all caught up, make sure you add it to your pull list at your shop.

Darth Vader

Darth Vader (2015) #1-12, Star Wars: Vader Down #1, Darth Vader #13, Star Wars (2015) #13, Darth Vader #14, Star Wars #14, Darth Vader #14-25

Remember that moment in Rogue One where Vader just kicked the shit out of everyone without looking like he was trying? And how everyone squealed in delight at old, force of nature, badass villain Darth Vader being back? If you were reading the comics at the time, that moment had already happened for you a full 18 months before the movie came out, in Darth Vader #6. 

Read more

Comics

Star Wars Canon Timeline in Chronological Order

By Megan Crouse and 1 other

Movies

Star Wars: Darth Vader’s Best Moments from the Marvel Comics

By Marc Buxton

This entire series is Vader killing everything he can. It’s like watching a space tornado. What’s especially surprising, though, is how Kieron Gillen manages to sneak some important character development into the book. While Vader slices through Sith intrigue and Rebel scum and the entire royal line of a mining planet and a bunch of others, we’re also learning about why he’s the way he is. This series takes place between A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back, so some of the lines that get filled in add to the rest of the OT as well. There have been several very good Star Wars comics since Marvel got the license back, but this run on Darth Vader is the best. 

Ultimate Spider-Man 

Ultimate Spider-Man saved Marvel Comics. Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley didn’t do it with flashy variants or crossovers. They did it by telling good, pure, core Spidey stories. 

It’s hard to separate Peter’s origin from Ultimate Spider-Man from Peter’s origin in the 616. The Ultimate origin is so definitive and iconic in how it fills in the spaces between the necessary beats. Bagley’s art especially – even now, thinking about this series that I haven’t read in forever, I can still pull up Peter jumping over Norman’s car, or MJ’s face when she and Peter have “the talk.” 

Read more

Movies

How Shifting MCU Release Dates Could Impact Spider-Man 3

By Don Kaye

Movies

Spider-Man 3 Story Is “Absolutely Insane” Says Tom Holland

By Kirsten Howard

For the absolute best, and purest this book can be, just read the first 38 issues, ending with the first Venom arc, but the book stays solid for its entire run. Bendis’ work with both Peter Parker and Miles Morales is my favorite work of his career, especially when Miles joins the cape world, but nothing will ever match just how fantastic these first few arcs of Ultimate Spider-Man are.

The Annihilation Era

Annihilation, Annihilation: Conquest, War of Kings, Realm of Kings, and The Thanos Imperative

You will be hard pressed to find better comic book space opera than the Abnett/Lanning era of Marvel’s cosmic characters. Marvel’s cosmic line was an afterthought when these first started coming out. By the end, it was a widely beloved corner of the Marvel Universe that was popular enough to be mostly transcribed whole by the movies.

Read more

Movies

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: Cast, Release Date, Director, Story, and News

By Mike Cecchini and 1 other

Comics

Guardians of the Galaxy Reading Order

By Gavin Jasper

The nice thing about this era of the cosmic line is how neatly the main books move from event to event. Annihilation tells the story of a cataclysm that befalls the universe, and how the remaining heroes – Nova, Star Lord, Silver Surfer, Drax, Gamora, Ronan the Accuser, and Super-Skrull, among others – fight a war to survive. Rich Rider gets his own solo Nova comic from there, and it leads right into Annihilation: Conquest, about the catastrophe that follows in Annihilation’s wake. It also sees the formation of the Guardians of the Galaxy as we know them and launches their book, before tying both comics together in War of Kings where the Shi’ar and Kree empires collide. Realm of Kings is the aftermath of that war (and has one of my favorite Shi’ar Imperial Guard stories of all time), and that leads directly into the conflict that mostly closes out the era, The Thanos Imperative. This is a great introduction and immersion in Marvel’s cosmic universe, and will have you hooked by the halfway point of the first crossover.

Black Panther

Black Panther (1998) #1-22, Deadpool (1997) #44, Black Panther #23-62

There are certainly better parts to this run, but there is a scene where Namor, T’Challa, Doctor Doom, and Magneto stand around an apartment outside of the United Nations shouting at each other about diplomacy, and to this day I still have not found a comic book more specifically designed for my interests than this one. 

Read more

Movies

Black Panther 2 Cast, Release Date, Villain, Story, and News

By Mike Cecchini

Movies

Best Black Panther Comics: An Essential Reading Guide

By Jim Dandy

Priest is one of the sharpest minds ever to write comics. He’s so good at misdirection and storytelling – he will overwhelm you with style and flash, and you won’t even notice the subtle clues he’s dropping, or the way themes and characters weave together to show key parts of the story. This run on Black Panther is probably the definitive one for the character, and contributed a ton to the movie version, but there’s so much more depth (and humor!) that Priest puts into the Marvel Universe that it’s very worth reading.

