#happy 16th birthday merlin (show)!

[yourfavecharacterisqueer]

i found these pictures on my pinterest and look how cute my boy is!

ugh, i just wanna wrap him up in a blanket, give him a hug and protect him from harm.

[seriouslysam8]

Petrichor Easter Egg #6

Okay, I’m really sad that I did not finish Bête Noire in time to post for Sirius’ birthday today, since the short story starts on Sirius’ 16th birthday, shows the dreaded Whomping Willow incident, and then Sirius running away from home over Christmas holiday.

Here's the working summary for context:

The only thing Sirius Black received from his family on his sixteenth birthday was a warning that his disobedience would no longer be tolerated. That’s when everything started to spiral out of control.

Below is a snippet from that story with James giving Sirius a birthday gift. This has not been edited so there may be mistakes. None the less, enjoy!

Happy birthday to my cute little artichoke that I love more than any other fictional character. I'm so excited to not kill you in Brumous.

“Oi, there you are,” a familiar voice called behind him.

Sirius shoved the letter into his pocket as quickly as possible before his fingers carded through his hair. Turning to his right, James appeared at his side in his Macintosh coat and Gryffindor striped scarf. He didn’t look cold, and Sirius had no doubt that he was smart enough to cast a warming charm. 

“Hey,” Sirius greeted.

“Happy birthday,” James greeted as he gestured his hand. “Budge over.”

The rock wasn’t that big so Sirius had no idea how he was supposed to even share it with his mate. Without a word, he scooted over until half of his bum hung off the edge. It was uncomfortable and plain stupid, but James didn’t seem bothered as he sat close to him. Pulling a black box out of his coat pocket, neatly wrapped in a gold ribbon, James held it out to Sirius. 

Taking the gift, Sirius unwrapped it carefully. When he opened the box, Sirius let out a bark-like laugh as he saw five crossword books and a set of quills.

“I know how restless you get when I’m at Quidditch practice and Remus is off doing prefect things,” James commented. “I also know there is only so long you can put up with Peter before you’re chewing his head off.”

Sirius snorted. “He asks the stupidest questions.”

James elbowed him in the side. “Try to be a bit more patient with him, yeah? He’s a good bloke. I mean, he figured out Mrs. Norris’ weakness with that pointer spell. Merlin, that’s been dead useful because I swear that blasted cat can see through Invisibility Cloaks.”

Sirius shrugged as he pulled out one of the books and flipped through it. “I am patient with him.”

Sirius knew that was a bold-faced lie, but he figured it was best to at least deny that Peter frustrated him more often than not. James and Remus were far more patient and tolerant than he was.

James laughed. “You can’t lie to me, Padfoot. You’ve always been snippy towards him for as long as I can remember.”

Sighing, Sirius tossed the book back into the box and closed it. It was clearly a lack of patience on Sirius’ part. He knew that. Peter could be quite dense, asking a billion questions, always so fucking eager. They were all personality traits that Sirius couldn’t fucking stand while James and Remus found them endearing for reasons Sirius just didn’t comprehend.

“He doesn’t think half the time,” Sirius explained. “I mean, if he just took an extra minute or two and actually thought before he spoke, he’d annoy me a lot less.”

James chuckled, clapping Sirius on the back. “Ahh, there’s the Sirius Black I know and love: critical and grumpy.” 

Sirius didn’t say anything, instead he looked out on the calm dark water. His mind flickered back to the damn letter from his mother in his pocket once more. He couldn’t help but overanalyze the words. Make the necessary corrections. What the bloody hell did that even mean? Hadn’t she attempted to correct his behavior in the past and failed? She had certainly hexed and cursed him, locked him up and starved him, berated and shouted at him. There wasn’t much more she could do, surely, besides fucking torture him. Even he didn’t think it would go as far as that.

“You all right, mate?” James pressed.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Sirius replied, his voice monotone and automatic.

“What? Did Kreacher send you maggots again?” James asked, his voice far too casual as he prodded.

Sirius snorted, remembering his last birthday when Kreacher sent him a box full of maggots. He supposed his parents probably instructed him to send him a gift, something nasty and impractical with no thought behind it.

“Nah, no maggots. Just a letter,” Sirius replied, hoping to squash James’ curiosity, as he rose from the rock and shoved his hands into his cloak pockets. His fingers brushed against the letter.

James didn’t relent though. “What did the letter say?” 

Sirius looked up at the sky, noting the red hue. The last thing he felt like talking about was his mother’s foreboding letter and his paranoia to go home for the holidays. He had a good month and a half to stew over what would happen to him once he stepped foot into Grimmauld Place. Maybe that’s what she wanted, to make him a nervous mess. He was absolutely sick of the chokehold she had on him. There was nothing he wanted more than to be free of her and her abusive clenches. 

