#gotta wait for the dog to thaw
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secretagent9 · 1 month ago
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YAAAAY NEW NEWSLETTER!! thank you toby for making my work week a thousand times better by giving me new news to gnaw on.
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yallemagne · 3 months ago
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Season 4!!! Of X-Men: TAS!! This season was FUN. I've been taking notes while watching, that's probably apparent, it leads to more bullet points.
Episode 1: The Juggernaut Returns
SCOTT AND LOGAN WERE VISITING MORPH!!!!! <3333
“We’re saving Juggernaut’s sorry life. And don’t bother telling me you don’t like it.” “I don’t like it >:((.”
Charles trying to dig through Cain’s trauma, getting his own trauma instead and wondering “dog, why do I let this mf live, he sucks”
Chuck: “Don’t tell me to forgive my brother.” Storm: “I was literally just telling you to let him die, man.”
Cain literally knows why his father neglected him, he knows his father was a piece of shit after nothing but money… but he still scapegoats his brother. Dog. At least he doesn't beat Chuck's ass after the man saves his life. I guess.
Episode 2: A Deal With The Devil
Me: “Who’s the Devil in this scenario? Omega Red or whoever’s thawing him?” The people thawing him: *have American accents* Me: “Ah. Them.”
Dog… how you gonna be this stupid. FIRST OFF the Russian government just THREW HIM IN THE SNOW??? WhAT?? You had him in a locked up facility before!! And then the dumbass American government is like “not even the Soviet Union could handle Omega Red… get me my ice pick we’re diggin him up”. 
Omega Red: *makes fun of Wolverine’s PTSD* Me: “oh no a new problematic fav”
“I’ve been promised my humanity, Wolverine, something you above all others should be able to appreciate.” This hoe is so petty, I.. uhhhh...
Wolverine: *starting shit* Storm: “You dumbass, I’m about to have a panic attack.”
“Well, whattaya know, they oughta use this tub in one of those battery ads with the rabbit.”
The Way Omega Red Pronounces Colonel.
“What was I saying about not needing these lungs?”
Wolverine’s lines in this episode are only matched by Omega’s. Speaking of—
“My country created many great weapons but never had the will to use them! Is it not a great sadness, Storm? To be created, never to be used?” “Weapons do not have feelings.” “Oh, if only that were true.” WHY ARE YOU MAKING ME FEEL THINGS ABOUT OMEGA RED. 
And now he’s just. Down there. He’ll come back. Some other idiot country will fish him up and say “you gotta do this for us, but don’t you betray us, okay?”
Episode 3 & 4: Sanctuary
The US delegate blaming the Russians for the disappearances of engineers in space and the Russian delegate asking “DID WE STEAL OUR ENGINEERS TOO?? DICKHEAD??”
“The mutant race will no longer be managed, Mr. Delegate.” YASS QUEEEN tell him Magnus, tell him. 
Magneto HAS RECEIPTS. Uh wait… girl where did you get all this footage. Hahah using video of the X-Men like “LOOK AT ALL THEY HAVE DONE! MY STEP-CHILDREN!”
Apocalypse watching the broadcast on television. SINISTER WATCHING THE BROADCAST ON TELEVISION. Oh hey Mjnari, nice to see you.
Like okay dog, we can say Magneto is right about a lot of things, but KIDNAPPING MUTANT WORKERS and taking them to a centralized location where they will obviously be targeted even more harshly because there are no non mutants present? That’s bad. Like yeah a good lot of mutants went willingly but before that, many… didn’t… and were kept there. 
The haters protesting Asteroid M: “go home, muties, get out of here” …uh yeah dipshit. That’s literally what they’re doing. 
“You coming back, Cajun?” “Promise, chere.”
Cortez is sus. 
Amelia: “How dare you not want to live your entire life closeted? How dare you fight for the rights of the oppressed? You’re making good, unobtrusive mutants look bad!!” 
“So then Gambit become the first X-Man in orbit.”
ROGUE TEARING APART THE SHIP TO FIND GAMBIT!!!
I wanna put a bullet in Cortez’s head, he’s annoying… nah fr, he’s a fucking op. He’s a plant, there is no explanation for his stupidity other than that he wants to ensure the genocide of mutantkind himself.
“He wouldn’t have wanted a memorial, so I will keep this brief.” That explains why he didn’t have a funeral in ’97.
“The Earth’s magnetic field has healed me as a mother nourishes her son.” Dog that line is wiiiiild y'all driving me mad.
“Gambit!? COME IN YOU LOWLIFE SWAMP RAT!!” “Chére, it almost sound like you miss me.” “Remy! When I get my hands on you…” Romy fans are EATING with this one. 
Off topic... but we literally have an acknowledgment that Magneto wouldn't want a funeral but we're shown them having one. WHY WERE WE NEVER SHOWN MORpH'S FUNERAL??
Episode 5: Xavier Remembers
I love when I call shit. The attack at the start of the episode seemed suspicious and I was like “hmm, maybe this isn’t real. Maybe this is trauma.” And then the Sentinel head blew off and showed Evil Xavier’s face and I was like I KNEW IT. 
Chuck: “Mother! I never thought I’d ever see you again! Though, I don’t recall you being in bluescale...”
Is the void a harsh punishment for stealing? Sure. But that’s what the Shadow King gets for messing around with children.
Love that Jean and Xavier beat his ass with the power of teamwork. Xavier literally saves Jean from being trapped in the Astral Plane with a hug. 
Jean’s consciousness returns to her body and Scott is holding her bridal style, lol babygirl how long were you standing with her in your arms? Cute. 
Episode 6: Courage
“Eight hundred million on robots and the phones don’t work.” I hear ya.
A factory gets robbed by Sentinels and the report is that they think mutants did it. THEY’RE FUCKING COVERING IT UP. THAT’S THE ONLY EXPLANATION I WILL TOLERATE. Like, you’re telling me none of the witnesses mentioned the giant purple and red robots? Well, I say they did and their testimonies never got to news outlets because the government killed them to cover it up. And they aren’t even in charge of the Sentinels at this point! They’ve gone rogue! “We’re investigating, we think a mutant did it” with the fucking SENTINeL TRACKS??? It’s obviously like… they want to cover up how badly the government failed for even considering the Sentinel project by blaming the mutants who inevitably gotta clean up this whole mess. 
MORPH!!!! :DDD ALWAYS WITH THE JOKES!!! They soothe me, their presence heals me, I love them, I wanna kiss their forehead.
So Morph and Wolverine go to investigate and on the way they’re just glancing at each other like “would it be bad to make out on Morph's first mission back”
Logan wanting to evacuate as soon as possible because of sentinels :,0
“I-I froze, Logan.” “Oh, Morph.” OOOOH MORPH
GyrICK and TRASH are gay married (derogatory). This episode… this just reaffirms me asking what the FUCK about Trask and Gyrich reviving their Sentinels. What were they fucking thinking?
OMEGA RED, SASQUATCH, MIMIC, LONGSHOT, Morph really likes turning into Omega Red, huh? Morph is the MVP here, I love them.
NOOO MORPH!!! NOOOOOOOOO DON’T GOOOO
Episode 7: Secrets, Not Long Buried
I love it when Scott gets to be a cunt to people. He’s really super fun when he gets snippy. 
My biggest frustration here was really just that the villains were soooo childish. They behaved like playground bullies. But I guess that could be a parallel to the bullies at the start of the episode. Scott is just infinitely bulliable.
I appreciate that the town didn’t actually fall for Solarr’s nonsense, they were just waiting for the right moment to strike. It would have felt so stupid if they actually believed the guy and would have been too reminiscent of the bullshit with Cortez. 
Episode 8: Nightcrawler
“Man doesn’t break a sweat against Apocalypse or Magneto. So- so what nails him? A pine tree.”
I really love how Nightcrawler is written. It would be so easy to depict him just as blindly faithful, but he has layers. He has flaws he acknowledges that make him more sympathetic to those who wrong him, but his sympathy does not prevent him from feeling anger or bitterness, it just makes it easier for him to overcome those negative emotions.
Logan taking Kurt's words to heart :,0
I like that like Kurt's faith is treated with respect and so is Logan and Remy's lack of faith. It's totally understandable why they don't believe in God. Logan can't believe that there's a God that loves unconditionally with all the terrible shit he's witnessed and been put through. And Remy believes in chance, not some divine plan... but moreso Remy struggles with the idea of redemption.
Do we really never get an explanation for why that one monk tried to murder Gambit? Like roll back roll back WHY.
Episode 9 & 10: One Man’s Worth
Seeing the Age of Apocalypse crew was real fun. Also MORPH MORPH MORPH ONSCREEN CAMEO.
LOGAN AND ORORO ARE MARRIED <3333 I hate that the show tries to enforce the idea that they can only be together in the AoA timeline. Bullshit. They’re literally on a date in present day, don’t TEASE ME. 
I really like that they acknowledge that Logan doesn’t want to carry through with it for fear he and Storm will never be together, but it doesn’t make him betray the team, he continues on for the good of the future :,0. 
Does anyone else notice that they blatantly whitewashed Shard in the reboot?? Like they didn’t just lighten her already fairly light skin, they made her look like a white woman in '97, it’s so fucking weird. I wish I could say it was just weird lighting, but they whitewash so many other characters in the new series, it honestly puts me off. 
Episode 11 & 12: Proteus
Kevin’s innocence :,0 this, folks, is why you don’t hide from your kids that their father isn’t worth shit. Explain as early as you can in terms they can understand that their father is a no-good, deadbeat son of a bitch. 
Rogue feels for Kevin because her father was an ass too. 
Logan freezing up!!! AHHHHH. Rip that he was able to accept and account for Morph having trauma that caused them to freeze, but he won’t give himself that same grace.
The ending, for Proteus, doesn't really feel satisfactory bc you know Joe is just gonna go right back to being a shitty deadbeat after this. I would have liked it better if the lesson Kevin learned was that blood ties aren't guaranteed, that sometimes you choose your family.
Episode 13: Family Ties
Xavier not reacting when finding out that Magneto harmed Wolverine to get past security. And then sending Wolverine to play bodyguard for Magneto.
Magneto: "I gotta go do this thing. Do NOT interfere." Xavier: "Why did you break into my house if you didn't want me to interfere??? You inconsistent hoe."
The reference to Dr. Moreau was stellar. 
The conflict in this episode really pales in comparison to just the reveal of Pietro and Wanda’s parentage. Like I don’t care about this Moreau guy at all and I was paying so little attention I didn’t even catch how they defeated him.
Episode 14: Bloodlines
YOOOOO You got me acting crazy here. World’s most awkward family reunion.
Kurt is just. So good. I like that they don’t have him say a line like “I’ve already forgiven you” nah, he’ll pray for the strength to forgive. 
Mystique laments how being a shapeshifter means she is an outcast even among mutants because no one can trust who she is, which is a potent moment but… well telepaths are a thing… and you’ve literally hooked up with Sabretooth, who can sniff you out. I think people mostly distrust you because you are a liar and backstabber. 
I appreciate that the FoH won’t take Graydon back, he’s a little shit, and I think they should isolate him so hard that he give in to accepting his roots.
THEY DROP HIM OFF AT SABRETOOTH’S HOUSE. Look, I do not condone corporal punishment… but in this case, I am soooo for Sabretooth beating up his son.
Episode 15: Lotus and the Steel
Awww Jubilee going after Logan <333 I’m happy that she wasn’t like taken hostage or anything, wasn’t forced to be a burden on the plot
I’m pissed that Logan had to kiss that woman. Let this man meet a woman without having a romantic entanglement with her for fucks sake.
Episode 16: Weapon X, Lies, and Video Tape
THEY MANUFACTURED THEIR TRAUMA??? DOG. That’s motherfucking wild, but I suppose you could say it was foreshadowed. They switch between showing Sabretooth in and out of costume attacking Silver Fox and Wolverine. I thought it was just the first was a dreams reinterpretation and the second was the real deal, but then they played the memory again and Sabretooth was costumed again.
Also it’s wild that the majority of the memories that the team were given were to create distrust in Sabretooth, they fuckin used him as a scapegoat. AND THEY GAVE HIM DADDY ISSUES. Some absolutely wild shit, this was a ride. 
I thought at first that Silverfox and Maverick wanted revenge on these two for leaving them behind and I was groaning a bit at that, but then it wasn’t that, it went five layers deeper, and it was revealed that that didn’t even happen. 
THEIR NAMES CARVED INTO THE TREE.
Episode 17: Have Yourself A Morlock Little Christmas
Everyone’s giving Storm shit for not prioritizing the Morlocks when they could literally just call. They’ve established that there’s an emergency line they could call.
Making a big deal of Storm relinquishing responsibility to Callisto… you already did that in the episode you became the Morlocks’ leader, you declared her the de facto leader. Also it’s not much of an honour to be told “these people are your responsibility” when you were already taking care of them. 
Jubilee shows amazing older sister potential giving attention to Mariana when all this is going down.
Jean and Gambit fighting over cooking was wiiiild. Jean was gonna kill him for wanting to season the meat.
Episode 18, 19, 20, 21: Beyond Good and Evil
“I’m not malevolent. I simply am.” I mean… nah you’re pretty evil, Apocalypse. It’s honestly really petty. 
I love that all it takes is Cable telling him that they’ll keep fighting to throw Apocalypse into a midlife crisis. 
I finally figured out why Sinister kidnaps only Jean anymore, Scott’s beams fucking fry him. 
I suspected that this would probably be the weakest part of the season since it’s a 4-parter… the Shi’ar showed up and I was like “there goes my enjoyment”… and then they had no bearing on the plot and all was well!
Mystique, as Shard: "LOOK OUT PSYLOCKE THAT'S MYSTIQUE! a SHAPESHIFTER!!!" Logan, who smells her, Psylocke, a telepath, and Shard, herself: "Do I look stupid to you?"
“How nice to see you, Logan, all tied up and nowhere to go.” Homosexual? Gay? Gambit, that's queer?
“Too bad we lost Sabretooth” I was like “y’all don’t care about him” but then I remembered he is Mystique’s baby daddy. I need the backstory on that big time. 
Poor Bishop, forced to be useless until the very end of the episode.
ALL THE TELEPATHS WRECKING APOCALYPSE'S SHIT!!
I love every time Scott and Jean reunite they share a kiss <333
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
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mama-qwerty · 1 year ago
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I imagine after Eclipse 1) almost bit the person who delivers th mail and 2) then broke the mailbox off it's post, Callie had to go to the street to get her mail everyday, because that person was NOT bringing it to the door (too risky due to her 'dangerous dog')
It's so frustrating! She's at work at the library all day, so it's not like she can simply wait around to get her mail. So she's gotta stop by the post office and pick it up.
They can't even replace her mailbox until the ground thaws, so she's gonna have to do this for MONTHS.
Eclipse is grounded for at least two weeks after the 'Mailbox Incident' as it's come to be called. He didn't understand why.
"I was testing something! Figuring something out! I thought you liked when we did that??"
"NOT when it involves ripping my mailbox out of the ground, banging the hell outta my front door, and making me have to swing by the post office just to get my mail."
"I didn't actually bite the mailman, you know."
"No, because I tackled you like a Philly linebacker before you could get to them."
"THEY WERE TOO CLOSE TO THE HOUSE! THEY COULD HAVE BEEN STAGING AN ATTACK!"
"IN BROAD DAYLIGHT??"
"I THOUGHT IT WAS DUMB TOO, BUT MAYBE THEY WERE BEING STRATEGIC!!"
It's all very frustrating and Cal just wants to go one day without her gremlin trying to bite someone or destroy her home one piece at a time via something incredibly stupid that could have been avoided had he just stopped to think for two freaking seconds.
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sunmoonandeddie · 4 years ago
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‘cause you are, you are
pairing: lumberjack!bucky barnes x reader
word count: 8,436
summary: Bucky’s found someone out on his front lawn during a snowstorm.  Well, Alpine found her.  If only he knew what he was getting into.
warnings: Bad words!  Violence!  Mention of kidnapping!  Mention of military violence/injury!  Mention of suicidal thoughts!
a/n:  So the song I listened to that kinda really inspired this is ‘Get You the Moon’ by Kina.  Also, this was commissioned by @buckysbunny​ and I really hope you love it, babe!
“Come on, Al,” Bucky said as he led his dog up the front steps of his cabin, carrying all the grocery bags inside.  He had a cigarette between his teeth, keeping it steady as he unlocked the door and let the gorgeous samoyed inside.  “Atta girl.”
The cabin was just as he left it three hours ago when he left to go grocery shopping.  As it should.
And Alpine was already standing at her bowl, wagging her tail.  She knew what time it was.
“You hungry, baby girl?” He asked with a grin as he grabbed the beef he’d been thawing in the sink and opened it up.  “Today’s a beef day.  We both know how much you love cows, yeah?”  He put a cup of beef in her bowl, powdering in her supplements.  “The best girl deserves the best food, yeah?” He asked as he cracked two eggs on top of it, before setting it on the ground.  Bucky couldn’t help but grin at the way that Alpine sat there in front of the bowl, waiting for the go ahead as her tail wagged aggressively.  “Eat.  Good girl.”
Kicking off his boots, he started up a fire in the fireplace.  The clouds were rolling in, the sun already setting.  He’d lived on the mountain long enough to know when the first real snow of the season was setting in.  They’d already had flurries, sure, but…  The first real snow was the first one that had everyone locked inside, unable to go anywhere for weeks.  He could smell it on the air.
Thankfully he was all stocked up on wood, so they’d be warm.  He’d already moved up Alpine’s dinner time so it would still be light outside when she needed to go outside to use the bathroom.  And they had more than enough food in the fridge and in the deep freeze to last them the entire winter, if they needed.  They’d be okay.
Honestly, his biggest worry was losing Alpine in the snow.  She was a big floof of white fur.  She always came when he called, but still.  It was the principle of it.
After she went to the bathroom, the two of them curled up on the couch while he ate and they watched whatever DVD he popped in.  He’d probably binge watch the box set of nature documentaries he’d gotten.
They were… relaxing.  After spending a few tours in Afghanistan, he needed relaxing.
It had been ten years, but… some things don’t fade with time.  Some things stick like gummy bears on a car seat in July.
It was past midnight when Alpine raised her head from his lap, a low whine in the back of her throat.  By then, he’d cracked open a beer and been fully ready to fall asleep there.
“Al?  Come on, baby girl, there’s nothing out there,” he said reassuringly.  It was snowing heavily, and he’d estimate there was already about seven inches deep with no sign of stopping.
But Alpine gets off the couch and runs for the door, barking sharply.
“What the hell has gotten into you?” He asked as he watched her.  “Alpine, come.”
For the first time in the four years since he’d gotten her, she didn’t listen.
Instead, she let out another bark as she clawed at the door.
“Al,” he groaned as he forced himself up.  He left the beer on the coffee table before heading to the door.  “There’s nothing out there.  Just snow.  You’re just gonna get cold and get the floors all wet.”
But, alas, he’s a slave to the desires of his puppy.
It’s kinda pathetic, really.  Not that he cared.
He opened up the door to let her out, frigid air blasting him.  The snow crept up onto the porch, and there was so much coming down it looked almost like a curtain.  “See, Al?  Nothing.”
But she ran out into the snow, nudging at what just looked like another pile of fluffy white snow.  She let out a whine, the only parts clearly visible of her being her dark nose and eyes.
And that’s when a head appeared, and his heart stopped.  What the fuck was a woman doing out in the middle of a snow storm?
Despite the fact that he wasn’t wearing shoes and he’d just changed into a fresh pair of sweats, he ran out to where Alpine was still trying to nudge her awake.  The snow was freezing his toes as he reached down and scooped up the girl, woman, whatever, and carried her inside.
“Come on,” he called out to the samoyed, who was following quickly after him, her tail tucked between her legs.  “You’re such a smart puppy,” he cooed as he laid the girl on the couch.  “You knew she was out there and made sure I got to her.  Good puppy.”
From the color of her lips, there was no doubt in his mind that hypothermia was starting to set in.  And from what she was wearing?  Come on.  She didn’t even have shoes on.  Just two pairs of socks.
Fuck.  He’d have to strip her down.  He needed to get her warm, and the clothes she wore weren’t doing anything to help her since they were thin and soaking wet. “You better not kill me when you wake up,” he grumbled as he pulled her clothes off of her, keeping his eyes averted.  She didn’t even have underwear or a bra on.
It wasn’t that he was some kind of creep.  He just felt awkward.  He didn’t know this woman and he wasn’t some kind of life saver.
Bucky was alarmed by the amount of bruises that covered her body, though it looked as though there was a purposeful lack of them on her face.  There were also what looked like fresh scrapes along her hips.
He wrapped her in every blanket he could find after grabbing fresh clothes from the laundry room and redressing her, cocooning her before shoving the couch closer to the fire so that it may warm her easier.  But she still seemed so cold.  He moved to the kitchen, taking a few hot water bottles from the first aid cabinet and warming them up before gently dabbing one at her face, the only part of her still exposed.
Bucky knew that the only thing he could do now was wait for her to wake up.  Pressing two fingers to her neck, he let out a sigh of relief when he felt her pulse.  “You’re not out of the woods yet,” he said as he grabbed his beer and took a swig.  It was going to be a long night.
Alpine was more than happy with the addition of a new person in their home, if not still a little worried.  She climbed up onto the couch and curled up against her, sniffing at her face and giving her a lick before lying her head down beside her.
“She’ll be okay, Al,” Bucky said quietly as he reached out to give her scritches right above her tail.  He wasn’t sure if he believed it, but…  Maybe Alpine would understand and calm down a little.
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My first thought when I woke up was that I was warm.  Really warm.
I hadn’t been warm in such a long time.
My eyelids were so heavy, and I had no desire to open them just yet.
What would I find when I woke up?  If I was back in His possession, in his house, I…  I would need to resort to Plan B.
Technically, Plan B had been Plan A a few times, when things had gotten… especially hard.  But He had caught me before I could succeed.
The last thing I could remember was stumbling through the snow.  I’d managed to finally get out after planning it for months.  I waited until He’d gone out for his nightly trip to the bars before pulling on my two pairs of socks and slipping out through the broken basement window.
The broken glass that I had thought would cause me to freeze to death had become my salvation.
I had been going down the mountain, following the road.  But it had started to snow.  I’m not sure how long I had been walking when I could see the path anymore, or when I saw the light.
The first light I had seen in the stifling white.  It had been coming from a window, cutting through the storm like a beacon of hope.
The wave of relief I had felt at the cabin slowly taking shape in front of my very eyes had been euphoric.  I had started to think that if I was going to die, at least I wasn’t going to die in captivity.
But I hadn’t even made it to the porch steps.
Which brought me to where I am now.  Wrapped up in what I was pretty sure was several blankets.  But I could smell… dog?  He didn’t have a dog.  No pets allowed.
He also didn’t have a crackling fireplace, from what I remember of the few times I’d been allowed upstairs.
Yeah.  Definitely no fireplace.
I made sure to stay completely still as I felt two calloused fingertips press against the pulse point in my neck.
“Well, Al, her heart rate has increased…”
So it was definitely a man.
I’d gotten really good at pretending to be asleep over the years.  Like, really, really good.  It wasn’t often that He’d been able to tell that I was awake if I didn’t want him to know.
There was a whimper, and then a rough tongue licked across my face.  The dog.  Which was (hopefully) this ‘Al.’  I didn’t want to deal with more than one man.
The man sighed and walked away.  “You gonna keep watch over her, baby girl?  I gotta go get a shower.”
Did he think the dog was going to answer him?
As soon as I heard his footsteps going up a set of stairs, I took in a deep breath before slowly letting it out.  I needed to get out of there.  Immediately.
I just had to slip out without him hearing me or the dog making a scene.
I slowly opened my eyes, even though it still felt like I had washers glued to my lashes.
And there was the fireplace.  It was so nice and warm…  I hadn’t felt this toasty in years.  The basement was always so frigid, and with the lack of blankets provided to me, I was always at least a little cold.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to stay for a little while…
No.  I shook my head as I forced myself to sit up.  I couldn’t stay.  I had to get out and get down the mountain to civilization.
I gasped as I felt the rough tough on my cheek again, turning to see a huge white dog that looked more like a cloud than an animal.  “Shh…”  I had to work to get my arms out of the blankets to pet it, but it was then that I realized I was not in my original clothing underneath all the swaddling.  My heart sank to my stomach as I felt a wave of panic.
Had he touched me?  Was he no better than Him?
I got most of the blankets off and frowned as I looked down at sweatpants and the long sleeved shirt I was wearing.  They were far too big for me, but they’d have to do.
I kept my steps feather light as I looked around the space I had found myself in.  It was a living room, and rather cozy.  Rustic looking.  I could see the kitchen to my left, and a silent debate with myself started over whether or not I’d have time to grab food for myself before running.  From the way my stomach growled, I knew that I’d have to.
I hadn’t eaten since yesterday, since today was not my scheduled day to eat.
The cloud dog followed me to the fridge, its tail wagging as I grabbed what I could reasonably carry.  It took everything within me to not stop and play with her.  I hadn’t seen a dog in so long, especially not one so sweet.  Its tail kept wagging even as it watched me stealing food.
I was reaching for the jar of pickles when I heard the cocking of a gun, and I turned around to see a large, burly man pointing a handgun at me.  The food in my hands dropped to the ground as I threw my hands up, my heart racing.  The jar of pickles shattered, the glass flying all over the floor.  “I-I’m sorry!  I’m sorry!” I gushed, feeling sweaty under the pressure of the barrel being pointed at me.  “I don’t know where I am.  I j-just woke up and I’m s-so hungry.”
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Bucky’s heart pounded as he got out of the shower, hearing a commotion downstairs.
His instincts took over, and he didn’t have time to even think things through before pulling on a pair of briefs and grabbing his handgun from his bedside table before slipping down the stairs.
He had the gun in both hands as he peeked around the corner, seeing a girl digging through his fridge.  It was the cocking of the gun that alerted her to his presence, and she whirled around.
She was pretty, he could acknowledge that much.
It was when she was rambling that suddenly he remembered.  The girl in the snow.  But he’d been certain that she wouldn’t wake up for at least a few more hours.
His startling blue eyes stayed locked on her as he flipped the safety back on.  But he still kept it raised.  “Who are you?” He demanded, his voice gruff, deep.
She gave her name, and he frowned.  Just a first name?  No last?
“Where did you come from?”
“U-Up the mountain,” she said quietly, a few tears rolling down her pretty cheeks.  “Please, I…  I mean no h-harm.  Please.  I’ll go.  I swear.”
He shook his head, slowly lowering the gun.  It wasn’t like she was much of a threat.  She clearly had no idea what she was doing.  “Don’t be stupid.  You already almost froze to death once out in the storm.  Leaving would just mean that you wasted my efforts to save your life.”
“Thank you,” she said stiffly, still not moving from where she was.  It sounded more like a question than a statement.
She was skinny.  Scary skinny.  Of course, he’d seen that when he’d undressed her, but it was even more alarming seeing her in his clothes, seeing how they draped from her frail, bird-like shoulders.
He nodded to the mess around her.  “Stay still.  I don’t want you cutting your feet on the glass.”  Luckily she had the sense to listen as he swept up the glass and pickles, picking up everything around her before mopping.
He didn’t like being close to her, and she clearly didn’t like being close to him either.  Good.  It meant they would be less likely to step on each other’s toes.
Bucky was already very aware that she was going to have to stay until the snow let up enough for her to leave.
“I’m assuming you’re hungry?” He said as he put the mop away.  “You can have food.  I’m not going to starve you after rescuing you.”
She nodded, her stomach grumbling.  “Yes.  Hungry…”
Pointing to the fridge, he leaned back against the kitchen island.  “You can get whatever you want.”  He watched curiously as she reached into the door and grabbed the container of cottage cheese.  “Did you want some warm food?”
“This is fine.”
“You sure?”
“Mhm.”
She was weird.  But he couldn’t really judge considering the fact that he had no idea who she was or where she had come from.
Maybe she was a Russian spy or something.
No, that’s stupid, he reminded himself.  Your military days are over.  No one is looking for you anymore.
He showed her to one of the guest rooms once she finished eating the entire container of cottage cheese, eyeing her in case she vomited.  He had no idea how the hell she did that.  He liked cottage cheese as much as the next person, but still.
“Um…  There’s a shower through there.  And I can… get you some more clothes and stuff,” he said softly.  He stayed far away, out of her reach, and he noticed her doing the same.
She nodded, chewing on her lower lip as she looked around.  “Okay.  Thank you.”
“I’ll let you… get to it then,” he said awkwardly.  A frown settled across his face as he watched Alpine jump up onto the bed as the girl looked into the bathroom.  “Traitor.”
“Can you show me how the shower works?” She asked, poking her head back out.  “And…  What are the… shower rules here?”
A wave of confusion spread over him.  Shower rules?  “Uh…  Just… let me know if you’re gonna shower soon so I know not to use all the hot water?”
“That’s it?”
“Uh… yeah.”
“Oh.  Okay.”  She glanced over at Alpine, who was lying on her bed.  “Are you…  Are you showering soon?”
Bucky’s head tilted to the side, his brows furrowed.  His dark hair was still wet, and he was still in his briefs.
The girl nodded, letting out a weak laugh as her face flushed.  “Right.  Sorry.”  She pointed to the bathroom.  “The… shower?”
“Right!”  He slipped past her into the bathroom, making sure he didn’t touch her, before showing her how to work the knob and change the temperature.  “There we go…  Uh…  Have a good shower.  And I’m James… by the way…”  He let out a huff of air as he stood there with his hands on his hips.  “Right, um…”  He felt a bit awkward as he left quickly then.
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I waited until after James had left to lock the bedroom door, swallowing as I shoved the desk chair under the handle.
There was a low whine, and I turned to see the cloud dog still on the bed.  I had thought it had left with him.  “Hi.  I thought you left.”  I reached out and scratched behind its ear, the fur soft under my fingers.
After taking a few minutes to just pet the puppy, I headed to the bathroom where the shower was still running, the mirror fogged up.
It had been so long since I’d had a hot shower.
After locking the bathroom door, I stripped off the clothes I’d been given and folded them nicely, laying them on the counter.  I could see the scrapes along my hips and cursed, wiping off the mirror so I could attempt to see them better.  I was covered in bruises, and the scrapes were clearly fresh.
But I had no idea what James thought of them or where he thought I got them.  Fuck.
I’d have to come up with some kind of excuse unless I was ready to tell him just where I’d come from.
Which just felt like it’d be so much work.  I wasn’t ready for that yet.
I didn’t come out of my room for the rest of the night.  It was the first time I’d ever been truly alone in years.
Even when He was gone, I was never truly alone.  Not when cameras captured every square inch of the basement.
When I crawled into bed, the cloud dog curled up against me and rested its head on my back.
I slept better than I had in years.  Even if I did end up vomiting up the cottage cheese.
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Bucky was still confused by the girl three weeks later.  The snow hadn’t let up, which he was kinda upset about because she’d eaten one of the two containers of cottage cheese her first night.
He liked his cottage cheese.  And she ate it.
Which, okay.  He had been able to tell she was hungry and she clearly needed the food more than he did, but still.  She couldn’t have chosen something else?
Now they were having to ration the cottage cheese.  They had about half a cup left and they were both waiting for the other one to finish it off.
He was about ready to just tell her to take it.
He also didn’t understand how she’d stolen his dog from him.  Alpine had transferred her love and loyalty over to the strange girl within thirty seconds of meeting her, and it appeared that there would be no changing that anytime soon.  The dog was always at her side and wouldn’t even go outside to use the bathroom unless she sat on the porch, bundled in one of Bucky’s coats and wrapped in a blanket, and watched her.  Al didn’t even sleep with Bucky anymore.  She slept with the girl, her head on her back as if she was ensuring that she was still breathing.
On one hand, it was absolutely precious.
On the other, Bucky had lost his cuddle buddy.
But they gave each other a wide berth.  They never touched, which he was grateful for.  He didn’t… like touch.  And he got the implication that she didn’t either.
“You know, you living here kinda reminds me of the 2020 pandemic,” he said nonchalantly as they sat in the living room watching tv.  He was on the recliner, and she was curled up on the couch with Alpine in her lap.
Her head tilted to the side as she tore her attention from the movie playing on the tv.  “The what?”
Bucky blinked.  And then he blinked again.  “The…  The 2020 pandemic?  The pandemic three years ago?” He said slowly, his brows furrowed.  “Covid-19?  Everyone had to wear masks?  America was literally a cesspool of selfish assholes who were so stupid they believed Trump?”
“Trump…  Isn’t he that celebrity show host?  He was on Home Alone?  The Lost in New York one?” She asked.
He was going crazy.  He was sure of it.
“What?” She asked, sitting up a little straighter as she crossed her legs applesauce style, causing Alpine to whine before settling back down in her lap.  “Did I say something wrong?”
Bucky leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.  “Donald Trump became president in the 2016 election.  Then Biden won in 2020.”
Her eyes were wide, her cheeks flushed.  “Oh.”
“How did you not know?” He asked.
She shrugged, wrapping her arms around Alpine.  “I… haven’t watched the news… in a while…”
The man could understand that, but the whole ‘not watched the news’ in a bit really only worked when it came to things like… like a celebrity doing something stupid or a law being passed.  Two whole presidential elections?  That was…  That was Amish levels of ignorance.  Even if she didn’t watch tv, there were billboards and signs and merchandise like those stupid Make America Great Again hats.
As if America had ever been great.  And he had a double right to say that, since he’d been a stupid eighteen year old kid that the military had preyed on, getting him to join up and head overseas when America had no reason to be there.
He’d lost his arm because of it.
“How long has it been since you watched the news?” He questioned, his heart racing.  He had a bad feeling about it.  A really, really bad feeling that settled in his gut.
She buried her face in Alpine’s fur, her shoulders rising and falling as she huffed.
She’d put on some weight since getting there, thankfully.  He’d been making sure she got all her protein and started her on vitamins supplements he had.
“Eleven years…”
He paused, blinking slowly.  “Eleven years?  What the hell do you mean ‘eleven years?’”  He took a moment when he saw the way she flinched away from him.  He’d figured out pretty quick that she couldn’t handle any raising of the voice.  She’d shut down.  “I’m sorry.  I’m sorry.  But…  I still don’t know anything about you except your name.  Not even your last name.  I don’t know where you came from.  I still don’t know how the hell you ended up in my front lawn, half frozen to death.  I…”  He sighed.  “What happened?”
She was quiet for so long that he was sure she wasn’t going to reply.  He started to get ready to stand up, letting out a huff.
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“I was thirteen,” I said quietly, my voice barely audible.  Alpine’s fur was so soft in my fingers and against my cheek.  It kept me grounded, kept me tied down to the Earth so I didn’t float away in the cloudy memories that covered the sky in my head.
Bucky was watching me closely, clearly surprised that I’d actually spoken.
My throat felt so dry.  “Um…  It was a few months after my birthday…  And I had just gotten a new phone.  It was… It was one of those sliding phones with a full keyboard?  It had a touch screen, and it was cherry red.”  I couldn’t help but let out a weak laugh as I remembered that stupid phone.  I’d been utterly obsessed with it, like any thirteen year old would be.  “I was in eighth grade and even though most people I went to school with already had an iPhone, that phone was the coolest thing ever.”
He was watching me in a way that was so intense, so focused.  I hadn’t ever had someone look at me like that.  Like he was actually listening.
