#by the time it drops we would have went five painful years without them

[sourcherryandsprinkles]

please write some conrad fics, the tag has been DRY

Is there a Aaron Dessner that has produced that is not heartbreaking? The Great war, Tolerate it, Right where you left me, You’re losing me, Would’ve could’ve should’ve. I have nothing against Jack, but when Aaron is involved, things…hit different.  

The acronym switching from love of my life to loss of my life *UGLY CRYING*

Warnings: heartbreak

my taglists are here + you can send requests here at any time

—

When coming to Cousins for Belly and Jeremiah’s wedding, you knew it would be impossible to go through a whole weekend of wedding festivities without speaking to Conrad. You tried to avoid him, but he was always right there. In the kitchen talking with Laurel. In the living room with Jeremiah and Belly. In the backyard with Steven helping set up the chairs and tables under Taylor’s instructions. 

At least he didn’t come to the wedding with a girl. It would have hurt too much.

‘’I can’t believe our Belly is getting married,’’ you said as you all sat in the living room for the smallest bachelorette party. 

There was no male stripper dancing or crazy alcohol consumption like you see in movies. Just matching pajamas, a plastic ‘bride’ crown Anika got online, and sparkling mocktails. Laurel felt out of place among the younger girls, but it was her daughter’s bachelorette. She couldn’t not be there.

Taylor took a cupcake from the table, all decorated to perfection by you. ‘’I would have never guessed she would be the first of us to marry. We all thought it would be you and Con��’’ She stopped herself when she saw Belly looking at you, realizing that if she finished her sentence it would hurt you. 

A silence fell and a lump settled in your throat. You brought your drink to your lips, wishing there was alcohol in it. Drowning your sorrows in alcohol is not the solution, but it’s good at temporarily numbing the pain.

I thought that too.

Your parents bought their holiday house in Cousins where you were ten and you had known the Fishers and the Conklins since. Susannah had invited you over to play with her kids — to make friends. Although you were closer to Jeremiah and Belly in age, it was Conrad who got along with you the best. He taught you how to play Uno, came to get you when you swam too far at the beach and helped you clean your dress when stained it eating a blue popsicle. He was always nice to you. Patient and caring. As you got older, he was only looking at you. Everyone noticed, but no one said anything. He’s just always been yours. 

Until he wasn’t. 

You didn’t want to sour the ambiance or steal the attention from the bride-to-be, so you got up and excused yourself to the bathroom. You closed the door, feeling the quiet sanctuary of solitude envelop you. Memories of you and Conrad flooded your mind, each more painful than its predecessor. Nothing would ever compare to the pain this breakup felt. 

Leaning against the sink, you stared at your reflection in the mirror, tears welling up and blurring your vision. You tried to make them go away by fanning your eyes, but they overflowed, carrying with them the weight of five years of heartache.

How could it still hurt after all this time?

With trembling hands, you reached for a tissue, dabbing at your eyes, but the tears kept coming. ‘’Please, stop.’’ 

In the morning, you woke up on a blow-up mattress in Belly’s room. Your eyes were sensitive from crying and red. You tried to cover it with eye-drops and makeup, but when you came down for breakfast and Belly pulled you in a tight hug, you knew you didn’t do a great job. 

Jeremiah eyed the two of you, raising an eyebrow and silently asking what was up, but Belly shook her head. 

The rest of the day went without any downpour of tears. A part of the afternoon was spent tanning under the sun and drinking lemonades, relishing in the last moments of tranquility before the evening's rehearsal dinner. The place was going to get filled with family members and other guests soon and it’ll get very crowded. 

Steven joined you in Belly’s bedroom as you were getting ready for dinner, still wet from being at the beach with the boys. He tried to get a kiss from Taylor, but she pushed him off as he was dripping water all over her makeup bag. Jeremiah laughed in the doorway, blowing a kiss to Belly before parting to his own bedroom to change. 

Although you weren’t the only single person in the room, you never felt more alone.  

At the dinner, you sat listening to the speeches about Belly and Jeremiah’s love. Without surprise, Steve made sure to embarrass the couple and Laurel was unable to hold back her tears when her turn came. Childhood stories and teenage anecdotes about their early moments of relationship made the guests laugh and smile. 

Everything seemed to be going smoothly until Adam inadvertently attributed a story to Belly and Jeremiah, when in fact it was about you and Conrad. The frown on Jeremiah’s forehead as his father continued to speak matched Belly, both of them not knowing what he was talking about. 

‘’Eh, Dad, Belly didn’t come to my prom…’’ Jeremiah whispered to his father. ‘’I went to hers and she was wearing a purple dress, not green.’’ 

Adam paused, his realization dawning slowly. ‘’Oh. You’re right. That was Conrad. I caught him and his girl making out outside the house when they came back. Susannah was out of her mind for allowing her to sleep over…’’  

The revelation hung in the air, accompanied by an uncomfortable silence. Your grip on the glass of wine tightened involuntarily, the pressure causing it to shatter in your hand. Shards of glass cut into your skin as crimson droplets mixed with the spilled wine. 

Beside you, Taylor gasped in concern, her eyes widening at the sight. ‘’Oh my god, are you—’’ 

Ignoring the sting of pain and Taylor’s voice, you excused yourself and hurried inside to tend to your injury. You grabbed some paper towels and pressed them over your cuts. 

Unbeknownst to you, Conrad followed after you. As you stood there, watching the white soak and turn red, you felt his presence behind you. ‘’Don’t do that.’’ His touch was gentle as he took your hand and removed the soiled paper towels, placing them on the counter. ‘’Never apply pressure to an injury that’s not clean of debris. You’ll push them further in,’’ he advised, the doctor in him speaking. ‘’Let me see.’’ 

‘’I’m fine. Don’t worry about me,’’ you insisted, attempting to brush off his concern. ‘’Go back to everyone else, it’s almost time for the best man’s speech.’’ 

But Conrad didn’t budge. ‘’Sit here. I need to check if there’s glass in it.’’ he urged, his tone firm yet caring. 

Knowing there was no way out of this, you sat on one of the kitchen stools and let Conrad check your injury. He turned on the kitchen tap and you hissed as the water hit your freshly cut skin, the cool liquid soothing the sharp ache. 

You sat there as Conrad tended to your wound in silence, his fingers gentle as he inspected your hand for any embedded glass fragments. You couldn't help but notice the warmth of his touch and the upgraded woodsy cologne, their familiarity causing your heart to flutter despite the pain. 

His focus was entirely on your hand, his brow furrowed in concentration. It reminded you of that one time you fell from your bike and he patched up your knee and elbow. Once he made sure there was no glass in it, he went to fetch an antiseptic and gauze from the bathroom.  

As he was wrapping it up, you thanked him. A simple ‘thanks’. 

‘’Be careful drinking wine, next time.’’ Conrad meant it as a light teasing, but you weren’t in a mood to laugh.

‘’Don’t say anything. Please,’’ you pleaded, your voice barely above a whisper. ‘’It hurts seeing you — it really hurts. So much that I didn’t want to come to the wedding, but I couldn’t miss Belly’s big day. I couldn’t do that to her. What type of friend would I be?’’ The weight of your words hung heavy in the air between you, the truth of them echoing in the silence of the room. ‘’But being here, watching her and Jeremiah getting married is killing me because that should have been us,’’ you continued, your voice trembling with emotion. ‘’This house is where we met; every corner holds tons of memories of us and it’s haunting me, torturing me since I got here.’’

‘’I never wanted to hurt you. I’m sorry—’’ 

‘’You’re sorry? No sorry will be enough,’’ you said. ‘’You told me I'm the love of your life about a million times. You said you would never leave. But you did. I loved you so much— You were it for me, Conrad. It was always you. But now you’re the loss of my life.’’ 

He said your name, but once again, you didn’t let him speak. 

You got down from the stool, the stinging pain in your hand still present. ‘’I should get back outside. Hopefully Laurel knows a way to get blood out of my dress.’’

—

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[angstywaifu]

The Lost Sister - Part 10

Synopsis: Xaden is known as an only child due to his sister who 'died' during the Rebellion. Little do they know she didn't die and has been so close this entire time.

Garrick Tavis x OC

A/N: I really hope you guys like this part. This was a sneaky last minute addition to the story. Like I literally wrote this yesterday! Cause I feel like we deserve some brother and sister time with Ophelia and Xaden. Requests are OPEN, and if you want to be on the tag list just let me know! The Lost Sister Masterlist | Masterlist

I’d found this spot weeks ago while wandering the halls later at night. Sitting atop the tower, I could see all the the college and the valley and mountains surrounding us. It was beautiful at night. Though the sight of the dragons I occasionally saw was now a little eerie after today. In a few days I would be expected to walk out there and try bond with a dragon. No amount of classes or training from Melgren could spare me from that. It was all up to the dragons now. Least they had deemed me worthy at presentation today. What had I seen today? I was so sure I had seen white. But white wasn’t one of the colours we knew of. No one had ever seen a white dragon. Sure feathertails had some interesting colours to them from what we knew. But this was not a feathertail. I had only seen a glimpse of the white, but I knew whatever it belonged to was big.

A small shuffle on the ground behind me disrupts me from my thoughts. I don’t even have to turn to know who it is. I always had the uncanny ability to know when he was there.

“I shouldn’t be surprised to find you here. We were both good at finding places no one else knew about to get away.”

I look to my right to see Xaden comfortably lean on the pillar next to where I’m sitting on the ledge.

”We’ve always been very similar. Even if we don’t look it.” I say, earning a chuckle out of him.

”I assume the hair colour was something Melgren made you do?” He asks as he reaches out and grabs a piece of my burgundy hair with my natural black sneaking through.

I nod. “Yeah, though I fail to see how my hair would have given away who I was around the college. Wasn’t exactly known information you had a sister. Father did a pretty good job at keeping me hidden.”

He hums in agreement. Only those in Aretia and closest to us knew about me. He didn’t hide me away so to speak, but he didn’t flaunt or announce my arrival. Sometimes I wonder why that was. Was it to keep me safe? If it was, it didn’t matter in the end when they found me with him. It was if Melgren knew exactly who I was when he saw me.

“That he did. Till he didn’t.” He says almost angrily. “Clearly he didn’t send you away like he said.”

I shake my head, and I watch as Xaden’s onyx eyes harden. “No. I was with him, or with another higher up. I never went away.”

Xaden drops the piece of hair he had been holding, turning to look out over the valley, his hands gripping the stone ledge so tightly I’m surprised it doesn’t break. Even the shadows he conjures look as if they want to lash out and break something. I could tell those five years had been hard. I hadn’t asked him or any of the others what it had been like, or what had happened. Part of me didn’t want to. But I’m sure with time I would find out. But the pain and anger Xaden is showing right now, it makes me want to know even less. I can’t even begin to imagine what it was like for Bodhi and Garrick. We are all so close. It would have wrecked them.

”I would murder him if he wasn’t already dead. He promised us he would keep you safe.” I almost don’t hear him with how quietly he says it.

”Technically he did.” I point out.

Xaden slowly glances sideways at me. Definitely not the right thing to say. But eventually he shrugs and nods his head slightly.

”I guess you’re right. You are alive. Which is all I could have asked for. Though, could have done without thinking you were dead for five years and literally so close I could have found you.” He stands back up and looks at me fully. “Did you know I was here?”

”Initially no. I knew you were alive, but that was it. Then about halfway into your first year here Melgren made a comment about you bonding a dragon. And then at a dinner I was forced to attend you and some of the others came up in conversation. But it wasn’t like I was free to roam around and try find you. I always had a guard on me. This is the most freedom I’ve had since he took me in. And I couldn’t risk trying to find you. I needed to play it smart.”

“You always knew how to read your opponents well. Finding strength and weaknesses. Clearly something I’d forgotten when you kicked my ass on the mat on your first day here.” He jokes, the mood shifting.

”Not my fault you under estimated me.” I tease.

He rolls his eyes before shoving my shoulder lightly. “To be fair you had no combat training at all last time I saw you. And I didn’t expect Melgren to have trained you like that. I hate to admit he did a good job.”

I nod. “He did, but I feel like now you would kick my ass. No way could I take you or someone like Garrick down that easily again.”

”You never know. Garrick would probably go easy on you. Speaking of which, what is going on between you two?” He asks as he leans back on the pillar and raising an eye brow at me.

I almost cringe at his words. I knew this was coming. I shouldn’t have said his name, but it just came so naturally to me. I lean back on the opposite pillar, turning my head to avoid my brothers gaze.

“It’s complicated.” I say sadly.

”You could say that again. But it always has been with you two.” He states bluntly.

I look over at him to see him smirking at me. “What’s that suppose to mean?”

”Oh come on O, we can all see it. It’s just you two who are to blind and stubborn to do anything about it. Well, more just stubborn now.” His eyebrow raising at the last part as if emphasising his point. “You two have always drawn to each other. Even when we were kids, there was always something different with you two. And then when we got older, it was pretty clear you two were getting feelings for each other.”

I look at my brother wide eyed. He had know this entire time. I can tell he is getting satisfaction in telling me neither of us had been subtle about our feelings. But I see a small flash of sadness in his eyes.

“Then the rebellion happened and none of us had time for anything like that. And now you have all the time in the world and you run off.”

I go wide eyed. Shit. Garrick had told him. Or Bodhi.

”So they told you then.” I say nervously.

He chuckles. “Garrick wasn’t too impressed Bodhi blurted it all out, but yes I know. Though was throwing the balm at him really necessary?”

”You would have done the same.” I retort.

”Yeah but with better aim. Next time aim for his head to knock some sense into him.” We both laugh at his comment. Poor Bodhi. “Can I ask why you ran? Surprised you didn’t just jump into his arms, would’ve given the poor healer a heart attack.”

Why hadn’t I? He wasn’t wrong. Before I had been taken by Melgren, I probably would have jumped into his arms. But now, it wasn’t as easy. Well, it was. I was just being stubborn.

“Because I’m scared. Scared that what if its not as good as we both want it to be. Scared that if it goes bad that I put a rift between you two. I am not being what could tear you two apart. What could tear all 3 of us apart.” I ramble as I push off the pillar and pace back and forth. Something I had gotten quite good at recently.

“Never thought I would hear you say you’re scared.” He says sarcastically, as I glare at him. “But, you know deep down that won’t happen. You know that if you go down this path with him, thats it.”

”You make it sound like we’re mated dragons or something.”

”As someone who has a dragon with a mate, trust me I would know.”

I look at him shocked. I had read about mated dragons, but had no clue he had one of them. From what I had read, the bond was strong. And riders with mated dragons we’re stuck together no matter what.

He laughs at my shocked face. “Just don’t take too long to sort your shit out. I’m getting sick of him staring longingly at you anytime you’re near us. He looks like a lost puppy, and it doesn’t suit him.”

And with that he walks off, leaving me atop the tower with my thoughts. He was right though. I couldn’t drag this out for much longer. But first I had to get through threshing.

Part 11

[madhatterbri]

Care | HOOK

Summary: Hook and you broke up. Anna with the help of Jack uses this to come for your championship belt. An unexpected hero saves you.

Author's Note: GIF has nothing to do with this it just makes me feral. 😭🤌

As always, requests. 🥺🥺

Life is hard working for a wrestling company. Friendships and relationships constantly came and went. You travel a lot and spent time with fellow wrestlers more than your own family. You swore you would never be with anyone in AEW until you laid eyes on Hook.

The relationship was physical at first. You both wanted to have sex without feeling bad for someone waiting for you to come home. It was nice at the beginning. You two would meet up together after the show. Times changed when you started developing feelings.

You were honest with him, but he wasn't interested in a relationship. The two of you were young. He wanted to experience the world. More like experience girls around the world. In order to avoid anymore hurt, you two decided to go your separate ways. That was three months ago.

Now you were getting ready to cut a promo in the ring. Your make-up was done and the championship belt was secure on your shoulder. Tonight was simple enough, anger Anna Jay. The two of you hated each other. It wouldn't be hard.

The unsettling feeling of someone watching you made the hairs on your neck stand. You turned to see the handsome devil himself. He was in a hoodie and sweatpants eating chips. His mind seemed to be in a different galaxy, but he was definitely staring at you. You missed being able to talk to him. Maybe that was a resolution for another year.

The familiar sound of your entrance music played in the arena. You walked out to the top of the ramp. The crowd went wild. Fans of different ages reached out for you to high five them.

The microphone was handed to you. An once rowdy crowd was quiet to hear you. You spoke your piece about Anna. Some of the insults were low. Tony gave you the green light to rile up Anna. You were going to take it. Your speech was cut off by Anna's music.

Anna came out with Jack in tow. She stormed to the ring. You dropped your championship belt in the middle of the ring to meet her outside the ropes. Anna was the first to swing. The two of you landing blows on each other. You never noticed Jack grabbing your championship belt from the ring.

"You think your fuck buddy is going to save you, Y/N?" She asked menacingly. You hadn't thought you would really need help. Normally, you weren't really put in jeopardy of actually losing the belt you worked so hard for.

"I don't need anyone," you scoffed. "I got in this business alone and I'll fight and die alone,"

"You think your are so funny?"

"Actually? Yeah," you answered truthfully. The crowd laughed at your corny jokes. You had to be funny. Anna pushed you to the ground. You landed on your hands and knees facing away from her.

'Rude,' you thought before getting up. You stood up and faced her. Before you could attack, Anna kicked you into the stairs. A scream of anguish sounded through the arena.

"What the fuck?" You asked yourself. Immediately the crowd gasped as their women's champ went down. Your head and back slammed to the stairs. Anna stood above you as you slid to the floor. The championship belt displayed on her shoulder. The camera zoomed in on the two of you. Your eyes pleaded for someone to help you.

"This is going to be mine, Y/N. I'm going to beat your ass until I say I'm tired. Do you understand me?" She yelled at you. You moved your legs as if to get up. She stood on your leg to stop you. Painful throbbing occurred under her foot.

The arena went dark. You were starting to wonder if you passed out. Your head throbbed and you were pretty sure your upper back fell out. The familiar rift of Chairman's Intent felt like an angel's song. Cheers filled the arena.

"We gotta go!" Jack yelled to her. Anna dropped the belt and ran with him into the audience.

Hook was at your side.

"Are you okay?"

"Do I look okay?"

"I was hoping she'd kick that shitty attitude out of you," he countered and helped you to your feet. Hook grabbed your belt knowing how possessive you were with it. Your legs wobbled as he helped you up the ramp. Several members of the crowd wished you a speedy recovery.

You limped to medical with him helping you inside. Hook helped you on the bed while you waited for the doctors to run their tests on you.

"Thanks. I didn't think anyone was going to save me,"

"You didn't think I would save you?" He questioned.

"I didn't think you would care."

"I've always cared,"

[oonajaeadira]

The Gordy Report

Gordy's been with us a little over a week now and he's really made himself at home (he's at the office with me today and sleeping on my feet).

I had to register for his pet license and was going through his medical file this week. Y'all. I did not like what I found there. Before I delve in, here's the pet tax:

A very good boy.