Incredible Hercules

Hulk (1999) #106-112, Incredible Hercules (2008) #113-115, Hulk Vs. Hercules: When Titans Collide, Incredible Hercules #116-137, Assault on New Olympus Prologue, Incredible Hercules #138-141, Hercules: Fall of an Avenger #1-2, Heroic Age: Prince of Power #1-4, Chaos War #1-5

Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente are two of the best people writing comics right now. Each individually writes really good comics, but the two of them working together almost always put something special out. Incredible Hercules spun out of World War Hulk and came out better than it had any business being. 

Read more

Movies

Hulk Movies Marvel Should Make

By Marc Buxton

TV

Who is She-Hulk? A Guide to Marvel’s Next TV Star

By Gavin Jasper

Hercules exists in a unique place. Pak and Van Lente used him as a gateway to the mythology of the Marvel Universe – the Greek pantheon, but also the Norse pantheon, Japanese gods, Inuit gods, even Skrull deities. And several of these aren’t exclusive to Marvel, so you get a very clear and obvious statement about some of the differences between the Big 2 universes, some clever in-jokes, and the requisite moving story about godhood. This all comes with wonderful characterization, clever plotting and a great sense of humor. 

Nextwave: Agents of H.a.T.E.

Read Nextwave after you’ve read everything else, not because it’s a good capstone to your Marvel experience, but because it’s aggressively anti-continuity, and (lovingly) EXTREMELY disrespectful of the rest of the Marvel Universe. It’s also one of the funniest comics Marvel’s ever put out. 

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This whole story is Warren Ellis brutalizing superheroes. Boom Boom from X-Force, Monica Rambeau (sometimes Captain Marvel, sometimes Photon), Machine Man, monster hunter Elsa Bloodstone, and Captain &#($$&*#!@ (or The Captain) are brought together by the Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort (H.A.T.E.) to fight Unusual Weapons of Mass Destruction. It’s aggressive nonsense, less anti-continuity than acontinuitous which isn’t a word but also fits the spirit of the book – characters make no sense even from issue to issue, and only serve the plot, but that nonsense later serves the plot. And it is an absolute tour de force from Stuart Immonen, who draws every type of comedy you can imagine – slapstick, absurdity, somehow sarcasm, puns – with incredible layouts and storytelling. This is not a good Marvel comic, but it is an incredible comic book that you’re going to love.

The post Best Marvel Comics to Binge Read on Marvel Unlimited appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[glittermork]

Modern Royalty AU pt. 3

part 1 part 2

Summary: Jaemin’s mom is suing the king.

(Alternatively: Renjun and Jeno finally have that talk they’ve been meaning to get to for the last three months, and Jaemin is alive.)

Jaemin hasn’t woken up in a hospital since he was seven and his father bashed an empty soju bottle over his skull. Back then, the scar had been cool and the schoolwork he’d missed was easily made up. His mother had been by his side crying when he’d woken up. His father had given him ten bucks and the new Spider-Man comic for lying to the nurse about how he’d gotten hurt.

Roughly sixteen years later, he wakes up to the sound of someone sobbing.

“Hnnngnhghn,” he says, and the sobbing stops with a choked gasp.

Jaemin peels one eye open and regrets it immediately. Sitting on Jaehyun’s lap on the left side of his bed is Taeyong. (Fuck. Jaemin doesn’t know how to deal with people when they cry! This isn’t part of his job!)

“Oh shit, he’s awake,” he hears Jaehyun mumble, and he just barely resists the urge to roll his eyes, (mostly because he suspects that it would really fucking hurt), as he struggles to sit up. Unfortunately, this is also the exact moment his body decides to let him know that there is a bullet hole in his fucking torso, and maybe he should take that into consideration when he tries to make any sudden movements.

Collapsing on the bed in an uncoordinated flop, Jaehyun smirks at him and Taeyong frowns. “Lay back down, you dummy,” Taeyong sniffles, collecting himself from his boyfriend’s lap. Jaemin would spare a thought to wonder why he’s not worried about being caught, if it didn’t feel like his entire body was on fire. He should probably stop jumping in front of bullets.

“Na Jaemin,” Taeyong begins his lecture, and Jaemin groans. “Do you have ANY IDEA how fucking worried we were about you? You almost died on the operating table! TWICE! I thought we were really going to lose you the second time! What the fuck!”

“I almost died again? Jesus,” Jaemin mutters.

Taeyong splutters. “The fuck do you mean—AGAIN?!”