“And, uh…  I used to walk to the river in the woods by my house,” I said, my voice growing soft again.  “I would go and sit and read on nice days…  I didn’t really have… friends.  I was a bit of a loner, and new.  We’d just moved there that April.”  My heart ached.  I missed that river.  I missed my parents.  More than anything.  “There was a man that I’d see sometimes at the river fishing…”
Bucky’s breath audibly hitched, and I could see his hands gripping his knees tightly.
“I was lonely,” I said, my voice cracking as I clutched onto Alpine that much tighter.  The puppy let out a whine as my eyes water.  “I didn’t have any friends yet.  I was an o-only child…  So, yeah, I’d talk t-to him.  I didn’t think it was wrong.  I f-figured if he was going to do something, he would’ve done it the f-first eighty times I s-saw him.”
“He took you, didn’t he?” He asked quietly, his voice gravelly.
Avoiding his eyes, I gave a short nod.  “Yeah.”
He stood up, his jaw set as he reached for his phone.  “We have to call the police.  If you were being held in a house on this mountain, then that means whoever took you lives close enough for you to have gotten here in a snowstorm.”
“NO!” I said as I scrambled up.  Alpine flopped to the side with a bark as she watched me scramble to knock his cell phone out of his hand.  “No cops!” I breathed out, eyes feral.
“Okay,” he said quietly, his voice soothing as he held up his hands in surrender.  “Okay.  No cops.  I won’t call the cops…”
I could see the confusion on his face, but a wave of relief washed over me as he agreed to not call the cops without asking too many questions.  I’d already shared so much.
“Do you want to watch a movie?” He asked, casually switching the subject as he sat back down.  He didn’t even grab his phone.
“Yeah.  Yeah, that sounds good,” I said as I took my seat again, swallowing thickly.  “Can we watch that one you were telling me about?” I asked as Alpine licked my face before settling in my lap once again.  “The…  The one about the Day of the Dead?”
An easy smile spread across his lips.  “Coco?  Yeah.  We can watch whatever you want.”
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There was a shift in the air after she told Bucky about where she’d come from.  They still kept a generally wide berth, but… they were closer.  He was definitely in no hurry for her to leave.  Not when he could keep her safe in his cabin.
He felt a wave of protectiveness every time he thought of her.  He had someone to take care of now.  Other than Alpine and Steve when they were kids, he’d never had that.  Even Rebecca had been so independent growing up.
He liked having someone to protect, to take care of.  He liked checking in on her when he woke up in the morning and when he went to bed.
Which he’d started doing once she’d stopped locking her door at night.
Bucky liked preparing her breakfast and coffee for her in the morning, slowly helping her increase her food intake without hurting her tummy.  He liked checking in on her and making her laugh with his stupid jokes.
He liked… her.  She was easily the prettiest gal he’d seen, even if it was unassuming at first.
But he wasn’t a creep like the man who took her, whoever he was.  He wasn’t going to pressure her into being with him just because he was providing her shelter and food.
He wouldn’t use her like that.
And besides, it wasn’t as though she would want him.  She had just turned twenty-four that year, and he was forty-one.  There was a good seventeen year age gap, and it felt even wider once he’d realized that her education had effectively stopped at thirteen years old.
Of course, he’d started to remedy that.  He’d found some kind of online learning platform that he’d remembered from the pandemic.  Parents had started the free service in order to make sure that kids were still getting their education as schools shut down and they were pushed into Zoom classes in the autumn of 2020, after America failed and sent them back to school.
She was a lot smarter than she realized, and he made sure to tell her as often as possible.
They had a camaraderie that he hadn’t ever expected to find after he’d pushed Steve away.
Steve had been lucky.  He’d been good enough at drawing that he’d gotten a full ride to art school.  He didn’t have to enlist in order to have a future.
It wasn’t that Bucky was bitter about that.  Steve deserved it.  And now Bucky’s job was taking pictures of the mountains he lived on, and he got paid so much that he really only had to work a few months a year.
“You always talk about Steve,” she said softly one night as they ate dinner in the living room, as per their routine.  “Do you still talk to him?”
“Uh…  No,” he said quietly.  “Lately I’ve been thinking about reaching out, though…  I miss him.”
Her head tilted to the side as she looked at him, her spoon halfway to her mouth.  He’d made chicken tortilla soup, since that had apparently become her favorite.  “What happened?  If you don’t mind me asking…”
Bucky smiled weakly down at his own half empty bowl.  “Well…”  His spoon clinked against the side.  “It was hard after I came home… from overseas…  I’d lost my arm…  I wasn’t the same guy I was…”  He took a deep breath.  “I was angry… at everything… and I took it out on him, even when it wasn’t his fault…  And then one day I just packed up and left.  Found my way here.  I bought this place with the money I had and fixed it up…  It was a real dump.  Basically foreclosed.  But I spent an entire summer fixing it.  Had to get it done before the first snow.  And it also got me to figure out how to use my prosthetic.  It’s some… fancy experimental thing.”
There was a flicker of the lights, and then nothing.  It went completely dark.  The heater stopped, the clock on the top of the stove went off.
“Bucky?” She whimpered, the fear evident in her voice.
“Hey, it’s okay.  It’s okay.  I’m here,” he said as he used his phone flashlight to illuminate the situation a little bit.  “I’m gonna find some flashlights, okay?  You stay right there with Alpine.”
She nodded, setting her bowl to the side and wrapping her arms around the puppy.  “Okay…  H-Hurry back.”
Oh, he definitely would.  He didn’t wanna leave his bear cub alone for too long.
He found two flashlights in the basement before coming back.  “Okay, let’s get all the blankets and stuff together,” he said as he handed her one of them.  “It’s gonna get cold real quick without the heating working.”  There was no way he was gonna be able to get out to look at the generator with how heavy the snow was falling.
They piled all the blankets up on his bed before she crawled under the mountain of them, Alpine curling up next to her like always.
She watched as Bucky sat on the edge of the bed, watching the slow rise and fall of his back.  She could practically see the steam coming from his ears from how much he was overthinking.  “You can take your arm off, you know,” she said quietly, sitting up on her elbows.  “I’m…  I’m not gonna think it’s weird.”
Bucky let out a weak laugh.  “You sure, bear cub?” He asked, his voice wavering.  “I don’t want to freak you out…”
“Something that’s a part of you could never be bad,” she said quietly.
His heart stuttered inside his chest.  He didn’t know what to say in reply.  He’d never had someone say something like that.  His hand was shaking as he reached up and undid his prosthetic.  It was a whole thing he went through every night and every morning, since it was attached to his nerves.  He hissed as it finally came off, setting it in the open case on the ground as he rolled his shoulders a few times to get the tension out.
“See?” She said as she watched him, her eyes running over his back muscles and the scars that covered his shoulder.  “There’s nothing bad about you.”
Bucky slowly crawled under the blankets, staying on the other side of the bed.  He didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.
“You gonna stay over there all night?’
He blinked, and then he blinked again, his eyes staring up at the ceiling.  “I…  What?”
She was still sitting up on her elbows, her lower lip caught between her teeth.  Her eyes were flickering between the blankets and him.  “You don’t have to stay over there…  I’m not… gonna break if we cuddle, you know…”
Bucky’s heart stopped inside his chest as his mind went blank.  He suddenly wasn’t thinking anymore about how he might hurt her.  She wanted him.  Or at least… wanted him to cuddle with her.
Which he was more than happy to comply.
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I scooted over a little closer to Bucky when I realized he was frozen staring at me.  He seemed to be in shock over the fact that I wanted to cuddle.
“Jamie?” I said softly, my fingers grabbing onto his arm and tugging him closer.  “Please?”
I watched as he swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he nodded.
“I mean…  You don’t have to,” I added quickly, feeling a flash of anxiety.  What if I had imagined everything?  The flirting?  The calling me bear cub?  “Not if…  Not if you don’t want to.”
Maybe my emotional growth was just as stunted as my educational growth.
But then moved closer to the center of the bed, his strong arm wrapping around my waist and pulling me close.  So close that I was lying on top of his chest.  He was so nice and warm.
And so strong.  He wasn’t like one of those guys in Hollywood or the bodybuilders that were all dehydrated in order to look like they had a twenty pack of abs or something.  He was the real kind of strong.
It was sexy as hell.
And it had been so long since I’d had a gentle touch…  Or had someone hold me just for the sake of holding me.
I hadn’t realized just how badly I needed it until Bucky was holding me close, his lips pressing to my forehead.
“James?  If you don’t mind me asking…  How did you lose your arm?”
I could feel the rise and fall of his chest as he took in my question.
“You don’t have to tell me.”
“No, I…  I want to,” he insisted as he brought me that much closer.  His chin rested on top of my head.  “I was on break…  And these little local kids loved playing hopscotch with us.  We’d draw out the hopscotch on the ground and we would use a little rock and all that…  Then one day, there was a truck out by the road.  One of ours.  We didn’t think anything of it even though it wasn’t where it was supposed to be.  We figured that out later.”  He pressed his lips to my head.  He was trembling, even if he was trying to hide it.  “We were searching for a good rock to use… and when I got close to grab a rock under the wheel… someone set off a bomb.  Blew my arm clean off.  It was all in… all in slow motion.”  Bucky sighed, shaking his head.  “I’d rather it be me then one of those little kids though.”
I sighed, squeezing him tight.  “You’re a good man, James.”  He clearly didn’t wanna think about it anymore, so I quickly changed the subject.  “Have you ever had someone braid your hair?” I asked as I reached up, running my fingers through his long hair.
“Can’t say I have,” he said, a chuckle reverberating through his chest.  “Why?  You wanna braid my hair for me, bear cub?”
I hummed, twirling a strand of his hair around my fingers.  “Mm…  I think it’d look real pretty braided…”
“Pretty?  You calling me pretty?” He snorted.
“Mmhm.”
“Why’s that?”
“‘Cause you’re pretty.”
By the blush on his cheeks, I could tell that he hadn’t ever been called pretty again.
And I knew I’d have to start calling him pretty a lot more.
Bucky had a shy smile on his face as he squeezed me closer to him, burying his face in my hair.  “You’re prettier, bear cub.”  He kissed my forehead again, humming.  “Get some sleep.  I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
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It was another two months before there was a break in the snow long enough for them to be able to head to town for more groceries.  Plus, they needed to stop and get her some clothing that actually fit her.
Not that Bucky didn’t mind her wearing his clothes.  He liked it a lot, actually.  His little bear cub in his sweaters and such.
But she did want some pants that fit her proper and some underwear, at least.
And she was excited, but clearly anxious.  “Come on, Alpine,” she said happily as they ran out to the truck, Bucky following quickly behind.
“You’re adorable,” he said softly as he climbed in the driver’s seat.
“Shut it,” she said, covering her face in Alpine’s white fur.
He was falling for her.  Hard.  Even after the electric came back on, they hadn’t stopped staying in the same bed.  It just felt natural.  They hadn’t done anything more than cuddle, but he wasn’t exactly in a rush.  Bucky was very happily letting her take the reins when it came to how quick they moved.
But he did wanna talk to her about being together officially at some point.
The one thing he was really worried about was the fact that she still wouldn’t let him call the police.
He just wanted to find the man who had hurt her and wring his neck with his bare hands.
Or at least have him thrown in jail.  At the very least.
The first thing they did was get her some clothes and shoes so she could change into them, even though he was pleased to note that she did keep on his sweater.
She looked really, really good in green.
Like, really good.
“We need at least two containers of cottage cheese,” she said as she grabbed them, grinning.
“Oh, yeah?” He asked, coming up to her and wrapping his arms around her waist.  He couldn’t help it.  He loved touching her.  Preferred to have at least one hand on her at all times.  “Better make that three containers, bear cub.  From what I remember, someone ate an entire container in one sitting and then promptly threw all of it up.”
“I don’t know who you’re talking about.”  Her cheeks flushed as she nuzzled into him.  “And I only have two hands, James.”
A slow smirk spread over his lips as he looked at her pretty face.  He loved getting her all flustered.  “I didn’t say you had to grab it all at once.”  As if to make a point, he reached over and grabbed a third container, moving to set it in the cart.
It was when he had turned his head away for less than thirty seconds that he heard the sound of plastic hitting the ground, and saw cottage cheese splattered across the marble tiles.
“Bear cub?” He said in confusion as he looked around.  But she’d disappeared.  His brows furrowed as his eyes met Brock Rumlow’s, who was glowering at him for some fucking reason.  His eyes flickered down to his outfit, his heart stopping inside his chest when he saw the badge.
Brock Rumlow was a police officer.
His bear cub hated cops and refused to let him call the cops.
She’d disappeared when she saw him.
Fuck.
He didn’t like the thoughts that were running in his head.
Bucky had to find her before Brock did.
He didn’t even attempt to act nonchalant as he ran through the store, leaving the cart there.  His heart was absolutely racing.
Alpine wasn’t sitting outside the front door where they’d left her.
He rushed to the parking lot, breathing out a sigh of relief when he found her and Alpine in the truck, huddled down on the floor.  “Oh, thank fuck,” he breathed out as he got in the driver’s seat.  He didn’t even buckle before he was peeling out of the parking lot.  “He’s not gonna touch you, baby.  I promise.”
She looked up at him with glassy eyes, tears staining down her soft cheeks.  “H-He…  He’s the one who…”
“I know,” he said quietly as he reached over to take her hand, intertwining their fingers and squeezing.  He was flying up the mountain as fast as he could without spinning out, heading for the cabin.  “I know that it’s him.  But he’s not going to touch you, okay?  I’m not gonna let him.  I’m gonna protect you.”  He handed her his phone out of his pocket.  “Bear cub, can you go to my contacts and call Sam?  Tell him we need him as soon as possible.”
She nodded, her hands trembling as she found the name and called.  “H-Hello?  This is Bucky’s friend and w-we need someone at Bucky’s immediately.  Please.”
When they got back to the cabin, he rushed her inside.  “Go upstairs to our bedroom, lock the door, and then go to the bathroom and lock the door,” he said.  “Take the handgun in my bedside table with you.”
“J-Jamie, I’m scared,” she whimpered, her hands shaking.
He rushed forward, his hands holding her face as he pulled her into a kiss.  “It’s all gonna be okay.  But don’t come out for anyone that isn’t me, alright?” He said softly, caressing her cheeks.  “Take Alpine with you.”
She nodded, and he let out a sigh of relief as she went.
He grabbed the gun he had hidden in the living room, quickly loading it.  He knew that Rumlow would be coming up after them, especially if he was the one who had kept his precious girl kidnapped for over a decade.
He had a lot to lose.
But so did Bucky.  He’d just gotten his girl, and he wasn’t losing her anytime soon.
Bucky Barnes would not be losing the one person that made him feel human again.
And if it came down to it, and he died protecting her, he’d be okay with that as long as she was safe.  He’d just have to bring down Brock with him.
He stiffened as he heard the car pull into the drive with a roar and then the slamming of the door.  He knew it wasn’t Sam.  It would take him longer than that to get up there considering when they’d called.
Brock didn’t even bother knocking.  He shot through the lock and threw the door open.
It was all a blur.  Bucky shot at him and managed to catch him in the thigh, but Brock just kept coming.  He was pretty sure he had a bulletproof vest on, too.
“So this is where the little brat’s been?” Brock snarled, glaring as he pointed the gun at him.  “I figured she’d died out in the snow.  Would’ve been better if she had.”
Bucky wasn’t going to dignify it with a response.  He knew Brock was just trying to rile him up to get him to fuck up.  And he couldn’t let that happen when his girl’s life was on the line.
What he did do was aim at Brock’s hand and get him to drop the gun before he rushed forward and pinned him to the ground to wait for Sam.  He shoved him to the ground, glaring at him harshly.  “You will never touch her again,” he hissed, emphasizing each word as his hand wrapped around his throat and squeezed threateningly.  “And I’d fucking kill you now, but you don’t deserve a quick death.”  He spit in his face.  “I want you to get put in prison for life, and I want to hear about how your ass is getting kicked everyday for kidnapping and raping a little girl, and holding her hostage for over a decade.  I’m gonna personally make sure you never see the light of day again.”
As soon as the door opened and Sam came in with two other officers, he lifted his hands in surrender, getting off him once he knew that Brock wouldn’t be able to get out.
Before anyone could stop to question him, he ran upstairs.  “BABY?” He called out as he knocked on the bedroom door.
It took less than thirty seconds for his girl to open the door and throw herself into his arms, Alpine barking excitedly behind her.
“Hey, Alpine,” he said with a laugh as he scooped her up, wrapping her legs around his waist as she buried her face in his neck.  “Did you protect your mama?  Yeah?”
She let out a weak laugh as she nuzzled in further.  “Are you okay?” She asked, her voice cracking as she pulled back to look at him, holding his face as she checked him for injuries.
“Bear cub, he didn’t even touch me,” he said softly, holding her close.  “He’s in cuffs now, being put in the back of a cop car to go to prison…”  He kissed her forehead.  “He can’t ever get near you again.  They’re gonna search his place and it’ll all be over.  You never have to go back there ever again.”
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I jerked awake, letting out a broken scream.  Sweat dripped down my back, tears rolling down my cheeks.
Alpine let out a worried whine from where she laid on my feet, keeping them toasty.
“Hey…  Hey, I’m here,” Bucky whispered sleepily as he brought me into his chest with his one arm.  His prosthetic had been taken off earlier.  “I’ve got you, bear cub…  I’m right here…”
I crumbled into tears as I was pulled onto his lap, my nose brushing against his neck.  “J-Jamie…”
“Was it the dream again?”
I nodded, my hands grasping at him to hold him close.  “I wa-was back in that basement…  W-With Him.”
He had gotten to see the basement first hand.  The concrete walls.  The dirty mattress that rested on the ground without any sheets.  The bugs and the rats that I had shared that space with.  The broken window that Brock had covered with a trash bag.  The cameras.
He’d seen me through the whole trial.
It didn’t take long for Brock to be put on trial and found guilty.  Hell, the jury only deliberated for an hour before coming back and giving their verdict.
With all the evidence from his cabin and his own poor defense, I didn’t even have to testify, which was a relief.
The piece of shit actually thought he’d get off easy.  But he got fifty years, and considering he was already over forty, it wasn’t likely that he’d ever get to leave prison again.
There was a bit of… question about what would happen to me after.  Where I would go.
My parents came to see me at Bucky’s, and they started talking about me going home with them and how they still had my room all set up.
But I just couldn’t leave Bucky and Alpine.  Not after everything.
And as much as I knew that me being taken wasn’t their fault, I didn’t feel safe with them like I did with him.
I thought Bucky was going to cry when I said that I wanted to stay with him.  He’d rushed to reassure them that he was going to take care of me and he was already working on helping me get my GED.
They seemed to like him, which was good.
And yeah.  The nightmares still came back sometimes.  I would always be haunted, even with my therapists’ help.
“I’ve got you…  He’s never gonna touch you again.  You’re safe,” Bucky whispered as he kissed my cheek.  He pulled back, his hand cupping my face.  “I love you.  And I’ll never let anyone hurt you ever again.  And you know Alpine won’t.”
“I know,” I said softly as I rested my head against his chest as he laid us down again.  “I love you, too.”
No, the nightmares didn’t go away.  But that didn’t matter when I had Bucky.
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heyitssmiller · 4 years ago
Text
Frosted Windowpanes Part Two
I have no idea why this was so hard to write? Part one just came so easily and this... not so much. But here it is! All the holiday tropes! Christmas puns (thank you to all of y’all who gave me ideas for those)! Falling in love!
As always, @donttouchmycarrots is my hero for proofreading!! Love you <3
@lumosinlove Guess who’s back to borrow your characters ;) Thank you so much!!
Part One if you missed it!
.
Finn had a Plan.
Well, half a Plan.
Maybe.
Step one: meet up with Logan and Leo again. Step two: woo them. Step three: …
Well, it wasn’t much. And it was very vague. But Finn’s plans tended to never go the way he wanted them to anyway, so vague was usually for the best. And so far, it had been going well. They’d grabbed dinner several times, ran into each other at the store or buying Christmas presents downtown. And on Monday the diner was closed, so Finn and Leo spent hours at the farm helping where they could and pestering Logan. He was so fun to tease – he got all gruff and grumpy and adorable. Leo seemed to think so, too, if the number of times he teamed up with Finn to make Logan get all red was anything to go off of.
At the beginning of all this, Finn had thought he’d been overdramatic. He’d woken up the morning after first meeting Logan and Leo and assumed he’d been tired and jet-lagged and was imagining all those feelings he’d felt the night before.
And then he’d met up with them again.
Love at first sight wasn’t real. Finn knew this. But being here, meeting Logan and Leo, just might have been enough to change his mind. It made no sense, but – well, here he was. The past few days were happy, rose-tinted, and Finn couldn’t believe his luck. What were the odds that he’d find both of them in this sleepy little town?
So here he was, pulling into the parking lot of Leo’s for a cup of coffee and a healthy serving of sweet southern blond.
Leo was out front, shoveling snow and looking absolutely miserable while doing it. He was bundled in a thick coat and hat, scarf wrapped high around his neck. Finn laughed under his breath as he turned his car off and braved the cold. Poor southern boy. Leo glanced up at him briefly when he approached, then did a double take.
“Morning, sunshine.” Finn said with a cheeky grin. “Enjoying the snow day?”
Leo’s resulting grumpy look made Finn laugh. “I’ll take that as a no.”
“Nate called and said he can’t make it to work today because the roads are so bad.” Leo took a deep breath, and then the rest of his words came out in a jumbled, rushed mess. “Which isn’t his fault and I’m not blaming him at all. But I haven’t started cooking and we open in thirty minutes and there’s no coffee brewing and nowhere for people to park because of this goddamn snow and so I’m stuck shoveling snow instead of cooking and I’m so far behind-”
Finn gently pressed a finger to Leo’s lips, halting the nervous ramblings. Leo looked down at his finger, then back up to meet Finn’s eyes.
Oh, he was so gorgeous.
Finn had to force himself to focus on the matter at hand instead of cherry-red lips and soft baby blues. “Relax, ok? And hand me the shovel. I’ll do this, while you get on inside and start cooking.”
“But – Finn,” Leo said, and wow did he love the sound of his voice in that southern twang.
“Leo,” He echoed with an attempted accent, eliciting a smile from the blond.
“I can’t just ask you to work. You’re on vacation.”
“First of all, you didn’t ask – I offered. And the friends I’m visiting are both at work,” Finn explained, “so I’ve been left to my own devices for the day.”
Leo winced in sympathy. “Bless your heart.”
And see, Finn had done his research. He’d googled New Orleans, the state of Louisiana, and the south in general. And he’d learned that southerners were very confusing – more confusing than people gave them credit for. They were polite and kind to everyone, even if they definitely didn’t mean it. The phrase “bless your heart” could mean they either absolutely adored you or they thought you were the worst person on the planet.
Finn really hoped it wasn’t the latter. He didn’t think it was the latter, anyways.
“I’m literally dying of boredom. I’ll shovel the snow, and then I can come help you cook!” At Leo’s skeptical look, Finn brought out the big guns: his puppy dog eyes. They were known to melt even the hardest of hearts. He’d learned this lesson in college when asking his Grinch of an Ethics professor for some extra credit. “Please?”
Leo hesitated, but Finn could see the exact moment he caved. “Alright. But you’re getting paid.”
“Absolutely not. Consider it a Christmas gift.”
“I’ll pay you in food and coffee.”
“Deal.” Finn said, grabbing the shovel from Leo’s mittened hands. “Like I could ever say no to your food.”
Leo’ smile, warm and a little bashful, probably could’ve thawed the snow on the pavement if it was directed that way. “What would you like: sweet or savory?”
“Sweet,” Finn said instantly, even though he really preferred savory. His one-track mind was still stuck on dimples. “But I take my coffee black.”
“Comin’ right up.”
Finn watched him go, knowing that he had the dopiest smile on his face. Today was going to be a good day. And he knew a way to make it even better.
Finn dialed the number for Tremblay’s Trees, hoping more than anything that Logan would be the one to pick up. But of course he wasn’t that lucky. A bright, cheery voice answered the phone - definitely not Logan. “Tremblay’s Trees!0 This is Thomas, how can I help you?”
“Uh,” Finn said articulately, “Hi, I’d like to talk to Logan. Is he there?”
There was a slight pause, then: “Maybe. Who’s asking? And how do you know our dear Lolo?” The voice sounded curious, if not a little mischievous. Before Finn could answer, though, there was a scuffling over the line.
“Talker, give me the phone.”
“Oh, come on, I’ve got the five o’clock news slot tonight. Give the people what they want, Logan! Who’s your mystery caller?”
“I swear to god-”
The scuffling sound got louder, then there was a loud clatter when Finn assumed the phone hit the ground. He jerked his own phone away from his ear with a wince. “I am very confused.” He stated, not sure if anyone else heard him.
There was a small, softer rustle, then a breathless voice asked, “Hello?”
Finn couldn’t help but smile. “Hi, Lolo.”
That laugh was just as wonderful over the phone as it was in person. “Please don’t call me that.”
“Mmm… I might need to be convinced.” Finn said, letting some flirtiness slip through. “Anyways, I’ve got an idea. You busy today?”
“I’ve got the morning off. Why, what did you have in mind?”
So Finn, with the phone pressed between his shoulder and his ear, told the story of this morning as he shoveled – Nate not being able to make it to his shift, the ice and snow in Leo’s parking lot, Leo being behind on cooking and acting anxious. “So I was thinking we could do something? Like a surprise? And I know you guys need to actually sell things and make a living and stuff but I was thinking about decorating the diner? He just works so hard and he’s so stressed and I feel like he could use a little holiday cheer. What do you think?”
The other voice from earlier must have shouted, because he was loud enough to hear over the phone. “Phone guy! What the hell did you say to make him melt like that?”
Logan punched Talker in the shoulder. Hard. “I will lock you in the closet, Talker. Shut. Up.” His attention was brought back to the phone by Finn’s laugh and his demeanor softened again. He’d never met someone as chaotically considerate as Finn O’Hara. It was such a sweet, thoughtful idea. And it was something to help out Leo? How could Logan say no?
“Sounds like a plan.” Logan said, cradling the phone closer to his ear. “Most people already have their decorations so we don’t have a whole lot left, but I’ll see what I can find.”
“Perfect! Oh this is going to be so fun – fuck, I’ve gotta go. Customers just showed up. But I’ll see you soon, yeah?”
“Yeah, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Great. Ok see you soon bye!” The words reached Logan in a rush before the line went dead.
What a dork.
Logan was pretty sure he was half in love with him.
“So…” Talker said suddenly, making Logan spin around quickly. “Who are you pining over?”
Noelle, who had been passing by on her way to the kitchen, backpedaled in order to join the conversation. “Are we talking about Logan’s love life? Because I’m so here for that.”
Logan sighed and went to the coat rack by the door, grabbing his coat, toque, and scarf. “I’m not having this conversation with you.”
They both promptly ignored him. Talker grinned at his fiancée, sensing trouble he could get into. “He’s become such a sap.”
Noelle snuggled up to Talker, turning her teasing gaze to her brother. “But if it’s who I’m thinking of, they have such good chemis-tree.”
“Did you guys practice this or something?”
“Hey man, don’t be so defensive.” Talker said, voice turning serious. “You know we’re all rooting for you.”
“I hate you both so much.”
“Aww, don’t be like that, Lolo.” Noelle sighed, giving him an over-the-top hug and obnoxious kisses to his cheek. “We’re just having some fun. Do you want us to stop needling you?”
“I’m having fun fir sure!” Talker shouted, then burst into raucous laughter, which stopped as abruptly as it started. “Wait. That wasn’t Leo on the phone. You've got eyes for someone other than him, now? Branching out a little, are we?"
“No.” Logan said instantly, then winced. Because his feelings for Leo definitely hadn’t changed. But then there was Finn… “Maybe. It’s complicated, ok?”
“The redhead that was hanging out with you and Leo on Monday?”
Logan felt his cheeks heat up but didn’t say anything. Monday had been the best, though. Showing the two of them the farm and how he did his job and watching their noses and cheeks turn adorable shades of pink from the cold. Even though he’d been there for a year, Leo still seemed in awe of all the snow. He clearly hated it, but Logan could tell he still found wonder and beauty in a clean blanket of undisturbed, freshly-fallen snow. Finn, even though he was clearly freezing too, kept cracking jokes the entire time, his voice muffled by his scarf. They’d walked and talked and learned more about each other among the saplings that would be full-grown and ready to be cut down by next season.
Yeah, Monday had been a great day.
And Logan was so screwed.
“Birch, please.” Noelle teased, then softened. “But really, Logan. Both of them were just as interested in you as they were in each other. You’ve got nothing to worry about, you just need to talk to them.”
He looked up from the buttons of his coat. “You think so?”
“Only one way to find out. What are you doing with them today?”
“We’re decorating the diner.” Logan pulled his hat on and looked over at his sister. “Do you think dad’ll be ok with me taking some garland and a wreath?”
Noelle scoffed. “With all the coffee and pastries you boy’s given us, I think he’s more than paid for it. Do you want company?”
“No.”
“Oh, come on,” Talker said, wiggling his eyebrows. “We’d make the perfect wingmen.”
“You did enough while I was on the phone, thanks.” Logan said, grabbing the keys from the counter. “Ok I’m headed out. See you later.”
Talker and Noelle sent a chorus of boos after him, only stopping when the door closed firmly behind him. He huffed out a laugh, shook his head, and headed towards the display counter to grab decorations. They were a little old since it was so close to Christmas day, but they’d have to do. Logan hesitated for a split second, then grabbed the Santa hat as well. They’d get a kick out of that. He threw the decorations in the back of the truck and took off down the road.
.
They actually worked really well together – Leo and Finn, that is. Finn dealt with customers while Leo made the food. They had a complex, intricate dance around the close quarters of the diner but they seemed to know the footwork already and could predict exactly what the other needed without blinking an eye. Leo peered out the kitchen window at Finn as he took orders at another table, laughing at something one of the women said. He was good at this. He was naturally outgoing and good with people, but he was also efficient and seemed to be able to keep track of twenty different things at once.
Leo frowned thoughtfully down at the grits on the stove. Logically, he shouldn’t like Finn. The redhead had appeared like a whirlwind and thrown everything off course. But then he went out of his way to be helpful and sweet and thoughtful even though it didn’t benefit him in any way. He had a big heart with a lot of love to give. And he gave it willingly to everyone, it seemed.
Don’t get him wrong, that was a good thing – it was a great thing. But it also made the past few days incredibly confusing. Was Finn treating Leo like everyone else, or did he want something more?
He definitely wanted something more with Logan, though. That much was obvious.
Leo just wasn’t sure how he fit into all of this.
Finn barging into the kitchen snapped Leo out of his thoughts. He looked up as Finn started looking around for something on the counters and shelves, tongue poking out in concentration. Leo couldn’t help but smile at the little detail.
“What are you looking for?” He asked, stepping away from the stove.
“The, um…” Finn said, trailing off as he continued to search, clearly distracted. “The spicy maple sauce for the chicken and waffles.”
“In the fridge.” Leo stated plainly, maneuvering around Finn to grab flour from the pantry, brushing against his back as he did so and trying to ignore how the simple touch heightened his awareness of the redhead. Finn threw open the fridge door, scanning the shelves.
“Where?”
“Second shelf from the bottom, on the right.”
A few seconds of silence, then: “Where?”
Leo laughed, dumping a cup of flour into a bowl and heading to the fridge. He peered over Finn’s shoulder, then reached around him with one long arm to grab the bowl of sauce. “Right in front of you, sweetheart.” He teased. Finn turned around so that he was facing Leo, a look that Leo had seen a lot in the past few days but still couldn’t identify on his face.
“Yeah,” was all he said, soft and a little strangled.
Leo looked away from those deep, brown eyes and down at the sauce. His heartrate picked up significantly. “Have you tried this yet?” At Finn’s shake of his head, Leo grabbed a spoon from a nearby drawer. “Figured I’d combine my roots with where I ended up, y’know? Tabasco, black pepper, maple syrup, and a few more secret ingredients.” He said with a wink, spooning some out and holding it out to Finn. “I’m pretty proud of it, if I do say so myself. Try it.”
Instead of grabbing the spoon from Leo, Finn just leaned forwards and tasted the sauce straight from the spoon in Leo’s hand. Leo’s breath hitched and his stomach swooped as Finn straightened again and met his eyes.
Oh, he could stare into those eyes forever. Eyes the same color of the coffee Finn had slid through the kitchen window about an hour ago with the words, “figured you could use some” before dashing off to clear another table. Leo had turned beet red, but grabbed the coffee and held it close before taking a sip.
Leo also hadn’t realized how close they were. The diner was small and the kitchen was cramped, but they definitely didn’t need to be standing this close. Not that Leo was complaining.
“Is it hot in here?” Finn murmured, gaze flitting from Leo’s eyes down to his lips and back again.
Leo seemed a little lost, too, leaning closer to the redhead without even realizing he was doing it. “Must be the sauce.”
It definitely wasn’t just the sauce.
The chime that alerted them to the front door opening startled both of them, forcing them to jerk away from each other and blush furiously.
“I, uh, I’m going to go check on that.” Finn said, still not looking away from Leo as he backed up.
“Ok.” Leo whispered, reaching back to grab the island behind him in an attempt to steady himself. Finn reluctantly tore his eyes away and disappeared from sight, leaving Leo reeling in the kitchen as he entered the dining area.
Finn’s mind was still back in the kitchen, wishing more than anything that he hadn’t been forced to step away. He’d never wanted to kiss someone senseless quite as much as he did right then. And how was he supposed to keep it together when all he wanted to do was flip the diner sign from open to closed and get Logan here and finally talk to them. They’d felt this pull - this magnetism - too. He knew they did. The only thing left to do was finally talk about it. 
Finn was forced to snap back to the present when the counter was suddenly covered in green needles, red berries, and festive ribbons. He looked up to see Logan grinning at him. Under his coat he was wearing red plaid, which matched the Santa hat perched on his head.
How was it possible to want two people so much at the same time? He couldn’t breathe with all the emotions overflowing in his chest.
“Ho ho ho,” Logan attempted to say, but cracked up before he could finish. Finn grinned and laughed as well, stepping forward to greet him.
“You should’ve used the chimney.” Finn joked, tugging on the end of his hat playfully. He got a smile and sparkling green eyes in return. Finn bit back a dreamy sigh. “But really, thank you. Leo’s gonna love this.”
Logan’s face grew a little worried. “How is he?”
Ha.
Haha.
That was a good question, since Finn left him standing there in the kitchen with the spoon still in his hand, looking a little lost.
He ended up shrugging, glancing back at the kitchen door longingly. “Better now. Still seems tired.”
“We’re going to have to force him to take breaks, aren’t we.” It wasn’t a question.
“Probably. If we tag team, I think we can manage to make it happen.” Finn looked down at the decorations. “So where are we putting these?”
Logan looked around the dining area, giving Finn a perfect view of his profile. He longed to kiss that strong jawline so badly, holy shit. “We could hang some over the kitchen window and some around the front window. And the wreath can go on the door.” Finn followed Logan as he maneuvered his way around tables to the front window, eyeing it critically. “The frame is wide enough that it should stay up on its own, so we won’t need nails or anything.” He grabbed the garland from the counter and then turned back around. Finn looked from him to the tall crown molding around the window.
“Need a ladder?”
“No.”
Finn laughed, grabbing one end of the garland and stretching up to place it on the ledge. Once it was secure, he looked over his shoulder at Logan and stuck his hand out for the other end. Logan hesitated, clearly wanting to do it himself, but quickly admitted defeat and handed it over. He huffed at Finn’s smug smile.
“Shut up.”
