#he just never got it—last birthday surprise he got was when his mom fled so that wasnt a very good birthday gift

[harringroveera]

Don’t go Steve, Billy actually loves birthday surprises

[jimblejamblewritings]

yes, i’m a squib | part 13.

Summary: Y/N Black has always been a squib, to the dismay of her pureblood family. Cast out to the orphanage at a young age, she thought that was her life. Until her relative Sirius Black breaks out of Azkaban. Suddenly a letter to Hogwarts in thrusted into her hand and Y/N becomes a true part of the magical Wizarding World.

Warnings for the Series: violence, death, light smut, angst, fluff

Pairing: harry potter x black!reader, cedric diggory x black!reader

Word Count: 3.6k

Previous Part | (Series Masterlist)

To no one’s surprise, certainly not Cedric’s, Harry was outside the Hufflepuff common room in the morning. You scratched at the back of your head and looked at Cedric. The older boy was confused when you didn’t start immediately walking in between him and Harry.

“Will you, um, will you tell Professor Snape that I’m sick? I’ll get a note from Madame Pomfrey later.”

“Sure?” Cedric said with a raised brow.

Even Harry looked at you confused. You didn’t miss class and you would never miss Potions. Without any prompting, Harry took your hand and led you away. You followed him outside the castle and to the quidditch field that wasn’t seeing much use— most of the teams felt too discouraged to even practice. Harry grabbed the new Firebolt that Sirius bought him last year. He sat you on it.

“This always helps me clear my head. Don’t talk, not till you’re ready,” Harry said. “Just fly.”

He held your hand and walked you around the quidditch field. Flying never got old to you but you couldn’t enjoy it as much this time. Harry was being patient. He didn’t speak even after starting the third walk around the field. You finally sighed and he took that as a cue to stop and lead you to the bleachers. You sighed and put your head on his shoulder.

“Do you ever regret asking questions, Harry?”

“All the time. Why?”

“I had been pestering my dad since summer to tell me about my mum, been begging Uncle Remus too. They both finally gave in and wrote one really long letter, practically a novel.”

“That’s good, isn’t it?”

You shook your head. You pulled the very thick letters out of your cloak. Harry looked at them in your hands. He didn’t actually read the words but paid attention to the wet marks and could easily assume they were tear stains.

“Uncle Remus lied to me. My mom did go to Hogwarts, that’s where my dad met her, not when she was visiting Diagon Alley.”

“But why would he lie?”

“Because she left when people found out her father was Oliver Hornby… the boy who teased Myrtle until she ran into a bathroom and died. They fled to France in her fifth year and she told dad not to look for her, that his life was better without her.”

Harry scoffed. “Because her father was a bully once? That’s a—”

“Because they said he was a disgrace to wizards. We’re banshees, Harry! Like Seamus’ boggart last year. We’re cursed.”

“(Y/N)…”

“My grandfather yelled at Myrtle, he said he felt weird afterwards and accidentally spilled his cup of water at lunch. Four hours later, she’s dead in a bathroom. His mother was mute for years to avoid it. She passed by Hepzibah Smith and said she felt devastated when she passed by a mirror and realized she lost her pearl necklace. Three days later, Lord Voldemort killed Hepzibah Smith and Salazar Slytherin’s locket goes missing from her shop.”

“That doesn’t mean anything.”

“My mother yelled at Professor Snape when he said something about her parents when everyone found out who her dad was. That night, he almost died because of my dad’s stupid prank with the Weeping Willow… She yelled at your dad for being late to my birthday party. She wasn’t even angry, it was a joke and they all thought it was funny. She had to step outside for a bit because her head hurt and then the next month your parents died… I’m so sorry, Harry.”

Harry pushed your head off of his shoulder, grabbing both of your hands in his. “Look at me. You’re not cursed.”

“My mistake, we curse everyone around us. Banshees are dark omens, Harry.”

“You’re not cursed and you don’t curse people. You, your family, are not evil. What about those banshees on tour with that one singer? Their audiences go home very much alive. Bad things happen to people sometimes.”

“What if I g—”

“No. (Y/N), you won’t do anything. You’re not bad so you can’t do anything bad.” Harry kissed your hands with a smile. “I’ve never seen these hands condemn a single person, even if they deserved it. Okay? You’re brilliant and nice and just amazing.”

“I’m scared.”

“It’s alright to be scared but nothing will happen.”

You shook your head. “Harry, I want to be— I do believe you about being good but… the only reason dad gave in is because I needed to know I’m a banshee. I needed to know because some dark wizards know, if Voldemort comes back then he for certain knows because Wormtail told him. And if they know—”

“They’ll try to kill you.” Harry realized.

“A dead banshee enhances a dark wizard’s power more than an alive one, even an alive and evil one.”

“Even if you aren’t full banshee?” He asked.

“Doesn’t matter. A half is good enough.”

“Well, we won’t let anyone get to you.”

“You know what haunts my dad? He feels he’s responsible for killing everyone. He told Wormtail to be the secret keeper instead of him. My parents were over at your house when Voldemort attacked. The thing that haunts my dad the most is my mum saying she heard hissing and slithering noises. She was convinced Voldemort was coming and none of them believed her. My mum held his wand to her head and said the killing curse.

“He said he was in such shock that he had to step out for a moment and the walk he took to clear his head was when Voldemort killed your parents. He thinks if he had been there and if they had believed her, it wouldn’t have happened. They said she was just doing her banshee thing again— paranoia, all banshees kind of have it. She killed herself with dad’s wand so Voldemort couldn’t use her, because technically Sirius was the one responsible for the death.”

“Your dad didn’t do anything. Your mum didn’t do anything. Only Lord Voldemort is responsible. And if he is back, I won’t let anything happen to you… should we just skip school completely today? Try again tomorrow? McGonagall accepted Sirius signing my Hogsmeade slip.”

“Harry that is still breaking at least twenty school rules,” you laughed. “Let’s do it.”

The two of you didn’t even disguise what you were doing. Some of the ghosts watched you stroll right out of the courtyard and to the little village. Hogsmeade was even nicer when it wasn’t under a layer of snow— which said a lot because you thought the snow made it look so pretty. If you two weren’t shopping, you were roaming the street hand in hand. Harry really had a way of making things feel better to you.

The only thing that was less than picturesque was the fact that you two argued in every store about who would pay. Harry insisted and you said that he needed his savings, your dad was still alive to work if you somehow spent the entire inheritance. Most of the time, Harry ignored you and paid anyway. You had forgotten all about the letter in your cloak. It still felt heavy but it wasn’t the same burden from when you first read it that morning.

Harry stopped walking when he realized you let go of his hand. He turned around to see you were far behind him just staring at something. Jogging over, he found you looking in an empty store. Harry simply stared at his reflection in the window— the part he could see that wasn’t being blocked by the for sale sign plastered on the window.

“What are we looking at?” he asked.

You finished sipping your butterbeer. “After the professors moved me up into seventh year classes, I began thinking even more about what to do after we leave Hogwarts— not many choices for a squib… what do you want to do, Harry?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t really thought about it much. Perhaps, an Auror? You?”

“Tilden Toots.”

“The radio man?”

You chuckled. No one actually listened to Tilden but you and Neville. Professor Sprout was always playing him on the radio in the greenhouse. Occasionally, Snape would put him on in the Potions classroom as well. Tilden was arguably the most famous herbologist of the wizard world. He was also a brilliant potioneer.

“Well, I don’t want to be on the radio. I don’t think. But I like potions and alchemy. I want to be around plants forever. I’m good at it.”

“You’re brilliant at it.”

“Thank you. I thought I wanted to run a plant shop in Diagon Alley but— never mind.”

“Do you want this store?”

“Never mind. I still have years before we graduate, someone will have bought it.”

“Not if you buy it now… What? Buy it now and it’ll be yours when you’re ready.”

You nodded and stepped into the store, Harry following. A wizard appeared and eyed you both. You began to think that maybe purchasing a store front while still in Hogwarts’ uniforms was not the best idea. You also weren’t sure if you were allowed to sign the contract. That thought was confirmed when the man threatened to message Dumbledore that he had students off campus. Harry stopped him and convinced him to contact Sirius instead. Because the store had a fireplace and your fireplace in Grimmauld was connected to the Floo network, the wizard was able to get a message through to Sirius.

“Poppet,” your father started.

“Don’t tell me you never skipped classes, Dad.”

Sirius paused because you were right. “Well, never to buy a store.”

You explained the same thing to your dad that you explained to Harry outside. Sirius snorted at Tilden Toots— he spent most of the summer hearing that stupid morning program play at the breakfast table. Your father told you that the store was the only Christmas present you were getting and gave permission for the wizard to sign a contract with a minor. You grabbed the copy of the contract and you and Harry burst out of the store— now your store— with glee.

You guys began to head back to the castle. Surprisingly, no one confronted you. Madame Pomfrey gave you a note because you claimed that you woke up with a fever and only woke up a couple hours ago. You and Harry began to walk to the owlery to see if there were any letters.

“So what are you going to do now? Just let the store sit until we leave Hogwarts or…”

“I might as well start working on it bit by bit, right? Four, almost five years of work and there’s no way it wouldn’t be the perfect store.”

“If you want help, I’ll be g—”

“There you two are!” Hermione ran up to you. “We’ve been looking all over. The pamphlets and S.P.E.W. buttons arrived! I was worried we wouldn’t be able to hand them out tomorrow.”              

Before the Halloween feast, Hermione made you all hand out S.P.E.W. buttons. She was getting a surprisingly good response. Any time a student started arguing or had questions, everyone would direct them towards Kreacher and your family. You had been back and forth between the four tables in the Great Hall more times than you could count. Kreacher had been doing his part in the kitchens of convincing the house-elves that Hermione wasn’t trying to get them fired. They took to his presenting of the ideas way better than they took to Hermione or Dobby. A few took to the idea that maybe some clothes would be nice with season changes. They even admired the new sweater Kreacher was wearing.

Sirius had dropped it off in the last package that your owl had delivered. Because it was Halloween and students were allowed to be out of uniform, Sirius got your family matching sweaters. You, Kreacher, Sirius, Remus, and Padfoot had soft black sweaters with a giant smiling pumpkin on them. He even bought one for Draco who surprised you by actually showing up in it. You finished handing out the last S.P.E.W. button at the Slytherin table— Blaise took the last one because Draco convinced him to— when you heard some of the Durmstrang boys laughing.

You looked over to see that they were laughing at your house-elf who was setting down the food at the Slytherin table like the other elves were doing at other tables. You didn’t speak German— the required official language of their school— but you knew that the word sweater sounded the same in a lot of languages. You took the bowl that Kreacher was holding from him.

“Kreacher, go see if Winky needs help at Hufflepuff table or maybe Dobby since he is here today.”

“Yes, Mistress (Y/N).”

The Durmstrang boy right in front of you raised an eyebrow. “Your house-elf calls you by your first name?”

“Do you have a problem with that?” you asked, shifting the large bowl of whip cream to rest on your hip.

“You give him matching sweater and he thinks he is human. He thinks he deserves to walk around like us, like purebloods.”

You scoffed. “I was hoping the stereotype about Durmstrang boys and blood purity was untrue.”

“It’s just strange, he wears sweaters like he is a free wizard. The clothes they had before are fine.”

“The clothes they have are rags and dirty pillowcases.”

“Yes and what’s wrong with that? I wonder how he knows his place.”

“His place being?”

“A house-elf. He is not one of us.”

“No, but he deserves respect. Kreacher is a free working elf. He wears sweaters because he deserves proper clothing. Like any of us do.”

The boys laughed.

“Is something funny?” You asked.

“You make little club for elves next thing you know you say squibs should be allowed at our schools.”  

You slammed the bowl down on the table, making everyone pay attention to what was happening at the Slytherin table. The faculty were watching, slightly frantic at the fact that both Dumbledore and Karakoff held up their hands to stop them from intervening with their students.

“Is there a problem with squibs?” You asked as your fingers gripped the bowl tighter.

“They’re no better than a muggle… what are you doing?”

You began to clear the trays in front of the boys, handing them to other students at the Slytherin table or even passing them to the Ravenclaw table right behind you. You gave the boys a sickly sweet smile.

“I just figured you wouldn’t want to eat food prepared by house-elves since you seem to think so little of them. And my squib eyes did glaze over everything so you probably wouldn’t want to eat after me knowing that I so much as looked at it.”

The boys’ upturned lips at taunting and messing with you turned into tight lines. It was only funny when they thought you were one of them. They were only entertained because you were a pureblood who wanted to play games and give out charity to every wizard and creature she saw. The smiles became sneers. The first boy suddenly looked at you almost passively.

“Then you are no better than a house-elf. Actually worse, they have magic, you are a waste of it.”

You rolled your eyes and turned to leave when another boy spoke.

“Disgrace to the wizard world,” he muttered but you could all hear.  

The Great Hall had gone silent since you slammed the bowl and never picked up conversation. Your face heated up in anger and embarrassment knowing that every single person in the room had heard what he said. Karakoff watched his student with some sort of twisted glee. The Hogwarts and Beauxbaton faculty seemed to be appalled.

“Say that to my face!” you yelled as you turned around. The bowl of whip cream left your hand and landed straight on the boy’s robes. “Say that to my face again, I dare you!”

The boy stood up angrily. He whipped his wand out from his robe and that sprung your friends into action. Kreacher immediately apparated to where you were. Harry, Ron, and Hermione jumped up as well as Cedric. But before either of them could move from their table, Draco had his wand pointed at the boy’s neck.

“Mutter so much as the beginning of a spell and I’ll hex you, I don’t care if it gets me expelled.”

The boy didn’t lower his wand, only gripped it tighter. Viktor Krum put his hand on the other boy’s arm but even that didn’t do much other than make his eye contact waver. Dumbledore finally stood up when it became clear the situation was not diffusing entirely on its own. He announced that it was time to finish eating because they would be announcing the names soon. Kreacher walked you back to the Hufflepuff table, not trusting that the boy wouldn’t try anything while your back was turned. Cedric checked on you when you sat down. Even the visiting students that you didn’t know— mainly the ones from Beauxbatons— extended some sympathy.

The feast was cleared away and everyone turned their attention to Dumbledore. The goblet roared for a bit before the blue flames turned a brilliant red and a piece of paper was spit out. As it fluttered to the ground, Dumbledore caught it.

“And the Durmstrang champion is Viktor Krum.”

The hall rang out with applause. Because he attempted to defend you, you also clapped for Viktor even if you hated most of Durmstrang at the moment. Viktor stood up and reveled in the moment a bit before moving to the front of the Hall on his own accord so Dumbledore could continue. Just like before, the goblet turned red and spit up another paper scrap.

“From Beauxbatons, your champion is Fleur Delacour.”

Fleur, who had been sitting at the Ravenclaw table, stood up as well to accept the warm applause. She seemed nice to you. Not that the competition champions had to be nice people but you just felt like she was a deserving champion. The anticipation grew to a palpable feeling when it was time for Hogwarts. All the Houses had been guessing but no one could agree on who they thought the goblet would pick. It was like the goblet knew that you were waiting because you swore it was taking longer to pick a champion. Dumbledore caught the paper. You all watched as he read it before looking up.

“(Y/N) Black.”

You shook your head. That wasn’t possible. All eyes were on you as you were forced to get up from the table and go to the front of the room. This time there was no applause, just silent confusion. For once, you agreed with Barty Crouch as he tried to say that you couldn’t compete. You shook your head when Dumbledore asked you if you entered.

“No, Professor. I don’t even like the tournament. Everyone’s heard me complain!”

At that, most of the students nodded. They all had heard you go on about the competition. Most of the time they laughed because you seemed to be the only student who didn’t like it.

“She’s too young to compete, Albus,” McGonagall started.

“The magic is binding, our Hogwarts champion i—”

“Then I’m not a champion!” you said excitedly. “I crossed the age line— on a dare— because I thought it wouldn’t work since I’m a squib. I don’t have enough magic for the goblet to detect.”

Barty Crouch nodded. “That is a possibility. But we will need a new champion and the goblet won’t give us another.”

“Let her pick!” a voice shouted from Gryffindor.

Students’ voices rang out in agreement that if Hogwarts needed a new champion you should pick it. The goblet was going to give them a name, even if it had to be picked manually. Some were yelling that you didn’t want to so they shouldn’t make you compete. Others were saying how you were too young. But most were arguing that a squib couldn’t be their champion, Hogwarts wouldn’t stand a chance. Dumbledore extended a hand and you stepped up to the goblet to manually fish out a piece of paper. You pulled up the first name and the room grew silent.

“Blank, someone didn’t write their name but sorry to the Gryffindor who just lost because they only wrote their house, let me try again.”

You swirled your hand around, surprised that the fire didn’t burn this time. Your fingers grazed the stone inside of the goblet and you gasped. It felt cold and dewy somehow. Your head lifted up from the goblet, certain that you had heard something. Suddenly, the fire turned red and roared to life. You quickly pulled your hand from it and caught the two pieces of paper that were spat out. You opened the first one.

“Cedric Diggory!”

Hogwarts erupted into cheers. Cedric might not have been the most popular boy but he was nice, well-liked, and smart. He was an all-arounder and the students loved it. After Cedric stepped up, everyone looked at you. You held up the second piece of paper.

“What do I do? There are two of them.”

Barty Crouch cleared his throat. “Are you the only squib that attends Hogwarts?”

“Yes.”

“Then the magic binds every other wizard. In a surprise twist, we will have four champions this year instead of three.”

Dean Tomas shouted so everyone could hear. “What school are they from?”

You looked at the paper. “Doesn’t say on the back.”

That made everyone excited. Whichever school got the second champion had a better chance of winning. Understanding that the magic was binding and no one controlled the goblet, the students accepted the advantage that one school would get. They were more excited to just watch a more interesting tournament. You opened the slip of paper. Everyone watched it drop from your fingers as you didn’t say a word.

“Well? Who is it?” Dean shouted, making everyone chuckle.

You looked up and swallowed the lump in your throat. “Harry Potter.”

(Part 14)...

[rosemary-writes]

I can’t, I’m so sorry

(David x Female!Reader)

AN: this story is basically me just ranting about my experience over the past two weeks. It’s very hard going through the grief process and I wanted to share my experience through my writing. This story is kind of a self insert but I still like it

Warnings: swearing, mentions of death, losing a loved one, grief, mourning, crying, unhealthy habits, recollection of memories, soft!David, maybe out of character David, general sadness, mentions of a cemetery, vampire powers.

Word count: 3.8k

DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO ANY OF THE ABOVE WARNINGS

“I like to pretend that you ran away, that you’re living on an island and have a garden and a dog and that your brothers drop by to bring you groceries and books and that you are very happy and free.” - S.C. Pacheco

It happened so quickly. No one saw it coming, but then again, does anyone ever really see death coming?

You were preparing for finals. It was the last two weeks of your first year at college and you had been studying non stop. You were going to end this year with a bang and have a great extended summer without worry in your head.

Then, the phone call happened. It was so unexpected. Dad called and asked if you were alone. Thankfully, your psychology class was on a five minute break and you were out in the hallway. Dad immediately said that he didn’t know how to break it to you gently so he was just going to say it. Following his statement, he told you how your great grandmother had a stroke and she had about a day to a month to live. The hallway stood still and the chatter of classrooms ceased into nothing.

Tears had welled up in your eyes and began to flow down your face. Nothing stopped them as your dad kept telling you about everything that happened. Your grandparents, uncles, aunts, and even your mom went to the hospital to see her. It was a two hour drive. Your dad had said that your mother was going to bring you home when all of your classes were done, for the day, so you could be in an area of comfort. The only reason he said that was because the history of your mental health wasn't the best at all. The previous two weeks were spent being in bed because the stress of school began to weigh heavily in your chest.

The weight in your chest had lessened over the past few days but the news of your great grandmother brought it back. Your face was red as the tears kept flowing from your eyes. Dad said he loved you before letting you hang up. Your whimpers and scattered breathing echoed in the hallway. Hot tears dripped from your chin and onto your sweater as you ran into the bathroom. Thankfully it was empty and you were able to let out your cries. The yellow lights flickered as you fell to your knees. She was your only great grandmother and she loved you greatly. Everyone told you that you were special because you were her eldest great granddaughter. The passing quote in your head practically made you scream out in confusion and upset.

Many minutes passed before your psychology teacher burst into the bathroom. She found you on the floor, face wet with tears. Immediately she came to your side and began shushing you while wrapping her arms around you. The only words you could cry out were “She’s dying and I’m not there.” After that, the day fuzzed into nothing. Your close friend had to come and get you for your other classes. She told your teachers how you were leaving early in the week because your great grandmother was dying. Thankfully, your teachers understood and gave you extensions on every assignment that was late.

Later in the evening, your mother came to get you. The car ride was very quiet and so was the weekend. It was spent with you occasionally crying while listening to your family plan her funeral. It was also spent with you remembering your childhood in her house.

The smells and sounds lingered in your mind constantly. Sometimes you’d hear the ghost of her grandfather clock when you couldn’t sleep.

Sadly, you couldn’t sleep most days. A week came and went and you were in the start of your finals week. It was three days filled with exams. Tuesday was the first day of exams. Thankfully, there was only one exam. When class was over, your teacher asked to speak with you. She gave you an enormous hug and told you that you passed her class. With tears forming in your eyes she told you that your great grandmother would be very proud. After that, she wished you the best in life and you went back to your dorm with your close friend.