“The same as always,” Sirius replied, his voice flat and leaving no room for discussion. 

James nodded, a sigh escaping his lips as he looked up at Sirius. “Want to grab breakfast and then skive off Divination?”

[hedwigstalons]

High Expectations - Ch19

Sorry for the two week delay - life, work and insomnia combined to make writing a bit of a slog.  Anyways, on with the show.  

Thanks (maybe) to @willow-salix who has been helping with the direction this is taking.  She is far too under the thumb of Scott though and now I have rather more chapters lined up to write.  Also thanks to @gumnut-logic who popped up as a cheerleader when I was having a wobble over last lines.  I’m still not totally happy but it gave me the confidence boost to at least get something set down.

Earlier parts: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen

AO3 chapter link

Chapter Nineteen

The temperature at Marineville was a solid 15 degrees lower than Los Angeles with a weak sun that bathed the parade ground in a pale and washed out light.  The chill January air had a bite to it as it blew across the square but Jeff sat straight and unflinching despite those around him shuffling and wrapping themselves up tighter in their coats.

The formal part of the commissioning ceremony was nearly over.  There had been speeches, the inevitable demonstration by the Marineville drummers and all that was left was for the latest cohort of the WASP officer training school to march past their assembled families before moving inside for the more informal reception.

This was the culmination of six months of hard training.  Six months of commitment and dedication that not all had managed to complete despite WASP’s rigorous selection process.  When he had said his goodbyes to Gordon he had done so with confidence that his son would make the grade but Jeff reflected with some shame that this hadn’t always been the case.  I8 months ago he had been adamant that Gordon needed to go to college, even a year ago he’d harboured some doubts over his fourth son’s suitability for military life though he had done his best to keep those doubts hidden.  

The commands were shouted out causing the newly minted officers to snap to attention with regimented precision.  The ranks of men and women in immaculate grey marched past their loved ones with a uniformity that Jeff found himself unable to find fault with.  The display was in stark contrast to the march past of the Olympics; for a start the emotions of the WASPs were unintelligible, locked away behind expressions schooled to careful neutrality.  Jeff hoped that some of the happiness that Gordon had displayed so freely at the Olympics was still being felt by his son now.

The contrast didn’t end at the bearing of the participants.  The Olympic opening ceremony had been all bright colours and beaming smiles, spotlights and camera flashes.  Today was still celebratory but with a slightly sombre undertone.  The speeches of those two events had shared the common themes of honour, glory and self-sacrifice but in the background every family present at Marineville knew there was a chance their son or daughter might not come home.  Military service always came with a risk.  It was a risk Jeff himself had taken, a risk currently being taken by Scott, and now Gordon had stepped up to serve too.  

He had watched with pride as Gordon had sworn an oath to protect the world.  It was an oath that Jeff hoped his son would continue to live by beyond the scope of his military life as the rescue outfit plans moved closer to fruition.  If Gordon should consent to join them as an aquanaut, and add his soon to be acquired skills to the operation when the time came, it would extend the scope of the services they could offer to humanity, enhancing their ability to save lives.  It was a conversation Jeff was yet to broach with his fourth son but he had confidence that Gordon would see the sense in his plans and join the rest of the family when he made the offer.

Almost the rest of the family.

Scott was still being difficult and Jeff couldn’t help the tremor of a frown that flitted across his features at the thought of his eldest son.  Scott was meant to be his field commander and pilot of the organisation's flagship craft.  He should have leapt at the opportunity to take control of the rocket plane.  He should have wanted to join their cause to help save lives and prevent other families from experiencing the grief and trauma they themselves had gone through.  He couldn’t understand Scott’s reluctance to resign his commission in the Air Force and swell the familial ranks.  It wasn’t even as if he was asking Scott the step away from his military career right away; his plans were still a year or two off completion, although he would need Scott on site sooner than that in order to familiarise himself with the aircraft that was to be like no other on the planet.  

A tug on Jeff’s sleeve brought him back to reality.  “Uh, Dad?  Time to get moving, Gordon will be waiting for us at the reception.”

The stands around them were almost empty as spectators hurried to get out of the cold.  There was no sign of Gordon or the other officers who had marched off to the hall ready to meet up with their families.  Jeff nodded his acknowledgement to Virgil and followed after the crowds heading off to be reunited with their loved ones, Virgil and Alan trailing along behind in his wake.