Finn laughed as he hung the garland. Logan was so small and grumpy and cute. Finn wanted to bundle him up in his arms and never let go. His little pocket-sized lumberjack. How adorable. He was so different from Leo, in basically every way. And yet Finn still wanted them both. How the hell did that work? 
“I should probably check on the customers.” Finn said reluctantly, glancing around at the breakfast crowd. “Do you think you can manage the kitchen window?”
“I got it.” Logan grumbled, sizing up his next target. Finn just shook his head fondly and started making his rounds to the occupied tables. Logan grabbed the remaining garland and headed behind the counter. He couldn’t help but stick his head through the window and look around. It was several degrees warmer in the kitchen than it was in the dining area. Logan was surprised at how tidy it was, considering how hectic the morning had been. There were a few scattered dishes in the sink, but the counters were mostly clean and organized, each bowl seemed to have a designated location. Leo, focused with his head down, maneuvered between stations with an effortless grace as he breaded a chicken tender and threw it into a frier. Logan never thought he’d be so entranced by something as simple as cooking but here he was, watching Leo hum along to the Christmas music on the radio as he poured batter into a waffle iron. He grabbed a mug of coffee off to the side and looked up as he took a sip, jumping when he saw Logan.
“Logan! Hey, honey!” He smiled, like seeing Logan was the highlight of his day. Logan yearned at the sight of that smile. He seemed to be doing a whole lot of yearning lately. “When did you get here?”
“Just a few minutes ago. Brought you something.”
Leo arched an eyebrow. “That sounds a little ominous.”
“No,” Logan laughed. “No, it’s a good thing.” He held up the garland and wiggled it around a little, causing it to sway in the air.
Leo’s entire face lit up. “Christmas decorations?”
“It was Finn’s idea.” Logan said, looking back over his shoulder at the redhead. Leo visibly softened, smile gentle and eyes warm.
“He sure is sweet, isn’t he?”
You just need to talk to them, Noelle’s voice echoed in Logan’s head. Looking at Leo right then, he couldn’t help but think that maybe she was right.
.
“Sure is snowing hard out there, eh?” Logan asked several hours later as he looked out the window. It was a strange lull in the day – too late for lunch, but too early for dinner. They were all grateful for the break. Logan honestly wasn’t sure how Leo did this every day – it was exhausting.
Finn, who was sitting on the other side of the booth from Logan and Leo with his legs stretched out, pulled up the weather app on his phone. “It’s only supposed to get worse. They’re calling for a blizzard.”
Leo looked out at the snow worriedly. “I really don’t wanna drive home in all that.”
“Might need to close up early, then. No one’s going to be out in this weather, anyways.” Logan said, watching Leo bite his lip as he thought about it. “I could drive you, if you want.”
Leo looked over at him, relief clear in his eyes. “Would you?” He rushed to continue, “I don’t wanna inconvenience you or anything, and I know you need to get home too-”
“Leo,” Logan cut in with a smile. If Leo didn’t know Logan would do pretty much anything for him at this point, he was clearly oblivious. “I don’t mind, I promise.”
Leo seemed to accept it without further argument and looked over at Finn. “Do you wanna tag along? I was thinking about making cookies.”
“Well that depends.” Finn said with mock gravitas, leaning forward to rest his forearms against the table. “What kind of cookies are we talking?”
Leo matched his pose, mischief alight in his eyes. “I was thinking snickerdoodles, but I’d be willing to reconsider.”
“Sneak in some sugar cookies we can decorate and you’ve got yourself a deal.”
Leo and Finn shook on it, keeping it professional.
Logan was infatuated with the two of them.
“So you’re closing early?” He asked, excited at the prospect of spending the rest of the day with them. At Leo’s nod, he nearly sighed with relief. “Good. You need a break.”
Leo rolled his eyes, but smiled all the same. “Maybe I do.”
Finn grinned. “He finally admits it!”
“Ok, ok, I get it.” Leo sighed, shoving Logan’s shoulder repeatedly until he got out of the booth. Leo followed after him. “I’ve got to put stuff away in the kitchen and then I’ll be done.”
Logan and Finn shared a look before trailing after him. They worked together to clean up, put food away, and organize the receipts and cash register for the day. It went much faster with three people. Before they knew it, all three of them were piling into Logan’s pickup truck, bundled up against the cold and brushing freshly-fallen snowflakes off of their coats and out of their hair. Logan pulled out onto the road, driving while Leo gave directions from the passenger’s seat.
Leo’s house was nice – small, but it looked warm and well-loved. There was a snowman out front, complete with a scarf and carrot nose.
“Cute.” Finn said as they got out of the truck, walking up to the snowman. Leo smiled, fishing his keys out of his pocket.
“My friend’s little brother made that over the weekend.” He unlocked the front door and ushered everyone inside as he held the door for them. Leo’s house was all cool tones – soft blue and purples and greens. There was a tree in the corner of the living room by the window, all lit up and decorated. There were presents under the tree, wrapped in brown paper with ribbons and bows.
Leo hung his coat on the coat rack and took Logan’s and Finn’s from them. “So. Cookies?”
“Nope,” Logan said, grabbing Leo by the hand and tugging him towards the living room. “Rest first, then cookies.” Leo laughed, reaching behind him to find Finn’s arm and pulling him along with them.
“I won’t say no to a Christmas movie.” He agreed as they all collapsed onto the couch. Finn grabbed a blanket from the arm of the couch and threw it over the three of them while Leo grabbed the TV remote.
Logan moved closer under the pretense of getting under more of the blanket. He was now pressed up against Leo, butterflies in his stomach. “My vote is for Die Hard.”
Finn scoffed, throwing his legs over Leo’s and Logan’s thighs. “That doesn’t count as a Christmas movie.”
“I beg your pardon-”
“Is it about Christmas? No. Case closed.”
Logan leaned forward to look around Leo at the redhead. “It takes place during Christmas!”
Leo just listened amusedly to the bickering as he flicked through movie titles. They were still arguing when he started the cute, old Claymation Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. Both boys trailed off as the introduction music started.
“This works.” Finn said, settling in to get more comfortable, his calves flexing against Logan’s thighs as he stretched. Logan hummed in agreement, eyes already glued on the screen.
They hadn’t even met Hermey the elf before Leo was sound asleep, head pillowed on Finn’s shoulder and breathing slow and even. Finn looked over blond curls at Logan and smiled, making his heart thud painfully in his chest. He needed to talk to them, and soon. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could sit there and keep all these feelings internalized.
But it could wait until after a nap. He snuggled up close and turned back to the TV.
.
“No, you need to-” Leo stopped and laughed, pointing to the recipe. “Teaspoon of vanilla extract, darlin’, not tablespoon.”
Finn switched out one measuring spoon for another with a wince. “That would’ve been bad, huh?”
“Very bad.” Leo agreed, looking over at the oven to see Logan already staring back at them, a wide, almost-giddy smile on his face as he started loading cookie dough balls onto a baking tray. One tray of snickerdoodles were already in the oven and spreading out rapidly as they cooked.
“We might’ve put those too close to each other,” Logan said, crouching down to look into the oven. “They’re all starting to stick together. It’s just one big, square cookie.”
“That’s ok. It’ll still taste good.” Leo said with a shrug. They both turned when Finn started banging on the table in time to the music.
“I don’t want a lot for Christmas! There is just one thing I need!” He screamed, bopping along to the song. Logan laughed and let himself be tugged forwards to dance. Leo watched as they both jumped around and danced in the kitchen, hips swaying and acting like total dorks. But they were so happy, as well. Big smiles graced their faces as they laughed and sang and held each other close. Leo whisked wet ingredients together in a bowl and leaned back against the counter as he enjoyed the over-the-top show. They were cute together in the warm glow of the kitchen – a sharp contrast to the snow falling outside and collecting on the windowsill. Finn tilted his head back to shriek the last high note, causing Logan and Leo to both burst into fits of laughter.
“O’Hara, please don’t audition for Broadway.” Logan teased, still laughing a little. Finn scowled and grabbed a tea towel, spinning it up before whipping it at the brunet.
This started an all-out war. Many a cookie lost their life in the crossfire when Logan accidentally hit Leo’s arm as he was transferring cooled cookies into a tin. They had a warrior’s send-off as they were dumped into the trash can.
After the cookies were baked and decorated and the kitchen was cleaned thoroughly, it was pitch black outside. Leo had genuinely lost track of time, but he was selfishly grateful for it. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for y’all to be driving in this weather in the dark.” He said, snagging a cookie from one of the plates and taking a bite as he tried to be casual about the two boys potentially staying the night. “I’ve got a guest bedroom and a pull-out couch if you wanna stay here.”
Finn and Logan looked at each other, then Logan shrugged. “If that’s ok with you.”
Ok? It was wonderful.
“Of course it is. I’ll go make up the beds and get y’all something to sleep in, ok?” Leo said before hurrying to his room, where he hastily made his bed and rummaged through his dresser for clothes. He muttered to himself as he pulled out two pairs of sweatpants. “Don’t make a big deal of this, Nutty. They’re just spending the night. That’s it.”
His mind fast-forwarded to imagine sleep-mussed hair, soft smiles, and rough morning voices. Sitting at the table together, nursing cups of coffee as the sun rose over a clean, white blanket of snow. They’d talk and laugh and just maybe share some coffee-flavored kisses.
Leo sighed, pressing his forehead against the edge of his dresser. “I’m screwed, ain’t I?”
.
Logan woke up to a gentle hand prodding his shoulder. He breathed in sharply as he remembered where he was and blinked his eyes open to be met with worried blue ones. “Leo?” He asked as he sat up, voice raspy with lack of use. “What’s wrong?”
He was greeted with an absolute onslaught of words. “There’s so much snow outside. Like, so much snow. I’ve never seen this much snow before. And I didn’t think it would be this bad so I don’t have any milk or bread or eggs in the house and I doubt I can get to the store. How long do you think the roads will be out? And what about the diner? Is snow damage a thing? Do I need to go check-”
Logan laughed softly, falling back against the pillows and covering his eyes with his forearm. “What – milk, eggs, and bread?”
“It’s a southern thing.” Logan couldn’t see him, but he could hear the pout in his voice. His vision was suddenly filled with blond bed-head and wide baby blues as Leo pulled his arm away from his face. If he could wake up to this every day, Logan would die a happy man. “Come on, sweetheart, I’m really freaking out right now.”
One of these days, the terms of endearment were actually going to kill him.
“I’m sure the diner’s fine. Besides, there’s not much we can do until the roads clear, so we’ll just have to wait it out.” Logan shifted over on the bed, leaving a Leo-sized spot open. He tugged on Leo’s arm until he crawled into bed, laying on his side to face Logan, their feet tangled together. Leo was wearing fuzzy socks.
Logan smiled at the sight in front of him, then closed his eyes again. “Go back to sleep, Leo. We’ll deal with it when-”
The door banged open to reveal Finn, face bright with excitement. “Snow! Have you guys seen all the snow? We should-” He stopped when he saw the two boys in bed, nestled together and still sleepy. He cleared his throat. “Uh, sorry. Didn’t mean to-”
“Cuddle.” Leo said, reaching up for Finn as well. “We should cuddle.” Finn smiled warmly and didn’t hesitate to clamber into bed on Logan’s other side, scooting in close and only elbowing Logan once as he got comfy. Logan grumbled, but quickly got over it when he felt a tentative arm wrap around him as he drifted back off to sleep.
.
Leo woke up to two boys asleep in bed with him and couldn’t think of a time when he was happier. They were all tangled together in a mess of limbs and blankets and pillows. It was warm and soft and Leo never wanted to leave. But he also wanted to surprise them with coffee and breakfast. Breakfast in bed wouldn’t be too obvious would it? He thought back to the past twenty-four hours and decided that if this wasn’t flirting, he wasn’t sure what was. Now it was just a matter of taking that next step and actually talking about it. So who cared if it was too obvious or not?
Leo glanced at Logan and Finn one last time. There was just something about seeing the two of them in his clothes. Logan’s sweaterpaws were visible from where he was grabbing onto Finn’s arm in his sleep. Finn was close to the same size as Leo so the clothes actually fit him pretty well. His face was pressed into brown hair, arm tightening around Logan as he huffed out a breath. The sight did something to Leo’s heart. He smiled dopily before sneaking out of bed, his back popping as he stretched. Ok, game plan: coffee, breakfast, talk. He could do this.
He crept down the hall and into the kitchen, trying to be as quiet as he could when getting a frying pan out and setting it on the stove. Next came the kettle for water to use in the French press, bacon, and ingredients to make homemade biscuits. Normally he would’ve done eggs, but they’d used all of them on the cookies yesterday.
The biscuits went into the oven and the bacon into the frying pan, sizzling away. So much for breakfast in bed. Leo knew the smell of food cooking would bring the other two out of the bedroom and, sure enough, he soon heard two pairs of footsteps headed towards him, one slightly muffled by too-long sweatpants hems dragging along the floor. He grabbed three mugs from the cabinet and sent a smile over his shoulder at the two boys.
Three cups of coffee: one black, one with cream only, and one with cream and sugar.
Leo pulled the biscuits out of the oven and quickly transferred them onto a plate, doing the same with the bacon before bringing both to the table.
“Leo, you’re an angel.” Finn said as he grabbed plates and silverware for the three of them. Logan hummed in agreement from in front of the fridge, where he was collecting butter and jams for the biscuits. They all joined each other at the kitchen table, still a little sleepy-eyed and half awake.
Leo, halfway through his first sip of coffee, passed Finn his mug of steaming black coffee, then Logan his own cup full of cream and sugar, just how he liked it. Logan looked down at it and sighed happily, “Love you, Nutter Butter.”
Finn’s head shot up. Leo choked on his coffee, cheeks heating up. Logan looked at them confusedly before he realized what he said and his face paled. “Shit.”
“You... you love me?” Leo asked, voice barely above a whisper.
Logan’s heart ached a little at the look on Leo’s face. God, he should’ve told him a long time ago. In response he just slowly nodded, hesitantly meeting wide eyes and hoping for the best.
Leo smiled, letting out a soft laugh. “Honey, I’ve loved you for months.” He took a deep breath, as if gathering up his courage, then reached out to grab Finn’s hand. “And I think I’m falling for you, too. Judging from the way Logan stares at you when you’re not looking, he feels the same.” Leo looked from Finn to Logan hopefully. “Right?”
Finn squeezed Leo’s hand, finally daring to hope. Maybe he could actually have this. His heart thundered in his chest, so loud that Logan and Leo were bound to hear it. “And how does he stare at me when I’m not looking?”
Leo’s eyes flicked over to Logan with a smile. “Take a look for yourself.”
Finn’s breath hitched as he looked over into evergreen eyes, bright and gazing at him the same way Finn had caught him staring at Leo so many times before. He laughed a little in relief, tracing Logan’s cheekbone with gentle fingers.
“I was a little worried we were never going to have this conversation. And I know we’ve got a lot to figure out, but...” He trailed off, a little in awe. What were the odds of this? Everything seemed to fall perfectly into place, like puzzle pieces. It wasn’t some huge revelation, though. There were no grand romantic gestures, no race against time, no frantic outburst. It was calm and gentle like the sun rising outside, casting everything in light pastels and golds.
Logan just laughed softly, scooting his chair back with a loud scraping noise and standing up. “Stop just sitting there and come here, I’ve been wanting to kiss you two for forever.”
Finn scrambled up from his seat and all but threw himself at Logan, nearly bowling him over as he kissed him enthusiastically, arms wrapped tightly around Logan’s waist. Leo smiled as he watched them. He loved their dynamic – the bickering and teasing like they’d known each other for years, and yet the head-over-heels way they looked at each other and held each other and kissed each other. They were so comfortable together, not shying away from anything it seemed. Leo couldn’t wait to see how their relationship grew and evolved over time. He couldn’t wait to see how all three of them would grow together. He stood too and joined Logan and Finn, pressing kisses to their cheeks, their jaws, their necks – anywhere he could reach.
Finn broke the kiss to press his forehead against Logan’s, eyes closed and smile a mile wide. “I’ve been wanting to do that since the first time I saw you at that farm.” His eyes turned to Leo next. He reached up and cupped Leo’s face in his hands. “And I’ve wanted to kiss you since that first bite of pie.”
“What, was the muffuletta not good enough for – mmph.” Leo’s teasing words got cut off by Finn’s lips on his. He sighed into the kiss, draping his arms over Finn’s freckled shoulders and angling his head to deepen the kiss. He could taste black coffee on Finn’s lips and had never loved the flavor more. There was another hand at his back, stroking over his spine. Logan. Leo leaned back into his hand before breaking away from Finn to look at Logan – the guy he’d been pining after for just shy of a year.
“How did I get so lucky?” He murmured, prompting Logan to lean up and kiss him, softly and heartbreakingly gentle. Leo kissed him with purpose, running his tongue against Logan’s bottom lip and causing his breath to hitch.
He thought back to his musings of the night before during his panic in his bedroom and laughed against Logan’s lips. The brunet made a questioning humming noise, so Leo leaned back just far enough to whisper, “Maybe I’m clairvoyant.”
Finn laughed, bewildered. “What?”
Leo just glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, smiled, and combed a finger through red tresses. Sleep-mussed hair, soft smiles, and rough morning voices. Sitting at the table together, nursing cups of coffee as the sun rose over a clean, white blanket of snow. Talking and laughing and sharing some coffee-flavored kisses. Those had been his thoughts last night. And here he was, suddenly getting all of those things.
“Nothing, sweetheart.” Leo said, looking down at his two with overflowing fondness as he thought of the future and hoped that those musings would come true, too.
219 notes · View notes
mypimpademia · 4 years ago
Text
Worth It.
Shinso x reader
TW: Swearing, reader steals a man, pure bad bitchery
Note: this concept has been in my head for literal MONTHS and now I'm finally writing it bc i had no idea how to before (i still dont know how to write it as I'm writing this, I'm bouta wing it like a mf)
I made Intelli the mean girl for this fic bc she a bitch fr
A college AU but its hardly relevant + a lil smau
Towards the end of writing this, I started hating it. I'm so sorry😭
I recommend this song too bc this is where the idea for this fic came from:
This was getting annoying to watch.
How long was Hitoshi planning to stay miserable with that girl?
Intelli and Hitoshi have been dating for awhile now. You had honestly never liked her, but you just barely tolerated her for Hitoshi. But only a few weeks into their relationship, things went to shit.
Intelli became overly controlling over him, and even tried to force him to stop being friends with you, and some other people. You, being his best friend, told him to break up with her.
Of course, Hitoshi agreed that it'd be best to do that. But not even a few hours after talking to him about it, he came back to say it didn't go as planned.
Intelli was holding blackmail over Hitoshi's head, and posed a huge threat to his dreams of becoming a hero. Most of what she said she'd expose was no where near true, but with her intellect she could easily make people believe it.
But frankly, as their relationship went on, the sight of even a strand of her hair made you want to either puke or fight her.
"Toshi~" Intelli cooed, coming up behind Hitoshi and wrapping her arms around his neck.
Hitoshi visibly cringed, but tried to hide it as best as he could.
"Hey, babe." He boredly muttered, doing a terrible job at faking any enthusiasm.
Unlike your best friend, you made no effort to hide the disgust you held for her sheer presence.
"Y/n..." Intelli muttered, her tone dripping with distaste for you, making you scoff. "Mind if I steal Toshi for a bit? No? Thanks-" She attempted to drag Hitoshi away by the arm, but you placed a firm hand on her shoulder to stop her.
"I do mind actually, we were in the middle of a conversation before you interrupted." You told her. She chuckled, before tugging on Hitoshi's arm more.
"Yes, but he's my boyfriend-" She attempted to give reason for her to take him away, before even Hitoshi stopped her.
"I've got a project I need Y/n to help me on, I can stop by your dorm later though?" Hitoshi suggested, lying through his teeth.
Intelli's eyebrow twitched, but she gave in, letting go of his arm. "Bye, Toshi." She said, kissing Hitoshi's cheek and looking you up and down, before walking off.
"Sometimes, I can't tell if she's just plain a bitch or if she's secretly a dumbass." You sighed. "Maybe she's a little bit of both..." Hitoshi chuckled, making you laugh with him.
"You really need to find someone new." You told him, shaking your head. "I know, but I'd rather not chance losing my dream career." He groaned.
"True... Whats your type anyways? I know its not Intell anymore, she's probably traumatized you." You giggled.
"She did, but I think my type is someone who can really understands me, and someone I can have fun with." Hitoshi said.
"Like a best friend?" You questioned him. "Yeah, exactly like a best friend. That'd be my perfect version of a s/o." He replied, expression growing soft.
Since Intelli and Hitoshi's relationship had gone down hill, you've been there for him more than ever. It eventually lead to this unspoken romance that constantly roamed between the two of you.
But because of Intelli, neither of you pursued it, for the wellbeing of Hitoshi.
"Well, if I were you, I'd find someone and just make sure the bitch doesn't find out." You told him. But if you were being honest, it was more like a suggestion, because he really did need, and deserve someone other than Intelli.
"Like cheating?" He gawked. You were both thinking the same thing— Intelli would likely find out. But it was better than simply being stuck with her, so you nodded.
"Well, I'd at least make sure the other person knows. But it'd be worth it."
'I'm worth it.' You thought.
You sighed, looking down at your phone, the time on your phone displayed.
"Shit, I've gotta get to class, we've got a guest lecturing us and my professor will tear me a new one if I miss it." You told him, stuffing your phone into your pocket.
"See you later?" Hitoshi asked you.
You were about to say something about how he told Intelli they'd hang out later, but decided against it.
"Yeah."
◇◇◇◇◇◇
You sighed, feeling your tired feet throb as you walked down the hall to Hitoshi's dorm. Taking one of your backpack straps off your shoulder, you began rummaging around the pocket where you usually kept the spare key to Hitoshi's dorm.
You blinked, as you weren't able to find the key in the small pocket. You began searching your entire bag in the middle of the hallway, taking nearly everything out.
"Shit." You mumbled, thinking you had lost it.
Then you remembered, 'Thats right, I was in a rush this morning. Its on my desk.' You thought to yourself.
Like hell you were going all the way back there though.
You placed your items back into their bags, then pulled out your phone to text Hitoshi.
Tumblr media
You hummed, rocking back and forth on your heels as you waited for the door to be opened.
A moment later, you heard the lock click, and the door swung open.
Hitoshi looked you up and down before smiling. Then looked both ways of the hall, before tugging you into the room and shutting the door.
"Why are you treating me like a side piece or something?" You questioned him.
He hummed in confusion as he locked the door.
"Does it feel like that? Sorry." He apologized. "What did she do this time?" You asked, referring to Intelli, as she wash the only person the put Hitoshi this on edge.
"She said if we were doing anything other than a project we'd break up, and you know what that means." He told you, shaking his head.
You hummed, and pulled out your phone.
"What are you doing?" He asked, peering over your shoulder.
"You'll see." You blunty told him.
You sent your message, and tossed your phone onto his bed.
You grabbed onto Hitoshi's collar, tugging him towards you so he was looking you in the eyes, making his breath hitch as his face tinted red.
"You're crazy if you think I'd get you snitched on." You playfully consoled.
"What did you do?" He questioned again, watching you flop down on his bed as you kicked off your shoes.
"I texted Monoma and Momo to post about a project on private snap that only has Intelli on it so that it'll be more believable." You told him.
Hitoshis eyes went wide, as he mentally questioned how you came up with that so fast.
You patted the space next to you, beckoning him to sit with you.
He sat down, shaking his head and laughing.
You and Hitoshi talked for hours and hours, but it each flew by. When you finally checked the time, you barely had enough time left before dorm visiting hours were over.
"What? Already?" Hitoshi gaped, as he watched you sling your backpack over your shoulder.
"Mhm." You hummed.
He groaned, clearly not wanting you to leave, but sat up anyways so he could come see you out.
Hitoshi unlocked the door for you, but upon opening the door, you were both met with an unwanted sight.
"Hey Toshi!" Intelli greeted, completely passing over you even though she saw you.
"H-hey, Intelli." Hitoshi spurred, trying to keep composure.
"I came to help on the project. Even Momo was complaining, so I thought you could use some help." She offered, clearly not convinced that there was actually a project.
But like you said, you weren't going to let him get caught.
"No, we finished it." You told her bluntly, folding your arms across your chest.
But clearly, Intelli didn't plan on letting up either.
"Well then, I could proof read the written portion." She insisted, taking a step towards you.
"We already did that already."
"Well I'm sure there are some mistakes."
"We triple checked."
Hitoshi looked back and forth between the two of you, silently preparing himself to break up a fight.
"You must not get what I mean—" Intelli straightened her posture more than it already was, and leaned towards you. "There's probably mistakes because it was you helping him." She mocked.
Hitoshi already had a hand reaching for your waist, ready to pull you back in a situation where you lunge at Intelli.
"You wanna talk about mistakes? How about we start with you, bit-" Before you could take a single step towards her, you were being pulled back by your waist.
"Watch your dog, Hitoshi." Intelli retorted.
Damn, was she lucky Hitoshi could hold you back.
"At least I bite, unlike some people." You shot back. She narrowed her eyes, leaning towards you again.
"Y'know Y/n, you're not as good as everyone thinks you are. Everyone thinks you're so great, and nice, but I know how you really are." She said.
"You only think that because everyone's not you. Its no goddamn wonder your blackmail folder is thicker than you." You hissed.
Intelli, clearly flustered that you even knew about her blackmail folder, stood straight again. She crossed her arms and cleared her throat slightly.
"You think youre so much better than me. A better person, a better best friend, you probably think you'd make a better girlfriend too, right?" She asked you.
"Of course I do, who the hell wouldn't?" You chuckled.
You felt Hitoshi's grip on your waist loosen. Either he was getting just as angry and was going to let you fight her, or he thought it the tension was thawing.
"Alright, since you're so much better than me, show me." Intelli insisted.
You smirked. "Alright, you asked for it."
Slipping out of Hitoshi's grip, you turned to face him.
His brows raised in surprise and confusion. And next thing he knew, you had him by the collar for the second time today.
But this time, your lips were pressed against his.
It took him a moment to process, but soon, he melted into it. Moving in sync with you, he placed his hands back on your waist.
As much as you wanted to continue, you still had to tell that bitch off.
Pulling away from Hitoshi, wiping away the string of saliva that connected your mouths, you turned back to Intelli.
You walked straight up to her, and placed a hand on your shoulder.
"Toshi doesn't react like that when you kiss him, does he?" You hummed, hearing Intelli audibly gulp.
"Like you said, I'm a better person, a better best friend, and a better girlfriend." You repeated her words from earlier.
"I wouldn't lie to him, expose him, whether what he did was true or false, and i wouldn't hold him back from doing what he wants." You taunted.
"And the thing is—" You leaned in, next to her ear.
"I dont think it, I know it."
"I'm perfect for him." You whispered to her.
Intelli nearly toppled over in defeat, leaning against the nearest wall to support her body.
"Anyways, see you tomorrow, Toshi." You mused, before walking away.
◇◇◇◇◇◇
The next day, you met up with Hitoshi in your free time like usual.
You were aimlessly walking around campus, talking about random topics, laughing as you watched random people do stupid things, and just having fun.
Except now, you were hand in hand, and the air around the two of you seemed lighter. And the look of adoration you and Hitoshi shared was more evident.
But in the middle of it, of course, something had to happen.
Intelli had stopped you both in your tracks, her brainless groupies behind her.
"Did you know everyone is talking about you, Hitoshi? And with all the things they're saying... you might not be able to recover from it." She said snarkily.
"Not too worried about it actually." Hitoshi admitted, a slightly bored tone to his voice.
"Tch, well you should be. So tell me, was she worth it, Hitoshi?" She inclined.
Hitoshi looked over at you, a grin spreading across his face.
"Hell yeah."
363 notes · View notes
imma-fucking-nerd · 4 years ago
Text
Canine Conundrum
(Connor x reader x Nines)
A/N: got this funny idea and just had to write it. Don't worry, it's pure fluffff. Literally.
Here's Part 2
———————————————
You trudged yourself into the precinct, sighing in relief as you felt the warmth starting to thaw your frozen face. As much as you loved the winter, you fucking hated the cold. Walking to your desk you immediately noticed that both Connor and Conan weren't there. Huh. That was weird. They're always here this early. You thought to yourself. But you simply shrugged it off as you hung your jacket on the back of your chair. They're probably out on an investigation or something.
You sighed softly, missing your greeting from Connor accompanied by a fresh cup of coffee he'd always prepare for you. That meant you had to get it yourself. Hopefully Gavin wasn't here, and with the lack of the presence of Nines you assumed that was the case.
However when you entered the break room you were a bit confused when you saw the DPD's biggest douchebag leaning against the counter. Heading over the coffee machine you started on a cup.
"Where's Nines? It's not like him to not be at work," you asked, keeping your eyes on the coffeemaker.
"Fuck if I know. Wasn't here when I got here. We were supposed to be working on a shitton of reports too. Which I got to do by myself now. Fuckin plastic prick," he grumbled, mumbling the last part to himself.
That only made your confusion grow, it also started to make you worry. Where the hell was he? Maybe he's just with Connor and Hank, wherever they were. Your logical side told you, trying to prevent yourself from overthinking like you always did. 
You gave Gavin a little nod before grabbing your styrofoam cup of coffee and leaving the break room before he had the chance to be a dick about something. You really didn't want to deal with his bullshit right now.
Sitting back at your desk, you got to work filling out reports. It was almost noon when you checked your clock again and there was still no sign of the android brothers. Now your logical thinking was starting to have trouble fighting off the anxiousness. Were they hurt? Were they dead?-
That thought was cut off when you saw Hank walk through the door looking extra done with everything. You got up from your seat and was about to go ask if Connor and Nines were with him when you stopped in your tracks. Following behind Hank were two.....dogs? One german shepard and one husky.
Okay what the hell is going on.
You walked over to Hank and looked down at the dogs who sat themselves beside his desk, the german shepard sitting closer to you. It looked up at you and tilted it's head slightly. You let out a little 'aw' and pet its head, making it's tail start wagging almost immediately. So cute. Reminds you of Connor. When you went to pet the husky too you were met with a glare that made you rethink that decision. You didn't even know dogs could glare.
Looking back up to Hank, who had just slumped down into his chair with a sigh, you sent him a questioning glance.
"What's with the dogs? And where's Connor? He hasn't been here all morning and neither has Nines," worry laced your voice as you questioned the man.
He just looked over to you and gestured vaguely over to the dogs, making you even more confused.
"What? I dont...." you trailed off as you glanced back down to the dogs and thought long and hard about Hanks vague answer.
Before Hank had the chance to just tell you what was going on you suddenly gasped when you finally put the pieces together.
"No!" you looked back down at the dogs with wide eyes and your mouth slightly agape.
"Yep," was all Hank said, popping the 'p'.
"Wh- I- How?" you frantically glanced from Hank to, who you presumed was none other than Connor and Conan.
"No fucking clue. All I know is that one minute we were chasing down a suspect and the next these dipshits get their consciousness put into android dogs. Best part is we have no fucking clue where their actual bodies are," Hank crossed his arms and sent the android-dogs a glare whilst he explained the situation.
You knelt down infront of your best friends turn dog and couldn't stop the grin from creeping across your face. The german shepard, who you assumed was Connor, had his head hung seemingly in shame. Meanwhile Nines kept his ever present hard glare. But in this form, it wasn't as effective.
"Awwww you made him sad Hank," you exaggerated your words a bit as you spoke, something you always did in the presence of a pup.
Them being Connor and Conan didn't change that for you.
Hank just rolled his eyes in response and got up from his chair, grumbling about needing a coffee. As he left you directed your attention back to Connor.
"Don't worry, he won't be mad for too much longer. How could you stay mad at this face," you cupped his furry cheeks in your hands and he immediately perked up, his tail wagging furiously at your touch.
You couldn't help but giggle and gush at how adorable he was, and he was loving every minute of it. Giving him one more good pet to the head, you shifted your attention to the more stoic of the two. Your grin turned into a smirk.
"You want some lovin too don't you Nines," again, you reached out your hand to pet him but stoped when you heard a low growl.
"Okay, okay. Fine," you retracted your hand with a little pout.
"But I'm going to pet you before you get back to your regular body, mark my words," you say, narrowing your eyes at him, an action he returns.
Getting up from your kneeling position, you look over to see the captain giving you the 'get back to work' look. He didn't even seem to question the two dogs that were sitting there. Maybe Hank already filled him in. Putting your hands on your hips, you looked down at the dogs.
"Alright, I gotta get back to work. Try not to chew on anything mkay?" you say playfully.
You could feel Nines spiritually eyerolling, meanwhile Connor was just staring at you with adoring puppy eyes. You weren't sure if that was because they were literal puppy eyes or if was just him being him. Either way, it made your heart melt. Before you could get yelled at, you went back to your desk.
Several hours went by and before you knew it the end of the day had arrived. Since Connor couldn't exactly help Hank much, he just kinda sat next to him and whined softly when he wasn't getting any attention. That annoyed Hank to no end, at least that's what he presented. He secretly thought it was kinda cute and would give his boy a pet or two when he thought no one was looking, making Connor a very happy boy.
Nines however just sat in the spot he usually did, watching nothing in particular intently, or staring at you. So not much change there. When Gavin questioned who's dog it was and went to pet him he nearly got his hand bitten off. Hank told him it was Nines and Gavin wasted no time teasing him about it. That was until Nines had enough and damn near chased him around the office growling like a rabid dog. You definitely got a recording of the scene, and planned on cherishing it forever.
You gathered your things, put on your jacket, and said your goodbyes to Hank but before you could head out he stopped you.
"Don't forget to take those two with you," he said gesturing to the canine versions of Connor and Nines as he got himself ready to go home as well.
"What? Why can't you take them?" you questioned, not that you actually minded the responsibility.
"Cuz Sumo doesn't do well with other dogs, fuck knows what he'll think about android dogs," you could practically see the disappointment in Connor as Hank said that.
"If you don't want to bring them home you could just leave them here," he shrugged before making his way over and out the door.
With a sigh you decided you couldn't just leave them here all on their lonesome.
"Alright, c'mon boys," you said to pair as you made your way out the door and to your car.
You nearly forgot they weren't able to open the car doors for themselves until you saw them patiently waiting. Nines was sitting infront of the passenger door expectantly and you shook your head.
"Nope, only humans get the passenger side," you said cheekily before opening the back door for the two.
Connor was the first to hop inside, heading to the other side to let Nines in who followed reluctantly. Instead of just closing the door after they were inside, you leaned in and strapped Nines up with the seatbelt. You could almost hear him asking what the hell you were doing.
"Safety first," was all you said to the unspoken question with a smile.
Closing the door you quickly walked around to the other side to buckle Connor's seatbelt as well. When you were finished he gave a little bark, seemingly in appreciation.
"You're welcome. At least one of you kept their manners," you said, sending Nines a look.
Once they were safely strapped in you got into the driver's seat, strapped yourself in, and started the car. The drive home was, as to be expected, not filled with much conversation. You just listened to your favourite music, occasionally glancing back at the two. Connor was looking out the window, and if it weren't freezing out you would've rolled down the window for him. Nines just kept staring straight ahead blankly.
You finally made it home after about twenty minutes and undid everyone's seatbelts, closing the doors after everyone was out of the car. Walking up to your door where the boys were sitting patiently you unlocked it and let them in. A soft sigh left your lips once you entered your warm home and you hastily got out of your jacket and boots. Once you were done you looked down to Connor and Nines.
"Well....make yourselves at home I guess?" was all you could really think to say.