As if on cue, your phone rang. When you picked it up you immediately could tell it was your dad. He told you that your great grandmother passed in her sleep early that morning. You knew this news was coming but no amount of preparation could prepare you to hear that. Tears fell from your eyes as he told you to get through the next few days before moving out and coming home. You both said, “I love you.” before hanging up.

Later that night, you cried until the sun gently arose over the tall evergreen trees. The next few days were spent in a daze. Your friends comforted you and told you that they’d always be there for you as you cried and wanted to go home. You took your exams and packed up your room and left the college. You were so happy to leave with your mother and go home for the summer. However, the shadow of grief clung to your skirt the entire time, even as the evening turned into night and then stretched into morning.

With sad eyes, you had looked into the mirror as you applied your makeup and got dressed for her funeral. The dress you wore was long sleeved and it just about touched the ground. You sighed. It was going to be a long drive through the flat farmland to get to the town of your childhood. When your family got to the old cemetery, your father told you that it was a beautiful day for her to be laid to rest.

And it was. It really was. The sun was shining, there were no clouds, and the gentle breeze turned your warm tears cold. Birds and butterflies fluttered around the graves and danced with each other. Even as the priest recited the carefully picked words, you thought of how it was a beautiful day. When he was done speaking, your mother held you as you cried. She let go when she began to cry uncontrollably. Your younger cousins came to your side and wept with you as you walked amongst your sleeping ancestors and extended family.

At the end of the funeral, you tearfully kissed her headstone goodbye and whispered to your great grandfather that you know they're happy now, laying side by side. When you got into the car to go back to Santa Carla, you cried until you dozed off under the warm afternoon sun.

Before you had left for the whole ordeal, you called David and told him about everything that had happened. He knew that your great grandmother had a stroke and that your whole family was stricken with grief. He also knew that you had never experienced grief or the process of mourning. So, he made a promise that when you came back he would stay by your side. You gave a huff into the payphone as he told you that he would do anything to ease the process. Before hanging up, you asked if it would be okay if you could stay at the cave for a couple of days. He told you yes and that he loved you before hanging up.

When your family finally got back to the house, you immediately fled to your room. Your parents didn’t want to bother you so they left you alone. They didn’t know that you were going to spend a few days at the cave. Infact, they didn’t know you were dating David. Your parents just thought he was a college friend.

Grabbing a bag, you began shoving clothes into it. You grabbed a few necessities and put those in there as well. When you figured you had everything, you heard David's bike outside. However, before you left, you noticed your great grandmother's ring on your dresser. It was given to you on your sixteenth birthday. It was an heirloom that was passed down from your great grandmother. When she first saw you wearing it, she had complimented how you reminded her of her younger self. While looking at the ring, your hand flew to the pearl choker that was resting around your neck. They were hers as well.

You grabbed the ring and slipped it on your ring finger before leaving. Your parents must’ve gone to bed because the house was dark and their bedroom door was shut. In the kitchen, you pulled out a notepad and wrote down that you were going to be with friends for a few days.

You left your house and noticed David was at the end of your driveway. He had a cigarette in his mouth and he was looking at your neighbors house.

“David.” you called gently. His head whipped towards you and a smirk appeared on his lips. His fingers came up and took the cigarette from his lips. When you walked to him, he gently pulled you close and gave you a quick kiss. When you pulled away, his hand came up to your cheek. You looked up at him in the moonlight and could see that his face was laced with concern as his eyes studied your face.

“Hop on kitten, let’s go to the cave.” he said, as his hand fell from your face. You got on behind him and when you wrapped your arms around him he began to drive through the night. Usually, you would be happy and laughing with David as he drove erratically to get you excited. He loved hearing you shout as he would go over hills but tonight was quiet. Of course he knew why. You were grieving and he wasn’t expecting you to do any of that. When you asked to stay at the cave, he was honestly surprised.

However, part of you felt like you needed to shout and laugh. You had mentally prepared for her death for a week and now it was hours after the funeral. Part of you begged to be left alone with your ever changing mind and the other part wanted to be with David in his arms as you two laughed and talked trash about the people of Santa Carla.

Instead, your face was resting against his back as he drove to the cave. The night was clear and the moon was bright. In the serenity of the night you closed your eyes. Your eyes were irritated at how much you had been crying and you hoped that tonight David wouldn’t see you cry. He had never seen you cry and you wanted to keep it that way. You always stayed happy and energetic around him. Sometimes you could hear David whisper that he loved your spark when he thought you were asleep. He didn’t know that your great grandmother repeated the same thing many years ago.

You sighed as you felt David’s bike slow to a stop. Opening your eyes, you saw that the both of you were at one of the entrances to the cave. He parked his bike next to the three others and turned it off. Carefully, you unwrapped your arms from him as he got off. As you got off, David offered his hand and you took it. When you stood next to him, hand in hand, he kissed your forehead. You smiled at the affection and he led you down into the cave.

“I know you won’t mind but, me and the guys are going to go feed when you get inside. I’ll change my clothes before coming back” David said, as he led you through the tunnel. You hummed and looked ahead at the gentle glowing light ahead. In the main area of the cave you could hear the noises of the other boys. David’s grip on your hand tightened as you came to the steep slope that led to the main area. The first time he brought you here, you slipped going down. You smiled at the cherished memory as you carefully walked down. Thankfully, this time you made it to the bottom.

“Hey David, hey Scoob” Marko said, looking up as you and David walked into the main area of the cave. You scoffed as David let go of your hand.

“How many times do I have to tell you to not call me that?” you asked, as David walked over towards the others. Marko gave you a teasing smile as Paul came from god knows where. Dwayne followed after him and the two joined the others.

“Anyways, I think you guys should get a move on. I can tell you’re antsy.” you said. David was breathing a bit more heavily than usual and you knew that was his body telling him to eat. Without word, the boys turned and walked away to one of the many exits. As the others ascended into the night, David turned to look at you. It was his way of saying goodbye but you also knew he was asking a question.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” you said, grabbing your bag. Without speaking, he too turned away and followed the others.

You sighed as you watched him leave. It wasn’t your first time alone in the cave. Sometimes, they would go out and feed while you slept and you’d wake up in an empty nest. But, right now, you needed to be alone to just breathe. So, you went down one of the hallways to your little sanctuary. Months ago, you found a little safe haven in the depths of the cave. It was your little room and it was filled with things you found and liked. As you walked down the dim path, you could see the curtains in the doorway. Carefully, when you stood in front of them, you pushed them aside and stepped into the little safe haven. It was dark, but thankfully you had candles in different places around the room. Setting your stuff down on the bed, you grabbed your lighter from your dress pocket. You carefully lit the candles and adjusted them to keep from scorching other objects.

When you were finished you plopped down onto the mattress that was covered in blankets and pillows. You didn’t know how long it had been since you last slept. The nights were spent with you crying until you couldn’t but by morning, you were ready to repeat the whole cycle.

It sucked. Grief wasn’t supposed to be like this. Many people told you that after a few days, everything would go back to normal. Well, you wanted the feeling to go away immediately. You hated this neverending feeling of sadness. It was like a child clinging to their mother’s skirt.

One of the worst parts of it all was the day going through your head. You couldn’t stop thinking about her funeral. Was this normal? To constantly think of the funeral? Was it also normal to cry so much? You just couldn’t understand the whole grief process at all.

Gently, you got up from the mattress and walked over to the old mirror that David found for you. The candles in the room gave your features a warm glow in the mirror. You looked at your face and how it changed. You looked different. The shadows under your eyes had darkened and your eyes looked irritated. Glancing down to the pearl choker, you felt your throat tighten. The words of the past week began to echo loudly in your head.

She wouldn’t want you to fuss over her.

Even the brightest stars have to dim.

She loved you. She loved you greatly.

Then the tears came. They came so fast that you were honestly scared by them. They fell down your face as a sob escaped your mouth.

It wasn’t fair. None of it was. The pain in your body felt amplified as you sank to the floor. The worst part of it all was you couldn’t stop thinking of her. The way she kissed your cheeks when she saw you and when you left. The way her hands gently ran through your hair as you slept in her lap as a child. How she would sneakily give you chocolates after Christmas dinner and not tell anyone. Her mischievous smile flashed in your mind and it only made you cry harder. Why, why, why? Why did she have to die?

______

From the entrance of the cave, David stood still. Your sadness had reverberated through the cave like a loud radio. He couldn’t hear you but he felt the grief. Slowly, he walked to your room. He had forgotten how grief felt. It was a horrible feeling that he never wanted to experience again. However, he wanted to comfort you the best he could. As he got closer to your room, he could hear you. He heard the rapid beating of your heart as you let your emotions out. When he stood in front of the curtain, he hesitated. Would you want him in there?

David brushed the thought aside as he remembered that it was your first time with grief. He could practically smell the confusion and anger from your tears. Quickly, he opened the curtains and stepped into your room. On the farthest side of the room, you were leaning against the wall as you were trying to catch your breath. Your face was red and wet with tears. The eyeliner you wore was smudged around your eyes and David could see where it had trailed.

When you had calmed down just a little, David cleared his throat. Immediately, you turned around and met his still face. He held no emotion as he looked at your tragic form.

“Get out.” you said, quickly wiping your face. David did not move from his spot. Instead, he walked towards you.

“David, get out! I don’t want you to see me like this!” You yelled, as you turned away to shield yourself from him. He said nothing as he came behind you and wrapped his arms around you. It was so gentle that it almost didn’t seem like David. Again, you tried to say something else but it died on your lips. Instead a whimper came out as you fell to the floor and David gently fell with you. He kept your back pressed against his chest as you kept crying.

“I-I’m sorry.” you mumbled through your tears. David’s face nuzzled your neck as you wept uncontrollably.

“It’s okay. I’m right here.” he quietly said against your skin as you kept trying to steady your breathing. After a few minutes, you had calmed down enough but tears still kept falling down your face.

David listened as your heartbeat kept getting calmer by the minute. It was a soothing sound to him.

“Are you okay?” he asked, looking at your face. You scoffed, “No, but I’ll live.” you mumbled quietly. David hummed at your response.

“David, I hate this.” you stated with a sniffle. He perked up at your words and listened carefully.

“I hate everything about grief, I hate the confusion, I hate the sleepless nights, I hate the crying and I-” you cut off the sentence as you tried to not go into another crying fit. Taking in a shaky breath, you continued, “And I hate that I don’t know what to do. This whole process fucking sucks.”

David sighed and kissed your cheek. “You’re still in the early stages of grief. It’s confusing and it’s scary to go through. Especially by yourself.” he explained calmly, “One of the best things you can do is try to think of all of the good things that happened in her life. I detest seeing you this way, but I know it’s something you have to go through.” he finished.

You sighed and wiped your face, “But, why does it have to hurt so damn bad?” you asked, turning to try and look at his face. David moved back so he could look you in the eye.

“It hurts because you lost someone you loved. Your mind can’t understand how life will be different without her. Eventually, you’ll understand how to live life like before and carry on again.” he replied, calmly.

His eyes fell to the pearl choker around your neck and his hands moved to take it off. You didn’t object to the feeling of his cold hands as they fumbled with the clasp. Carefully, he took it off and moved to set it somewhere else. “Lets move to the mattress, hm?” David suggested. You nodded and the two of you got up and went to lay down together on the mattress. Instead of laying next to you, David was sitting next to you.

You closed your eyes when your back hit the soft blankets. It was comforting but you didn’t want to sleep even though your body was begging for it. You were just scared of what you would dream of.

“Would you like me to take off your ring?” David asked, holding your hand up to his face. You quirked your eyebrow at him. “Why would I need to take off her ring?” you asked sitting up. David rolled his eyes, “You don’t want it to fall off while you sleep. It might get lost.” he said, meeting your gaze.

“Uh, it won’t get lost while I sleep because I’m not going to sleep.” you replied, moving your hand away from his.

David scoffed at your words, “Kitten, this isn’t up for debate. I know you haven’t slept in days and it’s not healthy for you.” he argued, moving his hands to your face.

“David, I don’t need you to tell me what to do.” You declared. He looked down at you. His eyes were serious and you could tell that he was getting annoyed with this conversation.

“You are going to sleep and I don’t care if you refuse. I’m going to do this anyways” he said, finally. Before you could answer, you slipped into a deep sleep. Your body fell back onto the mattress and David was satisfied. He didn’t like using his vampire powers on you but, he felt like this was necessary. He looked down at your hand and carefully pulled the ring off. David got up from the mattress and set the ring down next to the pearl choker. He looked down at your sleeping form and smirked before laying down next to you. Tonight, all would be well for a while.

[sunjaesol]

juke | human au | title: fearless // taylor swift

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

As they were walking up the front lawn of her childhood home, nerves wrecked her body. Even her hand, snug in Luke's, felt clammy and sweaty and suffocating. God, this was such a mistake — going home, not him. He didn't even realise what he had gotten himself into by falling for the youngest darling of the matriarch.

Or rather, she shouldn't have fallen head over heels for the swoon-worthy Luke Patterson, but she never really stood a chance.

But everything had happened so fast! One second banter easily flowed between them, warm and easy flirtatiousness without consequences, the next she was at IKEA helping him pick out a bookshelf while he somehow knew whenever she needed pizza and a good cuddle. They were very much in a committed relationship, something the Molina women very much frowned upon.

It wasn't as if they were all deeply scared of love and relationships, but the Molina family was a matriarchy. All women raised families on their own, no man to help. Divorced, cheated on, died, a donor, infertile and therefore adopting children — men were of zero priority.

So, coming home with her boyfriend whom she deeply loved? Definitely a risk. She was surprised he was still standing, that she hadn't scared him enough yet.

Spinning on her heels in front of the door, she shot him an anxious smile. "Are you... sure you wanna do this? We're, like, really intense."

Luke smiled, tender. "Do I wanna meet the family of my girlfriend? 'Course I do." When her expression didn't change, he added, "Jules, just 'cause they all did the 'no guy' thing, doesn't mean you have to follow that, right? And I'm not scared."

Oh, God. His courage was as admirable as it was stupid.

She chuckled, antsy. "You haven't met my mom though."

His smile widened as he dipped down to kiss her, gently, hands caressing her cheeks. For a moment, stress fled her system.

But then the door flew open.

"There you are!" Mom exclaimed, a glass of red wine in one hand and music booming over her shoulder. "And is this the boy toy?"

"Mom!" Julie grumbled, embarrassed to be caught kissing (God, she's twenty-three!) as well as putting Luke in a bad position.

First impression of him: seeing him kiss her beloved daughter on the doorstep. Great.

"Hi," Luke said, dazzling her with a smile while he stuck his hand out. "I'm Luke. And I'm, uh, older? So..."

"Meh," Rose trailed, lamely shaking his hand. "Still a boy toy. Anyway, come in! Food's warm!"

Following her mom inside, Luke shot her a strange look, like it was only registering now all her tall tales were, well, true. Shrugging with a sheepish grin, she placed their shoes and jackets in the wall closet and then made the agonising trek to the loud, jumbled chatter.

As expected, all the California-based Molina women were present. Which meant ten, including her, all staring at Luke like he was a weird specimen. Her hand squeezed his beneath the table in support, and he was finally squeezing back just as tightly.

Was it bad she felt some sick pleasure he understood how fucked he was? Probably. It seemed warranted.

When everyone had their plates filled, the interrogation began.

"So, Luke, how old are you?" Victoria asked.

"Twenty-five."

"Going around town with a twenty-three year old?" She sniffed. "Interesting..."

"Do you have any siblings?" Donna inquiried.

A wry grin ticked up his lips, sensing the irony of the situation. "I, uh, I'm an only child, actually. Mostly raised by my dad, 'cause my mom worked long hours."

Shoving a fork of meatloaf in her mouth, Julie withheld a guttural wince at his words. Luke Patterson was the poster child of everything the Molina's didn't like and she brought him in their cave.

"What do you do for a living?" Abuela croaked, peering intensely.

His smile didn't falter, but instead widened. "I'm in a band, but I also bartend a couple of nights a week."

"A band, huh?" Mom leaned forward, intrigued. "Has Julie told you I used to be in a band?"

"How can I not, mom?" Rolling her eyes, Julie added, "You'd tell him anyway..."

"I was in The Petal Pushers, the best protest punk-rock feminist group of the 90s." Her fist punched in the air as she spoke and Julie could imagine the fingerless leather gloves and purple streaks as she did. "What kinda... band do you have?"

Her endearing Luke didn't read the warning signs humble himself, so he enthusiastically perched himself at the end of his chair as he said, "Punk-rock too, actually! Yeah, we're really killing it right now at all the clubs."

She smirked. "I'm sure you do."

"What are your plans with Julie?" Elena asked, one of her cousins.

Both her and Luke froze at that. Shit. That... was not something they've discussed. A relationship of seven months was still pretty fresh, not ready for a confrontational talk about futures and plans.

He scraped his throat, briefly let his gaze flicker to her, and then uttered, "I'm, uh, a one day at a time kinda guy."

Julie cringed, not hiding it this time. To her, it was an alright, albeit lame answer. But to her family? Horrible. So, so horrible. Gah, she had to put an end to this!

Abuela scoffed, nearly choking on her hard seltzer. "One day? At a time? What is this, the 70s? My little girl deserves more than carpe diem!"

Mimi hissed. "Wrong, wrong answer, boy toy."

The questions kept shooting at lightning speed, each one more outrageous than the other, while Julie's grip on her fork tightened and tightened in anger.

"How many times a week do you shower?"

"What's your least favourite colour?"

"Do you pick up women? Is that how you make extra money?"

"What's your view on children?"

"Can you handle spice?"

"How did you even find our darling, huh? Did you lure her into that bar of yours?"

"Is Luke short for Lukas, or Lucrative?"

"Alright, enough!" Julie screamed, standing up with a stomp of the foot.

A hush crossed the table, aghast and surprised, her mother perpetually amused as always (too many in drugs in the 90s, she presumed) while Abuela feigned to be sleeping. 'Resting her eyes' would likely be the excuse.

"This is insane! Stop acting like this and start treating Luke with a little respect!"

From the corner of her eye, she vaguely noted he was staring at her, gobsmacked. He did well, given the circumstances, but she couldn't just idly sit there and let him take all this shit.

Mom puffed, leaning back in her chair. "We haven't been disrespectful, Julie."

"You have, mom! Can't I just have a boyfriend without—"

"We've invited him," she interrupted. "That's enough of a courtesy."

And before Julie could fire back, furious beyond belief, Rose added, "You know how the Molina cookie crumbles, honey. No men stay. Not for long, anyway."

That smug response made her explode. "Mom! Can you just for once—?!"

"I love her though," Luke quipped, shy.

The fight halted instantly, all ten women gawking at him like he just spoke a new language.

And he did, to Julie at least. Luke loved her? Even after all of this? She obviously knew he wasn't impartial to her, those seven months equalling tenderness and partnership like nothing she's ever experienced before, but... love? He was in love with her?

How could she abide by the 'Molina Women Rule!' rules when he confessed that, no hesitation or stutter heard?

And so, Julie's heart melted. "You love me?"

"Of course, I do," he whispered. "Why else would I be here?"

Elena nodded, sympathetic. "Good point."

Unable to stop her smile from becoming a dazzling, lovesick beam, she repeated his words with as much conviction as she could muster. "I love you too, Luke."

Abuela shot up from her sleep with a cough and a snicker. "Yeah, right."

Mom waved her glass around, congratulating them. For the first time tonight, her tone held kindness instead of poorly veiled contempt. "That's very sweet, Luke. Tell me in seven more months how you're feeling then."

Though Julie couldn't expect her to suddenly change her ways. Damn.

Mimi scowled. "We're letting 'I'm a one day at a time kinda guy' slide?"

Disgruntled chatter rose again, and that was her cue to go. Tapping Luke's shoulder, she mouthed home — something she hadn't done before and wasn't sure which apartment she meant either, but it left flutters in her chest regardless — and he nodded in understanding.

Oh, God. He loved her. That still hadn't set in.

"And if you'll excuse us, me and Luke are going," Julie continued. "Thanks for dinner, mom."

The woman laughed, baring all her teeth. She clearly had a fun time. "See you at Victoria's birthday, mi amor. And Luke? Who knows!"

He forced a chuckle at her remark. Awkwardly bouncing on his heels, he waved at all the ladies. "It was really cool to meet you all. Now– now I know why Julie's so incredible. So... thanks." A true smile appeared. "This was great."

No one said anything after that. Abuela gurgled her drink and her cousins prodded at their leftovers, mom peering at her like she was trying to find something. Sometimes, Julie and Rose were so alike, and other times, they were complete strangers. She liked that. It kept dinners like these exciting, she supposed. Mom seemed to think the same.

They bid goodbye one last time with a kiss on the cheek, and then they hurried out the door. A giggling breath left as the cool wind hit her skin. Luke was buzzing with adrenaline, unable to keep his limbs still.

Clambering in her car, the comforting quietude wrapped around them as the doors slammed shut. A beat passed. No one spoke.

"What the fuck," he whispered, horrified. "What the fuck. What the fuck did just happen? What the fuck—"

Julie squealed. "You love me!"

"That's what you got from that?!"

"Of course!" Her arms curled around him, teasing. "You love me!"

"That shouldn't be the most surprising thing tonight, Jules," he grumbled, though a playful shimmer sparked within his beautiful eyes. "I thought I was, y'know, obvious."

She shrugged, bashful. "It's always nice to hear, no?"

"Oh, man," he sighed, eyes flickering across her face as though he couldn't decide what to focus on, as though she was indescribably stunning. Her heart swelled tenfold at the thought. "I love you, Julie. So fucking much. Even with your crazy family."

Laughing, she reached forward and kissed his lips, fingers pressing in his neck and their silly grins preventing them from deepening the warm touch.

