#call of duty oc: gemma

[queermentaldisaster]

“I've taken care of myself so far, I don't need your pity.”

Meet Gemma! She's fourteen and she ends up being adopted by Soap and Ghost.

She was one of the four kids that were originally all in one lab, before the group was ordered to set up more bases around the world for when their boss got out of prison. (Hm, this sounds familiar.)

She was transferred to a lab in Scotland, (yes, I know, but it's my OC, I get to stick her where I please) so she's got a Russian/Scottish accent.

She's a lot like Ghost, especially in the sense that she's extremely distrusting, private, independent, emotionally detached, ruthless, and just all around a cold and broken person.

But she's also like Soap. She's the sun, in the sense that she's burning herself every day. She'll take care of those weaker or younger than her, try to be too bright. She's a solar eclipse, the moon being the center, with a ring of bright light from the sun around it.

She used to protect Zeus before she was transferred when he was about four. (She was eleven.)

[madstronaut]

WIP WRITES RIGHTS NOW! I SAID WIP WRITES RIGHTS NOW

blahblahmaster rant list link blahblah dont look at me

PSA when you only just discover a moot is a prolific writer you run to read all her writing and comment in excruciating detail cc: @gemmahale

blorbo x named oc fans, this one’s for you (it’s me, im talking about me)

please see below a random and incomprehensive ramblelist of my stream of consciousness as I sampled from gemma's works:

Feylands WIP

I find the content warning tags extremely titillating (also I have not seen such a prolifically well organized tag list AND color coordinated to boot like gemma’s blog???? putting my outlook inbox/work docs/excel sheets to shame!!!) and I don’t even read/like fae stories (yes I never read ACOTAR and I don’t plan to anytime soon, I missed that booktok ship, most likely cos im not on the tikky tokky as the children like to say, i watch the reposts on instagram like a proper mlllenial)

Josephine’s heart pitter-pattered at the compliment, heat climbing up her cheeks as she mumbled a thanks, their eyes locking again. 

🥰🥰🥰NOT THE PITTER PATTER

my inquisitive ass is already like “what’s gary’s real name” and “hearing aid = soap b/c of all the damn bombs he blows up?” “but i headcanon gaz with freckles, maybe it’s gaz? gaz = gary?” “or maybe ghost = gary?” GEMMA GIVE US WIPS I MEAN HINTS PUT ME OUTTA MY MISERY

Call of the Wild WIP

I love the little note gemma included about this being inspired by @deadbranch (shoutout to branchy btw my beloved) - honestly floored at all the beautiful fic/headcanon/drabbles/askfills ive read that are the brainchilds birthed from love for other creators’ brainchildren

also equally floored at how many of writers here are like “this incredibly layered/moving/tender/spicy/nasty fic came to me in a dream”

also SUBVERTED TROPES SUBVERTED TROPES SUBVERTED TROPESSSSS

Kyle cleared his throat, shifting his stance. “She prefers to be called a wolf.”

AHAHAHAHAHAHA GODDDD THIS WAS A ZINGER

“Please!” Kyle called back, face half covered in shaving cream.

i need fanart of this right fucking now let me, i mean shannon, sorry oops but haha..unless? finishing shaving you bby

and FUCKING ROACH IS IN THIS FIC HOLD ME BACK OR YOU *WILL* GET CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE OF ME TEARING APART THE BARS OF MY ENCLOSURE BECAUSE MY BRIEF HYPERFIXATION ON ROACH IS BACK WITH A VENGEANCE FROM THIS SMALL SNIPPET AND IN THIS 500 PG DISSERTATION I WILL-

also THAT PROLOGUE APPETIZER SLAYED ME

“The way I see it, you’re fucked either way. You don’t make it out of here, you’re fucked. You become mine, you’re fucked - but in the good way.”

this + the mention of bulge + damp cheek definitely brought a visceral IRL memory for me (affectionate/horny)

also sidenote: it’s the little things that matter and gemma i see you gurl and salute you - incorporating things like hearing aids, mentioning roach is HoH/using sign language, shannon using a shower cap for her curly hair - 😘👌

Corporal Distraction WIP

holy MOTHER OF FUCK THIS SHORT LITTLE EXCHANGE IS FUCKING HOOOOOOOOOT

The captain moved closer to her, gently lifting her chin up with his finger. “So you’re the bird that’s got my sergeant distracted.”

“Sir?”

“Been trying to figure out what’s got Gaz so twisted up lately. Figured it was a partner, didn’t think it was a Corporal under him.” He didn’t release her chin, now holding it between his thumb and finger. “Has good taste, at least,” he muttered, eyes shifting to the Lieutenant, who only huffed in response.

any premise that fucks with/frustrates/sleep-deprives soap has my heart 🥰

Flowers From My Love WIP

the bit where they discuss the casserole perfectly encapsulates each of the boys imho - price grunting out a response, soap eagerly asking about the food (such youngest of the group/im baby vibes), gaz picking up on the note and name/# left, ghost grumbling and ofc he fucking HAS to bring up manchester- 

and the MOODBOARD!!!! God I fucking love when writers flesh out a bit of their worldbuilding with related art, moodboards, face claims, etc etc etc i WILL lick up every crumb from the floor like a starving doggo- fun fact, one of my first interactions in cod fandom was requesting a moodboard from @the-californicationist (also shoutout to cali my beloved)

and PEPPER THE SERVICE DOG OH MY LORD PLEASE GOD IF THE 141 MEN CAN’T BE REAL LET PEPPSY BE REAL PLEASE GOD IF I HAD TO ASK FOR ONE THING FROM THIS CURSED HELLSITE-

Palace Hallways WIP

my mind blacked out at artificer soap and knight kyle and druid ghost - I also just finished a campaign with my homegroup IRL not too long ago and we’re taking a long break before the next game while our DM preps and this is making me miss playing with them ;-;

Edge Dressing WIP

KATE KATE KATE KATE KATE KATE that’s it that’s the tweet

“She did, did she?” Kate murmured, scratching at Letty’s scalp and smirking as the woman went boneless against her.

yes only natural, i too would also go boneless if laswell was scratching my scalp and giving me a massage mommy? sorry. mommy. sorry? mommy. sorry?

Embroidered Secret WIP

if someone told me a year ago when I wasn’t into regency shows/fics that reading some COD AUs - yes fucking CALL OF DUTY, the military propaganda first person shooter video game - would change my mind - well id be more shocked than if someone flashed some ankle at my victorian pearl clutching ass

also please i love every single trope listed here

141 Studios WIP

“Our sweet soft girl Samantha (plus size rep ftw!) finds her niche quickly as the resident camgirl - creating a new set of films called "Tip of The Tongue", where she (and others) commentate on the scenes being filmed in a behind the scenes way.”

fuck i would read an entire multiseries for this premise alone???

Crew scramble around to clean up the sweat and cum streaked across the couch to reset for another scene.

fun fact - i briefly interned as a PA in college and one of the producers i worked with mentioned offhand that he once rolled up to a set that was cleaning up after a porn shoot and claimed they were rolling away literal barrels of lube 👀

“You the new girl?” His voice was deep, rumbling like stones cascading down a mountain.

NEW GIRL, OLD MAN, BLUE BIRD, CLOWN WITH A BUCKET HAT, I WILL BE ANYTHING FOR YOU PS!SIMON

A Protege’s Trust WIP

The most titillating tag of all..an empty one! lol jk im just messin with ya gemmy but actually yes i don’t see any posts with this tag

Museum Muse WIP

ahem you already know my rabid thoughts on this but noticed this new post re: multiple timelines and tbh do I know what’s going on? absolutely not - do I want to dive into this museum muse multiverse regardless? absolutely yes

Brix WIP

Re: “If it’s a story about learning to be loved again after a series of devastating losses, can that story then end on another loss? (And should the epilogue soften that loss by allowing them some sort of reprieve?)”

YES! i need to be in a certain mood to read angst but GOD WHEN I AM IN THE MOOD DOES IT HIT THE SPOT/FEEL SO CATHARTIC

also re: these comments - “Also, a bit of catharsis for my shitty experience working in the orchard industry.”

“It's less of a love story and more of a healing story. It's also a bit of a middle finger to the orchard that nearly hospitalized me. 🙃 (It's healing not only for the characters lol.)”

i find these types of fics are some of the best ive read when the writers have IRL experiences bleed into their writing - just has a certain je ne sais quoi about em

also i could be knee deep in sewage sludge and if i sensed soap within a 1 mile radius i would throw myself at him, brb busy handforging a trophy for annabeth for having enough willpower to continue working while JOHN SOAP MACATAVISH WHINES ABOUT WANTING TO COP A FEEL

Squeamish Stitches WIP

✨GLITz!!!! ✨fucking love this name

“God, I’d die here a happy man,” he grumbles into your thigh as you adjust your balance. 

His hands wrap around your calves, grunting as the treads dig into his shoulders. “No, between your legs.”

Ghost interrupts. “Keep it tactical, Sergeants.”

THE FUCKING BANTER? GHOST COCKBLOCKING GAZ? FUCKIGN SCREAMINNG

Useful Girl WIP

you had me at “we gonna get nast-ay kink-ay” and also got strong “secretary” with maggie gyllenhaal + james spader vibes 

also i had to look up ‘brown bottle flu’ as i’ve never heard that term before! ✨i learn somethng new with fanfic daily✨

She felt the breeze as the door opened behind her, the whiff of cigar smoke and cologne causing her to shift in her seat and sit up straighter.

if you’ve ever smelled/heard someone before you saw them it is *quite* the experience

“It's the prickle of the mountain's oncoming storm. It's the flapping of the flag in the howling wind. It's the explosion of lightning hitting a tree, splitting it open, part charred and part living - two states diametrically opposed to each other. It's the sigh of relief when the clouds finally part and the rain pours out. It's the breath of fresh air when the storm dissipates and everything is left clean.

It's yearning so hard for something that it leaves one fundamentally changed when they achieve it.

...I really ought to make moodboards for this fic. 😅”

this was an incredible fucking paragraph to read, fucking poetry right here, also incredibly erotic? though that might just be leftover brainworms in my head from watching shogun and a scene where one of the main charas describes an orgasm as “clouds parting after rain” 

Highland Tartans WIP

She reached her hand into his wool, petting him. “He comes from a good line and all, he’s just young.”

MacTavish laughed, sliding his hands to rest on his waist. “Aye, young and dumb. I know the type.” 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

PLEASE GOD GEMMA

I CANNOT CHOOSE FAVORITES BUT SPARE A THOUGHT FOR MY FREE TIME AND WORK HOURS WHEN YOU POST MORE OF THESE AND AT LEAST SPREAD THEM OUT SO I CAN KEEP MY JOB AND PAY MY BILLS INSTEAD OF GORGING ON YOUR WRITING

anyway to sum up i am fully convinced the multiverse lives inside of gemma’s brain because goddamn i am convinced once day some god-tier epic space opera multiseries is gonna spring out fully formed like athena from the gemmamind (yes I compared you to zeus, a mythical god, deal with it)

[queermentaldisaster]

Ghost and Soap would be sooooo upset about it too! Not because Cloud's part of Shadow Company, no, because that's their DAUGHTER damnit! Soap would absolutely argue with Cloud and Voodoo whenever they wanna take Gemma somewhere, and Ghost just glares at them. Meanwhile Gemma is just there, and once she warms up to Cloud and Voodoo, she's literally trying to squirm out of her dads' grasp to get to her sisters.

Hello hello hello 👀

I feel like, despite Cloud being with Shadow Company, her and Voodoo would get along PERFECTLY with Gemma, and kinda adopt her as a little sister 👀👀👀

Cloud has basically adopted every shadow on base, and she actually got along with most of 141 whenever they were partnered because she's a medic and had nothing to do with much of what happened. But yessss, Voodoo and Cloud would steal her and claim her as another little sibling.

Voodoo is usually chill about stuff and she would probably be the first out of the two to take Gemma under her wing as another little sibling. She's already the youngest sister, but she's not the youngest so she's got some older sister instincts.

But yeah no, Gemma is now a Madden and she can't say anything about it. She's coming to Baton Rouge with them when they go on leave and meeting their ma and their other siblings.