However none of them moved from their sitting position infront of the door. That was until you shrugged and headed to your room, to which Connor followed you. Conan on the other hand stayed put.
You chuckled softly when you noticed the browned eyed pup following you around and pat his head. It honestly wasn't that big of a change of how he acted normally. Except he didn't get pets. But maybe that'd change.
"As cute as that is Connor, you're gunna have to stay here when I go shower, okay?" you knew he wouldn't actually be able to answer, but to your surprise he gave a little nod.
"Good boy," you chuckled softly, giving him one last pet before going to gather your things for a nice hot shower.
After you were finished with your blissful shower, you opened the bathroom door and were immediately greeted by Connor sitting infront of the door. You noticed that once he saw you his tail started wagging a bit.
The rest of your night was pretty uneventful. Connor followed you around as you did your normal nightly routine, almost tripping over him a couple of times in the process. Nines was still sitting by the door, unmoving. Well, except for his eyes which followed your every movement. You knew better than to try and get him to relax, because that probably was him relaxing.
When you finally plopped down onto the couch to just chill and watch whatever you felt like, you noticed Connor sitting by your feet. You patted the spot next to you and he immediately jumped up and curled up next to you as if he was waiting for your permission. Looking over to Nines you patted the other side of you but he made no move.
"Suit yourself," you said with a little shrug before turning your attention to the tv, absentmindedly petting Connor.
You must have fallen asleep after a while because you were suddenly jolted awake when you felt something on your lap. Looking down you saw that Conan was laying next to you and had rested his head in your lap. You had to physically stop yourself from squealing so he wouldn't run off.
It took a couple of minutes until you made any moves, scared that any indication that you were awake and aware would make him leave. But you just couldn't help yourself anymore, and you did say you would pet him.
So ever so slowly you lifted up a hand and moved it up to his head. The moment you moved he lifted his head up to look at you, but surprisingly he put his head back down. You took that as an ok to proceed, slowly bringing your hand to his fluffy head before stopping just as you were about to touch him. You wanted to give him one last chance to indicate he did not want to be touched. But when you didn't hear a growl or anything you finally ran your hand through his surprising soft fur.
You didn't even realize how tense you got because once you finally pet him you felt your whole body relax. A small smile graced your lips and your chest felt all warm and fuzzy.
"I knew it," you whispered softly.
Suddenly, you heard a whine from your left where Connor was. A short laugh left you before your free hand started petting him too.
"Don't worry, I didn't forget about you Concon," you reassured him, your smile growing into a grin.
So there you sat. An android dog on each side, each wanting your attention. This was probably the best day ever. And you were never going to let them forget it.
—————————————————
A/N: oof this was longer than I expected it to be oops- Also I feel like it got bad at the end there sorry ;w; Also also I was gunna write about how they get back into their bodies but it was already getting hella long so if y'all want a part 2 lemme know!
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hanawrites404 · 3 years ago
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Journey
@oc-growth-and-development
(trigger warning : smoking, mention of death)
Another day, another restorative morning, as if nothing else can motivate me enough to finally cut my laze and start the new day already.
I got off my bed and my eyes instinctively gazed out the window beside me at the wall. As usual, there wasn't much outside, just the same trees and lawns you would find in any other neighbourhood, yet I never seem to get tired of looking at them over and over every time I wake up. It was like a part of my everyday morning ritual which I definitely shouldn't miss, and honestly, I was fine with it. I was not the type of person to actively look for spices in my life after all, and even if I start to crave for it someday, I just wait for it to come to me.
Otherwise, everything just gotta be restful, that's all I want, to be honest.
The water was pleasantly chill to bathe in, too, and so was the dawn's sea breeze swishing through the balcony as soon as the curtains were tucked out and the windows were pulled open. If anything warm right now, it was the brisk sun and the brimming cup of steaming café au lait thawing my bare arms and fingers as I stepped out to lean onto the grill of my terrace. My feet were bare as well, touching the cool tiles beneath them as I felt the tingling sensation through my nerves.
I was still in my pyjamas, my hair up in a bun and it was still seven. Other than some elder citizens walking outside to get the minty air rushing and stray cats and dogs yawning and stretching, the scene in front of me was almost deserted.
It all felt quiet, but it wasn't prickly. The birds were still tweeting, the bulk of leaves rustled in a shimmer, and I could even hear my sigh as I blew the hot vapour from my cup, my lips slowly savouring the coffee bit by bit. It was very peaceful, I liked it.
But unfortunately, it wasn't real.
"미스......미스.....일어나 미스!"
I jolted up from the unfamiliar voice presumably calling out for me. So it was all a dream? I wasn't enjoying a utopian morning at my balcony back in Miami?? But it all felt so real....from the taste of coffee to the warmth I felt of the drink. So it was all my imagination? Wow huh....looks like the power of my mind is going to be a mystery to me for a while. I never knew that my brain could fool me into believing that I was relaxing at my home, and not dozing off in a Korean tourist bus.
"Ugghmm...Huh?" Still groggy from my sleep, I blinked twice before looking outside the window of the bus. By the look of it, I think we had come to the final stop. Before letting out anything else from my mouth, I silently turned my gaze onto the one who broke my slumber, namely the bus conductor.
He is looking right at me. Come on, say something....!!
"U-Ummm...." I stumbled, my index slowly moving to point at the complex the bus had stopped near at.
"역???" I cringed as I tried to pronounce the exotic word. Fuck. I didn't expect my voice to crack right in front of the bus conductor. And before anyone raises a question, no. I don't know Korean. I just happened to memorize only the important words I might need to communicate during my journey to Korea. But while I was still at home I felt pretty confident in myself, what happened to me now? It wasn't unusual of me, I am a human after all and I get nervous at times too. Yet it was.... surprising.
Hmm...it must be the anxiety of being in an alien country where everything is different from what I am aware of and what I have experienced so far. Different ambience, different language, and different people. Very strange and foreign, to be frank. But fresh and young, like a bite of a ripe green apple.
Nevertheless, the conductor just laughed at me and patted my shoulder very strongly. Ouch but Woah, now I could see why he was hired as the conductor. Strong arms, sharp eyes, along with a charm of his own to make people at ease. Even to a 'lost' newcomer like me.
"Yes yes! 역! Correct! Wanna come out??" With a grin twinkling on his bright face, he stepped away to let me through. I felt more relaxed than before as soon as I heard English from him, and it was pretty fluent too.
A small relieved smile broke on my lips too as I grab hold of my guitar case and my backpack and get up. My legs had gotten a bit numb inside my boots from not moving them much throughout the ride, and my jacket was almost off my shoulders.
"감사합니다" I quickly muttered before adjusting everything on me and stepping out of the bus. I didn't want to stammer again and, even if I wasn't in a hurry, I still wanted to make sure I reach where I was called to at an early hand.
"Have a safe journey!" The conductor waved at me, and I gladly turned around to return the gesture before entering the lobby. After I had made it inside, I left my belongings at a convenient place and went to the bathroom to fix my face and clothes.
I had been travelling for almost twenty hours; An eighteen-hour flight and a two-hour bus. It was back-to-back, and hardly I had the time to refresh myself properly and smoke a bit, but now was my chance to do so before I carry on to reach my destination.
With the help of the large mirror on the wall, I first removed my contact lenses and then washed my face and combed my hair. It had grown pretty long. But I wasn't planning on cutting them any sooner. I also dusted my jacket and jeans off and straightened my t-shirt inside.
After I was sure everything had been set, I put my lenses back on and vaguely looked around the room, and finding no one except me, I quickly stand near the ventilator above me and light my cigarette. What I was doing right now poses a threat to my health and is illegal, but this was a guilty pleasure of mine. I admit it shamelessly because why not. I have nothing to lose. We all are gonna die one day, so it's better we make the most of our lives and I was just doing that. Nothing more, nothing less.
Just because I said I don't seek adventure vigorously, does not mean I don't have any thrill in my life at all. I do have it. Everyone has it. You just gotta make it interesting in your way, and that's how you gotta roll, champ.
Anyways, after a couple of puffs, I got disposed of the cigar and shooed off the smoke around me. It was only after everything seemed clear that I washed my life hands and dried them, then left the restroom and grabbed my luggage back before I started to stride again, to the reception counter.
After all the formalities were taken care of, I finally breathed the outside air of Korean afternoon. The sun was luminous and overhead, but the heat wasn't as severe as back in Miami. The number of clouds here are much more than there, or was it just for this particular day? I had no idea.
I am not a tourist here. I came here for a business trip, you can say. A man from here, a freelancing musical artist, had personally requested and invited me for a musical collaboration. The deal itself sounded quite intriguing, also with the fact that I'm half-Korean thanks to my father's lineage, yet ironically I have neither ever seen Korea with my own eyes nor I have witnessed its culture. Until today, that is.
So here I am now, strolling in the middle of the bustling city surrounded by college students touring around, laughing and talking with their classmates and munching on unique dishes and snacks I had never seen before. And while I was busy observing them, someone bumped into me, breaking my contact.
"Oh! 실례합니다!" It was a young blond guy, wearing a light blue hoodie with a couple of smiley badges pinned to his chest. He quickly bowed after apologizing and for briefly taking a glance at my face, hastily trots in the opposite direction. I eyed him, judging by his clothes and the books he was carrying in his arms, he looked like a college student. Hmm...no wonder why he was in a hurry. He must be late to class or something.
But anyway, I continued walking. That musical man had told me to wait near the back alley of a coffee shop that was close to the station. Hmm, that would be easy to locate. The coffee shop was right in front of me! Hah, how easy.
And so, without wasting any time, I ambled towards the cafè. It was a cute little shop, in my opinion. The smell of roasted coffee beans and bubbling creamy milk was evident in the atmosphere, and the colour scheme of the shop had pallettes of vanilla and caramel. It was like I had entered not a shop but inside a nestling coffee cup! Pretty cool, especially for someone who loves coffee like me.
Also, a bunch of customers were inside too. This place was not lonely at all. Some couples were on a date, singles who just want peace of mind with a complimentary cup of coffee, and business workers too! To be honest, I liked one of the employee's suits too. It was of a short brunette woman with glasses. She was kind of cute too. And by how she was still typing away rapidly on her phone even while on her break, tells how much of a busy woman she must be. Damn, God forbid that I ever be this much busy in my career.
Working even at breaks. Scary, in my opinion.
Needless to say, that wasn't why I was here for. The city was new to me so naturally, I would be curious, but business comes first in such a case. And in this case, it's my case. So bringing myself back to schedule, I leave to the back alley, waiting for that man so we could finally meet after talking through emails and phone calls.
But......what was that man's name again?
Ah....Zen.....
Hmm, weird name. But as someone who prefers to be called CJ than Catherine Joseph, I am no one to say so. Or even judge so.
Zen......I wonder what kind of person he would be in flesh. Same friendly and confident as the impression of him in my mind? Or just some different personality I never saw coming? Well, only time will tell that. But right now, we wait.
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sheerfreesia007 · 4 years ago
Text
Finding Love In Legacy Oaks pt. 6
Title: Finding Love In Legacy Oaks pt. 6
Fandom: Kingsman
Pairing: Agent Whiskey x Reader
Author: @sheerfreesia007
Words: 23,186 (Am I insane? Yes, yes I am.)
Warnings: Fluff, Bullying
Permanent Tag List: @paintballkid711, @fioccodineveautunnale​, @phoenixhalliwell, @synystersilenceinblacknwhite, @linkpk88, @weirdowithnobeardo
Author Notes: I have no words to describe how happy I am that I’ve finally finished this chapter. This will be the longest chapter I will EVER write. So this spans over a whole work week, hence why it’s so long. I absolutely loved and hated this chapter haha, I love the slow soft relationship I’ve created between these two wonderful women. I hope you all enjoy! I need a drink. Also don’t come for me for the pirate names I used a generator because my brain was broken by the end of this. Feedback is welcome.
Gif Credit: Google
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Bunny walked back into the kitchen after she shut the front door letting Jack out of the house. Stepping into the bright kitchen her eyes were immediately drawn to Butter who excitedly rolled from his back to his front in his dark brown fluffy dog bed. Bunny burst out laughing as she watched the little dog roll over too much and have to correct himself. His body twisting and turning as he tried to right himself and he let out a little yip when he finally got it right and laid upright in the bed looking up at her excitedly.
   “You’re a bit of a mess aren’t you?” She asked fondly and watched as his tongue lolled out of his mouth and he began to pant softly. Bunny turned to the cabinet under the counter at the corner and the sound of nails on the floor rang out. She grabbed the dog treat jar she had stored in there and turned around to see Butter trying to run over to her hurriedly but his feet got caught up underneath him and he belly flopped on the floor and slid across to her feet where he came to a stop. Bunny chuckled softly and shook her head at him. “Such a mess.”
She then pulled out a dog biscuit and held it out in front of him. Butter obediently sat and waited as she placed the biscuit on his nose balancing it perfectly. “Wait.” she told him softly as she then stood to her full height and he didn’t move an inch. “Alright get it.” she said happily. Butter snapped his nose upward and the treat flew in the air a few inches above his nose. He twisted his face and quickly caught the treat in his mouth and Bunny clapped her hands proudly. “Very good!” she cheered proudly. Butter stomped his little feet in excitement and Bunny laughed at his antics.
   Turning from Butter she turned back to the fridge and peered inside of it surveying to see what she had grocery wise for dinner for her and Esme. Spotting the thawing chicken she had in the fridge she smiled and turned to walk to her pantry to check she had all the ingredients she needed for what she had planned.
   “Alright I’ve got everything I need for dinner so I’m gonna catch up on some more work before we have to go get Esme from the bus stop in a few hours. Don’t make too much trouble go it?” she called out as she walked across the hall to her office. When she turned and looked back into the kitchen Butter was already sprawled out in his bed again on his back with his tongue hanging out of his mouth once more. “Such a mess.” she chided softly with a chuckle and a shake of her head.
———
   Bunny rubbed her eyes when she heard the front screen door of Mrs. Parker’s house squeaked loudly on its hinges, I really need to get them some WD-40 for that door. Blinking rapidly she sighed softly, she had been working hours on this one client’s website trying to make the dimensions and what the client wanted work together cohesively. Unfortunately she hadn’t been able to get it to work and a headache had begun to form behind her eyes. Sighing softly she saved her progress on the website and quickly shut her laptop.
   Looking down at her phone she pressed the power button she saw that she had just five more minutes before her and Butter had to start heading to the bus stop to pick up Esme. Standing from her chair she lifted her arms and stretched wide letting out a large yawn. Running her hands into her hair she scratched at her scalp and groaned lowly at the pleasure it brought her before she shook her hair out and let it fall behind her.
   Grabbing her oversized navy blue knit sweater from the back of the desk chair where she had put it hours ago, she pulled it back over her head and let it fall to cover her white tank top. Then moving around her desk she grabs a knit scarf and a pair of fingerless gloves, while it was the beginning of the year it was still chilly enough to require some extra clothing for warmth.
   Walking out of the office she whistled softly for Butter as she made her way down the main hallway towards the front door. She effortlessly slipped her feet into her trusty black combat boots and zipped up the sides. When she stood tall in front of the mirror she smiled at herself before she grabbed Butter’s leash from the hook next to the door and her keys from the mosaic key bowl on her little table. She laughed as she heard the skittering of nails on the floor as she jingled the dog leash in her hand.
   “So good of you to wake up sleeping beauty.” She teased softly as she bent down and held out the harness for the little dog to step into. Butter licked her chin excitedly as she finally clasped the buckle on the harness. “C’mon you wanna go get Esme at the bus stop bud?” Butter began to prance around her feet as she stood tall again and then opened the front door.
   Holding the leash loosely in her hand she turned and quickly locked the door before skipping down the front steps. Butter quickly tried to dart ahead of her but was jerked back by the leash and Bunny burst out in laughter as the little dog tumbled backwards clumsily. Shaking her head at him she tried to calm her laughter.
   “When are you gonna learn Butter? The leash doesn’t retract buddy.” She said softly to the little dog still shaking her head at him. He yipped at her and she grinned at his response. “C’mon we can’t be late for Esme.”
Walking down the block Bunny silently looked around her neighborhood and admired how quaint it looked. The trees were slowly losing the frost that had swept in last month and looked as if they were finally thawing out. She knew next month the trees should start budding as they got ready for spring to arrive. The flowers would soon need to be planned out for when the neighborhood would help with planting them. Hopefully Sarah would have some ideas that they could bounce off each other.
Bunny waved at Mrs. Carter as she passed in her Volkswagen Golf on her way home after work. The walk to the corner bus stop wasn’t very long and as Bunny came to a stop on the sidewalk Butter looked back at her confused as to why she stopped when normally they would walk all the way to the dog park so that he could get his exercise in.
“We gotta wait for Esme bud. I told you this.” Bunny said easily. Just then she heard the loud squeaky brakes of the school bus as that bus made the turn into the neighborhood. Bunny smiled and waved her hand at the bus driver as he pulled to the curb and opened the door waiting for the kids to pile out.
There were the older two girls that Bunny had seen last time she saw Esme at the bus stop walk off the bus and then Esme appeared at the top of the bus stairs. Bunny watched as the little girl tilt her head at her for a second before a bright smile spread across her face as she remembered that she’d be staying with Bunny for the week.
“Bunny!” Cried Esme happily before she bounced down the stairs to the pavement.
“Hey Esme!” Bunny called out happily and Butter began jumping around excitedly as he barked catching onto the little girl’s happiness easily. Bunny watched fondly as the little girl kneeled down and began petting Butter and hugged him around his neck softly. “So I was told you put in a request to go visit the playground before doing homework and I am here to make that request a reality.” Bunny explained easily.
“Really?!” Esme cheered excitedly as she quickly stood from the pavement.
“Yeah I gotta take Butter for a walk anyway. Would you like to go to the big playground or the little one?” Bunny asked, smiling down at Esme. “The big playground is closer and usually more busy now but if you’re up for a little bit of a longer walk there’s a smaller playground that not a lot of kids go to.” Bunny explains as they begin to start their walk down the sidewalk towards where the main part of the community is.
“Can we go to the little playground? I don’t really want to play with anyone else right now.” Esme asked.
“Of course.” Bunny answered before nodding her head.
“Can I hold Butter’s leash?” Esme asked softly as she twisted and turned unsurely while she walked next to Bunny on the sidewalk. Bunny looked down at her with a kind smile on her face.
“Of course Es. Just hold him tight and if he pulls you you have to tell him no and stop walking immediately. That’s how I taught him when he was a puppy, but when it’s someone else walking him he’ll try to pull ahead. And let me hold your backpack so you don’t have to worry about it.” Bunny explained as she looped the leash handle around Esme’s wrist and showed her how to hold the leash and took Esme’s backpack from her casually tossing it over one shoulder before they started walking again.
Once they had crossed the main road running through the community Bunny directed Esme to walk past the big playground and then follow the winding cobblestone walkway. They were quiet for a bit just taking in the scenery before Bunny spoke up.
“So how was school today?” Bunny asked curiously as she watched Esme focus on walking Butter properly. At her question Esme turned her head to look at Bunny with a bright smile.
“It was fun. We did a lot of arts and crafts today and not that many sports.” Esme said happily as she began to skip down the sidewalk.
“You like doing a lot of arts and crafts?” Bunny asked, wanting to gather some ideas on what she could do with Esme during the week when she got home from school.
“Oh yeah my favorite is drawing and painting but today in art class we did some sculpting with clay which was really cool!” Esme said excited as she continued to bounce.
“What about bead bracelets? Do you know how to make those?” Bunny asked curiously as she silently stored away that information about Esme.
“No, not really I know how to braid a lanyard though. I did that in summer camp one year.” Esme said distractedly as the two of them continued walking along the path. Soon the trees began to grow closer and closer along the sidewalk and Bunny smiled as she began to walk slower taking in the imagery of the trees looming over the sidewalk created. She pulled her phone out and lined up the shot of Esme walking along with Butter looking up at the trees. Smiling she snapped the shot and admired the picture before she sent it off to Jack in a text message.
She then quickly caught up to the two of them and they finally came across the smaller playground. Esme squealed in delight and Bunny held her hand out to take the leash from her before she quickly ran towards the playground. Slowly walking Butter in the grass before the playground Bunny kept an eye on Esme as she made it to the fort and began to climb. Her eyes easily took in the way that Esme would take a moment to catch her breath when she climbed too quickly. She wondered quietly how severe her asthma was and soon ideas started to begin to form in her head on ways to help Esme through that.
Bunny walked closer to the playground and leaned against one of the poles of the swing set while she kept her eyes on Esme. She watched as the little girl happily made her way up and down the playground. When she slid down the slide for the fifth time she came racing over to where she stood and sat down on one of the swings and began to swing herself. Bunny smiled and set the backpack against the pole before she took a seat on the other swing and lazily began to swing back and forth. Butter danced around her legs and happily barked as Bunny tapped his behind with her shoe. Esme burst out into happy laughter as Butter then began chasing Bunny’s shoes as she lazily swung them in the air.
“So why did you name your dog Butter?” Esme asked as she slowed her swinging so that she wasn’t so high. Bunny let out a loud laugh at the question and turned her head to look at Esme as she stopped swinging.
“I didn’t mean to name him Butter. His first name was Butterscotch because he has the same colors as butterscotch. But when I first adopted him I brought him over to show him to my nephew.” Bunny began to explain happily as she remembered the day she adopted Butter. “My nephew Henry was only three at the time and was only talking a little bit. You know when little babies are just learning how to talk and only know how to say certain words?”
“Yeah.” Esme responded nodding her head in thought at Bunny’s words.
“Well when I introduced Butterscotch to him Henry couldn’t say the word butterscotch so he kept saying ‘Budder’. And it was really cute so his name changed from Butterscotch to just Butter.” Bunny explained easily as she laughed softly at the memory.
Esme burst out into laughter at the story and Bunny smiled warmly at the little girl. She watched amused as the little girl bent over on her swing as she continued to laugh happily.
“That’s so silly!” Cried Esme happily as she still laughed. Bunny nodded her head at Esme’s words and watched as she slid off the swing and began to pet Butter as she giggled. “Do you like your name Butter or do you like Butterscotch?” Esme asked still giggling and Butter began to bark loudly and jumped around the little girl in excitement making her laugh harder at his antics.
“Alright kiddo, what do you say we start heading back so I can make us some yummy dinner and we tackle your homework while I cook?” Bunny suggested softly as she smiled down at Butter and Esme.
“What are we having for dinner?” Esme asked curiously as she nodded her head and picked up Butter’s leash. Bunny stood and grabbed Esme’s backpack and slung it over her back again.
“I was thinking chicken parmesan with linguine and pasta sauce. How does that sound?” Bunny asked.
“Oh! Can I help after I finish my homework?” Esme asked eagerly as she turned to face Bunny as they all began walking down the sidewalk once more.
“Yeah of course.” Bunny said nodding her head amenably. Esme cheered loudly throwing one of her fists into the air and Butter barked loudly in excitement as he jumped around not knowing what was going on. Esme and Bunny burst out laughing when Butter tripped on his own feet and did a faceplant into the sidewalk. “You alright Butter?” Bunny asked fondly as she bent down and brushed the dirt off his face and kissed his head. Butter made a happy grumbling sound and butted his head against her shin gently making Esme laugh and Bunny smile at him.
———
After the three of them had gotten back to Bunny’s house she had told Esme to go wash her hands after playing on the playground before starting her homework. Bunny had unhooked Butter’s leash and turned on the lights in the house so that they would all have enough light to be able to do what they needed to for the night.
Bunny moves about the kitchen effortlessly pulling out pots and pans and all the ingredients she needs to be able to cook dinner. She turns on her music player on her phone and hooks it up to the bluetooth speakers that she had installed into the house about a year ago, turning down the volume to a background noise level, and she begins to start dinner. She’s already salted the pot of water she needs to boil for the linguine and set up her dredging stations for the chicken parmesan before Esme reemerges from the bathroom all clean. Bunny points to one of the stools where she set down Esme’s backpack for her.
“Are you alright to sit at the island while I cook? Or do you want to go to the dinner table over there?” Bunny asks curiously as she begins to chop up some onions and garlic to add to the pasta sauce she’s making.
“No, I can do it here.” Esme says confidently and Bunny nods as she continues to chop.
“So how much homework do you have tonight?” Bunny asks idly as she looks over to Esme as the little girl pulls out a sparkly navy blue folder with a white label that says homework on it.
“I only have vocabulary and math to do tonight. And they’re only two worksheets.” Esme says with a shrug of her shoulders.
“Ok, do you want to try and do it yourself and if you get stuck you can ask me for help? I don’t know how your dad does homework with you.” Bunny says softly at a loss for words or direction. She looks over at Esme and sees the little girl smiling brightly at her.
“I usually do it myself but Daddy helps me if I get stuck.” Esme says nodding her head as she pulls out a pencil case that is also sparkly and purple. Bunny nods and smiles warmly at the little girl.
“Ok, that works for me.” Bunny says nodding as she turns and adds the chopped onions and garlic to the large pot on her stove. Stirring the onions and garlic she smiles when the scent of them cooking together enters her nose.
It’s not much longer before Bunny is adding the jar of pureed tomatoes to the pot with the onions and garlic and she begins to season the sauce with oregano and basil.
“Hey Bunny, I need help with my nine times table. I keep getting stuck on that one.” Esme says from behind Bunny and she turns to face the little girl.
“Ok what are you having trouble with?” Bunny asks as she moves to lean over the kitchen island to look at the little girl’s math worksheet.
“It’s the only times table that I have trouble remembering.” Esme said dejectedly as she huffed down at her worksheet.
“Okay, do you have a piece of scrap paper?” Bunny asked and Esme nodded handing her a piece of spare paper. Bunny easily picked up Esme’s pencil and began to write out the nine times table for the little girl. When she was done writing it out she turned it around to show Esme. “So the way that I was taught was that each number in your answer for the nine times table will add up to nine. This only works for up to nine times ten though.” Bunny began to explain to Esme. She points to show the little girl that if she adds each number in the answer it will add up to nine. “Also the first column of the answer goes from zero to nine and the second column goes the opposite nine to zero.” she explains as she shows that little girl. “Does that help you?” she asks, worried that she might have confused the little girl even more.
“It did. Thank you.” Esme says nodding quickly as she begins to fill in the answers for the worksheet. “So if I add nine to this answer I will get the next one right?”
“Yes that’s right.” Bunny says relieved that Esme seems to understand it.
“Cool thanks!” Esme said happily as she quickly finished her worksheet. “So can I help with dinner now?” Esme asked as she began to pack away her homework.
“Sure thing kiddo. Pull up a chair and I’ll let you dredge the chicken so I can fry them.” Bunny explains as she begins to set out plates on the kitchen island for the dredging. Cracking two eggs she beat them until the yolks and egg whites were mixed on one of the plates and then poured out some breadcrumbs on the other plate.  Esme pulled a chair around the side of the island and climbed up onto it. Bunny easily flattened the chicken breasts and handed them to Esme to dip into the egg mixture and then into the breadcrumbs before laying them on a plate for Bunny. “So I was thinking maybe tonight we could watch some Pirates of the Caribbean? And then maybe tomorrow we could watch The Mummy?” Bunny suggested as she laid the coated chicken breasts in the pan of heated oil.
“I love pirates!” cheered Esme excitedly. Bunny smiled over her shoulder at the little girl who was still standing on the chair at the kitchen island. “I’ve never seen The Mummy though.” Bunny gasps loudly and presses a hand to her chest in mock outrage.
“You’ve never seen The Mummy? Oh I’m gonna show you all of my favorite movies. This is gonna be fun! What kind of movies do you like? Are there certain ones that you like?” Bunny asked over her shoulder as she would periodically look over it to Esme.
“I watch a lot of Disney movies. Dad doesn’t really know anything besides Disney.” Esme said with a shrug of her shoulders.
“Oh well that’s good because I have a ton of Disney movies that we could watch. What about Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter? Do you like those too?” Bunny asked curiously.
“You love Disney too?!” Esme cried as she bounced a little bit on the chair. Bunny laughs softly as she nods her head.
“Oh yeah I grew up on Disney kiddo. I’m like a Disney guru.” Bunny said making a silly face at Esme over her shoulder making the little girl laugh.
As dinner continued to cook the two of them continued to talk about movies that they could watch together during the week that Esme would be here. Once dinner was done Bunny easily made two plates and walked them over to the coffee table in her living room and turned on the tv pulling up the Pirates movie. She quickly then got Esme situated on the floor before going back to the kitchen to grab silverware and their drinks. Before she walked back into the living room she grabbed her phone and checked to see if she had any messages from Jack. When she saw that there weren’t any she quickly headed into the living room figuring that he was still busy with work.
———
“I love that movie!” Gushed Esme as the credits rolled for the first pirates movie on the tv screen. Bunny laughed and nodded her head. The two of them had finished their dinner about halfway through the film and just wound up slouched on the floor leaning back against the couch.
Bunny sat half slouched against the couch with one knee bent in front of her and one leg splayed out. Butter laid draped between her legs with his head resting on her thigh. He was snoring loudly with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. Bunny looked down at the snoozing dog and laughed softly at him.
“I do too. It’s a really good movie.” Bunny said easily as her hand came down to rest in Butter’s fur and she began to pet him softly along his body.
“So we’ll be able to do that every night? Watch one of the movies you have?” Esme asked as she rested her head back on the cushion of the couch and rolled it to look over at Bunny. Bunny turned her head and smiled warmly at the little girl. She looked so at peace with where she was right now. Her eyes were sparkling, her smile was lazy, she looked satisfied.
“Of course I’ve got tons of movies that we could watch. I’ve got The Mummy we could watch tomorrow. There’s also some girlie movies likes 13 Going On 30 or Pipi Longstocking.” Bunny told Esme. Esme nodded her head eagerly at all the movies that Bunny was naming off. “Alright how about this we watch one more pirate movie before bed and to relax we’ll do some face masks?” Bunny suggests as she nudges Butter who wakes with a start and yelp as he twists his body until he’s standing on his little legs making Esme giggle next to the two of them. Bunny shakes her head at the dog and sighs. “Always such a hot mess.”
“What’s a face mask?” Esme asked softly and Bunny whipped her head around to her with a delighted gasp and wide eyes.
———
Bunny was finishing up smearing the lumpy light green avocado mixture onto Esme’s face. Just then Bunny heard her phone chime and not moving from her spot in front of Esme she quickly finished applying the face mask to her face.
Once done she set the bowl of the face mask down and grabbed her phone quickly. Seeing that she had a message from Jack she opened it and read it.
Is it alright to video call now?
She smiled as she read the message knowing that Jack was probably anxious to talk to his little girl. He hadn’t sent her a message besides when they were on their way to the park. Typing out a message she turned to see Esme admiring herself in the mirror that Bunny had brought out.
“Hey Es, wanna video call your dad?” She asked kindly and the little girl quickly turned to her nodding her head rapidly.
“Yes can we call him?” She asked hurriedly. Bunny smiled and tapped the video call button on Jack’s contact and handed the phone to Esme. Bunny then began applying her own face mask to her face while the two of them waited for Jack to pick up, which he did after only a few rings.
“Oh my god! What did you get into?” Came Jack’s worried cry and Bunny jolted at his loud tone. She quickly walked behind Esme to look into the phone as well.
“It’s nothing bad, it’s just a face mask. Perfectly fine and safe I swear. We’re doing a little girl spa night.” Bunny said quickly and watched as Jack stare at the two of them with concern for a moment.
Just then Bunny watched as another man peered over Jack’s shoulder and she shrieked loudly making Esme whip around to look at her as she retreated from the screen. The words from the man not resonating with Bunny at all as she quickly moved away from the phone. Esme watched her shrewdly for a moment until a bright happy grin spread across her face.
“Hi Uncle Tequila! I don’t think Bunny wants you to see her in her avocado face mask.” Esme teased happily as she giggled. Bunny shook her head at the little girl who grinned over at her from her spot on the chair.
“Oh and I can?” Came Jack’s question over the phone and Bunny rolled her eyes at Esme who giggled loudly again. Huffing out a soft breath Bunny spoke up so that Jack could hear her.
“Jack we’re friends of course you can see me in a face mask. I’m watching your daughter. Uncle Tequila is a literal stranger.” Bunny said loud enough for Jack to hear. She rolled her eyes and felt her face warm at having been seen in a face mask by someone other than Jack and Esme. Not to mention now that she thought about it she was quite embarrassed that Jack had seen her in her face mask as well.
“Bunny’s embarrassed.” Esme sang teasingly as she grinned into the phone at her father. Bunny scoffed softly at the little girl before a grin of her own spread across her face.
“Just wait until you’re a teenager little one. You’ll know all about being embarrassed.” Bunny grumbled out and Esme giggled again. Bunny shook her head and began cleaning up the bowl and other things that they had taken out to do face masks giving Esme and Jack some privacy to talk.
———
It wasn’t too long before Esme was walking into the living room from the kitchen still on the phone with Jack. She had a happy sparkle in her eye and as Bunny looked up from the book she was reading she was glad that she was able to give Esme and Jack this little reassurance that things were alright here.
“Hey Bunny, Daddy wants to talk to ya before he hangs up.” Esme said as she let out a big yawn.
“Alright, just give a minute and I’ll help you wash of your face mask. Did you say goodnight to him?” Bunny instructed warmly.
“Yeah. He just wants t’say goodnight to you.” Esme said with a bright smile and Bunny instantly felt her cheeks warm at the thought. Taking the phone from Esme she nodded her head to the little to go down the hallway.
“Meet ya in the bathroom?” She suggested lightly and Esme nodded before walking away down the hallway. Turning back to the phone she smiled at Jack who grinned and chuckled lightly at her.
“Still can’t get over that green stuff on your face.” He said softly.
“I’ll have you know it does wonders for the skin.” Bunny defended with a laugh and Jack grinned at her.
“I just wanna say thanks again Bunny. You’re doin’ me a real favor here.” Jack said warmly and for a second there Bunny thought she heard a warm southern accent in his voice that made her head tilt a little bit. Odd. Shaking her head lightly she immediately pushed the thought away.
“Jack I told you I don’t mind watching Esme. She’s been a sweetheart. There’s nothing for you to worry about I promise.” Bunny said earnestly as she stared into the phone at Jack.
“Alright, alright. I just I really appreciate it.” Jack said again and Bunny smiled at his almost pleading tone.
“What do I gotta do to get you to stop thanking me?” Bunny asked teasingly and watched as Jack’s eyes dart away from the phone and then back to her. Was that a blush she saw creeping onto his cheeks? Before Jack could become even more embarrassed Bunny spoke up again. “Don’t mention it Jack. Seriously don’t.” She teased him and he chuckled and shook his head. Just then Bunny let out a wide yawn and Jack chuckled again as her hand came up to try and hide the yawn from him.
“Alright I’ll let ya go. I’ll text you tomorrow morning.” He said with a nod and Bunny nodded along with him.
“Sounds good to me. Goodnight.” She said starting to feel the drowsiness creep into her body.
“Goodnight Bunny.” He responded and Bunny smiled before pressing the red button on the bottom of the screen. With the call ended Bunny set her book aside and stood up stretching. Yawning again she began to walk down the hallway towards the bathroom. When she saw Esme sitting up on the counter she grinned at the little girl.
“Alright girlie let’s get these masks off and you tucked up into bed.” Bunny said warmly and set about cleaning off Esme’s face first.
———
Bunny jolted awake suddenly and sat straight up in bed. Her hand came up to her chest where she felt her heart racing so fast underneath her skin. Taking a moment to look around the dark room she wondered what had woken her up so suddenly when she heard it. A loud piercing scream rang through the air and Bunny was instantly moving.