"Let's go," he mumbled, noses nudging, eyes hooded and pouring with the love she somehow hadn't noticed before. "Before they're ready for round two."

But before he could move away, she kissed him again, better this time, and cherished his sigh when they slowly seperated.

"I love you too," she whispered. "Like, a lot."

He grinned, breathless. "Good to know."

Victoria's birthday was four months later, and Luke attended as well. And also for Mimi and Elena and mom and Abuela and Donna and every other Molina member. And when Julie got surprised with a 24th birthday party, she figured out Luke and mom combined their powers to host it.

Molina women were independant and lived life by their own rules... which included Julie.

Loving Luke Patterson unconditionally probably made her the most unique Molina of all.

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

@bluefirewrites @blush-and-books @ourstarscollided @thedeathdeelers @pink-flame @constantly-singing @willexx @unsaid-emily

[laws-yellow-submarine]

Uhhhh hi? Lol I dunno if anyone remembers this, but this past May I mentioned I was going through quite a lot, and at the time I had a Hazel-focused Mother's Day angst one-shot half-written, that never got finished.

Well, it's 3:30 am, and it's finished! 😃 this was written on my phone, so it may not be well edited, and I can't guarantee it's 100% in character; but it was cathartic as hell. I won't be including this in Together With Fruit (it just doesn't fit anywhere), but I will say it's 100% canon to Hazel’s character/story. That being said, you don't have to read it if you don't want to - it's a little heavy, imo, and I won't be offended if people skip it.

But without further ado, I present: The Problems with Mother's Day

TW/CW: Parental angst, estranged parent relationships, mentions of death, feelings of inadequacy (if I need to add anything lemme know!)

Word Count: 2,052

-------

From the moment Hazel opened her eyes, she knew it was going to be a long day. The skies were cloudy, the waves choppy, and her roommate’s face was about ten inches away, smiling a little too sweetly.

“Ahh!” she yelled, jumping back in bed. “Nami, what the hell?!”

“Oh good, you’re up!” Nami chirped at her, doing nothing to alleviate the suspicion in Hazel’s gut. “I need a favor!”

“I told you before: if Luffy gets his head stuck between the railings, it’s better to just leave him there or he’ll never learn his lesson.”

“No, no, not that, silly!” Hazel glared further at the young woman, suspicion thoroughly piqued. “See, it’s Mother’s Day! Normally, Nojiko and I have a tradition of cooking a big breakfast, but since she’s obviously not here, I was wondering if you’d like to join me?” and then she flashed the biggest pair of puppy dog eyes Hazel had ever seen. Which was saying something, considering how often Ace had tried to use that on her when they were kids. 

There was just one issue.

“It’s Mother’s Day?” Hazel groaned, rubbing one hand over her face. Nami took her groaning as a sign of tiredness, and enthusiastically nodded her head.

“Please, Hazel? My sister and I do this every year, and I’d really like to share it with you!”

Guilt gnawed at Hazel’s gut. How could she possibly say “no” now?

“Sure, Nami...just,” she sighed, “give me a second to get dressed.” And then Nami let out a squeal, of all things, hugged the purple-haired girl around the shoulders, and bounded up the stairs.

Left alone, Hazel took a deep, shuddery breath. Then she took another one. Then another, on and on until they became steadier, and the world didn’t feel like it’d swallow her up right there. She stood up, padding over to the closet the girls shared, and quickly threw on a plain t-shirt and shorts; something she wouldn’t be upset about getting messy. She threw her curly hair into a messy ponytail, squared her shoulders, and with a firm nod of her head, she followed after Nami.

It was early, enough so that the sun had barely peaked over the horizon. With all the clouds in the sky, the seascape remained a rather dull blue, the orange of the sun’s rays blocked from view. Even Sanji, who normally woke up pretty early to get a start on breakfast, was still nestled deep in his hammock down below.

“How’d you manage to secure the kitchen for the day?” she asked as she entered the galley, deftly catching the apron Nami tossed her way.

“I told Sanji-kun I had something special planned, batted my eyelashes a bit, and he was convinced to sleep in for a day,” Nami explained, pulling the last of the ingredients from the fridge and setting them on the counter. “I’ve got the pancake batter covered, if you wanna get a start on the bacon!”

Hazel slid up to the counter, eyeing the array of food and utensils the navigator had set out. It had been a while since she'd made bacon - Luffy had a habit of stealing the still sizzling strips from the pan - but she dutifully set to work at the stove as Nami chatted on.

"One year, Belle-mere wasn't able to afford our usual breakfast ingredients, so Nojiko and I had to improvise," the younger woman was saying as she steadily dribbled pancake batter onto the skillet. "We snuck into the tangerine grove and picked as many as we could find, but we stuck to the smaller ones so they wouldn't be missed." Hazel hummed in acknowledgement, gut churning. "Nojiko set up an entire tray of tangerines cut into different shapes, but when Belle-mere tried to eat? Her face puckered up like this!"

Nami's face scrunched into an expression that resembled a dried up pufferfish, cheeks sunken in and eyes screwed shut, before she bust out laughing at the memory. Hazel smiled good-naturedly, piling more bacon onto the plate beside her, and Nami launched into another story.

"Oh! And then there was the year I tried to make the pancakes by myself for the first time! Normally that was Nojiko's job, but I convinced her to let me try," the navigator said, eyes far away as she expertly flipped another pancake. "The entire kitchen ended up covered in batter! I'm not even sure how it happened - I thought Belle-mere would be furious! I was so scared I hid in the closet, but I didn't realize I'd tracked flour behind me." Nami shook her head, smiling. "Belle-mere opened the closet door, took one look at me, and grinned this huge grin. She said it was the 'best year ever'..."

Hazel bit her cheek as Nami sighed wistfully. "Belle-mere was always saying that: it was the 'best year ever', no matter how much we ruined breakfast."

"Hm."

"Hazel, are you ok?"

"Huh?" Hazel glanced at her in surprise, then quickly resumed her task, tension coiling in her gut as she nodded. Just breathe, Hazel…

"Are you sure?" Nami asked, worry ringing in her voice. "You don't seem to be having much fun."

"I'm fine, Nami," Hazel grit out, flinching back as a drop of grease jumped out at her.

"No you're not! What's wrong?"

"Look, I said I'm fine, alright?!" Hazel snapped, turning from the bacon to glare at the young girl. "I just don't really give a shit about Mother's Day!"

Nami's gasp was accented by the galley door opening, their crew's footsteps halting as Hazel’s statement hung in the air. All at once, her anger fled, replaced quickly with burning shame at Nami's watery gaze. Swallowing against the lump in her throat, and the warmth growing in her cheeks, Hazel muttered a quick "sorry" before bolting from the room.

The others watched her go, breakfast momentarily forgotten, until the familiar thwap thwap of their captain's flip flops broke the silence, punctuated by Luffy’s excited cry: "Sanji! Food!"

--------

"I just don't get it!" Nami yelled as she sat at the table, anger, embarrassment, and guilt all warring within her. Hazel still hadn't returned to the kitchen. "It's just Mother's Day. It should be a day to celebrate!"

"I'm sure Hazel-chan has her reasons, Nami-san," Sanji said around his cigarette, unhappy that "his girls" were at odds. Luffy scratched under his hat. 

"What's Mother's Day?"

Luckily for him, Luffy was used to the incredulous stares his crew often bestowed on him. Even Zoro was looking at him like he'd grown a second head. Wait. Could he do that?

"Even you should know what Mother's Day is," Nami scolded the boy as he inexplicably began to pull at the skin on his shoulder.

Luffy shrugged. "Nope!"

"It's the day you celebrate your mom!" Nami was met with a blank stare. "You know, the one who provides for you, even if it means she goes without."

"The one who encourages your dreams, and loves you unconditionally," Sanji added, a wistful look in his eye as he flicked his cigarette.

"The one who tells you stories, and tucks you into bed at night," Usopp chimed in, face alight with happy memories.

But Luffy merely raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Hazel already has a birthday, I'm supposed to give her two parties?!"

And then the room grew silent once more as the weight of his question settled on the others' shoulders. Nami felt her stomach clench, threatening to evict a breakfast she hadn't even eaten as she realized what had happened. She pushed herself to her feet, rushing out of the kitchen with barely a word to the others.

She had to find Hazel.

-------

Nami found her standing against the railing, on the complete opposite side of the ship. Hazel’s arms were crossed in front of her, the wind blowing through her loose, purple curls as she gazed out at the sea. The navigator approached slowly, suddenly nervous now that she was here. But before she could utter any apology, Hazel beat her to it.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you. That wasn't very fair, and you didn't deserve it."

Nami's brown eyes snapped up to the other woman's face, still not facing her, and swallowed against the growing lump in her throat.

"I'm the one who should be sorry," she said, leaning on the rail beside her. "I should have asked you first. I shouldn't have assumed you'd be OK with it."

Hazel shrugged. "You had good intentions, at least. It's the thought that counts."

"Is it?" But Hazel didn't answer, and the two slipped into a heavy silence broken only by the crash of waves against the hull. "What happened to her?" Nami finally asked, shoulders tensed as she waited for the older woman to either answer or scold her.

Hazel only sighed. "Honestly?" she clicked her tongue, shrugging her shoulders and biting her lip. "No idea. Don't really remember her."

"But if you don't remember…" Nami started, eyes lighting up as an idea struck her. "Then she could still be out there somewhere! Maybe we'll find her-!"

"I hope she's dead."

The finality of the statement struck Nami dumb, mouth hanging open in shock at the woman's deadened expression. There was no waver in Hazel’s tone, no room for any doubt that she meant it. "What…?"

Hazel laughed through her nose, a bitter sound. "Sounds horrible, right? Especially today of all days? But it's true." Hazel’s jaw clenched, her fists curling around the Merry's railing. "If she's dead, then it wasn't a choice. If she's dead, then she didn't decide to -! She didn't just -!" Her shoulders shook, breaths coming out in ragged gasps, unable to finish the statement.

Nami reacted without thinking, pulling the shaking woman into her arms without hesitation. Hazel's voice broke, heartache echoing between them as she gasped out: "why wasn't I enough?"

"Now you look at me!" Nami cried, pulling back to lock her eyes onto Hazel’s. "Don't you ever think you aren't enough! Just look at everything you've done! We're all here because of you, Hazel!"

Hazel rolled her watery gray eyes. "You're here because of Luffy - I'm just emotional support." But Nami shook her head.

"Luffy may have brought us together, but he only got to where he is because you supported him! He thinks the absolute world of you, he loves you - we all love you! And you've done all of this without her! Screw her!" Hazel dissolved into a new round of tears, and Nami pulled her back into her warm embrace. "New tradition: from now on, let us show you how much we appreciate you, whether that's through breakfast together, or leaving you the hell alone."

Hazel choked out a wet, shaky laugh, fingers clutching tightly to Nami's t-shirt as the tears flowed through her. Finally, they subsided, and as she leaned back Nami helped wipe the remaining tear tracks away. Hazel took a deep breath, then another, feeling lighter than she had all day. Then, her stomach growled.

"I think I'm ready to go back to breakfast," she murmured, too drained to be embarrassed. Nami just smiled, linking their arms together as she led the way back to the others.

When they entered the galley, the pair were separated when a rubbery figure launched itself at Hazel. Luffy wrapped his limbs around his sister, squeezing so tight it was a wonder she didn't break a rib. "Hazel! Sanji made you coffee! He wouldn't let me try it but I did anyway - how do you drink that stuff?!"

Hazel just smiled at his rambling, wiggling her arms free of her brother's embrace, surprising the boy when she hugged him back (almost) as tightly, and kissed him on the forehead. "Heeey!" He whined, pulling away to angrily rub at the spot she'd kissed. "What was that for?!"

"Nothing, just…I'm proud of you, Luff." The boy's face broke into a grin.

"Shishishi! I'm proud of you, too! Now, let's eat!"

Finally, the Straw Hats gathered around the table, digging into their meal with an excited frenzy. Sipping her coffee, Hazel nudged the woman beside her. "Thanks, Nami," she said, smiling easily after the events of that morning. "But, for future reference? On Father's Day, you may just wanna let me stay in bed."

[nalgenewhore]

crossing lines - part four

Lorcan couldn’t remember the last time he felt this bad. He couldn’t even remember how he got home the night before.

A blinding light cut through his window to wake him and he staggered to his feet, his head pounding as he pulled the blinds closed, for once not looking to Elide’s window, her bedroom facing his. 

The room was plunged into darkness and he stumbled back to his bed, tripping over something and conveniently falling onto the mattress. 

Lorcan burrowed further under his duvet and wrapped his arms around a pillow, groaning when it smelled like Elide’s shampoo. He couldn’t escape her. When he closed his eyes, all he saw was her face after they kissed, shocked and, and heartbroken. 

He could still see the tears welling in her eyes before she turned and fled back into the house. 

Fuck. Fuck. He should’ve run after her, should’ve talked to her about it, but no. No, he’d been a coward and stayed outside until he was numb enough to step foot in and drink until he couldn’t remember. 

There came a soft knock on his door and he groaned, the only noise he could make. He was surprised to see Rowan standing there, a smirk on his face. 

“Fuck off,” Lorcan muttered, shifting away from his brother. He heard Rowan sigh and enter into the room, the bed dipping beneath his frame as he sat. “Rowan, I said fuck off and I meant it-” 

“Why are you so pissy?” 

“Because I ruined everything!” yelled Lorcan, his throat hoarse and dry as he sat up quickly, his head pounding. “I completely fucked our whole friendship up and-” his breath hitched and tears pooled in his eyes, “I messed up, man.” He angrily wiped his cheeks, the backs of his hands coming away wet. 

Shock was swimming in his brother’s green eyes, worry in the furrow of his brows, “What, did you say something or-” 

“We kissed.” And it was the best thing I’ve ever felt in my entire life and I am completely head over heels in love with her, but she doesn’t and will never know. “I kissed her and she looked fucking heartbroken. I did that.” I broke her heart. 

“Oh gods.” 

+*+*+*+*+*+*

It was hours before Lorcan managed to curb his self-pitying wallowing session and got up from bed, his mouth dry and his tongue sticky. He tugged on a pair of sweat shorts and ran his hand through his hair before walking downstairs. Rowan had left a few hours ago so it was just him. 

His mom was away for work this weekend and for that he was grateful. He could only imagine the berating she would unleash upon him. Odette Salvaterre wasn’t one to easily let her son off the hook. 

Lorcan was at the top of the staircase before he realized he should probably brush his teeth and use the amenities. 

A few minutes later, he emerged, a tad bit more awake he had been prior. He had found his phone, dead, resting on top of the toilet tank and for a second, he thought maybe he would let it stay dead, until he was ready to deal with it. 

Cursing himself, he plugged it in and walked away from it, rooting through the fridge for any type of fresh, cold fruit. 

He found a bag of oranges and took it out, grabbing the water that was sitting in a jug. Lorcan hip checked the fridge door to close it and then placed the oranges and water on the counter. His phone started blowing up, buzzing so aggressively it fell to the floor. “Fuck,” he said, jogging to pick it up. There were no new scratches or cracks on the screen and he thanked Hellas for that. 

Lorcan typed in his password, the date of Elide’s birthday, as he made his way back to the counter. He opened up Snapchat and began the long process of clicking through everybody’s stories. He didn’t even look at any of the pictures or videos, just kept tapping on the screen to get through them. 

After he had opened and replied to everything he’d been sent, he noticed Elide had sent him a chat. 

His heart began pounding so hard in his chest that he could hear it. His hands shook as he tapped on the little blue chat notification, his eyes wide. He was sure that this would be the message where she told him they couldn’t be friends anymore. 

All it read was, You need to get a new suit for my prom. Yours won’t match my dress. 

Lorcan froze, was that really all she had to say? He checked his notifications and that was the only thing she’d sent him. 

Still shaking, he typed out, You still want me to be your date? 

Elide’s icon popped up and she was typing. Well, yeah, that was the plan.

His brow furrowed, What about what happened last night though? 

Elide’s reply took a few extra moments. We don’t have to make a big deal out of it, it’s not like it really mattered or meant anything.

Lorcan felt his heart crack and shatter to pieces. Knowing if he didn’t do it now, he would never do it, he tapped out a quick message, a question. What if I want it to mean something? 

He knew that she had seen it, but no message followed through. Lorcan groaned and let his head fall to the marble counter, his forehead hitting the flat surface. Good job fucking ruining the most important relationship in your life, Lorcan. Great effort, bud! 

Lorcan sat up, no, this wouldn’t be the end, their decade long friendship would not end over eight words. He unlocked his phone and called her, but it went straight to voicemail. He groaned as the automated message played and after the beep, “El, listen, I’m really sorry, I shouldn’t have said that, I don’t want to ruin us. Please, please just call me back?” 

He hung up and stood up, almost ready to race to her house and throw rocks at her window if he had to. Just as he was hurrying to the door, somebody knocked impatiently. He cursed the gods, he didn’t need any interruptions right now, he was trying to save the most important thing to him. 

Putting on a mildly pleasant face, he opened the door only to find Elide standing there, her phone held tight in her grasp. He couldn’t help the way his eyes travelled down her body. She wore one of his long-sleeve shirts, his name and number on the right sleeve. It hit mid thigh but he knew she would be wearing a pair of spandex shorts beneath it. “El-” 

“Did you mean that?” On her screen read that damning message. 

Lorcan just stared at her, weighing his options. He settled on telling her the truth, “Yes, I meant it. I’m in love with you, Elide. I have been for years. I- I shouldn’t have kissed you last night and I’m sorry if-” 

She cut him off with her finger on his lips, “Shush, you idiot. I’m in love with you too.” A warm smile spread her lips as she looked up at him, giggling at the utter shock on his face. 

“You are?”

“Yes,” she breathed, nodding her head. “Yes, gods, I’m so in love with you, I’m going crazy. I stayed in bed all day cause I was scared if I left and talked to you, you would tell me you didn’t want to be friends anymore.”

“But the message-” 

Elide shook her head, “I just, I was waiting for you to say something, but then I realized that it’s you. You’d never say anything. I wanted to seem like I was fine with it because if it didn’t mean anything to you, that would’ve wrecked me, but I still would’ve wanted to be your friend.” There were tears caught in her lashes and he cupped her face, running his thumb underneath her eye. 

“It meant everything to me, El. Everything.” 

She laughed tearfully, resting her cheek in his palm. “I love you,” she whispered, biting her bottom lip. Lorcan grinned as he leaned down and cupped the back of her head, pressing his lips to hers. 

He felt her smile against his lips and she wound her arms around his neck. His hands traveled down to her thighs and in one smooth motion, he picked her up. Her legs looped around his waist and he kicked the door shut behind them, carrying her to the kitchen counter. “I love you,” he said against her lips, his heart feeling tight in his chest. 

Elide gasped slightly as the coolness of the marble hit her bare skin and she pulled away, smiling softly at him. Lorcan grinned back at her and kissed her brow before sitting in the stool, his head resting against her thigh. Elide chuckled and ran her hand through his hair, “I can’t believe it.” 

“What do you mean,” he asked, his eyes half open. 

Elide shrugged, “I never thought that this would ever happen. I thought that I would only ever be your best friend and nothing more.” 

Lorcan opened his eyes fully and looked up at her, swallowing past the lump in his throat, “Well, thank gods for liquor and weed, then.” He smirked as Elide smacked his shoulder and grew serious, tears pooling in his eyes. He’d almost lost her, had come so close to it. “Me too, E.” 

Elide leaned down to kiss his temple, “What’s with the water and oranges?” 

Lorcan groaned and buried his face in her thigh, “Hangover. Apparently I went a little too hard last night.” She laughed and he muttered into the soft skin of her leg, “Are you laughing at my misery?” 

She shook her head, still laughing, “No, I’m not, I promise.” Elide cackled, “Maybe a little.” 

“You’re a menace.”

“A menace that you’re in love with,” she said, a cocky grin on her face as he stood up. Elide hooked a finger in the chain hanging around his neck and tugged him forward, brushing her lips over his. 

“That I am.” He kissed her slowly, his hands gripping her thighs. Elide groaned and parted her lips, allowing his tongue to slide lazily in and tangle with hers. Her arms looped around his shoulders, her knees hitching over his hips. 

When Lorcan broke apart from her, she whined, the sound turning into a low and full moan as he began to trail his lips down her jaw and neck, grazing his teeth over her pulse. “What colour will you have me wear this time, love?” 

Her breath hitched and she breathed out her answer, her voice high and airy, “Black.” 

Lorcan’s hands tightened on her thighs, “You’ll be the death of me, Elide Lochan.” He pulled away and held her face in his hand, her cheeks squished together in his grip, “And I wouldn’t have it any other way.” 

@myfeyrelady @schmlip-scribble @kandasboi @the-regal-warrior​ @westofmoon​ @empire-of-wildfire @rhysands-highlady​ @city-of-fae @shyvioletcat​ @alifletcher2012​ @tangledraysofsunshine @ttakeitbacknoww​ @tswaney17 @ourbooksuniverse @flora-and-fae @bamchickawowow​ @la7sorcellerie​ @julemmaes​ @welcometothespeaknowworldtour @emmejo26 @exercise-me-i-dare-u @cmoff1 @uselessflower14 @hizqueen4life

[duker42]

hanji makes levi drink a potion that turns him into a child, however when he transforms he's in the same state he was in when kenny found him. seeing he's state he's reliving the horrible experience all over again, and starts to have a panic attack. hanji freaks out and calls for his s/o (who knows about his past) she helps him through it and decides to take care of him while hanji makes an antidote, she tries to make up for his horrible past and give him the love that he deservs. thanks❤

💜Childhood Memories💜

“Y/N!!!! Come quick! I need your help!” Hanji ran into Y/N’s office, breathless and wide eyed in a panic.