“You know I had a job before this, right?”

“Well, yeah, of course, but—you know what? No. Shut up. I was worried! And I thought your mom was going to actually strangle my dad and—“

“Hold up, my mother is here?”

Taeyong stares back at him blankly. “You got shot, Jaemin. Of course she came.”

“Your mom is, like, really fucking mad at you, by the way,” Jaehyun says. Jaemin assumes he’s just here for Taeyong’s emotional support.

“Shut up, Jae,” Taeyong groans, drying his tears on his boyfriend’s sweater. “I’m gonna go get a nurse. Play nice or I’m not putting out for a month.”

“Damn,” Jaehyun mutters under his breath, and sits back down in his chair next to Jaemin’s bed. “Seriously, though, kid, the doctor handed your mom your nipple piercings in a plastic bag ‘cuz I guess they had to take them out for surgery or some shit and she fucking, lost her mind.”

“Great! Thanks, Jaehyun! That’s exactly what I wanted to hear, two minutes after waking up from a coma!”

“I didn’t know you had nipple piercings,” he continues, and Jaemin thinks this is maybe the last conversation he’d like to be having right now. He’s tired. and he misses Jeno and Renjun. “Aren’t you, like, five? I didn’t know they let toddlers get nipple piercings?”

“First of all, I’m twenty-three,” Jaemin grumbles, glaring at him. “And I’ve had them since I was eighteen, so fuck you.”

Jaehyun holds his hands up defensively. “Hey, you do you, man, all I’m saying is—“

Jeno and Renjun, of course, decide that it’s the appropriate moment to make an appearance. Seriously, fuck his fucking life. The door flies open, and standing there, in all their slightly-haggard, stayed-at-the-hospital-for-over-24-hours-glory, are the two (2) loves of his life. Jaemin kind of wants to go back to sleep.

“Fucking hell, Nana,” Renjun mumbles, and promptly bursts into tears. Jeno looks mildly alarmed but he’s also holding up his boyfriend with one arm and staring at his other boyfriend (they really need to have that talk) in a hospital bed, so, whatever. Together they sort of half-limp-drag-walk to the unoccupied side of Jaemin’s bed, and now Jaemin has to fight the urge to cry as well. So maybe getting shot is god-awful, but as long as these two are safe, he’d do it again in a heartbeat.

“Please never do that again,” Jeno breathes, and buries his face in Jaemin’s neck. Jaemin wonders if maybe this is some sort of punishment from god or whoever the fuck is up there, for falling in love with the prince and the prince’s boyfriend. There’s no other explanation for why they’re both climbing into his bed, and crying on his shoulders and holding his fucking hands.

“Um. What is happening here?” Jaemin asks Jaehyun, who is currently taking pictures of them for his blackmail folder.

Jaehyun gives Jaemin the most deadpan look, and sighs. “There’s no hope for you.”

He’s about to make a weak retort, when Taeyong, followed by a line of medical professionals, the king, and his mother, burst into the room.

Jaemin sighs. It’s going to be a long morning.

—

“What I don’t understand,” his mother is saying, but Jaemin hasn’t been listening since she started ranting about the Pride photos again. “Is why you didn’t think to tell me that boys you were in love with were the prince that you’re supposed to be guarding and his boyfriend?”

Jaemin shrugs half-heartedly, and licks another spoonful of pudding. They’ve gone over this four times already. He wants to take a nap. He misses his. . . .charges. (Are Jeno and renjun considered his charges? Is that the right word for it? Does he need to maybe cool it with the pain meds? Yeah, probably.)

“Could you keep your voice down?” He winces, and glances out the door. It would honestly be the cherry-on-top of the bullshit-sundae, if he got fired for being in love with Jeno and Renjun after he quite literally just took a bullet for them. Maybe it’s what he deserves.

“Oh, shut up,” his mom rolls her eyes, brushing a lock of Jaemin’s hair out of his eyes, and kissing his forehead. “You know they love you back, right, baby?”

“Mom, I—“

“No, you listen to me, Na Jaemin.“ Shit, she full-named him. “Those two boys have been here since the moment you were admitted. They’ve been crying over you all night and all morning and if you think that doesn’t mean they love you too, you’ve got another thing coming, honey.”

“Mom,” he sighs, and closes his eyes. The Academy didn’t train him for this. “They love each other. I’m sure they were just worried about me because we’re friends. Or they felt guilty that I took a bullet for them. Which they shouldn’t, it’s my fucking job. I’m probably just—reading too far into things. They’ve been in love since they were, like, infants, you know? I can’t mess that up. And I don’t want to.”

His mom gives him an unreadable look, and huffs, shaking her head. “you always were too stubborn for your own good, baby,” she says, and pats his thigh.