First of all, the rescue association I got him from messed up some info that had to be resent. They also told us he was 5 and he's actually about to turn 7 (this is not a problem, we love middle-aged and old dogs in this house, but still, misinformation). But the thing I'm the most frustrated with is the fact that he's had some trauma, and while I know some of it, there were some pretty big gaping holes in the information I was given when we took him in.

I won't go too far into it, but his OG owners gave him up to his foster because they were having a baby and couldn't deal with his high-strung nature. Then he was adopted by his former owners. (That's right, we're his 3rd household, 5th if you count both the times he went to a foster.)

What I read in his medical file was a tragedy. His formers had him for less than a year. They dropped his trainer (which he really needed) and took him running 5+ miles a day (which he loved), but also they let him roam off leash on a relative's farm that had animals. Gordy's a herding breed. Without proper training, that is a Bad Idea.

Within a month, he was in the hospital for a foot injury most likely acquired at the farm, that had him limping--a cut on his foot--and then vomiting--most likely infected from animal dung or some other farm junk. (How did he get the cut? They said they didn't know. Which means they either weren't watching him or they DID know and didn't want to say because they should have known better.)

Another month went by and he needed stitches on the cut because the formers didn't take the doctor's advice and went running with him every day, so it tore. Another month went by and they weren't paying enough attention and he chewed those stitches. They took him in for new stitches and something happened at the vet that traumatized him so much they had to sedate him. Upon coming out of sedation, he bit his former on the nose! (Hello, some common sense advice: Don't put your face an animal's face if they're disoriented and in pain!) After that, they took him to the groomer and neglected to tell the groomer about his injury and it got re-opened there. Gordy was too scared and riled to go to the vet so he had to have video vet appointments and the formers were told how to handle it.

Which, of course, involves instructions. Not their strong point apparently.

At this point in, we are 4 months of this dog dealing with a wound on his foot. And then they again don't listen to the doctor and take him out to the farm where he runs off leash and chases a running horse and bites it and then almost bites an 8-year old child. At 5 months, his paw is 90% healed. FIVE MONTHS. FOR WHAT WAS JUST A SIMPLE CUT THAT BECAME A LACERATION.

They then complained that he seemed high-strung and a little snippy with them and got the vet to put him on prozac....before taking him back to the foster a few months later.

Okay. This was all very distressing to read. And I'm angry that the agency didn't detail it. But I'm even angrier at the formers for taking care of him so badly. (There were other things in those records that I could see they weren't keeping up with either.) I mean, I would be cranky too if I spent 5 months with an open wound.

But. His foster is a dog trainer and I can see between looking at the vet reports and the dog that is currently sweetly sleeping at my feet that she has done wonders with him. She actually texts me from time to time to see how he is and gives me good advice to keep his training solid. And I listen, because I can tell she worked hard on him and doesn't want that to go to waste. And since training works to give dogs structure and help them feel secure, I don't want it to lapse either.

He's such a good boy, y'all, and so deserving of love. I'm still in the moony phase where I feel so lucky to have him every time I wake up and see him waiting for me or watch him twitching in his comfy sleep in the sunshine. I'm working on letting go of my anger towards his formers and just letting his past be his past. He's so happy here. And that's all I want for him.

[a-court-of-lust-and-stardust]

Love on Ice Chapter 12: The Headstone

Thanks for all the love so far!! We still have a ways to go before the story is over 😉

32 Days before Competition

The headstone read Here Lies Oleanna Archeron. 

No In Loving Memory. 

Not a trace of Rest in Peace. 

And certainly not Always in Our Hearts. 

Just a name. 

Mama’s name. 

Elain remembered the day Mama died so clearly. She had fallen ill with pneumonia one winter, and was bedridden up until the day she passed. Feyre and Nesta had been at the doorway while Elain knelt by Mama’s bedside, tears clinging to her lashes. Nesta was the one to pry Elain out of the room five hours later. 

Elain had wanted a detailed engraving on the headstone, but she was outnumbered by her sisters and forced to concede. Even someone like Mama should be remembered and honored in death, Elain had defended. Her two sisters didn’t think so, and were fully content to not purchase a headstone at all had Elain’s sobs not convinced them otherwise. 

Alone in the cemetery, she knelt down on the grass before the stone, placed the single flower at the base, and took a breath. “Hi Mama. It’s Elain.”

It was silly to introduce herself each time she visited, every three months like clockwork, because she was the only one who ever showed up. Nesta and Feyre hadn’t set foot in the cemetery since the headstone was placed in the ground. She doubted they ever would. Not even so Mama could meet her only grandchild. Maybe she would have been a better grandparent than she was a parent. 

“I know you probably wouldn’t care to know this, but I’ve been doing okay.” 

Mama was never big on feelings, unless those feelings were shame, anger, and disappointment. In all of Elain's life, Oleanna smiled only a handful of times. None of those times were at her. Shrugging it off only worked temporarily, before Elain had made it her life’s mission to bring a smile to Mama’s usually impassive face. 

“Feyre and Nesta are doing well,” Elain chirped, eyes bright as she gushed about her sisters. Nevermind the fact that they weren’t as secure in their relationship as other siblings. Elain’s heart still swelled with pride at their achievements. “They’re still painting and dancing and there's no signs either of them are slowing down anytime soon. You’d be proud of them.”

She always had been. Feyre and Nesta, her pride and joy, though she was still capable of treating them harshly, too. Not quite to the extent Elain experienced, but enough to where Mama’s death brought them relief, not pain. Had Mama even known the hatred Feyre and Nesta held in their hearts? Would she have cared? There was no way to find out now. 

“I’m still skating,” She confirmed with a half hearted chuckle, arms splayed wide before they dropped to her thighs. She said a bit softer, “Just like you wanted.” 

If Elain wanted her Mama to be proud of one thing, it was how she hadn’t given up. Despite failures and hardships and insults, she persevered. She hoped that counted for something.

“The competition is coming up in a few weeks,” Elain revealed, fingers running through the soft grass at the base of the headstone. “I’m kind of…excited. I think. My emotions have been all over the place. At first, Lucien dropped out of the competition, and I went from angry to hurt to panicking in the span of three hours. Come to find out weeks later, he didn’t drop out at all. He was scheming this entire time, Mama. He has a new partner.” 

That was as much as she’d say about her ex-partner, not wanting to dwell on it. There was no reason to waste her energy on rehashing the betrayal. In the end, it appeared she was better off without him. But nonetheless, it was news that Mama would have wanted to know. Anything pertaining to the world of skating, Elain was sure to tell her. 

“My new partner is named Azriel,” Elain whispered, lips twitching as images of him came to mind. “He skated with Morrigan for a while, remember? I didn’t want to disappoint you this year by pulling out of the competition, so I did something brave and asked him to be my partner. We’ve been practicing for a few weeks now, testing our chemistry, rehearsing basic sequences, adding new spins and small lifts and it’s…refreshing. Skating with him feels natural. Although, you probably wouldn’t like him very much,” Elain said, twirling her finger around a blade of grass. “Everything he tells me is the opposite of what you’ve told me.” 

Responsibility versus enjoyment. 

Social isolation versus connection.

Consistent, grueling practices versus necessary breaks. 

No, Mama most certainly would not have tolerated Azriel’s way of thinking. Elain herself was still growing accustomed to it. 

“The word fun wasn’t in your vocabulary, but it sure is in his,” Elain continued, letting a tear drip off her nose. “He’s trying to convince me to let loose every now and then. Sometimes I don’t even know what that feels like anymore. It seems impossible to achieve but he’s persistent and I–I don’t know. I think I want to entertain the idea that I should let myself smile and laugh and not take things so seriously.” 

She outwardly cringed then, picturing Mama’s objection. 

“But I know that's not what you’d want from me,” She said hoarsely, scrubbing her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. “So I’m going to try my best to be everything you wanted me to be. I’m going to focus my time and energy on skating, on bringing home the gold, and I’m going to do it for you, Mama.” 

A pause. 

A deep breath. 

And then, “That’ll be the easy part,” she swallowed, stroking the petal of the flower she’d brought. “The hard part will be pretending that I’m not falling for him. Because honestly Mama, he’s the kind of man who is so easy to love. I’m not…there yet, but…” The words drifted off in the wind. She couldn’t say the rest out loud. Not yet. 

Elain stood from the ground, not bothering to brush the rest of the tears from her cheeks or dirt from her knees. She hoped that if Azriel’s words somehow had enough influence on her…that if she grew into someone Mama disapproved of…if she sought out a skating partner and ended with a lover…that she would be forgiven in time. 

With a kiss to the headstone, Elain murmured, “Goodbye, Mama. This is the year I’ll make you proud.” 

Artwork by @chachachai17: Here

Divider: @saradika-graphics

[boston-babies]

Zac followed Chris out “wait up a minute man” Chris sighed and switched Teddy to his other hip “What Zef?” “I’ll talk to Sassy okay? But dude you have got to keep your shit in check. You can’t let Tom get under your skin like this or else he’ll get exactly what he wants”

Chris shook his head “I don’t understand how she doesn’t see how he’s playing her” Zac nodded “for the same reason why she didn’t want to believe you could do what you did last year” Chris looked down “I’m her husband, it’s different” Zac shook his head “no, it’s not and you know it’s not”

Chris shook his head “why do you think she’ll listen to you about Tom?” Zac sighed “because she’s my best friend and she doesn’t have beef with me right now like she does with you” Chris shook his head and walked away “good luck man”

**********

Zac walked back in the house and went back to the kitchen to check on you. “Hey we need to talk Sassy” he looked at Tom then looked back to you “alone”. You nodded and followed Zac to the den. After a few moments, Henry walked in as well. You looked between them “what’s going on?”

Zac sighed “Sassy we love you, please always know that but you need to cut Tom off” your brow furrowed “not you too” he nodded “yes me too, he’s playing you Sassy. Henry and I watched him antagonize Chris so he would make a scene in front of you” you looked at Henry and he nodded “it’s true Sas. He said some pretty vile things to Chris”

Zac continued “he’s trying to get you to to hate Chris and he said he’s going to try to get the kids to hate him to so that he can swoop in and be your ‘knight in shining armor’” You shook your head “he was never like that when we were kids”

Henry stepped closer and put an arm around you “we just want you to be careful y/n. He’s not a good guy” Zac shook his head “why is he back around anyway?” You shrugged “he was in town and wanted to catch up. He said he was going through a divorce with his wife too..” Zac crossed his arms “be honest with me y/n, are you doing this so Chris can feel the same pain he inflicted on you?”

You looked down at your feet “I’m not proud of it but I don’t know any other way to get him to really understand”. Henry pulled you in for a hug “we’ll talk to him sassy. It’s going to be okay”

After a few moments you pulled away and you all walked back out to the kitchen.

*************

A week had passed without incident and the boys were finally back home from spending time with their dad in Maine. They walked through the front door with big smiles and ran right over to give you a hug. They hugged you at the same time and you laughed “hugging you guys like this was a lot easier when you were little” Ryan laughed “we missed you mama” you kissed each of their cheeks and they all made a face while you did “I missed you more” the boys pulled away and Ryan handed you Teddy and you gave him a big hug too “ooo especially you Teddy Bear”

Tom walked in from the kitchen “oh good, the boys are home”. Ryan’s smile dropped immediately “why are you always here?” “Ryan be nice!” You scolded. He rolled his eyes and Brayden spoke up “no but he’s right, why are you always here? It’s not like you’re mom’s boyfriend” Brandon snorted “yeah like that’ll ever happen” Brayden snickered back. You furrowed your brow “okay that’s enough, I don’t know what’s gotten into you guys”

Ryan spoke under his breath “maybe it’s an asshole trying to date our mom” You whipped your head around and looked at Ryan “I heard that Christopher”. Ryan made a face and Tom held his hands up and smiled “okay, I think we might have gotten off on the wrong foot. What would you boys say to going to dinner tonight to start over and get to know each other”

Brayden looked at Tom like he had five heads “fuck no”. Ryan put his hand on Brayden’s shoulder “wait Brady..I think that’s actually a great idea”. Brayden looked at Ryan like he’d lost his mind but when Ryan looked back at him, that’s when Brayden saw the mischievous glint in his eyes. It was subtle but Brayden knew his brother was planning something “yeah okay. Sure, let’s go to dinner”

Tom nodded “that’s great, this is gonna be so fun you guys”

******************

They were all sitting at a round table in the middle of the restaurant. The waitress had just walked away after taking their food order and the table was silent. Tom cleared his throat “so, how long are you boys home for?” Ryan rolled his eyes “no I have a better question, what do you want with our mom?”

Tom nodded “I’ll be honest. I really like your mom. A lot; she and I dated for a while until she met your dad-“ Brayden cut him off “yeah you dated for a year when you were sixteen, then mom told us you cheated on her. Then she met dad.” For a flash, you could see the irritation in Tom’s eyes but as quickly as the mask fell, he put it right back up. “What I did was wrong, and I know I hurt your mom but now all I want is the opportunity to make it up to her. To have a second chance.”

Brandon glared “what about your wife and kids?” Tom sighed “my wife and I are actually in the middle of a pretty nasty divorce-look I get you guys are just protecting your mom but I promise she’s in good hands with me”.

The waitress came back with their drinks and they all went silent again. Once she was done, the boys thanked her as she walked away. Tom stood “we can continue this discussion when I get back from the restroom”. He turned and left and the boys just glared.

Brayden looked at Ryan “I don’t like this Ry, I don’t trust him”. Ryan was silent and Brayden could tell the wheels in his brothers brain were turning. Brandon watched as Ryan leaned forward and grabbed the bottle of hot sauce, opened the cap and poured a good amount in Tom’s water. Brayden took the salt shaker next and unscrewed the lid so it would dump all over Tom’s food when he used it.

Ryan noticed that Tom had left his phone on the table. He grabbed it and since there was no passcode, he was able to get in easy. Brayden leaned forward “what are you doing?” Ryan didn’t look up from the phone “shh!-“ he read through some text messages and then dialed the number

“Hi, is this Amelia? Oh no, he’s fine, Im just calling to let you know that your husband is trying to have an affair with another woman. Oh? You’re not divorcing? Well he made it sound like you were in a pretty nasty split? Oh no, that’s terrible. I’m so sorry. No I just felt like you should know what he’s up to. No it’s not a business trip he’s on. Alright well again, I’m terribly sorry. You as well. Good night.” Ryan hung up and placed the phone back right where Tom had left it.

When he looked back over at his brothers, their jaws were dropped and he shrugged.

The food arrived and was placed in front of them and Tom made his way back to the table and sat. “Now, where were we?” He grabbed his water glass and took a huge gulp. Suddenly his eyes went wide and he spit the water out across the table “what the hell?!” Ryan leaned forward “oh geeze, here let’s get you a napkin-“ Brayden leaned forward “here you can have mine-“ Brayden knocked the salt shaker all over Tom’s plate “oops, damn I’m so sorry” Ryan shook his head “honestly Brady-“ Ryan stood and “accidentally’ knocked Tom’s plate on his lap “shit man, I’m just so clumsy today”

Tom glared at the boys “I hope you three brats enjoyed this”

Ryan leaned down and put his hands on the table “you’re gonna leave our mom alone. This? This was child’s play. You haven’t seen me at my worst. So here’s what you’re gonna do. You’re gonna get your shit, get in your car and drive your pathetic ass all the way back to New York. You’re never going to contact our mom again. You got me?”

Tom glared back “what makes you so sure your mom will believe you? You’re the bad one aren’t you? I’m sure she’s real tired of your bullshit. All I have to do is put the right act on and she’ll send you packing Ryan”

Ryan nodded “yeah, I might give her a hard time but I am her son, and she’d never ever believe you over me-“ Ryan glanced down and saw Tom’s phone ringing and looked back up at Tom with a smirk “plus I have a feeling you’re going to be busy going through an actual divorce with your wife”. Ryan stood straight “thanks for dinner. It was a real treat”.

******************

The boys got home about thirty minutes later. They hung up their coats and walked into the kitchen and saw you, Tanner, Henry, Addison and Zac sitting at the table. You looked up when you heard them walk in and rushed over to them. You pulled each of them in to a big hug “I’m so so sorry”

Brady pulled away “no mama, you have nothing to apologize for. He’s the asshole for playing you” Brandon nodded along “yeah mama. You had no idea and none of this is your fault”. Ryan hugged you again “and don’t worry about him mama. He won’t be bothering you anymore”

you pulled away and smiled at the boys “how does some ice cream sound?” They each nodded and went right for the freezer. Ryan felt his phone buzz in his pocket and stopped to pull it out to read the text he got. In the background he could hear Brayden digging through the freezer “hey where’s the chocolate strawberry twist?” He looked over and saw Zac eating the last of it “come on man!” Zac laughed “gotta be quicker kid”

Ryan focused on the text and saw it was from his dad.

“I’m so proud of you, good looking out for your mom Ry”

He looked up and nodded with a grin and put his phone back in his pocket and grabbed himself a bowl of mint chocolate and enjoyed the rest of the night with his family.

[hb-writes]

Ch. 5 - Mad at You

I don't wanna keep being mad at you, but you keep doing the same shit.

Charlie's hair was still wet and she still wore her bathrobe and slippers, more focused on the music playing from the laptop than she was to the efficiency of her morning routine. She saw her brother's reflection behind her and stopped her body from swaying when he pushed her door open without knocking.

Harvey leaned against the door frame, smirking when his gaze met Charlie's in the mirror. He couldn't stop himself when he saw her swaying to some song he'd never heard before, some top-100's garbage he hoped he would never have to hear again. Sometimes Charlie was so uncharacteristically a stereotypical teenage girl that it almost always caught him off guard. But Harvey liked it, believing Charlie deserved a chance at a stereotypical childhood, even if her musical tastes suffered for it.

"We need you on stage in two minutes, Ginger," Harvey offered, earning a scowl in the mirror as Charlie reached over to turn the music down a touch. Harvey had a pop-culture reference stashed away for every occasion and an incessant need to make sure Charlie had an appreciation for said references.

"You know, Harvey…" Charlie started as she leaned forward, focused intently on applying a little mascara, "Jealousy is a terrible, terrible thing. There's no need to tease me just because you can't dance."

"Oh, I know how to dance just fine, sweetheart." If they were in a better space, he might've shown her. Might've danced like an idiot and made her laugh, but not today. Not this morning. Not with other things taking precedence. Harvey glanced at his watch. "And now you've got three minutes."

She continued looking at herself in the mirror. "I'm not ready yet."

"I don't care."

Charlie finally turned to look at him and Harvey wasn't sure whether to laugh or fear for his life. Maybe both. A few more years of practice and that death glare would be rooting people to the spot, but seeing as Harvey had been getting it for a few years now, he was nearly immune.

"I'm not even dressed," she said, waving to the robe as if Harvey couldn't plainly see she was behind schedule. "I need five more minutes."

"Well, I need a sister that isn't a consistent pain in my ass, but I don't see that happening," Harvey snapped, glancing at the watch again. "Two minutes."

He'd offered the updated time count to spur her into movement, to get her moving, but she just stared at him, her arms snapping up over her chest. "I'm sorry having me for a sister is such a goddamn inconvenience for you."