Throwing off the covers Bunny scrambled out of bed a little unceremoniously and almost fell when her feet got stuck in the blanket. But she was able to get to her feet and rushed out of the room. She grabbed the doorknob to the guest bedroom across the hallway from her and opened the door quickly. Her hand slid along the wall for the light switch and when she finally found it she clicked the light on.
Her heart clenched tightly in her chest when her eyes adjusted to see a bed head wild eyed Esme sitting straight up in bed shaking. Moving to the side of the bed Bunny sat down on it and peered at the little girl who was whimpering and shaking as she sat in the bed.
Bunny gently placed a  hand on Esme’s back and began to gently rub circles trying to soothe the girl. Slowly catching her breath Bunny watched as Esme’s eyes slowed their wild and crazed darting around the room. Her breaths began to slow and her trembling also eased. Suddenly her body slumped forward and Bunny quickly wrapped the girl in her arms where Esme curled into her and buried her face in Bunny’s neck.
“I had a nightmare. Daddy didn’t come home. And then I woke up and it wasn’t my room.” Esme cried softly and Bunny tightened her arms around the little girl.
“It’s ok, your Dad is fine. Remember we just talked to him a few hours ago. And when you get in the morning he’s gonna call again. He told me he was gonna call again.” Bunny tried to reassure the little girl softly.
“I miss him.” Esme whimpered softly and Bunny rested her head on top of the girl’s.
“I know sweetheart. It’s a big change for the two of you. I know he was very worried about you when he had to leave and I know he still worries about you. But I’ll get you through it and soon enough he’ll be home.” Bunny reassured.
“Can you stay until I fall back asleep?” Esme asked quietly.
“Of course, let me just grab my phone for my alarm in case I fall asleep ok?” Bunny said softly. Esme nodded and Bunny quickly left the room only to return moments later with her phone and phone charger. She pulled it into the wall and set the phone on the end table next Esme’s bed.
The little girl then scooted over and Bunny climbed on top of the covers next to the little girl. She opened up her arms and Esme quickly rushed to snuggle herself against the woman. Bunny lay there holding Esme and let her hand gently trail up and down the girl’s back hoping to ease her back into sleep.
Not long after Bunny heard Esme’s soft snores as the little girl fell back asleep. Bunny tried her hardest to keep her eyes open but soon she found herself falling asleep next to the little girl.
———
The loud blaring of Bunny’s alarm had both Bunny and Esme groaning and trying to bury their heads back into the pillows beneath them. Bunny chuckled softly as her hand reached out blindly to grab her phone and shut off the alarm. When it finally ended she sighed softly and began to snuggle back into the bed.
Just then the loud chiming of a video call came through on the phone and Bunny groaned again and rolled over to grab the phone. She yawned widely as she sat up in bed and accepted the video call not bothering to look at it.
“Well good morning sleepyhead!” Came the chipper voice of Jack and Bunny’s whole body seemed to jerk in it’s spot as her eyes opened wide to stare at his smiling face on her phone.
“Is that Daddy?” Asked Esme suddenly wide awake. She sat up and then clambered behind Bunny to peer over her shoulder.
“There’s my sleeping beauty.” Jack said happily as he smiled. Bunny smiled as she began to rub sleep out of her eyes. “Hey is everything ok? You look like you didn’t get much sleep.” Jack said concerned and Bunny realized he was talking to her and not Esme.
“Geeze Whisk, have you forgotten how to talk to women after all this time?” Came a snarky voice in the background of Jack’s phone. Bunny burst out laughing when she heard the voice and shook her head as she watched Jack’s cheeks heat up again. “Nothin’ more than a woman wants to hear is that she looks like she needs more sleep.” Came the voice again and Bunny chuckled as she titled her head to the side and pursed her lips.
“He’s not wrong.” She teased Jack and he made a face at her making both her and Esme laugh at him. Turning to Esme she began to hand over the phone to the little girl. “Here talk to your Dad while you pick out your clothes for school. I’m gonna go get dressed alright?” Bunny suggested and Esme nodded thankfully up at her.
“Thanks Bunny.” Esme said warmly and Bunny nodded knowing that the little girl meant more than just this. Standing from the bed Bunny stretched and tuned out the conversation that Esme and Jack were having before she walked out of the room and across the hall to her own room.
Dressing quickly she walked back out of the room and down to the kitchen so that she could wake Butter up and let him out before she started breakfast.
“C’mon Butter, let’s get you out in the backyard.” Bunny called out to the dog who was laying in his bed waiting for her. She laughed as he launched himself out of the dog bed and began booking it down the hallway to the back door. “Alright, alright hold your horses.” He grumbled out as he began to bounce on his feet at the back door barking happily. Opening the door for him she watched as he quickly ran for the squirrels that had congregated under her bird feeders. She chuckled softly and shook her head as she watched him try in vain to get to the squirrels. “Crazy dog.” She scoffed softly and turned back to the hallway after shutting the door.
Walking back down the hallway she meets Esme at the bottom of the stairs still talking to Jack. Bunny smiles and walks into the kitchen and pulls out a pan as well as some eggs and bacon for their breakfast.
“Hey Esme, how does eggs and bacon sound for breakfast?” Bunny asks warmly.
“That sounds good to me.” Esme says happily as she climbs onto one of the stools at the kitchen island.
“Sounds good to me too.” Jack says over the phone and Bunny laughs softly at him.
“Me too!” Chimes in another voice and Bunny grins as she shakes her head.
“Daddy! Uncle Tequila you’re not here you can’t have any.” Esme scolds them and Bunny laughs happily as she begins breakfast. They all happily chat as Bunny cooks and soon enough her and Esme are sitting down at the dining table to eat. Bunny sets the plates down and hears Butter barking at the back door. She quickly lets him back inside and then comes back to the kitchen to eat with Esme.
“So Esme tells me that you two had a rough night last night?” Jack asks softly from the phone that Esme had propped up against the jug of milk in the middle of the table. Bunny shrugs her shoulders as she finishes chewing her bite of eggs.
“It wasn’t too bad. She just missed you that’s all.” Bunny said truthfully and Jack nodded before opening his mouth. Bunny held up a finger to him and narrowed her eyes at him. “I swear Jack if you thank me one more time.” She threatened softly pointing her fork at him through the phone, Jack quickly shut his mouth and Bunny nodded her head. “It’s no big deal. It’s gonna take some adjusting but we’ll get through it.” Jack nodded his head at her and smiled warmly.
“Alright well me and Tequila are gonna’ head out to grab some breakfast. I’ll text ya later alright?” He said and Bunny nodded her head as she took another bite of eggs.
“Sounds good.” Bunny said easily and Jack smiled at her.
“Bye Es. Love ya!” Jack said lovingly to his daughter and she easily returned the sentiment.
“Love you Daddy. Bye!” Esme called out before pressing the end button. The two of them easily fell into a comfortable silence as they finished eating their breakfast.
“So I’ve noticed you and your Dad have accents but not all the time?” Bunny asked curiously as she picked up both plates from the table and began walking them over to the sink.
“Oh yeah Daddy and I are from Kentucky.” Esme said proudly and Bunny smiled as she nodded her head at the little girl. “I’ve got a little accent but Daddy’s got a bigger one. But ever since Mommy died he doesn’t use it.” Esme explained softly and Bunny stopped what she was doing and turned swiftly to the little girl.
“I’m so sorry Esme. I didn’t mean to bring this up.” Bunny said truthfully watching the little girl.
“It’s okay. It happened awhile ago. Daddy still gets sad sometimes but not as much anymore.” Esme said softly. Bunny knelt down and held her arms open for the little girl who quickly rushed into them and hugged Bunny tightly.
“It’s okay for him to be sad. And you too. It’s okay for that.” Bunny said softly as she held the little girl tightly. “If you ever wanna talk about your Mom you let me know and I’ll sit and listen ok?”
“Ok.” Esme said nodding her head.
“Good. Ok, go brush your teeth and I’ll pack a lunch for ya.” Bunny said easily as they pulled away from each other and the little girl ran up the stairs to her bedroom to finish getting ready for school.
Standing Bunny turned back to the sink and sighed softly. She was still learning things about Jack and Esme and truly didn’t mean to bring up her Mom at all. Now the accent she’d been hearing over the phone made sense.
———
The day progressed like normal if albeit a little more sluggish than it usually did. There was a sleepy haze hovering over Bunny since she woke up this morning to Esme screaming. But she pushed through it and went about her work day. She idly wondered if Esme was having as much trouble today staying awake as she was.
Soon the alarm on her phone went off and Bunny powered down her computer. She was still having difficulty with one client’s website design and hadn’t made any leeway unfortunately. Hopefully soon she’d find the inspiration to get the way the client wanted it.
Walking to the front door she grabbed onto Butter’s leash and whistled for him. His little pitter patter of feet on the hardwood floors filled the house and he came running into the front entryway. When she opened up the front door after putting the leash on Butter she could see that it was much foggier than it had been this morning. Making a quick decision on what they would have for dinner she smiled widely and the two of them set off towards the bus stop.
Once they had gotten to the bus stop Bunny stood there waiting with Butter who sat down at her feet and began to pant for air with his tongue hanging out. It wasn’t that long of a wait but as Bunny stood there she could feel the chill starting to creep into her bones and shivered slightly at it. Her phone chimed from in her pocket and pulling it out she saw that she had a message from Jack.
How are you guys doing? You smiled down at the phone and began typing out a response. It was sweet that he was checking in with her and Esme already.
Sleepy but good. Waiting for Es to get home. Bunny shook her head softly as her eyes darted over to see Butter rolling on the sidewalk on his back.
Are you alright? Came the next message and Bunny felt a warmth envelope her chest at his worry and concern for her.
I’m fine. I planned an exciting adventure to the grocery store to get ingredients for dinner. Hopefully it’ll wake us both up. Bunny heard the loud brakes of the bus squeaking behind her and she looked up from her phone to see the bus pulling up to the curb.
Esme slowly walked down the steps of the bus with a tired look in her eyes and Bunny could feel her heart melt at the way Esme’s shoulders slumped forward as she walked along the sidewalk towards her and Butter. She looked up at Bunny once she was in front of her and let out a big wide yawn that made Bunny start to yawn before she quickly covered her mouth to hide it. Esme giggled brightly at her and Bunny couldn’t help but grin at the little girl.
“So what do you say to a walk around the block and then head to the grocery store to get some stuff for dinner I had planned? I think it’s a little too cold for the park today.” Bunny suggested softly as she watched Esme tilt her head to the side tiredly.
“That sounds good.” Esme said with a sleepy nod of her head. “What’s for dinner?”
“It’s a surprise but we’re gonna make it fun.” Bunny said a little cryptically and she grinned as Esme looked up at her with a squinted look. “C’mon let’s get this butterball walking and home, then we can head out to the grocery store.” Bunny said hurriedly as she began ushering Esme and Butter around the block.
———
It took a little bit longer for the three of them to get around the block because half way around the block Butter spotted his nemesis, Mr. Squirrel and had to take a good few moments to continuously bark at his rival. But finally Bunny was opening the front door and everyone was piling into the front hallway. Quickly unhooking Butter’s leash Bunny hung it up on the hook and then walked farther into the house.
“Alright kiddo, how much homework do you have tonight?” she asked over her shoulder as she walked down the hallway to the craft room at the back of her house.
“Only one worksheet for vocabulary.” Esme said happily as she stood watching Bunny curiously.
“Good, set your backpack in the kitchen and then come help me.” Came Bunny’s voice from the craft room that she had walked into.
Esme did as she was told and then walked down the hallway to the room at the end of the hallway. Stepping into the room Esme let out a soft gasp at all the craft material on display. Her eyes danced around the room with excitement, there was a small square table in the middle of the room that many different labeled containers stored underneath it that held different craft materials. On the walls were different inspirational posters and other craft tools stored in different odd puzzle like configurations. There was a long desk along one side of the room with a computer monitor and printer on one section of it and right next to it was a sewing machine. The room was brightly decorated with rainbow colored posters and wall decorations around the craft storage. Esme could feel herself starting to grow excited at the possibilities that she would be to make with all of these materials.
Just then there was a loud grunt on the other side of the room and Esme walked over to see Bunny bent over a very large chest that looked like a pirate’s treasure chest. Esme bounced over with excitement building up inside her.
“Is this your treasure chest?” Esme asked excited and Bunny laughed happily at the little girl’s excitement.
“Oh yeah, but it’s a different type of treasure.” Bunny said conspiratorially. She opened the lid of the chest and let it fall gently back to reveal what was stored inside. Esme gasped as she spotted all the clothes that were folded and laid inside. Reaching out she let her hand gently graze the clothes and grinned up at Bunny.
         “Are these costumes?” Esme asked as she practically vibrated next to Bunny.
         “Sure are. I have a friend at the local stage theater who lets me pick out any of the costumes that they are getting rid of after they no longer need the costumes. Plus I’ve sewn a few of these, nothing crazy or anything.” Bunny explained. “But for our dinner tonight we have to dress up to go get it. It’s the only way that you should go out and get these ingredients. Are you down for that?” Bunny asked seriously as she stood next to Esme folding her arms over her chest.
         “Yes! Yes! What are we dressing up as?” Esme asked excitedly. Bunny plucked out two large sombreros from the chest and set one on top of Esme’s head making her giggle as it slid down over her eyes. Bunny bent down and tilted the sombrero back so that Esme could see clearly and grinned at the little girl.
         “You look absolutely perfect.” Bunny said happily. “I figured we need a little pick me up for dinner tonight since we’re both tired. What better way than dressing up to go get ingredients for Taco Tuesday!” she cheered the end of the sentence loudly and Esme squealed with delight and bounced on her toes making the sombrero bob and sway with her movements. “Alright what do you say to take a few pictures for your Dad so we can send them to him?” Bunny asked then and Esme grinned up at her nodding her head eagerly. Bunny laughed softly and placed her own sombrero on her head and knelt down next to Esme.
   “Do you have a selfie stick?” Esme asked softly and Bunny tilted her head for a second trying to remember if she did have one.
   “Oh! Yes hold on!” Bunny said, suddenly remembering. She clambered up onto her feet and moved to the closet in the room and opened the door. Esme squealed as she saw what was inside the closet making Bunny whirl back around to her in surprise. “What? What is it?” she asked hurriedly before Esme rushed into the closet.
   “You have pirate swords!” Esme cheered loudly and Bunny laughed relieved as Esme pulled out the fake pirate sword from the closet.
   “Yeah, I forgot I had all these props for when the community does photo booths. Jeremy the guard bought me a selfie stick at one of the parties that the community threw and I completely forgot about it.” Bunny explained as she looked for the selfie stick in the closet. “Got it!” she called and pulled it out of the closet triumphantly.
   “Can we dress up as pirates one day after school?” Esme asked sweetly and Bunny smiled nodding her head at the little girl who cheered happily and jumped on her toes.
   “Okay go ahead and put that back for now. We will definitely dress up as pirates one day. I promise.” Bunny promised as she nodded her head over to the closet for Esme. Esme did as she was told and then came back to stand next to a kneeling Bunny. They both smiled for the first picture and Bunny snapped a few shots.
   “Can we do a silly face one?” Esme asked as she giggled happily. Bunny nodded and lined up the phone again and the two of them laughed and giggled as they made funny faces for the pictures.
   “Alright let’s pick which ones to send to your dad and then we’ll head to the grocery store.” Bunny said as she pulled her phone from the selfie stick and showed Esme all of the pictures that she took. She let Esme pick a handful of them and sent them off to Jack with a smile. “Ok kiddo let’s get going so we can get the ingredients.” Bunny said smiling as she put away the selfie stick before ushering Esme out of the room as they both still wear the sombreros on their heads.
———
   While they’re walking up and down the aisles Bunny is laughing as Esme bounces around making her sombrero flop around her head. Just then Bunny hears her cellphone start ringing and she pulls it out seeing that Jack is video calling her. She grins and looks over at Esme showing her the phone to the little girl. Esme bounced over and giggle as she took the phone from Bunny and quickly answered the call from her Dad.
   “Daddy! Happy Taco Tuesday!” She cheered happily as she saw her father show up on the phone screen. Jack’s laugh sounded from the phone and Bunny smiled at the sound. It was a sound that she knew she was starting to get used to hearing and looked forward to it whenever he called. Shaking her head she continued down the aisle and picked out taco shells that she would need for dinner.
   “Hey Es, do you want hard taco shells? Or do you want to do soft tortillas?” Bunny asked over her shoulder to the little girl. She came bounding over to her with the phone with happiness just emitting from her in waves. Bunny smiles at Jack as she sees him on the screen as a feeling of relief and gratitude fills her that Esme is able to see her father even if it’s just on a video call.
   “I want hard taco shells.” Esme says in response and Bunny nods her head before picking up a package of the taco shells. She continues down the aisle with Esme walking next to her talking animated to her dad.
   “So I really liked those pictures you sent him girls.” Came Jack’s voice sounding a little teasing and Bunny laughed happily at that.
   “Oh yeah it’s part of my plan to wake us up. It is Taco Tuesday and we have to celebrate. What better way than to wear sombreros as we pick out taco ingredients for dinner.” Bunny said with a shrug of her shoulders. “Plus it’s always fun cooking together and I figured Esme would enjoy it.”
   “Oh I think it’s a great idea and it looks like you guys are having a ton of fun.” Jack said warmly and Esme giggled as she nodded her head making the sombrero to fall over her eyes. Bunny laughed and helped adjust the hat on her head.
   “Having a lot of fun Daddy. I really like being with Bunny.” Esme said happily and Bunny felt her heart melt at the little girl’s words. She wrapped one arm around the little girl and cuddled her into her side smiling down at Esme.
   “And it definitely looks like Bunny enjoys having you around.” Jack said fondly and Bunny looked over at him as she still held Esme close to her. She smiled brightly at the man on the phone screen and watched as his own smile grew and his breath stuttered in his chest.
   “Alright kiddo let’s get going and finish up our shopping so that we can get cooking. I’m getting hungry.” Bunny said as she continued down the aisle letting Esme time to talk with her dad.
———
   It was later that night that Bunny and Esme are sitting on the floor in the living room as 13 Going On 30 is playing on the t.v. Dinner was done and cleaned away already and the two of them are sitting with their backs against the couch and the coffee table in front of them. Bunny has a wide array of nail polishes laid out on the coffee table in front of them.
   “Alright so I figured we could do something special tonight by doing manicures and pedicures.” Bunny suggested kindly. “I can paint your nails and do anything you want on them.”
   “Oooh, really?” Esme asked excitedly as she looked over the many bottles of nail polish. “What do you normally do?” Esme asked curiously.
   “Well I usually do two different colors unless I find something on Pinterest that I’d like to try out. I find different patterns that I like to try sometimes. But it’s up to you if I can do it I’ll do it. Let me show you some of the stuff I’ve found on Pinterest that I’ve done.” Bunny explained as she pulled up her Pinterest on her phone and began showing Esme some of the nail painting ideas that she’s been able to do.
   Esme took a few minutes to look over the Pinterest board that Bunny had created. Bunny watched as she scrolled through the pictures and then smiled when Esme turned the phone back to show her the nail polish design she would like done on her nails. It was a simple design of black nails with rainbow dots.
   “Ok, go wash your hands first and then we’ll get started.” Bunny said excitedly as she too got up from the floor pausing the movie. Esme rushed off to the bathroom to wash her hands and Bunny went into the kitchen and washed her hands as well before coming back to the living room. “Alright so first things first, pick a hand lotion you would like to wear once I’m done. Once your nails are dry I’ll put the lotion on your hands to make them smell good.” Bunny explained as she showed Esme her collection of hand lotions.
   “Why do you have so many hand lotions?” Esme asked as she began to sniff each other trying to figure out which one she would like to wear.
   “I have dry skin and the skin on my hands crack and dries out very quickly if I don’t use hand lotion.” Bunny explained as she smiled at Esme. “I also like the smell of the lotions so I buy a bunch of different ones to try out.”
   “I like this purple flower one.” Esme says as she shows Bunny a container of lavender hand lotion. Bunny nods her head and sets aside the hand lotion. Bunny then started setting up the nail polish she would need to be able to paint Esme’s nails.
   “Ok so we’ll use that at the end. That’s a good smell, it should help you relax. Lavender is a relaxing scent.” Bunny said as she continued to set up everything. “Alright so first what I’m gonna do is a cuticle oil that’s going to moisturize your nails and cuticles. It’s gonna help your nails grow too because I’m going to rub it into your skin. Then I’ll begin painting your nails ok?” Bunny explained to the little girl with a smile.
   “Ok, can we still watch the movie while we do this?” Esme asked eagerly and Bunny nodded her head.
   “Of course. We have to see how the movie ends, duh.” Bunny says like it’s a no brainer and grins at the excited girl.
   Soon Bunny began applying the cuticle oil around each nail on the girls’ hands and began to rub it into the skin. The little girl watched for a little bit before her attention was pulled back to the movie playing on the t.v.
   “Are you going to paint your nails too?” Esme asked curiously as she looked back at what Bunny was doing.
   “Yeah I’ll even let you pick out my nail polish and design.” Said Bunny as she continued to massage Esme’s fingers.
   “Could we match?” Esme asked, sounding unsure and insecure. Bunny looked up suddenly at the little girl and saw her avoiding her eye. She saw the little girl bite her bottom lip in concern and Bunny couldn’t help but feel for the little girl. She wonders if the little girl is looking for a motherly figure to look up to and Bunny realizes that she doesn’t want to overstep but she would love to step up and be that person for Esme.
   “Of course we could match. I think that’d be really cool to do.” Bunny gushed happily. She knew that she would have to tread lightly with wanting to be there for Esme, she didn’t want to step on any boundaries that the girl had or any parenting that Jack had for her. So Bunny knew she would be there for Esme whenever she could be and would look out for her. She wouldn’t push but she’d always try to be there for her. “So what’s going on with school? Anything exciting?” Bunny asked as she began to paint Esme’s nails.
   “Well I made a new friend named Nadia. She’s really cool. She’s a lot of fun.” Esme said happily.
“That’s great Es! I’m glad you made a new friend. Does she live far from here?” Bunny said excitedly as she swiped base coat onto her nails. Blowing softly on her nails Bunny looking up at Esme and saw the slightly saddened look on her face.
“No, she lives over by the library.” Esme replied a little downtrodden and Bunny nodded her head at the little girl.
“Well that’s not too far from here. If the two of you ever wanted to hang out after school like on the weekends I don’t think it would be too far of a drive for your Dad.” Bunny said knowingly and Esme seemed to perk up at that.
“Do you think he’d let us have sleepovers?” Esme asked as she bounced slightly in her seat. Bunny smiled as she set aside the base coat bottle and picked up the black nail polish bottle.
“It’s up to him sweetheart I don’t know what he would say.” Bunny said truthfully not wanting to get the girl’s hopes up to only be crushed when her Dad said no. Esme nodded her head at what Bunny said and Bunny began to focus on painting the first layer of black nail polish.
“Nadia said she’s going to introduce me to her other friends too. Said I should make more friends who will be nice to me.” Esme said easily and Bunny furrowed her eyebrows at that.
“What do you mean friend who will be nice to you? Is there someone not being nice to you at school?” Bunny asked as she felt her body tense at the idea that there were kids who weren’t being nice to Esme. Esme was such a sweet girl in her eyes she couldn’t imagine anyone finding anything to tease Esme about. And then suddenly it clicked. Bunny looked up to see Esme trying to avoid her eyes once again. “Es, are you still being bullied?” She asked softly as she stopped painting her nails and looked up at her giving her her full attention.
Esme shrugged her shoulders and kept trying to avoid Bunny’s eyes. Bunny tilted her head down to try and catch Esme’s line of sight. When she wasn’t able to Bunny sighed softly.
“You know, I was bullied when I was a little bit older than you.” Bunny said softly and saw out of the corner of her eye that Esme was now looking up at her surprised.
“Really?” Esme asked in shock. “But you’re so cool.” She said softly and Bunny laughed loudly at that.
“Thank you. I didn’t used to be when I was a kid though. The kids at my school made fun of me because I was always reading. Anytime I had spare time while at school I had my face buried in a book. I had some friends but we weren’t popular. We didn’t do a lot of sports, just what was required in gym class. I was more interested in books and doing crafts than sports and going to parties like a lot of the other kids at my school. So I got picked on a lot at school. Oh! And I loved to swim, my family had a swimming pool and I was in it all summer from sun up to sun down pretty much. The chlorine in the pool started to change the color of my hair and when I went back to school I got teased for that by the kids at my school.” Bunny explained about her experience in school. Esme watched her silently as she listened to what Bunny said.
“How did you get rid of the bullies?” Esme asked softly. Bunny sat there for a moment and thought back to how she got the bullies to stop teasing her.
“I showed them that I didn’t care about what they said. The bullies are looking for a reaction from you. They want to see you cry and get upset. If you don’t cry or get upset they could stop. Or you can stand up to them and tell them to stop.” Bunny said truthfully.
“Like Nadia did the other day when the girls were teasing me about not playing in gym.” Esme said matter of factly. Bunny nodded her head.
“Did the girls stop teasing you after Nadia told them to stop?” Bunny asked curiously.
“They did.” Esme said nodding her head.
“Ok so maybe when they start teasing you again tell them no and stop. If they don’t stop you go to a teacher and tell the teacher what’s going on. They shouldn’t be teasing you for not being in gym.” Bunny said honestly.
“I don’t want to get in trouble.” Esme said dejectedly as she looked down at the floor.
“You won’t get in trouble for telling someone to stop teasing you. Or telling the teacher what’s going on.” Bunny said emphatically. “If someone is bothering you and making trouble for you, you have to say something otherwise people can’t help you sweetheart.”
“Ok. If they start teasing me again I’ll say something.” Esme said as she nodded.
“So maybe we need to find you something that you would be able to do instead of gym. Something that your asthma wouldn’t be aggravated. Let me talk to your Dad later and see if we can try something this weekend before he comes home.” Bunny suggested as she began to paint Esme’s nails again.
“You think there’s something that I can do that’s a sport?” Esme asked.
“There’s definitely a possibility. We’ll start off easy though and do something that’s not a sport. We’ll see how you do and then go from there.” Bunny said, trying to caution the little girl. “I don’t want you to get your hopes up too high. We have to see how you do with this first one.” Bunny said softly as she looked at Esme. Esme nodded her head slowly at Bunny and she responded with a soft smile and ruffling the little girl's hair on her head which made her squeal and try to get away without messing up her freshly painted nails.
———
“Dad! Look at my nails! Bunny painted them for me. And she painted her nails the same way so that we match!” Esme said excitedly as she showed Jack her painted nails as she sat up in her bed. Bunny was in her own room getting changed for bed and could hear the conversation going on between the two of them. She tuned it out a little bit to give the two of them some privacy but kept an ear out for anytime Esme would call out her name.
It was probably a good ten minutes later that Esme called out to Bunny from across the hall. Placing her bookmark in the science fiction novel that she was reading she set the book on the bed side table and got up from the bed. Walking across the hall she smiled as she pushed the door open and saw Esme lounging back on her pillows as she held the phone up to still look at her Dad. Her eyes were drooping and she had a sleepy smile on her face when she noticed Bunny.
“Dad said he wanted to say goodnight to you.” Esme said softly and Bunny nodded her head at the little girl.
“Sure thing, did you finish saying goodnight? I’d like to talk to your Dad for a quick second.” Bunny explained as Esme handed her the phone.
“Yeah. Can you read me a story once you’re done?” Esme asked as she yawned widely. Bunny laughed softly and nodded her head at Esme.
“Of course I can. Once I’m done I’ll come back in okay?” she said easily to Esme and Esme just nodded as she snuggled further into the bed.
Turning back to the phone Bunny walked out of Esme’s room and into her own. Bunny smiled softly at herself as she realized it was only day two with the little girl and she already thought of the spare room as Esme’s room.
“What’s the smile on your face for?” asked Jack and Bunny looked back at her phone letting the smile widen.
“I was just thinking that that’s Esme’s room already.” she said fondly and Jack grinned at her through the phone. “So I wanted to talk to you about possibly enrolling Esme in a dog yoga class that the community holds on the weekend.” Bunny explained confidently to Jack. “She mentioned that she’s still being bullied and teased at school for not being able to do gym or sports. I did a little bit of research and I have a friend in the dog yoga class who has asthma. Yoga is something that Esme could be able to do even with her asthma. It’s a slow class and very low key, I’ve gone a few times and maybe it’ll help with her asthma.” Bunny began to ramble again, she grimaced slightly as the words left her mouth and she felt herself falling farther and farther down the rabbit hole of trying to convince Jack to let Esme go to yoga. She had even begun to pace as she talked about what she wanted to do for Esme without even being aware of it. “I’ll be with her there the whole time. I’ll make sure I have her inhaler. I don’t want to overstep but she wants to do sports and she’s been upset about the teasing and bullying.”
“Easy Bunny, easy.” Jack said lowly with a little bit of an accent and Bunny took in a deep breath after stopping the word flow coming from her mouth. She shivered a little bit as the low easy comforting tone of Jack’s voice embraced her through the phone. His voice was so soothing and the accent that her ears now tried to catch and pick up was something that she knew she would love to listen to for hours. Feeling a flush grace her cheeks she grimaced slightly at the phone. “Let me call her doctor tomorrow morning and ask if that would be alright. To me it sounds fine, I know you’ll take care of her. I couldn’t ask for a better guardian to Esme than you.” Jack said softly and Bunny felt her heart thud heavily in her chest.
“Thanks Jack.” Bunny said softly as tears began to prick her eyes. She didn’t know why his words were affecting her like this. Yeah, she cared about Esme and wanted the best for the little girl but was just two days long enough to make her so invested in the girl? Bunny stood in the middle of her room where she had stopped her pacing. She stared off into her room and tried to gather her thoughts and found that all she wanted for Esme was her to feel good about herself. She didn’t want Esme to feel bad that the other kids teased her about her asthma. She felt connected to the little girl because of her own childhood past of being bullied and teased. She had wished that there was someone in her life back then who had stood up for her like Nadia was doing for Esme now. Or someone to help make her feel better about herself like she was trying to do for Esme.
“Did I lose ya Bunny?” asked Jack suddenly and Bunny was pulled from her thoughts suddenly. She turned her eyes back to the phone and smiled before letting out a big yawn trying to cover it quickly with her free hand. Jack laughed softly at the sight and Bunny flushed brightly.
“Sorry just got lost in thought for a moment.” she said sheepishly and he shook his head at her.
“No worries Bunny. I’ll let you get to sleep. I’ll let you know what the doctor says after I call her okay?” he says warmly as he grins at her from her phone screen.
“Alright sounds good to me.” she said easily. “Goodnight Jack.”
“Goodnight Bunny.” he responded and Bunny smiled again before hanging up the video call. Feeling her stomach fluttering a little she tried to push it down. She knew it would be dangerous to start developing feelings for her new neighbor so soon. But she couldn’t help but feel happy that he thought she was a good guardian for Esme.
Walking back across the hall to Esme’s room she peeked in and saw the little girl was already asleep snuggled in her bed. A medium sized stuffed octopus clutched tightly in her arms as she snored softly in her sleep. Bunny sighed softly as she leant against the doorframe and watched Esme sleeping. Shaking her head softly she smiled at herself, who knew her new neighbors would manage to weasel their way into her life so easily.
———
The next morning Bunny’s alarm blared her ‘Hype Music’ playlist waking her up from a deep peaceful sleep. She blearily blinked as she noticed the soft gray light filtering into her bedroom. Esme slept through the night! Sitting upright from the bed Bunny silently fist pumped into the air and gasped happily as she swiped her phone from the end table turning off the alarm. She had to tell Jack.
Quickly pulling up Jack’s text message thread she typed out a quick message to him.
Taco Tuesday was a success and Esme slept through the night!
Not waiting for a response she set her phone back down and got up from the bed. Changing easily into a pair of gray baggy sweatpants and a hunter green long sleeved shirt Bunny quickly tied up her hair out of her face and grabbed her phone before exiting her room. She peeked into Esme’s room quickly to see the girl still sound asleep and she grinned from ear to ear before she bounded down the stairs to the kitchen.
“C’mon Butter let’s get you outside to pee.” Bunny said softly as she walked into the kitchen stretching widely feeling more refreshed and accomplished than ever before. She patted her thighs and whistled for Butter who was still snoozing himself on his back half in his dog bed and half out of it.
When he heard her whistle his little body twisted and flipped in such a way that had Bunny groaning in sympathetic pain. But the little dog quickly got to his feet and slid across the floor towards her. She laughed softly and walked him down the back hallway to the back door.
“Go on. Get it done quick so you can come back into the warmth.” she told the dog as he leapt from the back steps and made a mad dash for his arch rival who was once again taunting him with his tittering fluffy tail. Shaking her head Bunny shut the back door and watched for a moment as Butter rushed the squirrel who quickly broke away from the discarded birdseed on the ground.
Turning back around Bunny walked back into the kitchen and set up her phone to begin playing her playlist on the downstairs speakers. She hummed and swayed her hips to the upbeat song and began setting out the ingredients for an egg and veggie omelet. She was cutting up the veggies that she wanted to put in the omelet when she heard the spare bathroom door close from upstairs and she smiled.
She let Butter back into the house and was just plating up one of the omelets when Esme walked into the kitchen already dressed in a pretty light purple shirt and dark wash bootcut blue jeans, her hair was in disarray and she looked crestfallen at that fact as she tried to pull it up into a ponytail.
“Here, eat your omelet and I’ll take care of your hair ok?” Bunny offered as she set the plate of the omelet in front of Esme. Esme looked up at her gratefully and nodded her head.
“Thank you.” she said softly before she began digging into her breakfast.
“No problem, do you want a ponytail or a braid? Two braids?” Bunny asked as she walked around Esme and grabbed the brush that was sitting on the kitchen island.
“Oooh! Can you do two braids? Or two braids that go into one?” Esme asked eagerly.
“I can do two braids, one of either side of your head for today. Anything else fancy and I’ll have to look it up on google on how to do it.” Bunny said as she began to brush out Esme’s long hair.
“You’d do that? Look it up for me?” Esme asked curiously and with a hopefully lilt to her voice.
“Of course. If I can figure out how to do it for you I will. So what would you like for tomorrow? Two braids that go into one?” Bunny assured her easily.
“Yes please!” Esme cheered happily. Bunny nodded as she hummed along to the song playing on her phone and began to braid Esme’s hair into two long braids.
“Oh! I’ve got a sparkly ribbon that I can tie into bows on the end would you want that?” Bunny asked suddenly as she thought about the ribbon that she had in her craft room.
“Is it purple?” Esme asked as she turned to look at Bunny with wide eyes.
“It might be let me go get it and we’ll see if it looks good.” Bunny suggested as she hurried over to the craft room and grabbed the sparkle ribbon she had. When she made it back to the kitchen Esme had already finished her breakfast and was just finishing up her orange juice. Bunny showed her the ribbon and Esme nodded eagerly as she still drank from her cup. Bunny laughed and walked behind Esme again. Easily tying a neat little bow on the end of each braid Bunny nodded her head in accomplishment. “Alright all done. Go on upstairs and brush your teeth, get your jacket and backpack while I eat my breakfast ok?”
“Thanks Bunny!” Esme called after she put her dirty dishes in the sink and rushed upstairs. Shaking her head slightly Bunny quickly made her own omelet and ate it standing at the kitchen island. Furrowing her brow slightly as she leaned against the island just letting her thoughts run away from her as the music still played over the speakers. Gasping suddenly Bunny turned towards the notebook she kept next to the fridge and quickly began jotting down ideas that she had for the client’s website that she was designing. She smiled as she realized after writing everything down that all her ideas were all inspiration from braiding Esme’s hair.