“What’s wrong?” Y/N asked as she stood up.

“I fucked up! I fucked up bad!” Hanji cried as she dragged Y/N down the hall to her research lab.

~~~~~

Y/N was ready to punch the Titan obsesses scientist by the time she got done explaining. Actually had her fist curled so she could. 


Hanji had been playing with liquids again. Looking for something that would turn a Titan into a smaller version, or make them human if their current theory that they once were was correct. She had decided to browbeat Levi into drinking it, and now she was in a mess.

It had turned Levi into a child. A four year old child to be exact. It had put his mindset back to when his mother had died and he was with her alone in the Underground. Hanji couldn’t know that, Levi having never told her those facts. But she did know that the child version of Levi was in the middle of a panic attack in her office, rocking his body on the floor while screaming for his mom.

Not knowing what to do, she had decided to face his lover’s wrath. Y/N knew Levi better than anyone and should be able to help himthrough this.

“I’m going to fucking cut you up and feed you to your Titan babies, Hanji.” Y/N growled as she went to push the door open.

~~~~~

He was huddled on the floor, his entire body shaking as he rocked himself back and forth. Levi was such a tiny little toddler, and Gods! so skinny. He knobby knees where up against his chest as his frail little arm were wrapped around them. He wasn’t screaming now, but whimpering “Mommy.” Every few seconds.

Tears were streaking his pale skin and making his large hollow eyes seem even bigger. Y/N’s heart broke at the sight of her stoic and strong lover as a helpless child, reliving his tormented past.

He flinched when Y/N bent down and sat next to him, his eyes glued to the floor as he started to settle down. She knew that after he had broken down at the loss of his mother, he had sat in silence for what must have been days until Kenny had found him. He had been almost dead from dehydration and starvation when he had been discovered in the room with his mother’s body.

“Hey, Levi...” Y/N voice was gentle as she looked over at him. Enormous grey eyes lifted dully to meet hers.

“Do you remember me?” Levi shook his head, his mind taken back to when he was a child for the moment.

“I’m Y/N. I want to help you.” She said, scooting closer to the boy dressed in very large scout uniform. His body had changed but the clothes hadn’t.

“Are you hungry?” Levi nodded weakly. Of course he thought he was. Captain Levi had eaten this morning, but his memories would have him feeling like he was starving.

“Okay, why don’t we go get you some food and we will get everything fixed.” Y/N said as she ran a hand over Levi’s shaggy hair.

She got up and threw Hanji a dark look. “Fix this!” She hissed before turning back to the small boy on the floor.

~~~~~

They went to the Mess Hall without being seen where Y/N got a tray with a ton of food on it for Levi. His eyes had lit up at the sight of the food. She took it back to her quarters with him walking warily beside her. She knew that adult Levi wouldn’t want anyone to see him like this, or see the desperation in which he was going to eat the food in her hands.

She sat him at her desk and watched as he started cramming food into his mouth as fast as he could. He heart broke again at the site of the hunger and frantic eating he was plowing through the tray.

She had kept him in the oversized shirt that fit adult Levi to perfection, that now hung off his small frame. The food dropped carelessly as he ate with abandon and she knew that before this was over, she was going to have to give her little Captain a bath.

When he was finally full, he wiped his mouth on the back of his hand and belched loudly, making Y/N smile. It seemed that manners weren’t on his mind at that age yet. But it made her love the man he was even more.

He looked at her again after burping. “Why are you being nice to me?”

Y/N smiled down at the boy. “Because you deserve it, Levi.”

Hanji had knocked on her door and said that it looked like Levi would revert back to his adult self in the morning, no antidote needed. Y/N had still threatened her with death and the scientist had quickly fled in self preservation.

Even though his physical body was clean, his mind though he was back in the filth of the Underground. It didn’t take much to convince Levi to take a bath. She filled it with the expensive bubbles that Levi had given her last year for her birthday and let the boy play in them until his heart was content.

She could see the joy in his eyes as she washed him gently. The feeling of being clean and warm from the bath settling into his system and it made him smile. She had played with him, hearing him giggle as she talked in funny voices and made weird faces at him.

She wrapped him in the fluffiest towel she could find after getting him out of the bath and dug through her wardrobe for something else for him to wear. She had a pair of really small workout shorts she could roll up for him and a soft wash worn t-shirt that she had stolen from Levi.

He was yawning as she dressed him and when she finished, she brushed his hair for him. She led him over to the bed and kicked off her shoes and curled up with him under the covers. She was amazed when he tucked himself into her side and threw a bony little arm around him.

She pulled him close and kissed his head gently. Humming softly, she felt the little boy in her arms relax as his breathing slowed down and his eyes drifted closed.

~~~~~

She woke up to grey eyes watching her. Except they were from the adult Levi as he hovered over her.

“Levi!” She cried, happy to see him back to his normal self.

He didn’t say a word, just lowered his mouth to hers for an incredibly tender kiss. When he pulled back, he spoke. “Thank you for taking care of me yesterday.”

“You remember?” Y/N was surprised, she had assumed he wouldn’t remember any of the past day.

“Yeah...you were incredible, Y/N.” He admitted, running his hand over her hair and leaning in for another quick kiss.

“I just wanted to help you through reliving those childhood memories and help make them better however I could.”

Mobile MasterList

[bluboothalassophile]

Pretty Close to Perfect

Rare was the morning when he could wake and just be, of course that was promptly ruined when there was the sound of pounding feet and his door being thrown open in an exuberant rush before he was jumped on by his niece. He grunted at the impacted and peeled open an eye to stare at her excited aloof expression.

“Today’s the day!” she declared excitedly.

“Hn?” he grunted as he shifted, she slid onto his lap, quivering in excitement and he yawned as he stretched. “Aren’t you supposed to wake your parents?”

“Papa said to come get you,” she announced gleefully excited now.

“Of course he would,” Itachi sighed as he rubbed his eyes. He looked over at the empty spot beside him before he pushed his niece off his lap onto the empty futon, she squealed, and he smiled. Itachi and Izumi had never had children, she had perished bearing their first, and their first had died soon after; a disease in the blood. He had never remarried, instead he had lived with his brother and his brother’s wife, helping out with their daughter.

“Come on!” Sarada squealed excitedly, clambering behind him and shoving him up.

“Have you no respect for your Hokage!?” he sputtered at his niece’s manhandling.

“Come on!” she whined, he surrendered to being dragged out by his niece, and stumbling a bit, she grinned as she skidded into their dining room, taking a seat at the table just as her mother served their breakfasts.

“Morning Itachi,” Sakura smiled at him.

Sasuke smiled a bit at him too as he sat.

“Good morning Sakura.” He greeted, tapping his brother’s brow as he sat.

“Today’s the day!” Sarada sang as she squirmed.

“Aa,” he and Sasuke nodded.

“You sicced a menace on me,” Itachi yawned.

“She woke us up two hours ago in excitement,” Sasuke said.

“Kami, where does she get the exuberance?” Itachi wondered as he accepted a serving of eggs and bacon. Sasuke tilted his head in his wife’s direction as answer which had Itachi chuckling.

“You promised!” Sarada accused them.

“Yes, we did, eat your breakfast so we can go,” Sasuke said.

“Can we take Shisui too!?” Sarada asked excitedly.

“Of course, we’ll stop by his house and wake him,” Itachi grinned at the prospect. Shisui was a forever bachelor with a soft spot for Sarada, however, being rudely leapt on to wake up was always an entertaining endeavor with Shisui because the shinobi always reacted as if he had been stabbed.

“Yay!” the five year old threw her hands up in glee and triumph.

“Eat up,” Sasuke said to her.

Sarada enthusiastically shoveled her food in her mouth. Itachi had found much to have changed in the years since his Clan’s plots for a coup. Tentative negotiations between the Fourth and his father had saved their village for certain, rescuing their Clan from a civil war or a massacre. And though the Second Hokage’s hatred tainted much of how the village viewed them, things had gotten better under the Fourth Hokage. Even now, he, the Sixth Hokage, had been nominated the position by a Senju, changing all the village’s views on the Uchiha. He was humbled and honored at the position title, though he found it left him with little time to pursue a life outside of the Hokage office.

Today though was very different.

Today he had cleared from Hokage duties to spend it with his family, his little brother, sister-in-law, and niece; if they persuaded Shisui along then he’d spend a day with his best friend too. Which would be a nice reprieve from the demands of being Hokage.

They were going to the zoo for Sarada’s birthday; though it was a month late, but this was the first time they were all here. Sasuke had been on a long mission gathering intel on the Ōtsutsuki, and Sakura had been handing a plague outbreak in Suna. So today was a very special day for his niece, he knew that as he watched the five year old quiver in her excitement; he wouldn’t be surprised if she activated her Sharingan in her excitement.

“Mom!”

“Yes darling?”

“I want a baby brother,” Sarada announced promptly. “For my birthday gift!”

“Oh?”

“Yeah! Boruto got Hima! I want a baby brother!” She decided. “And Shikadai got Chika! But I don’t want a baby sister, I want a baby brother.”

Itachi laughed at the bewildered look her parents had.

“Sarada, it… takes a lot of time,” Sakura started.

“We’ll see,” was all his brother said.

“I want a little brother for my birthday!” Sarada persisted.

Itachi laughed even harder at his brother’s and Sakura’s embarrassed expressions.

“We’ll see what we can do,” Sasuke offered tightly. That seemed to pacify his niece as they finished breakfast and he scooped Sarada up onto his shoulders. Getting ready was a quick task, Sarada was impatient though, which had him teasing her, as he leaned heavily on the pushig five year old, who was insistent about getting Shisui for their expedition to the zoo.

“Come on!” she whined.

“Gravity’s increasing,” he informed her.

“No it’s not Uncle!” she whined.

“Yes it, same thing happen just last week,” he insisted.

“You crazy Uncle!” she announced, he laughed as she darted out from behind him, her shoving ceasing and leapt at her father, who caught her with ease with his one arm. “Papa! Uncle’s being weird again.”

“Uncle’s always weird,” Sasuke announced.

“And Sakura’s always annoying,” Itachi chided his baby brother who gave him a bland look.

“I am not annoying!” Sakura gasped, dramatically clutching her heart in offense.

“Aa, you are,” Sasuke informed his wife.

“Well, you’re always a teme,” Sakura teased as she walked over, her arm looped with Itachi’s. “Itachi, your brother’s bullying me,” she pleaded.

“The fool,” Itachi mocked.

“I know!”

“Let’s go!” Sarada grinned, she clambered up to her father’s shoulders, hugging Sasuke’s head. His little brother, the most powerful and dangerous Uchiha sired since Madara, and a revered shinobi in the ANBU ranks, only rivaled by Uzumaki Naruto in terms of power and ability, was currently sporting an enthusiastic five year old with ease. Nothing about his little brother screamed dangerous right then.

“We’re coming sweetheart,” Sakura chuckled as she walked over to them, her hand entwining fingers with Sasuke. Itachi found everything about his brother and Sakura to be a soft sweet match though they didn’t display much affection.

“To Shisui! Then the Zoo!” Sarada grinned.

“And you must jump on Shisui,” Sasuke instructed.

“Let’s hope he doesn’t have a hang over again,” Sakura chuckled.

“It was a celebration!” Itachi defended.

“Sure, it was,” Sakura waved him off with a smile. He chuckled a bit as they wound their way through the Uchiha district to Shisui’s house. It was nearest to the village, and always open; Shisui reasoned only a fool would attack him, so he left the house open as an invite. Sarada leapt off Sasuke, and ran into Shisui’s house, happy and excited.

“Should we…?” Sakura started.

A shrill scream with manic laughter erupted from the house with a mighty crash.

“Never mind,” Sakura sighed leaning on Sasuke. Itachi watched as Sasuke’s only hand fully twined with Sakura’s and again thought it sweet that his little brother was so in love with his wife. Itachi remembered feeling that love for Izumi, and still feeling it, as he had a sharp pang remembering his wife and child, but was happy to be with his family still.

Itachi chuckled, as there was a commotion and Sarada came skipping out with a haggard Shisui behind her.

“Your spawn is a diabolical little creature!” Shisui informed Sasuke.

“She gets it from her father,” Sakura stated.

“No,” Sasuke shook his head vehemently at that declaration.

“Papa! Uncle Shisui is coming with us!” Sarada grinned. Itachi laughed as his friend waved them off to get ready for the outing, reappearing a few moments later fully dressed and Uchiha composure restored.

“Oi, demon spawn!” Shisui addressed Sarada.

“Today’s the day!”

“Of course it is! So what’d you ask for demon spawn!?” Shisui asked catching Sarada as she jumped from her father’s shoulder’s towards Shisui. She laughed when Shisui caught her by the ankle and dangled her.

“Shisui! You should be gentler with children!” Itachi chided, not that it mattered as Sarada was clambering up and perched on Shisui’s shoulders.

“She doesn’t mind,” Sakura teased.

“Monkey,” Sasuke announced to them, which had them laughing as Sarada fell back against Shisui’s back, giggling manically. Shisui kept a firm grasp of Sarada’s ankles though so he didn’t loose the girl.

“I want a baby brother!” she said hoisting herself back up and burying her hands in Shisui’s hair.

“Oh?”

“Yeah! Papa and Mama said they’d do it!”

“Oh I’m sure they did,” Shisui grinned lewdly as he waggled his eye brows.

“Shisui!” Sakura barked, turning red as she glared at him. Itachi laughed though seeing his little brother’s look of serious contemplation at Sarada’s demand.

“What? I’m sure you will do it, a lot,” Shisui chuckled.

Itachi wacked his cousin’s shoulder before Sakura made a crater out of him. “Be polite,” he chided.

“Buzz kill.”

“Oh look, dango,” Itachi said spotting the dango stand, Sarada leapt from Shisui and into his arms, which had him chuckling. They bought some for himself, Sakura and Sarada before they continued their quest to the zoo. Most of the villagers bowed at him, because he was their Hokage, but for the most part they didn’t attract notice until they made it to the zoo where Kisame was waiting for them.

“Kisame!” Sarada grinned as she ran from his arms straight for the giant shinobi.

“Heyya squirt,” Kisame greeted, as he caught Sarada with his leg, and lifted her up, she giggled as she hung off Kisame’s leg like a little money.

“Guess what!?” she grinned as she climbed all the way up to Kisame’s shoulders.

“I don’t know,what?” he asked. Itachi knew that Kisame was always bemused by Sarada, because she; unlike most children who fled on sight of seeing him, always ran towards him fearlessly. He also knew Kisame had a soft spot for his niece because of her innocent outlook at everything; that’s what came with being a child though.

“Mama and Papa are going to get me a baby brother!” Sarada announced.

“Sarada!” Sakura shrieked, her face completely red at the announcement.

“Is that so?” Kisame asked, amused.

“Yes! They promised!” she grinned.

“At least you two make a good brat unlike most the others,” Kisame decided approvingly.

“Hn,” Sasuke shrugged.

Itachi laughed a bit more as he caught his niece, and they walked in.

“To the tigers!” Sarada announced with triumphant glee.

“I thought you wanted to see the sharks first,” Kisame mused.

“Why would we need to see the sharks first when we have you?” Shisui teased.

Itachi watched the bickering between his best friend and his other friend unfold and sighed in amusement. This was the perfect life, he decided. He was so happy he had gone to the Fourth rather than listening to Danzō and the Third about massacring his Clan to restore balance. Why, he’d even dare to say his parents would be proud of the lives they had here. Though Fugaku and Mikoto wouldn’t ever know it, they had perished in the Fifth Great Shinobi War defending the village against Orochimaru.

“Can I name my baby brother?” Sarada demanded, rousing him from his thoughts.

“That’s not…”

“I want to name him Rasengan!”

“No.” Sasuke immediately stated, which had Itachi snickering as Shisui exploded with laughter.

“But Uncle Naruto said to tell you it’s a good name for a baby brother!” Sarada persisted.

“No.”

“Fine,” she pouted.

“Sarada, first you have to have a baby brother before you can name it,” Shisui informed her.

“But!”

“It’s not like a ninken,” he promised.

“You two might want to hurry up on making the baby brother, she doesn’t seem inclined to let this go,” Kisame commented. Itachi watched as Sasuke pulled his wife into his chest so she could hide her red face, and he chuckled.

“Can we please stop asking for the little brother!?” Sakura pleaded.

“But mama! I must have a little brother, Shikadai’s annoying and Boruto’s a dobe!” she whined.

“Never say that!” Sasuke pleaded.

Itachi laughed harder as he and Shisui propped each other up.

“But Boruto is a dobe!” Sarada persisted.

“He means annoying, Sarada,” Itachi laughed.

“But Shikadai’s very annoying,” Sarada declared.

Sasuke groaned, and Sakura giggled, and he was howling with laughter; the Uchiha composure always broke when it came at the expense of Sasuke being embarrassed by his daughter. Sasuke glared at him and Shisui.

[xxisxxisxxis]

Gateway Drug | Part Eight

Part Seven

Pairing: Douglas Booth!Nikki Sixx X OC Warning(s): Language, mentions of drug abuse, minor sexual situations Tag list: @fandomshit6000 @lilmou5ie @tamedhearts @divaanya @allieburakovsky @kingbouji3 @evrsncnewyork  @6ixx6ixx@ratedrkohardychick91 @floregrohlssard  @oldschoolimagineblog@thanks2pete @abaldboi @swoopygorl @justjodeye @liith-ium @caos18blog@ytwahsog @shamlessobsessions @scarecrowmax @toadspleen @random-internet-user-4471

**Let me know if you want to be tagged**

A year and a half flew by like the speed of light, and things were starting to come together for every one of us. 

I put school on hold, which Nikki didn't like because he felt it was his fault, even though he was aware I would've put school on hold anyway for Tommy. I didn't even have to tell my parents I was dating Nikki because as soon as mom found withdraw forms from Julliard in the mail, she called me dishonest, accused me of disobeying my parents, and threw me out as soon as I let her know I found somewhere else to stay. I figured she would find out about us eventually, anyway, so there was no reason for me to go out of my way to tell her why I was putting school off. After that happened, I left my house and was living with Nikki once everyone saved up enough money to move out of the crappy apartment. To Vince and Tommy we were just room mates. We knew Mick didn't fall for it because, like Tansy, he also just knew things but he never mentioned a word of it Tommy or Vince, or even confirmed to either me or Nikki that he knew what was really going on. He minded his business, like he always did.

Tansy and her mom had moved out to New York the summer after we graduated because she had been approached for a contract with some modeling agency out there and they were paying for a nice apartment for them to stay in. I was proud of her because she had always wanted to model, however, I was skeptical. She was 5'3" and back then, you had no chance of hitting a runway if you were too short. So Editorials were her only option, but I knew she would be just as happy posing in Vogue as she would be walking down a catwalk.

So with the new album, Tansy modeling, everyone moving out of the hell-hole apartment and Nikki and I managing to make it over a year tolerating each other in a relationship, everything was falling in to place. And it was only getting better.

"'Jesus is Satan?' I raise a brow as I ask, seeing Nikki and Vince smiling and laughing while explaining why one of their sound engineers fled their recording session.

"It's only backtracking, it's not like we're throwing it out there. You gotta look for it." Vince explains.

"Aren't you two just every church girl's dream?" I ask sarcastically.

"Maybe you should start cleansing my soul before I come inside the apartment. It might help exorcise whatever demon you're convinced has possessed me." He says it genuinely, but I know he's full of it from the smirk he gives me. I'm tempted to threaten to close my legs anytime he wants any, but Vince is here and he'd tell Tommy if he knew about us, so I save the threat for later, narrowing my eyes at Nikki.

"Ohh, if looks could kill you'd be a dead man." Vince hits Nikki's arm as Nikki takes a swig of his Jack.

"Whatever, I'm taking a nap." I tell them, stepping to the guest bedroom which is supposed to be my room.

"You just woke up a couple hours ago," Nikki argues.

"I don't feel good." I reply, honestly, the budding feeling of nausea resting in the pit of my stomach.

Vince leans over to Nikki, whispering something in to his ear and Nikki shakes his head, grinning.

"No, not for another week." He says to Vince, the two smiling innocently at me and I ignore them and shut the door of the bedroom, crawling in to the bed.

After a few minutes of laying on my stomach, the nausea subsides and I'm able to go back to sleep for an hour and a half before the door of the bedroom door creaks open. I already know it's Nikki coming to harass me, and the feeling of his lips touching the bare skin between my shoulder blades that's been left exposed by the tank top I'm in, just confirms it.

Another kiss is pressed to the back of my shoulder, then to my cheek and I turn over to face him, enjoying the feeling of him over me.

"I gotta go to the studio." He tells me. "I'll see you later."

"Alright." I nod, sighing as he leans down to press his lips to mine for a second, before going to leave. It's not enough for me, though, and I'm scrambling to the foot of the bed to catch his wrist in my hand and pull him back to me, reminding him some two second peck on the lips is basically an insult to me, and usually is an insult to him unless it's to avoid being late to get on stage or going to the studio.

He chuckles at my desperate effort and pulls himself closer to me by my hips as our lips, tongues and teeth meet. Before I can reach for his belt buckle, he's groaning a little and putting his hands on my arms to push me away a slightly.

"I gotta go, Viv." He breathes out with a wide smile, brushing a few strands of red hair from my face. "We can fool around when I get back." He assures me.