“Mom,” he sighs, and hides his face in the sweatshirt Jeno had given him because ‘I know you get cold easily’, (Jaemin had practically swooned right on the spot). He’d looked nervously to Renjun after that comment, but the older boy was just smiling affectionately at both of them, hand easily continuing to stroke the hair at the nape of Jaemin’s neck, his other resting clasped with Jeno’s over Jaemin’s lap. The entire morning had felt unreal.

“Jaemin,” his mom sighs back in the same tone of voice, and gives his sweatshirt a pointed look.

So maybe they do have some things to work out. But he just can’t get his hopes up. He’s doesn’t know what he’ll do if they get crushed.

“Don’t give me that look,” he blushes, tugging the hood over his greasy hair, and grimacing. “When’s the soonest I can take a shower?”

“I don’t know,” Donghyuck replies, poking his head into the room to announce his arrival. “You should’ve thought of that before you jumped in front of a bullet, idiot.”

“Hyuck!” Jaemin grins, making grabby hands at the giant plushie Hyuck is balancing with a bouquet of sunflowers and what looks like the entire boxed set of Buffy DVDs Jaemin keeps in the back of his closet.

“What’s up, Nana,” he grins, handing his mother the flowers and setting the DVDs on his bedside table. “How’s my favorite little bodyguard doing?”

“Shut up, Hyuck,” Jaemin rolls his eyes, hugging the soft bumblebee plushie to his chest. “I'm guessing the flowers are from your other thirds?”

“Yeah, Mark said sorry he couldn’t be here, poor baby’s been arguing with the charity ball security team all morning. The plushie is from Jisung, though.”

“Yikes,” Jaemin winces, “tell him I’m sorry I can’t be there to help him. And I know it’s from Jisung, I got his for him for his birthday last year.”

Hyuck shrugs. “I forgot about your weird symbiotic relationship. Anyway, clean up is Mark’s best skill, Nana. Besides, you should tell him yourself—he hasn’t stopped anxiety-ing over you all morning.”

“Tell him the flowers are lovely, too!” His mother interjects, gathering her purse and jacket and kissing him on the forehead. “I’m gonna go get lunch and find that dumbass king of yours—“ “Mom! Promise me you won’t—“ “I’m not promising anything!” She finishes, calling over her shoulder as she swings out the door. Jaemin would be assed to stop her if he didn’t already know what a losing fight looked like.

Hyuck rolls his eyes, and peels open Jaemin’s other pudding. Jaemin just barely suppresses the urge to pout.

“What kind of shit are they feeding you in here, anyway?” He asks, licking the lid, and Jaemin slumps back onto his pillows.

“Mush.”

“Gross. Okay! I’m done with small talk, time for the real reason why I’m here: you took a fucking bullet for them.”

“Hyuuuuck,” he whines, smashing his face back into the bumblebee plushie to avoid Hyuck’s knowing gaze. “Can’t you just be a normal visiting friend and tell me I was brave or some shit?”

“Fine. You were brave! And incredibly fucking stupid! Now, please tell me how you call that ‘a little crush that I’ll get over eventually’?”

“In case you haven’t noticed,” Jaemin mumbles into the pillow, “it’s kind of my fucking job.”

Hyuck sighs dramatically, and plops down on the newly-vacated chair. “Hopeless,” he mutters, and shoves another spoonful of low-fat pudding in his mouth.

—

The nurses had cut him off after two seasons of Buffy, so Jaemin and Hyuck had elected to play quiet music and talk about food. A subject neither of them could ever grow tired of.

Hyuck’s not really sure how that turned into this.

There are tears streaming down Jaemin’s face. It’s only two in the afternoon. The Weekend by SZA is playing for the sixth time in a row. Hyuck is five seconds away from murdering him in cold blood. His bullet wound kind of throbs but maybe it’s just his heart breaking into a million pieces.

“You’re not a side hoe,” Hyuck groans, snatching Jaemin’s phone and turning it off.

“Fuck you,” he sniffles, leaning back on the crinkly hospital pillows, “I’m a home wrecker. And I’m ugly.”

“You’re so incorrect about both of those things that I’m not gonna even respond to that! Okay, I think that’s enough phone-time. How about we just talk, okay? Doesn’t that sound nice?”

Jaemin sniffs. “Maybe,” he admits, sinking slowly into his pillow pile until the only visible part of him is his hair sticking out like an unruly tree branch.

Hyuck snorts. “Do you want to go to take a nap, baby?”

“Shut up.” Jaemin replies, and promptly passes out.

“Absolutely fucked,” Hyuck sighs to himself as he tucks the younger boy in.