———
It had been a few hours since Esme had gotten onto the school bus and Bunny had been eyeballs deep into her work. After the inspirational breakthrough she had this morning thanks to Esme she had easily applied her ideas to the website design for her client and had completed a very sleek and eye appealing website. With the finishing touches now being completed Bunny sent off the design to the client and powered down her computer.
Swiping her phone off the desk she lazily scrolled through the notifications until she saw that Jack had texted her about an hour or so ago. She had already warned him on the video call he had with Esme this morning that she would be busy with her work today as she had finally gotten over the block she had come across. He had told her it wasn’t a problem and that he’d text her later but not to worry about responding back right away. He knew how work could easily keep your focus and you lose track of time.She opened the text and smiled when she saw what he had written.
Doctor says yoga is a-ok with her. Also said any other exercises or sport classes that are low key like yoga would be good too. If you have any suggestions I’m all for it.
Bunny tilted her head to the side as she tried to think of any other classes that Esme could take that would make her feel better about having asthma. Bunny stood from her desk chair and walked into the kitchen to begin prepping for dinner tonight. She had plans to get Esme more into helping her cook tonight and she knew the little girl would enjoy it. Typing away on her phone she sent off a text to Jack and set the phone down.
Did the Doctor suggest anything? Do you think she meant classes like karate or tai chi? It could maybe help Esme feel better if she had some self defense classes. It might make her feel more confident.
Pulling out the yeast packet Bunny began making the dough for the homemade pizzas she had planned for tonight. After kneading the dough she placed it in a bowl with a towel over it and set it to the side. She then pulled out some veggies and began chopping them up so that they’d go easier on the pizza. Then Bunny began heating up some tomato sauce and adding spices into it and letting it simmer on the stove. Once everything was done and prepped she looked over at the clock over the stove and saw that she had about ten minutes until the bus would be arriving.
“C’mon Butter! Let’s go get Esme!” She called out to the dog and heard his feet scrambling against the floor as he ran from his spot in the hallway where the sun managed to hit the floor and heat it enough for Butter to take a cat nap. “You silly dog.” she said fondly to him as she clipped his leash to his collar and the two of them walked out of the house together. Slipping her phone out of her pocket when she heard her notification sound go off she smiled as she saw another text from Jack.
That’s a good idea. Do you know of any karate classes?
I’ll see what I can find out and let you know. ;)
Bunny froze as she looked down at the text that she sent Jack. The little winking emoji stared up at her and she felt her breath slowly escape out of her lungs. Why did she send that?! How was Jack going to take that little emoji? Was he going to think she was flirting with him? Was she flirting with him? Would he like that she was flirting with him? Thoughts raced through her mind as she stared at the emoji and waited to see if he would send a response really quickly or not.
“Bunny!” Shouted Esme and Bunny jumped almost a foot in the air as she whipped her head around to look at Esme. Pressing the hand holding her cellphone to her chest she tried to calm her racing heart. “You okay Bunny?” Esme asked curiously as she stared at her.
“Oh yeah, yeah kiddo. I’m fine. Sorry I was a little distracted.” Bunny said easily to Esme.
“What were you distracted of?” Esme asked and Bunny smiled softly at the mix up of words from her. And then she remembered what had distracted her. Bunny’s heart began to pound in her chest again and she took in a deep breath to try and calm herself down.
“Nothing sweetheart. Let’s get walking so Butter can go to the bathroom and then I’ve got another surprise for dinner tonight.” Bunny said softly. The two of them began walking around the block together and Bunny looked down at her phone to see that she had gotten another text message from Jack.
Thanks sweetheart. ;)
Bunny felt her face flush and she slipped the phone into her back pocket quickly trying to put the text message out of her mind. But that text message would stay with her for the rest of the night.
———
The next morning Bunny’s alarm rings out and she rolls over in the bed sighing softly. Staring up at the ceiling she lets her hand rest against her stomach and her mind begins to drift off with Jack in the spotlight. Last night after her and Esme had made two medium sized pizzas with different toppings, Esme had said she wanted to take a bunch of pictures to send to Jack and Bunny had pulled out all the stops. She took pictures of Esme holding up her homemade pizza and then pictures of Esme eating the pizza.
Then the pictures had devolved into dressing up and having a dance party in Bunny’s bedroom. The two of them took selfies with the selfie stick as they posed and danced. Bunny had captured some videos too to send to Jack of her and Esme dancing around like crazy.
When Jack had video called later that night he had laughed at the excited Esme as she giggled. He had even told Bunny that he loved her picture in the fuzzy boa before he winked at her over the screen. Bunny had flushed almost immediately and had quickly left the video call. Esme had given her an odd look for a moment before turning back to the screen and talking to Jack.
Bunny stared up at the ceiling focusing on the white paint and felt herself flushing again at the thought of Jack. She knew she was going to be sad when Esme was no longer staying with her, she had definitely gotten used to taking care of the little girl and having her around. But Jack was coming home in a few more days on Sunday night and Esme would have to go back home. Shaking her head Bunny tried to clear the sadness that was trying to creep up on her. It was only Thursday and she still had four more days with the little girl and the weekend to spend time with her. She wouldn’t let the sadness of her leaving ruin her time with her now.
Getting up from the bed she dresses in a pair of black leggings and slips on a light blue tank top and then a charcoal gray oversized sweater. She walked down the stairs after checking on Esme and quietly let out Butter into the backyard before stepping into the craft room and pulled out a length of sparkly rainbow colored ribbon that she wanted to weave into Esme’s hair. She had looked up how to videos online and had found some really cute designs for braids and ribbons to try on Esme.
In the kitchen she pulled out some frozen waffles and slid them into the toaster. She then pulled out some fresh fruit and began cutting them up and placing them in a medium sized bowl. The toaster went off and Bunny put in some more for herself before setting the first two on a plate and pulling out the butter dish and maple syrup.
Esme was just walking into the kitchen when Bunny pulled the other two waffles out of the toaster. Smearing butter onto the waffles she stacked them on Esme’s plate and poured some maple syrup over them.
“Mornin’ kiddo. How’d you sleep?” Bunny as she dished out some fruit as well for Esme.
“Good. What’s the rainbow ribbon for?” Esme responded easily as she yawned widely. Bunny chuckled softly and pulled the video of how to and showed Esme.
“I figured I’d try my hand at weaving some ribbon into your hair for your hairdo today. How’s that sound?” Bunny explained as Esme watched the how to video and squealed delightedly.
“That looks sooo good!” Esme cheered happily and Bunny nodded her head. “Oh please can we do this?”
“Of course sweetheart.” Bunny said easily. “Eat up your waffles and some fruit and I’ll braid your hair.” Bunny explained as she began eating her own waffles.
Once Bunny finished her waffles she moved behind Esme and set up her phone so she could watch the how to video as she braided Esme’s hair and weaved the sparkly rainbow ribbon into it. She braided one braid on each side of Esme’s head and then combined it into one larger braid all while weaving the ribbon into her braid. When she was finished she looked at the results and smiled warmly nodding her head.
“There we go. C’mon let’s go get check it out in the bathroom and then finish getting ready for school.” Bunny said nodding her head and began leading Esme up to the bathroom upstairs. While in the bathroom Bunny took a picture of Esme’s hair and showed it to her. Esme squealed with happiness and bounced on her feet. “You look very pretty Es. I hope you like it.” Bunny said truthfully and watched as the girl in front of her gasped and then lunged forward wrapping her arms around Bunny’s waist.
“I love it, thank you Bunny. You’re the best!” Esme cheered happily as she continued to hug Bunny. Bunny wrapped her arms around Esme and leant her head on top of Esme’s. Smiling softly she just let herself be hugged by the little girl and began to feel happiness start to consume her.
“You’re very welcome sweetheart.” Bunny said warmly to the girl and then patted her back three times. “Should we send a picture of your hair to your Dad. Show him how pretty you look today?”
“Yes! He’s gonna love it!” Esme cheered happily. Bunny quickly pulled up the text thread for Jack and typed out a message before sending the picture of Esme’s hairdo off to him. She walked out of the bathroom and went into her own to brush her teeth. Just then her phone started to ring with the video call ringtone and Bunny answered it as she was brushing her teeth.
Jack’s face came onto the screen and Bunny hummed at him as she continued to brush her teeth. Jack’s laughter came over the speaker and he grinned at her before she bent over and spat out her toothpaste.
“Hold on one second Jack.” Bunny said quickly as she rinsed out her mouth and began walking to Esme’s bathroom. “Good morning by the way.” Bunny said easily and grinned at him.
“Good mornin’ to ya too Bunny.” Jack said easily and his grin grew in size on his face. Bunny pressed a button on the screen and switched the camera to face front and showed Jack the back of Esme’s hair. Jack gave a long loud whistle and Esme whirled around with a grin on her face.
“Doesn’t she look so pretty Jack?” Esme asked smiling at the girl.
“She looks as beautiful as a rose. You did a good job Bunny, you’re setting the bar high for me aren’t ya? Good morning sunshine!” Jack said happily and Bunny handed the phone to Esme who switched the camera back and began talking to her Dad. Bunny smiled at the excited chatter that instantly filled the bathroom.
“Good morning Daddy. Thanks! I really love what Bunny did with my hair.” Esme said easily as she continued to grin and bounce lightly on her toes.
“She did a really good job with it.” Jack agreed with her. Bunny smiled as she walked out of the bathroom leaving the two of them to talk.
———
Bunny had seen a very excited Esme off on the bus. The little girl bouncing around happily saying that she couldn’t wait to show Nadia her hair ribbons. According to Esme her new friend Nadia always had such pretty hairdos and pretty barrettes in her hair. As Bunny walked back to her house with Butter she idly wondered if she could make Esme a set of pretty barrettes that Jack would be able to put in her hair.
When she got back to the house she walked into the craft room and booted up her computer to look up what she would need to create some pretty barrettes and bows for Esme. As since she had finished the project for her client ahead of schedule Bunny had the next two days off to spend however she wanted. She would only need to wait on the response back from her client and then she would be back to work to implement the website design for the client.
Looking at the computer screen Bunny saw what she needed to make bows and nodded her head confidently as she saw most of the supplies she needed she had. Putting on some background music she began pulling out all the supplies she needed.
Before she actually got down to creating the bows a notification came across the speakers in the room and she looked over at her phone to see she had gotten a message from one of her girlfriends named Mercy who ran the dog yoga classes on the weekends.
Hey honey bunny! I heard through the grapevine that you’re going to be joining us this weekend with Butter and a friend?
Bunny smiled as she saw the message and quickly began typing out a response to Mercy.
Yes I’m bringing Butter and a little girl named Esme who’s my new neighbor’s daughter that I’m watching this week. She has severe asthma so I’m trying to help find her classes that her doctor approved for her to take. The doctor suggested karate and tai chi but I don’t know of any classes nearby for that. Would you happen to know of any?
Girl, I got you covered. I’ll bring all the info I’ve got on those types of classes. There’s a few places not far from the community that offer up karate and tai chi. There’s also father/daughter classes too if the Dad is into it. Or mother/daughter classes if she wants you to do it with her.
Oh, that’s sweet of you but I don’t want to overstep. But I appreciate any help you can give me! Thanks sweetheart! I’ll see you on Saturday!
Can’t wait! See you Saturday!
Feeling a little accomplished with the prospect of having some information on classes for Esme Bunny grinned as she set her phone down on the counter again.
———
The day had warmed up a little bit, Butter was sprawled out in a large patch of sunlight that had heated up the wood floor in the craft room and Bunny was seated on the stool that sat next to her craft table in the middle of the room as she looped another pretty red ribbon on itself before securing it with her hot glue gun. Blowing lightly on the hot glue she pulled her fingers away and smiled triumphantly when the ribbon stayed perfectly still where she had placed it and glued it down. She picked up a black fabric covered button and put hot glue on the back of it before she pressed it in the middle of the red bow and let the glue adhere to ribbons and the back of the bow barrette.
Just then the shrill ringing of her cellphone caught her attention as the music cut off on the speakers. Setting the bow and the hot glue gun on the counter Bunny reached over and grabbed her phone. She saw Jack’s contact show up on the screen and smiled curiously as to why he was calling her in the middle of the day. Swiping her finger over the screen she easily unlocked the phone and heard the call connect.
“Jack? Are you okay?” Bunny asked curiously as she pressed the phone to her ear.
“Hey Bunny I’m sorry to call you during the work day.” came Jack’s rushed voice.
“No, no it’s okay what’s going on? What’s wrong?” Bunny asked now feeling worry start to course through her body. She felt her muscles tense as Jack’s tone. Something was wrong and her whole body was picking up on it just in his tone.
“I’m okay. Sorry, I’m okay. But I got a call from the school.” he said blowing out a sighing breath. Bunny was instantly relieved and then her body tensed when she realized that he mentioned the school.
“What’s wrong with Es? Did something happen? Was it her asthma?” Bunny began questioning him rapidly and Jack blew out another breath of air.
“No, she’s okay. I’m sorry I’m really bad at relaying this.” he said quickly trying to calm Bunny down. Bunny took in a breath and slowly blew it out closing her eyes as she slowly relaxed her tense muscles one at a time.
“Okay, next time just start out with everyone is okay then get to the info.” Bunny suggested as she tilted her head to the side and Jack chuckled softly at her words.
“Yeah that would have definitely been better. Sorry I didn’t mean to make you worry.” Jack said softly.
“It’s okay. My mind just jumped immediately to the worst case scenario. What’s going on though why did the school call you?” Bunny asked curious as she rested her elbow on the counter and then laid her head in her palm.
“So Esme got bullied again today and she went to a teacher to get it to stop.” Jack said softly and in a tone that sounded so heartbroken.
“What did the teacher do?” Bunny asked as she quickly picked her head up from her hand.
“The teacher stopped and brought the bullies to the principal’s office. Esme didn’t get into any trouble but the other kids are giving her the cold shoulder because she told the teacher.” Jack said dejectedly.
“Oh Es.” Bunny said softly as her heart instantly broke for the little girl.
“She’s probably going to come home not in the best mood at all. I just wanted to give you a heads up if she comes home and she’s down.” Jack said softly and Bunny nodded her head along with his words.
“Okay no problem. I think tonight I’ll see if she’ll be up to doing some crafts with me tonight. I’ve got a surprise for her that I’m hoping will lift her spirits a little after the rough day she’s had.” Bunny explained kindly as her eyes darted over to the pile of bows that she had already created. The bright colors with odd middle pieces made her grin with excitement to show Esme what she had created.
“Oh? And what did you make for my little monster?” Jack asked curiously.
“A bunch of bows to put in her hair. She mentioned this morning that her new friend Nadia has some pretty barrettes that she puts in her hair and I got to thinking maybe I should make some for the girls to wear. I made some for Es and I made some for her friend Nadia if she wanted to share them with her.” Bunny explained excited and Jack chuckled softly over the phone. “I’ll send you a few pictures later on. I’ve got a few more I wanted to make before I had to go get Esme from the bus stop.”
“Oh okay. That sounds great. Thank you Bunny. I was nervous at the beginning of this but you’ve definitely put my mind at ease with leaving Es with you. I can’t thank you enough for helping me out with this.” Jack said emphatically.
“Jack, what did we say about thanking me? No more okay? I don’t mind watching Esme for you, she’s a wonderful little girl and this week has been really great. I really enjoy being around her.” Bunny said sternly, trying to get Jack to finally stop thanking her. “Oh hey, while I got you on the phone my girlfriend Mercy said she has some info on classes for karate and tai chi that aren’t that far from the community. She runs the dog yoga so when Esme and I go this Saturday she’ll be able to give me the info. I’ll give it to you once you get home for you to figure out which class would be best for Esme.”
“Wow, that’s great! Okay thanks I really appreciate you getting information on those classes. I think they’ll be great for Esme. I really liked what you said before, that she might feel more confident with some self defensive classes. I think it’ll really be good for her.” Jack said animatedly and Bunny grinned at how into it Jack was into this idea.
“Yeah I think it’ll be good for her too. She really wants to be able to participate in gym class. And by doing something that she’s able to handle with her asthma I think it’ll make her feel a little more included sort of. Or at least I hope so.” Bunny said easily.
“Yeah I know she does it’s just tricky with her asthma. Alright I gotta get back to work. Thanks again for getting the class info. I appreciate it, I’ll talk to ya later sweetheart.” Jack said quickly and Bunny flushed heatedly at the pet name.
“Okay talk to you later Jack.” Bunny stumbled out softly and quickly hung up the phone. Fanning herself with her hand Bunny tried to calm her racing heart. How could he be affecting her so much over a damn phone call and a pet name?! Bunny took in a few more deep breaths and let them out slowly trying to calm herself. She knew that her emotions and feelings for Jack were brand new and it always felt so good in the beginning but there was so much more to figure out first than to continue developing these feelings for him. Shaking her head she began to push her feelings away and down deeper inside of herself. She had to make sure Esme was okay first and then maybe just maybe there could be something for her and Jack.
———
It wasn’t that long after Jack’s phone call that the alarm to go pick up Esme was ringing out into the air. Bunny looked up from her hunched over stance over the counter and set down the finished bow in her hands. She stretched widely letting her arms reach out on either side of her body as she slid off the stool she had been sitting on.
Bunny guessed she got so involved in finishing up the bows that she lost track of time. Arching her back she heard the pops in her joints and groaned softly. Smiling softly Bunny realized that she had never actually felt this tired in a long time. It was as if her whole body was just exhausted, she had a feeling it was because she was always trying to make the evenings fun for Esme and had been doing quite a bit of moving around.
“C’mon Butter let’s go get Esme.” Bunny said easily as she ushered the little dog out of the room and down the hallway towards the front door. The two of them quickly get the leash attached and are out the door.
“Bunny!” Called out a voice that made Bunny’s head snap up and turn to the side spotting Mr. Quinten sitting on his front porch waving at her.
“Hey Mr. Q. How are you?” Bunny asked as she led Butter across the front lawn over to the fence dividing her yard from Mr. Quinten’s. “Are you warm enough? It’s a little chilly out.”
“I’m fine, I promise, stop worrying about me. How’s it going with that little girl you’ve been watching this past week?” Mr. Quinten asked, waving away Bunny’s concern.
“She’s doing ok, had a rough start but now we’re doing good together. Tonight I think we’re going to do some crafts.” Bunny explained easily to Mr. Quinten. “Am I still taking you to the doctor on Monday?”
“Yep still scheduled to go.” Mr. Quinten replied. “That’s good that you guys are getting along. Never know when it comes to you dear.” He teased and Bunny rolled her eyes at the older man as she chuckled softly.
“Sure Mr. Quinten whatever you say.” Bunny grumbled out and Mr. Quinten laughed loudly.
“That’s what I like to hear Bunny!” Mr. Quinten called out as Bunny shook her head and waved at Mr. Quinten before leading Butter back towards the sidewalk to go walk to the bus stop.
Once Bunny and Butter had gotten to the bus stop Bunny had a seat on the curb and Butter quickly walked over and curled in her lap. Bunny ran her fingers through the fur on his back and Butter turned and twisted in her lap until he was laying on his back and presenting his belly to her. Bunny chuckled softly as she began to scratch his belly making him wiggle with delight.
“You’re such a needy little thing. I love you Butter.” She says softly to him as she cuddles him up in her arms and close to her chest. She laughs as he burrows into her chest and huffs loudly. Just then the sound of the brakes on the bus ring through the air and Bunny looks up from her spot on the curb to watch as Esme dejectedly walks down the steps of the bus.
When the little girl looks up and spots the two of them sitting on the curb and gives a soft grimace. Bunny smiles softly at Esme and holds Butter up to the side of her face hoping to make the little girl smile. It works as Esme lets out a loud giggle at the silly sight of the two of them. Bunny counts it as a win as Esme walks over and takes a seat next to her.
“Are you ok?” Bunny asks softly as Butter squirms in her arms as he tries to move to climb into Esme’s lap who giggles at his antics. The dog seems to vibrate as he wiggles in Esme’s lap and starts to lick her in the face happily. Esme’s giggles emit into the air and Bunny smiles as she sits next to the little girl and wiggling dog.
“I’m okay now.” Esme says quietly and Bunny watches her with concerned eyes. “You were right I didn’t get into trouble with the teacher when I told her about the bullying but the other kids. They weren’t so nice after they heard I told on the bully.” Esme explained, Bunny nodded her head at her words.
“Yeah sometimes people blame the person doing the right thing instead of the person doing the wrong thing. I know it stinks but those kids aren’t the friends you want in the long run. Was Nadia nice to you after you told on the bully?” Bunny tried to explain to her.
“Yeah Nadia thought I did the right thing. She was still nice to me afterwards.” Esme responded.
“Good that’s really good Es. Nadia is a really good friend then. She’s one you should keep around.” Bunny said knowingly. “I hope the two of you stay friends for a very long time.”
“I like her a lot.” Esme said softly and Bunny nodded her head.
“So I’ve got a surprise for you at the house. I was thinking maybe we’ll order some Chinese food and have it delivered while we do some crafts together, how does that sound?” Bunny suggested.
“Ooh what kind of crafts? And what’s the surprise?!” Esme asked excitedly, making Bunny laugh.
“Well any kind of crafts you’d like. We could make friendship bracelets for you and Nadia. We could do anything you really wanted. If I don’t know how to make it I’ll look it up on my computer.” Bunny explained easily to her. “And it wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you what it was now would it?” Bunny teased softly and Esme squealed in her seat.
“I wanna make a friendship bracelet for you and Nadia!” Esme cheered and Bunny felt her heart clench in her chest at the thoughtfulness of Esme.
“That sounds like a plan to me girlie. Let’s get going so we can walk this one and then order some food and get crafting.” Bunny said as she began to stand up. She looked down and watched as Esme let Butter crawl out of her lap and then grabbed the leash. Bunny took the backpack from Esme and the three of them began walking around the block.
———
Bunny laughed as she watched Esme race with Butter up to the front door and then bounce in place as she tried to wait for Bunny to come unlock the front door. Taking a leap up the small three step porch she had Bunny was quickly unlocking the front door and opening it for both Esme and Butter. Esme quickly undid Butter’s leash and hung it up on the hook by the door.
“Alright kiddo the surprise is in the craft room. Let’s get in there and do a bit of crafting to relax and then I’ll order dinner how does that sound?” Bunny asked.
“Sounds good.” Esme cheered as she raced down the hallway and turned into the craft room. Bunny shook her head and walked into the kitchen to serve Butter his dinner for the evening and refresh his water bowl. Hearing the loud squeal from the craftroom Bunny couldn’t help the proud grin that burst across her face.
The sound of racing steps reached her ears and she looked up from the sink where she stood to see Esme standing in the archway of the kitchen with tears in her eyes and a duo of bows in her hands. Putting the dog bowl full of water on the floor Bunny turned fully to Esme as the little girl rushed forward and wrapped her small arms around Bunny’s waist. Burying her face in Bunny’s stomach Esme sniffled softly and Bunny felt her heart clench tightly in her chest as her hand came to rest against Esme’s soft hair.
“Thank you so much. I love them all.” Esme said around a few more sniffles. Bunny pulled Esme back a little bit and smiled down at her brightly.
“You are very welcome sweetheart.” Bunny said softly and ran her hand over Esme’s hair again. “Now c’mon let’s pick some out for Nadia and then we’ll make some bracelets.” Esme nodded her head and began making her way down the hallway towards the craftroom.
Once inside the room Bunny moved to the containers that held colored lanyard, colored string, beads and other things that they would be able to use to make bracelets. Bunny also pulled out a measuring tape and a few pieces of paper and a pencil, she had another idea to help Esme feel better about things that were going on.
“Alright so which ones would you like to share with Nadia. Or do you not want to share them with Nadia?” Bunny asked as she pulled out two stools next to the counter. The two of them sat on the stools and Esme began to look over all of the bows that she had in her pile. Bunny watched as Esme started to set aside a few of the bows for Nadia as she inspected them all carefully.
“Nadia likes the colors yellow and orange to most. She says she likes them because of sunsets.” Esme explained softly as she moved a brightly orange colored bow into Nadia’s pile.
“Well that’s nice that you’re picking her favorite colors for her. And sunsets are pretty. I get why she likes yellow and orange. What’s your favorite color?” Bunny asked Esme curiously as she watched Esme pick up a teal sparkly bow with a silver octopus figurine in the middle of it.
“I like purple and teal because it reminds me of the ocean.” Esme explained easily as she set the octopus bow in her pile before picking up another one. As Esme continued to go through each bow and decide which pile it would end up in Bunny pulled out her measuring tape and began holding the tape up against Esme’s body in certain places. When she found each measurement she needed she would write it down on one of her pieces of paper. “What’s your favorite color Bunny?” Esme asked softly.
“My favorite is teal, like a light teal. It reminds me of water and it’s really soothing.” Bunny explained and Esme nodded her head at her words.
“How come so kids are really mean and some are really nice?” Esme suddenly asked in a tone that sounded as if she was going to cry and Bunny instantly froze at the question. Feeling her heart shatter in her chest Bunny blinked her eyes for a few moments as she felt tears begin to pool in them.
“You know I don’t know why some kids are mean. It could be a lot of different things. They could have really mean siblings who pick on them at home, or really strict parents who don’t let them do things, or they could just be mean. There’s a lot of reasons why someone could be mean. But none of the reasons have anything to do with you, got that?” Bunny tried to explain to Esme so that she understood. “I don’t know why the kids at school were mean to you. But you’ve got your Dad, Me, and Nadia who care about you and we’ll be here to help you ok?” Bunny said confidently and Esme nodded her head slightly and Bunny slipped off her stool and hugged the little girl tightly. “I promise not everyone is mean and there’s some really good people out there. You just gotta look for them.”
“Ok.” Esme said softly as she hugged Bunny back around the waist. When the two pulled apart Bunny pulled over the materials for the friendship bracelets that the two of them would need to make. Esme smiled as she began knotting and tying off lanyard cords. “You’re the best Bunny.” Esme said quietly as Bunny climbed back onto her stool and pulled over the colored string to begin her own friendship bracelets. When the words reached her ears Bunny whipped her head over to Esme and grinned widely.
“You and your Dad seem to think so.” Bunny said fondly and Esme grinned at her nodding her head.
“Daddy likes you a lot. He thinks you’re really cool and a good role model for me.” Esme said knowingly and Bunny tilted her head to the side as she smiled softly.
“That’s nice to hear.” Bunny said softly and the two of them fell into a companionable silence as they began making bracelets together. Conversation flowing easily between the two as they appraised each other’s work. But Bunny’s eyes kept darting over to her paper with measurements listed on it silently drafting up ways on how she was going to create Esme’s surprise for tomorrow.
———
The next morning Bunny is awake before her alarm and after the morning routine with Butter she is easily rushing into Esme’s room and cheering loudly.
“It’s Friday! Wake up sleepyhead!” Bunny cheered happily as she opened up Esme’s bedroom door. The little girl let out a loud groan as she tried to snuggle deeper into the covers of her bed. Bunny laughed loudly as she moved over to the bed and took a seat on the edge, her hand coming up to rub along Esme’s body under the covers. “C’mon sleepyhead, only one more day of school and then it’s the weekend!” Bunny cheered happily as she patted Esme. “Besides you’ve gotta deliver Nadia’s bows and bracelet to her today.” Bunny teased softly as she stood up and left the room slowly.
“Oh! That’s right!” came Esme’s still sleepy response as Bunny gently shut the door. She chuckled softly as she heard the little girl rushing around the room to get dressed before she moved back down the stairs to let Butter back into the house. Bunny moved into the kitchen and quickly began to make omelets for her and Esme.
“Butter what are we gonna do when Esme goes home this weekend? We’re not gonna have a guest for very much longer.” Bunny said absentmindedly to the dog who was curled up in his bed staring at her silently. He barked loudly when she turned her head to look at him. She smiled at him and nodded her head. “I know we’re gonna miss her right?” Bunny asked fondly of the dog and he barked twice making her laugh. “Yup I’m gonna miss her.”
Just then Esme walks into the kitchen and both Bunny and Butter look over at her. Butter barking happily as he rushed over to Esme and danced around her feet making her giggle happily.
“Good Morning Butter!” cheered Esme as she bent down and pet Butter’s head. Bunny shook her head amused as she watched the dog trot off to his bed once he got the pets he wanted and slumped into the plush dog bed. “Hey Bunny, do you have a bag that I can put Nadia’s bows and bracelets in? I don’t want them to get messed up before I give them to her.” Esme asked as she looked over at Bunny.
“Yeah I think I do, let me see.” Bunny said as she plated up Esme’s omelet and then turned off the stove before moving to the pantry to see if she had any ziploc bags for Esme. “Ah, here we go.” she says producing a medium sized bag and Esme nodded her head eagerly as she took it from Bunny and set it aside.
“Thanks Bunny.” Esme said easily as Bunny nodded her head and turned back to the stove. “So what’s with the wake up call today?” Esme asks curiously as Bunny begins making her own omelet for breakfast.
“I’ve got things to do today so as soon as I get you up and off to school I can get to the things that I gotta do today.” Bunny said vaguely.
“What things?” Esme asked curiously and Bunny smirks softly.
“Things.” Bunny teases and Esme makes a scrunched up face at her making her laugh.
“Why can’t I know?” Esme asked curiously and Bunny shook her head.
“It’s a surprise.” Bunny said secretively and Esme eyed her shrewdly.
“You like surprises a lot huh?” Esme asked as she tilted her head at Bunny.
“For other people, yes. For myself I hate them.” Bunny answers honestly as she plates her omelet and moves to have a seat at the kitchen island.
“What do you mean for other people?” Esme asks and Bunny smiles at her.
“I like making surprises for other people. But I don’t like receiving surprises.” Bunny explains.
“Even if they’re good surprises?” Esme asks and Bunny nods her head as she begins to shovel her omelet in her mouth.
“Even the good surprises.” Bunny said with finality and Esme tilts her head and then nods.
“Well that’s good to know.” Esme says easily and Bunny nearly chokes on her food as she’s mid-chew.
“You’re a little sassy this morning aren’t ya?” Bunny griped out amused as she looked over at Esme with a grin.
“You won’t tell me what you’re doing today and just say it’s a surprise. Expect the sass.” Esme said as she huffed. Bunny’s eyes widened at the sass from the little girl before she began laughing delighted.
“Oh man your Dad has his hands full with you doesn’t he?” Bunny asked as she continued to laugh.
“You have no idea.” Esme said as rolled her eyes. Bunny’s laughter filled the room and Esme only responded with happy giggles of her own.
———
“Mr. Quinten, honestly I just asked for cardboard boxes. Do you have any? I don’t need the crochety old man act from you right now.” Bunny said tiredly into her cellphone as she pressed it to her ear. Listening to his response she blew out a long breath. “It’s for Esme. I want to surprise her.”
Bunny moved about the craft room as she eyed the large pile of cardboard boxes that she had gathered from her stockpile and the neighbors next door. She only needed a few more boxes and had hoped that Mr. Quinten would have them and wouldn’t give her a problem but of course the old man had to give her the whole 20 questions about why she needed the boxes.
She only needed three more boxes to finish up the pirate ship she was planning to make for Esme. This morning after she got Esme on the bus and got through the video call with Jack she had quickly raced home and gathered all the cardboard boxes that she had stored up. She then had asked the neighbors that she knew were home today if they had any boxes that she could have. They all had eagerly given them up to her so that they wouldn’t have to put them out on the curb and they knew that Bunny would find another way to repurpose them.
“I just need three you can keep all the others.” Bunny said exasperatedly. “Yes once I take them they’re mine I won’t be giving them back to you. Goodness, maybe I’ll just ask someone else if this is the trouble I gotta go through to get them.” Bunny complained as she pulled the phone away from her ear glaring at it. “Look can I have the boxes or not? I gotta get going on this if I want to get it done before Esme comes home. And if you’re giving them up I gotta find someone else with boxes that will let me take them.” Bunny explained. “Thank you! Finally, it’s like pulling teeth with you. I’ll be right over to come get them.”
Hanging up the phone Bunny let out a loud sigh as she blew out a breath. Shaking her head, her attitude began to change as she realized that she finally had all the cardboard boxes she would need to be able to create Esme’s pirate ship. She walked out of the craft room when her phone began ringing and she looked down to see that she was getting a call from Jack. Furrowing her eyebrows she quickly answered the call and placed the phone to her ear.
“Hey Jack, is everything ok?” she asked quickly and heard Jack softly curse on the phone.
“Yeah I’m sorry to call you during the work day again. I just-I wanted to make sure you were okay. You weren’t really on the video call this morning and I was worried something was going on that you didn’t want to say in front of Esme.” Jack explained in a soft worried tone. Bunny smiled softly to herself, he was checking up on her.
“Oh yeah I’m okay. There is something going on that I didn’t want to tell Esme but it’s nothing bad. I’m making her cardboard pirate ship as a surprise and figured we’d do some reenacting of the pirate’s movies after school.” Bunny explained easily as she continued to walk out of the house.
“Wow.” Jack said softly and Bunny laughed softly. “You can do that?”
“Don’t underestimate me Jack. I’m the crafting queen.” Bunny said amused. “I’m heading over to Mr. Quinten’s house now to pick up the last of the boxes I need to make the pirate ship. Then I’ve got some sewing to do for Esme’s costume and then by then it should be time for her bus to be coming home.” Bunny explained easily and happily as she bounded down the front steps of her house.
“You’re going all out for this huh?” Jack asked bemused.
“Oh yeah if we’re gonna play pirates you gotta go all out Jack. C’mon.” Bunny scoffed at him.
“You truly are amazing.” Jack says softly almost as if caught off guard by his own words.
“Jack.” Bunny begins to warn him softly.
“No, no hear me out. I don’t know many other women who would go and make a cardboard pirate ship for a little girl who’s had a rough week being away from her Dad. All just to make her feel better. I just want you to know that I really appreciate you doing all this for Es. Ever since Maria passed away I’ve kinda been going at this from the seat of my pants and probably failing spectacularly. But you’ve been such a good thing for her this week and I really do appreciate it.” Jack said earnestly. Bunny stopped in her tracks as she heard the honesty in his voice.
“I gotta admit I’m gonna miss her come next week. It’s kinda insane how easily I’ve gotten used to her in my day to day.” Bunny admitted softly and almost guiltily.
“Well we’ll definitely be seeing you around the neighborhood and if the yoga class goes well or those karate classes work out we could work something out where you and her get to spend some time together. You two can do all that girly stuff that I’m not into.” Jack said kindly and Bunny felt her lungs catch on her next breath. He was trying to keep her in your life even though you were only a neighbor.
“Oh Jack really? I’d love that! But if you wanna take her to karate or tai chi that’s all you, I don’t want to take that from you.” Bunny said quickly even as her heart lifted at being able to spend time with Esme. “Ok, ok let’s not get too emotional now. I still gotta build a pirate ship. I’ll send you pictures and videos once everything is set up and I get her into costume. Ok?” Bunny said quickly as she grinned.
“Alright sweetheart. I expect to see you in full costume too.” Jack said with a happy laugh.
“Duh Jack. Honestly who would I be if I didn’t get in full costume also?” Bunny asked with a scoff before she laughed softly. “I’ll talk to you later Jack.”
“Talk to you later sweetheart.” Jack said in response before the call ended. Bunny is already continuing her path to Mr. Quinten’s house when she stops again and realizes that Jack called her sweetheart twice during that phone call. She feels her face flush heatedly before she shakes her head, this man and his daughter were slipping so easily into her life it was a little daunting.