[crownrots]

❄️ mobile links.

follows from @carrionsflower

⟢ the clowns | oc ramblings

⟢ pinterest

⟢ resources ╴face claims ◦ prompts ◦ reference

oc master list under the cut:

BALDUR'S GATE 3 ──

Phillipa Marwood - tag | ♡ gale

Aerona Zonvasses - tag | ♡ shadowheart

Marik Thayer - tag | ♡ astarion

Varyamë of the Lythari - tag | ♡ lae'zel

Prim Skarnak - tag | ♡ halsin

CALL OF DUTY ──

Jacqueline Dubois - tag | ♡ john price

Drew Guidry - tag | ♡ helen espinoza

Holly McDowell - tag | ♡ esteban rojas

Alessandro Messina - tag | ♡ marnie daniels

CYBERPUNK 2077 ──

Vanessa 'V' Lennox - tag | ♡ panam palmer

Vianna Salvatore - tag | ♡ jamie valentino

DAYS GONE ──

Ami Mccormick - tag | ♡ kiki navarro

Terrence Walker - tag | ♡ regina angeli

Richie Scott - tag | ♡ beckett estrada

DC ──

Eloise Rigby - tag | ♡ adrian chase

Yvette Maxwell - tag | ♡ sunny santoso

DRAGON AGE ──

victoria cousland - tag | ♡ alistair

twila hawke - tag | ♡ anders

guinevere trevelyan - tag | ♡ cullen

marius d'abonville - tag | ♡ /

victoria redgate - tag | ♡ /

minerva ingellvar - tag | ♡ emmrich volkarin

otessa thorne - tag | ♡ davrin

llorva aldwir - tag | ♡ bellara lutare

cosette d’abonville - tag | ♡ hrærek

hrærek gæirmundsen - tag | ♡ cosette

FALLOUT ──

Archie Atkinson - tag | ♡ tris monroe

Emmett Turner - tag | ♡ kitty

Eddy Sayer - tag | ♡ claudia maris

FALLOUT (PRIME) ──

Hattie Milford - tag | ♡ ricki silva

FAR CRY ──

Evelyn Lawrence - tag | ♡ /

Robert Lawrence - tag | ♡ hildy larmar

Jaxx Ackerson - tag | ♡ jojo

Ivy Wilson - tag | ♡ andy rivera

HOUSE OF THE DRAGON ──

Eraesella Storm - tag | ♡ clifton stark

Myra Ryger - tag | ♡ gwayne hightower

Cassian Lannister - tag | ♡ lorenza martell

Grimm Harmlet - tag | ♡ nymora sand

MCU ──

Roxanne James - tag | ♡ /

MIDNIGHT MASS ──

Ophelia Cohen - tag | ♡ dana andrews

RED DEAD REDEMPTION II ──

Nora Higgins - tag | ♡ arthur morgan

RESIDENT EVIL ──

Jeremy Stanford - tag | ♡ fatima pavan

Brooke Todd - tag | ♡ /

Maeve Peralez - tag | ♡ jake muller

SCARLET HOLLOW ──

Rowena Albrecht - tag | ♡ reese kelly

Lenore Scarlet - tag | ♡ sam wayne

Jack Haggerty - tag | ♡ stella richmond

STAR WARS ──

Amara - tag | ♡ owen yonhatt

STRANGER THINGS ──

Patricia Upton - tag | ♡ jim hopper

Avery Slaughter - tag | ♡ eddie munson

THE LAST KINGDOM ──

Wynflæd - tag | ♡ finan

Ingrid - tag | ♡ eadith

Wulfwyn - tag | ♡ sihtric

Arne - tag | ♡ osferth

THE LAST OF US ──

Rian Mccormick - tag | ♡ mari cross

Teagan Montgomery - tag | ♡ xavier cruz

Mason Novak - tag | ♡ raquel quint

Parker Novak - tag | ♡ milly vanelli

THE LAST OF US (HBO) ──

Kyle Alpert - tag | ♡ tommy miller

Savannah Alpert - tag | ♡ calum jackson

Mark Hudson - tag | ♡ gladys page

Wesley Chase - tag | ♡ eugenie doucett

THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE ──

Kit Slater - tag | ♡ alondra carrera

Dory Sinclair - tag | ♡ alonso carrera

Tammy Shaw - tag | ♡ /

Vince Shaw - tag | ♡ ginny tate

Perry James - tag | ♡ johnny slaughter

Sandra Underwood - tag | ♡ kerry reed

Iris - tag | ♡ leslie astor

Peggy Ward - tag | ♡ robin holley

Cindy Ward - tag | ♡ juniper mckinney

Derrick Ward - tag | ♡ addie bautista

THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE ( 2000S) ──

Garrison Abbott - tag | ♡ gemma crawford

Sosie Sanchez - tag | ♡ deacon crawford

Eliza O'Rourke - tag | ♡ nix

Daisy Dunn - tag | ♡ /

Winnie Madison - tag | ♡ dominic cross

Emmett Turner - tag | ♡ lola

THE WAYHAVEN CHRONICLES ──

Nina Bird - tag | ♡ william bird | ♡ adam du mortain

Eleanore Greene - tag | ♡ farah hauville

Agatha Elwood - tag | ♡ mason

[soaimagines]

small worlds

an EZ Reyes Fanfiction

Chapter One

Pairing: Eventual Ez Reyes x Ilana Ortiz (OC)

Summary: When Ilana Ortiz left Charming she never thought she would be wrapped up in the life of another motorcycle club. But when she runs into an old friend she finds she’s already in deeper than she thought.

OR  Juice’s little sister falls for a Mayan

Word Count: 2238

Warnings: language, mentions of death, mentions of grief, trash writing? 18+ as always, soa spoilers? i guess. 

Authors Note: I’ve had this idea for a while now and I’ve finally written it. Thank you as always to my sweet friend @juniperjane for being my beta and reading through the dozens of drafts i sent u. u da bomb  

Disclaimer: i do not speak espanol, and try to use it sparingly and respectfully. if i have failed to do so please let me know, i mean no offense.

Tags: @minnicelli • @ifoundmyhappythought • @noz4a2 • @svintsandghosts • @rebel-without-cause-x • @i-shouldbepainting • @lady-pswrld • @spookys-girl • @multiyfandomgirl40 • @gemini0410 • @starrynite7114 7• @everyhowlmarksthedead

if you want to be added to the taglist let me know

There was always something slightly ominous about a gas station at midnight. A place that was usually hustling with travellers stocking up, refueling their tanks and heading off in search of their own adventures. But as the light of the day was replaced with the unrelenting darkness of night, Ilana Ortiz found herself alone, as she often did. She raised her hand, stifling a yawn as her gaze flickered to the petrol pump, eyeing the numbers as they rose. The hum of the pump pouring petrol into the tank of her car sputtered to a stop and she lifted the nozzle, shaking off the remains before returning it to the hook.

In the distance she heard them. Steadily growing louder as they approached. She knew the sound all too well, once the soundtrack of days spent in happiness all those years ago. The thunderous drone approached and she closed her eyes, basking in the memories that flooded her. Crashing into her mind like waves, dragging her out into the deep. Her fingers grasped the locket hanging around her neck and she took a deep breath as she opened her eyes. The breeze shifted, blowing a strand of dark hair across her face and she watched as they approached.

Half a dozen motorcycles, most of them low riders, spread out in a staggered formation as they thundered down the highway, with only the open road laid bare before them. One by one they sped past her, and Lana couldn’t help but think of them as ghosts from her past, the faces that would be forever etched into her memory haunting those of the strangers that rode before her now. The darkness of night hindered her ability to make out the patches on the riders backs, but they were there, their presence ever looming.

There was once a time where the presence of a motorcycle club had been a welcoming sight, surrounding her with a feeling of warmth and belonging, rather than the emotional sorrow that she felt deep in her soul. But those times were just memories now, chapters in a dark and lonely book that she didn’t have the strength to read again and so she closed it tight and left it to gather dust.

It took a few months for Ilana to settle into Santo Padre. Slowly, the shelves in her small apartment were filled with various ornaments that she gathered from local market stalls and thrift stores. While it was far from the apartment of Lana's dreams, it was affordable and in a reasonably good neighbourhood, and for now, at least, it was home.

She didn't have a lot of personal possessions, had never been one for materialistic items. There were only two things that she took with her wherever she went. The first, was the locket around her neck. Inside lived a black and white photo of her late mother, wearing a smile that had been passed on to her children. The second was a photograph, its edges frayed and worn. In it stood two siblings, matching smiles on their youthful faces as they stood beside each other, his arm wrapped around her shoulders.

Juan Carlos and Ilana Rose Ortiz.

For as long as she could remember it had been the two of them. After their mother passed away they only really had each other and when Juan had decided to leave Queens and move to California, Ilana had been right by his side.

There was something about the small town of Charming, and the people that lived there that beckoned to the Ortiz siblings. And it was there that they made a home. Ilana found a job doing admin work at the local hospital, whilst Juice worked at the local garage.

After a few months he had told her he was prospecting for the Sons Of Anarchy, and she hadn’t exactly been thrilled. It was a dangerous lifestyle, and she couldn’t lose the only person she had left in this world. Juan had tried to put her mind at ease. He told her they would be safe, that they would look out for him and he would look out for them. He told her they would be happy here. And they were, for a while.

Slowly this band of misfits and outlaws truly did become family, a concept that had once felt so foreign. They finally belonged somewhere, and they were finally happy. But nothing lasts forever.

She couldn't quite pinpoint the moment things went wrong. But something changed when the Sons of Anarchy did their fourteen month stint in Stockton State Penitentiary. Things were changing, and none of them could have predicted just how dark things would turn.

Soon, the club that had once seemed so solid, so welcoming, turned into something dark and bitter and it fell apart at the seams. The binds that tied them were thick with betrayal and mistrust and she could only watch as one by one they fell like dominoes.

Whilst Ilana had spent years in Charming, she never pretended to know all the ins and outs of the club's business. Nor did she want to know. She knew there were rules, and ways in which certain things had to be handled. But above all else, she knew her brother. And she knew he didn't deserve what happened to him.

After the loss of her brother, Ilana spent a long time in that first stage of grief. In denial that this world could be so horribly cruel. Everything she had ever known had been ripped from her and she didn't know what she was supposed to do next; The town was too small for all the ghosts that lived in it and everywhere she looked, she saw death and pain. Memories of once joyful times turned to rot. And so she left.

She spent the next few years travelling, never staying in one place too long. To some people it may have looked like she was running away from her pain and those people weren't wrong. But Ilana liked to think of herself as an explorer, living out the adventures she had read about in the books of her childhood.

Eventually she grew weary of living out of her suitcase, and she found herself homesick, yearning for a home that no longer existed. She found solace in the sunshine state, and when a job opportunity presented itself in Southern California she took it. She found herself an apartment, albeit a rather shitty one, but it was somewhere to live nonetheless and Ilana found comfort in having a consistent income and a familiar place to lay her head.

Ilana smiled at the market stall vendors as she passed them by, gazing over the varieties of fresh produce they displayed so vibrantly. She purchased a selection of vegetables and fruit, slowly filling the woven basket in her hands. A display of fresh mangoes caught her gaze and she looked them over, picking out the ones she would buy.

“Miss Ilana?”

At the mention of her name, she turned.

“Chucky?”

Chuck Marstein wasn’t a face that was easily forgotten. Although, it was probably more to do with his distinct lack of fingers and his mechanical hands than his actual face, which was often apprehensive.

Four years had passed since they had seen each other, and he was aware that the way in which they were once acquainted had been the root of her sorrow. He looked at her nervously, as if he expected anger from her. But that anger he had grown to expect from people didn’t exist in Lana, and she threw her arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight embrace.

“Chucky!” The grin on her face matched his, her eyes sparkling with the threat of tears. “What are you doing here! I haven’t seen you in forever!”

“Since your brother's funeral.” He nodded.

Lana nodded along with him, finding slight amusement in Chuckys lack of filter. Most people tip-toed around the mention of her brother, but not him.

“You left Charming?”

“Si,” The sadness that flashed in his eyes didn’t go unnoticed. But Lana knew all too well that things in that small town, and in that life, were often complex, and now wasn’t the time to pry.

“But you’re okay?” Lana asked softly. “You’re working?”

“Si, mamacita.Romero Brothers Scrap and Salvage yard. I am always working hard” He rolled his ‘r’s excessively and Lana smiled at the familiar rhyming, as if his sentence was his own catchphrase.

“And what are you doing here?”

“I got a job doing admin work in town. It's not much, but it pays the bills.”

His phone rang out loudly, and Chucky flashed her a look of apology.

“Yello?”

Ilana hid her smile as he answered the call, looking away to give him some privacy. They had been close once, back in Charming. She had spent a lot of time at the Sons of Anarchy clubhouse, helping out Gemma in the office as she needed it. More often than not she was paired with Chucky to run errands, and she had enjoyed getting to know him. He was quirky, in many ways, but he was a kind soul and all he really wanted was to belong, something which resonated with Ilana.

“Absolutamante,” He said, and ended the call.

“I have to go, Miss Lana. Duty calls.”

Lana nodded understandably and held out her hand. “Give me your phone, I’ll put my number in it.”

He nodded, handing the device over and watching as her fingers tapped at the screen.

“Give me a call when you’re free and we can get dinner or something. Catch up, properly.”