—

Renjun has never been certain of anything as much as he and Jeno.

JenoJenoJeno. He could talk about him for days on end. He could wax-poetic about his eyesmile and his teeth and his hands for the rest of his life. Really, he plans to. Jeno, Jeno, Jeno. The boy he’s loved for as long as he can remember.  

And while Jeno is lovely and beautiful and Renjun’s very best friend in the entire world, he has a tendency to hang off Renjun’s every word. And while that’s, admittedly, fantastic, it’s not always what Renjun needs. Sometimes he needs someone to push back. Someone who can meet him blow for blow. Someone who’s not afraid to talk back.

In other words, Renjun needs Jaemin.

JaeminJaeminJaemin. His ears, his nose, his cheeks. Renjun could think about him for hours—days—weeks, on end. He feels like the wind is knocked out of him every time the bodyguard makes eye contact with him with that gorgeous smile. That smile. Renjun has dreams about it.

And, if his suspicions are correct, (fucking hell, please let them be) Jeno needs him too.

“So,” says Jeno after fifteen minutes of him and Renjun staring at each other across the unforgiving plastic benches of the hospital cafeteria.

“I think I’m in love with your bodyguard,” Renjun blurts out, and then immediately freezes.

“Oh, good,” Jeno sighs in relief. “Me too.”

—

“You can’t sue him,” Taeyong sighs for what feels like the hundredth time.

“Of course I can’t sue him,” Jaemin’s mom rolls her eyes. “He’s the fucking king. I’d lose in a heartbeat.”

“Then what, exactly,” Taeyong pinches the bridge of his nose, “was the point of you wasting my entire day?”

She shrugs, and takes a neat sip of the Diet Coke the prince had bought her after the first twenty or so minutes of arguing. “Just buying my idiot son some time to figure his shit out.”

—

Jaemin wakes up to the two people he’s most recently almost died for. It’s a pleasant surprise, considering he thought he’d be fired by now. Shit. Maybe they wanna do it in person?

“—min? You’re not listening to us at all are you?” Renjun chuckles, and Jaemin feels his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. So much for not being obvious. These meds are seriously fucking him up, huh?

“Jaem,” Jeno continues for Renjun, grabbing his boyfriend’s hand. Despite his better reasoning, Jaemin let’s his gaze rest painfully, just a second too long, on their clasped hands, and sits back against his pillows with a wince. Apparently, it’s time to be friend-zoned by the first people he’s been interested in since he was 20. What a sad end to a short career as a professional Kevlar vest.

“Jun, and I have finally had a talk, and—“We love you!” Renjun blurts out, and then promptly buries his head in Jeno’s shoulder as the prince chokes out a laugh in surprise. “Yeah,” he nods hopefully, staring expectantly at Jaemin as he scratches the back of his neck. “We love you. And we want you to be ours. That about covers it.”

Jaemin is absolutely floored. There are very few people in the world who Jaemin considers worthy of his complete love and protection, and two of them are standing here in his room looking at him like he’s the last piece to their 2000 set jigsaw puzzle, and this cannot be real.

He’s distracted from his own frantic, rambling thoughts by Renjun’s delicate, light fingertips brushing away a tear. That’s an interesting development, he hadn’t realized he’d been crying.

Through a few disgusting, choked out sobs, he manages to warble in his stupid, watery voice, “I love you too.” And then lips—he doesn’t know, and, frankly, doesn’t care who’s—are on his like a lifeline, and there’s nothing he feels like thinking about more right now, than how good it feels to finally, finally be complete.

In Renjun and Jeno’s strong, warm, arms, it feels like home.

—

There’s something to be said about the persistence of the paparazzi. Somehow, someway, they always know where to be to make the most absolute inconvenience of themselves and to make their subjects’ lives just that much less private. Truly, a marvel of a job.

There is also, however, something to be said about the sheer terror of going head to head with Jaemin’s mom.

“LISTEN UP, YOU FUCKING CREEPS,” she yells, and Jaemin doesn’t bother listening to the rest. “That was a pretty good start, I think,” Renjun comments, happily playing with the strings of Jaemin’s hoodie. He’s sitting on Jaemin’s lap and they’re both snuggled under the hideous blanket some nurse had draped over them when they’d gotten situated on the wheelchair. It still feels unreal to Jaemin, just as unreal as the sweet kiss Jeno drops on both of their foreheads as he skirts around them to deal with even more paperwork. Who knew even the prince’s bodyguard had to sign release forms?

“I can’t wait to get home,” Jaemin murmurs shyly into the base of Renjun’s neck, receiving a mouthful of soft, baby-pink turtleneck for his efforts.