Harvey pushed off the door frame, taking two quick steps into the room. "You want to try that one again?"

Charlie's arms dropped as she stepped back, bumping into the edge of her bed.

"You started it," she mumbled, not even sure anymore who had actually started it. Both of them, probably.

Harvey snorted. "Drop the angst and get your ass moving." He walked back through the door, leaving it open as he went. "One minute."

"Screw you, Harvey." Charlie mumbled the words mostly to herself and though Harvey had heard them, he let it go, walking back to the living room to finish checking emails.

Charlie stomped over to her door, shutting it harder than necessary, before heading moving to her closet to pull out her clothes. She was annoyed and would have liked to stay in her room, but she knew it wasn't in her best interest to make him wait, so she rushed through getting dressed, grateful for once to have a uniform she didn't have to put much thought into if she didn't feel like it.

A few minutes later, Charlie slumped down onto the couch. Harvey sat in the chair adjacent, focused on his laptop screen. He didn't even acknowledge her. She'd been expecting some sarcastic comment about her taking more than a minute. Or that he'd just start right in on the lecture, but he stayed quiet, stayed focused on his work.

Charlie shifted in her seat and let out a loud exhale.

"Ray will be here soon."

Harvey glanced up and gave her a pointed look. He'd already decided that she could wait. He was more concerned with his work emails than with his sister's sudden concern about the time.

But Charlie had better uses for her time than sitting around waiting for Harvey to decide it was time for her lecture. She could blow dry her hair before they left, for one thing. She abided by his silence for another minute or so before shifting again.

"Can you just tell me how long I'm grounded for so we can get going?"

Charlie hated the waiting. She knew she already knew she was in trouble. She knew she was grounded. And she could probably summarize Harvey's lecture without even hearing him deliver it. Whatever he had to say, Charlie just wanted to get it over with and move along.

Harvey pulled his eyes away from an email from Jessica to look at his sister. He exhaled, not thrilled that this was how Charlie was going to start off the conversation and also not thrilled about the mess awaiting him at the office. Part of him was annoyed at her. She wasn't handling any of this in the best way, setting challenges for him at every interaction, continuing to push him even now.

Christ, the only thing that seemed to work these days was snapping at her—yelling at her and making threats—and Harvey didn't want to be that way with her. He did enough of that shit at the office.

Harvey had always been good with his sister. Where things with Marcus frequently felt like a battle, Charlie had always been simply. When she was little, Harvey had always swooped in to save the day, easily shifting her tantrums to smiles, and her mischief to apologies, but something had changed when he signed on as her guardian. From that day, Charlie became a little more defiant, a little less accepting of her brother's authority. Harvey had changed that day, too. He knew that. He was a little quicker to get fed up now. A little less impressed by the clever comments and behavior that he had once found comical when their father had been the one dealing with it every day.

"If you don't cut the shit, you'll be grounded until you've got a Ph.D."

Charlie shrugged. "What if I don't want a Ph.D.? Maybe I don't even want to go to college and none of this even matters."

Harvey set the laptop on the coffee table, her words finally grating on him enough that he put the work aside and turned towards her.

Charlie's default when confronting a situation where she was in trouble—after the initial scramble to try to absolve herself of it altogether—was apathy. Complete indifference, emotionless even though it was calculated. All of it deliberately chosen to piss her brother off. And it worked. It drove Harvey mad, reminding him of how he and Marcus had acted at the same age. Harvey knew it was just a phase, knew it was nothing more than a performance on her part—a ruse crafted for an audience of one—but that didn't stop it from getting under Harvey's skin.

The thing was, it was actually rare that Harvey was mad at her. The sarcasm, the occasional trouble at school…Harvey didn't care about that. It wasn't a problem, not when it was all about stuff he had instilled in her anyway. He wanted his sister to be assertive. He didn't want her accepting everything she was taught just because the person telling it to her had some sort of inherent authority. He didn't mind her being a smartass when she could back it up. She usually could.

But this wasn't one of those times. This was different. And Charlie knew it was different, but she was too proud to back off once she had already started down a path. She'd decided on fighting this, on insisting on innocence. She'd decided on getting her brother to accept that it wasn't a big deal. And if she wasn't able to do that, Charlie was committed to not acknowledging herself that she'd been in the wrong.

"Charlie, I don't wanna keep being mad at you, but you keep doing the same shit."

Harvey saw her open her mouth to respond. Like any younger sibling, Charlie couldn't help herself from pushing her older brother's buttons even now. She was almost methodical about it, pushing just a bit at a time to see how far she could go—fine-tuning. But she was getting close to crossing a line now. So close that Harvey could feel the twisting within him and he continued before she could get a word in.

"You have a knack for making our lives a hell of a lot harder than they need to be," he said, knowing even as he said it that she was barely listening to his words, hearing them only so she could know how to respond.

"I'm not making anything harder than it needs to be," she argued. "I'm not doing anything except sitting here like you asked."

"You want to know what you're not doing, Charlotte?" Harvey's tone shifted with the question, shifted enough that she didn't answer him.

Charlotte just sat there, her mouth running a bit dry. As had become commonplace in their relationship, Harvey was the closest target for the release of Charlie's frustrations, whether they were well-placed or not. He accepted that. Accepted that he was her safe space. There were times when he took his frustrations out on her, too. Times when his frustrations with work or life found their way into his voice, found their way into their interactions. They both knew well-enough to sort out what was about them and what wasn't.

It was no different now. When it came down to it, Harvey was Charlie's best friend. Sure, there were a few kids she considered to be friends at school, but with Charlie and Harvey, it was different. And even so, it was complicated. Because Harvey wasn't just her friend…her brother.

"You're most certainly not making my job any easier…as your brother or as an attorney."

Charlie's eyes shot to him quickly and she gulped before her gaze shifted away from his face.

"And all of this bullshit you've got going right now is not making the brother bit any easier."

Charlie blinked, deflating a bit as Harvey's words registered. She'd pester Harvey until the end of time and not feel all that sorry about it, but when it came to his work…to Pearson-Hardman, that was different. And maybe he'd said it only to make a point, to shock her a bit, but there was some truth there and they both knew it. Her relationship and treatment of the teacher was impacting Harvey's work.

"I…I didn't mean to make your job any harder." The words were genuine, not even the slightest bit of bite in them as they flowed quietly from her mouth.

Harvey felt his shoulders relax a smidgen. "I know, kid."

And he did know. He knew his sister. He knew she wasn't doing all of this on purpose. Well, some of it she was, but he knew she hadn't meant for the case to get messed up.

"I know you didn't mean it, but you can't keep doing this."

Charlie hadn't intended on fighting him. Part of her didn't want to fight anymore, not until Harvey's lips formed that word. But. The word that negated everything that came before it. Anger rushed in at that word, so loud and all encompassing that she barely heard what Harvey said after that.

"I can't keep doing this? What about Heskett?" Charlie asked, interrupting him, her eyes not leaving him this time, any bit of her who had been sorry—ready to be repentant, even—gone, stuffed down below the anger. "She's the one who started all of this! And you're—"

"Let's focus on you," Harvey said, grasping onto a fleeting bit of patience somewhere within him.

"Why? It was just as much her fault as mine."

"You're a kid, Charlie. She's an adult," he said, his tone final though he could already tell it landed wrong as it hit his sister's ears. And Harvey didn't believe it anyway. His sister would certainly never respond to that line of logic. Charlie had thought of herself as an adult from the age of four and the closer she got to the legal distinction, the less accepting she became of justifications exactly of the sort Harvey had just used. He couldn't exactly disagree with her. For the most part, his sister was more mature than the majority of people he interacted with. More mature than this teacher, maybe. Aside from the girl's unremitting need to be right all the time, that is. And her stubbornness.

"So she gets none of the blame and I get treated like a common criminal because I'm a kid and she's an adult?"

And her theatrics. Christ, could she be dramatic, Harvey thought to himself as she mocked his words.

"Isabelle Heskett's not my responsibility. If her father wants to give her a time out for this whole thing, that's his business."

Charlie didn't laugh, didn't even crack a smile, but she didn't say anything either so Harvey continued.

"And I know that I taught you to know better than this. And if you know better, you can do better. Just let this thing go, Charlie. I don't want the back story. I don't care what the issue is. I just want you to end it. Be the bigger person. Be the smarter person. Don't worry about her."

That landed. Harvey could see it, the words sticking as Charlie's body released something a bit, her bottom lip disappearing for a second as she considered it. "You say that like it's so easy."

"It's not," Harvey answered, quickly. He knew it wasn't easy. He knew it was harder than it was for most for her—it was for him, too—but it was how he wanted this resolved. It was how Harvey expected her to resolve it, to swallow her pride and make it work. "I know that, but you're going to have to work with people you don't like for the rest of your life. You might as well figure out how to do it well right now. I have to deal with Louis on a daily basis. I think you can manage to hold your tongue for the rest of the semester."

He'd ask Oliver to switch her then. Call it a lesson learned and move along. Get things back to normal.

"It's not the same, Harv." She pressed her head down into her hands as her elbows rested on her knees, quiet for a moment as she considered what her brother was asking, no—telling—her to do. She looked up at him suddenly. "When exactly was the last time you held your tongue?"

Harvey tried not to laugh as Charlie stared at him.

"I keep it professional. I expect you to give it a good faith effort." Harvey watched his sister for a reaction, but Charlie was trying her hardest to stay neutral now and Harvey took it as a good sign to press. To hit the point home. "Actually, Charlotte, I expect better. You're my responsibility and your actions are a reflection on me so I hold you to a higher standard than most people. You need to learn to respect people whether or not you agree with them."

Charlie's eyes rolled. Maybe she hadn't been as primed as he thought. Not yet ready to accept defeat.

"Whatever, Harvey."

"No, it's not whatever, Charlotte." Frustration crept into Harvey's tone as he looked at his sister, her arms pulled tight across her chest. He would have been happy to never hear the word 'whatever' ever again in his life. Charlie knew he hated the word. She usually made a conscious effort to use it less, though it came in handy when she was trying to push him.

"I don't want to hear about any more problems in that class, or in any of your classes, for that matter. You need to learn to control yourself. Stop being so goddamn hot-headed and impulsive."

Charlie's eyes shifted out the window, too angry with her brother to meet his eye though she could feel his gaze burning into the side of her face. She got her hot-headed impulsivity from him, but Charlie knew voicing that argument wouldn't serve her well now. Expressing that would likely take them out of the harmless button-pushing stage and settle them a level or two beyond that. Maybe they were already beyond that, but Charlie waited for the anger welling up inside of her to pass anyway.

She cleared her throat as she finally looked to him. "How long am I grounded for?"

"The rest of the month."

"Fine."

Harvey's answer had come quickly and Charlie had no intention of fighting him on it. The end of the month was a little over two weeks away. It sucked, but it was fair enough. It certainly could've been worse.

"And I want you to apologize."

Charlie met his eye, allowing the apology to tumble out, directed at him though she knew that wasn't what Harvey had meant.

"Charlie…"

"No," she answered, without looking up to him. Charlie busied herself with her bag, resettling the weight of her books rather than looking at him.

"You're not in a position to tell me 'no' right now. You either apologize on your own volition, or I'll walk you into that classroom myself."

Moments like this, Harvey reminded himself of his father. Harvey had been given the ultimatum more than once in his youth. He wondered if Charlie had been given the option before. He wondered if she ever gave their father this kind of pushback.

"I'm not apologizing to her, Harvey." She still messed with those books, like she was ignoring him, but Harvey knew she was just channeling her energy. Trying to keep her cool so she could continue to sound nonchalant. "I'm not sorry."

"Well, you better make a very convincing show of it then," he answered. "Shouldn't be too hard. You went to theater camp that one summer."

Harvey remembered it well. He had paid for the two-week-long session in the city. She had stayed with him and he had taken half-days where he could, bringing her to the office when he couldn't. Charlie had driven him close to crazy by insisting on performing for him in every spare moment he had, his speakers playing nothing but musical theater numbers for the duration.

Charlie made to stand up, pulling Harvey from his reverie. "Are we done?"

Harvey stood up to meet her. "No, Charlotte, we are not done. I'll let you know when we're done."

She groaned and slumped back into the sofa, leaning her head back against the cushions. "I get the point, ok? I'm grounded. I'm a terrible person. Whatever."

That goddamn word again. Charlie pretended not to notice as Harvey clenched and unclenched his fist.

"You were in the wrong here, kid." His words were almost gentle, on the edge of it. "I need to hear you acknowledge that."

"No, Harvey. That's just your opinion, and I don't even know how valid it can be since you didn't even hear me out. You just assumed—"

"Don't ever suggest that I haven't done my due diligence, especially when it comes to you."

Charlie closed her mouth. Harvey was always more prepared than he appeared to be and she should've known that. She should've known that they wouldn't have been able to put off this conversation without him already knowing exactly what had happened at school the day before. Either Donna filled him in or he reached out to Oliver himself, or some combination of the two.

"It was a sound argument, Charlotte," Harvey finally said.

A smirk played on Charlie's lips, but she quickly leaned into her hand to hide it.

Harvey rolled his eyes. Part of him wished that his praise wasn't so important to her, but he doubted that Charlie would ever stop trying to impress her big brother.

"You're a bright kid, Charlie, you know that. But what you did…it's just not the right way to prove a point. And if you're looking to make me proud, well, pulling a stunt like that gets you nowhere with me and I think you already know that."

Charlie kept finding other things to be interested in, things other than her brother's face. She was listening, Harvey could tell that much, but she didn't want to meet his eye.

"And if I hear of something like this happening again, you won't just be grounded for a couple of weeks." Harvey's polished dress shoes edged their way into Charlie's field of view, covering up the particular spot of the carpet where she'd been staring. His hands were in his pockets and he was watching her when she finally dragged her eyes to him.

"Did you hear what I said, Charlotte, or do I need to repeat it?"

"Yeah. Fine. I'm sorry."

Harvey loosened a breath, still considering her for a moment before slipping onto the cushion beside her, Harvey pulled Charlie close with an arm.

"Now, when you apologize to Heskett, I want you to say it just like that. Same inflection. Same pitiful look on your face. Do you want to practice on me a couple more times? I never get tired of you being contrite."

Charlie elbowed him and Harvey laughed heartily, letting her settle against his side a second later. She was tired. They hadn't even left the house yet and she was exhausted.

Harvey was tired too. Battle weary. He debated whether or not he wanted to start another argument with her now. They were both feeling content, or as close to it as manageable after something like this. Part of him knew it would be easier to just let the whole Scottie thing go, but his body was already shifting before he'd even made up his mind, sitting up straighter so she shifted from her spot against him.

"What now?" she asked, glancing at the clock. They still had a little time before Ray was due to pick them up out front.

"You want to tell me what you got so upset about earlier?"

She shrugged. "I don't need a babysitter."

"It's not a babysitter," he said, though he knew that wasn't it. Charlie liked passing the evening with Mike or Donna or Rachel, and Harvey knew that. Harvey knew that sometimes, Charlie even needed it. Needed the time with them more than she needed an evening at home with him, got something different from those people than she could get from him. "It's hanging out with Donna or Mike or Rachel. Or if you're really lucky, I think Louis might be free."

Charlie raised an eyebrow as she glanced up at him. She played along with Harvey's feud with Louis even though Charlie kind of liked the guy.

"I can manage myself."

Harvey could've presented a good bit of evidence to the contrary, but he didn't want to get into all of that again. "Maybe, but you're grounded. What kind of brother would I be if I let you go unsupervised to roam the city on a Saturday night?"

"You'd be an awesome brother," she answered, ignoring the rest of it. "The most awesome brother."

"I thought I already was the most awesome brother. Who says I'm not awesome?"

"Everyone says it."

"No one says that."

Charlie sensed that it wasn't an argument she would be winning easily and sat up straighter. "So you really don't trust me to stay home alone?"

Harvey nodded. "That's correct. We're on the same page here."

Charlie groaned, taking one of the throw pillows and hitting him gently. "Harvey! I can stay here by myself while you and Scottie go on your stupid little date."

Harvey took the offending pillow from her hand. "It's not a date. It's—"

"Booty call," Charlie answered, entirely uninterested in whatever excuse, whatever bogus label Harvey was about to give it. "Fine. Call it whatever you want to call it. I don't care so long as I don't have to see it."

"Charlie, what's the real problem here?" he asked.

But Harvey knew. It was Scottie. Charlie knew her brother dated around. She was used to it. It was rare that he stuck with a girl for more than a few dates, rare that Charlie actually met these women, but Harvey had introduced her to a few of them, the ones he wanted to bring around a bit more, but most of them were short lived. And then there was Scottie.

Charlie had known her the longest. She'd met the woman when she was still a kid, a decade ago. Back before she was even living with him. Harvey wasn't sure what it was, but Charlie didn't like her, and had never really given the woman much of a chance.

"I just don't like her," Charlie answered. "And I don't understand why you do. She's insufferable."

"Insufferable, huh? Well, if that's all it is," Harvey scoffed at her answer. They both knew it wasn't an adequate explanation, but Charlie didn't offer him anything else. She never did. "Good thing you're not the one seeing her then."

"I see her a heck of a lot more than I'd like to."

Harvey raised an eyebrow and Charlie continued.

"Like when you force us to have dinner together."

"Alright—"

"And when she sneaks out of your bedroom—"

"I said alright, Charlotte. That's enough," Harvey answered as he stood up, readying himself to leave. Ray still wasn't due for a few minutes, but he had no interest in continuing the conversation, not sure he even wanted to know what else he'd failed to keep from his sister in that regard.

This time, it was Charlie who raised an eyebrow and scoffed. She was sixteen, sure. But she wasn't stupid.

LTLB Masterlist (Everything)

LTLB Masterlist (Chapters)

Chapter 6

[give-to-oblivion]

My Hero Academia Recs: Time Travel Edition

I enjoy this trope a great deal (particularly for MHA and Naruto, for whatever reason), so here is a list of my favorites! As always, this is not comprehensive and I encourage you to reblog with your own recommendations.

For purposes of not making this list unmanageable, these are time travel but not time loop/groundhog day recs.

Previous recommendations:

Dadmight & Dadzawa recs where nobody gets bashed

Erasermic recs

Consequences Have Actions by LandofWordsandNonsense (Lieutenant_Nonsense)

"Do you know who we are? Who we used to be?"

Everything went so wrong before they had a chance to stop it. They've always been fighters, but even they couldn't hold out forever. Now, there's only a handful of them left. Ravenous apocalyptic monsters on one side, and a merciless totalitarian government on the other, and they haven't got the strength to defeat either. With no hope and nothing left to lose, they decide to take one last desperate chance. The world is too broken for them to fix now... so the only choice left is to try to undo the series of tragedies that led to this before they happen.

There's going to be hell to pay, and the Hellions are coming to collect.

And Hellions never go down easy.

This fic ripped my heart out and left me bleeding on the concrete. Absolutely fantastic. Sequel is unfinished but you can read just the first installment without losing anything.

every road you take will always lead you home by pusser

Midoriya Izuku passes out in his world and wakes up in one where Number One Hero, Deku, has been dead for three years.