"You'll be wasted when you get back." I argue.

"I won't drink that much." He presses a last kiss to my cheek, patting my hip before he leaves.

One of the many things to know about Motley Crue: "we won't drink that much" = "we'll try not to drink that much...but we will drink that much, and then some, and not remember any of it". Same rule applies to drugs and sex.

He gets back twelve hours later at four in the morning, swinging the front door open and stumbling back in to it with his hand still gripping the door knob to keep him from face planting. I look up from my bible to see him do this, and set it aside to go help him.

"Hey, Viv," He greets me with a slur and I give a sympathetic smile. "I think I drank that much."

"I kind of knew you would." I reply, helping him keep his balance as he steps to our bedroom. He plops down on the edge of the bed, tugging his boots off, nearly falling off the bed as he throws them across the room.

"C'mere." He says to me while I'm standing against the door frame with my arms crossed, watching him.

I do as he says, his hands grabbing at me at pulling me to straddle him.

"You smell like a bar," I tell him, laughing as he nips and licks at my neck.

"You smell good." He replies dopily and I rest on of my hands at the back of is neck, my fingers lacing through his hair.

"It's called a shower," I say. "You should try one some time."

"Fuck you." He falls back on the bed, his arms splayed out beside his head as he closes his eyes. "You know somethin'?" He asks me and I lean forward, my body against his as I rest my elbows on his chest.

"What?"

"I wanna fuckin' tell people we're together." His words surprise me a little.

"If we do that, Tommy will find out. And he will kill you."

"If he wants to kick my ass for fuckin' his hot friend, then fine, because I'm tired of lying and telling them we're 'room mates'." He explains sloppily. "Room mates don't sleep in the same bed naked and suck each others dicks in the shower."

My brows furrow at "dicks" and even drunk, he realizes his error.

"That's not right." He complains, rubbing his tired eyes.

"I don't have a penis, Nikki." I remind him and he gawks.

"I hope not cause I've been seein' pussy anytime I look down there." He says, looking directly at me with wide eyes and I have to try my hardest not to start cackling.

"You need to go to sleep." I move off of him, gently tugging at his hand to get him to move to his side of the bed.

"I got it." He waves me off, dragging himself to his spot, not bothering with the covers before laying down.

He's asleep within a couple minutes and I exhale, getting on my side of the bed before cutting the lamp on my bedside table out and going to sleep.

The next few days are spent scrambling to put together decent Christmas plans, which include picking Tansy up from the airport after she calls and gives us a heads up she's coming to visit.

"What do you mean you won't have time, Vince?" I snap, smearing icing on a cake. "You've had since January of this year to save December 23!"

"Beth doesn't wanna come." He finally says after minutes of going back and forth over the phone about why he can't come to dinner tonight.

"Then leave Beth at home! We all agreed last year to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas together every year."

"If Beth doesn't want to come, I can't come." He explains as Nikki and Mick come in with the beer and more Vodka and Jack.

"Well, no one told you to marry the uppity bitch, Vince." I state rudely, Nikki raising his brows at my language.

"Look, I love you, but I can't make it. I'm sorry, I promise I'll make it up to you." He sighs out and I stay silent for a second.

"Did I mention it's also my birthday today? Are you really gonna ditch me, you're favorite red head, on my birthday?" I ask him, in a tone that hopefully sends him on a guilt trip. He doesn't answer me for a good two minutes before groaning.

"You are fuckin’ killing me, Viv." He tells me and I smile, knowing I'm getting my way. "Fine. I'll be there."

"Thank you, Vince." I say before he hangs up. "He is way too easy." Just as I finish saying it, Nikki's digging his finger into the tub of icing and smearing it down my face.

"Nikki!" I scold loudly, grabbing a paper towel to wipe it off my face but before I can, his tongue sweeps across my cheek and I scrunch my face up, not able to hold back the laughter in my throat as he licks the mess off my face, finally giving me a paper towel when he's done. "Beth wasn't gonna let Vince come tonight."

"Oh, no. How awful." Mick pipes sarcastically.

"First of all, it's my birthday. Second of all, it's tradition." I point out o him.

"Not really. We only spent celebrated your birthday and Christmas in one night last year because we were too broke for two different occasions." Nikki says, opening a beer and I give him a look, causing him to pause, look at me, look at Mick, then back to me, and say: "That fucking bitch was about break our tradition."

"Smooth." Mick mumbles to him.

"I need someone here who actually cares about sentiment. Where's Tommy?" I ask, continuing to glop and spread icing on the cake I've just made.

"Tommy's getting Tansy." Nikki tells me. "Like you told him to do, then Tansy's gonna grab all the stuff you'll need to make dinner. It will be fine. Calm down."

"I'm calm." I argue in a not-so-calm tone.

"Yeah, I'm gonna get started on this so I can endure your bitching all day." He opens the bottle of Jack and takes a big gulp.

"Then you'll be drunk tonight and you can't be drunk tonight." I take the bottle out of his hand.

"Then I'll get stoned." He states, stepping to our bedroom. After a moment, he's coming back in to the kitchen, seeming to be pissed off. "Where the fuck is my--"

"I hid it." I say without hesitation, looking over my shoulder at his expression. "It's my birthday."

"I haven't spent one night sober since I can remember. You're not changing that all because it's your fucking birthday. Give me my stuff back, Saint Vivian."

"Mick, tell the Devil's Spawn to 'man up' because one night sober will not kill him."

"Mick doesn't get a say in it because you're still letting him drink!" Nikki exclaims, motioning to the silent man on the couch who's nursing from his vodka.

"Mick has special privileges because he's the most responsible one out of you four any other time of the year." I finally finish icing the cake, turning to face Nikki, who's staring at me.

"Mick's fuckin' stayin' outta this fight and every fight after it." Mick states, leaving no room for discussion.

"We're not fighting." I insist. "We're having a slight disagreement."

"Which will be resolved the second Mother Mary gives me back my freedom." Nikki says.

"Since when does alcohol and psychoactive drugs have anything to do with freedom?"

"Since I was able to do them freely until I started having to put up with you." He argues.

"Put up with me? You say that like you just tolerate me." I cross my arms.

"Anytime I do something you don't think is good enough for you, you give me this look like I just shot a puppy. I can't breathe the wrong way without you looking down on me."

"Probably because when you 'breathe the wrong way', you're actually breathing wrong, do to all the depressants and stimulants you load into your body simultaneously!" I outburst. "I don't look at you that way because I'm judging you, I look at you that way because I'm hoping you won't over do it and croak over, so forgive me for not wanting you snorting and drinking everything in sight tonight because I would like my boyfriend to not risk dying on my birthday but apparently that's too much to ask for, so go for it!"

I'm expecting him to give me the look he's always given me when I try to tell him not to drink, pop pills or snort anything, but he doesn't. I guess it's because it's my birthday.

Before he can answer, someone's clearing their throat, and we snap our attention to the front door, seeing Tansy.

"Welcome to hell." Mick tells her, and she looks at me and Nikki hesitantly, as if she's thinking about turning back around and leaving. I'm sure she is until Tommy pops up behind her, arms full of groceries and a wide, excited smile on his face. Completely oblivious.

"Happy Birthday!" He pipes, walking in to set the bags on the counter and hug me tightly, picking me up. Nikki and I continue to glare at each other while I'm looking over Tommy's shoulder, and when he puts me back down, the two of us put on fake smile so he won't know we're fighting.

"Hey, babe, where do I need to put this?" A man that has to be at least 30 years old is walking in to our apartment, talking to Tansy while holding a Tupperware container.

"What is it?" I ask him, thinking it's food, taking the container.

"Oh, Smack." He says casually and I'm dropping the container in a matter of milliseconds, taking a step back and looking at Nikki with raised brows.

"Vivian!" Tansy complains, picking the container up, going to put it in the fridge but I block her way. "Oh, so, what? All the things these idiots pump themselves full of, you draw the line at heroin?" She asks me.

"I am the line." I inform her. "I am not keeping some stranger's drugs in my fridge."

"It's not some random stranger, it's Sparkie." She explains to me as if that makes me and the man best friends. "My boyfriend." She continues.

"I figured that." I reply.

"Why do they call you Sparkie?" Nikki asks him, skeptically.

Sparkie was an absolute idiot. Think of what strung out, worn down, one shoot up away from being dragged to hell, looks like. He looked like a walking corpse with a peculiar hue of blue to his skin and had sleeves of tattoos to try to mask his track marks, to no avail. A few of his back teeth had rotted out and it was evident anytime he opened his mouth to speak. His bleached blonde hair had grown out to his chest and his pitch black roots were greasy due to lack of bathing. He had frown lines, crows feet, smile lines and greyed facial hair along his jaw. Tansy claimed they had met on the set of one of her photoshoots and he was the photographer's assistant and said that he told her he fell madly in love after laying eyes on her for the first time. Well, Tansy was gorgeous, but she was also naked and posing for Playboy at the photoshoot where they met, so he might've confused wanting to have sex with her with wanting to date her. I prayed he'd only be temporary, but he managed to hang around for five more years until the two of them broke up during the "Girls" tour. I was stunned when she went from dating someone like Sparkie, to dating someone like Axl Rose.

"Freebasing accident. Ether's easy to catch on fire, man." He tells him with a chuckle and I feel multiple brain cells die.

"Fuckin' awesome, right, dude?" Tommy asks as he hits Nikki's shoulder and Nikki looks at me with a smug expression, knowing it's killing me to keep my mouth shut.

"We have room in the fridge, right, Viv?" Nikki asks me innocently and I roll my jaw, looking at Tansy's perfect smile, as if she's silently begging us to like her boyfriend.

"Absolutely." I say, taking the container from Tansy and putting it in the fridge before me and her start cooking dinner.

By the time Seven o'clock is rolling around, dinner's done and Vince is waltzing through the front door.

"Hey, Viv," He comes up behind me in the kitchen while I'm washing my hands, kissing my cheek as he puts a present on the counter.

"Hey," I greet him, seeing Beth occupied with talking to Tansy.

"Who's...?" He nods in Sparkie's direction and I turn the sink off and get in his ear.

"Tansy's boyfriend, Sparkie. His White China is in my fridge and he got his name after a freebasing accident." I educate him and he raises his brows, an amused smile pulling at his lips.

"Tansy's dating him?" He whispers and I nod.

"Jesus," He mumbles, watching as she comes over to us to hug him.

"Vince!" She greets him eagerly, throwing her arms around him and he pulls her to him tightly, catching an evil look from his wife.

"Hey, Tans," He says when she pulls away.

"C'mon and meet my boyfriend." She grabs his hand and pulls him to the living room.

"Um, hey, Devil-Spawn, I need your help for a second." I tell Nikki and he looks up from his conversation with Sparkie and rolls his eyes, stepping to the kitchen.

"What?" He asks me and I drag him to the bathroom, shutting the door and locking it.

"Tansy's dating a loser." I voice out immediately and he gives me a look.

”I thought you wanted a quickie. Had I known you were just gonna bit--"

"He's a moron. 'Ether's flammable'? 'Put my smack in the fridge'?" I mock his voice.

"He didn't say the last one."

"Tansy is too naïve for someone like him." I ignore him. "She doesn't know what she's getting herself in to being with someone like that."

"I'm someone like that." Nikki reminds me and I scoff.

"Um, you don't carry a Tupperware of Smack with you, you're not burning yourself in ether explosions, you're not taking advantage of a beautiful blonde girl who just wants to make everybody happy..." I list a few things Sparkie's doing. "Look, I'm not worried about me doing anything because I have the will power of God when it comes to drugs and alcohol but Tansy will do the most ridiculous, disgusting, debasing things to make someone happy. Trust me, she's told me some of the things she felt like she had to do in order to keep some of her past boyfriends and I'm scared he's gonna get her hooked on some of his mess because he'll figure out if he asks her to do anything, she'll do it." I explain to him and he sighs.

"Maybe she's not as naïve as you think she is. I mean, it's been over a year since you last saw each other, so it's possible she's changed and knows exactly what she's doing." He tries to reassure me.

"I'd rather her be oblivious and naïve to the severity of the situation than knowingly be waltzing in to her own self-destruction." I state blankly.

"I wonder who all's gonna be saying that about you when they find out you're with me." Nikki says pointedly and I open my mouth to speak, but close it again.

"You're right. She's a big girl who can take care of herself and I'm being judgmental of Sparkie." I admit.

"You're admitting you're wrong?" He asks me in pretend shock, leaning closer to me, putting the palm of his hand flat on the door beside my head and I cross my arms and avoid looking at him.

"I guess." I mumble, not liking the fact I have to admit I'm wrong and he knows it, basking in the glory.

"Viv?" He asks and I look at the bathroom floor, still not acknowledging him. "Hey," He grabs my jaw gently, forcing me to look at his darkly lined eyes. "You have such a big heart, you worm your way in to other people's lives to try to get them to not make decisions that you wouldn't make, to protect them. But just because you wouldn't choose to do something, doesn't mean it's a wrong choice for someone else."

"Snorting coke and throwing back shots until you can't stand up, isn't a good choice for anyone." I already know what he's getting at and he sighs, stomping his foot.

"If I hear one more 'dude' from Sparkie without some kind of buffer in my system, I'm gonna knock his head into the fuckin' counter, Viv." He states, pointing his finger in the direction of the living room.

"You're doing great." I tell him, taking the hand he's pointing his finger with and hold it in both of my hands. "We only have to deal with him for a few more minutes and then everyone will be gone, and we'll have the place to ourselves," I say, taking one of the chains of his few necklaces around his neck and running it threw my fingers, pulling him to me. "And I'll let you do whatever you want."

His expression darkens at my promise, his lips pulling upward in to a crooked smile as his hands move to my hips and he guides me to the sink, picking me up and putting me on the edge of it,

He's putting himself between my open legs, his finger tips gripping at the flesh of my thigh as his other hand is hiking my maroon dress up, his tongue dancing with mine. I push the thin straps of my dress of my shoulders and his lips leave mine when he yanks the top of my dress down to expose my breasts. Just as his teeth are biting a trail down my skin, the door swings open, causing me and Nikki to scramble to get ourselves off of each other, but it's too late.

[raywritesthings]

WIP game

Hi everyone! So as part of my effort to better update readers on my ongoing writing projects as well as a sort of gift to you all (just had my own birthday this last week), I thought I’d do a WIP game. The only problem is, most WIP games are for one or two WIPs, which I have...more than that.

So, I’ve decided to post the first snippet of every single one of my WIPs (multichapter-wise anyway) and let you, my readers/followers, decide what to ask based on what you read! Each snippet will be numbered, so just send the number and whatever you want to ask about it. Hopefully this will be fun. Here goes:

1. On the island, split second decisions had been the difference between life and death, and there had never been time to worry about the moral implications. That had always come later. But Oliver already hated himself for what he was about to do. There was only one way off this roof that would ensure his safety and his identity. One way to survive.

2.  Laurel tried not to pace behind Curtis’ back as she watched him work on the device Cisco had made her only a year ago. Since that initial model, it had undergone various updates, but this was to be the most experimental. It also counted the most; Oliver continued to writhe on the exam table in unimaginable pain. If this didn’t work, they’d lose him for good, and Laurel was never going to be ready for that to happen.

3.  The city was as quiet as it ever was when they exited out the back of the base to where Oliver had parked his car. It was large and black with a pair of shovels thrown in the trunk still caked in dirt. The dirt over her grave. Laurel shivered.

4. After five long years away and all the time he had had for regrets and thinking about how he wanted to make amends, Oliver knew exactly where he needed to be when he returned to Starling City. He didn’t get the chance to act on that plan until Tommy asked him what he had missed most on their driving tour of the city. “Laurel.” His best friend barked a laugh and scratched at his ear. “Yeah, uh, problem with that plan. Laurel’s not here anymore.”

5. “I’ll be heading out early tomorrow to meet with Oliver and the others, so I should get some sleep. Goodnight, mom.” Laurel Lance did not know it, but those were to be the last words she would say on her Earth for a long time.

6. She woke up. That was the easy part. Tired and sore, a little weak, but alive. She woke up. Oliver was there just as he had been when she’d started to feel herself slip away. He had tears in his eyes. Laurel tried to reach out a hand, but the best she could do was sort of turn her arm over palm-up. “Hey.” He smiled, just a stretch of the lips, and he echoed her with a soft, “Hey. How are you feeling?” “Tired. I’m not out of the woods yet, I guess.” “Well, the doctors think that we’re past the worst of it. You’re stable.” His eyes were still sad. Something was wrong.

7. 1994 She wondered some nights where the time went. It seemed like only an eye blink had passed from the day she’d first arrived in Starling City to the day she co-owned a home; three bed, two bath, and a husband and two children that filled it. It felt like a dream sometimes, a not quite real thing.

8. It was an otherwise unremarkable day. The Doctor and Martha had ended up a few years into her personal future, which he ordinarily tried to avoid. But lizards were notoriously difficult to schedule, particularly when it came to their hatchlings. They’d been on the chase all afternoon, on foot for most of it. As time had quickly begun to run out, however, he’d flagged down a taxi.

9.  Donna Noble was going to die. Not even forty, jobless, unmarried. Exactly the failure her mum had said she was going to be. She wasn’t single, but of course she doubted her mum would count an alien boyfriend as a success. At least she was going down in the TARDIS. She’d decided to spend the rest of her life traveling in this box, but she hadn’t thought that would come true so soon.

10. It took quite a bit of convincing to get Donna’s mother to let them all in the house. Even just to open the door a crack so they could try to convince her. “I mean, what even are they?” She hissed through the gap. “They’re the Ood, and they’re nice,” Donna said. “Seriously, that can feel a bit hard to find sometimes. Might as well appreciate it.” “Hold on, what do you mean hard to find?” The Doctor turned to regard Donna now instead. “I’m the first alien you ever met, and I’m nice.”

11. Jenny saw the gun and didn’t even think twice. It wasn’t the soldier’s instinct that overtook her in that moment, but something stronger. “No!” She pushed herself in front of her dad just as the shot rang out, and something impacted her chest. Jenny staggered, her mouth falling open. All that training and conditioning in her head since the minute she’d been born, and none of it had prepared her for this. She felt herself fall, but never hit the ground. Someone had caught her. It was her dad.

12.  When Donna found herself alive again in the proper universe, she was more than a little disoriented. Some bug was on the ground that she both did and didn’t recognize, and the fortune teller woman who had started this whole mess fled before Donna could do much more than demand, “What the hell is that?”

13. The Gryffindor and Ravenclaw third years sat nervous and excited at their desks, waiting for the start of class. Their latest Defense Against the Dark Arts professor had told them today was to be a practical lesson unlike any they’d ever had before. “It’s no good just knowing what the Unforgivables are,” the grizzled ex-Auror had stated, pacing the aisles with a wooden thump to every step. “You need to be ready for what you’ll be up against. You need to feel just how hard of a fight it will be. And no curse is harder to fight than the Imperius.”

14.  It was fast approaching Christmas at Grimmauld Place, and Harry was only belatedly taking the time to notice. While the first portion of the holidays had been consumed by fear and guilt after the attack on Mr. Weasley, and then fear and guilt for his own possible possession, he could now finally start to relax thanks to his friends knocking some sense back into him. Well, it was Ginny who had really done most of the work on that; he’d been both surprised at how easily she’d managed to allay his worries, yet also ashamed that he’d completely disregarded her ability to do so until she’d forcibly reminded him.

15. Harry wasn’t even aware of climbing the stairs to the seventh floor. All he could concentrate on was the pounding in his skull courtesy of yet another useless Occlumency lesson. He grunted the password at the Fat Lady’s portrait and stumbled into Gryffindor common room. The fire was already burning low, and the room appeared empty. He’d been hoping to find Hermione downstairs in order to beg to take a look at her Charms essay that was due tomorrow which he hadn’t even started yet. Picturing her scandalized look at the idea, however, Harry thought it was probably good she wasn’t here. He dragged his feet over to the armchairs near the fire. Ron was likely waiting to see he got back from Snape’s dungeon, but Harry knew if he went up to his bed he wouldn’t be able to force himself to do his homework in time for class. He was about to drop into his favorite armchair when a quiet, “Hey, Harry,” had him jumping and whirling around.

So that’s it (that’s a lie, actually, but some of my WIPs are only tiny, incoherent and out of order snippets so there wasn’t enough to scrape together for this post). Hopefully one or multiple catch your interest, and feel free to ask any and all questions because my ask box is wide open!

[theycallmebeccawrites]

Chris & Ellie Series: Episode 4

With Tumblr holding my original writing blog @beccaheartschrisevans captive (aka flagged as explicit), I have made a secondary writing blog and may end up closing the other all together. In the meantime, I am reposting all of my stories on my new blog.

Pairing: Chris Evans x Ellie Spencer (OFC)

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: n/a

Episode Summary: Takes place in July 2013. Ellie's sister Isabelle comes to LA for Ellie's birthday and it leads to Chris seeing a new side of Ellie.

Disclaimer: This work of fiction is not to be reposted, used or translated without my permission.

The Chris and Ellie series is primarily chronological.  It begins with a flash forward to 2016 and has a few other scenes in the future.  However, the majority of their story is told in chronological order starting in 2013 and going through 2017. Each episode starts with a date to help you place it within the story.

The Chris & Ellie Series Masterlist | Chris & Ellie Masterlist

Episode 3.5

Episode 4: Happy Birthday Ellie

July 19, 2013

The last three weeks had been the most fun Ellie had experienced while living in Los Angeles and that was all thanks to the Evans family. While she had already known Lisa and met Chris, she hadn’t met his brother or his sisters, but they had all accepted her into their group. In some ways they reminded Ellie of her family back in Oregon and with all of them packed into the house, it didn’t seem that big anymore and she certainly hadn’t found herself lonely.