“Really?” He asked, in genuine disbelief. “You would want to?”

Lana smiled at him. “Of course, Chucky. You’ve always been one of my best friends.”

The smile that spread over his face was like that of a child on Christmas morning and Lana couldn’t help but beam back at him, her heart warming.

“I will call you, for dinner.”

“I look forward to it, Chucky.”

It wasn’t long before Ilana heard from Chucky again.

In fact it was only that same afternoon that her phone had rung and his voice was on the other end of the line. She was glad to hear from him, albeit a lot sooner than she had anticipated, but she invited him to her apartment for dinner nonetheless.

She was already out in town, and after spotting a sign that read ‘Carniceria Reyes’, she decided to pick up something to cook. With a glance in each direction she jogged across the road before entering the shop.

It was nearing closing time, and Ilana could see that most of the meat had been packed away, or purchased already. Her eyes scanned what was left on offer as her mind ticked over what she could cook, her abilities in the kitchen being far from expert.

“What can I get for you?”

Ilana glanced up and smiled warmly at the wizened man behind the counter. His smile was warm and welcoming, though the creases on his forehead told of worries, both past and present and there was a forlorn glaze in his twinkling eyes.

“Hi, I’ll just take a couple of those steaks, please?”

The man nodded and slid open the window at the back of the counter.

“How’s your day been?” Ilana made conversation as she glanced around the small store.

Her gaze fell on a selection of books and she smiled as she walked over to them.

He cleared his throat. “It’s been good, busy.” The man said as he packaged the meat. He watched her curiously as she studied the old books, and the delicate way in which she traced her fingers over the titles.

“Are these all yours?” She asked, as she carefully lifted a worn copy of Alejandra Pizarnik’s poetry. It had been well loved, made obvious by the creases on the cover, and the yellowed, dog eared pages.

“Most of them belonged to my wife.”

Ilana smiled as she studied the inscription scrawled inside the cover. It was in español, which she couldn’t read despite her Puerto Rican heritage, but she always found something magical in old books, especially those with messages of love or well wishes written inside the cover.

“She has quite a collection.”

The man smiled and nodded towards the book in her hands. “You’re welcome to borrow it.”

“Oh no, I couldn’t.”

“Please,” He smiled at her. “They should be read, not left here to gather dust and the smell of meat.”

Ilana laughed lightly and nodded, slipping the book carefully into her bag. “Thank you, uh?”

“Felipe.”

Her purchases were ready now, wrapped carefully in brown paper and he placed them on top of the counter.

“Thank you, Felipe.” She smiled as she handed him some cash. “I’m Ilana.”

“Please, keep the change.” She lifted the parcel in her hands as she headed to the door. “It was nice to meat you.”

Felipe chuckled and waved as she walked out of the shop, shaking his head at the interaction.

“Who was that?”

Felipe looked up to see his son EZ, the same smile on his face as he wore on his own, stepping out from the shadows.

“New customer.” Felipe said as he walked to the door and flipped the ‘open’ sign to closed. “Cmon, Jimenez will be here soon.”

Masterlist

[bookenders]

Storyteller saturday! What was the first thing you knew that /had to be/ included in your wips? What's special about it? What is giving your motivation to work on your current projects? What's a neat worldbuilding thing you came up with?

Storyteller Saturday!

Hey hey @timefire25! Thanks so much for the asks, friend!

I’m gonna tackle these fantastic questions in order: 

[H2H = Heart to Heart

FF = Fish Food

AOPC = All Our Painted Colors

TND = The Neither Days]

1.  What was the first thing you knew that /had to be/ included in your wips?

H2H: Lesbians. Happy, live-beyond-the-end-of-the-story lesbians who can do magic and are ridiculously wholesome. Also: a strong, loving community; social commentary; enough fluff to stuff a whole set of pillows; cool science stuff.

FF: Humor! Without it, this story would be super duper way too dark. Also, lots of social commentary on… *checks notes*

That. And legit depictions of mental health issues.

AOPC: A culture centered around ART. I love art. And stories.

TND: Okay so there’s this one scene coming up that’s super rad and I’m really excited about it. It’s been in my head since the beginning and it’s like, the second scene I thought up. I love the imagery and the symbolism and the feelings. It’s great.

2. What’s special about it?

H2H: Sometimes you need to read something that will make you feel warm and fuzzy inside. Fluff makes the world go ‘round, ya know? And lesbians gotta survive. Also, I’m passionate about found families, which is why the story has one at its very center. I love writing stories about people who don’t feel at home somewhere, so they find with other people who feel the same and call a new place theirs. It’s an important thing to learn: there’s always somewhere for you, and always someone out there who can catch your drift. 

FF: Stories like this one are ways to see the truth of reality. Okay, that sounded super intense. What I mean is that this is a story about a group of people who have been used coming together to fight back against a system that’s doing its best to tear them down. Including accurate and respectful depictions of mental health in this story is important to me, too. I feel like this genre is a great place to explore that. 

Also, I need to work on my humor writing so that’s pretty special, I guess. 

AOPC: I loved the idea of a culture based on art. What do they value? How to they keep records of events and their history? How do they share information? What do they hold dear? It’s sort of my own version of the Legato Conservatory, for those who listen to TAZ. I don’t know of any other fantasy cultures 100% centered on art, either. It’s a story about storytelling and all the ways you can use it. And I think that’s pretty special.

TND: The metaphor and the symbolism, with the context of the canon, is so full of feels it makes my heart clench. It’s an unexpected coming together, a reaching out of two hands that meet in the middle while the world spins off-kilter around them. It’s an oh and a gasp in the same breath. It’s a fall that feels like flying.

That’s about as poetic as I can get without spoilers.

3.  What is giving your motivation to work on your current projects?

Right now, not much, to be honest. It’s midterms time and I’m a grad student, so life is pretty much study hell right now. But my stories are my creative therapy, so I expect I’ll start writing again pretty soon after all my business chills out. 

But on the regular: I really want to tell everyone about the big giant spoilers and how they happen in H2H, and one of the big confrontation scenes in FF (seriously, it’s a huge twist I don’t think a lot of people will see coming - one of them anyway 😉), and I want to figure out what the hell happens next in AOPC, and in TND, I really want to get to the switched POV chapter because it’s full of mutual pining and it offers a lot of really good insight into one character’s head (it’s my motivation to finish this transition chapter too because it’s taking forever).

4.  What’s a neat worldbuilding thing you came up with?

H2H: The magic types I developed are pretty cool! Astromancy, Totem Magic, Sigilcrafting, and Pact Magic. There are a few others, but that’d be spoilers, my friend. Making these info posts was also very fun. I got to do nerdy research about magic and science! 

And something I haven’t mentioned yet: liminal spaces are very important in this story! The town of Linsay is a liminal space. Gemma’s house is a liminal space. The police station is a liminal space for Oz. The lake is a liminal space. This is important: transformation takes place at liminal places. Magic is strongest there. The old is left behind and the new is just ahead. And the fae inhabit liminal spaces.

FF: I made a WIP page that mimics the Coalition of Heroes’ database! It took forever and it was really hard but I did it! And I think it looks rad. 

In-world, hmm… I really like Lithium’s bar. It’s a place that’s like a hero-themed TGI Friday’s or Red Robin, and it’s also the hangout for off-duty heroes. They all chill there like it’s a cop bar for officers who are all undercover. It’s great. None of the civilians who go there know that they’re sitting next to high level super heroes. And Lithium thinks it’s hilarious.

AOPC: There are so many cool worldbuilding things in this story. One is the marriage ceremony I made up. The couple stands before the Namestone and the most senior Elder binds the bride’s left hand to the groom’s right. Then the men of the tribe line up behind the groom, and the women line up behind the bride. They’re ordered so the people closest to them, like family and lifelong friends, are first. One by one, the women dip their right hands in purple paint and mark the bride’s back with their hand print. The men do the same with green paint on the groom’s back.

After everyone’s marked the bride and groom, the Elder blesses the couple, holds their foreheads together, and then they turn around and press their backs together, mixing the paint and blending the colors together. The party starts as soon as their hands are unbound. 

TND: Since most of the worldbuilding for this has already been done by the canon, here are a few recurring story threads I’m working with: Crowley vs. ducks, liminal spaces being the most comfortable and calming, “a good shock to loosen the tongue,” and the kinds of miracles that don’t work. 

Thank you so much for these awesome questions!! 💜

I’ll add my tag lists since there’s a lot of information worth tagging about:

H2H

WIP Intro Post | H2H WIP Tag | Character Page | WIP Page | PowerPoint Intro

Character Tags: Gemma | Mel | The Ladies | Fred Coriander | Officer Oz

OC Intros: Harry | Mary | Oz | Jill | Treena | Fred | Gemma | Mel

H2H Tag List: @katekyo-bitch-reborn, @cawolters, @wasting-ink-not-youth, @quilloftheclouds, @snickertoodles, @mvcreates, @writeness, @half-explored, @dcdarrells, @aslanwrites, @minusfractions, @purpleshadows1989, @royalbounties, @waterfallwritings, @the-clockwork-anything, @kriss-the-writing-nerd, @abalonetea, @timefirewrites, @tricksexual, @introspective-outreach, @alternativeforensicscientist, @sumoranges, @hermiones-writeblrr

[Let me know if you want to be added or removed!]

AOPC

AOPC Tag List: @quilloftheclouds, @snickertoodles, @half-explored, @chemistwriter, @purpleshadows1989, @waterfallwritings, @kriss-the-writing-nerd, @abalonetea, @alternativeforensicscientist, @hermiones-writeblrr

FF

WIP Intro Post | FF WIP Tag | WIP Page | PowerPoint Intro

Character Tags: Iron Will | Overseer | Lithium | Babylon | Nightmare | Sparkplug

OC Intro Post:  Phase 1 | Phase 2

Individual Intros:

Phase 1 (Main Cast): Iron Will | Overseer | Lithium |  Babylon | Nightmare

Phase 2 (Supporting Cast): Sparkplug | Battalion | Ferro

***

[Let me know if you want to be added or removed!]

Fish Food Tag List:  @theevolutionofledarose, @kriss-the-writing-nerd, @quilloftheclouds, @waterfallwritings, @dontwritethatone, @aeschknight, @abalonetea, @ladywithalamp, @writevevo, @danger-writes, @anika-writes-things, @sunlight-and-starskies, @writing-every-other-star, @shadeshadow234, @jaimistoryteller, @leave-her-a-tome, @dowings, @alternativeforensicscientist, @sumoranges, @notanalien51, @hermiones-writeblrr​

TND

Link to Story | Story Tag

TND Tag List: @every-book-has-a-secret, @at-thezenith, @ofinkblotsandscript, @alternativeforensicscientist, @abalonetea

[mrsjaxtellerfan]

Coming Home (Jax x OC) (Chapter 7)

Hey lovelies, this chapter was cowritten with @lookprettyliveclassyplaydirtyyt. Hope you all enjoy!

Warnings: Some violence

Chapter 7

“How was drop off, Jax?” I asked him when I got to T-M the next morning.

“It was good. She didn’t want to go though, but Opie and I are on tow duty today, so I have to go. Gemma is in the office.” Jax replies, pecking me on the cheek before heading toward the truck where Opie stands, having seen him kiss me.

I walk over to where Opie is standing leaning up to hug him only to have him pull away. “Opie, it’s nothing.”

“It has to be something. Don’t act like I don’t know he dropped her off today. I know he stayed last night.”

“He is her father Opie.”

“She doesn’t know that! As far as she knows I’m her Daddy. You can’t let him come in and try to take over.”

“Opie, he isn’t trying to take over, and you need to calm down. You don’t get to act like this, he is her father and if I want him in her life then he will be.”

“Ariana.”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Actions speak louder than words, Opie. Get to work, I need to go to the grocery store.”

“Take Half Sac with you.” Jax says from the other side of the truck with a smirk. “He’s really good at grocery shopping.”

I smiled and let out a giggle, shaking my head before walking into the clubhouse. “Half Sac.”

“Yeah.”

“Put that down. VP said you get to come grocery shopping with me.”

“So you stayed at Gemma’s last night?” Opie asks from the driver's seat, knowing the answer.

“Yeah I did. Ariana told me I could stay with MY daughter.”

“You know she came by a couple weeks ago to set up a dinner schedule, she wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt and let you come around. I was wondering when you were gonna show up.”

“She never came by.” Jax states, confused.

“She did, right before we went to the zoo and started dating.”

“No she didn’t. She was never there. Does she really want to set up a system?”

“You’re gonna have ask her that. But she did come by, wouldn’t tell me what happened though. I assumed you said something stupid to piss her off.” Opie replies gruffly.