Family (Regardless of Blood or Time) by Blueseabird2

Shouta gets sent back in time and immediately starts putting things into place to take down All for One. More importantly, he also adopts a lot of children, meets friends at the Park, and joins Midoriya Inko on her crusade against society's idiocy. He gets Nezu involved.

(He's also not as alone as he thinks).

(I do wish I could run this one through a good SPAG beta, but it's still enjoyable and very sweet.)

journey to the past by aloneintherain

Izuku is five years old the first time he's saved by heroes. He's an instant fan of the woman in pink with her cheerful smile and the man with his ice powers and fine-boned features, even if they both refuse to tell him their names.

For most of his life, Izuku has been the centre of villain attacks, but he has never been injured. Every time, he's saved by bright, unknown heroes—heroes who smile at Izuku, and ruffle his hair or ply him with hugs, and seem mesmerised by how small he is.

Heroes that the rest of the world doesn't believe exists.

look at us now by dreamtowns

The next switch happens during English in the following days. One moment, sixteen-year-old Yaoyorozu is dutifully reciting a passage for the class, and then Momo is there, dressed in a stylish pantsuit and holding a stack of papers, reaching for a phone that isn’t there as her eyes scan the meeting discussion points. Her hand smacks against Shinsou’s arm.

“Ow,” says Shinsou, more out of reflex than any actual pain.

Momo drops the papers. “Not now—I have a meeting in five minutes!”

Short and fun.

that time long past by the_crownless_queen

In which Shouta gets yeeted back to the past, and ends up learning more about everybody's favorite Problem Child. Even if he'd rather do anything else.

The Threads On My Heart (Lead Back To You) by Razzledazzy

Deku never actually thought that he would lose when it mattered most. Nor did he think he would ever be given a second chance at making things right.

Izuku vows never to fail anyone again, but to do that, he has to put away the idea of becoming the Symbol of Peace and do things his own way.

A World Anew by Krasimer

His eyes were wide as he stared at the gloves, then at her. “They’ll keep me from hurting people?”

“Yeah!” she laughed. “Just like a hero wears, right?” she held up her own hands, wiggling her fingers. Her gloves were fraying at the edges, holding signs of a battle she had been through, but he didn’t know what her costume had looked like before. “What’s your name, huh?”

“Shimura Tenko,” he held out his hands to let her put the gloves on him, watching as his fingers slid into the material. When she handed him another rock, this one stayed whole. “It works…”

(also featured on the Dadmight & Dazawa recs list)

The World Ended Before it Could Begin (Time Doesn't Heal All Wounds) by Borntobemild

It was supposed to be Izuku. He had all the knowledge and the plans he needed to make this work. But circumstances change and now Hitoshi is thirteen again and trying to stop the world from ending while also pretending that he isn't a traumatized adult trapped in a child's body.

[redrydersrequiem]

Lost and found family

(That’s right I hopped onto the avatar 2 wagon Everyone is slightly aged up in this im just trying to get shit to work so bare with me neteyem is 21 so is reader. I’m still a new writer and this hasn’t been profed) bold means Navi language

My name is Caspian lane. The year is ( ) when I was ten the man that basically raised me went off to another planet in the place of his twin brother. I waited five years before I was told Jake wasn’t coming back. At 16 I joined the marines the youngest I could be since I had no actual guardians. For years I climbed the ranks and became a marine just like Jake until the RAD came and found me. They told me that Jake had been captured, and has been the Navis leader Toruk Maktos prisoner all this time. That they were putting a team together to go and find and rescue him and the others that were captured. I should have known this all was a lie but the prospect of Jake being safe is all I heard. I joined without a second thought.

Present day, I arrived on Pandora but not as a human. I left earth as an almost 30 year old red headed human who spent her formative years training to be a soldier working towards one goal. Now I'm 20 or at least my body is.. I'm a Navi now, the indigenous species here. It’s definitely different being so tall and blue but hey I've always liked the color blue. I definitely miss my red hair but after braiding a piece of it into my new body’s hair,I'm getting used to this.

Today I met Quartich and his crew. The general explained that they were called the blue team and that they were there to help find and rescue Jake with me. I'm grateful to them, having more than one person will definitely be advantageous but They are a little rough around the edges, all definitely being way more guarded with me then each other. Oh well I'm not here to make friends, I'm here to save my family.

We’re all dropped off in the forest, everyone super vigilante as we make our way to an old outpost station they are looking for clues in. The station is decrepit and overgrown with vegetation. I simply look around in wonder at the nature around us as quaritch and his goons look into the body that was left there. A noise captures my attention, I turn back to see if the others heard it but they’re still preoccupied with their own searches. The noise is heard again and I know I shouldn’t go off on my own but my gut tells me there’s no danger. I slowly make my way over and see children. Three Navi children and one human one. Wait why are there children here, but before i can speak they all are intercepted by the others and manhandled to the ground

“Hey hey stop, they're just kids what are y'all doing!”

“Stand down corporal.-quaritch

“No they are kids were not here to hurt anyone this is a search and rescue mission i say as i get in his face. Now let these kids go.”

“You know I've been real patient with your nonsense but now I think it's time to pop that bubble.

Next thing I know, pain explodes across my cheek as I fall to the floor, one of the other soldiers grabbing me and putting me in the same position as the children.

“What the fuck?”

“Shut up lane. I've been patient but here's the real talk: we aren't here to save Jake Sully, we are here to kill him, for the traitor that he is.”

“What?”

“Yes sir, your dear old jake isn't a prisoner here he’s their damn leader. And we’ve come to stop him starting here.”

“Look sir this one has five fingers” one of the others shouts as he holds up the teen girl's hand.

“Well would you look at that. What about you boy, let me see your hands.”

The young male then flips quaritch off. And damn if he didn’t remind me of someone right there.”

“Well i'll be damned your his”

“What are you talking about?”

“These kids belong to none other than our dear jake sully.”-quaritch

“What.” I look around looking at the children. “They’re jakes?”

“And now that we have them, well for sure be able to lure Jake and that she demon he’s married to out in the open.”

“No I can’t let this happen, I won't let these children get hurt.

“Well I can’t wait to see how you try and stop us. Captain call the ship for Rendezvous and tell them we have captives and a traitor.”

“Sir yes sir.”

All I can do is thrash in the soldiers hold as my temper gets the best of me. How dare these hired guns lie to me. All my thrashing earns me though is a swift punch to the gut,knocking all the air out of me. On the ground now I try to think of a plan but all I can focus on is the scared looks on the kids faces.

“Hey, ugh hey: gaining their attention. “What are your names? Im caspian”

“Tuk”. The smallest child states the others shush her as the soldiers echos be quiet to all of us

“Ignore them. Tuk is a pretty name. I'm sorry you guys are in this mess but I promise you with every fiber of my being i won't let these guys hurt you.

They all look at each other and come to a silent consensus that im telling the truth. And silently introducing themselves to me.

“Why are you here? The older girl ask me

“I came here to find my family, your father.”

“You know our dad?”. Lo’ak asks softly

“Yes, Jake and Tommy basically raised me. So when Tommy died Jake went off here to make sure that we could get by and his salary alone was enough to last us years. So he took the job. I thought this whole time he had been captured and was being held captive so I worked hard and joined up to become blue and be able to rescue him. I guess now that I think about it there’s some holes in my plans.

“You think!” the human boy spider comments.

“Hey im still young cut me a break I’m here aren’t I.

“Can it you.” Quaritch commands as he walks toward spider .While they are talking I take in my surroundings. It’s gotten dark and the rain lightly pours. They've disarmed me from my gun but they forget I'm every much a marine as they are as I subtly pull out a smoke grenade from my belt. The kids all come to attention when a light clicking noise is heard in the wind.

“Kids look at me. They all turn their heads. Lo’ak seeing what I’m doing. subtle nods and motions to the other.

“Kids run!” I yell as I release the Grenade, the soldiers dropping the kids as they get away.

“I wrestle with the one holding me as an arrow suddenly flies through his head. I hid for cover. No idea what's going on as long as the kids were able to get away that's all I cared about.

The sullys pov

“Hey hey "Jake yells as he sees his children all running towards him.

“Dad dad.”

“Tuk you're ok. Are you all ok” as he goes and checks on his children

“Yes the lady helped us dad she helped us.”

“What who helped you”

“A lady, she said she knew you”. - Kiri

“She said her name was caspian”- lo’ak

Caspian what what are you talking about- jake

“Yeah she’s the young one with the red braid, she helped us, we have to help her”- kiri

“Ok Kiri ok right now i'm not worried about that i just want to make sure you're all safe ok. You guys get to the Irkrans now, Neteyams there, go now.

Jake watches his children leave as he goes to help his mate.

Caspians pov

The kids got away and now arrows and bullets are flying through the air as the colonel calls for the others to capture the kids or the ones firing at them an arrow narrowly missing his head

“Is that you mrs sully” i hear quaritch yell out into the air

“Demon" I hear being called back. “ I don't know how you are here but I will kill you as many times as I have to” the colonel Finally reloading begins to run ramped once again shooting towards the tops of the covered trees.

Wait he said misses sully that means jakes here. Getting up I weave through the vines and trees towards the Colonel trying to take out whoever I can with the small pistol I have left. The one I believe named Prager gets in my way thinking he intimidates me. But I've gone my whole military career having men underestimate me and me putting them on their asses so that's exactly what I did. Jumping up and kicking Prager in the face I beat him to the ground putting two shots into his chest. Another rounds the tree though making eye contact with me lifting his AR ready to fire when a hatchet flies through the trees making its target in his head.

That’s when I saw him. He's taller, with dreaded hair and paint on his face, but before I can say anything bullets again fly through the air sending everyone to cover however they can. I see in the distance the new Navi fighting with the others exchanging blows as the command ship finally comes into view. There's no way I'm letting these bastards go without a fight. All of the remaining team blue are retreating as I see quaritch pick up a fallen rocket launcher. Oh hell no. I run full force and tackle him to the ground a moment too late however if the ringing in my ears from the explosion hitting the big tree is an indicator.

“Lane i must say you are definitely living up to your name sake on being a pain in my ass”

All i can do is hiss at quaritch as he bring out his knife

“You all lied to me and I don't take kindly to that.” With that said the fight is

on,

Blows being landed back to back but quaritch definitely has the advantage with the knife in his hand. Just barely keeping up when I hear yelling from my side. I see the others have somehow captured spider. Slinging him over their shoulder to board the ship. The distraction costs me, for the next second there’s a knife now plugged into my side

“Let's see how long you last with that corporal”. Quaritch sarcastically says as he pulls the knife out and hustles over to the ropes to board the ship. All I can do is stumble away as I watch them get away in the midst of the smoke.

The knife wound in my side definitely is not fun. Jesus did he use the biggest thing he had. I'm resting against the side of a tree trying to keep the bleeding minimal. When the foliage in front of me moves to the side revealing a Navi woman with yellow face paint and a bow to my face.

“Wait wait, I'm friendly”. I try to get out as I try to show that I have no weapons but moving both hands is impossible unless I want to bleed out faster than I already am. She says something, probably signaling her companion as he now comes out or the foliage.

“Who are you, why did you help us”, he surprisingly says in English

“My name is Caspian Lane. I'm here to find my family.”

“Wait what did you say your name was”

The male asks and I finally look up. We both make eye contact and the longer i look at him the more recognizable he becomes

“Jake?….. is that really you.”

“How do you know me? who are you?”

“It’s me, Caspian,You and your brother practically raised me as a kid. That ringing any bells”

Jake steps towards me, the woman saying something to him but I guess by his words when he turns back to her she no longer considers me a threat as the arrow is no longer pointed at me.

“Are you really little Cassie?”

“Yup it's me jake it's really me.”

“How are you here? How are you Navi? I Have so many questions.”

“Oh trust me so do i but could you first help me out a little im kinda bleeding out”

“Oh shit” Jake comes to my side and lifts my hands to look at the wound. He curses under his breath as he begins to put pressure on the wound.

“Damn we need to get you taken care of, neytiri we need to get her to mo’at.

“Jake,bag there’s a cauterizer”

“What I'm not.”

“Jake im not going to make a journey with this kind of wound take the round device out of my pack and use it”

Jake hesitantly does as i say telling the woman to come and hold my side

“Listen i'm not gonna lie this is gonna hurt but i've got you little red i've got you

“Ha little red I haven’t been called that in.. ahhhhhhh”

All thought is gone from my head as the pain infiltrates. Until nothingness and the world goes dark.

Jakes pov

I can’t believe she’s here. How is this happening right now, the young girl I thought I'd never see again and unfortunately haven’t thought of in several years is here now in front of me as a Navi. She looks young about the age of neteyam. She looks the same and not, probably much like i did in the beginning when I transferred to my avatar. The wound wasn’t looking good.

“Neyteri come, I need you to hold her on the other side so she doesn’t jerk away when I do this.”

“Are you sure of the person ma jake”

“Yes I'll explain everything once we're out of here but first we need to help her.”

Turning back to Caspian, I take the tool in my hand and prepare to use it. I gently take her face in my palm to make her look into my eyes.

“Hey little red i've got you ive got you. I speak softly before beginning to cauterize the wound. Her scream resonates in my ears until i feel her body going limp

“Shit, cassy, caspian can you hear me.”

“She’s passed out from the pain ma jake we need to get her to mo’at.

“Yeah yeah I’ll grab her, can you grab her stuff.”

“Yes”

“Good come, let's go home. The kids are waiting.”

The sullys leave, venturing home with a very interesting friend in tow.

I did my best drawing this. Caspian in here human clothes

[barovianbitches]

Shall We Dance?

No one ever expected the crown princess to return home to her castle fifty years later when the Dragonspire had fallen into ruin, her family long dead from a siege that happened shortly after her disappearance. Nevertheless, her return was celebrated all across the coast, a sign from the gods that they had not abandoned their people and sent them a reason to keep up their sorry little lives. People paraded the streets, offering aid in cleaning off the overgrown castle walls. The celebration did not stop for over half a moon, the people of the Sword Coast joyous, happy to have the return of the princess and perhaps some type of order to the lands.

Amidst the festivities, though, very few noticed how the princess looked exactly as she did several decades ago when she disappeared. Glassy skin without a single blemish, paler than any royal who has never worked a day in the sun. Her raven hair was long and perfectly kept. Her lips were red and full as a blooming rose. She was supposed to be over seventy years old, and yet here she was, not a day over twenty-six.

Rarely did she speak about where she went or who took her. Too painful to even think about, she would say. When asked how she is still so youthful, she simply smiled. A gift from the gods, she would say. The priests of the Setting Sun came to the aid of the princess, corroborating her story, and stated that the Goddess of the Moon has blessed their princess with a divine beauty that transcended time. 

Following the fanfare of return, the princess held a masquerade ball for all known nobles and royalty, both self-proclaimed and through divine right. Things change over five decades, and as the good princess she was, she must meet with all of her subjects as they were meant to serve her. Most she was able to recognize, the grown children of nobles she knew when she was younger, but one stood out among the rest.

In a distant castle, one once ruined by time, much as Dragonspire did over the last fifty years, was the old Lord Vladislav. Vlad had received a letter quite unexpectedly. He is not one for mail, as many of the nobles of the land do not see him as a true lord and never invited him to things. Not even to mention that they were scared of him. And yet, here he was, a raven perched on the stone railing of the balcony leading into the Master bedroom. The moon shone overhead, reflecting in the bird's eye. It cocked its head at Vlad, dropping the sealed letter at his feet before flying away. 

"Crown Princess Roxanna Michaelina Haxinthia de Clermont-Tonnerre requests the pleasure of Lord Vladislav and company to Castle Dragonspire to celebrate the return of Her Royal Highness. She humbly requests that you dress for the occasion, as it is a masquerade. Appropriate attire is highly encouraged."

Who was he to refuse to call of a princess? He vaguely knew of the history of the Sword Coast. Fifty-some years ago, when he first settled the ruins of his current home, the young princess had disappeared, presumed dead. She would be well over seventy now. Oh well. It was an opportunity for connections, he supposed.

Soon the night of the masquerade came the warm summer evening, a perfect setting for the pomp and glamor that would soon be filing through the gates of Dragonspire.

The gates glimmered under the moon, shining brighter than even the stars overhead. The castle that had been in ruins for several decades was restored in only a little over a month due to the assistance from various churches hailing the return of the princess as well as those invested enough in the happenings of the royal family. The white stone of the many towers bore the look of the bones of a large beast, which is where it earned its name. It still bore the scars of the siege, deep claw marks dug into the white stone of the castle spires from the beasts that laid waste to what was left of the princess’s family, commanded by an unseen force. Aside from the crumbled west tower, what was left of it lay in the garden far below and overtaken by the wild flora; the castle was in otherwise pristine condition once it was cleared of the foliage. 

The nobles arrived one by one in their lavish carriages, drawn by all manner of beasts, from horses to griffons to particularly disgruntled giant boars. They rounded the circular stone road leading up to the courtyard, stepping down and making their way into the grand garden that stretched before them. White pathways and stairs inlaid with gold images created interlocking circles leading farther up to the silvery steps of the restored castle, various nobles awaiting other parties on benches beside wild bushes of hydrangeas and peonies. The garden had more or less been left untouched by those clearing the castle, simply clearing the pathways and allowing the plants to run wild in the confines of their circular spaces for the time being. A great fountain sat in the center of it all, ivy winding its way up the white spikes that mimicked the spires of the castle. 

The Lord arrived on time, just how he liked it. His black carriage rolled through the gates, headed by two large black horses dressed in red silk adornments. He watched as dozens of nobles from all across the land made their way to the open castle doors. Filthy things, he thought to himself. They were all fakes, playing up their pathetic lives in order to appear as someone important. 

The young man in front of the arches leading into the garden opened the door to the carriage, allowing the Lord to step out. “Enjoy your evening, my Lord.” The boy bowed low, his mop of black curls obscuring his face. Vlad’s eyes widened ever so slightly. No- It wasn’t him. He shook his head to clear his mind of his thoughts, not uttering a word to the boy as he made his way through the arches and into the gardens with the other nobles.

“Lord Tiberius Zerephel and Lady Pendilor!” The cry of the man could be heard across the sweeping scape of the ballroom floor, a burly man and dainty redhead dressed in dark blue and white making their way through the open doorway. They nodded to the guests currently dotting the dance floor and walls before proceeding down the winding grand staircase. Though the night was young, the ballroom was packed with nobles from all corners of Faerûn. The hall was almost deafeningly loud from the sound of the band playing various waltzes as well as the near-constant stream of chattering and whispers from the guests. Not everyone was entirely content with the sudden return of the princess. There was no doubt that it was her, as she looked exactly like the various paintings and statues made in her honor. However, the nobles of the land were curious about her inexplicable homecoming to Dragonspire. 

“Duchess Morwen Daggerford!” The tall woman followed the calling of her name, standing alone at the top of the stairs with her helmet at her hip. The Duchess wore decorative plate mail only worn for special occasions, a fanciful red cape trimmed with tan fur swept over her shoulder. She didn’t look entirely keen on being here, her hawk-like eyes sweeping the room, almost like she was searching for something. She made her way down the stairs as well, quickly being greeted by a Count a region over from the Sword Coast. 