“Me too, baby,” Renjun sighs, leaning further into his boyfriend’s embrace.

*click*

Their moment is interrupted by the snap of Jeno’s phone camera, as the prince shrugs at them sheepishly. “What?” He laughs, turning back to his paperwork. “It was perfect lock screen material, don’t judge me!”

Jaemin blushes, thinking back to his own lock screen, a picture of Jeno and Renjun he’d taken on one of their many forbidden, late-night, this-never-happened adventures. Renjun is on Jeno’s back, kissing Jeno’s cheek and holding up a peace sign, and Jeno is practically beaming at the camera, eye smile in full power. It’s Jaemin’s favorite picture of them ever, and he’s certainly spent an embarrassing number of nights staring at it desperately. Oh, if only he knew what was coming for him.

When he shows Renjun, the older boy gasps, immediately shoving it in Jeno’s face. “Oh, baby, this is one of my favorite pictures of us too! But, if I’m being honest, it’s missing something.”

“Hey!” Jaemin pouts playfully, trying not to grin. “It was the best I could do with my shitty old phone! I promise I’ll take many, many more.

“He didn’t mean the photo, Jaem,” Jeno laughs, leaning over to wrap Jaemin’s slightly-shaking hand in his warm, steady one. “He meant you.”

“Oh.” Jaemin, gasps, tears welling up in his eyes. How did he possibly get so lucky?

“Awwww, baby,” Renjun grins brightly at him. “We’re just gonna have to take a million more,” he shrugs.

Jeno nods solemnly in agreement, as he takes the safety brakes off of the wheelchair. Renjun slides off his lap reluctantly, taking Jaemin’s hand and tucking his blanket tighter around his shoulders.

“Ready?” Jeno grins, flicking his favorite pair of baby blue heart-shaped sunglasses down from their perch on the top of his head. Jaemin makes a mental note to buy him more colors when Renjun playfully whines that he wants to borrow them.

“Let’s go, you fucking dorks,” Jaemin laughs, tugging on Renjun’s hand and leaning his head back gently against one of Jeno’s arms. Renjun squeezes back and Jeno grins down at him, leaning down to peck Jaemin’s nose, and they’re out the door in mere seconds, to the flashes and screams of paparazzi and reporters alike.

Jaemin instinctively stiffens in his wheelchair, but relaxes immediately as both Jeno and Renjun squeeze his respective hands tightly in comfort.

It’s going to be fine. He has everything he needs, right beside him.

[ficdirectory]

Disuphere Universe miniseries: The Early Years: Levi

Nia Major first met Paris West in September of 1993, coming out of the post office in Brainerd, dropping off a package for Mom.

On the way out, she caught sight of the car - an eyesore if she’s ever seen one: lime green.  Four doors.  Parked right by the elementary school.  The driver’s got binoculars.

Nia normally wouldn’t confront anybody like this, much less a man, as a single woman.  But she has Mom’s great dane at her side.  Parks him right in the way of the man with the binoculars, spying on the schoolkids.

The driver rears back, realizing his view is obscured.  Startled by the dog.  It being the size of a small horse and all.

The man clears his throat.

“Excuse me?  Ma’am?  Would you mind moving your dog?”

“I would mind.  I would mind very much.  See, this is Vader.”  (Nia has the joy of seeing the man in the lime green car gulp.  Must know his Star Wars.)  “And Vader doesn’t take to men who lurk and spy on kids in the schoolyard.”

Vader gives the man the hairy eyeball.  Very effective.

“Okay.  Well, please tell Vader that this ain’t what it looks like.  I’m here because I’m checking on my daughter.  She’s ten.  But I can’t see her out here anywhere.  Maybe they moved...” he ventures under his breath, sounding lost at the possibility.

“Most people’d just go to the front desk and ask at the school.  Better yet, go home and knock on the door,” Nia points out, crossing her arms.

“Afraid I can’t do that, ma’am.  Her mother and I are estranged.  It’s a long story.  Any way I’ve tried to see her legally?  Gets blocked.  So I’m stuck out here.  Pair of binoculars and no dignity.”

“You sure you got a daughter?” Nia asks, still not willing to let Binoculars off the hook.

“Yes, ma’am,” he says, and digs in his pocket.  “This is Pearl.  She was four here.  The last time I saw her.”

Nia stares at the picture.  At the man in it, who looks so much younger, despite the date on the front stating the picture was only taken six years earlier.  Both of them seem so happy.

After a minute, she extends a hand through the open window.  “Nia Major.”

“Paris West,” he returns, shaking her hand.