Best of all, no one else caught the horrible stomach bug that had taken her down for the count.

Chris’s mom, sisters, nephews and niece had returned to Boston the week after the Fourth of July, but he had decided to stay in LA because Scott was staying for work. Because of this, Ellie had found herself watching baseball games in the basement of Chris’s house with an Evans brother on either side of her.

It was during one of those baseball games, just last Sunday, that the topic of birthdays had come up and Ellie had admitted to Chris and Scott that her birthday was that coming Wednesday, July 17. The brothers had been shocked at first then had launched into complaints about her not telling them sooner.

They had just finished telling her off when her cell phone had rung and her younger sister, Isabelle, had inquired about coming down to LA from San Francisco for the weekend to celebrate. Ellie had been hesitant about asking Chris if her sister could stay with her in the guest house, but she had sucked up the courage and he’d given her a quick yes, even offering her use of the other guestroom in the main house if they needed it.

All of that, combined with Chris offering to drive her to the airport to pick up her sister, was how Ellie found herself waiting for her sister, Isabelle, to exit the secure section at the Long Beach Airport.

“Isabelle!” she called, spotting her sister.

The two sisters hurried to each other and hugged.

“I love your hair,” Ellie said, tugging on her sister’s brown locks. “Get tired of being a blonde?”

“Never,” Isabelle smirked as she slipped her arm through Ellie’s. “I was just ready for something different.”

“Do you have any checked bags?” Ellie asked her, noticing a small rolling suitcase at Isabelle’s feet.

“Nope, Eric was so proud of me packing for an entire weekend in one bag,” Isabelle said with a smirk.

“But you don’t plan on going home with just one do you?” Ellie guessed.

“Absolutely not!” Isabelle replied. “By the way, you didn’t have to park and then come inside and get me. I could have found you.”

“I’m going to tell you something, but you have to promise you won’t freak out on me,” Ellie told her sister.

“He brought you didn’t he,” Isabelle said, wide eyed. Ellie nodded. “Did he at least get dressed to leave the house?”

“Izzy!” Ellie exclaimed, playfully slapping her sister’s arm. “I told you that in confidence! You can’t go repeating that… if he finds out I told you, I’m dead.”

“I’ll be quiet,” Isabelle promised, pretending to zip her lips and lock them.

Ellie sent Chris a quick text and then they headed for the pickup and drop off area. Spotting Chris’s dark windowed car, Ellie led her sister to it and then climbed into the front passenger seat while Isabelle got into the backseat.

“Chris, meet my sister Isabelle,” Ellie said making the introductions. “Izzy, meet my boss Chris Evans.”

“Nice to meet you,” Chris said, awkwardly holding his hand over the seat to shake Isabelle’s hand.

“Nice to meet you, too,” Isabelle replied, shaking his hand.

“She knows, doesn’t she,” Chris said as he merged into the traffic lane leaving the airport.

“Who you are? Yes,” Ellie replied, hoping that was the answer he was hoping for. “Only my older sister Sydney didn’t know who you were when I told them I was working for you.”

“That wasn’t what I was referring to and you know it,” Chris said, chancing a glance at her and noticing a red flush. “You told your sisters about our awkward meeting, didn’t you?”

“She didn’t mean to,” Isabelle pipped up from the backseat. “As you can see Ellie has a tell when she isn’t telling the full truth. It’s when she gets bright red when you know you’ve gotten there!”

“Izzy!” Ellie exclaimed, shooting her sister a red faced glare.

“So you do know then,” Chris stated then chuckled.

“That you tried to cover yourself with a roll of paper towels?” Isabelle replied. “Yes and if it makes you feel any better, she wouldn’t give us any details. She just said there was nothing to complain about.”

Chris quirked an eyebrow and stole another glance at Ellie who was now bright red.

“I hate you both right now,” she mumbled causing Chris and Isabelle to laugh.

Scott was waiting for them when they got back to the house and Chris and Ellie were both taken by surprise when Isabelle ran over and gave him a big hug.

“Are we missing something?” Chris asked them.

“I follow Ellie on Instagram,” Scott told him. “She never posts anything.” He shot Ellie a disappointed look. “But her sister posts all the time and we got to chatting one day.”

“So what, you two are friends now?” Ellie asked.

“Pretty much,” Isabelle replied. “I had to make sure you were surrounded by good people and I can tell you are.”

“Plus it also gave us time to plan your birthday adventure,” Scott told her.

“My what now?” Ellie asked.

“You and I are going shopping,” Isabelle told her sister. “And then tonight, Scott and Chris are taking us out for dinner and then we’re going dancing!”

“We are?” Chris and Ellie asked, simultaneously.

“Oh my god,” Scott muttered to Isabelle. “They’re making the same ‘really’ face.”

“Now might be a good time to put my suitcase in my room,” Isabelle stage whispered to him.

“Good idea, you can stay in the guestroom by mine,” Scott replied and he quickly led Isabelle out of the room.

“I am so sorry,” Ellie said to Chris.

“No, I’m sorry,” Chris replied, shaking his head. “My brother can be a bit nosey at times.”

“So is my sister,” Ellie said with a laugh. “One of us should go up there before they start plotting anything else.”

“No nose goes,” Chris said and quickly put his finger on his nose.

Ellie’s jaw dropped and he snickered.

“You are such a cheater,” Ellie told him, rolling her eyes.

“Only because you didn’t think of it first,” Chris said with a shrug. “Good luck with them.”

Shaking her head, Ellie went upstairs and found her sister and Scott in the guestroom Isabelle was staying in.

“So you two were Insta-staking each other via my Instagram account?” she asked, leaning against the doorway.

“Absolutely,” Isabelle replied with a grin. “But I can honestly say, I didn’t start it.”

“It was totally me,” Scott said proudly. “You told us about your sisters and then I was on Instagram and I found you on there, Ellie, and then I found your sister.”

“And I quickly figured out that he was Chris’s brother and that he actually knew you,” Isabelle explained. “We started talking and now we have a super birthday adventure planned for you!”

“You mean the one you two forgot to mention to Chris and myself?” Ellie asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

“She’s bringing out the big sister pose,” Scott muttered. “You’re on your own.”

He quickly fled the room leaving the two sisters alone.

“You’re not mad are you?” Isabelle asked. “Honestly, we just got to talking about it on your birthday. He said that you’d gone out with some friends for work, but that in the few weeks he’d gotten to know you, he got the impression you hadn’t really explored the LA nightlife.”

“Since when have I ever been part of the nightlife scene?” Ellie asked. “I’m more of a movie night type of girl.”

“I know and that’s why I’m your best friend in addition to being your sister,” Isabelle said with a smile. “Now, we need to go shopping, because I’m pretty sure you have nothing to wear tonight and we both know I didn’t bring anything to wear out just so I would have an excuse to go shopping!”

As per every shopping adventure Ellie had gone on with her sister, Isabelle wanted to see everything before making a decision, while Ellie quickly made a decision. The only saving grace was that, due to their limited finances, the sisters had stuck to an outlet mall rather than going someplace more upscale.

It was after two in the afternoon when they finally returned to the house and carried their shopping bags up to Isabelle’s guestroom. Then, knowing they wouldn’t be eating until nearly eight that night, they went to the kitchen to make themselves a late lunch.

“You seem very comfortable here,” Isabelle remarked as she and Ellie sat outside on the patio eating their sandwiches. “And you seem very at ease with the Evans brothers.”

“I am comfortable here,” Ellie shrugged. “And they’re nice guys.”

“And Chris is even cuter in person than I imagined,” Isabelle said with a smirk. “What do you think?”

“That he is a great guy who is my boss and my friend,” Ellie replied, glaring at her sister. “I know what you’re trying to do, but honestly, Izzy, my life is too messed up right now to be thinking about dating anyone, famous or not.”

“Maybe not, but being a friend is always the best first step,” Isabelle said. “Look at me and Eric. He started out as my study buddy and now we live together.”

A few hours later, Ellie found herself walking through the main house in her bathrobe with her wet hair tucked in a towel. She met Chris in the middle of the stairs.

“Dressed and ready to go, I see,” he teased.

“Of course,” she replied and unintentionally flashed him a little leg as she adjusted her robe.

“You and Isabelle are welcome to use my bathroom to get ready in,” he told her. “Scott can be a bathroom hog at times.”

“Where are you going to get ready?” she asked.

“I just took a shower and I have my outfit picked out, I just have to get dressed, but that will take me like five minutes tops,” he replied. “So while you three are getting beautiful, I’ll be downstairs watching the baseball game.”

“Think they’ll kill me if I decide to just wear jeans and a t-shirt to dinner so I can watch the game?” Ellie asked.

“YES!” Isabelle and Scott shouted from upstairs.

“There you go,” Chris said with a chuckle. “Have fun!”

Going up the stairs, Ellie found Isabelle standing in Scott’s room helping him pick out an outfit for the evening. Judging by the amount of clothing on his bed, he’d obviously gone back to his apartment while she and her sister had been out shopping and brought half his closet back.

“Chris won’t dress up,” Scott told the sisters. “But if you two are dressing to the nines then I will, too.”

Sitting off to the side, Ellie watched the progress of the baseball game on her phone as Scott and Isabelle both got ready. Then the two turned their combined attention on her, only allowing her privacy to put her body hugging black dress on.

“Hello boobies,” Scott cheered when he saw her in the dress for the first time. “I could tell you had them, obviously, but damn girl. Good job.”

“She got all the boobs in the family,” Isabelle said with a tinge of jealousy in her tone.

“Says the one who got all the legs in the family,” Ellie retorted. “You and Sydney got the height while poor little Riley and I didn’t.”

“Yes, but you don’t have to worry about being too tall when standing next to a guy while wearing heels,” Isabelle said as she pulled the teal colored heels that Ellie had purchased out of the box. “I can’t wear heels around Eric, I’m just shorter than him in flats. When I wear heels, I tower over him.”

“It’s probably good for him every now and then,” Scott offered. “Reminds him who the real boss is.”

Ellie shook her head as she chuckled with the other two.

Eventually all three of them ended up in Chris’s large master bathroom with Ellie seated in the middle with her back towards the mirror and looking at the closed bathroom door. She heard Chris come into his room and Scott left the bathroom to talk to his brother.

“We have about ten minutes before we need to go,” Scott reported as he came back in.

“Perfect timing, because Ellie is ready to go,” Isabelle declared.

Standing up, Ellie turned and looked at the mirror while Isabelle and Scott looked on proudly. Logically, she knew the woman in the mirror was herself, but she’d never put on this much makeup before not to mention worn fake eyelashes. Turning her head, she admired the curls that her sister had put in her hair as well.

“What do you think?” her sister asked. “I know it’s more -”

“I love it,” Ellie replied. “I’ll probably never let you do this to my face again, but I love it!”

“Let’s see what Chris thinks,” Scott said he opened the bathroom door and all but pushed Ellie out of the bathroom. “CHRIS!”

“What?” Chris asked, stepping out of his walk in closet as he pulled on a dark denim jean jacket that he had paired with a simple white t-shirt and a pair of khakis. He stopped with his right arm halfway in the sleeve when he caught sight of Ellie standing before him in a body hugging black dress that showed off her ample cleavage. “Wow.”

He wanted to stay more, but his mind was drawing a blank. Other than the underwear situation, he was used to seeing Ellie with her hair pulled back and in casual clothes that didn’t exactly hide her hourglass figure, but it didn’t add to it. This dress, however, hugged her every curve and drew attention to her breasts.

“Is that a good wow?” Ellie asked, feeling slightly self-conscious by the way his eyes were dancing all over her body.

“A very good wow,” Chris said, find his voice, finally.  “You look beautiful, Ellie.”

Feeling other parts of himself agreeing a bit too much for the audience in his bedroom, he forced himself to look at his brother and her sister. Upon seeing that they were dressed up nicely as well, he wondered if he was dressed a little too casually for their night out.

“Are you going to finish putting on your jacket so we can go, Chris?” his brother asked with an amused smirk on his face. “You might need to put some shoes on, too.”

Chris glared at him as he finished putting on his jacket. Going back into his closet, he grabbed a pair of black shoes and put them on.

“She’s just your friend Ellie,” he muttered to himself as he grabbed a pair of sunglasses off his shelf. “It’s just Ellie.” The only problem was that she was no longer just his baseball loving friend, now she was a beautiful woman who loved to watch baseball with him.

Episode 4.5

Want to find me off tumblr? I’m @beccatheycallme on twitter. I also post my stories on AO3.

My tag list is always open, just let me know if you’d like to be added!

[raifuujin]

MK Treasured Edition Commentary

From here, here, and here.

Volume 1

Hello, it's me, Aoyama. 

In the course of the republication of Magic Kaito I take the liberty to show my memories of this time straightforwardly. (grin) 

The Revived Phantom Thief The memorable first chapter! Actually I became a Mangaka because I wanted to write about a high school phantom (grin) and so I drew it under great tension! Well and back then I was short of money which is the reason why his hatband around his tophat isn't shaded with screen tone… 

The Police Are Everywhere The original title „Keikan ga ippai” referred to a movie... „Taiyou ga ippai”, a movie with Alain Delon („Purple Noon”). Detective Doron is an allusion, too, because „Delon” is written as „Doron” in Japan. (grin) By the way! The words „When you bend them, they...” Kaito announces the light-emitting diode were literally written on the package of one of those things I purchased on a public festival as a kid. (grin) Appearantly they're actually known as „glow stick”.

 The Clockwork Heart A science-fiction-thriller! A rarity for Kaito (grin). I recall that I perceived it as really exhausting to draw all the parts of the robot and that I had no computer, so that I had to write Kaito's farewell letter by hand (Haha!). By the way! In the panel the robot says „I'm Kuroba Kaito... Haha!!” Kaito's pupils look kinda strange (?). There I mimicked Akemi Matsunae of which I was a big fan back then. (grin)

 Kaitou Kid's Busy Day Off Back then, the 3D movie „Captain EO” starring Michael Jackson was being played in cinemas and has been satirized in this chapter, although I never thought 3D movies could have been revived because of „Avatar”... (grin) By the way! When I read the closing scene today I think that the phrase „But, ice cream... still tastes great!” is my most embarrassing quote ever (grin).

The Pirate Ship Unsurfaced A sea adventure with Kaito? This is a rarity, too! (grin) I can't remember at all why I wanted to draw this story, but maybe I wanted a confrontation between a thief from the mainland and a thief of the seas...? (Ha!) Well, and so Kaito brought his costume of Kaitou Kid even to this place...?! (grin)

The Scarlet Temptress There she is! Mistress Akako! To be honest, she, as practitioner of black magic, is the reason who drove me into the corner the most during Kaitos appearances in Conan. Well, you just have to accept these works as parallel universes. (grin) By the way, Kaito Kuroba is written on the handkerchief, this probably was a prank done by his mom (Chikage)... (grin)

Aoyama Kid ♥

 Volume 2

 Stay Away From Him Although it's more of a romantic tale than a thief story I really like this one ♥ Especially the panel with „Well, excuse me for being an idiot...“ is a real gem, because of how often I had to redraw it! (laughs) Additionally, Superman and Top Gun appear... which is according to my taste! It's also revealed in this story that Aoko is flat-chested. (laughs)

Japan's Most Irresponsible Prime Minister A story I used one of my then-favourite actors Hitoshi Ueki, who has passed away in the meantime, as model! I also dared to use the Japanese prime minister - this was probably really audacious... And then characters appear who look like the past leaders of the USSR and the USA, Gorbachev and Reagan... (sweating). By the way, did anyone notice the „Akako balloon“ in the night sky? (laughs)

I Am the Master! This story was purely written because I felt like it! Anyway, I really wanted to draw how Kaitou Kid makes a balls to the wall ride down the facade of a building... (laughs). I would be nice if they one day made an Anime out of it ♫ Oh well, even if Cleopatra's Vanity case should really exist, two thousand years later one probably couldn't use it anymore... (laughs)

Would You Grow Up If I remember correctly, the hang-glider associated with Kaitou Kid lifted the first time in this story. Well, one could also say that Kaitou Kid could have fled from the get-go with it, instead of stretching a rope to the Tokyo Tower first (laughs). I'd really like to bring the motorized roller skates again.

The Boy Who Bet on the Ball It has also been really daring to take real professional baseball player as a model... (laughs). I think the story was created after I talked with my editor in charge about how thrilling it would be if Kaitou Kid appeared on a pole in Tokyo Dome. Well, the Yomiuri Giants are working together with Conan in several ways anyway, so I hope they can turn a blind eye to this... (fierce laughter)

Ghost Game If I remember correctly, I was frantically busy because I had to draw „Tantei George no Minimini Daisa-kusen“ („Detective George's Mini-Mini Big Strategy“) three weeks in a row for the Sunday magazine, so I finished this chapter in a very short time... (laughs). Directly afterwards my series „Yaiba“ started, because of which „Magic Kaito“ had to pause for a while. Hard to believe that the series is continued until today...! (laughs)

Hustler vs. Magician Originally this was the true second chapter of „Magic Kaito“! But... it was rejected! Since my debut in „Sunday“ there was never a story before or after it that was rejected. It's real luck that it made it into this volume! (laughs)

Omake „Magic Kaito“ was the first Manga I was allowed to publish as a Mangaka, which could be the reason I drew this story with zest and high motivation... Oh well, this probably was my youthful enthusiasm... (laughs)

Aoyama Kid ♥

Volume 3

Star Wars The first „Magic Kaito“ story I drew in the Heisei era (since 1989 -editor's note). There are several stories in which someone tries to gain profit from using a false Kid, but this is the shining first one! At the crime scene Kid announced a lot of Kid fans have assembled and shout "Kid! Kid!". Pretty clever idea, huh? Because this has developed to a classical element until today.

The Great Detective Appears!! Entrance of Saguru Hakuba! No, not only that, the chief inspector also shows his face...! Perhaps the junior was just worried because the top policeman never appears at the crime scene? (grin) By the way, Kid is so bad at ice skating because I'm so lousy in it myself.

Kaitou Under Scrutiny The skirt of Aoko's school uniform is so long and Kid's television is so big! From this you can tell the time! (Haha!) Apropos, the newspaper appearing on the last page is called „Oshima Daily Paper“ in the original version. Most of the newspapers shown in „Magic Kaito“ were named after my then editors. I beg your pardon. (grin)

Akako's Delivery Service Kaitou Kids measurements, 1.74 m (~ 5'9") and 58 kg (~ 128 lbs), naturally are my measurements from back then! The same goes for his blood type! (grin) Back then I thought it's really cool that it's possible to figure out skin colour and age of a person just by a single hair, but today, with DNA analysis you can figure out the whole identity of the person the hair belongs to. The progress of science is frightening... (Haha!)

(Extra Chapter) Yaiba vs. Kaito! I was told to draw a short, self-contained story and this dream sequence is the result. Back when I was a kid I already loved collaborations like „Mazinger Z vs. Devilman“, so I wanted to draw something like this. This is also the reason Kaitou Kid appears in Conan... (grin)

Blue Birthday The first time the gem Kaitou is after is the name origin for the title! Because this was the first „Magic Kaito“ after a very long time I debuted Kaitou Kid's arch-enemy and I can remember how much this motivated me... but it's also a story about a nightly firework in the midst of the city which must have made a lot of trouble in the surroundings... (grin)

Green Dream Oh well, this story is nothing special, but to be honest, it's this story which grew dear to my heart. (grin) What should I say about it? The rhythm is felicitous. This story was the first time I drew Kid's „signature“ we've grown so accustomed to. You can also tell from the name of one of the persons appearing that I really loved „Furuhata Ninzaburō“ back then - a japanese police detective drama.

Aoyama Kid ♥

Volume 4

Hello, it's me, Aoyama.

Since Magic Kaito is being republished I allow myself to show my memories about the past without further delay. (grin)

Crystal Mother This is the Kaito-train story I always wanted to draw! Including some allusions to "Lupin III" or "Sherlock Holmes" it became a story during which I could live it up... (grin) Snake, who got severely hurt in the tunnel returns in the following chapter completely unharmed. That's what I call "tough“! (Ha, ha!)

Red Tear Back when this story was published the first time, the thre first pages were in color! In fact, this created a mystery: „The gem on page 1 is blue, but the one on the cover page is red... Why oh why?“ Great that we can revive this mystery in all its glory! (grin) By the way, the closing scene in which all the photos containing the fondest memories are projected against the wall is an homage to the closing scene of the movie  „Cinema Paradiso“. ♪ I used this highlight again in „Detective Conan – The Last Wizard of the Century“. (grin)

Black Star The first confrontation with the one and only Shinichi Kudo! In this story, Kaito says: „The inspector couldn't catch him even if he used a satellite system!“ But really, it's kind of surprising that he hasn't caught him before, isn't it?! (grin) Shinichi is firing a pistol? Akako wants to use magic to get rid of Shinichi? Little Kaito is flirting with Aoko? What a crazy story! (grin) Well, the scene in which Akako uses her magic powers was cut from TV syndication, but it was restored for the DVD, so everyone who wants to watch it, can do so now. ♥ Oh yeah, the title „Black Star“! I believe there are some readers who ask themselves why this gemstone served as the namesake of the story even though it's just mentioned in passing at the end. That's because Kaitou Kid himself is the "Black Star" after all ★ – hence the title! ♪

Golden Eye The first duel of the phantoms! (... maybe.) Catherine Zeta-Jones was the model for the character Ruby Jones. ♥ Well, they don't look very much alike... (Ha, ha!) In this story it's made clear that Kaito was born in June and Aoko in September! Exactly... Kaitou Kid may be a thief, but he is also a magician, so it really delighted me to slip in the name of the grandiose real-life magician Harry Houdini. (grin) There are a lot of tricky moments that show how much Detective Conan "poisoned" this story... (Ha, ha!)