———
Bunny smiles as she stares at herself in the mirror. She’s decked out in her pirate queen costume. Gray pants cover her legs while knee high tan boots cover her feet. A dark brown leather corset sits on her rib cage and a loose fitting white shirt is underneath that. The look is completed with a long vibrant black and gold coat that falls to her knees, a fake sword is strapped to her waist loosely and a worn tattered pirate hat sits on top of her head. She smiled as she grabbed her phone from the dresser and took a few pictures of her costume. She sends one off to Jack with a catchy pirate themed comment and easily stows her phone in the pocket of the jacket.
Moving out of her bedroom and down the stairs Bunny makes a quick stop in the craft room and opens up the chest full of costumes. She grabs the octopus costume and walks into the kitchen smiling brightly at Butter. The dog looked over at you from his sprawled out position. When his eyes spotted the octopus costume he quickly scrambled up and raced over to you barking loudly.
“Alright, alright Kraken let’s get you all suited up and then we’ll go get Esme yeah?” Bunny asked as she laughed at the little dog’s response to the costume she held. Butter jumped around Bunny’s feet and she tried to wrestle the costume onto the dog. “Butter hold still bub.” Bunny instructed and the dog listened as he stood still for her and she quickly strapped the velcro straps around his body. “Okay good.”
Standing upright she ushered the dog over to the front door and attached his leash to his collar before the two of them were out the door. As Bunny walked down the sidewalk she grinned and waved at the neighbors who were returning home from work. Some laughed and waved back while others looked at her curiously before shaking their heads. Bunny stopped at the corner and stood there holding Butter’s leash and posed in a very Jack Sparrow-esque pose as she waited for Esme’s bus to arrive.
When the bus did finally arrive at the corner and Esme stood at the top of the bus stairs the squeal she let out could probably be heard two streets away. Her legs couldn’t move quick enough as she bounded down the stairs and ran straight for Bunny.
“Oh my god Bunny! You look amazing!” Esme cheered as she danced and bounced around Bunny. “And look at Butter!”
“Excuse me little miss. I don’t know anyone by the name of Bunny nor Butter. No. My name is Delilah ‘The Siren’ Vail and this ‘ere is the Kraken.” Bunny says in a horrible pirate-esque accent. Esme giggles loudly and bounces on her toes excitedly.
“Are we playing pirates?” Esme asks softly and Bunny grins before nodding her head eagerly to Esme.
“Yeah, we’re playing pirates. Wanna head home? I've got some surprises for ya.” Bunny says easily and Esme nods her head quickly. The two of them usher Butter back towards the house quickly and he barks as they try not to rush him too much.
Once back at the house Bunny unlocks the door and ushers everyone inside. She unleashes Butter and shoos Esme towards the craft room.
“Your costume is in there. Go get changed into it and then we board the ship in the backyard.” Bunny says hurriedly.
“There’s a ship?” Esme asks loudly as she moves down the hallway. The cheer and squeal from the craft room almost deafens both Butter and Bunny. But Bunny can’t keep the grin off her face as she hears the excitement coming from the craft room.
“Es, Butter and I are gonna be outside ok?” Bunny calls as she passes the craft room with her Kraken dog at her heels.
“Ok!” calls back Esme.
———
The ship rocked and swayed on the high seas as waves crested underneath knocking its occupants off their legs continuously. Seagulls cawed and cried above the crew’s heads as the birds circled the tall masts holding the fluttering sails. A storm was brewing in the air and the sea was churning with anticipation of it. Ivy ‘Gunner’ Wendell stood at the helm gazing out over the churning waters. There was something in the air that was making her cautious of their course. Something that she was forgetting.
Suddenly the ship shook as a loud thud was heard from below deck. It felt as if something had crashed into the side of the ship. As Gunner looked around bewildered she spied a dark wood ship in the distance that was flying a black and gold flag from their crow’s nest.
“Mateys, turn the ship around! There be the Golddust in the distance! We need to be sure her captain won’t board us!” Gunner called down to her crew and watched as they all whipped their heads to the side to gaze at the ship that was fast approaching. “Mateys!” Gunner cried out loudly and they all scrambled to do their part to turn the ship away from the Golddust.
Just then another loud thud was heard from below deck and the ship shook with it’s impact. Gunner nearly lost her footing and had to grab onto the helm before she fell over. When she looked back up to see where the Golddust was, she was dismayed to see that it gained at least half of the distance it was before.
“Mateys brace yourselves!” Gunner shouted as she tried in vain to turn the helm as quickly as she could. The helm spun for a moment or two before coming to a dead stop almost throwing Gunner to the floor of the ship. “What is this?!” Gunner cried out as she tried in vain to turn the helm. Her eyes darted up to see that the Golddust had drawn closer and was now turning so it would be parallel with Gunner’s ship. Gunner could see Pirate Queen Delilah ‘The Siren’ Vail gazing at her from her own helm with a smug smirk on her face. But as the Golddust sat parallel with Gunner’s ship the Golddust crew didn’t move to come aboard. It was almost as if they were waiting for something. Something to happen. But what? Just then it made sense to Gunner what those thudding impacts were below deck.
“KRAKEN!” Gunner shouted to her crew and watched as four large ugly purple and teal tentacles surged out of the water on each side of her ship. The tentacles rose higher than the masts of the ship and the horrified crew below cried out in horror. They all tried to scramble away as the large tentacles suddenly crashed down onto the floor of the ship. The wood splintered and Gunner was thrown from her position at the tremor of the ship. Quickly righting herself she drew her sword and began rushing towards the Kraken to defend what was left of her ship. “I will have your tentacle for what you’ve done!” cried Gunner loudly as she surged forwards to try and slice at the tentacles.
Suddenly the tentacles drew away and Gunner looked around bewildered along with her crew. She was ready to defend her crew and ship against the abomination but it had withdrawn. There was a grumble to the side of the ship and Gunner turned her head swiftly to see Pirate Queen Delilah standing on the rail of her ship holding onto some of the rigging with a smug smirk.
“He’ll only come when I call. Might as well give it up Princess.” taunted the Queen. Turning to her Gunner pointed her sword at the woman and sneered angrily.
“Never!” Gunner shouted and the Queen laughed mockingly.
“You would let your ship and crew go down to the depths of the sea all because you won’t join my crew?!” Shouted Queen Delilah. “We would be unstoppable! How can you not see that!?” Queen Delilah cries out as she easily boards Gunner’s ship.
“I will never join you! You’re evil! A black cad!” Gunner shouts as the two women circle each other. The Queen has drawn her sword now and the two are in a standoff.
“Then we fight.” sneers the Queen and she lunges forward striking out with her sword. The clanging of their swords fills the air as the two fight to get the upper hand. The Queen has the advantage of being stronger but Gunner is     quicker as she darts around the Queen. Neither one of them are gaining any leverage until the Queen lets out a loud cry and Gunner’s ship tries to withstand another thudding impact from the Kraker.
“Cheater!” cried Gunner as she’s almost thrown completely off her feet.
“I play to win Princess.” taunts the Queen as she advances. Gunner tries to defend herself but soon the Kraken is laying hit after hit upon her ship and is destroying it. Wood is flying through the air as the tentacles curl around the ship and begin to squeeze.
The Queen gasps and her eyes widen when she realizes that she will be destroyed with the ship if she doesn’t disembark. Spinning quickly she runs to the side of the ship and leaps from the railing to sail through the air and tumble onto the floor of her own ship. Gunner races after her and stops at the railing.
“You would’ve been saved Princess if only you had agreed!” cried out the Queen as she smirked and gave a little wave to Gunner.
“I will avenge my crew and ship!” Gunner cried out before the Kraken’s tentacles completely crushed the ship and Gunner was plunged into the icy waters of the unforgiven seas. Her fate left up to no one but herself.
   “Would she survive or would she perish along with her crew and ship?” Bunny calls out in a contemplating tone and Esme grinned as she sat up from where she lay on the grass right next to the cardboard ship. Butter was racing around the backyard barking happily and Esme giggled loudly at his antics. “Alright kiddo. Should we hold off for another day for part two of the saga of the Pirate Princess and the Pirate Queen?” Bunny asked as she helped Esme to stand. “It’s starting to get darker.”
   “Yeah!” Esme cheered and Bunny smiled down at her. “Can we send the pictures and videos to my Dad before we call him?” Esme asked excitedly.
   “Sure and dinner should be arriving soon too.” Bunny said as she ushered Esme into the house. “Butter c’mon!” she called over her shoulder to the dog who was still crazily running around the backyard. The two laughed as he dashed from the far fence to the backdoor his tentacles dancing around him.
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elisela · 4 years ago
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echo oscar mike buck x eddie, 1.9k, vermont verse @extasiswings​ wanted eddie to have a cat in vermont and I wasn’t gonna do it but then .... well, it’s chapel so.
Eddie learned, very shortly after moving to Vermont, that he likes routine. He thrives off it—blame his parents and their strict schedule when he was growing up, blame the military, or maybe just blame his personality—but he finds comfort in knowing what his day is going to look like when he wakes up in the morning.
And he has a good one, has had a good one since he met Buck and fell into an easy(ish) life with him, waking up in the morning to kick a seventy-five pound dog off his bed so he can have sex with his husband, said husband making him breakfast every morning, filling up his days with workouts, running the youth center a few days a week, taking classes at the community college just because he hates being bored, and being home by the time his kid and Buck are both back just to spend the rest of the day with them.
(Less Chris these days, now that he’s sixteen and more interested in girls, trying to convince Eddie to take him in for an exam so he can be cleared to drive, and spending every waking minute out of the house and with his friends. Eddie’s mom had said he was too permissive last time she called and Chris hadn’t been home, but Chris is happy, Buck is happy, and Eddie is certainly happy, so he tried not to let it get to him.)
So Eddie’s in the middle of his Tuesday routine—breakfast with Bobby, Combat to Classroom lecture at a community college in Burlington, and a run around the University of Vermont campus before he heads home to clean up before opening the youth center—when he passes the Delta Tau Delta house and stops.
He’s not sure why the cardboard box catches his eye, but it does, and laying inside is one tiny kitten, eyes closed against the soft rain that’s falling.
Eddie’s parents were not big on pets growing up. His dad was never home, and he can still hear his mother saying, “when you’re mature enough to take care of a pet on your own, then we’ll talk.” Christopher had been born before Eddie was ever deemed mature enough for a pet, so it wasn’t until he’d found Ox out on the trail that he had gotten any experience. But Ox was a monster, a beast of a dog who took up so much room that he and Buck had gotten new furniture just to accommodate him.
So this—this tiny tan and black kitten that might fit in Buck’s palm—he’s not sure what to do, so he does what he always does when he has a question, and he calls Hen.
“Eddie, being a surgeon is not the same as being a vet,” she sighs when he fills her in. “Is the cat warm?”
He bends down and strokes a finger over its fur and down to its paws. “Not really,” he says, “but her eyes opened so she’s still alive. Should I take her to the vet?”
“Sometimes I wonder about you,” Hen says, and Eddie grins even though she can’t see him. “Yes, take the cat to the vet. But you know you’re gonna have to keep it for awhile, don’t you? The shelters have been full for months, that always happens when it starts getting colder.”
“Well, what else am I supposed to do, leave her to die?” he says—
—which is the same thing he says that night to Buck, when Buck takes three steps inside the door, looks at Eddie bottle-feeding the cat, and says, “no.”
“No,” Buck says again, shaking his head as he toes off his untied boots and kicks them under the bench. “You already—” he leans down and kisses Eddie, a soft press of lips at the corner of his mouth, “—brought this beast into our—get off me Ox, let me get my jacket off first—into our house without asking.”
“She was in a wet cardboard box,” he says, looking down and tilting the bottle to get the last drops out. “What was I supposed to do, leave her to die?”
“Leave her at the vet,” Buck says, scratching Ox on the head and moving towards the kitchen, talking as he disappears through the doorway. “I put chicken in the fridge to thaw this morning but I think I want—Eddie!”
“I think he saw the litter box,” Eddie whispers to the little bundle in his hands, setting the bottle down and sliding her back into his hoodie pocket to keep warm. He stands up, sliding a hand into his pocket to make sure she’s secure, and goes to console his husband. Buck might be upset, but he’ll get over it. “The vet wouldn’t take her,” he says, leaning against the doorway and watching as Buck looks over the bags on the kitchen table.
Eddie’s never had a cat; he had no clue what to buy, so he just … bought one of everything.
There’s something—off, about it though; when he’d brought Ox home, Buck had sighed and complained about it, but he hadn’t looked—mad.
Like he does now.
“I named her Echo,” Eddie offers, expecting to be laughed at, for Buck to roll his eyes and finally crack a smile, but he just lets out a breath and allows the bag to fall from his hand. “Buck,” he tries again, “really, the vet wouldn’t take her and—”
“And did you try anywhere else?” Buck asks, looking at Eddie skeptically. “Because the seven bags from The Dog and Cat tell me that you didn’t.”
“Hen said the shelters were all full,” Eddie says. “Maybe I should have talk to you first, but you were busy—”
“Funny, you’ve never thought I was too busy working when you want me to come home in the middle of the day because you want me to fuck you—”
“—and you love cats,” Eddie says over him, because he can’t exactly argue with that. He’s definitely taken advantage of Buck working for himself now, not having a set schedule or time-frame unless it’s his own making, the couch out in the workshop getting so much use that Buck had joked about finally just bringing a bed in. “You volunteer at an animal shelter, I didn’t think it would be a big deal.”
“I walk the dogs,” Buck says, “and you didn’t think that, you thought if I came home and saw the cat that I’d just accept it like I did with Ox.”
Eddie opens his mouth to keep arguing, but Buck crosses his arms over his chest, and he closes it again. Buck doesn’t get closed off like this often, and although he still thinks he had a good reason—he’s not leaving any animal outside, exposed to the rain that’s now pouring down—but he’s also aware that Buck is … entirely right. Somehow, Eddie had fallen in love with Echo in between jogging back to his car with her wrapped in his hoodie and walking into the veterinarian’s office, and he really didn’t intend to look for a home for her anywhere else.
They haven’t fought in a long time, he thinks suddenly, because he has no clue what to do right now.
“I’m gonna go out to the workshop,” Buck says, “can you take care of dinner?” and leaves without waiting for the answer, motioning for Ox to follow him.
Ox goes, the traitor.
---
Eddie gives it an hour, calls the little italian restaurant that’s on the way to the ski resort—where Eddie had taken him on their first date—and orders Buck’s favorite dishes and a slice of peanut butter pie, because if he’s going to pull out all the stops he might as well get the dessert they’d shared that night. He checks in with Chris, who sends a picture of himself with three of his friends at Pizza Putt, grinning widely and holding up mini-golf clubs, and shuffles around the house cleaning up to kill time until the food is ready.
With just a few minutes left, he realizes suddenly that taking Echo with him is not a great idea, and he doesn’t want to leave her alone in the house, which means—
“Hey,” he says, stepping into the workshop. “I—are you okay?”
Buck’s laying on the couch, hand against his rib cage; he winces when he sits up. “I wasn’t watching where I was going in the house and I kinda ran into a dresser that May was bringing in,” he says quietly, and lifts his shirt. There’s a large bruise blooming under his skin, spreading across his side.
Eddie crouches down beside him, careful not to jostle Echo in his pocket, and rests his hand against the spot, pushing gently. “You want to go to the hospital? I don’t think it’s anything serious—”
“I’m fine, Eds,” Buck says, pulling his shirt down before Eddie withdraws his hand. “Dinner ready?”
“I gotta go pick it up,” he says, “but—I’m sorry. I should have called you, and I’ll call around tomorrow to see if there’s a shelter that can take her or someone who wants her. I’ll find a home for her.” Buck nods, but his gaze is on Eddie’s pocket, where Echo is poking her head out. “Would you watch her while I get the food?”
“Sure,” he says, and when Eddie sets her in his hand, Buck curls his arm to his stomach to hold her, and uses the other hand to pull Eddie down for a kiss.
---
There’s a fire going in the living room when he gets home, the first of the year; October is wetter than normal and Eddie makes a mental note to buy firewood over the weekend, because he has a feeling they’re going to need it more often this winter. Buck’s not on the couch, though, and there’s no trashy reality show playing on the television, so he goes through to the kitchen, pulling off his jacket and hanging it up on the coat stand.
Buck’s not there either, but all of the bags from the pet store have been cleared away, so he starts setting out dinner—transferring it onto plates instead of leaving it in the boxes like they normally do—and is wondering if they even own candles for a candlelight dinner when Buck comes around the corner, hair damp and wavy, clearly just out of the shower with his joggers and t-shirt on.
In the stretched out chest pocket of his blue shirt is Echo, curled into a half circle, eyes closed. One paw sticks out, and Eddie feels such a sudden pressure in his chest that he thinks he may be having a heart attack.
“Don’t say a word,” Buck says, fitting a hand around Eddie’s hip and kissing him. “Is this from Trattoria?”
“Buck.”
“No.”
“Buck,” he says, staring down at Echo’s fuzzy ears.
Buck kisses him again, his lips pressed sweetly against Eddie’s, and Eddie has to force himself not to press up against him, mindful of the tiny kitten residing in his husband’s shirt pocket. “Shut up, Eddie,” he says, but it’s soft, gentle.
“And he said we had to give you away,” Eddie says to Echo when he pulls back, stroking one of her ears with the side of his pinky. “Looks like you went and found yourself a home.”
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lacrow · 4 years ago
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Forger Spookfest Preview
I realized it’d be dumb of me to try and organize a Halloween event without having anything to show for it (gotta drum up the hype somehow!), so here’s the intro to one of my fics I’ll be posting October 1st!
Title: Silver Forks and Twilight Werewolves
Rating: G (ish)
Genre: Slice-of-life, Comedy
Papa'd had a long weekend.
Anya hadn't seen him much the past few days. From the moment she left for school Friday morning, he had been in a hurry to get to work. Mama assumed something had come up at the clinic (mostly because papa had told her as much), but Anya knew it was really his boss lady making him go on another mission. She merely shrugged before climbing onto the bus and assumed he'd be home for dinner, although she found out later that wouldn't be the case. He ended up getting home after she fell asleep; passed out on the couch with her mouth wide open, she waited up as long as she could for him. At least he was the one who carried her to bed. Mama had told her as much the following morning, since papa wasn't around to relay the information himself. Another morning. Another mission.
And another. Three missions, back-to-back, had kept her from seeing her papa all weekend. From the moment he woke up (which was early) to when he got home late at night, Anya was always asleep when he was home. Mama assured her that he was just very busy, which she knew; it's just that Anya worried that papa might be getting all pooped out again. His boss lady seemed nice, but she had a bad habit of throwing more secret missions at him on his days off. She supposed that was all part of being the greatest spy in the world, but she wanted to spend some time with him, too.
At least he was getting home at a reasonable time that Sunday afternoon. Anya peeked her head from out behind the curtains after Bond suddenly perked for no reason. His head popped up and he looked towards the door, a sure sign that papa was on his way. Anya couldn't see him from the street, which must have meant he was in the building. Sure enough, a moment later and the familiar jingle of keys came from the other side of the door. Anya's face lit up as the door opened. She made a mad dash to go see her papa for the first time in days, threw her arms out big and wide to hug is leg, and-
-Paused.
Anya looked up at her papa and blinked.
He looked tired, but then again he always looked tired. The rest of him was about the same as usual, too; suit and tie, hat, gloves, suitcase. The only thing different about him was his face. Papa looked...scruffy, like Scruffy. Anya blinked again, rubbed her eyes, and refocused, as if the hair that lined his cheeks and jaw would suddenly disappear like a bad dream. That didn't end up being the case. Papa sighed as he shed his hat and coat, but not before offering his daughter a tired hello. Anya said nothing back. All she did was stand there and stare. She'd never seen her papa like this before.
"Loid, you're home!" mama's voice called out from the hallway. Anya looked over her shoulder to find Yor walking up towards them. "How was work?"
"Busy," Loid shook his head. He dropped his suitcase by the coat rack and left it there; he'd mess with it later. "I'll get to work on dinner after I take a shower."
"There's no need, I was planning on calling out for delivery," Yor revealed. "I figured you'd be out late again, so I was just waiting until you got home."
Loid sighed in relief. "That sounds like a wonderful idea, thank you." No need to cook and no Yor Forger originals, either. A true blessing.
Yor smiled at the realization that she'd made the right call. She continued to watch her husband as he fiddled with his gloves, and as the seconds ticked by her smile was soon accompanied by a poorly stifled giggle. Loid tilted his head and looked back up at her and his daughter. The latter was still awestruck, while the former made no effort to hide her obvious amusement at something.
"Yes?" Loid blinked. Had he done something funny?
"Oh, nothing," Yor teased. She covered her mouth to hide her smile.
Loid raised a brow. Now he really wanted to know. "Was it something I said?"
"No," Yor shook her head. "It's just that I've never seen you with this much stubble before."
Loid cringed. He suddenly became very aware of his own hygiene. With a reluctant scratch of his scruff, Loid confirmed his shaving situation firsthand. He shook his head and sighed as his wife giggled some more at the display; he hadn't had much time to get ready in the morning the past few days. That included trimming his whiskers, a routine he practiced almost religiously every day. The more he felt it himself, the more Loid shook his head. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a beard, or at least one that wasn't part of a disguise he threw together, anyway.
"You're turning into quite the wolf-man, Loid! And so close to Halloween, too!" Yor teased some more. Her smile grew even bigger.
At first, Loid sighed. Upon taking a second look at his wife's amusement, however, he relented. "Yes, I suppose I am."
It was at that point Anya suddenly came back to life. Her frozen self de-thawed on a dime, and she looked up at her papa incredulously. She was too hung up on what her mama and papa had just said to notice or care about the soft looks on either of their faces; the blatant admission of something so mind-bendingly horrific that her little body failed to contain the sheer terror that swept up her spine. She couldn't believe it. She refused to believe it. But as her parents' words slowly sunk in, it became apparent to the little girl that she could deny it no longer.
Papa had caught lycan...lycanthrow...werewolf disease from one of his missions!
That explained it! Somewhere along the weekend he'd become infected, and now he was starting to sprout fur all over his body like Bond! Anya's jaw dropped. She looked over to her otherwise faithful hound and found him sniffing her papa up and down. Double confirmed. Clearly Bond was welcoming papa into the league of doggies! Anya shuddered and took several steps back. No, no, no! Papa couldn't be a werewolf! Papa was papa and mama was mama. Without one or the other, her family just wouldn't be complete anymore! Besides, Anya already had a dog; she didn't need two. A million different things all ran through her head, and nearly half of them carried with them the image of her having to take a hairy papa out on walks to go poop. A more frightening idea, there was not.
Neither Loid nor Yor noticed her internal dilemma. They eventually went their separate ways; Yor to the kitchen to grab plates for dinner, and Loid to the bathroom to go shower. They left their daughter there alone in her silent stupor. Anya continued to stare at the spot where papa had just been, while Bond came up to inquisitively lick her face. The smallest Forger devoted a bit more time to panicking before slowly reeling herself back in. Terror eventually gave way to trepidation, trepidation to realization, and finally realization to determination. Anya knew what she had to do.
"Bond, we've gotta cure papa!" Anya looked to her pet. The latter titled his head, while the former steeled her gaze. "We can't let him turn into a doggie person!"
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boasamishipper · 5 years ago
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ethan hunt midwest headcanons
ethan hunt was canonically born in madison, wisconsin. i was born in milwaukee, wisconsin, and go to school in madison. these are things he has yeah no definitely said and done, in no particular order.
ethan spends a good portion of his childhood going to friday fish frys and still does not understand why restaurants outside of wisconsin do not have these options. (there may or may not be a live polka band at these friday fish frys. dark mission impossible show me ethan dancing to a polka song and the team just being like. what in the hell.)
because of the above ethan also knows how to play the accordion, which is just...an endless delight.
he thinks custard is better than ice cream and will not take questions on the matter. see also: brats are better than hot dogs. no, brats and hot dogs are not the same thing. 
ethan is not a sports person, but has passable knowledge of the lineups and seasons of the green bay packers, the milwaukee brewers, the milwaukee bucks, and the uw-madison badgers. growing up, half his shirts had either a badgers or a packers logo on it. this also means he hates the chicago bears, the chicago cubs, the minnesota vikings, and people from chicago and minnesota with a burning passion. no, he cannot explain why.
ethan isn’t from milwaukee but he has Opinions on alcohol anyway, specifically beer. (pabst sucks even though we invented it, schlitz is meh, miller lite is only alright at tailgates. new glarus is the best, especially spotted cow.) also brandy old fashioned is the best drink in the world.
cheese. you can put cheese on literally everything and have it at every meal. cheese curds (both fried and squeaky), cheese fries, mac and cheese, cheese pizza, cheesecake, cheeseburgers, grilled cheese, cheese plates (with approximately three hundred different kinds of cheese), etcetera. there is good cheese and bad cheese. ethan grew up on a dairy farm; he would know. his seventh birthday party was at the mars cheese castle. asking questions about what the difference is between good cheese and bad cheese will lead to an impassioned two hour lecture. (he gets a cheesehead hat for the imf secret santa exchange and is absolutely delighted.)
this is the only real bloody mary, everything else is pretend.
he is equipped to deal with literally any kind of weather. overwhelming oppressive heat and humidity? ya. temperatures below freezing with wind chills of negative forty degrees fahrenheit? u betcha. rain, sleet, or shine, ethan can handle it. he was one of the boys who wore shorts to school until temperatures went below zero. he also hates snow, though he can handle it and drive through it with the best of ‘em.
ethan’s favorite season is whenever the mosquitoes are dead.
he has been to the harley davidson museum approximately twelve times and knows everything there is to know about motorcycle maintenance and the history of motorcycles. he rode once during the annual harley davidson parade in milwaukee and had the time of his life.
he has also done the polar bear plunge on new year’s day. no water is too cold for him afterwards.
ethan says ‘bubbler’ instead of ‘water fountain’ or ‘drinking fountain’ -- not just because it’s a wisconsin thing, but because of how much he knows it annoys brandt.
ethan no longer has a wisconsin accent due to his time in college and the imf, but when he is tired and/or drunk his accent will start to come back.
hunley: ethan are you hurt ethan: yeah no definitely sir hunley: wait so yeah or no ethan: definitely
jane: alright guys here’s another pitcher of beer for the next round ethan: oh nice start with me last team: ...what
benji: alright the thing is done! ethan: great should i give 'er a go ‘er no benji: uh
waitress: can i get u another drink gentlemen? ethan, tired and drunk: ya we'll have a couple three luther, translating: a few more beers, please
ethan: oh nice the culver’s walleye sandwich is back in season ilsa: is that code for something
ethan: well at least the snow's starting to unthaw benji: it's what sorry ethan: it’s unthawing. it’s melting. benji: but if thawing is melting than isn’t unthawing the opposite??? ethan: no
ethan: i’ll be back, i’ve gotta go to the tyme machine brandt and benji: to the what
ethan puts ranch on everything. brandt is horrified. (one time, ethan says “ope, let me just sneak past you there and grab the ranch" and as soon as he realizes he said it, he dies a little inside. luther never lets him live it down.)
assorted miscellaneous midwestern things that ethan has definitely said: you betcha, cripes, stop-and-go light, roundabout, ya or no, clicker (instead of remote), soda (which is correct, not pop), ‘believe you me’, ‘cold enough for ya?’, ‘want to come with?’, 'ass over tea kettle’, etc. luther is the only one who knows what ethan is talking about when he goes Full Midwestern.
ethan can pronounce the name of every city in wisconsin perfectly, and without a second of hesitation. see: oconomowoc, potawatomi, manitowoc, pewaukee, milwaukee, sheboygan, lac du flambeau, waukesha, mukwonago, oshkosh, kewaunee, waupaca, ashwaubenon, wautoma, weyauwega, gillett, poniatowski, chequamegon-nicolet. (yes, i can pronounce all of these too.)
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janetbrown711 · 5 years ago
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"Magica?" Poe looked at her curiously, "you look uh-"
"Like a rotting corpse?!" She picked him up and squeezed against him, her eye accidentally falling out as she did so.
"Woah.. that uh-... that fell right out there," he commented. Magica growled.
"Something has happened," she sneered, picking up her eye and putting it back.
"Yep," poe just nodded.
"I knew it! I could feel the dark shadow forces stirring," she began to pace her small skull island.
"I'm not suprised because i saw her! The princess Webbigail!"
Magica paused.
"Webbigail... alive...?" Her eye twitched.
"That Vanderquack brat?!" She threw Poe against a wall.
"Uh- yes..? I guess she got a kick in the head- the curse just isn't what it used to be," he shrugged.
"That's why im stuck here in limbo!!!" She realized furiously. "My curse is unfulfilled!" She flung her arms out, her hand flying clean off with the rest of her arm length glove. She sat and cried dramatically.
"Oh Poe... look at me," she flung herself on a rock. "I'm falling apart."
"Oh no Magica," Poe said as he brought over her hand. "Considering how long you've been dead, you look pretty good."
"Bah..." she pushed it away as Poe put back on her hand.
"Magica, you do! You do!" He tried to convince.
"Really?" She sniffled.
"Is this the face of a crow who would lie to you?" He smiled innocently. "Come on, for a minute there you had your old spark back!"
"Before I had lost the gift from the dark spirits," she hissed and sat up. "And the key to my powers!"
"What? You mean this old thing," he lifted up the purple gemstone. Magica gasped.
"Where did you find this?" She inquired.
"Oh i found it-"
"Give it to me!" She snatched it.
"Wha-"
"My old friend-"
"Brother-"
"Friend, together again," she had been talking to the stone. She picked it up and embraced it to her cheek.
"Now my dark purpose can be fulfilled!" She laughed. "And the last of the Vanderquacks will die!!!"
"Where is that wind coming from?" Poe looked around, but lightning quickly flashed and shot him out of his seat.
"Come forth my minions!!!" she called, dark shadows swirling out of the purple gen like a massive hurricanes.
"It is time to fulfill your purpose one last time!!! Go!! Fly!!! And kill Princess Webbigail!!!"
.o0o.
Louie was the last one of the three (well four, if you counted the dog- which he didnt) to sit down, and when he tried to sit next to his uncle, Lena had sat down right there and growled at him. Louie rolled his eyes and sat next to Webby.
"Mut gets the window seat," he muttered under his breath. Donald rolled his eyes and continued forging the fake documents for Webby. Webby fiddled with her necklace.
"Hey- you know that's not very ladylike, right? You're a Grand Duchess" Louie asked. Webby harumphed and slumped over.
"How is it you know what a Grand Duchess' is even like?" She said.
"I make it my business to know," he smirked.
"Oh," she gave up and kept playing with the necklace. Louie sighed.
"Look, Webby, i'm just trying to help," he teased. Donald side eyed him. Webby sat up.
"Louie, do you really think im royalty?" She asked.
"You know I do," he said.
"Oh yeah? Then stop bossing me around!" She spat, slouching over and playing with the necklace once again.
Donald chuckled. "She certainly has a mind of her own."
"I hate that in a woman," he growled. Webby stuck out her tongue at him before returning to face the window.
Donald chuckled and marked off "Webby- 24" and "Louie- 3" on a spare piece of paper. He was having fun. There was a long stretch of silence, Webby got out a book (Louie didn't even know if she could actually read, but it appeared so), and Donald excused himself for a moment.
"Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot," Louie sighed.
"Good, I agree," she snarked. "But i accept your apology."
"Apology? Who said I was sorry?" Louie gawked.
"I still accept it," she smiled cheekily and went back to her book. She paused a second.
"Are you gonna miss it?" She asked.
"Miss what?" Louie asked.
"Russia," Webby stared out the window.
"No," Louie said flatly.
"But... it was your home," Webby said.
"It was a place... that I lived in... end of story." he closed his eyes and sighed.
"Well then you must plan on staying and making Paris your home, huh?" Webby asked.
"What is with you a-and home?" He threw his arms in the air.
"Well- for one, its something every normal person wants," she huffed, "and for another thing, its just- ugh. Forget it," she climbed out of the train booth just as Donald appeared with Lena once more.
"Oh thank goodness you are here- get him out of my sight," Webby scowled before leaving.
"Louie, what did you do?" Donald sighed.
"Me?! I-it's her! Won't stop talking about home and stuff..." he crossed his arms and sat back down.
"Louie, it's not her fault. She doesn't know," Donald sat by him.
"Yeah, yeah," he blew it off. Donald sighed and went back to his paperwork.
"I'm... i'm gonna get some fresh air," Louie went out of the cabin.
"And i'll be here," Donald shook his head slowly.
Little did they know, a swarm of dark shadows were flying speedily not too far away.
But for now, it was time for their papers to be checked. As Donald waited in line he overheard a conversation.
"I cannot believe i had to delay this trip for a week because they changed the papers from blue to red! It's outrageous!"
"Blue.. to red?" Donald looked down.
Their papers were blue.
Donald dashed his way out of line and back to Louie, who went back to the cabin not too long ago.
"Something wrong?" Louie asked.
"One thing i hate about this government is that everything is in red," he explained. Louie rubbed his face.
"Hoh boy," Louie rubbed his face and started packing their things.
"I suggest we move to the baggage cart," Donald said.
"On it," Louie nodded. He nudged the sleeping Webby in the corner, who punched him square in the face. He fell back in his seat.
"Oh i'm so- oh it was you. Nevermind," she relaxed. Louie rolled his eyes.
"C'mon, we gotta go," he took her hand.
"Wha- where are we going?" She asked. Louie didn't explain.
"Men are such babies," she muttered under her breath, following him anyway.
"Ah, yes. This'll do nicely," Louie nodded.
"She'll freeze in here," donald rubbed his arms from the cold.
"She'll thaw in Paris," Louie rolled his eyes.
"What are we doing in the baggage car?" Webby asked. Both men shrugged with giant grins on their faces. "There wouldn't be anything wrong with our papers, would there?"
"Of course not, you grace," Louie mocked lightly, "it is just that I hate to see you with all those commonfolk." He spat the words like they were poison. Webby scoffed.
"Funny," she rolled her eyes and sat on a bag, before noticing that Lena wouldn't stop barking at a door.
"Lena? What's wrong?" She asked.
"She's a mutt, that's what," Louie said. Webby shot him a look and only that. As Donald went to investigate, the cart flung and all three of them fell to the ground, the cart somehow separating from the rest of the train. Donald stood up again and noticed that the engine room was on fire like mad.
"I think someone messed with the engine," Donald shouted over the wind. Louie huffed, took off his jacket and went to see for himself, instructing the others to stay there. Louie successfully got in after climbing over the coal cart, but it was too hot see anything and coals and hot pieces of rock were flying everywhere. He tried to look at the speedometer, but the fire grew and practically burned his feet, forcing him back.
"We're going way too fast!" Webby cried out. Louie quickly came back.
"Nobody is driving this train," he explained, "we're gonna have to jump." Webby and Donald nodded. Together they all opened a door they could all jump through but say they were far above the ground, and jumping would be impossible.
"We'll disconnect the car," Louie said, going outside to do it. He put his foot on it, but somehow it had melted.
"C'mon! I need a wrench- an axe- anything!" He called for his uncle, who handed him a hammer.
Lena's continuous barking distracted Webby from her search for something useful.
"What's the matter with you today?" Webby out her hands on her hips and Lena lowered her head to the box she was standing on labeled "explosives".
"Lena! You're a genius!" Webby picked up a stick of dynamite. It was good timing too because not long after, Louie's hammer broke.