“Look, Opie, I’m Sophia’s father, I’m going to be in the picture. You can play pretend with my daughter all you want, but you will never actually be her father, and in the end, I will be the one she knows as Daddy. You are my best friend and I love you, but I won’t let you stand between me and my daughter, hell, or even between me and Ariana. Do you understand me? We will be a family, and you will go back to being what you should have been from the beginning. Uncle Opie.” Jax states.

“Really? Because I’m the one fucking Ariana, and last I checked I’m the one your daughter calls daddy.”

“You didn’t fuck her. There’s no way she would let you, not this soon.”

“I did, we did, and she enjoyed it. Probably more than she did with you.”

“Don’t get used to her calling you, daddy. That’s gonna end soon, and don’t expect to be fucking Ariana again, I’ll be doing the fucking from now on.”

“You’d never go behind Ari’s back and tell Sophia. You wouldn’t hurt her that way. And as for Ariana, I guarantee, I will be fucking her again, and that you won’t be fucking her ever again. In case you were wondering, the sex was phenomenal, Ari really knows what she’s doing with her mouth.” Opie states, matter-of-factly with a smirk.

“Pull the fuck over!” Jax shouts, fuming. Opie pulls to the side before getting out of the truck.

“You don’t ever fucking talk about her like that again!” Jax shouts, pushing Opie.

“I can talk about her however I want. I’m her boyfriend.” Opie retorts, pushing Jax back.

“If you touch her again I’ll fucking kill you! You are just going to ruin her like you did Donna. Ariana is going to leave you, just like Donna did. She’s going to realize that you aren’t worth the trouble. How do you expect to be in Sophia’s life, when your own children don’t want to be in your life? Donna did the right thing taking those kids and running.” Jax sneers, Opie punches Jax.

“Don’t you ever talk about my children or ex-wife again!” Opie roars, punching Jax repeatedly before Jax gets the upper hand flipping him over and getting his hits in.

“What the fuck is going on here? Get off of him!” I yell, running up and pulling Jax off of Opie. Half Sack holding Jax back as I check on Opie.

“Ariana, it was just a misunderstanding.” Opie replies, standing up brushing his bloodied hair out of his face.

“What did you do?” I shout, whirling around on Jax.

“Why do you think I started this?” Jax question, a look of hurt on his face.

“Babe, I started it.” Opie states, grabbing my hand.

“Why? I told you to leave it be. He is Sophia’s father, he is going to be in the picture.”

“He said stuff that got under my skin.” Opie replies.

“I said stuff to get under your skin? You told me how well you fuck her, and claimed my daughter will never get to know me!” Jax shouts, making a move to get to Opie.

“Opie, is that true?” I ask.

“Well not exactly... ” Opie trails off guiltily.

“No. I guess that wasn’t all he said. He made sure to tell me how good you suck dick.” Jax butts in.

“Opie, why would you say something like that?” I inquire, batting his hands away as he goes to reach for me.

“I was just pissed off about something he said.”

“About something he said, or something he did, Opie? I was the one who gave him permission to stay with Sophia. You heard her, he is one of her friends. He is also her father… I know you don’t like it Opie, but if you can’t handle it, then we’re done. I’m not gonna have Sophia split between you and Jax. You either have to get over it, or tell me I need to pick up and get out.”

“Where are you gonna go? Who’s gonna scare the monsters away at night? Who is gonna take care of her? Because you’ve done such a good job these past 5 years, Ari. Putting her around people that could hurt her. Her seeing you get hurt, that shit has fucked her up.” I slap him, tears welling up in my eyes. He instantly regrets what he said and goes to reach for me, but I push him away, smacking him again.

“Shit, man…” Jax whispers.

“You don’t fucking touch me! You are never going to touch me again! Stay the fuck away from me and Sophia, you asshole!” I shout, rushing back to my car.

Jax follows me as I walk away, and pulls me into his chest as we hear the slam of the truck door. “If you or Sophia need anything, I got you, Ari. Don’t worry.”

“Where am I gonna go, Jax?” I ask, sobbing into his chest.

“You can stay with me.” Jax states, rubbing my back.

“No, I can’t, not right now. Sophia and I are the same, we get invested in things too quickly and easily. Opie is right. I need to take care of my daughter and jumping into a relationship with him was a mistake. I need to take time and get Sophia and myself better.”

“There’s an apartment building on the other side of town. I can bring some of the guys and my mom to help you get set up.”

“That would be great, Jax.” I say, pulling away from the hug, but not out of his grasp. “Thank you. I need to go pick up Sophia. When will the bug be done?”

“Tomorrow. We got the parts in.”

“Good, I’m going to have to return Opie’s truck and pack up my stuff. Do you want to pick up Sophia with me?”

“Can I drive? I don’t think you should when you’re upset. I can even help you pack if you want.”

“That would be nice, I would need someone to help me. She’s not gonna go easily, she likes it there.”

“We will go bring Opie’s truck back to the shop, borrow Gemma’s Cadillac, and then go pick up Sophia to go to pack. I’ll talk to the guys and have them keep Opie away. Sophia doesn’t need to see you guys fight.”

“He doesn’t need to see us leave either. I should’ve been smarter about this, Jax. I just wanted Sophia to be happy, I guess I forgot about what I wanted too.”

“Don’t worry about it, darlin’. We will get you two settled.” We break away from each other and get back in the truck before heading back to T-M.

“Gemma, can we borrow your Caddy?” I asked her, holding the tears back.

“Why do you need it?” She asks, looking like she might cry. “You gonna try and run away again?”

“Ma, we need to go pick up Sophia, and Opie isn’t available right now. I’ll make sure she doesn’t run. She’d be taking your grandbaby if she did.”

“I would never do that to you, Gemma.”

“You already did, Ariana.”

“I’m leaving Opie. Jax is helping me get my stuff and pack Sophia up.”

“Sweetheart, what happened?” Gemma asks, pulling me in for a hug.

“What happened is I never sucked his dick. He couldn’t handle that I let Jax take her to school this morning. That I told him he could stay with her last night. I want Sophia to know about Jax, I just don’t know when. I want her to get to know Jax first, and I want Jax to get to know her too.”

“Never sucked his dick……. Anyways I’m glad you’ve decided to let Jax get to know her. You going to stay with Jax?”  Gemma asks.

“He told Jax I sucked his dick, I didn’t. No, it’s too soon. Can we maybe stay with you until we find an apartment, Gemma? You might have to move the birds to your bedroom, though.”

“Yes of course.” Gemma beams, pulling me in for a bone crushing hug.

“Ma, can we borrow the car? Sophia is going to be out of school soon, and we can’t be late for pick up.”

“Yeah, yeah of course. I’ll have Clay send Opie on a run so you guys can get your stuff.”

“You’re the best, Gemma. I still have a house key, so I’ll let us in.” I turn toward Jax. “Maybe you can bring Abel and we can all have dinner tonight?”

“I’ll cook. We can have dinner at my house.” Jax states, taking the keys from Gemma.

“Sophia would like that. Let’s get her settled at Gemmas, maybe get her down for a nap, and we will come by. Sound good?”

“I’ll see you two later.” Gemma states.

“Thanks again, Gemma. We will be out as soon as possible.”

“No rush, doll.”

“You sure, Gem? I would hate for you to have to keep your birds in your room as a special accomodation to Sophia for longer than need be.”

“Nonsense. She is my granddaughter after all.”

Jax grabs my hand and walks me to the car, opening the door for me. “You gonna buckle my seatbelt for me too?” I ask, joking around with him.

“If I need to, yeah.” Jax jokes, making his way around to the driver seat.

“Mommy! I had an awesome day!” Sophia exclaims, getting in the car with Jax’s help.

“Did you?” I ask.

“Yep! I made a friend. His name is Tommy. We got married on the playground.” Sophia smiles.

“You’re too young for boys, Phia.” Jax replies, glaring at the road. I let out a loud laugh.

“That’s nice baby.”

“Where’s Daddy?” Sophia asks, I tense, not knowing what to respond.

“Opie has some stuff to do. We are going to go stay with grandma Gemma for a bit.”

“But I want to see daddy.” Sophia whines.

“Guess what?”  Jax cuts in.

“What?” Sophia pouts.

“You guys are going to come over and have dinner with me and Abel tonight! We can have all of your favorites!” Jax says, smiling at the smile Sophia gives.

“You mean we can have steak!” Sophia exclaims.

“Anything you want, darlin’.”

“I want cake too, Jax. Chocolate cake, I love chocolate cake!”

“Really? Me too!”

“Mama likes white or cherry.” Sophia conspires.

“Yeah, mama’s a little weird isn’t she? Not liking chocolate cake.”

“She sure is.” Jax says as we pull up to Opie’s house.

“Hey! Rude!” I exclaim with a laugh.

“Sophia, I need you to listen to your mommy right now okay. I know this might make you a little sad, but I need you to do everything she says.” Jax says, holding her little face in his hands as he gets down to her level after getter her out of her booster.

“What’s wrong, mommy? Are we going back to Hershey? Did daddy hurt you? He promised me he wouldn’t.”

“I can’t tell you what’s wrong, Sophia, but we aren’t going back to Hershey. Daddy… He did hurt mommy, but not like Darren used too. Now Sophia, I need you to go in there and get all your clothes and toys and bring them to me, can you do that?” I ask, wiping away the tears that were beginning to spill over.

“Mommy, I don’t want to leave daddy, but if he hurt you, we need to go. Where are we going Mommy?” Sophia cries, throwing herself at my legs.

“We are going to go stay with grandma Gemma. Then we are going to find a place of our own.”

“Will I still be able to see daddy?” Sophia asks.

“Not right now baby. He really hurt my feelings and he said some not so nice things to our friend Jax. We don’t like it when people are mean to our friends, do we?” I ask.

“No, if daddy was mean then we need to let him get nice again.”

“Baby,” I say, smoothing her hair back. “Opie might not let us come back, he might not get nice again. What he did baby, I can’t forgive him for.”

“But who’s going to scare the monsters away now? Mommy, he promised he would never hurt you.”

“I will tonight,darlin’.” Jax said, before grabbing her hand and leading her into the house. Letting her pull him into the room she had been staying so he could help her get her stuff. I broke down going into the room I shared with Opie. I gather up all my stuff, and put it in my suitcase. I make sure to leave his t shirts here, and I sink down on the floor and I cry, just like did that first night here. I knew I was forcing things with Opie, but it honestly hurt, and what he said to me was unforgivable.

“Darlin’, we finished packing her stuff. You okay?” Jax asks, sitting on the floor beside me, pulling me into him.

“Jax, Opie was right, I fucked her up, 5 years with people who hurt us, over and over again. And I just let it happen again, I can’t let her get hurt anymore. What do I do, Jax? How do I fix this? Jax, I shouldn’t have left, I should have told you the truth. I’m so sorry for everything that happened. I was so scared when I found out, and you made it clear you didn’t want anything more than a quick fuck, and I let that be the reason I left. I hurt her because I was pissed at you. Hell, I hurt you because I was mad that you didn’t want me. I’m so sorry. I’m a shitty mother and a shitty person. Everything I have done has been for my own selfishness.”

“Darlin’... When I said that, it was because I was prospecting. I didn’t want you to get hurt. I don’t think you’re a shitty person, if anyone in the room is, it’s me. Everything you have done, was for Sophia. You took her out of Charming, you helped create a beautiful life. I swear on my body, I will never let anyone hurt her. You, her, and Abel will always come first. I am gonna pick up the pieces and put our family back together.

“Jax.”

“Mommy, why does it look like there is black marker on your cheeks?” Sophia says coming into the room with her disney princess suitcase, clutching Hanks foot in her hand.

I stand up and look in the mirror, seeing the mascara streaks down my face. I giggle a little bit, and wipe them off. “Honey, why don’t you and Jax go and put our stuff in the car, and I’m going to make sure you didn’t forget anything.

“Okay mommy.” She pulls Jax out of the room with my suitcase behind him. I wrap one of my hands in one of Opie’s shirts and wait for the door to close. I screamed out in agony, and punched the mirror. I looked into the broken mirror seeing the broken person I have become, and I smiled, knowing it was gonna get better. “I am not going to let Jax break me too.” I turned and walked out of the house.

“And now he’s on vacation.” I hear when I get in the car.

“Who is, baby?” I ask her, wondering who she’s talking about

“Hank! Our neighbor! The one I named my zebra after.” Sophia says, holding up Hank so I can see him in her hands. “I bet he’s having fun with his grandkids. Do you think grandma Gemma and Papa Clay are going to have fun with me?”

“I think so, Darlin’.” Jax says. Starting the car once I put my seat belt on. “You okay over there, Ari? Usually you talk my ear off, like Sophia does now.

“Yeah, I’m okay, Jax. I’m just thinking.”

“Care to share?” Jax says

“We can talk here in a bit, once Soph goes down for her nap.”

“I don’t wanna nap!” Sophia yells, breaking off with a yawn.