“Lord Vladislav-!” The squire was cut off as a quiet gasp ripped through the room. Up until that moment, the room was filled with chatter and polite but meaningless conversation between nobles, all falling silent at the name. Through the door came the one announced Lord, a man from the far eastern lands that bordered the dark mountains. He was a self-proclaimed nobleman, having settled the ruins of a smaller keep that was forgotten long ago, sometime after the princess’s disappearance. None of the attending nobles had actually ever seen the Lord in person, most believing it to be drummed up rumors by servants and the peasant folk. Yet here he was, in the flesh.

Vlad could feel hundreds of eyes upon him as he entered the ballroom, standing at the very top of the grand staircase that led down. After a moment, the guests went back to chattering, the band striking up for another waltz as people in various animal masks mulled about. Rabbits, cats, wolves, and lions. Predators stalked prey in the hypnotic dance in the center of the room. Skirts swayed, glasses clinked. It was rare that the Lord attended such festivities, and this was quite possibly the grandest display of wealth he had seen for a long while. So many warm bodies centered in one room. Like chickens being observed by the hawk. 

He mulled about, a glass of sparkling drink being pushed into his hand by one of the many masks servers skittering between the guests. Unlike many others, he was not wearing a full mask, just a simple piece of black lace that obscured the upper half of his face, any other would cover his fine looks.

The room was ornately decorated from floor to vaulted ceiling, the princess really didn't hold back on this fine occasion. He watched the crowd for any sign of an old woman, finding his way about various partygoers. A woman in a poofy aqua ballgown approached, her pale face adorned with the mask of a white rabbit. She curtsied to the Lord, holding out her hand for him to take. 

"The lord of that dark castle just across the way! What a pleasure to finally meet you. To be quite honest with you, my Lord, we all thought you were a folktale!" A male in a matching suit laughs as she says this, eyeing Vlad curiously. "Ah, forgive me, I must have forgotten my manners! I am Lady Delilah Dumount of Waterdeep. A pleasure to make your acquaintance." The woman seemed entirely too keen to do so, her prying eyes narrowing in on him and scrutinizing every detail, seeming to be looking for something to drag him on.

Vlad noticed the mask. Slobbish. He didn’t appreciate her attitude- nor does he enjoy the company of men and women running around in masks like children- a truly pitiful sight… This woman felt entitled to his company, which he was hesitant to give. “I am afraid I have not heard of you before. You said you were named Delores Dumaint?” Vlad denies her handshake, eyeing her gloved hand as though it was filthy.

He can see her falter, her lip curling a bit out of judgment as she glances at the man she is with. "Delilah, my lord. Delilah Dumount." She practically spits, rolling her eyes. There is a moment of tense silence before she gave a tight-lipped smile, barely hiding the wrinkle of her nose as she does so. "Ah, forgive us, I do believe we see someone else we must say hello to. Excuse us." She turned on her heel, dragging the man along with her, whispering as she goes. Vlad's keen ears could catch a stuffy, "Why I never!" 

Much to his dismay, he had not seen or heard at all of the princess yet. How improper, he mused. Clearly, the other guests were anxious as well. Vlad observed the wallflowers of the event whisper and continuously look up to the top of the grand staircase, almost willing her to appear. The room was alight with indistinct chatter before a soft hush fell over the room. The squire at the top of the stairs tooted a small horn, and other servants gathered around with flags bearing the royal crest. "Lords and Ladies, Counts and Countesses, Dukes and Duchesses! May I present to you, Her Royal Highness, Crown Princess Roxanna Michaelina Haxinthia de Clermont-Tonnerre!" He seemed to lose his breath towards the end of the sentence, bowing out of the way as a figure emerged from the doorway.

To say the rest of the room was shocked was the understatement of the century. As the figure stepped into the light, the beautiful pale face of a young woman was illuminated. She wore a heavy red ballgown covered in golden embroidery, a massive stole draped around the crooks of her arms. Raven hair fell around her shoulders and down her back in long flowing waves, her cheeks as pale as snow and her lips red as a rose. She looked almost like a corpse, dressed in their finest at a royal funeral. Upon entering, her face was expressionless, but upon the cheering of her subjects, she gave a small, beautiful smile. 

She was breathtaking in an otherwordly way, destined for another universe entirely. She didn't wear a mask, no, only a large crown of glittering gold thorns. A squire quickly came to her side to hold her hand as she descended the stairs. Her eyes scanned the room, dark eyes flicking over the various nobles. Then, just for a moment, her eyes met Vlad's, glinting ruby red for a mere split second. She smiled before her eyes traced along the others standing beside him.

Something about her, was off. And it seemed both he and the room couldn't place it. That is, until her scent hit his nose, causing him to inhale sharply. A vampire.

There is something about Roxanna he had never expected to see in another woman. Once long ago, he thought he’d loved a woman… a traveler. But she paled in comparison to the princess. It had been decades since Vladislav had felt himself lust for another person, and yet he couldn’t extinguish the fire in his chest when he saw the princess enter the room. 

Vlad could feel his long-dead heart squeeze in his chest as her eyes met his. She knew exactly what she had done, bringing him here tonight. He shot a glance around at those surrounding him, surrounding them both. Mere mortals, indistinct blips on the scroll of time when they two were the sole ones who would remain of this lot after a century had passed. The Lord broke from his stare, pushing his hair back from his face before making his way to the stairs. He crudely pushed past several gawking men and women, who all stood in disbelief as he did moments ago. They had heard of her everlasting beauty through the gossiping grapevine, but never did they expect this. They didn’t understand why the supposedly seventy-year-old princess looked so wonderful. They didn’t understand her. 

She could hardly contain her delight as she watched him approach, the crowd of people parting due to his persistence as they watched him daringly approach the stairs. With only a few left, she watched him bow before her. 

The Lord made it to the bottom of the stairs, where she met him, practically stealing her from the servant who guided her down. He sunk low in a deep bow, practically to his knees, as he held out his hand for her to take. He couldn’t help but grin at the ground. “Your Highness, it is a pleasure, truly a pleasure”

Roxanna raised an eyebrow, smiling ever so lightly as she placed her bare hand into his. She wore many dainty rings on her fingers, her skin soft and smooth and oh so fresh. "Ah, Lord Vladislav. How lovely to finally meet you. I was so excited to see that you were in attendance." The way she said his name sent shivers running up his spine. Her words were soft and velvety, with a slight lilt at the end. She still held his hand as she descended the last few steps, coming to stand before him and letting him tower over her shorter frame. 

All the room could do was watch as the mysterious lord spoke with their princess. Whispers began to run through the crowd at the speed of lightning, all eyes on them.

With utmost grace, Vladislav placed a kiss on her cold fingers, stealing a glance up at the princess from where he knelt. “Do forgive me, but I do not get out very often… would it be proper decorum to ask Your Highness if you’d care for a drink?”

Someone from the crowd scoffed a bit, the nobles erupting into whispers to one another about how the princess would respond. She smiled kindly, nodding her head and curtsying to the Lord.

"Only if His Lordship finds the heart to escort me himself." She playfully hummed back, her words quiet so their conversation was near private. It took every fiber in her to keep her from laughing at his inadvertent pun. The guests leaned in, attempting to listen.

“I reason I can muster the strength. Only for you, of course.” Vladislav ignored the murder of the crowd. Let them gawk, he didn’t care. After all, it was he who had the pleasure of being the first of them to speak with the beloved princess.

Clearly trying to maintain some sort of noble air around her, she looped arms with him. "Lead the way, my Lord." She murmured to him, her lips curling in delight. Her teeth glinted white, but surprisingly, with a lack of sharp fangs. Retractable. Of course. Vlad mused. She would be in the public’s eye, she couldn’t simply walk about with her fangs on display. No, that was something for private moments, with one she was deeply devoted to. Only then would she reveal her true self.

Vlad lead only by formality as he wandered further into the ballroom. Her essence disoriented him greatly, like a suffocating perfume. He hadn’t encountered a vampire so potent in power, at least outwardly so. 

They reached the other end of the room, standing next to the arched windows. “Forgive me, your highness. But I wasn’t literal in offering a drink. No disrespect to those you keep for company, but the offered refreshments repulse me.” Vladislav paused, his dark eyes twinkling as he smirked at the princess, “Though I suspect you and I are of similar palates?”

"Ah, none taken!" She smiled, pulling a broad lacey fan from her sleeve and opening it, obscuring her fangs as they extended a bit for the show. "I do believe we are~ I could smell you as your carriage rolled into the courtyard, mon chéri." She raised her brows, her dark eyes reflecting with the same red sheen that caught his gaze before.

Through the large arched windows, they were able to observe the lay of the land from high on the hilltop, the lookout reaching as far as the glimmering sea just beyond the coast itself. The Sword Coast was much different in the dark of night. Those obscured by the shadows of the day were then able to bleed into once untouchable lands, allowed to slink and feed on whatever poor prey crossed their path.

“Nothing too repulsive, I hope.” Vlad chuckled. He couldn’t help but wonder if he’d have blushed if he were still alive. The state this woman had reduced him to blushing like a handmaiden. It was, although, refreshing to court someone- especially when that other person was seemingly reciprocal of his advances.

“So, how long?” He asked, watching as the distant sea churned mere miles away. He trusted she’d know what he meant, she was sharp- so he was almost certain she’d understand. 

"Ah." Her voice was wispy, soft and sweet like an angel's song or spun sugar. "Just over fifty years. You see..." She turned the fan over in her hand, her gaze falling to the intricate beading across the fabric. "When I, left this castle, I pursued the dark forces... In exchange for my humanity, I was given immortality." Roxanna smiled, looking back up at Vlad. She spoke of this experience lightly, as if recalling Sunday brunch, and not it being the painful process of her becoming a creature of the night. He knew that she was withholding something, but she did so coyly, as if to entice him. 

“It’s very impressive to see such a young creature with such control over their newfound abilities… “ Vlad spoke to her darkly stained lips rather than her eyes. If he were not himself a vampire, he’d have been afraid of her compelling him. Alas, she needed no supernatural tricks to mesmerize him.

“You truly are a puzzle… I wonder what other pieces I can put together. It seems you’ve started with the edges, but I’m curious about the center. How I’d love to see the full picture.” Vlad raised his eyebrows, his eyes finally meeting hers.

If she could blush, she would. He fully expected her to glance away shyly at the eye contact. Instead, she looked back, matching his intensity. "I would love to show you..." Roxanna hummed, daring to take his hand while not breaking eye contact. She rotated the fan in her hand again, aiming it out to those who may be watching and lowering it a bit, hiding just what she was doing.

She gently held his wrist, her skin cool as a corpse. She guided his open palm to meet with the smooth silk of the bodice of her dress. With a knowing and subtly mischievous smirk, Roxanna watched his expression closely, gauging his reaction. "I assure you, while I may appear meek... I do have thorns." Her suddenly sharp claws grazed the skin of his wrist, threatening to draw blood. But he knew it was no threat but a proposition.

“Fascinating” he pulled her hand away, rotating it to better study her talons. Lethal things. He gently released her hand, allowing his fingers to graze her wrist for a second as he spoke, “And meek is the furthest word from how I would describe you…” Vladislav let go, looking back at her.

“You are. So impressive, your highness. How I would love to see you in action.” Vladislav looked around at the crowded ballroom with a pout, “Pity such a crowded space interferes with my ambitions.”  Now was his turn to be mischievous as he leaned into her ear. “What say you to ceasing our masquerade and shed our own masks?”

Other guests had been watching the two of them, hooked on the prospect of gossip. A mysterious stranger courting the princess? Her keen eyes caught this, quickly shifting her temperament on a silver piece. Her skin prickled, and she smiled, fanning her face gently as now she played the part of a flustered princess. 

"Oh my, my Lord..." She said, a little bit louder than their previous conversation. Whispers erupted across the ballroom. Roxanna smirked coyly. Her voice dropped low again. "How could I refuse a guest?"

Vladislav grinned, eyes glinting with excitement as he took a step closer to her. “It would be very inhospitable of you, my lady. We wouldn’t want you to lose the affection of the public.”

"That would be quite unfortunate indeed~" She couldn't help but snicker, her gaze surveying the ballroom. "Won't you follow me?" She said finally, after routing a way out that would lead to the least amount of uproar.  "I think I have a fun little idea for the two of us." Roxanna hummed, looking back up at him.

“If you insist,” Vladislav replied, allowing Roxanna to guide him, virtually leashed, to her destination. As if floating, Roxanna moved across the center of the dance floor, where no one would be able to catch her for a conversation. She dodged swirling partners in their waltz and foxtrot with expert precision, like a ghost gliding through a cemetery. “Does this… idea involve what I presume it entails?” The hunger in Vladislav that had been sparked by the princess had grown ravenous, all-consuming. He had not felt like this in years, since…

She smirked, her fingers laced with his as she threw a glance over her shoulder, looking away a moment later. "That depends on what filthy thing your mind has conjured, mon loup. Tell me, how familiar are you with the company of other vampires?" Roxanna hummed sweetly, her keen eyes still tracing the ballroom for anyone who would pose a threat to her predetermined path. With a graceful twirl, she spun around and fluidly took Vlad’s other hand in hers, leading them in an impromptu waltz. Her heavy skirts flared behind her as he graciously took the lead from her, stepping back a bit and encircling her waist with his arm. He drew her close to his chest, forcing her to crane her neck again to meet his eyes. Roxanna practically toppled over at the sudden movement but was held steady by her dance partner.

Vladislav wasn’t familiar. He’d not kept consistent company around others like himself for quite some time… not for at least 20 years. Mostly he kept to himself. More time to plot his eventual takeover of humanity. “Not as much as I would like if I’m honest. I’ve been rather reclusive. I had a bit of… trouble. An ongoing investigation of sorts.”

She raised an eyebrow, surprised by his sudden and sweeping movement as well as his words. She didn’t have a moment to pause, though, as her breath was snatched by him separating her and spinning her on a dime. He was incredibly light on his feet, guiding her in a dance that was so much more than just that. Vlad returned her to him, the corners of his lips quirked in a devilish smile as the music crescendoed, slipping into the final notes of the song. They shared a mesmerized moment between them, gazing into each other’s eternal souls through the windows of their eyes. Her hand slid up from his shoulder to the nape of his neck, cradling his head in her hand as she slid her fingers into his hair.

As the haunting song finished, so did the dancers surrounding them, bowing to their partners as new guests took to the floor for the next dance. Roxanna was practically breathless, taking a brief moment to compose herself. She smiled up at Vlad, continuing the path she had previously been following to the other side of the ballroom.

"Oh, you poor thing... Well, then, it is safe to presume you likely do not know what it is like, to drink from another vampire." There was an excited lilt to her voice, and he could practically hear the devilish smile as she opened her fan again and hid from her words behind it. "It's quite an exciting thing. A much different experience than drinking from a mortal." They were so close to the doors she was bolting to, but he caught her wrist in a powerful grip.

The words irked Vlad slightly, he’d been turned for far longer than she. It was rather rude of her to correctly assume that he’d never drank from another vampire. “Your Highness…” He murmured just below his breath, pulling her back from him to whisper in her ear. “I’ve been a vampire for over one hundred years, granted my inability to partake in the ways of our kind due to the loss of my heir has left me… lacking in certain experiences. Do not presume I am inexperienced. It would be an error.” Though she couldn’t see his eyes, she could feel the looming sense of danger. Not a threat, but a proposition, coming from the Lord this time.

She would never admit that for a brief moment, the delicious feeling of fear had encompassed her. Roxanna’s eyes dark eyes widened at his, at a loss for words, before again having to compose herself for the Lord.

She tutted softly, looking over her shoulder, guiding him to her destination. "Oh, I do not mean to offend you!" Her soft voice sounded genuinely sincere, like a scolded child as she quickly tried to recover from the absolute thrill he gave her. "I entirely trust your experience, I was simply making an educated guess." When she turned again to look at him, Roxanna smiled sweetly as they had crossed the ballroom in its entirety. She pressed her back to a set of grand, cherry wood doors, looking up to Vlad with an innocent bat of her dark eyelashes. "Forgive me, won't you, mon chéri?" She purred, tipping her head at him with a sneaky little smile.

“Of course. Pardon me. It was not my intention to come off as rude.” Vlad smiled, placing his hand next to her head on the surface of the wooden door. He leaned closer to her, caging him with his arms. Roxanna could do little to hide the hint of mischief in her eyes. “Though, you were correct.” Vladislav purred back to her, pushing the door open with a loud and slow creak that caused what little attention that wasn’t on them to turn towards them. For the millionth time this evening, all eyes were on them. Vladislav felt his sharp fangs slip down into view of the princess as he stood up straight. 

“I’ve not yet had the pleasure… I suppose I’ve been waiting for the right…” Vlad looked her over once more, “the right woman.” He pulled the door shut behind him, cutting the two off from prying eyes.

She smiled, her pupils dilating just slightly as she watched him lean over her, craning her neck to maintain eye contact with him. "Ah, I see~ It is,” She paused, glancing away shyly. “- a bit of an intimate thing, if I do say so myself. What with the closeness, how one must be positioned for optimal angle to bite...~" Her eyes traced the features of Vlad's face, admiring every inch with great delight. She giggled, quickly pulling away from the close proximity as she scampered down the hall, lifting her heavy skirts just the slightest bit so she would not trip. Dear gods, this woman may be the second death of him. She may be seventy years old, but she had the nature of a puppy, so much energy and affection to give.

Vladislav admired her willingness to abandon the human trivialities of being a hostess. A weaker woman would have worried of appearing with no etiquette, though her refusal to apply herself to human standards was refreshing. She didn’t owe them anything, and Vladislav supported that. He watched her go, swiftly following with his long strides.

“Do lead the way. I’m rather excited to see your private chambers.” Vladislav gazed at her bouncing black hair, “That is, if you are of the same mindset.”

The princess smirked, giving him a careless shrug. "I think we are at least in this same chapter of the book, mon loup. But you are in for a surprise~" She hummed, looking behind him to ensure that no one was following before stopping at a large set of doors.

Roxanna waited for him to be near her again before she opened them, leading into the royal library of Dragonspire. It was a sight to behold, two floors of books lining the walls. Stepping inside, Vlad found himself in a world of refined elegance and scholarly ambiance. The Royal Library boasted vast halls, resplendent with vaulted ceilings and adorned with majestic chandeliers that were snuffed, leaving the hall in darkness. Vlad’s keen nose filled with a faint scent of aged parchment and the subtle whispers of pages turning. In the center of the room, high above, a glass dome allowed the moonlight to shine into the dusty room. On the far side, between four large windows, also overlooking the dark landscape, a roaring fire burning in a marble fireplace that lit a small section of the great library with warm light.

"Come." She took his hand, leading him into the semi-dark, which wasn't a problem for either of them. As Vlad explored further, absolutely floored by the grandeur the princess had shown him. Only but a small section of her wealth. From his central view leading into the room, he could see smaller reading rooms and alcoves, providing a cozy space for the royal family to immerse themselves in quiet contemplation. The walls of the main chamber were adorned with vibrant tapestries depicting scenes from the kingdom's history and its great ancestors, previous members of royalty, scholars, and all the greats of the Sword Coast’s rich society.