Dark Knights The mask Nightmare is wearing is based on one I bought during a vacation in Spain, because I really liked it. It now hangs at the wall of my living room. (Ha, ha!) Again, in this story is a lot to analyze and moreover, it ends in a thought-provoking, grim mood, which isn't very typical for „Magic Kaito“. On the other hand, this isn't bad either, isn't it? Superintendent Chaki, an old acquaintance from Detective Conan, had his origin in this story. Further on, Hakuba's nanny „Baaya“ has her very first appearance in here! Actually, it's said that there is another nanny for him who has a more docile personality, but that's a different story altogether... (He, he...)

Phantom Lady (Preannouncement) This story revolves around how the original Kaitou Kid obtained a wonderfully beautiful jewel for the first time. ♥ It will be the first in Volume 5... I wonder when it will be released? (grin)

Volume 5

Hi, it's Aoyama ! Since a new volume of ''Magic Kaito'' came out, I have to delve into my memories from the past. PHANTOM LADY I wrote this story about Kaito's parents four years ago. I had stopped writing Magic Kaito for Conan and I thought : ''Wow, so much time has passed ?'' (laughs) If I recall correctly, his mother mutters ''Kaito, it's time for you to know'', and the story's finally here ! It's this story that finally revealed that Kaito's mother's name is ''Chikage''. It was my first time digitalizing a manuscript, I was glad I managed to portray the security sensor similar to phantom thieves stories so cooly, but I had to drew one night scenery after another, and that took time and so I almost didn't make it in a deadline. By the way, this story leads to Conan's Ryouma case, in volume 70. Read it if you're interested ! MIDNIGHT CROW When it was decided to animate the series, I had a meeting with the animation staff. We asked ourselves ''How are we going to finish the story ?''. So I suggested : ''Why not do one about a black Kaitou Kid that would be published in the Sunday ?''. And that's how I wrote Midnight Crow. I will never forget the staff's face when I told them ''Actually, Touichi is alive'' (laughs) Ikeda-san, Touichi's voice actor, had difficulty saying the line ''When you come in contact with an audience, it's a scene of duel...'' quickly ! <3 The ''sucker trick'' line comes from Kaito Kid's anime screenwriter Kunihiko Okada, who I thank very much. In the Phantom Lady chapter, Kaito's work as Kid was given by Chikage, but in Midnight Crow, he's supposed to quit because a lot happened in Las Vegas... but it's another story (laughs) SUN HALO This chapter was written to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Magic Kaito, so it had to be a love comedy <3 When I drew the chapter, Kaito's bike is a Suzuki GSX 250 R. I had forgotten that it was supposed to be broken, so I had Jii-chan say that a ''doctor friend'' helped him... I leave that to your imagination (laughs) Speaking of characters, Lucifer appears again ! As I thought, Akako uses red magic ! (Fortunately Akako doesn't exist in Conan's world (laughs)). The entrance hall in the chapter is based on Tottori's entrance hall, so please go there if you visit Tottori ! By the way, in Sun Halo, Aoko rides the bike with Kaito ! NONCHALANT LUPIN It's a short story I sent to a shounen magazine, and I got an award for it. As you can see, it was a prototype for ''Magic Kaito'' (laughs) The forms are different but there's no card gun. I drew this because the editor I had at that time told me : ''Show me a story you want to write''. It's my second work ! Now that I look back, I'm embarassed because it looks bad. (laughs) Anyway, the hero's name is Lupin, and the name of the story ''Nonchalant Lupin'', but I don't know where he's nonchalant... (laughs)

[funeral-clown]

for cassie-bird, happy birthday

here is your promised present, bro

many happy returns

He had seemed so friendly at first. Sliding into the bar stool next to him, smile open and a little shy, offering to buy him a drink, Cisco had been stunned. It had seemed almost too good to be true. And if the man’s grin got sharper as the night went on, well, Cisco didn’t believe in looking gift horses in the mouth. 

Perhaps he should have looked a little closer at this mouth.

“What’s your name?”, he gasped out, breath puffing hot against the cool lips of the man who had him pressed against the alley wall, finally letting him up to breathe. 

His eyes were slits, so he did not see the sardonic grin accompanying the offered “Hunter. Call me Hunter.”

He never got the chance later to ask if it was a joke or just a bitterly ironic twist of fate. The next thing he knew he could feel a wet pressure against his throat, suckling softly.

“Try not to leave any marks.”

Hunter laughed.

“I can’t promise that.”

There was a sharp, piercing pain. Hunter held him hard enough to bruise and gulped down greedy warm mouthfuls of salty hot blood. Cisco was still half hard and grinding weakly against him when he died.

-

He wasn’t prepared for when he woke up.

-

They were both held down in front of a crowd of others. Hunter had told him about the council, said they were blind old windbags. Cisco didn’t know what to believe, he’d only been undead a week. All he knew was that Hunter was crazy, even for a vampire, and that every strand of DNA in his body loved him.

Hunter was struggling, fighting, swearing, for all the world looking like a caged mountain lion. Cisco was docile. Quiet. He stared straight forward, cowered slightly, as he would have before a priest back when he could still enter a church.

“Hunter Zolomon,” intoned the man the stood before them, looking down in the crowded room, “You are guilty of turning a human without approval.”

“Fuck approval,” Hunter spat, “And fuck you, Thawne. He’s mine, I smelled him, I courted him, I bit him, i turned him. My childe, mine, and you can’t make me give him up.”

“We could make you stake him yourself. You’re unstable and unsuitable, Zolomon. We all remember what happened with your last childe. This is the last time you break the rules.”

Cisco flinched as the man turned to regard him.

“Look at him, Zolomon. He’s starving. You can’t even feed him properly.”

A low growl built in his mentor’s throat.

“He’s young. Stubborn. He’ll learn.”

“Maybe. But not from you.”

The sudden burning that went through him was unlike any other pain Cisco had ever experienced in his life. A howling wail built up in his throat as his sire, his maker, was reduced to smoldering ash.

Thawne signaled for him to be released.

“Your origins are not your fault. Your sire was insane. He would have destroyed you. You can’t stay in Central City. You’re not welcome here.”

“But-”

“Childe.”.

Cisco quaked in his skin.

“We will take you to Star City. What you become from there is up to you. One day you may be able to return. When your family and friends are all gone. But for now, go. Leave this place. You are banished. You will be gone by sunrise, or you will join your pathetic sire.”

Grief and rage swirled within Cisco like a storm. Throat clenched like a vice, he nodded once and was released. He fled without a glance behind.

“Sir, should we not have killed the fledgling? There’s no telling how it will turn out.”

Eobard hummed consideringly.

“No, but I would very much like to observe.”

-

Oliver Queen was not the most long tempered of men. 

For a werewolf, however, he had a pretty cool head.

“Mom,” he snapped into the phone, “For the last time, I can’t make it up to the cabin this weekend. I’m going to be busy.”

“But Ollie, dear, it’s a full m-” “I KNOW it’s a full moon, mom, I’m just telling you that between work and more work everything’s too hectic to leave right now.”

“Fine.”

Her pout was audible.

“Look, I have to call you back, ok? Ok. Yeah, love you too, mom. Okay. OK, bye.”

With a sigh he ended the call and leaned back on the roof top. His mother may not understand, but the city was his territory, and someone had to defend it. Someone had to protect his turf from hunters and monsters alike. Even if it did get lonely without having pack around sometimes.

A shrill cry split the night, and Ollie was on his feet in an instant, tracking down the scream.

“Please,” he heard, “please don’t come near me, I’m begging you,” and Oliver sped faster toward the muffled sobs.

“Please,” he was almost there now, “Please, I don’t want to hurt you.”

A strange request from a victim.

He flitted down to land softly on the fire escape in an alley in an older part of town. He peered through the gloom at the two figures below.

“Kid, what the fuck are you talking about?”

“Just leave me alone!”

The smaller, distressed one was pressing himself away from the taller man in the suit.

“I just asked your hourly, y’don’t have to get all pissy-”

The smaller man snarled, baring impressive fangs. Huh. Vampire. In Star City. Something hokey was going on.

“Hey,” Oliver lets his voice reverberate through the alley in a low growl, “Fuck off.”

The man fucked off.

Ollie dropped down beside the fledge.

“What the fuck are you doing in my city?”

“What?”

Oliver blinked.

“Star City is mine. Marked and defended. Everyone knows that.”

“Dude did you, like, pee on all the buildings? Is that why the city smells like piss?”

He shoved the stranger against the wall.

“Where’s your sire, pipsqueak? They decide you’re not worth it and throw you to the wolves?”

He let his fangs lengthen as he spoke. The man didn’t even flinch.

“He’s dead. The council sent me here to starve to death.”

“Because they knew I wouldn’t let you kill on my turf.”

“No,” he said, annoyed, “Because I won’t kill, period. It’s wrong.”

Oliver’s brow furrowed. He killed when necessary. He accepted that part of himself. Everyone did. This runt was going to get himself killed.

“What’s your name, whelp?”

“Cisco. And you’d be Lon Cheney?”

Oliver grinned.

“Sometimes. Mostly I go by Oliver. Come with me.”

“What?”

“It’ll be sunrise soon, and you’re an orphan. It just so happens I’m a do-gooder. I’ve got a nice cave, perfect for a bat like you.”

“The last time I trusted a hot, mysterious stranger, I got turned into a vampire.”

“Well that can’t happen twice.”

Cisco shrugged warily. After a second he nodded.

-

To his surprise, Hot Snarly Wolf Guy had been talking about an actual literal cave. Stereotypes, much?

“You realize this isn’t Lost Boys, right?”

Oliver laughed.

“Just wanted you to feel at home. I figure you’ll be staying with me until we can figure out what to do with you.”

Cisco frowned. He lost one crazy hot guy to get taken in by another. 

“Yeah, well, don’t expect me to stay for long.”

Oliver shrugged. 

“Your choice. You don’t mind if I do my morning work out, do you?”

Cisco shook his head, eyes suddenly transfixed on Oliver’s shirt as it was tugged up, over, and off his torso.

“Cool. I usually start with the salmon ladder.”

Cisco could stand to hang around for a few days. Maybe.

[skycrystal23]

Just Domestic Things

Summary: A few months after the revolution Kara and Luther learn to integrate into normal domestic life. They experience things like first jobs, first vacations, first parent teacher interviews. Alice also gains a large family of brothers, aunt’s, uncles, and even a grandfather figure when they head to Detroit on vacation. They all fall into the routine of domestic things. 

Characters: Kara, Luther, Alice, Markus and co, Connor, Hank, RK900 {Nines}, Gavin Reed 

Words: 3 000 {approx.}

Warnings: None just pure fluff!

Canada was safe.

    It was everything Kara had imagined for her and her little family. For the first month they stayed with Rose’s brother in Ontario, he and wife were so kind. Alice even made friends with his daughter. All good things came to an end when Rose found them a place to stay, a small apartment in a tall building in a neighbouring town. There were things the three of them had to figure out for themselves now. She and Luther had quite the discussion whether to send Alice to school or not. After all, she wasn’t human and androids were still very much illegal in this country.

    There was the worry that Alice didn’t physically age and she couldn’t stay in the same grade forever. Maybe teachers or other parents would recognize them when they would pick her up from class? It was very distressing just thinking about it. Luther managed to lower her stress levels with his low voice and kind words. They would discuss the issue of schooling once they were fully moved in. The move wasn’t long as they didn’t own much; mostly they brought with them the clothes on their backs.

They finally crossed the schooling bridge.

    The two parents, Alice considered Luther just as much as a father as Kara was her mother, mutually decided that schooling would be the best for Alice. At least until the year was up. Alice started school in September and the two waved her off with tears in their eyes at the bus stop. She would have to take the bus to and from school until they could purchase a car. Luther was the first to get a job as a bouncer at a local club. It was a pretty low level job and he was a big intimidating guy, who wouldn’t hire him? At this point Luther was willing to take any job he could get, unfortunately he would have to leave in the evening and work all night.

    Kara was the next to snag a job working as a secretary in a large tech company. The job was fairly easy she was basically a glorified babysitter for the office. Kara quickly made friends with a few of the workers and Luther would sometimes have to force her to go out and hang out with said friends. She had a framed picture of Alice on her desk and a few of her drawn pictures hung up on the small corkboard she had. Everyone asked if she had a special someone in her life. Every time she would look away and let out a nervous laugh, and maybe she would think of Luther a little. Everyone’s jaws dropped when Luther showed up at the office with lunch for Kara one day – she left her lunch at home that morning.

    Everyone in the office watched to see where he’d go and to their surprise their sweet mom-friend of the office jumped up and walked over to the giant. “You forgot your lunch at home Kara, I thought I’d drop it off.” Kara would have the biggest smile on her face. These two were so in love everyone could see it. This would be the talk of the office for weeks. Kara wouldn’t hear the end of it. In the end she lied and said he was her husband. After all, they had to keep their facade that they were a human family up.

Parent teacher interviews were nerve-wracking.

    Luther was a paranoid father the entire time. Before they could even leave he kept asking if his outfit was ‘daddish’ enough. Kara helped him dress giving him some black pants and a floral button-up to wear. The shirt was Alice’s idea, she thought he looked great. There were so many parents there. It was hard to keep track of Alice as she kept running off whenever she saw one of her friends. Out of nervousness Luther ended up taking a hold of Kara’s hand, they walked around holding hands for the rest of the night. Alice’s teacher had nothing but compliments for their daughter which only made them more proud.

    In the end they managed to plan several play dates for Alice and her friends and even received a few invitations for upcoming birthday parties that Alice was invited to. The bus ride home was quiet and comfortable. Alice was busy sitting across from them looking out the window; Luther grabbed her hand again and gave it a firm squeeze. It would be a lie to say that Kara’s face didn’t turn bright blue. By the time they were home they sent Alice to bed and Luther left for work. Kara made sure to read Alice a book before heading to her own room.

    Androids didn’t require sleep but they could mimic sleep by going into stasis mode. Her internal clock would have her awake by seven in the morning to wake Alice up to get ready for school. Luther would arrive home just as she was leaving for work. For a long time her and Luther would be stuck in limbo with their feelings. They both did like each other but at the same time Alice was still their number one priority. Alice talked Luther into it and he eventually asked Kara out on a real date.

Vacations were so necessary.

    Once they got a car, which took a lot of saving, the first thing they did was take a weeklong vacation. Alice was pulled from school and they drove out to the border. It was a long drive and they stopped at many landmarks along the way (Alice has a bunch of knick-knacks and post cards in her room now). They went back to pay Detroit a well needed visit. After all, the revolution ended eleven months ago now. A lot has changed since they fled to Canada. The three of them paid Rose and Adam a visit and stayed at their farm house for the night. Rose was so thrilled to hear how the three of them were doing.

    While in Detroit they replenished their Thirium levels. Kara insisted that they pay a visit to Markus to thank him for his help. Apparently Markus lived in a mansion? This mansion was huge. Markus was happy to see them and glad to know that they weren’t dead. Alice got to paint with Markus, have Josh teach her about history, go to the park with Simon, and North taught her some self-defense. Markus almost shut down when Alice called him Uncle Markus. North and Kara got along surprisingly well. The four core members of Jericho were honestly like an extended family. Okay so maybe their little family was expanding?

    They went for walks in Detroit’s parks while on vacation, Alice loved the outdoors. Honestly the two of them couldn’t be happier to see their daughter so excited and full of smiles. Luther and Kara almost exploded with stress when Alice was suddenly pinned down by a rather large dog. The owner came running over yelling and Kara almost stopped functioning for the second time when she saw that it was Connor. The RK800 pulled the dog off of Alice and offered the little girl a hand. It took him less than a second to realize who they were and gave them a very timid smile. He remembers how he almost got them killed back when he was just a machine. An older man came jogging up to them, he was very obviously human.

    It turns out his name is Hank Anderson and he’s a police Lieutenant at the DPD. “So, you’re the people Connor here told me about.” He’s rather rough around the edges but a real softie once you warm up to him.

“Can we go play at the park?” Alice is jumping up and down and pointing to the nearby playground.

    Kara notices how she’s pointing to Connor as well. She’s rather apprehensive to let her go and play with the same android that was hunting them down nearly a year ago. Nonetheless, Kara can never say no so she goes to the park with them. Hank and Luther sit on a bench nearby and talk about ‘dad things’. Kara and Connor take turns pushing Alice on the swing. The two are quite quiet. Kara is normally a forgiving person and although Connor has apologized before she is still wary around the ex-deviant-hunter. She’s startled when she hears his voice inside her head. They’ve been living around humans for so long she forgot that they could make mental connections.

    The RK800 starts apologizing profusely and although he was smiling on the outside his shaky voice in the connection gave away his guilt. “I’m sorry too Connor.” From her lengthy time being a mother she realizes how everyone makes mistakes and not everyone can control what they’re doing. All is forgiven and Connor becomes a sort of older brother to Alice. The two of them were running around with Sumo for the rest of the afternoon. Kara had to suppress her laughter whenever she heard Hank make a sarcastic comment. Hank is definitely a grumpy grandpa.

    On their last day of vacation in Detroit they meet up with Markus and company in the morning to say their goodbyes. All four of them shower Alice in gifts to take home with her. Uncle Markus gives her some paint, Uncle Josh gifts a book, Uncle Simon gives her a camera, and Auntie North gives Alice some brass knuckles. Kara and Luther were mildly horrified by the last gift. Their next stop was the police precinct; Alice had two drawings she wanted to give Connor and Hank. They mistake RK900 for Connor. He looks so similar to Connor yet so different. The more they look at him the more different they realize he is from Connor.

    His name is Nines and his partner is quite the character. Everyone in the precinct has to double-take because Gavin Reed is actually so soft when it comes to children. Alice is quite fond of Gavin to Luther and Kara’s dismay. Connor and Hank find them soon enough once they realize what all the other officers are looking at. “Alright Reed step away from the kid before you scare her to death and take your ken doll with you.” Hank waves the detective away who looks about ready to hurl an insult. Gavin is surprisingly respectful to Kara, he maybe or maybe not intimidated by her boyfriend, which confuses everyone else.

    Alice presents her drawings to Connor and Hank who graciously accept them. Connor treats this crayon drawing as if it were a piece from Van Goghs gallery. Nines is much more quiet than Connor, more perceptive and judging. His gaze is harsh when aimed at everyone else but it’s much softer when he’s speaking to Alice. The small android asks if Connor is Nines’ older brother and Connor is quick to say that he is. So now Alice has two older brother figures? Alice drags Nines and Connor off to do some drawing in the kid’s area of the precinct. “So, when’s the wedding?” Hank asks.

    Luther and Kara just about shut down from embarrassment. Were they going to get married, did they need to? The visit to the precinct is short lived when they get a call about a homicide. Alice is sad to leave her new extended family but excited to tell her friends all about her vacation. The drive back across the border has all three of their stress levels raised to significant levels; at least they aren’t conducting temperature checks anymore. They make it home and the next day Alice is back in school. For show and tell she talks about her trip to Detroit and talks about her family. At the next parent teacher interview Luther and Kara have to talk about their large family that they hadn’t previously mentioned before.

    Alice is always video chatting with her brothers. Alice wants to be a detective just like them when she’s older. Kara and Luther are saddened by this; sometimes Alice forgets that she won’t grow older like her friends. Her parents just want her to be like any other kid. Summer holiday starts and Alice is sad that she won’t see her friends. The two parents did some research on how fast children age and grow and decide that Alice can head into the next grade. Alice has a sleepover with some of her friends, Luther is everyone’s dad. Swimming is fun and Alice enjoys it. The three of them get good use out of the community swimming pool downstairs.

They just love seeing how happy Alice is.

    Seven months after the revolution and androids are still forbidden in Canada. They are constantly worrying for Alice’s safety. If she were to get injured they wouldn’t know what to do. Before school starts again they take another trip to Detroit to see the family. A lot of pictures are taken while there. Connor and Nines offer to watch Alice while Luther takes Kara out for another date night. The RK twins are chaotic babysitters. Also, Gavin and Nines are closer than originally thought so Alice officially calls him Uncle Gavin. The detective threatens to disassemble both Connor and Nines if they breathe a word about this to the precinct.

    Luther takes Kara to an art gallery because he knows how much she loves art. Their whole apartment is covered head to toe in paintings, photography, and anything she finds artistic. The two of them really love each other so it isn’t surprising when Luther gets down on one knee and proposes. Of course, Kara is a sobbing mess as she accepts the ring. She didn’t expect to be so happy. She gives Luther the most passionate kiss ever and she doesn’t care whose watching. They don’t have much money so the ring is a simple silver wedding band. Kara notices how Luther’s name is engraved on the inside of the ring in cursive letters.

    They’re smiling like idiots when they show up to Gavin Reed’s apartment (Nines is a temporary guest living there). Their smiles disappear when they see Alice standing on top of a coffee table residing over her ‘kingdom’. Said kingdom was made up of Connor, Nines, Uncle Gavin, and Uncle Gavin’s four cats. How did their little family grow so much? Alice’s eyes lit up when she saw her parents, she nearly fell off the coffee table and onto her bottom from how fast as was going. Luther caught her when she jumped at him and held her close. “Hello Alice, did you have fun?” The girl was quick to nod her head. The two RK units and the detective stood and looked to their feet, all three of the mildly embarrassed.