It didn’t take long to find Gordon in the reception hall, or rather it didn’t take long for him to find them.  He had been eagerly watching the doors as the relatives arrived in small clusters and barrelled up to his  father and brothers the moment they had deposited their coats on the racks. 

“So, what do you think?”  He spread his arms to better show off the uniform.

“You look great, son.  I’m proud of you.”  It was going to take some getting used to, seeing Gordon in military garb.  The shoulder detailing, complete with the shining new rank slides of an Ensign, emphasised his swimmers physique but the cap looked a touch too large and reminded Jeff of just how young Gordon really was.  Scott had worn his uniform like a second skin from the outset but then he had let the family know from an early age that the Air Force was his chosen path, conforming to expectation.  He had also been that much older when he had followed the call to arms.  WASP was a path that had appeared out of left field and, while he’d had plenty of time to reconcile himself to Gordon’s choice, it still felt a little surreal seeing his son in the garb of an aquanaut.

Gordon felt his arms sagging slightly as the weight of those words hit him.  Pride was a feeling more usually directed towards one of his older brothers.  It still felt unusual to hear those words aimed at him at himself without a medal in his hand as a focus for that feeling.

“Thanks Dad.”

“Y’know, it’s going to take some getting used to, seeing you in uniform”

“I’ve worn a uniform before, Virg.”  Gordon rolled his eyes in response.

“Technically true, if you count team colours as a uniform, but I mean on dry land.  You’re going to be wearing this a bit more full time than your trunks.  I never had grey down as your colour before but you look good.”

“You’re not doing so bad yourself.  Finally got some dress pants that fit then?”  He aimed a dig at Virgil who shuffled uncomfortably at the reminder of his birthday faux pas.

“Dad insisted we both get new suits” Alan grimaced, clearly uncomfortable in the stiff outfit that was far removed from his usual jeans.

If Alan and Virgil looked uncomfortable in their suits, Jeff was a complete contrast.  He had opted for his own dress uniform to mark the occasion and wore it with his habitual confidence.  No longer hidden behind an anonymous winter coat the brothers could sense the stirrings in the room that always happened whenever their father was in attendance.  It didn’t help that the senior officers from WASP were by now well aware of who was in their latest cohort and were beginning to circle in order to congratulate their honoured guest and extol Gordon’s virtues; they weren’t to know that such flattery rarely worked on Jeff but Gordon decided to make himself scarce before being subjected to the embarrassment.

Grabbing Alan and Virgil by the arm, Gordon led his brothers away on the pretext of finding some refreshments, leaving their father to handle the military small talk.  They joined the long queue waiting to order drinks.

“So, how was it, really?” Virgil asked, the ever present concern for a brother clearly evident.

“It’s great, Virg.  Honestly it is.”  He took in the skepticism in his brother’s eyes.  “This is the right choice for me.�� I know you’re not sold on the whole military thing but this is where I belong.  And now I’ve got the basic training out the way it’s going to start getting really interesting.  In two days I get to start my pilot training on the Merlin class subs.”

“Two days?” Alan let out a devastated wail, “So does this mean you aren’t coming back with us?  I thought you got some leave after basic training?  We didn’t see you at Christmas and I barely got three days with you at Thanksgiving.  You’ve had even less time off over the last six months than Scott has.”

Gordon felt the guilt rise up in him.  Graduating cohorts generally did get a week of leave before going on to their advanced training but he had volunteered to forgo this in order to get his hands on the Merlin.  The small patrol sub appealed to him far more than some of the larger vessels in WASP’s fleet which is where he would likely have ended up if he had taken advantage of the standard vacation.  He hadn’t really considered how this decision would go down with his youngest brother when he stepped forward to claim the opportunity.

“Uh, sorry Al.  But the good news is that my break gets shunted to when your birthday is so I’ll be home for your 16th.”  His brother brightened up considerably at this prospect.  “I thought that would be better than taking it now while you still have Virg and John for company.  Where is John by the way?  I thought he was going to be here.”

“You aren’t the only one making the most of advanced training” Virgil explained.  “John got specially selected for a stint on one of the orbital communication posts so he’s currently in quarantine.”

“Already?  I didn’t think you guys actually got to leave the ground until at least Easter?”

“This is John” Virgil shrugged, as if that explained everything.

“At least there was no chance of my school getting in the way of me being here” Alan smirked.

“Yeah, how’s the whole online gig going for you?”

“It’s good, I tell ya I don’t miss the High School at all.”

“What, not even your friends?  It can’t be that great being stuck on your own all the time.”