It seemed as though this was the one place in Dragonspire that had been untouched by the siege over five decades ago. A time capsule of a brighter time that few humans could remember. 

“Not quite what I was expecting,” Vlad admitted, straightening his shirt collar as he made his way towards a tall bookshelf- running his thin fingers along the spines of the books, selecting a leather-bound tome dyed a deep shade of mauve that had gold-leaf embossing across the cover. A thin layer of dust transferred onto the palms of his hands as he looked over it.

“I wouldn’t have taken you for a reader, Your Highness,” Vladislav commented as he flipped the book over to look at the lettering on the front: Plant Species of Neverwinter Wood. Vladislav tutted, returning the book to its empty slot on the shelf. 

"I'm just full of surprises, aren't I?" She smiled at him, making her way to a large table in the center of the room, surrounded by cushy chairs. In the center, there was a dusty map of all of the Sword Coast, clearly worn and outdated and in need of a new layer of varnish to revitalize the meticulous painting of the land. “This library was a gift from my father to my mother. She loved to read, she was of a much lower class than the royal family… And yet, he still adored her. He would have given her the moon if she had asked him.” She hummed, lost in thought. “She instilled her love of knowledge in me from when I was little, I was practically raised between these stacks of books.”

He turned to face Roxanna once again. “Tell me. What is your favorite book?” Vlad asked, offering a familiar thin-lipped smile.

“Oh, I read everything I could ever get my hands on. Fairytales, legends of old, the history of Faerun. I learned it all. And yet, I thirsted for more. One day, one of the librarians offered me a book I had never seen before. From the restricted section, he told me. I did not know we had such a thing.” Roxanna smiled as her nail traced over the ornate carvings on the table, her eyes searching over the covers of the books laid out before her.

"This one." Roxanna hummed, lifting up a heavy tome that was already on the table, lying open among several others. She seated herself on the edge of the table, her feet dangling off the ground as she paged through it. 

"Undeath: Paradigms of Immortality volume one, written and illustrated by the famous Dr. Louis Allaire-Babineuax. My uncle." She hummed. "He was a brilliant man. I did not know he had such fascinations with mortality. He died before I was even born, and he was never spoken about in the books upon books I had read about my family. He wasn’t in a single family tree." Within the pages of the thick book, there were hundreds of scientific drawings, detailed descriptions, examples, and instructions on various dark rituals not held by many ordinary manuscripts.

“Your uncle seems like he was a fascinating  man…” Vladislav hummed, “though not as fascinating as you.” He left the shadow cast by the large bookshelf he stood by, coming to stand by the princess’s side at the map table. She took his hand in hers, simply humming in response and showing him the book. A dark power radiated from the very pages themselves, and it was palpable to the vampire.

“You flatter me, my Lord.” Roxanna purred, her dark lashes fanning her pale cheeks. “This was the very book that introduced me to the dark forces, started me on the path that led to today. That led me to you.” She dared, looking up at Vlad. The moonlight hit her face just right, illuminating her dark eyes. “When I first returned, I was told of a new Lord in my land. A dark prince, of sorts, arriving from the far east and settling the ruins of Brimstone Keep. A mystery to my subjects. You frightened them.” Her Highness smirked, pleased by this statement.

She seemed to know quite a bit about him, which Vlad didn’t know if it made him deeply uncomfortable or even more fascinated than he already was with the princess. 

“At first, I didn’t know of your nature. I had my guesses. That is, until I sent a few… Observers, to see what you were about. You are absolutely ruthless, my Lord.” She chuckled. 

He knew exactly what she was referring to, to which he could feel the hair on the back of his neck bristle. Roxanna was even smarter than she had led on. Around her subjects, other nobles, she had an air of a beautiful and equally shy princess, simply happy to have been returned to her kingdom. Within that, though, was a Queen of Shadows in the making. How attractive.

He chuckled, righting his posture as he circled closer to her, lifting his hand to twirl a silky lock of her hair between his fingers. Vlad cleared his throat. “So. How does this work?” He asked, humiliated by his inexperience- though he relished in her company. He yearned for her completely, wanting to know more of her, to become entirely familiar with every inch of her mind, body, and soul. To know how she tasted.

She smiled softly, shifting her attention to him as she set the book down where it was beside her, it shitting with a heavy thud. "It's very easy, mon beau." Roxanna gently took him by the hands, guiding him to stand in front of her, letting his palms come to rest on her waist. She fixed her hair, sweeping the raven tresses over one shoulder before looking back up to him, idly playing with the lapel of his coat. It is almost as if she had grown shy. 

"Now, you will drink as though you are feeding. Do not worry about hurting me, I'm quite flexible in these situations." She snickered, reaching up and petting his cheek. "I will warn you, should you wish not to continue. The blood of a vampire will satisfy your hunger, but it also acts as a potent sedative and aphrodisiac based on the dosage." Roxanna hummed, her nails grazing his jawline as she guided him to the crook of her neck. Lord, she smelled divine. Not only the sweet and expensive scent of her perfume but the deliciously rotted scent of her vampiric nature. 

Roxanna had turned her head away, exposing her neck. The pale skin tight against the delicate musculature of her visible collarbone as she strained slightly to hold the position.

Vladislav used a hand to delicately brush her hair out of the way of his bite. Just like feeding? This would be child’s play. Vladislav’s fangs slid into place like a snake preparing to strike, though there was nothing hasty about his approach. He slowly made his way closer to her youthful flesh. He gave her skin almost an apologetic kiss, his fangs piercing through her delicate skin and the outermost layer of her vein, her liquid essence flooding into his mouth. 

Oh my.

The hot blood that filled his mouth was like drinking ambrosia itself, hot honey in a warm drink on a cold winter’s night. Warmth flooded his entire body, a dizzying high flooding through him and clouding his mind as he struggled to pull himself away. All he wanted was her.

Roxanna. Roxanna. Roxanna.

He feared if he stopped himself, he’d never be able to taste her again, that she would slip from his grip and disappear. He clawed at her bodice like a beast, nails sinking into the slick red fabric. 

She whimpered ever so softly in his ear, her hands finding purchase around his neck. She didn't quite expect him to bite so quickly- In all honesty, it surprised her and didn't give her a moment to maintain the cool air she had kept about herself up until now. "Oh, Vlad-" She murmured. His name was so soft and honey-sweet when she spoke, her claws digging into the fabric of his clean coat. "Ah, I'm sorry- I'll have to mend this--" Roxanna apologized quietly, resting her cheek on his shoulder. Her angelic voice was the one thing that cut through the hypnotic haze of her blood on his tongue.

The euphoria of this woman was a new experience, heat pumping through his dry veins and giving him a new life, something that had been entirely foreign to him for the past century. He had forgotten the sensation of adrenaline, the feeling of the hunt, and finally dealing the killing blow to his prey which he so lovingly stalked.

Upon feeling her tremble in his iron grip, Vlad finally pulled away. The room spun around him, but her touch grounded him where he stood. Still just a touch lightheaded, he let out a heavy breath and he used a thumb to wipe the corners of his mouth. She felt her cold touch against his cheek, which steadied his nerves as he dizzily shifted his weight.

“Forgive me.” Vlad murmured, “I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to stop.” Vladislav eyes shone red, like evening sunlight shining through a garnet. They hadn’t taken this color since he was first turned. Since his true life began all those years ago. The princess. Roxanna had rejuvenated him so… giving him a fresh feeling of life he didn’t know he’d been missing. 

All his ambitions were gone at that moment. His duties and responsibilities were mere suggestions compared to his new feeling. If he could, he would stay here in Roxanna’s library until they both turned to dust when the world was no more. Vlad felt giddy, like the child he was more than a century ago.  “You are delicious, my darling.” Vladislav confessed, like both an admittance of sin and a holy prayer to the dark gods above as his eyes met hers.

Her Highness smiled up to him, lightheaded herself as she snickered. "What a sweet thing you are, mon chéri... Come, before you topple over~" Roxanna slid off the table, taking both of his large hands in hers as she led him to a plush Chez lounge that was positioned beside the fireplace at the end of the hall. She gently guided him to sit, going to the windows and drawing the heavy curtains that covered the two-story windows, shrouding them in darkness save for the crackling firelight. 

Roxanna sat beside him, adjusting her skirts and laying back against the arm of the sofa, ever so gently pulling him to her and allowing Vlad to rest his head in her lap. He did so, with absolutely no complaint, still dazed from the sweet dessert that was her blood. She cooed over him, chuckling at the state she had put him in, an event that she caused. The princess watched him closely, tracing his bone structure with a nail as she brushed the hair from Vlad's eyes. "There you are... You can just relax~" She lifted a hand to her neck, wiping the fresh wound clean with a finger. Ruby red blood welled on the pad of her digit, and she smirked a bit before brushing it over his lips. "You missed some." Roxanna purred, her voice soft as she lulled him into such a vulnerable position.

“Thank you, darling,” Vladislav hummed, lapping at the blood on his lips and allowing his vision to shift in and out of focus as he looked up to her, her white grin shining down upon him like the Cheshire Cat.  

“Truly, princess. Thank you,” Vladislav finished, sure if his heart still beat, it would be racing from having his head settled in the lap of a goddess, her fingers gliding through his auburn and white striped hair. He could feel her twirl strands between her clawed fingers.

“Of course, mon loup. Now rest. Your first time drinking the blood of another vampire is a harrowing experience~” She giggled, continuing to pet his hair and face, smoothing the holes she had left in the fabric from her sharp claws. She leaned down, placing a kiss on his forehead, leaving a loving red stamp on his pale skin.

There he slept, in the hands of a fallen angel. There he would stay, addicted to her blood, her feather-light touch, and her attention. The predator had become the prey at the hands of the little lost princess. 

Long live Crown Princess Roxanna Michaelina Haxinthia de Clermont-Tonnerre, Queen of Shadows, Beauty Eternal, tamer of dark beasts and man alike.

[khaleesiofalicante]

Hello! Hope you're doing well and getting a lot of rest, because people around me have been dropping dead from exhaustion and I have decided to remind everyone I can that resting and taking a break is important (which probably makes me a hypocrite but who cares).

The angst is through the roof and it's killing me, I mean the last IALS chapter hurt me in so many ways. And what hurts me the most is the way David feels about Max. Especially when Max started talking about his safe place, and the fact that every time he feels hurt or less than or sad he goes to the place where he knows he's the best, it's just painful. For two reasons. First of all, I don't know if David got it but Max just opened up about how he feels about the whole Jaden situation like he feels that Jaden tries to take his life away and has replaced him but most importantly he's better at it than Max ever was, a better partner to David, calm and collected and walks away from a fight and everything, and a better parent, he isn't late to events and he gets AJ flowers and all that. I hope David got to see how this relationship affects Max and how deeply it's hurting him, that's it's not Max just being rude and snappy and an asshole, but he is in so much pain and he can't deal with it so he just channels it into anger and hurtful comments. And that's why he went to the pool, because being compared to Jaden makes him feel like being compared to Rafael, not good enough.

And what also hurts is that, well what are David's and Max's safe places? Because from David's reaction to being around Max, Max isn't his safe place anymore. And we know he used to be, you portray that so beautifully in every flashback scene we get, how Max is David's comfort and safety and happiness, their love, their life and their memories were the crust of his existence. And after what Mallory did, that changed. It didn't change in LBAF, David's still wanted to be near Max, but here, they are together for five minutes, they have one meaningful conversation and suddenly David gets a headache and his throat hurts and his stomach flatters and he wants to throw up. So, for me, the most fucked up thing Mallory did was erase Max as David's safe place. I mean, up until the trip to the Maldives that wasn't very obvious, the scene where Max and David just jump the waves together, holding hands, David admitting he trusts Max without a second thought, I couldn't have imagined that he feels this way around him. I don't know if it was because it was from Maxs POV but it was so obvious that David was so at ease around Max there, like he was finally feeling safe and comfort after years. Which obviously isn't the case. So... is Jaden his safe place or does he no longer have one? I honestly don't know which one would be worse, because I really love David and I want him to be able to turn to a safe place even if it's Jaden, but also as a hard core Mavid fan I want that feeling to stay between the two of them and no one else. Unless, writing is his safe place? Writing about Max and their life together and all the live they had, maybe that's his comfort? But then why does he get so many headaches when he writes about the show? I feel like it's the same thing as in LBAF, whenever he tries to remember he feels the pain Mallory caused him.

And again, what's Max's safe place? His family, his kids, David? Because he is away form everything and everyone he loves in DC and you already said he is feeling lonely on a regular basis, how does he deal with that?

This was supposed to be a small ask, I don't know why I always and up writing an essay, it's just the way you have everything laid out is really inspiring a lot of thoughts and theories so thank you!

Ps: I have a lot of happy thoughts about IALS!Mavid that I shall share in another ask because this is depressing

Dude, I was at a meeting the other day and the icebreaker question was 'what do you want for Christmas' and literally EVERYONE said 'a break' lmao the burnout in our generation is real lol.

Amazing observation that Max went to the pool because his self-esteem dropped (again) after the confrontation with Jaden. Especially after what Jaden told him at the end. Very well noticed.

The irony is Max and Jaden feeling like the other is better is my favorite thing. Forget about mavid THESE TWO need to have a chat. In an ideal world, Jaden who perhaps understand Max better than most people, should tell him how much he admires and respects Max and is proud to be portraying him on TV. Max should talk to Jaden and thank him for being there for David and the children at times when Max couldn't. But we don't live in an ideal world. Men are stupid and fragile and competitive.

I loved the analysis on safe places. What I find interesting is that for both Max and David their safe place is not a place or a person. It's an act.

I do think, in every universe, books have always been David's safe place (until and even after he met Max). It's a very common coping mechanism for people who come from abusive homes or have a lot of internalized trauma. But David also genuinely loves books and writing and stories. So, it's easy for him to seek comfort between pages. So, yeah, his writing is his safe place - at least in the present. It's a very interesting safe place, because it's not something that already exists (like your family) or something you found (a support group or religion etc). It's something you created. You realized you don't have a safe place and you built one. That takes an immense amount of strength.

Max's safe place, always has been and always will be, his family. Max feels safe when the people around him feel safe. It's also why he does what he does for a living. I think his safe place right now is his job - the knowledge that he is protecting someone. It's knowing he is protecting David by staying away from him. It's knowing he will protect the kids from anything. Max's safe place is knowing he is capable of protecting people. And that place got shattered a long time. And when that happens, it's pretty hard to build it back up. But he is trying. We know he is stubborn.

I loved loved loved this whole conversation (it feels like a conversation - like we're discussing this over tea - oh how i would LOVE that).

Love you!

[straylife97]

LEE FELIX ONE SHOT-

Fluff and maybe a hint of Angst but only if you squint really hard.

Tears flooded my eyesight as I closed the taxi door. This was it. This was his first step to forever. I just didn’t think it would happen so fast. It seems like only yesterday we were laying down at the park in the middle of the night, star gazing.

I looked over at him as he sat down beside me, taking my hand

I’m scared." He said, drying his tears with his free hand.

I opened my mouth to talk, but nothing came out. I couldn’t talk. The pain hit me and reality took over the moment. “This is what you’ve always wanted, Lixie. This is your dreams. Don’t let it go.” I whispered.

He looked into my eyes, kissing me and paying the taxi driver. We got the suitcases from the trunk and went into the airport. His flight was leaving in fifteen mintues. Which gave me about ten to say my final goodbyes.

I hugged Felix, embracing his touch. “You’re gonna be huge Lix, I know you are. But promise me, no matter how big you get, never forget about me.”

"Y/N…"

I looked up, my eyes puffy and blood shot red from all the crying.

"It’s impossible to forget your first love."

I sobbed a bit, as his hand touched the back of my head, bringing me to his chest. We cried together. I never wanted to let him go. I wanted him to live his dreams, but him living his dreams meant leaving. And I didn’t know how long I could be without him. We’ve been best friends since we were in diapers and he’s been my boyfriend for three years ago. Sure, we were a little immature, but three years is a long time. When I was with Felix, I felt safe. I felt okay. Without him it’s like my world would come crashing down. He was the only one who understood me; the only one who tried. He made my days brighter and my nights merrier. No one was gonna be able to replace him. He was my first love, and God knows when I’ll find a guy like him again.

"I love you Y/N. I want you to know that." He said, his voice cracking in the middle of the sentence.

I nodded, barely able to look him in the eyes. “I don’t want you to leave, Lix. I won’t be able to make it.”

"Here." He took off his necklace and put it on me. "Every time you feel sad, take this in your hands and remember all the things we did together."

I looked at the necklace, then looked up at him.

"I’m just a phone call away. Call me when ever you want to talk. I promise I’ll be there."

A voice came on the loud speakers, saying that his flight was leaving in five minutes.

“You have to go. I want this as much as you do." Trying to convince myself

I couldn’t take it. I wouldn’t be able to make it. We were the only ones cryng in the airport. No one knew our story. No one would ever understand how much we meant to each other. He was me. We were one. And now, we were broken.

"I love you." He said, his voice shaking.

"I love you too." I replied, crying harder with each word said.

"Remember that we’re infinite."

I nodded, smiling a bit through the pain.

He kissed my lips slowly. “Okay?”

"Okay." I replied, quoting our favorite book.

Felix cupped my face and kissed me once last time before he left. His tongue slowly brushed against mine and we hugged each other tightly. I felt him start to let go and we both cried, watching him leave. He turned around, blowing a kiss and wiping his tears. I waved goodbye at him, looking into his eyes for the last time.

-YEARS LATER-

“…KPOP group Stray Kids are coming to Sydney on their world tour. We are excited to welcome home Bang Chan and Lee Felix for an..”

I zoned out after hearing his name again. Felix and I kept in contact for a couple months while he was training, but quickly fell off. I thought I had finally moved on But hearing his name again has brought back so many emotions.

I dropped the coffee I had been making and clutched my heart trying to suppress the growing panic.

“…they will be here for 2 days worth of concerts. Let’s welcome them with warm arms.”

“..Y/n… Y/n.. Y/N YL/N”

“Ye..yeah?” I snap out of it and look over to my coworker.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah I am, sorry I just zoned out a bit” I grabbed the mop and started to clean up the mess while apologizing to the customer I was helping.

“Wait- isn’t Felix apart of Stray kids? Which means he’s going to be home”

“Please don’t remind me”

“Don’t you wish he’d try to contact you while he’s here?”

“I pray that he doesn’t. He probably doesn’t even remember me anymore”

The next day I have to drag myself out of bed to go to work. “Y/N I HAVE NEWS..and you’re probably not going to be happy about it.”

“What is it..”

“I won front row tickets the first concert tonight… and you’re coming with me…”

“Amanda I swear to god. I. Am. Not. Going.”

“You are be ready by 5, we got sound check as well”

-5 pm-

I’ve been waiting outside my house for 10 minutes when Amanda finally arrived. “Are you seriously wearing that?”

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

“You’re seriously wearing an oversized t-shirt and leggings and have no makeup on. Do you want Felix to see you and be wowed or what?”