    Once they got over their initial embarrassment Connor and Nines were quick to find the silver ring on Kara’s finger. Everyone was happy for them, no one more than Alice though. Nines even cracked a smile and after elbowing Gavin in the side the human detective muttered congratulations. This new information spread like wildfire through their family. Kara and Luther could only guess that Connor told Markus who in turn told Simon, North, and Josh. A little celebration was held at Markus’s home for the two engaged androids.

Familial gatherings.

They needed to do more of those.

    Kara didn’t know what to do with all of this attention on her. Luther was quiet; all the boys made him feel a part of the group. Everyone asked when the wedding was. The two of them had yet to decide. It would most likely be small a wedding. They could only afford so much at this time. After the get together they embarked back on their drive to Canada. Everything went back into their usual routine once they arrived back home. Alice was happy to be back and headed to her bedroom to put herself into a well-needed stasis mode. Luther turned the television on which had been left on the Jazz music station, he may or may not have picked up a fondness for that type of music after hanging out with Hank.

    Perhaps he even grabbed Kara’s hand after hearing the enchanting music and pulled her to the middle of the living room. Through whispered words he may have even asked her to dance with him. Kisses planted to her forehead, the swaying of their hips, and the sparkle in their gaze when they looked at each other – this was love. Screw everyone who ever said androids couldn’t love. The two didn’t see the little android with her camera taking a few pictures of her parents swaying together. In the morning Kara would be standing in front of the mirror in their shared room fixing her blue blazer for work. “You look perfect Kara, you’ll always look perfect.” Her face turned blue whenever he would compliment her.

    Each day they were learning more and more about themselves and about how to be a family. They wouldn’t ever be normal and they knew that. But little things like going to work, assisting Alice with homework (although she didn’t need help), heading on vacation to visit family, going to school functions, and waking out of stasis in a comforting embrace – yeah, those were just domestic things.

A/N: I would love to write more about this, please do send me prompts for this family. I’d really love to write about their wedding which I’ll probably do next. Anyways, my ask box is always open and I’m always happy to take writing requests!

[lighthouseofthewanderess]

Father

I’ve been contemplating writing about this. Not because I didn’t know how to write it all, or the words that would do justice. But because it’s one of the things lesser known about me, and saying it here is akin to giving a piece of my heart to all of you reading. But here goes; I’ve tried to keep it short. Tried to make it less ‘white’. These, despite the amazing roller-coaster of a journey I’ve had, are the willingly forgotten bits about me.

I saw it on a movie. ‘Gardens of the Night’. While the plot was around pronography and prostitution that I largely skipped for some unspoken reason, the girl and her emotions mirrored mine. The more I saw, the more I understood that something had happened to me as a child. Something wrong. Abuse. Facts state that more often than not, in most sexual child abuses the offender is someone close to them. My father. And I couldn’t look away from the screen. Here were instances, things that were framed wrong. All that touching, why is someone other than the father doing it? Isn’t that what fathers did? See in my head, the way my father treated me was what I assumed every other girl was going through. That this was life, and that I had to listen to him. After all, he was the reason I was alive, wasn’t I?

It took me some more movies and observations of daughters with their fathers to understand that I was insanely wrong. He makes you sit on his lap to put his hand under your skirt. He doesn’t give you baths because he’s taking care of you. He only talks nice when you’re doing him a favor. It was frankly, too much to process. I lingered around the fact that I am making up things in my head, that I missed my mom and everything my father did was looking wrong to me only because he didn’t do it like a mother would do. Then, when I accepted his nature, I was met with a wall of disappointment. That the one person who was to look out for you and your safety was the only person harming you. That the years supposed to be filled with laughter and love was spent with belt marks and stained clothes. When I was about 14, that feeling turned into anger. I wanted him to know only one thing. That I knew. Knew what he did every night, and that I dare him to try it with me again. But it was late. The daily affair and routine of fetching me from the servant quarters in the dead of the night and throwing me out before dawn, had already messed up my head a little.

I had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and was walking around with repressed memories that could shut me out anytime. I got used to the process -- there would suddenly be an incident that triggered something from my past, and I would just shut down. I would faint for anywhere between 10 minutes to 2 hours and nothing could wake me up unless I went to the hospital and they revived me. In that blackout, I wasn’t safe at all. I would revisit all the little things that my mind had safely tucked away hoping I will never find out. And why with such vivid details, why did I have to remember his voice and every move he made? That’s right eidetic memory.

I had bangles on my hand in a park. Glass bangles. I remember him walking to me with this long lanky legs covered by a brown trouser. I looked at him, my vision had my two chubby hands with bangles on their wrists. He wasn’t smiling, he was angry. That was my singal to keep quiet and do as he asks. He pulled my hand and dragged me behind a big cement building. Maybe it wasn’t too big, I was just a kid; it looked pretty big to me. He undid his belt and forced my hand between his legs. I yelled, he clamped my mouth. I fought, he placed one leg around me. I couldn’t remember anything other than the pain in my wrists as he held them firmly and the speed. It felt like my skin would come off anytime. When it was done, my bangle broke. And in a rush to hide the incident altogether, he pulled them off both hands and threw it in the garbage that stung me eyes. That’s how I got my first scar on my left hand. When I wake up from these blackouts, I am exhausted to have relived the moment again. I can’t feel the air in my lungs and everything is plain cold. I shiver, I feel numb. Then, I look around at the faces around me and know I’ve survived it yet again. He was miles away and he couldn’t touch me at all. Most of the school and the teachers in India attributed my fainting spells to being weak and underweight. They laughed, it became a long-standing joke. I let it be. It’s easier than having to explain what I saw. The thing is, I wish it all played out a little differently. That day in the park was the only time I resisted him; to me resistance equalled more pain. I’d rather just keep quiet and wait to be away from him. His drinking, his smoking, his rants afterwards about me and how he hated me all led me to wish only one thing. I wanted his love. I wanted to be on my best behavior and hear him tell me I was his daughter, a good little girl, and that I’m the best thing in his life. I heard two of those when he was busy fulfilling his needs with me in the picture, but I never heard him call me his daughter. Turns out the story ran long back, to when I was even littler. In Pune when Prerna and her friends, who had come down for her birthday, all sat around the table, I joined in the conversation. All was fine until they started talking of beaches in Mumbai and how one of her friends took her dog walking in the evenings. I shut down and entered another repressed memory. Here I was, walking with my father into the sunset. Well, almost. Here he was propping me up on a stool next to the bajji vendor parked on the Marina Beach. And there he went, only to reunite with another woman who was not my mother. He only came back when the sun was almost setting. And my blackout fast forwarded into so many evenings just like that where I would sit on the sand, play with a stray dog, and smell the fumes of the oil from the vendor. My father. Happily on the beach. Having an affair. In front of his daughter. To every other eye, it must have looked like we were a happy family of three. Little did they know that I wasn’t of her blood, or that smile on his face was only when he was with her. When I snapped out of this spell, a lot of things made sense. His resentment towards me and my family. His shedding of parenthood for I was not a child he ever wanted. His insistent nudges to send my mom off to the US so he could be free. What didn’t add up was -- why did he find pleasure in me. What a twisted thing it was, and how twisted was it to hear that after the divorce he went on to marry again. Yes that’s right. My mom hearing the story, rang up a friend in the Income Tax Department and he traced him down to a government college. Where he worked with his new wife. Did I want to see her picture? No thanks, the memory of her ID card around her neck was the last puzzle piece I needed. It broke my heart even more to know he had one son and one daughter. And that they were a happy family. Was I not enough? He didn’t hurt his children from a second marriage and decided to ruin the life of his first child? That validation I was seeking from him all those years crumbled away. It was no fault of mine, I could've borne every piercing pain and scar and yet that wouldn’t have made him a better person. Couldn’t have made him love you. When mom and I came back from the US to give the marriage another shot, I cursed my life over and over. My mom was unaware of everything because she had fled to the US. Her side of the family supported my dad because they had tossed the responsibility to him. It was all a big mess, a bomb that was running out of wick. In India, my mom didn’t work. She stayed home and tried to be a good housewife. And just like I feared, my father went back to his old ways. I had grown up now, I wouldn’t even have to kneel. The hunger in his eyes, the way his adam’s apple bobbed up and down when he saw me getting ready to school -- these are the things that stuck with me and made me fear every guy. That look, what a common look it was in the world, feasting on bodies, drinking the fear. I tried so hard to not be at home when my mom went to buy groceries. As soon as she stepped out, a game of cat and mouse would ensue. I would run through the rooms, the corridors, trying to make it out of the house and to the terrace. Most times I failed. His stealth always surprised me; his otherwise lazy attitude would disappear and in its place an irresistible urge would build up. My clothes have torn, and he has had me quickly change in the 20 minutes it took mom to come back. I would make up a reason for the new dress, or a scar or two. She always believed me. I saw him again, when I thought I far from him. And what are the odds, he walked straight into my grandpa’s house in Erode. This was supposed to be a safe place, where my mom grew up. If he would come and go as he wished, could they even be trusted? What have we been doing believing them all our lives? My mom had many thoughts at that moment, but I watched her keep her calm and did the same. Inside I was disappearing. My aunt rushed my mom and me into a room and locked us on the outside. When I heard his voice, I wished I was mistaken. That same raspy, half croaky voice. Saying that he wants to see me again, that my mom was wrong to deny seeing his own daughter. There. I heard it. Half of me despite it all, wanted to go see him. I wanted to walk across the corridor, down the steps and up again into the patio. I would be shaking all over, cold and numb, but I wanted to see his face as he said that again. This time in front me, his daughter who had grown almost to his height. But I was locked in and that was that. He spoke, he left. The door was unlocked, and we blocked out the only family we had for turning on us dead wrong. That night, I saw my mom breakdown. She yelled in the middle of the house and demanded answers. A lot of things surfaced. The fact that she wanted her parents to take care of me and not my father was new. I heard it and a little joy bloomed within. Distant relatives came from all over, all hosting their own panchayat. They wanted her to make it work again with my father, the situation was that of family honor now. My mom grabbed me from the corner in the middle of all this and said

“If you think I married to lay with him one night then let it be. This life in my hands, this little girl is the only good thing out of this marriage and I cannot give any more to him.” How powerful. That made sense. In fact, that’s the possible the only way to look at it. Why they got her married to a man like him, against the wishes of the entire town, we will never know. Why my mom didn’t listen to her litter sister and take the bag she had packed to run away before the marriage, we will never know. It was mom and me again, just like it had been in the US. We were fools to think years changed anything at all. I think that’s why when I caught my mom giving her life a second thought, I brought up divorce. It was all for the good. That’s why, when we came to India for good we picked Bangalore and not Chennai. That’s why, in almost every relationship, I ended up imagining my father when in bed. I couldn’t shake it off. I went to therapy like my mom advised. I switched therapists because the minute I unraveled my tale and brought to life every incident with horrific detail (what’s here is the surface) they needed a day or two off before they could see me. I broke the news to my mom at 19 on the insistence of my permanent therapist. My mom broke down and couldn’t look at me the same. She swore on all her family gods. Then I started healing in ways that were too painful. My then boyfriend cheated on me because I couldn’t ‘just do it’. I learned I was more than my body, and freezing up was okay. I started mingling with boys at school only after I knew I could defend myself and throw a few punches if it came to that. Little by little, I watched movie movies with scenes from an abuse. I accepted, I processed, I hugged myself and promised never to let it go through something like that again. I learned that there was no point seeking the love of a father because in this life I was gifted with a monster. When I think of the times in kindergarten in India, I remember the way other kids babbled about their fathers. How they got gifts, and how they went to the movies. I made up stories to stay in loop and imagined a father so pristine. I did that for most of my life actually. He would walk two steps behind me, and push a stubborn lock of hair behind my ear. He would buy me cotton candy, and advise me on dating boys. He would say I looked the prettiest in white, and hated it when I wore dark lipstick. Half of this was Pradeesh Uncle, and the other half my mom fulfilled. She became my father and mother and tried so very hard to not make me miss a father figure in my life. That’s the only problem with her. She believes that’s possible for me to do. Accept her as a double parent and never want for anything at all. And that’s where she goes wrong. As strong as a woman she maybe, and as well as a father she may play, some things just don’t become right with a lot of good. The cigarette he ashed on the left side of my neck when I refused to undo his belt. That I pass off as a birthmark to those who ask. His picture taking when I was old enough to take bath. I still can’t bring myself to look at the mirror in my bathroom. Any tall, skinny man; the restlessness that brews inside I just can't deny. It doesn’t matter if my mom is around me. If I know I can take down that man. The mind is used to forgetting, the heart used to forgiving, but the body remembers. Father: a wish I wasn’t granted.

[yenni19]

Chapter 18

The next few days Sarutobi teaches Mariana to cook, its the day of the gathering and Sarutobi is at Mariana's house overseeing her cooking skills

Sarutobi(tasting her dishes): wow...im impressed...you did very well Mariana...so how are the desserts coming along?

Mariana: i have a cake in the oven and one already finished...do you want to help me decorate it?

Sarutobi: sure let me lend a hand

They finish decorating the cake, suddenly Ms Angelo comes in, she sees Mariana in the kitchen

Sabrina: you know how i feel about....

Sarutobi(greeting her): hi I'm Sarutobi Akamaris....

Sabrina(irritated): I know who you are....mr playboy....your Akamaris lover aren't you?

Sarutobi(irrtiated and calm): no ms Angelo...I'm Akamari's younger brother

Sabrina(scoffs): you two look nothing alike...

Sarutobi(taking out his phone): here let me show you (shows her a picture) this is me Akamari and my father at a picnic four years ago....we are half siblings from different mothers

Sabrina: I knew she was adopted...but i never knew her father was Kawaki Madra....the famous villan of terror who almost destroyed the village twenty years ago

Sarutobi(confused): the famous villan?

Sabrina: oh you must not of known....see I have a cousin living there where your family resides....she had came from there when the fight started and came to stay with us here along with many refugees who fled from the terror of the famous villan....the only one who stopped him was a man named Boruto Uzumaki.....it was said many lost thier lives so thats why your father is in debted to the ninth hokage....he will spend his life helping repair what he destroyed....until he dies....its also to make sure he wont turn on the village ever again

Sarutobi: why didnt he tell me this...why hide it...and from me of all people?

Sabrina: some parents just want to protect thier kids from ever finding out the truth....but its best to come clean and not hide a lie that serious

Mariana: I'm sorry Sarutobi....my mother is a straight forward person....(glaring at her mother) sometimes too honest

Sarutobi: its ok...should we continue to decorate the second cake

Mariana: sure let me help you ok

They finish decorating the second cake....he helps her set up the table and sets up the appatizers and desserts along with the tea and cookies...her mother's guests arrive and are amazed at how beautiful the decorated table along with the food looks

Amara: omg this looks amazing

Evany: its wonderful like a fairy tale

Mara: its different from your other gatherings...who did all this?

Sabrina: my beloved daughter and her new friend Sarutobi

They look in Mariana's and Sarutobi's direction....they wave and exuse themselves.

Sarutobi: well im heading home...

Mariana(gently grabbing his arm): would you like to go with me to the Art Museum Sarutobi?

Sarutobi(smiling): sure...but is it close by?

Mariana: dont worry well be there and back in no time....I promise you'll have fun

Sarutobi: I would love to go....but how would we get there?

Mariana(holding some keys): we'll take my moms car...dont worry I know how to drive

They head into the city, they stop at a big two story building, they get out of the car and head inside

Sarutobi: its bigger than the art gallery we have back home...and looks more artistic

Mariana: yeah my mom owns this place....she's the art director here...I come by when it's moms day off....come on theres a piece I want to show you

They go to the second floor of the Art Gallery, Sarutobi stops in his tracks, he is shocked when he sees the the piece

Sarutobi: is that love...

Mariana(finishing his sentence): love in a moment....its one I cherish most....since my dad dedicated it to my mom....but they are divorced...because my dad cheated on her

Sarutobi: wait....are you saying your dad is the famous Michale Angelo....your his daughter?

Mariana: yeah....but i dont see him anymore...he left us when my mom got the guts to tell him to go to hell....I kind of get it though she felt like she was a stranger to her husband.....while Souske made her feel whole

Sarutobi(shocked): wait...Akamari's dad had an affair.....with your mom?

Mariana(feeling guilty): oh shit....please dont say anything to her....I thought you knew....dont mention the affair to Akamari....please Sarutobi dont say a word to this....I'm no gossip girl....but keep it between me and you!

Sarutobi: ok I get it....but one question....is Samari the product of that affair....because Akamari's sister looks just like her

Mariana: yes she is....but Samari doesn't know because Souske never told her....when my mom found out she was terrified of what my dad would do....when my dad found out he told her to give that child to her father and to act like it never happened....she objected until my father said he will get rid of her and make sure my mother never saw Samari again....so she had no choice but to tell Souske to get lost and that he'll be able to keep his daughter but that this was the last time they would see eachother....Souske was devastated....and so was my mother....they really loved eachother....but at the time my dad owned everything of my mothers.....and she had no one to help her....so she stopped seeing Souske and got enough evidence on my dad to finally divorce him and keep the gallery that was originally my grandparents

Sarutobi: wow....what a rollercoaster...is that why Akamari was put in her grandparents care for two years?

Mariana: yeah...Souske needed to get it together....and Akamari was showing signs of resentment toward her sister and father...so he thought it would be best for her to be close to the Uzumakis and Uchihas so Akamari wouldnt feel left out....I still remember when she came back two years ago....she looked happier and more calmer than before....she even told me she liked this purple eyed boy with purple hair and that this boy was important to her because it reminded her how she was....and made sure he was feeling loved and accepted by those around him....that she thought it was admirable that he actually loved her eventhough they couldn't be together......

Sarutobi(hugging her): thank you Mariana....you just comfirmed what i wanted to hear from her...thank you (asking) do you think i can get a ride home now?

Mariana: sure Sarutobi....lets go back before i get in trouble for delaying too long with my moms car

Sarutobi: you didnt ask did you?

Mariana: No I did not

Mariana takes Sarutobi home, he heads inside the house where Izuke was waiting for him

Izuke(noticing): someone is in a good mood...had fun wherever you were I presume

Sarutobi(smiling): yeah i did....does Akamari come home tommorrow?

Izuke: yes why do you ask?

Sarutobi (smiling): theres a present I've been meaning to give her since her birthday and i know she's gonna love it

Izuke: ok then...wash up im cooking dinner tonight....oh I amlost forgot Omari my younger brother is...

By the time he looked up Sarutobi was already in his room, the next day Sarutobi was awake and downstairs, but to his surprise Akamari was not alone but with a man taller than Sarutobi with red hair and green eyes patiently waiting for his breakfast

Omari: you done yet kitten wiskers...i cant wait to try that omlet you prepared for me

Akamari(cooking): almost (grabs a plate and hands it to Omari) here omlet and baccon strips just how you like it

Omari: thanks I knew I can count on you (notices Sarutobi) hey babe who's the kid with the purple hair?

Akamari (turning around): oh Sarutobi your up...this is Jerico's younger son Omari Myzuki

Sarutobi (irritated as he shakes his hand): hi Sarutobi Madra Akamari's half brother

Omari(smiling): hi Omari Myzuki.....Akamari's love interest....

Akamari (smaking his head): you better cut it out...I would never date an arrogant brat like you...its bad enough you act like we are a couple and I puch you in public.... so should I tell Mariana that you like her....everytime you see her you mumble like an idiot?

Omari (blushing and angry): you better not threaten me I'm more capable of telling her myself

Sarutobi(laughing): you two act more like siblings....it's funny to watch

Suddely theres a knock at the door Sarutobi opens it's Mariana

Sarutobi(smiling): hey Mariana how your morning...mines a bit interesting at the moment

Mariana: can i come in?

Sarutobi(letting her inside): sure you are more than welcome to

She comes inside, when she reaches the kitchen she says her greetings, as soon as Omari sees her he turns red

Omari(having touble speaking): hi....Mariana....you look cute....I mean hello...I mean hello Mariana

Mariana(blushing): hi Omari....good morning...you look well dressed today

Omari: you look beautiful....I mean you look well dressed too....I'm sorry I'm just nervous

Mariana: its ok if you are i get nervous too (to Sarutobi) do you want to go with me to a poetry slam downtown?

Sarutobi: I would like to but...

Mariana: its ok I'll go on my own

Sarutobi(grabbing Omari's arm): but he would love to accompany you

Omari(blushing red and confused): I would...I mean I really would love to be with you....I mean sure I'll accompany you

Mariana(grabbing his hand): ok then lets go Omari...

Omari(red as a tomato): ok...i guess I would love you.....I mean would love to

Suddenly Omari passes out on the floor

Mariana(shocked): Omari.....Omari are you ok...Omari....Omari!

Akamari(suggesting): would you like to stay over today and spend time with Omari Mariana?

Mariana(blushing): ok yeah...i can go to the poetry slam some other time anyway....I really wanted to ask Omari to go with me...because I like him....he has a sense of humor

Akamari: im glad you said that...because he likes you too

Mariana(excited): really....he does....I thought he just got nervous because he wasnt use to talking to girls

Akamari: trust me he talks to girls....but they are not someone special that he likes...and you just witnessed him mumble like an idiot right in front of you

Sarutobi(carrying Omari from the kitchen to the living room): well let me lay him down at the couch (he places him down) so how about breakfast

Mariana: ok that would be great