The snort Gordon got in response did not fill him with confidence.  The High School might not have been great but he worried how isolated Alan now was with the move to online school.  Looking back, however, he realised Alan had always been pretty isolated.  His brother, like the rest of them, had never had many friends outside of the family.  It was the curse of being a Tracy.  Each of the brothers had one or two bad experiences etched in their memory, friends that proved false as the other party was exposed for being after money, power, influence or a combination of it all.  Alan had watched his brothers get hurt, and been hurt enough times himself, to have decided fairly early on that sticking with family was safest.  The problem was there was no longer any family left at home for him to stick with.  

“Don’t worry Gords, Alan isn’t alone that much.  John and I get a visitor pretty often.  If I wasn’t only there on a short course we’d see about renting a bigger apartment so we could have a guest room.  As it is, there’ll be a spare room anyways once I finish at Tracy College.  Actually,” Virgil turned to his littlest brother, “seeing as John’s heading topside and Gordon isn’t coming back, how about I take you back to Kansas for a bit after this shindig is over.”

“Sounds great.  Does this mean I get John’s bed rather than the sofa this time?”

Gordon quirked an eyebrow at Alan who flushed slightly with embarrassment.  The two brothers had spent enough of their lives with just each other for company that they didn’t always need words to get their point across.  Alan knew exactly why his brother was getting at.  The vile accusations of Virgil taking on charity cases and pity projects rose in his memory, accusations that he had known deep down were unfounded but that he had still flung out in a fit of rage and heartbreak.  Virgil, however, seemed oblivious to the silent exchange.

“Sure, as long as you don’t mess up his room.  You can do your school work while I have class and then maybe I can give you a few more flying lessons.”

Gordon felt infinitely reassured that things had been patched up between Alan and Virgil.  If Alan was regularly spending time in Kansas then he has every confidence that the youngster was being looked after.  Virgil and John would keep an eye on things and make sure he wasn’t becoming too insular or crushed under the pressure of being the only one at home with their father.  He also knew that Alan would not be permitted to slack off his school work during these trips.  Perhaps the move to online school, which had worried him so much when Alan first told him the news, was for the best after all.  It certainly had to be better than Alan bunking off for weeks on end.

The brothers had finally reached the head of the queue and stood in front of the urns debating what to get.  The smell of scorched grounds assaulted Virgil’s nose and mortally offended the coffee connoisseur.

“Sorry” Gordon shrugged, “no single origin blends here. Just count yourself lucky that the cream is fresh, the preserved stuff they serve on the subs is particularly nasty. The best you can say about the coffee we get given is that it’s hot and wet.”

“I suppose one cup won’t kill me” although Virgil’s tone suggested he doubted the truth in that statement.  “I’ll grab mine and Dad’s if you two can sort yourselves out and maybe grab a couple of those cake slices.”

The brothers loaded themselves up and made their way back towards their father.   

xoxoxox

Scott had been like a bear with a sore head all day.  Those in his unit had discovered very early on that the young Captain, normally so amenable to those around him, was not in a mood to be trifled with.  Anything that could be found fault with was picked over and many of the airmen under his command found themselves on the receiving end of harsh words.  It was out of character and had the whole unit on edge.

There had been a lot of change in the unit lately and it was taking a while for the new status quo to be found.  His well deserved promotion to Captain had coincided with some retirements further up the rank structure and the whole chain of command had been reorganised.  Superiors that he had respected were no longer in place and those he now reported to seemed to have a dislike for the Tracy name.  He had spent so long proving himself as his own person, determined not to play off his father’s reputation, but the sneer he had received upon meeting his new commanding officer showed that the man did not believe he had reached Captain off his own merits.  He had tried not to let it affect his performance, to remain professional, but today he was seething.  Today he should have been at Marineville watching a brother receive his own commission but instead he was stuck on base, his request for leave denied seemingly for no other reason than that he was a Tracy.  Scott found himself thinking distinctly uncharitable thoughts towards his new commanding officer.

The end of the working day, which had been filled with trivial and meaningless tasks, saw Scott hurrying back to his quarters.  Once inside the sanctuary of his own space he dug out his phone, not even bothering to change out of his uniform first; some things were more important.  He had been filled with worry, imagining scenarios in which their father belittled Gordon and the service he had fought so hard to join.  It only took 2 rings for the call to be answered by the brother that had been in his thoughts all day.

“Hey Gords, how’d it go today?”  

“Great, Scott, just great.  Absolutely freezing out on the parade square but can’t have everything.”

“So you’re a proper squid now.”

“Yup, got the hat to prove it and everything.”  He grabbed his cap from where he had thrown it on the night stand and waved it in front of the camera.

“I’m surprised I caught you.  The night of my commissioning ceremony the base bars pretty much ran dry.”