“If you don’t nap, you can’t see the baby.” I say to her, watching her eyes slip closed.

“She’s out.”

“Would you mind carrying her in the house? I’ll get our suitcases. Oh and Jax? Can you move the birdcage please?”

“I got her, and the birds.” He says, pulling into Gemma’s driveway and taking the keys out. “I’ll leave the door open for you.”

“Thank you Jax.” I say, giving his hand a squeeze after he comes around to unbuckle Sophia.

“You don’t have to thank me, darlin’, we’re family.” Jax winks. By the time I move to make my way inside Jax is heading back out to help with the suitcases.

“I said I had them.” I sigh, moving to let him take mine and Sophia’s suitcases.

“I got ‘em. I was thinking we could go by the grocery store and get the stuff for dinner after Phia wakes up. Then we can head to T-M to pick up Abel.” Jax states, as we walk inside heading to my old room.

“I think that would be great! Sophia would like that. Jax?”

“Now, wanna talk talk about everything?” Jax asks, throwing himself at the pillows on the guest bed.

“Do you still have that bear you got for Sophia? I think she would like it if you gave it to her.”

“Babe, I already gave it to her.”

“I gave it back to Gemma, and told her to make sure you got it back. I think Sophia would like to have it.” I sit down on the bed, and he pulls me to his chest.

“Darlin’, I’ll make sure she gets it. Now talk to me.”

“Jax.” I say looking up at his blue eyes, that match Sophia’s, through my eyelashes. “When we were in Hershey, I was with this man, Darren, he was abusive, emotionally, physically, and mentally, I was beaten daily for months, before you ask I never let him hit Sophia, he only hit me. I couldn’t handle the daily beatings anymore and he started becoming more violent toward Sophia. I waited until he left for work, I packed up our stuff and left. I wasn’t coming here, Jax. I was driving through to Stockton. I want you to be in Sophia’s life, Jax.”

“Ari, I… oh god.” Jax trails, pulling me closer to him wrapping an arm around me.

“I don’t need sympathy, Jax. I just need you to not hurt me or Sophia.”

“I will never hurt you again. I promise.”

“Jax it isn’t about me. I need you to promise you won’t hurt Sophia. She can’t handle losing another person. I refuse to let her feel unwanted by anyone.”

“I won’t hurt her.”

“Good.”

“Now, can we talk about us?” Jax asks, brushing my hair out of my face.

“Jax.”

“Please. I need to know where we are going with this.”

“No where. We can’t get involved. Sophia needs to come first, and we both have a lot going on in our lives. I need to focus on Sophia and you have Abel and Sophia. If anything happens between us that will just complicate things. You and I both know we wouldn’t work out.” I state, pulling away from his embrace.

“I think you’re wrong. Actually I know you are ‘cause we are endgame, baby.”

“You’re a mess, Jax.” I laugh, pushing him in the shoulder while he shoots me a wink.

“I’m your mess, baby.”

“Mommy, I can’t sleep anymore.” Sophia mumbles, stumbling in the room.

“How’d you know I was in here, baby?” I ask, taking her into my arms on the queen sized bed.

“Jax showed me where you would be sleeping in case I got scared at night.”

“That was awfully nice of him.” I smile, looking toward the grinning man.

“Can we go see Abel now?” Sophia asks, bouncing into Jax’s arms.

“Hmmmm I don’t know…” Jax smiles.

“Please!!! I wanna play with him. He’s just so cute!” Sophia exclaims.

“Okay, how about this, we go to the store to get dinner and cake, chocolate of course, and then we go pick Abel up from Gemma. Then we can go back to my house and you can play with him while I make you and your mommy dinner.”

“Yes! Let’s go!” Sophia yells, bounding off of the bed, and heading for the door.

“Soph, slow down!” I yell after her.

“Hi, grandma!” Sophia yells once out of the car.

“Hi baby! How was school?” Gemma asks, picking her up.

“It was so good! I married Tommy!” Sophia smiles.

“You married Tommy? Who’s Tommy?” Gemma asks her.

“He’s the boy I’m going to spend the rest of my life with! He’s my best friend!” Sophia smiles, before spotting Juice. “JUICEY!”

“Hi sweetheart!” Juice responds reaching out to take Sophia from Gemma.

“Guess what!?” Sophia smiles hugging Juice’s neck.

“Hmmm…. you had a sandwich for lunch? You want a sandwich?”

“No! I got married to Tommy today on the playground.”

“Tommy hurts you, I’ll shoot him.”

“Juicey! You can’t shoot him, he’s my husband.” Sophia laughs.

“I will shoot him if he hurts you, and I think Jax would be okay with that.”

“Juicey, you’re silly.”

“Juice.” I say. “He’s a Kindergartener, I don’t think you can shoot him.”

“Like I said. Anyone who hurts Sophia is dead to me. And you too Ari, we won’t let anyone hurt you.”

“Daddy already did.” Sophia says from Juices arms.

“He did?” Piney asks, looking between me and Jax.

“Can we talk about it inside, Piney? I don’t think Sophia should hear this.”

“Yeah, I’ll get the tequila.” Piney grumbles.

“Get the good stuff this time!” I say, following him with Jax behind me.

I sat down on a bar stool with Piney next to me, and Jax leaning across the bar.

“What did my dumbass son do to you and Sophia.”

“He didn’t do anything to Sophia. He told me that I fucked her up, because for the past 5 years, the only thing she knows is that she can’t cry because babies cry and she’s not a baby, and that birds are scary because a bird hurt mommy. I know I fucked her up, Piney, but I was doing what I thought was best.”

“Ariana,” Piney says, putting his hand on my knee. “You were trying to protect your baby. After everything that happened, Sophia was a blessing for us all. I just hope you continue to bring her around.”

“Piney, I am staying at Gemmas tonight, why don’t you come by, maybe you can read to Sophia? She loves being read to, as long as you do the voices. Piney, Opie loved Sophia, so this is going to be hard on both of them.”

“I would love to.”

“Great! Sophia would love that. I’ll give you my number, and you can call me and let me know. Sound okay?”

“Sure thing.”

“Mommy, can we go get cake now?” Sophia asks, coming into the club house with Juice in tow.

“She’s so fast. She’s little and tiny. She’s sneaky.”

“Like you in heels.” Jax says, smirking at me.

“She’s fine Juice, we were done.” I say, writing down my number for Piney. I get up, stumbling a bit from the tequila I drank.

“Easy there, darlin’.” Jax says,  wrapping an arm around me, keeping me steady  

“Guess it has been awhile since I drank.” I laugh, feeling tipsy.

“It’s probably also been a while since you got a good night's sleep. I remember when we were kids and Gemma had to give you a sleeping pill just so you could get some sleep. She always left her door open so she would know if you woke up.”

“She loved me.” I say to Jax, smiling at him.

“Sometimes more than she loved me!” Jax laughs.

“Imagine how much she is gonna love having Sophia living there.” I say, giggling, trying to keep myself steady.

“Alright, drunky, let’s go to the store and get you home.”

“Jax, I don’t have a home!” I laugh. “I’m gonna sleep in the car while you and Sophia get the groceries. I can’t do anything else right now.”

“Okay, darlin’, let’s go.” Jax says, walking me out of the clubhouse, Sophia in tow. “Alright, sleepy head, let's get you comfortable.” Jax says, leaning in to buckle my seatbelt.

“Mommy! You sound funny!”

“She’s just tired, Phia. She will be feeling better by dinner time.” Jax says to Sophia, making sure she is all buckled in and Abel’s seat is in the base correctly.

“Ari, wake up, darlin’.”

“Where are we?” I ask, mumbling and wiping my eyes.

“Home, babe. Can Sophia help make dinner? I told her she had to ask you first, but she wants to help.” Jax says.

“Yeah, that’s fine.” I yawn.

“You can nap in my bed if you want.” Jax says, as Abel begins crying.

“I’ll get him.” I state.

“You don’t have to do that, babe. I’m trying to teach him to self soothe.”

“Jax he’s a baby, he’s probably hungry. I want too. I miss when Sophia was that little. Please?” I say, batting my eyelashes up at him, pouting slightly

“Okay, his stuff is in the kitchen. I’ll make you a bottle.” Jax responds making his way to the kitchen while I take Abel out of his car seat.

“Here ya go.” Jax says, handing me the bottle.

“Thanks, Jax.” I reply, bouncing the tiny baby in my arms.

“I’ve been having some problems getting him to eat recently.”

“Because it’s too hot, Jax. He can’t eat hot food, the way you demolish hot pockets.” I say, laughing. “Just put this one in the fridge, and I’ll help you make another one.”

“Okay.”

“Alright, so you want it to be just a bit warmer than room temperature. So what I used to do with Sophia, when we switched to bottles from breast, was just run it under the hot tap. It warms it enough that you don’t need to microwave it.”

“It’s that simple?”Jax asks. “Hell if I had known that sooner I wouldn’t have to call my mom every night for help.”

“Yep, that’s it. Now, you know what to do. You might just be microwaving it too long.” I say as he hands me the new bottle.

“Thanks, Ari. I’m still trying to figure everything out.” Jax responds, rubbing his neck.

“Trust me it took me forever to figure Sophia out. I had no idea what I was doing. You’re doing a good job, every baby is different and you’re doing it by yourself, Jax. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Now, I’m going to go feed him. You got the cooking with Sophia?”

“Yeah, we got this, don’t we munchkin?” He says, looking over at her trying to move a chair by the stove so she could be tall enough to see.

“Yeah, we got it, mommy.”

“You can use my bed if you still want to get some rest before dinner.” Jax states.

“I have a feeling I’m gonna be up for awhile, having to help Sophia adjust at Gemma’s, unpacking, cleaning, everything else. But thank you for this, Jax.”

“Of course, darlin’.”

“Sophia, let Jax help you move the chair, you’re going to give yourself a hernia.” I state before leaving the room heading into Abel’s room.

“I can do it, mommy, I’m almost 6. Darren said I need to be able to do things for myself when I turn 6.”

“Darlin’, this Darren character sounds like a meanie.” Jax says grabbing the chair enough so Sophia could push it where she wanted it.

“He was a meanie, he used to hurt mommy.” Sophia looks up at Jax. “Are you going to hurt my mommy like Opie did? I hope not, because he promised me he wouldn’t.”

“Darlin’, I wouldn’t imagine hurting you or your mommy. You’re my best friends, and we don’t hurt our friends and expect to be treated well.”

“Mommy says that all the time.”

“Mommy got that from me. I used to tell her that all of the time when we were kids.” Jax smiles.

“What happened at the talent show? Mommy and Opie said I needed to ask again in 20 years.” Jax busts out laughing a full body laugh.

“Baby, they are right. You need to wait 20 years.”

“But then mommy said that I wouldn’t be able to handle it in 20 years.”

“Oh baby, we will see. Now, let’s get this dinner going.”

“Jax?” Ariana says, walking back into the kitchen.

“Yeah?”

“Has Abel always been hard to get to burp?” I ask, trying to burp the tiny baby.

“He is definitely my kid, darlin’. Remember all those stories Gemma used to tell us about how I refused to burp unless my dad was doing it. I refused to burp one time, and as soon as my dad put me to his shoulder I just vomited all over his back.” Jax laughs, taking Abel from me.

I let out a small laugh as Abel lets out a giant burp in Jax’s arms. “I remember that. Didn’t Gemma tell him to just throw that shirt away?”

“I think I might need to throw this one away.” Jax says, looking down at the vomit covered front.

“Oh, he got you good!” I laugh taking the baby back as Jax pulls his shirt over his head. Damn, I forgot how good he looks shirtless. NO ARI! Do not do this to yourself. You CANNOT do this again, not yet.

“I’m gonna go put him down for a nap.”

“Okay, darlin’.”

“Hey, babe, dinner is finished.” Jax murmurs, shaking my shoulder.

“Oh shit, what time is it?” I yawn, looking down at the sleeping baby in my arms. “I must have fallen asleep rocking him to sleep.”

“It’s dinner time. I do it all the time, darlin’, no worries. Hurry up, Sophia said she’s, and I quote, so hungry she could eat Hank.”

I gasp, “not Hank.” I say sarcastically.

I was walking back to the kitchen when there was a knock on the door.

“Ari, I’ll get it.” Jax says, stepping in front of me, so he could open the door instead, gun at his side

“What the hell are you doing here?” Jax says.

“I came here because I want to see my daughter.”

“She’s not your daughter, Opie.” Jax says through gritted teeth, gun in hand.

“Opie, I think you should leave. Sophia doesn’t want to see you and neither do I.” I say, keeping my voice low so Sophia can’t hear.

“Daddy?” Sophia asks, coming up behind me. “Why were you mean to Jax and mommy? You promised me you wouldn’t hurt or be mean to my mommy.”