“Uhm not particularly, I hope he doesn’t see me”

“This is not going to do, let’s go” she grabbed my arm and pulled me back into my house and got to work.

“Voilà my work here is done” she stepped back from me and turned me towards a mirror

“Holy Shit Mands, how’d you do all of this in only 10 minutes” I examine my makeup; a very Smokey green cat eye, my complexion glowing and to top it all off a beautiful winged eyeliner. My outfit matched the makeup, black fishnets with a black skater skirt, and a cropped t-shirt.

“I’m magic, now let’s go” we rushed out the door made our way to the venue and then waited until sound check. “OMG OMG OMG ITS HYUNJIN!! Y/N LOOK FELIX IS COMING OVER HERE TOO!” I quickly duck down and lower my face.

“I hope he didn’t see me”

“I think he did but it didn’t seem like he knew it was you.” Ouch that didn’t hurt at all.

“I’m glad” sound check ended and we waited until the concert. It started off amazing, I knew a couple of songs and really enjoyed the music.

“Y/N are you doing okay?”

“Yeah I’m all good, thank you for checking in”

“How is everyone doing tonight?” Screams all around us. “I am so happy to be back home, and I am so grateful that Stay can be here with us” I couldn’t keep my eyes off him, there’s my Lix, but also not my Lix anymore. He’s grown a couple inches, paler and has long blonde hair now. He has changed so much but my heart still beats the same way it used to for him. For my love. I grabbed hold of the necklace he gave me. I haven’t taken it off since the day except to shower. “It feels so good to be back and I can’t wait to be able to spend some time with my family for a few days”

There is no way he’s going to be visiting his family. He’s only going to be across the street from me again. For the first time in forever.

“Y/n..isn’t that the same necklace you have” Amanda pointed to Felix. My heart stopped, my breathing stopped, the whole world stopped in that moment. He bought himself the same necklace.

“I- it- it is.” I broke out into sobs, Han and Lee Know whom were closest to us both looked and mouthed asking if I happened to be okay and I gave them a smile through the tears with a thumbs up. I couldn’t handle it anymore. I got out of the concert as quickly as I could and shot Amanda a text telling her I was fetching a cab home.

Later that night I heard car doors slam shut and screams of happiness. I peaked out of my window and saw him there hugging his mom and sisters. When he pulled away from them I saw his mom gesture towards my house and him turning to look. I quickly threw myself away from the window in time.

“Shit shit shit, what if he come over here?? I need to look somewhat presentable” I still had on my outfit from the concert what was left of my makeup. It was smeared all down my face. When a knock came on the door. “Fuck” I breathed out. As I walked towards the door I tucked the necklace into my shirt to make sure it wasn’t visible. I stood in front of the door for a minute paralyzed until another knock snapped me back into reality. I took a sharp inhale and opened the door.

“It’s been a long time.” There he is. I can still envision the way he looked when he left. I nodded and stepped out of the way for him to come in. “I thought I saw you today, but thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. Mom told me you bought the house off your parents, I’m quite surprised, you always said you wanted to leave and travel.”

“I’m surprised too, I didn’t think I’d want to stay anymore.” We both chuckled

“Not to pry or anything, but why’d you leave the concert crying and in a hurry” I sighed deeply.

“It was just a lot for me to be there.”

“I get it, you were never good with big crowds” I slightly nodded. “What’s that around your neck?”

“Lix no-“ he gently pulled it out from my shirt and examined it like it would break any second.

“You’ve kept it all these years?”

“Of course I did. It was the last thing you gave me.” He gently let it go and I grabbed a hold of it.

“As soon as I got to Korea, I bought myself the same one. There were many nights I cried wanting to come home and I held on to it imagining that you were holding yours at the same time. I swear sometimes I could almost feel it.” I sighed once again.

“Lix I just want to say that I am so proud of you. You’re doing great things out there. I see all the things people say about you, your fans… they really look up to you and say that you are their sunshine. Sometimes I get jealous because you were once my sunshine too and now, you’re theirs.”

“I never stopped thinking about you. When I found out we were coming back home I was so excited to see you, but I didn’t know if you even still lived in the area. I guess I’m lucky.” He pulled me in for a hug and held me. I started to cry. I never thought he’d be back. “I am so sorry I stopped contacting you, I got a new phone a couple months after I got to Korea and lost everything. I couldn’t have social media or I would have reached out that way”

“I- I thought you forgot about me.” He gently lifted my chin and looked me in the eye before slowly moving in to place a soft kiss on my lips.

“It’s impossible to forget your first love”

[openheart12]

Paradise

A/N: these red bulls are fueling my ass, also fuck canon, my girl michelle is alive and happy and healthy (for the most part)

Summary: The car bomb almost took her life, but it wouldn’t take the future.

WC: 1,020

Warning: mention of miscarriage

“Mr. Almeida,” the nurse called softly, waking him from his sleep. 

He shot up out of the chair when he saw her. “Is she okay? Did she wake up?”

“No, her vitals are still stable. This is against protocol, but if you want, you can go back there tonight with her. I’ll be here all night so if you need anything, let me know.”

“Thank you,” he replied before making his way to her room. 

It had been exactly a week since the car bomb. A week since their life changed. A week that went by without hearing her voice or seeing her eyes. She hadn’t woken up yet and the doctors weren’t optimistic about her chances. She had third degree burns over ninety percent of her body and contusions to her chest and face.

En route to the hospital, she had coded and they couldn’t get her back until Tony had all but begged for them to try again and out of pity, they had. That was when they got a heartbeat again. 

She was down for over twenty minutes and the doctors were fearful of brain damage. Yet, she passed the tests to determine brain death. Still, the question if she would fully recover remained. 

He took a seat in the chair beside her bed, grabbing her hand which was always warm. 

The nurse walked in a few minutes later, doing a quick physical exam and redressing her burns. “She’s a fighter.” “You have no idea,” he said with a small smile. “She’s the strongest person I know.”

“How long have you two been together?” “About five years.”

“Really? I would’ve guessed a lot longer than that.”

“Yeah, well it took a long time for us to realize our feelings for each other,” he smiled fondly, recalling the bittersweet memories of the CTU bombing. 

“Sounds like your love was made for movie screens.” “It’d make for a good drama show, that’s for sure,” he laughed. She went to walk out when he spoke again. “Andi, thank you for doing this.” “Of course. And Tony, for what it’s worth, I really do hope she pulls through. From what you’ve told me about her, she sounds amazing.”

“She is. She really is,” he said, his gaze falling back to Michelle.

Hours had passed when he felt a small stir in the bed. His eyes adjusted to the lights to find her slowly starting to open her own eyes. Jumping up, he pressed the call button. “Hey, hey, it’s me. You’re okay.”

“Tony? W-what happened,” she asked.

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

“We were in the kitchen and that’s all I remember.”

Andi walked in a minute later, surprise evident on her face to see her awake. “Hey, Michelle,” she said softly. “Do you know what year it is, honey?”

“2006,” she replied. 

“Do you know where you are?” “A hospital. Can someone tell me what’s going on?” Her eyes landed on Tony’s, silenting pleading with him.

He shared a quick look with the nurse, not wanting to risk her health. She nodded, letting him know it was okay to tell her before giving them some privacy. 

“David Palmer was assassinated and you wanted to go to CTU to help, but we had a business meeting with Rick. I didn’t want to go so you walked out to your car and I changed my mind. I called Rick and told him we couldn’t make it. That’s when the explosion went off.”

“Explosion? Why would someone put a bomb in my car?” “We were targeted because we helped Jack fake his death, they wanted to frame Jack for Palmer’s murder and to lure him out of hiding. We were just collateral.”

Taking all of this information in at once was hard, she still had so many questions. “Wait, Tony, what about the baby?” His face dropped and she knew. “Oh my god.” Tears welled up in her eyes and his heart broke seeing her like that. 

“Hey, shh, it’s okay, Michelle.” He tried to comfort her, cupping her face. She went to lay her hand on her stomach, wincing at the pain it caused. “I know this is a lot to take in and I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere,” he promised. 

“Can you lay with me?” She asked quietly. 

“I don’t wanna hurt you, sweetheart. Your body is covered in burns.”

“Please, Tony,” she begged. She needed his touch to ground her. 

He relented, carefully getting into the bed next to her, trying to be as careful as possible. Wrapping his arm around her, she nuzzled into his side, her head lying on his chest. His other hand rested on her shoulder, squeezing it from time to time. He placed a kiss to the side of her head as she drifted off to sleep. 

Half an hour later, Andi walked in to do a quick check up on her. “How’s she doing?” She asked, taking note of her vitals.

“Okay, considering the circumstances. She asked about the baby, she took it really hard.”

“I’m so sorry, Tony. I can’t imagine how difficult this is on you and her.”

“I’m just glad she’s okay, that’s all I need.”

She smiled in return. “If you need anything, anything at all, please let me know. But on a better note, the doctor said she should be able to go home in a few days.”

Home. Their home was a mess with glass all over the place, burn marks in the grass, a nursery they wouldn’t be able to use. That house was supposed to be their fresh start, they finally got away from CTU. And they almost lost their lives… again. He couldn’t imagine if he had actually lost her, he’d come so close. 

“You two can get through this, Tony. I know it might not seem like it right now, but from what I know, you’re both fighters.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course, get some rest,” she said, turning off the light. 

They’ve overcome so much already, they could get over this too. With each other by their side, nothing was impossible. 

[ruthserbel]

This. This post is me. (story time in the read more~ because I wanted to get this written out - it's something I've kept quiet about (my bf knows, but that's really it) for years)

I had a friend I met in public school (grade three when I moved to the city I still live in (I moved around a lot as a kid, but this has been our final spot it seems)). Anyway, we became very good friends, and would almost always have sleepovers each weekend unless they went traveling. She had one other friend that I was on and off friends with (she was kinda rude from time to time, and would often just 'drop' me for whatever reason? I honestly to this day think she hated how close I got to 'her' friend, and she would realize that and just get mad at me.

Anyway, fast forward to high school - I met a group of friends, and we all hung out together (with my old friend as well) - everything was gucci for a year. Then one of the new friends (I am going to call her B) started to be excluded by one of the other members of our group - and they were kinda bullying her. So I stood up for B one day, and told the other two to knock it off. Whatever, they didn't like it, and stopped hanging out with us, and left our friend group (I have since talked to them after everything, and we're friends again - I am glad about that - you'll see why in a moment).

B and I became friends, and would hang out all the time. Like every Friday I was at her house.

Well, going into grade 12, B decided (and I am unsure to this day as to why) she didn't want to be my friend - at all. Started literally ignoring me even though I was in the room with her and our other friends. Would make plans with my other friends right in front of me, and exclude me (I get not wanting someone there, but typically you wouldn't make plans with the person right there?). Anyway, my other friends all watched this, and did nothing about it. They noticed how it made me feel (they have said this to me since then. they said they noticed that I was I getting really bad depression from it) and they did nothing. N o t h i n g.

What makes this all worse is the fact that - another friend in the group started to notice the same thing was happening to her - so she talked to me about it one day. She told me, one weekend when the three girls were having a sleepover together (excluding myself and this other girl), they had skype called her - and were just goofing around - having fun. Mind you - this girl lived a five minute walk away. So she could have been invited just to hang out - or they could have went somewhere. No, she called just to show her that they were having fun without her. It was so disgusting. Like there was no other reason to skype call her. They didn't talk about anything during the call. So it was just to brag?

The mental pain I have suffered due to that one girl is astounding. I still to this day don't trust anyone when it comes to friendship. I often find myself feeling like I have to buy my friendship with people (even though that is not true at all - so I now stop myself from doing that - I have saved so much money doing that). And due to my friends - who sat there and just watched my become depressed again, and very suicidal - I honestly feel empty inside. I feel like they just didn't care about me at all? I've talked to them about it since (I have communication with one of them) and she has admitted that she noticed it. She knew it was happening. They both knew. They watched me get to the lowest of lows again - and did nothing. Realizing this has made me feel so bad, and it ruined my self worth of myself. They didn't care enough to do anything about it. They could have reached out to me privately, or talked to a teacher if they didn't want to do it themselves. Nope. I got nothing for support. And it bothers me more that in grade nine when I got to a low point - my childhood friend was the one that came up to me (after a few months of not talking because we had a little spat and stopped talking for a bit), and she helped me. She told me she didn't realize things had gotten that bad - and she was a big help for me to get back on my feet again and feel better. Same with the other girl (I'll call her M). M really helped me - she was my desk buddy for science, and she realized I was self harming, and just generally depressed, so she helped me a lot. Honestly, those two are the reason I made it through grade 9.

And to top it all off, because people always say - why didn't you go to the guidance counselor or whatever. I did. In grade 9 when I had my first bout of depression we talked once, it was fine. Whatever. Then one day during gym people started to be rude to me for whatever reason, and I started to feel really bad (this is where my childhood bf stood in, and helped me - she took me to his office, and sat with me for a bit, then after we talked again and became friends again). So I went to his office just to talk. We did, and he said 'do you want me to talk to them about it?' - and me not wanting to make this a huge deal, said no, it's fine. He followed up with - and I quote - 'well get over it then.' Get. Over. It. A guidance counselor said that to me. Now I get it, I didn't go to schooling for psychology, but I do know - that is not what you say to someone.

Anyway, I've tried for years since all of this to figure out why I all of a sudden got dropped as a friend and became gum on the bottom of B's shoes. The only thing I've come up with (and this is a lot of speculation on my part - and honestly I don't even think this is it, but it's all I have) is A. we had one guy friend, who was flirting with all the girls in our group - but none of us liked him that way. He was our friend, nothing else. Well I had three of the four girls over for my birthday (the other one was out of town), and they were getting texts from him - and they kept saying 'I really wish he would leave us alone and stop asking us out on dates, we don't like him that way.' So I asked them if they wanted me to get him to stop (I'm a very blunt person, and I will say it like it is. If you don't want to hear the truth, plug your ears because it's coming (quote from my dad lol)) - and they said yes. They were fine with me doing this. So I sent him a text that basically said 'we're your friends, we don't like you that way. please stop. we will never feel that way about you. we like you as a friend. that's it.' (honestly it was kinda rude of me to do - I will agree, but it had been two years at this point of him flirting with my friends, and them saying no on repeat, and saying how it bothered them/creeped them out). This might be one of the reasons she stopped liking me, because she thought that was rude. Although she was one of the girls who complained about it non-stop. I put an end to it - it did stop after that.

Or (and this is the one that I doubt, but it's one that could be the case?) B liked one of the other girls (my childhood best friend), and she opened up to me about it before she left for the summer (for like a month and a half). She asked me what she should do. So I said 'well you're leaving for a month and a bit. You can (if you want) - tell her your feelings, and say you don't want a response right now, and for her to think about it'. She seemed happy with that plan. So we left it at that. She left for the summer, and everything was fine. I guess that the at some point my childhood friend had said she didn't like her that way. It was whatever, carry on. You shot your shot, and got turned down. No biggy, we could all still be friends. Then everything started. So... I've honestly started to wonder if this might be the cause of it? Like was she mad that she got turned down after I gave her advice? Like I don't get it. I dont know anymore - and unless one of the other two girls talks (if they even know - which I feel like they do, they just don't want to tell me) I never will.

This one girl ruined me for friendships. Honestly I don't think I will ever be able to be close to people due to her. I never know when they are going to decide to hate me, and turn my friends against me.

People underestimate how much it fucks you up to be subtly excluded as a kid. I would try to talk to my classmates and be met with disinterest or annoyance. The one friend I had, who I clung to and nodded along to his every word, had other friends he liked just as much or more. And his other friends didn’t care for me at all.

I look back at pictures from the time and see how separated I was from them. I remember knowing I was different. I remember posing questions about the world to the girls playing next to me and realizing that they had never asked the same ones to themselves. That the ways we thought couldn’t be more different.

I kept myself amused with my own fanatical stories and musings in my head. I would wander the playground on a circular path, imagining a friend and being sorely disappointed when it didn’t feel as real as I’d hoped.

There was a bubble separating me from everyone else, thin, and nearly invisible, but with a pearly sheen you could catch under the right conditions. I knew it was there, they knew it was there, and it changed me

[bakeblood]

NEW ALVVAYS OCT 7 CONFIRMED

[mayhem24-7forever]

The Littlest Cowgirl and the Mean Old Bull (Whumptober 2022)

Whumptober Prompts (from this list): Lies - New Scars - Breathing Through The Pain

Character: Rhett Abbott (Outer Range)

Author’s Notes: If you are not over eighteen, this is not for you! I deserve a safe place to express myself and that includes not wanting minors to read my content, even when it is not sexual in nature. Thank you. I am REALLY sorry that this is late but I really am trying my best okay! I actually switched this with day 15 bc I had no inspiration for that day and I wanted to write this one lmao. HUGE thank you to @jostystyles for looking over this for me, this is for you baby. fic dividers by my darling @a-reader-and-a-writer, thank you so so much

Warnings: ANGST, bull riding, graphic descriptions of violence and injuries, blood and gore, low key religious trauma, hospitals, misplaced guilt, (AKA Jo traumatizes Rhett’s five year old daughter for 4.5k words)

“Momma hurry up! We’re gonna miss daddy’s ride!” the little girl called, dragging her mother towards the stands and through the crowd by the hand.

“Slow down Annie!” Y/N laughed, shaking her head as her five year old daughter plowed through the crowd of adults without hesitation. “We have time!”

Angelica Abbott was definitely her father’s daughter, all attitude and sass, just like Rhett. She stomped through, weaving through the legs of the crowd, her tiny pink cowgirl boots kicking up tiny clouds of dust as she went. For her outfit that evening (she always dressed up for daddy’s rodeos), she had chosen to dress in a miniature matching version of what her father was wearing, a dark blue flannel and jeans, her hair braided into two tails under her pink cowgirl hat.

She didn’t slow down, not satisfied until her and her mother had taken their seats in the stands with grandpa Royal. The rodeo was on the other side of the state from Wabang as it was a big competition and so Rhett and his wife had decided to make it into a little vacation for Annie. Royal had come to see his son compete in the biggest competition of his career, Cecelia staying home to watch Amy as Perry had gone on another bender and as such was unfit. Annie climbed up the stands and hopped into her grandfather’s lap as her mother trailed behind her, out of breath from chasing and calling after the rambunctious child.

“Angelica, what have I told you about runnin’ away from your mama?” Royal asked as sternly as he could, struggling to stop himself from smiling at her adorably grumpy face.

Royal’s grandchildren were his weakness and one look from Amy or Annie would have him giving in to give them whatever they wanted, a fact they both took advantage of. Y/N huffed out a final breath as she sat down next to her father-in-law.

“Mama’s too slow!” Annie whined and Royal chuckled. “Daddy’s about to ride and we were gonna miss it!”

“Your father doesn’t ride for another ten minutes, little one.” Royal supplied and Annie giggled as she shrugged.

Annie settled back in her grandfather’s lap, leaning back against his chest and peering down at the ring and the bull pens behind it. The three of them played I Spy for a while to kill the time, Annie giggling when she chose to describe the same trailer for the third turn in a row.