--

Nia and Paris end up seeing each other here and there in town for years.  For a while, they go to the same church.  After a year, he finally accepts her invitation to go out for a cup of  coffee, but insists he’s not looking for anything other than a conversation partner.

Makes it clear that after his last relationship, his trust is good and dented.  And it’s gonna take a while to trust a woman again - even the good ones.

They have coffee once a week for a good year or two in a row.  She asks about Pearl.  He checks in on Vader.  They discuss life, and faith.  Things that matter.  Then, Nia’s job transfers her suddenly, and she’s got to take it or risk losing the position altogether.

It all happens so fast, there isn’t time to say goodbye to Paris in person.

They transition to letters.

He is her one constant, writing every single week, regardless of if Nia finds time to squeeze in a reply.  

In 2001, the letters stop.

--

It’s the end of January, 2002. Seven months shy of ten years to the day when Nia first caught Paris with the binoculars, checking on his daughter.  There’s a knock on her door.

It’s him.  “I wondered if you’d like to come out with me for a cup of coffee,” he says, like no time at all has passed.  “I mean, assuming you haven’t settled down…”

“Paris!” Nia greets, her smile so big it’s about to crack her face in two.  She throws her arms around him.  “You know settling doesn’t suit me.  I’ll get my coat.”

They go for coffee, just a cup.  Five hours later, they’re still there.

“So, how’s Pearl?  She’s got to be, what, in college now?  Have you all managed to reconnect?”

“I wouldn’t know,” he says, swallowing.  “I really wouldn’t have the faintest idea.”

“Why?  What happened?” Nia asks, concerned.  It’s been no secret for as long as they’ve been friends that he’s been holding onto this hope.  That once Pearl turned eighteen, she’d get in touch.  It’s why he hung around Brainerd so long.

“I keep writing her, Nia.  Not just holidays and birthdays.  I’ve written her every single week since the day I left.  Not one reply.  I’ve stopped by the house a time or two.  Driven by, but I never see her.  I don’t know if she’s forgotten me.  If she thinks I don’t care.  Or if her mother’s doing her best to keep us separated.  But I waited, Nia.  Seven months of waiting since she turned eighteen and nothing.  Not one word.”

“I’m sorry, Paris.  I know how much you love her,” Nia says and means it.

“So, I figured.  I spent enough time wallowing.  Time to get myself to Colorado and check in on my favorite person.”  He offers her a smile.

“What?” Nia looks around comically.  “Me?  I’m your favorite person?”

“That, you are,” he nods.  “So, I’m not getting any younger.  What do you say, we get ourselves married?”

“Uh…  Excuse me?” she stutters, nearly spitting out her coffee.

“I’m pushing 50 years old.  It’s time I start living my life again.  Wanna live it with me?” he asks.

--

They marry in August.

By September (and feeling about like Sarah in the Bible) Nia’s pregnant.  They pray together about what the baby’s name should be.  They can only come up with one option.

--

Levi Paris West is born on June 10, 2003 at 10:20 AM.  

He comes via scheduled C-section, and when the doctor says that’s the soonest available time, it doesn’t even hit Nia.  Not until after Levi’s been in the world several hours.

Not til Paris is holding him.  And Nia’s in the bed still recovering.

“You and your big sister share a birthday, you know that?” he asks little Levi.

Nia can’t respond.  She’s too spent to say anything.

In fact, it’s not til Lev’s about 2 months old that Nia can properly follow up about it.

“Paris,” she asks, finding him awake for Levi’s 4 AM feeding and taking care of everything before she’d been able to even fully wake up.

“Yes, dear?” he asks as Levi takes his bottle hungrily.

“Just wanna say...I didn’t know...about it being Pearl’s birthday and all.  I mean, I knew.  I just...I didn’t think about it.  And if it was hard for you…  Well, I just wanted to say I’m sorry.”

Paris nods at her to come in. He stands, leaving the rocking chair free for her to sit in.

“Doesn’t bother me.  It was fate,” Paris says, walking easily back and forth, patting Levi’s back like a pro until a loud burp escapes.

“Fate?  Paris West, we don’t believe in fate,” Nia admonishes lightly, a smile on her lips.

“Whatever the case...I think it was the plan all along.  And how can I be upset about a miracle like this?  A little spirit meant to be?” Paris holds Levi close, rocking him.  

She falls asleep to him asking the baby, “Do you wanna be an astronaut?”

--

It’s September of 2004, and their baby, Levi is growing by leaps and bounds.  Nia gets the joy of learning more and more about his personality.  And so far?  She knows he loves Vader.