“Soph, it was just a misunderstanding. You’ll be back home, in your bed, before you know it.”

“Opie, stop! You need to leave!” I yell, disturbing the baby in my arms causing him to cry.

“Mommy.” Sophia starts crying.

“You need to go man.” Jax says, stepping in front of the taller man.

“Fine, but this isn’t over.” Opie says, looking down at Sophia crying.

“Yes, Opie, it is. You really hurt me, and I will never forgive you. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you’ll be able to let go and move on. Now if you’ll excuse us, we have a kid who is so hungry she could eat Hank.” I say to him still trying to console the crying baby.

Jax closes and locks the door, puts the gun in his waistband, and gets on Sophia’s level. “It’s okay, princess. I’m here. He won’t hurt you or your mommy anymore.” He says before pulling her into a hug, rubbing soothing circles on her back.

She wraps her arms around his neck. “How do I know I can trust you, Jaxy?” She asks

“Because, baby, he’s your real daddy.” I state, Abel finally calming down in my arms, falling fast asleep.

“Jax is my daddy?”

“Yeah, baby he is.

“Mommy, will he love me like he loves Abel?” She looks at Jax, “Can I call you daddy? Will you let me ride on your shoulders? Will you protect me from birds? Will you scare away the monsters?” She asks, and I look at Jax, waiting for his answer.

“Sophia, you can call me daddy if that’s what you want. My shoulders are always open for you. I will never let the birds hurt you. And I’ll scare away all those monsters away, every night, for as long as you will let me.”

“But do you love me as much as you love Abel? He’s littler, and he needs more attention than I do, I don’t want you to be my daddy if you don’t love me.”

“Baby, I love you so much, I will always give you attention and that will never change. I love you and Abel both, your mama too.”

“Where were you when Darren was beating mommy?”

“Baby, I didn’t tell him where we were going.” I reply, reaching for her hand.

“Why? If he’s my daddy, he could have protected us.”

“It… I… I wanted to try and keep you safe. At the time, Jax and I couldn’t do that so I left. But we came back, and every other weekend you can stay here, if you want. I bet Jax would even let you help with Abel. Honey, he is going to protect us now, he might not have been there before, but he is here now. That is, if you want him to be.”

“Mommy, why’d you keep me from him? I don’t understand.”

“I kept you from him because when I found out I was having you, neither of us were ready, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to raise you here. I left to raise you somewhere safe, but that didn’t happen, and I am sorry. But you’re safe now, you’re safe here.”

“You were mean to daddy.”

“I know I was baby, and I didn’t mean to be. I was mad at him then, but I’m not mad at him anymore, and I’m not gonna be mean to him anymore.”

“Why were you mad at him?”

“Are you hungry, Phia? You need to eat.” Jax says, changing the subject.

“Yes! I’m so hungry I could eat Hank!” Sophia yells, running back to the kitchen, giving me a minute to compose myself.

“Don’t make me regret this, Jackson. I don’t want her to get hurt again.”

“I won’t, darlin’.” Jax says, taking Abel from my arms and pecking me on the cheek. “Go eat, I know you haven’t been but once a day, and that’s not good for you. Never has been.”

“Okay.” I reply, pecking him back on the cheek before moving toward the kitchen.

“Mommy, can I go see daddy at work tomorrow?” Sophia asks, once Jax pulls out a chair to sit down.

“If it’s alright with him.” I say looking across the table at him.

“I would love nothing more. Sophia, do you want me to cut that for you?”

“Yes please!”

“Dinner was a success.” I state, walking into the kitchen where Jax is washing dishes while Sophia is playing with her toys in the living room.

“It went pretty well after Opie left.” Jax replies. “I’m glad you decided to tell Sophia about me.”

“I’m sorry about him, Jax. Do you still have that bear? I think she would want her daddy to give her a bear that he thought of her when he saw. I’m glad she knows about you too, Jax.”

“I’ll get it from Gemma tomorrow. What are we going to do about this Tommy kid? Does she know that their marriage isn’t official?” Jax says. “Are you sure I can't shoot him?”

“Jax, he’s a child. It’s all pretend. Calm down, your dad is showing through.”

“Fine, I won’t shoot him, but if he hurts her I will hurt him.”

“You’re too much sometimes.” I laugh, slapping him on the butt with the hand towel.

“You love me though.” He says smiling

“Now, don’t get ahead of yourself, buddy. I tolerate you.”

“Ouch, don’t tell Sophia. She thinks you love me. But she knows I love you.”

“Jax…”

“I know, I know. Nothing is going to happen. That doesn’t mean I don’t love you.”

“I just hope it’s not just because I had your kid.”

“Darlin’.” Jax says with a questioning look on his face. “I loved you when we made that little girl, I loved you when you left, and I love you now. I still will in 20 years.”

“You do know you’re gonna have to cut back on the pussy, since most of your time will be spent chasing your daughter around the clubhouse, and the parking lot, and taking care of Abel. Also, she wants to play on the swings, but I don’t quite trust Chase to push her on the swing with those weird hands of his. What happened to them?”

“Chucky, got ‘em cut off by some Chinese gangsters because he couldn’t quit diddling himself.”

“Chucky, I’ll try to remember that. I was hoping he was a counterfeiter. That is just worse. How did you guys end up with him?”

“Long story, but he’s a good worker.”

“I can tell. Do you trust him?”

“Yeah, of course I do. He wouldn’t be around if I didn’t.”

“Then I guess that means Sophia can swing with him.” I say, yawning. “I better get Sophia back to Gemma’s it’s way past her bedtime.”

“Why don’t you guys stay here tonight, and I’ll take you guys back in the morning?”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea, Jax.”

“Babe please. I’ll sleep on the couch. Just in case Sophia needs someone to scare away the monsters tonight. I’ll even read to her.”

“Fine. You’re gonna have to ask her yourself. Opie usually did the voices.”

“I can do voices.” He says with a Russian accent.

“Okay, but two conditions.” I state. “Sophia has to be okay with it, and you take the bed, I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“No way in hell am I letting you sleep on the couch. I’ll do it, or I’ll sleep on the day bed in Abel’s room.”

“Or you could just share the bed with me.”

“We can do that. You still sleep on the left?”

“You remember that?”

“Baby, I remember everything. I also remember that time we both tried to sleep on that twin sized bed you used to have, until Clay was convinced you needed another one” He winks. “Made it a lot easier to share when you got the bigger bed.”

“I got the bigger bed because you’re the dumbass that broke mine, so Clay and Gemma made you try to put it together. I had to sleep in your room for a week, before Gemma got fed up and made Clay do it.”

“True.” He smirks. “I remember you being a part of breaking the bed, darlin’.”

“Because I landed wrong. I could’ve landed that flip if your fat ass hadn’t been in the way.”

“You hurt me, babe.” Jax replies, putting a hand on his chest.

“You little shit… go make sure Sophia wants you to read to her, I am going to go take a shower.”

“If you wait, I’ll join you.” He winks, salaciously.

“Not a snowball's chance in Hell.”

“Eh, soon enough you’ll be begging for it, darlin’.” He winks, smacking my ass on his way out of the room.

I squeal. “Jackson Nathaniel Teller!”

“See, already calling my name.”

“Don’t make me hog the bed tonight, because I will sleep right in the middle and make sure you have NO room, mister.”

“Sophia is asleep already.” Jax smiles, looking down at Sophia cuddling Abel.

“Huh, I’m still going to shower, and you’re still not joining me.”

“Fine, I’ll be waiting for you in the bedroom after I put the kids to bed. You want a shirt to wear?”

“I’ll find them.” I walk past him to his bedroom, pulling the first the shirt I saw out of the drawer. “Jax? Can I borrow a pair of shorts too?”

“Sure thing, darlin’. Bottom drawer.” Jax hollers. I open the drawer looking for shorts but instead find a couple sex toys. I blush, slamming the drawer shut, opening the other.

“Bottom left not right! Don’t look in the right!” Jax yells.

“Too late!” I holler back.

“Oh…” Jax trails.

“Remember when we were kids?” I say turning to face him in the doorway. “And that kid said he would “make me cum until I cried” You dented his face, but I thought it was funny.”

“Darlin’.”

“I’m just saying it would’ve taken a long time to get there.”

“Yeah? How long?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” I grin, making way around him being sure to brush against him.

“Yeah, actually, I would.”

“Maybe one of these days you’ll find out Jax.” I wink at him before shutting the bathroom door.

“Don’t tease me like that, darlin’!” Jax groans from the other side of the door. I let out a laugh before stripping and turning the shower on.

“You brought it on yourself, Jax.”

“Hey, we can use those sex toys anytime ya want.”

“I’d prefer not to use sex toys you’ve used with other women, Jax.”

“I cleaned them.”

“Not good enough.”

“I’ll buy some new ones.” I laugh, getting into the shower not bothering to reply.

“How was your shower?” Jax asks when I walk into the bedroom.

I shake my hair out on him. “Great.”

“You’re a mess!” He laughs, pushing my head away from his shirtless body.

“Your favorite mess.” I say climbing up on the bed. He starts to tickle me, getting on top of me and pinning me down. “Stop!” I say between laughs. “It hurts!”

“MOMMY!” Sophia yells from the doorway.

“Yeah, baby?” I reply, pushing Jax off of me.

“Is daddy hurting you? He was on top of you like Darren used to be, and you said it hurts.”

“No baby, I was just tickling her. Didn’t Darren tickle you?”

“No. He locked me in the bathroom when I asked him for food once though.”

I heard Jax growl. “Come here princess.”

She came over to the bed, Hank in her hands, and climbed up onto Jax’s bed.

“Phia, no one will hurt you like that again.” Jax pulls her into him before tickling her belly. Her laugh rings through the room causing Jax and I to bust out laughing.

“Can I sleep in here tonight, mommy? I think there’s a monster under the bed that is too big for Hank to protect me from.” Sophia asks, looking at me with her big, blue, tired eyes.

“Only if daddy is okay with it too.”

“Can I daddy?”

“You sure can, and if you need me to check for monsters, I can take Hank with me so he can double check.”

“Hank kept me safe when Opie was at work and the monsters were too big for mommy to scare away.”

“Good. I am glad Hank protects you.”

“Now, let’s get some sleep.” I yawn, cuddling into the blankets on my side, opening my arms for Sophia she looks at me and then cuddles into Jax’s arms, looking at me over her shoulder with a smirk too similar to his.

“You little traitor. I guess no cuddles for you, then. I’ll just cuddle myself tonight.” I roll over dramatically making a show of wrapping my arms around myself.

“I love you mommy, but daddy is really warm.”

“I think we have enough room to cuddle mommy too, don’t you?” Jax asks.

“We sure do, I will always cuddle mommy.”

“Come on, darlin’, get your butt over here.” Jax says pulling me over gently against his other side.

“You are warm.” I say rolling over, and tucking one leg under his, the other over it, cuddling into his warm body, dozing off.

“Babe, I need you to let me out. Abel is crying.” I’m woken by Jax whispering to me.

“I’ll get him so you don’t disturb Sophia. If she wakes she won’t go back to sleep easily.” I yawn, moving to get out of the bed.

“You sure?” Jax asks, tired eyes staring into my own.

“Yeah. Go back to sleep.” I leave the room, heading into the crying baby.

“Jax, scoot over.” I whisper trying to get him over.

“What?” Jax asks, groggily.

“Move over so I can get back in bed. You’re on my side.”  I climb back in, cuddling into his side, him planting a kiss on my forehead. I could get used to this.

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[omgrachwrites]

Ocean Avenue (Bucky Barnes)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x OC

Summary: When Darcie Baker - the daughter of a police officer - breaks her misfit friend’s heart at 16 she regrets it everyday even after she graduates though she knows she can’t go back and change what happened. Everything changes when over 10 years later she meets the gorgeous mechanic.

Warnings: fluff, little bit of angst, slow burn

Words: 2310

A/N: I hope you guys enjoy this part, sorry its a little late but please let me know what you think, I love you all very much! xxx

Part Five

Bucky took another bite of his delicious, steaming hot slice of cheese pizza; pizza was definitely something that he had missed while he was in the army. Some reality show rubbish was on TV, ‘The Bachelor’ it was called but Bucky really wasn’t taking any of it in. There was suddenly a loud call from upstairs that slightly startled Bucky and he cursed underneath his breath as he jumped.

“Hey Buck! Are you sure that you don’t want a beer?” Steve called.

Bucky started to shake his head before he realised that he was an idiot because Steve obviously couldn’t see him, “no thanks bud, I’m good with my pizza,” he took another mouthful and continued to speak, slightly muffled, “I need to do a deep clean at the garage so I don’t think that drinking is really a great idea,” he chuckled as he swallowed his food.

There was silence for a brief moment until it was broken with the thud of Steve’s footsteps, slightly muffled by the thick carpet. When Steve entered the room his face was apologetic.