"Ugh! C'mon! There's gotta be something in there better than this!" He held his hand out and Webby placed the lit stick of dynamite. Louie blinked and looked at it.
"Well that'll work," he lodged it in it's place. "Go Go Go!" Everyone scrambled to the back of the cart, as the dynamite exploded.
"Well! Now we got plenty of track so we'll wait til it comes to a stop!" Louie said. He jinxed it though, as a swarm of black shadow demons could be seen destroying the larger bridge up ahead.
"You were saying?" Webby blinked. Louie growled, saw a massive chain and hook on the ground and got another idea.
"I need your help donald. Would ya give me a hand?" Louie asked. Just as he did though, Donald fell backward into a giant crate so Webby took her own liberty and decided to fill in.
"Hand me the chain," Louie had climbed down and was using all his strength to connect with the train from the bottom. Webby started to hand it to him when he stopped her.
"Not you!"
"Donald's busy. Wanna die or not?!" She gave him the chain. He took it and secured it to the bottom of the train. Then, a pipe broke loose and almost killed him, but Webby helped pull him up just in time. Their eyes met and he gazed into them for a long moment, but their look snapped when they saw a branch get destroyed.
"And to think it coulda been you," she teased a little, smirking. Louie cleared his throat and she helped him back inside.
"If we get through this... remind me to thank you," he shook his head, trying to get the flushed feeling out of his face.
"Here goes nothing," him and Webby pushed the chain off, and it connected to the track, but jerked the trainso it went off the rails but stilm showed no sign of slowing.
"Well boys, guess this is our stop!" Webby called as the men readied themselves. Soon, they linked arms.
"One... two... three!" They jumped off and into the snow. In the distance they saw the massive explosion the engine and baggage cart left and sighed breaths of relief.
"I... hate trains," Louie panted, collapsing in the snow.
"Me too," Webby groaned.
"Welp... gotta get going sometime. C'mon," Donald helped the two up and they headed off to find a town.
.o0o.
"No!!!" Magica slammed her fists on the table. She had been watching the whole thing with her magic.
"Woah, take it easy there," Poe said. Magica glared at him.
"How could they let her escape?!" She threw and shattered a skull into the ground.
"Ah, you're right, it is very upsetting," he acknowledged. "Guess this relic is broken," he threw it, but Magica scrambled to catch it, so much so her elbow fell off and her muscles streched to catch it.
"You IDIOT!" she growled.
"Now- master I-"
"I sold my soul for this!!!" She picked him up and squeezed him tightly.
"My very existence depends on it!!! And you almost shattered it!!!!" She threw him against a wall, harder than she had before.
"Yeah yeah, blame me, i'm an easy target," he coughed and muttered.
"What are you muttering about?" She looked at him.
"Oh just Webbigail. Wishing I could do the job for you Magica. I'd kill her nice and quick," he saluted.
"You are a crow and an imbecile," she rubbed her forehead, but then laughed to herself. He looked at her puzzled but she patted his head.
"No, no my dear Poe. I have something else in mind. Something a lot more... sinister to finish the job." She cackled, lightning flashing behind her.
"Uh- and what would that be?" He asked.
"Poe... where's the fun in telling you that?"
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9
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drcrushers · 5 years ago
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happy secret songbird to my lovely giftee, @weraiseourcups! I hope you enjoy this very adorable ficlet! it’s not full fledged because i worried about getting it done in time, but i hope you enjoy it and it brings a smile!
dog days of summer ( in which orpheus and eurydice adopt a . . . . dog? )
Winter had come and gone, and as the snow and frosts began to thaw and signal the return of Lady Persephone, it meant more natural resources were available for food. Not much sprouted in the very earliest days of spring, but Eurydice had long since learned when things grew, when they could be picked, and what purpose they would do to solve the aching in her belly. And now with feeding both her and Orpheus, things had become very, very tight over the winter months. Even if they hadn’t been as harsh as they had once upon a time when the gods below were fighting, it was still never a good season.  But they had survived. And Orpheus was gonna make some sort of hearty stew to celebrate while they counted the days until they would go out to the train platform to greet their Lady. So Eurydice had charged herself to trod through the muddy fields after tubers that could almost be called potatoes (they weren’t, but if you closed your eyes they tasted the same). Roots were the only thing that often survived the deep frosts.  Carrying a basket of a few pickings, she ventures deeper into the fields while trying to avoid the mud because she isn’t sure her worn boots will handle it without it seeping in, then they’ll take days to dry out. The sun is high and it’s almost warm, but not quite; she still has her coat on. At least the wind doesn’t bite her face. The brushes shift somewhere to her left with the wind - except, no. Not with the wind. It sounds like something is lurking and for a brief, panic striken moment Eurydice worries some gnarl toothed creature has come out of hibernation and is seeking a meal. She moves swiftly in the opposite direction, but nothing chases her. The tall grasses just rustle a bit more and there’s a noise she can’t place; a snort, maybe. Or huff. Another rustle. A yelp, and something dark suddenly darts out of the brush being chases by something else darkly furred. 
The first creature she recognises as a dog. A puppy, with how small it is, the fur matted in mud and little legs carrying it swiftly toward her. The second shape she recognises dimly as a badger, hissing and spitting like some creature from the underworld. Without thinking Eurydice launches a rock at the thing - not meaning to hit it, just to scare it off. It takes two more rock throws for the badger to be deterred from chasing the canine that had likely wandered too close to it’s nesting area. 
“Hey there, little guy.” Eurydice greets, stooping to ensure the dog is okay. She doesn’t see blood, and it approaches her with a cautious air - but the second it realises Eurydice isn’t gonna hurt it, it tries to climb clumsily into her embrace. She smiles softly, and scratches a patch of fur behind his ear that isn’t muddied. “Gotta be more careful. You lost all the way out here?”
The puppy does not reply, but as Eurydice tries to feel for a collar there is none. Those dark eyes flick up to her and a pink tongue lolls out of it’s mouth before it tries to lick her face. She laughs quietly for the first time in a while - and she knows immediately she cannot leave this poor creature to starve. If the winter was hard on them, she can’t imagine what it would be like for the puppy. Maybe someone in town will be missing him or if not, would at least take him in and keep him as their own. Eurydice has always loved dogs, always wanted one - but she isn’t sure she can afford to feed both she and Orpheus and a dog. Especially through winter. Food is already scarce and she can’t imagine finding things suitable for a dog is easy. 
But he’s clearly alone in the fields, and Eurydice doesn’t want him stumbling on anymore pissed off badgers, so she coos softly and somehow the poor thing seems to know to trust her, because when she takes a few steps it follows. A few more, and the puppy is still trailing after her. Clutching her gatherings of meager tubers, she sets off at a slower pace with her new charge hopping along after her. 
Orpheus isn’t home - he’s been helping Hermes clean up the bar a bit for it’s spring re-opening. So Eurydice drops the food off inside their small little place and leads the dog around to the side where there’s a spout for a hose for the garden they’ve never had. She hopes the water isn’t frozen still. The pipes groan a bit when she turns the valve, but water shoots out a moment later. She waits until it runs clear before she cups it and sets about a mission of trying to clear the mud from the puppy - who just wants to play. He twists and yips as her fingers dig into his fur, which is darkly colored without the mud coating it. She doesn’t have any clue to what breed he might be, but his eyes are soft and she’s in love all over again if she’s honest with herself.  She uses a spare towel from her bath last night to mostly attempt to dry the creature off (but the dog shakes vigourously inside the door and splatters water across the floor. She laughs.  “We’ll get you a good place. Shelter. Somewhere nice and warm, yeah?” She ruffles his fur atop his head. “I bet you’re hungry.” She doesn’t get a response, except a soft sneeze that just sends more water across the floorboards. She takes hat as a yes, and tries to find something in their bare cabinets that might suit a dog. She settles on a bit of bread for the time being, and sits in the kitchen floor to feed this little one. Her heart melts as he munches away at the bits of bread that might be a little stale, if she’s honest. He’s cute. More than. In a weird way, he reminds her of Orpheus.  Orpheus. Will he be mad to find she’s taken on a stowaway? Of course he isn’t, she realises when he returns home and is immediately as bright eyed as the damn dog is. And it’s just downright adorable when the dog nestles into Orpheus’ lap that evening near the fire - Eurydice should be mad because that’s her spot, but she’s not. A worthwhile sacrifice. She sits beside her husband and idly strokes the dog’s fur while they talk in quiet tones. “I’ll go into town tomorrow. See if anyone’s lost him.” She promises, and tries to ignore the sadness in her gut.  She keeps her promise though - and it isn’t worth much. No one in town has lost a pet. She switches tactics, tries to see if anyone would want a pet, but it’s futile then too. She ends up at Hermes’ bar, where Orpheus is wiping tables and to her surprise, the little thing is bouncing around underfoot with soft yaps. Is it bigger? She’s not sure, but she suddenly notices that it looks bigger than yesterday. She’s just tired, she decides, and sits at the end of the bar. Immediately the dog settles near her feet and doesn’t move the rest of the night until Orpheus’ shift is over and the three return home. She tries for two days to find him a home, but no one wants another mouth to feed. Meanwhile Eurydice is just trying not to fall more in love with him. He’s definitely a bit bigger and she chalks it up to decent food, which Hermes had offered. She doesn’t know why he has dog-acceptable food, and doesn’t ask. He just shoots her new friend an amused look as the dog chows down on a bowl in the corner.  “Special one, that one. Might be like fate he found you.” Hermes remarks almost mysteriously in that infuriating way that makes Eurydice want to punch that stupid grin off his face. She says such, he laughs, and she and her new friend are left alone once more. By the end of the week, Orpheus points out they should name him while they’re waiting for someone to adopt him. They can’t just keep calling him ‘the dog’. Eurydice hasn’t ever been good with that kind of thing, and they toss ideas back and forth, but none seem right. Meanwhile it’s getting warmer and warmer outside as more of the spring settles in.  Persephone arrives on the train two days later, dragging in warm winds and a bright smile. The dog (which is still unnamed) trails after Eurydice and Orpheus out to the platform to greet her, and the goddess gives a delightful look. “There you are!”
Eurydice thinks she might be talking to her and Orpheus but no, it’s the dog. It circles her legs, yips, before trotting happily back over to Eurydice’s feet and sitting down. A declaration if she’d ever heard one. Persephone laughs.  “Oh, it damned well figures --- he’s yours now, songbird. Now, let’s grab a drink and celebrate spring.” Turns out the dog is not just a dog - Cerberus has descendants (which is something so full of everything she doesn’t feel like unpacking it) and the little creature from the fields is one, who had somehow escaped the boundaries of the underworld. A bit like she and Orpheus, if she’s honest. She loves him more. She thinks it will want to go back to the underworld where it belongs, but the literal hell hound barely leaves her side. Sits with her at home, at the bar, goes out foraging in the woods and fields, and still continues to grow that spring. She loves him more and more, but she still hasn’t decided whether she and Orpheus can afford to keep him. Not with winter. Another mouth? Spring goes. Summer goes. Lady Persephone keeps her promises of better harvests and she thinks it won’t be too bad. Eurydice and Orpheus see her off into her husband’s arms. The dog sits on the platform with them and watches the train go. It’s nearly up to Eurydice’s hip in size and thankfully, has shown signs of slowing down in growth. She reaches out to scratch him behind the ears and smiles; the dog practically radiates warmth. A literal furnance. She thinks she and Orpheus might survive the winter if they just curl up to the thing. 
At home, they find Persephone has left them provisions. Gifts, with just a single carnation as her calling card. It thrives all winter. 
It’s Orpheus who suggests the name one late night when they’re both curled in bed and the dog has lain across their legs as if to pin them down. As if to keep them warm. As if to protect them. She wonders if Lady Persephone and her husband have sent the dog on purpose now; she reminds herself to ask. Either way, while a hell-hound is not what she had in mind as a girl, she’s grateful for it now.
Eurydice smiles and agrees at Orpheus’ suggestion of a name. Argos. 
And hopefully, Eurydice thinks, he will never grow two more heads like his father. Five mouths to feed is worse than three.
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mvssmallow · 5 years ago
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Bloodline, Part VIII
Previous Chapters Soundtrack: The Hills 
He probably should’ve known by the way his skin itched. There’s a looming chaos in the distance. 
He’s escorting Mrs Lee, his 87 year old osteoporotic patient, out his clinic room when his neck itches. Just as his fingers reached up to scratch it, he notices the blurry blob of gray through the window panel of the clinic’s back door and well, shit, his stomach just drops. 
He pauses to mentally thank every God out there that his consult room is right out the back and the closest one to the exits. Hardly any of the staff bother to venture this far, which means it’s easier to smuggle Alleged Criminals in and out without being seen. 
Not that he’s thinking of doing that again but still, he’s grateful for the location. 
None of that gratefulness does anything to stop that rush of adrenaline, tinged with both hopeful anticipation and panicked dread. He’s not prepared for this. 
But when is he ever?
There’s a haze of smoke and where there’s smoke, there’s fire. In the back of his mind, that old clichéd saying floats around, mocking him with its cloying melodrama. 
Smoke. Fire. Jiwon. 
Yeah, that’s sounds about right. 
“You can’t smoke here”. 
So many things to say and that’s what comes out. It’s what his arrogance, ego and pride lets him say. Self Preservation wraps around him like a suit of armour because maybe he’s not prepared for this whole conversation but he will damm well make sure that he’s not gonna walk away with another wound this time. 
He sees Jiwon’s smile, downright feels it hitting his gut, before he sees the rest of his face, which remains shrouded in the gray fabric of one of those oversized hoodies that’s somehow too familiar by now.
“Gonna call the cops?”
Don’t take the bait, Hanbin. Don’t play with this. You’re a goddam professional remember? He knows he’s glaring pointedly while his head screams loudly at him but still, it can’t drown out the involuntary stuttering of his logic or the way he just wants to shake Jiwon’s shoulders and ask him where the hell he’s been for the last 3 weeks or how he still finds Jiwon’s presence so intoxicating in the all the best and worst ways...
“What?” Jiwon asks with a smirk, taking a slow drag of his cigarette before blowing the smoke towards the sky. “Smoking a crime now?”
Gathering whatever frayed nerves he has left, he feels his arms crossing over his body in a move he knows is defensive. “Not if you put that out.”
Another smile; wide, knowing, amused. Like this was playing out just as expected. 
There’s no protest though, just the stupidly arrogant roll of broad shoulders and crack of a neck as Jiwon snuffs the almost new cigarette against the wall of the clinic. It leaves behind ashy specks of grey that float to the ground like dead snowflakes and his eyes follow them for a moment before looking back up and locking straight into the fire of Jiwon’s eyes. 
He really wants to punch that smirk off his face. Stitches and scars be dammed.
“What are you doing here?” 
And just like that, the arrogance slides right off the face in front of him. He really should’ve known. The pit of ‘badness’ in his gut is rarely wrong.
“Just wanted to ask you a question.” Jiwon looks somewhere off into the distance and shrugs, the action could’ve been interpreted as casual or uncaring but Hanbin dares to let himself think otherwise, as stupid as that is. 
“Okay?” He says warily.
“The antibiotics you gave me didn’t really work. They did shit all actually.” 
Oh. This is about medicine. Of course it is. Why else would Jiwon be here?
“Are you still sick? I could-”
“It’s not me.” Jiwon interrupts harshly. “They weren’t for me.” 
There’s a frustrated grumble that he really doesn’t expect and a grimace that he does. The words are ground out of Jiwon’s mouth so emphatically and miserably, as though they’re taking a whole lot of effort and sacrificed pride. 
He immediately thinks of the worst things because negativity is his preferred mode these days. Maybe it’s Jiun. Maybe it’s a friend. Maybe it’s that girl-
“It’s my mum.”
Shit. 
That’s even worse. 
It’s probably comical really, how stupid and dumbfounded he looks with his mouth open, poised to say something that he can’t quite decide on. But just then, the clinic’s back door clicks open behind him and every muscle in his body tenses into hot panic. Jiwon takes a step backwards, hand suddenly reaching for something in his hoodie pocket, posture locked and loaded, ready to either fight or leave. 
Shit. 
“Er, Dr. Kim? Could I have a word?”
Jin. 
Relief floods through him in an exhilarating rush. Okay. It’s just Jin. He can deal with Jin. Maybe.
“Sure. Of course.” He replies, keeping his voice as civil and neutral as possible. 
Jin shoots him an equally neutral expression, nodding once before ducking back inside and closing the door. 
Letting out a loud sigh, he turns to Jiwon with an apologetic look. “Give me a minute? I’ll be back.” 
Jiwon’s gone back into Evasive-Mode again; his eyes dark and dead, his face an unreadable blank slate, his posture staying tense, even the hand in his hoodie stays there, seemingly unable to relax or let down its guard. 
“Jiwon?” 
Shutters boarded up, head already shaking, body already moving away. This is all too familiar. No no no, not again. 
“Jiwon? Can you wait a few minutes?.”
“Nah, it’s okay. I’ll come back later. I gotta go pick up Jiun anyway.”
His watch tells him it’s 1230pm. School doesn’t finish until 3pm. So now they’re back to lying to each other again. It’s just so stupid and futile. Every conversation just goes round and round, like a dog chasing its tail or water circling down a drain. He wonders why it’s only him that’s getting frustrated by this. 
“I’ll only be a few minutes. Please....just wait.” He huffs out, tone accidentally more irritated than he intended it to be. Jiwon opens his mouth, probably to protest, but no, he’s not going to wait to hear it today. 
“For God’s sake, not everything is about you okay? Think of your mum and just wait for me! You came all his way, you can wait for 5 minutes!” 
Shit. Too far, Hanbin. Too far. There goes his professionalism. 
There’s a brief glaring-contest. Fire meets Fire again. But then, the last thing he expects to happen actually happens; Jiwon shakes his head, shrugs like he doesn’t give a shit and sits back down on the steps in silence. 
“Thank you.” He sighs in annoyance.
“Whatever.” Jiwon mutters, quietly but equally annoyed. 
He turns quickly, making his way inside before anything else happens.
“Are you seriously right now?!” The corridors are empty but Jin appears out of nowhere to hiss at him as soon as the back door clicks shut. “What the hell is he even doing here in the middle of the day?! Donghyuk is in his office! He could’ve seen you!”
A painful grip closes over his elbow as Jin drags him into his consult room and shuts the door. 
“Before you say anything-”
“Oh no! Don’t start with me! I’m talking first!” Jin interrupts, face livid with disapproval. “Deal with whatever he wants fast. He can’t be seen here and you’ve got three people waiting for consults. You are not fucking up your career and job for him. You’re not. Okay? I’ve seen this shit before and it never ends well. They’re all the same, Hanbin. You know this. Stop thinking with your dick on this one.”
He flushes with both embarrassment and indignation. “That is not what I’m doing!”
Jin just rolls his eyes and fixes him with a terrifying parental glare. “I’ll stall the clinic for 5 more minutes but after that, you’re on your own. Fix whatever he wants then tell him to fuck off or come back at 6 when everyone else has gone. I swear to god Hanbin, he’s doing this shit on purpose to piss us off. Since when has he ever come here early anyway? I swear to GOD!”
Jin yanks the door open, still ranting under his breath as he makes his way back out towards the front of the clinic. 
He rubs his eyes tired, willing his heart to slow down and his nervous system to chill the hell out. None of that actually happens. 
He half expects Jiwon be gone by no, there he is, still sitting on the back steps of the clinic and staring into the parking lot with a hypervigilant look on his face. 
“He yell at you?” It comes out gruff but oddly sympathetic. 
“Something like that.” He replies in resignation. “Listen. I need to get back to work but what do you need me to do for your mum? If she’s not well, I can see her here for an appointment? After hours if you want.”
Jiwon shakes his head. “She can’t leave the house. She’ll freak out.”
He doesn’t do house visits, especially not in this part of town but....
“Do you want me to see her at home?” It’s blurted out before he can stop it.
“No.”
“Then what?” He pushes, tired and anxious about the minutes ticking by. 
“I don’t know! Isn’t there anything you can give her? She’s coughing every fucking night and Jiun can’t sleep so he turns the TV on full blast, which means nobody is sleeping either so he’s missed three days of school and I can’t keep babysitting him instead of working.” 
For a moment, Jiwon sounds like a normal guy just trying to do his best for his family in the face of a bad situation. It’s so raw and honest and endearing that something thaws inside him. The coiled ball of irritation in his gut unravels in one fell swoop. Jiwon is just a guy. Like any other guy. 
Just a guy. 
But stupid, stupid, stubborn guy who might be good at killing and crime or whatever else they accuse him of but he’s useless with everything else. Hanbin doesn’t fully trust him, he’s still on edge and doesn’t feel completely safe yet but the dark shadows of worry that flashes across Jiwon’s face, for barely a second, is just enough to help him make his decision. 
He takes a pen and piece of crumpled paper out of his coat pocket and holds them out in front of Jiwon’s shocked expression. 
“What?”
“Write down where she is.”
“What? No. You’re not-”
“I’m not asking. Just do it. I have to get back to work.” He drops the items into Jiwons hands and wills his legs not to shake too much. This is so unprofessional. You’re an idiot Hanbin. 
Jiwon looks down at the pen and paper before standing up and making to give them back. “Look, I get you wanna help or whatever but I think she just needs some different tablets-”
“And you’re not a doctor.” He interrupts bluntly, folding his arms across his chest to stop them from trembling. “If you didn’t want help then you shouldn’t have come. So what’s it gonna be? Write it down or just leave Jiwon. I’m not standing here arguing with you all day.”
Part of him thinks he might’ve pushed this way way way too far today, his words coming out harsher and more aggressive than what he actually feels like on the inside. If Jiwon wants to stab him in the gut just for pissing him off then yeah, he probably deserves it. 
After a long pause, it comes as a shock to him that Jiwon just grunts out a quiet ‘fuck!’ under his breath and scrawls hastily on the piece of paper before turning so they’re looking at each other again.
Fire meeting Fire. 
“Here!” The crumpled scrap of paper is pushed against his chest. 
Jiwon’s gaze doesn’t shift from his. The once dark and dead eyes are now shiny and so sharp in a way that he didn’t know was possible to see in a human. 
“You heard about me?”
"What do you mean?”
“You heard about me.” Jiwon repeats. It’s not a question. More of a statement. “You know about me.”
“I don’t....” He shakes his head, his argument suddenly weak and not convincing anybody. “It’s just rumours...”
Jiwon laughs but the mirth doesn’t each his eyes at all. They’re still hard and piercing right into him. “You heard about me. So I don’t have to tell you what that piece of paper means do I?”
He swallows the lump in his throat and shakes his head, letting go of the charade. Yeah he knows. Yeah he’s heard all about Jiwon at this point but whether there’s any truth in the stories and myths remains to be seen.
“Alright then.” Jiwon nods, stepping back. “Come alone. If you think you’re being followed, just go straight home. Okay?”
“Okay.” 
The order terrifies him for some reason and a sick dragging feeling of unease settles into the pit of his stomach again. 
“Don’t fuck me over.” 
A violent shiver tears down his spine. There’s no politeness in the statement. No consideration spared. Whatever niceties they’ve exchanged before is forgotten. There’s nothing here now but menace and intimidation. 
It works. 
And in that moment, the cold, sobering, fucking terrifying realisation finally hits him: the rumours are true. This is Jiwon at ‘work’. This is what he does. 
He can’t even speak after that. Jiwon is still staring sharply at him in expectation and it’s not until he forces his head to nod that Jiwon regards him one last time before turning to walk away without saying anything at all. 
He doesn’t stop shaking for the next five consults and is so nauseated that he skips lunch altogether. Jin is still pissed so he’s left to have his mental breakdown alone in his room. 
The crumpled piece of paper burns a hole in his pocket and by the time 6pm ticks by, he feels the heavy, draining exhaustion right in his bones. He doesn’t even bother to stop his hands from shaking as he pulls the paper out to read the messy scrawl. 
Fuck. 
Here goes nothing. 
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karenpage · 6 years ago
Note
Frank meets Karen’s dad: How does it go?
@sail-not-drift
Vermont’s cold. Not New York street cold but bone-chilling, freeze your ass off, cold. Jack Frost’s got his claws dug in deep and shit, shit just breathing hurts out here, like his lungs are filling up on ice and it burns on the way in as much as it does when he exhales. Plumes of steam from Frank’s breath hang around his face, squinting through it as the sun mocks, glares off the snow and does absolutely nothing to warm him. Even dressed in black, in fifteen god damned layers, Frank Castle would rather be holed up in the Syrian desert with IEDs and mortar fire.
He knows what to do with war, at least. With the hot stink of death and rot and the way it clotted with bloodied sand until he spat it out, a fire-fights quick-dry cement.
He has no fucking idea what to do here.
Fagan Corners is small enough to spit across and the buildings look tired, sagging from decades of exposure to the elements - the trees are sparse near the town’s center, and there aren’t mountains close enough to shield the worst of the wind. It kicks up, Frank swears in a gruff whisper, but the snow crunching under his boots drowns it out. Not that he’d really try and complain. He knows that his five-minute tactical assessment of Karen’s hometown doesn’t give him any sort of advantage headed into the unknown.
They’re walking, her hand wrapped in his and shoved into the front pocket of his sweatshirt. He’s a little less cold when he’s focused, zoned in until the world has fallen away except for the clear-cut path. The plan. The mission.
Some kids pass them, huddled around a cell-phone and laughing at some dumb YouTube crap, but Karen startles when they shove on by. Like their joy is gunfire and so Frank just holds her closer. He doesn’t know shit about her, about her past; not like his, which has been dug up, exploited, given a post-mortem so every dumb son of a bitch who’d watched a War Documentary can chime in on what he went through.
Think they know him. Not like Karen does, she’d seen the ugly, the blood the gore, the grief and he wonders if it’s love or collateral. How you get to be this close to someone as damaged as he is and not get some part of you hooked, broken off. Shrapnel buried deeper than even a seasoned Marine knew how to dig out.
Shit though, what he knows about Karen can be measured in the hand that holds hers all the same.
She’s remained a mystery in that, holed up in the bunker of her ache and Frank’s patient. He’d wait until she gave him anything. Wouldn’t pry it from her, wouldn’t make demands.
And when Karen had asked him three weeks ago to go home… he’d made a fool of himself, stumbling over his words just to say yeah, of course.
So here they are, in the trenches and he’s going in blind.
Karen’s been leading him around town, quiet, occasionally commenting on landmarks that meant something to her, from her childhood. The only movie theater where some fumbling freshman boy had tried to get her bra off in the middle of Armageddon. Or the curb she’d fallen off, twisted her ankle, and the ice cream shop across the street from it her mom took her to every day that summer because she couldn’t go swimming with Kevin or her friends.
Frank nods, smiling a little; it’s slow. The Thaw. But she’s coming around when they pass the post-office and the corkboard outside is tacked with article clippings from the High School’s newspaper - Karen had written for them, her first real journalistic endeavor.
“Had a knack for it, huh?” His voice is rough from disuse and Karen just smiles at him crookedly, using her free hand to shield her eyes from the sun.
“I guess. It earned me a spot at Georgetown, studied English.” She kicks some snow, watches it melt on contact with the heated fender of a parked car. Frank nods - didn’t know that, either. Makes sense, honestly, he’d read every article she’d put out at the Bulletin and each one was better than the last.
Won’t tell her that the one she’d written about him was taped to the inside of his lunchbox, or how worn the edges of the paper were from running his fingers over it.
More walking, more small talk.
They stop for coffee - Karen says it wasn’t a Starbucks fourteen years ago and yeah, there’s modernization on the edge of the old town. Or an attempt at it. Orders his black, the barista looks at him like that’s a Capitol Offense.
“It’s Vermont. They think salt is spicy,” she reminds him, stirring some cinnamon and nutmeg into her cup. No sweetener, and when she catches the confused look etched onto Frank’s mug she blushes. “– it tastes good. Shut up.”
He just ducks his head, hiding the amusement in his eyes and wrinkling his nose as he chokes down his drink.
Now her hand in his is shaking, her palm is clammy and he takes no offense when she draws it away, wipes it off on her thigh and reaches for him again, filling the empty spaces between his fingers with practiced ease.
Their path turns off from the pavement, and gravel gives way when they step off the sidewalk and turn down an unmarked road. At the end, a white and blue building with a sign that’s barely intact, ‘Penny’s Diner’. Eviction notices, ugly red tape that says condemned, paper the sides of it, but Karen’s unflinching.
As if part of her had expected exactly that.
Frank’s just a guard dog, got his leash caught between his teeth as he trails warily behind Karen - she knows the way, so it makes objective sense that he falls to her six. Doesn’t mean he likes letting her go anyplace before him. It’s tactical training, and something else. Felt that obligation gnaw at the back of his skull: gotta keep her safe.
What place is safer than some sleepy little town in the heart of Vermont?
Circling around back, a mailbox with Page scrawled in a child’s handwriting marks the start of a dirt driveway, curling behind an outcropping of pine trees. Stoic, blue-green soldiers hiding the modest house behind them.
Karen stops about halfway, her eyes wet with tears but there’s a stubbornness to it, like she’s got something to prove by setting her jaw, sniffling, and carrying on. She won’t let them fall. But Frank’s ready to wipe them away if they do all the same.
Frank hangs back a little, lets her climb the three stairs, lets her open the screen and – the moment, the beat, the breath before her knuckles rap against the blue front door. Robin’s egg blue, he thinks, and when Karen turns to look at him, motioning with her chin for him to join her, he realizes that this blue, much like the blue of the diner, is the same color as her eyes.
He swallows and soldiers forward, steps heavy, the wood of the deck groans underneath his added weight.
He’s alert, eyes narrowed, jumping to tally every movement around them. A squirrel rushes out of the bushes, climbs the little picket fence jutting out of the side of the house, and disappears. Frank shifts his weight from foot to foot - there’s movement inside the house, but no one answers the door.
It’s quiet after that in the way that nature is, makes Frank’s palms itch.
Birds chatter and the needly fingers of the spruce trees sway with every angry gust of wind. Some brush across the roof, others just tangle with their neighbor and catch the first few raindrops before they hit the tops of their heads. Fat, cold, the kind of rain that’s not yet snow but it’s trying to be.
“We should go,” Karen’s teeth chatter, the rain picks up so he holds her tight - the thin lip of an awning over the front door keeps them dry, but only just.
Frank wraps his arms around her shoulders, looks over them, where the blinds part and a pair of eyes watches - disappearing as soon as they’re spotted.
Son of a bitch.
“Nah, see… see you did the right thing. You came here, an’ no matter what he said it is your home. You have that right.” His is ashes. Red edges in on the perimeter of his vision and he only holds Karen that much tighter, keeps the tide of his rage at bay.
Karen sniffs, he knows that she’s crying but he won’t add insult to injury by commenting on it. He strokes his fingers through the edge of her hair and then, with one hand stroking up and down her back, he balls the other into a fist and pounds on that door again.
“Know you’re in there,” a growl.
Karen draws away, looks up at him to hurriedly whisper, “Frank what are you doing–”
The door swings open and Paxton’s staring them down, well, if the shock that washes over Karen’s face tells him anything - it’s what’s left of the man she’d known as her dad.
Frank’s stomach churns; what he wouldn’t give to have his child at the door. What he wouldn’t give to even see Lisa or Frankie again. He swallows down the hot bile rising up the back of his throat and stares Karen’s father down.
“Karen I -” his words are slow, slurred. A drunk. She flinches visibly and Frank’s upper lip curls. “I told you not to come.”
“Yeah, yeah you did.” But she doesn’t care, that much is obvious and despite the tension and painful discomfort of the situation, Frank feels just a little bit of pride. Atta girl. “But the thing is, Dad, the thing is you pushed me away. Shut me out and – I was alone, in New York. I found people and I kept going but you took away my right to mourn and I’ve spent over a decade trying to figure out how to let all this… all this loneliness, out of me. But I come home, I come home and you’ve just drunk it all away. Mom died, and you did nothing. Kevin died and you were all I had left, I was all you had and and —”
She has to stop, Paxton hasn’t moved, hasn’t reacted aside from the hand on the doorframe beginning to shake. Frank won’t rule that out as a byproduct of the vodka on his breath, though. His own fingers tighten against the back of Karen’s shirt. An anchor to keep him from lashing out.
Her dad just – he moves to shut the door and without thinking, Frank shoves his arm out, the pain of it being caught between the heavy wood and metal frame doesn’t bother him in the least.
Karen’s turned away, rushed down the short flight of stairs to cry freely, he wouldn’t fault her for an inch of her mile-long hurt.
Frank doesn’t get it, so he’s got Paxton’s sweat-stained shirt balled up between the white of his fisted knuckles and he draws him forward, speaks in that snarled, low rumble that makes his whole frame radiate rage.
“See, I don’t get you.” Spittle catches on the corner of his lip, “Both my kids… both of them. They were taken from me and shit– shit I made sure the people responsible paid for it. I hunted them down like animals. ‘Cuz they were. They were animals but they’re all dead now and I don’t feel better. Doesn’t… didn’t bring them back an’ I’m not sorry for what I’ve done but they were monsters, you see? They … they were bad people who did bad things. But you..” Frank shakes his head, shaking Paxton by the hold he has on him.
“You lost your son and it was a tragedy. There is nothing that takes away the hurt of having to bury your flesh and blood. Buying a tombstone for your baby is the worst kinda hell there is but you – you lost one kid and threw the other one away and I get it. I get… I get that you blame her and shit I’d have been just as angry but the thing is.. The thing is, is that people screw up and people like Karen? They hold that coal in their hand for the rest of their life. She’s done good, she’s… she’s saved lives, you know? And you chose not to be a part of that. I don’t get … Karen’s the best thing okay? The best thing to happen to me since… since all the good was taken from me. And she asked me to come here because shit, maybe she though havin’ me around would make her brave but she’s always been braver than me. Karen sees the shit she’s done and holds herself accountable. I just try and lock it up. Try and keep me separate and you know what.” Those last three words are grit out, caught on his teeth so he throws Paxton down, kicking the door the rest of the way open as he scrambles backward on his hands and heels, reaching for the phone.Frank grabs it out of his hands, rips it out of the wall, “No. No I’m not gonna do nothin’ and you’re not gonna call the cops on me or Karen and you’re gonna wallow.” He kneels, looks that man right in the eyes, the vein in his jaw twitching, “You’re gonna spend the rest of your days knowing that you missed out. That you had … you had a chance to be a good man. A good father and you let your hate win out. Now listen to me–” He ducks his head, can hear Karen rush back up out of fear - he won’t hurt Paxton Page. As god as his witness he wanted to, wanted to beat the miserable slump into a bloody pulp but he can’t do that to Karen.
“We’re gonna leave. And you’re gonna forget we came. You’re gonna make a choice. Either rot in your god damned filth, drink the rest of yourself away. Or you’re gonna… you’re gonna get help. Because the shit that happens to us ain’t our fault but what you do.. What you do with what you’re given is. If you decide to get your shit together. If you choose to live. You can beg Karen to maybe forgive you, and I maybe won’t put a bullet in your head.”
He doesn’t wait for a response, doesn’t want to hear what he’d have to say. Frank stands, feels Karen reach for him.
Two hands.
“Let’s go home,” her voice is even and despite the tears in her eyes, Karen’s offering Frank a weak smile.
And they do. They leave.
Karen tells him, her head on his shoulder as they pull out of the Essex station; the train humming to life underneath them… tells him, “No one’s ever put my da–Paxton Page in his place before. It was…. Did you mean what you said to him?” Like she can’t really believe it. 
That she is anyone’s Best Thing.“Every word.”
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