Everything Nia’s ever read says that Great Danes don’t live much past eight to ten years.  But Vader has defied expectation.  Eleven years old and going strong.  Lets Levi chase him and lie on him and all kinds of things.  There are moments it looks like the giant dog could gobble up tiny Levi in two bites, an instead, Vader’s tongue is out licking Levi’s whole face and Levi’s laughing a great big belly laugh.

Nia’s a little concerned.  That Levi’s not started talking yet.  She’s tried not to overthink it.  She’s heard it said that boys talk later than girls.  Nia has it on good authority that Levi understands a good deal of what she says.  And even what he doesn’t?  She makes sure to simplify, so he can get it.  Babies are smart.  Nia’s sure about this.

Paris is just getting home from a long day at work, when Vader (whom Paris affectionately calls “hellhound”) lets out a happy bark.  

Seconds later, a smaller human bark follows.

Nia double takes, at Levi waiting at the door with Vader.  Both barking in anticipation of seeing their daddy.

(A few months later, Levi’s real first word comes.  Surprising to absolutely no one?  It’s “Puppy.”  Vader licked him good for that.  It was like he knew.)

--

Levi’s just a little older than two years old when Nia finds the recipe for Mexican lasagna.  Has got to try it.  She sets Levi up on a chair next to her at the table while she arranges the ingredients in front of them.

When it’s time to get cooking, she sets Levi far back away from the stove, giving him the bag of shredded cheese to hold.  

“You hold onto that cheese for Mommy, okay?” she asks.

“‘Kay,” Levi answers.

“Good job,” Nia tells him and gets busy at the stove.  Seems like two seconds pass and she turns around.  Sees Paris with the video camera.  Baby Levi with an empty bag of cheese.

“Uh-oh!  Levi, where’s Mommy’s cheese at?” Nia asks, a smile on her face.

“Ah-gone!” he shows her the bag, with wide brown eyes, cheese crumbs all around his mouth.

“All gone?” she asks.  “Where’d it go?”  

“Ah-gone, Mommy!  Ah-gone!” Levi glances around.

“You gonna find it for Mommy?” Nia asks, gasping for breath through her laughter.

“‘Kay,” Levi nods, and climbs down off the chair, still toting the empty cheese wrapper in his fist.  He checks under the table.  In the garbage.  Even in Daddy’s pockets.

“No cheese?” Nia asks, drying her tears.

“No cheese, Mommy.  Sorry.”  Now, Levi looks contrite.

“Oh, it’s alright, son.  We’re gonna be just fine.”

Paris walks into the kitchen, hugs Nia.  Levi caught between them.  The baby reaches up for Paris’s hat that’s been around for at least 20 years, if Nia’s guess is correct.  Levi takes it off his Daddy.  Puts it on himself.  Grins.

“Tell Mommy, ‘No Sweat!’ Paris grins at Levi.

“Mommy, puppy eat that cheese…” Levi says, looking at Vader seriously.

--

They lose Vader when Levi’s 3.

It’s harder than Nia ever imagined.

Levi wants to sleep with the dog’s blanket.  Is convinced that when he is “all done playing” Vader will “come back.”

No matter what they say to Levi, they cannot convince him otherwise.

--

June, 2007 came and Levi turned four.  Had a Clifford the Big Red Dog party (of course.)  In September, he started preschool.  Was nervous to ever leave Nia’s side, but Paris promised to wait outside all day in case Levi needed him.

“Honey, don’t you think that’s a little over the top?” Nia asks.

Paris just raises his eyebrows.  Levi finally stops crying.  “You come to school with me?” he asks.

“You bet.  Daddy will be there.  All day.”

“Protecting me?” Levi asks, wiping his eyes.

“Yes, sir,” Paris nods.

They go out the door together.

That Friday, somehow, all of Paris’s precautions seem just extreme enough to protect their son.  Nia can’t look away from the news.

“Honey, did you hear?” she asks, when Paris calls from work.

“Hear what?” he asks.

“A little boy got kidnapped out in California,” Nia relays in a hush, aware that Levi’s in the back seat now.  That she just picked him up from preschool.  “I heard it on the scanner.”

“Say a prayer for him.  That’s about all we can do.” Paris says.

“That’s it, and that’s a lot,” Nia decides.  “Love you, baby,” she says, hanging up the call.

“Mommy?  Is that boy sleepin’” Levi wonders.

“What, Levi?”

“That California-boy?  Is he sleepin’?” her son persists, staring at her from the back seat, his brown eyes wide and innocent.

“I hope so, Levi.  I really do hope so.  Hagrid, get back,” Nia warns, waving their English Mastiff puppy to the back seat.  Hagrid ignores her and continues wedging his head in between the seats.

“Get back here, Hagrid,” Levi giggles.  

Nia lets out a breath, sends up a prayer, turns the car around, and heads toward home.