“Sorry Buck.”

Bucky shot his best friend a strange look; he had no idea what Steve was sorry for, “what the hell for man?”

“I didn’t know that you were doing a deep clean tonight, I’ll help you out,” he gave Bucky a smile as he reached for his cell phone.

“Whoa, whoa,” Bucky started, causing Steve to take a halt in his movements, “bro, you’ve got a date night with the woman of your dreams, don’t be cancelling that for anybody, not even me. I wouldn’t have asked you to help me anyway bud, it’s my responsibility. Thanks for the offer though,” Bucky grinned as he clapped Steve on the shoulder, he was so happy that Steve had a date tonight, by the sounds of it Peggy was a great girl.

The only thing that worried Bucky was the fact that Peggy was pretty good friends with Darcie. The last thing that Bucky wanted was for Steve to be hurt the way that he had been – Bucky was finally starting to admit to others and to himself that Darcie had hurt him. Though, Bucky trusted Steve’s judgement, he liked Peggy a lot.

“Thanks Buck, I’d best get going,” he chewed his bottom lip nervously as he ran his fingers through his hair, “do I look okay?” he chuckled, gesturing at himself.

Bucky grinned and nodded his head, “you look great man, now go get her and be safe, yeah?” he gave Steve a bro hug before Steve left the apartment for the night.

Bucky finished off his pizza before he grabbed a soda from the refrigerator and he left the apartment to get to his garage. The garage really was a mess and Bucky silently cursed himself for not cleaning it more regularly but there was nothing he could do about his procrastination now except to clean. Technically the garage should be deep cleaned at the start and at the end of every month but Bucky had really left it for too long.

It was a lot harder than Bucky had originally foreseen, about an hour into his cleaning Bucky took on a sweat as he scrubbed the floor so he discarded of his shirt, mopping his sweating forehead with it. Another thirty minutes went by and he heard the click of high heels on the cemented pavement, causing Bucky to look up from his scrubbing. It was Gemma and she was looking really quite pretty as she strolled by in towering heels and a short red lace dress. He vaguely wondered when she was going back to college.

As presumed, her made up eyes flickered over to the garage, her face lighting up when she saw Bucky standing in the doorway.

“Bucky! Hi, what are you doing here this late?” she paused as she checked her watch, “it’s nearly ten.”

Bucky smiled as he leaned against the handle of the mop, almost blushing as Gemma’s eyes raked down his sculpted shirtless chest, her eyes lingering on a couple of pale scars that he’d gained in the army.

“I’m doing a deep clean that should be done twice a month but I only do it every couple of months,” he chuckled, “you look great, where have you been?”

Gemma flushed at his complimenting words and she shrugged as she flipped a couple of curls over her shoulder, “I’ve been on a date, it didn’t go too well,” she sighed and suddenly glanced at Bucky from beneath her coated eyelashes, “who was that woman that was here a couple of months ago? Seemed like you knew her, she was pretty.”

Bucky chewed his plump bottom lip as he fidgeted, “she’s just someone that I went to high school with,” he shrugged nonchalantly.

“She also seemed like a bitch,” Gemma confessed causing Bucky’s head to snap up and look at her in the eyes, very slightly narrowing his eyes. He had half a mind to defend Darcie before he shook himself out of it and he nodded in agreement.

“Yeah she is.”

“You deserve so much better Buck, you deserve the world,” she shrugged making Bucky smile. Once upon a time he would have given anything for Darcie to think about him like that, “bye Buck,” she blew him a kiss with a little wave.

“See you later doll,” he smiled.

Gemma was the only one that came to visit Bucky that night, at about quarter past 11 he heard a car door slam. Bucky glanced up in interest to see a light blue car, his eyes bugged out slightly and he felt his stomach drop when he realised who it was. It was Darcie’s dad, Bucky really hadn’t missed him.

“What are you doing this late son?” he asked as he walked over to Bucky, his hands on his belt buckle.

His eyes showed no sign of recognition and although Bucky had to admit that it had been a while since he’d seen Darcie’s dad, it was strange that he didn’t recognise Bucky considering how much he had hated him. Bucky stood to full height and tried to make himself look like a law abiding citizen – which to be fair, he was now.

“I’m doing a deep clean sir, this is my garage you see,” he said as respectfully as he could while he gestured around the space.

At his words Darcie’s dad smiled which deepened the lines around his tired looking eyes, “a hard worker, I respect that,” he held out a hand for Bucky to shake, “I’m Officer Andrew Baker, and you are?”

He had introduced himself as a police officer though he had turned up in his regular clothes and he wasn’t in a squad car which was weird considering that he was talking like he was on duty. Bucky still thought that it was extremely odd that Andrew seemed to not recognise him at all.

“uh,” Bucky paused for a second, his tongue swiping along his bottom lip, unsure of how to proceed, “James Barnes,” he opted for his real name as he shook Andrew’s hand.

A strange look crossed Andrew’s face for just a second before he smiled again, “it’s nice to meet you son, you let me know if you need anything now,” he nodded.

“Thank you sir, I will,” he muttered as Andrew strode away.

After that strange conversation Bucky was pretty distracted, in fact, he was so distracted that while he was cleaning up some broken glass that looked like it had been there for a while, he sliced his hand open because he wasn’t paying enough attention to what he was doing. He yelped like a kicked dog as pain shot through the palm of his hand, the wound looked pretty deep.

“Jesus,” he muttered darkly as he grabbed a clean towel and pressed it against his stinging wound. The bleeding went on for a while and Bucky actually started to feel a little light headed and he knew that Steve would kill him if he didn’t get it looked at. That was the reason why he reluctantly wrapped his hand up and he managed to drive himself to the ER.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

After a long, exhausting day Darcie was walking towards the locker room, her heart set on the leftover mac and cheese that she had in her refrigerator. She had been working like a dog for the past week and she knew that she’d be too tired to cook so she’d been living on leftovers. Her movements stopped as she heard the Chief of Staff Bruce Banner call out to her.

“Hey Darcie, wait up!” she turned to see him walking quickly down the hallway towards her, “before you go, some guy with a sliced open hand has just come in. He was really nervous so he’s kind of high on pain meds right now. I want you to take care of it; your fellow interns are idiots.”

“Bruce,” she groaned tiredly, while she was flattered by the compliment she really wanted to get home.

“Please Darcie, you’d really be saving my life,” he pouted, using those dark chocolate puppy dog eyes to his advantage. It made Darcie narrow her eyes; she hated it when he pouted like a child.

“For god’s sake Banner! Fine!” she threw her hands up in defeat; tempted to smile by the way he was grinning at her.

As soon as they walked into the pit – that’s what they called the area for people who didn’t need emergency surgery – she saw Bucky and he saw her. They just started at each other with wide blown eyes and Darcie admired the way thick strands of inky black hair fell over his forehead. The tension in the room was building quickly, so quickly that even Bruce felt like something was amiss.

“What’s the matter?” at the sound of Bruce’s voice the spell between Darcie and Bucky was shattered.

Bucky’s facial expression darkened, his brows pinched together in a frown, “I don’t want to be seen by her,” he slurred due to his pain meds.

Bruce looked pissed off as he raised a thick eyebrow, “well unlucky for you buddy, she’s our best intern,” Darcie almost glowed at the compliment.

“An intern?” he snickered, “so you’re not even a proper doctor.”

“Shut the hell up Bucky,” she growled, already annoyed that he was delaying her from going home and she made her way towards him to inspect his wound, it was really pretty deep.

She started by picking the large shards of glass out of his palm and making sure the wound wasn’t infected, “I had a fight with some glass, it was saying shit behind my back,” he almost giggled at his lame joke.

“You obviously lost then,” she said shortly causing Bucky to glare at her.

As she was stitching up his hand, he spoke out again, causing Darcie to jolt in her movements, “I saw your dad today, he didn’t recognise me. What’s up with that?” he asked.

Darcie chewed her lip for a second before replying, willing her voice not to shake, “you’re probably not that memorable Bucky.”

“You’re such a bitch,” Bucky huffed and she rushed to close his wound, not wanting to spend another moment with him.

“How are you getting home Bucky?” Darcie asked as she cleared away her work station, even though he’d annoyed and insulted her she was still worried about him.

He hesitated for a second and he even looked a little worried, “Steve’s on a date,” he slurred, “I brought my car,” he made to get up, freezing when Darcie stopped him by resting  a hand on his knee.

“Sorry,” she withdrew her hand, “I’m not letting you drive yourself home, it’s very irresponsible. I’m clocking off now so I’ll drive you back, you can come and get your car when you’re better,” she was surprised when he didn’t try and put up a fight.

As Darcie was driving Bucky back to his place she felt her eyelids droop slightly and she had the wild thought that maybe it would be safer for Bucky to drive, she almost snorted at this ridiculous idea. It proved how tired she was. Bucky hadn’t said anything since they had got into the car and honestly, Darcie preferred it, the radio was playing softly in the background. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Bucky’s head drop back onto the car seat and he looked at her through brilliant blue eyes.

“What is the whole deal with your dad?”

Darcie sighed as she glanced at him before looking back at the road, “if you don’t mind Bucky, I really don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay Buck,” she smiled over at him, he smiled back. He was just full of surprises tonight.

Another ten minutes went by and she pulled up outside some apartments, “this your place?” she simply asked.

At her words Bucky looked at her with a sneer, “well yeah, most people don’t live in fancy, over the top places like you, you know,” she opened her mouth to assure Bucky that she was just asking a question, “I need my bed, I don’t need your help,” he swatted her hand away and he stumbled out of the car, back to being an asshole again.

Darcie was going to drive off as soon as he got out of the car but she decided that it would be better if she waited to see that he got inside okay. It took him a couple of tries to get into his apartment and Darcie tried not to laugh at his fumbling. Butterflies swarmed in her stomach as he shot her a look before he closed his apartment door. Darcie couldn’t be falling again. She wouldn’t fall.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

  @void-imaginations ​ @theonelittleone ​ @thesswintersoldier ​ @dreamacoholic ​ @harryngtonewithyourshit ​ @iamariotgrrl ​ @wavyjassy ​

[a-gay-bloodmage]

Obscure ask for your Dragon Age OC! (Or feel free to answer for multiple OCs!) Is your OC afraid of the dark? Do they feel comfortable with venturing out on their own at night? How would they comfort a companion/lover who's afraid of the dark, or how would they want to be comforted themselves?

AAHH!! Thank you so much for the ask ♡♡

I’ll be answering for all my Wardens, this gets quite lengthy!! ^^

(Redren, Faelyn, Orest, Andrea, Hundir, Gemma, and Darunia)

•Redren, my human mage loves the dark. It makes him feel safe, since a lot of his life he’s had to stick to shadows to stay alive, wether he was running from his mother as a child or from Templars while he was living as an apostate. He’s happy to venture out on his own, and will sometimes take walks by himself if they’re camping in the woods. He’s hushed about it, so his companions didn’t find out he did it for quite some time. 

•As for how he’d comfort somebody… that’s tough. He wouldn’t need comforting from the dark, but he knows about how to comfort someone after nightmares, so he uses that. Mainly just hugging and cuddling and wrapping himself around them like a comfort blanket. He knows that not everyone’s a blood mage, so he doesn’t try to make them feel his heartbeat, but he does offer. He personally finds it soothing. 

 •Faelyn Tabris, my city elf, doesn’t really like the dark very much. She gets wary at night if she’s alone, so she tries very hard not to go outside by herself if it’s dark. She’s got pretty good night vision, so it’s more of the isolated feeling that gets to her, as she’s a very social person. 

 •She’s quite a comforting presence, and falls into the role of a comforter easily. She talks. If she notices someone being anxious, she’ll talk and talk and talk until they forget what they’re anxious about. She likes to be comforted that way as well. Leliana’s voice is always the most soothing. She’s not sure why, though…?

 •Orest Mahariel, my Dalish elf, doesn’t care about the dark. Since he lived in the forest his whole life, the nighttime wasn’t a big deal. His heightened elvish vision makes a lot of more human anxiety go away, as there’s less unknown. He’s fine with venturing around at night by himself, but he’d rather have someone with him to simply fend of boredom. 

•Comforting isn’t really his nature. He tends to resort to joking, hoping that getting them to laugh would get them to call down. It usually works, but sometimes if it doesn’t, he resorts to standard pats and more hollow words of it’s okay, don’t worry.

•Andrea Cousland, my human noble, is not happy when it’s dark. She likes candles and fireplaces and a campfire isn’t the same, Maker be damned! She won’t tell anyone she’s afraid, but she’s bold enough to sneak into Alistair’s tent, claiming that she’s just cold. She won’t venture outside in the dark by herself, as she grew up with guards around her at all times, so she always makes sure to keep Alistair or Prince, her mabari, with her. 