“Oh look! It’s daddy!” Y/N said and Annie sat up, looking to where her mom was pointing at the back of the ring to find her father getting ready to mount the bull in it’s tiny pen.

“Daddy!” she squealed and Rhett turned to wave at her with a big smile, Annie waving back frantically.

“I love you, Angel!” he called back, his nickname for her barely audible from so far with so much noise around them.

Rhett turned to focus on mounting the bull when Annie’s face suddenly dropped.

“Oh no!” she cried out and her mother and grandfather looked to her in concern. “I didn’t give daddy his good luck kiss! I always give him his good luck kiss before he rides!”

“It’s alright sweetheart, just you being here to watch him is all the luck he’ll ever need.” Royal assured her.

She watched nervously as Rhett struggled to mount the bull, the handlers barely able to get him on it. Annie had never seen that happen and it made her stomach twist into knots. She turned to her mother, leaning practically onto her lap and got her attention as the man on the speakers started talking.

“Mama?” she said quietly and her mother leaned in to hear her daughter over the announcer. “My tummy hurts.”

“Oh, I’m sorry baby, we can go back to the hotel right after daddy finishes his ride.” Y/N assured her and Annie frowned.

“Need to go now!” she insisted, pouting.

“Sweetheart, daddy is about to ride. Eight seconds and he’s off and we can go, okay?” her mother asked and Annie reluctantly nodded, settling back into her grandfather’s lap uneasily.

Annie had seen a lot of her father’s rides over her very short life, whether it was in a sling wrapping her against her mother’s body, nestled on her grandmother’s lap, or perched high up on her grandfather’s shoulders. A few times, her father had fallen off or had a rough landing but he always got back up with minimal injuries, usually just some cuts and bruises, a sprain or two at the worst.

Whenever that happened, Rhett would sit on a chair in the kitchen as Y/N cleaned and bandaged his cuts and put ice on his bruises. Annie would be perched on the kitchen table or on his lap, using her little toy first aid kit to help her momma. She liked playing nurse to help her daddy feel better when he was hurt. Rhett would always end up covered in dozens of flowery and sparkly little bandaids, whether he needed them or not (and usually he didn’t).

“Daddy just got a little banged up by the mean old bull, baby.” he would assure her, her little fingers tracing over the scars, both new and old on his chest. “I’m just lucky I have you and your mama–best nurses in Amelia county–to always take care of me.”

Annie usually loved to watch her father ride bulls but as she waited for the ride to start, that bad feeling in her stomach got worse and worse. The bullhorn sounded and the gates were thrown open, the bull launching out of the shoot, Rhett hanging onto its back for dear life. She tried to count the seconds like her grandmother had taught her to do between lightning and thunder to know how far away a storm was.

One-one thousand. The crowd including her grandfather shot to their feet, hooting and hollering.

Two-one thousand. The bull bucked over and over again, bellowing in anger at the man on his back.

Three-one thousand. Rhett’s hat flew off his head, landing in the dirt below the angry bull’s stomping hooves and quickly being trampled.

Four-one thousand. The halfway point, Rhett still holding on tightly to the reins even as the bull got angrier and angrier, trying harder and harder to throw him off.

Five-one thousand. The dust cloud kicked up by the bull got bigger and bigger, almost hiding the image of Rhett perched on it’s back, his hand up in the air just like in the tattoo on his chest.

Six-one thousand. One of the ropes on the bull snapped, Rhett’s grip slipping as the entire saddle was knocked loose.

Seven-one thousand. Rhett’s body was flung off of the bucking bull, hitting the ground with a sickening smacking noise inaudible over the loud collective gasp of the crowd as the angry bull charged in to attack with swinging horns and stomping hooves.

The handlers were good at their jobs, getting the bull roped and pulled away from him in mere moments. Within seconds, Rhett’s unmoving body was swarmed by about a dozen handlers and blocking the crowd’s view of him. The crowd had gone deathly silent but as the bull was pulled back into its pen, they began to murmur in hushed whispers. Royal and Y/N were frozen in shock, unable to stop Annie when she wriggled out of her grandfather’s arms and took off down the stairs and towards the pen.

“Angelica, no!” Y/N screamed, racing after her but Annie didn’t listen.

“DADDY!” Annie screamed, sliding between the legs of some officials and into the ring before anyone could stop her, tears streaming down her cheeks as she ran towards the circle of bodies surrounding her father.

Rhett’s brain was pounding in his skull, his eyes struggling to focus on anything but the bright lights of the arena as half a dozen dark figures hovered above him, their panicked voices overlapping.

“Don’t move Rhett! Just don’t move!”

“Jesus fucking Christ-”

“The paramedics are coming, alright?”

“Abbott, blink twice if you can hear me!”

“Oh my God…”

“Do not move!”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck-”

He tuned them out, lying there in the dirt as he attempted to breathe through the agonizing pain on every inch of his body. Something warm and wet was pooling below his left leg and he couldn’t move his left arm at all. He blinked hard as the figures above him came in and out of focus, the same horrified look on every one of their faces. His whole body ached and he groaned in pain when someone tried to touch him. But he didn’t care. All that mattered was making sure his baby girl didn’t see him like that, especially as he heard a small but loud voice shrieking “Daddy!” and wailing in distress. He turned his head as much as he could to look between the legs of the others to see a tiny figure sprinting towards him from across the ring.

“Stop her… can’t… see me… like this.” Rhett rasped, a bit of blood coming out of his mouth as he wheezed in pain.

Luckily, one of the handlers was able to grab her before she got close enough to see him and Rhett could hear her screaming as she was handed off to Royal, who had been hot on her heels. Her voice got further and further away, her grandfather evidently carrying her away despite her loud protests. The men around Rhett parted enough to let Y/N through and she collapsed onto her knees at his side, her terrified eyes raking over his body and taking stock of his injuries. The protective vest seemed to have shielded his chest from the bull’s horns but his legs were not as lucky. He had a huge gash on his left leg, blood pouring forth through a tear in both chaps and jeans. His left arm was smashed, bones jutting out at impossible angles and he was having great difficulty breathing, his chest rising and falling unsteadily at uneven intervals with a rattling wheeze accompanying each breath.

“Oh my God, baby…” she gasped, shaky hands covering her mouth in shock, tears beginning to pour out of the corner of her eyes as she turned to scream at the men standing around. “Where the fuck are the medics! We need a fucking ambulance! Don’t just fucking stand there!”

Rhett chuckled a little at his wife��s fiery rage before the laugh turned to a cough, more blood spraying from his mouth which pulled her attention back to him. Her hands flew to his face, cradling him as she moved strands of his long hair off of his sweaty forehead. Grunting with effort, he moved to place his right hand on hers and she eagerly took it, trying to keep him from moving too much.

“It’s okay baby, don’t move. The medics are coming through the gate right now, okay?” she assured him and he nodded slightly, gazing up into his beautiful wife’s sad eyes. “Just hold on, baby. You’re gonna be just fine, Rhett.”

He squeezed her hand and gave her a small smile.

“I love you, baby. If I don’t get to tell you again, I love you so damn much.” Rhett said and she shook her head, shushing him.

“No, don’t think like that, okay? You’re gonna be alright and you can tell me again later.” she replied, crying as she looked down at her husband. “I love you and Annie loves you and you’re not going anywhere.”

“Our little angel didn’t see me like this, right?” he asked and she shook her head.

“No, your father took her outside the ring.” she assured him and he breathed out in relief.

“Tell her I’m okay.” he said weakly and they both knew it was a lie. “Tell her daddy is just a little more bruised up than usual from the mean old bull.”

Y/N nodded, unable to speak through her tears as the paramedics kneeled beside them, dropping his hand reluctantly when a rodeo official gently eased her up and away from him so they had room to work. She felt like she was in a nightmare as she was led out of the ring, glancing backwards every few seconds to watch them strap him onto a board and carry him into an ambulance.

Everything had been a blur of tears to Annie ever since her grandfather had carried her out of the ring, ignoring her angry fists pounding on his chest and her screamed demands to be taken back. An ambulance with flashing lights and sirens pulled up to the gate of the ring and drove inside as some rodeo officials ushered Royal and Annie into an office in the back of the arena. When another official brought Y/N in a few minutes later, Annie was still blubbering into her grandfather’s neck as he shushed her and stroked her back. The second she saw her mother Annie reached for her and was pulled into her mother’s arms, Royal holding the pair comfortingly.

The officials talked with Royal and Y/N for a while but Annie wasn’t paying attention, instead continuing to cry as she clung to her mother. They were brought out to a car and driven back to their hotel, her mother telling her that daddy was going to the hospital but that they couldn’t see him until he felt a little better. Royal thanked the man who drove them, his comforting arm around his daughter-in-law’s shoulder as they headed for their rooms, Royal deciding to stay in their room for the night.

When they had made the reservations, Royal had his own room while Rhett’s family took a room with two beds, one for Rhett and Y/N and the other for Annie. Annie had been very excited to have her own big big-girl bed as a vacation treat, although most nights she ended up sleeping in her parents’ bed anyways as she found out she didn’t like sleeping in such a big bed all alone. Royal excused himself to go out onto the balcony to call Cecelia and let her know what had happened while Y/N struggled to get Annie through her nighttime routine.

Annie refused to take a bath and even threw her favorite bath toy (a rubber duck with a cowboy hat) at her mother, yelling that she wanted her daddy. Y/N tried to stay calm and keep it together, feeling just as upset as her daughter but unlike the little girl, she had responsibilities, trying to remember that Annie was only acting out because she was scared and she didn’t fully comprehend what was happening. Y/N was able to get her into her pajamas and coax her to lay down on her bed, falling into a restless sleep, crying in her mother’s arms, squeezing her favorite stuffed animal, Bessie the pink cow, tightly.

Rhett had been showing Annie all the animals on the ranch one day when she asked why some of the cows were black and white, but others were brown. He told her that the color of the cow showed what kind of milk they made: the black and white cows making regular milk, the brown ones making chocolate milk, and pink cows making strawberry milk. Annie had asked why they didn’t have any pink cows on the ranch and Rhett told her it was because they were “so super rare” only special pink cow farms could have them, which disappointed her. A few days later, she found a little stuffed pink cow sitting on her bed, her mother shaking her head and smiling at how much Rhett spoiled her.

Annie woke up a little bit later, the lights all off and she couldn’t stop thinking about her daddy’s accident, convinced it was her fault because she forgot to give him his good luck kiss beforehand. She crawled out of Y/N’s arms, careful not to wake her and hopped of the bed, kneeling next to it with her hands together in front of her like grandma had taught her.

"Dear Mr. Jesus, I know I don't pray to you as much as gramma wants me to but please save my daddy.” Annie begged, choking on her whispered pleas as tears began to stream down her face again. “I'm really sorry I didn't give him his good luck kiss before his ride but please make him get better. I swear i'll never forget to give him his good luck kiss again, I'm sorry. I’ll eat all my veggies without complaining and I’ll do my letter books for school and listen to mama when she tells me to clean my room. I swear I’ll be good, I swear I’ll be a good girl, Mr. Jesus sir, please save my daddy."

Satisfied with her prayer, she she padded across the carpeted room to the bathroom, dragging Bessie on the ground behind her. Once she had finished her business, she noticed that her grandfather was still out on the balcony with his head in his hands. She walked over and tried to open the heavy glass sliding door but couldn’t reach the handle. Gently, she tapped on the glass and Royal turned to reveal a tear-stained face. Wiping his eyes quickly, he leaned over and opened the door, giving his granddaughter the best smile he could muster as she stepped outside into the cool night air, her tiny feet quick to cross the cold cement.

“What are you doing up, little one?” he asked, voice hoarse and raw from crying as he lifted her up into his lap.

“Had to go potty.” she answered, reaching up to place her little hand on his cheek, still wet with tears. “Were you crying grampa?”

Royal nodded, eyes overflowing with tears again, and Annie gave him a big hug. She had never seen her grandfather cry before but she wanted to make him feel better so she did what he did every time she cried and hugged him tightly.

“Grampa?” Annie asked quietly after a minute and he pulled back to look at her.

“Yes, darlin’?” he asked and she looked up at him nervously.

“Is daddy gonna be okay?” she asked with wide eyes, the same blue eyes as her father and suddenly Royal felt as if he had been thrown back in time to when he had first held Rhett in his arms. “Are the doctors gonna make him all better?”

“I don’t know, darlin’...” he answered honestly, stroking her hair as she picked at Bessie’s fabric, avoiding his eyes. “The doctors are gonna do everything they can but ultimately we don’t know what’s gonna happen. But I’ll tell you what I do know…”

“What, grampa?” she asked, head snapping up to look at him as she listened intently.

“Your daddy is a fighter, he always has been, ever since he was as little as you.” he told her, trying to keep himself from crying again as he looked down at her, so full of fear and hope. “He’s one tough son of a bitch like me and he’s gonna fight as hard as he can to make it back to you and your mama.”

“You said a no no word, grampa.” she said with a little giggle that made him smile despite everything.

“I suppose I did.” he chuckled. “Don’t tell your grandmama I said that and I won’t tell your mama that you’re up this late. It can be our little secret, deal?”

“Deal!” she replied, curling up in his arms again with her head on his chest, holding Bessie tightly as she drifted to sleep listening to his steady heartbeat.

He waited until he was sure that she was asleep before he got up and carried her back inside, putting her back down next to her mother. He tucked them in, Annie instinctively curling up against Y/N in her sleep, and gave them both a kiss on the forehead before heading over to the other bed to try and sleep.

“Annie, baby, wake up.” Her mother’s voice said, gently coaxing her awake and she opened her eyes to find herself looking up at her mother’s smiling face. “The hospital called. Daddy is okay and we can visit him now!”

Annie sat up quickly, eyes wide with surprise.

“Really?” she asked and Y/N nodded.

“We’re gonna go get some breakfast while we wait for visiting hours to begin and then we’re gonna go see him.” she told her daughter with a smile, stroking her hair comfortingly.

“The doctors made him all better?” Annie asked.

“Well, he’s still not feeling all better yet, he’s still hurt but the doctors said that he’s gonna be okay now.” Y/N assured her. “And in a few days, they’re gonna let him out of the hospital and we’ll all get to go home, alright baby?”

Annie nodded and gave her mom a hug before they got ready to go, Annie deciding she wanted to wear her pretty yellow sunday dress to go see him, Y/N grateful she had the forethought to pack it even though they hadn’t planned on going to church. After all three were ready, they walked across the street to a restaurant, Royal carrying his grand daughter as she rambled on about what kind of pancakes she wanted and how they had to bring some to Rhett. Royal and Y/N talked about adult stuff Annie didn’t understand while they ate breakfast, Annie tearing into her chocolate chip pancakes and drowning them in syrup. She was very excited when her mama let her order hot chocolate and she sipped away at it while her grandfather talked about medical and financial stuff with her mother.

Annie made sure they ordered a plate of food for Rhett, telling the waitress that she needed to please make sure the box was closed tight because they had to take it to the hospital for her daddy and she didn’t want to spill anything. When Royal was paying the check at the cash register up front, the waitress gave Annie a cookie and handed over the box for Rhett, which she said was ‘on the house’, although Annie didn’t understand how it could be on the house if they were in it. Either way, Y/N thanked her and the trio headed outside and across the street again.

The car from the previous night came to pick them up again and drive them to the hospital, dropping them off right at the front doors. They stopped in the gift shop so Annie could pick out some flowers for her father while Royal asked the staff for Rhett’s room number. Annie held her mother’s hand tightly as they took the elevator up a couple floors and a nurse led them down the bright hallways that seemed so endlessly long before they finally stopped in front of a door. The nurse knocked and opened the door.

“Mr. Abbott, you have some visitors here to see you.” she said with a smile and Annie was ushered into the room, the nurse shutting the door behind her when she left.

The first thing Annie noticed was how bright and clean everything was, a big window with the curtains thrown open taking up almost a whole wall. Then she saw the very high bed, big machines beeping beside it. There were so many tubes, cords, and wires everywhere that it took her a minute to realize that her father was lying in the bed with his head propped up on some pillows. His left side was way more bandaged than his right side and his left arm was in a cast but he smiled at her anyways.

“Hey Angel!” Rhett exclaimed. “Did you get all dressed up in your pretty dress just to come see me?”

Annie noticed the big bandages on his head and looked down at the floor, clinging to her mother’s leg shyly.

“Annie, go on baby, it’s okay.” Y/N prodded her gently trying to usher her towards her father but she just held on to her leg tighter with her eyes squeezed shut, little tears slipping out as she began to cry into her mother’s side.

Startled, Y/N looked to Rhett and Royal in confusion before kneeling down at her daughter’s level, pulling her into her arms.

“It’s okay, baby. Look, daddy’s alright!” she assured her, picking her up and carrying her towards Rhett’s bed, stroking her hair comfortingly. “I know it looks scary but he’s okay, sweetheart!”

Annie looked at her father again before bursting into tears and burying her head in her mother’s neck.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” she cried out and the adults looked to one another in concern as she blubbered on. “I’m sorry I got you hurt daddy, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!”

“Angel, what do you mean? You didn’t hurt daddy.” Rhett assured her as Y/N sat in the chair by his bed so he could reach out to comfort his baby girl, Annie turning her head to look at him.

“It’s my fault! I didn’t give you your good luck kiss!” she sobbed and her parents sighed in realization. “I always give you your good luck kiss so you don’t get hurt but I forgot this time and you did get hurt!”

“Angelica, look at me.” Rhett told her, holding her hands as she turned in Y/N’s lap to face him directly, blue eyes staring into blue eyes. “This is not your fault. This didn’t happen because I didn’t get a good luck kiss, okay? So don’t think for one second that you caused this because you didn’t.”

“R- really?” she asked, voice catching on her tears and Rhett wiped them off of her cheeks, her mother rubbing her back comfortingly.

“Yes, Angel. I’m sure.” he told her with a smile. “Now, come give me a hug, I missed my baby girl so much.”

“I don’t want to hurt you, daddy.” she said quietly, looking at his bandages worriedly.

“You won’t baby. Just be gentle and stay on this side and I’ll be okay.” Rhett assured her, referring to his right side and she nodded.

Y/N helped her climb up onto the bed and gently lay down beside him, tucked into his side under his arm as he held his wife’s hand.

“See? I’m alright, Angel. I just got a little more banged up than usual by the mean old bull and I’ll have some new scars but I’m okay.” he told her. “And I’m never gonna ride another bull again, okay?”

“Really?” she asked, half in surprise and half in happiness.

“I pinky promise.” he said, letting go of his wife’s hand to link pinkies with his daughter as she smiled.

“Oh!” she said suddenly, dropping his pinky and digging in her pocket as her parents looked at her in confusion. “I got it!” she exclaimed as she fished out one of her flowery bandaids. She carefully peeled off the wrapper and stuck it on his hand, looking up at him proudly. “All better!”

“Yes, Angel, thank you.” Rhett said, pressing a kiss to her forehead and grabbing his wife’s hand, smiling at Royal as he nodded affectionately from his spot in the doorway. “I’m all better now.”