“Actually it’s pretty quiet here, most folks have gone off for a week and the barracks are near enough deserted.  Y’know, I get a room to myself tonight for the first time since I went home at Thanksgiving.  The only snores I have to deal with tonight are my own.”

Memories of shared dorms flared in Scott’s mind.  He’d always appreciated having his own personal space meaning the communal living element of basic training had in some ways been more of a challenge for him than the Air Force training proper.   

“So you’re not out celebrating?”

“I might wander out later, see if this place has any night life.  There hasn’t really been any opportunity to explore before now, training was pretty full on.”

“I can imagine.  Well take it easy, I keep forgetting you’re still under age so stick to soda, the military police are not to be trifled with.  Getting a DND is bad enough, getting one as a minor will see you out of WASP quicker than you can say submarine.”

“Yes, Dad.”  Gordon responded with mock sincerity and a half-assed salute.  The mention of Dad reminded Scott of just why he had been so on edge.  

“How was he today, anyway?  Cos if he gave you any grief…”

“Relax Scott” Gordon could almost feel the tension vibrating though his older brother “Dad was fine.”  He received a single raised eyebrow in response.  “Honest, he was.  You can check up with Virgil if you want.  He...he said he was proud of me.”

Scott felt his heart ache at the slight crack that had appeared in Gordon’s voice.  At least their father seemed to have held off with the criticism he was normally so quick to dispense in Gordon’s direction.  “Well he has every reason to be proud of you.  Seriously, there’s not many that make it into WASP at your age, let alone as an officer.  I wish I could have been there today.  I should have been there.”

“Chill Scott, it’s fine.  I never made it to your commissioning ceremony either.  Call it even.”

“Gords, when I got my commission you were about twelve and off swimming in Europe somewhere.”

“Thirteen and Singapore.”  The instant response had Scott widening his eyes in surprise.  Gordon just grinned and shrugged his shoulders.  “You aren’t the only one that keeps tabs on the important stuff.”

This surprised Scott and he wondered just what else Gordon was hiding below the surface.  Growing up Gordon had only ever seemed to care about his swimming, an athlete with a focus that was single minded to the point of being selfish.  It was an impression that Jeff had done nothing to disabuse him of over the years.  This perception had come crashing down with the exposure of Gordon’s role in Alan’s life and now it would appear that the fourth Tracy had also been paying attention to those above him in the age hierarchy.  Scott felt a gnawing guilt at the past wrongs he had heaped at his brother’s door.

“I still should have been there today.  Christ, Gords, you’ve worked your ass off to get to this point.  It’s been killing me today, not being able to be there with you.  It’s not just Dad that’s proud of you, I am too.”  The guilt only intensified when he realised Gordon wasn’t quite meeting his eye, still unaccustomed to the praise that flowed more freely now.

“Yeah, well, I’m just glad I didn’t let you down.  You took a risk, standing up for me against Dad.  Thanks for that.”

“You couldn’t let me down.  I know whatever the outcome you would have tried your best, it’s what you do.  I always used to think John was the single-minded one but when you get an idea in your head you can blow him out the water for focus.  So anyway, how come you aren’t heading off on leave like everyone else?”

“Got a chance to get my hands on a Merlin.  I know they are being phased out but those of us signed off on the Merlin will be the first to get trained on the Stingray when it comes in and I’m gonna be putting myself firmly in that queue.”

Scott grinned at the enthusiasm pouring off his little brother, although as a commissioned WASP officer perhaps Gordon wasn’t so little any more.  He remembered that feeling of excitement about getting his hands on a new craft, in his case it had been planes rather than submarines, but the thrill was still the same and from what he could tell that Stingray was going to be one hell of a craft.  He listened happily as Gordon prattled on, regaling him with tales from basic training and thoughts on the opportunities about to come and when they cut the call nearly an hour later he did so with the confidence that Gordon really was happy with his choices.  The family fish had taken to WASP like, well, like a fish to water and Scott just knew Gordon would make a success of it.

Scott wished he could summon up that same enthusiasm about his latest assignment.  With the call to his brother over he turned to the mission briefing he had brought back to his quarters.  The details in it were scant and the intelligence it was based on looked questionable but his earlier attempts to raise his concerns with the new CO had been meant with a swift reprimand for daring to question authority.  

With an audible sigh he examined the paltry file in as much depth he could, liking what he saw less and less as he read between the lines of the report.  He had enough experience to know that casualties were likely to be high on all sides.  The weight of command sat heavy on him; soon enough he would be expected to brief his unit then lead them out on this mission that in all honesty he could not bring himself to support.