•Andrea doesn’t do comforting. She’ll tell you to grow up, to stop being such a frightened fool, but she won’t reject comfort when she wants it. After she becomes involved with Alistair, she’ll slide herself into his arms whenever she’s upset. She loves having Alistair around to hold her, mainly because he’s able to, whereas Zevran or Leliana couldn’t, since she’s not exactly petite.

•Hundir Aeducan, my dwarven prince, never used to fear the dark, as being a dwarf and all never meant that the dark was something unnatural or to be feared. Simply another part of the Stone. But as soon as he was banished to the Deep Roads, the dark became an awful source of fear. It was the only thing he couldn’t hack through with his waraxe. He will strongly refuse to go alone into the dark, as he feels much more at ease with someone else next to him. The combination of darkness and isolation isn’t desirable to him in the slightest. 

•No comforting. Never. Not at all. He’ll encourage any companion to man up, but as soon as the sentiment is reflected back to him, he won’t have it. His noble pride is far too great to accept any sort of sentiment, no matter how far he’s removed from his caste. His companions aren’t Gorim, and they have no right to see his soft side. 

•Gemma Brosca, my casteless dwarf, likes the dark. A lot. It’s the sun that frightens her. It’s too bright, too warm, too surface-y. The dark is cool and calming, and she’ll encourage her companions to walk with her at night. She’s especially fond of Shale, and’ll sneak the golem away from her guard duty for midnight walks. Lady Dwarves have got to stick together, she’ll say, playfully yanking the giant stone golem wherever she wants to go. 

•Gemma has an incredibly large arsenal of hugs at her disposal, and is fully willing to use her strong arms at a moment’s notice for however long necessary. She’s built up a reputation of being an amazing hugger, as she’s able to squeeze the sadness and anxiety out of anyone. Nobody in her party has any fear of the dark anymore. 

Bonus non-warden OC:

•Darunia, my old elf, loves the dark. Nighttime in the Brecilian Forest is when she thinks it’s the prettiest. She’ll sneak off into the woods to go for walks, and is certainly the reason Redren enjoys midnight walks as well. The nighttime is when she’s able to look around at the quiet trees and pretend she’s young again, and the rest of her people are just sleeping. That they’re not dead and gone, their children enslaved and shamed. The darkness lets her pretend until the rising sun shooes away the illusion.

•Lullabies. So many lullabies. She raised Redren on her lap, with his head resting in her bosom listening to her heart and chasing away the dreams and the dark. She sings and sings and sings, her soft voice hushing the fear and the dark wonderfully, even if the effects can never last forever. She tries, though. She always tries. It makes her happy to feel breathing slow back to steady. She always loved her babies and always will. 

Thanks for listening!

[forestshadow-wolf]

SOMEONE GET THIS BABY SOME ICE CREAM FOR BEING SO CARING

Ohhh I love herrr

Need to wrap he up in a big blanket and give her a big bear hug

Also her having a Russian-scottish accent 🤌 *markiplier voice* very interesting

“I've taken care of myself so far, I don't need your pity.”

Meet Gemma! She's fourteen and she ends up being adopted by Soap and Ghost.

She was one of the four kids that were originally all in one lab, before the group was ordered to set up more bases around the world for when their boss got out of prison. (Hm, this sounds familiar.)

She was transferred to a lab in Scotland, (yes, I know, but it's my OC, I get to stick her where I please) so she's got a Russian/Scottish accent.

She's a lot like Ghost, especially in the sense that she's extremely distrusting, private, independent, emotionally detached, ruthless, and just all around a cold and broken person.

But she's also like Soap. She's the sun, in the sense that she's burning herself every day. She'll take care of those weaker or younger than her, try to be too bright. She's a solar eclipse, the moon being the center, with a ring of bright light from the sun around it.

She used to protect Zeus before she was transferred when he was about four. (She was eleven.)

[the-starry-raven]

Oh definitely, very daily as well

(making this its own ask because it's a separate character)

And let's not even get started on Zeus. When he's not hanging around Atlas or his dads, he's clinging to Mykyta. He often gets dropped off with Mykyta because he likes him a lot. He reminds him of the older brother he never really got to have. He's mildly scared of Voodoo, but that's for reasons I won't get into here.

He will randomly pop up in the helis, especially Sparrow's. Sparrow has been dubbed ‘Auntie Birdie’ by Zeus, and if he's not clinging to Mykyta, he can often be found following Sparrow around like a lost puppy. At least one of the team has to stay back at all times due to Zeus's trauma to take care of the poor boy, and more often than not, that falls to Mykie or Sparrow.

Jsjsjsjwnwm YESSS

What makes this even better is that Sparrow is Russian, she knows how to speak it and so does Mykyta. Both love having him around because he's a sweet kid, Sparrow most definitely teaches him about aircraft and how to fix them and other things.

She melted when she got called 'Auntie Birdie' for the first time and I have a feeling it was right after the meeting about the mission and deciding who's staying back. She stayed back and watched movies with him.

Mykyta is used to being an older brother, so when it comes to Zeus he loves him just like his other siblings. He messes around with him just like he was anyways. He 100% teaches him Ukrainian too because it's not that much different than Russian, he's very patient as well with him.

Both will tell someone off if they do something to upset him too, like no hesitation. He's a part of their family now and he's gonna be treated as such too; both are protective of their family which now includes him.

[the-starry-raven]

They're the fun aunts at this point, Cloud doesn't come around the base that often due to well being a part of Shadow Company but when she does she'll teach Gemma about medicine just so she has that knowledge just in case she needs it.

Voodoo is usually on base cause she works alongside Mykyta and Sparrow, she's basically the designated babysitter on base besides Mykyta- She has stolen Gemma and RAN down the hall. Note she was injured and just came back from a mission so she definitely scared a few people because she just spawned out of nowhere.

But they're definitely trustworthy with Gemma because they know how to take care of kids, and they only take her with them after getting permission but it's also a learning experience for her because she gets to learn about other cultures and such. She also gets to see new scenery, but only for a few days because that's the usual deal.

Hello hello hello 👀

I feel like, despite Cloud being with Shadow Company, her and Voodoo would get along PERFECTLY with Gemma, and kinda adopt her as a little sister 👀👀👀

Cloud has basically adopted every shadow on base, and she actually got along with most of 141 whenever they were partnered because she's a medic and had nothing to do with much of what happened. But yessss, Voodoo and Cloud would steal her and claim her as another little sibling.

Voodoo is usually chill about stuff and she would probably be the first out of the two to take Gemma under her wing as another little sibling. She's already the youngest sister, but she's not the youngest so she's got some older sister instincts.

But yeah no, Gemma is now a Madden and she can't say anything about it. She's coming to Baton Rouge with them when they go on leave and meeting their ma and their other siblings.

[queermentaldisaster]

Very canon interactions.

(making this its own ask because it's a separate character)

And let's not even get started on Zeus. When he's not hanging around Atlas or his dads, he's clinging to Mykyta. He often gets dropped off with Mykyta because he likes him a lot. He reminds him of the older brother he never really got to have. He's mildly scared of Voodoo, but that's for reasons I won't get into here.

He will randomly pop up in the helis, especially Sparrow's. Sparrow has been dubbed ‘Auntie Birdie’ by Zeus, and if he's not clinging to Mykyta, he can often be found following Sparrow around like a lost puppy. At least one of the team has to stay back at all times due to Zeus's trauma to take care of the poor boy, and more often than not, that falls to Mykie or Sparrow.

Jsjsjsjwnwm YESSS

What makes this even better is that Sparrow is Russian, she knows how to speak it and so does Mykyta. Both love having him around because he's a sweet kid, Sparrow most definitely teaches him about aircraft and how to fix them and other things.

She melted when she got called 'Auntie Birdie' for the first time and I have a feeling it was right after the meeting about the mission and deciding who's staying back. She stayed back and watched movies with him.

Mykyta is used to being an older brother, so when it comes to Zeus he loves him just like his other siblings. He messes around with him just like he was anyways. He 100% teaches him Ukrainian too because it's not that much different than Russian, he's very patient as well with him.

Both will tell someone off if they do something to upset him too, like no hesitation. He's a part of their family now and he's gonna be treated as such too; both are protective of their family which now includes him.

[the-starry-raven]

Sparrow is and can be, and will proudly agree with this, an asshole.

Voodoo would get bored and wanted chaos.

(making this its own ask because it's a separate character)

And let's not even get started on Zeus. When he's not hanging around Atlas or his dads, he's clinging to Mykyta. He often gets dropped off with Mykyta because he likes him a lot. He reminds him of the older brother he never really got to have. He's mildly scared of Voodoo, but that's for reasons I won't get into here.

He will randomly pop up in the helis, especially Sparrow's. Sparrow has been dubbed ‘Auntie Birdie’ by Zeus, and if he's not clinging to Mykyta, he can often be found following Sparrow around like a lost puppy. At least one of the team has to stay back at all times due to Zeus's trauma to take care of the poor boy, and more often than not, that falls to Mykie or Sparrow.

Jsjsjsjwnwm YESSS

What makes this even better is that Sparrow is Russian, she knows how to speak it and so does Mykyta. Both love having him around because he's a sweet kid, Sparrow most definitely teaches him about aircraft and how to fix them and other things.

She melted when she got called 'Auntie Birdie' for the first time and I have a feeling it was right after the meeting about the mission and deciding who's staying back. She stayed back and watched movies with him.

Mykyta is used to being an older brother, so when it comes to Zeus he loves him just like his other siblings. He messes around with him just like he was anyways. He 100% teaches him Ukrainian too because it's not that much different than Russian, he's very patient as well with him.

Both will tell someone off if they do something to upset him too, like no hesitation. He's a part of their family now and he's gonna be treated as such too; both are protective of their family which now includes him.

[queermentaldisaster]

HELL YEAH

Also, Gemma and Zeus def fight over Sparrow.

(making this its own ask because it's a separate character)

And let's not even get started on Zeus. When he's not hanging around Atlas or his dads, he's clinging to Mykyta. He often gets dropped off with Mykyta because he likes him a lot. He reminds him of the older brother he never really got to have. He's mildly scared of Voodoo, but that's for reasons I won't get into here.

He will randomly pop up in the helis, especially Sparrow's. Sparrow has been dubbed ‘Auntie Birdie’ by Zeus, and if he's not clinging to Mykyta, he can often be found following Sparrow around like a lost puppy. At least one of the team has to stay back at all times due to Zeus's trauma to take care of the poor boy, and more often than not, that falls to Mykie or Sparrow.

Jsjsjsjwnwm YESSS

What makes this even better is that Sparrow is Russian, she knows how to speak it and so does Mykyta. Both love having him around because he's a sweet kid, Sparrow most definitely teaches him about aircraft and how to fix them and other things.

She melted when she got called 'Auntie Birdie' for the first time and I have a feeling it was right after the meeting about the mission and deciding who's staying back. She stayed back and watched movies with him.

Mykyta is used to being an older brother, so when it comes to Zeus he loves him just like his other siblings. He messes around with him just like he was anyways. He 100% teaches him Ukrainian too because it's not that much different than Russian, he's very patient as well with him.

Both will tell someone off if they do something to upset him too, like no hesitation. He's a part of their family now and he's gonna be treated as such too; both are protective of their family which now includes him.

[queermentaldisaster]

THAT'S EVEN BETTER OH MY GOD

(making this its own ask because it's a separate character)

And let's not even get started on Zeus. When he's not hanging around Atlas or his dads, he's clinging to Mykyta. He often gets dropped off with Mykyta because he likes him a lot. He reminds him of the older brother he never really got to have. He's mildly scared of Voodoo, but that's for reasons I won't get into here.

He will randomly pop up in the helis, especially Sparrow's. Sparrow has been dubbed ‘Auntie Birdie’ by Zeus, and if he's not clinging to Mykyta, he can often be found following Sparrow around like a lost puppy. At least one of the team has to stay back at all times due to Zeus's trauma to take care of the poor boy, and more often than not, that falls to Mykie or Sparrow.

Jsjsjsjwnwm YESSS

What makes this even better is that Sparrow is Russian, she knows how to speak it and so does Mykyta. Both love having him around because he's a sweet kid, Sparrow most definitely teaches him about aircraft and how to fix them and other things.

She melted when she got called 'Auntie Birdie' for the first time and I have a feeling it was right after the meeting about the mission and deciding who's staying back. She stayed back and watched movies with him.

Mykyta is used to being an older brother, so when it comes to Zeus he loves him just like his other siblings. He messes around with him just like he was anyways. He 100% teaches him Ukrainian too because it's not that much different than Russian, he's very patient as well with him.

Both will tell someone off if they do something to upset him too, like no hesitation. He's a part of their family now and he's gonna be treated as such too; both are protective of their family which now includes him.